the Byzantine Empire, ultimate authority to appoint patriarchs rested with the emperor alone. While besieging the city, Bayezid attempted to appeal to John VII's supporters by posing as a defender of John VII's legitimacy and offering peace on the condition that John was restored to the throne, terms that had been refused by Manuel before he left, a decision which prolonged the siege. Once Manuel had left the city, Bayezid tried to negotiate directly with John VII. Perhaps overlooking that he had supported Manuel's deposition of John VII in 1390, his own attack on John VII's lands in Selymbria in 1397, and the reconciliation between the two emperors, Bayezid seemed to still believe that he could rely on John VII to do his bidding. Shortly after Manuel's departure from Constantinople, he sent the following message to John VII from Adrianople: John VII refused to surrender the city and replied defiantly to Bayezid's messenger, recorded as having said the following: The situation grew more grim as time went on and Manuel's absence dragged on. Though Venice had promised to send military aid to lift the siege, the promised forces never arrived. Despite his forces being exhausted and the Timurids appearing in the eastern parts of his empire, Bayezid refused to abandon the siege. Throughout the six-year-long siege, the citizens of Constantinople suffered. Many of them chose to escape from the walls to personally surrender to the Ottoman forces. Despite having refused to surrender the city, John VII maintained some connections to Bayezid. Early in January 1401, John VII was away from Constantinople, attempting to sign an agreement with Bayezid. Whatever he did, it appears to have worked momentarily as the siege was lifted for a brief period in the summer. In 1402, John VII is recorded as present on an Ottoman military expedition in the Peloponnese. On 1 June 1402, as the siege was escalating, John VII sent a letter to Henry IV of England, writing of the urgent danger threatening Constantinople. About a month after this letter was sent, Bayezid finally left the city, having to deal with the Timurids. Bayezid's defeat and capture at the Battle of Ankara on 20 July 1402, and the subsequent period of Ottoman civil war it sparked, ended the siege of Constantinople and saved the city. The Ottoman defeat at Ankara was used by John to negotiate a treaty with one of Bayezid I's