Most venerable and most eminent father and lord in Christ, I hope that you are in good health and everything is going well for you.

What I used to proclaim and protest to our citizens at one time, writing as well to your lordship begging for one of my children to be saved, has happened and come to pass. Furthermore, I bear fearful tidings, the kind which you could not pass over without shedding a tear, though I would curry little favor with you for concealing our misfortunes. What advantage is there to be joined in ignorance of familial evils? At the same time, it would be useless for me to try to keep silent about those things that report had spread and exaggerated everywhere.

Know that our homeland alas! has fallen under another race and undergone the worst of things. Although it has surrendered, it gained nothing from the terms by which it surrendered and has suffered just like those people taken by storm.

The crown of the evils which was just said, I know you will spends many days and nights lamenting, sympathizing especially for the Greeks and the homeland that you love so dearly (1). However, first I have to explain in a few words how it happened so that you do not become discouraged with this lot. Since when one does not know how something terrible came about, one can get quite angry

Without having anything to accuse us of, but because of his lust for glory and a greater dominion, the ruler of a great many races, the emperor of the Greeks and Romans already (2), prepared a great fleet of triremes (there was not more than a hundred of them), fitted them out with all sorts of munitions and machines, and sent them off against Sinope and other Paphlagonian [cities]. He then took command of the land army, which numbered more than one hundred thousand men and crossed to Asia without yet giving out his purpose (3). In this way, he was able to treacherously invade his enemy’s lands and seize everything unexpectedly, since the Paphlagonians had seen neither to arming themselves, nor creating delays. Instead, on no account still hoping for the better, they counted on chance, which had saved them so many times from danger. So it was that the cities and the fortresses surrendered along with their leader (4) and recognized him as their master. And so, because of his hopes from how matters had gone so far, he was minded accordingly to greater things and sent the fleet which was completely untouched and uninjured, off against us while he himself decided to march off against the ruler of Cappadocia and Mesopotamia.

When he (5) heard the news, he did not believe it and thought it only a rumor. No one could believe that he had been deposed (6), not even our own people. But he soon found out though that it was true when he was informed that he [Mehmed] and his army were invading his lands. He was astounded at this and was not yet acting energetically because he suspected his brother was plotting against him. He hesitated and shirked, not daring to go all or nothing. At any rate, he quickly made the country desolate through which the enemy was going to pass and as always retreated a little and abandoned his camp. This was not because he was being pursued by him (7), but because he loved to take his victories without contest when the enemy had got up and gone.

Having thus pursued the enemy, he reached our borders and seized the mountain passes and advanced on us putting everything else aside. His fleet had already arrived suddenly providing us with great surprise and consternation It had seemed to us that it would not come because of the oaths which had just recently been made and the improbability of those agreements being broken. Our hope was for a delay, while it was besieging Sinope, and so it would come soon, but then it appeared suddenly after having sailed against the city. We had been able neither to gather our soldiers yet, nor bring in provisions from the fields, but were to defend the city in spite of its need. Because of this, the enemy disembarked at their leisure, numbering not less than myriads of men well armed, and ravaged the [plains] before the city seizing food, burning houses, and then setting siege to us shut up behind our walls within the city.

The war was about 40 days, in which we seemed able to hold out and greatly hinder our enemies. On each occasion the people from the fields overran and fought them, they killed many of them, and so, since we were doing so well and able to do the worst of things to our enemies, a fresh hope sparked in our hearts that we would completely destroy the fleet. Be assured, we would have finished the job, had not the entire army with its commander appeared from the interior of the country. This caused them, who had come so close to destroying the fleet, to flee in the night, and it destroyed us. For he did not advance with the army to the plains before the city or the ravines on both sides, but instead made the surrounding mountains and hills not sufficient for his encampment.

He set to work at once by setting up the canons (8), which were greater than anything that had yet been seen (9), and attacking the city. Quite quickly, the city fell into a state of hopelessness and all hope for the better left it all at once. Provisions were already short, and even the water supply failed, something that had not happened in a long time. The people did not want to throw themselves into this manifest peril, but for terms of surrender to be reached. It was evident that we could prolong the war no longer and that the city would be taken by storm. Thus it was that many were resolved to surrender so that we might not be captured and forced to traverse all of the land and sea.

When the agreements had thus been reached, the city and its own surrendered, and the freest of cities, which fought so brightly for freedom winning honor and glory, fell alas! under another race. Now it submits to dishonorable servitude, a great grief not only to men of the same faith, but also to all the barbarians in Asia.

Then they took the city and caught all of the Comneni as though in a fisherman’s net, taking both boys and girls and enslaving nearly every one of them who were beautiful. In amongst them was alas! my own son, who you yourself recognized as your son when your mother took him from the holy font (10), my handsome Basil. What’s more, my daughter’s bridegroom, who had enjoyed his marriage for the shortest of times, because he was young and handsome, was taken as well. As for the emperor, he along with all his family and nearly everybody in power (11) were loaded on board the triremes and brought to the city of Constantine, and from there they were lead off again and settled down at Adrianople (12).

And now I am there quivering in fear at the rock suspended over my head (13). Many times since the siege I have wished myself to die, but this has not yet happened because Providence, I think, has preserved me for the worse, to suffer for long time and then die. I am able to bear things like poverty and an unfree way of life in a distant land, but the deprivation of my child sets my heart aflame. Besides all the rest, he is tormented by master of all and each time I learn that he has been tortured, I become crazed. The cause of it is that my child, who aspires after righteousness and is especially ardent by nature when it involves virtue, will not give up the faith of hid fathers. In the beginning, his master tried to persuade him with words and gifts, but since he was impregnable to these, he was put through torture. When, in spite of this, he could not prevail over him; he was amazed by son’s virtue and sense of righteousness. It was not enough to make him free him, but he decided to give up converting him and ransom him. He though him worthy of this philanthropy. Yet he will only ransom him now for a great sum of money, so much so that we will never be able to ransom him.

In this respect, we are much worse off, so we wish to beg you to lend a hand and I do not believe I need many reasons why. The release from captivity [of my child] would be for many struggling Romans, something not one citizen would overlook. Before, I was circumspect to ask anything of your lordship, but now I should get no shame from it. I beg therefore that your lordship, most venerable lord, to remember our great affection ever for you and the great many hopes, which we shared together so sweetly until the time of the fall, as all-seeing eye knows (14), and also your beneficence for us, which if someone took it away, I do not know whether it would go away, and also that pure and sincere friendship, which not time, not change, not this distance between us can darken. What you can do to help is this: first free Basil for us, who when this happens will come at once to you and become your servant (15), and then provide us with some form monetary assistance for the future that we can live off of in our present fortune. But if both of these things cannot easily be accomplished right now, you freeing my child would be the greatest thing you could do and which for us there would be no greater. Instead, we would bear our misfortune without any hard feelings, seeing those pitiful Romans who do everything they can to put bread on the table each day.

But may God who manages all things give you a long life and he watch over your joy and good health for us. We will bear you no hard feelings living in captivity, poverty, and great misfortune. But by God do not deem us unworthy to be written to ever, since only your letters bring us much consolation. Here it is rather easy to send things to us because many people are coming from Venice and Florence to the city of Constantine. From there to the city of Adrian, the road takes three days so long as it is letter and anything else that can be sent securely. And I myself, on learning that something has come from you, will go in all haste to the city of Constantine.

The man who is carrying [you] this letter is one of our citizens, a relative and friend of Paraskeuas, your mother’s servant. He himself lost his wife and child, who if you deem worthy of a great bit of help, you will be doing your late mother a tribute, since it is for her sake that he has come to you.