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of the empress, and then, having come to an agreement, 2.310 they sent to him, calling him to the rule. But the emperor, having acknowledged to them many thanks for both their former goodwill and their now willingly yielding, then said that it would be terribly ungrateful if, while they were showing every excess of goodwill, he did not appear to be similarly disposed toward them, nor reveal his mind. For as many things as happened to him at Gynaikokastron, and how both he and those of his companions who were most dear were surrounded by great dangers, with his own men deserting and the enemies pressing on, and with much turmoil and disorder possessing the camp, if God had not from above held out a saving hand, he thought that they themselves were not unaware. And having come by necessity to Kral, the ruler of the Triballi, he had enjoyed from him both great honor and alliance, contrary to expectation. For a little while before, having received a large and good army, he was hastening to Didymoteichon, so that he might be with his friends there and arrange his affairs well. But when he was in Pherai, both the leaders and the army were afflicted with a terrible disease and many of them died, so that from the disease he was also forced to turn back again into the territory of the Triballi. But now he was preparing, so as to arrive again at Didymoteichon with an army. For this was most advantageous to him for acquiring, if it were according to the will of God, the entire rule of the Romans. For which reasons he was not able to come to 2.311 Thessaly now. For he would rather cause grief, by being with them for a short time, but quickly departing for Thrace again. But if it were according to their will to be under him, for now he was appointing John Angelos as their ruler, who was very closely related by blood and able to lead and protect them from enemies, if any should attack, with intelligence and courage and experience in wars. And he himself, when he was in Didymoteichon, if nothing difficult prevented it, would take as much care of them as possible, and would show all eagerness and zeal on their behalf. Such things he answered to the envoys. And he ordered them to report to those in Thessaly and, if they were persuaded, to put it into effect; and having shown toward them a fitting friendliness, he also sent with them one of his own men, Manuel the administrator, to report what had been said by him to those in Thessaly as well. And when these men came to Thessaly, since both the army and the leading men of the cities learned what had been said by the emperor, first they acknowledged many thanks to the emperor for his goodwill toward them and for the truthfulness that was intimate and friendly from childhood, because although he seemed to be in difficulties, he did not stoop to say anything feigned or ignoble, but made his mind clear to them as it was. And they, out of the abundance of their goodwill toward him, since it did not seem advantageous for him, for the present, to come to them, would not only receive Angelos, who was related to him 2.312 by family and able to rule them, but also if he sent someone much inferior to him, they would receive him eagerly and show all goodwill toward the emperor. Such things also did those in Thessaly answer. And the emperor, when he learned this from the returning envoys, sent his cousin John Angelos to be governor of Thessaly. And wishing to make it manifest to all that he had not undertaken the war plotting against the emperor's children, and that not even if he should gain the rule had he decided to deprive them, but rather that he himself had been warred against by the empress, who was persuaded by slanderous men, in making a chrysobull for Angelos for the rule of Thessaly, he also inscribed the empress and the emperor John her son, so that Angelos and the Thessalians would profess their servitude to them as well as to him, and obey them more than before. Which also literally read thus: "May envy perish, the worst and most unjust of all evils, which from the beginning evilly cast us out from unadulterated delight, we who were fashioned by the hand of God and honored with reason, O the grace beyond reason. And yet after

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βασιλίδος, καὶ τότε δὲ ὁμονοήσαντες 2.310 ἔπεμψαν πρὸς αὐτὸν, καλοῦντες ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχήν. βασιλεὺς δὲ αὐτοῖς πολλὰς ὁμολογήσας χάριτας τῆς τε προτέρας εὐνοίας καὶ τοῦ νυνὶ προσχωρεῖν ἑκόντας, ἔπειτα ἔφασκεν ἄγνωμον εἶναι δεινῶς, εἰ αὐτῶν πᾶσαν εὐνοίας ὑπερβολὴν ἐνδεικνυμένων, μὴ ὁμοίως καὶ αὐτὸς φαίνοιτο διακείμενος περὶ αὐτοὺς, μηδὲ τὴν διάνοιαν ἀποκαλύπτοι. ὅσα μὲν γὰρ ἐν Γυναικοκάστρῳ συμβαίη περὶ αὐτὸν, καὶ ὡς αὐτός τε καὶ τῶν συνόντων οἱ μάλιστα φιλοῦντες μεγάλοις κινδύνοις περισχεθεῖεν, ἀφισταμένων μὲν τῶν οἰκείων, τῶν πολεμίων δὲ ἐπικειμένων, καὶ ταραχῆς πολλῆς καὶ ἀταξίας τὸ στρατόπεδον κατεχούσης, εἰ μὴ θεὸς ἄνωθεν χεῖρα σώζουσαν ὑπερέσχεν, οὐδ' αὐτοὺς ἠγνοηκέναι οἴεσθαι. ἀνάγκῃ δὲ ἐλθὼν πρὸς Κράλην τὸν ἄρχοντα Τριβαλῶν, πολλῆς ἀπολελαυκέναι παρ' αὐτοῦ καὶ τιμῆς καὶ συμμαχίας παρὰ δόξαν. ὀλίγῳ γοῦν πρότερον στρατιὰν παραλαβὼν πολλήν τε καὶ ἀγαθὴν, ἐπὶ ∆ιδυμότειχον σπεύδειν, ὡς τοῖς ἐκεῖσε φίλοις συνεσόμενος καὶ διαθησόμενος εὖ τὰ κατ' αὐτόν. γενομένου δὲ ἐν Φεραῖς, τούς τε ἡγεμόνας καὶ τὴν στρατιὰν νόσῳ δεινῇ περισχεθῆναι καὶ ἀποθανεῖν αὐτῶν πολλοὺς, ὡς ἐκ τῆς νόσου καὶ πρὸς ἀνάγκην ἐλθεῖν αὖθις ἀναστρέφειν εἰς τὴν Τριβαλῶν ἀρχήν. νυνὶ δὲ παρασκευάζεσθαι, ὡς ἅμα στρατιᾷ εἰς ∆ιδυμότειχον αὖθις ἀφιξόμενος. τοῦτο γὰρ μάλιστα λυσιτελεῖν αὐτῷ πρὸς τὸ κτήσασθαι, εἰ κατὰ γνώμην εἴη θεῷ, τὴν πᾶσαν Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίαν. δι' ἃ οὐ δύνασθαι ἥκειν πρὸς 2.311 Θετταλίαν νῦν. μᾶλλον γὰρ ἀνιάσειν, συγγινόμενος μὲν ἐπὶ μικρὸν, ἐν τάχει δὲ ἀπαίρων πρὸς Θρᾴκην αὖθις. ἀλλ' εἴγε κατὰ γνώμην αὐτοῖς εἴη ὑπ' αὐτὸν τελεῖν, νῦν μὲν ἄρχοντα αὐτοῖς τὸν Ἄγγελον Ἰωάννην ἐφιστᾷν, προσήκοντά τε μάλιστα ἐξ αἵματος καὶ δυνάμενον ἐξηγεῖσθαι καὶ διασώζειν ἀπὸ τῶν πολεμίων, ἄν τινες ἐπίωσι, καὶ συνέσει καὶ εὐψυχίᾳ καὶ ἐμπειρίᾳ τῇ πρὸς τοὺς πολέμους. αὐτὸν δὲ γενόμενον ἐν ∆ιδυμοτείχῳ, εἰ μή τι κωλύοι δυσχερὲς, πρόνοιαν αὐτῶν ποιήσεσθαι, ὅση δυνατὴ, καὶ πᾶσαν ἐνδείξεσθαι ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν καὶ προθυμίαν καὶ σπουδήν. τοιαῦτα μὲν πρὸς τοὺς πρέσβεις ἀπεκρίνατο. ἐκέλευέ τε καὶ τοῖς ἐν Θετταλίᾳ ἀπαγγείλαντας, εἰ πείθοιντο, εἰς ἔργον ἄγειν· φιλοφροσύνην τε αὐτῷ προσήκουσαν περὶ αὐτοὺς ἐπιδειξάμενος, συνεξέπεμπε καὶ τῶν οἰκείων ἕνα Μανουὴλ τὸν διοικητὴν, ὡς τὰ εἰρημένα παρ' αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῖς ἐν Θετταλίᾳ ἀπαγγελοῦντας. ὧν καὶ γενομένων ἐν Θετταλίᾳ, ἐπεὶ ἥ τε στρατιὰ καὶ τῶν πόλεων οἱ ἄριστοι τὰ παρὰ βασιλέως εἰρημένα ἐπυνθάνοντο, πρῶτα μὲν ὡμολόγουν βασιλεῖ χάριτας πολλὰς τῆς εὐμενείας τῆς περὶ αὐτοὺς καὶ τῆς συντρόφου καὶ φίλης ἀληθείας ἐκ παιδὸς, ὅτι καίτοι δοκῶν ἐν δυσπραγίαις εἶναι, οὐδὲν ὑπέμεινε πεπλασμένον φθέγξασθαι, οὐδ' ἀγεννὲς, ἀλλὰ δήλην αὐτοῖς πεποίηται τὴν διάνοιαν οἵα ἦν. αὐτοὺς δὲ τῷ περιόντι τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν εὐνοίας, ἐπεὶ μὴ λυσιτελεῖν αὐτῷ δοκοίη, τὸ νῦν ἔχον ἥκειν παρ' αὐτοὺς, οὐκ Ἄγγελον μόνον, κατὰ γένος τε 2.312 αὐτῷ προσήκοντα καὶ ἄρχειν δυνάμενον αὐτῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἴ τινα ἐκείνου πέμποι πολλῷ καταδεέστερον, δέξεσθαι προθύμως καὶ πᾶσαν ἐπιδείξεσθαι περὶ τὸν βασιλέα εὔνοιαν. τοιαῦτα μὲν καὶ οἱ ἐν Θετταλίᾳ ἀπεκρίναντο. βασιλεὺς δὲ ἐπεὶ πύθοιτο ἀπὸ τῶν πρέσβεων ἐπανελθόντων, ἔπεμπε τὸν ἀνεψιὸν Ἄγγελον Ἰωάννην, ἐπίτροπον εἶναι Θετταλίας. πᾶσι δὲ βουλόμενος καταφανὲς ποιεῖν, ὡς οὐ βασιλέως τοῖς παισὶν ἐπιβουλεύων ἤρατο τὸν πόλεμον, καὶ ὡς οὐδ' εἰ περιγένοιτο τῆς ἀρχῆς ἔγνωκεν ἀποστερεῖν, ἀλλ' ὑπὸ βασιλίδος μᾶλλον αὐτὸς ἐπολεμήθη ἀνθρώποις πειθομένης συκοφάνταις, τῷ Ἀγγέλῳ πρὸς τὴν Θετταλίας ἀρχὴν χρυσόβουλλον ποιῶν, βασιλίδα τε προσέγραφε καὶ βασιλέα Ἰωάννην τὸν υἱὸν, ὥστε Ἄγγελόν τε καὶ Θετταλοὺς τὴν δουλείαν τε κἀκείνοις ὥσπερ καὶ αὐτῷ ὁμολογεῖν καὶ μᾶλλον ἢ πρότερον ὑπείκειν. ὃ καὶ ἐπὶ λέξεως εἶχεν οὕτως· «ὡς ἀπόλοιτο ὁ φθόνος, τὸ πάντων τῶν κακῶν χείριστόν τε καὶ ἀδικώτατον, ὅγε κακῶς ἡμᾶς ἀρχῆθεν ἐξώσας τῆς ἀκηράτου τρυφῆς χειρὶ θεοῦ πλασθέντας καὶ λόγῳ τιμηθέντας, ὢ τῆς ὑπὲρ λόγον χάριτος. καίτοι μετὰ