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that assaulting walls was dear, with many dying daily. But that for one wishing to meet him, it is not easy to see him dressed in imperial garb, he himself knew best; for not even for those with sore eyes is it easy to gaze at the sun, but darkness is pleasant and closing the eyes for those unable to see the light. And that he, being especially desirous of peace, seeing the calamities that beset the Romans, and thinking that their meeting 2.435 would lead to nothing else, would devise a certain plan, by which he himself would not see him dressed in imperial garb, and he himself would be no less a king than before. And this was for them to meet each other in full armor, so that their legs would be covered with greaves, and their heads covered by a helmet, and the rest of the body be armed, so that it would be unknown whether he wore imperial or private attire within. The Grand Duke, therefore, praised the proposal, and promised to act according to what had been agreed. At this time the protostrator, his son-in-law, also drowned in the Hebrus while they were besieging the fortress of Empythion. For around noon, as summer was already ending, while swimming across the river in sport, he was drowned, carried away by the current. He considered, therefore, the death of his son-in-law a very great misfortune and mourned for a considerable time. A little later, having raised the army, he marched to Didymoteichon. But before he was near, having sent the archbishop of Makre to the emperor, he declared that he would arrive shortly, not so much as an enemy, but as a friend to discuss those matters he had previously indicated. And he sent a wax seal, stamped with the emperor’s ring, which he himself had taken along with other things during the time of the war, as a sort of pledge of truce and an armistice. But the emperor, thinking him to be telling the truth, armed himself, as had been agreed, and awaited his 2.436 meeting, leaving a few men outside, but he ordered none of the rest of the army to be outside the walls, fearing lest some rash act might be committed by one of the younger men and become a pretext for the war not to be ended. But the Grand Duke, before coming near the city, sent some archers from those around him, and then the rest of the army, and ordered them to advance on those at Didymoteichon. And they attacked all at once and shot with frequent arrows, then also set fire to the houses near the city. But since they began the battle, those from Didymoteichon defended themselves, coming out and inflicting many casualties, and they drove them off, having been able to accomplish nothing further. The emperor, sending the archbishop of Makre again to the Grand Duke, reproached him for his dear villainy and falsehood; but he, since he gained nothing from the deception, departed from there after midday and encamped for the night not far away. On the next day, he himself, with the cavalry, the heavy infantry, and the light-armed troops, marched against Morra and did the greatest harm to the country, giving everything over to fire; but he was not strong enough to overcome any of the small towns, since all were held by garrisons under the emperor, and from there he withdrew to Byzantium. But Momitzilos, having grown powerful from the civil war of the Romans and having already become great, and thinking himself sufficient to establish a principality of his own, likewise defected from both Kantakouzenos the emperor and from Anne 2.437 the empress, although he was clothed in the insignia of a despot sent by her, and he waged war on both alike, and was subduing cities and villages. And he was especially troublesome to Matthew, the emperor's son, making frequent raids and plunderings. For he had gathered a little less than four thousand horsemen, all chosen for their excellence, and he seemed to be irresistible both because of his courage and the natural strength of the places which he ruled. οβʹ. But those in Byzantium who were supervisors of affairs after the Grand Duke, seeing that the dominion of the Romans was now in peril and divided into myriad parts, and that great and many cities had come under the Mysians and Triballians, and all of Thrace

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φίλον εἶναι τὸ τειχομαχεῖν, πολλοῖς ὁσημέραι ἀποθνήσκουσιν. ὅτι δὲ βουλομένῳ συντυχεῖν οὐ ῥᾴδιόν ἐστιν ὁρᾷν βασιλικῶς ἐσκευασμένον, καὶ αὐτὸν εἰδέναι μάλιστα· οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδὲ τοῖς ὀφθαλμιῶσιν εὔκολον πρὸς ἥλιον ἀτενίζειν, ἀλλ' ὁ ζόφος ἡδὺ καὶ τὸ καμμύειν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἀδυνάτως ἔχουσιν ὁρᾷν τὸ φῶς. τοῦ δὲ μάλιστα ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ εἶναι τῆς εἰρήνης, ὁρῶντα τὰς περισχούσας τοὺς Ῥωμαίους συμφορὰς, οἴεσθαι δὲ μὴ πρὸς μηδὲν τὴν συντυ 2.435 χίαν φέρειν ἄλλο τὴν αὐτῶν, ἐπίνοιάν τινα ἐξευρήσειν, δι' ἧς αὐτός τε οὐκ ὄψεται αὐτὸν βασιλικῶς ἐσκευασμένον, καὶ αὐτὸς οὐδὲν ἧττον ἢ πρότερον ἔσται βασιλεύς. ταύτην δὲ εἶναι τὸ καταφράκτους ἀλλήλοις συντυχεῖν, ὥστε τοῖς ποσὶ μὲν κνημῖδας περικεῖσθαι, κράνει δὲ τὴν κεφαλὴν περικαλύπτειν, καὶ τὸ ἄλλο εἶναι ὡπλισμένον σῶμα, ὥστε ἀγνοεῖσθαι εἴτε βασιλικὴν ἐσθῆτα ἔνδον ἔχει, ἢ ἰδιωτικήν. ἐπῄνει μὲν οὖν ὁ μέγας δοὺξ τὴν γνώμην, καὶ ἐπηγγέλλετο ποιήσειν κατὰ τὰ συντεθειμένα. ἐν τούτῳ δὲ τῷ χρόνῳ καὶ πρωτοστράτωρ ὁ γαμβρὸς ἀπεπνίγη πρὸς τῷ Ἕβρῳ πολιορκοῦσι τὸ Ἐμπυθίου φρούριον. κατὰ γὰρ μεσημβρίαν, θέρους ἤδη λήγοντος, διανηχόμενος τὸν ποταμὸν ἐν παιδιαῖς, ἀπεπνίγη τῷ ῥεύματι συναρπασθείς. μεγίστην μὲν οὖν ἐνόμισε συμφορὰν τοῦ γαμβροῦ τὴν τελευτὴν καὶ ἐπένθησεν ἐφ' ἱκανόν. ὀλίγῳ δὲ ὕστερον ἀναστήσας τὴν στρατιὰν, ἐπορεύετο εἰς ∆ιδυμότειχον. πρὶν δὲ ἐγγὺς εἶναι, τὸν Μάκρης ἀρχιερέα πρὸς βασιλέα πέμψας, ἐδήλου, ὅτι ἀφίξοιτο μετὰ μικρὸν οὐ μᾶλλον πολέμιος, ἢ φίλος καὶ διαλεξόμενος περὶ ὧν πρότερον μηνύσειεν. ἔπεμπέ τε καὶ κηρὸν ἐσφραγισμένον τῷ βασιλέως δακτυλίῳ, ὃν εἶχεν ἀφελόμενος αὐτὸς μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἐν τῷ τοῦ πολέμου χρόνῳ, ὥσπερ τι ἐνέχυρον ἐκεχειρίας καὶ ἀνακωχῆς πολέμου. βασιλεὺς δὲ ἀληθεύειν ἐκεῖνον οἰηθεὶς, ὡπλίσατο μὲν, ὥσπερ ἦν συντεθειμένον, καὶ περιέμενε τὴν 2.436 ἐκείνου συντυχίαν, ὀλίγους τινὰς ἔξω καταλιπὼν, τῆς δ' ἄλλης στρατιᾶς μηδένα τειχῶν ἐκέλευεν ἔξω εἶναι, δεδιὼς μὴ παρά τινός τι τῶν νεωτέρων τολμηθῇ καὶ πρόφασις γένοιτο τοῦ μὴ τὸν πόλεμον καταλυθῆναι. ὁ μέγας δὲ δοὺξ, πρὶν τῆς πόλεως ἐγγὺς ἐλθεῖν, τῶν περὶ αὐτὸν τοξότας τινὰς πέμψας, εἶτα καὶ τὴν ἄλλην στρατιὰν, ἐκέλευε τοῖς κατὰ τὸ ∆ιδυμότειχον ἐπιέναι. οἱ δὲ ἐπέκειντο ἀθρόον καὶ ἔβαλλον συχνοῖς τοῖς βέλεσιν, ἔπειτα καὶ πῦρ ἐνίεσαν ἐν ταῖς οἰκίαις ταῖς πρὸς τῆς πόλεως. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐκεῖνοι μάχης ἦρχον, καὶ οἱ ἐκ ∆ιδυμοτείχου ἠμύνοντο ἐξελθόντες καὶ τραυματίας ἀποδείξαντες πολλοὺς, ἀπεσκευάσαντο μηδὲν πλέον δυνηθέντας. βασιλεὺς δὲ τὸν Μάκρης ἀρχιερέα πρὸς τὸν μέγαν δοῦκα αὖθις πέμψας, ὠνείδιζεν αὐτῷ τὴν φίλην πανουργίαν καὶ τὸ ψεῦδος· ἐκεῖνος δὲ ἐπεὶ τῆς ἀπάτης ἀπώνατο οὐδὲν, μετὰ μέσην ἡμέραν ἐκεῖθεν ἀνεχώρει καὶ ηὐλίσατο τὴν νύκτα οὐ μακράν. εἰς τὴν ὑστεραίαν δὲ, τοὺς ἱππέας αὐτὸς ἔχων καὶ τὸ ὁπλιτικὸν καὶ τὸ ψιλὸν, ἐχώρει κατὰ Μόῤῥας καὶ ἐκάκωσε τὰ μέγιστα τὴν χώραν πάντα πυρὶ παραδιδούς· τῶν πολιχνίων δὲ ἴσχυσεν οὐδενὸς περιγενέσθαι, φρουροῖς ὑπὸ βασιλέως πάντων κατεχομένων, ἐκεῖθεν δὲ εἰς Βυζάντιον ἀνεχώρει. Μομιτζίλος δὲ ἐκ τοῦ πρὸς ἀλλήλους τῶν Ῥωμαίων πολέμου ηὐξημένος καὶ μέγας ἤδη γεγενημένος καὶ νομίσας ἑαυτῷ ἀρκεῖν πρὸς τὸ συστήσασθαι ἡγεμονίαν ἰδίᾳ, ὁμοίως Καντακουζηνοῦ τε ἀφίστατο τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ Ἄν 2.437 νης τῆς βασιλίδος, καίτοι τὰ παρ' ἐκείνης πεμφθέντα τοῦ δεσπότου ἐπίσημα ἠμφιεσμένος, καὶ ὁμοίως ἑκατέροις ἐπολέμει, καὶ πόλεις καὶ κώμας ὑπεποιεῖτο. μάλιστα δὲ Ματθαίῳ λυπηρὸς ἦν τῷ βασιλέως υἱῷ, ἐπεκδρομὰς καὶ λεηλασίας ποιούμενος συχνάς. ἤθροισε γὰρ ἱππέας τετρακισχιλίων ὀλίγῳ ἐλάσσους, πάντας ἀριστίνδην ἐξειλεγμένους, καὶ ἀνυπόστατός τις ἐδόκει εἶναι διά τε εὐψυχίαν καὶ τὴν αὐτοφυῆ τῶν χωρίων ὀχυρότητα, ὧν ἦρχεν. οβʹ. Οἱ ἐν Βυζαντίῳ δὲ μετὰ τὸν μέγαν δοῦκα τῶν πραγμάτων ἔφοροι, ὁρῶντες ἤδη τὴν τῶν Ῥωμαίων κινδυνεύουσαν ἡγεμονίαν καὶ διῃρημένην εἰς μυρία τμήματα, καὶ πόλεις μὲν μεγάλας καὶ πολλὰς ὑπὸ Μυσοῖς καὶ Τριβαλοῖς γεγενημένας, Θρᾴκην δὲ πᾶσαν