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The Kral, laid waste and ravaged the 2.469 country by force, and by besieging the city for some long time in succession, he brought it to such a state of distress that it was already in danger of being consumed by famine. The Pheraioi, being now on the verge of danger, barely saw what was expedient—for "a fool learns by suffering"—and they voted to go over to the emperor Kantakouzenos, so that the Kral, out of friendship for him, would lift the siege; which is also what happened. For after the acclamation of the emperor and his commemoration in the sacred rites, the Kral granted a certain truce to the war, and coming, encamped not far from the city. As many of the Triballian officials as were friends of the emperor advised the Pheraioi to go to him as quickly as possible and receive a governor for the city, as the Kral would withdraw completely if such things were to happen. For this reason, then, the Pheraioi came and besought the emperor in tears to send them a governor and deliver them from the danger. The emperor, considering the instability of human fortune—for those who before were puffed up with pride and would not even listen to the idea of servitude under the emperor, but even cruelly and inhumanly cut the ambassador to pieces and displayed much arrogance and audacity, now came humbled and in tears, pressed by great misfortunes, and begging for those things which, if they had then obeyed his counsel, they would not have fallen into such straits—then, considering 2.470 what sort of a city, most excellent in every way, the Roman empire was about to be deprived of, he shed tears for a short while, then gave audience to the ambassadors, and both granted pardon for their offenses and suggested they hope for better things, as he would do anything on their behalf. Thus, then, he consoled them with words, recovering them from their great despondency. Then, summoning again the ambassadors from Byzantium, he said, "You see what misfortunes the war has brought upon the Romans. For all the western cities the Triballians have already made their own. And I fear that, if this is prolonged, they will rule Macedonia altogether. For they already hold not a few. And the Pheraioi, as you heard from the ambassadors, if they do not receive some assistance from us, would no longer be able to hold out against the war, being pressed by famine and siege. It is possible, then, for you now to see the profit of the war. But I wonder at you, whence you think you can have an empire, when you possess none of the things that hold it together. For there is no one among you who could rule others and take care of common affairs, unless perhaps you might say the *parakoimomenos*. For neither can the emperor, on account of his age, exercise the rule of the Romans, and the empress his mother, not only because of her female weakness—for she would not be sufficient for such a great mass of affairs—but also because her power has been stripped away by the rulers, she lives as if under guard in the palace, little 2.471 differing from those who live in prison. For how does she differ from them, if she can neither deliberate on nor do any of the necessary things, but has the necessity of following what has been decreed by the rulers? And you have lost the cities, some having been handed over to the Mysians themselves so that you might have allies against me, and others having been enslaved by the Triballians. And the remaining ones, still divided between me and you, some being in sedition among themselves and being destroyed, others being besieged by us from without and enslaved and enduring the most terrible things, have been driven to the utmost distress, and fall little short of those that have fallen under the enemy. And there is no source of funds from anywhere; for the reserves have been spent, and the royal treasures have been sold for the fine envoys, from which no benefit results; for I omit to mention our own possessions, being so great; and the public revenues have failed, the country having been ruined. In addition to these things, even those who are powerful and cooperate with the emperor for the rule, some, because of their good will toward me, having been deprived of their wealth and having previously experienced many evils, now dwell in prisons, and others because

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ὁ Κράλης, τὴν μὲν 2.469 χώραν ἔτεμε καὶ ἐδῄωσε κατὰ κράτος, τὴν πόλιν δὲ εἰς τοσοῦτον ἤγαγεν ἀπορίας πολιορκῶν ἐπὶ συχνόν τινα χρόνον ἐφεξῆς, ὡς κινδυνεύειν ἤδη παρανάλωμα λιμοῦ γενέσθαι. Φεραῖοι δὲ ἐν χρῷ κινδύνου ἤδη καθεστῶτες, μόλις τὰ λυσιτελοῦντα συνεώρων, παθὼν γὰρ νήπιος ἔγνω, καὶ ἐπεψηφίσαντο Καντακουζηνῷ τῷ βασιλεῖ προσχωρεῖν, ὡς τῆς εἰς ἐκεῖνον φιλίας ἀνήσοντα Κράλην τὴν πολιορκίαν· ὅπερ καὶ ἐγίνετο. μετὰ γὰρ τὴν βασιλέως εὐφημίαν καὶ τὴν μνήμην τὴν ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς ἀνακωχήν τινα παρέσχετο ὁ Κράλης τοῦ πολέμου, καὶ οὐ πολὺ τῆς πόλεως ἄπωθεν ἐστρατοπεδεύετο ἐλθών. ὅσοι δὲ βασιλέως ἦσαν φίλοι τῶν ἐν τέλει Τριβαλῶν, συνεβούλευον Φεραίοις τάχιστα ἐλθόντας πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ἄρχοντα τῇ πόλει δέχεσθαι, ὡς ἀφεξομένου παντάπασι τοῦ Κράλη, εἰ τοιαῦτα γένοιτο. τούτου μὲν οὖν ἕνεκα ἧκον οἱ Φεραῖοι καὶ ἐδέοντο βασιλέως δεδακρυμένοι πέμπειν σφίσιν ἄρχοντα καὶ ἀπαλλάττειν τοῦ κινδύνου. βασιλεὺς δὲ τό,τε ἄστατον τῆς τῶν ἀνθρώπων τύχης συνορῶν, οἱ γὰρ πρὶν μεγάλα φυσῶντες καὶ οὐδ' ἄκροις ὠσὶ δεχόμενοι τὴν ὑπὸ βασιλεῖ δουλείαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν πρεσβευτὴν ὠμῶς καὶ ἀπανθρώπως κατατεμόντες καὶ πολλὴν ἐπιδειξάμενοι αὐθάδειαν καὶ θρασύτητα, νῦν ἥκουσι ταπεινοὶ καὶ δεδακρυμένοι, ὑπὸ μεγάλων πιεσθέντες συμφορῶν, καὶ δεόμενοι ἐκεῖνα, ἃ εἰ τότε αὐτοῦ συμβουλεύοντος ἐπείθοντο, οὐκ ἂν εἰς τοιαύτας κατέστησαν ἀνάγκας, ἔπειτα ἐννοῶν 2.470 καὶ οἵας πόλεως πάντα ἀρίστης ἡ Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονία ἀποστερεῖσθαι μέλλει, ἐδάκρυσε μὲν ἐπὶ μικρὸν, εἶτα ἐχρημάτιζε τοῖς πρέσβεσι, καὶ τῶν τε ἡμαρτημένων παρείχετο συγγνώμην καὶ χρηστότερα ἐλπίζειν ὑπετίθει, ὡς πᾶν ὁτιοῦν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ποιήσων. ἐκείνους μὲν οὖν οὕτως ἐψυχαγώγει λόγοις ἐκ τῆς πολλῆς ἀθυμίας ἀνακτώμενος. τοὺς ἐκ Βυζαντίου δὲ αὖθις πρέσβεις μετακαλεσάμενος, «ὁρᾶτε» εἶπεν «οἵων συμφορῶν Ῥωμαίοις ὁ πόλεμος κατέστη. τὰς γὰρ ἑσπερίους ἤδη πάσας πόλεις ἐποιήσαντο ὑφ' ἑαυτοῖς οἱ Τριβαλοί. δέδοικα δὲ μὴ, τούτου μηκυνομένου, καὶ Μακεδονίας ἄρξωσι παντάπασιν. ἤδη γὰρ οὐκ ὀλίγας ἔχουσι. Φεραῖοι δὲ ὥσπερ ἠκούσατε παρὰ τῶν πρέσβεων, εἰ μή τινος παρ' ἡμῶν ἐπικουρίας τύχωσιν, οὐκ ἂν ἔτι πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον ἀντέχειν δύναιντο, λιμῷ καὶ πολιορκίᾳ πιεσθέντες. ἔξεστιν οὖν ὑμῖν ἤδη τὸ τοῦ πολέμου κέρδος συνορᾷν, ἐγὼ δὲ ὑμῶν θαυμάζω, ὅθεν οἴεσθε δύνασθαι βασιλείαν ἔχειν, τῶν συνεχόντων αὐτὴν εὐποροῦντες οὐδενός. οὔτε γάρ ἐστιν ἐν ὑμῖν, ὃς ἂν τῶν ἄλλων ἄρχειν δύναιτο καὶ πρόνοιαν ποιεῖσθαι τῶν κοινῶν, εἰ μή πού γε φαίητε παρακοιμώμενον. οὔτε γὰρ βασιλεὺς διὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἄγειν δύναται ἀρχὴν, ἥ τε βασιλὶς ἡ τούτου μήτηρ οὐ διὰ τὴν γυναικείαν ἀσθένειαν μόνον, οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἐξαρκοίη πρὸς τοσοῦτον πραγμάτων ὄγκον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ τὴν ἐξουσίαν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀρχόντων περιηρῆσθαι, ὥσπερ ἐν φρουρᾷ διάγει τοῖς βασιλείοις, ὀλίγον 2.471 ἀποδέουσα τῶν ἐν δεσμωτηρίῳ διαγόντων. τί γὰρ ἐκείνων διενήνοχεν, εἰ μηδὲν μήτε βουλεύσασθαι, μήτε πρᾶξαι τῶν δεόντων δύναται, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἐψηφισμένοις ὑπὸ τῶν ἀρχόντων ἕπεσθαι ἀνάγκην ἔχει; τάς τε πόλεις ἀπολωλέκατε, τὰς μὲν αὐτοῖς Μυσοῖς παραδεδωκότες, ἵν' ἔχητε συμμάχους ἐπ' ἐμὲ, τῶν δ' ὑπὸ Τριβαλοῖς δεδουλωμένων. καὶ αἱ λειπόμεναι δὲ, ἔτι πρὸς ἐμέ τε καὶ ὑμᾶς διῃρημέναι, τὰ μὲν αὐταὶ ἐφ' ἑαυταῖς στασιάζουσαι καὶ διαφθειρόμεναι, τὰ δ' ὑφ' ἡμῶν ἔξωθεν πολιορκούμεναι καὶ ἐξανδραποδιζόμεναι καὶ τὰ δεινότατα ὑπομένουσαι, εἰς ἐσχάτην ἀπορίαν ἤλασαν, καὶ ὀλίγου ἀποδέουσι τῶν ὑπὸ πολεμίοις γενομένων. χρημάτων τε πόρος οὐδαμόθεν· τά τε γὰρ ἀποκείμενα ἀνάλωται, καὶ τὰ κειμήλια ἀποδέδοται τὰ βασιλικὰ εἰς τοὺς καλοὺς ἀποστόλους, ὅθεν ὄνησις οὐδεμία περιγίνεται· ἐῶ γὰρ τὰ ἡμέτερα τοσαῦτα ὄντα λέγειν· καὶ αἱ πρόσοδοι ἐκλελοίπασι τῶν κοινῶν τῆς χώρας διεφθαρμένης. πρὸς τούτοις δὲ καὶ οἱ μέγα δυνάμενοι καὶ βασιλεῖ συμπράττοντες πρὸς τὴν ἀρχὴν οἱ μὲν διὰ τὴν εἰς ἐμὲ εὔνοιαν χρημάτων ἀποστερηθέντες καὶ πρὸς πεῖραν πολλῶν πρότερον κακῶν ἐλθόντες, νῦν οἰκοῦσι δεσμωτήρια, οἱ δ' ὅτι