J.C. 1456. France; but experience and reafon had already Heg. 860. cured the French of their madness for crufades. The kings of France began to open their eyes, and see how bad it was for their people, to facrifice fo many men and fo much money in foreign wars, and to forget the interefts of their own nation, in order to be occupied only with those of the popes. Charles VII. was deaf to the repeated folicitations of the pontiff, who with grief faw the decline of that authority, which his predeceffors had ufurped over all Christendom.

Whilft the preparations for this crufade were advancing rather flowly, Mahomet refolved to attack, without hesitation, those who as yet only menaced him. He marched towards Belgrade at the head of a hundred and fifty thousand men : two hundred brigantines were intended to block up the town on the fide of the Danube. This ftrong place is fituated on a peninfula, formed by the Danube on the north, and by the river Save on the west. On this large space of water, he formed a chain of brigantines, which blocked up the town. He flattered himself with stopping up, on that fide, every paffage by which a fuccour might be introduced but Hunniade, who had heard at Buda of the expedition of Mahomet, and the means which he was employing to make it fucceed, came down the Danube with a hundred and fixty brigantines, better built and mounted, and fafter failers than those

of the Turks. The Hungarian veffels were J.C. 1456. Heg. 860. loaded with ammunition and foldiers. Hunniade briskly attacked this chain; the combat was hardly any thing more than a boarding. The Hungarian general killed the Turkish admiral with his own hand; at length the Hungarians having funk two brigantines, they united all their efforts to that end. The Turkish veffels, the workings of which were neither fo quick nor fo certain as thofe of the Hungarians, were presently difperfed. Hunniade took fixteen of them, and arrived in the port of Belgrade, dragging them after him; he did not lofe a fingle veffel. His arrival communicated inexpreffible courage to the garrison, townfmen, clergy, and even women; he affured them, that Mahomet would raise the fiege, as his father had done; every one contributed to the defence of the place. Whilft the fighting-men fallied out to repel the workmen and fill up the trenches, the townfmen were bufy in repairing the breaches and building up the bastions that had been beaten down.

is wounded

fiege.

who de

Mahomet, feeing the works repaired as foon as Mahomet destroyed, fancied that men would vanquish with & obliged more certainty than cannon. He multiplied the to raise the affaults, and confequently augmented the flaugh- Hunniade, ter. All the ditches were filled with dead bodies, fends Beland the janiffaries marched to be killed, on the of his bodies of their expiring companions. The grand vizier, the beglerbegs, the bafhaws, the aga of

grade, dies

wounds.

Heg. 860.

1.C. 1456. the janiffaries, in short, all the chiefs, gave the example in thefe affaults, and all perished in them. Mahomet was no longer furrounded but by fubalterns, whose bravery had gained them his favor; he was wounded himself in the thigh in a fally, and fell motionless. It was with difficulty that the janiffaries of his guard wrefted him from the Hungarians, who were cut in pieces in defending their prey. Huhniade, who had expofed himself as much as the fultan, was wounded in the fame engagement. Mahomet's wound would no longer permit him to attend himself to the operations of the fiege. The lofs of all his generals in whom he had confidence, added to the number of killed and wounded, obliged him to raise it. It is faid that he shed tears with rage, on feeing his troops file off, particularly when he turned his eyes on the heaps of dead bodies which he left around the ramparts. Hunniade died of his wounds the fame day the fiege was raised. The death of this great man` was a triumph; he faw, as he expired, his enemies flee before him.

J.C. 1458.
Heg. 862.

The fultan having retired to Conftantinople, Mahomet thought of establishing the feat of his empire

raises the

fince called

edifice there. This great city, from the advantage of the old fe- its fituation, could not fail of being foon reraglio.

rals com

gene- peopled. Conftraint was made use of but a very plete the short time: Mahomet's fubjects flocked thither,

conqueft of

the Morea. particularly after he had undertaken a magnifi

cent

Heg. 862,

cent edifice, which he defigned for the refidence J.C. 1458.
of the Turkish emperors. At prefent, this pa-
lace, called the old feraglio, is the refidence of
the widows of the deceased or depofed fultans,
and in general of the wives the monarch no
longer chooses to retain in the palace in which
he refides. Whilft Mahomet's generals were
completing the reduction of the Morea, or ra-
ther receiving the tribute of the different towns
which had expected the troops to come and de-
mand it of them: the fultan, who confidered the
prefent war beneath his attention, went to fee a
new conqueft, which his vizier Omar had made
for him at a still lefs expence than that of the
Morea.

This J.C. 1459.
Heg. 864.

Athens u

Ottoman

This was the principality of Athens. celebrated city, though greatly fallen from its The proancient fplendor, was always confiderable by its vince of port and commerce. In the thirteenth century, nited to the when the Latins were in poffeffion of the throne empire. of Conftantinople, Athens, Megara, Thebes, and Delphos, had formed a petty fovereignty, which, by fucceffion of time and different revolutions, was fallen from the house of Villehardouin, to the house of Acciaioli, a Florentine. Maurice Acciaioli, the laft prince of Athens, had, at his death, left an only fon, quite an infant, under the care of his wife, and a fon of his brother, called Franco. This last mentioned prince, who had no kind of pretenfion, either to the fceptre

J.C. 1459 of Athens, or the guardianship of his coufin, Heg. 864. faw with jealoufy all the authority in the hands of a woman, The princefs regent governed with apparent fagacity; fhe had the addrefs to make herself refpected by her fubjects, 'till a noble Venetian, called Palmerio, the fon of the podeftate of Napoli, was fent by his father to Athens on fome commercial treaty. He fell in love with the regent, and found means to gain her affections. An obftacle, apparently infurmountable, oppofed their union. Palmerio was already married at Venice; his paffion blinded him so far, that he went into his own country in order to get rid of his wife by poison. He returned precipitately to Athens, polluted with a crime, of which he foon received the recom-, penfe. The princefs regent made herself his accomplice, by giving him her hand and all the authority intrusted to her. This double crime," which had irritated the Athenians, furnished the ambitious Franco with a very favorable pretext for feizing the orphan's inheritance. He eafily made himself a party among the people, and obtained ftill more eafily the inveftiture from Mahomet, who faw with pleafure the diftracted state of this province. The culpable regent was arrested, with her son, and conducted to Megara, where, a few months after, the ufurper had them both put to death. Palmerio, the princess's hufband, having taken refuge in Conftantinople, complained