Constantinople, anciently Byzantium, became the seat of empire under Constantine the Great. Its removal to this quarter is generally considered as having been one of the principal causes of the sudden decline of the western empire after this period.

In the year 332 the Sarmatians implored Constantine's assistance against the Goths, who had made an irruption into their territories, and destroyed every thing by fire and sword. The emperor readily granted their request, and gained a complete victory. Nearly a hundred thousand of the enemy perished, either in the battle, or after it from hunger and cold. In consequence of this overthrow the Goths were obliged to sue for peace; but the ungrateful Sarmatians were no sooner delivered from their enemies than they turned their arms against their benefactor, and ravaged the provinces of Moesia and Thrace. The emperor, having received intelligence of this treachery, returned with incredible expedition, cut great numbers of them in pieces, and obliged the remainder to submit to such terms as he pleased to impose.

Constantine seems to have been a prince very highly respected, even by distant nations. In the year 333, according to Eusebius, ambassadors arrived at Constantinople from the Blemyes, Indians, Ethiopians, and Persians, to solicit his friendship. They were received in a most obliging manner; and having ascertained from the ambassadors of Sapor, king of Persia, that there were great numbers of Christians in their master's dominions, Constantine wrote a letter in their behalf to the Persian monarch.

Next year the Sarmatians being again attacked by the Goths, found themselves obliged to set at liberty and to arm their slaves against the assailants. By this means they were enabled to overcome the Goths; but the victorious slaves turning their arms against their masters, drove the latter out of the country. This misfortune obliged them, to the number of three hundred thousand, to apply for relief to the Roman emperor, who incorporated with his legions such of them as were capable of service, and gave settlements to the remainder in Thrace, Scythia, Macedonia, and Italy. This was the last remarkable action of Constantine the Great. He died on 15th May 337, after having divided the empire among his children and nephews. Constantine, his eldest son, obtained Gaul, Spain, and Britain; Constantius, the second, Asia, Syria, and Egypt; and Constans, the youngest, Illyricum, Italy, and Africa. To his nephew Dalmatius he gave Thrace, Macedonia, and Achaea; and to King Annibalianus, his other nephew, Armenia Minor, Pontus, Cappadocia, and the city of Caesarea, which he desired might be the capital of his kingdom.

After the death of Constantine the army and senate proclaimed his three sons emperors, without taking any notice of his two nephews, who were soon afterwards murdered, with Julius Constantius the late emperor's brother, and all their friends and adherents. Thus the family of Constantine was at once reduced to his three sons, and two nephews, Gallus and Julian, the sons of Julius Constantius; and of these the former owed his life to a malady, from which no one thought he could recover, and the latter to his infancy, being then about seven years of age. The three brothers divided among themselves the dominions of the deceased princes; but they did not long agree together. In 340, Constantine, having vain solicited Constans to yield to him part of Italy, raised a considerable army, and, under pretence of marching to the assistance of his brother Constantius, who was then at war with the Persians, made himself master of several places in Italy. Upon this Constans detached part of his army against him; and Constantine, having been drawn into an ambush near Aquileia, was cut off with his whole forces. His body was thrown into the river Adria; but being afterwards discovered, it was sent to Constantinople, and interred there near the tomb of Constantine.

By the defeat and death of his brother, Constans remained sole master of all the western part of the empire, in the quiet possession of which he continued till the year 350. This year Magnentius, the son of one Magnus, a native of Germany, finding that Constans was despised by the army on account of his indolence and inactivity, resolved to murder him, and set up for himself. Having found means to gain over to his designs the principal officers of the army, he seized on the imperial palace at Autun, distributed among the populace the sums which he found there, and thus induced not only the city, but the neighbouring country, to espouse his cause. Constans, informed of what had passed, and unable to resist the usurper, fled towards Spain. He was, however, overtaken by Gaiso, whom Magnentius had sent after him with a chosen body of troops, and dispatched with many wounds, at Helena, a small village situated at the foot of the Pyrenees.

Thus Constantius acquired a right to the whole Roman empire, though one half of it had been seized by Magnentius after the murder of Constans. The former had been engaged in a war with the Persians, in which little advantage was gained on either side; but as the Persians now gave him scarcely any disturbance, the emperor marched against the usurpers in the West. Besides Magnentius, there were at that time two other pretenders to the western empire. Veteranio, general of infantry in Pannonia, had, on the first news of the death of Constans, caused himself to be proclaimed emperor by the legions under his command. He was a native of Upper Moesia, and advanced in years when he usurped the sovereignty, but so illiterate that he then for the first time learned to read. The third pretender was Flavius Popilius Nepotianus, son of Eutropia, the sister of Constantine the Great. Having assembled a company of gladiators and men of desperate fortunes, this person assumed the purple on the 3d of June 350, and in that attire presented himself before the gates of Rome. The prefect Anicetus, who commanded there for Magnentius, saluted out against him with a body of Romans, who, however, were soon driven back into the city. Soon afterwards Nepotianus made himself master of the city itself, which he filled with blood and slaughter. Magnentius being informed of what had happened, sent against this new competitor his chief favourite and prime minister Marcellinus. Nepotianus received him with great resolution; and a bloody battle ensued between the soldiers of Magnentius and the Romans who had espoused the cause of Nepotianus; but the latter being betrayed by a senator named Heraclitus, his men were put to flight, and he himself killed, after having enjoyed the sovereignty only twenty-eight days. Marcellinus ordered his head to be carried on the point of a lance through the principal streets of the city; put to death all those who had declared for him; and, under pretence of preventing disturbances, commanded a general massacre of all the relations of Constantine. Soon afterwards Magnentius himself came to Rome to make the necessary preparations for resisting Constantius, who was exerting himself to the utmost in order to revenge the death of his brother. In the city he behaved most tyrannically, putting to death many persons of distinction in order to seize their estates, and obliging others to contribute half of all they were worth towards the expense of the war. Having by this means raised a great sum, he assembled a mighty army, composed of Romans, Germans, Gauls, Franks, Britons, Spaniards, and other nations; and at the same time, dreading the uncertain issues of war, he dispatched ambassadors to Constantius with proposals of accommodation. Constantius set out from Antioch about the beginning of autumn, and, passing through Constantiople, arrived at Herculea, where he was met by deputies from Magnentius and Veteranio, who had agreed to support each other in case the emperor would hearken to no terms. The deputies of Magnentius proposed in his name a match between him and Constantia, or rather Constantina, the sister of Constantius and widow of Ammalianus, offering at the same time to Constantia the sister of Magnentius. At first the emperor would listen to no terms; but afterwards, that he might not be obliged to contend with two enemies at once, he concluded a separate treaty with Veteranio, by which he agreed to adopt him as his partner in the empire. But when Veteranio ascended the tribunal along with Constantius, the soldiers pulled him down, crying out that they would acknowledge no other emperor than Constantius. Upon this Veteranio threw himself at the emperor's feet and implored his mercy. Constantius received him with great kindness, and sent him to Pruss, in Bithynia, where he allowed him a maintenance suitable to his quality.

Constantius, now master of Illyricum, and of the army commanded by Veteranio, resolved to march without delay against Magnentius. In the mean time, however, being informed that the Persians were preparing to invade the eastern provinces, he married his sister Constantia to his cousin-german Gallus, created him Caesar on the 13th of March, and allotted him as his share not only all the East, but likewise Thrace and Constantinople. About the same time Magnentius conferred the title of Caesar on his brother Decentius, whom he dispatched into Gaul to defend that country against the barbarians who had invaded it; for Constantius had not only stirred up the Franks and Saxons to break into that province, by promising to relinquish to them all the places which they should conquer, but had sent them large supplies of men and arms for the purpose. On this encouragement the barbarians invaded Gaul with a mighty army, overthrew Decentius in a pitched battle, committed everywhere dreadful ravages, and reduced the country to a most deplorable situation. In the mean time Magnentius having assembled a numerous army, left Italy, and crossing the Alps, advanced into the plains of Pannonia, where Constantius, whose main strength consisted in cavalry, waited his approach. Magnentius hearing that his competitor had encamped at a small distance, invited him by a messenger to proceed to the extensive plains of Scissia, on the Save, there to decide which of them had the best title to the empire. This challenge Constantius received with great joy; but as his troops marched towards Scissia in disorder, they fell into an ambuscade, and were put to flight with great slaughter. This suc- cess so elated Magnentius that he rejected the terms of peace which were now offered by Constantius; but after some time a general engagement ensued at Mursa, in which Magnentius was entirely defeated, with the loss of twenty-four thousand men.

After his defeat at Mursa, Magnentius retired into Italy, where he recruited his shattered forces as well as he could. But in the beginning of the following year, 352, Constantius, having assembled his troops, surprised and took, without the loss of a man, a strong castle on the Julian Alps belonging to Magnentius. After this the emperor advanced in order to force the remainder; upon which Magnentius, struck with terror, immediately abandoned Aquileia, and ordered the troops who guarded the other passes of the Alps to follow him. Thus Constantius having entered Italy without opposition, made himself master of Aquileia, and thence advanced to Pavia, where Magnentius gained a considerable advantage over him. Notwithstanding this loss, however, Constantius reduced the whole country bordering on the Po, and Magnentius's men deserted to him in whole troops, delivering up the places which they had garrisoned; which circumstances so disheartened the tyrant, that he left Italy, and retired with all his forces into Gaul. Soon after this, Africa, Sicily, and Spain, declared for Constantius, upon which Magnentius sent a senator, and after him some bishops, to negotiate a peace; but the emperor treated the senator as a spy, and sent back the bishops without any answer. Magnentius now finding that his affairs were desperate, and that there were no hopes of pardon, recruited his army in the best manner he could, and dispatched an assassin into the East to murder Gallus Caesar; hoping that the death of the latter would oblige the emperor to withdraw his forces from Gaul, and to march in person for the defence of the eastern provinces, which were threatened by the Persians. The assassin gained over some of Gallus's guards; but the plot being discovered before it could be put in execution, they were all seized and executed as traitors.

In the year 353, the war against Magnentius was carried on with more vigour than ever, and at last happily ended by a battle fought in the higher Dauphiny. Magnentius, being defeated, took shelter in Lyons; but the few soldiers who attended him, despairing of any further success, resolved to purchase the emperor's favour by delivering up his rival, the author of so calamitous a war. Accordingly they surrounded the house where he lodged; upon which the tyrant in despair slew with his own hand his mother, his brother Desiderius, whom he had created Caesar, and such of his friends and relations as were with him; and then fixing his sword in a wall, threw himself upon it, in order to avoid a more shameful death, which he had every reason to apprehend.

After the death of Magnentius, his brother Decentius Cesar, who was marching to his assistance, and had already reached Sens, finding himself surrounded on all sides by the emperor's forces, chose rather to strangle himself than to fall alive into the hands of his enemies. Thus Constantius was left sole master of the Roman empire. His panegyrist tells us that, after his victory, he behaved with the greatest humanity, forgiving and receiving into favour his greatest enemies; but other historians affirm that Constantius now became haughty, imperious, and cruel; of which disposition many instances are given.

This year the empire was subjected to the most grievous calamities. Gaul was ravaged by the barbarians beyond the Rhine, and the disbanded troops of Magnentius. At Rome, the populace rose on account of a scarcity of provisions. In Asia, the Isaurian robbers overrun Lycassia and Pamphylia, and even laid siege to Seleucia, a city of great strength, of which, however, they failed to make themselves masters. At the same time the Samaritanians committed dreadful ravages in Mesopotamia; and the Persians also invaded the province of Anthemusa on the Euphrates. But the eastern provinces were not so much harassed by the barbarians as by Gallus Caesar himself, who ought to have protected them. That prince was naturally of a cruel, haughty, and tyrannical disposition, and being elated with his successes against the Persians, he behaved more like a tyrant and a madman than a governor. His natural cruelty is said to have been heightened by the instigations of his wife Constantina, who is styled by Ammianus the Megara, or fury of her sex; and he adds, that her ambition was equal to her cruelty. Thus all the provinces and cities in the East were filled with blood and slaughter. No man, however innocent, could be sure to live or enjoy his estate a whole day; for Gallus's temper being equally suspicious and cruel, those who had any private enemies took care to accuse them of crimes against the state, and with Gallus to be accused was to be condemned. At last the emperor being informed from all quarters of the evil conduct of his brother-in-law, and being at the same time told, that he had aspired at the sovereignty, resolved upon his ruin. For this purpose he wrote letters to Gallus and Constantina, inviting both of them to repair to Italy. Though they had each sufficient reason to dread the worst, yet they durst not venture to disobey the emperor's express command. Constantina, who was well acquainted with her brother's temper, and hoped to pacify him by her artful insinuations, set out first, leaving Gallus at Antioch; but she had scarcely entered the province of Bithynia when she was seized with a fever, which put an end to her life. Gallus now despairing of being able to appease his sovereign, thought of revolting openly; but most of his friends having deserted him on account of his inconstant and cruel temper, he was at last obliged to submit to the pleasure of Constantius. He advanced, therefore, according to his orders; but at Petavium he was arrested, stripped of all the ensigns of his dignity, and thence carried to Flanona, now Flanone, in Dalmatia, where he was examined by two of his most inveterate enemies. He confessed most of the crimes laid to his charge; but urged as an excuse the evil counsels of his wife Constantina. The emperor, provoked at this plea, which reflected on his sister, and instigated by the enemies of Gallus, signed a warrant for his execution, which was accordingly carried into effect.

During this time the emperor had been engaged in a war with the Germans; he had marched against them in person; and, though he gained no important advantage, the barbarians thought proper to make peace with him. This, however, was but short lived. No sooner had the Roman army withdrawn than they began to make new inroads into the empire. Constantius dispatched Arbeticus with the flower of the army against them; but the latter fell into an ambuscade, and was put to flight, with the loss of a great number of men. This, however, was soon retrieved by the valour of Arinthaeus, and of two other officers, who, falling upon the Germans without waiting for the orders of their general, put the barbarians to flight, and obliged them to withdraw from the Roman territories.

The tranquillity of the empire which ensued on this repulse of the Germans, was soon interrupted by a pretended conspiracy, which in the end produced a real one. Sylvanus, a leading man among the Franks, commanded in Gaul, and had there performed great exploits against the barbarians. He had been raised to this post by Arbeticus; but only with the design of removing him from the emperor's presence in order to accomplish his ruin, which he succeeded in effecting. One Dynastes, keeper of the em- peror's mules, on leaving Gaul, begged of Sylvanus letters of recommendation to his friends at court, which being granted, the traitor erased from them all but the subscription. He then inserted directions to the friends of Sylvanus for carrying on a conspiracy; and delivering these forged letters to the prefect Lampidius, they were by him shown to the emperor. Thus Sylvanus was forced to revolt, and to cause himself to be proclaimed emperor by the troops under his command. In the mean time, however, Dynastes having thought proper to forge another letter, the fraud was discovered, and an inquiry set on foot, which brought the whole matter to light. Sylvanus was now declared innocent, and letters were sent to him by the emperor, confirming him in his post; but these had scarcely been dispatched when certain news arrived at court of Sylvanus having revolted and caused himself to be proclaimed emperor. Constantius, thunderstruck at this news, dispatched against him Ursicinus, an officer of great integrity, as well as valour and experience in war; who, forgetting his former character, pretended to be Sylvanus's friend, and thus found means to cut him off by treachery.

The barbarians, who had hitherto been kept quiet by the brave Sylvanus, no sooner heard of his death than they broke into Gaul with greater fury than ever. They took and pillaged above forty cities, and amongst the rest Cologne, which they levelled with the ground. At the same time the Quadi and Sarmatians entering Pannonia, destroyed every thing by fire and sword. The Persians also, taking advantage of the absence of Ursicinus, overrun, without opposition, Armenia and Mesopotamia; Prosper and Mausonianus, who had succeeded that brave commander in the government of the East, being more intent upon pillaging than defending the provinces committed to their care. Constantius not thinking it advisable to leave Italy himself, resolved at last to raise his cousin Julian, the brother of Gallus, to the dignity of Caesar. Julian, it seems, was a man of extraordinary talent and ability; for although before this time he had been entirely buried in obscurity, and conversed only with books, no sooner was he put at the head of an army than he behaved with the same bravery, conduct, and experience, as if he had been all his life bred up to the practice of war. He was appointed governor of Gaul; but before he set out, Constantius gave him in marriage his sister Helena, and made him many valuable presents. At the same time, however, the jealous emperor greatly limited his authority; gave him written instructions how to behave; ordered the generals who served under him to watch all his actions no less than those of the enemy; and strictly enjoined Julian himself not to give any largesses to the soldiery.

Julian set out from Milan on the first of December 355, the emperor himself accompanying him as far as Pavia, whence he pursued his journey to the Alps, attended only by three hundred and sixty soldiers. On his arrival at Turin he was first informed of the loss of Cologne, which had been kept concealed from the emperor. He arrived at Vienna before the end of the year, and was received by the people of that city and the neighbourhood with extraordinary joy.

In 356, the barbarians having besieged Autun, Julian marched with what forces he could raise to the relief of the place. When he arrived there he found the siege had been raised; on which he went in pursuit of the barbarians to Auxerre, crossing with no small danger thick woods and forests, from Auxerre to Troyes. On his march he was surrounded on all sides by the barbarians, who moved about the country in great bodies; but he put them to flight with a handful of men, cut great numbers of them in pieces, and took some prisoners. From Troyes he hastened to Rheims, where the main body of the army, commanded by Marcellus, waited his arrival. Leaving Rheims, he pursued his route towards Decempagii, now Dieuze, on the Seille, in Lorraine, with the design of opposing the Germans, who were busy in ravaging that province. But the enemy having unexpectedly attacked his rear, would have cut off two legions, had not the rest of the army, alarmed at the sudden noise, turned back to their assistance. A few days afterwards he defeated the Germans, though with great loss to his own army; the victory, however, opened him the way to Cologne. This city he found abandoned by the barbarians. They had neglected to fortify it; but Julian commanded the ancient fortifications to be repaired with all possible expedition, and the houses to be rebuilt; after which he retired to Sens, and there took up his winter quarters. This year also Constantius entered Germany on the side of Rhaetia, laid waste the country far and wide, and obliged the barbarians to sue for peace, which was readily granted. The same year he enacted two laws; one of which declared it capital to sacrifice or pay any kind of worship to idols; and the other granted the effects of condemned persons to their children and relations within the third degree, except in cases of magic and treason; but this last one he revoked two years after.

In the beginning of the year 357 the barbarians besieged Julian for a whole month in Sens; Marcellus, the commander-in-chief, never once offering to assist him. Julian, however, defended himself so valiantly with the few forces he had, that the barbarians at last retired. After this Constantius declared Julian commander-in-chief of all the forces in Gaul, and appointed under him one Severus, an officer of great experience, and of a more accommodating disposition than Marcellus. On his arrival in Gaul, Julian received him with great joy, raised new troops, and supplied them with arms which he had luckily found in an old arsenal. The emperor, resolving at all events to put a stop to the terrible devastations committed by the barbarous nations, chiefly by the Alemanos, wrote to Julian to march directly against them; and at the same time he sent Barbatio, who had been appointed general in stead of Sylvanus, with a body of twenty-five or thirty thousand men, from Italy, in order to inclose the enemy between two armies. The Leti, however, a German nation, passing between the armies, advanced as far as Lyons, hoping to surprise that wealthy city; but meeting with a warmer reception than they had expected, they contented themselves with ravaging the country all round. On the first notice of this expedition, Julian detached strong parties to guard the passages through which he knew the barbarians must return; and thus they were all cut off, excepting those who marched near the camp of Barbatio, who was so far from intercepting their retreat, that he complained by a letter to Constantius of some officers for attempting it. These officers, among whom was Valentinian, afterwards emperor of the West, were, by the order of Constantius, cashiered for their disobedience. The other barbarians either fortified themselves in the countries which they had seized, stopping up all the avenues with huge trees, or took shelter in the islands formed by the Rhine. Julian resolved first to attack the latter; and with this view he demanded some boats of Barbatio; but the latter, instead of complying with his just request, immediately burnt all his boats, as he did on another occasion the provisions which had been sent to both armies, after he had plentifully supplied his own. Julian, not in the least disheartened by this unaccountable conduct, persuaded some of the most resolute of his men to wade over to one of the islands, where they killed all the Germans who had taken shelter in it. They then seized the boats belonging to the barbarians, and pursued the slaughter in several other islands, till the enemy abandoned them all, and retired to their respective countries with their wives and what booty they could carry. On their departure Barbatio attempted to construct a bridge of boats over the Rhine; but the enemy, apprised of his intention, threw a great number of huge trees into the river, which being carried by the stream against the boats, sunk several of them, and parted the rest. The Roman general then thought proper to retire; but the barbarians falling unexpectedly upon him in his retreat, cut great numbers of his men in pieces, took most of his baggage, laid waste the neighbouring country, and returned in triumph loaded with booty. Elated with this success, they assembled in great numbers under the command of Chnodomarius, a prince of great renown among them, and six other kings. They encamped in the neighbourhood of Strasburg. Here they were encountered by Julian, who put them to flight, with the loss of six or eight thousand men killed on the field, and a greater number drowned in the river; whilst Julian himself lost only two hundred and forty-three private men and four tribunes. In this action Chnodomarius was taken prisoner and sent to Rome, where he soon afterwards died.

After the battle Julian advanced with his army to Mayence or Mentz, where he formed a bridge over the Rhine, and entered Germany, having with difficulty prevailed upon his army to follow him. Here he ravaged the country till the time of the autumnal equinox, when being prevented by snow from advancing farther, he began to repair the fort of Trajan, by some supposed to be the castle of Cromburg, about three or four leagues from Frankfort. The barbarians were now so much alarmed that they sent deputies to treat of peace; but this Julian refused to grant them upon any terms. He consented, however, to a truce for seven months, upon their promising to store with provisions the fort he was building in their country. This year Constantius made some remarkable laws. By one he punished with confiscation such as renounced the Christian for the Jewish religion; and by another, addressed to Felix, bishop of Rome, he exempted all trading ecclesiastics, with their wives, children, and domestics, from every imposition ordinary and extraordinary; supposing that the gains made by them were applied to the relief of the poor.

In 358, as soon as the season for action arrived, Julian took the field against the Franks, with a design to conquer them before the truce he had concluded with the Alemans had expired. The Franks were at that time divided into several tribes, the most powerful of which were the Salli and Chamavi. The first of these sent deputies, entreating that he would suffer them to remain as friends to the empire in the country they possessed. But Julian, disregarding this deputation, entered their country, and obliged them to submit; after which he allotted them lands in Gaul, incorporating great numbers of them into his cavalry. He next marched against the Chamavi, whom he defeated and obliged to retire beyond the Rhine; and he afterwards rebuilt three forts on the river Meuse, which had been destroyed by the barbarians; but provisions becoming scarce in a country so often ravaged, he ordered six or eight hundred vessels to be built in Britain for the purpose of conveying corn from thence into Gaul. Julian continued in the country of the Chamavi till the expiration of his truce with the Alemans, and then constructing a bridge of boats over the Rhine, he entered their country, putting all to fire and sword. At last two of their kings came in person to him to sue for peace, which Julian granted, upon their promising to set at liberty the captives they had taken, to supply a certain quantity of corn when required, and to furnish wood, iron, and carriages, for repairing the cities they had ruined. The Constantinopolitans whom he at this time released amounted to upwards of twenty thousand.

Soon after the vernal equinox of this year, 358, Constantius marched in person against the Quadi and Sarmatians, whose country lay beyond the Danube. Having crossed that river on a bridge of boats, he laid waste the territories of the Sarmatians, who thereupon came in great numbers; together with the Quadi, pretending to treat for peace. Their true design was to surprise the Romans; but the latter suspecting it, fell upon them sword in hand, and cut them in pieces. This obliged the rest to sue for peace in good earnest, which was granted on the delivery of hostages. The emperor then marched against the Limigantes, that is, the slaves who, in 334, had driven the Sarmatians out of their country, and seized it for themselves. They used the same artifice as the Sarmatians and Quadi had done, coming in great numbers under pretence of submitting, but prepared to fall upon him unexpectedly if opportunity offered. The emperor, observing their surly looks, and distrusting them, caused his troops to surround them insensibly while he was speaking. The Limigantes then, displeased with the conditions which he offered them, laid their hands on their swords; whereupon they were attacked by the Roman soldiers. Finding it impossible to make their escape, they rushed with great fury towards the tribunal, but were repulsed by the guards forming themselves into a wedge, and every one of them cut in pieces. After this, the emperor ravaged their country to such a degree, that they were in the end obliged to submit to the only condition he thought proper to allow them, which was to quit their country, and retire to a more distant region. The country was then restored to the Sarmatians, who were its original possessors.

This year is also remarkable for an embassy from Sapor, king of Persia. The ambassador, named Narses, brought a letter, in which the Persian monarch styled himself King of Kings, brother of the Sun and Moon, and appropriated other epithets of the same hyperbolical kind. He acquainted the emperor, that he might lawfully insist on having all the countries beyond the river Strymon in Macedonia delivered up to him; but lest his demands should seem unreasonable, he would be contented with Armenia and Mesopotamia, which had been most unjustly taken from his grandfather Narses. He added, that unless justice were done him, he had resolved to assert his right by force of arms. This letter was presented to Constantius wrapped up in a piece of white silk; but the emperor, without entering into any negotiation with the ambassador, wrote a letter to Sapor, in which he told the Persian monarch, that as he had maintained the Roman dominions in their full extent when he was possessed only of the East, he could not suffer them to be curtailed now when he was master of the whole empire. In a few days, however, he sent another letter, with rich presents; being desirous at least to postpone the war until he had secured the northern provinces against the incursions of the barbarians, that he might then employ all the forces of the empire against so formidable an enemy. This embassy proved unsuccessful, as did also another which was sent soon afterwards. The last ambassadors were imprisoned as spies, but afterwards dismissed uninjured. By a law of Constantius dated in 358, all magicians, augurs, astrologers, and pretenders to the art of divination, were declared enemies to mankind; and such of them as were found in the court, either of the emperor or of Julian, he commanded to be put to the torture, at the same time specifying what torments they were to undergo.

In 359, Julian continued his endeavours for relieving the province of Gaul, which had suffered so much from the incursions of the barbarians. He erected magazines in different places, visited the cities which had suffered most, and gave orders for repairing their walls and fortifications. He then crossed the Rhine, and pursued the war in Germany with so great success that the barbarians submitted to such terms as he pleased to impose. In the mean time, the emperor, having received intelligence that the Limitantes had quitted the country to which he had driven them, hastened to the banks of the Danube, in order to prevent their entering Pannonia. On his arrival he sent deputies, desiring to know what had induced them to abandon the country which had been allotted them. The Limitantes answered with the greatest apparent submission imaginable, that they were willing to live as true subjects of the empire in any other place; but that the country he had allotted them was quite uninhabitable, as they could demonstrate if they were but allowed to cross the river, and lay their complaints before him. This request was granted; but whilst he ascended his tribunal, the barbarians unexpectedly fell upon his guards sword in hand, killed several of them, and the emperor with difficulty saved himself by flight. The rest of the troops, however, soon took the alarm, and surrounding the Limitantes, cut them off to a man. This year Constantius instituted a court of inquisition against all those who had consulted heathen oracles. Paulus Catena, a noted and cruel informer, was dispatched into the East to prosecute them; and Modestus, then count of the East, and equally remarkable for his cruelty, was appointed judge. His tribunal was erected at Scythopolis, in Palestine; whither persons of both sexes, and of every rank and condition, were daily dragged in crowds from all parts; and either confined in dungeons, torn in pieces in a most cruel and barbarous manner by racks, or publicly executed.

In 359, Sapor, king of Persia, began hostilities, being encouraged thereto by the absence of Ursicinus, whom the emperor had recalled, having appointed in his stead one Sabinius, a person very unfit for such an office. During this campaign, however, he made very little progress, having only taken two Roman forts, and destroyed the city of Amida, the siege of which is said to have cost him thirty thousand men. On the first news of the Persian invasion, Constantius thought proper to send Ursicinus into the East; but his enemies prevented him from receiving the supplies necessary for carrying on the war; so that he found it impossible to take any effectual means for stopping the progress of the Persians. On his return, he was unexpectedly charged with the loss of Amida, and all the disasters which had happened during the campaign. Two judges were appointed to inquire into his conduct; but they, being creatures of his enemies, left the matter doubtful. On this Ursicinus was so much exasperated, that he appealed to the emperor, and in the heat of passion let fall some unguarded expressions, which, being immediately carried to the emperor, irritated him so much that the general was deprived of all his employments.

Constantius resolved to march next year in person against the Persians; but in the mean time dreading to encounter so formidable an enemy, he applied himself wholly to the assembling of a mighty army, by which he might be able fully to cope with them. For this purpose he wrote to Julian to send him part of his forces, without considering that by so doing he left the province of Gaul exposed to the ravages of the barbarians. Julian resolved immediately to comply with the emperor's orders, but at the same time to abdicate the dignity of Caesar, that he might not be blamed for the loss of the province. Accordingly he suffered the best soldiers to be drafted from his army. They were, however, very unwilling to leave him, and at last proclaimed him emperor. Whether this was done absolutely against Julian's consent or not is uncertain; but he wrote to the emperor, and persuaded the whole army also to send a letter along with his, in which they acquainted Constantius with what had happened, and entreated him to acknowledge Julian as his partner in the empire. But this was positively refused by Constantius, who began to prepare for war. Julian then, designing to be beforehand with the emperor, caused his troops to take an oath of allegiance to himself, and with surprising expedition made himself master of the whole country of Illyricum, and of the important pass separating that country from Thrace. Constantius was thunderstruck with this news; but hearing that the Persians had retired, he marched with all his force against his competitor. On his arrival at Tarsus, in Cilicia, he was seized with a feverish distemper, occasioned chiefly by the uneasiness and perplexity of his mind. He pursued his march, however, to Moesrene, a place on the borders of Cilicia, at the foot of Mount Taurus, where he was obliged to stop by the violence of his disorder, which increased every day, and at last carried him off on the thirteenth of November 361, in the forty-fifth year of his age.

By the death of Constantius, Julian now became master of the whole Roman empire without a rival. He had been educated in the Christian religion, but had secretly apostatized from it long before; and as soon as he saw himself master of Illyricum, he openly avowed his apostacy, and caused the temples of the gods to be opened. When the messengers arrived at Naissus, in Illyricum, where he was then, to acquaint him with his being sole master of the empire, they found him consulting the entrails of victims concerning the event of his journey. As the omens were uncertain, he was at that time very much embarrassed and perplexed; but the arrival of the messengers put an end to all his fears, and he immediately set out for Constantinople. At Heraclea he was met by almost all the inhabitants of the metropolis, into which he made his public entry on the 11th of December 361, attended by the whole senate in a body, by all the magistrates, and by the nobility magnificently dressed, every one testifying the utmost joy at seeing such a promising young prince raised to the empire without bloodshed. He was again declared emperor by the senate of Constantinople; and as soon as that ceremony was over, he caused the obsequies of Constantius to be celebrated with great pomp.

The first care of Julian was to inquire into the conduct of the late emperor's ministers, several of whom being found guilty of enormous crimes, were condemned and executed; particularly the noted informer Paulus Catena, and another one named Apodamus, who were sentenced to be burnt alive. Along with these, however, was put to death Ursula, a man of unexceptionable character, to whom Julian himself had been highly indebted. He had been supplied with money by Ursula, unknown to the emperor, at the time when he was sent into Gaul with the title of Caesar, but without the means necessary for the support of that dignity. For what reason he was now put to death historians do not acquaint us. Julian himself assures us that Ursula was executed without his knowledge.

The emperor next set about reforming the court. As the vast number of offices had in his time become an intolerable burden, he discharged all those whom he thought useless; among the rest, he reduced the officers called agentes in rebus, from ten thousand to seventeen; and discharged thousands of cooks, barbers, and others, whose large salaries had drained the exchequer. The curious whose office it was to inform the emperor of what had passed in the different provinces, were all discharged, and that employment entirely suppressed. Thus, he was en- able to disburthen the people of the heavy taxes with which they were loaded; and this he did by abating a fifth part of all taxes and imposts throughout the kingdom.

As to religious matters, Julian, as before observed, was a Pagan, and immediately on his accession to the throne restored the heathen religion. He invited to court the philosophers, magicians, and such like persons, from all parts; nevertheless, he did not institute any persecution against the Christians. On the contrary, he recalled from banishment all the orthodox bishops who had been sent into exile during the former reign; but with a design, as is observed both by the Christian and Pagan writers, to raise disturbances and sow dissensions in the church.

As the Persians were now preparing to carry on the war with vigour, Julian found himself under the necessity of marching in person against them. But before he set out, he enriched the city of Constantinople with many valuable gifts: he formed a large harbour to shelter the ships from the south wind; built a magnificent porch leading to it; and founded a stately library, in which he lodged all his books. In the month of May 362 he set out for Antioch, and on the first of January renewed in that city the sacrifices to Jupiter for the safety of the empire, which had so long been omitted. During his stay in this city, he continued his preparations for the Persian war; erecting magazines, making new levies, and above all consulting the oracles, aruspices, magicians, and the like. The oracles of Delphi, Delos, and Dodona, assured him of victory. The aruspices, indeed, and most of his courtiers and officers, did all that lay in their power to divert him from his intended expedition; but the deceitful answers of the oracles and magicians, and the desire of adding the Persian monarch to the many kings whom he had already seen humbled at his feet, prevailed over all other considerations. Many nations sent deputies to him offering their assistance; but these offers he rejected, telling them that the Romans were to assist their allies, but stood in no need of any assistance from them. He likewise rejected, in a very disobliging manner, the offers of the Saracens; and when they complained of his stopping the pension paid them by other emperors, he told them that a warlike prince had steel, but no gold; a reply which irritated them so much that they joined the Persians, and continued faithful to them to the last. However, he wrote to Arsaces, king of Armenia, enjoining him to keep his troops in readiness to execute the commands which he should soon transmit to him.

Having made the necessary preparations for so important an enterprise, Julian sent orders to his troops to cross the Euphrates, designing to enter the enemy's country before they had the least notice of his march; and for this purpose he had placed guards on all the roads. From Antioch he proceeded to Litarbas, a place about fifteen leagues distant, which he reached the same day; and thence he marched to Berea, where he halted a day, and exhorted the council to restore the worship of the gods; but this exhortation, it seems, was complied with by few. From Berea he proceeded to Batnae, and was better pleased with the inhabitants of the latter, because they had, before his arrival, restored the worship of the gods. There he offered sacrifices, and having immolated a great number of victims, pursued the next day his journey to Hierapolis, the capital of the province of Euphratesiana, which he reached on the 9th of March. Here he lodged in the house of one for whom he had a particular esteem, chiefly because neither Constantius nor Gallus, who had both lodged in his house, had been able to make him renounce the worship of his idols. As he entered this city, fifty of his soldiers were killed by the fall of a porch. He left Hierapolis on the 13th of March, and having passed the Euphrates on a bridge of boats, arrived at Batnae, a Constantine small city of Osrhoene, about ten leagues from Hierapolis. From Batnae he proceeded to Carrhae, where, in the famous temple of the moon, it is said he sacrificed a woman to that planet.

While Julian continued in this city, he received advice that a party of the enemy's horse had broken into the Roman territories. On this he resolved to leave an army in Mesopotamia, to guard the frontiers of the empire on that side, whilst he advanced on the other into the heart of the Persian dominions. This army consisted, according to some, of twenty thousand, but according to others of thirty thousand chosen troops. It was commanded by Procopius and Sebastian, a famous Manichean who had been governor of Egypt, and had there persecuted, with the utmost cruelty, the orthodox Christians. These two were to join, if possible, Arsaces, king of Armenia, to lay waste the fruitful plains of Media, and to meet the emperor in Assyria. To Arsaces Julian himself wrote, but in the most disobliging manner imaginable, threatening to treat him as a rebel if he did not execute, with the utmost punctuality, the orders given him, and in the conclusion telling him, that the God he adored would not be able to screen him from punishment, in the event of disobedience.

There were two roads leading from Carrhae to Persia; the one to the left by Nisibis, and the other to the right through the province of Assyria, along the banks of the Euphrates. Julian chose the latter, but caused magazines to be erected on both roads; and, after having reviewed his army, set out on the 25th of March. He passed the Abora, which separated the Roman and Persian dominions near its confluence with the Euphrates; after which he broke down the bridge, that his troops might not be tempted to desert. As he proceeded on his march, a soldier and two horses were struck dead by lightning; and a lion of extraordinary size presenting himself to the army, was in a moment dispatched by the soldiers with a shower of darts. These omens occasioned great disputes between the philosophers and aruspices. The latter looking upon them as inauspicious, advised the emperor to return; but the former refuted their arguments with others more agreeable to Julian's temper.

Having passed the Abora, Julian entered Assyria, which he found very populous, and abounding in all the necessaries of life; but he laid it waste far and near, destroying the magazines and provisions which he could not carry along with him; and thus he put it out of his power to return the same way he advanced, a step which was judged most impolitic. As he met with no army in the field to oppose him, he advanced to the walls of Ctesiphon, the metropolis of the Persian empire, having reduced all the strongholds that lay in his way. Here, having caused the canal to be cleared which had formerly been dug by Trajan between these two rivers, he conveyed his fleet from the former to the latter. On the banks of the Tigris he was opposed by the enemy. But Julian passed that river in spite of their utmost efforts, and drove them into the city with the loss of a great number of their men.

Julian had now advanced so far into the enemy's country that he found it necessary to think of a retreat, as it was impossible for him to winter in Persia. For this reason he made no attempt on Ctesiphon, but began to march back along the banks of the Tigris, soon after he had passed that river. In the mean time the king of Persia had assembled a formidable army, with the intention of falling upon the Romans in their march; but being desirous of putting an end to so destructive a war, he sent advantageous proposals of peace to Julian. These, however, the Roman emperor most imprudently rejected; and soon afterwards, deceived by treacherous guides, he quitted the river, and entered into an unknown country totally laid waste by the enemy, and where he was continually harassed by strong parties, who in a manner surrounded his army, and attacked him sometimes in front and sometimes in rear. But the treacherous guides already mentioned persuaded him to take a step still more ruinous and fatal, namely, to burn his fleet, lest it should fall into the hands of the enemy. As soon as the fleet had been set on fire, the whole army cried out that the emperor was betrayed, and that the guides were traitors employed by the enemy. Julian ordered them immediately to be put to the rack, upon which they confessed the treason; but it was too late. The fleet was already in flames which could by no means be extinguished; and no part was saved except twelve vessels, which were designed to be made use of in the building of bridges, and which for this purpose were conveyed over land in waggons.

The emperor thus finding himself in a strange country, and his army greatly dispirited, called a council of his chief officers, in which it was resolved to proceed to Corduene, which lay south of Armenia, and belonged to the Romans. But they had not proceeded far in this direction when they were met by the king of Persia, at the head of a numerous army, attended by his two sons, and all the principal nobility of the kingdom. Several sharp encounters happened, in which, though the Persians were always defeated, yet the Romans reaped no advantages from their victories, but were reduced to the last extremity for want of provisions. In one of these skirmishes, when the Romans were suddenly attacked, the emperor, eager to repulse the enemy, hastened to the field of battle without his armour, when he received a mortal wound by a dart, which, through his arm and side, pierced his very liver. Of this wound he died the same night, the 26th of June 363, in the thirty-second year of his age, after having reigned scarcely twenty months from the time he became sole master of the Roman empire.

As Julian had declined naming any successor, the choice of a new emperor devolved on the army, who unanimously chose Jovian, a very able commander, whose father had lately resigned the post of comes domesticorum, in order to lead a retired life. The valour and experience of Jovian, however, were not sufficient to extricate the Roman army from the difficulties in which it had been plunged by the imprudence of his predecessor. Famine raged in the camp to such a degree, that not a single man would have been left alive, had not the Persians unexpectedly sent proposals of peace, which were now received with the utmost joy. A peace was concluded for thirty years, the terms of which were that Jovian should restore to the Persians the fine provinces which had been taken from them in the reign of Diocletian, with several castles, and the cities of Nisibis and Singara. After the conclusion of the treaty, Jovian pursued his march without molestation. When he arrived at Antioch, he revoked all the laws which had been made in the former reign against Christianity, and in favour of Paganism. He also espoused the cause of the orthodox Christians against the Arians; and he recalled all those who had been formerly banished, particularly Athanasius, to whom he wrote a very obliging letter with his own hand. It is generally believed also that Athanasius, at the desire of Jovian, now composed the creed which still bears his name, and is subscribed by all the bishops in Europe. But this emperor did not live to make any great alterations, nor even to visit his capital as emperor; for in his way to Constantinople he was found dead in his bed, on the 16th or 17th of February 364, after having lived thirty-three years, and reigned seven months and forty days.

After the death of Jovian, Valentinian was chosen emperor. Immediately on his accession the soldiers mutinied, and with great clamour required him to choose a partner in the sovereignty. He did not instantly comply with this demand; but in a few days he chose his brother Valens as his partner; and the empire being threatened on all sides with an invasion of the barbarous nations, he thought proper to divide it. This famous partition was executed at Mediana, in Dacia. Valens received as his share the whole of Asia, Egypt, and Thrace; and Valentinian retained all the West, including Illyricum, Italy, Gaul, Spain, Britain, and Africa.

After this partition Valens returned to Constantinople, where the beginning of his reign was disturbed by the revolt of Procopius, a relation of Julian. On the death of that emperor, he had fled into Taurica Chersonesus, from dread of Jovian; but not trusting the barbarians who inhabited that country, he returned in disguise into the Roman territories, where, having gained over an eunuch of great wealth, called Eugenius, lately disgraced by Valens, and some officers who commanded the troops sent against the Goths, he got himself proclaimed emperor. At first he was joined only by the lowest of the people, but at length he was acknowledged by the whole city of Constantinople. On the news of this revolt, Valens would have abdicated the sovereignty, had he not been prevented by the importunities of his friends. He therefore dispatched some troops against the usurper; but these were gained over, and Procopius continuing for some time to gain ground, it is probable he would finally have succeeded, had he not become so much elated with his good fortune that he grew tyrannical and insupportable to his own party. In consequence of this altercation in his disposition, he was first abandoned by some of his principal officers, and soon afterwards defeated in battle, taken prisoner, and put to death.

This revolt produced a war betwixt Valens and the Goths. The latter, having been solicited by Procopius, had sent three thousand men to his assistance. On hearing the news of the usurper's death, they countermarched; but Valens detached against them a body of troops, who took them all prisoners, notwithstanding the vigorous resistance they made. Athanaric, king of the Goths, expostulated with Valens against this proceeding; but that emperor proving obstinate, both parties prepared for war. In 367 and 369, Valens gained great advantages over his enemies, and obliged them to sue for peace, which was concluded upon terms advantageous to the Romans. The rest of his reign contains nothing remarkable, except the cruelty with which he persecuted the orthodox clergy. The latter sent eighty of their number to him, in order to lay their complaints before him; but, instead of giving them any relief, he determined to put them all to death. The person, however, who was ordered to execute this sentence, fearing lest the public execution of so many ecclesiastics might raise disturbances, ordered them all to be put on board a ship, pretending that the emperor had ordered them only to be sent into banishment; but when the vessel was at some distance from the land, the mariners set fire to it, and made their own escape in a boat. The ship was driven by a strong wind into a harbour, where it was consumed, with all who were on board. A persecution was also commenced against magicians, or those who had books of magic in their custody. This occasioned the destruction of many innocent persons; for books of this kind were often conveyed into libraries, unknown to the owners of them, an act which was certainly followed by death and confiscation of goods. Persons of all ranks were consequently seized with such terror that they burnt their libraries, lest books of magic should be secretly conveyed amongst those of which they consisted. In 378 the Goths whom Valens had admitted into Thrace advanced from that province to Macedonia and Thessaly, where they committed dreadful ravages. They afterwards blockaded the city of Constantinople, plundered the suburbs, and at last totally defeated and killed the emperor himself. The day after the battle, hearing that an immense treasure was lodged in Adrianople, the barbarians laid siege to that place; but being strangers to the art of besieging towns, they were repulsed with great slaughter, upon which they abandoned the enterprise, and returned before Constantinople. But here great numbers of them were cut in pieces by the Saracens, whom Maria, the queen of that people, had sent to the assistance of the Romans; so that they were obliged to abandon this design likewise, and retire from the neighbourhood of the city.

By the death of Valens the empire once more fell into the hands of a single person. This was Gratian, who had held the empire of the West, after the death of Valentinian. He repulsed many barbarous nations who threatened inroads on various sides; but finding himself severely pressed, he soon resolved to take a colleague, in order to relieve himself of part of the burden. Accordingly, on the 19th of January 379, he declared Theodosius his partner in the empire, and committed to his care all the provinces which had been governed by Valens.

Theodosius is greatly extolled by the historians of those ages on account of his extraordinary valour and piety; and for these qualifications he has been honoured with the surname of Great. From the many persecuting laws, however, made in his time, it would seem that his piety was at least very much misdirected; and that if he was naturally of a humane and compassionate disposition, superstition and passion had often totally obscured it. He certainly was a man of great conduct and experience in war; and indeed the present state of the empire called for an exertion of all his abilities. The provinces of Dacia, Thrace, and Illyricum, were already lost; the Goths, Tauli, Alans, and Huns, were masters of the greater part of these provinces, and had ravaged and laid waste the remainder. The Iberians, Armenians, and Persians, were likewise up in arms, and ready to take advantage of the distracted state of the empire. The few soldiers who had survived the late defeat kept within the strongholds of Thrace, without even daring to look abroad, much less to face the victorious enemy, who moved about the country in great bodies. But notwithstanding this critical situation, the historians of those times give us no account of the transactions of the year 379. Many great battles indeed are said to have been fought, and as many victories obtained by Theodosius; but the accounts of these are so confused and contradictory, that no stress can be laid upon them.

In the month of February 380, Theodosius was seized with a dangerous malady, so that Gratian found himself obliged to carry on the war alone. This emperor, apprehending that the neighbouring barbarians might break into some of the provinces, concluded with the Goths a peace, which was confirmed by Theodosius on his recovery. The treaty was very advantageous to the barbarians; but they, disregarding all their engagements, no sooner heard that Gratian had left Illyricum than they passed the Danube, and breaking into Thrace and Pannonia, advanced as far as Macedonia, destroying all with fire and sword. Theodosius, however, having collected his forces, marched against them, and, according to the most respectable authorities, gained a complete victory; though Zosimus relates that he was utterly defeated.

The following year Athanaric, the most powerful of all the Gothic princes, being driven out by a faction at home, applied to Theodosius, by whom he was received with great tokens of friendship. The emperor himself went Constantine into the city. The Gothic prince died the same year, and Theodosius caused him to be buried after the Roman manner, with such pomp and solemnity that the Goths who attended him in his flight returned home with a resolution never to molest the Romans any more. Nay, out of gratitude to the emperor, they took upon them to guard the banks of the Danube, and prevent the empire from being invaded on that side.

In 388, one Maximus revolted against Gratian in Britain; and having at length got the unhappy emperor into his power, caused him to be put to death, upon which the usurper assumed the empire of the West himself. Gratian had divided his dominions with his brother Valentinian, whom he allowed to reign in Italy and Western Illyricum, reserving the rest to himself. Maximus, therefore, immediately after his usurpation, sent deputies to Theodosius, assuring him that he had no designs on the dominions of Valentinian. As Theodosius at that time found himself in danger from the barbarians, he not only forbore to attack Maximus after this declaration, but even acknowledged him as his partner in the empire. It was not long, however, before the ambition of the usurper prompted him to violate his promise. In 387 he suddenly passed the Alps; and meeting with no opposition, marched to Milan, where Valentinian usually resided. The young prince fled first to Aquileia, and thence to Thessalonica, in order to implore the protection of Theodosius. The latter, in answer to Valentinian's letter, informed him that he was not at all surprised at the progress Maximus had made, because the usurper had protected, and Valentinian had persecuted, the orthodox Christians. At last he prevailed on the young prince to renounce the Arian heresy, which the latter had hitherto maintained; after which Theodosius promised to assist him with all the forces of the East. At first, however, he sent messengers to Maximus, earnestly exhorting him to restore the provinces which he had taken from Valentinian, and content himself with Gaul, Spain, and Britain. But the usurper would hearken to no terms. This very year he besieged and took Aquileia, Quaderna, Bononia, Mutina, Rheyrum, Placentia, and many other cities in Italy; and the following year he was acknowledged in Rome, and in all the provinces of Africa. Theodosius, therefore, finding a war inevitable, spent the remaining months of this and the beginning of the following year in making the necessary preparations. His army consisted chiefly of Goths, Huns, Alans, and other barbarians, whom he was glad to take into his service in order to prevent their raising disturbances on the frontiers. He defeated Maximus in two battles, took him prisoner, and put him to death. The usurper had left his son Victor, whom he created Augustus, in Gaul, to overawe the inhabitants in his absence. Against him the emperor dispatched Arbogastes, who took him prisoner after having dispersed the troops that attended him, and put him to death. The victory was afterwards used by Theodosius with great clemency and moderation.

In 389 Theodosius made a journey to Rome, and, according to Prudentius, at this time converted the senate and people from idolatry to Christianity. The next year was remarkable for the destruction of the celebrated temple of Serapis in Alexandria, which, according to the description of Ammianus Marcellinus, surpassed all others in the world, that of Jupiter Capitolinus alone excepted. The reason of its being now destroyed was this. Theophilus, bishop of Alexandria, having begged and obtained of the emperor an old temple, formerly consecrated to Bacchus, but then ruined and forsaken, with the design of converting it into a church, the workmen found among the Constantinopolitan History.

Constantinople several obscene figures, which the bishop, in order to ridicule the superstition of the heathens, caused to be exposed to public view. This provoked the Pagans to such a degree that they flew to arms; and falling unexpectedly upon the Christians, cut great numbers of them in pieces. The latter, however, soon took arms in their own defense; and being supported by the few soldiers who were quartered in the city, began to repel force by force. Thus a civil war was kindled, and no day passed without some encounter. The Pagans used to retire to the temple of Serapis, and thence sallying out unexpectedly, seized on such Christians as they met, and dragging them into the temple, either forced them by the most exquisite tortments to sacrifice to their idol, or, if they refused, racked them to death. As soon as they expected to be attacked by the emperor's troops, they chose a philosopher named Olympus as their leader, with the design of defending themselves to the last extremity. The emperor, however, would not suffer any punishment to be inflicted upon them for the lives of those whom they had put to death, but readily forgave them; however, he ordered all the temples of Alexandria to be immediately pulled down, and commanded the bishop to see his orders put in execution. The Pagans no sooner heard that the emperor was acquainted with their proceedings than they abandoned the temple, which was in a short time destroyed by Theophilus; nothing being left except the foundations, which could not be removed, on account of the extraordinary weight and size of the stones. Not satisfied with the destruction of the Alexandrian temples, the zealous bishop encouraged the people to pull down all the other temples, oratories, chapels, and places set apart for the worship of the heathen gods throughout Egypt, and ordered the statues of the gods themselves to be either burnt or melted down. Of the innumerable statues which at that time were to be found in Egypt, he is said to have spared but one, namely, that of an ape, in order to expose the Pagan religion to ridicule. On his return to Constantinople, Theodosius ordered such temples as were yet standing to be thrown down, and the Arians to be everywhere driven out of the cities.

In 392 Valentinian, emperor of the West, was treacherously murdered by Arbogastes his general, who, though he might afterwards have easily seized on the sovereignty himself, chose to confer it upon one Eugenius, and to reign in his name. This new usurper, though a Christian, was greatly favoured by the Pagans, who were well apprised that he only bore the title of emperor, while the whole power lodged in Arbogastes, who pretended to be greatly attached to their religion. The auspices appeared anew, and informed him that he was destined to the empire of the whole world, and that he would soon gain a complete victory over Theodosius, who was as much hated as Eugenius was beloved by the gods. But though Eugenius seemed to favour the Pagans, yet in the very beginning of his reign he wrote to St Ambrose. The holy man did not answer his letter till he was pressed by some friends to recommend them to the new prince; and then he wrote to the usurper with all the respect due to an emperor. Soon after his accession to the empire, Eugenius sent deputies to Theodosius, who is said to have received them in a very obliging manner. He did not, however, intend to enter into any alliance with this usurper, but immediately began his military preparations. In 394 he set out from Constantinople, and reached Adrianople on the 15th of June that year. He bent his march through Dacia, and the other provinces between Thrace and the Julian Alps, with the design of forcing the passes of these mountains, and breaking into Italy before the army of Eugenius was in a condition to oppose him. On his arrival at the Alps he found these passes guarded by Fl. Constanianus, prefect of Italy, at the head of a considerable body of Roman troops. These, however, were utterly defeated by Theodosius, who thereupon crossed the Alps and advanced into Italy. He was soon met by Eugenius, and a bloody battle ensued, without any decisive advantage on either side; but the next day the emperor led his troops in person against the enemy, utterly defeated them, and took their camp. Eugenius was taken prisoner by his own men, and brought to Theodosius, who reproached him with the murder of Valentinian, with the calamities which he had brought on the empire by his unjust usurpation, and with putting his confidence in Hercules, and not in the true God; for on his chief standard he had displayed the image of that fabulous hero. Eugenius begged earnestly for his life; but whilst he lay prostrate at the emperor's feet, his own soldiers cut off his head, and carrying it about on the point of a spear, showed it to those in the camp who had not yet submitted to Theodosius. At this they were all thunderstruck; but being informed that Theodosius was ready to receive them into favour, they threw down their arms and submitted. After this Arbogastes, despairing of pardon, fled to the mountains; but being informed that diligent search was made for him, he laid violent hands on himself. His children, and those of Eugenius, took sanctuary in churches; the emperor, however, not only pardoned, but took the opportunity of converting them to Christianity, restored to them their paternal estates, and raised them to considerable employments in the state. Soon after this, Theodosius appointed his son Honorius emperor of the West, assigning him as his share Italy, Gaul, Spain, Africa, and West Illyricum. But the next year, as he prepared for his return to Constantinople, he was seized with a dropsy, owing to the great fatigues he had undergone during the war. As soon as he perceived himself to be in danger, he made his will, by which he bequeathed the empire of the East to Arcadius, and confirmed Honorius in the possession of the West. He likewise confirmed the pardon which he had granted to all those who had borne arms against him, remitted a tribute which had proved very burdensome to the people, and charged his two sons to see that these points of his will were executed. He died at Milan on the 17th of January 395, in the sixteenth year of his reign, and fifth of his age.

From the time of Theodosius to the time when the Roman empire in the West was totally destroyed by the Goths, we find but very little remarkable in the history of Constantinople. At this time the eastern empire was usurped by Basiliscus, who had driven out Zeno, the lawful emperor, being assisted in his conspiracy by the empress Verina, his sister. Zeno fled into Isauria, whither he was pursued by Illus and Trecondes, two of the usurper's generals, who having easily defeated the few troops he had with him, forced the unhappy prince to shut himself up in a castle, which they immediately invested. But in a short time Basiliscus having disobliged the people by his cruelty, avarice, and other bad qualities, for which he was no less remarkable than his predecessor had been, his generals joined with Zeno, whom they restored to the throne. After his restoration, Zeno having got Basiliscus into his power, confined him in a castle of Cappadocia, together with his wife Zenonides, where they both perished with hunger and cold. This happened in the year 467, after Basiliscus had reigned about twenty months. During the time of this usurpation a dreadful fire happened at Constantinople, which consumed great part of the city, with the library containing 190,000 volumes, among which were the works of Homer, written, as is said, on the great gut of a dragon a hundred and twenty feet long. The misfortunes which Zeno had undergone did not work any reformation upon him. He still continued the same vicious courses which had given occasion to the usurpation of Basiliscus; and other conspiracies were formed against him, but he had the good fortune to escape them. He engaged in a war with the Ostrogoths, in which he proved unsuccessful, and was obliged to yield to them the provinces of Lower Dacia and Moesia. In a short time, however, Theodoric their king made an irruption into Thrace, and advanced within fifteen miles of Constantinople, with the design of besieging that capital; but the following year, 483, they retired in order to attack Odoacer, king of Italy, of which country Theodoric was proclaimed king in 493. The emperor Zeno died in the year 491, in the sixty-fifth year of his age, and seventeenth of his reign.

The Roman empire had now for a long time been on the decline; and the valour and military discipline which had for so many ages rendered the Romans superior to other nations had now greatly degenerated. The tumults and disorders which had happened in the empire from time to time by the many usurpations, had also greatly contributed to weaken it. But what proved of the greatest detriment was the allowing vast swarms of barbarians to settle in the different provinces, and to serve in the Roman empire in separate and independent bodies. This had proved the immediate cause of the dissolution of the western empire; but as it affected the eastern parts less, the Constantinopolitan empire continued for upwards of nine hundred years after that of the West had been totally dissolved. The weak and imprudent administration of Zeno, and of Anastasius, who succeeded him, had reduced the eastern empire still more; and it might possibly have expired in a short time after the western one, had not the wise and vigorous conduct of Justin and his partner Justinian revived in some measure the ancient martial spirit which had originally raised the Roman empire to its highest pitch of grandeur.

Justin ascended the throne in 518. In 521 he engaged in a war with the Persians, who had all along been formidable enemies to the Roman name. Against them he employed the famous Belisarius, of whom, however, we hear nothing remarkable till after the accession of Justinian. This prince was the nephew of Justin, and was by him taken as his partner in the empire in 527; and the same year Justin died, in the seventy-seventh year of his age and ninth of his reign. Justinian being now sole master of the empire, directed his whole force against the Persians. The latter proved successful in the first engagement, but were soon afterwards utterly defeated by Belisarius on the frontiers of Persia, and likewise by another general, named Dorotheus, in Armenia. The war continued with various success during the first five years of Justinian's reign. In the sixth year a peace was concluded upon the conditions that the Roman emperor should pay to Cosroes, the king of Persia, a thousand pounds weight of gold; that both princes should restore the places they had taken during the wars; that the commander of the Roman forces should no longer reside at Daras, on the Persian frontiers, but at a place called Constantina, in Mesopotamia, as he had formerly done; and that the Iberians who had sided with the Romans should be at liberty either to return to their own country or to remain at Constantinople. This peace, concluded in 532, was styled "eternal"; but in the event, it proved of very short duration.

About this time happened at Constantinople the greatest tumult mentioned in history. It began among the different factions in the circus; but ended in an open rebellion. The multitude, highly dissatisfied with the conduct of John, the prefectus praetorio, and of Tribonanus, then questor, forced Hypatius, nephew of the emperor Anastasius, to accept the empire, and proclaimed him with great solemnity in the forum. As the above-mentioned ministers were greatly abhorred by the populace on account of their avarice, Justinian immediately discharged them, hoping by that means to appease the tumult; but this was so far from answering the purpose, that the multitude only grew the more outrageous; and most of the senators joining them, the emperor became so much alarmed that he had thoughts of abandoning the city and making his escape by sea. In this dilemma the Empress Theodora encouraged and persuaded him rather to part with his life than with his kingdom; and he at last resolved to defend himself to the utmost, with the few senators who had not yet abandoned him. In the mean time, the rebels having attempted in vain to force the gates of the palace, carried Hypatius in triumph to the circus, where, whilst he was beholding the sports from the imperial throne, amidst the shouts and acclamations of the people, Belisarius, who had been recalled from Persia, entered the city with a considerable body of troops. Being then apprised of the usurpation of Hypatius, he marched straight to the circus, fell sword in hand upon the disarmed multitude, and with the assistance of a band of Heruli, headed by Mundus, governor of Illyricum, cut about thirty thousand of them in pieces. Hypatius the usurper, and Pompeius, another of the nephews of Anastasius, were taken prisoners and carried to the emperor, by whose orders they were both beheaded, and their bodies cast into the sea. Their estates were confiscated, and likewise the estates of such senators as had joined with them; but the emperor caused great part of their lands and effects to be afterwards restored to their children, together with their honours and dignities.

Justinian having now no other enemy to contend with, turned his arms against the Vandals in Africa, and the Goths in Italy, both of which provinces he recovered out of the hands of the barbarians. But before his general Belisarius had time to establish fully the Roman power in Italy, he was recalled in order to carry on the war against Cosroes, king of Persia, who, in defiance of the treaty concluded in 532, had entered the Roman dominions at the head of a powerful army. The same year, however, a peace was concluded between the two nations, upon the conditions that the Romans should, within two months, pay to the Persian king five thousand pounds weight of gold, and an annual pension of five hundred; that the Persians should relinquish all claim to the fortress of Daras, and maintain a body of troops to guard the Caspian gates, and prevent the barbarians from breaking into the empire; and that upon payment of the above-mentioned sum, Cosroes should immediately withdraw his troops from the Roman dominions. The treaty being signed, and the stipulated sum paid, Cosroes began to march back again; but on the way he plundered several cities, as if the war had still continued. Justinian therefore resolved to pursue the war with the utmost vigour, and for this purpose dispatched Belisarius into the East. But soon afterwards he was obliged to recall him in order to oppose the Goths, who after his departure had gained great advantages in Italy. The Persian war was then carried on with indifferent success till the year 558, when a peace was concluded upon the emperor again paying an immense sum to the enemy. The same year the Huns, having passed the Danube in the depth of winter, marched in two bodies directly for Constantinople, and laying waste the countries through which they passed, came, without meeting the least opposition, within a short distance of the city. But Belisarius having marched out against them with a handful of men, put them to flight. The emperor, however, in order to prevent them from invading the empire anew, agreed to pay them an annual tribute, upon their promising to defend the empire against all other barbarians, and to serve in the Roman armies when required. This was the last exploit performed by Belisarius, who on his return to Constantinople was disgraced, stripped of all his employments, and confined to his house, on pretence of a conspiracy against the emperor. In the year 565 a real conspiracy was formed against Justinian, which he happily escaped, and the conspirators were executed; but the emperor did not long survive it, being carried off by a natural death in 566, in the thirty-ninth year of his reign.

During the reign of Justinian, the majesty of the Roman empire seemed in some measure to revive. He recovered the provinces of Italy and Africa from the hands of the barbarians, by whom they had been held for a number of years; but soon after his death they were lost to the empire, which now tended fast to dissolution. In 569 Italy was conquered by the Lombards, who held it for the space of two hundred years. Some amends, however, was made for the loss by the acquisition of Persarmenia, the inhabitants of which, being persecuted by the Persians on account of the Christian religion, which they professed, revolted to the Romans. This produced a war between the two nations, who continued to weaken each other, till at last the Persian monarchy was utterly overthrown, and that of the Romans greatly reduced, by the Saracens. These new enemies attacked the Romans in the year 632, and pursued their conquests with incredible rapidity. In the space of four years they reduced the provinces of Egypt, Syria, and Palestine. In 648 they were also masters of Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Africa, Cyprus, Aradus, and Rhodes; and having defeated the Roman fleet commanded by the Emperor Constans in person, they concluded a peace on condition of retaining the vast extent of territory which they had seized, and paying for it a thousand nummi a year.

An expedition against the Lombards was about this time undertaken, but with very little success; a body of twenty thousand Romans having been almost entirely cut off by one of the Lombard generals. In 671 the Saracens ravaged several provinces, made a descent on Sicily, took and plundered the city of Syracuse, and overran the whole island, destroying everything with fire and sword. In like manner they laid waste Cilicia, and having passed the winter at Smyrna, entered Thrace in the year 672, and laid siege to Constantinople itself. Here, however, they were repulsed with great loss; but next spring they renewed their attempt, in which they met with the same ill success, many of their ships being consumed by the sea-fire, as it was called, because it burned under water; and in their return home their fleet was wrecked off the Scyllean promontory. At last a peace was concluded for thirty years, on condition that the Saracens should retain all the provinces which they had seized, and that they should pay the emperor and his successors three thousand pounds weight of gold, fifty slaves, and as many choice horses.

This peace had scarcely been concluded when the empire was invaded by a new enemy, who for a long time proved very troublesome. These were the Bulgarians, who breaking into Thrace, defeated the Roman army sent against them, and ravaged the country far and wide. The emperor consented to pay them an annual pension rather than continue a doubtful war, and allowed them to settle in Lower Moesia, which from them was afterwards called Bulgaria. In 687, they were attacked by Justinian II, who entered their country without provocation, and in disregard of the treaties formerly concluded with them. But, having fallen suddenly upon him, they drove him out of their country, and obliged him to restore the towns and captives he had taken. In 697 this emperor was deposed, and in his exile fled to Trehelis, king of the Bulgarians, by whom he was kindly entertained, and by whose means he was restored to his throne; but soon forgetting this favour, he invaded the country of the Bulgarians, with a design of wresting from them those provinces which he had yielded to them. In this expedition, however, he was attended by no better success than his ingratitude deserved, his army being utterly defeated, and he himself obliged to make his escape in a light vessel to Constantinople. The Bulgarians continued their inroads and ravages at different times, generally defeating the Romans who ventured to oppose them, till the year 800, the seventh of the reign of Nicephorus, when they surprised the city of Sardica, in Moesia, and put the whole garrison, consisting of six thousand men, to the sword. The emperor marched against them with a considerable army, but the enemy retired at his approach, and he, instead of pursuing them, returned to Constantinople. Two years afterwards he entered Bulgaria at the head of a powerful army, destroying everything with fire and sword. The king offered to conclude a peace with him upon honourable terms; but Nicephorus, rejecting his proposals, continued to waste the country, destroying the cities, and putting all the inhabitants, without distinction of age or sex, to the sword. The king was so much affected with these cruelties which were exercised on his subjects, that he sent a second embassy to Nicephorus, offering to conclude a peace with him upon any terms, provided he would quit his country. But Nicephorus having dismissed the ambassadors with scorn, the Bulgarian monarch unexpectedly attacked the Roman camp, forced it, and cut off almost the whole army, with the emperor himself, and a great number of patricians. His successor Michael likewise engaged in a war with the Bulgarians; but being utterly defeated, he was so grieved that he resigned the empire. After this the Bulgarians continued to be formidable enemies of the empire till the year 979, when they were attacked by Basilus II. The Bulgarians were at that time governed by a king named Samuel, who ravaged the Roman territories, as was the common practice of his nation; upon which Basilus sent against him one Nicephorus Uranus, at the head of a powerful army. Uranus, leaving his baggage at Larissa, reached the Sperchius by forced marches, and encamped with his whole army opposite the enemy, who lay on the other bank. As the river was greatly swollen with heavy rains which had lately fallen, Samuel, not imagining the Romans would attempt to pass it, suffered his troops to roam in large parties about the country in quest of booty. But Uranus having at length found out a place where the river was fordable, passed it in the dead of the night without being perceived. He then fell upon the Bulgarians who remained in the camp, and lay for the most part asleep; cut a great number of them in pieces; took many prisoners, with all their baggage, and made himself master of their camp. Samuel and his son were dangerously wounded, and would have been taken had not they all that day concealed themselves among the dead. The next night they stole away to the mountains of Ætolia, and thence made their escape into Bulgaria. The following year the emperor entered Bulgaria at the head of a numerous and well-disciplined army, defeated Samuel in a pitched battle, and took several strong cities. The emperor himself, however, at last narrowly escaped being cut off with his whole army, being unexpectedly attacked by the Bulgarians in a narrow pass. From this danger he was relieved by the arrival of Nicephorus Xiphias, governor of Philippopolis, with a considerable number of troops, who, falling upon the enemy's rear, put them to flight. Basilus pursued them closely, and having taken an incredible number of prisoners, caused their eyes to be pulled out, leaving to every hundred a guide with one

eye, that he might conduct them to Samuel. This shocking spectacle so affected the unhappy king, that he fell into a deep swoon, and died two days afterwards. The Roman emperor pursued his conquests, and in the space of two years made himself master of most of the enemy's strongholds. He also defeated the successor of Samuel in several engagements; and having at last killed him in battle, the Bulgarians submitted themselves without reserve. The vast treasures of their princes were by Basilus distributed among his soldiers by way of donative. Soon afterwards the widow of the late king, with her six daughters and three of her sons, surrendered themselves to the Roman emperor, by whom they were received with the utmost civility and respect. This obliging behaviour encouraged the three other sons of the late king, and most of the princes of the blood, who had taken shelter in the mountains, to submit, and throw themselves on the emperor's clemency.

Ibatzes, however, a person nearly allied to the royal family, who had distinguished himself during the whole course of the war, refused to submit, and fled to a steep and craggy mountain, with the design of defending himself there to the last extremity. Basilus endeavoured to induce him to submit by fair means; but he equally despised both threats and promises. At last Eustathius Daphnomelus, whom Basilus had lately appointed governor of Achridus, the chief city of Bulgaria, undertook to seize him. Without communicating his design to any, he repaired, with two persons in whom he could confide, to the mountain on which Ibatzes had fortified himself, hoping to pass undiscovered among the many strangers who flocked thither to celebrate the approaching feast of the Virgin Mary, for whom Ibatzes had a particular veneration. In this, however, he found himself mistaken; for he was discovered by the guards, and carried before the prince. To the latter he pretended to have something of importance to communicate; but as soon as Ibatzes had retired with him into a remote place, Daphnomelus threw himself suddenly upon him, and with the assistance of the two men whom he had brought with him, pulled out both his eyes, and got safely to an abandoned castle on the top of the hill. Here they were immediately surrounded by the troops of Ibatzes; but Daphnomelus exhorting them now to submit to the emperor, by whom he assured them they would be well received, they congratulated Daphnomelus on his success, and suffered him to conduct the unhappy Ibatzes a prisoner to Basilus. The emperor was no less surprised than pleased at the success of this bold attempt, and rewarded Daphnomelus with the government of Dyrrachium, and all the rich moveables of his prisoner. After this, having accomplished the entire reduction of Bulgaria, he returned with an incredible number of captives to Constantinople, where he was received by the senate and people with all possible demonstrations of joy.

During this time the Saracens had at intervals invaded the Roman dominions, and even attempted to make themselves masters of Constantinople. Their internal divisions, however, rendered them now much less formidable enemies than they had formerly been; so that some provinces were even recovered for a time out of their hands, though the weak and distracted state of the empire rendered it impossible to preserve such conquests. In 1041, the empire was invaded by an enemy, not very powerful at that time, indeed, but who by degrees gathered strength sufficient to overthrow both the Roman and Saracen empires. These were the Turks, who, having quitted their ancient habitations in the neighbourhood of Mount Caucasus, and passed the Caspian Straits, settled in Armenia Major about the year 844. There they continued, an unknown and despised people, till the intestine wars of the Saracens gave Constantine an opportunity of aggrandizing themselves. About the year 1030, Mohammed, the son of Sambracel, sultan of Persia, not finding himself a match for Pisaris, sultan of Babylon, with whom he was at war, had recourse to the Turks, who sent him three thousand men, under the command of Tangrolipix, a leading man among them. By their assistance, Mohammed defeated his adversary; but when the Turks desired leave to return home, he refused to part with them. Upon this they withdrew without his consent to a neighbouring desert; and there being joined by several discontented Persians, began to make frequent incursions into the sultan's territories. Mohammed immediately dispatched against them an army of twenty thousand men, who being surprised in the night, were utterly defeated by Tangrolipix. The fame of this victory drew multitudes from all parts to his standard; so that in a short time Tangrolipix saw himself at the head of fifty thousand men. Upon this, Mohammed marched against them in person, 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-Moses, against the Arabians; but he was defeated by them, and forced to fly towards Media. But he was denied a passage through this province by Stephen, the Roman governor; upon which Cutlu-Moses was obliged to force his way, by encountering the Roman army. These he put to flight, took the governor himself prisoner, and without any further opposition reached the confines of Persia, where he sold Stephen as a slave. Returning 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 thereby 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 the latter had told him. Soon afterwards he sent Asan, his brother's son, with an army of twenty thousand men, to reduce Media; and, pursuant to his orders, the young prince entered that country, and committed everywhere dreadful ravages; but being in the end drawn into an ambuscade by the Roman generals, he was cut off with his whole army. Tangrolipix, nowise discouraged by this misfortune, sent a new army into Media, nearly one hundred thousand strong, which, after having ravaged the country without opposition, laid siege to Artza, a place of great trade, and reckoned the most wealthy in those parts. But 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, while one hundred and fifty thousand of the inhabitants perished either by the flames or the sword. After this Abraham Halim, 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 accepted. The two armies engaged with incredible fury, and 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 had been 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 set at liberty without ransom, only requiring him at his departure to promise never more to bear arms against the Turks. Not long afterwards, Tangrolipix sent a person of great authority among the Turks, in the capacity of ambassador, to Constantinople; but he 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 which his ambassador had met with, entered Iberia while the emperor Constantine Monomachus was engaged in a war with the Patzinaces, a Scythian nation. Having ravaged that country, he returned thence to Media, and laid siege to Mantzichteria, a place defended by a numerous garrison, and fortified by a triple wall and deep ditches. However, as it was situated in an open and level 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 for thirty days. One of his officers, however, named Alcan, prevailed on him to persevere one day longer, and to commit the management of the attacks to him. This being granted, Alcan disposed his men with such skill, and so encouraged 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 amongst the enemy; a circumstance 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 age nor sex. But on the approach of the Roman army he retired to Tauris, leaving thirty thousand men behind him, with orders to infest the frontiers of the empire. This they did with great success, the borders being through the avarice of Monomachus left 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 had exacted from them the same sums which 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 solemnity 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 was he dead, however, 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 nowise in a condition to oppose them, the greater part of the army having been disbanded in her husband's lifetime, 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 seductive 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 that the empress would never think of marrying, in consequence of the oath which she 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 which threatened herself and her family by marrying some person of merit, capable of defeating her enemies both at home and abroad. At this time one Romanus Diogenes, a person of a beautiful form, 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, set him at liberty, and soon afterwards 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 which contained her oath, out of the hands of the patriarch. In order to this, she applied to a favourite eunuch, who having repaired to the patriarch, told him that the empress was so 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 which 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 person, who being intrusted with absolute authority, might be capable of defending the empire. The empress, thus discharged from her oath, married a few days afterwards Romanus Diogenes, who was thereupon proclaimed emperor, to the grievous 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 training 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 Neocaesarea, 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; he then pursued his march to Aleppo, which he retook, together with Hierapolis, where he built a strong castle.

As he was returning to join the forces he had left behind, 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 afterwards attacked them 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 arrival, retired in great haste. The Armenians, however, enraged by the approach of the emperor's army, fell upon the enemy in the plains of Tarsus, put them to flight, and stripped them of their baggage and of the booty which 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 approached each other, Axan, the Turkish sultan, and son of the famous Turgopix, 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 Pselius, 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 Theodosiopolis, where he hoped in a short time to be joined by great numbers of his friends and adherents. But in the meantime John, who had taken upon him to act as guardian to the young prince, dispatched 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 performed with such cruelty that he died soon afterwards, 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 anew, and that not with a design to plunder as formerly, but to conquer, and to 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, who at first gained some advantages, and would probably have put a stop to their conquests, had not one Ruselius, 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. John marched against him 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, Ruselius was so much alarmed at the progress of the Turks, that he not only released his prisoner, but joined 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 Cutlu-Moses, nephew to the late Turgopix. The latter 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 whilst the two armies were preparing to engage, the caliph of Babylon, who was still looked upon as the successor of the 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 Cutlu-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 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 progress made by these barbarians. The generals were ambitious only of seizing the tottering empire, which seemed ready to become a prey to the Turks; and after it had been obtained, they spent their time in oppressing their subjects, rather than in making any attempts to repulse the enemy.

At last Alexius Comnenus, having wrested 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 which 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 which 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 practise several other austerities for the space of forty days. This command was religiously obeyed, and the emperor then began to prepare for war with so much vigour, that Solyman, the Turkish sultan, son and successor to Cutlu-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 receiving certain advices 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 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 Brundusium, and landing at Butrothum, in Epirus, made himself master of that place; whilst his son Bohemond with part of the army reduced Aulon, a celebrated port and city in the country now called Albania. From thence they advanced to Dyrrhachium, which they invested both by sea and land; but met with a most vigorous opposition from George Paleologus, whom the emperor had intrusted 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 which Robert's navy, commanded by Bohemond, was utterly defeated, and the admiral himself 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 de- stroyed their works, burnt their engines, and forced them to retreat to their camp in great disorder. As the Venetians were now masters at sea, the besieged were supplied with plenty of provisions, whilst a famine began to rage in the camp of the enemy; and this calamity was soon followed by a plague, which is said to have destroyed ten thousand men in the space of three months. Notwithstanding all these disasters, 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 Palaeologus sent repeated messages to the emperor, acquainting him that he would be obliged to surrender unless very speedily relieved. 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 that 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, seized on the wealth of churches and monasteries, which gave serious offence to the clergy, and had nearly occasioned great disturbances in the imperial city. At the same time, Alexius having entered into an alliance with Henry, emperor of Germany, persuaded him to invade the dominions of Robert in Italy. At first Henry met with great success, but he was soon overcome and driven out of that country by Robert. Bohemond, in the mean time, reduced several places in Illyricum; and having defeated Alexius in two pitched battles, entered Thessaly, and sat down before Larissa. But this place, being defended by an officer of great courage and experience in war, held out till the emperor came to its relief. Soon after his arrival he found means to draw a strong party of Bohemond's men into an ambuscade, and cut them off almost entirely. In the battle which was fought a few days afterwards, however, Bohemond had the advantage; but his troops having mutinied and refused to carry on the war, he was obliged to return into Italy. Alexius taking advantage of his absence, recovered several cities; and being informed that Robert was making great preparation against him, he had recourse once more to the Venetians. By them he was assisted with a powerful fleet, which defeated that of Robert in two engagements; but being soon after surprised by him, they were defeated with the loss of almost their whole navy. Robert is said to have used his victory with great barbarity, putting many of his prisoners to death with unheard-of torments. The Venetians equipped a second fleet, which having joined that of the emperor, fell unexpectedly upon Robert's navy, while riding at anchor, without the least apprehension, in Buthrotum, sunk most of his ships, and took a great number of prisoners, his wife and younger sons having narrowly escaped falling into their hands. Robert made great preparations to revenge this defeat, but was prevented by death from executing his designs; and after his decease his son Roger did not think proper to pursue so dangerous and expensive a war. He therefore recalled his troops; and the places which had been conquered by Robert and Bohemond submitted anew to the emperor.

This war had scarcely ended, when the Scythians, passing the Danube, laid waste great part of Thrace, and committed everywhere the greatest barbarities. The emperor dispatched against them an army under the command of Pacurianus and Branas. The latter insisted upon engaging the enemy, contrary to the opinion of his colleague; and his rashness caused the loss of the greater part of the army, which was cut off by the Scythians, together with the two generals. Talicius, an officer who had signalized himself on many occasions, was appointed to command the army in their stead; and he fell upon the enemy as they lay encamped in the neighbourhood of Philippopolis, cut great numbers of them in pieces, and obliged the remainder to retire in great confusion. The following spring, however, they returned in such numbers that the emperor resolved to march against them in person. Accordingly he set out for Adrianople, and thence proceeded to a place called Lardena. Here, contrary to the advice of his best officers, he ventured a battle, in which he was utterly defeated with great loss, and himself escaped with the utmost difficulty. The next year he was attended with no better success, his army being entirely defeated, with the loss of his camp equipage and baggage. In the year following, 1084, the emperor retrieved his credit, and inflicted on the Scythians such an overthrow that very few escaped the general slaughter. Notwithstanding this disaster, however, they again 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 pretext for renewing the war, they received the impostor with joy. Leo, however, was murdered by stratagem; 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 against the Turks with various success; but now an association against these infidels was formed in the West, and 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, at that time possessed by the Turks and Saracens. Had the western princes been properly assisted by the emperors of the East in this undertaking, the Turks undoubtedly would have been unable to resist them; but so far from this, the Latins were looked upon by them as not less enemies than the Turks; and indeed whatever places they took from the infidels, they never thought of restoring 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 1203 happened a dreadful fire at Constantinople, occasioned by some Latin soldiers. These men having plundered a mosque which the Turks residing in Constantinople had been suffered to build there, they were attacked by the infidels; and the latter being much superior in number, the Latins found themselves obliged to set fire to some houses, in order to cover their retreat. The flames spread in an instant from street to street, and in a short time reduced great part of the city to ashes, with the capacious storehouses which had been built at a vast expense on the quay. The 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, in order to discharge the large sums he had promised the French and Venetians for their assistance, was obliged to impose heavy taxes on his subjects; a circumstance which, with the great esteem and friendship which he showed towards his deliverers, raised a general discontent among the people of Constantinople, who were sworn enemies of the Latins. This encouraged John Ducas, surnamed Murtzophilus, 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, pretending that it was in order to secure their liberties; and earnestly entreated them to choose an emperor who had courage enough to defend them against the Latins, who were ready to oppress and enslave them. Upon 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 young prince; and, as they had been so often betrayed and retarded in their expeditions to the Holy Land by the emperors of Constantinople, they also determined to make themselves masters of that city, and seize the empire for themselves. In consequence of this resolution they mustered their forces in Asia, and having crossed the straits, laid siege to Constantinople both 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 subsequently to this; when, after a warm contest, the French planted their standard on one of the towers; which the Venetians having observed, 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 in the greatest confusion; and several parties were dispatched by the Latins to scour the streets, and put all they met to the sword, without distinction of age or condition. Night alone put a stop to the carnage, when the princes sounding the retreat, placed their men in different quarters of the city, with orders to be upon their guard, not doubting that they would be attacked early next morning. They were surprised, however, by the entire submission of the Greeks, to whom they promised their lives, but at the same time ordered them to retire to their houses; upon which 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 highest rank had escaped, carrying along with them immense treasures; and the soldiers, as is usual in all such cases, had probably reserved things of great value for themselves, notwithstanding all prohibitions to the contrary; yet the booty, exclusively of statues, pictures, and jewels, amounted to a sum almost incredible. As for Murtzuphlus, he made his escape in the night; having embarked 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 until the year 1261, when they were expelled by one Alexius Strategopolus. He was a person of an illustrious family, and, on account of his eminent services, distinguished by the title of Caesar. He had been sent against Alexius Angelus, despot of Epirus, who now attempted to recover some places in Thessaly and Greece from Michael Palaeologus, one of the Greek emperors, who, since the capture of Constanti- creed 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, in front of the church of the apostles. His next care was to re-people the city, many Greek families having withdrawn from it while it was occupied by the Latins. The former were recalled home; while the latter, from the great trade they carried on, were allowed many valuable privileges, which induced many of them not to remove. The Greeks were permitted 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 commerce they carried on proved afterwards highly advantageous to the state.

It was not long, however, before these regulations were altered. The emperor being soon afterwards 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 had become very numerous, to remove first to Heraclea, and afterwards to Galata, where they were permitted to remain. As for the Pisans and Venetians, who were not so numerous and wealthy, they were allowed to continue in the city. Palaeologus, 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 twelve years of age. But having now settled the state, and having gained the affections of both natives and foreigners, he began to think of securing himself and his posterity in the full enjoyment of the empire; and for this purpose he 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 from the hands of the Latin conquerors.

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. By this means he succeeded in diverting the present storm; but the proceeding itself caused the greatest disturbances, not only in Constantinople, but throughout the whole empire: nor was Palaeologus able to reconcile his subjects to this union.

In 1283 Michael died, and was succeeded by his son Andronicus, whose first step was to restore the ancient Greek ceremonies, thinking that he could not begin his reign with a more popular act. But he thereby involved himself in greater difficulties than ever; for, although Michael had not been able fully to reconcile his Greek subjects to the Latin ceremonies, yet he had in some degree accomplished his object. The Latins having obtained a considerable footing in the city, defended their ceremonies with great obstinacy; and the empire was again thrown into a ferment by this imprudent step.

During this time the Turks had continued their encroachments on the empire, of which, had it not been for the crusades published against them by the pope, they would already have, in all probability, made themselves masters. They were now, however, very successfully opposed by Constantine, the emperor's brother; but his valour rendered him suspected by the emperor, and he was therefore 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 these, 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 having been betrayed by his own men; but the Turks taking advantage of these intestine commotions, extended their dominions in Asia, 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 declined fast towards total dissolution. After the revolt of Philanthropenus, the emperor could no longer trust his subjects, and therefore hired the Massagetae to assist him; but the latter, confiding themselves in a careless manner, were first defeated by their enemies, and afterwards turned their arms against those whom they came to assist. He next applied to the Catalans, who behaved in the same way; 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. The enterprise, however, proved unsuccessful. Having loaded themselves 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 to cut them off at one blow. This scheme, however, not having been managed with due secrecy, the Turks received notice of it, and were therefore prepared for their defence. They first surprised a strong castle in the neighbourhood, and then found means to inform their countrymen in Asia of their dangerous situation. The latter, enticed by the hope of booty, were not long in coming to their assistance; and having crossed the Hellespont in great numbers, ravaged the adjacent country, making excursions as far as the gates of Constantinople. At last, the emperor determined to root them out, and accordingly marched against them with his whole 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 Chersonesus, they were all either cut in pieces or taken prisoners.

Soon afterwards, new commotions occurred in the unhappy empire, of which the Turks did not fail to take advantage. In 1327 they made themselves masters of most of the cities on the Maeander, 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 now dead, the emperor seized the opportunity to recover Nice, and some other important places, from the infidels. But these were lost the year following, together with Abydus and Nicomedia; and in 1330 a peace was concluded, upon condition that the Turks should retain all their conquests. But this peace they observed no longer than suited their own purposes; for new commotions having arisen in the empire, they pursued their conquests, and by the year 1357 had reduced They next passed the Hellespont under the conduct of Soliman, the son, or, as others allege, the brother of Orchanie, the successor of Othoman, and seized on a strong castle on the European side. The Turkish sultan died soon afterwards, and was succeeded by Amurath, who 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 a little time afterwards, and was succeeded by his son Bajazet, who greatly enlarged his dominions by new conquests. In a short time he reduced the countries of Thessaly, Macedonia, Phocis, Peloponnesus, Mysia, 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 soon afterwards died, 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. Bajazet was so highly offended at this, 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 a hundred and thirty thousand 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 whom he entered into a private agreement, by virtue of which Bajazet engaged to place John upon the throne of Constantinople, while, on the other hand, John consented 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 with his wife and children to any place he might think proper to fix upon.

John readily complied with this condition, and Manuel having received him into the city, and conducted him to the palace, set sail for Venice, and thence proceeded to the courts of all the western princes, to solicit assistance against the Turks, whose power had grown formidable to all Europe. He was everywhere received with the greatest demonstrations of esteem, and promised large supplies; for all Christendom had now become 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 so scandalous a treaty, the siege was renewed, and the city assaulted with more fury than ever. When it was reduced almost to the last extremity, news were brought to the sultan that Timour, or Tamerlane, the victorious Tartar, having overrun all the East with incredible celerity, had turned his arms against the Turks, and was preparing to break into Syria. Bajazet, alarmed at the danger which threatened him, raised the siege in great haste, and advanced against Tamerlane with a numerous and well-appointed army; but the Tartar totally defeated and took him prisoner, after having cut most of his men in pieces; and thus Constantinople was for the present saved from destruction.

But this relief proved of short duration. In 1424 the city was again besieged by Amurath II.; and although the inhabitants defended themselves with great bravery, they must 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 to march with all his forces against the usurper, whom he soon overthrew. Having then no other enemies to contend with, he entered Macedonia 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 Ætolia, Phocis, and Boeotia. 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 fifteen thousand Turks having been slain by the Christians in one sally, a circumstance which obliged the sultan to abandon the enterprise and retire.

In his retreat he was attacked by the celebrated John Hunniades, who slew great numbers of his men, and obliged the rest to fly with the utmost precipitation. Not long afterwards, Hunniades gained a still more complete victory over the enemy in the plains of Transylvania, with the loss of only three thousand of his own men, whereas twenty thousand of the Turks were slain on the field of battle, and almost an equal number in the pursuit. Amurath, who was then at Adrianople, sent into Transylvania an army 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. Hunniades 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 three hundred thousand aspers to the sultan, and to yield up some strongholds which he still held on the Euxine Sea. However, as he doubted not that 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, for he died in 1448, leaving the empire, now confined within the walls of Constantinople, to his brother Constantine.

Amurath the Turkish sultan died in 1450, and was succeeded by his son Mohammed. In the beginning of his reign the latter 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 planted strong garrisons. These castles commanded the straits; and the former being only five miles from the city, kept it in a manner blockaded. This soon produced a misunderstanding between him and the emperor, which ended in his laying siege to the city. The siege commenced on the 6th of April 1453, Mohammed's numerous forces covering the plains before it on the land side, and a fleet of three hundred sail blockading it by sea. The emperor, however, had taken care to secure the haven, in which were three large ships, twenty 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 in several places mounds 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 a hundred 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, in order to carry on the siege with greater vigour, caused new levies to be made throughout his extensive dominions, by which his army was soon increased to near four hundred thousand men; while the garrison consisted only of nine thousand regular troops, viz. six thousand Greeks and three thousand 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 whilst the Turks were busy in filling up the ditch, in order to deliver the assault, a new wall was constructed. 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 isle 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 harbour; but all their efforts proved ineffectual; upon which Mohammed formed the design of conveying into it eighty galleys over land for the space of eighty miles. This he accomplished by means of certain engines, the contrivance of a renegade; and having either taken or sunk all the ships in the harbour, he caused a bridge to be built over it with surprising expedition, by which means the city was laid open to an assault from that as well as from the other sides. A general attack was now made; and Constantine, aware that he could not long hold out against a mighty fleet and a numerous army, sent deputies to Mohammed, offering to acknowledge himself his vassal, by paying him yearly such tribute as 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 give other provinces to his brothers, which they might enjoy peaceably as 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 a terrible calamity. The siege was renewed with more vigour than ever, and continued till the 25th of May; when a report having been 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 John Hunniades, the common soldiers, seized with a panic, began to mutiny, and pressed Mohammed in a tumultuous manner to break up the siege; nay, they openly menaced 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 deliver without loss of time a general assault; to which, he said, the soldiery, however mutinous, would not be averse, provided the sultan solemnly promised to abandon the city to be plundered by them. As this advice was best suited to the humour of Mohammed, he readily embraced it; and caused a proclamation to be published throughout the camp, intimating that he gave up to his soldiers all the wealth of that opulent city, and required for himself only the empty houses.

The desire of plunder soon overcame the panic which had seized the Turkish army; and they unanimously desired to be led on to the attack. Constantine was now summoned for the last time to deliver up the city, with a promise of life and liberty; but to this he answered, that he had unalterably determined either to defend the city or perish with it. The attack began at three in the morning on Tuesday the 29th of May. The troops first employed were those which the sultan valued the least, and he designed them for no other purpose than to tire out the Christians, who made a prodigious havoc of that disorderly multitude. After the carnage had lasted several 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 becoming at last quite exhausted, they were no longer able to stand their ground, and the enemy broke into the city in several places. In the mean time, Justinian, 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, became so disheartened that he caused himself to be conveyed to Galata, where he soon afterwards 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 by 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 overpowering 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 spot which he had so bravely defended. After the death of the emperor, the few Christians who were left alive betook themselves to flight; and the Turks meeting with no further opposition, entered the city, which they filled with slaughter and blood. 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 this asylum by the enraged barbarians, who, prompted by their natural cruelty, the desire of revenge, and the love of booty, spared neither place nor person. Most of the nobility were, by the sultan's orders, cut off; and the rest preserved for purposes more grievous than death itself. Many of the inhabitants, among whom were several men of great learning, found means to effect their escape while the Turks were busied in plundering the city, and embarking on board some ships which were then in the harbour, they 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 as 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 as the seat of the Turkish empire, which it has continued to be ever since.