thoughts using Persian and Ptolemaic tables. Such works, while being non-Christian and in many cases non-Hellenistic, were cultivated by the Greek Orthodox ecclesiastics. Both Choniades and Metochites established themselves in the Greek Orthodox Church; the former becoming Bishop of Tabriz and the latter the head of the Patriarchal school. Not all thinkers were welcome in Byzantium. Some who opened their minds to other beliefs would have strayed from the "one true Religion", as the Byzantines would have seen it. One such example is that of Plethon. His works on computational astronomy using Hebrew and Persian tables were overshadowed by the neo-pagan beliefs he adopted in his old age. He proclaimed his belief in the "Seven Wise Men", the message of Zoroaster and Fatalism. Consequently, his work on a modified Greek Pantheon, The Laws was burnt by the Patriarch of Constantinople. Plethon's ashes repose in the Tempio Malatestiano of Rimini. Others went so far as to suggest that Byzantium would not live forever — a fundamental belief for every subject of the Byzantine Orthodox Church. Metochites did not see Byzantine civilization as superior to others and even considered the "infidel" Tatars as more enlightened in some aspects, such as morality, than his Christian co-religionists. Patronage Philosophers had to find ways of bringing food to the table. The most common occupation in the Byzantine Empire would have either been agriculturally-based or, earlier in the Empire, trade-based. In contrast, philosophers needed patronage in order to survive. The most important source was from the Imperial court, especially before the destructive civil wars that were characterized by Andronikos III and his son John V. Other sources were from minor courts, from the wealthy, and from the Church, if not from individual Church clergy, although only bishops had such resources. As the Empire descended into chaos, it could not spare any finances in its efforts to defend its borders. Study in the fields of science and mathematics naturally disappeared from the minds of those whose lands were raided and seized. It was due to this lack of patronage that led many scholars to flee to the West. Remarkable travels were recorded by John Argyropoulos and Manuel Chrysoloras, who between them had travelled to Florence, Pavia, Rome, Padua and Milan. The end of the Byzantine Empire coincided with the beginning of the Renaissance. Conclusion The end of the Byzantine Empire did not seem inevitable to contemporaries. As