The Eastern Empire. R O 
The barons of France now raised to the throne Peter 
of Courtenay, count of Auxerre, cousin to the French 
king, and brother-in-law to the late emperor. In order to 
assert his title to the empire of the East, this ambitious 
prince had mortgaged the best part of his patrimony, and, 
by the assistance of Philip of France, passed the Alps at the 
head of a body of knights, and was crowned by the pope 
Honorius. The Venetians, at that period the carriers of 
Europe, transported Peter and his forces beyond the Adriatic, 
on condition that he should recover Durazzo for them, from 
the despot Theodorus Angelus. The emperor, however, 
after making an effectual assault on the place, advanced 
towards Thessalonica; but soon becoming entangled in the 
mountains of Epirus, he was arrested at a treacherous 
banquet, by the prince of that country, and terminated a 
hopeless captivity, either by a natural or violent death. 
His eldest son, Philip, preferred his maternal inheritance 
of Namur to a throne exposed to such a variety of hazards; 
.but the next brother, Robert, with more ambition than 
prudence, accepted the splendid boon, and was crowned 
by the patriarch in the cathedral of St. Sophia. 
During his calamitous reign, the French were pressed on 
all sides by the Greeks of Nice and Epirus. Theodorus 
Angelus expelled the son of Boniface from Thessalonica, 
and having erected his standard on the walls of Adrianople, 
assumed the title of emperor. John Vataces, the son-in-law 
and successor of'Theodorus Lascaris, seized the residue of the 
provinces of Asia : his fleets commanded the Hellespont, and 
having reduced the islands of Lesbos and Rhodes, attacked 
the Venetians of Candia, and intercepted the succours of 
the West. 
The unhappy Robert, at once oppressed by public mis¬ 
fortunes and personal wrongs, found refuge only in the grave, 
from the intolerable weight of his calamities. He died after 
an unfortunate reign of nine years, during which he enjoyed 
the single satisfaction of taking prisoner the despot Theo¬ 
dorus, his father’s enemy, whose eyes he caused to be put 
out. 
Baldwin of Courtenay, had been born during the cap¬ 
tivity of his father Peter, and was now only eight years of 
age. Though dear to the barons of Romania, they saw the 
impolicy of investing a child with the purple in such a 
critical situation of affairs, and therefore conferred that 
honour on John de Brienne, the titular king of Jerusalem ; 
on condition that Baldwin should marry his second daughter, 
and succeed, at a mature age, to the throne of Constanti¬ 
nople. 
The age of Brienne exceeded fourscore years, nor had 
time impaired his faculties, or diminished the military repu¬ 
tation of his youthful years. Yet the commencement of his 
reign was spent in tranquil repose, till he was aroused by the 
formidable alliance of Vataces, emperor of Nice, and of 
Azan, king of Bulgaria.- At the head of his army, the 
aged hero sallied from the walls of his capital: the hosts 
of his enemies fled before the lightning of his sword ; and 
the citizens, animated by his example, boarded the hostile 
galleys near the walls, and dragged twenty-live of them into 
the harbour of Constantinople. The following year wit¬ 
nessed other triumphs over the same enemy; and the last 
moments of the veteran monarch were dedicated to religion 
in the habit of a Franciscan monk. He swayed the sceptre 
about nine years, and left it to his son-in-law, Baldwin. 
The life and reign of Baldwin were unprofitably wasted 
in soliciting the cold compassion of the princes of Europe: 
but the Christians of the West beheld with frigid indifference 
the expiring empire of the East; and either dealt their 
bounties with a sparing hand, or churlishly denied them. 
Even the Roman pontiff confined his liberality to the pro¬ 
clamation of a crusade, and the cheap proffer of indul¬ 
gences, which already began to sink in the public estimation. 
Yet superstition had not essentially lost its force : Constanti¬ 
nople was still in possession of the identical crown of thorns 
as, it was believed, had been placed on our Saviour’s head at 
the time of his crucifixion ; and this relic was of such reputed 
value, that it was pledged to the Venetians for 7000/. ster- 
Vol. XXII No. 1505. 
M E. The Eastern Empire. 333 
ling, and 10,000 marks of silver were afterwards given to 
Baldwin to complete the purchase on the part of the king of 
France. 
Vataces in successive campaigns had triumphed over the 
Bulgarians, and reduced the limits of their sovereignty. The 
kingdom of Thessalonica was added to the empire of Nice ; 
but the restoration of the Greeks was suspended by the death 
of Vataces, the fugitive reign of his son Theodorus, and the 
helpless infancy of his grandson John. That young prince 
indeed was oppressed by the inordinate ambition of Michael 
Palaeologus, who possessed all the virtues and vices that qua¬ 
lify a man for rising to sovereign power. 
Intent on the conquest of Constantinople, his designs 
were promoted by the Genoese, the rivals of the republic of 
Venice: the Latins were gradually driven from their last pos¬ 
sessions in Thrace ; the suburb of Galata was assaulted; and 
in the ensuing spring his favourite general, Alexius Strate- 
gopulus, passed the Hellespont, and reinforcing his army 
with rebels and outlaws, advanced in the night with a select 
detachment to the gates of Constantinople. At this time 
the bravest of the French and Venetians were absent: the 
scaling ladders were applied; and part of the volunteers were 
conducted, by a subterraneous passage, into the heart of the 
city. The air soon resounded with a general acclamation of 
“ Long life and victory to Michael and John, the august 
emperors of the Romans!” and Baldwin, in consternation 
and dismay, escaping to the sea-shore, was conveyed to Italy, 
and spent the remainder of his life in vainly attempting 
to rouse the catholic powers to join in his restoration. Thus 
the Latin Empire of the East, which commenced under a 
Baldwin, terminated under an emperor of the same name. 
Palaeologus, who had effected this revolution at Con¬ 
stantinople, was son of the elder sister of the wife of Theo¬ 
dorus Lascaris, and had the law of female descent been 
strictly observed, might have urged her superior pretensions 
to the throne. In fact, the descent of Palaeologus, and the 
imprudence of his adherents, had exposed him to the suspi¬ 
cion of aiming at the sovereignty in the reign of Vataces. 
To exculpate himself from this, he was advised by the arch¬ 
bishop of Philadelphia, a dexterous courtier, to accept the 
judgment of God in the fiery proof of the ordeal:—namely, 
to bear a red-hot ball of iron three times from the altar to the 
rails of the sanctuary, without artifice and without injury. 
The reason of Palaeologus was too strong to become the dupe 
of such an imposture; but he eluded the experiment with 
sense and pleasantry. “ I am a soldier,” said he “ and will 
boldly enter the lists with my accusers; but a layman like 
myself, and a sinner, is not endowed with the gift of miracles. 
Your piety, most holy prelate, may deserve the interposition 
of Heaven, and from your hands I will receive the fiery globe, 
the pledge of my innocence.” The archbishop was con¬ 
founded, the emperor smiled, and the pardon of the inge¬ 
nious Michael was sealed by new rewards. 
In the succeeding reign of Theodorus, Palaeologus had 
alternately known disgrace and favour ; but the dying breath 
of the prince recommended to him the protection of his 
infant son—a trust which he little deserved. Being elevated 
to the rank of regent, he employed the royal treasures in 
corrupting the guards; and by himself or his emissaries, he 
endeavoured to persuade every rank of subjects, that their 
prosperity would rise in proportion to the scope which was 
given to his own power. He courted popularity by dimi¬ 
nishing the weight of taxes, and by prohibiting ordeals and 
judicial combats. The clergy he honoured with every mark 
of external respect; flattered the multitude with the idea of 
liberty; and represented to the nobles, the necessity of a 
mature and vigorous government. 
In consequence of these manoeuvres, he was first invested 
with the title and prerogatives of despot, which gave him 
the second rank in the empire ; soon after he was associated 
to the purple, and, in compliment to his age and merit, ob¬ 
tained the honours of precedence. His general Strategopulus 
now obtained the rank of Caesar, and the obligation was 
repaid by restoring Constantinople to the authority of the 
Greeks. 
4 Q Twenty 
