ABSTRACT
The hostility may have come to the surface after Demetrios received Constantine's proposal. Inadvertently, Constantine may have triggered the mobilization of Demetrios' forces. The Lemnian city was saved but "the incarnation of Ares," as Bessarion had earlier dubbed Constantine, could only prevail with Venetian assistance. Constantine suffered another personal tragedy. The prevailing circumstances forced the emperor to turn to Constantine and appointed him lord over Selybria, a major town in the vicinity of Mesembria. This command Constantine had sought earlier but Demetrios had refused to cooperate: In November of the same year, my master, Lord Constantine the despot, came to the City. Constantine appointed Sophianos Eudaimonoiannes as his liaison officer to his various administrators. Constantine must have been informed of the upcoming Ottoman expedition but felt that he could rely on his Hexamilion wall. Constantine headed for the Hexamilion, reinforced its defenses, and established his headquarters in the immediate vicinity.
