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held, suddenly an army was seen crossing the land on the other side of the river. The emperor, thinking what was indeed the case, that it was the most powerful of the Triballi, named Liberus, for he had learned that he was staying there, ordered one of his companions to swim across on horseback, for the river there was impassable, and go to him; to greet him on behalf of the emperor, and then to seek his opinion on how their affairs should be managed, things having turned out as they did. When Liberus heard the words from the emperor, he received them most gladly and sending one of his own men along with the one who had come from the emperor, he himself also returned the greeting in like manner and begged him to go a little ways up the river, where it offered a very easy crossing, to cross without trouble and meet with him; then he would advise what he thought would be advantageous. For he had been friendly toward him before, ever since the emperor Andronicus met with the Kral, and he himself, having conversed with him, had found the meeting no small occasion for friendship. But now indeed he wished not only to be a friend, but also to be truly one of his servants. The emperor, therefore, following his advice, proceeded a little further up, crossed the river with 2.260 ease, and met with Liberus. And he treated the emperor as a master and showed him every honor; and leading him to his house, he entertained him for three days along with the entire army very lavishly. Then he advised the emperor to go to Scopia and there await the message from the Kral; while he himself, going to him first, would use every effort to persuade him to receive the emperor's arrival kindly and gently. This was indeed done according to his advice, and the emperor arrived at Scopia. 43. Liberus, travelling with speed, in a short time met the Kral near a place locally called Morava, as he was escorting his wife Helen, who was travelling to the king of the Mysians, Alexander, who was his brother. Reporting to them what had been done to the emperor Cantacuzenus by his countrymen, and how, having been driven out of the land of the Romans by the treachery of his followers, he had come to them, he persuaded them to receive him kindly and magnificently, since the great honor shown to him would be an occasion for glory for them and their child and the entire realm of the Triballi for all time to come. They were immediately persuaded and turned back from their journey, in order to come to the emperor. Sending ahead of them Bogdan, the brother of Liberus, they greeted the emperor and announced that they would arrive before him a little later. When he learned that the Kral 2.261 was coming to him with his wife, he himself returned their greeting and professed great thanks for their friendship. And setting out from Scopia, he came to a place called Tao because of its beauty, where near a certain un-walled village called Pristenon he met with the Kral who had arrived with his wife. And they received the emperor with as much honor and eagerness as you could say. And no less did they themselves rejoice and congratulate themselves on his arrival, and considered themselves worthy of very great honor. For in all things he put him before himself and yielded the first place to him as to a superior. For both at banquets he offered him the better and higher seat, and on journeys and in all other things he placed him before himself. An ancient custom prevailed among the Triballi that whenever one of the more noble and powerful men comes after some time to their ruler and must make the first greeting, both dismount from their horses, and first the inferior kisses the ruler's breast, and then his mouth, and on a second meeting the subordinate no longer dismounts from his horse, but he too greets his lord on horseback. Towards him the customary things were again performed, but he ordered the Triballi to behave towards the emperor according to the custom of the Romans; and at every meeting, all from their horses

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κατεχομένην, ἀθρόον ὡρᾶτο στρατιὰ τὴν πέραν τοῦ ποταμοῦ γῆν διερχομένη. νομίσας δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς ὅπερ ἦν, τὸν δυνατώτατον εἶναι τῶν Τριβαλῶν Λίβερον ὠνομασμένον, ἐκεῖ γὰρ ἐπύθετο ἐκεῖνον διατρίβειν, τῶν συνόντων ἐκέλευέ τινα διανηξάμενον ἔφιππον, ἄπορος γὰρ ἦν ὁ ποταμὸς ἐκεῖ, πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ἀφικέσθαι· προσαγορεύσαντα δὲ αὐτὸν ἐκ βασιλέως, ἔπειτα καὶ γνώμην παρ' αὐτοῦ ζητεῖν, ᾗ χρὴ διαθέσθαι τὰ κατ' αὐτοὺς, τοῦτον συνεσκευασμένα τὸν τρόπον, ὃν ἐγένετο. Λίβερος δὲ ἐπεὶ πύθοιτο τοὺς παρὰ βασιλέως λόγους, ἡδέως τε μάλιστα ἐδέξατο καὶ τῶν οἰκείων ἕνα ἅμα τῷ ἐκ βασιλέως ἥκοντι συναποστείλας, ἀντησπάζετό τε καὶ αὐτὸς ἐκ τοῦ ὁμοίου καὶ τὸν ποταμὸν ἐδεῖτο μικρὸν ἄνωθεν παριόντα, ἔνθα εὐχερῆ μάλιστα πρὸς πόρον παρέχεται αὐτὸν, αὐτῷ συγγενέσθαι διαβάντα ἄνευ πόνου· ἔπειτα καὶ ἅπερ οἴεται λυσιτελήσειν συμβουλεύσειν. καὶ πρότερον μὲν γὰρ φιλίως διακεῖσθαι πρὸς αὐτὸν, ἐξ ὅτου βασιλέως Ἀνδρονίκου τῷ Κράλῃ συγγενομένου καὶ αὐτὸς ὡμιληκὼς αὐτῷ οὐ μικρὰν ἔσχε φιλίας ἀφορμὴν τὴν συντυχίαν. νῦν δὲ δὴ μᾶλλον οὐ φίλος εἶναι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν δουλευόντων ἀκριβῶς εἶναι βούλεσθαι. ὁ μὲν οὖν βασιλεὺς κατὰ τὴν παραίνεσιν ἐκείνου μικρὸν ἀνωτέρω προελθὼν, τόν τε ποταμὸν διέβαινεν εὐ 2.260 χερῶς καὶ Λιβέρῳ συνεμίγνυτο. ὁ δὲ οἷά τε δεσπότῃ προσεφέρετο τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ πᾶσαν παρείχετο τιμήν· πρὸς τὴν οἰκίαν τε ἀγαγὼν, ἐξένισεν ἐπὶ τρισὶν ἡμέραις ἅμα πᾶσαν τὴν στρατιὰν μάλα φιλοτίμως. ἔπειτα συνεβούλευε βασιλέα μὲν ἐλθεῖν εἰς Σκοπιὰν κἀκεῖ τὴν ἐκ Κράλη ἀγγελίαν περιμένειν· αὐτὸν δὲ πρότερον ἐλθόντα πρὸς ἐκεῖνον πάσῃ χρήσασθαι σπουδῇ, ὥστε πεῖσαι τὴν βασιλέως ἄφιξιν ἠπίως δέξασθαι καὶ προσηνῶς. ὃ δὴ καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἐκείνου παραίνεσιν ἐτελεῖτο, καὶ βασιλεὺς μὲν ἀφίκετο εἰς Σκοπιάν. μγʹ. Λίβερος δὲ συντόνῳ χρησάμενος ὁδοιπορίᾳ ὀλίγῳ χρόνῳ περί τινα τόπον Μοράβαν ἐγχωρίως προσαγορευόμενον τῷ Κράλῃ συντυγχάνει Ἑλένην προπέμποντι τὴν γυναῖκα πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Μυσῶν Ἀλέξανδρον, ὄντα ἀδελφὸν, ἀφικνουμένην. ἀπαγγείλας δὲ αὐτοῖς τὰ περὶ βασιλέα τὸν Καντακουζηνὸν ὑπὸ τῶν ὁμοφύλων εἰργασμένα, καὶ ὡς προδοσίᾳ τῶν ἑπομένων τῆς Ῥωμαίων γῆς ἀπελαθεὶς, ἀφίκοιτο παρ' αὐτοὺς, ἔπειθε φιλοφρόνως δέξασθαι καὶ μεγαλοπρεπῶς, ὡς τῆς εἰς ἐκεῖνον φιλοτιμίας πολλῆς ἐκείνοις τε καὶ παιδὶ καὶ πάσῃ τῇ Τριβαλῶν ἀρχῇ τὸν ἔπειτα πάντα χρόνον εὐδοξίας ἐσομένης ἀφορμῆς. οἱ δ' αὐτίκα τε ἐπείθοντο καὶ ἀνέστρεφον ἐκ τῆς ὁδοιπορίας, ὡς ἀφιξόμενοι πρὸς βασιλέα. πέμψαντες δὲ πρὸ αὐτῶν Μπογδάνον τὸν Λιβέρου ἀδελφὸν, ἠσπάζοντό τε βασιλέα καὶ ἐδήλουν, ὡς ὀλίγῳ ὕστερον ἀφιξόμενοι πρὸς ἐκεῖνον. ὁ δ' ἐπεὶ πύθοιτο Κράλην 2.261 ἅμα γυναικὶ ἀφικνουμένους πρὸς αὐτὸν, ἀντησπάζετο μὲν καὶ αὐτὸς αὐτοὺς καὶ πολλὴν ὡμολόγει τῆς φιλίας χάριν. ἀναστάς τε ἐκ Σκοπιᾶς, πρός τινα τόπον ἦλθε Ταὼ διὰ τὸ κάλλος ὠνομασμένον, ἔνθα περὶ κώμην τινὰ ἀτείχιστον Πρίστηνον προσαγορευομένην συνεμίγνυτο τῷ Κράλῃ ἀφιγμένῳ ἅμα γυναικί. οἱ δ' ἐδέξαντο μὲν βασιλέα μεθ' ὅσης ἂν εἴποις φιλοτιμίας καὶ σπουδῆς. οὐχ ἧττον δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ διὰ τὴν ἐκείνου ἄφιξιν συνήδοντό τε καὶ συνέχαιρον ἑαυτοῖς τιμῆς τε ἠξίουν μάλιστα πολλῆς. ἐν ἅπασι γὰρ αὐτὸν προῆγεν ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ὡς κρείττονι τῶν πρωτείων παρεχώρει. ἔν τε γὰρ ταῖς ἀνακλίσεσι τὴν κρείττω καὶ ὑψηλοτέραν παρείχετο καθέδραν καὶ ἐν ὁδοιπορίαις καὶ ἐν ἅπασι τοῖς ἄλλοις προετίθει ἑαυτοῦ. ἔθους δὲ ἀρχαίου παρὰ Τριβαλοῖς κεκρατηκότος, ἐπειδάν τις τῶν εὐγενεστέρων καὶ μεγάλα δυναμένων ἔλθῃ διὰ χρόνου πρὸς τὸν ἄρχοντα αὐτῶν καὶ δέῃ ποιεῖσθαι τὴν πρώτην προσαγόρευσιν, ἀμφοτέρους ἀποβαίνοντας τῶν ἵππων, πρῶτα μὲν τοῦ ἄρχοντος τὸ στῆθος τὸν ὑποδεέστερον ἀσπάζεσθαι, ἔπειτα καὶ τὸ στόμα, καὶ μηκέτι κατὰ δευτέραν συντυχίαν ἀποβαίνειν τὸν δουλεύοντα τοῦ ἵππου, ἀλλ' ἔφιππον καὶ αὐτὸν προσαγορεύειν τὸν δεσπότην. πρὸς μὲν ἐκεῖνον πάλιν τὰ εἰωθότα ἐτελεῖτο, βασιλεῖ δὲ κατὰ τὸ Ῥωμαίων ἔθος ἐκέλευσε προσφέρεσθαι τοὺς Τριβαλούς· καὶ κατὰ πᾶσαν μὲν συντυχίαν τῶν ἵππων πάντας