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we will deliberately act as generals for the enemy. So what could be more pleasant and advantageous for them than for us ourselves, through our folly, to do what they would consider worthy of a prayer? Besides, since Alexander has not even furnished us with a just pretext for the war, we would be in the wrong if we were not willing to come to terms. For he did not campaign against us, but came for another reason and harmed us unintentionally; so both because the war is not advantageous for us and because we have not received a just pretext, peace should rather be chosen.” After saying such things, he summoned the ambassadors and negotiated concerning a truce. And since they too were ready to come to terms, having given them gifts, he sent them away to their camp. And having sent an embassy to Alexander, he himself also confirmed the truce. But when the rulers wished to meet with each other for a greater confirmation of their friendship, a severe winter that set in prevented it; because of 2.183 which the Mysian army, being unable to endure in their tents, departed for their own land, since some of their soldiers and horses perished from the cold. After this, the emperor Kantakouzenos again sent an embassy to the empress concerning peace. And he requested that they should not, because of their previous ill counsel, attempt the same or even worse things, but that, seeing from what was happening that the war would not be advantageous, but would utterly destroy the Romans’ affairs, they should choose peace. For he himself, too, although able to defend himself with equal measures, was especially willing to put an end to the war for the sake of the common good. The ambassadors were both Demetrios Sgouropoulos, who had come on the previous embassy, and John Pothos, who was counted among the household of Angelos the cupbearer. Now, to the embassy those in Byzantium managing the empress's affairs answered nothing. But one of the ambassadors, after insulting him a little, they held in custody; but Sgouropoulos, after inflicting many blows and shaving his beard and head, they paraded through the public square. Then they kept him in stocks, having locked him in prison. The difference in punishment was caused by the fact that one was from the emperor’s household, against whom it was necessary to show all bitterness and to omit no excess of insolence; both because they believed they were dishonoring him through these acts, and so that they might provoke him to defense, having laid aside his thoughts about peace. 2.184 For they were afraid that if the empress also chose peace, they themselves would be destroyed, having been shown to be most responsible for the present evils. And they considered releasing Pothos from prison after a short time and sending him to the Cupbearer, promising many wonderful things if, having deserted the emperor, he should choose rather to fight against him with them. For this reason they also treated him somewhat more gently. A little later, having seized Syrales as he was crossing to Chios on the emperor's business, because he too was one of his closest associates, they brought him to Byzantium and, having cut off his hair and beard, and having placed him on a donkey facing its rump, they forced him to hold the donkey's tail for greater insult. And in this manner they paraded him in triumph. 30. And when all the cities in Thrace except for the cities of Pamphilos and Koprinos and a certain fortress called Empythion, which the emperor had built from its very foundations near Didymoteichon many years before, revolted together to the empress, as if by signal the emperor’s possessions, scattered throughout almost all of them, were plundered, which also persuaded those in each place to become hostile toward him, seeing that the profit of war was not small, and also the possessions of those attached to him either truly, or even suspected for some reason. Now, the amount of money belonging to both the emperor and his mother which was plundered in Byzantium and the other cities by those acting for the empress 2.185 is not possible to state very clearly, since not even those who had it knew it accurately because of its great quantity. Of livestock, there were many herds of oxen, having up to five thousand head; and a thousand yoke of oxen, which he used for farming; grazing mares

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αὐτῶν ἐξεπίτηδες στρατηγήσομεν τοῖς πολεμίοις. ὥστε τί ἂν εἴη μᾶλλον ἐκείνοις ἥδιον καὶ λυσιτελέστερον, ἢ ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς ὑπ' ἀβουλίας ἃ ἐκείνοις εὐχῆς ἄξια νομίζεται, ποιεῖν; ἄλλως τε οὐδὲ Ἀλεξάνδρου πρόφασιν ἡμῖν δικαίαν πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον παρεσχημένου, ἀδικοίημεν ἂν, εἰ μὴ διαλύεσθαι ἐθέλοιμεν. οὐ γὰρ ἡμῖν γε ἐπεστράτευσεν, ἀλλ' ἐφ' ἑτέραν πρόφασιν ἐλθὼν, ἄκων ἔβλαψεν ἡμᾶς· ὥστε καὶ ἐκ τοῦ μὴ λυσιτελεῖν ἡμῖν τὸν πόλεμον καὶ ἐκ τοῦ μὴ πρόφασιν δικαίαν εἰληφέναι τὴν εἰρήνην μᾶλλον αἱρετέον.» τοιαῦτα εἰπὼν, τοὺς πρέσβεις προσεκαλεῖτο καὶ ἐχρημάτιζε περὶ σπονδῶν. καὶ ἐπεὶ κἀκεῖνοι διαλύεσθαι ἦσαν ἕτοιμοι, αὐτοῖς μὲν δῶρα παρασχὼν, ἀπέπεμπεν εἰς τὸ στρατόπεδον. πρεσβείαν δὲ πέμψας πρὸς Ἀλέξανδρον, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐβεβαίου τὰς σπονδάς. βουλομένων δὲ τῶν βασιλέων καὶ ἀλλήλοις συνελθεῖν ἐπὶ φιλίας μᾶλλον βεβαιώσει, διεκώλυσεν ὁ χειμὼν ἐπιγενόμενος σφοδρός· ὑφ' 2.183 οὐ μὴ δυνάμενον τὸ στράτευμα Μυσῶν διακαρτερεῖν ἐπὶ σκηναῖς ἀνεζεύγνυον εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν, στρατιωτῶν τε καὶ ἵππων αὐτοῖς ὑπὸ κρύους τινῶν ἀπολομένων. μετὰ τοῦτο δὲ βασιλεὺς ὁ Καντακουζηνὸς πρὸς βασιλίδα πρεσβείαν αὖθις πέπομφε περὶ εἰρήνης. ἠξίου τε, μὴ διὰ τὴν προτέραν κακοβουλίαν τοῖς ἴσοις ἢ καὶ χείροσιν ἐπιχειρεῖν, ἀλλὰ συνιδόντας ἐκ τῶν πραττομένων, ὡς οὐκ ἂν λυσιτελήσειεν ὁ πόλεμος, ἀλλὰ τὰ Ῥωμαίων ἄρδην διαφθερεῖ, αἱρεῖσθαι τὴν εἰρήνην. καὶ γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸν, καίτοι δυνάμενον ἀμύνεσθαι τοῖς ἴσοις, καταθέσθαι μάλιστα τὸν πόλεμον ἐθέλειν τοῦ κοινῇ λυσιτελοῦντος ἕνεκα. ἐπρέσβευον δὲ ὅ,τε πρότερον ἥκων εἰς πρεσβείαν ∆ημήτριος ὁ Σγουρόπουλος καὶ ὁ Πόθος Ἰωάννης, τοῖς Ἀγγέλῳ τῷ πιγκέρνῃ οἰκείοις συγκατειλεγμένος. πρὸς μὲν οὖν τὴν πρεσβείαν οἱ ἐν Βυζαντίῳ τὰ βασιλίδος διοικοῦντες ἀπεκρίναντο οὐδέν. τῶν πρέσβεων δὲ τὸν ἕτερον μὲν ὀλίγα λοιδορήσαντες, εἶχον ἐν φρουρᾷ· Σγουρόπουλον δὲ πολλὰς αἰκισάμενοι πληγὰς καὶ τὴν ὑπήνην περικείραντες καὶ κεφαλὴν, ἐπόμπευον ἐπὶ τῆς δημοσίας ἀγορᾶς. εἶθ' ὑπὸ κλοιοῖς κατεῖχον κατακλείσαντες δεσμωτηρίῳ. τὴν διαφορὰν δὲ τῆς τιμωρίας ἐνεποίει τὸ τὸν μὲν ἐκ τῶν οἰκείων βασιλέως εἶναι, εἰς οὓς ἔδει πᾶσαν ἐνδείκνυσθαι πικρίαν καὶ μηδημίαν ὕβρεως ἐλλείπειν ὑπερβολήν· ἅμα μὲν κἀκεῖνον δι' αὐτῶν ἡγουμένους ἀτιμοῦν, ἅμα δ' ἵνα καὶ πρὸς ἄμυναν διερεθίζωσιν, ἀποθέμενον τοὺς περὶ τῆς εἰρήνης λογισμούς. 2.184 ἐδεδίεσαν γὰρ, μὴ καὶ τῆς βασιλίδος τὴν εἰρήνην ἑλομένης, ἀπόλωνται αὐτοὶ, τῶν παρόντων κακῶν αἰτιώτατοι ὀφθέντες. τὸν Πόθον δὲ ἐσκέπτοντο μετὰ μικρὸν τοῦ δεσμωτηρίου ἀπολύσαντες, Πιγκέρνῃ προσπέμψαι, πολλὰ ἐπαγγελλόμενοι καὶ θαυμαστὰ, εἰ βασιλέως ἀποστὰς ἕλοιτο μᾶλλον σὺν αὐτοῖς ἐκείνῳ πολεμεῖν. διὸ καὶ προσηνέστερόν πως προσηνέχθησαν. ὀλίγῳ δὲ ὕστερον καὶ Συραλὴν κρατήσαντες πρὸς Χίον διαπεραιούμενον ἐπὶ βασιλέως, ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸς τῶν οἰκειοτάτων ἐκείνῳ ἦν, ἀγαγόντες πρὸς Βυζάντιον καὶ τρίχας καὶ γένειον περιελόντες, ὄνῳ τε ἐπιθέντες τετραμμένον ἐπὶ τὸν πρωκτὸν, ἠνάγκαζον τὴν ὄνου κατέχειν οὐρὰν ἐφ' ὕβρει πλείονι. καὶ τοῦτον ἐθριάμβευον τὸν τρόπον. λʹ. Ἐπεὶ δὲ αἱ πόλεις πᾶσαι πλὴν Παμφίλου καὶ Κοπρίνου πόλεων κατὰ τὴν Θρᾴκην καὶ φρουρίου τινὸς Ἐμπυθίου προσαγορευομένου, ὃπερ ἐγγὺς ∆ιδυμοτείχου πολλοῖς πρότερον χρόνοις ἐξ αὐτῶν κρηπίδων ἐδείματο ὁ βασιλεὺς, πρὸς βασιλίδα συναπέστησαν, ὥσπερ ἐκ συνθήματος τά τε βασιλέως διηρπάζετο ἐν πάσαις σχεδὸν διεσπαρμένα, ἃ καὶ μᾶλλον ἔπεισε τοὺς ἑκασταχοῦ ἐκπολεμωθῆναι πρὸς αὐτὸν, ὁρῶντας οὐκ ὀλίγον τὸ κέρδος τοῦ πολέμου, καὶ τὰ τῶν ἐκείνῳ προσεχόντων ἢ ἀληθῶς, ἢ καὶ ὑποπτευομένων ἔκ τινος αἰτίας. τὸν μὲν οὖν τῶν χρημάτων ἀριθμὸν, ὅσος ἐν Βυζαντίῳ καὶ ταῖς ἄλλαις πόλεσιν ὑπὸ τῶν τὰ βασιλίδος 2.185 πραττόντων διηρπάγη βασιλέως τε καὶ τῆς μητρὸς, σαφέστατα εἰπεῖν οὐκ ἔστιν, οὐδὲ τῶν ἐχόντων αὐτῶν εἰδότων ὑπὸ πλήθους ἀκριβῶς. βοσκημάτων δὲ βοῶν μὲν ἀγέλαι πολλαὶ, ἐς πεντακισχιλίας ἔχουσαι νομάδας· ζεύγη δὲ, οἷς ἐχρῆτο πρὸς τὰς γεωργίας, χίλια· ἵπποι θήλειαι νεμόμεναι