John Kantakuzenos. History. III, 8–20

Translation and Notes by Evgeny A. Khvalkov

Abstract

This fragment of the «Historiae» of John Kanatakouzenos (Byzantine emperor in 1347–1354) is dedicated to the events that immediately followed the death of Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos. John Kanatakouzenos presents his vision of the political processes that took place during the regency of the Dowager Empress Anna of Savoy under the infant heir John V Palaiologos and describes how, from his point of view, a conspiracy took shape in order to remove him from power and from the post of great domestic. This fragment ends with the final formation of a coalition, at the center of which stood Patriarch John Kalekas and parakoimōmenos Alexios Apocaukos, whom Kanatakouzenos considered the main culprit in the ensuing political instability, power struggle and civil war, which had a significant impact on the future of the empire. Along the way, Kanatakouzenos outlines the problems that the empire faced, both internal (economic difficulties and social upheavals) and external (military conflicts, relations with the Bulgarian king, the Serbian king and the Turkic emirates).