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such things, but for men, to fight. 31. However, to the eparch Monomachos, governor of 2.191 Thessaly, and to Synadenos the protostrator, then ruler of Thessalonica, and to Syrgiannes Delenouzias, the cousin of the emperor Andronikos, the son of the king of Cyprus, and himself ruler of Pherai, whose daughter the then grand domestic had betrothed to his son Manuel while the emperor Andronikos was still alive, the emperor sent an embassy, absolving himself of the blame for what had happened, saying that such revolutionary acts had not been committed from a treacherous and wicked intention, nor from a desire for imperial honor, but by those in Byzantium who had launched an undeclared war against him, and that he had been driven into these things unwillingly; whence also, since matters were urgent, and before he could communicate his decision to them, what seemed to be advantageous both for him and for all his companions had been accomplished. And he asked them not to be displeased by such things, as if they had been slighted, but if anything improper had happened, to attribute it to the necessity of the circumstances. The eparch, therefore, neither received the embassy, nor immediately moved toward war, but only forbade communication. Likewise also the protostrator accused the emperor of great forgetfulness of his friends, because he had overlooked him, who for many years had shown much proof of his goodwill toward him, as if he were someone of little difference from the many, and this when he was about to undertake such things. However, he did no harm to the ambassador, but ordered him to return again to the one who had sent him. But Syrgiannes, whether being angry from some older pretext, 2.192 or then for the first time was driven to suspicion and anger because he had been overlooked, rejected the words of the embassy as having nothing sound, but concocted with deceit, saying that, even if he was considered by him to be among those of no account, yet he himself would make it manifest by his own deeds that he was able both to help his friends and to harm his enemies in the greatest degree; and he led the ambassadors into the prison. They were Demetrios of Kassandreia and Laskaris, who held the rank of megas chartoularios. And since the emperor Kantakouzenos had in Pherai not only a multitude of cattle, but also of wheat and other produce, because he possessed great and numerous properties there, more so than in the other cities, he immediately made it all his own; for which reasons also he was more suspected of having chosen war against him, having perceived, as it seems, that he could gain more from the quarrel with him than from concord, even if he should enjoy from him the first and greatest honors. For not only was he immediately master of all those things, but he also hunted down his friends, of whom there were many in Pherai. And taking away the property of all of them, he punished them inhumanly. For indeed he was both especially inclined toward this before, and then he strove especially to leave no excess of cruelty untried. For by a great measure he surpassed those in Byzantium in 2.193 all things, except for outrage; for in this alone he showed himself to be temperate. And the betrothal of his daughter, which he had previously made to the emperor's son, he dissolved. At that time, therefore, since an extraordinary winter had set in, both the army from Byzantium and the one from Didymoteichon remained inactive, being unable to march against each other because of the winter. Meanwhile, the protostrator from Thessalonica, having changed his mind because he had rejected the emperor's embassy, sent one of his closest associates and was secretly communicating that he would hand over Thessalonica. For he had many collaborators there. And he advised him not to delay, but to come to him at the beginning of spring, as much benefit would come to him from that. Likewise also Hrelja, who had previously deserted to the emperor Andronikos from the Triballians, having a thousand soldiers and having handed over three cities, which, being subject to the Romans, the Triballians had seized during the war between the emperors Andronikos, when the Romans holding them surrendered them; this Hrelja, therefore, being strong in money and having an army

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τοιαῦτα, ἀνδράσι δὲ τὸ μάχεσθαι. λαʹ. Πρὸς μέντοι τὸν ἔπαρχον τὸν Μονομάχον ἐπιτρο 2.191 πεύοντα Θεσσαλίας καὶ Συναδηνὸν τὸν πρωτοστράτορα Θεσσαλονίκης τότε ἄρχοντα καὶ Συργὴν Ντελενουζίαν τὸν βασιλέως Ἀνδρονίκου ἀνεψιὸν, τὸν Κύπρου ῥηγὸς υἱὸν, Φερῶν καὶ αὐτὸν ἄρχοντα, οὗ καὶ τὴν θυγατέρα, τοῦ βασιλέως Ἀνδρονίκου περιόντος ἔτι, τῷ υἱῷ Μανουὴλ ὁ τότε μέγας δομέστικος κατηγγύησε, πρεσβείαν πέπομφεν ὁ βασιλεὺς, αἰτίας ἑαυτὸν ἐπὶ τοῖς γεγενημένοις ἀπολύων, ὡς οὐκ ἀπὸ γνώμης ἐπιβούλου καὶ πονηρᾶς, οὐδ' ἐπιθυμίᾳ τιμῆς βασιλικῆς τὰ τοιαῦτα νεωτερισθείη, ἀλλ' ὑπὸ τῶν ἐν Βυζαντίῳ πόλεμον ἀκήρυκτον ἐξενεγκόντων κατ' αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἄκων εἰς ταῦτα ἐξενηνεγμένος· ὅθεν καὶ τῶν πραγμάτων ἐπειγόντων, καὶ πρὶν αὐτοῖς κοινώσασθαι τὴν γνώμην, ἃ αὐτῷ τε καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς συνοῦσι λυσιτελεῖν ἐδόκει καταπεπράχθαι. ἠξίου τε μὴ διὰ τὰ τοιαῦτα δυσχεραίνειν ὡς περιοφθέντας, ἀλλ' εἴ τι καὶ τῶν μὴ δεόντων γένοιτο, ἀνάγκῃ τῶν πραγμάτων προσλογίζεσθαι. ἔπαρχος μὲν οὖν οὔτε τὴν πρεσβείαν προσεδέξατο, οὔτ' εὐθὺς πρὸς πόλεμον ἐκινήθη, ἀλλὰ τὴν κοινωνίαν μόνον ἀπηγόρευεν. ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ πρωτοστράτωρ πολλὴν τοῦ βασιλέως ἀμνημοσύνην τῶν φίλων κατηγόρει, ὅτι δὴ αὐτὸν πολλὴν τῆς εἰς ἐκεῖνον εὐνοίας ἐκ πολλῶν ἐτῶν ἀπόδειξιν ἐπιδεδειγμένον, ὥς τινα τῶν πολλῶν ὀλίγον διαφέροντα περιεῖδε, καὶ ταῦτα τοιούτοις μέλλων ἐγχειρεῖν. οὐδὲν μέντοι δεινὸν εἴργαστο τὸν πρεσβευτὴν, ἀλλ' ἐκέλευεν αὖθις ἀναστρέφειν πρὸς τὸν πέμψαντα. Συργὴς δὲ εἴτε καὶ ἐκ προφάσεώς τινος 2.192 ἀρχαιοτέρας μηνίων, εἴτε καὶ τότε πρῶτον ἐκ τοῦ παρεωρᾶσθαι ὑπωπτευκέναι πρὸς ὀργὴν ἐξήγετο, τούς τε λόγους τῆς πρεσβείας ὡς ἔχοντας οὐδὲν ὑγιὲς, ἀλλ' ἀπάτῃ συνεσκευασμένους, ἀπεπέμπετο, φάσκων ὡς, εἰ καὶ παρ' ἐκείνῳ τῶν μηδενὸς ἀξίων ἐνομίσθη, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς αὐτοῖς ἔργοις ποιήσειν καταφανὲς, ὡς τούς τε φίλους ὠφελεῖν καὶ τοὺς πολεμίους βλάπτειν δύναιτο τὰ μέγιστα· καὶ τοὺς πρέσβεις εἰς τὸ δεσμωτήριον εἰσῆγεν. οἳ ∆ημήτριός τε ἦσαν ὁ Κασανδρηνὸς καὶ Λάσκαρις, ὃς ἦν μέγας χαρτουλάριος τὴν ἀξίαν. ὄντος δὲ ἐν Φεραῖς οὐ βοσκημάτων μόνον πλήθους Καντακουζηνῷ τῷ βασιλεῖ, ἀλλὰ καὶ πυῤῥῶν καὶ καρπῶν τῶν ἄλλων, διὰ τὸ μεγάλας καὶ πλείστας κτήσεις μᾶλλον, ἢ κατὰ τὰς ἄλλας πόλεις ἐνταυθοῖ κεκτῆσθαι, πάντα ἐποιεῖτο ἴδια εὐθύς· δι' ἃ καὶ μᾶλλον ὑπωπτεύθη τὸν πρὸς ἐκεῖνον πόλεμον ᾑρῆσθαι, συνιδὼν, ὡς ἔοικεν, ὡς ἐκ τῆς διαφορᾶς τῆς πρὸς ἐκεῖνον μείζω δύναιτο καρποῦσθαι, ἢ τῆς ὁμονοίας, εἴγε καὶ τῶν πρώτων καὶ μεγίστων ἀπολαύοι παρ' αὐτῷ τιμῶν. οὐ μόνον γὰρ ἐκείνων τοσούτων ὄντων κύριος ἦν εὐθὺς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς φίλους διηρεύνα, οἳ ἦσαν ἐν Φεραῖς πολλοί. καὶ πάντων τὰς οὐσίας ἀφαιρούμενος, ἐκόλαζεν ἀπανθρώπως. ἦν γὰρ δὴ πρὸς τοῦτο πρότερόν τε ἔχων μάλιστα ἐπιῤῥεπῶς καὶ τότε μάλιστα ἐφιλονείκησε μηδεμίαν ὠμότητος ὑπερβολὴν ἀπολιπεῖν. πολλῷ γὰρ τῷ μέτρῳ τοὺς ἐν Βυζαντίῳ παρήλασεν ἐν 2.193 πᾶσι, πλὴν τῆς ὕβρεως· ἐν τούτῳ γὰρ μόνῳ σωφρονοῦντα ἑαυτὸν παρέσχετο. τήν τε μνηστείαν τῆς θυγατρὸς, ἣν πρότερον πρὸς τὸν βασιλέως υἱὸν πεποίητο, διέλυσε. τότε μὲν οὖν χειμῶνος ἐξαισίου ἐπιγενομένου, ἥ τε ἐκ Βυζαντίου καὶ ἡ ἐκ ∆ιδυμοτείχου στρατιὰ ἡσύχαζον, μὴ δυνάμενοι ἀλλήλοις ἀντεπεξιέναι διὰ τὸν χειμῶνα. ἐν τούτῳ δὲ καὶ ὁ πρωτοστράτωρ ἐκ Θεσσαλονίκης, ὅτι τὴν βασιλέως ἀπείπατο πρεσβείαν, μεταμεληθεὶς, τῶν οἰκειοτάτων πέμψας τινὰ, κρύφα διελέγετο ὡς Θεσσαλονίκην παραδώσων. εἶναι γὰρ αὐτῷ τοὺς συμπράττοντας ἐκεῖ πολλούς. συνεβούλευέ τε μὴ μέλλειν, ἀλλ' ἅμα ἦρι ἥκειν πρὸς αὐτὸν, ὡς πολλῆς αὐτῷ ὠφελείας ἐσομένης ἐξ ἐκείνου. ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ Χρέλης, ὃς ἦν πρότερον πρὸς Ἀνδρόνικον τὸν βασιλέα ηὐτομοληκὼς ἐκ Τριβαλῶν, στρατιώτας τε ἔχων χιλίους καὶ πόλεις τρεῖς παραδεδωκὼς, ἃς Ῥωμαίων οὔσας ὑπηκόους κατὰ τὸν πρὸς ἀλλήλους τῶν Ἀνδρονίκων βασιλέων πόλεμον κατέσχον οἱ Τριβαλοὶ, τῶν κατεχόντων Ῥωμαίων παραδόντων· οὗτος δὴ οὖν ὁ Χρέλης χρήμασί τε ἐῤῥωμένος καὶ στρατιὰν ἔχων