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arriving in Byzantium together with the empress his wife, in the church of the Theotokos in Blachernae he was crowned according to custom by Philotheos the patriarch and the emperor his fa 3.276 ther; and he himself also crowned his wife according to custom. Such things were done in Byzantium. But Palaiologos the young emperor was in Thessalonica with the empresses, his mother and his wife, and he also held the island of Tenedos under his control, having left as governor there a certain Italian Martin when he departed for Thessalonica. But a certain Pergamenos of the Tenedians, the most powerful, was with the young emperor in Thessalonica for no little time, then, having escaped from there and arrived in Tenedos, he persuaded the other citizens too to revolt from the young emperor. and having driven out the one appointed by him to rule them, they governed themselves as if autonomous. But the young emperor, when he learned of the revolt, having armed triremes from Thessalonica, sailed against the Tenedians. and they again readily submitted, handing over Pergamenos, whom he sent as a prisoner to Thessalonica to be guarded, and he himself with Helena the empress his wife stayed on the island. But the emperor Kantakouzenos, considering it a terrible thing that the Persians were established in the cities throughout Thrace (for they held a certain fort, as we said, in Thrace, called Tzympe), did not attempt to drive them out by force, for he knew he would not be a match for so great a force of barbarians, if he should start a war against them, since the Roman army had been ruined by the war against one another, but he was planning by some other means to drive the barbarians out of Ro 3.277 man territory. And sending an embassy to Orhan his son-in-law, he asked him to return the fort and to expel the barbarians from Thrace. for he was not acting justly, nor in a manner befitting his goodwill towards him, by holding the fort in the midst of Roman land. But when his son Süleyman objected, that the fort was held by him and he required some compensation for its abandonment, the emperor promised to provide ten thousand gold pieces generously. And a little later he sent the gold to the barbarians; and they sent the ones who would hand over the fort to the emperor. But while matters were in this state, such are the judgments of God, a sudden and extraordinary earthquake occurring at the beginning of spring, especially at the beginning of the night, destroyed almost all of the coastal cities of Thrace. for not only did houses fall upon their inhabitants and kill many, but also the walls of the cities were cast down from their very foundations. And the people of the cities, as many as had not been killed by the ruins, perceiving that they would neither be able to easily rebuild the fallen walls, nor were they a match to defend themselves against the barbarians, should they attack, and fearing that they might be enslaved by them if they came, taking up their children and wives, departed during the night to the other cities, which they thought had not fallen in the earthquake. But with rains and snow and unspeakable cold setting in, some were killed by the frost, 3.278 especially women and young infants; and the rest, except for a few who were able to survive the cold and to flee to the still-standing cities, were all enslaved by the barbarians who came upon them. For when they perceived that the walls of the cities were destroyed, suspecting, as was the case, that they would either seize them as they fled, or, with the walls destroyed, overcome them if they remained, they marched at dawn and seized the fleeing people and placed all the cities under guard. But Gallipoli, the most renowned of the coastal cities in Thrace that came under the barbarians, it too had fallen more than the others, but its entire populace was saved in the ships, of which there were many there. And it so happened that a trireme sailing from Byzantium to the Peloponnese, which the emperor had sent to Manuel the despot his son, was anchored there that night. And when that great disaster occurred, the admiral, seeing so many about to

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γενόμενος ἐν Βυζαντίῳ ἅμα βασιλίδι τῇ συζύγῳ, κατὰ τὸν ἐν Βλαχέρναις τῆς θεομήτορος ναὸν ἐστέφετο κατὰ τὸ ἔθος ὑπὸ Φιλοθέου τοῦ πατριάρχου καὶ βασιλέως τοῦ πα 3.276 τρός· ἔστεφε δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς κατὰ τὸ ἔθος τὴν γυναῖκα. τοιαῦτα μὲν ἐπράττετο ἐν Βυζαντίῳ. Παλαιολόγος δὲ ὁ νέος βασιλεὺς ἦν μὲν ἐν Θεσσαλονίκῃ μετὰ τῶν βασιλίδων, τῆς μητρὸς καὶ γυναικὸς, εἶχε δὲ καὶ Τένεδον τὴν νῆσον ὑφ' ἑαυτὸν, ἡγεμόνα ταύτῃ καταλιπὼν Ἰταλόν τινα Μαρτῖνον ἀπαίρων εἰς Θεσσαλονίκην. Περγαμηνὸς δέ τις τῶν Τενεδίων ὁ μάλιστα δυνατώτατος ἐν Θεσσαλονίκῃ συνῆν τῷ νέῳ βασιλεῖ χρόνον οὐκ ὀλίγον, ἔπειτα ἐκεῖθεν διαδρὰς καὶ γενόμενος ἐν τῇ Τενέδῳ, ἔπεισε καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους πολίτας ἀποστῆναι τοῦ νέου βασιλέως. καὶ τὸν ὑπ' ἐκείνου σφῶν ἐπιτεταγμένον ἄρχειν ἐξελάσαντες, ὥσπερ αὐτόνομοι ἐπολιτεύοντο. βασιλεὺς δὲ ὁ νέος ἐπεὶ πύθοιτο τὴν ἀποστασίαν, τριήρεις ἐκ Θεσσαλονίκης. ἐφοπλίσας, ἐπέπλευσε τοῖς Τενεδίοις. οἱ δὲ αὖθις ἑτοίμως προσεχώρουν, παραδόντες τὸν Περγαμηνὸν, ὃν εἰς Θεσσαλονίκην δεσμώτην ἔπεμψε φρουρεῖσθαι, αὐτὸς δὲ ἅμα Ἑλένῃ βασιλίδι τῇ γυναικὶ διῆγεν ἐν τῇ νήσῳ. Καντακουζηνὸς δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐν δεινῷ τιθέμενος ταῖς κατὰ τὴν Θρᾴκην πόλεσι τοὺς Πέρσας ἐγκαθιδρυμένους εἶναι, εἶχον γάρ τι φρούριον, ὥσπερ ἔφημεν, ἐν Θρᾴκῃ, Τζύμπην προσαγορευόμενον, βίᾳ μὲν οὐκ ἐπεχείρει ἐξελαύνειν, ᾔδει γὰρ οὐκ ἀξιόμαχος πρὸς τοσαύτην τῶν βαρβάρων δύναμιν ἐσόμενος, εἰ πόλεμον κινοίη πρὸς αὐτοὺς, τῆς Ῥωμαίων στρατιᾶς ὑπὸ τοῦ πρὸς ἀλλήλους πολέμου διεφθαρμένης, τρόπῳ δέ τινι ἑτέρῳ διενοεῖτο τοὺς βαρβάρους τῆς Ῥω 3.277 μαίων ἐξελαύνειν. καὶ πέμψας πρεσβείαν πρὸς Ὀρχάνην τὸν γαμβρὸν, ᾔτει τὸ φρούριον ἀποδοῦναί οἱ καὶ τῆς Θρᾴκης τοὺς βαρβάρους ἐκβαλεῖν. οὐ γὰρ δίκαια ποιεῖν αὐτὸν, οὐδὲ προσήκοντα τῇ εἰς αὐτὸν εὐνοίᾳ, ἐν μέσῃ τῇ Ῥωμαίων γῇ τὸ φρούριον κατέχοντα. τοῦ δὲ Σουλιμὰν τὸν υἱὸν προσβαλλομένου, ὡς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τὸ φρούριον κατέχοιτο καὶ δέοιτό τινος πρὸς τὴν ἀπόλειψιν ἀντιμισθίας, μυρίους χρυσοῦς ὁ βασιλεὺς ὑπέσχετο παρέξειν φιλοτίμως. μετὰ μικρὸν δὲ καὶ ἔπεμπε τοῖς βαρβάροις τὸν χρυσόν· κἀκεῖνοι ἔπεμψαν τοὺς παραδώσοντας βασιλεῖ τὸ φρούριον. ἐν τούτοις δὲ τῶν πραγμάτων ὄντων, οἷα τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ κρίματα, ἀθρόον ἐξαίσιος ἐπιγενόμενος σεισμὸς ἦρος ἀρχομένου, μάλιστα ἐν ἀρχαῖς τῆς νυκτὸς τὰς παραλίους τῆς Θρᾴκης πόλεις ὀλίγου δεῖν διέφθειρεν ἁπάσας. οὐ μόνον γὰρ οἰκίαι κατέπεσον ἐπὶ τοὺς κατοικοῦντας καὶ διέφθειραν πολλοὺς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ τῶν πόλεων τείχη ἐξ αὐτῶν κρηπίδων κατεβλήθη. οἱ δῆμοι δὲ τῶν πόλεων, ὅσοι μὴ διεφθάρησαν ὑπὸ τῶν ἐρειπίων, συνιδόντες, ὡς οὔτ' ἀνορθοῦν δυνήσονται ῥᾷστα τὰ καταβεβλημένα τῶν τειχῶν, οὔτ' ἀμύνεσθαι πρὸς τοὺς βαρβάρους, ἂν ἐπίωσιν, ἀξιόμαχοί εἰσι, καὶ δείσαντες, μὴ ὑπ' ἐκείνων ἀνδραποδισθῶσιν ἐπελθόντων, τέκνα καὶ γυναῖκας ἀναλαβόντες, ἀνεχώρουν τῆς νυκτὸς ἐπὶ τὰς ἄλλας πόλεις, ὅσας μὴ καταπεπτωκέναι τῷ σεισμῷ ἐνόμιζον. ὄμβρων δὲ ἐπικειμένων καὶ χιόνος καὶ ψύχους ἀμυθήτου, οἱ μὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ κρυμοῦ διεφθείροντο, 3.278 μάλιστα γυναῖκες καὶ βρέφη νήπια· οἱ λοιποὶ δὲ πλὴν ὀλίγων, ὅσοι τοῦ τε ψύχους ἠδυνήθησαν περιγενέσθαι καὶ πρὸς τὰς ἔτι σωζομένας πόλεις καταφυγεῖν, πάντες ὑπὸ τῶν βαρβάρων ἠνδραποδίσθησαν ἐπελθόντων. ὡς γὰρ ᾔσθοντο ἐκεῖνοι τὰ τείχη τῶν πόλεων καθῃρημένα, ὑποπτεύσαντες, ὅπερ ἦν, ὡς ἢ κρατήσουσι φευγόντων, ἢ τῶν τειχῶν καθῃρημένων, ἂν μένωσι, περιγενήσονται, ἅμα ἕῳ ἐπεστράτευσαν καὶ τῶν τε ἀνθρώπων ἐκράτουν φευγόντων καὶ τὰς πόλεις ἁπάσας ἐποιήσαντο ὑπὸ φρουρᾷ. Καλλιούπολις δὲ τῶν ὑπὸ τοῖς βαρβάροις γενομένων παραλίων κατὰ τὴν Θρᾴκην πόλεων ἡ περιφανεστέρα, πέπτωκε μὲν καὶ αὐτὴ τῶν ἄλλων μᾶλλον, ὁ δῆμος δὲ ἅπας διεσώθη ἐν τοῖς πλοίοις, ἃ ἦσαν ἐκεῖ πολλά. συμβὰν δὲ οὕτω καὶ ἐκ Βυζαντίου ἐπὶ Πελοπόννησον πλέουσα τριήρης, ἣν ἔπεμψεν ὁ βασιλεὺς Μανουὴλ δεσπότῃ τῷ υἱῷ, ὡρμίζετο ἐκεῖ τὴν νύκτα. γενομένης δὲ ἐκείνης τῆς μεγάλης συμφορᾶς, ὁρῶν ὁ ναύαρχος τοσούτους μέλλοντας