daring which characterised the descendants of heroes. Their numbers were, however, too much reduced to enable them successfully to cope with their adversaries, and year by year their ranks were thinned by massacre, exposure, and famine. For forty years the depopulation of the Moorish race continued steadily to progress, during which time no less than three millions of souls were driven from the soil their ancestors had conquered, and in A.D. 1610, the final expulsion of the Moors from Spain left that kingdom a prey to the Christianity of the Inquisition, and its terrible myrmidons.

CHAPTER VIII

THE SULTANS OF TURKEY

A.D. 1288-TILL PRESENT TIME

FROM the dim and distant days of antiquity onwards, two races the Mongols and the Turks-were wont to issue forth in swarming hordes from what is now known as Central Asia, plundering, devastating, and leaving a trail of misery and sorrow in all lands which came in their path. After many decades of internecine struggle, the Turks remained possessors of the regions in Western Asia which border on the shores of the Mediterranean. While the momentous events outlined in these brief sentences were occurring, the hand of time had passed in its course to the meridian of the thirteenth century of the Christian era. It chanced that at the village of Angora a fierce struggle was taking place between the Mongols and the Turks in the thick of the fight, at an hour when victory was likely to slip from the grasp of the latter, an unknown horseman appeared upon the scene at the head of a small band of doughty warriors. The assistance of this knight errant decided the contest, and so it

happened that Ertoghrul, a member of the Oghuz family of Turks who had been driven out by the Mongols from his lands in Khorassan, secured new possessions in Anatolia as a reward for his services to the Sultan of Iconium. Established in this neighbourhood, the wandering soldier had soon an opportunity of displaying his mettle against a combined attack of Byzantines and Mongols. The brilliant service of Ertoghrul on this occasion led to further rewards from the gratified Sultan, and the city of Dorylæum henceforth famous in the pages of history as Sultanoni

"the king's front"-passed into the possession of the successful adventurer. By degrees Ertoghrul established his power over his turbulent neighbours, and fixed his capital at Sugut, where in A.D. 1258 was born to him a son named Osman-destined in the fulness of time to be the founder of the Turkish Empire of the Osmanlis or Ottomans. Thirty years of comparative peace, during which his father consolidated his power, and added to his territories, were passed by the son in gaining an experience which in after years stood him in good stead. On the death

of Ertoghrul in A.D. 1288 Osman naturally succeeded to the heritage of his father, as ruler of Eskishehr, where he built a mosque-a Muslim is seldom lacking in outward and visible signs of piety. Year by year the young chieftain extended his possessions, till at length in A.D. 1299 they reached well-nigh to Brusa and Nicæa, the foremost Byzantine cities in Asia. The Turkish chieftain now removed his capital to Yenishehr. At this time the extinction of the Saljuk dynasty enabled Osman to extend his possessions, while minor attacks upon the Christian

armies extending over a number of years, paved the way for the fall of Brusa, which, in A.D. 1326, being unable to resist the attacks of Osman's son, Orkhan, was incorporated into the Ottoman dominions, as the new capital of the empire. Shortly after these important events, Osman died (A.D. 1326) and was buried at Brusa where his sepulchre remains to the present day. His father left him a petty principality, the son founded an empire which extended to the shores of the Hellespont.

His son and successor, Orkhan, at once devoted his energies to enlarge his possessions, and city after city of the Byzantine Empire succumbed to the prowess of his warriors. After this for a while he rested content with the dominions which now formed the Ottoman Empire. The keystone of his success was, of course, his army, which he now entirely reorganised and placed upon a sound footing. Amongst the many reforms which he introduced, was the corps of "Janissaries." The soldiers who were enrolled in this famous body of troops were Christian youths converted by "force majeure" to the religion of Muhammad. Trained in the profession of arms from an early age, their life was one of hardship and strict discipline, but reward was sure, and promotion at times rapid.

At the head of an army to whom plunder and prizes were an irresistible attraction, Orkhan cast longing eyes in the direction of Constantinople; but having married the daughter of the Christian Emperor who sat upon the throne in that capital, he did not, for a while, find an excuse for crossing the Hellespont. Quarrels, however, in the suburbs of the city, in the

end afforded him his chance, and the capture of the Castle of Tzympe gave the Ottomans a footing in Europe; destined ere long to be strengthened by the occupation in A.D. 1358 of the town of Gallipoli, which chancing at that period to have been overthrown by an earthquake, became an easy prey to the Muslim troops.

Örkhan died in A.D. 1360, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Murad I., who was in no way behind his predecessors as regards military ardour and love of conquest. Captures of various cities in Macedonia, Thrace, and kingdoms bordering on the Danube, testified to his martial prowess, while his dominions were further enlarged by the marriage of his son Bayazid with the daughter of the chief of Kermiyan. One circumstance deserves mention. In A.D. 1365, when concluding a treaty with the Republic of Ragusa, Murad-so runs the legendinstead of using a pen smeared some ink upon his hand and rubbed it upon the paper. The official "tughra," or royal seal of the empire, owes its origin, it is said, to this accidental circumstance. It is also noteworthy that at this time the Greek Emperor became a convert to the Latin Church in order to secure the aid of the Pope of Rome. The Balkan Peninsula, however, though as stated, overrun, was not subdued, and in A.D. 1388 the various races which composed that teeming mass of nationalities joined hand in hand and inflicted a serious defeat upon the Ottoman army in Bosnia. This disaster roused the spirit of Murad I., who thereupon invaded Bulgaria, and added that principality to the Ottoman Empire, which now extended to the banks of the