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896 [896]

K. Henry. 7. The historye and tyrannye of the Turkes.

Asia, to helpe our Christians one to kill an other, and at length to get also those partes of Europe from thē both. MarginaliaBy the discord of Christians, the Turkes encrease.Who if they had, accordyng to their profession, so well ioyned in brotherly vnitie, as they did in cruel hostilitie dissēt, neither had Orchanes so preuailed in getting Prusia frõ the Grecians, neither had þe Turkes so soone presumed into Europe as afterward they did. Orchanes after these victories, whē he had reigned. 22. yeares, was strocken, as some saye, with a darte in the shoulder, at the siege of Prusia. The opinion of other is, that he fightyng agaynst the Tartarians, where he lost a great part of his armye, was there also slayne him selfe. an 1349  

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Orhan died in 1360 from natural causes. He was neither wounded nor killed in battle.

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¶ Amurathes the. iij. after Ottomannus.

MarginaliaAmurathes the. iii. after Ottomannus.THe Greke writers doo hold that Orchanes had two sonnes, Solimannus, and Amurathes.  

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Foxe's account of Murad I is taken entirely from Casper Peucer, Chronicon Carionis (Wittenburg, 1580), pp. 588-9.

Of whiche. ij. first Solimannus reigned, albeit not long.  
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Murad I may have come to the throne after a civil war with his brother Hälil (the sparse sources for the period are unclear about this) but his elder brother Süleyman had died in 1358, two years before Orhan died.

MarginaliaAmurathes seketh occasion to inuade Europe.After him folowed Amurathes, who after that Asia now was subdued by his predecessours, sought by all meanes and wayes, how to procede further, and to inuade Europe. To whose ambitious purpose the domesticall warres of the Christians, gaue vnprosperous occasion: whiche occasion is thus declared. Certeine discorde fell betwen the princes of Grece (whose captaine was Cãtacuzenus) and Paleologus Emperour of Constantinople. Wherupon Paleologus, for that he was not able to make his partie good with the Grecians, most vnwisely sent for Amurathes, to helpe hym. Who beyng glad to haue such an occasion offered, whiche he so long had sought, sent to ayde him. 12000. turkes into Thracia  
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In 1373 John V Palaiologos allied with Murad, not against the Kantakouzenes family, but against his rebellious son Andronikos. Andronikos was defeated and imprisoned. In 1376, he escaped and with Genoese and Ottoman assistance defeated and imprisoned his father. In 1379, John escaped and enlisted Ottoman aid against Andronikos. In 1381, John was restored to the throne. These civil wars enabled the Ottomans to expand their power in the Balkans.

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but firste vsed all delayes he could, of crafty policie, to the entent that the Grekes first shoulde waste their strength and power vpon them selues, wherby he might be more able afterward to set vpõ them, and to accomplishe his conceaued desire. The Turkes thus beyng called into Europe by the Christians, whether they, tastyng the sweetnesse of the soyle incensed Amurathes their Emperour to make inuasion, or whether Amurathes of his own head thought good to vse the tyme, MarginaliaThe first cõmyng of the Turke īto Europein the yeare of our Lord. 1363. he came hym selfe ouer into Europe with. 60000. turkes, falling vpon the Grecians, beyng wasted and spent with their long warres and battailes before. The pretense of the deuilishe Turke, was to ayde and assiste the Emperour Paleologus, whether he would or no, and to subdue such as had fallen from hym. MarginaliaThe couetuousnes of Christians, brought ouer the Turkes.The Christian shyppes of the Ligurians for money were hyered to conduct them ouer, takyng for euery souldiour a peece of gold. Ex Peucer. et alijs.

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MarginaliaCallipolis, Philppolis Adrianopolis, Thracia, gotten of the Turkes.Thus the Turkes armye beyng conueyd ouer by the Grecian sea called Hellespontus, first got Callipolis with other townes and Cities borderyng about the sea, and there plantyng them selues, and preparyng shyppes of their own, for transportyng their munitiõs out of Asia, aduaunced their power further into Thracia, and there wanne Philippolis, then got Adrianopolis, whiche was not farre frõ Constantinople, & there Amurathes made his chiefe seate. Thē began Paleologus þe Emperour at length to bewayle his offer & couenaunt made wt Amurathes. MarginaliaThe Turke entreth into Mysia, and Bulgaria and Seruia.Whē the Turkes had expugned thus a great part of Thracia, they extended forth their armye vnto Mysia, whiche they soone subdued: from thence procedyng and conqueryng the Bessos and Triballos, they entred into Seruia, & Bulgaria: MarginaliaLazarus Despota ouercome of the Turkeswhere they ioyning battaile with Lazarus Despota prince of Seruia, and with other Dukes of Dalmatia, and Epyrus, wanne of them the fielde, and put them to þe worse  

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This was the hard-fought, and decisive, Ottoman victory at Kossovo on 15 June 1389.

: where Lazarus Despota beyng taken, and committed to prison, ended his lyfe  
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Prince Lazar died in the battle of Kossovo, but was not taken prisoner.

. MarginaliaExãple of a faithfull seruaunt.This Lazarus had a certaine faythfull client or seruaunt, who to reuenge his maisters death, with a bolde courage, although seyng death before his eyes, yet ventred his life so farre, that hee came to the tyraunt and thrust hym through with his dagger.  
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Murad I died in battle at Kossovo.

MarginaliaThe death of Amurathes.This Amurathes reigned. 23. yeares, and was slayne in the yeare of our Lord. 1372.

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¶ Baiazetes the. iiij. after Ottomannus.

MarginaliaBaiazetes the fourth after Ottomannus.THe power of þe Turkes began to increase in Europe, what tyme, Baiazetes  

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Except for brief excerpts from Munster's Cosmographia, the account of Bayezid is taken entirely from Caspar Peucer, Chroicon Carionis (Wittenburg, 1580), pp. 642-6.

, the first of that name, after the death of his father, entred the possession of the Turkes kyngdome. This Baiazetes had. ij. brethren, Solimanus & Sauces. Whiche Sauces had his eyes put out by his father for striuyng for þe kyngdome. Solimanus was slayne of his brother. Thus Baiazetes begynnyng hys kingdome with the murther of his brother, reduced his Imperiall seate frõ Prusia a citie of Bithynia, vnto Adrianople, entendyng with him selfe to subdue both Asia & Europe to his own power. First he set vpon the Seruians and Bulgarians, thinking to reuenge hys fathers death, MarginaliaMarcus Despota slayne of the Turke.where he gaue the ouerthrow to Marcus Despota, MarginaliaSeruia, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Phocides, Thracia, Attica, Thessalia, with other Christiã countreyes conquered of the Turkes.with all the nobilitie of þe Seruians and Bulgarians, and put all those parties vnder his subiectiõ vnto þe fines and borders of the Illyrians. All Thracia moreouer he brought likewise vnder his yoke, only Cõstantinople and Pera, excepted. That done, he inuaded þe residue of Grecia, preuailing against the countreys of Thessalia, Macedonia, Phocides, & Attica, spoylyng & burnyng as he passed, wtout any resistance: and so returnyng with innumerable spoile of þe Christiãs, vnto Adrianople, MarginaliaConstãtinople besieged. viii. yeares by the Turkes.layd siege to Constantinople the space of viij. yeares, and had expugned þe same, but that Paleologus being brought to extremitie, was driuen to craue aide of þe Frēchmen, & of Sigismund the Emperour. Who beyng accompanied wt a sufficiēt power of Frenchmen & Germaines, came down to Vngaria & toward Seruia, against the Turke. MarginaliaThe Christians ouerthrown of the Turkes.Baiazetes hearing of their comming, raised his siege from Constantinople, and with 60000. horsemen came to Nicopolis, where he encountryng with them, ouerthrew all the Christian armye, tooke Iohn the captaine of the Frenche power prisoner: MarginaliaSigismund Emperour put to flight.Sigismundus, whiche before in the Councell of Cõstance, had burned Iohn Hus and Hierome of Prage, hardly escaped by flyeng. MarginaliaThe Barbarous crueltie of the Turkes agaynst the Christians.Baiazetes after the victory got, caried awaye Duke Iohn, with v. other in bandes, into Prusia, where before his face hee caused all the other Christen prisoners to be cut in peeces.

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Afterwarde the sayde Iohn beyng raunsomed with 200000. crownes, was deliuered. Some authors referre this story to þe tyme of Calepinus, as foloweth here after to be sene.

Baiazetes the cruel tyraunt after this victory wonne & tyranny shewed vpon the Christiãs, returned againe to his siege of Constãtinople, fully bending him selfe to cõquere & subdue the same. Which thyng no doubt he had accõplished, MarginaliaTamarlanes a Parthiã stirred vp of God, to reuenge the cause of the Christians.but that the prouidēce of God, had founde such a meanes, þt Tamerlanes king of Parthia, wt an. 100. thousand horsemen & swarmes of footemē, like a violent floode, ouer runnyng Asia and pressyng vppon Syria and Sebastia, MarginaliaBaiazetes sõne taken & slaine.had taken Orthobules the sonne of Baiazetes, prisoner, and afterward slue him, MarginaliaCrueltie iustly reuenged with crueltie.exercising þe like crueltie vpon his prisoners, as Baiazetes had done before vpõ the Christians: In somuch that hee spared neither sexe nor age of the Turkishe multitude: of whom he caused xij. thousand at one tyme, to bee ouerryden and troden downe vnder his horses feete. MarginaliaBaiazetes rayseth his siege from Constantinople.By reason whereof Baiazetes the tyraunt was enforced to rayse his siege from Constantinople & to returne his power into Asia: where he, nere the hill called Stella, pitched his tentes there to encounter with Tamerlanes.

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The fight betwene these. ij. was long and great on both sides, whiche was in the yeare of our Lord. 1397  

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The battle of Nicopolis was 25 September 1396; Bayezid was defeatedby Timur on 28 July 1402.

. and the second yeare after the slaughter of our Christianes at Nicopolis in Pannonia: but the victorie of thys battaile fell to Tamerlanes at length. In the whiche battaile, as Munsterus writeth, were slayne. 2000000. Turkes  
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Sebastian Munster, Cosmographiae universalis (Basel, 1559), p. 959.

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MarginaliaBaiazetes ouercome of Tamerlanes, kyng of Parthians.Amõg whom Baiazetes the tyraunt, hauing his horse slayne vnder him, was taken prisoner, & to make a spectacle of his wretched fortune, was bound in goldē

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fetters,