The Difcovery^ Settlement, and Commerce Book I. 
Parts, and of bewitching Speech. She raifed her own Son 
to the Throne i but the Government being in Confufion, 
and all things going to Wreck, the Senate cut out the Em- 
prefs^s Tongue to prevent her deluding the People any- 
more with her Eloquence ; and cut off his Nofe, left he 
fhould gain the People’s Affedion by his Beauty. Conftans , 
the Grandchild of the old Emperor, was then raifed to the 
Throne, and reigned twenty-feven Years y his Son Conftan- 
tine fucceeded him, under whom Conftantinople was befieged 
by the Saracens % but they were obliged, however, to raife 
it, and he had afterwards great Succefs againft them. His 
Son Jufiinian was ftill more fortunate, but withal fo perfi- 
dious, that when he had made a Peace with them upon 
good Terms, he broke it when he thought it for his Ad- 
vantage, which expofed him to Hatred abroad, and Con- 
tempt at home, fo that he was depofed and banifhed but 
was afterwards reftored, by the Affiftance of the Bulga- 
rian j, and behaved with great Cruelty, after he recovered 
his Dominions. He even invaded the Territories of that 
Prince, who had protected and reftored him, by whom his 
Army was totally defeated ^ and now being grown odious 
to every body, his Subjects rebelled againft him, and cut 
off his and his Sons Heads. 
The two fucceeding Emperors were depofed, and Theo- 
dojius abdicated the Empire of his own Accord j and then 
Leo the Third became Emperor, who was the Son of a 
Shoemaker, in whofe Time the Sara cent- again blocked up 
the City of Conftantinople for, -three Years, but were at laft 
obliged to retire : He was fucceeded A. D. 741, by his Son 
Conftantine Copr animus , who was very fuccefsful againft 
the Saracens , and held the Empire thirty-four Years, 
and then left the Throne to his Son Leo TV. who was like- 
wife a great Prince, and defended his Dominions with equal 
Courage and Succefs. He ruled the Empire only five 
Years, and might have eftabliflied both the Reputation of 
his Government, and the Succeffion of his Family, if it had 
not been for the over-bearing Temper of his Emprefs Irene , 
who after his Death firft governed in Conjundion with her 
Son Conftantine Porphyrogenitus , and afterwards murdering 
him and all the Royal Family, reigned for feme time alone, 
till in A. D. 802, ftie was depofed, and fhut up in a 
Monaftery. 
Charlemagne having now affumed the Title of Emperor 
of the Weft, it funk the Reputation of the Greek Mo- 
narchs exceedingly ; and the fucceeding Emperors being 
moft of them unfortunate, and many of them unworthy, 
there fell out nothing but Tyrannies, Rebellions, Depofi- 
tions, Murders, and fuch-like Confufions, during the Space 
of between three and four hundred Years, till the Holy 
War broke out, when through the Madnefs of the Weftern 
Princes the Emperors of the Eaft might, if they had ma- 
naged prudently, have recovered their former Glory y but 
they behaved unfteadily, bafely, and perfidioufly, during 
the whole War ; and befides, they were perpetually plagued 
with Rebellions and Revolutions, in which the Latins , for 
their own fakes, taking part, fet up Alexis Angelas , whom 
the Greeks murdered ; which threw all that Part of the 
World into the utmoft Confufion, fo that the Chriftian 
Princes, inftead of profecuting their Wars againft the 
Turks , turned their Arms upon the Greeks , who in the 
midft of thefe Misfortunes could not agree amongft them- 
felves, but divided their Empire into two under Alexis 
Commenus , who made Trebifond a Town in Natolia on the 
Euxine Sea, his Capital ; and Theodoras Lafcaris , who made 
Adrianople the Seat of his Government, while the Latins feized 
the greateft Part of the Empire, becaufe the Greeks did not 
feimburfe their Charge for reftoring young Alexis. By this 
means the Greek Empire w^as divided into three Parts, and 
the Latins fet up Baldwin Count of Flanders to be Emperor 
at Conftantinople. 
This great Event happened about the Year 1200, and 
the Latin Emperors, which were five in Number, remained 
poffeffed of Conftantinople for fixty Years ; and then it was 
recovered by the Greek Emperor Michael Paleologus , who, 
though a bad Prince, enlarged his Dominions, and defended 
himfelf bravely againft all his Enemies j and after a Reign 
of twenty-three Years, left the Empire to his Son Andro- 
nicus II. who ruled it forty-five Years with various For- 
tune 2 till in his old Age his Grandfon Andronicus III. by 
2 
the Affiftance of the Genoefe , dethroned him, and flint him 
up in a Monaftery. It was under the Reign of this latter 
Andronicus that the Turks became very formidable, and 
threatened to compleat that Ruin which the Saracens had 
begun, to which they were encouraged by the loofe Admi- 
niftration of this Emperor and his Succeffors. 
John Cantacuzenus being left Guardian to Andronicus *s 
two Sons, John and Manuel , ufurped the Throne in 1338. 
In the Beginning of his Reign he was chafed from Conftan- 
tinople , where the People had crowned John the Son of 
Andronicus , which occafioned a long War ; Cantacuzenus 
made a League with the T urks , fubdued Lydia , Cappadocia , 
and other Provinces, with the Help of the Venetians y but 
John Paleologus , by the Help of the Genoefe , defeated him 
by Sea and Land ; after which he retired to a Monaftery 
on Mount Athos , with his Son Matthew , whom he had 
affociated into the Empire , and his Emprefs retired to a 
Nunnery. During his Retirement he wrote the Hiftory of 
his own Reign in four Books, which is reckoned one of the 
fineft Pieces written by any of the modern Greeks. 
John VI. of the Family of Paleologus , fucceeded in 1354. 
He was fuccefsful in his War againft the Bulgarians , and 
afterwards made a League with the Turks y but was def- 
pifed by the Sultan Amur at h I. who took feveral Places 
from him, and made Adrianople the Sear of the Turkijh 
Empire in 1362. Andronicus Son to John, confpired 
againft his Father, for which he was imprifoned, and had 
his Eyes put out ; but making his Efcape to Amur at b , he 
by his Affiftance, and that of the Genoefe , dethroned his 
Father, and imprifoned him and his Uncle Emanuel , who 
making his Efcape to Bajazet the Sultan of the Turks , and 
offering to hold the Empire of him, dethroned his Ne- 
phew in the third Year of his Reign ; yet afterwards the 
Turks broke with him, and befieged Conftantinople , which 
obliged him to go about to the chief Courts of Europe for 
Relief. He flayed two Years at Paris , where, hearing 
that Tamerlane had defeated Bajazet Emperor of the Turks, 
and obliged him to raife the Siege, he returned to Conftan- 
tinople y but being ftill unfuccefsful, he refigned the Empire 
to his Son John, and retired into a Monaftery, where he 
died. 
His Son John VII. fucceeded in 418. During his Reign 
the Turks took Theffalonica , and became Mafters of moft of 
the Greek Empire, except Conftantinople. This obliged 
John to have Recourfe to the Latins for Affiftance, and to 
wiffi for an Union of the Greek and Latin Churches. It 
was with this View that he came to Ferrara , where the 
Pope had fummoned a Council ; and there he had great 
Promifes made him of Support againft the Turks y and re- 
turning from thence to Conftantinople , he died about fix 
Years afterwards. 
Conftantine XV. fucceeded his Brother in 1445. He had 
fignalized himfelf in the War of Peloponnefus , and for his 
great Strength was furnamed the Dragon. Pope Nicholas V. 
fent a Cardinal to renew the Agreement, wherein he fuc- 
ceeded, on promife of affifting him ; but the Latins being 
flow in fending their Supplies, Sultan Mahomet II. ravaged 
Greece , befieged Conftantinople by Sea and Land, and car- 
ried it after fifty-eight Days. The Emperor Conftantine did 
all that was poffible to defend the Place ; but being negleded 
by the Latins , and not fupplied with Money by the Citi- 
zens, the Turks prevailed, and himfelf, after taking Leave 
of his Officers, went to defend the Breach, where he was 
killed, fighting valiantly ; and being known by his Ar- 
mour, the Turks cut off his Head, and carried it on a Lance 
through the City.- This happened on the 28th of May 
1453. The Turkijh Emperor deftroyed afterwards all the 
Imperial Family, and having totally overturned the Greek 
Monarchy, eftabliflied the Seat of the Turkijh Empire at. 
Conftantinople , where it has ever fince remained. 
If we confider the extenfive Dominions, the vaft Power, 
and the wife Form of Government, originally eftabliflied 
in this Eaftern Empire ; one cannot help wondering that it 
fhould be overturned, and extinguifhed in fuch a manner. 
But, on the other hand, if we refled on the Luxury, Cor- 
ruption, and tyrannical Abufe of Power, that fo manifeftly 
appeared in the Adminiftration of almoft all the Emperors 
after Jufiinian , and confider at the fame time the mutinous 
and feditious Difpofition of their Subjeds, we may be rather 
inclined 
