features He recovered his throne by the assistance of the Bulgarians, and exacted a dreadful vengeance on his enemies. He was at last beheaded. Some of the emperors who followed during the remainder of this period, were, Leo III., Constantine IV., Leo IV., and Constantine V. The first three of these were strongly opposed to images, as used in churches. § The mother of the last Constantine, was regent during her son's minority. Her name was Irene, and she proved herself a monster of wickedness. She obliged the sons of Constantine IV. to receive the priesthood, and afterwards ordered them to be murdered. She was singularly cruel towards her own son, who, for attempting to govern by himself when of age, was, by her orders, scourged and confined in the interior of the palace. In 790, he was restored to liberty by the people, when he, in his turn, imprisoned his mother. Two years after, she was apparently reconciled to Constantine, and by encouraging him in his vices, obtained an unhappy ascendency over him. Being rendered odious to his subjects, especially in consequence of repudiating his queen and marrying one of her women, by the advice of Irene, an insurrection took place. This was as she expected; and afforded a pretext for her cruel machinations. Being left with the army in Bythinia, she despatched several officers to depose her son. Arriving at Constantinople without being suspected of such a design, they put out the emperor's eyes in so barbarous a manner, that he died, three days afterwards, in the most excruciating pain. Irene then remained in possession of the empire for five years; and in order to confirm her authority, she made overtures of marriage to Charlemagne, king of France. Her design, however, being divulged, a revolt ensued, in which Nicephorus, great treasurer of the empire, being leader, was proclaimed, and Irene deposed. Having thus obtained the purple, and secured the riches of Irene, Nicephorus banished her to the isle of Lesbos, where the want of a decent provision obliged her to earn a scanty subsistence by the labours of the distaff. Here this miserable woman died of vexation, having enjoyed her ill-gotten power but six years after the murder of her son. KINGDOM OF ITALY. 5. The KINGDOM OF ITALY, which was formed as already related, continued until nearly the close of the present period, viz. 774 A. C. It had been fifty years under the sway of the Lombard kings. During the remainder of its existence, (viz. 150 years,) seventeen kings reigned over the country. The principal of these were Cunibert, Luitprand, Rachisius, Astolphus, and Desiderius or Didier. Luitprand possessed the greatest talents of all the Lombard 91 kings. Under Didier the kingdom of Italy came to an end. § A few particulars concerning these kings, are as follows. Under Cunibert, Italy was invaded by the duke of Brescia, and they met in battle on the banks of the Adda. Before the battle, a deacon of Pavia, named Zeno, who bore a great likeness to Cunibert, offered to take his armour and supply his place at the head of the army. Zeno was consequently killed, and Cunibert obtained a signal vic tory, and afterwards enjoyed a peaceable and happy reign. His Luitprand availed himself of an opportunity, soon after the commencement of his reign, to add to his dominions by conquest. first efforts were directed against Ravenna, which was betrayed into his hands. He afterwards took several other cities. The next year, however, Eutychius, exarch of Ravenna, reconquered a great part of his dominions, with the help of the Venetians, whom Pope Gregory II. excited against Luitprand. The king, resolving to avenge himself on the Pope, became reconciled to Eutychius, and they both advanced towards Rome. The Pope, however, met the king, and appeased him by his eloquence. In two successive instances, in his attempts upon the Pope and Rome, he was diverted from his design. Rachisius, in 749, five years after the commencement of his reign, under the pretence of some infractions of a treaty with the people of Rome, besieged a city which belonged to the Pope. But the Pope had such influence with him when they met, that the king was persuaded to renounce the world, and retire to the abbey of Monte Cassino. His queen and daughter, at the same time, founded a monastery of nuns, near that abbey, whither they retired and took the veil. Astolphus took Ravenna, and seized upon all the dependencies of that principality, not far from the year 750, but soon lost them, by the intervention of Pepin, king of France, who made war upon him. He died in 756, of a fall from his horse. Didier, meditating the conquest of Ravenna, sought the protection of the French King, by marrying one of his daughters to Charlemagne, and the other to his brother Carloman. A difference, however, having arisen between Charlemagne and his father-in-law, the French monarch divorced his wife. Didier highly resented this act. Applying to the Pope to favour his projects, and failing in the attempt, he attacked the papal territory, and endeavoured to seize on the person of the Roman pontiff. Charlemagne, however, coming seasonably to his assistance, met the Lombard king in battle, and taking possession of his sovereignty, sent the royal family to be confined in monasteries in France. The French king thus put an end to the Lombard dominion in Italy, and was himself declared, by the Pope, king of Italy, and patrician of Rome. SPAIN. 6. SPAIN continued under the dominion of the Visogoths till the year 712. It was then conquered by the Saracens, who invaded the country from Mauritania, in Africa, whence they were called Moors. A small part of the north of Spain, never fell under the dominion of that people. Pelagius, the successor of the Gothic sovereigns, founded there the little kingdom of Asturias, in 718; and Garcias Ximenes, that of Navarre, in 758. § The Saracens, in their descent upon Spain, easily overran the country. They had lately founded, in Africa, the empire of Morocco, which was governed by Muza, viceroy of the caliph Waled Almansor. Muza sent his general, Tariff, into Spain, who attacking Don Rodrigo, or Roderic, the Gothic king, in a decisive battle, overcame and slew him. The conquerors succeeded to the sovereignty. Abdallah, son of Muza, married the widow of Roderic, and thus the two nations formed a perfect union. 7. Spain, in this manner conquered by the Saracens, was allotted to governors dependent on the viceroy of Africa, till Abdalrahman, the last heir of the family of the Omiades, formed it into an independent kingdom, and fixed his residence at Cordova. This was about the year 756 A. C. It may be remarked here, that all that part of the kingdom of Spain which was under the dominion of the Moors, embraced the religion of their conquerors; but the two northern provinces above named, remained true to the Christian faith. Abdalrahman, at Cordova, laid the foundation of a flourishing empire, which lasted for a considerable period. He greatly encouraged learning, and thus vied with Haroun Al Raschid at Bagdad, as a patron of letters. Cordova became renowned as one of the most enlightened spots in Europe, under several succeeding reigns. The part of Spain which remained independent of the Moorish yoke, presents little that is important in its history. We may therefore pass it over with the remark, that its Christian sovereigns became rather strengthened than weakened in their power from time to time. FRANCE. 8. In FRANCE, the weak race of the Merovingian kings continued to hold the sovereignty, till the year 751 A. C. On the death of one of them, viz. Dagobert II., (638) who left two infant sons, the government, during their minority, was assumed by their chief officers, termed Mayors of the Palace. Under the management of these ambitious men, the kings of France enjoyed little more than the name. In the time of Thierry, grandson of Dagobert II., the celebrated Pepin d'Heristel was mayor of the palace. He restricted Thierry, nominally the sovereign of the two great divisions of the Frank monarchy, (Austrasia and Neustria) to a small domain, and ruled France during thirty years with great wisdom. The son of Pepin, whose name was Charles Martel, was still more celebrated than his father. Under three kings, he governed France with signal ability, having succeeded to the office of mayor of the Palace. § After his father Pepin's death, Charles was confined by his mother-in-law, in prison. But escaping thence, he was proclaimed duke of Austrasia, and took possession of the sovereign authority over all the kingdom. He made war several times on Childeric, his first nominal sovereign, and finally secured him as a prisoner. 9. Charles was victorious over all his domestic foes, and his arms kept in awe the neighbouring nations, whom he frequently defeated. But the most signal service which he rendered to France, to Europe, and to mankind at large, was his victory over the Saracens, in 732 A. C. These destroying fanatics threatened all Europe with subjugation to the Mahometan dominion and religion; and, but for their providential defeat by Charles Martel, might have been, to this day, the masters of the civilized world. § The Saracens penetrated into France from Spain. They were led by Abderame, a consummate general, who commanded in the name of the caliph, and who soon defeated the duke of Aquitain. After this victory, his desperate bands were about to overrun the kingdom. Here, however, the genius and bravery of Charles rescued the nation from destruction. He brought them to a general action between Poitiers and Tours, and notwithstanding their bravery and numbers, he succeeded in defeating them with immense slaughter. They afterwards rallied in the vicinity of Narbonne, but were again defeated, and at last driven out of the French territory. By this event, the terror with which the Saracens had inspired Europe was greatly diminished, and Charles obtained for himself the surname of Martel, or the Hammer. After the death of Thierry IV., Charles, without placing another king on the throne, continued to govern as before, with the title of duke of France. After several more victories over his enemies, Charles dying, bequeathed the government of France, as an undisputed inheritance, to his two sons Pepin le Bref, and Carloman. As mayors of the palace, the one governed Austrasia, and the other Neustria and Burgundy. The nominal sovereign, at this time, was Childeric III., a weak and insignificant prince. The sole administration devolved at length on Pepin, as Carloman renounced the world and became a monk. Pepin, whose talents were powerful, and whose turn of mind was warlike, governed with great efficiency, and conquered several of the neighbouring tribes. In the year 751, he assembled a parliament at Soissons, where he was proclaimed king of France, having first obtained the sanction of Pope Zachary. Childeric was confined in a convent, and thus ended the Merovingian race of kings. The Carlovingian now succeeded. § Pepin was called Le Bref, or the short, on account of the lowness of his stature, his height being only four and a half feet. Soon after he was crowned, he marched against the revolted Saxons, whom he defeated; and pursuing his brother Grippo into Aquitain, he united Septimia, now Languedoc, to the crown. His brother, who was a turbulent spirit, and gave him disquiet, at length perished. Pepin was thus left to pursue without molestation his useful designs. 10. Having been crowned the second time, by Pope Stephen II., in return for this service, Pepin marched against the Lombards, who had invaded the principality of Ravenna, and threatened Rome itself. The Lombards were spared, only by the surrender of Ravenna, which Pepin bestowed on the Holy See. Thus commenced the temporal authority of the popes. The Saracens, who still possessed a part of the south of France, were forced by his arms from the country, and thus the limits of his dominions were extended in that quarter. After a splendid and successful reign, he died of a dropsy in the chest, at the age of fifty-three or fifty-four years, 768 A. C. § It is related of this monarch, that his diminutive size was compensated by an uncommon strength of body. Having been told that several of his courtiers had secretly ridiculed his personal appearance, he invited them, on the next day, to attend the spectacle of a fight between a lion and a bull. When the two combatants were let loose, the lion leaped on his adversary, and the bull was in danger of instant destruction. "Is there any among you," exclaimed the king to the courtiers that surrounded him, "who has sufficient resolution to oblige the lion to let go his hold?" No one spake. 66 Mine, then, shall be the task," said Pepin, elevating his voice; and leaping into the amphitheatre with a drawn sword, he approached the lion, and with a single blow separated the head from the body. 11. The dominions of Pepin were, at his death, divided |