ABSTRACT
Constantine XI Palaiologos found himself in the same predicament as his brother when the Hungarian cannon maker Urban offered him his services shortly before the last siege of Constantinople. When Constantine succeeded to the throne, it was George Sphrantzes who was sent to Hadrianople to announce the news to the Ottoman sultan, sultan Murad II, and he subsequently joined his master in Constantinople. There were three clearly discernible types of men at his court. First, there were the grandees: those individuals who were so wealthy that they needed no recompense from the emperor. Then there were the middling sort: men who were wealthy and privileged but still grateful for any largesse that came their way. Finally, there were what might be termed employees, the people retained by the emperor for a specific skill or service who had few resources of their own.
