272

to inform the empress of what was happening, then he went in to the emperor's mother. But being unable to utter anything because of fear of the rulers, having eluded the guards following him as best he could, he indicated by a gesture to cut the vein in her arm, then he went out without having uttered a single word. But the women, again begging the rulers to bring in someone skilled in cutting veins, were not permitted. Therefore, overcome by the fever and deemed worthy of no care at all, she died on the sixth of the month of January, it being the tenth indiction of the #22nd year. When she was already dying, the sister of the emperor Andronikos, who formerly had been married to Michael, the king of the Mysians, then, after he died, having returned to her brother and left her life in the palace, chose to become a nun and was renamed Theodosia from Theodora, having learned about the emperor's mother, that she was dying, and as if repaying the good deeds previously done by her, for she had shown great goodwill toward her, came to her in prison and remained until her death. Then, taking out the corpse to the monastery, named after Martha, her maternal grandmother, 2.223 the sister of the first emperor of the Palaiologoi, Michael, she laid it in the ancestral tombs. Then returning from there to the empress, she reported the cruelty and inhumanity of the rulers, which they had displayed toward her until her death. But she swore on oath that she knew nothing of what had happened, except that she had ordered her to be imprisoned, and she herself condemned their great harshness. After her death, her property and that of her son were searched, and many of their things were found, especially since the patriarch had also pronounced excommunication against those holding them, which he had as a sort of bodyguard, serving all his lawless desires most sharply. Fearing this, many of those who had things brought what they were keeping and handed it over; but others, despising it as happening unjustly, for the time being held on to them, but later, all things being revealed by those who knew, were spent. So many were the things found, that although many had previously shared them, and some Apokaukos the megas doux was holding, and others Gabalas the protosebastos, for he, co-ruling with the megas doux, managed public affairs and was a mediator for the empress, and Kinnamos the mystikos being then treasurer of the imperial funds, and many other eunuchs who held power, nevertheless spending from what remained, they waged the war against the emperor; so 2.224 infinite in number were they. But the empress, having discussed peace many times with the patriarch and the other rulers of affairs, was able to accomplish none of the necessary things, since they already held all power by force and would not accept peace even with the tips of their ears. And to seem to be choosing things that were at once just and advantageous both to the empress and to themselves, they sent out spies, forsooth, to the emperor Kantakouzenos, then receiving them on their return, they brought them before the empress, falsely accusing him of many other things and that he openly boasted to his companions, that if he should prevail in the war, he would only kill the empress and the emperor her son, having dishonored them in no way; but to the patriarch and the others who raised the present war against him, after many tortures he would bring a shameful and most violent death. And they, being present immediately by agreement to what was said, made the greatest pretext of not being able to willingly subject themselves to so great a danger, by entrusting themselves through the seeming peace to one who was so raging against them, and they immediately voted that it was necessary to fight him with all zeal and eagerness, and if anyone should say anything about peace with him, to consider him also an enemy. And when the emperor Kantakouzenos marched out toward the west and Apokaukos the megas doux led the entire Roman command, the 2.225 from the mainland and

272

τῶν γινομένων μηνύσειν βασιλίδι, ἔπειτα πρὸς βασιλέως εἰσῄει τὴν μητέρα. μηδὲν δὲ δυνάμενος διὰ τὸ ἐκ τῶν ἀρχόντων δέος φθέγγεσθαι, τοὺς ἑπομένους φύλακας ὡς ἐνῆν διαλαθὼν, νεύματι ἐσήμαινε τὴν ἐν ἀγκῶνι φλέβα τέμνειν, ἔπειτα ἐξῄει μηδὲν τὸ σύνολον φθεγξάμενος. αἱ γυναῖκες δὲ αὖθις τῶν ἀρχόντων δεηθεῖσαι τὸν τέμνειν φλέβας ἐπιστάμενον εἰσάγειν οὐ συνεχωροῦντο. ὅθεν ὑπὸ τοῦ πυρετοῦ κατεργασθεῖσα καὶ μηδεμιᾶς ὅλως προνοίας ἀξιωθεῖσα, ἐτελεύτησεν ἕκτῃ μηνὸς Ἰανουαρίου δεκάτης οὔσης ἰνδικτιῶνος τοῦ #22ωνʹ ἔτους. τελευτώσης δὲ ἤδη, ἡ τοῦ βασιλέως Ἀνδρονίκου ἀδελφὴ, ἣ πρότερον μὲν Μιχαὴλ τῷ Μυσῶν συνῴκησε βασιλεῖ, ἔπειτα, ἐκείνου τελευτήσαντος, πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἐπανελθοῦσα καὶ τὴν ἐν βασιλείοις διατριβὴν καταλιποῦσα, μονάζειν εἵλετο καὶ Θεοδοσία ἐκ Θεοδώρας μετωνομάσθη, πυθομένη περὶ τῆς βασιλέως μητρὸς, ὅτι τελευτᾷ, καὶ ὥσπερ ἀμειβομένη τῶν παρ' ἐκείνης πρότερον ὑπηργμένων ἀγαθῶν, πολλὴν γὰρ εἰς ἐκείνην ἐπεδείκνυτο τὴν εὔνοιαν, ἀφίκετό τε εἰς τὸ δεσμωτήριον πρὸς αὐτὴν καὶ παρέμεινεν ἄχρι τελευτῆς. ἔπειτα τὸν νεκρὸν ἐξαγαγοῦσα παρὰ τὴν μονὴν, τῆς πρὸς μητρὸς ἐκείνης μάμμης 2.223 ἀδελφῆς τοῦ πρώτου τῶν Παλαιολόγων βασιλέως Μιχαὴλ τῆς Μάρθας προσαγορευομένην, ἐν τοῖς πατρῴοις κατέθηκε τάφοις. ἔπειτα ἐκεῖθεν πρὸς βασιλίδα ἀναστρέψασα, ἀπήγγειλε τὴν ὠμότητα καὶ τὴν ἀπανθρωπίαν τῶν ἀρχόντων, ἣν περὶ ἐκείνην ἐνεδείξαντο ἄχρι τελευτῆς. ἡ δ' ὅρκοις διεβεβαιοῦτο, μηδὲν εἰδέναι τῶν γεγενημένων, πλὴν ὅτι εἴργεσθαι προσετέτακτο παρ' αὐτῆς, κατεγίνωσκέ τε καὶ αὐτὴ πολλὴν ἐκείνων τὴν ἀπήνειαν. μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἐκείνης τελευτὴν τὰ χρήματα ἐκείνης τε καὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ διηρευνᾶτο καὶ πολλὰ ἐκείνων ἐξευρίσκετο, μάλιστα δ' ὅτι καὶ πατριάρχης κατὰ τῶν ἐχόντων ἐξεῖπεν ἀφορισμὸν, ὃν εἶχεν ὥσπερ τινὰ δορυφόρον ταῖς παρανόμοις ἐπιθυμίαις πάσαις ὀξύτατα ὑπηρετοῦντα. ὃν οἱ πολλοὶ τῶν ἐχόντων δείσαντες, φέροντες τὰ φυλαττόμενα παρεῖχον· οἱ δὲ καὶ ὡς παρὰ δίκην γινομένου καταφρονοῦντες, τέως μὲν κατεῖχον, χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον ὑπὸ τῶν συνειδότων μηνυόμενα πάντα ἀναλώθη. οὕτω δὲ ἦσαν πλεῖστα τὰ ἐξευρισκόμενα, ὥστε, καίτοι πολλῶν αὐτὰ πρότερον συμμεριζομένων, καὶ τὰ μὲν Ἀποκαύκου τοῦ μεγάλου δουκὸς παρακατέχοντος, ἕτερα δὲ Γαβαλᾶ τοῦ πρωτοσεβαστοῦ, κἀκεῖνος γὰρ συνάρχων τῷ μεγάλῳ δουκὶ τὰ κοινὰ διῴκει καὶ μεσάζων βασιλίδι ἦν, καὶ Κιννάμου τοῦ μυστικοῦ τῶν βασιλικῶν χρημάτων τότε ταμίου ὄντος, καὶ πολλῶν ἑτέρων εὐνούχων, οἳ παρεδυνάστευον, ὅμως ἐκ τῶν ὑπολειπομένων ἀναλίσκοντες, τὸν πρὸς βασιλέα πόλεμον συνεκρότουν· οὕτως 2.224 ἦσαν ἄπειρα τῷ πλήθει. ἡ βασιλὶς δὲ πολλὰ πολλάκις περὶ εἰρήνης πρὸς πατριάρχην καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους τῶν πραγμάτων ἄρχοντας διαλεχθεῖσα, οὐδὲν ἀνῦσαι τῶν δεόντων ἠδυνήθη, ἐκείνων ἤδη κατὰ κράτος πᾶσαν ἐσχηκότων τὴν ἀρχὴν καὶ οὐδ' ἄκροις ὠσὶ τὴν εἰρήνην παραδεχομένων. τοῦ δοκεῖν δὲ δίκαιά τε ὁμοῦ καὶ βασιλίδι καὶ σφίσιν αὐτοῖς συμφέροντα αἱρεῖσθαι, κατασκόπους δῆθεν προπέμποντες πρὸς Καντακουζηνὸν τὸν βασιλέα, ἔπειτα ὑποδεχόμενοι ἐπανιόντας, εἰσῆγον πρὸς βασιλίδα, ἄλλα τε πολλὰ ἐκείνου καταψευδομένους καὶ ὡς ἀναφανδὸν πρὸς τοὺς συνόντας μεγαληγοροίη, ὡς, εἰ περιγένοιτο ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ, βασιλίδα μὲν καὶ βασιλέα τὸν υἱὸν ἀποκτενεῖ μόνον, ἀτιμάσας μηδέν· πατριάρχῃ δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις, οἳ τὸν παρόντα πόλεμον ἤγειραν αὐτῷ, μετὰ πολλὰς αἰκίας ἐφύβριστον καὶ βιαιότατον θάνατον ἐπάξει. οἳ καὶ τοῖς λεγομένοις ἐκ συνθήματος εὐθὺς παρόντες, μεγίστην πρόφασιν ἐποιοῦντο τοῦ μὴ δύνασθαι πρὸς κίνδυνον τοσοῦτον σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ὑπάγειν ἑκοντὶ τῷ κατ' ἐκείνων οὕτω μαινομένῳ διὰ τῆς δοκούσης εἰρήνης ἐγχειρίζοντες, αὐτίκα τε ἐψηφίζοντο τὸ δεῖν ἐκείνῳ πάσῃ σπουδῇ καὶ προθυμίᾳ πολεμεῖν, καὶ εἴ τίς τι περὶ τῆς πρὸς ἐκεῖνον εἰρήνης φθέγξαιτο, πολέμιον ἡγεῖσθαι καὶ αὐτόν. ἐπεὶ δὲ βασιλεύς τε ὁ Καντακουζηνὸς ἐξεστράτευσε πρὸς τὴν ἑσπέραν καὶ Ἀπόκαυκος ὁ μέγας δοὺξ τὴν πᾶσαν ἦγε Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίαν, τὸ 2.225 μὲν ἐκ τῆς ἠπείρου καὶ