for Irene. John the Eunuch directed his siege engines against the monastery, destroying it almost completely, and defeating the rebels. Tzanchites was amongst the rebels taken as prisoners and sent to Limnia where they were executed a year later. At the same time, affairs of the Empire went worse as the Turkmen attacked Trebizond and marched up to the walls of the capital itself. A first attack was repelled on the Parcharia ("the downs"), but the second (July 1341) could not be stopped by the demoralized army of Irene, and the Turkmen set fire to much of Trebizond without being able to capture it. The catastrophe was exacerbated by the outbreak of an epidemic, which Michael Panaretos claims arose from the foul stench of the rotting corpses of horses and men. Deposition Irene's reign was brought to an end by the arrival of her sister-in-law Anna, Basil's sister. Prior to the second invasion and the fire, Anna had been convinced to abandon her monastic vows, and was acclaimed empress in Lazica July 17, 1341. Miller writes, "The ease with which she accomplished the dethronement of Irene may be explained by the fact that, whereas the latter represented the foreign court of Byzantium, she represented the local dynasty, which in nearly a century and a half had thoroughly identified itself with the country." But Irene's fortunes seemed to revive 13 days later when Michael, her dead husband's uncle, arrived on July 30, accompanied by three Byzantine warships and Niketas Scholares, captain-general of the Scholarioi, to be emperor and Irene's husband. The nobles and the archbishop Akakios welcomed Michael at first, and took oaths of allegiance to him, and invited him up to the palace of his ancestors; then, when night fell, they made him their prisoner and slaughtered his unsuspecting escort. Irene watched Michael put on board a vessel to Oinaion and captivity before she was put aboard a Frankish vessel and sent back to Constantinople. Nothing further is known of her fate. References External links Her profile in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley Vougiouklaki Penelope, "Eirene Palaiologina (Empress)", Encyclopedia of the Hellenic World: Asia Minor 1315 births 14th-century deaths 14th-century emperors of Trebizond Empresses consort of Trebizond Empresses regnant of Trebizond Greek women of the Byzantine Empire Palaiologos dynasty 14th-century Byzantine women 14th-century women rulers Illegitimate children of Byzantine emperors Daughters of Byzantine emperors 14th-century monarchs in Asia