517

considering the demand to be just and fitting for him. And during the same winter, the patriarch Kallistos also, having arrived from Tenedos, again took up the ecclesiastical rule, with no one daring to speak against it. Nor indeed did he himself need the vote of the bishops, on whether it was proper for him, having been expelled, to be brought back in, but thinking that he had been wronged in the extreme not only by the emperor, but also by the bishops, he himself ratified the vote for himself, and rather attempted to demand justice from those who had wronged him for their ingratitude. But the young emperor prevented it, saying that it was fitting to disregard all things that were happening out of faction and contentiousness. And as the winter was already ending, he was stirred up to war against the emperor Matthew by his associates, on the one hand accusing that one, as 3.310 holding the empire unjustly and having seized no small part of the rule, and on the other hand urging him to war against that one, since it was possible to depose him very easily and not to allow him to grow strong, as he would always be a rival for the whole. Persuaded by these things, having armed triremes, he marched against him at the beginning of spring, who was staying at the settlement of Gratiana, and holding all the other cities of Chalcidice; and in addition to those, also Adrianople and the towns around it, over which he had appointed as ruler the sebastokrator Kantakouzenos, who was his paternal uncle. And the despot Nikephoros, his son-in-law, held Ainos, it having been provided by the emperor, his father-in-law. And he seemed to be devoted to the emperor Matthew, his wife's brother, and promised to fight eagerly on his behalf against anyone who attacked. But then, when the young emperor John landed there with his ships, he himself suddenly went over, having defected from the emperor Matthew, and surrendered the city. And from there the young emperor, having sent men, also won over Bera, a very strong fortress situated by the Hebros, which previously was a monastery for monks, but then was already a town, inhabited by some peasants because of the continuous wars and the barbarian raids, which the young emperor won over, with the guards surrendering it. And from Ainos, having the despot Nikephoros also campaigning with him from the mainland, he put in at Peritheorion, and sending 3.311 secretly, he negotiated about its surrender with the ruler of the city, and he persuaded him by promising great things. But the emperor Matthew, fearing lest some treachery be done concerning the city, for he knew it would be impregnable to siege, sent soldiers to guard it, as many as he thought would be sufficient, whom the ruler of the city arrested, and he himself kept their arms and horses, and to the young emperor he surrendered both the city and the soldiers. And when the city was taken, with other horsemen having been gathered from various places, he marched against Koumoutzena, a town on the mainland; and the inhabitants of the town received him eagerly, going over without fuss. And from there, since Gratiana was situated not very far away, where the emperor Matthew was staying, sending an embassy to him, he invited him to an agreement. And indeed it seemed to him also that peace was more preferable, and having arrived at Gratiana with the army which he had, he met with the young emperor, having come out of the city; and having spoken with each other about the matters of the war, since it seemed best to both to put an end to it, they agreed on these terms, that both should be emperors jointly, each having been chosen by the Romans and crowned by the church in Byzantium. And since the cities and the land remaining to the Romans were too small to have two emperors, that the emperor Matthew should give up the cities in Thrace, which he held, and should go to the Peloponnese and rule the cities there subject to the Romans, after the young emperor John had first persuaded his brother, the despot Manuel 3.312, to give up his rule to his brother, and to give the despot the island of Lemnos in its place, so that he might have its rule without accountability for his whole life. and from the public revenues in Byzantium the so-called 'topike', a little less than ten thousand gold pieces

517

δικαίαν εἶναι τὴν ἀξίωσιν νομίσας καὶ προσήκουσαν αὐτῷ. τοῦ δὲ αὐτοῦ χειμῶνος καὶ πατριάρχης ὁ Κάλλιστος ἐκ Τενέδου ἀφιγμένος, τῆς ἐκκλησιαστικῆς αὖθις ἐπελάβετο ἀρχῆς, οὐδενὸς τολμῶντος ἀντειπεῖν. οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ αὐτὸς ἐδεήθη τῆς τῶν ἀρχιερέων ψήφου, εἰ δέον αὐτὸν εἰσάγεσθαι ἐκβεβλημένον, ἀλλ' ἠδικῆσθαι τὰ ἔσχατα οἰόμενος οὐ παρὰ βασιλέως μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἐπισκόπων, ἐπεκύρωσεν αὐτὸς αὐτῷ τὴν ψῆφον, καὶ τοὺς ἠδικηκότας ἐπεχείρει μᾶλλον τῆς ἀγνωμοσύνης δίκας ἀπαιτεῖν. ἐκώλυσε δὲ βασιλεὺς ὁ νέος, τῶν κατάστασιν καὶ φιλονεικίαν γινομένων πάντων προσήκειν φάμενος ὑπερφρονεῖν. λήγοντος δὲ ἤδη τοῦ χειμῶνος, ὑπὸ τῶν συνόντων πρὸς Ματθαῖον ἐξεπολεμώθη τὸν βασιλέα, τὰ μὲν ἐκείνου κατηγορούντων, ὡς 3.310 ἀδίκως ἔχοντος τὴν βασιλείαν καὶ μέρος οὐκ ἔλαττον τῆς ἀρχῆς παρῃρημένου, τὰ δ' αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὸν πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ἐξορμῶντες πόλεμον, ὡς ῥᾷστα καταλύειν αὐτὸν ἐξὸν καὶ μὴ ἐᾷν αὐξάνεσθαι ἀνταγωνιστὴν ἐσόμενον ἀεὶ περὶ τῶν ὅλων. οἷς πειθόμενος, τριήρεις ἐφοπλίσας, ἐστράτευσεν ἐπ' ἐκεῖνον ἅμα ἦρι, πρὸς τῇ Γρατιανοῦ πανοικεσίᾳ διατρίβοντα, ἔχοντα δὲ καὶ τὰς ἄλλας τῆς Χαλκιδικῆς ἁπάσας πόλεις· πρὸς ἐκείναις δὲ καὶ τὴν Ἀδριανοῦ καὶ τὰς περὶ αὐτὴν πολίχνας, αἷς ἐπέστησεν ἄρχοντα σεβαστοκράτορα τὸν Καντακουζηνὸν, θεῖον ὄντα πρὸς πατρός. δεσπότης δὲ Νικηφόρος ὁ γαμβρὸς τὴν Αἶνον εἶχε, βασιλέως τοῦ κηδεστοῦ παρεσχημένου. ἐδόκει τε Ματθαίῳ βασιλεῖ τῷ γυναικὸς ἀδελφῷ προσκεῖσθαι καὶ ἐπηγγέλλετο προθύμως ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ μαχεῖσθαι παντὶ τῷ ἐπιόντι. τότε δὲ βασιλέως Ἰωάννου τοῦ νέου ταῖς ναυσὶ κατάραντος ἐκεῖ, αὐτός τε προσεχώρησεν ἀθρόον, τοῦ Ματθαίου βασιλέως ἀποστὰς, καὶ τὴν πόλιν παρεδίδου. ἐκεῖθεν δὲ βασιλεὺς ὁ νέος πέμψας, καὶ Βῆραν προσηγάγετο φρούριόν τι καρτερώτατον παρὰ τὸν Ἕβρον κατῳκισμένον, ὃ πρότερον μὲν φροντιστήριον ἀνδρῶν μοναζόντων ἦν, τότε δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν συνεχῶν πολέμων καὶ τῶν ἐφόδων τῶν βαρβαρικῶν ἀγροτῶν τινων κατῳκισμένων πόλισμα ἤδη ἦν, ὃ προσηγάγετο ὁ νέος βασιλεὺς, παραδόντων τῶν φρουρῶν. ἐκ τῆς Αἴνου δὲ καὶ Νικηφόρον τὸν δεσπότην ἔχων συστρατευόμενον ἐκ τῆς ἠπείρου, προσέσχε Περιθεωρίῳ, καὶ πέμψας 3.311 κρύφα, περὶ παραδόσεως διελέγετο τῷ ἄρχοντι τῆς πόλεως, καὶ ἔπεισεν ἐπαγγειλάμενος μεγάλα. Ματθαῖος δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς δείσας, μή τι κακουργηθῇ περὶ τὴν πόλιν, ᾔδει γὰρ ἀνάλωτον τειχομαχίᾳ ἐσομένην, στρατιώτας ἔπεμψε φρουρεῖν, ὅσους ᾤετο ἀρκέσειν, οὓς ὁ τῆς πόλεως ἄρχων συλλαβὼν, ὅπλα μὲν αὐτὸς καὶ ἵππους εἶχε, βασιλεῖ δὲ τῷ νέῳ τήν τε πόλιν παρεδίδου καὶ τοὺς στρατιώτας. ἐπεὶ δὲ εἴχετο ἡ πόλις, ἄλλων ἄλλοθεν ἱππέων συνειλεγμένων, ἐπεστράτευσε Κουμουτζηνοῖς, ἠπειρώτιδι πολίχνῃ· καὶ ὑπεδέξαντο προθύμως οἱ τὴν πόλιν κατοικοῦντες, ἀπολυπραγμόνως προσχωρήσαντες. ἐκεῖθεν δὲ, ἐπεὶ οὐ πάνυ πόῤῥω ἡ Γρατιανοῦ κατῴκιστο, ᾗ Ματθαῖος διέτριβεν ὁ βασιλεὺς, πρεσβείαν πρὸς ἐκεῖνον πέμψας, ἐπὶ συμβάσεις προὐκαλεῖτο. ἐδόκει δὴ κἀκείνῳ αἱρετέα μᾶλλον εἶναι ἡ εἰρήνη, καὶ γενομένῳ ἐν Γρατιανοῦ μεθ' ἧς εἶχε στρατιᾶς συνεγένετο τῷ νέῳ βασιλεῖ, τῆς πόλεως ἐξελθών· ἀλλήλοις τε διαλεχθέντες περὶ τῶν κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον, ἐπεὶ ἐδόκει ἀμφοτέροις καταλύειν, συνέβησαν ἐπὶ τούτοις, ὥστε ἀμφοτέρους βασιλέας εἶναι κοινῇ, ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων ἑκατέρου ᾑρημένου καὶ στεφθέντος ὑπὸ τῆς κατὰ Βυζάντιον ἐκκλησίας. τῶν ὑπολελειμμένων δὲ Ῥωμαίοις πόλεων καὶ τῆς χώρας οὔσης ἐλάττονος, ἢ ὥστε ἀμφοτέρους βασιλέας ἔχειν, τῶν μὲν κατὰ τὴν Θρᾴκην πόλεων, ὧν ἔχει, Ματθαῖον ἀφίστασθαι τὸν βασιλέα, χωρεῖν δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν Πελοπόννησον καὶ τῶν ὑπηκόων Ῥωμαίοις ἐκεῖσε πόλεων βασιλεύειν, Μανουὴλ δεσπότην τὸν 3.312 ἀδελφὸν πείσαντος πρότερον τοῦ νέου βασιλέως Ἰωάννου τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐξίστασθαι τῷ ἀδελφῷ, παρέχειν δὲ ἀντ' ἐκείνης τῷ δεσπότῃ Λῆμνον τὴν νῆσον, ὥστε ἀνυπεύθυνον ἔχειν παρὰ πάντα τὸν βίον τὴν ἀρχὴν αὐτῆς. καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἐν Βυζαντίῳ δημοσίων φόρων τὴν τοπικὴν ὠνομασμένην, μυρίων χρυσῶν ὀλίγῳ