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having sent, which also annoyed him greatly, that, although he had offered the emperor no pretext for war, he himself was breaking the treaty and harming the country. But the emperor, sending an embassy to him, first of all apologized for the attack of the barbarians, saying that it had not happened according to his will, but that they, being powerful on their own, do whatever they please. And this happened not so much because of their power, 3.163 as because they themselves were not willing, having desisted from greed and the desire for others' property, to fight one another with all their might and repel the barbarians, which they could most easily do, if they would come to an agreement. For if Kralis had been willing to return the captured cities and to do what was just according to the oaths, he would not have needed barbarians for an alliance, since he was disposed most hostilely of all towards them, but was acting out of necessity, so that he might both preserve what he had and recover what had been seized, if he could. Therefore, he would do to him whatever seemed most expedient, but he advised him to join with him in preventing the barbarians from crossing over to Thrace without fear whenever they pleased. And this could be done, if he would provide fixed sums of money for the preparation of the triremes. For he himself had plenty of naval power, but needed money, from which it could be maintained; if he too would provide what he could of this, he would station triremes along the Hellespont, which, sailing alongside, will not allow the barbarians to cross over and do harm. And in this way it will result in being delivered from their harm. But if Kralis is not willing to do what is just toward both—for he knew that he himself was also being wronged by him in no small way—if the present force is not sufficient to compel him to do what is necessary, then they would also use the barbarians, with as many of them being ferried over as 3.164 they might wish to bring, and not being many, to turn against them in their fearlessness and destroy them. Such were the things the emperor communicated through his embassy to Alexander. And the emperor's advice seemed expedient to him also, and he agreed to the action; and something of this sort having happened strengthened him further for the task. For when a certain public festival was being held in Trnovo in his palace, and a very great crowd had gathered, as he was passing through them with the emperor's ambassadors following, they all shouted in their own dialect that it was necessary to do everything according to the will of the emperor Cantacuzenus and to choose peace with him by all means, so that, if he were provoked to war, they themselves might not perish, being destroyed by the barbarians, and they begged him to obey them. And when Alexander asked the ambassadors if they understood what was said, since they said they did not know, he himself interpreted it in Greek, and he made the demand of the crowd the greatest proof that the action was most expedient for them, because even when not asked by anyone, they were advising what was beneficial for them. And having immediately approved, he himself sent out the ambassadors. But the emperor, learning that Alexander had eagerly accepted the advice and wished to provide money for the preparation, was overjoyed, thinking he would be able to prevent the barbarians from attacking and destroying the Romans and Mysians, and he set about preparing now to establish a navy 3.165 for the prevention of the barbarians. And in that year he cleared out the shipyard at Heptascalon, which had been silted up by an accumulation of mud over many years and was unable to easily receive a merchant ship carrying a cargo, a great work and most beneficial to the city, which he was able to accomplish with much labor and expense. But the promises of the Mysian came to nothing. For a little later, sending an embassy to the emperor, he refused the contribution. For he said that Kralis, having learned of it, was accusing him immoderately, because he had willingly undertaken to provide tribute to the Romans, and that what the emperor Cantacuzenus could not compel by arms, these things he had persuaded him to do by misleading him. For which reasons he himself was not able to do what he had promised, since it brought such great shame upon him and his family. At which not

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πέμψαντος, ὃ καὶ μάλιστα ἠνία, ὅτι, μηδεμίαν πρόφασιν αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον παρεσχημένου βασιλεῖ, παρασπονδῶν αὐτὸς κακῶς ποιεῖ τὴν χώραν. πέμψας δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς πρεσβείαν πρὸς αὐτὸν, πρῶτα μὲν περὶ τῶν βαρβάρων τῆς ἐφόδου ἀπελογεῖτο, μὴ κατὰ γνώμην ἐκείνῳ γεγενῆσθαι, ἀλλ' αὐτοὺς ἀφ' ἑαυτῶν μεγάλα δυναμένους, ἅττα ἂν δοκῇ ποιεῖν. τοῦτο δὲ συμβαίνειν οὐ μᾶλλον διὰ τὴν ἐκείνων δύναμιν, 3.163 ἢ διὰ τὸ μὴ αὐτοὺς ἐθέλειν τῆς πλεονεξίας ἀποστάντας καὶ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων τῆς ἐπιθυμίας, ἀλλήλοις ὅση δύναμις ἐπιμαχεῖν καὶ ἀνείργειν τοὺς βαρβάρους, ῥᾷστα δυναμένους, εἰ συμφωνήσαιεν. εἰ γὰρ ἐβούλετο Κράλης τὰς ἡρπασμένας πόλεις ἀποδιδόναι καὶ τὰ δίκαια ποιεῖν κατὰ τοὺς ὅρκους, οὐκ ἂν αὐτῷ ἐδέησε βαρβάρων πρὸς τὴν συμμαχίαν πάντων μάλιστα ἀπεχθῶς πρὸς αὐτοὺς διακειμένῳ, ἀνάγκῃ δὲ χρωμένῳ, ἵνα τά τε ὄντα διασώζοι καὶ τὰ ἡρπασμένα, εἰ δύναιτο, ἀνακαλοῖτο. πρὸς μὲν οὖν ἐκεῖνον ποιήσειν, ὅ,τι ἂν δοκῇ μάλιστα λυσιτελεῖν, αὐτῷ δὲ συμβουλεύειν, συναίρεσθαι αὐτῷ πρὸς τὸ κωλύειν τοὺς βαρβάρους ἀδεῶς, ὅταν δοκῇ, πρὸς τὴν Θρᾴκην περαιοῦσθαι. τοῦτο δ' ἂν γένοιτο, εἰ χρήματα παρέχοιτο τακτὰ πρὸς τῶν τριηρέων τὴν παρασκευήν. αὐτὸν μὲν γὰρ εὐπορεῖν τῆς ναυτικῆς δυνάμεως, δεῖσθαι δὲ χρημάτων, ἐξ ὧν ἂν τραφείη· ὧν εἰ καὶ αὐτὸς παράσχοιτο ὅσα δυνατὰ, τριήρεις ἐπιστήσει κατὰ τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον, αἳ παραπλέουσαι οὐκ ἐάσουσι τοὺς βαρβάρους περαιουμένους βλάπτειν. καὶ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον τῆς ἐκείνων ἀπηλλάχθαι περιέσται βλάβης. ἂν δὲ μὴ Κράλης ἐθέλῃ ποιεῖν τὰ δίκαια πρὸς ἀμφοτέρους, εἰδέναι γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸν ὑπ' ἐκείνου ἀδικούμενον οὐ μικρά τινα, εἰ μὴ ἡ παροῦσα δύναμις ἐξαρκεῖ ἐκεῖνον καταναγκάζειν τὰ δέοντα ποιεῖν, τότε χρήσεσθαι καὶ τοῖς βαρβάροις τοσούτους ὑπ' αὐτῶν περαιουμένους, ὅσους 3.164 ἄγεσθαι οἷ ἂν ἐθέλωσι, καὶ μὴ πολλοὺς ὄντας, ἀφοβίᾳ τρέπεσθαι ἐπὶ σφᾶς καὶ διαφθείρειν. τοιαῦτα μὲν ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον ἐπρεσβεύετο. καὶ ἐδόκει κἀκείνῳ ἡ βασιλέως παραίνεσις λυσιτελεῖν, καὶ συνετίθετο πρὸς τὴν πρᾶξιν· συμβὰν δέ τι καὶ τοιοῦτον ἐπέῤῥωσε μᾶλλον πρὸς τὸ ἔργον. ἑορτῆς γάρ τινος δημοσίας ἀγομένης ἐν Τρινόβῳ τοῖς αὐτοῦ βασιλείοις, καὶ ὄχλου πλείστου συνεῤῥυηκότος, ἐπεὶ παρῄει δι' ἐκείνων, καὶ τῶν βασιλέως ἑπομένων πρέσβεων, τῇ σφετέρᾳ διαλέκτῳ πάντες ἐπεβόων, ὡς δεῖ Καντακουζηνῷ τῷ βασιλεῖ πάντα ποιεῖν τὰ κατὰ γνώμην καὶ τὴν εἰρήνην ἐκ παντὸς τρόπου τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν αἱρεῖσθαι, ἵνα μὴ ἐκπολεμωθέντος, ἀπόλωνται αὐτοὶ διαφθαρέντες ὑπὸ τῶν βαρβάρων, καὶ ἐδέοντο πείθεσθαι αὐτοῖς. Ἀλεξάνδρου δὲ τῶν πρέσβεων πυνθανομένου, εἰ τῶν εἰρημένων ἐπαΐουσιν, ἐπεὶ ἀγνοεῖν ἐκεῖνοι ἔφασαν, ἡρμήνευεν αὐτὸς ἑλληνιστὶ, καὶ τεκμήριον ἐποιεῖτο μέγιστον τοῦ ὄχλου τὴν ἀξίωσιν τοῦ σφίσι μάλιστα λυσιτελεῖν τὴν πρᾶξιν, ὅτι καὶ μηδ' ὑφ' ἑνὸς ἐρωτώμενοι, τὰ σφίσι συμβουλεύουσι συνοίσοντα. αὐτίκα τε ἐπιψηφισάμενος, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐξέπεμπε τοὺς πρέσβεις. βασιλεὺς δὲ πυθόμενος, ὡς προθύμως δέξαιτο Ἀλέξανδρος τὴν παραίνεσιν καὶ βούλοιτο παρέχεσθαι χρήματα πρὸς τὴν παρασκευὴν, ὑπερήσθη τε, δυνήσεσθαι νομίσας ἀπείργειν τοὺς βαρβάρους τοῦ μὴ Ῥωμαίους καὶ Μυσοὺς ἐπιόντας διαφθείρειν, καὶ ὥρμητο παρασκευάζεσθαι ἤδη πρὸς τὸ ναυτικὸν συ 3.165 στήσασθαι ἐπὶ κωλύσει τῶν βαρβάρων. τό,τε νεώριον τὸ πρὸς τῷ Ἑπτασκάλῳ ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ ἔτει ἐξεκάθηρεν, ὑπὸ πολλῶν ἐτῶν ἰλύος ἐπιγενομένης προσχωσθὲν καὶ μὴ δυνάμενον εὐπετῶς εἰσδέχεσθαι ὁλκάδα φόρτον ἄγουσαν, μέγα ἔργον καὶ πλεῖστα λυσιτελοῦν τῇ πόλει, καὶ πολλῷ πόνῳ καὶ ἀναλώμασι κατορθῶσαι δυνηθείς. ἔληγον δὲ εἰς οὐδὲν αἱ τοῦ Μυσοῦ ἐπαγγελίαι. ὕστερον γὰρ ὀλίγῳ πρὸς βασιλέα πρεσβείαν πέμψας, ἀπηγόρευε τὴν εἰσφοράν. Κράλην γὰρ ἔφασκε πυθόμενον, οὐ μετρίως αὐτοῦ κατηγορεῖν, ὅτι φόρους Ῥωμαίοις παρέχειν ὑποσταίη ἑκοντὶ, καὶ ἃ μὴ τοῖς ὅπλοις δύναιτο βιάζεσθαι βασιλεὺς ὁ Καντακουζηνὸς, ταῦτα πείσειε παραγαγών. δι' ἃ μηδ' αὐτὸν τὰ ὑπεσχημένα δύνασθαι ποιεῖν, τοσαύτην αἰσχύνην προστριβόμενα αὐτῷ καὶ γένει. ἐφ' οἷς οὐ