to 1401. feizes the of Ierman of his reign, fignalized his fanguinary humour J.C.1389,. and the ambition with which he was devoured. Heg. 791s to-804. He had married, as we have feen, the daughter of lerman Ogli, prince of Upper Phrygia: this Bajazet alliance did not protect that fovereign from the dominions avidity of his fon-in-law. Bajazet was no fooner Ogli. arrived in Afia, than, under pretext of Ierman Ogli's tribute not being paid, he fell on his eftates, and, in lefs than two months, united them to the Ottoman crown, after which he banished his father-in-law to Ipfala; but the latter, fearing the into Perfia, where elty of the fultan, fled during his latter years, he led a miserable, wandering life. 1 en in Europe by Stephen, fovereign of Molda An enemy more worthy of Bajazet foon drew He is beat. him into Europe: this was Stephen, fovereign of Moldavia. Stephen was a warlike prince; he had made conquefts from the Poles and Hunga- via rians, and for two years paft had beaten Amurath's generals. The emperor refolved to avenge his father; he had a bridge thrown over the Danube, entered Moldavia, and came and encamped on the borders of the river Siretus, at a village called Rafboé. Stephen, as ardent as the Turkish emperor, did not long delay to join him; the battle was foon begun, and, after an obftinate conflict, the Moldavians were vanquifhed. Their prince fled the laft, when he repaired to the gates of Nols, a fortified town, in which he had left his mother and children. 1 J.C. 1389, This princefs came on the ramparts, and refused to 1401. Heg. 791, to let her fon enter the town. "Go," faid fhe to 804. to him," repair your fhame, and perifh in arms, " rather than live under this infamy." The Moldavian, penetrated with this reproach, returned. towards his army, and, by prayers and cries, reaffembled twelve thousand difperfed foldiers: with this troop, which was not the third of his army, he returned to the enemy, and found them scattered over the country, gathering booty. The Turks, who are very formidable at the firft onfet, neither know how to keep their ranks, nor find their colours, when they think themselves certain of the victory. Stephen flew as many of them as he could meet with; and this little army well united, which the fhame of the past, and the prefent fuccefs, rendered docile to the voice of their chief, was now irresistible. Caraman Caraman Ogli,* one of the most powerful vanquished emirs in Afia, having learned Bajazet's defeat and put to in Europe, thought the inftant favorable to by Bajazet, death. The fultan ravage the dominions of this neighbour; but takes pof his eftates. feffion of the fultan, who had juft been vanquished, repaffed almost immediately into Afia, with an army quite fresh; the promptitude and facility with which he continually tranfported his troops. from *He was defcended from one of the emirs that parted Afia minor with Othman, after the deftruction of the kingdom of Iconia. His poffeffions, fituated along the Mediterranean fea, adjoining to Syria, ftill bear the name of Caramania. They had not been divided like thofe of the other emirs. to 1401. to 804. from Afia to Europe, and from Europe to Afia, J.C. 1389, procured him the furname of Ilderim, which fig Heg. 791, nifies Lightening. The Turks, covetous and martial, joined in crouds the enfigns of a con-cells queror, whofe high fpirit was not to be brought down by a few misfortunes, and who paid fervices by parting his conquefts with the foldiers, to whom he was indebted for them. And indeed, no Turkish emperor ever gave more timars than Bajazet. Moreover, he generously abandoned the booty to the foldiers. This custom had been the cause of his defeat in Moldavia, which he took care to indemnify himself for, against Caraman Ogli. The latter was befieging Kutaia, when the indefatigable Bajazet appeared before enemies, as much astonished at the rapidity of his course, as at the number and appearance of his troops. Caraman Ogli was defeated the firft battle. In vain did he seek his fafety in flight; he was taken and conducted to the feet of Bajazet, who had him inftantly put to death. The two fons of this unfortunate prince were condemned to perpetual imprisonment thus Caramania became the prey of the vanquisher. All the towns eagerly opened their gates to Bajazet, where he appeared less like a conqueror than a peaceable sovereign. Bajazet had not imposed on himself the law of carrying arms only against the enemies of Islamifm. This policy, which his predeceffors had thought J.C.1389, thought neceffary, coft them many perfidies. to 1401. to 804. Heg. 791, They had been obliged to feek pretences for extending the Ottoman empire at the expence of He feizes the followers of Mahomet. The monarch's amtowns of bition did not permit him to diffemble. Certain feveral Armenia and the of being feconded by greedy foldiers, he declared dominions mir Kur terum. 9 of the e- war openly in Afia against the fultan Burham Elledin, prince of Armenia, and took from him in a fingle campaign, Amafia, Kokad, and feveral other towns. The year after, he feized the poffeffions of Kurterum, emir of Caftamona, who was lately dead. His fon, Isfendar, yielded up the heritage of his ancestors to the victorious arms of Bajazet.lv Bajazet beats an army of confede command gifmund, king of Heg. 795. His great fuccefs in Afia did not make him neglect Europe. He frequently croffed the ftraits rates in of Gallipoli; she took fome towns on the Danube, Europe, and reduced all Walachia. Sigifmund, king of ed by Si- Hungary, justly alarmed at Bajazet's progrefs, Hungary. perfuaded the Chriftian princes to oppose the ra1.C.1393 pidity of his conquefts. Every one, according to his abilities, or the fear which the Turks infpired him with, furnished troops to march under the Hungarian monarch, more interested than all of them to keep this dangerous neighbour in awe. Sigifmund, at the head of a hundred thoufand Chriftians, affembled for the common caufe, undertook the fiege of Nicopoli. Bajazet chofe rather to march against the enemy with fixty thousand men, than leave them the time to af femble 1 to 1401. Heg. 791, to ́804.. femble a more numerous army; he flattered him- J.C. 1393, felf, that confederates, whofe country, difcipline, interefts, and languages were fo various, and moreover fo little accustomed to the voice of their commanders, would be eafily vanquished by his janiffaries and spahis, so well disciplined and tractable. Bajazet attacked the Christians the very day he came up with them; the battle was bloody, and the defeat foon so general, that, in less than three hours, the whole confederate army was difperfed. They fled tumultuously from foldiers as fierce as valiant, who gave no quarter even to thofe that had thrown down their arms through terror: the greateft part of the chiefs was flain. Bajazet, in order to terrify all the western Europeans, who had armed more through religious zeal than perfonal intereft, ordered all thofe to be cut in pieces that fell in the way of his foldiers. Sigifmund faved himself almost alone by favor of a difguife and the obfcurity of the night. Thofe, who efcaped the flaughter, perished in great number through fatigue and hunger in arid, defolated plains. fow the difcord be nuel and This advantage, against the Chriftians, en- Bajazet couraged the infatiable Bajazet to a more con- feeds of fiderable one. For a long time paft the eastern tween Maempire, reduced almoft to the city of tinople, feemed to expect that the monarch would take poffeffion of it. ceffor of the Cæfars, trembling on the G Conftan- John Pa- leologus. abandons The fuc- the throne fragments to John. of |