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by art, nor by any device, but that for both of them the enmity toward the partisans of each side was dissolved; that all should hold the possessions belonging to each from the beginning; that both should reign together, the emperor Kantakouzenos and the young emperor John Palaiologos; and that they should show to one another the proper goodwill of fathers and sons to each other; that the younger should yield to the elder in all things and concede to him the conduct of affairs for ten years on account of his age; and after this, he should share in the rule. Such were the oaths that were taken, and the emperor himself swore, as did the empress Anna with the emperor her son, that they would never transgress them. When the oaths had been administered, those in the palace 2.615 opened the gates and received the emperor, on the eighth of February, in the year six thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the fifteenth indiction. 3.8 1. Such was the war of the Romans against each other that was fanned into flame for five years, and thus they inflicted many terrible evils upon each other, from which it happened that the Roman dominion came close to being overturned. We have set forth all these events as they happened with accuracy, omitting nothing, but keeping our original promise to say nothing either for favor or for enmity, but the truth exactly. It now remains to relate the deeds of Kantakouzenos as sole emperor, and the matters in which he again came into conflict with the emperor Palaiologos, his son-in-law. For when he was in the palace after the oaths, he found the empress standing with her children before the icon of the Theotokos Hodegetria, in order to bend the emperor the more and persuade him to remember none of the difficulties that had occurred during the war. But he first venerated the icon of the Theotokos, then swore by the icon in the hearing of all that he had neither planned nor done anything at all against the empress and her children before the war was started by them, nor had he planned in any way to deprive her and the emperor her 3.9 son of the rule, but that all were slanders and calumnies fabricated by those who had spoken them. and that he from the beginning had held such an opinion as to endure every labor and spend all the money he possessed for the benefit of the common good and of the empress herself and her children and for his own good repute, remaining in his station. Then he gave many thanks to God, that he had lived to come to this day, which would most clearly acquit him of the slanders and unjust accusations, by making manifest through the deeds themselves both the wickedness of those who had spoken and his own fairness. Then they went together with the empress and the emperor her son into the chamber which had been prepared for the reception of the emperor. And they discussed other matters of state, and they betrothed his daughter Helen to the young emperor. For the elder emperor was immediately captivated by him, not only on account of his goodwill toward his father, but also because he saw that he himself was, one might say, a vessel of all sorts of graces. For not only did he display a countenance worthy of sovereignty, but he also showed no ignoble promise of courage and intelligence; which also later turned out according to expectations. For in intelligence he is inferior to none of the emperors his ancestors, and he displayed his courage and daring not once, but many times to the enemy. On the following day, the emperor ordered that both those with him outside 3.10 of Byzantium and the partisans of the empress, senators as well as soldiers and the other notables, should give pledges through oaths to both emperors, and that there should be no difference, nor division, but that all should be ranked under one empire. As many, therefore, as were inside with the empress, both acknowledged their gratitude to the emperor and willingly gave the oaths; but of those outside, the majority of the most prominent men did not tolerate it, but said they would serve only the emperor Kantakouzenos, and no other. For it would be a terrible thing, if after enduring so much during the war and

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τέχνῃ, μήτε μηχανῇ μηδεμιᾷ, ἀλλ' ἀμφοτέροις διαλελύσθαι τὸ πρὸς τοὺς ἑκατέροις προσκειμένους ἔχθος· κτήσεις δὲ ἔχειν πάντας τὰς ἑκάστῳ προσηκούσας ἀπ' ἀρχῆς· συμβασιλεύειν δὲ ἀμφοτέρους βασιλέα τε τὸν Καντακουζηνὸν καὶ τὸν Παλαιολόγον Ἰωάννην τὸν νέον βασιλέα· καὶ ἀλλήλοις εὐνοεῖν τὴν προσήκουσαν εὔνοιαν πατράσι καὶ παισὶ πρὸς ἑκατέρους· ὑπείκειν δὲ τὸν νέον τῷ πρεσβυτέρῳ κατὰ πάντα καὶ τοῦ πράττειν αὐτῷ παραχωρεῖν ἐπὶ δέκα ἔτεσι διὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν· μετὰ τοῦτο δὲ τῆς ἀρχῆς συμμετέχειν. τοιοῦτοι μὲν οἱ ὅρκοι ἐγεγένηντο, καὶ αὐτός τε ὤμνυεν ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ ἡ βασιλὶς Ἄννα μετὰ βασιλέως τοῦ υἱοῦ, ὥστε παραβήσεσθαι μηδέποτε. τετελεσμένων δὲ τῶν ὅρκων, τὰς πύλας οἱ ἐν βασιλείοις 2.615 ὑπανοίξαντες εἰσεδέχοντο τὸν βασιλέα, ὀγδόῃ Φεβρουαρίου ἱσταμένου, ἐπὶ τοῖς πέντε καὶ πεντήκοντα ἔτεσι πρὸς ἑξακισχιλίοις καὶ ὀκτακοσίοις ἐν ἰνδίκτῳ πεντεκαιδεκάτῃ. 3.8 αʹ. Τοιοῦτος μὲν ὁ πρὸς ἀλλήλους τῶν Ῥωμαίων πό3.8 λεμος ἐπὶ πέντε ἔτεσιν ἀνεῤῥιπίσθη, καὶ οὕτως ἐκάκωσαν ἀλλήλους πολλὰ καὶ χαλεπὰ, ἐξ ὧν ὀλίγου δεῖν ἀνατραπῆναι συνέβη τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίαν. ἃ καὶ ὡς ἐγένετο πάντα ἐξεθέμεθα μετὰ ἀκριβείας, μηδὲν παραλιπόντες, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀρχαίαν φυλάξαντες ἐπαγγελίαν, ὥστε μήτε πρὸς χάριν, μήτε πρὸς ἀπέχθειαν μηδὲν εἰπεῖν, ἀλλὰ τὰ ὄντα ἀκριβῶς. λοιπὸν δὲ ἤδη καὶ τὰ Καντακουζηνῷ τῷ βασιλεῖ μοναρχοῦντι πεπραγμένα διηγήσασθαι, καὶ ὅσα ἐν διαφορᾷ κατέστη αὖθις πρὸς Παλαιολόγον βασιλέα τὸν γαμβρόν. ἐπεὶ γὰρ μετὰ τοὺς ὅρκους ἐγένετο ἐν βασιλείοις, βασιλίδα μὲν μετὰ τῶν τέκνων πρὸς τὴν τῆς θεομήτορος εἰκόνα τῆς Ὁδηγητρίας εὗρεν ἱσταμένην, ἵνα μᾶλλον κάμπτῃ βασιλέα καὶ πείθῃ μηδενὸς ἀναμιμνήσκεσθαι τῶν κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον συμβεβηκότων δυσχερῶν. ὁ δὲ πρῶτα μὲν τὴν τῆς θεομήτορος εἰκόνα προσεκύνει, ἔπειτα ὤμνυε κατὰ τῆς εἰκόνος εἰς ἐπήκοον πάντων, ὡς οὔτε βουλεύσαιτο, οὔτε πράξαι τὸ τυχὸν κατὰ βασιλίδος καὶ τῶν παίδων, πρὶν τὸν πόλεμον κινηθῆναι παρ' αὐτῶν, οὐδὲ βουλεύσαιτο κατ' οὐδένα τρόπον αὐτὴν καὶ βασιλέα τὸν 3.9 υἱὸν τῆς ἀρχῆς ἀποστερεῖν, ἀλλὰ πάντα συκοφαντίας εἶναι καὶ διαβολὰς πλασθείσας ὑπὸ τῶν εἰπόντων. ἐκεῖνον δὲ τοιαύτην γνώμην ἐξαρχῆς ἔχειν, ὡς πάντα πόνον ὑπομενοῦντα, καὶ σύμπαντα ὅσα προσῆν χρήματα καταναλώσοντα ὑπὲρ τῆς ὠφελείας τῶν κοινῶν καὶ αὐτῆς τῆς βασιλίδος καὶ τῶν παίδων καὶ σφετέρας εὐδοξίας, μένων ἐπὶ σχήματος. ἔπειτα πολλὰς εὐχαριστίας ἀπεδίδου θεῷ, ὅτι ζῶν εἰς ταύτην ἧκε τὴν ἡμέραν, ἥτις ἀπαλλάξειε σαφέστατα τῶν συκοφαντιῶν καὶ τῶν ἀδίκων ἐγκλημάτων, ἔργοις αὐτοῖς ποιήσαντα καταφανῆ τήν τε τῶν εἰπόντων μοχθηρίαν καὶ τὴν ἐπιείκειαν αὐτοῦ. ἔπειτα εἰσῄεσαν ἅμα βασιλίδι καὶ βασιλεῖ τῷ υἱῷ εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν, ἣ παρεσκεύαστο πρὸς τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως ὑποδοχήν. καὶ ἄλλα τε διειλέχθησαν περὶ τῶν πραγμάτων, καὶ Ἑλένην τὴν αὐτοῦ θυγατέρα τῷ νέῳ κατηγγύησαν βασιλεῖ. ἑάλω γὰρ αὐτοῦ κατάκρας εὐθὺς ὁ πρεσβύτερος βασιλεὺς, οὐ μόνον διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα εὔνοιαν, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸν ἑώρα δοχεῖον ἄν τις εἶπε χαρίτων παντοδαπῶν. οὐ μόνον γὰρ εἶδος ἄξιον ἐπεδείκνυτο τυραννίδος, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς ἀνδρίαν καὶ σύνεσιν οὐκ ἀγεννεῖς ὑπέφαινεν ἐλπίδας· ἃ καὶ εἰς ὕστερον ἐξέβη κατ' ἐλπίδας. συνέσει τε γὰρ οὐδενὸς ἀπολείπεται τῶν προγόνων βασιλέων, καὶ τὴν εὐψυχίαν καὶ τὴν τόλμαν οὐχ ἅπαξ, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλάκις ἐπεδείξατο τοῖς πολεμίοις. εἰς τὴν ὑστεραίαν δὲ ἐκέλευεν ὁ βασιλεὺς τούς τε αὐτῷ συνόντας ἔξω 3.10 Βυζαντίου καὶ τοὺς βασιλίδι προσκειμένους συγκλητικούς τε ἅμα καὶ στρατιώτας καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους τῶν ἐπιφανῶν πίστεις ἀμφοτέροις δι' ὅρκων διδόναι τοῖς βασιλεῦσι, καὶ μηδεμίαν εἶναι διαφορὰν, μηδὲ διάστασιν, ἀλλ' ὑπὸ μίαν βασιλείαν ἅπαντας τετάχθαι. ὅσοι μὲν οὖν ἔνδον ἦσαν μετὰ βασιλίδος, καὶ χάριν προσωμολόγουν βασιλεῖ καὶ τοὺς ὅρκους παρείχοντο προθύμως· τῶν ἔξω δὲ οἱ πλείους οὐκ ἠνείχοντο τῶν μάλιστα ἐπιφανῶν, ἀλλὰ Καντακουζηνῷ μόνον ἔφασαν τῷ βασιλεῖ δουλεύσειν, ἑτέρῳ δὲ μηδενί. δεινὸν γὰρ εἶναι, εἰ τοσαῦτα ὑπομείναντες κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον καὶ