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pipes and whatever has been invented by men for pleasure. And when these had ceased, the singers sang encomiums composed by certain learned men for the bride. And when all the rites befitting a king's daughters being wedded were being performed, the king feasted both the army and all those in authority, both of the Romans and of the barbarians, for not a few days. Then he sent his daughter to her husband who received her with much pleasure; and she, living with the barbarian, showed herself in her conduct to be worthy of the renown of her fathers. For not only was she not harmed at all in her faith from her association with them, although they often attempted many things to persuade her to change, but she also called back many of those who had been led to impiety, persuading them by her words 2.589 toward the choice of truth. And so conducting herself securely in her faith and often risking danger for it, as far as was in her power, she did not neglect other good things, but bidding farewell to all luxury and extravagance, she distributed her possessions to the poor, and she rescued many of those sold into slavery by the barbarians, herself providing the gold, and she was a harbor of salvation for all the unfortunate Romans who had been enslaved by the barbarians by God's permission. She, then, in this way ordered herself to every form of a virtuous life for the time she lived with the barbarians. 2. And at the same time, from the cities in Pontus subject to the Romans, Heraclea and Amastris, spies were sent, a certain priest and a monk, to spy on the king's power, how great it was that it could so accurately besiege Byzantium. And when they came to Selymbria, they were hosted by Kontophrai, the protosebastos, who was a friend. And he brought them to the king, and they reported the reason for which they were sent by their fellow citizens. And when the king had dealt gently with them and benefited them, as they were about to depart for home, leaving the palace, they saw someone staying in the palace, with whom in Byzantium they had seen Kinnamos, the mystikos, then in charge of affairs 2.590, conversing in secret. And immediately they informed Kontophrai about the man, and they advised him to investigate the reason for his arrival. And as Kontophrai, wishing to startle the man, immediately and rather violently seized and pulled at his garments, a dagger was found hidden under his cloak, lacking no exaggeration of sharpness and point, and having certain hollows and grooves along its sides, in which were placed drugs able to destroy very quickly whoever came into contact with it. And when the man was interrogated as to what he wanted with the dagger, he said that he had been persuaded by the rulers in Byzantium to come to wound the king with this dagger. He had been there for fifteen days, during which, having once found a suitable time for the deed, he had again held back, fearing the king's threat. For he said that in the middle of the night, with the king present in the palace, and the lights having been extinguished by the winds in the winter season, while the others were busy bringing lights and making a commotion, he, thinking it an opportune moment because of the darkness and approaching, the king ordered no one to approach, as he himself was holding a dagger. And he, having heard this and becoming frightened, refrained from the plot. And when the king was asked if he had suspected anything about the plot at that time, he said nothing, but with the others being in an uproar and as if fearing for him, in a manner of pleasantry he told them to be brave and not to be afraid. For he himself also held a dagger. The 2.591 plot, therefore, was revealed in this way. Both the king himself and those around him acknowledged many thanks to God, who thus rescued the king from difficult dangers. But the empress Anna and the rulers of affairs around her, since they had gained nothing from the alliance of the Mysians and from the others, and they saw it was impossible to persuade Orkhan to wage war against the emperor Kantakouzenos because of the marriage alliance, they turned to persuading a certain other one of the barbarians

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σύριγγες καὶ ὅσα πρὸς τέρψιν ἐξεύρηται ἀνθρώποις. παυσαμένων δὲ ἐκείνων, ἐγκώμια ᾖδον οἱ μελῳδοὶ ὑπό τινων λογίων πρὸς τὴν νύμφην πεποιημένα. ἐπεὶ δὲ πάντα ἐτελεῖτο τὰ βασιλέως προσήκοντα θυγατράσιν νυμφευομέναις, τήν τε στρατιὰν καὶ τοὺς ἐν τέλει πάντας καὶ Ῥωμαίων καὶ βαρβάρων ὁ βασιλεὺς εἱστία ἐφ' ἡμέρας οὐκ ὀλίγας. ἔπειτα ἐξέπεμπε τὴν θυγατέρα πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα μετὰ πολλῆς ὑποδεξάμενον τῆς ἡδονῆς, ἣ καὶ τῷ βαρβάρῳ συνοικοῦσα τῆς εὐκλείας τῶν πατέρων ἀξίαν ἑαυτὴν ἐν τῷ πολιτεύεσθαι παρείχετο. οὐ μόνον γὰρ ἐκ τῆς συνδιατριβῆς ἐκείνων παρεβλάβη κατὰ τὴν πίστιν οὐδὲν, καίτοι γε πολλὰ πολλάκις ἐπιχειρούντων μεταπείθειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλοὺς τῶν πρὸς τὴν ἀσέβειαν ὑπαχθέντων ἀνεκαλέσατο λό 2.589 γοις πείθουσα πρὸς τὴν αἵρεσιν τῆς ἀληθείας. οὕτω δὲ περὶ τὴν πίστιν ἀσφαλῶς πολιτευσαμένη καὶ τόγε εἰς αὐτὴν ἧκον ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς προκινδυνεύσασα πολλάκις, οὐδὲ τῶν ἄλλων ἀγαθῶν ἠμέλει, ἀλλὰ πάσῃ τρυφῇ καὶ πολυτελείᾳ χαίρειν εἰποῦσα, τὰ ὄντα τοῖς πένησι διεδίδου, καὶ πολλοὺς τῶν ἐπὶ δουλείᾳ παρὰ τῶν βαρβάρων ἀποδιδομένων ἐῤῥύετο, χρυσίον αὐτὴ παρέχουσα, καὶ πᾶσι σωτηρίας ἦν λιμὴν τοῖς δυστυχοῦσι Ῥωμαίων καὶ δεδουλωμένοις ὑπὸ τῶν βαρβάρων κατὰ συγχώρησιν θεοῦ. ἐκείνη μὲν οὖν οὕτω πρὸς ἅπασαν ἰδέαν ἐναρέτου βίου παρ' ὅσον συνδιῆγε τοῖς βαρβάροις χρόνον ἐῤῥύθμησεν ἑαυτήν. ʹ. Ὑπὸ δὲ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον καὶ ἐκ τῶν κατὰ Πόντον πόλεων Ῥωμαίοις ὑπηκόων Ἡρακλείας καὶ Ἀμάστριδοςκατάσκοποι ἐπέμφθησαν ἱερεύς τις καὶ μοναχὸς, τὴν βασιλέως δύναμιν κατασκεψόμενοι, ὁπόση τις οὖσα, οὕτως ἀκριβέστατα Βυζάντιον δύναται πολιορκεῖν. οἱ δὲ, ἐπεὶ εἰς Σηλυμβρίαν ἧκον, Κοντοφραὶ ἐξενίζοντο τῷ πρωτοσεβαστῷ ὄντι ἐπιτηδείῳ. ὁ δὲ αὐτοὺς προσῆγε βασιλεῖ καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν ἀπήγγελλον, δι' ἣν τοῖς σφετέροις ἐπέμφθησαν πολίταις. βασιλέως δὲ ἡμέρως χρηματίσαντος αὐτοῖς καὶ εὐηργετηκότος, ἐπεὶ ἀναχωρεῖν πρὸς τὴν οἰκίαν ἔμελλον, τῶν βασιλείων ἐξιόντες, ὁρῶσί τινα ἐν βασιλείοις διατρίβοντα, ᾧ ἐν Βυζαντίῳ μυστικὸν ἑώρων τὸν Κίνναμον, ἄρχοντα τότε τῶν πραγμά 2.590 των, διαλεγόμενον ἐν ἀποῤῥήτῳ. καὶ αὐτίκα Κοντοφραὶ ἐδήλουν περὶ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, παρῄνουν τε ἀνακρίνειν τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς ἀφίξεως αὐτοῦ. Κοντοφραὶ δὲ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐκπλήττειν βουλομένου εὐθὺς καὶ θρασύτερον τῶν ἱματίων ἁπτομένου καὶ περιέλκοντος, μάχαιρα εὕρητο ὑπὸ θοιμάτιον κρυπτομένη, ὀξύτητος μὲν καὶ ἀκμῆς οὐδεμίαν ἀπολείπουσα ὑπερβολὴν, κοιλότητας δέ τινας καὶ ἀντιλαβὰς ἔχουσα κατὰ τὰ πλάγια, αἷς φάρμακα ἐνέκειτο τάχιστα διαφθείρειν τὸν προσομιλήσοντα δυνάμενα. ἀνακρινόμενος δὲ ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ὅ,τι βούλοιτο αὐτῷ ἡ μάχαιρα, ἐκ τῶν ἐν Βυζαντίῳ ἔφασκεν ἀρχόντων ἐπὶ τῷ βασιλέα ταύτῃ τιτρώσκειν τῇ μαχαίρᾳ πεπεισμένον ἥκειν. πέντε δὲ ἡμέρας ἐπὶ δέκα ἔχειν ἀφιγμένον, ἐν αἷς ἅπαξ εὐπορήσαντα ἐπιτηδείου πρὸς τὸ ἔργον χρόνου, αὖθις ἀποσχέσθαι δείσαντα τὴν βασιλέως ἀπειλήν. μέσης γὰρ ἔφασκε νυκτὸς, βασιλέως ἐπιδεδημηκότος βασιλείοις, καὶ τῶν φώτων ὑπ' ἀνέμων ἐν χειμῶνος ὥρᾳ ἐσβεσμένων, τοὺς ἄλλους μὲν περὶ φώτων ἠσχολῆσθαι κομιδὴν καὶ θορυβεῖν, αὐτὸν δὲ καιρὸν νομίσαντα διὰ τὸ σκότος καὶ προσιόντα, βασιλέα μηδένα προσεγγίζειν προσειπεῖν, ὡς καὶ αὐτὸν τὴν μάχαιραν κατέχοντα. ὃ πυθόμενον αὐτὸν καὶ δείσαντα ἀποσχέσθαι τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς. ἐρωτωμένου δὲ βασιλέως, εἴ τι τότε περὶ τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς ὑπώπτευκεν, οὐδὲν εἶπεν, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἄλλων θορυβούντων καὶ ὥσπερ δεδοικότων περὶ αὐτοῦ, ἐν εὐτραπελίας εἴδει θαῤῥεῖν πρὸς αὐτοὺς εἰπεῖν καὶ μὴ δεδοικέναι. μάχαιραν γὰρ κατέχειν καὶ αὐτόν. ἡ 2.591 μὲν οὖν ἐπιβουλὴ οὕτως ἐμηνύθη. ὁ βασιλεύς τε αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ περὶ αὐτὸν πολλὰς ὡμολόγουν χάριτας θεῷ, οὕτως ἐκ χαλεπῶν κινδύνων ῥυομένῳ βασιλέα. βασιλὶς δὲ ἡ Ἄννα καὶ οἱ περὶ αὐτὴν τῶν πραγμάτων ἄρχοντες, ἐπεὶ παρά τε τῆς Μυσῶν συμμαχίας καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὤνηντο οὐδὲν, Ὀρχάνην τε ἀδύνατον ἑώρων μεταπείθειν πρὸς Καντακουζηνὸν τὸν βασιλέα πολεμεῖν διὰ τὸ κῆδος, ἐτράποντο ἐπὶ τὸ πείθειν ἕτερόν τινα τῶν βαρβάρων