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

nued, so long as any mans strength and diligence could do any good. A great cause of the losse of this Citie and Iland, is imputed to the cowardly timiditie of the Venetians nauie: who beyng there present, and hauyng a prosperous wynd, yet durst not, or would not aduēture vpon the Turkes bridge. Whiche if they had done, the Iland of Euboia and Chalcis, had not so soone bene ouermatched of the Turkes.

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Thus all the East partes of Grecia beyng subdued to þe Turkish Tyraunt, withall Achaia, Attica, Acarnania, & Euboia, MarginaliaPeloponesus, Achaia, Messenia, Laconia, Argolica, Archadia, Christian Prouinces in Grecia, subdued of the Turke.shortlye after folowed also Peloponesus, brought in lyke subiection to the Turke. Within this Peloponesus were these prouinces conteyned, Achia, Messenia, Laconia, Argolica, & Arcadia, &c. The Venetians in this Peloponesus had great possessions, and had made vp the walle agayne toward the sea side, nere to the streites of Corinthe before mencioned, where for the more spede of the worke, they had. 30. thousand workemen to the buildyng therof. Whiche when it came to the knowledge of the Turke, he brast into the coūtrey of Peloponesus with an armye of. 80. thousand, and first wastyng the regions of the Coroneans, and Methoneans, and makyng a great slaughter of the Venetians, in shorte tyme hee brought the whole dominion of Peloponesus vnder hys yoke and tribute.

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Long it is and more lamentable to recite all the victories of this Mahumete gotten agaynst the Christians both by lande and sea: who after hee had ouercome the Ile Lesbos aboue mencioned, and had cruellye slaine Nicolaus Catalusius the prince thereof, MarginaliaCapha taken of the Turke.turnyng hys armie toward the sea of Pontus Euxinus, got the countrey of Capha from the Genuans. Before  

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This sentence is from Giovann Battisto Ramusio as excepted in Laonicus Chalkokondylas, De orgine rebus gestis Turcorum (Basel, 1556), p. 194.

was declared how truce was takē betwene Georgius Scanderbeius, & the Turke for ten yeares: whiche truce beyng expired, Mahumete leaueth no tyme vnspent, no diligence vnsought, but maketh all his power to Epyrus and Albania, whiche he after long fatigation of siege, at length ouercame & subdued. In the whiche tracte also he wanne from the Venetians, Scodra, Lysson and Dinastrum. Not withstanding when Scanderbeius the valiaunt captaine had done agaynst the Turke what in mans strength did lye, yet being ouermatched with power and multitude, seyng no possibilitie to make his partie good, was forced to departe his countrey as an exile, and went to Italie, and there beyng sent for by the Popes letters, MarginaliaThe counsaile of Scanderbeius, howe to fight agaynste the Turke.openly declared not to be possible otherwise to resiste, the furious rage of the barbarous Turkes by the strength of any one kyng or prince, vnlesse all Europe, with one consent should ioyne their power and force together. And thus Georgius Scanderbeius a man of puisaūt courage, beyng driuen out of his countrey, continued his age in exile. MarginaliaA notable exãple of singular courage in a Captaine.Whose courage & vehemencie is reported to haue ben such, þt in fighting against the barbarous enemye, for very egernes of spirite, his bloud was sene to burste out of his lippes. It is testified also of him þt beyng prouoked, he neuer denyed to fight, & in his fightyng neuer turned his backe, neither yet was euer woūded, but onely once with a light shaft in his foote, neither euer set against the Turke with moe, then 6000. horsemen and 3000. footemen: MarginaliaThe commēdation of Scanderbeius agaynst the Turkes.who is sayd wt his own hand to haue slayne aboue. 2000. turkes, whõ with such violēce he did stricke, that many of them he did cleaue a sunder frõ the head to the midle.

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Neyther yet was the vnsatiable gredines of thys Turkyshe helhounde with all this satisfied, but still he cõceiued greater thinges in his minde, thinking to conquere the whole world, & so passing forward towardes Europe, subdued all Illyria, slaying Stephanus the king of Bosna, about the yeare of our Lorde. 1463. MarginaliaMathias the sonne of Huniades.But afterward Mathias Coruinus þe sonne of Huniades afore mencioned, recouered agayne the sayd kyngdome of Bosna with many other Cities nere vnto Croacia and Dalma-tia, and moreouer repulsed Mahumete the Turke in hys second siege of Iaiza, takyng his tentes and munitions left behinde him.

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Moreouer the sayd Mahumete passyng vnto VValachia, set vppon Dracula the prince therof, by which Dracula although he had no greate power of souldiours, yet he so enclosed and enuironed the Turke, that he had almost lost hys whole armye, of whom a great parte notwithstandyng was destroyed and manye of hys ensignes taken. MarginaliaStiria, Carinthia, takē of the Turkes.Into Dalmatia was sente two captaynes of the Turke, who fightyng agaynste the prouinces of the Venetians, made greate spoyle and waste aboute the regions of Stiria and Carinthia: where also the Venetian power was discomfited, and Hieronimus Nouel their captaine slayne. At length truce was taken betwen the Turke and the Venetians, vpon this condition that Scodra, Tenarus and Lemnus should be yelded vnto hym, and that they should paye to hym yearely 8. thousande duckettes for the free passage of their marchauntes.

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MarginaliaRhodes besieged.After this peace concluded with the Venetians, Mahumete him selfe sayleth ouer into Asia, sending two of his great captaines abroad to sundry places: of whom Mesithes was sent agaynst the Rhodes, with a mighty nauie. The other called Acomates Bassa, was sent into Italie to take Rome & all the West Empire. Concernyng the viage of which two captaines, this was the euente: that Mesithes after his great trauaile & bloudy siege against the Rhodians, was fayne to retire at length with great shame & losse. The other captaine Acomates (as is sayd) was sent into Italie, with a nauie of a hundreth shyppes and 15. thousand men. MarginaliaLeucadia, Chephalania, Zacinthus Fauelona, takē of the Turke.Who by the waye in his saylyng gotte Leucadia (which now they call S. Maure) Cephalenia, and Zacynthus, and sayling by Fauelona, arriued in Apulia and so passing a long by the sea side, spoyled and wasted diuers partes by þe coast, MarginaliaHydrantis taken.till at lēgth he came to Hidruntum, a Citie of Calabria in Italie, whiche after longe siege he ouercame and subdued, and brought such a terrour into all Italy, MarginaliaThe Pope flieth for feare of the Turke.that the Pope forgettyng all other things, yet mindefull of him selfe, withall hast fled out of Rome. After the Citie of Hydruntum was taken and the Turkes placed in the same, whiche was þe yeare of our Lord. 1481. Mathias Coruinus Huniades sonne was sent for by the Italians to set vpõ the sayd Citie: vnto the rescue whereof, when Acomates was about to make his returne with. 25. thousãd Turkes, in þe meane time newes came that Mahumete the great Turke was dead: by reason wherof the siege brake vp, and the Citie was redeliuered to the Italians againe, and so was Italy deliuered at that time, out of that present perill and daūger. This  

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These last sentences are from Giovann Battisto Ramusio as excepted in Laonicus Chalkokondylas, De origine rebus gestis Turcorum (Basel, 1556), p.194.

Mahumete wanne from the Christiãs. 200. Cities, & 12. kyngdomes: And two Empires, whiche he ioyned both together. MarginaliaThese two Empires were Constantinople and Trapezunce.He dyed in the yeare aboue sayd, an. 1481.

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¶ Baiazetes second the. 10. after Ottomannus.

MAhumetes aforesayd  

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This account of Bayezid II's reign is largely taken from Casper Peucer, Chronicon Carionis (Wittenburg, 1580), pp. 657-63 although the narrative of Selim's accession to the throne is taken from Giovann Battisto Ramosio's history, as excerpted in Laonicus Chalkokondylas, De origine et rebus gestis Turcorum. One detail (of Bayezid's payment to the Master of the Knights of St John) came from Johannes Cuspinian, De Turcorum origine.

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had three sonnes. Of the whiche, Mustapha the eldest, through voluptuousnes and carnall luste, died before his father. The other two were Baiazetes and Demes, otherwise called Zizimus. About whom great cõtrouersie rose amongest the Turkes, whiche of them should succede in their fathers kyngdome: For neither of them was present at Constantinople when Mahumetes dyed, Baiazetes being in Cappadocia, and Demes in Lycaonia. Wherfore whē great dissension was among the nobles for þe succession, and great strife and bloud shed for the matter, the Ianizarites, whiche were the Turkes garde, MarginaliaOf these Ianizarites read before pag. 879.did proclayme Baiazetes Emperour: others in the absence of Baiazetes the father, did chuse Corcuthus his sonne. Baiazetes þe father cõmyng at lēgth from Cappadocia, partly through yeldyng, partlye by corruptyng with money, got the willes of the Ianizarites & was made Emperour. Demes

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the