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The Medieval Church · c. 1362–1369
The Histories
John VI Kantakouzenos · c. 1292–1383
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What it is
A memoir by an emperor who won a civil war, abdicated, became a monk, and then explained at length why everything he did had been necessary.
Why it lasted
The most extensive apologia by any Byzantine ruler, and a primary source for the empire's final decline written from inside it.
Where to read it
Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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