I S A 



I S A 



Tatlon of Michael VI., the difcontcnt of the foldiery was death of Ifaac very foon followed, or perhaps preceded 



openly manifellcd. The gencraU, who confidcred thcm- 

 felves infuhed by the elertion of Michael, fccretly ancmbled 

 in the fanftiiary of St. Sophia, and would have chofen the 

 venerable and valiant Catacalon, if the modclly of the 

 veteran had not fiiggefted the importance of birth as well as 

 merit in the choice of a fovercign. Upon his refufal of the 



murder of his fon. Univer. Hid. Gibbon". 



Isaac, Hexry, a German compofer of great renown in 

 Italy, during the fifteenth century, under the name of 

 Arrigo Tcdefco ; by which title he is celebrated by Poli- 

 tian. Qiiadrio, torn. ii. p. 321. fays that he was maeilro 

 di cappcila of the church of San Giovanni, in Florence : 



ignity, Ifaac Comnenus was approved by general confent and the firft who, in different ballad-airs, fet the fongs of 

 Comnenus, then m Paphlagoma, foon learnt the dec.non of Lorenzo il Magnifico, in three pans, fbr a procelhonal 



procelfiona 



Ke flourilhed about 1475. Glai-canii<;, in 



, . , ,, . , > ,- . ,,,•>-,, -- -^decachordon," fays that "Henry Ifaac chiefly cul- 



countered in the neighbourhood of that city by Michjiel s tivated the churcli Ihle ; and in his works may be perceived 



the mihtary fynod ; and inverted with the imperial enligns, mafquerade 



marched to Nice, which he took by furprife ; but being en- i,is » l3odec 



countered in the neighbourhood of that city by Michael's 



generals, he entirely defeated them, and proceeded to Con- g natural force and majeftv, fuperior, in general', to any 



ftantinople. The dethroned emperor rel.gned his dignity, thing that can be found "in the compolitions of our time/: 



and retired to a monailery ; and Ifaac was lolemnly crowned, though his ilyle may be faid to be fomcwhat rough. He 



S-ptember I, 1057. His niort reign was undilhirbed by was fond of lone notes in fom« 



foreign enemies: he fell into a declining (late of health, 

 which he took as an admonition to retire from the world. 

 John, whom he would gladly have inverted with the im- 

 penal purple, refiifed to accept the toil, aud it was con- 

 ferred upon Conftantine Ducas ; and Ifaac ended his reign 

 of two years and three months in a monaftery. Ifaac in a 

 great meafure recovered his health, and furvived two years 

 &s voluntary abdication. At the command of his abbot, 

 he obferved the rule of St. Balil, and executed the moft 

 fervile ofiBces of the convent ; but he was gratified by the 

 frequent and refpeftful vifits of the reigning monarch, who 

 revered in his perfon the charafter of a benefaclor and faint. 

 Gibbon. Univer. Hi 



:id of long notes in fome one of his middle pans, while 

 the reft of the voices were in a manner playing round it, as 

 the wind plays when it puts the waves in motion round a 

 rock." 



ISA BAD, in Geography, a town of Perfia, in the pro- 

 vince of Irac ; 50 miles S. of Hamadan. 



ISA BE, a town of Japan, in the ifland of Niphon j ro 

 miles N.W. of Jedo. 



ISABEL, St., one of the iflands of Solomon, in tlie 



Pacific ocean, 2co miles in circumference, S. lat. 7^ 30', 



about 160 leagues weft of Lima, difcovered by Mendana 



in ! J67. The inhabitants are canIlib.^ls, and worfliip fer- 



pents, toads, and other animals. Their ccmplexicn is 



Isaac II. Asgelu.s, emperor of the Eaft, was raifed brown, their hair woolly, and they wear no covering but 



to that dignity by the fall of Andronicus, the lafl: of the round their waift. They are divided into tribes, and ate 



Comnenian family who reigned at Conrtantinople. There- con rtantly at war with each other. 



volution wliich hurled him from the throne, faved and e.x- ISABELLA, in Biography, queen of Caftile, bom in 

 alted Ifaac Angelus, who defcended by the female hne from 14^1, was the daughter of John II. She paffed the early 

 the fame imperial dynafty. " The fucceffor of a fecond part of her life in great obfcurity, and without any profpeft 

 Nero,"' fays the hiftorian, " might have found it an eafy of a crown ; but the Caftihans having confpired againil her 

 talk to deferve the eftecm and affeclion of liis fubjefts ; brother Henry IV., obhged him to declare I fabella heirefs 

 neverthelefs they fometimes had reafon to regret the ad- to the kingdom. In 1469 (he fnarried Ferdinand king of 

 minirtration of Andronicus " Ifaac abandoned himfelf to Arragon ; and upon the death of Henry in 1474, they were 

 frivolous amufements and luxurious indulgences, aud op- conjointly declared king and queen of Caftile. They were 

 prerted his people by the lavifti expences of his houfehold. proclaimed at Segovia, amidll loud acclamations ; and the 

 *' Ifaac,'' fays Mr. Gifebon, " flept on the throne, and was fidelity of their new fubjeds enabled them to defeat all the 

 awakened only by the found of p'eafure : his vacant hours defigns of their enemies, who had declared in behalf o£ 

 were amufed by comedians and buffoons, and even to thefe Joanna, the fuppofed daughter of Henry. Alphonlo IV.. 

 the emperor was an objecl of contempt : his feafls and king of Portugal, efpoufed the perfon and the caufe of the 

 buildings exceeded the examples of royal luxury ; the num- latter, and took up arms in her defence and his own. The 

 ber of his eunuchs and domeftics amounted to twenty defeat at the battle of Toro, in 1475', was fatal to his pre- 

 thoufand." His generals were fuccefsful in expelling the ten lions ; and by a peace concluded in 1479, ^^e right of 

 Sicilian invaders ; but Ifaac difgraced himlelf by the cruelty Ifabella and her huihand was fully acknowledged, and 

 with which he treated the captives. Conrtantinople was Joanna retired into a monaftery. In thi.s fame vear, the 

 befieged, and the v.-eak emperor put all his truft in an image crown of Arragon fell to Ferdinand ; and from that period 



the kingdoms of Caftjle and Arragon were infeparably 

 united, comprifing the whole of Spain not pofTeifed by the 

 Moors. (See Ferdinwnd. ) Religious zeal was a leading 

 feature in her character; and the defire of propagating the 



of the Virgin Mary, and the prayers of the monks. A 1 

 volt of the Bulgarians proved a lafting injury to the empire ; 

 and it became neceffary to fuffer them to eftabhfii an inde- 

 pendent kingdom. Ifaac drev.- upon himfelf various acts of 



hoftility from Frederic Barbarofia, who was the friend and Chriftian faith in parts of the world where it was yet un- 



ally of the Crufaders. At length the perfidy of his own known, was the chief motive of the encouragement ftie gave 



brother Alexius was more fatal to him than foreign violence, to the projects of Columbus, which eventually added fo 



In 1 195, he feized upon the throne, during the abfence of much to the Spanifh monarchy. Her merits towards the 



Ifaac on a hunting party ; and obtaining pofleffion of his church were rewarded by the title of " The Catholic," 



perfon, deprived him of his fight, and !hut him up in a conferred by Innocent VIII. on both the royal partners, 



lonefome prifon. His fon Alexius efcaped, and engaged and their fuccelfois in the Spanifti crown. Ifabella died 



the wertern powers in his behalf; who, in 1 203:, took Con- with the great regret of her Inbjefts, in November i504, 



ftantinople, and replaced Ifaac upon the throne in conjunc- in the 54th year of her age. Univer. Hill. Robertlon's 



tion with his fon. Another revolution, in 1204, effected Hift. of America. 



by Alexius Ducas, deprived them of their feat ; aud the Isabella, in Condyli'Agy, the name given by the French 



iiaturahit». 



