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commanding him according to his will, even if he took up the commands two years later; and if anyone, being troubled by what he had, produced the letter of grace, it at once appeared to be from the second indiction, and he voted against the gift, as if the thing done had no accuracy and attention at the time. Then he also brought forth many things from the common treasury and, haranguing the assembled men for every favor, he then with both hands drew out the money for them, throwing it out lavishly for them to collect like dogs. Such were these things.

2. How Palaiologos fortified the citadels, though not yet crowned. And he, making it his business to secure the citadels, and at the same time making clear by his own person the proclamation of his reign, decided to proceed to Philadelphia, leaving the young man in Magnesia, being attended in a royal manner, as was proper. The entire army also followed him, defending the emperor with the greatest possible goodwill and with a ready impulse for toil, ready to wage war eagerly wherever and against whomever he might go. He sent the patriarch, however, to Nicaea, promising to arrive himself shortly, together with the young man, for them both to be crowned. So the patriarch, together with the clergy and the high priests, having bid a fitting farewell to the emperors, 141 set out for Nicaea; but the emperor, having taken up and arranged his forces, marched to Philadelphia together with the officials; and having reached the city, from there he fortified the citadels, sending some men, and receiving others coming down from there and honoring them with gifts as was possible, making them eager for guard duty and rendering them more courageous with good hopes. And having advanced a little from there and gone around the surrounding areas, and with some by good conversations, others by honors, and others by promises, and in some cases mixing fear with gentleness, handling incidental matters in a kingly way, he settled matters there as was possible and secured it more safely with garrisons. For he was concerned about the west, since they were ready to revolt, if they should seize upon any opportunity. Wherefore he also dispatched ambassadors to the Persians, on the one hand to announce that he whom they had seen and known well had come to power, and on the other hand to confer with those around the sultan about the affairs there, since they were not ignorant of the one who had become emperor, but were indeed his very good friends, he himself returned with all speed and, taking the boy, set out for Nicaea with much luxury and a very large bodyguard. And when they arrived, without delay—for it was not possible for those considering the western affairs to be negligent—they immediately made preparations for the coronation, with everyone expecting, as indeed had been agreed, that the young man would be royally crowned and first acclaimed, having been crowned, and would lead the procession, and that he and his wife, being crowned afterwards, would follow the first in the royal and customary procession.

7. How Palaiologos broke the agreements for the coronation. But from the very beginning it was deceit and a violation of the truce, and what sort of end it would come to was not at all unknown to the many. The officials, therefore, were won over beforehand, having been treated well and still hoping to be treated well; and honors, except for a few, bound their tongues, and they remained quiet as to how it might be done. But some of those who had been treated badly, considering the contempt for the boy as a defense, even rejoiced. The patriarch, however, was himself still hopeful that none of the agreements would be transgressed and he investigated nothing 143 further. But he, having shared his plan with some of the high priests—how it was not worthy for one who was a boy and immature in age to have received the coronation of the empire and to precede him, who was already advanced in years and had spent his life in affairs, in processions and acclamations—took courage, having received promises that they themselves, deeming these things worthy and adhering to what was said as just, would also persuade the patriarch concerning the proclamations for the boy

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προστάσ σον ἐκείνῳ τὸ κατὰ βούλησιν, εἰ καὶ δυσὶ χρόνοις ὕστερον ἀνελάμβανε τὰ προστεταγμένα· κἄν πού τις, ἐφ' οἷς εἶχεν ὀχλούμενος, τὸ γράμμα τῆς χάριτος προὔτεινεν, εὐθὺς φανὲν δευτέρας ἰνδικτιῶνος ὄν, τὴν δόσιν ἀπεψηφί ζετο, ὡς ἐν καιρῷ μηδὲν ἀκριβείας καὶ προσοχῆς ἔχον τὸ γεγονός. Τότε δὲ καὶ πόλλ' ἄττα τοῦ κοινοῦ ταμιείου ἐξεφόρει καί, δημηγορῶν τοῖς συνει λεγμένοις πρὸς χάριν ἅπασαν, εἶτ' ἀμφοτέραις ἐκείνοις ἐξήντλει τὰ χρήματα, χύδην ἐκρίπτων κυνηδὸν συλλέγουσιν. Ἦν ταῦτα.

ʹ. Ὅπως τὰς ἄκρας ὠχύρου καὶ μήπω στεφθεὶς ὁ Παλαιολόγος. Κἀκεῖνος μὲν κατοχυροῦν τὰς ἄκρας προὔργου ποιούμενος, ἅμα δὲ καὶ δηλοποιούμενος αὐτῷ προσώπῳ τὴν τῆς βασιλείας ἀνάρρησιν, ἐπὶ Φιλα δελφείας ἔγνω χωρεῖν, λιπὼν τὸν νέον ἐν Μαγνησίᾳ, βασιλικῶς, ὡς ἔδει, θεραπευόμενον. Συνείπετο δέ οἱ καὶ ἅπαν τὸ στρατιωτικόν, προασπίζον τοῦ βασιλέως μεθ' ὅτι πλείστης εὐνοίας καὶ πρὸς τὸ πονεῖν ὁρμῆς ἑτοίμου, ὅπου γε καὶ καθ' ὧν ἴοι, προθύμως πολεμησείοντες. Τὸν μέντοι γε πατριάρχην ἐς Νίκαιαν ἀποπέμπει, μετ' ὀλίγον καταλαβεῖν καὶ αὐτὸς ὑπισχνούμενος συνάμα τῷ νέῳ, ταινιωθησόμενοι καὶ ἀμφότεροι. Ὁ μὲν οὖν πατριάρχης συνάμα τῷ κλήρῳ καὶ τοῖς ἀρχιερεῦσι, συνταξάμενοι τὰ εἰκότα τοῖς βασι 141 λεῦσι, τῆς ἐπὶ Νίκαιαν ἥπτοντο· ὁ δέ γε βασιλεύς, τὰς δυνάμεις ἀναλαβὼν καὶ συντάξας, συνάμα τοῖς ἐν τέλει ἐπὶ Φιλαδέλφειαν ἤλαυνε· καὶ δὴ ἐπιστὰς τῇ πόλει, ἐκεῖθεν τὰς ἄκρας ὠχύρου, τοὺς μὲν πέμπων, ἄλλους δ' ἐκεῖθεν δεχόμενος κατιόντας καὶ δώροις ὡς οἷόν τε φιλοτιμούμενος, προθύμους εἰς φυλακὴν ποιῶν καὶ θαρραλεωτέρους ἐλπίσι χρησταῖς καθιστάς. Προβὰς δ' ἐκεῖθεν μικρὸν καὶ τὰ κύκλῳ περιελθών, καὶ τοὺς μὲν προσλαλιαῖς ἀγαθαῖς, τοὺς δὲ φιλοτιμίαις, τοὺς δὲ καὶ ὑποσχέσεσιν, ἔστι δ' οὗ καὶ φόβον κιρνὰς ἡμερότητι, βασιλικῶς τὰ παρεμπίπτοντα μετερχόμενος, ὡς οἷόν τε τἀκεῖ καθίστα καὶ ἀσφαλέστερον φρουροῖς κατωχύρου. Εἶχε γὰρ τὴν ἐπὶ δύσιν μέριμναν, ὡς ἑτοίμως πρὸς τὸ ἀφηνιᾶν ἐχόντων, εἰ εὐχερείας τινὸς ἐπιδράττοιντο. Ὅθεν καὶ πρέσβεις εἰς Πέρσας ἐξαποστεί λας, τοῦτο μὲν δηλώσοντας εἰς τὴν ἀρχὴν καταστάντα ὃν καὶ ἀκριβῶς ἰδόντες ᾔδεσαν, τοῦτο δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἀμφὶ τὸν σουλτὰν περὶ τῶν ἐκεῖ πραγμάτων κοινολογησομένους, οὐδὲ τούτοις ἀγνοοῦσι τὸν βασιλεύσαντα, ἀλλ' ἐς τὰ μάλιστα φίλοις οὖσιν, αὐτὸς τὴν ταχίστην ὑποστρέψας καὶ τὸν παῖδα παραλαβών, ὑπὸ πολλῇ τρυφῇ τε καὶ δορυφορίᾳ μεγίστῃ τῆς ἐπὶ τῆς Νικαίας ἥπτετο. Ὡς δ' ἐπέστησαν, μὴ μελλήσαντεςοὐδὲ γὰρ ἦν ἀμελεῖν περὶ τῶν δυτικῶν σκοπουμένοις, εὐθὺς ηὐτρεπίζοντο τὰ τῆς ταινιώσεως, ἐλπιζόντων πάντων, ὃ δὴ καὶ συγκείμενον ἦν, ταινιωθῆναι μὲν τὸν νέον βασιλικῶς καὶ πρώτως εὐφημηθῆναι, στεφανωθέντα, καὶ προκατάγειν τὸν θρίαμβον, ἐκεῖνον δὲ καὶ τὴν ἐκείνου σύζυγον, ἐν ὑστέρῳ στεφανωθέντας, τῷ πρώτῳ μεθέψεσθαι κατὰ τὴν βασιλικὴν καὶ συνήθη προέλευσιν.

ζʹ. Ὅπως παρελογίσατο τὰς συνθήκας τῆς στεφηφορίας ὁ Παλαιολόγος. Τὸ δ' ἦν ἐκ πρώτης ἀφετηρίας δόλος καὶ παρασπόνδησις, εἰς οἷον ἧξον τέλος, οὐδὲν τὸ παράπαν ἀγνοηθὲν τοῖς πολλοῖς. Οἱ μὲν οὖν ἐν τέλει προκα τελήφθησαν, εὖ παθόντες καὶ εὖ ἔτι τυχεῖν ἐλπίζοντες· ἐπέδησε δ' αὐτῶν τὰς γλώσσας, πλὴν ὀλίγων τινῶν, τὰ φιλοτιμήματα, καὶ εἶχον ἡσύχως καθ' ὅ τι πραχθείη. Τινὲς δὲ τῶν κακῶς παθόντων, εἰς ἄμυναν λογιζόμενοι τὴν τοῦ παιδὸς καταφρόνησιν, καὶ προσέχαιρον. Ὁ μέντοι γε πατριάρχης ἔτι καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν ἐλπίσιν ἦν τοῦ μηδέν τι παραβαθῆναι τῶν συγκειμένων καὶ οὐδέν τι 143 προσεξηρεύνα. Ἐκεῖνος δέ, τισὶ τῶν ἀρχιερέων τὸ σκέμμα κοινωσάμενος καὶ ὡς οὐκ ἄξιον εἴη παιδὶ ὄντι καὶ τὴν ἡλικίαν ἀτελεῖ τὴν τῆς βασιλείας ταινίωσιν προσδεδέχθαι καί οἱ προβεβηκότος ἤδη καὶ τὸν βίον κατατετριφότος ἐν πράγμασι προηγεῖσθαι ἐν θριάμβοις καὶ εὐφημίαις, ἐθάρρει λαβὼν ὑπο σχέσεις, ὡς καὶ αὐτούς, ἀξιοῦντας ταῦτα καὶ ὡς δικαίοις προσκειμένους τοῖς λεγομένοις, ἔχειν καὶ τὸν πατριάρχην συμπείθειν τὰς ἐπὶ τῷ παιδὶ ἀναρρήσεις