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to have hopes; but if Pherae were neglected and fell under the Kralj, there would no longer be any hope of saving them, and situated as it is like a borderland, it cuts off the other cities of Macedonia from the rest of the Roman dominion. It is necessary to understand these things and not to give up clear advantages for the sake of uncertain ones.” Such was the advice the emperor gave in the assembly, and most of the Roman officials were persuaded. But Amour, with Souliman and the other Persians, openly spoke against it, saying that the emperor had not made a profitable decision, when there was word concerning Byzantium, and so much hope was appearing, to neglect those things and to turn to something else, 2.549 even if it were among the very best options. For the dispute with the other Romans was not about one or two cities, but collectively about the entire empire, of which Byzantium is, as it were, the capital; and if he did not gain control of it, he would never hold the supreme power securely. And if Pherae now goes over to the Triballians, not long after they will be recovered when he campaigns against them, bringing them over as both slaves and allies. So the Persian leaders spoke against it in this way and begged the emperor to listen to them; and at the same time the army was eager to break camp. But the emperor, since he saw that he was unable to do otherwise, permitted the return to Byzantium. When they arrived, they found the prisoners dead and other matters quiet. For after the death of the megas doux, there had been turmoil and confusion for two or three days, then things were quiet, Isaac the panhypersebastos having taken over the rule of all things, with Kinnamos the mystikos as his co-ruler, and they themselves did everything, with the patriarch participating in the administration as before. And after the death of the megas doux, his wife, having all his wealth which was not inconsiderable, with the empress also being aware and not troubling her about the money, withdrew to Epibatae. It was said that a little before his death, he had brought everything he possessed from wherever to Byzantium; his purpose was, by making known to the empress the wealth 2.550 which he would spend on behalf of her and her children, thus to persuade her to arrange a marriage for his daughter to the emperor, her son. But the emperor Kantakouzenos, since nothing from Byzantium turned out according to his hopes, was not moderately annoyed and held the Persian leaders and the officials to blame, because through their poor counsel and faintheartedness he was deprived of Pherae and the cities in Macedonia. For he suspected that after their departure the Kralj would easily subdue them, since they had already despaired of aid from the emperor, and he advised the Persian leaders that it was necessary to turn back again to Macedonia. And they themselves, now seeing that nothing more would come from Byzantium, for everything was already in order and nothing inside was disturbed, and that it would be profitable to campaign again with the emperor towards Macedonia, they were persuaded, though he was grieved by the return. And when it was decided to campaign again towards the west, they came and encamped at Apamea. While they were encamped there, Souliman the son of Sarchanes was suddenly seized by very violent fevers; but those around him, by using a cold regimen most extremely, turned the sickness to the opposite, and with the fevers subsiding, he became extremely chilled and was about to die from syncope, the pericardial blood not being sufficient to withstand the mortification. But Amour, conjecturing the cause of the danger, did all he could to counter the evil. For he gave him theriac 2.551 to drink and old, unmixed wine. But when the fevers grew strong again, those around Souliman used their former methods again, having condemned Amour for great inexperience; and when his heart failed again, he died instantly. But those around him did not think they themselves were the cause of his death, but openly accused Amour of having killed him with poison when he gave him the wine. When Amour learned these things, he feared for his command, lest Sarchanes the father, on learning of his son's death and believing the slander, as if by

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ἐλπίδας ἔχειν· Φεραὶ δὲ εἰ ἀμεληθεῖσαι ὑπὸ Κράλην γένοιντο, αὐτάς τε ἀνασώζεσθαι ἐλπὶς οὐκέτι οὐδεμία, καὶ τὰς ἄλλας τῆς Μακεδονίας πόλεις ὥσπερ μεθόριον κειμένη τῆς ἄλλης ἀρχῆς Ῥωμαίων διατέμνει. ἃ χρὴ συνορᾷν καὶ μὴ ἀδήλων ἕνεκα τὰ πρόδηλα προΐεσθαι καλά.» τοιαῦτα μὲν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐπ' ἐκκλησίας συνεβούλευε, καὶ ἐπείθοντο οἱ πλεῖστοι Ῥωμαίων τῶν ἐν τέλει. Ἀμοὺρ δὲ μετὰ Σουλιμὰν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων Περσῶν ἀντεῖπον φανερῶς, οὐ λυσιτελοῦντα εἰπόντες βασιλέα βεβουλεῦσθαι, λόγων ἡκόντων περὶ Βυζαντίου, καὶ τοσαύτης ἐλπίδος ὑποφαινομένης, ἐκείνων μὲν ἀμελεῖν, πρὸς ἕτερον 2.549 δέ τι τρέπεσθαι, κἂν πάνυ τῶν βελτίστων ᾖ. οὐ γὰρ περὶ μιᾶς καὶ δύο πόλεων τὴν διαφορὰν αὐτῷ πρὸς τοὺς ἄλλους Ῥωμαίους εἶναι, ἀλλὰ κοινῇ περὶ συμπάσης τῆς ἀρχῆς, ἧς ὡσπερεὶ κεφάλαιόν ἐστι Βυζάντιον· κἂν μὴ ἐκείνου περιγένηται, οὐδέποτε βεβαίως τὴν ἡγεμονίαν ἕξειν. Φεραὶ δὲ εἰ νῦν προσχωρήσουσι Τριβαλοῖς, οὐ μακρῷ ὕστερον ἀνασωθήσονται αὐτοῖς ἐπιστρατεύσαντος καὶ αὐτοὺς ἐπαγομένου καὶ δούλους καὶ συμμάχους. οἱ μὲν οὖν Περσῶν ἄρχοντες τοιαῦτά τε ἀντεῖπον καὶ ἐδέοντο βασιλέως σφίσι πείθεσθαι· ἅμα δὲ καὶ ὥρμητο ἡ στρατιὰ ἀναζευγνύειν. βασιλεὺς δὲ ἐπεὶ ἑώρα πράττειν ἑτέρως ἀδυνάτως ἔχων, ἐπέτρεπε τὴν ἐς Βυζάντιον ἐπάνοδον. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἧκον, τούς τε δεσμώτας εὗρον ἀποτεθνηκότας καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πράγματα ἐν ἡσυχίᾳ. μετὰ γὰρ τὴν μεγάλου δουκὸς τελευτὴν, ἐπὶ δύο καὶ τρισὶν ἡμέραις ταραχῆς καὶ συγχύσεως γεγενημένης, ἔπειτα ἠρέμει, Ἰσαακίου τοῦ πανυπερσεβάστου τὴν ἀρχὴν τῶν ὅλων διαδεξαμένου, συνάρχοντος αὐτῷ καὶ Κιννάμου τοῦ μυστικοῦ, καὶ πάντα ἔπραττον αὐτοὶ, καὶ πατριάρχου ὥσπερ πρότερον συμμετέχοντος τῆς διοικήσεως. μετὰ δὲ τὴν μεγάλου τελευτὴν δουκὸς, ἡ γυνὴ τὸν πλοῦτον πάντα ἔχουσα ὄντα οὐκ ὀλίγον, συνειδυίας καὶ τῆς βασιλίδος καὶ μηδὲν περὶ τῶν χρημάτων ἐνοχλούσης, ἀνεχώρησεν εἰς Ἐπιβάτας. ἐλέγετο δὲ πρὸ τῆς τελευτῆς μικρὸν, πάντα ὅσα εἶχεν ὁπουδήποτε, εἰς Βυζάντιον ἀγαγεῖν· σκοπὸς δὲ ἦν αὐτῷ, ὡς βασιλίδι τὸν πλοῦτον 2.550 ποιήσας δῆλον, ὃν ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς καὶ τέκνων ἀναλώσει, οὕτω πείθειν αὐτὴν θυγατέρα τὴν ἐκείνου βασιλεῖ προσαρμόζειν τῷ υἱῷ. βασιλεὺς δὲ ὁ Καντακουζηνὸς, ἐπεὶ ἐκ Βυζαντίου οὐδὲν ἀπήντα κατ' ἐλπίδας, οὐ μετρίως ἠνιᾶτο καὶ τοὺς ἄρχοντας Περσῶν καὶ τοὺς ἐν τέλει ἐν αἰτίαις εἶχεν, ὅτι διὰ τὴν αὐτῶν ἀβουλίαν καὶ μικροψυχίαν Φερῶν τε καὶ τῶν κατὰ Μακεδονίαν πόλεων ἀποστεροῖτο. ὑπώπτευε γὰρ μετὰ τὴν ἐκείνων ἀναχώρησιν ῥᾳδίως παραστήσεσθαι τὸν Κράλην, ἀπειρηκυίας ἤδη πρὸς τὴν ἐκ βασιλέως ἐπικουρίαν, καὶ παρῄνει τοῖς ἄρχουσι Περσῶν, αὖθις εἶναι δέον εἰς Μακεδονίαν ἀναστρέφειν. συνορῶντες δὲ ἤδη καὶ αὐτοὶ, ὡς ἐκ Βυζαντίου μὲν οὐδὲν ἔσται πλέον, ἅπαντα γὰρ ἤδη ἐν τάξει ἦσαν, καὶ οὐδὲν ἔνδον ἐταράττετο, λυσιτελοίη δὲ αὖθις πρὸς Μακεδονίαν συνεκστρατεύειν βασιλεῖ, ἐπείθοντο ἀνιωμένῳ διὰ τὴν ἐπάνοδον. καὶ ἐπεὶ ἐδέδοκτο πρὸς τὴν ἑσπέραν αὖθις ἐκστρατεύειν, εἰς Ἀπάμειαν ἐστρατοπεδεύσαντο ἐλθόντες. ἐστρατοπεδευμένοις δὲ ἐκεῖ ὁ τοῦ Σαρχάνη υἱὸς Σουλιμὰν ἀθρόον ὑπὸ λαυροτάτων κατεσχέθη πυρετῶν· οἱ περὶ αὐτὸν δὲ ἀκροτάτως χρησάμενοι ψυχρᾷ διαίτῃ, εἰς τοὐναντίον περιέστησαν τὸ νόσημα, καὶ τῶν πυρετῶν ἐπιλειπόντων, ἄκρως καταψυχθεὶς, ἔμελλεν ἐκλείπειν ὑπὸ συγκοπῆς, τοῦ περικαρδίου αἵματος οὐκ ἐξαρκοῦντος ἀντέχειν πρὸς τὴν νέκρωσιν. Ἀμοὺρ δὲ τῆς αἰτίας στοχαζόμενος τοῦ κινδύνου, ἀντέπραττεν ὅσα ἐξῆν πρὸς τὸ κακόν. θηριακήν τε γὰρ πα 2.551 ρείχετο πίνειν καὶ ἄκρατον οἶνον παλαιόν. τῶν πυρετῶν δὲ αὖθις ἰσχὺν λαβόντων, οἱ περὶ Σουλιμὰν ἐχρῶντο τοῖς προτέροις αὖθις, ἀπειρίαν πολλὴν Ἀμοὺρ κατεγνωκότες· νεκρωθείσης δὲ αὖθις τῆς καρδίας, ἀπέθανε παραχρῆμα. οἱ δὲ περὶ ἐκεῖνον οὐκ αὐτοὺς τοῦ θανάτου ᾤοντο αἰτίους εἶναι, ἀλλὰ Ἀμοὺρ κατηγόρουν φανερῶς, ὡς ἀπεκτονότος δηλητηρίῳ, ἡνίκα παρείχετο τὸν οἶνον. ἃ πυθόμενος ὁ Ἀμοὺρ ἔδεισε περὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς, μὴ Σαρχάνης ὁ πατὴρ περὶ τῆς τελευτῆς πυθόμενος τοῦ υἱοῦ καὶ πιστεύσας τῇ διαβολῇ, ὡς παρ'