turkey and christendom
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TURKEY AND CHRISTENDOM :
AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE
RELATIONS BETWEEN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE
THE STATES OF EUROPE.
REPRINTED, WITH ADDITIONS, FROM No. CLXXXIII. OF
THE EDINBURGH REVIEW.
LONDON:
LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS.
1854.
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oiittt
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TURKEY.
Three centuries ago^ the first vow of Christian states-en
was the expulsion of the Turks from the city of
Constantine, and the deliverance of Europe from the
scourge and terror of the infidel. In the present age,
the absorbing desire of the same cabinets is to maintain
the misbelievers in their settlements ; and to postpone,
by all known expedients of diplomacy and menace, the
hour at which the Crescent must again give place to the
Cross. The causes and progress of this curious revolu-ion
of sentiment we purpose to trace ; and to ascertain,
if possible, by what sequence of events, and changes of
opinion, such conditions of public policy have at length
been accredited among us.
It will naturally be presumed, that the clouds now
gathering on the Eastern heavens* have suggested both
our disquisition and its moral ; nor should we, indeed,
be without reasonable warrant for such an introduc-
* This was -written in the autumn of 1849, hut the Turkish crisis has
long heen chronic.
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4 TURKEY.
tion of the subject. But we feel it would be perilous
to prophesy the dissolution of a State which has now
been, for five generations, n its nominal agony. We
believe we might venture to assert, that no Christian
writer has treated of Ottoman history, ho did not seek,
in the sinking ortunes or impending fallof the Empire,
thepoint
and commendation of his tale. Knollea
thankfully ecounted the signs of its decline two hun-red
and fifty ears ago. Cantemir discoursed of the
Growth and Decay of the Ottoman Empire, while
Poland was still powerful kingdom. As the eighteenth
century wore on, such reflections became both more
justifiable nd more frequent; nd as the artificial xist-nce
of Turkey was hardly yet anticipated, he close of
its natural term seemed within the limits of easy calcu-ation.
Even the end of the last war, which left so
many crumbling monarchies repaired nd strengthened,
brought no similar relief to the House of Othman. Ex- luded,
on the contrary, from the arrangements of the
great Europeansettlement at the Congress of Vienna,
Turkey remained exposed to worse perils han any which
had yet beset her. In the great peace of Europe there
was no peace for Constantinople.hirty years since,
the historian of the Middle Ages expected, with an
assurance that none can deem extravagant, he approach-ng
subversion of the Ottoman power; and the progres-
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DAWNINGS OF TURKISH TOWER. 5
Bive current of events has certainly n no degreechanged
since this conviction was avowed. Yet, though the
only symptom of imminent dissolution that then seemed
wanting has now appeared, and though territorial dis-emberm
has partially upervened upon internal
disorganisation, he imperial fabric still stands the
Turkish Crescent stillglitters
n theBosphorus
and
still u the tottering rch of conquest spans the ample
regions rom Bagdad to Belgrade.
Without repeating, herefore, the ominous note of
prophecy, e shall direct our remarks to the historical
elucidation of the questions nvolved in it. Our purpose
is to illustrate the origin nd establishment of the Otto- an
Empire, as one of the substantive Powers of Europe;
to exhibit the causes which conduced to its political
recognition to trace the subsequent action of so ano-alous
a State upon the affairs of Christendom; to
mark the fluctuations of fortune by which its external
relations were determined ; and to distinguish he stages
of estimation and influencethrough
which it succes-ively
passed, ntil the dreaded Empire of the Ottomans
dwindled virtually, hough with dominions not mate-ially
diminished, nto the position f a Protected State,
subsisting, pparently,y the interested patronage of
those very Powers which had been so scared and scan-alised
at its growth.
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DAWNINGS OF TURKISn POWER. 7
tives or pensioners, ad ceased to exist. Nor was the
rise of the Turkish power an event calculated, t its first
announcement, to create any extraordinary onsterna-ion.
As regards sia Minor, the entire peninsula, ith
the exception f its western seaboard, ad long been in
the possession f kindred tribes ; and the mere substitu-ion
of Ottomans forSeljukians
ouldhardly
bethought
to menace the interests of Europe. Even the actual
passage of the Straits, hich was the first critical point
of Turkish progress, presented no unparalleled he-omeno
; for a Moorish kingdom still flourished on the
Guadalquivir and a Tartar horde had just established
its sovereignty ver the dismembered duchies of Russia.
It is certainly rue that the exigencies f Mogul in-asion
and the remnants of crusading zeal, id origin-lly
suggest that concert of nations which became after- ards
systematised y the standing requirements f a
politicalquilibrium and, perhaps, he dread of Otto-an
aggression nduced the first faint foreshadowings
of those State-combinations which characterise the
modern history f Europe. But it was not so at the
beginning. Adrianople had been made a Mahometan
capital, nd the metropolis f the Eastern Cassars had
become a mere enclave in Turkish territory, efore the
aid of European princes as forthcoming against the
new invaders ; and when at length the Christian allies
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8 TURKEY.
and the infidel forces joined battle in the field of Nico-
polis, he Ottoman power had been impregnablytrength-ned
by the impunity and successes of a century.
In elucidation of the subject before us, it may be
desirable to explain more particularly he events to
which these allusionsrefer.
When thedominion of Imperial
Romewas
divided
into two, the moiety constituting he Empire of the
East, or, as it was more commonly termed, the Byzan-ine
Empire, included the Thracian and Grecian provinces,
the Archipelago, sia Minor, Syria, nd Egypt. The
capital f this Empire was at Byzantium or Constanti-ople,
and itclaimed precedence f the Western Empire,
as the elder and superior ranch of the two. Its territo-ies,
however, were very soon dismembered. The Sara-ens
issuing, nder the impulse of Mahometanism, from
the deserts of Arabia, stripped he Byzantine monarchy
of its Egyptian and Syrian provinces and though the
power of the original aliphs oon declined, hey were
succeededby
invaders asdangerous
s themselves. In
the middle of the eleventh century, about the time of
the Norman conquest of England, a swarm of Turks or
Turkmans, from the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea,
made an irruption nto the territories of Byzantine Asia,
and ultimately stablished themselves in Asia Minor,
under the chieftainship f the house of Seljuk. rom that
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DAWNING S OF TURKISH TOWER. 9
time forward, although lie Eastern emperors frequently
effected partial econquests of their territories, sia Minor
was never entirely leared of these invaders. The Selju-
kians formed a large and substantial kingdom, and even
fixed their capital t Nice, within a short distance of
Constantinople tself. It was against the Turks of this
dynastythat the first crusades were
directed,nd the
result was, that the infidels were dislodged rom their
position t Nice, and driven back as far as Iconium, which
city they made the metropolis f their dominions for
nearly wo centuries more. It will thus be seen, that
the Asiatic provinces f the Eastern Empire had long
been more or less completely in the occupation f
Turkish invaders. These invaders,however, rarely en-ured
to cross the straits, nd never effected a lodgment
in Europe ; partly, in all probability, ecause Asia
provided sufficient scope for their conquests, and partly,
no doubt, because the superiority f the Greeks in naval
science insured them the command of the sea.
Towards theclose,owever,
of the thirteenthcentury
that is to say, al the very moment when the election
of a Swiss knight to the Germanic throne was laying he
foundations of the imperial ouse of Austria events
of equal singularity ere preparing the seat of the
rival Caesars for the progeny of a Turkish freebooter.
The Asiatic continent, rom its central highlands o the
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10 TURKEY.
shores of the Mediterranean, ad been utterly onvulsed
by the tremendous Irruptions f the Mogul conquero^
Zingis Khan, and the Seljukian monarchy was
destroyed y the shock. In the course of the commo-ions
which ensued, certain Turcoman chief, named
Ortogrul, rom the banks of the Oxus, found himself
wanderingin the hills of
Anatolia,t the head
of fourhundred families. A service which he accidentally en-ered
to a prince of the country, was acknowledged by
a grant of land ; and the estate was soon expanded into
a respectableerritory, y the talents which had origin-lly
acquired t. The inheritance of Ortogrul devolved,
in 1289, upon his son Osman or Othman, who at the
death, ten years later, f the impoverished ultan of
Iconium, o longer esitated to proclaim is independent
sovereignty. uch was the origin f the House of Oth- an.
The name itself, hich is a vernacular epithet f
the royal vulture, and signifies tl bone-breaker, has
been recognisedy the Turks as not disagreeably ym-olical
of the national character and mission;
and so
completely o they identify heir State with the race of
its founder, hat they have foregone ll other denomina-ions
for the dignity,tyle, nd title of the Ottoman
Porte.*
* The word Porte is derived from a version given by Italian
interpreters o an Oriental phrase. It was an ancient custom of Eas-
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THE HOUSE OF OTIIMAN. 11
At first, f course, the independence ssumed by these
Ottoman chiefs was not accompanied by any extensive
authority. They were still only the leaders of an in-onside
clan ; but the circumstances of the period
were peculiarly avourable to dynastic ambition. A
large population, f Turkish extraction, and Mahometan
religion, ad been left without a head; for the Mogulswithdrew from the scene of their conquests, and the
Seljukian overnment had been disorganised. n fact,
many provincial mirs or princes sserted their indepen-ence
exactlys Othman had done
;and it was evident
that a contest for supremacy would arrive between them.
Into the circumstances by which this contest was
eventually ecided, we need not particularly nter. It
is said that the clan of which we are speaking, as con-picuous
for its observance of the laws and ritual of
Mahomet ; and it is known with greater certainty, hat
its chiefs were eminentlydistinguished or military nd
political bilities. The event was, that the Turks of
tern sovereigns, n administering justice, r exercising other functions
of their office, o sit, s the Scriptural expression runs, at the Gate
of their palaces. Gate became thus synonymous with Court, or
Office, and the Sultan's Court was called by excellence, the Ex-lted,
or Lofty Gate. This phrase, in the literal translations of the
Dragomans, who were mostly Italians, became
La Porta Sublime,whence the title of The Sublime Porte. To the same source we owe
the term Grand Seignior, s applied to the Emperor of the Ottomans.
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12 TURKEY.
Asia Minor acknowledged the sovereignty f the House
of Othman instead of that of the House of Seljuk, nd
the city of Prusa or Brusa became the seat of the new
dynasty.It was now to be seen whether Ottomans would be
more aggressive r formidable than Seljukians nor was
the question eft long undecided. The opportunities, nfact, f aggrandisement ow presenting hemselves, ere
so peculiar, hat far weaker hands than those of Oth-
man's successors might have turned them to account.
On one side of them lay the Byzantine empire, shrunk
to the dimensions of Constantinople nd its environs
on the other, he fragmentary r effete principalities f
their Turkish predecessors. The House of Othman
struck right and left, nd, before the sixty years of its
two first reigns ad terminated, sia Minor had become
generally bedient to the lords of Prusa.
It happened that at this period the Byzantine mo-archy
was distracted by civil war, and the competitors
for theImperial throne,
who hadexperienced
hepower
of the Ottoman arms in the vain attempt to defend their
Asiatic possessions, ere solicitous to secure the aid of
such useful allies in their own contests. This took the
Turks into Europe. In the service sometimes of one pre-ender,
and sometimes of another, they repeatedly rossed
the straits ; and at length the opportunity as found of
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THE HOUSE OF OTHMAK. 13
establishing permanent lodgment on European ground.
So rapid as the course of events, that by the middle of
the fourteenth century, the northern shore of the straits
was studded with Turkish garrisons; nd Amurath, the
third Ottoman sovereign, ound little difficulty n con-uering
the Thracian territories as far as the Balkan,
anderecting
secondmetropolis
tAdrianople.
A few
years more, and we find these Ottomans of the third
generation t the very limits of their present empire,
and on the very scene of their present fortunes. By
1390 they had occupied Widdin ; and before five years
more had elapsed, he Moslem and Christian hosts were
delivering, s we have said, the first of their countless
battles on the banks of the Danube. Thus Byzantine
Europe, as well as Byzantine Asia, was passing nto the
hands of the Turks, and nothing remained of the old
empire of the East, except its capital. It will naturally
be concluded that considerations, ither of political ore-ight
or religious eal, ad combined the forces of Europe
againsthese fierce and
unbelievingnemies. The state
of opinion, owever, at that time, was very remarkable,
and it can only be explainedby reference to events of
much earlier date.
There had existed always national distinctions, nd
even antipathies, etween the Greeks and the Romans;
and these were confirmed and developed y the transfer of
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ANTAGONISM OF G KEEKS AND LATINS. 15
the West had been so scandalised at the excesses of the
Turks in the Holy Land, that they marched in arms to
the deliverance of Jerusalem, and incidentally f course
to the relief of the ByzantineEmpire ; but such was
the ill feeling revailing etween Greeks and Latins,
that they soon treated each other with greater hostility
than the common enemy, andin the
end the Latins
actually acked the Greek capital, nd seated a dynasty
of their owm on the throne of Constantinople. lti-
timately they wrere expelled, nd the Empire reverted
anew to the Greeks; but they long retained possessions
in the Holy Land, the Morea, and the Archipelago, nd
thus introduced a certain element of Latin Christianit
into the territories of the Greeks. Especially as this
the case in Palestine, where the Holy Places, having
been conquered by Latin arms, were naturally eld to
pertain peculiarly o the Latin Church.
It resulted from all these events, that though the re-ative
positions f Turks and Christians were now wholly
and alarmingly hanged,and
thoughthe attitude of the
new invaders on the borders of Germany did really
portend ore serious results than the transient irruptions
of Tartar savages, yet the deportment of the European
States underwent no corresponding lteration. So small
indeed was the sympathy felt for the Greeks themselves,
and so confirmed the antagonism between them and the
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16 TURKEY.
Latins, hat if none but Byzantine territories h d been
endangered by the new dynasty, t is possible he Turks
might have been left to work their way at discretion.
But the Ottoman princes ad overstepped he old frontier
of the Eastern Empire, had crossed the Danube, and by
attacking he kingdom of Hungary, had alarmed the
states within the pale of the Latin Church. The conse-uencewas the battle of Nicopolis, n which the chivalry
of Western Europe was completely verthrown by the
Turkish levies.
Still, owever, the progress of the Ottoman arms
exercised no proportionate nfluence on the councils
of Europe, nor did the impending fate of an imperial
and Christian city provoke any serviceable aid. After
the Thracian and Bulgarian conquests, to which we
have alluded, Constantinople, or the first time in its
existence, as completely nvironed by enemies ; and it
became clear to the Greek emperors, that the invaders
with whom they had now to deal, were of a very differ-nt
mould from theswarming
hordes, which had so often
swept past them and retired. Yet, though four empe-ors
in succession visited Western Europe in search of
aid, and though one of them brought his petition ven to
the king of this island, and Kentish yeomen saw a
Greek Caesar entertained in St. Austin's monastery,
and received on Blackheath by a Lancastrian sovereign.
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18 TURKEY.
dispositions f Norman barons ; but it must be remem-ered,
that on these occasions the moderator and
exponent of European opinion was no other than
the Roman Pontiff, without whose co-operation t
would have been scarcelyossible o organise n effectual
crusade. The application, herefore, f the Eastern
emperorsto the Powers of
Europe,took the form of con-iliatory
overtures to the Romish See ; and, excepting n
the case of the Emperor Manuel, the negotiations f the
imperial isiters were confined to the limits of the Papal
Court. Neither could the Greek State be exactly e-resented
to European sympathies s a Christian city
brought finally o bay, and desperatelyattling gainst
the overwhelming orces of the infidel. The terms on
which Turks and Greeks had for some time been living,
precluded ny such description f their mutual relation-hip.The presumptive antagonism of the two States
had been openly compromisedby concessions, y tri-utes,
and, what was worse, by the ordinary assages of
amity and good-will. Ottoman princes ere educated
at the Christian court, and Christian princes onourably
lodged in the camp of the Ottomans ; a mosque was to-erated
in Constantinople; nd a daughter f the EmperorJohn Cantacuzene was given in marriage o the second of
the Turkish sovereigns. hat these arrangements were
not wholly voluntary n the side of the weaker party we
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RELATIONS BE1 Wl.l A TURKS AM) GREEKS. 19
may safely elieve ; but it will still be evident how ma-erially
such a combination of circumstances must have
operated to the disadvantage f the emperors, in their
appeal o the sympathy of Christian Europe.
Meantime the Turkish power had been growing with
a certainty nd steadiness unexampled in the history f
an Orientalpeople.
Two or three of the causes which
principally onduced to this remarkable result, t may
here be right o specify. The passage of the Ottomans
into Europe might have been long retarded by the simple
expedient of guarding the Straits. While the power of
the Greek Empire consisted almost solely n the relics
of its fleet, till respectably ppointed, nd furnished with
the most formidable appliances f naval warfare known
to the age, the Turks were comparatively estitute both
of ships and of the science which concerned them. A
few galleys ight have effectually rotected he channel
against all the forces of Orchan and Amurath; and yet
not only were the Ottomans permitted to pass undis-urbed,
with such means asthey
could
extemporise,ut
even the intelligence f their having secured a lodg-ent,
and fortified themselves on the European side,
produced nothing but careless scoffs in the Imperial
court. The next point inviting otice is, that the con-uests
of the Turks were mainly effected by the agency
of European troops. The Ottomans will be found to
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20 TURKEY.
have conquered the Byzantineprovinces s we conquered
India, by enlisting nd disciplining he natives 6f the
country. Only 400 families had originally beyed the
voice ofOrtogrul; nd it is clear, therefore, hat the sub-ects
of his successors must have been swelled in numbers
by accessions from other tribes : in fact, the progress of
the Ottomans wasmerely
the onward flow of thepopu-ation
of Asia Minor. Even this,however, would have
been deficient in impulsive force, but for the singular
institution which we are now to mention.
The Janizaries were originally ormed and recruited
from the impressed hildren of Christian captives; fter-ards
from those of any Christian subjects f the Porte,
and at length from the sons of the soldiers themselves;
so that a pure military aste, with habits and interests
totally istinct from the rest of the people, as gra-ually
established in the very heart of the nation. The
number of the Janizaries in the middle of the fourteenth
century was only one thousand; but this muster-roll
was repeatedlyultipliedy successiveemperors,
till at
length, nder the Great Solyman, it reached to twenty
thousand, nd in the German wars, under Mahomed IV.,
to double that strength. It is not a little singular hat
a body so constituted shoidd not only have been the
main instrument of Turkish aggrandisement, ut should
have been so inveterately dentified with Ottoman tra-
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BAJAZET AXD MAHOMET I. 21
ditions, s at all times to have funned the chief obstacle
to any social or constitutional reforms. Xor should it
be overlooked, that the creation and maintenance of this
Standing rmy, isolated from all popular sympathiesbydescent and character, ontributed most powerfully o
consolidate the authority f the new dynasty, and to
furnish the Turkishsovereigns
iththose permanent re-ources,
in virtue of which they escaped the ordi-ary
vicissitudes of Oriental dynasties and encountered
the tumultuous levies of Hungary and Germany with all
the advantages of despotic ower. The pretensions f
the House of Othman kept pace with its achievements.
Originally ts chief had been content with the title of
Emir ; but Bajazet I., by means to which we shall im-ediat
refer, procured for himself, owards the end
of the century, the more dignified enomination of Sul-an.
Already, in justification f his new assumptions,
had he invested Constantinople, hen events occurred
by which the very course of Fate itself appeared to be
threatened with a change. We can do no more than
specify n a few words the occurrences which abruptly
subverted, the whole superstructure of Turkish power;
which scattered all its acquisitions o the winds, and
which render its restoration one of the most extraordi-ary
incidents of history.
In the height of his power and presumption, ajazet
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22 TURKEY.
was conquered and carried into captivityy Timour
By this defeat the inheritance of his house became to all
appearance entirely issolved. Its Asiatic possessions,
though contemptuously bandoned by the conqueror,
were seized upon by the representatives f the old Sel-
jukian house, who regained the positions rom which
theyhad been
dislodgedwhile in Europe the opportu-ity
was turned to similar account by the reviving
spirit f the Greeks. To complete the ruin, civil war
between the sons- of Bajazet presently nsued ; and the
heirs of the Ottoman House, instead of repairing heir
fortunes by concord and patience, ere fighting espe-ately
among themselves, or a heritage hich hardly
existed save in name. The perfect restoi'ation of a
State, dismembered and dismantled, at such a stage of
its existence, y so destructive and shattering shock,
may be described as without parallel n history and
yet within ten years it was completely ffected. Maho-et,
the mosc sagacious f the sons of Bajazet, waited
his time;
and atlength, by
the extinction of other
claims, succeeded in recovering oth the Asiatic and
European conquests of his family, nd in reuniting he
thrones of Adrianople nd Prusa. A peaceful nd pru-ent
feign of eight years enabled him to consolidate his
dominicvi anew; and when in 1421, Amurath II. suc-eeded
to the crown of his father, the Ottoman Power
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CAPTURE OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 23
was as vigorous, s sound, and as aggressive s if the
battle of Angora had never been fought.
We are now arrived at a period when the destinies of
the Ottoman House were to be finally etermined. Up
to this time the progress and renown of the Turkish
arms had stimulated Europe to nothing but a few insin-ere
leagues and a single precipitaterusade
; nor can
we be wrong in presuming that the recent temporary
suspension nd apparent annihilation of the Ottoman
Power must have operated materially n stillfurther in-isposi
European statesmen to exertion or alarm.
But in the year 1453, Mahomet II. at length aid siege o
Constantinople captured it ; subverted by this act
the ancient Empire of the East, and substituted a
Turkish Empire in its place. It has been usual to de-cribe
this memorable event as one of those which mark
a new epoch ; and as serving o introduce that period of
history hich we now emphatically erm Modern. Un- oubted
the definite and final extinction of the Roman
Empire,and the diffusion of Greek
literature, hroughthe agency of the Byzantinerefugees, ere incidents of
no ordinary ote ; but by far the most important onse-uences
of Mahomet's success were those which affected
the Ottomans themselves. As regards Europe, it can-ot
be said that the destruction of the Greek Empire
left any perceptible oid in the community of States.
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24 TURKEY.
As no system of mutual relationship ad yet been estab-ished
among Christian Powers, no special isturbance,
such as would in the present day follow on the extinction
of a particular ember, could then be expected to
ensue ; and, even in the partial nd transient examples
of concert which had occasionally ccurred, the Byzantine
monarchyhad
longbeen without
appreciablenfluence
or consideration. Since, therefore, o European func-ions
had been dischargedby the Greek Empire, no
positive oss could be felt from its destruction ; nor was
the capture of Constantinople f much greater signifi-ance,
in this respect, than the capture of Delhi. But
as affecting he rising ower of the Ottomans, the event
was of most material importance. It created, s it were,
a vacancy in the list of recognised onarchies, nd deli-ered
over to a State, which already anted littlebut a
seat of central power, one of the oldest and most famous
capitals f Europe. It gave to the House of Othman,
in a single ay, exactly he status which it needed ; and
whichyears
of successful invasions andforays
would
have failed to secure. It precluded all .future antago-ism
between Adrianople nd Prusa ; and established a
permanent cohesion between the European and Asiatio
dominions of the Turkish crown. More than this it
conveyed to the Sultans and their successors certain
traditional pretensions, f which they soon discovered
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26 TURKEY.
had been sacked by an unbelieving ace, whose deeds
for generations ast had been the horror of Europe.
Tet abruptly s the blow was at last felt to descend, it
had long been visibly suspended and, although no
human power could have permanentlyprotected the
Greek Caesars in their capital, hile the Turks were
established inunquestioned sovereignty etween the
Danube and the Euphrates, he actual circumstances of
the siege ere such, nevertheless, s to cast heavy im-utatio
and responsibility pon the Powers of Europe.
The Imperial city had been allowed to sustain the full
shock of the Ottoman forces, ith a weak and inadequate
garrison f eight thousand men, three-fourths of whom
were supplied rom the population ithin the walls ; so
that the chivalry f Christendom was represented, t
this critical period, y two thousand auxiliaries. Yet,
that there Avas both room and opportunity or effectual
succour was evident, not only from the manner in which
the defence, even under such circumstances, as pro-racted,
butfrom the
diversionwhich had been accom-lished,
during the previous nvestment of Constantinople
by Bajazet, ith a force of only six hundred men-at-
arms, and twice as many archers, nder Marshal Bouci-
cault.
But the truth was, that, although the actual cata-trophe
created a momentary consternation, nd even
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ESTABLISHMENT OF OTTOMAN EMriRE. 27
ioned the revival in certain quarters of crusad-ng
vows, there existed, as we have already said, no
fellow-feeling ith the Greeks sufficiently trong to
suggest an effective expedition nor any facilitiesin
fact for such an enterprise n the social or political on-ition
of Europe. The Turks were no new enemies ;
nor were
theynow seen for the first time on the northern
shore of the straits. The resources of Christendom
might admit of combination and exertion in the event
of an actual irruption f barbarians or infidels, s when
Frederick II. repulsed he Moguls, or Charles V. after-ards
scared the Ottomans under the great Solyman ;
but for aggressive nterprise n distant regions they
were no longer available. The writings of JEneas
Sylvius one of the earliest statesmen who surveyed the
several Powers of Europe in connexion with each other
give an intelligible icture f the condition of affairs
at this period. The fallof Constantinople ad excited
some sympathies, ut more selfishness. A certain com-iseration,
quickened by therefugees dispersed
ver
the countries of the West, was felt for the exiled Greeks,
but a far more lively entiment was excited by the de-onstr
of the triumphant Ottoman against the
Italian peninsula. o reasonable were the apprehensions
on this head made to appear, that within twelvemonths
of the capture of Constantinople, ar was actually de-
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28 TURKEY.
clared against he new Empire of the East in the Frank-ort
Diet ; and, five years later, t was formally esolved
at the Congress of Mantua, that 50,000 confederate
soldiers should be equipped for the expulsion f the in-idel,
and the conclusive deliverance of Christendom.
Neither of these designs, owever, proceeded beyond
the original enace ; and the Turks were left in undis-utedpossession f their noble spoil.
Between this turning-point f Turkish destinies and
the new epoch to which we must now direct our atten-ion,
there intervened a period of great general interest,
and of remarkable importance o the Ottoman Empire
but not inducing ny material changes in the rela-ions
of this Power writh Western Europe. The avowed
designs of Mahomet II. upon the capital f Christen-om,
illustrated as they were by his attitude on the
Danube and his actual lodgment at Otranto, ere not
indeed without their influence, s was shown by the
multitude of volunteers who flocked to the standard of
theintrepid
unniades. But when the idea of Otto- an
invincibility ad been corrected by the victories
of the Allies at Belgrade,by the successful defiance of
Scanderbeg, nd by the triumphant resistance of the
Knights of Rhodes, this restlessness gradually ubsided,
and in a few years the course of events became such as
to substitute new objects f concern in European coun-
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TURKISH SUPERIORITY. 29
cils for the power and progress of the Turks. Perhaps
the wild and indefinite projects f Charles VIII., in that
gigantic ational foray upon Italy which disorganised
the mediaeval constitution of Europe, may be taken as a
fair representation f the ideas prevailing especting
Constantinople, hirty years after the fall of the city.
If the forces of France andSpain,
instead of then con-ending
in deadly struggles or the possession f Italy,
had been combined against common enemy upon the
Hellespont, t is certainly ossible hat somethingmight
have been accomplished. he great Gonzalvo did, indeed,
once appear upon the scene as an ally of the Venetians,
and with ah effect proportionate o his reputation. ut
in computing the chances of any such expedition gainst
the new Empire, it must be remembered that the Turks
had hitherto achieved their conquests, not by mere force
of numbers, like the Tartar hordes, but by superiority
of discipline, actics, equipments, nd science. In this
respect, at least, they were no barbarians. Their army
was
incomparablyhe
strongestin Europe and
espe-iallyin those departments which indicate the highest
military xcellence. For many years afterwards, heir
artillery nd engineers surpassed hose of the best ap-ointed
European troops. These advantages would
have told with tenfold effect from such ramparts as those
of Constantinople; hile nothing, n the other hand,
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30 TURKEY .
short of a recapture of the city, nd a complete dlslodge-
ment of the intruders, could have effected the objects f
the Christian Powers. Above all, t should be recol-ected,
what was so deary proved in the sequel, hat
these Powers could not then be relied on for any steadi-ess
of concert, or any integrity f purpose ; and that
thereligious
eal of formerdays
no
longersurvived in
sufficient force to furnish an extraordinary ond of
union. The Turks soon ceased indeed to be politicall
regarded s the common foes, either of the human race
or the Christian name. Already had the ordinary
transactions of bargains and contracts become familiar
between them and the Venetians ; dealings f a more
degrading kind had compromised the Papal See, and
the Ottoman arms had in various expeditions een re-eatedly
aided by small Christian succours. It is*
related, indeed, that high pay and liberal encourage-ent
attracted recruits from all countries to the Turkish
ranks ; nor is there, e believe, much reason to doubt
thatmany
an
European Dalgettyas
servingnder the
standard of the Prophet. The number of renegade
vizirs and pashas who have figured n the Turkish ser-ice
is something extraordinary.
To these considerations must be added the fact, hat
during the seventy years thus interposed etween the
capture of Constantinople nd the accession of the
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CAMPAIGNS IN FEB8IA AND KGYrT. 31
Great Solyman, the designs of Ottoman ambition had
been diverted from the North and West to the East
and South from the shores of the Adriatic and the
Danube to the defiles of Armenia and the plains of
Cairo. Though the supremacy of the Turks was, it is
true, steadily supported on the scene of its recent
triumphs,nd
even unusually signalisedya naval
victory n the waters of the Archipelago, et the chief
efforts of the two immediate successors of Mahomet
were concentrated upon the territories of Persia and
Egypt. It does not enter into our present plan to
discuss the results with which these expeditions ere
attended. We need only remark, that while the over-hrow
of the Mameluke dynasty and the conquest (in
151(i) of the kingdom of Egypt, compensated for the
less productive nvasions of the Persian provinces, he
two objects together combined to divert the attention
of the Sultans from Europe, and to suspend, or an in-erval,
the apprehensions f Christendom.
On areview,
therefore, f theseevents,
it will be
observed, hat the first rise of the Ottoman power
occurred at such a period and under such circumstances
as to deprive he phenomenon of any great singularity
or terror ; that even the passage of the Turks into
Europe, their appearance on the Danube, and the per-anent
investment of Constantinople hich virtually
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32 TURKEY.
ensued, exercised no corresponding nfluence on the
opinions f Western Europe, wearied as it was with
crusades, and detached as it had long practically een
from any civil or religious ntercourse with the Greeks
of the Lower Empire ; and that the Ottoman invaders
thus finally tepped without material opposition nto an
imperial inheritance, upplyingthem with what
theymost needed for the consolidation of their conquests
a local habitation and a recognised name among the
Powers of Europe. Lastly, e may remark, that the
power of resistance to further aggressioneveloped at
Belgrade, nd exemplified n the evacuation of Otranto,
contributed, n connexion with the diversion of Turkish
conquests to other quarters of the globe, to reassure
the kingdoms of the West, and to prepare the way for
the eventual admission of a Mahometan Power into the
political ommunity of Christian States. Some of the
earlier causes conducive to this remarkable consumma-ion
we have alreadypointed out ; but others, of no
inferior interest, emainyet
to be noticed.
In the month of February, 1536, the nations of
Europe were scandalised we may still employ the
expression with the intelligence hat a treaty of amity
and concord had been struck between the Grand
Seignior f the Turks and the first king of the Christian
world At an earlier period, rancis I. of France had
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34 TURKEY.
in the rivalry, t the commencement of the 16th cen-ury,
between France and Spain. The aggrandisement
and consolidation which each of these kingdoms,though
in an unequaldegree, ad recently ttained, onstituted
them the two crowns of Christendom. The antago-ism
naturally nsuing between Powers thus situated,
soon drew the other States ofEurope
into itssphere
of
action. This rivalry ad been first exemplified n the
Italian wars which followed upon the expedition f
Charles VIIL, and it was continued entirely n the spirit
which that extraordinary nterprise ad generated. The
contested supremacy was for many years conceived tc
be represented y the possession f Italy and the in- umera
permutations f alliances which had been
witnessed in the wars referred to, suggested ll the re-uisite
ideas of State-combinations. Whether it can be
said that, in these early transactions, egard was really
had to that equitable djustment of power which after-ards
became the avowed object of similar struggles,
maybe
reasonablyoubted ;
but,at all
events, EuropeanStates now first began to group themselves about two
centres ; and both parties nxiously ast about for means
of circumscribing he resources of their adversary, r en-arging
their own. It wa3 no more than a natural result
of such a condition of things, hat the causes which had
hitherto operated in promoting hostilities or friendship
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THE BALANCE OF POWEB. 35
between States, should be superseded by more absorbing
considerations of present policy and it will be seen,
accordingly, hat though religious ifferences were still
capable of originating ars, no material obstacle was
found in diversity f creeds to the establishment of cor-ial
and permanent alliances. In the Thirty Years'
War, for instance, though the dispute lay ostensibly e-weenthe Roman Catholic and the Protestant consti-uencies
of the Empire, yet the paramount object of the
aggressive elligerents as the depression f the House
of Austria ; and in this good cause, the Popish troops
of France, at the instigation f a cardinal minister,
fought shoulder to shoulder with the parti-coloure
Protestants of Germany and Sweden.
It was in such a state of affairs and opinion, hat
Francis I. turned his eyes towards the Porte. Solyman
the Great, who in 1520 had ascended the Turkish throne,
had again directed the Ottoman arms to European con-uests
and Avith a success surpassing he boldest
achievements of his victorious predecessors. his re-oubtableSultan not only expelled the Christian
knights from then' seat in the Isle of Rhodes, but
repeatedly nvaded the territory f Hungary, and at
last annexed a considerable portion f the kingdom, in-ludin
Buda, its capital, o the Turkish dominions.
He succeeded also in subjugating he provinces f Wal-
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30 TURKEY.
lachia and Moldavia, now constituting hat are termed the Danubian principalities, nd in making their
princes ributary o his crown. But these events, which
a century before might have struck all Christian capitals
with indignation nd alarm, were now only looked upon
as so many inducements to a political lliance. Francis
saw in
Solyman,not the
conquerorof Rhodes and the
would-be subjugator f Christendom, but the monarch
of a mighty State, availably ituated for active diversion,
and already t war with his deadly enemy. That the
Ottoman Sultan should have invested Vienna, and
openly advanced pretensions o the supremacy claimed
fcy Charles, were circumstances onlyadditionally ug-estiveof the projected reaty. His resolution was
taken accordingly. here had long been certain rela-ions
of trade and amity between French merchants and
the Mameluke Soldans of Egypt; and when this country
fell, s we have stated, under the dominion of the Turks,
the privilegesnjoyed by the Christian traffickers had
beenjudiciously
onfirmed and augmented. These ante-edents
were turned to account by Francis ; who based
upon them a proposal or a general commercial treaty
between France and the Porte. The instrument, itis
true, did not stipulate ny alliance for offence or defence;
but the assurances of amity now ostentatiously nter-hanged,
were sufficiently ndicative of the point to
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FIRST CHRISTIAN ALLIANCES. 37
which matters were tending; and within a few months,
the corsair subjects f the Porte were actually et loose
upon the Neapolitan possessions f the Catholic king
Such was the first formal recognition f the Ottoman
dynasty of Constantinople. ruces and treaties had, of
course, been previously oncluded between the Porte
and its enemies ; but this was the earliest instance of an
amicable and gratuitous alliance ; and it is worth observ-
ing, that so early did it occur, as to make the admission
of a Mahometan Power into the community of Christian
States contemporaneous with the very first and rudimen-ary
combinations of these States among each other. That
it was considered a step out of the common course of
politics, nd that it created, ven in impartial uarters,
some scandal, we can easilyperceive but not more,
perhaps, han had been occasioned by the previous ver-ures
of the same unscrupulous onarch to the Protest-nts
of Smalcald. It is a significant ndication, oo, of
the temper of the times, that the treaty was negotiated
at
Constantinopleya
knightof St. John
and that itcontained a special rovision or the admission oi the
Pope to the league
Still there was really, s we have said, some scandal;and it needed in fact a concurrence of conditions to
bring about so strange an innovation as the politicalnaturalisation of the Turk among the States of Chris-
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38 TURKEY .
tendora. Some of these conditions are in the highest
degree curious and interesting. n the first place, ince
the period when we left the Ottomans on their way to-ards
Egypt and Persia, the Reformation of religion n
Europe had been successfully arried out. This mighty
event exercised a twofold influence upon the relation-hip
betweenthe Christian Powers and the Papal See.
On the one hand, by subtracting o many States from
the supremacy of the Pope, and weakening, in direct
proportion, is authoritative power, it dislocated and
neutralised the influence of that particular ourt, from
which all combinations against he misbelievers had pre-iouslyreceived their warrant and organisation. o
crusade could be maintained without the auspices f a
Pope ; and upon the good-will nd services of this po-entate
more urgent and impressive laims were now
preferred. But a few years before, indeed, the Pontiff
had been besieged nd imprisoned n his own city, not
by the fierce Mahometans, who once threatened such an
attack, and at the echo of whose arms on Italian terri-ory
a former Pope had actuallyprepared to retreat
beyond the Alps, but by the sworn foes of these intru-ers
the troops, on whose protectiongainst uch con-ingencies
the powerless Romans had been heretofore
taught to rely. The time had past when the most
deadly antagonist f the Pope was necessarily he Turk,
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FIRST CHRISTIAN ALLIANCES. 39
and with it had gone all opportunity or the moral or
material organisation f an actual crusade. On the
other hand, the support derivable for such purposes
from popular opinion as diminished in a corresponding
degree by the operation f the same events. A new
object ad been found for the combative propensities f
fanaticismor
zeal. In thereligious ars
of thesetimes,
heretic was substituted for infidel, nd the enthu-iasm
or animosity hich in former days might have
been directed against the encroachments of the Turk,
were now furnished with sufficient occupationby the
fatal divisions of Christendom itself. In the year 1581
a proposition as actually ade by the Pope and
Jesuits, o divert the arms of the Maltese knights, hose
sworn champions of Christianity, rom the still formida-le
Ottomans against Queen Elizabeth of England;and a few years later at the very moment, indeed, hen
the Spanish Armada was directed against ur shores,
Henry III. of France despatched confidential envoy to
thePorte,
or thepurpose
of
impressingmurath III. with
the expediency f declaringaragainsthilip I.of Spain.
These causes, co-operating ith a visible and settled
repugnance to distant crusades, ith the distractions
arising rom domestic vicissitudes, nd with the indif-erence
to alarmingphenomena which familiarity lti-ately
brings on, may be taken as explanatory f that
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40 TURKEY.
course of events which at length not only established
the house of Othman upon the throne of the Eastern
Ccesars, ut gave it a species f place in the courts and
councils of Europe.
It was not, however, under any ordinary spect that
this diplomatic ebut was solemnised. The Ottoman
Porte made itsentry
into theEuropean system
with all
the appliances f glory,grandeur, nd triumph. Not
only was it a first-rate Power, but, excepting he yet
scarcelyanageable resources of ImperialGermany, it
was the strongest Power which could take the field.
This consciousness of strength, ombined with that or-hodox
insolence and heritage f pretensions o which
we have alluded, gave to its deportment the genuine
impress of barbaric pride. The Emperor of the Otto-ans
carried himself as a sovereign mmeasurably xalted
above all the monarchs of the West especially bove
those with whom he was brought into immediate con-act.
The view taken by Solyman of the overtures of
Francis I.may
be collected from hishaughty
boast, that
in his shadow the kings of France, Poland, Venice, and
Transylvania ad been fain to seek refuge. The first
Austrian ambassador despatched o the Sublime Porte
was sternly ebuked for applying majestic epithet o
his own master, and was thrown contemptuously nto
prison. Indeed, for a long subsequent period, the
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42 TURKEY.
which in mercantile compacts had been already n the
field, promptly followed ; and England's firstambassa-or
departed from the court of Elizabeth. His recep-ion,
curiously nough, as not unopposed. Previously,
our few negotiations ith the Porte had been transacted
through the representatives f the States already ccre-ited
there; and neither Venice nor France was dis-osedto forego the prerogative f mediation, or to
welcome a new competitor n the scene. Their objec-ions,
however, were overruled, nd the Ottoman Porte
was declared open to all. In 1606 the United States
of Holland despatched lso their envoy to Constantino-
pie ; and thus, either the suggestions f policy, r the
temptations f trade, ad collected the representative
of Christendom about the Turkish Sultan, at as early
a period as could be reasonably anticipated rom the
temper of the government, and the distance of the scene.
The influence directly xerted at this periodby Tur-ey
upon Western Europe was not very remarkable; but
thereare two points
onnected with it which deserve to
be recorded. The incessant attacks of the Ottomans
along the Danube and the Theiss, created in Germany
such a sense of insecurity s had not been felt since the
irruptions f the Moguls ; and it became indeed evident
that the protection f the Empire, under such new fron-ier
relations, ould not be intrusted to a distant or non-
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CBARLE8 V. AND SOLY.MAN. 43
resident sovereign. It was true that the front recently
shown by Charles V. to Solyman proved that the
armies of the East could be still over-matched, n emer-encies,
by the forces of the West ; but these forces
could be mustered only by such desperate appeals, nd
after such difficulties, hat they supplied but an uncer-ain
resource againstthe
perilsonstantly impendingfrom the ambition or ferocity f the Sultan. Even on
the occasion alluded to, the Mahometans were in the
very heart of Styria, efore the strength f the Empire
could be collected for the deliverance of Germany,These obvious considerations, hough they had less
weight than might have been anticipated ith the Im-erial
States, ho apprehended more danger to their
libertiesfrom the House of Hapeburgh than from the
House of Othman, did induce Charles so far to modifyhis own schemes as to partition he reversion of his
possessions, nd to bespeak the Imperial rown for his
brother Ferdinand, instead of his son Philip. His ex-rtions
promoteda settlement which he afterwards
vainlv tried to cancel. Ferdinand was elected kino- of
the Romans ; and thus the substitution of the formid-ble
Ottoman for the degenerate Greek in the halls of
Constantinople, roved the means of settling he crown
of the Empire in a German instead of a Spanish House
and of laying the broad foundation of the great mon-
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44g
TURKEY.
archy of Austria. The event, too, produced its reaction
on the fortunes of Turkey; for Ferdinand, thus
strengthened, ucceeded in incorporating he elective
crown of Hungary with the already aggrandised nheri-ance
of his family. From this consolidation of domi-ion
flowed two results of signalmportance o the sub-ect
we are now
considering.ot
onlywas a State
created of sufficient magnitude to resist the aggressions
of the Turk, but this rival empire became actually on-erminous
with the Ottoman dominions. Prague, Buda,
and Vienna were now capitals f the same kingdom ; a
blow struck at Zeuta was felt at Frankfort ; and thus,
instead of the uncertain resistance dictated by the fitful
and erratic impulses of Hungarian cavaliers, steady
force was organised nd arrayed against he Turk, and
the majesty and strength of Imperial Christendom
brought bodily n his borders.
It is with no wish to disparage he national character
of Hungary that we here avow our doubts whether this
kingdom of itselfeither served or could have served as
that bulwark of Christendom which it has been often
denominated. We think,indeed, that after an impartial
review of the annals of this period, t Avill be difficult to
escape the conclusion that, but for its practical dentifi-ation
with the Germanic Empire, it would probably
have become, and perhaps have remained, a dependency
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TIIE BARBARY ST ATI S. 45
of the misbelievers. Even as it was, it must be remem-ered
that Buda was Turkish for almost as long a period
as Gibraltar has been English ; while, as regards any-
active or inveterate antagonism on the score of religion,
we find little ground for concluding that the inhabitants
of Hungary would have shown more tenacity han the
population f Wallachia or Moldavia. The personalprowess and brilliant successes of Hunniades and Mat- hias
Corvinus, ere mainly instrumental, o doubt, in
stemming the first torrent of Ottoman conquest; but
though the flower of the armies which encountered the
Moslem on the Danube was usually supplied rom the
chivalry f Hungary, it is impossible ot to trace the
ultimate ascendancy of the Christian over the Turk to
those events which established a mutual assurance among
all the kingdoms between the Vistula and the Rhine.
The second of the points to which we alluded as no-ably
exemplifying he influence of Turkey upon Christ-ndom
was the establishment, n the coast of Barbary,
of those anomalouspiratical
tates which haveonly
with-n
our own generation become extinct. From the earliest
development of their national strength, he Turks have
always experienced nd confessed their inferiority n the
seas; and though their unexpectedvictory ver the Vene-ians
at Sapienza might for a moment appear to announce
a change, the improvement was not maintained; and
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46 TURKEY.
the famous battle of Lepanto decided the fortunes of
the Turkish marine. Exasperated, however, at the
insults to which he was exposed, and desirous of
creating by any methods some counterpoise o the
supremacy of the European Powers in the Mediterra-ean,
Solyman the Great invested the celebrated Bar-
barossa with a titlebeyond
that ofconquest
to the
possessions he had already acquired on the African
coast. Algiers and its kindred strongholds ecame
feudatories of the Porte ; and in this capacityupplied,
as will be remembered, the materials for some of the
most curious historical episodes f the times in question.
To say that these predatory governments ever seriously
influenced the affairs of Europe, would be attributing
to them too great an importance. But before the rise
and growth of the proper Powers Maritime, they often
successfully ontested the command of the adjacent
waters ; and though they should have been outlawed
by the very fact of their profession, o many States
were fain to treat with them, that the Porte had little
difficulty n maintaining hem b}r its favour for three
centuries in their anomalous existence. Something,
perhaps, they owed to the reciprocal ealousies f
Christian States ; and it deserves at least to be men-ioned,
that our own good understanding ith these
piratical ommunities preceded even our definite alii-
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OTTOMAN POLICY. 47
ance with Holland, and was disturbed by only a singleserious rupture through a century and a half.
Our review has now reached a point at which theaction of the Ottoman Empire upon the affairs of
Christendom can no longer be described as peculiarly
that of a Mahometan Power. The holy war against
Christians no longer supplied ny guiding principle f
Turkish policy, or was any combination likely o be
suggested by analogous considerations on the other
side. Since the union of the Germanic and Hungarian
crowns in the House of Hapsburg, and the establish-ent
of this power on the borders of Turkey, the
Ottomans had become the natural antagonists of the
Austrians, nd all the enemies therefore of the Imperial
House were the friends of the Porte. When Mahomet
TIL departed from Constantinople n his campaignagainst the Emperor Rodolf II., his martial pomp was
swelled by the ambassadors of France and England.
And in truth, at the opening of the seventeenth cen-ury,
the principal estern States were either at peace
with the Porte, or had contracted positive lliances
with it. The idea of attaching o this Power any
political isabilities on the score of religion, ad in
reality ecome extinct, hough it still survived in popu-ar
conceptions, nd received occasional illustrations in
examples of individual chivalry. In fact, the existence
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48 TURKEY.
of the still powerful order of St. John, holding its pos-essionsand privileges n the recorded condition of war
with the infidel, as sufficient to perpetuate the tradi-ions
of an earlier period and instances of volunteers
in the same cause were of constant recurrence. The
spirit f which we are speaking as conspicuously x-mplified
at the famoussiege
ofCandia, when, in
addition to other succours, the garrison as reinforced
by a select band of Christian knights under the Due
de Beaufort, although the alliance between France
and the Porte remained nominally ndisturbed. The
French, said the vizier Kiuperli, n this occasion,
are our friends; but we usually find them with our
enemies. No serious notice, however, was taken
of these incidents : nor was there wanting at Con-tantino
an accurate appreciation f the policy
subsisting n the principal abinets of Europe. In the
reign of our Charles L, a Venetian envoy ventured to
threaten the Porte with a Christian league. The
Pope,returned the Turkish
minister, would
stingif he could, but he has lost the power ; Spain and
Germany have their own work upon their hands ; the
interests of France are ours ; while, as to England and
Holland, they would only be too glad to supersede ou
in the commercial privileges ou enjoy. Declare your
war, then and see how you will fare for allies. This
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50 TURKEY.
of German destinies, ere again turned with irre-istible
force upon Persia. It was not until that
terrible struggle ad been terminated, hat the Ottomans
were allured, by the seductive representations f Tekeli,
to make their last gratuitous emonstration against
the capital of the rival Empire. But the result of
this famous invasion wasvery
different from whatthey
had anticipated. ot only were the ramparts of Vienna
maintained against lack Mustapha's janizaries, nd his
spahis cattered by the first chai'ge f Sobieski's cava-iers,
but many circumstances of the campaign disclosed
the fact, that the preeminence in arms had passed at
length from the Ottomans to the Christians. The stories
of this celebrated siege, and the apparent peril of a
second Christian capital, ended to revive in no small
degree the popular orror of the Turk ; but, in point of
fact, he growing ascendancy of Christendom bad been
indisputably hown. Already had the defence of Can-
dia, protracted o more than twice the length of the
defence ofTroy,
demonstrated the resources of even unor-anised
Europe against he whole forces of the Ottoman
Empire, directed by the ablest minister it had ever
known ; the recollections of Lepanto were reanimated
and heightened by a new series of naval victories ; and
now, for the first time, the superior xcellence of Euro-ean
tactics was displayed n the banks of the Danube.
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TFIE PANARIOT GREEKS. 51
Even had Vienna yielded to the first assaults, here is
scarcely ny room fur doubting that the tide of conquest
must soon have been both stayed and turned.
Still, lthough the seventeenth century was to close
upon the Porto with humiliation and discomfiture, either
its attitude nor its position mong the States of Europe
hadyet experienced ny material change. It no longer
indeed maintained a mastery in the field ; but it still
preserved its traditional carriage n the cabinet. It was
still beyond obvious reach of insult or attack, nd still
affected the haughtylanguage of unapproachable upre-acy.
It had not yet come to need countenance or
protection nor had that Power been yet developed
before whose deadly antagonism its fortunes were at
length to fail. A step, however, had about this time
been taken towards the impendingchange, which de-erves
to be recorded. The Turks were disqualified o
less by individual character than by national pretensions
for the subtle functions of diplomacy; and the rude
violence of theirdeportment
in their
foreignelations
may be ascribed in no inconsiderable degree o the fierce
and obstinate bearing of a true believer. Towards the
end of the century, accidental events suggested he em-loyment,
in this peculiar apacity, f the Greek subjects
of the Porte ; who turned to such account the opportu-ities
thus afforded them, that they presently onopo-
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52 TURKEY.
lised the chief offices of external intercourse. In some
sense, the Ottoman Empire was of course a gainer by
the substitution of these suppleintriguers or its own
intractable sons ; but the change contributed materially
to affect its position n the eyes of other nations, and
served incidentally o mark the period at which its
characteristicarrogance began
to recede.
With the eighteenth century a new scene opened
upon Europe, in which the part hitherto playedby
Turkey was to be strangely eversed. Though we have
brought our sketch of the Ottoman fortunes to a com-aratively
modern period, e have as yet had no oc-asion
to name that remarkable nation by whose action
they were to be finally regulated. The reader may,
perhaps, e amused with the first dim foreshadowing f
the mightyfigures hich were to come. In times long
past, before the singular uccession of bold and sagacious
monarchs on the throne of Constantinople ad been
broken by the elevation of idiots or debauchees from the
recesses of theseraglio,
ome of thesepowerfulprinces,
with an enlightenment or which they have hardly e-eived
sufficient credit, ast about for the means of
restoring hose commercial advantages hich their domi-ions
had lost by the discoveries of Vasco di Gam a, and
by the consequent diversion of Eastern trade from the
overland route to an entirely ew channel. Among
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ORIGIN OF THE BU88I \N EMPIRE. 1)3
other projects or this purpose, Sclim II. conceived or
revived the idea of connecting by an artificial canal, at
the most convenient points, he two great streams of the
Don and the Volga, thus opening a navigable assage
from the Black Sea to the Caspian, and establishing n
easy communication between Central Asia and Western
Europe.It
wasseldom that the Ottoman
Sultans didtheir work neirliojentlv. n this occasion the zeal of
Sclim was quickenedby his desire to invade Persia
through the new route, and he commenced his canal as
it might have been commenced by a king of Egypt.
He may be pardoned, in the fulness of his power, for
not taking into account the destined opposition o his
schemes. As the work, however, was proceeding,body
of men, with uncouth figures, trange features, nd bar-arous
language, allied out from a neighbom-ing own,
surprised he expedition, nd cut soldiers and workmen
to pieces. These savages were the Muscovite subjects
of Ivan the Terrible, and such was the first encounter
of the Turks and the Russiatis.
About the middle of the ninth century, a short time
before the accession of our Alfred the Great, Kurik,
one of the Varangian rovers of the Baltic, sailed into
the Gulf of Finland, and with the audacity nd for-une
characteristic of his race, established a Xorman
dynasty at Xovogorod. He presentlyespatched step-
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54 TURKEY.
son to secure the city of Kiev, on the Dnieper, hich had
formed the southern settlement of the old Slavish popula-ion,
as Novogorod had formed the northern; and the in-aders
thus became the recognised ords of a country which
was even then called Russia. To the instinctsof the
new settlers, he wealthy and unwarlike empire of the
East was a point of irresistible attraction, nd fivetimeswithin a century were the Russians
conducted by
their new rulers to the siege of Constantinople. he
bulwarks,however, of the Imperiality ere proofagainst
the canoes and spears of the barbarians; and the last of
these expeditions, n 955, terminated in an event which
precluded ny repetition f the trial. Through the instru-entality
of a princess, he House of Rurik and itssub-ects
received the doctrines of Christianity; nd from
this time the marauding ambition of the Russians was
exchanged for a deep respect towards that State from
which they had obtained their religion, heir written
characters, nd many of the usages of civilisation. Un-ortunat
oneof
the consequences resultingrom
thedisorders of an irregular nd disputed succession Avas
the transfer, bout the year 1170, of the seat of govern-ent
from Kiev to Vladimir. The former city had
been early preferred o Novogorod, on account of its
vicinity o the scene of anticipated onquest ; and,
when the relation between its rulers and the Greek
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ORIGIN OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 55
emperors had experienced he change to which we have
referred, the proximity aa still desirable, ur the sake
of an intercourse which was exercising highly beneficial
though partial nfluence upon the rising kingdom. But
this removal of the grand '-'princes r dukes from so
convenient a capital s Kiev, to what is nearly he centre
of the present monarchy, completelyut off the Russians
from Constantinople nd Christendom; and was the
first of those occurrences which so singularly etarded
the political evelopment of this mighty State. The
second was the invasion of the Moguls.
When in the middle of the thirteenth century, the
Tartars of the Asiatic Highlands burst, for the third
time, upon the plains of Europe, they found an easy
prey in the disorganised rincipalities f Russia. Vla-imir,
as we have remarked, was the capital f a grand
duchy, to which a score of princes, ll of the blood of
Rurik, owed a nominal allegiance; ut, so destructive
had been the consequences of unsettled successions and
repeatedpartitions,
hat there wasnothing
tooppose
the inroad or settlement of the Mogul; and the result
was the establishment, pon the banks of the Don, of a
Tartar khannat,or monarchy, with undisputed upremacy
over the ancient princes f the land. The sovereignty
of the Horde, however, althoughomplete, as not very
actively xerted; and, in the two centuries of dependence
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56 TURKEY.
which followed, he grand dukes were left at liberty o
work out, in the interior of the country, the problem of
Russian libei-ation. Kiev having now been definitel
abandoned, the seats of the three leadingprinces ere
at Vladimir, Twer, and Moscow; the first of which lines
enjoyed the supremacy, until it devolved, in the begin-ing
of the fourteenthcentury, upon Twer, and,
in the
course of about fifty ears more, upon Moscow. At
this point the succession was finally ettled in the per-on
of Ivan of Moscow, surnamed Kalita; whose
resources were strengthenedy the gradual conflux of
the population pon his territory, s they retired from
the encroachments of the Lithuanians and Poles. His
descendants were soon enabled to hold their own not
onlyagainst hese nations, ut even against heir Tartar
lords: and the frame of a kingdom of Muscovy was
already formed,when, in 1462, Ivan the Great suc-eeded
to the heritage f his ancestors. So completely
by this time had the collateral lines of the royal stock
been subordinated to itshead,
that little more was
required or the consolidation of a powerfulmonarchy
than the reduction of some municipal epublics, nd the
subjugation f the now enfeebled horde on the Don.
These conditions were soon realised. In 1481, Ivan,
assuming the title of Czar, announced himself as an
independent sovereign o the states of Christendom;
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58 TURKEY.
pathies, o have acquired ome of the rights f the emper-rsof the Greeks. By this destruction of the old Byzan-ine
Empire, the Russian monarchy became detached
from its original onnection with the East a circum-tance
which contributed to give it from this time forward
a European rather than an Asiatic aspect. This exchange
was undoubtedly conducive to political dvancement,but the penance was not yet done. At this critical con-uncture,
when every thing appeared to promise the
speedy growth of the new Power, the old stock of Rurik,
after seven centuries and a half of existence, ailed in
the third generation rom the great Ivan; and a suc-ession
of usurpers, invaders, nd pretenders through a
series of fifteen years, during which interregnum the
country narrowly escaped annexation to Poland, threw
back the risingonarchy into a condition scarcely etter
than that from which ithad before emerged. At length,
in 1613, the election of Michael Romanoff to the vacant
throne provided Russia anew with a royal stock; and
the fatedantagonist
f the House of Othman wasfinally
established in policy nd power.
But for the retarding: ircumstances to which we have
referred, t is probable hat the relationsbetween Turkey
and Christendom would have been changed at a much
earlier periodby the menacing attitude of the Russian
court. Alexis, the second of the Romanoffs, suggested,
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THE HOUSE OF BOMANOFF. 59
even in the middle of the seventeenth century, the for-ation
of a holyleague against he infidels of Constan-inople.
His country, however, was as yet in no condi-ion
to play the part desired ; nor was it, indeed, until
the days of Peter the G reat, that Russian vessels, fter
a lapse of nearly eight centuries, again swam the sea of
Azov.Still,
he future waspreparing.
Thepeace
of
Carlowitz, n 1699, terminated the last of those Turkish
wars by which European freedom was conceived to be
threatened. Its provisions ncluded Russia, which, for
the first time, had been brought into hostile contact with
the Porte. It may be even added, that the terms of
the treaty were honourable to Peter; but, although
the ascendancy of the Imperialist ver the Ottoman
arms had now been conclusively ecided, some time
was to elapse before this superiority ould be claimed
by Russia also.
The Turkish Empire entered upon the eighteenth
century, considerably amaged by the last campaigns.
Its forces had beenrelatively, hough
notperhaps
ac-ually
weakened ; but its reputation as most seriously
diminished. Nevertheless, his very circumstance pro-ably
contributed, by finallyemoving all dread of its
aggressions, o promote that, peculiar nterest which the
cabinets of Europe now began to take in its politicalfortunes. The consideration, owever, which modified
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60 TURKEY.
the estimation of Turkey among the Western States,
was the progress of Russia alone ; and we shall best un-erstand
the gradual revolution of opinion ow ensuing,
by observing he respective ositions f the Porte and
its new rival, t the close of the several wars by which
this century was distinguished.
It should berecollected,
hat the direct influence of
Turkey, at this period, upon the European system,
was chiefly onfined to the Northern States. The secret
inspiration f France was, indeed, perceptible n the
decisions of the Divan; but it was only on the
banks of the Vistula and the shores of the Baltic that
the vibrations of Ottoman struggles ere practically elt.
Acting on Russia and Poland through the medium of
Cossack and Tartar hordes, which carried their allegiance
and their disorder to all these countries in turn, on
Prussia and Sweden through Poland, and on Denmark
through Russia, the Turkish Empire found itself con-ected
with the less important oiety of Christendom
its relations with the Great Powers of the West bein j
mainly suggested by its capacities or annoying Austria.
In the wars, therefore, f the Spanish succession, s in
the other great European contests, the Ottoman Empire
was not involved. Though its councils, s we shall pre-ently
see, became more and more exposed to the in- rigues
of diplomatists; et so lordly as the indifference
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PETER THE GREAT, AND HIS SUCCESSORS. 61
of the Porte to political pportunities, nd so capricious
and uncertain was its disposition, hat no extensive
combination could he safely based on its probable
demeanour.
When the Northern division of Europe had been
convulsed by the enterprises f Charles X.11. of .Sweden,
the Porte took nooi'iginal art
in thequarrel
but
when, after the defeat of Pultawa, the vanquished hero
soughtrefuge at Bender, the peace of Carlowitz was
summarily broken in behalf of a sovereign hose infe-iority
to his adversary had been exposed before all the
world. Turkey declared war against ussia. It would
be a work of some interest to ascertain how far the
Divan was actually influenced by any considerations
respecting ussian aggrandisement, nd whether, upon
this early occasion, ts deliberations were swayed by the
maxims of more modem policy. That it was not so in-luenc
to any very great extent, we may perhapsinfer from its promptitude in engaging the Czar, and
from thejustification
hich such confidence received on
the Pruth. Peter was there completely iscomfited ;
and although the Swedish king gained nothing in the
end, the advantages obtained by the Turks over the
Russians appeared in 1711 to be quite decisive as to the
comparativetrength of the two parties. By the year
1724, however, the Divan had evidently egun to look
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62 TURKEY.
with jealousy, f not apprehension, pon the growth of
Russia ; and a fresh war was only averted by the good
offices of the French court. Its ambassador, n this occa-ion,
represented o the Porte, remarkably enough, hat
the aggrandisement f Russia could be in no wise injurious
to the Ottoman interests ; but that, n the contrary, it
wouldsupply
a
counterpoise gainstAustria, the natu-al
enemy of Mahometan power. It is said that Peter
the Great bequeathed certain cabinet traditions for
effacing hat he considered to be the humiliating ea-ures
of the treaty of the Pruth ; and it is at any rate
clear, hat when the accession of the Empress Anne in-roduc
fresh spirit nto the Russian councils, an
opportunity as promptly found for renewing hostilities
with the Ottomans. Indeed, the cabinet of St. Peters-
burgh appears to have now almost succeeded to the
imperious carriage f the Porte itself. Although such
was the condition of the country, even twenty years
later, hat one of the most intelligent f French diplo-atists
described it as liable, tany
moment, torelapse
into barbarism, and on that ground disqualified or any
permanent alliances ; yet it already ssumed the airs of
imperial upremacy, even to the length of contesting he
ancient precedence f France. The war from 1735 to
1739, which now ensued, proved the hinging point in
the military ortunes of Turkey. It cannot certainly e
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PETER THE GREAT, AND HIS SUCCESSORS. 63
termed discreditable to the Turks. The Porte, notwith-tanding
that it was actively ngaged in Persia with the
formidable Nadir Shah, still succeeded in showing a
resolute front to Munich in the Crimea, and to the
Count de Wallis on the Danube, and at length drove
the Austrians to a precipitate eace under the walls of
Belgrade.But
thoughthe honour of the Ottoman
arms
was thus far unexpectedly maintained, and though no
advantage was ever gained against them without
a desperate truggle, t was nevertheless demonstrated,
by the results of the campaign, that the rising ower of
Russia had at length reached an equality ith the re-eding
power of Turkey ; nor could it be doubtful with
which the superiority ould rest for the future. The
point had now been reached after which, even if Tur-ey
did not retrograde, et Eussia must continue to
advance, and the distance between them must yearlyincrease. Even the terms of the particular reaty which
followed immediately upon the peace of Belgrade,shoAved the change of relationship etween them. The
territorial arrangements were not greatly o the disad-antage
of the Porte ; but the haughty Ottoman con-escended
to acknowledge n Empress in the Czarina;
and an explicittipulation as introduced for the annul-ent
of all previous conventions, agreements, and con-essions,
and the'recognitionof his treaty as exclusively
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64 TURKEY.
regulating he relations to subsist thereafter between
the contracting owers.
After this,all, excepting he actual conquest of the
Ottoman Empire, might be said to be virtually ver.
In fact, ven the last war had been commenced with
the avowed expectation. f despoiling he Porte of some,
at least,f its
Europeanpossessions, so precipitate adbeen its decline. Turkey was now fairly n the de-cendin
limb of her orbit ; and it seemed easy to calcu-ate
the speed w