TfRKEY. 



TURKEY. 



Mured, who was a lover of peace and of philosophical studied, retired 

 into Asia, renouncing the throne in favour of his son Mohammed, then 

 a child. Ten weeks after the treaty had been sworn, the Hungarian 

 aruiy re-entered Turkey. Upon this newa Miira-l left his solitude, 

 and with 40,000 men crossed the Bosporus in 1444. At Varna he met 

 the enemy. The Hungarians were entirely defeated ; Hunyad saved 

 himself by a hasty flight, but King Ladislaus, Cardinal Julian Cesarini, 

 and several other Christians of high rank, were killed. After this 

 victory Murad renounced the throne a second time, but waa again 

 obliged to take the reins of government by a mutiny of the Janissaries, 

 which however he soon quelled. The latter years of his reign were 

 ai glorious as the beginning. Corinth and Patras were conquered, and 

 Hunyad, having again invaded Turkey, was routed at Rosso va in 1448. 

 Murad was less fortunate against the famous Scanderbeg, the prince 

 of Epirns, who maintained himself in his principality in spite of all 

 the efforts of the Sultan. 



[1451-1481.] Mohammed II., the son of Murad II., was twenty-one 

 when he ascended the throne. His reign is memorable for the siege 

 and capture of Constantinople, which he entered as a conqueror on 

 the 29th of May, 1453. Mohammed now began a series of victories 

 and conquests by which his empire became one of the most powerful 

 states in the world. Servia, formerly a vassal state, became a Turkish 

 province ; the Peloponnesus was conquered, but it was afterwards lost ; 

 Trebizond, the last remnant of Greek independence, was also taken ; 

 Kofia wa captured ; and the khaus of the Crimea took the oath of 

 vassalage. In Asia the frontiers of Turkey were extended by the 

 victories obtained over several petty Seljukian prince*, and Europe 

 was alarmed at the incursions of tha Turks into Wallacliia, Moldavia, 

 Transylvania, Hungary, and Germany, and especially by the fall of 

 Otranto in Italy, which was taken by Ahmed Keduk in 1479. Scan- 

 derbeg was defeated, and his dominions, Epinu and the Herzogevina, 

 were united with Turkey. During tha reign of Mohammed IL great 

 numbers of Turks settled in Europe, where they received lands which 

 had been taken from the Greeks. Mohammed was very active in the 

 administration of his empire. His criminal laws imposed a money fine 

 payable to himself for injuries to the person, and sanctioned his 

 assumption of power to put his brothers to death on the plea of pre- 

 venting trouble*. He established schools and academies for the study 

 of theology, jurisprudence, mathematics, and philosophy. 



[1481-1512.] Bayazid II., the son of Mohammed IL, having only one 

 brother, Jem, or Ziziine, did not avail himself of hit power to put him 

 to death ; the consequence was a rebellion of Jem, who disputed the 

 crown with bis brother : after a long civil war, Jem wa* at last obliged 

 to fly to Rhode*. The Knights of St. John sent him a prisoner to 

 France, whence he went to Home under the protection of the Pope. 

 Pop* Alexander VI. again put him into the hands of Charles VIII , 

 in.. I ei^'lit days afterwards Zizime died, 1491. Utnides these civil 

 commotions the reign of Bayaxid was troubled by wan with Egypt, 

 Venice, Hungary, Poland, and Austria. In 1495 the first Ituuian 

 ambassador appeared at Constantinople. Bayaxid towards the end of 

 his life experienced the bitterness of a civil war with his youngest 

 son, Seliui, which ended in liayazid being compelled by Selliu to 

 abdicate, and he died soon afterwards, in 1512. 



[1512-1520.] The reign of the cruel, but most active and gallant 

 Sultan Sclim I., though short, is one of the most glorious in Turkuh 

 history. Immediately on his accession he put to death his brother 

 Korkud and five of his nephews. He then marched against his brother 

 Ahmed, whom he defeated, seized, and murdered in 1513. In a war 

 with Persia, Selim, after baling routed Shah Isma'll in a decisive 

 battle, took Tabriz in 1514. After this victory he attacked 'Ald-ed- 

 dewlet, who reigned over the extensive country between Armenia, 

 Kurdistan, Syria, and Karamania. "Ala-eJ dewlet was defeated, and 

 lost bis life in 1515 : his dominions were united to Turkey. The third 

 and most important conquest was that of Egypt and Syria (1516-17). 

 Al-mutawakkel, the last kalif of Cairo, was deposed from hi* rank a* 

 Chief of the Believers, and Sollm was acknowledged as hi* successor 

 by Mohammed Abu-1-Bcrekiat, the Hherif of Mecca, who presented 

 him with the keys of the Ka'bah. Selim returned to Constantinople 

 in 1517 witli 1000 camels laden with the spoil of Egypt. He died in 

 1520, in consequence of his passion for taking opium. One of his last 

 acts was the creation of a powerful navy. Selim, a zealous Sunnite, 

 persecute. 1 to death great numbers of the heretical Shiites who lived 

 in his empire. He also resolved to kill all the Christians who would 

 not adopt the Mohammedan religion ; but he was prevented by his 

 ministers, who besought htm not to violate the Koran, which com- 

 mands toleration of non-believers who pay the capitation-tax. 



'-1508. j Soliman, or Suleiman I., surnamed the Great, the son 

 of Selim I., is the greatest sultan of the Oamanlis, and his reign is the 

 most important period of Turkish history. In the first year of his 

 reign he took Belgrade, and Rhodes, which wai defended by the 

 Knights of St. John ; and he made Kadnl, the prince of Wallachia, 

 his vassal In 1526 Louis, king of Hungary, lost bis life in the battle 

 of Mohacs against Soliman, who overran Hungary in one campaign; 

 took the capital, Bnda ; and received Zapolya, the waiwode of Tran- 

 sylvania, into vassalage. Soliman penetrated into Germany, and hud 

 siege to Vienna in September, 1529; but he was compelled to raise 

 the siege in 1533. From Hungary Soliman proceeded to Persia, then 

 governed by Shah Tbamasp, who had protected Sherif-Bey, the khan 



of Bedlia, who hod revolted against the Sultan. This war lasted till 

 1554 ; and although the Turks took Baghdad, Soliman gave up his 

 conquests on condition of the Shah iiot aiding the rebellious subjects 

 of the Sultan. 



While one Turkish army was thus occupied against Persia, another, 

 supported by a fleet, made war against the Venetians, who lost several 

 of their islands in the Archipelago. Zapolya having died in 1539, 

 Ferdinand of Austria seized the kingdom of Hungary, whereupon the 

 Sultan invaded Hungary in 1541. In this war Soliman was victorious, 

 and Ferdinand was compelled to cede to Soliman the greater part of 

 Hungary, with the capital, Buda or Ofen, in 1547. In two years 

 fresh hostilities broke out, and after a long war, a new peace was 

 concluded in 1562, by which Soliman maintained possession of his 

 conquests, and Ferdinand promised to pay an annual tribute for 

 Upper Hungary. Previously to this, Selim and Bayazid, sous of 

 Soliman, disputed the future succession to the throne. After the 

 loss of the battle of Kouioh, Bayazid with his four sons fled to Persia, 

 and Soliman having declared himself for Selim, the Shah delivered 

 the fugitives to the messengers of the Sultan. Bayazid and his sous 

 were put to death in 1561. 



During tlio reign of Soliman the Turkish navy was the first in the 

 world, and became the scourge of the Mediterranean. His admirals 

 ravaged the coasts of Italy, Spain, and Africa : they took lieggio, 

 Sorento, Bujia, Oran, and the island of Majorca ; and in 1560 Piale 

 defeated the united fleets of Spain and Italy off Jcrbo. Another 

 Turkish fleet swept the coasts of the Red Sea and tho Persian Gulf 

 from Suez to Basrah, and fought several times with the Portuguese 

 in the Indian Ocean. After the victory at Jerba, Soliman resolved upon 

 the conquest of Malta, and a powerful fleet left Constantinople for that 

 purpose in the beginning of 1565, but the expedition failed after a siege 

 of five mouths. During this time the war with Austria was renewed. 

 Soliman, notwithstanding his old age, took the command of his army 

 and hastened to Hungary. He died there in his camp in September 

 1666, whilst besieging Szigeth, a small fortress west of Funfkirchou. 



[1666-1574.] Selim IL, son of Soliman the Great, immediately after 

 his accession, quelled a dangerous mutiny of the Janissaries, where- 

 upon he concluded peace with the emperor Maximilian II., by which 

 each remained in possession of his share of Hungary as fixed by the 

 peace of 1562. Turkey was increased by the province of Yemen in 

 Arabia, which was conquered in 1570; by the addition of Cyprus, 

 taken from the Venetians iu the same year, and by the acquisition of 

 Tunis, which was taken from the Spaniard* in 1574. Tha Turkish 

 navy, commanded by 'Ali Moezzin, waa almost annihilated by Don 

 Juan of Austria, in the battle of Lepanto, in 1572. 



[1574-1505.] Murad or Arnurad III., succeeded bis father Selim II. 

 A war having broken out with Persia, the Turks, after a victory at 

 Childir, conquered Eriwou, Georgia, and Daghistdn. From this 

 country, Osman Pasha, the commander of a part of the Turkiah army, 

 proceeded northward, crossed tho Caucasus in order to relieve the 

 khan of the Crimea, who hail been attacked by the Russians ; and iu 

 1584 returned to Constantinople by way of Bessarabia. Tho follow- 

 ing yean of Murad'* reign were signalised by a fresh war with 

 Persia, and by dangerous troubles among tho Druses iu Mount 

 Lebanon, in Egypt, and in Arabia. Transylvania, Moldavia, and 

 Wallachia refused to pay the annual tribute, and war wai <lecl uv I 

 against Austria, but Murad died before it was concluded. During his 

 reign, Turkey had diplomatic relation* with almost all the uuti .MH 

 of Europe ; and the first commercial treaty with England waj 

 concluded. 



[1595-1603.] Mohammed III., son of Miirad III., secured his suc- 

 cession by putting to death his nineteen brothers, and seven femalo 

 slaves of his father who were pregnant The war with Austria con- 

 tinued during his whole reign with no signal success on either side. 

 Sigismund, prince of Transylvania, who had taken arms against the 

 Porte, submitted to the Sultan, and was invested with his princi- 

 pality as a vassal of Turkey. Towards the end of this reign, Deli- 

 Husein rebelled in Asia. 



[1603-1617.] Ahmed I., son of Mohammed III., ascended the throne 

 when only fourteen. The rebels in Asia having been supported by 

 Shah Abbda the Great, of Persia, a war broke out between him and 

 the Sultan, which lasted till 1613. In this war the Turks were 

 wonted, and Ahmed was compelled to cede to the victor Daghistiin, 

 Georgia, and Eriwan. The Turkish commanders in Hungary were no 

 less unfortunate. The emperor Rudolph IL, assisted by the princes of 

 the empire, defeated the Turks in several bloody battles, and Ahmod 

 was obliged to conclude tho peace of Sitvatorok (1606). By this 

 peace the Sultan recognised the emperor as bis equal, and the tribute 

 which Austria had paid for her part of Hungary was abolished. 

 Ahmed concluded a commercial treaty with the United States of the 

 Netherlands. During his reign a body of Cossaks descended the 

 Don in a fleet of boats, crossed the Black Sea, and surprised the town 

 of Sinope, which they plundered and destroyed. Turkey was still a 

 powerful state, but her gradual dissolution became apparent during 

 the reigu of a weak prince who was governed by favourites and 

 women. 



Muatapha I., the brother of Ahmed, ascended tho throne in 1617, 

 but was deposed iu six months in consoqueuce of a revolution in the 

 seraglio, and shut up iu prison. 



