289

to willingly entrust to barbarian men, even if he were surrounded by far greater and more terrible evils. But he would so insist concerning it and would guard justice for it, just as if, being its absolute ruler and having subjected it all to himself, he were negotiating about treaties with Triballians or Mysians or some of the neighboring barbarians. They, therefore, immediately yielding to the austerity of the reply, withdrew. 2.271 45. But the Kral, returning from the council to the emperor, said with a slight smile, "You have won, O emperor, and you have persuaded everyone to consider your friendship more valuable than great sums of money and large cities. Whence you have led everyone away, having bound them with the bonds of your friendship, and we all, as if by a single signal, have willingly chosen both to spend money and to undergo every labor for you. Therefore, it is right for you to give commands according to your judgment, and for us to carry out what has been commanded with all eagerness and haste." And he asked, as he had counseled with his wife and those in authority, that oaths be given both that he would remain a steadfast ally and friend to them for his whole life, and that, once established in power, he would not demand back any of the cities now held by him—which he holds, having seized them, both he himself and his father, while the war between the Roman emperors was stirred up and later while the young emperor Andronikos was still alive—as belonging to the Roman emperors. But the emperor said that for their having been persuaded to give aid freely and for the sake of honor alone and friendship toward him, he confessed many thanks not only to him, but also to his wife and to those in authority, as they had chosen such things by a common vote. But concerning the oaths, which they asked him to provide, once he was established in power, that he would not trouble them about the cities held by them up until now, he would make his opinion very 2.272 clear. For if they were still now under the Romans and were able to preserve themselves, not even he himself would have given them up, just as he did not give up the others, but would have rather chosen to die first, than to endure something ignoble and servile. But if, years before, some more, some fewer, while the Roman emperors were still alive, you yourselves seized and hold these cities, giving up the cities that are held would not bring any blame upon him. And he agreed to provide the oaths; however, he said, one must consider this, that the peace and the treaties would be preserved, as long as they themselves did not break the treaty. For he himself would in every way keep the oaths which he would swear, nor would he himself cause any trouble concerning the land and the cities which were formerly under the Romans. But if they themselves should first proceed to war, acting unjustly and breaking the treaty, not only would he not keep his hands off those cities about which the oaths were, if he were able, but he would also subjugate the cities that were from of old subject to the Triballians, if it were possible, just as they themselves would do to all the Roman cities, if the power were available for the attempt. And the Kral and as many of the Triballians as were present were astonished and held the emperor in wonder, because he uttered nothing ignoble or feigned on account of his surrounding misfortunes, but everything truthfully and as he had it in his mind. The alliance, therefore, was of this manner. And the oaths upon these terms were, that emperor Kantakouzenos and the Kral be friends 2.273 and allies for life, and that neither harm the other by any artifice or any contrivance, but that emperor Kantakouzenos should neither demand back any of the cities subject to the Romans of which the Kral has become master, either having received them from his father or having seized them himself while emperor Andronikos was still alive, nor stir up any war concerning them; and that he should hold the remaining cities, as many as are now still under Roman rule, and that the Kral should not take away any of them either by artifice or by any contrivance, but should only be an ally to the emperor in subjugating them. And as many of them as are either captured by arms, or surrender by agreement in the presence of the emperor, the emperor should hold these and the Triballians are to do no injury; but if, in the absence of the emperor, either the Kral himself, having corrupted the inhabitants either by arms or by agreement or by money, or one of his powerful men, should subjugate a city of the

289

βαρβάροις ἀνθρώποις ἑκὼν εἶναι ἐγχειρίσαι, εἰ καὶ μείζοσι πολλῷ καὶ δεινοτέροις περιέχοιτο κακοῖς. ἀλλ' οὕτω περὶ αὐτῆς ἐνστήσεται καὶ τὸ δίκαιον αὐτῇ φυλάξει, ὥσπερ ἂν εἰ αὐτοκράτωρ ὢν αὐτῆς καὶ πᾶσαν ὑφ' ἑαυτῷ πεποιημένος, πρὸς Τριβαλοὺς ἢ Μυσοὺς ἤ τινας τῶν ὁμόρων βαρβάρων διαλέγοιτο περὶ σπονδῶν. οἱ μὲν οὖν αὐτίκα πρὸς τὸ αὐστηρὸν τῆς ἀποκρίσεως ἐνδόντες, ὑπεχώρουν. 2.271 μεʹ. Ὁ Κράλης δὲ ἐκ τῆς βουλῆς πρὸς βασιλέα ἐπανήκων «νενίκηκας» εἶπεν ὑπομειδιῶν «ὦ βασιλεῦ, καὶ πάντας ἔπεισας, πολλῶν χρημάτων καὶ πόλεων μεγάλων τὴν σὴν ἡγεῖσθαι φιλίαν προτιμοτέραν. ὅθεν καὶ πάντας τοῖς τῆς σῆς φιλίας δήσας ἀπήγαγες δεσμοῖς, καὶ πάντες ὥσπερ ἐξ ἑνὸς συνθήματος καὶ χρήματα ἀναλοῦν καὶ πάντα πόνον ὑπὲρ σοῦ προθύμως εἱλόμεθα ὑφίστασθαι. τοιγαροῦν σὲ μὲν χρεὼν τὰ κατὰ γνώμην ἐπιτάττειν, ἡμᾶς δὲ τὰ ἐπιτεταγμένα πράττειν πάσῃ προθυμίᾳ καὶ σπουδῇ.» ἠξίου τε, ὥσπερ ἐβουλεύσατο μετὰ γυναικὸς καὶ τῶν ἐν τέλει, ὅρκους παρασχέσθαι τοῦ τε σύμμαχον καὶ φίλον βέβαιον διὰ βίου παντὸς αὐτοῖς μενεῖν καὶ τοῦ μηδεμίαν τῶν νυνὶ κατεχομένων πόλεων ὑπ' αὐτοῦ, ἃς αὐτός τε καὶ πατὴρ, τοῦ τε Ῥωμαίων βασιλέων πρὸς ἀλλήλους πολέμου κεκινημένου καὶ ὕστερον Ἀνδρονίκου τοῦ νέου βασιλέως ἔτι περιόντος, αὐτὸς ἔχει ἀφελόμενος, ἀπαιτήσειν καταστάντα πρὸς τὴν ἀρχὴν, ὡς προσηκούσας τοῖς Ῥωμαίων βασιλεῦσιν. ὁ βασιλεὺς δὲ πρὸς μὲν τὸ πεπεῖσθαι προῖκα καὶ φιλοτιμίας μόνης ἕνεκα καὶ φιλίας τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν ἐπικουρεῖν ἔφασκεν, οὐκ αὐτῷ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ γυναικὶ καὶ τοῖς ἐν τέλει πολλὰς χάριτας ὁμολογεῖν, ὡς ψήφῳ κοινῇ τὰ τοιαῦτα ἑλομένοις. περί γε μὴν τῶν ὅρκων, οὓς ἀξιοῦσιν ἐπὶ τῷ μὴ παρενοχλεῖν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἄχρι νυνὶ κατεχομένων ὑπ' ἐκείνων πόλεων παρασχέσθαι καταστάντα ἐπὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς, μάλιστα ποιήσειν τὴν γνώμην φανε 2.272 ράν. εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἔτι νῦν ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίοις ἦσαν καὶ διασώζειν ἑαυτὰς ἠδύναντο, οὐκ ἂν οὐδ' αὐτὸς προήκατο, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ τὰς ἄλλας, ἀλλ' εἵλετο ἂν μᾶλλον πρότερον ἀποθανεῖν, ἢ ἀγεννές τι καὶ ἀνελεύθερον ἀνασχέσθαι. εἰ δ' ἔτεσι πρότερον, αἱ μὲν πλείοσιν, αἱ δ' ἐλάττοσι, βασιλέων ἔτι τῶν Ῥωμαίων περιόντων, ταύτας ἀφελόμενοι ἔχετε αὐτοὶ, οὐδ' αὐτῷ τινα μέμψιν τὸ προέσθαι τὰς κατεχομένας ἐπαγάγοι. καὶ συνέθετο ὅρκους παρασχέσθαι· ἐκεῖνο μέντοι, ἔφασκε, χρὴ σκοπεῖν, ὡς ἂν μὲν ἡ εἰρήνη διασώζοιτο καὶ αἱ σπονδαὶ, αὐτῶν μὴ παρασπονδούντων. αὐτὸς γὰρ παντὶ τρόπῳ τηρήσει τοὺς ὅρκους, οὓς ὀμόσεται, οὐδ' ὑπὲρ τῆς χώρας καὶ τῶν πόλεων, αἳ πρότερον ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίοις ἦσαν, οὐδὲν παρενοχλήσει καὶ αὐτός. εἰ δ' αὐτοὶ πρὸς πόλεμον πρότεροι χωρήσουσιν ἀδικοῦντες καὶ παρασπονδοῦντες, οὐκ ἐκείνων μόνων, ὑπὲρ ὧν οἱ ὅρκοι, οὐκ ἀφέξεται, εἰ δύναιτο, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς ἄνωθεν ὑπηκόους Τριβαλοῖς παραστήσεται, ἂν ἐξῇ, ὥσπερ καὶ αὐτοὶ τὰς Ῥωμαίων πάσας, εἰ δύναμις πρὸς τὴν ὁρμὴν παρείη. Κράλης δὲ καὶ ὅσοι παρῆσαν τῶν Τριβαλῶν ἐξεπλήττοντό τε καὶ διὰ θαύματος ἦγον βασιλέα, ὅτι οὐδὲν ἀγεννὲς οὐδὲ πεπλασμένον διὰ τὰς περισχούσας τύχας, ἀλλὰ πάντα ἀληθῶς καὶ ὡς εἶχε διανοίας ἀπεφθέγγετο. ἡ μὲν οὖν συμμαχία τοῦτον εἶχε τὸν τρόπον. ὅρκοι δὲ ἦσαν οἱ ἐπὶ τούτοις, ὥστε βασιλέα Καντακουζηνὸν καὶ Κράλην φίλους 2.273 εἶναι διὰ βίου καὶ συμμάχους, καὶ μηδένα τὴν ἀλλήλων κακοῦν μήτε τέχνῃ, μήτε μηχανῇ μηδεμιᾷ, ἀλλὰ βασιλέα μὲν τὸν Καντακουζηνὸν, ὧν ὁ Κράλης γέγονε κύριος πόλεων Ῥωμαίοις ὑπηκόων, ἢ παρὰ πατρὸς παραλαβὼν, ἢ αὐτὸς ἁρπάσας ἔτι περιόντος βασιλέως Ἀνδρονίκου, μηδεμίαν μήτε ἀπαιτεῖν, μήτε πόλεμόν τινα κινεῖν περὶ αὐτῶν· τὰς δὲ ἐπιλοίπους, ὅσαι νῦν ἔτι ὑπὸ τὴν Ῥωμαίων τελοῦσιν ἡγεμονίαν, ἔχειν αὐτὸν καὶ μηδεμίαν ἀφαιρεῖσθαι Κράλην μήτε τέχνῃ, μήτε μηχανῇ μηδεμιᾷ, ἀλλὰ συμμαχεῖν μόνον βασιλεῖ ἐπὶ τῷ ταύτας καταδουλοῦσθαι. καὶ ὅσαι μὲν αὐτῶν ἢ ὅπλοις ἁλῶσιν, ἢ ὁμολογίᾳ προσχωρήσουσι παρόντος βασιλέως, ταύτας ἔχειν βασιλέα καὶ Τριβαλοὺς ἀδικεῖν μηδέν· ἂν δ' ἀπόντος βασιλέως, ἢ αὐτὸς Κράλης ἢ ὅπλοις ἢ ὁμολογίᾳ ἢ χρήμασι τοὺς κατοικοῦντας διαφθείρας, ἢ τῶν ὑπ' αὐτὸν δυνατῶν τις πόλιν παραστήσεται τῶν