Tvvo very notable commentaries the one of the originall of the Turcks and Empire of the house of Ottomanno, written by Andrewe Cambine, and thother of the warres of the Turcke against George Scanderbeg, prince of Epiro, and of the great victories obteyned by the sayd George, aswell against the Emperour of Turkie, as other princes, and of his other rare force and vertues, worthye of memorye, translated oute of Italian into Englishe by Iohn Shute.

The thirde boke of Andre CAMBINE FLORENTINE, OF THE ORIGI∣nall of the Turckes and Empire of the house of Ottomanno. (Book 3)

MAHOMETHE DIED THE LVI. YERE of his age in the xxvii. yere of his raigne, he lefte behinde him two sonnes the one named Gemma, y^e other Baiazithe. The Turckishe nation beinge deuided after y^e death of Mahomethe, the one parte, especially the nobilitie fauoring Sultan Gemma, and y^e Gianizaries the partie of Baiazithe, and therfore imme¦diatly vpon the death of Mahomethe, the Gianizzaries marched wyth all spede to Constantinople, and for so∣much as Baiazithe was at that tyme in Natolia, they toke a yonge sonne of his named Corcuthe, & when they had saluted him Emperour, they bare him aboute thorowe all the citie to shewe him to the people,* 1.1 and cau¦sed them with loude voice to crie the name of Baiazithe who aboute the middest of Maye when he was retorned to Constantinople, caused him selfe to be saluted and con¦firmed Emperour, beinge assured throughe his manie∣folde rewardes and liberalitie, of the fauour and ayde of y^e Bascias and Gianizzaries, and being in doubte of his brother Sultan Gemma, He began to se his souldiours verie wel furnished, and to prouide for his owne securi∣tie, Gemma, departinge from the confynes of Soria, where he was lefte by his father to make warres vpon the Soldane, broughte his armie into the lesser Asia, & when he vnderstode howe y^e affaires had passed in Con∣stantinople beinge oute of hope to enioye anye parte of gretia,* 1.2 he chaūged his purpose & determined to occupie y^• Empire of the lesse Asia, whervpon he conueyd hys ar∣mie into Bithinia: to the Citie Bursia, which when he had fortyfied, he determyned to call togyther all the ru∣lers of the people of, Asia and when he had consulted w^t them, to send for y^e reste of his bandes that were in Asia and to vnite them with his armie,* 1.3 Baiazithe gathered togyther all y^e olde bandes of Gretia, and assembled hys

armie and passed them into Asia and sought his brother Gemma, and mette him vpon the plaine not farre from Bursia, the armies beinge renged, the battaile was pre¦sented, they ioyned, y^e fighte contynued for a longe time and after great slaughter on bothe sydes,* 1.4 Baiazithe be∣came master of the feelde, Gemma beinge broken, and abandoned of his people, fled, with certaine of his trustie fryndes with him to Rhodes, and the great maister of y^e religion (fearing leste by holding of him he mought pur¦chase the innimitie of Baiazith and so prouoke him to warres) sent him wel garded with certaine shippes into Fraunce, from whence afterward by commaundement of Innocentio the viii. Byshoppe of Rome, he was sent to Rome, and beinge receauid by the Byshoppe, had his lodginges appointed in the heighte of the Palace, and was there for a longe tyme garded with great diligence the pope agreed with Baiazithe for a yerely pension of thirtie thousand ducates so to kepe hym garded duringe the lyfe naturall of Gemma.* 1.5 In this meane tyme the king Ferrante being in Italie receauid Aduertysement of the death of Mahomethe, and caused it to be declared to those of Ottranto, & offeryd them (that yf they wolde delyuer into his handes the Citie) he wolde sett them al safely into Gretia with all such goodes and treasure as they had there. The infideles wolde in no wyse agree to this demaunde forsomuche as they knewe not whether theyr lorde was deade or noe, or els for that they staied to se which of the two bretheren sholde be their lord, and whether he wolde send them succours or no, beinge as∣sured that yf Acomathe were lyuing he wolde not aban¦done them, nor breake promes with them. The Duke of Calabria seinge their perseuerance in the promes to Acomathe, dyd with his campe approche y^e towne more neare then in the tyme of Mahomethe he durste doe,* 1.6 he began to entrenche toward the towne, and so from trenche to trenche, conueyed his people to y^e very bancke of the towne dyke, and then planted his batteries, and batterid it for certaine dayes & they determyned to giue an assaulte, whervpon he sawe his people furnished w^t all kinde of necessaries and then deuided them into bat∣taylones,

and gaue order for the beginninge and conty∣nance of the assaulte, and then commaunded the trom∣pettes drommes and cornetts, to sounde to the assaulte and thervpon began to assayle the breaches with great furie, and in shorte space became lorde of them, and whē they entred the towne they founde in it suche newe for∣tifycation as they were oute of all hope of wynning of it whervpon they retyred from the assaulte with the losse of manye of their moste valyante men, after thys they attempted newe practizes and agreed with them of the towne, that they shoulde safely send their messagers in∣to Gretia, to vnderstand whether Mahomethe were ly∣uing or no, and howe the affares passed there, vpon this there was a trewes taken for a certaine tyme, the Cap∣taines of Ottranto dispatched their messangers into Gre¦tia, & when they came there they vnderstode y^e Acomathe was in Asia, and had taken parte with Gēma, and Baia¦zithe made redie with greate celeritie to goe against thē in person, where vpō they retorned to Ottranto and de¦clared what they vnderstode of the affares of Gretia, whervpon the generall with the Captaines consulted, and forasmuche as they sawe the state of Turchie so de∣uided leadinge and mayntaining Ciuile warres among them selues, and that Acomathe, in whom was al their truste had declared him selfe enemie to Baiazithe and was in Asia, and they being oute of hope of al succour entred againe into talke of appointement with y^• Duke of Calabria, and messagers both went and came on both sydes, and at the laste with much a doe they agreed that the towne shoulde be delyueryd into the Dukes hands, vpon condytion that the kyng shoulde safely set them in Gretia: with al the substance and artillerie that they pre¦sently possessyd there, and in this sorte the peace was made, and the performances of the promes confyrmed by othe and when the kinge and the Duke had thus pro¦mysed, the Turckes delyuered the towne and receauyd into it,* 1.7 the Dukes souldiours and delyuered vnto them the gouernance of the towne, when this was done, con∣trarie to all promes they helde all the chiefe of y^• Turc∣kes prisoners, and put a great number of the souldiours

into the galleys, and helde them of force all, sauing cer∣taine of them beinge men of place, and circumspect, who wolde rather committe them selues to the faythe of the Hungarian Cononel, then to the Italianes, when Sul¦tan Baiazithe had ouerthorowen his brother Gemma and put him to slyghte, and receauid obeisance of all the state and dominiones of his ancestrous in Asia the lesse, and had visited the contre of Pontho Capadotia and o∣ther prouinces and gyuen order for the gouernaunce of them he cōtynued in Burfia for a certaine space: to giue audience to the gouernours of those prouinces of Asia, which were subiecte vnto him in those partes, where he bare him selfe so modestly and determyned his causes w^t such humanitie that in the ende he obtained great good wyll of the people, when he had thus done, be passyd the straite homeward and was receauid into Constantino∣ple with great pompe, acording to the order of the triūp hantes of y^e olde worldes, he then gaue order, & altered, the recepte of his reuenewes and customes, withoute any sparcke of auarice or rapine, and when he had made a reuewe of hys Gianizzaries,* 1.8 he dyd not onely encrēse the number of his fotemen, but also of his horsemen, and caused them to be wel paide, which was an occasion that they were wel furnished & in good order, for so much as they sawe their prince to haue a delight ni them & that he was very liberall vnto them. And then began they to be excellently wel mounted their horses richely furni∣shed, them selues and their wiues sōptuously aparellyd, with clothe of golde, syluer, Iuelles and suche lyke, in sorte, that the countre was chaunged from rude & grose furniture, into somtuouse and magnifique ornamentes and deckings. And whē he had bestoed a time in visiting his prouinces of Gretia, and was come neare to Ep••rro whiche is that parte of Macedonia that is inhabited by the nation called Albaneses, from whō the contrei hath yet his name & is called Albania, amōg whō at the death of Sultā Mahometh, there arose certain leaders sediti∣oussi & caused a great parte of y^e coūtrei to reuolte, whō by his presence he agreed, & y^e rest be toke b•• force and so brought thē to his deuotiō, & before y^e he wolde departe

oute of that contre,* 1.9 he sent to protest to the kinge Fer∣rante of Naples, that yf he sent him not his artillerie & munitiō wholli, that was left in Ottranto at the deli∣uerie therof, with his people and all suche substance and treasure of theirs as he then deteyned contrarie to his sworne promes, that then he wolde make warres vpon him and seke to redresse his owne cause, throughe the which message the king (beinge sore a ferde) embarcked all his artillerie, monition and men, with all such riches as they there had and caused them to be landed safely at Valona, after that he lad his armie into Romania, and cōtinued with his courte in Andrinople, began to make preparatiō for the warres against Caromano prince of the one parte of Cilicia,* 1.10 beinge desirous to reuenge the defeicte that he receauid of him a litle before the deathe of his father. This Caromano was the seconde prince of the Turckishe nation that then possessid anye dominion in Asia, and they say that when he neded, he was able to come to the feelde with xl. thousand armed horsemen, & his principall state wherin he did reside was in y^e for dest parte of the lesser Asia toward Soria, called Cilicia cam¦pestre in that part therof where the ancient and famous citie of Tarso standethe, which is builded vpon a plaine and is deuided throughe the middest by the ryuer Cidna and is not farre from the Baie Issico, whiche is at thys daye the golfe of Iaza, & he possessed also in the lesse Ar∣menia, and Capadotia, those partes that confyne with y^e mounte Tauro, whē Baiazith had prepared al things mete for the iorney he put his Nauie to the sea, embar••∣ked all his souldiours,* 1.11 both horsemen and fotemen, and passed then into Asia, & then marched throughe Bithi, nia bothe y^e contreis of Frigia, Dardania, Ionia, & M••∣sia, Caria, Licia Pamphilia, and finally with his people in ordre, he entred into Cilicia campestre, forasmuch as the contre of Cilicia hathe very large confines, it is by ancient writers deuided into two partes, of the whiche the lesse is called Trachea, and hathe his sea bancke, or shore, of no great largenes, it hath standinge vpon the plaine therof, neuer a great towne, for that the greatest parte of it is of the mounte Tauro, and is so barren, y^•

it is not well inhabited the campestre begynning at y^e Citie of Tarso and at Magnopoli (a Citie in tyme paste of great power and fame) stretcheth oute to y^t baie Issico nowe called the golfe of Iaza, and towarde the northe it confineth with Capadotia vpon the syde of the mounte Tauro, when Baiazith was entred with his armie in∣to y^e countre of Abraham Caromano, who had w^t great diligence fortified his townes, looking for his enemies and also he had furnished the straites of his contre, and to the ende he wolde not be enforced to fighte he encam¦ped alwayes in places of strengthe and great securitie, and dwelled with his people as neare the enemye as he moughte. The Turckes being lordes of the feelde went and spoyled and proied all the contre: finalli when Baia¦zithe had consumed a great pece of the sommer & coulde by no meanes prouoke the enemie to battaile, he deter myned to besege some of his townes,* 1.12 whervpō he went to Tarso, and besegyd it rounde & planted his batterys and began to batter the walles, not ceasiing daye nor nighte in suche sorte that in shorte space, he had made so great breache, that he thoughte it sufficient wherevpon he made redye for the assaulte and put his menne in battaile, which thinge when they of the citie perceaued (refusinge to put them selues in daunger of the losse of both lyfe, and goodes) they practized appointement, and agreed to delyuer him the Citie vpon condition that he shoulde suffer them to enioye both lyfe and goodes, whē Baiazithe was come into the Citie, he vsed y^e Citizenes very gently, and wolde not suffer anye of his armye to enter into the towne but onely those that were appoin∣ted to y^e garde bothe of his person and towne, and when the Automne was come on, the sharpnes of the wether was suche, that he coulde not well holde his people in y^e felde,* 1.13 whervpon he appointed them to lye in Garnisones in the townes there aboute, from whence he ouer ran & spoyled all the contrey and wolde not suffer the subiects of Caromano other to sowe and plowe the grounde, or∣els to doe anye thinge in the feeldes that moughte be∣for their commoditie, whervpon they that dwelled vp∣on the plaine were in suche distresse, that of their owne

acorde they reuolted from Caromano, for the greatest number, and became subiectes to Baiazithe, when the springe of the yere was cōme, Caromano (consideringe the inclination of his people and being in feare to be for¦saken of his souldiours, or els to be delyuered by them into the hands of Baiazithe) obtaine of the Soldane of Egipte,* 1.14 Caribeio (a man of much fame and worthines) a great sume of money and also certaine bandes of Arra¦bianes, he sent into all partes of his dominions for such ayde, as there was to be had, and ioyned them all with his armie, and made it of as great number as he coulde, and determyned to se howe fortune wolde fauour hym and rather to Hazard the battayle then to gyue place to his enemie and in tyme to be delyuered by his owne mē into the handes of his enemyes whervpon beinge furni¦shed with all necessaries, he toke the feelde, and chose a place of great strengthe and apte for the seruice of horse men, when Baiazithe vnderstode that the enemey was come to the feelde and in campe, he sent to all his gar∣nisones commaūdinge them to repare vnto hym wyth spede, & with them to bring their whole furniture, and when he had taken reuewe of them, he marched to the feelde and put his souldiours in battayle, and then mar¦ched towarde Caromano,* 1.15 and when he came w^tin sighte of him he sent his vauntgarde toward his enemie some thinge spedyly, to begyn the battayle, and he in person dyd conducte the battayle and folowed the Vauntgarde, he also was folowed by the rierewarde, and all his baga¦gers, and when he came where the enemies were, they refused not the battayle, he came towarde them in good order and ioyned with them, and notwithstanding that the force of Baiazithes people was greate, and that a troupe of ten thousand horsemen of his went and serred them selues and with great furie assayled the enemies, perswading them selues, that in the first encoūtre they woulde disorder them, but the Ciliceanes recauid theyr charge with great assurance, in suche sorte, that there was not one of them that gaue one fote of grounde to his enemie. After this when they were entremelled, there began a very braue and blooddie fyghte, men fell

downe dead and hurte, contynally on bothe sydes, and their places were alwaies supplied with freshe men, and in this sorte they contynued for the greatest parte of the daye with great assurance, nether partie gyuinge place to the other, so that it coulde not be Iudged on whiche parte, the virtorye shoulde lighte, for the battayle con∣tynued doubtefull euen to the darcke night, Abraham Ca¦romano shewed that daye, of what value he was, for in his order he shewed him selfe a Capten of great Iudge∣ment, and afterward in his fyghte he shewed him selfe a valiante and stoute souldiour, and laste of all (by the pro¦uidence of god his tyme beinge at hand) seinge his peo∣ple to gyue place, beinge charged by a greate numbre of his enmies whose force they were not able to endnre, be thruste on spedilie towardes them with his garde, & a good number of other of his souldiours and gaue in vp on them in suche sorte, that he perced euen in to myd∣dest of their squadrone, and beinge knowen by the ene∣mies was by thē forth with enuironed, and charged on euery syde with suche furie, that they slewe his horse vn¦der hym, where vpon he was constrayned to fyghte on fote in the whiche he behaued him selfe so nobly: that w^t his owne hande he slewe dyuerse of those which assailed him, & in the ende throughe the great losse of his bloude which contynually fell from him: throughe his dyuerse and sondrie woondes whiche he had receauied in the bat∣tayle (not beinge able to endure anye longer)* 1.16 fell downe deade in the place, as sone as his people vnderstode of his death: they were so amazed and discouraged that imme∣diatly they dysorderid them seules and lefte the fyghte scatteringe them selues all the the feelde ouer, hoped to make flighte their sauetie but being folowed by y^e Turc¦kyshe horsmen the greatest number of them were slaine and a great parte of the rest were taken on lyue and de∣lyuered to Baiazith,* 1.17 when he had in this sorte obtained so greate a victorie, he determyned forthewith to vse the same, whervpon, he began to occupie the reste of Cilicia campestre, and marching on ouer all the contrey, the ci∣ties and fortellezes yeldyd vnto him enerie where as he came withoute makinge anye resystaunce, and hauing

in shorte tyme broughte vnder his obeisance all that con¦trey that Caromano possessed in Cilicia, he deuised then with his Captaines what was beste to be done, fynally it semed beste in the opinion of euery mā, first (or he toke in hand to passe the mounte Tauro and so to goe on to conquere that which Caromano possyd in the lesse Ar∣menia and Capadotia) to possesse the other Cilicia cal∣led Thrachea to the ende to leue no enemie behinde thē y^e mought empeche them, whervpō he caused to moostre and paie his men and then gaue them a litle tyme to re∣pose, that done, he vnited them and sent them towarde Setalia,* 1.18 which is a Citie in that prouince then newlye inhabited, a citie of greate traffique & maruelously well inhabited by meanes of the decaie of the trade that was in Delo, whiche in tyme passed was a Citie of the grea∣test traffique of all Asia, and chiefely for the great num∣ber of slaues that then were there boughte, and solde, which were in nūber in maner infinite, wherof it grewe into prouerbe, marchantes make your voyage to Delo, and there vnshippe, for whatsoeuer is broughte thither is redie money, when the traffique of this Citie was de¦caied the whole traffique and trade of marchandize was put ouer into Setalia, and throughe the greate repaire of marchauntes it was become the cheife, and beste in, habited Citie of the lesse Asia, in so muche, that the sea coaste all there aboute losynge his olde name, is called the golfe of Setalia euen at this daye, vpon the whiche golfe, directly ouer againste the Isle of Cipres, standeth a noble Citie,* 1.19 and a popolouse called Scando∣loro, the lorde wherof beinge a Turcke borne. and all wayes in doubte of them hath euer ben an enemie to y^e house of Ottomano, and also to Caromano, and confede rate with the greate maister of Rhodes and the King of Cipres, dyd preserue his state vntyll that daie standing as a newter betwene them both, but whē he sawe Baia¦zith come vpon him withe so populouse an armie vpon the sodden, Iudginge him selfe not of power to witstand his force, for all the power that he was able to make did not excede the number of xx. M. men on horsbacke wher vpon examining him selfe, he determyned to proue, ra∣ther

y^• clementie then force of so mightie a prince, & whē they had talked vpō certaine articles of agrement,* 1.20 they concluded, that vpon condition, that Baiazithe shoulde gyue him certaine reuenewe in Natolia, he wolde dely∣uer vnto him all his possessyon and dominion of the con∣trey of Cilicia called Trachea, whervpon it came to passe that when Baiazithe was become lorde of bothe the contreys called Cilicia al y^t townes of the sea coaste from propontide or straicte of Gallipoli euen to the con∣fines of Soria, were vnder his obeisance so that all was his euen from the one to the other, whē Baiazithe was in this sorte agreed with the prince of Scandaloro, and become prince of both the one and other Cilicia, and al∣so of a great parte of the mounte Tauro, he contynued there vntyll that he had made y^e whole: one gouernaūce or prouince, and appointed vnto it for gouernour, one of his Bascias, leuing with him for garde therof, an ar∣mie sufficient this done he determined to precide in hys enterprise, and to subdue the reste of the state & possessi∣on of Caromano which was in Armenia the lesser, and in Capadotia, whervpon, he passed the mounte Tauro, and descended into the lesse Armenia and became lorde withoute any difficultie of all the countres, and townes that there had ben possessyd by Caromano, all the peo∣ple came and yeldyd them selues to him of their owne a corde, when he had thus done he marched on by the syde of the mounte Tauro toward the northe and al the peo¦ple and townes y^• restid of the Iurisdiction of Caroma∣no came and renderid them selues wholly vnto him, and when he had thus in shorte tyme acheuid so great an en¦terprise he determined to leade home warde his armye, and entred into Licaonia, and in Iconio, and Tocato, be lefte his Astatique armye in garnison, vnder y^e charg and conducte of Mustaffa his Bascia, and then he entred into Galatia, and from thence into Bithinia the nea∣rest waye to Bursia, and from thence went downe into the Golfe of Nicomedia, and there embarcked him selfe with the rest of his armie and sayled towarde Romania and there landed with al hys people sately, when he had this done, he toke the sea agayne, with his souldiours

of Gretia and sayled on,* 1.21 and landed in the hauen of Con¦stantinople, where he was receauyd of all the people w^t exciding great ioye, and there toke his horse and rode a∣boute al the Citie and thus with great pompe acording to their custume he went to lodge in hys palace called Seraglio, which standeth vpon that pointe, that is cal∣led Cauodi santo Demetrio, beinge determined in the nexte springe folowing to goe againe into Cilicia with all his power, to make warres against y^• Soldane, chiefe¦ly for that he had ayded Caromano against him, contra¦rie to the order of a league betwene them, wherefore he was much offended with the Soldane,* 1.22 & departed from thence with his courte and went to Andrinople, and all that winter he was occupied in making preparation for that iorney, and gaue order to lenie oute of all his domi¦nions of Europe newe bandes. The number of his artil¦lerie which he caried with him, was great, and when y^e springe was cōme, in the begynninge of Apryll, he as∣semblyd his armie, embarcked them and passed, them in to Asia. And when he had passed throughe Bithinia and Galatia, he broughte them into licaonia to Iconio, and ioyued them, with hys armye that he had lefte there w^t Mustaffa his Bascia at his departure from thence, whē he had this done, he entred againe into Cilicia toward the mounte Tauro and Armenia, and there receauid ad¦uedtizement, that the Soldane, as sone as he herd of the death of Caromano, fearing lefte Baiazithe (being puf∣fed vp in pride throughe the great victorie that he had ob¦tained against Caromano in the reuenge of the ayde y^• the Soldane had sent him) shoulde attempte some great enterprise in Soria,* 1.23 whervppon he sent all the Mama∣lukes that were in his courte vnder the conducte of the great Diadaro to the confines of Cilicia, acompanied w^t a great numbre of Arrabianes, wherfore Baiazith was some what in doubte what was to doe (considering the great preparatiō of the enemy) althoughe he were acom¦pained with an armie of well trayned souldiours, & had broughte wyth hym moe, then one hundred thousande souldiours on horsebacke besyde hys garde of Gianiza∣ries, and other bandes of fotemen, yet notwithstanding

fearing y^• vertue & discipline of the Mamalukes, whose name was feared throughe all Asia, for as much as they were counted a people inuincible in battayle wherfore he thought it good not raishly to trye his fortune in bat¦tayle, nor on the other syde, to showe any token of feare wherby he moughte encorage his enemye to deale with him, but admisedly put his armie in order and then mar∣ched on towarde Tarso, the Mamalukes beinge aduer∣tized of the Turckes comming towarde them thoughte it not good to tarie and suffer them to enter Soria, but marched toward them to mete them vpon the waye and when they were entred Cilicia, marchinge towarde the Turcks (of whom thei made smalle acōpte) approchinge neare vnto Tarso, as sone as they came within syghte of them, they put them selues in battayle and marched on towarde them, when Baiazith behelde y^e comminge of his enemies he also presented his people embattailed and as sone as the Mamalukes came anye thinge neare vnto them,* 1.24 Woute deferringe of tyme, the great Diadar•• aduaunced him selfe with asquadrone of xv. thousande horsemen, when the battayles were ioyned, he gaue in vpon the Turckes with suche force, that not wythstan∣dinge they receaued the charge (beinge well serred) and prepared with great assurance, & gaue to their enemies no place at all, yet for all that they had much to doe to preserue their order, that the Mamalukes had not broken it, & after this when they approched the one the others squadrones they were so ioyned that they coulde vse no long weapon but were driuen to vse there Scimi¦tarres, and so continued they in so streyte order fighting with great assurance for a longe tyme, y^• no man coulde see of eyther syde, anye aduauntage, and Baiazithe al∣thoughe there were farre greater slaughter of hys peo∣ple then of the Mamalukes and Arrabianes, yet dyd he alwayes supplie his weried and spoyled, squadrones w^t newe and freshe bandes and hauinge farre greater num¦ber of souldiours then the Diadaro had, he continued the fyghte in this order from the myddaye, tyll after the go ing downe of the sone, whervpon the great Diadaro de∣termined to vse all force possyble to the ende y^• the night

shoulde not sonder them withoute victorie,* 1.25 whervpon he chose oute of his, a nūber of souldiours in whom he had great truste and when they were some what reposed he renged them in battayle very closely & then ladde them in person and charged the Turckes againe with suche force that he thoughte veryly in that charge to disorder them, but notwithstandinge that the Turckes receaued the charge with great difficultie, yet they maintained their order styll and brake not, and althoughe that they in dyuerse places, makinge hed to the enemye they de∣fendyd them selues but slenderly and were in maner re∣die to breake, yet Baiazithe throughe his good order re∣lyued them in suche sorte with his presence and his repo∣sed garde of Gianizaries, that he encoraged his people,* 1.26 renued the fyghte and repulsed some what the Mama∣lukes, and fearing that yf his people shoulde be charged againe by the Mamalukes, he sholde not be able to main¦taine their order, whervpon he thoughte it good to pre∣uent this mischeife, and with all his force to charge the enemie, and then retiring by litle and litle to abandone the fighte, thincking in this forte to gyue place and to a noid the losse of his whole armie, rather then to make good the place & to be charged by the enemye and so put to fighte, whervpon he retired his people (in that same order wherin they had foughte all the daye before) with their faces to warde the enemie, fightinge cōtynually in their retreyte in good order, althoughe notw^toute great losse, & in this forte broughte his people into his campe to their lodginges, which he lefte wel fortified with tren¦ches and rampares, and also well garded with souldi∣ours, whervnto, when the Mamalukes approched the nexte morninge folowing, and consyderid the fortifica∣tion therof, the greate quantitie of the artillerie placed vpon the bulwarckes and rampares therof, and also the number of the garde there vnto appointed, they durste not to assayle their campe but retired them selues. And it semed to Diadaro that he had for that tyme well pro∣uided both for the securitie of Soria, and also for his esti¦mation, thincking it not good to entre into furder peril whervppon he retorned againe to Aleppo from whence

he came, and when he had consumed the reste of the som¦mer in proinge and spoilinge the confines of the Turc∣kes countrey and that Automne was comme vpon him he appointed his people to garnison vpon the confynes of Soria, and Baiazithe appointed his in the lyke sorte in the prouince of Cilicia, then Baiazithe practized an atonemēt with the Soldane and many Oratours were sent betwene them, from the one to the other,* 1.27 whervn∣to it was an easy matter to perswade the Soldane not∣withstāding his victorious successe. This Soldane was the cheife in degree and acompted him selfe y^• firste prince of the Mahometane relygion, and takinge vpon him the name, and dignite of Soldane, he is sacred in his crea∣tion with greate cerimonie, and besyde that, the eldeste of a noble house in Cairo, and it is sayd that anciently they were the princes, and helde the soueraintie therof & were named Caliphi, the Soldane is crowned with an Imperiall Crowne wherby he is acompted as y^• father of all the Mahometystes, they haue alwaies ben conten¦ted with their dominion of Soria, & Egipte, they haue not vsed in tyme passed, to make warres vpō any prince of their secte and relygion, vnles they had ben enforced, in y^e defence of their owne state, or els of some other Ma¦hometyste prince, there confederate and frinde, in suche sorte, that holdinge that principalitie and kinde of go∣uernement for y^e space of thre C. yeres and moe, they ne¦uer enlarged their confynes, nor soughte to possesse the dominions of others, the which, there maner and order of gouernance dyd chiefely cause, for they prouided in y^• begynninge and made a lawe,* 1.28 that none shoulde be Sol¦dane, but be election, and that also he shoulde be of their communaltie, that is a slaue, not yet worthye to be ad∣mitted into the order of the Mamalukes, with whome was the whole gouernance, and auctoritie to electe and chewse the Soldane, the children of the Soldane neuer succeded their father in gouernance, no more dyd they of y^• Mamalukes succede in the place of their fathers, nei∣ther in warres, ne yet in anye publique prehemuinence, they dyd lyue pryuately as other Citizines dyd, and pos¦sessyd y^• propre goodes and enheritaunces of their fa∣thers,

which they lefte vnto them at their deathe, & vsed the same exercise and trade of lyfe that other of the coun¦tre dyd. But nowe to our historie, when Baiazithe by meanes of his ambasciadours, and Oratours, had paci∣fied the Soldane, renued and cōfirmed y^• ancient league and confideracie y^• had ben of a longe tyme betwene the Soldanes, and his house, and established his gouerne∣ment in Cilicia, he retorned to Bursia the nearest waye & then embarcked him selfe with his souldionrs of Eu∣rope, and retorned into Gretia, and when he be came the∣ther he ceased from al hostilitie, & gaue him selfe wholly to prouide for the quietnes of his people, and sent hys souldiours to garnisones, and gaue order for the admini¦stration of Iustice in all places. after this, he gaue him selfe wholly to the studie of the Alchorane,* 1.29 & of naturall philosophie, in the whiche he had greate delighte, in so muche that he had alwayes aboute him, of all nationes mē excellently wel seen in phisycke, in whose companie he passyd the greatest parte of his time, and when he had in thys sorte spent manye yeres he was moued to take in hande newe enterprises, by occasion that was offery•• to make him lorde of Corcira nowe called Corfu, being certifyed by certayne Greekes of the Isle who had prac∣tized with them of the fortes and so broughte to passe y^• they wolde render the fortes vnto him at all tymes,* 1.30 vp∣on condition, that he shoulde consider them acordinge to their seruice, and offeryd them also to take the Citie and the rest of the Isle & to deliuer the whole into his hands this matter semed vnto him lykely, and possyble to be broughte to passe, and also that he coulde not make a conqueste more mete for the assurance of hys state, no∣more apte to anoie the enemyes of his religion, imme∣diatly he determyned in him selfe the order of the enter∣prise & for that he wolde not that y^• Venetianes shoulde suspecte him, he began to make redie his Nauie, and to prepare his armie by land, & bruted that he wolde make warres vpon the people of Valachia, and Moncastro & when he had made redie al thinges both by sea and land the Venetian Nauie retorninge from Candie, whether it were by chaunce, or els y^• y^e generall therof had some

kinde of intelligence of the practize, he came to Corsu, & acording to their custume, when he had seen the moniti on, & vewed the gardes of the fortes & townes, he toke awaye the olde souldiours and put newe in their places and toke with him certaine men that dwelled in Corsu and when he had spoyled al the sea coaste of the Golfe he retorned with his Nauie to Venise, which when Baia∣zithe vnderstode he dissembled the matter as thoughe he had ment nothinge at all that waye, and wolde not dis∣couer his practize by the sodden vnrigging of his Nauie and so to losse the greatest parte of the charges that he had ben at, whervpon he determyned to take in hand the enterprise which he had bruted and put his Nauie to the sea and sent them towarde the sea called mare magioro, and he in person with his armie,* 1.31 went by land thorowe Burgaria towarde the prince of Valachia, who dwelled in the loer partes therof towarde the sea Eusino, he en∣tred into his caūtre inuading and spoyling a great part therof, the prince therof, knowing him selfe not able to withstande the force of this mightie prince, determined to proue yf he mighte by anye meanes growe to an ap∣pointment with him and so to saue hym selfe hauinge greate hope in the cortezic and goodnes of Baiazithe, wherof the fame was spred all the countrey ouer, and fylled so the myndes of men that all men had good hope of him, and sendinge his Oratours vnto him in very hū¦ble sorte to demaūde peace of him, y^e whiche when Baia¦zithe had herde, he graunted their request withoute dif∣ficultie, vpon condition that he shoulde paie vnto hym yerely a certaine summe of money in the name of a tri∣bute, whervpon he wolde receaue him into his protecti∣on, when he had thus done, he passed the ryuer of Danu¦bio and marched on vntyll he came within the syghte of Moncastro, where he had also syghte of his Nauie, Mon¦castro standeth vpon the sea bancke neare to the mouthe of the Ryuer Nester where he entrethe into the sea,* 1.32 cal∣led Maremagiore, the seate of it is naturally stronge, & the towne is also artificially stronge and of great empor¦tance, by meanes of the commodities of the conntre, of the ryuer, and of the sea, and it is of greate reputation

in all the countres aboute it, which it wone in the tyme of Sultane Mahometh, who went thyther w^t his campe and besegyd it, and when he had batterid it by the space of a moneth, he was enforced by meane of y^• great colde to leuie his campe, and to departe thence withoute it, when Baiazithe had spoyled and proied all the countre aboute it, and sawe that they of y^• towne came not forth to the feelde,* 1.33 he caused his Nauie to approche neare to the towne and forthewith besegyd it bothe by sea and land, in suche sorte that they of the towne were nether able to send forthe, nor receaue into them any man, and when he sawe the inhabitantes therof determyned to de¦fend it, he planted his batteries, and began to batter & make sondrie breaches, and when he had contynued his batterie by y^e space of many dayes, he had made so great breaches that it semyd vnto him that his men moughte enter the towne at their pleasure, wherfore when he had appoynted his Colonels howe they shoulde succede the one the other in the assaulte, y^• nexte morning folowing at the pointe of the daye they presented them selues in battayle before the towne.

Those of the towne were redie at the breaches, & had maruelously fortified againste the cannon, with stronge rampares and excedinge depe dykes, and defended them selues nobly, in suche sorte, that when the enemies pre∣sented them selues to the breaches to enter the towne, straight way they were with them at the pushe of y^e p••ke and bestowed vpon them suche store of shotte, artifeciall fyres, casting speres, and great stones, that they enfor∣ted them to leue the breaches, and they bare them selues so worthily in their defence, that they stewe and hurte an exceding great number of y^e enemyes, and repulsed them often times clene from the breaches but y^e enemies were alway supplyed wyth newe regymentes, and renewed styll the assaulte, and gaue them of the towne no tyme at all to repose, and they had of their people slayne, and hurte contynually, and had not meanes to be supplied w^t newe, wherby the defendantes began excidingly to de∣caye and not to be able to answere all places, whervpon they receauyd greater hurte of y^• fewe whych they loste,

then dyd the enemye of the great slaughter y^e was made of his, when Baiazithe had in this sorte contynued the assaulte the greatest parte of the daye, he commaunded to sounde the retreicte and broughte his people home to their lodgings, determyning the nexte morning so to de¦uide the regymentes of his armie, that he wolde apointe the Colonelles of the first assaulte so to be supplied from tyme to tyme with newe regymentes, that they of the towne shoulde reste, nether daye, nor nighte, and in this sorte, he ment to consume them, & to cut thorowe their newe workes which they had made against y^e Cannon, and so to enter the towne, and beinge in this determina¦tion he commaunded hys people to goe to reste: wylling them to be redie in battaile the next morning before the rysing of the sunne to assayle the towne againe, and ne∣uer to leue the assaulte til thei had repulsed, the enimies and taken the towne of force, or els there to leaue their lyues, when they of the towne vnderstode the great pre¦paration of the enemie for the assaulte, they dyscoraged not at al (not withstanding the great peryll y^• they were in, for that they wanted defendantes, consydering their people were maruelously spoiled and consumed, but laid to their handes as men of noble myndes, & repared those places that were nedefull & prepared them selues wyth suche force as they had to defende there towne to the vt¦termost. The daye folowing Baiazithe brought his peo¦ple againe in order to the walles with great noyses and cries, and vndoubtedly they assured them selues of the victorie, they taried for nothinge but for the token of y^e assaulte, Baiazith being desyrous to saue both the peo∣ple, and the towne,* 1.34 determined to praue if that he coulde (by making them to vnderstand the peryll wherin they were) cause them to yelde the towne vpon condityones, and to saue their liues, whervpō he fignified vnto them that he wolde talke with thē sending his messager vn∣to them, gyuing them to vnderstand that be came in ful purpose, neuer to leue the assaulte, day nor night, vntyl he had taken the twone by force, and also, that yf they taried the assaulte he had gyuen the Towne in proie t•• his souldiours, and wolde not spare age, nor kinde, but

that he wolde put to the sworde all that euer he founde there, but yf they wolde yelde vnto him, he wolde gyue them both their lyues and goodes, and also it shoulde be in their choise whether they wolde contynue there styll or els departe the towne, when they of the towne had herde the offer of this noble prince, and had no meanes to saue their lyues, consydering that their people were so consumed that they had not number sufficient to fur¦nishe the breaches that were made, wherfore they toke a tyme to answere, whervpon the cheife of the citie ga¦theryd togyther, and after certaine conference had, they determined to accepte the conditiones that were offerid vnto them, beinge in good hope throughe the good opi∣nion that they had of Baiazithe to haue them faithful∣ly obserued, whervpon they agreed, and sent their mes∣sagers to him offering him the towne, which Baiazith willingly accepted, and obserued his promes with such faythe, that they were hurte nother in person nor anye one iote of their substance, then he licensyd all suche as wolde departe the towne, to depart, w^t all their goods and to conuei it whither thei leste, & no man vpon paine of his life to touche them, or theirs, whē he had this dōe he lefte the towne well garded and furnished with all kinde of mention and necessaries, and being assured y^e on that syde he coulde not be molested & hauing brought vnder his obedience al the coastes of the sea called Mare Pontico, he made it so safe, that no man coulde passe y^• waye but by his good wyll, for as muche as he possessyd all y^e hauenes and ryuers that enter into y^e same, when he had acheuid this enterprise he retorned home warde and broughte his armie into Romania, where he sent them to garnison and he with his courte tontynued in Andrinople, and calling to mynde againe the enterprise of Corsu,* 1.35 coulde in no wyse immagine howe the Vene∣tianes shoulde vnderstande of his practize, vnles it were by meanes of their Baiolo, or marchantes which dwel∣led in Constantinople and Pera, wherfore he thoughte it not for his cōmoditie to kepeas it were in his bosome his naturall enemie, who moughte daylye vnderstande his practizes and gyue aduertisement therof, yet wolde

he not seme to touche particulerly the Venetianes, leste that by meanes therof, he moughte discouer, what he had ment towarde Corfu, whervpon he made proclama¦tion that no forien nation moughte after a certaine day* 1.36 haue within anye of his dominions ether ambassadour or Consul, nor anye other that shoulde haue anye pub∣lique auctoritie or Iurisdiction he laid to y^e Venetianes charge that they had dealed disceitfully with him, wher¦fore he staied them & toke from them all suche goodes as they there had, and thus were they there kepte manye yeres, and their goodes taken from them. Amonge whō the chiefe was Andre Gritti, whē the peace was in this sorte broken betwene the Turcke and the Venetianes, Baiazithe determyned to make warres vpon them, a∣boute the yere of our helthe M.CCCC.lxxxxviii. & put his Nauie of Shippes, Galleys, fustes & other vesselles to the sea, and caused them to sayle towarde Peloponeso nowe called Morea, and he in person went thyther by land with his armie,* 1.37 and when he was entred into the Golfe of Patrasso, he encamped before Lepanto, anci∣ently named Naupatto, and besegyd it bothe by sea and land, and in the ende obtained it vpon condition, then fo¦lowed he his enterprise & y^e nexte yere folowing he pas∣syd with his Nauie to Modone and besegyd it rounde, & they of the towne beinge well furnished with all kinde of necessaries, defendyd them selues in such sorte y^e they made him to consume manie monethes in vayne, and be¦inge men of muche worthines were determyned to de∣fend it to the vttermoste, but at the lengthe they began to haue great scarcitie of victuall, Antonio Grimmano, then Captaine of y^• Venetian Nauie, fraughted a great shippe with corne and sent it towarde Modone, & when he came within syghte of the towne hauing a ful winde and a good gale therof packed on all his sayles, and say led directly towarde the Turckyshe ficete, which laie in his course, directly betwene him and the towne, & came on with suche violence, that none of them durste to en∣countre him but gaue him waye and in this sorte he pas¦sed throughe the middeste of the enemies into the hauen safely, the generall of Modone seinge the shyppe safely

arriued within the hauen, commaunded all those of the towne to goe to the hauenes syde, to vnlode the corne, & to bringe it into the towne, when they of the towne had receaued this commaundement (being very desyrous of victuall) bothe inhabitantes,* 1.38 and souldiours ran to the hauen leuīg their towne vngarded, as thoughe their had no enemi neare them, of which great disorder Baiazithe beinge aduertized, cōmaunded his vantagarde to marche towarde the towne in all haste and he wyth the reste of his armie folowed, he assayled their ripares with great furie, and fyndynge them vnfurnished of defendants, en¦tred them forthewyth and became maister of them and then they toke all the places that were of anye force w^t in the towne before y^e they y^e were at the shyppes were able to succour it, when the Turckes were in this sorte become lordes of Modone and had put their garde in the market place, and also vpon the bulwarkes of the towne then began they to seke all places of the towne, and to cut in peces whosoeuer they mette with armour or wea¦pon, then fell they to the sacke of the towne and spoiled as wel the sacred, as prophane places, making men, wo men, and children flaues, and spoyled them in excedinge miserable sorte, so, that they lefte nothinge to be had, & their were suche number of them gone into y^e Citadell that they were not able to endure there, but practiled an appointement, and were enforced to render it hauing their lynes saued then they of the Iste of Corone, which standeth righte ouer against Modone, seing Modone pos¦fessyd by the infidels, beinge desyrous to saue both their lyues and goodes, sent forthewith their messagers to Baiazithe, offering him bothe the Citie and the Isle vp on condition that he sholde take from them nother liues nor goodes which conditiones when Baiazithe had pro¦mised to obserue,* 1.39 they delyuered him the towne, and re¦ceaued his officers and souldiours into it, Baiazithe de¦termined to continue that winter in Morea & to make prouisyon for the fortyfyinge of Modone, and prouyded newe inhabitantes to dwell in it, and changed y^e name of it, naming it Tangari Verdi which in our tougne sig¦nifieth, gyuen by God, he appointed there a notable gar∣nison

of his souldiours and in the springe folowinge, he sent one of his Bascias towarde Valona, and assayled the Citie of Durazzo with xl. M. men and the walles therof beinge fallen into decaie, and the Citie slenderly furnished, was a meane wherby he sone became lord of it.* 1.40 And the Venetianes acordinge to their olde custume and order, laide the whole faulte of the losse of Modone in Antonio Grymano Capitaine of their armata, for y^• he had not with his Nauie succoured it, whervpon they sent for him to Venise, cōmaundinge him to be brought in yronnes: prisoner, and banished him into the Isle of Proconesso, from whence afterwarde he bracke, & came to Rome, they appointed in his place Captaine general of their armata, Marchio Treuesano, and seing that of them selues they were not able to endure the charges of so great warres, they sent to the king Lois of Fraūce for aide, who sent them oute of prouince & Genoa, seuen shyppes well armed and furnished, and fyftene galleys with a great quantitie of artillerie, & also certaine thou sandes of fote men, the greatest parte Guascones, vnder the conducte of the lorde of Grauistence, who departed from Genoa and sayled towarde y^e Archipelago (whiche deuideth y^e lesse Asia from Gretia) to ioyne with y^e Vene¦tian armata and when he came to Scio, he depated from thence to Mitilene, entred the hauē and landed his peo¦ple, & immediatli proied & spoiled al y^e Isle & finalli came and encamped before the towne which was the cheife of the Isle,* 1.41 and assayled it with greate furie, & the first daye that they came before it they planted their batteryes and batterid in suche sorte that they so feared y^e Turcks of the towne with their sodden assaulte, y^e notwithstan∣ding there was within it a granison of greate fame, of men of great experience, yet they were so affraied that they sent their postes by sea and lande, to Baiazithe to declare vnto him the great preparation and force of the Christianes, and the furie of their batteries, protesting vnto him: that yf they were not spedylye reliued they shoulde not be able longe to defend it, when the arryual of y^e Nauie of Fraunce was commonly knowen in Con¦stantinople y^e force of y^• nation beinge then augmented

and increase so at that tyme, dyd put suche feare into the whole Citie, and to all the reste of Romania, that y^e Ma¦hometistes beinge oute of all hope to contynue ani lon∣ger in Gretia, immagined howe to prouide shyppes and other vesselles where with to flee into Asia, rather then to put them selues in order to succour Mitileno, wher vp on Baiazithe beinge excidingly moued with the confu∣sion that he sawe amonge his people, makinge none ac∣compte of his astate guyrded his gowne to him, & came downto y^e hauēnes syde where his people were, sō meem∣barcked, and others redie to enbarcke, and entretyd hys people that they wolde embarcke & passe on to succour Mitileno, and whiles the courte contynued in this sorte makinge no prouisyon at all in effecte for their defence, their is no doubte that yf the Venetianes had gone on with their Nauie & vnited them w^t the Nauie of Fraūce and encreased y^e power of the Christans (cheifely of fote men, wherof the frenshe had great wante) but whē they had taken Mitileno and some other one place in Gretia they shoulde haue broughte the Turckes to that passe, that they paraduenture of them selues wolde haue fled into Asia, and haue for saken Gretia, but the Vene¦tianes, whether that it were for that they were all redy¦entred into practize of a peace with Baiazithe which af¦terwarde they concluded by y^e meanes of Andre Gritti) and wolde no furder procure his indignation, or els that the good successe of the frenshe dyd not lyke them wher∣vpon they in dede procided slowly in all their affares, & cheifely, in furnishinge the frenshe Nauie with victuall and men, wherof they stode in great nede and prolonged so their comming to vnite them selue•• with the frenshe that when they had contynued there for a certaine space and made so great breaches y^e yf they had had men suffi∣cient to hane gyuen the assaulte they moughte easylye haue taken the towne, but when they sawe the tarying of the Venetianes and the smale haste that they made, the Captaine of the frenshe, beinge in great distresse of victual by meanes wherof he coulde no lenger continue there, and beinge also muche offendyd with there stack∣nes, doubted that they went aboute te betraie him and

his people, and had them in great suspition, where vpon he embarcked his people and artillerie, disolued the sege and set sayle, passed the Golfe and then alonge by Scici¦lia and retorned with his Nauie to Genea, and then be in person toke the poste and went into Fraunce, when Baiazithe considerede the great peryll wherin he had ben determining no more to incure the like, chiefely for that he was of nature gyuen to be quiet and not ambitious nor desirouse to enlarge the confines of his dominions whervpon he determyned to attempte the Venetianes for peace, and delyuered Andre a Gritti vpō suerties for his retorne, & then embarcked him & sent him to Venise to entreate the peace, when Gritti was cōme to Venise and founde the Senate, the Duke, and all the commons of the Citie, well inclined to peace, after that he had had great conference with the Senate, he receaued auctorye and commission from them to conclude the peace, wher∣vpon he retorned to Constantinople and concluded the peace vpon suche conditiones as at this daye are obser∣ued betwene them, and Baiazithe when he had in thys sorte ceased hys hostilitie, he lad his lyfe in great quiet∣nesse and spent the greatest parte of his time, his courte being in Andrinople, at a certaine house of his not farre from the Citie, a place of great pleasure, where he buyl¦ded for his commoditie maruelouse sumptuous & good∣ly lodginges, and in this sorte he passed a great pece of his tyme in great quietnes, and beinge come to the age of .lx. yeres, and hauinge gouerned in the Empire .xxx. yeres, to the great content of all his subiectes, he began lyke a wyse man to consyder that he was olde, and not helthefull of bodye, and that he was lyke euery daye to be surprinsed by dethe and to be taken awaye, wherfore he was desirous to prouide for, and establyshe his succes¦sion for the quietnes of his subiectes and to take awaye all occasyon of tumultes that moughte happen by hys deathe, consyderinge that he had three sonnes of lawful yeres, whome he had apointed in thre sondrye partes of Asia to gouerne vpon his confynes, & euery of them had vnder his charge a great armie, wherfore for onely re∣medie, and maintenance of vnitie in his Empire, to the

ende that throughe the discorde of his sonnes it shoulde not be deuided and consumed with Cyuyll warres, for so muche as there was not a better remedie for to auoyd suche disorder then to folowe the example of Amorathe his graud father, whiche was to giue ouer the gouer∣naunce, and to prouide in his lyfe tyme for the establishe¦ment of his successyon, and to appointe who shoulde suc¦cede him and to gyue ouer into his handes al power and rule, and to put him in possessyon of the Empire which shoulde be an occasyon of great quietnes, for so much as be (being olde and syckly and not able to endure so great laboure and trauayle) thoughte that the people shoulde be better gouerned by a yonger man and the other bre∣therin shoulde be oute of hope to attayne to the Empire whiche shoulde be all redie possessyd, by meanes wher∣of, they shoulde be enforced to obey, yf that they wolde not receaue furder incommoditie, and he beinge entred into a priuate lyfe shoulde be more in quiet, and shoulde prouide better for his helthe, & when he had in this sorte discoursed in him selfe, be then immagined whyche of them he were best to appointe to succede him in the Em¦pire, whervpon he thoughte it not mete to take frō anye that that was his righte, wherfore he determyned that Acomathe his eldeste sonne shoulde succede in his place and meaning by the discoueringe of his purpose to gyue him greater reputacion, he brake it chiefely to the prin∣cipall Captaines and leaders of his Gianizzaries, and horsemen, whervpon he dispatched awaye one of his ser¦uantes to sygnifie vnto him that the shoulde leue his con¦fynes well garded and repare into Gretia to his father when Acomathe had receaued this commaūdement frō his father, and being all redie certified frō his seruantes whiche late at the porte, of the cause of this message, he forthewyth, toke hys iorney acompayned wyth a greate number of gentle mē and courtiers, & so passed throughe Licaonia Galatia & Bithinia and then passed the straite and landed in Gretia, and there vnderstode that Baia∣zithe was with his courte in Andrinople, wherevpon the rode thyther, & when he came to his father, he receaued him very ioyfully and arose oute of his chaire embraced

him kyssynge hys fore hede in token of the great loue y^e he bare him, and lodged him in his owne lodginges pre∣senting him with manye riche, & honourable presentes and besyde that they dyd contynually acompanie togy∣ther by the space of certaine dayes (whiche was not his ordinarie) and had betwene them great and secrete dys∣courses, and fynally when they had agreed vpon y^e time and order that he shoulde obserue when he shoulde cōme to receaue the gouernement,* 1.42 be licensyd hym and sent him againe to his charge when Selim the other sōne of Baiazithe, was aduertized by his seruantes that he had at the porte of the comminge of Acomathe to the courte and of y^e great entertainement that his father gaue him and also howe that his father determyned to make him Emperour in his lyfe tyme, and to resigne his place vn¦to him, Selim hauing a troublouse head and being very ambitiouse, coulde in no wise be content that Acomathe shoulde commaunde him, wherfore he sought to preuent as muche as in him was, that suche successyon shoulde take no place, whervpon he determined to comme to the porte in person and departed from Trebisonda where he had his abydinge, withoute askinge his father license, or gyuinge him any thinge to vnderstand therof, beinge a∣companied with sixe hundred horse men Tartarres and Pontoises & passed on all the sea coaste of Eusino and passed on throughe the countre of Valachia, and Bur∣garia, and so came directly to Andrinople, and when he came to his father he founde him greatly altred, & was rebuked of him, for that, that he contrarye to the Con∣stitution and order of the Empire, was departed from his charge withoute his license, Selim was not amased for that he sawe his father offēded with him, but allegid in his defence manye thinges, and declared that in hys comming at that present, he folowed the example of his brother Acomathe, desyringe (for that his father was olde) to see him before he shoulde dye and to receaue hys blessyng) Baiazithe beinge some what moued with the wordes of his sonne, was cōtented to suffer him to kisse his fete, and then he toke him vp and kyssed him in the forehede, and embraced him, & gaue him certaine giftes,

and then licensid him and gaue him in charge to retorne to his gouernance with all spede, but Selim deferred his departure by all meanes possyble, and thoughte by beinge conuersant with the Gianizzaries and his horse men, and vsinge amonge them great liberalitie and ac∣tiuitie, by these meanes, to assure him selfe of them, ma¦kinge it to seme vnto them that he delighted in nothing so muche as in the exercise of weapones, and rydinge of horses, and his whole discourses were of warres, horses and weapones, he was in gyuinge, excedinge liberail, & dyd contynually purchase frendshippe amonge them. This taryinge of his dyd greatly displease Baiazithe, wherfore he sent vnto hym that he shoulde forthewith departe, and gette him to his charge, but he euer allegid one excuse, or other, and in that sorte as much as in him was deferred his departure, in so muche that his father beinge excedingly wrothe with him, sent to declare vn∣to him, that yf he dyd not forthe with departe the courte he wolde so gyue order that he shoulde departe to hys paine, whervpon he toke hys leue and departed with al hys trayne, and rode on with his people toward Seruia iiii. or v. dayes iorney, and there staied at a place called Scazacara, and the place was very commodious & mete for his purpose, beinge from Andrinople iiii. dayes ior∣ney, and from Phillipoli ii. dayes iorney, and it stode vp on a certaine passage that whosoeuer came oute of Eu∣rope to goe to the porte, he muste comme that waye and lodge there, when Selim had lodged his people, and for¦tifyed his lodginges with thicke and mighty rampares and depe dykes, he caused to brute that he wolde tarye there for a space & assemble his power, and then to goe into Samandria against the Hungarians, when he had in this sorte fortifyed his lodginges, he staied as manye as came that waye, and chiefely all suche as came oute of Gretia, dalmatia, Bossina, Seruia, and Burgaria, and caried to the porte, y^e rentes, customes, and gabelles that the Turcke receaued oute of those contres, & with suche sūmes of money he entertayned as manye horse∣men, and fotemen, as he coulde gette beinge well furni¦shed and exercised in armes, & giuing great entertaine∣ment

his fame spred so thorowe oute the contrey that al the beste souldiours therof came vnto him, in such sorte that within a shorte space, he had vnder his ledinge a mightye armie bothe of horsemen and fotemen, able to encountre anye prince, when Baiazithe vnderstode or thys he was muche offendyd and althoughe be coulde when it pleased him, flater them, yet for all that, it was a grefe to him to vse hys force against his sonne, and to fowle his handes in his owne bloude, and acordinge to his great cortesie and humanitie, soughte by al meanes possyble to remoue his sonne from his lewde, and auda∣cious enterprise, but all was in vaine, for Selim wolde not harcken to anye thinge that was spoken, but conty¦nually encreased his power,* 1.43 whervpon Baiazithe iudg¦inge Andrinople not to be a mete place for hys purpose, thoughte it good to goe to suche a place where he wolde not be enforced to fyghte but y^t he wolde be at his choise whervpō he departed from Andrinople with hys course and all his power both of horsemen and fotemen, & toke the waye towarde Constantinople, thickinge that be∣inge there he moughte vse the matter as he lysted when Selim vnderstode of the departure of his father, he dif∣serrid not the tyme but marched forthe with all his po∣wer, leuinge his cariage and bagage behinde him in his campe, and with great spede marched towarde Andrino¦ple to ouergette his father, and he passed on with suche spede that he ouergate the rere garde of his fathers ar∣mie within l. miles of Cōstantinople, and finding them in battayle, withoute sendinge of heralde, trompett, or anye other messager deferred no tyme, but charged them and began to ioyne in battaile, and to laie hands aboute him, when Baiazithe behelde the furie of his sonne exe¦cuted cuted vpon his people as yf they had ben his naturall enemyes, yet coulde he not be contented to vse his force against him: but sent vnto him to perswade him to leue of his folyshe and audationes enterprise and to retorne a¦gaine to his charge, but all was in vaine that he dyd for Selim was alwayes the foromoste, and gaue in vpon them as yf they had ben his verye enemyes, but in the ende when Baiazithe sawe that he coulde by no meanes

appease him but y^e still he perseuered in his beastly rage against him, he layd a parte all respectes, and also his fa therly loue, & called to him his Baftias, & y^e Captaines and garde of his Gian izzaries, and commaunded them to vse all their force possyble against Selim, as against their mortall enemye, for so muche as he sawe in him so great beastlines as to vse against him, suche barbarique crueltie and rage, which enforced, him to beliue that his mother had deceaued him, and breaking her faith towar¦des him had conceuid him by sōme adulterie, whē y^e Bas cias and Captaines herde these wordes of their lorde, they were maruelously enflamed with Ire and Iuste in∣dignation against Selim, and toke their weapones and * 1.44 with suche furie charged his people that they (not being able to endure their force) were in one instante disor∣dered, scaterid, and put to flyghte, and beinge once bro∣ken, euery man soughte to saue him selfe by flyghte, but beinge folowed by the horsemen of Baiazithe, the grea∣test number of them were flaine vpon the feelde, and Se lim with a fewe of his trustie fryndes with him escaped throughe y^e spede of their horses, they stayed in no place but fled contynually daye and nyghte, till they were pas¦sed Varna in Burgaria, and then they went into cer∣taine mountaines that were of great heighte & tedious to clyme, and there continued for a time. And Baiazithe beinge full of sorowe, not knowinge in what sorte he were beste to vse his sonne, contynued on his iorney to Constantinople, and when he came thyther and sawe y^e ambition, and audacitie of his sonne it caused him to cō¦tinue more firmely in his purpose, to prouide for his suc¦cessyon in his life time, and to establishe one in his place and determining not to prolonge the doing therof, sent to signifye to Acomathe to make him redye with all con uement spede, and to come to the porte to receaue the go uernance, in the whiche meane tyme Corcuthe beinge his thirde sōne whiche contynued in Magnesia to desend all those prouinces against the Soldane, when he vn derstode of the rebellion of Selim againste his father, whose determynation and commaundement, he was well content in euery respecte to obey, and was not mo¦ued

at all with the commynge of Acomathe, but after∣warde suspecting y^e ambition and crueltie of Selim, dis¦guised him selfe and with one onely galley, departed frō Magnesia, and conueyd him selfe to Constantinople, & when he came in his fathers presence, after that he had done his due reuerence vnto him desyred him that in the estabishement of Acomathe in the Empire, he wolde pro uide also for his securitie puttinge him in remembrance howe that in his absence, beinge a litle childe he was by the Gianizzaries placed in the Imperiall seate, and of y^e promes that he made vnto them in his behalfe as tou∣chinge the successyon, Baiazithe beinge excedingly wel pleased with the good wordes of his sonne, dyd meruel∣ously embrace him, and wylled hym to be of good chere, and gaue him a greate masse of treasure and appointed foure galleys of his to attende vpon him home, and in this sorte sent him to his charge well satisfied and con∣tented, and as sone as Acomathe had receaued commaū demēt from his father, he began to make great prepara¦tion for his iorney, and vsed not in a matter of such im∣portance, suche celeritie as he moughte haue done, but thoughte that he shoulde comme in good tyme whenso∣euer that he came, he made redye all suche thinges as he wolde carie with him, and then rode one ordinarie ior∣neys towarde Europe, when Baiazithe vnderstode of his comminge (meaninge to receaue him honorably) he made great preparation in Constantinople, and put to the sea manye galleys, and Palandres, rychely furni∣shed and trymmed, to send into Turckie to transporte his sonne, who being comme downe into Bithina was comme to Scutarie, a place that standeth vpon the sea bancke nere vnto the aucient citie Calcedonia, dercetly ouer against Cōstātinople, y^• which when Baiazithe vn derstode, he commaunded his garde of Gianizzaries and dyuers of his Sanzachi to embarcke with their com∣paines and to goe to receaue Acomathe, but the Cap¦taines of the Gianizzaries not beinge wyllinge to ac∣cepte Acomathe for their lorde, for that he semed vnto them in his comminge and contynnance at the porte, not to be a man mete for so greate a charge, & besydes y^•

beinge a fatte man, they thoughte him not actiue on borsbacke nor soche an one as wolde seke to enlarge his Empire, and exercyse hym selfe in warres, but rather woldegyue hym selfe to hys ease and to pleasures, and make smale acompte of his men of warre, and cheifely bycause they knewe him to be of nature, scarse, and not liberall, and contrartlye Selim to be of nature ambiti∣ouse, not delighting so muche in anye thinge as in the exercise of weapones, and rydinge of horses, & also they knewe him to be very liberal and bounteouse, wherfore they Iudged it to be more for their commoditie to haue him to be Emperour then Acomathe, and they were the more moued with it, bycause they sawe thinges stande in suche tormes as they dyd at that present, wher with they nothinge pleased, whervpon they determyned to resyste it, and soddenly rebelled & made a great tumulte in the Citie, and toke their weapones and ran in euery torner of the Citie and began to sacke the house of the Sadi,* 1.45 and of two of the cheife Bascias, and there went with them a great nuber of horsemen, they went downe to the sea and entred into the Galleys and Palanders, spoyled them of all their riches and ornementes, toke a∣waye their sayles and helmes, bycause they shoulde not be able to sayle, and in this greate sturre & trouble their number alwaye increased, they went on to the place y^• is called Saincte dimetrio and came to the gate and cal¦led, requiringe to haue Selim sent for, & that he mought comme and kisse his fathers fete, Baiazithe vsed al mea nes possyble to diswade the Gianizzaries from this vp∣rore, and in the ende offered them an infinite summe of money, yf they wolde agree and consent that Acomathe shoulde be coroned, and seinge that he coulde by no mea nes appease them: but that the more that he entreted them, the more insolente they were, and began to threa ten him with proude, and beastly wordes, whervpon Baiazithe was enforced of necessitie to gyue ouer, and to graunt their requeste, yet for al that, dyd he not leaue of, but soughte by all meanes possyble howe to alter thē and to bringe them to his deuotion, but he kepte hym selfe alwayes oute of their handes, when the Agar and

others of great place, had receaued this graunte of their lorde they dispatched one fleing, toward Selim, to wyll him to comme his waye with all spede, he receaued not so sone this message, but he came his way with al spede and vpon the waye, he mette with a thousande horses which were sent vnto him for his garde, by the Gianiz∣zaries, with whom when he was entred into companie they went vpon y^• spurre to the Citie, where there came to encountre and receaue him, not onelye the Gianiz∣zaries, but also the greatest number of the Spachi, and other ordres of horsemen, with a great multitude of the people, and when they had broughte him into the Citie they saluted him Emperour, to the vniuersall contenta¦tion, and satissying of the people, and when he had riden aboute all the Citie, they placed him in the Imperiall seate, and coroned him with all kinde of Imperiall cere¦monies, and fynally they swore openly to be obedient & faithefull vnto him, and in this sorte Selim, withoute any resystance toke vpon him the state and gouernance of the Imperiall Citie,* 1.46 and then sent to his father wll∣linge him not to dismaie for anye thinge for he was not comme to vse anye force against him, but beinge called by hys souldiours and by the people he thoughte it not semely to deny so generall a consent, and therfoore he signifyed vnto him that he wolde not take him onelye for his father, but also for his lorde, desiringe him not to deny y^e vniuersall requeste of his people, but to confirme and approue what they had done, and that he moughte with his fauour and good wyll gouerne, promising that he wolde alwayes be an obedient childe towardes hym Baiazithe seinge the offers of his sonne, and that there was no meanes to altere that that was done, and that yf he sholde not willingly cōsent there vnto, he mought sone be enforced to doe it, whervpon he graunted his re¦quest and especially, for that he was perswaded in hys owne opinion, that this greate and sodden chaunge of mennes myndes, was the very worke of god, & to bring to passe to reuele in time: secretes which then were hid den, and beinge moued in this respecte, contented hym selfe, wolde no lenger resyste, but sent into the Citye

one of his Bascias to salute Selim Emperour, and to promes obedience in his name, the nexte morowe folow¦inge he went in person into the Citie, and came to hys sonne and fallinge prostrate on the grounde kyssed hys fete who arose and lyfted him vp, and kyssed him in the forehed, and therwas great token of frinoshippe shewed on bothe partes and then they wyth drewe them into a place seperate from the reste, where when they had had great conference togither, Baiazithe required Selim to graunte him that he mought lyue discharged of al cares priuately, and that he moughte with certaine of his fa∣miliers departe and leade his lyfe at y^e Dinaotico, which is a certaine house of pleasance neare vnto Andrinople wherein y^• time of his gouernance he vsed muche to lie, and had buylded there sumptouse and costly lodginges, Selim answered him very franckly that he shoulde not onelye haue that house, but also any other house that he wolde, whervpon Baiazithe caused to make prouisyon of all such thinges as he wolde carie with him and then went againe to visite his sonne, and toke his leue of him, & then went with his companie toward Andrinople, and in hi iorney he fell syke, ei∣ther of thought, or els of poyson, acording to the opinion of manye, and died in the yere of the Christian ••elthe 1512

FINIS.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Baiazithe the 10. king
• * 1.2

  The deter¦mynation of Gēma.
• * 1.3

  Note this acte.
• * 1.4

  Gemma defeicted.
• * 1.5

  An offer of the king Ferrante.
• * 1.6

  Ottran••o straytly be¦segyd by the Duke of Cala∣bria.
• * 1.7

  Promise euel obser∣ued.
• * 1.8

  Baiazithe encreasyth the nūber of bothe his fortmē & horsemē
• * 1.9

  Ambassad frō Baia∣zithe to Ferrante
• * 1.10

  Caroma∣no prince of Cilicia
• * 1.11

  The voi∣age of Baiazithe.
• * 1.12

  Tarso be∣segyd by Baiazithe
• * 1.13

  Policie of Byiazithe
• * 1.14

  Caroma∣no ayded by the Sol¦dain Cari¦beio.
• * 1.15

  The bat∣tayle be∣twene Baiazithe & Caroma∣no.
• * 1.16

  The death of the no∣ble prince Caroma∣no.
• * 1.17

  Ripe iudge¦ment of Baiazithe.
• * 1.18

  Setalia.
• * 1.19

  Scanda∣loro.
• * 1.20

  Agrement betwene Baiazithe and the prince of Scanda¦loro.
• * 1.21

  Baiazithe retorned to Constanti∣nople
• * 1.22

  The voi∣age of Baiazithe against Ca¦romano.
• * 1.23

  Diadaro, a name of honour ap¦pertainīg alwaies: to the admi∣ralles of Alexan¦drie.
• * 1.24

  Note this battayle be¦twene Baiazithe & the great Diadaro Admiral of Alex¦andri••
• * 1.25

  The great diadaro an excellēt Captaine
• * 1.26

  Good pro¦uidēce of Baiazithe
• * 1.27

  Digressiō
• * 1.28

  Note.
• * 1.29

  Alchoran a Boke wherin are contey∣ned the cheife poin¦tes of the Turcke his Reli∣gion.
• * 1.30

  Practize of Baia∣zithe to be∣tray Cor∣fu.
• * 1.31

  Baiazith in Vala∣chia.
• * 1.32

  The seat•• of Man∣castro.
• * 1.33

  Baiazithe besegeth Monca∣stro in ve∣ry good order.
• * 1.34

  Great cortesy of Baiaziih.
• * 1.35

  Batolo an ambassa∣dour that cōtynueth in a place.
• * 1.36

  Consul is a secretari and deter∣mynethe the differ••¦ces be∣twene the marchāts that are al of one con¦trey.
• * 1.37

  Lepanto taken. Modon be segyd by Baiazithe
• * 1.38

  Great wante of vnderstan¦dinge of the Mo∣doneses.
• * 1.39

  Corone de lyuered vp to Baia∣zithe.
• * 1.40

  Nota.
• * 1.41

  Mitilene besegyd by the frenshe
• * 1.42

  The porte is a passag betwene Europe & Asia not much vn∣lyke the escluse of oye.
• * 1.43

  Baiazithe departeth from An∣drinople.
• * 1.44

  The bat••tayle be¦twene Baiazithe & Selim.
• * 1.45

  Sadi is an officer that deter∣mineth dif¦ferences, as dettes and suche like monei matters.
• * 1.46

  Subtilitie of Selim