Con, but was thrown from his horse in the beginning of the engagement, and killed by the fall; upon which his men threw down their arms, and submitted to Tangrolipix.

After this victory the Turkish general made war upon the sultan of Babylon; whom he at length slew, and annexed his dominions to his own. He then sent his nephew, named Cutlu-Mofer, against the Arabians; but by them he was defeated, and forced to fly towards Media. Through this province he was denied a passage by Stephen the Roman governor; upon which Cutlu-Mofer was obliged to force a passage by encountering the Roman army. There he put to flight, took the governor himself prisoner, and without any further opposition reached the confines of Persia, where he sold Stephen for a slave. Returning from thence to Tangrolipix, he excused, in the best manner he could, his defeat by the Arabians; but at the same time acquainted him with his victory over the Romans in Media, encouraging him to invade that fertile country, which he said might be easily conquered, as it was inhabited by none but women, meaning the Romans.

At that time Tangrolipix, did not hearken to his advice, but marched against the Arabians at the head of a numerous army. He was, however, attended with no better success than his nephew had been; and therefore began to reflect on what he had told him. Soon after he sent Afan his brother's son with an army of 20,000 men to reduce Media. Pursuant to his orders, the young prince entered that country, and committed everywhere dreadful ravages; but being in the end drawn into an ambush by the Roman generals, he was cut off with his whole army. Tangrolipix, no way discouraged by this misfortune, sent a new army into Media near 100,000 strong; who, after having ravaged the country without opposition, laid siege to Artza a place of great trade, and therefore reckoned the most wealthy in those parts. Not being able to reduce it by any other means, they set it on fire; and thus in a short time it was utterly destroyed: the buildings being reduced to ashes, and 150,000 of the inhabitants perished either by the flames or the sword.

After this Abraham Halim, half-brother to Tangrolipix, hearing that the Romans, reinforced with a body of troops under the command of Liparites governor of Iberia, had taken the field, marched against them, and offered them battle; which they not declining, the two armies engaged with incredible fury. The victory continued long doubtful; but at length inclined to the Romans; who nevertheless did not think proper to pursue the fugitives, as their general Liparites was taken prisoner. The emperor, greatly concerned for the captivity of Liparites, dispatched ambassadors with rich presents, and a large sum of money to redeem him, and at the same time to conclude an alliance with Tangrolipix. The sultan received the presents; but generously returned them together with the money to Liparites, whom he let at liberty without any ransom; only requiring him, at his departure, never more to bear arms against the Turks. Not long after, Tangrolipix sent a person of great authority among the Turks, with the character of ambassador, to Constantinople; who having arrogantly exhorted the emperor to submit to his master, and acknowledge himself his tributary, was ignominiously driven out of the city.

Tangrolipix, highly affronted at the reception his ambassador had met with, entered Iberia while the emperor Constantine Monomachus was engaged in a war with the Patzinace, a Scythian nation. Having ravaged that country, he returned from thence to Media, and laid siege to Mantzicherta, a place defended by a numerous garrison, and fortified with a triple wall and deep ditches. However, as it was situated in an open plain country, he hoped to be master of it in a short time. But finding the besieged determined to defend themselves to the last extremity, he resolved to raise the siege, after he had continued it 30 days. One of his officers, however, named Alcan, prevailed on him to continue it but one day longer, and to commit the management of the attacks to him. This being granted, Alcan disposed his men with such skill and to encourage them by his example, that notwithstanding the vigorous opposition they met with, the place would have probably been taken, had not Alcan been slain as he was mounting the wall. The besieged, knowing him by the richness of his armour, drew him by the hair into the city, and cutting off his head threw it over the wall among the enemy; which so disheartened them, that they gave over the assault and retired.

The next spring Tangrolipix returned, and ravaged Iberia with the utmost cruelty, sparing neither sex nor age. But on the approach of the Roman army he retired to Tauris, leaving 30,000 men behind him to infest the frontiers of the empire. This they did with great success, the borders being through the avarice of Monomachus unguarded. Till the time of this emperor, the provinces bordering on the countries of the barbarians had maintained, at their own charge, forces to defend them; and were on that account exempted from paying tribute; but as Monomachus exacted from them the same sums that were paid by others, they were no longer in a condition to defend themselves.

In 1062 died the emperor Constantine Ducas, having left the empire to his three sons, Michael, Andronicus, and Constantine; but as they were all very young, he appointed the empress Eudocia, regent during their minority, after having required of her an oath never to marry; which oath was with great fidelity lodged in the hands of the patriarch. He likewise obliged the senators solemnly to swear that they would acknowledge none for their sovereign but his three sons. No sooner, however, was he dead, than the Turks, hearing that the empire was governed by a woman, broke into Mesopotamia, Cilicia, and Cappadocia, destroying all with fire and sword. The empress was no way in a condition to oppose them, the greater part of the army having been disbanded in her husband's life-time, and the troops that were still on foot being undisciplined, and altogether unfit for service. The concern which this gave the empress was aggravated by the sedulous speeches of a discontented party at home, who repeated on all occasions that the present state of affairs required a man of courage and address at the helm, instead of a weak and helpless woman; and as they imagined the empress would never think of marrying, in consequence of the oath she had had taken, they hoped by these speeches to induce the people to revolt, and choose a new emperor. This Eudocia was aware of; and therefore determined to prevent the evils that threatened herself and her family, by marrying some person of merit who was capable of defeating her enemies both at home and abroad. At this time one Romanus Diogenes, a person of most beautiful aspect, extraordinary parts, and illustrious birth, being accused of aspiring to the empire, tried and convicted, was brought forth to receive sentence of death. But the empress, touched with compassion at his appearance, gently upbraided him with his ambition, let him at liberty, and soon after appointed him commander in chief of all her forces. In this station he acquitted himself so well, that the empress resolved to marry him if she could but recover the writing in which her oath was contained out of the hands of the patriarch. In order to this, she applied to a favourite eunuch; who going to the patriarch, told him that the empress was to be taken with his nephew named Bardas, that she was determined to marry and raise him to the empire, provided the patriarch absolved her from the oath she had taken, and convinced the senate of the lawfulness of her marriage. The patriarch, dazzled with the prospect of his nephew's promotion, readily undertook to perform both. He first obtained the consent of the senate by representing to them the dangerous state of the empire, and exclaiming against the rash oath which the jealousy of the late emperor had extorted from the empress. He then publicly discharged her from it; restored the writing to her; and exhorted her to marry some deserving object, who being entrusted with an absolute authority, might be capable of defending the empire. The empress, thus discharged from her oath, married a few days after Romanus Diogenes; who was thereafter proclaimed emperor, to the great disappointment of the patriarch.

As the new emperor was a man of great activity and experience in war, he no sooner saw himself vested with the sovereign power, than he took upon him the command of the army, and passed over into Asia with the few forces he could assemble, recruiting and inuring them on his march to military discipline, which had been utterly neglected in the preceding reigns. On his arrival in that continent, he was informed that the Turks had surprised and plundered the city of Nicaea, and were retiring with their booty. On this news he hastened after them at the head of a chosen body of light-armed troops, and came up with them on the third day. As the Turks were marching in disorder, without the least apprehension of an enemy, Romanus cut great numbers of them in pieces, and easily recovered the booty; after which he pursued his march to Aleppo, which he retook from them, together with Hierapolis, where he built a strong castle.

As he was returning to join the forces he had left behind him, he was met by a numerous body of Turks who attempted to cut off his retreat. At first he pretended to decline an engagement through fear; but attacked them afterwards with such vigour when they least expected it, that he put them to flight at the first onset, and might have gained a complete victory had he thought proper to pursue them. After this, several towns submitted to him; but the season being now far spent, the emperor returned to Constantinople. The following year he passed over into Asia early in the spring; and being informed that the Turks had sacked the rich city of Iconium, besides gaining other considerable advantages, he marched in person against them. But the Turks, not thinking it advisable to wait his coming, retired in great haste. The Armenians, however, encouraged by the approach of the emperor's army, fell upon the enemy in the plains of Tarsus, put them to flight, and stripped them both of their baggage and the booty they had taken. The spring following the emperor once more entered Asia at the head of a considerable army which he had raised, and with incredible pains disciplined during the winter. When the two armies drew near to each other, Axan, the Turkish sultan, and son of the famous Turgolipix, sent proposals to Romanus for a lasting and honourable peace. These were imprudently rejected, and a desperate engagement ensued, when, in spite of the utmost efforts of the emperor, his army was routed, and he himself wounded and taken prisoner. When this news was brought to Axan, he could scarcely believe it; but being convinced by the appearance of the royal captive in his presence, he tenderly embraced him, and addressed him in an affectionate manner: "Grieve not (said he), most noble emperor, at your misfortune; for such is the chance of war, sometimes overwhelming one, and sometimes another; you shall have no occasion to complain of your captivity; for I will not use you as my prisoner, but as an emperor." The Turk was as good as his word. He lodged the emperor in a royal pavilion, assigned him attendants with an equipage suitable to his quality; and discharged such prisoners as he desired. After he had for some days entertained his royal captive with extraordinary magnificence, a perpetual peace was concluded betwixt them, and the emperor dismissed with the greatest marks of honour imaginable. He then set out with the Turkish ambassador for Constantinople, where the peace was to be ratified; but by the way he was informed that Eudocia had been driven from the throne by John the brother of Constantine Ducas, and Pellas a leading man in the senate, who had confined her to a monastery, and proclaimed her eldest son, Michael Ducas, emperor. On this intelligence, Romanus retired to a strong castle near Thessalonica, where he hoped in a short time to be joined by great numbers of his friends and adherents. But in the mean time John, who had taken upon him to act as guardian to the young prince, despatched Andronicus with a considerable army against him. Andronicus having easily defeated the small army which Romanus had with him, obliged him to fly to Adana a city in Cilicia, where he was closely besieged, and at last obliged to surrender. Andronicus carried his prisoner into Phrygia, where he fell dangerously ill, being, as was suspected, secretly poisoned. But the poison being too slow in its operation, John ordered his eyes to be put out; which was done with such cruelty that he died soon after, in the year 1067, having reigned three years and eight months.

Axan was no sooner informed of the tragic end of his friend and ally, than he resolved to invade the empire again. empire anew; and that not with a design only to plunder as formerly, but to conquer, and keep what he had once conquered. The emperor dispatched against him Isaac Comnenus, with a considerable army; but he was utterly defeated and taken prisoner by Axan.

Another army was quickly sent off under the command of John Ducas the emperor's uncle. He gained at first some advantages, and would probably have put a stop to their conquests, had not one Rufelius, or Urselius, revolted with the troops he had under his command, caused himself to be proclaimed emperor, and reduced several cities in Phrygia and Cappadocia. Against him John marched with all his forces, suffering the Turks in the mean time to pursue their conquests; but coming to an engagement with the rebels, his army was entirely defeated and himself taken prisoner. Notwithstanding this victory, Rufelius was so much alarmed at the progress of the Turks, that he not only released his prisoner, but joined with him against the common enemy, by whom they were both defeated and taken prisoners. Axan, however, was for some time prevented from pursuing his conquest by Cutulu-Moses, nephew to the late Tangrolpilix. He had revolted against his uncle; but being defeated by him in a pitched battle, had taken refuge in Arabia, whence he now returned at the head of a considerable army in order to dispute the sovereignty with Axan. But while the two armies were preparing to engage, the caliph of Babylon, who was still looked upon as the successor of the great prophet, interposed his authority. He represented the dangers of their intestine dissensions; and by his mediation, an agreement was at last concluded, on condition that Axan should enjoy undisturbed the monarchy lately left him by his father, and Cutulu-Moses should possess such provinces of the Roman empire as he or his sons should in process of time conquer.

After this agreement, both the Turkish princes turned their forces against the empire; and before the year 1077, made themselves masters of all Media, Lycaonia, Cappadocia, and Bithynia, fixing the capital city of their empire at Nice in the latter province. During all this time, the emperors of Constantinople, as well as their subjects, seemed to be in a manner infatuated. No notice was taken of the great progresses made by these barbarians. The generals were ambitious only of seizing the tottering empire, which seemed ready to fall a prey to the Turks; and, after it was obtained, spent their time in oppressing their subjects, rather than in making any attempts to repulse the enemy.

At last Alexius Comnenus, having wrestled the empire from Nicephorus Botoniates, in 1077, began to prepare for opposing so formidable an enemy. But before he set out, as his soldiers had committed great outrages on his accession to the empire, he resolved to make confession of his sins, and do open penance for those he had suffered his army to commit. Accordingly he appeared in the attire of a penitent before the patriarch and several other ecclesiastics, acknowledged himself guilty of the many disorders that had been committed by his soldiers, and begged of the patriarch to impose upon him a penance suitable to the greatness of his crimes. The penance enjoined him and his adherents by the patriarch was to fast, lie upon the ground, and practice several other austerities for the space of 40 days. This command was religiously obeyed, and the emperor then began to prepare for war with so much vigour, that Soliman, the Turkish sultan, son and successor to Cutulu-Moses, dispatched ambassadors to Alexius with proposals of peace. These were at first rejected; but the emperor was at last glad to accept them, on certain advice that Robert Guiscard, duke of Puglia and Calabria, was making great preparations against him in the west.

To this expedition Robert was incited by Michael Robert Ducas. That prince had been deposed by Nicephorus Botoniates, and towards the end of the usurper's reign fled into the west, where he was received by Robert, who was prevailed upon to favour his cause. For this purpose, Robert made great preparations; and these were continued even after the deposition of Botoniates. He sailed with all his forces from Brum. He landed at Buthrotum in Epirus, made himself master of that place, while his son Bohemond with part of the army reduced Aulon, a celebrated Dalmatian port and city in the country now called Albania. From thence they advanced to Dyrrachium, which they invested both by sea and land; but met with a most vigorous opposition from George Paleologus, whom the emperor had entrusted with the defence of that important place. In spite of the utmost efforts of the enemy, this commander held out till the arrival of the Venetian fleet, by whom Robert's navy, commanded by Bohemond, was utterly defeated, the admiral himself having narrowly escaped being taken prisoner. After the victory, the Venetians landed without loss of time, and being joined by Paleologus's men, fell upon Robert's troops with such fury, that they destroyed their works, burnt their engines, and forced them back to their camp in great disorder. As the Venetians were now masters at sea, the besieged were supplied with plenty of provisions, while a famine began to rage in the camp of the enemy; and this calamity was soon followed by a plague, which in the space of three months is said to have destroyed ten thousand men. Notwithstanding all these difficulties, however, Robert did not abandon the siege; having found means to supply his famished troops with provisions, he continued it with such vigour, that the courage of the besieged began at last to fail them; and Paleologus sent repeated messages to the emperor, acquainting him that he would be obliged to surrender unless very speedily assisted. On this Alexius marched in person to the relief of the city, but was defeated with great loss by Robert. The whole right wing of Alexius's army, finding themselves hard pressed by the enemy, fled to a church dedicated to St Michael, imagining they would there find themselves in a place of safety; but the victorious army pursuing them, set fire to the church, which was burnt to ashes with all who were in it. The emperor himself with great difficulty made his escape, leaving the enemy masters of his camp and all his baggage. Soon after this defeat, the city surrendered; and Alexius being destitute of resources for carrying on the war, feasted on the wealth of churches, and monasteries, which gave much offence to the clergy, and had like to have occasioned great disturbances in the imperial city. At the same time, Alexius entering into an alliance with Henry emperor of Germany, persued... Notwithstanding this disaster, however, they again Constantinople invaded the empire in 1093. To this they were encouraged by an impostor called Leo, who pretended to be the eldest son of Romanus Diogenes. The young prince had been slain in a battle with the Turks; but as the Scythians only wanted a pretence to renew the war, they received the impostor with joy. By a stratagem, however, Leo was murdered; and the Scythians being afterwards overthrown in two great battles, were obliged to submit on the emperor's own terms.

Since the year 1083, the war had been carried on with the Turks with various success; but now an afflication was formed in the west against these infidels, which threatened the utter ruin of the Turkish nation. This was occasioned by the superstition of the Christians, who thought it a meritorious action to venture their lives for the recovery of the Holy Land, polluted at that time by the Turks and Saracens. Had the western princes been properly assisted by the emperors of the East in this undertaking, the Turks had undoubtedly been unable to resist them; but so far from this, the Latins were looked upon by them as no less enemies than the Turks; and indeed whatever places they took from the infidels, they never thought of referring to the emperors of Constantinople, to whom they originally belonged, but erected a number of small independent principalities; which neither having sufficient strength to defend themselves, nor being properly supported by one another, soon became a prey to the Turks. In the year 1023, happened a dreadful fire at Constantinople, occasioned by some Latin soldiers. These had plundered a mosque, which the Turks residing in Constantinople had been suffered to build there. For this reason they were attacked by the infidels; who being much superior to them in number, the Latins found themselves obliged to set fire to some houses, in order to make their escape with safety. The flame spreading in an instant from street to street, reduced in a short time great part of the city to ashes, with the capacious store-houses which had been built at vast expense on the quay. The late emperor Isaac Angelus who had been restored to his throne by the Latins, died soon after their departure from Constantinople, leaving his son Alexius sole master of the empire. The young prince, to discharge the large sums he had promised the French and Venetians for their alliance, was obliged to lay heavy taxes on his subjects; and this, with the great esteem and friendship showed to his deliverers, raised a general discontent among the people of Constantinople, who were sworn enemies to the Latins. This encouraged John Ducas, surnamed Murzuphlus, from his joined and thick eyebrows, to attempt the sovereignty. Unhappily he found means to put his treacherous designs in execution; and strangled the young prince with his own hands. After this he presented himself to the people; told them what he had done, which he pretended was in order to secure their liberties; and earnestly intreated them to choose an emperor who had courage enough to defend them against the Latins that were ready to oppress and enslave them. On this he was instantly saluted emperor by the inconstant multitude; but this usurpation proved the ruin of the city. The Latins immediately resolved to revenge the death of the the young prince; and, as they had been so often betrayed and retarded in their expeditions to the Holy Land by the emperors of Constantinople, to make themselves masters of that city, and seize the empire for themselves. In consequence of this resolution they mustered all their forces in Asia, and having crossed the straits, laid siege to Constantinople by sea and land. The tyrant, who was a man of great courage and experience in war, made a vigorous defence. The Latins, however, after having battered the walls for several days together with an incredible number of engines, gave a general assault on the 8th of April 1204. The attack lasted from break of day till three in the afternoon, when they were forced to retire, after having lost some of their engines, and a great number of men. The assault was nevertheless renewed four days after; when, after a warm dispute, the French planted their standard on one of the towers; which the Venetians observing, they quickly made themselves masters of four other towers, where they likewise displayed their ensigns. In the mean time three of the gates being broken down by the battering rams, and those who had scaled the walls having killed the guards, and opened the gates between the towers they had taken, the whole army entered, and drew up in battle array between the walls. The Greeks fled up and down in the greatest confusion; and several parties were by the Latins dispatched to scour the streets, who put all they met to the sword, without distinction of age or condition. Night put a stop to the dreadful slaughter, when the princes founding the retreat, placed their men in different quarters of the city, with orders to be upon their guard, not doubting but they should be attacked early next morning. They were surprized, however, at that time by the entire submission of the Greeks; to whom they promised their lives, but at the same time ordering them to retire to their houses, they gave up the city to be plundered by the soldiers for that day. They strictly enjoined their men to abstain from slaughter, to preserve the honour of the women, and to bring the whole booty into one place, that a just distribution might be made according to the rank and merit of each individual. The Greeks had undoubtedly concealed their most valuable effects during the night; many persons of the first rank had escaped, and carried along with them immense treasures; the soldiers had probably, as is usual in all such cases, reserved things of great value for themselves, notwithstanding all prohibitions to the contrary; and yet the booty, without the statues, pictures, and jewels, amounted to a sum almost incredible. As for Murtzuplius, he made his escape in the night; embarking in a small vessel with Euphrosyne, the wife of Alexius Angelus a late usurper, and her daughter Eudoxia, for whose sake he had abandoned his lawful wife.

Constantinople continued subject to the Latins till the year 1261, when they were expelled by one Alexius Strategopulus. He was a person of an illustrious family; and, for his eminent services, distinguished with the title of Caesar. He had been sent against Alexius Angelus despot of Epirus, who now attempted to recover some places in Thrace and Greece from Michael Paleologus, one of the Greek emperors, that since the capture of Constantinople, had kept their court at Nice; and to try whether he could on his march surprise the imperial city itself. Alexius, having passed the straits, encamped at a place called Rheimum, where he was informed by the natives that a strong body of the Latins had been sent to the siege of Daphni, that the garrison was in great want of provisions, and that it would be no difficult matter to surprise the city. Hereupon the Greek general resolved at all events to attempt it: in which he was encouraged by some of the inhabitants, who, coming privately to his camp, offered themselves to be his guides. He approached the walls in the dead of the night, which some of his men scaled without being observed; and, killing the sentries, whom they found asleep, opened one of the gates to the rest of the army. The Greeks rushing in, put all they met to the sword; and at the same time, to create more terror, set fire to the city in four different places. The Latins, concluding from thence that the enemy's forces were far more numerous than they really were, did not so much as attempt either to drive them out or to extinguish the flames. In this general confusion, the emperor Baldwin, quitting the ensigns of majesty, fled with Jujtiman the Latin patriarch, and some of his intimate friends, to the sea-side; and there, embarking in a small vessel, sailed first to Euboea, and afterwards to Venice, leaving the Greeks in full possession of Constantinople. When news of this surprising and altogether unexpected success of Alexius were first brought to Paleologus, he could scarce give credit to it; but receiving soon after letters from Alexius himself, with a particular account of so memorable an event, he ordered public thanks to be returned in all the churches, appeared in public in his imperial robes, attended by the nobility in their best apparel, and ordered couriers to be dispatched with the agreeable news into all parts of the empire.

Soon after, having settled his affairs at Nice, he set out for Constantinople with the empress, his son Andronicus, the senate, and nobility, to take possession of the imperial city, and fix his residence in that place city that had originally been designed for the seat of the eastern empire. Having passed the straits, he advanced to the golden gate, and continued some days without the walls, while the citizens were busied in making the necessary preparations to receive him with a magnificence suitable to the occasion. On the day appointed, the golden gate, which had been long shut up, was opened, and the emperor entering it amidst the repeated acclamations of the multitude, marched on foot to the great palace. He was preceded by the bishop of Cyzicus, who carried an image of the Virgin Mary, supposed to have been done by St Luke, and followed by all the great officers, nobility, and chief citizens, pompously dressed. Public thanks were again returned in the church of St Sophia, at which the emperor assisted in person, with the clergy, the senate, and nobility. These exercises were succeeded by all sorts of rejoicings; after which the emperor carefully surveyed the imperial city. This survey greatly affected his joy. He saw the stately palaces and other magnificent buildings of the Roman emperors lying in ruins; the many capacious buildings that had been erected by his predecessors, at an immense charge, destroyed by fire, and other unavoidable accidents of war; war; several streets abandoned by the inhabitants, and choked up with rubbish, &c. These objects gave the emperor no small concern, and kindled in him a desire of restoring the city to its former lustre. In the meantime, looking upon Alexius as the restorer of his country, he caused him to be clad in magnificent robes; placed with his own hand a crown on his head; ordered him to be conducted through the city, as it were in triumph; decreed that for a whole year the name of Alexius should be joined in the public prayers with his own; and to perpetuate the memory of so great and glorious an action, he commanded his statue to be erected on a stately pillar of marble before the church of the Apollines. His next care was to re-people the city, many Greek families having withdrawn from it while it was held by the Latins, and the Latins now preparing to return to their respective countries. The former were recalled home; and the latter, in regard of the great trade they carried on, were allowed many valuable privileges, which induced them not to remove. The Greeks were allowed to live in one of the most beautiful quarters of the city, to be governed by their own laws and magistrates, and to trade without paying customs or taxes of any kind. Great privileges were likewise granted to the natives of Venice and Pisa, which encouraged them to lay aside all thoughts of removing; and the trade they carried on proved afterwards highly advantageous to the state.

It was not long, however, before these regulations were altered. The emperor being soon after informed that Baldwin, lately expelled from Constantinople, had married his daughter to Charles king of Sicily, and given him, by way of dowry, the imperial city itself, he ordered the Genoese, who were become very numerous, to remove first to Heraclia, and afterwards to Galata, where they continued. As for the Pisans and Venetians, who were not so numerous and wealthy, they were allowed to continue in the city. Paleologus, though he had caused himself to be proclaimed emperor, and was possessed of absolute sovereignty, was as yet only guardian to the young emperor John Lascaris, then about 12 years of age. But having now settled the state, and having gained the affections both of natives and foreigners, he began to think of securing himself and his posterity in the full enjoyment of the empire; and for this reason cruelly ordered the eyes of the young prince to be put out, pretending that none but himself had any right to the city or empire of Constantinople, which he alone had recovered out of the hands of the Latins.

This piece of treachery and inhumanity involved him in great troubles. The patriarch immediately excommunicated him: and he would in all probability have been driven from the throne by a combination of the western princes, had he not engaged Pope Urban IV. to espouse his cause, by promising to submit himself and his dominions to the Latin church. Thus, indeed, he diverted the present storm; but this proceeding caused the greatest disturbances, not only in Constantinople, but throughout the whole empire, nor was Paleologus able to reconcile his subjects to this union.

In 1283 Michael died, and was succeeded by his son Andronicus. His first step was to restore the ancient Greek ceremonies, thinking he could not begin his reign with a more popular act. But thus he involved Constantine himself in difficulties still greater than before. Though thepopulatian Michael had not been able fully to reconcile his Greek subjects to the Latin ceremonies, yet he had in some degree accomplished his purpose. The Latins had got a considerable footing in the city, and defended their ceremonies with great obstinacy; so that the empire was again thrown into a ferment by this imprudent step.

All this time the Turks had been continuing their War with encroachments on the empire, which, had it not been the Turks for the crusades published against them by the pope, they would in all probability have made themselves masters of before this time. They were now, however, very successfully opposed by Constantine the emperor's brother: but his valour rendered him suspected by the emperor; in consequence of which he was thrown into prison, along with several persons of great distinction. On the removal of this brave commander, the Turks, under the famous Othoman, made themselves masters of several places in Phrygia, Caria, and Bithynia; and, among the rest, of the city of Nice. To put a stop to their conquests, the emperor dispatched against them Philanthropenus and Libadarius, two officers of great experience in war. The former gained some advantages over the enemy; but being elated with his success, caused himself to be proclaimed emperor. This rebellion, however, was soon suppressed, Philanthropenus being betrayed by his own men; but the Turks taking advantage of these intestine commotions, not only extended their dominions in Asia, but conquered most of the islands in the Mediterranean; and, being masters at sea, infested the coasts of the empire, to the utter ruin of trade and commerce.

From this time the Roman empire tended fast to dissolution. After the revolt of Philanthropenus, the emperor could no longer trust his subjects, and therefore hired the Massagetae to assist him: but they, behaving in a careless manner, were first defeated by their enemies, and afterwards turned their arms against those they came to assist. He next applied to the Catalans, who behaved in the same manner; and having ravaged the few places left the emperor in Asia, returned into Europe, and called the Turks to their assistance.

This happened in the year 1292; and was the first appearance of the Turks in Europe. This enterprise, however, was unsuccessful. Having loaded themselves in Europe with booty, they offered to depart quietly if they were allowed a safe passage, and ships to transport them to Asia. To this the emperor, willing to get rid of such troublesome guests, readily consented, and ordered the vessels to be got ready with all possible expedition. But the Greek officers observing the immense booty with which they were loaded, resolved to fall upon them in the night, and cut them all off at once. This scheme, however, was not managed with such secrecy but that the Turks had notice of it, and therefore prepared for their defence. They first fortified a strong castle in the neighbourhood, and then found means to acquaint their countrymen in Asia with their dangerous situation. Their brethren, enticed with the hopes of booty, were not long in coming to their assistance; and having crossed the Hellespont in great numbers, Constantinople ravaged the adjacent country, making excursions to the very gates of Constantinople. At last the emperor determined to root them out; and accordingly marched against them with all his forces, the country people flocking to him from all quarters. The Turks at first gave themselves over for lost; but finding the Greeks negligent of discipline, they attacked their army unexpectedly, utterly defeated it, and made themselves masters of the camp. After this unexpected victory, they continued for two years to ravage Thrace in the most terrible manner. At last, however, they were defeated; and being afterwards shut up in the Cheronea, they were all cut in pieces or taken.

Soon after new commotions took place in this unhappy empire, of which the Turks did not fail to take the advantage. In 1327 they made themselves masters of most of the cities on the Meander; and, among the rest, of the strong and important city of Prusa in Bithynia. The next year, however, Othoman, who may justly be styled the founder of the Turkish monarchy, being dead, the emperor laid hold of that opportunity to recover Nice, and some other important places, from the infidels. But these were lost the year following, together with Abydos and Nicaea; and in 1330 a peace was concluded upon condition that they should keep all their conquests. This peace they observed no longer than served their own purposes; for new commotions breaking out in the empire, they pursued their conquests, and by the year 1357 had reduced all Asia. They next passed the Hellespont under the conduct of Soliman the son, or, as others will have it, the brother of Orchan, the successor of Othoman, and seized on a strong castle on the European side. Soon after the Turkish sultan died, and was succeeded by Amurath. He extended the conquests of his predecessors, and in a short time reduced all Thrace, making Adrianople the seat of his empire. Amurath was slain by treachery in a little time after, and was succeeded by his son Bajazet. This prince greatly enlarged his dominions by new conquests. In a short time he reduced the countries of Thessaly, Macedon, Phocis, Peloponnesus, Mytilene, and Bulgaria, driving out the despots or petty princes who ruled there. Elated with his frequent victories, he began to look upon the Greek emperor, to whom nothing was now left but the city of Constantinople and the neighbouring country, as his vassal. Accordingly he sent him an arrogant and haughty message, commanding him to pay a yearly tribute, and send his son Manuel to attend him in his military expeditions. This demand the emperor was obliged to comply with, but died soon after, in the year 1392.

Manuel no sooner heard of his father's death than he hastened to Constantinople, without taking leave of the sultan, or acquainting him with the reason of his sudden departure. At this Bajazet was so highly offended, that he passed with great expedition out of Bithynia into Thrace, ravaged the country adjoining to Constantinople, and at last invested the city itself, both by sea and land. In this extremity Manuel had recourse to the western princes; who sent him an army of 130,000 men, under the command of Sigismund king of Hungary, and John count of Nevers. But though the western troops proved at first successful, they were in the end defeated with great slaughter by Bajazet, who then returned to the siege with greater vigour than ever. As he found, however, that the citizens were determined to hold out to the last, he applied to John, the son of Manuel's elder brother, who had a better title to the crown than Manuel himself. With him he entered into a private agreement, by virtue of which Bajazet was to place John upon the throne of Constantinople; on the other hand, John was to deliver up the city to the Turks, and remove the imperial city to Peloponnesus, which the sultan promised to relinquish to him and his posterity. At the same time, he sent deputies to the inhabitants of Constantinople, offering to withdraw his army, and cease from further hostilities, provided they expelled Manuel and placed John upon the throne. This proposal rent the city into two factions; but Manuel prevented the mischief which were ready to ensue, by a voluntary resignation, upon condition that he should be allowed to retire to whatever place he thought proper with his wife and children.

With this condition John readily complied; and Manuel having received him into the city, and conducted him to the palace, set sail for Venice. From thence he went to the courts of all the western princes, to solicit their assistance against the Turks, whose power was grown formidable to all Europe. He was everywhere received with the greatest demonstrations of esteem, and promised large supplies; all Christendom being now alarmed at the progress of the infidels.

In the mean time, Bajazet did not fail to put John in mind of his promise; but the citizens refusing to comply with such a scandalous treaty, the siege was renewed, and the city assaulted with more fury than ever. When it was already reduced to the last extremity, news were brought the sultan that Tamerlane, the victorious Tartar, having overrun all the east with incredible celerity, had now turned his arms against the Turks, and was preparing to break into Syria. Bajazet, alarmed at the danger that threatened him, raised the siege in great haste, and advanced against Tamerlane with a very numerous and well-disciplined army; but finding the Tartar totally defeated and took him prisoner, after having cut most of his men in pieces: and thus Constantinople was preserved for the present.

But this relief was of short duration. In 1424 the Amurath city was again besieged by Amurath II. The inhabitants defended themselves with great bravery; but in the end have submitted, had not the emperor prevailed upon the prince of Caramania to countenance an impostor and pretender to the Turkish throne. This obliged Amurath to raise the siege, and march with all his forces against the usurper, whom he soon routed. Having then no other enemies to contend with, he entered Macedon at the head of a powerful army; and having ravaged the country far and near, he took and plundered Thessalonica, as he did also most of the cities of Aetolia, Phocis, and Bœotia. From Greece he marched into Servia; which country he soon reduced. He next broke into the dominions of the king of Hungary, and besieged the strong city of Belgrade; but here he met with a vigorous repulse, no fewer than 15,000 Turks being slain by the Christians in one fall, which obliged the sultan to drop the enterprise and retire. In his retreat he was attacked by the celebrated John Huniades, who cut great numbers of his men in pieces, and obliged the retreating force to fly with precipitation. Not long after he gained a still more complete victory over the enemy in the plains of Transylvania, with the loss of only 3000 of his own men, whereas 20,000 of the Turks were killed on the field of battle, and almost an equal number in the pursuit. Amurath, who was then at Adrianople, sent an army into Transylvania far more numerous than the former; but they were attended with no better success, being cut off almost to a man by the brave Hungarian. He gained several other victories no less remarkable; but was at last entirely defeated in 1448; and with this defeat ended all hopes of preserving the Roman empire. The unhappy emperor was now obliged to pay an annual tribute of 300,000 ducats to the sultan; and to yield up to him some strong holds which he still held on the Euxine sea. However, as he doubted not but Amurath would soon attempt to become master of the city itself, he renewed the union between the Greek and Latin churches, hoping that this would induce the western princes to assist him in the defence of the city against the Turks. This union produced great disturbances, which the emperor did not long survive, but died in 1448, leaving the empire, now confined within the walls of Constantinople, to his brother Constantine.

Amurath the Turkish sultan died in 1453, and was succeeded by his son Mohammed. In the beginning of his reign he entered into an alliance with Constantine, and pretended a great desire to live in friendship with him and the other Christian princes; but no sooner had he put an end to a war in which he was engaged with Ibrahim king of Caramania, than he built a strong fort on the European side of the Bosphorus, opposite to another in Asia; in both of which he placed strong garrisons. These two castles commanded the straits; and the former being but five miles from the city, kept it in a manner blocked up. This soon produced a misunderstanding between him and the emperor, which ended in the siege of the city.

The siege commenced on the fifth of April 1453, Mohammed's numerous forces covering the plains before it on the land-side, and a fleet of 300 sail blockading it up by sea. The emperor, however, had taken care to secure the haven, in which were three large ships, 20 small ones, and a great number of galleys, by means of a chain drawn across the entrance. Mohammed began the siege by planting batteries as near the city as he could, and raising mounds in several places as high as the walls themselves, whence the besieged were incessantly galled with showers of arrows. He had in his camp a piece of ordnance of prodigious size, which is said to have carried a ball of 100 pounds weight made of hard black stone brought from the Euxine sea. With this vast piece the enemy made several breaches in the walls; which, however, were repaired with incredible expedition by the besieged. But Mohammed, the better to carry on the siege, caused new levies to be made through his extensive dominions, by which his army was soon increased to near 400,000 men; while the garrison consisted only of 9000 regular troops, viz. 6000 Greeks and 3000 Genoese and Venetians. As the enemy continued to batter the walls day and night without intermission, a great part of them was at last beaten down; but while the Turks were busy in filling up the ditch, in order to give the assault, a new wall was built. This threw the tyrant into a prodigious rage, which was greatly heightened when he saw his whole fleet worsted by five ships, four of which were laden with corn from Peloponnesus, and the other with all manner of provisions from the island of Chios. These opened themselves a way through the whole Turkish fleet; and, to the inexpressible joy of the Christians, at last got safe into the harbour.

The Turks attempted several times to force the haven; but all their efforts proving ineffectual, Mohammed formed a design of conveying 80 galleys over land for the space of eight miles into it. This he accomplished by means of certain engines, the contrivance of a renegade; and having then either taken or sunk all the ships contained in it, he caused a bridge to be built over it with surprising expedition. By this means the city was laid open to an assault from that side likewise. The place was now assaulted on all sides; and Constantine being well apprised that he could not long hold out against such a mighty fleet and so numerous an army, sent deputies to Mohammed offering to acknowledge himself his vassal, by paying him yearly what tribute he should think proper to impose, provided he raised the siege and withdrew. The tyrant answered that he was determined at all events to become master of the city; but if the emperor delivered it up forthwith, he would yield up to him Peloponnesus, and other provinces to his brothers, which they should enjoy peaceably as his friends and allies; but if he held out to the last extremity, and suffered it to be taken by assault, he would put him and the whole nobility to the sword, abandon the city to be plundered by his soldiers, and carry the inhabitants into captivity.

This condition was rashly rejected by the emperor, who thereby involved himself and all his subjects in the most terrible calamity. The siege was renewed with more vigour than ever, and continued till the 25th of May; when a report being spread in the Turkish camp that a mighty army was advancing in full march to the relief of the city under the conduct of the celebrated Turkish John Huniades, the common soldiery, seized with panic, began to mutiny, and press Mohammed in a tumultuous manner to break up the siege. Nay, they openly threatened him with death, if he did not immediately abandon the enterprise and retire from before the city, which they despaired of being able to reduce before the arrival of the supposed succours. Mohammed was upon the point of complying with their demand, when he was advised by Zagan, a Turkish officer of great intrepidity, and an irreconcilable enemy to the Christian name, to give without loss of time a general assault. To this he said the soldiery, however mutinous, would not be averse, provided the sultan formally promised to abandon the city to be plundered by them. As such an advice best suited the humour of Mohammed, he readily embraced it; and caused a proclamation to be published throughout the camp, declaring that he gave up to his soldiers all the wealth of that opulent city, requiring to himself only the empty houses. The desire of plunder soon got the better of that fear which had seized the Turkish army; and they unanimously desired to be led on to the attack. Hereupon Constantine was summoned for the last time to deliver up the city, with a promise of his life and liberty; but to this he answered, that he was unwaveringly determined either to defend the city or to perish with it. The attack began at three in the morning on Tuesday the 29th of May; such troops were first employed as the sultan valued least, and assigned them for no other purpose than to tire the Christians, who made a prodigious havoc of that disorderly multitude. After the carnage had lasted some hours, the Janizaries and other fresh troops advanced in good order, and renewed the attack with incredible vigour. The Christians, summoning all their courage and resolution, twice repulsed the enemy: but being in the end quite spent, they were no longer able to stand their ground; so that the enemy in several places broke into the city. In the mean time Julianian, the commander of the Genoese and a select body of Greeks, having received two wounds, one in the thigh, and the other in the hand, was so disheartened, that he caused himself to be conveyed to Galata, where he soon after died of grief. His men, dismayed at the sudden flight of their general, immediately quitted their posts and fled in the utmost confusion. However, the emperor, attended with a few of the most resolute among the nobility, still kept his post, striving with unparalleled resolution to oppose the multitude of barbarians that now broke in from every quarter. But being in the end overpowered with numbers, and seeing all his friends lie dead on the ground, "What! (cried he aloud) is there no Christian left alive to strike off my head?" He had scarcely uttered these words, when one of the enemy, not knowing him, gave him a deep cut across the face with his sabre; and at the same time, another coming behind him, with a blow on the back part of his head laid him dead on the ground. After the death of the emperor, the few Christians that were left alive betook themselves to flight; and the Turks, meeting with no further opposition, entered the city, which they filled with blood and slaughter. They gave no quarter, but put all they met to the sword, without distinction. Many thousands took refuge in the church of St Sophia, but they were all massacred in their asylum by the enraged barbarians; who, prompted by their natural cruelty, the desire of revenge, and love of booty, spared no place nor person. Most of the nobility were, by the sultan's orders, cut off, and the rest kept for purposes more grievous than death itself. Many of the inhabitants, among whom were some men of great learning, found means to make their escape while the Turks were busy in plundering the city. These embarking on five ships then in the harbour, arrived safe in Italy; where, with the study of the Greek tongue, they revived the liberal sciences, which had long been neglected in the west. After the expiration of three days, Mohammed commanded his soldiers to forbear all further hostilities on pain of death: and then put an end to so cruel a pillage and massacre as any mentioned in history. The next day he made his public and triumphal entry into Constantinople, and chose it for the seat of the Turkish empire, which it has continued to be ever since.

This city is now called by the Turks Istanboul, and by the Greeks Istanboli or Stanboli. It is situated at the eastern extremity of Romania, on a small neck of land which advances towards Natolia, from which it is separated by a channel of a mile in breadth. The sea of Marmora washes its walls on the south, and a gulf of the channel of Constantinople does the same on the north. It is delightfully situated between the Black sea and the Archipelago, from whence it is supplied with all necessaries. The grand seignior's palace, called the Saraglio, is seated on the sea-side, and is surrounded with walls flanked with towers, and separated from the city by canals. It is said the harbour will easily hold 1200 ships. The number of houses must needs be prodigious, since one fire has burnt down 30,000 in a day, without greatly changing the aspect of the city. However, in general, they are but mean, especially on the outside, where there are few or no windows; and the streets being narrow, give them a melancholy look. They reckon that there are 3770 streets, small and great; but they are seldom or never clean; and the people are infected with the plague almost every year. The inhabitants are half Turks, two-thirds of the other half Christians, and the rest Jews. Here are a great number of ancient monuments still remaining, and particularly the superb temple of Sophia, which is turned into a mosque, and far surpasses all the rest. The street called Adrianople is the longest and broadest in the city; and the bazars, or bazaars, are the markets for selling all sorts of merchandise. The old and the new are pretty near each other; and are large square buildings, covered with domes, and supported by arches and pilasters. The new is the best, and contains all sorts of goods which are there exposed to sale. The market for slaves of both sexes, is not far off; and the Jews are the principal merchants, who bring them here to be sold. There are a great number of young girls brought from Hungary, Greece, Candia, Ruffia, Mingrelia, and Georgia, for the service of the Turks, who generally buy them for their seraglios. The great square, near the mosque of Sultan Bajazet, is the place for public diversions, where the jugglers and mountebanks play a great variety of tricks. The circumference of this city is by some said to be 15 miles, and by Mr Tournefort 23 miles; to which if we add the suburbs, it may be 34 miles in compass. The suburb called Pera is charmingly situated; and is the place where the ambassadors of England, France, Venice, and Holland reside. This city is built in the form of a triangle; and as the ground rises gradually, there is a view of the whole town from the sea. The public buildings, such as the palaces, the mosques, bagnios, and caravansaries for the entertainment of strangers, are many of them very magnificent. E. Long, 29. 20. N. Lat. 41. 4.