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+The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Edward Gibbon
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
+most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
+whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
+of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
+www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you
+will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
+using this eBook.
+
+Title: The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
+       Volume 5
+
+Author: Edward Gibbon
+
+Commentator: H. H. Milman
+
+Release Date: November, 1996 [eBook #735]
+[Most recently updated: March 7, 2021]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+Produced by: David Reed and David Widger
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE ***
+
+
+
+
+      HISTORY OF THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
+
+      Edward Gibbon, Esq.
+
+      With notes by the Rev. H. H. Milman
+
+      Vol. 5
+
+      1788 (Written), 1845 (Revised)
+
+        CONTENTS
+
+         Chapter XLIX: Conquest Of Italy By The Franks.—Part I.
+
+     Introduction, Worship, And Persecution Of Images.—Revolt Of Italy
+     And Rome.—Temporal Dominion Of The Popes.—Conquest Of Italy By The
+     Franks.—Establishment Of Images.—Character And Coronation Of
+     Charlemagne.—Restoration And Decay Of The Roman Empire In The
+     West.—Independence Of Italy.— Constitution Of The Germanic Body.
+
+         Chapter XLIX: Conquest Of Italy By The Franks.—Part II.
+
+         Chapter XLIX: Conquest Of Italy By The Franks.—Part III.
+
+         Chapter XLIX: Conquest Of Italy By The Franks.—Part IV.
+
+         Chapter XLIX: Conquest Of Italy By The Franks.—Part V.
+
+         Chapter XLIX: Conquest Of Italy By The Franks.—Part VI.
+
+         Chapter L: Description Of Arabia And Its Inhabitants.—Part I.
+
+     Description Of Arabia And Its Inhabitants.—Birth, Character, And
+     Doctrine Of Mahomet.—He Preaches At Mecca.— Flies To
+     Medina.—Propagates His Religion By The Sword.— Voluntary Or
+     Reluctant Submission Of The Arabs.—His Death And Successors.—The
+     Claims And Fortunes Of Ali And His Descendants.
+
+         Chapter L: Description Of Arabia And Its Inhabitants.—Part II.
+
+         Chapter L: Description Of Arabia And Its Inhabitants.—Part
+         III.
+
+         Chapter L: Description Of Arabia And Its Inhabitants.—Part IV.
+
+         Chapter L: Description Of Arabia And Its Inhabitants.—Part V.
+
+         Chapter L: Description Of Arabia And Its Inhabitants.—Part VI.
+
+         Chapter L: Description Of Arabia And Its Inhabitants.—Part
+         VII.
+
+         Chapter L: Description Of Arabia And Its Inhabitants.—Part
+         VIII.
+
+         Chapter LI: Conquests By The Arabs.—Part I.
+
+     The Conquest Of Persia, Syria, Egypt, Africa, And Spain, By The
+     Arabs Or Saracens.—Empire Of The Caliphs, Or Successors Of
+     Mahomet.—State Of The Christians, &c., Under Their Government.
+
+         Chapter LI: Conquests By The Arabs.—Part II.
+
+         Chapter LI: Conquests By The Arabs.—Part III.
+
+         Chapter LI: Conquests By The Arabs.—Part IV.
+
+         Chapter LI: Conquests By The Arabs.—Part V.
+
+         Chapter LI: Conquests By The Arabs.—Part VI.
+
+         Chapter LI: Conquests By The Arabs.—Part VII.
+
+         Chapter LII: More Conquests By The Arabs.—Part I.
+
+     The Two Sieges Of Constantinople By The Arabs.—Their Invasion Of
+     France, And Defeat By Charles Martel.—Civil War Of The Ommiades
+     And Abbassides.—Learning Of The Arabs.— Luxury Of The
+     Caliphs.—Naval Enterprises On Crete, Sicily, And Rome.—Decay And
+     Division Of The Empire Of The Caliphs. —Defeats And Victories Of
+     The Greek Emperors.
+
+         Chapter LII: More Conquests By The Arabs.—Part II.
+
+         Chapter LII: More Conquests By The Arabs.—Part III.
+
+         Chapter LII: More Conquests By The Arabs.—Part IV.
+
+         Chapter LII: More Conquests By The Arabs.—Part V.
+
+         Chapter LIII: Fate Of The Eastern Empire.—Part I.
+
+     Fate Of The Eastern Empire In The Tenth Century.—Extent And
+     Division.—Wealth And Revenue.—Palace Of Constantinople.— Titles
+     And Offices.—Pride And Power Of The Emperors.— Tactics Of The
+     Greeks, Arabs, And Franks.—Loss Of The Latin Tongue.—Studies And
+     Solitude Of The Greeks.
+
+         Chapter LIII: Fate Of The Eastern Empire.—Part II.
+
+         Chapter LIII: Fate Of The Eastern Empire.—Part III.
+
+         Chapter LIII: Fate Of The Eastern Empire.—Part IV.
+
+         Chapter LIV: Origin And Doctrine Of The Paulicians.—Part I.
+
+     Origin And Doctrine Of The Paulicians.—Their Persecution By The
+     Greek Emperors.—Revolt In Armenia &c.—Transplantation Into
+     Thrace.—Propagation In The West.—The Seeds, Character, And
+     Consequences Of The Reformation.
+
+         Chapter LIV: Origin And Doctrine Of The Paulicians.—Part II.
+
+         Chapter LV: The Bulgarians, The Hungarians And The
+         Russians.—Part I.
+
+     The Bulgarians.—Origin, Migrations, And Settlement Of The
+     Hungarians.—Their Inroads In The East And West.—The Monarchy Of
+     Russia.—Geography And Trade.—Wars Of The Russians Against The
+     Greek Empire.—Conversion Of The Barbarians.
+
+         Chapter LV: The Bulgarians, The Hungarians And The
+         Russians.—Part II.
+
+         Chapter LV: The Bulgarians, The Hungarians And The
+         Russians.—Part III.
+
+         Chapter LVI: The Saracens, The Franks And The Normans.—Part I.
+
+     The Saracens, Franks, And Greeks, In Italy.—First Adventures And
+     Settlement Of The Normans.—Character And Conquest Of Robert
+     Guiscard, Duke Of Apulia—Deliverance Of Sicily By His Brother
+     Roger.—Victories Of Robert Over The Emperors Of The East And
+     West.—Roger, King Of Sicily, Invades Africa And Greece.—The
+     Emperor Manuel Comnenus.— Wars Of The Greeks And
+     Normans.—Extinction Of The Normans.
+
+         Chapter LVI: The Saracens, The Franks And The Normans.—Part
+         II.
+
+         Chapter LVI: The Saracens, The Franks And The Normans.—Part
+         III.
+
+         Chapter LVI: The Saracens, The Franks And The Normans.—Part
+         IV.
+
+         Chapter LVI: The Saracens, The Franks And The Normans.—Part V.
+
+         Chapter LVII: The Turks.—Part I.
+
+     The Turks Of The House Of Seljuk.—Their Revolt Against Mahmud
+     Conqueror Of Hindostan.—Togrul Subdues Persia, And Protects The
+     Caliphs.—Defeat And Captivity Of The Emperor Romanus Diogenes By
+     Alp Arslan.—Power And Magnificence Of Malek Shah.—Conquest Of Asia
+     Minor And Syria.—State And Oppression Of Jerusalem.—Pilgrimages To
+     The Holy Sepulchre.
+
+         Chapter LVII: The Turks.—Part II.
+
+         Chapter LVII: The Turks.—Part III.
+
+         Chapter LVIII: The First Crusade.—Part I.
+
+     Origin And Numbers Of The First Crusade.—Characters Of The Latin
+     Princes.—Their March To Constantinople.—Policy Of The Greek
+     Emperor Alexius.—Conquest Of Nice, Antioch, And Jerusalem, By The
+     Franks.—Deliverance Of The Holy Sepulchre.— Godfrey Of Bouillon,
+     First King Of Jerusalem.—Institutions Of The French Or Latin
+     Kingdom.
+
+         Chapter LVIII: The First Crusade.—Part II.
+
+         Chapter LVIII: The First Crusade.—Part III.
+
+         Chapter LVIII: The First Crusade.—Part IV.
+
+         Chapter LVIII: The First Crusade.—Part V.
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter XLIX: Conquest Of Italy By The Franks.—Part I.
+
+     Introduction, Worship, And Persecution Of Images.—Revolt Of Italy
+     And Rome.—Temporal Dominion Of The Popes.—Conquest Of Italy By The
+     Franks.—Establishment Of Images.—Character And Coronation Of
+     Charlemagne.—Restoration And Decay Of The Roman Empire In The
+     West.—Independence Of Italy.— Constitution Of The Germanic Body.
+
+      In the connection of the church and state, I have considered the
+      former as subservient only, and relative, to the latter; a
+      salutary maxim, if in fact, as well as in narrative, it had ever
+      been held sacred. The Oriental philosophy of the Gnostics, the
+      dark abyss of predestination and grace, and the strange
+      transformation of the Eucharist from the sign to the substance of
+      Christ’s body, 1 I have purposely abandoned to the curiosity of
+      speculative divines. But I have reviewed, with diligence and
+      pleasure, the objects of ecclesiastical history, by which the
+      decline and fall of the Roman empire were materially affected,
+      the propagation of Christianity, the constitution of the Catholic
+      church, the ruin of Paganism, and the sects that arose from the
+      mysterious controversies concerning the Trinity and incarnation.
+      At the head of this class, we may justly rank the worship of
+      images, so fiercely disputed in the eighth and ninth centuries;
+      since a question of popular superstition produced the revolt of
+      Italy, the temporal power of the popes, and the restoration of
+      the Roman empire in the West.
+
+      1 (return) [ The learned Selden has given the history of
+      transubstantiation in a comprehensive and pithy sentence: “This
+      opinion is only rhetoric turned into logic,” (his Works, vol.
+      iii. p. 2037, in his Table-Talk.)]
+
+      The primitive Christians were possessed with an unconquerable
+      repugnance to the use and abuse of images; and this aversion may
+      be ascribed to their descent from the Jews, and their enmity to
+      the Greeks. The Mosaic law had severely proscribed all
+      representations of the Deity; and that precept was firmly
+      established in the principles and practice of the chosen people.
+      The wit of the Christian apologists was pointed against the
+      foolish idolaters, who bowed before the workmanship of their own
+      hands; the images of brass and marble, which, had they been
+      endowed with sense and motion, should have started rather from
+      the pedestal to adore the creative powers of the artist. 2
+      Perhaps some recent and imperfect converts of the Gnostic tribe
+      might crown the statues of Christ and St. Paul with the profane
+      honors which they paid to those of Aristotle and Pythagoras; 3
+      but the public religion of the Catholics was uniformly simple and
+      spiritual; and the first notice of the use of pictures is in the
+      censure of the council of Illiberis, three hundred years after
+      the Christian aera. Under the successors of Constantine, in the
+      peace and luxury of the triumphant church, the more prudent
+      bishops condescended to indulge a visible superstition, for the
+      benefit of the multitude; and, after the ruin of Paganism, they
+      were no longer restrained by the apprehension of an odious
+      parallel. The first introduction of a symbolic worship was in the
+      veneration of the cross, and of relics. The saints and martyrs,
+      whose intercession was implored, were seated on the right hand of
+      God; but the gracious and often supernatural favors, which, in
+      the popular belief, were showered round their tomb, conveyed an
+      unquestionable sanction of the devout pilgrims, who visited, and
+      touched, and kissed these lifeless remains, the memorials of
+      their merits and sufferings. 4 But a memorial, more interesting
+      than the skull or the sandals of a departed worthy, is the
+      faithful copy of his person and features, delineated by the arts
+      of painting or sculpture. In every age, such copies, so congenial
+      to human feelings, have been cherished by the zeal of private
+      friendship, or public esteem: the images of the Roman emperors
+      were adored with civil, and almost religious, honors; a reverence
+      less ostentatious, but more sincere, was applied to the statues
+      of sages and patriots; and these profane virtues, these splendid
+      sins, disappeared in the presence of the holy men, who had died
+      for their celestial and everlasting country. At first, the
+      experiment was made with caution and scruple; and the venerable
+      pictures were discreetly allowed to instruct the ignorant, to
+      awaken the cold, and to gratify the prejudices of the heathen
+      proselytes. By a slow though inevitable progression, the honors
+      of the original were transferred to the copy: the devout
+      Christian prayed before the image of a saint; and the Pagan rites
+      of genuflection, luminaries, and incense, again stole into the
+      Catholic church. The scruples of reason, or piety, were silenced
+      by the strong evidence of visions and miracles; and the pictures
+      which speak, and move, and bleed, must be endowed with a divine
+      energy, and may be considered as the proper objects of religious
+      adoration. The most audacious pencil might tremble in the rash
+      attempt of defining, by forms and colors, the infinite Spirit,
+      the eternal Father, who pervades and sustains the universe. 5 But
+      the superstitious mind was more easily reconciled to paint and to
+      worship the angels, and, above all, the Son of God, under the
+      human shape, which, on earth, they have condescended to assume.
+      The second person of the Trinity had been clothed with a real and
+      mortal body; but that body had ascended into heaven: and, had not
+      some similitude been presented to the eyes of his disciples, the
+      spiritual worship of Christ might have been obliterated by the
+      visible relics and representations of the saints. A similar
+      indulgence was requisite and propitious for the Virgin Mary: the
+      place of her burial was unknown; and the assumption of her soul
+      and body into heaven was adopted by the credulity of the Greeks
+      and Latins. The use, and even the worship, of images was firmly
+      established before the end of the sixth century: they were fondly
+      cherished by the warm imagination of the Greeks and Asiatics: the
+      Pantheon and Vatican were adorned with the emblems of a new
+      superstition; but this semblance of idolatry was more coldly
+      entertained by the rude Barbarians and the Arian clergy of the
+      West. The bolder forms of sculpture, in brass or marble, which
+      peopled the temples of antiquity, were offensive to the fancy or
+      conscience of the Christian Greeks: and a smooth surface of
+      colors has ever been esteemed a more decent and harmless mode of
+      imitation. 6
+
+      2 (return) [ Nec intelligunt homines ineptissimi, quod si sentire
+      simulacra et moveri possent, adoratura hominem fuissent a quo
+      sunt expolita. (Divin. Institut. l. ii. c. 2.) Lactantius is the
+      last, as well as the most eloquent, of the Latin apologists.
+      Their raillery of idols attacks not only the object, but the form
+      and matter.]
+
+      3 (return) [ See Irenaeus, Epiphanius, and Augustin, (Basnage,
+      Hist. des Eglises Reformees, tom. ii. p. 1313.) This Gnostic
+      practice has a singular affinity with the private worship of
+      Alexander Severus, (Lampridius, c. 29. Lardner, Heathen
+      Testimonies, vol. iii. p. 34.)]
+
+      4 (return) [ See this History, vol. ii. p. 261; vol. ii. p. 434;
+      vol. iii. p. 158-163.]
+
+      5 (return) [ (Concilium Nicenum, ii. in Collect. Labb. tom. viii.
+      p. 1025, edit. Venet.) Il seroit peut-etre a-propos de ne point
+      souffrir d’images de la Trinite ou de la Divinite; les defenseurs
+      les plus zeles des images ayant condamne celles-ci, et le concile
+      de Trente ne parlant que des images de Jesus Christ et des
+      Saints, (Dupin, Bibliot. Eccles. tom. vi. p. 154.)]
+
+      6 (return) [ This general history of images is drawn from the
+      xxiid book of the Hist. des Eglises Reformees of Basnage, tom.
+      ii. p. 1310-1337. He was a Protestant, but of a manly spirit; and
+      on this head the Protestants are so notoriously in the right,
+      that they can venture to be impartial. See the perplexity of poor
+      Friar Pagi, Critica, tom. i. p. 42.]
+
+      The merit and effect of a copy depends on its resemblance with
+      the original; but the primitive Christians were ignorant of the
+      genuine features of the Son of God, his mother, and his apostles:
+      the statue of Christ at Paneas in Palestine 7 was more probably
+      that of some temporal savior; the Gnostics and their profane
+      monuments were reprobated; and the fancy of the Christian artists
+      could only be guided by the clandestine imitation of some heathen
+      model. In this distress, a bold and dexterous invention assured
+      at once the likeness of the image and the innocence of the
+      worship. A new super structure of fable was raised on the popular
+      basis of a Syrian legend, on the correspondence of Christ and
+      Abgarus, so famous in the days of Eusebius, so reluctantly
+      deserted by our modern advocates. The bishop of Caesarea 8
+      records the epistle, 9 but he most strangely forgets the picture
+      of Christ; 10 the perfect impression of his face on a linen, with
+      which he gratified the faith of the royal stranger who had
+      invoked his healing power, and offered the strong city of Edessa
+      to protect him against the malice of the Jews. The ignorance of
+      the primitive church is explained by the long imprisonment of the
+      image in a niche of the wall, from whence, after an oblivion of
+      five hundred years, it was released by some prudent bishop, and
+      seasonably presented to the devotion of the times. Its first and
+      most glorious exploit was the deliverance of the city from the
+      arms of Chosroes Nushirvan; and it was soon revered as a pledge
+      of the divine promise, that Edessa should never be taken by a
+      foreign enemy. It is true, indeed, that the text of Procopius
+      ascribes the double deliverance of Edessa to the wealth and valor
+      of her citizens, who purchased the absence and repelled the
+      assaults of the Persian monarch. He was ignorant, the profane
+      historian, of the testimony which he is compelled to deliver in
+      the ecclesiastical page of Evagrius, that the Palladium was
+      exposed on the rampart, and that the water which had been
+      sprinkled on the holy face, instead of quenching, added new fuel
+      to the flames of the besieged. After this important service, the
+      image of Edessa was preserved with respect and gratitude; and if
+      the Armenians rejected the legend, the more credulous Greeks
+      adored the similitude, which was not the work of any mortal
+      pencil, but the immediate creation of the divine original. The
+      style and sentiments of a Byzantine hymn will declare how far
+      their worship was removed from the grossest idolatry. “How can we
+      with mortal eyes contemplate this image, whose celestial splendor
+      the host of heaven presumes not to behold? He who dwells in
+      heaven, condescends this day to visit us by his venerable image;
+      He who is seated on the cherubim, visits us this day by a
+      picture, which the Father has delineated with his immaculate
+      hand, which he has formed in an ineffable manner, and which we
+      sanctify by adoring it with fear and love.” Before the end of the
+      sixth century, these images, made without hands, (in Greek it is
+      a single word, 11 were propagated in the camps and cities of the
+      Eastern empire: 12 they were the objects of worship, and the
+      instruments of miracles; and in the hour of danger or tumult,
+      their venerable presence could revive the hope, rekindle the
+      courage, or repress the fury, of the Roman legions. Of these
+      pictures, the far greater part, the transcripts of a human
+      pencil, could only pretend to a secondary likeness and improper
+      title: but there were some of higher descent, who derived their
+      resemblance from an immediate contact with the original, endowed,
+      for that purpose, with a miraculous and prolific virtue. The most
+      ambitious aspired from a filial to a fraternal relation with the
+      image of Edessa; and such is the veronica of Rome, or Spain, or
+      Jerusalem, which Christ in his agony and bloody sweat applied to
+      his face, and delivered to a holy matron. The fruitful precedent
+      was speedily transferred to the Virgin Mary, and the saints and
+      martyrs. In the church of Diospolis, in Palestine, the features
+      of the Mother of God 13 were deeply inscribed in a marble column;
+      the East and West have been decorated by the pencil of St. Luke;
+      and the Evangelist, who was perhaps a physician, has been forced
+      to exercise the occupation of a painter, so profane and odious in
+      the eyes of the primitive Christians. The Olympian Jove, created
+      by the muse of Homer and the chisel of Phidias, might inspire a
+      philosophic mind with momentary devotion; but these Catholic
+      images were faintly and flatly delineated by monkish artists in
+      the last degeneracy of taste and genius. 14
+
+      7 (return) [ After removing some rubbish of miracle and
+      inconsistency, it may be allowed, that as late as the year 300,
+      Paneas in Palestine was decorated with a bronze statue,
+      representing a grave personage wrapped in a cloak, with a
+      grateful or suppliant female kneeling before him, and that an
+      inscription was perhaps inscribed on the pedestal. By the
+      Christians, this group was foolishly explained of their founder
+      and the poor woman whom he had cured of the bloody flux, (Euseb.
+      vii. 18, Philostorg. vii. 3, &c.) M. de Beausobre more reasonably
+      conjectures the philosopher Apollonius, or the emperor Vespasian:
+      in the latter supposition, the female is a city, a province, or
+      perhaps the queen Berenice, (Bibliotheque Germanique, tom. xiii.
+      p. 1-92.)]
+
+      8 (return) [ Euseb. Hist. Eccles. l. i. c. 13. The learned
+      Assemannus has brought up the collateral aid of three Syrians,
+      St. Ephrem, Josua Stylites, and James bishop of Sarug; but I do
+      not find any notice of the Syriac original or the archives of
+      Edessa, (Bibliot. Orient. tom. i. p. 318, 420, 554;) their vague
+      belief is probably derived from the Greeks.]
+
+      9 (return) [ The evidence for these epistles is stated and
+      rejected by the candid Lardner, (Heathen Testimonies, vol. i. p.
+      297-309.) Among the herd of bigots who are forcibly driven from
+      this convenient, but untenable, post, I am ashamed, with the
+      Grabes, Caves, Tillemonts, &c., to discover Mr. Addison, an
+      English gentleman, (his Works, vol. i. p. 528, Baskerville’s
+      edition;) but his superficial tract on the Christian religion
+      owes its credit to his name, his style, and the interested
+      applause of our clergy.]
+
+      10 (return) [ From the silence of James of Sarug, (Asseman.
+      Bibliot. Orient. p. 289, 318,) and the testimony of Evagrius,
+      (Hist. Eccles. l. iv. c. 27,) I conclude that this fable was
+      invented between the years 521 and 594, most probably after the
+      siege of Edessa in 540, (Asseman. tom. i. p. 416. Procopius, de
+      Bell. Persic. l. ii.) It is the sword and buckler of, Gregory
+      II., (in Epist. i. ad. Leon. Isaur. Concil. tom. viii. p. 656,
+      657,) of John Damascenus, (Opera, tom. i. p. 281, edit. Lequien,)
+      and of the second Nicene Council, (Actio v. p. 1030.) The most
+      perfect edition may be found in Cedrenus, (Compend. p. 175-178.)]
+
+      11 (return) [ See Ducange, in Gloss. Graec. et Lat. The subject
+      is treated with equal learning and bigotry by the Jesuit Gretser,
+      (Syntagma de Imaginibus non Manu factis, ad calcem Codini de
+      Officiis, p. 289-330,) the ass, or rather the fox, of
+      Ingoldstadt, (see the Scaligerana;) with equal reason and wit by
+      the Protestant Beausobre, in the ironical controversy which he
+      has spread through many volumes of the Bibliotheque Germanique,
+      (tom. xviii. p. 1-50, xx. p. 27-68, xxv. p. 1-36, xxvii. p.
+      85-118, xxviii. p. 1-33, xxxi. p. 111-148, xxxii. p. 75-107,
+      xxxiv. p. 67-96.)]
+
+      12 (return) [ Theophylact Simocatta (l. ii. c. 3, p. 34, l. iii.
+      c. 1, p. 63) celebrates it; yet it was no more than a copy, since
+      he adds (of Edessa). See Pagi, tom. ii. A.D. 588 No. 11.]
+
+      13 (return) [ See, in the genuine or supposed works of John
+      Damascenus, two passages on the Virgin and St. Luke, which have
+      not been noticed by Gretser, nor consequently by Beausobre,
+      (Opera Joh. Damascen. tom. i. p. 618, 631.)]
+
+      14 (return) [ “Your scandalous figures stand quite out from the
+      canvass: they are as bad as a group of statues!” It was thus that
+      the ignorance and bigotry of a Greek priest applauded the
+      pictures of Titian, which he had ordered, and refused to accept.]
+
+      The worship of images had stolen into the church by insensible
+      degrees, and each petty step was pleasing to the superstitious
+      mind, as productive of comfort, and innocent of sin. But in the
+      beginning of the eighth century, in the full magnitude of the
+      abuse, the more timorous Greeks were awakened by an apprehension,
+      that under the mask of Christianity, they had restored the
+      religion of their fathers: they heard, with grief and impatience,
+      the name of idolaters; the incessant charge of the Jews and
+      Mahometans, 15 who derived from the Law and the Koran an immortal
+      hatred to graven images and all relative worship. The servitude
+      of the Jews might curb their zeal, and depreciate their
+      authority; but the triumphant Mussulmans, who reigned at
+      Damascus, and threatened Constantinople, cast into the scale of
+      reproach the accumulated weight of truth and victory. The cities
+      of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt had been fortified with the images
+      of Christ, his mother, and his saints; and each city presumed on
+      the hope or promise of miraculous defence. In a rapid conquest of
+      ten years, the Arabs subdued those cities and these images; and,
+      in their opinion, the Lord of Hosts pronounced a decisive
+      judgment between the adoration and contempt of these mute and
+      inanimate idols. 1511 For a while Edessa had braved the Persian
+      assaults; but the chosen city, the spouse of Christ, was involved
+      in the common ruin; and his divine resemblance became the slave
+      and trophy of the infidels. After a servitude of three hundred
+      years, the Palladium was yielded to the devotion of
+      Constantinople, for a ransom of twelve thousand pounds of silver,
+      the redemption of two hundred Mussulmans, and a perpetual truce
+      for the territory of Edessa. 16 In this season of distress and
+      dismay, the eloquence of the monks was exercised in the defence
+      of images; and they attempted to prove, that the sin and schism
+      of the greatest part of the Orientals had forfeited the favor,
+      and annihilated the virtue, of these precious symbols. But they
+      were now opposed by the murmurs of many simple or rational
+      Christians, who appealed to the evidence of texts, of facts, and
+      of the primitive times, and secretly desired the reformation of
+      the church. As the worship of images had never been established
+      by any general or positive law, its progress in the Eastern
+      empire had been retarded, or accelerated, by the differences of
+      men and manners, the local degrees of refinement, and the
+      personal characters of the bishops. The splendid devotion was
+      fondly cherished by the levity of the capital, and the inventive
+      genius of the Byzantine clergy; while the rude and remote
+      districts of Asia were strangers to this innovation of sacred
+      luxury. Many large congregations of Gnostics and Arians
+      maintained, after their conversion, the simple worship which had
+      preceded their separation; and the Armenians, the most warlike
+      subjects of Rome, were not reconciled, in the twelfth century, to
+      the sight of images. 17 These various denominations of men
+      afforded a fund of prejudice and aversion, of small account in
+      the villages of Anatolia or Thrace, but which, in the fortune of
+      a soldier, a prelate, or a eunuch, might be often connected with
+      the powers of the church and state.
+
+      15 (return) [ By Cedrenus, Zonaras, Glycas, and Manasses, the
+      origin of the Aconoclcasts is imprinted to the caliph Yezid and
+      two Jews, who promised the empire to Leo; and the reproaches of
+      these hostile sectaries are turned into an absurd conspiracy for
+      restoring the purity of the Christian worship, (see Spanheim,
+      Hist. Imag. c. 2.)]
+
+      1511 (return) [ Yezid, ninth caliph of the race of the Ommiadae,
+      caused all the images in Syria to be destroyed about the year
+      719; hence the orthodox reproaches the sectaries with following
+      the example of the Saracens and the Jews Fragm. Mon. Johan.
+      Jerosylym. Script. Byzant. vol. xvi. p. 235. Hist. des Repub.
+      Ital. par M. Sismondi, vol. i. p. 126.—G.]
+
+      16 (return) [ See Elmacin, (Hist. Saracen. p. 267,)
+      Abulpharagius, (Dynast. p. 201,) and Abulfeda, (Annal. Moslem. p.
+      264,), and the criticisms of Pagi, (tom. iii. A.D. 944.) The
+      prudent Franciscan refuses to determine whether the image of
+      Edessa now reposes at Rome or Genoa; but its repose is
+      inglorious, and this ancient object of worship is no longer
+      famous or fashionable.]
+
+      17 (return) [ (Nicetas, l. ii. p. 258.) The Armenian churches are
+      still content with the Cross, (Missions du Levant, tom. iii. p.
+      148;) but surely the superstitious Greek is unjust to the
+      superstition of the Germans of the xiith century.]
+
+      Of such adventurers, the most fortunate was the emperor Leo the
+      Third, 18 who, from the mountains of Isauria, ascended the throne
+      of the East. He was ignorant of sacred and profane letters; but
+      his education, his reason, perhaps his intercourse with the Jews
+      and Arabs, had inspired the martial peasant with a hatred of
+      images; and it was held to be the duty of a prince to impose on
+      his subjects the dictates of his own conscience. But in the
+      outset of an unsettled reign, during ten years of toil and
+      danger, Leo submitted to the meanness of hypocrisy, bowed before
+      the idols which he despised, and satisfied the Roman pontiff with
+      the annual professions of his orthodoxy and zeal. In the
+      reformation of religion, his first steps were moderate and
+      cautious: he assembled a great council of senators and bishops,
+      and enacted, with their consent, that all the images should be
+      removed from the sanctuary and altar to a proper height in the
+      churches where they might be visible to the eyes, and
+      inaccessible to the superstition, of the people. But it was
+      impossible on either side to check the rapid through adverse
+      impulse of veneration and abhorrence: in their lofty position,
+      the sacred images still edified their votaries, and reproached
+      the tyrant. He was himself provoked by resistance and invective;
+      and his own party accused him of an imperfect discharge of his
+      duty, and urged for his imitation the example of the Jewish king,
+      who had broken without scruple the brazen serpent of the temple.
+      By a second edict, he proscribed the existence as well as the use
+      of religious pictures; the churches of Constantinople and the
+      provinces were cleansed from idolatry; the images of Christ, the
+      Virgin, and the saints, were demolished, or a smooth surface of
+      plaster was spread over the walls of the edifice. The sect of the
+      Iconoclasts was supported by the zeal and despotism of six
+      emperors, and the East and West were involved in a noisy conflict
+      of one hundred and twenty years. It was the design of Leo the
+      Isaurian to pronounce the condemnation of images as an article of
+      faith, and by the authority of a general council: but the
+      convocation of such an assembly was reserved for his son
+      Constantine; 19 and though it is stigmatized by triumphant
+      bigotry as a meeting of fools and atheists, their own partial and
+      mutilated acts betray many symptoms of reason and piety. The
+      debates and decrees of many provincial synods introduced the
+      summons of the general council which met in the suburbs of
+      Constantinople, and was composed of the respectable number of
+      three hundred and thirty-eight bishops of Europe and Anatolia;
+      for the patriarchs of Antioch and Alexandria were the slaves of
+      the caliph, and the Roman pontiff had withdrawn the churches of
+      Italy and the West from the communion of the Greeks. This
+      Byzantine synod assumed the rank and powers of the seventh
+      general council; yet even this title was a recognition of the six
+      preceding assemblies, which had laboriously built the structure
+      of the Catholic faith. After a serious deliberation of six
+      months, the three hundred and thirty-eight bishops pronounced and
+      subscribed a unanimous decree, that all visible symbols of
+      Christ, except in the Eucharist, were either blasphemous or
+      heretical; that image-worship was a corruption of Christianity
+      and a renewal of Paganism; that all such monuments of idolatry
+      should be broken or erased; and that those who should refuse to
+      deliver the objects of their private superstition, were guilty of
+      disobedience to the authority of the church and of the emperor.
+      In their loud and loyal acclamations, they celebrated the merits
+      of their temporal redeemer; and to his zeal and justice they
+      intrusted the execution of their spiritual censures. At
+      Constantinople, as in the former councils, the will of the prince
+      was the rule of episcopal faith; but on this occasion, I am
+      inclined to suspect that a large majority of the prelates
+      sacrificed their secret conscience to the temptations of hope and
+      fear. In the long night of superstition, the Christians had
+      wandered far away from the simplicity of the gospel: nor was it
+      easy for them to discern the clew, and tread back the mazes, of
+      the labyrinth. The worship of images was inseparably blended, at
+      least to a pious fancy, with the Cross, the Virgin, the Saints
+      and their relics; the holy ground was involved in a cloud of
+      miracles and visions; and the nerves of the mind, curiosity and
+      scepticism, were benumbed by the habits of obedience and belief.
+      Constantine himself is accused of indulging a royal license to
+      doubt, or deny, or deride the mysteries of the Catholics, 20 but
+      they were deeply inscribed in the public and private creed of his
+      bishops; and the boldest Iconoclast might assault with a secret
+      horror the monuments of popular devotion, which were consecrated
+      to the honor of his celestial patrons. In the reformation of the
+      sixteenth century, freedom and knowledge had expanded all the
+      faculties of man: the thirst of innovation superseded the
+      reverence of antiquity; and the vigor of Europe could disdain
+      those phantoms which terrified the sickly and servile weakness of
+      the Greeks.
+
+      18 (return) [ Our original, but not impartial, monuments of the
+      Iconoclasts must be drawn from the Acts of the Councils, tom.
+      viii. and ix. Collect. Labbe, edit. Venet. and the historical
+      writings of Theophanes, Nicephorus, Manasses, Cedrenus, Zonoras,
+      &c. Of the modern Catholics, Baronius, Pagi, Natalis Alexander,
+      (Hist. Eccles. Seculum viii. and ix.,) and Maimbourg, (Hist. des
+      Iconoclasts,) have treated the subject with learning, passion,
+      and credulity. The Protestant labors of Frederick Spanheim
+      (Historia Imaginum restituta) and James Basnage (Hist. des
+      Eglises Reformees, tom. ii. l. xxiiii. p. 1339-1385) are cast
+      into the Iconoclast scale. With this mutual aid, and opposite
+      tendency, it is easy for us to poise the balance with philosophic
+      indifference. * Note: Compare Schlosser, Geschichte der
+      Bilder-sturmender Kaiser, Frankfurt am-Main 1812 a book of
+      research and impartiality—M.]
+
+      19 (return) [ Some flowers of rhetoric. By Damascenus is styled
+      (Opera, tom. i. p. 623.) Spanheim’s Apology for the Synod of
+      Constantinople (p. 171, &c.) is worked up with truth and
+      ingenuity, from such materials as he could find in the Nicene
+      Acts, (p. 1046, &c.) The witty John of Damascus converts it into
+      slaves of their belly, &c. Opera, tom. i. p. 806]
+
+      20 (return) [ He is accused of proscribing the title of saint;
+      styling the Virgin, Mother of Christ; comparing her after her
+      delivery to an empty purse of Arianism, Nestorianism, &c. In his
+      defence, Spanheim (c. iv. p. 207) is somewhat embarrassed between
+      the interest of a Protestant and the duty of an orthodox divine.]
+
+      The scandal of an abstract heresy can be only proclaimed to the
+      people by the blast of the ecclesiastical trumpet; but the most
+      ignorant can perceive, the most torpid must feel, the profanation
+      and downfall of their visible deities. The first hostilities of
+      Leo were directed against a lofty Christ on the vestibule, and
+      above the gate, of the palace. A ladder had been planted for the
+      assault, but it was furiously shaken by a crowd of zealots and
+      women: they beheld, with pious transport, the ministers of
+      sacrilege tumbling from on high and dashed against the pavement:
+      and the honors of the ancient martyrs were prostituted to these
+      criminals, who justly suffered for murder and rebellion. 21 The
+      execution of the Imperial edicts was resisted by frequent tumults
+      in Constantinople and the provinces: the person of Leo was
+      endangered, his officers were massacred, and the popular
+      enthusiasm was quelled by the strongest efforts of the civil and
+      military power. Of the Archipelago, or Holy Sea, the numerous
+      islands were filled with images and monks: their votaries
+      abjured, without scruple, the enemy of Christ, his mother, and
+      the saints; they armed a fleet of boats and galleys, displayed
+      their consecrated banners, and boldly steered for the harbor of
+      Constantinople, to place on the throne a new favorite of God and
+      the people. They depended on the succor of a miracle: but their
+      miracles were inefficient against the Greek fire; and, after the
+      defeat and conflagration of the fleet, the naked islands were
+      abandoned to the clemency or justice of the conqueror. The son of
+      Leo, in the first year of his reign, had undertaken an expedition
+      against the Saracens: during his absence, the capital, the
+      palace, and the purple, were occupied by his kinsman Artavasdes,
+      the ambitious champion of the orthodox faith. The worship of
+      images was triumphantly restored: the patriarch renounced his
+      dissimulation, or dissembled his sentiments and the righteous
+      claims of the usurper was acknowledged, both in the new, and in
+      ancient, Rome. Constantine flew for refuge to his paternal
+      mountains; but he descended at the head of the bold and
+      affectionate Isaurians; and his final victory confounded the arms
+      and predictions of the fanatics. His long reign was distracted
+      with clamor, sedition, conspiracy, and mutual hatred, and
+      sanguinary revenge; the persecution of images was the motive or
+      pretence, of his adversaries; and, if they missed a temporal
+      diadem, they were rewarded by the Greeks with the crown of
+      martyrdom. In every act of open and clandestine treason, the
+      emperor felt the unforgiving enmity of the monks, the faithful
+      slaves of the superstition to which they owed their riches and
+      influence. They prayed, they preached, they absolved, they
+      inflamed, they conspired; the solitude of Palestine poured forth
+      a torrent of invective; and the pen of St. John Damascenus, 22
+      the last of the Greek fathers, devoted the tyrant’s head, both in
+      this world and the next. 23 2311 I am not at leisure to examine
+      how far the monks provoked, nor how much they have exaggerated,
+      their real and pretended sufferings, nor how many lost their
+      lives or limbs, their eyes or their beards, by the cruelty of the
+      emperor. 2312 From the chastisement of individuals, he proceeded
+      to the abolition of the order; and, as it was wealthy and
+      useless, his resentment might be stimulated by avarice, and
+      justified by patriotism. The formidable name and mission of the
+      Dragon, 24 his visitor-general, excited the terror and abhorrence
+      of the black nation: the religious communities were dissolved,
+      the buildings were converted into magazines, or barracks; the
+      lands, movables, and cattle were confiscated; and our modern
+      precedents will support the charge, that much wanton or malicious
+      havoc was exercised against the relics, and even the books of the
+      monasteries. With the habit and profession of monks, the public
+      and private worship of images was rigorously proscribed; and it
+      should seem, that a solemn abjuration of idolatry was exacted
+      from the subjects, or at least from the clergy, of the Eastern
+      empire. 25
+
+      21 (return) [ The holy confessor Theophanes approves the
+      principle of their rebellion, (p. 339.) Gregory II. (in Epist. i.
+      ad Imp. Leon. Concil. tom. viii. p. 661, 664) applauds the zeal
+      of the Byzantine women who killed the Imperial officers.]
+
+      22 (return) [ John, or Mansur, was a noble Christian of Damascus,
+      who held a considerable office in the service of the caliph. His
+      zeal in the cause of images exposed him to the resentment and
+      treachery of the Greek emperor; and on the suspicion of a
+      treasonable correspondence, he was deprived of his right hand,
+      which was miraculously restored by the Virgin. After this
+      deliverance, he resigned his office, distributed his wealth, and
+      buried himself in the monastery of St. Sabas, between Jerusalem
+      and the Dead Sea. The legend is famous; but his learned editor,
+      Father Lequien, has a unluckily proved that St. John Damascenus
+      was already a monk before the Iconoclast dispute, (Opera, tom. i.
+      Vit. St. Joan. Damascen. p. 10-13, et Notas ad loc.)]
+
+      23 (return) [ After sending Leo to the devil, he introduces his
+      heir, (Opera, Damascen. tom. i. p. 625.) If the authenticity of
+      this piece be suspicious, we are sure that in other works, no
+      longer extant, Damascenus bestowed on Constantine the titles.
+      (tom. i. p. 306.)]
+
+      2311 (return) [ The patriarch Anastasius, an Iconoclast under
+      Leo, an image worshipper under Artavasdes, was scourged, led
+      through the streets on an ass, with his face to the tail; and,
+      reinvested in his dignity, became again the obsequious minister
+      of Constantine in his Iconoclastic persecutions. See Schlosser p.
+      211.—M.]
+
+      2312 (return) [ Compare Schlosser, p. 228-234.—M.]
+
+      24 (return) [ In the narrative of this persecution from
+      Theophanes and Cedreves, Spanheim (p. 235-238) is happy to
+      compare the Draco of Leo with the dragoons (Dracones) of Louis
+      XIV.; and highly solaces himself with the controversial pun.]
+
+      25 (return) [ (Damascen. Op. tom. i. p. 625.) This oath and
+      subscription I do not remember to have seen in any modern
+      compilation]
+
+      The patient East abjured, with reluctance, her sacred images;
+      they were fondly cherished, and vigorously defended, by the
+      independent zeal of the Italians. In ecclesiastical rank and
+      jurisdiction, the patriarch of Constantinople and the pope of
+      Rome were nearly equal. But the Greek prelate was a domestic
+      slave under the eye of his master, at whose nod he alternately
+      passed from the convent to the throne, and from the throne to the
+      convent. A distant and dangerous station, amidst the Barbarians
+      of the West, excited the spirit and freedom of the Latin bishops.
+
+      Their popular election endeared them to the Romans: the public
+      and private indigence was relieved by their ample revenue; and
+      the weakness or neglect of the emperors compelled them to
+      consult, both in peace and war, the temporal safety of the city.
+      In the school of adversity the priest insensibly imbibed the
+      virtues and the ambition of a prince; the same character was
+      assumed, the same policy was adopted, by the Italian, the Greek,
+      or the Syrian, who ascended the chair of St. Peter; and, after
+      the loss of her legions and provinces, the genius and fortune of
+      the popes again restored the supremacy of Rome. It is agreed,
+      that in the eighth century, their dominion was founded on
+      rebellion, and that the rebellion was produced, and justified, by
+      the heresy of the Iconoclasts; but the conduct of the second and
+      third Gregory, in this memorable contest, is variously
+      interpreted by the wishes of their friends and enemies. The
+      Byzantine writers unanimously declare, that, after a fruitless
+      admonition, they pronounced the separation of the East and West,
+      and deprived the sacrilegious tyrant of the revenue and
+      sovereignty of Italy. Their excommunication is still more clearly
+      expressed by the Greeks, who beheld the accomplishment of the
+      papal triumphs; and as they are more strongly attached to their
+      religion than to their country, they praise, instead of blaming,
+      the zeal and orthodoxy of these apostolical men. 26 The modern
+      champions of Rome are eager to accept the praise and the
+      precedent: this great and glorious example of the deposition of
+      royal heretics is celebrated by the cardinals Baronius and
+      Bellarmine; 27 and if they are asked, why the same thunders were
+      not hurled against the Neros and Julians of antiquity, they
+      reply, that the weakness of the primitive church was the sole
+      cause of her patient loyalty. 28 On this occasion the effects of
+      love and hatred are the same; and the zealous Protestants, who
+      seek to kindle the indignation, and to alarm the fears, of
+      princes and magistrates, expatiate on the insolence and treason
+      of the two Gregories against their lawful sovereign. 29 They are
+      defended only by the moderate Catholics, for the most part, of
+      the Gallican church, 30 who respect the saint, without approving
+      the sin. These common advocates of the crown and the mitre
+      circumscribe the truth of facts by the rule of equity, Scripture,
+      and tradition, and appeal to the evidence of the Latins, 31 and
+      the lives 32 and epistles of the popes; themselves.
+
+      26 (return) [ Theophanes. (Chronograph. p. 343.) For this Gregory
+      is styled by Cedrenus. (p. 450.) Zonaras specifies the thunder,
+      (tom. ii. l. xv. p. 104, 105.) It may be observed, that the
+      Greeks are apt to confound the times and actions of two
+      Gregories.]
+
+      27 (return) [ See Baronius, Annal. Eccles. A.D. 730, No. 4, 5;
+      dignum exemplum! Bellarmin. de Romano Pontifice, l. v. c. 8:
+      mulctavit eum parte imperii. Sigonius, de Regno Italiae, l. iii.
+      Opera, tom. ii. p. 169. Yet such is the change of Italy, that
+      Sigonius is corrected by the editor of Milan, Philipus Argelatus,
+      a Bolognese, and subject of the pope.]
+
+      28 (return) [ Quod si Christiani olim non deposuerunt Neronem aut
+      Julianum, id fuit quia deerant vires temporales Christianis,
+      (honest Bellarmine, de Rom. Pont. l. v. c. 7.) Cardinal Perron
+      adds a distinction more honorable to the first Christians, but
+      not more satisfactory to modern princes—the treason of heretics
+      and apostates, who break their oath, belie their coin, and
+      renounce their allegiance to Christ and his vicar, (Perroniana,
+      p. 89.)]
+
+      29 (return) [ Take, as a specimen, the cautious Basnage (Hist.
+      d’Eglise, p. 1350, 1351) and the vehement Spanheim, (Hist.
+      Imaginum,) who, with a hundred more, tread in the footsteps of
+      the centuriators of Magdeburgh.]
+
+      30 (return) [ See Launoy, (Opera, tom. v. pars ii. epist. vii. 7,
+      p. 456-474,) Natalis Alexander, (Hist. Nov. Testamenti, secul.
+      viii. dissert. i. p. 92-98,) Pagi, (Critica, tom. iii. p. 215,
+      216,) and Giannone, (Istoria Civile Napoli, tom. i. p. 317-320,)
+      a disciple of the Gallican school In the field of controversy I
+      always pity the moderate party, who stand on the open middle
+      ground exposed to the fire of both sides.]
+
+      31 (return) [ They appeal to Paul Warnefrid, or Diaconus, (de
+      Gestis Langobard. l. vi. c. 49, p. 506, 507, in Script. Ital.
+      Muratori, tom. i. pars i.,) and the nominal Anastasius, (de Vit.
+      Pont. in Muratori, tom. iii. pars i. Gregorius II. p. 154.
+      Gregorius III. p. 158. Zacharias, p. 161. Stephanus III. p. 165.;
+      Paulus, p. 172. Stephanus IV. p. 174. Hadrianus, p. 179. Leo III.
+      p. 195.) Yet I may remark, that the true Anastasius (Hist.
+      Eccles. p. 134, edit. Reg.) and the Historia Miscella, (l. xxi.
+      p. 151, in tom. i. Script. Ital.,) both of the ixth century,
+      translate and approve the Greek text of Theophanes.]
+
+      32 (return) [ With some minute difference, the most learned
+      critics, Lucas Holstenius, Schelestrate, Ciampini, Bianchini,
+      Muratori, (Prolegomena ad tom. iii. pars i.,) are agreed that the
+      Liber Pontificalis was composed and continued by the apostolic
+      librarians and notaries of the viiith and ixth centuries; and
+      that the last and smallest part is the work of Anastasius, whose
+      name it bears. The style is barbarous, the narrative partial, the
+      details are trifling—yet it must be read as a curious and
+      authentic record of the times. The epistles of the popes are
+      dispersed in the volumes of Councils.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter XLIX: Conquest Of Italy By The Franks.—Part II.
+
+      Two original epistles, from Gregory the Second to the emperor
+      Leo, are still extant; 33 and if they cannot be praised as the
+      most perfect models of eloquence and logic, they exhibit the
+      portrait, or at least the mask, of the founder of the papal
+      monarchy. “During ten pure and fortunate years,” says Gregory to
+      the emperor, “we have tasted the annual comfort of your royal
+      letters, subscribed in purple ink, with your own hand, the sacred
+      pledges of your attachment to the orthodox creed of our fathers.
+      How deplorable is the change! how tremendous the scandal! You now
+      accuse the Catholics of idolatry; and, by the accusation, you
+      betray your own impiety and ignorance. To this ignorance we are
+      compelled to adapt the grossness of our style and arguments: the
+      first elements of holy letters are sufficient for your confusion;
+      and were you to enter a grammar-school, and avow yourself the
+      enemy of our worship, the simple and pious children would be
+      provoked to cast their horn-books at your head.” After this
+      decent salutation, the pope attempts the usual distinction
+      between the idols of antiquity and the Christian images. The
+      former were the fanciful representations of phantoms or daemons,
+      at a time when the true God had not manifested his person in any
+      visible likeness. The latter are the genuine forms of Christ, his
+      mother, and his saints, who had approved, by a crowd of miracles,
+      the innocence and merit of this relative worship. He must indeed
+      have trusted to the ignorance of Leo, since he could assert the
+      perpetual use of images, from the apostolic age, and their
+      venerable presence in the six synods of the Catholic church. A
+      more specious argument is drawn from present possession and
+      recent practice the harmony of the Christian world supersedes the
+      demand of a general council; and Gregory frankly confesses, than
+      such assemblies can only be useful under the reign of an orthodox
+      prince. To the impudent and inhuman Leo, more guilty than a
+      heretic, he recommends peace, silence, and implicit obedience to
+      his spiritual guides of Constantinople and Rome. The limits of
+      civil and ecclesiastical powers are defined by the pontiff. To
+      the former he appropriates the body; to the latter, the soul: the
+      sword of justice is in the hands of the magistrate: the more
+      formidable weapon of excommunication is intrusted to the clergy;
+      and in the exercise of their divine commission a zealous son will
+      not spare his offending father: the successor of St. Peter may
+      lawfully chastise the kings of the earth. “You assault us, O
+      tyrant! with a carnal and military hand: unarmed and naked we can
+      only implore the Christ, the prince of the heavenly host, that he
+      will send unto you a devil, for the destruction of your body and
+      the salvation of your soul. You declare, with foolish arrogance,
+      I will despatch my orders to Rome: I will break in pieces the
+      image of St. Peter; and Gregory, like his predecessor Martin,
+      shall be transported in chains, and in exile, to the foot of the
+      Imperial throne. Would to God that I might be permitted to tread
+      in the footsteps of the holy Martin! but may the fate of Constans
+      serve as a warning to the persecutors of the church! After his
+      just condemnation by the bishops of Sicily, the tyrant was cut
+      off, in the fullness of his sins, by a domestic servant: the
+      saint is still adored by the nations of Scythia, among whom he
+      ended his banishment and his life. But it is our duty to live for
+      the edification and support of the faithful people; nor are we
+      reduced to risk our safety on the event of a combat. Incapable as
+      you are of defending your Roman subjects, the maritime situation
+      of the city may perhaps expose it to your depredation but we can
+      remove to the distance of four-and-twenty stadia, to the first
+      fortress of the Lombards, and then—you may pursue the winds. 34
+      Are you ignorant that the popes are the bond of union, the
+      mediators of peace, between the East and West? The eyes of the
+      nations are fixed on our humility; and they revere, as a God upon
+      earth, the apostle St. Peter, whose image you threaten to
+      destroy. 35 The remote and interior kingdoms of the West present
+      their homage to Christ and his vicegerent; and we now prepare to
+      visit one of their most powerful monarchs, who desires to receive
+      from our hands the sacrament of baptism. 36 The Barbarians have
+      submitted to the yoke of the gospel, while you alone are deaf to
+      the voice of the shepherd. These pious Barbarians are kindled
+      into rage: they thirst to avenge the persecution of the East.
+      Abandon your rash and fatal enterprise; reflect, tremble, and
+      repent. If you persist, we are innocent of the blood that will be
+      spilt in the contest; may it fall on your own head!”
+
+      33 (return) [ The two epistles of Gregory II. have been preserved
+      in the Acta of the Nicene Council, (tom. viii. p. 651-674.) They
+      are without a date, which is variously fixed, by Baronius in the
+      year 726, by Muratori (Annali d’Italia, tom. vi. p. 120) in 729,
+      and by Pagi in 730. Such is the force of prejudice, that some
+      papists have praised the good sense and moderation of these
+      letters.]
+
+      34 (return) [ (Epist. i. p. 664.) This proximity of the Lombards
+      is hard of digestion. Camillo Pellegrini (Dissert. iv. de Ducatu
+      Beneventi, in the Script. Ital. tom. v. p. 172, 173) forcibly
+      reckons the xxivth stadia, not from Rome, but from the limits of
+      the Roman duchy, to the first fortress, perhaps Sora, of the
+      Lombards. I rather believe that Gregory, with the pedantry of the
+      age, employs stadia for miles, without much inquiry into the
+      genuine measure.]
+
+      35 (return) [ {Greek}]
+
+      36 (return) [ (p. 665.) The pope appears to have imposed on the
+      ignorance of the Greeks: he lived and died in the Lateran; and in
+      his time all the kingdoms of the West had embraced Christianity.
+      May not this unknown Septetus have some reference to the chief of
+      the Saxon Heptarchy, to Ina king of Wessex, who, in the
+      pontificate of Gregory the Second, visited Rome for the purpose,
+      not of baptism, but of pilgrimage! (Pagi. A., 89, No. 2. A.D.
+      726, No. 15.)]
+
+      The first assault of Leo against the images of Constantinople had
+      been witnessed by a crowd of strangers from Italy and the West,
+      who related with grief and indignation the sacrilege of the
+      emperor. But on the reception of his proscriptive edict, they
+      trembled for their domestic deities: the images of Christ and the
+      Virgin, of the angels, martyrs, and saints, were abolished in all
+      the churches of Italy; and a strong alternative was proposed to
+      the Roman pontiff, the royal favor as the price of his
+      compliance, degradation and exile as the penalty of his
+      disobedience. Neither zeal nor policy allowed him to hesitate;
+      and the haughty strain in which Gregory addressed the emperor
+      displays his confidence in the truth of his doctrine or the
+      powers of resistance. Without depending on prayers or miracles,
+      he boldly armed against the public enemy, and his pastoral
+      letters admonished the Italians of their danger and their duty.
+      37 At this signal, Ravenna, Venice, and the cities of the
+      Exarchate and Pentapolis, adhered to the cause of religion; their
+      military force by sea and land consisted, for the most part, of
+      the natives; and the spirit of patriotism and zeal was transfused
+      into the mercenary strangers. The Italians swore to live and die
+      in the defence of the pope and the holy images; the Roman people
+      was devoted to their father, and even the Lombards were ambitious
+      to share the merit and advantage of this holy war. The most
+      treasonable act, but the most obvious revenge, was the
+      destruction of the statues of Leo himself: the most effectual and
+      pleasing measure of rebellion, was the withholding the tribute of
+      Italy, and depriving him of a power which he had recently abused
+      by the imposition of a new capitation. 38 A form of
+      administration was preserved by the election of magistrates and
+      governors; and so high was the public indignation, that the
+      Italians were prepared to create an orthodox emperor, and to
+      conduct him with a fleet and army to the palace of
+      Constantinople. In that palace, the Roman bishops, the second and
+      third Gregory, were condemned as the authors of the revolt, and
+      every attempt was made, either by fraud or force, to seize their
+      persons, and to strike at their lives. The city was repeatedly
+      visited or assaulted by captains of the guards, and dukes and
+      exarchs of high dignity or secret trust; they landed with foreign
+      troops, they obtained some domestic aid, and the superstition of
+      Naples may blush that her fathers were attached to the cause of
+      heresy. But these clandestine or open attacks were repelled by
+      the courage and vigilance of the Romans; the Greeks were
+      overthrown and massacred, their leaders suffered an ignominious
+      death, and the popes, however inclined to mercy, refused to
+      intercede for these guilty victims. At Ravenna, 39 the several
+      quarters of the city had long exercised a bloody and hereditary
+      feud; in religious controversy they found a new aliment of
+      faction: but the votaries of images were superior in numbers or
+      spirit, and the exarch, who attempted to stem the torrent, lost
+      his life in a popular sedition. To punish this flagitious deed,
+      and restore his dominion in Italy, the emperor sent a fleet and
+      army into the Adriatic Gulf. After suffering from the winds and
+      waves much loss and delay, the Greeks made their descent in the
+      neighborhood of Ravenna: they threatened to depopulate the guilty
+      capital, and to imitate, perhaps to surpass, the example of
+      Justinian the Second, who had chastised a former rebellion by the
+      choice and execution of fifty of the principal inhabitants. The
+      women and clergy, in sackcloth and ashes, lay prostrate in
+      prayer: the men were in arms for the defence of their country;
+      the common danger had united the factions, and the event of a
+      battle was preferred to the slow miseries of a siege. In a
+      hard-fought day, as the two armies alternately yielded and
+      advanced, a phantom was seen, a voice was heard, and Ravenna was
+      victorious by the assurance of victory. The strangers retreated
+      to their ships, but the populous sea-coast poured forth a
+      multitude of boats; the waters of the Po were so deeply infected
+      with blood, that during six years the public prejudice abstained
+      from the fish of the river; and the institution of an annual
+      feast perpetuated the worship of images, and the abhorrence of
+      the Greek tyrant. Amidst the triumph of the Catholic arms, the
+      Roman pontiff convened a synod of ninety-three bishops against
+      the heresy of the Iconoclasts. With their consent, he pronounced
+      a general excommunication against all who by word or deed should
+      attack the tradition of the fathers and the images of the saints:
+      in this sentence the emperor was tacitly involved, 40 but the
+      vote of a last and hopeless remonstrance may seem to imply that
+      the anathema was yet suspended over his guilty head. No sooner
+      had they confirmed their own safety, the worship of images, and
+      the freedom of Rome and Italy, than the popes appear to have
+      relaxed of their severity, and to have spared the relics of the
+      Byzantine dominion. Their moderate councils delayed and prevented
+      the election of a new emperor, and they exhorted the Italians not
+      to separate from the body of the Roman monarchy. The exarch was
+      permitted to reside within the walls of Ravenna, a captive rather
+      than a master; and till the Imperial coronation of Charlemagne,
+      the government of Rome and Italy was exercised in the name of the
+      successors of Constantine. 41
+
+      37 (return) [ I shall transcribe the important and decisive
+      passage of the Liber Pontificalis. Respiciens ergo pius vir
+      profanam principis jussionem, jam contra Imperatorem quasi contra
+      hostem se armavit, renuens haeresim ejus, scribens ubique se
+      cavere Christianos, eo quod orta fuisset impietas talis. Igitur
+      permoti omnes Pentapolenses, atque Venetiarum exercitus contra
+      Imperatoris jussionem restiterunt; dicentes se nunquam in ejusdem
+      pontificis condescendere necem, sed pro ejus magis defensione
+      viriliter decertare, (p. 156.)]
+
+      38 (return) [ A census, or capitation, says Anastasius, (p. 156;)
+      a most cruel tax, unknown to the Saracens themselves, exclaims
+      the zealous Maimbourg, (Hist. des Iconoclastes, l. i.,) and
+      Theophanes, (p. 344,) who talks of Pharaoh’s numbering the male
+      children of Israel. This mode of taxation was familiar to the
+      Saracens; and, most unluckily for the historians, it was imposed
+      a few years afterwards in France by his patron Louis XIV.]
+
+      39 (return) [ See the Liber Pontificalis of Agnellus, (in the
+      Scriptores Rerum Italicarum of Muratori, tom. ii. pars i.,) whose
+      deeper shade of barbarism marks the difference between Rome and
+      Ravenna. Yet we are indebted to him for some curious and domestic
+      facts—the quarters and factions of Ravenna, (p. 154,) the revenge
+      of Justinian II, (p. 160, 161,) the defeat of the Greeks, (p.
+      170, 171,) &c.]
+
+      40 (return) [ Yet Leo was undoubtedly comprised in the si quis
+      .... imaginum sacrarum.... destructor.... extiterit, sit extorris
+      a cor pore D. N. Jesu Christi vel totius ecclesiae unitate. The
+      canonists may decide whether the guilt or the name constitutes
+      the excommunication; and the decision is of the last importance
+      to their safety, since, according to the oracle (Gratian, Caus.
+      xxiii. q. 5, 47, apud Spanheim, Hist. Imag. p. 112) homicidas non
+      esse qui excommunicatos trucidant.]
+
+      41 (return) [ Compescuit tale consilium Pontifex, sperans
+      conversionem principis, (Anastas. p. 156.) Sed ne desisterent ab
+      amore et fide R. J. admonebat, (p. 157.) The popes style Leo and
+      Constantine Copronymus, Imperatores et Domini, with the strange
+      epithet of Piissimi. A famous Mosaic of the Lateran (A.D. 798)
+      represents Christ, who delivers the keys to St. Peter and the
+      banner to Constantine V. (Muratori, Annali d’Italia, tom. vi. p.
+      337.)]
+
+      The liberty of Rome, which had been oppressed by the arms and
+      arts of Augustus, was rescued, after seven hundred and fifty
+      years of servitude, from the persecution of Leo the Isaurian. By
+      the Caesars, the triumphs of the consuls had been annihilated: in
+      the decline and fall of the empire, the god Terminus, the sacred
+      boundary, had insensibly receded from the ocean, the Rhine, the
+      Danube, and the Euphrates; and Rome was reduced to her ancient
+      territory from Viterbo to Terracina, and from Narni to the mouth
+      of the Tyber. 42 When the kings were banished, the republic
+      reposed on the firm basis which had been founded by their wisdom
+      and virtue. Their perpetual jurisdiction was divided between two
+      annual magistrates: the senate continued to exercise the powers
+      of administration and counsel; and the legislative authority was
+      distributed in the assemblies of the people, by a
+      well-proportioned scale of property and service. Ignorant of the
+      arts of luxury, the primitive Romans had improved the science of
+      government and war: the will of the community was absolute: the
+      rights of individuals were sacred: one hundred and thirty
+      thousand citizens were armed for defence or conquest; and a band
+      of robbers and outlaws was moulded into a nation deserving of
+      freedom and ambitious of glory. 43 When the sovereignty of the
+      Greek emperors was extinguished, the ruins of Rome presented the
+      sad image of depopulation and decay: her slavery was a habit, her
+      liberty an accident; the effect of superstition, and the object
+      of her own amazement and terror. The last vestige of the
+      substance, or even the forms, of the constitution, was
+      obliterated from the practice and memory of the Romans; and they
+      were devoid of knowledge, or virtue, again to build the fabric of
+      a commonwealth. Their scanty remnant, the offspring of slaves and
+      strangers, was despicable in the eyes of the victorious
+      Barbarians. As often as the Franks or Lombards expressed their
+      most bitter contempt of a foe, they called him a Roman; “and in
+      this name,” says the bishop Liutprand, “we include whatever is
+      base, whatever is cowardly, whatever is perfidious, the extremes
+      of avarice and luxury, and every vice that can prostitute the
+      dignity of human nature.” 44 441 By the necessity of their
+      situation, the inhabitants of Rome were cast into the rough model
+      of a republican government: they were compelled to elect some
+      judges in peace, and some leaders in war: the nobles assembled to
+      deliberate, and their resolves could not be executed without the
+      union and consent of the multitude. The style of the Roman senate
+      and people was revived, 45 but the spirit was fled; and their new
+      independence was disgraced by the tumultuous conflict of
+      vicentiousness and oppression. The want of laws could only be
+      supplied by the influence of religion, and their foreign and
+      domestic counsels were moderated by the authority of the bishop.
+      His alms, his sermons, his correspondence with the kings and
+      prelates of the West, his recent services, their gratitude, and
+      oath, accustomed the Romans to consider him as the first
+      magistrate or prince of the city. The Christian humility of the
+      popes was not offended by the name of Dominus, or Lord; and their
+      face and inscription are still apparent on the most ancient
+      coins. 46 Their temporal dominion is now confirmed by the
+      reverence of a thousand years; and their noblest title is the
+      free choice of a people, whom they had redeemed from slavery.
+
+      42 (return) [ I have traced the Roman duchy according to the
+      maps, and the maps according to the excellent dissertation of
+      father Beretti, (de Chorographia Italiae Medii Aevi, sect. xx. p.
+      216-232.) Yet I must nicely observe, that Viterbo is of Lombard
+      foundation, (p. 211,) and that Terracina was usurped by the
+      Greeks.]
+
+      43 (return) [ On the extent, population, &c., of the Roman
+      kingdom, the reader may peruse, with pleasure, the Discours
+      Preliminaire to the Republique Romaine of M. de Beaufort, (tom.
+      i.,) who will not be accused of too much credulity for the early
+      ages of Rome.]
+
+      44 (return) [ Quos (Romanos) nos, Longobardi scilicet, Saxones,
+      Franci, Locharingi, Bajoarii, Suevi, Burgundiones, tanto
+      dedignamur ut inimicos nostros commoti, nil aliud contumeliarum
+      nisi Romane, dicamus: hoc solo, id est Romanorum nomine, quicquid
+      ignobilitatis, quicquid timiditatis, quicquid avaritiae, quicquid
+      luxuriae, quicquid mendacii, immo quicquid vitiorum est
+      comprehendentes, (Liutprand, in Legat Script. Ital. tom. ii. para
+      i. p. 481.) For the sins of Cato or Tully Minos might have
+      imposed as a fit penance the daily perusal of this barbarous
+      passage.]
+
+      441 (return) [ Yet this contumelious sentence, quoted by
+      Robertson (Charles V note 2) as well as Gibbon, was applied by
+      the angry bishop to the Byzantine Romans, whom, indeed, he admits
+      to be the genuine descendants of Romulus.—M.]
+
+      45 (return) [ Pipino regi Francorum, omnis senatus, atque
+      universa populi generalitas a Deo servatae Romanae urbis. Codex
+      Carolin. epist. 36, in Script. Ital. tom. iii. pars ii. p. 160.
+      The names of senatus and senator were never totally extinct,
+      (Dissert. Chorograph. p. 216, 217;) but in the middle ages they
+      signified little more than nobiles, optimates, &c., (Ducange,
+      Gloss. Latin.)]
+
+      46 (return) [ See Muratori, Antiquit. Italiae Medii Aevi, tom.
+      ii. Dissertat xxvii. p. 548. On one of these coins we read
+      Hadrianus Papa (A.D. 772;) on the reverse, Vict. Ddnn. with the
+      word Conob, which the Pere Joubert (Science des Medailles, tom.
+      ii. p. 42) explains by Constantinopoli Officina B (secunda.)]
+
+      In the quarrels of ancient Greece, the holy people of Elis
+      enjoyed a perpetual peace, under the protection of Jupiter, and
+      in the exercise of the Olympic games. 47 Happy would it have been
+      for the Romans, if a similar privilege had guarded the patrimony
+      of St. Peter from the calamities of war; if the Christians, who
+      visited the holy threshold, would have sheathed their swords in
+      the presence of the apostle and his successor. But this mystic
+      circle could have been traced only by the wand of a legislator
+      and a sage: this pacific system was incompatible with the zeal
+      and ambition of the popes; the Romans were not addicted, like the
+      inhabitants of Elis, to the innocent and placid labors of
+      agriculture; and the Barbarians of Italy, though softened by the
+      climate, were far below the Grecian states in the institutions of
+      public and private life. A memorable example of repentance and
+      piety was exhibited by Liutprand, king of the Lombards. In arms,
+      at the gate of the Vatican, the conqueror listened to the voice
+      of Gregory the Second, 48 withdrew his troops, resigned his
+      conquests, respectfully visited the church of St. Peter, and
+      after performing his devotions, offered his sword and dagger, his
+      cuirass and mantle, his silver cross, and his crown of gold, on
+      the tomb of the apostle. But this religious fervor was the
+      illusion, perhaps the artifice, of the moment; the sense of
+      interest is strong and lasting; the love of arms and rapine was
+      congenial to the Lombards; and both the prince and people were
+      irresistibly tempted by the disorders of Italy, the nakedness of
+      Rome, and the unwarlike profession of her new chief. On the first
+      edicts of the emperor, they declared themselves the champions of
+      the holy images: Liutprand invaded the province of Romagna, which
+      had already assumed that distinctive appellation; the Catholics
+      of the Exarchate yielded without reluctance to his civil and
+      military power; and a foreign enemy was introduced for the first
+      time into the impregnable fortress of Ravenna. That city and
+      fortress were speedily recovered by the active diligence and
+      maritime forces of the Venetians; and those faithful subjects
+      obeyed the exhortation of Gregory himself, in separating the
+      personal guilt of Leo from the general cause of the Roman empire.
+      49 The Greeks were less mindful of the service, than the Lombards
+      of the injury: the two nations, hostile in their faith, were
+      reconciled in a dangerous and unnatural alliance: the king and
+      the exarch marched to the conquest of Spoleto and Rome: the storm
+      evaporated without effect, but the policy of Liutprand alarmed
+      Italy with a vexatious alternative of hostility and truce. His
+      successor Astolphus declared himself the equal enemy of the
+      emperor and the pope: Ravenna was subdued by force or treachery,
+      50 and this final conquest extinguished the series of the
+      exarchs, who had reigned with a subordinate power since the time
+      of Justinian and the ruin of the Gothic kingdom. Rome was
+      summoned to acknowledge the victorious Lombard as her lawful
+      sovereign; the annual tribute of a piece of gold was fixed as the
+      ransom of each citizen, and the sword of destruction was
+      unsheathed to exact the penalty of her disobedience. The Romans
+      hesitated; they entreated; they complained; and the threatening
+      Barbarians were checked by arms and negotiations, till the popes
+      had engaged the friendship of an ally and avenger beyond the
+      Alps. 51
+
+      47 (return) [ See West’s Dissertation on the Olympic Games,
+      (Pindar. vol. ii. p. 32-36, edition in 12mo.,) and the judicious
+      reflections of Polybius (tom. i. l. iv. p. 466, edit Gronov.)]
+
+      48 (return) [ The speech of Gregory to the Lombard is finely
+      composed by Sigonius, (de Regno Italiae, l. iii. Opera, tom. ii.
+      p. 173,) who imitates the license and the spirit of Sallust or
+      Livy.]
+
+      49 (return) [ The Venetian historians, John Sagorninus, (Chron.
+      Venet. p. 13,) and the doge Andrew Dandolo, (Scriptores Rer.
+      Ital. tom. xii. p. 135,) have preserved this epistle of Gregory.
+      The loss and recovery of Ravenna are mentioned by Paulus
+      Diaconus, (de Gest. Langobard, l. vi. c. 42, 54, in Script. Ital.
+      tom. i. pars i. p. 506, 508;) but our chronologists, Pagi,
+      Muratori, &c., cannot ascertain the date or circumstances]
+
+      50 (return) [ The option will depend on the various readings of
+      the Mss. of Anastasius—deceperat, or decerpserat, (Script. Ital.
+      tom. iii. pars i. p. 167.)]
+
+      51 (return) [ The Codex Carolinus is a collection of the epistles
+      of the popes to Charles Martel, (whom they style Subregulus,)
+      Pepin, and Charlemagne, as far as the year 791, when it was
+      formed by the last of these princes. His original and authentic
+      Ms. (Bibliothecae Cubicularis) is now in the Imperial library of
+      Vienna, and has been published by Lambecius and Muratori,
+      (Script. Rerum Ital. tom. iii. pars ii. p. 75, &c.)]
+
+      In his distress, the first 511 Gregory had implored the aid of
+      the hero of the age, of Charles Martel, who governed the French
+      monarchy with the humble title of mayor or duke; and who, by his
+      signal victory over the Saracens, had saved his country, and
+      perhaps Europe, from the Mahometan yoke. The ambassadors of the
+      pope were received by Charles with decent reverence; but the
+      greatness of his occupations, and the shortness of his life,
+      prevented his interference in the affairs of Italy, except by a
+      friendly and ineffectual mediation. His son Pepin, the heir of
+      his power and virtues, assumed the office of champion of the
+      Roman church; and the zeal of the French prince appears to have
+      been prompted by the love of glory and religion. But the danger
+      was on the banks of the Tyber, the succor on those of the Seine,
+      and our sympathy is cold to the relation of distant misery.
+      Amidst the tears of the city, Stephen the Third embraced the
+      generous resolution of visiting in person the courts of Lombardy
+      and France, to deprecate the injustice of his enemy, or to excite
+      the pity and indignation of his friend. After soothing the public
+      despair by litanies and orations, he undertook this laborious
+      journey with the ambassadors of the French monarch and the Greek
+      emperor. The king of the Lombards was inexorable; but his threats
+      could not silence the complaints, nor retard the speed of the
+      Roman pontiff, who traversed the Pennine Alps, reposed in the
+      abbey of St. Maurice, and hastened to grasp the right hand of his
+      protector; a hand which was never lifted in vain, either in war
+      or friendship. Stephen was entertained as the visible successor
+      of the apostle; at the next assembly, the field of March or of
+      May, his injuries were exposed to a devout and warlike nation,
+      and he repassed the Alps, not as a suppliant, but as a conqueror,
+      at the head of a French army, which was led by the king in
+      person. The Lombards, after a weak resistance, obtained an
+      ignominious peace, and swore to restore the possessions, and to
+      respect the sanctity, of the Roman church. But no sooner was
+      Astolphus delivered from the presence of the French arms, than he
+      forgot his promise and resented his disgrace. Rome was again
+      encompassed by his arms; and Stephen, apprehensive of fatiguing
+      the zeal of his Transalpine allies enforced his complaint and
+      request by an eloquent letter in the name and person of St. Peter
+      himself. 52 The apostle assures his adopted sons, the king, the
+      clergy, and the nobles of France, that, dead in the flesh, he is
+      still alive in the spirit; that they now hear, and must obey, the
+      voice of the founder and guardian of the Roman church; that the
+      Virgin, the angels, the saints, and the martyrs, and all the host
+      of heaven, unanimously urge the request, and will confess the
+      obligation; that riches, victory, and paradise, will crown their
+      pious enterprise, and that eternal damnation will be the penalty
+      of their neglect, if they suffer his tomb, his temple, and his
+      people, to fall into the hands of the perfidious Lombards. The
+      second expedition of Pepin was not less rapid and fortunate than
+      the first: St. Peter was satisfied, Rome was again saved, and
+      Astolphus was taught the lessons of justice and sincerity by the
+      scourge of a foreign master. After this double chastisement, the
+      Lombards languished about twenty years in a state of languor and
+      decay. But their minds were not yet humbled to their condition;
+      and instead of affecting the pacific virtues of the feeble, they
+      peevishly harassed the Romans with a repetition of claims,
+      evasions, and inroads, which they undertook without reflection,
+      and terminated without glory. On either side, their expiring
+      monarchy was pressed by the zeal and prudence of Pope Adrian the
+      First, the genius, the fortune, and greatness of Charlemagne, the
+      son of Pepin; these heroes of the church and state were united in
+      public and domestic friendship, and while they trampled on the
+      prostrate, they varnished their proceedings with the fairest
+      colors of equity and moderation. 53 The passes of the Alps, and
+      the walls of Pavia, were the only defence of the Lombards; the
+      former were surprised, the latter were invested, by the son of
+      Pepin; and after a blockade of two years, 531 Desiderius, the
+      last of their native princes, surrendered his sceptre and his
+      capital.
+
+      Under the dominion of a foreign king, but in the possession of
+      their national laws, the Lombards became the brethren, rather
+      than the subjects, of the Franks; who derived their blood, and
+      manners, and language, from the same Germanic origin. 54
+
+      511 (return) [ Gregory I. had been dead above a century; read
+      Gregory III.—M]
+
+      52 (return) [ See this most extraordinary letter in the Codex
+      Carolinus, epist iii. p. 92. The enemies of the popes have
+      charged them with fraud and blasphemy; yet they surely meant to
+      persuade rather than deceive. This introduction of the dead, or
+      of immortals, was familiar to the ancient orators, though it is
+      executed on this occasion in the rude fashion of the age.]
+
+      53 (return) [ Except in the divorce of the daughter of
+      Desiderius, whom Charlemagne repudiated sine aliquo crimine. Pope
+      Stephen IV. had most furiously opposed the alliance of a noble
+      Frank—cum perfida, horrida nec dicenda, foetentissima natione
+      Longobardorum—to whom he imputes the first stain of leprosy,
+      (Cod. Carolin. epist. 45, p. 178, 179.) Another reason against
+      the marriage was the existence of a first wife, (Muratori, Annali
+      d’Italia, tom. vi. p. 232, 233, 236, 237.) But Charlemagne
+      indulged himself in the freedom of polygamy or concubinage.]
+
+      531 (return) [ Of fifteen months. James, Life of Charlemagne, p.
+      187.—M.]
+
+      54 (return) [ See the Annali d’Italia of Muratori, tom. vi., and
+      the three first Dissertations of his Antiquitates Italiae Medii
+      Aevi, tom. i.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter XLIX: Conquest Of Italy By The Franks.—Part III.
+
+      The mutual obligations of the popes and the Carlovingian family
+      form the important link of ancient and modern, of civil and
+      ecclesiastical, history. In the conquest of Italy, the champions
+      of the Roman church obtained a favorable occasion, a specious
+      title, the wishes of the people, the prayers and intrigues of the
+      clergy. But the most essential gifts of the popes to the
+      Carlovingian race were the dignities of king of France, 55 and of
+      patrician of Rome. I. Under the sacerdotal monarchy of St. Peter,
+      the nations began to resume the practice of seeking, on the banks
+      of the Tyber, their kings, their laws, and the oracles of their
+      fate. The Franks were perplexed between the name and substance of
+      their government. All the powers of royalty were exercised by
+      Pepin, mayor of the palace; and nothing, except the regal title,
+      was wanting to his ambition. His enemies were crushed by his
+      valor; his friends were multiplied by his liberality; his father
+      had been the savior of Christendom; and the claims of personal
+      merit were repeated and ennobled in a descent of four
+      generations. The name and image of royalty was still preserved in
+      the last descendant of Clovis, the feeble Childeric; but his
+      obsolete right could only be used as an instrument of sedition:
+      the nation was desirous of restoring the simplicity of the
+      constitution; and Pepin, a subject and a prince, was ambitious to
+      ascertain his own rank and the fortune of his family. The mayor
+      and the nobles were bound, by an oath of fidelity, to the royal
+      phantom: the blood of Clovis was pure and sacred in their eyes;
+      and their common ambassadors addressed the Roman pontiff, to
+      dispel their scruples, or to absolve their promise. The interest
+      of Pope Zachary, the successor of the two Gregories, prompted him
+      to decide, and to decide in their favor: he pronounced that the
+      nation might lawfully unite in the same person the title and
+      authority of king; and that the unfortunate Childeric, a victim
+      of the public safety, should be degraded, shaved, and confined in
+      a monastery for the remainder of his days. An answer so agreeable
+      to their wishes was accepted by the Franks as the opinion of a
+      casuist, the sentence of a judge, or the oracle of a prophet: the
+      Merovingian race disappeared from the earth; and Pepin was
+      exalted on a buckler by the suffrage of a free people, accustomed
+      to obey his laws and to march under his standard. His coronation
+      was twice performed, with the sanction of the popes, by their
+      most faithful servant St. Boniface, the apostle of Germany, and
+      by the grateful hands of Stephen the Third, who, in the monastery
+      of St. Denys placed the diadem on the head of his benefactor. The
+      royal unction of the kings of Israel was dexterously applied: 56
+      the successor of St. Peter assumed the character of a divine
+      ambassador: a German chieftain was transformed into the Lord’s
+      anointed; and this Jewish rite has been diffused and maintained
+      by the superstition and vanity of modern Europe. The Franks were
+      absolved from their ancient oath; but a dire anathema was
+      thundered against them and their posterity, if they should dare
+      to renew the same freedom of choice, or to elect a king, except
+      in the holy and meritorious race of the Carlovingian princes.
+      Without apprehending the future danger, these princes gloried in
+      their present security: the secretary of Charlemagne affirms,
+      that the French sceptre was transferred by the authority of the
+      popes; 57 and in their boldest enterprises, they insist, with
+      confidence, on this signal and successful act of temporal
+      jurisdiction.
+
+      55 (return) [ Besides the common historians, three French
+      critics, Launoy, (Opera, tom. v. pars ii. l. vii. epist. 9, p.
+      477-487,) Pagi, (Critica, A.D. 751, No. 1-6, A.D. 752, No. 1-10,)
+      and Natalis Alexander, (Hist. Novi Testamenti, dissertat, ii. p.
+      96-107,) have treated this subject of the deposition of Childeric
+      with learning and attention, but with a strong bias to save the
+      independence of the crown. Yet they are hard pressed by the texts
+      which they produce of Eginhard, Theophanes, and the old annals,
+      Laureshamenses, Fuldenses, Loisielani]
+
+      56 (return) [ Not absolutely for the first time. On a less
+      conspicuous theatre it had been used, in the vith and viith
+      centuries, by the provincial bishops of Britain and Spain. The
+      royal unction of Constantinople was borrowed from the Latins in
+      the last age of the empire. Constantine Manasses mentions that of
+      Charlemagne as a foreign, Jewish, incomprehensible ceremony. See
+      Selden’s Titles of Honor, in his Works, vol. iii. part i. p.
+      234-249.]
+
+      57 (return) [ See Eginhard, in Vita Caroli Magni, c. i. p. 9,
+      &c., c. iii. p. 24. Childeric was deposed—jussu, the
+      Carlovingians were established—auctoritate, Pontificis Romani.
+      Launoy, &c., pretend that these strong words are susceptible of a
+      very soft interpretation. Be it so; yet Eginhard understood the
+      world, the court, and the Latin language.]
+
+      II. In the change of manners and language the patricians of Rome
+      58 were far removed from the senate of Romulus, or the palace of
+      Constantine, from the free nobles of the republic, or the
+      fictitious parents of the emperor. After the recovery of Italy
+      and Africa by the arms of Justinian, the importance and danger of
+      those remote provinces required the presence of a supreme
+      magistrate; he was indifferently styled the exarch or the
+      patrician; and these governors of Ravenna, who fill their place
+      in the chronology of princes, extended their jurisdiction over
+      the Roman city. Since the revolt of Italy and the loss of the
+      Exarchate, the distress of the Romans had exacted some sacrifice
+      of their independence. Yet, even in this act, they exercised the
+      right of disposing of themselves; and the decrees of the senate
+      and people successively invested Charles Martel and his posterity
+      with the honors of patrician of Rome. The leaders of a powerful
+      nation would have disdained a servile title and subordinate
+      office; but the reign of the Greek emperors was suspended; and,
+      in the vacancy of the empire, they derived a more glorious
+      commission from the pope and the republic. The Roman ambassadors
+      presented these patricians with the keys of the shrine of St.
+      Peter, as a pledge and symbol of sovereignty; with a holy banner
+      which it was their right and duty to unfurl in the defence of the
+      church and city. 59 In the time of Charles Martel and of Pepin,
+      the interposition of the Lombard kingdom covered the freedom,
+      while it threatened the safety, of Rome; and the patriciate
+      represented only the title, the service, the alliance, of these
+      distant protectors. The power and policy of Charlemagne
+      annihilated an enemy, and imposed a master. In his first visit to
+      the capital, he was received with all the honors which had
+      formerly been paid to the exarch, the representative of the
+      emperor; and these honors obtained some new decorations from the
+      joy and gratitude of Pope Adrian the First. 60 No sooner was he
+      informed of the sudden approach of the monarch, than he
+      despatched the magistrates and nobles of Rome to meet him, with
+      the banner, about thirty miles from the city. At the distance of
+      one mile, the Flaminian way was lined with the schools, or
+      national communities, of Greeks, Lombards, Saxons, &c.: the Roman
+      youth were under arms; and the children of a more tender age,
+      with palms and olive branches in their hands, chanted the praises
+      of their great deliverer. At the aspect of the holy crosses, and
+      ensigns of the saints, he dismounted from his horse, led the
+      procession of his nobles to the Vatican, and, as he ascended the
+      stairs, devoutly kissed each step of the threshold of the
+      apostles. In the portico, Adrian expected him at the head of his
+      clergy: they embraced, as friends and equals; but in their march
+      to the altar, the king or patrician assumed the right hand of the
+      pope. Nor was the Frank content with these vain and empty
+      demonstrations of respect. In the twenty-six years that elapsed
+      between the conquest of Lombardy and his Imperial coronation,
+      Rome, which had been delivered by the sword, was subject, as his
+      own, to the sceptre of Charlemagne. The people swore allegiance
+      to his person and family: in his name money was coined, and
+      justice was administered; and the election of the popes was
+      examined and confirmed by his authority. Except an original and
+      self-inherent claim of sovereignty, there was not any prerogative
+      remaining, which the title of emperor could add to the patrician
+      of Rome. 61
+
+      58 (return) [ For the title and powers of patrician of Rome, see
+      Ducange, (Gloss. Latin. tom. v. p. 149-151,) Pagi, (Critica, A.D.
+      740, No. 6-11,) Muratori, (Annali d’Italia, tom. vi. p. 308-329,)
+      and St. Marc, (Abrege Chronologique d’Italie, tom. i. p.
+      379-382.) Of these the Franciscan Pagi is the most disposed to
+      make the patrician a lieutenant of the church, rather than of the
+      empire.]
+
+      59 (return) [ The papal advocates can soften the symbolic meaning
+      of the banner and the keys; but the style of ad regnum dimisimus,
+      or direximus, (Codex Carolin. epist. i. tom. iii. pars ii. p.
+      76,) seems to allow of no palliation or escape. In the Ms. of the
+      Vienna library, they read, instead of regnum, rogum, prayer or
+      request (see Ducange;) and the royalty of Charles Martel is
+      subverted by this important correction, (Catalani, in his
+      Critical Prefaces, Annali d’Italia, tom. xvii. p. 95-99.)]
+
+      60 (return) [ In the authentic narrative of this reception, the
+      Liber Pontificalis observes—obviam illi ejus sanctitas dirigens
+      venerabiles cruces, id est signa; sicut mos est ad exarchum, aut
+      patricium suscipiendum, sum cum ingenti honore suscipi fecit,
+      (tom. iii. pars i. p. 185.)]
+
+      61 (return) [ Paulus Diaconus, who wrote before the empire of
+      Charlemagne describes Rome as his subject city—vestrae civitates
+      (ad Pompeium Festum) suis addidit sceptris, (de Metensis
+      Ecclesiae Episcopis.) Some Carlovingian medals, struck at Rome,
+      have engaged Le Blanc to write an elaborate, though partial,
+      dissertation on their authority at Rome, both as patricians and
+      emperors, (Amsterdam, 1692, in 4to.)]
+
+      The gratitude of the Carlovingians was adequate to these
+      obligations, and their names are consecrated, as the saviors and
+      benefactors of the Roman church. Her ancient patrimony of farms
+      and houses was transformed by their bounty into the temporal
+      dominion of cities and provinces; and the donation of the
+      Exarchate was the first-fruits of the conquests of Pepin. 62
+      Astolphus with a sigh relinquished his prey; the keys and the
+      hostages of the principal cities were delivered to the French
+      ambassador; and, in his master’s name, he presented them before
+      the tomb of St. Peter. The ample measure of the Exarchate 63
+      might comprise all the provinces of Italy which had obeyed the
+      emperor and his vicegerent; but its strict and proper limits were
+      included in the territories of Ravenna, Bologna, and Ferrara: its
+      inseparable dependency was the Pentapolis, which stretched along
+      the Adriatic from Rimini to Ancona, and advanced into the
+      midland-country as far as the ridges of the Apennine. In this
+      transaction, the ambition and avarice of the popes have been
+      severely condemned. Perhaps the humility of a Christian priest
+      should have rejected an earthly kingdom, which it was not easy
+      for him to govern without renouncing the virtues of his
+      profession. Perhaps a faithful subject, or even a generous enemy,
+      would have been less impatient to divide the spoils of the
+      Barbarian; and if the emperor had intrusted Stephen to solicit in
+      his name the restitution of the Exarchate, I will not absolve the
+      pope from the reproach of treachery and falsehood. But in the
+      rigid interpretation of the laws, every one may accept, without
+      injury, whatever his benefactor can bestow without injustice. The
+      Greek emperor had abdicated, or forfeited, his right to the
+      Exarchate; and the sword of Astolphus was broken by the stronger
+      sword of the Carlovingian. It was not in the cause of the
+      Iconoclast that Pepin has exposed his person and army in a double
+      expedition beyond the Alps: he possessed, and might lawfully
+      alienate, his conquests: and to the importunities of the Greeks
+      he piously replied that no human consideration should tempt him
+      to resume the gift which he had conferred on the Roman Pontiff
+      for the remission of his sins, and the salvation of his soul. The
+      splendid donation was granted in supreme and absolute dominion,
+      and the world beheld for the first time a Christian bishop
+      invested with the prerogatives of a temporal prince; the choice
+      of magistrates, the exercise of justice, the imposition of taxes,
+      and the wealth of the palace of Ravenna. In the dissolution of
+      the Lombard kingdom, the inhabitants of the duchy of Spoleto 64
+      sought a refuge from the storm, shaved their heads after the
+      Roman fashion, declared themselves the servants and subjects of
+      St. Peter, and completed, by this voluntary surrender, the
+      present circle of the ecclesiastical state. That mysterious
+      circle was enlarged to an indefinite extent, by the verbal or
+      written donation of Charlemagne, 65 who, in the first transports
+      of his victory, despoiled himself and the Greek emperor of the
+      cities and islands which had formerly been annexed to the
+      Exarchate. But, in the cooler moments of absence and reflection,
+      he viewed, with an eye of jealousy and envy, the recent greatness
+      of his ecclesiastical ally. The execution of his own and his
+      father’s promises was respectfully eluded: the king of the Franks
+      and Lombards asserted the inalienable rights of the empire; and,
+      in his life and death, Ravenna, 66 as well as Rome, was numbered
+      in the list of his metropolitan cities. The sovereignty of the
+      Exarchate melted away in the hands of the popes; they found in
+      the archbishops of Ravenna a dangerous and domestic rival: 67 the
+      nobles and people disdained the yoke of a priest; and in the
+      disorders of the times, they could only retain the memory of an
+      ancient claim, which, in a more prosperous age, they have revived
+      and realized.
+
+      62 (return) [ Mosheim (Institution, Hist. Eccles. p. 263) weighs
+      this donation with fair and deliberate prudence. The original act
+      has never been produced; but the Liber Pontificalis represents,
+      (p. 171,) and the Codex Carolinus supposes, this ample gift. Both
+      are contemporary records and the latter is the more authentic,
+      since it has been preserved, not in the Papal, but the Imperial,
+      library.]
+
+      63 (return) [ Between the exorbitant claims, and narrow
+      concessions, of interest and prejudice, from which even Muratori
+      (Antiquitat. tom. i. p. 63-68) is not exempt, I have been guided,
+      in the limits of the Exarchate and Pentapolis, by the Dissertatio
+      Chorographica Italiae Medii Aevi, tom. x. p. 160-180.]
+
+      64 (return) [ Spoletini deprecati sunt, ut eos in servitio B.
+      Petri receperet et more Romanorum tonsurari faceret, (Anastasius,
+      p. 185.) Yet it may be a question whether they gave their own
+      persons or their country.]
+
+      65 (return) [ The policy and donations of Charlemagne are
+      carefully examined by St. Marc, (Abrege, tom. i. p. 390-408,) who
+      has well studied the Codex Carolinus. I believe, with him, that
+      they were only verbal. The most ancient act of donation that
+      pretends to be extant, is that of the emperor Lewis the Pious,
+      (Sigonius, de Regno Italiae, l. iv. Opera, tom. ii. p. 267-270.)
+      Its authenticity, or at least its integrity, are much questioned,
+      (Pagi, A.D. 817, No. 7, &c. Muratori, Annali, tom. vi. p. 432,
+      &c. Dissertat. Chorographica, p. 33, 34;) but I see no reasonable
+      objection to these princes so freely disposing of what was not
+      their own.]
+
+      66 (return) [ Charlemagne solicited and obtained from the
+      proprietor, Hadrian I., the mosaics of the palace of Ravenna, for
+      the decoration of Aix-la-Chapelle, (Cod. Carolin. epist. 67, p.
+      223.)]
+
+      67 (return) [ The popes often complain of the usurpations of Leo
+      of Ravenna, (Codex Carolin, epist. 51, 52, 53, p. 200-205.) Sir
+      corpus St. Andreae fratris germani St. Petri hic humasset,
+      nequaquam nos Romani pontifices sic subjugassent, (Agnellus,
+      Liber Pontificalis, in Scriptores Rerum Ital. tom. ii. pars. i.
+      p. 107.)]
+
+      Fraud is the resource of weakness and cunning; and the strong,
+      though ignorant, Barbarian was often entangled in the net of
+      sacerdotal policy. The Vatican and Lateran were an arsenal and
+      manufacture, which, according to the occasion, have produced or
+      concealed a various collection of false or genuine, of corrupt or
+      suspicious, acts, as they tended to promote the interest of the
+      Roman church. Before the end of the eighth century, some
+      apostolic scribe, perhaps the notorious Isidore, composed the
+      decretals, and the donation of Constantine, the two magic pillars
+      of the spiritual and temporal monarchy of the popes. This
+      memorable donation was introduced to the world by an epistle of
+      Adrian the First, who exhorts Charlemagne to imitate the
+      liberality, and revive the name, of the great Constantine. 68
+      According to the legend, the first of the Christian emperors was
+      healed of the leprosy, and purified in the waters of baptism, by
+      St. Silvester, the Roman bishop; and never was physician more
+      gloriously recompensed. His royal proselyte withdrew from the
+      seat and patrimony of St. Peter; declared his resolution of
+      founding a new capital in the East; and resigned to the popes;
+      the free and perpetual sovereignty of Rome, Italy, and the
+      provinces of the West. 69 This fiction was productive of the most
+      beneficial effects. The Greek princes were convicted of the guilt
+      of usurpation; and the revolt of Gregory was the claim of his
+      lawful inheritance. The popes were delivered from their debt of
+      gratitude; and the nominal gifts of the Carlovingians were no
+      more than the just and irrevocable restitution of a scanty
+      portion of the ecclesiastical state. The sovereignty of Rome no
+      longer depended on the choice of a fickle people; and the
+      successors of St. Peter and Constantine were invested with the
+      purple and prerogatives of the Caesars. So deep was the ignorance
+      and credulity of the times, that the most absurd of fables was
+      received, with equal reverence, in Greece and in France, and is
+      still enrolled among the decrees of the canon law. 70 The
+      emperors, and the Romans, were incapable of discerning a forgery,
+      that subverted their rights and freedom; and the only opposition
+      proceeded from a Sabine monastery, which, in the beginning of the
+      twelfth century, disputed the truth and validity of the donation
+      of Constantine. 71 In the revival of letters and liberty, this
+      fictitious deed was transpierced by the pen of Laurentius Valla,
+      the pen of an eloquent critic and a Roman patriot. 72 His
+      contemporaries of the fifteenth century were astonished at his
+      sacrilegious boldness; yet such is the silent and irresistible
+      progress of reason, that, before the end of the next age, the
+      fable was rejected by the contempt of historians 73 and poets, 74
+      and the tacit or modest censure of the advocates of the Roman
+      church. 75 The popes themselves have indulged a smile at the
+      credulity of the vulgar; 76 but a false and obsolete title still
+      sanctifies their reign; and, by the same fortune which has
+      attended the decretals and the Sibylline oracles, the edifice has
+      subsisted after the foundations have been undermined.
+
+      68 (return) [ Piissimo Constantino magno, per ejus largitatem S.
+      R. Ecclesia elevata et exaltata est, et potestatem in his
+      Hesperiae partibus largiri olignatus est.... Quia ecce novus
+      Constantinus his temporibus, &c., (Codex Carolin. epist. 49, in
+      tom. iii. part ii. p. 195.) Pagi (Critica, A.D. 324, No. 16)
+      ascribes them to an impostor of the viiith century, who borrowed
+      the name of St. Isidore: his humble title of Peccator was
+      ignorantly, but aptly, turned into Mercator: his merchandise was
+      indeed profitable, and a few sheets of paper were sold for much
+      wealth and power.]
+
+      69 (return) [ Fabricius (Bibliot. Graec. tom. vi. p. 4-7) has
+      enumerated the several editions of this Act, in Greek and Latin.
+      The copy which Laurentius Valla recites and refutes, appears to
+      be taken either from the spurious Acts of St. Silvester or from
+      Gratian’s Decree, to which, according to him and others, it has
+      been surreptitiously tacked.]
+
+      70 (return) [ In the year 1059, it was believed (was it
+      believed?) by Pope Leo IX. Cardinal Peter Damianus, &c. Muratori
+      places (Annali d’Italia, tom. ix. p. 23, 24) the fictitious
+      donations of Lewis the Pious, the Othos, &c., de Donatione
+      Constantini. See a Dissertation of Natalis Alexander, seculum iv.
+      diss. 25, p. 335-350.]
+
+      71 (return) [ See a large account of the controversy (A.D. 1105)
+      which arose from a private lawsuit, in the Chronicon Farsense,
+      (Script. Rerum Italicarum, tom. ii. pars ii. p. 637, &c.,) a
+      copious extract from the archives of that Benedictine abbey. They
+      were formerly accessible to curious foreigners, (Le Blanc and
+      Mabillon,) and would have enriched the first volume of the
+      Historia Monastica Italiae of Quirini. But they are now
+      imprisoned (Muratori, Scriptores R. I. tom. ii. pars ii. p. 269)
+      by the timid policy of the court of Rome; and the future cardinal
+      yielded to the voice of authority and the whispers of ambition,
+      (Quirini, Comment. pars ii. p. 123-136.)]
+
+      72 (return) [ I have read in the collection of Schardius (de
+      Potestate Imperiali Ecclesiastica, p. 734-780) this animated
+      discourse, which was composed by the author, A.D. 1440, six years
+      after the flight of Pope Eugenius IV. It is a most vehement party
+      pamphlet: Valla justifies and animates the revolt of the Romans,
+      and would even approve the use of a dagger against their
+      sacerdotal tyrant. Such a critic might expect the persecution of
+      the clergy; yet he made his peace, and is buried in the Lateran,
+      (Bayle, Dictionnaire Critique, Valla; Vossius, de Historicis
+      Latinis, p. 580.)]
+
+      73 (return) [ See Guicciardini, a servant of the popes, in that
+      long and valuable digression, which has resumed its place in the
+      last edition, correctly published from the author’s Ms. and
+      printed in four volumes in quarto, under the name of Friburgo,
+      1775, (Istoria d’Italia, tom. i. p. 385-395.)]
+
+      74 (return) [ The Paladin Astolpho found it in the moon, among
+      the things that were lost upon earth, (Orlando Furioso, xxxiv.
+      80.) Di vari fiore ad un grand monte passa, Ch’ebbe gia buono
+      odore, or puzza forte: Questo era il dono (se pero dir lece) Che
+      Constantino al buon Silvestro fece. Yet this incomparable poem
+      has been approved by a bull of Leo X.]
+
+      75 (return) [ See Baronius, A.D. 324, No. 117-123, A.D. 1191, No.
+      51, &c. The cardinal wishes to suppose that Rome was offered by
+      Constantine, and refused by Silvester. The act of donation he
+      considers strangely enough, as a forgery of the Greeks.]
+
+      76 (return) [ Baronius n’en dit guerres contre; encore en a-t’il
+      trop dit, et l’on vouloit sans moi, (Cardinal du Perron,) qui
+      l’empechai, censurer cette partie de son histoire. J’en devisai
+      un jour avec le Pape, et il ne me repondit autre chose “che
+      volete? i Canonici la tengono,” il le disoit en riant,
+      (Perroniana, p. 77.)]
+
+      While the popes established in Italy their freedom and dominion,
+      the images, the first cause of their revolt, were restored in the
+      Eastern empire. 77 Under the reign of Constantine the Fifth, the
+      union of civil and ecclesiastical power had overthrown the tree,
+      without extirpating the root, of superstition. The idols (for
+      such they were now held) were secretly cherished by the order and
+      the sex most prone to devotion; and the fond alliance of the
+      monks and females obtained a final victory over the reason and
+      authority of man. Leo the Fourth maintained with less rigor the
+      religion of his father and grandfather; but his wife, the fair
+      and ambitious Irene, had imbibed the zeal of the Athenians, the
+      heirs of the Idolatry, rather than the philosophy, of their
+      ancestors. During the life of her husband, these sentiments were
+      inflamed by danger and dissimulation, and she could only labor to
+      protect and promote some favorite monks whom she drew from their
+      caverns, and seated on the metropolitan thrones of the East. But
+      as soon as she reigned in her own name and that of her son, Irene
+      more seriously undertook the ruin of the Iconoclasts; and the
+      first step of her future persecution was a general edict for
+      liberty of conscience.
+
+      In the restoration of the monks, a thousand images were exposed
+      to the public veneration; a thousand legends were inverted of
+      their sufferings and miracles. By the opportunities of death or
+      removal, the episcopal seats were judiciously filled; the most
+      eager competitors for earthly or celestial favor anticipated and
+      flattered the judgment of their sovereign; and the promotion of
+      her secretary Tarasius gave Irene the patriarch of
+      Constantinople, and the command of the Oriental church. But the
+      decrees of a general council could only be repealed by a similar
+      assembly: 78 the Iconoclasts whom she convened were bold in
+      possession, and averse to debate; and the feeble voice of the
+      bishops was reechoed by the more formidable clamor of the
+      soldiers and people of Constantinople. The delay and intrigues of
+      a year, the separation of the disaffected troops, and the choice
+      of Nice for a second orthodox synod, removed these obstacles; and
+      the episcopal conscience was again, after the Greek fashion, in
+      the hands of the prince. No more than eighteen days were allowed
+      for the consummation of this important work: the Iconoclasts
+      appeared, not as judges, but as criminals or penitents: the scene
+      was decorated by the legates of Pope Adrian and the Eastern
+      patriarchs, 79 the decrees were framed by the president Taracius,
+      and ratified by the acclamations and subscriptions of three
+      hundred and fifty bishops. They unanimously pronounced, that the
+      worship of images is agreeable to Scripture and reason, to the
+      fathers and councils of the church: but they hesitate whether
+      that worship be relative or direct; whether the Godhead, and the
+      figure of Christ, be entitled to the same mode of adoration. Of
+      this second Nicene council the acts are still extant; a curious
+      monument of superstition and ignorance, of falsehood and folly. I
+      shall only notice the judgment of the bishops on the comparative
+      merit of image-worship and morality. A monk had concluded a truce
+      with the daemon of fornication, on condition of interrupting his
+      daily prayers to a picture that hung in his cell. His scruples
+      prompted him to consult the abbot. “Rather than abstain from
+      adoring Christ and his Mother in their holy images, it would be
+      better for you,” replied the casuist, “to enter every brothel,
+      and visit every prostitute, in the city.” 80 For the honor of
+      orthodoxy, at least the orthodoxy of the Roman church, it is
+      somewhat unfortunate, that the two princes who convened the two
+      councils of Nice are both stained with the blood of their sons.
+      The second of these assemblies was approved and rigorously
+      executed by the despotism of Irene, and she refused her
+      adversaries the toleration which at first she had granted to her
+      friends. During the five succeeding reigns, a period of
+      thirty-eight years, the contest was maintained, with unabated
+      rage and various success, between the worshippers and the
+      breakers of the images; but I am not inclined to pursue with
+      minute diligence the repetition of the same events. Nicephorus
+      allowed a general liberty of speech and practice; and the only
+      virtue of his reign is accused by the monks as the cause of his
+      temporal and eternal perdition. Superstition and weakness formed
+      the character of Michael the First, but the saints and images
+      were incapable of supporting their votary on the throne. In the
+      purple, Leo the Fifth asserted the name and religion of an
+      Armenian; and the idols, with their seditious adherents, were
+      condemned to a second exile. Their applause would have sanctified
+      the murder of an impious tyrant, but his assassin and successor,
+      the second Michael, was tainted from his birth with the Phrygian
+      heresies: he attempted to mediate between the contending parties;
+      and the intractable spirit of the Catholics insensibly cast him
+      into the opposite scale. His moderation was guarded by timidity;
+      but his son Theophilus, alike ignorant of fear and pity, was the
+      last and most cruel of the Iconoclasts. The enthusiasm of the
+      times ran strongly against them; and the emperors who stemmed the
+      torrent were exasperated and punished by the public hatred. After
+      the death of Theophilus, the final victory of the images was
+      achieved by a second female, his widow Theodora, whom he left the
+      guardian of the empire. Her measures were bold and decisive. The
+      fiction of a tardy repentance absolved the fame and the soul of
+      her deceased husband; the sentence of the Iconoclast patriarch
+      was commuted from the loss of his eyes to a whipping of two
+      hundred lashes: the bishops trembled, the monks shouted, and the
+      festival of orthodoxy preserves the annual memory of the triumph
+      of the images. A single question yet remained, whether they are
+      endowed with any proper and inherent sanctity; it was agitated by
+      the Greeks of the eleventh century; 81 and as this opinion has
+      the strongest recommendation of absurdity, I am surprised that it
+      was not more explicitly decided in the affirmative. In the West,
+      Pope Adrian the First accepted and announced the decrees of the
+      Nicene assembly, which is now revered by the Catholics as the
+      seventh in rank of the general councils. Rome and Italy were
+      docile to the voice of their father; but the greatest part of the
+      Latin Christians were far behind in the race of superstition. The
+      churches of France, Germany, England, and Spain, steered a middle
+      course between the adoration and the destruction of images, which
+      they admitted into their temples, not as objects of worship, but
+      as lively and useful memorials of faith and history. An angry
+      book of controversy was composed and published in the name of
+      Charlemagne: 82 under his authority a synod of three hundred
+      bishops was assembled at Frankfort: 83 they blamed the fury of
+      the Iconoclasts, but they pronounced a more severe censure
+      against the superstition of the Greeks, and the decrees of their
+      pretended council, which was long despised by the Barbarians of
+      the West. 84 Among them the worship of images advanced with a
+      silent and insensible progress; but a large atonement is made for
+      their hesitation and delay, by the gross idolatry of the ages
+      which precede the reformation, and of the countries, both in
+      Europe and America, which are still immersed in the gloom of
+      superstition.
+
+      77 (return) [ The remaining history of images, from Irene to
+      Theodora, is collected, for the Catholics, by Baronius and Pagi,
+      (A.D. 780-840.) Natalis Alexander, (Hist. N. T. seculum viii.
+      Panoplia adversus Haereticos p. 118-178,) and Dupin, (Bibliot.
+      Eccles. tom. vi. p. 136-154;) for the Protestants, by Spanheim,
+      (Hist. Imag. p. 305-639.) Basnage, (Hist. de l’Eglise, tom. i. p.
+      556-572, tom. ii. p. 1362-1385,) and Mosheim, (Institut. Hist.
+      Eccles. secul. viii. et ix.) The Protestants, except Mosheim, are
+      soured with controversy; but the Catholics, except Dupin, are
+      inflamed by the fury and superstition of the monks; and even Le
+      Beau, (Hist. du Bas Empire,) a gentleman and a scholar, is
+      infected by the odious contagion.]
+
+      78 (return) [ See the Acts, in Greek and Latin, of the second
+      Council of Nice, with a number of relative pieces, in the viiith
+      volume of the Councils, p. 645-1600. A faithful version, with
+      some critical notes, would provoke, in different readers, a sigh
+      or a smile.]
+
+      79 (return) [ The pope’s legates were casual messengers, two
+      priests without any special commission, and who were disavowed on
+      their return. Some vagabond monks were persuaded by the Catholics
+      to represent the Oriental patriarchs. This curious anecdote is
+      revealed by Theodore Studites, (epist. i. 38, in Sirmond. Opp.
+      tom. v. p. 1319,) one of the warmest Iconoclasts of the age.]
+
+      80 (return) [ These visits could not be innocent since the daemon
+      of fornication, &c. Actio iv. p. 901, Actio v. p. 1081]
+
+      81 (return) [ See an account of this controversy in the Alexius
+      of Anna Compena, (l. v. p. 129,) and Mosheim, (Institut. Hist.
+      Eccles. p. 371, 372.)]
+
+      82 (return) [ The Libri Carolini, (Spanheim, p. 443-529,)
+      composed in the palace or winter quarters of Charlemagne, at
+      Worms, A.D. 790, and sent by Engebert to Pope Hadrian I., who
+      answered them by a grandis et verbosa epistola, (Concil. tom.
+      vii. p. 1553.) The Carolines propose 120 objections against the
+      Nicene synod and such words as these are the flowers of their
+      rhetoric—Dementiam.... priscae Gentilitatis obsoletum errorem
+      .... argumenta insanissima et absurdissima.... derisione dignas
+      naenias, &c., &c.]
+
+      83 (return) [ The assemblies of Charlemagne were political, as
+      well as ecclesiastical; and the three hundred members, (Nat.
+      Alexander, sec. viii. p. 53,) who sat and voted at Frankfort,
+      must include not only the bishops, but the abbots, and even the
+      principal laymen.]
+
+      84 (return) [ Qui supra sanctissima patres nostri (episcopi et
+      sacerdotes) omnimodis servitium et adorationem imaginum renuentes
+      contempserunt, atque consentientes condemnaverunt, (Concil. tom.
+      ix. p. 101, Canon. ii. Franckfurd.) A polemic must be
+      hard-hearted indeed, who does not pity the efforts of Baronius,
+      Pagi, Alexander, Maimbourg, &c., to elude this unlucky sentence.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter XLIX: Conquest Of Italy By The Franks.—Part IV.
+
+      It was after the Nycene synod, and under the reign of the pious
+      Irene, that the popes consummated the separation of Rome and
+      Italy, by the translation of the empire to the less orthodox
+      Charlemagne. They were compelled to choose between the rival
+      nations: religion was not the sole motive of their choice; and
+      while they dissembled the failings of their friends, they beheld,
+      with reluctance and suspicion, the Catholic virtues of their
+      foes. The difference of language and manners had perpetuated the
+      enmity of the two capitals; and they were alienated from each
+      other by the hostile opposition of seventy years. In that schism
+      the Romans had tasted of freedom, and the popes of sovereignty:
+      their submission would have exposed them to the revenge of a
+      jealous tyrant; and the revolution of Italy had betrayed the
+      impotence, as well as the tyranny, of the Byzantine court. The
+      Greek emperors had restored the images, but they had not restored
+      the Calabrian estates 85 and the Illyrian diocese, 86 which the
+      Iconociasts had torn away from the successors of St. Peter; and
+      Pope Adrian threatens them with a sentence of excommunication
+      unless they speedily abjure this practical heresy. 87 The Greeks
+      were now orthodox; but their religion might be tainted by the
+      breath of the reigning monarch: the Franks were now contumacious;
+      but a discerning eye might discern their approaching conversion,
+      from the use, to the adoration, of images. The name of
+      Charlemagne was stained by the polemic acrimony of his scribes;
+      but the conqueror himself conformed, with the temper of a
+      statesman, to the various practice of France and Italy. In his
+      four pilgrimages or visits to the Vatican, he embraced the popes
+      in the communion of friendship and piety; knelt before the tomb,
+      and consequently before the image, of the apostle; and joined,
+      without scruple, in all the prayers and processions of the Roman
+      liturgy. Would prudence or gratitude allow the pontiffs to
+      renounce their benefactor? Had they a right to alienate his gift
+      of the Exarchate? Had they power to abolish his government of
+      Rome? The title of patrician was below the merit and greatness of
+      Charlemagne; and it was only by reviving the Western empire that
+      they could pay their obligations or secure their establishment.
+      By this decisive measure they would finally eradicate the claims
+      of the Greeks; from the debasement of a provincial town, the
+      majesty of Rome would be restored: the Latin Christians would be
+      united, under a supreme head, in their ancient metropolis; and
+      the conquerors of the West would receive their crown from the
+      successors of St. Peter. The Roman church would acquire a zealous
+      and respectable advocate; and, under the shadow of the
+      Carlovingian power, the bishop might exercise, with honor and
+      safety, the government of the city. 88
+
+      85 (return) [ Theophanes (p. 343) specifies those of Sicily and
+      Calabria, which yielded an annual rent of three talents and a
+      half of gold, (perhaps 7000 L. sterling.) Liutprand more
+      pompously enumerates the patrimonies of the Roman church in
+      Greece, Judaea, Persia, Mesopotamia Babylonia, Egypt, and Libya,
+      which were detained by the injustice of the Greek emperor,
+      (Legat. ad Nicephorum, in Script. Rerum Italica rum, tom. ii.
+      pars i. p. 481.)]
+
+      86 (return) [ The great diocese of the Eastern Illyricum, with
+      Apulia, Calabria, and Sicily, (Thomassin, Discipline de l’Eglise,
+      tom. i. p. 145: ) by the confession of the Greeks, the patriarch
+      of Constantinople had detached from Rome the metropolitans of
+      Thessalonica, Athens Corinth, Nicopolis, and Patrae, (Luc.
+      Holsten. Geograph. Sacra, p. 22) and his spiritual conquests
+      extended to Naples and Amalphi (Istoria Civile di Napoli, tom. i.
+      p. 517-524, Pagi, A. D 780, No. 11.)]
+
+      87 (return) [ In hoc ostenditur, quia ex uno capitulo ab errore
+      reversis, in aliis duobus, in eodem (was it the same?) permaneant
+      errore.... de diocessi S. R. E. seu de patrimoniis iterum
+      increpantes commonemus, ut si ea restituere noluerit hereticum
+      eum pro hujusmodi errore perseverantia decernemus, (Epist.
+      Hadrian. Papae ad Carolum Magnum, in Concil. tom. viii. p. 1598;)
+      to which he adds a reason, most directly opposite to his conduct,
+      that he preferred the salvation of souls and rule of faith to the
+      goods of this transitory world.]
+
+      88 (return) [ Fontanini considers the emperors as no more than
+      the advocates of the church, (advocatus et defensor S. R. E. See
+      Ducange, Gloss Lat. tom. i. p. 297.) His antagonist Muratori
+      reduces the popes to be no more than the exarchs of the emperor.
+      In the more equitable view of Mosheim, (Institut. Hist. Eccles.
+      p. 264, 265,) they held Rome under the empire as the most
+      honorable species of fief or benefice—premuntur nocte
+      caliginosa!]
+
+      Before the ruin of Paganism in Rome, the competition for a
+      wealthy bishopric had often been productive of tumult and
+      bloodshed. The people was less numerous, but the times were more
+      savage, the prize more important, and the chair of St. Peter was
+      fiercely disputed by the leading ecclesiastics who aspired to the
+      rank of sovereign. The reign of Adrian the First 89 surpasses the
+      measure of past or succeeding ages; 90 the walls of Rome, the
+      sacred patrimony, the ruin of the Lombards, and the friendship of
+      Charlemagne, were the trophies of his fame: he secretly edified
+      the throne of his successors, and displayed in a narrow space the
+      virtues of a great prince. His memory was revered; but in the
+      next election, a priest of the Lateran, Leo the Third, was
+      preferred to the nephew and the favorite of Adrian, whom he had
+      promoted to the first dignities of the church. Their acquiescence
+      or repentance disguised, above four years, the blackest intention
+      of revenge, till the day of a procession, when a furious band of
+      conspirators dispersed the unarmed multitude, and assaulted with
+      blows and wounds the sacred person of the pope. But their
+      enterprise on his life or liberty was disappointed, perhaps by
+      their own confusion and remorse. Leo was left for dead on the
+      ground: on his revival from the swoon, the effect of his loss of
+      blood, he recovered his speech and sight; and this natural event
+      was improved to the miraculous restoration of his eyes and
+      tongue, of which he had been deprived, twice deprived, by the
+      knife of the assassins. 91 From his prison he escaped to the
+      Vatican: the duke of Spoleto hastened to his rescue, Charlemagne
+      sympathized in his injury, and in his camp of Paderborn in
+      Westphalia accepted, or solicited, a visit from the Roman
+      pontiff. Leo repassed the Alps with a commission of counts and
+      bishops, the guards of his safety and the judges of his
+      innocence; and it was not without reluctance, that the conqueror
+      of the Saxons delayed till the ensuing year the personal
+      discharge of this pious office. In his fourth and last
+      pilgrimage, he was received at Rome with the due honors of king
+      and patrician: Leo was permitted to purge himself by oath of the
+      crimes imputed to his charge: his enemies were silenced, and the
+      sacrilegious attempt against his life was punished by the mild
+      and insufficient penalty of exile. On the festival of Christmas,
+      the last year of the eighth century, Charlemagne appeared in the
+      church of St. Peter; and, to gratify the vanity of Rome, he had
+      exchanged the simple dress of his country for the habit of a
+      patrician. 92 After the celebration of the holy mysteries, Leo
+      suddenly placed a precious crown on his head, 93 and the dome
+      resounded with the acclamations of the people, “Long life and
+      victory to Charles, the most pious Augustus, crowned by God the
+      great and pacific emperor of the Romans!” The head and body of
+      Charlemagne were consecrated by the royal unction: after the
+      example of the Caesars, he was saluted or adored by the pontiff:
+      his coronation oath represents a promise to maintain the faith
+      and privileges of the church; and the first-fruits were paid in
+      his rich offerings to the shrine of his apostle. In his familiar
+      conversation, the emperor protested the ignorance of the
+      intentions of Leo, which he would have disappointed by his
+      absence on that memorable day. But the preparations of the
+      ceremony must have disclosed the secret; and the journey of
+      Charlemagne reveals his knowledge and expectation: he had
+      acknowledged that the Imperial title was the object of his
+      ambition, and a Roman synod had pronounced, that it was the only
+      adequate reward of his merit and services. 94
+
+      89 (return) [ His merits and hopes are summed up in an epitaph of
+      thirty-eight-verses, of which Charlemagne declares himself the
+      author, (Concil. tom. viii. p. 520.) Post patrem lacrymans
+      Carolus haec carmina scripsi. Tu mihi dulcis amor, te modo plango
+      pater... Nomina jungo simul titulis, clarissime, nostra Adrianus,
+      Carolus, rex ego, tuque pater. The poetry might be supplied by
+      Alcuin; but the tears, the most glorious tribute, can only belong
+      to Charlemagne.]
+
+      90 (return) [ Every new pope is admonished—“Sancte Pater, non
+      videbis annos Petri,” twenty-five years. On the whole series the
+      average is about eight years—a short hope for an ambitious
+      cardinal.]
+
+      91 (return) [ The assurance of Anastasius (tom. iii. pars i. p.
+      197, 198) is supported by the credulity of some French annalists;
+      but Eginhard, and other writers of the same age, are more natural
+      and sincere. “Unus ei oculus paullulum est laesus,” says John the
+      deacon of Naples, (Vit. Episcop. Napol. in Scriptores Muratori,
+      tom. i. pars ii. p. 312.) Theodolphus, a contemporary bishop of
+      Orleans, observes with prudence (l. iii. carm. 3.) Reddita sunt?
+      mirum est: mirum est auferre nequtsse. Est tamen in dubio, hinc
+      mirer an inde magis.]
+
+      92 (return) [ Twice, at the request of Hadrian and Leo, he
+      appeared at Rome,—longa tunica et chlamyde amictus, et
+      calceamentis quoque Romano more formatis. Eginhard (c. xxiii. p.
+      109-113) describes, like Suetonius the simplicity of his dress,
+      so popular in the nation, that when Charles the Bald returned to
+      France in a foreign habit, the patriotic dogs barked at the
+      apostate, (Gaillard, Vie de Charlemagne, tom. iv. p. 109.)]
+
+      93 (return) [ See Anastasius (p. 199) and Eginhard, (c.xxviii. p.
+      124-128.) The unction is mentioned by Theophanes, (p. 399,) the
+      oath by Sigonius, (from the Ordo Romanus,) and the Pope’s
+      adoration more antiquorum principum, by the Annales Bertiniani,
+      (Script. Murator. tom. ii. pars ii. p. 505.)]
+
+      94 (return) [ This great event of the translation or restoration
+      of the empire is related and discussed by Natalis Alexander,
+      (secul. ix. dissert. i. p. 390-397,) Pagi, (tom. iii. p. 418,)
+      Muratori, (Annali d’Italia, tom. vi. p. 339-352,) Sigonius, (de
+      Regno Italiae, l. iv. Opp. tom. ii. p. 247-251,) Spanheim, (de
+      ficta Translatione Imperii,) Giannone, (tom. i. p. 395-405,) St.
+      Marc, (Abrege Chronologique, tom. i. p. 438-450,) Gaillard,
+      (Hist. de Charlemagne, tom. ii. p. 386-446.) Almost all these
+      moderns have some religious or national bias.]
+
+      The appellation of great has been often bestowed, and sometimes
+      deserved; but Charlemagne is the only prince in whose favor the
+      title has been indissolubly blended with the name. That name,
+      with the addition of saint, is inserted in the Roman calendar;
+      and the saint, by a rare felicity, is crowned with the praises of
+      the historians and philosophers of an enlightened age. 95 His
+      real merit is doubtless enhanced by the barbarism of the nation
+      and the times from which he emerged: but the apparent magnitude
+      of an object is likewise enlarged by an unequal comparison; and
+      the ruins of Palmyra derive a casual splendor from the nakedness
+      of the surrounding desert. Without injustice to his fame, I may
+      discern some blemishes in the sanctity and greatness of the
+      restorer of the Western empire. Of his moral virtues, chastity is
+      not the most conspicuous: 96 but the public happiness could not
+      be materially injured by his nine wives or concubines, the
+      various indulgence of meaner or more transient amours, the
+      multitude of his bastards whom he bestowed on the church, and the
+      long celibacy and licentious manners of his daughters, 97 whom
+      the father was suspected of loving with too fond a passion. 971 I
+      shall be scarcely permitted to accuse the ambition of a
+      conqueror; but in a day of equal retribution, the sons of his
+      brother Carloman, the Merovingian princes of Aquitain, and the
+      four thousand five hundred Saxons who were beheaded on the same
+      spot, would have something to allege against the justice and
+      humanity of Charlemagne. His treatment of the vanquished Saxons
+      98 was an abuse of the right of conquest; his laws were not less
+      sanguinary than his arms, and in the discussion of his motives,
+      whatever is subtracted from bigotry must be imputed to temper.
+      The sedentary reader is amazed by his incessant activity of mind
+      and body; and his subjects and enemies were not less astonished
+      at his sudden presence, at the moment when they believed him at
+      the most distant extremity of the empire; neither peace nor war,
+      nor summer nor winter, were a season of repose; and our fancy
+      cannot easily reconcile the annals of his reign with the
+      geography of his expeditions. 981 But this activity was a
+      national, rather than a personal, virtue; the vagrant life of a
+      Frank was spent in the chase, in pilgrimage, in military
+      adventures; and the journeys of Charlemagne were distinguished
+      only by a more numerous train and a more important purpose. His
+      military renown must be tried by the scrutiny of his troops, his
+      enemies, and his actions. Alexander conquered with the arms of
+      Philip, but the two heroes who preceded Charlemagne bequeathed
+      him their name, their examples, and the companions of their
+      victories. At the head of his veteran and superior armies, he
+      oppressed the savage or degenerate nations, who were incapable of
+      confederating for their common safety: nor did he ever encounter
+      an equal antagonist in numbers, in discipline, or in arms The
+      science of war has been lost and revived with the arts of peace;
+      but his campaigns are not illustrated by any siege or battle of
+      singular difficulty and success; and he might behold, with envy,
+      the Saracen trophies of his grandfather. After the Spanish
+      expedition, his rear-guard was defeated in the Pyrenaean
+      mountains; and the soldiers, whose situation was irretrievable,
+      and whose valor was useless, might accuse, with their last
+      breath, the want of skill or caution of their general. 99 I touch
+      with reverence the laws of Charlemagne, so highly applauded by a
+      respectable judge. They compose not a system, but a series, of
+      occasional and minute edicts, for the correction of abuses, the
+      reformation of manners, the economy of his farms, the care of his
+      poultry, and even the sale of his eggs. He wished to improve the
+      laws and the character of the Franks; and his attempts, however
+      feeble and imperfect, are deserving of praise: the inveterate
+      evils of the times were suspended or mollified by his government;
+      100 but in his institutions I can seldom discover the general
+      views and the immortal spirit of a legislator, who survives
+      himself for the benefit of posterity. The union and stability of
+      his empire depended on the life of a single man: he imitated the
+      dangerous practice of dividing his kingdoms among his sons; and
+      after his numerous diets, the whole constitution was left to
+      fluctuate between the disorders of anarchy and despotism. His
+      esteem for the piety and knowledge of the clergy tempted him to
+      intrust that aspiring order with temporal dominion and civil
+      jurisdiction; and his son Lewis, when he was stripped and
+      degraded by the bishops, might accuse, in some measure, the
+      imprudence of his father. His laws enforced the imposition of
+      tithes, because the daemons had proclaimed in the air that the
+      default of payment had been the cause of the last scarcity. 101
+      The literary merits of Charlemagne are attested by the foundation
+      of schools, the introduction of arts, the works which were
+      published in his name, and his familiar connection with the
+      subjects and strangers whom he invited to his court to educate
+      both the prince and people. His own studies were tardy,
+      laborious, and imperfect; if he spoke Latin, and understood
+      Greek, he derived the rudiments of knowledge from conversation,
+      rather than from books; and, in his mature age, the emperor
+      strove to acquire the practice of writing, which every peasant
+      now learns in his infancy. 102 The grammar and logic, the music
+      and astronomy, of the times, were only cultivated as the
+      handmaids of superstition; but the curiosity of the human mind
+      must ultimately tend to its improvement, and the encouragement of
+      learning reflects the purest and most pleasing lustre on the
+      character of Charlemagne. 103 The dignity of his person, 104 the
+      length of his reign, the prosperity of his arms, the vigor of his
+      government, and the reverence of distant nations, distinguish him
+      from the royal crowd; and Europe dates a new aera from his
+      restoration of the Western empire.
+
+      95 (return) [ By Mably, (Observations sur l’Histoire de France,)
+      Voltaire, (Histoire Generale,) Robertson, (History of Charles
+      V.,) and Montesquieu, (Esprit des Loix, l. xxxi. c. 18.) In the
+      year 1782, M. Gaillard published his Histoire de Charlemagne, (in
+      4 vols. in 12mo.,) which I have freely and profitably used. The
+      author is a man of sense and humanity; and his work is labored
+      with industry and elegance. But I have likewise examined the
+      original monuments of the reigns of Pepin and Charlemagne, in the
+      5th volume of the Historians of France.]
+
+      96 (return) [ The vision of Weltin, composed by a monk, eleven
+      years after the death of Charlemagne, shows him in purgatory,
+      with a vulture, who is perpetually gnawing the guilty member,
+      while the rest of his body, the emblem of his virtues, is sound
+      and perfect, (see Gaillard tom. ii. p. 317-360.)]
+
+      97 (return) [ The marriage of Eginhard with Imma, daughter of
+      Charlemagne, is, in my opinion, sufficiently refuted by the
+      probum and suspicio that sullied these fair damsels, without
+      excepting his own wife, (c. xix. p. 98-100, cum Notis Schmincke.)
+      The husband must have been too strong for the historian.]
+
+      971 (return) [ This charge of incest, as Mr. Hallam justly
+      observes, “seems to have originated in a misinterpreted passage
+      of Eginhard.” Hallam’s Middle Ages, vol.i. p. 16.—M.]
+
+      98 (return) [ Besides the massacres and transmigrations, the pain
+      of death was pronounced against the following crimes: 1. The
+      refusal of baptism. 2. The false pretence of baptism. 3. A
+      relapse to idolatry. 4. The murder of a priest or bishop. 5.
+      Human sacrifices. 6. Eating meat in Lent. But every crime might
+      be expiated by baptism or penance, (Gaillard, tom. ii. p.
+      241-247;) and the Christian Saxons became the friends and equals
+      of the Franks, (Struv. Corpus Hist. Germanicae, p.133.)]
+
+      981 (return) [ M. Guizot (Cours d’Histoire Moderne, p. 270, 273)
+      has compiled the following statement of Charlemagne’s military
+      campaigns:—
+
+     1. Against the Aquitanians.
+     18.   ”    the Saxons.
+     5.    ”    the Lombards.
+     7.    ”    the Arabs in Spain.
+     1.    ”    the Thuringians.
+     4.    ”    the Avars.
+     2.    ”    the Bretons.
+     1.    ”    the Bavarians.
+     4.    ”    the Slaves beyond the Elbe
+     5.    ”    the Saracens in Italy.
+     3.    ”    the Danes.
+     2.    ”    the Greeks. ___
+     53 total.—M.]
+
+      99 (return) [ In this action the famous Rutland, Rolando,
+      Orlando, was slain—cum compluribus aliis. See the truth in
+      Eginhard, (c. 9, p. 51-56,) and the fable in an ingenious
+      Supplement of M. Gaillard, (tom. iii. p. 474.) The Spaniards are
+      too proud of a victory, which history ascribes to the Gascons,
+      and romance to the Saracens. * Note: In fact, it was a sudden
+      onset of the Gascons, assisted by the Beaure mountaineers, and
+      possibly a few Navarrese.—M.]
+
+      100 (return) [ Yet Schmidt, from the best authorities, represents
+      the interior disorders and oppression of his reign, (Hist. des
+      Allemands, tom. ii. p. 45-49.)]
+
+      101 (return) [ Omnis homo ex sua proprietate legitimam decimam ad
+      ecclesiam conferat. Experimento enim didicimus, in anno, quo illa
+      valida fames irrepsit, ebullire vacuas annonas a daemonibus
+      devoratas, et voces exprobationis auditas. Such is the decree and
+      assertion of the great Council of Frankfort, (canon xxv. tom. ix.
+      p. 105.) Both Selden (Hist. of Tithes; Works, vol. iii. part ii.
+      p. 1146) and Montesquieu (Esprit des Loix, l. xxxi. c. 12)
+      represent Charlemagne as the first legal author of tithes. Such
+      obligations have country gentlemen to his memory!]
+
+      102 (return) [ Eginhard (c. 25, p. 119) clearly affirms, tentabat
+      et scribere... sed parum prospere successit labor praeposterus et
+      sero inchoatus. The moderns have perverted and corrected this
+      obvious meaning, and the title of M. Gaillard’s dissertation
+      (tom. iii. p. 247-260) betrays his partiality. * Note: This point
+      has been contested; but Mr. Hallam and Monsieur Sismondl concur
+      with Gibbon. See Middle Ages, iii. 330, Histoire de Francais,
+      tom. ii. p. 318. The sensible observations of the latter are
+      quoted in the Quarterly Review, vol. xlviii. p. 451. Fleury, I
+      may add, quotes from Mabillon a remarkable evidence that
+      Charlemagne “had a mark to himself like an honest, plain-dealing
+      man.” Ibid.—M.]
+
+      103 (return) [ See Gaillard, tom. iii. p. 138-176, and Schmidt,
+      tom. ii. p. 121-129.]
+
+      104 (return) [ M. Gaillard (tom. iii. p. 372) fixes the true
+      stature of Charlemagne (see a Dissertation of Marquard Freher ad
+      calcem Eginhart, p. 220, &c.) at five feet nine inches of French,
+      about six feet one inch and a fourth English, measure. The
+      romance writers have increased it to eight feet, and the giant
+      was endowed with matchless strength and appetite: at a single
+      stroke of his good sword Joyeuse, he cut asunder a horseman and
+      his horse; at a single repast, he devoured a goose, two fowls, a
+      quarter of mutton, &c.]
+
+      That empire was not unworthy of its title; 105 and some of the
+      fairest kingdoms of Europe were the patrimony or conquest of a
+      prince, who reigned at the same time in France, Spain, Italy,
+      Germany, and Hungary. 106 I. The Roman province of Gaul had been
+      transformed into the name and monarchy of France; but, in the
+      decay of the Merovingian line, its limits were contracted by the
+      independence of the Britons and the revolt of Aquitain.
+      Charlemagne pursued, and confined, the Britons on the shores of
+      the ocean; and that ferocious tribe, whose origin and language
+      are so different from the French, was chastised by the imposition
+      of tribute, hostages, and peace. After a long and evasive
+      contest, the rebellion of the dukes of Aquitain was punished by
+      the forfeiture of their province, their liberty, and their lives.
+
+      Harsh and rigorous would have been such treatment of ambitious
+      governors, who had too faithfully copied the mayors of the
+      palace. But a recent discovery 107 has proved that these unhappy
+      princes were the last and lawful heirs of the blood and sceptre
+      of Clovis, and younger branch, from the brother of Dagobert, of
+      the Merovingian house. Their ancient kingdom was reduced to the
+      duchy of Gascogne, to the counties of Fesenzac and Armagnac, at
+      the foot of the Pyrenees: their race was propagated till the
+      beginning of the sixteenth century; and after surviving their
+      Carlovingian tyrants, they were reserved to feel the injustice,
+      or the favors, of a third dynasty. By the reunion of Aquitain,
+      France was enlarged to its present boundaries, with the additions
+      of the Netherlands and Spain, as far as the Rhine. II.
+
+      The Saracens had been expelled from France by the grandfather and
+      father of Charlemagne; but they still possessed the greatest part
+      of Spain, from the rock of Gibraltar to the Pyrenees. Amidst
+      their civil divisions, an Arabian emir of Saragossa implored his
+      protection in the diet of Paderborn. Charlemagne undertook the
+      expedition, restored the emir, and, without distinction of faith,
+      impartially crushed the resistance of the Christians, and
+      rewarded the obedience and services of the Mahometans. In his
+      absence he instituted the Spanish march, 108 which extended from
+      the Pyrenees to the River Ebro: Barcelona was the residence of
+      the French governor: he possessed the counties of Rousillon and
+      Catalonia; and the infant kingdoms of Navarre and Arragon were
+      subject to his jurisdiction. III. As king of the Lombards, and
+      patrician of Rome, he reigned over the greatest part of Italy,
+      109 a tract of a thousand miles from the Alps to the borders of
+      Calabria. The duchy of Beneventum, a Lombard fief, had spread, at
+      the expense of the Greeks, over the modern kingdom of Naples. But
+      Arrechis, the reigning duke, refused to be included in the
+      slavery of his country; assumed the independent title of prince;
+      and opposed his sword to the Carlovingian monarchy. His defence
+      was firm, his submission was not inglorious, and the emperor was
+      content with an easy tribute, the demolition of his fortresses,
+      and the acknowledgement, on his coins, of a supreme lord. The
+      artful flattery of his son Grimoald added the appellation of
+      father, but he asserted his dignity with prudence, and Benventum
+      insensibly escaped from the French yoke. 110 IV. Charlemagne was
+      the first who united Germany under the same sceptre. The name of
+      Oriental France is preserved in the circle of Franconia; and the
+      people of Hesse and Thuringia were recently incorporated with the
+      victors, by the conformity of religion and government. The
+      Alemanni, so formidable to the Romans, were the faithful vassals
+      and confederates of the Franks; and their country was inscribed
+      within the modern limits of Alsace, Swabia, and Switzerland. The
+      Bavarians, with a similar indulgence of their laws and manners,
+      were less patient of a master: the repeated treasons of Tasillo
+      justified the abolition of their hereditary dukes; and their
+      power was shared among the counts, who judged and guarded that
+      important frontier. But the north of Germany, from the Rhine and
+      beyond the Elbe, was still hostile and Pagan; nor was it till
+      after a war of thirty-three years that the Saxons bowed under the
+      yoke of Christ and of Charlemagne. The idols and their votaries
+      were extirpated: the foundation of eight bishoprics, of Munster,
+      Osnaburgh, Paderborn, and Minden, of Bremen, Verden, Hildesheim,
+      and Halberstadt, define, on either side of the Weser, the bounds
+      of ancient Saxony these episcopal seats were the first schools
+      and cities of that savage land; and the religion and humanity of
+      the children atoned, in some degree, for the massacre of the
+      parents. Beyond the Elbe, the Slavi, or Sclavonians, of similar
+      manners and various denominations, overspread the modern
+      dominions of Prussia, Poland, and Bohemia, and some transient
+      marks of obedience have tempted the French historian to extend
+      the empire to the Baltic and the Vistula. The conquest or
+      conversion of those countries is of a more recent age; but the
+      first union of Bohemia with the Germanic body may be justly
+      ascribed to the arms of Charlemagne. V. He retaliated on the
+      Avars, or Huns of Pannonia, the same calamities which they had
+      inflicted on the nations. Their rings, the wooden fortifications
+      which encircled their districts and villages, were broken down by
+      the triple effort of a French army, that was poured into their
+      country by land and water, through the Carpathian mountains and
+      along the plain of the Danube. After a bloody conflict of eight
+      years, the loss of some French generals was avenged by the
+      slaughter of the most noble Huns: the relics of the nation
+      submitted the royal residence of the chagan was left desolate and
+      unknown; and the treasures, the rapine of two hundred and fifty
+      years, enriched the victorious troops, or decorated the churches
+      of Italy and Gaul. 111 After the reduction of Pannonia, the
+      empire of Charlemagne was bounded only by the conflux of the
+      Danube with the Teyss and the Save: the provinces of Istria,
+      Liburnia, and Dalmatia, were an easy, though unprofitable,
+      accession; and it was an effect of his moderation, that he left
+      the maritime cities under the real or nominal sovereignty of the
+      Greeks. But these distant possessions added more to the
+      reputation than to the power of the Latin emperor; nor did he
+      risk any ecclesiastical foundations to reclaim the Barbarians
+      from their vagrant life and idolatrous worship. Some canals of
+      communication between the rivers, the Saone and the Meuse, the
+      Rhine and the Danube, were faintly attempted. 112 Their execution
+      would have vivified the empire; and more cost and labor were
+      often wasted in the structure of a cathedral. 1121
+
+      105 (return) [ See the concise, but correct and original, work of
+      D’Anville, (Etats Formes en Europe apres la Chute de l’Empire
+      Romain en Occident, Paris, 1771, in 4to.,) whose map includes the
+      empire of Charlemagne; the different parts are illustrated, by
+      Valesius (Notitia Galliacum) for France, Beretti (Dissertatio
+      Chorographica) for Italy, De Marca (Marca Hispanica) for Spain.
+      For the middle geography of Germany, I confess myself poor and
+      destitute.]
+
+      106 (return) [ After a brief relation of his wars and conquests,
+      (Vit. Carol. c. 5-14,) Eginhard recapitulates, in a few words,
+      (c. 15,) the countries subject to his empire. Struvius, (Corpus
+      Hist. German. p. 118-149) was inserted in his Notes the texts of
+      the old Chronicles.]
+
+      107 (return) [ On a charter granted to the monastery of Alaon
+      (A.D. 845) by Charles the Bald, which deduces this royal
+      pedigree. I doubt whether some subsequent links of the ixth and
+      xth centuries are equally firm; yet the whole is approved and
+      defended by M. Gaillard, (tom. ii. p.60-81, 203-206,) who affirms
+      that the family of Montesquiou (not of the President de
+      Montesquieu) is descended, in the female line, from Clotaire and
+      Clovis—an innocent pretension!]
+
+      108 (return) [ The governors or counts of the Spanish march
+      revolted from Charles the Simple about the year 900; and a poor
+      pittance, the Rousillon, has been recovered in 1642 by the kings
+      of France, (Longuerue, Description de la France, tom i. p.
+      220-222.) Yet the Rousillon contains 188,900 subjects, and
+      annually pays 2,600,000 livres, (Necker, Administration des
+      Finances, tom. i. p. 278, 279;) more people, perhaps, and
+      doubtless more money than the march of Charlemagne.]
+
+      109 (return) [ Schmidt, Hist. des Allemands, tom. ii. p. 200,
+      &c.]
+
+      110 (return) [ See Giannone, tom. i. p 374, 375, and the Annals
+      of Muratori.]
+
+      111 (return) [ Quot praelia in eo gesta! quantum sanguinis
+      effusum sit! Testatur vacua omni habitatione Pannonia, et locus
+      in quo regia Cagani fuit ita desertus, ut ne vestigium quidem
+      humanae habitationis appareat. Tota in hoc bello Hunnorum
+      nobilitas periit, tota gloria decidit, omnis pecunia et congesti
+      ex longo tempore thesauri direpti sunt. Eginhard, cxiii.]
+
+      112 (return) [ The junction of the Rhine and Danube was
+      undertaken only for the service of the Pannonian war, (Gaillard,
+      Vie de Charlemagne, tom. ii. p. 312-315.) The canal, which would
+      have been only two leagues in length, and of which some traces
+      are still extant in Swabia, was interrupted by excessive rains,
+      military avocations, and superstitious fears, (Schaepflin, Hist.
+      de l’Academie des Inscriptions, tom. xviii. p. 256. Molimina
+      fluviorum, &c., jungendorum, p. 59-62.)]
+
+      1121 (return) [ I should doubt this in the time of Charlemagne,
+      even if the term “expended” were substituted for “wasted.”—M.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter XLIX: Conquest Of Italy By The Franks.—Part V.
+
+      If we retrace the outlines of this geographical picture, it will
+      be seen that the empire of the Franks extended, between east and
+      west, from the Ebro to the Elbe or Vistula; between the north and
+      south, from the duchy of Beneventum to the River Eyder, the
+      perpetual boundary of Germany and Denmark. The personal and
+      political importance of Charlemagne was magnified by the distress
+      and division of the rest of Europe. The islands of Great Britain
+      and Ireland were disputed by a crowd of princes of Saxon or
+      Scottish origin: and, after the loss of Spain, the Christian and
+      Gothic kingdom of Alphonso the Chaste was confined to the narrow
+      range of the Asturian mountains. These petty sovereigns revered
+      the power or virtue of the Carlovingian monarch, implored the
+      honor and support of his alliance, and styled him their common
+      parent, the sole and supreme emperor of the West. 113 He
+      maintained a more equal intercourse with the caliph Harun al
+      Rashid, 114 whose dominion stretched from Africa to India, and
+      accepted from his ambassadors a tent, a water-clock, an elephant,
+      and the keys of the Holy Sepulchre. It is not easy to conceive
+      the private friendship of a Frank and an Arab, who were strangers
+      to each other’s person, and language, and religion: but their
+      public correspondence was founded on vanity, and their remote
+      situation left no room for a competition of interest. Two thirds
+      of the Western empire of Rome were subject to Charlemagne, and
+      the deficiency was amply supplied by his command of the
+      inaccessible or invincible nations of Germany. But in the choice
+      of his enemies, 1141 we may be reasonably surprised that he so
+      often preferred the poverty of the north to the riches of the
+      south. The three-and-thirty campaigns laboriously consumed in the
+      woods and morasses of Germany would have sufficed to assert the
+      amplitude of his title by the expulsion of the Greeks from Italy
+      and the Saracens from Spain. The weakness of the Greeks would
+      have insured an easy victory; and the holy crusade against the
+      Saracens would have been prompted by glory and revenge, and
+      loudly justified by religion and policy. Perhaps, in his
+      expeditions beyond the Rhine and the Elbe, he aspired to save his
+      monarchy from the fate of the Roman empire, to disarm the enemies
+      of civilized society, and to eradicate the seed of future
+      emigrations. But it has been wisely observed, that, in a light of
+      precaution, all conquest must be ineffectual, unless it could be
+      universal, since the increasing circle must be involved in a
+      larger sphere of hostility. 115 The subjugation of Germany
+      withdrew the veil which had so long concealed the continent or
+      islands of Scandinavia from the knowledge of Europe, and awakened
+      the torpid courage of their barbarous natives. The fiercest of
+      the Saxon idolaters escaped from the Christian tyrant to their
+      brethren of the North; the Ocean and Mediterranean were covered
+      with their piratical fleets; and Charlemagne beheld with a sigh
+      the destructive progress of the Normans, who, in less than
+      seventy years, precipitated the fall of his race and monarchy.
+
+      113 (return) [ See Eginhard, c. 16, and Gaillard, tom. ii. p.
+      361-385, who mentions, with a loose reference, the intercourse of
+      Charlemagne and Egbert, the emperor’s gift of his own sword, and
+      the modest answer of his Saxon disciple. The anecdote, if
+      genuine, would have adorned our English histories.]
+
+      114 (return) [ The correspondence is mentioned only in the French
+      annals, and the Orientals are ignorant of the caliph’s friendship
+      for the Christian dog—a polite appellation, which Harun bestows
+      on the emperor of the Greeks.]
+
+      1141 (return) [ Had he the choice? M. Guizot has eloquently
+      described the position of Charlemagne towards the Saxons. Il y
+      fit face par le conquete; la guerre defensive prit la forme
+      offensive: il transporta la lutte sur le territoire des peuples
+      qui voulaient envahir le sien: il travailla a asservir les races
+      etrangeres, et extirper les croyances ennemies. De la son mode de
+      gouvernement et la fondation de son empire: la guerre offensive
+      et la conquete voulaient cette vaste et redoutable unite. Compare
+      observations in the Quarterly Review, vol. xlviii., and James’s
+      Life of Charlemagne.—M.]
+
+      115 (return) [ Gaillard, tom. ii. p. 361-365, 471-476, 492. I
+      have borrowed his judicious remarks on Charlemagne’s plan of
+      conquest, and the judicious distinction of his enemies of the
+      first and the second enceinte, (tom. ii. p. 184, 509, &c.)]
+
+      Had the pope and the Romans revived the primitive constitution,
+      the titles of emperor and Augustus were conferred on Charlemagne
+      for the term of his life; and his successors, on each vacancy,
+      must have ascended the throne by a formal or tacit election. But
+      the association of his son Lewis the Pious asserts the
+      independent right of monarchy and conquest, and the emperor seems
+      on this occasion to have foreseen and prevented the latent claims
+      of the clergy. The royal youth was commanded to take the crown
+      from the altar, and with his own hands to place it on his head,
+      as a gift which he held from God, his father, and the nation. 116
+      The same ceremony was repeated, though with less energy, in the
+      subsequent associations of Lothaire and Lewis the Second: the
+      Carlovingian sceptre was transmitted from father to son in a
+      lineal descent of four generations; and the ambition of the popes
+      was reduced to the empty honor of crowning and anointing these
+      hereditary princes, who were already invested with their power
+      and dominions. The pious Lewis survived his brothers, and
+      embraced the whole empire of Charlemagne; but the nations and the
+      nobles, his bishops and his children, quickly discerned that this
+      mighty mass was no longer inspired by the same soul; and the
+      foundations were undermined to the centre, while the external
+      surface was yet fair and entire. After a war, or battle, which
+      consumed one hundred thousand Franks, the empire was divided by
+      treaty between his three sons, who had violated every filial and
+      fraternal duty. The kingdoms of Germany and France were forever
+      separated; the provinces of Gaul, between the Rhone and the Alps,
+      the Meuse and the Rhine, were assigned, with Italy, to the
+      Imperial dignity of Lothaire. In the partition of his share,
+      Lorraine and Arles, two recent and transitory kingdoms, were
+      bestowed on the younger children; and Lewis the Second, his
+      eldest son, was content with the realm of Italy, the proper and
+      sufficient patrimony of a Roman emperor. On his death without any
+      male issue, the vacant throne was disputed by his uncles and
+      cousins, and the popes most dexterously seized the occasion of
+      judging the claims and merits of the candidates, and of bestowing
+      on the most obsequious, or most liberal, the Imperial office of
+      advocate of the Roman church. The dregs of the Carlovingian race
+      no longer exhibited any symptoms of virtue or power, and the
+      ridiculous epithets of the bard, the stammerer, the fat, and the
+      simple, distinguished the tame and uniform features of a crowd of
+      kings alike deserving of oblivion. By the failure of the
+      collateral branches, the whole inheritance devolved to Charles
+      the Fat, the last emperor of his family: his insanity authorized
+      the desertion of Germany, Italy, and France: he was deposed in a
+      diet, and solicited his daily bread from the rebels by whose
+      contempt his life and liberty had been spared. According to the
+      measure of their force, the governors, the bishops, and the
+      lords, usurped the fragments of the falling empire; and some
+      preference was shown to the female or illegitimate blood of
+      Charlemagne. Of the greater part, the title and possession were
+      alike doubtful, and the merit was adequate to the contracted
+      scale of their dominions. Those who could appear with an army at
+      the gates of Rome were crowned emperors in the Vatican; but their
+      modesty was more frequently satisfied with the appellation of
+      kings of Italy: and the whole term of seventy-four years may be
+      deemed a vacancy, from the abdication of Charles the Fat to the
+      establishment of Otho the First.
+
+      116 (return) [ Thegan, the biographer of Lewis, relates this
+      coronation: and Baronius has honestly transcribed it, (A.D. 813,
+      No. 13, &c. See Gaillard, tom. ii. p. 506, 507, 508,) howsoever
+      adverse to the claims of the popes. For the series of the
+      Carlovingians, see the historians of France, Italy, and Germany;
+      Pfeffel, Schmidt, Velly, Muratori, and even Voltaire, whose
+      pictures are sometimes just, and always pleasing.]
+
+      Otho 117 was of the noble race of the dukes of Saxony; and if he
+      truly descended from Witikind, the adversary and proselyte of
+      Charlemagne, the posterity of a vanquished people was exalted to
+      reign over their conquerors. His father, Henry the Fowler, was
+      elected, by the suffrage of the nation, to save and institute the
+      kingdom of Germany. Its limits 118 were enlarged on every side by
+      his son, the first and greatest of the Othos. A portion of Gaul,
+      to the west of the Rhine, along the banks of the Meuse and the
+      Moselle, was assigned to the Germans, by whose blood and language
+      it has been tinged since the time of Caesar and Tacitus.
+
+      Between the Rhine, the Rhone, and the Alps, the successors of
+      Otho acquired a vain supremacy over the broken kingdoms of
+      Burgundy and Arles. In the North, Christianity was propagated by
+      the sword of Otho, the conqueror and apostle of the Slavic
+      nations of the Elbe and Oder: the marches of Brandenburgh and
+      Sleswick were fortified with German colonies; and the king of
+      Denmark, the dukes of Poland and Bohemia, confessed themselves
+      his tributary vassals. At the head of a victorious army, he
+      passed the Alps, subdued the kingdom of Italy, delivered the
+      pope, and forever fixed the Imperial crown in the name and nation
+      of Germany. From that memorable aera, two maxims of public
+      jurisprudence were introduced by force and ratified by time. I.
+      That the prince, who was elected in the German diet, acquired,
+      from that instant, the subject kingdoms of Italy and Rome. II.
+      But that he might not legally assume the titles of emperor and
+      Augustus, till he had received the crown from the hands of the
+      Roman pontiff. 119
+
+      117 (return) [ He was the son of Otho, the son of Ludolph, in
+      whose favor the Duchy of Saxony had been instituted, A.D. 858.
+      Ruotgerus, the biographer of a St. Bruno, (Bibliot. Bunavianae
+      Catalog. tom. iii. vol. ii. p. 679,) gives a splendid character
+      of his family. Atavorum atavi usque ad hominum memoriam omnes
+      nobilissimi; nullus in eorum stirpe ignotus, nullus degener
+      facile reperitur, (apud Struvium, Corp. Hist. German. p. 216.)
+      Yet Gundling (in Henrico Aucupe) is not satisfied of his descent
+      from Witikind.]
+
+      118 (return) [ See the treatise of Conringius, (de Finibus
+      Imperii Germanici, Francofurt. 1680, in 4to.: ) he rejects the
+      extravagant and improper scale of the Roman and Carlovingian
+      empires, and discusses with moderation the rights of Germany, her
+      vassals, and her neighbors.]
+
+      119 (return) [ The power of custom forces me to number Conrad I.
+      and Henry I., the Fowler, in the list of emperors, a title which
+      was never assumed by those kings of Germany. The Italians,
+      Muratori for instance, are more scrupulous and correct, and only
+      reckon the princes who have been crowned at Rome.]
+
+      The Imperial dignity of Charlemagne was announced to the East by
+      the alteration of his style; and instead of saluting his fathers,
+      the Greek emperors, he presumed to adopt the more equal and
+      familiar appellation of brother. 120 Perhaps in his connection
+      with Irene he aspired to the name of husband: his embassy to
+      Constantinople spoke the language of peace and friendship, and
+      might conceal a treaty of marriage with that ambitious princess,
+      who had renounced the most sacred duties of a mother. The nature,
+      the duration, the probable consequences of such a union between
+      two distant and dissonant empires, it is impossible to
+      conjecture; but the unanimous silence of the Latins may teach us
+      to suspect, that the report was invented by the enemies of Irene,
+      to charge her with the guilt of betraying the church and state to
+      the strangers of the West. 121 The French ambassadors were the
+      spectators, and had nearly been the victims, of the conspiracy of
+      Nicephorus, and the national hatred. Constantinople was
+      exasperated by the treason and sacrilege of ancient Rome: a
+      proverb, “That the Franks were good friends and bad neighbors,”
+      was in every one’s mouth; but it was dangerous to provoke a
+      neighbor who might be tempted to reiterate, in the church of St.
+      Sophia, the ceremony of his Imperial coronation. After a tedious
+      journey of circuit and delay, the ambassadors of Nicephorus found
+      him in his camp, on the banks of the River Sala; and Charlemagne
+      affected to confound their vanity by displaying, in a Franconian
+      village, the pomp, or at least the pride, of the Byzantine
+      palace. 122 The Greeks were successively led through four halls
+      of audience: in the first they were ready to fall prostrate
+      before a splendid personage in a chair of state, till he informed
+      them that he was only a servant, the constable, or master of the
+      horse, of the emperor. The same mistake, and the same answer,
+      were repeated in the apartments of the count palatine, the
+      steward, and the chamberlain; and their impatience was gradually
+      heightened, till the doors of the presence-chamber were thrown
+      open, and they beheld the genuine monarch, on his throne,
+      enriched with the foreign luxury which he despised, and encircled
+      with the love and reverence of his victorious chiefs. A treaty of
+      peace and alliance was concluded between the two empires, and the
+      limits of the East and West were defined by the right of present
+      possession. But the Greeks 123 soon forgot this humiliating
+      equality, or remembered it only to hate the Barbarians by whom it
+      was extorted. During the short union of virtue and power, they
+      respectfully saluted the august Charlemagne, with the
+      acclamations of basileus, and emperor of the Romans. As soon as
+      these qualities were separated in the person of his pious son,
+      the Byzantine letters were inscribed, “To the king, or, as he
+      styles himself, the emperor of the Franks and Lombards.” When
+      both power and virtue were extinct, they despoiled Lewis the
+      Second of his hereditary title, and with the barbarous
+      appellation of rex or rega, degraded him among the crowd of Latin
+      princes. His reply 124 is expressive of his weakness: he proves,
+      with some learning, that, both in sacred and profane history, the
+      name of king is synonymous with the Greek word basileus: if, at
+      Constantinople, it were assumed in a more exclusive and imperial
+      sense, he claims from his ancestors, and from the popes, a just
+      participation of the honors of the Roman purple. The same
+      controversy was revived in the reign of the Othos; and their
+      ambassador describes, in lively colors, the insolence of the
+      Byzantine court. 125 The Greeks affected to despise the poverty
+      and ignorance of the Franks and Saxons; and in their last decline
+      refused to prostitute to the kings of Germany the title of Roman
+      emperors.
+
+      120 (return) [ Invidiam tamen suscepti nominis (C. P.
+      imperatoribus super hoc indignantibus) magna tulit patientia,
+      vicitque eorum contumaciam... mittendo ad eos crebras legationes,
+      et in epistolis fratres eos appellando. Eginhard, c. 28, p. 128.
+      Perhaps it was on their account that, like Augustus, he affected
+      some reluctance to receive the empire.]
+
+      121 (return) [ Theophanes speaks of the coronation and unction of
+      Charles (Chronograph. p. 399,) and of his treaty of marriage with
+      Irene, (p. 402,) which is unknown to the Latins. Gaillard relates
+      his transactions with the Greek empire, (tom. ii. p. 446-468.)]
+
+      122 (return) [ Gaillard very properly observes, that this pageant
+      was a farce suitable to children only; but that it was indeed
+      represented in the presence, and for the benefit, of children of
+      a larger growth.]
+
+      123 (return) [ Compare, in the original texts collected by Pagi,
+      (tom. iii. A.D. 812, No. 7, A.D. 824, No. 10, &c.,) the contrast
+      of Charlemagne and his son; to the former the ambassadors of
+      Michael (who were indeed disavowed) more suo, id est lingua
+      Graeca laudes dixerunt, imperatorem eum et appellantes; to the
+      latter, Vocato imperatori Francorum, &c.]
+
+      124 (return) [ See the epistle, in Paralipomena, of the anonymous
+      writer of Salerno, (Script. Ital. tom. ii. pars ii. p. 243-254,
+      c. 93-107,) whom Baronius (A.D. 871, No. 51-71) mistook for
+      Erchempert, when he transcribed it in his Annals.]
+
+      125 (return) [ Ipse enim vos, non imperatorem, id est sua lingua,
+      sed ob indignationem, id est regem nostra vocabat, Liutprand, in
+      Legat. in Script. Ital. tom. ii. pars i. p. 479. The pope had
+      exhorted Nicephorus, emperor of the Greeks, to make peace with
+      Otho, the august emperor of the Romans—quae inscriptio secundum
+      Graecos peccatoria et temeraria... imperatorem inquiunt,
+      universalem, Romanorum, Augustum, magnum, solum, Nicephorum, (p.
+      486.)]
+
+      These emperors, in the election of the popes, continued to
+      exercise the powers which had been assumed by the Gothic and
+      Grecian princes; and the importance of this prerogative increased
+      with the temporal estate and spiritual jurisdiction of the Roman
+      church. In the Christian aristocracy, the principal members of
+      the clergy still formed a senate to assist the administration,
+      and to supply the vacancy, of the bishop. Rome was divided into
+      twenty-eight parishes, and each parish was governed by a cardinal
+      priest, or presbyter, a title which, however common or modest in
+      its origin, has aspired to emulate the purple of kings. Their
+      number was enlarged by the association of the seven deacons of
+      the most considerable hospitals, the seven palatine judges of the
+      Lateran, and some dignitaries of the church. This ecclesiastical
+      senate was directed by the seven cardinal-bishops of the Roman
+      province, who were less occupied in the suburb dioceses of Ostia,
+      Porto, Velitrae, Tusculum, Praeneste, Tibur, and the Sabines,
+      than by their weekly service in the Lateran, and their superior
+      share in the honors and authority of the apostolic see. On the
+      death of the pope, these bishops recommended a successor to the
+      suffrage of the college of cardinals, 126 and their choice was
+      ratified or rejected by the applause or clamor of the Roman
+      people. But the election was imperfect; nor could the pontiff be
+      legally consecrated till the emperor, the advocate of the church,
+      had graciously signified his approbation and consent. The royal
+      commissioner examined, on the spot, the form and freedom of the
+      proceedings; nor was it till after a previous scrutiny into the
+      qualifications of the candidates, that he accepted an oath of
+      fidelity, and confirmed the donations which had successively
+      enriched the patrimony of St. Peter. In the frequent schisms, the
+      rival claims were submitted to the sentence of the emperor; and
+      in a synod of bishops he presumed to judge, to condemn, and to
+      punish, the crimes of a guilty pontiff. Otho the First imposed a
+      treaty on the senate and people, who engaged to prefer the
+      candidate most acceptable to his majesty: 127 his successors
+      anticipated or prevented their choice: they bestowed the Roman
+      benefice, like the bishoprics of Cologne or Bamberg, on their
+      chancellors or preceptors; and whatever might be the merit of a
+      Frank or Saxon, his name sufficiently attests the interposition
+      of foreign power. These acts of prerogative were most speciously
+      excused by the vices of a popular election. The competitor who
+      had been excluded by the cardinals appealed to the passions or
+      avarice of the multitude; the Vatican and the Lateran were
+      stained with blood; and the most powerful senators, the marquises
+      of Tuscany and the counts of Tusculum, held the apostolic see in
+      a long and disgraceful servitude. The Roman pontiffs, of the
+      ninth and tenth centuries, were insulted, imprisoned, and
+      murdered, by their tyrants; and such was their indigence, after
+      the loss and usurpation of the ecclesiastical patrimonies, that
+      they could neither support the state of a prince, nor exercise
+      the charity of a priest. 128 The influence of two sister
+      prostitutes, Marozia and Theodora, was founded on their wealth
+      and beauty, their political and amorous intrigues: the most
+      strenuous of their lovers were rewarded with the Roman mitre, and
+      their reign 129 may have suggested to the darker ages 130 the
+      fable 131 of a female pope. 132 The bastard son, the grandson,
+      and the great-grandson of Marozia, a rare genealogy, were seated
+      in the chair of St. Peter, and it was at the age of nineteen
+      years that the second of these became the head of the Latin
+      church. 1321 His youth and manhood were of a suitable complexion;
+      and the nations of pilgrims could bear testimony to the charges
+      that were urged against him in a Roman synod, and in the presence
+      of Otho the Great. As John XII. had renounced the dress and
+      decencies of his profession, the soldier may not perhaps be
+      dishonored by the wine which he drank, the blood that he spilt,
+      the flames that he kindled, or the licentious pursuits of gaming
+      and hunting. His open simony might be the consequence of
+      distress; and his blasphemous invocation of Jupiter and Venus, if
+      it be true, could not possibly be serious. But we read, with some
+      surprise, that the worthy grandson of Marozia lived in public
+      adultery with the matrons of Rome; that the Lateran palace was
+      turned into a school for prostitution, and that his rapes of
+      virgins and widows had deterred the female pilgrims from visiting
+      the tomb of St. Peter, lest, in the devout act, they should be
+      violated by his successor. 133 The Protestants have dwelt with
+      malicious pleasure on these characters of Antichrist; but to a
+      philosophic eye, the vices of the clergy are far less dangerous
+      than their virtues. After a long series of scandal, the apostolic
+      see was reformed and exalted by the austerity and zeal of Gregory
+      VII. That ambitious monk devoted his life to the execution of two
+      projects. I. To fix in the college of cardinals the freedom and
+      independence of election, and forever to abolish the right or
+      usurpation of the emperors and the Roman people. II. To bestow
+      and resume the Western empire as a fief or benefice 134 of the
+      church, and to extend his temporal dominion over the kings and
+      kingdoms of the earth. After a contest of fifty years, the first
+      of these designs was accomplished by the firm support of the
+      ecclesiastical order, whose liberty was connected with that of
+      their chief. But the second attempt, though it was crowned with
+      some partial and apparent success, has been vigorously resisted
+      by the secular power, and finally extinguished by the improvement
+      of human reason.
+
+      126 (return) [ The origin and progress of the title of cardinal
+      may be found in Themassin, (Discipline de l’Eglise, tom. i. p.
+      1261-1298,) Muratori, (Antiquitat. Italiae Medii Aevi, tom. vi.
+      Dissert. lxi. p. 159-182,) and Mosheim, (Institut. Hist. Eccles.
+      p. 345-347,) who accurately remarks the form and changes of the
+      election. The cardinal-bishops so highly exalted by Peter
+      Damianus, are sunk to a level with the rest of the sacred
+      college.]
+
+      127 (return) [ Firmiter jurantes, nunquam se papam electuros aut
+      audinaturos, praeter consensum et electionem Othonis et filii
+      sui. (Liutprand, l. vi. c. 6, p. 472.) This important concession
+      may either supply or confirm the decree of the clergy and people
+      of Rome, so fiercely rejected by Baronius, Pagi, and Muratori,
+      (A.D. 964,) and so well defended and explained by St. Marc,
+      (Abrege, tom. ii. p. 808-816, tom. iv. p. 1167-1185.) Consult the
+      historical critic, and the Annals of Muratori, for for the
+      election and confirmation of each pope.]
+
+      128 (return) [ The oppression and vices of the Roman church, in
+      the xth century, are strongly painted in the history and legation
+      of Liutprand, (see p. 440, 450, 471-476, 479, &c.;) and it is
+      whimsical enough to observe Muratori tempering the invectives of
+      Baronius against the popes. But these popes had been chosen, not
+      by the cardinals, but by lay-patrons.]
+
+      129 (return) [ The time of Pope Joan (papissa Joanna) is placed
+      somewhat earlier than Theodora or Marozia; and the two years of
+      her imaginary reign are forcibly inserted between Leo IV. and
+      Benedict III. But the contemporary Anastasius indissolubly links
+      the death of Leo and the elevation of Benedict, (illico, mox, p.
+      247;) and the accurate chronology of Pagi, Muratori, and
+      Leibnitz, fixes both events to the year 857.]
+
+      130 (return) [ The advocates for Pope Joan produce one hundred
+      and fifty witnesses, or rather echoes, of the xivth, xvth, and
+      xvith centuries. They bear testimony against themselves and the
+      legend, by multiplying the proof that so curious a story must
+      have been repeated by writers of every description to whom it was
+      known. On those of the ixth and xth centuries, the recent event
+      would have flashed with a double force. Would Photius have spared
+      such a reproach? Could Liutprand have missed such scandal? It is
+      scarcely worth while to discuss the various readings of Martinus
+      Polonus, Sigeber of Gamblours, or even Marianus Scotus; but a
+      most palpable forgery is the passage of Pope Joan, which has been
+      foisted into some Mss. and editions of the Roman Anastasius.]
+
+      131 (return) [ As false, it deserves that name; but I would not
+      pronounce it incredible. Suppose a famous French chevalier of our
+      own times to have been born in Italy, and educated in the church,
+      instead of the army: her merit or fortune might have raised her
+      to St. Peter’s chair; her amours would have been natural: her
+      delivery in the streets unlucky, but not improbable.]
+
+      132 (return) [ Till the reformation the tale was repeated and
+      believed without offence: and Joan’s female statue long occupied
+      her place among the popes in the cathedral of Sienna, (Pagi,
+      Critica, tom. iii. p. 624-626.) She has been annihilated by two
+      learned Protestants, Blondel and Bayle, (Dictionnaire Critique,
+      Papesse, Polonus, Blondel;) but their brethren were scandalized
+      by this equitable and generous criticism. Spanheim and Lenfant
+      attempt to save this poor engine of controversy, and even Mosheim
+      condescends to cherish some doubt and suspicion, (p. 289.)]
+
+      1321 (return) [ John XI. was the son of her husband Alberic, not
+      of her lover, Pope Sergius III., as Muratori has distinctly
+      proved, Ann. ad ann. 911, tom. p. 268. Her grandson Octavian,
+      otherwise called John XII., was pope; but a great-grandson cannot
+      be discovered in any of the succeeding popes; nor does our
+      historian himself, in his subsequent narration, (p. 202,) seem to
+      know of one. Hobhouse, Illustrations of Childe Harold, p.
+      309.—M.]
+
+      133 (return) [ Lateranense palatium... prostibulum meretricum ...
+      Testis omnium gentium, praeterquam Romanorum, absentia mulierum,
+      quae sanctorum apostolorum limina orandi gratia timent visere,
+      cum nonnullas ante dies paucos, hunc audierint conjugatas,
+      viduas, virgines vi oppressisse, (Liutprand, Hist. l. vi. c. 6,
+      p. 471. See the whole affair of John XII., p. 471-476.)]
+
+      134 (return) [ A new example of the mischief of equivocation is
+      the beneficium (Ducange, tom. i. p. 617, &c.,) which the pope
+      conferred on the emperor Frederic I., since the Latin word may
+      signify either a legal fief, or a simple favor, an obligation,
+      (we want the word bienfait.) (See Schmidt, Hist. des Allemands,
+      tom. iii. p. 393-408. Pfeffel, Abrege Chronologique, tom. i. p.
+      229, 296, 317, 324, 420, 430, 500, 505, 509, &c.)]
+
+      In the revival of the empire of empire of Rome, neither the
+      bishop nor the people could bestow on Charlemagne or Otho the
+      provinces which were lost, as they had been won, by the chance of
+      arms. But the Romans were free to choose a master for themselves;
+      and the powers which had been delegated to the patrician, were
+      irrevocably granted to the French and Saxon emperors of the West.
+      The broken records of the times 135 preserve some remembrance of
+      their palace, their mint, their tribunal, their edicts, and the
+      sword of justice, which, as late as the thirteenth century, was
+      derived from Caesar to the praefect of the city. 136 Between the
+      arts of the popes and the violence of the people, this supremacy
+      was crushed and annihilated. Content with the titles of emperor
+      and Augustus, the successors of Charlemagne neglected to assert
+      this local jurisdiction. In the hour of prosperity, their
+      ambition was diverted by more alluring objects; and in the decay
+      and division of the empire, they were oppressed by the defence of
+      their hereditary provinces. Amidst the ruins of Italy, the famous
+      Marozia invited one of the usurpers to assume the character of
+      her third husband; and Hugh, king of Burgundy was introduced by
+      her faction into the mole of Hadrian or Castle of St. Angelo,
+      which commands the principal bridge and entrance of Rome. Her son
+      by the first marriage, Alberic, was compelled to attend at the
+      nuptial banquet; but his reluctant and ungraceful service was
+      chastised with a blow by his new father. The blow was productive
+      of a revolution. “Romans,” exclaimed the youth, “once you were
+      the masters of the world, and these Burgundians the most abject
+      of your slaves. They now reign, these voracious and brutal
+      savages, and my injury is the commencement of your servitude.”
+      137 The alarum bell rang to arms in every quarter of the city:
+      the Burgundians retreated with haste and shame; Marozia was
+      imprisoned by her victorious son, and his brother, Pope John XI.,
+      was reduced to the exercise of his spiritual functions. With the
+      title of prince, Alberic possessed above twenty years the
+      government of Rome; and he is said to have gratified the popular
+      prejudice, by restoring the office, or at least the title, of
+      consuls and tribunes. His son and heir Octavian assumed, with the
+      pontificate, the name of John XII.: like his predecessor, he was
+      provoked by the Lombard princes to seek a deliverer for the
+      church and republic; and the services of Otho were rewarded with
+      the Imperial dignity. But the Saxon was imperious, the Romans
+      were impatient, the festival of the coronation was disturbed by
+      the secret conflict of prerogative and freedom, and Otho
+      commanded his sword-bearer not to stir from his person, lest he
+      should be assaulted and murdered at the foot of the altar. 138
+      Before he repassed the Alps, the emperor chastised the revolt of
+      the people and the ingratitude of John XII. The pope was degraded
+      in a synod; the praefect was mounted on an ass, whipped through
+      the city, and cast into a dungeon; thirteen of the most guilty
+      were hanged, others were mutilated or banished; and this severe
+      process was justified by the ancient laws of Theodosius and
+      Justinian. The voice of fame has accused the second Otho of a
+      perfidious and bloody act, the massacre of the senators, whom he
+      had invited to his table under the fair semblance of hospitality
+      and friendship. 139 In the minority of his son Otho the Third,
+      Rome made a bold attempt to shake off the Saxon yoke, and the
+      consul Crescentius was the Brutus of the republic. From the
+      condition of a subject and an exile, he twice rose to the command
+      of the city, oppressed, expelled, and created the popes, and
+      formed a conspiracy for restoring the authority of the Greek
+      emperors. 1391 In the fortress of St. Angelo, he maintained an
+      obstinate siege, till the unfortunate consul was betrayed by a
+      promise of safety: his body was suspended on a gibbet, and his
+      head was exposed on the battlements of the castle. By a reverse
+      of fortune, Otho, after separating his troops, was besieged three
+      days, without food, in his palace; and a disgraceful escape saved
+      him from the justice or fury of the Romans. The senator Ptolemy
+      was the leader of the people, and the widow of Crescentius
+      enjoyed the pleasure or the fame of revenging her husband, by a
+      poison which she administered to her Imperial lover. It was the
+      design of Otho the Third to abandon the ruder countries of the
+      North, to erect his throne in Italy, and to revive the
+      institutions of the Roman monarchy. But his successors only once
+      in their lives appeared on the banks of the Tyber, to receive
+      their crown in the Vatican. 140 Their absence was contemptible,
+      their presence odious and formidable. They descended from the
+      Alps, at the head of their barbarians, who were strangers and
+      enemies to the country; and their transient visit was a scene of
+      tumult and bloodshed. 141 A faint remembrance of their ancestors
+      still tormented the Romans; and they beheld with pious
+      indignation the succession of Saxons, Franks, Swabians, and
+      Bohemians, who usurped the purple and prerogatives of the
+      Caesars.
+
+      135 (return) [ For the history of the emperors in Rome and Italy,
+      see Sigonius, de Regno Italiae, Opp. tom. ii., with the Notes of
+      Saxius, and the Annals of Muratori, who might refer more
+      distinctly to the authors of his great collection.]
+
+      136 (return) [ See the Dissertations of Le Blanc at the end of
+      his treatise des Monnoyes de France, in which he produces some
+      Roman coins of the French emperors.]
+
+      137 (return) [ Romanorum aliquando servi, scilicet Burgundiones,
+      Romanis imperent?.... Romanae urbis dignitas ad tantam est
+      stultitiam ducta, ut meretricum etiam imperio pareat? (Liutprand,
+      l. iii. c. 12, p. 450.) Sigonius (l. vi. p. 400) positively
+      affirms the renovation of the consulship; but in the old writers
+      Albericus is more frequently styled princeps Romanorum.]
+
+      138 (return) [ Ditmar, p. 354, apud Schmidt, tom. iii. p. 439.]
+
+      139 (return) [ This bloody feast is described in Leonine verse in
+      the Pantheon of Godfrey of Viterbo, (Script. Ital. tom. vii. p.
+      436, 437,) who flourished towards the end of the xiith century,
+      (Fabricius Bibliot. Latin. Med. et Infimi Aevi, tom. iii. p. 69,
+      edit. Mansi;) but his evidence, which imposed on Sigonius, is
+      reasonably suspected by Muratori (Annali, tom. viii. p. 177.)]
+
+      1391 (return) [ The Marquis Maffei’s gallery contained a medal
+      with Imp. Caes August. P. P. Crescentius. Hence Hobhouse infers
+      that he affected the empire. Hobhouse, Illustrations of Childe
+      Harold, p. 252.—M.]
+
+      140 (return) [ The coronation of the emperor, and some original
+      ceremonies of the xth century are preserved in the Panegyric on
+      Berengarius, (Script. Ital. tom. ii. pars i. p. 405-414,)
+      illustrated by the Notes of Hadrian Valesius and Leibnitz.
+      Sigonius has related the whole process of the Roman expedition,
+      in good Latin, but with some errors of time and fact, (l. vii. p.
+      441-446.)]
+
+      141 (return) [ In a quarrel at the coronation of Conrad II.
+      Muratori takes leave to observe—doveano ben essere allora,
+      indisciplinati, Barbari, e bestials Tedeschi. Annal. tom. viii.
+      p. 368.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter XLIX: Conquest Of Italy By The Franks.—Part VI.
+
+      There is nothing perhaps more adverse to nature and reason than
+      to hold in obedience remote countries and foreign nations, in
+      opposition to their inclination and interest. A torrent of
+      Barbarians may pass over the earth, but an extensive empire must
+      be supported by a refined system of policy and oppression; in the
+      centre, an absolute power, prompt in action and rich in
+      resources; a swift and easy communication with the extreme parts;
+      fortifications to check the first effort of rebellion; a regular
+      administration to protect and punish; and a well-disciplined army
+      to inspire fear, without provoking discontent and despair. Far
+      different was the situation of the German Caesars, who were
+      ambitious to enslave the kingdom of Italy. Their patrimonial
+      estates were stretched along the Rhine, or scattered in the
+      provinces; but this ample domain was alienated by the imprudence
+      or distress of successive princes; and their revenue, from minute
+      and vexatious prerogative, was scarcely sufficient for the
+      maintenance of their household. Their troops were formed by the
+      legal or voluntary service of their feudal vassals, who passed
+      the Alps with reluctance, assumed the license of rapine and
+      disorder, and capriciously deserted before the end of the
+      campaign. Whole armies were swept away by the pestilential
+      influence of the climate: the survivors brought back the bones of
+      their princes and nobles, 142 and the effects of their own
+      intemperance were often imputed to the treachery and malice of
+      the Italians, who rejoiced at least in the calamities of the
+      Barbarians. This irregular tyranny might contend on equal terms
+      with the petty tyrants of Italy; nor can the people, or the
+      reader, be much interested in the event of the quarrel. But in
+      the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the Lombards rekindled the
+      flame of industry and freedom; and the generous example was at
+      length imitated by the republics of Tuscany. 1421 In the Italian
+      cities a municipal government had never been totally abolished;
+      and their first privileges were granted by the favor and policy
+      of the emperors, who were desirous of erecting a plebeian barrier
+      against the independence of the nobles. But their rapid progress,
+      the daily extension of their power and pretensions, were founded
+      on the numbers and spirit of these rising communities. 143 Each
+      city filled the measure of her diocese or district: the
+      jurisdiction of the counts and bishops, of the marquises and
+      counts, was banished from the land; and the proudest nobles were
+      persuaded or compelled to desert their solitary castles, and to
+      embrace the more honorable character of freemen and magistrates.
+      The legislative authority was inherent in the general assembly;
+      but the executive powers were intrusted to three consuls,
+      annually chosen from the three orders of captains, valvassors,
+      144 and commons, into which the republic was divided. Under the
+      protection of equal law, the labors of agriculture and commerce
+      were gradually revived; but the martial spirit of the Lombards
+      was nourished by the presence of danger; and as often as the bell
+      was rung, or the standard 145 erected, the gates of the city
+      poured forth a numerous and intrepid band, whose zeal in their
+      own cause was soon guided by the use and discipline of arms. At
+      the foot of these popular ramparts, the pride of the Caesars was
+      overthrown; and the invincible genius of liberty prevailed over
+      the two Frederics, the greatest princes of the middle age; the
+      first, superior perhaps in military prowess; the second, who
+      undoubtedly excelled in the softer accomplishments of peace and
+      learning.
+
+      142 (return) [ After boiling away the flesh. The caldrons for
+      that purpose were a necessary piece of travelling furniture; and
+      a German who was using it for his brother, promised it to a
+      friend, after it should have been employed for himself, (Schmidt,
+      tom. iii. p. 423, 424.) The same author observes that the whole
+      Saxon line was extinguished in Italy, (tom. ii. p. 440.)]
+
+      1421 (return) [ Compare Sismondi, Histoire des Republiques
+      Italiannes. Hallam Middle Ages. Raumer, Geschichte der
+      Hohenstauffen. Savigny, Geschichte des Romischen Rechts, vol.
+      iii. p. 19 with the authors quoted.—M.]
+
+      143 (return) [ Otho, bishop of Frisingen, has left an important
+      passage on the Italian cities, (l. ii. c. 13, in Script. Ital.
+      tom. vi. p. 707-710: ) and the rise, progress, and government of
+      these republics are perfectly illustrated by Muratori,
+      (Antiquitat. Ital. Medii Aevi, tom. iv. dissert xlv.—lii. p.
+      1-675. Annal. tom. viii. ix. x.)]
+
+      144 (return) [ For these titles, see Selden, (Titles of Honor,
+      vol. iii. part 1 p. 488.) Ducange, (Gloss. Latin. tom. ii. p.
+      140, tom. vi. p. 776,) and St. Marc, (Abrege Chronologique, tom.
+      ii. p. 719.)]
+
+      145 (return) [ The Lombards invented and used the carocium, a
+      standard planted on a car or wagon, drawn by a team of oxen,
+      (Ducange, tom. ii. p. 194, 195. Muratori Antiquitat tom. ii. dis.
+      xxvi. p. 489-493.)]
+
+      Ambitious of restoring the splendor of the purple, Frederic the
+      First invaded the republics of Lombardy, with the arts of a
+      statesman, the valor of a soldier, and the cruelty of a tyrant.
+      The recent discovery of the Pandects had renewed a science most
+      favorable to despotism; and his venal advocates proclaimed the
+      emperor the absolute master of the lives and properties of his
+      subjects. His royal prerogatives, in a less odious sense, were
+      acknowledged in the diet of Roncaglia; and the revenue of Italy
+      was fixed at thirty thousand pounds of silver, 146 which were
+      multiplied to an indefinite demand by the rapine of the fiscal
+      officers. The obstinate cities were reduced by the terror or the
+      force of his arms: his captives were delivered to the
+      executioner, or shot from his military engines; and. after the
+      siege and surrender of Milan, the buildings of that stately
+      capital were razed to the ground, three hundred hostages were
+      sent into Germany, and the inhabitants were dispersed in four
+      villages, under the yoke of the inflexible conqueror. 147 But
+      Milan soon rose from her ashes; and the league of Lombardy was
+      cemented by distress: their cause was espoused by Venice, Pope
+      Alexander the Third, and the Greek emperor: the fabric of
+      oppression was overturned in a day; and in the treaty of
+      Constance, Frederic subscribed, with some reservations, the
+      freedom of four-and-twenty cities. His grandson contended with
+      their vigor and maturity; but Frederic the Second 148 was endowed
+      with some personal and peculiar advantages. His birth and
+      education recommended him to the Italians; and in the implacable
+      discord of the two factions, the Ghibelins were attached to the
+      emperor, while the Guelfs displayed the banner of liberty and the
+      church. The court of Rome had slumbered, when his father Henry
+      the Sixth was permitted to unite with the empire the kingdoms of
+      Naples and Sicily; and from these hereditary realms the son
+      derived an ample and ready supply of troops and treasure. Yet
+      Frederic the Second was finally oppressed by the arms of the
+      Lombards and the thunders of the Vatican: his kingdom was given
+      to a stranger, and the last of his family was beheaded at Naples
+      on a public scaffold. During sixty years, no emperor appeared in
+      Italy, and the name was remembered only by the ignominious sale
+      of the last relics of sovereignty.
+
+      146 (return) [ Gunther Ligurinus, l. viii. 584, et seq., apud
+      Schmidt, tom. iii. p. 399.]
+
+      147 (return) [ Solus imperator faciem suam firmavit ut petram,
+      (Burcard. de Excidio Mediolani, Script. Ital. tom. vi. p. 917.)
+      This volume of Muratori contains the originals of the history of
+      Frederic the First, which must be compared with due regard to the
+      circumstances and prejudices of each German or Lombard writer. *
+      Note: Von Raumer has traced the fortunes of the Swabian house in
+      one of the ablest historical works of modern times. He may be
+      compared with the spirited and independent Sismondi.—M.]
+
+      148 (return) [ For the history of Frederic II. and the house of
+      Swabia at Naples, see Giannone, Istoria Civile, tom. ii. l. xiv.
+      -xix.]
+
+      The Barbarian conquerors of the West were pleased to decorate
+      their chief with the title of emperor; but it was not their
+      design to invest him with the despotism of Constantine and
+      Justinian. The persons of the Germans were free, their conquests
+      were their own, and their national character was animated by a
+      spirit which scorned the servile jurisprudence of the new or the
+      ancient Rome. It would have been a vain and dangerous attempt to
+      impose a monarch on the armed freemen, who were impatient of a
+      magistrate; on the bold, who refused to obey; on the powerful,
+      who aspired to command. The empire of Charlemagne and Otho was
+      distributed among the dukes of the nations or provinces, the
+      counts of the smaller districts, and the margraves of the marches
+      or frontiers, who all united the civil and military authority as
+      it had been delegated to the lieutenants of the first Caesars.
+      The Roman governors, who, for the most part, were soldiers of
+      fortune, seduced their mercenary legions, assumed the Imperial
+      purple, and either failed or succeeded in their revolt, without
+      wounding the power and unity of government. If the dukes,
+      margraves, and counts of Germany, were less audacious in their
+      claims, the consequences of their success were more lasting and
+      pernicious to the state. Instead of aiming at the supreme rank,
+      they silently labored to establish and appropriate their
+      provincial independence. Their ambition was seconded by the
+      weight of their estates and vassals, their mutual example and
+      support, the common interest of the subordinate nobility, the
+      change of princes and families, the minorities of Otho the Third
+      and Henry the Fourth, the ambition of the popes, and the vain
+      pursuit of the fugitive crowns of Italy and Rome. All the
+      attributes of regal and territorial jurisdiction were gradually
+      usurped by the commanders of the provinces; the right of peace
+      and war, of life and death, of coinage and taxation, of foreign
+      alliance and domestic economy. Whatever had been seized by
+      violence, was ratified by favor or distress, was granted as the
+      price of a doubtful vote or a voluntary service; whatever had
+      been granted to one could not, without injury, be denied to his
+      successor or equal; and every act of local or temporary
+      possession was insensibly moulded into the constitution of the
+      Germanic kingdom. In every province, the visible presence of the
+      duke or count was interposed between the throne and the nobles;
+      the subjects of the law became the vassals of a private chief;
+      and the standard which he received from his sovereign, was often
+      raised against him in the field. The temporal power of the clergy
+      was cherished and exalted by the superstition or policy of the
+      Carlovingian and Saxon dynasties, who blindly depended on their
+      moderation and fidelity; and the bishoprics of Germany were made
+      equal in extent and privilege, superior in wealth and population,
+      to the most ample states of the military order. As long as the
+      emperors retained the prerogative of bestowing on every vacancy
+      these ecclesiastic and secular benefices, their cause was
+      maintained by the gratitude or ambition of their friends and
+      favorites. But in the quarrel of the investitures, they were
+      deprived of their influence over the episcopal chapters; the
+      freedom of election was restored, and the sovereign was reduced,
+      by a solemn mockery, to his first prayers, the recommendation,
+      once in his reign, to a single prebend in each church. The
+      secular governors, instead of being recalled at the will of a
+      superior, could be degraded only by the sentence of their peers.
+      In the first age of the monarchy, the appointment of the son to
+      the duchy or county of his father, was solicited as a favor; it
+      was gradually obtained as a custom, and extorted as a right: the
+      lineal succession was often extended to the collateral or female
+      branches; the states of the empire (their popular, and at length
+      their legal, appellation) were divided and alienated by testament
+      and sale; and all idea of a public trust was lost in that of a
+      private and perpetual inheritance. The emperor could not even be
+      enriched by the casualties of forfeiture and extinction: within
+      the term of a year, he was obliged to dispose of the vacant fief;
+      and, in the choice of the candidate, it was his duty to consult
+      either the general or the provincial diet.
+
+      After the death of Frederic the Second, Germany was left a
+      monster with a hundred heads. A crowd of princes and prelates
+      disputed the ruins of the empire: the lords of innumerable
+      castles were less prone to obey, than to imitate, their
+      superiors; and, according to the measure of their strength, their
+      incessant hostilities received the names of conquest or robbery.
+      Such anarchy was the inevitable consequence of the laws and
+      manners of Europe; and the kingdoms of France and Italy were
+      shivered into fragments by the violence of the same tempest. But
+      the Italian cities and the French vassals were divided and
+      destroyed, while the union of the Germans has produced, under the
+      name of an empire, a great system of a federative republic. In
+      the frequent and at last the perpetual institution of diets, a
+      national spirit was kept alive, and the powers of a common
+      legislature are still exercised by the three branches or colleges
+      of the electors, the princes, and the free and Imperial cities of
+      Germany. I. Seven of the most powerful feudatories were permitted
+      to assume, with a distinguished name and rank, the exclusive
+      privilege of choosing the Roman emperor; and these electors were
+      the king of Bohemia, the duke of Saxony, the margrave of
+      Brandenburgh, the count palatine of the Rhine, and the three
+      archbishops of Mentz, of Treves, and of Cologne. II. The college
+      of princes and prelates purged themselves of a promiscuous
+      multitude: they reduced to four representative votes the long
+      series of independent counts, and excluded the nobles or
+      equestrian order, sixty thousand of whom, as in the Polish diets,
+      had appeared on horseback in the field of election. III. The
+      pride of birth and dominion, of the sword and the mitre, wisely
+      adopted the commons as the third branch of the legislature, and,
+      in the progress of society, they were introduced about the same
+      aera into the national assemblies of France England, and Germany.
+
+      The Hanseatic League commanded the trade and navigation of the
+      north: the confederates of the Rhine secured the peace and
+      intercourse of the inland country; the influence of the cities
+      has been adequate to their wealth and policy, and their negative
+      still invalidates the acts of the two superior colleges of
+      electors and princes. 149
+
+      149 (return) [ In the immense labyrinth of the jus publicum of
+      Germany, I must either quote one writer or a thousand; and I had
+      rather trust to one faithful guide, than transcribe, on credit, a
+      multitude of names and passages. That guide is M. Pfeffel, the
+      author of the best legal and constitutional history that I know
+      of any country, (Nouvel Abrege Chronologique de l’Histoire et du
+      Droit public Allemagne; Paris, 1776, 2 vols. in 4to.) His
+      learning and judgment have discerned the most interesting facts;
+      his simple brevity comprises them in a narrow space. His
+      chronological order distributes them under the proper dates; and
+      an elaborate index collects them under their respective heads. To
+      this work, in a less perfect state, Dr. Robertson was gratefully
+      indebted for that masterly sketch which traces even the modern
+      changes of the Germanic body. The Corpus Historiae Germanicae of
+      Struvius has been likewise consulted, the more usefully, as that
+      huge compilation is fortified in every page with the original
+      texts. * Note: For the rise and progress of the Hanseatic League,
+      consult the authoritative history by Sartorius; Geschichte des
+      Hanseatischen Bandes & Theile, Gottingen, 1802. New and improved
+      edition by Lappenberg Elamburg, 1830. The original Hanseatic
+      League comprehended Cologne and many of the great cities in the
+      Netherlands and on the Rhine.—M.]
+
+      It is in the fourteenth century that we may view in the strongest
+      light the state and contrast of the Roman empire of Germany,
+      which no longer held, except on the borders of the Rhine and
+      Danube, a single province of Trajan or Constantine. Their
+      unworthy successors were the counts of Hapsburgh, of Nassau, of
+      Luxemburgh, and Schwartzenburgh: the emperor Henry the Seventh
+      procured for his son the crown of Bohemia, and his grandson
+      Charles the Fourth was born among a people strange and barbarous
+      in the estimation of the Germans themselves. 150 After the
+      excommunication of Lewis of Bavaria, he received the gift or
+      promise of the vacant empire from the Roman pontiffs, who, in the
+      exile and captivity of Avignon, affected the dominion of the
+      earth. The death of his competitors united the electoral college,
+      and Charles was unanimously saluted king of the Romans, and
+      future emperor; a title which, in the same age, was prostituted
+      to the Caesars of Germany and Greece. The German emperor was no
+      more than the elective and impotent magistrate of an aristocracy
+      of princes, who had not left him a village that he might call his
+      own. His best prerogative was the right of presiding and
+      proposing in the national senate, which was convened at his
+      summons; and his native kingdom of Bohemia, less opulent than the
+      adjacent city of Nuremberg, was the firmest seat of his power and
+      the richest source of his revenue. The army with which he passed
+      the Alps consisted of three hundred horse. In the cathedral of
+      St. Ambrose, Charles was crowned with the iron crown, which
+      tradition ascribed to the Lombard monarchy; but he was admitted
+      only with a peaceful train; the gates of the city were shut upon
+      him; and the king of Italy was held a captive by the arms of the
+      Visconti, whom he confirmed in the sovereignty of Milan. In the
+      Vatican he was again crowned with the golden crown of the empire;
+      but, in obedience to a secret treaty, the Roman emperor
+      immediately withdrew, without reposing a single night within the
+      walls of Rome. The eloquent Petrarch, 151 whose fancy revived the
+      visionary glories of the Capitol, deplores and upbraids the
+      ignominious flight of the Bohemian; and even his contemporaries
+      could observe, that the sole exercise of his authority was in the
+      lucrative sale of privileges and titles. The gold of Italy
+      secured the election of his son; but such was the shameful
+      poverty of the Roman emperor, that his person was arrested by a
+      butcher in the streets of Worms, and was detained in the public
+      inn, as a pledge or hostage for the payment of his expenses.
+
+      150 (return) [ Yet, personally, Charles IV. must not be
+      considered as a Barbarian. After his education at Paris, he
+      recovered the use of the Bohemian, his native, idiom; and the
+      emperor conversed and wrote with equal facility in French, Latin,
+      Italian, and German, (Struvius, p. 615, 616.) Petrarch always
+      represents him as a polite and learned prince.]
+
+      151 (return) [ Besides the German and Italian historians, the
+      expedition of Charles IV. is painted in lively and original
+      colors in the curious Memoires sur la Vie de Petrarque, tom. iii.
+      p. 376-430, by the Abbe de Sade, whose prolixity has never been
+      blamed by any reader of taste and curiosity.]
+
+      From this humiliating scene, let us turn to the apparent majesty
+      of the same Charles in the diets of the empire. The golden bull,
+      which fixes the Germanic constitution, is promulgated in the
+      style of a sovereign and legislator. A hundred princes bowed
+      before his throne, and exalted their own dignity by the voluntary
+      honors which they yielded to their chief or minister. At the
+      royal banquet, the hereditary great officers, the seven electors,
+      who in rank and title were equal to kings, performed their solemn
+      and domestic service of the palace. The seals of the triple
+      kingdom were borne in state by the archbishops of Mentz, Cologne,
+      and Treves, the perpetual arch-chancellors of Germany, Italy, and
+      Arles. The great marshal, on horseback, exercised his function
+      with a silver measure of oats, which he emptied on the ground,
+      and immediately dismounted to regulate the order of the guests.
+      The great steward, the count palatine of the Rhine, place the
+      dishes on the table. The great chamberlain, the margrave of
+      Brandenburgh, presented, after the repast, the golden ewer and
+      basin, to wash. The king of Bohemia, as great cup-bearer, was
+      represented by the emperor’s brother, the duke of Luxemburgh and
+      Brabant; and the procession was closed by the great huntsmen, who
+      introduced a boar and a stag, with a loud chorus of horns and
+      hounds. 152 Nor was the supremacy of the emperor confined to
+      Germany alone: the hereditary monarchs of Europe confessed the
+      preeminence of his rank and dignity: he was the first of the
+      Christian princes, the temporal head of the great republic of the
+      West: 153 to his person the title of majesty was long
+      appropriated; and he disputed with the pope the sublime
+      prerogative of creating kings and assembling councils. The oracle
+      of the civil law, the learned Bartolus, was a pensioner of
+      Charles the Fourth; and his school resounded with the doctrine,
+      that the Roman emperor was the rightful sovereign of the earth,
+      from the rising to the setting sun. The contrary opinion was
+      condemned, not as an error, but as a heresy, since even the
+      gospel had pronounced, “And there went forth a decree from Caesar
+      Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.” 154
+
+      152 (return) [ See the whole ceremony in Struvius, p. 629]
+
+      153 (return) [ The republic of Europe, with the pope and emperor
+      at its head, was never represented with more dignity than in the
+      council of Constance. See Lenfant’s History of that assembly.]
+
+      154 (return) [ Gravina, Origines Juris Civilis, p. 108.]
+
+      If we annihilate the interval of time and space between Augustus
+      and Charles, strong and striking will be the contrast between the
+      two Caesars; the Bohemian who concealed his weakness under the
+      mask of ostentation, and the Roman, who disguised his strength
+      under the semblance of modesty. At the head of his victorious
+      legions, in his reign over the sea and land, from the Nile and
+      Euphrates to the Atlantic Ocean, Augustus professed himself the
+      servant of the state and the equal of his fellow-citizens. The
+      conqueror of Rome and her provinces assumed a popular and legal
+      form of a censor, a consul, and a tribune. His will was the law
+      of mankind, but in the declaration of his laws he borrowed the
+      voice of the senate and people; and from their decrees their
+      master accepted and renewed his temporary commission to
+      administer the republic. In his dress, his domestics, 155 his
+      titles, in all the offices of social life, Augustus maintained
+      the character of a private Roman; and his most artful flatterers
+      respected the secret of his absolute and perpetual monarchy.
+
+      155 (return) [ Six thousand urns have been discovered of the
+      slaves and freedmen of Augustus and Livia. So minute was the
+      division of office, that one slave was appointed to weigh the
+      wool which was spun by the empress’s maids, another for the care
+      of her lap-dog, &c., (Camera Sepolchrale, by Bianchini. Extract
+      of his work in the Bibliotheque Italique, tom. iv. p. 175. His
+      Eloge, by Fontenelle, tom. vi. p. 356.) But these servants were
+      of the same rank, and possibly not more numerous than those of
+      Pollio or Lentulus. They only prove the general riches of the
+      city.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter L: Description Of Arabia And Its Inhabitants.—Part I.
+
+     Description Of Arabia And Its Inhabitants.—Birth, Character, And
+     Doctrine Of Mahomet.—He Preaches At Mecca.— Flies To
+     Medina.—Propagates His Religion By The Sword.— Voluntary Or
+     Reluctant Submission Of The Arabs.—His Death And Successors.—The
+     Claims And Fortunes Of Ali And His Descendants.
+
+      After pursuing above six hundred years the fleeting Caesars of
+      Constantinople and Germany, I now descend, in the reign of
+      Heraclius, on the eastern borders of the Greek monarchy. While
+      the state was exhausted by the Persian war, and the church was
+      distracted by the Nestorian and Monophysite sects, Mahomet, with
+      the sword in one hand and the Koran in the other, erected his
+      throne on the ruins of Christianity and of Rome. The genius of
+      the Arabian prophet, the manners of his nation, and the spirit of
+      his religion, involve the causes of the decline and fall of the
+      Eastern empire; and our eyes are curiously intent on one of the
+      most memorable revolutions, which have impressed a new and
+      lasting character on the nations of the globe. 1
+
+      1 (return) [ As in this and the following chapter I shall display
+      much Arabic learning, I must profess my total ignorance of the
+      Oriental tongues, and my gratitude to the learned interpreters,
+      who have transfused their science into the Latin, French, and
+      English languages. Their collections, versions, and histories, I
+      shall occasionally notice.]
+
+      In the vacant space between Persia, Syria, Egypt, and Aethiopia,
+      the Arabian peninsula 2 may be conceived as a triangle of
+      spacious but irregular dimensions. From the northern point of
+      Beles 3 on the Euphrates, a line of fifteen hundred miles is
+      terminated by the Straits of Bebelmandel and the land of
+      frankincense. About half this length may be allowed for the
+      middle breadth, from east to west, from Bassora to Suez, from the
+      Persian Gulf to the Red Sea. 4 The sides of the triangle are
+      gradually enlarged, and the southern basis presents a front of a
+      thousand miles to the Indian Ocean. The entire surface of the
+      peninsula exceeds in a fourfold proportion that of Germany or
+      France; but the far greater part has been justly stigmatized with
+      the epithets of the stony and the sandy. Even the wilds of
+      Tartary are decked, by the hand of nature, with lofty trees and
+      luxuriant herbage; and the lonesome traveller derives a sort of
+      comfort and society from the presence of vegetable life. But in
+      the dreary waste of Arabia, a boundless level of sand is
+      intersected by sharp and naked mountains; and the face of the
+      desert, without shade or shelter, is scorched by the direct and
+      intense rays of a tropical sun. Instead of refreshing breezes,
+      the winds, particularly from the south-west, diffuse a noxious
+      and even deadly vapor; the hillocks of sand which they
+      alternately raise and scatter, are compared to the billows of the
+      ocean, and whole caravans, whole armies, have been lost and
+      buried in the whirlwind. The common benefits of water are an
+      object of desire and contest; and such is the scarcity of wood,
+      that some art is requisite to preserve and propagate the element
+      of fire. Arabia is destitute of navigable rivers, which fertilize
+      the soil, and convey its produce to the adjacent regions: the
+      torrents that fall from the hills are imbibed by the thirsty
+      earth: the rare and hardy plants, the tamarind or the acacia,
+      that strike their roots into the clefts of the rocks, are
+      nourished by the dews of the night: a scanty supply of rain is
+      collected in cisterns and aqueducts: the wells and springs are
+      the secret treasure of the desert; and the pilgrim of Mecca, 5
+      after many a dry and sultry march, is disgusted by the taste of
+      the waters which have rolled over a bed of sulphur or salt. Such
+      is the general and genuine picture of the climate of Arabia. The
+      experience of evil enhances the value of any local or partial
+      enjoyments. A shady grove, a green pasture, a stream of fresh
+      water, are sufficient to attract a colony of sedentary Arabs to
+      the fortunate spots which can afford food and refreshment to
+      themselves and their cattle, and which encourage their industry
+      in the cultivation of the palmtree and the vine. The high lands
+      that border on the Indian Ocean are distinguished by their
+      superior plenty of wood and water; the air is more temperate, the
+      fruits are more delicious, the animals and the human race more
+      numerous: the fertility of the soil invites and rewards the toil
+      of the husbandman; and the peculiar gifts of frankincense 6 and
+      coffee have attracted in different ages the merchants of the
+      world. If it be compared with the rest of the peninsula, this
+      sequestered region may truly deserve the appellation of the
+      happy; and the splendid coloring of fancy and fiction has been
+      suggested by contrast, and countenanced by distance. It was for
+      this earthly paradise that Nature had reserved her choicest
+      favors and her most curious workmanship: the incompatible
+      blessings of luxury and innocence were ascribed to the natives:
+      the soil was impregnated with gold 7 and gems, and both the land
+      and sea were taught to exhale the odors of aromatic sweets. This
+      division of the sandy, the stony, and the happy, so familiar to
+      the Greeks and Latins, is unknown to the Arabians themselves; and
+      it is singular enough, that a country, whose language and
+      inhabitants have ever been the same, should scarcely retain a
+      vestige of its ancient geography. The maritime districts of
+      Bahrein and Oman are opposite to the realm of Persia. The kingdom
+      of Yemen displays the limits, or at least the situation, of
+      Arabia Felix: the name of Neged is extended over the inland
+      space; and the birth of Mahomet has illustrated the province of
+      Hejaz along the coast of the Red Sea. 8
+
+      2 (return) [ The geographers of Arabia may be divided into three
+      classes: 1. The Greeks and Latins, whose progressive knowledge
+      may be traced in Agatharcides, (de Mari Rubro, in Hudson,
+      Geograph. Minor. tom. i.,) Diodorus Siculus, (tom. i. l. ii. p.
+      159-167, l. iii. p. 211-216, edit. Wesseling,) Strabo, (l. xvi.
+      p. 1112-1114, from Eratosthenes, p. 1122-1132, from Artemidorus,)
+      Dionysius, (Periegesis, 927-969,) Pliny, (Hist. Natur. v. 12, vi.
+      32,) and Ptolemy, (Descript. et Tabulae Urbium, in Hudson, tom.
+      iii.) 2. The Arabic writers, who have treated the subject with
+      the zeal of patriotism or devotion: the extracts of Pocock
+      (Specimen Hist. Arabum, p. 125-128) from the Geography of the
+      Sherif al Edrissi, render us still more dissatisfied with the
+      version or abridgment (p. 24-27, 44-56, 108, &c., 119, &c.) which
+      the Maronites have published under the absurd title of Geographia
+      Nubiensis, (Paris, 1619;) but the Latin and French translators,
+      Greaves (in Hudson, tom. iii.) and Galland, (Voyage de la
+      Palestine par La Roque, p. 265-346,) have opened to us the Arabia
+      of Abulfeda, the most copious and correct account of the
+      peninsula, which may be enriched, however, from the Bibliotheque
+      Orientale of D’Herbelot, p. 120, et alibi passim. 3. The European
+      travellers; among whom Shaw (p. 438-455) and Niebuhr
+      (Description, 1773; Voyages, tom. i. 1776) deserve an honorable
+      distinction: Busching (Geographie par Berenger, tom. viii. p.
+      416-510) has compiled with judgment, and D’Anville’s Maps (Orbis
+      Veteribus Notus, and 1re Partie de l’Asie) should lie before the
+      reader, with his Geographie Ancienne, tom. ii. p. 208-231. *
+      Note: Of modern travellers may be mentioned the adventurer who
+      called himself Ali Bey; but above all, the intelligent, the
+      enterprising the accurate Burckhardt.—M.]
+
+      3 (return) [ Abulfed. Descript. Arabiae, p. 1. D’Anville,
+      l’Euphrate et le Tigre, p. 19, 20. It was in this place, the
+      paradise or garden of a satrap, that Xenophon and the Greeks
+      first passed the Euphrates, (Anabasis, l. i. c. 10, p. 29, edit.
+      Wells.)]
+
+      4 (return) [ Reland has proved, with much superfluous learning,
+
+      1. That our Red Sea (the Arabian Gulf) is no more than a part of
+      the Mare Rubrum, which was extended to the indefinite space of
+      the Indian Ocean.
+
+      2. That the synonymous words, allude to the color of the blacks
+      or negroes, (Dissert Miscell. tom. i. p. 59-117.)]
+
+      5 (return) [ In the thirty days, or stations, between Cairo and
+      Mecca, there are fifteen destitute of good water. See the route
+      of the Hadjees, in Shaw’s Travels, p. 477.]
+
+      6 (return) [ The aromatics, especially the thus, or frankincense,
+      of Arabia, occupy the xiith book of Pliny. Our great poet
+      (Paradise Lost, l. iv.) introduces, in a simile, the spicy odors
+      that are blown by the north-east wind from the Sabaean
+      coast:——Many a league, Pleased with the grateful scent, old Ocean
+      smiles. (Plin. Hist. Natur. xii. 42.)]
+
+      7 (return) [ Agatharcides affirms, that lumps of pure gold were
+      found, from the size of an olive to that of a nut; that iron was
+      twice, and silver ten times, the value of gold, (de Mari Rubro,
+      p. 60.) These real or imaginary treasures are vanished; and no
+      gold mines are at present known in Arabia, (Niebuhr, Description,
+      p. 124.) * Note: A brilliant passage in the geographical poem of
+      Dionysius Periegetes embodies the notions of the ancients on the
+      wealth and fertility of Yemen. Greek mythology, and the
+      traditions of the “gorgeous east,” of India as well as Arabia,
+      are mingled together in indiscriminate splendor. Compare on the
+      southern coast of Arabia, the recent travels of Lieut.
+      Wellsted—M.]
+
+      8 (return) [ Consult, peruse, and study the Specimen Hostoriae
+      Arabum of Pocock, (Oxon. 1650, in 4to.) The thirty pages of text
+      and version are extracted from the Dynasties of Gregory
+      Abulpharagius, which Pocock afterwards translated, (Oxon. 1663,
+      in 4to.;) the three hundred and fifty-eight notes form a classic
+      and original work on the Arabian antiquities.]
+
+      The measure of population is regulated by the means of
+      subsistence; and the inhabitants of this vast peninsula might be
+      outnumbered by the subjects of a fertile and industrious
+      province. Along the shores of the Persian Gulf, of the ocean, and
+      even of the Red Sea, the Icthyophagi, 9 or fish eaters, continued
+      to wander in quest of their precarious food. In this primitive
+      and abject state, which ill deserves the name of society, the
+      human brute, without arts or laws, almost without sense or
+      language, is poorly distinguished from the rest of the animal
+      creation. Generations and ages might roll away in silent
+      oblivion, and the helpless savage was restrained from multiplying
+      his race by the wants and pursuits which confined his existence
+      to the narrow margin of the seacoast. But in an early period of
+      antiquity the great body of the Arabs had emerged from this scene
+      of misery; and as the naked wilderness could not maintain a
+      people of hunters, they rose at once to the more secure and
+      plentiful condition of the pastoral life. The same life is
+      uniformly pursued by the roving tribes of the desert; and in the
+      portrait of the modern Bedoweens, we may trace the features of
+      their ancestors, 10 who, in the age of Moses or Mahomet, dwelt
+      under similar tents, and conducted their horses, and camels, and
+      sheep, to the same springs and the same pastures. Our toil is
+      lessened, and our wealth is increased, by our dominion over the
+      useful animals; and the Arabian shepherd had acquired the
+      absolute possession of a faithful friend and a laborious slave.
+      11 Arabia, in the opinion of the naturalist, is the genuine and
+      original country of the horse; the climate most propitious, not
+      indeed to the size, but to the spirit and swiftness, of that
+      generous animal. The merit of the Barb, the Spanish, and the
+      English breed, is derived from a mixture of Arabian blood: 12 the
+      Bedoweens preserve, with superstitious care, the honors and the
+      memory of the purest race: the males are sold at a high price,
+      but the females are seldom alienated; and the birth of a noble
+      foal was esteemed among the tribes, as a subject of joy and
+      mutual congratulation. These horses are educated in the tents,
+      among the children of the Arabs, with a tender familiarity, which
+      trains them in the habits of gentleness and attachment. They are
+      accustomed only to walk and to gallop: their sensations are not
+      blunted by the incessant abuse of the spur and the whip: their
+      powers are reserved for the moments of flight and pursuit: but no
+      sooner do they feel the touch of the hand or the stirrup, than
+      they dart away with the swiftness of the wind; and if their
+      friend be dismounted in the rapid career, they instantly stop
+      till he has recovered his seat. In the sands of Africa and
+      Arabia, the camel is a sacred and precious gift. That strong and
+      patient beast of burden can perform, without eating or drinking,
+      a journey of several days; and a reservoir of fresh water is
+      preserved in a large bag, a fifth stomach of the animal, whose
+      body is imprinted with the marks of servitude: the larger breed
+      is capable of transporting a weight of a thousand pounds; and the
+      dromedary, of a lighter and more active frame, outstrips the
+      fleetest courser in the race. Alive or dead, almost every part of
+      the camel is serviceable to man: her milk is plentiful and
+      nutritious: the young and tender flesh has the taste of veal: 13
+      a valuable salt is extracted from the urine: the dung supplies
+      the deficiency of fuel; and the long hair, which falls each year
+      and is renewed, is coarsely manufactured into the garments, the
+      furniture, and the tents of the Bedoweens. In the rainy seasons,
+      they consume the rare and insufficient herbage of the desert:
+      during the heats of summer and the scarcity of winter, they
+      remove their encampments to the sea-coast, the hills of Yemen, or
+      the neighborhood of the Euphrates, and have often extorted the
+      dangerous license of visiting the banks of the Nile, and the
+      villages of Syria and Palestine. The life of a wandering Arab is
+      a life of danger and distress; and though sometimes, by rapine or
+      exchange, he may appropriate the fruits of industry, a private
+      citizen in Europe is in the possession of more solid and pleasing
+      luxury than the proudest emir, who marches in the field at the
+      head of ten thousand horse.
+
+      9 (return) [ Arrian remarks the Icthyophagi of the coast of
+      Hejez, (Periplus Maris Erythraei, p. 12,) and beyond Aden, (p.
+      15.) It seems probable that the shores of the Red Sea (in the
+      largest sense) were occupied by these savages in the time,
+      perhaps, of Cyrus; but I can hardly believe that any cannibals
+      were left among the savages in the reign of Justinian. (Procop.
+      de Bell. Persic. l. i. c. 19.)]
+
+      10 (return) [ See the Specimen Historiae Arabum of Pocock, p. 2,
+      5, 86, &c. The journey of M. d’Arvieux, in 1664, to the camp of
+      the emir of Mount Carmel, (Voyage de la Palestine, Amsterdam,
+      1718,) exhibits a pleasing and original picture of the life of
+      the Bedoweens, which may be illustrated from Niebuhr (Description
+      de l’Arabie, p. 327-344) and Volney, (tom. i. p. 343-385,) the
+      last and most judicious of our Syrian travellers.]
+
+      11 (return) [ Read (it is no unpleasing task) the incomparable
+      articles of the Horse and the Camel, in the Natural History of M.
+      de Buffon.]
+
+      12 (return) [ For the Arabian horses, see D’Arvieux (p. 159-173)
+      and Niebuhr, (p. 142-144.) At the end of the xiiith century, the
+      horses of Neged were esteemed sure-footed, those of Yemen strong
+      and serviceable, those of Hejaz most noble. The horses of Europe,
+      the tenth and last class, were generally despised as having too
+      much body and too little spirit, (D’Herbelot, Bibliot. Orient. p.
+      339: ) their strength was requisite to bear the weight of the
+      knight and his armor]
+
+      13 (return) [ Qui carnibus camelorum vesci solent odii tenaces
+      sunt, was the opinion of an Arabian physician, (Pocock, Specimen,
+      p. 88.) Mahomet himself, who was fond of milk, prefers the cow,
+      and does not even mention the camel; but the diet of Mecca and
+      Medina was already more luxurious, (Gagnier Vie de Mahomet, tom.
+      iii. p. 404.)]
+
+      Yet an essential difference may be found between the hordes of
+      Scythia and the Arabian tribes; since many of the latter were
+      collected into towns, and employed in the labors of trade and
+      agriculture. A part of their time and industry was still devoted
+      to the management of their cattle: they mingled, in peace and
+      war, with their brethren of the desert; and the Bedoweens derived
+      from their useful intercourse some supply of their wants, and
+      some rudiments of art and knowledge. Among the forty-two cities
+      of Arabia, 14 enumerated by Abulfeda, the most ancient and
+      populous were situate in the happy Yemen: the towers of Saana, 15
+      and the marvellous reservoir of Merab, 16 were constructed by the
+      kings of the Homerites; but their profane lustre was eclipsed by
+      the prophetic glories of Medina 17 and Mecca, 18 near the Red
+      Sea, and at the distance from each other of two hundred and
+      seventy miles. The last of these holy places was known to the
+      Greeks under the name of Macoraba; and the termination of the
+      word is expressive of its greatness, which has not, indeed, in
+      the most flourishing period, exceeded the size and populousness
+      of Marseilles. Some latent motive, perhaps of superstition, must
+      have impelled the founders, in the choice of a most unpromising
+      situation. They erected their habitations of mud or stone, in a
+      plain about two miles long and one mile broad, at the foot of
+      three barren mountains: the soil is a rock; the water even of the
+      holy well of Zemzem is bitter or brackish; the pastures are
+      remote from the city; and grapes are transported above seventy
+      miles from the gardens of Tayef. The fame and spirit of the
+      Koreishites, who reigned in Mecca, were conspicuous among the
+      Arabian tribes; but their ungrateful soil refused the labors of
+      agriculture, and their position was favorable to the enterprises
+      of trade. By the seaport of Gedda, at the distance only of forty
+      miles, they maintained an easy correspondence with Abyssinia; and
+      that Christian kingdom afforded the first refuge to the disciples
+      of Mahomet. The treasures of Africa were conveyed over the
+      Peninsula to Gerrha or Katif, in the province of Bahrein, a city
+      built, as it is said, of rock-salt, by the Chaldaean exiles; 19
+      and from thence with the native pearls of the Persian Gulf, they
+      were floated on rafts to the mouth of the Euphrates. Mecca is
+      placed almost at an equal distance, a month’s journey, between
+      Yemen on the right, and Syria on the left hand. The former was
+      the winter, the latter the summer, station of her caravans; and
+      their seasonable arrival relieved the ships of India from the
+      tedious and troublesome navigation of the Red Sea. In the markets
+      of Saana and Merab, in the harbors of Oman and Aden, the camels
+      of the Koreishites were laden with a precious cargo of aromatics;
+      a supply of corn and manufactures was purchased in the fairs of
+      Bostra and Damascus; the lucrative exchange diffused plenty and
+      riches in the streets of Mecca; and the noblest of her sons
+      united the love of arms with the profession of merchandise. 20
+
+      14 (return) [ Yet Marcian of Heraclea (in Periplo, p. 16, in tom.
+      i. Hudson, Minor. Geograph.) reckons one hundred and sixty-four
+      towns in Arabia Felix. The size of the towns might be small—the
+      faith of the writer might be large.]
+
+      15 (return) [ It is compared by Abulfeda (in Hudson, tom. ii. p.
+      54) to Damascus, and is still the residence of the Imam of Yemen,
+      (Voyages de Niebuhr, tom. i. p. 331-342.) Saana is twenty-four
+      parasangs from Dafar, (Abulfeda, p. 51,) and sixty-eight from
+      Aden, (p. 53.)]
+
+      16 (return) [ Pocock, Specimen, p. 57. Geograph. Nubiensis, p.
+      52. Meriaba, or Merab, six miles in circumference, was destroyed
+      by the legions of Augustus, (Plin. Hist. Nat. vi. 32,) and had
+      not revived in the xivth century, (Abulfed. Descript. Arab. p.
+      58.) * Note: See note 2 to chap. i. The destruction of Meriaba by
+      the Romans is doubtful. The town never recovered the inundation
+      which took place from the bursting of a large reservoir of
+      water—an event of great importance in the Arabian annals, and
+      discussed at considerable length by modern Orientalists.—M.]
+
+      17 (return) [ The name of city, Medina, was appropriated, to
+      Yatreb. (the Iatrippa of the Greeks,) the seat of the prophet.
+      The distances from Medina are reckoned by Abulfeda in stations,
+      or days’ journey of a caravan, (p. 15: ) to Bahrein, xv.; to
+      Bassora, xviii.; to Cufah, xx.; to Damascus or Palestine, xx.; to
+      Cairo, xxv.; to Mecca. x.; from Mecca to Saana, (p. 52,) or Aden,
+      xxx.; to Cairo, xxxi. days, or 412 hours, (Shaw’s Travels, p.
+      477;) which, according to the estimate of D’Anville, (Mesures
+      Itineraires, p. 99,) allows about twenty-five English miles for a
+      day’s journey. From the land of frankincense (Hadramaut, in
+      Yemen, between Aden and Cape Fartasch) to Gaza in Syria, Pliny
+      (Hist. Nat. xii. 32) computes lxv. mansions of camels. These
+      measures may assist fancy and elucidate facts.]
+
+      18 (return) [ Our notions of Mecca must be drawn from the
+      Arabians, (D’Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orientale, p. 368-371.
+      Pocock, Specimen, p. 125-128. Abulfeda, p. 11-40.) As no
+      unbeliever is permitted to enter the city, our travellers are
+      silent; and the short hints of Thevenot (Voyages du Levant, part
+      i. p. 490) are taken from the suspicious mouth of an African
+      renegado. Some Persians counted 6000 houses, (Chardin. tom. iv.
+      p. 167.) * Note: Even in the time of Gibbon, Mecca had not been
+      so inaccessible to Europeans. It had been visited by Ludovico
+      Barthema, and by one Joseph Pitts, of Exeter, who was taken
+      prisoner by the Moors, and forcibly converted to Mahometanism.
+      His volume is a curious, though plain, account of his sufferings
+      and travels. Since that time Mecca has been entered, and the
+      ceremonies witnessed, by Dr. Seetzen, whose papers were
+      unfortunately lost; by the Spaniard, who called himself Ali Bey;
+      and, lastly, by Burckhardt, whose description leaves nothing
+      wanting to satisfy the curiosity.—M.]
+
+      19 (return) [ Strabo, l. xvi. p. 1110. See one of these salt
+      houses near Bassora, in D’Herbelot, Bibliot. Orient. p. 6.]
+
+      20 (return) [ Mirum dictu ex innumeris populis pars aequa in
+      commerciis aut in latrociniis degit, (Plin. Hist. Nat. vi. 32.)
+      See Sale’s Koran, Sura. cvi. p. 503. Pocock, Specimen, p. 2.
+      D’Herbelot, Bibliot. Orient. p. 361. Prideaux’s Life of Mahomet,
+      p. 5. Gagnier, Vie de Mahomet, tom. i. p. 72, 120, 126, &c.]
+
+      The perpetual independence of the Arabs has been the theme of
+      praise among strangers and natives; and the arts of controversy
+      transform this singular event into a prophecy and a miracle, in
+      favor of the posterity of Ismael. 21 Some exceptions, that can
+      neither be dismissed nor eluded, render this mode of reasoning as
+      indiscreet as it is superfluous; the kingdom of Yemen has been
+      successively subdued by the Abyssinians, the Persians, the
+      sultans of Egypt, 22 and the Turks; 23 the holy cities of Mecca
+      and Medina have repeatedly bowed under a Scythian tyrant; and the
+      Roman province of Arabia 24 embraced the peculiar wilderness in
+      which Ismael and his sons must have pitched their tents in the
+      face of their brethren. Yet these exceptions are temporary or
+      local; the body of the nation has escaped the yoke of the most
+      powerful monarchies: the arms of Sesostris and Cyrus, of Pompey
+      and Trajan, could never achieve the conquest of Arabia; the
+      present sovereign of the Turks 25 may exercise a shadow of
+      jurisdiction, but his pride is reduced to solicit the friendship
+      of a people, whom it is dangerous to provoke, and fruitless to
+      attack. The obvious causes of their freedom are inscribed on the
+      character and country of the Arabs. Many ages before Mahomet, 26
+      their intrepid valor had been severely felt by their neighbors in
+      offensive and defensive war. The patient and active virtues of a
+      soldier are insensibly nursed in the habits and discipline of a
+      pastoral life. The care of the sheep and camels is abandoned to
+      the women of the tribe; but the martial youth, under the banner
+      of the emir, is ever on horseback, and in the field, to practise
+      the exercise of the bow, the javelin, and the cimeter. The long
+      memory of their independence is the firmest pledge of its
+      perpetuity and succeeding generations are animated to prove their
+      descent, and to maintain their inheritance. Their domestic feuds
+      are suspended on the approach of a common enemy; and in their
+      last hostilities against the Turks, the caravan of Mecca was
+      attacked and pillaged by fourscore thousand of the confederates.
+      When they advance to battle, the hope of victory is in the front;
+      in the rear, the assurance of a retreat. Their horses and camels,
+      who, in eight or ten days, can perform a march of four or five
+      hundred miles, disappear before the conqueror; the secret waters
+      of the desert elude his search, and his victorious troops are
+      consumed with thirst, hunger, and fatigue, in the pursuit of an
+      invisible foe, who scorns his efforts, and safely reposes in the
+      heart of the burning solitude. The arms and deserts of the
+      Bedoweens are not only the safeguards of their own freedom, but
+      the barriers also of the happy Arabia, whose inhabitants, remote
+      from war, are enervated by the luxury of the soil and climate.
+      The legions of Augustus melted away in disease and lassitude; 27
+      and it is only by a naval power that the reduction of Yemen has
+      been successfully attempted. When Mahomet erected his holy
+      standard, 28 that kingdom was a province of the Persian empire;
+      yet seven princes of the Homerites still reigned in the
+      mountains; and the vicegerent of Chosroes was tempted to forget
+      his distant country and his unfortunate master. The historians of
+      the age of Justinian represent the state of the independent
+      Arabs, who were divided by interest or affection in the long
+      quarrel of the East: the tribe of Gassan was allowed to encamp on
+      the Syrian territory: the princes of Hira were permitted to form
+      a city about forty miles to the southward of the ruins of
+      Babylon. Their service in the field was speedy and vigorous; but
+      their friendship was venal, their faith inconstant, their enmity
+      capricious: it was an easier task to excite than to disarm these
+      roving barbarians; and, in the familiar intercourse of war, they
+      learned to see, and to despise, the splendid weakness both of
+      Rome and of Persia. From Mecca to the Euphrates, the Arabian
+      tribes 29 were confounded by the Greeks and Latins, under the
+      general appellation of Saracens, 30 a name which every Christian
+      mouth has been taught to pronounce with terror and abhorrence.
+
+      21 (return) [ A nameless doctor (Universal Hist. vol. xx. octavo
+      edition) has formally demonstrated the truth of Christianity by
+      the independence of the Arabs. A critic, besides the exceptions
+      of fact, might dispute the meaning of the text (Gen. xvi. 12,)
+      the extent of the application, and the foundation of the
+      pedigree. * Note: See note 3 to chap. xlvi. The atter point is
+      probably the least contestable of the three.—M.]
+
+      22 (return) [ It was subdued, A.D. 1173, by a brother of the
+      great Saladin, who founded a dynasty of Curds or Ayoubites,
+      (Guignes, Hist. des Huns, tom. i. p. 425. D’Herbelot, p. 477.)]
+
+      23 (return) [ By the lieutenant of Soliman I. (A.D. 1538) and
+      Selim II., (1568.) See Cantemir’s Hist. of the Othman Empire, p.
+      201, 221. The pacha, who resided at Saana, commanded twenty-one
+      beys; but no revenue was ever remitted to the Porte, (Marsigli,
+      Stato Militare dell’ Imperio Ottomanno, p. 124,) and the Turks
+      were expelled about the year 1630, (Niebuhr, p. 167, 168.)]
+
+      24 (return) [ Of the Roman province, under the name of Arabia and
+      the third Palestine, the principal cities were Bostra and Petra,
+      which dated their aera from the year 105, when they were subdued
+      by Palma, a lieutenant of Trajan, (Dion. Cassius, l. lxviii.)
+      Petra was the capital of the Nabathaeans; whose name is derived
+      from the eldest of the sons of Ismael, (Gen. xxv. 12, &c., with
+      the Commentaries of Jerom, Le Clerc, and Calmet.) Justinian
+      relinquished a palm country of ten days’ journey to the south of
+      Aelah, (Procop. de Bell. Persic. l. i. c. 19,) and the Romans
+      maintained a centurion and a custom-house, (Arrian in Periplo
+      Maris Erythraei, p. 11, in Hudson, tom. i.,) at a place (Pagus
+      Albus, Hawara) in the territory of Medina, (D’Anville, Memoire
+      sur l’Egypte, p. 243.) These real possessions, and some naval
+      inroads of Trajan, (Peripl. p. 14, 15,) are magnified by history
+      and medals into the Roman conquest of Arabia. * Note: On the
+      ruins of Petra, see the travels of Messrs. Irby and Mangles, and
+      of Leon de Laborde.—M.]
+
+      25 (return) [ Niebuhr (Description de l’Arabie, p. 302, 303,
+      329-331) affords the most recent and authentic intelligence of
+      the Turkish empire in Arabia. * Note: Niebuhr’s, notwithstanding
+      the multitude of later travellers, maintains its ground, as the
+      classical work on Arabia.—M.]
+
+      26 (return) [ Diodorus Siculus (tom. ii. l. xix. p. 390-393,
+      edit. Wesseling) has clearly exposed the freedom of the
+      Nabathaean Arabs, who resisted the arms of Antigonus and his
+      son.]
+
+      27 (return) [ Strabo, l. xvi. p. 1127-1129. Plin. Hist. Natur.
+      vi. 32. Aelius Gallus landed near Medina, and marched near a
+      thousand miles into the part of Yemen between Mareb and the
+      Ocean. The non ante devictis Sabeae regibus, (Od. i. 29,) and the
+      intacti Arabum thesanri (Od. iii. 24) of Horace, attest the
+      virgin purity of Arabia.]
+
+      28 (return) [ See the imperfect history of Yemen in Pocock,
+      Specimen, p. 55-66, of Hira, p. 66-74, of Gassan, p. 75-78, as
+      far as it could be known or preserved in the time of ignorance. *
+      Note: Compare the Hist. Yemanae, published by Johannsen at Bonn
+      1880 particularly the translator’s preface.—M.]
+
+      29 (return) [ They are described by Menander, (Excerpt. Legation
+      p. 149,) Procopius, (de Bell. Persic. l. i. c. 17, 19, l. ii. c.
+      10,) and, in the most lively colors, by Ammianus Marcellinus, (l.
+      xiv. c. 4,) who had spoken of them as early as the reign of
+      Marcus.]
+
+      30 (return) [ The name which, used by Ptolemy and Pliny in a more
+      confined, by Ammianus and Procopius in a larger, sense, has been
+      derived, ridiculously, from Sarah, the wife of Abraham, obscurely
+      from the village of Saraka, (Stephan. de Urbibus,) more plausibly
+      from the Arabic words, which signify a thievish character, or
+      Oriental situation, (Hottinger, Hist. Oriental. l. i. c. i. p. 7,
+      8. Pocock, Specimen, p. 33, 35. Asseman. Bibliot. Orient. tom.
+      iv. p. 567.) Yet the last and most popular of these etymologies
+      is refuted by Ptolemy, (Arabia, p. 2, 18, in Hudson, tom. iv.,)
+      who expressly remarks the western and southern position of the
+      Saracens, then an obscure tribe on the borders of Egypt. The
+      appellation cannot therefore allude to any national character;
+      and, since it was imposed by strangers, it must be found, not in
+      the Arabic, but in a foreign language. * Note: Dr. Clarke,
+      (Travels, vol. ii. p. 491,) after expressing contemptuous pity
+      for Gibbon’s ignorance, derives the word from Zara, Zaara, Sara,
+      the Desert, whence Saraceni, the children of the Desert. De
+      Marles adopts the derivation from Sarrik, a robber, (Hist. des
+      Arabes, vol. i. p. 36, S.L. Martin from Scharkioun, or Sharkun,
+      Eastern, vol. xi. p. 55.)—M.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter L: Description Of Arabia And Its Inhabitants.—Part II.
+
+      The slaves of domestic tyranny may vainly exult in their national
+      independence: but the Arab is personally free; and he enjoys, in
+      some degree, the benefits of society, without forfeiting the
+      prerogatives of nature. In every tribe, superstition, or
+      gratitude, or fortune, has exalted a particular family above the
+      heads of their equals. The dignities of sheick and emir
+      invariably descend in this chosen race; but the order of
+      succession is loose and precarious; and the most worthy or aged
+      of the noble kinsmen are preferred to the simple, though
+      important, office of composing disputes by their advice, and
+      guiding valor by their example. Even a female of sense and spirit
+      has been permitted to command the countrymen of Zenobia. 31 The
+      momentary junction of several tribes produces an army: their more
+      lasting union constitutes a nation; and the supreme chief, the
+      emir of emirs, whose banner is displayed at their head, may
+      deserve, in the eyes of strangers, the honors of the kingly name.
+
+      If the Arabian princes abuse their power, they are quickly
+      punished by the desertion of their subjects, who had been
+      accustomed to a mild and parental jurisdiction. Their spirit is
+      free, their steps are unconfined, the desert is open, and the
+      tribes and families are held together by a mutual and voluntary
+      compact. The softer natives of Yemen supported the pomp and
+      majesty of a monarch; but if he could not leave his palace
+      without endangering his life, 32 the active powers of government
+      must have been devolved on his nobles and magistrates. The cities
+      of Mecca and Medina present, in the heart of Asia, the form, or
+      rather the substance, of a commonwealth. The grandfather of
+      Mahomet, and his lineal ancestors, appear in foreign and domestic
+      transactions as the princes of their country; but they reigned,
+      like Pericles at Athens, or the Medici at Florence, by the
+      opinion of their wisdom and integrity; their influence was
+      divided with their patrimony; and the sceptre was transferred
+      from the uncles of the prophet to a younger branch of the tribe
+      of Koreish. On solemn occasions they convened the assembly of the
+      people; and, since mankind must be either compelled or persuaded
+      to obey, the use and reputation of oratory among the ancient
+      Arabs is the clearest evidence of public freedom. 33 But their
+      simple freedom was of a very different cast from the nice and
+      artificial machinery of the Greek and Roman republics, in which
+      each member possessed an undivided share of the civil and
+      political rights of the community. In the more simple state of
+      the Arabs, the nation is free, because each of her sons disdains
+      a base submission to the will of a master. His breast is
+      fortified by the austere virtues of courage, patience, and
+      sobriety; the love of independence prompts him to exercise the
+      habits of self-command; and the fear of dishonor guards him from
+      the meaner apprehension of pain, of danger, and of death. The
+      gravity and firmness of the mind is conspicuous in his outward
+      demeanor; his speech is low, weighty, and concise; he is seldom
+      provoked to laughter; his only gesture is that of stroking his
+      beard, the venerable symbol of manhood; and the sense of his own
+      importance teaches him to accost his equals without levity, and
+      his superiors without awe. 34 The liberty of the Saracens
+      survived their conquests: the first caliphs indulged the bold and
+      familiar language of their subjects; they ascended the pulpit to
+      persuade and edify the congregation; nor was it before the seat
+      of empire was removed to the Tigris, that the Abbasides adopted
+      the proud and pompous ceremonial of the Persian and Byzantine
+      courts.
+
+      31 (return) [ Saraceni... mulieres aiunt in eos regnare,
+      (Expositio totius Mundi, p. 3, in Hudson, tom. iii.) The reign of
+      Mavia is famous in ecclesiastical story Pocock, Specimen, p. 69,
+      83.]
+
+      32 (return) [ The report of Agatharcides, (de Mari Rubro, p. 63,
+      64, in Hudson, tom. i.) Diodorus Siculus, (tom. i. l. iii. c. 47,
+      p. 215,) and Strabo, (l. xvi. p. 1124.) But I much suspect that
+      this is one of the popular tales, or extraordinary accidents,
+      which the credulity of travellers so often transforms into a
+      fact, a custom, and a law.]
+
+      33 (return) [ Non gloriabantur antiquitus Arabes, nisi gladio,
+      hospite, et eloquentia (Sephadius apud Pocock, Specimen, p. 161,
+      162.) This gift of speech they shared only with the Persians; and
+      the sententious Arabs would probably have disdained the simple
+      and sublime logic of Demosthenes.]
+
+      34 (return) [ I must remind the reader that D’Arvieux,
+      D’Herbelot, and Niebuhr, represent, in the most lively colors,
+      the manners and government of the Arabs, which are illustrated by
+      many incidental passages in the Life of Mahomet. * Note: See,
+      likewise the curious romance of Antar, the most vivid and
+      authentic picture of Arabian manners.—M.]
+
+      In the study of nations and men, we may observe the causes that
+      render them hostile or friendly to each other, that tend to
+      narrow or enlarge, to mollify or exasperate, the social
+      character. The separation of the Arabs from the rest of mankind
+      has accustomed them to confound the ideas of stranger and enemy;
+      and the poverty of the land has introduced a maxim of
+      jurisprudence, which they believe and practise to the present
+      hour. They pretend, that, in the division of the earth, the rich
+      and fertile climates were assigned to the other branches of the
+      human family; and that the posterity of the outlaw Ismael might
+      recover, by fraud or force, the portion of inheritance of which
+      he had been unjustly deprived. According to the remark of Pliny,
+      the Arabian tribes are equally addicted to theft and merchandise;
+      the caravans that traverse the desert are ransomed or pillaged;
+      and their neighbors, since the remote times of Job and Sesostris,
+      35 have been the victims of their rapacious spirit. If a Bedoween
+      discovers from afar a solitary traveller, he rides furiously
+      against him, crying, with a loud voice, “Undress thyself, thy
+      aunt (my wife) is without a garment.” A ready submission entitles
+      him to mercy; resistance will provoke the aggressor, and his own
+      blood must expiate the blood which he presumes to shed in
+      legitimate defence. A single robber, or a few associates, are
+      branded with their genuine name; but the exploits of a numerous
+      band assume the character of lawful and honorable war. The temper
+      of a people thus armed against mankind was doubly inflamed by the
+      domestic license of rapine, murder, and revenge. In the
+      constitution of Europe, the right of peace and war is now
+      confined to a small, and the actual exercise to a much smaller,
+      list of respectable potentates; but each Arab, with impunity and
+      renown, might point his javelin against the life of his
+      countrymen. The union of the nation consisted only in a vague
+      resemblance of language and manners; and in each community, the
+      jurisdiction of the magistrate was mute and impotent. Of the time
+      of ignorance which preceded Mahomet, seventeen hundred battles 36
+      are recorded by tradition: hostility was imbittered with the
+      rancor of civil faction; and the recital, in prose or verse, of
+      an obsolete feud, was sufficient to rekindle the same passions
+      among the descendants of the hostile tribes. In private life
+      every man, at least every family, was the judge and avenger of
+      his own cause. The nice sensibility of honor, which weighs the
+      insult rather than the injury, sheds its deadly venom on the
+      quarrels of the Arabs: the honor of their women, and of their
+      beards, is most easily wounded; an indecent action, a
+      contemptuous word, can be expiated only by the blood of the
+      offender; and such is their patient inveteracy, that they expect
+      whole months and years the opportunity of revenge. A fine or
+      compensation for murder is familiar to the Barbarians of every
+      age: but in Arabia the kinsmen of the dead are at liberty to
+      accept the atonement, or to exercise with their own hands the law
+      of retaliation. The refined malice of the Arabs refuses even the
+      head of the murderer, substitutes an innocent for the guilty
+      person, and transfers the penalty to the best and most
+      considerable of the race by whom they have been injured. If he
+      falls by their hands, they are exposed, in their turn, to the
+      danger of reprisals, the interest and principal of the bloody
+      debt are accumulated: the individuals of either family lead a
+      life of malice and suspicion, and fifty years may sometimes
+      elapse before the account of vengeance be finally settled. 37
+      This sanguinary spirit, ignorant of pity or forgiveness, has been
+      moderated, however, by the maxims of honor, which require in
+      every private encounter some decent equality of age and strength,
+      of numbers and weapons. An annual festival of two, perhaps of
+      four, months, was observed by the Arabs before the time of
+      Mahomet, during which their swords were religiously sheathed both
+      in foreign and domestic hostility; and this partial truce is more
+      strongly expressive of the habits of anarchy and warfare. 38
+
+      35 (return) [ Observe the first chapter of Job, and the long wall
+      of 1500 stadia which Sesostris built from Pelusium to Heliopolis,
+      (Diodor. Sicul. tom. i. l. i. p. 67.) Under the name of Hycsos,
+      the shepherd kings, they had formerly subdued Egypt, (Marsham,
+      Canon. Chron. p. 98-163) &c.) * Note: This origin of the Hycsos,
+      though probable, is by no means so certain here is some reason
+      for supposing them Scythians.—M]
+
+      36 (return) [ Or, according to another account, 1200,
+      (D’Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orientale, p. 75: ) the two historians
+      who wrote of the Ayam al Arab, the battles of the Arabs, lived in
+      the 9th and 10th century. The famous war of Dahes and Gabrah was
+      occasioned by two horses, lasted forty years, and ended in a
+      proverb, (Pocock, Specimen, p. 48.)]
+
+      37 (return) [ The modern theory and practice of the Arabs in the
+      revenge of murder are described by Niebuhr, (Description, p.
+      26-31.) The harsher features of antiquity may be traced in the
+      Koran, c. 2, p. 20, c. 17, p. 230, with Sale’s Observations.]
+
+      38 (return) [ Procopius (de Bell. Persic. l. i. c. 16) places the
+      two holy months about the summer solstice. The Arabians
+      consecrate four months of the year—the first, seventh, eleventh,
+      and twelfth; and pretend, that in a long series of ages the truce
+      was infringed only four or six times, (Sale’s Preliminary
+      Discourse, p. 147-150, and Notes on the ixth chapter of the
+      Koran, p. 154, &c. Casiri, Bibliot. Hispano-Arabica, tom. ii. p.
+      20, 21.)]
+
+      But the spirit of rapine and revenge was attempered by the milder
+      influence of trade and literature. The solitary peninsula is
+      encompassed by the most civilized nations of the ancient world;
+      the merchant is the friend of mankind; and the annual caravans
+      imported the first seeds of knowledge and politeness into the
+      cities, and even the camps of the desert. Whatever may be the
+      pedigree of the Arabs, their language is derived from the same
+      original stock with the Hebrew, the Syriac, and the Chaldaean
+      tongues; the independence of the tribes was marked by their
+      peculiar dialects; 39 but each, after their own, allowed a just
+      preference to the pure and perspicuous idiom of Mecca. In Arabia,
+      as well as in Greece, the perfection of language outstripped the
+      refinement of manners; and her speech could diversify the
+      fourscore names of honey, the two hundred of a serpent, the five
+      hundred of a lion, the thousand of a sword, at a time when this
+      copious dictionary was intrusted to the memory of an illiterate
+      people. The monuments of the Homerites were inscribed with an
+      obsolete and mysterious character; but the Cufic letters, the
+      groundwork of the present alphabet, were invented on the banks of
+      the Euphrates; and the recent invention was taught at Mecca by a
+      stranger who settled in that city after the birth of Mahomet. The
+      arts of grammar, of metre, and of rhetoric, were unknown to the
+      freeborn eloquence of the Arabians; but their penetration was
+      sharp, their fancy luxuriant, their wit strong and sententious,
+      40 and their more elaborate compositions were addressed with
+      energy and effect to the minds of their hearers. The genius and
+      merit of a rising poet was celebrated by the applause of his own
+      and the kindred tribes. A solemn banquet was prepared, and a
+      chorus of women, striking their tymbals, and displaying the pomp
+      of their nuptials, sung in the presence of their sons and
+      husbands the felicity of their native tribe; that a champion had
+      now appeared to vindicate their rights; that a herald had raised
+      his voice to immortalize their renown. The distant or hostile
+      tribes resorted to an annual fair, which was abolished by the
+      fanaticism of the first Moslems; a national assembly that must
+      have contributed to refine and harmonize the Barbarians. Thirty
+      days were employed in the exchange, not only of corn and wine,
+      but of eloquence and poetry. The prize was disputed by the
+      generous emulation of the bards; the victorious performance was
+      deposited in the archives of princes and emirs; and we may read
+      in our own language, the seven original poems which were
+      inscribed in letters of gold, and suspended in the temple of
+      Mecca. 41 The Arabian poets were the historians and moralists of
+      the age; and if they sympathized with the prejudices, they
+      inspired and crowned the virtues, of their countrymen. The
+      indissoluble union of generosity and valor was the darling theme
+      of their song; and when they pointed their keenest satire against
+      a despicable race, they affirmed, in the bitterness of reproach,
+      that the men knew not how to give, nor the women to deny. 42 The
+      same hospitality, which was practised by Abraham, and celebrated
+      by Homer, is still renewed in the camps of the Arabs. The
+      ferocious Bedoweens, the terror of the desert, embrace, without
+      inquiry or hesitation, the stranger who dares to confide in their
+      honor and to enter their tent. His treatment is kind and
+      respectful: he shares the wealth, or the poverty, of his host;
+      and, after a needful repose, he is dismissed on his way, with
+      thanks, with blessings, and perhaps with gifts. The heart and
+      hand are more largely expanded by the wants of a brother or a
+      friend; but the heroic acts that could deserve the public
+      applause, must have surpassed the narrow measure of discretion
+      and experience. A dispute had arisen, who, among the citizens of
+      Mecca, was entitled to the prize of generosity; and a successive
+      application was made to the three who were deemed most worthy of
+      the trial. Abdallah, the son of Abbas, had undertaken a distant
+      journey, and his foot was in the stirrup when he heard the voice
+      of a suppliant, “O son of the uncle of the apostle of God, I am a
+      traveller, and in distress!” He instantly dismounted to present
+      the pilgrim with his camel, her rich caparison, and a purse of
+      four thousand pieces of gold, excepting only the sword, either
+      for its intrinsic value, or as the gift of an honored kinsman.
+      The servant of Kais informed the second suppliant that his master
+      was asleep: but he immediately added, “Here is a purse of seven
+      thousand pieces of gold, (it is all we have in the house,) and
+      here is an order, that will entitle you to a camel and a slave;”
+      the master, as soon as he awoke, praised and enfranchised his
+      faithful steward, with a gentle reproof, that by respecting his
+      slumbers he had stinted his bounty. The third of these heroes,
+      the blind Arabah, at the hour of prayer, was supporting his steps
+      on the shoulders of two slaves. “Alas!” he replied, “my coffers
+      are empty! but these you may sell; if you refuse, I renounce
+      them.” At these words, pushing away the youths, he groped along
+      the wall with his staff.
+
+      The character of Hatem is the perfect model of Arabian virtue: 43
+      he was brave and liberal, an eloquent poet, and a successful
+      robber; forty camels were roasted at his hospitable feast; and at
+      the prayer of a suppliant enemy he restored both the captives and
+      the spoil. The freedom of his countrymen disdained the laws of
+      justice; they proudly indulged the spontaneous impulse of pity
+      and benevolence.
+
+      39 (return) [ Arrian, in the second century, remarks (in Periplo
+      Maris Erythraei, p. 12) the partial or total difference of the
+      dialects of the Arabs. Their language and letters are copiously
+      treated by Pocock, (Specimen, p. 150-154,) Casiri, (Bibliot.
+      Hispano-Arabica, tom. i. p. 1, 83, 292, tom. ii. p. 25, &c.,) and
+      Niebuhr, (Description de l’Arabie, p. 72-36) I pass slightly; I
+      am not fond of repeating words like a parrot.]
+
+      40 (return) [ A familiar tale in Voltaire’s Zadig (le Chien et le
+      Cheval) is related, to prove the natural sagacity of the Arabs,
+      (D’Herbelot, Bibliot. Orient. p. 120, 121. Gagnier, Vie de
+      Mahomet, tom. i. p. 37-46: ) but D’Arvieux, or rather La Roque,
+      (Voyage de Palestine, p. 92,) denies the boasted superiority of
+      the Bedoweens. The one hundred and sixty-nine sentences of Ali
+      (translated by Ockley, London, 1718) afford a just and favorable
+      specimen of Arabian wit. * Note: Compare the Arabic proverbs
+      translated by Burckhardt. London. 1830—M.]
+
+      41 (return) [ Pocock (Specimen, p. 158-161) and Casiri (Bibliot.
+      Hispano-Arabica, tom. i. p. 48, 84, &c., 119, tom. ii. p. 17,
+      &c.) speak of the Arabian poets before Mahomet; the seven poems
+      of the Caaba have been published in English by Sir William Jones;
+      but his honorable mission to India has deprived us of his own
+      notes, far more interesting than the obscure and obsolete text.]
+
+      42 (return) [ Sale’s Preliminary Discourse, p. 29, 30]
+
+      43 (return) [ D’Herbelot, Bibliot. Orient. p. 458. Gagnier, Vie
+      de Mahomet, tom. iii. p. 118. Caab and Hesnus (Pocock, Specimen,
+      p. 43, 46, 48) were likewise conspicuous for their liberality;
+      and the latter is elegantly praised by an Arabian poet: “Videbis
+      eum cum accesseris exultantem, ac si dares illi quod ab illo
+      petis.” * Note: See the translation of the amusing Persian
+      romance of Hatim Tai, by Duncan Forbes, Esq., among the works
+      published by the Oriental Translation Fund.—M.]
+
+      The religion of the Arabs, 44 as well as of the Indians,
+      consisted in the worship of the sun, the moon, and the fixed
+      stars; a primitive and specious mode of superstition. The bright
+      luminaries of the sky display the visible image of a Deity: their
+      number and distance convey to a philosophic, or even a vulgar,
+      eye, the idea of boundless space: the character of eternity is
+      marked on these solid globes, that seem incapable of corruption
+      or decay: the regularity of their motions may be ascribed to a
+      principle of reason or instinct; and their real, or imaginary,
+      influence encourages the vain belief that the earth and its
+      inhabitants are the object of their peculiar care. The science of
+      astronomy was cultivated at Babylon; but the school of the Arabs
+      was a clear firmament and a naked plain. In their nocturnal
+      marches, they steered by the guidance of the stars: their names,
+      and order, and daily station, were familiar to the curiosity and
+      devotion of the Bedoween; and he was taught by experience to
+      divide, in twenty-eight parts, the zodiac of the moon, and to
+      bless the constellations who refreshed, with salutary rains, the
+      thirst of the desert. The reign of the heavenly orbs could not be
+      extended beyond the visible sphere; and some metaphysical powers
+      were necessary to sustain the transmigration of souls and the
+      resurrection of bodies: a camel was left to perish on the grave,
+      that he might serve his master in another life; and the
+      invocation of departed spirits implies that they were still
+      endowed with consciousness and power. I am ignorant, and I am
+      careless, of the blind mythology of the Barbarians; of the local
+      deities, of the stars, the air, and the earth, of their sex or
+      titles, their attributes or subordination. Each tribe, each
+      family, each independent warrior, created and changed the rites
+      and the object of his fantastic worship; but the nation, in every
+      age, has bowed to the religion, as well as to the language, of
+      Mecca. The genuine antiquity of the Caaba ascends beyond the
+      Christian aera; in describing the coast of the Red Sea, the Greek
+      historian Diodorus 45 has remarked, between the Thamudites and
+      the Sabaeans, a famous temple, whose superior sanctity was
+      revered by all the Arabians; the linen or silken veil, which is
+      annually renewed by the Turkish emperor, was first offered by a
+      pious king of the Homerites, who reigned seven hundred years
+      before the time of Mahomet. 46 A tent, or a cavern, might suffice
+      for the worship of the savages, but an edifice of stone and clay
+      has been erected in its place; and the art and power of the
+      monarchs of the East have been confined to the simplicity of the
+      original model. 47 A spacious portico encloses the quadrangle of
+      the Caaba; a square chapel, twenty-four cubits long, twenty-three
+      broad, and twenty-seven high: a door and a window admit the
+      light; the double roof is supported by three pillars of wood; a
+      spout (now of gold) discharges the rain-water, and the well
+      Zemzen is protected by a dome from accidental pollution. The
+      tribe of Koreish, by fraud and force, had acquired the custody of
+      the Caaba: the sacerdotal office devolved through four lineal
+      descents to the grandfather of Mahomet; and the family of the
+      Hashemites, from whence he sprung, was the most respectable and
+      sacred in the eyes of their country. 48 The precincts of Mecca
+      enjoyed the rights of sanctuary; and, in the last month of each
+      year, the city and the temple were crowded with a long train of
+      pilgrims, who presented their vows and offerings in the house of
+      God. The same rites which are now accomplished by the faithful
+      Mussulman, were invented and practised by the superstition of the
+      idolaters. At an awful distance they cast away their garments:
+      seven times, with hasty steps, they encircled the Caaba, and
+      kissed the black stone: seven times they visited and adored the
+      adjacent mountains; seven times they threw stones into the valley
+      of Mina; and the pilgrimage was achieved, as at the present hour,
+      by a sacrifice of sheep and camels, and the burial of their hair
+      and nails in the consecrated ground. Each tribe either found or
+      introduced in the Caaba their domestic worship: the temple was
+      adorned, or defiled, with three hundred and sixty idols of men,
+      eagles, lions, and antelopes; and most conspicuous was the statue
+      of Hebal, of red agate, holding in his hand seven arrows, without
+      heads or feathers, the instruments and symbols of profane
+      divination. But this statue was a monument of Syrian arts: the
+      devotion of the ruder ages was content with a pillar or a tablet;
+      and the rocks of the desert were hewn into gods or altars, in
+      imitation of the black stone 49 of Mecca, which is deeply tainted
+      with the reproach of an idolatrous origin. From Japan to Peru,
+      the use of sacrifice has universally prevailed; and the votary
+      has expressed his gratitude, or fear, by destroying or consuming,
+      in honor of the gods, the dearest and most precious of their
+      gifts. The life of a man 50 is the most precious oblation to
+      deprecate a public calamity: the altars of Phoenicia and Egypt,
+      of Rome and Carthage, have been polluted with human gore: the
+      cruel practice was long preserved among the Arabs; in the third
+      century, a boy was annually sacrificed by the tribe of the
+      Dumatians; 51 and a royal captive was piously slaughtered by the
+      prince of the Saracens, the ally and soldier of the emperor
+      Justinian. 52 A parent who drags his son to the altar, exhibits
+      the most painful and sublime effort of fanaticism: the deed, or
+      the intention, was sanctified by the example of saints and
+      heroes; and the father of Mahomet himself was devoted by a rash
+      vow, and hardly ransomed for the equivalent of a hundred camels.
+      In the time of ignorance, the Arabs, like the Jews and Egyptians,
+      abstained from the taste of swine’s flesh; 53 they circumcised 54
+      their children at the age of puberty: the same customs, without
+      the censure or the precept of the Koran, have been silently
+      transmitted to their posterity and proselytes. It has been
+      sagaciously conjectured, that the artful legislator indulged the
+      stubborn prejudices of his countrymen. It is more simple to
+      believe that he adhered to the habits and opinions of his youth,
+      without foreseeing that a practice congenial to the climate of
+      Mecca might become useless or inconvenient on the banks of the
+      Danube or the Volga.
+
+      44 (return) [ Whatever can now be known of the idolatry of the
+      ancient Arabians may be found in Pocock, (Specimen, p. 89-136,
+      163, 164.) His profound erudition is more clearly and concisely
+      interpreted by Sale, (Preliminary Discourse, p. 14-24;) and
+      Assemanni (Bibliot. Orient tom. iv. p. 580-590) has added some
+      valuable remarks.]
+
+      45 (return) [ (Diodor. Sicul. tom. i. l. iii. p. 211.) The
+      character and position are so correctly apposite, that I am
+      surprised how this curious passage should have been read without
+      notice or application. Yet this famous temple had been overlooked
+      by Agatharcides, (de Mari Rubro, p. 58, in Hudson, tom. i.,) whom
+      Diodorus copies in the rest of the description. Was the Sicilian
+      more knowing than the Egyptian? Or was the Caaba built between
+      the years of Rome 650 and 746, the dates of their respective
+      histories? (Dodwell, in Dissert. ad tom. i. Hudson, p. 72.
+      Fabricius, Bibliot. Graec. tom. ii. p. 770.) * Note: Mr. Forster
+      (Geography of Arabia, vol. ii. p. 118, et seq.) has raised an
+      objection, as I think, fatal to this hypothesis of Gibbon. The
+      temple, situated in the country of the Banizomeneis, was not
+      between the Thamudites and the Sabaeans, but higher up than the
+      coast inhabited by the former. Mr. Forster would place it as far
+      north as Moiiah. I am not quite satisfied that this will agree
+      with the whole description of Diodorus—M. 1845.]
+
+      46 (return) [ Pocock, Specimen, p. 60, 61. From the death of
+      Mahomet we ascend to 68, from his birth to 129, years before the
+      Christian aera. The veil or curtain, which is now of silk and
+      gold, was no more than a piece of Egyptian linen, (Abulfeda, in
+      Vit. Mohammed. c. 6, p. 14.)]
+
+      47 (return) [ The original plan of the Caaba (which is servilely
+      copied in Sale, the Universal History, &c.) was a Turkish
+      draught, which Reland (de Religione Mohammedica, p. 113-123) has
+      corrected and explained from the best authorities. For the
+      description and legend of the Caaba, consult Pocock, (Specimen,
+      p. 115-122,) the Bibliotheque Orientale of D’Herbelot, (Caaba,
+      Hagir, Zemzem, &c.,) and Sale (Preliminary Discourse, p.
+      114-122.)]
+
+      48 (return) [ Cosa, the fifth ancestor of Mahomet, must have
+      usurped the Caaba A.D. 440; but the story is differently told by
+      Jannabi, (Gagnier, Vie de Mahomet, tom. i. p. 65-69,) and by
+      Abulfeda, (in Vit. Moham. c. 6, p. 13.)]
+
+      49 (return) [ In the second century, Maximus of Tyre attributes
+      to the Arabs the worship of a stone, (Dissert. viii. tom. i. p.
+      142, edit. Reiske;) and the reproach is furiously reechoed by the
+      Christians, (Clemens Alex. in Protreptico, p. 40. Arnobius contra
+      Gentes, l. vi. p. 246.) Yet these stones were no other than of
+      Syria and Greece, so renowned in sacred and profane antiquity,
+      (Euseb. Praep. Evangel. l. i. p. 37. Marsham, Canon. Chron. p.
+      54-56.)]
+
+      50 (return) [ The two horrid subjects are accurately discussed by
+      the learned Sir John Marsham, (Canon. Chron. p. 76-78, 301-304.)
+      Sanchoniatho derives the Phoenician sacrifices from the example
+      of Chronus; but we are ignorant whether Chronus lived before, or
+      after, Abraham, or indeed whether he lived at all.]
+
+      51 (return) [ The reproach of Porphyry; but he likewise imputes
+      to the Roman the same barbarous custom, which, A. U. C. 657, had
+      been finally abolished. Dumaetha, Daumat al Gendai, is noticed by
+      Ptolemy (Tabul. p. 37, Arabia, p. 9-29) and Abulfeda, (p. 57,)
+      and may be found in D’Anville’s maps, in the mid-desert between
+      Chaibar and Tadmor.]
+
+      52 (return) [ Prcoopius, (de Bell. Persico, l. i. c. 28,)
+      Evagrius, (l. vi. c. 21,) and Pocock, (Specimen, p. 72, 86,)
+      attest the human sacrifices of the Arabs in the vith century. The
+      danger and escape of Abdallah is a tradition rather than a fact,
+      (Gagnier, Vie de Mahomet, tom. i. p. 82-84.)]
+
+      53 (return) [ Suillis carnibus abstinent, says Solinus,
+      (Polyhistor. c. 33,) who copies Pliny (l. viii. c. 68) in the
+      strange supposition, that hogs can not live in Arabia. The
+      Egyptians were actuated by a natural and superstitious horror for
+      that unclean beast, (Marsham, Canon. p. 205.) The old Arabians
+      likewise practised, post coitum, the rite of ablution, (Herodot.
+      l. i. c. 80,) which is sanctified by the Mahometan law, (Reland,
+      p. 75, &c., Chardin, or rather the Mollah of Shah Abbas, tom. iv.
+      p. 71, &c.)]
+
+      54 (return) [ The Mahometan doctors are not fond of the subject;
+      yet they hold circumcision necessary to salvation, and even
+      pretend that Mahomet was miraculously born without a foreskin,
+      (Pocock, Specimen, p. 319, 320. Sale’s Preliminary Discourse, p.
+      106, 107.)]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter L: Description Of Arabia And Its Inhabitants.—Part III.
+
+      Arabia was free: the adjacent kingdoms were shaken by the storms
+      of conquest and tyranny, and the persecuted sects fled to the
+      happy land where they might profess what they thought, and
+      practise what they professed. The religions of the Sabians and
+      Magians, of the Jews and Christians, were disseminated from the
+      Persian Gulf to the Red Sea. In a remote period of antiquity,
+      Sabianism was diffused over Asia by the science of the Chaldaeans
+      55 and the arms of the Assyrians. From the observations of two
+      thousand years, the priests and astronomers of Babylon 56 deduced
+      the eternal laws of nature and providence. They adored the seven
+      gods or angels, who directed the course of the seven planets, and
+      shed their irresistible influence on the earth. The attributes of
+      the seven planets, with the twelve signs of the zodiac, and the
+      twenty-four constellations of the northern and southern
+      hemisphere, were represented by images and talismans; the seven
+      days of the week were dedicated to their respective deities; the
+      Sabians prayed thrice each day; and the temple of the moon at
+      Haran was the term of their pilgrimage. 57 But the flexible
+      genius of their faith was always ready either to teach or to
+      learn: in the tradition of the creation, the deluge, and the
+      patriarchs, they held a singular agreement with their Jewish
+      captives; they appealed to the secret books of Adam, Seth, and
+      Enoch; and a slight infusion of the gospel has transformed the
+      last remnant of the Polytheists into the Christians of St. John,
+      in the territory of Bassora. 58 The altars of Babylon were
+      overturned by the Magians; but the injuries of the Sabians were
+      revenged by the sword of Alexander; Persia groaned above five
+      hundred years under a foreign yoke; and the purest disciples of
+      Zoroaster escaped from the contagion of idolatry, and breathed
+      with their adversaries the freedom of the desert. 59 Seven
+      hundred years before the death of Mahomet, the Jews were settled
+      in Arabia; and a far greater multitude was expelled from the Holy
+      Land in the wars of Titus and Hadrian. The industrious exiles
+      aspired to liberty and power: they erected synagogues in the
+      cities, and castles in the wilderness, and their Gentile converts
+      were confounded with the children of Israel, whom they resembled
+      in the outward mark of circumcision. The Christian missionaries
+      were still more active and successful: the Catholics asserted
+      their universal reign; the sects whom they oppressed,
+      successively retired beyond the limits of the Roman empire; the
+      Marcionites and Manichaeans dispersed their fantastic opinions
+      and apocryphal gospels; the churches of Yemen, and the princes of
+      Hira and Gassan, were instructed in a purer creed by the Jacobite
+      and Nestorian bishops. 60 The liberty of choice was presented to
+      the tribes: each Arab was free to elect or to compose his private
+      religion: and the rude superstition of his house was mingled with
+      the sublime theology of saints and philosophers. A fundamental
+      article of faith was inculcated by the consent of the learned
+      strangers; the existence of one supreme God who is exalted above
+      the powers of heaven and earth, but who has often revealed
+      himself to mankind by the ministry of his angels and prophets,
+      and whose grace or justice has interrupted, by seasonable
+      miracles, the order of nature. The most rational of the Arabs
+      acknowledged his power, though they neglected his worship; 61 and
+      it was habit rather than conviction that still attached them to
+      the relics of idolatry. The Jews and Christians were the people
+      of the Book; the Bible was already translated into the Arabic
+      language, 62 and the volume of the Old Testament was accepted by
+      the concord of these implacable enemies. In the story of the
+      Hebrew patriarchs, the Arabs were pleased to discover the fathers
+      of their nation. They applauded the birth and promises of Ismael;
+      revered the faith and virtue of Abraham; traced his pedigree and
+      their own to the creation of the first man, and imbibed, with
+      equal credulity, the prodigies of the holy text, and the dreams
+      and traditions of the Jewish rabbis.
+
+      55 (return) [ Diodorus Siculus (tom. i. l. ii. p. 142-145) has
+      cast on their religion the curious but superficial glance of a
+      Greek. Their astronomy would be far more valuable: they had
+      looked through the telescope of reason, since they could doubt
+      whether the sun were in the number of the planets or of the fixed
+      stars.]
+
+      56 (return) [ Simplicius, (who quotes Porphyry,) de Coelo, l. ii.
+      com. xlvi p. 123, lin. 18, apud Marsham, Canon. Chron. p. 474,
+      who doubts the fact, because it is adverse to his systems. The
+      earliest date of the Chaldaean observations is the year 2234
+      before Christ. After the conquest of Babylon by Alexander, they
+      were communicated at the request of Aristotle, to the astronomer
+      Hipparchus. What a moment in the annals of science!]
+
+      57 (return) [ Pocock, (Specimen, p. 138-146,) Hottinger, (Hist.
+      Orient. p. 162-203,) Hyde, (de Religione Vet. Persarum, p. 124,
+      128, &c.,) D’Herbelot, (Sabi, p. 725, 726,) and Sale,
+      (Preliminary Discourse, p. 14, 15,) rather excite than gratify
+      our curiosity; and the last of these writers confounds Sabianism
+      with the primitive religion of the Arabs.]
+
+      58 (return) [ D’Anville (l’Euphrate et le Tigre, p. 130-137) will
+      fix the position of these ambiguous Christians; Assemannus
+      (Bibliot. Oriental. tom. iv. p. 607-614) may explain their
+      tenets. But it is a slippery task to ascertain the creed of an
+      ignorant people afraid and ashamed to disclose their secret
+      traditions. * Note: The Codex Nasiraeus, their sacred book, has
+      been published by Norberg whose researches contain almost all
+      that is known of this singular people. But their origin is almost
+      as obscure as ever: if ancient, their creed has been so corrupted
+      with mysticism and Mahometanism, that its native lineaments are
+      very indistinct.—M.]
+
+      59 (return) [ The Magi were fixed in the province of Bhrein,
+      (Gagnier, Vie de Mahomet, tom. iii. p. 114,) and mingled with the
+      old Arabians, (Pocock, Specimen, p. 146-150.)]
+
+      60 (return) [ The state of the Jews and Christians in Arabia is
+      described by Pocock from Sharestani, &c., (Specimen, p. 60, 134,
+      &c.,) Hottinger, (Hist. Orient. p. 212-238,) D’Herbelot,
+      (Bibliot. Orient. p. 474-476,) Basnage, (Hist. des Juifs, tom.
+      vii. p. 185, tom. viii. p. 280,) and Sale, (Preliminary
+      Discourse, p. 22, &c., 33, &c.)]
+
+      61 (return) [ In their offerings, it was a maxim to defraud God
+      for the profit of the idol, not a more potent, but a more
+      irritable, patron, (Pocock, Specimen, p. 108, 109.)]
+
+      62 (return) [ Our versions now extant, whether Jewish or
+      Christian, appear more recent than the Koran; but the existence
+      of a prior translation may be fairly inferred,—1. From the
+      perpetual practice of the synagogue of expounding the Hebrew
+      lesson by a paraphrase in the vulgar tongue of the country; 2.
+      From the analogy of the Armenian, Persian, Aethiopic versions,
+      expressly quoted by the fathers of the fifth century, who assert
+      that the Scriptures were translated into all the Barbaric
+      languages, (Walton, Prolegomena ad Biblia Polyglot, p. 34, 93-97.
+      Simon, Hist. Critique du V. et du N. Testament, tom. i. p. 180,
+      181, 282-286, 293, 305, 306, tom. iv. p. 206.)]
+
+      The base and plebeian origin of Mahomet is an unskilful calumny
+      of the Christians, 63 who exalt instead of degrading the merit of
+      their adversary. His descent from Ismael was a national privilege
+      or fable; but if the first steps of the pedigree 64 are dark and
+      doubtful, he could produce many generations of pure and genuine
+      nobility: he sprung from the tribe of Koreish and the family of
+      Hashem, the most illustrious of the Arabs, the princes of Mecca,
+      and the hereditary guardians of the Caaba. The grandfather of
+      Mahomet was Abdol Motalleb, the son of Hashem, a wealthy and
+      generous citizen, who relieved the distress of famine with the
+      supplies of commerce. Mecca, which had been fed by the liberality
+      of the father, was saved by the courage of the son. The kingdom
+      of Yemen was subject to the Christian princes of Abyssinia; their
+      vassal Abrahah was provoked by an insult to avenge the honor of
+      the cross; and the holy city was invested by a train of elephants
+      and an army of Africans. A treaty was proposed; and, in the first
+      audience, the grandfather of Mahomet demanded the restitution of
+      his cattle. “And why,” said Abrahah, “do you not rather implore
+      my clemency in favor of your temple, which I have threatened to
+      destroy?” “Because,” replied the intrepid chief, “the cattle is
+      my own; the Caaba belongs to the gods, and they will defend their
+      house from injury and sacrilege.” The want of provisions, or the
+      valor of the Koreish, compelled the Abyssinians to a disgraceful
+      retreat: their discomfiture has been adorned with a miraculous
+      flight of birds, who showered down stones on the heads of the
+      infidels; and the deliverance was long commemorated by the aera
+      of the elephant. 65 The glory of Abdol Motalleb was crowned with
+      domestic happiness; his life was prolonged to the age of one
+      hundred and ten years; and he became the father of six daughters
+      and thirteen sons. His best beloved Abdallah was the most
+      beautiful and modest of the Arabian youth; and in the first
+      night, when he consummated his marriage with Amina, 651 of the
+      noble race of the Zahrites, two hundred virgins are said to have
+      expired of jealousy and despair. Mahomet, or more properly
+      Mohammed, the only son of Abdallah and Amina, was born at Mecca,
+      four years after the death of Justinian, and two months after the
+      defeat of the Abyssinians, 66 whose victory would have introduced
+      into the Caaba the religion of the Christians. In his early
+      infancy, he was deprived of his father, his mother, and his
+      grandfather; his uncles were strong and numerous; and, in the
+      division of the inheritance, the orphan’s share was reduced to
+      five camels and an Aethiopian maid-servant. At home and abroad,
+      in peace and war, Abu Taleb, the most respectable of his uncles,
+      was the guide and guardian of his youth; in his twenty-fifth
+      year, he entered into the service of Cadijah, a rich and noble
+      widow of Mecca, who soon rewarded his fidelity with the gift of
+      her hand and fortune. The marriage contract, in the simple style
+      of antiquity, recites the mutual love of Mahomet and Cadijah;
+      describes him as the most accomplished of the tribe of Koreish;
+      and stipulates a dowry of twelve ounces of gold and twenty
+      camels, which was supplied by the liberality of his uncle. 67 By
+      this alliance, the son of Abdallah was restored to the station of
+      his ancestors; and the judicious matron was content with his
+      domestic virtues, till, in the fortieth year of his age, 68 he
+      assumed the title of a prophet, and proclaimed the religion of
+      the Koran.
+
+      63 (return) [ In eo conveniunt omnes, ut plebeio vilique genere
+      ortum, &c, (Hottinger, Hist. Orient. p. 136.) Yet Theophanes, the
+      most ancient of the Greeks, and the father of many a lie,
+      confesses that Mahomet was of the race of Ismael, (Chronograph.
+      p. 277.)]
+
+      64 (return) [ Abulfeda (in Vit. Mohammed. c. 1, 2) and Gagnier
+      (Vie de Mahomet, p. 25-97) describe the popular and approved
+      genealogy of the prophet. At Mecca, I would not dispute its
+      authenticity: at Lausanne, I will venture to observe, 1. That
+      from Ismael to Mahomet, a period of 2500 years, they reckon
+      thirty, instead of seventy five, generations: 2. That the modern
+      Bedoweens are ignorant of their history, and careless of their
+      pedigree, (Voyage de D’Arvieux p. 100, 103.) * Note: The most
+      orthodox Mahometans only reckon back the ancestry of the prophet
+      for twenty generations, to Adnan. Weil, Mohammed der Prophet, p.
+      1.—M. 1845.]
+
+      65 (return) [ The seed of this history, or fable, is contained in
+      the cvth chapter of the Koran; and Gagnier (in Praefat. ad Vit.
+      Moham. p. 18, &c.) has translated the historical narrative of
+      Abulfeda, which may be illustrated from D’Herbelot (Bibliot.
+      Orientale, p. 12) and Pocock, (Specimen, p. 64.) Prideaux (Life
+      of Mahomet, p. 48) calls it a lie of the coinage of Mahomet; but
+      Sale, (Koran, p. 501-503,) who is half a Mussulman, attacks the
+      inconsistent faith of the Doctor for believing the miracles of
+      the Delphic Apollo. Maracci (Alcoran, tom. i. part ii. p. 14,
+      tom. ii. p. 823) ascribes the miracle to the devil, and extorts
+      from the Mahometans the confession, that God would not have
+      defended against the Christians the idols of the Caaba. * Note:
+      Dr. Weil says that the small-pox broke out in the army of
+      Abrahah, but he does not give his authority, p. 10.—M. 1845.]
+
+      651 (return) [ Amina, or Emina, was of Jewish birth. V. Hammer,
+      Geschichte der Assass. p. 10.—M.]
+
+      66 (return) [ The safest aeras of Abulfeda, (in Vit. c. i. p. 2,)
+      of Alexander, or the Greeks, 882, of Bocht Naser, or Nabonassar,
+      1316, equally lead us to the year 569. The old Arabian calendar
+      is too dark and uncertain to support the Benedictines, (Art. de
+      Verifer les Dates, p. 15,) who, from the day of the month and
+      week, deduce a new mode of calculation, and remove the birth of
+      Mahomet to the year of Christ 570, the 10th of November. Yet this
+      date would agree with the year 882 of the Greeks, which is
+      assigned by Elmacin (Hist. Saracen. p. 5) and Abulpharagius,
+      (Dynast. p. 101, and Errata, Pocock’s version.) While we refine
+      our chronology, it is possible that the illiterate prophet was
+      ignorant of his own age. * Note: The date of the birth of Mahomet
+      is not yet fixed with precision. It is only known from Oriental
+      authors that he was born on a Monday, the 10th Reby 1st, the
+      third month of the Mahometan year; the year 40 or 42 of Chosroes
+      Nushirvan, king of Persia; the year 881 of the Seleucidan aera;
+      the year 1316 of the aera of Nabonassar. This leaves the point
+      undecided between the years 569, 570, 571, of J. C. See the
+      Memoir of M. Silv. de Sacy, on divers events in the history of
+      the Arabs before Mahomet, Mem. Acad. des Loscript. vol. xlvii. p.
+      527, 531. St. Martin, vol. xi. p. 59.—M. ——Dr. Weil decides on
+      A.D. 571. Mahomet died in 632, aged 63; but the Arabs reckoned
+      his life by lunar years, which reduces his life nearly to 61 (p.
+      21.)—M. 1845]
+
+      67 (return) [ I copy the honorable testimony of Abu Taleb to his
+      family and nephew. Laus Dei, qui nos a stirpe Abrahami et semine
+      Ismaelis constituit, et nobis regionem sacram dedit, et nos
+      judices hominibus statuit. Porro Mohammed filius Abdollahi
+      nepotis mei (nepos meus) quo cum ex aequo librabitur e
+      Koraishidis quispiam cui non praeponderaturus est, bonitate et
+      excellentia, et intellectu et gloria, et acumine etsi opum inops
+      fuerit, (et certe opes umbra transiens sunt et depositum quod
+      reddi debet,) desiderio Chadijae filiae Chowailedi tenetur, et
+      illa vicissim ipsius, quicquid autem dotis vice petieritis, ego
+      in me suscipiam, (Pocock, Specimen, e septima parte libri Ebn
+      Hamduni.)]
+
+      68 (return) [ The private life of Mahomet, from his birth to his
+      mission, is preserved by Abulfeda, (in Vit. c. 3-7,) and the
+      Arabian writers of genuine or apocryphal note, who are alleged by
+      Hottinger, (Hist. Orient. p. 204-211) Maracci, (tom. i. p.
+      10-14,) and Gagnier, (Vie de Mahomet, tom. i. p. 97-134.)]
+
+      According to the tradition of his companions, Mahomet 69 was
+      distinguished by the beauty of his person, an outward gift which
+      is seldom despised, except by those to whom it has been refused.
+      Before he spoke, the orator engaged on his side the affections of
+      a public or private audience. They applauded his commanding
+      presence, his majestic aspect, his piercing eye, his gracious
+      smile, his flowing beard, his countenance that painted every
+      sensation of the soul, and his gestures that enforced each
+      expression of the tongue. In the familiar offices of life he
+      scrupulously adhered to the grave and ceremonious politeness of
+      his country: his respectful attention to the rich and powerful
+      was dignified by his condescension and affability to the poorest
+      citizens of Mecca: the frankness of his manner concealed the
+      artifice of his views; and the habits of courtesy were imputed to
+      personal friendship or universal benevolence. His memory was
+      capacious and retentive; his wit easy and social; his imagination
+      sublime; his judgment clear, rapid, and decisive. He possessed
+      the courage both of thought and action; and, although his designs
+      might gradually expand with his success, the first idea which he
+      entertained of his divine mission bears the stamp of an original
+      and superior genius. The son of Abdallah was educated in the
+      bosom of the noblest race, in the use of the purest dialect of
+      Arabia; and the fluency of his speech was corrected and enhanced
+      by the practice of discreet and seasonable silence. With these
+      powers of eloquence, Mahomet was an illiterate Barbarian: his
+      youth had never been instructed in the arts of reading and
+      writing; 70 the common ignorance exempted him from shame or
+      reproach, but he was reduced to a narrow circle of existence, and
+      deprived of those faithful mirrors, which reflect to our mind the
+      minds of sages and heroes. Yet the book of nature and of man was
+      open to his view; and some fancy has been indulged in the
+      political and philosophical observations which are ascribed to
+      the Arabian traveller. 71 He compares the nations and the regions
+      of the earth; discovers the weakness of the Persian and Roman
+      monarchies; beholds, with pity and indignation, the degeneracy of
+      the times; and resolves to unite under one God and one king the
+      invincible spirit and primitive virtues of the Arabs. Our more
+      accurate inquiry will suggest, that, instead of visiting the
+      courts, the camps, the temples, of the East, the two journeys of
+      Mahomet into Syria were confined to the fairs of Bostra and
+      Damascus; that he was only thirteen years of age when he
+      accompanied the caravan of his uncle; and that his duty compelled
+      him to return as soon as he had disposed of the merchandise of
+      Cadijah. In these hasty and superficial excursions, the eye of
+      genius might discern some objects invisible to his grosser
+      companions; some seeds of knowledge might be cast upon a fruitful
+      soil; but his ignorance of the Syriac language must have checked
+      his curiosity; and I cannot perceive, in the life or writings of
+      Mahomet, that his prospect was far extended beyond the limits of
+      the Arabian world. From every region of that solitary world, the
+      pilgrims of Mecca were annually assembled, by the calls of
+      devotion and commerce: in the free concourse of multitudes, a
+      simple citizen, in his native tongue, might study the political
+      state and character of the tribes, the theory and practice of the
+      Jews and Christians. Some useful strangers might be tempted, or
+      forced, to implore the rights of hospitality; and the enemies of
+      Mahomet have named the Jew, the Persian, and the Syrian monk,
+      whom they accuse of lending their secret aid to the composition
+      of the Koran. 72 Conversation enriches the understanding, but
+      solitude is the school of genius; and the uniformity of a work
+      denotes the hand of a single artist. From his earliest youth
+      Mahomet was addicted to religious contemplation; each year,
+      during the month of Ramadan, he withdrew from the world, and from
+      the arms of Cadijah: in the cave of Hera, three miles from Mecca,
+      73 he consulted the spirit of fraud or enthusiasm, whose abode is
+      not in the heavens, but in the mind of the prophet. The faith
+      which, under the name of Islam, he preached to his family and
+      nation, is compounded of an eternal truth, and a necessary
+      fiction, That there is only one God, and that Mahomet is the
+      apostle of God.
+
+      69 (return) [ Abulfeda, in Vit. c. lxv. lxvi. Gagnier, Vie de
+      Mahomet, tom. iii. p. 272-289. The best traditions of the person
+      and conversation of the prophet are derived from Ayesha, Ali, and
+      Abu Horaira, (Gagnier, tom. ii. p. 267. Ockley’s Hist. of the
+      Saracens, vol. ii. p. 149,) surnamed the Father of a Cat, who
+      died in the year 59 of the Hegira. * Note: Compare, likewise, the
+      new Life of Mahomet (Mohammed der prophet) by Dr. Weil,
+      (Stuttgart, 1843.) Dr. Weil has a new tradition, that Mahomet was
+      at one time a shepherd. This assimilation to the life of Moses,
+      instead of giving probability to the story, as Dr. Weil suggests,
+      makes it more suspicious. Note, p. 34.—M. 1845.]
+
+      70 (return) [ Those who believe that Mahomet could read or write
+      are incapable of reading what is written with another pen, in the
+      Suras, or chapters of the Koran, vii. xxix. xcvi. These texts,
+      and the tradition of the Sonna, are admitted, without doubt, by
+      Abulfeda, (in Vit. vii.,) Gagnier, (Not. ad Abulfed. p. 15,)
+      Pocock, (Specimen, p. 151,) Reland, (de Religione Mohammedica, p.
+      236,) and Sale, (Preliminary Discourse, p. 42.) Mr. White, almost
+      alone, denies the ignorance, to accuse the imposture, of the
+      prophet. His arguments are far from satisfactory. Two short
+      trading journeys to the fairs of Syria were surely not sufficient
+      to infuse a science so rare among the citizens of Mecca: it was
+      not in the cool, deliberate act of treaty, that Mahomet would
+      have dropped the mask; nor can any conclusion be drawn from the
+      words of disease and delirium. The lettered youth, before he
+      aspired to the prophetic character, must have often exercised, in
+      private life, the arts of reading and writing; and his first
+      converts, of his own family, would have been the first to detect
+      and upbraid his scandalous hypocrisy, (White’s Sermons, p. 203,
+      204, Notes, p. xxxvi.—xxxviii.) * Note: (Academ. des Inscript. I.
+      p. 295) has observed that the text of the seveth Sura implies
+      that Mahomet could read, the tradition alone denies it, and,
+      according to Dr. Weil, (p. 46,) there is another reading of the
+      tradition, that “he could not read well.” Dr. Weil is not quite
+      so successful in explaining away Sura xxix. It means, he thinks
+      that he had not read any books, from which he could have
+      borrowed.—M. 1845.]
+
+      71 (return) [ The count de Boulainvilliers (Vie de Mahomet, p.
+      202-228) leads his Arabian pupil, like the Telemachus of Fenelon,
+      or the Cyrus of Ramsay. His journey to the court of Persia is
+      probably a fiction nor can I trace the origin of his exclamation,
+      “Les Grecs sont pour tant des hommes.” The two Syrian journeys
+      are expressed by almost all the Arabian writers, both Mahometans
+      and Christians, (Gagnier Abulfed. p. 10.)]
+
+      72 (return) [ I am not at leisure to pursue the fables or
+      conjectures which name the strangers accused or suspected by the
+      infidels of Mecca, (Koran, c. 16, p. 223, c. 35, p. 297, with
+      Sale’s Remarks. Prideaux’s Life of Mahomet, p. 22-27. Gagnier,
+      Not. ad Abulfed. p. 11, 74. Maracci, tom. ii. p. 400.) Even
+      Prideaux has observed, that the transaction must have been
+      secret, and that the scene lay in the heart of Arabia.]
+
+      73 (return) [ Abulfeda in Vit. c. 7, p. 15. Gagnier, tom. i. p.
+      133, 135. The situation of Mount Hera is remarked by Abulfeda
+      (Geograph. Arab p. 4.) Yet Mahomet had never read of the cave of
+      Egeria, ubi nocturnae Numa constituebat amicae, of the Idaean
+      Mount, where Minos conversed with Jove, &c.]
+
+      It is the boast of the Jewish apologists, that while the learned
+      nations of antiquity were deluded by the fables of polytheism,
+      their simple ancestors of Palestine preserved the knowledge and
+      worship of the true God. The moral attributes of Jehovah may not
+      easily be reconciled with the standard of human virtue: his
+      metaphysical qualities are darkly expressed; but each page of the
+      Pentateuch and the Prophets is an evidence of his power: the
+      unity of his name is inscribed on the first table of the law; and
+      his sanctuary was never defiled by any visible image of the
+      invisible essence. After the ruin of the temple, the faith of the
+      Hebrew exiles was purified, fixed, and enlightened, by the
+      spiritual devotion of the synagogue; and the authority of Mahomet
+      will not justify his perpetual reproach, that the Jews of Mecca
+      or Medina adored Ezra as the son of God. 74 But the children of
+      Israel had ceased to be a people; and the religions of the world
+      were guilty, at least in the eyes of the prophet, of giving sons,
+      or daughters, or companions, to the supreme God. In the rude
+      idolatry of the Arabs, the crime is manifest and audacious: the
+      Sabians are poorly excused by the preeminence of the first
+      planet, or intelligence, in their celestial hierarchy; and in the
+      Magian system the conflict of the two principles betrays the
+      imperfection of the conqueror. The Christians of the seventh
+      century had insensibly relapsed into a semblance of Paganism:
+      their public and private vows were addressed to the relics and
+      images that disgraced the temples of the East: the throne of the
+      Almighty was darkened by a cloud of martyrs, and saints, and
+      angels, the objects of popular veneration; and the Collyridian
+      heretics, who flourished in the fruitful soil of Arabia, invested
+      the Virgin Mary with the name and honors of a goddess. 75 The
+      mysteries of the Trinity and Incarnation appear to contradict the
+      principle of the divine unity. In their obvious sense, they
+      introduce three equal deities, and transform the man Jesus into
+      the substance of the Son of God: 76 an orthodox commentary will
+      satisfy only a believing mind: intemperate curiosity and zeal had
+      torn the veil of the sanctuary; and each of the Oriental sects
+      was eager to confess that all, except themselves, deserved the
+      reproach of idolatry and polytheism. The creed of Mahomet is free
+      from suspicion or ambiguity; and the Koran is a glorious
+      testimony to the unity of God. The prophet of Mecca rejected the
+      worship of idols and men, of stars and planets, on the rational
+      principle that whatever rises must set, that whatever is born
+      must die, that whatever is corruptible must decay and perish. 77
+      In the Author of the universe, his rational enthusiasm confessed
+      and adored an infinite and eternal being, without form or place,
+      without issue or similitude, present to our most secret thoughts,
+      existing by the necessity of his own nature, and deriving from
+      himself all moral and intellectual perfection. These sublime
+      truths, thus announced in the language of the prophet, 78 are
+      firmly held by his disciples, and defined with metaphysical
+      precision by the interpreters of the Koran. A philosophic theist
+      might subscribe the popular creed of the Mahometans; 79 a creed
+      too sublime, perhaps, for our present faculties. What object
+      remains for the fancy, or even the understanding, when we have
+      abstracted from the unknown substance all ideas of time and
+      space, of motion and matter, of sensation and reflection? The
+      first principle of reason and revolution was confirmed by the
+      voice of Mahomet: his proselytes, from India to Morocco, are
+      distinguished by the name of Unitarians; and the danger of
+      idolatry has been prevented by the interdiction of images. The
+      doctrine of eternal decrees and absolute predestination is
+      strictly embraced by the Mahometans; and they struggle, with the
+      common difficulties, how to reconcile the prescience of God with
+      the freedom and responsibility of man; how to explain the
+      permission of evil under the reign of infinite power and infinite
+      goodness.
+
+      74 (return) [ Koran, c. 9, p. 153. Al Beidawi, and the other
+      commentators quoted by Sale, adhere to the charge; but I do not
+      understand that it is colored by the most obscure or absurd
+      tradition of the Talmud.]
+
+      75 (return) [ Hottinger, Hist. Orient. p. 225-228. The
+      Collyridian heresy was carried from Thrace to Arabia by some
+      women, and the name was borrowed from the cake, which they
+      offered to the goddess. This example, that of Beryllus bishop of
+      Bostra, (Euseb. Hist. Eccles. l. vi. c. 33,) and several others,
+      may excuse the reproach, Arabia haerese haersewn ferax.]
+
+      76 (return) [ The three gods in the Koran (c. 4, p. 81, c. 5, p.
+      92) are obviously directed against our Catholic mystery: but the
+      Arabic commentators understand them of the Father, the Son, and
+      the Virgin Mary, an heretical Trinity, maintained, as it is said,
+      by some Barbarians at the Council of Nice, (Eutych. Annal. tom.
+      i. p. 440.) But the existence of the Marianites is denied by the
+      candid Beausobre, (Hist. de Manicheisme, tom. i. p. 532;) and he
+      derives the mistake from the word Roxah, the Holy Ghost, which in
+      some Oriental tongues is of the feminine gender, and is
+      figuratively styled the mother of Christ in the Gospel of the
+      Nazarenes.]
+
+      77 (return) [ This train of thought is philosophically
+      exemplified in the character of Abraham, who opposed in Chaldaea
+      the first introduction of idolatry, (Koran, c. 6, p. 106.
+      D’Herbelot, Bibliot. Orient. p. 13.)]
+
+      78 (return) [ See the Koran, particularly the second, (p. 30,)
+      the fifty-seventh, (p. 437,) the fifty-eighth (p. 441) chapters,
+      which proclaim the omnipotence of the Creator.]
+
+      79 (return) [ The most orthodox creeds are translated by Pocock,
+      (Specimen, p. 274, 284-292,) Ockley, (Hist. of the Saracens, vol.
+      ii. p. lxxxii.—xcv.,) Reland, (de Religion. Moham. l. i. p.
+      7-13,) and Chardin, (Voyages en Perse, tom. iv. p. 4-28.) The
+      great truth, that God is without similitude, is foolishly
+      criticized by Maracci, (Alcoran, tom. i. part iii. p. 87-94,)
+      because he made man after his own image.]
+
+      The God of nature has written his existence on all his works, and
+      his law in the heart of man. To restore the knowledge of the one,
+      and the practice of the other, has been the real or pretended aim
+      of the prophets of every age: the liberality of Mahomet allowed
+      to his predecessors the same credit which he claimed for himself;
+      and the chain of inspiration was prolonged from the fall of Adam
+      to the promulgation of the Koran. 80 During that period, some
+      rays of prophetic light had been imparted to one hundred and
+      twenty-four thousand of the elect, discriminated by their
+      respective measure of virtue and grace; three hundred and
+      thirteen apostles were sent with a special commission to recall
+      their country from idolatry and vice; one hundred and four
+      volumes have been dictated by the Holy Spirit; and six
+      legislators of transcendent brightness have announced to mankind
+      the six successive revelations of various rites, but of one
+      immutable religion. The authority and station of Adam, Noah,
+      Abraham, Moses, Christ, and Mahomet, rise in just gradation above
+      each other; but whosoever hates or rejects any one of the
+      prophets is numbered with the infidels. The writings of the
+      patriarchs were extant only in the apocryphal copies of the
+      Greeks and Syrians: 81 the conduct of Adam had not entitled him
+      to the gratitude or respect of his children; the seven precepts
+      of Noah were observed by an inferior and imperfect class of the
+      proselytes of the synagogue; 82 and the memory of Abraham was
+      obscurely revered by the Sabians in his native land of Chaldaea:
+      of the myriads of prophets, Moses and Christ alone lived and
+      reigned; and the remnant of the inspired writings was comprised
+      in the books of the Old and the New Testament. The miraculous
+      story of Moses is consecrated and embellished in the Koran; 83
+      and the captive Jews enjoy the secret revenge of imposing their
+      own belief on the nations whose recent creeds they deride. For
+      the author of Christianity, the Mahometans are taught by the
+      prophet to entertain a high and mysterious reverence. 84 “Verily,
+      Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, is the apostle of God, and his
+      word, which he conveyed unto Mary, and a Spirit proceeding from
+      him; honorable in this world, and in the world to come, and one
+      of those who approach near to the presence of God.” 85 The
+      wonders of the genuine and apocryphal gospels 86 are profusely
+      heaped on his head; and the Latin church has not disdained to
+      borrow from the Koran the immaculate conception 87 of his virgin
+      mother. Yet Jesus was a mere mortal; and, at the day of judgment,
+      his testimony will serve to condemn both the Jews, who reject him
+      as a prophet, and the Christians, who adore him as the Son of
+      God. The malice of his enemies aspersed his reputation, and
+      conspired against his life; but their intention only was guilty;
+      a phantom or a criminal was substituted on the cross; and the
+      innocent saint was translated to the seventh heaven. 88 During
+      six hundred years the gospel was the way of truth and salvation;
+      but the Christians insensibly forgot both the laws and example of
+      their founder; and Mahomet was instructed by the Gnostics to
+      accuse the church, as well as the synagogue, of corrupting the
+      integrity of the sacred text. 89 The piety of Moses and of Christ
+      rejoiced in the assurance of a future prophet, more illustrious
+      than themselves: the evangelical promise of the Paraclete, or
+      Holy Ghost, was prefigured in the name, and accomplished in the
+      person, of Mahomet, 90 the greatest and the last of the apostles
+      of God.
+
+      80 (return) [ Reland, de Relig. Moham. l. i. p. 17-47. Sale’s
+      Preliminary Discourse, p. 73-76. Voyage de Chardin, tom. iv. p.
+      28-37, and 37-47, for the Persian addition, “Ali is the vicar of
+      God!” Yet the precise number of the prophets is not an article of
+      faith.]
+
+      81 (return) [ For the apocryphal books of Adam, see Fabricius,
+      Codex Pseudepigraphus V. T. p. 27-29; of Seth, p. 154-157; of
+      Enoch, p. 160-219. But the book of Enoch is consecrated, in some
+      measure, by the quotation of the apostle St. Jude; and a long
+      legendary fragment is alleged by Syncellus and Scaliger. * Note:
+      The whole book has since been recovered in the Ethiopic
+      language,—and has been edited and translated by Archbishop
+      Lawrence, Oxford, 1881—M.]
+
+      82 (return) [ The seven precepts of Noah are explained by
+      Marsham, (Canon Chronicus, p. 154-180,) who adopts, on this
+      occasion, the learning and credulity of Selden.]
+
+      83 (return) [ The articles of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, &c., in
+      the Bibliotheque of D’Herbelot, are gayly bedecked with the
+      fanciful legends of the Mahometans, who have built on the
+      groundwork of Scripture and the Talmud.]
+
+      84 (return) [ Koran, c. 7, p. 128, &c., c. 10, p. 173, &c.
+      D’Herbelot, p. 647, &c.]
+
+      85 (return) [ Koran, c. 3, p. 40, c. 4. p. 80. D’Herbelot, p.
+      399, &c.]
+
+      86 (return) [ See the Gospel of St. Thomas, or of the Infancy, in
+      the Codex Apocryphus N. T. of Fabricius, who collects the various
+      testimonies concerning it, (p. 128-158.) It was published in
+      Greek by Cotelier, and in Arabic by Sike, who thinks our present
+      copy more recent than Mahomet. Yet his quotations agree with the
+      original about the speech of Christ in his cradle, his living
+      birds of clay, &c. (Sike, c. i. p. 168, 169, c. 36, p. 198, 199,
+      c. 46, p. 206. Cotelier, c. 2, p. 160, 161.)]
+
+      87 (return) [ It is darkly hinted in the Koran, (c. 3, p. 39,)
+      and more clearly explained by the tradition of the Sonnites,
+      (Sale’s Note, and Maracci, tom. ii. p. 112.) In the xiith
+      century, the immaculate conception was condemned by St. Bernard
+      as a presumptuous novelty, (Fra Paolo, Istoria del Concilio di
+      Trento, l. ii.)]
+
+      88 (return) [ See the Koran, c. 3, v. 53, and c. 4, v. 156, of
+      Maracci’s edition. Deus est praestantissimus dolose agentium (an
+      odd praise)... nec crucifixerunt eum, sed objecta est eis
+      similitudo; an expression that may suit with the system of the
+      Docetes; but the commentators believe (Maracci, tom. ii. p.
+      113-115, 173. Sale, p. 42, 43, 79) that another man, a friend or
+      an enemy, was crucified in the likeness of Jesus; a fable which
+      they had read in the Gospel of St. Barnabus, and which had been
+      started as early as the time of Irenaeus, by some Ebionite
+      heretics, (Beausobre, Hist. du Manicheisme, tom. ii. p. 25,
+      Mosheim. de Reb. Christ. p. 353.)]
+
+      89 (return) [ This charge is obscurely urged in the Koran, (c. 3,
+      p. 45;) but neither Mahomet, nor his followers, are sufficiently
+      versed in languages and criticism to give any weight or color to
+      their suspicions. Yet the Arians and Nestorians could relate some
+      stories, and the illiterate prophet might listen to the bold
+      assertions of the Manichaeans. See Beausobre, tom. i. p.
+      291-305.]
+
+      90 (return) [ Among the prophecies of the Old and New Testament,
+      which are perverted by the fraud or ignorance of the Mussulmans,
+      they apply to the prophet the promise of the Paraclete, or
+      Comforter, which had been already usurped by the Montanists and
+      Manichaeans, (Beausobre, Hist. Critique du Manicheisme, tom. i.
+      p. 263, &c.;) and the easy change of letters affords the
+      etymology of the name of Mohammed, (Maracci, tom. i. part i. p.
+      15-28.)]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter L: Description Of Arabia And Its Inhabitants.—Part IV.
+
+      The communication of ideas requires a similitude of thought and
+      language: the discourse of a philosopher would vibrate without
+      effect on the ear of a peasant; yet how minute is the distance of
+      their understandings, if it be compared with the contact of an
+      infinite and a finite mind, with the word of God expressed by the
+      tongue or the pen of a mortal! The inspiration of the Hebrew
+      prophets, of the apostles and evangelists of Christ, might not be
+      incompatible with the exercise of their reason and memory; and
+      the diversity of their genius is strongly marked in the style and
+      composition of the books of the Old and New Testament. But
+      Mahomet was content with a character, more humble, yet more
+      sublime, of a simple editor; the substance of the Koran, 91
+      according to himself or his disciples, is uncreated and eternal;
+      subsisting in the essence of the Deity, and inscribed with a pen
+      of light on the table of his everlasting decrees. A paper copy,
+      in a volume of silk and gems, was brought down to the lowest
+      heaven by the angel Gabriel, who, under the Jewish economy, had
+      indeed been despatched on the most important errands; and this
+      trusty messenger successively revealed the chapters and verses to
+      the Arabian prophet. Instead of a perpetual and perfect measure
+      of the divine will, the fragments of the Koran were produced at
+      the discretion of Mahomet; each revelation is suited to the
+      emergencies of his policy or passion; and all contradiction is
+      removed by the saving maxim, that any text of Scripture is
+      abrogated or modified by any subsequent passage. The word of God,
+      and of the apostle, was diligently recorded by his disciples on
+      palm-leaves and the shoulder-bones of mutton; and the pages,
+      without order or connection, were cast into a domestic chest, in
+      the custody of one of his wives. Two years after the death of
+      Mahomet, the sacred volume was collected and published by his
+      friend and successor Abubeker: the work was revised by the caliph
+      Othman, in the thirtieth year of the Hegira; and the various
+      editions of the Koran assert the same miraculous privilege of a
+      uniform and incorruptible text. In the spirit of enthusiasm or
+      vanity, the prophet rests the truth of his mission on the merit
+      of his book; audaciously challenges both men and angels to
+      imitate the beauties of a single page; and presumes to assert
+      that God alone could dictate this incomparable performance. 92
+      This argument is most powerfully addressed to a devout Arabian,
+      whose mind is attuned to faith and rapture; whose ear is
+      delighted by the music of sounds; and whose ignorance is
+      incapable of comparing the productions of human genius. 93 The
+      harmony and copiousness of style will not reach, in a version,
+      the European infidel: he will peruse with impatience the endless
+      incoherent rhapsody of fable, and precept, and declamation, which
+      seldom excites a sentiment or an idea, which sometimes crawls in
+      the dust, and is sometimes lost in the clouds. The divine
+      attributes exalt the fancy of the Arabian missionary; but his
+      loftiest strains must yield to the sublime simplicity of the book
+      of Job, composed in a remote age, in the same country, and in the
+      same language. 94 If the composition of the Koran exceed the
+      faculties of a man to what superior intelligence should we
+      ascribe the Iliad of Homer, or the Philippics of Demosthenes? In
+      all religions, the life of the founder supplies the silence of
+      his written revelation: the sayings of Mahomet were so many
+      lessons of truth; his actions so many examples of virtue; and the
+      public and private memorials were preserved by his wives and
+      companions. At the end of two hundred years, the Sonna, or oral
+      law, was fixed and consecrated by the labors of Al Bochari, who
+      discriminated seven thousand two hundred and seventy-five genuine
+      traditions, from a mass of three hundred thousand reports, of a
+      more doubtful or spurious character. Each day the pious author
+      prayed in the temple of Mecca, and performed his ablutions with
+      the water of Zemzem: the pages were successively deposited on the
+      pulpit and the sepulchre of the apostle; and the work has been
+      approved by the four orthodox sects of the Sonnites. 95
+
+      91 (return) [ For the Koran, see D’Herbelot, p. 85-88. Maracci,
+      tom. i. in Vit. Mohammed. p. 32-45. Sale, Preliminary Discourse,
+      p. 58-70.]
+
+      92 (return) [ Koran, c. 17, v. 89. In Sale, p. 235, 236. In
+      Maracci, p. 410. * Note: Compare Von Hammer Geschichte der
+      Assassinen p. 11.-M.]
+
+      93 (return) [ Yet a sect of Arabians was persuaded, that it might
+      be equalled or surpassed by a human pen, (Pocock, Specimen, p.
+      221, &c.;) and Maracci (the polemic is too hard for the
+      translator) derides the rhyming affectation of the most applauded
+      passage, (tom. i. part ii. p. 69-75.)]
+
+      94 (return) [ Colloquia (whether real or fabulous) in media
+      Arabia atque ab Arabibus habita, (Lowth, de Poesi Hebraeorum.
+      Praelect. xxxii. xxxiii. xxxiv, with his German editor,
+      Michaelis, Epimetron iv.) Yet Michaelis (p. 671-673) has detected
+      many Egyptian images, the elephantiasis, papyrus, Nile,
+      crocodile, &c. The language is ambiguously styled
+      Arabico-Hebraea. The resemblance of the sister dialects was much
+      more visible in their childhood, than in their mature age,
+      (Michaelis, p. 682. Schultens, in Praefat. Job.) * Note: The age
+      of the book of Job is still and probably will still be disputed.
+      Rosenmuller thus states his own opinion: “Certe serioribus
+      reipublicae temporibus assignandum esse librum, suadere videtur
+      ad Chaldaismum vergens sermo.” Yet the observations of
+      Kosegarten, which Rosenmuller has given in a note, and common
+      reason, suggest that this Chaldaism may be the native form of a
+      much earlier dialect; or the Chaldaic may have adopted the
+      poetical archaisms of a dialect, differing from, but not less
+      ancient than, the Hebrew. See Rosenmuller, Proleg. on Job, p. 41.
+      The poetry appears to me to belong to a much earlier period.—M.]
+
+      95 (return) [ Ali Bochari died A. H. 224. See D’Herbelot, p. 208,
+      416, 827. Gagnier, Not. ad Abulfed. c. 19, p. 33.]
+
+      The mission of the ancient prophets, of Moses and of Jesus had
+      been confirmed by many splendid prodigies; and Mahomet was
+      repeatedly urged, by the inhabitants of Mecca and Medina, to
+      produce a similar evidence of his divine legation; to call down
+      from heaven the angel or the volume of his revelation, to create
+      a garden in the desert, or to kindle a conflagration in the
+      unbelieving city. As often as he is pressed by the demands of the
+      Koreish, he involves himself in the obscure boast of vision and
+      prophecy, appeals to the internal proofs of his doctrine, and
+      shields himself behind the providence of God, who refuses those
+      signs and wonders that would depreciate the merit of faith, and
+      aggravate the guilt of infidelity But the modest or angry tone of
+      his apologies betrays his weakness and vexation; and these
+      passages of scandal established, beyond suspicion, the integrity
+      of the Koran. 96 The votaries of Mahomet are more assured than
+      himself of his miraculous gifts; and their confidence and
+      credulity increase as they are farther removed from the time and
+      place of his spiritual exploits. They believe or affirm that
+      trees went forth to meet him; that he was saluted by stones; that
+      water gushed from his fingers; that he fed the hungry, cured the
+      sick, and raised the dead; that a beam groaned to him; that a
+      camel complained to him; that a shoulder of mutton informed him
+      of its being poisoned; and that both animate and inanimate nature
+      were equally subject to the apostle of God. 97 His dream of a
+      nocturnal journey is seriously described as a real and corporeal
+      transaction. A mysterious animal, the Borak, conveyed him from
+      the temple of Mecca to that of Jerusalem: with his companion
+      Gabriel he successively ascended the seven heavens, and received
+      and repaid the salutations of the patriarchs, the prophets, and
+      the angels, in their respective mansions. Beyond the seventh
+      heaven, Mahomet alone was permitted to proceed; he passed the
+      veil of unity, approached within two bow-shots of the throne, and
+      felt a cold that pierced him to the heart, when his shoulder was
+      touched by the hand of God. After this familiar, though important
+      conversation, he again descended to Jerusalem, remounted the
+      Borak, returned to Mecca, and performed in the tenth part of a
+      night the journey of many thousand years. 98 According to another
+      legend, the apostle confounded in a national assembly the
+      malicious challenge of the Koreish. His resistless word split
+      asunder the orb of the moon: the obedient planet stooped from her
+      station in the sky, accomplished the seven revolutions round the
+      Caaba, saluted Mahomet in the Arabian tongue, and, suddenly
+      contracting her dimensions, entered at the collar, and issued
+      forth through the sleeve, of his shirt. 99 The vulgar are amused
+      with these marvellous tales; but the gravest of the Mussulman
+      doctors imitate the modesty of their master, and indulge a
+      latitude of faith or interpretation. 100 They might speciously
+      allege, that in preaching the religion it was needless to violate
+      the harmony of nature; that a creed unclouded with mystery may be
+      excused from miracles; and that the sword of Mahomet was not less
+      potent than the rod of Moses.
+
+      96 (return) [ See, more remarkably, Koran, c. 2, 6, 12, 13, 17.
+      Prideaux (Life of Mahomet, p. 18, 19) has confounded the
+      impostor. Maracci, with a more learned apparatus, has shown that
+      the passages which deny his miracles are clear and positive,
+      (Alcoran, tom. i. part ii. p. 7-12,) and those which seem to
+      assert them are ambiguous and insufficient, (p. 12-22.)]
+
+      97 (return) [ See the Specimen Hist. Arabum, the text of
+      Abulpharagius, p. 17, the notes of Pocock, p. 187-190.
+      D’Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orientale, p. 76, 77. Voyages de
+      Chardin, tom. iv. p. 200-203. Maracci (Alcoran, tom. i. p. 22-64)
+      has most laboriously collected and confuted the miracles and
+      prophecies of Mahomet, which, according to some writers, amount
+      to three thousand.]
+
+      98 (return) [ The nocturnal journey is circumstantially related
+      by Abulfeda (in Vit. Mohammed, c. 19, p. 33,) who wishes to think
+      it a vision; by Prideaux, (p. 31-40,) who aggravates the
+      absurdities; and by Gagnier (tom. i. p. 252-343,) who declares,
+      from the zealous Al Jannabi, that to deny this journey, is to
+      disbelieve the Koran. Yet the Koran without naming either heaven,
+      or Jerusalem, or Mecca, has only dropped a mysterious hint: Laus
+      illi qui transtulit servum suum ab oratorio Haram ad oratorium
+      remotissimum, (Koran, c. 17, v. 1; in Maracci, tom. ii. p. 407;
+      for Sale’s version is more licentious.) A slender basis for the
+      aerial structure of tradition.]
+
+      99 (return) [ In the prophetic style, which uses the present or
+      past for the future, Mahomet had said, Appropinquavit hora, et
+      scissa est luna, (Koran, c. 54, v. 1; in Maracci, tom. ii. p.
+      688.) This figure of rhetoric has been converted into a fact,
+      which is said to be attested by the most respectable
+      eye-witnesses, (Maracci, tom. ii. p. 690.) The festival is still
+      celebrated by the Persians, (Chardin, tom. iv. p. 201;) and the
+      legend is tediously spun out by Gagnier, (Vie de Mahomet, tom. i.
+      p. 183-234,) on the faith, as it should seem, of the credulous Al
+      Jannabi. Yet a Mahometan doctor has arraigned the credit of the
+      principal witness, (apud Pocock, Specimen, p. 187;) the best
+      interpreters are content with the simple sense of the Koran. (Al
+      Beidawi, apud Hottinger, Hist. Orient. l. ii. p. 302;) and the
+      silence of Abulfeda is worthy of a prince and a philosopher. *
+      Note: Compare Hamaker Notes to Inc. Auct. Lib. de Exped.
+      Memphides, p. 62—M.]
+
+      100 (return) [ Abulpharagius, in Specimen Hist. Arab. p. 17; and
+      his scepticism is justified in the notes of Pocock, p. 190-194,
+      from the purest authorities.]
+
+      The polytheist is oppressed and distracted by the variety of
+      superstition: a thousand rites of Egyptian origin were interwoven
+      with the essence of the Mosaic law; and the spirit of the gospel
+      had evaporated in the pageantry of the church. The prophet of
+      Mecca was tempted by prejudice, or policy, or patriotism, to
+      sanctify the rites of the Arabians, and the custom of visiting
+      the holy stone of the Caaba. But the precepts of Mahomet himself
+      inculcates a more simple and rational piety: prayer, fasting, and
+      alms, are the religious duties of a Mussulman; and he is
+      encouraged to hope, that prayer will carry him half way to God,
+      fasting will bring him to the door of his palace, and alms will
+      gain him admittance. 101 I. According to the tradition of the
+      nocturnal journey, the apostle, in his personal conference with
+      the Deity, was commanded to impose on his disciples the daily
+      obligation of fifty prayers. By the advice of Moses, he applied
+      for an alleviation of this intolerable burden; the number was
+      gradually reduced to five; without any dispensation of business
+      or pleasure, or time or place: the devotion of the faithful is
+      repeated at daybreak, at noon, in the afternoon, in the evening,
+      and at the first watch of the night; and in the present decay of
+      religious fervor, our travellers are edified by the profound
+      humility and attention of the Turks and Persians. Cleanliness is
+      the key of prayer: the frequent lustration of the hands, the
+      face, and the body, which was practised of old by the Arabs, is
+      solemnly enjoined by the Koran; and a permission is formally
+      granted to supply with sand the scarcity of water. The words and
+      attitudes of supplication, as it is performed either sitting, or
+      standing, or prostrate on the ground, are prescribed by custom or
+      authority; but the prayer is poured forth in short and fervent
+      ejaculations; the measure of zeal is not exhausted by a tedious
+      liturgy; and each Mussulman for his own person is invested with
+      the character of a priest. Among the theists, who reject the use
+      of images, it has been found necessary to restrain the wanderings
+      of the fancy, by directing the eye and the thought towards a
+      kebla, or visible point of the horizon. The prophet was at first
+      inclined to gratify the Jews by the choice of Jerusalem; but he
+      soon returned to a more natural partiality; and five times every
+      day the eyes of the nations at Astracan, at Fez, at Delhi, are
+      devoutly turned to the holy temple of Mecca. Yet every spot for
+      the service of God is equally pure: the Mahometans indifferently
+      pray in their chamber or in the street. As a distinction from the
+      Jews and Christians, the Friday in each week is set apart for the
+      useful institution of public worship: the people is assembled in
+      the mosch; and the imam, some respectable elder, ascends the
+      pulpit, to begin the prayer and pronounce the sermon. But the
+      Mahometan religion is destitute of priesthood or sacrifice; and
+      the independent spirit of fanaticism looks down with contempt on
+      the ministers and the slaves of superstition. 1011
+
+      II. The voluntary 102 penance of the ascetics, the torment and
+      glory of their lives, was odious to a prophet who censured in his
+      companions a rash vow of abstaining from flesh, and women, and
+      sleep; and firmly declared, that he would suffer no monks in his
+      religion. 103 Yet he instituted, in each year, a fast of thirty
+      days; and strenuously recommended the observance as a discipline
+      which purifies the soul and subdues the body, as a salutary
+      exercise of obedience to the will of God and his apostle. During
+      the month of Ramadan, from the rising to the setting of the sun,
+      the Mussulman abstains from eating, and drinking, and women, and
+      baths, and perfumes; from all nourishment that can restore his
+      strength, from all pleasure that can gratify his senses. In the
+      revolution of the lunar year, the Ramadan coincides, by turns,
+      with the winter cold and the summer heat; and the patient martyr,
+      without assuaging his thirst with a drop of water, must expect
+      the close of a tedious and sultry day. The interdiction of wine,
+      peculiar to some orders of priests or hermits, is converted by
+      Mahomet alone into a positive and general law; 104 and a
+      considerable portion of the globe has abjured, at his command,
+      the use of that salutary, though dangerous, liquor. These painful
+      restraints are, doubtless, infringed by the libertine, and eluded
+      by the hypocrite; but the legislator, by whom they are enacted,
+      cannot surely be accused of alluring his proselytes by the
+      indulgence of their sensual appetites. III. The charity of the
+      Mahometans descends to the animal creation; and the Koran
+      repeatedly inculcates, not as a merit, but as a strict and
+      indispensable duty, the relief of the indigent and unfortunate.
+      Mahomet, perhaps, is the only lawgiver who has defined the
+      precise measure of charity: the standard may vary with the degree
+      and nature of property, as it consists either in money, in corn
+      or cattle, in fruits or merchandise; but the Mussulman does not
+      accomplish the law, unless he bestows a tenth of his revenue; and
+      if his conscience accuses him of fraud or extortion, the tenth,
+      under the idea of restitution, is enlarged to a fifth. 105
+      Benevolence is the foundation of justice, since we are forbid to
+      injure those whom we are bound to assist. A prophet may reveal
+      the secrets of heaven and of futurity; but in his moral precepts
+      he can only repeat the lessons of our own hearts.
+
+      101 (return) [ The most authentic account of these precepts,
+      pilgrimage, prayer, fasting, alms, and ablutions, is extracted
+      from the Persian and Arabian theologians by Maracci, (Prodrom.
+      part iv. p. 9-24,) Reland, (in his excellent treatise de
+      Religione Mohammedica, Utrecht, 1717, p. 67-123,) and Chardin,
+      (Voyages in Perse, tom. iv. p. 47-195.) Marace is a partial
+      accuser; but the jeweller, Chardin, had the eyes of a
+      philosopher; and Reland, a judicious student, had travelled over
+      the East in his closet at Utrecht. The xivth letter of Tournefort
+      (Voyage du Levont, tom. ii. p. 325-360, in octavo) describes what
+      he had seen of the religion of the Turks.]
+
+      1011 (return) [ Such is Mahometanism beyond the precincts of the
+      Holy City. But Mahomet retained, and the Koran sanctions, (Sale’s
+      Koran, c. 5, in inlt. c. 22, vol. ii. p. 171, 172,) the sacrifice
+      of sheep and camels (probably according to the old Arabian rites)
+      at Mecca; and the pilgrims complete their ceremonial with
+      sacrifices, sometimes as numerous and costly as those of King
+      Solomon. Compare note, vol. iv. c. xxiii. p. 96, and Forster’s
+      Mahometanism Unveiled, vol. i. p. 420. This author quotes the
+      questionable authority of Benjamin of Tudela, for the sacrifice
+      of a camel by the caliph at Bosra; but sacrifice undoubtedly
+      forms no part of the ordinary Mahometan ritual; nor will the
+      sanctity of the caliph, as the earthly representative of the
+      prophet, bear any close analogy to the priesthood of the Mosaic
+      or Gentila religions.—M.]
+
+      102 (return) [ Mahomet (Sale’s Koran, c. 9, p. 153) reproaches
+      the Christians with taking their priests and monks for their
+      lords, besides God. Yet Maracci (Prodromus, part iii. p. 69, 70)
+      excuses the worship, especially of the pope, and quotes, from the
+      Koran itself, the case of Eblis, or Satan, who was cast from
+      heaven for refusing to adore Adam.]
+
+      103 (return) [ Koran, c. 5, p. 94, and Sale’s note, which refers
+      to the authority of Jallaloddin and Al Beidawi. D’Herbelot
+      declares, that Mahomet condemned la vie religieuse; and that the
+      first swarms of fakirs, dervises, &c., did not appear till after
+      the year 300 of the Hegira, (Bibliot. Orient. p. 292, 718.)]
+
+      104 (return) [ See the double prohibition, (Koran, c. 2, p. 25,
+      c. 5, p. 94;) the one in the style of a legislator, the other in
+      that of a fanatic. The public and private motives of Mahomet are
+      investigated by Prideaux (Life of Mahomet, p. 62-64) and Sale,
+      (Preliminary Discourse, p. 124.)]
+
+      105 (return) [ The jealousy of Maracci (Prodromus, part iv. p.
+      33) prompts him to enumerate the more liberal alms of the
+      Catholics of Rome. Fifteen great hospitals are open to many
+      thousand patients and pilgrims; fifteen hundred maidens are
+      annually portioned; fifty-six charity schools are founded for
+      both sexes; one hundred and twenty confraternities relieve the
+      wants of their brethren, &c. The benevolence of London is still
+      more extensive; but I am afraid that much more is to be ascribed
+      to the humanity, than to the religion, of the people.]
+
+      The two articles of belief, and the four practical duties, of
+      Islam, are guarded by rewards and punishments; and the faith of
+      the Mussulman is devoutly fixed on the event of the judgment and
+      the last day. The prophet has not presumed to determine the
+      moment of that awful catastrophe, though he darkly announces the
+      signs, both in heaven and earth, which will precede the universal
+      dissolution, when life shall be destroyed, and the order of
+      creation shall be confounded in the primitive chaos. At the blast
+      of the trumpet, new worlds will start into being: angels, genii,
+      and men will arise from the dead, and the human soul will again
+      be united to the body. The doctrine of the resurrection was first
+      entertained by the Egyptians; 106 and their mummies were
+      embalmed, their pyramids were constructed, to preserve the
+      ancient mansion of the soul, during a period of three thousand
+      years. But the attempt is partial and unavailing; and it is with
+      a more philosophic spirit that Mahomet relies on the omnipotence
+      of the Creator, whose word can reanimate the breathless clay, and
+      collect the innumerable atoms, that no longer retain their form
+      or substance. 107 The intermediate state of the soul it is hard
+      to decide; and those who most firmly believe her immaterial
+      nature, are at a loss to understand how she can think or act
+      without the agency of the organs of sense.
+
+      106 (return) [ See Herodotus (l. ii. c. 123) and our learned
+      countryman Sir John Marsham, (Canon. Chronicus, p. 46.) The same
+      writer (p. 254-274) is an elaborate sketch of the infernal
+      regions, as they were painted by the fancy of the Egyptians and
+      Greeks, of the poets and philosophers of antiquity.]
+
+      107 (return) [ The Koran (c. 2, p. 259, &c.; of Sale, p. 32; of
+      Maracci, p. 97) relates an ingenious miracle, which satisfied the
+      curiosity, and confirmed the faith, of Abraham.]
+
+      The reunion of the soul and body will be followed by the final
+      judgment of mankind; and in his copy of the Magian picture, the
+      prophet has too faithfully represented the forms of proceeding,
+      and even the slow and successive operations, of an earthly
+      tribunal. By his intolerant adversaries he is upbraided for
+      extending, even to themselves, the hope of salvation, for
+      asserting the blackest heresy, that every man who believes in
+      God, and accomplishes good works, may expect in the last day a
+      favorable sentence. Such rational indifference is ill adapted to
+      the character of a fanatic; nor is it probable that a messenger
+      from heaven should depreciate the value and necessity of his own
+      revelation. In the idiom of the Koran, 108 the belief of God is
+      inseparable from that of Mahomet: the good works are those which
+      he has enjoined, and the two qualifications imply the profession
+      of Islam, to which all nations and all sects are equally invited.
+
+      Their spiritual blindness, though excused by ignorance and
+      crowned with virtue, will be scourged with everlasting torments;
+      and the tears which Mahomet shed over the tomb of his mother for
+      whom he was forbidden to pray, display a striking contrast of
+      humanity and enthusiasm. 109 The doom of the infidels is common:
+      the measure of their guilt and punishment is determined by the
+      degree of evidence which they have rejected, by the magnitude of
+      the errors which they have entertained: the eternal mansions of
+      the Christians, the Jews, the Sabians, the Magians, and
+      idolaters, are sunk below each other in the abyss; and the lowest
+      hell is reserved for the faithless hypocrites who have assumed
+      the mask of religion. After the greater part of mankind has been
+      condemned for their opinions, the true believers only will be
+      judged by their actions. The good and evil of each Mussulman will
+      be accurately weighed in a real or allegorical balance; and a
+      singular mode of compensation will be allowed for the payment of
+      injuries: the aggressor will refund an equivalent of his own good
+      actions, for the benefit of the person whom he has wronged; and
+      if he should be destitute of any moral property, the weight of
+      his sins will be loaded with an adequate share of the demerits of
+      the sufferer. According as the shares of guilt or virtue shall
+      preponderate, the sentence will be pronounced, and all, without
+      distinction, will pass over the sharp and perilous bridge of the
+      abyss; but the innocent, treading in the footsteps of Mahomet,
+      will gloriously enter the gates of paradise, while the guilty
+      will fall into the first and mildest of the seven hells. The term
+      of expiation will vary from nine hundred to seven thousand years;
+      but the prophet has judiciously promised, that all his disciples,
+      whatever may be their sins, shall be saved, by their own faith
+      and his intercession from eternal damnation. It is not surprising
+      that superstition should act most powerfully on the fears of her
+      votaries, since the human fancy can paint with more energy the
+      misery than the bliss of a future life. With the two simple
+      elements of darkness and fire, we create a sensation of pain,
+      which may be aggravated to an infinite degree by the idea of
+      endless duration. But the same idea operates with an opposite
+      effect on the continuity of pleasure; and too much of our present
+      enjoyments is obtained from the relief, or the comparison, of
+      evil. It is natural enough that an Arabian prophet should dwell
+      with rapture on the groves, the fountains, and the rivers of
+      paradise; but instead of inspiring the blessed inhabitants with a
+      liberal taste for harmony and science, conversation and
+      friendship, he idly celebrates the pearls and diamonds, the robes
+      of silk, palaces of marble, dishes of gold, rich wines,
+      artificial dainties, numerous attendants, and the whole train of
+      sensual and costly luxury, which becomes insipid to the owner,
+      even in the short period of this mortal life. Seventy-two Houris,
+      or black-eyed girls, of resplendent beauty, blooming youth,
+      virgin purity, and exquisite sensibility, will be created for the
+      use of the meanest believer; a moment of pleasure will be
+      prolonged to a thousand years; and his faculties will be
+      increased a hundred fold, to render him worthy of his felicity.
+      Notwithstanding a vulgar prejudice, the gates of heaven will be
+      open to both sexes; but Mahomet has not specified the male
+      companions of the female elect, lest he should either alarm the
+      jealousy of their former husbands, or disturb their felicity, by
+      the suspicion of an everlasting marriage. This image of a carnal
+      paradise has provoked the indignation, perhaps the envy, of the
+      monks: they declaim against the impure religion of Mahomet; and
+      his modest apologists are driven to the poor excuse of figures
+      and allegories. But the sounder and more consistent party adhere
+      without shame, to the literal interpretation of the Koran:
+      useless would be the resurrection of the body, unless it were
+      restored to the possession and exercise of its worthiest
+      faculties; and the union of sensual and intellectual enjoyment is
+      requisite to complete the happiness of the double animal, the
+      perfect man. Yet the joys of the Mahometan paradise will not be
+      confined to the indulgence of luxury and appetite; and the
+      prophet has expressly declared that all meaner happiness will be
+      forgotten and despised by the saints and martyrs, who shall be
+      admitted to the beatitude of the divine vision. 110
+
+      108 (return) [ The candid Reland has demonstrated, that Mahomet
+      damns all unbelievers, (de Religion. Moham. p. 128-142;) that
+      devils will not be finally saved, (p. 196-199;) that paradise
+      will not solely consist of corporeal delights, (p. 199-205;) and
+      that women’s souls are immortal. (p. 205-209.)]
+
+      109 (return) [ A Beidawi, apud Sale. Koran, c. 9, p. 164. The
+      refusal to pray for an unbelieving kindred is justified,
+      according to Mahomet, by the duty of a prophet, and the example
+      of Abraham, who reprobated his own father as an enemy of God. Yet
+      Abraham (he adds, c. 9, v. 116. Maracci, tom. ii. p. 317) fuit
+      sane pius, mitis.]
+
+      110 (return) [ For the day of judgment, hell, paradise, &c.,
+      consult the Koran, (c. 2, v. 25, c. 56, 78, &c.;) with Maracci’s
+      virulent, but learned, refutation, (in his notes, and in the
+      Prodromus, part iv. p. 78, 120, 122, &c.;) D’Herbelot,
+      (Bibliotheque Orientale, p. 368, 375;) Reland, (p. 47-61;) and
+      Sale, (p. 76-103.) The original ideas of the Magi are darkly and
+      doubtfully explored by their apologist, Dr. Hyde, (Hist.
+      Religionis Persarum, c. 33, p. 402-412, Oxon. 1760.) In the
+      article of Mahomet, Bayle has shown how indifferently wit and
+      philosophy supply the absence of genuine information.]
+
+      The first and most arduous conquests of Mahomet 111 were those of
+      his wife, his servant, his pupil, and his friend; 112 since he
+      presented himself as a prophet to those who were most conversant
+      with his infirmities as a man. Yet Cadijah believed the words,
+      and cherished the glory, of her husband; the obsequious and
+      affectionate Zeid was tempted by the prospect of freedom; the
+      illustrious Ali, the son of Abu Taleb, embraced the sentiments of
+      his cousin with the spirit of a youthful hero; and the wealth,
+      the moderation, the veracity of Abubeker confirmed the religion
+      of the prophet whom he was destined to succeed. By his
+      persuasion, ten of the most respectable citizens of Mecca were
+      introduced to the private lessons of Islam; they yielded to the
+      voice of reason and enthusiasm; they repeated the fundamental
+      creed, “There is but one God, and Mahomet is the apostle of God;”
+      and their faith, even in this life, was rewarded with riches and
+      honors, with the command of armies and the government of
+      kingdoms. Three years were silently employed in the conversion of
+      fourteen proselytes, the first-fruits of his mission; but in the
+      fourth year he assumed the prophetic office, and resolving to
+      impart to his family the light of divine truth, he prepared a
+      banquet, a lamb, as it is said, and a bowl of milk, for the
+      entertainment of forty guests of the race of Hashem. “Friends and
+      kinsmen,” said Mahomet to the assembly, “I offer you, and I alone
+      can offer, the most precious of gifts, the treasures of this
+      world and of the world to come. God has commanded me to call you
+      to his service. Who among you will support my burden? Who among
+      you will be my companion and my vizier?” 113 No answer was
+      returned, till the silence of astonishment, and doubt, and
+      contempt, was at length broken by the impatient courage of Ali, a
+      youth in the fourteenth year of his age. “O prophet, I am the
+      man: whosoever rises against thee, I will dash out his teeth,
+      tear out his eyes, break his legs, rip up his belly. O prophet, I
+      will be thy vizier over them.” Mahomet accepted his offer with
+      transport, and Abu Taled was ironically exhorted to respect the
+      superior dignity of his son. In a more serious tone, the father
+      of Ali advised his nephew to relinquish his impracticable design.
+
+      “Spare your remonstrances,” replied the intrepid fanatic to his
+      uncle and benefactor; “if they should place the sun on my right
+      hand, and the moon on my left, they should not divert me from my
+      course.” He persevered ten years in the exercise of his mission;
+      and the religion which has overspread the East and the West
+      advanced with a slow and painful progress within the walls of
+      Mecca. Yet Mahomet enjoyed the satisfaction of beholding the
+      increase of his infant congregation of Unitarians, who revered
+      him as a prophet, and to whom he seasonably dispensed the
+      spiritual nourishment of the Koran. The number of proselytes may
+      be esteemed by the absence of eighty-three men and eighteen
+      women, who retired to Aethiopia in the seventh year of his
+      mission; and his party was fortified by the timely conversion of
+      his uncle Hamza, and of the fierce and inflexible Omar, who
+      signalized in the cause of Islam the same zeal, which he had
+      exerted for its destruction. Nor was the charity of Mahomet
+      confined to the tribe of Koreish, or the precincts of Mecca: on
+      solemn festivals, in the days of pilgrimage, he frequented the
+      Caaba, accosted the strangers of every tribe, and urged, both in
+      private converse and public discourse, the belief and worship of
+      a sole Deity. Conscious of his reason and of his weakness, he
+      asserted the liberty of conscience, and disclaimed the use of
+      religious violence: 114 but he called the Arabs to repentance,
+      and conjured them to remember the ancient idolaters of Ad and
+      Thamud, whom the divine justice had swept away from the face of
+      the earth. 115
+
+      111 (return) [ Before I enter on the history of the prophet, it
+      is incumbent on me to produce my evidence. The Latin, French, and
+      English versions of the Koran are preceded by historical
+      discourses, and the three translators, Maracci, (tom. i. p.
+      10-32,) Savary, (tom. i. p. 1-248,) and Sale, (Preliminary
+      Discourse, p. 33-56,) had accurately studied the language and
+      character of their author. Two professed Lives of Mahomet have
+      been composed by Dr. Prideaux (Life of Mahomet, seventh edition,
+      London, 1718, in octavo) and the count de Boulainvilliers, (Vie
+      de Mahomed, Londres, 1730, in octavo: ) but the adverse wish of
+      finding an impostor or a hero, has too often corrupted the
+      learning of the doctor and the ingenuity of the count. The
+      article in D’Herbelot (Bibliot. Orient. p. 598-603) is chiefly
+      drawn from Novairi and Mirkond; but the best and most authentic
+      of our guides is M. Gagnier, a Frenchman by birth, and professor
+      at Oxford of the Oriental tongues. In two elaborate works,
+      (Ismael Abulfeda de Vita et Rebus gestis Mohammedis, &c. Latine
+      vertit, Praefatione et Notis illustravit Johannes Gagnier, Oxon.
+      1723, in folio. La Vie de Mahomet traduite et compilee de
+      l’Alcoran, des Traditions Authentiques de la Sonna et des
+      meilleurs Auteurs Arabes; Amsterdam, 1748, 3 vols. in 12mo.,) he
+      has interpreted, illustrated, and supplied the Arabic text of
+      Abulfeda and Al Jannabi; the first, an enlightened prince who
+      reigned at Hamah, in Syria, A.D. 1310-1332, (see Gagnier Praefat.
+      ad Abulfed.;) the second, a credulous doctor, who visited Mecca
+      A.D. 1556. (D’Herbelot, p. 397. Gagnier, tom. iii. p. 209, 210.)
+      These are my general vouchers, and the inquisitive reader may
+      follow the order of time, and the division of chapters. Yet I
+      must observe that both Abulfeda and Al Jannabi are modern
+      historians, and that they cannot appeal to any writers of the
+      first century of the Hegira. * Note: A new Life, by Dr. Weil,
+      (Stuttgart. 1843,) has added some few traditions unknown in
+      Europe. Of Dr. Weil’s Arabic scholarship, which professes to
+      correct many errors in Gagnier, in Maracci, and in M. von Hammer,
+      I am no judge. But it is remarkable that he does not seem
+      acquainted with the passage of Tabari, translated by Colonel Vans
+      Kennedy, in the Bombay Transactions, (vol. iii.,) the earliest
+      and most important addition made to the traditionary Life of
+      Mahomet. I am inclined to think Colonel Vans Kennedy’s
+      appreciation of the prophet’s character, which may be overlooked
+      in a criticism on Voltaire’s Mahomet, the most just which I have
+      ever read. The work of Dr. Weil appears to me most valuable in
+      its dissection and chronological view of the Koran.—M. 1845]
+
+      112 (return) [ After the Greeks, Prideaux (p. 8) discloses the
+      secret doubts of the wife of Mahomet. As if he had been a privy
+      counsellor of the prophet, Boulainvilliers (p. 272, &c.) unfolds
+      the sublime and patriotic views of Cadijah and the first
+      disciples.]
+
+      113 (return) [ Vezirus, portitor, bajulus, onus ferens; and this
+      plebeian name was transferred by an apt metaphor to the pillars
+      of the state, (Gagnier, Not. ad Abulfed. p. 19.) I endeavor to
+      preserve the Arabian idiom, as far as I can feel it myself in a
+      Latin or French translation.]
+
+      114 (return) [ The passages of the Koran in behalf of toleration
+      are strong and numerous: c. 2, v. 257, c. 16, 129, c. 17, 54, c.
+      45, 15, c. 50, 39, c. 88, 21, &c., with the notes of Maracci and
+      Sale. This character alone may generally decide the doubts of the
+      learned, whether a chapter was revealed at Mecca or Medina.]
+
+      115 (return) [ See the Koran, (passim, and especially c. 7, p.
+      123, 124, &c.,) and the tradition of the Arabs, (Pocock,
+      Specimen, p. 35-37.) The caverns of the tribe of Thamud, fit for
+      men of the ordinary stature, were shown in the midway between
+      Medina and Damascus. (Abulfed Arabiae Descript. p. 43, 44,) and
+      may be probably ascribed to the Throglodytes of the primitive
+      world, (Michaelis, ad Lowth de Poesi Hebraeor. p. 131-134.
+      Recherches sur les Egyptiens, tom. ii. p. 48, &c.)]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter L: Description Of Arabia And Its Inhabitants.—Part V.
+
+      The people of Mecca were hardened in their unbelief by
+      superstition and envy. The elders of the city, the uncles of the
+      prophet, affected to despise the presumption of an orphan, the
+      reformer of his country: the pious orations of Mahomet in the
+      Caaba were answered by the clamors of Abu Taleb. “Citizens and
+      pilgrims, listen not to the tempter, hearken not to his impious
+      novelties. Stand fast in the worship of Al Lata and Al Uzzah.”
+      Yet the son of Abdallah was ever dear to the aged chief: and he
+      protected the fame and person of his nephew against the assaults
+      of the Koreishites, who had long been jealous of the preeminence
+      of the family of Hashem. Their malice was colored with the
+      pretence of religion: in the age of Job, the crime of impiety was
+      punished by the Arabian magistrate; 116 and Mahomet was guilty of
+      deserting and denying the national deities. But so loose was the
+      policy of Mecca, that the leaders of the Koreish, instead of
+      accusing a criminal, were compelled to employ the measures of
+      persuasion or violence. They repeatedly addressed Abu Taleb in
+      the style of reproach and menace. “Thy nephew reviles our
+      religion; he accuses our wise forefathers of ignorance and folly;
+      silence him quickly, lest he kindle tumult and discord in the
+      city. If he persevere, we shall draw our swords against him and
+      his adherents, and thou wilt be responsible for the blood of thy
+      fellow-citizens.” The weight and moderation of Abu Taleb eluded
+      the violence of religious faction; the most helpless or timid of
+      the disciples retired to Aethiopia, and the prophet withdrew
+      himself to various places of strength in the town and country. As
+      he was still supported by his family, the rest of the tribe of
+      Koreish engaged themselves to renounce all intercourse with the
+      children of Hashem, neither to buy nor sell, neither to marry not
+      to give in marriage, but to pursue them with implacable enmity,
+      till they should deliver the person of Mahomet to the justice of
+      the gods. The decree was suspended in the Caaba before the eyes
+      of the nation; the messengers of the Koreish pursued the
+      Mussulman exiles in the heart of Africa: they besieged the
+      prophet and his most faithful followers, intercepted their water,
+      and inflamed their mutual animosity by the retaliation of
+      injuries and insults. A doubtful truce restored the appearances
+      of concord till the death of Abu Taleb abandoned Mahomet to the
+      power of his enemies, at the moment when he was deprived of his
+      domestic comforts by the loss of his faithful and generous
+      Cadijah. Abu Sophian, the chief of the branch of Ommiyah,
+      succeeded to the principality of the republic of Mecca. A zealous
+      votary of the idols, a mortal foe of the line of Hashem, he
+      convened an assembly of the Koreishites and their allies, to
+      decide the fate of the apostle. His imprisonment might provoke
+      the despair of his enthusiasm; and the exile of an eloquent and
+      popular fanatic would diffuse the mischief through the provinces
+      of Arabia. His death was resolved; and they agreed that a sword
+      from each tribe should be buried in his heart, to divide the
+      guilt of his blood, and baffle the vengeance of the Hashemites.
+      An angel or a spy revealed their conspiracy; and flight was the
+      only resource of Mahomet. 117 At the dead of night, accompanied
+      by his friend Abubeker, he silently escaped from his house: the
+      assassins watched at the door; but they were deceived by the
+      figure of Ali, who reposed on the bed, and was covered with the
+      green vestment of the apostle. The Koreish respected the piety of
+      the heroic youth; but some verses of Ali, which are still extant,
+      exhibit an interesting picture of his anxiety, his tenderness,
+      and his religious confidence. Three days Mahomet and his
+      companion were concealed in the cave of Thor, at the distance of
+      a league from Mecca; and in the close of each evening, they
+      received from the son and daughter of Abubeker a secret supply of
+      intelligence and food. The diligence of the Koreish explored
+      every haunt in the neighborhood of the city: they arrived at the
+      entrance of the cavern; but the providential deceit of a spider’s
+      web and a pigeon’s nest is supposed to convince them that the
+      place was solitary and inviolate. “We are only two,” said the
+      trembling Abubeker. “There is a third,” replied the prophet; “it
+      is God himself.” No sooner was the pursuit abated than the two
+      fugitives issued from the rock, and mounted their camels: on the
+      road to Medina, they were overtaken by the emissaries of the
+      Koreish; they redeemed themselves with prayers and promises from
+      their hands. In this eventful moment, the lance of an Arab might
+      have changed the history of the world. The flight of the prophet
+      from Mecca to Medina has fixed the memorable aera of the Hegira,
+      118 which, at the end of twelve centuries, still discriminates
+      the lunar years of the Mahometan nations. 119
+
+      116 (return) [ In the time of Job, the crime of impiety was
+      punished by the Arabian magistrate, (c. 21, v. 26, 27, 28.) I
+      blush for a respectable prelate (de Poesi Hebraeorum, p. 650,
+      651, edit. Michaelis; and letter of a late professor in the
+      university of Oxford, p. 15-53,) who justifies and applauds this
+      patriarchal inquisition.]
+
+      117 (return) [ D’Herbelot, Bibliot. Orient. p. 445. He quotes a
+      particular history of the flight of Mahomet.]
+
+      118 (return) [ The Hegira was instituted by Omar, the second
+      caliph, in imitation of the aera of the martyrs of the
+      Christians, (D’Herbelot, p. 444;) and properly commenced
+      sixty-eight days before the flight of Mahomet, with the first of
+      Moharren, or first day of that Arabian year which coincides with
+      Friday, July 16th, A.D. 622, (Abulfeda, Vit Moham, c. 22, 23, p.
+      45-50; and Greaves’s edition of Ullug Beg’s Epochae Arabum, &c.,
+      c. 1, p. 8, 10, &c.) * Note: Chronologists dispute between the
+      15th and 16th of July. St. Martin inclines to the 8th, ch. xi. p.
+      70.—M.]
+
+      119 (return) [ Mahomet’s life, from his mission to the Hegira,
+      may be found in Abulfeda (p. 14-45) and Gagnier, (tom. i. p.
+      134-251, 342-383.) The legend from p. 187-234 is vouched by Al
+      Jannabi, and disdained by Abulfeda.]
+
+      The religion of the Koran might have perished in its cradle, had
+      not Medina embraced with faith and reverence the holy outcasts of
+      Mecca. Medina, or the city, known under the name of Yathreb,
+      before it was sanctified by the throne of the prophet, was
+      divided between the tribes of the Charegites and the Awsites,
+      whose hereditary feud was rekindled by the slightest
+      provocations: two colonies of Jews, who boasted a sacerdotal
+      race, were their humble allies, and without converting the Arabs,
+      they introduced the taste of science and religion, which
+      distinguished Medina as the city of the Book. Some of her noblest
+      citizens, in a pilgrimage to the Canaba, were converted by the
+      preaching of Mahomet; on their return, they diffused the belief
+      of God and his prophet, and the new alliance was ratified by
+      their deputies in two secret and nocturnal interviews on a hill
+      in the suburbs of Mecca. In the first, ten Charegites and two
+      Awsites united in faith and love, protested, in the name of their
+      wives, their children, and their absent brethren, that they would
+      forever profess the creed, and observe the precepts, of the
+      Koran. The second was a political association, the first vital
+      spark of the empire of the Saracens. 120 Seventy-three men and
+      two women of Medina held a solemn conference with Mahomet, his
+      kinsman, and his disciples; and pledged themselves to each other
+      by a mutual oath of fidelity. They promised, in the name of the
+      city, that if he should be banished, they would receive him as a
+      confederate, obey him as a leader, and defend him to the last
+      extremity, like their wives and children. “But if you are
+      recalled by your country,” they asked with a flattering anxiety,
+      “will you not abandon your new allies?” “All things,” replied
+      Mahomet with a smile, “are now common between us; your blood is
+      as my blood, your ruin as my ruin. We are bound to each other by
+      the ties of honor and interest. I am your friend, and the enemy
+      of your foes.” “But if we are killed in your service, what,”
+      exclaimed the deputies of Medina, “will be our reward?”
+      “Paradise,” replied the prophet. “Stretch forth thy hand.” He
+      stretched it forth, and they reiterated the oath of allegiance
+      and fidelity. Their treaty was ratified by the people, who
+      unanimously embraced the profession of Islam; they rejoiced in
+      the exile of the apostle, but they trembled for his safety, and
+      impatiently expected his arrival. After a perilous and rapid
+      journey along the sea-coast, he halted at Koba, two miles from
+      the city, and made his public entry into Medina, sixteen days
+      after his flight from Mecca. Five hundred of the citizens
+      advanced to meet him; he was hailed with acclamations of loyalty
+      and devotion; Mahomet was mounted on a she-camel, an umbrella
+      shaded his head, and a turban was unfurled before him to supply
+      the deficiency of a standard. His bravest disciples, who had been
+      scattered by the storm, assembled round his person; and the
+      equal, though various, merit of the Moslems was distinguished by
+      the names of Mohagerians and Ansars, the fugitives of Mecca, and
+      the auxiliaries of Medina. To eradicate the seeds of jealousy,
+      Mahomet judiciously coupled his principal followers with the
+      rights and obligations of brethren; and when Ali found himself
+      without a peer, the prophet tenderly declared, that he would be
+      the companion and brother of the noble youth. The expedient was
+      crowned with success; the holy fraternity was respected in peace
+      and war, and the two parties vied with each other in a generous
+      emulation of courage and fidelity. Once only the concord was
+      slightly ruffled by an accidental quarrel: a patriot of Medina
+      arraigned the insolence of the strangers, but the hint of their
+      expulsion was heard with abhorrence; and his own son most eagerly
+      offered to lay at the apostle’s feet the head of his father.
+
+      120 (return) [ The triple inauguration of Mahomet is described by
+      Abulfeda (p. 30, 33, 40, 86) and Gagnier, (tom. i. p. 342, &c.,
+      349, &c., tom. ii. p. 223 &c.)]
+
+      From his establishment at Medina, Mahomet assumed the exercise of
+      the regal and sacerdotal office; and it was impious to appeal
+      from a judge whose decrees were inspired by the divine wisdom. A
+      small portion of ground, the patrimony of two orphans, was
+      acquired by gift or purchase; 121 on that chosen spot he built a
+      house and a mosch, more venerable in their rude simplicity than
+      the palaces and temples of the Assyrian caliphs. His seal of
+      gold, or silver, was inscribed with the apostolic title; when he
+      prayed and preached in the weekly assembly, he leaned against the
+      trunk of a palm-tree; and it was long before he indulged himself
+      in the use of a chair or pulpit of rough timber. 122 After a
+      reign of six years, fifteen hundred Moslems, in arms and in the
+      field, renewed their oath of allegiance; and their chief repeated
+      the assurance of protection till the death of the last member, or
+      the final dissolution of the party. It was in the same camp that
+      the deputy of Mecca was astonished by the attention of the
+      faithful to the words and looks of the prophet, by the eagerness
+      with which they collected his spittle, a hair that dropped on the
+      ground, the refuse water of his lustrations, as if they
+      participated in some degree of the prophetic virtue. “I have
+      seen,” said he, “the Chosroes of Persia and the Caesar of Rome,
+      but never did I behold a king among his subjects like Mahomet
+      among his companions.” The devout fervor of enthusiasm acts with
+      more energy and truth than the cold and formal servility of
+      courts.
+
+      121 (return) [ Prideaux (Life of Mahomet, p. 44) reviles the
+      wickedness of the impostor, who despoiled two poor orphans, the
+      sons of a carpenter; a reproach which he drew from the Disputatio
+      contra Saracenos, composed in Arabic before the year 1130; but
+      the honest Gagnier (ad Abulfed. p. 53) has shown that they were
+      deceived by the word Al Nagjar, which signifies, in this place,
+      not an obscure trade, but a noble tribe of Arabs. The desolate
+      state of the ground is described by Abulfeda; and his worthy
+      interpreter has proved, from Al Bochari, the offer of a price;
+      from Al Jannabi, the fair purchase; and from Ahmeq Ben Joseph,
+      the payment of the money by the generous Abubeker On these
+      grounds the prophet must be honorably acquitted.]
+
+      122 (return) [ Al Jannabi (apud Gagnier, tom. ii. p. 246, 324)
+      describes the seal and pulpit, as two venerable relics of the
+      apostle of God; and the portrait of his court is taken from
+      Abulfeda, (c. 44, p. 85.)]
+
+      In the state of nature, every man has a right to defend, by force
+      of arms, his person and his possessions; to repel, or even to
+      prevent, the violence of his enemies, and to extend his
+      hostilities to a reasonable measure of satisfaction and
+      retaliation. In the free society of the Arabs, the duties of
+      subject and citizen imposed a feeble restraint; and Mahomet, in
+      the exercise of a peaceful and benevolent mission, had been
+      despoiled and banished by the injustice of his countrymen. The
+      choice of an independent people had exalted the fugitive of Mecca
+      to the rank of a sovereign; and he was invested with the just
+      prerogative of forming alliances, and of waging offensive or
+      defensive war. The imperfection of human rights was supplied and
+      armed by the plenitude of divine power: the prophet of Medina
+      assumed, in his new revelations, a fiercer and more sanguinary
+      tone, which proves that his former moderation was the effect of
+      weakness: 123 the means of persuasion had been tried, the season
+      of forbearance was elapsed, and he was now commanded to propagate
+      his religion by the sword, to destroy the monuments of idolatry,
+      and, without regarding the sanctity of days or months, to pursue
+      the unbelieving nations of the earth. The same bloody precepts,
+      so repeatedly inculcated in the Koran, are ascribed by the author
+      to the Pentateuch and the Gospel. But the mild tenor of the
+      evangelic style may explain an ambiguous text, that Jesus did not
+      bring peace on the earth, but a sword: his patient and humble
+      virtues should not be confounded with the intolerant zeal of
+      princes and bishops, who have disgraced the name of his
+      disciples. In the prosecution of religious war, Mahomet might
+      appeal with more propriety to the example of Moses, of the
+      Judges, and the kings of Israel. The military laws of the Hebrews
+      are still more rigid than those of the Arabian legislator. 124
+      The Lord of hosts marched in person before the Jews: if a city
+      resisted their summons, the males, without distinction, were put
+      to the sword: the seven nations of Canaan were devoted to
+      destruction; and neither repentance nor conversion, could shield
+      them from the inevitable doom, that no creature within their
+      precincts should be left alive. 1241 The fair option of
+      friendship, or submission, or battle, was proposed to the enemies
+      of Mahomet. If they professed the creed of Islam, they were
+      admitted to all the temporal and spiritual benefits of his
+      primitive disciples, and marched under the same banner to extend
+      the religion which they had embraced. The clemency of the prophet
+      was decided by his interest: yet he seldom trampled on a
+      prostrate enemy; and he seems to promise, that on the payment of
+      a tribute, the least guilty of his unbelieving subjects might be
+      indulged in their worship, or at least in their imperfect faith.
+      In the first months of his reign he practised the lessons of holy
+      warfare, and displayed his white banner before the gates of
+      Medina: the martial apostle fought in person at nine battles or
+      sieges; 125 and fifty enterprises of war were achieved in ten
+      years by himself or his lieutenants. The Arab continued to unite
+      the professions of a merchant and a robber; and his petty
+      excursions for the defence or the attack of a caravan insensibly
+      prepared his troops for the conquest of Arabia. The distribution
+      of the spoil was regulated by a divine law: 126 the whole was
+      faithfully collected in one common mass: a fifth of the gold and
+      silver, the prisoners and cattle, the movables and immovables,
+      was reserved by the prophet for pious and charitable uses; the
+      remainder was shared in adequate portions by the soldiers who had
+      obtained the victory or guarded the camp: the rewards of the
+      slain devolved to their widows and orphans; and the increase of
+      cavalry was encouraged by the allotment of a double share to the
+      horse and to the man. From all sides the roving Arabs were
+      allured to the standard of religion and plunder: the apostle
+      sanctified the license of embracing the female captives as their
+      wives or concubines, and the enjoyment of wealth and beauty was a
+      feeble type of the joys of paradise prepared for the valiant
+      martyrs of the faith. “The sword,” says Mahomet, “is the key of
+      heaven and of hell; a drop of blood shed in the cause of God, a
+      night spent in arms, is of more avail than two months of fasting
+      or prayer: whosoever falls in battle, his sins are forgiven: at
+      the day of judgment his wounds shall be resplendent as vermilion,
+      and odoriferous as musk; and the loss of his limbs shall be
+      supplied by the wings of angels and cherubim.” The intrepid souls
+      of the Arabs were fired with enthusiasm: the picture of the
+      invisible world was strongly painted on their imagination; and
+      the death which they had always despised became an object of hope
+      and desire. The Koran inculcates, in the most absolute sense, the
+      tenets of fate and predestination, which would extinguish both
+      industry and virtue, if the actions of man were governed by his
+      speculative belief. Yet their influence in every age has exalted
+      the courage of the Saracens and Turks. The first companions of
+      Mahomet advanced to battle with a fearless confidence: there is
+      no danger where there is no chance: they were ordained to perish
+      in their beds; or they were safe and invulnerable amidst the
+      darts of the enemy. 127
+
+      123 (return) [ The viiith and ixth chapters of the Koran are the
+      loudest and most vehement; and Maracci (Prodromus, part iv. p.
+      59-64) has inveighed with more justice than discretion against
+      the double dealing of the impostor.]
+
+      124 (return) [ The xth and xxth chapters of Deuteronomy, with the
+      practical comments of Joshua, David, &c., are read with more awe
+      than satisfaction by the pious Christians of the present age. But
+      the bishops, as well as the rabbis of former times, have beat the
+      drum-ecclesiastic with pleasure and success. (Sale’s Preliminary
+      Discourse, p. 142, 143.)]
+
+      1241 (return) [ The editor’s opinions on this subject may be read
+      in the History of the Jews vol. i. p. 137.—M]
+
+      125 (return) [ Abulfeda, in Vit. Moham. p. 156. The private
+      arsenal of the apostle consisted of nine swords, three lances,
+      seven pikes or half-pikes, a quiver and three bows, seven
+      cuirasses, three shields, and two helmets, (Gagnier, tom. iii. p.
+      328-334,) with a large white standard, a black banner, (p. 335,)
+      twenty horses, (p. 322, &c.) Two of his martial sayings are
+      recorded by tradition, (Gagnier, tom. ii. p. 88, 334.)]
+
+      126 (return) [ The whole subject de jure belli Mohammedanorum is
+      exhausted in a separate dissertation by the learned Reland,
+      (Dissertationes Miscellaneae, tom. iii. Dissertat. x. p. 3-53.)]
+
+      127 (return) [ The doctrine of absolute predestination, on which
+      few religions can reproach each other, is sternly exposed in the
+      Koran, (c. 3, p. 52, 53, c. 4, p. 70, &c., with the notes of
+      Sale, and c. 17, p. 413, with those of Maracci.) Reland (de
+      Relig. Moham. p. 61-64) and Sale (Prelim. Discourse, p. 103)
+      represent the opinions of the doctors, and our modern travellers
+      the confidence, the fading confidence, of the Turks]
+
+      Perhaps the Koreish would have been content with the dight of
+      Mahomet, had they not been provoked and alarmed by the vengeance
+      of an enemy, who could intercept their Syrian trade as it passed
+      and repassed through the territory of Medina. Abu Sophian
+      himself, with only thirty or forty followers, conducted a wealthy
+      caravan of a thousand camels; the fortune or dexterity of his
+      march escaped the vigilance of Mahomet; but the chief of the
+      Koreish was informed that the holy robbers were placed in ambush
+      to await his return. He despatched a messenger to his brethren of
+      Mecca, and they were roused, by the fear of losing their
+      merchandise and their provisions, unless they hastened to his
+      relief with the military force of the city. The sacred band of
+      Mahomet was formed of three hundred and thirteen Moslems, of whom
+      seventy-seven were fugitives, and the rest auxiliaries; they
+      mounted by turns a train of seventy camels, (the camels of
+      Yathreb were formidable in war;) but such was the poverty of his
+      first disciples, that only two could appear on horseback in the
+      field. 128 In the fertile and famous vale of Beder, 129 three
+      stations from Medina, he was informed by his scouts of the
+      caravan that approached on one side; of the Koreish, one hundred
+      horse, eight hundred and fifty foot, who advanced on the other.
+      After a short debate, he sacrificed the prospect of wealth to the
+      pursuit of glory and revenge, and a slight intrenchment was
+      formed, to cover his troops, and a stream of fresh water, that
+      glided through the valley. “O God,” he exclaimed, as the numbers
+      of the Koreish descended from the hills, “O God, if these are
+      destroyed, by whom wilt thou be worshipped on the earth?—Courage,
+      my children; close your ranks; discharge your arrows, and the day
+      is your own.” At these words he placed himself, with Abubeker, on
+      a throne or pulpit, 130 and instantly demanded the succor of
+      Gabriel and three thousand angels. His eye was fixed on the field
+      of battle: the Mussulmans fainted and were pressed: in that
+      decisive moment the prophet started from his throne, mounted his
+      horse, and cast a handful of sand into the air: “Let their faces
+      be covered with confusion.” Both armies heard the thunder of his
+      voice: their fancy beheld the angelic warriors: 131 the Koreish
+      trembled and fled: seventy of the bravest were slain; and seventy
+      captives adorned the first victory of the faithful. The dead
+      bodies of the Koreish were despoiled and insulted: two of the
+      most obnoxious prisoners were punished with death; and the ransom
+      of the others, four thousand drams of silver, compensated in some
+      degree the escape of the caravan. But it was in vain that the
+      camels of Abu Sophian explored a new road through the desert and
+      along the Euphrates: they were overtaken by the diligence of the
+      Mussulmans; and wealthy must have been the prize, if twenty
+      thousand drams could be set apart for the fifth of the apostle.
+      The resentment of the public and private loss stimulated Abu
+      Sophian to collect a body of three thousand men, seven hundred of
+      whom were armed with cuirasses, and two hundred were mounted on
+      horseback; three thousand camels attended his march; and his wife
+      Henda, with fifteen matrons of Mecca, incessantly sounded their
+      timbrels to animate the troops, and to magnify the greatness of
+      Hobal, the most popular deity of the Caaba. The standard of God
+      and Mahomet was upheld by nine hundred and fifty believers: the
+      disproportion of numbers was not more alarming than in the field
+      of Beder; and their presumption of victory prevailed against the
+      divine and human sense of the apostle. The second battle was
+      fought on Mount Ohud, six miles to the north of Medina; 132 the
+      Koreish advanced in the form of a crescent; and the right wing of
+      cavalry was led by Caled, the fiercest and most successful of the
+      Arabian warriors. The troops of Mahomet were skilfully posted on
+      the declivity of the hill; and their rear was guarded by a
+      detachment of fifty archers. The weight of their charge impelled
+      and broke the centre of the idolaters: but in the pursuit they
+      lost the advantage of their ground: the archers deserted their
+      station: the Mussulmans were tempted by the spoil, disobeyed
+      their general, and disordered their ranks. The intrepid Caled,
+      wheeling his cavalry on their flank and rear, exclaimed, with a
+      loud voice, that Mahomet was slain. He was indeed wounded in the
+      face with a javelin: two of his teeth were shattered with a
+      stone; yet, in the midst of tumult and dismay, he reproached the
+      infidels with the murder of a prophet; and blessed the friendly
+      hand that stanched his blood, and conveyed him to a place of
+      safety. Seventy martyrs died for the sins of the people; they
+      fell, said the apostle, in pairs, each brother embracing his
+      lifeless companion; 133 their bodies were mangled by the inhuman
+      females of Mecca; and the wife of Abu Sophian tasted the entrails
+      of Hamza, the uncle of Mahomet. They might applaud their
+      superstition, and satiate their fury; but the Mussulmans soon
+      rallied in the field, and the Koreish wanted strength or courage
+      to undertake the siege of Medina. It was attacked the ensuing
+      year by an army of ten thousand enemies; and this third
+      expedition is variously named from the nations, which marched
+      under the banner of Abu Sophian, from the ditch which was drawn
+      before the city, and a camp of three thousand Mussulmans. The
+      prudence of Mahomet declined a general engagement: the valor of
+      Ali was signalized in single combat; and the war was protracted
+      twenty days, till the final separation of the confederates. A
+      tempest of wind, rain, and hail, overturned their tents: their
+      private quarrels were fomented by an insidious adversary; and the
+      Koreish, deserted by their allies, no longer hoped to subvert the
+      throne, or to check the conquests, of their invincible exile. 134
+
+      128 (return) [ Al Jannabi (apud Gagnier, tom. ii. p. 9) allows
+      him seventy or eighty horse; and on two other occasions, prior to
+      the battle of Ohud, he enlists a body of thirty (p. 10) and of
+      500 (p. 66) troopers. Yet the Mussulmans, in the field of Ohud,
+      had no more than two horses, according to the better sense of
+      Abulfeda, (in Vit. Moham. c. xxxi. p. 65.) In the Stony province,
+      the camels were numerous; but the horse appears to have been less
+      numerous than in the Happy or the Desert Arabia.]
+
+      129 (return) [ Bedder Houneene, twenty miles from Medina, and
+      forty from Mecca, is on the high road of the caravan of Egypt;
+      and the pilgrims annually commemorate the prophet’s victory by
+      illuminations, rockets, &c. Shaw’s Travels, p. 477.]
+
+      130 (return) [ The place to which Mahomet retired during the
+      action is styled by Gagnier (in Abulfeda, c. 27, p. 58. Vie de
+      Mahomet, tom. ii. p. 30, 33) Umbraculum, une loge de bois avec
+      une porte. The same Arabic word is rendered by Reiske (Annales
+      Moslemici Abulfedae, p. 23) by Solium, Suggestus editior; and the
+      difference is of the utmost moment for the honor both of the
+      interpreter and of the hero. I am sorry to observe the pride and
+      acrimony with which Reiske chastises his fellow-laborer. Saepi
+      sic vertit, ut integrae paginae nequeant nisi una litura corrigi
+      Arabice non satis callebat, et carebat judicio critico. J. J.
+      Reiske, Prodidagmata ad Hagji Chalisae Tabulas, p. 228, ad
+      calcero Abulfedae Syriae Tabulae; Lipsiae, 1766, in 4to.]
+
+      131 (return) [ The loose expressions of the Koran (c. 3, p. 124,
+      125, c. 8, p. 9) allow the commentators to fluctuate between the
+      numbers of 1000, 3000, or 9000 angels; and the smallest of these
+      might suffice for the slaughter of seventy of the Koreish,
+      (Maracci, Alcoran, tom. ii. p. 131.) Yet the same scholiasts
+      confess that this angelic band was not visible to any mortal eye,
+      (Maracci, p. 297.) They refine on the words (c. 8, 16) “not thou,
+      but God,” &c. (D’Herbelot. Bibliot. Orientale p. 600, 601.)]
+
+      132 (return) [ Geograph. Nubiensis, p. 47.]
+
+      133 (return) [ In the iiid chapter of the Koran, (p. 50-53) with
+      Sale’s notes, the prophet alleges some poor excuses for the
+      defeat of Ohud. * Note: Dr. Weil has added some curious
+      circumstances, which he gives as on good traditional authority,
+      on the rescue of Mahomet. The prophet was attacked by Ubeijj Ibn
+      Challaf, whom he struck on the neck with a mortal wound. This was
+      the only time, it is added, that Mahomet personally engaged in
+      battle. (p. 128.)—M. 1845.]
+
+      134 (return) [ For the detail of the three Koreish wars, of
+      Beder, of Ohud, and of the ditch, peruse Abulfeda, (p. 56-61,
+      64-69, 73-77,) Gagnier (tom. i. p. 23-45, 70-96, 120-139,) with
+      the proper articles of D’Herbelot, and the abridgments of Elmacin
+      (Hist. Saracen. p. 6, 7) and Abulpharagius, (Dynast. p. 102.)]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter L: Description Of Arabia And Its Inhabitants.—Part VI.
+
+      The choice of Jerusalem for the first kebla of prayer discovers
+      the early propensity of Mahomet in favor of the Jews; and happy
+      would it have been for their temporal interest, had they
+      recognized, in the Arabian prophet, the hope of Israel and the
+      promised Messiah. Their obstinacy converted his friendship into
+      implacable hatred, with which he pursued that unfortunate people
+      to the last moment of his life; and in the double character of an
+      apostle and a conqueror, his persecution was extended to both
+      worlds. 135 The Kainoka dwelt at Medina under the protection of
+      the city; he seized the occasion of an accidental tumult, and
+      summoned them to embrace his religion, or contend with him in
+      battle. “Alas!” replied the trembling Jews, “we are ignorant of
+      the use of arms, but we persevere in the faith and worship of our
+      fathers; why wilt thou reduce us to the necessity of a just
+      defence?” The unequal conflict was terminated in fifteen days;
+      and it was with extreme reluctance that Mahomet yielded to the
+      importunity of his allies, and consented to spare the lives of
+      the captives. But their riches were confiscated, their arms
+      became more effectual in the hands of the Mussulmans; and a
+      wretched colony of seven hundred exiles was driven, with their
+      wives and children, to implore a refuge on the confines of Syria.
+      The Nadhirites were more guilty, since they conspired, in a
+      friendly interview, to assassinate the prophet. He besieged their
+      castle, three miles from Medina; but their resolute defence
+      obtained an honorable capitulation; and the garrison, sounding
+      their trumpets and beating their drums, was permitted to depart
+      with the honors of war. The Jews had excited and joined the war
+      of the Koreish: no sooner had the nations retired from the ditch,
+      than Mahomet, without laying aside his armor, marched on the same
+      day to extirpate the hostile race of the children of Koraidha.
+      After a resistance of twenty-five days, they surrendered at
+      discretion. They trusted to the intercession of their old allies
+      of Medina; they could not be ignorant that fanaticism obliterates
+      the feelings of humanity. A venerable elder, to whose judgment
+      they appealed, pronounced the sentence of their death; seven
+      hundred Jews were dragged in chains to the market-place of the
+      city; they descended alive into the grave prepared for their
+      execution and burial; and the apostle beheld with an inflexible
+      eye the slaughter of his helpless enemies. Their sheep and camels
+      were inherited by the Mussulmans: three hundred cuirasses, five
+      hundred pikes, a thousand lances, composed the most useful
+      portion of the spoil. Six days’ journey to the north-east of
+      Medina, the ancient and wealthy town of Chaibar was the seat of
+      the Jewish power in Arabia: the territory, a fertile spot in the
+      desert, was covered with plantations and cattle, and protected by
+      eight castles, some of which were esteemed of impregnable
+      strength. The forces of Mahomet consisted of two hundred horse
+      and fourteen hundred foot: in the succession of eight regular and
+      painful sieges they were exposed to danger, and fatigue, and
+      hunger; and the most undaunted chiefs despaired of the event. The
+      apostle revived their faith and courage by the example of Ali, on
+      whom he bestowed the surname of the Lion of God: perhaps we may
+      believe that a Hebrew champion of gigantic stature was cloven to
+      the chest by his irresistible cimeter; but we cannot praise the
+      modesty of romance, which represents him as tearing from its
+      hinges the gate of a fortress and wielding the ponderous buckler
+      in his left hand. 136 After the reduction of the castles, the
+      town of Chaibar submitted to the yoke. The chief of the tribe was
+      tortured, in the presence of Mahomet, to force a confession of
+      his hidden treasure: the industry of the shepherds and husbandmen
+      was rewarded with a precarious toleration: they were permitted,
+      so long as it should please the conqueror, to improve their
+      patrimony, in equal shares, for his emolument and their own.
+      Under the reign of Omar, the Jews of Chaibar were transported to
+      Syria; and the caliph alleged the injunction of his dying master;
+      that one and the true religion should be professed in his native
+      land of Arabia. 137
+
+      135 (return) [ The wars of Mahomet against the Jewish tribes of
+      Kainoka, the Nadhirites, Koraidha, and Chaibar, are related by
+      Abulfeda (p. 61, 71, 77, 87, &c.) and Gagnier, (tom. ii. p.
+      61-65, 107-112, 139-148, 268-294.)]
+
+      136 (return) [ Abu Rafe, the servant of Mahomet, is said to
+      affirm that he himself, and seven other men, afterwards tried,
+      without success, to move the same gate from the ground,
+      (Abulfeda, p. 90.) Abu Rafe was an eye-witness, but who will be
+      witness for Abu Rafe?]
+
+      137 (return) [ The banishment of the Jews is attested by Elmacin
+      (Hist. Saracen, p. 9) and the great Al Zabari, (Gagnier, tom. ii.
+      p. 285.) Yet Niebuhr (Description de l’Arabie, p. 324) believes
+      that the Jewish religion, and Karaite sect, are still professed
+      by the tribe of Chaibar; and that, in the plunder of the
+      caravans, the disciples of Moses are the confederates of those of
+      Mahomet.]
+
+      Five times each day the eyes of Mahomet were turned towards
+      Mecca, 138 and he was urged by the most sacred and powerful
+      motives to revisit, as a conqueror, the city and the temple from
+      whence he had been driven as an exile. The Caaba was present to
+      his waking and sleeping fancy: an idle dream was translated into
+      vision and prophecy; he unfurled the holy banner; and a rash
+      promise of success too hastily dropped from the lips of the
+      apostle. His march from Medina to Mecca displayed the peaceful
+      and solemn pomp of a pilgrimage: seventy camels, chosen and
+      bedecked for sacrifice, preceded the van; the sacred territory
+      was respected; and the captives were dismissed without ransom to
+      proclaim his clemency and devotion. But no sooner did Mahomet
+      descend into the plain, within a day’s journey of the city, than
+      he exclaimed, “They have clothed themselves with the skins of
+      tigers:” the numbers and resolution of the Koreish opposed his
+      progress; and the roving Arabs of the desert might desert or
+      betray a leader whom they had followed for the hopes of spoil.
+      The intrepid fanatic sunk into a cool and cautious politician: he
+      waived in the treaty his title of apostle of God; concluded with
+      the Koreish and their allies a truce of ten years; engaged to
+      restore the fugitives of Mecca who should embrace his religion;
+      and stipulated only, for the ensuing year, the humble privilege
+      of entering the city as a friend, and of remaining three days to
+      accomplish the rites of the pilgrimage. A cloud of shame and
+      sorrow hung on the retreat of the Mussulmans, and their
+      disappointment might justly accuse the failure of a prophet who
+      had so often appealed to the evidence of success. The faith and
+      hope of the pilgrims were rekindled by the prospect of Mecca:
+      their swords were sheathed; 1381 seven times in the footsteps of
+      the apostle they encompassed the Caaba: the Koreish had retired
+      to the hills, and Mahomet, after the customary sacrifice,
+      evacuated the city on the fourth day. The people was edified by
+      his devotion; the hostile chiefs were awed, or divided, or
+      seduced; and both Kaled and Amrou, the future conquerors of Syria
+      and Egypt, most seasonably deserted the sinking cause of
+      idolatry. The power of Mahomet was increased by the submission of
+      the Arabian tribes; ten thousand soldiers were assembled for the
+      conquest of Mecca; and the idolaters, the weaker party, were
+      easily convicted of violating the truce. Enthusiasm and
+      discipline impelled the march, and preserved the secret till the
+      blaze of ten thousand fires proclaimed to the astonished Koreish
+      the design, the approach, and the irresistible force of the
+      enemy. The haughty Abu Sophian presented the keys of the city,
+      admired the variety of arms and ensigns that passed before him in
+      review; observed that the son of Abdallah had acquired a mighty
+      kingdom, and confessed, under the cimeter of Omar, that he was
+      the apostle of the true God. The return of Marius and Scylla was
+      stained with the blood of the Romans: the revenge of Mahomet was
+      stimulated by religious zeal, and his injured followers were
+      eager to execute or to prevent the order of a massacre. Instead
+      of indulging their passions and his own, 139 the victorious exile
+      forgave the guilt, and united the factions, of Mecca. His troops,
+      in three divisions, marched into the city: eight-and-twenty of
+      the inhabitants were slain by the sword of Caled; eleven men and
+      six women were proscribed by the sentence of Mahomet; but he
+      blamed the cruelty of his lieutenant; and several of the most
+      obnoxious victims were indebted for their lives to his clemency
+      or contempt. The chiefs of the Koreish were prostrate at his
+      feet. “What mercy can you expect from the man whom you have
+      wronged?” “We confide in the generosity of our kinsman.” “And you
+      shall not confide in vain: begone! you are safe, you are free”
+      The people of Mecca deserved their pardon by the profession of
+      Islam; and after an exile of seven years, the fugitive missionary
+      was enthroned as the prince and prophet of his native country.
+      140 But the three hundred and sixty idols of the Caaba were
+      ignominiously broken: the house of God was purified and adorned:
+      as an example to future times, the apostle again fulfilled the
+      duties of a pilgrim; and a perpetual law was enacted that no
+      unbeliever should dare to set his foot on the territory of the
+      holy city. 141
+
+      138 (return) [ The successive steps of the reduction of Mecca are
+      related by Abulfeda (p. 84-87, 97-100, 102-111) and Gagnier,
+      (tom. ii. p. 202-245, 309-322, tom. iii. p. 1-58,) Elmacin,
+      (Hist. Saracen. p. 8, 9, 10,) Abulpharagius, (Dynast. p. 103.)]
+
+      1381 (return) [ This peaceful entrance into Mecca took place,
+      according to the treaty the following year. Weil, p. 202—M.
+      1845.]
+
+      139 (return) [ After the conquest of Mecca, the Mahomet of
+      Voltaire imagines and perpetuates the most horrid crimes. The
+      poet confesses, that he is not supported by the truth of history,
+      and can only allege, que celui qui fait la guerre a sa patrie au
+      nom de Dieu, est capable de tout, (Oeuvres de Voltaire, tom. xv.
+      p. 282.) The maxim is neither charitable nor philosophic; and
+      some reverence is surely due to the fame of heroes and the
+      religion of nations. I am informed that a Turkish ambassador at
+      Paris was much scandalized at the representation of this
+      tragedy.]
+
+      140 (return) [ The Mahometan doctors still dispute, whether Mecca
+      was reduced by force or consent, (Abulfeda, p. 107, et Gagnier ad
+      locum;) and this verbal controversy is of as much moment as our
+      own about William the Conqueror.]
+
+      141 (return) [ In excluding the Christians from the peninsula of
+      Arabia, the province of Hejaz, or the navigation of the Red Sea,
+      Chardin (Voyages en Perse, tom. iv. p. 166) and Reland
+      (Dissertat. Miscell. tom. iii. p. 61) are more rigid than the
+      Mussulmans themselves. The Christians are received without
+      scruple into the ports of Mocha, and even of Gedda; and it is
+      only the city and precincts of Mecca that are inaccessible to the
+      profane, (Niebuhr, Description de l’Arabie, p. 308, 309, Voyage
+      en Arabie, tom. i. p. 205, 248, &c.)]
+
+      The conquest of Mecca determined the faith and obedience of the
+      Arabian tribes; 142 who, according to the vicissitudes of
+      fortune, had obeyed, or disregarded, the eloquence or the arms of
+      the prophet. Indifference for rites and opinions still marks the
+      character of the Bedoweens; and they might accept, as loosely as
+      they hold, the doctrine of the Koran. Yet an obstinate remnant
+      still adhered to the religion and liberty of their ancestors, and
+      the war of Honain derived a proper appellation from the idols,
+      whom Mahomet had vowed to destroy, and whom the confederates of
+      Tayef had sworn to defend. 143 Four thousand Pagans advanced with
+      secrecy and speed to surprise the conqueror: they pitied and
+      despised the supine negligence of the Koreish, but they depended
+      on the wishes, and perhaps the aid, of a people who had so lately
+      renounced their gods, and bowed beneath the yoke of their enemy.
+      The banners of Medina and Mecca were displayed by the prophet; a
+      crowd of Bedoweens increased the strength or numbers of the army,
+      and twelve thousand Mussulmans entertained a rash and sinful
+      presumption of their invincible strength. They descended without
+      precaution into the valley of Honain: the heights had been
+      occupied by the archers and slingers of the confederates; their
+      numbers were oppressed, their discipline was confounded, their
+      courage was appalled, and the Koreish smiled at their impending
+      destruction. The prophet, on his white mule, was encompassed by
+      the enemies: he attempted to rush against their spears in search
+      of a glorious death: ten of his faithful companions interposed
+      their weapons and their breasts; three of these fell dead at his
+      feet: “O my brethren,” he repeatedly cried, with sorrow and
+      indignation, “I am the son of Abdallah, I am the apostle of
+      truth! O man, stand fast in the faith! O God, send down thy
+      succor!” His uncle Abbas, who, like the heroes of Homer, excelled
+      in the loudness of his voice, made the valley resound with the
+      recital of the gifts and promises of God: the flying Moslems
+      returned from all sides to the holy standard; and Mahomet
+      observed with pleasure that the furnace was again rekindled: his
+      conduct and example restored the battle, and he animated his
+      victorious troops to inflict a merciless revenge on the authors
+      of their shame. From the field of Honain, he marched without
+      delay to the siege of Tayef, sixty miles to the south-east of
+      Mecca, a fortress of strength, whose fertile lands produce the
+      fruits of Syria in the midst of the Arabian desert. A friendly
+      tribe, instructed (I know not how) in the art of sieges, supplied
+      him with a train of battering-rams and military engines, with a
+      body of five hundred artificers. But it was in vain that he
+      offered freedom to the slaves of Tayef; that he violated his own
+      laws by the extirpation of the fruit-trees; that the ground was
+      opened by the miners; that the breach was assaulted by the
+      troops. After a siege of twenty-days, the prophet sounded a
+      retreat; but he retreated with a song of devout triumph, and
+      affected to pray for the repentance and safety of the unbelieving
+      city. The spoils of this fortunate expedition amounted to six
+      thousand captives, twenty-four thousand camels, forty thousand
+      sheep, and four thousand ounces of silver: a tribe who had fought
+      at Hoinan redeemed their prisoners by the sacrifice of their
+      idols; but Mahomet compensated the loss, by resigning to the
+      soldiers his fifth of the plunder, and wished, for their sake,
+      that he possessed as many head of cattle as there were trees in
+      the province of Tehama. Instead of chastising the disaffection of
+      the Koreish, he endeavored to cut out their tongues, (his own
+      expression,) and to secure their attachment by a superior measure
+      of liberality: Abu Sophian alone was presented with three hundred
+      camels and twenty ounces of silver; and Mecca was sincerely
+      converted to the profitable religion of the Koran.
+
+      142 (return) [ Abulfeda, p. 112-115. Gagnier, tom. iii. p. 67-88.
+      D’Herbelot, Mohammed.]
+
+      143 (return) [ The siege of Tayef, division of the spoil, &c.,
+      are related by Abulfeda (p. 117-123) and Gagnier, (tom. iii. p.
+      88-111.) It is Al Jannabi who mentions the engines and engineers
+      of the tribe of Daws. The fertile spot of Tayef was supposed to
+      be a piece of the land of Syria detached and dropped in the
+      general deluge]
+
+      The fugitives and auxiliaries complained, that they who had borne
+      the burden were neglected in the season of victory “Alas!”
+      replied their artful leader, “suffer me to conciliate these
+      recent enemies, these doubtful proselytes, by the gift of some
+      perishable goods. To your guard I intrust my life and fortunes.
+      You are the companions of my exile, of my kingdom, of my
+      paradise.” He was followed by the deputies of Tayef, who dreaded
+      the repetition of a siege. “Grant us, O apostle of God! a truce
+      of three years, with the toleration of our ancient worship.” “Not
+      a month, not an hour.” “Excuse us at least from the obligation of
+      prayer.” “Without prayer religion is of no avail.” They submitted
+      in silence: their temples were demolished, and the same sentence
+      of destruction was executed on all the idols of Arabia. His
+      lieutenants, on the shores of the Red Sea, the Ocean, and the
+      Gulf of Persia, were saluted by the acclamations of a faithful
+      people; and the ambassadors, who knelt before the throne of
+      Medina, were as numerous (says the Arabian proverb) as the dates
+      that fall from the maturity of a palm-tree. The nation submitted
+      to the God and the sceptre of Mahomet: the opprobrious name of
+      tribute was abolished: the spontaneous or reluctant oblations of
+      arms and tithes were applied to the service of religion; and one
+      hundred and fourteen thousand Moslems accompanied the last
+      pilgrimage of the apostle. 144
+
+      144 (return) [ The last conquests and pilgrimage of Mahomet are
+      contained in Abulfeda, (p. 121, 133,) Gagnier, (tom. iii. p.
+      119-219,) Elmacin, (p. 10, 11,) Abulpharagius, (p. 103.) The ixth
+      of the Hegira was styled the Year of Embassies, (Gagnier, Not. ad
+      Abulfed. p. 121.)]
+
+      When Heraclius returned in triumph from the Persian war, he
+      entertained, at Emesa, one of the ambassadors of Mahomet, who
+      invited the princes and nations of the earth to the profession of
+      Islam. On this foundation the zeal of the Arabians has supposed
+      the secret conversion of the Christian emperor: the vanity of the
+      Greeks has feigned a personal visit of the prince of Medina, who
+      accepted from the royal bounty a rich domain, and a secure
+      retreat, in the province of Syria. 145 But the friendship of
+      Heraclius and Mahomet was of short continuance: the new religion
+      had inflamed rather than assuaged the rapacious spirit of the
+      Saracens, and the murder of an envoy afforded a decent pretence
+      for invading, with three thousand soldiers, the territory of
+      Palestine, that extends to the eastward of the Jordan. The holy
+      banner was intrusted to Zeid; and such was the discipline or
+      enthusiasm of the rising sect, that the noblest chiefs served
+      without reluctance under the slave of the prophet. On the event
+      of his decease, Jaafar and Abdallah were successively substituted
+      to the command; and if the three should perish in the war, the
+      troops were authorized to elect their general. The three leaders
+      were slain in the battle of Muta, 146 the first military action,
+      which tried the valor of the Moslems against a foreign enemy.
+      Zeid fell, like a soldier, in the foremost ranks: the death of
+      Jaafar was heroic and memorable: he lost his right hand: he
+      shifted the standard to his left: the left was severed from his
+      body: he embraced the standard with his bleeding stumps, till he
+      was transfixed to the ground with fifty honorable wounds. 1461
+      “Advance,” cried Abdallah, who stepped into the vacant place,
+      “advance with confidence: either victory or paradise is our own.”
+      The lance of a Roman decided the alternative; but the falling
+      standard was rescued by Caled, the proselyte of Mecca: nine
+      swords were broken in his hand; and his valor withstood and
+      repulsed the superior numbers of the Christians. In the nocturnal
+      council of the camp he was chosen to command: his skilful
+      evolutions of the ensuing day secured either the victory or the
+      retreat of the Saracens; and Caled is renowned among his brethren
+      and his enemies by the glorious appellation of the Sword of God.
+      In the pulpit, Mahomet described, with prophetic rapture, the
+      crowns of the blessed martyrs; but in private he betrayed the
+      feelings of human nature: he was surprised as he wept over the
+      daughter of Zeid: “What do I see?” said the astonished votary.
+      “You see,” replied the apostle, “a friend who is deploring the
+      loss of his most faithful friend.” After the conquest of Mecca,
+      the sovereign of Arabia affected to prevent the hostile
+      preparations of Heraclius; and solemnly proclaimed war against
+      the Romans, without attempting to disguise the hardships and
+      dangers of the enterprise. 147 The Moslems were discouraged: they
+      alleged the want of money, or horses, or provisions; the season
+      of harvest, and the intolerable heat of the summer: “Hell is much
+      hotter,” said the indignant prophet. He disdained to compel their
+      service: but on his return he admonished the most guilty, by an
+      excommunication of fifty days. Their desertion enhanced the merit
+      of Abubeker, Othman, and the faithful companions who devoted
+      their lives and fortunes; and Mahomet displayed his banner at the
+      head of ten thousand horse and twenty thousand foot. Painful
+      indeed was the distress of the march: lassitude and thirst were
+      aggravated by the scorching and pestilential winds of the desert:
+      ten men rode by turns on one camel; and they were reduced to the
+      shameful necessity of drinking the water from the belly of that
+      useful animal. In the mid-way, ten days’ journey from Medina and
+      Damascus, they reposed near the grove and fountain of Tabuc.
+      Beyond that place Mahomet declined the prosecution of the war: he
+      declared himself satisfied with the peaceful intentions, he was
+      more probably daunted by the martial array, of the emperor of the
+      East. But the active and intrepid Caled spread around the terror
+      of his name; and the prophet received the submission of the
+      tribes and cities, from the Euphrates to Ailah, at the head of
+      the Red Sea. To his Christian subjects, Mahomet readily granted
+      the security of their persons, the freedom of their trade, the
+      property of their goods, and the toleration of their worship. 148
+      The weakness of their Arabian brethren had restrained them from
+      opposing his ambition; the disciples of Jesus were endeared to
+      the enemy of the Jews; and it was the interest of a conqueror to
+      propose a fair capitulation to the most powerful religion of the
+      earth.
+
+      145 (return) [ Compare the bigoted Al Jannabi (apud Gagnier, tom.
+      ii. p. 232-255) with the no less bigoted Greeks, Theophanes, (p.
+      276-227,) Zonaras (tom. ii. l. xiv. p. 86,) and Cedrenus, (p.
+      421.)]
+
+      146 (return) [ For the battle of Muta, and its consequences, see
+      Abulfeda (p 100-102) and Gagnier, (tom. ii. p. 327-343.).]
+
+      1461 (return) [ To console the afflicted relatives of his kinsman
+      Jauffer, he (Mahomet) represented that, in Paradise, in exchange
+      for the arms which he had lost, he had been furnished with a pair
+      of wings, resplendent with the blushing glories of the ruby, and
+      with which he was become the inseparable companion of the
+      archangal Gabriel, in his volitations through the regions of
+      eternal bliss. Hence, in the catalogue of the martyrs, he has
+      been denominated Jauffer teyaur, the winged Jauffer. Price,
+      Chronological Retrospect of Mohammedan History, vol. i. p. 5.-M.]
+
+      147 (return) [ The expedition of Tabuc is recorded by our
+      ordinary historians Abulfeda (Vit. Moham. p. 123-127) and
+      Gagnier, (Vie de Mahomet, tom. iii. p. 147-163: ) but we have the
+      advantage of appealing to the original evidence of the Koran, (c.
+      9, p. 154, 165,) with Sale’s learned and rational notes.]
+
+      148 (return) [ The Diploma securitatis Ailensibus is attested by
+      Ahmed Ben Joseph, and the author Libri Splendorum, (Gagnier, Not.
+      ad Abulfe dam, p. 125;) but Abulfeda himself, as well as Elmacin,
+      (Hist. Saracen. p. 11,) though he owns Mahomet’s regard for the
+      Christians, (p 13,) only mentions peace and tribute. In the year
+      1630, Sionita published at Paris the text and version of
+      Mahomet’s patent in favor of the Christians; which was admitted
+      and reprobated by the opposite taste of Salmasius and Grotius,
+      (Bayle, Mahomet, Rem. Aa.) Hottinger doubts of its authenticity,
+      (Hist. Orient. p. 237;) Renaudot urges the consent of the
+      Mohametans, (Hist. Patriarch. Alex. p. 169;) but Mosheim (Hist.
+      Eccles. p. 244) shows the futility of their opinion and inclines
+      to believe it spurious. Yet Abulpharagius quotes the impostor’s
+      treaty with the Nestorian patriarch, (Asseman. Bibliot. Orient.
+      tom. ii. p. 418;) but Abulpharagius was primate of the
+      Jacobites.]
+
+      Till the age of sixty-three years, the strength of Mahomet was
+      equal to the temporal and spiritual fatigues of his mission. His
+      epileptic fits, an absurd calumny of the Greeks, would be an
+      object of pity rather than abhorrence; 149 but he seriously
+      believed that he was poisoned at Chaibar by the revenge of a
+      Jewish female. 150 During four years, the health of the prophet
+      declined; his infirmities increased; but his mortal disease was a
+      fever of fourteen days, which deprived him by intervals of the
+      use of reason. As soon as he was conscious of his danger, he
+      edified his brethren by the humility of his virtue or penitence.
+      “If there be any man,” said the apostle from the pulpit, “whom I
+      have unjustly scourged, I submit my own back to the lash of
+      retaliation. Have I aspersed the reputation of a Mussulman? let
+      him proclaim my thoughts in the face of the congregation. Has any
+      one been despoiled of his goods? the little that I possess shall
+      compensate the principal and the interest of the debt.” “Yes,”
+      replied a voice from the crowd, “I am entitled to three drams of
+      silver.” Mahomet heard the complaint, satisfied the demand, and
+      thanked his creditor for accusing him in this world rather than
+      at the day of judgment. He beheld with temperate firmness the
+      approach of death; enfranchised his slaves (seventeen men, as
+      they are named, and eleven women;) minutely directed the order of
+      his funeral, and moderated the lamentations of his weeping
+      friends, on whom he bestowed the benediction of peace. Till the
+      third day before his death, he regularly performed the function
+      of public prayer: the choice of Abubeker to supply his place,
+      appeared to mark that ancient and faithful friend as his
+      successor in the sacerdotal and regal office; but he prudently
+      declined the risk and envy of a more explicit nomination. At a
+      moment when his faculties were visibly impaired, he called for
+      pen and ink to write, or, more properly, to dictate, a divine
+      book, the sum and accomplishment of all his revelations: a
+      dispute arose in the chamber, whether he should be allowed to
+      supersede the authority of the Koran; and the prophet was forced
+      to reprove the indecent vehemence of his disciples. If the
+      slightest credit may be afforded to the traditions of his wives
+      and companions, he maintained, in the bosom of his family, and to
+      the last moments of his life, the dignity 1501 of an apostle, and
+      the faith of an enthusiast; described the visits of Gabriel, who
+      bade an everlasting farewell to the earth, and expressed his
+      lively confidence, not only of the mercy, but of the favor, of
+      the Supreme Being. In a familiar discourse he had mentioned his
+      special prerogative, that the angel of death was not allowed to
+      take his soul till he had respectfully asked the permission of
+      the prophet. The request was granted; and Mahomet immediately
+      fell into the agony of his dissolution: his head was reclined on
+      the lap of Ayesha, the best beloved of all his wives; he fainted
+      with the violence of pain; recovering his spirits, he raised his
+      eyes towards the roof of the house, and, with a steady look,
+      though a faltering voice, uttered the last broken, though
+      articulate, words: “O God!..... pardon my sins....... Yes, ......
+      I come,...... among my fellow-citizens on high;” and thus
+      peaceably expired on a carpet spread upon the floor. An
+      expedition for the conquest of Syria was stopped by this mournful
+      event; the army halted at the gates of Medina; the chiefs were
+      assembled round their dying master. The city, more especially the
+      house, of the prophet, was a scene of clamorous sorrow of silent
+      despair: fanaticism alone could suggest a ray of hope and
+      consolation. “How can he be dead, our witness, our intercessor,
+      our mediator, with God? By God he is not dead: like Moses and
+      Jesus, he is wrapped in a holy trance, and speedily will he
+      return to his faithful people.” The evidence of sense was
+      disregarded; and Omar, unsheathing his cimeter, threatened to
+      strike off the heads of the infidels, who should dare to affirm
+      that the prophet was no more. The tumult was appeased by the
+      weight and moderation of Abubeker. “Is it Mahomet,” said he to
+      Omar and the multitude, “or the God of Mahomet, whom you worship?
+      The God of Mahomet liveth forever; but the apostle was a mortal
+      like ourselves, and according to his own prediction, he has
+      experienced the common fate of mortality.” He was piously
+      interred by the hands of his nearest kinsman, on the same spot on
+      which he expired: 151 Medina has been sanctified by the death and
+      burial of Mahomet; and the innumerable pilgrims of Mecca often
+      turn aside from the way, to bow, in voluntary devotion, 152
+      before the simple tomb of the prophet. 153
+
+      149 (return) [ The epilepsy, or falling-sickness, of Mahomet is
+      asserted by Theophanes, Zonaras, and the rest of the Greeks; and
+      is greedily swallowed by the gross bigotry of Hottinger, (Hist.
+      Orient. p. 10, 11,) Prideaux, (Life of Mahomet, p. 12,) and
+      Maracci, (tom. ii. Alcoran, p. 762, 763.) The titles (the
+      wrapped-up, the covered) of two chapters of the Koran, (73, 74)
+      can hardly be strained to such an interpretation: the silence,
+      the ignorance of the Mahometan commentators, is more conclusive
+      than the most peremptory denial; and the charitable side is
+      espoused by Ockley, (Hist. of the Saracens, tom. i. p. 301,)
+      Gagnier, (ad Abulfedam, p. 9. Vie de Mahomet, tom. i. p. 118,)
+      and Sale, (Koran, p. 469-474.) * Note: Dr Weil believes in the
+      epilepsy, and adduces strong evidence for it; and surely it may
+      be believed, in perfect charity; and that the prophet’s visions
+      were connected, as they appear to have been, with these fits. I
+      have little doubt that he saw and believed these visions, and
+      visions they were. Weil, p. 43.—M. 1845.]
+
+      150 (return) [ This poison (more ignominious since it was offered
+      as a test of his prophetic knowledge) is frankly confessed by his
+      zealous votaries, Abulfeda (p. 92) and Al Jannabi, (apud Gagnier,
+      tom. ii. p. 286-288.)]
+
+      1501 (return) [ Major Price, who writes with the authority of one
+      widely conversant with the original sources of Eastern knowledge,
+      and in a very candid tone, takes a very different view of the
+      prophet’s death. “In tracing the circumstances of Mahommed’s
+      illness, we look in vain for any proofs of that meek and heroic
+      firmness which might be expected to dignify and embellish the
+      last moments of the apostle of God. On some occasions he betrayed
+      such want of fortitude, such marks of childish impatience, as are
+      in general to be found in men only of the most ordinary stamp;
+      and such as extorted from his wife Ayesha, in particular, the
+      sarcastic remark, that in herself, or any of her family, a
+      similar demeanor would long since have incurred his severe
+      displeasure. * * * He said that the acuteness and violence of his
+      sufferings were necessarily in the proportion of those honors
+      with which it had ever pleased the hand of Omnipotence to
+      distinguish its peculiar favorites.” Price, vol. i. p. 13.—M]
+
+      151 (return) [ The Greeks and Latins have invented and propagated
+      the vulgar and ridiculous story, that Mahomet’s iron tomb is
+      suspended in the air at Mecca, (Laonicus Chalcondyles, de Rebus
+      Turcicis, l. iii. p. 66,) by the action of equal and potent
+      loadstones, (Dictionnaire de Bayle, Mahomet, Rem. Ee. Ff.)
+      Without any philosophical inquiries, it may suffice, that, 1. The
+      prophet was not buried at Mecca; and, 2. That his tomb at Medina,
+      which has been visited by millions, is placed on the ground,
+      (Reland, de Relig. Moham. l. ii. c. 19, p. 209-211. Gagnier, Vie
+      de Mahomet, tom. iii. p. 263-268.) * Note: According to the
+      testimony of all the Eastern authors, Mahomet died on Monday the
+      12th Reby 1st, in the year 11 of the Hegira, which answers in
+      reality to the 8th June, 632, of J. C. We find in Ockley (Hist.
+      of Saracens) that it was on Monday the 6th June, 632. This is a
+      mistake; for the 6th June of that year was a Saturday, not a
+      Monday; the 8th June, therefore, was a Monday. It is easy to
+      discover that the lunar year, in this calculation has been
+      confounded with the solar. St. Martin vol. xi. p. 186.—M.]
+
+      152 (return) [ Al Jannabi enumerates (Vie de Mahomet, tom. iii.
+      p. 372-391) the multifarious duties of a pilgrim who visits the
+      tombs of the prophet and his companions; and the learned casuist
+      decides, that this act of devotion is nearest in obligation and
+      merit to a divine precept. The doctors are divided which, of
+      Mecca or Medina, be the most excellent, (p. 391-394.)]
+
+      153 (return) [ The last sickness, death, and burial of Mahomet,
+      are described by Abulfeda and Gagnier, (Vit. Moham. p. 133-142.
+      —Vie de Mahomet, tom. iii. p. 220-271.) The most private and
+      interesting circumstances were originally received from Ayesha,
+      Ali, the sons of Abbas, &c.; and as they dwelt at Medina, and
+      survived the prophet many years, they might repeat the pious tale
+      to a second or third generation of pilgrims.]
+
+      At the conclusion of the life of Mahomet, it may perhaps be
+      expected, that I should balance his faults and virtues, that I
+      should decide whether the title of enthusiast or impostor more
+      properly belongs to that extraordinary man. Had I been intimately
+      conversant with the son of Abdallah, the task would still be
+      difficult, and the success uncertain: at the distance of twelve
+      centuries, I darkly contemplate his shade through a cloud of
+      religious incense; and could I truly delineate the portrait of an
+      hour, the fleeting resemblance would not equally apply to the
+      solitary of Mount Hera, to the preacher of Mecca, and to the
+      conqueror of Arabia. The author of a mighty revolution appears to
+      have been endowed with a pious and contemplative disposition: so
+      soon as marriage had raised him above the pressure of want, he
+      avoided the paths of ambition and avarice; and till the age of
+      forty he lived with innocence, and would have died without a
+      name. The unity of God is an idea most congenial to nature and
+      reason; and a slight conversation with the Jews and Christians
+      would teach him to despise and detest the idolatry of Mecca. It
+      was the duty of a man and a citizen to impart the doctrine of
+      salvation, to rescue his country from the dominion of sin and
+      error. The energy of a mind incessantly bent on the same object,
+      would convert a general obligation into a particular call; the
+      warm suggestions of the understanding or the fancy would be felt
+      as the inspirations of Heaven; the labor of thought would expire
+      in rapture and vision; and the inward sensation, the invisible
+      monitor, would be described with the form and attributes of an
+      angel of God. 154 From enthusiasm to imposture, the step is
+      perilous and slippery: the daemon of Socrates 155 affords a
+      memorable instance, how a wise man may deceive himself, how a
+      good man may deceive others, how the conscience may slumber in a
+      mixed and middle state between self-illusion and voluntary fraud.
+      Charity may believe that the original motives of Mahomet were
+      those of pure and genuine benevolence; but a human missionary is
+      incapable of cherishing the obstinate unbelievers who reject his
+      claims despise his arguments, and persecute his life; he might
+      forgive his personal adversaries, he may lawfully hate the
+      enemies of God; the stern passions of pride and revenge were
+      kindled in the bosom of Mahomet, and he sighed, like the prophet
+      of Nineveh, for the destruction of the rebels whom he had
+      condemned. The injustice of Mecca and the choice of Medina,
+      transformed the citizen into a prince, the humble preacher into
+      the leader of armies; but his sword was consecrated by the
+      example of the saints; and the same God who afflicts a sinful
+      world with pestilence and earthquakes, might inspire for their
+      conversion or chastisement the valor of his servants. In the
+      exercise of political government, he was compelled to abate of
+      the stern rigor of fanaticism, to comply in some measure with the
+      prejudices and passions of his followers, and to employ even the
+      vices of mankind as the instruments of their salvation. The use
+      of fraud and perfidy, of cruelty and injustice, were often
+      subservient to the propagation of the faith; and Mahomet
+      commanded or approved the assassination of the Jews and idolaters
+      who had escaped from the field of battle. By the repetition of
+      such acts, the character of Mahomet must have been gradually
+      stained; and the influence of such pernicious habits would be
+      poorly compensated by the practice of the personal and social
+      virtues which are necessary to maintain the reputation of a
+      prophet among his sectaries and friends. Of his last years,
+      ambition was the ruling passion; and a politician will suspect,
+      that he secretly smiled (the victorious impostor!) at the
+      enthusiasm of his youth, and the credulity of his proselytes. 156
+      A philosopher will observe, that their credulity and his success
+      would tend more strongly to fortify the assurance of his divine
+      mission, that his interest and religion were inseparably
+      connected, and that his conscience would be soothed by the
+      persuasion, that he alone was absolved by the Deity from the
+      obligation of positive and moral laws. If he retained any vestige
+      of his native innocence, the sins of Mahomet may be allowed as an
+      evidence of his sincerity. In the support of truth, the arts of
+      fraud and fiction may be deemed less criminal; and he would have
+      started at the foulness of the means, had he not been satisfied
+      of the importance and justice of the end. Even in a conqueror or
+      a priest, I can surprise a word or action of unaffected humanity;
+      and the decree of Mahomet, that, in the sale of captives, the
+      mothers should never be separated from their children, may
+      suspend, or moderate, the censure of the historian. 157
+
+      154 (return) [ The Christians, rashly enough, have assigned to
+      Mahomet a tame pigeon, that seemed to descend from heaven and
+      whisper in his ear. As this pretended miracle is urged by
+      Grotius, (de Veritate Religionis Christianae,) his Arabic
+      translator, the learned Pocock, inquired of him the names of his
+      authors; and Grotius confessed, that it is unknown to the
+      Mahometans themselves. Lest it should provoke their indignation
+      and laughter, the pious lie is suppressed in the Arabic version;
+      but it has maintained an edifying place in the numerous editions
+      of the Latin text, (Pocock, Specimen, Hist. Arabum, p. 186, 187.
+      Reland, de Religion. Moham. l. ii. c. 39, p. 259-262.)]
+
+      155 (return) [ (Plato, in Apolog. Socrat. c. 19, p. 121, 122,
+      edit. Fischer.) The familiar examples, which Socrates urges in
+      his Dialogue with Theages, (Platon. Opera, tom. i. p. 128, 129,
+      edit. Hen. Stephan.) are beyond the reach of human foresight; and
+      the divine inspiration of the philosopher is clearly taught in
+      the Memorabilia of Xenophon. The ideas of the most rational
+      Platonists are expressed by Cicero, (de Divinat. i. 54,) and in
+      the xivth and xvth Dissertations of Maximus of Tyre, (p. 153-172,
+      edit. Davis.)]
+
+      156 (return) [ In some passage of his voluminous writings,
+      Voltaire compares the prophet, in his old age, to a fakir, “qui
+      detache la chaine de son cou pour en donner sur les oreilles a
+      ses confreres.”]
+
+      157 (return) [ Gagnier relates, with the same impartial pen, this
+      humane law of the prophet, and the murders of Caab, and Sophian,
+      which he prompted and approved, (Vie de Mahomet, tom. ii. p. 69,
+      97, 208.)]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter L: Description Of Arabia And Its Inhabitants.—Part VII.
+
+      The good sense of Mahomet 158 despised the pomp of royalty: the
+      apostle of God submitted to the menial offices of the family: he
+      kindled the fire, swept the floor, milked the ewes, and mended
+      with his own hands his shoes and his woollen garment. Disdaining
+      the penance and merit of a hermit, he observed, without effort or
+      vanity, the abstemious diet of an Arab and a soldier. On solemn
+      occasions he feasted his companions with rustic and hospitable
+      plenty; but in his domestic life, many weeks would elapse without
+      a fire being kindled on the hearth of the prophet. The
+      interdiction of wine was confirmed by his example; his hunger was
+      appeased with a sparing allowance of barley-bread: he delighted
+      in the taste of milk and honey; but his ordinary food consisted
+      of dates and water. Perfumes and women were the two sensual
+      enjoyments which his nature required, and his religion did not
+      forbid; and Mahomet affirmed, that the fervor of his devotion was
+      increased by these innocent pleasures. The heat of the climate
+      inflames the blood of the Arabs; and their libidinous complexion
+      has been noticed by the writers of antiquity. 159 Their
+      incontinence was regulated by the civil and religious laws of the
+      Koran: their incestuous alliances were blamed; the boundless
+      license of polygamy was reduced to four legitimate wives or
+      concubines; their rights both of bed and of dowry were equitably
+      determined; the freedom of divorce was discouraged, adultery was
+      condemned as a capital offence; and fornication, in either sex,
+      was punished with a hundred stripes. 160 Such were the calm and
+      rational precepts of the legislator: but in his private conduct,
+      Mahomet indulged the appetites of a man, and abused the claims of
+      a prophet. A special revelation dispensed him from the laws which
+      he had imposed on his nation: the female sex, without reserve,
+      was abandoned to his desires; and this singular prerogative
+      excited the envy, rather than the scandal, the veneration, rather
+      than the envy, of the devout Mussulmans. If we remember the seven
+      hundred wives and three hundred concubines of the wise Solomon,
+      we shall applaud the modesty of the Arabian, who espoused no more
+      than seventeen or fifteen wives; eleven are enumerated who
+      occupied at Medina their separate apartments round the house of
+      the apostle, and enjoyed in their turns the favor of his conjugal
+      society. What is singular enough, they were all widows, excepting
+      only Ayesha, the daughter of Abubeker. She was doubtless a
+      virgin, since Mahomet consummated his nuptials (such is the
+      premature ripeness of the climate) when she was only nine years
+      of age. The youth, the beauty, the spirit of Ayesha, gave her a
+      superior ascendant: she was beloved and trusted by the prophet;
+      and, after his death, the daughter of Abubeker was long revered
+      as the mother of the faithful. Her behavior had been ambiguous
+      and indiscreet: in a nocturnal march she was accidentally left
+      behind; and in the morning Ayesha returned to the camp with a
+      man. The temper of Mahomet was inclined to jealousy; but a divine
+      revelation assured him of her innocence: he chastised her
+      accusers, and published a law of domestic peace, that no woman
+      should be condemned unless four male witnesses had seen her in
+      the act of adultery. 161 In his adventures with Zeineb, the wife
+      of Zeid, and with Mary, an Egyptian captive, the amorous prophet
+      forgot the interest of his reputation. At the house of Zeid, his
+      freedman and adopted son, he beheld, in a loose undress, the
+      beauty of Zeineb, and burst forth into an ejaculation of devotion
+      and desire. The servile, or grateful, freedman understood the
+      hint, and yielded without hesitation to the love of his
+      benefactor. But as the filial relation had excited some doubt and
+      scandal, the angel Gabriel descended from heaven to ratify the
+      deed, to annul the adoption, and gently to reprove the apostle
+      for distrusting the indulgence of his God. One of his wives,
+      Hafna, the daughter of Omar, surprised him on her own bed, in the
+      embraces of his Egyptian captive: she promised secrecy and
+      forgiveness, he swore that he would renounce the possession of
+      Mary. Both parties forgot their engagements; and Gabriel again
+      descended with a chapter of the Koran, to absolve him from his
+      oath, and to exhort him freely to enjoy his captives and
+      concubines, without listening to the clamors of his wives. In a
+      solitary retreat of thirty days, he labored, alone with Mary, to
+      fulfil the commands of the angel. When his love and revenge were
+      satiated, he summoned to his presence his eleven wives,
+      reproached their disobedience and indiscretion, and threatened
+      them with a sentence of divorce, both in this world and in the
+      next; a dreadful sentence, since those who had ascended the bed
+      of the prophet were forever excluded from the hope of a second
+      marriage. Perhaps the incontinence of Mahomet may be palliated by
+      the tradition of his natural or preternatural gifts; 162 he
+      united the manly virtue of thirty of the children of Adam: and
+      the apostle might rival the thirteenth labor 163 of the Grecian
+      Hercules. 164 A more serious and decent excuse may be drawn from
+      his fidelity to Cadijah. During the twenty-four years of their
+      marriage, her youthful husband abstained from the right of
+      polygamy, and the pride or tenderness of the venerable matron was
+      never insulted by the society of a rival. After her death, he
+      placed her in the rank of the four perfect women, with the sister
+      of Moses, the mother of Jesus, and Fatima, the best beloved of
+      his daughters. “Was she not old?” said Ayesha, with the insolence
+      of a blooming beauty; “has not God given you a better in her
+      place?” “No, by God,” said Mahomet, with an effusion of honest
+      gratitude, “there never can be a better! She believed in me when
+      men despised me; she relieved my wants, when I was poor and
+      persecuted by the world.” 165
+
+      158 (return) [ For the domestic life of Mahomet, consult Gagnier,
+      and the corresponding chapters of Abulfeda; for his diet, (tom.
+      iii. p. 285-288;) his children, (p. 189, 289;) his wives, (p.
+      290-303;) his marriage with Zeineb, (tom. ii. p. 152-160;) his
+      amour with Mary, (p. 303-309;) the false accusation of Ayesha,
+      (p. 186-199.) The most original evidence of the three last
+      transactions is contained in the xxivth, xxxiiid, and lxvith
+      chapters of the Koran, with Sale’s Commentary. Prideaux (Life of
+      Mahomet, p. 80-90) and Maracci (Prodrom. Alcoran, part iv. p.
+      49-59) have maliciously exaggerated the frailties of Mahomet.]
+
+      159 (return) [ Incredibile est quo ardore apud eos in Venerem
+      uterque solvitur sexus, (Ammian. Marcellin. l. xiv. c. 4.)]
+
+      160 (return) [ Sale (Preliminary Discourse, p. 133-137) has
+      recapitulated the laws of marriage, divorce, &c.; and the curious
+      reader of Selden’s Uror Hebraica will recognize many Jewish
+      ordinances.]
+
+      161 (return) [ In a memorable case, the Caliph Omar decided that
+      all presumptive evidence was of no avail; and that all the four
+      witnesses must have actually seen stylum in pyxide, (Abulfedae
+      Annales Moslemici, p. 71, vers. Reiske.)]
+
+      162 (return) [ Sibi robur ad generationem, quantum triginta viri
+      habent, inesse jacteret: ita ut unica hora posset undecim
+      foeminis satisfacere, ut ex Arabum libris refert Stus. Petrus
+      Paschasius, c. 2., (Maracci, Prodromus Alcoran, p. iv. p. 55. See
+      likewise Observations de Belon, l. iii. c. 10, fol. 179, recto.)
+      Al Jannabi (Gagnier, tom. iii. p. 287) records his own testimony,
+      that he surpassed all men in conjugal vigor; and Abulfeda
+      mentions the exclamation of Ali, who washed the body after his
+      death, “O propheta, certe penis tuus coelum versus erectus est,”
+      in Vit. Mohammed, p. 140.]
+
+      163 (return) [ I borrow the style of a father of the church,
+      (Greg. Nazianzen, Orat. iii. p. 108.)]
+
+      164 (return) [ The common and most glorious legend includes, in a
+      single night the fifty victories of Hercules over the virgin
+      daughters of Thestius, (Diodor. Sicul. tom. i. l. iv. p. 274.
+      Pausanias, l. ix. p. 763. Statius Sylv. l. i. eleg. iii. v. 42.)
+      But Athenaeus allows seven nights, (Deipnosophist, l. xiii. p.
+      556,) and Apollodorus fifty, for this arduous achievement of
+      Hercules, who was then no more than eighteen years of age,
+      (Bibliot. l. ii. c. 4, p. 111, cum notis Heyne, part i. p. 332.)]
+
+      165 (return) [ Abulfeda in Vit. Moham. p. 12, 13, 16, 17, cum
+      Notis Gagnier]
+
+      In the largest indulgence of polygamy, the founder of a religion
+      and empire might aspire to multiply the chances of a numerous
+      posterity and a lineal succession. The hopes of Mahomet were
+      fatally disappointed. The virgin Ayesha, and his ten widows of
+      mature age and approved fertility, were barren in his potent
+      embraces. The four sons of Cadijah died in their infancy. Mary,
+      his Egyptian concubine, was endeared to him by the birth of
+      Ibrahim. At the end of fifteen months the prophet wept over his
+      grave; but he sustained with firmness the raillery of his
+      enemies, and checked the adulation or credulity of the Moslems,
+      by the assurance that an eclipse of the sun was not occasioned by
+      the death of the infant. Cadijah had likewise given him four
+      daughters, who were married to the most faithful of his
+      disciples: the three eldest died before their father; but Fatima,
+      who possessed his confidence and love, became the wife of her
+      cousin Ali, and the mother of an illustrious progeny. The merit
+      and misfortunes of Ali and his descendants will lead me to
+      anticipate, in this place, the series of the Saracen caliphs, a
+      title which describes the commanders of the faithful as the
+      vicars and successors of the apostle of God. 166
+
+      166 (return) [ This outline of the Arabian history is drawn from
+      the Bibliotheque Orientale of D’Herbelot, (under the names of
+      Aboubecre, Omar Othman, Ali, &c.;) from the Annals of Abulfeda,
+      Abulpharagius, and Elmacin, (under the proper years of the
+      Hegira,) and especially from Ockley’s History of the Saracens,
+      (vol. i. p. 1-10, 115-122, 229, 249, 363-372, 378-391, and almost
+      the whole of the second volume.) Yet we should weigh with caution
+      the traditions of the hostile sects; a stream which becomes still
+      more muddy as it flows farther from the source. Sir John Chardin
+      has too faithfully copied the fables and errors of the modern
+      Persians, (Voyages, tom. ii. p. 235-250, &c.)]
+
+      The birth, the alliance, the character of Ali, which exalted him
+      above the rest of his countrymen, might justify his claim to the
+      vacant throne of Arabia. The son of Abu Taleb was, in his own
+      right, the chief of the family of Hashem, and the hereditary
+      prince or guardian of the city and temple of Mecca. The light of
+      prophecy was extinct; but the husband of Fatima might expect the
+      inheritance and blessing of her father: the Arabs had sometimes
+      been patient of a female reign; and the two grandsons of the
+      prophet had often been fondled in his lap, and shown in his
+      pulpit as the hope of his age, and the chief of the youth of
+      paradise. The first of the true believers might aspire to march
+      before them in this world and in the next; and if some were of a
+      graver and more rigid cast, the zeal and virtue of Ali were never
+      outstripped by any recent proselyte. He united the qualifications
+      of a poet, a soldier, and a saint: his wisdom still breathes in a
+      collection of moral and religious sayings; 167 and every
+      antagonist, in the combats of the tongue or of the sword, was
+      subdued by his eloquence and valor. From the first hour of his
+      mission to the last rites of his funeral, the apostle was never
+      forsaken by a generous friend, whom he delighted to name his
+      brother, his vicegerent, and the faithful Aaron of a second
+      Moses. The son of Abu Taleb was afterwards reproached for
+      neglecting to secure his interest by a solemn declaration of his
+      right, which would have silenced all competition, and sealed his
+      succession by the decrees of Heaven. But the unsuspecting hero
+      confided in himself: the jealousy of empire, and perhaps the fear
+      of opposition, might suspend the resolutions of Mahomet; and the
+      bed of sickness was besieged by the artful Ayesha, the daughter
+      of Abubeker, and the enemy of Ali. 1671
+
+      167 (return) [ Ockley (at the end of his second volume) has given
+      an English version of 169 sentences, which he ascribes, with some
+      hesitation, to Ali, the son of Abu Taleb. His preface is colored
+      by the enthusiasm of a translator; yet these sentences delineate
+      a characteristic, though dark, picture of human life.]
+
+      1671 (return) [ Gibbon wrote chiefly from the Arabic or Sunnite
+      account of these transactions, the only sources accessible at the
+      time when he composed his History. Major Price, writing from
+      Persian authorities, affords us the advantage of comparing
+      throughout what may be fairly considered the Shiite Version. The
+      glory of Ali is the constant burden of their strain. He was
+      destined, and, according to some accounts, designated, for the
+      caliphate by the prophet; but while the others were fiercely
+      pushing their own interests, Ali was watching the remains of
+      Mahomet with pious fidelity. His disinterested magnanimity, on
+      each separate occasion, declined the sceptre, and gave the noble
+      example of obedience to the appointed caliph. He is described, in
+      retirement, on the throne, and in the field of battle, as
+      transcendently pious, magnanimous, valiant, and humane. He lost
+      his empire through his excess of virtue and love for the faithful
+      his life through his confidence in God, and submission to the
+      decrees of fate. Compare the curious account of this apathy in
+      Price, chapter ii. It is to be regretted, I must add, that Major
+      Price has contented himself with quoting the names of the Persian
+      works which he follows, without any account of their character,
+      age, and authority.—M.]
+
+      The silence and death of the prophet restored the liberty of the
+      people; and his companions convened an assembly to deliberate on
+      the choice of his successor. The hereditary claim and lofty
+      spirit of Ali were offensive to an aristocracy of elders,
+      desirous of bestowing and resuming the sceptre by a free and
+      frequent election: the Koreish could never be reconciled to the
+      proud preeminence of the line of Hashem; the ancient discord of
+      the tribes was rekindled, the fugitives of Mecca and the
+      auxiliaries of Medina asserted their respective merits; and the
+      rash proposal of choosing two independent caliphs would have
+      crushed in their infancy the religion and empire of the Saracens.
+      The tumult was appeased by the disinterested resolution of Omar,
+      who, suddenly renouncing his own pretensions, stretched forth his
+      hand, and declared himself the first subject of the mild and
+      venerable Abubeker. 1672 The urgency of the moment, and the
+      acquiescence of the people, might excuse this illegal and
+      precipitate measure; but Omar himself confessed from the pulpit,
+      that if any Mulsulman should hereafter presume to anticipate the
+      suffrage of his brethren, both the elector and the elected would
+      be worthy of death. 168 After the simple inauguration of
+      Abubeker, he was obeyed in Medina, Mecca, and the provinces of
+      Arabia: the Hashemites alone declined the oath of fidelity; and
+      their chief, in his own house, maintained, above six months, a
+      sullen and independent reserve; without listening to the threats
+      of Omar, who attempted to consume with fire the habitation of the
+      daughter of the apostle. The death of Fatima, and the decline of
+      his party, subdued the indignant spirit of Ali: he condescended
+      to salute the commander of the faithful, accepted his excuse of
+      the necessity of preventing their common enemies, and wisely
+      rejected his courteous offer of abdicating the government of the
+      Arabians. After a reign of two years, the aged caliph was
+      summoned by the angel of death. In his testament, with the tacit
+      approbation of his companions, he bequeathed the sceptre to the
+      firm and intrepid virtue of Omar. “I have no occasion,” said the
+      modest candidate, “for the place.” “But the place has occasion
+      for you,” replied Abubeker; who expired with a fervent prayer,
+      that the God of Mahomet would ratify his choice, and direct the
+      Mussulmans in the way of concord and obedience. The prayer was
+      not ineffectual, since Ali himself, in a life of privacy and
+      prayer, professed to revere the superior worth and dignity of his
+      rival; who comforted him for the loss of empire, by the most
+      flattering marks of confidence and esteem. In the twelfth year of
+      his reign, Omar received a mortal wound from the hand of an
+      assassin: he rejected with equal impartiality the names of his
+      son and of Ali, refused to load his conscience with the sins of
+      his successor, and devolved on six of the most respectable
+      companions the arduous task of electing a commander of the
+      faithful. On this occasion, Ali was again blamed by his friends
+      169 for submitting his right to the judgment of men, for
+      recognizing their jurisdiction by accepting a place among the six
+      electors. He might have obtained their suffrage, had he deigned
+      to promise a strict and servile conformity, not only to the Koran
+      and tradition, but likewise to the determinations of two seniors.
+      170 With these limitations, Othman, the secretary of Mahomet,
+      accepted the government; nor was it till after the third caliph,
+      twenty-four years after the death of the prophet, that Ali was
+      invested, by the popular choice, with the regal and sacerdotal
+      office. The manners of the Arabians retained their primitive
+      simplicity, and the son of Abu Taleb despised the pomp and vanity
+      of this world. At the hour of prayer, he repaired to the mosch of
+      Medina, clothed in a thin cotton gown, a coarse turban on his
+      head, his slippers in one hand, and his bow in the other, instead
+      of a walking-staff. The companions of the prophet, and the chiefs
+      of the tribes, saluted their new sovereign, and gave him their
+      right hands as a sign of fealty and allegiance.
+
+      1672 (return) [ Abubeker, the father of the virgin Ayesha. St.
+      Martin, vol. XL, p. 88—M.]
+
+      168 (return) [ Ockley, (Hist. of the Saracens, vol. i. p. 5, 6,)
+      from an Arabian Ms., represents Ayesha as adverse to the
+      substitution of her father in the place of the apostle. This
+      fact, so improbable in itself, is unnoticed by Abulfeda, Al
+      Jannabi, and Al Bochari, the last of whom quotes the tradition of
+      Ayesha herself, (Vit. Mohammed, p. 136 Vie de Mahomet, tom. iii.
+      p. 236.)]
+
+      169 (return) [ Particularly by his friend and cousin Abdallah,
+      the son of Abbas, who died A.D. 687, with the title of grand
+      doctor of the Moslems. In Abulfeda he recapitulates the important
+      occasions in which Ali had neglected his salutary advice, (p. 76,
+      vers. Reiske;) and concludes, (p. 85,) O princeps fidelium,
+      absque controversia tu quidem vere fortis es, at inops boni
+      consilii, et rerum gerendarum parum callens.]
+
+      170 (return) [ I suspect that the two seniors (Abulpharagius, p.
+      115. Ockley, tom. i. p. 371,) may signify not two actual
+      counsellors, but his two predecessors, Abubeker and Omar.]
+
+      The mischiefs that flow from the contests of ambition are usually
+      confined to the times and countries in which they have been
+      agitated. But the religious discord of the friends and enemies of
+      Ali has been renewed in every age of the Hegira, and is still
+      maintained in the immortal hatred of the Persians and Turks. 171
+      The former, who are branded with the appellation of Shiites or
+      sectaries, have enriched the Mahometan creed with a new article
+      of faith; and if Mahomet be the apostle, his companion Ali is the
+      vicar, of God. In their private converse, in their public
+      worship, they bitterly execrate the three usurpers who
+      intercepted his indefeasible right to the dignity of Imam and
+      Caliph; and the name of Omar expresses in their tongue the
+      perfect accomplishment of wickedness and impiety. 172 The
+      Sonnites, who are supported by the general consent and orthodox
+      tradition of the Mussulmans, entertain a more impartial, or at
+      least a more decent, opinion. They respect the memory of
+      Abubeker, Omar, Othman, and Ali, the holy and legitimate
+      successors of the prophet. But they assign the last and most
+      humble place to the husband of Fatima, in the persuasion that the
+      order of succession was determined by the decrees of sanctity.
+      173 An historian who balances the four caliphs with a hand
+      unshaken by superstition, will calmly pronounce that their
+      manners were alike pure and exemplary; that their zeal was
+      fervent, and probably sincere; and that, in the midst of riches
+      and power, their lives were devoted to the practice of moral and
+      religious duties. But the public virtues of Abubeker and Omar,
+      the prudence of the first, the severity of the second, maintained
+      the peace and prosperity of their reigns. The feeble temper and
+      declining age of Othman were incapable of sustaining the weight
+      of conquest and empire. He chose, and he was deceived; he
+      trusted, and he was betrayed: the most deserving of the faithful
+      became useless or hostile to his government, and his lavish
+      bounty was productive only of ingratitude and discontent. The
+      spirit of discord went forth in the provinces: their deputies
+      assembled at Medina; and the Charegites, the desperate fanatics
+      who disclaimed the yoke of subordination and reason, were
+      confounded among the free-born Arabs, who demanded the redress of
+      their wrongs and the punishment of their oppressors. From Cufa,
+      from Bassora, from Egypt, from the tribes of the desert, they
+      rose in arms, encamped about a league from Medina, and despatched
+      a haughty mandate to their sovereign, requiring him to execute
+      justice, or to descend from the throne. His repentance began to
+      disarm and disperse the insurgents; but their fury was rekindled
+      by the arts of his enemies; and the forgery of a perfidious
+      secretary was contrived to blast his reputation and precipitate
+      his fall. The caliph had lost the only guard of his predecessors,
+      the esteem and confidence of the Moslems: during a siege of six
+      weeks his water and provisions were intercepted, and the feeble
+      gates of the palace were protected only by the scruples of the
+      more timorous rebels. Forsaken by those who had abused his
+      simplicity, the hopeless and venerable caliph expected the
+      approach of death: the brother of Ayesha marched at the head of
+      the assassins; and Othman, with the Koran in his lap, was pierced
+      with a multitude of wounds. 1731 A tumultuous anarchy of five
+      days was appeased by the inauguration of Ali: his refusal would
+      have provoked a general massacre. In this painful situation he
+      supported the becoming pride of the chief of the Hashemites;
+      declared that he had rather serve than reign; rebuked the
+      presumption of the strangers; and required the formal, if not the
+      voluntary, assent of the chiefs of the nation. He has never been
+      accused of prompting the assassin of Omar; though Persia
+      indiscreetly celebrates the festival of that holy martyr. The
+      quarrel between Othman and his subjects was assuaged by the early
+      mediation of Ali; and Hassan, the eldest of his sons, was
+      insulted and wounded in the defence of the caliph. Yet it is
+      doubtful whether the father of Hassan was strenuous and sincere
+      in his opposition to the rebels; and it is certain that he
+      enjoyed the benefit of their crime. The temptation was indeed of
+      such magnitude as might stagger and corrupt the most obdurate
+      virtue. The ambitious candidate no longer aspired to the barren
+      sceptre of Arabia; the Saracens had been victorious in the East
+      and West; and the wealthy kingdoms of Persia, Syria, and Egypt
+      were the patrimony of the commander of the faithful.
+
+      171 (return) [ The schism of the Persians is explained by all our
+      travellers of the last century, especially in the iid and ivth
+      volumes of their master, Chardin. Niebuhr, though of inferior
+      merit, has the advantage of writing so late as the year 1764,
+      (Voyages en Arabie, &c., tom. ii. p. 208-233,) since the
+      ineffectual attempt of Nadir Shah to change the religion of the
+      nation, (see his Persian History translated into French by Sir
+      William Jones, tom. ii. p. 5, 6, 47, 48, 144-155.)]
+
+      172 (return) [ Omar is the name of the devil; his murderer is a
+      saint. When the Persians shoot with the bow, they frequently cry,
+      “May this arrow go to the heart of Omar!” (Voyages de Chardin,
+      tom. ii. p 239, 240, 259, &c.)]
+
+      173 (return) [ This gradation of merit is distinctly marked in a
+      creed illustrated by Reland, (de Relig. Mohamm. l. i. p. 37;) and
+      a Sonnite argument inserted by Ockley, (Hist. of the Saracens,
+      tom. ii. p. 230.) The practice of cursing the memory of Ali was
+      abolished, after forty years, by the Ommiades themselves,
+      (D’Herbelot, p. 690;) and there are few among the Turks who
+      presume to revile him as an infidel, (Voyages de Chardin, tom.
+      iv. p. 46.)]
+
+      1731 (return) [ Compare Price, p. 180.—M.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter L: Description Of Arabia And Its Inhabitants.—Part VIII.
+
+      A life of prayer and contemplation had not chilled the martial
+      activity of Ali; but in a mature age, after a long experience of
+      mankind, he still betrayed in his conduct the rashness and
+      indiscretion of youth. 1732 In the first days of his reign, he
+      neglected to secure, either by gifts or fetters, the doubtful
+      allegiance of Telha and Zobeir, two of the most powerful of the
+      Arabian chiefs. They escaped from Medina to Mecca, and from
+      thence to Bassora; erected the standard of revolt; and usurped
+      the government of Irak, or Assyria, which they had vainly
+      solicited as the reward of their services. The mask of patriotism
+      is allowed to cover the most glaring inconsistencies; and the
+      enemies, perhaps the assassins, of Othman now demanded vengeance
+      for his blood. They were accompanied in their flight by Ayesha,
+      the widow of the prophet, who cherished, to the last hour of her
+      life, an implacable hatred against the husband and the posterity
+      of Fatima. The most reasonable Moslems were scandalized, that the
+      mother of the faithful should expose in a camp her person and
+      character; 1733 but the superstitious crowd was confident that
+      her presence would sanctify the justice, and assure the success,
+      of their cause. At the head of twenty thousand of his loyal
+      Arabs, and nine thousand valiant auxiliaries of Cufa, the caliph
+      encountered and defeated the superior numbers of the rebels under
+      the walls of Bassora. 1734 Their leaders, Telha and Zobeir, 1735
+      were slain in the first battle that stained with civil blood the
+      arms of the Moslems. 1736 After passing through the ranks to
+      animate the troops, Ayesha had chosen her post amidst the dangers
+      of the field. In the heat of the action, seventy men, who held
+      the bridle of her camel, were successively killed or wounded; and
+      the cage or litter, in which she sat, was stuck with javelins and
+      darts like the quills of a porcupine. The venerable captive
+      sustained with firmness the reproaches of the conqueror, and was
+      speedily dismissed to her proper station at the tomb of Mahomet,
+      with the respect and tenderness that was still due to the widow
+      of the apostle. 1737 After this victory, which was styled the Day
+      of the Camel, Ali marched against a more formidable adversary;
+      against Moawiyah, the son of Abu Sophian, who had assumed the
+      title of caliph, and whose claim was supported by the forces of
+      Syria and the interest of the house of Ommiyah. From the passage
+      of Thapsacus, the plain of Siffin 174 extends along the western
+      bank of the Euphrates. On this spacious and level theatre, the
+      two competitors waged a desultory war of one hundred and ten
+      days. In the course of ninety actions or skirmishes, the loss of
+      Ali was estimated at twenty-five, that of Moawiyah at forty-five,
+      thousand soldiers; and the list of the slain was dignified with
+      the names of five-and-twenty veterans who had fought at Beder
+      under the standard of Mahomet. In this sanguinary contest the
+      lawful caliph displayed a superior character of valor and
+      humanity. 1741 His troops were strictly enjoined to await the
+      first onset of the enemy, to spare their flying brethren, and to
+      respect the bodies of the dead, and the chastity of the female
+      captives. He generously proposed to save the blood of the Moslems
+      by a single combat; but his trembling rival declined the
+      challenge as a sentence of inevitable death. The ranks of the
+      Syrians were broken by the charge of a hero who was mounted on a
+      piebald horse, and wielded with irresistible force his ponderous
+      and two-edged sword. As often as he smote a rebel, he shouted the
+      Allah Acbar, “God is victorious!” and in the tumult of a
+      nocturnal battle, he was heard to repeat four hundred times that
+      tremendous exclamation. The prince of Damascus already meditated
+      his flight; but the certain victory was snatched from the grasp
+      of Ali by the disobedience and enthusiasm of his troops. Their
+      conscience was awed by the solemn appeal to the books of the
+      Koran which Moawiyah exposed on the foremost lances; and Ali was
+      compelled to yield to a disgraceful truce and an insidious
+      compromise. He retreated with sorrow and indignation to Cufa; his
+      party was discouraged; the distant provinces of Persia, of Yemen,
+      and of Egypt, were subdued or seduced by his crafty rival; and
+      the stroke of fanaticism, which was aimed against the three
+      chiefs of the nation, was fatal only to the cousin of Mahomet. In
+      the temple of Mecca, three Charegites or enthusiasts discoursed
+      of the disorders of the church and state: they soon agreed, that
+      the deaths of Ali, of Moawiyah, and of his friend Amrou, the
+      viceroy of Egypt, would restore the peace and unity of religion.
+      Each of the assassins chose his victim, poisoned his dagger,
+      devoted his life, and secretly repaired to the scene of action.
+      Their resolution was equally desperate: but the first mistook the
+      person of Amrou, and stabbed the deputy who occupied his seat;
+      the prince of Damascus was dangerously hurt by the second; the
+      lawful caliph, in the mosch of Cufa, received a mortal wound from
+      the hand of the third. He expired in the sixty-third year of his
+      age, and mercifully recommended to his children, that they would
+      despatch the murderer by a single stroke. 1742 The sepulchre of
+      Ali 175 was concealed from the tyrants of the house of Ommiyah;
+      176 but in the fourth age of the Hegira, a tomb, a temple, a
+      city, arose near the ruins of Cufa. 177 Many thousands of the
+      Shiites repose in holy ground at the feet of the vicar of God;
+      and the desert is vivified by the numerous and annual visits of
+      the Persians, who esteem their devotion not less meritorious than
+      the pilgrimage of Mecca.
+
+      1732 (return) [ Ali had determined to supersede all the
+      lieutenants in the different provinces. Price, p. 191. Compare,
+      on the conduct of Telha and Zobeir, p. 193—M.]
+
+      1733 (return) [ See the very curious circumstances which took
+      place before and during her flight. Price, p. 196.—M.]
+
+      1734 (return) [ The reluctance of Ali to shed the blood of true
+      believers is strikingly described by Major Price’s Persian
+      historians. Price, p. 222.—M.]
+
+      1735 (return) [ See (in Price) the singular adventures of Zobeir.
+      He was murdered after having abandoned the army of the
+      insurgents. Telha was about to do the same, when his leg was
+      pierced with an arrow by one of his own party The wound was
+      mortal. Price, p. 222.—M.]
+
+      1736 (return) [ According to Price, two hundred and eighty of the
+      Benni Beianziel alone lost a right hand in this service, (p.
+      225.)—M]
+
+      1737 (return) [ She was escorted by a guard of females disguised
+      as soldiers. When she discovered this, Ayesha was as much
+      gratified by the delicacy of the arrangement, as she had been
+      offended by the familiar approach of so many men. Price, p.
+      229.—M.]
+
+      174 (return) [ The plain of Siffin is determined by D’Anville
+      (l’Euphrate et le Tigre, p. 29) to be the Campus Barbaricus of
+      Procopius.]
+
+      1741 (return) [ The Shiite authors have preserved a noble
+      instance of Ali’s magnanimity. The superior generalship of
+      Moawiyah had cut off the army of Ali from the Euphrates; his
+      soldiers were perishing from want of water. Ali sent a message to
+      his rival to request free access to the river, declaring that
+      under the same circumstances he would not allow any of the
+      faithful, though his adversaries, to perish from thirst. After
+      some debate, Moawiyah determined to avail himself of the
+      advantage of his situation, and to reject the demand of Ali. The
+      soldiers of Ali became desperate; forced their way through that
+      part of the hostile army which commanded the river, and in their
+      turn entirely cut off the troops of Moawiyah from the water.
+      Moawiyah was reduced to make the same supplication to Ali. The
+      generous caliph instantly complied; and both armies, with their
+      cattle enjoyed free and unmolested access to the river. Price,
+      vol. i. p. 268, 272—M.]
+
+      1742 (return) [ His son Hassan was recognized as caliph in Arabia
+      and Irak; but voluntarily abdicated the throne, after six or
+      seven months, in favor of Moawiyah St. Martin, vol. xi. p
+      375.—M.]
+
+      175 (return) [ Abulfeda, a moderate Sonnite, relates the
+      different opinions concerning the burial of Ali, but adopts the
+      sepulchre of Cufa, hodie fama numeroque religiose frequentantium
+      celebratum. This number is reckoned by Niebuhr to amount annually
+      to 2000 of the dead, and 5000 of the living, (tom. ii. p. 208,
+      209.)]
+
+      176 (return) [ All the tyrants of Persia, from Adhad el Dowlat
+      (A.D. 977, D’Herbelot, p. 58, 59, 95) to Nadir Shah, (A.D. 1743,
+      Hist. de Nadir Shah, tom. ii. p. 155,) have enriched the tomb of
+      Ali with the spoils of the people. The dome is copper, with a
+      bright and massy gilding, which glitters to the sun at the
+      distance of many a mile.]
+
+      177 (return) [ The city of Meshed Ali, five or six miles from the
+      ruins of Cufa, and one hundred and twenty to the south of Bagdad,
+      is of the size and form of the modern Jerusalem. Meshed Hosein,
+      larger and more populous, is at the distance of thirty miles.]
+
+      The persecutors of Mahomet usurped the inheritance of his
+      children; and the champions of idolatry became the supreme heads
+      of his religion and empire. The opposition of Abu Sophian had
+      been fierce and obstinate; his conversion was tardy and
+      reluctant; his new faith was fortified by necessity and interest;
+      he served, he fought, perhaps he believed; and the sins of the
+      time of ignorance were expiated by the recent merits of the
+      family of Ommiyah. Moawiyah, the son of Abu Sophian, and of the
+      cruel Henda, was dignified, in his early youth, with the office
+      or title of secretary of the prophet: the judgment of Omar
+      intrusted him with the government of Syria; and he administered
+      that important province above forty years, either in a
+      subordinate or supreme rank. Without renouncing the fame of valor
+      and liberality, he affected the reputation of humanity and
+      moderation: a grateful people was attached to their benefactor;
+      and the victorious Moslems were enriched with the spoils of
+      Cyprus and Rhodes. The sacred duty of pursuing the assassins of
+      Othman was the engine and pretence of his ambition. The bloody
+      shirt of the martyr was exposed in the mosch of Damascus: the
+      emir deplored the fate of his injured kinsman; and sixty thousand
+      Syrians were engaged in his service by an oath of fidelity and
+      revenge. Amrou, the conqueror of Egypt, himself an army, was the
+      first who saluted the new monarch, and divulged the dangerous
+      secret, that the Arabian caliphs might be created elsewhere than
+      in the city of the prophet. 178 The policy of Moawiyah eluded the
+      valor of his rival; and, after the death of Ali, he negotiated
+      the abdication of his son Hassan, whose mind was either above or
+      below the government of the world, and who retired without a sigh
+      from the palace of Cufa to an humble cell near the tomb of his
+      grandfather. The aspiring wishes of the caliph were finally
+      crowned by the important change of an elective to an hereditary
+      kingdom. Some murmurs of freedom or fanaticism attested the
+      reluctance of the Arabs, and four citizens of Medina refused the
+      oath of fidelity; but the designs of Moawiyah were conducted with
+      vigor and address; and his son Yezid, a feeble and dissolute
+      youth, was proclaimed as the commander of the faithful and the
+      successor of the apostle of God.
+
+      178 (return) [ I borrow, on this occasion, the strong sense and
+      expression of Tacitus, (Hist. i. 4: ) Evulgato imperii arcano
+      posse imperatorem alni quam Romae fieri.]
+
+      A familiar story is related of the benevolence of one of the sons
+      of Ali. In serving at table, a slave had inadvertently dropped a
+      dish of scalding broth on his master: the heedless wretch fell
+      prostrate, to deprecate his punishment, and repeated a verse of
+      the Koran: “Paradise is for those who command their anger: “—“I
+      am not angry: “—“and for those who pardon offences: “—“I pardon
+      your offence: “—“and for those who return good for evil: “—”I
+      give you your liberty and four hundred pieces of silver.” With an
+      equal measure of piety, Hosein, the younger brother of Hassan,
+      inherited a remnant of his father’s spirit, and served with honor
+      against the Christians in the siege of Constantinople. The
+      primogeniture of the line of Hashem, and the holy character of
+      grandson of the apostle, had centred in his person, and he was at
+      liberty to prosecute his claim against Yezid, the tyrant of
+      Damascus, whose vices he despised, and whose title he had never
+      deigned to acknowledge. A list was secretly transmitted from Cufa
+      to Medina, of one hundred and forty thousand Moslems, who
+      professed their attachment to his cause, and who were eager to
+      draw their swords so soon as he should appear on the banks of the
+      Euphrates. Against the advice of his wisest friends, he resolved
+      to trust his person and family in the hands of a perfidious
+      people. He traversed the desert of Arabia with a timorous retinue
+      of women and children; but as he approached the confines of Irak
+      he was alarmed by the solitary or hostile face of the country,
+      and suspected either the defection or ruin of his party. His
+      fears were just: Obeidollah, the governor of Cufa, had
+      extinguished the first sparks of an insurrection; and Hosein, in
+      the plain of Kerbela, was encompassed by a body of five thousand
+      horse, who intercepted his communication with the city and the
+      river. He might still have escaped to a fortress in the desert,
+      that had defied the power of Caesar and Chosroes, and confided in
+      the fidelity of the tribe of Tai, which would have armed ten
+      thousand warriors in his defence.
+
+      In a conference with the chief of the enemy, he proposed the
+      option of three honorable conditions: that he should be allowed
+      to return to Medina, or be stationed in a frontier garrison
+      against the Turks, or safely conducted to the presence of Yezid.
+      But the commands of the caliph, or his lieutenant, were stern and
+      absolute; and Hosein was informed that he must either submit as a
+      captive and a criminal to the commander of the faithful, or
+      expect the consequences of his rebellion. “Do you think,” replied
+      he, “to terrify me with death?” And, during the short respite of
+      a night, 1781 he prepared with calm and solemn resignation to
+      encounter his fate. He checked the lamentations of his sister
+      Fatima, who deplored the impending ruin of his house. “Our
+      trust,” said Hosein, “is in God alone. All things, both in heaven
+      and earth, must perish and return to their Creator. My brother,
+      my father, my mother, were better than me, and every Mussulman
+      has an example in the prophet.” He pressed his friends to consult
+      their safety by a timely flight: they unanimously refused to
+      desert or survive their beloved master: and their courage was
+      fortified by a fervent prayer and the assurance of paradise. On
+      the morning of the fatal day, he mounted on horseback, with his
+      sword in one hand and the Koran in the other: his generous band
+      of martyrs consisted only of thirty-two horse and forty foot; but
+      their flanks and rear were secured by the tent-ropes, and by a
+      deep trench which they had filled with lighted fagots, according
+      to the practice of the Arabs. The enemy advanced with reluctance,
+      and one of their chiefs deserted, with thirty followers, to claim
+      the partnership of inevitable death. In every close onset, or
+      single combat, the despair of the Fatimites was invincible; but
+      the surrounding multitudes galled them from a distance with a
+      cloud of arrows, and the horses and men were successively slain;
+      a truce was allowed on both sides for the hour of prayer; and the
+      battle at length expired by the death of the last companions of
+      Hosein. Alone, weary, and wounded, he seated himself at the door
+      of his tent. As he tasted a drop of water, he was pierced in the
+      mouth with a dart; and his son and nephew, two beautiful youths,
+      were killed in his arms. He lifted his hands to heaven; they were
+      full of blood; and he uttered a funeral prayer for the living and
+      the dead. In a transport of despair his sister issued from the
+      tent, and adjured the general of the Cufians, that he would not
+      suffer Hosein to be murdered before his eyes: a tear trickled
+      down his venerable beard; and the boldest of his soldiers fell
+      back on every side as the dying hero threw himself among them.
+      The remorseless Shamer, a name detested by the faithful,
+      reproached their cowardice; and the grandson of Mahomet was slain
+      with three-and-thirty strokes of lances and swords. After they
+      had trampled on his body, they carried his head to the castle of
+      Cufa, and the inhuman Obeidollah struck him on the mouth with a
+      cane: “Alas,” exclaimed an aged Mussulman, “on these lips have I
+      seen the lips of the apostle of God!” In a distant age and
+      climate, the tragic scene of the death of Hosein will awaken the
+      sympathy of the coldest reader. 179 1791 On the annual festival
+      of his martyrdom, in the devout pilgrimage to his sepulchre, his
+      Persian votaries abandon their souls to the religious frenzy of
+      sorrow and indignation. 180
+
+      1781 (return) [ According to Major Price’s authorities a much
+      longer time elapsed (p. 198 &c.)—M.]
+
+      179 (return) [ I have abridged the interesting narrative of
+      Ockley, (tom. ii. p. 170-231.) It is long and minute: but the
+      pathetic, almost always, consists in the detail of little
+      circumstances.]
+
+      1791 (return) [ The account of Hosein’s death, in the Persian
+      Tarikh Tebry, is much longer; in some circumstances, more
+      pathetic, than that of Ockley, followed by Gibbon. His family,
+      after his defenders were all slain, perished in succession before
+      his eyes. They had been cut off from the water, and suffered all
+      the agonies of thirst. His eldest son, Ally Akbar, after ten
+      different assaults on the enemy, in each of which he slew two or
+      three, complained bitterly of his sufferings from heat and
+      thirst. “His father arose, and introducing his own tongue within
+      the parched lips of his favorite child, thus endeavored to
+      alleviate his sufferings by the only means of which his enemies
+      had not yet been able to deprive him.” Ally was slain and cut to
+      pieces in his sight: this wrung from him his first and only cry;
+      then it was that his sister Zeyneb rushed from the tent. The
+      rest, including his nephew, fell in succession. Hosein’s horse
+      was wounded—he fell to the ground. The hour of prayer, between
+      noon and sunset, had arrived; the Imaun began the religious
+      duties:—as Hosein prayed, he heard the cries of his infant child
+      Abdallah, only twelve months old. The child was, at his desire,
+      placed on his bosom: as he wept over it, it was transfixed by an
+      arrow. Hosein dragged himself to the Euphrates: as he slaked his
+      burning thirst, his mouth was pierced by an arrow: he drank his
+      own blood. Wounded in four-and-thirty places, he still gallantly
+      resisted. A soldier named Zeraiah gave the fatal wound: his head
+      was cut off by Ziliousheng. Price, p. 402, 410.—M.]
+
+      180 (return) [ Niebuhr the Dane (Voyages en Arabie, &c., tom. ii.
+      p. 208, &c.) is, perhaps, the only European traveller who has
+      dared to visit Meshed Ali and Meshed Hosein. The two sepulchres
+      are in the hands of the Turks, who tolerate and tax the devotion
+      of the Persian heretics. The festival of the death of Hosein is
+      amply described by Sir John Chardin, a traveller whom I have
+      often praised.]
+
+      When the sisters and children of Ali were brought in chains to
+      the throne of Damascus, the caliph was advised to extirpate the
+      enmity of a popular and hostile race, whom he had injured beyond
+      the hope of reconciliation. But Yezid preferred the councils of
+      mercy; and the mourning family was honorably dismissed to mingle
+      their tears with their kindred at Medina. The glory of martyrdom
+      superseded the right of primogeniture; and the twelve imams, 181
+      or pontiffs, of the Persian creed, are Ali, Hassan, Hosein, and
+      the lineal descendants of Hosein to the ninth generation. Without
+      arms, or treasures, or subjects, they successively enjoyed the
+      veneration of the people, and provoked the jealousy of the
+      reigning caliphs: their tombs, at Mecca or Medina, on the banks
+      of the Euphrates, or in the province of Chorasan, are still
+      visited by the devotion of their sect. Their names were often the
+      pretence of sedition and civil war; but these royal saints
+      despised the pomp of the world: submitted to the will of God and
+      the injustice of man; and devoted their innocent lives to the
+      study and practice of religion. The twelfth and last of the
+      Imams, conspicuous by the title of Mahadi, or the Guide,
+      surpassed the solitude and sanctity of his predecessors. He
+      concealed himself in a cavern near Bagdad: the time and place of
+      his death are unknown; and his votaries pretend that he still
+      lives, and will appear before the day of judgment to overthrow
+      the tyranny of Dejal, or the Antichrist. 182 In the lapse of two
+      or three centuries, the posterity of Abbas, the uncle of Mahomet,
+      had multiplied to the number of thirty-three thousand: 183 the
+      race of Ali might be equally prolific: the meanest individual was
+      above the first and greatest of princes; and the most eminent
+      were supposed to excel the perfection of angels. But their
+      adverse fortune, and the wide extent of the Mussulman empire,
+      allowed an ample scope for every bold and artful imposture, who
+      claimed affinity with the holy seed: the sceptre of the
+      Almohades, in Spain and Africa; of the Fatimites, in Egypt and
+      Syria; 184 of the Sultans of Yemen; and of the Sophis of Persia;
+      185 has been consecrated by this vague and ambiguous title. Under
+      their reigns it might be dangerous to dispute the legitimacy of
+      their birth; and one of the Fatimite caliphs silenced an
+      indiscreet question by drawing his cimeter: “This,” said Moez,
+      “is my pedigree; and these,” casting a handful of gold to his
+      soldiers,—“and these are my kindred and my children.” In the
+      various conditions of princes, or doctors, or nobles, or
+      merchants, or beggars, a swarm of the genuine or fictitious
+      descendants of Mahomet and Ali is honored with the appellation of
+      sheiks, or sherifs, or emirs. In the Ottoman empire they are
+      distinguished by a green turban; receive a stipend from the
+      treasury; are judged only by their chief; and, however debased by
+      fortune or character, still assert the proud preeminence of their
+      birth. A family of three hundred persons, the pure and orthodox
+      branch of the caliph Hassan, is preserved without taint or
+      suspicion in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, and still
+      retains, after the revolutions of twelve centuries, the custody
+      of the temple, and the sovereignty of their native land. The fame
+      and merit of Mahomet would ennoble a plebeian race, and the
+      ancient blood of the Koreish transcends the recent majesty of the
+      kings of the earth. 186
+
+      181 (return) [ The general article of Imam, in D’Herbelot’s
+      Bibliotheque, will indicate the succession; and the lives of the
+      twelve are given under their respective names.]
+
+      182 (return) [ The name of Antichrist may seem ridiculous, but
+      the Mahometans have liberally borrowed the fables of every
+      religion, (Sale’s Preliminary Discourse, p. 80, 82.) In the royal
+      stable of Ispahan, two horses were always kept saddled, one for
+      the Mahadi himself, the other for his lieutenant, Jesus the son
+      of Mary.]
+
+      183 (return) [ In the year of the Hegira 200, (A.D. 815.) See
+      D’Herbelot, p. 146]
+
+      184 (return) [ D’Herbelot, p. 342. The enemies of the Fatimites
+      disgraced them by a Jewish origin. Yet they accurately deduced
+      their genealogy from Jaafar, the sixth Imam; and the impartial
+      Abulfeda allows (Annal. Moslem. p. 230) that they were owned by
+      many, qui absque controversia genuini sunt Alidarum, homines
+      propaginum suae gentis exacte callentes. He quotes some lines
+      from the celebrated Scherif or Rahdi, Egone humilitatem induam in
+      terris hostium? (I suspect him to be an Edrissite of Sicily,) cum
+      in Aegypto sit Chalifa de gente Alii, quocum ego communem habeo
+      patrem et vindicem.]
+
+      185 (return) [ The kings of Persia in the last century are
+      descended from Sheik Sefi, a saint of the xivth century, and
+      through him, from Moussa Cassem, the son of Hosein, the son of
+      Ali, (Olearius, p. 957. Chardin, tom. iii. p. 288.) But I cannot
+      trace the intermediate degrees in any genuine or fabulous
+      pedigree. If they were truly Fatimites, they might draw their
+      origin from the princes of Mazanderan, who reigned in the ixth
+      century, (D’Herbelot, p. 96.)]
+
+      186 (return) [ The present state of the family of Mahomet and Ali
+      is most accurately described by Demetrius Cantemir (Hist. of the
+      Othmae Empire, p. 94) and Niebuhr, (Description de l’Arabie, p.
+      9-16, 317 &c.) It is much to be lamented, that the Danish
+      traveller was unable to purchase the chronicles of Arabia.]
+
+      The talents of Mahomet are entitled to our applause; but his
+      success has, perhaps, too strongly attracted our admiration. Are
+      we surprised that a multitude of proselytes should embrace the
+      doctrine and the passions of an eloquent fanatic? In the heresies
+      of the church, the same seduction has been tried and repeated
+      from the time of the apostles to that of the reformers. Does it
+      seem incredible that a private citizen should grasp the sword and
+      the sceptre, subdue his native country, and erect a monarchy by
+      his victorious arms? In the moving picture of the dynasties of
+      the East, a hundred fortunate usurpers have arisen from a baser
+      origin, surmounted more formidable obstacles, and filled a larger
+      scope of empire and conquest. Mahomet was alike instructed to
+      preach and to fight; and the union of these opposite qualities,
+      while it enhanced his merit, contributed to his success: the
+      operation of force and persuasion, of enthusiasm and fear,
+      continually acted on each other, till every barrier yielded to
+      their irresistible power. His voice invited the Arabs to freedom
+      and victory, to arms and rapine, to the indulgence of their
+      darling passions in this world and the other: the restraints
+      which he imposed were requisite to establish the credit of the
+      prophet, and to exercise the obedience of the people; and the
+      only objection to his success was his rational creed of the unity
+      and perfections of God. It is not the propagation, but the
+      permanency, of his religion, that deserves our wonder: the same
+      pure and perfect impression which he engraved at Mecca and
+      Medina, is preserved, after the revolutions of twelve centuries,
+      by the Indian, the African, and the Turkish proselytes of the
+      Koran. If the Christian apostles, St. Peter or St. Paul, could
+      return to the Vatican, they might possibly inquire the name of
+      the Deity who is worshipped with such mysterious rites in that
+      magnificent temple: at Oxford or Geneva, they would experience
+      less surprise; but it might still be incumbent on them to peruse
+      the catechism of the church, and to study the orthodox
+      commentators on their own writings and the words of their Master.
+      But the Turkish dome of St. Sophia, with an increase of splendor
+      and size, represents the humble tabernacle erected at Medina by
+      the hands of Mahomet. The Mahometans have uniformly withstood the
+      temptation of reducing the object of their faith and devotion to
+      a level with the senses and imagination of man. “I believe in one
+      God, and Mahomet the apostle of God,” is the simple and
+      invariable profession of Islam. The intellectual image of the
+      Deity has never been degraded by any visible idol; the honors of
+      the prophet have never transgressed the measure of human virtue;
+      and his living precepts have restrained the gratitude of his
+      disciples within the bounds of reason and religion. The votaries
+      of Ali have, indeed, consecrated the memory of their hero, his
+      wife, and his children; and some of the Persian doctors pretend
+      that the divine essence was incarnate in the person of the Imams;
+      but their superstition is universally condemned by the Sonnites;
+      and their impiety has afforded a seasonable warning against the
+      worship of saints and martyrs. The metaphysical questions on the
+      attributes of God, and the liberty of man, have been agitated in
+      the schools of the Mahometans, as well as in those of the
+      Christians; but among the former they have never engaged the
+      passions of the people, or disturbed the tranquillity of the
+      state. The cause of this important difference may be found in the
+      separation or union of the regal and sacerdotal characters. It
+      was the interest of the caliphs, the successors of the prophet
+      and commanders of the faithful, to repress and discourage all
+      religious innovations: the order, the discipline, the temporal
+      and spiritual ambition of the clergy, are unknown to the Moslems;
+      and the sages of the law are the guides of their conscience and
+      the oracles of their faith. From the Atlantic to the Ganges, the
+      Koran is acknowledged as the fundamental code, not only of
+      theology, but of civil and criminal jurisprudence; and the laws
+      which regulate the actions and the property of mankind are
+      guarded by the infallible and immutable sanction of the will of
+      God. This religious servitude is attended with some practical
+      disadvantage; the illiterate legislator had been often misled by
+      his own prejudices and those of his country; and the institutions
+      of the Arabian desert may be ill adapted to the wealth and
+      numbers of Ispahan and Constantinople. On these occasions, the
+      Cadhi respectfully places on his head the holy volume, and
+      substitutes a dexterous interpretation more apposite to the
+      principles of equity, and the manners and policy of the times.
+
+      His beneficial or pernicious influence on the public happiness is
+      the last consideration in the character of Mahomet. The most
+      bitter or most bigoted of his Christian or Jewish foes will
+      surely allow that he assumed a false commission to inculcate a
+      salutary doctrine, less perfect only than their own. He piously
+      supposed, as the basis of his religion, the truth and sanctity of
+      their prior revolutions, the virtues and miracles of their
+      founders. The idols of Arabia were broken before the throne of
+      God; the blood of human victims was expiated by prayer, and
+      fasting, and alms, the laudable or innocent arts of devotion; and
+      his rewards and punishments of a future life were painted by the
+      images most congenial to an ignorant and carnal generation.
+      Mahomet was, perhaps, incapable of dictating a moral and
+      political system for the use of his countrymen: but he breathed
+      among the faithful a spirit of charity and friendship;
+      recommended the practice of the social virtues; and checked, by
+      his laws and precepts, the thirst of revenge, and the oppression
+      of widows and orphans. The hostile tribes were united in faith
+      and obedience, and the valor which had been idly spent in
+      domestic quarrels was vigorously directed against a foreign
+      enemy. Had the impulse been less powerful, Arabia, free at home
+      and formidable abroad, might have flourished under a succession
+      of her native monarchs. Her sovereignty was lost by the extent
+      and rapidity of conquest. The colonies of the nation were
+      scattered over the East and West, and their blood was mingled
+      with the blood of their converts and captives. After the reign of
+      three caliphs, the throne was transported from Medina to the
+      valley of Damascus and the banks of the Tigris; the holy cities
+      were violated by impious war; Arabia was ruled by the rod of a
+      subject, perhaps of a stranger; and the Bedoweens of the desert,
+      awakening from their dream of dominion, resumed their old and
+      solitary independence. 187
+
+      187 (return) [ The writers of the Modern Universal History (vols.
+      i. and ii.) have compiled, in 850 folio pages, the life of
+      Mahomet and the annals of the caliphs. They enjoyed the advantage
+      of reading, and sometimes correcting, the Arabic text; yet,
+      notwithstanding their high-sounding boasts, I cannot find, after
+      the conclusion of my work, that they have afforded me much (if
+      any) additional information. The dull mass is not quickened by a
+      spark of philosophy or taste; and the compilers indulge the
+      criticism of acrimonious bigotry against Boulainvilliers, Sale,
+      Gagnier, and all who have treated Mahomet with favor, or even
+      justice.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LI: Conquests By The Arabs.—Part I.
+
+     The Conquest Of Persia, Syria, Egypt, Africa, And Spain, By The
+     Arabs Or Saracens.—Empire Of The Caliphs, Or Successors Of
+     Mahomet.—State Of The Christians, &c., Under Their Government.
+
+      The revolution of Arabia had not changed the character of the
+      Arabs: the death of Mahomet was the signal of independence; and
+      the hasty structure of his power and religion tottered to its
+      foundations. A small and faithful band of his primitive disciples
+      had listened to his eloquence, and shared his distress; had fled
+      with the apostle from the persecution of Mecca, or had received
+      the fugitive in the walls of Medina. The increasing myriads, who
+      acknowledged Mahomet as their king and prophet, had been
+      compelled by his arms, or allured by his prosperity. The
+      polytheists were confounded by the simple idea of a solitary and
+      invisible God; the pride of the Christians and Jews disdained the
+      yoke of a mortal and contemporary legislator. The habits of faith
+      and obedience were not sufficiently confirmed; and many of the
+      new converts regretted the venerable antiquity of the law of
+      Moses, or the rites and mysteries of the Catholic church; or the
+      idols, the sacrifices, the joyous festivals, of their Pagan
+      ancestors. The jarring interests and hereditary feuds of the
+      Arabian tribes had not yet coalesced in a system of union and
+      subordination; and the Barbarians were impatient of the mildest
+      and most salutary laws that curbed their passions, or violated
+      their customs. They submitted with reluctance to the religious
+      precepts of the Koran, the abstinence from wine, the fast of the
+      Ramadan, and the daily repetition of five prayers; and the alms
+      and tithes, which were collected for the treasury of Medina,
+      could be distinguished only by a name from the payment of a
+      perpetual and ignominious tribute. The example of Mahomet had
+      excited a spirit of fanaticism or imposture, and several of his
+      rivals presumed to imitate the conduct, and defy the authority,
+      of the living prophet. At the head of the fugitives and
+      auxiliaries, the first caliph was reduced to the cities of Mecca,
+      Medina, and Tayef; and perhaps the Koreish would have restored
+      the idols of the Caaba, if their levity had not been checked by a
+      seasonable reproof. “Ye men of Mecca, will ye be the last to
+      embrace, and the first to abandon, the religion of Islam?” After
+      exhorting the Moslems to confide in the aid of God and his
+      apostle, Abubeker resolved, by a vigorous attack, to prevent the
+      junction of the rebels. The women and children were safely lodged
+      in the cavities of the mountains: the warriors, marching under
+      eleven banners, diffused the terror of their arms; and the
+      appearance of a military force revived and confirmed the loyalty
+      of the faithful. The inconstant tribes accepted, with humble
+      repentance, the duties of prayer, and fasting, and alms; and,
+      after some examples of success and severity, the most daring
+      apostates fell prostrate before the sword of the Lord and of
+      Caled. In the fertile province of Yemanah, 1 between the Red Sea
+      and the Gulf of Persia, in a city not inferior to Medina itself,
+      a powerful chief (his name was Moseilama) had assumed the
+      character of a prophet, and the tribe of Hanifa listened to his
+      voice. A female prophetess 1111 was attracted by his reputation;
+      the decencies of words and actions were spurned by these
+      favorites of Heaven; 2 and they employed several days in mystic
+      and amorous converse. An obscure sentence of his Koran, or book,
+      is yet extant; 3 and in the pride of his mission, Moseilama
+      condescended to offer a partition of the earth. The proposal was
+      answered by Mahomet with contempt; but the rapid progress of the
+      impostor awakened the fears of his successor: forty thousand
+      Moslems were assembled under the standard of Caled; and the
+      existence of their faith was resigned to the event of a decisive
+      battle. 3111 In the first action they were repulsed by the loss
+      of twelve hundred men; but the skill and perseverance of their
+      general prevailed; their defeat was avenged by the slaughter of
+      ten thousand infidels; and Moseilama himself was pierced by an
+      Aethiopian slave with the same javelin which had mortally wounded
+      the uncle of Mahomet. The various rebels of Arabia without a
+      chief or a cause, were speedily suppressed by the power and
+      discipline of the rising monarchy; and the whole nation again
+      professed, and more steadfastly held, the religion of the Koran.
+      The ambition of the caliphs provided an immediate exercise for
+      the restless spirit of the Saracens: their valor was united in
+      the prosecution of a holy war; and their enthusiasm was equally
+      confirmed by opposition and victory.
+
+      1 (return) [ See the description of the city and country of Al
+      Yamanah, in Abulfeda, Descript. Arabiae, p. 60, 61. In the xiiith
+      century, there were some ruins, and a few palms; but in the
+      present century, the same ground is occupied by the visions and
+      arms of a modern prophet, whose tenets are imperfectly known,
+      (Niebuhr, Description de l’Arabie, p. 296-302.)]
+
+      1111 (return) [ This extraordinary woman was a Christian; she was
+      at the head of a numerous and flourishing sect; Moseilama
+      professed to recognize her inspiration. In a personal interview
+      he proposed their marriage and the union of their sects. The
+      handsome person, the impassioned eloquence, and the arts of
+      Moseilama, triumphed over the virtue of the prophetesa who was
+      rejected with scorn by her lover, and by her notorious unchastity
+      ost her influence with her own followers. Gibbon, with that
+      propensity too common, especially in his later volumes, has
+      selected only the grosser part of this singular adventure.—M.]
+
+      2 (return) [ The first salutation may be transcribed, but cannot
+      be translated. It was thus that Moseilama said or sung:—
+
+ Surge tandem itaque strenue permolenda; nam stratus tibi thorus est.
+ Aut in propatulo tentorio si velis, aut in abditiore cubiculo si
+ malis; Aut supinam te humi exporrectam fustigabo, si velis, Aut si
+ malis manibus pedibusque nixam. Aut si velis ejus (Priapi) gemino
+ triente aut si malis totus veniam. Imo, totus venito, O Apostole Dei,
+ clamabat foemina. Id ipsum, dicebat Moseilama, mihi quoque suggessit
+ Deus.
+
+      The prophetess Segjah, after the fall of her lover, returned to
+      idolatry; but under the reign of Moawiyah, she became a
+      Mussulman, and died at Bassora, (Abulfeda, Annal. vers. Reiske,
+      p. 63.)]
+
+      3 (return) [ See this text, which demonstrates a God from the
+      work of generation, in Abulpharagius (Specimen Hist. Arabum, p.
+      13, and Dynast. p. 103) and Abulfeda, (Annal. p. 63.)]
+
+      3111 (return) [ Compare a long account of this battle in Price,
+      p. 42.—M.]
+
+      From the rapid conquests of the Saracens a presumption will
+      naturally arise, that the caliphs 311 commanded in person the
+      armies of the faithful, and sought the crown of martyrdom in the
+      foremost ranks of the battle. The courage of Abubeker, 4 Omar, 5
+      and Othman, 6 had indeed been tried in the persecution and wars
+      of the prophet; and the personal assurance of paradise must have
+      taught them to despise the pleasures and dangers of the present
+      world. But they ascended the throne in a venerable or mature age;
+      and esteemed the domestic cares of religion and justice the most
+      important duties of a sovereign. Except the presence of Omar at
+      the siege of Jerusalem, their longest expeditions were the
+      frequent pilgrimage from Medina to Mecca; and they calmly
+      received the tidings of victory as they prayed or preached before
+      the sepulchre of the prophet. The austere and frugal measure of
+      their lives was the effect of virtue or habit, and the pride of
+      their simplicity insulted the vain magnificence of the kings of
+      the earth. When Abubeker assumed the office of caliph, he
+      enjoined his daughter Ayesha to take a strict account of his
+      private patrimony, that it might be evident whether he were
+      enriched or impoverished by the service of the state. He thought
+      himself entitled to a stipend of three pieces of gold, with the
+      sufficient maintenance of a single camel and a black slave; but
+      on the Friday of each week he distributed the residue of his own
+      and the public money, first to the most worthy, and then to the
+      most indigent, of the Moslems. The remains of his wealth, a
+      coarse garment, and five pieces of gold, were delivered to his
+      successor, who lamented with a modest sigh his own inability to
+      equal such an admirable model. Yet the abstinence and humility of
+      Omar were not inferior to the virtues of Abubeker: his food
+      consisted of barley bread or dates; his drink was water; he
+      preached in a gown that was torn or tattered in twelve places;
+      and the Persian satrap, who paid his homage to the conqueror,
+      found him asleep among the beggars on the steps of the mosch of
+      Medina. Oeeconomy is the source of liberality, and the increase
+      of the revenue enabled Omar to establish a just and perpetual
+      reward for the past and present services of the faithful.
+      Careless of his own emolument, he assigned to Abbas, the uncle of
+      the prophet, the first and most ample allowance of twenty-five
+      thousand drachms or pieces of silver. Five thousand were allotted
+      to each of the aged warriors, the relics of the field of Beder;
+      and the last and meanest of the companions of Mahomet was
+      distinguished by the annual reward of three thousand pieces. One
+      thousand was the stipend of the veterans who had fought in the
+      first battles against the Greeks and Persians; and the decreasing
+      pay, as low as fifty pieces of silver, was adapted to the
+      respective merit and seniority of the soldiers of Omar. Under his
+      reign, and that of his predecessor, the conquerors of the East
+      were the trusty servants of God and the people; the mass of the
+      public treasure was consecrated to the expenses of peace and war;
+      a prudent mixture of justice and bounty maintained the discipline
+      of the Saracens, and they united, by a rare felicity, the
+      despatch and execution of despotism with the equal and frugal
+      maxims of a republican government. The heroic courage of Ali, 7
+      the consummate prudence of Moawiyah, 8 excited the emulation of
+      their subjects; and the talents which had been exercised in the
+      school of civil discord were more usefully applied to propagate
+      the faith and dominion of the prophet. In the sloth and vanity of
+      the palace of Damascus, the succeeding princes of the house of
+      Ommiyah were alike destitute of the qualifications of statesmen
+      and of saints. 9 Yet the spoils of unknown nations were
+      continually laid at the foot of their throne, and the uniform
+      ascent of the Arabian greatness must be ascribed to the spirit of
+      the nation rather than the abilities of their chiefs. A large
+      deduction must be allowed for the weakness of their enemies. The
+      birth of Mahomet was fortunately placed in the most degenerate
+      and disorderly period of the Persians, the Romans, and the
+      Barbarians of Europe: the empires of Trajan, or even of
+      Constantine or Charlemagne, would have repelled the assault of
+      the naked Saracens, and the torrent of fanaticism might have been
+      obscurely lost in the sands of Arabia.
+
+      311 (return) [ In Arabic, “successors.” V. Hammer Geschichte der
+      Assas. p. 14—M.]
+
+      4 (return) [ His reign in Eutychius, tom. ii. p. 251. Elmacin, p.
+      18. Abulpharagius, p. 108. Abulfeda, p. 60. D’Herbelot, p. 58.]
+
+      5 (return) [ His reign in Eutychius, p. 264. Elmacin, p. 24.
+      Abulpharagius, p. 110. Abulfeda, p. 66. D’Herbelot, p. 686.]
+
+      6 (return) [ His reign in Eutychius, p. 323. Elmacin, p. 36.
+      Abulpharagius, p. 115. Abulfeda, p. 75. D’Herbelot, p. 695.]
+
+      7 (return) [ His reign in Eutychius, p. 343. Elmacin, p. 51.
+      Abulpharagius, p. 117. Abulfeda, p. 83. D’Herbelot, p. 89.]
+
+      8 (return) [ His reign in Eutychius, p. 344. Elmacin, p. 54.
+      Abulpharagius, p. 123. Abulfeda, p. 101. D’Herbelot, p. 586.]
+
+      9 (return) [ Their reigns in Eutychius, tom. ii. p. 360-395.
+      Elmacin, p. 59-108. Abulpharagius, Dynast. ix. p. 124-139.
+      Abulfeda, p. 111-141. D’Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orientale, p. 691,
+      and the particular articles of the Ommiades.]
+
+      In the victorious days of the Roman republic, it had been the aim
+      of the senate to confine their councils and legions to a single
+      war, and completely to suppress a first enemy before they
+      provoked the hostilities of a second. These timid maxims of
+      policy were disdained by the magnanimity or enthusiasm of the
+      Arabian caliphs. With the same vigor and success they invaded the
+      successors of Augustus and those of Artaxerxes; and the rival
+      monarchies at the same instant became the prey of an enemy whom
+      they had been so long accustomed to despise. In the ten years of
+      the administration of Omar, the Saracens reduced to his obedience
+      thirty-six thousand cities or castles, destroyed four thousand
+      churches or temples of the unbelievers, and edified fourteen
+      hundred moschs for the exercise of the religion of Mahomet. One
+      hundred years after his flight from Mecca, the arms and the reign
+      of his successors extended from India to the Atlantic Ocean, over
+      the various and distant provinces, which may be comprised under
+      the names of, I. Persia; II. Syria; III. Egypt; IV. Africa; and,
+      V. Spain. Under this general division, I shall proceed to unfold
+      these memorable transactions; despatching with brevity the remote
+      and less interesting conquests of the East, and reserving a
+      fuller narrative for those domestic countries which had been
+      included within the pale of the Roman empire. Yet I must excuse
+      my own defects by a just complaint of the blindness and
+      insufficiency of my guides. The Greeks, so loquacious in
+      controversy, have not been anxious to celebrate the triumphs of
+      their enemies. 10 After a century of ignorance, the first annals
+      of the Mussulmans were collected in a great measure from the
+      voice of tradition. 11 Among the numerous productions of Arabic
+      and Persian literature, 12 our interpreters have selected the
+      imperfect sketches of a more recent age. 13 The art and genius of
+      history have ever been unknown to the Asiatics; 14 they are
+      ignorant of the laws of criticism; and our monkish chronicle of
+      the same period may be compared to their most popular works,
+      which are never vivified by the spirit of philosophy and freedom.
+
+      The Oriental library of a Frenchman 15 would instruct the most
+      learned mufti of the East; and perhaps the Arabs might not find
+      in a single historian so clear and comprehensive a narrative of
+      their own exploits as that which will be deduced in the ensuing
+      sheets.
+
+      10 (return) [ For the viith and viiith century, we have scarcely
+      any original evidence of the Byzantine historians, except the
+      chronicles of Theophanes (Theophanis Confessoris Chronographia,
+      Gr. et Lat. cum notis Jacobi Goar. Paris, 1665, in folio) and the
+      Abridgment of Nicephorus, (Nicephori Patriarchae C. P. Breviarium
+      Historicum, Gr. et Lat. Paris, 1648, in folio,) who both lived in
+      the beginning of the ixth century, (see Hanckius de Scriptor.
+      Byzant. p. 200-246.) Their contemporary, Photius, does not seem
+      to be more opulent. After praising the style of Nicephorus, he
+      adds, and only complains of his extreme brevity, (Phot. Bibliot.
+      Cod. lxvi. p. 100.) Some additions may be gleaned from the more
+      recent histories of Cedrenus and Zonaras of the xiith century.]
+
+      11 (return) [ Tabari, or Al Tabari, a native of Taborestan, a
+      famous Imam of Bagdad, and the Livy of the Arabians, finished his
+      general history in the year of the Hegira 302, (A.D. 914.) At the
+      request of his friends, he reduced a work of 30,000 sheets to a
+      more reasonable size. But his Arabic original is known only by
+      the Persian and Turkish versions. The Saracenic history of Ebn
+      Amid, or Elmacin, is said to be an abridgment of the great
+      Tabari, (Ockley’s Hist. of the Saracens, vol. ii. preface, p.
+      xxxix. and list of authors, D’Herbelot, p. 866, 870, 1014.)]
+
+      12 (return) [ Besides the list of authors framed by Prideaux,
+      (Life of Mahomet, p. 179-189,) Ockley, (at the end of his second
+      volume,) and Petit de la Croix, (Hist. de Gengiscan, p. 525-550,)
+      we find in the Bibliotheque Orientale Tarikh, a catalogue of two
+      or three hundred histories or chronicles of the East, of which
+      not more than three or four are older than Tabari. A lively
+      sketch of Oriental literature is given by Reiske, (in his
+      Prodidagmata ad Hagji Chalifae librum memorialem ad calcem
+      Abulfedae Tabulae Syriae, Lipsiae, 1776;) but his project and the
+      French version of Petit de la Croix (Hist. de Timur Bec, tom. i.
+      preface, p. xlv.) have fallen to the ground.]
+
+      13 (return) [ The particular historians and geographers will be
+      occasionally introduced. The four following titles represent the
+      Annals which have guided me in this general narrative. 1. Annales
+      Eutychii, Patriarchoe Alexandrini, ab Edwardo Pocockio, Oxon.
+      1656, 2 vols. in 4to. A pompous edition of an indifferent author,
+      translated by Pocock to gratify the Presbyterian prejudices of
+      his friend Selden. 2. Historia Saracenica Georgii Elmacini, opera
+      et studio Thomae Erpenii, in 4to., Lugd. Batavorum, 1625. He is
+      said to have hastily translated a corrupt Ms., and his version is
+      often deficient in style and sense. 3. Historia compendiosa
+      Dynastiarum a Gregorio Abulpharagio, interprete Edwardo Pocockio,
+      in 4to., Oxon. 1663. More useful for the literary than the civil
+      history of the East. 4. Abulfedoe Annales Moslemici ad Ann.
+      Hegiroe ccccvi. a Jo. Jac. Reiske, in 4to., Lipsioe, 1754. The
+      best of our chronicles, both for the original and version, yet
+      how far below the name of Abulfeda! We know that he wrote at
+      Hamah in the xivth century. The three former were Christians of
+      the xth, xiith, and xiiith centuries; the two first, natives of
+      Egypt; a Melchite patriarch, and a Jacobite scribe.]
+
+      14 (return) [ M. D. Guignes (Hist. des Huns, tom. i. pref. p.
+      xix. xx.) has characterized, with truth and knowledge, the two
+      sorts of Arabian historians—the dry annalist, and the tumid and
+      flowery orator.]
+
+      15 (return) [ Bibliotheque Orientale, par M. D’Herbelot, in
+      folio, Paris, 1697. For the character of the respectable author,
+      consult his friend Thevenot, (Voyages du Levant, part i. chap.
+      1.) His work is an agreeable miscellany, which must gratify every
+      taste; but I never can digest the alphabetical order; and I find
+      him more satisfactory in the Persian than the Arabic history. The
+      recent supplement from the papers of Mm. Visdelou, and Galland,
+      (in folio, La Haye, 1779,) is of a different cast, a medley of
+      tales, proverbs, and Chinese antiquities.]
+
+      I. In the first year of the first caliph, his lieutenant Caled,
+      the Sword of God, and the scourge of the infidels, advanced to
+      the banks of the Euphrates, and reduced the cities of Anbar and
+      Hira. Westward of the ruins of Babylon, a tribe of sedentary
+      Arabs had fixed themselves on the verge of the desert; and Hira
+      was the seat of a race of kings who had embraced the Christian
+      religion, and reigned above six hundred years under the shadow of
+      the throne of Persia. 16 The last of the Mondars 1611 was
+      defeated and slain by Caled; his son was sent a captive to
+      Medina; his nobles bowed before the successor of the prophet; the
+      people was tempted by the example and success of their
+      countrymen; and the caliph accepted as the first-fruits of
+      foreign conquest an annual tribute of seventy thousand pieces of
+      gold. The conquerors, and even their historians, were astonished
+      by the dawn of their future greatness: “In the same year,” says
+      Elmacin, “Caled fought many signal battles: an immense multitude
+      of the infidels was slaughtered; and spoils infinite and
+      innumerable were acquired by the victorious Moslems.” 17 But the
+      invincible Caled was soon transferred to the Syrian war: the
+      invasion of the Persian frontier was conducted by less active or
+      less prudent commanders: the Saracens were repulsed with loss in
+      the passage of the Euphrates; and, though they chastised the
+      insolent pursuit of the Magians, their remaining forces still
+      hovered in the desert of Babylon. 1711
+
+      16 (return) [ Pocock will explain the chronology, (Specimen Hist.
+      Arabum, p. 66-74,) and D’Anville the geography, (l’Euphrate, et
+      le Tigre, p. 125,) of the dynasty of the Almondars. The English
+      scholar understood more Arabic than the mufti of Aleppo, (Ockley,
+      vol. ii. p. 34: ) the French geographer is equally at home in
+      every age and every climate of the world.]
+
+      1611 (return) [ Eichhorn and Silvestre de Sacy have written on
+      the obscure history of the Mondars.—M.]
+
+      17 (return) [ Fecit et Chaled plurima in hoc anno praelia, in
+      quibus vicerunt Muslimi, et infidelium immensa multitudine occisa
+      spolia infinita et innumera sunt nacti, (Hist. Saracenica, p.
+      20.) The Christian annalist slides into the national and
+      compendious term of infidels, and I often adopt (I hope without
+      scandal) this characteristic mode of expression.]
+
+      1711 (return) [ Compare throughout Malcolm, vol. ii. p. 136.—M.]
+
+      The indignation and fears of the Persians suspended for a moment
+      their intestine divisions. By the unanimous sentence of the
+      priests and nobles, their queen Arzema was deposed; the sixth of
+      the transient usurpers, who had arisen and vanished in three or
+      four years since the death of Chosroes, and the retreat of
+      Heraclius. Her tiara was placed on the head of Yezdegerd, the
+      grandson of Chosroes; and the same aera, which coincides with an
+      astronomical period, 18 has recorded the fall of the Sassanian
+      dynasty and the religion of Zoroaster. 19 The youth and
+      inexperience of the prince (he was only fifteen years of age)
+      declined a perilous encounter: the royal standard was delivered
+      into the hands of his general Rustam; and a remnant of thirty
+      thousand regular troops was swelled in truth, or in opinion, to
+      one hundred and twenty thousand subjects, or allies, of the great
+      king. The Moslems, whose numbers were reenforced from twelve to
+      thirty thousand, had pitched their camp in the plains of Cadesia:
+      20 and their line, though it consisted of fewer men, could
+      produce more soldiers, than the unwieldy host of the infidels. I
+      shall here observe, what I must often repeat, that the charge of
+      the Arabs was not, like that of the Greeks and Romans, the effort
+      of a firm and compact infantry: their military force was chiefly
+      formed of cavalry and archers; and the engagement, which was
+      often interrupted and often renewed by single combats and flying
+      skirmishes, might be protracted without any decisive event to the
+      continuance of several days. The periods of the battle of Cadesia
+      were distinguished by their peculiar appellations. The first,
+      from the well-timed appearance of six thousand of the Syrian
+      brethren, was denominated the day of succor. The day of
+      concussion might express the disorder of one, or perhaps of both,
+      of the contending armies. The third, a nocturnal tumult, received
+      the whimsical name of the night of barking, from the discordant
+      clamors, which were compared to the inarticulate sounds of the
+      fiercest animals. The morning of the succeeding day 2011
+      determined the fate of Persia; and a seasonable whirlwind drove a
+      cloud of dust against the faces of the unbelievers. The clangor
+      of arms was reechoed to the tent of Rustam, who, far unlike the
+      ancient hero of his name, was gently reclining in a cool and
+      tranquil shade, amidst the baggage of his camp, and the train of
+      mules that were laden with gold and silver. On the sound of
+      danger he started from his couch; but his flight was overtaken by
+      a valiant Arab, who caught him by the foot, struck off his head,
+      hoisted it on a lance, and instantly returning to the field of
+      battle, carried slaughter and dismay among the thickest ranks of
+      the Persians. The Saracens confess a loss of seven thousand five
+      hundred men; 2012 and the battle of Cadesia is justly described
+      by the epithets of obstinate and atrocious. 21 The standard of
+      the monarchy was overthrown and captured in the field—a leathern
+      apron of a blacksmith, who in ancient times had arisen the
+      deliverer of Persia; but this badge of heroic poverty was
+      disguised, and almost concealed, by a profusion of precious gems.
+      22 After this victory, the wealthy province of Irak, or Assyria,
+      submitted to the caliph, and his conquests were firmly
+      established by the speedy foundation of Bassora, 23 a place which
+      ever commands the trade and navigation of the Persians. As the
+      distance of fourscore miles from the Gulf, the Euphrates and
+      Tigris unite in a broad and direct current, which is aptly styled
+      the river of the Arabs. In the midway, between the junction and
+      the mouth of these famous streams, the new settlement was planted
+      on the western bank: the first colony was composed of eight
+      hundred Moslems; but the influence of the situation soon reared a
+      flourishing and populous capital. The air, though excessively
+      hot, is pure and healthy: the meadows are filled with palm-trees
+      and cattle; and one of the adjacent valleys has been celebrated
+      among the four paradises or gardens of Asia. Under the first
+      caliphs the jurisdiction of this Arabian colony extended over the
+      southern provinces of Persia: the city has been sanctified by the
+      tombs of the companions and martyrs; and the vessels of Europe
+      still frequent the port of Bassora, as a convenient station and
+      passage of the Indian trade.
+
+      18 (return) [ A cycle of 120 years, the end of which an
+      intercalary month of 30 days supplied the use of our Bissextile,
+      and restored the integrity of the solar year. In a great
+      revolution of 1440 years this intercalation was successively
+      removed from the first to the twelfth month; but Hyde and Freret
+      are involved in a profound controversy, whether the twelve, or
+      only eight of these changes were accomplished before the aera of
+      Yezdegerd, which is unanimously fixed to the 16th of June, A.D.
+      632. How laboriously does the curious spirit of Europe explore
+      the darkest and most distant antiquities! (Hyde de Religione
+      Persarum, c. 14-18, p. 181-211. Freret in the Mem. de l’Academie
+      des Inscriptions, tom. xvi. p. 233-267.)]
+
+      19 (return) [ Nine days after the death of Mahomet (7th June,
+      A.D. 632) we find the aera of Yezdegerd, (16th June, A.D. 632,)
+      and his accession cannot be postponed beyond the end of the first
+      year. His predecessors could not therefore resist the arms of the
+      caliph Omar; and these unquestionable dates overthrow the
+      thoughtless chronology of Abulpharagius. See Ockley’s Hist. of
+      the Saracens, vol. i. p. 130. * Note: The Rezont Uzzuffa (Price,
+      p. 105) has a strange account of an embassy to Yezdegerd. The
+      Oriental historians take great delight in these embassies, which
+      give them an opportunity of displaying their Asiatic
+      eloquence—M.]
+
+      20 (return) [ Cadesia, says the Nubian geographer, (p. 121,) is
+      in margine solitudinis, 61 leagues from Bagdad, and two stations
+      from Cufa. Otter (Voyage, tom. i. p. 163) reckons 15 leagues, and
+      observes, that the place is supplied with dates and water.]
+
+      2011 (return) [ The day of cormorants, or according to another
+      reading the day of reinforcements. It was the night which was
+      called the night of snarling. Price, p. 114.—M.]
+
+      2012 (return) [ According to Malcolm’s authorities, only three
+      thousand; but he adds “This is the report of Mahomedan
+      historians, who have a great disposition of the wonderful, in
+      relating the first actions of the faithful” Vol. i. p. 39.—M.]
+
+      21 (return) [ Atrox, contumax, plus semel renovatum, are the
+      well-chosen expressions of the translator of Abulfeda, (Reiske,
+      p. 69.)]
+
+      22 (return) [ D’Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orientale, p. 297, 348.]
+
+      23 (return) [ The reader may satisfy himself on the subject of
+      Bassora by consulting the following writers: Geograph, Nubiens.
+      p. 121. D’Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orientale, p. 192. D’Anville,
+      l’Euphrate et le Tigre, p. 130, 133, 145. Raynal, Hist.
+      Philosophique des deux Indes, tom. ii. p. 92-100. Voyages di
+      Pietro della Valle, tom. iv. p. 370-391. De Tavernier, tom. i. p.
+      240-247. De Thevenot, tom. ii. p. 545-584. D Otter, tom. ii. p.
+      45-78. De Niebuhr, tom. ii. p. 172-199.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LI: Conquests By The Arabs.—Part II.
+
+      After the defeat of Cadesia, a country intersected by rivers and
+      canals might have opposed an insuperable barrier to the
+      victorious cavalry; and the walls of Ctesiphon or Madayn, which
+      had resisted the battering-rams of the Romans, would not have
+      yielded to the darts of the Saracens. But the flying Persians
+      were overcome by the belief, that the last day of their religion
+      and empire was at hand; the strongest posts were abandoned by
+      treachery or cowardice; and the king, with a part of his family
+      and treasures, escaped to Holwan at the foot of the Median hills.
+
+      In the third month after the battle, Said, the lieutenant of
+      Omar, passed the Tigris without opposition; the capital was taken
+      by assault; and the disorderly resistance of the people gave a
+      keener edge to the sabres of the Moslems, who shouted with
+      religious transport, “This is the white palace of Chosroes; this
+      is the promise of the apostle of God!” The naked robbers of the
+      desert were suddenly enriched beyond the measure of their hope or
+      knowledge. Each chamber revealed a new treasure secreted with
+      art, or ostentatiously displayed; the gold and silver, the
+      various wardrobes and precious furniture, surpassed (says
+      Abulfeda) the estimate of fancy or numbers; and another historian
+      defines the untold and almost infinite mass, by the fabulous
+      computation of three thousands of thousands of thousands of
+      pieces of gold. 24 Some minute though curious facts represent the
+      contrast of riches and ignorance. From the remote islands of the
+      Indian Ocean a large provision of camphire 25 had been imported,
+      which is employed with a mixture of wax to illuminate the palaces
+      of the East. Strangers to the name and properties of that
+      odoriferous gum, the Saracens, mistaking it for salt, mingled the
+      camphire in their bread, and were astonished at the bitterness of
+      the taste. One of the apartments of the palace was decorated with
+      a carpet of silk, sixty cubits in length, and as many in breadth:
+      a paradise or garden was depictured on the ground: the flowers,
+      fruits, and shrubs, were imitated by the figures of the gold
+      embroidery, and the colors of the precious stones; and the ample
+      square was encircled by a variegated and verdant border. 251 The
+      Arabian general persuaded his soldiers to relinquish their claim,
+      in the reasonable hope that the eyes of the caliph would be
+      delighted with the splendid workmanship of nature and industry.
+      Regardless of the merit of art, and the pomp of royalty, the
+      rigid Omar divided the prize among his brethren of Medina: the
+      picture was destroyed; but such was the intrinsic value of the
+      materials, that the share of Ali alone was sold for twenty
+      thousand drams. A mule that carried away the tiara and cuirass,
+      the belt and bracelets of Chosroes, was overtaken by the
+      pursuers; the gorgeous trophy was presented to the commander of
+      the faithful; and the gravest of the companions condescended to
+      smile when they beheld the white beard, the hairy arms, and
+      uncouth figure of the veteran, who was invested with the spoils
+      of the Great King. 26 The sack of Ctesiphon was followed by its
+      desertion and gradual decay. The Saracens disliked the air and
+      situation of the place, and Omar was advised by his general to
+      remove the seat of government to the western side of the
+      Euphrates. In every age, the foundation and ruin of the Assyrian
+      cities has been easy and rapid: the country is destitute of stone
+      and timber; and the most solid structures 27 are composed of
+      bricks baked in the sun, and joined by a cement of the native
+      bitumen. The name of Cufa 28 describes a habitation of reeds and
+      earth; but the importance of the new capital was supported by the
+      numbers, wealth, and spirit, of a colony of veterans; and their
+      licentiousness was indulged by the wisest caliphs, who were
+      apprehensive of provoking the revolt of a hundred thousand
+      swords: “Ye men of Cufa,” said Ali, who solicited their aid, “you
+      have been always conspicuous by your valor. You conquered the
+      Persian king, and scattered his forces, till you had taken
+      possession of his inheritance.” This mighty conquest was achieved
+      by the battles of Jalula and Nehavend. After the loss of the
+      former, Yezdegerd fled from Holwan, and concealed his shame and
+      despair in the mountains of Farsistan, from whence Cyrus had
+      descended with his equal and valiant companions. The courage of
+      the nation survived that of the monarch: among the hills to the
+      south of Ecbatana or Hamadan, one hundred and fifty thousand
+      Persians made a third and final stand for their religion and
+      country; and the decisive battle of Nehavend was styled by the
+      Arabs the victory of victories. If it be true that the flying
+      general of the Persians was stopped and overtaken in a crowd of
+      mules and camels laden with honey, the incident, however slight
+      and singular, will denote the luxurious impediments of an
+      Oriental army. 29
+
+      24 (return) [ Mente vix potest numerove comprehendi quanta spolia
+      nostris cesserint. Abulfeda, p. 69. Yet I still suspect, that the
+      extravagant numbers of Elmacin may be the error, not of the text,
+      but of the version. The best translators from the Greek, for
+      instance, I find to be very poor arithmeticians. * Note: Ockley
+      (Hist. of Saracens, vol. i. p. 230) translates in the same manner
+      three thousand million of ducats. See Forster’s Mahometanism
+      Unveiled, vol. ii. p. 462; who makes this innocent doubt of
+      Gibbon, in which, is to the amount of the plunder, I venture to
+      concur, a grave charge of inaccuracy and disrespect to the memory
+      of Erpenius. The Persian authorities of Price (p. 122) make the
+      booty worth three hundred and thirty millions sterling!—M]
+
+      25 (return) [ The camphire-tree grows in China and Japan; but
+      many hundred weight of those meaner sorts are exchanged for a
+      single pound of the more precious gum of Borneo and Sumatra,
+      (Raynal, Hist. Philosoph. tom. i. p. 362-365. Dictionnaire
+      d’Hist. Naturelle par Bomare Miller’s Gardener’s Dictionary.)
+      These may be the islands of the first climate from whence the
+      Arabians imported their camphire (Geograph. Nub. p. 34, 35.
+      D’Herbelot, p. 232.)]
+
+      251 (return) [ Compare Price, p. 122.—M.]
+
+      26 (return) [ See Gagnier, Vie de Mahomet, tom. i. p. 376, 377. I
+      may credit the fact, without believing the prophecy.]
+
+      27 (return) [ The most considerable ruins of Assyria are the
+      tower of Belus, at Babylon, and the hall of Chosroes, at
+      Ctesiphon: they have been visited by that vain and curious
+      traveller Pietro della Valle, (tom. i. p. 713-718, 731-735.) *
+      Note: The best modern account is that of Claudius Rich Esq. Two
+      Memoirs of Babylon. London, 1818.—M.]
+
+      28 (return) [ Consult the article of Coufah in the Bibliotheque
+      of D’Herbelot ( p. 277, 278,) and the second volume of Ockley’s
+      History, particularly p. 40 and 153.]
+
+      29 (return) [ See the article of Nehavend, in D’Herbelot, p. 667,
+      668; and Voyages en Turquie et en Perse, par Otter, tom. i. 191.
+      * Note: Malcolm vol. i. p. 141.—M.]
+
+      The geography of Persia is darkly delineated by the Greeks and
+      Latins; but the most illustrious of her cities appear to be more
+      ancient than the invasion of the Arabs. By the reduction of
+      Hamadan and Ispahan, of Caswin, Tauris, and Rei, they gradually
+      approached the shores of the Caspian Sea: and the orators of
+      Mecca might applaud the success and spirit of the faithful, who
+      had already lost sight of the northern bear, and had almost
+      transcended the bounds of the habitable world. 30 Again, turning
+      towards the West and the Roman empire, they repassed the Tigris
+      over the bridge of Mosul, and, in the captive provinces of
+      Armenia and Mesopotamia, embraced their victorious brethren of
+      the Syrian army. From the palace of Madayn their Eastern progress
+      was not less rapid or extensive. They advanced along the Tigris
+      and the Gulf; penetrated through the passes of the mountains into
+      the valley of Estachar or Persepolis, and profaned the last
+      sanctuary of the Magian empire. The grandson of Chosroes was
+      nearly surprised among the falling columns and mutilated figures;
+      a sad emblem of the past and present fortune of Persia: 31 he
+      fled with accelerated haste over the desert of Kirman, implored
+      the aid of the warlike Segestans, and sought an humble refuge on
+      the verge of the Turkish and Chinese power. But a victorious army
+      is insensible of fatigue: the Arabs divided their forces in the
+      pursuit of a timorous enemy; and the caliph Othman promised the
+      government of Chorasan to the first general who should enter that
+      large and populous country, the kingdom of the ancient Bactrians.
+      The condition was accepted; the prize was deserved; the standard
+      of Mahomet was planted on the walls of Herat, Merou, and Balch;
+      and the successful leader neither halted nor reposed till his
+      foaming cavalry had tasted the waters of the Oxus. In the public
+      anarchy, the independent governors of the cities and castles
+      obtained their separate capitulations: the terms were granted or
+      imposed by the esteem, the prudence, or the compassion, of the
+      victors; and a simple profession of faith established the
+      distinction between a brother and a slave. After a noble defence,
+      Harmozan, the prince or satrap of Ahwaz and Susa, was compelled
+      to surrender his person and his state to the discretion of the
+      caliph; and their interview exhibits a portrait of the Arabian
+      manners. In the presence, and by the command, of Omar, the gay
+      Barbarian was despoiled of his silken robes embroidered with
+      gold, and of his tiara bedecked with rubies and emeralds: “Are
+      you now sensible,” said the conqueror to his naked captive—“are
+      you now sensible of the judgment of God, and of the different
+      rewards of infidelity and obedience?” “Alas!” replied Harmozan,
+      “I feel them too deeply. In the days of our common ignorance, we
+      fought with the weapons of the flesh, and my nation was superior.
+      God was then neuter: since he has espoused your quarrel, you have
+      subverted our kingdom and religion.” Oppressed by this painful
+      dialogue, the Persian complained of intolerable thirst, but
+      discovered some apprehension lest he should be killed whilst he
+      was drinking a cup of water. “Be of good courage,” said the
+      caliph; “your life is safe till you have drunk this water:” the
+      crafty satrap accepted the assurance, and instantly dashed the
+      vase against the ground. Omar would have avenged the deceit, but
+      his companions represented the sanctity of an oath; and the
+      speedy conversion of Harmozan entitled him not only to a free
+      pardon, but even to a stipend of two thousand pieces of gold. The
+      administration of Persia was regulated by an actual survey of the
+      people, the cattle, and the fruits of the earth; 32 and this
+      monument, which attests the vigilance of the caliphs, might have
+      instructed the philosophers of every age. 33
+
+      30 (return) [ It is in such a style of ignorance and wonder that
+      the Athenian orator describes the Arctic conquests of Alexander,
+      who never advanced beyond the shores of the Caspian. Aeschines
+      contra Ctesiphontem, tom. iii. p. 554, edit. Graec. Orator.
+      Reiske. This memorable cause was pleaded at Athens, Olymp. cxii.
+      3, (before Christ 330,) in the autumn, (Taylor, praefat. p. 370,
+      &c.,) about a year after the battle of Arbela; and Alexander, in
+      the pursuit of Darius, was marching towards Hyrcania and
+      Bactriana.]
+
+      31 (return) [ We are indebted for this curious particular to the
+      Dynasties of Abulpharagius, p. 116; but it is needless to prove
+      the identity of Estachar and Persepolis, (D’Herbelot, p. 327;)
+      and still more needless to copy the drawings and descriptions of
+      Sir John Chardin, or Corneillo le Bruyn.]
+
+      32 (return) [ After the conquest of Persia, Theophanes adds,
+      (Chronograph p. 283.)]
+
+      33 (return) [ Amidst our meagre relations, I must regret that
+      D’Herbelot has not found and used a Persian translation of
+      Tabari, enriched, as he says, with many extracts from the native
+      historians of the Ghebers or Magi, (Bibliotheque Orientale, p.
+      1014.)]
+
+      The flight of Yezdegerd had carried him beyond the Oxus, and as
+      far as the Jaxartes, two rivers 34 of ancient and modern renown,
+      which descend from the mountains of India towards the Caspian
+      Sea. He was hospitably entertained by Takhan, prince of Fargana,
+      35 a fertile province on the Jaxartes: the king of Samarcand,
+      with the Turkish tribes of Sogdiana and Scythia, were moved by
+      the lamentations and promises of the fallen monarch; and he
+      solicited, by a suppliant embassy, the more solid and powerful
+      friendship of the emperor of China. 36 The virtuous Taitsong, 37
+      the first of the dynasty of the Tang may be justly compared with
+      the Antonines of Rome: his people enjoyed the blessings of
+      prosperity and peace; and his dominion was acknowledged by
+      forty-four hordes of the Barbarians of Tartary. His last
+      garrisons of Cashgar and Khoten maintained a frequent intercourse
+      with their neighbors of the Jaxartes and Oxus; a recent colony of
+      Persians had introduced into China the astronomy of the Magi; and
+      Taitsong might be alarmed by the rapid progress and dangerous
+      vicinity of the Arabs. The influence, and perhaps the supplies,
+      of China revived the hopes of Yezdegerd and the zeal of the
+      worshippers of fire; and he returned with an army of Turks to
+      conquer the inheritance of his fathers. The fortunate Moslems,
+      without unsheathing their swords, were the spectators of his ruin
+      and death. The grandson of Chosroes was betrayed by his servant,
+      insulted by the seditious inhabitants of Merou, and oppressed,
+      defeated, and pursued by his Barbarian allies. He reached the
+      banks of a river, and offered his rings and bracelets for an
+      instant passage in a miller’s boat. Ignorant or insensible of
+      royal distress, the rustic replied, that four drams of silver
+      were the daily profit of his mill, and that he would not suspend
+      his work unless the loss were repaid. In this moment of
+      hesitation and delay, the last of the Sassanian kings was
+      overtaken and slaughtered by the Turkish cavalry, in the
+      nineteenth year of his unhappy reign. 38 3811 His son Firuz, an
+      humble client of the Chinese emperor, accepted the station of
+      captain of his guards; and the Magian worship was long preserved
+      by a colony of loyal exiles in the province of Bucharia. 3812 His
+      grandson inherited the regal name; but after a faint and
+      fruitless enterprise, he returned to China, and ended his days in
+      the palace of Sigan. The male line of the Sassanides was extinct;
+      but the female captives, the daughters of Persia, were given to
+      the conquerors in servitude, or marriage; and the race of the
+      caliphs and imams was ennobled by the blood of their royal
+      mothers. 39
+
+      34 (return) [ The most authentic accounts of the two rivers, the
+      Sihon (Jaxartes) and the Gihon, (Oxus,) may be found in Sherif al
+      Edrisi (Geograph. Nubiens. p. 138,) Abulfeda, (Descript.
+      Chorasan. in Hudson, tom. iii. p. 23,) Abulghazi Khan, who
+      reigned on their banks, (Hist. Genealogique des Tatars, p. 32,
+      57, 766,) and the Turkish Geographer, a MS. in the king of
+      France’s library, (Examen Critique des Historiens d’Alexandre, p.
+      194-360.)]
+
+      35 (return) [ The territory of Fergana is described by Abulfeda,
+      p. 76, 77.]
+
+      36 (return) [ Eo redegit angustiarum eundem regem exsulem, ut
+      Turcici regis, et Sogdiani, et Sinensis, auxilia missis literis
+      imploraret, (Abulfed. Annal. p. 74) The connection of the Persian
+      and Chinese history is illustrated by Freret (Mem. de l’Academie,
+      tom. xvi. p. 245-255) and De Guignes, (Hist. des Huns, tom. i. p.
+      54-59,) and for the geography of the borders, tom. ii. p. 1-43.]
+
+      37 (return) [ Hist. Sinica, p. 41-46, in the iiid part of the
+      Relations Curieuses of Thevenot.]
+
+      38 (return) [ I have endeavored to harmonize the various
+      narratives of Elmacin, (Hist. Saracen. p. 37,) Abulpharagius,
+      (Dynast. p. 116,) Abulfeda, (Annal. p. 74, 79,) and D’Herbelot,
+      (p. 485.) The end of Yezdegerd, was not only unfortunate but
+      obscure.]
+
+      3811 (return) [ The account of Yezdegerd’s death in the Habeib
+      ‘usseyr and Rouzut uzzuffa (Price, p. 162) is much more probable.
+      On the demand of the few dhirems, he offered to the miller his
+      sword, and royal girdle, of inesturable value. This awoke the
+      cupidity of the miller, who murdered him, and threw the body into
+      the stream.—M.]
+
+      3812 (return) [ Firouz died leaving a son called Ni-ni-cha by the
+      Chinese, probably Narses. Yezdegerd had two sons, Firouz and
+      Bahram St. Martin, vol. xi. p. 318.—M.]
+
+      39 (return) [ The two daughters of Yezdegerd married Hassan, the
+      son of Ali, and Mohammed, the son of Abubeker; and the first of
+      these was the father of a numerous progeny. The daughter of
+      Phirouz became the wife of the caliph Walid, and their son Yezid
+      derived his genuine or fabulous descent from the Chosroes of
+      Persia, the Caesars of Rome, and the Chagans of the Turks or
+      Avars, (D’Herbelot, Bibliot. Orientale, p. 96, 487.)]
+
+      After the fall of the Persian kingdom, the River Oxus divided the
+      territories of the Saracens and of the Turks. This narrow
+      boundary was soon overleaped by the spirit of the Arabs; the
+      governors of Chorasan extended their successive inroads; and one
+      of their triumphs was adorned with the buskin of a Turkish queen,
+      which she dropped in her precipitate flight beyond the hills of
+      Bochara. 40 But the final conquest of Transoxiana, 41 as well as
+      of Spain, was reserved for the glorious reign of the inactive
+      Walid; and the name of Catibah, the camel driver, declares the
+      origin and merit of his successful lieutenant. While one of his
+      colleagues displayed the first Mahometan banner on the banks of
+      the Indus, the spacious regions between the Oxus, the Jaxartes,
+      and the Caspian Sea, were reduced by the arms of Catibah to the
+      obedience of the prophet and of the caliph. 42 A tribute of two
+      millions of pieces of gold was imposed on the infidels; their
+      idols were burnt or broken; the Mussulman chief pronounced a
+      sermon in the new mosch of Carizme; after several battles, the
+      Turkish hordes were driven back to the desert; and the emperors
+      of China solicited the friendship of the victorious Arabs. To
+      their industry, the prosperity of the province, the Sogdiana of
+      the ancients, may in a great measure be ascribed; but the
+      advantages of the soil and climate had been understood and
+      cultivated since the reign of the Macedonian kings. Before the
+      invasion of the Saracens, Carizme, Bochara, and Samarcand were
+      rich and populous under the yoke of the shepherds of the north.
+      4211 These cities were surrounded with a double wall; and the
+      exterior fortification, of a larger circumference, enclosed the
+      fields and gardens of the adjacent district. The mutual wants of
+      India and Europe were supplied by the diligence of the Sogdian
+      merchants; and the inestimable art of transforming linen into
+      paper has been diffused from the manufacture of Samarcand over
+      the western world. 43
+
+      40 (return) [ It was valued at 2000 pieces of gold, and was the
+      prize of Obeidollah, the son of Ziyad, a name afterwards infamous
+      by the murder of Hosein, (Ockley’s History of the Saracens, vol.
+      ii. p. 142, 143,) His brother Salem was accompanied by his wife,
+      the first Arabian woman (A.D. 680) who passed the Oxus: she
+      borrowed, or rather stole, the crown and jewels of the princess
+      of the Sogdians, (p. 231, 232.)]
+
+      41 (return) [ A part of Abulfeda’s geography is translated by
+      Greaves, inserted in Hudson’s collection of the minor
+      geographers, (tom. iii.,) and entitled Descriptio Chorasmiae et
+      Mawaralnahroe, id est, regionum extra fluvium, Oxum, p. 80. The
+      name of Transoxiana, softer in sound, equivalent in sense, is
+      aptly used by Petit de la Croix, (Hist. de Gengiscan, &c.,) and
+      some modern Orientalists, but they are mistaken in ascribing it
+      to the writers of antiquity.]
+
+      42 (return) [ The conquests of Catibah are faintly marked by
+      Elmacin, (Hist. Saracen. p. 84,) D’Herbelot, (Bibliot. Orient.
+      Catbah, Samarcand Valid.,) and De Guignes, (Hist. des Huns, tom.
+      i. p. 58, 59.)]
+
+      4211 (return) [ The manuscripts Arabian and Persian writers in
+      the royal library contain very circumstantial details on the
+      contest between the Persians and Arabians. M. St. Martin declined
+      this addition to the work of Le Beau, as extending to too great a
+      length. St. Martin vol. xi. p. 320.—M.]
+
+      43 (return) [ A curious description of Samarcand is inserted in
+      the Bibliotheca Arabico-Hispana, tom. i. p. 208, &c. The
+      librarian Casiri (tom. ii. 9) relates, from credible testimony,
+      that paper was first imported from China to Samarcand, A. H. 30,
+      and invented, or rather introduced, at Mecca, A. H. 88. The
+      Escurial library contains paper Mss. as old as the ivth or vth
+      century of the Hegira.]
+
+      II. No sooner had Abubeker restored the unity of faith and
+      government, than he despatched a circular letter to the Arabian
+      tribes. “In the name of the most merciful God, to the rest of the
+      true believers. Health and happiness, and the mercy and blessing
+      of God, be upon you. I praise the most high God, and I pray for
+      his prophet Mahomet. This is to acquaint you, that I intend to
+      send the true believers into Syria 44 to take it out of the hands
+      of the infidels. And I would have you know, that the fighting for
+      religion is an act of obedience to God.” His messengers returned
+      with the tidings of pious and martial ardor which they had
+      kindled in every province; and the camp of Medina was
+      successively filled with the intrepid bands of the Saracens, who
+      panted for action, complained of the heat of the season and the
+      scarcity of provisions, and accused with impatient murmurs the
+      delays of the caliph. As soon as their numbers were complete,
+      Abubeker ascended the hill, reviewed the men, the horses, and the
+      arms, and poured forth a fervent prayer for the success of their
+      undertaking. In person, and on foot, he accompanied the first
+      day’s march; and when the blushing leaders attempted to dismount,
+      the caliph removed their scruples by a declaration, that those
+      who rode, and those who walked, in the service of religion, were
+      equally meritorious. His instructions 45 to the chiefs of the
+      Syrian army were inspired by the warlike fanaticism which
+      advances to seize, and affects to despise, the objects of earthly
+      ambition. “Remember,” said the successor of the prophet, “that
+      you are always in the presence of God, on the verge of death, in
+      the assurance of judgment, and the hope of paradise. Avoid
+      injustice and oppression; consult with your brethren, and study
+      to preserve the love and confidence of your troops. When you
+      fight the battles of the Lord, acquit yourselves like men,
+      without turning your backs; but let not your victory be stained
+      with the blood of women or children. Destroy no palm-trees, nor
+      burn any fields of corn. Cut down no fruit-trees, nor do any
+      mischief to cattle, only such as you kill to eat. When you make
+      any covenant or article, stand to it, and be as good as your
+      word. As you go on, you will find some religious persons who live
+      retired in monasteries, and propose to themselves to serve God
+      that way: let them alone, and neither kill them nor destroy their
+      monasteries: 46 And you will find another sort of people, that
+      belong to the synagogue of Satan, who have shaven crowns; 47 be
+      sure you cleave their skulls, and give them no quarter till they
+      either turn Mahometans or pay tribute.” All profane or frivolous
+      conversation, all dangerous recollection of ancient quarrels, was
+      severely prohibited among the Arabs: in the tumult of a camp, the
+      exercises of religion were assiduously practised; and the
+      intervals of action were employed in prayer, meditation, and the
+      study of the Koran. The abuse, or even the use, of wine was
+      chastised by fourscore strokes on the soles of the feet, and in
+      the fervor of their primitive zeal, many secret sinners revealed
+      their fault, and solicited their punishment. After some
+      hesitation, the command of the Syrian army was delegated to Abu
+      Obeidah, one of the fugitives of Mecca, and companions of
+      Mahomet; whose zeal and devotion was assuaged, without being
+      abated, by the singular mildness and benevolence of his temper.
+      But in all the emergencies of war, the soldiers demanded the
+      superior genius of Caled; and whoever might be the choice of the
+      prince, the Sword of God was both in fact and fame the foremost
+      leader of the Saracens. He obeyed without reluctance; 4711 he was
+      consulted without jealousy; and such was the spirit of the man,
+      or rather of the times, that Caled professed his readiness to
+      serve under the banner of the faith, though it were in the hands
+      of a child or an enemy. Glory, and riches, and dominion, were
+      indeed promised to the victorious Mussulman; but he was carefully
+      instructed, that if the goods of this life were his only
+      incitement, they likewise would be his only reward.
+
+      44 (return) [ A separate history of the conquest of Syria has
+      been composed by Al Wakidi, cadi of Bagdad, who was born A.D.
+      748, and died A.D. 822; he likewise wrote the conquest of Egypt,
+      of Diarbekir, &c. Above the meagre and recent chronicles of the
+      Arabians, Al Wakidi has the double merit of antiquity and
+      copiousness. His tales and traditions afford an artless picture
+      of the men and the times. Yet his narrative is too often
+      defective, trifling, and improbable. Till something better shall
+      be found, his learned and spiritual interpreter (Ockley, in his
+      History of the Saracens, vol. i. p. 21-342) will not deserve the
+      petulant animadversion of Reiske, (Prodidagmata ad Magji Chalifae
+      Tabulas, p. 236.) I am sorry to think that the labors of Ockley
+      were consummated in a jail, (see his two prefaces to the 1st A.D.
+      1708, to the 2d, 1718, with the list of authors at the end.) *
+      Note: M. Hamaker has clearly shown that neither of these works
+      can be inscribed to Al Wakidi: they are not older than the end of
+      the xith century or later than the middle of the xivth. Praefat.
+      in Inc. Auct. LIb. de Expugnatione Memphidis, c. ix. x.—M.]
+
+      45 (return) [ The instructions, &c., of the Syrian war are
+      described by Al Wakidi and Ockley, tom. i. p. 22-27, &c. In the
+      sequel it is necessary to contract, and needless to quote, their
+      circumstantial narrative. My obligations to others shall be
+      noticed.]
+
+      46 (return) [ Notwithstanding this precept, M. Pauw (Recherches
+      sur les Egyptiens, tom. ii. p. 192, edit. Lausanne) represents
+      the Bedoweens as the implacable enemies of the Christian monks.
+      For my own part, I am more inclined to suspect the avarice of the
+      Arabian robbers, and the prejudices of the German philosopher. *
+      Note: Several modern travellers (Mr. Fazakerley, in Walpole’s
+      Travels in the East, vol. xi. 371) give very amusing accounts of
+      the terms on which the monks of Mount Sinai live with the
+      neighboring Bedoweens. Such, probably, was their relative state
+      in older times, wherever the Arab retained his Bedoween
+      habits.—M.]
+
+      47 (return) [ Even in the seventh century, the monks were
+      generally laymen: They wore their hair long and dishevelled, and
+      shaved their heads when they were ordained priests. The circular
+      tonsure was sacred and mysterious; it was the crown of thorns;
+      but it was likewise a royal diadem, and every priest was a king,
+      &c., (Thomassin, Discipline de l’Eglise, tom. i. p. 721-758,
+      especially p. 737, 738.)]
+
+      4711 (return) [ Compare Price, p. 90.—M.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LI: Conquests By The Arabs.—Part III.
+
+      One of the fifteen provinces of Syria, the cultivated lands to
+      the eastward of the Jordan, had been decorated by Roman vanity
+      with the name of _Arabia_; and the first arms of the Saracens
+      were justified by the semblance of a national right. The country
+      was enriched by the various benefits of trade; by the vigilance
+      of the emperors it was covered with a line of forts; and the
+      populous cities of Gerasa, Philadelphia, and Bosra, were secure,
+      at least from a surprise, by the solid structure of their walls.
+      The last of these cities was the eighteenth station from Medina:
+      the road was familiar to the caravans of Hejaz and Irak, who
+      annually visited this plenteous market of the province and the
+      desert: the perpetual jealousy of the Arabs had trained the
+      inhabitants to arms; and twelve thousand horse could sally from
+      the gates of Bosra, an appellation which signifies, in the Syriac
+      language, a strong tower of defence. Encouraged by their first
+      success against the open towns and flying parties of the borders,
+      a detachment of four thousand Moslems presumed to summon and
+      attack the fortress of Bosra. They were oppressed by the numbers
+      of the Syrians; they were saved by the presence of Caled, with
+      fifteen hundred horse: he blamed the enterprise, restored the
+      battle, and rescued his friend, the venerable Serjabil, who had
+      vainly invoked the unity of God and the promises of the apostle.
+      After a short repose, the Moslems performed their ablutions with
+      sand instead of water; and the morning prayer was recited by
+      Caled before they mounted on horseback. Confident in their
+      strength, the people of Bosra threw open their gates, drew their
+      forces into the plain, and swore to die in the defence of their
+      religion. But a religion of peace was incapable of withstanding
+      the fanatic cry of “Fight, fight! Paradise, paradise!” that
+      reechoed in the ranks of the Saracens; and the uproar of the
+      town, the ringing of bells, and the exclamations of the priests
+      and monks increased the dismay and disorder of the Christians.
+      With the loss of two hundred and thirty men, the Arabs remained
+      masters of the field; and the ramparts of Bosra, in expectation
+      of human or divine aid, were crowded with holy crosses and
+      consecrated banners. The governor Romanus had recommended an
+      early submission: despised by the people, and degraded from his
+      office, he still retained the desire and opportunity of revenge.
+      In a nocturnal interview, he informed the enemy of a
+      subterraneous passage from his house under the wall of the city;
+      the son of the caliph, with a hundred volunteers, were committed
+      to the faith of this new ally, and their successful intrepidity
+      gave an easy entrance to their companions. After Caled had
+      imposed the terms of servitude and tribute, the apostate or
+      convert avowed in the assembly of the people his meritorious
+      treason: “I renounce your society,” said Romanus, “both in this
+      world and the world to come. And I deny him that was crucified,
+      and whosoever worships him. And I choose God for my Lord, Islam
+      for my faith, Mecca for my temple, the Moslems for my brethren,
+      and Mahomet for my prophet; who was sent to lead us into the
+      right way, and to exalt the true religion in spite of those who
+      join partners with God.”
+
+      The conquest of Bosra, four days’ journey from Damascus,
+      encouraged the Arabs to besiege the ancient capital of Syria. At
+      some distance from the walls, they encamped among the groves and
+      fountains of that delicious territory, and the usual option of
+      the Mahometan faith, of tribute or of war, was proposed to the
+      resolute citizens, who had been lately strengthened by a
+      reenforcement of five thousand Greeks. In the decline, as in the
+      infancy, of the military art, a hostile defiance was frequently
+      offered and accepted by the generals themselves: many a lance was
+      shivered in the plain of Damascus, and the personal prowess of
+      Caled was signalized in the first sally of the besieged. After an
+      obstinate combat, he had overthrown and made prisoner one of the
+      Christian leaders, a stout and worthy antagonist. He instantly
+      mounted a fresh horse, the gift of the governor of Palmyra, and
+      pushed forwards to the front of the battle. “Repose yourself for
+      a moment,” said his friend Derar, “and permit me to supply your
+      place: you are fatigued with fighting with this dog.” “O Dear!”
+      replied the indefatigable Saracen, “we shall rest in the world to
+      come. He that labors to-day shall rest to-morrow.” With the same
+      unabated ardor, Caled answered, encountered, and vanquished a
+      second champion; and the heads of his two captives who refused to
+      abandon their religion were indignantly hurled into the midst of
+      the city. The event of some general and partial actions reduced
+      the Damascenes to a closer defence: but a messenger, whom they
+      dropped from the walls, returned with the promise of speedy and
+      powerful succor, and their tumultuous joy conveyed the
+      intelligence to the camp of the Arabs. After some debate, it was
+      resolved by the generals to raise, or rather to suspend, the
+      siege of Damascus, till they had given battle to the forces of
+      the emperor. In the retreat, Caled would have chosen the more
+      perilous station of the rear-guard; he modestly yielded to the
+      wishes of Abu Obeidah. But in the hour of danger he flew to the
+      rescue of his companion, who was rudely pressed by a sally of six
+      thousand horse and ten thousand foot, and few among the
+      Christians could relate at Damascus the circumstances of their
+      defeat. The importance of the contest required the junction of
+      the Saracens, who were dispersed on the frontiers of Syria and
+      Palestine; and I shall transcribe one of the circular mandates
+      which was addressed to Amrou, the future conqueror of Egypt. “In
+      the name of the most merciful God: from Caled to Amrou, health
+      and happiness. Know that thy brethren the Moslems design to march
+      to Aiznadin, where there is an army of seventy thousand Greeks,
+      who purpose to come against us, _that they may extinguish the
+      light of God with their mouths; but God preserveth his light in
+      spite of the infidels_. As soon therefore as this letter of mine
+      shall be delivered to thy hands, come with those that are with
+      thee to Aiznadin, where thou shalt find us if it please the most
+      high God.” The summons was cheerfully obeyed, and the forty-five
+      thousand Moslems, who met on the same day, on the same spot
+      ascribed to the blessing of Providence the effects of their
+      activity and zeal.
+
+      About four years after the triumph of the Persian war, the repose
+      of Heraclius and the empire was again disturbed by a new enemy,
+      the power of whose religion was more strongly felt, than it was
+      clearly understood, by the Christians of the East. In his palace
+      of Constantinople or Antioch, he was awakened by the invasion of
+      Syria, the loss of Bosra, and the danger of Damascus. An army of
+      seventy thousand veterans, or new levies, was assembled at Hems
+      or Emesa, under the command of his general Werdan: and these
+      troops consisting chiefly of cavalry, might be indifferently
+      styled either Syrians, or Greeks, or Romans: _Syrians_, from the
+      place of their birth or warfare; _Greeks_ from the religion and
+      language of their sovereign; and _Romans_, from the proud
+      appellation which was still profaned by the successors of
+      Constantine. On the plain of Aiznadin, as Werdan rode on a white
+      mule decorated with gold chains, and surrounded with ensigns and
+      standards, he was surprised by the near approach of a fierce and
+      naked warrior, who had undertaken to view the state of the enemy.
+      The adventurous valor of Derar was inspired, and has perhaps been
+      adorned, by the enthusiasm of his age and country. The hatred of
+      the Christians, the love of spoil, and the contempt of danger,
+      were the ruling passions of the audacious Saracen; and the
+      prospect of instant death could never shake his religious
+      confidence, or ruffle the calmness of his resolution, or even
+      suspend the frank and martial pleasantry of his humor. In the
+      most hopeless enterprises, he was bold, and prudent, and
+      fortunate: after innumerable hazards, after being thrice a
+      prisoner in the hands of the infidels, he still survived to
+      relate the achievements, and to enjoy the rewards, of the Syrian
+      conquest. On this occasion, his single lance maintained a flying
+      fight against thirty Romans, who were detached by Werdan; and,
+      after killing or unhorsing seventeen of their number, Derar
+      returned in safety to his applauding brethren. When his rashness
+      was mildly censured by the general, he excused himself with the
+      simplicity of a soldier. “Nay,” said Derar, “I did not begin
+      first: but they came out to take me, and I was afraid that God
+      should see me turn my back: and indeed I fought in good earnest,
+      and without doubt God assisted me against them; and had I not
+      been apprehensive of disobeying your orders, I should not have
+      come away as I did; and I perceive already that they will fall
+      into our hands.” In the presence of both armies, a venerable
+      Greek advanced from the ranks with a liberal offer of peace; and
+      the departure of the Saracens would have been purchased by a gift
+      to each soldier, of a turban, a robe, and a piece of gold; ten
+      robes and a hundred pieces to their leader; one hundred robes and
+      a thousand pieces to the caliph. A smile of indignation expressed
+      the refusal of Caled. “Ye Christian dogs, you know your option;
+      the Koran, the tribute, or the sword. We are a people whose
+      delight is in war, rather than in peace: and we despise your
+      pitiful alms, since we shall be speedily masters of your wealth,
+      your families, and your persons.” Notwithstanding this apparent
+      disdain, he was deeply conscious of the public danger: those who
+      had been in Persia, and had seen the armies of Chosroes confessed
+      that they never beheld a more formidable array. From the
+      superiority of the enemy, the artful Saracen derived a fresh
+      incentive of courage: “You see before you,” said he, “the united
+      force of the Romans; you cannot hope to escape, but you may
+      conquer Syria in a single day. The event depends on your
+      discipline and patience. Reserve yourselves till the evening. It
+      was in the evening that the Prophet was accustomed to vanquish.”
+      During two successive engagements, his temperate firmness
+      sustained the darts of the enemy, and the murmurs of his troops.
+      At length, when the spirits and quivers of the adverse line were
+      almost exhausted, Caled gave the signal of onset and victory. The
+      remains of the Imperial army fled to Antioch, or Cæsarea, or
+      Damascus; and the death of four hundred and seventy Moslems was
+      compensated by the opinion that they had sent to hell above fifty
+      thousand of the infidels. The spoil was inestimable; many banners
+      and crosses of gold and silver, precious stones, silver and gold
+      chains, and innumerable suits of the richest armor and apparel.
+      The general distribution was postponed till Damascus should be
+      taken; but the seasonable supply of arms became the instrument of
+      new victories. The glorious intelligence was transmitted to the
+      throne of the caliph; and the Arabian tribes, the coldest or most
+      hostile to the prophet’s mission, were eager and importunate to
+      share the harvest of Syria.
+
+      The sad tidings were carried to Damascus by the speed of grief
+      and terror; and the inhabitants beheld from their walls the
+      return of the heroes of Aiznadin. Amrou led the van at the head
+      of nine thousand horse: the bands of the Saracens succeeded each
+      other in formidable review; and the rear was closed by Caled in
+      person, with the standard of the black eagle. To the activity of
+      Derar he intrusted the commission of patrolling round the city
+      with two thousand horse, of scouring the plain, and of
+      intercepting all succor or intelligence. The rest of the Arabian
+      chiefs were fixed in their respective stations before the seven
+      gates of Damascus; and the siege was renewed with fresh vigor and
+      confidence. The art, the labor, the military engines, of the
+      Greeks and Romans are seldom to be found in the simple, though
+      successful, operations of the Saracens: it was sufficient for
+      them to invest a city with arms, rather than with trenches; to
+      repel the allies of the besieged; to attempt a stratagem or an
+      assault; or to expect the progress of famine and discontent.
+      Damascus would have acquiesced in the trial of Aiznadin, as a
+      final and peremptory sentence between the emperor and the caliph;
+      her courage was rekindled by the example and authority of Thomas,
+      a noble Greek, illustrious in a private condition by the alliance
+      of Heraclius. The tumult and illumination of the night proclaimed
+      the design of the morning sally; and the Christian hero, who
+      affected to despise the enthusiasm of the Arabs, employed the
+      resource of a similar superstition. At the principal gate, in the
+      sight of both armies, a lofty crucifix was erected; the bishop,
+      with his clergy, accompanied the march, and laid the volume of
+      the New Testament before the image of Jesus; and the contending
+      parties were scandalized or edified by a prayer that the Son of
+      God would defend his servants and vindicate his truth. The battle
+      raged with incessant fury; and the dexterity of Thomas, an
+      incomparable archer, was fatal to the boldest Saracens, till
+      their death was revenged by a female heroine. The wife of Aban,
+      who had followed him to the holy war, embraced her expiring
+      husband. “Happy,” said she, “happy art thou, my dear: thou art
+      gone to thy Lord, who first joined us together, and then parted
+      us asunder. I will revenge thy death, and endeavor to the utmost
+      of my power to come to the place where thou art, because I love
+      thee. Henceforth shall no man ever touch me more, for I have
+      dedicated myself to the service of God.” Without a groan, without
+      a tear, she washed the corpse of her husband, and buried him with
+      the usual rites. Then grasping the manly weapons, which in her
+      native land she was accustomed to wield, the intrepid widow of
+      Aban sought the place where his murderer fought in the thickest
+      of the battle. Her first arrow pierced the hand of his
+      standard-bearer; her second wounded Thomas in the eye; and the
+      fainting Christians no longer beheld their ensign or their
+      leader. Yet the generous champion of Damascus refused to withdraw
+      to his palace: his wound was dressed on the rampart; the fight
+      was continued till the evening; and the Syrians rested on their
+      arms. In the silence of the night, the signal was given by a
+      stroke on the great bell; the gates were thrown open, and each
+      gate discharged an impetuous column on the sleeping camp of the
+      Saracens. Caled was the first in arms: at the head of four
+      hundred horse he flew to the post of danger, and the tears
+      trickled down his iron cheeks, as he uttered a fervent
+      ejaculation; “O God, who never sleepest, look upon they servants,
+      and do not deliver them into the hands of their enemies.” The
+      valor and victory of Thomas were arrested by the presence of the
+      _Sword of God_; with the knowledge of the peril, the Moslems
+      recovered their ranks, and charged the assailants in the flank
+      and rear. After the loss of thousands, the Christian general
+      retreated with a sigh of despair, and the pursuit of the Saracens
+      was checked by the military engines of the rampart.
+
+      After a siege of seventy days, the patience, and perhaps the
+      provisions, of the Damascenes were exhausted; and the bravest of
+      their chiefs submitted to the hard dictates of necessity. In the
+      occurrences of peace and war, they had been taught to dread the
+      fierceness of Caled, and to revere the mild virtues of Abu
+      Obeidah. At the hour of midnight, one hundred chosen deputies of
+      the clergy and people were introduced to the tent of that
+      venerable commander. He received and dismissed them with
+      courtesy. They returned with a written agreement, on the faith of
+      a companion of Mahomet, that all hostilities should cease; that
+      the voluntary emigrants might depart in safety, with as much as
+      they could carry away of their effects; and that the tributary
+      subjects of the caliph should enjoy their lands and houses, with
+      the use and possession of seven churches. On these terms, the
+      most respectable hostages, and the gate nearest to his camp, were
+      delivered into his hands: his soldiers imitated the moderation of
+      their chief; and he enjoyed the submissive gratitude of a people
+      whom he had rescued from destruction. But the success of the
+      treaty had relaxed their vigilance, and in the same moment the
+      opposite quarter of the city was betrayed and taken by assault. A
+      party of a hundred Arabs had opened the eastern gate to a more
+      inexorable foe. “No quarter,” cried the rapacious and sanguinary
+      Caled, “no quarter to the enemies of the Lord:” his trumpets
+      sounded, and a torrent of Christian blood was poured down the
+      streets of Damascus. When he reached the church of St. Mary, he
+      was astonished and provoked by the peaceful aspect of his
+      companions; their swords were in the scabbard, and they were
+      surrounded by a multitude of priests and monks. Abu Obeidah
+      saluted the general: “God,” said he, “has delivered the city into
+      my hands by way of surrender, and has saved the believers the
+      trouble of fighting.” “And am I not,” replied the indignant
+      Caled, “am I not the lieutenant of the commander of the faithful?
+      Have I not taken the city by storm? The unbelievers shall perish
+      by the sword. Fall on.” The hungry and cruel Arabs would have
+      obeyed the welcome command; and Damascus was lost, if the
+      benevolence of Abu Obeidah had not been supported by a decent and
+      dignified firmness. Throwing himself between the trembling
+      citizens and the most eager of the Barbarians, he adjured them,
+      by the holy name of God, to respect his promise, to suspend their
+      fury, and to wait the determination of their chiefs. The chiefs
+      retired into the church of St. Mary; and after a vehement debate,
+      Caled submitted in some measure to the reason and authority of
+      his colleague; who urged the sanctity of a covenant, the
+      advantage as well as the honor which the Moslems would derive
+      from the punctual performance of their word, and the obstinate
+      resistance which they must encounter from the distrust and
+      despair of the rest of the Syrian cities. It was agreed that the
+      sword should be sheathed, that the part of Damascus which had
+      surrendered to Abu Obeidah, should be immediately entitled to the
+      benefit of his capitulation, and that the final decision should
+      be referred to the justice and wisdom of the caliph. A large
+      majority of the people accepted the terms of toleration and
+      tribute; and Damascus is still peopled by twenty thousand
+      Christians. But the valiant Thomas, and the free-born patriots
+      who had fought under his banner, embraced the alternative of
+      poverty and exile. In the adjacent meadow, a numerous encampment
+      was formed of priests and laymen, of soldiers and citizens, of
+      women and children: they collected, with haste and terror, their
+      most precious movables; and abandoned, with loud lamentations, or
+      silent anguish, their native homes, and the pleasant banks of the
+      Pharpar. The inflexible soul of Caled was not touched by the
+      spectacle of their distress: he disputed with the Damascenes the
+      property of a magazine of corn; endeavored to exclude the
+      garrison from the benefit of the treaty; consented, with
+      reluctance, that each of the fugitives should arm himself with a
+      sword, or a lance, or a bow; and sternly declared, that, after a
+      respite of three days, they might be pursued and treated as the
+      enemies of the Moslems.
+
+      The passion of a Syrian youth completed the ruin of the exiles of
+      Damascus. A nobleman of the city, of the name of Jonas, was
+      betrothed to a wealthy maiden; but her parents delayed the
+      consummation of his nuptials, and their daughter was persuaded to
+      escape with the man whom she had chosen. They corrupted the
+      nightly watchmen of the gate Keisan; the lover, who led the way,
+      was encompassed by a squadron of Arabs; but his exclamation in
+      the Greek tongue, “The bird is taken,” admonished his mistress to
+      hasten her return. In the presence of Caled, and of death, the
+      unfortunate Jonas professed his belief in one God and his apostle
+      Mahomet; and continued, till the season of his martyrdom, to
+      discharge the duties of a brave and sincere Mussulman. When the
+      city was taken, he flew to the monastery, where Eudocia had taken
+      refuge; but the lover was forgotten; the apostate was scorned;
+      she preferred her religion to her country; and the justice of
+      Caled, though deaf to mercy, refused to detain by force a male or
+      female inhabitant of Damascus. Four days was the general confined
+      to the city by the obligation of the treaty, and the urgent cares
+      of his new conquest. His appetite for blood and rapine would have
+      been extinguished by the hopeless computation of time and
+      distance; but he listened to the importunities of Jonas, who
+      assured him that the weary fugitives might yet be overtaken. At
+      the head of four thousand horse, in the disguise of Christian
+      Arabs, Caled undertook the pursuit. They halted only for the
+      moments of prayer; and their guide had a perfect knowledge of the
+      country. For a long way the footsteps of the Damascenes were
+      plain and conspicuous: they vanished on a sudden; but the
+      Saracens were comforted by the assurance that the caravan had
+      turned aside into the mountains, and must speedily fall into
+      their hands. In traversing the ridges of the Libanus, they
+      endured intolerable hardships, and the sinking spirits of the
+      veteran fanatics were supported and cheered by the unconquerable
+      ardor of a lover. From a peasant of the country, they were
+      informed that the emperor had sent orders to the colony of exiles
+      to pursue without delay the road of the sea-coast, and of
+      Constantinople, apprehensive, perhaps, that the soldiers and
+      people of Antioch might be discouraged by the sight and the story
+      of their sufferings. The Saracens were conducted through the
+      territories of Gabala and Laodicea, at a cautious distance from
+      the walls of the cities; the rain was incessant, the night was
+      dark, a single mountain separated them from the Roman army; and
+      Caled, ever anxious for the safety of his brethren, whispered an
+      ominous dream in the ear of his companion. With the dawn of day,
+      the prospect again cleared, and they saw before them, in a
+      pleasant valley, the tents of Damascus. After a short interval of
+      repose and prayer, Caled divided his cavalry into four squadrons,
+      committing the first to his faithful Derar, and reserving the
+      last for himself. They successively rushed on the promiscuous
+      multitude, insufficiently provided with arms, and already
+      vanquished by sorrow and fatigue. Except a captive, who was
+      pardoned and dismissed, the Arabs enjoyed the satisfaction of
+      believing that not a Christian of either sex escaped the edge of
+      their cimeters. The gold and silver of Damascus was scattered
+      over the camp, and a royal wardrobe of three hundred load of silk
+      might clothe an army of naked Barbarians. In the tumult of the
+      battle, Jonas sought and found the object of his pursuit: but her
+      resentment was inflamed by the last act of his perfidy; and as
+      Eudocia struggled in his hateful embraces, she struck a dagger to
+      her heart. Another female, the widow of Thomas, and the real or
+      supposed daughter of Heraclius, was spared and released without a
+      ransom; but the generosity of Caled was the effect of his
+      contempt; and the haughty Saracen insulted, by a message of
+      defiance, the throne of the Cæsars. Caled had penetrated above a
+      hundred and fifty miles into the heart of the Roman province: he
+      returned to Damascus with the same secrecy and speed On the
+      accession of Omar, the _Sword of God_ was removed from the
+      command; but the caliph, who blamed the rashness, was compelled
+      to applaud the vigor and conduct, of the enterprise.
+
+      Another expedition of the conquerors of Damascus will equally
+      display their avidity and their contempt for the riches of the
+      present world. They were informed that the produce and
+      manufactures of the country were annually collected in the fair
+      of Abyla, 64 about thirty miles from the city; that the cell of a
+      devout hermit was visited at the same time by a multitude of
+      pilgrims; and that the festival of trade and superstition would
+      be ennobled by the nuptials of the daughter of the governor of
+      Tripoli. Abdallah, the son of Jaafar, a glorious and holy martyr,
+      undertook, with a banner of five hundred horse, the pious and
+      profitable commission of despoiling the infidels. As he
+      approached the fair of Abyla, he was astonished by the report of
+      this mighty concourse of Jews and Christians, Greeks, and
+      Armenians, of natives of Syria and of strangers of Egypt, to the
+      number of ten thousand, besides a guard of five thousand horse
+      that attended the person of the bride. The Saracens paused: “For
+      my own part,” said Abdallah, “I dare not go back: our foes are
+      many, our danger is great, but our reward is splendid and secure,
+      either in this life or in the life to come. Let every man,
+      according to his inclination, advance or retire.” Not a Mussulman
+      deserted his standard. “Lead the way,” said Abdallah to his
+      Christian guide, “and you shall see what the companions of the
+      prophet can perform.” They charged in five squadrons; but after
+      the first advantage of the surprise, they were encompassed and
+      almost overwhelmed by the multitude of their enemies; and their
+      valiant band is fancifully compared to a white spot in the skin
+      of a black camel. 65 About the hour of sunset, when their weapons
+      dropped from their hands, when they panted on the verge of
+      eternity, they discovered an approaching cloud of dust; they
+      heard the welcome sound of the tecbir, 66 and they soon perceived
+      the standard of Caled, who flew to their relief with the utmost
+      speed of his cavalry. The Christians were broken by his attack,
+      and slaughtered in their flight, as far as the river of Tripoli.
+      They left behind them the various riches of the fair; the
+      merchandises that were exposed for sale, the money that was
+      brought for purchase, the gay decorations of the nuptials, and
+      the governor’s daughter, with forty of her female attendants.
+
+      The fruits, provisions, and furniture, the money, plate, and
+      jewels, were diligently laden on the backs of horses, asses, and
+      mules; and the holy robbers returned in triumph to Damascus. The
+      hermit, after a short and angry controversy with Caled, declined
+      the crown of martyrdom, and was left alive in the solitary scene
+      of blood and devastation.
+
+      64 (return) [ Dair Abil Kodos. After retrenching the last word,
+      the epithet, holy, I discover the Abila of Lysanias between
+      Damascus and Heliopolis: the name (Abil signifies a vineyard)
+      concurs with the situation to justify my conjecture, (Reland,
+      Palestin. tom. i. p 317, tom. ii. p. 526, 527.)]
+
+      65 (return) [ I am bolder than Mr. Ockley, (vol. i. p. 164,) who
+      dares not insert this figurative expression in the text, though
+      he observes in a marginal note, that the Arabians often borrow
+      their similes from that useful and familiar animal. The reindeer
+      may be equally famous in the songs of the Laplanders.]
+
+      66 (return) [ We hear the tecbir; so the Arabs call Their shout
+      of onset, when with loud appeal They challenge heaven, as if
+      demanding conquest. This word, so formidable in their holy wars,
+      is a verb active, (says Ockley in his index,) of the second
+      conjugation, from Kabbara, which signifies saying Alla Acbar, God
+      is most mighty!]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LI: Conquests By The Arabs.—Part IV.
+
+      Syria, 67 one of the countries that have been improved by the
+      most early cultivation, is not unworthy of the preference. 68 The
+      heat of the climate is tempered by the vicinity of the sea and
+      mountains, by the plenty of wood and water; and the produce of a
+      fertile soil affords the subsistence, and encourages the
+      propagation, of men and animals. From the age of David to that of
+      Heraclius, the country was overspread with ancient and
+      flourishing cities: the inhabitants were numerous and wealthy;
+      and, after the slow ravage of despotism and superstition, after
+      the recent calamities of the Persian war, Syria could still
+      attract and reward the rapacious tribes of the desert. A plain,
+      of ten days’ journey, from Damascus to Aleppo and Antioch, is
+      watered, on the western side, by the winding course of the
+      Orontes. The hills of Libanus and Anti-Libanus are planted from
+      north to south, between the Orontes and the Mediterranean; and
+      the epithet of hollow (Coelesyria) was applied to a long and
+      fruitful valley, which is confined in the same direction, by the
+      two ridges of snowy mountains. 69 Among the cities, which are
+      enumerated by Greek and Oriental names in the geography and
+      conquest of Syria, we may distinguish Emesa or Hems, Heliopolis
+      or Baalbec, the former as the metropolis of the plain, the latter
+      as the capital of the valley. Under the last of the Caesars, they
+      were strong and populous; the turrets glittered from afar: an
+      ample space was covered with public and private buildings; and
+      the citizens were illustrious by their spirit, or at least by
+      their pride; by their riches, or at least by their luxury. In the
+      days of Paganism, both Emesa and Heliopolis were addicted to the
+      worship of Baal, or the sun; but the decline of their
+      superstition and splendor has been marked by a singular variety
+      of fortune. Not a vestige remains of the temple of Emesa, which
+      was equalled in poetic style to the summits of Mount Libanus, 70
+      while the ruins of Baalbec, invisible to the writers of
+      antiquity, excite the curiosity and wonder of the European
+      traveller. 71 The measure of the temple is two hundred feet in
+      length, and one hundred in breadth: the front is adorned with a
+      double portico of eight columns; fourteen may be counted on
+      either side; and each column, forty-five feet in height, is
+      composed of three massy blocks of stone or marble. The
+      proportions and ornaments of the Corinthian order express the
+      architecture of the Greeks: but as Baalbec has never been the
+      seat of a monarch, we are at a loss to conceive how the expense
+      of these magnificent structures could be supplied by private or
+      municipal liberality. 72 From the conquest of Damascus the
+      Saracens proceeded to Heliopolis and Emesa: but I shall decline
+      the repetition of the sallies and combats which have been already
+      shown on a larger scale. In the prosecution of the war, their
+      policy was not less effectual than their sword. By short and
+      separate truces they dissolved the union of the enemy; accustomed
+      the Syrians to compare their friendship with their enmity;
+      familiarized the idea of their language, religion, and manners;
+      and exhausted, by clandestine purchase, the magazines and
+      arsenals of the cities which they returned to besiege. They
+      aggravated the ransom of the more wealthy, or the more obstinate;
+      and Chalcis alone was taxed at five thousand ounces of gold, five
+      thousand ounces of silver, two thousand robes of silk, and as
+      many figs and olives as would load five thousand asses. But the
+      terms of truce or capitulation were faithfully observed; and the
+      lieutenant of the caliph, who had promised not to enter the walls
+      of the captive Baalbec, remained tranquil and immovable in his
+      tent till the jarring factions solicited the interposition of a
+      foreign master. The conquest of the plain and valley of Syria was
+      achieved in less than two years. Yet the commander of the
+      faithful reproved the slowness of their progress; and the
+      Saracens, bewailing their fault with tears of rage and
+      repentance, called aloud on their chiefs to lead them forth to
+      fight the battles of the Lord. In a recent action, under the
+      walls of Emesa, an Arabian youth, the cousin of Caled, was heard
+      aloud to exclaim, “Methinks I see the black-eyed girls looking
+      upon me; one of whom, should she appear in this world, all
+      mankind would die for love of her. And I see in the hand of one
+      of them a handkerchief of green silk, and a cap of precious
+      stones, and she beckons me, and calls out, Come hither quickly,
+      for I love thee.” With these words, charging the Christians, he
+      made havoc wherever he went, till, observed at length by the
+      governor of Hems, he was struck through with a javelin.
+
+      67 (return) [ In the Geography of Abulfeda, the description of
+      Syria, his native country, is the most interesting and authentic
+      portion. It was published in Arabic and Latin, Lipsiae, 1766, in
+      quarto, with the learned notes of Kochler and Reiske, and some
+      extracts of geography and natural history from Ibn Ol Wardii.
+      Among the modern travels, Pocock’s Description of the East (of
+      Syria and Mesopotamia, vol. ii. p. 88-209) is a work of superior
+      learning and dignity; but the author too often confounds what he
+      had seen and what he had read.]
+
+      68 (return) [ The praises of Dionysius are just and lively.
+      Syria, (in Periegesi, v. 902, in tom. iv. Geograph. Minor.
+      Hudson.) In another place he styles the country differently, (v.
+      898.) This poetical geographer lived in the age of Augustus, and
+      his description of the world is illustrated by the Greek
+      commentary of Eustathius, who paid the same compliment to Homer
+      and Dionysius, (Fabric. Bibliot. Graec. l. iv. c. 2, tom. iii. p.
+      21, &c.)]
+
+      69 (return) [ The topography of the Libanus and Anti-Libanus is
+      excellently described by the learning and sense of Reland,
+      (Palestin. tom. i. p. 311-326)]
+
+      70 (return) [
+
+ —Emesae fastigia celsa renident. Nam diffusa solo latus explicat; ac
+ subit auras Turribus in coelum nitentibus: incola claris Cor studiis
+ acuit... Denique flammicomo devoti pectora soli Vitam agitant. 
+ Libanus frondosa cacumina turget. Et tamen his certant celsi fastigia
+ templi.
+
+      These verses of the Latin version of Rufus Avienus are wanting in
+      the Greek original of Dionysius; and since they are likewise
+      unnoticed by Eustathius, I must, with Fabricius, (Bibliot. Latin.
+      tom. iii. p. 153, edit. Ernesti,) and against Salmasius, (ad
+      Vopiscum, p. 366, 367, in Hist. August.,) ascribed them to the
+      fancy, rather than the Mss., of Avienus.]
+
+      71 (return) [ I am much better satisfied with Maundrell’s slight
+      octavo, (Journey, p. 134-139), than with the pompous folio of Dr.
+      Pocock, (Description of the East, vol. ii. p. 106-113;) but every
+      preceding account is eclipsed by the magnificent description and
+      drawings of Mm. Dawkins and Wood, who have transported into
+      England the ruins of Pamyra and Baalbec.]
+
+      72 (return) [ The Orientals explain the prodigy by a
+      never-failing expedient. The edifices of Baalbec were constructed
+      by the fairies or the genii, (Hist. de Timour Bec, tom. iii. l.
+      v. c. 23, p. 311, 312. Voyage d’Otter, tom. i. p. 83.) With less
+      absurdity, but with equal ignorance, Abulfeda and Ibn Chaukel
+      ascribe them to the Sabaeans or Aadites Non sunt in omni Syria
+      aedificia magnificentiora his, (Tabula Syria p. 108.)]
+
+      It was incumbent on the Saracens to exert the full powers of
+      their valor and enthusiasm against the forces of the emperor, who
+      was taught, by repeated losses, that the rovers of the desert had
+      undertaken, and would speedily achieve, a regular and permanent
+      conquest. From the provinces of Europe and Asia, fourscore
+      thousand soldiers were transported by sea and land to Antioch and
+      Caesarea: the light troops of the army consisted of sixty
+      thousand Christian Arabs of the tribe of Gassan. Under the banner
+      of Jabalah, the last of their princes, they marched in the van;
+      and it was a maxim of the Greeks, that for the purpose of cutting
+      diamond, a diamond was the most effectual. Heraclius withheld his
+      person from the dangers of the field; but his presumption, or
+      perhaps his despondency, suggested a peremptory order, that the
+      fate of the province and the war should be decided by a single
+      battle. The Syrians were attached to the standard of Rome and of
+      the cross: but the noble, the citizen, the peasant, were
+      exasperated by the injustice and cruelty of a licentious host,
+      who oppressed them as subjects, and despised them as strangers
+      and aliens. 73 A report of these mighty preparations was conveyed
+      to the Saracens in their camp of Emesa, and the chiefs, though
+      resolved to fight, assembled a council: the faith of Abu Obeidah
+      would have expected on the same spot the glory of martyrdom; the
+      wisdom of Caled advised an honorable retreat to the skirts of
+      Palestine and Arabia, where they might await the succors of their
+      friends, and the attack of the unbelievers. A speedy messenger
+      soon returned from the throne of Medina, with the blessings of
+      Omar and Ali, the prayers of the widows of the prophet, and a
+      reenforcement of eight thousand Moslems. In their way they
+      overturned a detachment of Greeks, and when they joined at Yermuk
+      the camp of their brethren, they found the pleasing intelligence,
+      that Caled had already defeated and scattered the Christian Arabs
+      of the tribe of Gassan. In the neighborhood of Bosra, the springs
+      of Mount Hermon descend in a torrent to the plain of Decapolis,
+      or ten cities; and the Hieromax, a name which has been corrupted
+      to Yermuk, is lost, after a short course, in the Lake of
+      Tiberias. 74 The banks of this obscure stream were illustrated by
+      a long and bloody encounter. 7411 On this momentous occasion, the
+      public voice, and the modesty of Abu Obeidah, restored the
+      command to the most deserving of the Moslems. Caled assumed his
+      station in the front, his colleague was posted in the rear, that
+      the disorder of the fugitive might be checked by his venerable
+      aspect, and the sight of the yellow banner which Mahomet had
+      displayed before the walls of Chaibar. The last line was occupied
+      by the sister of Derar, with the Arabian women who had enlisted
+      in this holy war, who were accustomed to wield the bow and the
+      lance, and who in a moment of captivity had defended, against the
+      uncircumcised ravishers, their chastity and religion. 75 The
+      exhortation of the generals was brief and forcible: “Paradise is
+      before you, the devil and hell-fire in your rear.” Yet such was
+      the weight of the Roman cavalry, that the right wing of the Arabs
+      was broken and separated from the main body. Thrice did they
+      retreat in disorder, and thrice were they driven back to the
+      charge by the reproaches and blows of the women. In the intervals
+      of action, Abu Obeidah visited the tents of his brethren,
+      prolonged their repose by repeating at once the prayers of two
+      different hours, bound up their wounds with his own hands, and
+      administered the comfortable reflection, that the infidels
+      partook of their sufferings without partaking of their reward.
+      Four thousand and thirty of the Moslems were buried in the field
+      of battle; and the skill of the Armenian archers enabled seven
+      hundred to boast that they had lost an eye in that meritorious
+      service. The veterans of the Syrian war acknowledged that it was
+      the hardest and most doubtful of the days which they had seen.
+      But it was likewise the most decisive: many thousands of the
+      Greeks and Syrians fell by the swords of the Arabs; many were
+      slaughtered, after the defeat, in the woods and mountains; many,
+      by mistaking the ford, were drowned in the waters of the Yermuk;
+      and however the loss may be magnified, 76 the Christian writers
+      confess and bewail the bloody punishment of their sins. 77
+      Manuel, the Roman general, was either killed at Damascus, or took
+      refuge in the monastery of Mount Sinai. An exile in the Byzantine
+      court, Jabalah lamented the manners of Arabia, and his unlucky
+      preference of the Christian cause. 78 He had once inclined to the
+      profession of Islam; but in the pilgrimage of Mecca, Jabalah was
+      provoked to strike one of his brethren, and fled with amazement
+      from the stern and equal justice of the caliph. These victorious
+      Saracens enjoyed at Damascus a month of pleasure and repose: the
+      spoil was divided by the discretion of Abu Obeidah: an equal
+      share was allotted to a soldier and to his horse, and a double
+      portion was reserved for the noble coursers of the Arabian breed.
+
+      73 (return) [ I have read somewhere in Tacitus, or Grotius,
+      Subjectos habent tanquam suos, viles tanquam alienos. Some Greek
+      officers ravished the wife, and murdered the child, of their
+      Syrian landlord; and Manuel smiled at his undutiful complaint.]
+
+      74 (return) [ See Reland, Palestin. tom. i. p. 272, 283, tom. ii.
+      p. 773, 775. This learned professor was equal to the task of
+      describing the Holy Land, since he was alike conversant with
+      Greek and Latin, with Hebrew and Arabian literature. The Yermuk,
+      or Hieromax, is noticed by Cellarius (Geograph. Antiq. tom. ii.
+      p. 392) and D’Anville, (Geographie Ancienne, tom. ii. p. 185.)
+      The Arabs, and even Abulfeda himself, do not seem to recognize
+      the scene of their victory.]
+
+      7411 (return) [ Compare Price, p. 79. The army of the Romans is
+      swoller to 400,000 men of which 70,000 perished.—M.]
+
+      75 (return) [ These women were of the tribe of the Hamyarites,
+      who derived their origin from the ancient Amalekites. Their
+      females were accustomed to ride on horseback, and to fight like
+      the Amazons of old, (Ockley, vol. i. p. 67.)]
+
+      76 (return) [ We killed of them, says Abu Obeidah to the caliph,
+      one hundred and fifty thousand, and made prisoners forty
+      thousand, (Ockley vol. i. p. 241.) As I cannot doubt his
+      veracity, nor believe his computation, I must suspect that the
+      Arabic historians indulge themselves in the practice of comparing
+      speeches and letters for their heroes.]
+
+      77 (return) [ After deploring the sins of the Christians,
+      Theophanes, adds, (Chronograph. p. 276,) does he mean Aiznadin?
+      His account is brief and obscure, but he accuses the numbers of
+      the enemy, the adverse wind, and the cloud of dust. (Chronograph.
+      p. 280.)]
+
+      78 (return) [ See Abulfeda, (Annal. Moslem. p. 70, 71,) who
+      transcribes the poetical complaint of Jabalah himself, and some
+      panegyrical strains of an Arabian poet, to whom the chief of
+      Gassan sent from Constantinople a gift of five hundred pieces of
+      gold by the hands of the ambassador of Omar.]
+
+      After the battle of Yermuk, the Roman army no longer appeared in
+      the field; and the Saracens might securely choose, among the
+      fortified towns of Syria, the first object of their attack. They
+      consulted the caliph whether they should march to Caesarea or
+      Jerusalem; and the advice of Ali determined the immediate siege
+      of the latter. To a profane eye, Jerusalem was the first or
+      second capital of Palestine; but after Mecca and Medina, it was
+      revered and visited by the devout Moslems, as the temple of the
+      Holy Land which had been sanctified by the revelation of Moses,
+      of Jesus, and of Mahomet himself. The son of Abu Sophian was sent
+      with five thousand Arabs to try the first experiment of surprise
+      or treaty; but on the eleventh day, the town was invested by the
+      whole force of Abu Obeidah. He addressed the customary summons to
+      the chief commanders and people of Aelia. 79
+
+      79 (return) [ In the name of the city, the profane prevailed over
+      the sacred Jerusalem was known to the devout Christians, (Euseb.
+      de Martyr Palest. c xi.;) but the legal and popular appellation
+      of Aelia (the colony of Aelius Hadrianus) has passed from the
+      Romans to the Arabs. (Reland, Palestin. tom. i. p. 207, tom. ii.
+      p. 835. D’Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orientale, Cods, p. 269, Ilia,
+      p. 420.) The epithet of Al Cods, the Holy, is used as the proper
+      name of Jerusalem.]
+
+      “Health and happiness to every one that follows the right way! We
+      require of you to testify that there is but one God, and that
+      Mahomet is his apostle. If you refuse this, consent to pay
+      tribute, and be under us forthwith. Otherwise I shall bring men
+      against you who love death better than you do the drinking of
+      wine or eating hog’s flesh. Nor will I ever stir from you, if it
+      please God, till I have destroyed those that fight for you, and
+      made slaves of your children.” But the city was defended on every
+      side by deep valleys and steep ascents; since the invasion of
+      Syria, the walls and towers had been anxiously restored; the
+      bravest of the fugitives of Yermuk had stopped in the nearest
+      place of refuge; and in the defence of the sepulchre of Christ,
+      the natives and strangers might feel some sparks of the
+      enthusiasm, which so fiercely glowed in the bosoms of the
+      Saracens. The siege of Jerusalem lasted four months; not a day
+      was lost without some action of sally or assault; the military
+      engines incessantly played from the ramparts; and the inclemency
+      of the winter was still more painful and destructive to the
+      Arabs. The Christians yielded at length to the perseverance of
+      the besiegers. The patriarch Sophronius appeared on the walls,
+      and by the voice of an interpreter demanded a conference. 7911
+      After a vain attempt to dissuade the lieutenant of the caliph
+      from his impious enterprise, he proposed, in the name of the
+      people, a fair capitulation, with this extraordinary clause, that
+      the articles of security should be ratified by the authority and
+      presence of Omar himself. The question was debated in the council
+      of Medina; the sanctity of the place, and the advice of Ali,
+      persuaded the caliph to gratify the wishes of his soldiers and
+      enemies; and the simplicity of his journey is more illustrious
+      than the royal pageants of vanity and oppression. The conqueror
+      of Persia and Syria was mounted on a red camel, which carried,
+      besides his person, a bag of corn, a bag of dates, a wooden dish,
+      and a leathern bottle of water. Wherever he halted, the company,
+      without distinction, was invited to partake of his homely fare,
+      and the repast was consecrated by the prayer and exhortation of
+      the commander of the faithful. 80 But in this expedition or
+      pilgrimage, his power was exercised in the administration of
+      justice: he reformed the licentious polygamy of the Arabs,
+      relieved the tributaries from extortion and cruelty, and
+      chastised the luxury of the Saracens, by despoiling them of their
+      rich silks, and dragging them on their faces in the dirt. When he
+      came within sight of Jerusalem, the caliph cried with a loud
+      voice, “God is victorious. O Lord, give us an easy conquest!”
+      and, pitching his tent of coarse hair, calmly seated himself on
+      the ground. After signing the capitulation, he entered the city
+      without fear or precaution; and courteously discoursed with the
+      patriarch concerning its religious antiquities. 81 Sophronius
+      bowed before his new master, and secretly muttered, in the words
+      of Daniel, “The abomination of desolation is in the holy place.”
+      82 At the hour of prayer they stood together in the church of the
+      resurrection; but the caliph refused to perform his devotions,
+      and contented himself with praying on the steps of the church of
+      Constantine. To the patriarch he disclosed his prudent and
+      honorable motive. “Had I yielded,” said Omar, “to your request,
+      the Moslems of a future age would have infringed the treaty under
+      color of imitating my example.” By his command the ground of the
+      temple of Solomon was prepared for the foundation of a mosch; 83
+      and, during a residence of ten days, he regulated the present and
+      future state of his Syrian conquests. Medina might be jealous,
+      lest the caliph should be detained by the sanctity of Jerusalem
+      or the beauty of Damascus; her apprehensions were dispelled by
+      his prompt and voluntary return to the tomb of the apostle. 84
+
+      7911 (return) [ See the explanation of this in Price, with the
+      prophecy which was hereby fulfilled, p 85.—M]
+
+      80 (return) [ The singular journey and equipage of Omar are
+      described (besides Ockley, vol. i. p. 250) by Murtadi,
+      (Merveilles de l’Egypte, p. 200-202.)]
+
+      81 (return) [ The Arabs boast of an old prophecy preserved at
+      Jerusalem, and describing the name, the religion, and the person
+      of Omar, the future conqueror. By such arts the Jews are said to
+      have soothed the pride of their foreign masters, Cyrus and
+      Alexander, (Joseph. Ant. Jud. l. xi c. 1, 8, p. 447, 579-582.)]
+
+      82 (return) [ Theophan. Chronograph. p. 281. This prediction,
+      which had already served for Antiochus and the Romans, was again
+      refitted for the present occasion, by the economy of Sophronius,
+      one of the deepest theologians of the Monothelite controversy.]
+
+      83 (return) [ According to the accurate survey of D’Anville,
+      (Dissertation sun l’ancienne Jerusalem, p. 42-54,) the mosch of
+      Omar, enlarged and embellished by succeeding caliphs, covered the
+      ground of the ancient temple, (says Phocas,) a length of 215, a
+      breadth of 172, toises. The Nubian geographer declares, that this
+      magnificent structure was second only in size and beauty to the
+      great mosch of Cordova, (p. 113,) whose present state Mr.
+      Swinburne has so elegantly represented, (Travels into Spain, p.
+      296-302.)]
+
+      84 (return) [ Of the many Arabic tarikhs or chronicles of
+      Jerusalem, (D’Herbelot, p. 867,) Ockley found one among the
+      Pocock Mss. of Oxford, (vol. i. p. 257,) which he has used to
+      supply the defective narrative of Al Wakidi.]
+
+      To achieve what yet remained of the Syrian war the caliph had
+      formed two separate armies; a chosen detachment, under Amrou and
+      Yezid, was left in the camp of Palestine; while the larger
+      division, under the standard of Abu Obeidah and Caled, marched
+      away to the north against Antioch and Aleppo. The latter of
+      these, the Beraea of the Greeks, was not yet illustrious as the
+      capital of a province or a kingdom; and the inhabitants, by
+      anticipating their submission and pleading their poverty,
+      obtained a moderate composition for their lives and religion. But
+      the castle of Aleppo, 85 distinct from the city, stood erect on a
+      lofty artificial mound; the sides were sharpened to a precipice,
+      and faced with free-stone; and the breadth of the ditch might be
+      filled with water from the neighboring springs. After the loss of
+      three thousand men, the garrison was still equal to the defence;
+      and Youkinna, their valiant and hereditary chief, had murdered
+      his brother, a holy monk, for daring to pronounce the name of
+      peace. In a siege of four or five months, the hardest of the
+      Syrian war, great numbers of the Saracens were killed and
+      wounded: their removal to the distance of a mile could not seduce
+      the vigilance of Youkinna; nor could the Christians be terrified
+      by the execution of three hundred captives, whom they beheaded
+      before the castle wall. The silence, and at length the
+      complaints, of Abu Obeidah informed the caliph that their hope
+      and patience were consumed at the foot of this impregnable
+      fortress. “I am variously affected,” replied Omar, “by the
+      difference of your success; but I charge you by no means to raise
+      the siege of the castle. Your retreat would diminish the
+      reputation of our arms, and encourage the infidels to fall upon
+      you on all sides. Remain before Aleppo till God shall determine
+      the event, and forage with your horse round the adjacent
+      country.” The exhortation of the commander of the faithful was
+      fortified by a supply of volunteers from all the tribes of
+      Arabia, who arrived in the camp on horses or camels. Among these
+      was Dames, of a servile birth, but of gigantic size and intrepid
+      resolution. The forty-seventh day of his service he proposed,
+      with only thirty men, to make an attempt on the castle. The
+      experience and testimony of Caled recommended his offer; and Abu
+      Obeidah admonished his brethren not to despise the baser origin
+      of Dames, since he himself, could he relinquish the public care,
+      would cheerfully serve under the banner of the slave. His design
+      was covered by the appearance of a retreat; and the camp of the
+      Saracens was pitched about a league from Aleppo. The thirty
+      adventurers lay in ambush at the foot of the hill; and Dames at
+      length succeeded in his inquiries, though he was provoked by the
+      ignorance of his Greek captives. “God curse these dogs,” said the
+      illiterate Arab; “what a strange barbarous language they speak!”
+      At the darkest hour of the night, he scaled the most accessible
+      height, which he had diligently surveyed, a place where the
+      stones were less entire, or the slope less perpendicular, or the
+      guard less vigilant. Seven of the stoutest Saracens mounted on
+      each other’s shoulders, and the weight of the column was
+      sustained on the broad and sinewy back of the gigantic slave. The
+      foremost in this painful ascent could grasp and climb the lowest
+      part of the battlements; they silently stabbed and cast down the
+      sentinels; and the thirty brethren, repeating a pious
+      ejaculation, “O apostle of God, help and deliver us!” were
+      successively drawn up by the long folds of their turbans. With
+      bold and cautious footsteps, Dames explored the palace of the
+      governor, who celebrated, in riotous merriment, the festival of
+      his deliverance. From thence, returning to his companions, he
+      assaulted on the inside the entrance of the castle. They
+      overpowered the guard, unbolted the gate, let down the
+      drawbridge, and defended the narrow pass, till the arrival of
+      Caled, with the dawn of day, relieved their danger and assured
+      their conquest. Youkinna, a formidable foe, became an active and
+      useful proselyte; and the general of the Saracens expressed his
+      regard for the most humble merit, by detaining the army at Aleppo
+      till Dames was cured of his honorable wounds. The capital of
+      Syria was still covered by the castle of Aazaz and the iron
+      bridge of the Orontes. After the loss of those important posts,
+      and the defeat of the last of the Roman armies, the luxury of
+      Antioch 86 trembled and obeyed. Her safety was ransomed with
+      three hundred thousand pieces of gold; but the throne of the
+      successors of Alexander, the seat of the Roman government of the
+      East, which had been decorated by Caesar with the titles of free,
+      and holy, and inviolate was degraded under the yoke of the
+      caliphs to the secondary rank of a provincial town. 87
+
+      85 (return) [ The Persian historian of Timur (tom. iii. l. v. c.
+      21, p. 300) describes the castle of Aleppo as founded on a rock
+      one hundred cubits in height; a proof, says the French
+      translator, that he had never visited the place. It is now in the
+      midst of the city, of no strength with a single gate; the circuit
+      is about 500 or 600 paces, and the ditch half full of stagnant
+      water, (Voyages de Tavernier, tom. i. p. 149 Pocock, vol. ii.
+      part i. p. 150.) The fortresses of the East are contemptible to a
+      European eye.]
+
+      86 (return) [ The date of the conquest of Antioch by the Arabs is
+      of some importance. By comparing the years of the world in the
+      chronography of Theophanes with the years of the Hegira in the
+      history of Elmacin, we shall determine, that it was taken between
+      January 23d and September 1st of the year of Christ 638, (Pagi,
+      Critica, in Baron. Annal. tom. ii. p. 812, 813.) Al Wakidi
+      (Ockley, vol. i. p. 314) assigns that event to Tuesday, August
+      21st, an inconsistent date; since Easter fell that year on April
+      5th, the 21st of August must have been a Friday, (see the Tables
+      of the Art de Verifier les Dates.)]
+
+      87 (return) [ His bounteous edict, which tempted the grateful
+      city to assume the victory of Pharsalia for a perpetual aera, is
+      given. John Malala, in Chron. p. 91, edit. Venet. We may
+      distinguish his authentic information of domestic facts from his
+      gross ignorance of general history.]
+
+      In the life of Heraclius, the glories of the Persian war are
+      clouded on either hand by the disgrace and weakness of his more
+      early and his later days. When the successors of Mahomet
+      unsheathed the sword of war and religion, he was astonished at
+      the boundless prospect of toil and danger; his nature was
+      indolent, nor could the infirm and frigid age of the emperor be
+      kindled to a second effort. The sense of shame, and the
+      importunities of the Syrians, prevented the hasty departure from
+      the scene of action; but the hero was no more; and the loss of
+      Damascus and Jerusalem, the bloody fields of Aiznadin and Yermuk,
+      may be imputed in some degree to the absence or misconduct of the
+      sovereign. Instead of defending the sepulchre of Christ, he
+      involved the church and state in a metaphysical controversy for
+      the unity of his will; and while Heraclius crowned the offspring
+      of his second nuptials, he was tamely stripped of the most
+      valuable part of their inheritance. In the cathedral of Antioch,
+      in the presence of the bishops, at the foot of the crucifix, he
+      bewailed the sins of the prince and people; but his confession
+      instructed the world, that it was vain, and perhaps impious, to
+      resist the judgment of God. The Saracens were invincible in fact,
+      since they were invincible in opinion; and the desertion of
+      Youkinna, his false repentance and repeated perfidy, might
+      justify the suspicion of the emperor, that he was encompassed by
+      traitors and apostates, who conspired to betray his person and
+      their country to the enemies of Christ. In the hour of adversity,
+      his superstition was agitated by the omens and dreams of a
+      falling crown; and after bidding an eternal farewell to Syria, he
+      secretly embarked with a few attendants, and absolved the faith
+      of his subjects. 88 Constantine, his eldest son, had been
+      stationed with forty thousand men at Caesarea, the civil
+      metropolis of the three provinces of Palestine. But his private
+      interest recalled him to the Byzantine court; and, after the
+      flight of his father, he felt himself an unequal champion to the
+      united force of the caliph. His vanguard was boldly attacked by
+      three hundred Arabs and a thousand black slaves, who, in the
+      depth of winter, had climbed the snowy mountains of Libanus, and
+      who were speedily followed by the victorious squadrons of Caled
+      himself. From the north and south the troops of Antioch and
+      Jerusalem advanced along the sea-shore till their banners were
+      joined under the walls of the Phoenician cities: Tripoli and Tyre
+      were betrayed; and a fleet of fifty transports, which entered
+      without distrust the captive harbors, brought a seasonable supply
+      of arms and provisions to the camp of the Saracens. Their labors
+      were terminated by the unexpected surrender of Caesarea: the
+      Roman prince had embarked in the night; 89 and the defenceless
+      citizens solicited their pardon with an offering of two hundred
+      thousand pieces of gold. The remainder of the province, Ramlah,
+      Ptolemais or Acre, Sichem or Neapolis, Gaza, Ascalon, Berytus,
+      Sidon, Gabala, Laodicea, Apamea, Hierapolis, no longer presumed
+      to dispute the will of the conqueror; and Syria bowed under the
+      sceptre of the caliphs seven hundred years after Pompey had
+      despoiled the last of the Macedonian kings. 90
+
+      88 (return) [ See Ockley, (vol. i. p. 308, 312,) who laughs at
+      the credulity of his author. When Heraclius bade farewell to
+      Syria, Vale Syria et ultimum vale, he prophesied that the Romans
+      should never reenter the province till the birth of an
+      inauspicious child, the future scourge of the empire. Abulfeda,
+      p. 68. I am perfectly ignorant of the mystic sense, or nonsense,
+      of this prediction.]
+
+      89 (return) [ In the loose and obscure chronology of the times, I
+      am guided by an authentic record, (in the book of ceremonies of
+      Constantine Porphyrogenitus,) which certifies that, June 4, A.D.
+      638, the emperor crowned his younger son Heraclius, in the
+      presence of his eldest, Constantine, and in the palace of
+      Constantinople; that January 1, A.D. 639, the royal procession
+      visited the great church, and on the 4th of the same month, the
+      hippodrome.]
+
+      90 (return) [ Sixty-five years before Christ, Syria Pontusque
+      monumenta sunt Cn. Pompeii virtutis, (Vell. Patercul. ii. 38,)
+      rather of his fortune and power: he adjudged Syria to be a Roman
+      province, and the last of the Seleucides were incapable of
+      drawing a sword in the defence of their patrimony (see the
+      original texts collected by Usher, Annal. p. 420)]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LI: Conquests By The Arabs.—Part V.
+
+      The sieges and battles of six campaigns had consumed many
+      thousands of the Moslems. They died with the reputation and the
+      cheerfulness of martyrs; and the simplicity of their faith may be
+      expressed in the words of an Arabian youth, when he embraced, for
+      the last time, his sister and mother: “It is not,” said he, “the
+      delicacies of Syria, or the fading delights of this world, that
+      have prompted me to devote my life in the cause of religion. But
+      I seek the favor of God and his apostle; and I have heard, from
+      one of the companions of the prophet, that the spirits of the
+      martyrs will be lodged in the crops of green birds, who shall
+      taste the fruits, and drink of the rivers, of paradise. Farewell,
+      we shall meet again among the groves and fountains which God has
+      provided for his elect.” The faithful captives might exercise a
+      passive and more arduous resolution; and a cousin of Mahomet is
+      celebrated for refusing, after an abstinence of three days, the
+      wine and pork, the only nourishment that was allowed by the
+      malice of the infidels. The frailty of some weaker brethren
+      exasperated the implacable spirit of fanaticism; and the father
+      of Amer deplored, in pathetic strains, the apostasy and damnation
+      of a son, who had renounced the promises of God, and the
+      intercession of the prophet, to occupy, with the priests and
+      deacons, the lowest mansions of hell. The more fortunate Arabs,
+      who survived the war and persevered in the faith, were restrained
+      by their abstemious leader from the abuse of prosperity. After a
+      refreshment of three days, Abu Obeidah withdrew his troops from
+      the pernicious contagion of the luxury of Antioch, and assured
+      the caliph that their religion and virtue could only be preserved
+      by the hard discipline of poverty and labor. But the virtue of
+      Omar, however rigorous to himself, was kind and liberal to his
+      brethren. After a just tribute of praise and thanksgiving, he
+      dropped a tear of compassion; and sitting down on the ground,
+      wrote an answer, in which he mildly censured the severity of his
+      lieutenant: “God,” said the successor of the prophet, “has not
+      forbidden the use of the good things of this worl to faithful
+      men, and such as have performed good works. Therefore you ought
+      to have given them leave to rest themselves, and partake freely
+      of those good things which the country affordeth. If any of the
+      Saracens have no family in Arabia, they may marry in Syria; and
+      whosoever of them wants any female slaves, he may purchase as
+      many as he hath occasion for.” The conquerors prepared to use, or
+      to abuse, this gracious permission; but the year of their triumph
+      was marked by a mortality of men and cattle; and twenty-five
+      thousand Saracens were snatched away from the possession of
+      Syria. The death of Abu Obeidah might be lamented by the
+      Christians; but his brethren recollected that he was one of the
+      ten elect whom the prophet had named as the heirs of paradise. 91
+      Caled survived his brethren about three years: and the tomb of
+      the Sword of God is shown in the neighborhood of Emesa. His
+      valor, which founded in Arabia and Syria the empire of the
+      caliphs, was fortified by the opinion of a special providence;
+      and as long as he wore a cap, which had been blessed by Mahomet,
+      he deemed himself invulnerable amidst the darts of the infidels.
+      9111
+
+      91 (return) [ Abulfeda, Annal. Moslem. p. 73. Mahomet could
+      artfully vary the praises of his disciples. Of Omar he was
+      accustomed to say, that if a prophet could arise after himself,
+      it would be Omar; and that in a general calamity, Omar would be
+      accepted by the divine justice, (Ockley, vol. i. p. 221.)]
+
+      9111 (return) [ Khaled, according to the Rouzont Uzzuffa, (Price,
+      p. 90,) after having been deprived of his ample share of the
+      plunder of Syria by the jealousy of Omar, died, possessed only of
+      his horse, his arms, and a single slave. Yet Omar was obliged to
+      acknowledge to his lamenting parent. that never mother had
+      produced a son like Khaled.—M.]
+
+      The place of the first conquerors was supplied by a new
+      generation of their children and countrymen: Syria became the
+      seat and support of the house of Ommiyah; and the revenue, the
+      soldiers, the ships of that powerful kingdom were consecrated to
+      enlarge on every side the empire of the caliphs. But the Saracens
+      despise a superfluity of fame; and their historians scarcely
+      condescend to mention the subordinate conquests which are lost in
+      the splendor and rapidity of their victorious career.
+
+      To the north of Syria, they passed Mount Taurus, and reduced to
+      their obedience the province of Cilicia, with its capital Tarsus,
+      the ancient monument of the Assyrian kings. Beyond a second ridge
+      of the same mountains, they spread the flame of war, rather than
+      the light of religion, as far as the shores of the Euxine, and
+      the neighborhood of Constantinople. To the east they advanced to
+      the banks and sources of the Euphrates and Tigris: 92 the long
+      disputed barrier of Rome and Persia was forever confounded; the
+      walls of Edessa and Amida, of Dara and Nisibis, which had
+      resisted the arms and engines of Sapor or Nushirvan, were
+      levelled in the dust; and the holy city of Abgarus might vainly
+      produce the epistle or the image of Christ to an unbelieving
+      conqueror. To the west the Syrian kingdom is bounded by the sea:
+      and the ruin of Aradus, a small island or peninsula on the coast,
+      was postponed during ten years. But the hills of Libanus abounded
+      in timber; the trade of Phoenicia was populous in mariners; and a
+      fleet of seventeen hundred barks was equipped and manned by the
+      natives of the desert. The Imperial navy of the Romans fled
+      before them from the Pamphylian rocks to the Hellespont; but the
+      spirit of the emperor, a grandson of Heraclius, had been subdued
+      before the combat by a dream and a pun. 93 The Saracens rode
+      masters of the sea; and the islands of Cyprus, Rhodes, and the
+      Cyclades, were successively exposed to their rapacious visits.
+      Three hundred years before the Christian aera, the memorable
+      though fruitless siege of Rhodes 94 by Demetrius had furnished
+      that maritime republic with the materials and the subject of a
+      trophy. A gigantic statue of Apollo, or the sun, seventy cubits
+      in height, was erected at the entrance of the harbor, a monument
+      of the freedom and the arts of Greece. After standing fifty-six
+      years, the colossus of Rhodes was overthrown by an earthquake;
+      but the massy trunk, and huge fragments, lay scattered eight
+      centuries on the ground, and are often described as one of the
+      wonders of the ancient world. They were collected by the
+      diligence of the Saracens, and sold to a Jewish merchant of
+      Edessa, who is said to have laden nine hundred camels with the
+      weight of the brass metal; an enormous weight, though we should
+      include the hundred colossal figures, 95 and the three thousand
+      statues, which adorned the prosperity of the city of the sun.
+
+      92 (return) [ Al Wakidi had likewise written a history of the
+      conquest of Diarbekir, or Mesopotamia, (Ockley, at the end of the
+      iid vol.,) which our interpreters do not appear to have seen. The
+      Chronicle of Dionysius of Telmar, the Jacobite patriarch, records
+      the taking of Edessa A.D. 637, and of Dara A.D. 641, (Asseman.
+      Bibliot. Orient. tom. ii. p. 103;) and the attentive may glean
+      some doubtful information from the Chronography of Theophanes,
+      (p. 285-287.) Most of the towns of Mesopotamia yielded by
+      surrender, (Abulpharag. p. 112.) * Note: It has been published in
+      Arabic by M. Ewald St. Martin, vol. xi p 248; but its
+      authenticity is doubted.—M.]
+
+      93 (return) [ He dreamt that he was at Thessalonica, a harmless
+      and unmeaning vision; but his soothsayer, or his cowardice,
+      understood the sure omen of a defeat concealed in that
+      inauspicious word, Give to another the victory, (Theoph. p. 286.
+      Zonaras, tom. ii. l. xiv. p. 88.)]
+
+      94 (return) [ Every passage and every fact that relates to the
+      isle, the city, and the colossus of Rhodes, are compiled in the
+      laborious treatise of Meursius, who has bestowed the same
+      diligence on the two larger islands of the Crete and Cyprus. See,
+      in the iiid vol. of his works, the Rhodus of Meursius, (l. i. c.
+      15, p. 715-719.) The Byzantine writers, Theophanes and
+      Constantine, have ignorantly prolonged the term to 1360 years,
+      and ridiculously divide the weight among 30,000 camels.]
+
+      95 (return) [ Centum colossi alium nobilitaturi locum, says
+      Pliny, with his usual spirit. Hist. Natur. xxxiv. 18.]
+
+      III. The conquest of Egypt may be explained by the character of
+      the victorious Saracen, one of the first of his nation, in an age
+      when the meanest of the brethren was exalted above his nature by
+      the spirit of enthusiasm. The birth of Amrou was at once base and
+      illustrious; his mother, a notorious prostitute, was unable to
+      decide among five of the Koreish; but the proof of resemblance
+      adjudged the child to Aasi, the oldest of her lovers. 96 The
+      youth of Amrou was impelled by the passions and prejudices of his
+      kindred: his poetic genius was exercised in satirical verses
+      against the person and doctrine of Mahomet; his dexterity was
+      employed by the reigning faction to pursue the religious exiles
+      who had taken refuge in the court of the Aethiopian king. 97 Yet
+      he returned from this embassy a secret proselyte; his reason or
+      his interest determined him to renounce the worship of idols; he
+      escaped from Mecca with his friend Caled; and the prophet of
+      Medina enjoyed at the same moment the satisfaction of embracing
+      the two firmest champions of his cause. The impatience of Amrou
+      to lead the armies of the faithful was checked by the reproof of
+      Omar, who advised him not to seek power and dominion, since he
+      who is a subject to-day, may be a prince to-morrow. Yet his merit
+      was not overlooked by the two first successors of Mahomet; they
+      were indebted to his arms for the conquest of Palestine; and in
+      all the battles and sieges of Syria, he united with the temper of
+      a chief the valor of an adventurous soldier. In a visit to
+      Medina, the caliph expressed a wish to survey the sword which had
+      cut down so many Christian warriors; the son of Aasi unsheathed a
+      short and ordinary cimeter; and as he perceived the surprise of
+      Omar, “Alas,” said the modest Saracen, “the sword itself, without
+      the arm of its master, is neither sharper nor more weighty than
+      the sword of Pharezdak the poet.” 98 After the conquest of Egypt,
+      he was recalled by the jealousy of the caliph Othman; but in the
+      subsequent troubles, the ambition of a soldier, a statesman, and
+      an orator, emerged from a private station. His powerful support,
+      both in council and in the field, established the throne of the
+      Ommiades; the administration and revenue of Egypt were restored
+      by the gratitude of Moawiyah to a faithful friend who had raised
+      himself above the rank of a subject; and Amrou ended his days in
+      the palace and city which he had founded on the banks of the
+      Nile. His dying speech to his children is celebrated by the
+      Arabians as a model of eloquence and wisdom: he deplored the
+      errors of his youth but if the penitent was still infected by the
+      vanity of a poet, he might exaggerate the venom and mischief of
+      his impious compositions. 99
+
+      96 (return) [ We learn this anecdote from a spirited old woman,
+      who reviled to their faces, the caliph and his friend. She was
+      encouraged by the silence of Amrou and the liberality of
+      Moawiyah, (Abulfeda, Annal Moslem. p. 111.)]
+
+      97 (return) [ Gagnier, Vie de Mahomet, tom. ii. p. 46, &c., who
+      quotes the Abyssinian history, or romance of Abdel Balcides. Yet
+      the fact of the embassy and ambassador may be allowed.]
+
+      98 (return) [ This saying is preserved by Pocock, (Not. ad Carmen
+      Tograi, p 184,) and justly applauded by Mr. Harris,
+      (Philosophical Arrangements, p. 850.)]
+
+      99 (return) [ For the life and character of Amrou, see Ockley
+      (Hist. of the Saracens, vol. i. p. 28, 63, 94, 328, 342, 344, and
+      to the end of the volume; vol. ii. p. 51, 55, 57, 74, 110-112,
+      162) and Otter, (Mem. de l’Academie des Inscriptions, tom. xxi.
+      p. 131, 132.) The readers of Tacitus may aptly compare Vespasian
+      and Mucianus with Moawiyah and Amrou. Yet the resemblance is
+      still more in the situation, than in the characters, of the men.]
+
+      From his camp in Palestine, Amrou had surprised or anticipated
+      the caliph’s leave for the invasion of Egypt. 100 The magnanimous
+      Omar trusted in his God and his sword, which had shaken the
+      thrones of Chosroes and Caesar: but when he compared the slender
+      force of the Moslems with the greatness of the enterprise, he
+      condemned his own rashness, and listened to his timid companions.
+      The pride and the greatness of Pharaoh were familiar to the
+      readers of the Koran; and a tenfold repetition of prodigies had
+      been scarcely sufficient to effect, not the victory, but the
+      flight, of six hundred thousand of the children of Israel: the
+      cities of Egypt were many and populous; their architecture was
+      strong and solid; the Nile, with its numerous branches, was alone
+      an insuperable barrier; and the granary of the Imperial city
+      would be obstinately defended by the Roman powers. In this
+      perplexity, the commander of the faithful resigned himself to the
+      decision of chance, or, in his opinion, of Providence. At the
+      head of only four thousand Arabs, the intrepid Amrou had marched
+      away from his station of Gaza when he was overtaken by the
+      messenger of Omar. “If you are still in Syria,” said the
+      ambiguous mandate, “retreat without delay; but if, at the receipt
+      of this epistle, you have already reached the frontiers of Egypt,
+      advance with confidence, and depend on the succor of God and of
+      your brethren.” The experience, perhaps the secret intelligence,
+      of Amrou had taught him to suspect the mutability of courts; and
+      he continued his march till his tents were unquestionably pitched
+      on Egyptian ground. He there assembled his officers, broke the
+      seal, perused the epistle, gravely inquired the name and
+      situation of the place, and declared his ready obedience to the
+      commands of the caliph. After a siege of thirty days, he took
+      possession of Farmah or Pelusium; and that key of Egypt, as it
+      has been justly named, unlocked the entrance of the country as
+      far as the ruins of Heliopolis and the neighborhood of the modern
+      Cairo.
+
+      100 (return) [ Al Wakidi had likewise composed a separate history
+      of the conquest of Egypt, which Mr. Ockley could never procure;
+      and his own inquiries (vol. i. 344-362) have added very little to
+      the original text of Eutychius, (Annal. tom. ii. p. 296-323,
+      vers. Pocock,) the Melchite patriarch of Alexandria, who lived
+      three hundred years after the revolution.]
+
+      On the Western side of the Nile, at a small distance to the east
+      of the Pyramids, at a small distance to the south of the Delta,
+      Memphis, one hundred and fifty furlongs in circumference,
+      displayed the magnificence of ancient kings. Under the reign of
+      the Ptolemies and Caesars, the seat of government was removed to
+      the sea-coast; the ancient capital was eclipsed by the arts and
+      opulence of Alexandria; the palaces, and at length the temples,
+      were reduced to a desolate and ruinous condition: yet, in the age
+      of Augustus, and even in that of Constantine, Memphis was still
+      numbered among the greatest and most populous of the provincial
+      cities. 101 The banks of the Nile, in this place of the breadth
+      of three thousand feet, were united by two bridges of sixty and
+      of thirty boats, connected in the middle stream by the small
+      island of Rouda, which was covered with gardens and habitations.
+      102 The eastern extremity of the bridge was terminated by the
+      town of Babylon and the camp of a Roman legion, which protected
+      the passage of the river and the second capital of Egypt. This
+      important fortress, which might fairly be described as a part of
+      Memphis or Misrah, was invested by the arms of the lieutenant of
+      Omar: a reenforcement of four thousand Saracens soon arrived in
+      his camp; and the military engines, which battered the walls, may
+      be imputed to the art and labor of his Syrian allies. Yet the
+      siege was protracted to seven months; and the rash invaders were
+      encompassed and threatened by the inundation of the Nile. 103
+      Their last assault was bold and successful: they passed the
+      ditch, which had been fortified with iron spikes, applied their
+      scaling ladders, entered the fortress with the shout of “God is
+      victorious!” and drove the remnant of the Greeks to their boats
+      and the Isle of Rouda. The spot was afterwards recommended to the
+      conqueror by the easy communication with the gulf and the
+      peninsula of Arabia; the remains of Memphis were deserted; the
+      tents of the Arabs were converted into permanent habitations; and
+      the first mosch was blessed by the presence of fourscore
+      companions of Mahomet. 104 A new city arose in their camp, on the
+      eastward bank of the Nile; and the contiguous quarters of Babylon
+      and Fostat are confounded in their present decay by the
+      appellation of old Misrah, or Cairo, of which they form an
+      extensive suburb. But the name of Cairo, the town of victory,
+      more strictly belongs to the modern capital, which was founded in
+      the tenth century by the Fatimite caliphs. 105 It has gradually
+      receded from the river; but the continuity of buildings may be
+      traced by an attentive eye from the monuments of Sesostris to
+      those of Saladin. 106
+
+      101 (return) [ Strabo, an accurate and attentive spectator,
+      observes of Heliopolis, (Geograph. l. xvii. p. 1158;) but of
+      Memphis he notices, however, the mixture of inhabitants, and the
+      ruin of the palaces. In the proper Egypt, Ammianus enumerates
+      Memphis among the four cities, maximis urbibus quibus provincia
+      nitet, (xxii. 16;) and the name of Memphis appears with
+      distinction in the Roman Itinerary and episcopal lists.]
+
+      102 (return) [ These rare and curious facts, the breadth (2946
+      feet) and the bridge of the Nile, are only to be found in the
+      Danish traveller and the Nubian geographer, (p. 98.)]
+
+      103 (return) [ From the month of April, the Nile begins
+      imperceptibly to rise; the swell becomes strong and visible in
+      the moon after the summer solstice, (Plin. Hist. Nat. v. 10,) and
+      is usually proclaimed at Cairo on St. Peter’s day, (June 29.) A
+      register of thirty successive years marks the greatest height of
+      the waters between July 25 and August 18, (Maillet, Description
+      de l’Egypte, lettre xi. p. 67, &c. Pocock’s Description of the
+      East, vol. i. p. 200. Shaw’s Travels, p. 383.)]
+
+      104 (return) [ Murtadi, Merveilles de l’Egypte, 243, 259. He
+      expatiates on the subject with the zeal and minuteness of a
+      citizen and a bigot, and his local traditions have a strong air
+      of truth and accuracy.]
+
+      105 (return) [ D’Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orientale, p. 233.]
+
+      106 (return) [ The position of New and of Old Cairo is well
+      known, and has been often described. Two writers, who were
+      intimately acquainted with ancient and modern Egypt, have fixed,
+      after a learned inquiry, the city of Memphis at Gizeh, directly
+      opposite the Old Cairo, (Sicard, Nouveaux Memoires des Missions
+      du Levant, tom. vi. p. 5, 6. Shaw’s Observations and Travels, p.
+      296-304.) Yet we may not disregard the authority or the arguments
+      of Pocock, (vol. i. p. 25-41,) Niebuhr, (Voyage, tom. i. p.
+      77-106,) and above all, of D’Anville, (Description de l’Egypte,
+      p. 111, 112, 130-149,) who have removed Memphis towards the
+      village of Mohannah, some miles farther to the south. In their
+      heat, the disputants have forgot that the ample space of a
+      metropolis covers and annihilates the far greater part of the
+      controversy.]
+
+      Yet the Arabs, after a glorious and profitable enterprise, must
+      have retreated to the desert, had they not found a powerful
+      alliance in the heart of the country. The rapid conquest of
+      Alexander was assisted by the superstition and revolt of the
+      natives: they abhorred their Persian oppressors, the disciples of
+      the Magi, who had burnt the temples of Egypt, and feasted with
+      sacrilegious appetite on the flesh of the god Apis. 107 After a
+      period of ten centuries, the same revolution was renewed by a
+      similar cause; and in the support of an incomprehensible creed,
+      the zeal of the Coptic Christians was equally ardent. I have
+      already explained the origin and progress of the Monophysite
+      controversy, and the persecution of the emperors, which converted
+      a sect into a nation, and alienated Egypt from their religion and
+      government. The Saracens were received as the deliverers of the
+      Jacobite church; and a secret and effectual treaty was opened
+      during the siege of Memphis between a victorious army and a
+      people of slaves. A rich and noble Egyptian, of the name of
+      Mokawkas, had dissembled his faith to obtain the administration
+      of his province: in the disorders of the Persian war he aspired
+      to independence: the embassy of Mahomet ranked him among princes;
+      but he declined, with rich gifts and ambiguous compliments, the
+      proposal of a new religion. 108 The abuse of his trust exposed
+      him to the resentment of Heraclius: his submission was delayed by
+      arrogance and fear; and his conscience was prompted by interest
+      to throw himself on the favor of the nation and the support of
+      the Saracens. In his first conference with Amrou, he heard
+      without indignation the usual option of the Koran, the tribute,
+      or the sword. “The Greeks,” replied Mokawkas, “are determined to
+      abide the determination of the sword; but with the Greeks I
+      desire no communion, either in this world or in the next, and I
+      abjure forever the Byzantine tyrant, his synod of Chalcedon, and
+      his Melchite slaves. For myself and my brethren, we are resolved
+      to live and die in the profession of the gospel and unity of
+      Christ. It is impossible for us to embrace the revelations of
+      your prophet; but we are desirous of peace, and cheerfully submit
+      to pay tribute and obedience to his temporal successors.” The
+      tribute was ascertained at two pieces of gold for the head of
+      every Christian; but old men, monks, women, and children, of both
+      sexes, under sixteen years of age, were exempted from this
+      personal assessment: the Copts above and below Memphis swore
+      allegiance to the caliph, and promised a hospitable entertainment
+      of three days to every Mussulman who should travel through their
+      country. By this charter of security, the ecclesiastical and
+      civil tyranny of the Melchites was destroyed: 109 the anathemas
+      of St. Cyril were thundered from every pulpit; and the sacred
+      edifices, with the patrimony of the church, were restored to the
+      national communion of the Jacobites, who enjoyed without
+      moderation the moment of triumph and revenge. At the pressing
+      summons of Amrou, their patriarch Benjamin emerged from his
+      desert; and after the first interview, the courteous Arab
+      affected to declare that he had never conversed with a Christian
+      priest of more innocent manners and a more venerable aspect. 110
+      In the march from Memphis to Alexandria, the lieutenant of Omar
+      intrusted his safety to the zeal and gratitude of the Egyptians:
+      the roads and bridges were diligently repaired; and in every step
+      of his progress, he could depend on a constant supply of
+      provisions and intelligence. The Greeks of Egypt, whose numbers
+      could scarcely equal a tenth of the natives, were overwhelmed by
+      the universal defection: they had ever been hated, they were no
+      longer feared: the magistrate fled from his tribunal, the bishop
+      from his altar; and the distant garrisons were surprised or
+      starved by the surrounding multitudes. Had not the Nile afforded
+      a safe and ready conveyance to the sea, not an individual could
+      have escaped, who by birth, or language, or office, or religion,
+      was connected with their odious name.
+
+      107 (return) [ See Herodotus, l. iii. c. 27, 28, 29. Aelian,
+      Hist. Var. l. iv. c. 8. Suidas in, tom. ii. p. 774. Diodor.
+      Sicul. tom. ii. l. xvii. p. 197, edit. Wesseling. Says the last
+      of these historians.]
+
+      108 (return) [ Mokawkas sent the prophet two Coptic damsels, with
+      two maids and one eunuch, an alabaster vase, an ingot of pure
+      gold, oil, honey, and the finest white linen of Egypt, with a
+      horse, a mule, and an ass, distinguished by their respective
+      qualifications. The embassy of Mahomet was despatched from Medina
+      in the seventh year of the Hegira, (A.D. 628.) See Gagnier, (Vie
+      de Mahomet, tom. ii. p. 255, 256, 303,) from Al Jannabi.]
+
+      109 (return) [ The praefecture of Egypt, and the conduct of the
+      war, had been trusted by Heraclius to the patriarch Cyrus,
+      (Theophan. p. 280, 281.) “In Spain,” said James II., “do you not
+      consult your priests?” “We do,” replied the Catholic ambassador,
+      “and our affairs succeed accordingly.” I know not how to relate
+      the plans of Cyrus, of paying tribute without impairing the
+      revenue, and of converting Omar by his marriage with the
+      Emperor’s daughter, (Nicephor. Breviar. p. 17, 18.)]
+
+      110 (return) [ See the life of Benjamin, in Renaudot, (Hist.
+      Patriarch. Alexandrin. p. 156-172,) who has enriched the conquest
+      of Egypt with some facts from the Arabic text of Severus the
+      Jacobite historian]
+
+      By the retreat of the Greeks from the provinces of Upper Egypt, a
+      considerable force was collected in the Island of Delta; the
+      natural and artificial channels of the Nile afforded a succession
+      of strong and defensible posts; and the road to Alexandria was
+      laboriously cleared by the victory of the Saracens in
+      two-and-twenty days of general or partial combat. In their annals
+      of conquest, the siege of Alexandria 111 is perhaps the most
+      arduous and important enterprise. The first trading city in the
+      world was abundantly replenished with the means of subsistence
+      and defence. Her numerous inhabitants fought for the dearest of
+      human rights, religion and property; and the enmity of the
+      natives seemed to exclude them from the common benefit of peace
+      and toleration. The sea was continually open; and if Heraclius
+      had been awake to the public distress, fresh armies of Romans and
+      Barbarians might have been poured into the harbor to save the
+      second capital of the empire. A circumference of ten miles would
+      have scattered the forces of the Greeks, and favored the
+      stratagems of an active enemy; but the two sides of an oblong
+      square were covered by the sea and the Lake Maraeotis, and each
+      of the narrow ends exposed a front of no more than ten furlongs.
+      The efforts of the Arabs were not inadequate to the difficulty of
+      the attempt and the value of the prize. From the throne of
+      Medina, the eyes of Omar were fixed on the camp and city: his
+      voice excited to arms the Arabian tribes and the veterans of
+      Syria; and the merit of a holy war was recommended by the
+      peculiar fame and fertility of Egypt. Anxious for the ruin or
+      expulsion of their tyrants, the faithful natives devoted their
+      labors to the service of Amrou: some sparks of martial spirit
+      were perhaps rekindled by the example of their allies; and the
+      sanguine hopes of Mokawkas had fixed his sepulchre in the church
+      of St. John of Alexandria. Eutychius the patriarch observes, that
+      the Saracens fought with the courage of lions: they repulsed the
+      frequent and almost daily sallies of the besieged, and soon
+      assaulted in their turn the walls and towers of the city. In
+      every attack, the sword, the banner of Amrou, glittered in the
+      van of the Moslems. On a memorable day, he was betrayed by his
+      imprudent valor: his followers who had entered the citadel were
+      driven back; and the general, with a friend and slave, remained a
+      prisoner in the hands of the Christians. When Amrou was conducted
+      before the praefect, he remembered his dignity, and forgot his
+      situation: a lofty demeanor, and resolute language, revealed the
+      lieutenant of the caliph, and the battle-axe of a soldier was
+      already raised to strike off the head of the audacious captive.
+      His life was saved by the readiness of his slave, who instantly
+      gave his master a blow on the face, and commanded him, with an
+      angry tone, to be silent in the presence of his superiors. The
+      credulous Greek was deceived: he listened to the offer of a
+      treaty, and his prisoners were dismissed in the hope of a more
+      respectable embassy, till the joyful acclamations of the camp
+      announced the return of their general, and insulted the folly of
+      the infidels. At length, after a siege of fourteen months, 112
+      and the loss of three-and-twenty thousand men, the Saracens
+      prevailed: the Greeks embarked their dispirited and diminished
+      numbers, and the standard of Mahomet was planted on the walls of
+      the capital of Egypt. “I have taken,” said Amrou to the caliph,
+      “the great city of the West. It is impossible for me to enumerate
+      the variety of its riches and beauty; and I shall content myself
+      with observing, that it contains four thousand palaces, four
+      thousand baths, four hundred theatres or places of amusement,
+      twelve thousand shops for the sale of vegetable food, and forty
+      thousand tributary Jews. The town has been subdued by force of
+      arms, without treaty or capitulation, and the Moslems are
+      impatient to seize the fruits of their victory.” 113 The
+      commander of the faithful rejected with firmness the idea of
+      pillage, and directed his lieutenant to reserve the wealth and
+      revenue of Alexandria for the public service and the propagation
+      of the faith: the inhabitants were numbered; a tribute was
+      imposed, the zeal and resentment of the Jacobites were curbed,
+      and the Melchites who submitted to the Arabian yoke were indulged
+      in the obscure but tranquil exercise of their worship. The
+      intelligence of this disgraceful and calamitous event afflicted
+      the declining health of the emperor; and Heraclius died of a
+      dropsy about seven weeks after the loss of Alexandria. 114 Under
+      the minority of his grandson, the clamors of a people, deprived
+      of their daily sustenance, compelled the Byzantine court to
+      undertake the recovery of the capital of Egypt. In the space of
+      four years, the harbor and fortifications of Alexandria were
+      twice occupied by a fleet and army of Romans. They were twice
+      expelled by the valor of Amrou, who was recalled by the domestic
+      peril from the distant wars of Tripoli and Nubia. But the
+      facility of the attempt, the repetition of the insult, and the
+      obstinacy of the resistance, provoked him to swear, that if a
+      third time he drove the infidels into the sea, he would render
+      Alexandria as accessible on all sides as the house of a
+      prostitute. Faithful to his promise, he dismantled several parts
+      of the walls and towers; but the people was spared in the
+      chastisement of the city, and the mosch of Mercy was erected on
+      the spot where the victorious general had stopped the fury of his
+      troops.
+
+      111 (return) [ The local description of Alexandria is perfectly
+      ascertained by the master hand of the first of geographers,
+      (D’Anville, Memoire sur l’Egypte, p. 52-63;) but we may borrow
+      the eyes of the modern travellers, more especially of Thevenot,
+      (Voyage au Levant, part i. p. 381-395,) Pocock, (vol. i. p.
+      2-13,) and Niebuhr, (Voyage en Arabie, tom. i. p. 34-43.) Of the
+      two modern rivals, Savary and Volmey, the one may amuse, the
+      other will instruct.]
+
+      112 (return) [ Both Eutychius (Annal. tom. ii. p. 319) and
+      Elmacin (Hist. Saracen. p. 28) concur in fixing the taking of
+      Alexandria to Friday of the new moon of Moharram of the twentieth
+      year of the Hegira, (December 22, A.D. 640.) In reckoning
+      backwards fourteen months spent before Alexandria, seven months
+      before Babylon, &c., Amrou might have invaded Egypt about the end
+      of the year 638; but we are assured that he entered the country
+      the 12th of Bayni, 6th of June, (Murtadi, Merveilles de l’Egypte,
+      p. 164. Severus, apud Renaudot, p. 162.) The Saracen, and
+      afterwards Lewis IX. of France, halted at Pelusium, or Damietta,
+      during the season of the inundation of the Nile.]
+
+      113 (return) [ Eutych. Annal. tom. ii. p. 316, 319.]
+
+      114 (return) [ Notwithstanding some inconsistencies of Theophanes
+      and Cedrenus, the accuracy of Pagi (Critica, tom. ii. p. 824) has
+      extracted from Nicephorus and the Chronicon Orientale the true
+      date of the death of Heraclius, February 11th, A.D. 641, fifty
+      days after the loss of Alexandria. A fourth of that time was
+      sufficient to convey the intelligence.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LI: Conquests By The Arabs.—Part VI.
+
+      I should deceive the expectation of the reader, if I passed in
+      silence the fate of the Alexandrian library, as it is described
+      by the learned Abulpharagius. The spirit of Amrou was more
+      curious and liberal than that of his brethren, and in his leisure
+      hours, the Arabian chief was pleased with the conversation of
+      John, the last disciple of Ammonius, and who derived the surname
+      of Philoponus from his laborious studies of grammar and
+      philosophy. 115 Emboldened by this familiar intercourse,
+      Philoponus presumed to solicit a gift, inestimable in his
+      opinion, contemptible in that of the Barbarians—the royal
+      library, which alone, among the spoils of Alexandria, had not
+      been appropriated by the visit and the seal of the conqueror.
+
+      Amrou was inclined to gratify the wish of the grammarian, but his
+      rigid integrity refused to alienate the minutest object without
+      the consent of the caliph; and the well-known answer of Omar was
+      inspired by the ignorance of a fanatic. “If these writings of the
+      Greeks agree with the book of God, they are useless, and need not
+      be preserved: if they disagree, they are pernicious, and ought to
+      be destroyed.” The sentence was executed with blind obedience:
+      the volumes of paper or parchment were distributed to the four
+      thousand baths of the city; and such was their incredible
+      multitude, that six months were barely sufficient for the
+      consumption of this precious fuel. Since the Dynasties of
+      Abulpharagius 116 have been given to the world in a Latin
+      version, the tale has been repeatedly transcribed; and every
+      scholar, with pious indignation, has deplored the irreparable
+      shipwreck of the learning, the arts, and the genius, of
+      antiquity. For my own part, I am strongly tempted to deny both
+      the fact and the consequences. 1161 The fact is indeed
+      marvellous. “Read and wonder!” says the historian himself: and
+      the solitary report of a stranger who wrote at the end of six
+      hundred years on the confines of Media, is overbalanced by the
+      silence of two annalist of a more early date, both Christians,
+      both natives of Egypt, and the most ancient of whom, the
+      patriarch Eutychius, has amply described the conquest of
+      Alexandria. 117 The rigid sentence of Omar is repugnant to the
+      sound and orthodox precept of the Mahometan casuists they
+      expressly declare, that the religious books of the Jews and
+      Christians, which are acquired by the right of war, should never
+      be committed to the flames; and that the works of profane
+      science, historians or poets, physicians or philosophers, may be
+      lawfully applied to the use of the faithful. 118 A more
+      destructive zeal may perhaps be attributed to the first
+      successors of Mahomet; yet in this instance, the conflagration
+      would have speedily expired in the deficiency of materials. I
+      should not recapitulate the disasters of the Alexandrian library,
+      the involuntary flame that was kindled by Caesar in his own
+      defence, 119 or the mischievous bigotry of the Christians, who
+      studied to destroy the monuments of idolatry. 120 But if we
+      gradually descend from the age of the Antonines to that of
+      Theodosius, we shall learn from a chain of contemporary
+      witnesses, that the royal palace and the temple of Serapis no
+      longer contained the four, or the seven, hundred thousand
+      volumes, which had been assembled by the curiosity and
+      magnificence of the Ptolemies. 121 Perhaps the church and seat of
+      the patriarchs might be enriched with a repository of books; but
+      if the ponderous mass of Arian and Monophysite controversy were
+      indeed consumed in the public baths, 122 a philosopher may allow,
+      with a smile, that it was ultimately devoted to the benefit of
+      mankind. I sincerely regret the more valuable libraries which
+      have been involved in the ruin of the Roman empire; but when I
+      seriously compute the lapse of ages, the waste of ignorance, and
+      the calamities of war, our treasures, rather than our losses, are
+      the objects of my surprise. Many curious and interesting facts
+      are buried in oblivion: the three great historians of Rome have
+      been transmitted to our hands in a mutilated state, and we are
+      deprived of many pleasing compositions of the lyric, iambic, and
+      dramatic poetry of the Greeks. Yet we should gratefully remember,
+      that the mischances of time and accident have spared the classic
+      works to which the suffrage of antiquity 123 had adjudged the
+      first place of genius and glory: the teachers of ancient
+      knowledge, who are still extant, had perused and compared the
+      writings of their predecessors; 124 nor can it fairly be presumed
+      that any important truth, any useful discovery in art or nature,
+      has been snatched away from the curiosity of modern ages.
+
+      115 (return) [ Many treatises of this lover of labor are still
+      extant, but for readers of the present age, the printed and
+      unpublished are nearly in the same predicament. Moses and
+      Aristotle are the chief objects of his verbose commentaries, one
+      of which is dated as early as May 10th, A.D. 617, (Fabric.
+      Bibliot. Graec. tom. ix. p. 458-468.) A modern, (John Le Clerc,)
+      who sometimes assumed the same name was equal to old Philoponus
+      in diligence, and far superior in good sense and real knowledge.]
+
+      116 (return) [ Abulpharag. Dynast. p. 114, vers. Pocock. Audi
+      quid factum sit et mirare. It would be endless to enumerate the
+      moderns who have wondered and believed, but I may distinguish
+      with honor the rational scepticism of Renaudot, (Hist. Alex.
+      Patriarch, p. 170: ) historia... habet aliquid ut Arabibus
+      familiare est.]
+
+      1161 (return) [ Since this period several new Mahometan
+      authorities have been adduced to support the authority of
+      Abulpharagius. That of, I. Abdollatiph by Professor White: II. Of
+      Makrizi; I have seen a Ms. extract from this writer: III. Of Ibn
+      Chaledun: and after them Hadschi Chalfa. See Von Hammer,
+      Geschichte der Assassinen, p. 17. Reinhard, in a German
+      Dissertation, printed at Gottingen, 1792, and St. Croix, (Magasin
+      Encyclop. tom. iv. p. 433,) have examined the question. Among
+      Oriental scholars, Professor White, M. St. Martin, Von Hammer.
+      and Silv. de Sacy, consider the fact of the burning the library,
+      by the command of Omar, beyond question. Compare St. Martin’s
+      note. vol. xi. p. 296. A Mahometan writer brings a similar charge
+      against the Crusaders. The library of Tripoli is said to have
+      contained the incredible number of three millions of volumes. On
+      the capture of the city, Count Bertram of St. Giles, entering the
+      first room, which contained nothing but the Koran, ordered the
+      whole to be burnt, as the works of the false prophet of Arabia.
+      See Wilken. Gesch der Kreux zuge, vol. ii. p. 211.—M.]
+
+      117 (return) [ This curious anecdote will be vainly sought in the
+      annals of Eutychius, and the Saracenic history of Elmacin. The
+      silence of Abulfeda, Murtadi, and a crowd of Moslems, is less
+      conclusive from their ignorance of Christian literature.]
+
+      118 (return) [ See Reland, de Jure Militari Mohammedanorum, in
+      his iiid volume of Dissertations, p. 37. The reason for not
+      burning the religious books of the Jews or Christians, is derived
+      from the respect that is due to the name of God.]
+
+      119 (return) [ Consult the collections of Frensheim (Supplement.
+      Livian, c. 12, 43) and Usher, (Anal. p. 469.) Livy himself had
+      styled the Alexandrian library, elegantiae regum curaeque
+      egregium opus; a liberal encomium, for which he is pertly
+      criticized by the narrow stoicism of Seneca, (De Tranquillitate
+      Animi, c. 9,) whose wisdom, on this occasion, deviates into
+      nonsense.]
+
+      120 (return) [ See this History, vol. iii. p. 146.]
+
+      121 (return) [ Aulus Gellius, (Noctes Atticae, vi. 17,) Ammianus
+      Marcellinua, (xxii. 16,) and Orosius, (l. vi. c. 15.) They all
+      speak in the past tense, and the words of Ammianus are remarkably
+      strong: fuerunt Bibliothecae innumerabiles; et loquitum
+      monumentorum veterum concinens fides, &c.]
+
+      122 (return) [ Renaudot answers for versions of the Bible,
+      Hexapla, Catenoe Patrum, Commentaries, &c., (p. 170.) Our
+      Alexandrian Ms., if it came from Egypt, and not from
+      Constantinople or Mount Athos, (Wetstein, Prolegom. ad N. T. p.
+      8, &c.,) might possibly be among them.]
+
+      123 (return) [ I have often perused with pleasure a chapter of
+      Quintilian, (Institut. Orator. x. i.,) in which that judicious
+      critic enumerates and appreciates the series of Greek and Latin
+      classics.]
+
+      124 (return) [ Such as Galen, Pliny, Aristotle, &c. On this
+      subject Wotton (Reflections on Ancient and Modern Learning, p.
+      85-95) argues, with solid sense, against the lively exotic
+      fancies of Sir William Temple. The contempt of the Greeks for
+      Barbaric science would scarcely admit the Indian or Aethiopic
+      books into the library of Alexandria; nor is it proved that
+      philosophy has sustained any real loss from their exclusion.]
+
+      In the administration of Egypt, 125 Amrou balanced the demands of
+      justice and policy; the interest of the people of the law, who
+      were defended by God; and of the people of the alliance, who were
+      protected by man. In the recent tumult of conquest and
+      deliverance, the tongue of the Copts and the sword of the Arabs
+      were most adverse to the tranquillity of the province. To the
+      former, Amrou declared, that faction and falsehood would be
+      doubly chastised; by the punishment of the accusers, whom he
+      should detest as his personal enemies, and by the promotion of
+      their innocent brethren, whom their envy had labored to injure
+      and supplant. He excited the latter by the motives of religion
+      and honor to sustain the dignity of their character, to endear
+      themselves by a modest and temperate conduct to God and the
+      caliph, to spare and protect a people who had trusted to their
+      faith, and to content themselves with the legitimate and splendid
+      rewards of their victory. In the management of the revenue, he
+      disapproved the simple but oppressive mode of a capitation, and
+      preferred with reason a proportion of taxes deducted on every
+      branch from the clear profits of agriculture and commerce. A
+      third part of the tribute was appropriated to the annual repairs
+      of the dikes and canals, so essential to the public welfare.
+      Under his administration, the fertility of Egypt supplied the
+      dearth of Arabia; and a string of camels, laden with corn and
+      provisions, covered almost without an interval the long road from
+      Memphis to Medina. 126 But the genius of Amrou soon renewed the
+      maritime communication which had been attempted or achieved by
+      the Pharaohs the Ptolemies, or the Caesars; and a canal, at least
+      eighty miles in length, was opened from the Nile to the Red Sea.
+      1261 This inland navigation, which would have joined the
+      Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, was soon discontinued as
+      useless and dangerous: the throne was removed from Medina to
+      Damascus, and the Grecian fleets might have explored a passage to
+      the holy cities of Arabia. 127
+
+      125 (return) [ This curious and authentic intelligence of Murtadi
+      (p. 284-289) has not been discovered either by Mr. Ockley, or by
+      the self-sufficient compilers of the Modern Universal History.]
+
+      126 (return) [ Eutychius, Annal. tom. ii. p. 320. Elmacin, Hist.
+      Saracen. p. 35.]
+
+      1261 (return) [ Many learned men have doubted the existence of a
+      communication by water between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean
+      by the Nile. Yet the fact is positively asserted by the ancients.
+      Diodorus Siculus (l. i. p. 33) speaks of it in the most distinct
+      manner as existing in his time. So, also, Strabo, (l. xvii. p.
+      805.) Pliny (vol. vi. p. 29) says that the canal which united the
+      two seas was navigable, (alveus navigabilis.) The indications
+      furnished by Ptolemy and by the Arabic historian, Makrisi, show
+      that works were executed under the reign of Hadrian to repair the
+      canal and extend the navigation; it then received the name of the
+      River of Trajan Lucian, (in his Pseudomantis, p. 44,) says that
+      he went by water from Alexandria to Clysma, on the Red Sea.
+      Testimonies of the 6th and of the 8th century show that the
+      communication was not interrupted at that time. See the French
+      translation of Strabo, vol. v. p. 382. St. Martin vol. xi. p.
+      299.—M.]
+
+      127 (return) [ On these obscure canals, the reader may try to
+      satisfy himself from D’Anville, (Mem. sur l’Egypte, p. 108-110,
+      124, 132,) and a learned thesis, maintained and printed at
+      Strasburg in the year 1770, (Jungendorum marium fluviorumque
+      molimina, p. 39-47, 68-70.) Even the supine Turks have agitated
+      the old project of joining the two seas. (Memoires du Baron de
+      Tott, tom. iv.)]
+
+      Of his new conquest, the caliph Omar had an imperfect knowledge
+      from the voice of fame and the legends of the Koran. He requested
+      that his lieutenant would place before his eyes the realm of
+      Pharaoh and the Amalekites; and the answer of Amrou exhibits a
+      lively and not unfaithful picture of that singular country. 128
+      “O commander of the faithful, Egypt is a compound of black earth
+      and green plants, between a pulverized mountain and a red sand.
+      The distance from Syene to the sea is a month’s journey for a
+      horseman. Along the valley descends a river, on which the
+      blessing of the Most High reposes both in the evening and
+      morning, and which rises and falls with the revolutions of the
+      sun and moon. When the annual dispensation of Providence unlocks
+      the springs and fountains that nourish the earth, the Nile rolls
+      his swelling and sounding waters through the realm of Egypt: the
+      fields are overspread by the salutary flood; and the villages
+      communicate with each other in their painted barks. The retreat
+      of the inundation deposits a fertilizing mud for the reception of
+      the various seeds: the crowds of husbandmen who blacken the land
+      may be compared to a swarm of industrious ants; and their native
+      indolence is quickened by the lash of the task-master, and the
+      promise of the flowers and fruits of a plentiful increase. Their
+      hope is seldom deceived; but the riches which they extract from
+      the wheat, the barley, and the rice, the legumes, the
+      fruit-trees, and the cattle, are unequally shared between those
+      who labor and those who possess. According to the vicissitudes of
+      the seasons, the face of the country is adorned with a silver
+      wave, a verdant emerald, and the deep yellow of a golden
+      harvest.” 129 Yet this beneficial order is sometimes interrupted;
+      and the long delay and sudden swell of the river in the first
+      year of the conquest might afford some color to an edifying
+      fable. It is said, that the annual sacrifice of a virgin 130 had
+      been interdicted by the piety of Omar; and that the Nile lay
+      sullen and inactive in his shallow bed, till the mandate of the
+      caliph was cast into the obedient stream, which rose in a single
+      night to the height of sixteen cubits. The admiration of the
+      Arabs for their new conquest encouraged the license of their
+      romantic spirit. We may read, in the gravest authors, that Egypt
+      was crowded with twenty thousand cities or villages: 131 that,
+      exclusive of the Greeks and Arabs, the Copts alone were found, on
+      the assessment, six millions of tributary subjects, 132 or twenty
+      millions of either sex, and of every age: that three hundred
+      millions of gold or silver were annually paid to the treasury of
+      the caliphs. 133 Our reason must be startled by these extravagant
+      assertions; and they will become more palpable, if we assume the
+      compass and measure the extent of habitable ground: a valley from
+      the tropic to Memphis seldom broader than twelve miles, and the
+      triangle of the Delta, a flat surface of two thousand one hundred
+      square leagues, compose a twelfth part of the magnitude of
+      France. 134 A more accurate research will justify a more
+      reasonable estimate. The three hundred millions, created by the
+      error of a scribe, are reduced to the decent revenue of four
+      millions three hundred thousand pieces of gold, of which nine
+      hundred thousand were consumed by the pay of the soldiers. 135
+      Two authentic lists, of the present and of the twelfth century,
+      are circumscribed within the respectable number of two thousand
+      seven hundred villages and towns. 136 After a long residence at
+      Cairo, a French consul has ventured to assign about four millions
+      of Mahometans, Christians, and Jews, for the ample, though not
+      incredible, scope of the population of Egypt. 137
+
+      128 (return) [ A small volume, des Merveilles, &c., de l’Egypte,
+      composed in the xiiith century by Murtadi of Cairo, and
+      translated from an Arabic Ms. of Cardinal Mazarin, was published
+      by Pierre Vatier, Paris, 1666. The antiquities of Egypt are wild
+      and legendary; but the writer deserves credit and esteem for his
+      account of the conquest and geography of his native country, (see
+      the correspondence of Amrou and Omar, p. 279-289.)]
+
+      129 (return) [ In a twenty years’ residence at Cairo, the consul
+      Maillet had contemplated that varying scene, the Nile, (lettre
+      ii. particularly p. 70, 75;) the fertility of the land, (lettre
+      ix.) From a college at Cambridge, the poetic eye of Gray had seen
+      the same objects with a keener glance:—
+
+     What wonder in the sultry climes that spread,
+     Where Nile, redundant o’er his summer bed,
+     From his broad bosom life and verdure flings,
+     And broods o’er Egypt with his watery wings:
+     If with adventurous oar, and ready sail,
+     The dusky people drive before the gale:
+     Or on frail floats to neighboring cities ride.
+     That rise and glitter o’er the ambient tide.
+     (Mason’s Works and Memoirs of Gray, p. 199, 200.)]
+
+      130 (return) [ Murtadi, p. 164-167. The reader will not easily
+      credit a human sacrifice under the Christian emperors, or a
+      miracle of the successors of Mahomet.]
+
+      131 (return) [ Maillet, Description de l’Egypte, p. 22. He
+      mentions this number as the common opinion; and adds, that the
+      generality of these villages contain two or three thousand
+      persons, and that many of them are more populous than our large
+      cities.]
+
+      132 (return) [ Eutych. Annal. tom. ii. p. 308, 311. The twenty
+      millions are computed from the following data: one twelfth of
+      mankind above sixty, one third below sixteen, the proportion of
+      men to women as seventeen or sixteen, (Recherches sur la
+      Population de la France, p. 71, 72.) The president Goguet
+      (Origine des Arts, &c., tom. iii. p. 26, &c.) Bestows
+      twenty-seven millions on ancient Egypt, because the seventeen
+      hundred companions of Sesostris were born on the same day.]
+
+      133 (return) [ Elmacin, Hist. Saracen. p. 218; and this gross
+      lump is swallowed without scruple by D’Herbelot, (Bibliot.
+      Orient. p. 1031,) Ar. buthnot, (Tables of Ancient Coins, p. 262,)
+      and De Guignes, (Hist. des Huns, tom. iii. p. 135.) They might
+      allege the not less extravagant liberality of Appian in favor of
+      the Ptolemies (in praefat.) of seventy four myriads, 740,000
+      talents, an annual income of 185, or near 300 millions of pounds
+      sterling, according as we reckon by the Egyptian or the
+      Alexandrian talent, (Bernard, de Ponderibus Antiq. p. 186.)]
+
+      134 (return) [ See the measurement of D’Anville, (Mem. sur
+      l’Egypte, p. 23, &c.) After some peevish cavils, M. Pauw
+      (Recherches sur les Egyptiens, tom. i. p. 118-121) can only
+      enlarge his reckoning to 2250 square leagues.]
+
+      135 (return) [ Renaudot, Hist. Patriarch. Alexand. p. 334, who
+      calls the common reading or version of Elmacin, error librarii.
+      His own emendation, of 4,300,000 pieces, in the ixth century,
+      maintains a probable medium between the 3,000,000 which the Arabs
+      acquired by the conquest of Egypt, (idem, p. 168.) and the
+      2,400,000 which the sultan of Constantinople levied in the last
+      century, (Pietro della Valle, tom. i. p. 352 Thevenot, part i. p.
+      824.) Pauw (Recherches, tom. ii. p. 365-373) gradually raises the
+      revenue of the Pharaohs, the Ptolemies, and the Caesars, from six
+      to fifteen millions of German crowns.]
+
+      136 (return) [ The list of Schultens (Index Geograph. ad calcem
+      Vit. Saladin. p. 5) contains 2396 places; that of D’Anville,
+      (Mem. sur l’Egypte, p. 29,) from the divan of Cairo, enumerates
+      2696.]
+
+      137 (return) [ See Maillet, (Description de l’Egypte, p. 28,) who
+      seems to argue with candor and judgment. I am much better
+      satisfied with the observations than with the reading of the
+      French consul. He was ignorant of Greek and Latin literature, and
+      his fancy is too much delighted with the fictions of the Arabs.
+      Their best knowledge is collected by Abulfeda, (Descript. Aegypt.
+      Arab. et Lat. a Joh. David Michaelis, Gottingae, in 4to., 1776;)
+      and in two recent voyages into Egypt, we are amused by Savary,
+      and instructed by Volney. I wish the latter could travel over the
+      globe.]
+
+      IV. The conquest of Africa, from the Nile to the Atlantic Ocean,
+      138 was first attempted by the arms of the caliph Othman.
+
+      The pious design was approved by the companions of Mahomet and
+      the chiefs of the tribes; and twenty thousand Arabs marched from
+      Medina, with the gifts and the blessing of the commander of the
+      faithful. They were joined in the camp of Memphis by twenty
+      thousand of their countrymen; and the conduct of the war was
+      intrusted to Abdallah, 139 the son of Said and the foster-brother
+      of the caliph, who had lately supplanted the conqueror and
+      lieutenant of Egypt. Yet the favor of the prince, and the merit
+      of his favorite, could not obliterate the guilt of his apostasy.
+      The early conversion of Abdallah, and his skilful pen, had
+      recommended him to the important office of transcribing the
+      sheets of the Koran: he betrayed his trust, corrupted the text,
+      derided the errors which he had made, and fled to Mecca to escape
+      the justice, and expose the ignorance, of the apostle. After the
+      conquest of Mecca, he fell prostrate at the feet of Mahomet; his
+      tears, and the entreaties of Othman, extorted a reluctant pardon;
+      but the prophet declared that he had so long hesitated, to allow
+      time for some zealous disciple to avenge his injury in the blood
+      of the apostate. With apparent fidelity and effective merit, he
+      served the religion which it was no longer his interest to
+      desert: his birth and talents gave him an honorable rank among
+      the Koreish; and, in a nation of cavalry, Abdallah was renowned
+      as the boldest and most dexterous horseman of Arabia. At the head
+      of forty thousand Moslems, he advanced from Egypt into the
+      unknown countries of the West. The sands of Barca might be
+      impervious to a Roman legion but the Arabs were attended by their
+      faithful camels; and the natives of the desert beheld without
+      terror the familiar aspect of the soil and climate. After a
+      painful march, they pitched their tents before the walls of
+      Tripoli, 140 a maritime city in which the name, the wealth, and
+      the inhabitants of the province had gradually centred, and which
+      now maintains the third rank among the states of Barbary. A
+      reenforcement of Greeks was surprised and cut in pieces on the
+      sea-shore; but the fortifications of Tripoli resisted the first
+      assaults; and the Saracens were tempted by the approach of the
+      praefect Gregory 141 to relinquish the labors of the siege for
+      the perils and the hopes of a decisive action. If his standard
+      was followed by one hundred and twenty thousand men, the regular
+      bands of the empire must have been lost in the naked and
+      disorderly crowd of Africans and Moors, who formed the strength,
+      or rather the numbers, of his host. He rejected with indignation
+      the option of the Koran or the tribute; and during several days
+      the two armies were fiercely engaged from the dawn of light to
+      the hour of noon, when their fatigue and the excessive heat
+      compelled them to seek shelter and refreshment in their
+      respective camps. The daughter of Gregory, a maid of incomparable
+      beauty and spirit, is said to have fought by his side: from her
+      earliest youth she was trained to mount on horseback, to draw the
+      bow, and to wield the cimeter; and the richness of her arms and
+      apparel were conspicuous in the foremost ranks of the battle. Her
+      hand, with a hundred thousand pieces of gold, was offered for the
+      head of the Arabian general, and the youths of Africa were
+      excited by the prospect of the glorious prize. At the pressing
+      solicitation of his brethren, Abdallah withdrew his person from
+      the field; but the Saracens were discouraged by the retreat of
+      their leader, and the repetition of these equal or unsuccessful
+      conflicts.
+
+      138 (return) [ My conquest of Africa is drawn from two French
+      interpreters of Arabic literature, Cardonne (Hist. de l’Afrique
+      et de l’Espagne sous la Domination des Arabes, tom. i. p. 8-55)
+      and Otter, (Hist. de l’Academie des Inscriptions, tom. xxi. p.
+      111-125, and 136.) They derive their principal information from
+      Novairi, who composed, A.D. 1331 an Encyclopaedia in more than
+      twenty volumes. The five general parts successively treat of, 1.
+      Physics; 2. Man; 3. Animals; 4. Plants; and, 5. History; and the
+      African affairs are discussed in the vith chapter of the vth
+      section of this last part, (Reiske, Prodidagmata ad Hagji
+      Chalifae Tabulas, p. 232-234.) Among the older historians who are
+      quoted by Navairi we may distinguish the original narrative of a
+      soldier who led the van of the Moslems.]
+
+      139 (return) [ See the history of Abdallah, in Abulfeda (Vit.
+      Mohammed. p. 108) and Gagnier, (Vie de Mahomet, tom. iii.
+      45-48.)]
+
+      140 (return) [ The province and city of Tripoli are described by
+      Leo Africanus (in Navigatione et Viaggi di Ramusio, tom. i.
+      Venetia, 1550, fol. 76, verso) and Marmol, (Description de
+      l’Afrique, tom. ii. p. 562.) The first of these writers was a
+      Moor, a scholar, and a traveller, who composed or translated his
+      African geography in a state of captivity at Rome, where he had
+      assumed the name and religion of Pope Leo X. In a similar
+      captivity among the Moors, the Spaniard Marmol, a soldier of
+      Charles V., compiled his Description of Africa, translated by
+      D’Ablancourt into French, (Paris, 1667, 3 vols. in 4to.) Marmol
+      had read and seen, but he is destitute of the curious and
+      extensive observation which abounds in the original work of Leo
+      the African.]
+
+      141 (return) [ Theophanes, who mentions the defeat, rather than
+      the death, of Gregory. He brands the praefect with the name: he
+      had probably assumed the purple, (Chronograph. p. 285.)]
+
+      A noble Arabian, who afterwards became the adversary of Ali, and
+      the father of a caliph, had signalized his valor in Egypt, and
+      Zobeir 142 was the first who planted the scaling-ladder against
+      the walls of Babylon. In the African war he was detached from the
+      standard of Abdallah. On the news of the battle, Zobeir, with
+      twelve companions, cut his way through the camp of the Greeks,
+      and pressed forwards, without tasting either food or repose, to
+      partake of the dangers of his brethren. He cast his eyes round
+      the field: “Where,” said he, “is our general?” “In his tent.” “Is
+      the tent a station for the general of the Moslems?” Abdallah
+      represented with a blush the importance of his own life, and the
+      temptation that was held forth by the Roman praefect. “Retort,”
+      said Zobeir, “on the infidels their ungenerous attempt. Proclaim
+      through the ranks that the head of Gregory shall be repaid with
+      his captive daughter, and the equal sum of one hundred thousand
+      pieces of gold.” To the courage and discretion of Zobeir the
+      lieutenant of the caliph intrusted the execution of his own
+      stratagem, which inclined the long-disputed balance in favor of
+      the Saracens. Supplying by activity and artifice the deficiency
+      of numbers, a part of their forces lay concealed in their tents,
+      while the remainder prolonged an irregular skirmish with the
+      enemy till the sun was high in the heavens. On both sides they
+      retired with fainting steps: their horses were unbridled, their
+      armor was laid aside, and the hostile nations prepared, or seemed
+      to prepare, for the refreshment of the evening, and the encounter
+      of the ensuing day. On a sudden the charge was sounded; the
+      Arabian camp poured forth a swarm of fresh and intrepid warriors;
+      and the long line of the Greeks and Africans was surprised,
+      assaulted, overturned, by new squadrons of the faithful, who, to
+      the eye of fanaticism, might appear as a band of angels
+      descending from the sky. The praefect himself was slain by the
+      hand of Zobeir: his daughter, who sought revenge and death, was
+      surrounded and made prisoner; and the fugitives involved in their
+      disaster the town of Sufetula, to which they escaped from the
+      sabres and lances of the Arabs. Sufetula was built one hundred
+      and fifty miles to the south of Carthage: a gentle declivity is
+      watered by a running stream, and shaded by a grove of
+      juniper-trees; and, in the ruins of a triumpha arch, a portico,
+      and three temples of the Corinthian order, curiosity may yet
+      admire the magnificence of the Romans. 143 After the fall of this
+      opulent city, the provincials and Barbarians implored on all
+      sides the mercy of the conqueror. His vanity or his zeal might be
+      flattered by offers of tribute or professions of faith: but his
+      losses, his fatigues, and the progress of an epidemical disease,
+      prevented a solid establishment; and the Saracens, after a
+      campaign of fifteen months, retreated to the confines of Egypt,
+      with the captives and the wealth of their African expedition. The
+      caliph’s fifth was granted to a favorite, on the nominal payment
+      of five hundred thousand pieces of gold; 144 but the state was
+      doubly injured by this fallacious transaction, if each
+      foot-soldier had shared one thousand, and each horseman three
+      thousand, pieces, in the real division of the plunder. The author
+      of the death of Gregory was expected to have claimed the most
+      precious reward of the victory: from his silence it might be
+      presumed that he had fallen in the battle, till the tears and
+      exclamations of the praefect’s daughter at the sight of Zobeir
+      revealed the valor and modesty of that gallant soldier. The
+      unfortunate virgin was offered, and almost rejected as a slave,
+      by her father’s murderer, who coolly declared that his sword was
+      consecrated to the service of religion; and that he labored for a
+      recompense far above the charms of mortal beauty, or the riches
+      of this transitory life. A reward congenial to his temper was the
+      honorable commission of announcing to the caliph Othman the
+      success of his arms. The companions the chiefs, and the people,
+      were assembled in the mosch of Medina, to hear the interesting
+      narrative of Zobeir; and as the orator forgot nothing except the
+      merit of his own counsels and actions, the name of Abdallah was
+      joined by the Arabians with the heroic names of Caled and Amrou.
+      145
+
+      142 (return) [ See in Ockley (Hist. of the Saracens, vol. ii. p.
+      45) the death of Zobeir, which was honored with the tears of Ali,
+      against whom he had rebelled. His valor at the siege of Babylon,
+      if indeed it be the same person, is mentioned by Eutychius,
+      (Annal. tom. ii. p. 308)]
+
+      143 (return) [ Shaw’s Travels, p. 118, 119.]
+
+      144 (return) [ Mimica emptio, says Abulfeda, erat haec, et mira
+      donatio; quandoquidem Othman, ejus nomine nummos ex aerario prius
+      ablatos aerario praestabat, (Annal. Moslem. p. 78.) Elmacin (in
+      his cloudy version, p. 39) seems to report the same job. When the
+      Arabs be sieged the palace of Othman, it stood high in their
+      catalogue of grievances.`]
+
+      145 (return) [ Theophan. Chronograph. p. 235 edit. Paris. His
+      chronology is loose and inaccurate.]
+
+      [A. D. 665-689.] The western conquests of the Saracens were
+      suspended near twenty years, till their dissensions were composed
+      by the establishment of the house of Ommiyah; and the caliph
+      Moawiyah was invited by the cries of the Africans themselves. The
+      successors of Heraclius had been informed of the tribute which
+      they had been compelled to stipulate with the Arabs; but instead
+      of being moved to pity and relieve their distress, they imposed,
+      as an equivalent or a fine, a second tribute of a similar amount.
+      The ears of the zantine ministers were shut against the
+      complaints of their poverty and ruin their despair was reduced to
+      prefer the dominion of a single master; and the extortions of the
+      patriarch of Carthage, who was invested with civil and military
+      power, provoked the sectaries, and even the Catholics, of the
+      Roman province to abjure the religion as well as the authority of
+      their tyrants. The first lieutenant of Moawiyah acquired a just
+      renown, subdued an important city, defeated an army of thirty
+      thousand Greeks, swept away fourscore thousand captives, and
+      enriched with their spoils the bold adventurers of Syria and
+      Egypt.146 But the title of conqueror of Africa is more justly due
+      to his successor Akbah. He marched from Damascus at the head of
+      ten thousand of the bravest Arabs; and the genuine force of the
+      Moslems was enlarged by the doubtful aid and conversion of many
+      thousand Barbarians. It would be difficult, nor is it necessary,
+      to trace the accurate line of the progress of Akbah. The interior
+      regions have been peopled by the Orientals with fictitious armies
+      and imaginary citadels. In the warlike province of Zab or
+      Numidia, fourscore thousand of the natives might assemble in
+      arms; but the number of three hundred and sixty towns is
+      incompatible with the ignorance or decay of husbandry;147 and a
+      circumference of three leagues will not be justified by the ruins
+      of Erbe or Lambesa, the ancient metropolis of that inland
+      country. As we approach the seacoast, the well-known titles of
+      Bugia,148 and Tangier149 define the more certain limits of the
+      Saracen victories. A remnant of trade still adheres to the
+      commodious harbour of Bugia, which, in a more prosperous age, is
+      said to have contained about twenty thousand houses; and the
+      plenty of iron which is dug from the adjacent mountains might
+      have supplied a braver people with the instruments of defence.
+      The remote position and venerable antiquity of Tingi, or Tangier,
+      have been decorated by the Greek and Arabian fables; but the
+      figurative expressions of the latter, that the walls were
+      constructed of brass, and that the roofs were covered with gold
+      and silver, may be interpreted as the emblems of strength and
+      opulence.
+
+      146 (return) [ Theophanes (in Chronograph. p. 293.) inserts the
+      vague rumours that might reach Constantinople, of the western
+      conquests of the Arabs; and I learn from Paul Warnefrid, deacon
+      of Aquileia (de Gestis Langobard. 1. v. c. 13), that at this time
+      they sent a fleet from Alexandria into the Sicilian and African
+      seas.]
+
+      147 (return) [ See Novairi (apud Otter, p. 118), Leo Africanus
+      (fol. 81, verso), who reckoned only cinque citta e infinite
+      casal, Marmol (Description de l’Afrique, tom. iii. p. 33,) and
+      Shaw (Travels, p. 57, 65-68)]
+
+      148 (return) [ Leo African. fol. 58, verso, 59, recto. Marmol,
+      tom. ii. p. 415. Shaw, p. 43]
+
+      149 (return) [ Leo African. fol. 52. Marmol, tom. ii. p. 228.]
+
+      The province of Mauritania Tingitana,150 which assumed the name
+      of the capital had been imperfectly discovered and settled by the
+      Romans; the five colonies were confined to a narrow pale, and the
+      more southern parts were seldom explored except by the agents of
+      luxury, who searched the forests for ivory and the citron
+      wood,151 and the shores of the ocean for the purple shellfish.
+      The fearless Akbah plunged into the heart of the country,
+      traversed the wilderness in which his successors erected the
+      splendid capitals of Fez and Morocco,152 and at length penetrated
+      to the verge of the Atlantic and the great desert. The river Suz
+      descends from the western sides of mount Atlas, fertilizes, like
+      the Nile, the adjacent soil, and falls into the sea at a moderate
+      distance from the Canary, or adjacent islands. Its banks were
+      inhabited by the last of the Moors, a race of savages, without
+      laws, or discipline, or religion: they were astonished by the
+      strange and irresistible terrors of the Oriental arms; and as
+      they possessed neither gold nor silver, the richest spoil was the
+      beauty of the female captives, some of whom were afterward sold
+      for a thousand pieces of gold. The career, though not the zeal,
+      of Akbah was checked by the prospect of a boundless ocean. He
+      spurred his horse into the waves, and raising his eyes to heaven,
+      exclaimed with the tone of a fanatic: “Great God! if my course
+      were not stopped by this sea, I would still go on, to the unknown
+      kingdoms of the West, preaching the unity of thy holy name, and
+      putting to the sword the rebellious nations who worship another
+      gods than thee.” 153 Yet this Mahometan Alexander, who sighed for
+      new worlds, was unable to preserve his recent conquests. By the
+      universal defection of the Greeks and Africans he was recalled
+      from the shores of the Atlantic, and the surrounding multitudes
+      left him only the resource of an honourable death. The last scene
+      was dignified by an example of national virtue. An ambitious
+      chief, who had disputed the command and failed in the attempt,
+      was led about as a prisoner in the camp of the Arabian general.
+      The insurgents had trusted to his discontent and revenge; he
+      disdained their offers and revealed their designs. In the hour of
+      danger, the grateful Akbah unlocked his fetters, and advised him
+      to retire; he chose to die under the banner of his rival.
+      Embracing as friends and martyrs, they unsheathed their
+      scimeters, broke their scabbards, and maintained an obstinate
+      combat, till they fell by each other’s side on the last of their
+      slaughtered countrymen. The third general or governor of Africa,
+      Zuheir, avenged and encountered the fate of his predecessor. He
+      vanquished the natives in many battles; he was overthrown by a
+      powerful army, which Constantinople had sent to the relief of
+      Carthage.
+
+      150 (return) [ Regio ignobilis, et vix quicquam illustre sortita,
+      parvis oppidis habitatur, parva flumina emittit, solo quam viris
+      meleor et segnitie gentis obscura. Pomponius Mela, i. 5, iii. 10.
+      Mela deserves the more credit, since his own Phoenician ancestors
+      had migrated from Tingitana to Spain (see, in ii. 6, a passage of
+      that geographer so cruelly tortured by Salmasius, Isaac Vossius,
+      and the most virulent of critics, James Gronovius). He lived at
+      the time of the final reduction of that country by the emperor
+      Claudius: yet almost thirty years afterward, Pliny (Hist. Nat. v.
+      i.) complains of his authors, to lazy to inquire, too proud to
+      confess their ignorance of that wild and remote province.]
+
+      151 (return) [ The foolish fashion of this citron wood prevailed
+      at Rome among the men, as much as the taste for pearls among the
+      women. A round board or table, four or five feet in diameter,
+      sold for the price of an estate (latefundii taxatione), eight,
+      ten, or twelve thousand pounds sterling (Plin. Hist. Natur. xiii.
+      29). I conceive that I must not confound the tree citrus, with
+      that of the fruit citrum. But I am not botanist enough to define
+      the former (it is like the wild cypress) by the vulgar or
+      Linnaean name; nor will I decide whether the citrum be the orange
+      or the lemon. Salmasius appears to exhaust the subject, but he
+      too often involves himself in the web of his disorderly
+      erudition. (Flinian. Exercitat. tom. ii. p 666, &c.)]
+
+      152 (return) [ Leo African. fol. 16, verso. Marmol, tom. ii. p.
+      28. This province, the first scene of the exploits and greatness
+      of the cherifs is often mentioned in the curious history of that
+      dynasty at the end of the third volume of Marmol, Description de
+      l’Afrique. The third vol. of The Recherches Historiques sur les
+      Maures (lately published at Paris) illustrates the history and
+      geography of the kingdoms of Fez and Morocco.]
+
+      153 (return) [ Otter (p. 119,) has given the strong tone of
+      fanaticism to this exclamation, which Cardonne (p. 37,) has
+      softened to a pious wish of preaching the Koran. Yet they had
+      both the same text of Novairi before their eyes.]
+
+      [A. D. 670-675.] It had been the frequent practice of the Moorish
+      tribes to join the invaders, to share the plunder, to profess the
+      faith, and to revolt in their savage state of independence and
+      idolatry, on the first retreat or misfortune of the Moslems. The
+      prudence of Akbah had proposed to found an Arabian colony in the
+      heart of Africa; a citadel that might curb the levity of the
+      Barbarians, a place of refuge to secure, against the accidents of
+      war, the wealth and the families of the Saracens. With this view,
+      and under the modest title of the station of a caravan, he
+      planted this colony in the fiftieth year of the Hegira. In its
+      present decay, Cairoan154 still holds the second rank in the
+      kingdom of Tunis, from which it is distant about fifty miles to
+      the south;155 its inland situation, twelve miles westward of the
+      sea, has protected the city from the Greek and Sicilian fleets.
+      When the wild beasts and serpents were extirpated, when the
+      forest, or rather wilderness, was cleared, the vestiges of a
+      Roman town were discovered in a sandy plain: the vegetable food
+      of Cairoan is brought from afar; and the scarcity of springs
+      constrains the inhabitants to collect in cisterns and reservoirs
+      a precarious supply of rain water. These obstacles were subdued
+      by the industry of Akbah; he traced a circumference of three
+      thousand and six hundred paces, which he encompassed with a brick
+      wall; in the space of five years, the governor’s palace was
+      surrounded with a sufficient number of private habitations; a
+      spacious mosque was supported by five hundred columns of granite,
+      porphyry, and Numidian marble; and Cairoan became the seat of
+      learning as well as of empire. But these were the glories of a
+      later age; the new colony was shaken by the successive defeats of
+      Akbah and Zuheir, and the western expeditions were again
+      interrupted by the civil discord of the Arabian monarchy. The son
+      of the valiant Zobeir maintained a war of twelve years, a siege
+      of seven months against the house of Ommiyah. Abdallah was said
+      to unite the fierceness of the lion with the subtlety of the fox;
+      but if he inherited the courage, he was devoid of the generosity,
+      of his father.156
+
+      [A. D. 692-698.] The return of domestic peace allowed the caliph
+      Abdalmalek to resume the conquest of Africa; the standard was
+      delivered to Hassan governor of Egypt, and the revenue of that
+      kingdom, with an army of forty thousand men, was consecrated to
+      the important service. In the vicissitudes of war, the interior
+      provinces had been alternately won and lost by the Saracens. But
+      the seacoast still remained in the hands of the Greeks; the
+      predecessors of Hassan had respected the name and fortifications
+      of Carthage; and the number of its defenders was recruited by the
+      fugitives of Cabes and Tripoli. The arms of Hassan were bolder
+      and more fortunate: he reduced and pillaged the metropolis of
+      Africa; and the mention of scaling-ladders may justify the
+      suspicion, that he anticipated, by a sudden assault, the more
+      tedious operations of a regular siege. But the joy of the
+      conquerors was soon disturbed by the appearance of the Christian
+      succours. The praefect and patrician John, a general of
+      experience and renown, embarked at Constantinople the forces of
+      the Eastern empire;157 they were joined by the ships and soldiers
+      of Sicily, and a powerful reinforcement of Goths158 was obtained
+      from the fears and religion of the Spanish monarch.
+
+      154 (return) [ The foundation of Cairoan is mentioned by Ockley
+      (Hist. of the Saracens, vol. ii. p. 129, 130); and the situation,
+      mosque, &c. of the city are described by Leo Africanus (fol. 75),
+      Marmol (tom. ii. p. 532), and Shaw (p. 115).]
+
+      155 (return) [ A portentous, though frequent mistake, has been
+      the confounding, from a slight similitude of name, the Cyrene of
+      the Greeks, and the Cairoan of the Arabs, two cities which are
+      separated by an interval of a thousand miles along the seacoast.
+      The great Thuanus has not escaped this fault, the less excusable
+      as it is connected with a formal and elaborate description of
+      Africa (Historiar. l. vii. c. 2, in tom. i. p. 240, edit.
+      Buckley).]
+
+      156 (return) [ Besides the Arabic Chronicles of Abulfeda,
+      Elmacin, and Abulpharagius, under the lxxiiid year of the Hegira,
+      we may consult nd’Herbelot (Bibliot. Orient. p. 7,) and Ockley
+      (Hist. of the Saracens, vol. ii. p. 339-349). The latter has
+      given the last and pathetic dialogue between Abdallah and his
+      mother; but he has forgot a physical effect of her grief for his
+      death, the return, at the age of ninety, and fatal consequences
+      of her menses.]
+
+      157 (return) [ The patriarch of Constantinople, with Theophanes
+      (Chronograph. p. 309,) have slightly mentioned this last attempt
+      for the relief or Africa. Pagi (Critica, tom. iii. p. 129. 141,)
+      has nicely ascertained the chronology by a strict comparison of
+      the Arabic and Byzantine historians, who often disagree both in
+      time and fact. See likewise a note of Otter (p. 121).]
+
+      158 (return) [ Dove s’erano ridotti i nobili Romani e i Gotti;
+      and afterward, i Romani suggirono e i Gotti lasciarono
+      Carthagine. (Leo African. for. 72, recto) I know not from what
+      Arabic writer the African derived his Goths; but the fact, though
+      new, is so interesting and so probable, that I will accept it on
+      the slightest authority.]
+
+      The weight of the confederate navy broke the chain that guarded
+      the entrance of the harbour; the Arabs retired to Cairoan, or
+      Tripoli; the Christians landed; the citizens hailed the ensign of
+      the cross, and the winter was idly wasted in the dream of victory
+      or deliverance. But Africa was irrecoverably lost: the zeal and
+      resentment of the commander of the faithful159 prepared in the
+      ensuing spring a more numerous armament by sea and land; and the
+      patrician in his turn was compelled to evacuate the post and
+      fortifications of Carthage. A second battle was fought in the
+      neighbourhood of Utica; and the Greeks and Goths were again
+      defeated; and their timely embarkation saved them from the sword
+      of Hassan, who had invested the slight and insufficient rampart
+      of their camp. Whatever yet remained of Carthage was delivered to
+      the flames, and the colony of Dido160 and Cesar lay desolate
+      above two hundred years, till a part, perhaps a twentieth, of the
+      old circumference was repeopled by the first of the Fatimite
+      caliphs. In the beginning of the sixteenth century, the second
+      capital of the West was represented by a mosque, a college
+      without students, twenty-five or thirty shops, and the huts of
+      five hundred peasants, who, in their abject poverty, displayed
+      the arrogance of the Punic senators. Even that paltry village was
+      swept away by the Spaniards whom Charles the Fifth had stationed
+      in the fortress of the Goletta. The ruins of Carthage have
+      perished; and the place might be unknown if some broken arches of
+      an aqueduct did not guide the footsteps of the inquisitive
+      traveller.161
+
+      [A. D. 698-709.] The Greeks were expelled, but the Arabians were
+      not yet masters of the country. In the interior provinces the
+      Moors or Berbers,162 so feeble under the first Cesars, so
+      formidable to the Byzantine princes, maintained a disorderly
+      resistance to the religion and power of the successors of
+      Mahomet. Under the standard of their queen Cahina, the
+      independent tribes acquired some degree of union and discipline;
+      and as the Moors respected in their females the character of a
+      prophetess, they attacked the invaders with an enthusiasm similar
+      to their own. The veteran bands of Hassan were inadequate to the
+      defence of Africa: the conquests of an age were lost in a single
+      day; and the Arabian chief, overwhelmed by the torrent, retired
+      to the confines of Egypt, and expected, five years, the promised
+      succours of the caliph. After the retreat of the Saracens, the
+      victorious prophetess assembled the Moorish chiefs, and
+      recommended a measure of strange and savage policy. “Our cities,”
+      said she, “and the gold and silver which they contain,
+      perpetually attract the arms of the Arabs. These vile metals are
+      not the objects of OUR ambition; we content ourselves with the
+      simple productions of the earth. Let us destroy these cities; let
+      us bury in their ruins those pernicious treasures; and when the
+      avarice of our foes shall be destitute of temptation, perhaps
+      they will cease to disturb the tranquillity of a warlike people.”
+      The proposal was accepted with unanimous applause. From Tangier
+      to Tripoli the buildings, or at least the fortifications, were
+      demolished, the fruit-trees were cut down, the means of
+      subsistence were extirpated, a fertile and populous garden was
+      changed into a desert, and the historians of a more recent period
+      could discern the frequent traces of the prosperity and
+      devastation of their ancestors.
+
+      159 (return) [ This commander is styled by Nicephorus, ———— a
+      vague though not improper definition of the caliph. Theophanes
+      introduces the strange appellation of —————, which his
+      interpreter Goar explains by Vizir Azem. They may approach the
+      truth, in assigning the active part to the minister, rather than
+      the prince; but they forget that the Ommiades had only a kaleb,
+      or secretary, and that the office of Vizir was not revived or
+      instituted till the 132d year of the Hegira (d’Herbelot, 912).]
+
+      160 (return) [ According to Solinus (1.27, p. 36, edit. Salmas),
+      the Carthage of Dido stood either 677 or 737 years; a various
+      reading, which proceeds from the difference of MSS. or editions
+      (Salmas, Plinian. Exercit tom i. p. 228) The former of these
+      accounts, which gives 823 years before Christ, is more consistent
+      with the well-weighed testimony of Velleius Paterculus: but the
+      latter is preferred by our chronologists (Marsham, Canon. Chron.
+      p. 398,) as more agreeable to the Hebrew and Syrian annals.]
+
+      161 (return) [ Leo African. fo1. 71, verso; 72, recto. Marmol,
+      tom. ii. p.445-447. Shaw, p.80.]
+
+      162 (return) [ The history of the word Barbar may be classed
+      under four periods, 1. In the time of Homer, when the Greeks and
+      Asiatics might probably use a common idiom, the imitative sound
+      of Barbar was applied to the ruder tribes, whose pronunciation
+      was most harsh, whose grammar was most defective. 2. From the
+      time, at least, of Herodotus, it was extended to all the nations
+      who were strangers to the language and manners of the Greeks. 3.
+      In the age, of Plautus, the Romans submitted to the insult
+      (Pompeius Festus, l. ii. p. 48, edit. Dacier), and freely gave
+      themselves the name of Barbarians. They insensibly claimed an
+      exemption for Italy, and her subject provinces; and at length
+      removed the disgraceful appellation to the savage or hostile
+      nations beyond the pale of the empire. 4. In every sense, it was
+      due to the Moors; the familiar word was borrowed from the Latin
+      Provincials by the Arabian conquerors, and has justly settled as
+      a local denomination (Barbary) along the northern coast of
+      Africa.]
+
+      Such is the tale of the modern Arabians. Yet I strongly suspect
+      that their ignorance of antiquity, the love of the marvellous,
+      and the fashion of extolling the philosophy of Barbarians, has
+      induced them to describe, as one voluntary act, the calamities of
+      three hundred years since the first fury of the Donatists and
+      Vandals. In the progress of the revolt, Cahina had most probably
+      contributed her share of destruction; and the alarm of universal
+      ruin might terrify and alienate the cities that had reluctantly
+      yielded to her unworthy yoke. They no longer hoped, perhaps they
+      no longer wished, the return of their Byzantine sovereigns: their
+      present servitude was not alleviated by the benefits of order and
+      justice; and the most zealous Catholic must prefer the imperfect
+      truths of the Koran to the blind and rude idolatry of the Moors.
+      The general of the Saracens was again received as the saviour of
+      the province; the friends of civil society conspired against the
+      savages of the land; and the royal prophetess was slain in the
+      first battle which overturned the baseless fabric of her
+      superstition and empire. The same spirit revived under the
+      successor of Hassan; it was finally quelled by the activity of
+      Musa and his two sons; but the number of the rebels may be
+      presumed from that of three hundred thousand captives; sixty
+      thousand of whom, the caliph’s fifth, were sold for the profit of
+      thee public treasury. Thirty thousand of the Barbarian youth were
+      enlisted in the troops; and the pious labours of Musa to
+      inculcate the knowledge and practice of the Koran, accustomed the
+      Africans to obey the apostle of God and the commander of the
+      faithful. In their climate and government, their diet and
+      habitation, the wandering Moors resembled the Bedoweens of the
+      desert. With the religion, they were proud to adopt the language,
+      name, and origin of Arabs: the blood of the strangers and natives
+      was insensibly mingled; and from the Euphrates to the Atlantic
+      the same nation might seem to be diffused over the sandy plains
+      of Asia and Africa. Yet I will not deny that fifty thousand tents
+      of pure Arabians might be transported over the Nile, and
+      scattered through the Lybian desert: and I am not ignorant that
+      five of the Moorish tribes still retain their barbarous idiom,
+      with the appellation and character of white Africans.163
+
+      [A. D. 709.] V. In the progress of conquest from the north and
+      south, the Goths and the Saracens encountered each other on the
+      confines of Europe and Africa. In the opinion of the latter, the
+      difference of religion is a reasonable ground of enmity and
+      warfare.164 As early as the time of Othman165 their piratical
+      squadrons had ravaged the coast of Andalusia;166 nor had they
+      forgotten the relief of Carthage by the Gothic succours. In that
+      age, as well as in the present, the kings of Spain were possessed
+      of the fortress of Ceuta; one of the columns of Hercules, which
+      is divided by a narrow strait from the opposite pillar or point
+      of Europe. A small portion of Mauritania was still wanting to the
+      African conquest; but Musa, in the pride of victory, was repulsed
+      from the walls of Ceuta, by the vigilance and courage of count
+      Julian, the general of the Goths. From his disappointment and
+      perplexity, Musa was relieved by an unexpected message of the
+      Christian chief, who offered his place, his person, and his
+      sword, to the successors of Mahomet, and solicited the
+      disgraceful honour of introducing their arms into the heart of
+      Spain.167
+
+      163 (return) [ The first book of Leo Africanus, and the
+      observations of Dr. Shaw (p. 220. 223. 227. 247, &c.) will throw
+      some light on the roving tribes of Barbary, of Arabian or Moorish
+      descent. But Shaw had seen these savages with distant terror; and
+      Leo, a captive in the Vatican, appears to have lost more of his
+      Arabic, than he could acquire of Greek or Roman, learning. Many
+      of his gross mistakes might be detected in the first period of
+      the Mahometan history.]
+
+      164 (return) [ In a conference with a prince of the Greeks, Amrou
+      observed that their religion was different; upon which score it
+      was lawful for brothers to quarrel. Ockley’s History of the
+      Saracens, vol. i. p. 328.]
+
+      165 (return) [ Abulfeda, Annal. Moslem. p 78, vers. Reiske.]
+
+      166 (return) [ The name of Andalusia is applied by the Arabs not
+      only to the modern province, but to the whole peninsula of Spain
+      (Geograph. Nub. p. 151, d’Herbelot, Bibliot. Orient. p. 114,
+      115). The etymology has been most improbably deduced from
+      Vandalusia, country of the Vandals. (d’Anville Etats de l’Europe,
+      p. 146, 147, &c.) But the Handalusia of Casiri, which signifies,
+      in Arabic, the region of the evening, of the West, in a word, the
+      Hesperia of the Greeks, is perfectly apposite. (Bibliot.
+      Arabico-Hispana, tom. ii. p. 327, &c.)]
+
+      167 (return) [ The fall and resurrection of the Gothic monarchy
+      are related by Mariana (tom. l. p. 238-260, l. vi. c. 19-26, l.
+      vii. c. 1, 2). That historian has infused into his noble work
+      (Historic de Rebus Hispaniae, libri xxx. Hagae Comitum 1733, in
+      four volumes, folio, with the continuation of Miniana), the style
+      and spirit of a Roman classic; and after the twelfth century, his
+      knowledge and judgment may be safely trusted. But the Jesuit is
+      not exempt from the prejudices of his order; he adopts and
+      adorns, like his rival Buchanan, the most absurd of the national
+      legends; he is too careless of criticism and chronology, and
+      supplies, from a lively fancy, the chasms of historical evidence.
+      These chasms are large and frequent; Roderic archbishop of
+      Toledo, the father of the Spanish history, lived five hundred
+      years after the conquest of the Arabs; and the more early
+      accounts are comprised in some meagre lines of the blind
+      chronicles of Isidore of Badajoz (Pacensis,) and of Alphonso III.
+      king of Leon, which I have seen only in the Annals of Pagi.]
+
+      If we inquire into the cause of this treachery, the Spaniards
+      will repeat the popular story of his daughter Cava;168 of a
+      virgin who was seduced, or ravished, by her sovereign; of a
+      father who sacrificed his religion and country to the thirst of
+      revenge. The passions of princes have often been licentious and
+      destructive; but this well-known tale, romantic in itself, is
+      indifferently supported by external evidence; and the history of
+      Spain will suggest some motives of interest and policy more
+      congenial to the breast of a veteran statesman.169 After the
+      decease or deposition of Witiza, his two sons were supplanted by
+      the ambition of Roderic, a noble Goth, whose father, the duke or
+      governor of a province, had fallen a victim to the preceding
+      tyranny. The monarchy was still elective; but the sons of Witiza,
+      educated on the steps of the throne, were impatient of a private
+      station. Their resentment was the more dangerous, as it was
+      varnished with the dissimulation of courts: their followers were
+      excited by the remembrance of favours and the promise of a
+      revolution: and their uncle Oppas, archbishop of Toledo and
+      Seville, was the first person in the church, and the second in
+      the state. It is probable that Julian was involved in the
+      disgrace of the unsuccessful faction, that he had little to hope
+      and much to fear from the new reign; and that the imprudent king
+      could not forget or forgive the injuries which Roderic and his
+      family had sustained. The merit and influence of the count
+      rendered him a useful or formidable subject: his estates were
+      ample, his followers bold and numerous, and it was too fatally
+      shown that, by his Andalusian and Mauritanian commands, he held
+      in his hands the keys of the Spanish monarchy. Too feeble,
+      however, to meet his sovereign in arms, he sought the aid of a
+      foreign power; and his rash invitation of the Moors and Arabs
+      produced the calamities of eight hundred years. In his epistles,
+      or in a personal interview, he revealed the wealth and nakedness
+      of his country; the weakness of an unpopular prince; the
+      degeneracy of an effeminate people. The Goths were no longer the
+      victorious Barbarians, who had humbled the pride of Rome,
+      despoiled the queen of nations, and penetrated from the Danube to
+      the Atlantic ocean. Secluded from the world by the Pyrenean
+      mountains, the successors of Alaric had slumbered in a long
+      peace: the walls of the city were mouldered into dust: the youth
+      had abandoned the exercise of arms; and the presumption of their
+      ancient renown would expose them in a field of battle to the
+      first assault of the invaders. The ambitious Saracen was fired by
+      the ease and importance of the attempt; but the execution was
+      delayed till he had consulted the commander of the faithful; and
+      his messenger returned with the permission of Walid to annex the
+      unknown kingdoms of the West to the religion and throne of the
+      caliphs. In his residence of Tangier, Musa, with secrecy and
+      caution, continued his correspondence and hastened his
+      preparations. But the remorse of the conspirators was soothed by
+      the fallacious assurance that he should content himself with the
+      glory and spoil, without aspiring to establish the Moslems beyond
+      the sea that separates Africa from Europe.170
+
+      168 (return) [ Le viol (says Voltaire) est aussi difficile a
+      faire qu’a prouver. Des Eveques se seroient ils lignes pour une
+      fille? (Hist. Generale, c. xxvi.) His argument is not logically
+      conclusive.]
+
+      169 (return) [ In the story of Cava, Mariana (I. vi. c. 21, p.
+      241, 242,) seems to vie with the Lucretia of Livy. Like the
+      ancients, he seldom quotes; and the oldest testimony of Baronius
+      (Annal. Eccles. A.D. 713, No. 19), that of Lucus Tudensis, a
+      Gallician deacon of the thirteenth century, only says, Cava quam
+      pro concubina utebatur.]
+
+      170 (return) [ The Orientals, Elmacin, Abulpharagins, Abolfeda,
+      pass over the conquest of Spain in silence, or with a single
+      word. The text of Novairi, and the other Arabian writers, is
+      represented, though with some foreign alloy, by M. de Cardonne
+      (Hist. de l’Afrique et de l’Espagne sous la Domination des
+      Arabes, Paris, 1765, 3 vols. 12mo. tom. i. p. 55-114), and more
+      concisely by M. de Guignes (Hist. des Hune. tom. i. p. 347-350).
+      The librarian of the Escurial has not satisfied my hopes: yet he
+      appears to have searched with diligence his broken materials; and
+      the history of the conquest is illustrated by some valuable
+      fragments of the genuine Razis (who wrote at. Corduba, A. H.
+      300), of Ben Hazil, &c. See Bibliot. Arabico-Hispana, tom. ii. p.
+      32. 105, 106. 182. 252. 315-332. On this occasion, the industry
+      of Pagi has been aided by the Arabic learning of his friend the
+      Abbe de Longuerue, and to their joint labours I am deeply
+      indebted.]
+
+      [A. D. 710.] Before Musa would trust an army of the faithful to
+      the traitors and infidels of a foreign land, he made a less
+      dangerous trial of their strength and veracity. One hundred Arabs
+      and four hundred Africans, passed over, in four vessels, from
+      Tangier or Ceuta; the place of their descent on the opposite
+      shore of the strait, is marked by the name of Tarif their chief;
+      and the date of this memorable event171 is fixed to the month of
+      Ramandan, of the ninety-first year of the Hegira, to the month of
+      July, seven hundred and forty-eight years from the Spanish era of
+      Cesar,172 seven hundred and ten after the birth of Christ. From
+      their first station, they marched eighteen miles through a hilly
+      country to the castle and town of Julian;173 on which (it is
+      still called Algezire) they bestowed the name of the Green
+      Island, from a verdant cape that advances into the sea. Their
+      hospitable entertainment, the Christians who joined their
+      standard, their inroad into a fertile and unguarded province, the
+      richness of their spoil and the safety of their return, announced
+      to their brethren the most favourable omens of victory. In the
+      ensuing spring, five thousand veterans and volunteers were
+      embarked under the command of Tarik, a dauntless and skilful
+      soldier, who surpassed the expectation of his chief; and the
+      necessary transports were provided by the industry of their too
+      faithful ally. The Saracens landed174 at the pillar or point of
+      Europe; the corrupt and familiar appellation of Gibraltar (Gebel
+      el Tarik) describes the mountain of Tarik; and the intrenchments
+      of his camp were the first outline of those fortifications,
+      which, in the hands of our countrymen, have resisted the art and
+      power of the house of Bourbon. The adjacent governors informed
+      the court of Toledo of the descent and progress of the Arabs; and
+      the defeat of his lieutenant Edeco, who had been commanded to
+      seize and bind the presumptuous strangers, admonished Roderic of
+      the magnitude of the danger. At the royal summons, the dukes and
+      counts, the bishops and nobles of the Gothic monarchy assembled
+      at the head of their followers; and the title of king of the
+      Romans, which is employed by an Arabic historian, may be excused
+      by the close affinity of language, religion, and manners, between
+      the nations of Spain. His army consisted of ninety or a hundred
+      thousand men: a formidable power, if their fidelity and
+      discipline had been adequate to their numbers. The troops of
+      Tarik had been augmented to twelve thousand Saracens; but the
+      Christian malcontents were attracted by the influence of Julian,
+      and a crowd of Africans most greedily tasted the temporal
+      blessings of the Koran. In the neighbourhood of Cadiz, the town
+      of Xeres175 has been illustrated by the encounter which
+      determined the fate of the kingdom; the stream of the Guadalete,
+      which falls into the bay, divided the two camps, and marked the
+      advancing and retreating skirmishes of three successive and
+      bloody days.
+
+      171 (return) [ A mistake of Roderic of Toledo, in comparing the
+      lunar years of the Hegira with the Julian years of the Era, has
+      determined Baronius, Mariana, and the crowd of Spanish
+      historians, to place the first invasion in the year 713, and the
+      battle of Xeres in November, 714. This anachronism of three years
+      has been detected by the more correct industry of modern
+      chronologists, above all, of Pagi (Critics, tom. iii. p. 164.
+      171-174), who have restored the genuine state of the revolution.
+      At the present time, an Arabian scholar, like Cardonne, who
+      adopts the ancient error (tom. i. p. 75), is inexcusably ignorant
+      or careless.]
+
+      172 (return) [ The Era of Cesar, which in Spain was in legal and
+      popular use till the xivth century, begins thirty-eight years
+      before the birth of Christ. I would refer the origin to the
+      general peace by sea and land, which confirmed the power and
+      partition of the triumvirs. (Dion. Cassius, l. xlviii. p. 547.
+      553. Appian de Bell. Civil. l. v. p. 1034, edit. fol.) Spain was
+      a province of Cesar Octavian; and Tarragona, which raised the
+      first temple to Augustus (Tacit Annal. i. 78), might borrow from
+      the orientals this mode of flattery.]
+
+      173 (return) [ The road, the country, the old castle of count
+      Julian, and the superstitious belief of the Spaniards of hidden
+      treasures, &c. are described by Pere Labat (Voyages en Espagne et
+      en Italie, tom i. p. 207-217), with his usual pleasantry.]
+
+      174 (return) [ The Nubian geographer (p. 154,) explains the
+      topography of the war; but it is highly incredible that the
+      lieutenant of Musa should execute the desperate and useless
+      measure of burning his ships.]
+
+      175 (return) [ Xeres (the Roman colony of Asta Regia) is only two
+      leagues from Cadiz. In the xvith century It was a granary of
+      corn; and the wine of Xeres is familiar to the nations of Europe
+      (Lud. Nonii Hispania, c. 13, p. 54-56, a work of correct and
+      concise knowledge; d’Anville, Etats de l’Europe &c p 154).]
+
+      On the fourth day, the two armies joined a more serious and
+      decisive issue; but Alaric would have blushed at the sight of his
+      unworthy successor, sustaining on his head a diadem of pearls,
+      encumbered with a flowing robe of gold and silken embroidery, and
+      reclining on a litter, or car of ivory, drawn by two white mules.
+      Notwithstanding the valour of the Saracens, they fainted under
+      the weight of multitudes, and the plain of Xeres was overspread
+      with sixteen thousand of their dead bodies. “My brethren,” said
+      Tarik to his surviving companions, “the enemy is before you, the
+      sea is behind; whither would ye fly? Follow your general I am
+      resolved either to lose my life, or to trample on the prostrate
+      king of the Romans.” Besides the resource of despair, he confided
+      in the secret correspondence and nocturnal interviews of count
+      Julian, with the sons and the brother of Witiza. The two princes
+      and the archbishop of Toledo occupied the most important post;
+      their well-timed defection broke the ranks of the Christians;
+      each warrior was prompted by fear or suspicion to consult his
+      personal safety; and the remains of the Gothic army were
+      scattered or destroyed to the flight and pursuit of the three
+      following days. Amidst the general disorder, Roderic started from
+      his car, and mounted Orelia, the fleetest of his Horses; but he
+      escaped from a soldier’s death to perish more ignobly in the
+      waters of the Boetis or Guadalquiver. His diadem, his robes, and
+      his courser, were found on the bank; but as the body of the
+      Gothic prince was lost in the waves, the pride and ignorance of
+      the caliph must have been gratified with some meaner head, which
+      was exposed in triumph before the palace of Damascus. “And such,”
+      continues a valiant historian of the Arabs, “is the fate of those
+      kings who withdraw themselves from a field of battle.” 176
+
+      [A. D. 711.] Count Julian had plunged so deep into guilt and
+      infamy, that his only hope was in the ruin of his country. After
+      the battle of Xeres he recommended the most effectual measures to
+      the victorious Saracens. “The king of the Goths is slain; their
+      princes are fled before you, the army is routed, the nation is
+      astonished. Secure with sufficient detachments the cities of
+      Boetica; but in person and without delay, march to the royal city
+      of Toledo, and allow not the distracted Christians either time or
+      tranquillity for the election of a new monarch.” Tarik listened
+      to his advice. A Roman captive and proselyte, who had been
+      enfranchised by the caliph himself, assaulted Cordova with seven
+      hundred horse: he swam the river, surprised the town, and drove
+      the Christians into the great church, where they defended
+      themselves above three months. Another detachment reduced the
+      seacoast of Boetica, which in the last period of the Moorish
+      power has comprised in a narrow space the populous kingdom of
+      Grenada. The march of Tarik from the Boetis to the Tagus,177 was
+      directed through the Sierra Morena, that separates Andalusia and
+      Castille, till he appeared in arms under the walls of Toledo.178
+      The most zealous of the Catholics had escaped with the relics of
+      their saints; and if the gates were shut, it was only till the
+      victor had subscribed a fair and reasonable capitulation. The
+      voluntary exiles were allowed to depart with their effects; seven
+      churches were appropriated to the Christian worship; the
+      archbishop and his clergy were at liberty to exercise their
+      functions, the monks to practise or neglect their penance; and
+      the Goths and Romans were left in all civil or criminal cases to
+      the subordinate jurisdiction of their own laws and magistrates.
+      But if the justice of Tarik protected the Christians, his
+      gratitude and policy rewarded the Jews, to whose secret or open
+      aid he was indebted for his most important acquisitions.
+      Persecuted by the kings and synods of Spain, who had often
+      pressed the alternative of banishment or baptism, that outcast
+      nation embraced the moment of revenge: the comparison of their
+      past and present state was the pledge of their fidelity; and the
+      alliance between the disciples of Moses and those of Mahomet, was
+      maintained till the final era of their common expulsion.
+
+      176 (return) [ Id sane infortunii regibus pedem ex acie
+      referentibus saepe contingit. Den Hazil of Grenada, in Bibliot.
+      Arabico-Hispana. tom. ii. p. 337. Some credulous Spaniards
+      believe that king Roderic, or Rodrigo, escaped to a hermit’s
+      cell; and others, that he was cast alive into a tub full of
+      serpents, from whence he exclaimed with a lamentable voice, “they
+      devour the part with which I have so grievously sinned.” (Don
+      Quixote, part ii. l. iii. c. 1.)]
+
+      177 (return) [ The direct road from Corduba to Toledo was
+      measured by Mr. Swinburne’s mules in 72 1/2 hours: but a larger
+      computation must be adopted for the slow and devious marches of
+      an army. The Arabs traversed the province of La Mancha, which the
+      pen of Cervantes has transformed into classic ground to the
+      reader of every nation.]
+
+      178 (return) [ The antiquities of Toledo, Urbs Parva in the Punic
+      wars, Urbs Regia in the sixth century, are briefly described by
+      Nonius (Hispania, c. 59, p. 181-136). He borrows from Roderic the
+      fatale palatium of Moorish portraits; but modestly insinuates,
+      that it was no more than a Roman amphitheatre.]
+
+      From the royal seat of Toledo, the Arabian leader spread his
+      conquests to the north, over the modern realms of Castille and
+      Leon; but it is heedless to enumerate the cities that yielded on
+      his approach, or again to describe the table of emerald,179
+      transported from the East by the Romans, acquired by the Goths
+      among the spoils of Rome, and presented by the Arabs to the
+      throne of Damascus. Beyond the Asturian mountains, the maritime
+      town of Gijon was the term180 of the lieutenant of Musa, who had
+      performed with the speed of a traveller, his victorious march of
+      seven hundred miles, from the rock of Gibraltar to the bay of
+      Biscay. The failure of land compelled him to retreat: and he was
+      recalled to Toledo, to excuse his presumption of subduing a
+      kingdom in the absence of his general. Spain, which in a more
+      savage and disorderly state, had resisted, two hundred years, the
+      arms of the Romans, was overrun in a few months by those of the
+      Saracens; and such was the eagerness of submission and treaty,
+      that the governor of Cordova is recorded as the only chief who
+      fell, without conditions, a prisoner into their hands. The cause
+      of the Goths had been irrevocably judged in the field of Xeres;
+      and in the national dismay, each part of the monarchy declined a
+      contest with the antagonist who had vanquished the united
+      strength of the whole.181 That strength had been wasted by two
+      successive seasons of famine and pestilence; and the governors,
+      who were impatient to surrender, might exaggerate the difficulty
+      of collecting the provisions of a siege. To disarm the
+      Christians, superstition likewise contributed her terrors: and
+      the subtle Arab encouraged the report of dreams, omens, and
+      prophecies, and of the portraits of the destined conquerors of
+      Spain, that were discovered on the breaking open an apartment of
+      the royal palace. Yet a spark of the vital flame was still alive;
+      some invincible fugitives preferred a life of poverty and freedom
+      in the Asturian valleys; the hardy mountaineers repulsed the
+      slaves of the caliph; and the sword of Pelagius has been
+      transformed into the sceptre of the Catholic kings.182
+
+      179 (return) [ In the Historia Arabum (c. 9, p. 17, ad calcem
+      Elmacin), Roderic of Toledo describes the emerald tables, and
+      inserts the name of Medinat Ahneyda in Arabic words and letters.
+      He appears to be conversant with the Mahometan writers; but I
+      cannot agree with M. de Guignes (Hist. des Huns, tom. i. p. 350)
+      that he had read and transcribed Novairi; because he was dead a
+      hundred years before Novairi composed his history. This mistake
+      is founded on a still grosser error. M. de Guignes confounds the
+      governed historian Roderic Ximines, archbishop of Toledo, in the
+      xiiith century, with cardinal Ximines, who governed Spain in the
+      beginning of the xvith, and was the subject, not the author, of
+      historical compositions.]
+
+      180 (return) [ Tarik might have inscribed on the last rock, the
+      boast of Regnard and his companions in their Lapland journey,
+      “Hic tandem stetimus, nobis ubi defuit orbis.”]
+
+      181 (return) [ Such was the argument of the traitor Oppas, and
+      every chief to whom it was addressed did not answer with the
+      spirit of Pelagius; Omnis Hispania dudum sub uno regimine
+      Gothorum, omnis exercitus Hispaniae in uno congregatus
+      Ismaelitarum non valuit sustinere impetum. Chron. Alphonsi Regis,
+      apud Pagi, tom. iii. p. 177.]
+
+      182 (return) [ The revival of tire Gothic kingdom in the Asturias
+      is distinctly though concisely noticed by d’Anville (Etats de
+      l’Europe, p. 159)]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LI: Conquests By The Arabs.—Part VII.
+
+      On the intelligence of this rapid success, the applause of Musa
+      degenerated into envy; and he began, not to complain, but to
+      fear, that Tarik would leave him nothing to subdue. At the head
+      of ten thousand Arabs and eight thousand Africans, he passed over
+      in person from Mauritania to Spain: the first of his companions
+      were the noblest of the Koreish; his eldest son was left in the
+      command of Africa; the three younger brethren were of an age and
+      spirit to second the boldest enterprises of their father. At his
+      landing in Algezire, he was respectfully entertained by Count
+      Julian, who stifled his inward remorse, and testified, both in
+      words and actions, that the victory of the Arabs had not impaired
+      his attachment to their cause. Some enemies yet remained for the
+      sword of Musa. The tardy repentance of the Goths had compared
+      their own numbers and those of the invaders; the cities from
+      which the march of Tarik had declined considered themselves as
+      impregnable; and the bravest patriots defended the fortifications
+      of Seville and Merida. They were successively besieged and
+      reduced by the labor of Musa, who transported his camp from the
+      Boetis to the Anas, from the Guadalquivir to the Guadiana. When
+      he beheld the works of Roman magnificence, the bridge, the
+      aqueducts, the triumphal arches, and the theatre, of the ancient
+      metropolis of Lusitania, “I should imagine,” said he to his four
+      companions, “that the human race must have united their art and
+      power in the foundation of this city: happy is the man who shall
+      become its master!” He aspired to that happiness, but the
+      Emeritans sustained on this occasion the honor of their descent
+      from the veteran legionaries of Augustus 183 Disdaining the
+      confinement of their walls, they gave battle to the Arabs on the
+      plain; but an ambuscade rising from the shelter of a quarry, or a
+      ruin, chastised their indiscretion, and intercepted their return.
+
+      The wooden turrets of assault were rolled forwards to the foot of
+      the rampart; but the defence of Merida was obstinate and long;
+      and the castle of the martyrs was a perpetual testimony of the
+      losses of the Moslems. The constancy of the besieged was at
+      length subdued by famine and despair; and the prudent victor
+      disguised his impatience under the names of clemency and esteem.
+      The alternative of exile or tribute was allowed; the churches
+      were divided between the two religions; and the wealth of those
+      who had fallen in the siege, or retired to Gallicia, was
+      confiscated as the reward of the faithful. In the midway between
+      Merida and Toledo, the lieutenant of Musa saluted the vicegerent
+      of the caliph, and conducted him to the palace of the Gothic
+      kings. Their first interview was cold and formal: a rigid account
+      was exacted of the treasures of Spain: the character of Tarik was
+      exposed to suspicion and obloquy; and the hero was imprisoned,
+      reviled, and ignominiously scourged by the hand, or the command,
+      of Musa. Yet so strict was the discipline, so pure the zeal, or
+      so tame the spirit, of the primitive Moslems, that, after this
+      public indignity, Tarik could serve and be trusted in the
+      reduction of the Tarragonest province. A mosch was erected at
+      Saragossa, by the liberality of the Koreish: the port of
+      Barcelona was opened to the vessels of Syria; and the Goths were
+      pursued beyond the Pyrenaean mountains into their Gallic province
+      of Septimania or Languedoc. 184 In the church of St. Mary at
+      Carcassone, Musa found, but it is improbable that he left, seven
+      equestrian statues of massy silver; and from his term or column
+      of Narbonne, he returned on his footsteps to the Gallician and
+      Lusitanian shores of the ocean. During the absence of the father,
+      his son Abdelaziz chastised the insurgents of Seville, and
+      reduced, from Malaga to Valentia, the sea-coast of the
+      Mediterranean: his original treaty with the discreet and valiant
+      Theodemir 185 will represent the manners and policy of the times.
+      “The conditions of peace agreed and sworn between Abdelaziz, the
+      son of Musa, the son of Nassir, and Theodemir prince of the
+      Goths. In the name of the most merciful God, Abdelaziz makes
+      peace on these conditions: that Theodemir shall not be disturbed
+      in his principality; nor any injury be offered to the life or
+      property, the wives and children, the religion and temples, of
+      the Christians: that Theodemir shall freely deliver his seven
+      1851 cities, Orihuela, Valentola, Alicanti Mola, Vacasora,
+      Bigerra, (now Bejar,) Ora, (or Opta,) and Lorca: that he shall
+      not assist or entertain the enemies of the caliph, but shall
+      faithfully communicate his knowledge of their hostile designs:
+      that himself, and each of the Gothic nobles, shall annually pay
+      one piece of gold, four measures of wheat, as many of barley,
+      with a certain proportion of honey, oil, and vinegar; and that
+      each of their vassals shall be taxed at one moiety of the said
+      imposition. Given the fourth of Regeb, in the year of the Hegira
+      ninety-four, and subscribed with the names of four Mussulman
+      witnesses.” 186 Theodemir and his subjects were treated with
+      uncommon lenity; but the rate of tribute appears to have
+      fluctuated from a tenth to a fifth, according to the submission
+      or obstinacy of the Christians. 187 In this revolution, many
+      partial calamities were inflicted by the carnal or religious
+      passions of the enthusiasts: some churches were profaned by the
+      new worship: some relics or images were confounded with idols:
+      the rebels were put to the sword; and one town (an obscure place
+      between Cordova and Seville) was razed to its foundations. Yet if
+      we compare the invasion of Spain by the Goths, or its recovery by
+      the kings of Castile and Arragon, we must applaud the moderation
+      and discipline of the Arabian conquerors.
+
+      183 (return) [ The honorable relics of the Cantabrian war (Dion
+      Cassius, l. liii p. 720) were planted in this metropolis of
+      Lusitania, perhaps of Spain, (submittit cui tota suos Hispania
+      fasces.) Nonius (Hispania, c. 31, p. 106-110) enumerates the
+      ancient structures, but concludes with a sigh: Urbs haec olim
+      nobilissima ad magnam incolarum infrequentiam delapsa est, et
+      praeter priscae claritatis ruinas nihil ostendit.]
+
+      184 (return) [ Both the interpreters of Novairi, De Guignes
+      (Hist. des Huns, tom. i. p. 349) and Cardonne, (Hist. de
+      l’Afrique et de l’Espagne, tom. i. p. 93, 94, 104, 135,) lead
+      Musa into the Narbonnese Gaul. But I find no mention of this
+      enterprise, either in Roderic of Toledo, or the Mss. of the
+      Escurial, and the invasion of the Saracens is postponed by a
+      French chronicle till the ixth year after the conquest of Spain,
+      A.D. 721, (Pagi, Critica, tom. iii. p. 177, 195. Historians of
+      France, tom. iii.) I much question whether Musa ever passed the
+      Pyrenees.]
+
+      185 (return) [ Four hundred years after Theodemir, his
+      territories of Murcia and Carthagena retain in the Nubian
+      geographer Edrisi (p, 154, 161) the name of Tadmir, (D’Anville,
+      Etats de l’Europe, p. 156. Pagi, tom. iii. p. 174.) In the
+      present decay of Spanish agriculture, Mr. Swinburne (Travels into
+      Spain, p. 119) surveyed with pleasure the delicious valley from
+      Murcia to Orihuela, four leagues and a half of the finest corn
+      pulse, lucerne, oranges, &c.]
+
+      1851 (return) [ Gibbon has made eight cities: in Conde’s
+      translation Bigera does not appear.—M.]
+
+      186 (return) [ See the treaty in Arabic and Latin, in the
+      Bibliotheca Arabico-Hispana, tom. ii. p. 105, 106. It is signed
+      the 4th of the month of Regeb, A. H. 94, the 5th of April, A.D.
+      713; a date which seems to prolong the resistance of Theodemir,
+      and the government of Musa.]
+
+      187 (return) [ From the history of Sandoval, p. 87. Fleury (Hist.
+      Eccles. tom. ix. p. 261) has given the substance of another
+      treaty concluded A Ae. C. 782, A.D. 734, between an Arabian chief
+      and the Goths and Romans, of the territory of Conimbra in
+      Portugal. The tax of the churches is fixed at twenty-five pounds
+      of gold; of the monasteries, fifty; of the cathedrals, one
+      hundred; the Christians are judged by their count, but in capital
+      cases he must consult the alcaide. The church doors must be shut,
+      and they must respect the name of Mahomet. I have not the
+      original before me; it would confirm or destroy a dark suspicion,
+      that the piece has been forged to introduce the immunity of a
+      neighboring convent.]
+
+      The exploits of Musa were performed in the evening of life,
+      though he affected to disguise his age by coloring with a red
+      powder the whiteness of his beard. But in the love of action and
+      glory, his breast was still fired with the ardor of youth; and
+      the possession of Spain was considered only as the first step to
+      the monarchy of Europe. With a powerful armament by sea and land,
+      he was preparing to repass the Pyrenees, to extinguish in Gaul
+      and Italy the declining kingdoms of the Franks and Lombards, and
+      to preach the unity of God on the altar of the Vatican. From
+      thence, subduing the Barbarians of Germany, he proposed to follow
+      the course of the Danube from its source to the Euxine Sea, to
+      overthrow the Greek or Roman empire of Constantinople, and
+      returning from Europe to Asia, to unite his new acquisitions with
+      Antioch and the provinces of Syria. 188 But his vast enterprise,
+      perhaps of easy execution, must have seemed extravagant to vulgar
+      minds; and the visionary conqueror was soon reminded of his
+      dependence and servitude. The friends of Tarik had effectually
+      stated his services and wrongs: at the court of Damascus, the
+      proceedings of Musa were blamed, his intentions were suspected,
+      and his delay in complying with the first invitation was
+      chastised by a harsher and more peremptory summons. An intrepid
+      messenger of the caliph entered his camp at Lugo in Gallicia, and
+      in the presence of the Saracens and Christians arrested the
+      bridle of his horse. His own loyalty, or that of his troops,
+      inculcated the duty of obedience: and his disgrace was alleviated
+      by the recall of his rival, and the permission of investing with
+      his two governments his two sons, Abdallah and Abdelaziz. His
+      long triumph from Ceuta to Damascus displayed the spoils of
+      Africa and the treasures of Spain: four hundred Gothic nobles,
+      with gold coronets and girdles, were distinguished in his train;
+      and the number of male and female captives, selected for their
+      birth or beauty, was computed at eighteen, or even at thirty,
+      thousand persons. As soon as he reached Tiberias in Palestine, he
+      was apprised of the sickness and danger of the caliph, by a
+      private message from Soliman, his brother and presumptive heir;
+      who wished to reserve for his own reign the spectacle of victory.
+
+      Had Walid recovered, the delay of Musa would have been criminal:
+      he pursued his march, and found an enemy on the throne. In his
+      trial before a partial judge against a popular antagonist, he was
+      convicted of vanity and falsehood; and a fine of two hundred
+      thousand pieces of gold either exhausted his poverty or proved
+      his rapaciousness. The unworthy treatment of Tarik was revenged
+      by a similar indignity; and the veteran commander, after a public
+      whipping, stood a whole day in the sun before the palace gate,
+      till he obtained a decent exile, under the pious name of a
+      pilgrimage to Mecca. The resentment of the caliph might have been
+      satiated with the ruin of Musa; but his fears demanded the
+      extirpation of a potent and injured family. A sentence of death
+      was intimated with secrecy and speed to the trusty servants of
+      the throne both in Africa and Spain; and the forms, if not the
+      substance, of justice were superseded in this bloody execution.
+      In the mosch or palace of Cordova, Abdelaziz was slain by the
+      swords of the conspirators; they accused their governor of
+      claiming the honors of royalty; and his scandalous marriage with
+      Egilona, the widow of Roderic, offended the prejudices both of
+      the Christians and Moslems. By a refinement of cruelty, the head
+      of the son was presented to the father, with an insulting
+      question, whether he acknowledged the features of the rebel? “I
+      know his features,” he exclaimed with indignation: “I assert his
+      innocence; and I imprecate the same, a juster fate, against the
+      authors of his death.” The age and despair of Musa raised him
+      above the power of kings; and he expired at Mecca of the anguish
+      of a broken heart. His rival was more favorably treated: his
+      services were forgiven; and Tarik was permitted to mingle with
+      the crowd of slaves. 189 I am ignorant whether Count Julian was
+      rewarded with the death which he deserved indeed, though not from
+      the hands of the Saracens; but the tale of their ingratitude to
+      the sons of Witiza is disproved by the most unquestionable
+      evidence. The two royal youths were reinstated in the private
+      patrimony of their father; but on the decease of Eba, the elder,
+      his daughter was unjustly despoiled of her portion by the
+      violence of her uncle Sigebut. The Gothic maid pleaded her cause
+      before the caliph Hashem, and obtained the restitution of her
+      inheritance; but she was given in marriage to a noble Arabian,
+      and their two sons, Isaac and Ibrahim, were received in Spain
+      with the consideration that was due to their origin and riches.
+
+      188 (return) [ This design, which is attested by several Arabian
+      historians, (Cardonne, tom. i. p. 95, 96,) may be compared with
+      that of Mithridates, to march from the Crimaea to Rome; or with
+      that of Caesar, to conquer the East, and return home by the
+      North; and all three are perhaps surpassed by the real and
+      successful enterprise of Hannibal.]
+
+      189 (return) [ I much regret our loss, or my ignorance, of two
+      Arabic works of the viiith century, a Life of Musa, and a poem on
+      the exploits of Tarik. Of these authentic pieces, the former was
+      composed by a grandson of Musa, who had escaped from the massacre
+      of his kindred; the latter, by the vizier of the first
+      Abdalrahman, caliph of Spain, who might have conversed with some
+      of the veterans of the conqueror, (Bibliot. Arabico-Hispana, tom.
+      ii. p. 36, 139.)]
+
+      A province is assimilated to the victorious state by the
+      introduction of strangers and the imitative spirit of the
+      natives; and Spain, which had been successively tinctured with
+      Punic, and Roman, and Gothic blood, imbibed, in a few
+      generations, the name and manners of the Arabs. The first
+      conquerors, and the twenty successive lieutenants of the caliphs,
+      were attended by a numerous train of civil and military
+      followers, who preferred a distant fortune to a narrow home: the
+      private and public interest was promoted by the establishment of
+      faithful colonies; and the cities of Spain were proud to
+      commemorate the tribe or country of their Eastern progenitors.
+      The victorious though motley bands of Tarik and Musa asserted, by
+      the name of Spaniards, their original claim of conquest; yet they
+      allowed their brethren of Egypt to share their establishments of
+      Murcia and Lisbon. The royal legion of Damascus was planted at
+      Cordova; that of Emesa at Seville; that of Kinnisrin or Chalcis
+      at Jaen; that of Palestine at Algezire and Medina Sidonia. The
+      natives of Yemen and Persia were scattered round Toledo and the
+      inland country, and the fertile seats of Grenada were bestowed on
+      ten thousand horsemen of Syria and Irak, the children of the
+      purest and most noble of the Arabian tribes. 190 A spirit of
+      emulation, sometimes beneficial, more frequently dangerous, was
+      nourished by these hereditary factions. Ten years after the
+      conquest, a map of the province was presented to the caliph: the
+      seas, the rivers, and the harbors, the inhabitants and cities,
+      the climate, the soil, and the mineral productions of the earth.
+      191 In the space of two centuries, the gifts of nature were
+      improved by the agriculture, 192 the manufactures, and the
+      commerce, of an industrious people; and the effects of their
+      diligence have been magnified by the idleness of their fancy. The
+      first of the Ommiades who reigned in Spain solicited the support
+      of the Christians; and in his edict of peace and protection, he
+      contents himself with a modest imposition of ten thousand ounces
+      of gold, ten thousand pounds of silver, ten thousand horses, as
+      many mules, one thousand cuirasses, with an equal number of
+      helmets and lances. 193 The most powerful of his successors
+      derived from the same kingdom the annual tribute of twelve
+      millions and forty-five thousand dinars or pieces of gold, about
+      six millions of sterling money; 194 a sum which, in the tenth
+      century, most probably surpassed the united revenues of the
+      Christians monarchs. His royal seat of Cordova contained six
+      hundred moschs, nine hundred baths, and two hundred thousand
+      houses; he gave laws to eighty cities of the first, to three
+      hundred of the second and third order; and the fertile banks of
+      the Guadalquivir were adorned with twelve thousand villages and
+      hamlets. The Arabs might exaggerate the truth, but they created
+      and they describe the most prosperous aera of the riches, the
+      cultivation, and the populousness of Spain. 195
+
+      190 (return) [ Bibliot. Arab. Hispana, tom. ii. p. 32, 252. The
+      former of these quotations is taken from a Biographia Hispanica,
+      by an Arabian of Valentia, (see the copious Extracts of Casiri,
+      tom. ii. p. 30-121;) and the latter from a general Chronology of
+      the Caliphs, and of the African and Spanish Dynasties, with a
+      particular History of the kingdom of Grenada, of which Casiri has
+      given almost an entire version, (Bibliot. Arabico-Hispana, tom.
+      ii. p. 177-319.) The author, Ebn Khateb, a native of Grenada, and
+      a contemporary of Novairi and Abulfeda, (born A.D. 1313, died
+      A.D. 1374,) was an historian, geographer, physician, poet, &c.,
+      (tom. ii. p. 71, 72.)]
+
+      191 (return) [ Cardonne, Hist. de l’Afrique et de l’Espagne, tom.
+      i. p. 116, 117.]
+
+      192 (return) [ A copious treatise of husbandry, by an Arabian of
+      Seville, in the xiith century, is in the Escurial library, and
+      Casiri had some thoughts of translating it. He gives a list of
+      the authors quoted, Arabs as well as Greeks, Latins, &c.; but it
+      is much if the Andalusian saw these strangers through the medium
+      of his countryman Columella, (Casiri, Bibliot. Arabico-Hispana,
+      tom. i. p. 323-338.)]
+
+      193 (return) [ Bibliot. Arabico-Hispana, tom. ii. p. 104. Casiri
+      translates the original testimony of the historian Rasis, as it
+      is alleged in the Arabic Biographia Hispanica, pars ix. But I am
+      most exceedingly surprised at the address, Principibus
+      caeterisque Christianis, Hispanis suis Castellae. The name of
+      Castellae was unknown in the viiith century; the kingdom was not
+      erected till the year 1022, a hundred years after the time of
+      Rasis, (Bibliot. tom. ii. p. 330,) and the appellation was always
+      expressive, not of a tributary province, but of a line of castles
+      independent of the Moorish yoke, (D’Anville, Etats de l’Europe,
+      p. 166-170.) Had Casiri been a critic, he would have cleared a
+      difficulty, perhaps of his own making.]
+
+      194 (return) [ Cardonne, tom. i. p. 337, 338. He computes the
+      revenue at 130,000,000 of French livres. The entire picture of
+      peace and prosperity relieves the bloody uniformity of the
+      Moorish annals.]
+
+      195 (return) [ I am happy enough to possess a splendid and
+      interesting work which has only been distributed in presents by
+      the court of Madrid Bibliotheca Arabico-Hispana Escurialensis,
+      opera et studio Michaelis Casiri, Syro Maronitoe. Matriti, in
+      folio, tomus prior, 1760, tomus posterior, 1770. The execution of
+      this work does honor to the Spanish press; the Mss., to the
+      number of MDCCCLI., are judiciously classed by the editor, and
+      his copious extracts throw some light on the Mahometan literature
+      and history of Spain. These relics are now secure, but the task
+      has been supinely delayed, till, in the year 1671, a fire
+      consumed the greatest part of the Escurial library, rich in the
+      spoils of Grenada and Morocco. * Note: Compare the valuable work
+      of Conde, Historia de la Dominacion de las Arabes en Espana.
+      Madrid, 1820.—M.]
+
+      The wars of the Moslems were sanctified by the prophet; but among
+      the various precepts and examples of his life, the caliphs
+      selected the lessons of toleration that might tend to disarm the
+      resistance of the unbelievers. Arabia was the temple and
+      patrimony of the God of Mahomet; but he beheld with less jealousy
+      and affection the nations of the earth. The polytheists and
+      idolaters, who were ignorant of his name, might be lawfully
+      extirpated by his votaries; 196 but a wise policy supplied the
+      obligation of justice; and after some acts of intolerant zeal,
+      the Mahometan conquerors of Hindostan have spared the pagodas of
+      that devout and populous country. The disciples of Abraham, of
+      Moses, and of Jesus, were solemnly invited to accept the more
+      perfect revelation of Mahomet; but if they preferred the payment
+      of a moderate tribute, they were entitled to the freedom of
+      conscience and religious worship. 197 In a field of battle the
+      forfeit lives of the prisoners were redeemed by the profession of
+      Islam; the females were bound to embrace the religion of their
+      masters, and a race of sincere proselytes was gradually
+      multiplied by the education of the infant captives. But the
+      millions of African and Asiatic converts, who swelled the native
+      band of the faithful Arabs, must have been allured, rather than
+      constrained, to declare their belief in one God and the apostle
+      of God. By the repetition of a sentence and the loss of a
+      foreskin, the subject or the slave, the captive or the criminal,
+      arose in a moment the free and equal companion of the victorious
+      Moslems. Every sin was expiated, every engagement was dissolved:
+      the vow of celibacy was superseded by the indulgence of nature;
+      the active spirits who slept in the cloister were awakened by the
+      trumpet of the Saracens; and in the convulsion of the world,
+      every member of a new society ascended to the natural level of
+      his capacity and courage. The minds of the multitude were tempted
+      by the invisible as well as temporal blessings of the Arabian
+      prophet; and charity will hope that many of his proselytes
+      entertained a serious conviction of the truth and sanctity of his
+      revelation. In the eyes of an inquisitive polytheist, it must
+      appear worthy of the human and the divine nature. More pure than
+      the system of Zoroaster, more liberal than the law of Moses, the
+      religion of Mahomet might seem less inconsistent with reason than
+      the creed of mystery and superstition, which, in the seventh
+      century, disgraced the simplicity of the gospel.
+
+      196 (return) [ The Harbii, as they are styled, qui tolerari
+      nequeunt, are, 1. Those who, besides God, worship the sun, moon,
+      or idols. 2. Atheists, Utrique, quamdiu princeps aliquis inter
+      Mohammedanos superest, oppugnari debent donec religionem
+      amplectantur, nec requies iis concedenda est, nec pretium
+      acceptandum pro obtinenda conscientiae libertate, (Reland,
+      Dissertat. x. de Jure Militari Mohammedan. tom. iii. p. 14;) a
+      rigid theory!]
+
+      197 (return) [ The distinction between a proscribed and a
+      tolerated sect, between the Harbii and the people of the Book,
+      the believers in some divine revelation, is correctly defined in
+      the conversation of the caliph Al Mamum with the idolaters or
+      Sabaeans of Charrae, (Hottinger, Hist. Orient. p. 107, 108.)]
+
+      In the extensive provinces of Persia and Africa, the national
+      religion has been eradicated by the Mahometan faith. The
+      ambiguous theology of the Magi stood alone among the sects of the
+      East; but the profane writings of Zoroaster 198 might, under the
+      reverend name of Abraham, be dexterously connected with the chain
+      of divine revelation. Their evil principle, the daemon Ahriman,
+      might be represented as the rival, or as the creature, of the God
+      of light. The temples of Persia were devoid of images; but the
+      worship of the sun and of fire might be stigmatized as a gross
+      and criminal idolatry. 199 The milder sentiment was consecrated
+      by the practice of Mahomet 200 and the prudence of the caliphs;
+      the Magians or Ghebers were ranked with the Jews and Christians
+      among the people of the written law; 201 and as late as the third
+      century of the Hegira, the city of Herat will afford a lively
+      contrast of private zeal and public toleration. 202 Under the
+      payment of an annual tribute, the Mahometan law secured to the
+      Ghebers of Herat their civil and religious liberties: but the
+      recent and humble mosch was overshadowed by the antique splendor
+      of the adjoining temple of fire. A fanatic Imam deplored, in his
+      sermons, the scandalous neighborhood, and accused the weakness or
+      indifference of the faithful. Excited by his voice, the people
+      assembled in tumult; the two houses of prayer were consumed by
+      the flames, but the vacant ground was immediately occupied by the
+      foundations of a new mosch. The injured Magi appealed to the
+      sovereign of Chorasan; he promised justice and relief; when,
+      behold! four thousand citizens of Herat, of a grave character and
+      mature age, unanimously swore that the idolatrous fane had never
+      existed; the inquisition was silenced and their conscience was
+      satisfied (says the historian Mirchond 203 with this holy and
+      meritorious perjury. 204 But the greatest part of the temples of
+      Persia were ruined by the insensible and general desertion of
+      their votaries.
+
+      It was insensible, since it is not accompanied with any memorial
+      of time or place, of persecution or resistance. It was general,
+      since the whole realm, from Shiraz to Samarcand, imbibed the
+      faith of the Koran; and the preservation of the native tongue
+      reveals the descent of the Mahometans of Persia. 205 In the
+      mountains and deserts, an obstinate race of unbelievers adhered
+      to the superstition of their fathers; and a faint tradition of
+      the Magian theology is kept alive in the province of Kirman,
+      along the banks of the Indus, among the exiles of Surat, and in
+      the colony which, in the last century, was planted by Shaw Abbas
+      at the gates of Ispahan. The chief pontiff has retired to Mount
+      Elbourz, eighteen leagues from the city of Yezd: the perpetual
+      fire (if it continues to burn) is inaccessible to the profane;
+      but his residence is the school, the oracle, and the pilgrimage
+      of the Ghebers, whose hard and uniform features attest the
+      unmingled purity of their blood. Under the jurisdiction of their
+      elders, eighty thousand families maintain an innocent and
+      industrious life: their subsistence is derived from some curious
+      manufactures and mechanic trades; and they cultivate the earth
+      with the fervor of a religious duty. Their ignorance withstood
+      the despotism of Shaw Abbas, who demanded with threats and
+      tortures the prophetic books of Zoroaster; and this obscure
+      remnant of the Magians is spared by the moderation or contempt of
+      their present sovereigns. 206
+
+      198 (return) [ The Zend or Pazend, the bible of the Ghebers, is
+      reckoned by themselves, or at least by the Mahometans, among the
+      ten books which Abraham received from heaven; and their religion
+      is honorably styled the religion of Abraham, (D’Herblot, Bibliot.
+      Orient. p. 701; Hyde, de Religione veterum Persarum, c, iii. p.
+      27, 28, &c.) I much fear that we do not possess any pure and free
+      description of the system of Zoroaster. 1981 Dr. Prideaux
+      (Connection, vol. i. p. 300, octavo) adopts the opinion, that he
+      had been the slave and scholar of some Jewish prophet in the
+      captivity of Babylon. Perhaps the Persians, who have been the
+      masters of the Jews, would assert the honor, a poor honor, of
+      being their masters.]
+
+      1981 (return) [ Whatever the real age of the Zendavesta,
+      published by Anquetil du Perron, whether of the time of Ardeschir
+      Babeghan, according to Mr. Erskine, or of much higher antiquity,
+      it may be considered, I conceive, both a “pure and a free,”
+      though imperfect, description of Zoroastrianism; particularly
+      with the illustrations of the original translator, and of the
+      German Kleuker—M.]
+
+      199 (return) [ The Arabian Nights, a faithful and amusing picture
+      of the Oriental world, represent in the most odious colors of the
+      Magians, or worshippers of fire, to whom they attribute the
+      annual sacrifice of a Mussulman. The religion of Zoroaster has
+      not the least affinity with that of the Hindoos, yet they are
+      often confounded by the Mahometans; and the sword of Timour was
+      sharpened by this mistake, (Hist. de Timour Bec, par Cherefeddin
+      Ali Yezdi, l. v.)]
+
+      200 (return) [ Vie de Mahomet, par Gagnier, (tom. iii. p. 114,
+      115.)]
+
+      201 (return) [ Hae tres sectae, Judaei, Christiani, et qui inter
+      Persas Magorum institutis addicti sunt, populi libri dicuntur,
+      (Reland, Dissertat. tom. iii. p. 15.) The caliph Al Mamun
+      confirms this honorable distinction in favor of the three sects,
+      with the vague and equivocal religion of the Sabaeans, under
+      which the ancient polytheists of Charrae were allowed to shelter
+      their idolatrous worship, (Hottinger, Hist. Orient p. 167, 168.)]
+
+      202 (return) [ This singular story is related by D’Herbelot,
+      (Bibliot. Orient. p 448, 449,) on the faith of Khondemir, and by
+      Mirchond himself, (Hist priorum Regum Persarum, &c., p. 9, 10,
+      not. p. 88, 89.)]
+
+      203 (return) [ Mirchond, (Mohammed Emir Khoondah Shah,) a native
+      of Herat, composed in the Persian language a general history of
+      the East, from the creation to the year of the Hegira 875, (A.D.
+      1471.) In the year 904 (A.D. 1498) the historian obtained the
+      command of a princely library, and his applauded work, in seven
+      or twelve parts, was abbreviated in three volumes by his son
+      Khondemir, A. H. 927, A.D. 1520. The two writers, most accurately
+      distinguished by Petit de la Croix, (Hist. de Genghizcan, p.537,
+      538, 544, 545,) are loosely confounded by D’Herbelot, (p. 358,
+      410, 994, 995: ) but his numerous extracts, under the improper
+      name of Khondemir, belong to the father rather than the son. The
+      historian of Genghizcan refers to a Ms. of Mirchond, which he
+      received from the hands of his friend D’Herbelot himself. A
+      curious fragment (the Taherian and Soffarian Dynasties) has been
+      lately published in Persic and Latin, (Viennae, 1782, in 4to.,
+      cum notis Bernard de Jenisch;) and the editor allows us to hope
+      for a continuation of Mirchond.]
+
+      204 (return) [ Quo testimonio boni se quidpiam praestitisse
+      opinabantur. Yet Mirchond must have condemned their zeal, since
+      he approved the legal toleration of the Magi, cui (the fire
+      temple) peracto singulis annis censu uti sacra Mohammedis lege
+      cautum, ab omnibus molestiis ac oneribus libero esse licuit.]
+
+      205 (return) [ The last Magian of name and power appears to be
+      Mardavige the Dilemite, who, in the beginning of the 10th
+      century, reigned in the northern provinces of Persia, near the
+      Caspian Sea, (D’Herbelot, Bibliot. Orient. p. 355.) But his
+      soldiers and successors, the Bowides either professed or embraced
+      the Mahometan faith; and under their dynasty (A.D. 933-1020) I
+      should say the fall of the religion of Zoroaster.]
+
+      206 (return) [ The present state of the Ghebers in Persia is
+      taken from Sir John Chardin, not indeed the most learned, but the
+      most judicious and inquisitive of our modern travellers, (Voyages
+      en Perse, tom. ii. p. 109, 179-187, in 4to.) His brethren, Pietro
+      della Valle, Olearius, Thevenot, Tavernier, &c., whom I have
+      fruitlessly searched, had neither eyes nor attention for this
+      interesting people.]
+
+      The Northern coast of Africa is the only land in which the light
+      of the gospel, after a long and perfect establishment, has been
+      totally extinguished. The arts, which had been taught by Carthage
+      and Rome, were involved in a cloud of ignorance; the doctrine of
+      Cyprian and Augustin was no longer studied. Five hundred
+      episcopal churches were overturned by the hostile fury of the
+      Donatists, the Vandals, and the Moors. The zeal and numbers of
+      the clergy declined; and the people, without discipline, or
+      knowledge, or hope, submissively sunk under the yoke of the
+      Arabian prophet. Within fifty years after the expulsion of the
+      Greeks, a lieutenant of Africa informed the caliph that the
+      tribute of the infidels was abolished by their conversion; 207
+      and, though he sought to disguise his fraud and rebellion, his
+      specious pretence was drawn from the rapid and extensive progress
+      of the Mahometan faith. In the next age, an extraordinary mission
+      of five bishops was detached from Alexandria to Cairoan. They
+      were ordained by the Jacobite patriarch to cherish and revive the
+      dying embers of Christianity: 208 but the interposition of a
+      foreign prelate, a stranger to the Latins, an enemy to the
+      Catholics, supposes the decay and dissolution of the African
+      hierarchy. It was no longer the time when the successor of St.
+      Cyprian, at the head of a numerous synod, could maintain an equal
+      contest with the ambition of the Roman pontiff. In the eleventh
+      century, the unfortunate priest who was seated on the ruins of
+      Carthage implored the arms and the protection of the Vatican; and
+      he bitterly complains that his naked body had been scourged by
+      the Saracens, and that his authority was disputed by the four
+      suffragans, the tottering pillars of his throne. Two epistles of
+      Gregory the Seventh 209 are destined to soothe the distress of
+      the Catholics and the pride of a Moorish prince. The pope assures
+      the sultan that they both worship the same God, and may hope to
+      meet in the bosom of Abraham; but the complaint that three
+      bishops could no longer be found to consecrate a brother,
+      announces the speedy and inevitable ruin of the episcopal order.
+      The Christians of Africa and Spain had long since submitted to
+      the practice of circumcision and the legal abstinence from wine
+      and pork; and the name of Mozarabes 210 (adoptive Arabs) was
+      applied to their civil or religious conformity. 211 About the
+      middle of the twelfth century, the worship of Christ and the
+      succession of pastors were abolished along the coast of Barbary,
+      and in the kingdoms of Cordova and Seville, of Valencia and
+      Grenada. 212 The throne of the Almohades, or Unitarians, was
+      founded on the blindest fanaticism, and their extraordinary rigor
+      might be provoked or justified by the recent victories and
+      intolerant zeal of the princes of Sicily and Castille, of Arragon
+      and Portugal. The faith of the Mozarabes was occasionally revived
+      by the papal missionaries; and, on the landing of Charles the
+      Fifth, some families of Latin Christians were encouraged to rear
+      their heads at Tunis and Algiers. But the seed of the gospel was
+      quickly eradicated, and the long province from Tripoli to the
+      Atlantic has lost all memory of the language and religion of
+      Rome. 213
+
+      207 (return) [ The letter of Abdoulrahman, governor or tyrant of
+      Africa, to the caliph Aboul Abbas, the first of the Abbassides,
+      is dated A. H. 132 Cardonne, (Hist. de l’Afrique et de l’Espagne,
+      tom. i. p. 168.)]
+
+      208 (return) [ Bibliotheque Orientale, p. 66. Renaudot, Hist.
+      Patriarch. Alex. p. 287, 288.]
+
+      209 (return) [ Among the Epistles of the Popes, see Leo IX.
+      epist. 3; Gregor. VII. l. i. epist. 22, 23, l. iii. epist. 19,
+      20, 21; and the criticisms of Pagi, (tom. iv. A.D. 1053, No. 14,
+      A.D. 1073, No. 13,) who investigates the name and family of the
+      Moorish prince, with whom the proudest of the Roman pontiffs so
+      politely corresponds.]
+
+      210 (return) [ Mozarabes, or Mostarabes, adscititii, as it is
+      interpreted in Latin, (Pocock, Specimen Hist. Arabum, p. 39, 40.
+      Bibliot. Arabico-Hispana, tom. ii. p. 18.) The Mozarabic liturgy,
+      the ancient ritual of the church of Toledo, has been attacked by
+      the popes, and exposed to the doubtful trials of the sword and of
+      fire, (Marian. Hist. Hispan. tom. i. l. ix. c. 18, p. 378.) It
+      was, or rather it is, in the Latin tongue; yet in the xith
+      century it was found necessary (A. Ae. C. 1687, A.D. 1039) to
+      transcribe an Arabic version of the canons of the councils of
+      Spain, (Bibliot. Arab. Hisp. tom. i. p. 547,) for the use of the
+      bishops and clergy in the Moorish kingdoms.]
+
+      211 (return) [ About the middle of the xth century, the clergy of
+      Cordova was reproached with this criminal compliance, by the
+      intrepid envoy of the Emperor Otho I., (Vit. Johan. Gorz, in
+      Secul. Benedict. V. No. 115, apud Fleury, Hist. Eccles. tom. xii.
+      p. 91.)]
+
+      212 (return) [ Pagi, Critica, tom. iv. A.D. 1149, No. 8, 9. He
+      justly observes, that when Seville, &c., were retaken by
+      Ferdinand of Castille, no Christians, except captives, were found
+      in the place; and that the Mozarabic churches of Africa and
+      Spain, described by James a Vitriaco, A.D. 1218, (Hist. Hierosol.
+      c. 80, p. 1095, in Gest. Dei per Francos,) are copied from some
+      older book. I shall add, that the date of the Hegira 677 (A.D.
+      1278) must apply to the copy, not the composition, of a treatise
+      of a jurisprudence, which states the civil rights of the
+      Christians of Cordova, (Bibliot. Arab. Hisp. tom. i. p. 471;) and
+      that the Jews were the only dissenters whom Abul Waled, king of
+      Grenada, (A.D. 1313,) could either discountenance or tolerate,
+      (tom. ii. p. 288.)]
+
+      213 (return) [ Renaudot, Hist. Patriarch. Alex. p. 288. Leo
+      Africanus would have flattered his Roman masters, could he have
+      discovered any latent relics of the Christianity of Africa.]
+
+      After the revolution of eleven centuries, the Jews and Christians
+      of the Turkish empire enjoy the liberty of conscience which was
+      granted by the Arabian caliphs. During the first age of the
+      conquest, they suspected the loyalty of the Catholics, whose name
+      of Melchites betrayed their secret attachment to the Greek
+      emperor, while the Nestorians and Jacobites, his inveterate
+      enemies, approved themselves the sincere and voluntary friends of
+      the Mahometan government. 214 Yet this partial jealousy was
+      healed by time and submission; the churches of Egypt were shared
+      with the Catholics; 215 and all the Oriental sects were included
+      in the common benefits of toleration. The rank, the immunities,
+      the domestic jurisdiction of the patriarchs, the bishops, and the
+      clergy, were protected by the civil magistrate: the learning of
+      individuals recommended them to the employments of secretaries
+      and physicians: they were enriched by the lucrative collection of
+      the revenue; and their merit was sometimes raised to the command
+      of cities and provinces. A caliph of the house of Abbas was heard
+      to declare that the Christians were most worthy of trust in the
+      administration of Persia. “The Moslems,” said he, “will abuse
+      their present fortune; the Magians regret their fallen greatness;
+      and the Jews are impatient for their approaching deliverance.”
+      216 But the slaves of despotism are exposed to the alternatives
+      of favor and disgrace. The captive churches of the East have been
+      afflicted in every age by the avarice or bigotry of their rulers;
+      and the ordinary and legal restraints must be offensive to the
+      pride, or the zeal, of the Christians. 217 About two hundred
+      years after Mahomet, they were separated from their
+      fellow-subjects by a turban or girdle of a less honorable color;
+      instead of horses or mules. they were condemned to ride on asses,
+      in the attitude of women. Their public and private building were
+      measured by a diminutive standard; in the streets or the baths it
+      is their duty to give way or bow down before the meanest of the
+      people; and their testimony is rejected, if it may tend to the
+      prejudice of a true believer. The pomp of processions, the sound
+      of bells or of psalmody, is interdicted in their worship; a
+      decent reverence for the national faith is imposed on their
+      sermons and conversations; and the sacrilegious attempt to enter
+      a mosch, or to seduce a Mussulman, will not be suffered to escape
+      with impunity. In a time, however, of tranquillity and justice,
+      the Christians have never been compelled to renounce the Gospel,
+      or to embrace the Koran; but the punishment of death is inflicted
+      upon the apostates who have professed and deserted the law of
+      Mahomet. The martyrs of Cordova provoked the sentence of the
+      cadhi, by the public confession of their inconstancy, or their
+      passionate invectives against the person and religion of the
+      prophet. 218
+
+      214 (return) [ Absit (said the Catholic to the vizier of Bagdad)
+      ut pari loco habeas Nestorianos, quorum praeter Arabas nullus
+      alius rex est, et Graecos quorum reges amovendo Arabibus bello
+      non desistunt, &c. See in the Collections of Assemannus (Bibliot.
+      Orient. tom. iv. p. 94-101) the state of the Nestorians under the
+      caliphs. That of the Jacobites is more concisely exposed in the
+      Preliminary Dissertation of the second volume of Assemannus.]
+
+      215 (return) [ Eutych. Annal. tom. ii. p. 384, 387, 388.
+      Renaudot, Hist. Patriarch. Alex. p. 205, 206, 257, 332. A taint
+      of the Monothelite heresy might render the first of these Greek
+      patriarchs less loyal to the emperors and less obnoxious to the
+      Arabs.]
+
+      216 (return) [ Motadhed, who reigned from A.D. 892 to 902. The
+      Magians still held their name and rank among the religions of the
+      empire, (Assemanni, Bibliot. Orient. tom. iv. p. 97.)]
+
+      217 (return) [ Reland explains the general restraints of the
+      Mahometan policy and jurisprudence, (Dissertat. tom. iii. p.
+      16-20.) The oppressive edicts of the caliph Motawakkel, (A.D.
+      847-861,) which are still in force, are noticed by Eutychius,
+      (Annal. tom. ii. p. 448,) and D’Herbelot, (Bibliot. Orient. p.
+      640.) A persecution of the caliph Omar II. is related, and most
+      probably magnified, by the Greek Theophanes (Chron p. 334.)]
+
+      218 (return) [ The martyrs of Cordova (A.D. 850, &c.) are
+      commemorated and justified by St. Eulogius, who at length fell a
+      victim himself. A synod, convened by the caliph, ambiguously
+      censured their rashness. The moderate Fleury cannot reconcile
+      their conduct with the discipline of antiquity, toutefois
+      l’autorite de l’eglise, &c. (Fleury, Hist. Eccles. tom. x. p.
+      415-522, particularly p. 451, 508, 509.) Their authentic acts
+      throw a strong, though transient, light on the Spanish church in
+      the ixth century.]
+
+      At the end of the first century of the Hegira, the caliphs were
+      the most potent and absolute monarchs of the globe. Their
+      prerogative was not circumscribed, either in right or in fact, by
+      the power of the nobles, the freedom of the commons, the
+      privileges of the church, the votes of a senate, or the memory of
+      a free constitution. The authority of the companions of Mahomet
+      expired with their lives; and the chiefs or emirs of the Arabian
+      tribes left behind, in the desert, the spirit of equality and
+      independence. The regal and sacerdotal characters were united in
+      the successors of Mahomet; and if the Koran was the rule of their
+      actions, they were the supreme judges and interpreters of that
+      divine book. They reigned by the right of conquest over the
+      nations of the East, to whom the name of liberty was unknown, and
+      who were accustomed to applaud in their tyrants the acts of
+      violence and severity that were exercised at their own expense.
+      Under the last of the Ommiades, the Arabian empire extended two
+      hundred days’ journey from east to west, from the confines of
+      Tartary and India to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. And if we
+      retrench the sleeve of the robe, as it is styled by their
+      writers, the long and narrow province of Africa, the solid and
+      compact dominion from Fargana to Aden, from Tarsus to Surat, will
+      spread on every side to the measure of four or five months of the
+      march of a caravan. 219 We should vainly seek the indissoluble
+      union and easy obedience that pervaded the government of Augustus
+      and the Antonines; but the progress of the Mahometan religion
+      diffused over this ample space a general resemblance of manners
+      and opinions. The language and laws of the Koran were studied
+      with equal devotion at Samarcand and Seville: the Moor and the
+      Indian embraced as countrymen and brothers in the pilgrimage of
+      Mecca; and the Arabian language was adopted as the popular idiom
+      in all the provinces to the westward of the Tigris. 220
+
+      219 (return) [ See the article Eslamiah, (as we say Christendom,)
+      in the Bibliotheque Orientale, (p. 325.) This chart of the
+      Mahometan world is suited by the author, Ebn Alwardi, to the year
+      of the Hegira 385 (A.D. 995.) Since that time, the losses in
+      Spain have been overbalanced by the conquests in India, Tartary,
+      and the European Turkey.]
+
+      220 (return) [ The Arabic of the Koran is taught as a dead
+      language in the college of Mecca. By the Danish traveller, this
+      ancient idiom is compared to the Latin; the vulgar tongue of
+      Hejaz and Yemen to the Italian; and the Arabian dialects of
+      Syria, Egypt, Africa, &c., to the Provencal, Spanish, and
+      Portuguese, (Niebuhr, Description de l’Arabie, p. 74, &c.)]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LII: More Conquests By The Arabs.—Part I.
+
+     The Two Sieges Of Constantinople By The Arabs.—Their Invasion Of
+     France, And Defeat By Charles Martel.—Civil War Of The Ommiades
+     And Abbassides.—Learning Of The Arabs.— Luxury Of The
+     Caliphs.—Naval Enterprises On Crete, Sicily, And Rome.—Decay And
+     Division Of The Empire Of The Caliphs. —Defeats And Victories Of
+     The Greek Emperors.
+
+      When the Arabs first issued from the desert, they must have been
+      surprised at the ease and rapidity of their own success. But when
+      they advanced in the career of victory to the banks of the Indus
+      and the summit of the Pyrenees; when they had repeatedly tried
+      the edge of their cimeters and the energy of their faith, they
+      might be equally astonished that any nation could resist their
+      invincible arms; that any boundary should confine the dominion of
+      the successor of the prophet. The confidence of soldiers and
+      fanatics may indeed be excused, since the calm historian of the
+      present hour, who strives to follow the rapid course of the
+      Saracens, must study to explain by what means the church and
+      state were saved from this impending, and, as it should seem,
+      from this inevitable, danger. The deserts of Scythia and Sarmatia
+      might be guarded by their extent, their climate, their poverty,
+      and the courage of the northern shepherds; China was remote and
+      inaccessible; but the greatest part of the temperate zone was
+      subject to the Mahometan conquerors, the Greeks were exhausted by
+      the calamities of war and the loss of their fairest provinces,
+      and the Barbarians of Europe might justly tremble at the
+      precipitate fall of the Gothic monarchy. In this inquiry I shall
+      unfold the events that rescued our ancestors of Britain, and our
+      neighbors of Gaul, from the civil and religious yoke of the
+      Koran; that protected the majesty of Rome, and delayed the
+      servitude of Constantinople; that invigorated the defence of the
+      Christians, and scattered among their enemies the seeds of
+      division and decay.
+
+      Forty-six years after the flight of Mahomet from Mecca, his
+      disciples appeared in arms under the walls of Constantinople. 1
+      They were animated by a genuine or fictitious saying of the
+      prophet, that, to the first army which besieged the city of the
+      Caesars, their sins were forgiven: the long series of Roman
+      triumphs would be meritoriously transferred to the conquerors of
+      New Rome; and the wealth of nations was deposited in this
+      well-chosen seat of royalty and commerce. No sooner had the
+      caliph Moawiyah suppressed his rivals and established his throne,
+      than he aspired to expiate the guilt of civil blood, by the
+      success and glory of this holy expedition; 2 his preparations by
+      sea and land were adequate to the importance of the object; his
+      standard was intrusted to Sophian, a veteran warrior, but the
+      troops were encouraged by the example and presence of Yezid, the
+      son and presumptive heir of the commander of the faithful. The
+      Greeks had little to hope, nor had their enemies any reason of
+      fear, from the courage and vigilance of the reigning emperor, who
+      disgraced the name of Constantine, and imitated only the
+      inglorious years of his grandfather Heraclius. Without delay or
+      opposition, the naval forces of the Saracens passed through the
+      unguarded channel of the Hellespont, which even now, under the
+      feeble and disorderly government of the Turks, is maintained as
+      the natural bulwark of the capital. 3 The Arabian fleet cast
+      anchor, and the troops were disembarked near the palace of
+      Hebdomon, seven miles from the city. During many days, from the
+      dawn of light to the evening, the line of assault was extended
+      from the golden gate to the eastern promontory and the foremost
+      warriors were impelled by the weight and effort of the succeeding
+      columns. But the besiegers had formed an insufficient estimate of
+      the strength and resources of Constantinople. The solid and lofty
+      walls were guarded by numbers and discipline: the spirit of the
+      Romans was rekindled by the last danger of their religion and
+      empire: the fugitives from the conquered provinces more
+      successfully renewed the defence of Damascus and Alexandria; and
+      the Saracens were dismayed by the strange and prodigious effects
+      of artificial fire. This firm and effectual resistance diverted
+      their arms to the more easy attempt of plundering the European
+      and Asiatic coasts of the Propontis; and, after keeping the sea
+      from the month of April to that of September, on the approach of
+      winter they retreated fourscore miles from the capital, to the
+      Isle of Cyzicus, in which they had established their magazine of
+      spoil and provisions. So patient was their perseverance, or so
+      languid were their operations, that they repeated in the six
+      following summers the same attack and retreat, with a gradual
+      abatement of hope and vigor, till the mischances of shipwreck and
+      disease, of the sword and of fire, compelled them to relinquish
+      the fruitless enterprise. They might bewail the loss, or
+      commemorate the martyrdom, of thirty thousand Moslems, who fell
+      in the siege of Constantinople; and the solemn funeral of Abu
+      Ayub, or Job, excited the curiosity of the Christians themselves.
+
+      That venerable Arab, one of the last of the companions of
+      Mahomet, was numbered among the ansars, or auxiliaries, of
+      Medina, who sheltered the head of the flying prophet. In his
+      youth he fought, at Beder and Ohud, under the holy standard: in
+      his mature age he was the friend and follower of Ali; and the
+      last remnant of his strength and life was consumed in a distant
+      and dangerous war against the enemies of the Koran. His memory
+      was revered; but the place of his burial was neglected and
+      unknown, during a period of seven hundred and eighty years, till
+      the conquest of Constantinople by Mahomet the Second. A
+      seasonable vision (for such are the manufacture of every
+      religion) revealed the holy spot at the foot of the walls and the
+      bottom of the harbor; and the mosch of Ayub has been deservedly
+      chosen for the simple and martial inauguration of the Turkish
+      sultans. 4
+
+      1 (return) [ Theophanes places the seven years of the siege of
+      Constantinople in the year of our Christian aera, 673 (of the
+      Alexandrian 665, Sept. 1,) and the peace of the Saracens, four
+      years afterwards; a glaring inconsistency! which Petavius, Goar,
+      and Pagi, (Critica, tom. iv. p. 63, 64,) have struggled to
+      remove. Of the Arabians, the Hegira 52 (A.D. 672, January 8) is
+      assigned by Elmacin, the year 48 (A.D. 688, Feb. 20) by Abulfeda,
+      whose testimony I esteem the most convenient and credible.]
+
+      2 (return) [ For this first siege of Constantinople, see
+      Nicephorus, (Breviar. p. 21, 22;) Theophanes, (Chronograph. p.
+      294;) Cedrenus, (Compend. p. 437;) Zonaras, (Hist. tom. ii. l.
+      xiv. p. 89;) Elmacin, (Hist. Saracen. p. 56, 57;) Abulfeda,
+      (Annal. Moslem. p. 107, 108, vers. Reiske;) D’Herbelot, (Bibliot.
+      Orient. Constantinah;) Ockley’s History of the Saracens, vol. ii.
+      p. 127, 128.]
+
+      3 (return) [ The state and defence of the Dardanelles is exposed
+      in the Memoirs of the Baron de Tott, (tom. iii. p. 39-97,) who
+      was sent to fortify them against the Russians. From a principal
+      actor, I should have expected more accurate details; but he seems
+      to write for the amusement, rather than the instruction, of his
+      reader. Perhaps, on the approach of the enemy, the minister of
+      Constantine was occupied, like that of Mustapha, in finding two
+      Canary birds who should sing precisely the same note.]
+
+      4 (return) [ Demetrius Cantemir’s Hist. of the Othman Empire, p.
+      105, 106. Rycaut’s State of the Ottoman Empire, p. 10, 11.
+      Voyages of Thevenot, part i. p. 189. The Christians, who suppose
+      that the martyr Abu Ayub is vulgarly confounded with the
+      patriarch Job, betray their own ignorance rather than that of the
+      Turks.]
+
+      The event of the siege revived, both in the East and West, the
+      reputation of the Roman arms, and cast a momentary shade over the
+      glories of the Saracens. The Greek ambassador was favorably
+      received at Damascus, a general council of the emirs or Koreish:
+      a peace, or truce, of thirty years was ratified between the two
+      empires; and the stipulation of an annual tribute, fifty horses
+      of a noble breed, fifty slaves, and three thousand pieces of
+      gold, degraded the majesty of the commander of the faithful. 5
+      The aged caliph was desirous of possessing his dominions, and
+      ending his days in tranquillity and repose: while the Moors and
+      Indians trembled at his name, his palace and city of Damascus was
+      insulted by the Mardaites, or Maronites, of Mount Libanus, the
+      firmest barrier of the empire, till they were disarmed and
+      transplanted by the suspicious policy of the Greeks. 6 After the
+      revolt of Arabia and Persia, the house of Ommiyah was reduced to
+      the kingdoms of Syria and Egypt: their distress and fear enforced
+      their compliance with the pressing demands of the Christians; and
+      the tribute was increased to a slave, a horse, and a thousand
+      pieces of gold, for each of the three hundred and sixty-five days
+      of the solar year. But as soon as the empire was again united by
+      the arms and policy of Abdalmalek, he disclaimed a badge of
+      servitude not less injurious to his conscience than to his pride;
+      he discontinued the payment of the tribute; and the resentment of
+      the Greeks was disabled from action by the mad tyranny of the
+      second Justinian, the just rebellion of his subjects, and the
+      frequent change of his antagonists and successors. 7 Till the
+      reign of Abdalmalek, the Saracens had been content with the free
+      possession of the Persian and Roman treasures, in the coins of
+      Chosroes and Caesar. By the command of that caliph, a national
+      mint was established, both for silver and gold, and the
+      inscription of the Dinar, though it might be censured by some
+      timorous casuists, proclaimed the unity of the God of Mahomet. 8
+      Under the reign of the caliph Walid, the Greek language and
+      characters were excluded from the accounts of the public revenue.
+      9 If this change was productive of the invention or familiar use
+      of our present numerals, the Arabic or Indian ciphers, as they
+      are commonly styled, a regulation of office has promoted the most
+      important discoveries of arithmetic, algebra, and the
+      mathematical sciences. 10
+
+      5 (return) [ Theophanes, though a Greek, deserves credit for
+      these tributes, (Chronograph. p. 295, 296, 300, 301,) which are
+      confirmed, with some variation, by the Arabic History of
+      Abulpharagius, (Dynast. p. 128, vers. Pocock.)]
+
+      6 (return) [ The censure of Theophanes is just and pointed,
+      (Chronograph. p. 302, 303.) The series of these events may be
+      traced in the Annals of Theophanes, and in the Abridgment of the
+      patriarch Nicephorus, p. 22, 24.]
+
+      7 (return) [ These domestic revolutions are related in a clear
+      and natural style, in the second volume of Ockley’s History of
+      the Saracens, p. 253-370. Besides our printed authors, he draws
+      his materials from the Arabic Mss. of Oxford, which he would have
+      more deeply searched had he been confined to the Bodleian library
+      instead of the city jail a fate how unworthy of the man and of
+      his country!]
+
+      8 (return) [ Elmacin, who dates the first coinage A. H. 76, A.D.
+      695, five or six years later than the Greek historians, has
+      compared the weight of the best or common gold dinar to the
+      drachm or dirhem of Egypt, (p. 77,) which may be equal to two
+      pennies (48 grains) of our Troy weight, (Hooper’s Inquiry into
+      Ancient Measures, p. 24-36,) and equivalent to eight shillings of
+      our sterling money. From the same Elmacin and the Arabian
+      physicians, some dinars as high as two dirhems, as low as half a
+      dirhem, may be deduced. The piece of silver was the dirhem, both
+      in value and weight; but an old, though fair coin, struck at
+      Waset, A. H. 88, and preserved in the Bodleian library, wants
+      four grains of the Cairo standard, (see the Modern Universal
+      History, tom. i. p. 548 of the French translation.) * Note: Up to
+      this time the Arabs had used the Roman or the Persian coins or
+      had minted others which resembled them. Nevertheless, it has been
+      admitted of late years, that the Arabians, before this epoch, had
+      caused coin to be minted, on which, preserving the Roman or the
+      Persian dies, they added Arabian names or inscriptions. Some of
+      these exist in different collections. We learn from Makrizi, an
+      Arabian author of great learning and judgment, that in the year
+      18 of the Hegira, under the caliphate of Omar, the Arabs had
+      coined money of this description. The same author informs us that
+      the caliph Abdalmalek caused coins to be struck representing
+      himself with a sword by his side. These types, so contrary to the
+      notions of the Arabs, were disapproved by the most influential
+      persons of the time, and the caliph substituted for them, after
+      the year 76 of the Hegira, the Mahometan coins with which we are
+      acquainted. Consult, on the question of Arabic numismatics, the
+      works of Adler, of Fraehn, of Castiglione, and of Marsden, who
+      have treated at length this interesting point of historic
+      antiquities. See, also, in the Journal Asiatique, tom. ii. p.
+      257, et seq., a paper of M. Silvestre de Sacy, entitled Des
+      Monnaies des Khalifes avant l’An 75 de l’Hegire. See, also the
+      translation of a German paper on the Arabic medals of the
+      Chosroes, by M. Fraehn. in the same Journal Asiatique tom. iv. p.
+      331-347. St. Martin, vol. xii. p. 19, —M.]
+
+      9 (return) [ Theophan. Chronograph. p. 314. This defect, if it
+      really existed, must have stimulated the ingenuity of the Arabs
+      to invent or borrow.]
+
+      10 (return) [ According to a new, though probable, notion,
+      maintained by M de Villoison, (Anecdota Graeca, tom. ii. p.
+      152-157,) our ciphers are not of Indian or Arabic invention. They
+      were used by the Greek and Latin arithmeticians long before the
+      age of Boethius. After the extinction of science in the West,
+      they were adopted by the Arabic versions from the original Mss.,
+      and restored to the Latins about the xith century. * Note:
+      Compare, on the Introduction of the Arabic numerals, Hallam’s
+      Introduction to the Literature of Europe, p. 150, note, and the
+      authors quoted therein.—M.]
+
+      Whilst the caliph Walid sat idle on the throne of Damascus,
+      whilst his lieutenants achieved the conquest of Transoxiana and
+      Spain, a third army of Saracens overspread the provinces of Asia
+      Minor, and approached the borders of the Byzantine capital. But
+      the attempt and disgrace of the second siege was reserved for his
+      brother Soliman, whose ambition appears to have been quickened by
+      a more active and martial spirit. In the revolutions of the Greek
+      empire, after the tyrant Justinian had been punished and avenged,
+      an humble secretary, Anastasius or Artemius, was promoted by
+      chance or merit to the vacant purple. He was alarmed by the sound
+      of war; and his ambassador returned from Damascus with the
+      tremendous news, that the Saracens were preparing an armament by
+      sea and land, such as would transcend the experience of the past,
+      or the belief of the present age. The precautions of Anastasius
+      were not unworthy of his station, or of the impending danger. He
+      issued a peremptory mandate, that all persons who were not
+      provided with the means of subsistence for a three years’ siege
+      should evacuate the city: the public granaries and arsenals were
+      abundantly replenished; the walls were restored and strengthened;
+      and the engines for casting stones, or darts, or fire, were
+      stationed along the ramparts, or in the brigantines of war, of
+      which an additional number was hastily constructed. To prevent is
+      safer, as well as more honorable, than to repel, an attack; and a
+      design was meditated, above the usual spirit of the Greeks, of
+      burning the naval stores of the enemy, the cypress timber that
+      had been hewn in Mount Libanus, and was piled along the sea-shore
+      of Phoenicia, for the service of the Egyptian fleet. This
+      generous enterprise was defeated by the cowardice or treachery of
+      the troops, who, in the new language of the empire, were styled
+      of the Obsequian Theme. 11 They murdered their chief, deserted
+      their standard in the Isle of Rhodes, dispersed themselves over
+      the adjacent continent, and deserved pardon or reward by
+      investing with the purple a simple officer of the revenue. The
+      name of Theodosius might recommend him to the senate and people;
+      but, after some months, he sunk into a cloister, and resigned, to
+      the firmer hand of Leo the Isaurian, the urgent defence of the
+      capital and empire. The most formidable of the Saracens,
+      Moslemah, the brother of the caliph, was advancing at the head of
+      one hundred and twenty thousand Arabs and Persians, the greater
+      part mounted on horses or camels; and the successful sieges of
+      Tyana, Amorium, and Pergamus, were of sufficient duration to
+      exercise their skill and to elevate their hopes. At the
+      well-known passage of Abydus, on the Hellespont, the Mahometan
+      arms were transported, for the first time, 1111 from Asia to
+      Europe. From thence, wheeling round the Thracian cities of the
+      Propontis, Moslemah invested Constantinople on the land side,
+      surrounded his camp with a ditch and rampart, prepared and
+      planted his engines of assault, and declared, by words and
+      actions, a patient resolution of expecting the return of
+      seed-time and harvest, should the obstinacy of the besieged prove
+      equal to his own. 1112 The Greeks would gladly have ransomed
+      their religion and empire, by a fine or assessment of a piece of
+      gold on the head of each inhabitant of the city; but the liberal
+      offer was rejected with disdain, and the presumption of Moslemah
+      was exalted by the speedy approach and invincible force of the
+      natives of Egypt and Syria. They are said to have amounted to
+      eighteen hundred ships: the number betrays their inconsiderable
+      size; and of the twenty stout and capacious vessels, whose
+      magnitude impeded their progress, each was manned with no more
+      than one hundred heavy-armed soldiers. This huge armada proceeded
+      on a smooth sea, and with a gentle gale, towards the mouth of the
+      Bosphorus; the surface of the strait was overshadowed, in the
+      language of the Greeks, with a moving forest, and the same fatal
+      night had been fixed by the Saracen chief for a general assault
+      by sea and land. To allure the confidence of the enemy, the
+      emperor had thrown aside the chain that usually guarded the
+      entrance of the harbor; but while they hesitated whether they
+      should seize the opportunity, or apprehend the snare, the
+      ministers of destruction were at hand. The fire-ships of the
+      Greeks were launched against them; the Arabs, their arms, and
+      vessels, were involved in the same flames; the disorderly
+      fugitives were dashed against each other or overwhelmed in the
+      waves; and I no longer find a vestige of the fleet, that had
+      threatened to extirpate the Roman name. A still more fatal and
+      irreparable loss was that of the caliph Soliman, who died of an
+      indigestion, 12 in his camp near Kinnisrin or Chalcis in Syria,
+      as he was preparing to lead against Constantinople the remaining
+      forces of the East. The brother of Moslemah was succeeded by a
+      kinsman and an enemy; and the throne of an active and able prince
+      was degraded by the useless and pernicious virtues of a bigot.
+      1211 While he started and satisfied the scruples of a blind
+      conscience, the siege was continued through the winter by the
+      neglect, rather than by the resolution of the caliph Omar. 13 The
+      winter proved uncommonly rigorous: above a hundred days the
+      ground was covered with deep snow, and the natives of the sultry
+      climes of Egypt and Arabia lay torpid and almost lifeless in
+      their frozen camp. They revived on the return of spring; a second
+      effort had been made in their favor; and their distress was
+      relieved by the arrival of two numerous fleets, laden with corn,
+      and arms, and soldiers; the first from Alexandria, of four
+      hundred transports and galleys; the second of three hundred and
+      sixty vessels from the ports of Africa. But the Greek fires were
+      again kindled; and if the destruction was less complete, it was
+      owing to the experience which had taught the Moslems to remain at
+      a safe distance, or to the perfidy of the Egyptian mariners, who
+      deserted with their ships to the emperor of the Christians. The
+      trade and navigation of the capital were restored; and the
+      produce of the fisheries supplied the wants, and even the luxury,
+      of the inhabitants. But the calamities of famine and disease were
+      soon felt by the troops of Moslemah, and as the former was
+      miserably assuaged, so the latter was dreadfully propagated, by
+      the pernicious nutriment which hunger compelled them to extract
+      from the most unclean or unnatural food. The spirit of conquest,
+      and even of enthusiasm, was extinct: the Saracens could no longer
+      struggle, beyond their lines, either single or in small parties,
+      without exposing themselves to the merciless retaliation of the
+      Thracian peasants.
+
+      An army of Bulgarians was attracted from the Danube by the gifts
+      and promises of Leo; and these savage auxiliaries made some
+      atonement for the evils which they had inflicted on the empire,
+      by the defeat and slaughter of twenty-two thousand Asiatics. A
+      report was dexterously scattered, that the Franks, the unknown
+      nations of the Latin world, were arming by sea and land in the
+      defence of the Christian cause, and their formidable aid was
+      expected with far different sensations in the camp and city. At
+      length, after a siege of thirteen months, 14 the hopeless
+      Moslemah received from the caliph the welcome permission of
+      retreat. 1411 The march of the Arabian cavalry over the
+      Hellespont and through the provinces of Asia, was executed
+      without delay or molestation; but an army of their brethren had
+      been cut in pieces on the side of Bithynia, and the remains of
+      the fleet were so repeatedly damaged by tempest and fire, that
+      only five galleys entered the port of Alexandria to relate the
+      tale of their various and almost incredible disasters. 15
+
+      11 (return) [ In the division of the Themes, or provinces
+      described by Constantine Porphyrogenitus, (de Thematibus, l. i.
+      p. 9, 10,) the Obsequium, a Latin appellation of the army and
+      palace, was the fourth in the public order. Nice was the
+      metropolis, and its jurisdiction extended from the Hellespont
+      over the adjacent parts of Bithynia and Phrygia, (see the two
+      maps prefixed by Delisle to the Imperium Orientale of Banduri.)]
+
+      1111 (return) [ Compare page 274. It is singular that Gibbon
+      should thus contradict himself in a few pages. By his own account
+      this was the second time.—M.]
+
+      1112 (return) [ The account of this siege in the Tarikh Tebry is
+      a very unfavorable specimen of Asiatic history, full of absurd
+      fables, and written with total ignorance of the circumstances of
+      time and place. Price, vol. i. p. 498—M.]
+
+      12 (return) [ The caliph had emptied two baskets of eggs and of
+      figs, which he swallowed alternately, and the repast was
+      concluded with marrow and sugar. In one of his pilgrimages to
+      Mecca, Soliman ate, at a single meal, seventy pomegranates, a
+      kid, six fowls, and a huge quantity of the grapes of Tayef. If
+      the bill of fare be correct, we must admire the appetite, rather
+      than the luxury, of the sovereign of Asia, (Abulfeda, Annal.
+      Moslem. p. 126.) * Note: The Tarikh Tebry ascribes the death of
+      Soliman to a pleurisy. The same gross gluttony in which Soliman
+      indulged, though not fatal to the life, interfered with the
+      military duties, of his brother Moslemah. Price, vol. i. p.
+      511.—M.]
+
+      1211 (return) [ Major Price’s estimate of Omar’s character is
+      much more favorable. Among a race of sanguinary tyrants, Omar was
+      just and humane. His virtues as well as his bigotry were
+      active.—M.]
+
+      13 (return) [ See the article of Omar Ben Abdalaziz, in the
+      Bibliotheque Orientale, (p. 689, 690,) praeferens, says Elmacin,
+      (p. 91,) religionem suam rebus suis mundanis. He was so desirous
+      of being with God, that he would not have anointed his ear (his
+      own saying) to obtain a perfect cure of his last malady. The
+      caliph had only one shirt, and in an age of luxury, his annual
+      expense was no more than two drachms, (Abulpharagius, p. 131.)
+      Haud diu gavisus eo principe fuit urbis Muslemus, (Abulfeda, p.
+      127.)]
+
+      14 (return) [ Both Nicephorus and Theophanes agree that the siege
+      of Constantinople was raised the 15th of August, (A.D. 718;) but
+      as the former, our best witness, affirms that it continued
+      thirteen months, the latter must be mistaken in supposing that it
+      began on the same day of the preceding year. I do not find that
+      Pagi has remarked this inconsistency.]
+
+      1411 (return) [ The Tarikh Tebry embellishes the retreat of
+      Moslemah with some extraordinary and incredible circumstances.
+      Price, p. 514.—M.]
+
+      15 (return) [ In the second siege of Constantinople, I have
+      followed Nicephorus, (Brev. p. 33-36,) Theophanes, (Chronograph,
+      p. 324-334,) Cedrenus, (Compend. p. 449-452,) Zonaras, (tom. ii.
+      p. 98-102,) Elmacin, (Hist. Saracen, p. 88,) Abulfeda, (Annal.
+      Moslem. p. 126,) and Abulpharagius, (Dynast. p. 130,) the most
+      satisfactory of the Arabs.]
+
+      In the two sieges, the deliverance of Constantinople may be
+      chiefly ascribed to the novelty, the terrors, and the real
+      efficacy of the Greek fire. 16 The important secret of
+      compounding and directing this artificial flame was imparted by
+      Callinicus, a native of Heliopolis in Syria, who deserted from
+      the service of the caliph to that of the emperor. 17 The skill of
+      a chemist and engineer was equivalent to the succor of fleets and
+      armies; and this discovery or improvement of the military art was
+      fortunately reserved for the distressful period, when the
+      degenerate Romans of the East were incapable of contending with
+      the warlike enthusiasm and youthful vigor of the Saracens. The
+      historian who presumes to analyze this extraordinary composition
+      should suspect his own ignorance and that of his Byzantine
+      guides, so prone to the marvellous, so careless, and, in this
+      instance, so jealous of the truth. From their obscure, and
+      perhaps fallacious, hints it should seem that the principal
+      ingredient of the Greek fire was the naphtha, 18 or liquid
+      bitumen, a light, tenacious, and inflammable oil, 19 which
+      springs from the earth, and catches fire as soon as it comes in
+      contact with the air. The naphtha was mingled, I know not by what
+      methods or in what proportions, with sulphur and with the pitch
+      that is extracted from evergreen firs. 20 From this mixture,
+      which produced a thick smoke and a loud explosion, proceeded a
+      fierce and obstinate flame, which not only rose in perpendicular
+      ascent, but likewise burnt with equal vehemence in descent or
+      lateral progress; instead of being extinguished, it was nourished
+      and quickened by the element of water; and sand, urine, or
+      vinegar, were the only remedies that could damp the fury of this
+      powerful agent, which was justly denominated by the Greeks the
+      liquid, or the maritime, fire. For the annoyance of the enemy, it
+      was employed with equal effect, by sea and land, in battles or in
+      sieges. It was either poured from the rampart in large boilers,
+      or launched in red-hot balls of stone and iron, or darted in
+      arrows and javelins, twisted round with flax and tow, which had
+      deeply imbibed the inflammable oil; sometimes it was deposited in
+      fire-ships, the victims and instruments of a more ample revenge,
+      and was most commonly blown through long tubes of copper which
+      were planted on the prow of a galley, and fancifully shaped into
+      the mouths of savage monsters, that seemed to vomit a stream of
+      liquid and consuming fire. This important art was preserved at
+      Constantinople, as the palladium of the state: the galleys and
+      artillery might occasionally be lent to the allies of Rome; but
+      the composition of the Greek fire was concealed with the most
+      jealous scruple, and the terror of the enemies was increased and
+      prolonged by their ignorance and surprise. In the treaties of the
+      administration of the empire, the royal author 21 suggests the
+      answers and excuses that might best elude the indiscreet
+      curiosity and importunate demands of the Barbarians. They should
+      be told that the mystery of the Greek fire had been revealed by
+      an angel to the first and greatest of the Constantines, with a
+      sacred injunction, that this gift of Heaven, this peculiar
+      blessing of the Romans, should never be communicated to any
+      foreign nation; that the prince and the subject were alike bound
+      to religious silence under the temporal and spiritual penalties
+      of treason and sacrilege; and that the impious attempt would
+      provoke the sudden and supernatural vengeance of the God of the
+      Christians. By these precautions, the secret was confined, above
+      four hundred years, to the Romans of the East; and at the end of
+      the eleventh century, the Pisans, to whom every sea and every art
+      were familiar, suffered the effects, without understanding the
+      composition, of the Greek fire. It was at length either
+      discovered or stolen by the Mahometans; and, in the holy wars of
+      Syria and Egypt, they retorted an invention, contrived against
+      themselves, on the heads of the Christians. A knight, who
+      despised the swords and lances of the Saracens, relates, with
+      heartfelt sincerity, his own fears, and those of his companions,
+      at the sight and sound of the mischievous engine that discharged
+      a torrent of the Greek fire, the feu Gregeois, as it is styled by
+      the more early of the French writers. It came flying through the
+      air, says Joinville, 22 like a winged long-tailed dragon, about
+      the thickness of a hogshead, with the report of thunder and the
+      velocity of lightning; and the darkness of the night was
+      dispelled by this deadly illumination. The use of the Greek, or,
+      as it might now be called, of the Saracen fire, was continued to
+      the middle of the fourteenth century, 23 when the scientific or
+      casual compound of nitre, sulphur, and charcoal, effected a new
+      revolution in the art of war and the history of mankind. 24
+
+      16 (return) [ Our sure and indefatigable guide in the middle ages
+      and Byzantine history, Charles du Fresne du Cange, has treated in
+      several places of the Greek fire, and his collections leave few
+      gleanings behind. See particularly Glossar. Med. et Infim.
+      Graecitat. p. 1275, sub voce. Glossar. Med. et Infim. Latinitat.
+      Ignis Groecus. Observations sur Villehardouin, p. 305, 306.
+      Observations sur Joinville, p. 71, 72.]
+
+      17 (return) [ Theophanes styles him, (p. 295.) Cedrenus (p. 437)
+      brings this artist from (the ruins of) Heliopolis in Egypt; and
+      chemistry was indeed the peculiar science of the Egyptians.]
+
+      18 (return) [ The naphtha, the oleum incendiarium of the history
+      of Jerusalem, (Gest. Dei per Francos, p. 1167,) the Oriental
+      fountain of James de Vitry, (l. iii. c. 84,) is introduced on
+      slight evidence and strong probability. Cinanmus (l. vi. p. 165)
+      calls the Greek fire: and the naphtha is known to abound between
+      the Tigris and the Caspian Sea. According to Pliny, (Hist. Natur.
+      ii. 109,) it was subservient to the revenge of Medea, and in
+      either etymology, (Procop. de Bell. Gothic. l. iv. c. 11,) may
+      fairly signify this liquid bitumen. * Note: It is remarkable that
+      the Syrian historian Michel gives the name of naphtha to the
+      newly-invented Greek fire, which seems to indicate that this
+      substance formed the base of the destructive compound. St.
+      Martin, tom. xi. p. 420.—M.]
+
+      19 (return) [ On the different sorts of oils and bitumens, see
+      Dr. Watson’s (the present bishop of Llandaff’s) Chemical Essays,
+      vol. iii. essay i., a classic book, the best adapted to infuse
+      the taste and knowledge of chemistry. The less perfect ideas of
+      the ancients may be found in Strabo (Geograph. l. xvi. p. 1078)
+      and Pliny, (Hist. Natur. ii. 108, 109.) Huic (Naphthae) magna
+      cognatio est ignium, transiliuntque protinus in eam undecunque
+      visam. Of our travellers I am best pleased with Otter, (tom. i.
+      p. 153, 158.)]
+
+      20 (return) [ Anna Comnena has partly drawn aside the curtain.
+      (Alexiad. l. xiii. p. 383.) Elsewhere (l. xi. p. 336) she
+      mentions the property of burning. Leo, in the xixth chapter of
+      his Tactics, (Opera Meursii, tom. vi. p. 843, edit. Lami,
+      Florent. 1745,) speaks of the new invention. These are genuine
+      and Imperial testimonies.]
+
+      21 (return) [ Constantin. Porphyrogenit. de Administrat. Imperii,
+      c. xiii. p. 64, 65.]
+
+      22 (return) [ Histoire de St. Louis, p. 39. Paris, 1668, p. 44.
+      Paris, de l’Imprimerie Royale, 1761. The former of these editions
+      is precious for the observations of Ducange; the latter for the
+      pure and original text of Joinville. We must have recourse to
+      that text to discover, that the feu Gregeois was shot with a pile
+      or javelin, from an engine that acted like a sling.]
+
+      23 (return) [ The vanity, or envy, of shaking the established
+      property of Fame, has tempted some moderns to carry gunpowder
+      above the xivth, (see Sir William Temple, Dutens, &c.,) and the
+      Greek fire above the viith century, (see the Saluste du President
+      des Brosses, tom. ii. p. 381.) But their evidence, which precedes
+      the vulgar aera of the invention, is seldom clear or
+      satisfactory, and subsequent writers may be suspected of fraud or
+      credulity. In the earliest sieges, some combustibles of oil and
+      sulphur have been used, and the Greek fire has some affinities
+      with gunpowder both in its nature and effects: for the antiquity
+      of the first, a passage of Procopius, (de Bell. Goth. l. iv. c.
+      11,) for that of the second, some facts in the Arabic history of
+      Spain, (A.D. 1249, 1312, 1332. Bibliot. Arab. Hisp. tom. ii. p.
+      6, 7, 8,) are the most difficult to elude.]
+
+      24 (return) [ That extraordinary man, Friar Bacon, reveals two of
+      the ingredients, saltpetre and sulphur, and conceals the third in
+      a sentence of mysterious gibberish, as if he dreaded the
+      consequences of his own discovery, (Biog. Brit. vol. i. p. 430,
+      new edition.)]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LII: More Conquests By The Arabs.—Part II.
+
+      Constantinople and the Greek fire might exclude the Arabs from
+      the eastern entrance of Europe; but in the West, on the side of
+      the Pyrenees, the provinces of Gaul were threatened and invaded
+      by the conquerors of Spain. 25 The decline of the French monarchy
+      invited the attack of these insatiate fanatics. The descendants
+      of Clovis had lost the inheritance of his martial and ferocious
+      spirit; and their misfortune or demerit has affixed the epithet
+      of lazy to the last kings of the Merovingian race. 26 They
+      ascended the throne without power, and sunk into the grave
+      without a name. A country palace, in the neighborhood of
+      Compiegne 27 was allotted for their residence or prison: but each
+      year, in the month of March or May, they were conducted in a
+      wagon drawn by oxen to the assembly of the Franks, to give
+      audience to foreign ambassadors, and to ratify the acts of the
+      mayor of the palace. That domestic officer was become the
+      minister of the nation and the master of the prince. A public
+      employment was converted into the patrimony of a private family:
+      the elder Pepin left a king of mature years under the
+      guardianship of his own widow and her child; and these feeble
+      regents were forcibly dispossessed by the most active of his
+      bastards. A government, half savage and half corrupt, was almost
+      dissolved; and the tributary dukes, and provincial counts, and
+      the territorial lords, were tempted to despise the weakness of
+      the monarch, and to imitate the ambition of the mayor. Among
+      these independent chiefs, one of the boldest and most successful
+      was Eudes, duke of Aquitain, who in the southern provinces of
+      Gaul usurped the authority, and even the title of king. The
+      Goths, the Gascons, and the Franks, assembled under the standard
+      of this Christian hero: he repelled the first invasion of the
+      Saracens; and Zama, lieutenant of the caliph, lost his army and
+      his life under the walls of Thoulouse. The ambition of his
+      successors was stimulated by revenge; they repassed the Pyrenees
+      with the means and the resolution of conquest. The advantageous
+      situation which had recommended Narbonne 28 as the first Roman
+      colony, was again chosen by the Moslems: they claimed the
+      province of Septimania or Languedoc as a just dependence of the
+      Spanish monarchy: the vineyards of Gascony and the city of
+      Bourdeaux were possessed by the sovereign of Damascus and
+      Samarcand; and the south of France, from the mouth of the Garonne
+      to that of the Rhone, assumed the manners and religion of Arabia.
+
+      25 (return) [ For the invasion of France and the defeat of the
+      Arabs by Charles Martel, see the Historia Arabum (c. 11, 12, 13,
+      14) of Roderic Ximenes, archbishop of Toledo, who had before him
+      the Christian chronicle of Isidore Pacensis, and the Mahometan
+      history of Novairi. The Moslems are silent or concise in the
+      account of their losses; but M Cardonne (tom. i. p. 129, 130,
+      131) has given a pure and simple account of all that he could
+      collect from Ibn Halikan, Hidjazi, and an anonymous writer. The
+      texts of the chronicles of France, and lives of saints, are
+      inserted in the Collection of Bouquet, (tom. iii.,) and the
+      Annals of Pagi, who (tom. iii. under the proper years) has
+      restored the chronology, which is anticipated six years in the
+      Annals of Baronius. The Dictionary of Bayle (Abderame and Munuza)
+      has more merit for lively reflection than original research.]
+
+      26 (return) [ Eginhart, de Vita Caroli Magni, c. ii. p. 13-78,
+      edit. Schmink, Utrecht, 1711. Some modern critics accuse the
+      minister of Charlemagne of exaggerating the weakness of the
+      Merovingians; but the general outline is just, and the French
+      reader will forever repeat the beautiful lines of Boileau’s
+      Lutrin.]
+
+      27 (return) [ Mamaccae, on the Oyse, between Compiegne and Noyon,
+      which Eginhart calls perparvi reditus villam, (see the notes, and
+      the map of ancient France for Dom. Bouquet’s Collection.)
+      Compendium, or Compiegne, was a palace of more dignity, (Hadrian.
+      Valesii Notitia Galliarum, p. 152,) and that laughing
+      philosopher, the Abbe Galliani, (Dialogues sur le Commerce des
+      Bleds,) may truly affirm, that it was the residence of the rois
+      tres Chretiens en tres chevelus.]
+
+      28 (return) [ Even before that colony, A. U. C. 630, (Velleius
+      Patercul. i. 15,) In the time of Polybius, (Hist. l. iii. p. 265,
+      edit. Gronov.) Narbonne was a Celtic town of the first eminence,
+      and one of the most northern places of the known world,
+      (D’Anville, Notice de l’Ancienne Gaule, p. 473.)]
+
+      But these narrow limits were scorned by the spirit of Abdalraman,
+      or Abderame, who had been restored by the caliph Hashem to the
+      wishes of the soldiers and people of Spain. That veteran and
+      daring commander adjudged to the obedience of the prophet
+      whatever yet remained of France or of Europe; and prepared to
+      execute the sentence, at the head of a formidable host, in the
+      full confidence of surmounting all opposition either of nature or
+      of man. His first care was to suppress a domestic rebel, who
+      commanded the most important passes of the Pyrenees: Manuza, a
+      Moorish chief, had accepted the alliance of the duke of Aquitain;
+      and Eudes, from a motive of private or public interest, devoted
+      his beauteous daughter to the embraces of the African
+      misbeliever. But the strongest fortresses of Cerdagne were
+      invested by a superior force; the rebel was overtaken and slain
+      in the mountains; and his widow was sent a captive to Damascus,
+      to gratify the desires, or more probably the vanity, of the
+      commander of the faithful. From the Pyrenees, Abderame proceeded
+      without delay to the passage of the Rhone and the siege of Arles.
+
+      An army of Christians attempted the relief of the city: the tombs
+      of their leaders were yet visible in the thirteenth century; and
+      many thousands of their dead bodies were carried down the rapid
+      stream into the Mediterranean Sea. The arms of Abderame were not
+      less successful on the side of the ocean. He passed without
+      opposition the Garonne and Dordogne, which unite their waters in
+      the Gulf of Bourdeaux; but he found, beyond those rivers, the
+      camp of the intrepid Eudes, who had formed a second army and
+      sustained a second defeat, so fatal to the Christians, that,
+      according to their sad confession, God alone could reckon the
+      number of the slain. The victorious Saracen overran the provinces
+      of Aquitain, whose Gallic names are disguised, rather than lost,
+      in the modern appellations of Perigord, Saintonge, and Poitou:
+      his standards were planted on the walls, or at least before the
+      gates, of Tours and of Sens; and his detachments overspread the
+      kingdom of Burgundy as far as the well-known cities of Lyons and
+      Besançon. The memory of these devastations (for Abderame did not
+      spare the country or the people) was long preserved by tradition;
+      and the invasion of France by the Moors or Mahometans affords the
+      groundwork of those fables, which have been so wildly disfigured
+      in the romances of chivalry, and so elegantly adorned by the
+      Italian muse. In the decline of society and art, the deserted
+      cities could supply a slender booty to the Saracens; their
+      richest spoil was found in the churches and monasteries, which
+      they stripped of their ornaments and delivered to the flames: and
+      the tutelar saints, both Hilary of Poitiers and Martin of Tours,
+      forgot their miraculous powers in the defence of their own
+      sepulchres. 29 A victorious line of march had been prolonged
+      above a thousand miles from the rock of Gibraltar to the banks of
+      the Loire; the repetition of an equal space would have carried
+      the Saracens to the confines of Poland and the Highlands of
+      Scotland; the Rhine is not more impassable than the Nile or
+      Euphrates, and the Arabian fleet might have sailed without a
+      naval combat into the mouth of the Thames. Perhaps the
+      interpretation of the Koran would now be taught in the schools of
+      Oxford, and her pulpits might demonstrate to a circumcised people
+      the sanctity and truth of the revelation of Mahomet. 30
+
+      29 (return) [ With regard to the sanctuary of St. Martin of
+      Tours, Roderic Ximenes accuses the Saracens of the deed. Turonis
+      civitatem, ecclesiam et palatia vastatione et incendio simili
+      diruit et consumpsit. The continuator of Fredegarius imputes to
+      them no more than the intention. Ad domum beatissimi Martini
+      evertendam destinant. At Carolus, &c. The French annalist was
+      more jealous of the honor of the saint.]
+
+      30 (return) [ Yet I sincerely doubt whether the Oxford mosch
+      would have produced a volume of controversy so elegant and
+      ingenious as the sermons lately preached by Mr. White, the Arabic
+      professor, at Mr. Bampton’s lecture. His observations on the
+      character and religion of Mahomet are always adapted to his
+      argument, and generally founded in truth and reason. He sustains
+      the part of a lively and eloquent advocate; and sometimes rises
+      to the merit of an historian and philosopher.]
+
+      From such calamities was Christendom delivered by the genius and
+      fortune of one man. Charles, the illegitimate son of the elder
+      Pepin, was content with the titles of mayor or duke of the
+      Franks; but he deserved to become the father of a line of kings.
+      In a laborious administration of twenty-four years, he restored
+      and supported the dignity of the throne, and the rebels of
+      Germany and Gaul were successively crushed by the activity of a
+      warrior, who, in the same campaign, could display his banner on
+      the Elbe, the Rhone, and the shores of the ocean. In the public
+      danger he was summoned by the voice of his country; and his
+      rival, the duke of Aquitain, was reduced to appear among the
+      fugitives and suppliants. “Alas!” exclaimed the Franks, “what a
+      misfortune! what an indignity! We have long heard of the name and
+      conquests of the Arabs: we were apprehensive of their attack from
+      the East; they have now conquered Spain, and invade our country
+      on the side of the West. Yet their numbers, and (since they have
+      no buckler) their arms, are inferior to our own.” “If you follow
+      my advice,” replied the prudent mayor of the palace, “you will
+      not interrupt their march, nor precipitate your attack. They are
+      like a torrent, which it is dangerous to stem in its career. The
+      thirst of riches, and the consciousness of success, redouble
+      their valor, and valor is of more avail than arms or numbers. Be
+      patient till they have loaded themselves with the encumbrance of
+      wealth. The possession of wealth will divide their councils and
+      assure your victory.” This subtile policy is perhaps a refinement
+      of the Arabian writers; and the situation of Charles will suggest
+      a more narrow and selfish motive of procrastination—the secret
+      desire of humbling the pride and wasting the provinces of the
+      rebel duke of Aquitain. It is yet more probable, that the delays
+      of Charles were inevitable and reluctant. A standing army was
+      unknown under the first and second race; more than half the
+      kingdom was now in the hands of the Saracens: according to their
+      respective situation, the Franks of Neustria and Austrasia were
+      to conscious or too careless of the impending danger; and the
+      voluntary aids of the Gepidae and Germans were separated by a
+      long interval from the standard of the Christian general. No
+      sooner had he collected his forces, than he sought and found the
+      enemy in the centre of France, between Tours and Poitiers. His
+      well-conducted march was covered with a range of hills, and
+      Abderame appears to have been surprised by his unexpected
+      presence. The nations of Asia, Africa, and Europe, advanced with
+      equal ardor to an encounter which would change the history of the
+      world. In the six first days of desultory combat, the horsemen
+      and archers of the East maintained their advantage: but in the
+      closer onset of the seventh day, the Orientals were oppressed by
+      the strength and stature of the Germans, who, with stout hearts
+      and iron hands, 31 asserted the civil and religious freedom of
+      their posterity. The epithet of Martel, the Hammer, which has
+      been added to the name of Charles, is expressive of his weighty
+      and irresistible strokes: the valor of Eudes was excited by
+      resentment and emulation; and their companions, in the eye of
+      history, are the true Peers and Paladins of French chivalry.
+      After a bloody field, in which Abderame was slain, the Saracens,
+      in the close of the evening, retired to their camp. In the
+      disorder and despair of the night, the various tribes of Yemen
+      and Damascus, of Africa and Spain, were provoked to turn their
+      arms against each other: the remains of their host were suddenly
+      dissolved, and each emir consulted his safety by a hasty and
+      separate retreat. At the dawn of the day, the stillness of a
+      hostile camp was suspected by the victorious Christians: on the
+      report of their spies, they ventured to explore the riches of the
+      vacant tents; but if we except some celebrated relics, a small
+      portion of the spoil was restored to the innocent and lawful
+      owners. The joyful tidings were soon diffused over the Catholic
+      world, and the monks of Italy could affirm and believe that three
+      hundred and fifty, or three hundred and seventy-five, thousand of
+      the Mahometans had been crushed by the hammer of Charles, 32
+      while no more than fifteen hundred Christians were slain in the
+      field of Tours. But this incredible tale is sufficiently
+      disproved by the caution of the French general, who apprehended
+      the snares and accidents of a pursuit, and dismissed his German
+      allies to their native forests.
+
+      The inactivity of a conqueror betrays the loss of strength and
+      blood, and the most cruel execution is inflicted, not in the
+      ranks of battle, but on the backs of a flying enemy. Yet the
+      victory of the Franks was complete and final; Aquitain was
+      recovered by the arms of Eudes; the Arabs never resumed the
+      conquest of Gaul, and they were soon driven beyond the Pyrenees
+      by Charles Martel and his valiant race. 33 It might have been
+      expected that the savior of Christendom would have been
+      canonized, or at least applauded, by the gratitude of the clergy,
+      who are indebted to his sword for their present existence. But in
+      the public distress, the mayor of the palace had been compelled
+      to apply the riches, or at least the revenues, of the bishops and
+      abbots, to the relief of the state and the reward of the
+      soldiers. His merits were forgotten, his sacrilege alone was
+      remembered, and, in an epistle to a Carlovingian prince, a Gallic
+      synod presumes to declare that his ancestor was damned; that on
+      the opening of his tomb, the spectators were affrighted by a
+      smell of fire and the aspect of a horrid dragon; and that a saint
+      of the times was indulged with a pleasant vision of the soul and
+      body of Charles Martel, burning, to all eternity, in the abyss of
+      hell. 34
+
+      31 (return) [ Gens Austriae membrorum pre-eminentia valida, et
+      gens Germana corde et corpore praestantissima, quasi in ictu
+      oculi, manu ferrea, et pectore arduo, Arabes extinxerunt,
+      (Roderic. Toletan. c. xiv.)]
+
+      32 (return) [ These numbers are stated by Paul Warnefrid, the
+      deacon of Aquileia, (de Gestis Langobard. l. vi. p. 921, edit.
+      Grot.,) and Anastasius, the librarian of the Roman church, (in
+      Vit. Gregorii II.,) who tells a miraculous story of three
+      consecrated sponges, which rendered invulnerable the French
+      soldiers, among whom they had been shared It should seem, that in
+      his letters to the pope, Eudes usurped the honor of the victory,
+      from which he is chastised by the French annalists, who, with
+      equal falsehood, accuse him of inviting the Saracens.]
+
+      33 (return) [ Narbonne, and the rest of Septimania, was recovered
+      by Pepin the son of Charles Martel, A.D. 755, (Pagi, Critica,
+      tom. iii. p. 300.) Thirty-seven years afterwards, it was pillaged
+      by a sudden inroad of the Arabs, who employed the captives in the
+      construction of the mosch of Cordova, (De Guignes, Hist. des
+      Huns, tom. i. p. 354.)]
+
+      34 (return) [ This pastoral letter, addressed to Lewis the
+      Germanic, the grandson of Charlemagne, and most probably composed
+      by the pen of the artful Hincmar, is dated in the year 858, and
+      signed by the bishops of the provinces of Rheims and Rouen,
+      (Baronius, Annal. Eccles. A.D. 741. Fleury, Hist. Eccles. tom. x.
+      p. 514-516.) Yet Baronius himself, and the French critics, reject
+      with contempt this episcopal fiction.]
+
+      The loss of an army, or a province, in the Western world, was
+      less painful to the court of Damascus, than the rise and progress
+      of a domestic competitor. Except among the Syrians, the caliphs
+      of the house of Ommiyah had never been the objects of the public
+      favor. The life of Mahomet recorded their perseverance in
+      idolatry and rebellion: their conversion had been reluctant,
+      their elevation irregular and factious, and their throne was
+      cemented with the most holy and noble blood of Arabia. The best
+      of their race, the pious Omar, was dissatisfied with his own
+      title: their personal virtues were insufficient to justify a
+      departure from the order of succession; and the eyes and wishes
+      of the faithful were turned towards the line of Hashem, and the
+      kindred of the apostle of God. Of these the Fatimites were either
+      rash or pusillanimous; but the descendants of Abbas cherished,
+      with courage and discretion, the hopes of their rising fortunes.
+      From an obscure residence in Syria, they secretly despatched
+      their agents and missionaries, who preached in the Eastern
+      provinces their hereditary indefeasible right; and Mohammed, the
+      son of Ali, the son of Abdallah, the son of Abbas, the uncle of
+      the prophet, gave audience to the deputies of Chorasan, and
+      accepted their free gift of four hundred thousand pieces of gold.
+      After the death of Mohammed, the oath of allegiance was
+      administered in the name of his son Ibrahim to a numerous band of
+      votaries, who expected only a signal and a leader; and the
+      governor of Chorasan continued to deplore his fruitless
+      admonitions and the deadly slumber of the caliphs of Damascus,
+      till he himself, with all his adherents, was driven from the city
+      and palace of Meru, by the rebellious arms of Abu Moslem. 35 That
+      maker of kings, the author, as he is named, of the call of the
+      Abbassides, was at length rewarded for his presumption of merit
+      with the usual gratitude of courts. A mean, perhaps a foreign,
+      extraction could not repress the aspiring energy of Abu Moslem.
+      Jealous of his wives, liberal of his wealth, prodigal of his own
+      blood and of that of others, he could boast with pleasure, and
+      possibly with truth, that he had destroyed six hundred thousand
+      of his enemies; and such was the intrepid gravity of his mind and
+      countenance, that he was never seen to smile except on a day of
+      battle. In the visible separation of parties, the green was
+      consecrated to the Fatimites; the Ommiades were distinguished by
+      the white; and the black, as the most adverse, was naturally
+      adopted by the Abbassides. Their turbans and garments were
+      stained with that gloomy color: two black standards, on pike
+      staves nine cubits long, were borne aloft in the van of Abu
+      Moslem; and their allegorical names of the night and the shadow
+      obscurely represented the indissoluble union and perpetual
+      succession of the line of Hashem. From the Indus to the
+      Euphrates, the East was convulsed by the quarrel of the white and
+      the black factions: the Abbassides were most frequently
+      victorious; but their public success was clouded by the personal
+      misfortune of their chief. The court of Damascus, awakening from
+      a long slumber, resolved to prevent the pilgrimage of Mecca,
+      which Ibrahim had undertaken with a splendid retinue, to
+      recommend himself at once to the favor of the prophet and of the
+      people. A detachment of cavalry intercepted his march and
+      arrested his person; and the unhappy Ibrahim, snatched away from
+      the promise of untasted royalty, expired in iron fetters in the
+      dungeons of Haran. His two younger brothers, Saffah 3511 and
+      Almansor, eluded the search of the tyrant, and lay concealed at
+      Cufa, till the zeal of the people and the approach of his Eastern
+      friends allowed them to expose their persons to the impatient
+      public. On Friday, in the dress of a caliph, in the colors of the
+      sect, Saffah proceeded with religious and military pomp to the
+      mosch: ascending the pulpit, he prayed and preached as the lawful
+      successor of Mahomet; and after his departure, his kinsmen bound
+      a willing people by an oath of fidelity. But it was on the banks
+      of the Zab, and not in the mosch of Cufa, that this important
+      controversy was determined. Every advantage appeared to be on the
+      side of the white faction: the authority of established
+      government; an army of a hundred and twenty thousand soldiers,
+      against a sixth part of that number; and the presence and merit
+      of the caliph Mervan, the fourteenth and last of the house of
+      Ommiyah. Before his accession to the throne, he had deserved, by
+      his Georgian warfare, the honorable epithet of the ass of
+      Mesopotamia; 36 and he might have been ranked amongst the
+      greatest princes, had not, says Abulfeda, the eternal order
+      decreed that moment for the ruin of his family; a decree against
+      which all human fortitude and prudence must struggle in vain. The
+      orders of Mervan were mistaken, or disobeyed: the return of his
+      horse, from which he had dismounted on a necessary occasion,
+      impressed the belief of his death; and the enthusiasm of the
+      black squadrons was ably conducted by Abdallah, the uncle of his
+      competitor. After an irretrievab defeat, the caliph escaped to
+      Mosul; but the colors of the Abbassides were displayed from the
+      rampart; he suddenly repassed the Tigris, cast a melancholy look
+      on his palace of Haran, crossed the Euphrates, abandoned the
+      fortifications of Damascus, and, without halting in Palestine,
+      pitched his last and fatal camp at Busir, on the banks of the
+      Nile. 37 His speed was urged by the incessant diligence of
+      Abdallah, who in every step of the pursuit acquired strength and
+      reputation: the remains of the white faction were finally
+      vanquished in Egypt; and the lance, which terminated the life and
+      anxiety of Mervan, was not less welcome perhaps to the
+      unfortunate than to the victorious chief. The merciless
+      inquisition of the conqueror eradicated the most distant branches
+      of the hostile race: their bones were scattered, their memory was
+      accursed, and the martyrdom of Hossein was abundantly revenged on
+      the posterity of his tyrants. Fourscore of the Ommiades, who had
+      yielded to the faith or clemency of their foes, were invited to a
+      banquet at Damascus. The laws of hospitality were violated by a
+      promiscuous massacre: the board was spread over their fallen
+      bodies; and the festivity of the guests was enlivened by the
+      music of their dying groans. By the event of the civil war, the
+      dynasty of the Abbassides was firmly established; but the
+      Christians only could triumph in the mutual hatred and common
+      loss of the disciples of Mahomet. 38
+
+      35 (return) [ The steed and the saddle which had carried any of
+      his wives were instantly killed or burnt, lest they should
+      afterwards be mounted by a male. Twelve hundred mules or camels
+      were required for his kitchen furniture; and the daily
+      consumption amounted to three thousand cakes, a hundred sheep,
+      besides oxen, poultry, &c., (Abul pharagius, Hist. Dynast. p.
+      140.)]
+
+      3511 (return) [ He is called Abdullah or Abul Abbas in the Tarikh
+      Tebry. Price vol. i. p. 600. Saffah or Saffauh (the Sanguinary)
+      was a name which be required after his bloody reign, (vol. ii. p.
+      1.)—M.]
+
+      36 (return) [ Al Hemar. He had been governor of Mesopotamia, and
+      the Arabic proverb praises the courage of that warlike breed of
+      asses who never fly from an enemy. The surname of Mervan may
+      justify the comparison of Homer, (Iliad, A. 557, &c.,) and both
+      will silence the moderns, who consider the ass as a stupid and
+      ignoble emblem, (D’Herbelot, Bibliot. Orient. p. 558.)]
+
+      37 (return) [ Four several places, all in Egypt, bore the name of
+      Busir, or Busiris, so famous in Greek fable. The first, where
+      Mervan was slain was to the west of the Nile, in the province of
+      Fium, or Arsinoe; the second in the Delta, in the Sebennytic
+      nome; the third near the pyramids; the fourth, which was
+      destroyed by Dioclesian, (see above, vol. ii. p. 130,) in the
+      Thebais. I shall here transcribe a note of the learned and
+      orthodox Michaelis: Videntur in pluribus Aegypti superioris
+      urbibus Busiri Coptoque arma sumpsisse Christiani, libertatemque
+      de religione sentiendi defendisse, sed succubuisse quo in bello
+      Coptus et Busiris diruta, et circa Esnam magna strages edita.
+      Bellum narrant sed causam belli ignorant scriptores Byzantini,
+      alioqui Coptum et Busirim non rebellasse dicturi, sed causam
+      Christianorum suscepturi, (Not. 211, p. 100.) For the geography
+      of the four Busirs, see Abulfeda, (Descript. Aegypt. p. 9, vers.
+      Michaelis, Gottingae, 1776, in 4to.,) Michaelis, (Not. 122-127,
+      p. 58-63,) and D’Anville, (Memoire sua l’Egypte, p. 85, 147,
+      205.)]
+
+      38 (return) [ See Abulfeda, (Annal. Moslem. p. 136-145,)
+      Eutychius, (Annal. tom. ii. p. 392, vers. Pocock,) Elmacin,
+      (Hist. Saracen. p. 109-121,) Abulpharagius, (Hist. Dynast. p.
+      134-140,) Roderic of Toledo, (Hist. Arabum, c. xviii. p. 33,)
+      Theophanes, (Chronograph. p. 356, 357, who speaks of the
+      Abbassides) and the Bibliotheque of D’Herbelot, in the articles
+      Ommiades, Abbassides, Moervan, Ibrahim, Saffah, Abou Moslem.]
+
+      Yet the thousands who were swept away by the sword of war might
+      have been speedily retrieved in the succeeding generation, if the
+      consequences of the revolution had not tended to dissolve the
+      power and unity of the empire of the Saracens. In the
+      proscription of the Ommiades, a royal youth of the name of
+      Abdalrahman alone escaped the rage of his enemies, who hunted the
+      wandering exile from the banks of the Euphrates to the valleys of
+      Mount Atlas. His presence in the neighborhood of Spain revived
+      the zeal of the white faction. The name and cause of the
+      Abbassides had been first vindicated by the Persians: the West
+      had been pure from civil arms; and the servants of the abdicated
+      family still held, by a precarious tenure, the inheritance of
+      their lands and the offices of government. Strongly prompted by
+      gratitude, indignation, and fear, they invited the grandson of
+      the caliph Hashem to ascend the throne of his ancestors; and, in
+      his desperate condition, the extremes of rashness and prudence
+      were almost the same. The acclamations of the people saluted his
+      landing on the coast of Andalusia: and, after a successful
+      struggle, Abdalrahman established the throne of Cordova, and was
+      the father of the Ommiades of Spain, who reigned above two
+      hundred and fifty years from the Atlantic to the Pyrenees. 39 He
+      slew in battle a lieutenant of the Abbassides, who had invaded
+      his dominions with a fleet and army: the head of Ala, in salt and
+      camphire, was suspended by a daring messenger before the palace
+      of Mecca; and the caliph Almansor rejoiced in his safety, that he
+      was removed by seas and lands from such a formidable adversary.
+      Their mutual designs or declarations of offensive war evaporated
+      without effect; but instead of opening a door to the conquest of
+      Europe, Spain was dissevered from the trunk of the monarchy,
+      engaged in perpetual hostility with the East, and inclined to
+      peace and friendship with the Christian sovereigns of
+      Constantinople and France. The example of the Ommiades was
+      imitated by the real or fictitious progeny of Ali, the Edrissites
+      of Mauritania, and the more powerful fatimites of Africa and
+      Egypt. In the tenth century, the chair of Mahomet was disputed by
+      three caliphs or commanders of the faithful, who reigned at
+      Bagdad, Cairoan, and Cordova, excommunicating each other, and
+      agreed only in a principle of discord, that a sectary is more
+      odious and criminal than an unbeliever. 40
+
+      39 (return) [ For the revolution of Spain, consult Roderic of
+      Toledo, (c. xviii. p. 34, &c.,) the Bibliotheca Arabico-Hispana,
+      (tom. ii. p. 30, 198,) and Cardonne, (Hist. de l’Afrique et de
+      l’Espagne, tom. i. p. 180-197, 205, 272, 323, &c.)]
+
+      40 (return) [ I shall not stop to refute the strange errors and
+      fancies of Sir William Temple (his Works, vol. iii. p. 371-374,
+      octavo edition) and Voltaire (Histoire Generale, c. xxviii. tom.
+      ii. p. 124, 125, edition de Lausanne) concerning the division of
+      the Saracen empire. The mistakes of Voltaire proceeded from the
+      want of knowledge or reflection; but Sir William was deceived by
+      a Spanish impostor, who has framed an apocryphal history of the
+      conquest of Spain by the Arabs.]
+
+      Mecca was the patrimony of the line of Hashem, yet the Abbassides
+      were never tempted to reside either in the birthplace or the city
+      of the prophet. Damascus was disgraced by the choice, and
+      polluted with the blood, of the Ommiades; and, after some
+      hesitation, Almansor, the brother and successor of Saffah, laid
+      the foundations of Bagdad, 41 the Imperial seat of his posterity
+      during a reign of five hundred years. 42 The chosen spot is on
+      the eastern bank of the Tigris, about fifteen miles above the
+      ruins of Modain: the double wall was of a circular form; and such
+      was the rapid increase of a capital, now dwindled to a provincial
+      town, that the funeral of a popular saint might be attended by
+      eight hundred thousand men and sixty thousand women of Bagdad and
+      the adjacent villages. In this city of peace, 43 amidst the
+      riches of the East, the Abbassides soon disdained the abstinence
+      and frugality of the first caliphs, and aspired to emulate the
+      magnificence of the Persian kings. After his wars and buildings,
+      Almansor left behind him in gold and silver about thirty millions
+      sterling: 44 and this treasure was exhausted in a few years by
+      the vices or virtues of his children. His son Mahadi, in a single
+      pilgrimage to Mecca, expended six millions of dinars of gold. A
+      pious and charitable motive may sanctify the foundation of
+      cisterns and caravanseras, which he distributed along a measured
+      road of seven hundred miles; but his train of camels, laden with
+      snow, could serve only to astonish the natives of Arabia, and to
+      refresh the fruits and liquors of the royal banquet. 45 The
+      courtiers would surely praise the liberality of his grandson
+      Almamon, who gave away four fifths of the income of a province, a
+      sum of two millions four hundred thousand gold dinars, before he
+      drew his foot from the stirrup. At the nuptials of the same
+      prince, a thousand pearls of the largest size were showered on
+      the head of the bride, 46 and a lottery of lands and houses
+      displayed the capricious bounty of fortune. The glories of the
+      court were brightened, rather than impaired, in the decline of
+      the empire, and a Greek ambassador might admire, or pity, the
+      magnificence of the feeble Moctader. “The caliph’s whole army,”
+      says the historian Abulfeda, “both horse and foot, was under
+      arms, which together made a body of one hundred and sixty
+      thousand men. His state officers, the favorite slaves, stood near
+      him in splendid apparel, their belts glittering with gold and
+      gems. Near them were seven thousand eunuchs, four thousand of
+      them white, the remainder black. The porters or door-keepers were
+      in number seven hundred. Barges and boats, with the most superb
+      decorations, were seen swimming upon the Tigris. Nor was the
+      palace itself less splendid, in which were hung up thirty-eight
+      thousand pieces of tapestry, twelve thousand five hundred of
+      which were of silk embroidered with gold. The carpets on the
+      floor were twenty-two thousand. A hundred lions were brought out,
+      with a keeper to each lion. 47 Among the other spectacles of rare
+      and stupendous luxury was a tree of gold and silver spreading
+      into eighteen large branches, on which, and on the lesser boughs,
+      sat a variety of birds made of the same precious metals, as well
+      as the leaves of the tree. While the machinery affected
+      spontaneous motions, the several birds warbled their natural
+      harmony. Through this scene of magnificence, the Greek ambassador
+      was led by the vizier to the foot of the caliph’s throne.” 48 In
+      the West, the Ommiades of Spain supported, with equal pomp, the
+      title of commander of the faithful. Three miles from Cordova, in
+      honor of his favorite sultana, the third and greatest of the
+      Abdalrahmans constructed the city, palace, and gardens of Zehra.
+      Twenty-five years, and above three millions sterling, were
+      employed by the founder: his liberal taste invited the artists of
+      Constantinople, the most skilful sculptors and architects of the
+      age; and the buildings were sustained or adorned by twelve
+      hundred columns of Spanish and African, of Greek and Italian
+      marble. The hall of audience was incrusted with gold and pearls,
+      and a great basin in the centre was surrounded with the curious
+      and costly figures of birds and quadrupeds. In a lofty pavilion
+      of the gardens, one of these basins and fountains, so delightful
+      in a sultry climate, was replenished not with water, but with the
+      purest quicksilver. The seraglio of Abdalrahman, his wives,
+      concubines, and black eunuchs, amounted to six thousand three
+      hundred persons: and he was attended to the field by a guard of
+      twelve thousand horse, whose belts and cimeters were studded with
+      gold. 49
+
+      41 (return) [ The geographer D’Anville, (l’Euphrate et le Tigre,
+      p. 121-123,) and the Orientalist D’Herbelot, (Bibliotheque, p.
+      167, 168,) may suffice for the knowledge of Bagdad. Our
+      travellers, Pietro della Valle, (tom. i. p. 688-698,) Tavernier,
+      (tom. i. p. 230-238,) Thevenot, (part ii. p. 209-212,) Otter,
+      (tom. i. p. 162-168,) and Niebuhr, (Voyage en Arabie, tom. ii. p.
+      239-271,) have seen only its decay; and the Nubian geographer,
+      (p. 204,) and the travelling Jew, Benjamin of Tuleda
+      (Itinerarium, p. 112-123, a Const. l’Empereur, apud Elzevir,
+      1633,) are the only writers of my acquaintance, who have known
+      Bagdad under the reign of the Abbassides.]
+
+      42 (return) [ The foundations of Bagdad were laid A. H. 145, A.D.
+      762. Mostasem, the last of the Abbassides, was taken and put to
+      death by the Tartars, A. H. 656, A.D. 1258, the 20th of
+      February.]
+
+      43 (return) [ Medinat al Salem, Dar al Salem. Urbs pacis, or, as
+      it is more neatly compounded by the Byzantine writers,
+      (Irenopolis.) There is some dispute concerning the etymology of
+      Bagdad, but the first syllable is allowed to signify a garden in
+      the Persian tongue; the garden of Dad, a Christian hermit, whose
+      cell had been the only habitation on the spot.]
+
+      44 (return) [ Reliquit in aerario sexcenties millies mille
+      stateres. et quater et vicies millies mille aureos aureos.
+      Elmacin, Hist. Saracen. p. 126. I have reckoned the gold pieces
+      at eight shillings, and the proportion to the silver as twelve to
+      one. But I will never answer for the numbers of Erpenius; and the
+      Latins are scarcely above the savages in the language of
+      arithmetic.]
+
+      45 (return) [ D’Herbelot, p. 530. Abulfeda, p. 154. Nivem Meccam
+      apportavit, rem ibi aut nunquam aut rarissime visam.]
+
+      46 (return) [ Abulfeda (p. 184, 189) describes the splendor and
+      liberality of Almamon. Milton has alluded to this Oriental
+      custom:—
+
+     Or where the gorgeous East, with richest hand,
+     Showers on her kings Barbaric pearls and gold.
+
+      I have used the modern word lottery to express the word of the
+      Roman emperors, which entitled to some prize the person who
+      caught them, as they were thrown among the crowd.]
+
+      47 (return) [ When Bell of Antermony (Travels, vol. i. p. 99)
+      accompanied the Russian ambassador to the audience of the
+      unfortunate Shah Hussein of Persia, two lions were introduced, to
+      denote the power of the king over the fiercest animals.]
+
+      48 (return) [ Abulfeda, p. 237. D’Herbelot, p. 590. This embassy
+      was received at Bagdad, A. H. 305, A.D. 917. In the passage of
+      Abulfeda, I have used, with some variations, the English
+      translation of the learned and amiable Mr. Harris of Salisbury,
+      (Philological Enquiries p. 363, 364.)]
+
+      49 (return) [ Cardonne, Histoire de l’Afrique et de l’Espagne,
+      tom. i. p. 330-336. A just idea of the taste and architecture of
+      the Arabians of Spain may be conceived from the description and
+      plates of the Alhambra of Grenada, (Swinburne’s Travels, p.
+      171-188.)]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LII: More Conquests By The Arabs.—Part III.
+
+      In a private condition, our desires are perpetually repressed by
+      poverty and subordination; but the lives and labors of millions
+      are devoted to the service of a despotic prince, whose laws are
+      blindly obeyed, and whose wishes are instantly gratified. Our
+      imagination is dazzled by the splendid picture; and whatever may
+      be the cool dictates of reason, there are few among us who would
+      obstinately refuse a trial of the comforts and the cares of
+      royalty. It may therefore be of some use to borrow the experience
+      of the same Abdalrahman, whose magnificence has perhaps excited
+      our admiration and envy, and to transcribe an authentic memorial
+      which was found in the closet of the deceased caliph. “I have now
+      reigned above fifty years in victory or peace; beloved by my
+      subjects, dreaded by my enemies, and respected by my allies.
+      Riches and honors, power and pleasure, have waited on my call,
+      nor does any earthly blessing appear to have been wanting to my
+      felicity. In this situation, I have diligently numbered the days
+      of pure and genuine happiness which have fallen to my lot: they
+      amount to Fourteen:—O man! place not thy confidence in this
+      present world!” 50 The luxury of the caliphs, so useless to their
+      private happiness, relaxed the nerves, and terminated the
+      progress, of the Arabian empire. Temporal and spiritual conquest
+      had been the sole occupation of the first successors of Mahomet;
+      and after supplying themselves with the necessaries of life, the
+      whole revenue was scrupulously devoted to that salutary work. The
+      Abbassides were impoverished by the multitude of their wants, and
+      their contempt of oeconomy. Instead of pursuing the great object
+      of ambition, their leisure, their affections, the powers of their
+      mind, were diverted by pomp and pleasure: the rewards of valor
+      were embezzled by women and eunuchs, and the royal camp was
+      encumbered by the luxury of the palace. A similar temper was
+      diffused among the subjects of the caliph. Their stern enthusiasm
+      was softened by time and prosperity. they sought riches in the
+      occupations of industry, fame in the pursuits of literature, and
+      happiness in the tranquillity of domestic life. War was no longer
+      the passion of the Saracens; and the increase of pay, the
+      repetition of donatives, were insufficient to allure the
+      posterity of those voluntary champions who had crowded to the
+      standard of Abubeker and Omar for the hopes of spoil and of
+      paradise.
+
+      50 (return) [ Cardonne, tom. i. p. 329, 330. This confession, the
+      complaints of Solomon of the vanity of this world, (read Prior’s
+      verbose but eloquent poem,) and the happy ten days of the emperor
+      Seghed, (Rambler, No. 204, 205,) will be triumphantly quoted by
+      the detractors of human life. Their expectations are commonly
+      immoderate, their estimates are seldom impartial. If I may speak
+      of myself, (the only person of whom I can speak with certainty,)
+      my happy hours have far exceeded, and far exceed, the scanty
+      numbers of the caliph of Spain; and I shall not scruple to add,
+      that many of them are due to the pleasing labor of the present
+      composition.]
+
+      Under the reign of the Ommiades, the studies of the Moslems were
+      confined to the interpretation of the Koran, and the eloquence
+      and poetry of their native tongue. A people continually exposed
+      to the dangers of the field must esteem the healing powers of
+      medicine, or rather of surgery; but the starving physicians of
+      Arabia murmured a complaint that exercise and temperance deprived
+      them of the greatest part of their practice. 51 After their civil
+      and domestic wars, the subjects of the Abbassides, awakening from
+      this mental lethargy, found leisure and felt curiosity for the
+      acquisition of profane science. This spirit was first encouraged
+      by the caliph Almansor, who, besides his knowledge of the
+      Mahometan law, had applied himself with success to the study of
+      astronomy. But when the sceptre devolved to Almamon, the seventh
+      of the Abbassides, he completed the designs of his grandfather,
+      and invited the muses from their ancient seats. His ambassadors
+      at Constantinople, his agents in Armenia, Syria, and Egypt,
+      collected the volumes of Grecian science; at his command they
+      were translated by the most skilful interpreters into the Arabic
+      language: his subjects were exhorted assiduously to peruse these
+      instructive writings; and the successor of Mahomet assisted with
+      pleasure and modesty at the assemblies and disputations of the
+      learned. “He was not ignorant,” says Abulpharagius, “that they
+      are the elect of God, his best and most useful servants, whose
+      lives are devoted to the improvement of their rational faculties.
+      The mean ambition of the Chinese or the Turks may glory in the
+      industry of their hands or the indulgence of their brutal
+      appetites. Yet these dexterous artists must view, with hopeless
+      emulation, the hexagons and pyramids of the cells of a beehive:
+      52 these fortitudinous heroes are awed by the superior fierceness
+      of the lions and tigers; and in their amorous enjoyments they are
+      much inferior to the vigor of the grossest and most sordid
+      quadrupeds. The teachers of wisdom are the true luminaries and
+      legislators of a world, which, without their aid, would again
+      sink in ignorance and barbarism.” 53 The zeal and curiosity of
+      Almamon were imitated by succeeding princes of the line of Abbas:
+      their rivals, the Fatimites of Africa and the Ommiades of Spain,
+      were the patrons of the learned, as well as the commanders of the
+      faithful; the same royal prerogative was claimed by their
+      independent emirs of the provinces; and their emulation diffused
+      the taste and the rewards of science from Samarcand and Bochara
+      to Fez and Cordova. The vizier of a sultan consecrated a sum of
+      two hundred thousand pieces of gold to the foundation of a
+      college at Bagdad, which he endowed with an annual revenue of
+      fifteen thousand dinars. The fruits of instruction were
+      communicated, perhaps at different times, to six thousand
+      disciples of every degree, from the son of the noble to that of
+      the mechanic: a sufficient allowance was provided for the
+      indigent scholars; and the merit or industry of the professors
+      was repaid with adequate stipends. In every city the productions
+      of Arabic literature were copied and collected by the curiosity
+      of the studious and the vanity of the rich. A private doctor
+      refused the invitation of the sultan of Bochara, because the
+      carriage of his books would have required four hundred camels.
+      The royal library of the Fatimites consisted of one hundred
+      thousand manuscripts, elegantly transcribed and splendidly bound,
+      which were lent, without jealousy or avarice, to the students of
+      Cairo. Yet this collection must appear moderate, if we can
+      believe that the Ommiades of Spain had formed a library of six
+      hundred thousand volumes, forty-four of which were employed in
+      the mere catalogue. Their capital, Cordova, with the adjacent
+      towns of Malaga, Almeria, and Murcia, had given birth to more
+      than three hundred writers, and above seventy public libraries
+      were opened in the cities of the Andalusian kingdom. The age of
+      Arabian learning continued about five hundred years, till the
+      great eruption of the Moguls, and was coeval with the darkest and
+      most slothful period of European annals; but since the sun of
+      science has arisen in the West, it should seem that the Oriental
+      studies have languished and declined. 54
+
+      51 (return) [ The Guliston (p. 29) relates the conversation of
+      Mahomet and a physician, (Epistol. Renaudot. in Fabricius,
+      Bibliot. Graec. tom. i. p. 814.) The prophet himself was skilled
+      in the art of medicine; and Gagnier (Vie de Mahomet, tom. iii. p.
+      394-405) has given an extract of the aphorisms which are extant
+      under his name.]
+
+      52 (return) [ See their curious architecture in Reaumur (Hist.
+      des Insectes, tom. v. Memoire viii.) These hexagons are closed by
+      a pyramid; the angles of the three sides of a similar pyramid,
+      such as would accomplish the given end with the smallest quantity
+      possible of materials, were determined by a mathematician, at
+      109] degrees 26 minutes for the larger, 70 degrees 34 minutes for
+      the smaller. The actual measure is 109 degrees 28 minutes, 70
+      degrees 32 minutes. Yet this perfect harmony raises the work at
+      the expense of the artist he bees are not masters of transcendent
+      geometry.]
+
+      53 (return) [ Saed Ebn Ahmed, cadhi of Toledo, who died A. H.
+      462, A.D. 069, has furnished Abulpharagius (Dynast. p. 160) with
+      this curious passage, as well as with the text of Pocock’s
+      Specimen Historiae Arabum. A number of literary anecdotes of
+      philosophers, physicians, &c., who have flourished under each
+      caliph, form the principal merit of the Dynasties of
+      Abulpharagius.]
+
+      54 (return) [ These literary anecdotes are borrowed from the
+      Bibliotheca Arabico-Hispana, (tom. ii. p. 38, 71, 201, 202,) Leo
+      Africanus, (de Arab. Medicis et Philosophis, in Fabric. Bibliot.
+      Graec. tom. xiii. p. 259-293, particularly p. 274,) and Renaudot,
+      (Hist. Patriarch. Alex. p. 274, 275, 536, 537,) besides the
+      chronological remarks of Abulpharagius.]
+
+      In the libraries of the Arabians, as in those of Europe, the far
+      greater part of the innumerable volumes were possessed only of
+      local value or imaginary merit. 55 The shelves were crowded with
+      orators and poets, whose style was adapted to the taste and
+      manners of their countrymen; with general and partial histories,
+      which each revolving generation supplied with a new harvest of
+      persons and events; with codes and commentaries of jurisprudence,
+      which derived their authority from the law of the prophet; with
+      the interpreters of the Koran, and orthodox tradition; and with
+      the whole theological tribe, polemics, mystics, scholastics, and
+      moralists, the first or the last of writers, according to the
+      different estimates of sceptics or believers. The works of
+      speculation or science may be reduced to the four classes of
+      philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, and physic. The sages of
+      Greece were translated and illustrated in the Arabic language,
+      and some treatises, now lost in the original, have been recovered
+      in the versions of the East, 56 which possessed and studied the
+      writings of Aristotle and Plato, of Euclid and Apollonius, of
+      Ptolemy, Hippocrates, and Galen. 57 Among the ideal systems which
+      have varied with the fashion of the times, the Arabians adopted
+      the philosophy of the Stagirite, alike intelligible or alike
+      obscure for the readers of every age. Plato wrote for the
+      Athenians, and his allegorical genius is too closely blended with
+      the language and religion of Greece. After the fall of that
+      religion, the Peripatetics, emerging from their obscurity,
+      prevailed in the controversies of the Oriental sects, and their
+      founder was long afterwards restored by the Mahometans of Spain
+      to the Latin schools. 58 The physics, both of the Academy and the
+      Lycaeum, as they are built, not on observation, but on argument,
+      have retarded the progress of real knowledge. The metaphysics of
+      infinite, or finite, spirit, have too often been enlisted in the
+      service of superstition. But the human faculties are fortified by
+      the art and practice of dialectics; the ten predicaments of
+      Aristotle collect and methodize our ideas, 59 and his syllogism
+      is the keenest weapon of dispute. It was dexterously wielded in
+      the schools of the Saracens, but as it is more effectual for the
+      detection of error than for the investigation of truth, it is not
+      surprising that new generations of masters and disciples should
+      still revolve in the same circle of logical argument. The
+      mathematics are distinguished by a peculiar privilege, that, in
+      the course of ages, they may always advance, and can never
+      recede. But the ancient geometry, if I am not misinformed, was
+      resumed in the same state by the Italians of the fifteenth
+      century; and whatever may be the origin of the name, the science
+      of algebra is ascribed to the Grecian Diophantus by the modest
+      testimony of the Arabs themselves. 60 They cultivated with more
+      success the sublime science of astronomy, which elevates the mind
+      of man to disdain his diminutive planet and momentary existence.
+      The costly instruments of observation were supplied by the caliph
+      Almamon, and the land of the Chaldaeans still afforded the same
+      spacious level, the same unclouded horizon. In the plains of
+      Sinaar, and a second time in those of Cufa, his mathematicians
+      accurately measured a degree of the great circle of the earth,
+      and determined at twenty-four thousand miles the entire
+      circumference of our globe. 61 From the reign of the Abbassides
+      to that of the grandchildren of Tamerlane, the stars, without the
+      aid of glasses, were diligently observed; and the astronomical
+      tables of Bagdad, Spain, and Samarcand, 62 correct some minute
+      errors, without daring to renounce the hypothesis of Ptolemy,
+      without advancing a step towards the discovery of the solar
+      system. In the Eastern courts, the truths of science could be
+      recommended only by ignorance and folly, and the astronomer would
+      have been disregarded, had he not debased his wisdom or honesty
+      by the vain predictions of astrology. 63 But in the science of
+      medicine, the Arabians have been deservedly applauded. The names
+      of Mesua and Geber, of Razis and Avicenna, are ranked with the
+      Grecian masters; in the city of Bagdad, eight hundred and sixty
+      physicians were licensed to exercise their lucrative profession:
+      64 in Spain, the life of the Catholic princes was intrusted to
+      the skill of the Saracens, 65 and the school of Salerno, their
+      legitimate offspring, revived in Italy and Europe the precepts of
+      the healing art. 66 The success of each professor must have been
+      influenced by personal and accidental causes; but we may form a
+      less fanciful estimate of their general knowledge of anatomy, 67
+      botany, 68 and chemistry, 69 the threefold basis of their theory
+      and practice. A superstitious reverence for the dead confined
+      both the Greeks and the Arabians to the dissection of apes and
+      quadrupeds; the more solid and visible parts were known in the
+      time of Galen, and the finer scrutiny of the human frame was
+      reserved for the microscope and the injections of modern artists.
+      Botany is an active science, and the discoveries of the torrid
+      zone might enrich the herbal of Dioscorides with two thousand
+      plants. Some traditionary knowledge might be secreted in the
+      temples and monasteries of Egypt; much useful experience had been
+      acquired in the practice of arts and manufactures; but the
+      science of chemistry owes its origin and improvement to the
+      industry of the Saracens. They first invented and named the
+      alembic for the purposes of distillation, analyzed the substances
+      of the three kingdoms of nature, tried the distinction and
+      affinities of alcalis and acids, and converted the poisonous
+      minerals into soft and salutary medicines. But the most eager
+      search of Arabian chemistry was the transmutation of metals, and
+      the elixir of immortal health: the reason and the fortunes of
+      thousands were evaporated in the crucibles of alchemy, and the
+      consummation of the great work was promoted by the worthy aid of
+      mystery, fable, and superstition.
+
+      55 (return) [ The Arabic catalogue of the Escurial will give a
+      just idea of the proportion of the classes. In the library of
+      Cairo, the Mss of astronomy and medicine amounted to 6500, with
+      two fair globes, the one of brass, the other of silver, (Bibliot.
+      Arab. Hisp. tom. i. p. 417.)]
+
+      56 (return) [ As, for instance, the fifth, sixth, and seventh
+      books (the eighth is still wanting) of the Conic Sections of
+      Apollonius Pergaeus, which were printed from the Florence Ms.
+      1661, (Fabric. Bibliot. Graec. tom. ii. p. 559.) Yet the fifth
+      book had been previously restored by the mathematical divination
+      of Viviani, (see his Eloge in Fontenelle, tom. v. p. 59, &c.)]
+
+      57 (return) [ The merit of these Arabic versions is freely
+      discussed by Renaudot, (Fabric. Bibliot. Graec. tom. i. p.
+      812-816,) and piously defended by Casiri, (Bibliot. Arab.
+      Hispana, tom. i. p. 238-240.) Most of the versions of Plato,
+      Aristotle, Hippocrates, Galen, &c., are ascribed to Honain, a
+      physician of the Nestorian sect, who flourished at Bagdad in the
+      court of the caliphs, and died A.D. 876. He was at the head of a
+      school or manufacture of translations, and the works of his sons
+      and disciples were published under his name. See Abulpharagius,
+      (Dynast. p. 88, 115, 171-174, and apud Asseman. Bibliot. Orient.
+      tom. ii. p. 438,) D’Herbelot, (Bibliot. Orientale, p. 456,)
+      Asseman. (Bibliot. Orient. tom. iii. p. 164,) and Casiri,
+      (Bibliot. Arab. Hispana, tom. i. p. 238, &c. 251, 286-290, 302,
+      304, &c.)]
+
+      58 (return) [ See Mosheim, Institut. Hist. Eccles. p. 181, 214,
+      236, 257, 315, 388, 396, 438, &c.]
+
+      59 (return) [ The most elegant commentary on the Categories or
+      Predicaments of Aristotle may be found in the Philosophical
+      Arrangements of Mr. James Harris, (London, 1775, in octavo,) who
+      labored to revive the studies of Grecian literature and
+      philosophy.]
+
+      60 (return) [ Abulpharagius, Dynast. p. 81, 222. Bibliot. Arab.
+      Hisp. tom. i. p. 370, 371. In quem (says the primate of the
+      Jacobites) si immiserit selector, oceanum hoc in genere
+      (algebrae) inveniet. The time of Diophantus of Alexandria is
+      unknown; but his six books are still extant, and have been
+      illustrated by the Greek Planudes and the Frenchman Meziriac,
+      (Fabric. Bibliot. Graec. tom. iv. p. 12-15.)]
+
+      61 (return) [ Abulfeda (Annal. Moslem. p. 210, 211, vers. Reiske)
+      describes this operation according to Ibn Challecan, and the best
+      historians. This degree most accurately contains 200,000 royal or
+      Hashemite cubits which Arabia had derived from the sacred and
+      legal practice both of Palestine and Egypt. This ancient cubit is
+      repeated 400 times in each basis of the great pyramid, and seems
+      to indicate the primitive and universal measures of the East. See
+      the Metrologie of the laborions. M. Paucton, p. 101-195.]
+
+      62 (return) [ See the Astronomical Tables of Ulugh Begh, with the
+      preface of Dr. Hyde in the first volume of his Syntagma
+      Dissertationum, Oxon. 1767.]
+
+      63 (return) [ The truth of astrology was allowed by Albumazar,
+      and the best of the Arabian astronomers, who drew their most
+      certain predictions, not from Venus and Mercury, but from Jupiter
+      and the sun, (Abulpharag. Dynast. p. 161-163.) For the state and
+      science of the Persian astronomers, see Chardin, (Voyages en
+      Perse, tom. iii. p. 162-203.)]
+
+      64 (return) [ Bibliot. Arabico-Hispana, tom. i. p. 438. The
+      original relates a pleasant tale of an ignorant, but harmless,
+      practitioner.]
+
+      65 (return) [ In the year 956, Sancho the Fat, king of Leon, was
+      cured by the physicians of Cordova, (Mariana, l. viii. c. 7, tom.
+      i. p. 318.)]
+
+      66 (return) [ The school of Salerno, and the introduction of the
+      Arabian sciences into Italy, are discussed with learning and
+      judgment by Muratori (Antiquitat. Italiae Medii Aevi, tom. iii.
+      p. 932-940) and Giannone, (Istoria Civile di Napoli, tom. ii. p.
+      119-127.)]
+
+      67 (return) [ See a good view of the progress of anatomy in
+      Wotton, (Reflections on Ancient and Modern Learning, p. 208-256.)
+      His reputation has been unworthily depreciated by the wits in the
+      controversy of Boyle and Bentley.]
+
+      68 (return) [ Bibliot. Arab. Hispana, tom. i. p. 275. Al Beithar,
+      of Malaga, their greatest botanist, had travelled into Africa,
+      Persia, and India.]
+
+      69 (return) [ Dr. Watson, (Elements of Chemistry, vol. i. p. 17,
+      &c.) allows the original merit of the Arabians. Yet he quotes the
+      modest confession of the famous Geber of the ixth century,
+      (D’Herbelot, p. 387,) that he had drawn most of his science,
+      perhaps the transmutation of metals, from the ancient sages.
+      Whatever might be the origin or extent of their knowledge, the
+      arts of chemistry and alchemy appear to have been known in Egypt
+      at least three hundred years before Mahomet, (Wotton’s
+      Reflections, p. 121-133. Pauw, Recherches sur les Egyptiens et
+      les Chinois, tom. i. p. 376-429.) * Note: Mr. Whewell (Hist. of
+      Inductive Sciences, vol. i. p. 336) rejects the claim of the
+      Arabians as inventors of the science of chemistry. “The formation
+      and realization of the notions of analysis and affinity were
+      important steps in chemical science; which, as I shall hereafter
+      endeavor to show it remained for the chemists of Europe to make
+      at a much later period.”—M.]
+
+      But the Moslems deprived themselves of the principal benefits of
+      a familiar intercourse with Greece and Rome, the knowledge of
+      antiquity, the purity of taste, and the freedom of thought.
+      Confident in the riches of their native tongue, the Arabians
+      disdained the study of any foreign idiom. The Greek interpreters
+      were chosen among their Christian subjects; they formed their
+      translations, sometimes on the original text, more frequently
+      perhaps on a Syriac version; and in the crowd of astronomers and
+      physicians, there is no example of a poet, an orator, or even an
+      historian, being taught to speak the language of the Saracens. 70
+      The mythology of Homer would have provoked the abhorrence of
+      those stern fanatics: they possessed in lazy ignorance the
+      colonies of the Macedonians, and the provinces of Carthage and
+      Rome: the heroes of Plutarch and Livy were buried in oblivion;
+      and the history of the world before Mahomet was reduced to a
+      short legend of the patriarchs, the prophets, and the Persian
+      kings. Our education in the Greek and Latin schools may have
+      fixed in our minds a standard of exclusive taste; and I am not
+      forward to condemn the literature and judgment of nations, of
+      whose language I am ignorant. Yet I know that the classics have
+      much to teach, and I believe that the Orientals have much to
+      learn; the temperate dignity of style, the graceful proportions
+      of art, the forms of visible and intellectual beauty, the just
+      delineation of character and passion, the rhetoric of narrative
+      and argument, the regular fabric of epic and dramatic poetry. 71
+      The influence of truth and reason is of a less ambiguous
+      complexion. The philosophers of Athens and Rome enjoyed the
+      blessings, and asserted the rights, of civil and religious
+      freedom. Their moral and political writings might have gradually
+      unlocked the fetters of Eastern despotism, diffused a liberal
+      spirit of inquiry and toleration, and encouraged the Arabian
+      sages to suspect that their caliph was a tyrant, and their
+      prophet an impostor. 72 The instinct of superstition was alarmed
+      by the introduction even of the abstract sciences; and the more
+      rigid doctors of the law condemned the rash and pernicious
+      curiosity of Almamon. 73 To the thirst of martyrdom, the vision
+      of paradise, and the belief of predestination, we must ascribe
+      the invincible enthusiasm of the prince and people. And the sword
+      of the Saracens became less formidable when their youth was drawn
+      away from the camp to the college, when the armies of the
+      faithful presumed to read and to reflect. Yet the foolish vanity
+      of the Greeks was jealous of their studies, and reluctantly
+      imparted the sacred fire to the Barbarians of the East. 74
+
+      70 (return) [ Abulpharagius (Dynast. p. 26, 148) mentions a
+      Syriac version of Homer’s two poems, by Theophilus, a Christian
+      Maronite of Mount Libanus, who professed astronomy at Roha or
+      Edessa towards the end of the viiith century. His work would be a
+      literary curiosity. I have read somewhere, but I do not believe,
+      that Plutarch’s Lives were translated into Turkish for the use of
+      Mahomet the Second.]
+
+      71 (return) [ I have perused, with much pleasure, Sir William
+      Jones’s Latin Commentary on Asiatic Poetry, (London, 1774, in
+      octavo,) which was composed in the youth of that wonderful
+      linguist. At present, in the maturity of his taste and judgment,
+      he would perhaps abate of the fervent, and even partial, praise
+      which he has bestowed on the Orientals.]
+
+      72 (return) [ Among the Arabian philosophers, Averroes has been
+      accused of despising the religions of the Jews, the Christians,
+      and the Mahometans, (see his article in Bayle’s Dictionary.) Each
+      of these sects would agree, that in two instances out of three,
+      his contempt was reasonable.]
+
+      73 (return) [ D’Herbelot, Bibliotheque, Orientale, p. 546.]
+
+      74 (return) [ Cedrenus, p. 548, who relates how manfully the
+      emperor refused a mathematician to the instances and offers of
+      the caliph Almamon. This absurd scruple is expressed almost in
+      the same words by the continuator of Theophanes, (Scriptores post
+      Theophanem, p. 118.)]
+
+      In the bloody conflict of the Ommiades and Abbassides, the Greeks
+      had stolen the opportunity of avenging their wrongs and enlarging
+      their limits. But a severe retribution was exacted by Mohadi, the
+      third caliph of the new dynasty, who seized, in his turn, the
+      favorable opportunity, while a woman and a child, Irene and
+      Constantine, were seated on the Byzantine throne. An army of
+      ninety-five thousand Persians and Arabs was sent from the Tigris
+      to the Thracian Bosphorus, under the command of Harun, 75 or
+      Aaron, the second son of the commander of the faithful. His
+      encampment on the opposite heights of Chrysopolis, or Scutari,
+      informed Irene, in her palace of Constantinople, of the loss of
+      her troops and provinces. With the consent or connivance of their
+      sovereign, her ministers subscribed an ignominious peace; and the
+      exchange of some royal gifts could not disguise the annual
+      tribute of seventy thousand dinars of gold, which was imposed on
+      the Roman empire. The Saracens had too rashly advanced into the
+      midst of a distant and hostile land: their retreat was solicited
+      by the promise of faithful guides and plentiful markets; and not
+      a Greek had courage to whisper, that their weary forces might be
+      surrounded and destroyed in their necessary passage between a
+      slippery mountain and the River Sangarius. Five years after this
+      expedition, Harun ascended the throne of his father and his elder
+      brother; the most powerful and vigorous monarch of his race,
+      illustrious in the West, as the ally of Charlemagne, and familiar
+      to the most childish readers, as the perpetual hero of the
+      Arabian tales. His title to the name of Al Rashid (the Just) is
+      sullied by the extirpation of the generous, perhaps the innocent,
+      Barmecides; yet he could listen to the complaint of a poor widow
+      who had been pillaged by his troops, and who dared, in a passage
+      of the Koran, to threaten the inattentive despot with the
+      judgment of God and posterity. His court was adorned with luxury
+      and science; but, in a reign of three-and-twenty years, Harun
+      repeatedly visited his provinces from Chorasan to Egypt; nine
+      times he performed the pilgrimage of Mecca; eight times he
+      invaded the territories of the Romans; and as often as they
+      declined the payment of the tribute, they were taught to feel
+      that a month of depredation was more costly than a year of
+      submission. But when the unnatural mother of Constantine was
+      deposed and banished, her successor, Nicephorus, resolved to
+      obliterate this badge of servitude and disgrace. The epistle of
+      the emperor to the caliph was pointed with an allusion to the
+      game of chess, which had already spread from Persia to Greece.
+      “The queen (he spoke of Irene) considered you as a rook, and
+      herself as a pawn. That pusillanimous female submitted to pay a
+      tribute, the double of which she ought to have exacted from the
+      Barbarians. Restore therefore the fruits of your injustice, or
+      abide the determination of the sword.” At these words the
+      ambassadors cast a bundle of swords before the foot of the
+      throne. The caliph smiled at the menace, and drawing his cimeter,
+      samsamah, a weapon of historic or fabulous renown, he cut asunder
+      the feeble arms of the Greeks, without turning the edge, or
+      endangering the temper, of his blade. He then dictated an epistle
+      of tremendous brevity: “In the name of the most merciful God,
+      Harun al Rashid, commander of the faithful, to Nicephorus, the
+      Roman dog. I have read thy letter, O thou son of an unbelieving
+      mother. Thou shalt not hear, thou shalt behold, my reply.” It was
+      written in characters of blood and fire on the plains of Phrygia;
+      and the warlike celerity of the Arabs could only be checked by
+      the arts of deceit and the show of repentance.
+
+      The triumphant caliph retired, after the fatigues of the
+      campaign, to his favorite palace of Racca on the Euphrates: 76
+      but the distance of five hundred miles, and the inclemency of the
+      season, encouraged his adversary to violate the peace. Nicephorus
+      was astonished by the bold and rapid march of the commander of
+      the faithful, who repassed, in the depth of winter, the snows of
+      Mount Taurus: his stratagems of policy and war were exhausted;
+      and the perfidious Greek escaped with three wounds from a field
+      of battle overspread with forty thousand of his subjects. Yet the
+      emperor was ashamed of submission, and the caliph was resolved on
+      victory. One hundred and thirty-five thousand regular soldiers
+      received pay, and were inscribed in the military roll; and above
+      three hundred thousand persons of every denomination marched
+      under the black standard of the Abbassides. They swept the
+      surface of Asia Minor far beyond Tyana and Ancyra, and invested
+      the Pontic Heraclea, 77 once a flourishing state, now a paltry
+      town; at that time capable of sustaining, in her antique walls, a
+      month’s siege against the forces of the East. The ruin was
+      complete, the spoil was ample; but if Harun had been conversant
+      with Grecian story, he would have regretted the statue of
+      Hercules, whose attributes, the club, the bow, the quiver, and
+      the lion’s hide, were sculptured in massy gold. The progress of
+      desolation by sea and land, from the Euxine to the Isle of
+      Cyprus, compelled the emperor Nicephorus to retract his haughty
+      defiance. In the new treaty, the ruins of Heraclea were left
+      forever as a lesson and a trophy; and the coin of the tribute was
+      marked with the image and superscription of Harun and his three
+      sons. 78 Yet this plurality of lords might contribute to remove
+      the dishonor of the Roman name. After the death of their father,
+      the heirs of the caliph were involved in civil discord, and the
+      conqueror, the liberal Almamon, was sufficiently engaged in the
+      restoration of domestic peace and the introduction of foreign
+      science.
+
+      75 (return) [ See the reign and character of Harun Al Rashid, in
+      the Bibliotheque Orientale, p. 431-433, under his proper title;
+      and in the relative articles to which M. D’Herbelot refers. That
+      learned collector has shown much taste in stripping the Oriental
+      chronicles of their instructive and amusing anecdotes.]
+
+      76 (return) [ For the situation of Racca, the old Nicephorium,
+      consult D’Anville, (l’Euphrate et le Tigre, p. 24-27.) The
+      Arabian Nights represent Harun al Rashid as almost stationary in
+      Bagdad. He respected the royal seat of the Abbassides: but the
+      vices of the inhabitants had driven him from the city, (Abulfed.
+      Annal. p. 167.)]
+
+      77 (return) [ M. de Tournefort, in his coasting voyage from
+      Constantinople to Trebizond, passed a night at Heraclea or
+      Eregri. His eye surveyed the present state, his reading collected
+      the antiquities, of the city (Voyage du Levant, tom. iii. lettre
+      xvi. p. 23-35.) We have a separate history of Heraclea in the
+      fragments of Memnon, which are preserved by Photius.]
+
+      78 (return) [ The wars of Harun al Rashid against the Roman
+      empire are related by Theophanes, (p. 384, 385, 391, 396, 407,
+      408.) Zonaras, (tom. iii. l. xv. p. 115, 124,) Cedrenus, (p. 477,
+      478,) Eutycaius, (Annal. tom. ii. p. 407,) Elmacin, (Hist.
+      Saracen. p. 136, 151, 152,) Abulpharagius, (Dynast. p. 147, 151,)
+      and Abulfeda, (p. 156, 166-168.)]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LII: More Conquests By The Arabs.—Part IV.
+
+      Under the reign of Almamon at Bagdad, of Michael the Stammerer at
+      Constantinople, the islands of Crete 79 and Sicily were subdued
+      by the Arabs. The former of these conquests is disdained by their
+      own writers, who were ignorant of the fame of Jupiter and Minos,
+      but it has not been overlooked by the Byzantine historians, who
+      now begin to cast a clearer light on the affairs of their own
+      times. 80 A band of Andalusian volunteers, discontented with the
+      climate or government of Spain, explored the adventures of the
+      sea; but as they sailed in no more than ten or twenty galleys,
+      their warfare must be branded with the name of piracy. As the
+      subjects and sectaries of the white party, they might lawfully
+      invade the dominions of the black caliphs. A rebellious faction
+      introduced them into Alexandria; 81 they cut in pieces both
+      friends and foes, pillaged the churches and the moschs, sold
+      above six thousand Christian captives, and maintained their
+      station in the capital of Egypt, till they were oppressed by the
+      forces and the presence of Almamon himself. From the mouth of the
+      Nile to the Hellespont, the islands and sea-coasts both of the
+      Greeks and Moslems were exposed to their depredations; they saw,
+      they envied, they tasted the fertility of Crete, and soon
+      returned with forty galleys to a more serious attack. The
+      Andalusians wandered over the land fearless and unmolested; but
+      when they descended with their plunder to the sea-shore, their
+      vessels were in flames, and their chief, Abu Caab, confessed
+      himself the author of the mischief. Their clamors accused his
+      madness or treachery. “Of what do you complain?” replied the
+      crafty emir. “I have brought you to a land flowing with milk and
+      honey. Here is your true country; repose from your toils, and
+      forget the barren place of your nativity.” “And our wives and
+      children?” “Your beauteous captives will supply the place of your
+      wives, and in their embraces you will soon become the fathers of
+      a new progeny.” The first habitation was their camp, with a ditch
+      and rampart, in the Bay of Suda; but an apostate monk led them to
+      a more desirable position in the eastern parts; and the name of
+      Candax, their fortress and colony, has been extended to the whole
+      island, under the corrupt and modern appellation of Candia. The
+      hundred cities of the age of Minos were diminished to thirty; and
+      of these, only one, most probably Cydonia, had courage to retain
+      the substance of freedom and the profession of Christianity. The
+      Saracens of Crete soon repaired the loss of their navy; and the
+      timbers of Mount Ida were launched into the main. During a
+      hostile period of one hundred and thirty-eight years, the princes
+      of Constantinople attacked these licentious corsairs with
+      fruitless curses and ineffectual arms.
+
+      79 (return) [ The authors from whom I have learned the most of
+      the ancient and modern state of Crete, are Belon, (Observations,
+      &c., c. 3-20, Paris, 1555,) Tournefort, (Voyage du Levant, tom.
+      i. lettre ii. et iii.,) and Meursius, (Creta, in his works, tom.
+      iii. p. 343-544.) Although Crete is styled by Homer, by
+      Dionysius, I cannot conceive that mountainous island to surpass,
+      or even to equal, in fertility the greater part of Spain.]
+
+      80 (return) [ The most authentic and circumstantial intelligence
+      is obtained from the four books of the Continuation of
+      Theophanes, compiled by the pen or the command of Constantine
+      Porphyrogenitus, with the Life of his father Basil, the
+      Macedonian, (Scriptores post Theophanem, p. 1-162, a Francisc.
+      Combefis, Paris, 1685.) The loss of Crete and Sicily is related,
+      l. ii. p. 46-52. To these we may add the secondary evidence of
+      Joseph Genesius, (l. ii. p. 21, Venet. 1733,) George Cedrenus,
+      (Compend. p. 506-508,) and John Scylitzes Curopalata, (apud
+      Baron. Annal. Eccles. A.D. 827, No. 24, &c.) But the modern
+      Greeks are such notorious plagiaries, that I should only quote a
+      plurality of names.]
+
+      81 (return) [ Renaudot (Hist. Patriarch. Alex. p. 251-256,
+      268-270) had described the ravages of the Andalusian Arabs in
+      Egypt, but has forgot to connect them with the conquest of
+      Crete.]
+
+      The loss of Sicily 82 was occasioned by an act of superstitious
+      rigor. An amorous youth, who had stolen a nun from her cloister,
+      was sentenced by the emperor to the amputation of his tongue.
+      Euphemius appealed to the reason and policy of the Saracens of
+      Africa; and soon returned with the Imperial purple, a fleet of
+      one hundred ships, and an army of seven hundred horse and ten
+      thousand foot. They landed at Mazara near the ruins of the
+      ancient Selinus; but after some partial victories, Syracuse 83
+      was delivered by the Greeks, the apostate was slain before her
+      walls, and his African friends were reduced to the necessity of
+      feeding on the flesh of their own horses. In their turn they were
+      relieved by a powerful reenforcement of their brethren of
+      Andalusia; the largest and western part of the island was
+      gradually reduced, and the commodious harbor of Palermo was
+      chosen for the seat of the naval and military power of the
+      Saracens. Syracuse preserved about fifty years the faith which
+      she had sworn to Christ and to Caesar. In the last and fatal
+      siege, her citizens displayed some remnant of the spirit which
+      had formerly resisted the powers of Athens and Carthage. They
+      stood above twenty days against the battering-rams and
+      catapultoe, the mines and tortoises of the besiegers; and the
+      place might have been relieved, if the mariners of the Imperial
+      fleet had not been detained at Constantinople in building a
+      church to the Virgin Mary. The deacon Theodosius, with the bishop
+      and clergy, was dragged in chains from the altar to Palermo, cast
+      into a subterraneous dungeon, and exposed to the hourly peril of
+      death or apostasy. His pathetic, and not inelegant, complaint may
+      be read as the epitaph of his country. 84 From the Roman conquest
+      to this final calamity, Syracuse, now dwindled to the primitive
+      Isle of Ortygea, had insensibly declined. Yet the relics were
+      still precious; the plate of the cathedral weighed five thousand
+      pounds of silver; the entire spoil was computed at one million of
+      pieces of gold, (about four hundred thousand pounds sterling,)
+      and the captives must outnumber the seventeen thousand
+      Christians, who were transported from the sack of Tauromenium
+      into African servitude. In Sicily, the religion and language of
+      the Greeks were eradicated; and such was the docility of the
+      rising generation, that fifteen thousand boys were circumcised
+      and clothed on the same day with the son of the Fatimite caliph.
+      The Arabian squadrons issued from the harbors of Palermo,
+      Biserta, and Tunis; a hundred and fifty towns of Calabria and
+      Campania were attacked and pillaged; nor could the suburbs of
+      Rome be defended by the name of the Caesars and apostles. Had the
+      Mahometans been united, Italy must have fallen an easy and
+      glorious accession to the empire of the prophet. But the caliphs
+      of Bagdad had lost their authority in the West; the Aglabites and
+      Fatimites usurped the provinces of Africa, their emirs of Sicily
+      aspired to independence; and the design of conquest and dominion
+      was degraded to a repetition of predatory inroads. 85
+
+      82 (return) [ Theophanes, l. ii. p. 51. This history of the loss
+      of Sicily is no longer extant. Muratori (Annali d’ Italia, tom.
+      vii. p. 719, 721, &c.) has added some circumstances from the
+      Italian chronicles.]
+
+      83 (return) [ The splendid and interesting tragedy of Tancrede
+      would adapt itself much better to this epoch, than to the date
+      (A.D. 1005) which Voltaire himself has chosen. But I must gently
+      reproach the poet for infusing into the Greek subjects the spirit
+      of modern knights and ancient republicans.]
+
+      84 (return) [ The narrative or lamentation of Theodosius is
+      transcribed and illustrated by Pagi, (Critica, tom. iii. p. 719,
+      &c.) Constantine Porphyrogenitus (in Vit. Basil, c. 69, 70, p.
+      190-192) mentions the loss of Syracuse and the triumph of the
+      demons.]
+
+      85 (return) [ The extracts from the Arabic histories of Sicily
+      are given in Abulfeda, (Annal’ Moslem. p. 271-273,) and in the
+      first volume of Muratori’s Scriptores Rerum Italicarum. M. de
+      Guignes (Hist. des Huns, tom. i. p. 363, 364) has added some
+      important facts.]
+
+      In the sufferings of prostrate Italy, the name of Rome awakens a
+      solemn and mournful recollection. A fleet of Saracens from the
+      African coast presumed to enter the mouth of the Tyber, and to
+      approach a city which even yet, in her fallen state, was revered
+      as the metropolis of the Christian world. The gates and ramparts
+      were guarded by a trembling people; but the tombs and temples of
+      St. Peter and St. Paul were left exposed in the suburbs of the
+      Vatican and of the Ostian way. Their invisible sanctity had
+      protected them against the Goths, the Vandals, and the Lombards;
+      but the Arabs disdained both the gospel and the legend; and their
+      rapacious spirit was approved and animated by the precepts of the
+      Koran. The Christian idols were stripped of their costly
+      offerings; a silver altar was torn away from the shrine of St.
+      Peter; and if the bodies or the buildings were left entire, their
+      deliverance must be imputed to the haste, rather than the
+      scruples, of the Saracens. In their course along the Appian way,
+      they pillaged Fundi and besieged Gayeta; but they had turned
+      aside from the walls of Rome, and by their divisions, the Capitol
+      was saved from the yoke of the prophet of Mecca. The same danger
+      still impended on the heads of the Roman people; and their
+      domestic force was unequal to the assault of an African emir.
+      They claimed the protection of their Latin sovereign; but the
+      Carlovingian standard was overthrown by a detachment of the
+      Barbarians: they meditated the restoration of the Greek emperors;
+      but the attempt was treasonable, and the succor remote and
+      precarious. 86 Their distress appeared to receive some
+      aggravation from the death of their spiritual and temporal chief;
+      but the pressing emergency superseded the forms and intrigues of
+      an election; and the unanimous choice of Pope Leo the Fourth 87
+      was the safety of the church and city. This pontiff was born a
+      Roman; the courage of the first ages of the republic glowed in
+      his breast; and, amidst the ruins of his country, he stood erect,
+      like one of the firm and lofty columns that rear their heads
+      above the fragments of the Roman forum. The first days of his
+      reign were consecrated to the purification and removal of relics,
+      to prayers and processions, and to all the solemn offices of
+      religion, which served at least to heal the imagination, and
+      restore the hopes, of the multitude. The public defence had been
+      long neglected, not from the presumption of peace, but from the
+      distress and poverty of the times. As far as the scantiness of
+      his means and the shortness of his leisure would allow, the
+      ancient walls were repaired by the command of Leo; fifteen
+      towers, in the most accessible stations, were built or renewed;
+      two of these commanded on either side of the Tyber; and an iron
+      chain was drawn across the stream to impede the ascent of a
+      hostile navy. The Romans were assured of a short respite by the
+      welcome news, that the siege of Gayeta had been raised, and that
+      a part of the enemy, with their sacrilegious plunder, had
+      perished in the waves.
+
+      86 (return) [ One of the most eminent Romans (Gratianus, magister
+      militum et Romani palatii superista) was accused of declaring,
+      Quia Franci nihil nobis boni faciunt, neque adjutorium praebent,
+      sed magis quae nostra sunt violenter tollunt. Quare non advocamus
+      Graecos, et cum eis foedus pacis componentes, Francorum regem et
+      gentem de nostro regno et dominatione expellimus? Anastasius in
+      Leone IV. p. 199.]
+
+      87 (return) [ Voltaire (Hist. Generale, tom. ii. c. 38, p. 124)
+      appears to be remarkably struck with the character of Pope Leo
+      IV. I have borrowed his general expression, but the sight of the
+      forum has furnished me with a more distinct and lively image.]
+
+      But the storm, which had been delayed, soon burst upon them with
+      redoubled violence. The Aglabite, 88 who reigned in Africa, had
+      inherited from his father a treasure and an army: a fleet of
+      Arabs and Moors, after a short refreshment in the harbors of
+      Sardinia, cast anchor before the mouth of the Tyber, sixteen
+      miles from the city: and their discipline and numbers appeared to
+      threaten, not a transient inroad, but a serious design of
+      conquest and dominion. But the vigilance of Leo had formed an
+      alliance with the vassals of the Greek empire, the free and
+      maritime states of Gayeta, Naples, and Amalfi; and in the hour of
+      danger, their galleys appeared in the port of Ostia under the
+      command of Caesarius, the son of the Neapolitan duke, a noble and
+      valiant youth, who had already vanquished the fleets of the
+      Saracens. With his principal companions, Caesarius was invited to
+      the Lateran palace, and the dexterous pontiff affected to inquire
+      their errand, and to accept with joy and surprise their
+      providential succor. The city bands, in arms, attended their
+      father to Ostia, where he reviewed and blessed his generous
+      deliverers. They kissed his feet, received the communion with
+      martial devotion, and listened to the prayer of Leo, that the
+      same God who had supported St. Peter and St. Paul on the waves of
+      the sea, would strengthen the hands of his champions against the
+      adversaries of his holy name. After a similar prayer, and with
+      equal resolution, the Moslems advanced to the attack of the
+      Christian galleys, which preserved their advantageous station
+      along the coast. The victory inclined to the side of the allies,
+      when it was less gloriously decided in their favor by a sudden
+      tempest, which confounded the skill and courage of the stoutest
+      mariners. The Christians were sheltered in a friendly harbor,
+      while the Africans were scattered and dashed in pieces among the
+      rocks and islands of a hostile shore. Those who escaped from
+      shipwreck and hunger neither found, nor deserved, mercy at the
+      hands of their implacable pursuers. The sword and the gibbet
+      reduced the dangerous multitude of captives; and the remainder
+      was more usefully employed, to restore the sacred edifices which
+      they had attempted to subvert. The pontiff, at the head of the
+      citizens and allies, paid his grateful devotion at the shrines of
+      the apostles; and, among the spoils of this naval victory,
+      thirteen Arabian bows of pure and massy silver were suspended
+      round the altar of the fishermen of Galilee. The reign of Leo the
+      Fourth was employed in the defence and ornament of the Roman
+      state. The churches were renewed and embellished: near four
+      thousand pounds of silver were consecrated to repair the losses
+      of St. Peter; and his sanctuary was decorated with a plate of
+      gold of the weight of two hundred and sixteen pounds, embossed
+      with the portraits of the pope and emperor, and encircled with a
+      string of pearls. Yet this vain magnificence reflects less glory
+      on the character of Leo than the paternal care with which he
+      rebuilt the walls of Horta and Ameria; and transported the
+      wandering inhabitants of Centumcellae to his new foundation of
+      Leopolis, twelve miles from the sea-shore. 89 By his liberality,
+      a colony of Corsicans, with their wives and children, was planted
+      in the station of Porto, at the mouth of the Tyber: the falling
+      city was restored for their use, the fields and vineyards were
+      divided among the new settlers: their first efforts were assisted
+      by a gift of horses and cattle; and the hardy exiles, who
+      breathed revenge against the Saracens, swore to live and die
+      under the standard of St. Peter. The nations of the West and
+      North who visited the threshold of the apostles had gradually
+      formed the large and populous suburb of the Vatican, and their
+      various habitations were distinguished, in the language of the
+      times, as the schools of the Greeks and Goths, of the Lombards
+      and Saxons. But this venerable spot was still open to
+      sacrilegious insult: the design of enclosing it with walls and
+      towers exhausted all that authority could command, or charity
+      would supply: and the pious labor of four years was animated in
+      every season, and at every hour, by the presence of the
+      indefatigable pontiff. The love of fame, a generous but worldly
+      passion, may be detected in the name of the Leonine city, which
+      he bestowed on the Vatican; yet the pride of the dedication was
+      tempered with Christian penance and humility. The boundary was
+      trod by the bishop and his clergy, barefoot, in sackcloth and
+      ashes; the songs of triumph were modulated to psalms and
+      litanies; the walls were besprinkled with holy water; and the
+      ceremony was concluded with a prayer, that, under the guardian
+      care of the apostles and the angelic host, both the old and the
+      new Rome might ever be preserved pure, prosperous, and
+      impregnable. 90
+
+      88 (return) [ De Guignes, Hist. Generale des Huns, tom. i. p.
+      363, 364. Cardonne, Hist. de l’Afrique et de l’Espagne, sous la
+      Domination des Arabs, tom. ii. p. 24, 25. I observe, and cannot
+      reconcile, the difference of these writers in the succession of
+      the Aglabites.]
+
+      89 (return) [ Beretti (Chorographia Italiae Medii Evi, p. 106,
+      108) has illustrated Centumcellae, Leopolis, Civitas Leonina, and
+      the other places of the Roman duchy.]
+
+      90 (return) [ The Arabs and the Greeks are alike silent
+      concerning the invasion of Rome by the Africans. The Latin
+      chronicles do not afford much instruction, (see the Annals of
+      Baronius and Pagi.) Our authentic and contemporary guide for the
+      popes of the ixth century is Anastasius, librarian of the Roman
+      church. His Life of Leo IV, contains twenty-four pages, (p.
+      175-199, edit. Paris;) and if a great part consist of
+      superstitious trifles, we must blame or command his hero, who was
+      much oftener in a church than in a camp.]
+
+      The emperor Theophilus, son of Michael the Stammerer, was one of
+      the most active and high-spirited princes who reigned at
+      Constantinople during the middle age. In offensive or defensive
+      war, he marched in person five times against the Saracens,
+      formidable in his attack, esteemed by the enemy in his losses and
+      defeats. In the last of these expeditions he penetrated into
+      Syria, and besieged the obscure town of Sozopetra; the casual
+      birthplace of the caliph Motassem, whose father Harun was
+      attended in peace or war by the most favored of his wives and
+      concubines. The revolt of a Persian impostor employed at that
+      moment the arms of the Saracen, and he could only intercede in
+      favor of a place for which he felt and acknowledged some degree
+      of filial affection. These solicitations determined the emperor
+      to wound his pride in so sensible a part. Sozopetra was levelled
+      with the ground, the Syrian prisoners were marked or mutilated
+      with ignominious cruelty, and a thousand female captives were
+      forced away from the adjacent territory. Among these a matron of
+      the house of Abbas invoked, in an agony of despair, the name of
+      Motassem; and the insults of the Greeks engaged the honor of her
+      kinsman to avenge his indignity, and to answer her appeal. Under
+      the reign of the two elder brothers, the inheritance of the
+      youngest had been confined to Anatolia, Armenia, Georgia, and
+      Circassia; this frontier station had exercised his military
+      talents; and among his accidental claims to the name of Octonary,
+      91 the most meritorious are the eight battles which he gained or
+      fought against the enemies of the Koran. In this personal
+      quarrel, the troops of Irak, Syria, and Egypt, were recruited
+      from the tribes of Arabia and the Turkish hordes; his cavalry
+      might be numerous, though we should deduct some myriads from the
+      hundred and thirty thousand horses of the royal stables; and the
+      expense of the armament was computed at four millions sterling,
+      or one hundred thousand pounds of gold. From Tarsus, the place of
+      assembly, the Saracens advanced in three divisions along the high
+      road of Constantinople: Motassem himself commanded the centre,
+      and the vanguard was given to his son Abbas, who, in the trial of
+      the first adventures, might succeed with the more glory, or fail
+      with the least reproach. In the revenge of his injury, the caliph
+      prepared to retaliate a similar affront. The father of Theophilus
+      was a native of Amorium 92 in Phrygia: the original seat of the
+      Imperial house had been adorned with privileges and monuments;
+      and, whatever might be the indifference of the people,
+      Constantinople itself was scarcely of more value in the eyes of
+      the sovereign and his court. The name of Amorium was inscribed on
+      the shields of the Saracens; and their three armies were again
+      united under the walls of the devoted city. It had been proposed
+      by the wisest counsellors, to evacuate Amorium, to remove the
+      inhabitants, and to abandon the empty structures to the vain
+      resentment of the Barbarians. The emperor embraced the more
+      generous resolution of defending, in a siege and battle, the
+      country of his ancestors. When the armies drew near, the front of
+      the Mahometan line appeared to a Roman eye more closely planted
+      with spears and javelins; but the event of the action was not
+      glorious on either side to the national troops. The Arabs were
+      broken, but it was by the swords of thirty thousand Persians, who
+      had obtained service and settlement in the Byzantine empire. The
+      Greeks were repulsed and vanquished, but it was by the arrows of
+      the Turkish cavalry; and had not their bowstrings been damped and
+      relaxed by the evening rain, very few of the Christians could
+      have escaped with the emperor from the field of battle. They
+      breathed at Dorylaeum, at the distance of three days; and
+      Theophilus, reviewing his trembling squadrons, forgave the common
+      flight both of the prince and people. After this discovery of his
+      weakness, he vainly hoped to deprecate the fate of Amorium: the
+      inexorable caliph rejected with contempt his prayers and
+      promises; and detained the Roman ambassadors to be the witnesses
+      of his great revenge. They had nearly been the witnesses of his
+      shame. The vigorous assaults of fifty-five days were encountered
+      by a faithful governor, a veteran garrison, and a desperate
+      people; and the Saracens must have raised the siege, if a
+      domestic traitor had not pointed to the weakest part of the wall,
+      a place which was decorated with the statues of a lion and a
+      bull. The vow of Motassem was accomplished with unrelenting
+      rigor: tired, rather than satiated, with destruction, he returned
+      to his new palace of Samara, in the neighborhood of Bagdad, while
+      the unfortunate 93 Theophilus implored the tardy and doubtful aid
+      of his Western rival the emperor of the Franks. Yet in the siege
+      of Amorium about seventy thousand Moslems had perished: their
+      loss had been revenged by the slaughter of thirty thousand
+      Christians, and the sufferings of an equal number of captives,
+      who were treated as the most atrocious criminals. Mutual
+      necessity could sometimes extort the exchange or ransom of
+      prisoners: 94 but in the national and religious conflict of the
+      two empires, peace was without confidence, and war without mercy.
+      Quarter was seldom given in the field; those who escaped the edge
+      of the sword were condemned to hopeless servitude, or exquisite
+      torture; and a Catholic emperor relates, with visible
+      satisfaction, the execution of the Saracens of Crete, who were
+      flayed alive, or plunged into caldrons of boiling oil. 95 To a
+      point of honor Motassem had sacrificed a flourishing city, two
+      hundred thousand lives, and the property of millions. The same
+      caliph descended from his horse, and dirtied his robe, to relieve
+      the distress of a decrepit old man, who, with his laden ass, had
+      tumbled into a ditch. On which of these actions did he reflect
+      with the most pleasure, when he was summoned by the angel of
+      death? 96
+
+      91 (return) [ The same number was applied to the following
+      circumstance in the life of Motassem: he was the eight of the
+      Abbassides; he reigned eight years, eight months, and eight days;
+      left eight sons, eight daughters, eight thousand slaves, eight
+      millions of gold.]
+
+      92 (return) [ Amorium is seldom mentioned by the old geographers,
+      and to tally forgotten in the Roman Itineraries. After the vith
+      century, it became an episcopal see, and at length the metropolis
+      of the new Galatia, (Carol. Scto. Paulo, Geograph. Sacra, p.
+      234.) The city rose again from its ruins, if we should read
+      Ammeria, not Anguria, in the text of the Nubian geographer. (p.
+      236.)]
+
+      93 (return) [ In the East he was styled, (Continuator Theophan.
+      l. iii. p. 84;) but such was the ignorance of the West, that his
+      ambassadors, in public discourse, might boldly narrate, de
+      victoriis, quas adversus exteras bellando gentes coelitus fuerat
+      assecutus, (Annalist. Bertinian. apud Pagi, tom. iii. p. 720.)]
+
+      94 (return) [ Abulpharagius (Dynast. p. 167, 168) relates one of
+      these singular transactions on the bridge of the River Lamus in
+      Cilicia, the limit of the two empires, and one day’s journey
+      westward of Tarsus, (D’Anville, Geographie Ancienne, tom. ii. p.
+      91.) Four thousand four hundred and sixty Moslems, eight hundred
+      women and children, one hundred confederates, were exchanged for
+      an equal number of Greeks. They passed each other in the middle
+      of the bridge, and when they reached their respective friends,
+      they shouted Allah Acbar, and Kyrie Eleison. Many of the
+      prisoners of Amorium were probably among them, but in the same
+      year, (A. H. 231,) the most illustrious of them, the forty two
+      martyrs, were beheaded by the caliph’s order.]
+
+      95 (return) [ Constantin. Porphyrogenitus, in Vit. Basil. c. 61,
+      p. 186. These Saracens were indeed treated with peculiar severity
+      as pirates and renegadoes.]
+
+      96 (return) [ For Theophilus, Motassem, and the Amorian war, see
+      the Continuator of Theophanes, (l. iii. p. 77-84,) Genesius (l.
+      iii. p. 24-34.) Cedrenus, (p. 528-532,) Elmacin, (Hist. Saracen,
+      p. 180,) Abulpharagius, (Dynast. p. 165, 166,) Abulfeda, (Annal.
+      Moslem. p. 191,) D’Herbelot, (Bibliot. Orientale, p. 639, 640.)]
+
+      With Motassem, the eighth of the Abbassides, the glory of his
+      family and nation expired. When the Arabian conquerors had spread
+      themselves over the East, and were mingled with the servile
+      crowds of Persia, Syria, and Egypt, they insensibly lost the
+      freeborn and martial virtues of the desert. The courage of the
+      South is the artificial fruit of discipline and prejudice; the
+      active power of enthusiasm had decayed, and the mercenary forces
+      of the caliphs were recruited in those climates of the North, of
+      which valor is the hardy and spontaneous production. Of the Turks
+      97 who dwelt beyond the Oxus and Jaxartes, the robust youths,
+      either taken in war or purchased in trade, were educated in the
+      exercises of the field, and the profession of the Mahometan
+      faith. The Turkish guards stood in arms round the throne of their
+      benefactor, and their chiefs usurped the dominion of the palace
+      and the provinces. Motassem, the first author of this dangerous
+      example, introduced into the capital above fifty thousand Turks:
+      their licentious conduct provoked the public indignation, and the
+      quarrels of the soldiers and people induced the caliph to retire
+      from Bagdad, and establish his own residence and the camp of his
+      Barbarian favorites at Samara on the Tigris, about twelve leagues
+      above the city of Peace. 98 His son Motawakkel was a jealous and
+      cruel tyrant: odious to his subjects, he cast himself on the
+      fidelity of the strangers, and these strangers, ambitious and
+      apprehensive, were tempted by the rich promise of a revolution.
+      At the instigation, or at least in the cause of his son, they
+      burst into his apartment at the hour of supper, and the caliph
+      was cut into seven pieces by the same swords which he had
+      recently distributed among the guards of his life and throne. To
+      this throne, yet streaming with a father’s blood, Montasser was
+      triumphantly led; but in a reign of six months, he found only the
+      pangs of a guilty conscience. If he wept at the sight of an old
+      tapestry which represented the crime and punishment of the son of
+      Chosroes, if his days were abridged by grief and remorse, we may
+      allow some pity to a parricide, who exclaimed, in the bitterness
+      of death, that he had lost both this world and the world to come.
+      After this act of treason, the ensigns of royalty, the garment
+      and walking-staff of Mahomet, were given and torn away by the
+      foreign mercenaries, who in four years created, deposed, and
+      murdered, three commanders of the faithful. As often as the Turks
+      were inflamed by fear, or rage, or avarice, these caliphs were
+      dragged by the feet, exposed naked to the scorching sun, beaten
+      with iron clubs, and compelled to purchase, by the abdication of
+      their dignity, a short reprieve of inevitable fate. 99 At length,
+      however, the fury of the tempest was spent or diverted: the
+      Abbassides returned to the less turbulent residence of Bagdad;
+      the insolence of the Turks was curbed with a firmer and more
+      skilful hand, and their numbers were divided and destroyed in
+      foreign warfare. But the nations of the East had been taught to
+      trample on the successors of the prophet; and the blessings of
+      domestic peace were obtained by the relaxation of strength and
+      discipline. So uniform are the mischiefs of military despotism,
+      that I seem to repeat the story of the praetorians of Rome. 100
+
+      97 (return) [ M. de Guignes, who sometimes leaps, and sometimes
+      stumbles, in the gulf between Chinese and Mahometan story, thinks
+      he can see, that these Turks are the Hoei-ke, alias the Kao-tche,
+      or high-wagons; that they were divided into fifteen hordes, from
+      China and Siberia to the dominions of the caliphs and Samanides,
+      &c., (Hist. des Huns, tom. iii. p. 1-33, 124-131.)]
+
+      98 (return) [ He changed the old name of Sumera, or Samara, into
+      the fanciful title of Sermen-rai, that which gives pleasure at
+      first sight, (D’Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orientale, p. 808.
+      D’Anville, l’Euphrate et le Tigre p. 97, 98.)]
+
+      99 (return) [ Take a specimen, the death of the caliph Motaz:
+      Correptum pedibus pertrahunt, et sudibus probe permulcant, et
+      spoliatum laceris vestibus in sole collocant, prae cujus acerrimo
+      aestu pedes alternos attollebat et demittebat. Adstantium aliquis
+      misero colaphos continuo ingerebat, quos ille objectis manibus
+      avertere studebat..... Quo facto traditus tortori fuit, totoque
+      triduo cibo potuque prohibitus..... Suffocatus, &c. (Abulfeda, p.
+      206.) Of the caliph Mohtadi, he says, services ipsi perpetuis
+      ictibus contundebant, testiculosque pedibus conculcabant, (p.
+      208.)]
+
+      100 (return) [ See under the reigns of Motassem, Motawakkel,
+      Montasser, Mostain, Motaz, Mohtadi, and Motamed, in the
+      Bibliotheque of D’Herbelot, and the now familiar Annals of
+      Elmacin, Abulpharagius, and Abulfeda.]
+
+      While the flame of enthusiasm was damped by the business, the
+      pleasure, and the knowledge, of the age, it burnt with
+      concentrated heat in the breasts of the chosen few, the congenial
+      spirits, who were ambitious of reigning either in this world or
+      in the next. How carefully soever the book of prophecy had been
+      sealed by the apostle of Mecca, the wishes, and (if we may
+      profane the word) even the reason, of fanaticism might believe
+      that, after the successive missions of Adam, Noah, Abraham,
+      Moses, Jesus, and Mahomet, the same God, in the fulness of time,
+      would reveal a still more perfect and permanent law. In the two
+      hundred and seventy-seventh year of the Hegira, and in the
+      neighborhood of Cufa, an Arabian preacher, of the name of
+      Carmath, assumed the lofty and incomprehensible style of the
+      Guide, the Director, the Demonstration, the Word, the Holy Ghost,
+      the Camel, the Herald of the Messiah, who had conversed with him
+      in a human shape, and the representative of Mohammed the son of
+      Ali, of St. John the Baptist, and of the angel Gabriel. In his
+      mystic volume, the precepts of the Koran were refined to a more
+      spiritual sense: he relaxed the duties of ablution, fasting, and
+      pilgrimage; allowed the indiscriminate use of wine and forbidden
+      food; and nourished the fervor of his disciples by the daily
+      repetition of fifty prayers. The idleness and ferment of the
+      rustic crowd awakened the attention of the magistrates of Cufa; a
+      timid persecution assisted the progress of the new sect; and the
+      name of the prophet became more revered after his person had been
+      withdrawn from the world. His twelve apostles dispersed
+      themselves among the Bedoweens, “a race of men,” says Abulfeda,
+      “equally devoid of reason and of religion;” and the success of
+      their preaching seemed to threaten Arabia with a new revolution.
+      The Carmathians were ripe for rebellion, since they disclaimed
+      the title of the house of Abbas, and abhorred the worldly pomp of
+      the caliphs of Bagdad. They were susceptible of discipline, since
+      they vowed a blind and absolute submission to their Imam, who was
+      called to the prophetic office by the voice of God and the
+      people. Instead of the legal tithes, he claimed the fifth of
+      their substance and spoil; the most flagitious sins were no more
+      than the type of disobedience; and the brethren were united and
+      concealed by an oath of secrecy. After a bloody conflict, they
+      prevailed in the province of Bahrein, along the Persian Gulf: far
+      and wide, the tribes of the desert were subject to the sceptre,
+      or rather to the sword of Abu Said and his son Abu Taher; and
+      these rebellious imams could muster in the field a hundred and
+      seven thousand fanatics. The mercenaries of the caliph were
+      dismayed at the approach of an enemy who neither asked nor
+      accepted quarter; and the difference between, them in fortitude
+      and patience, is expressive of the change which three centuries
+      of prosperity had effected in the character of the Arabians. Such
+      troops were discomfited in every action; the cities of Racca and
+      Baalbec, of Cufa and Bassora, were taken and pillaged; Bagdad was
+      filled with consternation; and the caliph trembled behind the
+      veils of his palace. In a daring inroad beyond the Tigris, Abu
+      Taher advanced to the gates of the capital with no more than five
+      hundred horse. By the special order of Moctader, the bridges had
+      been broken down, and the person or head of the rebel was
+      expected every hour by the commander of the faithful. His
+      lieutenant, from a motive of fear or pity, apprised Abu Taher of
+      his danger, and recommended a speedy escape. “Your master,” said
+      the intrepid Carmathian to the messenger, “is at the head of
+      thirty thousand soldiers: three such men as these are wanting in
+      his host:” at the same instant, turning to three of his
+      companions, he commanded the first to plunge a dagger into his
+      breast, the second to leap into the Tigris, and the third to cast
+      himself headlong down a precipice. They obeyed without a murmur.
+
+      “Relate,” continued the imam, “what you have seen: before the
+      evening your general shall be chained among my dogs.” Before the
+      evening, the camp was surprised, and the menace was executed. The
+      rapine of the Carmathians was sanctified by their aversion to the
+      worship of Mecca: they robbed a caravan of pilgrims, and twenty
+      thousand devout Moslems were abandoned on the burning sands to a
+      death of hunger and thirst. Another year they suffered the
+      pilgrims to proceed without interruption; but, in the festival of
+      devotion, Abu Taher stormed the holy city, and trampled on the
+      most venerable relics of the Mahometan faith. Thirty thousand
+      citizens and strangers were put to the sword; the sacred
+      precincts were polluted by the burial of three thousand dead
+      bodies; the well of Zemzem overflowed with blood; the golden
+      spout was forced from its place; the veil of the Caaba was
+      divided among these impious sectaries; and the black stone, the
+      first monument of the nation, was borne away in triumph to their
+      capital. After this deed of sacrilege and cruelty, they continued
+      to infest the confines of Irak, Syria, and Egypt: but the vital
+      principle of enthusiasm had withered at the root. Their scruples,
+      or their avarice, again opened the pilgrimage of Mecca, and
+      restored the black stone of the Caaba; and it is needless to
+      inquire into what factions they were broken, or by whose swords
+      they were finally extirpated. The sect of the Carmathians may be
+      considered as the second visible cause of the decline and fall of
+      the empire of the caliphs. 101
+
+      101 (return) [ For the sect of the Carmathians, consult Elmacin,
+      (Hist. Sara cen, p. 219, 224, 229, 231, 238, 241, 243,)
+      Abulpharagius, (Dynast. p. 179-182,) Abulfeda, (Annal. Moslem. p.
+      218, 219, &c., 245, 265, 274.) and D’Herbelot, (Bibliotheque
+      Orientale, p. 256-258, 635.) I find some inconsistencies of
+      theology and chronology, which it would not be easy nor of much
+      importance to reconcile. * Note: Compare Von Hammer, Geschichte
+      der Assassinen, p. 44, &c.—M.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LII: More Conquests By The Arabs.—Part V.
+
+      The third and most obvious cause was the weight and magnitude of
+      the empire itself. The caliph Almamon might proudly assert, that
+      it was easier for him to rule the East and the West, than to
+      manage a chess-board of two feet square: 102 yet I suspect that
+      in both those games he was guilty of many fatal mistakes; and I
+      perceive, that in the distant provinces the authority of the
+      first and most powerful of the Abbassides was already impaired.
+      The analogy of despotism invests the representative with the full
+      majesty of the prince; the division and balance of powers might
+      relax the habits of obedience, might encourage the passive
+      subject to inquire into the origin and administration of civil
+      government. He who is born in the purple is seldom worthy to
+      reign; but the elevation of a private man, of a peasant, perhaps,
+      or a slave, affords a strong presumption of his courage and
+      capacity. The viceroy of a remote kingdom aspires to secure the
+      property and inheritance of his precarious trust; the nations
+      must rejoice in the presence of their sovereign; and the command
+      of armies and treasures are at once the object and the instrument
+      of his ambition. A change was scarcely visible as long as the
+      lieutenants of the caliph were content with their vicarious
+      title; while they solicited for themselves or their sons a
+      renewal of the Imperial grant, and still maintained on the coin
+      and in the public prayers the name and prerogative of the
+      commander of the faithful. But in the long and hereditary
+      exercise of power, they assumed the pride and attributes of
+      royalty; the alternative of peace or war, of reward or
+      punishment, depended solely on their will; and the revenues of
+      their government were reserved for local services or private
+      magnificence. Instead of a regular supply of men and money, the
+      successors of the prophet were flattered with the ostentatious
+      gift of an elephant, or a cast of hawks, a suit of silk hangings,
+      or some pounds of musk and amber. 103
+
+      102 (return) [ Hyde, Syntagma Dissertat. tom. ii. p. 57, in Hist.
+      Shahiludii.]
+
+      103 (return) [ The dynasties of the Arabian empire may be studied
+      in the Annals of Elmacin, Abulpharagius, and Abulfeda, under the
+      proper years, in the dictionary of D’Herbelot, under the proper
+      names. The tables of M. de Guignes (Hist. des Huns, tom. i.)
+      exhibit a general chronology of the East, interspersed with some
+      historical anecdotes; but his attachment to national blood has
+      sometimes confounded the order of time and place.]
+
+      After the revolt of Spain from the temporal and spiritual
+      supremacy of the Abbassides, the first symptoms of disobedience
+      broke forth in the province of Africa. Ibrahim, the son of Aglab,
+      the lieutenant of the vigilant and rigid Harun, bequeathed to the
+      dynasty of the Aglabites the inheritance of his name and power.
+      The indolence or policy of the caliphs dissembled the injury and
+      loss, and pursued only with poison the founder of the Edrisites,
+      104 who erected the kingdom and city of Fez on the shores of the
+      Western ocean. 105 In the East, the first dynasty was that of the
+      Taherites; 106 the posterity of the valiant Taher, who, in the
+      civil wars of the sons of Harun, had served with too much zeal
+      and success the cause of Almamon, the younger brother. He was
+      sent into honorable exile, to command on the banks of the Oxus;
+      and the independence of his successors, who reigned in Chorasan
+      till the fourth generation, was palliated by their modest and
+      respectful demeanor, the happiness of their subjects and the
+      security of their frontier. They were supplanted by one of those
+      adventures so frequent in the annals of the East, who left his
+      trade of a brazier (from whence the name of Soffarides) for the
+      profession of a robber. In a nocturnal visit to the treasure of
+      the prince of Sistan, Jacob, the son of Leith, stumbled over a
+      lump of salt, which he unwarily tasted with his tongue. Salt,
+      among the Orientals, is the symbol of hospitality, and the pious
+      robber immediately retired without spoil or damage. The discovery
+      of this honorable behavior recommended Jacob to pardon and trust;
+      he led an army at first for his benefactor, at last for himself,
+      subdued Persia, and threatened the residence of the Abbassides.
+      On his march towards Bagdad, the conqueror was arrested by a
+      fever. He gave audience in bed to the ambassador of the caliph;
+      and beside him on a table were exposed a naked cimeter, a crust
+      of brown bread, and a bunch of onions. “If I die,” said he, “your
+      master is delivered from his fears. If I live, this must
+      determine between us. If I am vanquished, I can return without
+      reluctance to the homely fare of my youth.” From the height where
+      he stood, the descent would not have been so soft or harmless: a
+      timely death secured his own repose and that of the caliph, who
+      paid with the most lavish concessions the retreat of his brother
+      Amrou to the palaces of Shiraz and Ispahan. The Abbassides were
+      too feeble to contend, too proud to forgive: they invited the
+      powerful dynasty of the Samanides, who passed the Oxus with ten
+      thousand horse so poor, that their stirrups were of wood: so
+      brave, that they vanquished the Soffarian army, eight times more
+      numerous than their own. The captive Amrou was sent in chains, a
+      grateful offering to the court of Bagdad; and as the victor was
+      content with the inheritance of Transoxiana and Chorasan, the
+      realms of Persia returned for a while to the allegiance of the
+      caliphs. The provinces of Syria and Egypt were twice dismembered
+      by their Turkish slaves of the race of Toulon and Ilkshid. 107
+      These Barbarians, in religion and manners the countrymen of
+      Mahomet, emerged from the bloody factions of the palace to a
+      provincial command and an independent throne: their names became
+      famous and formidable in their time; but the founders of these
+      two potent dynasties confessed, either in words or actions, the
+      vanity of ambition. The first on his death-bed implored the mercy
+      of God to a sinner, ignorant of the limits of his own power: the
+      second, in the midst of four hundred thousand soldiers and eight
+      thousand slaves, concealed from every human eye the chamber where
+      he attempted to sleep. Their sons were educated in the vices of
+      kings; and both Egypt and Syria were recovered and possessed by
+      the Abbassides during an interval of thirty years. In the decline
+      of their empire, Mesopotamia, with the important cities of Mosul
+      and Aleppo, was occupied by the Arabian princes of the tribe of
+      Hamadan. The poets of their court could repeat without a blush,
+      that nature had formed their countenances for beauty, their
+      tongues for eloquence, and their hands for liberality and valor:
+      but the genuine tale of the elevation and reign of the
+      Hamadanites exhibits a scene of treachery, murder, and parricide.
+
+      At the same fatal period, the Persian kingdom was again usurped
+      by the dynasty of the Bowides, by the sword of three brothers,
+      who, under various names, were styled the support and columns of
+      the state, and who, from the Caspian Sea to the ocean, would
+      suffer no tyrants but themselves. Under their reign, the language
+      and genius of Persia revived, and the Arabs, three hundred and
+      four years after the death of Mahomet, were deprived of the
+      sceptre of the East.
+
+      104 (return) [ The Aglabites and Edrisites are the professed
+      subject of M. de Cardonne, (Hist. de l’Afrique et de l’Espagne
+      sous la Domination des Arabes, tom. ii. p. 1-63.)]
+
+      105 (return) [ To escape the reproach of error, I must criticize
+      the inaccuracies of M. de Guignes (tom. i. p. 359) concerning the
+      Edrisites. 1. The dynasty and city of Fez could not be founded in
+      the year of the Hegira 173, since the founder was a posthumous
+      child of a descendant of Ali, who fled from Mecca in the year
+      168. 2. This founder, Edris, the son of Edris, instead of living
+      to the improbable age of 120 years, A. H. 313, died A. H. 214, in
+      the prime of manhood. 3. The dynasty ended A. H. 307,
+      twenty-three years sooner than it is fixed by the historian of
+      the Huns. See the accurate Annals of Abulfeda p. 158, 159, 185,
+      238.]
+
+      106 (return) [ The dynasties of the Taherites and Soffarides,
+      with the rise of that of the Samanines, are described in the
+      original history and Latin version of Mirchond: yet the most
+      interesting facts had already been drained by the diligence of M.
+      D’Herbelot.]
+
+      107 (return) [ M. de Guignes (Hist. des Huns, tom. iii. p.
+      124-154) has exhausted the Toulunides and Ikshidites of Egypt,
+      and thrown some light on the Carmathians and Hamadanites.]
+
+      Rahadi, the twentieth of the Abbassides, and the thirty-ninth of
+      the successors of Mahomet, was the last who deserved the title of
+      commander of the faithful; 108 the last (says Abulfeda) who spoke
+      to the people, or conversed with the learned; the last who, in
+      the expense of his household, represented the wealth and
+      magnificence of the ancient caliphs. After him, the lords of the
+      Eastern world were reduced to the most abject misery, and exposed
+      to the blows and insults of a servile condition. The revolt of
+      the provinces circumscribed their dominions within the walls of
+      Bagdad: but that capital still contained an innumerable
+      multitude, vain of their past fortune, discontented with their
+      present state, and oppressed by the demands of a treasury which
+      had formerly been replenished by the spoil and tribute of
+      nations. Their idleness was exercised by faction and controversy.
+      Under the mask of piety, the rigid followers of Hanbal 109
+      invaded the pleasures of domestic life, burst into the houses of
+      plebeians and princes, the wine, broke the instruments, beat the
+      musicians, and dishonored, with infamous suspicions, the
+      associates of every handsome youth. In each profession, which
+      allowed room for two persons, the one was a votary, the other an
+      antagonist, of Ali; and the Abbassides were awakened by the
+      clamorous grief of the sectaries, who denied their title, and
+      cursed their progenitors. A turbulent people could only be
+      repressed by a military force; but who could satisfy the avarice
+      or assert the discipline of the mercenaries themselves? The
+      African and the Turkish guards drew their swords against each
+      other, and the chief commanders, the emirs al Omra, 110
+      imprisoned or deposed their sovereigns, and violated the
+      sanctuary of the mosch and harem. If the caliphs escaped to the
+      camp or court of any neighboring prince, their deliverance was a
+      change of servitude, till they were prompted by despair to invite
+      the Bowides, the sultans of Persia, who silenced the factions of
+      Bagdad by their irresistible arms. The civil and military powers
+      were assumed by Moezaldowlat, the second of the three brothers,
+      and a stipend of sixty thousand pounds sterling was assigned by
+      his generosity for the private expense of the commander of the
+      faithful. But on the fortieth day, at the audience of the
+      ambassadors of Chorasan, and in the presence of a trembling
+      multitude, the caliph was dragged from his throne to a dungeon,
+      by the command of the stranger, and the rude hands of his
+      Dilamites. His palace was pillaged, his eyes were put out, and
+      the mean ambition of the Abbassides aspired to the vacant station
+      of danger and disgrace. In the school of adversity, the luxurious
+      caliphs resumed the grave and abstemious virtues of the primitive
+      times. Despoiled of their armor and silken robes, they fasted,
+      they prayed, they studied the Koran and the tradition of the
+      Sonnites: they performed, with zeal and knowledge, the functions
+      of their ecclesiastical character. The respect of nations still
+      waited on the successors of the apostle, the oracles of the law
+      and conscience of the faithful; and the weakness or division of
+      their tyrants sometimes restored the Abbassides to the
+      sovereignty of Bagdad. But their misfortunes had been imbittered
+      by the triumph of the Fatimites, the real or spurious progeny of
+      Ali. Arising from the extremity of Africa, these successful
+      rivals extinguished, in Egypt and Syria, both the spiritual and
+      temporal authority of the Abbassides; and the monarch of the Nile
+      insulted the humble pontiff on the banks of the Tigris.
+
+      108 (return) [ Hic est ultimus chalifah qui multum atque saepius
+      pro concione peroraret.... Fuit etiam ultimus qui otium cum
+      eruditis et facetis hominibus fallere hilariterque agere soleret.
+      Ultimus tandem chalifarum cui sumtus, stipendia, reditus, et
+      thesauri, culinae, caeteraque omnis aulica pompa priorum
+      chalifarum ad instar comparata fuerint. Videbimus enim paullo
+      post quam indignis et servilibius ludibriis exagitati, quam ad
+      humilem fortunam altimumque contemptum abjecti fuerint hi quondam
+      potentissimi totius terrarum Orientalium orbis domini. Abulfed.
+      Annal. Moslem. p. 261. I have given this passage as the manner
+      and tone of Abulfeda, but the cast of Latin eloquence belongs
+      more properly to Reiske. The Arabian historian (p. 255, 257,
+      261-269, 283, &c.) has supplied me with the most interesting
+      facts of this paragraph.]
+
+      109 (return) [ Their master, on a similar occasion, showed
+      himself of a more indulgent and tolerating spirit. Ahmed Ebn
+      Hanbal, the head of one of the four orthodox sects, was born at
+      Bagdad A. H. 164, and died there A. H. 241. He fought and
+      suffered in the dispute concerning the creation of the Koran.]
+
+      110 (return) [ The office of vizier was superseded by the emir al
+      Omra, Imperator Imperatorum, a title first instituted by Radhi,
+      and which merged at length in the Bowides and Seljukides:
+      vectigalibus, et tributis, et curiis per omnes regiones
+      praefecit, jussitque in omnibus suggestis nominis ejus in
+      concionibus mentionem fieri, (Abulpharagius, Dynart. p 199.) It
+      is likewise mentioned by Elmacin, (p. 254, 255.)]
+
+      In the declining age of the caliphs, in the century which elapsed
+      after the war of Theophilus and Motassem, the hostile
+      transactions of the two nations were confined to some inroads by
+      sea and land, the fruits of their close vicinity and indelible
+      hatred. But when the Eastern world was convulsed and broken, the
+      Greeks were roused from their lethargy by the hopes of conquest
+      and revenge. The Byzantine empire, since the accession of the
+      Basilian race, had reposed in peace and dignity; and they might
+      encounter with their entire strength the front of some petty
+      emir, whose rear was assaulted and threatened by his national
+      foes of the Mahometan faith. The lofty titles of the morning
+      star, and the death of the Saracens, 111 were applied in the
+      public acclamations to Nicephorus Phocas, a prince as renowned in
+      the camp, as he was unpopular in the city. In the subordinate
+      station of great domestic, or general of the East, he reduced the
+      Island of Crete, and extirpated the nest of pirates who had so
+      long defied, with impunity, the majesty of the empire. 112 His
+      military genius was displayed in the conduct and success of the
+      enterprise, which had so often failed with loss and dishonor. The
+      Saracens were confounded by the landing of his troops on safe and
+      level bridges, which he cast from the vessels to the shore. Seven
+      months were consumed in the siege of Candia; the despair of the
+      native Cretans was stimulated by the frequent aid of their
+      brethren of Africa and Spain; and after the massy wall and double
+      ditch had been stormed by the Greeks a hopeless conflict was
+      still maintained in the streets and houses of the city. 1121 The
+      whole island was subdued in the capital, and a submissive people
+      accepted, without resistance, the baptism of the conqueror. 113
+      Constantinople applauded the long-forgotten pomp of a triumph;
+      but the Imperial diadem was the sole reward that could repay the
+      services, or satisfy the ambition, of Nicephorus.
+
+      111 (return) [ Liutprand, whose choleric temper was imbittered by
+      his uneasy situation, suggests the names of reproach and contempt
+      more applicable to Nicephorus than the vain titles of the Greeks,
+      Ecce venit stella matutina, surgit Eous, reverberat obtutu solis
+      radios, pallida Saracenorum mors, Nicephorus.]
+
+      112 (return) [ Notwithstanding the insinuation of Zonaras, &c.,
+      (tom. ii. l. xvi. p. 197,) it is an undoubted fact, that Crete
+      was completely and finally subdued by Nicephorus Phocas, (Pagi,
+      Critica, tom. iii. p. 873-875. Meursius, Creta, l. iii. c. 7,
+      tom. iii. p. 464, 465.)]
+
+      1121 (return) [ The Acroases of Theodorus, de expugnatione
+      Cretae, miserable iambics, relate the whole campaign. Whoever
+      would fairly estimate the merit of the poetic deacon, may read
+      the description of the slinging a jackass into the famishing
+      city. The poet is in a transport at the wit of the general, and
+      revels in the luxury of antithesis. Theodori Acroases, lib. iii.
+      172, in Niebuhr’s Byzant. Hist.—M.]
+
+      113 (return) [ A Greek Life of St. Nicon the Armenian was found
+      in the Sforza library, and translated into Latin by the Jesuit
+      Sirmond, for the use of Cardinal Baronius. This contemporary
+      legend casts a ray of light on Crete and Peloponnesus in the 10th
+      century. He found the newly-recovered island, foedis detestandae
+      Agarenorum superstitionis vestigiis adhuc plenam ac refertam....
+      but the victorious missionary, perhaps with some carnal aid, ad
+      baptismum omnes veraeque fidei disciplinam pepulit. Ecclesiis per
+      totam insulam aedificatis, &c., (Annal. Eccles. A.D. 961.)]
+
+      After the death of the younger Romanus, the fourth in lineal
+      descent of the Basilian race, his widow Theophania successively
+      married Nicephorus Phocas and his assassin John Zimisces, the two
+      heroes of the age. They reigned as the guardians and colleagues
+      of her infant sons; and the twelve years of their military
+      command form the most splendid period of the Byzantine annals.
+      The subjects and confederates, whom they led to war, appeared, at
+      least in the eyes of an enemy, two hundred thousand strong; and
+      of these about thirty thousand were armed with cuirasses: 114 a
+      train of four thousand mules attended their march; and their
+      evening camp was regularly fortified with an enclosure of iron
+      spikes. A series of bloody and undecisive combats is nothing more
+      than an anticipation of what would have been effected in a few
+      years by the course of nature; but I shall briefly prosecute the
+      conquests of the two emperors from the hills of Cappadocia to the
+      desert of Bagdad. The sieges of Mopsuestia and Tarsus, in
+      Cilicia, first exercised the skill and perseverance of their
+      troops, on whom, at this moment, I shall not hesitate to bestow
+      the name of Romans. In the double city of Mopsuestia, which is
+      divided by the River Sarus, two hundred thousand Moslems were
+      predestined to death or slavery, 115 a surprising degree of
+      population, which must at least include the inhabitants of the
+      dependent districts. They were surrounded and taken by assault;
+      but Tarsus was reduced by the slow progress of famine; and no
+      sooner had the Saracens yielded on honorable terms than they were
+      mortified by the distant and unprofitable view of the naval
+      succors of Egypt. They were dismissed with a safe-conduct to the
+      confines of Syria: a part of the old Christians had quietly lived
+      under their dominion; and the vacant habitations were replenished
+      by a new colony. But the mosch was converted into a stable; the
+      pulpit was delivered to the flames; many rich crosses of gold and
+      gems, the spoils of Asiatic churches, were made a grateful
+      offering to the piety or avarice of the emperor; and he
+      transported the gates of Mopsuestia and Tarsus, which were fixed
+      in the walls of Constantinople, an eternal monument of his
+      victory. After they had forced and secured the narrow passes of
+      Mount Amanus, the two Roman princes repeatedly carried their arms
+      into the heart of Syria. Yet, instead of assaulting the walls of
+      Antioch, the humanity or superstition of Nicephorus appeared to
+      respect the ancient metropolis of the East: he contented himself
+      with drawing round the city a line of circumvallation; left a
+      stationary army; and instructed his lieutenant to expect, without
+      impatience, the return of spring. But in the depth of winter, in
+      a dark and rainy night, an adventurous subaltern, with three
+      hundred soldiers, approached the rampart, applied his
+      scaling-ladders, occupied two adjacent towers, stood firm against
+      the pressure of multitudes, and bravely maintained his post till
+      he was relieved by the tardy, though effectual, support of his
+      reluctant chief. The first tumult of slaughter and rapine
+      subsided; the reign of Caesar and of Christ was restored; and the
+      efforts of a hundred thousand Saracens, of the armies of Syria
+      and the fleets of Africa, were consumed without effect before the
+      walls of Antioch. The royal city of Aleppo was subject to
+      Seifeddowlat, of the dynasty of Hamadan, who clouded his past
+      glory by the precipitate retreat which abandoned his kingdom and
+      capital to the Roman invaders. In his stately palace, that stood
+      without the walls of Aleppo, they joyfully seized a
+      well-furnished magazine of arms, a stable of fourteen hundred
+      mules, and three hundred bags of silver and gold. But the walls
+      of the city withstood the strokes of their battering-rams: and
+      the besiegers pitched their tents on the neighboring mountain of
+      Jaushan. Their retreat exasperated the quarrel of the townsmen
+      and mercenaries; the guard of the gates and ramparts was
+      deserted; and while they furiously charged each other in the
+      market-place, they were surprised and destroyed by the sword of a
+      common enemy. The male sex was exterminated by the sword; ten
+      thousand youths were led into captivity; the weight of the
+      precious spoil exceeded the strength and number of the beasts of
+      burden; the superfluous remainder was burnt; and, after a
+      licentious possession of ten days, the Romans marched away from
+      the naked and bleeding city. In their Syrian inroads they
+      commanded the husbandmen to cultivate their lands, that they
+      themselves, in the ensuing season, might reap the benefit; more
+      than a hundred cities were reduced to obedience; and eighteen
+      pulpits of the principal moschs were committed to the flames to
+      expiate the sacrilege of the disciples of Mahomet. The classic
+      names of Hierapolis, Apamea, and Emesa, revive for a moment in
+      the list of conquest: the emperor Zimisces encamped in the
+      paradise of Damascus, and accepted the ransom of a submissive
+      people; and the torrent was only stopped by the impregnable
+      fortress of Tripoli, on the sea-coast of Phoenicia. Since the
+      days of Heraclius, the Euphrates, below the passage of Mount
+      Taurus, had been impervious, and almost invisible, to the Greeks.
+
+      The river yielded a free passage to the victorious Zimisces; and
+      the historian may imitate the speed with which he overran the
+      once famous cities of Samosata, Edessa, Martyropolis, Amida, 116
+      and Nisibis, the ancient limit of the empire in the neighborhood
+      of the Tigris. His ardor was quickened by the desire of grasping
+      the virgin treasures of Ecbatana, 117 a well-known name, under
+      which the Byzantine writer has concealed the capital of the
+      Abbassides. The consternation of the fugitives had already
+      diffused the terror of his name; but the fancied riches of Bagdad
+      had already been dissipated by the avarice and prodigality of
+      domestic tyrants. The prayers of the people, and the stern
+      demands of the lieutenant of the Bowides, required the caliph to
+      provide for the defence of the city. The helpless Mothi replied,
+      that his arms, his revenues, and his provinces, had been torn
+      from his hands, and that he was ready to abdicate a dignity which
+      he was unable to support. The emir was inexorable; the furniture
+      of the palace was sold; and the paltry price of forty thousand
+      pieces of gold was instantly consumed in private luxury. But the
+      apprehensions of Bagdad were relieved by the retreat of the
+      Greeks: thirst and hunger guarded the desert of Mesopotamia; and
+      the emperor, satiated with glory, and laden with Oriental spoils,
+      returned to Constantinople, and displayed, in his triumph, the
+      silk, the aromatics, and three hundred myriads of gold and
+      silver. Yet the powers of the East had been bent, not broken, by
+      this transient hurricane. After the departure of the Greeks, the
+      fugitive princes returned to their capitals; the subjects
+      disclaimed their involuntary oaths of allegiance; the Moslems
+      again purified their temples, and overturned the idols of the
+      saints and martyrs; the Nestorians and Jacobites preferred a
+      Saracen to an orthodox master; and the numbers and spirit of the
+      Melchites were inadequate to the support of the church and state.
+
+      Of these extensive conquests, Antioch, with the cities of Cilicia
+      and the Isle of Cyprus, was alone restored, a permanent and
+      useful accession to the Roman empire. 118
+
+      114 (return) [ Elmacin, Hist. Saracen. p. 278, 279. Liutprand was
+      disposed to depreciate the Greek power, yet he owns that
+      Nicephorus led against Assyria an army of eighty thousand men.]
+
+      115 (return) [ Ducenta fere millia hominum numerabat urbs
+      (Abulfeda, Annal. Moslem. p. 231) of Mopsuestia, or Masifa,
+      Mampsysta, Mansista, Mamista, as it is corruptly, or perhaps more
+      correctly, styled in the middle ages, (Wesseling, Itinerar. p.
+      580.) Yet I cannot credit this extreme populousness a few years
+      after the testimony of the emperor Leo, (Tactica, c. xviii. in
+      Meursii Oper. tom. vi. p. 817.)]
+
+      116 (return) [ The text of Leo the deacon, in the corrupt names
+      of Emeta and Myctarsim, reveals the cities of Amida and
+      Martyropolis, (Mia farekin. See Abulfeda, Geograph. p. 245, vers.
+      Reiske.) Of the former, Leo observes, urbus munita et illustris;
+      of the latter, clara atque conspicua opibusque et pecore,
+      reliquis ejus provinciis urbibus atque oppidis longe praestans.]
+
+      117 (return) [ Ut et Ecbatana pergeret Agarenorumque regiam
+      everteret.... aiunt enim urbium quae usquam sunt ac toto orbe
+      existunt felicissimam esse auroque ditissimam, (Leo Diacon. apud
+      Pagium, tom. iv. p. 34.) This splendid description suits only
+      with Bagdad, and cannot possibly apply either to Hamadan, the
+      true Ecbatana, (D’Anville, Geog. Ancienne, tom. ii. p. 237,) or
+      Tauris, which has been commonly mistaken for that city. The name
+      of Ecbatana, in the same indefinite sense, is transferred by a
+      more classic authority (Cicero pro Lego Manilia, c. 4) to the
+      royal seat of Mithridates, king of Pontus.]
+
+      118 (return) [ See the Annals of Elmacin, Abulpharagius, and
+      Abulfeda, from A. H. 351 to A. H. 361; and the reigns of
+      Nicephorus Phocas and John Zimisces, in the Chronicles of Zonaras
+      (tom. ii. l. xvi. p. 199—l. xvii. 215) and Cedrenus, (Compend. p.
+      649-684.) Their manifold defects are partly supplied by the Ms.
+      history of Leo the deacon, which Pagi obtained from the
+      Benedictines, and has inserted almost entire, in a Latin version,
+      (Critica, tom. iii. p. 873, tom. iv. 37.) * Note: The whole
+      original work of Leo the Deacon has been published by Hase, and
+      is inserted in the new edition of the Byzantine historians. M
+      Lassen has added to the Arabian authorities of this period some
+      extracts from Kemaleddin’s account of the treaty for the
+      surrender of Aleppo.—M.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LIII: Fate Of The Eastern Empire.—Part I.
+
+     Fate Of The Eastern Empire In The Tenth Century.—Extent And
+     Division.—Wealth And Revenue.—Palace Of Constantinople.— Titles
+     And Offices.—Pride And Power Of The Emperors.— Tactics Of The
+     Greeks, Arabs, And Franks.—Loss Of The Latin Tongue.—Studies And
+     Solitude Of The Greeks.
+
+      A ray of historic light seems to beam from the darkness of the
+      tenth century. We open with curiosity and respect the royal
+      volumes of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, 1 which he composed at a
+      mature age for the instruction of his son, and which promise to
+      unfold the state of the eastern empire, both in peace and war,
+      both at home and abroad. In the first of these works he minutely
+      describes the pompous ceremonies of the church and palace of
+      Constantinople, according to his own practice, and that of his
+      predecessors. 2 In the second, he attempts an accurate survey of
+      the provinces, the themes, as they were then denominated, both of
+      Europe and Asia. 3 The system of Roman tactics, the discipline
+      and order of the troops, and the military operations by land and
+      sea, are explained in the third of these didactic collections,
+      which may be ascribed to Constantine or his father Leo. 4 In the
+      fourth, of the administration of the empire, he reveals the
+      secrets of the Byzantine policy, in friendly or hostile
+      intercourse with the nations of the earth. The literary labors of
+      the age, the practical systems of law, agriculture, and history,
+      might redound to the benefit of the subject and the honor of the
+      Macedonian princes. The sixty books of the Basilics, 5 the code
+      and pandects of civil jurisprudence, were gradually framed in the
+      three first reigns of that prosperous dynasty. The art of
+      agriculture had amused the leisure, and exercised the pens, of
+      the best and wisest of the ancients; and their chosen precepts
+      are comprised in the twenty books of the Geoponics 6 of
+      Constantine. At his command, the historical examples of vice and
+      virtue were methodized in fifty-three books, 7 and every citizen
+      might apply, to his contemporaries or himself, the lesson or the
+      warning of past times. From the august character of a legislator,
+      the sovereign of the East descends to the more humble office of a
+      teacher and a scribe; and if his successors and subjects were
+      regardless of his paternal cares, we may inherit and enjoy the
+      everlasting legacy.
+
+      1 (return) [ The epithet of Porphyrogenitus, born in the purple,
+      is elegantly defined by Claudian:— Ardua privatos nescit fortuna
+      Penates; Et regnum cum luce dedit. Cognata potestas Excepit Tyrio
+      venerabile pignus in ostro.
+
+      And Ducange, in his Greek and Latin Glossaries, produces many
+      passages expressive of the same idea.]
+
+      2 (return) [ A splendid Ms. of Constantine, de Caeremoniis Aulae
+      et Ecclesiae Byzantinae, wandered from Constantinople to Buda,
+      Frankfort, and Leipsic, where it was published in a splendid
+      edition by Leich and Reiske, (A.D. 1751, in folio,) with such
+      lavish praise as editors never fail to bestow on the worthy or
+      worthless object of their toil.]
+
+      3 (return) [ See, in the first volume of Banduri’s Imperium
+      Orientale, Constantinus de Thematibus, p. 1-24, de Administrando
+      Imperio, p. 45-127, edit. Venet. The text of the old edition of
+      Meursius is corrected from a Ms. of the royal library of Paris,
+      which Isaac Casaubon had formerly seen, (Epist. ad Polybium, p.
+      10,) and the sense is illustrated by two maps of William
+      Deslisle, the prince of geographers till the appearance of the
+      greater D’Anville.]
+
+      4 (return) [ The Tactics of Leo and Constantine are published
+      with the aid of some new Mss. in the great edition of the works
+      of Meursius, by the learned John Lami, (tom. vi. p. 531-920,
+      1211-1417, Florent. 1745,) yet the text is still corrupt and
+      mutilated, the version is still obscure and faulty. The Imperial
+      library of Vienna would afford some valuable materials to a new
+      editor, (Fabric. Bibliot. Graec. tom. vi. p. 369, 370.)]
+
+      5 (return) [ On the subject of the Basilics, Fabricius, (Bibliot.
+      Graec. tom. xii. p. 425-514,) and Heineccius, (Hist. Juris
+      Romani, p. 396-399,) and Giannone, (Istoria Civile di Napoli,
+      tom. i. p. 450-458,) as historical civilians, may be usefully
+      consulted: xli. books of this Greek code have been published,
+      with a Latin version, by Charles Annibal Frabrottus, (Paris,
+      1647,) in seven tomes in folio; iv. other books have been since
+      discovered, and are inserted in Gerard Meerman’s Novus Thesaurus
+      Juris Civ. et Canon. tom. v. Of the whole work, the sixty books,
+      John Leunclavius has printed, (Basil, 1575,) an eclogue or
+      synopsis. The cxiii. novels, or new laws, of Leo, may be found in
+      the Corpus Juris Civilis.]
+
+      6 (return) [ I have used the last and best edition of the
+      Geoponics, (by Nicolas Niclas, Leipsic, 1781, 2 vols. in octavo.)
+      I read in the preface, that the same emperor restored the
+      long-forgotten systems of rhetoric and philosophy; and his two
+      books of Hippiatrica, or Horse-physic, were published at Paris,
+      1530, in folio, (Fabric. Bibliot. Graec. tom. vi. p. 493-500.)]
+
+      7 (return) [ Of these LIII. books, or titles, only two have been
+      preserved and printed, de Legationibus (by Fulvius Ursinus,
+      Antwerp, 1582, and Daniel Hoeschelius, August. Vindel. 1603) and
+      de Virtutibus et Vitiis, (by Henry Valesius, or de Valois, Paris,
+      1634.)]
+
+      A closer survey will indeed reduce the value of the gift, and the
+      gratitude of posterity: in the possession of these Imperial
+      treasures we may still deplore our poverty and ignorance; and the
+      fading glories of their authors will be obliterated by
+      indifference or contempt. The Basilics will sink to a broken
+      copy, a partial and mutilated version, in the Greek language, of
+      the laws of Justinian; but the sense of the old civilians is
+      often superseded by the influence of bigotry: and the absolute
+      prohibition of divorce, concubinage, and interest for money,
+      enslaves the freedom of trade and the happiness of private life.
+      In the historical book, a subject of Constantine might admire the
+      inimitable virtues of Greece and Rome: he might learn to what a
+      pitch of energy and elevation the human character had formerly
+      aspired. But a contrary effect must have been produced by a new
+      edition of the lives of the saints, which the great logothete, or
+      chancellor of the empire, was directed to prepare; and the dark
+      fund of superstition was enriched by the fabulous and florid
+      legends of Simon the Metaphrast. 8 The merits and miracles of the
+      whole calendar are of less account in the eyes of a sage, than
+      the toil of a single husbandman, who multiplies the gifts of the
+      Creator, and supplies the food of his brethren. Yet the royal
+      authors of the Geoponics were more seriously employed in
+      expounding the precepts of the destroying art, which had been
+      taught since the days of Xenophon, 9 as the art of heroes and
+      kings. But the Tactics of Leo and Constantine are mingled with
+      the baser alloy of the age in which they lived. It was destitute
+      of original genius; they implicitly transcribe the rules and
+      maxims which had been confirmed by victories. It was unskilled in
+      the propriety of style and method; they blindly confound the most
+      distant and discordant institutions, the phalanx of Sparta and
+      that of Macedon, the legions of Cato and Trajan, of Augustus and
+      Theodosius. Even the use, or at least the importance, of these
+      military rudiments may be fairly questioned: their general theory
+      is dictated by reason; but the merit, as well as difficulty,
+      consists in the application. The discipline of a soldier is
+      formed by exercise rather than by study: the talents of a
+      commander are appropriated to those calm, though rapid, minds,
+      which nature produces to decide the fate of armies and nations:
+      the former is the habit of a life, the latter the glance of a
+      moment; and the battles won by lessons of tactics may be numbered
+      with the epic poems created from the rules of criticism. The book
+      of ceremonies is a recital, tedious yet imperfect, of the
+      despicable pageantry which had infected the church and state
+      since the gradual decay of the purity of the one and the power of
+      the other. A review of the themes or provinces might promise such
+      authentic and useful information, as the curiosity of government
+      only can obtain, instead of traditionary fables on the origin of
+      the cities, and malicious epigrams on the vices of their
+      inhabitants. 10 Such information the historian would have been
+      pleased to record; nor should his silence be condemned if the
+      most interesting objects, the population of the capital and
+      provinces, the amount of the taxes and revenues, the numbers of
+      subjects and strangers who served under the Imperial standard,
+      have been unnoticed by Leo the philosopher, and his son
+      Constantine. His treatise of the public administration is stained
+      with the same blemishes; yet it is discriminated by peculiar
+      merit; the antiquities of the nations may be doubtful or
+      fabulous; but the geography and manners of the Barbaric world are
+      delineated with curious accuracy. Of these nations, the Franks
+      alone were qualified to observe in their turn, and to describe,
+      the metropolis of the East. The ambassador of the great Otho, a
+      bishop of Cremona, has painted the state of Constantinople about
+      the middle of the tenth century: his style is glowing, his
+      narrative lively, his observation keen; and even the prejudices
+      and passions of Liutprand are stamped with an original character
+      of freedom and genius. 11 From this scanty fund of foreign and
+      domestic materials, I shall investigate the form and substance of
+      the Byzantine empire; the provinces and wealth, the civil
+      government and military force, the character and literature, of
+      the Greeks in a period of six hundred years, from the reign of
+      Heraclius to his successful invasion of the Franks or Latins.
+
+      8 (return) [ The life and writings of Simon Metaphrastes are
+      described by Hankius, (de Scriptoribus Byzant. p. 418-460.) This
+      biographer of the saints indulged himself in a loose paraphrase
+      of the sense or nonsense of more ancient acts. His Greek rhetoric
+      is again paraphrased in the Latin version of Surius, and scarcely
+      a thread can be now visible of the original texture.]
+
+      9 (return) [ According to the first book of the Cyropaedia,
+      professors of tactics, a small part of the science of war, were
+      already instituted in Persia, by which Greece must be understood.
+      A good edition of all the Scriptores Tactici would be a task not
+      unworthy of a scholar. His industry might discover some new Mss.,
+      and his learning might illustrate the military history of the
+      ancients. But this scholar should be likewise a soldier; and
+      alas! Quintus Icilius is no more. * Note: M. Guichardt, author of
+      Memoires Militaires sur les Grecs et sur les Romains. See
+      Gibbon’s Extraits Raisonnees de mes Lectures, Misc. Works vol. v.
+      p. 219.—M]
+
+      10 (return) [ After observing that the demerit of the
+      Cappadocians rose in proportion to their rank and riches, he
+      inserts a more pointed epigram, which is ascribed to Demodocus.
+      The sting is precisely the same with the French epigram against
+      Freron: Un serpent mordit Jean Freron—Eh bien? Le serpent en
+      mourut. But as the Paris wits are seldom read in the Anthology, I
+      should be curious to learn, through what channel it was conveyed
+      for their imitation, (Constantin. Porphyrogen. de Themat. c. ii.
+      Brunck Analect. Graec. tom. ii. p. 56. Brodaei Anthologia, l. ii.
+      p. 244.)]
+
+      11 (return) [ The Legatio Liutprandi Episcopi Cremonensis ad
+      Nicephorum Phocam is inserted in Muratori, Scriptores Rerum
+      Italicarum, tom. ii. pars i.]
+
+      After the final division between the sons of Theodosius, the
+      swarms of Barbarians from Scythia and Germany over-spread the
+      provinces and extinguished the empire of ancient Rome. The
+      weakness of Constantinople was concealed by extent of dominion:
+      her limits were inviolate, or at least entire; and the kingdom of
+      Justinian was enlarged by the splendid acquisition of Africa and
+      Italy. But the possession of these new conquests was transient
+      and precarious; and almost a moiety of the Eastern empire was
+      torn away by the arms of the Saracens. Syria and Egypt were
+      oppressed by the Arabian caliphs; and, after the reduction of
+      Africa, their lieutenants invaded and subdued the Roman province
+      which had been changed into the Gothic monarchy of Spain. The
+      islands of the Mediterranean were not inaccessible to their naval
+      powers; and it was from their extreme stations, the harbors of
+      Crete and the fortresses of Cilicia, that the faithful or rebel
+      emirs insulted the majesty of the throne and capital. The
+      remaining provinces, under the obedience of the emperors, were
+      cast into a new mould; and the jurisdiction of the presidents,
+      the consulars, and the counts were superseded by the institution
+      of the themes, 12 or military governments, which prevailed under
+      the successors of Heraclius, and are described by the pen of the
+      royal author. Of the twenty-nine themes, twelve in Europe and
+      seventeen in Asia, the origin is obscure, the etymology doubtful
+      or capricious: the limits were arbitrary and fluctuating; but
+      some particular names, that sound the most strangely to our ear,
+      were derived from the character and attributes of the troops that
+      were maintained at the expense, and for the guard, of the
+      respective divisions. The vanity of the Greek princes most
+      eagerly grasped the shadow of conquest and the memory of lost
+      dominion. A new Mesopotamia was created on the western side of
+      the Euphrates: the appellation and praetor of Sicily were
+      transferred to a narrow slip of Calabria; and a fragment of the
+      duchy of Beneventum was promoted to the style and title of the
+      theme of Lombardy. In the decline of the Arabian empire, the
+      successors of Constantine might indulge their pride in more solid
+      advantages. The victories of Nicephorus, John Zimisces, and Basil
+      the Second, revived the fame, and enlarged the boundaries, of the
+      Roman name: the province of Cilicia, the metropolis of Antioch,
+      the islands of Crete and Cyprus, were restored to the allegiance
+      of Christ and Caesar: one third of Italy was annexed to the
+      throne of Constantinople: the kingdom of Bulgaria was destroyed;
+      and the last sovereigns of the Macedonian dynasty extended their
+      sway from the sources of the Tigris to the neighborhood of Rome.
+      In the eleventh century, the prospect was again clouded by new
+      enemies and new misfortunes: the relics of Italy were swept away
+      by the Norman adventures; and almost all the Asiatic branches
+      were dissevered from the Roman trunk by the Turkish conquerors.
+      After these losses, the emperors of the Comnenian family
+      continued to reign from the Danube to Peloponnesus, and from
+      Belgrade to Nice, Trebizond, and the winding stream of the
+      Meander. The spacious provinces of Thrace, Macedonia, and Greece,
+      were obedient to their sceptre; the possession of Cyprus, Rhodes,
+      and Crete, was accompanied by the fifty islands of the Aegean or
+      Holy Sea; 13 and the remnant of their empire transcends the
+      measure of the largest of the European kingdoms.
+
+      12 (return) [ See Constantine de Thematibus, in Banduri, tom. i.
+      p. 1-30. It is used by Maurice (Strata gem. l. ii. c. 2) for a
+      legion, from whence the name was easily transferred to its post
+      or province, (Ducange, Gloss. Graec. tom. i. p. 487-488.) Some
+      etymologies are attempted for the Opiscian, Optimatian,
+      Thracesian, themes.]
+
+      13 (return) [ It is styled by the modern Greeks, from which the
+      corrupt names of Archipelago, l’Archipel, and the Arches, have
+      been transformed by geographers and seamen, (D’Anville,
+      Geographie Ancienne, tom. i. p. 281. Analyse de la Carte de la
+      Greece, p. 60.) The numbers of monks or caloyers in all the
+      islands and the adjacent mountain of Athos, (Observations de
+      Belon, fol. 32, verso,) monte santo, might justify the epithet of
+      holy, a slight alteration from the original, imposed by the
+      Dorians, who, in their dialect, gave the figurative name of
+      goats, to the bounding waves, (Vossius, apud Cellarium, Geograph.
+      Antiq. tom. i. p. 829.)]
+
+      The same princes might assert, with dignity and truth, that of
+      all the monarchs of Christendom they possessed the greatest city,
+      14 the most ample revenue, the most flourishing and populous
+      state. With the decline and fall of the empire, the cities of the
+      West had decayed and fallen; nor could the ruins of Rome, or the
+      mud walls, wooden hovels, and narrow precincts of Paris and
+      London, prepare the Latin stranger to contemplate the situation
+      and extent of Constantinople, her stately palaces and churches,
+      and the arts and luxury of an innumerable people. Her treasures
+      might attract, but her virgin strength had repelled, and still
+      promised to repel, the audacious invasion of the Persian and
+      Bulgarian, the Arab and the Russian. The provinces were less
+      fortunate and impregnable; and few districts, few cities, could
+      be discovered which had not been violated by some fierce
+      Barbarian, impatient to despoil, because he was hopeless to
+      possess. From the age of Justinian the Eastern empire was sinking
+      below its former level; the powers of destruction were more
+      active than those of improvement; and the calamities of war were
+      imbittered by the more permanent evils of civil and
+      ecclesiastical tyranny. The captive who had escaped from the
+      Barbarians was often stripped and imprisoned by the ministers of
+      his sovereign: the Greek superstition relaxed the mind by prayer,
+      and emaciated the body by fasting; and the multitude of convents
+      and festivals diverted many hands and many days from the temporal
+      service of mankind. Yet the subjects of the Byzantine empire were
+      still the most dexterous and diligent of nations; their country
+      was blessed by nature with every advantage of soil, climate, and
+      situation; and, in the support and restoration of the arts, their
+      patient and peaceful temper was more useful than the warlike
+      spirit and feudal anarchy of Europe. The provinces that still
+      adhered to the empire were repeopled and enriched by the
+      misfortunes of those which were irrecoverably lost. From the yoke
+      of the caliphs, the Catholics of Syria, Egypt, and Africa retired
+      to the allegiance of their prince, to the society of their
+      brethren: the movable wealth, which eludes the search of
+      oppression, accompanied and alleviated their exile, and
+      Constantinople received into her bosom the fugitive trade of
+      Alexandria and Tyre. The chiefs of Armenia and Scythia, who fled
+      from hostile or religious persecution, were hospitably
+      entertained: their followers were encouraged to build new cities
+      and to cultivate waste lands; and many spots, both in Europe and
+      Asia, preserved the name, the manners, or at least the memory, of
+      these national colonies. Even the tribes of Barbarians, who had
+      seated themselves in arms on the territory of the empire, were
+      gradually reclaimed to the laws of the church and state; and as
+      long as they were separated from the Greeks, their posterity
+      supplied a race of faithful and obedient soldiers. Did we possess
+      sufficient materials to survey the twenty-nine themes of the
+      Byzantine monarchy, our curiosity might be satisfied with a
+      chosen example: it is fortunate enough that the clearest light
+      should be thrown on the most interesting province, and the name
+      of Peloponnesus will awaken the attention of the classic reader.
+
+      14 (return) [ According to the Jewish traveller who had visited
+      Europe and Asia, Constantinople was equalled only by Bagdad, the
+      great city of the Ismaelites, (Voyage de Benjamin de Tudele, par
+      Baratier, tom. l. c. v. p. 46.)]
+
+      As early as the eighth century, in the troubled reign of the
+      Iconoclasts, Greece, and even Peloponnesus, 15 were overrun by
+      some Sclavonian bands who outstripped the royal standard of
+      Bulgaria. The strangers of old, Cadmus, and Danaus, and Pelops,
+      had planted in that fruitful soil the seeds of policy and
+      learning; but the savages of the north eradicated what yet
+      remained of their sickly and withered roots. In this irruption,
+      the country and the inhabitants were transformed; the Grecian
+      blood was contaminated; and the proudest nobles of Peloponnesus
+      were branded with the names of foreigners and slaves. By the
+      diligence of succeeding princes, the land was in some measure
+      purified from the Barbarians; and the humble remnant was bound by
+      an oath of obedience, tribute, and military service, which they
+      often renewed and often violated. The siege of Patras was formed
+      by a singular concurrence of the Sclavonians of Peloponnesus and
+      the Saracens of Africa. In their last distress, a pious fiction
+      of the approach of the praetor of Corinth revived the courage of
+      the citizens. Their sally was bold and successful; the strangers
+      embarked, the rebels submitted, and the glory of the day was
+      ascribed to a phantom or a stranger, who fought in the foremost
+      ranks under the character of St. Andrew the Apostle. The shrine
+      which contained his relics was decorated with the trophies of
+      victory, and the captive race was forever devoted to the service
+      and vassalage of the metropolitan church of Patras. By the revolt
+      of two Sclavonian tribes, in the neighborhood of Helos and
+      Lacedaemon, the peace of the peninsula was often disturbed. They
+      sometimes insulted the weakness, and sometimes resisted the
+      oppression, of the Byzantine government, till at length the
+      approach of their hostile brethren extorted a golden bull to
+      define the rites and obligations of the Ezzerites and Milengi,
+      whose annual tribute was defined at twelve hundred pieces of
+      gold. From these strangers the Imperial geographer has accurately
+      distinguished a domestic, and perhaps original, race, who, in
+      some degree, might derive their blood from the much-injured
+      Helots. The liberality of the Romans, and especially of Augustus,
+      had enfranchised the maritime cities from the dominion of Sparta;
+      and the continuance of the same benefit ennobled them with the
+      title of Eleuthero, or Free-Laconians. 16 In the time of
+      Constantine Porphyrogenitus, they had acquired the name of
+      Mainotes, under which they dishonor the claim of liberty by the
+      inhuman pillage of all that is shipwrecked on their rocky shores.
+      Their territory, barren of corn, but fruitful of olives, extended
+      to the Cape of Malea: they accepted a chief or prince from the
+      Byzantine praetor, and a light tribute of four hundred pieces of
+      gold was the badge of their immunity, rather than of their
+      dependence. The freemen of Laconia assumed the character of
+      Romans, and long adhered to the religion of the Greeks. By the
+      zeal of the emperor Basil, they were baptized in the faith of
+      Christ: but the altars of Venus and Neptune had been crowned by
+      these rustic votaries five hundred years after they were
+      proscribed in the Roman world. In the theme of Peloponnesus, 17
+      forty cities were still numbered, and the declining state of
+      Sparta, Argos, and Corinth, may be suspended in the tenth
+      century, at an equal distance, perhaps, between their antique
+      splendor and their present desolation. The duty of military
+      service, either in person or by substitute, was imposed on the
+      lands or benefices of the province; a sum of five pieces of gold
+      was assessed on each of the substantial tenants; and the same
+      capitation was shared among several heads of inferior value. On
+      the proclamation of an Italian war, the Peloponnesians excused
+      themselves by a voluntary oblation of one hundred pounds of gold,
+      (four thousand pounds sterling,) and a thousand horses with their
+      arms and trappings. The churches and monasteries furnished their
+      contingent; a sacrilegious profit was extorted from the sale of
+      ecclesiastical honors; and the indigent bishop of Leucadia 18 was
+      made responsible for a pension of one hundred pieces of gold. 19
+
+      15 (return) [ Says Constantine, (Thematibus, l. ii. c. vi. p.
+      25,) in a style as barbarous as the idea, which he confirms, as
+      usual, by a foolish epigram. The epitomizer of Strabo likewise
+      observes, (l. vii. p. 98, edit. Hudson. edit. Casaub. 1251;) a
+      passage which leads Dodwell a weary dance (Geograph, Minor. tom.
+      ii. dissert. vi. p. 170-191) to enumerate the inroads of the
+      Sclavi, and to fix the date (A.D. 980) of this petty geographer.]
+
+      16 (return) [ Strabon. Geograph. l. viii. p. 562. Pausanius,
+      Graec. Descriptio, l. c 21, p. 264, 265. Pliny, Hist. Natur. l.
+      iv. c. 8.]
+
+      17 (return) [ Constantin. de Administrando Imperio, l. ii. c. 50,
+      51, 52.]
+
+      18 (return) [ The rock of Leucate was the southern promontory of
+      his island and diocese. Had he been the exclusive guardian of the
+      Lover’s Leap so well known to the readers of Ovid (Epist. Sappho)
+      and the Spectator, he might have been the richest prelate of the
+      Greek church.]
+
+      19 (return) [ Leucatensis mihi juravit episcopus, quotannis
+      ecclesiam suam debere Nicephoro aureos centum persolvere,
+      similiter et ceteras plus minusve secundum vires suos, (Liutprand
+      in Legat. p. 489.)]
+
+      But the wealth of the province, and the trust of the revenue,
+      were founded on the fair and plentiful produce of trade and
+      manufacturers; and some symptoms of liberal policy may be traced
+      in a law which exempts from all personal taxes the mariners of
+      Peloponnesus, and the workmen in parchment and purple. This
+      denomination may be fairly applied or extended to the
+      manufacturers of linen, woollen, and more especially of silk: the
+      two former of which had flourished in Greece since the days of
+      Homer; and the last was introduced perhaps as early as the reign
+      of Justinian. These arts, which were exercised at Corinth,
+      Thebes, and Argos, afforded food and occupation to a numerous
+      people: the men, women, and children were distributed according
+      to their age and strength; and, if many of these were domestic
+      slaves, their masters, who directed the work and enjoyed the
+      profit, were of a free and honorable condition. The gifts which a
+      rich and generous matron of Peloponnesus presented to the emperor
+      Basil, her adopted son, were doubtless fabricated in the Grecian
+      looms. Danielis bestowed a carpet of fine wool, of a pattern
+      which imitated the spots of a peacock’s tail, of a magnitude to
+      overspread the floor of a new church, erected in the triple name
+      of Christ, of Michael the archangel, and of the prophet Elijah.
+      She gave six hundred pieces of silk and linen, of various use and
+      denomination: the silk was painted with the Tyrian dye, and
+      adorned by the labors of the needle; and the linen was so
+      exquisitely fine, that an entire piece might be rolled in the
+      hollow of a cane. 20 In his description of the Greek
+      manufactures, an historian of Sicily discriminates their price,
+      according to the weight and quality of the silk, the closeness of
+      the texture, the beauty of the colors, and the taste and
+      materials of the embroidery. A single, or even a double or treble
+      thread was thought sufficient for ordinary sale; but the union of
+      six threads composed a piece of stronger and more costly
+      workmanship. Among the colors, he celebrates, with affectation of
+      eloquence, the fiery blaze of the scarlet, and the softer lustre
+      of the green. The embroidery was raised either in silk or gold:
+      the more simple ornament of stripes or circles was surpassed by
+      the nicer imitation of flowers: the vestments that were
+      fabricated for the palace or the altar often glittered with
+      precious stones; and the figures were delineated in strings of
+      Oriental pearls. 21 Till the twelfth century, Greece alone, of
+      all the countries of Christendom, was possessed of the insect who
+      is taught by nature, and of the workmen who are instructed by
+      art, to prepare this elegant luxury. But the secret had been
+      stolen by the dexterity and diligence of the Arabs: the caliphs
+      of the East and West scorned to borrow from the unbelievers their
+      furniture and apparel; and two cities of Spain, Almeria and
+      Lisbon, were famous for the manufacture, the use, and, perhaps,
+      the exportation, of silk. It was first introduced into Sicily by
+      the Normans; and this emigration of trade distinguishes the
+      victory of Roger from the uniform and fruitless hostilities of
+      every age. After the sack of Corinth, Athens, and Thebes, his
+      lieutenant embarked with a captive train of weavers and
+      artificers of both sexes, a trophy glorious to their master, and
+      disgraceful to the Greek emperor. 22 The king of Sicily was not
+      insensible of the value of the present; and, in the restitution
+      of the prisoners, he excepted only the male and female
+      manufacturers of Thebes and Corinth, who labor, says the
+      Byzantine historian, under a barbarous lord, like the old
+      Eretrians in the service of Darius. 23 A stately edifice, in the
+      palace of Palermo, was erected for the use of this industrious
+      colony; 24 and the art was propagated by their children and
+      disciples to satisfy the increasing demand of the western world.
+      The decay of the looms of Sicily may be ascribed to the troubles
+      of the island, and the competition of the Italian cities. In the
+      year thirteen hundred and fourteen, Lucca alone, among her sister
+      republics, enjoyed the lucrative monopoly. 25 A domestic
+      revolution dispersed the manufacturers to Florence, Bologna,
+      Venice, Milan, and even the countries beyond the Alps; and
+      thirteen years after this event the statutes of Modena enjoin the
+      planting of mulberry-trees, and regulate the duties on raw silk.
+      26 The northern climates are less propitious to the education of
+      the silkworm; but the industry of France and England 27 is
+      supplied and enriched by the productions of Italy and China.
+
+      20 (return) [ See Constantine, (in Vit. Basil. c. 74, 75, 76, p.
+      195, 197, in Script. post Theophanem,) who allows himself to use
+      many technical or barbarous words: barbarous, says he. Ducange
+      labors on some: but he was not a weaver.]
+
+      21 (return) [ The manufactures of Palermo, as they are described
+      by Hugo Falcandus, (Hist. Sicula in proem. in Muratori Script.
+      Rerum Italicarum, tom. v. p. 256,) is a copy of those of Greece.
+      Without transcribing his declamatory sentences, which I have
+      softened in the text, I shall observe, that in this passage the
+      strange word exarentasmata is very properly changed for
+      exanthemata by Carisius, the first editor Falcandus lived about
+      the year 1190.]
+
+      22 (return) [ Inde ad interiora Graeciae progressi, Corinthum,
+      Thebas, Athenas, antiqua nobilitate celebres, expugnant; et,
+      maxima ibidem praeda direpta, opifices etiam, qui sericos pannos
+      texere solent, ob ignominiam Imperatoris illius, suique principis
+      gloriam, captivos deducunt. Quos Rogerius, in Palermo Siciliae,
+      metropoli collocans, artem texendi suos edocere praecepit; et
+      exhinc praedicta ars illa, prius a Graecis tantum inter
+      Christianos habita, Romanis patere coepit ingeniis, (Otho
+      Frisingen. de Gestis Frederici I. l. i. c. 33, in Muratori
+      Script. Ital. tom. vi. p. 668.) This exception allows the bishop
+      to celebrate Lisbon and Almeria in sericorum pannorum opificio
+      praenobilissimae, (in Chron. apud Muratori, Annali d’Italia, tom.
+      ix. p. 415.)]
+
+      23 (return) [ Nicetas in Manuel, l. ii. c. 8. p. 65. He describes
+      these Greeks as skilled.]
+
+      24 (return) [ Hugo Falcandus styles them nobiles officinas. The
+      Arabs had not introduced silk, though they had planted canes and
+      made sugar in the plain of Palermo.]
+
+      25 (return) [ See the Life of Castruccio Casticani, not by
+      Machiavel, but by his more authentic biographer Nicholas Tegrimi.
+      Muratori, who has inserted it in the xith volume of his
+      Scriptores, quotes this curious passage in his Italian
+      Antiquities, (tom. i. dissert. xxv. p. 378.)]
+
+      26 (return) [ From the Ms. statutes, as they are quoted by
+      Muratori in his Italian Antiquities, (tom. ii. dissert. xxv. p.
+      46-48.)]
+
+      27 (return) [ The broad silk manufacture was established in
+      England in the year 1620, (Anderson’s Chronological Deduction,
+      vol. ii. p. 4: ) but it is to the revocation of the edict of
+      Nantes that we owe the Spitalfields colony.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LIII: Fate Of The Eastern Empire.—Part II.
+
+      I must repeat the complaint that the vague and scanty memorials
+      of the times will not afford any just estimate of the taxes, the
+      revenue, and the resources of the Greek empire. From every
+      province of Europe and Asia the rivulets of gold and silver
+      discharged into the Imperial reservoir a copious and perennial
+      stream. The separation of the branches from the trunk increased
+      the relative magnitude of Constantinople; and the maxims of
+      despotism contracted the state to the capital, the capital to the
+      palace, and the palace to the royal person. A Jewish traveller,
+      who visited the East in the twelfth century, is lost in his
+      admiration of the Byzantine riches. “It is here,” says Benjamin
+      of Tudela, “in the queen of cities, that the tributes of the
+      Greek empire are annually deposited and the lofty towers are
+      filled with precious magazines of silk, purple, and gold. It is
+      said, that Constantinople pays each day to her sovereign twenty
+      thousand pieces of gold; which are levied on the shops, taverns,
+      and markets, on the merchants of Persia and Egypt, of Russia and
+      Hungary, of Italy and Spain, who frequent the capital by sea and
+      land.” 28 In all pecuniary matters, the authority of a Jew is
+      doubtless respectable; but as the three hundred and sixty-five
+      days would produce a yearly income exceeding seven millions
+      sterling, I am tempted to retrench at least the numerous
+      festivals of the Greek calendar. The mass of treasure that was
+      saved by Theodora and Basil the Second will suggest a splendid,
+      though indefinite, idea of their supplies and resources. The
+      mother of Michael, before she retired to a cloister, attempted to
+      check or expose the prodigality of her ungrateful son, by a free
+      and faithful account of the wealth which he inherited; one
+      hundred and nine thousand pounds of gold, and three hundred
+      thousand of silver, the fruits of her own economy and that of her
+      deceased husband. 29 The avarice of Basil is not less renowned
+      than his valor and fortune: his victorious armies were paid and
+      rewarded without breaking into the mass of two hundred thousand
+      pounds of gold, (about eight millions sterling,) which he had
+      buried in the subterraneous vaults of the palace. 30 Such
+      accumulation of treasure is rejected by the theory and practice
+      of modern policy; and we are more apt to compute the national
+      riches by the use and abuse of the public credit. Yet the maxims
+      of antiquity are still embraced by a monarch formidable to his
+      enemies; by a republic respectable to her allies; and both have
+      attained their respective ends of military power and domestic
+      tranquillity.
+
+      28 (return) [ Voyage de Benjamin de Tudele, tom. i. c. 5, p.
+      44-52. The Hebrew text has been translated into French by that
+      marvellous child Baratier, who has added a volume of crude
+      learning. The errors and fictions of the Jewish rabbi are not a
+      sufficient ground to deny the reality of his travels. * Note: I
+      am inclined, with Buegnot (Les Juifs d’Occident, part iii. p. 101
+      et seqq.) and Jost (Geschichte der Israeliter, vol. vi. anhang.
+      p. 376) to consider this work a mere compilation, and to doubt
+      the reality of the travels.—M.]
+
+      29 (return) [ See the continuator of Theophanes, (l. iv. p. 107,)
+      Cedremis, (p. 544,) and Zonaras, (tom. ii. l. xvi. p. 157.)]
+
+      30 (return) [ Zonaras, (tom. ii. l. xvii. p. 225,) instead of
+      pounds, uses the more classic appellation of talents, which, in a
+      literal sense and strict computation, would multiply sixty fold
+      the treasure of Basil.]
+
+      Whatever might be consumed for the present wants, or reserved for
+      the future use, of the state, the first and most sacred demand
+      was for the pomp and pleasure of the emperor, and his discretion
+      only could define the measure of his private expense. The princes
+      of Constantinople were far removed from the simplicity of nature;
+      yet, with the revolving seasons, they were led by taste or
+      fashion to withdraw to a purer air, from the smoke and tumult of
+      the capital. They enjoyed, or affected to enjoy, the rustic
+      festival of the vintage: their leisure was amused by the exercise
+      of the chase and the calmer occupation of fishing, and in the
+      summer heats, they were shaded from the sun, and refreshed by the
+      cooling breezes from the sea. The coasts and islands of Asia and
+      Europe were covered with their magnificent villas; but, instead
+      of the modest art which secretly strives to hide itself and to
+      decorate the scenery of nature, the marble structure of their
+      gardens served only to expose the riches of the lord, and the
+      labors of the architect. The successive casualties of inheritance
+      and forfeiture had rendered the sovereign proprietor of many
+      stately houses in the city and suburbs, of which twelve were
+      appropriated to the ministers of state; but the great palace, 31
+      the centre of the Imperial residence, was fixed during eleven
+      centuries to the same position, between the hippodrome, the
+      cathedral of St. Sophia, and the gardens, which descended by many
+      a terrace to the shores of the Propontis. The primitive edifice
+      of the first Constantine was a copy, or rival, of ancient Rome;
+      the gradual improvements of his successors aspired to emulate the
+      wonders of the old world, 32 and in the tenth century, the
+      Byzantine palace excited the admiration, at least of the Latins,
+      by an unquestionable preeminence of strength, size, and
+      magnificence. 33 But the toil and treasure of so many ages had
+      produced a vast and irregular pile: each separate building was
+      marked with the character of the times and of the founder; and
+      the want of space might excuse the reigning monarch, who
+      demolished, perhaps with secret satisfaction, the works of his
+      predecessors. The economy of the emperor Theophilus allowed a
+      more free and ample scope for his domestic luxury and splendor. A
+      favorite ambassador, who had astonished the Abbassides themselves
+      by his pride and liberality, presented on his return the model of
+      a palace, which the caliph of Bagdad had recently constructed on
+      the banks of the Tigris. The model was instantly copied and
+      surpassed: the new buildings of Theophilus 34 were accompanied
+      with gardens, and with five churches, one of which was
+      conspicuous for size and beauty: it was crowned with three domes,
+      the roof of gilt brass reposed on columns of Italian marble, and
+      the walls were incrusted with marbles of various colors. In the
+      face of the church, a semicircular portico, of the figure and
+      name of the Greek sigma, was supported by fifteen columns of
+      Phrygian marble, and the subterraneous vaults were of a similar
+      construction. The square before the sigma was decorated with a
+      fountain, and the margin of the basin was lined and encompassed
+      with plates of silver. In the beginning of each season, the
+      basin, instead of water, was replenished with the most exquisite
+      fruits, which were abandoned to the populace for the
+      entertainment of the prince. He enjoyed this tumultuous spectacle
+      from a throne resplendent with gold and gems, which was raised by
+      a marble staircase to the height of a lofty terrace. Below the
+      throne were seated the officers of his guards, the magistrates,
+      the chiefs of the factions of the circus; the inferior steps were
+      occupied by the people, and the place below was covered with
+      troops of dancers, singers, and pantomimes. The square was
+      surrounded by the hall of justice, the arsenal, and the various
+      offices of business and pleasure; and the purple chamber was
+      named from the annual distribution of robes of scarlet and purple
+      by the hand of the empress herself. The long series of the
+      apartments was adapted to the seasons, and decorated with marble
+      and porphyry, with painting, sculpture, and mosaics, with a
+      profusion of gold, silver, and precious stones. His fanciful
+      magnificence employed the skill and patience of such artists as
+      the times could afford: but the taste of Athens would have
+      despised their frivolous and costly labors; a golden tree, with
+      its leaves and branches, which sheltered a multitude of birds
+      warbling their artificial notes, and two lions of massy gold, and
+      of natural size, who looked and roared like their brethren of the
+      forest. The successors of Theophilus, of the Basilian and
+      Comnenian dynasties, were not less ambitious of leaving some
+      memorial of their residence; and the portion of the palace most
+      splendid and august was dignified with the title of the golden
+      triclinium. 35 With becoming modesty, the rich and noble Greeks
+      aspired to imitate their sovereign, and when they passed through
+      the streets on horseback, in their robes of silk and embroidery,
+      they were mistaken by the children for kings. 36 A matron of
+      Peloponnesus, 37 who had cherished the infant fortunes of Basil
+      the Macedonian, was excited by tenderness or vanity to visit the
+      greatness of her adopted son. In a journey of five hundred miles
+      from Patras to Constantinople, her age or indolence declined the
+      fatigue of a horse or carriage: the soft litter or bed of
+      Danielis was transported on the shoulders of ten robust slaves;
+      and as they were relieved at easy distances, a band of three
+      hundred were selected for the performance of this service. She
+      was entertained in the Byzantine palace with filial reverence,
+      and the honors of a queen; and whatever might be the origin of
+      her wealth, her gifts were not unworthy of the regal dignity. I
+      have already described the fine and curious manufactures of
+      Peloponnesus, of linen, silk, and woollen; but the most
+      acceptable of her presents consisted in three hundred beautiful
+      youths, of whom one hundred were eunuchs; 38 “for she was not
+      ignorant,” says the historian, “that the air of the palace is
+      more congenial to such insects, than a shepherd’s dairy to the
+      flies of the summer.” During her lifetime, she bestowed the
+      greater part of her estates in Peloponnesus, and her testament
+      instituted Leo, the son of Basil, her universal heir. After the
+      payment of the legacies, fourscore villas or farms were added to
+      the Imperial domain; and three thousand slaves of Danielis were
+      enfranchised by their new lord, and transplanted as a colony to
+      the Italian coast. From this example of a private matron, we may
+      estimate the wealth and magnificence of the emperors. Yet our
+      enjoyments are confined by a narrow circle; and, whatsoever may
+      be its value, the luxury of life is possessed with more innocence
+      and safety by the master of his own, than by the steward of the
+      public, fortune.
+
+      31 (return) [ For a copious and minute description of the
+      Imperial palace, see the Constantinop. Christiana (l. ii. c. 4,
+      p. 113-123) of Ducange, the Tillemont of the middle ages. Never
+      has laborious Germany produced two antiquarians more laborious
+      and accurate than these two natives of lively France.]
+
+      32 (return) [ The Byzantine palace surpasses the Capitol, the
+      palace of Pergamus, the Rufinian wood, the temple of Adrian at
+      Cyzicus, the pyramids, the Pharus, &c., according to an epigram
+      (Antholog. Graec. l. iv. p. 488, 489. Brodaei, apud Wechel)
+      ascribed to Julian, ex-praefect of Egypt. Seventy-one of his
+      epigrams, some lively, are collected in Brunck, (Analect. Graec.
+      tom. ii. p. 493-510; but this is wanting.]
+
+      33 (return) [ Constantinopolitanum Palatium non pulchritudine
+      solum, verum stiam fortitudine, omnibus quas unquam videram
+      munitionibus praestat, (Liutprand, Hist. l. v. c. 9, p. 465.)]
+
+      34 (return) [ See the anonymous continuator of Theophanes, (p.
+      59, 61, 86,) whom I have followed in the neat and concise
+      abstract of Le Beau, (Hint. du Bas Empire, tom. xiv. p. 436,
+      438.)]
+
+      35 (return) [ In aureo triclinio quae praestantior est pars
+      potentissimus (the usurper Romanus) degens caeteras partes
+      (filiis) distribuerat, (Liutprand. Hist. l. v. c. 9, p. 469.) For
+      this last signification of Triclinium see Ducange (Gloss. Graec.
+      et Observations sur Joinville, p. 240) and Reiske, (ad
+      Constantinum de Ceremoniis, p. 7.)]
+
+      36 (return) [ In equis vecti (says Benjamin of Tudela) regum
+      filiis videntur persimiles. I prefer the Latin version of
+      Constantine l’Empereur (p. 46) to the French of Baratier, (tom.
+      i. p. 49.)]
+
+      37 (return) [ See the account of her journey, munificence, and
+      testament, in the life of Basil, by his grandson Constantine, (p.
+      74, 75, 76, p. 195-197.)]
+
+      38 (return) [ Carsamatium. Graeci vocant, amputatis virilibus et
+      virga, puerum eunuchum quos Verdunenses mercatores obinmensum
+      lucrum facere solent et in Hispaniam ducere, (Liutprand, l. vi.
+      c. 3, p. 470.)—The last abomination of the abominable
+      slave-trade! Yet I am surprised to find, in the xth century, such
+      active speculations of commerce in Lorraine.]
+
+      In an absolute government, which levels the distinctions of noble
+      and plebeian birth, the sovereign is the sole fountain of honor;
+      and the rank, both in the palace and the empire, depends on the
+      titles and offices which are bestowed and resumed by his
+      arbitrary will. Above a thousand years, from Vespasian to Alexius
+      Comnenus, 39 the Caesar was the second person, or at least the
+      second degree, after the supreme title of Augustus was more
+      freely communicated to the sons and brothers of the reigning
+      monarch. To elude without violating his promise to a powerful
+      associate, the husband of his sister, and, without giving himself
+      an equal, to reward the piety of his brother Isaac, the crafty
+      Alexius interposed a new and supereminent dignity. The happy
+      flexibility of the Greek tongue allowed him to compound the names
+      of Augustus and Emperor (Sebastos and Autocrator,) and the union
+      produces the sonorous title of Sebastocrator. He was exalted
+      above the Caesar on the first step of the throne: the public
+      acclamations repeated his name; and he was only distinguished
+      from the sovereign by some peculiar ornaments of the head and
+      feet. The emperor alone could assume the purple or red buskins,
+      and the close diadem or tiara, which imitated the fashion of the
+      Persian kings. 40 It was a high pyramidal cap of cloth or silk,
+      almost concealed by a profusion of pearls and jewels: the crown
+      was formed by a horizontal circle and two arches of gold: at the
+      summit, the point of their intersection, was placed a globe or
+      cross, and two strings or lappets of pearl depended on either
+      cheek. Instead of red, the buskins of the Sebastocrator and
+      Caesar were green; and on their open coronets or crowns, the
+      precious gems were more sparingly distributed. Beside and below
+      the Caesar the fancy of Alexius created the Panhypersebastos and
+      the Protosebastos, whose sound and signification will satisfy a
+      Grecian ear. They imply a superiority and a priority above the
+      simple name of Augustus; and this sacred and primitive title of
+      the Roman prince was degraded to the kinsmen and servants of the
+      Byzantine court. The daughter of Alexius applauds, with fond
+      complacency, this artful gradation of hopes and honors; but the
+      science of words is accessible to the meanest capacity; and this
+      vain dictionary was easily enriched by the pride of his
+      successors. To their favorite sons or brothers, they imparted the
+      more lofty appellation of Lord or Despot, which was illustrated
+      with new ornaments, and prerogatives, and placed immediately
+      after the person of the emperor himself. The five titles of, 1.
+      Despot; 2. Sebastocrator; 3. Caesar; 4. Panhypersebastos; and, 5.
+      Protosebastos; were usually confined to the princes of his blood:
+      they were the emanations of his majesty; but as they exercised no
+      regular functions, their existence was useless, and their
+      authority precarious.
+
+      39 (return) [ See the Alexiad (l. iii. p. 78, 79) of Anna
+      Comnena, who, except in filial piety, may be compared to
+      Mademoiselle de Montpensier. In her awful reverence for titles
+      and forms, she styles her father, the inventor of this royal
+      art.]
+
+      40 (return) [ See Reiske, and Ceremoniale, p. 14, 15. Ducange has
+      given a learned dissertation on the crowns of Constantinople,
+      Rome, France, &c., (sur Joinville, xxv. p. 289-303;) but of his
+      thirty-four models, none exactly tally with Anne’s description.]
+
+      But in every monarchy the substantial powers of government must
+      be divided and exercised by the ministers of the palace and
+      treasury, the fleet and army. The titles alone can differ; and in
+      the revolution of ages, the counts and praefects, the praetor and
+      quaestor, insensibly descended, while their servants rose above
+      their heads to the first honors of the state. 1. In a monarchy,
+      which refers every object to the person of the prince, the care
+      and ceremonies of the palace form the most respectable
+      department. The Curopalata, 41 so illustrious in the age of
+      Justinian, was supplanted by the Protovestiare, whose primitive
+      functions were limited to the custody of the wardrobe. From
+      thence his jurisdiction was extended over the numerous menials of
+      pomp and luxury; and he presided with his silver wand at the
+      public and private audience. 2. In the ancient system of
+      Constantine, the name of Logothete, or accountant, was applied to
+      the receivers of the finances: the principal officers were
+      distinguished as the Logothetes of the domain, of the posts, the
+      army, the private and public treasure; and the great Logothete,
+      the supreme guardian of the laws and revenues, is compared with
+      the chancellor of the Latin monarchies. 42 His discerning eye
+      pervaded the civil administration; and he was assisted, in due
+      subordination, by the eparch or praefect of the city, the first
+      secretary, and the keepers of the privy seal, the archives, and
+      the red or purple ink which was reserved for the sacred signature
+      of the emperor alone. 43 The introductor and interpreter of
+      foreign ambassadors were the great Chiauss 44 and the Dragoman,
+      45 two names of Turkish origin, and which are still familiar to
+      the Sublime Porte. 3. From the humble style and service of
+      guards, the Domestics insensibly rose to the station of generals;
+      the military themes of the East and West, the legions of Europe
+      and Asia, were often divided, till the great Domestic was finally
+      invested with the universal and absolute command of the land
+      forces. The Protostrator, in his original functions, was the
+      assistant of the emperor when he mounted on horseback: he
+      gradually became the lieutenant of the great Domestic in the
+      field; and his jurisdiction extended over the stables, the
+      cavalry, and the royal train of hunting and hawking. The
+      Stratopedarch was the great judge of the camp: the Protospathaire
+      commanded the guards; the Constable, 46 the great Aeteriarch, and
+      the Acolyth, were the separate chiefs of the Franks, the
+      Barbarians, and the Varangi, or English, the mercenary strangers,
+      who, at the decay of the national spirit, formed the nerve of the
+      Byzantine armies. 4. The naval powers were under the command of
+      the great Duke; in his absence they obeyed the great Drungaire of
+      the fleet; and, in his place, the Emir, or Admiral, a name of
+      Saracen extraction, 47 but which has been naturalized in all the
+      modern languages of Europe. Of these officers, and of many more
+      whom it would be useless to enumerate, the civil and military
+      hierarchy was framed. Their honors and emoluments, their dress
+      and titles, their mutual salutations and respective preeminence,
+      were balanced with more exquisite labor than would have fixed the
+      constitution of a free people; and the code was almost perfect
+      when this baseless fabric, the monument of pride and servitude,
+      was forever buried in the ruins of the empire. 48
+
+      41 (return) [ Par exstans curis, solo diademate dispar, Ordine
+      pro rerum vocitatus Cura-Palati, says the African Corippus, (de
+      Laudibus Justini, l. i. 136,) and in the same century (the vith)
+      Cassiodorus represents him, who, virga aurea decoratus, inter
+      numerosa obsequia primus ante pedes regis incederet (Variar. vii.
+      5.) But this great officer, (unknown,) exercising no function,
+      was cast down by the modern Greeks to the xvth rank, (Codin. c.
+      5, p. 65.)]
+
+      42 (return) [ Nicetas (in Manuel, l. vii. c. 1) defines him. Yet
+      the epithet was added by the elder Andronicus, (Ducange, tom. i.
+      p. 822, 823.)]
+
+      43 (return) [ From Leo I. (A.D. 470) the Imperial ink, which is
+      still visible on some original acts, was a mixture of vermilion
+      and cinnabar, or purple. The emperor’s guardians, who shared in
+      this prerogative, always marked in green ink the indiction and
+      the month. See the Dictionnaire Diplomatique, (tom. i. p.
+      511-513) a valuable abridgment.]
+
+      44 (return) [ The sultan sent to Alexius, (Anna Comnena, l. vi.
+      p. 170. Ducange ad loc.;) and Pachymer often speaks, (l. vii. c.
+      1, l. xii. c. 30, l. xiii. c. 22.) The Chiaoush basha is now at
+      the head of 700 officers, (Rycaut’s Ottoman Empire, p. 349,
+      octavo edition.)]
+
+      45 (return) [ Tagerman is the Arabic name of an interpreter,
+      (D’Herbelot, p. 854, 855;), says Codinus, (c. v. No. 70, p. 67.)
+      See Villehardouin, (No. 96,) Bus, (Epist. iv. p. 338,) and
+      Ducange, (Observations sur Villehardouin, and Gloss. Graec. et
+      Latin)]
+
+      46 (return) [ A corruption from the Latin Comes stabuli, or the
+      French Connetable. In a military sense, it was used by the Greeks
+      in the eleventh century, at least as early as in France.]
+
+      47 (return) [ It was directly borrowed from the Normans. In the
+      xiith century, Giannone reckons the admiral of Sicily among the
+      great officers.]
+
+      48 (return) [ This sketch of honors and offices is drawn from
+      George Cordinus Curopalata, who survived the taking of
+      Constantinople by the Turks: his elaborate, though trifling, work
+      (de Officiis Ecclesiae et Aulae C. P.) has been illustrated by
+      the notes of Goar, and the three books of Gretser, a learned
+      Jesuit.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LIII: Fate Of The Eastern Empire.—Part III.
+
+      The most lofty titles, and the most humble postures, which
+      devotion has applied to the Supreme Being, have been prostituted
+      by flattery and fear to creatures of the same nature with
+      ourselves. The mode of adoration, 49 of falling prostrate on the
+      ground, and kissing the feet of the emperor, was borrowed by
+      Diocletian from Persian servitude; but it was continued and
+      aggravated till the last age of the Greek monarchy. Excepting
+      only on Sundays, when it was waived, from a motive of religious
+      pride, this humiliating reverence was exacted from all who
+      entered the royal presence, from the princes invested with the
+      diadem and purple, and from the ambassadors who represented their
+      independent sovereigns, the caliphs of Asia, Egypt, or Spain, the
+      kings of France and Italy, and the Latin emperors of ancient
+      Rome. In his transactions of business, Liutprand, bishop of
+      Cremona, 50 asserted the free spirit of a Frank and the dignity
+      of his master Otho. Yet his sincerity cannot disguise the
+      abasement of his first audience. When he approached the throne,
+      the birds of the golden tree began to warble their notes, which
+      were accompanied by the roarings of the two lions of gold. With
+      his two companions Liutprand was compelled to bow and to fall
+      prostrate; and thrice to touch the ground with his forehead. He
+      arose, but in the short interval, the throne had been hoisted
+      from the floor to the ceiling, the Imperial figure appeared in
+      new and more gorgeous apparel, and the interview was concluded in
+      haughty and majestic silence. In this honest and curious
+      narrative, the Bishop of Cremona represents the ceremonies of the
+      Byzantine court, which are still practised in the Sublime Porte,
+      and which were preserved in the last age by the dukes of Muscovy
+      or Russia. After a long journey by sea and land, from Venice to
+      Constantinople, the ambassador halted at the golden gate, till he
+      was conducted by the formal officers to the hospitable palace
+      prepared for his reception; but this palace was a prison, and his
+      jealous keepers prohibited all social intercourse either with
+      strangers or natives. At his first audience, he offered the gifts
+      of his master, slaves, and golden vases, and costly armor. The
+      ostentatious payment of the officers and troops displayed before
+      his eyes the riches of the empire: he was entertained at a royal
+      banquet, 51 in which the ambassadors of the nations were
+      marshalled by the esteem or contempt of the Greeks: from his own
+      table, the emperor, as the most signal favor, sent the plates
+      which he had tasted; and his favorites were dismissed with a robe
+      of honor. 52 In the morning and evening of each day, his civil
+      and military servants attended their duty in the palace; their
+      labors were repaid by the sight, perhaps by the smile, of their
+      lord; his commands were signified by a nod or a sign: but all
+      earthly greatness stood silent and submissive in his presence. In
+      his regular or extraordinary processions through the capital, he
+      unveiled his person to the public view: the rites of policy were
+      connected with those of religion, and his visits to the principal
+      churches were regulated by the festivals of the Greek calendar.
+      On the eve of these processions, the gracious or devout intention
+      of the monarch was proclaimed by the heralds. The streets were
+      cleared and purified; the pavement was strewed with flowers; the
+      most precious furniture, the gold and silver plate, and silken
+      hangings, were displayed from the windows and balconies, and a
+      severe discipline restrained and silenced the tumult of the
+      populace. The march was opened by the military officers at the
+      head of their troops: they were followed in long order by the
+      magistrates and ministers of the civil government: the person of
+      the emperor was guarded by his eunuchs and domestics, and at the
+      church door he was solemnly received by the patriarch and his
+      clergy. The task of applause was not abandoned to the rude and
+      spontaneous voices of the crowd. The most convenient stations
+      were occupied by the bands of the blue and green factions of the
+      circus; and their furious conflicts, which had shaken the
+      capital, were insensibly sunk to an emulation of servitude. From
+      either side they echoed in responsive melody the praises of the
+      emperor; their poets and musicians directed the choir, and long
+      life 53 and victory were the burden of every song. The same
+      acclamations were performed at the audience, the banquet, and the
+      church; and as an evidence of boundless sway, they were repeated
+      in the Latin, 54 Gothic, Persian, French, and even English
+      language, 55 by the mercenaries who sustained the real or
+      fictitious character of those nations. By the pen of Constantine
+      Porphyrogenitus, this science of form and flattery has been
+      reduced into a pompous and trifling volume, 56 which the vanity
+      of succeeding times might enrich with an ample supplement. Yet
+      the calmer reflection of a prince would surely suggest that the
+      same acclamations were applied to every character and every
+      reign: and if he had risen from a private rank, he might
+      remember, that his own voice had been the loudest and most eager
+      in applause, at the very moment when he envied the fortune, or
+      conspired against the life, of his predecessor. 57
+
+      49 (return) [ The respectful salutation of carrying the hand to
+      the mouth, ad os, is the root of the Latin word adoro, adorare.
+      See our learned Selden, (vol. iii. p. 143-145, 942,) in his
+      Titles of Honor. It seems, from the 1st book of Herodotus, to be
+      of Persian origin.]
+
+      50 (return) [ The two embassies of Liutprand to Constantinople,
+      all that he saw or suffered in the Greek capital, are pleasantly
+      described by himself (Hist. l. vi. c. 1-4, p. 469-471. Legatio ad
+      Nicephorum Phocam, p. 479-489.)]
+
+      51 (return) [ Among the amusements of the feast, a boy balanced,
+      on his forehead, a pike, or pole, twenty-four feet long, with a
+      cross bar of two cubits a little below the top. Two boys, naked,
+      though cinctured, (campestrati,) together, and singly, climbed,
+      stood, played, descended, &c., ita me stupidum reddidit: utrum
+      mirabilius nescio, (p. 470.) At another repast a homily of
+      Chrysostom on the Acts of the Apostles was read elata voce non
+      Latine, (p. 483.)]
+
+      52 (return) [ Gala is not improbably derived from Cala, or
+      Caloat, in Arabic a robe of honor, (Reiske, Not. in Ceremon. p.
+      84.)]
+
+      53 (return) [ It is explained, (Codin, c. 7. Ducange, Gloss.
+      Graec. tom. i. p. 1199.)]
+
+      54 (return) [ (Ceremon. c. 75, p. 215.) The want of the Latin ‘V’
+      obliged the Greeks to employ their ‘beta’; nor do they regard
+      quantity. Till he recollected the true language, these strange
+      sentences might puzzle a professor.]
+
+      55 (return) [ (Codin.p. 90.) I wish he had preserved the words,
+      however corrupt, of their English acclamation.]
+
+      56 (return) [ For all these ceremonies, see the professed work of
+      Constantine Porphyrogenitus with the notes, or rather
+      dissertations, of his German editors, Leich and Reiske. For the
+      rank of standing courtiers, p. 80, not. 23, 62; for the
+      adoration, except on Sundays, p. 95, 240, not. 131; the
+      processions, p. 2, &c., not. p. 3, &c.; the acclamations passim
+      not. 25 &c.; the factions and Hippodrome, p. 177-214, not. 9, 93,
+      &c.; the Gothic games, p. 221, not. 111; vintage, p. 217, not
+      109: much more information is scattered over the work.]
+
+      57 (return) [ Et privato Othoni et nuper eadem dicenti nota
+      adulatio, (Tacit. Hist. 1,85.)]
+
+      The princes of the North, of the nations, says Constantine,
+      without faith or fame, were ambitious of mingling their blood
+      with the blood of the Caesars, by their marriage with a royal
+      virgin, or by the nuptials of their daughters with a Roman
+      prince. 58 The aged monarch, in his instructions to his son,
+      reveals the secret maxims of policy and pride; and suggests the
+      most decent reasons for refusing these insolent and unreasonable
+      demands. Every animal, says the discreet emperor, is prompted by
+      the distinction of language, religion, and manners. A just regard
+      to the purity of descent preserves the harmony of public and
+      private life; but the mixture of foreign blood is the fruitful
+      source of disorder and discord. Such had ever been the opinion
+      and practice of the sage Romans: their jurisprudence proscribed
+      the marriage of a citizen and a stranger: in the days of freedom
+      and virtue, a senator would have scorned to match his daughter
+      with a king: the glory of Mark Antony was sullied by an Egyptian
+      wife: 59 and the emperor Titus was compelled, by popular censure,
+      to dismiss with reluctance the reluctant Berenice. 60 This
+      perpetual interdict was ratified by the fabulous sanction of the
+      great Constantine. The ambassadors of the nations, more
+      especially of the unbelieving nations, were solemnly admonished,
+      that such strange alliances had been condemned by the founder of
+      the church and city. The irrevocable law was inscribed on the
+      altar of St. Sophia; and the impious prince who should stain the
+      majesty of the purple was excluded from the civil and
+      ecclesiastical communion of the Romans. If the ambassadors were
+      instructed by any false brethren in the Byzantine history, they
+      might produce three memorable examples of the violation of this
+      imaginary law: the marriage of Leo, or rather of his father
+      Constantine the Fourth, with the daughter of the king of the
+      Chozars, the nuptials of the granddaughter of Romanus with a
+      Bulgarian prince, and the union of Bertha of France or Italy with
+      young Romanus, the son of Constantine Porphyrogenitus himself. To
+      these objections three answers were prepared, which solved the
+      difficulty and established the law. I.
+
+      The deed and the guilt of Constantine Copronymus were
+      acknowledged. The Isaurian heretic, who sullied the baptismal
+      font, and declared war against the holy images, had indeed
+      embraced a Barbarian wife. By this impious alliance he
+      accomplished the measure of his crimes, and was devoted to the
+      just censure of the church and of posterity. II. Romanus could
+      not be alleged as a legitimate emperor; he was a plebeian
+      usurper, ignorant of the laws, and regardless of the honor, of
+      the monarchy. His son Christopher, the father of the bride, was
+      the third in rank in the college of princes, at once the subject
+      and the accomplice of a rebellious parent. The Bulgarians were
+      sincere and devout Christians; and the safety of the empire, with
+      the redemption of many thousand captives, depended on this
+      preposterous alliance. Yet no consideration could dispense from
+      the law of Constantine: the clergy, the senate, and the people,
+      disapproved the conduct of Romanus; and he was reproached, both
+      in his life and death, as the author of the public disgrace. III.
+      For the marriage of his own son with the daughter of Hugo, king
+      of Italy, a more honorable defence is contrived by the wise
+      Porphyrogenitus. Constantine, the great and holy, esteemed the
+      fidelity and valor of the Franks; 61 and his prophetic spirit
+      beheld the vision of their future greatness. They alone were
+      excepted from the general prohibition: Hugo, king of France, was
+      the lineal descendant of Charlemagne; 62 and his daughter Bertha
+      inherited the prerogatives of her family and nation. The voice of
+      truth and malice insensibly betrayed the fraud or error of the
+      Imperial court. The patrimonial estate of Hugo was reduced from
+      the monarchy of France to the simple county of Arles; though it
+      was not denied, that, in the confusion of the times, he had
+      usurped the sovereignty of Provence, and invaded the kingdom of
+      Italy. His father was a private noble; and if Bertha derived her
+      female descent from the Carlovingian line, every step was
+      polluted with illegitimacy or vice. The grandmother of Hugo was
+      the famous Valdrada, the concubine, rather than the wife, of the
+      second Lothair; whose adultery, divorce, and second nuptials, had
+      provoked against him the thunders of the Vatican. His mother, as
+      she was styled, the great Bertha, was successively the wife of
+      the count of Arles and of the marquis of Tuscany: France and
+      Italy were scandalized by her gallantries; and, till the age of
+      threescore, her lovers, of every degree, were the zealous
+      servants of her ambition. The example of maternal incontinence
+      was copied by the king of Italy; and the three favorite
+      concubines of Hugo were decorated with the classic names of
+      Venus, Juno, and Semele. 63 The daughter of Venus was granted to
+      the solicitations of the Byzantine court: her name of Bertha was
+      changed to that of Eudoxia; and she was wedded, or rather
+      betrothed, to young Romanus, the future heir of the empire of the
+      East. The consummation of this foreign alliance was suspended by
+      the tender age of the two parties; and, at the end of five years,
+      the union was dissolved by the death of the virgin spouse. The
+      second wife of the emperor Romanus was a maiden of plebeian, but
+      of Roman, birth; and their two daughters, Theophano and Anne,
+      were given in marriage to the princes of the earth. The eldest
+      was bestowed, as the pledge of peace, on the eldest son of the
+      great Otho, who had solicited this alliance with arms and
+      embassies. It might legally be questioned how far a Saxon was
+      entitled to the privilege of the French nation; but every scruple
+      was silenced by the fame and piety of a hero who had restored the
+      empire of the West. After the death of her father-in-law and
+      husband, Theophano governed Rome, Italy, and Germany, during the
+      minority of her son, the third Otho; and the Latins have praised
+      the virtues of an empress, who sacrificed to a superior duty the
+      remembrance of her country. 64 In the nuptials of her sister
+      Anne, every prejudice was lost, and every consideration of
+      dignity was superseded, by the stronger argument of necessity and
+      fear. A Pagan of the North, Wolodomir, great prince of Russia,
+      aspired to a daughter of the Roman purple; and his claim was
+      enforced by the threats of war, the promise of conversion, and
+      the offer of a powerful succor against a domestic rebel. A victim
+      of her religion and country, the Grecian princess was torn from
+      the palace of her fathers, and condemned to a savage reign, and a
+      hopeless exile on the banks of the Borysthenes, or in the
+      neighborhood of the Polar circle. 65 Yet the marriage of Anne was
+      fortunate and fruitful: the daughter of her grandson Joroslaus
+      was recommended by her Imperial descent; and the king of France,
+      Henry I., sought a wife on the last borders of Europe and
+      Christendom. 66
+
+      58 (return) [ The xiiith chapter, de Administratione Imperii, may
+      be explained and rectified by the Familiae Byzantinae of
+      Ducange.]
+
+      59 (return) [ Sequiturque nefas Aegyptia conjux, (Virgil, Aeneid,
+      viii. 688.) Yet this Egyptian wife was the daughter of a long
+      line of kings. Quid te mutavit (says Antony in a private letter
+      to Augustus) an quod reginam ineo? Uxor mea est, (Sueton. in
+      August. c. 69.) Yet I much question (for I cannot stay to
+      inquire) whether the triumvir ever dared to celebrate his
+      marriage either with Roman or Egyptian rites.]
+
+      60 (return) [ Berenicem invitus invitam dimisit, (Suetonius in
+      Tito, c. 7.) Have I observed elsewhere, that this Jewish beauty
+      was at this time above fifty years of age? The judicious Racine
+      has most discreetly suppressed both her age and her country.]
+
+      61 (return) [ Constantine was made to praise the the Franks, with
+      whom he claimed a private and public alliance. The French writers
+      (Isaac Casaubon in Dedicat. Polybii) are highly delighted with
+      these compliments.]
+
+      62 (return) [ Constantine Porphyrogenitus (de Administrat. Imp.
+      c. 36) exhibits a pedigree and life of the illustrious King Hugo.
+      A more correct idea may be formed from the Criticism of Pagi, the
+      Annals of Muratori, and the Abridgment of St. Marc, A.D.
+      925-946.]
+
+      63 (return) [ After the mention of the three goddesses, Luitprand
+      very naturally adds, et quoniam non rex solus iis abutebatur,
+      earum nati ex incertis patribus originera ducunt, (Hist. l. iv.
+      c. 6: ) for the marriage of the younger Bertha, see Hist. l. v.
+      c. 5; for the incontinence of the elder, dulcis exercipio
+      Hymenaei, l. ii. c. 15; for the virtues and vices of Hugo, l.
+      iii. c. 5. Yet it must not be forgot, that the bishop of Cremona
+      was a lover of scandal.]
+
+      64 (return) [ Licet illa Imperatrix Graeca sibi et aliis fuisset
+      satis utilis, et optima, &c., is the preamble of an inimical
+      writer, apud Pagi, tom. iv. A.D. 989, No. 3. Her marriage and
+      principal actions may be found in Muratori, Pagi, and St. Marc,
+      under the proper years.]
+
+      65 (return) [ Cedrenus, tom. ii. p. 699. Zonaras, tom. i. p. 221.
+      Elmacin, Hist. Saracenica, l. iii. c. 6. Nestor apud Levesque,
+      tom. ii. p. 112 Pagi, Critica, A.D. 987, No. 6: a singular
+      concourse! Wolodomir and Anne are ranked among the saints of the
+      Russian church. Yet we know his vices, and are ignorant of her
+      virtues.]
+
+      66 (return) [ Henricus primus duxit uxorem Scythicam, Russam,
+      filiam regis Jeroslai. An embassy of bishops was sent into
+      Russia, and the father gratanter filiam cum multis donis misit.
+      This event happened in the year 1051. See the passages of the
+      original chronicles in Bouquet’s Historians of France, (tom. xi.
+      p. 29, 159, 161, 319, 384, 481.) Voltaire might wonder at this
+      alliance; but he should not have owned his ignorance of the
+      country, religion, &c., of Jeroslaus—a name so conspicuous in the
+      Russian annals.]
+
+      In the Byzantine palace, the emperor was the first slave of the
+      ceremonies which he imposed, of the rigid forms which regulated
+      each word and gesture, besieged him in the palace, and violated
+      the leisure of his rural solitude. But the lives and fortunes of
+      millions hung on his arbitrary will; and the firmest minds,
+      superior to the allurements of pomp and luxury, may be seduced by
+      the more active pleasure of commanding their equals. The
+      legislative and executive powers were centred in the person of
+      the monarch, and the last remains of the authority of the senate
+      were finally eradicated by Leo the philosopher. 67 A lethargy of
+      servitude had benumbed the minds of the Greeks: in the wildest
+      tumults of rebellion they never aspired to the idea of a free
+      constitution; and the private character of the prince was the
+      only source and measure of their public happiness. Superstition
+      rivetted their chains; in the church of St. Sophia he was
+      solemnly crowned by the patriarch; at the foot of the altar, they
+      pledged their passive and unconditional obedience to his
+      government and family. On his side he engaged to abstain as much
+      as possible from the capital punishments of death and mutilation;
+      his orthodox creed was subscribed with his own hand, and he
+      promised to obey the decrees of the seven synods, and the canons
+      of the holy church. 68 But the assurance of mercy was loose and
+      indefinite: he swore, not to his people, but to an invisible
+      judge; and except in the inexpiable guilt of heresy, the
+      ministers of heaven were always prepared to preach the
+      indefeasible right, and to absolve the venial transgressions, of
+      their sovereign. The Greek ecclesiastics were themselves the
+      subjects of the civil magistrate: at the nod of a tyrant, the
+      bishops were created, or transferred, or deposed, or punished
+      with an ignominious death: whatever might be their wealth or
+      influence, they could never succeed like the Latin clergy in the
+      establishment of an independent republic; and the patriarch of
+      Constantinople condemned, what he secretly envied, the temporal
+      greatness of his Roman brother. Yet the exercise of boundless
+      despotism is happily checked by the laws of nature and necessity.
+      In proportion to his wisdom and virtue, the master of an empire
+      is confined to the path of his sacred and laborious duty. In
+      proportion to his vice and folly, he drops the sceptre too
+      weighty for his hands; and the motions of the royal image are
+      ruled by the imperceptible thread of some minister or favorite,
+      who undertakes for his private interest to exercise the task of
+      the public oppression. In some fatal moment, the most absolute
+      monarch may dread the reason or the caprice of a nation of
+      slaves; and experience has proved, that whatever is gained in the
+      extent, is lost in the safety and solidity, of regal power.
+
+      67 (return) [ A constitution of Leo the Philosopher (lxxviii.) ne
+      senatus consulta amplius fiant, speaks the language of naked
+      despotism.]
+
+      68 (return) [ Codinus (de Officiis, c. xvii. p. 120, 121) gives
+      an idea of this oath so strong to the church, so weak to the
+      people.]
+
+      Whatever titles a despot may assume, whatever claims he may
+      assert, it is on the sword that he must ultimately depend to
+      guard him against his foreign and domestic enemies. From the age
+      of Charlemagne to that of the Crusades, the world (for I overlook
+      the remote monarchy of China) was occupied and disputed by the
+      three great empires or nations of the Greeks, the Saracens, and
+      the Franks. Their military strength may be ascertained by a
+      comparison of their courage, their arts and riches, and their
+      obedience to a supreme head, who might call into action all the
+      energies of the state. The Greeks, far inferior to their rivals
+      in the first, were superior to the Franks, and at least equal to
+      the Saracens, in the second and third of these warlike
+      qualifications.
+
+      The wealth of the Greeks enabled them to purchase the service of
+      the poorer nations, and to maintain a naval power for the
+      protection of their coasts and the annoyance of their enemies. 69
+      A commerce of mutual benefit exchanged the gold of Constantinople
+      for the blood of Sclavonians and Turks, the Bulgarians and
+      Russians: their valor contributed to the victories of Nicephorus
+      and Zimisces; and if a hostile people pressed too closely on the
+      frontier, they were recalled to the defence of their country, and
+      the desire of peace, by the well-managed attack of a more distant
+      tribe. 70 The command of the Mediterranean, from the mouth of the
+      Tanais to the columns of Hercules, was always claimed, and often
+      possessed, by the successors of Constantine. Their capital was
+      filled with naval stores and dexterous artificers: the situation
+      of Greece and Asia, the long coasts, deep gulfs, and numerous
+      islands, accustomed their subjects to the exercise of navigation;
+      and the trade of Venice and Amalfi supplied a nursery of seamen
+      to the Imperial fleet. 71 Since the time of the Peloponnesian and
+      Punic wars, the sphere of action had not been enlarged; and the
+      science of naval architecture appears to have declined. The art
+      of constructing those stupendous machines which displayed three,
+      or six, or ten, ranges of oars, rising above, or falling behind,
+      each other, was unknown to the ship-builders of Constantinople,
+      as well as to the mechanicians of modern days. 72 The Dromones,
+      73 or light galleys of the Byzantine empire, were content with
+      two tier of oars; each tier was composed of five-and-twenty
+      benches; and two rowers were seated on each bench, who plied
+      their oars on either side of the vessel. To these we must add the
+      captain or centurion, who, in time of action, stood erect with
+      his armor-bearer on the poop, two steersmen at the helm, and two
+      officers at the prow, the one to manage the anchor, the other to
+      point and play against the enemy the tube of liquid fire. The
+      whole crew, as in the infancy of the art, performed the double
+      service of mariners and soldiers; they were provided with
+      defensive and offensive arms, with bows and arrows, which they
+      used from the upper deck, with long pikes, which they pushed
+      through the portholes of the lower tier. Sometimes, indeed, the
+      ships of war were of a larger and more solid construction; and
+      the labors of combat and navigation were more regularly divided
+      between seventy soldiers and two hundred and thirty mariners. But
+      for the most part they were of the light and manageable size; and
+      as the Cape of Malea in Peloponnesus was still clothed with its
+      ancient terrors, an Imperial fleet was transported five miles
+      over land across the Isthmus of Corinth. 74 The principles of
+      maritime tactics had not undergone any change since the time of
+      Thucydides: a squadron of galleys still advanced in a crescent,
+      charged to the front, and strove to impel their sharp beaks
+      against the feeble sides of their antagonists. A machine for
+      casting stones and darts was built of strong timbers, in the
+      midst of the deck; and the operation of boarding was effected by
+      a crane that hoisted baskets of armed men. The language of
+      signals, so clear and copious in the naval grammar of the
+      moderns, was imperfectly expressed by the various positions and
+      colors of a commanding flag. In the darkness of the night, the
+      same orders to chase, to attack, to halt, to retreat, to break,
+      to form, were conveyed by the lights of the leading galley. By
+      land, the fire-signals were repeated from one mountain to
+      another; a chain of eight stations commanded a space of five
+      hundred miles; and Constantinople in a few hours was apprised of
+      the hostile motions of the Saracens of Tarsus. 75 Some estimate
+      may be formed of the power of the Greek emperors, by the curious
+      and minute detail of the armament which was prepared for the
+      reduction of Crete. A fleet of one hundred and twelve galleys,
+      and seventy-five vessels of the Pamphylian style, was equipped in
+      the capital, the islands of the Aegean Sea, and the seaports of
+      Asia, Macedonia, and Greece. It carried thirty-four thousand
+      mariners, seven thousand three hundred and forty soldiers, seven
+      hundred Russians, and five thousand and eighty-seven Mardaites,
+      whose fathers had been transplanted from the mountains of
+      Libanus. Their pay, most probably of a month, was computed at
+      thirty-four centenaries of gold, about one hundred and thirty-six
+      thousand pounds sterling. Our fancy is bewildered by the endless
+      recapitulation of arms and engines, of clothes and linen, of
+      bread for the men and forage for the horses, and of stores and
+      utensils of every description, inadequate to the conquest of a
+      petty island, but amply sufficient for the establishment of a
+      flourishing colony. 76
+
+      69 (return) [ If we listen to the threats of Nicephorus to the
+      ambassador of Otho, Nec est in mari domino tuo classium numerus.
+      Navigantium fortitudo mihi soli inest, qui eum classibus
+      aggrediar, bello maritimas ejus civitates demoliar; et quae
+      fluminibus sunt vicina redigam in favillam. (Liutprand in Legat.
+      ad Nicephorum Phocam, in Muratori Scriptores Rerum Italicarum,
+      tom. ii. pars i. p. 481.) He observes in another place, qui
+      caeteris praestant Venetici sunt et Amalphitani.]
+
+      70 (return) [ Nec ipsa capiet eum (the emperor Otho) in qua ortus
+      est pauper et pellicea Saxonia: pecunia qua pollemus omnes
+      nationes super eum invitabimus: et quasi Keramicum confringemus,
+      (Liutprand in Legat. p. 487.) The two books, de Administrando
+      Imperio, perpetually inculcate the same policy.]
+
+      71 (return) [ The xixth chapter of the Tactics of Leo, (Meurs.
+      Opera, tom. vi. p. 825-848,) which is given more correct from a
+      manuscript of Gudius, by the laborious Fabricius, (Bibliot.
+      Graec. tom. vi. p. 372-379,) relates to the Naumachia, or naval
+      war.]
+
+      72 (return) [ Even of fifteen and sixteen rows of oars, in the
+      navy of Demetrius Poliorcetes. These were for real use: the forty
+      rows of Ptolemy Philadelphus were applied to a floating palace,
+      whose tonnage, according to Dr. Arbuthnot, (Tables of Ancient
+      Coins, &c., p. 231-236,) is compared as 4 1/2 to 1 with an
+      English 100 gun ship.]
+
+      73 (return) [ The Dromones of Leo, &c., are so clearly described
+      with two tier of oars, that I must censure the version of
+      Meursius and Fabricius, who pervert the sense by a blind
+      attachment to the classic appellation of Triremes. The Byzantine
+      historians are sometimes guilty of the same inaccuracy.]
+
+      74 (return) [ Constantin. Porphyrogen. in Vit. Basil. c. lxi. p.
+      185. He calmly praises the stratagem; but the sailing round
+      Peloponnesus is described by his terrified fancy as a
+      circumnavigation of a thousand miles.]
+
+      75 (return) [ The continuator of Theophanes (l. iv. p. 122, 123)
+      names the successive stations, the castle of Lulum near Tarsus,
+      Mount Argaeus Isamus, Aegilus, the hill of Mamas, Cyrisus,
+      Mocilus, the hill of Auxentius, the sun-dial of the Pharus of the
+      great palace. He affirms that the news were transmitted in an
+      indivisible moment of time. Miserable amplification, which, by
+      saying too much, says nothing. How much more forcible and
+      instructive would have been the definition of three, or six, or
+      twelve hours!]
+
+      76 (return) [ See the Ceremoniale of Constantine Porphyrogenitus,
+      l. ii. c. 44, p. 176-192. A critical reader will discern some
+      inconsistencies in different parts of this account; but they are
+      not more obscure or more stubborn than the establishment and
+      effectives, the present and fit for duty, the rank and file and
+      the private, of a modern return, which retain in proper hands the
+      knowledge of these profitable mysteries.]
+
+      The invention of the Greek fire did not, like that of gun powder,
+      produce a total revolution in the art of war. To these liquid
+      combustibles the city and empire of Constantine owed their
+      deliverance; and they were employed in sieges and sea-fights with
+      terrible effect. But they were either less improved, or less
+      susceptible of improvement: the engines of antiquity, the
+      catapultae, balistae, and battering-rams, were still of most
+      frequent and powerful use in the attack and defence of
+      fortifications; nor was the decision of battles reduced to the
+      quick and heavy fire of a line of infantry, whom it were
+      fruitless to protect with armor against a similar fire of their
+      enemies. Steel and iron were still the common instruments of
+      destruction and safety; and the helmets, cuirasses, and shields,
+      of the tenth century did not, either in form or substance,
+      essentially differ from those which had covered the companions of
+      Alexander or Achilles. 77 But instead of accustoming the modern
+      Greeks, like the legionaries of old, to the constant and easy use
+      of this salutary weight, their armor was laid aside in light
+      chariots, which followed the march, till, on the approach of an
+      enemy, they resumed with haste and reluctance the unusual
+      encumbrance. Their offensive weapons consisted of swords,
+      battle-axes, and spears; but the Macedonian pike was shortened a
+      fourth of its length, and reduced to the more convenient measure
+      of twelve cubits or feet. The sharpness of the Scythian and
+      Arabian arrows had been severely felt; and the emperors lament
+      the decay of archery as a cause of the public misfortunes, and
+      recommend, as an advice and a command, that the military youth,
+      till the age of forty, should assiduously practise the exercise
+      of the bow. 78 The bands, or regiments, were usually three
+      hundred strong; and, as a medium between the extremes of four and
+      sixteen, the foot soldiers of Leo and Constantine were formed
+      eight deep; but the cavalry charged in four ranks, from the
+      reasonable consideration, that the weight of the front could not
+      be increased by any pressure of the hindmost horses. If the ranks
+      of the infantry or cavalry were sometimes doubled, this cautious
+      array betrayed a secret distrust of the courage of the troops,
+      whose numbers might swell the appearance of the line, but of whom
+      only a chosen band would dare to encounter the spears and swords
+      of the Barbarians. The order of battle must have varied according
+      to the ground, the object, and the adversary; but their ordinary
+      disposition, in two lines and a reserve, presented a succession
+      of hopes and resources most agreeable to the temper as well as
+      the judgment of the Greeks. 79 In case of a repulse, the first
+      line fell back into the intervals of the second; and the reserve,
+      breaking into two divisions, wheeled round the flanks to improve
+      the victory or cover the retreat. Whatever authority could enact
+      was accomplished, at least in theory, by the camps and marches,
+      the exercises and evolutions, the edicts and books, of the
+      Byzantine monarch. 80 Whatever art could produce from the forge,
+      the loom, or the laboratory, was abundantly supplied by the
+      riches of the prince, and the industry of his numerous workmen.
+      But neither authority nor art could frame the most important
+      machine, the soldier himself; and if the ceremonies of
+      Constantine always suppose the safe and triumphal return of the
+      emperor, 81 his tactics seldom soar above the means of escaping a
+      defeat, and procrastinating the war. 82 Notwithstanding some
+      transient success, the Greeks were sunk in their own esteem and
+      that of their neighbors. A cold hand and a loquacious tongue was
+      the vulgar description of the nation: the author of the tactics
+      was besieged in his capital; and the last of the Barbarians, who
+      trembled at the name of the Saracens, or Franks, could proudly
+      exhibit the medals of gold and silver which they had extorted
+      from the feeble sovereign of Constantinople. What spirit their
+      government and character denied, might have been inspired in some
+      degree by the influence of religion; but the religion of the
+      Greeks could only teach them to suffer and to yield. The emperor
+      Nicephorus, who restored for a moment the discipline and glory of
+      the Roman name, was desirous of bestowing the honors of martyrdom
+      on the Christians who lost their lives in a holy war against the
+      infidels. But this political law was defeated by the opposition
+      of the patriarch, the bishops, and the principal senators; and
+      they strenuously urged the canons of St. Basil, that all who were
+      polluted by the bloody trade of a soldier should be separated,
+      during three years, from the communion of the faithful. 83
+
+      77 (return) [ See the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters, and, in
+      the Tactics of Leo, with the corresponding passages in those of
+      Constantine.]
+
+      78 (return) [ (Leo, Tactic. p. 581 Constantin. p 1216.) Yet such
+      were not the maxims of the Greeks and Romans, who despised the
+      loose and distant practice of archery.]
+
+      79 (return) [ Compare the passages of the Tactics, p. 669 and
+      721, and the xiith with the xviiith chapter.]
+
+      80 (return) [ In the preface to his Tactics, Leo very freely
+      deplores the loss of discipline and the calamities of the times,
+      and repeats, without scruple, (Proem. p. 537,) the reproaches,
+      nor does it appear that the same censures were less deserved in
+      the next generation by the disciples of Constantine.]
+
+      81 (return) [ See in the Ceremonial (l. ii. c. 19, p. 353) the
+      form of the emperor’s trampling on the necks of the captive
+      Saracens, while the singers chanted, “Thou hast made my enemies
+      my footstool!” and the people shouted forty times the kyrie
+      eleison.]
+
+      82 (return) [ Leo observes (Tactic. p. 668) that a fair open
+      battle against any nation whatsoever: the words are strong, and
+      the remark is true: yet if such had been the opinion of the old
+      Romans, Leo had never reigned on the shores of the Thracian
+      Bosphorus.]
+
+      83 (return) [ Zonaras (tom. ii. l. xvi. p. 202, 203) and
+      Cedrenus, (Compend p. 668,) who relate the design of Nicephorus,
+      most unfortunately apply the epithet to the opposition of the
+      patriarch.]
+
+      These scruples of the Greeks have been compared with the tears of
+      the primitive Moslems when they were held back from battle; and
+      this contrast of base superstition and high-spirited enthusiasm,
+      unfolds to a philosophic eye the history of the rival nations.
+      The subjects of the last caliphs 84 had undoubtedly degenerated
+      from the zeal and faith of the companions of the prophet. Yet
+      their martial creed still represented the Deity as the author of
+      war: 85 the vital though latent spark of fanaticism still glowed
+      in the heart of their religion, and among the Saracens, who dwelt
+      on the Christian borders, it was frequently rekindled to a lively
+      and active flame. Their regular force was formed of the valiant
+      slaves who had been educated to guard the person and accompany
+      the standard of their lord: but the Mussulman people of Syria and
+      Cilicia, of Africa and Spain, was awakened by the trumpet which
+      proclaimed a holy war against the infidels. The rich were
+      ambitious of death or victory in the cause of God; the poor were
+      allured by the hopes of plunder; and the old, the infirm, and the
+      women, assumed their share of meritorious service by sending
+      their substitutes, with arms and horses, into the field. These
+      offensive and defensive arms were similar in strength and temper
+      to those of the Romans, whom they far excelled in the management
+      of the horse and the bow: the massy silver of their belts, their
+      bridles, and their swords, displayed the magnificence of a
+      prosperous nation; and except some black archers of the South,
+      the Arabs disdained the naked bravery of their ancestors. Instead
+      of wagons, they were attended by a long train of camels, mules,
+      and asses: the multitude of these animals, whom they bedecked
+      with flags and streamers, appeared to swell the pomp and
+      magnitude of their host; and the horses of the enemy were often
+      disordered by the uncouth figure and odious smell of the camels
+      of the East. Invincible by their patience of thirst and heat,
+      their spirits were frozen by a winter’s cold, and the
+      consciousness of their propensity to sleep exacted the most
+      rigorous precautions against the surprises of the night. Their
+      order of battle was a long square of two deep and solid lines;
+      the first of archers, the second of cavalry. In their engagements
+      by sea and land, they sustained with patient firmness the fury of
+      the attack, and seldom advanced to the charge till they could
+      discern and oppress the lassitude of their foes. But if they were
+      repulsed and broken, they knew not how to rally or renew the
+      combat; and their dismay was heightened by the superstitious
+      prejudice, that God had declared himself on the side of their
+      enemies. The decline and fall of the caliphs countenanced this
+      fearful opinion; nor were there wanting, among the Mahometans and
+      Christians, some obscure prophecies 86 which prognosticated their
+      alternate defeats. The unity of the Arabian empire was dissolved,
+      but the independent fragments were equal to populous and powerful
+      kingdoms; and in their naval and military armaments, an emir of
+      Aleppo or Tunis might command no despicable fund of skill, and
+      industry, and treasure. In their transactions of peace and war
+      with the Saracens, the princes of Constantinople too often felt
+      that these Barbarians had nothing barbarous in their discipline;
+      and that if they were destitute of original genius, they had been
+      endowed with a quick spirit of curiosity and imitation. The model
+      was indeed more perfect than the copy; their ships, and engines,
+      and fortifications, were of a less skilful construction; and they
+      confess, without shame, that the same God who has given a tongue
+      to the Arabians, had more nicely fashioned the hands of the
+      Chinese, and the heads of the Greeks. 87
+
+      84 (return) [ The xviith chapter of the tactics of the different
+      nations is the most historical and useful of the whole collection
+      of Leo. The manners and arms of the Saracens (Tactic. p. 809-817,
+      and a fragment from the Medicean Ms. in the preface of the vith
+      volume of Meursius) the Roman emperor was too frequently called
+      upon to study.]
+
+      85 (return) [ Leon. Tactic. p. 809.]
+
+      86 (return) [ Liutprand (p. 484, 485) relates and interprets the
+      oracles of the Greeks and Saracens, in which, after the fashion
+      of prophecy, the past is clear and historical, the future is
+      dark, enigmatical, and erroneous. From this boundary of light and
+      shade an impartial critic may commonly determine the date of the
+      composition.]
+
+      87 (return) [ The sense of this distinction is expressed by
+      Abulpharagius (Dynast. p. 2, 62, 101;) but I cannot recollect the
+      passage in which it is conveyed by this lively apothegm.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LIII: Fate Of The Eastern Empire.—Part IV.
+
+      A name of some German tribes between the Rhine and the Weser had
+      spread its victorious influence over the greatest part of Gaul,
+      Germany, and Italy; and the common appellation of Franks 88 was
+      applied by the Greeks and Arabians to the Christians of the Latin
+      church, the nations of the West, who stretched beyond their
+      knowledge to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. The vast body had
+      been inspired and united by the soul of Charlemagne; but the
+      division and degeneracy of his race soon annihilated the Imperial
+      power, which would have rivalled the Caesars of Byzantium, and
+      revenged the indignities of the Christian name. The enemies no
+      longer feared, nor could the subjects any longer trust, the
+      application of a public revenue, the labors of trade and
+      manufactures in the military service, the mutual aid of provinces
+      and armies, and the naval squadrons which were regularly
+      stationed from the mouth of the Elbe to that of the Tyber. In the
+      beginning of the tenth century, the family of Charlemagne had
+      almost disappeared; his monarchy was broken into many hostile and
+      independent states; the regal title was assumed by the most
+      ambitious chiefs; their revolt was imitated in a long
+      subordination of anarchy and discord, and the nobles of every
+      province disobeyed their sovereign, oppressed their vassals, and
+      exercised perpetual hostilities against their equals and
+      neighbors. Their private wars, which overturned the fabric of
+      government, fomented the martial spirit of the nation. In the
+      system of modern Europe, the power of the sword is possessed, at
+      least in fact, by five or six mighty potentates; their operations
+      are conducted on a distant frontier, by an order of men who
+      devote their lives to the study and practice of the military art:
+      the rest of the country and community enjoys in the midst of war
+      the tranquillity of peace, and is only made sensible of the
+      change by the aggravation or decrease of the public taxes. In the
+      disorders of the tenth and eleventh centuries, every peasant was
+      a soldier, and every village a fortification; each wood or valley
+      was a scene of murder and rapine; and the lords of each castle
+      were compelled to assume the character of princes and warriors.
+      To their own courage and policy they boldly trusted for the
+      safety of their family, the protection of their lands, and the
+      revenge of their injuries; and, like the conquerors of a larger
+      size, they were too apt to transgress the privilege of defensive
+      war. The powers of the mind and body were hardened by the
+      presence of danger and necessity of resolution: the same spirit
+      refused to desert a friend and to forgive an enemy; and, instead
+      of sleeping under the guardian care of a magistrate, they proudly
+      disdained the authority of the laws. In the days of feudal
+      anarchy, the instruments of agriculture and art were converted
+      into the weapons of bloodshed: the peaceful occupations of civil
+      and ecclesiastical society were abolished or corrupted; and the
+      bishop who exchanged his mitre for a helmet, was more forcibly
+      urged by the manners of the times than by the obligation of his
+      tenure. 89
+
+      88 (return) [ Ex Francis, quo nomine tam Latinos quam Teutones
+      comprehendit, ludum habuit, (Liutprand in Legat ad Imp.
+      Nicephorum, p. 483, 484.) This extension of the name may be
+      confirmed from Constantine (de Administrando Imperio, l. 2, c.
+      27, 28) and Eutychius, (Annal. tom. i. p. 55, 56,) who both lived
+      before the Crusades. The testimonies of Abulpharagius (Dynast. p.
+      69) and Abulfeda (Praefat. ad Geograph.) are more recent]
+
+      89 (return) [ On this subject of ecclesiastical and beneficiary
+      discipline, Father Thomassin, (tom. iii. l. i. c. 40, 45, 46, 47)
+      may be usefully consulted. A general law of Charlemagne exempted
+      the bishops from personal service; but the opposite practice,
+      which prevailed from the ixth to the xvth century, is
+      countenanced by the example or silence of saints and doctors....
+      You justify your cowardice by the holy canons, says Ratherius of
+      Verona; the canons likewise forbid you to whore, and yet—]
+
+      The love of freedom and of arms was felt, with conscious pride,
+      by the Franks themselves, and is observed by the Greeks with some
+      degree of amazement and terror. “The Franks,” says the emperor
+      Constantine, “are bold and valiant to the verge of temerity; and
+      their dauntless spirit is supported by the contempt of danger and
+      death. In the field and in close onset, they press to the front,
+      and rush headlong against the enemy, without deigning to compute
+      either his numbers or their own. Their ranks are formed by the
+      firm connections of consanguinity and friendship; and their
+      martial deeds are prompted by the desire of saving or revenging
+      their dearest companions. In their eyes, a retreat is a shameful
+      flight; and flight is indelible infamy.” 90 A nation endowed with
+      such high and intrepid spirit, must have been secure of victory
+      if these advantages had not been counter-balanced by many weighty
+      defects. The decay of their naval power left the Greeks and
+      Saracens in possession of the sea, for every purpose of annoyance
+      and supply. In the age which preceded the institution of
+      knighthood, the Franks were rude and unskilful in the service of
+      cavalry; 91 and in all perilous emergencies, their warriors were
+      so conscious of their ignorance, that they chose to dismount from
+      their horses and fight on foot. Unpractised in the use of pikes,
+      or of missile weapons, they were encumbered by the length of
+      their swords, the weight of their armor, the magnitude of their
+      shields, and, if I may repeat the satire of the meagre Greeks, by
+      their unwieldy intemperance. Their independent spirit disdained
+      the yoke of subordination, and abandoned the standard of their
+      chief, if he attempted to keep the field beyond the term of their
+      stipulation or service. On all sides they were open to the snares
+      of an enemy less brave but more artful than themselves. They
+      might be bribed, for the Barbarians were venal; or surprised in
+      the night, for they neglected the precautions of a close
+      encampment or vigilant sentinels. The fatigues of a summer’s
+      campaign exhausted their strength and patience, and they sunk in
+      despair if their voracious appetite was disappointed of a
+      plentiful supply of wine and of food. This general character of
+      the Franks was marked with some national and local shades, which
+      I should ascribe to accident rather than to climate, but which
+      were visible both to natives and to foreigners. An ambassador of
+      the great Otho declared, in the palace of Constantinople, that
+      the Saxons could dispute with swords better than with pens, and
+      that they preferred inevitable death to the dishonor of turning
+      their backs to an enemy. 92 It was the glory of the nobles of
+      France, that, in their humble dwellings, war and rapine were the
+      only pleasure, the sole occupation, of their lives. They affected
+      to deride the palaces, the banquets, the polished manner of the
+      Italians, who in the estimate of the Greeks themselves had
+      degenerated from the liberty and valor of the ancient Lombards.
+      93
+
+      90 (return) [ In the xviiith chapter of his Tactics, the emperor
+      Leo has fairly stated the military vices and virtues of the
+      Franks (whom Meursius ridiculously translates by Galli) and the
+      Lombards or Langobards. See likewise the xxvith Dissertation of
+      Muratori de Antiquitatibus Italiae Medii Aevi.]
+
+      91 (return) [ Domini tui milites (says the proud Nicephorus)
+      equitandi ignari pedestris pugnae sunt inscii: scutorum
+      magnitudo, loricarum gravitudo, ensium longitudo galearumque
+      pondus neutra parte pugnare cossinit; ac subridens, impedit,
+      inquit, et eos gastrimargia, hoc est ventris ingluvies, &c.
+      Liutprand in Legat. p. 480 481]
+
+      92 (return) [ In Saxonia certe scio.... decentius ensibus pugnare
+      quam calanis, et prius mortem obire quam hostibus terga dare,
+      (Liutprand, p 482.)]
+
+      93 (return) [ Leonis Tactica, c. 18, p. 805. The emperor Leo died
+      A.D. 911: an historical poem, which ends in 916, and appears to
+      have been composed in 910, by a native of Venetia, discriminates
+      in these verses the manners of Italy and France:
+
+     —Quid inertia bello
+     Pectora (Ubertus ait) duris praetenditis armis,
+     O Itali?  Potius vobis sacra pocula cordi;
+     Saepius et stomachum nitidis laxare saginis
+     Elatasque domos rutilo fulcire metallo.
+     Non eadem Gallos similis vel cura remordet:
+     Vicinas quibus est studium devincere terras,
+     Depressumque larem spoliis hinc inde coactis
+     Sustentare—
+
+      (Anonym. Carmen Panegyricum de Laudibus Berengarii Augusti, l. n.
+      in Muratori Script. Rerum Italic. tom. ii. pars i. p. 393.)]
+
+      By the well-known edict of Caracalla, his subjects, from Britain
+      to Egypt, were entitled to the name and privileges of Romans, and
+      their national sovereign might fix his occasional or permanent
+      residence in any province of their common country. In the
+      division of the East and West, an ideal unity was scrupulously
+      observed, and in their titles, laws, and statutes, the successors
+      of Arcadius and Honorius announced themselves as the inseparable
+      colleagues of the same office, as the joint sovereigns of the
+      Roman world and city, which were bounded by the same limits.
+      After the fall of the Western monarchy, the majesty of the purple
+      resided solely in the princes of Constantinople; and of these,
+      Justinian was the first who, after a divorce of sixty years,
+      regained the dominion of ancient Rome, and asserted, by the right
+      of conquest, the august title of Emperor of the Romans. 94 A
+      motive of vanity or discontent solicited one of his successors,
+      Constans the Second, to abandon the Thracian Bosphorus, and to
+      restore the pristine honors of the Tyber: an extravagant project,
+      (exclaims the malicious Byzantine,) as if he had despoiled a
+      beautiful and blooming virgin, to enrich, or rather to expose,
+      the deformity of a wrinkled and decrepit matron. 95 But the sword
+      of the Lombards opposed his settlement in Italy: he entered Rome
+      not as a conqueror, but as a fugitive, and, after a visit of
+      twelve days, he pillaged, and forever deserted, the ancient
+      capital of the world. 96 The final revolt and separation of Italy
+      was accomplished about two centuries after the conquests of
+      Justinian, and from his reign we may date the gradual oblivion of
+      the Latin tongue. That legislator had composed his Institutes,
+      his Code, and his Pandects, in a language which he celebrates as
+      the proper and public style of the Roman government, the
+      consecrated idiom of the palace and senate of Constantinople, of
+      the campus and tribunals of the East. 97 But this foreign dialect
+      was unknown to the people and soldiers of the Asiatic provinces,
+      it was imperfectly understood by the greater part of the
+      interpreters of the laws and the ministers of the state. After a
+      short conflict, nature and habit prevailed over the obsolete
+      institutions of human power: for the general benefit of his
+      subjects, Justinian promulgated his novels in the two languages:
+      the several parts of his voluminous jurisprudence were
+      successively translated; 98 the original was forgotten, the
+      version was studied, and the Greek, whose intrinsic merit
+      deserved indeed the preference, obtained a legal, as well as
+      popular establishment in the Byzantine monarchy. The birth and
+      residence of succeeding princes estranged them from the Roman
+      idiom: Tiberius by the Arabs, 99 and Maurice by the Italians, 100
+      are distinguished as the first of the Greek Caesars, as the
+      founders of a new dynasty and empire: the silent revolution was
+      accomplished before the death of Heraclius; and the ruins of the
+      Latin speech were darkly preserved in the terms of jurisprudence
+      and the acclamations of the palace. After the restoration of the
+      Western empire by Charlemagne and the Othos, the names of Franks
+      and Latins acquired an equal signification and extent; and these
+      haughty Barbarians asserted, with some justice, their superior
+      claim to the language and dominion of Rome. They insulted the
+      alien of the East who had renounced the dress and idiom of
+      Romans; and their reasonable practice will justify the frequent
+      appellation of Greeks. 101 But this contemptuous appellation was
+      indignantly rejected by the prince and people to whom it was
+      applied. Whatsoever changes had been introduced by the lapse of
+      ages, they alleged a lineal and unbroken succession from Augustus
+      and Constantine; and, in the lowest period of degeneracy and
+      decay, the name of Romans adhered to the last fragments of the
+      empire of Constantinople. 102
+
+      94 (return) [ Justinian, says the historian Agathias, (l. v. p.
+      157,). Yet the specific title of Emperor of the Romans was not
+      used at Constantinople, till it had been claimed by the French
+      and German emperors of old Rome.]
+
+      95 (return) [ Constantine Manasses reprobates this design in his
+      barbarous verse, and it is confirmed by Theophanes, Zonaras,
+      Cedrenus, and the Historia Miscella: voluit in urbem Romam
+      Imperium transferre, (l. xix. p. 157 in tom. i. pars i. of the
+      Scriptores Rer. Ital. of Muratori.)]
+
+      96 (return) [ Paul. Diacon. l. v. c. 11, p. 480. Anastasius in
+      Vitis Pontificum, in Muratori’s Collection, tom. iii. pars i. p.
+      141.]
+
+      97 (return) [ Consult the preface of Ducange, (ad Gloss, Graec.
+      Medii Aevi) and the Novels of Justinian, (vii. lxvi.)]
+
+      98 (return) [ (Matth. Blastares, Hist. Juris, apud Fabric.
+      Bibliot. Graec. tom. xii. p. 369.) The Code and Pandects (the
+      latter by Thalelaeus) were translated in the time of Justinian,
+      (p. 358, 366.) Theophilus one of the original triumvirs, has left
+      an elegant, though diffuse, paraphrase of the Institutes. On the
+      other hand, Julian, antecessor of Constantinople, (A.D. 570,)
+      cxx. Novellas Graecas eleganti Latinitate donavit (Heineccius,
+      Hist. J. R. p. 396) for the use of Italy and Africa.]
+
+      99 (return) [ Abulpharagius assigns the viith Dynasty to the
+      Franks or Romans, the viiith to the Greeks, the ixth to the
+      Arabs. A tempore Augusti Caesaris donec imperaret Tiberius Caesar
+      spatio circiter annorum 600 fuerunt Imperatores C. P. Patricii,
+      et praecipua pars exercitus Romani: extra quod, conciliarii,
+      scribae et populus, omnes Graeci fuerunt: deinde regnum etiam
+      Graecanicum factum est, (p. 96, vers. Pocock.) The Christian and
+      ecclesiastical studies of Abulpharagius gave him some advantage
+      over the more ignorant Moslems.]
+
+      100 (return) [ Primus ex Graecorum genere in Imperio confirmatus
+      est; or according to another Ms. of Paulus Diaconus, (l. iii. c.
+      15, p. 443,) in Orasorum Imperio.]
+
+      101 (return) [ Quia linguam, mores, vestesque mutastis, putavit
+      Sanctissimus Papa. (an audacious irony,) ita vos (vobis)
+      displicere Romanorum nomen. His nuncios, rogabant Nicephorum
+      Imperatorem Graecorum, ut cum Othone Imperatore Romanorum
+      amicitiam faceret, (Liutprand in Legatione, p. 486.) * Note:
+      Sicut et vestem. These words follow in the text of Liutprand,
+      (apud Murat. Script. Ital. tom. ii. p. 486, to which Gibbon
+      refers.) But with some inaccuracy or confusion, which rarely
+      occurs in Gibbon’s references, the rest of the quotation, which
+      as it stands is unintelligible, does not appear—M.]
+
+      102 (return) [ By Laonicus Chalcocondyles, who survived the last
+      siege of Constantinople, the account is thus stated, (l. i. p.
+      3.) Constantine transplanted his Latins of Italy to a Greek city
+      of Thrace: they adopted the language and manners of the natives,
+      who were confounded with them under the name of Romans. The kings
+      of Constantinople, says the historian.]
+
+      While the government of the East was transacted in Latin, the
+      Greek was the language of literature and philosophy; nor could
+      the masters of this rich and perfect idiom be tempted to envy the
+      borrowed learning and imitative taste of their Roman disciples.
+      After the fall of Paganism, the loss of Syria and Egypt, and the
+      extinction of the schools of Alexandria and Athens, the studies
+      of the Greeks insensibly retired to some regular monasteries, and
+      above all, to the royal college of Constantinople, which was
+      burnt in the reign of Leo the Isaurian. 103 In the pompous style
+      of the age, the president of that foundation was named the Sun of
+      Science: his twelve associates, the professors in the different
+      arts and faculties, were the twelve signs of the zodiac; a
+      library of thirty-six thousand five hundred volumes was open to
+      their inquiries; and they could show an ancient manuscript of
+      Homer, on a roll of parchment one hundred and twenty feet in
+      length, the intestines, as it was fabled, of a prodigious
+      serpent. 104 But the seventh and eight centuries were a period of
+      discord and darkness: the library was burnt, the college was
+      abolished, the Iconoclasts are represented as the foes of
+      antiquity; and a savage ignorance and contempt of letters has
+      disgraced the princes of the Heraclean and Isaurian dynasties.
+      105
+
+      103 (return) [ See Ducange, (C. P. Christiana, l. ii. p. 150,
+      151,) who collects the testimonies, not of Theophanes, but at
+      least of Zonaras, (tom. ii. l. xv. p. 104,) Cedrenus, (p. 454,)
+      Michael Glycas, (p. 281,) Constantine Manasses, (p. 87.) After
+      refuting the absurd charge against the emperor, Spanheim, (Hist.
+      Imaginum, p. 99-111,) like a true advocate, proceeds to doubt or
+      deny the reality of the fire, and almost of the library.]
+
+      104 (return) [ According to Malchus, (apud Zonar. l. xiv. p. 53,)
+      this Homer was burnt in the time of Basiliscus. The Ms. might be
+      renewed—But on a serpent’s skin? Most strange and incredible!]
+
+      105 (return) [ The words of Zonaras, and of Cedrenus, are strong
+      words, perhaps not ill suited to those reigns.]
+
+      In the ninth century we trace the first dawnings of the
+      restoration of science. 106 After the fanaticism of the Arabs had
+      subsided, the caliphs aspired to conquer the arts, rather than
+      the provinces, of the empire: their liberal curiosity rekindled
+      the emulation of the Greeks, brushed away the dust from their
+      ancient libraries, and taught them to know and reward the
+      philosophers, whose labors had been hitherto repaid by the
+      pleasure of study and the pursuit of truth. The Caesar Bardas,
+      the uncle of Michael the Third, was the generous protector of
+      letters, a title which alone has preserved his memory and excused
+      his ambition. A particle of the treasures of his nephew was
+      sometimes diverted from the indulgence of vice and folly; a
+      school was opened in the palace of Magnaura; and the presence of
+      Bardas excited the emulation of the masters and students. At
+      their head was the philosopher Leo, archbishop of Thessalonica:
+      his profound skill in astronomy and the mathematics was admired
+      by the strangers of the East; and this occult science was
+      magnified by vulgar credulity, which modestly supposes that all
+      knowledge superior to its own must be the effect of inspiration
+      or magic. At the pressing entreaty of the Caesar, his friend, the
+      celebrated Photius, 107 renounced the freedom of a secular and
+      studious life, ascended the patriarchal throne, and was
+      alternately excommunicated and absolved by the synods of the East
+      and West. By the confession even of priestly hatred, no art or
+      science, except poetry, was foreign to this universal scholar,
+      who was deep in thought, indefatigable in reading, and eloquent
+      in diction. Whilst he exercised the office of protospathaire or
+      captain of the guards, Photius was sent ambassador to the caliph
+      of Bagdad. 108 The tedious hours of exile, perhaps of
+      confinement, were beguiled by the hasty composition of his
+      Library, a living monument of erudition and criticism. Two
+      hundred and fourscore writers, historians, orators, philosophers,
+      theologians, are reviewed without any regular method: he abridges
+      their narrative or doctrine, appreciates their style and
+      character, and judges even the fathers of the church with a
+      discreet freedom, which often breaks through the superstition of
+      the times. The emperor Basil, who lamented the defects of his own
+      education, intrusted to the care of Photius his son and
+      successor, Leo the philosopher; and the reign of that prince and
+      of his son Constantine Porphyrogenitus forms one of the most
+      prosperous aeras of the Byzantine literature. By their
+      munificence the treasures of antiquity were deposited in the
+      Imperial library; by their pens, or those of their associates,
+      they were imparted in such extracts and abridgments as might
+      amuse the curiosity, without oppressing the indolence, of the
+      public. Besides the Basilics, or code of laws, the arts of
+      husbandry and war, of feeding or destroying the human species,
+      were propagated with equal diligence; and the history of Greece
+      and Rome was digested into fifty-three heads or titles, of which
+      two only (of embassies, and of virtues and vices) have escaped
+      the injuries of time. In every station, the reader might
+      contemplate the image of the past world, apply the lesson or
+      warning of each page, and learn to admire, perhaps to imitate,
+      the examples of a brighter period. I shall not expatiate on the
+      works of the Byzantine Greeks, who, by the assiduous study of the
+      ancients, have deserved, in some measure, the remembrance and
+      gratitude of the moderns. The scholars of the present age may
+      still enjoy the benefit of the philosophical commonplace book of
+      Stobaeus, the grammatical and historical lexicon of Suidas, the
+      Chiliads of Tzetzes, which comprise six hundred narratives in
+      twelve thousand verses, and the commentaries on Homer of
+      Eustathius, archbishop of Thessalonica, who, from his horn of
+      plenty, has poured the names and authorities of four hundred
+      writers. From these originals, and from the numerous tribe of
+      scholiasts and critics, 109 some estimate may be formed of the
+      literary wealth of the twelfth century: Constantinople was
+      enlightened by the genius of Homer and Demosthenes, of Aristotle
+      and Plato: and in the enjoyment or neglect of our present riches,
+      we must envy the generation that could still peruse the history
+      of Theopompus, the orations of Hyperides, the comedies of
+      Menander, 110 and the odes of Alcaeus and Sappho. The frequent
+      labor of illustration attests not only the existence, but the
+      popularity, of the Grecian classics: the general knowledge of the
+      age may be deduced from the example of two learned females, the
+      empress Eudocia, and the princess Anna Comnena, who cultivated,
+      in the purple, the arts of rhetoric and philosophy. 111 The
+      vulgar dialect of the city was gross and barbarous: a more
+      correct and elaborate style distinguished the discourse, or at
+      least the compositions, of the church and palace, which sometimes
+      affected to copy the purity of the Attic models.
+
+      106 (return) [ See Zonaras (l. xvi. p. 160, 161) and Cedrenus,
+      (p. 549, 550.) Like Friar Bacon, the philosopher Leo has been
+      transformed by ignorance into a conjurer; yet not so
+      undeservedly, if he be the author of the oracles more commonly
+      ascribed to the emperor of the same name. The physics of Leo in
+      Ms. are in the library of Vienna, (Fabricius, Bibliot. Graec.
+      tom. vi. p 366, tom. xii. p. 781.) Qui serant!]
+
+      107 (return) [ The ecclesiastical and literary character of
+      Photius is copiously discussed by Hanckius (de Scriptoribus
+      Byzant. p. 269, 396) and Fabricius.]
+
+      108 (return) [ It can only mean Bagdad, the seat of the caliphs
+      and the relation of his embassy might have been curious and
+      instructive. But how did he procure his books? A library so
+      numerous could neither be found at Bagdad, nor transported with
+      his baggage, nor preserved in his memory. Yet the last, however
+      incredible, seems to be affirmed by Photius himself. Camusat
+      (Hist. Critique des Journaux, p. 87-94) gives a good account of
+      the Myriobiblon.]
+
+      109 (return) [ Of these modern Greeks, see the respective
+      articles in the Bibliotheca Graeca of Fabricius—a laborious work,
+      yet susceptible of a better method and many improvements; of
+      Eustathius, (tom. i. p. 289-292, 306-329,) of the Pselli, (a
+      diatribe of Leo Allatius, ad calcem tom. v., of Constantine
+      Porphyrogenitus, tom. vi. p. 486-509) of John Stobaeus, (tom.
+      viii., 665-728,) of Suidas, (tom. ix. p. 620-827,) John Tzetzes,
+      (tom. xii. p. 245-273.) Mr. Harris, in his Philological
+      Arrangements, opus senile, has given a sketch of this Byzantine
+      learning, (p. 287-300.)]
+
+      110 (return) [ From the obscure and hearsay evidence, Gerard
+      Vossius (de Poetis Graecis, c. 6) and Le Clerc (Bibliotheque
+      Choisie, tom. xix. p. 285) mention a commentary of Michael
+      Psellus on twenty-four plays of Menander, still extant in Ms. at
+      Constantinople. Yet such classic studies seem incompatible with
+      the gravity or dulness of a schoolman, who pored over the
+      categories, (de Psellis, p. 42;) and Michael has probably been
+      confounded with Homerus Sellius, who wrote arguments to the
+      comedies of Menander. In the xth century, Suidas quotes fifty
+      plays, but he often transcribes the old scholiast of
+      Aristophanes.]
+
+      111 (return) [ Anna Comnena may boast of her Greek style, and
+      Zonaras her contemporary, but not her flatterer, may add with
+      truth. The princess was conversant with the artful dialogues of
+      Plato; and had studied quadrivium of astrology, geometry,
+      arithmetic, and music, (see he preface to the Alexiad, with
+      Ducange’s notes)]
+
+      In our modern education, the painful though necessary attainment
+      of two languages, which are no longer living, may consume the
+      time and damp the ardor of the youthful student. The poets and
+      orators were long imprisoned in the barbarous dialects of our
+      Western ancestors, devoid of harmony or grace; and their genius,
+      without precept or example, was abandoned to the rule and native
+      powers of their judgment and fancy. But the Greeks of
+      Constantinople, after purging away the impurities of their vulgar
+      speech, acquired the free use of their ancient language, the most
+      happy composition of human art, and a familiar knowledge of the
+      sublime masters who had pleased or instructed the first of
+      nations. But these advantages only tend to aggravate the reproach
+      and shame of a degenerate people. They held in their lifeless
+      hands the riches of their fathers, without inheriting the spirit
+      which had created and improved that sacred patrimony: they read,
+      they praised, they compiled, but their languid souls seemed alike
+      incapable of thought and action. In the revolution of ten
+      centuries, not a single discovery was made to exalt the dignity
+      or promote the happiness of mankind. Not a single idea has been
+      added to the speculative systems of antiquity, and a succession
+      of patient disciples became in their turn the dogmatic teachers
+      of the next servile generation. Not a single composition of
+      history, philosophy, or literature, has been saved from oblivion
+      by the intrinsic beauties of style or sentiment, of original
+      fancy, or even of successful imitation. In prose, the least
+      offensive of the Byzantine writers are absolved from censure by
+      their naked and unpresuming simplicity: but the orators, most
+      eloquent 112 in their own conceit, are the farthest removed from
+      the models whom they affect to emulate. In every page our taste
+      and reason are wounded by the choice of gigantic and obsolete
+      words, a stiff and intricate phraseology, the discord of images,
+      the childish play of false or unseasonable ornament, and the
+      painful attempt to elevate themselves, to astonish the reader,
+      and to involve a trivial meaning in the smoke of obscurity and
+      exaggeration. Their prose is soaring to the vicious affectation
+      of poetry: their poetry is sinking below the flatness and
+      insipidity of prose. The tragic, epic, and lyric muses, were
+      silent and inglorious: the bards of Constantinople seldom rose
+      above a riddle or epigram, a panegyric or tale; they forgot even
+      the rules of prosody; and with the melody of Homer yet sounding
+      in their ears, they confound all measure of feet and syllables in
+      the impotent strains which have received the name of political or
+      city verses. 113 The minds of the Greek were bound in the fetters
+      of a base and imperious superstition which extends her dominion
+      round the circle of profane science. Their understandings were
+      bewildered in metaphysical controversy: in the belief of visions
+      and miracles, they had lost all principles of moral evidence, and
+      their taste was vitiated by the homilies of the monks, an absurd
+      medley of declamation and Scripture. Even these contemptible
+      studies were no longer dignified by the abuse of superior
+      talents: the leaders of the Greek church were humbly content to
+      admire and copy the oracles of antiquity, nor did the schools of
+      pulpit produce any rivals of the fame of Athanasius and
+      Chrysostom. 114
+
+      112 (return) [ To censure the Byzantine taste. Ducange (Praefat.
+      Gloss. Graec. p. 17) strings the authorities of Aulus Gellius,
+      Jerom, Petronius George Hamartolus, Longinus; who give at once
+      the precept and the example.]
+
+      113 (return) [ The versus politici, those common prostitutes, as,
+      from their easiness, they are styled by Leo Allatius, usually
+      consist of fifteen syllables. They are used by Constantine
+      Manasses, John Tzetzes, &c. (Ducange, Gloss. Latin. tom. iii. p.
+      i. p. 345, 346, edit. Basil, 1762.)]
+
+      114 (return) [ As St. Bernard of the Latin, so St. John
+      Damascenus in the viiith century is revered as the last father of
+      the Greek, church.]
+
+      In all the pursuits of active and speculative life, the emulation
+      of states and individuals is the most powerful spring of the
+      efforts and improvements of mankind. The cities of ancient Greece
+      were cast in the happy mixture of union and independence, which
+      is repeated on a larger scale, but in a looser form, by the
+      nations of modern Europe; the union of language, religion, and
+      manners, which renders them the spectators and judges of each
+      other’s merit; 115 the independence of government and interest,
+      which asserts their separate freedom, and excites them to strive
+      for preeminence in the career of glory. The situation of the
+      Romans was less favorable; yet in the early ages of the republic,
+      which fixed the national character, a similar emulation was
+      kindled among the states of Latium and Italy; and in the arts and
+      sciences, they aspired to equal or surpass their Grecian masters.
+      The empire of the Caesars undoubtedly checked the activity and
+      progress of the human mind; its magnitude might indeed allow some
+      scope for domestic competition; but when it was gradually
+      reduced, at first to the East and at last to Greece and
+      Constantinople, the Byzantine subjects were degraded to an abject
+      and languid temper, the natural effect of their solitary and
+      insulated state. From the North they were oppressed by nameless
+      tribes of Barbarians, to whom they scarcely imparted the
+      appellation of men. The language and religion of the more
+      polished Arabs were an insurmountable bar to all social
+      intercourse. The conquerors of Europe were their brethren in the
+      Christian faith; but the speech of the Franks or Latins was
+      unknown, their manners were rude, and they were rarely connected,
+      in peace or war, with the successors of Heraclius. Alone in the
+      universe, the self-satisfied pride of the Greeks was not
+      disturbed by the comparison of foreign merit; and it is no wonder
+      if they fainted in the race, since they had neither competitors
+      to urge their speed, nor judges to crown their victory. The
+      nations of Europe and Asia were mingled by the expeditions to the
+      Holy Land; and it is under the Comnenian dynasty that a faint
+      emulation of knowledge and military virtue was rekindled in the
+      Byzantine empire.
+
+      115 (return) [Hume’s Essays, vol. i. p. 125]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LIV: Origin And Doctrine Of The Paulicians.—Part I.
+
+     Origin And Doctrine Of The Paulicians.—Their Persecution By The
+     Greek Emperors.—Revolt In Armenia &c.—Transplantation Into
+     Thrace.—Propagation In The West.—The Seeds, Character, And
+     Consequences Of The Reformation.
+
+      In the profession of Christianity, the variety of national
+      characters may be clearly distinguished. The natives of Syria and
+      Egypt abandoned their lives to lazy and contemplative devotion:
+      Rome again aspired to the dominion of the world; and the wit of
+      the lively and loquacious Greeks was consumed in the disputes of
+      metaphysical theology. The incomprehensible mysteries of the
+      Trinity and Incarnation, instead of commanding their silent
+      submission, were agitated in vehement and subtile controversies,
+      which enlarged their faith at the expense, perhaps, of their
+      charity and reason. From the council of Nice to the end of the
+      seventh century, the peace and unity of the church was invaded by
+      these spiritual wars; and so deeply did they affect the decline
+      and fall of the empire, that the historian has too often been
+      compelled to attend the synods, to explore the creeds, and to
+      enumerate the sects, of this busy period of ecclesiastical
+      annals. From the beginning of the eighth century to the last ages
+      of the Byzantine empire, the sound of controversy was seldom
+      heard: curiosity was exhausted, zeal was fatigued, and, in the
+      decrees of six councils, the articles of the Catholic faith had
+      been irrevocably defined. The spirit of dispute, however vain and
+      pernicious, requires some energy and exercise of the mental
+      faculties; and the prostrate Greeks were content to fast, to
+      pray, and to believe in blind obedience to the patriarch and his
+      clergy. During a long dream of superstition, the Virgin and the
+      Saints, their visions and miracles, their relics and images, were
+      preached by the monks, and worshipped by the people; and the
+      appellation of people might be extended, without injustice, to
+      the first ranks of civil society. At an unseasonable moment, the
+      Isaurian emperors attempted somewhat rudely to awaken their
+      subjects: under their influence reason might obtain some
+      proselytes, a far greater number was swayed by interest or fear;
+      but the Eastern world embraced or deplored their visible deities,
+      and the restoration of images was celebrated as the feast of
+      orthodoxy. In this passive and unanimous state the ecclesiastical
+      rulers were relieved from the toil, or deprived of the pleasure,
+      of persecution. The Pagans had disappeared; the Jews were silent
+      and obscure; the disputes with the Latins were rare and remote
+      hostilities against a national enemy; and the sects of Egypt and
+      Syria enjoyed a free toleration under the shadow of the Arabian
+      caliphs. About the middle of the seventh century, a branch of
+      Manichaeans was selected as the victims of spiritual tyranny;
+      their patience was at length exasperated to despair and
+      rebellion; and their exile has scattered over the West the seeds
+      of reformation. These important events will justify some inquiry
+      into the doctrine and story of the Paulicians; 1 and, as they
+      cannot plead for themselves, our candid criticism will magnify
+      the good, and abate or suspect the evil, that is reported by
+      their adversaries.
+
+      1 (return) [ The errors and virtues of the Paulicians are
+      weighed, with his usual judgment and candor, by the learned
+      Mosheim, (Hist. Ecclesiast. seculum ix. p. 311, &c.) He draws his
+      original intelligence from Photius (contra Manichaeos, l. i.) and
+      Peter Siculus, (Hist. Manichaeorum.) The first of these accounts
+      has not fallen into my hands; the second, which Mosheim prefers,
+      I have read in a Latin version inserted in the Maxima Bibliotheca
+      Patrum, (tom. xvi. p. 754-764,) from the edition of the Jesuit
+      Raderus, (Ingolstadii, 1604, in 4to.) * Note: Compare Hallam’s
+      Middle Ages, p. 461-471. Mr. Hallam justly observes that this
+      chapter “appears to be accurate as well as luminous, and is at
+      least far superior to any modern work on the subject.”—M.]
+
+      The Gnostics, who had distracted the infancy, were oppressed by
+      the greatness and authority, of the church. Instead of emulating
+      or surpassing the wealth, learning, and numbers of the Catholics,
+      their obscure remnant was driven from the capitals of the East
+      and West, and confined to the villages and mountains along the
+      borders of the Euphrates. Some vestige of the Marcionites may be
+      detected in the fifth century; 2 but the numerous sects were
+      finally lost in the odious name of the Manichaeans; and these
+      heretics, who presumed to reconcile the doctrines of Zoroaster
+      and Christ, were pursued by the two religions with equal and
+      unrelenting hatred. Under the grandson of Heraclius, in the
+      neighborhood of Samosata, more famous for the birth of Lucian
+      than for the title of a Syrian kingdom, a reformer arose,
+      esteemed by the Paulicians as the chosen messenger of truth. In
+      his humble dwelling of Mananalis, Constantine entertained a
+      deacon, who returned from Syrian captivity, and received the
+      inestimable gift of the New Testament, which was already
+      concealed from the vulgar by the prudence of the Greek, and
+      perhaps of the Gnostic, clergy. 3 These books became the measure
+      of his studies and the rule of his faith; and the Catholics, who
+      dispute his interpretation, acknowledge that his text was genuine
+      and sincere. But he attached himself with peculiar devotion to
+      the writings and character of St. Paul: the name of the
+      Paulicians is derived by their enemies from some unknown and
+      domestic teacher; but I am confident that they gloried in their
+      affinity to the apostle of the Gentiles. His disciples, Titus,
+      Timothy, Sylvanus, Tychicus, were represented by Constantine and
+      his fellow-laborers: the names of the apostolic churches were
+      applied to the congregations which they assembled in Armenia and
+      Cappadocia; and this innocent allegory revived the example and
+      memory of the first ages. In the Gospel, and the Epistles of St.
+      Paul, his faithful follower investigated the Creed of primitive
+      Christianity; and, whatever might be the success, a Protestant
+      reader will applaud the spirit, of the inquiry. But if the
+      Scriptures of the Paulicians were pure, they were not perfect.
+      Their founders rejected the two Epistles of St. Peter, 4 the
+      apostle of the circumcision, whose dispute with their favorite
+      for the observance of the law could not easily be forgiven. 5
+      They agreed with their Gnostic brethren in the universal contempt
+      for the Old Testament, the books of Moses and the prophets, which
+      have been consecrated by the decrees of the Catholic church. With
+      equal boldness, and doubtless with more reason, Constantine, the
+      new Sylvanus, disclaimed the visions, which, in so many bulky and
+      splendid volumes, had been published by the Oriental sects; 6 the
+      fabulous productions of the Hebrew patriarchs and the sages of
+      the East; the spurious gospels, epistles, and acts, which in the
+      first age had overwhelmed the orthodox code; the theology of
+      Manes, and the authors of the kindred heresies; and the thirty
+      generations, or aeons, which had been created by the fruitful
+      fancy of Valentine. The Paulicians sincerely condemned the memory
+      and opinions of the Manichaean sect, and complained of the
+      injustice which impressed that invidious name on the simple
+      votaries of St. Paul and of Christ.
+
+      2 (return) [ In the time of Theodoret, the diocese of Cyrrhus, in
+      Syria, contained eight hundred villages. Of these, two were
+      inhabited by Arians and Eunomians, and eight by Marcionites, whom
+      the laborious bishop reconciled to the Catholic church, (Dupin,
+      Bibliot. Ecclesiastique, tom. iv. p. 81, 82.)]
+
+      3 (return) [ Nobis profanis ista (sacra Evangelia) legere non
+      licet sed sacerdotibus duntaxat, was the first scruple of a
+      Catholic when he was advised to read the Bible, (Petr. Sicul. p.
+      761.)]
+
+      4 (return) [ In rejecting the second Epistle of St. Peter, the
+      Paulicians are justified by some of the most respectable of the
+      ancients and moderns, (see Wetstein ad loc., Simon, Hist.
+      Critique du Nouveau Testament, c. 17.) They likewise overlooked
+      the Apocalypse, (Petr. Sicul. p. 756;) but as such neglect is not
+      imputed as a crime, the Greeks of the ixth century must have been
+      careless of the credit and honor of the Revelations.]
+
+      5 (return) [ This contention, which has not escaped the malice of
+      Porphyry, supposes some error and passion in one or both of the
+      apostles. By Chrysostom, Jerome, and Erasmus, it is represented
+      as a sham quarrel a pious fraud, for the benefit of the Gentiles
+      and the correction of the Jews, (Middleton’s Works, vol. ii. p.
+      1-20.)]
+
+      6 (return) [ Those who are curious of this heterodox library, may
+      consult the researches of Beausobre, (Hist. Critique du
+      Manicheisme, tom. i. p. 305-437.) Even in Africa, St. Austin
+      could describe the Manichaean books, tam multi, tam grandes, tam
+      pretiosi codices, (contra Faust. xiii. 14;) but he adds, without
+      pity, Incendite omnes illas membranas: and his advice had been
+      rigorously followed.]
+
+      Of the ecclesiastical chain, many links had been broken by the
+      Paulician reformers; and their liberty was enlarged, as they
+      reduced the number of masters, at whose voice profane reason must
+      bow to mystery and miracle. The early separation of the Gnostics
+      had preceded the establishment of the Catholic worship; and
+      against the gradual innovations of discipline and doctrine they
+      were as strongly guarded by habit and aversion, as by the silence
+      of St. Paul and the evangelists. The objects which had been
+      transformed by the magic of superstition, appeared to the eyes of
+      the Paulicians in their genuine and naked colors. An image made
+      without hands was the common workmanship of a mortal artist, to
+      whose skill alone the wood and canvas must be indebted for their
+      merit or value. The miraculous relics were a heap of bones and
+      ashes, destitute of life or virtue, or of any relation, perhaps,
+      with the person to whom they were ascribed. The true and
+      vivifying cross was a piece of sound or rotten timber, the body
+      and blood of Christ, a loaf of bread and a cup of wine, the gifts
+      of nature and the symbols of grace. The mother of God was
+      degraded from her celestial honors and immaculate virginity; and
+      the saints and angels were no longer solicited to exercise the
+      laborious office of mediation in heaven, and ministry upon earth.
+      In the practice, or at least in the theory, of the sacraments,
+      the Paulicians were inclined to abolish all visible objects of
+      worship, and the words of the gospel were, in their judgment, the
+      baptism and communion of the faithful. They indulged a convenient
+      latitude for the interpretation of Scripture: and as often as
+      they were pressed by the literal sense, they could escape to the
+      intricate mazes of figure and allegory. Their utmost diligence
+      must have been employed to dissolve the connection between the
+      Old and the New Testament; since they adored the latter as the
+      oracles of God, and abhorred the former as the fabulous and
+      absurd invention of men or daemons. We cannot be surprised, that
+      they should have found in the Gospel the orthodox mystery of the
+      Trinity: but, instead of confessing the human nature and
+      substantial sufferings of Christ, they amused their fancy with a
+      celestial body that passed through the virgin like water through
+      a pipe; with a fantastic crucifixion, that eluded the vain and
+      important malice of the Jews. A creed thus simple and spiritual
+      was not adapted to the genius of the times; 7 and the rational
+      Christian, who might have been contented with the light yoke and
+      easy burden of Jesus and his apostles, was justly offended, that
+      the Paulicians should dare to violate the unity of God, the first
+      article of natural and revealed religion. Their belief and their
+      trust was in the Father, of Christ, of the human soul, and of the
+      invisible world.
+
+      But they likewise held the eternity of matter; a stubborn and
+      rebellious substance, the origin of a second principle of an
+      active being, who has created this visible world, and exercises
+      his temporal reign till the final consummation of death and sin.
+      8 The appearances of moral and physical evil had established the
+      two principles in the ancient philosophy and religion of the
+      East; from whence this doctrine was transfused to the various
+      swarms of the Gnostics. A thousand shades may be devised in the
+      nature and character of Ahriman, from a rival god to a
+      subordinate daemon, from passion and frailty to pure and perfect
+      malevolence: but, in spite of our efforts, the goodness, and the
+      power, of Ormusd are placed at the opposite extremities of the
+      line; and every step that approaches the one must recede in equal
+      proportion from the other. 9
+
+      7 (return) [ The six capital errors of the Paulicians are defined
+      by Peter (p. 756,) with much prejudice and passion.]
+
+      8 (return) [ Primum illorum axioma est, duo rerum esse principia;
+      Deum malum et Deum bonum, aliumque hujus mundi conditorem et
+      princi pem, et alium futuri aevi, (Petr. Sicul. 765.)]
+
+      9 (return) [ Two learned critics, Beausobre (Hist. Critique du
+      Manicheisme, l. i. iv. v. vi.) and Mosheim, (Institut. Hist.
+      Eccles. and de Rebus Christianis ante Constantinum, sec. i. ii.
+      iii.,) have labored to explore and discriminate the various
+      systems of the Gnostics on the subject of the two principles.]
+
+      The apostolic labors of Constantine Sylvanus soon multiplied the
+      number of his disciples, the secret recompense of spiritual
+      ambition. The remnant of the Gnostic sects, and especially the
+      Manichaeans of Armenia, were united under his standard; many
+      Catholics were converted or seduced by his arguments; and he
+      preached with success in the regions of Pontus 10 and Cappadocia,
+      which had long since imbibed the religion of Zoroaster. The
+      Paulician teachers were distinguished only by their Scriptural
+      names, by the modest title of Fellow-pilgrims, by the austerity
+      of their lives, their zeal or knowledge, and the credit of some
+      extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit. But they were incapable
+      of desiring, or at least of obtaining, the wealth and honors of
+      the Catholic prelacy; such anti-Christian pride they bitterly
+      censured; and even the rank of elders or presbyters was condemned
+      as an institution of the Jewish synagogue. The new sect was
+      loosely spread over the provinces of Asia Minor to the westward
+      of the Euphrates; six of their principal congregations
+      represented the churches to which St. Paul had addressed his
+      epistles; and their founder chose his residence in the
+      neighborhood of Colonia, 11 in the same district of Pontus which
+      had been celebrated by the altars of Bellona 12 and the miracles
+      of Gregory. 13 After a mission of twenty-seven years, Sylvanus,
+      who had retired from the tolerating government of the Arabs, fell
+      a sacrifice to Roman persecution. The laws of the pious emperors,
+      which seldom touched the lives of less odious heretics,
+      proscribed without mercy or disguise the tenets, the books, and
+      the persons of the Montanists and Manichaeans: the books were
+      delivered to the flames; and all who should presume to secrete
+      such writings, or to profess such opinions, were devoted to an
+      ignominious death. 14 A Greek minister, armed with legal and
+      military powers, appeared at Colonia to strike the shepherd, and
+      to reclaim, if possible, the lost sheep. By a refinement of
+      cruelty, Simeon placed the unfortunate Sylvanus before a line of
+      his disciples, who were commanded, as the price of their pardon
+      and the proof of their repentance, to massacre their spiritual
+      father. They turned aside from the impious office; the stones
+      dropped from their filial hands, and of the whole number, only
+      one executioner could be found, a new David, as he is styled by
+      the Catholics, who boldly overthrew the giant of heresy. This
+      apostate (Justin was his name) again deceived and betrayed his
+      unsuspecting brethren, and a new conformity to the acts of St.
+      Paul may be found in the conversion of Simeon: like the apostle,
+      he embraced the doctrine which he had been sent to persecute,
+      renounced his honors and fortunes, and required among the
+      Paulicians the fame of a missionary and a martyr. They were not
+      ambitious of martyrdom, 15 but in a calamitous period of one
+      hundred and fifty years, their patience sustained whatever zeal
+      could inflict; and power was insufficient to eradicate the
+      obstinate vegetation of fanaticism and reason. From the blood and
+      ashes of the first victims, a succession of teachers and
+      congregations repeatedly arose: amidst their foreign hostilities,
+      they found leisure for domestic quarrels: they preached, they
+      disputed, they suffered; and the virtues, the apparent virtues,
+      of Sergius, in a pilgrimage of thirty-three years, are
+      reluctantly confessed by the orthodox historians. 16 The native
+      cruelty of Justinian the Second was stimulated by a pious cause;
+      and he vainly hoped to extinguish, in a single conflagration, the
+      name and memory of the Paulicians. By their primitive simplicity,
+      their abhorrence of popular superstition, the Iconoclast princes
+      might have been reconciled to some erroneous doctrines; but they
+      themselves were exposed to the calumnies of the monks, and they
+      chose to be the tyrants, lest they should be accused as the
+      accomplices, of the Manichaeans. Such a reproach has sullied the
+      clemency of Nicephorus, who relaxed in their favor the severity
+      of the penal statutes, nor will his character sustain the honor
+      of a more liberal motive. The feeble Michael the First, the rigid
+      Leo the Armenian, were foremost in the race of persecution; but
+      the prize must doubtless be adjudged to the sanguinary devotion
+      of Theodora, who restored the images to the Oriental church. Her
+      inquisitors explored the cities and mountains of the Lesser Asia,
+      and the flatterers of the empress have affirmed that, in a short
+      reign, one hundred thousand Paulicians were extirpated by the
+      sword, the gibbet, or the flames. Her guilt or merit has perhaps
+      been stretched beyond the measure of truth: but if the account be
+      allowed, it must be presumed that many simple Iconoclasts were
+      punished under a more odious name; and that some who were driven
+      from the church, unwillingly took refuge in the bosom of heresy.
+
+      10 (return) [ The countries between the Euphrates and the Halys
+      were possessed above 350 years by the Medes (Herodot. l. i. c.
+      103) and Persians; and the kings of Pontus were of the royal race
+      of the Achaemenides, (Sallust. Fragment. l. iii. with the French
+      supplement and notes of the president de Brosses.)]
+
+      11 (return) [ Most probably founded by Pompey after the conquest
+      of Pontus. This Colonia, on the Lycus, above Neo-Caesarea, is
+      named by the Turks Coulei-hisar, or Chonac, a populous town in a
+      strong country, (D’Anville, Geographie Ancienne, tom. ii. p. 34.
+      Tournefort, Voyage du Levant, tom. iii. lettre xxi. p. 293.)]
+
+      12 (return) [ The temple of Bellona, at Comana in Pontus was a
+      powerful and wealthy foundation, and the high priest was
+      respected as the second person in the kingdom. As the sacerdotal
+      office had been occupied by his mother’s family, Strabo (l. xii.
+      p. 809, 835, 836, 837) dwells with peculiar complacency on the
+      temple, the worship, and festival, which was twice celebrated
+      every year. But the Bellona of Pontus had the features and
+      character of the goddess, not of war, but of love.]
+
+      13 (return) [ Gregory, bishop of Neo-Caesarea, (A.D. 240-265,)
+      surnamed Thaumaturgus, or the Wonder-worker. An hundred years
+      afterwards, the history or romance of his life was composed by
+      Gregory of Nyssa, his namesake and countryman, the brother of the
+      great St. Basil.]
+
+      14 (return) [ Hoc caeterum ad sua egregia facinora, divini atque
+      orthodoxi Imperatores addiderunt, ut Manichaeos Montanosque
+      capitali puniri sententia juberent, eorumque libros, quocunque in
+      loco inventi essent, flammis tradi; quod siquis uspiam eosdem
+      occultasse deprehenderetur, hunc eundem mortis poenae addici,
+      ejusque bona in fiscum inferri, (Petr. Sicul. p. 759.) What more
+      could bigotry and persecution desire?]
+
+      15 (return) [ It should seem, that the Paulicians allowed
+      themselves some latitude of equivocation and mental reservation;
+      till the Catholics discovered the pressing questions, which
+      reduced them to the alternative of apostasy or martyrdom, (Petr.
+      Sicul. p. 760.)]
+
+      16 (return) [ The persecution is told by Petrus Siculus (p.
+      579-763) with satisfaction and pleasantry. Justus justa
+      persolvit. See likewise Cedrenus, (p. 432-435.)]
+
+      The most furious and desperate of rebels are the sectaries of a
+      religion long persecuted, and at length provoked. In a holy cause
+      they are no longer susceptible of fear or remorse: the justice of
+      their arms hardens them against the feelings of humanity; and
+      they revenge their fathers’ wrongs on the children of their
+      tyrants. Such have been the Hussites of Bohemia and the
+      Calvinists of France, and such, in the ninth century, were the
+      Paulicians of Armenia and the adjacent provinces. 17 They were
+      first awakened to the massacre of a governor and bishop, who
+      exercised the Imperial mandate of converting or destroying the
+      heretics; and the deepest recesses of Mount Argaeus protected
+      their independence and revenge. A more dangerous and consuming
+      flame was kindled by the persecution of Theodora, and the revolt
+      of Carbeas, a valiant Paulician, who commanded the guards of the
+      general of the East. His father had been impaled by the Catholic
+      inquisitors; and religion, or at least nature, might justify his
+      desertion and revenge. Five thousand of his brethren were united
+      by the same motives; they renounced the allegiance of
+      anti-Christian Rome; a Saracen emir introduced Carbeas to the
+      caliph; and the commander of the faithful extended his sceptre to
+      the implacable enemy of the Greeks. In the mountains between
+      Siwas and Trebizond he founded or fortified the city of Tephrice,
+      18 which is still occupied by a fierce or licentious people, and
+      the neighboring hills were covered with the Paulician fugitives,
+      who now reconciled the use of the Bible and the sword. During
+      more than thirty years, Asia was afflicted by the calamities of
+      foreign and domestic war; in their hostile inroads, the disciples
+      of St. Paul were joined with those of Mahomet; and the peaceful
+      Christians, the aged parent and tender virgin, who were delivered
+      into barbarous servitude, might justly accuse the intolerant
+      spirit of their sovereign. So urgent was the mischief, so
+      intolerable the shame, that even the dissolute Michael, the son
+      of Theodora, was compelled to march in person against the
+      Paulicians: he was defeated under the walls of Samosata; and the
+      Roman emperor fled before the heretics whom his mother had
+      condemned to the flames. The Saracens fought under the same
+      banners, but the victory was ascribed to Carbeas; and the captive
+      generals, with more than a hundred tribunes, were either released
+      by his avarice, or tortured by his fanaticism. The valor and
+      ambition of Chrysocheir, 19 his successor, embraced a wider
+      circle of rapine and revenge. In alliance with his faithful
+      Moslems, he boldly penetrated into the heart of Asia; the troops
+      of the frontier and the palace were repeatedly overthrown; the
+      edicts of persecution were answered by the pillage of Nice and
+      Nicomedia, of Ancyra and Ephesus; nor could the apostle St. John
+      protect from violation his city and sepulchre. The cathedral of
+      Ephesus was turned into a stable for mules and horses; and the
+      Paulicians vied with the Saracens in their contempt and
+      abhorrence of images and relics. It is not unpleasing to observe
+      the triumph of rebellion over the same despotism which had
+      disdained the prayers of an injured people. The emperor Basil,
+      the Macedonian, was reduced to sue for peace, to offer a ransom
+      for the captives, and to request, in the language of moderation
+      and charity, that Chrysocheir would spare his fellow-Christians,
+      and content himself with a royal donative of gold and silver and
+      silk garments. “If the emperor,” replied the insolent fanatic,
+      “be desirous of peace, let him abdicate the East, and reign
+      without molestation in the West. If he refuse, the servants of
+      the Lord will precipitate him from the throne.” The reluctant
+      Basil suspended the treaty, accepted the defiance, and led his
+      army into the land of heresy, which he wasted with fire and
+      sword. The open country of the Paulicians was exposed to the same
+      calamities which they had inflicted; but when he had explored the
+      strength of Tephrice, the multitude of the Barbarians, and the
+      ample magazines of arms and provisions, he desisted with a sigh
+      from the hopeless siege. On his return to Constantinople, he
+      labored, by the foundation of convents and churches, to secure
+      the aid of his celestial patrons, of Michael the archangel and
+      the prophet Elijah; and it was his daily prayer that he might
+      live to transpierce, with three arrows, the head of his impious
+      adversary. Beyond his expectations, the wish was accomplished:
+      after a successful inroad, Chrysocheir was surprised and slain in
+      his retreat; and the rebel’s head was triumphantly presented at
+      the foot of the throne. On the reception of this welcome trophy,
+      Basil instantly called for his bow, discharged three arrows with
+      unerring aim, and accepted the applause of the court, who hailed
+      the victory of the royal archer. With Chrysocheir, the glory of
+      the Paulicians faded and withered: 20 on the second expedition of
+      the emperor, the impregnable Tephrice, was deserted by the
+      heretics, who sued for mercy or escaped to the borders. The city
+      was ruined, but the spirit of independence survived in the
+      mountains: the Paulicians defended, above a century, their
+      religion and liberty, infested the Roman limits, and maintained
+      their perpetual alliance with the enemies of the empire and the
+      gospel.
+
+      17 (return) [ Petrus Siculus, (p. 763, 764,) the continuator of
+      Theophanes, (l. iv. c. 4, p. 103, 104,) Cedrenus, (p. 541, 542,
+      545,) and Zonaras, (tom. ii. l. xvi. p. 156,) describe the revolt
+      and exploits of Carbeas and his Paulicians.]
+
+      18 (return) [ Otter (Voyage en Turquie et en Perse, tom. ii.) is
+      probably the only Frank who has visited the independent
+      Barbarians of Tephrice now Divrigni, from whom he fortunately
+      escaped in the train of a Turkish officer.]
+
+      19 (return) [ In the history of Chrysocheir, Genesius (Chron. p.
+      67-70, edit. Venet.) has exposed the nakedness of the empire.
+      Constantine Porphyrogenitus (in Vit. Basil. c. 37-43, p. 166-171)
+      has displayed the glory of his grandfather. Cedrenus (p. 570-573)
+      is without their passions or their knowledge.]
+
+      20 (return) [ How elegant is the Greek tongue, even in the mouth
+      of Cedrenus!]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LIV: Origin And Doctrine Of The Paulicians.—Part II.
+
+      About the middle of the eight century, Constantine, surnamed
+      Copronymus by the worshippers of images, had made an expedition
+      into Armenia, and found, in the cities of Melitene and
+      Theodosiopolis, a great number of Paulicians, his kindred
+      heretics. As a favor, or punishment, he transplanted them from
+      the banks of the Euphrates to Constantinople and Thrace; and by
+      this emigration their doctrine was introduced and diffused in
+      Europe. 21 If the sectaries of the metropolis were soon mingled
+      with the promiscuous mass, those of the country struck a deep
+      root in a foreign soil. The Paulicians of Thrace resisted the
+      storms of persecution, maintained a secret correspondence with
+      their Armenian brethren, and gave aid and comfort to their
+      preachers, who solicited, not without success, the infant faith
+      of the Bulgarians. 22 In the tenth century, they were restored
+      and multiplied by a more powerful colony, which John Zimisces 23
+      transported from the Chalybian hills to the valleys of Mount
+      Haemus. The Oriental clergy who would have preferred the
+      destruction, impatiently sighed for the absence, of the
+      Manichaeans: the warlike emperor had felt and esteemed their
+      valor: their attachment to the Saracens was pregnant with
+      mischief; but, on the side of the Danube, against the Barbarians
+      of Scythia, their service might be useful, and their loss would
+      be desirable. Their exile in a distant land was softened by a
+      free toleration: the Paulicians held the city of Philippopolis
+      and the keys of Thrace; the Catholics were their subjects; the
+      Jacobite emigrants their associates: they occupied a line of
+      villages and castles in Macedonia and Epirus; and many native
+      Bulgarians were associated to the communion of arms and heresy.
+      As long as they were awed by power and treated with moderation,
+      their voluntary bands were distinguished in the armies of the
+      empire; and the courage of these dogs, ever greedy of war, ever
+      thirsty of human blood, is noticed with astonishment, and almost
+      with reproach, by the pusillanimous Greeks. The same spirit
+      rendered them arrogant and contumacious: they were easily
+      provoked by caprice or injury; and their privileges were often
+      violated by the faithless bigotry of the government and clergy.
+      In the midst of the Norman war, two thousand five hundred
+      Manichaeans deserted the standard of Alexius Comnenus, 24 and
+      retired to their native homes. He dissembled till the moment of
+      revenge; invited the chiefs to a friendly conference; and
+      punished the innocent and guilty by imprisonment, confiscation,
+      and baptism. In an interval of peace, the emperor undertook the
+      pious office of reconciling them to the church and state: his
+      winter quarters were fixed at Philippopolis; and the thirteenth
+      apostle, as he is styled by his pious daughter, consumed whole
+      days and nights in theological controversy. His arguments were
+      fortified, their obstinacy was melted, by the honors and rewards
+      which he bestowed on the most eminent proselytes; and a new city,
+      surrounded with gardens, enriched with immunities, and dignified
+      with his own name, was founded by Alexius for the residence of
+      his vulgar converts. The important station of Philippopolis was
+      wrested from their hands; the contumacious leaders were secured
+      in a dungeon, or banished from their country; and their lives
+      were spared by the prudence, rather than the mercy, of an
+      emperor, at whose command a poor and solitary heretic was burnt
+      alive before the church of St. Sophia. 25 But the proud hope of
+      eradicating the prejudices of a nation was speedily overturned by
+      the invincible zeal of the Paulicians, who ceased to dissemble or
+      refused to obey. After the departure and death of Alexius, they
+      soon resumed their civil and religious laws. In the beginning of
+      the thirteenth century, their pope or primate (a manifest
+      corruption) resided on the confines of Bulgaria, Croatia, and
+      Dalmatia, and governed, by his vicars, the filial congregations
+      of Italy and France. 26 From that aera, a minute scrutiny might
+      prolong and perpetuate the chain of tradition. At the end of the
+      last age, the sect or colony still inhabited the valleys of Mount
+      Haemus, where their ignorance and poverty were more frequently
+      tormented by the Greek clergy than by the Turkish government. The
+      modern Paulicians have lost all memory of their origin; and their
+      religion is disgraced by the worship of the cross, and the
+      practice of bloody sacrifice, which some captives have imported
+      from the wilds of Tartary. 27
+
+      21 (return) [ Copronymus transported his heretics; and thus says
+      Cedrenus, (p. 463,) who has copied the annals of Theophanes.]
+
+      22 (return) [ Petrus Siculus, who resided nine months at Tephrice
+      (A.D. 870) for the ransom of captives, (p. 764,) was informed of
+      their intended mission, and addressed his preservative, the
+      Historia Manichaeorum to the new archbishop of the Bulgarians,
+      (p. 754.)]
+
+      23 (return) [ The colony of Paulicians and Jacobites transplanted
+      by John Zimisces (A.D. 970) from Armenia to Thrace, is mentioned
+      by Zonaras (tom. ii. l. xvii. p. 209) and Anna Comnena, (Alexiad,
+      l. xiv. p. 450, &c.)]
+
+      24 (return) [ The Alexiad of Anna Comnena (l. v. p. 131, l. vi.
+      p. 154, 155, l. xiv. p. 450-457, with the Annotations of Ducange)
+      records the transactions of her apostolic father with the
+      Manichaeans, whose abominable heresy she was desirous of
+      refuting.]
+
+      25 (return) [ Basil, a monk, and the author of the Bogomiles, a
+      sect of Gnostics, who soon vanished, (Anna Comnena, Alexiad, l.
+      xv. p. 486-494 Mosheim, Hist. Ecclesiastica, p. 420.)]
+
+      26 (return) [ Matt. Paris, Hist. Major, p. 267. This passage of
+      our English historian is alleged by Ducange in an excellent note
+      on Villehardouin (No. 208,) who found the Paulicians at
+      Philippopolis the friends of the Bulgarians.]
+
+      27 (return) [ See Marsigli, Stato Militare dell’ Imperio
+      Ottomano, p. 24.]
+
+      In the West, the first teachers of the Manichaean theology had
+      been repulsed by the people, or suppressed by the prince. The
+      favor and success of the Paulicians in the eleventh and twelfth
+      centuries must be imputed to the strong, though secret,
+      discontent which armed the most pious Christians against the
+      church of Rome. Her avarice was oppressive, her despotism odious;
+      less degenerate perhaps than the Greeks in the worship of saints
+      and images, her innovations were more rapid and scandalous: she
+      had rigorously defined and imposed the doctrine of
+      transubstantiation: the lives of the Latin clergy were more
+      corrupt, and the Eastern bishops might pass for the successors of
+      the apostles, if they were compared with the lordly prelates, who
+      wielded by turns the crosier, the sceptre, and the sword. Three
+      different roads might introduce the Paulicians into the heart of
+      Europe. After the conversion of Hungary, the pilgrims who visited
+      Jerusalem might safely follow the course of the Danube: in their
+      journey and return they passed through Philippopolis; and the
+      sectaries, disguising their name and heresy, might accompany the
+      French or German caravans to their respective countries. The
+      trade and dominion of Venice pervaded the coast of the Adriatic,
+      and the hospitable republic opened her bosom to foreigners of
+      every climate and religion. Under the Byzantine standard, the
+      Paulicians were often transported to the Greek provinces of Italy
+      and Sicily: in peace and war, they freely conversed with
+      strangers and natives, and their opinions were silently
+      propagated in Rome, Milan, and the kingdoms beyond the Alps. 28
+      It was soon discovered, that many thousand Catholics of every
+      rank, and of either sex, had embraced the Manichaean heresy; and
+      the flames which consumed twelve canons of Orleans was the first
+      act and signal of persecution. The Bulgarians, 29 a name so
+      innocent in its origin, so odious in its application, spread
+      their branches over the face of Europe. United in common hatred
+      of idolatry and Rome, they were connected by a form of episcopal
+      and presbyterian government; their various sects were
+      discriminated by some fainter or darker shades of theology; but
+      they generally agreed in the two principles, the contempt of the
+      Old Testament and the denial of the body of Christ, either on the
+      cross or in the eucharist. A confession of simple worship and
+      blameless manners is extorted from their enemies; and so high was
+      their standard of perfection, that the increasing congregations
+      were divided into two classes of disciples, of those who
+      practised, and of those who aspired. It was in the country of the
+      Albigeois, 30 in the southern provinces of France, that the
+      Paulicians were most deeply implanted; and the same vicissitudes
+      of martyrdom and revenge which had been displayed in the
+      neighborhood of the Euphrates, were repeated in the thirteenth
+      century on the banks of the Rhone. The laws of the Eastern
+      emperors were revived by Frederic the Second. The insurgents of
+      Tephrice were represented by the barons and cities of Languedoc:
+      Pope Innocent III. surpassed the sanguinary fame of Theodora. It
+      was in cruelty alone that her soldiers could equal the heroes of
+      the Crusades, and the cruelty of her priests was far excelled by
+      the founders of the Inquisition; 31 an office more adapted to
+      confirm, than to refute, the belief of an evil principle. The
+      visible assemblies of the Paulicians, or Albigeois, were
+      extirpated by fire and sword; and the bleeding remnant escaped by
+      flight, concealment, or Catholic conformity. But the invincible
+      spirit which they had kindled still lived and breathed in the
+      Western world. In the state, in the church, and even in the
+      cloister, a latent succession was preserved of the disciples of
+      St. Paul; who protested against the tyranny of Rome, embraced the
+      Bible as the rule of faith, and purified their creed from all the
+      visions of the Gnostic theology. 3111 The struggles of Wickliff
+      in England, of Huss in Bohemia, were premature and ineffectual;
+      but the names of Zuinglius, Luther, and Calvin, are pronounced
+      with gratitude as the deliverers of nations.
+
+      28 (return) [ The introduction of the Paulicians into Italy and
+      France is amply discussed by Muratori (Antiquitat. Italiae Medii
+      Aevi, tom. v. dissert. lx. p. 81-152) and Mosheim, (p. 379-382,
+      419-422.) Yet both have overlooked a curious passage of William
+      the Apulian, who clearly describes them in a battle between the
+      Greeks and Normans, A.D. 1040, (in Muratori, Script. Rerum Ital.
+      tom. v. p. 256:)
+
+     Cum Graecis aderant quidam, quos pessimus error
+     Fecerat amentes, et ab ipso nomen habebant.
+
+      But he is so ignorant of their doctrine as to make them a kind of
+      Sabellians or Patripassians.]
+
+      29 (return) [ Bulgari, Boulgres, Bougres, a national appellation,
+      has been applied by the French as a term of reproach to usurers
+      and unnatural sinners. The Paterini, or Patelini, has been made
+      to signify a smooth and flattering hypocrite, such as l’Avocat
+      Patelin of that original and pleasant farce, (Ducange, Gloss.
+      Latinitat. Medii et Infimi Aevi.) The Manichaeans were likewise
+      named Cathari or the pure, by corruption. Gazari, &c.]
+
+      30 (return) [ Of the laws, crusade, and persecution against the
+      Albigeois, a just, though general, idea is expressed by Mosheim,
+      (p. 477-481.) The detail may be found in the ecclesiastical
+      historians, ancient and modern, Catholics and Protestants; and
+      amongst these Fleury is the most impartial and moderate.]
+
+      31 (return) [ The Acts (Liber Sententiarum) of the Inquisition of
+      Tholouse (A.D. 1307-1323) have been published by Limborch,
+      (Amstelodami, 1692,) with a previous History of the Inquisition
+      in general. They deserved a more learned and critical editor. As
+      we must not calumniate even Satan, or the Holy Office, I will
+      observe, that of a list of criminals which fills nineteen folio
+      pages, only fifteen men and four women were delivered to the
+      secular arm.]
+
+      3111 (return) [ The popularity of “Milner’s History of the
+      Church” with some readers, may make it proper to observe, that
+      his attempt to exculpate the Paulicians from the charge of
+      Gnosticism or Manicheism is in direct defiance, if not in
+      ignorance, of all the original authorities. Gibbon himself, it
+      appears, was not acquainted with the work of Photius, “Contra
+      Manicheos Repullulantes,” the first book of which was edited by
+      Montfaucon, Bibliotheca Coisliniana, pars ii. p. 349, 375, the
+      whole by Wolf, in his Anecdota Graeca. Hamburg 1722. Compare a
+      very sensible tract. Letter to Rev. S. R. Maitland, by J G.
+      Dowling, M. A. London, 1835.—M.]
+
+      A philosopher, who calculates the degree of their merit and the
+      value of their reformation, will prudently ask from what articles
+      of faith, above or against our reason, they have enfranchised the
+      Christians; for such enfranchisement is doubtless a benefit so
+      far as it may be compatible with truth and piety. After a fair
+      discussion, we shall rather be surprised by the timidity, than
+      scandalized by the freedom, of our first reformers. 32 With the
+      Jews, they adopted the belief and defence of all the Hebrew
+      Scriptures, with all their prodigies, from the garden of Eden to
+      the visions of the prophet Daniel; and they were bound, like the
+      Catholics, to justify against the Jews the abolition of a divine
+      law. In the great mysteries of the Trinity and Incarnation the
+      reformers were severely orthodox: they freely adopted the
+      theology of the four, or the six first councils; and with the
+      Athanasian creed, they pronounced the eternal damnation of all
+      who did not believe the Catholic faith. Transubstantiation, the
+      invisible change of the bread and wine into the body and blood of
+      Christ, is a tenet that may defy the power of argument and
+      pleasantry; but instead of consulting the evidence of their
+      senses, of their sight, their feeling, and their taste, the first
+      Protestants were entangled in their own scruples, and awed by the
+      words of Jesus in the institution of the sacrament. Luther
+      maintained a corporeal, and Calvin a real, presence of Christ in
+      the eucharist; and the opinion of Zuinglius, that it is no more
+      than a spiritual communion, a simple memorial, has slowly
+      prevailed in the reformed churches. 33 But the loss of one
+      mystery was amply compensated by the stupendous doctrines of
+      original sin, redemption, faith, grace, and predestination, which
+      have been strained from the epistles of St. Paul. These subtile
+      questions had most assuredly been prepared by the fathers and
+      schoolmen; but the final improvement and popular use may be
+      attributed to the first reformers, who enforced them as the
+      absolute and essential terms of salvation. Hitherto the weight of
+      supernatural belief inclines against the Protestants; and many a
+      sober Christian would rather admit that a wafer is God, than that
+      God is a cruel and capricious tyrant.
+
+      32 (return) [ The opinions and proceedings of the reformers are
+      exposed in the second part of the general history of Mosheim; but
+      the balance, which he has held with so clear an eye, and so
+      steady a hand, begins to incline in favor of his Lutheran
+      brethren.]
+
+      33 (return) [ Under Edward VI. our reformation was more bold and
+      perfect, but in the fundamental articles of the church of
+      England, a strong and explicit declaration against the real
+      presence was obliterated in the original copy, to please the
+      people or the Lutherans, or Queen Elizabeth, (Burnet’s History of
+      the Reformation, vol. ii. p. 82, 128, 302.)]
+
+      Yet the services of Luther and his rivals are solid and
+      important; and the philosopher must own his obligations to these
+      fearless enthusiasts. 34 I. By their hands the lofty fabric of
+      superstition, from the abuse of indulgences to the intercesson of
+      the Virgin, has been levelled with the ground. Myriads of both
+      sexes of the monastic profession were restored to the liberty and
+      labors of social life. A hierarchy of saints and angels, of
+      imperfect and subordinate deities, were stripped of their
+      temporal power, and reduced to the enjoyment of celestial
+      happiness; their images and relics were banished from the church;
+      and the credulity of the people was no longer nourished with the
+      daily repetition of miracles and visions. The imitation of
+      Paganism was supplied by a pure and spiritual worship of prayer
+      and thanksgiving, the most worthy of man, the least unworthy of
+      the Deity. It only remains to observe, whether such sublime
+      simplicity be consistent with popular devotion; whether the
+      vulgar, in the absence of all visible objects, will not be
+      inflamed by enthusiasm, or insensibly subside in languor and
+      indifference. II. The chain of authority was broken, which
+      restrains the bigot from thinking as he pleases, and the slave
+      from speaking as he thinks: the popes, fathers, and councils,
+      were no longer the supreme and infallible judges of the world;
+      and each Christian was taught to acknowledge no law but the
+      Scriptures, no interpreter but his own conscience. This freedom,
+      however, was the consequence, rather than the design, of the
+      Reformation. The patriot reformers were ambitious of succeeding
+      the tyrants whom they had dethroned. They imposed with equal
+      rigor their creeds and confessions; they asserted the right of
+      the magistrate to punish heretics with death. The pious or
+      personal animosity of Calvin proscribed in Servetus 35 the guilt
+      of his own rebellion; 36 and the flames of Smithfield, in which
+      he was afterwards consumed, had been kindled for the Anabaptists
+      by the zeal of Cranmer. 37 The nature of the tiger wa s the same,
+      but he was gradually deprived of his teeth and fangs. A spiritual
+      and temporal kingdom was possessed by the Roman pontiff; the
+      Protestant doctors were subjects of an humble rank, without
+      revenue or jurisdiction. His decrees were consecrated by the
+      antiquity of the Catholic church: their arguments and disputes
+      were submitted to the people; and their appeal to private
+      judgment was accepted beyond their wishes, by curiosity and
+      enthusiasm. Since the days of Luther and Calvin, a secret
+      reformation has been silently working in the bosom of the
+      reformed churches; many weeds of prejudice were eradicated; and
+      the disciples of Erasmus 38 diffused a spirit of freedom and
+      moderation. The liberty of conscience has been claimed as a
+      common benefit, an inalienable right: 39 the free governments of
+      Holland 40 and England 41 introduced the practice of toleration;
+      and the narrow allowance of the laws has been enlarged by the
+      prudence and humanity of the times. In the exercise, the mind has
+      understood the limits of its powers, and the words and shadows
+      that might amuse the child can no longer satisfy his manly
+      reason. The volumes of controversy are overspread with cobwebs:
+      the doctrine of a Protestant church is far removed from the
+      knowledge or belief of its private members; and the forms of
+      orthodoxy, the articles of faith, are subscribed with a sigh, or
+      a smile, by the modern clergy. Yet the friends of Christianity
+      are alarmed at the boundless impulse of inquiry and scepticism.
+      The predictions of the Catholics are accomplished: the web of
+      mystery is unravelled by the Arminians, Arians, and Socinians,
+      whose number must not be computed from their separate
+      congregations; and the pillars of Revelation are shaken by those
+      men who preserve the name without the substance of religion, who
+      indulge the license without the temper of philosophy. 42 4211
+
+      34 (return) [ “Had it not been for such men as Luther and
+      myself,” said the fanatic Whiston to Halley the philosopher, “you
+      would now be kneeling before an image of St. Winifred.”]
+
+      35 (return) [ The article of Servet in the Dictionnaire Critique
+      of Chauffepie is the best account which I have seen of this
+      shameful transaction. See likewise the Abbe d’Artigny, Nouveaux
+      Memoires d’Histoire, &c., tom. ii. p. 55-154.]
+
+      36 (return) [ I am more deeply scandalized at the single
+      execution of Servetus, than at the hecatombs which have blazed in
+      the Auto de Fes of Spain and Portugal. 1. The zeal of Calvin
+      seems to have been envenomed by personal malice, and perhaps
+      envy. He accused his adversary before their common enemies, the
+      judges of Vienna, and betrayed, for his destruction, the sacred
+      trust of a private correspondence. 2. The deed of cruelty was not
+      varnished by the pretence of danger to the church or state. In
+      his passage through Geneva, Servetus was a harmless stranger, who
+      neither preached, nor printed, nor made proselytes. 3. A Catholic
+      inquisition yields the same obedience which he requires, but
+      Calvin violated the golden rule of doing as he would be done by;
+      a rule which I read in a moral treatise of Isocrates (in Nicocle,
+      tom. i. p. 93, edit. Battie) four hundred years before the
+      publication of the Gospel. * Note: Gibbon has not accurately
+      rendered the sense of this passage, which does not contain the
+      maxim of charity Do unto others as you would they should do unto
+      you, but simply the maxim of justice, Do not to others the which
+      would offend you if they should do it to you.—G.]
+
+      37 (return) [ See Burnet, vol. ii. p. 84-86. The sense and
+      humanity of the young king were oppressed by the authority of the
+      primate.]
+
+      38 (return) [ Erasmus may be considered as the father of rational
+      theology. After a slumber of a hundred years, it was revived by
+      the Arminians of Holland, Grotius, Limborch, and Le Clerc; in
+      England by Chillingworth, the latitudinarians of Cambridge,
+      (Burnet, Hist. of Own Times, vol. i. p. 261-268, octavo edition.)
+      Tillotson, Clarke, Hoadley, &c.]
+
+      39 (return) [ I am sorry to observe, that the three writers of
+      the last age, by whom the rights of toleration have been so nobly
+      defended, Bayle, Leibnitz, and Locke, are all laymen and
+      philosophers.]
+
+      40 (return) [ See the excellent chapter of Sir William Temple on
+      the Religion of the United Provinces. I am not satisfied with
+      Grotius, (de Rebus Belgicis, Annal. l. i. p. 13, 14, edit. in
+      12mo.,) who approves the Imperial laws of persecution, and only
+      condemns the bloody tribunal of the inquisition.]
+
+      41 (return) [ Sir William Blackstone (Commentaries, vol. iv. p.
+      53, 54) explains the law of England as it was fixed at the
+      Revolution. The exceptions of Papists, and of those who deny the
+      Trinity, would still have a tolerable scope for persecution if
+      the national spirit were not more effectual than a hundred
+      statutes.]
+
+      42 (return) [ I shall recommend to public animadversion two
+      passages in Dr. Priestley, which betray the ultimate tendency of
+      his opinions. At the first of these (Hist. of the Corruptions of
+      Christianity, vol. i. p. 275, 276) the priest, at the second
+      (vol. ii. p. 484) the magistrate, may tremble!]
+
+      4211 (return) [ There is something ludicrous, if it were not
+      offensive, in Gibbon holding up to “public animadversion” the
+      opinions of any believer in Christianity, however imperfect his
+      creed. The observations which the whole of this passage on the
+      effects of the reformation, in which much truth and justice is
+      mingled with much prejudice, would suggest, could not possibly be
+      compressed into a note; and would indeed embrace the whole
+      religious and irreligious history of the time which has elapsed
+      since Gibbon wrote.—M.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LV: The Bulgarians, The Hungarians And The Russians.—Part
+      I.
+
+     The Bulgarians.—Origin, Migrations, And Settlement Of The
+     Hungarians.—Their Inroads In The East And West.—The Monarchy Of
+     Russia.—Geography And Trade.—Wars Of The Russians Against The
+     Greek Empire.—Conversion Of The Barbarians.
+
+      Under the reign of Constantine the grandson of Heraclius, the
+      ancient barrier of the Danube, so often violated and so often
+      restored, was irretrievably swept away by a new deluge of
+      Barbarians. Their progress was favored by the caliphs, their
+      unknown and accidental auxiliaries: the Roman legions were
+      occupied in Asia; and after the loss of Syria, Egypt, and Africa,
+      the Caesars were twice reduced to the danger and disgrace of
+      defending their capital against the Saracens. If, in the account
+      of this interesting people, I have deviated from the strict and
+      original line of my undertaking, the merit of the subject will
+      hide my transgression, or solicit my excuse. In the East, in the
+      West, in war, in religion, in science, in their prosperity, and
+      in their decay, the Arabians press themselves on our curiosity:
+      the first overthrow of the church and empire of the Greeks may be
+      imputed to their arms; and the disciples of Mahomet still hold
+      the civil and religious sceptre of the Oriental world. But the
+      same labor would be unworthily bestowed on the swarms of savages,
+      who, between the seventh and the twelfth century, descended from
+      the plains of Scythia, in transient inroad or perpetual
+      emigration. 1 Their names are uncouth, their origins doubtful,
+      their actions obscure, their superstition was blind, their valor
+      brutal, and the uniformity of their public and private lives was
+      neither softened by innocence nor refined by policy. The majesty
+      of the Byzantine throne repelled and survived their disorderly
+      attacks; the greater part of these Barbarians has disappeared
+      without leaving any memorial of their existence, and the
+      despicable remnant continues, and may long continue, to groan
+      under the dominion of a foreign tyrant. From the antiquities of,
+      I. Bulgarians, II. Hungarians, and, III. Russians, I shall
+      content myself with selecting such facts as yet deserve to be
+      remembered. The conquests of the, IV. Normans, and the monarchy
+      of the, V. Turks, will naturally terminate in the memorable
+      Crusades to the Holy Land, and the double fall of the city and
+      empire of Constantine.
+
+      1 (return) [ All the passages of the Byzantine history which
+      relate to the Barbarians are compiled, methodized, and
+      transcribed, in a Latin version, by the laborious John Gotthelf
+      Stritter, in his “Memoriae Populorum, ad Danubium, Pontum
+      Euxinum, Paludem Maeotidem, Caucasum, Mare Caspium, et inde Magis
+      ad Septemtriones incolentium.” Petropoli, 1771-1779; in four
+      tomes, or six volumes, in 4to. But the fashion has not enhanced
+      the price of these raw materials.]
+
+      I. In his march to Italy, Theodoric 2 the Ostrogoth had trampled
+      on the arms of the Bulgarians. After this defeat, the name and
+      the nation are lost during a century and a half; and it may be
+      suspected that the same or a similar appellation was revived by
+      strange colonies from the Borysthenes, the Tanais, or the Volga.
+      A king of the ancient Bulgaria, 3 bequeathed to his five sons a
+      last lesson of moderation and concord. It was received as youth
+      has ever received the counsels of age and experience: the five
+      princes buried their father; divided his subjects and cattle;
+      forgot his advice; separated from each other; and wandered in
+      quest of fortune till we find the most adventurous in the heart
+      of Italy, under the protection of the exarch of Ravenna. 4 But
+      the stream of emigration was directed or impelled towards the
+      capital. The modern Bulgaria, along the southern banks of the
+      Danube, was stamped with the name and image which it has retained
+      to the present hour: the new conquerors successively acquired, by
+      war or treaty, the Roman provinces of Dardania, Thessaly, and the
+      two Epirus; 5 the ecclesiastical supremacy was translated from
+      the native city of Justinian; and, in their prosperous age, the
+      obscure town of Lychnidus, or Achrida, was honored with the
+      throne of a king and a patriarch. 6 The unquestionable evidence
+      of language attests the descent of the Bulgarians from the
+      original stock of the Sclavonian, or more properly Slavonian,
+      race; 7 and the kindred bands of Servians, Bosnians, Rascians,
+      Croatians, Walachians, 8 &c., followed either the standard or the
+      example of the leading tribe. From the Euxine to the Adriatic, in
+      the state of captives, or subjects, or allies, or enemies, of the
+      Greek empire, they overspread the land; and the national
+      appellation of the slaves 9 has been degraded by chance or malice
+      from the signification of glory to that of servitude. 10 Among
+      these colonies, the Chrobatians, 11 or Croats, who now attend the
+      motions of an Austrian army, are the descendants of a mighty
+      people, the conquerors and sovereigns of Dalmatia. The maritime
+      cities, and of these the infant republic of Ragusa, implored the
+      aid and instructions of the Byzantine court: they were advised by
+      the magnanimous Basil to reserve a small acknowledgment of their
+      fidelity to the Roman empire, and to appease, by an annual
+      tribute, the wrath of these irresistible Barbarians. The kingdom
+      of Crotia was shared by eleven Zoupans, or feudatory lords; and
+      their united forces were numbered at sixty thousand horse and one
+      hundred thousand foot. A long sea-coast, indented with capacious
+      harbors, covered with a string of islands, and almost in sight of
+      the Italian shores, disposed both the natives and strangers to
+      the practice of navigation. The boats or brigantines of the
+      Croats were constructed after the fashion of the old Liburnians:
+      one hundred and eighty vessels may excite the idea of a
+      respectable navy; but our seamen will smile at the allowance of
+      ten, or twenty, or forty, men for each of these ships of war.
+      They were gradually converted to the more honorable service of
+      commerce; yet the Sclavonian pirates were still frequent and
+      dangerous; and it was not before the close of the tenth century
+      that the freedom and sovereignty of the Gulf were effectually
+      vindicated by the Venetian republic. 12 The ancestors of these
+      Dalmatian kings were equally removed from the use and abuse of
+      navigation: they dwelt in the White Croatia, in the inland
+      regions of Silesia and Little Poland, thirty days’ journey,
+      according to the Greek computation, from the sea of darkness.
+
+      2 (return) [ Hist. vol. iv. p. 11.]
+
+      3 (return) [ Theophanes, p. 296-299. Anastasius, p. 113.
+      Nicephorus, C. P. p. 22, 23. Theophanes places the old Bulgaria
+      on the banks of the Atell or Volga; but he deprives himself of
+      all geographical credit by discharging that river into the Euxine
+      Sea.]
+
+      4 (return) [ Paul. Diacon. de Gestis Langobard. l. v. c. 29, p.
+      881, 882. The apparent difference between the Lombard historian
+      and the above-mentioned Greeks, is easily reconciled by Camillo
+      Pellegrino (de Ducatu Beneventano, dissert. vii. in the
+      Scriptores Rerum Ital. (tom. v. p. 186, 187) and Beretti,
+      (Chorograph. Italiae Medii Aevi, p. 273, &c. This Bulgarian
+      colony was planted in a vacant district of Samnium, and learned
+      the Latin, without forgetting their native language.]
+
+      5 (return) [ These provinces of the Greek idiom and empire are
+      assigned to the Bulgarian kingdom in the dispute of
+      ecclesiastical jurisdiction between the patriarchs of Rome and
+      Constantinople, (Baronius, Annal. Eccles. A.D. 869, No. 75.)]
+
+      6 (return) [ The situation and royalty of Lychnidus, or Achrida,
+      are clearly expressed in Cedrenus, (p. 713.) The removal of an
+      archbishop or patriarch from Justinianea prima to Lychnidus, and
+      at length to Ternovo, has produced some perplexity in the ideas
+      or language of the Greeks, (Nicephorus Gregoras, l. ii. c. 2, p.
+      14, 15. Thomassin, Discipline de l’Eglise, tom. i. l. i. c. 19,
+      23;) and a Frenchman (D’Anville) is more accurately skilled in
+      the geography of their own country, (Hist. de l’Academie des
+      Inscriptions, tom. xxxi.)]
+
+      7 (return) [ Chalcocondyles, a competent judge, affirms the
+      identity of the language of the Dalmatians, Bosnians, Servians,
+      Bulgarians, Poles, (de Rebus Turcicis, l. x. p. 283,) and
+      elsewhere of the Bohemians, (l. ii. p. 38.) The same author has
+      marked the separate idiom of the Hungarians. * Note: The
+      Slavonian languages are no doubt Indo-European, though an
+      original branch of that great family, comprehending the various
+      dialects named by Gibbon and others. Shafarik, t. 33.—M. 1845.]
+
+      8 (return) [ See the work of John Christopher de Jordan, de
+      Originibus Sclavicis, Vindobonae, 1745, in four parts, or two
+      volumes in folio. His collections and researches are useful to
+      elucidate the antiquities of Bohemia and the adjacent countries;
+      but his plan is narrow, his style barbarous, his criticism
+      shallow, and the Aulic counsellor is not free from the prejudices
+      of a Bohemian. * Note: We have at length a profound and
+      satisfactory work on the Slavonian races. Shafarik, Slawische
+      Alterthumer. B. 2, Leipzig, 1843.—M. 1845.]
+
+      9 (return) [ Jordan subscribes to the well-known and probable
+      derivation from Slava, laus, gloria, a word of familiar use in
+      the different dialects and parts of speech, and which forms the
+      termination of the most illustrious names, (de Originibus
+      Sclavicis, pars. i. p. 40, pars. iv. p. 101, 102)]
+
+      10 (return) [ This conversion of a national into an appellative
+      name appears to have arisen in the viiith century, in the
+      Oriental France, where the princes and bishops were rich in
+      Sclavonian captives, not of the Bohemian, (exclaims Jordan,) but
+      of Sorabian race. From thence the word was extended to the
+      general use, to the modern languages, and even to the style of
+      the last Byzantines, (see the Greek and Latin Glossaries and
+      Ducange.) The confusion of the Servians with the Latin Servi, was
+      still more fortunate and familiar, (Constant. Porphyr. de
+      Administrando, Imperio, c. 32, p. 99.)]
+
+      11 (return) [ The emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, most
+      accurate for his own times, most fabulous for preceding ages,
+      describes the Sclavonians of Dalmatia, (c. 29-36.)]
+
+      12 (return) [ See the anonymous Chronicle of the xith century,
+      ascribed to John Sagorninus, (p. 94-102,) and that composed in
+      the xivth by the Doge Andrew Dandolo, (Script. Rerum. Ital. tom.
+      xii. p. 227-230,) the two oldest monuments of the history of
+      Venice.]
+
+      The glory of the Bulgarians 13 was confined to a narrow scope
+      both of time and place. In the ninth and tenth centuries, they
+      reigned to the south of the Danube; but the more powerful nations
+      that had followed their emigration repelled all return to the
+      north and all progress to the west. Yet in the obscure catalogue
+      of their exploits, they might boast an honor which had hitherto
+      been appropriated to the Goths: that of slaying in battle one of
+      the successors of Augustus and Constantine. The emperor
+      Nicephorus had lost his fame in the Arabian, he lost his life in
+      the Sclavonian, war. In his first operations he advanced with
+      boldness and success into the centre of Bulgaria, and burnt the
+      royal court, which was probably no more than an edifice and
+      village of timber. But while he searched the spoil and refused
+      all offers of treaty, his enemies collected their spirits and
+      their forces: the passes of retreat were insuperably barred; and
+      the trembling Nicephorus was heard to exclaim, “Alas, alas!
+      unless we could assume the wings of birds, we cannot hope to
+      escape.” Two days he waited his fate in the inactivity of
+      despair; but, on the morning of the third, the Bulgarians
+      surprised the camp, and the Roman prince, with the great officers
+      of the empire, were slaughtered in their tents. The body of
+      Valens had been saved from insult; but the head of Nicephorus was
+      exposed on a spear, and his skull, enchased with gold, was often
+      replenished in the feasts of victory. The Greeks bewailed the
+      dishonor of the throne; but they acknowledged the just punishment
+      of avarice and cruelty. This savage cup was deeply tinctured with
+      the manners of the Scythian wilderness; but they were softened
+      before the end of the same century by a peaceful intercourse with
+      the Greeks, the possession of a cultivated region, and the
+      introduction of the Christian worship. The nobles of Bulgaria
+      were educated in the schools and palace of Constantinople; and
+      Simeon, 14 a youth of the royal line, was instructed in the
+      rhetoric of Demosthenes and the logic of Aristotle. He
+      relinquished the profession of a monk for that of a king and
+      warrior; and in his reign of more than forty years, Bulgaria
+      assumed a rank among the civilized powers of the earth. The
+      Greeks, whom he repeatedly attacked, derived a faint consolation
+      from indulging themselves in the reproaches of perfidy and
+      sacrilege. They purchased the aid of the Pagan Turks; but Simeon,
+      in a second battle, redeemed the loss of the first, at a time
+      when it was esteemed a victory to elude the arms of that
+      formidable nation. The Servians were overthrown, made captive and
+      dispersed; and those who visited the country before their
+      restoration could discover no more than fifty vagrants, without
+      women or children, who extorted a precarious subsistence from the
+      chase. On classic ground, on the banks of Achelous, the greeks
+      were defeated; their horn was broken by the strength of the
+      Barbaric Hercules. 15 He formed the siege of Constantinople; and,
+      in a personal conference with the emperor, Simeon imposed the
+      conditions of peace. They met with the most jealous precautions:
+      the royal gallery was drawn close to an artificial and
+      well-fortified platform; and the majesty of the purple was
+      emulated by the pomp of the Bulgarian. “Are you a Christian?”
+      said the humble Romanus: “it is your duty to abstain from the
+      blood of your fellow-Christians. Has the thirst of riches seduced
+      you from the blessings of peace? Sheathe your sword, open your
+      hand, and I will satiate the utmost measure of your desires.” The
+      reconciliation was sealed by a domestic alliance; the freedom of
+      trade was granted or restored; the first honors of the court were
+      secured to the friends of Bulgaria, above the ambassadors of
+      enemies or strangers; 16 and her princes were dignified with the
+      high and invidious title of Basileus, or emperor. But this
+      friendship was soon disturbed: after the death of Simeon, the
+      nations were again in arms; his feeble successors were divided
+      and extinguished; and, in the beginning of the eleventh century,
+      the second Basil, who was born in the purple, deserved the
+      appellation of conqueror of the Bulgarians. His avarice was in
+      some measure gratified by a treasure of four hundred thousand
+      pounds sterling, (ten thousand pounds’ weight of gold,) which he
+      found in the palace of Lychnidus. His cruelty inflicted a cool
+      and exquisite vengeance on fifteen thousand captives who had been
+      guilty of the defence of their country. They were deprived of
+      sight; but to one of each hundred a single eye was left, that he
+      might conduct his blind century to the presence of their king.
+      Their king is said to have expired of grief and horror; the
+      nation was awed by this terrible example; the Bulgarians were
+      swept away from their settlements, and circumscribed within a
+      narrow province; the surviving chiefs bequeathed to their
+      children the advice of patience and the duty of revenge.
+
+      13 (return) [ The first kingdom of the Bulgarians may be found,
+      under the proper dates, in the Annals of Cedrenus and Zonaras.
+      The Byzantine materials are collected by Stritter, (Memoriae
+      Populorum, tom. ii. pars ii. p. 441-647;) and the series of their
+      kings is disposed and settled by Ducange, (Fam. Byzant. p.
+      305-318.]
+
+      14 (return) [ Simeonem semi-Graecum esse aiebant, eo quod a
+      pueritia Byzantii Demosthenis rhetoricam et Aristotelis
+      syllogismos didicerat, (Liutprand, l. iii. c. 8.) He says in
+      another place, Simeon, fortis bella tor, Bulgariae praeerat;
+      Christianus, sed vicinis Graecis valde inimicus, (l. i. c. 2.)]
+
+      15 (return) [—Rigidum fera dextera cornu Dum tenet, infregit,
+      truncaque a fronte revellit. Ovid (Metamorph. ix. 1-100) has
+      boldly painted the combat of the river god and the hero; the
+      native and the stranger.]
+
+      16 (return) [ The ambassador of Otho was provoked by the Greek
+      excuses, cum Christophori filiam Petrus Bulgarorum Vasileus
+      conjugem duceret, Symphona, id est consonantia scripto juramento
+      firmata sunt, ut omnium gentium Apostolis, id est nunciis, penes
+      nos Bulgarorum Apostoli praeponantur, honorentur, diligantur,
+      (Liutprand in Legatione, p. 482.) See the Ceremoniale of
+      Constantine Porphyrogenitus, tom. i. p. 82, tom. ii. p. 429, 430,
+      434, 435, 443, 444, 446, 447, with the annotations of Reiske.]
+
+      II. When the black swarm of Hungarians first hung over Europe,
+      above nine hundred years after the Christian aera, they were
+      mistaken by fear and superstition for the Gog and Magog of the
+      Scriptures, the signs and forerunners of the end of the world. 17
+      Since the introduction of letters, they have explored their own
+      antiquities with a strong and laudable impulse of patriotic
+      curiosity. 18 Their rational criticism can no longer be amused
+      with a vain pedigree of Attila and the Huns; but they complain
+      that their primitive records have perished in the Tartar war;
+      that the truth or fiction of their rustic songs is long since
+      forgotten; and that the fragments of a rude chronicle 19 must be
+      painfully reconciled with the contemporary though foreign
+      intelligence of the imperial geographer. 20 Magiar is the
+      national and oriental denomination of the Hungarians; but, among
+      the tribes of Scythia, they are distinguished by the Greeks under
+      the proper and peculiar name of Turks, as the descendants of that
+      mighty people who had conquered and reigned from China to the
+      Volga. The Pannonian colony preserved a correspondence of trade
+      and amity with the eastern Turks on the confines of Persia and
+      after a separation of three hundred and fifty years, the
+      missionaries of the king of Hungary discovered and visited their
+      ancient country near the banks of the Volga. They were hospitably
+      entertained by a people of Pagans and Savages who still bore the
+      name of Hungarians; conversed in their native tongue, recollected
+      a tradition of their long-lost brethren, and listened with
+      amazement to the marvellous tale of their new kingdom and
+      religion. The zeal of conversion was animated by the interest of
+      consanguinity; and one of the greatest of their princes had
+      formed the generous, though fruitless, design of replenishing the
+      solitude of Pannonia by this domestic colony from the heart of
+      Tartary. 21 From this primitive country they were driven to the
+      West by the tide of war and emigration, by the weight of the more
+      distant tribes, who at the same time were fugitives and
+      conquerors. 2111 Reason or fortune directed their course towards
+      the frontiers of the Roman empire: they halted in the usual
+      stations along the banks of the great rivers; and in the
+      territories of Moscow, Kiow, and Moldavia, some vestiges have
+      been discovered of their temporary residence. In this long and
+      various peregrination, they could not always escape the dominion
+      of the stronger; and the purity of their blood was improved or
+      sullied by the mixture of a foreign race: from a motive of
+      compulsion, or choice, several tribes of the Chazars were
+      associated to the standard of their ancient vassals; introduced
+      the use of a second language; and obtained by their superior
+      renown the most honorable place in the front of battle. The
+      military force of the Turks and their allies marched in seven
+      equal and artificial divisions; each division was formed of
+      thirty thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven warriors, and the
+      proportion of women, children, and servants, supposes and
+      requires at least a million of emigrants. Their public counsels
+      were directed by seven vayvods, or hereditary chiefs; but the
+      experience of discord and weakness recommended the more simple
+      and vigorous administration of a single person. The sceptre,
+      which had been declined by the modest Lebedias, was granted to
+      the birth or merit of Almus and his son Arpad, and the authority
+      of the supreme khan of the Chazars confirmed the engagement of
+      the prince and people; of the people to obey his commands, of the
+      prince to consult their happiness and glory.
+
+      17 (return) [ A bishop of Wurtzburgh submitted his opinion to a
+      reverend abbot; but he more gravely decided, that Gog and Magog
+      were the spiritual persecutors of the church; since Gog signifies
+      the root, the pride of the Heresiarchs, and Magog what comes from
+      the root, the propagation of their sects. Yet these men once
+      commanded the respect of mankind, (Fleury, Hist. Eccles. tom. xi.
+      p. 594, &c.)]
+
+      18 (return) [ The two national authors, from whom I have derived
+      the mos assistance, are George Pray (Dissertationes and Annales
+      veterum Hun garorum, &c., Vindobonae, 1775, in folio) and Stephen
+      Katona, (Hist. Critica Ducum et Regum Hungariae Stirpis
+      Arpadianae, Paestini, 1778-1781, 5 vols. in octavo.) The first
+      embraces a large and often conjectural space; the latter, by his
+      learning, judgment, and perspicuity, deserves the name of a
+      critical historian. * Note: Compare Engel Geschichte des
+      Ungrischen Reichs und seiner Neben lander, Halle, 1797, and
+      Mailath, Geschichte der Magyaren, Wien, 1828. In an appendix to
+      the latter work will be found a brief abstract of the
+      speculations (for it is difficult to consider them more) which
+      have been advanced by the learned, on the origin of the Magyar
+      and Hungarian names. Compare vol. vi. p. 35, note.—M.]
+
+      19 (return) [ The author of this Chronicle is styled the notary
+      of King Bela. Katona has assigned him to the xiith century, and
+      defends his character against the hypercriticism of Pray. This
+      rude annalist must have transcribed some historical records,
+      since he could affirm with dignity, rejectis falsis fabulis
+      rusticorum, et garrulo cantu joculatorum. In the xvth century,
+      these fables were collected by Thurotzius, and embellished by the
+      Italian Bonfinius. See the Preliminary Discourse in the Hist.
+      Critica Ducum, p. 7-33.]
+
+      20 (return) [ See Constantine de Administrando Imperio, c. 3, 4,
+      13, 38-42, Katona has nicely fixed the composition of this work
+      to the years 949, 950, 951, (p. 4-7.) The critical historian (p.
+      34-107) endeavors to prove the existence, and to relate the
+      actions, of a first duke Almus the father of Arpad, who is
+      tacitly rejected by Constantine.]
+
+      21 (return) [ Pray (Dissert. p. 37-39, &c.) produces and
+      illustrates the original passages of the Hungarian missionaries,
+      Bonfinius and Aeneas Sylvius.]
+
+      2111 (return) [ In the deserts to the south-east of Astrakhan
+      have been found the ruins of a city named Madchar, which proves
+      the residence of the Hungarians or Magiar in those regions.
+      Precis de la Geog. Univ. par Malte Brun, vol. i. p. 353.—G.——This
+      is contested by Klaproth in his Travels, c. xxi. Madschar, (he
+      states) in old Tartar, means “stone building.” This was a Tartar
+      city mentioned by the Mahometan writers.—M.]
+
+      With this narrative we might be reasonably content, if the
+      penetration of modern learning had not opened a new and larger
+      prospect of the antiquities of nations. The Hungarian language
+      stands alone, and as it were insulated, among the Sclavonian
+      dialects; but it bears a close and clear affinity to the idioms
+      of the Fennic race, 22 of an obsolete and savage race, which
+      formerly occupied the northern regions of Asia and Europe. 2211
+      The genuine appellation of Ugri or Igours is found on the western
+      confines of China; 23 their migration to the banks of the Irtish
+      is attested by Tartar evidence; 24 a similar name and language
+      are detected in the southern parts of Siberia; 25 and the remains
+      of the Fennic tribes are widely, though thinly scattered from the
+      sources of the Oby to the shores of Lapland. 26 The consanguinity
+      of the Hungarians and Laplanders would display the powerful
+      energy of climate on the children of a common parent; the lively
+      contrast between the bold adventurers who are intoxicated with
+      the wines of the Danube, and the wretched fugitives who are
+      immersed beneath the snows of the polar circle.
+
+      Arms and freedom have ever been the ruling, though too often the
+      unsuccessful, passion of the Hungarians, who are endowed by
+      nature with a vigorous constitution of soul and body. 27 Extreme
+      cold has diminished the stature and congealed the faculties of
+      the Laplanders; and the arctic tribes, alone among the sons of
+      men, are ignorant of war, and unconscious of human blood; a happy
+      ignorance, if reason and virtue were the guardians of their
+      peace! 28
+
+      22 (return) [ Fischer in the Quaestiones Petropolitanae, de
+      Origine Ungrorum, and Pray, Dissertat. i. ii. iii. &c., have
+      drawn up several comparative tables of the Hungarian with the
+      Fennic dialects. The affinity is indeed striking, but the lists
+      are short; the words are purposely chosen; and I read in the
+      learned Bayer, (Comment. Academ. Petropol. tom. x. p. 374,) that
+      although the Hungarian has adopted many Fennic words, (innumeras
+      voces,) it essentially differs toto genio et natura.]
+
+      2211 (return) [ The connection between the Magyar language and
+      that of the Finns is now almost generally admitted. Klaproth,
+      Asia Polyglotta, p. 188, &c. Malte Bran, tom. vi. p. 723, &c.—M.]
+
+      23 (return) [ In the religion of Turfan, which is clearly and
+      minutely described by the Chinese Geographers, (Gaubil, Hist. du
+      Grand Gengiscan, 13; De Guignes, Hist. des Huns, tom. ii. p. 31,
+      &c.)]
+
+      24 (return) [ Hist. Genealogique des Tartars, par Abulghazi
+      Bahadur Khan partie ii. p. 90-98.]
+
+      25 (return) [ In their journey to Pekin, both Isbrand Ives
+      (Harris’s Collection of Voyages and Travels, vol. ii. p. 920,
+      921) and Bell (Travels, vol. i p. 174) found the Vogulitz in the
+      neighborhood of Tobolsky. By the tortures of the etymological
+      art, Ugur and Vogul are reduced to the same name; the
+      circumjacent mountains really bear the appellation of Ugrian; and
+      of all the Fennic dialects, the Vogulian is the nearest to the
+      Hungarian, (Fischer, Dissert. i. p. 20-30. Pray. Dissert. ii. p.
+      31-34.)]
+
+      26 (return) [ The eight tribes of the Fennic race are described
+      in the curious work of M. Leveque, (Hist. des Peuples soumis a la
+      Domination de la Russie, tom. ii. p. 361-561.)]
+
+      27 (return) [ This picture of the Hungarians and Bulgarians is
+      chiefly drawn from the Tactics of Leo, p. 796-801, and the Latin
+      Annals, which are alleged by Baronius, Pagi, and Muratori, A.D.
+      889, &c.]
+
+      28 (return) [ Buffon, Hist. Naturelle, tom. v. p. 6, in 12mo.
+      Gustavus Adolphus attempted, without success, to form a regiment
+      of Laplanders. Grotius says of these arctic tribes, arma arcus et
+      pharetra, sed adversus feras, (Annal. l. iv. p. 236;) and
+      attempts, after the manner of Tacitus, to varnish with philosophy
+      their brutal ignorance.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LV: The Bulgarians, The Hungarians And The Russians.—Part
+      II.
+
+      It is the observation of the Imperial author of the Tactics, 29
+      that all the Scythian hordes resembled each other in their
+      pastoral and military life, that they all practised the same
+      means of subsistence, and employed the same instruments of
+      destruction. But he adds, that the two nations of Bulgarians and
+      Hungarians were superior to their brethren, and similar to each
+      other in the improvements, however rude, of their discipline and
+      government: their visible likeness determines Leo to confound his
+      friends and enemies in one common description; and the picture
+      may be heightened by some strokes from their contemporaries of
+      the tenth century. Except the merit and fame of military prowess,
+      all that is valued by mankind appeared vile and contemptible to
+      these Barbarians, whose native fierceness was stimulated by the
+      consciousness of numbers and freedom. The tents of the Hungarians
+      were of leather, their garments of fur; they shaved their hair,
+      and scarified their faces: in speech they were slow, in action
+      prompt, in treaty perfidious; and they shared the common reproach
+      of Barbarians, too ignorant to conceive the importance of truth,
+      too proud to deny or palliate the breach of their most solemn
+      engagements. Their simplicity has been praised; yet they
+      abstained only from the luxury they had never known; whatever
+      they saw they coveted; their desires were insatiate, and their
+      sole industry was the hand of violence and rapine. By the
+      definition of a pastoral nation, I have recalled a long
+      description of the economy, the warfare, and the government that
+      prevail in that state of society; I may add, that to fishing, as
+      well as to the chase, the Hungarians were indebted for a part of
+      their subsistence; and since they seldom cultivated the ground,
+      they must, at least in their new settlements, have sometimes
+      practised a slight and unskilful husbandry. In their emigrations,
+      perhaps in their expeditions, the host was accompanied by
+      thousands of sheep and oxen which increased the cloud of
+      formidable dust, and afforded a constant and wholesale supply of
+      milk and animal food. A plentiful command of forage was the first
+      care of the general, and if the flocks and herds were secure of
+      their pastures, the hardy warrior was alike insensible of danger
+      and fatigue. The confusion of men and cattle that overspread the
+      country exposed their camp to a nocturnal surprise, had not a
+      still wider circuit been occupied by their light cavalry,
+      perpetually in motion to discover and delay the approach of the
+      enemy. After some experience of the Roman tactics, they adopted
+      the use of the sword and spear, the helmet of the soldier, and
+      the iron breastplate of his steed: but their native and deadly
+      weapon was the Tartar bow: from the earliest infancy their
+      children and servants were exercised in the double science of
+      archery and horsemanship; their arm was strong; their aim was
+      sure; and in the most rapid career, they were taught to throw
+      themselves backwards, and to shoot a volley of arrows into the
+      air. In open combat, in secret ambush, in flight, or pursuit,
+      they were equally formidable; an appearance of order was
+      maintained in the foremost ranks, but their charge was driven
+      forwards by the impatient pressure of succeeding crowds. They
+      pursued, headlong and rash, with loosened reins and horrific
+      outcries; but, if they fled, with real or dissembled fear, the
+      ardor of a pursuing foe was checked and chastised by the same
+      habits of irregular speed and sudden evolution. In the abuse of
+      victory, they astonished Europe, yet smarting from the wounds of
+      the Saracen and the Dane: mercy they rarely asked, and more
+      rarely bestowed: both sexes if accused is equally inaccessible to
+      pity, and their appetite for raw flesh might countenance the
+      popular tale, that they drank the blood, and feasted on the
+      hearts of the slain. Yet the Hungarians were not devoid of those
+      principles of justice and humanity, which nature has implanted in
+      every bosom. The license of public and private injuries was
+      restrained by laws and punishments; and in the security of an
+      open camp, theft is the most tempting and most dangerous offence.
+      Among the Barbarians there were many, whose spontaneous virtue
+      supplied their laws and corrected their manners, who performed
+      the duties, and sympathized with the affections, of social life.
+
+      29 (return) [ Leo has observed, that the government of the Turks
+      was monarchical, and that their punishments were rigorous,
+      (Tactic. p. 896) Rhegino (in Chron. A.D. 889) mentions theft as a
+      capital crime, and his jurisprudence is confirmed by the original
+      code of St. Stephen, (A.D. 1016.) If a slave were guilty, he was
+      chastised, for the first time, with the loss of his nose, or a
+      fine of five heifers; for the second, with the loss of his ears,
+      or a similar fine; for the third, with death; which the freeman
+      did not incur till the fourth offence, as his first penalty was
+      the loss of liberty, (Katona, Hist. Regum Hungar tom. i. p. 231,
+      232.)]
+
+      After a long pilgrimage of flight or victory, the Turkish hordes
+      approached the common limits of the French and Byzantine empires.
+      Their first conquests and final settlements extended on either
+      side of the Danube above Vienna, below Belgrade, and beyond the
+      measure of the Roman province of Pannonia, or the modern kingdom
+      of Hungary. 30 That ample and fertile land was loosely occupied
+      by the Moravians, a Sclavonian name and tribe, which were driven
+      by the invaders into the compass of a narrow province.
+      Charlemagne had stretched a vague and nominal empire as far as
+      the edge of Transylvania; but, after the failure of his
+      legitimate line, the dukes of Moravia forgot their obedience and
+      tribute to the monarchs of Oriental France. The bastard Arnulph
+      was provoked to invite the arms of the Turks: they rushed through
+      the real or figurative wall, which his indiscretion had thrown
+      open; and the king of Germany has been justly reproached as a
+      traitor to the civil and ecclesiastical society of the
+      Christians. During the life of Arnulph, the Hungarians were
+      checked by gratitude or fear; but in the infancy of his son Lewis
+      they discovered and invaded Bavaria; and such was their Scythian
+      speed, that in a single day a circuit of fifty miles was stripped
+      and consumed. In the battle of Augsburgh the Christians
+      maintained their advantage till the seventh hour of the day, they
+      were deceived and vanquished by the flying stratagems of the
+      Turkish cavalry. The conflagration spread over the provinces of
+      Bavaria, Swabia, and Franconia; and the Hungarians 31 promoted
+      the reign of anarchy, by forcing the stoutest barons to
+      discipline their vassals and fortify their castles. The origin of
+      walled towns is ascribed to this calamitous period; nor could any
+      distance be secure against an enemy, who, almost at the same
+      instant, laid in ashes the Helvetian monastery of St. Gall, and
+      the city of Bremen, on the shores of the northern ocean. Above
+      thirty years the Germanic empire, or kingdom, was subject to the
+      ignominy of tribute; and resistance was disarmed by the menace,
+      the serious and effectual menace of dragging the women and
+      children into captivity, and of slaughtering the males above the
+      age of ten years. I have neither power nor inclination to follow
+      the Hungarians beyond the Rhine; but I must observe with
+      surprise, that the southern provinces of France were blasted by
+      the tempest, and that Spain, behind her Pyrenees, was astonished
+      at the approach of these formidable strangers. 32 The vicinity of
+      Italy had tempted their early inroads; but from their camp on the
+      Brenta, they beheld with some terror the apparent strength and
+      populousness of the new discovered country. They requested leave
+      to retire; their request was proudly rejected by the Italian
+      king; and the lives of twenty thousand Christians paid the
+      forfeit of his obstinacy and rashness. Among the cities of the
+      West, the royal Pavia was conspicuous in fame and splendor; and
+      the preeminence of Rome itself was only derived from the relics
+      of the apostles. The Hungarians appeared; Pavia was in flames;
+      forty-three churches were consumed; and, after the massacre of
+      the people, they spared about two hundred wretches who had
+      gathered some bushels of gold and silver (a vague exaggeration)
+      from the smoking ruins of their country. In these annual
+      excursions from the Alps to the neighborhood of Rome and Capua,
+      the churches, that yet escaped, resounded with a fearful litany:
+      “O, save and deliver us from the arrows of the Hungarians!” But
+      the saints were deaf or inexorable; and the torrent rolled
+      forwards, till it was stopped by the extreme land of Calabria. 33
+      A composition was offered and accepted for the head of each
+      Italian subject; and ten bushels of silver were poured forth in
+      the Turkish camp. But falsehood is the natural antagonist of
+      violence; and the robbers were defrauded both in the numbers of
+      the assessment and the standard of the metal. On the side of the
+      East, the Hungarians were opposed in doubtful conflict by the
+      equal arms of the Bulgarians, whose faith forbade an alliance
+      with the Pagans, and whose situation formed the barrier of the
+      Byzantine empire. The barrier was overturned; the emperor of
+      Constantinople beheld the waving banners of the Turks; and one of
+      their boldest warriors presumed to strike a battle-axe into the
+      golden gate. The arts and treasures of the Greeks diverted the
+      assault; but the Hungarians might boast, in their retreat, that
+      they had imposed a tribute on the spirit of Bulgaria and the
+      majesty of the Caesars. 34 The remote and rapid operations of the
+      same campaign appear to magnify the power and numbers of the
+      Turks; but their courage is most deserving of praise, since a
+      light troop of three or four hundred horse would often attempt
+      and execute the most daring inroads to the gates of Thessalonica
+      and Constantinople. At this disastrous aera of the ninth and
+      tenth centuries, Europe was afflicted by a triple scourge from
+      the North, the East, and the South: the Norman, the Hungarian,
+      and the Saracen, sometimes trod the same ground of desolation;
+      and these savage foes might have been compared by Homer to the
+      two lions growling over the carcass of a mangled stag. 35
+
+      30 (return) [ See Katona, Hist. Ducum Hungar. p. 321-352.]
+
+      31 (return) [ Hungarorum gens, cujus omnes fere nationes expertae
+      saevitium &c., is the preface of Liutprand, (l. i. c. 2,) who
+      frequently expatiated on the calamities of his own times. See l.
+      i. c. 5, l. ii. c. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7; l. iii. c. 1, &c., l. v. c.
+      8, 15, in Legat. p. 485. His colors are glaring but his
+      chronology must be rectified by Pagi and Muratori.]
+
+      32 (return) [ The three bloody reigns of Arpad, Zoltan, and
+      Toxus, are critically illustrated by Katona, (Hist. Ducum, &c. p.
+      107-499.) His diligence has searched both natives and foreigners;
+      yet to the deeds of mischief, or glory, I have been able to add
+      the destruction of Bremen, (Adam Bremensis, i. 43.)]
+
+      33 (return) [ Muratori has considered with patriotic care the
+      danger and resources of Modena. The citizens besought St.
+      Geminianus, their patron, to avert, by his intercession, the
+      rabies, flagellum, &c. Nunc te rogamus, licet servi pessimi, Ab
+      Ungerorum nos defendas jaculis.The bishop erected walls for the
+      public defence, not contra dominos serenos, (Antiquitat. Ital.
+      Med. Aevi, tom. i. dissertat. i. p. 21, 22,) and the song of the
+      nightly watch is not without elegance or use, (tom. iii. dis. xl.
+      p. 709.) The Italian annalist has accurately traced the series of
+      their inroads, (Annali d’ Italia, tom. vii. p. 365, 367, 398,
+      401, 437, 440, tom. viii. p. 19, 41, 52, &c.)]
+
+      34 (return) [ Both the Hungarian and Russian annals suppose, that
+      they besieged, or attacked, or insulted Constantinople, (Pray,
+      dissertat. x. p. 239. Katona, Hist. Ducum, p. 354-360;) and the
+      fact is almost confessed by the Byzantine historians, (Leo
+      Grammaticus, p. 506. Cedrenus, tom. ii. p. 629: ) yet, however
+      glorious to the nation, it is denied or doubted by the critical
+      historian, and even by the notary of Bela. Their scepticism is
+      meritorious; they could not safely transcribe or believe the
+      rusticorum fabulas: but Katona might have given due attention to
+      the evidence of Liutprand, Bulgarorum gentem atque daecorum
+      tributariam fecerant, (Hist. l. ii. c. 4, p. 435.)]
+
+      35 (return) [—Iliad, xvi. 756.]
+
+      The deliverance of Germany and Christendom was achieved by the
+      Saxon princes, Henry the Fowler and Otho the Great, who, in two
+      memorable battles, forever broke the power of the Hungarians. 36
+      The valiant Henry was roused from a bed of sickness by the
+      invasion of his country; but his mind was vigorous and his
+      prudence successful. “My companions,” said he, on the morning of
+      the combat, “maintain your ranks, receive on your bucklers the
+      first arrows of the Pagans, and prevent their second discharge by
+      the equal and rapid career of your lances.” They obeyed and
+      conquered: and the historical picture of the castle of Merseburgh
+      expressed the features, or at least the character, of Henry, who,
+      in an age of ignorance, intrusted to the finer arts the
+      perpetuity of his name. 37 At the end of twenty years, the
+      children of the Turks who had fallen by his sword invaded the
+      empire of his son; and their force is defined, in the lowest
+      estimate, at one hundred thousand horse. They were invited by
+      domestic faction; the gates of Germany were treacherously
+      unlocked; and they spread, far beyond the Rhine and the Meuse,
+      into the heart of Flanders. But the vigor and prudence of Otho
+      dispelled the conspiracy; the princes were made sensible that
+      unless they were true to each other, their religion and country
+      were irrecoverably lost; and the national powers were reviewed in
+      the plains of Augsburgh. They marched and fought in eight
+      legions, according to the division of provinces and tribes; the
+      first, second, and third, were composed of Bavarians; the fourth,
+      of Franconians; the fifth, of Saxons, under the immediate command
+      of the monarch; the sixth and seventh consisted of Swabians; and
+      the eighth legion, of a thousand Bohemians, closed the rear of
+      the host. The resources of discipline and valor were fortified by
+      the arts of superstition, which, on this occasion, may deserve
+      the epithets of generous and salutary. The soldiers were purified
+      with a fast; the camp was blessed with the relics of saints and
+      martyrs; and the Christian hero girded on his side the sword of
+      Constantine, grasped the invincible spear of Charlemagne, and
+      waved the banner of St. Maurice, the praefect of the Thebaean
+      legion. But his firmest confidence was placed in the holy lance,
+      38 whose point was fashioned of the nails of the cross, and which
+      his father had extorted from the king of Burgundy, by the threats
+      of war, and the gift of a province. The Hungarians were expected
+      in the front; they secretly passed the Lech, a river of Bavaria
+      that falls into the Danube; turned the rear of the Christian
+      army; plundered the baggage, and disordered the legion of Bohemia
+      and Swabia. The battle was restored by the Franconians, whose
+      duke, the valiant Conrad, was pierced with an arrow as he rested
+      from his fatigues: the Saxons fought under the eyes of their
+      king; and his victory surpassed, in merit and importance, the
+      triumphs of the last two hundred years. The loss of the
+      Hungarians was still greater in the flight than in the action;
+      they were encompassed by the rivers of Bavaria; and their past
+      cruelties excluded them from the hope of mercy. Three captive
+      princes were hanged at Ratisbon, the multitude of prisoners was
+      slain or mutilated, and the fugitives, who presumed to appear in
+      the face of their country, were condemned to everlasting poverty
+      and disgrace. 39 Yet the spirit of the nation was humbled, and
+      the most accessible passes of Hungary were fortified with a ditch
+      and rampart. Adversity suggested the counsels of moderation and
+      peace: the robbers of the West acquiesced in a sedentary life;
+      and the next generation was taught, by a discerning prince, that
+      far more might be gained by multiplying and exchanging the
+      produce of a fruitful soil. The native race, the Turkish or
+      Fennic blood, was mingled with new colonies of Scythian or
+      Sclavonian origin; 40 many thousands of robust and industrious
+      captives had been imported from all the countries of Europe; 41
+      and after the marriage of Geisa with a Bavarian princess, he
+      bestowed honors and estates on the nobles of Germany. 42 The son
+      of Geisa was invested with the regal title, and the house of
+      Arpad reigned three hundred years in the kingdom of Hungary. But
+      the freeborn Barbarians were not dazzled by the lustre of the
+      diadem, and the people asserted their indefeasible right of
+      choosing, deposing, and punishing the hereditary servant of the
+      state.
+
+      36 (return) [ They are amply and critically discussed by Katona,
+      (Hist. Dacum, p. 360-368, 427-470.) Liutprand (l. ii. c. 8, 9) is
+      the best evidence for the former, and Witichind (Annal. Saxon. l.
+      iii.) of the latter; but the critical historian will not even
+      overlook the horn of a warrior, which is said to be preserved at
+      Jaz-berid.]
+
+      37 (return) [ Hunc vero triumphum, tam laude quam memoria dignum,
+      ad Meresburgum rex in superiori coenaculo domus per Zeus, id est,
+      picturam, notari praecepit, adeo ut rem veram potius quam
+      verisimilem videas: a high encomium, (Liutprand, l. ii. c. 9.)
+      Another palace in Germany had been painted with holy subjects by
+      the order of Charlemagne; and Muratori may justly affirm, nulla
+      saecula fuere in quibus pictores desiderati fuerint, (Antiquitat.
+      Ital. Medii Aevi, tom. ii. dissert. xxiv. p. 360, 361.) Our
+      domestic claims to antiquity of ignorance and original
+      imperfection (Mr. Walpole’s lively words) are of a much more
+      recent date, (Anecdotes of Painting, vol. i. p. 2, &c.)]
+
+      38 (return) [ See Baronius, Annal. Eccles. A.D. 929, No. 2-5. The
+      lance of Christ is taken from the best evidence, Liutprand, (l.
+      iv. c. 12,) Sigebert, and the Acts of St. Gerard: but the other
+      military relics depend on the faith of the Gesta Anglorum post
+      Bedam, l. ii. c. 8.]
+
+      39 (return) [ Katona, Hist. Ducum Hungariae, p. 500, &c.]
+
+      40 (return) [ Among these colonies we may distinguish, 1. The
+      Chazars, or Cabari, who joined the Hungarians on their march,
+      (Constant. de Admin. Imp. c. 39, 40, p. 108, 109.) 2. The
+      Jazyges, Moravians, and Siculi, whom they found in the land; the
+      last were perhaps a remnant of the Huns of Attila, and were
+      intrusted with the guard of the borders. 3. The Russians, who,
+      like the Swiss in France, imparted a general name to the royal
+      porters. 4. The Bulgarians, whose chiefs (A.D. 956) were invited,
+      cum magna multitudine Hismahelitarum. Had any of those
+      Sclavonians embraced the Mahometan religion? 5. The Bisseni and
+      Cumans, a mixed multitude of Patzinacites, Uzi, Chazars, &c., who
+      had spread to the Lower Danube. The last colony of 40,000 Cumans,
+      A.D. 1239, was received and converted by the kings of Hungary,
+      who derived from that tribe a new regal appellation, (Pray,
+      Dissert. vi. vii. p. 109-173. Katona, Hist. Ducum, p. 95-99,
+      259-264, 476, 479-483, &c.)]
+
+      41 (return) [ Christiani autem, quorum pars major populi est, qui
+      ex omni parte mundi illuc tracti sunt captivi, &c. Such was the
+      language of Piligrinus, the first missionary who entered Hungary,
+      A.D. 973. Pars major is strong. Hist. Ducum, p. 517.]
+
+      42 (return) [ The fideles Teutonici of Geisa are authenticated in
+      old charters: and Katona, with his usual industry, has made a
+      fair estimate of these colonies, which had been so loosely
+      magnified by the Italian Ranzanus, (Hist. Critic. Ducum. p,
+      667-681.)]
+
+      III. The name of Russians 43 was first divulged, in the ninth
+      century, by an embassy of Theophilus, emperor of the East, to the
+      emperor of the West, Lewis, the son of Charlemagne. The Greeks
+      were accompanied by the envoys of the great duke, or chagan, or
+      czar, of the Russians. In their journey to Constantinople, they
+      had traversed many hostile nations; and they hoped to escape the
+      dangers of their return, by requesting the French monarch to
+      transport them by sea to their native country. A closer
+      examination detected their origin: they were the brethren of the
+      Swedes and Normans, whose name was already odious and formidable
+      in France; and it might justly be apprehended, that these Russian
+      strangers were not the messengers of peace, but the emissaries of
+      war. They were detained, while the Greeks were dismissed; and
+      Lewis expected a more satisfactory account, that he might obey
+      the laws of hospitality or prudence, according to the interest of
+      both empires. 44 This Scandinavian origin of the people, or at
+      least the princes, of Russia, may be confirmed and illustrated by
+      the national annals 45 and the general history of the North. The
+      Normans, who had so long been concealed by a veil of impenetrable
+      darkness, suddenly burst forth in the spirit of naval and
+      military enterprise. The vast, and, as it is said, the populous
+      regions of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, were crowded with
+      independent chieftains and desperate adventurers, who sighed in
+      the laziness of peace, and smiled in the agonies of death. Piracy
+      was the exercise, the trade, the glory, and the virtue, of the
+      Scandinavian youth. Impatient of a bleak climate and narrow
+      limits, they started from the banquet, grasped their arms,
+      sounded their horn, ascended their vessels, and explored every
+      coast that promised either spoil or settlement. The Baltic was
+      the first scene of their naval achievements they visited the
+      eastern shores, the silent residence of Fennic and Sclavonic
+      tribes, and the primitive Russians of the Lake Ladoga paid a
+      tribute, the skins of white squirrels, to these strangers, whom
+      they saluted with the title of Varangians 46 or Corsairs. Their
+      superiority in arms, discipline, and renown, commanded the fear
+      and reverence of the natives. In their wars against the more
+      inland savages, the Varangians condescended to serve as friends
+      and auxiliaries, and gradually, by choice or conquest, obtained
+      the dominion of a people whom they were qualified to protect.
+      Their tyranny was expelled, their valor was again recalled, till
+      at length Ruric, a Scandinavian chief, became the father of a
+      dynasty which reigned above seven hundred years. His brothers
+      extended his influence: the example of service and usurpation was
+      imitated by his companions in the southern provinces of Russia;
+      and their establishments, by the usual methods of war and
+      assassination, were cemented into the fabric of a powerful
+      monarchy.
+
+      43 (return) [ Among the Greeks, this national appellation has a
+      singular form, as an undeclinable word, of which many fanciful
+      etymologies have been suggested. I have perused, with pleasure
+      and profit, a dissertation de Origine Russorum (Comment. Academ.
+      Petropolitanae, tom. viii. p. 388-436) by Theophilus Sigefrid
+      Bayer, a learned German, who spent his life and labors in the
+      service of Russia. A geographical tract of D’Anville, de l’Empire
+      de Russie, son Origine, et ses Accroissemens, (Paris, 1772, in
+      12mo.,) has likewise been of use. * Note: The later antiquarians
+      of Russia and Germany appear to aquiesce in the authority of the
+      monk Nestor, the earliest annalist of Russia, who derives the
+      Russians, or Vareques, from Scandinavia. The names of the first
+      founders of the Russian monarchy are Scandinavian or Norman.
+      Their language (according to Const. Porphyrog. de Administrat.
+      Imper. c. 9) differed essentially from the Sclavonian. The author
+      of the Annals of St. Bertin, who first names the Russians (Rhos)
+      in the year 839 of his Annals, assigns them Sweden for their
+      country. So Liutprand calls the Russians the same people as the
+      Normans. The Fins, Laplanders, and Esthonians, call the Swedes,
+      to the present day, Roots, Rootsi, Ruotzi, Rootslaue. See
+      Thunman, Untersuchungen uber der Geschichte des Estlichen
+      Europaischen Volker, p. 374. Gatterer, Comm. Societ. Regbcient.
+      Gotting. xiii. p. 126. Schlozer, in his Nestor. Koch. Revolut. de
+      ‘Europe, vol. i. p. 60. Malte-Brun, Geograph. vol. vi. p.
+      378.—M.]
+
+      44 (return) [ See the entire passage (dignum, says Bayer, ut
+      aureis in tabulis rigatur) in the Annales Bertiniani Francorum,
+      (in Script. Ital. Muratori, tom. ii. pars i. p. 525,) A.D. 839,
+      twenty-two years before the aera of Ruric. In the xth century,
+      Liutprand (Hist. l. v. c. 6) speaks of the Russians and Normans
+      as the same Aquilonares homines of a red complexion.]
+
+      45 (return) [ My knowledge of these annals is drawn from M.
+      Leveque, Histoire de Russie. Nestor, the first and best of these
+      ancient annalists, was a monk of Kiow, who died in the beginning
+      of the xiith century; but his Chronicle was obscure, till it was
+      published at Petersburgh, 1767, in 4to. Leveque, Hist. de Russie,
+      tom. i. p. xvi. Coxe’s Travels, vol. ii. p. 184. * Note: The late
+      M. Schlozer has translated and added a commentary to the Annals
+      of Nestor; and his work is the mine from which henceforth the
+      history of the North must be drawn.—G.]
+
+      46 (return) [ Theophil. Sig. Bayer de Varagis, (for the name is
+      differently spelt,) in Comment. Academ. Petropolitanae, tom. iv.
+      p. 275-311.]
+
+      As long as the descendants of Ruric were considered as aliens and
+      conquerors, they ruled by the sword of the Varangians,
+      distributed estates and subjects to their faithful captains, and
+      supplied their numbers with fresh streams of adventurers from the
+      Baltic coast. 47 But when the Scandinavian chiefs had struck a
+      deep and permanent root into the soil, they mingled with the
+      Russians in blood, religion, and language, and the first
+      Waladimir had the merit of delivering his country from these
+      foreign mercenaries. They had seated him on the throne; his
+      riches were insufficient to satisfy their demands; but they
+      listened to his pleasing advice, that they should seek, not a
+      more grateful, but a more wealthy, master; that they should
+      embark for Greece, where, instead of the skins of squirrels, silk
+      and gold would be the recompense of their service. At the same
+      time, the Russian prince admonished his Byzantine ally to
+      disperse and employ, to recompense and restrain, these impetuous
+      children of the North. Contemporary writers have recorded the
+      introduction, name, and character, of the Varangians: each day
+      they rose in confidence and esteem; the whole body was assembled
+      at Constantinople to perform the duty of guards; and their
+      strength was recruited by a numerous band of their countrymen
+      from the Island of Thule. On this occasion, the vague appellation
+      of Thule is applied to England; and the new Varangians were a
+      colony of English and Danes who fled from the yoke of the Norman
+      conqueror. The habits of pilgrimage and piracy had approximated
+      the countries of the earth; these exiles were entertained in the
+      Byzantine court; and they preserved, till the last age of the
+      empire, the inheritance of spotless loyalty, and the use of the
+      Danish or English tongue. With their broad and double-edged
+      battle-axes on their shoulders, they attended the Greek emperor
+      to the temple, the senate, and the hippodrome; he slept and
+      feasted under their trusty guard; and the keys of the palace, the
+      treasury, and the capital, were held by the firm and faithful
+      hands of the Varangians. 48
+
+      47 (return) [ Yet, as late as the year 1018, Kiow and Russia were
+      still guarded ex fugitivorum servorum robore, confluentium et
+      maxime Danorum. Bayer, who quotes (p. 292) the Chronicle of
+      Dithmar of Merseburgh, observes, that it was unusual for the
+      Germans to enlist in a foreign service.]
+
+      48 (return) [ Ducange has collected from the original authors the
+      state and history of the Varangi at Constantinople, (Glossar.
+      Med. et Infimae Graecitatis, sub voce. Med. et Infimae
+      Latinitatis, sub voce Vagri. Not. ad Alexiad. Annae Comnenae, p.
+      256, 257, 258. Notes sur Villehardouin, p. 296-299.) See likewise
+      the annotations of Reiske to the Ceremoniale Aulae Byzant. of
+      Constantine, tom. ii. p. 149, 150. Saxo Grammaticus affirms that
+      they spoke Danish; but Codinus maintains them till the fifteenth
+      century in the use of their native English.]
+
+      In the tenth century, the geography of Scythia was extended far
+      beyond the limits of ancient knowledge; and the monarchy of the
+      Russians obtains a vast and conspicuous place in the map of
+      Constantine. 49 The sons of Ruric were masters of the spacious
+      province of Wolodomir, or Moscow; and, if they were confined on
+      that side by the hordes of the East, their western frontier in
+      those early days was enlarged to the Baltic Sea and the country
+      of the Prussians. Their northern reign ascended above the
+      sixtieth degree of latitude over the Hyperborean regions, which
+      fancy had peopled with monsters, or clouded with eternal
+      darkness. To the south they followed the course of the
+      Borysthenes, and approached with that river the neighborhood of
+      the Euxine Sea. The tribes that dwelt, or wandered, in this ample
+      circuit were obedient to the same conqueror, and insensibly
+      blended into the same nation. The language of Russia is a dialect
+      of the Sclavonian; but in the tenth century, these two modes of
+      speech were different from each other; and, as the Sclavonian
+      prevailed in the South, it may be presumed that the original
+      Russians of the North, the primitive subjects of the Varangian
+      chief, were a portion of the Fennic race. With the emigration,
+      union, or dissolution, of the wandering tribes, the loose and
+      indefinite picture of the Scythian desert has continually
+      shifted. But the most ancient map of Russia affords some places
+      which still retain their name and position; and the two capitals,
+      Novogorod 50 and Kiow, 51 are coeval with the first age of the
+      monarchy. Novogorod had not yet deserved the epithet of great,
+      nor the alliance of the Hanseatic League, which diffused the
+      streams of opulence and the principles of freedom. Kiow could not
+      yet boast of three hundred churches, an innumerable people, and a
+      degree of greatness and splendor which was compared with
+      Constantinople by those who had never seen the residence of the
+      Caesars. In their origin, the two cities were no more than camps
+      or fairs, the most convenient stations in which the Barbarians
+      might assemble for the occasional business of war or trade. Yet
+      even these assemblies announce some progress in the arts of
+      society; a new breed of cattle was imported from the southern
+      provinces; and the spirit of commercial enterprise pervaded the
+      sea and land, from the Baltic to the Euxine, from the mouth of
+      the Oder to the port of Constantinople. In the days of idolatry
+      and barbarism, the Sclavonic city of Julin was frequented and
+      enriched by the Normans, who had prudently secured a free mart of
+      purchase and exchange. 52 From this harbor, at the entrance of
+      the Oder, the corsair, or merchant, sailed in forty-three days to
+      the eastern shores of the Baltic, the most distant nations were
+      intermingled, and the holy groves of Curland are said to have
+      been decorated with Grecian and Spanish gold. 53 Between the sea
+      and Novogorod an easy intercourse was discovered; in the summer,
+      through a gulf, a lake, and a navigable river; in the winter
+      season, over the hard and level surface of boundless snows. From
+      the neighborhood of that city, the Russians descended the streams
+      that fall into the Borysthenes; their canoes, of a single tree,
+      were laden with slaves of every age, furs of every species, the
+      spoil of their beehives, and the hides of their cattle; and the
+      whole produce of the North was collected and discharged in the
+      magazines of Kiow. The month of June was the ordinary season of
+      the departure of the fleet: the timber of the canoes was framed
+      into the oars and benches of more solid and capacious boats; and
+      they proceeded without obstacle down the Borysthenes, as far as
+      the seven or thirteen ridges of rocks, which traverse the bed,
+      and precipitate the waters, of the river. At the more shallow
+      falls it was sufficient to lighten the vessels; but the deeper
+      cataracts were impassable; and the mariners, who dragged their
+      vessels and their slaves six miles over land, were exposed in
+      this toilsome journey to the robbers of the desert. 54 At the
+      first island below the falls, the Russians celebrated the
+      festival of their escape: at a second, near the mouth of the
+      river, they repaired their shattered vessels for the longer and
+      more perilous voyage of the Black Sea. If they steered along the
+      coast, the Danube was accessible; with a fair wind they could
+      reach in thirty-six or forty hours the opposite shores of
+      Anatolia; and Constantinople admitted the annual visit of the
+      strangers of the North. They returned at the stated season with a
+      rich cargo of corn, wine, and oil, the manufactures of Greece,
+      and the spices of India. Some of their countrymen resided in the
+      capital and provinces; and the national treaties protected the
+      persons, effects, and privileges, of the Russian merchant. 55
+
+      49 (return) [ The original record of the geography and trade of
+      Russia is produced by the emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus,
+      (de Administrat. Imperii, c. 2, p. 55, 56, c. 9, p. 59-61, c. 13,
+      p. 63-67, c. 37, p. 106, c. 42, p. 112, 113,) and illustrated by
+      the diligence of Bayer, (de Geographia Russiae vicinarumque
+      Regionum circiter A. C. 948, in Comment. Academ. Petropol. tom.
+      ix. p. 367-422, tom. x. p. 371-421,) with the aid of the
+      chronicles and traditions of Russia, Scandinavia, &c.]
+
+      50 (return) [ The haughty proverb, “Who can resist God and the
+      great Novogorod?” is applied by M. Leveque (Hist. de Russie, tom.
+      i. p. 60) even to the times that preceded the reign of Ruric. In
+      the course of his history he frequently celebrates this republic,
+      which was suppressed A.D. 1475, (tom. ii. p. 252-266.) That
+      accurate traveller Adam Olearius describes (in 1635) the remains
+      of Novogorod, and the route by sea and land of the Holstein
+      ambassadors, tom. i. p. 123-129.]
+
+      51 (return) [ In hac magna civitate, quae est caput regni, plus
+      trecentae ecclesiae habentur et nundinae octo, populi etiam
+      ignota manus (Eggehardus ad A.D. 1018, apud Bayer, tom. ix. p.
+      412.) He likewise quotes (tom. x. p. 397) the words of the Saxon
+      annalist, Cujus (Russioe) metropolis est Chive, aemula sceptri
+      Constantinopolitani, quae est clarissimum decus Graeciae. The
+      fame of Kiow, especially in the xith century, had reached the
+      German and Arabian geographers.]
+
+      52 (return) [ In Odorae ostio qua Scythicas alluit paludes,
+      nobilissima civitas Julinum, celeberrimam, Barbaris et Graecis
+      qui sunt in circuitu, praestans stationem, est sane maxima omnium
+      quas Europa claudit civitatum, (Adam Bremensis, Hist. Eccles. p.
+      19;) a strange exaggeration even in the xith century. The trade
+      of the Baltic, and the Hanseatic League, are carefully treated in
+      Anderson’s Historical Deduction of Commerce; at least, in our
+      language, I am not acquainted with any book so satisfactory. *
+      Note: The book of authority is the “Geschichte des Hanseatischen
+      Bundes,” by George Sartorius, Gottingen, 1803, or rather the
+      later edition of that work by M. Lappenberg, 2 vols. 4to.,
+      Hamburgh, 1830.—M. 1845.]
+
+      53 (return) [ According to Adam of Bremen, (de Situ Daniae, p.
+      58,) the old Curland extended eight days’ journey along the
+      coast; and by Peter Teutoburgicus, (p. 68, A.D. 1326,) Memel is
+      defined as the common frontier of Russia, Curland, and Prussia.
+      Aurum ibi plurimum, (says Adam,) divinis auguribus atque
+      necromanticis omnes domus sunt plenae.... a toto orbe ibi
+      responsa petuntur, maxime ab Hispanis (forsan Zupanis, id est
+      regulis Lettoviae) et Graecis. The name of Greeks was applied to
+      the Russians even before their conversion; an imperfect
+      conversion, if they still consulted the wizards of Curland,
+      (Bayer, tom. x. p. 378, 402, &c. Grotius, Prolegomen. ad Hist.
+      Goth. p. 99.)]
+
+      54 (return) [ Constantine only reckons seven cataracts, of which
+      he gives the Russian and Sclavonic names; but thirteen are
+      enumerated by the Sieur de Beauplan, a French engineer, who had
+      surveyed the course and navigation of the Dnieper, or
+      Borysthenes, (Description de l’Ukraine, Rouen, 1660, a thin
+      quarto;) but the map is unluckily wanting in my copy.]
+
+      55 (return) [ Nestor, apud Leveque, Hist. de Russie, tom. i. p.
+      78-80. From the Dnieper, or Borysthenes, the Russians went to
+      Black Bulgaria, Chazaria, and Syria. To Syria, how? where? when?
+      The alteration is slight; the position of Suania, between
+      Chazaria and Lazica, is perfectly suitable; and the name was
+      still used in the xith century, (Cedren. tom. ii. p. 770.)]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LV: The Bulgarians, The Hungarians And The Russians.—Part
+      III.
+
+      But the same communication which had been opened for the benefit,
+      was soon abused for the injury, of mankind. In a period of one
+      hundred and ninety years, the Russians made four attempts to
+      plunder the treasures of Constantinople: the event was various,
+      but the motive, the means, and the object, were the same in these
+      naval expeditions. 56 The Russian traders had seen the
+      magnificence, and tasted the luxury of the city of the Caesars. A
+      marvellous tale, and a scanty supply, excited the desires of
+      their savage countrymen: they envied the gifts of nature which
+      their climate denied; they coveted the works of art, which they
+      were too lazy to imitate and too indigent to purchase; the
+      Varangian princes unfurled the banners of piratical adventure,
+      and their bravest soldiers were drawn from the nations that dwelt
+      in the northern isles of the ocean. 57 The image of their naval
+      armaments was revived in the last century, in the fleets of the
+      Cossacks, which issued from the Borysthenes, to navigate the same
+      seas for a similar purpose. 58 The Greek appellation of monoxyla,
+      or single canoes, might justly be applied to the bottom of their
+      vessels. It was scooped out of the long stem of a beech or
+      willow, but the slight and narrow foundation was raised and
+      continued on either side with planks, till it attained the length
+      of sixty, and the height of about twelve, feet. These boats were
+      built without a deck, but with two rudders and a mast; to move
+      with sails and oars; and to contain from forty to seventy men,
+      with their arms, and provisions of fresh water and salt fish. The
+      first trial of the Russians was made with two hundred boats; but
+      when the national force was exerted, they might arm against
+      Constantinople a thousand or twelve hundred vessels. Their fleet
+      was not much inferior to the royal navy of Agamemnon, but it was
+      magnified in the eyes of fear to ten or fifteen times the real
+      proportion of its strength and numbers. Had the Greek emperors
+      been endowed with foresight to discern, and vigor to prevent,
+      perhaps they might have sealed with a maritime force the mouth of
+      the Borysthenes. Their indolence abandoned the coast of Anatolia
+      to the calamities of a piratical war, which, after an interval of
+      six hundred years, again infested the Euxine; but as long as the
+      capital was respected, the sufferings of a distant province
+      escaped the notice both of the prince and the historian. The
+      storm which had swept along from the Phasis and Trebizond, at
+      length burst on the Bosphorus of Thrace; a strait of fifteen
+      miles, in which the rude vessels of the Russians might have been
+      stopped and destroyed by a more skilful adversary. In their first
+      enterprise 59 under the princes of Kiow, they passed without
+      opposition, and occupied the port of Constantinople in the
+      absence of the emperor Michael, the son of Theophilus. Through a
+      crowd of perils, he landed at the palace-stairs, and immediately
+      repaired to a church of the Virgin Mary. 60 By the advice of the
+      patriarch, her garment, a precious relic, was drawn from the
+      sanctuary and dipped in the sea; and a seasonable tempest, which
+      determined the retreat of the Russians, was devoutly ascribed to
+      the mother of God. 61 The silence of the Greeks may inspire some
+      doubt of the truth, or at least of the importance, of the second
+      attempt by Oleg, the guardian of the sons of Ruric. 62 A strong
+      barrier of arms and fortifications defended the Bosphorus: they
+      were eluded by the usual expedient of drawing the boats over the
+      isthmus; and this simple operation is described in the national
+      chronicles, as if the Russian fleet had sailed over dry land with
+      a brisk and favorable gale. The leader of the third armament,
+      Igor, the son of Ruric, had chosen a moment of weakness and
+      decay, when the naval powers of the empire were employed against
+      the Saracens. But if courage be not wanting, the instruments of
+      defence are seldom deficient. Fifteen broken and decayed galleys
+      were boldly launched against the enemy; but instead of the single
+      tube of Greek fire usually planted on the prow, the sides and
+      stern of each vessel were abundantly supplied with that liquid
+      combustible. The engineers were dexterous; the weather was
+      propitious; many thousand Russians, who chose rather to be
+      drowned than burnt, leaped into the sea; and those who escaped to
+      the Thracian shore were inhumanly slaughtered by the peasants and
+      soldiers. Yet one third of the canoes escaped into shallow water;
+      and the next spring Igor was again prepared to retrieve his
+      disgrace and claim his revenge. 63 After a long peace, Jaroslaus,
+      the great grandson of Igor, resumed the same project of a naval
+      invasion. A fleet, under the command of his son, was repulsed at
+      the entrance of the Bosphorus by the same artificial flames. But
+      in the rashness of pursuit, the vanguard of the Greeks was
+      encompassed by an irresistible multitude of boats and men; their
+      provision of fire was probably exhausted; and twenty-four galleys
+      were either taken, sunk, or destroyed. 64
+
+      56 (return) [ The wars of the Russians and Greeks in the ixth,
+      xth, and xith centuries, are related in the Byzantine annals,
+      especially those of Zonaras and Cedrenus; and all their
+      testimonies are collected in the Russica of Stritter, tom. ii.
+      pars ii. p. 939-1044.]
+
+      57 (return) [ Cedrenus in Compend. p. 758]
+
+      58 (return) [ See Beauplan, (Description de l’Ukraine, p. 54-61:
+      ) his descriptions are lively, his plans accurate, and except the
+      circumstances of fire-arms, we may read old Russians for modern
+      Cosacks.]
+
+      59 (return) [ It is to be lamented, that Bayer has only given a
+      Dissertation de Russorum prima Expeditione Constantinopolitana,
+      (Comment. Academ. Petropol. tom. vi. p. 265-391.) After
+      disentangling some chronological intricacies, he fixes it in the
+      years 864 or 865, a date which might have smoothed some doubts
+      and difficulties in the beginning of M. Leveque’s history.]
+
+      60 (return) [ When Photius wrote his encyclic epistle on the
+      conversion of the Russians, the miracle was not yet sufficiently
+      ripe.]
+
+      61 (return) [ Leo Grammaticus, p. 463, 464. Constantini
+      Continuator in Script. post Theophanem, p. 121, 122. Symeon
+      Logothet. p. 445, 446. Georg. Monach. p. 535, 536. Cedrenus, tom.
+      ii. p. 551. Zonaras, tom. ii. p. 162.]
+
+      62 (return) [ See Nestor and Nicon, in Leveque’s Hist. de Russie,
+      tom. i. p. 74-80. Katona (Hist. Ducum, p. 75-79) uses his
+      advantage to disprove this Russian victory, which would cloud the
+      siege of Kiow by the Hungarians.]
+
+      63 (return) [ Leo Grammaticus, p. 506, 507. Incert. Contin. p.
+      263, 264 Symeon Logothet. p. 490, 491. Georg. Monach. p. 588,
+      589. Cedren tom. ii. p. 629. Zonaras, tom. ii. p. 190, 191, and
+      Liutprand, l. v. c. 6, who writes from the narratives of his
+      father-in-law, then ambassador at Constantinople, and corrects
+      the vain exaggeration of the Greeks.]
+
+      64 (return) [ I can only appeal to Cedrenus (tom. ii. p. 758,
+      759) and Zonaras, (tom. ii. p. 253, 254;) but they grow more
+      weighty and credible as they draw near to their own times.]
+
+      Yet the threats or calamities of a Russian war were more
+      frequently diverted by treaty than by arms. In these naval
+      hostilities, every disadvantage was on the side of the Greeks;
+      their savage enemy afforded no mercy: his poverty promised no
+      spoil; his impenetrable retreat deprived the conqueror of the
+      hopes of revenge; and the pride or weakness of empire indulged an
+      opinion, that no honor could be gained or lost in the intercourse
+      with Barbarians. At first their demands were high and
+      inadmissible, three pounds of gold for each soldier or mariner of
+      the fleet: the Russian youth adhered to the design of conquest
+      and glory; but the counsels of moderation were recommended by the
+      hoary sages. “Be content,” they said, “with the liberal offers of
+      Caesar; is it not far better to obtain without a combat the
+      possession of gold, silver, silks, and all the objects of our
+      desires? Are we sure of victory? Can we conclude a treaty with
+      the sea? We do not tread on the land; we float on the abyss of
+      water, and a common death hangs over our heads.” 65 The memory of
+      these Arctic fleets that seemed to descend from the polar circle
+      left deep impression of terror on the Imperial city. By the
+      vulgar of every rank, it was asserted and believed, that an
+      equestrian statue in the square of Taurus was secretly inscribed
+      with a prophecy, how the Russians, in the last days, should
+      become masters of Constantinople. 66 In our own time, a Russian
+      armament, instead of sailing from the Borysthenes, has
+      circumnavigated the continent of Europe; and the Turkish capital
+      has been threatened by a squadron of strong and lofty ships of
+      war, each of which, with its naval science and thundering
+      artillery, could have sunk or scattered a hundred canoes, such as
+      those of their ancestors. Perhaps the present generation may yet
+      behold the accomplishment of the prediction, of a rare
+      prediction, of which the style is unambiguous and the date
+      unquestionable.
+
+      65 (return) [ Nestor, apud Leveque, Hist. de Russie, tom. i. p.
+      87.]
+
+      66 (return) [ This brazen statue, which had been brought from
+      Antioch, and was melted down by the Latins, was supposed to
+      represent either Joshua or Bellerophon, an odd dilemma. See
+      Nicetas Choniates, (p. 413, 414,) Codinus, (de Originibus C. P.
+      p. 24,) and the anonymous writer de Antiquitat. C. P. (Banduri,
+      Imp. Orient. tom. i. p. 17, 18,) who lived about the year 1100.
+      They witness the belief of the prophecy the rest is immaterial.]
+
+      By land the Russians were less formidable than by sea; and as
+      they fought for the most part on foot, their irregular legions
+      must often have been broken and overthrown by the cavalry of the
+      Scythian hordes. Yet their growing towns, however slight and
+      imperfect, presented a shelter to the subject, and a barrier to
+      the enemy: the monarchy of Kiow, till a fatal partition, assumed
+      the dominion of the North; and the nations from the Volga to the
+      Danube were subdued or repelled by the arms of Swatoslaus, 67 the
+      son of Igor, the son of Oleg, the son of Ruric. The vigor of his
+      mind and body was fortified by the hardships of a military and
+      savage life. Wrapped in a bear-skin, Swatoslaus usually slept on
+      the ground, his head reclining on a saddle; his diet was coarse
+      and frugal, and, like the heroes of Homer, 68 his meat (it was
+      often horse-flesh) was broiled or roasted on the coals. The
+      exercise of war gave stability and discipline to his army; and it
+      may be presumed, that no soldier was permitted to transcend the
+      luxury of his chief. By an embassy from Nicephorus, the Greek
+      emperor, he was moved to undertake the conquest of Bulgaria; and
+      a gift of fifteen hundred pounds of gold was laid at his feet to
+      defray the expense, or reward the toils, of the expedition. An
+      army of sixty thousand men was assembled and embarked; they
+      sailed from the Borysthenes to the Danube; their landing was
+      effected on the Maesian shore; and, after a sharp encounter, the
+      swords of the Russians prevailed against the arrows of the
+      Bulgarian horse. The vanquished king sunk into the grave; his
+      children were made captive; and his dominions, as far as Mount
+      Haemus, were subdued or ravaged by the northern invaders. But
+      instead of relinquishing his prey, and performing his
+      engagements, the Varangian prince was more disposed to advance
+      than to retire; and, had his ambition been crowned with success,
+      the seat of empire in that early period might have been
+      transferred to a more temperate and fruitful climate. Swatoslaus
+      enjoyed and acknowledged the advantages of his new position, in
+      which he could unite, by exchange or rapine, the various
+      productions of the earth. By an easy navigation he might draw
+      from Russia the native commodities of furs, wax, and hydromed:
+      Hungary supplied him with a breed of horses and the spoils of the
+      West; and Greece abounded with gold, silver, and the foreign
+      luxuries, which his poverty had affected to disdain. The bands of
+      Patzinacites, Chozars, and Turks, repaired to the standard of
+      victory; and the ambassador of Nicephorus betrayed his trust,
+      assumed the purple, and promised to share with his new allies the
+      treasures of the Eastern world. From the banks of the Danube the
+      Russian prince pursued his march as far as Adrianople; a formal
+      summons to evacuate the Roman province was dismissed with
+      contempt; and Swatoslaus fiercely replied, that Constantinople
+      might soon expect the presence of an enemy and a master.
+
+      67 (return) [ The life of Swatoslaus, or Sviatoslaf, or
+      Sphendosthlabus, is extracted from the Russian Chronicles by M.
+      Levesque, (Hist. de Russie, tom. i. p. 94-107.)]
+
+      68 (return) [ This resemblance may be clearly seen in the ninth
+      book of the Iliad, (205-221,) in the minute detail of the cookery
+      of Achilles. By such a picture, a modern epic poet would disgrace
+      his work, and disgust his reader; but the Greek verses are
+      harmonious—a dead language can seldom appear low or familiar; and
+      at the distance of two thousand seven hundred years, we are
+      amused with the primitive manners of antiquity.]
+
+      Nicephorus could no longer expel the mischief which he had
+      introduced; but his throne and wife were inherited by John
+      Zimisces, 69 who, in a diminutive body, possessed the spirit and
+      abilities of a hero. The first victory of his lieutenants
+      deprived the Russians of their foreign allies, twenty thousand of
+      whom were either destroyed by the sword, or provoked to revolt,
+      or tempted to desert. Thrace was delivered, but seventy thousand
+      Barbarians were still in arms; and the legions that had been
+      recalled from the new conquests of Syria, prepared, with the
+      return of the spring, to march under the banners of a warlike
+      prince, who declared himself the friend and avenger of the
+      injured Bulgaria. The passes of Mount Haemus had been left
+      unguarded; they were instantly occupied; the Roman vanguard was
+      formed of the immortals, (a proud imitation of the Persian
+      style;) the emperor led the main body of ten thousand five
+      hundred foot; and the rest of his forces followed in slow and
+      cautious array, with the baggage and military engines. The first
+      exploit of Zimisces was the reduction of Marcianopolis, or
+      Peristhlaba, 70 in two days; the trumpets sounded; the walls were
+      scaled; eight thousand five hundred Russians were put to the
+      sword; and the sons of the Bulgarian king were rescued from an
+      ignominious prison, and invested with a nominal diadem. After
+      these repeated losses, Swatoslaus retired to the strong post of
+      Drista, on the banks of the Danube, and was pursued by an enemy
+      who alternately employed the arms of celerity and delay. The
+      Byzantine galleys ascended the river, the legions completed a
+      line of circumvallation; and the Russian prince was encompassed,
+      assaulted, and famished, in the fortifications of the camp and
+      city. Many deeds of valor were performed; several desperate
+      sallies were attempted; nor was it till after a siege of
+      sixty-five days that Swatoslaus yielded to his adverse fortune.
+      The liberal terms which he obtained announce the prudence of the
+      victor, who respected the valor, and apprehended the despair, of
+      an unconquered mind. The great duke of Russia bound himself, by
+      solemn imprecations, to relinquish all hostile designs; a safe
+      passage was opened for his return; the liberty of trade and
+      navigation was restored; a measure of corn was distributed to
+      each of his soldiers; and the allowance of twenty-two thousand
+      measures attests the loss and the remnant of the Barbarians.
+      After a painful voyage, they again reached the mouth of the
+      Borysthenes; but their provisions were exhausted; the season was
+      unfavorable; they passed the winter on the ice; and, before they
+      could prosecute their march, Swatoslaus was surprised and
+      oppressed by the neighboring tribes with whom the Greeks
+      entertained a perpetual and useful correspondence. 71 Far
+      different was the return of Zimisces, who was received in his
+      capital like Camillus or Marius, the saviors of ancient Rome. But
+      the merit of the victory was attributed by the pious emperor to
+      the mother of God; and the image of the Virgin Mary, with the
+      divine infant in her arms, was placed on a triumphal car, adorned
+      with the spoils of war, and the ensigns of Bulgarian royalty.
+      Zimisces made his public entry on horseback; the diadem on his
+      head, a crown of laurel in his hand; and Constantinople was
+      astonished to applaud the martial virtues of her sovereign. 72
+
+      69 (return) [ This singular epithet is derived from the Armenian
+      language. As I profess myself equally ignorant of these words, I
+      may be indulged in the question in the play, “Pray, which of you
+      is the interpreter?” From the context, they seem to signify
+      Adolescentulus, (Leo Diacon l. iv. Ms. apud Ducange, Glossar.
+      Graec. p. 1570.) * Note: Cerbied. the learned Armenian, gives
+      another derivation. There is a city called Tschemisch-gaizag,
+      which means a bright or purple sandal, such as women wear in the
+      East. He was called Tschemisch-ghigh, (for so his name is written
+      in Armenian, from this city, his native place.) Hase. Note to Leo
+      Diac. p. 454, in Niebuhr’s Byzant. Hist.—M.]
+
+      70 (return) [ In the Sclavonic tongue, the name of Peristhlaba
+      implied the great or illustrious city, says Anna Comnena,
+      (Alexiad, l. vii. p. 194.) From its position between Mount Haemus
+      and the Lower Danube, it appears to fill the ground, or at least
+      the station, of Marcianopolis. The situation of Durostolus, or
+      Dristra, is well known and conspicuous, (Comment. Academ.
+      Petropol. tom. ix. p. 415, 416. D’Anville, Geographie Ancienne,
+      tom. i. p. 307, 311.)]
+
+      71 (return) [ The political management of the Greeks, more
+      especially with the Patzinacites, is explained in the seven first
+      chapters, de Administratione Imperii.]
+
+      72 (return) [ In the narrative of this war, Leo the Deacon (apud
+      Pagi, Critica, tom. iv. A.D. 968-973) is more authentic and
+      circumstantial than Cedrenus (tom. ii. p. 660-683) and Zonaras,
+      (tom. ii. p. 205-214.) These declaimers have multiplied to
+      308,000 and 330,000 men, those Russian forces, of which the
+      contemporary had given a moderate and consistent account.]
+
+      Photius of Constantinople, a patriarch, whose ambition was equal
+      to his curiosity, congratulates himself and the Greek church on
+      the conversion of the Russians. 73 Those fierce and bloody
+      Barbarians had been persuaded, by the voice of reason and
+      religion, to acknowledge Jesus for their God, the Christian
+      missionaries for their teachers, and the Romans for their friends
+      and brethren. His triumph was transient and premature. In the
+      various fortune of their piratical adventures, some Russian
+      chiefs might allow themselves to be sprinkled with the waters of
+      baptism; and a Greek bishop, with the name of metropolitan, might
+      administer the sacraments in the church of Kiow, to a
+      congregation of slaves and natives. But the seed of the gospel
+      was sown on a barren soil: many were the apostates, the converts
+      were few; and the baptism of Olga may be fixed as the aera of
+      Russian Christianity. 74 A female, perhaps of the basest origin,
+      who could revenge the death, and assume the sceptre, of her
+      husband Igor, must have been endowed with those active virtues
+      which command the fear and obedience of Barbarians. In a moment
+      of foreign and domestic peace, she sailed from Kiow to
+      Constantinople; and the emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus has
+      described, with minute diligence, the ceremonial of her reception
+      in his capital and palace. The steps, the titles, the
+      salutations, the banquet, the presents, were exquisitely adjusted
+      to gratify the vanity of the stranger, with due reverence to the
+      superior majesty of the purple. 75 In the sacrament of baptism,
+      she received the venerable name of the empress Helena; and her
+      conversion might be preceded or followed by her uncle, two
+      interpreters, sixteen damsels of a higher, and eighteen of a
+      lower rank, twenty-two domestics or ministers, and forty-four
+      Russian merchants, who composed the retinue of the great princess
+      Olga. After her return to Kiow and Novogorod, she firmly
+      persisted in her new religion; but her labors in the propagation
+      of the gospel were not crowned with success; and both her family
+      and nation adhered with obstinacy or indifference to the gods of
+      their fathers. Her son Swatoslaus was apprehensive of the scorn
+      and ridicule of his companions; and her grandson Wolodomir
+      devoted his youthful zeal to multiply and decorate the monuments
+      of ancient worship. The savage deities of the North were still
+      propitiated with human sacrifices: in the choice of the victim, a
+      citizen was preferred to a stranger, a Christian to an idolater;
+      and the father, who defended his son from the sacerdotal knife,
+      was involved in the same doom by the rage of a fanatic tumult.
+      Yet the lessons and example of the pious Olga had made a deep,
+      though secret, impression in the minds of the prince and people:
+      the Greek missionaries continued to preach, to dispute, and to
+      baptize: and the ambassadors or merchants of Russia compared the
+      idolatry of the woods with the elegant superstition of
+      Constantinople. They had gazed with admiration on the dome of St.
+      Sophia: the lively pictures of saints and martyrs, the riches of
+      the altar, the number and vestments of the priests, the pomp and
+      order of the ceremonies; they were edified by the alternate
+      succession of devout silence and harmonious song; nor was it
+      difficult to persuade them, that a choir of angels descended each
+      day from heaven to join in the devotion of the Christians. 76 But
+      the conversion of Wolodomir was determined, or hastened, by his
+      desire of a Roman bride. At the same time, and in the city of
+      Cherson, the rites of baptism and marriage were celebrated by the
+      Christian pontiff: the city he restored to the emperor Basil, the
+      brother of his spouse; but the brazen gates were transported, as
+      it is said, to Novogorod, and erected before the first church as
+      a trophy of his victory and faith. 77 At his despotic command,
+      Peround, the god of thunder, whom he had so long adored, was
+      dragged through the streets of Kiow; and twelve sturdy Barbarians
+      battered with clubs the misshapen image, which was indignantly
+      cast into the waters of the Borysthenes. The edict of Wolodomir
+      had proclaimed, that all who should refuse the rites of baptism
+      would be treated as the enemies of God and their prince; and the
+      rivers were instantly filled with many thousands of obedient
+      Russians, who acquiesced in the truth and excellence of a
+      doctrine which had been embraced by the great duke and his
+      boyars. In the next generation, the relics of Paganism were
+      finally extirpated; but as the two brothers of Wolodomir had died
+      without baptism, their bones were taken from the grave, and
+      sanctified by an irregular and posthumous sacrament.
+
+      73 (return) [ Phot. Epistol. ii. No. 35, p. 58, edit. Montacut.
+      It was unworthy of the learning of the editor to mistake the
+      Russian nation, for a war-cry of the Bulgarians, nor did it
+      become the enlightened patriarch to accuse the Sclavonian
+      idolaters. They were neither Greeks nor Atheists.]
+
+      74 (return) [ M. Levesque has extracted, from old chronicles and
+      modern researches, the most satisfactory account of the religion
+      of the Slavi, and the conversion of Russia, (Hist. de Russie,
+      tom. i. p. 35-54, 59, 92, 92, 113-121, 124-129, 148, 149, &c.)]
+
+      75 (return) [ See the Ceremoniale Aulae Byzant. tom. ii. c. 15,
+      p. 343-345: the style of Olga, or Elga. For the chief of
+      Barbarians the Greeks whimsically borrowed the title of an
+      Athenian magistrate, with a female termination, which would have
+      astonished the ear of Demosthenes.]
+
+      76 (return) [ See an anonymous fragment published by Banduri,
+      (Imperium Orientale, tom. ii. p. 112, 113, de Conversione
+      Russorum.)]
+
+      77 (return) [ Cherson, or Corsun, is mentioned by Herberstein
+      (apud Pagi tom. iv. p. 56) as the place of Wolodomir’s baptism
+      and marriage; and both the tradition and the gates are still
+      preserved at Novogorod. Yet an observing traveller transports the
+      brazen gates from Magdeburgh in Germany, (Coxe’s Travels into
+      Russia, &c., vol. i. p. 452;) and quotes an inscription, which
+      seems to justify his opinion. The modern reader must not confound
+      this old Cherson of the Tauric or Crimaean peninsula, with a new
+      city of the same name, which has arisen near the mouth of the
+      Borysthenes, and was lately honored by the memorable interview of
+      the empress of Russia with the emperor of the West.]
+
+      In the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries of the Christian
+      aera, the reign of the gospel and of the church was extended over
+      Bulgaria, Hungary, Bohemia, Saxony, Denmark, Norway, Sweden,
+      Poland, and Russia. 78 The triumphs of apostolic zeal were
+      repeated in the iron age of Christianity; and the northern and
+      eastern regions of Europe submitted to a religion, more different
+      in theory than in practice, from the worship of their native
+      idols. A laudable ambition excited the monks both of Germany and
+      Greece, to visit the tents and huts of the Barbarians: poverty,
+      hardships, and dangers, were the lot of the first missionaries;
+      their courage was active and patient; their motive pure and
+      meritorious; their present reward consisted in the testimony of
+      their conscience and the respect of a grateful people; but the
+      fruitful harvest of their toils was inherited and enjoyed by the
+      proud and wealthy prelates of succeeding times. The first
+      conversions were free and spontaneous: a holy life and an
+      eloquent tongue were the only arms of the missionaries; but the
+      domestic fables of the Pagans were silenced by the miracles and
+      visions of the strangers; and the favorable temper of the chiefs
+      was accelerated by the dictates of vanity and interest. The
+      leaders of nations, who were saluted with the titles of kings and
+      saints, 79 held it lawful and pious to impose the Catholic faith
+      on their subjects and neighbors; the coast of the Baltic, from
+      Holstein to the Gulf of Finland, was invaded under the standard
+      of the cross; and the reign of idolatry was closed by the
+      conversion of Lithuania in the fourteenth century. Yet truth and
+      candor must acknowledge, that the conversion of the North
+      imparted many temporal benefits both to the old and the new
+      Christians. The rage of war, inherent to the human species, could
+      not be healed by the evangelic precepts of charity and peace; and
+      the ambition of Catholic princes has renewed in every age the
+      calamities of hostile contention. But the admission of the
+      Barbarians into the pale of civil and ecclesiastical society
+      delivered Europe from the depredations, by sea and land, of the
+      Normans, the Hungarians, and the Russians, who learned to spare
+      their brethren and cultivate their possessions. 80 The
+      establishment of law and order was promoted by the influence of
+      the clergy; and the rudiments of art and science were introduced
+      into the savage countries of the globe. The liberal piety of the
+      Russian princes engaged in their service the most skilful of the
+      Greeks, to decorate the cities and instruct the inhabitants: the
+      dome and the paintings of St. Sophia were rudely copied in the
+      churches of Kiow and Novogorod: the writings of the fathers were
+      translated into the Sclavonic idiom; and three hundred noble
+      youths were invited or compelled to attend the lessons of the
+      college of Jaroslaus. It should appear that Russia might have
+      derived an early and rapid improvement from her peculiar
+      connection with the church and state of Constantinople, which at
+      that age so justly despised the ignorance of the Latins. But the
+      Byzantine nation was servile, solitary, and verging to a hasty
+      decline: after the fall of Kiow, the navigation of the
+      Borysthenes was forgotten; the great princes of Wolodomir and
+      Moscow were separated from the sea and Christendom; and the
+      divided monarchy was oppressed by the ignominy and blindness of
+      Tartar servitude. 81 The Sclavonic and Scandinavian kingdoms,
+      which had been converted by the Latin missionaries, were exposed,
+      it is true, to the spiritual jurisdiction and temporal claims of
+      the popes; 82 but they were united in language and religious
+      worship, with each other, and with Rome; they imbibed the free
+      and generous spirit of the European republic, and gradually
+      shared the light of knowledge which arose on the western world.
+
+      78 (return) [ Consult the Latin text, or English version, of
+      Mosheim’s excellent History of the Church, under the first head
+      or section of each of these centuries.]
+
+      79 (return) [ In the year 1000, the ambassadors of St. Stephen
+      received from Pope Silvester the title of King of Hungary, with a
+      diadem of Greek workmanship. It had been designed for the duke of
+      Poland: but the Poles, by their own confession, were yet too
+      barbarous to deserve an angelical and apostolical crown. (Katona,
+      Hist. Critic Regum Stirpis Arpadianae, tom. i. p. 1-20.)]
+
+      80 (return) [ Listen to the exultations of Adam of Bremen, (A.D.
+      1080,) of which the substance is agreeable to truth: Ecce illa
+      ferocissima Danorum, &c., natio..... jamdudum novit in Dei
+      laudibus Alleluia resonare..... Ecce populus ille piraticus .....
+      suis nunc finibus contentus est. Ecce patria horribilis semper
+      inaccessa propter cultum idolorum... praedicatores veritatis
+      ubique certatim admittit, &c., &c., (de Situ Daniae, &c., p. 40,
+      41, edit. Elzevir; a curious and original prospect of the north
+      of Europe, and the introduction of Christianity.)]
+
+      81 (return) [ The great princes removed in 1156 from Kiow, which
+      was ruined by the Tartars in 1240. Moscow became the seat of
+      empire in the xivth century. See the 1st and 2d volumes of
+      Levesque’s History, and Mr. Coxe’s Travels into the North, tom.
+      i. p. 241, &c.]
+
+      82 (return) [ The ambassadors of St. Stephen had used the
+      reverential expressions of regnum oblatum, debitam obedientiam,
+      &c., which were most rigorously interpreted by Gregory VII.; and
+      the Hungarian Catholics are distressed between the sanctity of
+      the pope and the independence of the crown, (Katona, Hist.
+      Critica, tom. i. p. 20-25, tom. ii. p. 304, 346, 360, &c.)]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LVI: The Saracens, The Franks And The Normans.—Part I.
+
+     The Saracens, Franks, And Greeks, In Italy.—First Adventures And
+     Settlement Of The Normans.—Character And Conquest Of Robert
+     Guiscard, Duke Of Apulia—Deliverance Of Sicily By His Brother
+     Roger.—Victories Of Robert Over The Emperors Of The East And
+     West.—Roger, King Of Sicily, Invades Africa And Greece.—The
+     Emperor Manuel Comnenus.— Wars Of The Greeks And
+     Normans.—Extinction Of The Normans.
+
+      The three great nations of the world, the Greeks, the Saracens,
+      and the Franks, encountered each other on the theatre of Italy. 1
+      The southern provinces, which now compose the kingdom of Naples,
+      were subject, for the most part, to the Lombard dukes and princes
+      of Beneventum; 2 so powerful in war, that they checked for a
+      moment the genius of Charlemagne; so liberal in peace, that they
+      maintained in their capital an academy of thirty-two philosophers
+      and grammarians. The division of this flourishing state produced
+      the rival principalities of Benevento, Salerno, and Capua; and
+      the thoughtless ambition or revenge of the competitors invited
+      the Saracens to the ruin of their common inheritance. During a
+      calamitous period of two hundred years, Italy was exposed to a
+      repetition of wounds, which the invaders were not capable of
+      healing by the union and tranquility of a perfect conquest. Their
+      frequent and almost annual squadrons issued from the port of
+      Palermo, and were entertained with too much indulgence by the
+      Christians of Naples: the more formidable fleets were prepared on
+      the African coast; and even the Arabs of Andalusia were sometimes
+      tempted to assist or oppose the Moslems of an adverse sect. In
+      the revolution of human events, a new ambuscade was concealed in
+      the Caudine Forks, the fields of Cannae were bedewed a second
+      time with the blood of the Africans, and the sovereign of Rome
+      again attacked or defended the walls of Capua and Tarentum. A
+      colony of Saracens had been planted at Bari, which commands the
+      entrance of the Adriatic Gulf; and their impartial depredations
+      provoked the resentment, and conciliated the union of the two
+      emperors. An offensive alliance was concluded between Basil the
+      Macedonian, the first of his race, and Lewis the great-grandson
+      of Charlemagne; 3 and each party supplied the deficiencies of his
+      associate. It would have been imprudent in the Byzantine monarch
+      to transport his stationary troops of Asia to an Italian
+      campaign; and the Latin arms would have been insufficient if his
+      superior navy had not occupied the mouth of the Gulf. The
+      fortress of Bari was invested by the infantry of the Franks, and
+      by the cavalry and galleys of the Greeks; and, after a defence of
+      four years, the Arabian emir submitted to the clemency of Lewis,
+      who commanded in person the operations of the siege. This
+      important conquest had been achieved by the concord of the East
+      and West; but their recent amity was soon imbittered by the
+      mutual complaints of jealousy and pride. The Greeks assumed as
+      their own the merit of the conquest and the pomp of the triumph;
+      extolled the greatness of their powers, and affected to deride
+      the intemperance and sloth of the handful of Barbarians who
+      appeared under the banners of the Carlovingian prince. His reply
+      is expressed with the eloquence of indignation and truth: “We
+      confess the magnitude of your preparation,” says the
+      great-grandson of Charlemagne. “Your armies were indeed as
+      numerous as a cloud of summer locusts, who darken the day, flap
+      their wings, and, after a short flight, tumble weary and
+      breathless to the ground. Like them, ye sunk after a feeble
+      effort; ye were vanquished by your own cowardice; and withdrew
+      from the scene of action to injure and despoil our Christian
+      subjects of the Sclavonian coast. We were few in number, and why
+      were we few? Because, after a tedious expectation of your
+      arrival, I had dismissed my host, and retained only a chosen band
+      of warriors to continue the blockade of the city. If they
+      indulged their hospitable feasts in the face of danger and death,
+      did these feasts abate the vigor of their enterprise? Is it by
+      your fasting that the walls of Bari have been overturned? Did not
+      these valiant Franks, diminished as they were by languor and
+      fatigue, intercept and vanish the three most powerful emirs of
+      the Saracens? and did not their defeat precipitate the fall of
+      the city? Bari is now fallen; Tarentum trembles; Calabria will be
+      delivered; and, if we command the sea, the Island of Sicily may
+      be rescued from the hands of the infidels. My brother,”
+      accelerate (a name most offensive to the vanity of the Greek,)
+      “accelerate your naval succors, respect your allies, and distrust
+      your flatterers.” 4
+
+      1 (return) [ For the general history of Italy in the ixth and xth
+      centuries, I may properly refer to the vth, vith, and viith books
+      of Sigonius de Regno Italiae, (in the second volume of his works,
+      Milan, 1732;) the Annals of Baronius, with the criticism of Pagi;
+      the viith and viiith books of the Istoria Civile del Regno di
+      Napoli of Giannone; the viith and viiith volumes (the octavo
+      edition) of the Annali d’ Italia of Muratori, and the 2d volume
+      of the Abrege Chronologique of M. de St. Marc, a work which,
+      under a superficial title, contains much genuine learning and
+      industry. But my long-accustomed reader will give me credit for
+      saying, that I myself have ascended to the fountain head, as
+      often as such ascent could be either profitable or possible; and
+      that I have diligently turned over the originals in the first
+      volumes of Muratori’s great collection of the Scriptores Rerum
+      Italicarum.]
+
+      2 (return) [ Camillo Pellegrino, a learned Capuan of the last
+      century, has illustrated the history of the duchy of Beneventum,
+      in his two books Historia Principum Longobardorum, in the
+      Scriptores of Muratori tom. ii. pars i. p. 221-345, and tom. v. p
+      159-245.]
+
+      3 (return) [ See Constantin. Porphyrogen. de Thematibus, l. ii. c
+      xi. in Vit Basil. c. 55, p. 181.]
+
+      4 (return) [ The oriental epistle of the emperor Lewis II. to the
+      emperor Basil, a curious record of the age, was first published
+      by Baronius, (Annal. Eccles. A.D. 871, No. 51-71,) from the
+      Vatican Ms. of Erchempert, or rather of the anonymous historian
+      of Salerno.] These lofty hopes were soon extinguished by the
+      death of Lewis, and the decay of the Carlovingian house; and
+      whoever might deserve the honor, the Greek emperors, Basil, and
+      his son Leo, secured the advantage, of the reduction of Bari. The
+      Italians of Apulia and Calabria were persuaded or compelled to
+      acknowledge their supremacy, and an ideal line from Mount
+      Garganus to the Bay of Salerno, leaves the far greater part of
+      the kingdom of Naples under the dominion of the Eastern empire.
+      Beyond that line, the dukes or republics of Amalfi 5 and Naples,
+      who had never forfeited their voluntary allegiance, rejoiced in
+      the neighborhood of their lawful sovereign; and Amalfi was
+      enriched by supplying Europe with the produce and manufactures of
+      Asia. But the Lombard princes of Benevento, Salerno, and Capua, 6
+      were reluctantly torn from the communion of the Latin world, and
+      too often violated their oaths of servitude and tribute. The city
+      of Bari rose to dignity and wealth, as the metropolis of the new
+      theme or province of Lombardy: the title of patrician, and
+      afterwards the singular name of Catapan, 7 was assigned to the
+      supreme governor; and the policy both of the church and state was
+      modelled in exact subordination to the throne of Constantinople.
+      As long as the sceptre was disputed by the princes of Italy,
+      their efforts were feeble and adverse; and the Greeks resisted or
+      eluded the forces of Germany, which descended from the Alps under
+      the Imperial standard of the Othos. The first and greatest of
+      those Saxon princes was compelled to relinquish the siege of
+      Bari: the second, after the loss of his stoutest bishops and
+      barons, escaped with honor from the bloody field of Crotona. On
+      that day the scale of war was turned against the Franks by the
+      valor of the Saracens. 8 These corsairs had indeed been driven by
+      the Byzantine fleets from the fortresses and coasts of Italy; but
+      a sense of interest was more prevalent than superstition or
+      resentment, and the caliph of Egypt had transported forty
+      thousand Moslems to the aid of his Christian ally. The successors
+      of Basil amused themselves with the belief, that the conquest of
+      Lombardy had been achieved, and was still preserved by the
+      justice of their laws, the virtues of their ministers, and the
+      gratitude of a people whom they had rescued from anarchy and
+      oppression. A series of rebellions might dart a ray of truth into
+      the palace of Constantinople; and the illusions of flattery were
+      dispelled by the easy and rapid success of the Norman
+      adventurers.
+
+      5 (return) [ See an excellent Dissertation de Republica
+      Amalphitana, in the Appendix (p. 1-42) of Henry Brencman’s
+      Historia Pandectarum, (Trajecti ad Rhenum, 1722, in 4to.)]
+
+      6 (return) [ Your master, says Nicephorus, has given aid and
+      protection prinminibus Capuano et Beneventano, servis meis, quos
+      oppugnare dispono.... Nova (potius nota) res est quod eorum
+      patres et avi nostro Imperio tributa dederunt, (Liutprand, in
+      Legat. p. 484.) Salerno is not mentioned, yet the prince changed
+      his party about the same time, and Camillo Pellegrino (Script.
+      Rer. Ital. tom. ii. pars i. p. 285) has nicely discerned this
+      change in the style of the anonymous Chronicle. On the rational
+      ground of history and language, Liutprand (p. 480) had asserted
+      the Latin claim to Apulia and Calabria.]
+
+      7 (return) [ See the Greek and Latin Glossaries of Ducange
+      (catapanus,) and his notes on the Alexias, (p. 275.) Against the
+      contemporary notion, which derives it from juxta omne, he treats
+      it as a corruption of the Latin capitaneus. Yet M. de St. Marc
+      has accurately observed (Abrege Chronologique, tom. ii. p. 924)
+      that in this age the capitanei were not captains, but only nobles
+      of the first rank, the great valvassors of Italy.]
+
+      8 (return) [ (the Lombards), (Leon. Tactic. c. xv. p. 741.) The
+      little Chronicle of Beneventum (tom. ii. pars i. p. 280) gives a
+      far different character of the Greeks during the five years (A.D.
+      891-896) that Leo was master of the city.]
+
+      The revolution of human affairs had produced in Apulia and
+      Calabria a melancholy contrast between the age of Pythagoras and
+      the tenth century of the Christian aera. At the former period,
+      the coast of Great Greece (as it was then styled) was planted
+      with free and opulent cities: these cities were peopled with
+      soldiers, artists, and philosophers; and the military strength of
+      Tarentum; Sybaris, or Crotona, was not inferior to that of a
+      powerful kingdom. At the second aera, these once flourishing
+      provinces were clouded with ignorance impoverished by tyranny,
+      and depopulated by Barbarian war; nor can we severely accuse the
+      exaggeration of a contemporary, that a fair and ample district
+      was reduced to the same desolation which had covered the earth
+      after the general deluge. 9 Among the hostilities of the Arabs,
+      the Franks, and the Greeks, in the southern Italy, I shall select
+      two or three anecdotes expressive of their national manners. 1.
+      It was the amusement of the Saracens to profane, as well as to
+      pillage, the monasteries and churches. At the siege of Salerno, a
+      Mussulman chief spread his couch on the communion-table, and on
+      that altar sacrificed each night the virginity of a Christian
+      nun. As he wrestled with a reluctant maid, a beam in the roof was
+      accidentally or dexterously thrown down on his head; and the
+      death of the lustful emir was imputed to the wrath of Christ,
+      which was at length awakened to the defence of his faithful
+      spouse. 10 2. The Saracens besieged the cities of Beneventum and
+      Capua: after a vain appeal to the successors of Charlemagne, the
+      Lombards implored the clemency and aid of the Greek emperor. 11 A
+      fearless citizen dropped from the walls, passed the
+      intrenchments, accomplished his commission, and fell into the
+      hands of the Barbarians as he was returning with the welcome
+      news. They commanded him to assist their enterprise, and deceive
+      his countrymen, with the assurance that wealth and honors should
+      be the reward of his falsehood, and that his sincerity would be
+      punished with immediate death. He affected to yield, but as soon
+      as he was conducted within hearing of the Christians on the
+      rampart, “Friends and brethren,” he cried with a loud voice, “be
+      bold and patient, maintain the city; your sovereign is informed
+      of your distress, and your deliverers are at hand. I know my
+      doom, and commit my wife and children to your gratitude.” The
+      rage of the Arabs confirmed his evidence; and the self-devoted
+      patriot was transpierced with a hundred spears. He deserves to
+      live in the memory of the virtuous, but the repetition of the
+      same story in ancient and modern times, may sprinkle some doubts
+      on the reality of this generous deed. 12 3. The recital of a
+      third incident may provoke a smile amidst the horrors of war.
+      Theobald, marquis of Camerino and Spoleto, 13 supported the
+      rebels of Beneventum; and his wanton cruelty was not incompatible
+      in that age with the character of a hero. His captives of the
+      Greek nation or party were castrated without mercy, and the
+      outrage was aggravated by a cruel jest, that he wished to present
+      the emperor with a supply of eunuchs, the most precious ornaments
+      of the Byzantine court. The garrison of a castle had been
+      defeated in a sally, and the prisoners were sentenced to the
+      customary operation. But the sacrifice was disturbed by the
+      intrusion of a frantic female, who, with bleeding cheeks
+      dishevelled hair, and importunate clamors, compelled the marquis
+      to listen to her complaint. “Is it thus,” she cried, “ye
+      magnanimous heroes, that ye wage war against women, against women
+      who have never injured ye, and whose only arms are the distaff
+      and the loom?” Theobald denied the charge, and protested that,
+      since the Amazons, he had never heard of a female war. “And how,”
+      she furiously exclaimed, “can you attack us more directly, how
+      can you wound us in a more vital part, than by robbing our
+      husbands of what we most dearly cherish, the source of our joys,
+      and the hope of our posterity? The plunder of our flocks and
+      herds I have endured without a murmur, but this fatal injury,
+      this irreparable loss, subdues my patience, and calls aloud on
+      the justice of heaven and earth.” A general laugh applauded her
+      eloquence; the savage Franks, inaccessible to pity, were moved by
+      her ridiculous, yet rational despair; and with the deliverance of
+      the captives, she obtained the restitution of her effects. As she
+      returned in triumph to the castle, she was overtaken by a
+      messenger, to inquire, in the name of Theobald, what punishment
+      should be inflicted on her husband, were he again taken in arms.
+      “Should such,” she answered without hesitation, “be his guilt and
+      misfortune, he has eyes, and a nose, and hands, and feet. These
+      are his own, and these he may deserve to forfeit by his personal
+      offences. But let my lord be pleased to spare what his little
+      handmaid presumes to claim as her peculiar and lawful property.”
+      14
+
+      9 (return) [ Calabriam adeunt, eamque inter se divisam
+      reperientes funditus depopulati sunt, (or depopularunt,) ita ut
+      deserta sit velut in diluvio. Such is the text of Herempert, or
+      Erchempert, according to the two editions of Carraccioli (Rer.
+      Italic. Script. tom. v. p. 23) and of Camillo Pellegrino, (tom.
+      ii. pars i. p. 246.) Both were extremely scarce, when they were
+      reprinted by Muratori.]
+
+      10 (return) [ Baronius (Annal. Eccles. A.D. 874, No. 2) has drawn
+      this story from a Ms. of Erchempert, who died at Capua only
+      fifteen years after the event. But the cardinal was deceived by a
+      false title, and we can only quote the anonymous Chronicle of
+      Salerno, (Paralipomena, c. 110,) composed towards the end of the
+      xth century, and published in the second volume of Muratori’s
+      Collection. See the Dissertations of Camillo Pellegrino, tom. ii.
+      pars i. p. 231-281, &c.]
+
+      11 (return) [ Constantine Porphyrogenitus (in Vit. Basil. c. 58,
+      p. 183) is the original author of this story. He places it under
+      the reigns of Basil and Lewis II.; yet the reduction of
+      Beneventum by the Greeks is dated A.D. 891, after the decease of
+      both of those princes.]
+
+      12 (return) [ In the year 663, the same tragedy is described by
+      Paul the Deacon, (de Gestis Langobard. l. v. c. 7, 8, p. 870,
+      871, edit. Grot.,) under the walls of the same city of
+      Beneventum. But the actors are different, and the guilt is
+      imputed to the Greeks themselves, which in the Byzantine edition
+      is applied to the Saracens. In the late war in Germany, M.
+      D’Assas, a French officer of the regiment of Auvergne, is said to
+      have devoted himself in a similar manner. His behavior is the
+      more heroic, as mere silence was required by the enemy who had
+      made him prisoner, (Voltaire, Siecle de Louis XV. c. 33, tom. ix.
+      p. 172.)]
+
+      13 (return) [ Theobald, who is styled Heros by Liutprand, was
+      properly duke of Spoleto and marquis of Camerino, from the year
+      926 to 935. The title and office of marquis (commander of the
+      march or frontier) was introduced into Italy by the French
+      emperors, (Abrege Chronologique, tom. ii. p. 545-732 &c.)]
+
+      14 (return) [ Liutprand, Hist. l. iv. c. iv. in the Rerum Italic.
+      Script. tom. i. pars i. p. 453, 454. Should the licentiousness of
+      the tale be questioned, I may exclaim, with poor Sterne, that it
+      is hard if I may not transcribe with caution what a bishop could
+      write without scruple What if I had translated, ut viris certetis
+      testiculos amputare, in quibus nostri corporis refocillatio,
+      &c.?]
+
+      The establishment of the Normans in the kingdoms of Naples and
+      Sicily 15 is an event most romantic in its origin, and in its
+      consequences most important both to Italy and the Eastern empire.
+      The broken provinces of the Greeks, Lombards, and Saracens, were
+      exposed to every invader, and every sea and land were invaded by
+      the adventurous spirit of the Scandinavian pirates. After a long
+      indulgence of rapine and slaughter, a fair and ample territory
+      was accepted, occupied, and named, by the Normans of France: they
+      renounced their gods for the God of the Christians; 16 and the
+      dukes of Normandy acknowledged themselves the vassals of the
+      successors of Charlemagne and Capet. The savage fierceness which
+      they had brought from the snowy mountains of Norway was refined,
+      without being corrupted, in a warmer climate; the companions of
+      Rollo insensibly mingled with the natives; they imbibed the
+      manners, language, 17 and gallantry, of the French nation; and in
+      a martial age, the Normans might claim the palm of valor and
+      glorious achievements. Of the fashionable superstitions, they
+      embraced with ardor the pilgrimages of Rome, Italy, and the Holy
+      Land. 171 In this active devotion, the minds and bodies were
+      invigorated by exercise: danger was the incentive, novelty the
+      recompense; and the prospect of the world was decorated by
+      wonder, credulity, and ambitious hope. They confederated for
+      their mutual defence; and the robbers of the Alps, who had been
+      allured by the garb of a pilgrim, were often chastised by the arm
+      of a warrior. In one of these pious visits to the cavern of Mount
+      Garganus in Apulia, which had been sanctified by the apparition
+      of the archangel Michael, 18 they were accosted by a stranger in
+      the Greek habit, but who soon revealed himself as a rebel, a
+      fugitive, and a mortal foe of the Greek empire. His name was
+      Melo; a noble citizen of Bari, who, after an unsuccessful revolt,
+      was compelled to seek new allies and avengers of his country. The
+      bold appearance of the Normans revived his hopes and solicited
+      his confidence: they listened to the complaints, and still more
+      to the promises, of the patriot. The assurance of wealth
+      demonstrated the justice of his cause; and they viewed, as the
+      inheritance of the brave, the fruitful land which was oppressed
+      by effeminate tyrants. On their return to Normandy, they kindled
+      a spark of enterprise, and a small but intrepid band was freely
+      associated for the deliverance of Apulia. They passed the Alps by
+      separate roads, and in the disguise of pilgrims; but in the
+      neighborhood of Rome they were saluted by the chief of Bari, who
+      supplied the more indigent with arms and horses, and instantly
+      led them to the field of action. In the first conflict, their
+      valor prevailed; but in the second engagement they were
+      overwhelmed by the numbers and military engines of the Greeks,
+      and indignantly retreated with their faces to the enemy. 1811 The
+      unfortunate Melo ended his life a suppliant at the court of
+      Germany: his Norman followers, excluded from their native and
+      their promised land, wandered among the hills and valleys of
+      Italy, and earned their daily subsistence by the sword. To that
+      formidable sword the princes of Capua, Beneventum, Salerno, and
+      Naples, alternately appealed in their domestic quarrels; the
+      superior spirit and discipline of the Normans gave victory to the
+      side which they espoused; and their cautious policy observed the
+      balance of power, lest the preponderance of any rival state
+      should render their aid less important, and their service less
+      profitable. Their first asylum was a strong camp in the depth of
+      the marshes of Campania: but they were soon endowed by the
+      liberality of the duke of Naples with a more plentiful and
+      permanent seat. Eight miles from his residence, as a bulwark
+      against Capua, the town of Aversa was built and fortified for
+      their use; and they enjoyed as their own the corn and fruits, the
+      meadows and groves, of that fertile district. The report of their
+      success attracted every year new swarms of pilgrims and soldiers:
+      the poor were urged by necessity; the rich were excited by hope;
+      and the brave and active spirits of Normandy were impatient of
+      ease and ambitious of renown. The independent standard of Aversa
+      afforded shelter and encouragement to the outlaws of the
+      province, to every fugitive who had escaped from the injustice or
+      justice of his superiors; and these foreign associates were
+      quickly assimilated in manners and language to the Gallic colony.
+      The first leader of the Normans was Count Rainulf; and, in the
+      origin of society, preeminence of rank is the reward and the
+      proof of superior merit. 19 1911
+
+      15 (return) [ The original monuments of the Normans in Italy are
+      collected in the vth volume of Muratori; and among these we may
+      distinguish the poems of William Appulus (p. 245-278) and the
+      history of Galfridus (Jeffrey) Malaterra, (p. 537-607.) Both were
+      natives of France, but they wrote on the spot, in the age of the
+      first conquerors (before A.D. 1100,) and with the spirit of
+      freemen. It is needless to recapitulate the compilers and critics
+      of Italian history, Sigonius, Baronius, Pagi, Giannone, Muratori,
+      St. Marc, &c., whom I have always consulted, and never copied. *
+      Note: M. Goutier d’Arc has discovered a translation of the
+      Chronicle of Aime, monk of Mont Cassino, a contemporary of the
+      first Norman invaders of Italy. He has made use of it in his
+      Histoire des Conquetes des Normands, and added a summary of its
+      contents. This work was quoted by later writers, but was supposed
+      to have been entirely lost.—M.]
+
+      16 (return) [ Some of the first converts were baptized ten or
+      twelve times, for the sake of the white garment usually given at
+      this ceremony. At the funeral of Rollo, the gifts to monasteries
+      for the repose of his soul were accompanied by a sacrifice of one
+      hundred captives. But in a generation or two, the national change
+      was pure and general.]
+
+      17 (return) [ The Danish language was still spoken by the Normans
+      of Bayeux on the sea-coast, at a time (A.D. 940) when it was
+      already forgotten at Rouen, in the court and capital. Quem
+      (Richard I.) confestim pater Baiocas mittens Botoni militiae suae
+      principi nutriendum tradidit, ut, ibi lingua eruditus Danica,
+      suis exterisque hominibus sciret aperte dare responsa, (Wilhelm.
+      Gemeticensis de Ducibus Normannis, l. iii. c. 8, p. 623, edit.
+      Camden.) Of the vernacular and favorite idiom of William the
+      Conqueror, (A.D. 1035,) Selden (Opera, tom. ii. p. 1640-1656) has
+      given a specimen, obsolete and obscure even to antiquarians and
+      lawyers.]
+
+      171 (return) [ A band of Normans returning from the Holy Land had
+      rescued the city of Salerno from the attack of a numerous fleet
+      of Saracens. Gainar, the Lombard prince of Salerno wished to
+      retain them in his service and take them into his pay. They
+      answered, “We fight for our religion, and not for money.” Gaimar
+      entreated them to send some Norman knights to his court. This
+      seems to have been the origin of the connection of the Normans
+      with Italy. See Histoire des Conquetes des Normands par Goutier
+      d’Arc, l. i. c. i., Paris, 1830.—M.]
+
+      18 (return) [ See Leandro Alberti (Descrizione d’Italia, p. 250)
+      and Baronius, (A.D. 493, No. 43.) If the archangel inherited the
+      temple and oracle, perhaps the cavern, of old Calchas the
+      soothsayer, (Strab. Geograph l. vi. p. 435, 436,) the Catholics
+      (on this occasion) have surpassed the Greeks in the elegance of
+      their superstition.]
+
+      1811 (return) [ Nine out of ten perished in the field. Chronique
+      d’Aime, tom. i. p. 21 quoted by M Goutier d’Arc, p. 42.—M.]
+
+      19 (return) [ See the first book of William Appulus. His words
+      are applicable to every swarm of Barbarians and freebooters:—
+
+     Si vicinorum quis pernitiosus ad illos
+     Confugiebat eum gratanter suscipiebant:
+     Moribus et lingua quoscumque venire videbant
+     Informant propria; gens efficiatur ut una.
+     And elsewhere, of the native adventurers of Normandy:—
+     Pars parat, exiguae vel opes aderant quia nullae:
+     Pars, quia de magnis majora subire volebant.]
+
+      1911 (return) [ This account is not accurate. After the retreat
+      of the emperor Henry II. the Normans, united under the command of
+      Rainulf, had taken possession of Aversa, then a small castle in
+      the duchy of Naples. They had been masters of it a few years when
+      Pandulf IV., prince of Capua, found means to take Naples by
+      surprise. Sergius, master of the soldiers, and head of the
+      republic, with the principal citizens, abandoned a city in which
+      he could not behold, without horror, the establishment of a
+      foreign dominion he retired to Aversa; and when, with the
+      assistance of the Greeks and that of the citizens faithful to
+      their country, he had collected money enough to satisfy the
+      rapacity of the Norman adventurers, he advanced at their head to
+      attack the garrison of the prince of Capua, defeated it, and
+      reentered Naples. It was then that he confirmed the Normans in
+      the possession of Aversa and its territory, which he raised into
+      a count’s fief, and granted the investiture to Rainulf. Hist. des
+      Rep. Ital. tom. i. p. 267]
+
+      Since the conquest of Sicily by the Arabs, the Grecian emperors
+      had been anxious to regain that valuable possession; but their
+      efforts, however strenuous, had been opposed by the distance and
+      the sea. Their costly armaments, after a gleam of success, added
+      new pages of calamity and disgrace to the Byzantine annals:
+      twenty thousand of their best troops were lost in a single
+      expedition; and the victorious Moslems derided the policy of a
+      nation which intrusted eunuchs not only with the custody of their
+      women, but with the command of their men 20 After a reign of two
+      hundred years, the Saracens were ruined by their divisions. 21
+      The emir disclaimed the authority of the king of Tunis; the
+      people rose against the emir; the cities were usurped by the
+      chiefs; each meaner rebel was independent in his village or
+      castle; and the weaker of two rival brothers implored the
+      friendship of the Christians. In every service of danger the
+      Normans were prompt and useful; and five hundred knights, or
+      warriors on horseback, were enrolled by Arduin, the agent and
+      interpreter of the Greeks, under the standard of Maniaces,
+      governor of Lombardy. Before their landing, the brothers were
+      reconciled; the union of Sicily and Africa was restored; and the
+      island was guarded to the water’s edge. The Normans led the van
+      and the Arabs of Messina felt the valor of an untried foe. In a
+      second action the emir of Syracuse was unhorsed and transpierced
+      by the iron arm of William of Hauteville. In a third engagement,
+      his intrepid companions discomfited the host of sixty thousand
+      Saracens, and left the Greeks no more than the labor of the
+      pursuit: a splendid victory; but of which the pen of the
+      historian may divide the merit with the lance of the Normans. It
+      is, however, true, that they essentially promoted the success of
+      Maniaces, who reduced thirteen cities, and the greater part of
+      Sicily, under the obedience of the emperor. But his military fame
+      was sullied by ingratitude and tyranny. In the division of the
+      spoils, the deserts of his brave auxiliaries were forgotten; and
+      neither their avarice nor their pride could brook this injurious
+      treatment. They complained by the mouth of their interpreter:
+      their complaint was disregarded; their interpreter was scourged;
+      the sufferings were his; the insult and resentment belonged to
+      those whose sentiments he had delivered. Yet they dissembled till
+      they had obtained, or stolen, a safe passage to the Italian
+      continent: their brethren of Aversa sympathized in their
+      indignation, and the province of Apulia was invaded as the
+      forfeit of the debt. 22 Above twenty years after the first
+      emigration, the Normans took the field with no more than seven
+      hundred horse and five hundred foot; and after the recall of the
+      Byzantine legions 23 from the Sicilian war, their numbers are
+      magnified to the amount of threescore thousand men. Their herald
+      proposed the option of battle or retreat; “of battle,” was the
+      unanimous cry of the Normans; and one of their stoutest warriors,
+      with a stroke of his fist, felled to the ground the horse of the
+      Greek messenger. He was dismissed with a fresh horse; the insult
+      was concealed from the Imperial troops; but in two successive
+      battles they were more fatally instructed of the prowess of their
+      adversaries. In the plains of Cannae, the Asiatics fled before
+      the adventurers of France; the duke of Lombardy was made
+      prisoner; the Apulians acquiesced in a new dominion; and the four
+      places of Bari, Otranto, Brundusium, and Tarentum, were alone
+      saved in the shipwreck of the Grecian fortunes. From this aera we
+      may date the establishment of the Norman power, which soon
+      eclipsed the infant colony of Aversa. Twelve counts 24 were
+      chosen by the popular suffrage; and age, birth, and merit, were
+      the motives of their choice. The tributes of their peculiar
+      districts were appropriated to their use; and each count erected
+      a fortress in the midst of his lands, and at the head of his
+      vassals. In the centre of the province, the common habitation of
+      Melphi was reserved as the metropolis and citadel of the
+      republic; a house and separate quarter was allotted to each of
+      the twelve counts: and the national concerns were regulated by
+      this military senate. The first of his peers, their president and
+      general, was entitled count of Apulia; and this dignity was
+      conferred on William of the iron arm, who, in the language of the
+      age, is styled a lion in battle, a lamb in society, and an angel
+      in council. 25 The manners of his countrymen are fairly
+      delineated by a contemporary and national historian. 26 “The
+      Normans,” says Malaterra, “are a cunning and revengeful people;
+      eloquence and dissimulation appear to be their hereditary
+      qualities: they can stoop to flatter; but unless they are curbed
+      by the restraint of law, they indulge the licentiousness of
+      nature and passion. Their princes affect the praises of popular
+      munificence; the people observe the medium, or rather blond the
+      extremes, of avarice and prodigality; and in their eager thirst
+      of wealth and dominion, they despise whatever they possess, and
+      hope whatever they desire. Arms and horses, the luxury of dress,
+      the exercises of hunting and hawking 27 are the delight of the
+      Normans; but, on pressing occasions, they can endure with
+      incredible patience the inclemency of every climate, and the toil
+      and absence of a military life.” 28
+
+      20 (return) [ Liutprand, in Legatione, p. 485. Pagi has
+      illustrated this event from the Ms. history of the deacon Leo,
+      (tom. iv. A.D. 965, No. 17-19.)]
+
+      21 (return) [ See the Arabian Chronicle of Sicily, apud Muratori,
+      Script. Rerum Ital. tom. i. p. 253.]
+
+      22 (return) [ Jeffrey Malaterra, who relates the Sicilian war,
+      and the conquest of Apulia, (l. i. c. 7, 8, 9, 19.) The same
+      events are described by Cedrenus (tom. ii. p. 741-743, 755, 756)
+      and Zonaras, (tom. ii. p. 237, 238;) and the Greeks are so
+      hardened to disgrace, that their narratives are impartial
+      enough.]
+
+      23 (return) [ Lydia: consult Constantine de Thematibus, i. 3, 4,
+      with Delisle’s map.]
+
+      24 (return) [ Omnes conveniunt; et bis sex nobiliores,
+
+     Quos genus et gravitas morum decorabat et aetas,
+       Elegere duces.  Provectis ad comitatum
+     His alii parent.  Comitatus nomen honoris
+     Quo donantur erat.  Hi totas undique terras
+       Divisere sibi, ni sors inimica repugnet;
+     Singula proponunt loca quae contingere sorte
+        Cuique duci debent, et quaeque tributa locorum.
+     And after speaking of Melphi, William Appulus adds,
+     Pro numero comitum bis sex statuere plateas,
+     Atque domus comitum totidem fabricantur in urbe.
+
+      Leo Ostiensis (l. ii. c. 67) enumerates the divisions of the
+      Apulian cities, which it is needless to repeat.]
+
+      25 (return) [ Gulielm. Appulus, l. ii. c 12, according to the
+      reference of Giannone, (Istoria Civile di Napoli, tom. ii. p.
+      31,) which I cannot verify in the original. The Apulian praises
+      indeed his validas vires, probitas animi, and vivida virtus; and
+      declares that, had he lived, no poet could have equalled his
+      merits, (l. i. p. 258, l. ii. p. 259.) He was bewailed by the
+      Normans, quippe qui tanti consilii virum, (says Malaterra, l. i.
+      c. 12, p. 552,) tam armis strenuum, tam sibi munificum,
+      affabilem, morigeratum, ulterius se habere diffidebant.]
+
+      26 (return) [ The gens astutissima, injuriarum ultrix.... adulari
+      sciens.... eloquentiis inserviens, of Malaterra, (l. i. c. 3, p.
+      550,) are expressive of the popular and proverbial character of
+      the Normans.]
+
+      27 (return) [ The hunting and hawking more properly belong to the
+      descendants of the Norwegian sailors; though they might import
+      from Norway and Iceland the finest casts of falcons.]
+
+      28 (return) [ We may compare this portrait with that of William
+      of Malmsbury, (de Gestis Anglorum, l. iii. p. 101, 102,) who
+      appreciates, like a philosophic historian, the vices and virtues
+      of the Saxons and Normans. England was assuredly a gainer by the
+      conquest.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LVI: The Saracens, The Franks And The Normans.—Part II.
+
+      The Normans of Apulia were seated on the verge of the two
+      empires; and, according to the policy of the hour, they accepted
+      the investiture of their lands, from the sovereigns of Germany or
+      Constantinople. But the firmest title of these adventurers was
+      the right of conquest: they neither loved nor trusted; they were
+      neither trusted nor beloved: the contempt of the princes was
+      mixed with fear, and the fear of the natives was mingled with
+      hatred and resentment. Every object of desire, a horse, a woman,
+      a garden, tempted and gratified the rapaciousness of the
+      strangers; 29 and the avarice of their chiefs was only colored by
+      the more specious names of ambition and glory. The twelve counts
+      were sometimes joined in the league of injustice: in their
+      domestic quarrels they disputed the spoils of the people: the
+      virtues of William were buried in his grave; and Drogo, his
+      brother and successor, was better qualified to lead the valor,
+      than to restrain the violence, of his peers. Under the reign of
+      Constantine Monomachus, the policy, rather than benevolence, of
+      the Byzantine court, attempted to relieve Italy from this
+      adherent mischief, more grievous than a flight of Barbarians; 30
+      and Argyrus, the son of Melo, was invested for this purpose with
+      the most lofty titles 31 and the most ample commission. The
+      memory of his father might recommend him to the Normans; and he
+      had already engaged their voluntary service to quell the revolt
+      of Maniaces, and to avenge their own and the public injury. It
+      was the design of Constantine to transplant the warlike colony
+      from the Italian provinces to the Persian war; and the son of
+      Melo distributed among the chiefs the gold and manufactures of
+      Greece, as the first-fruits of the Imperial bounty. But his arts
+      were baffled by the sense and spirit of the conquerors of Apulia:
+      his gifts, or at least his proposals, were rejected; and they
+      unanimously refused to relinquish their possessions and their
+      hopes for the distant prospect of Asiatic fortune. After the
+      means of persuasion had failed, Argyrus resolved to compel or to
+      destroy: the Latin powers were solicited against the common
+      enemy; and an offensive alliance was formed of the pope and the
+      two emperors of the East and West. The throne of St. Peter was
+      occupied by Leo the Ninth, a simple saint, 32 of a temper most
+      apt to deceive himself and the world, and whose venerable
+      character would consecrate with the name of piety the measures
+      least compatible with the practice of religion. His humanity was
+      affected by the complaints, perhaps the calumnies, of an injured
+      people: the impious Normans had interrupted the payment of
+      tithes; and the temporal sword might be lawfully unsheathed
+      against the sacrilegious robbers, who were deaf to the censures
+      of the church. As a German of noble birth and royal kindred, Leo
+      had free access to the court and confidence of the emperor Henry
+      the Third; and in search of arms and allies, his ardent zeal
+      transported him from Apulia to Saxony, from the Elbe to the
+      Tyber. During these hostile preparations, Argyrus indulged
+      himself in the use of secret and guilty weapons: a crowd of
+      Normans became the victims of public or private revenge; and the
+      valiant Drogo was murdered in a church. But his spirit survived
+      in his brother Humphrey, the third count of Apulia. The assassins
+      were chastised; and the son of Melo, overthrown and wounded, was
+      driven from the field, to hide his shame behind the walls of
+      Bari, and to await the tardy succor of his allies.
+
+      29 (return) [ The biographer of St. Leo IX. pours his holy venom
+      on the Normans. Videns indisciplinatam et alienam gentem
+      Normannorum, crudeli et inaudita rabie, et plusquam Pagana
+      impietate, adversus ecclesias Dei insurgere, passim Christianos
+      trucidare, &c., (Wibert, c. 6.) The honest Apulian (l. ii. p.
+      259) says calmly of their accuser, Veris commiscens fallacia.]
+
+      30 (return) [ The policy of the Greeks, revolt of Maniaces, &c.,
+      must be collected from Cedrenus, (tom. ii. p. 757, 758,) William
+      Appulus, (l. i. p 257, 258, l. ii. p. 259,) and the two
+      Chronicles of Bari, by Lupus Protospata, (Muratori, Script. Ital.
+      tom. v. p. 42, 43, 44,) and an anonymous writer, (Antiquitat,
+      Italiae Medii Aevi, tom. i. p 31-35.) This last is a fragment of
+      some value.]
+
+      31 (return) [ Argyrus received, says the anonymous Chronicle of
+      Bari, Imperial letters, Foederatus et Patriciatus, et Catapani et
+      Vestatus. In his Annals, Muratori (tom. viii. p. 426) very
+      properly reads, or interprets, Sevestatus, the title of Sebastos
+      or Augustus. But in his Antiquities, he was taught by Ducange to
+      make it a palatine office, master of the wardrobe.]
+
+      32 (return) [ A Life of St. Leo IX., deeply tinged with the
+      passions and prejudices of the age, has been composed by Wibert,
+      printed at Paris, 1615, in octavo, and since inserted in the
+      Collections of the Bollandists, of Mabillon, and of Muratori. The
+      public and private history of that pope is diligently treated by
+      M. de St. Marc. (Abrege, tom. ii. p. 140-210, and p. 25-95,
+      second column.)]
+
+      But the power of Constantine was distracted by a Turkish war; the
+      mind of Henry was feeble and irresolute; and the pope, instead of
+      repassing the Alps with a German army, was accompanied only by a
+      guard of seven hundred Swabians and some volunteers of Lorraine.
+      In his long progress from Mantua to Beneventum, a vile and
+      promiscuous multitude of Italians was enlisted under the holy
+      standard: 33 the priest and the robber slept in the same tent;
+      the pikes and crosses were intermingled in the front; and the
+      martial saint repeated the lessons of his youth in the order of
+      march, of encampment, and of combat. The Normans of Apulia could
+      muster in the field no more than three thousand horse, with a
+      handful of infantry: the defection of the natives intercepted
+      their provisions and retreat; and their spirit, incapable of
+      fear, was chilled for a moment by superstitious awe. On the
+      hostile approach of Leo, they knelt without disgrace or
+      reluctance before their spiritual father. But the pope was
+      inexorable; his lofty Germans affected to deride the diminutive
+      stature of their adversaries; and the Normans were informed that
+      death or exile was their only alternative. Flight they disdained,
+      and, as many of them had been three days without tasting food,
+      they embraced the assurance of a more easy and honorable death.
+      They climbed the hill of Civitella, descended into the plain, and
+      charged in three divisions the army of the pope. On the left, and
+      in the centre, Richard count of Aversa, and Robert the famous
+      Guiscard, attacked, broke, routed, and pursued the Italian
+      multitudes, who fought without discipline, and fled without
+      shame. A harder trial was reserved for the valor of Count
+      Humphrey, who led the cavalry of the right wing. The Germans 34
+      have been described as unskillful in the management of the horse
+      and the lance, but on foot they formed a strong and impenetrable
+      phalanx; and neither man, nor steed, nor armor, could resist the
+      weight of their long and two-handed swords. After a severe
+      conflict, they were encompassed by the squadrons returning from
+      the pursuit; and died in the ranks with the esteem of their foes,
+      and the satisfaction of revenge. The gates of Civitella were shut
+      against the flying pope, and he was overtaken by the pious
+      conquerors, who kissed his feet, to implore his blessing and the
+      absolution of their sinful victory. The soldiers beheld in their
+      enemy and captive the vicar of Christ; and, though we may suppose
+      the policy of the chiefs, it is probable that they were infected
+      by the popular superstition. In the calm of retirement, the
+      well-meaning pope deplored the effusion of Christian blood, which
+      must be imputed to his account: he felt, that he had been the
+      author of sin and scandal; and as his undertaking had failed, the
+      indecency of his military character was universally condemned. 35
+      With these dispositions, he listened to the offers of a
+      beneficial treaty; deserted an alliance which he had preached as
+      the cause of God; and ratified the past and future conquests of
+      the Normans. By whatever hands they had been usurped, the
+      provinces of Apulia and Calabria were a part of the donation of
+      Constantine and the patrimony of St. Peter: the grant and the
+      acceptance confirmed the mutual claims of the pontiff and the
+      adventurers. They promised to support each other with spiritual
+      and temporal arms; a tribute or quitrent of twelve pence was
+      afterwards stipulated for every ploughland; and since this
+      memorable transaction, the kingdom of Naples has remained above
+      seven hundred years a fief of the Holy See. 36
+
+      33 (return) [ See the expedition of Leo XI. against the Normans.
+      See William Appulus (l. ii. p. 259-261) and Jeffrey Malaterra (l.
+      i. c. 13, 14, 15, p. 253.) They are impartial, as the national is
+      counterbalanced by the clerical prejudice]
+
+      34 (return) [ Teutonici, quia caesaries et forma decoros
+
+     Fecerat egregie proceri corporis illos
+     Corpora derident Normannica quae breviora
+     Esse videbantur.
+
+      The verses of the Apulian are commonly in this strain, though he
+      heats himself a little in the battle. Two of his similes from
+      hawking and sorcery are descriptive of manners.]
+
+      35 (return) [ Several respectable censures or complaints are
+      produced by M. de St. Marc, (tom. ii. p. 200-204.) As Peter
+      Damianus, the oracle of the times, has denied the popes the right
+      of making war, the hermit (lugens eremi incola) is arraigned by
+      the cardinal, and Baronius (Annal. Eccles. A.D. 1053, No. 10-17)
+      most strenuously asserts the two swords of St. Peter.]
+
+      36 (return) [ The origin and nature of the papal investitures are
+      ably discussed by Giannone, (Istoria Civile di Napoli, tom. ii.
+      p. 37-49, 57-66,) as a lawyer and antiquarian. Yet he vainly
+      strives to reconcile the duties of patriot and Catholic, adopts
+      an empty distinction of “Ecclesia Romana non dedit, sed accepit,”
+      and shrinks from an honest but dangerous confession of the
+      truth.]
+
+      The pedigree of Robert of Guiscard 37 is variously deduced from
+      the peasants and the dukes of Normandy: from the peasants, by the
+      pride and ignorance of a Grecian princess; 38 from the dukes, by
+      the ignorance and flattery of the Italian subjects. 39 His
+      genuine descent may be ascribed to the second or middle order of
+      private nobility. 40 He sprang from a race of valvassors or
+      bannerets, of the diocese of Coutances, in the Lower Normandy:
+      the castle of Hauteville was their honorable seat: his father
+      Tancred was conspicuous in the court and army of the duke; and
+      his military service was furnished by ten soldiers or knights.
+      Two marriages, of a rank not unworthy of his own, made him the
+      father of twelve sons, who were educated at home by the impartial
+      tenderness of his second wife. But a narrow patrimony was
+      insufficient for this numerous and daring progeny; they saw
+      around the neighborhood the mischiefs of poverty and discord, and
+      resolved to seek in foreign wars a more glorious inheritance. Two
+      only remained to perpetuate the race, and cherish their father’s
+      age: their ten brothers, as they successfully attained the vigor
+      of manhood, departed from the castle, passed the Alps, and joined
+      the Apulian camp of the Normans. The elder were prompted by
+      native spirit; their success encouraged their younger brethren,
+      and the three first in seniority, William, Drogo, and Humphrey,
+      deserved to be the chiefs of their nation and the founders of the
+      new republic. Robert was the eldest of the seven sons of the
+      second marriage; and even the reluctant praise of his foes has
+      endowed him with the heroic qualities of a soldier and a
+      statesman. His lofty stature surpassed the tallest of his army:
+      his limbs were cast in the true proportion of strength and
+      gracefulness; and to the decline of life, he maintained the
+      patient vigor of health and the commanding dignity of his form.
+      His complexion was ruddy, his shoulders were broad, his hair and
+      beard were long and of a flaxen color, his eyes sparkled with
+      fire, and his voice, like that of Achilles, could impress
+      obedience and terror amidst the tumult of battle. In the ruder
+      ages of chivalry, such qualifications are not below the notice of
+      the poet or historians: they may observe that Robert, at once,
+      and with equal dexterity, could wield in the right hand his
+      sword, his lance in the left; that in the battle of Civitella he
+      was thrice unhorsed; and that in the close of that memorable day
+      he was adjudged to have borne away the prize of valor from the
+      warriors of the two armies. 41 His boundless ambition was founded
+      on the consciousness of superior worth: in the pursuit of
+      greatness, he was never arrested by the scruples of justice, and
+      seldom moved by the feelings of humanity: though not insensible
+      of fame, the choice of open or clandestine means was determined
+      only by his present advantage. The surname of Guiscard 42 was
+      applied to this master of political wisdom, which is too often
+      confounded with the practice of dissimulation and deceit; and
+      Robert is praised by the Apulian poet for excelling the cunning
+      of Ulysses and the eloquence of Cicero. Yet these arts were
+      disguised by an appearance of military frankness: in his highest
+      fortune, he was accessible and courteous to his fellow-soldiers;
+      and while he indulged the prejudices of his new subjects, he
+      affected in his dress and manners to maintain the ancient fashion
+      of his country. He grasped with a rapacious, that he might
+      distribute with a liberal, hand: his primitive indigence had
+      taught the habits of frugality; the gain of a merchant was not
+      below his attention; and his prisoners were tortured with slow
+      and unfeeling cruelty, to force a discovery of their secret
+      treasure. According to the Greeks, he departed from Normandy with
+      only five followers on horseback and thirty on foot; yet even
+      this allowance appears too bountiful: the sixth son of Tancred of
+      Hauteville passed the Alps as a pilgrim; and his first military
+      band was levied among the adventurers of Italy. His brothers and
+      countrymen had divided the fertile lands of Apulia; but they
+      guarded their shares with the jealousy of avarice; the aspiring
+      youth was driven forwards to the mountains of Calabria, and in
+      his first exploits against the Greeks and the natives, it is not
+      easy to discriminate the hero from the robber. To surprise a
+      castle or a convent, to ensnare a wealthy citizen, to plunder the
+      adjacent villages for necessary food, were the obscure labors
+      which formed and exercised the powers of his mind and body. The
+      volunteers of Normandy adhered to his standard; and, under his
+      command, the peasants of Calabria assumed the name and character
+      of Normans.
+
+      37 (return) [ The birth, character, and first actions of Robert
+      Guiscard, may be found in Jeffrey Malaterra, (l. i. c. 3, 4, 11,
+      16, 17, 18, 38, 39, 40,) William Appulus, (l. ii. p. 260-262,)
+      William Gemeticensis, or of Jumieges, (l. xi. c. 30, p. 663, 664,
+      edit. Camden,) and Anna Comnena, (Alexiad, l. i. p. 23-27, l. vi.
+      p. 165, 166,) with the annotations of Ducange, (Not. in Alexiad,
+      p. 230-232, 320,) who has swept all the French and Latin
+      Chronicles for supplemental intelligence.]
+
+      38 (return) [ (a Greek corruption), and elsewhere, (l. iv. p.
+      84,). Anna Comnena was born in the purple; yet her father was no
+      more than a private though illustrious subject, who raised
+      himself to the empire.]
+
+      39 (return) [ Giannone, (tom. ii. p. 2) forgets all his original
+      authors, and rests this princely descent on the credit of
+      Inveges, an Augustine monk of Palermo in the last century. They
+      continue the succession of dukes from Rollo to William II. the
+      Bastard or Conqueror, whom they hold (communemente si tiene) to
+      be the father of Tancred of Hauteville; a most strange and
+      stupendous blunder! The sons of Tancred fought in Apulia, before
+      William II. was three years old, (A.D. 1037.)]
+
+      40 (return) [ The judgment of Ducange is just and moderate: Certe
+      humilis fuit ac tenuis Roberti familia, si ducalem et regium
+      spectemus apicem, ad quem postea pervenit; quae honesta tamen et
+      praeter nobilium vulgarium statum et conditionem illustris habita
+      est, “quae nec humi reperet nec altum quid tumeret.” (Wilhem.
+      Malmsbur. de Gestis Anglorum, l. iii. p. 107. Not. ad Alexiad. p.
+      230.)]
+
+      41 (return) [ I shall quote with pleasure some of the best lines
+      of the Apulian, (l. ii. p. 270.)
+
+     Pugnat utraque manu, nec lancea cassa, nec ensis
+     Cassus erat, quocunque manu deducere vellet.
+     Ter dejectus equo, ter viribus ipse resumptis
+     Major in arma redit: stimulos furor ipse ministrat.
+     Ut Leo cum frendens, &c.
+     -   —  —  —  —  —   -
+     Nullus in hoc bello sicuti post bella probatum est
+     Victor vel victus, tam magnos edidit ictus.]
+
+      42 (return) [ The Norman writers and editors most conversant with
+      their own idiom interpret Guiscard or Wiscard, by Callidus, a
+      cunning man. The root (wise) is familiar to our ear; and in the
+      old word Wiseacre, I can discern something of a similar sense and
+      termination. It is no bad translation of the surname and
+      character of Robert.]
+
+      As the genius of Robert expanded with his fortune, he awakened
+      the jealousy of his elder brother, by whom, in a transient
+      quarrel, his life was threatened and his liberty restrained.
+      After the death of Humphrey, the tender age of his sons excluded
+      them from the command; they were reduced to a private estate, by
+      the ambition of their guardian and uncle; and Guiscard was
+      exalted on a buckler, and saluted count of Apulia and general of
+      the republic. With an increase of authority and of force, he
+      resumed the conquest of Calabria, and soon aspired to a rank that
+      should raise him forever above the heads of his equals.
+
+      By some acts of rapine or sacrilege, he had incurred a papal
+      excommunication; but Nicholas the Second was easily persuaded
+      that the divisions of friends could terminate only in their
+      mutual prejudice; that the Normans were the faithful champions of
+      the Holy See; and it was safer to trust the alliance of a prince
+      than the caprice of an aristocracy. A synod of one hundred
+      bishops was convened at Melphi; and the count interrupted an
+      important enterprise to guard the person and execute the decrees
+      of the Roman pontiff. His gratitude and policy conferred on
+      Robert and his posterity the ducal title, 43 with the investiture
+      of Apulia, Calabria, and all the lands, both in Italy and Sicily,
+      which his sword could rescue from the schismatic Greeks and the
+      unbelieving Saracens. 44 This apostolic sanction might justify
+      his arms; but the obedience of a free and victorious people could
+      not be transferred without their consent; and Guiscard dissembled
+      his elevation till the ensuing campaign had been illustrated by
+      the conquest of Consenza and Reggio. In the hour of triumph, he
+      assembled his troops, and solicited the Normans to confirm by
+      their suffrage the judgment of the vicar of Christ: the soldiers
+      hailed with joyful acclamations their valiant duke; and the
+      counts, his former equals, pronounced the oath of fidelity with
+      hollow smiles and secret indignation. After this inauguration,
+      Robert styled himself, “By the grace of God and St. Peter, duke
+      of Apulia, Calabria, and hereafter of Sicily;” and it was the
+      labor of twenty years to deserve and realize these lofty
+      appellations. Such sardy progress, in a narrow space, may seem
+      unworthy of the abilities of the chief and the spirit of the
+      nation; but the Normans were few in number; their resources were
+      scanty; their service was voluntary and precarious. The bravest
+      designs of the duke were sometimes opposed by the free voice of
+      his parliament of barons: the twelve counts of popular election
+      conspired against his authority; and against their perfidious
+      uncle, the sons of Humphrey demanded justice and revenge. By his
+      policy and vigor, Guiscard discovered their plots, suppressed
+      their rebellions, and punished the guilty with death or exile:
+      but in these domestic feuds, his years, and the national
+      strength, were unprofitably consumed. After the defeat of his
+      foreign enemies, the Greeks, Lombards, and Saracens, their broken
+      forces retreated to the strong and populous cities of the
+      sea-coast. They excelled in the arts of fortification and
+      defence; the Normans were accustomed to serve on horseback in the
+      field, and their rude attempts could only succeed by the efforts
+      of persevering courage. The resistance of Salerno was maintained
+      above eight months; the siege or blockade of Bari lasted near
+      four years. In these actions the Norman duke was the foremost in
+      every danger; in every fatigue the last and most patient. As he
+      pressed the citadel of Salerno, a huge stone from the rampart
+      shattered one of his military engines; and by a splinter he was
+      wounded in the breast. Before the gates of Bari, he lodged in a
+      miserable hut or barrack, composed of dry branches, and thatched
+      with straw; a perilous station, on all sides open to the
+      inclemency of the winter and the spears of the enemy. 45
+
+      43 (return) [ The acquisition of the ducal title by Robert
+      Guiscard is a nice and obscure business. With the good advice of
+      Giannone, Muratori, and St. Marc, I have endeavored to form a
+      consistent and probable narrative.]
+
+      44 (return) [ Baronius (Annal. Eccles. A.D. 1059, No. 69) has
+      published the original act. He professes to have copied it from
+      the Liber Censuum, a Vatican Ms. Yet a Liber Censuum of the xiith
+      century has been printed by Muratori, (Antiquit. Medii Aevi, tom.
+      v. p. 851-908;) and the names of Vatican and Cardinal awaken the
+      suspicions of a Protestant, and even of a philosopher.]
+
+      45 (return) [ Read the life of Guiscard in the second and third
+      books of the Apulian, the first and second books of Malaterra.]
+
+      The Italian conquests of Robert correspond with the limits of the
+      present kingdom of Naples; and the countries united by his arms
+      have not been dissevered by the revolutions of seven hundred
+      years. 46 The monarchy has been composed of the Greek provinces
+      of Calabria and Apulia, of the Lombard principality of Salerno,
+      the republic of Amalphi, and the inland dependencies of the large
+      and ancient duchy of Beneventum. Three districts only were
+      exempted from the common law of subjection; the first forever,
+      the two last till the middle of the succeeding century. The city
+      and immediate territory of Benevento had been transferred, by
+      gift or exchange, from the German emperor to the Roman pontiff;
+      and although this holy land was sometimes invaded, the name of
+      St. Peter was finally more potent than the sword of the Normans.
+      Their first colony of Aversa subdued and held the state of Capua;
+      and her princes were reduced to beg their bread before the palace
+      of their fathers. The dukes of Naples, the present metropolis,
+      maintained the popular freedom, under the shadow of the Byzantine
+      empire. Among the new acquisitions of Guiscard, the science of
+      Salerno, 47 and the trade of Amalphi, 48 may detain for a moment
+      the curiosity of the reader. I. Of the learned faculties,
+      jurisprudence implies the previous establishment of laws and
+      property; and theology may perhaps be superseded by the full
+      light of religion and reason. But the savage and the sage must
+      alike implore the assistance of physic; and, if our diseases are
+      inflamed by luxury, the mischiefs of blows and wounds would be
+      more frequent in the ruder ages of society. The treasures of
+      Grecian medicine had been communicated to the Arabian colonies of
+      Africa, Spain, and Sicily; and in the intercourse of peace and
+      war, a spark of knowledge had been kindled and cherished at
+      Salerno, an illustrious city, in which the men were honest and
+      the women beautiful. 49 A school, the first that arose in the
+      darkness of Europe, was consecrated to the healing art: the
+      conscience of monks and bishops was reconciled to that salutary
+      and lucrative profession; and a crowd of patients, of the most
+      eminent rank, and most distant climates, invited or visited the
+      physicians of Salerno. They were protected by the Norman
+      conquerors; and Guiscard, though bred in arms, could discern the
+      merit and value of a philosopher. After a pilgrimage of
+      thirty-nine years, Constantine, an African Christian, returned
+      from Bagdad, a master of the language and learning of the
+      Arabians; and Salerno was enriched by the practice, the lessons,
+      and the writings of the pupil of Avicenna. The school of medicine
+      has long slept in the name of a university; but her precepts are
+      abridged in a string of aphorisms, bound together in the Leonine
+      verses, or Latin rhymes, of the twelfth century. 50 II. Seven
+      miles to the west of Salerno, and thirty to the south of Naples,
+      the obscure town of Amalphi displayed the power and rewards of
+      industry. The land, however fertile, was of narrow extent; but
+      the sea was accessible and open: the inhabitants first assumed
+      the office of supplying the western world with the manufactures
+      and productions of the East; and this useful traffic was the
+      source of their opulence and freedom. The government was popular,
+      under the administration of a duke and the supremacy of the Greek
+      emperor. Fifty thousand citizens were numbered in the walls of
+      Amalphi; nor was any city more abundantly provided with gold,
+      silver, and the objects of precious luxury. The mariners who
+      swarmed in her port, excelled in the theory and practice of
+      navigation and astronomy: and the discovery of the compass, which
+      has opened the globe, is owing to their ingenuity or good
+      fortune. Their trade was extended to the coasts, or at least to
+      the commodities, of Africa, Arabia, and India: and their
+      settlements in Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, and
+      Alexandria, acquired the privileges of independent colonies. 51
+      After three hundred years of prosperity, Amalphi was oppressed by
+      the arms of the Normans, and sacked by the jealousy of Pisa; but
+      the poverty of one thousand 5111 fisherman is yet dignified by
+      the remains of an arsenal, a cathedral, and the palaces of royal
+      merchants.
+
+      46 (return) [ The conquests of Robert Guiscard and Roger I., the
+      exemption of Benevento and the xii provinces of the kingdom, are
+      fairly exposed by Giannone in the second volume of his Istoria
+      Civile, l. ix. x. xi and l. xvii. p. 460-470. This modern
+      division was not established before the time of Frederic II.]
+
+      47 (return) [ Giannone, (tom. ii. p. 119-127,) Muratori,
+      (Antiquitat. Medii Aevi, tom. iii. dissert. xliv. p. 935, 936,)
+      and Tiraboschi, (Istoria della Letteratura Italiana,) have given
+      an historical account of these physicians; their medical
+      knowledge and practice must be left to our physicians.]
+
+      48 (return) [ At the end of the Historia Pandectarum of Henry
+      Brenckmann, (Trajecti ad Rhenum, 1722, in 4to.,) the
+      indefatigable author has inserted two dissertations, de Republica
+      Amalphitana, and de Amalphi a Pisanis direpta, which are built on
+      the testimonies of one hundred and forty writers. Yet he has
+      forgotten two most important passages of the embassy of
+      Liutprand, (A.D. 939,) which compare the trade and navigation of
+      Amalphi with that of Venice.]
+
+      49 (return) [ Urbs Latii non est hac delitiosior urbe,
+
+     Frugibus, arboribus, vinoque redundat; et unde
+     Non tibi poma, nuces, non pulchra palatia desunt,
+        Non species muliebris abest probitasque virorum.
+     —Gulielmus Appulus, l. iii. p. 367]
+
+      50 (return) [ Muratori carries their antiquity above the year
+      (1066) of the death of Edward the Confessor, the rex Anglorum to
+      whom they are addressed. Nor is this date affected by the
+      opinion, or rather mistake, of Pasquier (Recherches de la France,
+      l. vii. c. 2) and Ducange, (Glossar. Latin.) The practice of
+      rhyming, as early as the viith century, was borrowed from the
+      languages of the North and East, (Muratori, Antiquitat. tom. iii.
+      dissert. xl. p. 686-708.)]
+
+      51 (return) [ The description of Amalphi, by William the Apulian,
+      (l. iii. p. 267,) contains much truth and some poetry, and the
+      third line may be applied to the sailor’s compass:—
+
+     Nulla magis locuples argento, vestibus, auro
+     Partibus innumeris: hac plurimus urbe moratur
+     Nauta maris Caelique vias aperire peritus.
+     Huc et Alexandri diversa feruntur ab urbe
+     Regis, et Antiochi.  Gens haec freta plurima transit.
+     His Arabes, Indi, Siculi nascuntur et Afri.
+     Haec gens est totum proore nobilitata per orbem,
+     Et mercando forens, et amans mercata referre.]
+
+      5111 (return) [ Amalfi had only one thousand inhabitants at the
+      commencement of the 18th century, when it was visited by
+      Brenckmann, (Brenckmann de Rep. Amalph. Diss. i. c. 23.) At
+      present it has six or eight thousand Hist. des Rep. tom. i. p.
+      304.—G.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LVI: The Saracens, The Franks And The Normans.—Part III.
+
+      Roger, the twelfth and last of the sons of Tancred, had been long
+      detained in Normandy by his own and his father’s age. He accepted
+      the welcome summons; hastened to the Apulian camp; and deserved
+      at first the esteem, and afterwards the envy, of his elder
+      brother. Their valor and ambition were equal; but the youth, the
+      beauty, the elegant manners, of Roger engaged the disinterested
+      love of the soldiers and people. So scanty was his allowance for
+      himself and forty followers, that he descended from conquest to
+      robbery, and from robbery to domestic theft; and so loose were
+      the notions of property, that, by his own historian, at his
+      special command, he is accused of stealing horses from a stable
+      at Melphi. 52 His spirit emerged from poverty and disgrace: from
+      these base practices he rose to the merit and glory of a holy
+      war; and the invasion of Sicily was seconded by the zeal and
+      policy of his brother Guiscard. After the retreat of the Greeks,
+      the idolaters, a most audacious reproach of the Catholics, had
+      retrieved their losses and possessions; but the deliverance of
+      the island, so vainly undertaken by the forces of the Eastern
+      empire, was achieved by a small and private band of adventurers.
+      53 In the first attempt, Roger braved, in an open boat, the real
+      and fabulous dangers of Scylla and Charybdis; landed with only
+      sixty soldiers on a hostile shore; drove the Saracens to the
+      gates of Messina and safely returned with the spoils of the
+      adjacent country. In the fortress of Trani, his active and
+      patient courage were equally conspicuous. In his old age he
+      related with pleasure, that, by the distress of the siege,
+      himself, and the countess his wife, had been reduced to a single
+      cloak or mantle, which they wore alternately; that in a sally his
+      horse had been slain, and he was dragged away by the Saracens;
+      but that he owed his rescue to his good sword, and had retreated
+      with his saddle on his back, lest the meanest trophy might be
+      left in the hands of the miscreants. In the siege of Trani, three
+      hundred Normans withstood and repulsed the forces of the island.
+      In the field of Ceramio, fifty thousand horse and foot were
+      overthrown by one hundred and thirty-six Christian soldiers,
+      without reckoning St. George, who fought on horseback in the
+      foremost ranks. The captive banners, with four camels, were
+      reserved for the successor of St. Peter; and had these barbaric
+      spoils been exposed, not in the Vatican, but in the Capitol, they
+      might have revived the memory of the Punic triumphs. These
+      insufficient numbers of the Normans most probably denote their
+      knights, the soldiers of honorable and equestrian rank, each of
+      whom was attended by five or six followers in the field; 54 yet,
+      with the aid of this interpretation, and after every fair
+      allowance on the side of valor, arms, and reputation, the
+      discomfiture of so many myriads will reduce the prudent reader to
+      the alternative of a miracle or a fable. The Arabs of Sicily
+      derived a frequent and powerful succor from their countrymen of
+      Africa: in the siege of Palermo, the Norman cavalry was assisted
+      by the galleys of Pisa; and, in the hour of action, the envy of
+      the two brothers was sublimed to a generous and invincible
+      emulation. After a war of thirty years, 55 Roger, with the title
+      of great count, obtained the sovereignty of the largest and most
+      fruitful island of the Mediterranean; and his administration
+      displays a liberal and enlightened mind, above the limits of his
+      age and education. The Moslems were maintained in the free
+      enjoyment of their religion and property: 56 a philosopher and
+      physician of Mazara, of the race of Mahomet, harangued the
+      conqueror, and was invited to court; his geography of the seven
+      climates was translated into Latin; and Roger, after a diligent
+      perusal, preferred the work of the Arabian to the writings of the
+      Grecian Ptolemy. 57 A remnant of Christian natives had promoted
+      the success of the Normans: they were rewarded by the triumph of
+      the cross. The island was restored to the jurisdiction of the
+      Roman pontiff; new bishops were planted in the principal cities;
+      and the clergy was satisfied by a liberal endowment of churches
+      and monasteries. Yet the Catholic hero asserted the rights of the
+      civil magistrate. Instead of resigning the investiture of
+      benefices, he dexterously applied to his own profit the papal
+      claims: the supremacy of the crown was secured and enlarged, by
+      the singular bull, which declares the princes of Sicily
+      hereditary and perpetual legates of the Holy See. 58
+
+      52 (return) [ Latrocinio armigerorum suorum in multis
+      sustentabatur, quod quidem ad ejus ignominiam non dicimus; sed
+      ipso ita praecipiente adhuc viliora et reprehensibiliora dicturi
+      sumus ut pluribus patescat, quam laboriose et cum quanta angustia
+      a profunda paupertate ad summum culmen divitiarum vel honoris
+      attigerit. Such is the preface of Malaterra (l. i. c. 25) to the
+      horse-stealing. From the moment (l. i. c. 19) that he has
+      mentioned his patron Roger, the elder brother sinks into the
+      second character. Something similar in Velleius Paterculus may be
+      observed of Augustus and Tiberius.]
+
+      53 (return) [ Duo sibi proficua deputans animae scilicet et
+      corporis si terran: Idolis deditam ad cultum divinum revocaret,
+      (Galfrid Malaterra, l. ii. c. 1.) The conquest of Sicily is
+      related in the three last books, and he himself has given an
+      accurate summary of the chapters, (p. 544-546.)]
+
+      54 (return) [ See the word Milites in the Latin Glossary of
+      Ducange.]
+
+      55 (return) [ Of odd particulars, I learn from Malaterra, that
+      the Arabs had introduced into Sicily the use of camels (l. i. c.
+      33) and of carrier-pigeons, (c. 42;) and that the bite of the
+      tarantula provokes a windy disposition, quae per anum inhoneste
+      crepitando emergit; a symptom most ridiculously felt by the whole
+      Norman army in their camp near Palermo, (c. 36.) I shall add an
+      etymology not unworthy of the xith century: Messana is divided
+      from Messis, the place from whence the harvests of the isle were
+      sent in tribute to Rome, (l. ii. c. 1.)]
+
+      56 (return) [ See the capitulation of Palermo in Malaterra, l.
+      ii. c. 45, and Giannone, who remarks the general toleration of
+      the Saracens, (tom ii. p. 72.)]
+
+      57 (return) [ John Leo Afer, de Medicis et Philosophus Arabibus,
+      c. 14, apud Fabric. Bibliot. Graec. tom. xiii. p. 278, 279. This
+      philosopher is named Esseriph Essachalli, and he died in Africa,
+      A. H. 516, A.D. 1122. Yet this story bears a strange resemblance
+      to the Sherif al Edrissi, who presented his book (Geographia
+      Nubiensis, see preface p. 88, 90, 170) to Roger, king of Sicily,
+      A. H. 541, A.D. 1153, (D’Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orientale, p.
+      786. Prideaux’s Life of Mahomet, p. 188. Petit de la Croix, Hist.
+      de Gengiscan, p. 535, 536. Casiri, Bibliot. Arab. Hispan. tom.
+      ii. p. 9-13;) and I am afraid of some mistake.]
+
+      58 (return) [ Malaterra remarks the foundation of the bishoprics,
+      (l. iv. c. 7,) and produces the original of the bull, (l. iv. c.
+      29.) Giannone gives a rational idea of this privilege, and the
+      tribunal of the monarchy of Sicily, (tom. ii. p. 95-102;) and St.
+      Marc (Abrege, tom. iii. p. 217-301, 1st column) labors the case
+      with the diligence of a Sicilian lawyer.]
+
+      To Robert Guiscard, the conquest of Sicily was more glorious than
+      beneficial: the possession of Apulia and Calabria was inadequate
+      to his ambition; and he resolved to embrace or create the first
+      occasion of invading, perhaps of subduing, the Roman empire of
+      the East. 59 From his first wife, the partner of his humble
+      fortune, he had been divorced under the pretence of
+      consanguinity; and her son Bohemond was destined to imitate,
+      rather than to succeed, his illustrious father. The second wife
+      of Guiscard was the daughter of the princes of Salerno; the
+      Lombards acquiesced in the lineal succession of their son Roger;
+      their five daughters were given in honorable nuptials, 60 and one
+      of them was betrothed, in a tender age, to Constantine, a
+      beautiful youth, the son and heir of the emperor Michael. 61 But
+      the throne of Constantinople was shaken by a revolution: the
+      Imperial family of Ducas was confined to the palace or the
+      cloister; and Robert deplored, and resented, the disgrace of his
+      daughter and the expulsion of his ally. A Greek, who styled
+      himself the father of Constantine, soon appeared at Salerno, and
+      related the adventures of his fall and flight. That unfortunate
+      friend was acknowledged by the duke, and adorned with the pomp
+      and titles of Imperial dignity: in his triumphal progress through
+      Apulia and Calabria, Michael 62 was saluted with the tears and
+      acclamations of the people; and Pope Gregory the Seventh exhorted
+      the bishops to preach, and the Catholics to fight, in the pious
+      work of his restoration. His conversations with Robert were
+      frequent and familiar; and their mutual promises were justified
+      by the valor of the Normans and the treasures of the East. Yet
+      this Michael, by the confession of the Greeks and Latins, was a
+      pageant and an impostor; a monk who had fled from his convent, or
+      a domestic who had served in the palace. The fraud had been
+      contrived by the subtle Guiscard; and he trusted, that after this
+      pretender had given a decent color to his arms, he would sink, at
+      the nod of the conqueror, into his primitive obscurity. But
+      victory was the only argument that could determine the belief of
+      the Greeks; and the ardor of the Latins was much inferior to
+      their credulity: the Norman veterans wished to enjoy the harvest
+      of their toils, and the unwarlike Italians trembled at the known
+      and unknown dangers of a transmarine expedition. In his new
+      levies, Robert exerted the influence of gifts and promises, the
+      terrors of civil and ecclesiastical authority; and some acts of
+      violence might justify the reproach, that age and infancy were
+      pressed without distinction into the service of their unrelenting
+      prince. After two years’ incessant preparations the land and
+      naval forces were assembled at Otranto, at the heel, or extreme
+      promontory, of Italy; and Robert was accompanied by his wife, who
+      fought by his side, his son Bohemond, and the representative of
+      the emperor Michael. Thirteen hundred knights 63 of Norman race
+      or discipline, formed the sinews of the army, which might be
+      swelled to thirty thousand 64 followers of every denomination.
+      The men, the horses, the arms, the engines, the wooden towers,
+      covered with raw hides, were embarked on board one hundred and
+      fifty vessels: the transports had been built in the ports of
+      Italy, and the galleys were supplied by the alliance of the
+      republic of Ragusa.
+
+      59 (return) [ In the first expedition of Robert against the
+      Greeks, I follow Anna Comnena, (the ist, iiid, ivth, and vth
+      books of the Alexiad,) William Appulus, (l. ivth and vth, p.
+      270-275,) and Jeffrey Malaterra, (l. iii. c. 13, 14, 24-29, 39.)
+      Their information is contemporary and authentic, but none of them
+      were eye-witnesses of the war.]
+
+      60 (return) [ One of them was married to Hugh, the son of Azzo,
+      or Axo, a marquis of Lombardy, rich, powerful, and noble,
+      (Gulielm. Appul. l. iii. p. 267,) in the xith century, and whose
+      ancestors in the xth and ixth are explored by the critical
+      industry of Leibnitz and Muratori. From the two elder sons of the
+      marquis Azzo are derived the illustrious lines of Brunswick and
+      Este. See Muratori, Antichita Estense.]
+
+      61 (return) [ Anna Comnena, somewhat too wantonly, praises and
+      bewails that handsome boy, who, after the rupture of his barbaric
+      nuptials, (l. i. p. 23,) was betrothed as her husband. (p. 27.)
+      Elsewhere she describes the red and white of his skin, his hawk’s
+      eyes, &c., l. iii. p. 71.]
+
+      62 (return) [ Anna Comnena, l. i. p. 28, 29. Gulielm. Appul. l.
+      iv p. 271. Galfrid Malaterra, l. iii. c. 13, p. 579, 580.
+      Malaterra is more cautious in his style; but the Apulian is bold
+      and positive.—Mentitus se Michaelem Venerata Danais quidam
+      seductor ad illum. As Gregory VII had believed, Baronius almost
+      alone, recognizes the emperor Michael. (A.D. No. 44.)]
+
+      63 (return) [ Ipse armatae militiae non plusquam MCCC milites
+      secum habuisse, ab eis qui eidem negotio interfuerunt attestatur,
+      (Malaterra, l. iii. c. 24, p. 583.) These are the same whom the
+      Apulian (l. iv. p. 273) styles the equestris gens ducis, equites
+      de gente ducis.]
+
+      64 (return) [ Anna Comnena (Alexias, l. i. p. 37;) and her
+      account tallies with the number and lading of the ships. Ivit in
+      Dyrrachium cum xv. millibus hominum, says the Chronicon Breve
+      Normannicum, (Muratori, Scriptores, tom. v. p. 278.) I have
+      endeavored to reconcile these reckonings.]
+
+      At the mouth of the Adriatic Gulf, the shores of Italy and Epirus
+      incline towards each other. The space between Brundusium and
+      Durazzo, the Roman passage, is no more than one hundred miles; 65
+      at the last station of Otranto, it is contracted to fifty; 66 and
+      this narrow distance had suggested to Pyrrhus and Pompey the
+      sublime or extravagant idea of a bridge. Before the general
+      embarkation, the Norman duke despatched Bohemond with fifteen
+      galleys to seize or threaten the Isle of Corfu, to survey the
+      opposite coast, and to secure a harbor in the neighborhood of
+      Vallona for the landing of the troops. They passed and landed
+      without perceiving an enemy; and this successful experiment
+      displayed the neglect and decay of the naval power of the Greeks.
+      The islands of Epirus and the maritime towns were subdued by the
+      arms or the name of Robert, who led his fleet and army from Corfu
+      (I use the modern appellation) to the siege of Durazzo. That
+      city, the western key of the empire, was guarded by ancient
+      renown, and recent fortifications, by George Palaeologus, a
+      patrician, victorious in the Oriental wars, and a numerous
+      garrison of Albanians and Macedonians, who, in every age, have
+      maintained the character of soldiers. In the prosecution of his
+      enterprise, the courage of Guiscard was assailed by every form of
+      danger and mischance. In the most propitious season of the year,
+      as his fleet passed along the coast, a storm of wind and snow
+      unexpectedly arose: the Adriatic was swelled by the raging blast
+      of the south, and a new shipwreck confirmed the old infamy of the
+      Acroceraunian rocks. 67 The sails, the masts, and the oars, were
+      shattered or torn away; the sea and shore were covered with the
+      fragments of vessels, with arms and dead bodies; and the greatest
+      part of the provisions were either drowned or damaged. The ducal
+      galley was laboriously rescued from the waves, and Robert halted
+      seven days on the adjacent cape, to collect the relics of his
+      loss, and revive the drooping spirits of his soldiers. The
+      Normans were no longer the bold and experienced mariners who had
+      explored the ocean from Greenland to Mount Atlas, and who smiled
+      at the petty dangers of the Mediterranean. They had wept during
+      the tempest; they were alarmed by the hostile approach of the
+      Venetians, who had been solicited by the prayers and promises of
+      the Byzantine court. The first day’s action was not
+      disadvantageous to Bohemond, a beardless youth, 68 who led the
+      naval powers of his father. All night the galleys of the republic
+      lay on their anchors in the form of a crescent; and the victory
+      of the second day was decided by the dexterity of their
+      evolutions, the station of their archers, the weight of their
+      javelins, and the borrowed aid of the Greek fire. The Apulian and
+      Ragusian vessels fled to the shore, several were cut from their
+      cables, and dragged away by the conqueror; and a sally from the
+      town carried slaughter and dismay to the tents of the Norman
+      duke. A seasonable relief was poured into Durazzo, and as soon as
+      the besiegers had lost the command of the sea, the islands and
+      maritime towns withdrew from the camp the supply of tribute and
+      provision. That camp was soon afflicted with a pestilential
+      disease; five hundred knights perished by an inglorious death;
+      and the list of burials (if all could obtain a decent burial)
+      amounted to ten thousand persons. Under these calamities, the
+      mind of Guiscard alone was firm and invincible; and while he
+      collected new forces from Apulia and Sicily, he battered, or
+      scaled, or sapped, the walls of Durazzo. But his industry and
+      valor were encountered by equal valor and more perfect industry.
+      A movable turret, of a size and capacity to contain five hundred
+      soldiers, had been rolled forwards to the foot of the rampart:
+      but the descent of the door or drawbridge was checked by an
+      enormous beam, and the wooden structure was constantly consumed
+      by artificial flames.
+
+      65 (return) [ The Itinerary of Jerusalem (p. 609, edit.
+      Wesseling) gives a true and reasonable space of a thousand stadia
+      or one hundred miles which is strangely doubled by Strabo (l. vi.
+      p. 433) and Pliny, (Hist. Natur. iii. 16.)]
+
+      66 (return) [ Pliny (Hist. Nat. iii. 6, 16) allows quinquaginta
+      millia for this brevissimus cursus, and agrees with the real
+      distance from Otranto to La Vallona, or Aulon, (D’Anville,
+      Analyse de sa Carte des Cotes de la Grece, &c., p. 3-6.)
+      Hermolaus Barbarus, who substitutes centum. (Harduin, Not. lxvi.
+      in Plin. l. iii.,) might have been corrected by every Venetian
+      pilot who had sailed out of the gulf.]
+
+      67 (return) [ Infames scopulos Acroceraunia, Horat. carm. i. 3.
+      The praecipitem Africum decertantem Aquilonibus, et rabiem Noti
+      and the monstra natantia of the Adriatic, are somewhat enlarged;
+      but Horace trembling for the life of Virgil, is an interesting
+      moment in the history of poetry and friendship.]
+
+      68 (return) [ (Alexias, l. iv. p. 106.) Yet the Normans shaved,
+      and the Venetians wore, their beards: they must have derided the
+      no beard of Bohemond; a harsh interpretation. (Duncanga ad
+      Alexiad. p. 283.)]
+
+      While the Roman empire was attacked by the Turks in the East,
+      east, and the Normans in the West, the aged successor of Michael
+      surrendered the sceptre to the hands of Alexius, an illustrious
+      captain, and the founder of the Comnenian dynasty. The princess
+      Anne, his daughter and historian, observes, in her affected
+      style, that even Hercules was unequal to a double combat; and, on
+      this principle, she approves a hasty peace with the Turks, which
+      allowed her father to undertake in person the relief of Durazzo.
+      On his accession, Alexius found the camp without soldiers, and
+      the treasury without money; yet such were the vigor and activity
+      of his measures, that in six months he assembled an army of
+      seventy thousand men, 69 and performed a march of five hundred
+      miles. His troops were levied in Europe and Asia, from
+      Peloponnesus to the Black Sea; his majesty was displayed in the
+      silver arms and rich trappings of the companies of Horse-guards;
+      and the emperor was attended by a train of nobles and princes,
+      some of whom, in rapid succession, had been clothed with the
+      purple, and were indulged by the lenity of the times in a life of
+      affluence and dignity. Their youthful ardor might animate the
+      multitude; but their love of pleasure and contempt of
+      subordination were pregnant with disorder and mischief; and their
+      importunate clamors for speedy and decisive action disconcerted
+      the prudence of Alexius, who might have surrounded and starved
+      the besieging army. The enumeration of provinces recalls a sad
+      comparison of the past and present limits of the Roman world: the
+      raw levies were drawn together in haste and terror; and the
+      garrisons of Anatolia, or Asia Minor, had been purchased by the
+      evacuation of the cities which were immediately occupied by the
+      Turks. The strength of the Greek army consisted in the
+      Varangians, the Scandinavian guards, whose numbers were recently
+      augmented by a colony of exiles and volunteers from the British
+      Island of Thule. Under the yoke of the Norman conqueror, the
+      Danes and English were oppressed and united; a band of
+      adventurous youths resolved to desert a land of slavery; the sea
+      was open to their escape; and, in their long pilgrimage, they
+      visited every coast that afforded any hope of liberty and
+      revenge. They were entertained in the service of the Greek
+      emperor; and their first station was in a new city on the Asiatic
+      shore: but Alexius soon recalled them to the defence of his
+      person and palace; and bequeathed to his successors the
+      inheritance of their faith and valor. 70 The name of a Norman
+      invader revived the memory of their wrongs: they marched with
+      alacrity against the national foe, and panted to regain in Epirus
+      the glory which they had lost in the battle of Hastings. The
+      Varangians were supported by some companies of Franks or Latins;
+      and the rebels, who had fled to Constantinople from the tyranny
+      of Guiscard, were eager to signalize their zeal and gratify their
+      revenge. In this emergency, the emperor had not disdained the
+      impure aid of the Paulicians or Manichaeans of Thrace and
+      Bulgaria; and these heretics united with the patience of
+      martyrdom the spirit and discipline of active valor. 71 The
+      treaty with the sultan had procured a supply of some thousand
+      Turks; and the arrows of the Scythian horse were opposed to the
+      lances of the Norman cavalry. On the report and distant prospect
+      of these formidable numbers, Robert assembled a council of his
+      principal officers. “You behold,” said he, “your danger: it is
+      urgent and inevitable. The hills are covered with arms and
+      standards; and the emperor of the Greeks is accustomed to wars
+      and triumphs. Obedience and union are our only safety; and I am
+      ready to yield the command to a more worthy leader.” The vote and
+      acclamation even of his secret enemies, assured him, in that
+      perilous moment, of their esteem and confidence; and the duke
+      thus continued: “Let us trust in the rewards of victory, and
+      deprive cowardice of the means of escape. Let us burn our vessels
+      and our baggage, and give battle on this spot, as if it were the
+      place of our nativity and our burial.” The resolution was
+      unanimously approved; and, without confining himself to his
+      lines, Guiscard awaited in battle-array the nearer approach of
+      the enemy. His rear was covered by a small river; his right wing
+      extended to the sea; his left to the hills: nor was he conscious,
+      perhaps, that on the same ground Caesar and Pompey had formerly
+      disputed the empire of the world. 72
+
+      69 (return) [ Muratori (Annali d’ Italia, tom. ix. p. 136, 137)
+      observes, that some authors (Petrus Diacon. Chron. Casinen. l.
+      iii. c. 49) compose the Greek army of 170,000 men, but that the
+      hundred may be struck off, and that Malaterra reckons only
+      70,000; a slight inattention. The passage to which he alludes is
+      in the Chronicle of Lupus Protospata, (Script. Ital. tom. v. p.
+      45.) Malaterra (l. iv. c. 27) speaks in high, but indefinite
+      terms of the emperor, cum copiisinnumerabilbus: like the Apulian
+      poet, (l. iv. p. 272:) —More locustarum montes et pianna
+      teguntur.]
+
+      70 (return) [ See William of Malmsbury, de Gestis Anglorum, l.
+      ii. p. 92. Alexius fidem Anglorum suspiciens praecipuis
+      familiaritatibus suis eos applicabat, amorem eorum filio
+      transcribens. Odericus Vitalis (Hist. Eccles. l. iv. p. 508, l.
+      vii. p. 641) relates their emigration from England, and their
+      service in Greece.]
+
+      71 (return) [ See the Apulian, (l. i. p. 256.) The character and
+      the story of these Manichaeans has been the subject of the livth
+      chapter.]
+
+      72 (return) [ See the simple and masterly narrative of Caesar
+      himself, (Comment. de Bell. Civil. iii. 41-75.) It is a pity that
+      Quintus Icilius (M. Guichard) did not live to analyze these
+      operations, as he has done the campaigns of Africa and Spain.]
+
+      Against the advice of his wisest captains, Alexius resolved to
+      risk the event of a general action, and exhorted the garrison of
+      Durazzo to assist their own deliverance by a well-timed sally
+      from the town. He marched in two columns to surprise the Normans
+      before daybreak on two different sides: his light cavalry was
+      scattered over the plain; the archers formed the second line; and
+      the Varangians claimed the honors of the vanguard. In the first
+      onset, the battle-axes of the strangers made a deep and bloody
+      impression on the army of Guiscard, which was now reduced to
+      fifteen thousand men. The Lombards and Calabrians ignominiously
+      turned their backs; they fled towards the river and the sea; but
+      the bridge had been broken down to check the sally of the
+      garrison, and the coast was lined with the Venetian galleys, who
+      played their engines among the disorderly throng. On the verge of
+      ruin, they were saved by the spirit and conduct of their chiefs.
+      Gaita, the wife of Robert, is painted by the Greeks as a warlike
+      Amazon, a second Pallas; less skilful in arts, but not less
+      terrible in arms, than the Athenian goddess: 73 though wounded by
+      an arrow, she stood her ground, and strove, by her exhortation
+      and example, to rally the flying troops. 74 Her female voice was
+      seconded by the more powerful voice and arm of the Norman duke,
+      as calm in action as he was magnanimous in council: “Whither,” he
+      cried aloud, “whither do ye fly? Your enemy is implacable; and
+      death is less grievous than servitude.” The moment was decisive:
+      as the Varangians advanced before the line, they discovered the
+      nakedness of their flanks: the main battle of the duke, of eight
+      hundred knights, stood firm and entire; they couched their
+      lances, and the Greeks bore the furious and irresistible shock of
+      the French cavalry. 75 Alexius was not deficient in the duties of
+      a soldier or a general; but he no sooner beheld the slaughter of
+      the Varangians, and the flight of the Turks, than he despised his
+      subjects, and despaired of his fortune. The princess Anne, who
+      drops a tear on this melancholy event, is reduced to praise the
+      strength and swiftness of her father’s horse, and his vigorous
+      struggle when he was almost overthrown by the stroke of a lance,
+      which had shivered the Imperial helmet. His desperate valor broke
+      through a squadron of Franks who opposed his flight; and after
+      wandering two days and as many nights in the mountains, he found
+      some repose, of body, though not of mind, in the walls of
+      Lychnidus. The victorious Robert reproached the tardy and feeble
+      pursuit which had suffered the escape of so illustrious a prize:
+      but he consoled his disappointment by the trophies and standards
+      of the field, the wealth and luxury of the Byzantine camp, and
+      the glory of defeating an army five times more numerous than his
+      own. A multitude of Italians had been the victims of their own
+      fears; but only thirty of his knights were slain in this
+      memorable day. In the Roman host, the loss of Greeks, Turks, and
+      English, amounted to five or six thousand: 76 the plain of
+      Durazzo was stained with noble and royal blood; and the end of
+      the impostor Michael was more honorable than his life.
+
+      73 (return) [ It is very properly translated by the President
+      Cousin, (Hist. de Constantinople, tom. iv. p. 131, in 12mo.,) qui
+      combattoit comme une Pallas, quoiqu’elle ne fut pas aussi savante
+      que celle d’Athenes. The Grecian goddess was composed of two
+      discordant characters, of Neith, the workwoman of Sais in Egypt,
+      and of a virgin Amazon of the Tritonian lake in Libya, (Banier,
+      Mythologie, tom. iv. p. 1-31, in 12mo.)]
+
+      74 (return) [ Anna Comnena (l. iv. p. 116) admires, with some
+      degree of terror, her masculine virtues. They were more familiar
+      to the Latins and though the Apulian (l. iv. p. 273) mentions her
+      presence and her wound, he represents her as far less intrepid.
+      Uxor in hoc bello Roberti forte sagitta
+
+     Quadam laesa fuit: quo vulnere territa nullam.
+     Dum sperabat opem, se poene subegerat hosti.
+
+      The last is an unlucky word for a female prisoner.]
+
+      75 (return) [ (Anna, l. v. p. 133;) and elsewhere, (p. 140.) The
+      pedantry of the princess in the choice of classic appellations
+      encouraged Ducange to apply to his countrymen the characters of
+      the ancient Gauls.]
+
+      76 (return) [ Lupus Protospata (tom. iii. p. 45) says 6000:
+      William the Apulian more than 5000, (l. iv. p. 273.) Their
+      modesty is singular and laudable: they might with so little
+      trouble have slain two or three myriads of schismatics and
+      infidels!]
+
+      It is more than probable that Guiscard was not afflicted by the
+      loss of a costly pageant, which had merited only the contempt and
+      derision of the Greeks. After their defeat, they still persevered
+      in the defence of Durazzo; and a Venetian commander supplied the
+      place of George Palaeologus, who had been imprudently called away
+      from his station. The tents of the besiegers were converted into
+      barracks, to sustain the inclemency of the winter; and in answer
+      to the defiance of the garrison, Robert insinuated, that his
+      patience was at least equal to their obstinacy. 77 Perhaps he
+      already trusted to his secret correspondence with a Venetian
+      noble, who sold the city for a rich and honorable marriage. At
+      the dead of night, several rope-ladders were dropped from the
+      walls; the light Calabrians ascended in silence; and the Greeks
+      were awakened by the name and trumpets of the conqueror. Yet they
+      defended the streets three days against an enemy already master
+      of the rampart; and near seven months elapsed between the first
+      investment and the final surrender of the place. From Durazzo,
+      the Norman duke advanced into the heart of Epirus or Albania;
+      traversed the first mountains of Thessaly; surprised three
+      hundred English in the city of Castoria; approached Thessalonica;
+      and made Constantinople tremble. A more pressing duty suspended
+      the prosecution of his ambitious designs. By shipwreck,
+      pestilence, and the sword, his army was reduced to a third of the
+      original numbers; and instead of being recruited from Italy, he
+      was informed, by plaintive epistles, of the mischiefs and dangers
+      which had been produced by his absence: the revolt of the cities
+      and barons of Apulia; the distress of the pope; and the approach
+      or invasion of Henry king of Germany. Highly presuming that his
+      person was sufficient for the public safety, he repassed the sea
+      in a single brigantine, and left the remains of the army under
+      the command of his son and the Norman counts, exhorting Bohemond
+      to respect the freedom of his peers, and the counts to obey the
+      authority of their leader. The son of Guiscard trod in the
+      footsteps of his father; and the two destroyers are compared, by
+      the Greeks, to the caterpillar and the locust, the last of whom
+      devours whatever has escaped the teeth of the former. 78 After
+      winning two battles against the emperor, he descended into the
+      plain of Thessaly, and besieged Larissa, the fabulous realm of
+      Achilles, 79 which contained the treasure and magazines of the
+      Byzantine camp. Yet a just praise must not be refused to the
+      fortitude and prudence of Alexius, who bravely struggled with the
+      calamities of the times. In the poverty of the state, he presumed
+      to borrow the superfluous ornaments of the churches: the
+      desertion of the Manichaeans was supplied by some tribes of
+      Moldavia: a reenforcement of seven thousand Turks replaced and
+      revenged the loss of their brethren; and the Greek soldiers were
+      exercised to ride, to draw the bow, and to the daily practice of
+      ambuscades and evolutions. Alexius had been taught by experience,
+      that the formidable cavalry of the Franks on foot was unfit for
+      action, and almost incapable of motion; 80 his archers were
+      directed to aim their arrows at the horse rather than the man;
+      and a variety of spikes and snares were scattered over the ground
+      on which he might expect an attack. In the neighborhood of
+      Larissa the events of war were protracted and balanced. The
+      courage of Bohemond was always conspicuous, and often successful;
+      but his camp was pillaged by a stratagem of the Greeks; the city
+      was impregnable; and the venal or discontented counts deserted
+      his standard, betrayed their trusts, and enlisted in the service
+      of the emperor. Alexius returned to Constantinople with the
+      advantage, rather than the honor, of victory. After evacuating
+      the conquests which he could no longer defend, the son of
+      Guiscard embarked for Italy, and was embraced by a father who
+      esteemed his merit, and sympathized in his misfortune.
+
+      77 (return) [ The Romans had changed the inauspicious name of
+      Epidamnus to Dyrrachium, (Plin. iii. 26;) and the vulgar
+      corruption of Duracium (see Malaterra) bore some affinity to
+      hardness. One of Robert’s names was Durand, a durando: poor wit!
+      (Alberic. Monach. in Chron. apud Muratori, Annali d’Italia, tom.
+      ix. p. 137.)]
+
+      78 (return) [ (Anna, l. i. p. 35.) By these similes, so different
+      from those of Homer she wishes to inspire contempt as well as
+      horror for the little noxious animal, a conqueror. Most
+      unfortunately, the common sense, or common nonsense, of mankind,
+      resists her laudable design.]
+
+      79 (return) [ Prodiit hac auctor Trojanae cladis Achilles. The
+      supposition of the Apulian (l. v. p. 275) may be excused by the
+      more classic poetry of Virgil, (Aeneid. ii. 197,) Larissaeus
+      Achilles, but it is not justified by the geography of Homer.]
+
+      80 (return) [ The items which encumbered the knights on foot,
+      have been ignorantly translated spurs, (Anna Comnena, Alexias, l.
+      v. p. 140.) Ducange has explained the true sense by a ridiculous
+      and inconvenient fashion, which lasted from the xith to the xvth
+      century. These peaks, in the form of a scorpion, were sometimes
+      two feet and fastened to the knee with a silver chain.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LVI: The Saracens, The Franks And The Normans.—Part IV.
+
+      Of the Latin princes, the allies of Alexius and enemies of
+      Robert, the most prompt and powerful was Henry the Third or
+      Fourth, king of Germany and Italy, and future emperor of the
+      West. The epistle of the Greek monarch 81 to his brother is
+      filled with the warmest professions of friendship, and the most
+      lively desire of strengthening their alliance by every public and
+      private tie. He congratulates Henry on his success in a just and
+      pious war; and complains that the prosperity of his own empire is
+      disturbed by the audacious enterprises of the Norman Robert. The
+      lists of his presents expresses the manners of the age—a radiated
+      crown of gold, a cross set with pearls to hang on the breast, a
+      case of relics, with the names and titles of the saints, a vase
+      of crystal, a vase of sardonyx, some balm, most probably of
+      Mecca, and one hundred pieces of purple. To these he added a more
+      solid present, of one hundred and forty-four thousand Byzantines
+      of gold, with a further assurance of two hundred and sixteen
+      thousand, so soon as Henry should have entered in arms the
+      Apulian territories, and confirmed by an oath the league against
+      the common enemy. The German, 82 who was already in Lombardy at
+      the head of an army and a faction, accepted these liberal offers,
+      and marched towards the south: his speed was checked by the sound
+      of the battle of Durazzo; but the influence of his arms, or name,
+      in the hasty return of Robert, was a full equivalent for the
+      Grecian bribe. Henry was the severe adversary of the Normans, the
+      allies and vassals of Gregory the Seventh, his implacable foe.
+      The long quarrel of the throne and mitre had been recently
+      kindled by the zeal and ambition of that haughty priest: 83 the
+      king and the pope had degraded each other; and each had seated a
+      rival on the temporal or spiritual throne of his antagonist.
+      After the defeat and death of his Swabian rebel, Henry descended
+      into Italy, to assume the Imperial crown, and to drive from the
+      Vatican the tyrant of the church. 84 But the Roman people adhered
+      to the cause of Gregory: their resolution was fortified by
+      supplies of men and money from Apulia; and the city was thrice
+      ineffectually besieged by the king of Germany. In the fourth year
+      he corrupted, as it is said, with Byzantine gold, the nobles of
+      Rome, whose estates and castles had been ruined by the war. The
+      gates, the bridges, and fifty hostages, were delivered into his
+      hands: the anti-pope, Clement the Third, was consecrated in the
+      Lateran: the grateful pontiff crowned his protector in the
+      Vatican; and the emperor Henry fixed his residence in the
+      Capitol, as the lawful successor of Augustus and Charlemagne. The
+      ruins of the Septizonium were still defended by the nephew of
+      Gregory: the pope himself was invested in the castle of St.
+      Angelo; and his last hope was in the courage and fidelity of his
+      Norman vassal. Their friendship had been interrupted by some
+      reciprocal injuries and complaints; but, on this pressing
+      occasion, Guiscard was urged by the obligation of his oath, by
+      his interest, more potent than oaths, by the love of fame, and
+      his enmity to the two emperors. Unfurling the holy banner, he
+      resolved to fly to the relief of the prince of the apostles: the
+      most numerous of his armies, six thousand horse, and thirty
+      thousand foot, was instantly assembled; and his march from
+      Salerno to Rome was animated by the public applause and the
+      promise of the divine favor. Henry, invincible in sixty-six
+      battles, trembled at his approach; recollected some indispensable
+      affairs that required his presence in Lombardy; exhorted the
+      Romans to persevere in their allegiance; and hastily retreated
+      three days before the entrance of the Normans. In less than three
+      years, the son of Tancred of Hauteville enjoyed the glory of
+      delivering the pope, and of compelling the two emperors, of the
+      East and West, to fly before his victorious arms. 85 But the
+      triumph of Robert was clouded by the calamities of Rome. By the
+      aid of the friends of Gregory, the walls had been perforated or
+      scaled; but the Imperial faction was still powerful and active;
+      on the third day, the people rose in a furious tumult; and a
+      hasty word of the conqueror, in his defence or revenge, was the
+      signal of fire and pillage. 86 The Saracens of Sicily, the
+      subjects of Roger, and auxiliaries of his brother, embraced this
+      fair occasion of rifling and profaning the holy city of the
+      Christians: many thousands of the citizens, in the sight, and by
+      the allies, of their spiritual father were exposed to violation,
+      captivity, or death; and a spacious quarter of the city, from the
+      Lateran to the Coliseum, was consumed by the flames, and devoted
+      to perpetual solitude. 87 From a city, where he was now hated,
+      and might be no longer feared, Gregory retired to end his days in
+      the palace of Salerno. The artful pontiff might flatter the
+      vanity of Guiscard with the hope of a Roman or Imperial crown;
+      but this dangerous measure, which would have inflamed the
+      ambition of the Norman, must forever have alienated the most
+      faithful princes of Germany.
+
+      81 (return) [ The epistle itself (Alexias, l. iii. p. 93, 94, 95)
+      well deserves to be read. There is one expression which Ducange
+      does not understand. I have endeavored to grope out a tolerable
+      meaning: The first word is a golden crown; the second is
+      explained by Simon Portius, (in Lexico Graeco-Barbar.,) by a
+      flash of lightning.]
+
+      82 (return) [ For these general events I must refer to the
+      general historians Sigonius, Baronius, Muratori, Mosheim, St.
+      Marc, &c.]
+
+      83 (return) [ The lives of Gregory VII. are either legends or
+      invectives, (St. Marc, Abrege, tom. iii. p. 235, &c.;) and his
+      miraculous or magical performances are alike incredible to a
+      modern reader. He will, as usual, find some instruction in Le
+      Clerc, (Vie de Hildebrand, Bibliot, ancienne et moderne, tom.
+      viii.,) and much amusement in Bayle, (Dictionnaire Critique,
+      Gregoire VII.) That pope was undoubtedly a great man, a second
+      Athanasius, in a more fortunate age of the church. May I presume
+      to add, that the portrait of Athanasius is one of the passages of
+      my history (vol. ii. p. 332, &c.) with which I am the least
+      dissatisfied? * Note: There is a fair life of Gregory VII. by
+      Voigt, (Weimar. 1815,) which has been translated into French. M.
+      Villemain, it is understood, has devoted much time to the study
+      of this remarkable character, to whom his eloquence may do
+      justice. There is much valuable information on the subject in the
+      accurate work of Stenzel, Geschichte Deutschlands unter den
+      Frankischen Kaisern—the History of Germany under the Emperors of
+      the Franconian Race.—M.]
+
+      84 (return) [ Anna, with the rancor of a Greek schismatic, calls
+      him (l. i. p. 32,) a pope, or priest, worthy to be spit upon and
+      accuses him of scourging, shaving, and perhaps of castrating the
+      ambassadors of Henry, (p. 31, 33.) But this outrage is improbable
+      and doubtful, (see the sensible preface of Cousin.)]
+
+      85 (return) [
+
+     Sic uno tempore victi
+     Sunt terrae Domini duo: rex Alemannicus iste,
+         Imperii rector Romani maximus ille.
+     Alter ad arma ruens armis superatur; et alter
+         Nominis auditi sola formidine cessit.
+
+      It is singular enough, that the Apulian, a Latin, should
+      distinguish the Greek as the ruler of the Roman empire, (l. iv.
+      p. 274.)]
+
+      86 (return) [ The narrative of Malaterra (l. iii. c. 37, p. 587,
+      588) is authentic, circumstantial, and fair. Dux ignem exclamans
+      urbe incensa, &c. The Apulian softens the mischief, (inde
+      quibusdam aedibus exustis,) which is again exaggerated in some
+      partial chronicles, (Muratori, Annali, tom. ix. p. 147.)]
+
+      87 (return) [ After mentioning this devastation, the Jesuit
+      Donatus (de Roma veteri et nova, l. iv. c. 8, p. 489) prettily
+      adds, Duraret hodieque in Coelio monte, interque ipsum et
+      capitolium, miserabilis facies prostrates urbis, nisi in hortorum
+      vinetorumque amoenitatem Roma resurrexisset, ut perpetua
+      viriditate contegeret vulnera et ruinas suas.]
+
+      The deliverer and scourge of Rome might have indulged himself in
+      a season of repose; but in the same year of the flight of the
+      German emperor, the indefatigable Robert resumed the design of
+      his eastern conquests. The zeal or gratitude of Gregory had
+      promised to his valor the kingdoms of Greece and Asia; 88 his
+      troops were assembled in arms, flushed with success, and eager
+      for action. Their numbers, in the language of Homer, are compared
+      by Anna to a swarm of bees; 89 yet the utmost and moderate limits
+      of the powers of Guiscard have been already defined; they were
+      contained on this second occasion in one hundred and twenty
+      vessels; and as the season was far advanced, the harbor of
+      Brundusium 90 was preferred to the open road of Otranto. Alexius,
+      apprehensive of a second attack, had assiduously labored to
+      restore the naval forces of the empire; and obtained from the
+      republic of Venice an important succor of thirty-six transports,
+      fourteen galleys, and nine galiots or ships of extra-ordinary
+      strength and magnitude. Their services were liberally paid by the
+      license or monopoly of trade, a profitable gift of many shops and
+      houses in the port of Constantinople, and a tribute to St. Mark,
+      the more acceptable, as it was the produce of a tax on their
+      rivals at Amalphi. By the union of the Greeks and Venetians, the
+      Adriatic was covered with a hostile fleet; but their own neglect,
+      or the vigilance of Robert, the change of a wind, or the shelter
+      of a mist, opened a free passage; and the Norman troops were
+      safely disembarked on the coast of Epirus. With twenty strong and
+      well-appointed galleys, their intrepid duke immediately sought
+      the enemy, and though more accustomed to fight on horseback, he
+      trusted his own life, and the lives of his brother and two sons,
+      to the event of a naval combat. The dominion of the sea was
+      disputed in three engagements, in sight of the Isle of Corfu: in
+      the two former, the skill and numbers of the allies were
+      superior; but in the third, the Normans obtained a final and
+      complete victory. 91 The light brigantines of the Greeks were
+      scattered in ignominious flight: the nine castles of the
+      Venetians maintained a more obstinate conflict; seven were sunk,
+      two were taken; two thousand five hundred captives implored in
+      vain the mercy of the victor; and the daughter of Alexius
+      deplores the loss of thirteen thousand of his subjects or allies.
+      The want of experience had been supplied by the genius of
+      Guiscard; and each evening, when he had sounded a retreat, he
+      calmly explored the causes of his repulse, and invented new
+      methods how to remedy his own defects, and to baffle the
+      advantages of the enemy. The winter season suspended his
+      progress: with the return of spring he again aspired to the
+      conquest of Constantinople; but, instead of traversing the hills
+      of Epirus, he turned his arms against Greece and the islands,
+      where the spoils would repay the labor, and where the land and
+      sea forces might pursue their joint operations with vigor and
+      effect. But, in the Isle of Cephalonia, his projects were fatally
+      blasted by an epidemical disease: Robert himself, in the
+      seventieth year of his age, expired in his tent; and a suspicion
+      of poison was imputed, by public rumor, to his wife, or to the
+      Greek emperor. 92 This premature death might allow a boundless
+      scope for the imagination of his future exploits; and the event
+      sufficiently declares, that the Norman greatness was founded on
+      his life. 93 Without the appearance of an enemy, a victorious
+      army dispersed or retreated in disorder and consternation; and
+      Alexius, who had trembled for his empire, rejoiced in his
+      deliverance. The galley which transported the remains of Guiscard
+      was ship-wrecked on the Italian shore; but the duke’s body was
+      recovered from the sea, and deposited in the sepulchre of
+      Venusia, 94 a place more illustrious for the birth of Horace 95
+      than for the burial of the Norman heroes. Roger, his second son
+      and successor, immediately sunk to the humble station of a duke
+      of Apulia: the esteem or partiality of his father left the
+      valiant Bohemond to the inheritance of his sword.
+
+      The national tranquillity was disturbed by his claims, till the
+      first crusade against the infidels of the East opened a more
+      splendid field of glory and conquest. 96
+
+      88 (return) [ The royalty of Robert, either promised or bestowed
+      by the pope, (Anna, l. i. p. 32,) is sufficiently confirmed by
+      the Apulian, (l. iv. p. 270.) —Romani regni sibi promisisse
+      coronam Papa ferebatur. Nor can I understand why Gretser, and the
+      other papal advocates, should be displeased with this new
+      instance of apostolic jurisdiction.]
+
+      89 (return) [ See Homer, Iliad, B. (I hate this pedantic mode of
+      quotation by letters of the Greek alphabet) 87, &c. His bees are
+      the image of a disorderly crowd: their discipline and public
+      works seem to be the ideas of a later age, (Virgil. Aeneid. l.
+      i.)]
+
+      90 (return) [ Gulielm. Appulus, l. v. p. 276.) The admirable port
+      of Brundusium was double; the outward harbor was a gulf covered
+      by an island, and narrowing by degrees, till it communicated by a
+      small gullet with the inner harbor, which embraced the city on
+      both sides. Caesar and nature have labored for its ruin; and
+      against such agents what are the feeble efforts of the Neapolitan
+      government? (Swinburne’s Travels in the Two Sicilies, vol. i. p.
+      384-390.]
+
+      91 (return) [ William of Apulia (l. v. p. 276) describes the
+      victory of the Normans, and forgets the two previous defeats,
+      which are diligently recorded by Anna Comnena, (l. vi. p. 159,
+      160, 161.) In her turn, she invents or magnifies a fourth action,
+      to give the Venetians revenge and rewards. Their own feelings
+      were far different, since they deposed their doge, propter
+      excidium stoli, (Dandulus in Chron in Muratori, Script. Rerum
+      Italicarum, tom. xii. p. 249.)]
+
+      92 (return) [ The most authentic writers, William of Apulia. (l.
+      v. 277,) Jeffrey Malaterra, (l. iii. c. 41, p. 589,) and Romuald
+      of Salerno, (Chron. in Muratori, Script. Rerum Ital. tom. vii.,)
+      are ignorant of this crime, so apparent to our countrymen William
+      of Malmsbury (l. iii. p. 107) and Roger de Hoveden, (p. 710, in
+      Script. post Bedam) and the latter can tell, how the just Alexius
+      married, crowned, and burnt alive, his female accomplice. The
+      English historian is indeed so blind, that he ranks Robert
+      Guiscard, or Wiscard, among the knights of Henry I, who ascended
+      the throne fifteen years after the duke of Apulia’s death.]
+
+      93 (return) [ The joyful Anna Comnena scatters some flowers over
+      the grave of an enemy, (Alexiad, l. v. p. 162-166;) and his best
+      praise is the esteem and envy of William the Conqueror, the
+      sovereign of his family Graecia (says Malaterra) hostibus
+      recedentibus libera laeta quievit: Apulia tota sive Calabria
+      turbatur.]
+
+      94 (return) [ Urbs Venusina nitet tantis decorata sepulchris, is
+      one of the last lines of the Apulian’s poems, (l. v. p. 278.)
+      William of Malmsbury (l. iii. p. 107) inserts an epitaph on
+      Guiscard, which is not worth transcribing.]
+
+      95 (return) [ Yet Horace had few obligations to Venusia; he was
+      carried to Rome in his childhood, (Serm. i. 6;) and his repeated
+      allusions to the doubtful limit of Apulia and Lucania (Carm. iii.
+      4, Serm. ii. I) are unworthy of his age and genius.]
+
+      96 (return) [ See Giannone (tom. ii. p. 88-93) and the historians
+      of the fire crusade.]
+
+      Of human life, the most glorious or humble prospects are alike
+      and soon bounded by the sepulchre. The male line of Robert
+      Guiscard was extinguished, both in Apulia and at Antioch, in the
+      second generation; but his younger brother became the father of a
+      line of kings; and the son of the great count was endowed with
+      the name, the conquests, and the spirit, of the first Roger. 97
+      The heir of that Norman adventurer was born in Sicily; and, at
+      the age of only four years, he succeeded to the sovereignty of
+      the island, a lot which reason might envy, could she indulge for
+      a moment the visionary, though virtuous wish of dominion. Had
+      Roger been content with his fruitful patrimony, a happy and
+      grateful people might have blessed their benefactor; and if a
+      wise administration could have restored the prosperous times of
+      the Greek colonies, 98 the opulence and power of Sicily alone
+      might have equalled the widest scope that could be acquired and
+      desolated by the sword of war. But the ambition of the great
+      count was ignorant of these noble pursuits; it was gratified by
+      the vulgar means of violence and artifice. He sought to obtain
+      the undivided possession of Palermo, of which one moiety had been
+      ceded to the elder branch; struggled to enlarge his Calabrian
+      limits beyond the measure of former treaties; and impatiently
+      watched the declining health of his cousin William of Apulia, the
+      grandson of Robert. On the first intelligence of his premature
+      death, Roger sailed from Palermo with seven galleys, cast anchor
+      in the Bay of Salerno, received, after ten days’ negotiation, an
+      oath of fidelity from the Norman capital, commanded the
+      submission of the barons, and extorted a legal investiture from
+      the reluctant popes, who could not long endure either the
+      friendship or enmity of a powerful vassal. The sacred spot of
+      Benevento was respectfully spared, as the patrimony of St. Peter;
+      but the reduction of Capua and Naples completed the design of his
+      uncle Guiscard; and the sole inheritance of the Norman conquests
+      was possessed by the victorious Roger. A conscious superiority of
+      power and merit prompted him to disdain the titles of duke and of
+      count; and the Isle of Sicily, with a third perhaps of the
+      continent of Italy, might form the basis of a kingdom 99 which
+      would only yield to the monarchies of France and England. The
+      chiefs of the nation who attended his coronation at Palermo might
+      doubtless pronounce under what name he should reign over them;
+      but the example of a Greek tyrant or a Saracen emir was
+      insufficient to justify his regal character; and the nine kings
+      of the Latin world 100 might disclaim their new associate, unless
+      he were consecrated by the authority of the supreme pontiff. The
+      pride of Anacletus was pleased to confer a title, which the pride
+      of the Norman had stooped to solicit; 101 but his own legitimacy
+      was attacked by the adverse election of Innocent the Second; and
+      while Anacletus sat in the Vatican, the successful fugitive was
+      acknowledged by the nations of Europe. The infant monarchy of
+      Roger was shaken, and almost overthrown, by the unlucky choice of
+      an ecclesiastical patron; and the sword of Lothaire the Second of
+      Germany, the excommunications of Innocent, the fleets of Pisa,
+      and the zeal of St. Bernard, were united for the ruin of the
+      Sicilian robber. After a gallant resistance, the Norman prince
+      was driven from the continent of Italy: a new duke of Apulia was
+      invested by the pope and the emperor, each of whom held one end
+      of the gonfanon, or flagstaff, as a token that they asserted
+      their right, and suspended their quarrel. But such jealous
+      friendship was of short and precarious duration: the German
+      armies soon vanished in disease and desertion: 102 the Apulian
+      duke, with all his adherents, was exterminated by a conqueror who
+      seldom forgave either the dead or the living; like his
+      predecessor Leo the Ninth, the feeble though haughty pontiff
+      became the captive and friend of the Normans; and their
+      reconciliation was celebrated by the eloquence of Bernard, who
+      now revered the title and virtues of the king of Sicily.
+
+      97 (return) [ The reign of Roger, and the Norman kings of Sicily,
+      fills books of the Istoria Civile of Giannone, (tom. ii. l.
+      xi.-xiv. p. 136-340,) and is spread over the ixth and xth volumes
+      of the Italian Annals of Muratori. In the Bibliotheque Italique
+      (tom. i. p. 175-122,) I find a useful abstract of Capacelatro, a
+      modern Neapolitan, who has composed, in two volumes, the history
+      of his country from Roger Frederic II. inclusive.]
+
+      98 (return) [ According to the testimony of Philistus and
+      Diodorus, the tyrant Dionysius of Syracuse could maintain a
+      standing force of 10,000 horse, 100,000 foot, and 400 galleys.
+      Compare Hume, (Essays, vol. i. p. 268, 435,) and his adversary
+      Wallace, (Numbers of Mankind, p. 306, 307.) The ruins of
+      Agrigentum are the theme of every traveller, D’Orville, Reidesel,
+      Swinburne, &c.]
+
+      99 (return) [ A contemporary historian of the acts of Roger from
+      the year 1127 to 1135, founds his title on merit and power, the
+      consent of the barons, and the ancient royalty of Sicily and
+      Palermo, without introducing Pope Anacletus, (Alexand. Coenobii
+      Telesini Abbatis de Rebus gestis Regis Rogerii, lib. iv. in
+      Muratori, Script. Rerum Ital. tom. v. p. 607-645)]
+
+      100 (return) [ The kings of France, England, Scotland, Castille,
+      Arragon, Navarre, Sweden, Denmark, and Hungary. The three first
+      were more ancient than Charlemagne; the three next were created
+      by their sword; the three last by their baptism; and of these the
+      king of Hungary alone was honored or debased by a papal crown.]
+
+      101 (return) [ Fazellus, and a crowd of Sicilians, had imagined a
+      more early and independent coronation, (A.D. 1130, May 1,) which
+      Giannone unwillingly rejects, (tom. ii. p. 137-144.) This fiction
+      is disproved by the silence of contemporaries; nor can it be
+      restored by a spurious character of Messina, (Muratori, Annali d’
+      Italia, tom. ix. p. 340. Pagi, Critica, tom. iv. p. 467, 468.)]
+
+      102 (return) [ Roger corrupted the second person of Lothaire’s
+      army, who sounded, or rather cried, a retreat; for the Germans
+      (says Cinnamus, l. iii. c. i. p. 51) are ignorant of the use of
+      trumpets. Most ignorant himself! * Note: Cinnamus says nothing of
+      their ignorance.—M]
+
+      As a penance for his impious war against the successor of St.
+      Peter, that monarch might have promised to display the banner of
+      the cross, and he accomplished with ardor a vow so propitious to
+      his interest and revenge. The recent injuries of Sicily might
+      provoke a just retaliation on the heads of the Saracens: the
+      Normans, whose blood had been mingled with so many subject
+      streams, were encouraged to remember and emulate the naval
+      trophies of their fathers, and in the maturity of their strength
+      they contended with the decline of an African power. When the
+      Fatimite caliph departed for the conquest of Egypt, he rewarded
+      the real merit and apparent fidelity of his servant Joseph with a
+      gift of his royal mantle, and forty Arabian horses, his palace
+      with its sumptuous furniture, and the government of the kingdoms
+      of Tunis and Algiers. The Zeirides, 103 the descendants of
+      Joseph, forgot their allegiance and gratitude to a distant
+      benefactor, grasped and abused the fruits of prosperity; and
+      after running the little course of an Oriental dynasty, were now
+      fainting in their own weakness. On the side of the land, they
+      were pressed by the Almohades, the fanatic princes of Morocco,
+      while the sea-coast was open to the enterprises of the Greeks and
+      Franks, who, before the close of the eleventh century, had
+      extorted a ransom of two hundred thousand pieces of gold. By the
+      first arms of Roger, the island or rock of Malta, which has been
+      since ennobled by a military and religious colony, was
+      inseparably annexed to the crown of Sicily. Tripoli, 104 a strong
+      and maritime city, was the next object of his attack; and the
+      slaughter of the males, the captivity of the females, might be
+      justified by the frequent practice of the Moslems themselves. The
+      capital of the Zeirides was named Africa from the country, and
+      Mahadia 105 from the Arabian founder: it is strongly built on a
+      neck of land, but the imperfection of the harbor is not
+      compensated by the fertility of the adjacent plain. Mahadia was
+      besieged by George the Sicilian admiral, with a fleet of one
+      hundred and fifty galleys, amply provided with men and the
+      instruments of mischief: the sovereign had fled, the Moorish
+      governor refused to capitulate, declined the last and
+      irresistible assault, and secretly escaping with the Moslem
+      inhabitants abandoned the place and its treasures to the
+      rapacious Franks. In successive expeditions, the king of Sicily
+      or his lieutenants reduced the cities of Tunis, Safax, Capsia,
+      Bona, and a long tract of the sea-coast; 106 the fortresses were
+      garrisoned, the country was tributary, and a boast that it held
+      Africa in subjection might be inscribed with some flattery on the
+      sword of Roger. 107 After his death, that sword was broken; and
+      these transmarine possessions were neglected, evacuated, or lost,
+      under the troubled reign of his successor. 108 The triumphs of
+      Scipio and Belisarius have proved, that the African continent is
+      neither inaccessible nor invincible; yet the great princes and
+      powers of Christendom have repeatedly failed in their armaments
+      against the Moors, who may still glory in the easy conquest and
+      long servitude of Spain.
+
+      103 (return) [ See De Guignes, Hist. Generate des Huns, tom. i.
+      p. 369-373 and Cardonne, Hist. de l’Afrique, &c., sous la
+      Domination des Arabes tom. ii. p. 70-144. Their common original
+      appears to be Novairi.]
+
+      104 (return) [ Tripoli (says the Nubian geographer, or more
+      properly the Sherif al Edrisi) urbs fortis, saxeo muro vallata,
+      sita prope littus maris Hanc expugnavit Rogerius, qui mulieribus
+      captivis ductis, viros pere mit.]
+
+      105 (return) [ See the geography of Leo Africanus, (in Ramusio
+      tom. i. fol. 74 verso. fol. 75, recto,) and Shaw’s Travels, (p.
+      110,) the viith book of Thuanus, and the xith of the Abbe de
+      Vertot. The possession and defence of the place was offered by
+      Charles V. and wisely declined by the knights of Malta.]
+
+      106 (return) [ Pagi has accurately marked the African conquests
+      of Roger and his criticism was supplied by his friend the Abbe de
+      Longuerue with some Arabic memorials, (A.D. 1147, No. 26, 27,
+      A.D. 1148, No. 16, A.D. 1153, No. 16.)]
+
+      107 (return) [ Appulus et Calaber, Siculus mihi servit et Afer. A
+      proud inscription, which denotes, that the Norman conquerors were
+      still discriminated from their Christian and Moslem subjects.]
+
+      108 (return) [ Hugo Falcandus (Hist. Sicula, in Muratori, Script.
+      tom. vii. p. 270, 271) ascribes these losses to the neglect or
+      treachery of the admiral Majo.]
+
+      Since the decease of Robert Guiscard, the Normans had
+      relinquished, above sixty years, their hostile designs against
+      the empire of the East. The policy of Roger solicited a public
+      and private union with the Greek princes, whose alliance would
+      dignify his regal character: he demanded in marriage a daughter
+      of the Comnenian family, and the first steps of the treaty seemed
+      to promise a favorable event. But the contemptuous treatment of
+      his ambassadors exasperated the vanity of the new monarch; and
+      the insolence of the Byzantine court was expiated, according to
+      the laws of nations, by the sufferings of a guiltless people. 109
+      With the fleet of seventy galleys, George, the admiral of Sicily,
+      appeared before Corfu; and both the island and city were
+      delivered into his hands by the disaffected inhabitants, who had
+      yet to learn that a siege is still more calamitous than a
+      tribute. In this invasion, of some moment in the annals of
+      commerce, the Normans spread themselves by sea, and over the
+      provinces of Greece; and the venerable age of Athens, Thebes, and
+      Corinth, was violated by rapine and cruelty. Of the wrongs of
+      Athens, no memorial remains. The ancient walls, which
+      encompassed, without guarding, the opulence of Thebes, were
+      scaled by the Latin Christians; but their sole use of the gospel
+      was to sanctify an oath, that the lawful owners had not secreted
+      any relic of their inheritance or industry. On the approach of
+      the Normans, the lower town of Corinth was evacuated; the Greeks
+      retired to the citadel, which was seated on a lofty eminence,
+      abundantly watered by the classic fountain of Pirene; an
+      impregnable fortress, if the want of courage could be balanced by
+      any advantages of art or nature. As soon as the besiegers had
+      surmounted the labor (their sole labor) of climbing the hill,
+      their general, from the commanding eminence, admired his own
+      victory, and testified his gratitude to Heaven, by tearing from
+      the altar the precious image of Theodore, the tutelary saint. The
+      silk weavers of both sexes, whom George transported to Sicily,
+      composed the most valuable part of the spoil; and in comparing
+      the skilful industry of the mechanic with the sloth and cowardice
+      of the soldier, he was heard to exclaim that the distaff and loom
+      were the only weapons which the Greeks were capable of using. The
+      progress of this naval armament was marked by two conspicuous
+      events, the rescue of the king of France, and the insult of the
+      Byzantine capital. In his return by sea from an unfortunate
+      crusade, Louis the Seventh was intercepted by the Greeks, who
+      basely violated the laws of honor and religion. The fortunate
+      encounter of the Norman fleet delivered the royal captive; and
+      after a free and honorable entertainment in the court of Sicily,
+      Louis continued his journey to Rome and Paris. 110 In the absence
+      of the emperor, Constantinople and the Hellespont were left
+      without defence and without the suspicion of danger. The clergy
+      and people (for the soldiers had followed the standard of Manuel)
+      were astonished and dismayed at the hostile appearance of a line
+      of galleys, which boldly cast anchor in the front of the Imperial
+      city. The forces of the Sicilian admiral were inadequate to the
+      siege or assault of an immense and populous metropolis; but
+      George enjoyed the glory of humbling the Greek arrogance, and of
+      marking the path of conquest to the navies of the West. He landed
+      some soldiers to rifle the fruits of the royal gardens, and
+      pointed with silver, or most probably with fire, the arrows which
+      he discharged against the palace of the Caesars. 111 This playful
+      outrage of the pirates of Sicily, who had surprised an unguarded
+      moment, Manuel affected to despise, while his martial spirit, and
+      the forces of the empire, were awakened to revenge. The
+      Archipelago and Ionian Sea were covered with his squadrons and
+      those of Venice; but I know not by what favorable allowance of
+      transports, victuallers, and pinnaces, our reason, or even our
+      fancy, can be reconciled to the stupendous account of fifteen
+      hundred vessels, which is proposed by a Byzantine historian.
+      These operations were directed with prudence and energy: in his
+      homeward voyage George lost nineteen of his galleys, which were
+      separated and taken: after an obstinate defence, Corfu implored
+      the clemency of her lawful sovereign; nor could a ship, a
+      soldier, of the Norman prince, be found, unless as a captive,
+      within the limits of the Eastern empire. The prosperity and the
+      health of Roger were already in a declining state: while he
+      listened in his palace of Palermo to the messengers of victory or
+      defeat, the invincible Manuel, the foremost in every assault, was
+      celebrated by the Greeks and Latins as the Alexander or the
+      Hercules of the age.
+
+      109 (return) [ The silence of the Sicilian historians, who end
+      too soon, or begin too late, must be supplied by Otho of
+      Frisingen, a German, (de Gestis Frederici I. l. i. c. 33, in
+      Muratori, Script. tom. vi. p. 668,) the Venetian Andrew Dandulus,
+      (Id. tom. xii. p. 282, 283) and the Greek writers Cinnamus (l.
+      iii. c. 2-5) and Nicetas, (in Manuel. l. iii. c. 1-6.)]
+
+      110 (return) [ To this imperfect capture and speedy rescue I
+      apply Cinnamus, l. ii. c. 19, p. 49. Muratori, on tolerable
+      evidence, (Annali d’Italia, tom. ix. p. 420, 421,) laughs at the
+      delicacy of the French, who maintain, marisque nullo impediente
+      periculo ad regnum proprium reversum esse; yet I observe that
+      their advocate, Ducange, is less positive as the commentator on
+      Cinnamus, than as the editor of Joinville.]
+
+      111 (return) [ In palatium regium sagittas igneas injecit, says
+      Dandulus; but Nicetas (l. ii. c. 8, p. 66) transforms them, and
+      adds, that Manuel styled this insult. These arrows, by the
+      compiler, Vincent de Beauvais, are again transmuted into gold.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LVI: The Saracens, The Franks And The Normans.—Part V.
+
+      A prince of such a temper could not be satisfied with having
+      repelled the insolence of a Barbarian. It was the right and duty,
+      it might be the interest and glory, of Manuel to restore the
+      ancient majesty of the empire, to recover the provinces of Italy
+      and Sicily, and to chastise this pretended king, the grandson of
+      a Norman vassal. 112 The natives of Calabria were still attached
+      to the Greek language and worship, which had been inexorably
+      proscribed by the Latin clergy: after the loss of her dukes,
+      Apulia was chained as a servile appendage to the crown of Sicily;
+      the founder of the monarchy had ruled by the sword; and his death
+      had abated the fear, without healing the discontent, of his
+      subjects: the feudal government was always pregnant with the
+      seeds of rebellion; and a nephew of Roger himself invited the
+      enemies of his family and nation. The majesty of the purple, and
+      a series of Hungarian and Turkish wars, prevented Manuel from
+      embarking his person in the Italian expedition. To the brave and
+      noble Palaeologus, his lieutenant, the Greek monarch intrusted a
+      fleet and army: the siege of Bari was his first exploit; and, in
+      every operation, gold as well as steel was the instrument of
+      victory. Salerno, and some places along the western coast,
+      maintained their fidelity to the Norman king; but he lost in two
+      campaigns the greater part of his continental possessions; and
+      the modest emperor, disdaining all flattery and falsehood, was
+      content with the reduction of three hundred cities or villages of
+      Apulia and Calabria, whose names and titles were inscribed on all
+      the walls of the palace. The prejudices of the Latins were
+      gratified by a genuine or fictitious donation under the seal of
+      the German Caesars; 113 but the successor of Constantine soon
+      renounced this ignominious pretence, claimed the indefeasible
+      dominion of Italy, and professed his design of chasing the
+      Barbarians beyond the Alps. By the artful speeches, liberal
+      gifts, and unbounded promises, of their Eastern ally, the free
+      cities were encouraged to persevere in their generous struggle
+      against the despotism of Frederic Barbarossa: the walls of Milan
+      were rebuilt by the contributions of Manuel; and he poured, says
+      the historian, a river of gold into the bosom of Ancona, whose
+      attachment to the Greeks was fortified by the jealous enmity of
+      the Venetians. 114 The situation and trade of Ancona rendered it
+      an important garrison in the heart of Italy: it was twice
+      besieged by the arms of Frederic; the imperial forces were twice
+      repulsed by the spirit of freedom; that spirit was animated by
+      the ambassador of Constantinople; and the most intrepid patriots,
+      the most faithful servants, were rewarded by the wealth and
+      honors of the Byzantine court. 115 The pride of Manuel disdained
+      and rejected a Barbarian colleague; his ambition was excited by
+      the hope of stripping the purple from the German usurpers, and of
+      establishing, in the West, as in the East, his lawful title of
+      sole emperor of the Romans. With this view, he solicited the
+      alliance of the people and the bishop of Rome. Several of the
+      nobles embraced the cause of the Greek monarch; the splendid
+      nuptials of his niece with Odo Frangipani secured the support of
+      that powerful family, 116 and his royal standard or image was
+      entertained with due reverence in the ancient metropolis. 117
+      During the quarrel between Frederic and Alexander the Third, the
+      pope twice received in the Vatican the ambassadors of
+      Constantinople. They flattered his piety by the long-promised
+      union of the two churches, tempted the avarice of his venal
+      court, and exhorted the Roman pontiff to seize the just
+      provocation, the favorable moment, to humble the savage insolence
+      of the Alemanni and to acknowledge the true representative of
+      Constantine and Augustus. 118
+
+      112 (return) [ For the invasion of Italy, which is almost
+      overlooked by Nicetas see the more polite history of Cinnamus,
+      (l. iv. c. 1-15, p. 78-101,) who introduces a diffuse narrative
+      by a lofty profession, iii. 5.]
+
+      113 (return) [ The Latin, Otho, (de Gestis Frederici I. l. ii. c.
+      30, p. 734,) attests the forgery; the Greek, Cinnamus, (l. iv. c.
+      1, p. 78,) claims a promise of restitution from Conrad and
+      Frederic. An act of fraud is always credible when it is told of
+      the Greeks.]
+
+      114 (return) [ Quod Ancontiani Graecum imperium nimis diligerent
+      ... Veneti speciali odio Anconam oderunt. The cause of love,
+      perhaps of envy, were the beneficia, flumen aureum of the
+      emperor; and the Latin narrative is confirmed by Cinnamus, (l.
+      iv. c. 14, p. 98.)]
+
+      115 (return) [ Muratori mentions the two sieges of Ancona; the
+      first, in 1167, against Frederic I. in person (Annali, tom. x. p.
+      39, &c.;) the second, in 1173, against his lieutenant Christian,
+      archbishop of Mentz, a man unworthy of his name and office, (p.
+      76, &c.) It is of the second siege that we possess an original
+      narrative, which he has published in his great collection, (tom.
+      vi. p. 921-946.)]
+
+      116 (return) [ We derive this anecdote from an anonymous
+      chronicle of Fossa Nova, published by Muratori, (Script. Ital.
+      tom. vii. p. 874.)]
+
+      117 (return) [ Cinnamus (l. iv. c. 14, p. 99) is susceptible of
+      this double sense. A standard is more Latin, an image more
+      Greek.]
+
+      118 (return) [ Nihilominus quoque petebat, ut quia occasio justa
+      et tempos opportunum et acceptabile se obtulerant, Romani corona
+      imperii a sancto apostolo sibi redderetur; quoniam non ad
+      Frederici Alemanni, sed ad suum jus asseruit pertinere, (Vit.
+      Alexandri III. a Cardinal. Arragoniae, in Script. Rerum Ital.
+      tom. iii. par. i. p. 458.) His second embassy was accompanied cum
+      immensa multitudine pecuniarum.]
+
+      But these Italian conquests, this universal reign, soon escaped
+      from the hand of the Greek emperor. His first demands were eluded
+      by the prudence of Alexander the Third, who paused on this deep
+      and momentous revolution; 119 nor could the pope be seduced by a
+      personal dispute to renounce the perpetual inheritance of the
+      Latin name. After the reunion with Frederic, he spoke a more
+      peremptory language, confirmed the acts of his predecessors,
+      excommunicated the adherents of Manuel, and pronounced the final
+      separation of the churches, or at least the empires, of
+      Constantinople and Rome. 120 The free cities of Lombardy no
+      longer remembered their foreign benefactor, and without
+      preserving the friendship of Ancona, he soon incurred the enmity
+      of Venice. 121 By his own avarice, or the complaints of his
+      subjects, the Greek emperor was provoked to arrest the persons,
+      and confiscate the effects, of the Venetian merchants. This
+      violation of the public faith exasperated a free and commercial
+      people: one hundred galleys were launched and armed in as many
+      days; they swept the coasts of Dalmatia and Greece: but after
+      some mutual wounds, the war was terminated by an agreement,
+      inglorious to the empire, insufficient for the republic; and a
+      complete vengeance of these and of fresh injuries was reserved
+      for the succeeding generation. The lieutenant of Manuel had
+      informed his sovereign that he was strong enough to quell any
+      domestic revolt of Apulia and Calabria; but that his forces were
+      inadequate to resist the impending attack of the king of Sicily.
+      His prophecy was soon verified: the death of Palaeologus devolved
+      the command on several chiefs, alike eminent in rank, alike
+      defective in military talents; the Greeks were oppressed by land
+      and sea; and a captive remnant that escaped the swords of the
+      Normans and Saracens, abjured all future hostility against the
+      person or dominions of their conqueror. 122 Yet the king of
+      Sicily esteemed the courage and constancy of Manuel, who had
+      landed a second army on the Italian shore; he respectfully
+      addressed the new Justinian; solicited a peace or truce of thirty
+      years, accepted as a gift the regal title; and acknowledged
+      himself the military vassal of the Roman empire. 123 The
+      Byzantine Caesars acquiesced in this shadow of dominion, without
+      expecting, perhaps without desiring, the service of a Norman
+      army; and the truce of thirty years was not disturbed by any
+      hostilities between Sicily and Constantinople. About the end of
+      that period, the throne of Manuel was usurped by an inhuman
+      tyrant, who had deserved the abhorrence of his country and
+      mankind: the sword of William the Second, the grandson of Roger,
+      was drawn by a fugitive of the Comnenian race; and the subjects
+      of Andronicus might salute the strangers as friends, since they
+      detested their sovereign as the worst of enemies. The Latin
+      historians 124 expatiate on the rapid progress of the four counts
+      who invaded Romania with a fleet and army, and reduced many
+      castles and cities to the obedience of the king of Sicily. The
+      Greeks 125 accuse and magnify the wanton and sacrilegious
+      cruelties that were perpetrated in the sack of Thessalonica, the
+      second city of the empire. The former deplore the fate of those
+      invincible but unsuspecting warriors who were destroyed by the
+      arts of a vanquished foe. The latter applaud, in songs of
+      triumph, the repeated victories of their countrymen on the Sea of
+      Marmora or Propontis, on the banks of the Strymon, and under the
+      walls of Durazzo. A revolution which punished the crimes of
+      Andronicus, had united against the Franks the zeal and courage of
+      the successful insurgents: ten thousand were slain in battle, and
+      Isaac Angelus, the new emperor, might indulge his vanity or
+      vengeance in the treatment of four thousand captives. Such was
+      the event of the last contest between the Greeks and Normans:
+      before the expiration of twenty years, the rival nations were
+      lost or degraded in foreign servitude; and the successors of
+      Constantine did not long survive to insult the fall of the
+      Sicilian monarchy.
+
+      119 (return) [ Nimis alta et perplexa sunt, (Vit. Alexandri III.
+      p. 460, 461,) says the cautious pope.]
+
+      120 (return) [ (Cinnamus, l. iv. c. 14, p. 99.)]
+
+      121 (return) [ In his vith book, Cinnamus describes the Venetian
+      war, which Nicetas has not thought worthy of his attention. The
+      Italian accounts, which do not satisfy our curiosity, are
+      reported by the annalist Muratori, under the years 1171, &c.]
+
+      122 (return) [ This victory is mentioned by Romuald of Salerno,
+      (in Muratori, Script. Ital. tom. vii. p. 198.) It is whimsical
+      enough, that in the praise of the king of Sicily, Cinnamus (l.
+      iv. c. 13, p. 97, 98) is much warmer and copious than Falcandus,
+      (p. 268, 270.) But the Greek is fond of description, and the
+      Latin historian is not fond of William the Bad.]
+
+      123 (return) [ For the epistle of William I. see Cinnamus (l. iv.
+      c. 15, p. 101, 102) and Nicetas, (l. ii. c. 8.) It is difficult
+      to affirm, whether these Greeks deceived themselves, or the
+      public, in these flattering portraits of the grandeur of the
+      empire.]
+
+      124 (return) [ I can only quote, of original evidence, the poor
+      chronicles of Sicard of Cremona, (p. 603,) and of Fossa Nova, (p.
+      875,) as they are published in the viith tome of Muratori’s
+      historians. The king of Sicily sent his troops contra nequitiam
+      Andronici.... ad acquirendum imperium C. P. They were.... decepti
+      captique, by Isaac.]
+
+      125 (return) [ By the failure of Cinnamus to Nicetas (in
+      Andronico, l.. c. 7, 8, 9, l. ii. c. 1, in Isaac Angelo, l. i. c.
+      1-4,) who now becomes a respectable contemporary. As he survived
+      the emperor and the empire, he is above flattery; but the fall of
+      Constantinople exasperated his prejudices against the Latins. For
+      the honor of learning I shall observe that Homer’s great
+      commentator, Eustathias archbishop of Thessalonica, refused to
+      desert his flock.]
+
+      The sceptre of Roger successively devolved to his son and
+      grandson: they might be confounded under the name of William:
+      they are strongly discriminated by the epithets of the bad and
+      the good; but these epithets, which appear to describe the
+      perfection of vice and virtue, cannot strictly be applied to
+      either of the Norman princes. When he was roused to arms by
+      danger and shame, the first William did not degenerate from the
+      valor of his race; but his temper was slothful; his manners were
+      dissolute; his passions headstrong and mischievous; and the
+      monarch is responsible, not only for his personal vices, but for
+      those of Majo, the great admiral, who abused the confidence, and
+      conspired against the life, of his benefactor. From the Arabian
+      conquest, Sicily had imbibed a deep tincture of Oriental manners;
+      the despotism, the pomp, and even the harem, of a sultan; and a
+      Christian people was oppressed and insulted by the ascendant of
+      the eunuchs, who openly professed, or secretly cherished, the
+      religion of Mahomet. An eloquent historian of the times 126 has
+      delineated the misfortunes of his country: 127 the ambition and
+      fall of the ungrateful Majo; the revolt and punishment of his
+      assassins; the imprisonment and deliverance of the king himself;
+      the private feuds that arose from the public confusion; and the
+      various forms of calamity and discord which afflicted Palermo,
+      the island, and the continent, during the reign of William the
+      First, and the minority of his son. The youth, innocence, and
+      beauty of William the Second, 128 endeared him to the nation: the
+      factions were reconciled; the laws were revived; and from the
+      manhood to the premature death of that amiable prince, Sicily
+      enjoyed a short season of peace, justice, and happiness, whose
+      value was enhanced by the remembrance of the past and the dread
+      of futurity. The legitimate male posterity of Tancred of
+      Hauteville was extinct in the person of the second William; but
+      his aunt, the daughter of Roger, had married the most powerful
+      prince of the age; and Henry the Sixth, the son of Frederic
+      Barbarossa, descended from the Alps to claim the Imperial crown
+      and the inheritance of his wife. Against the unanimous wish of a
+      free people, this inheritance could only be acquired by arms; and
+      I am pleased to transcribe the style and sense of the historian
+      Falcandus, who writes at the moment, and on the spot, with the
+      feelings of a patriot, and the prophetic eye of a statesman.
+      “Constantia, the daughter of Sicily, nursed from her cradle in
+      the pleasures and plenty, and educated in the arts and manners,
+      of this fortunate isle, departed long since to enrich the
+      Barbarians with our treasures, and now returns, with her savage
+      allies, to contaminate the beauties of her venerable parent.
+      Already I behold the swarms of angry Barbarians: our opulent
+      cities, the places flourishing in a long peace, are shaken with
+      fear, desolated by slaughter, consumed by rapine, and polluted by
+      intemperance and lust. I see the massacre or captivity of our
+      citizens, the rapes of our virgins and matrons. 129 In this
+      extremity (he interrogates a friend) how must the Sicilians act?
+      By the unanimous election of a king of valor and experience,
+      Sicily and Calabria might yet be preserved; 130 for in the levity
+      of the Apulians, ever eager for new revolutions, I can repose
+      neither confidence nor hope. 131 Should Calabria be lost, the
+      lofty towers, the numerous youth, and the naval strength, of
+      Messina, 132 might guard the passage against a foreign invader.
+      If the savage Germans coalesce with the pirates of Messina; if
+      they destroy with fire the fruitful region, so often wasted by
+      the fires of Mount Aetna, 133 what resource will be left for the
+      interior parts of the island, these noble cities which should
+      never be violated by the hostile footsteps of a Barbarian? 134
+      Catana has again been overwhelmed by an earthquake: the ancient
+      virtue of Syracuse expires in poverty and solitude; 135 but
+      Palermo is still crowned with a diadem, and her triple walls
+      enclose the active multitudes of Christians and Saracens. If the
+      two nations, under one king, can unite for their common safety,
+      they may rush on the Barbarians with invincible arms. But if the
+      Saracens, fatigued by a repetition of injuries, should now retire
+      and rebel; if they should occupy the castles of the mountains and
+      sea-coast, the unfortunate Christians, exposed to a double
+      attack, and placed as it were between the hammer and the anvil,
+      must resign themselves to hopeless and inevitable servitude.” 136
+      We must not forget, that a priest here prefers his country to his
+      religion; and that the Moslems, whose alliance he seeks, were
+      still numerous and powerful in the state of Sicily.
+
+      126 (return) [ The Historia Sicula of Hugo Falcandus, which
+      properly extends from 1154 to 1169, is inserted in the viiith
+      volume of Muratori’s Collection, (tom. vii. p. 259-344,) and
+      preceded by a eloquent preface or epistle, (p. 251-258, de
+      Calamitatibus Siciliae.) Falcandus has been styled the Tacitus of
+      Sicily; and, after a just, but immense, abatement, from the ist
+      to the xiith century, from a senator to a monk, I would not strip
+      him of his title: his narrative is rapid and perspicuous, his
+      style bold and elegant, his observation keen; he had studied
+      mankind, and feels like a man. I can only regret the narrow and
+      barren field on which his labors have been cast.]
+
+      127 (return) [ The laborious Benedictines (l’Art de verifier les
+      Dates, p. 896) are of opinion, that the true name of Falcandus is
+      Fulcandus, or Foucault. According to them, Hugues Foucalt, a
+      Frenchman by birth, and at length abbot of St. Denys, had
+      followed into Sicily his patron Stephen de la Perche, uncle to
+      the mother of William II., archbishop of Palermo, and great
+      chancellor of the kingdom. Yet Falcandus has all the feelings of
+      a Sicilian; and the title of Alumnus (which he bestows on
+      himself) appears to indicate that he was born, or at least
+      educated, in the island.]
+
+      128 (return) [ Falcand. p. 303. Richard de St. Germano begins his
+      history from the death and praises of William II. After some
+      unmeaning epithets, he thus continues: Legis et justitiae cultus
+      tempore suo vigebat in regno; sua erat quilibet sorte contentus;
+      (were they mortals?) abique pax, ubique securitas, nec latronum
+      metuebat viator insidias, nec maris nauta offendicula piratarum,
+      (Script. Rerum Ital. tom. vii p 939.)]
+
+      129 (return) [ Constantia, primis a cunabulis in deliciarun
+      tuarum affluentia diutius educata, tuisque institutis, doctrinus
+      et moribus informata, tandem opibus tuis Barbaros delatura
+      discessit: et nunc cum imgentibus copiis revertitur, ut
+      pulcherrima nutricis ornamenta barbarica foeditate contaminet
+      .... Intuari mihi jam videor turbulentas bar barorum acies....
+      civitates opulentas et loca diuturna pace florentia, metu
+      concutere, caede vastare, rapinis atterere, et foedare luxuria
+      hinc cives aut gladiis intercepti, aut servitute depressi,
+      virgines constupratae, matronae, &c.]
+
+      130 (return) [ Certe si regem non dubiae virtutis elegerint, nec
+      a Saracenis Christiani dissentiant, poterit rex creatus rebus
+      licet quasi desperatis et perditis subvenire, et incursus
+      hostium, si prudenter egerit, propulsare.]
+
+      131 (return) [ In Apulis, qui, semper novitate gaudentes, novarum
+      rerum studiis aguntur, nihil arbitror spei aut fiduciae
+      reponendum.]
+
+      132 (return) [ Si civium tuorum virtutem et audaciam attendas,
+      .... muriorum etiam ambitum densis turribus circumseptum.]
+
+      133 (return) [ Cum erudelitate piratica Theutonum confligat
+      atrocitas, et inter aucbustos lapides, et Aethnae flagrant’s
+      incendia, &c.]
+
+      134 (return) [ Eam partem, quam nobilissimarum civitatum fulgor
+      illustrat, quae et toti regno singulari meruit privilegio
+      praeminere, nefarium esset.... vel barbarorum ingressu pollui. I
+      wish to transcribe his florid, but curious, description, of the
+      palace, city, and luxuriant plain of Palermo.]
+
+      135 (return) [ Vires non suppetunt, et conatus tuos tam inopia
+      civium, quam paucitas bellatorum elidunt.]
+
+      136 (return) [ The Normans and Sicilians appear to be
+      confounded.]
+
+      The hopes, or at least the wishes, of Falcandus were at first
+      gratified by the free and unanimous election of Tancred, the
+      grandson of the first king, whose birth was illegitimate, but
+      whose civil and military virtues shone without a blemish. During
+      four years, the term of his life and reign, he stood in arms on
+      the farthest verge of the Apulian frontier, against the powers of
+      Germany; and the restitution of a royal captive, of Constantia
+      herself, without injury or ransom, may appear to surpass the most
+      liberal measure of policy or reason. After his decease, the
+      kingdom of his widow and infant son fell without a struggle; and
+      Henry pursued his victorious march from Capua to Palermo. The
+      political balance of Italy was destroyed by his success; and if
+      the pope and the free cities had consulted their obvious and real
+      interest, they would have combined the powers of earth and heaven
+      to prevent the dangerous union of the German empire with the
+      kingdom of Sicily. But the subtle policy, for which the Vatican
+      has so often been praised or arraigned, was on this occasion
+      blind and inactive; and if it were true that Celestine the Third
+      had kicked away the Imperial crown from the head of the prostrate
+      Henry, 137 such an act of impotent pride could serve only to
+      cancel an obligation and provoke an enemy. The Genoese, who
+      enjoyed a beneficial trade and establishment in Sicily, listened
+      to the promise of his boundless gratitude and speedy departure:
+      138 their fleet commanded the straits of Messina, and opened the
+      harbor of Palermo; and the first act of his government was to
+      abolish the privileges, and to seize the property, of these
+      imprudent allies. The last hope of Falcandus was defeated by the
+      discord of the Christians and Mahometans: they fought in the
+      capital; several thousands of the latter were slain; but their
+      surviving brethren fortified the mountains, and disturbed above
+      thirty years the peace of the island. By the policy of Frederic
+      the Second, sixty thousand Saracens were transplanted to Nocera
+      in Apulia. In their wars against the Roman church, the emperor
+      and his son Mainfroy were strengthened and disgraced by the
+      service of the enemies of Christ; and this national colony
+      maintained their religion and manners in the heart of Italy, till
+      they were extirpated, at the end of the thirteenth century, by
+      the zeal and revenge of the house of Anjou. 139 All the
+      calamities which the prophetic orator had deplored were surpassed
+      by the cruelty and avarice of the German conqueror. He violated
+      the royal sepulchres, 1391 and explored the secret treasures of
+      the palace, Palermo, and the whole kingdom: the pearls and
+      jewels, however precious, might be easily removed; but one
+      hundred and sixty horses were laden with the gold and silver of
+      Sicily. 140 The young king, his mother and sisters, and the
+      nobles of both sexes, were separately confined in the fortresses
+      of the Alps; and, on the slightest rumor of rebellion, the
+      captives were deprived of life, of their eyes, or of the hope of
+      posterity. Constantia herself was touched with sympathy for the
+      miseries of her country; and the heiress of the Norman line might
+      struggle to check her despotic husband, and to save the patrimony
+      of her new-born son, of an emperor so famous in the next age
+      under the name of Frederic the Second. Ten years after this
+      revolution, the French monarchs annexed to their crown the duchy
+      of Normandy: the sceptre of her ancient dukes had been
+      transmitted, by a granddaughter of William the Conqueror, to the
+      house of Plantagenet; and the adventurous Normans, who had raised
+      so many trophies in France, England, and Ireland, in Apulia,
+      Sicily, and the East, were lost, either in victory or servitude,
+      among the vanquished nations.
+
+      137 (return) [ The testimony of an Englishman, of Roger de
+      Hoveden, (p. 689,) will lightly weigh against the silence of
+      German and Italian history, (Muratori, Annali d’ Italia, tom. x.
+      p. 156.) The priests and pilgrims, who returned from Rome,
+      exalted, by every tale, the omnipotence of the holy father.]
+
+      138 (return) [ Ego enim in eo cum Teutonicis manere non debeo,
+      (Caffari, Annal. Genuenses, in Muratori, Script. Rerum
+      Italicarum, tom vi. p. 367, 368.)]
+
+      139 (return) [ For the Saracens of Sicily and Nocera, see the
+      Annals of Muratori, (tom. x. p. 149, and A.D. 1223, 1247,)
+      Giannone, (tom ii. p. 385,) and of the originals, in Muratori’s
+      Collection, Richard de St. Germano, (tom. vii. p. 996,) Matteo
+      Spinelli de Giovenazzo, (tom. vii. p. 1064,) Nicholas de
+      Jamsilla, (tom. x. p. 494,) and Matreo Villani, (tom. xiv l. vii.
+      p. 103.) The last of these insinuates that, in reducing the
+      Saracens of Nocera, Charles II. of Anjou employed rather artifice
+      than violence.]
+
+      1391 (return) [ It is remarkable that at the same time the tombs
+      of the Roman emperors, even of Constantine himself, were violated
+      and ransacked by their degenerate successor Alexius Comnenus, in
+      order to enable him to pay the “German” tribute exacted by the
+      menaces of the emperor Henry. See the end of the first book of
+      the Life of Alexius, in Nicetas, p. 632, edit.—M.]
+
+      140 (return) [ Muratori quotes a passage from Arnold of Lubec,
+      (l. iv. c. 20:) Reperit thesauros absconditos, et omnem lapidum
+      pretiosorum et gemmarum gloriam, ita ut oneratis 160 somariis,
+      gloriose ad terram suam redierit. Roger de Hoveden, who mentions
+      the violation of the royal tombs and corpses, computes the spoil
+      of Salerno at 200,000 ounces of gold, (p. 746.) On these
+      occasions, I am almost tempted to exclaim with the listening maid
+      in La Fontaine, “Je voudrois bien avoir ce qui manque.”]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LVII: The Turks.—Part I.
+
+     The Turks Of The House Of Seljuk.—Their Revolt Against Mahmud
+     Conqueror Of Hindostan.—Togrul Subdues Persia, And Protects The
+     Caliphs.—Defeat And Captivity Of The Emperor Romanus Diogenes By
+     Alp Arslan.—Power And Magnificence Of Malek Shah.—Conquest Of Asia
+     Minor And Syria.—State And Oppression Of Jerusalem.—Pilgrimages To
+     The Holy Sepulchre.
+
+      From the Isle of Sicily, the reader must transport himself beyond
+      the Caspian Sea, to the original seat of the Turks or Turkmans,
+      against whom the first crusade was principally directed. Their
+      Scythian empire of the sixth century was long since dissolved;
+      but the name was still famous among the Greeks and Orientals; and
+      the fragments of the nation, each a powerful and independent
+      people, were scattered over the desert from China to the Oxus and
+      the Danube: the colony of Hungarians was admitted into the
+      republic of Europe, and the thrones of Asia were occupied by
+      slaves and soldiers of Turkish extraction. While Apulia and
+      Sicily were subdued by the Norman lance, a swarm of these
+      northern shepherds overspread the kingdoms of Persia; their
+      princes of the race of Seljuk erected a splendid and solid empire
+      from Samarcand to the confines of Greece and Egypt; and the Turks
+      have maintained their dominion in Asia Minor, till the victorious
+      crescent has been planted on the dome of St. Sophia.
+
+      One of the greatest of the Turkish princes was Mahmood or Mahmud,
+      1 the Gaznevide, who reigned in the eastern provinces of Persia,
+      one thousand years after the birth of Christ. His father
+      Sebectagi was the slave of the slave of the slave of the
+      commander of the faithful. But in this descent of servitude, the
+      first degree was merely titular, since it was filled by the
+      sovereign of Transoxiana and Chorasan, who still paid a nominal
+      allegiance to the caliph of Bagdad. The second rank was that of a
+      minister of state, a lieutenant of the Samanides, 2 who broke, by
+      his revolt, the bonds of political slavery. But the third step
+      was a state of real and domestic servitude in the family of that
+      rebel; from which Sebectagi, by his courage and dexterity,
+      ascended to the supreme command of the city and provinces of
+      Gazna, 3 as the son-in-law and successor of his grateful master.
+
+      The falling dynasty of the Samanides was at first protected, and
+      at last overthrown, by their servants; and, in the public
+      disorders, the fortune of Mahmud continually increased. From him
+      the title of Sultan 4 was first invented; and his kingdom was
+      enlarged from Transoxiana to the neighborhood of Ispahan, from
+      the shores of the Caspian to the mouth of the Indus. But the
+      principal source of his fame and riches was the holy war which he
+      waged against the Gentoos of Hindostan. In this foreign narrative
+      I may not consume a page; and a volume would scarcely suffice to
+      recapitulate the battles and sieges of his twelve expeditions.
+      Never was the Mussulman hero dismayed by the inclemency of the
+      seasons, the height of the mountains, the breadth of the rivers,
+      the barrenness of the desert, the multitudes of the enemy, or the
+      formidable array of their elephants of war. 5 The sultan of Gazna
+      surpassed the limits of the conquests of Alexander: after a march
+      of three months, over the hills of Cashmir and Thibet, he reached
+      the famous city of Kinnoge, 6 on the Upper Ganges; and, in a
+      naval combat on one of the branches of the Indus, he fought and
+      vanquished four thousand boats of the natives. Delhi, Lahor, and
+      Multan, were compelled to open their gates: the fertile kingdom
+      of Guzarat attracted his ambition and tempted his stay; and his
+      avarice indulged the fruitless project of discovering the golden
+      and aromatic isles of the Southern Ocean. On the payment of a
+      tribute, the rajahs preserved their dominions; the people, their
+      lives and fortunes; but to the religion of Hindostan the zealous
+      Mussulman was cruel and inexorable: many hundred temples, or
+      pagodas, were levelled with the ground; many thousand idols were
+      demolished; and the servants of the prophet were stimulated and
+      rewarded by the precious materials of which they were composed.
+      The pagoda of Sumnat was situate on the promontory of Guzarat, in
+      the neighborhood of Diu, one of the last remaining possessions of
+      the Portuguese. 7 It was endowed with the revenue of two thousand
+      villages; two thousand Brahmins were consecrated to the service
+      of the Deity, whom they washed each morning and evening in water
+      from the distant Ganges: the subordinate ministers consisted of
+      three hundred musicians, three hundred barbers, and five hundred
+      dancing girls, conspicuous for their birth or beauty. Three sides
+      of the temple were protected by the ocean, the narrow isthmus was
+      fortified by a natural or artificial precipice; and the city and
+      adjacent country were peopled by a nation of fanatics. They
+      confessed the sins and the punishment of Kinnoge and Delhi; but
+      if the impious stranger should presume to approach their holy
+      precincts, he would surely be overwhelmed by a blast of the
+      divine vengeance. By this challenge, the faith of Mahmud was
+      animated to a personal trial of the strength of this Indian
+      deity. Fifty thousand of his worshippers were pierced by the
+      spear of the Moslems; the walls were scaled; the sanctuary was
+      profaned; and the conqueror aimed a blow of his iron mace at the
+      head of the idol. The trembling Brahmins are said to have offered
+      ten millions 711 sterling for his ransom; and it was urged by the
+      wisest counsellors, that the destruction of a stone image would
+      not change the hearts of the Gentoos; and that such a sum might
+      be dedicated to the relief of the true believers. “Your reasons,”
+      replied the sultan, “are specious and strong; but never in the
+      eyes of posterity shall Mahmud appear as a merchant of idols.”
+      712 He repeated his blows, and a treasure of pearls and rubies,
+      concealed in the belly of the statue, explained in some degree
+      the devout prodigality of the Brahmins. The fragments of the idol
+      were distributed to Gazna, Mecca, and Medina. Bagdad listened to
+      the edifying tale; and Mahmud was saluted by the caliph with the
+      title of guardian of the fortune and faith of Mahomet.
+
+      1 (return) [ I am indebted for his character and history to
+      D’Herbelot, (Bibliotheque Orientale, Mahmud, p. 533-537,) M. De
+      Guignes, (Histoire des Huns, tom. iii. p. 155-173,) and our
+      countryman Colonel Alexander Dow, (vol. i. p. 23-83.) In the two
+      first volumes of his History of Hindostan, he styles himself the
+      translator of the Persian Ferishta; but in his florid text, it is
+      not easy to distinguish the version and the original. * Note: The
+      European reader now possesses a more accurate version of
+      Ferishta, that of Col. Briggs. Of Col. Dow’s work, Col. Briggs
+      observes, “that the author’s name will be handed down to
+      posterity as one of the earliest and most indefatigable of our
+      Oriental scholars. Instead of confining himself, however, to mere
+      translation, he has filled his work with his own observations,
+      which have been so embodied in the text that Gibbon declares it
+      impossible to distinguish the translator from the original
+      author.” Preface p. vii.—M.]
+
+      2 (return) [ The dynasty of the Samanides continued 125 years,
+      A.D. 847-999, under ten princes. See their succession and ruin,
+      in the Tables of M. De Guignes, (Hist. des Huns, tom. i. p.
+      404-406.) They were followed by the Gaznevides, A.D. 999-1183,
+      (see tom. i. p. 239, 240.) His divisions of nations often
+      disturbs the series of time and place.]
+
+      3 (return) [ Gaznah hortos non habet: est emporium et domicilium
+      mercaturae Indicae. Abulfedae Geograph. Reiske, tab. xxiii. p.
+      349. D’Herbelot, p. 364. It has not been visited by any modern
+      traveller.]
+
+      4 (return) [ By the ambassador of the caliph of Bagdad, who
+      employed an Arabian or Chaldaic word that signifies lord and
+      master, (D’Herbelot, p. 825.) It is interpreted by the Byzantine
+      writers of the eleventh century; and the name (Soldanus) is
+      familiarly employed in the Greek and Latin languages, after it
+      had passed from the Gaznevides to the Seljukides, and other emirs
+      of Asia and Egypt. Ducange (Dissertation xvi. sur Joinville, p.
+      238-240. Gloss. Graec. et Latin.) labors to find the title of
+      Sultan in the ancient kingdom of Persia: but his proofs are mere
+      shadows; a proper name in the Themes of Constantine, (ii. 11,) an
+      anticipation of Zonaras, &c., and a medal of Kai Khosrou, not (as
+      he believes) the Sassanide of the vith, but the Seljukide of
+      Iconium of the xiiith century, (De Guignes, Hist. des Huns, tom.
+      i. p. 246.)]
+
+      5 (return) [ Ferishta (apud Dow, Hist. of Hindostan, vol. i. p.
+      49) mentions the report of a gun in the Indian army. But as I am
+      slow in believing this premature (A.D. 1008) use of artillery, I
+      must desire to scrutinize first the text, and then the authority
+      of Ferishta, who lived in the Mogul court in the last century. *
+      Note: This passage is differently written in the various
+      manuscripts I have seen; and in some the word tope (gun) has been
+      written for nupth, (naphtha, and toofung) (musket) for khudung,
+      (arrow.) But no Persian or Arabic history speaks of gunpowder
+      before the time usually assigned for its invention, (A.D. 1317;)
+      long after which, it was first applied to the purposes of war.
+      Briggs’s Ferishta, vol. i. p. 47, note.—M.]
+
+      6 (return) [ Kinnouge, or Canouge, (the old Palimbothra) is
+      marked in latitude 27 Degrees 3 Minutes, longitude 80 Degrees 13
+      Minutes. See D’Anville, (Antiquite de l’Inde, p. 60-62,)
+      corrected by the local knowledge of Major Rennel (in his
+      excellent Memoir on his Map of Hindostan, p. 37-43: ) 300]
+      jewellers, 30,000 shops for the arreca nut, 60,000 bands of
+      musicians, &c. (Abulfed. Geograph. tab. xv. p. 274. Dow, vol. i.
+      p. 16,) will allow an ample deduction. * Note: Mr. Wilson (Hindu
+      Drama, vol. iii. p. 12) and Schlegel (Indische Bibliothek, vol.
+      ii. p. 394) concur in identifying Palimbothra with the Patalipara
+      of the Indians; the Patna of the moderns.—M.]
+
+      7 (return) [ The idolaters of Europe, says Ferishta, (Dow, vol.
+      i. p. 66.) Consult Abulfeda, (p. 272,) and Rennel’s Map of
+      Hindostan.]
+
+      711 (return) [ Ferishta says, some “crores of gold.” Dow says, in
+      a note at the bottom of the page, “ten millions,” which is the
+      explanation of the word “crore.” Mr. Gibbon says rashly that the
+      sum offered by the Brahmins was ten millions sterling. Note to
+      Mill’s India, vol. ii. p. 222. Col. Briggs’s translation is “a
+      quantity of gold.” The treasure found in the temple, “perhaps in
+      the image,” according to Major Price’s authorities, was twenty
+      millions of dinars of gold, above nine millions sterling; but
+      this was a hundred-fold the ransom offered by the Brahmins.
+      Price, vol. ii. p. 290.—M.]
+
+      712 (return) [ Rather than the idol broker, he chose to be called
+      Mahmud the idol breaker. Price, vol. ii. p. 289—M]
+
+      From the paths of blood (and such is the history of nations) I
+      cannot refuse to turn aside to gather some flowers of science or
+      virtue. The name of Mahmud the Gaznevide is still venerable in
+      the East: his subjects enjoyed the blessings of prosperity and
+      peace; his vices were concealed by the veil of religion; and two
+      familiar examples will testify his justice and magnanimity.
+
+      I. As he sat in the Divan, an unhappy subject bowed before the
+      throne to accuse the insolence of a Turkish soldier who had
+      driven him from his house and bed. “Suspend your clamors,” said
+      Mahmud; “inform me of his next visit, and ourself in person will
+      judge and punish the offender.” The sultan followed his guide,
+      invested the house with his guards, and extinguishing the
+      torches, pronounced the death of the criminal, who had been
+      seized in the act of rapine and adultery. After the execution of
+      his sentence, the lights were rekindled, Mahmud fell prostrate in
+      prayer, and rising from the ground, demanded some homely fare,
+      which he devoured with the voraciousness of hunger. The poor man,
+      whose injury he had avenged, was unable to suppress his
+      astonishment and curiosity; and the courteous monarch
+      condescended to explain the motives of this singular behavior. “I
+      had reason to suspect that none, except one of my sons, could
+      dare to perpetrate such an outrage; and I extinguished the
+      lights, that my justice might be blind and inexorable. My prayer
+      was a thanksgiving on the discovery of the offender; and so
+      painful was my anxiety, that I had passed three days without food
+      since the first moment of your complaint.”
+
+      II. The sultan of Gazna had declared war against the dynasty of
+      the Bowides, the sovereigns of the western Persia: he was
+      disarmed by an epistle of the sultana mother, and delayed his
+      invasion till the manhood of her son. 8 “During the life of my
+      husband,” said the artful regent, “I was ever apprehensive of
+      your ambition: he was a prince and a soldier worthy of your arms.
+      He is now no more; his sceptre has passed to a woman and a child,
+      and you dare not attack their infancy and weakness. How
+      inglorious would be your conquest, how shameful your defeat! and
+      yet the event of war is in the hand of the Almighty.” Avarice was
+      the only defect that tarnished the illustrious character of
+      Mahmud; and never has that passion been more richly satiated. 811
+      The Orientals exceed the measure of credibility in the account of
+      millions of gold and silver, such as the avidity of man has never
+      accumulated; in the magnitude of pearls, diamonds, and rubies,
+      such as have never been produced by the workmanship of nature. 9
+      Yet the soil of Hindostan is impregnated with precious minerals:
+      her trade, in every age, has attracted the gold and silver of the
+      world; and her virgin spoils were rifled by the first of the
+      Mahometan conquerors. His behavior, in the last days of his life,
+      evinces the vanity of these possessions, so laboriously won, so
+      dangerously held, and so inevitably lost. He surveyed the vast
+      and various chambers of the treasury of Gazna, burst into tears,
+      and again closed the doors, without bestowing any portion of the
+      wealth which he could no longer hope to preserve. The following
+      day he reviewed the state of his military force; one hundred
+      thousand foot, fifty-five thousand horse, and thirteen hundred
+      elephants of battle. 10 He again wept the instability of human
+      greatness; and his grief was imbittered by the hostile progress
+      of the Turkmans, whom he had introduced into the heart of his
+      Persian kingdom.
+
+      8 (return) [ D’Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orientale, p. 527. Yet
+      these letters apothegms, &c., are rarely the language of the
+      heart, or the motives of public action.]
+
+      811 (return) [ Compare Price, vol. ii. p. 295.—M]
+
+      9 (return) [ For instance, a ruby of four hundred and fifty
+      miskals, (Dow, vol. i. p. 53,) or six pounds three ounces: the
+      largest in the treasury of Delhi weighed seventeen miskals,
+      (Voyages de Tavernier, partie ii. p. 280.) It is true, that in
+      the East all colored stones are calied rubies, (p. 355,) and that
+      Tavernier saw three larger and more precious among the jewels de
+      notre grand roi, le plus puissant et plus magnifique de tous les
+      rois de la terre, (p. 376.)]
+
+      10 (return) [ Dow, vol. i. p. 65. The sovereign of Kinoge is said
+      to have possessed 2500 elephants, (Abulfed. Geograph. tab. xv. p.
+      274.) From these Indian stories, the reader may correct a note in
+      my first volume, (p. 245;) or from that note he may correct these
+      stories.]
+
+      In the modern depopulation of Asia, the regular operation of
+      government and agriculture is confined to the neighborhood of
+      cities; and the distant country is abandoned to the pastoral
+      tribes of Arabs, Curds, and Turkmans. 11 Of the last-mentioned
+      people, two considerable branches extend on either side of the
+      Caspian Sea: the western colony can muster forty thousand
+      soldiers; the eastern, less obvious to the traveller, but more
+      strong and populous, has increased to the number of one hundred
+      thousand families. In the midst of civilized nations, they
+      preserve the manners of the Scythian desert, remove their
+      encampments with a change of seasons, and feed their cattle among
+      the ruins of palaces and temples. Their flocks and herds are
+      their only riches; their tents, either black or white, according
+      to the color of the banner, are covered with felt, and of a
+      circular form; their winter apparel is a sheep-skin; a robe of
+      cloth or cotton their summer garment: the features of the men are
+      harsh and ferocious; the countenance of their women is soft and
+      pleasing. Their wandering life maintains the spirit and exercise
+      of arms; they fight on horseback; and their courage is displayed
+      in frequent contests with each other and with their neighbors.
+      For the license of pasture they pay a slight tribute to the
+      sovereign of the land; but the domestic jurisdiction is in the
+      hands of the chiefs and elders. The first emigration of the
+      Eastern Turkmans, the most ancient of the race, may be ascribed
+      to the tenth century of the Christian aera. 12 In the decline of
+      the caliphs, and the weakness of their lieutenants, the barrier
+      of the Jaxartes was often violated; in each invasion, after the
+      victory or retreat of their countrymen, some wandering tribe,
+      embracing the Mahometan faith, obtained a free encampment in the
+      spacious plains and pleasant climate of Transoxiana and Carizme.
+      The Turkish slaves who aspired to the throne encouraged these
+      emigrations which recruited their armies, awed their subjects and
+      rivals, and protected the frontier against the wilder natives of
+      Turkestan; and this policy was abused by Mahmud the Gaznevide
+      beyond the example of former times. He was admonished of his
+      error by the chief of the race of Seljuk, who dwelt in the
+      territory of Bochara. The sultan had inquired what supply of men
+      he could furnish for military service. “If you send,” replied
+      Ismael, “one of these arrows into our camp, fifty thousand of
+      your servants will mount on horseback.”—“And if that number,”
+      continued Mahmud, “should not be sufficient?”—“Send this second
+      arrow to the horde of Balik, and you will find fifty thousand
+      more.”—“But,” said the Gaznevide, dissembling his anxiety, “if I
+      should stand in need of the whole force of your kindred
+      tribes?”—“Despatch my bow,” was the last reply of Ismael, “and as
+      it is circulated around, the summons will be obeyed by two
+      hundred thousand horse.” The apprehension of such formidable
+      friendship induced Mahmud to transport the most obnoxious tribes
+      into the heart of Chorasan, where they would be separated from
+      their brethren of the River Oxus, and enclosed on all sides by
+      the walls of obedient cities. But the face of the country was an
+      object of temptation rather than terror; and the vigor of
+      government was relaxed by the absence and death of the sultan of
+      Gazna. The shepherds were converted into robbers; the bands of
+      robbers were collected into an army of conquerors: as far as
+      Ispahan and the Tigris, Persia was afflicted by their predatory
+      inroads; and the Turkmans were not ashamed or afraid to measure
+      their courage and numbers with the proudest sovereigns of Asia.
+      Massoud, the son and successor of Mahmud, had too long neglected
+      the advice of his wisest Omrahs. “Your enemies,” they repeatedly
+      urged, “were in their origin a swarm of ants; they are now little
+      snakes; and, unless they be instantly crushed, they will acquire
+      the venom and magnitude of serpents.” After some alternatives of
+      truce and hostility, after the repulse or partial success of his
+      lieutenants, the sultan marched in person against the Turkmans,
+      who attacked him on all sides with barbarous shouts and irregular
+      onset. “Massoud,” says the Persian historian, 13 “plunged singly
+      to oppose the torrent of gleaming arms, exhibiting such acts of
+      gigantic force and valor as never king had before displayed. A
+      few of his friends, roused by his words and actions, and that
+      innate honor which inspires the brave, seconded their lord so
+      well, that wheresoever he turned his fatal sword, the enemies
+      were mowed down, or retreated before him. But now, when victory
+      seemed to blow on his standard, misfortune was active behind it;
+      for when he looked round, be beheld almost his whole army,
+      excepting that body he commanded in person, devouring the paths
+      of flight.” The Gaznevide was abandoned by the cowardice or
+      treachery of some generals of Turkish race; and this memorable
+      day of Zendecan 14 founded in Persia the dynasty of the shepherd
+      kings. 15
+
+      11 (return) [ See a just and natural picture of these pastoral
+      manners, in the history of William archbishop of Tyre, (l. i. c.
+      vii. in the Gesta Dei per Francos, p. 633, 634,) and a valuable
+      note by the editor of the Histoire Genealogique des Tatars, p.
+      535-538.]
+
+      12 (return) [ The first emigration of the Turkmans, and doubtful
+      origin of the Seljukians, may be traced in the laborious History
+      of the Huns, by M. De Guignes, (tom. i. Tables Chronologiques, l.
+      v. tom. iii. l. vii. ix. x.) and the Bibliotheque Orientale, of
+      D’Herbelot, (p. 799-802, 897-901,) Elmacin, (Hist. Saracen. p.
+      321-333,) and Abulpharagius, (Dynast. p. 221, 222.)]
+
+      13 (return) [ Dow, Hist. of Hindostan, vol. i. p. 89, 95-98. I
+      have copied this passage as a specimen of the Persian manner; but
+      I suspect that, by some odd fatality, the style of Ferishta has
+      been improved by that of Ossian. * Note: Gibbon’s conjecture was
+      well founded. Compare the more sober and genuine version of Col.
+      Briggs, vol. i. p. 110.-M.]
+
+      14 (return) [ The Zendekan of D’Herbelot, (p. 1028,) the Dindaka
+      of Dow (vol. i. p. 97,) is probably the Dandanekan of Abulfeda,
+      (Geograph. p. 345, Reiske,) a small town of Chorasan, two days’
+      journey from Maru, and renowned through the East for the
+      production and manufacture of cotton.]
+
+      15 (return) [ The Byzantine historians (Cedrenus, tom. ii. p.
+      766, 766, Zonaras tom. ii. p. 255, Nicephorus Bryennius, p. 21)
+      have confounded, in this revolution, the truth of time and place,
+      of names and persons, of causes and events. The ignorance and
+      errors of these Greeks (which I shall not stop to unravel) may
+      inspire some distrust of the story of Cyaxares and Cyrus, as it
+      is told by their most eloquent predecessor.]
+
+      The victorious Turkmans immediately proceeded to the election of
+      a king; and, if the probable tale of a Latin historian 16
+      deserves any credit, they determined by lot the choice of their
+      new master. A number of arrows were successively inscribed with
+      the name of a tribe, a family, and a candidate; they were drawn
+      from the bundle by the hand of a child; and the important prize
+      was obtained by Togrul Beg, the son of Michael the son of Seljuk,
+      whose surname was immortalized in the greatness of his posterity.
+      The sultan Mahmud, who valued himself on his skill in national
+      genealogy, professed his ignorance of the family of Seljuk; yet
+      the father of that race appears to have been a chief of power and
+      renown. 17 For a daring intrusion into the harem of his prince,
+      Seljuk was banished from Turkestan: with a numerous tribe of his
+      friends and vassals, he passed the Jaxartes, encamped in the
+      neighborhood of Samarcand, embraced the religion of Mahomet, and
+      acquired the crown of martyrdom in a war against the infidels.
+      His age, of a hundred and seven years, surpassed the life of his
+      son, and Seljuk adopted the care of his two grandsons, Togrul and
+      Jaafar; the eldest of whom, at the age of forty-five, was
+      invested with the title of Sultan, in the royal city of Nishabur.
+      The blind determination of chance was justified by the virtues of
+      the successful candidate. It would be superfluous to praise the
+      valor of a Turk; and the ambition of Togrul 18 was equal to his
+      valor. By his arms, the Gasnevides were expelled from the eastern
+      kingdoms of Persia, and gradually driven to the banks of the
+      Indus, in search of a softer and more wealthy conquest. In the
+      West he annihilated the dynasty of the Bowides; and the sceptre
+      of Irak passed from the Persian to the Turkish nation. The
+      princes who had felt, or who feared, the Seljukian arrows, bowed
+      their heads in the dust; by the conquest of Aderbijan, or Media,
+      he approached the Roman confines; and the shepherd presumed to
+      despatch an ambassador, or herald, to demand the tribute and
+      obedience of the emperor of Constantinople. 19 In his own
+      dominions, Togrul was the father of his soldiers and people; by a
+      firm and equal administration, Persia was relieved from the evils
+      of anarchy; and the same hands which had been imbrued in blood
+      became the guardians of justice and the public peace. The more
+      rustic, perhaps the wisest, portion of the Turkmans 20 continued
+      to dwell in the tents of their ancestors; and, from the Oxus to
+      the Euphrates, these military colonies were protected and
+      propagated by their native princes. But the Turks of the court
+      and city were refined by business and softened by pleasure: they
+      imitated the dress, language, and manners of Persia; and the
+      royal palaces of Nishabur and Rei displayed the order and
+      magnificence of a great monarchy. The most deserving of the
+      Arabians and Persians were promoted to the honors of the state;
+      and the whole body of the Turkish nation embraced, with fervor
+      and sincerity, the religion of Mahomet. The northern swarms of
+      Barbarians, who overspread both Europe and Asia, have been
+      irreconcilably separated by the consequences of a similar
+      conduct. Among the Moslems, as among the Christians, their vague
+      and local traditions have yielded to the reason and authority of
+      the prevailing system, to the fame of antiquity, and the consent
+      of nations. But the triumph of the Koran is more pure and
+      meritorious, as it was not assisted by any visible splendor of
+      worship which might allure the Pagans by some resemblance of
+      idolatry. The first of the Seljukian sultans was conspicuous by
+      his zeal and faith: each day he repeated the five prayers which
+      are enjoined to the true believers; of each week, the two first
+      days were consecrated by an extraordinary fast; and in every city
+      a mosch was completed, before Togrul presumed to lay the
+      foundations of a palace. 21
+
+      16 (return) [ Willerm. Tyr. l. i. c. 7, p. 633. The divination by
+      arrows is ancient and famous in the East.]
+
+      17 (return) [ D’Herbelot, p. 801. Yet after the fortune of his
+      posterity, Seljuk became the thirty-fourth in lineal descent from
+      the great Afrasiab, emperor of Touran, (p. 800.) The Tartar
+      pedigree of the house of Zingis gave a different cast to flattery
+      and fable; and the historian Mirkhond derives the Seljukides from
+      Alankavah, the virgin mother, (p. 801, col. 2.) If they be the
+      same as the Zalzuts of Abulghazi Bahadur Kahn, (Hist.
+      Genealogique, p. 148,) we quote in their favor the most weighty
+      evidence of a Tartar prince himself, the descendant of Zingis,
+      Alankavah, or Alancu, and Oguz Khan.]
+
+      18 (return) [ By a slight corruption, Togrul Beg is the
+      Tangroli-pix of the Greeks. His reign and character are
+      faithfully exhibited by D’Herbelot (Bibliotheque Orientale, p.
+      1027, 1028) and De Guignes, (Hist. des Huns, tom. iii. p.
+      189-201.)]
+
+      19 (return) [ Cedrenus, tom. ii. p. 774, 775. Zonaras, tom. ii.
+      p. 257. With their usual knowledge of Oriental affairs, they
+      describe the ambassador as a sherif, who, like the syncellus of
+      the patriarch, was the vicar and successor of the caliph.]
+
+      20 (return) [ From William of Tyre I have borrowed this
+      distinction of Turks and Turkmans, which at least is popular and
+      convenient. The names are the same, and the addition of man is of
+      the same import in the Persic and Teutonic idioms. Few critics
+      will adopt the etymology of James de Vitry, (Hist. Hierosol. l.
+      i. c. 11 p. 1061,) of Turcomani, quesi Turci et Comani, a mixed
+      people.]
+
+      21 (return) [ Hist. Generale des Huns, tom. iii. p. 165, 166,
+      167. M. DeGognes Abulmahasen, an historian of Egypt.]
+
+      With the belief of the Koran, the son of Seljuk imbibed a lively
+      reverence for the successor of the prophet. But that sublime
+      character was still disputed by the caliphs of Bagdad and Egypt,
+      and each of the rivals was solicitous to prove his title in the
+      judgment of the strong, though illiterate Barbarians. Mahmud the
+      Gaznevide had declared himself in favor of the line of Abbas; and
+      had treated with indignity the robe of honor which was presented
+      by the Fatimite ambassador. Yet the ungrateful Hashemite had
+      changed with the change of fortune; he applauded the victory of
+      Zendecan, and named the Seljukian sultan his temporal vicegerent
+      over the Moslem world. As Togrul executed and enlarged this
+      important trust, he was called to the deliverance of the caliph
+      Cayem, and obeyed the holy summons, which gave a new kingdom to
+      his arms. 22 In the palace of Bagdad, the commander of the
+      faithful still slumbered, a venerable phantom. His servant or
+      master, the prince of the Bowides, could no longer protect him
+      from the insolence of meaner tyrants; and the Euphrates and
+      Tigris were oppressed by the revolt of the Turkish and Arabian
+      emirs. The presence of a conqueror was implored as a blessing;
+      and the transient mischiefs of fire and sword were excused as the
+      sharp but salutary remedies which alone could restore the health
+      of the republic. At the head of an irresistible force, the sultan
+      of Persia marched from Hamadan: the proud were crushed, the
+      prostrate were spared; the prince of the Bowides disappeared; the
+      heads of the most obstinate rebels were laid at the feet of
+      Togrul; and he inflicted a lesson of obedience on the people of
+      Mosul and Bagdad. After the chastisement of the guilty, and the
+      restoration of peace, the royal shepherd accepted the reward of
+      his labors; and a solemn comedy represented the triumph of
+      religious prejudice over Barbarian power. 23 The Turkish sultan
+      embarked on the Tigris, landed at the gate of Racca, and made his
+      public entry on horseback. At the palace-gate he respectfully
+      dismounted, and walked on foot, preceded by his emirs without
+      arms. The caliph was seated behind his black veil: the black
+      garment of the Abbassides was cast over his shoulders, and he
+      held in his hand the staff of the apostle of God. The conqueror
+      of the East kissed the ground, stood some time in a modest
+      posture, and was led towards the throne by the vizier and
+      interpreter. After Togrul had seated himself on another throne,
+      his commission was publicly read, which declared him the temporal
+      lieutenant of the vicar of the prophet. He was successively
+      invested with seven robes of honor, and presented with seven
+      slaves, the natives of the seven climates of the Arabian empire.
+      His mystic veil was perfumed with musk; two crowns 231 were
+      placed on his head; two cimeters were girded to his side, as the
+      symbols of a double reign over the East and West. After this
+      inauguration, the sultan was prevented from prostrating himself a
+      second time; but he twice kissed the hand of the commander of the
+      faithful, and his titles were proclaimed by the voice of heralds
+      and the applause of the Moslems. In a second visit to Bagdad, the
+      Seljukian prince again rescued the caliph from his enemies and
+      devoutly, on foot, led the bridle of his mule from the prison to
+      the palace. Their alliance was cemented by the marriage of
+      Togrul’s sister with the successor of the prophet. Without
+      reluctance he had introduced a Turkish virgin into his harem; but
+      Cayem proudly refused his daughter to the sultan, disdained to
+      mingle the blood of the Hashemites with the blood of a Scythian
+      shepherd; and protracted the negotiation many months, till the
+      gradual diminution of his revenue admonished him that he was
+      still in the hands of a master. The royal nuptials were followed
+      by the death of Togrul himself; 24 as he left no children, his
+      nephew Alp Arslan succeeded to the title and prerogatives of
+      sultan; and his name, after that of the caliph, was pronounced in
+      the public prayers of the Moslems. Yet in this revolution, the
+      Abbassides acquired a larger measure of liberty and power. On the
+      throne of Asia, the Turkish monarchs were less jealous of the
+      domestic administration of Bagdad; and the commanders of the
+      faithful were relieved from the ignominious vexations to which
+      they had been exposed by the presence and poverty of the Persian
+      dynasty.
+
+      22 (return) [ Consult the Bibliotheque Orientale, in the articles
+      of the Abbassides, Caher, and Caiem, and the Annals of Elmacin
+      and Abulpharagius.]
+
+      23 (return) [ For this curious ceremony, I am indebted to M. De
+      Guignes (tom. iii. p. 197, 198,) and that learned author is
+      obliged to Bondari, who composed in Arabic the history of the
+      Seljukides, tom. v. p. 365) I am ignorant of his age, country,
+      and character.]
+
+      231 (return) [ According to Von Hammer, “crowns” are incorrect.
+      They are unknown as a symbol of royalty in the East. V. Hammer,
+      Osmanische Geschischte, vol. i. p. 567.—M.]
+
+      24 (return) [ Eodem anno (A. H. 455) obiit princeps Togrulbecus
+      .... rex fuit clemens, prudens, et peritus regnandi, cujus terror
+      corda mortalium invaserat, ita ut obedirent ei reges atque ad
+      ipsum scriberent. Elma cin, Hist. Saracen. p. 342, vers. Erpenii.
+      * Note: He died, being 75 years old. V. Hammer.—M.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LVII: The Turks.—Part II.
+
+      Since the fall of the caliphs, the discord and degeneracy of the
+      Saracens respected the Asiatic provinces of Rome; which, by the
+      victories of Nicephorus, Zimisces, and Basil, had been extended
+      as far as Antioch and the eastern boundaries of Armenia.
+
+      Twenty-five years after the death of Basil, his successors were
+      suddenly assaulted by an unknown race of Barbarians, who united
+      the Scythian valor with the fanaticism of new proselytes, and the
+      art and riches of a powerful monarchy. 25 The myriads of Turkish
+      horse overspread a frontier of six hundred miles from Tauris to
+      Arzeroum, and the blood of one hundred and thirty thousand
+      Christians was a grateful sacrifice to the Arabian prophet. Yet
+      the arms of Togrul did not make any deep or lasting impression on
+      the Greek empire. The torrent rolled away from the open country;
+      the sultan retired without glory or success from the siege of an
+      Armenian city; the obscure hostilities were continued or
+      suspended with a vicissitude of events; and the bravery of the
+      Macedonian legions renewed the fame of the conqueror of Asia. 26
+      The name of Alp Arslan, the valiant lion, is expressive of the
+      popular idea of the perfection of man; and the successor of
+      Togrul displayed the fierceness and generosity of the royal
+      animal. He passed the Euphrates at the head of the Turkish
+      cavalry, and entered Caesarea, the metropolis of Cappadocia, to
+      which he had been attracted by the fame and wealth of the temple
+      of St. Basil. The solid structure resisted the destroyer: but he
+      carried away the doors of the shrine incrusted with gold and
+      pearls, and profaned the relics of the tutelar saint, whose
+      mortal frailties were now covered by the venerable rust of
+      antiquity. The final conquest of Armenia and Georgia was achieved
+      by Alp Arslan. In Armenia, the title of a kingdom, and the spirit
+      of a nation, were annihilated: the artificial fortifications were
+      yielded by the mercenaries of Constantinople; by strangers
+      without faith, veterans without pay or arms, and recruits without
+      experience or discipline. The loss of this important frontier was
+      the news of a day; and the Catholics were neither surprised nor
+      displeased, that a people so deeply infected with the Nestorian
+      and Eutychian errors had been delivered by Christ and his mother
+      into the hands of the infidels. 27 The woods and valleys of Mount
+      Caucasus were more strenuously defended by the native Georgians
+      28 or Iberians; but the Turkish sultan and his son Malek were
+      indefatigable in this holy war: their captives were compelled to
+      promise a spiritual, as well as temporal, obedience; and, instead
+      of their collars and bracelets, an iron horseshoe, a badge of
+      ignominy, was imposed on the infidels who still adhered to the
+      worship of their fathers. The change, however, was not sincere or
+      universal; and, through ages of servitude, the Georgians have
+      maintained the succession of their princes and bishops. But a
+      race of men, whom nature has cast in her most perfect mould, is
+      degraded by poverty, ignorance, and vice; their profession, and
+      still more their practice, of Christianity is an empty name; and
+      if they have emerged from heresy, it is only because they are too
+      illiterate to remember a metaphysical creed. 29
+
+      25 (return) [ For these wars of the Turks and Romans, see in
+      general the Byzantine histories of Zonaras and Cedrenus,
+      Scylitzes the continuator of Cedrenus, and Nicephorus Bryennius
+      Caesar. The two first of these were monks, the two latter
+      statesmen; yet such were the Greeks, that the difference of style
+      and character is scarcely discernible. For the Orientals, I draw
+      as usuul on the wealth of D’Herbelot (see titles of the first
+      Seljukides) and the accuracy of De Guignes, (Hist. des Huns, tom.
+      iii. l. x.)]
+
+      26 (return) [ Cedrenus, tom. ii. p. 791. The credulity of the
+      vulgar is always probable; and the Turks had learned from the
+      Arabs the history or legend of Escander Dulcarnein, (D’Herbelot,
+      p. 213 &c.)]
+
+      27 (return) [ (Scylitzes, ad calcem Cedreni, tom. ii. p. 834,
+      whose ambiguous construction shall not tempt me to suspect that
+      he confounded the Nestorian and Monophysite heresies,) He
+      familiarly talks of the qualities, as I should apprehend, very
+      foreign to the perfect Being; but his bigotry is forced to
+      confess that they were soon afterwards discharged on the orthodox
+      Romans.]
+
+      28 (return) [ Had the name of Georgians been known to the Greeks,
+      (Stritter, Memoriae Byzant. tom. iv. Iberica,) I should derive it
+      from their agriculture, (l. iv. c. 18, p. 289, edit. Wesseling.)
+      But it appears only since the crusades, among the Latins (Jac. a
+      Vitriaco, Hist. Hierosol. c. 79, p. 1095) and Orientals,
+      (D’Herbelot, p. 407,) and was devoutly borrowed from St. George
+      of Cappadocia.]
+
+      29 (return) [ Mosheim, Institut. Hist. Eccles. p. 632. See, in
+      Chardin’s Travels, (tom. i. p. 171-174,) the manners and religion
+      of this handsome but worthless nation. See the pedigree of their
+      princes from Adam to the present century, in the tables of M. De
+      Guignes, (tom. i. p. 433-438.)]
+
+      The false or genuine magnanimity of Mahmud the Gaznevide was not
+      imitated by Alp Arslan; and he attacked without scruple the Greek
+      empress Eudocia and her children. His alarming progress compelled
+      her to give herself and her sceptre to the hand of a soldier; and
+      Romanus Diogenes was invested with the Imperial purple. His
+      patriotism, and perhaps his pride, urged him from Constantinople
+      within two months after his accession; and the next campaign he
+      most scandalously took the field during the holy festival of
+      Easter. In the palace, Diogenes was no more than the husband of
+      Eudocia: in the camp, he was the emperor of the Romans, and he
+      sustained that character with feeble resources and invincible
+      courage. By his spirit and success the soldiers were taught to
+      act, the subjects to hope, and the enemies to fear. The Turks had
+      penetrated into the heart of Phrygia; but the sultan himself had
+      resigned to his emirs the prosecution of the war; and their
+      numerous detachments were scattered over Asia in the security of
+      conquest. Laden with spoil, and careless of discipline, they were
+      separately surprised and defeated by the Greeks: the activity of
+      the emperor seemed to multiply his presence: and while they heard
+      of his expedition to Antioch, the enemy felt his sword on the
+      hills of Trebizond. In three laborious campaigns, the Turks were
+      driven beyond the Euphrates; in the fourth and last, Romanus
+      undertook the deliverance of Armenia. The desolation of the land
+      obliged him to transport a supply of two months’ provisions; and
+      he marched forwards to the siege of Malazkerd, 30 an important
+      fortress in the midway between the modern cities of Arzeroum and
+      Van. His army amounted, at the least, to one hundred thousand
+      men. The troops of Constantinople were reenforced by the
+      disorderly multitudes of Phrygia and Cappadocia; but the real
+      strength was composed of the subjects and allies of Europe, the
+      legions of Macedonia, and the squadrons of Bulgaria; the Uzi, a
+      Moldavian horde, who were themselves of the Turkish race; 31 and,
+      above all, the mercenary and adventurous bands of French and
+      Normans. Their lances were commanded by the valiant Ursel of
+      Baliol, the kinsman or father of the Scottish kings, 32 and were
+      allowed to excel in the exercise of arms, or, according to the
+      Greek style, in the practice of the Pyrrhic dance.
+
+      30 (return) [ This city is mentioned by Constantine
+      Porphyrogenitus, (de Administrat. Imperii, l. ii. c. 44, p. 119,)
+      and the Byzantines of the xith century, under the name of
+      Mantzikierte, and by some is confounded with Theodosiopolis; but
+      Delisle, in his notes and maps, has very properly fixed the
+      situation. Abulfeda (Geograph. tab. xviii. p. 310) describes
+      Malasgerd as a small town, built with black stone, supplied with
+      water, without trees, &c.]
+
+      31 (return) [ The Uzi of the Greeks (Stritter, Memor. Byzant.
+      tom. iii. p. 923-948) are the Gozz of the Orientals, (Hist. des
+      Huns, tom. ii. p. 522, tom. iii. p. 133, &c.) They appear on the
+      Danube and the Volga, and Armenia, Syria, and Chorasan, and the
+      name seems to have been extended to the whole Turkman race.]
+
+      32 (return) [ Urselius (the Russelius of Zonaras) is
+      distinguished by Jeffrey Malaterra (l. i. c. 33) among the Norman
+      conquerors of Sicily, and with the surname of Baliol: and our own
+      historians will tell how the Baliols came from Normandy to
+      Durham, built Bernard’s castle on the Tees, married an heiress of
+      Scotland, &c. Ducange (Not. ad Nicephor. Bryennium, l. ii. No. 4)
+      has labored the subject in honor of the president de Bailleul,
+      whose father had exchanged the sword for the gown.]
+
+      On the report of this bold invasion, which threatened his
+      hereditary dominions, Alp Arslan flew to the scene of action at
+      the head of forty thousand horse. 33 His rapid and skilful
+      evolutions distressed and dismayed the superior numbers of the
+      Greeks; and in the defeat of Basilacius, one of their principal
+      generals, he displayed the first example of his valor and
+      clemency. The imprudence of the emperor had separated his forces
+      after the reduction of Malazkerd. It was in vain that he
+      attempted to recall the mercenary Franks: they refused to obey
+      his summons; he disdained to await their return: the desertion of
+      the Uzi filled his mind with anxiety and suspicion; and against
+      the most salutary advice he rushed forwards to speedy and
+      decisive action. Had he listened to the fair proposals of the
+      sultan, Romanus might have secured a retreat, perhaps a peace;
+      but in these overtures he supposed the fear or weakness of the
+      enemy, and his answer was conceived in the tone of insult and
+      defiance. “If the Barbarian wishes for peace, let him evacuate
+      the ground which he occupies for the encampment of the Romans,
+      and surrender his city and palace of Rei as a pledge of his
+      sincerity.” Alp Arslan smiled at the vanity of the demand, but he
+      wept the death of so many faithful Moslems; and, after a devout
+      prayer, proclaimed a free permission to all who were desirous of
+      retiring from the field. With his own hands he tied up his
+      horse’s tail, exchanged his bow and arrows for a mace and
+      cimeter, clothed himself in a white garment, perfumed his body
+      with musk, and declared that if he were vanquished, that spot
+      should be the place of his burial. 34 The sultan himself had
+      affected to cast away his missile weapons: but his hopes of
+      victory were placed in the arrows of the Turkish cavalry, whose
+      squadrons were loosely distributed in the form of a crescent.
+      Instead of the successive lines and reserves of the Grecian
+      tactics, Romulus led his army in a single and solid phalanx, and
+      pressed with vigor and impatience the artful and yielding
+      resistance of the Barbarians. In this desultory and fruitless
+      combat he spent the greater part of a summer’s day, till prudence
+      and fatigue compelled him to return to his camp. But a retreat is
+      always perilous in the face of an active foe; and no sooner had
+      the standard been turned to the rear than the phalanx was broken
+      by the base cowardice, or the baser jealousy, of Andronicus, a
+      rival prince, who disgraced his birth and the purple of the
+      Caesars. 35 The Turkish squadrons poured a cloud of arrows on
+      this moment of confusion and lassitude; and the horns of their
+      formidable crescent were closed in the rear of the Greeks. In the
+      destruction of the army and pillage of the camp, it would be
+      needless to mention the number of the slain or captives. The
+      Byzantine writers deplore the loss of an inestimable pearl: they
+      forgot to mention, that in this fatal day the Asiatic provinces
+      of Rome were irretrievably sacrificed.
+
+      33 (return) [ Elmacin (p. 343, 344) assigns this probable number,
+      which is reduced by Abulpharagius to 15,000, (p. 227,) and by
+      D’Herbelot (p. 102) to 12,000 horse. But the same Elmacin gives
+      300,000 met to the emperor, of whom Abulpharagius says, Cum
+      centum hominum millibus, multisque equis et magna pompa
+      instructus. The Greeks abstain from any definition of numbers.]
+
+      34 (return) [ The Byzantine writers do not speak so distinctly of
+      the presence of the sultan: he committed his forces to a eunuch,
+      had retired to a distance, &c. Is it ignorance, or jealousy, or
+      truth?]
+
+      35 (return) [ He was the son of Caesar John Ducas, brother of the
+      emperor Constantine, (Ducange, Fam. Byzant. p. 165.) Nicephorus
+      Bryennius applauds his virtues and extenuates his faults, (l. i.
+      p. 30, 38. l. ii. p. 53.) Yet he owns his enmity to Romanus.
+      Scylitzes speaks more explicitly of his treason.]
+
+      As long as a hope survived, Romanus attempted to rally and save
+      the relics of his army. When the centre, the Imperial station,
+      was left naked on all sides, and encompassed by the victorious
+      Turks, he still, with desperate courage, maintained the fight
+      till the close of day, at the head of the brave and faithful
+      subjects who adhered to his standard. They fell around him; his
+      horse was slain; the emperor was wounded; yet he stood alone and
+      intrepid, till he was oppressed and bound by the strength of
+      multitudes. The glory of this illustrious prize was disputed by a
+      slave and a soldier; a slave who had seen him on the throne of
+      Constantinople, and a soldier whose extreme deformity had been
+      excused on the promise of some signal service.
+
+      Despoiled of his arms, his jewels, and his purple, Romanus spent
+      a dreary and perilous night on the field of battle, amidst a
+      disorderly crowd of the meaner Barbarians. In the morning the
+      royal captive was presented to Alp Arslan, who doubted of his
+      fortune, till the identity of the person was ascertained by the
+      report of his ambassadors, and by the more pathetic evidence of
+      Basilacius, who embraced with tears the feet of his unhappy
+      sovereign. The successor of Constantine, in a plebeian habit, was
+      led into the Turkish divan, and commanded to kiss the ground
+      before the lord of Asia. He reluctantly obeyed; and Alp Arslan,
+      starting from his throne, is said to have planted his foot on the
+      neck of the Roman emperor. 36 But the fact is doubtful; and if,
+      in this moment of insolence, the sultan complied with the
+      national custom, the rest of his conduct has extorted the praise
+      of his bigoted foes, and may afford a lesson to the most
+      civilized ages. He instantly raised the royal captive from the
+      ground; and thrice clasping his hand with tender sympathy,
+      assured him, that his life and dignity should be inviolate in the
+      hands of a prince who had learned to respect the majesty of his
+      equals and the vicissitudes of fortune. From the divan, Romanus
+      was conducted to an adjacent tent, where he was served with pomp
+      and reverence by the officers of the sultan, who, twice each day,
+      seated him in the place of honor at his own table. In a free and
+      familiar conversation of eight days, not a word, not a look, of
+      insult escaped from the conqueror; but he severely censured the
+      unworthy subjects who had deserted their valiant prince in the
+      hour of danger, and gently admonished his antagonist of some
+      errors which he had committed in the management of the war. In
+      the preliminaries of negotiation, Alp Arslan asked him what
+      treatment he expected to receive, and the calm indifference of
+      the emperor displays the freedom of his mind. “If you are cruel,”
+      said he, “you will take my life; if you listen to pride, you will
+      drag me at your chariot-wheels; if you consult your interest, you
+      will accept a ransom, and restore me to my country.” “And what,”
+      continued the sultan, “would have been your own behavior, had
+      fortune smiled on your arms?” The reply of the Greek betrays a
+      sentiment, which prudence, and even gratitude, should have taught
+      him to suppress. “Had I vanquished,” he fiercely said, “I would
+      have inflicted on thy body many a stripe.” The Turkish conqueror
+      smiled at the insolence of his captive; observed that the
+      Christian law inculcated the love of enemies and forgiveness of
+      injuries; and nobly declared, that he would not imitate an
+      example which he condemned. After mature deliberation, Alp Arslan
+      dictated the terms of liberty and peace, a ransom of a million,
+      361 an annual tribute of three hundred and sixty thousand pieces
+      of gold, 37 the marriage of the royal children, and the
+      deliverance of all the Moslems, who were in the power of the
+      Greeks. Romanus, with a sigh, subscribed this treaty, so
+      disgraceful to the majesty of the empire; he was immediately
+      invested with a Turkish robe of honor; his nobles and patricians
+      were restored to their sovereign; and the sultan, after a
+      courteous embrace, dismissed him with rich presents and a
+      military guard. No sooner did he reach the confines of the
+      empire, than he was informed that the palace and provinces had
+      disclaimed their allegiance to a captive: a sum of two hundred
+      thousand pieces was painfully collected; and the fallen monarch
+      transmitted this part of his ransom, with a sad confession of his
+      impotence and disgrace. The generosity, or perhaps the ambition,
+      of the sultan, prepared to espouse the cause of his ally; but his
+      designs were prevented by the defeat, imprisonment, and death, of
+      Romanus Diogenes. 38
+
+      36 (return) [ This circumstance, which we read and doubt in
+      Scylitzes and Constantine Manasses, is more prudently omitted by
+      Nicephorus and Zonaras.]
+
+      361 (return) [ Elmacin gives 1,500,000. Wilken, Geschichte der
+      Kreuz-zuge, vol. l. p. 10.—M.]
+
+      37 (return) [ The ransom and tribute are attested by reason and
+      the Orientals. The other Greeks are modestly silent; but
+      Nicephorus Bryennius dares to affirm, that the terms were bad and
+      that the emperor would have preferred death to a shameful
+      treaty.]
+
+      38 (return) [ The defeat and captivity of Romanus Diogenes may be
+      found in John Scylitzes ad calcem Cedreni, tom. ii. p. 835-843.
+      Zonaras, tom. ii. p. 281-284. Nicephorus Bryennius, l. i. p.
+      25-32. Glycas, p. 325-327. Constantine Manasses, p. 134. Elmacin,
+      Hist. Saracen. p. 343 344. Abulpharag. Dynast. p. 227.
+      D’Herbelot, p. 102, 103. D Guignes, tom. iii. p. 207-211. Besides
+      my old acquaintance Elmacin and Abulpharagius, the historian of
+      the Huns has consulted Abulfeda, and his epitomizer Benschounah,
+      a Chronicle of the Caliphs, by Abulmahasen of Egypt, and Novairi
+      of Africa.]
+
+      In the treaty of peace, it does not appear that Alp Arslan
+      extorted any province or city from the captive emperor; and his
+      revenge was satisfied with the trophies of his victory, and the
+      spoils of Anatolia, from Antioch to the Black Sea. The fairest
+      part of Asia was subject to his laws: twelve hundred princes, or
+      the sons of princes, stood before his throne; and two hundred
+      thousand soldiers marched under his banners. The sultan disdained
+      to pursue the fugitive Greeks; but he meditated the more glorious
+      conquest of Turkestan, the original seat of the house of Seljuk.
+      He moved from Bagdad to the banks of the Oxus; a bridge was
+      thrown over the river; and twenty days were consumed in the
+      passage of his troops. But the progress of the great king was
+      retarded by the governor of Berzem; and Joseph the Carizmian
+      presumed to defend his fortress against the powers of the East.
+      When he was produced a captive in the royal tent, the sultan,
+      instead of praising his valor, severely reproached his obstinate
+      folly: and the insolent replies of the rebel provoked a sentence,
+      that he should be fastened to four stakes, and left to expire in
+      that painful situation. At this command, the desperate Carizmian,
+      drawing a dagger, rushed headlong towards the throne: the guards
+      raised their battle-axes; their zeal was checked by Alp Arslan,
+      the most skilful archer of the age: he drew his bow, but his foot
+      slipped, the arrow glanced aside, and he received in his breast
+      the dagger of Joseph, who was instantly cut in pieces.
+
+      The wound was mortal; and the Turkish prince bequeathed a dying
+      admonition to the pride of kings. “In my youth,” said Alp Arslan,
+      “I was advised by a sage to humble myself before God; to distrust
+      my own strength; and never to despise the most contemptible foe.
+      I have neglected these lessons; and my neglect has been
+      deservedly punished. Yesterday, as from an eminence I beheld the
+      numbers, the discipline, and the spirit, of my armies, the earth
+      seemed to tremble under my feet; and I said in my heart, Surely
+      thou art the king of the world, the greatest and most invincible
+      of warriors. These armies are no longer mine; and, in the
+      confidence of my personal strength, I now fall by the hand of an
+      assassin.” 39 Alp Arslan possessed the virtues of a Turk and a
+      Mussulman; his voice and stature commanded the reverence of
+      mankind; his face was shaded with long whiskers; and his ample
+      turban was fashioned in the shape of a crown. The remains of the
+      sultan were deposited in the tomb of the Seljukian dynasty; and
+      the passenger might read and meditate this useful inscription: 40
+      “O ye who have seen the glory of Alp Arslan exalted to the
+      heavens, repair to Maru, and you will behold it buried in the
+      dust.” The annihilation of the inscription, and the tomb itself,
+      more forcibly proclaims the instability of human greatness.
+
+      39 (return) [ This interesting death is told by D’Herbelot, (p.
+      103, 104,) and M. De Guignes, (tom. iii. p. 212, 213.) from their
+      Oriental writers; but neither of them have transfused the spirit
+      of Elmacin, (Hist. Saracen p. 344, 345.)]
+
+      40 (return) [ A critic of high renown, (the late Dr. Johnson,)
+      who has severely scrutinized the epitaphs of Pope, might cavil in
+      this sublime inscription at the words “repair to Maru,” since the
+      reader must already be at Maru before he could peruse the
+      inscription.]
+
+      During the life of Alp Arslan, his eldest son had been
+      acknowledged as the future sultan of the Turks. On his father’s
+      death the inheritance was disputed by an uncle, a cousin, and a
+      brother: they drew their cimeters, and assembled their followers;
+      and the triple victory of Malek Shah 41 established his own
+      reputation and the right of primogeniture. In every age, and more
+      especially in Asia, the thirst of power has inspired the same
+      passions, and occasioned the same disorders; but, from the long
+      series of civil war, it would not be easy to extract a sentiment
+      more pure and magnanimous than is contained in the saying of the
+      Turkish prince. On the eve of the battle, he performed his
+      devotions at Thous, before the tomb of the Imam Riza. As the
+      sultan rose from the ground, he asked his vizier Nizam, who had
+      knelt beside him, what had been the object of his secret
+      petition: “That your arms may be crowned with victory,” was the
+      prudent, and most probably the sincere, answer of the minister.
+      “For my part,” replied the generous Malek, “I implored the Lord
+      of Hosts that he would take from me my life and crown, if my
+      brother be more worthy than myself to reign over the Moslems.”
+      The favorable judgment of heaven was ratified by the caliph; and
+      for the first time, the sacred title of Commander of the Faithful
+      was communicated to a Barbarian. But this Barbarian, by his
+      personal merit, and the extent of his empire, was the greatest
+      prince of his age. After the settlement of Persia and Syria, he
+      marched at the head of innumerable armies to achieve the conquest
+      of Turkestan, which had been undertaken by his father. In his
+      passage of the Oxus, the boatmen, who had been employed in
+      transporting some troops, complained, that their payment was
+      assigned on the revenues of Antioch. The sultan frowned at this
+      preposterous choice; but he miled at the artful flattery of his
+      vizier. “It was not to postpone their reward, that I selected
+      those remote places, but to leave a memorial to posterity, that,
+      under your reign, Antioch and the Oxus were subject to the same
+      sovereign.” But this description of his limits was unjust and
+      parsimonious: beyond the Oxus, he reduced to his obedience the
+      cities of Bochara, Carizme, and Samarcand, and crushed each
+      rebellious slave, or independent savage, who dared to resist.
+      Malek passed the Sihon or Jaxartes, the last boundary of Persian
+      civilization: the hordes of Turkestan yielded to his supremacy:
+      his name was inserted on the coins, and in the prayers of
+      Cashgar, a Tartar kingdom on the extreme borders of China. From
+      the Chinese frontier, he stretched his immediate jurisdiction or
+      feudatory sway to the west and south, as far as the mountains of
+      Georgia, the neighborhood of Constantinople, the holy city of
+      Jerusalem, and the spicy groves of Arabia Felix. Instead of
+      resigning himself to the luxury of his harem, the shepherd king,
+      both in peace and war, was in action and in the field. By the
+      perpetual motion of the royal camp, each province was
+      successively blessed with his presence; and he is said to have
+      perambulated twelve times the wide extent of his dominions, which
+      surpassed the Asiatic reign of Cyrus and the caliphs. Of these
+      expeditions, the most pious and splendid was the pilgrimage of
+      Mecca: the freedom and safety of the caravans were protected by
+      his arms; the citizens and pilgrims were enriched by the
+      profusion of his alms; and the desert was cheered by the places
+      of relief and refreshment, which he instituted for the use of his
+      brethren. Hunting was the pleasure, and even the passion, of the
+      sultan, and his train consisted of forty-seven thousand horses;
+      but after the massacre of a Turkish chase, for each piece of
+      game, he bestowed a piece of gold on the poor, a slight
+      atonement, at the expense of the people, for the cost and
+      mischief of the amusement of kings. In the peaceful prosperity of
+      his reign, the cities of Asia were adorned with palaces and
+      hospitals with moschs and colleges; few departed from his Divan
+      without reward, and none without justice. The language and
+      literature of Persia revived under the house of Seljuk; 42 and if
+      Malek emulated the liberality of a Turk less potent than himself,
+      43 his palace might resound with the songs of a hundred poets.
+      The sultan bestowed a more serious and learned care on the
+      reformation of the calendar, which was effected by a general
+      assembly of the astronomers of the East. By a law of the prophet,
+      the Moslems are confined to the irregular course of the lunar
+      months; in Persia, since the age of Zoroaster, the revolution of
+      the sun has been known and celebrated as an annual festival; 44
+      but after the fall of the Magian empire, the intercalation had
+      been neglected; the fractions of minutes and hours were
+      multiplied into days; and the date of the springs was removed
+      from the sign of Aries to that of Pisces. The reign of Malek was
+      illustrated by the Gelalaean aera; and all errors, either past or
+      future, were corrected by a computation of time, which surpasses
+      the Julian, and approaches the accuracy of the Gregorian, style.
+      45
+
+      41 (return) [ The Bibliotheque Orientale has given the text of
+      the reign of Malek, (p. 542, 543, 544, 654, 655;) and the
+      Histoire Generale des Huns (tom. iii. p. 214-224) has added the
+      usual measure of repetition emendation, and supplement. Without
+      those two learned Frenchmen I should be blind indeed in the
+      Eastern world.]
+
+      42 (return) [ See an excellent discourse at the end of Sir
+      William Jones’s History of Nadir Shah, and the articles of the
+      poets, Amak, Anvari, Raschidi, &c., in the Bibliotheque
+      Orientale. ]
+
+      43 (return) [ His name was Kheder Khan. Four bags were placed
+      round his sopha, and as he listened to the song, he cast handfuls
+      of gold and silver to the poets, (D’Herbelot, p. 107.) All this
+      may be true; but I do not understand how he could reign in
+      Transoxiana in the time of Malek Shah, and much less how Kheder
+      could surpass him in power and pomp. I suspect that the
+      beginning, not the end, of the xith century is the true aera of
+      his reign.]
+
+      44 (return) [ See Chardin, Voyages en Perse, tom. ii. p. 235.]
+
+      45 (return) [ The Gelalaean aera (Gelaleddin, Glory of the Faith,
+      was one of the names or titles of Malek Shah) is fixed to the
+      xvth of March, A. H. 471, A.D. 1079. Dr. Hyde has produced the
+      original testimonies of the Persians and Arabians, (de Religione
+      veterum Persarum, c. 16 p. 200-211.)]
+
+      In a period when Europe was plunged in the deepest barbarism, the
+      light and splendor of Asia may be ascribed to the docility rather
+      than the knowledge of the Turkish conquerors. An ample share of
+      their wisdom and virtue is due to a Persian vizier, who ruled the
+      empire under the reigns of Alp Arslan and his son. Nizam, one of
+      the most illustrious ministers of the East, was honored by the
+      caliph as an oracle of religion and science; he was trusted by
+      the sultan as the faithful vicegerent of his power and justice.
+      After an administration of thirty years, the fame of the vizier,
+      his wealth, and even his services, were transformed into crimes.
+      He was overthrown by the insidious arts of a woman and a rival;
+      and his fall was hastened by a rash declaration, that his cap and
+      ink-horn, the badges of his office, were connected by the divine
+      decree with the throne and diadem of the sultan. At the age of
+      ninety-three years, the venerable statesman was dismissed by his
+      master, accused by his enemies, and murdered by a fanatic: 451
+      the last words of Nizam attested his innocence, and the remainder
+      of Malek’s life was short and inglorious. From Ispahan, the scene
+      of this disgraceful transaction, the sultan moved to Bagdad, with
+      the design of transplanting the caliph, and of fixing his own
+      residence in the capital of the Moslem world. The feeble
+      successor of Mahomet obtained a respite of ten days; and before
+      the expiration of the term, the Barbarian was summoned by the
+      angel of death. His ambassadors at Constantinople had asked in
+      marriage a Roman princess; but the proposal was decently eluded;
+      and the daughter of Alexius, who might herself have been the
+      victim, expresses her abhorrence of his unnatural conjunction. 46
+      The daughter of the sultan was bestowed on the caliph Moctadi,
+      with the imperious condition, that, renouncing the society of his
+      wives and concubines, he should forever confine himself to this
+      honorable alliance.
+
+      451 (return) [ He was the first great victim of his enemy, Hassan
+      Sabek, founder of the Assassins. Von Hammer, Geschichte der
+      Assassinen, p. 95.—M.]
+
+      46 (return) [ She speaks of this Persian royalty. Anna Comnena
+      was only nine years old at the end of the reign of Malek Shah,
+      (A.D. 1092,) and when she speaks of his assassination, she
+      confounds the sultan with the vizier, (Alexias, l. vi. p. 177,
+      178.)]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LVII: The Turks.—Part III.
+
+      The greatness and unity of the Turkish empire expired in the
+      person of Malek Shah. His vacant throne was disputed by his
+      brother and his four sons; 461 and, after a series of civil wars,
+      the treaty which reconciled the surviving candidates confirmed a
+      lasting separation in the Persian dynasty, the eldest and
+      principal branch of the house of Seljuk. The three younger
+      dynasties were those of Kerman, of Syria, and of Roum: the first
+      of these commanded an extensive, though obscure, 47 dominion on
+      the shores of the Indian Ocean: 48 the second expelled the
+      Arabian princes of Aleppo and Damascus; and the third, our
+      peculiar care, invaded the Roman provinces of Asia Minor. The
+      generous policy of Malek contributed to their elevation: he
+      allowed the princes of his blood, even those whom he had
+      vanquished in the field, to seek new kingdoms worthy of their
+      ambition; nor was he displeased that they should draw away the
+      more ardent spirits, who might have disturbed the tranquillity of
+      his reign. As the supreme head of his family and nation, the
+      great sultan of Persia commanded the obedience and tribute of his
+      royal brethren: the thrones of Kerman and Nice, of Aleppo and
+      Damascus; the Atabeks, and emirs of Syria and Mesopotamia,
+      erected their standards under the shadow of his sceptre: 49 and
+      the hordes of Turkmans overspread the plains of the Western Asia.
+
+      After the death of Malek, the bands of union and subordination
+      were relaxed and finally dissolved: the indulgence of the house
+      of Seljuk invested their slaves with the inheritance of kingdoms;
+      and, in the Oriental style, a crowd of princes arose from the
+      dust of their feet. 50
+
+      461 (return) [ See Von Hammer, Osmanische Geschichte, vol. i. p.
+      16. The Seljukian dominions were for a time reunited in the
+      person of Sandjar, one of the sons of Malek Shah, who ruled “from
+      Kashgar to Antioch, from the Caspian to the Straits of
+      Babelmandel.”—M.]
+
+      47 (return) [ So obscure, that the industry of M. De Guignes
+      could only copy (tom. i. p. 244, tom. iii. part i. p. 269, &c.)
+      the history, or rather list, of the Seljukides of Kerman, in
+      Bibliotheque Orientale. They were extinguished before the end of
+      the xiith century.]
+
+      48 (return) [ Tavernier, perhaps the only traveller who has
+      visited Kerman, describes the capital as a great ruinous village,
+      twenty-five days’ journey from Ispahan, and twenty-seven from
+      Ormus, in the midst of a fertile country, (Voyages en Turquie et
+      en Perse, p. 107, 110.)]
+
+      49 (return) [ It appears from Anna Comnena, that the Turks of
+      Asia Minor obeyed the signet and chiauss of the great sultan,
+      (Alexias, l. vi. p. 170;) and that the two sons of Soliman were
+      detained in his court, (p. 180.)]
+
+      50 (return) [ This expression is quoted by Petit de la Croix (Vie
+      de Gestis p. 160) from some poet, most probably a Persian.]
+
+      A prince of the royal line, Cutulmish, 501 the son of Izrail, the
+      son of Seljuk, had fallen in a battle against Alp Arslan and the
+      humane victor had dropped a tear over his grave. His five sons,
+      strong in arms, ambitious of power, and eager for revenge,
+      unsheathed their cimeters against the son of Alp Arslan. The two
+      armies expected the signal when the caliph, forgetful of the
+      majesty which secluded him from vulgar eyes, interposed his
+      venerable mediation. “Instead of shedding the blood of your
+      brethren, your brethren both in descent and faith, unite your
+      forces in a holy war against the Greeks, the enemies of God and
+      his apostle.” They listened to his voice; the sultan embraced his
+      rebellious kinsmen; and the eldest, the valiant Soliman, accepted
+      the royal standard, which gave him the free conquest and
+      hereditary command of the provinces of the Roman empire, from
+      Arzeroum to Constantinople, and the unknown regions of the West.
+      51 Accompanied by his four brothers, he passed the Euphrates; the
+      Turkish camp was soon seated in the neighborhood of Kutaieh in
+      Phrygia; and his flying cavalry laid waste the country as far as
+      the Hellespont and the Black Sea. Since the decline of the
+      empire, the peninsula of Asia Minor had been exposed to the
+      transient, though destructive, inroads of the Persians and
+      Saracens; but the fruits of a lasting conquest were reserved for
+      the Turkish sultan; and his arms were introduced by the Greeks,
+      who aspired to reign on the ruins of their country. Since the
+      captivity of Romanus, six years the feeble son of Eudocia had
+      trembled under the weight of the Imperial crown, till the
+      provinces of the East and West were lost in the same month by a
+      double rebellion: of either chief Nicephorus was the common name;
+      but the surnames of Bryennius and Botoniates distinguish the
+      European and Asiatic candidates. Their reasons, or rather their
+      promises, were weighed in the Divan; and, after some hesitation,
+      Soliman declared himself in favor of Botoniates, opened a free
+      passage to his troops in their march from Antioch to Nice, and
+      joined the banner of the Crescent to that of the Cross. After his
+      ally had ascended the throne of Constantinople, the sultan was
+      hospitably entertained in the suburb of Chrysopolis or Scutari;
+      and a body of two thousand Turks was transported into Europe, to
+      whose dexterity and courage the new emperor was indebted for the
+      defeat and captivity of his rival, Bryennius. But the conquest of
+      Europe was dearly purchased by the sacrifice of Asia:
+      Constantinople was deprived of the obedience and revenue of the
+      provinces beyond the Bosphorus and Hellespont; and the regular
+      progress of the Turks, who fortified the passes of the rivers and
+      mountains, left not a hope of their retreat or expulsion. Another
+      candidate implored the aid of the sultan: Melissenus, in his
+      purple robes and red buskins, attended the motions of the Turkish
+      camp; and the desponding cities were tempted by the summons of a
+      Roman prince, who immediately surrendered them into the hands of
+      the Barbarians. These acquisitions were confirmed by a treaty of
+      peace with the emperor Alexius: his fear of Robert compelled him
+      to seek the friendship of Soliman; and it was not till after the
+      sultan’s death that he extended as far as Nicomedia, about sixty
+      miles from Constantinople, the eastern boundary of the Roman
+      world. Trebizond alone, defended on either side by the sea and
+      mountains, preserved at the extremity of the Euxine the ancient
+      character of a Greek colony, and the future destiny of a
+      Christian empire.
+
+      501 (return) [ Wilken considers Cutulmish not a Turkish name.
+      Geschicht Kreuz-zuge, vol. i. p. 9.—M.]
+
+      51 (return) [ On the conquest of Asia Minor, M. De Guignes has
+      derived no assistance from the Turkish or Arabian writers, who
+      produce a naked list of the Seljukides of Roum. The Greeks are
+      unwilling to expose their shame, and we must extort some hints
+      from Scylitzes, (p. 860, 863,) Nicephorus Bryennius, (p. 88, 91,
+      92, &c., 103, 104,) and Anna Comnena (Alexias, p. 91, 92, &c.,
+      163, &c.)]
+
+      Since the first conquests of the caliphs, the establishment of
+      the Turks in Anatolia or Asia Minor was the most deplorable loss
+      which the church and empire had sustained. By the propagation of
+      the Moslem faith, Soliman deserved the name of Gazi, a holy
+      champion; and his new kingdoms, of the Romans, or of Roum, was
+      added to the tables of Oriental geography. It is described as
+      extending from the Euphrates to Constantinople, from the Black
+      Sea to the confines of Syria; pregnant with mines of silver and
+      iron, of alum and copper, fruitful in corn and wine, and
+      productive of cattle and excellent horses. 52 The wealth of
+      Lydia, the arts of the Greeks, the splendor of the Augustan age,
+      existed only in books and ruins, which were equally obscure in
+      the eyes of the Scythian conquerors. Yet, in the present decay,
+      Anatolia still contains some wealthy and populous cities; and,
+      under the Byzantine empire, they were far more flourishing in
+      numbers, size, and opulence. By the choice of the sultan, Nice,
+      the metropolis of Bithynia, was preferred for his palace and
+      fortress: the seat of the Seljukian dynasty of Roum was planted
+      one hundred miles from Constantinople; and the divinity of Christ
+      was denied and derided in the same temple in which it had been
+      pronounced by the first general synod of the Catholics. The unity
+      of God, and the mission of Mahomet, were preached in the moschs;
+      the Arabian learning was taught in the schools; the Cadhis judged
+      according to the law of the Koran; the Turkish manners and
+      language prevailed in the cities; and Turkman camps were
+      scattered over the plains and mountains of Anatolia. On the hard
+      conditions of tribute and servitude, the Greek Christians might
+      enjoy the exercise of their religion; but their most holy
+      churches were profaned; their priests and bishops were insulted;
+      53 they were compelled to suffer the triumph of the Pagans, and
+      the apostasy of their brethren; many thousand children were
+      marked by the knife of circumcision; and many thousand captives
+      were devoted to the service or the pleasures of their masters. 54
+      After the loss of Asia, Antioch still maintained her primitive
+      allegiance to Christ and Caesar; but the solitary province was
+      separated from all Roman aid, and surrounded on all sides by the
+      Mahometan powers. The despair of Philaretus the governor prepared
+      the sacrifice of his religion and loyalty, had not his guilt been
+      prevented by his son, who hastened to the Nicene palace, and
+      offered to deliver this valuable prize into the hands of Soliman.
+      The ambitious sultan mounted on horseback, and in twelve nights
+      (for he reposed in the day) performed a march of six hundred
+      miles. Antioch was oppressed by the speed and secrecy of his
+      enterprise; and the dependent cities, as far as Laodicea and the
+      confines of Aleppo, 55 obeyed the example of the metropolis. From
+      Laodicea to the Thracian Bosphorus, or arm of St. George, the
+      conquests and reign of Soliman extended thirty days’ journey in
+      length, and in breadth about ten or fifteen, between the rocks of
+      Lycia and the Black Sea. 56 The Turkish ignorance of navigation
+      protected, for a while, the inglorious safety of the emperor; but
+      no sooner had a fleet of two hundred ships been constructed by
+      the hands of the captive Greeks, than Alexius trembled behind the
+      walls of his capital. His plaintive epistles were dispersed over
+      Europe, to excite the compassion of the Latins, and to paint the
+      danger, the weakness, and the riches of the city of Constantine.
+      57
+
+      52 (return) [ Such is the description of Roum by Haiton the
+      Armenian, whose Tartar history may be found in the collections of
+      Ramusio and Bergeron, (see Abulfeda, Geograph. climat. xvii. p.
+      301-305.)]
+
+      53 (return) [ Dicit eos quendam abusione Sodomitica intervertisse
+      episcopum, (Guibert. Abbat. Hist. Hierosol. l. i. p. 468.) It is
+      odd enough, that we should find a parallel passage of the same
+      people in the present age. “Il n’est point d’horreur que ces
+      Turcs n’ayent commis, et semblables aux soldats effrenes, qui
+      dans le sac d’une ville, non contens de disposer de tout a leur
+      gre pretendent encore aux succes les moins desirables. Quelque
+      Sipahis ont porte leurs attentats sur la personne du vieux rabbi
+      de la synagogue, et celle de l’Archeveque Grec.” (Memoires du
+      Baron de Tott, tom. ii. p. 193.)]
+
+      54 (return) [ The emperor, or abbot describe the scenes of a
+      Turkish camp as if they had been present. Matres correptae in
+      conspectu filiarum multipliciter repetitis diversorum coitibus
+      vexabantur; (is that the true reading?) cum filiae assistentes
+      carmina praecinere saltando cogerentur. Mox eadem passio ad
+      filias, &c.]
+
+      55 (return) [ See Antioch, and the death of Soliman, in Anna
+      Comnena, (Alexius, l. vi. p. 168, 169,) with the notes of
+      Ducange.]
+
+      56 (return) [ William of Tyre (l. i. c. 9, 10, p. 635) gives the
+      most authentic and deplorable account of these Turkish
+      conquests.]
+
+      57 (return) [ In his epistle to the count of Flanders, Alexius
+      seems to fall too low beneath his character and dignity; yet it
+      is approved by Ducange, (Not. ad Alexiad. p. 335, &c.,) and
+      paraphrased by the Abbot Guibert, a contemporary historian. The
+      Greek text no longer exists; and each translator and scribe might
+      say with Guibert, (p. 475,) verbis vestita meis, a privilege of
+      most indefinite latitude.]
+
+      But the most interesting conquest of the Seljukian Turks was that
+      of Jerusalem, 58 which soon became the theatre of nations. In
+      their capitulation with Omar, the inhabitants had stipulated the
+      assurance of their religion and property; but the articles were
+      interpreted by a master against whom it was dangerous to dispute;
+      and in the four hundred years of the reign of the caliphs, the
+      political climate of Jerusalem was exposed to the vicissitudes of
+      storm and sunshine. 59 By the increase of proselytes and
+      population, the Mahometans might excuse the usurpation of three
+      fourths of the city: but a peculiar quarter was resolved for the
+      patriarch with his clergy and people; a tribute of two pieces of
+      gold was the price of protection; and the sepulchre of Christ,
+      with the church of the Resurrection, was still left in the hands
+      of his votaries. Of these votaries, the most numerous and
+      respectable portion were strangers to Jerusalem: the pilgrimages
+      to the Holy Land had been stimulated, rather than suppressed, by
+      the conquest of the Arabs; and the enthusiasm which had always
+      prompted these perilous journeys, was nourished by the congenial
+      passions of grief and indignation. A crowd of pilgrims from the
+      East and West continued to visit the holy sepulchre, and the
+      adjacent sanctuaries, more especially at the festival of Easter;
+      and the Greeks and Latins, the Nestorians and Jacobites, the
+      Copts and Abyssinians, the Armenians and Georgians, maintained
+      the chapels, the clergy, and the poor of their respective
+      communions. The harmony of prayer in so many various tongues, the
+      worship of so many nations in the common temple of their
+      religion, might have afforded a spectacle of edification and
+      peace; but the zeal of the Christian sects was imbittered by
+      hatred and revenge; and in the kingdom of a suffering Messiah,
+      who had pardoned his enemies, they aspired to command and
+      persecute their spiritual brethren. The preeminence was asserted
+      by the spirit and numbers of the Franks; and the greatness of
+      Charlemagne 60 protected both the Latin pilgrims and the
+      Catholics of the East. The poverty of Carthage, Alexandria, and
+      Jerusalem, was relieved by the alms of that pious emperor; and
+      many monasteries of Palestine were founded or restored by his
+      liberal devotion. Harun Alrashid, the greatest of the Abbassides,
+      esteemed in his Christian brother a similar supremacy of genius
+      and power: their friendship was cemented by a frequent
+      intercourse of gifts and embassies; and the caliph, without
+      resigning the substantial dominion, presented the emperor with
+      the keys of the holy sepulchre, and perhaps of the city of
+      Jerusalem. In the decline of the Carlovingian monarchy, the
+      republic of Amalphi promoted the interest of trade and religion
+      in the East. Her vessels transported the Latin pilgrims to the
+      coasts of Egypt and Palestine, and deserved, by their useful
+      imports, the favor and alliance of the Fatimite caliphs: 61 an
+      annual fair was instituted on Mount Calvary: and the Italian
+      merchants founded the convent and hospital of St. John of
+      Jerusalem, the cradle of the monastic and military order, which
+      has since reigned in the isles of Rhodes and of Malta. Had the
+      Christian pilgrims been content to revere the tomb of a prophet,
+      the disciples of Mahomet, instead of blaming, would have
+      imitated, their piety: but these rigid Unitarians were
+      scandalized by a worship which represents the birth, death, and
+      resurrection, of a God; the Catholic images were branded with the
+      name of idols; and the Moslems smiled with indignation 62 at the
+      miraculous flame which was kindled on the eve of Easter in the
+      holy sepulchre. 63 This pious fraud, first devised in the ninth
+      century, 64 was devoutly cherished by the Latin crusaders, and is
+      annually repeated by the clergy of the Greek, Armenian, and
+      Coptic sects, 65 who impose on the credulous spectators 66 for
+      their own benefit, and that of their tyrants. In every age, a
+      principle of toleration has been fortified by a sense of
+      interest: and the revenue of the prince and his emir was
+      increased each year, by the expense and tribute of so many
+      thousand strangers.
+
+      58 (return) [ Our best fund for the history of Jerusalem from
+      Heraclius to the crusades is contained in two large and original
+      passages of William archbishop of Tyre, (l. i. c. 1-10, l. xviii.
+      c. 5, 6,) the principal author of the Gesta Dei per Francos. M.
+      De Guignes has composed a very learned Memoire sur le Commerce
+      des Francois dans le de Levant avant les Croisades, &c. (Mem. de
+      l’Academie des Inscriptions, tom. xxxvii. p. 467-500.)]
+
+      59 (return) [ Secundum Dominorum dispositionem plerumque lucida
+      plerum que nubila recepit intervalla, et aegrotantium more
+      temporum praesentium gravabatur aut respirabat qualitate, (l. i.
+      c. 3, p. 630.) The latinity of William of Tyre is by no means
+      contemptible: but in his account of 490 years, from the loss to
+      the recovery of Jerusalem, precedes the true account by 30
+      years.]
+
+      60 (return) [ For the transactions of Charlemagne with the Holy
+      Land, see Eginhard, (de Vita Caroli Magni, c. 16, p. 79-82,)
+      Constantine Porphyrogenitus, (de Administratione Imperii, l. ii.
+      c. 26, p. 80,) and Pagi, (Critica, tom. iii. A.D. 800, No. 13,
+      14, 15.)]
+
+      61 (return) [ The caliph granted his privileges, Amalphitanis
+      viris amicis et utilium introductoribus, (Gesta Dei, p. 934.) The
+      trade of Venice to Egypt and Palestine cannot produce so old a
+      title, unless we adopt the laughable translation of a Frenchman,
+      who mistook the two factions of the circus (Veneti et Prasini)
+      for the Venetians and Parisians.]
+
+      62 (return) [ An Arabic chronicle of Jerusalem (apud Asseman.
+      Bibliot. Orient. tom. i. p. 268, tom. iv. p. 368) attests the
+      unbelief of the caliph and the historian; yet Cantacuzene
+      presumes to appeal to the Mahometans themselves for the truth of
+      this perpetual miracle.]
+
+      63 (return) [ In his Dissertations on Ecclesiastical History, the
+      learned Mosheim has separately discussed this pretended miracle,
+      (tom. ii. p. 214-306,) de lumine sancti sepulchri.]
+
+      64 (return) [ William of Malmsbury (l. iv. c. 2, p. 209) quotes
+      the Itinerary of the monk Bernard, an eye-witness, who visited
+      Jerusalem A.D. 870. The miracle is confirmed by another pilgrim
+      some years older; and Mosheim ascribes the invention to the
+      Franks, soon after the decease of Charlemagne.]
+
+      65 (return) [ Our travellers, Sandys, (p. 134,) Thevenot, (p.
+      621-627,) Maundrell, (p. 94, 95,) &c., describes this extravagant
+      farce. The Catholics are puzzled to decide when the miracle ended
+      and the trick began.]
+
+      66 (return) [ The Orientals themselves confess the fraud, and
+      plead necessity and edification, (Memoires du Chevalier
+      D’Arvieux, tom. ii. p. 140. Joseph Abudacni, Hist. Copt. c. 20;)
+      but I will not attempt, with Mosheim, to explain the mode. Our
+      travellers have failed with the blood of St. Januarius at
+      Naples.]
+
+      The revolution which transferred the sceptre from the Abbassides
+      to the Fatimites was a benefit, rather than an injury, to the
+      Holy Land. A sovereign resident in Egypt was more sensible of the
+      importance of Christian trade; and the emirs of Palestine were
+      less remote from the justice and power of the throne. But the
+      third of these Fatimite caliphs was the famous Hakem, 67 a
+      frantic youth, who was delivered by his impiety and despotism
+      from the fear either of God or man; and whose reign was a wild
+      mixture of vice and folly. Regardless of the most ancient customs
+      of Egypt, he imposed on the women an absolute confinement; the
+      restraint excited the clamors of both sexes; their clamors
+      provoked his fury; a part of Old Cairo was delivered to the
+      flames and the guards and citizens were engaged many days in a
+      bloody conflict. At first the caliph declared himself a zealous
+      Mussulman, the founder or benefactor of moschs and colleges:
+      twelve hundred and ninety copies of the Koran were transcribed at
+      his expense in letters of gold; and his edict extirpated the
+      vineyards of the Upper Egypt. But his vanity was soon flattered
+      by the hope of introducing a new religion; he aspired above the
+      fame of a prophet, and styled himself the visible image of the
+      Most High God, who, after nine apparitions on earth, was at
+      length manifest in his royal person. At the name of Hakem, the
+      lord of the living and the dead, every knee was bent in religious
+      adoration: his mysteries were performed on a mountain near Cairo:
+      sixteen thousand converts had signed his profession of faith; and
+      at the present hour, a free and warlike people, the Druses of
+      Mount Libanus, are persuaded of the life and divinity of a madman
+      and tyrant. 68 In his divine character, Hakem hated the Jews and
+      Christians, as the servants of his rivals; while some remains of
+      prejudice or prudence still pleaded in favor of the law of
+      Mahomet. Both in Egypt and Palestine, his cruel and wanton
+      persecution made some martyrs and many apostles: the common
+      rights and special privileges of the sectaries were equally
+      disregarded; and a general interdict was laid on the devotion of
+      strangers and natives. The temple of the Christian world, the
+      church of the Resurrection, was demolished to its foundations;
+      the luminous prodigy of Easter was interrupted, and much profane
+      labor was exhausted to destroy the cave in the rock which
+      properly constitutes the holy sepulchre. At the report of this
+      sacrilege, the nations of Europe were astonished and afflicted:
+      but instead of arming in the defence of the Holy Land, they
+      contented themselves with burning, or banishing, the Jews, as the
+      secret advisers of the impious Barbarian. 69 Yet the calamities
+      of Jerusalem were in some measure alleviated by the inconstancy
+      or repentance of Hakem himself; and the royal mandate was sealed
+      for the restitution of the churches, when the tyrant was
+      assassinated by the emissaries of his sister. The succeeding
+      caliphs resumed the maxims of religion and policy: a free
+      toleration was again granted; with the pious aid of the emperor
+      of Constantinople, the holy sepulchre arose from its ruins; and,
+      after a short abstinence, the pilgrims returned with an increase
+      of appetite to the spiritual feast. 70 In the sea-voyage of
+      Palestine, the dangers were frequent, and the opportunities rare:
+      but the conversion of Hungary opened a safe communication between
+      Germany and Greece. The charity of St. Stephen, the apostle of
+      his kingdom, relieved and conducted his itinerant brethren; 71
+      and from Belgrade to Antioch, they traversed fifteen hundred
+      miles of a Christian empire. Among the Franks, the zeal of
+      pilgrimage prevailed beyond the example of former times: and the
+      roads were covered with multitudes of either sex, and of every
+      rank, who professed their contempt of life, so soon as they
+      should have kissed the tomb of their Redeemer. Princes and
+      prelates abandoned the care of their dominions; and the numbers
+      of these pious caravans were a prelude to the armies which
+      marched in the ensuing age under the banner of the cross. About
+      thirty years before the first crusade, the arch bishop of Mentz,
+      with the bishops of Utrecht, Bamberg, and Ratisbon, undertook
+      this laborious journey from the Rhine to the Jordan; and the
+      multitude of their followers amounted to seven thousand persons.
+      At Constantinople, they were hospitably entertained by the
+      emperor; but the ostentation of their wealth provoked the assault
+      of the wild Arabs: they drew their swords with scrupulous
+      reluctance, and sustained siege in the village of Capernaum, till
+      they were rescued by the venal protection of the Fatimite emir.
+      After visiting the holy places, they embarked for Italy, but only
+      a remnant of two thousand arrived in safety in their native land.
+
+      Ingulphus, a secretary of William the Conqueror, was a companion
+      of this pilgrimage: he observes that they sailed from Normandy,
+      thirty stout and well-appointed horsemen; but that they repassed
+      the Alps, twenty miserable palmers, with the staff in their hand,
+      and the wallet at their back. 72
+
+      67 (return) [ See D’Herbelot, (Bibliot. Orientale, p. 411,)
+      Renaudot, (Hist. Patriarch. Alex. p. 390, 397, 400, 401,)
+      Elmacin, (Hist. Saracen. p. 321-323,) and Marei, (p. 384-386,) an
+      historian of Egypt, translated by Reiske from Arabic into German,
+      and verbally interpreted to me by a friend.]
+
+      68 (return) [ The religion of the Druses is concealed by their
+      ignorance and hypocrisy. Their secret doctrines are confined to
+      the elect who profess a contemplative life; and the vulgar
+      Druses, the most indifferent of men, occasionally conform to the
+      worship of the Mahometans and Christians of their neighborhood.
+      The little that is, or deserves to be, known, may be seen in the
+      industrious Niebuhr, (Voyages, tom. ii. p. 354-357,) and the
+      second volume of the recent and instructive Travels of M. de
+      Volney. * Note: The religion of the Druses has, within the
+      present year, been fully developed from their own writings, which
+      have long lain neglected in the libraries of Paris and Oxford, in
+      the “Expose de la Religion des Druses, by M. Silvestre de Sacy.”
+      Deux tomes, Paris, 1838. The learned author has prefixed a life
+      of Hakem Biamr-Allah, which enables us to correct several errors
+      in the account of Gibbon. These errors chiefly arose from his
+      want of knowledge or of attention to the chronology of Hakem’s
+      life. Hakem succeeded to the throne of Egypt in the year of the
+      Hegira 386. He did not assume his divinity till 408. His life was
+      indeed “a wild mixture of vice and folly,” to which may be added,
+      of the most sanguinary cruelty. During his reign, 18,000 persons
+      were victims of his ferocity. Yet such is the god, observes M. de
+      Sacy, whom the Druses have worshipped for 800 years! (See p.
+      ccccxxix.) All his wildest and most extravagant actions were
+      interpreted by his followers as having a mystic and allegoric
+      meaning, alluding to the destruction of other religions and the
+      propagation of his own. It does not seem to have been the
+      “vanity” of Hakem which induced him to introduce a new religion.
+      The curious point in the new faith is that Hamza, the son of Ali,
+      the real founder of the Unitarian religion, (such is its boastful
+      title,) was content to take a secondary part. While Hakem was
+      God, the one Supreme, the Imam Hamza was his Intelligence. It was
+      not in his “divine character” that Hakem “hated the Jews and
+      Christians,” but in that of a Mahometan bigot, which he displayed
+      in the earlier years of his reign. His barbarous persecution, and
+      the burning of the church of the Resurrection at Jerusalem,
+      belong entirely to that period; and his assumption of divinity
+      was followed by an edict of toleration to Jews and Christians.
+      The Mahometans, whose religion he then treated with hostility and
+      contempt, being far the most numerous, were his most dangerous
+      enemies, and therefore the objects of his most inveterate hatred.
+      It is another singular fact, that the religion of Hakem was by no
+      means confined to Egypt and Syria. M. de Sacy quotes a letter
+      addressed to the chief of the sect in India; and there is
+      likewise a letter to the Byzantine emperor Constantine, son of
+      Armanous, (Romanus,) and the clergy of the empire. (Constantine
+      VIII., M. de Sacy supposes, but this is irreconcilable with
+      chronology; it must mean Constantine XI., Monomachus.) The
+      assassination of Hakem is, of course, disbelieved by his
+      sectaries. M. de Sacy seems to consider the fact obscure and
+      doubtful. According to his followers he disappeared, but is
+      hereafter to return. At his return the resurrection is to take
+      place; the triumph of Unitarianism, and the final discomfiture of
+      all other religions. The temple of Mecca is especially devoted to
+      destruction. It is remarkable that one of the signs of this final
+      consummation, and of the reappearance of Hakem, is that
+      Christianity shall be gaining a manifest predominance over
+      Mahometanism. As for the religion of the Druses, I cannot agree
+      with Gibbon that it does not “deserve” to be better known; and am
+      grateful to M. de Sacy, notwithstanding the prolixity and
+      occasional repetition in his two large volumes, for the full
+      examination of the most extraordinary religious aberration which
+      ever extensively affected the mind of man. The worship of a mad
+      tyrant is the basis of a subtle metaphysical creed, and of a
+      severe, and even ascetic, morality.—M.]
+
+      69 (return) [ See Glaber, l. iii. c. 7, and the Annals of
+      Baronius and Pagi, A.D. 1009.]
+
+      70 (return) [ Per idem tempus ex universo orbe tam innumerabilis
+      multitudo coepit confluere ad sepulchrum Salvatoris Hierosolymis,
+      quantum nullus hominum prius sperare poterat. Ordo inferioris
+      plebis.... mediocres.... reges et comites..... praesules .....
+      mulieres multae nobilis cum pauperioribus.... Pluribus enim erat
+      mentis desiderium mori priusquam ad propria reverterentur,
+      (Glaber, l. iv. c. 6, Bouquet. Historians of France, tom. x. p.
+      50.) * Note: Compare the first chap. of Wilken, Geschichte der
+      Kreuz-zuge.—M.]
+
+      71 (return) [ Glaber, l. iii. c. 1. Katona (Hist. Critic. Regum
+      Hungariae, tom. i. p. 304-311) examines whether St. Stephen
+      founded a monastery at Jerusalem.]
+
+      72 (return) [ Baronius (A.D. 1064, No. 43-56) has transcribed the
+      greater part of the original narratives of Ingulphus, Marianus,
+      and Lambertus.]
+
+      After the defeat of the Romans, the tranquillity of the Fatimite
+      caliphs was invaded by the Turks. 73 One of the lieutenants of
+      Malek Shah, Atsiz the Carizmian, marched into Syria at the head
+      of a powerful army, and reduced Damascus by famine and the sword.
+      Hems, and the other cities of the province, acknowledged the
+      caliph of Bagdad and the sultan of Persia; and the victorious
+      emir advanced without resistance to the banks of the Nile: the
+      Fatimite was preparing to fly into the heart of Africa; but the
+      negroes of his guard and the inhabitants of Cairo made a
+      desperate sally, and repulsed the Turk from the confines of
+      Egypt. In his retreat he indulged the license of slaughter and
+      rapine: the judge and notaries of Jerusalem were invited to his
+      camp; and their execution was followed by the massacre of three
+      thousand citizens. The cruelty or the defeat of Atsiz was soon
+      punished by the sultan Toucush, the brother of Malek Shah, who,
+      with a higher title and more formidable powers, asserted the
+      dominion of Syria and Palestine. The house of Seljuk reigned
+      about twenty years in Jerusalem; 74 but the hereditary command of
+      the holy city and territory was intrusted or abandoned to the
+      emir Ortok, the chief of a tribe of Turkmans, whose children,
+      after their expulsion from Palestine, formed two dynasties on the
+      borders of Armenia and Assyria. 75 The Oriental Christians and
+      the Latin pilgrims deplored a revolution, which, instead of the
+      regular government and old alliance of the caliphs, imposed on
+      their necks the iron yoke of the strangers of the North. 76 In
+      his court and camp the great sultan had adopted in some degree
+      the arts and manners of Persia; but the body of the Turkish
+      nation, and more especially the pastoral tribes, still breathed
+      the fierceness of the desert. From Nice to Jerusalem, the western
+      countries of Asia were a scene of foreign and domestic hostility;
+      and the shepherds of Palestine, who held a precarious sway on a
+      doubtful frontier, had neither leisure nor capacity to await the
+      slow profits of commercial and religious freedom. The pilgrims,
+      who, through innumerable perils, had reached the gates of
+      Jerusalem, were the victims of private rapine or public
+      oppression, and often sunk under the pressure of famine and
+      disease, before they were permitted to salute the holy sepulchre.
+      A spirit of native barbarism, or recent zeal, prompted the
+      Turkmans to insult the clergy of every sect: the patriarch was
+      dragged by the hair along the pavement, and cast into a dungeon,
+      to extort a ransom from the sympathy of his flock; and the divine
+      worship in the church of the Resurrection was often disturbed by
+      the savage rudeness of its masters. The pathetic tale excited the
+      millions of the West to march under the standard of the cross to
+      the relief of the Holy Land; and yet how trifling is the sum of
+      these accumulated evils, if compared with the single act of the
+      sacrilege of Hakem, which had been so patiently endured by the
+      Latin Christians! A slighter provocation inflamed the more
+      irascible temper of their descendants: a new spirit had arisen of
+      religious chivalry and papal dominion; a nerve was touched of
+      exquisite feeling; and the sensation vibrated to the heart of
+      Europe.
+
+      73 (return) [ See Elmacin (Hist. Saracen. p. 349, 350) and
+      Abulpharagius, (Dynast. p. 237, vers. Pocock.) M. De Guignes
+      (Hist. des Huns, tom iii. part i. p. 215, 216) adds the
+      testimonies, or rather the names, of Abulfeda and Novairi.]
+
+      74 (return) [ From the expedition of Isar Atsiz, (A. H. 469, A.D.
+      1076,) to the expulsion of the Ortokides, (A.D. 1096.) Yet
+      William of Tyre (l. i. c. 6, p. 633) asserts, that Jerusalem was
+      thirty-eight years in the hands of the Turks; and an Arabic
+      chronicle, quoted by Pagi, (tom. iv. p. 202) supposes that the
+      city was reduced by a Carizmian general to the obedience of the
+      caliph of Bagdad, A. H. 463, A.D. 1070. These early dates are not
+      very compatible with the general history of Asia; and I am sure,
+      that as late as A.D. 1064, the regnum Babylonicum (of Cairo)
+      still prevailed in Palestine, (Baronius, A.D. 1064, No. 56.)]
+
+      75 (return) [ De Guignes, Hist. des Huns, tom. i. p. 249-252. ]
+
+      76 (return) [ Willierm. Tyr. l. i. c. 8, p. 634, who strives hard
+      to magnify the Christian grievances. The Turks exacted an aureus
+      from each pilgrim! The caphar of the Franks now is fourteen
+      dollars: and Europe does not complain of this voluntary tax.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LVIII: The First Crusade.—Part I.
+
+     Origin And Numbers Of The First Crusade.—Characters Of The Latin
+     Princes.—Their March To Constantinople.—Policy Of The Greek
+     Emperor Alexius.—Conquest Of Nice, Antioch, And Jerusalem, By The
+     Franks.—Deliverance Of The Holy Sepulchre.— Godfrey Of Bouillon,
+     First King Of Jerusalem.—Institutions Of The French Or Latin
+     Kingdom.
+
+      About twenty years after the conquest of Jerusalem by the Turks,
+      the holy sepulchre was visited by a hermit of the name of Peter,
+      a native of Amiens, in the province of Picardy 1 in France. His
+      resentment and sympathy were excited by his own injuries and the
+      oppression of the Christian name; he mingled his tears with those
+      of the patriarch, and earnestly inquired, if no hopes of relief
+      could be entertained from the Greek emperors of the East. The
+      patriarch exposed the vices and weakness of the successors of
+      Constantine. “I will rouse,” exclaimed the hermit, “the martial
+      nations of Europe in your cause;” and Europe was obedient to the
+      call of the hermit. The astonished patriarch dismissed him with
+      epistles of credit and complaint; and no sooner did he land at
+      Bari, than Peter hastened to kiss the feet of the Roman pontiff.
+      His stature was small, his appearance contemptible; but his eye
+      was keen and lively; and he possessed that vehemence of speech,
+      which seldom fails to impart the persuasion of the soul. 2 He was
+      born of a gentleman’s family, (for we must now adopt a modern
+      idiom,) and his military service was under the neighboring counts
+      of Boulogne, the heroes of the first crusade. But he soon
+      relinquished the sword and the world; and if it be true, that his
+      wife, however noble, was aged and ugly, he might withdraw, with
+      the less reluctance, from her bed to a convent, and at length to
+      a hermitage. 211 In this austere solitude, his body was
+      emaciated, his fancy was inflamed; whatever he wished, he
+      believed; whatever he believed, he saw in dreams and revelations.
+      From Jerusalem the pilgrim returned an accomplished fanatic; but
+      as he excelled in the popular madness of the times, Pope Urban
+      the Second received him as a prophet, applauded his glorious
+      design, promised to support it in a general council, and
+      encouraged him to proclaim the deliverance of the Holy Land.
+      Invigorated by the approbation of the pontiff, his zealous
+      missionary traversed. with speed and success, the provinces of
+      Italy and France. His diet was abstemious, his prayers long and
+      fervent, and the alms which he received with one hand, he
+      distributed with the other: his head was bare, his feet naked,
+      his meagre body was wrapped in a coarse garment; he bore and
+      displayed a weighty crucifix; and the ass on which he rode was
+      sanctified, in the public eye, by the service of the man of God.
+      He preached to innumerable crowds in the churches, the streets,
+      and the highways: the hermit entered with equal confidence the
+      palace and the cottage; and the people (for all was people) was
+      impetuously moved by his call to repentance and arms. When he
+      painted the sufferings of the natives and pilgrims of Palestine,
+      every heart was melted to compassion; every breast glowed with
+      indignation, when he challenged the warriors of the age to defend
+      their brethren, and rescue their Savior: his ignorance of art and
+      language was compensated by sighs, and tears, and ejaculations;
+      and Peter supplied the deficiency of reason by loud and frequent
+      appeals to Christ and his mother, to the saints and angels of
+      paradise, with whom he had personally conversed. 212 The most
+      perfect orator of Athens might have envied the success of his
+      eloquence; the rustic enthusiast inspired the passions which he
+      felt, and Christendom expected with impatience the counsels and
+      decrees of the supreme pontiff.
+
+      1 (return) [ Whimsical enough is the origin of the name of
+      Picards, and from thence of Picardie, which does not date later
+      than A.D. 1200. It was an academical joke, an epithet first
+      applied to the quarrelsome humor of those students, in the
+      University of Paris, who came from the frontier of France and
+      Flanders, (Valesii Notitia Galliarum, p. 447, Longuerue.
+      Description de la France, p. 54.)]
+
+      2 (return) [ William of Tyre (l. i. c. 11, p. 637, 638) thus
+      describes the hermit: Pusillus, persona contemptibilis, vivacis
+      ingenii, et oculum habeas perspicacem gratumque, et sponte fluens
+      ei non deerat eloquium. See Albert Aquensis, p. 185. Guibert, p.
+      482. Anna Comnena in Alex isd, l. x. p. 284, &c., with Ducarge’s
+      Notes, p. 349.]
+
+      211 (return) [ Wilken considers this as doubtful, (vol. i. p.
+      47.)—M.]
+
+      212 (return) [ He had seen the Savior in a vision: a letter had
+      fallen from heaven Wilken, (vol. i. p. 49.)—M.]
+
+      The magnanimous spirit of Gregory the Seventh had already
+      embraced the design of arming Europe against Asia; the ardor of
+      his zeal and ambition still breathes in his epistles: from either
+      side of the Alps, fifty thousand Catholics had enlisted under the
+      banner of St. Peter; 3 and his successor reveals his intention of
+      marching at their head against the impious sectaries of Mahomet.
+      But the glory or reproach of executing, though not in person,
+      this holy enterprise, was reserved for Urban the Second, 4 the
+      most faithful of his disciples. He undertook the conquest of the
+      East, whilst the larger portion of Rome was possessed and
+      fortified by his rival Guibert of Ravenna, who contended with
+      Urban for the name and honors of the pontificate. He attempted to
+      unite the powers of the West, at a time when the princes were
+      separated from the church, and the people from their princes, by
+      the excommunication which himself and his predecessors had
+      thundered against the emperor and the king of France. Philip the
+      First, of France, supported with patience the censures which he
+      had provoked by his scandalous life and adulterous marriage.
+      Henry the Fourth, of Germany, asserted the right of investitures,
+      the prerogative of confirming his bishops by the delivery of the
+      ring and crosier. But the emperor’s party was crushed in Italy by
+      the arms of the Normans and the Countess Mathilda; and the long
+      quarrel had been recently envenomed by the revolt of his son
+      Conrad and the shame of his wife, 5 who, in the synods of
+      Constance and Placentia, confessed the manifold prostitutions to
+      which she had been exposed by a husband regardless of her honor
+      and his own. 6 So popular was the cause of Urban, so weighty was
+      his influence, that the council which he summoned at Placentia 7
+      was composed of two hundred bishops of Italy, France, Burgandy,
+      Swabia, and Bavaria. Four thousand of the clergy, and thirty
+      thousand of the laity, attended this important meeting; and, as
+      the most spacious cathedral would have been inadequate to the
+      multitude, the session of seven days was held in a plain adjacent
+      to the city. The ambassadors of the Greek emperor, Alexius
+      Comnenus, were introduced to plead the distress of their
+      sovereign, and the danger of Constantinople, which was divided
+      only by a narrow sea from the victorious Turks, the common
+      enemies of the Christian name. In their suppliant address they
+      flattered the pride of the Latin princes; and, appealing at once
+      to their policy and religion, exhorted them to repel the
+      Barbarians on the confines of Asia, rather than to expect them in
+      the heart of Europe. At the sad tale of the misery and perils of
+      their Eastern brethren, the assembly burst into tears; the most
+      eager champions declared their readiness to march; and the Greek
+      ambassadors were dismissed with the assurance of a speedy and
+      powerful succor. The relief of Constantinople was included in the
+      larger and most distant project of the deliverance of Jerusalem;
+      but the prudent Urban adjourned the final decision to a second
+      synod, which he proposed to celebrate in some city of France in
+      the autumn of the same year. The short delay would propagate the
+      flame of enthusiasm; and his firmest hope was in a nation of
+      soldiers 8 still proud of the preeminence of their name, and
+      ambitious to emulate their hero Charlemagne, 9 who, in the
+      popular romance of Turpin, 10 had achieved the conquest of the
+      Holy Land. A latent motive of affection or vanity might influence
+      the choice of Urban: he was himself a native of France, a monk of
+      Clugny, and the first of his countrymen who ascended the throne
+      of St. Peter. The pope had illustrated his family and province;
+      nor is there perhaps a more exquisite gratification than to
+      revisit, in a conspicuous dignity, the humble and laborious
+      scenes of our youth.
+
+      3 (return) [ Ultra quinquaginta millia, si me possunt in
+      expeditione pro duce et pontifice habere, armata manu volunt in
+      inimicos Dei insurgere et ad sepulchrum Domini ipso ducente
+      pervenire, (Gregor. vii. epist. ii. 31, in tom. xii. 322,
+      concil.)]
+
+      4 (return) [ See the original lives of Urban II. by Pandulphus
+      Pisanus and Bernardus Guido, in Muratori, Rer. Ital. Script. tom.
+      iii. pars i. p. 352, 353.]
+
+      5 (return) [ She is known by the different names of Praxes,
+      Eupraecia, Eufrasia, and Adelais; and was the daughter of a
+      Russian prince, and the widow of a margrave of Brandenburgh.
+      (Struv. Corpus Hist. Germanicae, p. 340.)]
+
+      6 (return) [ Henricus odio eam coepit habere: ideo incarceravit
+      eam, et concessit ut plerique vim ei inferrent; immo filium
+      hortans ut eam subagitaret, (Dodechin, Continuat. Marian. Scot.
+      apud Baron. A.D. 1093, No. 4.) In the synod of Constance, she is
+      described by Bertholdus, rerum inspector: quae se tantas et tam
+      inauditas fornicationum spur citias, et a tantis passam fuisse
+      conquesta est, &c.; and again at Placentia: satis misericorditer
+      suscepit, eo quod ipsam tantas spurcitias pertulisse pro certo
+      cognoverit papa cum sancta synodo. Apud Baron. A.D. 1093, No. 4,
+      1094, No. 3. A rare subject for the infallible decision of a pope
+      and council. These abominations are repugnant to every principle
+      of human nature, which is not altered by a dispute about rings
+      and crosiers. Yet it should seem, that the wretched woman was
+      tempted by the priests to relate or subscribe some infamous
+      stories of herself and her husband.]
+
+      7 (return) [ See the narrative and acts of the synod of
+      Placentia, Concil. tom. xii. p. 821, &c.]
+
+      8 (return) [ Guibert, himself a Frenchman, praises the piety and
+      valor of the French nation, the author and example of the
+      crusades: Gens nobilis, prudens, bellicosa, dapsilis et nitida
+      .... Quos enim Britones, Anglos, Ligures, si bonis eos moribus
+      videamus, non illico Francos homines appellemus? (p. 478.) He
+      owns, however, that the vivacity of the French degenerates into
+      petulance among foreigners, (p. 488.) and vain loquaciousness,
+      (p. 502.)]
+
+      9 (return) [ Per viam quam jamdudum Carolus Magnus mirificus rex
+      Francorum aptari fecit usque C. P., (Gesta Francorum, p. 1.
+      Robert. Monach. Hist. Hieros. l. i. p. 33, &c.)]
+
+      10 (return) [ John Tilpinus, or Turpinus, was archbishop of
+      Rheims, A.D. 773. After the year 1000, this romance was composed
+      in his name, by a monk of the borders of France and Spain; and
+      such was the idea of ecclesiastical merit, that he describes
+      himself as a fighting and drinking priest! Yet the book of lies
+      was pronounced authentic by Pope Calixtus II., (A.D. 1122,) and
+      is respectfully quoted by the abbot Suger, in the great
+      Chronicles of St. Denys, (Fabric Bibliot. Latin Medii Aevi, edit.
+      Mansi, tom. iv. p. 161.)]
+
+      It may occasion some surprise that the Roman pontiff should
+      erect, in the heart of France, the tribunal from whence he hurled
+      his anathemas against the king; but our surprise will vanish so
+      soon as we form a just estimate of a king of France of the
+      eleventh century. 11 Philip the First was the great-grandson of
+      Hugh Capet, the founder of the present race, who, in the decline
+      of Charlemagne’s posterity, added the regal title to his
+      patrimonial estates of Paris and Orleans. In this narrow compass,
+      he was possessed of wealth and jurisdiction; but in the rest of
+      France, Hugh and his first descendants were no more than the
+      feudal lords of about sixty dukes and counts, of independent and
+      hereditary power, 12 who disdained the control of laws and legal
+      assemblies, and whose disregard of their sovereign was revenged
+      by the disobedience of their inferior vassals. At Clermont, in
+      the territories of the count of Auvergne, 13 the pope might brave
+      with impunity the resentment of Philip; and the council which he
+      convened in that city was not less numerous or respectable than
+      the synod of Placentia. 14 Besides his court and council of Roman
+      cardinals, he was supported by thirteen archbishops and two
+      hundred and twenty-five bishops: the number of mitred prelates
+      was computed at four hundred; and the fathers of the church were
+      blessed by the saints and enlightened by the doctors of the age.
+      From the adjacent kingdoms, a martial train of lords and knights
+      of power and renown attended the council, 15 in high expectation
+      of its resolves; and such was the ardor of zeal and curiosity,
+      that the city was filled, and many thousands, in the month of
+      November, erected their tents or huts in the open field. A
+      session of eight days produced some useful or edifying canons for
+      the reformation of manners; a severe censure was pronounced
+      against the license of private war; the Truce of God 16 was
+      confirmed, a suspension of hostilities during four days of the
+      week; women and priests were placed under the safeguard of the
+      church; and a protection of three years was extended to
+      husbandmen and merchants, the defenceless victims of military
+      rapine. But a law, however venerable be the sanction, cannot
+      suddenly transform the temper of the times; and the benevolent
+      efforts of Urban deserve the less praise, since he labored to
+      appease some domestic quarrels that he might spread the flames of
+      war from the Atlantic to the Euphrates. From the synod of
+      Placentia, the rumor of his great design had gone forth among the
+      nations: the clergy on their return had preached in every diocese
+      the merit and glory of the deliverance of the Holy Land; and when
+      the pope ascended a lofty scaffold in the market-place of
+      Clermont, his eloquence was addressed to a well-prepared and
+      impatient audience. His topics were obvious, his exhortation was
+      vehement, his success inevitable. The orator was interrupted by
+      the shout of thousands, who with one voice, and in their rustic
+      idiom, exclaimed aloud, “God wills it, God wills it.” 17 “It is
+      indeed the will of God,” replied the pope; “and let this
+      memorable word, the inspiration surely of the Holy Spirit, be
+      forever adopted as your cry of battle, to animate the devotion
+      and courage of the champions of Christ. His cross is the symbol
+      of your salvation; wear it, a red, a bloody cross, as an external
+      mark, on your breasts or shoulders, as a pledge of your sacred
+      and irrevocable engagement.” The proposal was joyfully accepted;
+      great numbers, both of the clergy and laity, impressed on their
+      garments the sign of the cross, 18 and solicited the pope to
+      march at their head. This dangerous honor was declined by the
+      more prudent successor of Gregory, who alleged the schism of the
+      church, and the duties of his pastoral office, recommending to
+      the faithful, who were disqualified by sex or profession, by age
+      or infirmity, to aid, with their prayers and alms, the personal
+      service of their robust brethren. The name and powers of his
+      legate he devolved on Adhemar bishop of Puy, the first who had
+      received the cross at his hands. The foremost of the temporal
+      chiefs was Raymond count of Thoulouse, whose ambassadors in the
+      council excused the absence, and pledged the honor, of their
+      master. After the confession and absolution of their sins, the
+      champions of the cross were dismissed with a superfluous
+      admonition to invite their countrymen and friends; and their
+      departure for the Holy Land was fixed to the festival of the
+      Assumption, the fifteenth of August, of the ensuing year. 19
+
+      11 (return) [ See Etat de la France, by the Count de
+      Boulainvilliers, tom. i. p. 180-182, and the second volume of the
+      Observations sur l’Histoire de France, by the Abbe de Mably.]
+
+      12 (return) [ In the provinces to the south of the Loire, the
+      first Capetians were scarcely allowed a feudal supremacy. On all
+      sides, Normandy, Bretagne, Aquitain, Burgundy, Lorraine, and
+      Flanders, contracted the same and limits of the proper France.
+      See Hadrian Vales. Notitia Galliarum]
+
+      13 (return) [ These counts, a younger branch of the dukes of
+      Aquitain, were at length despoiled of the greatest part of their
+      country by Philip Augustus. The bishops of Clermont gradually
+      became princes of the city. Melanges, tires d’une grand
+      Bibliotheque, tom. xxxvi. p. 288, &c.]
+
+      14 (return) [ See the Acts of the council of Clermont, Concil.
+      tom. xii. p. 829, &c.]
+
+      15 (return) [ Confluxerunt ad concilium e multis regionibus, viri
+      potentes et honorati, innumeri quamvis cingulo laicalis militiae
+      superbi, (Baldric, an eye-witness, p. 86-88. Robert. Monach. p.
+      31, 32. Will. Tyr. i. 14, 15, p. 639-641. Guibert, p. 478-480.
+      Fulcher. Carnot. p. 382.)]
+
+      16 (return) [ The Truce of God (Treva, or Treuga Dei) was first
+      invented in Aquitain, A.D. 1032; blamed by some bishops as an
+      occasion of perjury, and rejected by the Normans as contrary to
+      their privileges (Ducange, Gloss Latin. tom. vi. p. 682-685.)]
+
+      17 (return) [ Deus vult, Deus vult! was the pure acclamation of
+      the clergy who understood Latin, (Robert. Mon. l. i. p. 32.) By
+      the illiterate laity, who spoke the Provincial or Limousin idiom,
+      it was corrupted to Deus lo volt, or Diex el volt. See Chron.
+      Casinense, l. iv. c. 11, p. 497, in Muratori, Script. Rerum Ital.
+      tom. iv., and Ducange, (Dissertat xi. p. 207, sur Joinville, and
+      Gloss. Latin. tom. ii. p. 690,) who, in his preface, produces a
+      very difficult specimen of the dialect of Rovergue, A.D. 1100,
+      very near, both in time and place, to the council of Clermont,
+      (p. 15, 16.)]
+
+      18 (return) [ Most commonly on their shoulders, in gold, or silk,
+      or cloth sewed on their garments. In the first crusade, all were
+      red, in the third, the French alone preserved that color, while
+      green crosses were adopted by the Flemings, and white by the
+      English, (Ducange, tom. ii. p. 651.) Yet in England, the red ever
+      appears the favorite, and as if were, the national, color of our
+      military ensigns and uniforms.]
+
+      19 (return) [ Bongarsius, who has published the original writers
+      of the crusades, adopts, with much complacency, the fanatic title
+      of Guibertus, Gesta Dei per Francos; though some critics propose
+      to read Gesta Diaboli per Francos, (Hanoviae, 1611, two vols. in
+      folio.) I shall briefly enumerate, as they stand in this
+      collection, the authors whom I have used for the first crusade.
+
+     I.    Gesta Francorum.
+     II.   Robertus Monachus.
+     III.  Baldricus.
+     IV.   Raimundus de Agiles.
+     V.    Albertus Aquensis VI. Fulcherius Carnotensis.
+     VII.  Guibertus.
+     VIII. Willielmus Tyriensis. Muratori has given us,
+     IX.   Radulphus Cadomensis de Gestis Tancredi,
+     (Script. Rer. Ital. tom. v. p. 285-333,)
+     X.    Bernardus Thesaurarius de Acquisitione Terrae Sanctae,
+         (tom. vii. p. 664-848.)
+
+      The last of these was unknown to a late French historian, who has
+      given a large and critical list of the writers of the crusades,
+      (Esprit des Croisades, tom. i. p. 13-141,) and most of whose
+      judgments my own experience will allow me to ratify. It was late
+      before I could obtain a sight of the French historians collected
+      by Duchesne. I. Petri Tudebodi Sacerdotis Sivracensis Historia de
+      Hierosolymitano Itinere, (tom. iv. p. 773-815,) has been
+      transfused into the first anonymous writer of Bongarsius. II. The
+      Metrical History of the first Crusade, in vii. books, (p.
+      890-912,) is of small value or account. * Note: Several new
+      documents, particularly from the East, have been collected by the
+      industry of the modern historians of the crusades, M. Michaud and
+      Wilken.—M.]
+
+      So familiar, and as it were so natural to man, is the practice of
+      violence, that our indulgence allows the slightest provocation,
+      the most disputable right, as a sufficient ground of national
+      hostility. But the name and nature of a holy war demands a more
+      rigorous scrutiny; nor can we hastily believe, that the servants
+      of the Prince of Peace would unsheathe the sword of destruction,
+      unless the motive were pure, the quarrel legitimate, and the
+      necessity inevitable. The policy of an action may be determined
+      from the tardy lessons of experience; but, before we act, our
+      conscience should be satisfied of the justice and propriety of
+      our enterprise. In the age of the crusades, the Christians, both
+      of the East and West, were persuaded of their lawfulness and
+      merit; their arguments are clouded by the perpetual abuse of
+      Scripture and rhetoric; but they seem to insist on the right of
+      natural and religious defence, their peculiar title to the Holy
+      Land, and the impiety of their Pagan and Mahometan foes. 20
+
+      I. The right of a just defence may fairly include our civil and
+      spiritual allies: it depends on the existence of danger; and that
+      danger must be estimated by the twofold consideration of the
+      malice, and the power, of our enemies. A pernicious tenet has
+      been imputed to the Mahometans, the duty of extirpating all other
+      religions by the sword. This charge of ignorance and bigotry is
+      refuted by the Koran, by the history of the Mussulman conquerors,
+      and by their public and legal toleration of the Christian
+      worship. But it cannot be denied, that the Oriental churches are
+      depressed under their iron yoke; that, in peace and war, they
+      assert a divine and indefeasible claim of universal empire; and
+      that, in their orthodox creed, the unbelieving nations are
+      continually threatened with the loss of religion or liberty. In
+      the eleventh century, the victorious arms of the Turks presented
+      a real and urgent apprehension of these losses. They had subdued,
+      in less than thirty years, the kingdoms of Asia, as far as
+      Jerusalem and the Hellespont; and the Greek empire tottered on
+      the verge of destruction. Besides an honest sympathy for their
+      brethren, the Latins had a right and interest in the support of
+      Constantinople, the most important barrier of the West; and the
+      privilege of defence must reach to prevent, as well as to repel,
+      an impending assault. But this salutary purpose might have been
+      accomplished by a moderate succor; and our calmer reason must
+      disclaim the innumerable hosts, and remote operations, which
+      overwhelmed Asia and depopulated Europe. 2011
+
+      20 (return) [ If the reader will turn to the first scene of the
+      First Part of Henry the Fourth, he will see in the text of
+      Shakespeare the natural feelings of enthusiasm; and in the notes
+      of Dr. Johnson the workings of a bigoted, though vigorous mind,
+      greedy of every pretence to hate and persecute those who dissent
+      from his creed.]
+
+      2011 (return) [ The manner in which the war was conducted surely
+      has little relation to the abstract question of the justice or
+      injustice of the war. The most just and necessary war may be
+      conducted with the most prodigal waste of human life, and the
+      wildest fanaticism; the most unjust with the coolest moderation
+      and consummate generalship. The question is, whether the
+      liberties and religion of Europe were in danger from the
+      aggressions of Mahometanism? If so, it is difficult to limit the
+      right, though it may be proper to question the wisdom, of
+      overwhelming the enemy with the armed population of a whole
+      continent, and repelling, if possible, the invading conqueror
+      into his native deserts. The crusades are monuments of human
+      folly! but to which of the more regular wars civilized. Europe,
+      waged for personal ambition or national jealousy, will our calmer
+      reason appeal as monuments either of human justice or human
+      wisdom?—M.]
+
+      II. Palestine could add nothing to the strength or safety of the
+      Latins; and fanaticism alone could pretend to justify the
+      conquest of that distant and narrow province. The Christians
+      affirmed that their inalienable title to the promised land had
+      been sealed by the blood of their divine Savior; it was their
+      right and duty to rescue their inheritance from the unjust
+      possessors, who profaned his sepulchre, and oppressed the
+      pilgrimage of his disciples. Vainly would it be alleged that the
+      preeminence of Jerusalem, and the sanctity of Palestine, have
+      been abolished with the Mosaic law; that the God of the
+      Christians is not a local deity, and that the recovery of Bethlem
+      or Calvary, his cradle or his tomb, will not atone for the
+      violation of the moral precepts of the gospel. Such arguments
+      glance aside from the leaden shield of superstition; and the
+      religious mind will not easily relinquish its hold on the sacred
+      ground of mystery and miracle.
+
+      III. But the holy wars which have been waged in every climate of
+      the globe, from Egypt to Livonia, and from Peru to Hindostan,
+      require the support of some more general and flexible tenet. It
+      has been often supposed, and sometimes affirmed, that a
+      difference of religion is a worthy cause of hostility; that
+      obstinate unbelievers may be slain or subdued by the champions of
+      the cross; and that grace is the sole fountain of dominion as
+      well as of mercy. 2012 Above four hundred years before the first
+      crusade, the eastern and western provinces of the Roman empire
+      had been acquired about the same time, and in the same manner, by
+      the Barbarians of Germany and Arabia. Time and treaties had
+      legitimated the conquest of the Christian Franks; but in the eyes
+      of their subjects and neighbors, the Mahometan princes were still
+      tyrants and usurpers, who, by the arms of war or rebellion, might
+      be lawfully driven from their unlawful possession. 21
+
+      2012 (return) [ “God,” says the abbot Guibert, “invented the
+      crusades as a new way for the laity to atone for their sins and
+      to merit salvation.” This extraordinary and characteristic
+      passage must be given entire. “Deus nostro tempore praelia sancta
+      instituit, ut ordo equestris et vulgus oberrans qui vetustae
+      Paganitatis exemplo in mutuas versabatur caedes, novum reperirent
+      salutis promerendae genus, ut nec funditus electa, ut fieri
+      assolet, monastica conversatione, seu religiosa qualibet
+      professione saeculum relinquere congerentur; sed sub consueta
+      licentia et habitu ex suo ipsorum officio Dei aliquantenus
+      gratiam consequerentur.” Guib. Abbas, p. 371. See Wilken, vol. i.
+      p. 63.—M.]
+
+      21 (return) [ The vith Discourse of Fleury on Ecclesiastical
+      History (p. 223-261) contains an accurate and rational view of
+      the causes and effects of the crusades.]
+
+      As the manners of the Christians were relaxed, their discipline
+      of penance 22 was enforced; and with the multiplication of sins,
+      the remedies were multiplied. In the primitive church, a
+      voluntary and open confession prepared the work of atonement. In
+      the middle ages, the bishops and priests interrogated the
+      criminal; compelled him to account for his thoughts, words, and
+      actions; and prescribed the terms of his reconciliation with God.
+      But as this discretionary power might alternately be abused by
+      indulgence and tyranny, a rule of discipline was framed, to
+      inform and regulate the spiritual judges. This mode of
+      legislation was invented by the Greeks; their penitentials 23
+      were translated, or imitated, in the Latin church; and, in the
+      time of Charlemagne, the clergy of every diocese were provided
+      with a code, which they prudently concealed from the knowledge of
+      the vulgar. In this dangerous estimate of crimes and punishments,
+      each case was supposed, each difference was remarked, by the
+      experience or penetration of the monks; some sins are enumerated
+      which innocence could not have suspected, and others which reason
+      cannot believe; and the more ordinary offences of fornication and
+      adultery, of perjury and sacrilege, of rapine and murder, were
+      expiated by a penance, which, according to the various
+      circumstances, was prolonged from forty days to seven years.
+      During this term of mortification, the patient was healed, the
+      criminal was absolved, by a salutary regimen of fasts and
+      prayers: the disorder of his dress was expressive of grief and
+      remorse; and he humbly abstained from all the business and
+      pleasure of social life. But the rigid execution of these laws
+      would have depopulated the palace, the camp, and the city; the
+      Barbarians of the West believed and trembled; but nature often
+      rebelled against principle; and the magistrate labored without
+      effect to enforce the jurisdiction of the priest. A literal
+      accomplishment of penance was indeed impracticable: the guilt of
+      adultery was multiplied by daily repetition; that of homicide
+      might involve the massacre of a whole people; each act was
+      separately numbered; and, in those times of anarchy and vice, a
+      modest sinner might easily incur a debt of three hundred years.
+      His insolvency was relieved by a commutation, or indulgence: a
+      year of penance was appreciated at twenty-six solidi 24 of
+      silver, about four pounds sterling, for the rich; at three
+      solidi, or nine shillings, for the indigent: and these alms were
+      soon appropriated to the use of the church, which derived, from
+      the redemption of sins, an inexhaustible source of opulence and
+      dominion. A debt of three hundred years, or twelve hundred
+      pounds, was enough to impoverish a plentiful fortune; the
+      scarcity of gold and silver was supplied by the alienation of
+      land; and the princely donations of Pepin and Charlemagne are
+      expressly given for the remedy of their soul. It is a maxim of
+      the civil law, that whosoever cannot pay with his purse, must pay
+      with his body; and the practice of flagellation was adopted by
+      the monks, a cheap, though painful equivalent. By a fantastic
+      arithmetic, a year of penance was taxed at three thousand lashes;
+      25 and such was the skill and patience of a famous hermit, St.
+      Dominic of the iron Cuirass, 26 that in six days he could
+      discharge an entire century, by a whipping of three hundred
+      thousand stripes. His example was followed by many penitents of
+      both sexes; and, as a vicarious sacrifice was accepted, a sturdy
+      disciplinarian might expiate on his own back the sins of his
+      benefactors. 27 These compensations of the purse and the person
+      introduced, in the eleventh century, a more honorable mode of
+      satisfaction. The merit of military service against the Saracens
+      of Africa and Spain had been allowed by the predecessors of Urban
+      the Second. In the council of Clermont, that pope proclaimed a
+      plenary indulgence to those who should enlist under the banner of
+      the cross; the absolution of all their sins, and a full receipt
+      for all that might be due of canonical penance. 28 The cold
+      philosophy of modern times is incapable of feeling the impression
+      that was made on a sinful and fanatic world. At the voice of
+      their pastor, the robber, the incendiary, the homicide, arose by
+      thousands to redeem their souls, by repeating on the infidels the
+      same deeds which they had exercised against their Christian
+      brethren; and the terms of atonement were eagerly embraced by
+      offenders of every rank and denomination. None were pure; none
+      were exempt from the guilt and penalty of sin; and those who were
+      the least amenable to the justice of God and the church were the
+      best entitled to the temporal and eternal recompense of their
+      pious courage. If they fell, the spirit of the Latin clergy did
+      not hesitate to adorn their tomb with the crown of martyrdom; 29
+      and should they survive, they could expect without impatience the
+      delay and increase of their heavenly reward. They offered their
+      blood to the Son of God, who had laid down his life for their
+      salvation: they took up the cross, and entered with confidence
+      into the way of the Lord. His providence would watch over their
+      safety; perhaps his visible and miraculous power would smooth the
+      difficulties of their holy enterprise. The cloud and pillar of
+      Jehovah had marched before the Israelites into the promised land.
+      Might not the Christians more reasonably hope that the rivers
+      would open for their passage; that the walls of their strongest
+      cities would fall at the sound of their trumpets; and that the
+      sun would be arrested in his mid career, to allow them time for
+      the destruction of the infidels?
+
+      22 (return) [ The penance, indulgences, &c., of the middle ages
+      are amply discussed by Muratori, (Antiquitat. Italiae Medii Aevi,
+      tom. v. dissert. lxviii. p. 709-768,) and by M. Chais, (Lettres
+      sur les Jubiles et les Indulgences, tom. ii. lettres 21 & 22, p.
+      478-556,) with this difference, that the abuses of superstition
+      are mildly, perhaps faintly, exposed by the learned Italian, and
+      peevishly magnified by the Dutch minister.]
+
+      23 (return) [ Schmidt (Histoire des Allemands, tom. ii. p.
+      211-220, 452-462) gives an abstract of the Penitential of Rhegino
+      in the ninth, and of Burchard in the tenth, century. In one year,
+      five-and-thirty murders were perpetrated at Worms.]
+
+      24 (return) [ Till the xiith century, we may support the clear
+      account of xii. denarii, or pence, to the solidus, or shilling;
+      and xx. solidi to the pound weight of silver, about the pound
+      sterling. Our money is diminished to a third, and the French to a
+      fiftieth, of this primitive standard.]
+
+      25 (return) [ Each century of lashes was sanctified with a
+      recital of a psalm, and the whole Psalter, with the accompaniment
+      of 15,000 stripes, was equivalent to five years.]
+
+      26 (return) [ The Life and Achievements of St. Dominic Loricatus
+      was composed by his friend and admirer, Peter Damianus. See
+      Fleury, Hist. Eccles. tom. xiii. p. 96-104. Baronius, A.D. 1056,
+      No. 7, who observes, from Damianus, how fashionable, even among
+      ladies of quality, (sublimis generis,) this expiation (purgatorii
+      genus) was grown.]
+
+      27 (return) [ At a quarter, or even half a rial a lash, Sancho
+      Panza was a cheaper, and possibly not a more dishonest, workman.
+      I remember in Pere Labat (Voyages en Italie, tom. vii. p. 16-29)
+      a very lively picture of the dexterity of one of these artists.]
+
+      28 (return) [ Quicunque pro sola devotione, non pro honoris vel
+      pecuniae adoptione, ad liberandam ecclesiam Dei Jerusalem
+      profectus fuerit, iter illud pro omni poenitentia reputetur.
+      Canon. Concil. Claromont. ii. p. 829. Guibert styles it novum
+      salutis genus, (p. 471,) and is almost philosophical on the
+      subject. * Note: See note, page 546.—M.]
+
+      29 (return) [ Such at least was the belief of the crusaders, and
+      such is the uniform style of the historians, (Esprit des
+      Croisades, tom. iii. p. 477;) but the prayer for the repose of
+      their souls is inconsistent in orthodox theology with the merits
+      of martyrdom.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LVIII: The First Crusade.—Part II.
+
+      Of the chiefs and soldiers who marched to the holy sepulchre, I
+      will dare to affirm, that all were prompted by the spirit of
+      enthusiasm; the belief of merit, the hope of reward, and the
+      assurance of divine aid. But I am equally persuaded, that in many
+      it was not the sole, that in some it was not the leading,
+      principle of action. The use and abuse of religion are feeble to
+      stem, they are strong and irresistible to impel, the stream of
+      national manners. Against the private wars of the Barbarians,
+      their bloody tournaments, licentious love, and judicial duels,
+      the popes and synods might ineffectually thunder. It is a more
+      easy task to provoke the metaphysical disputes of the Greeks, to
+      drive into the cloister the victims of anarchy or despotism, to
+      sanctify the patience of slaves and cowards, or to assume the
+      merit of the humanity and benevolence of modern Christians. War
+      and exercise were the reigning passions of the Franks or Latins;
+      they were enjoined, as a penance, to gratify those passions, to
+      visit distant lands, and to draw their swords against the nation
+      of the East. Their victory, or even their attempt, would
+      immortalize the names of the intrepid heroes of the cross; and
+      the purest piety could not be insensible to the most splendid
+      prospect of military glory. In the petty quarrels of Europe, they
+      shed the blood of their friends and countrymen, for the
+      acquisition perhaps of a castle or a village. They could march
+      with alacrity against the distant and hostile nations who were
+      devoted to their arms; their fancy already grasped the golden
+      sceptres of Asia; and the conquest of Apulia and Sicily by the
+      Normans might exalt to royalty the hopes of the most private
+      adventurer. Christendom, in her rudest state, must have yielded
+      to the climate and cultivation of the Mahometan countries; and
+      their natural and artificial wealth had been magnified by the
+      tales of pilgrims, and the gifts of an imperfect commerce. The
+      vulgar, both the great and small, were taught to believe every
+      wonder, of lands flowing with milk and honey, of mines and
+      treasures, of gold and diamonds, of palaces of marble and jasper,
+      and of odoriferous groves of cinnamon and frankincense. In this
+      earthly paradise, each warrior depended on his sword to carve a
+      plenteous and honorable establishment, which he measured only by
+      the extent of his wishes. 30 Their vassals and soldiers trusted
+      their fortunes to God and their master: the spoils of a Turkish
+      emir might enrich the meanest follower of the camp; and the
+      flavor of the wines, the beauty of the Grecian women, 31 were
+      temptations more adapted to the nature, than to the profession,
+      of the champions of the cross. The love of freedom was a powerful
+      incitement to the multitudes who were oppressed by feudal or
+      ecclesiastical tyranny. Under this holy sign, the peasants and
+      burghers, who were attached to the servitude of the glebe, might
+      escape from a haughty lord, and transplant themselves and their
+      families to a land of liberty. The monk might release himself
+      from the discipline of his convent: the debtor might suspend the
+      accumulation of usury, and the pursuit of his creditors; and
+      outlaws and malefactors of every cast might continue to brave the
+      laws and elude the punishment of their crimes. 32
+
+      30 (return) [ The same hopes were displayed in the letters of the
+      adventurers ad animandos qui in Francia residerant. Hugh de
+      Reiteste could boast, that his share amounted to one abbey and
+      ten castles, of the yearly value of 1500 marks, and that he
+      should acquire a hundred castles by the conquest of Aleppo,
+      (Guibert, p. 554, 555.)]
+
+      31 (return) [ In his genuine or fictitious letter to the count of
+      Flanders, Alexius mingles with the danger of the church, and the
+      relics of saints, the auri et argenti amor, and pulcherrimarum
+      foeminarum voluptas, (p. 476;) as if, says the indignant Guibert,
+      the Greek women were handsomer than those of France.]
+
+      32 (return) [ See the privileges of the Crucesignati, freedom
+      from debt, usury injury, secular justice, &c. The pope was their
+      perpetual guardian (Ducange, tom. ii. p. 651, 652.)]
+
+      These motives were potent and numerous: when we have singly
+      computed their weight on the mind of each individual, we must add
+      the infinite series, the multiplying powers, of example and
+      fashion. The first proselytes became the warmest and most
+      effectual missionaries of the cross: among their friends and
+      countrymen they preached the duty, the merit, and the recompense,
+      of their holy vow; and the most reluctant hearers were insensibly
+      drawn within the whirlpool of persuasion and authority. The
+      martial youths were fired by the reproach or suspicion of
+      cowardice; the opportunity of visiting with an army the sepulchre
+      of Christ was embraced by the old and infirm, by women and
+      children, who consulted rather their zeal than their strength;
+      and those who in the evening had derided the folly of their
+      companions, were the most eager, the ensuing day, to tread in
+      their footsteps. The ignorance, which magnified the hopes,
+      diminished the perils, of the enterprise. Since the Turkish
+      conquest, the paths of pilgrimage were obliterated; the chiefs
+      themselves had an imperfect notion of the length of the way and
+      the state of their enemies; and such was the stupidity of the
+      people, that, at the sight of the first city or castle beyond the
+      limits of their knowledge, they were ready to ask whether that
+      was not the Jerusalem, the term and object of their labors. Yet
+      the more prudent of the crusaders, who were not sure that they
+      should be fed from heaven with a shower of quails or manna,
+      provided themselves with those precious metals, which, in every
+      country, are the representatives of every commodity. To defray,
+      according to their rank, the expenses of the road, princes
+      alienated their provinces, nobles their lands and castles,
+      peasants their cattle and the instruments of husbandry. The value
+      of property was depreciated by the eager competition of
+      multitudes; while the price of arms and horses was raised to an
+      exorbitant height by the wants and impatience of the buyers. 33
+      Those who remained at home, with sense and money, were enriched
+      by the epidemical disease: the sovereigns acquired at a cheap
+      rate the domains of their vassals; and the ecclesiastical
+      purchasers completed the payment by the assurance of their
+      prayers. The cross, which was commonly sewed on the garment, in
+      cloth or silk, was inscribed by some zealots on their skin: a hot
+      iron, or indelible liquor, was applied to perpetuate the mark;
+      and a crafty monk, who showed the miraculous impression on his
+      breast was repaid with the popular veneration and the richest
+      benefices of Palestine. 34
+
+      33 (return) [ Guibert (p. 481) paints in lively colors this
+      general emotion. He was one of the few contemporaries who had
+      genius enough to feel the astonishing scenes that were passing
+      before their eyes. Erat itaque videre miraculum, caro omnes
+      emere, atque vili vendere, &c.]
+
+      34 (return) [ Some instances of these stigmata are given in the
+      Esprit des Croisades, (tom. iii. p. 169 &c.,) from authors whom I
+      have not seen]
+
+      The fifteenth of August had been fixed in the council of Clermont
+      for the departure of the pilgrims; but the day was anticipated by
+      the thoughtless and needy crowd of plebeians, and I shall briefly
+      despatch the calamities which they inflicted and suffered, before
+      I enter on the more serious and successful enterprise of the
+      chiefs. Early in the spring, from the confines of France and
+      Lorraine, above sixty thousand of the populace of both sexes
+      flocked round the first missionary of the crusade, and pressed
+      him with clamorous importunity to lead them to the holy
+      sepulchre. The hermit, assuming the character, without the
+      talents or authority, of a general, impelled or obeyed the
+      forward impulse of his votaries along the banks of the Rhine and
+      Danube. Their wants and numbers soon compelled them to separate,
+      and his lieutenant, Walter the Penniless, a valiant though needy
+      soldier, conducted a van guard of pilgrims, whose condition may
+      be determined from the proportion of eight horsemen to fifteen
+      thousand foot. The example and footsteps of Peter were closely
+      pursued by another fanatic, the monk Godescal, whose sermons had
+      swept away fifteen or twenty thousand peasants from the villages
+      of Germany. Their rear was again pressed by a herd of two hundred
+      thousand, the most stupid and savage refuse of the people, who
+      mingled with their devotion a brutal license of rapine,
+      prostitution, and drunkenness. Some counts and gentlemen, at the
+      head of three thousand horse, attended the motions of the
+      multitude to partake in the spoil; but their genuine leaders (may
+      we credit such folly?) were a goose and a goat, who were carried
+      in the front, and to whom these worthy Christians ascribed an
+      infusion of the divine spirit. 35 Of these, and of other bands of
+      enthusiasts, the first and most easy warfare was against the
+      Jews, the murderers of the Son of God. In the trading cities of
+      the Moselle and the Rhine, their colonies were numerous and rich;
+      and they enjoyed, under the protection of the emperor and the
+      bishops, the free exercise of their religion. 36 At Verdun,
+      Treves, Mentz, Spires, Worms, many thousands of that unhappy
+      people were pillaged and massacred: 37 nor had they felt a more
+      bloody stroke since the persecution of Hadrian. A remnant was
+      saved by the firmness of their bishops, who accepted a feigned
+      and transient conversion; but the more obstinate Jews opposed
+      their fanaticism to the fanaticism of the Christians, barricadoed
+      their houses, and precipitating themselves, their families, and
+      their wealth, into the rivers or the flames, disappointed the
+      malice, or at least the avarice, of their implacable foes.
+
+      35 (return) [ Fuit et aliud scelus detestabile in hac
+      congregatione pedestris populi stulti et vesanae levitatis,
+      anserem quendam divino spiritu asserebant afflatum, et capellam
+      non minus eodem repletam, et has sibi duces secundae viae
+      fecerant, &c., (Albert. Aquensis, l. i. c. 31, p. 196.) Had these
+      peasants founded an empire, they might have introduced, as in
+      Egypt, the worship of animals, which their philosophic descend
+      ants would have glossed over with some specious and subtile
+      allegory. * Note: A singular “allegoric” explanation of this
+      strange fact has recently been broached: it is connected with the
+      charge of idolatry and Eastern heretical opinions subsequently
+      made against the Templars. “We have no doubt that they were
+      Manichee or Gnostic standards.” (The author says the animals
+      themselves were carried before the army.—M.) “The goose, in
+      Egyptian symbols, as every Egyptian scholar knows, meant ‘divine
+      Son,’ or ‘Son of God.’ The goat meant Typhon, or Devil. Thus we
+      have the Manichee opposing principles of good and evil, as
+      standards, at the head of the ignorant mob of crusading invaders.
+      Can any one doubt that a large portion of this host must have
+      been infected with the Manichee or Gnostic idolatry?” Account of
+      the Temple Church by R. W. Billings, p. 5 London. 1838. This is,
+      at all events, a curious coincidence, especially considered in
+      connection with the extensive dissemination of the Paulician
+      opinions among the common people of Europe. At any rate, in so
+      inexplicable a matter, we are inclined to catch at any
+      explanation, however wild or subtile.—M.]
+
+      36 (return) [ Benjamin of Tudela describes the state of his
+      Jewish brethren from Cologne along the Rhine: they were rich,
+      generous, learned, hospitable, and lived in the eager hope of the
+      Messiah, (Voyage, tom. i. p. 243-245, par Baratier.) In seventy
+      years (he wrote about A.D. 1170) they had recovered from these
+      massacres.]
+
+      37 (return) [ These massacres and depredations on the Jews, which
+      were renewed at each crusade, are coolly related. It is true,
+      that St. Bernard (epist. 363, tom. i. p. 329) admonishes the
+      Oriental Franks, non sunt persequendi Judaei, non sunt
+      trucidandi. The contrary doctrine had been preached by a rival
+      monk. * Note: This is an unjust sarcasm against St. Bernard. He
+      stood above all rivalry of this kind See note 31, c. l x.—M]
+
+      Between the frontiers of Austria and the seat of the Byzantine
+      monarchy, the crusaders were compelled to traverse as interval of
+      six hundred miles; the wild and desolate countries of Hungary 38
+      and Bulgaria. The soil is fruitful, and intersected with rivers;
+      but it was then covered with morasses and forests, which spread
+      to a boundless extent, whenever man has ceased to exercise his
+      dominion over the earth. Both nations had imbibed the rudiments
+      of Christianity; the Hungarians were ruled by their native
+      princes; the Bulgarians by a lieutenant of the Greek emperor;
+      but, on the slightest provocation, their ferocious nature was
+      rekindled, and ample provocation was afforded by the disorders of
+      the first pilgrims Agriculture must have been unskilful and
+      languid among a people, whose cities were built of reeds and
+      timber, which were deserted in the summer season for the tents of
+      hunters and shepherds. A scanty supply of provisions was rudely
+      demanded, forcibly seized, and greedily consumed; and on the
+      first quarrel, the crusaders gave a loose to indignation and
+      revenge. But their ignorance of the country, of war, and of
+      discipline, exposed them to every snare. The Greek praefect of
+      Bulgaria commanded a regular force; 381 at the trumpet of the
+      Hungarian king, the eighth or the tenth of his martial subjects
+      bent their bows and mounted on horseback; their policy was
+      insidious, and their retaliation on these pious robbers was
+      unrelenting and bloody. 39 About a third of the naked fugitives
+      (and the hermit Peter was of the number) escaped to the Thracian
+      mountains; and the emperor, who respected the pilgrimage and
+      succor of the Latins, conducted them by secure and easy journeys
+      to Constantinople, and advised them to await the arrival of their
+      brethren. For a while they remembered their faults and losses;
+      but no sooner were they revived by the hospitable entertainment,
+      than their venom was again inflamed; they stung their benefactor,
+      and neither gardens, nor palaces, nor churches, were safe from
+      their depredations. For his own safety, Alexius allured them to
+      pass over to the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus; but their blind
+      impetuosity soon urged them to desert the station which he had
+      assigned, and to rush headlong against the Turks, who occupied
+      the road to Jerusalem. The hermit, conscious of his shame, had
+      withdrawn from the camp to Constantinople; and his lieutenant,
+      Walter the Penniless, who was worthy of a better command,
+      attempted without success to introduce some order and prudence
+      among the herd of savages. They separated in quest of prey, and
+      themselves fell an easy prey to the arts of the sultan. By a
+      rumor that their foremost companions were rioting in the spoils
+      of his capital, Soliman 391 tempted the main body to descend into
+      the plain of Nice: they were overwhelmed by the Turkish arrows;
+      and a pyramid of bones 40 informed their companions of the place
+      of their defeat. Of the first crusaders, three hundred thousand
+      had already perished, before a single city was rescued from the
+      infidels, before their graver and more noble brethren had
+      completed the preparations of their enterprise. 41
+
+      38 (return) [ See the contemporary description of Hungary in Otho
+      of Frisin gen, l. ii. c. 31, in Muratori, Script. Rerum
+      Italicarum, tom. vi. p. 665 666.]
+
+      381 (return) [ The narrative of the first march is very
+      incorrect. The first party moved under Walter de Pexego and
+      Walter the Penniless: they passed safe through Hungary, the
+      kingdom of Kalmeny, and were attacked in Bulgaria. Peter followed
+      with 40,000 men; passed through Hungary; but seeing the clothes
+      of sixteen crusaders, who had been empaled on the walls of
+      Semlin. he attacked and stormed the city. He then marched to
+      Nissa, where, at first, he was hospitably received: but an
+      accidental quar rel taking place, he suffered a great defeat.
+      Wilken, vol. i. p. 84-86—M.]
+
+      39 (return) [ The old Hungarians, without excepting Turotzius,
+      are ill informed of the first crusade, which they involve in a
+      single passage. Katona, like ourselves, can only quote the
+      writers of France; but he compares with local science the ancient
+      and modern geography. Ante portam Cyperon, is Sopron or Poson;
+      Mallevilla, Zemlin; Fluvius Maroe, Savus; Lintax, Leith;
+      Mesebroch, or Merseburg, Ouar, or Moson; Tollenburg, Pragg, (de
+      Regibus Hungariae, tom. iii. p. 19-53.)]
+
+      391 (return) [ Soliman had been killed in 1085, in a battle
+      against Toutoneh, brother of Malek Schah, between Appelo and
+      Antioch. It was not Soliman, therefore, but his son David,
+      surnamed Kilidje Arslan, the “Sword of the Lion,” who reigned in
+      Nice. Almost all the occidental authors have fallen into this
+      mistake, which was detected by M. Michaud, Hist. des Crois. 4th
+      edit. and Extraits des Aut. Arab. rel. aux Croisades, par M.
+      Reinaud Paris, 1829, p. 3. His kingdom extended from the Orontes
+      to the Euphra tes, and as far as the Bosphorus. Kilidje Arslan
+      must uniformly be substituted for Soliman. Brosset note on Le
+      Beau, tom. xv. p. 311.—M.]
+
+      40 (return) [ Anna Comnena (Alexias, l. x. p. 287) describes this
+      as a mountain. In the siege of Nice, such were used by the Franks
+      themselves as the materials of a wall.]
+
+      41 (return) [ See table on following page.]
+
+      “To save time and space, I shall represent, in a short table, the
+      particular references to the great events of the first crusade.”
+
+    [See Table 1.: Events Of The First Crusade]
+
+      None of the great sovereigns of Europe embarked their persons in
+      the first crusade. The emperor Henry the Fourth was not disposed
+      to obey the summons of the pope: Philip the First of France was
+      occupied by his pleasures; William Rufus of England by a recent
+      conquest; the kin`gs of Spain were engaged in a domestic war
+      against the Moors; and the northern monarchs of Scotland,
+      Denmark, 42 Sweden, and Poland, were yet strangers to the
+      passions and interests of the South. The religious ardor was more
+      strongly felt by the princes of the second order, who held an
+      important place in the feudal system. Their situation will
+      naturally cast under four distinct heads the review of their
+      names and characters; but I may escape some needless repetition,
+      by observing at once, that courage and the exercise of arms are
+      the common attribute of these Christian adventurers. I. The first
+      rank both in war and council is justly due to Godfrey of
+      Bouillon; and happy would it have been for the crusaders, if they
+      had trusted themselves to the sole conduct of that accomplished
+      hero, a worthy representative of Charlemagne, from whom he was
+      descended in the female line. His father was of the noble race of
+      the counts of Boulogne: Brabant, the lower province of Lorraine,
+      43 was the inheritance of his mother; and by the emperor’s bounty
+      he was himself invested with that ducal title, which has been
+      improperly transferred to his lordship of Bouillon in the
+      Ardennes. 44 In the service of Henry the Fourth, he bore the
+      great standard of the empire, and pierced with his lance the
+      breast of Rodolph, the rebel king: Godfrey was the first who
+      ascended the walls of Rome; and his sickness, his vow, perhaps
+      his remorse for bearing arms against the pope, confirmed an early
+      resolution of visiting the holy sepulchre, not as a pilgrim, but
+      a deliverer. His valor was matured by prudence and moderation;
+      his piety, though blind, was sincere; and, in the tumult of a
+      camp, he practised the real and fictitious virtues of a convent.
+      Superior to the private factions of the chiefs, he reserved his
+      enmity for the enemies of Christ; and though he gained a kingdom
+      by the attempt, his pure and disinterested zeal was acknowledged
+      by his rivals. Godfrey of Bouillon 45 was accompanied by his two
+      brothers, by Eustace the elder, who had succeeded to the county
+      of Boulogne, and by the younger, Baldwin, a character of more
+      ambiguous virtue. The duke of Lorraine, was alike celebrated on
+      either side of the Rhine: from his birth and education, he was
+      equally conversant with the French and Teutonic languages: the
+      barons of France, Germany, and Lorraine, assembled their vassals;
+      and the confederate force that marched under his banner was
+      composed of fourscore thousand foot and about ten thousand horse.
+      II. In the parliament that was held at Paris, in the king’s
+      presence, about two months after the council of Clermont, Hugh,
+      count of Vermandois, was the most conspicuous of the princes who
+      assumed the cross. But the appellation of the Great was applied,
+      not so much to his merit or possessions, (though neither were
+      contemptible,) as to the royal birth of the brother of the king
+      of France. 46 Robert, duke of Normandy, was the eldest son of
+      William the Conqueror; but on his father’s death he was deprived
+      of the kingdom of England, by his own indolence and the activity
+      of his brother Rufus. The worth of Robert was degraded by an
+      excessive levity and easiness of temper: his cheerfulness seduced
+      him to the indulgence of pleasure; his profuse liberality
+      impoverished the prince and people; his indiscriminate clemency
+      multiplied the number of offenders; and the amiable qualities of
+      a private man became the essential defects of a sovereign. For
+      the trifling sum of ten thousand marks, he mortgaged Normandy
+      during his absence to the English usurper; 47 but his engagement
+      and behavior in the holy war announced in Robert a reformation of
+      manners, and restored him in some degree to the public esteem.
+      Another Robert was count of Flanders, a royal province, which, in
+      this century, gave three queens to the thrones of France,
+      England, and Denmark: he was surnamed the Sword and Lance of the
+      Christians; but in the exploits of a soldier he sometimes forgot
+      the duties of a general. Stephen, count of Chartres, of Blois,
+      and of Troyes, was one of the richest princes of the age; and the
+      number of his castles has been compared to the three hundred and
+      sixty-five days of the year. His mind was improved by literature;
+      and, in the council of the chiefs, the eloquent Stephen 48 was
+      chosen to discharge the office of their president. These four
+      were the principal leaders of the French, the Normans, and the
+      pilgrims of the British isles: but the list of the barons who
+      were possessed of three or four towns would exceed, says a
+      contemporary, the catalogue of the Trojan war. 49 III. In the
+      south of France, the command was assumed by Adhemar bishop of
+      Puy, the pope egate, and by Raymond count of St. Giles and
+      Thoulouse who added the prouder titles of duke of Narbonne and
+      marquis of Provence. The former was a respectable prelate, alike
+      qualified for this world and the next. The latter was a veteran
+      warrior, who had fought against the Saracens of Spain, and who
+      consecrated his declining age, not only to the deliverance, but
+      to the perpetual service, of the holy sepulchre. His experience
+      and riches gave him a strong ascendant in the Christian camp,
+      whose distress he was often able, and sometimes willing, to
+      relieve. But it was easier for him to extort the praise of the
+      Infidels, than to preserve the love of his subjects and
+      associates. His eminent qualities were clouded by a temper
+      haughty, envious, and obstinate; and, though he resigned an ample
+      patrimony for the cause of God, his piety, in the public opinion,
+      was not exempt from avarice and ambition. 50 A mercantile, rather
+      than a martial, spirit prevailed among his provincials, 51 a
+      common name, which included the natives of Auvergne and
+      Languedoc, 52 the vassals of the kingdom of Burgundy or Arles.
+      From the adjacent frontier of Spain he drew a band of hardy
+      adventurers; as he marched through Lombardy, a crowd of Italians
+      flocked to his standard, and his united force consisted of one
+      hundred thousand horse and foot. If Raymond was the first to
+      enlist and the last to depart, the delay may be excused by the
+      greatness of his preparation and the promise of an everlasting
+      farewell. IV. The name of Bohemond, the son of Robert Guiscard,
+      was already famous by his double victory over the Greek emperor;
+      but his father’s will had reduced him to the principality of
+      Tarentum, and the remembrance of his Eastern trophies, till he
+      was awakened by the rumor and passage of the French pilgrims. It
+      is in the person of this Norman chief that we may seek for the
+      coolest policy and ambition, with a small allay of religious
+      fanaticism. His conduct may justify a belief that he had secretly
+      directed the design of the pope, which he affected to second with
+      astonishment and zeal: at the siege of Amalphi, his example and
+      discourse inflamed the passions of a confederate army; he
+      instantly tore his garment to supply crosses for the numerous
+      candidates, and prepared to visit Constantinople and Asia at the
+      head of ten thousand horse and twenty thousand foot. Several
+      princes of the Norman race accompanied this veteran general; and
+      his cousin Tancred 53 was the partner, rather than the servant,
+      of the war.
+
+      In the accomplished character of Tancred we discover all the
+      virtues of a perfect knight, 54 the true spirit of chivalry,
+      which inspired the generous sentiments and social offices of man
+      far better than the base philosophy, or the baser religion, of
+      the times.
+
+      42 (return) [ The author of the Esprit des Croisades has doubted,
+      and might have disbelieved, the crusade and tragic death of
+      Prince Sueno, with 1500 or 15,000 Danes, who was cut off by
+      Sultan Soliman in Cappadocia, but who still lives in the poem of
+      Tasso, (tom. iv. p. 111-115.)]
+
+      43 (return) [ The fragments of the kingdoms of Lotharingia, or
+      Lorraine, were broken into the two duchies of the Moselle and of
+      the Meuse: the first has preserved its name, which in the latter
+      has been changed into that of Brabant, (Vales. Notit. Gall. p.
+      283-288.)]
+
+      44 (return) [ See, in the Description of France, by the Abbe de
+      Longuerue, the articles of Boulogne, part i. p. 54; Brabant, part
+      ii. p. 47, 48; Bouillon, p. 134. On his departure, Godfrey sold
+      or pawned Bouillon to the church for 1300 marks.]
+
+      45 (return) [ See the family character of Godfrey, in William of
+      Tyre, l. ix. c. 5-8; his previous design in Guibert, (p. 485;)
+      his sickness and vow in Bernard. Thesaur., (c 78.)]
+
+      46 (return) [ Anna Comnena supposes, that Hugh was proud of his
+      nobility riches, and power, (l. x. p. 288: ) the two last
+      articles appear more equivocal; but an item, which seven hundred
+      years ago was famous in the palace of Constantinople, attests the
+      ancient dignity of the Capetian family of France.]
+
+      47 (return) [ Will. Gemeticensis, l. vii. c. 7, p. 672, 673, in
+      Camden. Normani cis. He pawned the duchy for one hundredth part
+      of the present yearly revenue. Ten thousand marks may be equal to
+      five hundred thousand livres, and Normandy annually yields
+      fifty-seven millions to the king, (Necker, Administration des
+      Finances, tom. i. p. 287.)]
+
+      48 (return) [ His original letter to his wife is inserted in the
+      Spicilegium of Dom. Luc. d’Acheri, tom. iv. and quoted in the
+      Esprit des Croisades tom. i. p. 63.]
+
+      49 (return) [ Unius enim duum, trium seu quatuor oppidorum
+      dominos quis numeret? quorum tanta fuit copia, ut non vix totidem
+      Trojana obsidio coegisse putetur. (Ever the lively and
+      interesting Guibert, p. 486.)]
+
+      50 (return) [ It is singular enough, that Raymond of St. Giles, a
+      second character in the genuine history of the crusades, should
+      shine as the first of heroes in the writings of the Greeks (Anna
+      Comnen. Alexiad, l. x xi.) and the Arabians, (Longueruana, p.
+      129.)]
+
+      51 (return) [ Omnes de Burgundia, et Alvernia, et Vasconia, et
+      Gothi, (of Languedoc,) provinciales appellabantur, caeteri vero
+      Francigenae et hoc in exercitu; inter hostes autem Franci
+      dicebantur. Raymond des Agiles, p. 144.]
+
+      52 (return) [ The town of his birth, or first appanage, was
+      consecrated to St Aegidius, whose name, as early as the first
+      crusade, was corrupted by the French into St. Gilles, or St.
+      Giles. It is situate in the Iowen Languedoc, between Nismes and
+      the Rhone, and still boasts a collegiate church of the foundation
+      of Raymond, (Melanges tires d’une Grande Bibliotheque, tom.
+      xxxvii. p 51.)]
+
+      53 (return) [ The mother of Tancred was Emma, sister of the great
+      Robert Guiscard; his father, the Marquis Odo the Good. It is
+      singular enough, that the family and country of so illustrious a
+      person should be unknown; but Muratori reasonably conjectures
+      that he was an Italian, and perhaps of the race of the marquises
+      of Montferrat in Piedmont, (Script. tom. v. p. 281, 282.)]
+
+      54 (return) [ To gratify the childish vanity of the house of
+      Este. Tasso has inserted in his poem, and in the first crusade, a
+      fabulous hero, the brave and amorous Rinaldo, (x. 75, xvii.
+      66-94.) He might borrow his name from a Rinaldo, with the Aquila
+      bianca Estense, who vanquished, as the standard-bearer of the
+      Roman church, the emperor Frederic I., (Storia Imperiale di
+      Ricobaldo, in Muratori Script. Ital. tom. ix. p. 360. Ariosto,
+      Orlando Furioso, iii. 30.) But, 1. The distance of sixty years
+      between the youth of the two Rinaldos destroys their identity. 2.
+      The Storia Imperiale is a forgery of the Conte Boyardo, at the
+      end of the xvth century, (Muratori, p. 281-289.) 3. This Rinaldo,
+      and his exploits, are not less chimerical than the hero of Tasso,
+      (Muratori, Antichita Estense, tom. i. p. 350.)]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LVIII: The First Crusade.—Part III.
+
+      Between the age of Charlemagne and that of the crusades, a
+      revolution had taken place among the Spaniards, the Normans, and
+      the French, which was gradually extended to the rest of Europe.
+      The service of the infantry was degraded to the plebeians; the
+      cavalry formed the strength of the armies, and the honorable name
+      of miles, or soldier, was confined to the gentlemen 55 who served
+      on horseback, and were invested with the character of knighthood.
+      The dukes and counts, who had usurped the rights of sovereignty,
+      divided the provinces among their faithful barons: the barons
+      distributed among their vassals the fiefs or benefices of their
+      jurisdiction; and these military tenants, the peers of each other
+      and of their lord, composed the noble or equestrian order, which
+      disdained to conceive the peasant or burgher as of the same
+      species with themselves. The dignity of their birth was preserved
+      by pure and equal alliances; their sons alone, who could produce
+      four quarters or lines of ancestry without spot or reproach,
+      might legally pretend to the honor of knighthood; but a valiant
+      plebeian was sometimes enriched and ennobled by the sword, and
+      became the father of a new race. A single knight could impart,
+      according to his judgment, the character which he received; and
+      the warlike sovereigns of Europe derived more glory from this
+      personal distinction than from the lustre of their diadem. This
+      ceremony, of which some traces may be found in Tacitus and the
+      woods of Germany, 56 was in its origin simple and profane; the
+      candidate, after some previous trial, was invested with the sword
+      and spurs; and his cheek or shoulder was touched with a slight
+      blow, as an emblem of the last affront which it was lawful for
+      him to endure. But superstition mingled in every public and
+      private action of life: in the holy wars, it sanctified the
+      profession of arms; and the order of chivalry was assimilated in
+      its rights and privileges to the sacred orders of priesthood. The
+      bath and white garment of the novice were an indecent copy of the
+      regeneration of baptism: his sword, which he offered on the
+      altar, was blessed by the ministers of religion: his solemn
+      reception was preceded by fasts and vigils; and he was created a
+      knight in the name of God, of St. George, and of St. Michael the
+      archangel. He swore to accomplish the duties of his profession;
+      and education, example, and the public opinion, were the
+      inviolable guardians of his oath. As the champion of God and the
+      ladies, (I blush to unite such discordant names,) he devoted
+      himself to speak the truth; to maintain the right; to protect the
+      distressed; to practise courtesy, a virtue less familiar to the
+      ancients; to pursue the infidels; to despise the allurements of
+      ease and safety; and to vindicate in every perilous adventure the
+      honor of his character. The abuse of the same spirit provoked the
+      illiterate knight to disdain the arts of industry and peace; to
+      esteem himself the sole judge and avenger of his own injuries;
+      and proudly to neglect the laws of civil society and military
+      discipline. Yet the benefits of this institution, to refine the
+      temper of Barbarians, and to infuse some principles of faith,
+      justice, and humanity, were strongly felt, and have been often
+      observed. The asperity of national prejudice was softened; and
+      the community of religion and arms spread a similar color and
+      generous emulation over the face of Christendom. Abroad in
+      enterprise and pilgrimage, at home in martial exercise, the
+      warriors of every country were perpetually associated; and
+      impartial taste must prefer a Gothic tournament to the Olympic
+      games of classic antiquity. 57 Instead of the naked spectacles
+      which corrupted the manners of the Greeks, and banished from the
+      stadium the virgins and matrons, the pompous decoration of the
+      lists was crowned with the presence of chaste and high-born
+      beauty, from whose hands the conqueror received the prize of his
+      dexterity and courage. The skill and strength that were exerted
+      in wrestling and boxing bear a distant and doubtful relation to
+      the merit of a soldier; but the tournaments, as they were
+      invented in France, and eagerly adopted both in the East and
+      West, presented a lively image of the business of the field. The
+      single combats, the general skirmish, the defence of a pass, or
+      castle, were rehearsed as in actual service; and the contest,
+      both in real and mimic war, was decided by the superior
+      management of the horse and lance. The lance was the proper and
+      peculiar weapon of the knight: his horse was of a large and heavy
+      breed; but this charger, till he was roused by the approaching
+      danger, was usually led by an attendant, and he quietly rode a
+      pad or palfrey of a more easy pace. His helmet and sword, his
+      greaves and buckler, it would be superfluous to describe; but I
+      may remark, that, at the period of the crusades, the armor was
+      less ponderous than in later times; and that, instead of a massy
+      cuirass, his breast was defended by a hauberk or coat of mail.
+      When their long lances were fixed in the rest, the warriors
+      furiously spurred their horses against the foe; and the light
+      cavalry of the Turks and Arabs could seldom stand against the
+      direct and impetuous weight of their charge. Each knight was
+      attended to the field by his faithful squire, a youth of equal
+      birth and similar hopes; he was followed by his archers and men
+      at arms, and four, or five, or six soldiers were computed as the
+      furniture of a complete lance. In the expeditions to the
+      neighboring kingdoms or the Holy Land, the duties of the feudal
+      tenure no longer subsisted; the voluntary service of the knights
+      and their followers were either prompted by zeal or attachment,
+      or purchased with rewards and promises; and the numbers of each
+      squadron were measured by the power, the wealth, and the fame, of
+      each independent chieftain. They were distinguished by his
+      banner, his armorial coat, and his cry of war; and the most
+      ancient families of Europe must seek in these achievements the
+      origin and proof of their nobility. In this rapid portrait of
+      chivalry I have been urged to anticipate on the story of the
+      crusades, at once an effect and a cause, of this memorable
+      institution. 58
+
+      55 (return) [ Of the words gentilis, gentilhomme, gentleman, two
+      etymologies are produced: 1. From the Barbarians of the fifth
+      century, the soldiers, and at length the conquerors of the Roman
+      empire, who were vain of their foreign nobility; and 2. From the
+      sense of the civilians, who consider gentilis as synonymous with
+      ingenuus. Selden inclines to the first but the latter is more
+      pure, as well as probable.]
+
+      56 (return) [ Framea scutoque juvenem ornant. Tacitus, Germania.
+      c. 13.]
+
+      57 (return) [ The athletic exercises, particularly the caestus
+      and pancratium, were condemned by Lycurgus, Philopoemen, and
+      Galen, a lawgiver, a general, and a physician. Against their
+      authority and reasons, the reader may weigh the apology of
+      Lucian, in the character of Solon. See West on the Olympic Games,
+      in his Pindar, vol. ii. p. 86-96 243-248]
+
+      58 (return) [ On the curious subjects of knighthood,
+      knights-service, nobility, arms, cry of war, banners, and
+      tournaments, an ample fund of information may be sought in
+      Selden, (Opera, tom. iii. part i. Titles of Honor, part ii. c. 1,
+      3, 5, 8,) Ducange, (Gloss. Latin. tom. iv. p. 398-412, &c.,)
+      Dissertations sur Joinville, (i. vi.—xii. p. 127-142, p.
+      161-222,) and M. de St. Palaye, (Memoires sur la Chevalerie.)]
+
+      Such were the troops, and such the leaders, who assumed the cross
+      for the deliverance of the holy sepulchre. As soon as they were
+      relieved by the absence of the plebeian multitude, they
+      encouraged each other, by interviews and messages, to accomplish
+      their vow, and hasten their departure. Their wives and sisters
+      were desirous of partaking the danger and merit of the
+      pilgrimage: their portable treasures were conveyed in bars of
+      silver and gold; and the princes and barons were attended by
+      their equipage of hounds and hawks to amuse their leisure and to
+      supply their table. The difficulty of procuring subsistence for
+      so many myriads of men and horses engaged them to separate their
+      forces: their choice or situation determined the road; and it was
+      agreed to meet in the neighborhood of Constantinople, and from
+      thence to begin their operations against the Turks. From the
+      banks of the Meuse and the Moselle, Godfrey of Bouillon followed
+      the direct way of Germany, Hungary, and Bulgaria; and, as long as
+      he exercised the sole command every step afforded some proof of
+      his prudence and virtue. On the confines of Hungary he was
+      stopped three weeks by a Christian people, to whom the name, or
+      at least the abuse, of the cross was justly odious. The
+      Hungarians still smarted with the wounds which they had received
+      from the first pilgrims: in their turn they had abused the right
+      of defence and retaliation; and they had reason to apprehend a
+      severe revenge from a hero of the same nation, and who was
+      engaged in the same cause. But, after weighing the motives and
+      the events, the virtuous duke was content to pity the crimes and
+      misfortunes of his worthless brethren; and his twelve deputies,
+      the messengers of peace, requested in his name a free passage and
+      an equal market. To remove their suspicions, Godfrey trusted
+      himself, and afterwards his brother, to the faith of Carloman,
+      581 king of Hungary, who treated them with a simple but
+      hospitable entertainment: the treaty was sanctified by their
+      common gospel; and a proclamation, under pain of death,
+      restrained the animosity and license of the Latin soldiers. From
+      Austria to Belgrade, they traversed the plains of Hungary,
+      without enduring or offering an injury; and the proximity of
+      Carloman, who hovered on their flanks with his numerous cavalry,
+      was a precaution not less useful for their safety than for his
+      own. They reached the banks of the Save; and no sooner had they
+      passed the river, than the king of Hungary restored the hostages,
+      and saluted their departure with the fairest wishes for the
+      success of their enterprise. With the same conduct and
+      discipline, Godfrey pervaded the woods of Bulgaria and the
+      frontiers of Thrace; and might congratulate himself that he had
+      almost reached the first term of his pilgrimage, without drawing
+      his sword against a Christian adversary. After an easy and
+      pleasant journey through Lombardy, from Turin to Aquileia,
+      Raymond and his provincials marched forty days through the savage
+      country of Dalmatia 59 and Sclavonia. The weather was a perpetual
+      fog; the land was mountainous and desolate; the natives were
+      either fugitive or hostile: loose in their religion and
+      government, they refused to furnish provisions or guides;
+      murdered the stragglers; and exercised by night and day the
+      vigilance of the count, who derived more security from the
+      punishment of some captive robbers than from his interview and
+      treaty with the prince of Scodra. 60 His march between Durazzo
+      and Constantinople was harassed, without being stopped, by the
+      peasants and soldiers of the Greek emperor; and the same faint
+      and ambiguous hostility was prepared for the remaining chiefs,
+      who passed the Adriatic from the coast of Italy. Bohemond had
+      arms and vessels, and foresight and discipline; and his name was
+      not forgotten in the provinces of Epirus and Thessaly. Whatever
+      obstacles he encountered were surmounted by his military conduct
+      and the valor of Tancred; and if the Norman prince affected to
+      spare the Greeks, he gorged his soldiers with the full plunder of
+      an heretical castle. 61 The nobles of France pressed forwards
+      with the vain and thoughtless ardor of which their nation has
+      been sometimes accused. From the Alps to Apulia the march of Hugh
+      the Great, of the two Roberts, and of Stephen of Chartres,
+      through a wealthy country, and amidst the applauding Catholics,
+      was a devout or triumphant progress: they kissed the feet of the
+      Roman pontiff; and the golden standard of St. Peter was delivered
+      to the brother of the French monarch. 62 But in this visit of
+      piety and pleasure, they neglected to secure the season, and the
+      means of their embarkation: the winter was insensibly lost: their
+      troops were scattered and corrupted in the towns of Italy. They
+      separately accomplished their passage, regardless of safety or
+      dignity; and within nine months from the feast of the Assumption,
+      the day appointed by Urban, all the Latin princes had reached
+      Constantinople. But the count of Vermandois was produced as a
+      captive; his foremost vessels were scattered by a tempest; and
+      his person, against the law of nations, was detained by the
+      lieutenants of Alexius. Yet the arrival of Hugh had been
+      announced by four-and-twenty knights in golden armor, who
+      commanded the emperor to revere the general of the Latin
+      Christians, the brother of the king of kings. 63 631
+
+      581 (return) [ Carloman (or Calmany) demanded the brother of
+      Godfrey as hostage but Count Baldwin refused the humiliating
+      submission. Godfrey shamed him into this sacrifice for the common
+      good by offering to surrender himself Wilken, vol. i. p. 104.—M.]
+
+      59 (return) [ The Familiae Dalmaticae of Ducange are meagre and
+      imperfect; the national historians are recent and fabulous, the
+      Greeks remote and careless. In the year 1104 Coloman reduced the
+      maritine country as far as Trau and Saloma, (Katona, Hist. Crit.
+      tom. iii. p. 195-207.)]
+
+      60 (return) [ Scodras appears in Livy as the capital and fortress
+      of Gentius, king of the Illyrians, arx munitissima, afterwards a
+      Roman colony, (Cellarius, tom. i. p. 393, 394.) It is now called
+      Iscodar, or Scutari, (D’Anville, Geographie Ancienne, tom. i. p.
+      164.) The sanjiak (now a pacha) of Scutari, or Schendeire, was
+      the viiith under the Beglerbeg of Romania, and furnished 600
+      soldiers on a revenue of 78,787 rix dollars, (Marsigli, Stato
+      Militare del Imperio Ottomano, p. 128.)]
+
+      61 (return) [ In Pelagonia castrum haereticum..... spoliatum cum
+      suis habi tatoribus igne combussere. Nec id eis injuria contigit:
+      quia illorum detestabilis sermo et cancer serpebat, jamque
+      circumjacentes regiones suo pravo dogmate foedaverat, (Robert.
+      Mon. p. 36, 37.) After cooly relating the fact, the Archbishop
+      Baldric adds, as a praise, Omnes siquidem illi viatores, Judeos,
+      haereticos, Saracenos aequaliter habent exosos; quos omnes
+      appellant inimicos Dei, (p. 92.)]
+
+      62 (return) [ (Alexiad. l. x. p. 288.)]
+
+      63 (return) [ This Oriental pomp is extravagant in a count of
+      Vermandois; but the patriot Ducange repeats with much complacency
+      (Not. ad Alexiad. p. 352, 353. Dissert. xxvii. sur Joinville, p.
+      315) the passages of Matthew Paris (A.D. 1254) and Froissard,
+      (vol. iv. p. 201,) which style the king of France rex regum, and
+      chef de tous les rois Chretiens.]
+
+      631 (return) [ Hugh was taken at Durazzo, and sent by land to
+      Constantinople Wilken—M.]
+
+      In some oriental tale I have read the fable of a shepherd, who
+      was ruined by the accomplishment of his own wishes: he had prayed
+      for water; the Ganges was turned into his grounds, and his flock
+      and cottage were swept away by the inundation. Such was the
+      fortune, or at least the apprehension of the Greek emperor
+      Alexius Comnenus, whose name has already appeared in this
+      history, and whose conduct is so differently represented by his
+      daughter Anne, 64 and by the Latin writers. 65 In the council of
+      Placentia, his ambassadors had solicited a moderate succor,
+      perhaps of ten thousand soldiers, but he was astonished by the
+      approach of so many potent chiefs and fanatic nations. The
+      emperor fluctuated between hope and fear, between timidity and
+      courage; but in the crooked policy which he mistook for wisdom, I
+      cannot believe, I cannot discern, that he maliciously conspired
+      against the life or honor of the French heroes. The promiscuous
+      multitudes of Peter the Hermit were savage beasts, alike
+      destitute of humanity and reason: nor was it possible for Alexius
+      to prevent or deplore their destruction. The troops of Godfrey
+      and his peers were less contemptible, but not less suspicious, to
+      the Greek emperor. Their motives might be pure and pious: but he
+      was equally alarmed by his knowledge of the ambitious Bohemond,
+      651 and his ignorance of the Transalpine chiefs: the courage of
+      the French was blind and headstrong; they might be tempted by the
+      luxury and wealth of Greece, and elated by the view and opinion
+      of their invincible strength: and Jerusalem might be forgotten in
+      the prospect of Constantinople. After a long march and painful
+      abstinence, the troops of Godfrey encamped in the plains of
+      Thrace; they heard with indignation, that their brother, the
+      count of Vermandois, was imprisoned by the Greeks; and their
+      reluctant duke was compelled to indulge them in some freedom of
+      retaliation and rapine. They were appeased by the submission of
+      Alexius: he promised to supply their camp; and as they refused,
+      in the midst of winter, to pass the Bosphorus, their quarters
+      were assigned among the gardens and palaces on the shores of that
+      narrow sea. But an incurable jealousy still rankled in the minds
+      of the two nations, who despised each other as slaves and
+      Barbarians. Ignorance is the ground of suspicion, and suspicion
+      was inflamed into daily provocations: prejudice is blind, hunger
+      is deaf; and Alexius is accused of a design to starve or assault
+      the Latins in a dangerous post, on all sides encompassed with the
+      waters. 66 Godfrey sounded his trumpets, burst the net,
+      overspread the plain, and insulted the suburbs; but the gates of
+      Constantinople were strongly fortified; the ramparts were lined
+      with archers; and, after a doubtful conflict, both parties
+      listened to the voice of peace and religion. The gifts and
+      promises of the emperor insensibly soothed the fierce spirit of
+      the western strangers; as a Christian warrior, he rekindled their
+      zeal for the prosecution of their holy enterprise, which he
+      engaged to second with his troops and treasures. On the return of
+      spring, Godfrey was persuaded to occupy a pleasant and plentiful
+      camp in Asia; and no sooner had he passed the Bosphorus, than the
+      Greek vessels were suddenly recalled to the opposite shore. The
+      same policy was repeated with the succeeding chiefs, who were
+      swayed by the example, and weakened by the departure, of their
+      foremost companions. By his skill and diligence, Alexius
+      prevented the union of any two of the confederate armies at the
+      same moment under the walls of Constantinople; and before the
+      feast of the Pentecost not a Latin pilgrim was left on the coast
+      of Europe.
+
+      64 (return) [ Anna Comnena was born the 1st of December, A.D.
+      1083, indiction vii., (Alexiad. l. vi. p. 166, 167.) At thirteen,
+      the time of the first crusade, she was nubile, and perhaps
+      married to the younger Nicephorus Bryennius, whom she fondly
+      styles, (l. x. p. 295, 296.) Some moderns have imagined, that her
+      enmity to Bohemond was the fruit of disappointed love. In the
+      transactions of Constantinople and Nice, her partial accounts
+      (Alex. l. x. xi. p. 283-317) may be opposed to the partiality of
+      the Latins, but in their subsequent exploits she is brief and
+      ignorant.]
+
+      65 (return) [ In their views of the character and conduct of
+      Alexius, Maimbourg has favored the Catholic Franks, and Voltaire
+      has been partial to the schismatic Greeks. The prejudice of a
+      philosopher is less excusable than that of a Jesuit.]
+
+      651 (return) [ Wilken quotes a remarkable passage of William of
+      Malmsbury as to the secret motives of Urban and of Bohemond in
+      urging the crusade. Illud repositius propositum non ita
+      vulgabatur, quod Boemundi consilio, pene totam Europam in
+      Asiaticam expeditionem moveret, ut in tanto tumultu omnium
+      provinciarum facile obaeratis auxiliaribus, et Urbanus Romam et
+      Boemundus Illyricum et Macedoniam pervaderent. Nam eas terras et
+      quidquid praeterea a Dyrrachio usque ad Thessalonicam
+      protenditur, Guiscardus pater, super Alexium acquisierat; ideirco
+      illas Boemundus suo juri competere clamitabat: inops haereditatis
+      Apuliae, quam genitor Rogerio, minori filio delegaverat. Wilken,
+      vol. ii. p. 313.—M]
+
+      66 (return) [ Between the Black Sea, the Bosphorus, and the River
+      Barbyses, which is deep in summer, and runs fifteen miles through
+      a flat meadow. Its communication with Europe and Constantinople
+      is by the stone bridge of the Blachernoe, which in successive
+      ages was restored by Justinian and Basil, (Gyllius de Bosphoro
+      Thracio, l. ii. c. 3. Ducange O. P. Christiana, l. v. c. 2, p,
+      179.)]
+
+      The same arms which threatened Europe might deliver Asia, and
+      repel the Turks from the neighboring shores of the Bosphorus and
+      Hellespont. The fair provinces from Nice to Antioch were the
+      recent patrimony of the Roman emperor; and his ancient and
+      perpetual claim still embraced the kingdoms of Syria and Egypt.
+      In his enthusiasm, Alexius indulged, or affected, the ambitious
+      hope of leading his new allies to subvert the thrones of the
+      East; but the calmer dictates of reason and temper dissuaded him
+      from exposing his royal person to the faith of unknown and
+      lawless Barbarians. His prudence, or his pride, was content with
+      extorting from the French princes an oath of homage and fidelity,
+      and a solemn promise, that they
+
+      would either restore, or hold, their Asiatic conquests as the
+      humble and loyal vassals of the Roman empire. Their independent
+      spirit was fired at the mention of this foreign and voluntary
+      servitude: they successively yielded to the dexterous application
+      of gifts and flattery; and the first proselytes became the most
+      eloquent and effectual missionaries to multiply the companions of
+      their shame. The pride of Hugh of Vermandois was soothed by the
+      honors of his captivity; and in the brother of the French king,
+      the example of submission was prevalent and weighty. In the mind
+      of Godfrey of Bouillon every human consideration was subordinate
+      to the glory of God and the success of the crusade. He had firmly
+      resisted the temptations of Bohemond and Raymond, who urged the
+      attack and conquest of Constantinople. Alexius esteemed his
+      virtues, deservedly named him the champion of the empire, and
+      dignified his homage with the filial name and the rights of
+      adoption. 67 The hateful Bohemond was received as a true and
+      ancient ally; and if the emperor reminded him of former
+      hostilities, it was only to praise the valor that he had
+      displayed, and the glory that he had acquired, in the fields of
+      Durazzo and Larissa. The son of Guiscard was lodged and
+      entertained, and served with Imperial pomp: one day, as he passed
+      through the gallery of the palace, a door was carelessly left
+      open to expose a pile of gold and silver, of silk and gems, of
+      curious and costly furniture, that was heaped, in seeming
+      disorder, from the floor to the roof of the chamber. “What
+      conquests,” exclaimed the ambitious miser, “might not be achieved
+      by the possession of such a treasure!”—“It is your own,” replied
+      a Greek attendant, who watched the motions of his soul; and
+      Bohemond, after some hesitation, condescended to accept this
+      magnificent present. The Norman was flattered by the assurance of
+      an independent principality; and Alexius eluded, rather than
+      denied, his daring demand of the office of great domestic, or
+      general of the East. The two Roberts, the son of the conqueror of
+      England, and the kinsmen of three queens, 68 bowed in their turn
+      before the Byzantine throne. A private letter of Stephen of
+      Chartres attests his admiration of the emperor, the most
+      excellent and liberal of men, who taught him to believe that he
+      was a favorite, and promised to educate and establish his
+      youngest son. In his southern province, the count of St. Giles
+      and Thoulouse faintly recognized the supremacy of the king of
+      France, a prince of a foreign nation and language. At the head of
+      a hundred thousand men, he declared that he was the soldier and
+      servant of Christ alone, and that the Greek might be satisfied
+      with an equal treaty of alliance and friendship. His obstinate
+      resistance enhanced the value and the price of his submission;
+      and he shone, says the princess Anne, among the Barbarians, as
+      the sun amidst the stars of heaven. His disgust of the noise and
+      insolence of the French, his suspicions of the designs of
+      Bohemond, the emperor imparted to his faithful Raymond; and that
+      aged statesman might clearly discern, that however false in
+      friendship, he was sincere in his enmity. 69 The spirit of
+      chivalry was last subdued in the person of Tancred; and none
+      could deem themselves dishonored by the imitation of that gallant
+      knight. He disdained the gold and flattery of the Greek monarch;
+      assaulted in his presence an insolent patrician; escaped to Asia
+      in the habit of a private soldier; and yielded with a sigh to the
+      authority of Bohemond, and the interest of the Christian cause.
+      The best and most ostensible reason was the impossibility of
+      passing the sea and accomplishing their vow, without the license
+      and the vessels of Alexius; but they cherished a secret hope,
+      that as soon as they trod the continent of Asia, their swords
+      would obliterate their shame, and dissolve the engagement, which
+      on his side might not be very faithfully performed. The ceremony
+      of their homage was grateful to a people who had long since
+      considered pride as the substitute of power. High on his throne,
+      the emperor sat mute and immovable: his majesty was adored by the
+      Latin princes; and they submitted to kiss either his feet or his
+      knees, an indignity which their own writers are ashamed to
+      confess and unable to deny. 70
+
+      67 (return) [ There are two sorts of adoption, the one by arms,
+      the other by introducing the son between the shirt and skin of
+      his father. Ducange isur Joinville, (Diss. xxii. p. 270) supposes
+      Godfrey’s adoption to have been of the latter sort.]
+
+      68 (return) [ After his return, Robert of Flanders became the man
+      of the king of England, for a pension of four hundred marks. See
+      the first act in Rymer’s Foedera.]
+
+      69 (return) [ Sensit vetus regnandi, falsos in amore, odia non
+      fingere. Tacit. vi. 44.]
+
+      70 (return) [ The proud historians of the crusades slide and
+      stumble over this humiliating step. Yet, since the heroes knelt
+      to salute the emperor, as he sat motionless on his throne, it is
+      clear that they must have kissed either his feet or knees. It is
+      only singular, that Anna should not have amply supplied the
+      silence or ambiguity of the Latins. The abasement of their
+      princes would have added a fine chapter to the Ceremoniale Aulae
+      Byzantinae.]
+
+      Private or public interest suppressed the murmurs of the dukes
+      and counts; but a French baron (he is supposed to be Robert of
+      Paris 71 presumed to ascend the throne, and to place himself by
+      the side of Alexius. The sage reproof of Baldwin provoked him to
+      exclaim, in his barbarous idiom, “Who is this rustic, that keeps
+      his seat, while so many valiant captains are standing round him?”
+      The emperor maintained his silence, dissembled his indignation,
+      and questioned his interpreter concerning the meaning of the
+      words, which he partly suspected from the universal language of
+      gesture and countenance. Before the departure of the pilgrims, he
+      endeavored to learn the name and condition of the audacious
+      baron. “I am a Frenchman,” replied Robert, “of the purest and
+      most ancient nobility of my country. All that I know is, that
+      there is a church in my neighborhood, 72 the resort of those who
+      are desirous of approving their valor in single combat. Till an
+      enemy appears, they address their prayers to God and his saints.
+      That church I have frequently visited. But never have I found an
+      antagonist who dared to accept my defiance.” Alexius dismissed
+      the challenger with some prudent advice for his conduct in the
+      Turkish warfare; and history repeats with pleasure this lively
+      example of the manners of his age and country.
+
+      71 (return) [ He called himself (see Alexias, l. x. p. 301.) What
+      a title of noblesse of the eleventh century, if any one could now
+      prove his inheritance! Anna relates, with visible pleasure, that
+      the swelling Barbarian, was killed, or wounded, after fighting in
+      the front in the battle of Dorylaeum, (l. xi. p. 317.) This
+      circumstance may justify the suspicion of Ducange, (Not. p. 362,)
+      that he was no other than Robert of Paris, of the district most
+      peculiarly styled the Duchy or Island of France, (L’Isle de
+      France.)]
+
+      72 (return) [ With the same penetration, Ducange discovers his
+      church to be that of St. Drausus, or Drosin, of Soissons, quem
+      duello dimicaturi solent invocare: pugiles qui ad memoriam ejus
+      (his tomb) pernoctant invictos reddit, ut et de Burgundia et
+      Italia tali necessitate confugiatur ad eum. Joan. Sariberiensis,
+      epist. 139.]
+
+      The conquest of Asia was undertaken and achieved by Alexander,
+      with thirty-five thousand Macedonians and Greeks; 73 and his best
+      hope was in the strength and discipline of his phalanx of
+      infantry. The principal force of the crusaders consisted in their
+      cavalry; and when that force was mustered in the plains of
+      Bithynia, the knights and their martial attendants on horseback
+      amounted to one hundred thousand fighting men, completely armed
+      with the helmet and coat of mail. The value of these soldiers
+      deserved a strict and authentic account; and the flower of
+      European chivalry might furnish, in a first effort, this
+      formidable body of heavy horse. A part of the infantry might be
+      enrolled for the service of scouts, pioneers, and archers; but
+      the promiscuous crowd were lost in their own disorder; and we
+      depend not on the eyes and knowledge, but on the belief and
+      fancy, of a chaplain of Count Baldwin, 74 in the estimate of six
+      hundred thousand pilgrims able to bear arms, besides the priests
+      and monks, the women and children of the Latin camp. The reader
+      starts; and before he is recovered from his surprise, I shall
+      add, on the same testimony, that if all who took the cross had
+      accomplished their vow, above six millions would have migrated
+      from Europe to Asia. Under this oppression of faith, I derive
+      some relief from a more sagacious and thinking writer, 75 who,
+      after the same review of the cavalry, accuses the credulity of
+      the priest of Chartres, and even doubts whether the Cisalpine
+      regions (in the geography of a Frenchman) were sufficient to
+      produce and pour forth such incredible multitudes. The coolest
+      scepticism will remember, that of these religious volunteers
+      great numbers never beheld Constantinople and Nice. Of enthusiasm
+      the influence is irregular and transient: many were detained at
+      home by reason or cowardice, by poverty or weakness; and many
+      were repulsed by the obstacles of the way, the more insuperable
+      as they were unforeseen, to these ignorant fanatics. The savage
+      countries of Hungary and Bulgaria were whitened with their bones:
+      their vanguard was cut in pieces by the Turkish sultan; and the
+      loss of the first adventure, by the sword, or climate, or
+      fatigue, has already been stated at three hundred thousand men.
+      Yet the myriads that survived, that marched, that pressed
+      forwards on the holy pilgrimage, were a subject of astonishment
+      to themselves and to the Greeks. The copious energy of her
+      language sinks under the efforts of the princess Anne: 76 the
+      images of locusts, of leaves and flowers, of the sands of the
+      sea, or the stars of heaven, imperfectly represent what she had
+      seen and heard; and the daughter of Alexius exclaims, that Europe
+      was loosened from its foundations, and hurled against Asia. The
+      ancient hosts of Darius and Xerxes labor under the same doubt of
+      a vague and indefinite magnitude; but I am inclined to believe,
+      that a larger number has never been contained within the lines of
+      a single camp, than at the siege of Nice, the first operation of
+      the Latin princes. Their motives, their characters, and their
+      arms, have been already displayed. Of their troops the most
+      numerous portion were natives of France: the Low Countries, the
+      banks of the Rhine, and Apulia, sent a powerful reenforcement:
+      some bands of adventurers were drawn from Spain, Lombardy, and
+      England; 77 and from the distant bogs and mountains of Ireland or
+      Scotland 78 issued some naked and savage fanatics, ferocious at
+      home but unwarlike abroad. Had not superstition condemned the
+      sacrilegious prudence of depriving the poorest or weakest
+      Christian of the merit of the pilgrimage, the useless crowd, with
+      mouths but without hands, might have been stationed in the Greek
+      empire, till their companions had opened and secured the way of
+      the Lord. A small remnant of the pilgrims, who passed the
+      Bosphorus, was permitted to visit the holy sepulchre. Their
+      northern constitution was scorched by the rays, and infected by
+      the vapors, of a Syrian sun. They consumed, with heedless
+      prodigality, their stores of water and provision: their numbers
+      exhausted the inland country: the sea was remote, the Greeks were
+      unfriendly, and the Christians of every sect fled before the
+      voracious and cruel rapine of their brethren. In the dire
+      necessity of famine, they sometimes roasted and devoured the
+      flesh of their infant or adult captives. Among the Turks and
+      Saracens, the idolaters of Europe were rendered more odious by
+      the name and reputation of Cannibals; the spies, who introduced
+      themselves into the kitchen of Bohemond, were shown several human
+      bodies turning on the spit: and the artful Norman encouraged a
+      report, which increased at the same time the abhorrence and the
+      terror of the infidels. 79
+
+      73 (return) [ There is some diversity on the numbers of his army;
+      but no authority can be compared with that of Ptolemy, who states
+      it at five thousand horse and thirty thousand foot, (see Usher’s
+      Annales, p 152.)]
+
+      74 (return) [ Fulcher. Carnotensis, p. 387. He enumerates
+      nineteen nations of different names and languages, (p. 389;) but
+      I do not clearly apprehend his difference between the Franci and
+      Galli, Itali and Apuli. Elsewhere (p. 385) he contemptuously
+      brands the deserters.]
+
+      75 (return) [ Guibert, p. 556. Yet even his gentle opposition
+      implies an immense multitude. By Urban II., in the fervor of his
+      zeal, it is only rated at 300,000 pilgrims, (epist. xvi. Concil.
+      tom. xii. p. 731.)]
+
+      76 (return) [ Alexias, l. x. p. 283, 305. Her fastidious delicacy
+      complains of their strange and inarticulate names; and indeed
+      there is scarcely one that she has not contrived to disfigure
+      with the proud ignorance so dear and familiar to a polished
+      people. I shall select only one example, Sangeles, for the count
+      of St. Giles.]
+
+      77 (return) [ William of Malmsbury (who wrote about the year
+      1130) has inserted in his history (l. iv. p. 130-154) a narrative
+      of the first crusade: but I wish that, instead of listening to
+      the tenue murmur which had passed the British ocean, (p. 143,) he
+      had confined himself to the numbers, families, and adventures of
+      his countrymen. I find in Dugdale, that an English Norman,
+      Stephen earl of Albemarle and Holdernesse, led the rear-guard
+      with Duke Robert, at the battle of Antioch, (Baronage, part i. p.
+      61.)]
+
+      78 (return) [ Videres Scotorum apud se ferocium alias imbellium
+      cuneos, (Guibert, p. 471;) the crus intectum and hispida chlamys,
+      may suit the Highlanders; but the finibus uliginosis may rather
+      apply to the Irish bogs. William of Malmsbury expressly mentions
+      the Welsh and Scots, &c., (l. iv. p. 133,) who quitted, the
+      former venatiorem, the latter familiaritatem pulicum.]
+
+      79 (return) [ This cannibal hunger, sometimes real, more
+      frequently an artifice or a lie, may be found in Anna Comnena,
+      (Alexias, l. x. p. 288,) Guibert, (p. 546,) Radulph. Cadom., (c.
+      97.) The stratagem is related by the author of the Gesta
+      Francorum, the monk Robert Baldric, and Raymond des Agiles, in
+      the siege and famine of Antioch.]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LVIII: The First Crusade.—Part IV.
+
+      I have expiated with pleasure on the first steps of the
+      crusaders, as they paint the manners and character of Europe: but
+      I shall abridge the tedious and uniform narrative of their blind
+      achievements, which were performed by strength and are described
+      by ignorance. From their first station in the neighborhood of
+      Nicomedia, they advanced in successive divisions; passed the
+      contracted limit of the Greek empire; opened a road through the
+      hills, and commenced, by the siege of his capital, their pious
+      warfare against the Turkish sultan. His kingdom of Roum extended
+      from the Hellespont to the confines of Syria, and barred the
+      pilgrimage of Jerusalem, his name was Kilidge-Arslan, or Soliman,
+      80 of the race of Seljuk, and son of the first conqueror; and in
+      the defence of a land which the Turks considered as their own, he
+      deserved the praise of his enemies, by whom alone he is known to
+      posterity. Yielding to the first impulse of the torrent, he
+      deposited his family and treasure in Nice; retired to the
+      mountains with fifty thousand horse; and twice descended to
+      assault the camps or quarters of the Christian besiegers, which
+      formed an imperfect circle of above six miles. The lofty and
+      solid walls of Nice were covered by a deep ditch, and flanked by
+      three hundred and seventy towers; and on the verge of
+      Christendom, the Moslems were trained in arms, and inflamed by
+      religion. Before this city, the French princes occupied their
+      stations, and prosecuted their attacks without correspondence or
+      subordination: emulation prompted their valor; but their valor
+      was sullied by cruelty, and their emulation degenerated into envy
+      and civil discord. In the siege of Nice, the arts and engines of
+      antiquity were employed by the Latins; the mine and the
+      battering-ram, the tortoise, and the belfrey or movable turret,
+      artificial fire, and the catapult and balist, the sling, and the
+      crossbow for the casting of stones and darts. 81 In the space of
+      seven weeks much labor and blood were expended, and some
+      progress, especially by Count Raymond, was made on the side of
+      the besiegers. But the Turks could protract their resistance and
+      secure their escape, as long as they were masters of the Lake 82
+      Ascanius, which stretches several miles to the westward of the
+      city. The means of conquest were supplied by the prudence and
+      industry of Alexius; a great number of boats was transported on
+      sledges from the sea to the lake; they were filled with the most
+      dexterous of his archers; the flight of the sultana was
+      intercepted; Nice was invested by land and water; and a Greek
+      emissary persuaded the inhabitants to accept his master’s
+      protection, and to save themselves, by a timely surrender, from
+      the rage of the savages of Europe. In the moment of victory, or
+      at least of hope, the crusaders, thirsting for blood and plunder,
+      were awed by the Imperial banner that streamed from the citadel;
+      821 and Alexius guarded with jealous vigilance this important
+      conquest. The murmurs of the chiefs were stifled by honor or
+      interest; and after a halt of nine days, they directed their
+      march towards Phrygia under the guidance of a Greek general, whom
+      they suspected of a secret connivance with the sultan. The
+      consort and the principal servants of Soliman had been honorably
+      restored without ransom; and the emperor’s generosity to the
+      miscreants 83 was interpreted as treason to the Christian cause.
+
+      80 (return) [ His Mussulman appellation of Soliman is used by the
+      Latins, and his character is highly embellished by Tasso. His
+      Turkish name of Kilidge-Arslan (A. H. 485-500, A.D. 1192-1206.
+      See De Guignes’s Tables, tom. i. p. 245) is employed by the
+      Orientals, and with some corruption by the Greeks; but little
+      more than his name can be found in the Mahometan writers, who are
+      dry and sulky on the subject of the first crusade, (De Guignes,
+      tom. iii. p. ii. p. 10-30.) * Note: See note, page 556. Soliman
+      and Kilidge-Arslan were father and son—M.]
+
+      81 (return) [ On the fortifications, engines, and sieges of the
+      middle ages, see Muratori, (Antiquitat. Italiae, tom. ii.
+      dissert. xxvi. p. 452-524.) The belfredus, from whence our
+      belfrey, was the movable tower of the ancients, (Ducange, tom. i.
+      p. 608.)]
+
+      82 (return) [ I cannot forbear remarking the resemblance between
+      the siege and lake of Nice, with the operations of Hernan Cortez
+      before Mexico. See Dr. Robertson, History of America, l. v.]
+
+      821 (return) [ See Anna Comnena.—M.]
+
+      83 (return) [ Mecreant, a word invented by the French crusaders,
+      and confined in that language to its primitive sense. It should
+      seem, that the zeal of our ancestors boiled higher, and that they
+      branded every unbeliever as a rascal. A similar prejudice still
+      lurks in the minds of many who think themselves Christians.]
+
+      Soliman was rather provoked than dismayed by the loss of his
+      capital: he admonished his subjects and allies of this strange
+      invasion of the Western Barbarians; the Turkish emirs obeyed the
+      call of loyalty or religion; the Turkman hordes encamped round
+      his standard; and his whole force is loosely stated by the
+      Christians at two hundred, or even three hundred and sixty
+      thousand horse. Yet he patiently waited till they had left behind
+      them the sea and the Greek frontier; and hovering on the flanks,
+      observed their careless and confident progress in two columns
+      beyond the view of each other. Some miles before they could reach
+      Dorylaeum in Phrygia, the left, and least numerous, division was
+      surprised, and attacked, and almost oppressed, by the Turkish
+      cavalry. 84 The heat of the weather, the clouds of arrows, and
+      the barbarous onset, overwhelmed the crusaders; they lost their
+      order and confidence, and the fainting fight was sustained by the
+      personal valor, rather than by the military conduct, of Bohemond,
+      Tancred, and Robert of Normandy. They were revived by the welcome
+      banners of Duke Godfrey, who flew to their succor, with the count
+      of Vermandois, and sixty thousand horse; and was followed by
+      Raymond of Tholouse, the bishop of Puy, and the remainder of the
+      sacred army. Without a moment’s pause, they formed in new order,
+      and advanced to a second battle. They were received with equal
+      resolution; and, in their common disdain for the unwarlike people
+      of Greece and Asia, it was confessed on both sides, that the
+      Turks and the Franks were the only nations entitled to the
+      appellation of soldiers. 85 Their encounter was varied, and
+      balanced by the contrast of arms and discipline; of the direct
+      charge, and wheeling evolutions; of the couched lance, and the
+      brandished javelin; of a weighty broadsword, and a crooked sabre;
+      of cumbrous armor, and thin flowing robes; and of the long Tartar
+      bow, and the arbalist or crossbow, a deadly weapon, yet unknown
+      to the Orientals. 86 As long as the horses were fresh, and the
+      quivers full, Soliman maintained the advantage of the day; and
+      four thousand Christians were pierced by the Turkish arrows. In
+      the evening, swiftness yielded to strength: on either side, the
+      numbers were equal or at least as great as any ground could hold,
+      or any generals could manage; but in turning the hills, the last
+      division of Raymond and his provincials was led, perhaps without
+      design on the rear of an exhausted enemy; and the long contest
+      was determined. Besides a nameless and unaccounted multitude,
+      three thousand Pagan knights were slain in the battle and
+      pursuit; the camp of Soliman was pillaged; and in the variety of
+      precious spoil, the curiosity of the Latins was amused with
+      foreign arms and apparel, and the new aspect of dromedaries and
+      camels. The importance of the victory was proved by the hasty
+      retreat of the sultan: reserving ten thousand guards of the
+      relics of his army, Soliman evacuated the kingdom of Roum, and
+      hastened to implore the aid, and kindle the resentment, of his
+      Eastern brethren. In a march of five hundred miles, the crusaders
+      traversed the Lesser Asia, through a wasted land and deserted
+      towns, without finding either a friend or an enemy. The
+      geographer 87 may trace the position of Dorylaeum, Antioch of
+      Pisidia, Iconium, Archelais, and Germanicia, and may compare
+      those classic appellations with the modern names of Eskishehr the
+      old city, Akshehr the white city, Cogni, Erekli, and Marash. As
+      the pilgrims passed over a desert, where a draught of water is
+      exchanged for silver, they were tormented by intolerable thirst;
+      and on the banks of the first rivulet, their haste and
+      intemperance were still more pernicious to the disorderly throng.
+      They climbed with toil and danger the steep and slippery sides of
+      Mount Taurus; many of the soldiers cast away their arms to secure
+      their footsteps; and had not terror preceded their van, the long
+      and trembling file might have been driven down the precipice by a
+      handful of resolute enemies. Two of their most respectable
+      chiefs, the duke of Lorraine and the count of Tholouse, were
+      carried in litters: Raymond was raised, as it is said by miracle,
+      from a hopeless malady; and Godfrey had been torn by a bear, as
+      he pursued that rough and perilous chase in the mountains of
+      Pisidia.
+
+      84 (return) [ Baronius has produced a very doubtful letter to his
+      brother Roger, (A.D. 1098, No. 15.) The enemies consisted of
+      Medes, Persians, Chaldeans: be it so. The first attack was cum
+      nostro incommodo; true and tender. But why Godfrey of Bouillon
+      and Hugh brothers! Tancred is styled filius; of whom? Certainly
+      not of Roger, nor of Bohemond.]
+
+      85 (return) [ Verumtamen dicunt se esse de Francorum generatione;
+      et quia nullus homo naturaliter debet esse miles nisi Franci et
+      Turci, (Gesta Francorum, p. 7.) The same community of blood and
+      valor is attested by Archbishop Baldric, (p. 99.)]
+
+      86 (return) [ Balista, Balestra, Arbalestre. See Muratori, Antiq.
+      tom. ii. p. 517-524. Ducange, Gloss. Latin. tom. i. p. 531, 532.
+      In the time of Anna Comnena, this weapon, which she describes
+      under the name of izangra, was unknown in the East, (l. x. p.
+      291.) By a humane inconsistency, the pope strove to prohibit it
+      in Christian wars.]
+
+      87 (return) [ The curious reader may compare the classic learning
+      of Cellarius and the geographical science of D’Anville. William
+      of Tyre is the only historian of the crusades who has any
+      knowledge of antiquity; and M. Otter trod almost in the footsteps
+      of the Franks from Constantinople to Antioch, (Voyage en Turquie
+      et en Perse, tom. i. p. 35-88.) * Note: The journey of Col.
+      Macdonald Kinneir in Asia Minor throws considerable light on the
+      geography of this march of the crusaders.—M.]
+
+      To improve the general consternation, the cousin of Bohemond and
+      the brother of Godfrey were detached from the main army with
+      their respective squadrons of five, and of seven, hundred
+      knights. They overran in a rapid career the hills and sea-coast
+      of Cilicia, from Cogni to the Syrian gates: the Norman standard
+      was first planted on the walls of Tarsus and Malmistra; but the
+      proud injustice of Baldwin at length provoked the patient and
+      generous Italian; and they turned their consecrated swords
+      against each other in a private and profane quarrel. Honor was
+      the motive, and fame the reward, of Tancred; but fortune smiled
+      on the more selfish enterprise of his rival. 88 He was called to
+      the assistance of a Greek or Armenian tyrant, who had been
+      suffered under the Turkish yoke to reign over the Christians of
+      Edessa. Baldwin accepted the character of his son and champion:
+      but no sooner was he introduced into the city, than he inflamed
+      the people to the massacre of his father, occupied the throne and
+      treasure, extended his conquests over the hills of Armenia and
+      the plain of Mesopotamia, and founded the first principality of
+      the Franks or Latins, which subsisted fifty-four years beyond the
+      Euphrates. 89
+
+      88 (return) [ This detached conquest of Edessa is best
+      represented by Fulcherius Carnotensis, or of Chartres, (in the
+      collections of Bongarsius Duchesne, and Martenne,) the valiant
+      chaplain of Count Baldwin (Esprit des Croisades, tom. i. p. 13,
+      14.) In the disputes of that prince with Tancred, his partiality
+      is encountered by the partiality of Radulphus Cadomensis, the
+      soldier and historian of the gallant marquis.]
+
+      89 (return) [ See de Guignes, Hist. des Huns, tom. i. p. 456.]
+
+      Before the Franks could enter Syria, the summer, and even the
+      autumn, were completely wasted: the siege of Antioch, or the
+      separation and repose of the army during the winter season, was
+      strongly debated in their council: the love of arms and the holy
+      sepulchre urged them to advance; and reason perhaps was on the
+      side of resolution, since every hour of delay abates the fame and
+      force of the invader, and multiplies the resources of defensive
+      war. The capital of Syria was protected by the River Orontes; and
+      the iron bridge, 891 of nine arches, derives its name from the
+      massy gates of the two towers which are constructed at either
+      end. They were opened by the sword of the duke of Normandy: his
+      victory gave entrance to three hundred thousand crusaders, an
+      account which may allow some scope for losses and desertion, but
+      which clearly detects much exaggeration in the review of Nice. In
+      the description of Antioch, 90 it is not easy to define a middle
+      term between her ancient magnificence, under the successors of
+      Alexander and Augustus, and the modern aspect of Turkish
+      desolation. The Tetrapolis, or four cities, if they retained
+      their name and position, must have left a large vacuity in a
+      circumference of twelve miles; and that measure, as well as the
+      number of four hundred towers, are not perfectly consistent with
+      the five gates, so often mentioned in the history of the siege.
+      Yet Antioch must have still flourished as a great and populous
+      capital. At the head of the Turkish emirs, Baghisian, a veteran
+      chief, commanded in the place: his garrison was composed of six
+      or seven thousand horse, and fifteen or twenty thousand foot: one
+      hundred thousand Moslems are said to have fallen by the sword;
+      and their numbers were probably inferior to the Greeks,
+      Armenians, and Syrians, who had been no more than fourteen years
+      the slaves of the house of Seljuk. From the remains of a solid
+      and stately wall, it appears to have arisen to the height of
+      threescore feet in the valleys; and wherever less art and labor
+      had been applied, the ground was supposed to be defended by the
+      river, the morass, and the mountains. Notwithstanding these
+      fortifications, the city had been repeatedly taken by the
+      Persians, the Arabs, the Greeks, and the Turks; so large a
+      circuit must have yielded many pervious points of attack; and in
+      a siege that was formed about the middle of October, the vigor of
+      the execution could alone justify the boldness of the attempt.
+      Whatever strength and valor could perform in the field was
+      abundantly discharged by the champions of the cross: in the
+      frequent occasions of sallies, of forage, of the attack and
+      defence of convoys, they were often victorious; and we can only
+      complain, that their exploits are sometimes enlarged beyond the
+      scale of probability and truth. The sword of Godfrey 91 divided a
+      Turk from the shoulder to the haunch; and one half of the infidel
+      fell to the ground, while the other was transported by his horse
+      to the city gate. As Robert of Normandy rode against his
+      antagonist, “I devote thy head,” he piously exclaimed, “to the
+      daemons of hell;” and that head was instantly cloven to the
+      breast by the resistless stroke of his descending falchion. But
+      the reality or the report of such gigantic prowess 92 must have
+      taught the Moslems to keep within their walls: and against those
+      walls of earth or stone, the sword and the lance were unavailing
+      weapons. In the slow and successive labors of a siege, the
+      crusaders were supine and ignorant, without skill to contrive, or
+      money to purchase, or industry to use, the artificial engines and
+      implements of assault. In the conquest of Nice, they had been
+      powerfully assisted by the wealth and knowledge of the Greek
+      emperor: his absence was poorly supplied by some Genoese and
+      Pisan vessels, that were attracted by religion or trade to the
+      coast of Syria: the stores were scanty, the return precarious,
+      and the communication difficult and dangerous. Indolence or
+      weakness had prevented the Franks from investing the entire
+      circuit; and the perpetual freedom of two gates relieved the
+      wants and recruited the garrison of the city. At the end of seven
+      months, after the ruin of their cavalry, and an enormous loss by
+      famine, desertion and fatigue, the progress of the crusaders was
+      imperceptible, and their success remote, if the Latin Ulysses,
+      the artful and ambitious Bohemond, had not employed the arms of
+      cunning and deceit. The Christians of Antioch were numerous and
+      discontented: Phirouz, a Syrian renegado, had acquired the favor
+      of the emir and the command of three towers; and the merit of his
+      repentance disguised to the Latins, and perhaps to himself, the
+      foul design of perfidy and treason. A secret correspondence, for
+      their mutual interest, was soon established between Phirouz and
+      the prince of Tarento; and Bohemond declared in the council of
+      the chiefs, that he could deliver the city into their hands. 921
+      But he claimed the sovereignty of Antioch as the reward of his
+      service; and the proposal which had been rejected by the envy,
+      was at length extorted from the distress, of his equals. The
+      nocturnal surprise was executed by the French and Norman princes,
+      who ascended in person the scaling-ladders that were thrown from
+      the walls: their new proselyte, after the murder of his too
+      scrupulous brother, embraced and introduced the servants of
+      Christ; the army rushed through the gates; and the Moslems soon
+      found, that although mercy was hopeless, resistance was impotent.
+
+      But the citadel still refused to surrender; and the victims
+      themselves were speedily encompassed and besieged by the
+      innumerable forces of Kerboga, prince of Mosul, who, with
+      twenty-eight Turkish emirs, advanced to the deliverance of
+      Antioch. Five-and-twenty days the Christians spent on the verge
+      of destruction; and the proud lieutenant of the caliph and the
+      sultan left them only the choice of servitude or death. 93 In
+      this extremity they collected the relics of their strength,
+      sallied from the town, and in a single memorable day, annihilated
+      or dispersed the host of Turks and Arabians, which they might
+      safely report to have consisted of six hundred thousand men. 94
+      Their supernatural allies I shall proceed to consider: the human
+      causes of the victory of Antioch were the fearless despair of the
+      Franks; and the surprise, the discord, perhaps the errors, of
+      their unskilful and presumptuous adversaries. The battle is
+      described with as much disorder as it was fought; but we may
+      observe the tent of Kerboga, a movable and spacious palace,
+      enriched with the luxury of Asia, and capable of holding above
+      two thousand persons; we may distinguish his three thousand
+      guards, who were cased, the horse as well as the men, in complete
+      steel.
+
+      891 (return) [ This bridge was over the Ifrin, not the Orontes,
+      at a distance of three leagues from Antioch. See Wilken, vol. i.
+      p. 172.—M.]
+
+      90 (return) [ For Antioch, see Pocock, (Description of the East,
+      vol. ii. p. i. p. 188-193,) Otter, (Voyage en Turquie, &c., tom.
+      i. p. 81, &c.,) the Turkish geographer, (in Otter’s notes,) the
+      Index Geographicus of Schultens, (ad calcem Bohadin. Vit.
+      Saladin.,) and Abulfeda, (Tabula Syriae, p. 115, 116, vers.
+      Reiske.)]
+
+      91 (return) [ Ensem elevat, eumque a sinistra parte scapularum,
+      tanta virtute intorsit, ut quod pectus medium disjunxit spinam et
+      vitalia interrupit; et sic lubricus ensis super crus dextrum
+      integer exivit: sicque caput integrum cum dextra parte corporis
+      immersit gurgite, partemque quae equo praesidebat remisit
+      civitati, (Robert. Mon. p. 50.) Cujus ense trajectus, Turcus duo
+      factus est Turci: ut inferior alter in urbem equitaret, alter
+      arcitenens in flumine nataret, (Radulph. Cadom. c. 53, p. 304.)
+      Yet he justifies the deed by the stupendis viribus of Godfrey;
+      and William of Tyre covers it by obstupuit populus facti novitate
+      .... mirabilis, (l. v. c. 6, p. 701.) Yet it must not have
+      appeared incredible to the knights of that age.]
+
+      92 (return) [ See the exploits of Robert, Raymond, and the modest
+      Tancred who imposed silence on his squire, (Randulph. Cadom. c.
+      53.)]
+
+      921 (return) [ See the interesting extract from Kemaleddin’s
+      History of Aleppo in Wilken, preface to vol. ii. p. 36. Phirouz,
+      or Azzerrad, the breastplate maker, had been pillaged and put to
+      the torture by Bagi Sejan, the prince of Antioch.—M.]
+
+      93 (return) [ After mentioning the distress and humble petition
+      of the Franks, Abulpharagius adds the haughty reply of Codbuka,
+      or Kerboga, “Non evasuri estis nisi per gladium,” (Dynast. p.
+      242.)]
+
+      94 (return) [ In describing the host of Kerboga, most of the
+      Latin historians, the author of the Gesta, (p. 17,) Robert
+      Monachus, (p. 56,) Baldric, (p. 111,) Fulcherius Carnotensis, (p.
+      392,) Guibert, (p. 512,) William of Tyre, (l. vi. c. 3, p. 714,)
+      Bernard Thesaurarius, (c. 39, p. 695,) are content with the vague
+      expressions of infinita multitudo, immensum agmen, innumerae
+      copiae or gentes, which correspond with Anna Comnena, (Alexias,
+      l. xi. p. 318-320.) The numbers of the Turks are fixed by Albert
+      Aquensis at 200,000, (l. iv. c. 10, p. 242,) and by Radulphus
+      Cadomensis at 400,000 horse, (c. 72, p. 309.)]
+
+      In the eventful period of the siege and defence of Antioch, the
+      crusaders were alternately exalted by victory or sunk in despair;
+      either swelled with plenty or emaciated with hunger. A
+      speculative reasoner might suppose, that their faith had a strong
+      and serious influence on their practice; and that the soldiers of
+      the cross, the deliverers of the holy sepulchre, prepared
+      themselves by a sober and virtuous life for the daily
+      contemplation of martyrdom. Experience blows away this charitable
+      illusion; and seldom does the history of profane war display such
+      scenes of intemperance and prostitution as were exhibited under
+      the walls of Antioch. The grove of Daphne no longer flourished;
+      but the Syrian air was still impregnated with the same vices; the
+      Christians were seduced by every temptation 95 that nature either
+      prompts or reprobates; the authority of the chiefs was despised;
+      and sermons and edicts were alike fruitless against those
+      scandalous disorders, not less pernicious to military discipline,
+      than repugnant to evangelic purity. In the first days of the
+      siege and the possession of Antioch, the Franks consumed with
+      wanton and thoughtless prodigality the frugal subsistence of
+      weeks and months: the desolate country no longer yielded a
+      supply; and from that country they were at length excluded by the
+      arms of the besieging Turks. Disease, the faithful companion of
+      want, was envenomed by the rains of the winter, the summer heats,
+      unwholesome food, and the close imprisonment of multitudes. The
+      pictures of famine and pestilence are always the same, and always
+      disgustful; and our imagination may suggest the nature of their
+      sufferings and their resources. The remains of treasure or spoil
+      were eagerly lavished in the purchase of the vilest nourishment;
+      and dreadful must have been the calamities of the poor, since,
+      after paying three marks of silver for a goat and fifteen for a
+      lean camel, 96 the count of Flanders was reduced to beg a dinner,
+      and Duke Godfrey to borrow a horse. Sixty thousand horse had been
+      reviewed in the camp: before the end of the siege they were
+      diminished to two thousand, and scarcely two hundred fit for
+      service could be mustered on the day of battle. Weakness of body
+      and terror of mind extinguished the ardent enthusiasm of the
+      pilgrims; and every motive of honor and religion was subdued by
+      the desire of life. 97 Among the chiefs, three heroes may be
+      found without fear or reproach: Godfrey of Bouillon was supported
+      by his magnanimous piety; Bohemond by ambition and interest; and
+      Tancred declared, in the true spirit of chivalry, that as long as
+      he was at the head of forty knights, he would never relinquish
+      the enterprise of Palestine. But the count of Tholouse and
+      Provence was suspected of a voluntary indisposition; the duke of
+      Normandy was recalled from the sea-shore by the censures of the
+      church: Hugh the Great, though he led the vanguard of the battle,
+      embraced an ambiguous opportunity of returning to France and
+      Stephen, count of Chartres, basely deserted the standard which he
+      bore, and the council in which he presided. The soldiers were
+      discouraged by the flight of William, viscount of Melun, surnamed
+      the Carpenter, from the weighty strokes of his axe; and the
+      saints were scandalized by the fall 971 of Peter the Hermit, who,
+      after arming Europe against Asia, attempted to escape from the
+      penance of a necessary fast. Of the multitude of recreant
+      warriors, the names (says an historian) are blotted from the book
+      of life; and the opprobrious epithet of the rope-dancers was
+      applied to the deserters who dropped in the night from the walls
+      of Antioch. The emperor Alexius, 98 who seemed to advance to the
+      succor of the Latins, was dismayed by the assurance of their
+      hopeless condition. They expected their fate in silent despair;
+      oaths and punishments were tried without effect; and to rouse the
+      soldiers to the defence of the walls, it was found necessary to
+      set fire to their quarters.
+
+      95 (return) [ See the tragic and scandalous fate of an archdeacon
+      of royal birth, who was slain by the Turks as he reposed in an
+      orchard, playing at dice with a Syrian concubine.]
+
+      96 (return) [ The value of an ox rose from five solidi, (fifteen
+      shillings,) at Christmas to two marks, (four pounds,) and
+      afterwards much higher; a kid or lamb, from one shilling to
+      eighteen of our present money: in the second famine, a loaf of
+      bread, or the head of an animal, sold for a piece of gold. More
+      examples might be produced; but it is the ordinary, not the
+      extraordinary, prices, that deserve the notice of the
+      philosopher.]
+
+      97 (return) [ Alli multi, quorum nomina non tenemus; quia, deleta
+      de libro vitae, praesenti operi non sunt inserenda, (Will. Tyr.
+      l. vi. c. 5, p. 715.) Guibert (p. 518, 523) attempts to excuse
+      Hugh the Great, and even Stephen of Chartres.]
+
+      971 (return) [ Peter fell during the siege: he went afterwards on
+      an embassy to Kerboga Wilken. vol. i. p. 217.—M.]
+
+      98 (return) [ See the progress of the crusade, the retreat of
+      Alexius, the victory of Antioch, and the conquest of Jerusalem,
+      in the Alexiad, l. xi. p. 317-327. Anna was so prone to
+      exaggeration, that she magnifies the exploits of the Latins.]
+
+      For their salvation and victory, they were indebted to the same
+      fanaticism which had led them to the brink of ruin. In such a
+      cause, and in such an army, visions, prophecies, and miracles,
+      were frequent and familiar. In the distress of Antioch, they were
+      repeated with unusual energy and success: St. Ambrose had assured
+      a pious ecclesiastic, that two years of trial must precede the
+      season of deliverance and grace; the deserters were stopped by
+      the presence and reproaches of Christ himself; the dead had
+      promised to arise and combat with their brethren; the Virgin had
+      obtained the pardon of their sins; and their confidence was
+      revived by a visible sign, the seasonable and splendid discovery
+      of the Holy Lance. The policy of their chiefs has on this
+      occasion been admired, and might surely be excused; but a pious
+      fraud is seldom produced by the cool conspiracy of many persons;
+      and a voluntary impostor might depend on the support of the wise
+      and the credulity of the people. Of the diocese of Marseilles,
+      there was a priest of low cunning and loose manners, and his name
+      was Peter Bartholemy. He presented himself at the door of the
+      council-chamber, to disclose an apparition of St. Andrew, which
+      had been thrice reiterated in his sleep with a dreadful menace,
+      if he presumed to suppress the commands of Heaven. “At Antioch,”
+      said the apostle, “in the church of my brother St. Peter, near
+      the high altar, is concealed the steel head of the lance that
+      pierced the side of our Redeemer. In three days that instrument
+      of eternal, and now of temporal, salvation, will be manifested to
+      his disciples. Search, and ye shall find: bear it aloft in
+      battle; and that mystic weapon shall penetrate the souls of the
+      miscreants.” The pope’s legate, the bishop of Puy, affected to
+      listen with coldness and distrust; but the revelation was eagerly
+      accepted by Count Raymond, whom his faithful subject, in the name
+      of the apostle, had chosen for the guardian of the holy lance.
+      The experiment was resolved; and on the third day after a due
+      preparation of prayer and fasting, the priest of Marseilles
+      introduced twelve trusty spectators, among whom were the count
+      and his chaplain; and the church doors were barred against the
+      impetuous multitude. The ground was opened in the appointed
+      place; but the workmen, who relieved each other, dug to the depth
+      of twelve feet without discovering the object of their search. In
+      the evening, when Count Raymond had withdrawn to his post, and
+      the weary assistants began to murmur, Bartholemy, in his shirt,
+      and without his shoes, boldly descended into the pit; the
+      darkness of the hour and of the place enabled him to secrete and
+      deposit the head of a Saracen lance; and the first sound, the
+      first gleam, of the steel was saluted with a devout rapture. The
+      holy lance was drawn from its recess, wrapped in a veil of silk
+      and gold, and exposed to the veneration of the crusaders; their
+      anxious suspense burst forth in a general shout of joy and hope,
+      and the desponding troops were again inflamed with the enthusiasm
+      of valor. Whatever had been the arts, and whatever might be the
+      sentiments of the chiefs, they skilfully improved this fortunate
+      revolution by every aid that discipline and devotion could
+      afford. The soldiers were dismissed to their quarters with an
+      injunction to fortify their minds and bodies for the approaching
+      conflict, freely to bestow their last pittance on themselves and
+      their horses, and to expect with the dawn of day the signal of
+      victory. On the festival of St. Peter and St. Paul, the gates of
+      Antioch were thrown open: a martial psalm, “Let the Lord arise,
+      and let his enemies be scattered!” was chanted by a procession of
+      priests and monks; the battle array was marshalled in twelve
+      divisions, in honor of the twelve apostles; and the holy lance,
+      in the absence of Raymond, was intrusted to the hands of his
+      chaplain. The influence of his relic or trophy, was felt by the
+      servants, and perhaps by the enemies, of Christ; 99 and its
+      potent energy was heightened by an accident, a stratagem, or a
+      rumor, of a miraculous complexion. Three knights, in white
+      garments and resplendent arms, either issued, or seemed to issue,
+      from the hills: the voice of Adhemar, the pope’s legate,
+      proclaimed them as the martyrs St. George, St. Theodore, and St.
+      Maurice: the tumult of battle allowed no time for doubt or
+      scrutiny; and the welcome apparition dazzled the eyes or the
+      imagination of a fanatic army. 991 In the season of danger and
+      triumph, the revelation of Bartholemy of Marseilles was
+      unanimously asserted; but as soon as the temporary service was
+      accomplished, the personal dignity and liberal arms which the
+      count of Tholouse derived from the custody of the holy lance,
+      provoked the envy, and awakened the reason, of his rivals. A
+      Norman clerk presumed to sift, with a philosophic spirit, the
+      truth of the legend, the circumstances of the discovery, and the
+      character of the prophet; and the pious Bohemond ascribed their
+      deliverance to the merits and intercession of Christ alone. For a
+      while, the Provincials defended their national palladium with
+      clamors and arms and new visions condemned to death and hell the
+      profane sceptics who presumed to scrutinize the truth and merit
+      of the discovery. The prevalence of incredulity compelled the
+      author to submit his life and veracity to the judgment of God. A
+      pile of dry fagots, four feet high and fourteen long, was erected
+      in the midst of the camp; the flames burnt fiercely to the
+      elevation of thirty cubits; and a narrow path of twelve inches
+      was left for the perilous trial. The unfortunate priest of
+      Marseilles traversed the fire with dexterity and speed; but the
+      thighs and belly were scorched by the intense heat; he expired
+      the next day; 992 and the logic of believing minds will pay some
+      regard to his dying protestations of innocence and truth. Some
+      efforts were made by the Provincials to substitute a cross, a
+      ring, or a tabernacle, in the place of the holy lance, which soon
+      vanished in contempt and oblivion. 100 Yet the revelation of
+      Antioch is gravely asserted by succeeding historians: and such is
+      the progress of credulity, that miracles most doubtful on the
+      spot, and at the moment, will be received with implicit faith at
+      a convenient distance of time and space.
+
+      99 (return) [ The Mahometan Aboulmahasen (apud De Guignes, tom.
+      ii. p. ii. p. 95) is more correct in his account of the holy
+      lance than the Christians, Anna Comnena and Abulpharagius: the
+      Greek princess confounds it with the nail of the cross, (l. xi.
+      p. 326;) the Jacobite primate, with St. Peter’s staff, (p. 242.)]
+
+      991 (return) [ The real cause of this victory appears to have
+      been the feud in Kerboga’s army Wilken, vol. ii. p. 40.—M.]
+
+      992 (return) [ The twelfth day after. He was much injured, and
+      his flesh torn off, from the ardor of pious congratulation with
+      which he was assailed by those who witnessed his escape, unhurt,
+      as it was first supposed. Wilken vol. i p. 263—M.]
+
+      100 (return) [ The two antagonists who express the most intimate
+      knowledge and the strongest conviction of the miracle, and of the
+      fraud, are Raymond des Agiles, and Radulphus Cadomensis, the one
+      attached to the count of Tholouse, the other to the Norman
+      prince. Fulcherius Carnotensis presumes to say, Audite fraudem et
+      non fraudem! and afterwards, Invenit lanceam, fallaciter
+      occultatam forsitan. The rest of the herd are loud and
+      strenuous.]
+
+      The prudence or fortune of the Franks had delayed their invasion
+      till the decline of the Turkish empire. 101 Under the manly
+      government of the three first sultans, the kingdoms of Asia were
+      united in peace and justice; and the innumerable armies which
+      they led in person were equal in courage, and superior in
+      discipline, to the Barbarians of the West. But at the time of the
+      crusade, the inheritance of Malek Shaw was disputed by his four
+      sons; their private ambition was insensible of the public danger;
+      and, in the vicissitudes of their fortune, the royal vassals were
+      ignorant, or regardless, of the true object of their allegiance.
+      The twenty-eight emirs who marched with the standard or Kerboga
+      were his rivals or enemies: their hasty levies were drawn from
+      the towns and tents of Mesopotamia and Syria; and the Turkish
+      veterans were employed or consumed in the civil wars beyond the
+      Tigris. The caliph of Egypt embraced this opportunity of weakness
+      and discord to recover his ancient possessions; and his sultan
+      Aphdal besieged Jerusalem and Tyre, expelled the children of
+      Ortok, and restored in Palestine the civil and ecclesiastical
+      authority of the Fatimites. 102 They heard with astonishment of
+      the vast armies of Christians that had passed from Europe to
+      Asia, and rejoiced in the sieges and battles which broke the
+      power of the Turks, the adversaries of their sect and monarchy.
+      But the same Christians were the enemies of the prophet; and from
+      the overthrow of Nice and Antioch, the motive of their
+      enterprise, which was gradually understood, would urge them
+      forwards to the banks of the Jordan, or perhaps of the Nile.
+
+      An intercourse of epistles and embassies, which rose and fell
+      with the events of war, was maintained between the throne of
+      Cairo and the camp of the Latins; and their adverse pride was the
+      result of ignorance and enthusiasm. The ministers of Egypt
+      declared in a haughty, or insinuated in a milder, tone, that
+      their sovereign, the true and lawful commander of the faithful,
+      had rescued Jerusalem from the Turkish yoke; and that the
+      pilgrims, if they would divide their numbers, and lay aside their
+      arms, should find a safe and hospitable reception at the
+      sepulchre of Jesus. In the belief of their lost condition, the
+      caliph Mostali despised their arms and imprisoned their deputies:
+      the conquest and victory of Antioch prompted him to solicit those
+      formidable champions with gifts of horses and silk robes, of
+      vases, and purses of gold and silver; and in his estimate of
+      their merit or power, the first place was assigned to Bohemond,
+      and the second to Godfrey. In either fortune, the answer of the
+      crusaders was firm and uniform: they disdained to inquire into
+      the private claims or possessions of the followers of Mahomet;
+      whatsoever was his name or nation, the usurper of Jerusalem was
+      their enemy; and instead of prescribing the mode and terms of
+      their pilgrimage, it was only by a timely surrender of the city
+      and province, their sacred right, that he could deserve their
+      alliance, or deprecate their impending and irresistible attack.
+      103
+
+      101 (return) [ See M. De Guignes, tom. ii. p. ii. p. 223, &c.;
+      and the articles of Barkidrok, Mohammed, Sangiar, in D’Herbelot.]
+
+      102 (return) [ The emir, or sultan, Aphdal, recovered Jerusalem
+      and Tyre, A. H. 489, (Renaudot, Hist. Patriarch. Alexandrin. p.
+      478. De Guignes, tom. i. p. 249, from Abulfeda and Ben Schounah.)
+      Jerusalem ante adventum vestrum recuperavimus, Turcos ejecimus,
+      say the Fatimite ambassadors]
+
+      103 (return) [ See the transactions between the caliph of Egypt
+      and the crusaders in William of Tyre (l. iv. c. 24, l. vi. c. 19)
+      and Albert Aquensis, (l. iii. c. 59,) who are more sensible of
+      their importance than the contemporary writers.]
+
+      Yet this attack, when they were within the view and reach of
+      their glorious prize, was suspended above ten months after the
+      defeat of Kerboga. The zeal and courage of the crusaders were
+      chilled in the moment of victory; and instead of marching to
+      improve the consternation, they hastily dispersed to enjoy the
+      luxury, of Syria. The causes of this strange delay may be found
+      in the want of strength and subordination. In the painful and
+      various service of Antioch, the cavalry was annihilated; many
+      thousands of every rank had been lost by famine, sickness, and
+      desertion: the same abuse of plenty had been productive of a
+      third famine; and the alternative of intemperance and distress
+      had generated a pestilence, which swept away above fifty thousand
+      of the pilgrims. Few were able to command, and none were willing
+      to obey; the domestic feuds, which had been stifled by common
+      fear, were again renewed in acts, or at least in sentiments, of
+      hostility; the fortune of Baldwin and Bohemond excited the envy
+      of their companions; the bravest knights were enlisted for the
+      defence of their new principalities; and Count Raymond exhausted
+      his troops and treasures in an idle expedition into the heart of
+      Syria. 1031 The winter was consumed in discord and disorder; a
+      sense of honor and religion was rekindled in the spring; and the
+      private soldiers, less susceptible of ambition and jealousy,
+      awakened with angry clamors the indolence of their chiefs. In the
+      month of May, the relics of this mighty host proceeded from
+      Antioch to Laodicea: about forty thousand Latins, of whom no more
+      than fifteen hundred horse, and twenty thousand foot, were
+      capable of immediate service. Their easy march was continued
+      between Mount Libanus and the sea-shore: their wants were
+      liberally supplied by the coasting traders of Genoa and Pisa; and
+      they drew large contributions from the emirs of Tripoli, Tyre,
+      Sidon, Acre, and Caesarea, who granted a free passage, and
+      promised to follow the example of Jerusalem. From Caesarea they
+      advanced into the midland country; their clerks recognized the
+      sacred geography of Lydda, Ramla, Emmaus, and Bethlem, 1032 and
+      as soon as they descried the holy city, the crusaders forgot
+      their toils and claimed their reward. 104
+
+      1031 (return) [ This is not quite correct: he took Marra on his
+      road. His excursions were partly to obtain provisions for the
+      army and fodder for the horses Wilken, vol. i. p. 226.—M.]
+
+      1032 (return) [ Scarcely of Bethlehem, to the south of
+      Jerusalem.— M.]
+
+      104 (return) [ The greatest part of the march of the Franks is
+      traced, and most accurately traced, in Maundrell’s Journey from
+      Aleppo to Jerusalem, (p. 11-67;) un des meilleurs morceaux, sans
+      contredit qu’on ait dans ce genre, (D’Anville, Memoire sur
+      Jerusalem, p. 27.)]
+
+
+
+
+      Chapter LVIII: The First Crusade.—Part V.
+
+      Jerusalem has derived some reputation from the number and
+      importance of her memorable sieges. It was not till after a long
+      and obstinate contest that Babylon and Rome could prevail against
+      the obstinacy of the people, the craggy ground that might
+      supersede the necessity of fortifications, and the walls and
+      towers that would have fortified the most accessible plain. 105
+      These obstacles were diminished in the age of the crusades. The
+      bulwarks had been completely destroyed and imperfectly restored:
+      the Jews, their nation, and worship, were forever banished; but
+      nature is less changeable than man, and the site of Jerusalem,
+      though somewhat softened and somewhat removed, was still strong
+      against the assaults of an enemy. By the experience of a recent
+      siege, and a three years’ possession, the Saracens of Egypt had
+      been taught to discern, and in some degree to remedy, the defects
+      of a place, which religion as well as honor forbade them to
+      resign. Aladin, or Iftikhar, the caliph’s lieutenant, was
+      intrusted with the defence: his policy strove to restrain the
+      native Christians by the dread of their own ruin and that of the
+      holy sepulchre; to animate the Moslems by the assurance of
+      temporal and eternal rewards. His garrison is said to have
+      consisted of forty thousand Turks and Arabians; and if he could
+      muster twenty thousand of the inhabitants, it must be confessed
+      that the besieged were more numerous than the besieging army. 106
+      Had the diminished strength and numbers of the Latins allowed
+      them to grasp the whole circumference of four thousand yards,
+      (about two English miles and a half, 107 to what useful purpose
+      should they have descended into the valley of Ben Hinnom and
+      torrent of Cedron, 108 or approach the precipices of the south
+      and east, from whence they had nothing either to hope or fear?
+      Their siege was more reasonably directed against the northern and
+      western sides of the city. Godfrey of Bouillon erected his
+      standard on the first swell of Mount Calvary: to the left, as far
+      as St. Stephen’s gate, the line of attack was continued by
+      Tancred and the two Roberts; and Count Raymond established his
+      quarters from the citadel to the foot of Mount Sion, which was no
+      longer included within the precincts of the city. On the fifth
+      day, the crusaders made a general assault, in the fanatic hope of
+      battering down the walls without engines, and of scaling them
+      without ladders. By the dint of brutal force, they burst the
+      first barrier; but they were driven back with shame and slaughter
+      to the camp: the influence of vision and prophecy was deadened by
+      the too frequent abuse of those pious stratagems; and time and
+      labor were found to be the only means of victory. The time of the
+      siege was indeed fulfilled in forty days, but they were forty
+      days of calamity and anguish. A repetition of the old complaint
+      of famine may be imputed in some degree to the voracious or
+      disorderly appetite of the Franks; but the stony soil of
+      Jerusalem is almost destitute of water; the scanty springs and
+      hasty torrents were dry in the summer season; nor was the thirst
+      of the besiegers relieved, as in the city, by the artificial
+      supply of cisterns and aqueducts. The circumjacent country is
+      equally destitute of trees for the uses of shade or building, but
+      some large beams were discovered in a cave by the crusaders: a
+      wood near Sichem, the enchanted grove of Tasso, 109 was cut down:
+      the necessary timber was transported to the camp by the vigor and
+      dexterity of Tancred; and the engines were framed by some Genoese
+      artists, who had fortunately landed in the harbor of Jaffa. Two
+      movable turrets were constructed at the expense, and in the
+      stations, of the duke of Lorraine and the count of Tholouse, and
+      rolled forwards with devout labor, not to the most accessible,
+      but to the most neglected, parts of the fortification. Raymond’s
+      Tower was reduced to ashes by the fire of the besieged, but his
+      colleague was more vigilant and successful; 1091 the enemies were
+      driven by his archers from the rampart; the draw-bridge was let
+      down; and on a Friday, at three in the afternoon, the day and
+      hour of the passion, Godfrey of Bouillon stood victorious on the
+      walls of Jerusalem. His example was followed on every side by the
+      emulation of valor; and about four hundred and sixty years after
+      the conquest of Omar, the holy city was rescued from the
+      Mahometan yoke. In the pillage of public and private wealth, the
+      adventurers had agreed to respect the exclusive property of the
+      first occupant; and the spoils of the great mosque, seventy lamps
+      and massy vases of gold and silver, rewarded the diligence, and
+      displayed the generosity, of Tancred. A bloody sacrifice was
+      offered by his mistaken votaries to the God of the Christians:
+      resistance might provoke but neither age nor sex could mollify,
+      their implacable rage: they indulged themselves three days in a
+      promiscuous massacre; 110 and the infection of the dead bodies
+      produced an epidemical disease. After seventy thousand Moslems
+      had been put to the sword, and the harmless Jews had been burnt
+      in their synagogue, they could still reserve a multitude of
+      captives, whom interest or lassitude persuaded them to spare. Of
+      these savage heroes of the cross, Tancred alone betrayed some
+      sentiments of compassion; yet we may praise the more selfish
+      lenity of Raymond, who granted a capitulation and safe-conduct to
+      the garrison of the citadel. 111 The holy sepulchre was now free;
+      and the bloody victors prepared to accomplish their vow.
+      Bareheaded and barefoot, with contrite hearts, and in an humble
+      posture, they ascended the hill of Calvary, amidst the loud
+      anthems of the clergy; kissed the stone which had covered the
+      Savior of the world; and bedewed with tears of joy and penitence
+      the monument of their redemption. This union of the fiercest and
+      most tender passions has been variously considered by two
+      philosophers; by the one, 112 as easy and natural; by the other,
+      113 as absurd and incredible. Perhaps it is too rigorously
+      applied to the same persons and the same hour; the example of the
+      virtuous Godfrey awakened the piety of his companions; while they
+      cleansed their bodies, they purified their minds; nor shall I
+      believe that the most ardent in slaughter and rapine were the
+      foremost in the procession to the holy sepulchre.
+
+      105 (return) [ See the masterly description of Tacitus, (Hist. v.
+      11, 12, 13,) who supposes that the Jewish lawgivers had provided
+      for a perpetual state of hostility against the rest of mankind. *
+      Note: This is an exaggerated inference from the words of Tacitus,
+      who speaks of the founders of the city, not the lawgivers.
+      Praeviderant conditores, ex diversitate morum, crebra bella; inde
+      cuncta quamvis adversus loagum obsidium.—M.]
+
+      106 (return) [ The lively scepticism of Voltaire is balanced with
+      sense and erudition by the French author of the Esprit des
+      Croisades, (tom. iv. p. 386-388,) who observes, that, according
+      to the Arabians, the inhabitants of Jerusalem must have exceeded
+      200,000; that in the siege of Titus, Josephus collects 1,300,000
+      Jews; that they are stated by Tacitus himself at 600,000; and
+      that the largest defalcation, that his accepimus can justify,
+      will still leave them more numerous than the Roman army.]
+
+      107 (return) [ Maundrell, who diligently perambulated the walls,
+      found a circuit of 4630 paces, or 4167 English yards, (p. 109,
+      110: ) from an authentic plan, D’Anville concludes a measure
+      nearly similar, of 1960 French toises, (p. 23-29,) in his scarce
+      and valuable tract. For the topography of Jerusalem, see Reland,
+      (Palestina, tom. ii. p. 832-860.)]
+
+      108 (return) [ Jerusalem was possessed only of the torrent of
+      Kedron, dry in summer, and of the little spring or brook of
+      Siloe, (Reland, tom. i. p. 294, 300.) Both strangers and natives
+      complain of the want of water, which, in time of war, was
+      studiously aggravated. Within the city, Tacitus mentions a
+      perennial fountain, an aqueduct and cisterns for rain water. The
+      aqueduct was conveyed from the rivulet Tekos or Etham, which is
+      likewise mentioned by Bohadin, (in Vit. Saludio p. 238.)]
+
+      109 (return) [ Gierusalomme Liberata, canto xiii. It is pleasant
+      enough to observe how Tasso has copied and embellished the
+      minutest details of the siege.]
+
+      1091 (return) [ This does not appear by Wilken’s account, (p.
+      294.) They fought in vair the whole of the Thursday.—M.]
+
+      110 (return) [ Besides the Latins, who are not ashamed of the
+      massacre, see Elmacin, (Hist. Saracen. p. 363,) Abulpharagius,
+      (Dynast. p. 243,) and M. De Guignes, tom. ii. p. ii. p. 99, from
+      Aboulmahasen.]
+
+      111 (return) [ The old tower Psephina, in the middle ages
+      Neblosa, was named Castellum Pisanum, from the patriarch
+      Daimbert. It is still the citadel, the residence of the Turkish
+      aga, and commands a prospect of the Dead Sea, Judea, and Arabia,
+      (D’Anville, p. 19-23.) It was likewise called the Tower of
+      David.]
+
+      112 (return) [ Hume, in his History of England, vol. i. p. 311,
+      312, octavo edition.]
+
+      113 (return) [ Voltaire, in his Essai sur l’Histoire Generale,
+      tom ii. c. 54, p 345, 346]
+
+      Eight days after this memorable event, which Pope Urban did not
+      live to hear, the Latin chiefs proceeded to the election of a
+      king, to guard and govern their conquests in Palestine. Hugh the
+      Great, and Stephen of Chartres, had retired with some loss of
+      reputation, which they strove to regain by a second crusade and
+      an honorable death. Baldwin was established at Edessa, and
+      Bohemond at Antioch; and two Roberts, the duke of Normandy 114
+      and the count of Flanders, preferred their fair inheritance in
+      the West to a doubtful competition or a barren sceptre. The
+      jealousy and ambition of Raymond were condemned by his own
+      followers, and the free, the just, the unanimous voice of the
+      army proclaimed Godfrey of Bouillon the first and most worthy of
+      the champions of Christendom. His magnanimity accepted a trust as
+      full of danger as of glory; but in a city where his Savior had
+      been crowned with thorns, the devout pilgrim rejected the name
+      and ensigns of royalty; and the founder of the kingdom of
+      Jerusalem contented himself with the modest title of Defender and
+      Baron of the Holy Sepulchre. His government of a single year, 115
+      too short for the public happiness, was interrupted in the first
+      fortnight by a summons to the field, by the approach of the
+      vizier or sultan of Egypt, who had been too slow to prevent, but
+      who was impatient to avenge, the loss of Jerusalem. His total
+      overthrow in the battle of Ascalon sealed the establishment of
+      the Latins in Syria, and signalized the valor of the French
+      princes who in this action bade a long farewell to the holy wars.
+
+      Some glory might be derived from the prodigious inequality of
+      numbers, though I shall not count the myriads of horse and foot
+      1151 on the side of the Fatimites; but, except three thousand
+      Ethiopians or Blacks, who were armed with flails or scourges of
+      iron, the Barbarians of the South fled on the first onset, and
+      afforded a pleasing comparison between the active valor of the
+      Turks and the sloth and effeminacy of the natives of Egypt. After
+      suspending before the holy sepulchre the sword and standard of
+      the sultan, the new king (he deserves the title) embraced his
+      departing companions, and could retain only with the gallant
+      Tancred three hundred knights, and two thousand foot-soldiers for
+      the defence of Palestine. His sovereignty was soon attacked by a
+      new enemy, the only one against whom Godfrey was a coward.
+      Adhemar, bishop of Puy, who excelled both in council and action,
+      had been swept away in the last plague at Antioch: the remaining
+      ecclesiastics preserved only the pride and avarice of their
+      character; and their seditious clamors had required that the
+      choice of a bishop should precede that of a king. The revenue and
+      jurisdiction of the lawful patriarch were usurped by the Latin
+      clergy: the exclusion of the Greeks and Syrians was justified by
+      the reproach of heresy or schism; 116 and, under the iron yoke of
+      their deliverers, the Oriental Christians regretted the
+      tolerating government of the Arabian caliphs. Daimbert,
+      archbishop of Pisa, had long been trained in the secret policy of
+      Rome: he brought a fleet at his countrymen to the succor of the
+      Holy Land, and was installed, without a competitor, the spiritual
+      and temporal head of the church. 1161 The new patriarch 117
+      immediately grasped the sceptre which had been acquired by the
+      toil and blood of the victorious pilgrims; and both Godfrey and
+      Bohemond submitted to receive at his hands the investiture of
+      their feudal possessions. Nor was this sufficient; Daimbert
+      claimed the immediate property of Jerusalem and Jaffa; instead of
+      a firm and generous refusal, the hero negotiated with the priest;
+      a quarter of either city was ceded to the church; and the modest
+      bishop was satisfied with an eventual reversion of the rest, on
+      the death of Godfrey without children, or on the future
+      acquisition of a new seat at Cairo or Damascus.
+
+      114 (return) [ The English ascribe to Robert of Normandy, and the
+      Provincials to Raymond of Tholouse, the glory of refusing the
+      crown; but the honest voice of tradition has preserved the memory
+      of the ambition and revenge (Villehardouin, No. 136) of the count
+      of St. Giles. He died at the siege of Tripoli, which was
+      possessed by his descendants.]
+
+      115 (return) [ See the election, the battle of Ascalon, &c., in
+      William of Tyre l. ix. c. 1-12, and in the conclusion of the
+      Latin historians of the first crusade.]
+
+      1151 (return) [ 20,000 Franks, 300,000 Mussulmen, according to
+      Wilken, (vol. ii. p. 9)—M.]
+
+      116 (return) [ Renaudot, Hist. Patriarch. Alex. p. 479.]
+
+      1161 (return) [ Arnulf was first chosen, but illegitimately, and
+      degraded. He was ever after the secret enemy of Daimbert or
+      Dagobert. Wilken, vol. i. p. 306, vol. ii. p. 52.—M]
+
+      117 (return) [ See the claims of the patriarch Daimbert, in
+      William of Tyre (l. ix. c. 15-18, x. 4, 7, 9,) who asserts with
+      marvellous candor the independence of the conquerors and kings of
+      Jerusalem.]
+
+      Without this indulgence, the conqueror would have almost been
+      stripped of his infant kingdom, which consisted only of Jerusalem
+      and Jaffa, with about twenty villages and towns of the adjacent
+      country. 118 Within this narrow verge, the Mahometans were still
+      lodged in some impregnable castles: and the husbandman, the
+      trader, and the pilgrim, were exposed to daily and domestic
+      hostility. By the arms of Godfrey himself, and of the two
+      Baldwins, his brother and cousin, who succeeded to the throne,
+      the Latins breathed with more ease and safety; and at length they
+      equalled, in the extent of their dominions, though not in the
+      millions of their subjects, the ancient princes of Judah and
+      Israel. 119 After the reduction of the maritime cities of
+      Laodicea, Tripoli, Tyre, and Ascalon, 120 which were powerfully
+      assisted by the fleets of Venice, Genoa, and Pisa, and even of
+      Flanders and Norway, 121 the range of sea-coast from Scanderoon
+      to the borders of Egypt was possessed by the Christian pilgrims.
+      If the prince of Antioch disclaimed his supremacy, the counts of
+      Edessa and Tripoli owned themselves the vassals of the king of
+      Jerusalem: the Latins reigned beyond the Euphrates; and the four
+      cities of Hems, Hamah, Damascus, and Aleppo, were the only relics
+      of the Mahometan conquests in Syria. 122 The laws and language,
+      the manners and titles, of the French nation and Latin church,
+      were introduced into these transmarine colonies. According to the
+      feudal jurisprudence, the principal states and subordinate
+      baronies descended in the line of male and female succession: 123
+      but the children of the first conquerors, 124 a motley and
+      degenerate race, were dissolved by the luxury of the climate; the
+      arrival of new crusaders from Europe was a doubtful hope and a
+      casual event. The service of the feudal tenures 125 was performed
+      by six hundred and sixty-six knights, who might expect the aid of
+      two hundred more under the banner of the count of Tripoli; and
+      each knight was attended to the field by four squires or archers
+      on horseback. 126 Five thousand and seventy sergeants, most
+      probably foot-soldiers, were supplied by the churches and cities;
+      and the whole legal militia of the kingdom could not exceed
+      eleven thousand men, a slender defence against the surrounding
+      myriads of Saracens and Turks. 127 But the firmest bulwark of
+      Jerusalem was founded on the knights of the Hospital of St. John,
+      128 and of the temple of Solomon; 129 on the strange association
+      of a monastic and military life, which fanaticism might suggest,
+      but which policy must approve. The flower of the nobility of
+      Europe aspired to wear the cross, and to profess the vows, of
+      these respectable orders; their spirit and discipline were
+      immortal; and the speedy donation of twenty-eight thousand farms,
+      or manors, 130 enabled them to support a regular force of cavalry
+      and infantry for the defence of Palestine. The austerity of the
+      convent soon evaporated in the exercise of arms; the world was
+      scandalized by the pride, avarice, and corruption of these
+      Christian soldiers; their claims of immunity and jurisdiction
+      disturbed the harmony of the church and state; and the public
+      peace was endangered by their jealous emulation. But in their
+      most dissolute period, the knights of their hospital and temple
+      maintained their fearless and fanatic character: they neglected
+      to live, but they were prepared to die, in the service of Christ;
+      and the spirit of chivalry, the parent and offspring of the
+      crusades, has been transplanted by this institution from the holy
+      sepulchre to the Isle of Malta. 131
+
+      118 (return) [ Willerm. Tyr. l. x. 19. The Historia
+      Hierosolimitana of Jacobus a Vitriaco (l. i. c. 21-50) and the
+      Secreta Fidelium Crucis of Marinus Sanutus (l. iii. p. 1)
+      describe the state and conquests of the Latin kingdom of
+      Jerusalem.]
+
+      119 (return) [ An actual muster, not including the tribes of Levi
+      and Benjamin, gave David an army of 1,300,000 or 1,574,000
+      fighting men; which, with the addition of women, children, and
+      slaves, may imply a population of thirteen millions, in a country
+      sixty leagues in length, and thirty broad. The honest and
+      rational Le Clerc (Comment on 2d Samuel xxiv. and 1st Chronicles,
+      xxi.) aestuat angusto in limite, and mutters his suspicion of a
+      false transcript; a dangerous suspicion! * Note: David determined
+      to take a census of his vast dominions, which extended from
+      Lebanon to the frontiers of Egypt, from the Euphrates to the
+      Mediterranean. The numbers (in 2 Sam. xxiv. 9, and 1 Chron. xxi.
+      5) differ; but the lowest gives 800,000 men fit to bear arms in
+      Israel, 500,000 in Judah. Hist. of Jews, vol. i. p. 248. Gibbon
+      has taken the highest census in his estimate of the population,
+      and confined the dominions of David to Jordandic Palestine.—M.]
+
+      120 (return) [ These sieges are related, each in its proper
+      place, in the great history of William of Tyre, from the ixth to
+      the xviiith book, and more briefly told by Bernardus
+      Thesaurarius, (de Acquisitione Terrae Sanctae, c. 89-98, p.
+      732-740.) Some domestic facts are celebrated in the Chronicles of
+      Pisa, Genoa, and Venice, in the vith, ixth, and xiith tomes of
+      Muratori.]
+
+      121 (return) [ Quidam populus de insulis occidentis egressus, et
+      maxime de ea parte quae Norvegia dicitur. William of Tyre (l. xi.
+      c. 14, p. 804) marks their course per Britannicum Mare et Calpen
+      to the siege of Sidon.]
+
+      122 (return) [ Benelathir, apud De Guignes, Hist. des Huns, tom.
+      ii. part ii. p. 150, 151, A.D. 1127. He must speak of the inland
+      country.]
+
+      123 (return) [ Sanut very sensibly descants on the mischiefs of
+      female succession, in a land hostibus circumdata, ubi cuncta
+      virilia et virtuosa esse deberent. Yet, at the summons, and with
+      the approbation, of her feudal lord, a noble damsel was obliged
+      to choose a husband and champion, (Assises de Jerusalem, c. 242,
+      &c.) See in M. De Guignes (tom. i. p. 441-471) the accurate and
+      useful tables of these dynasties, which are chiefly drawn from
+      the Lignages d’Outremer.]
+
+      124 (return) [ They were called by derision Poullains, Pallani,
+      and their name is never pronounced without contempt, (Ducange,
+      Gloss. Latin. tom. v. p. 535; and Observations sur Joinville, p.
+      84, 85; Jacob. a Vitriaco Hist. Hierosol. i. c. 67, 72; and
+      Sanut, l. iii. p. viii. c. 2, p. 182.) Illustrium virorum, qui ad
+      Terrae Sanctae.... liberationem in ipsa manserunt, degeneres
+      filii.... in deliciis enutriti, molles et effoe minati, &c.]
+
+      125 (return) [ This authentic detail is extracted from the
+      Assises de Jerusalem (c. 324, 326-331.) Sanut (l. iii. p. viii.
+      c. 1, p. 174) reckons only 518 knights, and 5775 followers.]
+
+      126 (return) [ The sum total, and the division, ascertain the
+      service of the three great baronies at 100 knights each; and the
+      text of the Assises, which extends the number to 500, can only be
+      justified by this supposition.]
+
+      127 (return) [ Yet on great emergencies (says Sanut) the barons
+      brought a voluntary aid; decentem comitivam militum juxta statum
+      suum.]
+
+      128 (return) [ William of Tyre (l. xviii. c. 3, 4, 5) relates the
+      ignoble origin and early insolence of the Hospitallers, who soon
+      deserted their humble patron, St. John the Eleemosynary, for the
+      more august character of St. John the Baptist, (see the
+      ineffectual struggles of Pagi, Critica, A. D 1099, No. 14-18.)
+      They assumed the profession of arms about the year 1120; the
+      Hospital was mater; the Temple filia; the Teutonic order was
+      founded A.D. 1190, at the siege of Acre, (Mosheim Institut p.
+      389, 390.)]
+
+      129 (return) [ See St. Bernard de Laude Novae Militiae Templi,
+      composed A.D. 1132-1136, in Opp. tom. i. p. ii. p. 547-563, edit.
+      Mabillon, Venet. 1750. Such an encomium, which is thrown away on
+      the dead Templars, would be highly valued by the historians of
+      Malta.]
+
+      130 (return) [ Matthew Paris, Hist. Major, p. 544. He assigns to
+      the Hospitallers 19,000, to the Templars 9,000 maneria, word of
+      much higher import (as Ducange has rightly observed) in the
+      English than in the French idiom. Manor is a lordship, manoir a
+      dwelling.]
+
+      131 (return) [ In the three first books of the Histoire de
+      Chevaliers de Malthe par l’Abbe de Vertot, the reader may amuse
+      himself with a fair, and sometimes flattering, picture of the
+      order, while it was employed for the defence of Palestine. The
+      subsequent books pursue their emigration to Rhodes and Malta.]
+
+      The spirit of freedom, which pervades the feudal institutions,
+      was felt in its strongest energy by the volunteers of the cross,
+      who elected for their chief the most deserving of his peers.
+      Amidst the slaves of Asia, unconscious of the lesson or example,
+      a model of political liberty was introduced; and the laws of the
+      French kingdom are derived from the purest source of equality and
+      justice. Of such laws, the first and indispensable condition is
+      the assent of those whose obedience they require, and for whose
+      benefit they are designed. No sooner had Godfrey of Bouillon
+      accepted the office of supreme magistrate, than he solicited the
+      public and private advice of the Latin pilgrims, who were the
+      best skilled in the statutes and customs of Europe. From these
+      materials, with the counsel and approbation of the patriarch and
+      barons, of the clergy and laity, Godfrey composed the Assise of
+      Jerusalem, 132 a precious monument of feudal jurisprudence. The
+      new code, attested by the seals of the king, the patriarch, and
+      the viscount of Jerusalem, was deposited in the holy sepulchre,
+      enriched with the improvements of succeeding times, and
+      respectfully consulted as often as any doubtful question arose in
+      the tribunals of Palestine. With the kingdom and city all was
+      lost: 133 the fragments of the written law were preserved by
+      jealous tradition 134 and variable practice till the middle of
+      the thirteenth century: the code was restored by the pen of John
+      d’Ibelin, count of Jaffa, one of the principal feudatories; 135
+      and the final revision was accomplished in the year thirteen
+      hundred and sixty-nine, for the use of the Latin kingdom of
+      Cyprus. 136
+
+      132 (return) [ The Assises de Jerusalem, in old law French, were
+      printed with Beaumanoir’s Coutumes de Beauvoisis, (Bourges and
+      Paris, 1690, in folio,) and illustrated by Gaspard Thaumas de la
+      Thaumassiere, with a comment and glossary. An Italian version had
+      been published in 1534, at Venice, for the use of the kingdom of
+      Cyprus. * Note: See Wilken, vol. i. p. 17, &c.,—M.]
+
+      133 (return) [ A la terre perdue, tout fut perdu, is the vigorous
+      expression of the Assise, (c. 281.) Yet Jerusalem capitulated
+      with Saladin; the queen and the principal Christians departed in
+      peace; and a code so precious and so portable could not provoke
+      the avarice of the conquerors. I have sometimes suspected the
+      existence of this original copy of the Holy Sepulchre, which
+      might be invented to sanctify and authenticate the traditionary
+      customs of the French in Palestine.]
+
+      134 (return) [ A noble lawyer, Raoul de Tabarie, denied the
+      prayer of King Amauri, (A.D. 1195-1205,) that he would commit his
+      knowledged to writing, and frankly declared, que de ce qu’il
+      savoit ne feroit-il ja nul borjois son pareill, ne null sage
+      homme lettre, (c. 281.)]
+
+      135 (return) [ The compiler of this work, Jean d’Ibelin, was
+      count of Jaffa and Ascalon, lord of Baruth (Berytus) and Rames,
+      and died A.D. 1266, (Sanut, l. iii. p. ii. c. 5, 8.) The family
+      of Ibelin, which descended from a younger brother of a count of
+      Chartres in France, long flourished in Palestine and Cyprus, (see
+      the Lignages de deca Mer, or d’Outremer, c. 6, at the end of the
+      Assises de Jerusalem, an original book, which records the
+      pedigrees of the French adventurers.)]
+
+      136 (return) [ By sixteen commissioners chosen in the states of
+      the island: the work was finished the 3d of November, 1369,
+      sealed with four seals and deposited in the cathedral of Nicosia,
+      (see the preface to the Assises.)]
+
+      The justice and freedom of the constitution were maintained by
+      two tribunals of unequal dignity, which were instituted by
+      Godfrey of Bouillon after the conquest of Jerusalem. The king, in
+      person, presided in the upper court, the court of the barons. Of
+      these the four most conspicuous were the prince of Galilee, the
+      lord of Sidon and Caesarea, and the counts of Jaffa and Tripoli,
+      who, perhaps with the constable and marshal, 137 were in a
+      special manner the compeers and judges of each other. But all the
+      nobles, who held their lands immediately of the crown, were
+      entitled and bound to attend the king’s court; and each baron
+      exercised a similar jurisdiction on the subordinate assemblies of
+      his own feudatories. The connection of lord and vassal was
+      honorable and voluntary: reverence was due to the benefactor,
+      protection to the dependant; but they mutually pledged their
+      faith to each other; and the obligation on either side might be
+      suspended by neglect or dissolved by injury. The cognizance of
+      marriages and testaments was blended with religion, and usurped
+      by the clergy: but the civil and criminal causes of the nobles,
+      the inheritance and tenure of their fiefs, formed the proper
+      occupation of the supreme court. Each member was the judge and
+      guardian both of public and private rights. It was his duty to
+      assert with his tongue and sword the lawful claims of the lord;
+      but if an unjust superior presumed to violate the freedom or
+      property of a vassal, the confederate peers stood forth to
+      maintain his quarrel by word and deed. They boldly affirmed his
+      innocence and his wrongs; demanded the restitution of his liberty
+      or his lands; suspended, after a fruitless demand, their own
+      service; rescued their brother from prison; and employed every
+      weapon in his defence, without offering direct violence to the
+      person of their lord, which was ever sacred in their eyes. 138 In
+      their pleadings, replies, and rejoinders, the advocates of the
+      court were subtle and copious; but the use of argument and
+      evidence was often superseded by judicial combat; and the Assise
+      of Jerusalem admits in many cases this barbarous institution,
+      which has been slowly abolished by the laws and manners of
+      Europe.
+
+      137 (return) [ The cautious John D’Ibelin argues, rather than
+      affirms, that Tripoli is the fourth barony, and expresses some
+      doubt concerning the right or pretension of the constable and
+      marshal, (c. 323.)]
+
+      138 (return) [ Entre seignor et homme ne n’a que la foi;.... mais
+      tant que l’homme doit a son seignor reverence en toutes choses,
+      (c. 206.) Tous les hommes dudit royaume sont par ladite Assise
+      tenus les uns as autres.... et en celle maniere que le seignor
+      mette main ou face mettre au cors ou au fie d’aucun d’yaus sans
+      esgard et sans connoissans de court, que tous les autres doivent
+      venir devant le seignor, &c., (212.) The form of their
+      remonstrances is conceived with the noble simplicity of freedom.]
+
+      The trial by battle was established in all criminal cases which
+      affected the life, or limb, or honor, of any person; and in all
+      civil transactions, of or above the value of one mark of silver.
+      It appears that in criminal cases the combat was the privilege of
+      the accuser, who, except in a charge of treason, avenged his
+      personal injury, or the death of those persons whom he had a
+      right to represent; but wherever, from the nature of the charge,
+      testimony could be obtained, it was necessary for him to produce
+      witnesses of the fact. In civil cases, the combat was not allowed
+      as the means of establishing the claim of the demandant; but he
+      was obliged to produce witnesses who had, or assumed to have,
+      knowledge of the fact. The combat was then the privilege of the
+      defendant; because he charged the witness with an attempt by
+      perjury to take away his right. He came therefore to be in the
+      same situation as the appellant in criminal cases. It was not
+      then as a mode of proof that the combat was received, nor as
+      making negative evidence, (according to the supposition of
+      Montesquieu; 139 but in every case the right to offer battle was
+      founded on the right to pursue by arms the redress of an injury;
+      and the judicial combat was fought on the same principle, and
+      with the same spirit, as a private duel. Champions were only
+      allowed to women, and to men maimed or past the age of sixty. The
+      consequence of a defeat was death to the person accused, or to
+      the champion or witness, as well as to the accuser himself: but
+      in civil cases, the demandant was punished with infamy and the
+      loss of his suit, while his witness and champion suffered
+      ignominious death. In many cases it was in the option of the
+      judge to award or to refuse the combat: but two are specified, in
+      which it was the inevitable result of the challenge; if a
+      faithful vassal gave the lie to his compeer, who unjustly claimed
+      any portion of their lord’s demesnes; or if an unsuccessful
+      suitor presumed to impeach the judgment and veracity of the
+      court. He might impeach them, but the terms were severe and
+      perilous: in the same day he successively fought all the members
+      of the tribunal, even those who had been absent; a single defeat
+      was followed by death and infamy; and where none could hope for
+      victory, it is highly probable that none would adventure the
+      trial. In the Assise of Jerusalem, the legal subtlety of the
+      count of Jaffa is more laudably employed to elude, than to
+      facilitate, the judicial combat, which he derives from a
+      principle of honor rather than of superstition. 140
+
+      139 (return) [ See l’Esprit des Loix, l. xxviii. In the forty
+      years since its publication, no work has been more read and
+      criticized; and the spirit of inquiry which it has excited is not
+      the least of our obligations to the author.]
+
+      140 (return) [ For the intelligence of this obscure and obsolete
+      jurisprudence (c. 80-111) I am deeply indebted to the friendship
+      of a learned lord, who, with an accurate and discerning eye, has
+      surveyed the philosophic history of law. By his studies,
+      posterity might be enriched: the merit of the orator and the
+      judge can be felt only by his contemporaries.]
+
+      Among the causes which enfranchised the plebeians from the yoke
+      of feudal tyranny, the institution of cities and corporations is
+      one of the most powerful; and if those of Palestine are coeval
+      with the first crusade, they may be ranked with the most ancient
+      of the Latin world. Many of the pilgrims had escaped from their
+      lords under the banner of the cross; and it was the policy of the
+      French princes to tempt their stay by the assurance of the rights
+      and privileges of freemen. It is expressly declared in the Assise
+      of Jerusalem, that after instituting, for his knights and barons,
+      the court of peers, in which he presided himself, Godfrey of
+      Bouillon established a second tribunal, in which his person was
+      represented by his viscount. The jurisdiction of this inferior
+      court extended over the burgesses of the kingdom; and it was
+      composed of a select number of the most discreet and worthy
+      citizens, who were sworn to judge, according to the laws of the
+      actions and fortunes of their equals. 141 In the conquest and
+      settlement of new cities, the example of Jerusalem was imitated
+      by the kings and their great vassals; and above thirty similar
+      corporations were founded before the loss of the Holy Land.
+      Another class of subjects, the Syrians, 142 or Oriental
+      Christians, were oppressed by the zeal of the clergy, and
+      protected by the toleration of the state. Godfrey listened to
+      their reasonable prayer, that they might be judged by their own
+      national laws. A third court was instituted for their use, of
+      limited and domestic jurisdiction: the sworn members were
+      Syrians, in blood, language, and religion; but the office of the
+      president (in Arabic, of the rais) was sometimes exercised by the
+      viscount of the city. At an immeasurable distance below the
+      nobles, the burgesses, and the strangers, the Assise of Jerusalem
+      condescends to mention the villains and slaves, the peasants of
+      the land and the captives of war, who were almost equally
+      considered as the objects of property. The relief or protection
+      of these unhappy men was not esteemed worthy of the care of the
+      legislator; but he diligently provides for the recovery, though
+      not indeed for the punishment, of the fugitives. Like hounds, or
+      hawks, who had strayed from the lawful owner, they might be lost
+      and claimed: the slave and falcon were of the same value; but
+      three slaves, or twelve oxen, were accumulated to equal the price
+      of the war-horse; and a sum of three hundred pieces of gold was
+      fixed, in the age of chivalry, as the equivalent of the more
+      noble animal. 143
+
+      141 (return) [ Louis le Gros, who is considered as the father of
+      this institution in France, did not begin his reign till nine
+      years (A.D. 1108) after Godfrey of Bouillon, (Assises, c. 2,
+      324.) For its origin and effects, see the judicious remarks of
+      Dr. Robertson, (History of Charles V. vol. i. p. 30-36, 251-265,
+      quarto edition.)]
+
+      142 (return) [ Every reader conversant with the historians of the
+      crusades will understand by the peuple des Suriens, the Oriental
+      Christians, Melchites, Jacobites, or Nestorians, who had all
+      adopted the use of the Arabic language, (vol. iv. p. 593.)]
+
+      143 (return) [ See the Assises de Jerusalem, (310, 311, 312.)
+      These laws were enacted as late as the year 1350, in the kingdom
+      of Cyprus. In the same century, in the reign of Edward I., I
+      understand, from a late publication, (of his Book of Account,)
+      that the price of a war-horse was not less exorbitant in
+      England.]
+
+
+
+
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