D. NIGOL and S. BENDALL

ANNA OF SAVOY IN THESSALONICA THE NUMISMATIC EVIDENCE

(PL IX)

A hoard of eight copper coins found at or near Pella in the mid-1960s has thrown new light on the history of Thessalonica in the middle years of the fourteenth century and necessitated the reconsideration of Longuet's "Salonica" hoard.

The Historical Background.

John V Palaiologos became heir to the Byzantine throne when his father Andronikos III died in June 1341. He was barely nine years old. The regency was disputed between his late father's friend and counsellor, John Cantacuzene, and the Patriarch of Constantinople, John Kalekas, who had the support of the widowed Empress and mother of John V, Anna of Savoy. John Cantacuzene felt compelled to fight for what he believed to be his rights. But his action provoked widespread rebellion in the cities of Thrace and Macedonia. In Thessalonica it took the form of an uprising against the ruling aristocracy led by a faction calling themselves the Zealots, who seized power in the summer of 1342. They professed loyalty to the house of Palaiologos and the Emperor John V and they denied the claims of Cantacuzene. But in effect they ruled Thessalonica as a virtually independent commune. John Cantacuzene, after a war lasting almost six years, finally fought his way into Constantinople in February 1347. The Empress Anna of Savoy yielded ; the Patriarch was deposed; and it was agreed that the young John V should reign together as co-Emperor with John Cantacuzene. Cantacuzene