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.]