ORIENTAL. 



1571 ; but his fleet was defeated by John of Austria, at Lepanto, in 

 the same year. Mohamed IV. took Candia, in 1669; but lost the 

 greater part of Hungary soon after. Jlchmet III. gave refuge to 

 Charles XII. of Sweden, in 1709 ; and Mustapha III. engaged in a 

 war with Catharine II. of Russia, which terminated unfavorably to 

 him, in 1774. Selim III. declared war against France, in conse- 

 quence of its invasion of Egypt, in 1798 ; but he and his successor 

 were deposed by the Janizaries, originally Christian slaves ; and 

 Mahmoud II. was raised to the throne, in 1808. In his reign the 

 Greek Revolution took place, and Greece again became free, in 1828 ; 

 by the aid and intervention of the European powers. 



4. The modern History of Persia, we shall commence with the 

 Mohamedan conquest of it, begun by Omar, A. D. 636, and com- 

 pleted by Osman, in 651 ; when Yezdegerd III., (or Jesdijird), the 

 last of the Sassanides, lost his throne. The caliph Al Mansor, or 

 Abu Giafar, of the house of the Abassides, after founding Bagdad, 

 A. D. 762, made it the capital of the Saracen empire. Among his 

 successors, Haroon al Rascheed, and Al Mamon, are celebrated as 

 patrons of learning. Khorasan, (Chorassan), or northern Persia, 

 became independent in 820 ; but was subdued by the Tartars, under 

 Ismail Samanee, (or Ishmael), in 902. Persia was thenceforward 

 divided between his family, called Samanides, in the north-east, and 

 the Dilemides, in the south-west, till the former were subdued by 

 Mahmood, the Turcoman governor of Gazna or Ghizni, who subju- 

 gated Khorasan, in 999 ; and extended his conquests to India. His 

 successors, called Gaznavides, were subdued by Togrul Beg, the 

 grandson of Seljook, (or Seljuk), in 1037 ; and by him the Dilemide 

 caliphs of Bagdad were also subjugated, in 1055. The Seljookians, 

 Alp Arselan and Malek Shah, called Sultans of Bagdad, waged war 

 with the Byzantines ; and Malek Shah conquered Hindoostan ; but 

 left the kingdom in confusion, till it was subjugated by the Monguls, 

 or Tartars, under Genghis Khan, (Jengis, Zengis, or Chenghiz 

 Khan), in 1220. 



Hulakoo Khan, the grandson of Genghis, encouraged learning; 

 but Persia soon degenerated, till it was again overrun, by another 

 horde of Monguls, under Timur, (Timour-lenk), or Tamerlane, in 

 1387. This leader vanquished the Turks, and conquered Hindoostan, 

 before his death, in 1405. Persia remained subject to his descend- 

 ants, only till 1468, when it was subdued by Usong Hassan, (or 

 Uzun Hussun), another chief of the Turcoman race : but he was 

 dethroned, in 1504, by Ismail Sophi, (or Ishmael), who, claiming 

 descent from Ali, assumed the title of Shah, or king, and founded the 

 Suffavean dynasty. His successors lost several provinces, in wars 

 with the Turks and Usbecks ; but these were regained by Shah Mbas 

 the Great; who made Ispahan his capital, in 1589. The Afghans, 

 under Mir Mahmoud, conquered Persia, in 1722 ; but held it only 

 seven years : and, in 1736, the throne was usurped by Kooli Nadir, 

 who took the title of Nadir Shah, and after conquering Delhi, styled 

 himself Emperor of the Indies. After his death, Georgia revolted 

 from Persia; and the kingdom of Afghanistan was founded, in the 

 east of Persia, by Ahmed Abdallah, who made Cabul (or Kabul) his 



