and the sword that was destined to take the earth did not rust in its scabbard. peace from "The whole body of the Turkish nation embraced with fervour and sincerity the religion of Mahomet. The NORTHERN SWARMS of barbarians who overspread both Europe and Asia, have been irreconcilably separated by the consequences of a similar conduct. The first of the Seljukian sultans was conspicuous by his zeal and faith: each day he repeated the five prayers which are enjoined to the true believers; of each week, the first two days were consecrated by an extraordinary fast, and in every city a mosch was completed, before Togrul presumed to lay the foundations of a palace. "With the belief of the Koran, the son of Seljuk imbibed a lively reverence for the successor of the prophet. But that sublime character was still disputed by the caliphs of Bagdad and Egypt, and each of the rivals was solicitous to prove his title in the judgment of the strong, though illiterate barbarians. Mahmud the Gaznevide had declared himself in favour of Abbas; and had treaded with indignity the robe of honour which was presented by the Fatimite ambassador. Yet the ungrateful Hashimite had changed with the change of fortune; he applauded the victory of Zendecan, and named the Seljukian Sultan his TEMPORAL VICEGERENT OVER THE MOSLEM WORLD. As Togrul executed and enlarged this important trust, he was called to the deliverance of the caliph Cayem, and obeyed the holy summons, which gave a new kingdom to his arms. In the palace of Bagdad, the commander of the faithful still slumbered, a venerable phantom. His servant or master, the prince of the Bowides, could no longer protect him from the insolence of meaner tyrants; and the Euphrates and Tigris were oppressed by the revolt of the Turkish and Arabian Emirs. The presence of a conqueror was implored as a blessing; and the transient mischief of fire and sword were excused as the sharp but salutary remedies which alone could restore the health of the republic. At the head of the irresistible force," (the king who came like a whirlwind,) "the Sultan of Persia marched from Hamadan; the proud were crushed, the prostrate were spared, the prince of the Bowides disappeared; the heads of the most obstinate rebels were laid at the feet of Togrul; and he inflicted a lesson of obedience on the people of Mosul and Bagdad. After the chastisement of the guilty, and the restoration of peace, the royal shepherd accepted the reward of his labours; and a solemn comedy represented the triumph of religious prejudice over barbarian power. THE TURKISH SULTAN embarked on the Tigris, landed at the gate of Rana, and made his public entry on horseback. At the palace gate, he respectfully dismounted, preceded by his emirs without arms. The caliph was seated behind his black veil; the black garment of the Abbassides was cast over his shoulders, and he held in his hand THE STAFF OF THE APOSTLE OF GOD. The conqueror of the east kissed the ground, stood some time in a modest posture, and was led towards the throne by the vizier and an interpreter. After Togrul had seated himself on another throne, HIS COMMISSION WAS PUBLICLY READ, WHICH DECLARED HIM TEMPORAL LIEUTENANT OF THE VICAR OF THE PROPHET. He was successively invested with seven robes of honour, and presented with seven slaves, the natives of the seven climates of the Arabian empire. His mystic veil was perfumed with musk, two crowns were placed on his head; TWO SCIMITARS WERE girded to HIS SIDE, as the symbols of a double reign over the east and west. After THIS INAUGURATION, the Sultan was prevented from prostrating himself a second time; but he twice kissed the hand of the commander of the faithful, and HIS TITLES WERE PROCLAIMED BY THE VOICE OF HERALDS AND THE APPLAUSE OF THE MOSLEMS. In a second visit to Bagdad, the Seljukian prince again rescued the caliph from his enemies; and devoutly, on foot, led the bridle of his mule from the prison to the palace. Their alliance was cemented by the marriage of Togrul's sister with the successor of the prophet. Without reluctance he had introduced a Turkish virgin into his harem; but Cayem proudly refused his daughter to the Sultan, disdained to mingle the blood of the Hashemites with the blood of a Scythian shepherd; and protracted the negotiation many months, till the gradual diminution of his revenue admonished him that he wAS STILL IN THE HANDS OF A MASTER. The royal nuptials were followed by the death of Togrul himself (A. D. 1063.) As he left no children, his nephew, Alp Arsan, succeeded to the title and prerogatives of Sultan; and his name, after that of the caliph, was PRONOUNCED IN THE PUBLIC PRAYERS OF THE MOSLEMS. Yet in this revolution the Abbasides acquired a larger measure of liberty and power. ON THE THRONE OF ASIA, THE TURKISH MONARCHS were less jealous of the domestic administration of Bagdad; and the commanders of the faithful were relieved from the ignominious vexations to which they had been exposed by the presence and poverty of the Persian dynasty." ""* The preceding interesting paragraph, which so explicitly shows the connexion between the Saracen and Turkish powers, has been given at length; and, shewing as clearly how the vicegerent of the commander of the faithful over the Moslem world, executed his commissioned trust, the beginning of the immediately succeeding paragraph bears this title on the margin, opposite to the very next line,-" THE TURKS INVADE THE ROMAN EMPIRE." Scarcely had the Sultan begun to prove his title to the charge when he was INVESTED in the office of lieutenant of * Gibbon's Hist. vol. x. pp. 345-351, chap. 57. the vicar of the prophet. But of the vicar himself he was then the master. The caliph reposed; but the Sultan conquered. He was not slack in the execution of his charge. The conquest of Armenia and Georgia, (A. D. 1065,) the frontier of the Roman empire, was "the news of a day." In August 1071, in another fatal day, in which " Alp Arsan flew to the scene of action," "the Asiatic provinces of Rome were irretrievably sacrificed;" and the emperor of Constantinople was a prisoner in the hands of the Turkish monarch.* "During the life of Alp Arsan, his eldest son (Malek Shah), had been acknowledged as the future Sultan of the Turks. On his father's death, the inheritance was disputed by an uncle, a cousin, and a brother: they drew their scimitars, and assembled their followers; and the triple victory of Malek Shah established his own reputation and the right of primogeniture. In every age, and more especially in Asia, the thirst of power has inspired the same passions, and occasioned the same disorders; but from the long series of civil war, it would not be so easy to extract a sentiment more pure and magnanimous than is contained in the Turkish prince. On the eve of the battle, he performed his devotions at Thous, before the tomb of the iman Riza. As the Sultan rose from the ground, he asked his vizier Nizam, who had knelt beside him, what had been the object of his secret petition: "That your arms may be crowned with victory," was the prudent, and, most probably, the sincere answer of the minister. "For my part," replied the generous Malek, "I implored the Lord of Hosts, that he would take from me my life and crown, if my brother be more worthy than myself to reign over the Moslems." The favourable judgment of heaven was ratified by the caliph; and for the first time, the sacred title of the commander of the faithful was communicated to a barbarian. But this barbarian, by his personal merit, and the extent of his empire, was the greatest prince of his age. After the conquest of Persia and Syria, he marched at the head of innumerable armies, to achieve the conquest of Turkestan, which had been undertaken by his father. Beyond the Oxus he reduced to his obedience the cities of Bochara, Carizme, and Samarcand, and crushed each rebellious slave, or independent savage, who dared to resist. Malek passed the Sihon, or Jaxartes, the last boundary of Persian civilization; the hordes of Turkestan yielded to his supremacy; his name was inserted on the coins, and in the prayers of Cashgar, a Tartar kingdom on the extreme borders of * Gibbon's Hist. pr. 352, 356. China. From the Chinese frontier he stretched his immediate jurisdiction, or feudatory sway, to the west and south," (he stretched his hand over the countries,) "as far as the mountains of Georgia, the neighbourhood of Constantinople, the holy city of Jerusalem, and the spicy groves of Arabia Fælix. The shepherd king, both in peace and war, was in action and in the field."* So sudden was the rise, and so vast the extent of the Turkish empire. But it was not destined to remain long undivided. : "The greatness and unity of the Turkish empire expired in the person of Malek Shah. His vacant throne was disputed by his brother and his four sons; and after a series of civil wars, the treaty which reconciled the surviving candidates confirmed a lasting separation in the PERSIAN dynasty, the ELDEST and principal branch of the house of Seljuk. The THREE YOUNGER DYNASTIES were those of KERMAN, of SYRIA, and of Roum; the first of these commanded an extensive, though obscure, dominion on the shore of the Indian ocean; the second expelled the Arabian princes of Aleppo and Damascus and the third, our peculiar care, invaded the Roman provinces of Asia Minor. The generous policy of Malek contributed to their elevation: he allowed the princes of his blood, even those whom he had vanquished in the field, to seek new kingdoms worthy of their ambition; nor was he displeased that they should draw away the more ardent spirits, who might have disturbed the tranquillity of his reign. As the supreme head of his family and nation, the great Sultan of Persia commanded the obedience and tribute of his royal brethren; the thrones of Kerman and Nice, of Aleppo and Damascus; the Atabeks, and emirs of Syria and Mesopotamia, erected their standards under the shadow of his sceptre; and the hordes of Turkmans overspread the plains of western Asia. After the death of Malek, the bands of union and subordination were relaxed and finally dissolved; the indulgence of the house of Seljuk invested their slaves with the inheritance of kingdoms; and, in the Oriental style, a crowd of princes arose from the dust of their feet."† Thus was the Turkish empire divided into the four sultanies of Persia, Kerman, Syria, and Roum. The Euphrates subdivided their immense dominions, in nearly equal portions; and drew all its waters from their territories, which encompassed and enclosed it, with all its tributaries, on every side. But vast as was the kingdom of the Turks, * Gibbon's Hist. pp. 363-365. its subdivision threatened it with immediate dissolution. "A prince of the royal line, Cutulmish, the son of Izrail, the son of Seljuk, had fallen in a battle against Alp Arsan, and the humane victor had dropt a tear over his grave. His five sons, strong in arms, ambitious of power, and eager for revenge, unsheathed their scimitars against the son of Alp Arsan. The two armies expected the signal, when the Caliph, forgetful of the majesty which secluded him from vulgar eyes, interposed his venerable mediation. Instead of shedding the blood of your brethren, your brethren both in descent and faith, unite your forces in an holy war against the Greeks, the enemies of God and his apostle.' They listened to his voice; the sultan embraced his rebellious kinsmen; and the eldest, the valiant Soliman, accepted the royal standard, which gave him the free conquest, and hereditary command of the provinces of the Roman empire, and from Arzeroum to Constantinople, and the unknown regions of the West. Accompanied by his four brothers, he passed the Euphrates: the Turkish camp was soon seated in the neighbourhood of Hutaich, in Phrygia; and his flying cavalry laid waste the country as far as the Hellespont and the Black Sea."* The Hellespont alone staid the progress of the Turks. And many ships were in readiness to transport them to the shores of Europe. Antioch, the capital of Syria, yielded to their arms. Damascus was reduced by famine and the sword. Jerusalem became their prey; and three thousand of its citizens were massacred. And the whole power of Europe was speedily exerted to bind, in their own region, the four sultanies of the Euphrates. The fate of Asia Minor was, for a time, again decided in a day. At Dorylæum, in Phrygia, "besides a nameless and unaccountable multitude, three thousand pagan knights were slain in the battle and pursuit." In the siege of Antioch, "one hundred thousand Moslems are said to have fallen by the sword." And Antioch was taken by the crusaders. * Gibbon's Hist. vol. x. pp. 370, 371. + Ibid. p. 65. |