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He sent for Manuel; and since he was in Byzantium, he appointed both him and his son-in-law, Duke Nikephoros, despots. But as for Matthew, his elder son, he did not honor him by name with any particular rank, but he granted him the honor above despots, so as to be immediately after the emperor, which Michael, the first of the Palaiologan emperors, had innovated for his son Constantine Porphyrogennetos, which seemed to hold something more than the rank of despots. And he appointed the brothers of the empress, John and Manuel, sebastokrators. Seeing the Roman dominion grievously corrupted by the civil war and despised by its neighbors, and being unable to defend it because of a lack of money, for someone has aptly called money the sinews of war, and having the means to supply it neither from his own house, nor from the public treasury; for all the royal treasures were spent, and the public revenues had failed, the country having been completely corrupted by the war, and of the islands and mainland cities, some being held by the enemy, while the rest had come to extreme poverty from both foreign incursions and internal strife; and there was no way to support the soldiers; and all were useless and unarmed because of poverty, and there was no benefit from them, even though they were many and good; being constrained on all sides by need, he considered making everyo 3.34 ne contribute from their own property, so that both the wealthy might save themselves, and might help save the poor. And thinking thus, it seemed to him that he should not impose this by force, since he intended to spend the money on behalf of the very people contributing, but rather to persuade them by exhortation to proceed to the action voluntarily, and he gathered a general assembly from every walk of life from among the citizens of Byzantium; for neither merchant nor soldier was left out, but craftsmen were also present, and not a few of the common people, and the heads of the holy monasteries and the leaders of the churches; and standing in their midst he spoke as follows: "Men of Rome; As to the ancient prosperity of the Roman dominion, how wonderful it was, and how it conquered some of the barbarians living around it and held them in subjection, while others remained tributary, and the most prominent and those who seemed to be invested with great power, considered it a desirable thing, if they could have them as friends and allies and be treated as equals, being at no disadvantage, you yourselves are not ignorant, even if not all of you, but these venerable and wonderful things, now only sung of, as if they were deeds done beyond Thule, survived until that time, as long as all alike, both emperors and private citizens, cared for the common glory, and they placed the common good before their private interests. But since extreme strife and contention concerning the rule fell upon the emperors, and refraining from fighting against enemies with their kinsme 3.35 n, they burst forth against one another, and the others, neglecting the common safety and obedience to the laws and the rulers, as was fitting, laid claim especially to whatever was to their private advantage, everything has been turned upside down and we have been deprived of the greater part of our glory, and we have come to such a point of weakness, that our concern is no longer about enslaving others, but about how we ourselves shall not be shamefully and ignobly enslaved. That I myself, then, did not plot against the emperor's children, nor came to this point out of love for the empire, or to deprive them of their paternal rule, it is possible for all to receive clear proof from the facts. For if, as the slanderers accused, I had purposed this from the beginning, I would not now, after so great a war and every kind of terrible onslaught and the loss of money and such great misfortune of kinsmen and friends, have refrained from my purpose, when I have everything in my hands. For which reasons I especially acknowledge manifold thanks to the Almighty, that, although they did not choose peace, nor proceed to agreements, even though I often begged them earnestly for peace, but waged war to the extent of their ability and neglected none of the things that pertained to

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μετεπέμπετο Μανουήλ· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἦν ἐν Βυζαντίῳ, ἐκεῖνον μὲν καὶ τὸν γαμβρὸν δοῦκα τὸν Νικηφόρον δεσπότας ἀπεδείκνυ. Ματθαῖον δὲ τὸν πρεσβύτερον υἱὸν ἀξίας μὲν οὐδεμιᾶς ὀνομαστὶ ἠξίου, τιμὴν δὲ παρεῖχε τὴν ὑπὲρ δεσπότας, ὡς εὐθὺς εἶναι μετὰ βασιλέα, ἣν ὁ πρῶτος τῶν Παλαιολόγων βασιλέων Μιχαὴλ ἐκαινοτόμησεν ἐπὶ υἱῷ Κωνσταντίνῳ τῷ Πορφυρογεννήτῳ, ἣ ἐδόκει πλέον τι τῆς τῶν δεσποτῶν ἀξίας ἔχειν. τοὺς γυναικὸς δὲ τῆς βασιλίδος ἀδελφοὺς Ἰωάννην καὶ Μανουὴλ σεβαστοκράτορας ἀπέδειξεν. ὁρῶν δὲ τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίαν δεινῶς ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐμφυλίου πολέμου διεφθαρμένην καὶ καταφρονουμένην ὑπὸ τῶν περιοίκων, ἀμύνεσθαι δὲ ἀδυνάτως ἔχων διὰ σπάνην τῶν χρημάτων, νεῦρα γάρ τις καιρίως εἶπε τὰ χρήματα τοῦ πολέμου, καὶ μήτε οἴκοθεν ἔχων χορηγεῖν, μήτε ἐκ τῶν δημοσίων· τά τε γὰρ κειμήλια ἀνάλωται πάντα τὰ βασιλικὰ, καὶ αἱ πρόσοδοι αἱ κοιναὶ ἐξέλιπον, τῆς χώρας καθάπαξ ὑπὸ τοῦ πολέμου διεφθαρμένης, καὶ νήσων καὶ ἠπειρωτίδων πόλεων τῶν μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων κατεχομένων, τῶν ἐπιλοίπων δὲ εἰς ἐσχάτην ἀπορίαν ἔκ τε τῶν ἔξωθεν ἐφόδων καὶ τῶν ἔνδον στάσεων ἡκόντων· τρέφεσθαι δὲ ἐνῆν τοὺς στρατιώτας οὐδαμόθεν· πάντες δὲ ἦσαν ἄχρηστοι καὶ ἄοπλοι ὑπὸ πενίας, καὶ οὐδεμία ὄνησις ἐκείνων ἦν, καὶ ταῦτα πολλῶν ὄντων καὶ ἀγαθῶν· ἀπορίᾳ πανταχόθεν συνεχόμενος, ἐσκέψατο εἰσφορὰν ποιήσα 3.34 σθαι ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων πάντας, ἵν' αὐτοί τε σώζοιντο οἱ ἔχοντες, καὶ τοὺς ἀπόρους συνδιασώζοιεν. οὕτω δὲ σκεπτομένῳ οὐ βίαν εἰσφέρειν ἐδόκει δεῖν μέλλοντι ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν τῶν εἰσφερόντων τὰ χρήματα ἀναλίσκειν, ἀλλὰ πείθειν παραινέσαντα μᾶλλον πρὸς τὴν πρᾶξιν ἑκοντὶ χωρεῖν, καὶ κοινὴν ἐκκλησίαν ἐκ πάσης ἰδέας βίου συναθροίσας ἐκ τῶν Βυζαντίου πολιτῶν· οὔτε γὰρ ἔμπορος ὑπελείπετο, οὔτε στρατιώτης, ἀλλὰ καὶ χειροτέχναι παρῆσαν, καὶ τοῦ δήμου οὐκ ὀλίγοι καὶ τῶν ἱερῶν φροντιστηρίων οἱ ἐξηγούμενοι καὶ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν οἱ προστάται· καὶ καταστὰς εἰς μέσους ἔλεξε τοιάδε· «ἄνδρες Ῥωμαῖοι· τὴν μὲν ἀρχαίαν τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίας εὐδαιμονίαν ὡς θαυμαστή τις ἦν καὶ τῶν περὶ αὐτὴν οἰκούντων βαρβάρων τῶν μὲν ἐκράτει καὶ ὑποχειρίους εἶχεν, οἱ δὲ ὑπόφοροι διετέλουν, οἱ περιφανέστατοι δὲ καὶ δοκοῦντες μεγάλην δύναμιν περιβεβλῆσθαι, ἀγαπητὸν ἡγοῦντο, εἰ φίλους καὶ συμμάχους ἔχοιεν καὶ ἐξίσης φέροιντο αὐτοῖς μηδὲν πλεονεκτούμενοι, οὐδ' ὑμεῖς ἀγνοεῖτε, εἰ καὶ μὴ πάντες, ἀλλὰ ταῦτα δὴ τὰ σεμνὰ καὶ θαυμαστὰ καὶ μόνον ᾀδόμενα νυνὶ, ὥσπερ τινὰ τῶν ἔξω Θούλης εἰργασμένων, μέχρι τότε περιῆν, ἄχρι πᾶσιν ὁμοίως καὶ βασιλεῦσι καὶ ἰδιώταις τῆς κοινῆς ἔμελεν εὐδοξίας, καὶ τῶν ἰδίᾳ συμφερόντων τὰ κοινῇ προὐτίθεσαν. ἀφ' οὗ δὲ τοῖς τε βασιλεῦσιν ἔρις ἐνέπεσεν ἐσχάτη καὶ φιλονεικία περὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς, καὶ τοῦ μετὰ τῶν οἰκείων μάχεσθαι τοῖς πολεμίοις ἀποσχόμενοι, ἀλλήλοις συν 3.35 εῤῥάγησαν, καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι τῆς κοινῆς ἀμελήσαντες σωτηρίας καὶ τοῦ πειθαρχεῖν τοῖς νόμοις καὶ τοῖς ἄρχουσιν, ᾗ προσῆκε, τῶν ἰδίᾳ τι διαφερόντων μάλιστα ἀντεποιήσαντο, πάντα ἄνω καὶ κάτω γέγονε καὶ τῆς τε εὐδοξίας ἀφῃρήμεθα τὸ πλεῖστον, καὶ εἰς τοσοῦτον ἥκομεν ἀδυναμίας, ὥστε μηκέθ' ἡμῖν ἐπὶ τῷ καταδουλοῦν ἑτέρους τὸν λόγον εἶναι, ἀλλ' ὅπως μὴ αὐτοὶ αἰσχρῶς καὶ ἀγεννῶς δουλεύσομεν. ὡς μὲν οὖν καὶ αὐτὸς οὐκ ἐπεβούλευσα βασιλέως τοῖς παισὶν, οὐδὲ βασιλείας ἐρῶν, ἢ τῆς πατρῴας ἡγεμονίας αὐτοὺς ἀποστερῶν, εἰς τοῦτο ἦλθον, πᾶσιν ἔξεστιν ἀπόδειξιν λαμβάνειν ἐναργῆ ἐκ τῶν πραγμάτων. εἰ γὰρ, ὥσπερ οἱ συκοφάνται κατηγόρουν, τοῦτο προὐθέμην ἐξαρχῆς, οὐκ ἂν μετὰ τὸν τοσοῦτον πόλεμον καὶ τὴν παντοίαν τῶν δεινῶν ἐπιφορὰν καὶ τῶν χρημάτων τὴν ἀποβολὴν καὶ τῶν οἰκείων καὶ τῶν φίλων τὴν τοσαύτην κακοπραγίαν, νῦν ἀπεσχόμην τῆς προθέσεως, πάντα ἔχων ἐν χεροῖν. δι' ἃ καὶ μάλιστα πολλαπλασίους χάριτας ὁμολογῶ τῷ κρείττονι, ὅτι, μὴ ἐκείνων τὴν εἰρήνην ἑλομένων, μηδὲ πρὸς συμβάσεις χωρησάντων, καίτοι γε πολλάκις ἐμοῦ πολλὰ περὶ εἰρήνης δεηθέντος, ἀλλὰ πεπολεμηκότων ἄχρι καὶ τοῦ δυνατοῦ καὶ οὐδενὸς ἠμεληκότων τῶν ἡκόντων εἰς