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having discussed what had been done, and having found everyone sharing his indignation, and having the army on his side, he openly broke with Palaiologos and the Zealots. But Palaiologos, seeing the citizens gathering against him, occupied the coastal areas, just as before, and ordered them to take up arms, intending to oppose the protosebastos and the other citizens. But they, having learned what was necessary from previous events, did not turn to delays and hesitation, but as soon as they perceived him arming with the coastal men by night, they themselves attacked, not waiting for day, and having gained the upper hand, drove him from the city, and the populace plundered his house and those of the coastal men; but no one died in the fight. Palaiologos, therefore, immediately despairing of any further attempt, when he was driven from the city, went to the Kral, then from there to holy Athos. But the Zealots, since they could no longer lead the populace, nor plunder the houses of the wealthy, casting aside their former pretense that they were fighting for the young emperor, intrigued for the city to be betrayed to the Triballi. For the Kral in no way spared money, but both provided much, and promised more. For the man was otherwise ambitious in benefactions, but especially with regard to the capture of Thessalonica he considered everything else of secondary importance, knowing that, if he should become master of the city, he would both recover what had been spent and he would possess a not insignificant part of the Roman dominion, having added so great a city to so many already captured. Therefore, lavishly pouring out his money, he persuaded both the Zealots and, through them, not a few of the citizens to support him, so that they even openly argued that it was necessary to go over to him, as he was able to inflict the greatest harm because he held the whole country under his control and could lay siege, and was willing to help them, if they went over. And the Kral himself, at their instigation, encamped around and besieged it. Seeing these things, the protosebastos and the pro-Roman citizens were neither able to overcome the traitors because of the power pressing from outside, especially since the populace was distressed by the siege and thought that slavery under the Triballi would be a release from their troubles, nor could they endure that so great a city, being Roman, should be lost and that they themselves should be enslaved to the barbarians like chattel. For these reasons they begged the emperor not to overlook them, but to come to their aid with all speed, since within a few days, if he did not send help, the city would be captured. Such things they wrote. But to the emperor at that time it seemed a terrible thing to take no thought for such a city in peril, and he was vexed at having to neglect his resolutions and turn again to wars and campaigns. Nevertheless, putting his own interests second to the common good of the Romans, he acted again, so that Thessalonica might not be lost. And he wrote to them to resist the traitors and not to be idle, as he himself would make his assistance swift. And he also sent an embassy to Orhan his son-in-law, asking for an army in alliance. And he immediately ordered his son Suleiman, with twenty thousand horsemen, to campaign with the emperor against the Triballi. But the emperor, wishing to bring the king his son-in-law on the campaign to Thessalonica, equipped triremes, so that he might sail safely in them with him to Macedonia. For he knew that the barbarians were jealous of the young emperor and would readily kill him, if they could get within reach. For it is a barbaric law among them to kill anyone who might dispute the rule, and to spare neither age nor kinship. Therefore, especially at the beginning of the peace between the emperors, after the young emperor married the empress Helena, Orhan, thinking he was doing a favor to the emperor his father-in-law, if in some way they might kill the young emperor, a certain eunuch called Mertzianes, and having with him not a few others, admired among them for bodily strength and courage,

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διαλεχθεὶς περὶ τοῦ πεπραγμένου, καὶ συναγανακτοῦντας πάντας εὑρηκὼς, ἔχων καὶ τὴν στρατιὰν αὐτῷ προσέχουσαν, διηνέχθη φανερῶς πρὸς Παλαιολόγον καὶ τοὺς Ζηλωτάς. Παλαιολόγος δὲ ὁρῶν ἐπ' αὐτὸν συνισταμένους τοὺς πολίτας, τοὺς παραθαλασσίους κατελάμβανεν, ὥσπερ καὶ τὸ πρότερον, καὶ πρὸς ὅπλα ἐκέλευε χωρεῖν, ὡς πρωτοσεβάστῳ τε καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀντικαταστησόμενος πολίταις. ἐκεῖνοι δὲ ἐκ τῶν προτέρων τὰ δέοντα δεδιδαγμένοι, οὐ πρὸς ἀσχολίας ἐτράποντο καὶ μέλλησιν, ἀλλ' ἅμα τε ᾐσθάνοντο μετὰ τῶν παραθαλασσίων ὁπλιζόμενον νυκτὸς, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐπῄεσαν, μὴ περιμείναντες τὴν ἡμέραν, καὶ περιγενόμενοι, ἐξέωσαν τῆς πόλεως, τήν τε οἰκίαν ἐκείνου διήρπασεν ὁ δῆμος καὶ τὰς παραθαλασσίων· ἀπέθανε δὲ οὐδεὶς κατὰ τὴν μάχην. ὁ μὲν οὖν Παλαιολόγος εὐθὺς πρὸς πᾶσαν πεῖραν ἀπειπὼν, ἐπεὶ ἐξηλαύνετο τῆς πόλεως, πρὸς Κράλην ἦλθεν, ἔπειτα ἐκεῖθεν εἰς Ἄθω τὸν ἱερόν. οἱ Ζηλωταὶ δὲ ἐπεὶ τὸν δῆμον ἄγειν ἠδύναντο οὐκέτι, οὐδὲ διαρπάζειν τὰς οἰκίας τῶν ἐχόντων, τὴν προτέραν ἀποθέμενοι ὑπόκρισιν, ὡς ὑπὲρ βασιλέως ἀγωνίζονται τοῦ νέου, ἔπρασσον, ὅπως ἡ πόλις προδοθείη Τριβαλοῖς. Κράλης γὰρ οὐδαμῶς ἐφείδετο χρημάτων, ἀλλὰ παρεῖχέ τε πολλὰ, καὶ πλείω ἐπηγγέλλετο. ἦν γὰρ καὶ ἄλλως μὲν πρὸς εὐεργεσίας ὁ ἀνὴρ φιλότιμος, μάλιστα δὲ πρὸς τὴν Θεσσαλονίκης αἵρεσιν πάντα δεύτερα ἡγεῖτο, εἰδὼς, ὡς, εἰ γένοιτο κύριος τῆς πόλεως, τά τε ἀναλωθέντα ἀ 3.110 νασώσεται, καὶ μέρος οὐ μικρὸν τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίας ἕξει, τηλικαύτην πόλιν ταῖς προκατειλημμέναις τοσαύταις οὔσαις ἐπιθείς. ἀφειδῶς οὖν ἐκκενῶν τὰ χρήματα, τούς τε Ζηλωτὰς καὶ δι' ἐκείνων οὐκ ὀλίγους ἔπεισε τῶν πολιτῶν αὐτῷ προσέχειν, ὥστε καὶ ἀναφανδὸν ἐδικαιολόγουν ὑπὲρ τοῦ δεῖν ἐκείνῳ προσχωρεῖν, βλάπτειν τὰ μέγιστα δυναμένῳ διὰ τὸ τὴν χώραν ἅπασαν ἔχειν ὑφ' ἑαυτὸν καὶ δύνασθαι πολιορκεῖν, καὶ ὠφελεῖν ἐθέλοντι, εἰ προσχωροῖεν. αὐτός τε ὁ Κράλης, ἐκείνων ἐναγόντων, περιεστρατοπεδεύετο καὶ ἐπολιόρκει. ἃ πρωτοσέβαστός τε ὁρῶν καὶ οἱ φιλοῤῥώμαιοι τῶν πολιτῶν, οὔτε περιγίνεσθαι τῶν προδιδόντων ἦσαν δυνατοὶ διὰ τὴν ἔξωθεν ἐπικειμένην δύναμιν, ἄλλως τε καὶ τοῦ δήμου πρὸς τὴν πολιορκίαν ἀχθομένου καὶ λύσιν οἰομένου τῶν κακῶν τὴν ὑπὸ Τριβαλοῖς δουλείαν ἔσεσθαι, οὔτε ἠνείχοντο τήν τε πόλιν Ῥωμαίους οὖσαν τηλικαύτην ἀποστερηθῆναι καὶ αὐτοὺς ἐν ἀνδραπόδων μοίρᾳ δουλεύειν τοῖς βαρβάροις. διὰ ταῦτα ἐδέοντο βασιλέως, μὴ σφᾶς περιιδεῖν, ἀλλὰ τὴν ταχίστην ἐπιβοηθεῖν, ὡς εἴσω ὀλίγων ἡμερῶν, εἰ μὴ ἐπικουροίη, τῆς πόλεως ἁλωσομένης. τοιαῦτα μὲν ἐκεῖνοι ἔγραφον. βασιλεῖ δὲ τότε τοιαύτης πόλεως κινδυνευούσης μηδεμίαν πρόνοιαν ποιήσασθαι δεινὸν ἐδόκει, καὶ πρὸς τὸ τῶν δεδογμένων ἀμελήσαντα αὖθις ἐπὶ πολέμους τρέπεσθαι καὶ στρατηγίας ἐδυσχέραινεν. ὅμως τῆς κοινῆς ὠφελείας Ῥωμαίων τὴν ἰδίαν δευτέραν θέμενος, αὖθις ἔπραττεν, ὅπως μὴ ἀπόλοιτο Θεσσαλονίκη. καὶ ἔγρα 3.111 φε μὲν ἐκείνοις, ἀνθίστασθαι τοῖς προδιδοῦσι καὶ μὴ ῥᾳθυμεῖν, ὡς καὶ αὐτοῦ τὴν βοήθειαν ὀξεῖαν ποιησομένου. ἔπεμπε δὲ καὶ πρὸς Ὀρχάνην τὸν γαμβρὸν πρεσβείαν, στρατιὰν αἰτῶν πρὸς συμμαχίαν. ὁ δὲ αὐτίκα τὸν υἱὸν ἐκέλευε Σουλιμὰν δισμυρίους ἱππέας ἔχοντα ἐπὶ Τριβαλοὺς συστρατεύεσθαι τῷ βασιλεῖ. ὁ βασιλεὺς δὲ βουλόμενος καὶ βασιλέα τὸν γαμβρὸν ἐπὶ τὴν εἰς Θεσσαλονίκην ἐπάγεσθαι στρατείαν, ἐφώπλιζε τριήρεις, ὡς ἀσφαλῶς ἐν αὐταῖς ἅμα ἐκείνῳ εἰς Μακεδονίαν καταπλεύσων. ᾔδη γὰρ τοὺς βαρβάρους ζηλοτυποῦντας πρὸς τὸν νέον βασιλέα καὶ ῥᾳδίως ἀποκτενοῦντας, εἰ γένοιντο ἐν ἐφικτῷ. νόμος γάρ ἐστιν αὐτοῖς βαρβαρικὸς πάντα τὸν πρὸς τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀμφισβητήσοντα ἀποκτιννύναι, καὶ μηδεμιᾶς φείδεσθαι μήτε ἡλικίας, μήτε συγγενείας. διὸ καὶ κατὰ τὰς ἀρχὰς μάλιστα τῶν βασιλέων τῆς εἰρήνης, μετὰ τὸ τὸν νέον βασιλέα Ἑλένῃ τῇ βασιλίδι συνοικεῖν, νομίσας ὁ Ὀρχάνης φίλα πράττειν βασιλεῖ τῷ κηδεστῇ, εἰ τρόπῳ δή τινι τὸν νέον βασιλέα ἀποκτείνοιεν, ἐκτομίαν τινὰ Μερτζιάνην προσαγορευόμενον, καὶ ἑτέρους οὐκ ὀλίγους ἔχοντα, ἐπὶ ῥώμῃ σώματος καὶ εὐτολμίᾳ παρ' αὐτοῖς θαυμαζομένους,