That following summer, as spring was starting, Mehmed marched against the ruler of Sinope and Kastamonu under the accusation that he was allied to Hassan the Tall and that he was going to revolt with him and attack Mehmed’s lands. In addition, it is said that Amarles’ brother who was staying at the sultan’s court convinced the sultan to march against his brother. With a fleet of nearly one hundred and fifty boats and war vessels on the sea, Mehmed crossed to Asia and marched by foot while he sent the fleet on in advance by sea to Sinope. As for the sultan, he marched by way of the city of Kastamonu and came to Sinope.

This city juts out into the Euxine Sea extending along a peninsula into the sea for twenty seven stades with the city be situated near the isthmus with the sea and a natural harbor on both sides. The yonder part of the peninsula with the city that extends for twenty stades is full parks and all sorts of trees both cultivated and uncultivated being named Pordapas having deer, hares, and also huntable game. The city is very well defended on both sides and is very beautiful with the city itself coming out from the mainland onto the peninsula. The terrain of the city outside the peninsula is flat and as such makes it easy to assault the city wall.

Mahmud, having reached the city before the emperor was to come, conveyed a message to Ishmael saying the following, “Son of Iskender, you come from a very notable Turkish family, so you know the sultan like his family does not cease to make war on the enemies of the prophet Mohammed. Why did you not keep the peace by letting your brother share rule with you instead of depriving your brother of his portion and taking full rule for yourself in opposition to the sultan? Now then, know that things will turn out for the better if you come forward and present yourself keeping authority. Furthermore, know that there is clearly nothing wrong with giving up to the sultan and receiving his favor. A land will be provided to you no smaller than this one here of yours and you will live in peace and without bothering in prosperity where you shall not be bothered by our and your enemies including your plotting brother if you agree to this. Be assured as well that I myself will have a care to realizing the domain you seek from the sultan taking up the case with the sultan.” This Mahmud the ruler of Michaelus said to him. In response, Ishmael said, “But, Mahmud, the sultan must in his wars against the infidel make war on enemies of the prophet and not a people of his own race and faith. For it is not customary to do so especially on a compatriot and vassal who has done nothing wrong and wanted peace. We have committed no wrong against the sultan and we have not broken our treaties. Yet if the sultan is resolute on making war on Hassan and taking this land, then come give me Phillipopolis in place of this land not under tribute but tribute free and we will depart as sultan trusting in his goodness. As you can see, this city is extremely well-defended and covered in arms. There are four hundred canoneers, nearly two hundred canons, and myriads of men to keep us well defended and injure our enemies.” When Mahmud heard this, he was gladdened by Ishmael’s message and set out to the sultan to arrange the surrender of the city with the sultan. When the sultan was informed of each of Ishmael’s terms, he was prepared to make peace on them and give Ishmael Philippopolis. Ishmael then with all of his riches departed from the city and was brought to the land that had been given to him by the sultan. With the sultan having taken the city and sent Ishmael off to Europe, everything else in his domains submitted immediately to the sultan as well as the prosperous city of Kastamonu in which he had deposited his wife and children while he was getting ready to lay siege to Sinope.

Ishmael’s land started from the sultan’s city of Pontic Heraclia and extended through the Pontus into Paphlagonia up to the land of Turgutes being very rich with an annual revenue of 200,000 gold coins. This country, as I have said elsewhere, is one of the only countries in Asia which brings in copper second only in beauty to that of Iberia and had previously paid the sultan a year tribute of 50,000 gold pieces. The harbor of Sinope had many boats including a merchant vessel which was built by Ishmael to hold nine hundred jars of wine. The sultan sent it to Byzantium where he built a large vessel off it bigger than any previous boats after that the Venetians and the Alfonso King of Naples who had built vessels bigger than any previously. The vessels of the king of Naples were so big that they broke and sunk in the harbor and were not able to sail out to open sea. The sultan when informed of this built a vessel to carry three thousand jars of wine, but not much later due to the size of the sail it was lost when it was being opened after the hull taking a long time to construct by four hundred men and been put in the harbor where the sea took it. The ship-master fled fearing the sultan Mehmed.

However, this happened later on. The sultan, having taken control of the land of Ishmael son of Iskender, set forth against Hassan the Tall and Colchis to subdue the emperor of Trebizond who had made Hassan his ally and relative, or rather his brother John while the emperor David gave John’s daughter, David’s niece, in marriage to Hassan the Tall. Furthermore, the emperor David had asked Hassan to try to get Hassan to have the emperor Mehmed not to take the rest of the tribute of Trebizond for himself and ask for him to confer it on Hassan. When Hassan’s ambassadors had come, they spoke very arrogantly at the same time asking him to hand over to them the tribute of Trebizond. The sultan sent them away threatening that henceforth they were not be far in need of the sultan's debt. Then he headed for the regions of Cappadocia where he was met by his son, the governor of Amasya, who came bearing him great gifts to pay him homage for his land as it is a custom for them. The emperor’s father-in-law Turgutes also came to him, who had given his daughter in marriage to the sultan who had been pleased with her and enjoyed her second after his harem wives, as well as the brother of his wife had come to his court and stayed at the court accompanying him when he went on campaign. He met the emperor then while he was marching bearing great gifts. When he got to Sivas, he invaded Hassan’s land and attacked and captured a town by the name of...As he was advancing, Hassan’s mother came to him bearing rich gifts acting as ambassadress for her son. When she came before the sultan, she said, “Son of the Ottoman Murad, Hassan my son has sent me to you out his concern for your fortunes, his lack of contempt for your prosperity, and his willingness to do as you tell him. I tell you this on my part, great man, what brings you to come against us your compatriots? Are you not aware that Bazeyid the Thunderbolt, son of Murad, wronged and erred greatly against his compatriots only to have justice meted out to him and be lost to the sultan Timur? Until now you have conducted yourself gently towards your compatriots and done no irreparable harm, so God has provided you with great and abundant prosperity bestowing on you the things of a hero providing you with a great and prosperous land, cities, and plenty of kings to be subdued and taken prisoner by you. You are aware as well that he will no longer provide them for you if you are now committing outrages against your own kind, like those who suppose themselves to be willful and shameless by nature and spirit and that justice will never visit itself on men, but naturally this is how things have gone for them. It should be not be to whatever one is inclined that this be customary and just and each thing that happens to them goes well for a mighty ruler and king. It is God who decides destinies both good and bad deciding which goes to mortals. To some he may give a good destiny and once dead utterly punish them. Divine judgment has gone otherwise in almost any means so it is best to be in accord with it, as if one missteps, it may mean utter ruin. You have attained more prosperity than all of the kings throughout the world because you have obeyed the prophet and not transgressed what is accustomed and henceforth may rule over all men. Man should conform to them either God or prophet until he dies. He must obey. You are not in the right here with us your compatriots, who are servants of the prophet, to whom Fate arranges its convenants, as it will not look past us being insulted and wronged by you.” In response, the sultan said, “My good woman, you are completely right. Be assured that nothing is more pleasing than a convenant to a ruler and king. This is how things have come about. If a person appears to be wronging their own compatriots, one must first examine why they are on such a course. We are doing this have previously warned him not to trouble our lands though he has not retrained himself and ceased to cause problems. Yet we tell your son that we will forego the rest of his land if he will not trespass again on our land or defend and fight for the emperor of Trebizond." This said, the women was at once in agreement and they made peace.

Henceforth, he began his march to Trebizond against the emperor David, who, when his brother the emperor John died and left behind a single descendant, with the Kabazitai, the rulers of Mesochaldia near Trebizond, seized the throne and became emperor wronging his nephew who was four-years-old. Furthermore, the fleet having set out from Sinope after they had conquered it, while he marched on the right through Cappadocia, came to Trebizond where it burned the suburbs and besieged the city for thirty-two days. After this, the sultan arrived. Before him Mahmud had marched on Trebizond and made camp there at the so-called Skylolimne conveying the messages for his cousin George the protovestarios telling him to say to the emperor David, “Emperor of Trebizond, descendant of an imperial line of Greeks, the sultan says this to you: as you aware he is coming over the land here. If you hand over the city to the sultan at once, then a country will be provided for you like a prosperous one was for the Greek ruler of the Peloponnese, Demetrius, as well as islands and the prosperous city of Aenus which he enjoys in security. If you do not give in and desire to resist, then know this: the city will be enslaved not much long after; there will be no peace and you will die a shameful death having not come forward to us before.” In reply to what Mahmud said, the emperor of Colchis said, “But we have not broken our treaties with the sultan though we are prepared to as the brother of the sultan do whatever the sultan commands and give in, though now to the sultan's naval commander we say this that they should not plunder the land wreaking havoc on it as when the sultan should come, we are prepared to submit to him." Having said this, he asked the sultan to make peace with him by marrying his daughter and providing a land to him in equal revenue to his own land. So saying, he asked to have peace. Mahmud, when the sultan reached the camp, met him briefing him on what was going on with the city. At first, he was enraged by this message to want to storm the city and enslave it, since he had found out that the emperor's wife before the arrival of the sultan's fleet had gone to her brother-in-law [or 'son-in-law'] Mamias beforehand. Yet as he wished to make peace oaths were taken and afterwards the sultan's Janissaries took control of the city of Trebizond as the sultan ordered. As for the emperor of Trebizond, he along with his sons, his daughter, his kin, who were present with him, were embarked on a boat and ordered to sail to Byzantium, while the sultan would go by land entrusting the city to the commander of the navy, the governor of Gallipoli, setting Janissaries men in the acropolis and infantrymen [ἀζάπιδας] in the city. After this, he dispatched Chitir, the governor Amasya, to capture the places near the city and those near Mesochaldia, the governors of which were the Kabazitai, the pansebastus and his son. Each of these places submitted to him. Leaving behind a garrison, he returned by land through the land of Tzan, a very strong and impassible land. On reaching Byzantium, he ordered the emperor to be lead off to Adrianople, and he not much later was brought to Adrianople.

And so Trebizond was conquered and the entire land of Colchis, being a Greek hegemony Greek both in habits and ways, passed under the sultan who in not very much time had subdued the Greeks and the rulers of the Greeks first with Byzantium, then with the Peloponnese and the emperor of Trebizond and his country.

Such was what happened. Then he divided Trebizond into parts, the first taking hold of for himself making then siliktarioi and spachoglani later at his court taking them into his service and for his favorites, while the second part he settled in Byzantium, and the last he made in Janissaries and equipment slaves selecting eight hundred children who were added to the ranks of the Janissaries. Yet as for the daughter of the emperor David, he did not marry her sending her off not much later to his harem, once the emperor David was slaughtered, and he also took into his presence the young descendant of the previous emperor. Furthermore, the younger son of the emperor named George, who was at Adrianople, converted to the religion of Mohammed and followed their habits, though he was arrested not much later by the sultan with his father and his brothers. (1) For the emperor's niece, the wife of Hassan, had sent letters and calling away either the emperor's son or his nephew Alexios from Mytilene, a Komnenos. The letters were delivered to the sultan revealing that one of the emperor's sons or his nephew, as it was said, should go to the Despoina, the wife of Hassan the Tall. It was the protovestarios George who delivered these letters for the best possibly so that he might show the sultan his perhaps good faith since he would not have heard of it by another as the protovestarios feared the sultan and pasha Mahmud and that he should suffer at the hands of the sultan. Consequently he gave the document to the sultan. The sultan on receiving the letters and thinking on them was made suspicious and arrested David, his sons, and his nephew and imprisoned them. His daughter he sent to his harem and with them in chains had them brought not much later to Byzantium and executed. As for the sons from the city and the surrounding area, some he made into Janissaries for his own harem, others he employed in his own service, and still others he bestowed on his sons and his officers. As for the girls, some he added to his harem, other he gave away, some of them he sent to his sons, and still others in a short space of time he married.

1. In the margin: καὶ ταῦτα ἄλλου τινὸς καὶ οὐ Λαονίκου: ‘This also [seems] of another person and not Laonikos.’

The ruler of the infidel that same year came against Sphentarios and seized his famed city named Sinope, which I myself saw, as well as all his other lands. Next after leaving the place above, he seized Kerasunt, Trebizond, and all the lands about it of the emperors of Trebizond, and nearly all of the luckless lords and nobles he expelled from the lands and brought them to Adrianople and settled them down there, where the lord of Morea was too having been given for his sustenance and his descendants great Ainos, Lemnos, Imbros, and Samothrace, while the emperor of Trebizond lord David Komnenos received some places near the Black Mountain. After a short time passed, he was arrested with little and untrue pretext and had his all his things taken from him and he was strangled.

In which is contained the submittal of the city of Sinope and all the dominion of Ishmael as well as the submittal of Trebizond and all its dominion with its emperor, and further the rebellion of the Geti, the enslavement and conquest all of Lesbos, and the first attack of the sultan against the Bostrian land, its defeat, and conquest for a period of time of three years.

The sultan on coming to Constantinople rested for a short time before raising a large army again and fitting out a great fleet on both land and sea constructing arms and devices and attending to all other needs of war. Such was his preparation and the fleet for the expedition against Trebizond and Sinope.

Of old, Trebizond was a great and beautiful city, the eldest of the Greek colonies being a settlement of the Ionians and the Athenians, being well-situated in Asia at the eastern corner of the Euxine Sea by the sea possessing a fair, large, all-providing land and commanding over of great neighboring area. It was from the very beginning a common market place for upper Asia, of Armenia, Assyria, and the rest of the surrounding land, flourishing in previous times and being adorned by great wealth, great force, and glory being reputable not only to those close by, but also those far away.

As time went by, little by little things in Asia began to shift and be altered as kingdoms were destroyed and overthrown only to rise up again and cities and lands were overrun and utterly devastated only to be resettled again going through this change in time and again taking possession of itself as it had in all haste returned to their previous prosperity and state as it had gone unharmed and met with no difficulty in doing so. In later times, a little bit before our own times, an emperor was established there by one of the Roman imperial family of the Comneni, who fell out from Byzantium and did many great and fair deeds there ruling over a great number of surrounding races and cities. Their succession and imperial rule continued in peace for a time and without dissension, the emperors being at peace and concurrence with the races with in and without under their authority as well as those under treaties with them.

After this, they fell to strife and civil war attacking each other, and so the city fell ill and was at its end to be rid of the emperors and those within, who as I have said, were rebelling and fighting one another while the neighboring nations foully disposed towards them due to their constant strife rose up against it, overrunning it many times, plundering it, and doing great harm.

As long as things were well in the city of Constantine and the Romans were masters of the strait, the Bosporus was intraversable and the Euxine Sea was wholly unsailable to the great fleet of the sultan, it held out with the others and recovered from its inopportunities guarding over freedom as it was able and not being injured by civil evils. But as things changed and the city of Constantine was laid siege and conquered by a great force of the sultan, the strait falling to him, the way was opened for him to the Euxine Sea and cities there clearly by both land and sea, then the city along with the other ones began to obey and its emperors bend down before the sultan becoming tributaries. As long as they were at peace with each other paying tribute, they did not encounter any new things, but when they fell to strife with one another and did not readily pay the tribute having made intermarriages with kings neighboring them, Hasan Tomerios, of the Tigranocerti, the Armenians, and Medians, and that of the Iberians evidently doing new things and seeking change with their treaties with the sultan (they did not even do this in secret), then the sultan was seized by wrath and made this expedition against them intending to seize and take possession of them before anything revolutionary could be done.

Having made his preparations during the winter, when the spring came, he had a fleet fitted out to depart with about three hundred war-like and soldierly men to the vessel, which including long triremes, fifty-rower boats, and armed vessels as well as supply ships, ones bearing his devices, and others filling market or other needs. He fitted them out with a great number of all sorts of arms including round shield, oblong shields, helmets, spears, breastplates, darts, and a great number of diverse projectiles that are loosed from bows and other devices, as well as a great number of loosable items and many other things useful to siege warfare. He filled them as well with a great number of the strongest and best well-armed men he had formidably prepared for war and very experienced setting up as their commanders-in-chief Casim, the satrap of Gallipoli, and Yapug, a man heavily experienced in naval warfare and one of the finest commanders on the sea. And so, having well fitted out and fully equipped the fleet, he sent it off. The man then passed through the Bosporus and came to the Euxine Sea in great haste, violence, and force loosing commingled cries, howling, boat song, and agressiveness on those they met providing them with great fear and consternation and astonishing everyone with the unexpectedness of the sight. So much for the fleet by sea.

The sultan, having joined together his European forces, then crossed to Asia with his cavalrymen and infantrymen as well as horses, beasts of burden, burden-bearing mules, a great number of camels, and everything else pertaining to the needs and preparation of war. Having completed his crossing, he then marched through Bithynia to Brusa, where he found his Asian forces assembled. After spending not many days there filling what was needed, fitting out an army, and visiting the tomb of his father paying his respects to him magnificently decorating it with a great number of gifts and offerings, he set out from there and passed through the lands of Galatia and Paphlagonia.

The army was as such, as it was said, sixty thousand in number of cavalrymen and no less in number of infantry at eighty thousand not including the army's beasts of burden and the army's attendants.

Having marched through those lands and Cappadocia, he crossed the Halys River and came upon Sinope a beautiful city by the sea, the richest of those in the Euxine Sea having under it a large and fine land.

This place was a common market place for the entire land inhabited around it and no small part of lower Asia abounding in many fair things, which seasons, land, and sea bear,the greatest of which was copper, which is mined there freely being cultivated and spread throughout Asia and Europe providing its inhabitants with large revenues of gold. Its ruler had been for a long time Ishmael, a powerful man being well born having inherited his domain from his fathers. The sultan having reached it, set up his camp and found the fleet there on ses moored in its harbors, since his commanders had taken hold of the harbors by previous agreeement and surrounded the isthmus with their boats including the city and islet as it was peninsula.

Ishmael seeing the sudden coming of the sultan with his city surrounded by land and sea was astonished by this happening being left to ponder what he must do at the present. To him it seemed better to come forward from the city and meet with the sultan, find out the reasons for his coming against him, and reconcile himself with him if necessary. And so, he made ready many and splendid gifts and went out to meet the sultan. He received him very kindly and philanthropically greeting him friendlily welcoming him and honoring him with fitting honors. They talked about the his domain, they said much, and shared with each other

And so the sultan took the city of Sinope and all of Ishmael's domain giving him in return a satrapy in Europe over the land called Skopiai [Watch Towers] neighboring the city of Triballoi, a fine and well-provided land lacking in nothing for his domain, standard of living, and retirement in the way of revenue.

The sultan originally had no reason to attack Ishmael and seize the city, but as it was famous and well situated on the Asian coastline of the Euxine Sea having secure harbors capable of sending off the fleet and the vessels of the sultan to Trebizond and the entire whole area by the sea of the Pontus and the cities there, so that since it was in the middle of the sultan's lands, it did not seem safe to him that it should have other rulers and not himself. Furthermore, he was afraid that Hassan the king of the Tigranocerti and the Medians might seize it before him or might by convention, war, or some other device plot to take over it. These were the necessary reasons for which the sultan took possession of Sinope.

And so, Ishmael along with his children set out straightaway and departed for his satrapy, while the sultan took control of Sinope and all of Ishmael's dominion setting all of its affairs in order commanding Casim and Yapug to sail with the fleet at once for Trebizond and attack its harbors shutting it off by both land and sea and to keep watch over it in surety.

Setting out from there with his army, he went by midland and reached the Taurus Mountains where he set up camp at their roots. The Taurus Mountains are the greatest mountain range in Asia dividing upper Asia from lower starting from Mountain Mycale and the sea there running from there separating Asia until ending at the Euxine Sea near Sinope, and from there crossing through the Armenian and Median mountains and through them the Caucus.

They say that Alexander the Macedon first crossed the Taurus Mountains after Hercules and Dionysius going to marching against Darius the king of the Persians and all of Asia, while after him Magnus Pompey [Pompey the Great] did so with the Romans.

In our own times, they were crossed by Timur king of the Scythians and the Massagetae when he marched against Bazeyid, the forebear of the sultan, with implements of war and an army, but he held the ways through and marched through friendship. Now the sultan Mehmed was to cross with implements of war and in war third after Alexander with Romans and Pompey.

Hassan, as it was previously said, had made a marriage alliance with the emperor of Trebizond and wanted to help him specifically because rather he wanted and hoped to get Trebizond for himself, so when he learned of the sultan's coming, he gathered together an army and went to guard the passes to prevent the sultan from crossing.

The sultan on learning this, permitted him to set with his army while he took another untrodden, rough, difficult, and uphill route heading straight for Tabriz, Hassan’s capital. Ahead of him, sent off first a formidable army of well-belted and lightly-armed men, primarily archers and peltasts, seizing with the pasha Mahmud the best hills, the narrow and difficult passes, and difficult spots. Then he sent in a great number of bare men to cut the trees and soften the harsh and difficult copses, bushes, woods, and thickets through which he was to pass so that his passing would be easier and softer.

The Taurus Mountains are said to be one mountain range having many difficult to pass paths, difficult to get through paths, steep peaks jutting up to the clouds, abrupt cliff edges, deep and precipitous ravines, promontories, difficult spots, thickets, and many up-hill, down-hill, difficult, and adverse pits, which it is very difficult, hard, laborious, and dangerous to make the crossing through.

Furthermore, the road through these difficult spots and up-hill roads took many days, since lightly armed and well-equipped men would take nearly eighteen days with great labor to pass it, so such an army of cavalrymen and infantrymen weighed down with arms and baggage, such as one cannot speak, as well as a great number of beasts of burden, camels, and burden-bearing mules took more. However, the sultan did not reckon all this as anything in crossing.

Having set all the army in order and armed it, he started to cross them with the infantry in front in a column, the baggage bearers in the middle, and the infantry in the back arranging it with the rear and the rear guards, while he himself was in the center of the infantry with a few mounted men. When he crossed narrow places, the column would narrow with the foremost advancing in a column. When he got to more easy to get through ways, the column would little by little spread out into a row with those at the front in a square, primarily archers and hoplites on each side advancing in order with the archers having the bows in hand drawn with an arrow and those who could shoot better on right on the left and on the right the left, while the hoplites had their spears on their shoulders swaying and shaking here and there. He marched thus for days having many fires burned at night in front of his camp a little bit away and a great number of watches set in a circle around it setting scouts and forerunners all about, who put during the day in the best of places so protecting his camp on all sides.

In the meantime, something unaccounted for happened that vexed the sultan, men in office, and the entire army no small amount. For there an antagonistic, disaffected, and malignant man with nothing to reprove another, who felt he was still owed favors and being moved by his own malignance and knavery only began to plot against the pasha Mahmud. When a convenient moment arose for his foul deed, he was emboldened by the difficulty of a spot and hoped to succeed, as no one knew of it or suspected, so he drew his bow loosing an arrow at him. It hit him on the forehead though the blow did not prove fatal because he had had the good sense in that unexpectable situation to shield himself with his hand or the blow might otherwise have been fatal. Consequently there was a great stir with the sultan, those in power, and the entire army in not small amount of confusion due to the utter abruptness of the event as though the enemy had come upon them suddenly, but the villain was soon arrested and that ill-mannered man before being able to speak a word in his defense was dealt justice for his impudence being cut to pieces by the army pitilessly, each person getting a taste of his flesh and blood.

The sultan was filled by immeasurable grief, agony, and fear over him, as to how he could be injured at such a pressing place and time, so he called at once Yapug his doctor, a wise man and the first of his craft, as to both the practical and evident as well as the theoretical and doctrinal, being reckoned great by him who was informed about the wound. On learning that it was superficial and not dangerous, he breath a sigh of relief bestowing the best on him commanded him to be cared for with all concern. Mahmud receiving the appropriate care quickly recovered from the wound.

The sultan spent seven and ten days marching always and crossing deep ravines, precipitous cliffs, great difficult places, places hard to travel and beat, and many other adverse and difficult things with great toil, he himself and all the army facing great travails in arms crossing the Taurus Mountains and descending on the plain where he made camp not far from Tabriz.

Hassan on learning of the sudden assault of the sultan and that in spite of the difficulty of the land and great unusability of the road which was whole unpassable he had thus easily crossed them with such an army, arms, and baggage besides this marching on his capital, was astonished by the abruptness of the happening and as though struck by an arrow from the heavens fell into an awful rut and fear not knowing what how he should act. In the end, in great need, he sending off his mother as an ambassador to the sultan with great gifts apologizing for what he had done and asking his pardon at the same time asserting that he was a friend and ally of the sultan. The sultan received her as a friend and honored her with the appropriate honors discussing peace with her then making terms with her and recognizing Hassan as a friend and ally. However, he did not send her back at once, but kept her with him while he was marching on. So much for the sultan.

The commanders of the fleet having sailed to Trebizond landed at its harbors and disembarked joining battle with the Trapezuntines who sallied forth from the city. They turned them to flight repelling them violently and shutting them up with in the city. Seizing hold of the outer lands and the way to the city, they encircled them with their army and laid siege to them by land and sea with their vessels making sure that those within were unable to escape or bring anything or anyone within from without. They passed twenty eight days besieging it, in which there were some raids of those outside the city on those without it in which they fared no worse than their enemy, yet a few were being fought by many so they were repulsed and shut in the city.

After that, Mahmud the pasha came to the city with all of the land army one day in advance of the sultan and set up camp not far from the city sending as his messenger Thomas Katabolenos conveying a conciliatory message to the people of the city and their emperor about the surrender of themselves and the city, saying that it was more in their interest to entrust themselves and the city to the sultan by agreements, sworn oaths, and pledges because it would be for the good and succor of themselves and their emperor as well as his children and his court since they would receive consideration [pronoia] from the sultan in the form of a great land and sufficient revenue for their sustenance as well as rest and all of their needs and self-sufficiency, while if they remained unmoved with their wives and children their property and homeland would suffer harm. If they refused the sultan's offer to come to terms with them, they would move him by anger and wrath to war and they would decide things with arms and iron being captured in war and suffering the murder, pillage, and slavery which characterize the sufferings of war and capture. Such was what he said.

The people in the city and their emperor received this message quietly and said that it would happen when the sultan arrived. On the following day, when he got there and set up camp before the cit, he sent Thomas again as herald offering to come to terms with them on those same terms which Mahmud had proposed. On hearing the proclamation, they made ready straightaway many great and beautiful gifts, selected their finest men, and gave pledges of faith to those sent. When they got there they made obeisance to the sultan, arranged the terms, and gave and took pledges surrendering the city and themselves to the sultan.

Opening up the gates of the city they received Mahmud and his army into the city and Mahmud took it over. The emperor then left the city along his children and his men to make obeisance to the sultan. He received him gently and philanthropically welcoming him and honoring him bestowing the usual gifts freely on him, his children, and his everybody with him. 25. The sultan's march to Trebizond

The sultan happening upon the city regarded its position as well as the habitation and number of its population and then ascended into its acropolis and saw the palace marveling at the defensibility of its height, the palace of the emperors, and its resplendence deciding that the city was worthy of the repute accorded it by everyone. After this, he commanded the emperor, his attendants, those with power in the city, and those possessing wealth with their women, children, and...and settled it sparing no expense or cost for this For it was his earnest concern that no one of those outside say that the city was lacking in honor, use, beauty, and resplendence. Everyone under his authority was loaded into the triremes.

First the sultan picked out the teenage youths from the city and all the surrounding countryside to the numbers of about five hundred and a thousand loading them into his war vessels. He bestowed a lot on the commanders of the ships, the admirals and captains, as well as the helmsmen, the signal men, and others commanding them to sail away. And so they sailed off, though not before he had detained one of the commanders of the fleet, Casim the governor of Gallipoli, and given to him the governorship of Trebizond as well as four hundred elite men of his court for the garrison of it. He did not stay there many days before having arranged everything as he was minded to, he set out from there and started for home.

When he got to Hassan's land, he sent his mother back him having bestowed many gifts on her and honored her. In addition, he sent ambassadors with her to her son Hassan to renew their treaties, friendship, and alliance with one another, which, as it has been said before, he was desirous of. He in turn sent ambassadors to the sultan bearing gifts, congratulating him on his triumphs, and thanking him for the honor shown to his mother reaffirming their friendship and alliance.

The sultan set out from there and marched with all speed for home crossing the Taurus Mountains safely and passing through everything in between in a matter of twenty eight days coming to the city of Prousa where he disbanded his army and rested himself and his retinue for a short time before coming to Byzantium as fall was ending. The year six thousand nine hundred and sixty ninth was spent as well as the sultan's eleventh year of his reign.

Such was what happened Sinope and Trebizond, cities of repute and fame in those times. The sultan Mehmed on reaching the city of Constantine as his first priority dealt with the emperor of Trebizond giving him and the men with him a fine land near the Strymon River to supply their needs since the land brought in a yearly revenue of 300,000 silver pieces.

There was a man amongst those with the emperor, George Amerukes [Amirutzes] by the name, who was very learned in philosophy, having studied physics, dogma, mathematics, geometry, the analogies of numbers, and the schools of Peripatus and Stoa, besides having received an all-encompassing education of both rhetoric and poetry. Learning about this, the sultan summoned the man and on receiving ample proof in meeting with him and talking with him, he was amazed by his education and wisdom especially deeming him worthy of an appropriate land so that he might come constantly and engage with him in the doctrines of the ancients like philosophers in questioning, debates, and solution-finding because the sultan was also well learned in philosophy.

While Joseph was patriarch, the lord sultan Mehmed marched against Trebizond with a numerous land force and innumerable force by sea. The emperor at that time was lord David, who hailed from the Komnenos family. When he saw the sudden arrival and the multitude of this force, he was not able to do anything about and so he unwillingly submitted though he make some requests, one of which was that he [the sultan] would take as his wife his daughter, and so he promised to marry her. This emperor also had another daughter, the despoina Hatun, who had gone to Uzun Hasan in Tabriz and had three sons with him. The emperor had hoped of getting aid from him, but he was unable to help him on the whole because he feared lest he should be campaigned against. Because of this fear, he sent as his ambassador his mother along with many gifts to the lord whom she met en route and told him effectively “Let it be known to your majesty that I am not your opponent, so do as you wish" He received her warmly and in a friendly manner, before sending her back home. The poor emperor also asked he be given a place as alimony for his family, which acquiesced to, and he sent him the keys to the city. He had ruled this province from Aminsoun until the borders of Iberia without any difficulty until the war. They then split up the people of Trebizond into three parts. One of these parts he and his magnates took, the other he brought to the city as sergunides [settlers?], while the other part he left in the city to live no within, but without its walls. As for the emperor and all of his officials, he loaded them onto the boats and brought them to Constantinople, including Kabazetes [Kabazites] and all his family, the grand mesazon Altamurius, and the philosopher Ameroutzes [Amiroutzes] the protovestarios. The protovestarios was the grandson of Yagares just like the pasha Mahmud by another of Yagares’s daughters in Serbia, so they were first cousins. By the treachery and deception of the protovestarios, the lord got into Trebizond. It was he who persuaded the poor emperor and he submitted since the emperor was indolent, unmanly, and unfit for rule. The protovestarios met with great honor from the lord and pasha since he was handsome, manly in the size of his body and fitness. As an archer he had no equal in the sultan’s army. As for Amiroutzes son’s he brought them into the Seraglio and later made Amiroutzes into an Ishmaelite. As for the emperor, he gave him as an alimony some land next to Serres and as for his daughter who he had promised to marry, he did not marry her but gave he to his hotzia to get her to renounce the faith of Christ, but he was unable to dissuade her and so released her. She had food until the end of her life. Later, however, when he came into conflict with Uzun Hasan, as he was about to march off against him, he killed the poor emperor. We do not know what the reason was.