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thanksgivings to God for his salvation, and: "Thanks be to God," he said, "that you have been saved and have not been delivered into the hands of the enemies who seek your life. And what of those things said to you by me at that time? Do you not remember how I forbade the expedition, as it would not be advantageous at all? Did I not 315 advise you not to seek civil wars? And what else but that you and your forces should go to battle against the despot Michael and his troops? Were you not marked with the name of Christ, and he also a servant of Christ? For whom should we pray, I said then, when making our supplications to God, and against whom should we speak to God as irreconcilable enemies? Prayers for you are also entirely for them, since you are both of the one fold of Christ. But now, blessed be the Lord who has delivered you from lawless enemies; for he stirred them up against you, so that you might be reminded that those whom you sought as enemies should not in any way be justly treated as enemies. But see the enemies, if you wish, against whom you would not go into close combat, unless I were willing. Thus he both showed you the enemies and, having only frightened you, changed his mind and delivered you; so does the Lord know how to execute judgments." As the patriarch said these things, the emperor received the rebukes favorably and praised them; for he could not speak against them as they were just, but he added, as if apologizing, that the events of the journey had resulted rather in peace and that a marriage alliance had intervened and confirmed the subsequent treaties. The emperor, therefore, having said this—for the occasion did not permit him to say more—was sent off with prayers and proceeded to the palace, and the matters concerning the marriage alliance were as follows.

27. The marriage alliance between Anna, the daughter of Eulogia, and the despot Nikephoros, son of the despot Michael. For when the emperor had often sent out his forces and attacked, he was repulsed—for Michael also used the Italian for assistance and, having strongly fortified his forces, he held his ground, and the attacker accomplished nothing, but rather even suffered losses in his vain efforts—, at last after much trial, when the despot had supplicated and placated the emperor with frequent embassies, he too inclined towards peace. And since Michael had three legitimate children, of whom John was in the hands of the emperor, having been sent by his father but given by his mother who came as a hostage, whom the account has already shown to be the son-in-law of the sebastokrator Tornikios, while two were with their father, Nikephoros and Demetrios, and another, John, was illegitimate. And Demetrios was still a boy and continued to live in inactivity, but Nikephoros was a widower—for the 317 daughter of the emperor Laskaris had died; both parties decided that Anna, the third of Eulogia's daughters, should be given to him in marriage, since he was a despot, holding the title from his previous marriage alliance with the former emperor John. And so, sending Anna with a large escort, he celebrated the wedding; then, having also summoned Nikephoros to him in Constantinople, he confirmed the title and, having magnified him with honors and splendid gifts, sent him to his own domains. And having thus settled matters in the west, he proceeded to restore the troubled affairs of the east, sending many others, but especially the despot John, in whom he had confidence for sufficient relief for those in distress; for in truth, while the emperor was occupied with western affairs, supposedly recovering what was lacking for the empire, matters in the east grew weak for two reasons, both because the forces there were being sent to the west and because they were being neglected from afar. But these things, once the western affairs were quieted, the emperor, by sending men, restored as best he could and brought back to their former state; for it was not possible, it was not, when the despot appeared there, for the Persians not to be quiet, or rather, not to be restrained with greater fear. 28. Concerning the falsehood that was rumored about a raid by the Tocharoi against Nicaea. In the same year, in the month of Kronios, during the holy days of the fast, on the second day of the second week, something unexpected and sudden happened to Nicaea

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εἰς Θεὸν τῆς σωτηρίας ἐκείνου εὐχαριστίας, καί· «Τῷ Θεῷ χάρις, ἔλεγεν, ὅτι σέσωσαι καὶ χερσὶν οὐ παραδέδοσαι τῶν τὴν σὴν ψυχὴν ζητούντων ἐχθρῶν. Τί δαὶ τὰ παρ' ἐμοῦ σοι τότε λεγόμενα; Ἦ οὐ μέμνῃ ὡς τὴν ἐκστρατείαν ἐκώλυον, ὡς οὐ συνοίσουσαν ἄντικρυς; Οὐ 315 τοὺς ἐμφυλίους πολέμους ἀπέλεγον μὴ ζητεῖν; Καὶ τί γε ἄλλο ἢ σὲ καὶ τὰς σὰς δυνάμεις εἰς μάχην τῷ δεσπότῃ Μιχαὴλ ἰέναι καὶ τοῖς ἐκείνου στρα τεύμασιν; Οὐχ ἅμα σὺ μὲν τῷ Χριστοῦ ἐνεσημάνθης ὀνόματι κἀκεῖνος λάτρης Χριστοῦ; Τίσιν εὐκτέον, ἔλεγον τότε, ποιοῦντας τὰς εἰς Θεὸν ἱκεσίας, καὶ κατὰ τίνων ὁμιλητέον Θεῷ ὡς ἐκσπόνδων ἐχθρῶν; Αἱ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν εὐχαὶ καὶ ὑπὲρ ἐκείνων πάντως, ἐπειδήπερ καὶ μιᾶς μάνδρας ἐστὲ τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Νῦν δέ, ἀλλ' εὐλογητὸς Κύριος ὁ ῥυσάμενός σε ἐξ ἐχθρῶν ἀνόμων· ἐπέσεισε γάρ σοι σφέας, ἐφ' ᾧπερ ἀναμνῆσαι ὡς οὓς μὲν ὡς ἐχθροὺς ἐζήτεις, οὐκ ἐχθραντέοι πάντως δικαίως. Ὅρα δὲ τοὺς ἐχθρούς, εἰ βούλει, οἷς οὐκ ἂν ὁμόσε χωρήσαις, ἢν μὴ 'γὼ θέλοιμι. Ἔδειξε τοίνυν καὶ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς καί, φοβήσας μόνον, μεταβαλὼν ἐρρύσατο· οὕτως οἶδε Κύριος κρίματα ποιῶν.» Ταῦτα τοῦ πατριάρχου λέγοντος, εὐμενῶς ὁ κρατῶν ἐδέχετο τὰς ἐλέγξεις καὶ προσεπῄνει· ἀντιλέγειν γὰρ ὡς δικαίοις οὐκ εἶχεν, ἀλλ' ἐπῆγεν ὡς δῆθεν ἀπολογούμενος ὡς καὶ εἰρήνην μᾶλλον τὰ τῆς ὁδοῦ κατηντήκεσαν καὶ ὡς κῆδος μεσολαβῆσαν τὰς εἰσαῦθις σπονδὰς ἐβεβαίωσεν. Ὁ μὲν οὖν βασιλεύς, οὕτως εἰπώνοὐ γὰρ ὁ καιρὸς ἐδίδου καὶ πλείονα λέγειν, ἀποπεμφθεὶς ταῖς εὐχαῖς, ἐχώρει πρὸς τὸ παλάτιον, τὰ δὲ περὶ τοῦ κήδους οὕτως ἦσαν.

κζʹ. Κῆδος ἐπί τε τῇ θυγατρὶ τῆς Εὐλογίας Ἄννῃ καὶ Νικηφόρῳ δεσπότῃ, υἱῷ τοῦ δεσπότου Μιχαήλ. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ πολλάκις ἀποστείλας ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ τὰς δυνάμεις προσβαλὼν ἀπεκρούετοἐχρᾶτο γὰρ καὶ ὁ Μιχαὴλ τῷ Ἰταλικῷ εἰς βοήθειαν καί, καρτερῶς κρατυνάμενος τὰς δυνάμεις, ἀντεῖχε, καὶ οὐδὲν ὁ ἐπιὼν ἤνυε, μᾶλλον μὲν οὖν καὶ προσεζημιοῦτο ταῖς ἐν κενοῖς ἀσχολίαις, μόλις μετὰ τὴν πολλὴν πεῖραν, ἱκετεύσαντος τοῦ δεσπότου καὶ πρεσβείαις συχναῖς ἐκμειλι ξαμένου τὸν αὐτοκράτορα, πρὸς εἰρήνην καὶ οὗτος ἀπέκλινε. Καὶ ἐπεὶ παῖδες ἦσαν τῷ Μιχαὴλ τρεῖς μὲν γνήσιοι, ὧν ὁ μὲν Ἰωάννης ἀνὰ χεῖρας ἦν τοῦ κρατοῦντος, πεμφθεὶς μὲν πρὸς πατρός, δοθεὶς δὲ παρὰ μητρὸς ἡκούσης εἰς ὅμηρον, ὃν καὶ γαμβρὸν τοῦ σεβαστοκράτορος Τορνικίου ὁ λόγος προϋπεδείκνυ, δύο δὲ παρὰ τῷ πατρί, Νικηφόρος τε καὶ ∆ημήτριος, ἕτερος δ' ἐκ νοθείας ὁ Ἰωάννης. Καὶ ὁ μὲν ∆ημήτριος ἀντίπαις ἦν ἔτι καὶ ἐν ἀπραγμοσύνῃ ζῶν διετέλει, ὁ δέ γε Νικηφόρος κεχήρωτο γυναικόςἡ γὰρ 317 θυγάτηρ τοῦ βασιλέως Λάσκαρι ἐτεθνήκει· τούτῳ ἐγνώκεσαν καὶ ἀμφό τεροι τὴν τρίτην τῶν τῆς Εὐλογίας θυγατέρων Ἄνναν ἐκδοθῆναι πρὸς γάμον, δεσπότῃ γε ὄντι, ἐκ τοῦ προτέρου κήδους παρὰ τοῦ προβεβασιλευκότος Ἰωάννου ἔχοντι τὸ ἀξίωμα. Καὶ δὴ μετὰ πολλῆς δορυφορίας ἀποστείλας τὴν Ἄνναν, τοὺς γάμους ἐτέλει· εἶτα καὶ τὸν Νικηφόρον εἰς ἑαυτὸν συγκαλέσας κατὰ τὴν Κωνσταντίνου, κρατύνει μὲν τὸ ἀξίωμα καί, τιμαῖς μεγαλύνας καὶ δώροις ἀγήλας, πρὸς τὰ οἰκεῖα ἐκπέμπει. Καὶ οὕτως τὰ κατὰ δύσιν καταστήσας, τὰ τῆς ἀνατολῆς πονοῦντα προσ ανεκτᾶτο, καὶ ἄλλους μὲν πλείστους προσαποστέλλων, ἐξαιρέτως δὲ τὸν δεσπότην Ἰωάννην, ᾧ δὴ ἐπεθάρρει αὐτάρκη τὴν τῶν κακουμένων ἐπικου ρίαν· ταῖς γὰρ ἀληθείαις, ἀσχολουμένου τοῦ βασιλέως τοῖς δυτικοῖς, ὡς δῆθεν ἀνακαλουμένου τῇ βασιλείᾳ τὸ λεῖπον, ἠσθένει τὰ καθ' ἕω διχόθεν, τῷ τε τὰς ἐκεῖ δυνάμεις πρὸς τὴν δύσιν ἐκπέμπεσθαι καὶ τῷ καταμελεῖσθαι μακρόθεν. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μέν, τῶν δυτικῶν ἡσυχασάντων, πέμπων ὁ βασιλεὺς ὡς οἷόν τε ἀνεκτᾶτο καὶ πρὸς τὸ πρότερον ἐπανῆγεν· οὐ γὰρ ἦν, οὐκ ἦν, τοῦ δεσπότου φανέντος ἐκεῖσε, τοὺς Πέρσας μὴ ἠρεμεῖν, ἢ μᾶλλον καὶ μὴ σὺν φόβῳ πλείονι ἀναστέλλεσθαι. κηʹ. Περὶ τοῦ φημισθέντος ψεύδους διὰ Τοχάρων ἐπιδρομὴν κατὰ Νίκαιαν. Τοῦ δ' αὐτοῦ ἔτους, μηνὸς κρονίου, τῶν θείων ἡμερῶν τῆς νηστείας τελουμένης, ἡμέρᾳ τῆς δευτέρας ἑβδομάδος δευτέρᾳ, συνέβη τῇ Νικαίᾳ ἐκ παραδόξου τε καὶ ἐξαίφνης πρᾶγμα