between 1387 and 1391, John V is recorded as having complained to the Genoese that the inhabitants of Galata were acclaiming and saluting John VII as if he were the senior emperor, while denying John V the appropriate honours. Usurpation of the throne and reign Despite the agreement of 1381, which explicitly stated that John VII was the legitimate successor, and Manuel having shown some rebellious tendencies himself, Manuel remained John V's favoured heir and represented John VII's main obstacle on the way to the throne. When Manuel was away campaigning in Anatolia in 1390, John VII, twenty years old, seized the moment and proclaimed himself sole emperor, laying siege to Constantinople. According to the contemporary Russian chronicler Ignatius of Smolensk, 1390 had seen a strong current of opinion in John VII's favour. John VII had secured the support of the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I and the Genoese; shortly before the siege (probably in late 1389) he had even travelled to Genoa in person to rally support. As he travelled back to the Byzantine Empire by land, it is possible that John VII passed through Bulgaria, where he might also have sought the assistance of Ivan Sratsimir and Ivan Shishman, Tsars of Bulgaria in Vidin and Tarnovo, respectively. In addition to his external allies, a large percentage of the population within Constantinople also supported John VII, and might even have approved of subtle Ottoman intervention in the succession. John entered the city on 14 April 1390, his brief siege having ended through a group of commoners opening the Gate of Charisius, without struggle, and letting him in. Though some coercion was used, before long everyone inside the city had recognised and acclaimed John VII as emperor, submitting to his rule. There is some contemporary evidence that John VII used the name Andronikos at the time of his usurpation. Ignatius of Smolensk, eyewitness to the event, wrote that the soldiers in John VII's service shouted the acclamation "Polla ta eti Andronikou!", rather than the expected "Polla ta eti Ioannou!" and records of the registers of expenses in Galata in 1390 mention that the emperor in Constantinople at the time was Andronico Paleologo. It is possible that John VII changed his name to Andronikos upon his father's death in 1385 to honour his memory, or adopted it only in 1390, in order to avoid confusion and facilitate his usurpation of the throne.