The Zealots (Greek: Ζηλωταί) were a political group that dominated political developments in Thessalonica from 1342 until 1350. The contemporary sources, notably anti-Zealot in sympathies, provide little information on the Zealots' government of Thessalonica. The Zealots managed to establish effective civic self-government for eight years. They confiscated the property of the aristocracy, and redistributed their wealth. In the past it had been claimed that the Zealots had a kind of social reform program, but sources are scant. Many of these claims were built upon a discourse of the scholar Nikolaos Kabasilas, but eventually it seems that it had no connection to the Zealot revolt but was composed many decades later.[1]