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When Asan had withdrawn, and Terter had taken the rule of the Bulgarians, he decided to go over to Nogai and beseeches him for aid. But the emperor, on the other hand, was not neglectful, but also himself sent Asan to Nogai along with many gifts, asking him not to overlook the ruler from the line of the Bulgarians, but to aid him as he was a brother and in need of his own rights. 591 Nogai, however, received both Lachanas, who had arrived earlier, and also received Asan graciously; however, he accepted the gifts of both, but caused them unenviable trouble. For holding them for a long time and carrying them about with him—for the embassy of both was one and the same against Terter, even if among themselves they disputed the kingdom with each other and were greatly at odds—he did nothing, but wasted time, promising his support now to this one, now to the other; and they, even unwillingly, were subject to his inclinations. Finally, he holds a symposium, and as they drank the drinking went on for a long time. And when they were full of wine and their reason was led astray, immediately Nogai, as if leaping up from sleep and then remembering their disputes—for he had Asan sitting beside him, but Lachanas and his protostrator Tzasimpaxis further off, yet on either side—orders his men, so unconcernedly, as if he were about to do nothing, to seize Lachanas as he was sitting there. And he said that this man is an enemy of my father and emperor and is not worthy to live at all, but to be cut down; and they, suddenly seizing his hands on both sides, plunged a knife into his throat and killed him as he fell there. Then again, seeing Tzasimpaxis, he ordered the worst for him too, and indeed the attendant killed him at once, plunging a cleaver into his neck. Then Asan, looking at the spectacle, was utterly petrified and had the greatest fear for himself, and he would have suffered the same things then, if Euphrosyne had not protected him and sent him away after a short while. But so much for these matters.

20. How the emperor Andronikos campaigns in the east. The emperor, learning that affairs in the east were again in a sorry state, ever since the despotes John had departed from mankind, which had afforded such a truce to the Persians that they grew strong enough to attack and harm the Romans—for affairs in the Maeander region and Caria and Antioch had already come to an end, 593 and the regions further inland from these were terribly weakened and in need of a healer, and the regions of Cayster and Priene were being captured, and now the regions of Miletus were also being captured, and Magedon and its neighboring territories were being destroyed due to the great lack of anyone to prevent it—he decided it was necessary to send his son and emperor Andronikos along with the eastern forces. And so, having arrived with the empress, he put matters there in order, having around him, along with many other magnates, both the megas domestikos Michael Tarchaneiotes, whom they also called Palaiologos from his mother's side and later raised to the dignity of protovestiarios, and the parakoimomenos of the great seal Nostongos and with them as many as possible who managed the ducal offices. The emperor Andronikos, while passing through the Maeander region, also saw a very large city, Tralles, and indeed he was captivated by the charms of the place, and the thought came to him to rebuild it, since it had fallen, and to settle there those who had been driven out along with many others and, once it was established, to give it his own name, so that henceforth it would be called not Tralles, but Andronikopolis, or if you will, Palaiologopolis. He therefore applied the greatest diligence to it and, having appointed the megas domestikos, he ordered him to rebuild it with all speed. So as they set to the work and made progress in rebuilding, their zeal for the labor was increased still more by an oracle found there, inscribed on a marble stone, to the effect that someone would raise it up after it had fallen and restore it to a better state than before; which indeed seemed to be similar in every respect both to what was being done and to the one who would raise it up, so that

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ἀποχωρήσαντος μὲν τοῦ Ἀσάν, τοῦ Τερτερῆ δὲ τὴν τῶν Βουλγάρων λαβόντος ἀρχήν, ἔγνω Νογᾷ προσχωρεῖν καί οἱ ἀμύνειν καθι κετεύει. Οὐ μὴν δὲ καὶ βασιλεὺς ἑτέρωθεν κατημέλει, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸς πρὸς Νογᾶν τὸν Ἀσὰν πέμπει συνάμα καὶ δώροις πλείστοις, ἀξιῶν μὴ παριδεῖν 591 τὸν ἐκ γένους Βουλγάρων ἄρχοντα, ἀλλὰ προσεπαμύνειν ἀδελφῷ γε ὄντι καὶ τῶν καθ' ἑαυτὸν δικαίων χρῄζοντι. Ὁ μέντοι γε Νογᾶς δέχεται μὲν καὶ Λαχα νᾶν, ἐλθόντα πρότερον, δέχεται δὲ καὶ Ἀσὰν εὐμενῶς· πλὴν δῶρα μὲν δέκτο καὶ ἀμφοτέρων, πόνον δ' ἀμέγαρτον ὤφελλε. Κατέχων γὰρ ἐκείνους ἐπὶ πολὺ καί γε περιφέρων μεθ' ἑαυτοῦἡ γὰρ πρεσβεία μία ἦν ἀμφοτέροις κατὰ τοῦ Τερτερῆ, εἰ καὶ καθ' ἑαυτοὺς ἠμφισβήτουν πρὸς ἀλλήλους τῆς βασιλείας καὶ πλεῖστον ὅσον διενηνεγμένοι ἦσαν, οὐδὲν ἐκεῖνος ἐποίει, ἀλλ' ἔτριβε χρόνον, ποτὲ μὲν τούτῳ, ποτὲ δὲ θατέρῳ προσυπισχνούμενος· ἐδού λευον δ' ἐκεῖνοι καὶ ἄκοντες ταῖς ῥοπαῖς. Τέλος καθίζει συμπόσιον, καὶ ὁ πότος ἐς πολὺ προέβαινε πίνουσιν. Ὡς δὲ μέθυος ἦσαν πλήρεις καὶ ὁ λογισμὸς ἐκείνοις παρήγετο, εὐθὺς ὁ Νογᾶς, οἷον ἐξ ὕπνου θορὼν καὶ τῶν ἀμφισβητήσεων ἐκείνων ὡς ἦν τότε μνησάμενοςκαὶ γὰρ τὸν μὲν Ἀσὰν παρ' ἑαυτῷ εἶχε καθήμενον, Λαχανᾶν δὲ καὶ τὸν αὐτοῦ πρωτοστράτορα Τζασίμπαξιν ἑκαστοτέρω, πλὴν ἐφ' ἑκάτερα, προστάσσει τοῖς αὐτοῦ ἀπεριμερίμνως οὕτως, ὥσπερ μηδὲν πράττειν μέλλων, κατασχεῖν τὸν Λαχανᾶν ὡς εἶχεν ἐκεῖνος καθήμενος. Καὶ τὸν μὲν εἰπεῖν ὡς οὗτος ἐχθρός ἐστι τοῦ πατρός μου καὶ βασιλέως καὶ ζῆν ὅλως οὐκ ἄξιος, ἀλλὰ τέμνεσθαι· ἐκείνους δ' ἐξαπιναίως κατασχόντας τὰς χεῖρας ἑκατέρωθεν μάχαιραν ἐμβαλεῖν τῷ φάρυγγι καὶ φονεύειν ἐκεῖσε πεσόντα. Εἶτ' αὖθις καὶ τὸν Τζασίμπαξιν θεασάμενον, προστάξαι καὶ κατ' ἐκείνου τὰ χείριστα, καὶ δὴ κἀκεῖνον εὐθὺς κτείνειν τὸν ὑπηρέτην, ἐμβαλόντα τῷ αὐχένι κοπίδα. Τότε καὶ ὁ Ἀσὰν βλέπων πρὸς τὴν θέαν ὅλως ἀπο πέπηκτο καὶ περὶ ἑαυτῷ φόβον εἶχε τὸν μέγιστον, κἂν τὰ ὅμοια κἀκεῖνος τότε πεπόνθει, εἰ μή γε ἡ Εὐφροσύνη περιποιησαμένη ἀπέπεμπε μετ' ὀλίγον. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἐς τοσοῦτον.

κʹ. Ὅπως ἐκστρατεύει ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἀνδρόνικος εἰς ἀνατολήν. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεύς, καὶ πάλιν τὰ κατὰ τὴν ἀνατολὴν νοσοῦντα μαθών, ἐξ ὅτου περ ὁ δεσπότης Ἰωάννης ἐξ ἀνθρώπων γεγονὼς ἐκεχειρίαν παρεῖχεν ἐς τοσοῦτον Πέρσαις ὥστε καὶ ἰσχύειν Ῥωμαίοις ἐπιτίθεσθαι καὶ κακοῦντὰ γὰρ κατὰ Μαίανδρον καὶ Καρίαν καὶ Ἀντιόχειαν ἤδη καὶ τετελευτήκει, τὰ 593 δὲ τούτων καὶ ἔτι ἐνδοτέρω δεινῶς ἐξησθένει καὶ τοῦ ἰατρεύσοντος ἔχρῃζον, καὶ ἡλίσκοντο μὲν τὰ κατὰ Κάϋστρον καὶ Πριήνην, ἡλίσκοντο δ' ἤδη καὶ τὰ κατὰ Μίλητον, καὶ Μαγεδὼν καὶ τὰ πρόσχωρα κατὰ πολλὴν τοῦ κωλύσοντος ἐρημίαν ἐξηφανίζοντο, δεῖν ἔγνω τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ βασιλέα Ἀνδρόνικον συνάμα καὶ ταῖς κατ' ἀνατολὴν δυνάμεσι πέμπειν. Καὶ δὴ παραγεγονὼς ἅμα δεσποίνῃ, τἀκεῖ καθίστα, ἔχων ἀμφ' αὑτὸν σὺν πολλοῖς ἄλλοις μεγιστᾶσι τόν τε μέγαν δομέστικον Μιχαὴλ τὸν Ταρχα νειώτην, ὃν δὴ καὶ Παλαιολόγον ἔγραφον μητρωνυμικῶς καὶ ἐς πρωτο βεστιαρίου ἀνῆγον τιμὴν ἐσύστερον, καὶ τὸν παρακοιμώμενον τῆς μεγάλης σφενδόνης Νοστόγγον καὶ σὺν αὐτοῖς ὅτι πλείστους τὰ τῶν δουλειῶν διευθύνοντας. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς Ἀνδρόνικος, τὸ παρὰ Μαίανδρον διερχόμενος, εἶδε καὶ πόλιν μεγίστην, τὰς Τράλλεις, καὶ δὴ ἑάλω τε ταῖς τοῦ τόπου χάρισι, καί οἱ λογισμὸς ἐπῄει ἀνεγείρειν πεσοῦσαν καὶ τοὺς ἐξῳκηκότας ἐκεῖθεν σὺν ἄλλοις πλείστοις οἰκίζειν καὶ καταστάσῃ παρέχειν τὸ ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ ὄνομα, ὡς μὴ Τράλλεις ἐντεῦθεν, ἀλλ' Ἀνδρονικόπολιν, εἴτ' οὖν Παλαιολο γόπολιν, ὀνομάζεσθαι. Σπουδὴν γοῦν τὴν μεγίστην περὶ ἐκείνην εἰσῆγε καί, τὸν μέγαν δομέστικον ἐπιστήσας, ἀνοικοδομεῖν ἐκέλευε τὴν ταχίστην. Ὡς γοῦν ἔργου ἥπτοντο καὶ προὔκοπτον ἀνοικοδομοῦντες, τὴν εἰς τὸ πονεῖν προθυμίαν καὶ μᾶλλον ἐπηύξει χρησμὸς εὑρεθεὶς ἐκεῖσε, ἐγγεγραμμένος μαρμάρῳ, ὡς δῆθεν ἀναστήσοντός τινος ταύτην πεσοῦσαν καὶ πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον ἢ πρότερον ἐπανάξοντος· ὃς δὴ καὶ παρεμφερὴς ἐῴκει πρός τε τὰ πραττόμενα καὶ τὸν ἀναστήσοντα κατὰ πάντα, ὥστ'