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of money he was able to take nothing. But now that has been lost and he wants to deprive them of what they have inside, alleging wars and preparations and other deceptions, none of which will persuade them to yield what they have, unless he wishes to use open violence and destroy them. Such things and much more terrible than these were being spread to others, and there was tumult and disorder, and everyone alike refused the tax levy. But when the emperor learned of this, he already perceived the wickedness of those who had conspired and was moved to punish those who were inciting the people to such things, thinking it absurd and falling completely outside of what is good and just, to neglect the 3.42 salvation of all the others because of the unreasonableness of a few. But lest he seem to be punishing the men not for the sake of the common good, but rather because they had previously sided with the empress Anna, having found a specious pretext, he both let them go unpunished and neglected the whole other business, being very indignant and distressed, because he was not preparing beforehand against the enemies who would rise up, but would be forced at the same time both to oppose the enemy, and to provide money and the other necessities for the war. So for these reasons he then refrained from his well-laid plans, which later harmed matters not a little. For if, as the emperor intended at that time, he had established a naval force and armed triremes to rule the sea, the affairs of the Romans would not have been so greatly harmed by the Latins of Galata. A little later another plot arose. For some of the senators from among those who had previously fought against the emperor, having won over others of the same clay, wanted the young emperor John, with his mother the empress knowing nothing, having deceived him, as he was young and not yet possessed of a spirit befitting a man, to escape with him to the fortress of Galata and to take up war against the emperor, his father-in-law, in the hope that many of the Byzantines would join them. But when the plot was revealed to the emperor, the conspirators paid the penalty for their villainy, being cast into prisons; and when a 3.43 short time had passed, the emper3.43or again granted pardon to the offenders, and releasing them from the prisons, he employed them again, as each was fit. 7. But the most prominent of those who had been with the emperor Kantakouzenos during the war came forward and said they were being wronged and suffering violence from him, who was forcing them to swear oaths of servitude to the young emperor and his mother the empress, who would never be able to be reconciled to them purely and without guile, but would even be watching for an opportunity to attack and destroy them. And this would not seem far from madness to those of sound mind, if they, having endured many hardships during the war, would now after the victory serve those who fought them, not even being able to look them in the face because of the oaths, while the others, both by keeping their oaths would rule over them, and by breaking them, whenever they wished, would kill them. For behold, if this present plot had succeeded for them, nothing would have prevented them either from dying as vanquished, or, having held out in the war, from being in their former troubles again, campaigning against their kinsmen and being subjected to sedition, just as before by the demes, and enduring confiscations and prisons and other things similar to the former ones. And they demanded that their oaths be dissolved and that they act as seemed expedient to them. For since they were first forced by him to swear the oaths unwillingly, and now, since the others were the first to break them, there was no blame for them, if some thought they might ma 3.44 ke for themselves. Such things did the men in authority among the adherents of the emperor Kantakouzenos say. But the emperor said that it was not just to hold others accountable for the sins of others. For the empress knew nothing of what had happened, but appears to be observing all that was sworn with precision, and the emperor her son is not justly held accountable on account of his age, even if to those

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χρημάτων ἠδυνήθη λαβεῖν οὐδέν. νυνὶ δὲ ἐκεῖνά τε ἀπόλωλε καὶ τῶν ἔνδον ὄντων βούλεται ἀποστερεῖν, πολέμους προφασιζόμενος καὶ παρασκευὰς καὶ ἄλλας ἐξαπάτας, ὧν οὐδὲν αὐτοὺς πείσει τῶν ὄντων αὐτῷ παραχωρεῖν, εἰ μὴ βούλοιτο βιάζεσθαι φανερῶς καὶ διαφθείρειν. τοιαῦτα μὲν καὶ πολλῷ δεινότερα τούτων πρὸς τοὺς ἄλλους διεδίδοτο, καὶ θόρυβος ἦν καὶ ἀταξία, καὶ πάντες ὁμοίως πρὸς τῶν χρημάτων ἀνένευον τὴν εἰσφοράν. βασιλεὺς δὲ ἐπεὶ ἐπύθετο, συνεώρα μὲν ἤδη τῶν συνεσκευακότων τὴν κακίαν καὶ ὥρμητο κολάζειν τοὺς ἐπὶ τοιαῦτα ἐνάγοντας τὸν δῆμον, ἄτοπον ἡγούμενος καὶ παντελῶς ἔξω τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ τοῦ δικαίου πίπτον, διὰ τήν τινων ἀγνωμοσύνην τῆς τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων 3.42 σωτηρίας καταμελεῖν. ἵνα δὲ μὴ δοκοίη μὴ τῆς κοινῆς ὠφελείας ἕνεκα, ἀλλὰ τοῦ προσκεῖσθαι Ἄννῃ τῇ βασιλίδι τοὺς ἄνδρας πρότερον ἀμυνόμενος κολάζειν εὐπροσώπου προφάσεως εὐπορήσας, αὐτούς τε ἠφίει ἀτιμωρήτους καὶ τῆς ἄλλης πράξεως ἁπάσης κατημέλει, πολλὰ ἀγανακτῶν καὶ ἀνιώμενος, ὅτι μὴ προπαρασκευάζοιτο πρὸς τοὺς ἐπιφυησομένους πολεμίους, ἀλλ' ἅμα ἀναγκασθήσεται τοῖς τε πολεμίοις ἀντιτάττεσθαι, καὶ χρήματα καὶ τὰ ἄλλα τὰ πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον ἀναγκαῖα ἐκπορίζειν. τότε μὲν οὖν διὰ ταῦτα τῶν καλῶς ἀπέσχετο βεβουλευμένων, ὅπερ ὕστερον οὐκ ὀλίγον ἔβλαψε τὰ πράγματα. εἰ γὰρ, ὥσπερ ὁ βασιλεὺς διενοεῖτο τότε, ναυτικὴν δύναμιν συνίστη καὶ τριήρεις ὥπλιζεν ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάττης τὴν ἀρχὴν, οὐκ ἂν τοσαῦτα ὑπὸ Λατίνων τῶν κατὰ τὸν Γαλατᾶν τὰ Ῥωμαίων ἐκακοῦτο πράγματα. μετὰ μικρὸν δὲ καὶ ἄλλη τις ἐπεφύετο ἐπιβουλή. τῶν γὰρ συγκλητικῶν τινες ἐκ τῶν πρότερον πολεμούντων βασιλεῖ, καὶ ἄλλους τῆς αὐτῆς κεραμείας προσεταιρισάμενοι, βασιλέα τὸν νέον Ἰωάννην ἐβούλοντο, οὐδὲν βασιλίδος συνειδυίας τῆς μητρὸς, ἐξαπατήσαντες, οἷα νέον καὶ οὔπω φρονήματος ἀνδρὶ προσήκοντος ἐπειλημμένον, σὺν αὐτῷ εἰς τὸ Γαλατᾶ φρούριον διαδιδράσκειν καὶ πόλεμον αἴρεσθαι πρὸς βασιλέα τὸν κηδεστὴν ἐπ' ἐλπίδι τοῦ πολλοὺς προσθήσεσθαι τῶν Βυζαντίων. μηνυθείσης δὲ τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς τῷ βασιλεῖ, δίκας ἔδοσαν τῆς κακουργίας οἱ συσκευασάμενοι, εἰς δεσμωτήρια ἐμβληθέντες· χρόνου δὲ 3.43 ὀλίγου παρελθόντος, συγγνώμην τε αὖθις παρέσχετο ὁ βασι3.43 λεὺς τοῖς ἁμαρτήσασι, καὶ τῶν δεσμωτηρίων ἀπολύσας αὖθις ἐχρῆτο, ᾗ ἕκαστος ἐπιτηδείως εἶχε. ζʹ. Τῶν Καντακουζηνῷ δὲ τῷ βασιλεῖ κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον συνόντων οἱ μάλιστα ἐπιφανέστεροι προσελθόντες, ἀδικεῖσθαι ἔφασαν καὶ βίαν ὑπομένειν παρ' αὐτοῦ ἀναγκάζοντος ὅρκους ἐπὶ δουλείᾳ παρέχεσθαι βασιλεῖ τῷ νέῳ καὶ βασιλίδι τῇ μητρὶ, οὐδέποτε δυνησομένοις καθαρῶς καὶ ἀδόλως καταλλάττεσθαι αὐτοῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ καιρὸν ἐπιτηροῦσιν ἐπιτίθεσθαι καὶ διαφθείρειν. τοῦτο δὲ οὐδὲ μακρὰν ἀνοίας ἂν δόξειε παρ' εὖ φρονοῦσιν, εἰ αὐτοὶ μὲν πολλὰ κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον ὑπομεμενηκότες δυσχερῆ, καὶ νῦν μετὰ τὴν νίκην δουλεύσουσι τοῖς πολεμήσασιν, οὐδὲ ἀντιβλέπειν δυνάμενοι διὰ τοὺς ὅρκους, ἐκεῖνοι δὲ εὐορκοῦντές τε ἄρξουσιν αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐπιορκοῦντες, ὅτε βούλονται, ἀποκτενοῦσιν. ἰδοὺ γὰρ εἰ προὐχώρησεν αὐτοῖς ἡ νῦν ἐπιβουλὴ, οὐδὲν ἂν ἐκώλυεν ἢ ἀποθνήσκειν νικηθέντας, ἢ ἀντισχόντας πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον, αὖθις ἐν τοῖς προτέροις εἶναι κακοῖς στρατεύοντας κατὰ τῶν ὁμοφύλων καὶ καταστασιαζομένους, ὥσπερ καὶ πρότερον ὑπὸ τῶν δήμων, καὶ δημεύσεις ὑπομένοντας καὶ δεσμωτήρια καὶ ἄλλα ἄττα τοῖς προτέροις παραπλήσια. ἠξίουν τε καὶ αὐτοῖς τοὺς ὅρκους διαλελύσθαι καὶ πράττειν, ᾗ αὐτοῖς δοκεῖ συμφέρειν. καὶ πρότερόν τε γὰρ ἀναγκασθέντες ὑπ' ἐκείνου τοὺς ὅρκους ἀκουσίως παρασχέσθαι, καὶ νῦν, ἐπειδὴ πρῶτοι παραβεβήκασιν ἐκεῖνοι, οὐδεμίαν αὐτοῖς αἰτίαν εἶναι, εἰ πρόνοιάν τινα ποι 3.44 οῖντο ἑαυτῶν. τοιαῦτα μὲν τῶν Καντακουζηνῷ τῷ βασιλεῖ προσκειμένων οἱ ἐν τέλει εἶπον. βασιλεὺς δὲ οὐκ ἔφασκεν ἐφ' οἷς ἕτεροι ἐξήμαρτον, ἑτέρους εὐθύνειν εἶναι δίκαιον. βασιλίς τε γὰρ οὐδὲν ᾔδει τῶν γεγενημένων, ἀλλὰ τὰ ὀμωμοσμένα πάντα μετὰ ἀκριβείας φαίνεται φυλάττουσα, καὶ βασιλεὺς ὁ υἱὸς οὐ δίκαιος εὐθύνεσθαι διὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν, εἰ καὶ τοῖς