honorific post). In 1297/8, Glabas was named as the governor of the western part of the Empire, with Thessalonica as his seat, and sent to deal with the Serbs, who had continued periodically attacking Byzantine holdings in Macedonia and Albania since 1282. As recently as 1296, they had conquered Dyrrhachion. Despite his great military experience and his disposing of a relatively strong army, Glabas was unable to make any headway as the Serbs relied on guerrilla tactics and refused a pitched battle. Consequently, he advised Emperor Andronikos II to conclude a peace agreement with Stephen Uroš II (). This led to the treaty of 1299 between the two states, sealed through the marriage of Andronikos II's daughter Simonida to Stephen Uroš. After his lacklustre performance in Macedonia, Glabas returned east, and in he is said to have built or rebuilt fifteen fortresses in Thrace. In 1304, Glabas was dispatched to counter a Bulgarian invasion under Tsar Theodore Svetoslav (), which took several forts and cities along the Balkan Mountains and the Black Sea coast. Glabas had some success: according to a panegyric by the court poet Manuel Philes, he retook Roussokastron and Mesembria, rebuilt Anchialos and forced the Bulgarians to withdraw behind the Balkan Mountains. At this juncture, however, he fell ill and returned to Constantinople, while the co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos () assumed command. Monastic life and death It is not known when Glabas died, but it was probably sometime between 1305 and 1308. Before his death, he became a monk. He was buried by his widow in a small chapel in the Pammakaristos Church in Constantinople, which he and his wife had restored and handed over to Patriarch John XII of Constantinople in 1293. The church was possibly decorated with a fresco cycle celebrating his military exploits, described by Philes. Glabas and his wife funded several other churches from their wealth: in 1302/3 they had also sponsored the restoration of a chapel to St. Euthymius in the Church of St. Demetrius in Thessalonica, as well as the Prisklabetza Monastery at Prilep and the Atheniotissa Church in Constantinople, where he also funded the construction of a hospice. Family Glabas married Maria Doukaina Komnene Branaina Palaiologina. They had one daughter, whose name is not documented. She married Andronikos Komnenos Branas Doukas Angelos. After Glabas' death, his wife became a nun with the name Martha. Assessment Michael Doukas Glabas Tarchaneiotes has