continued together in bloudy warres and deadly hatred, MarginaliaFoure principall families of the turke.yet one of them passed the rest in all cruelty and tyranny, & subduing the other iij. families, tooke vpon hym the gouernement alone,MarginaliaThe familie of Ottomannus. and so became the first Monarch, or Emperour þ^t reigned among them, called Ottomanus, of whom all that reigned after him, were called Ottomanni. Who succeedyng orderly of hys lyne, haue occupied the same dominion and seat of the Turkes, from the yeare of our Lord 1300. vnto thys present tyme, which haue bene to the nūber of xij. Of the which xij. in such order as they lyued and reigned, I intend (Christ so permitting) seuerally & compendiously, something to entreat, briefly abstracting out of prolixe and tedious writers, such specialties, as for vs Christians, shalbe chiefly requisite to be knowen.

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MarginaliaOttomannus the first Emperour of the Turkes. THis Ottomãnus  

was at the first, of poore estate and obscure amongest þ^e common sort of men, cõming of a base progenie and of rusticall parentes: but through hys valiantnes and actiuitie in warre, he gotte hym a great name amongest the Turkes. For hee beyng a man of fearce courage, refusing no labour & delighting in warre, & gathering together by great subtiltie, a multitude of commõ souldiers, began to make warre, and by conquestes and victoryes, to aduaunce hym selfe & hys familie. Firste he began to robbe and spoile with a great band of rouers, and afterward he attempted to set vpon all men. Neyther did he vexe and destroye the Christians onely, but set vppon his owne nation also, and sought all occasiõ to subdue them wholy vnto hym   .MarginaliaInward warre among the turkes. For now the princes and captaines of the Turkes, inflamed w^t ambition and desire of rule, begã to fall out and contende among them selues, in so much that they fell to domesticall and inward warre, with all the power they coulde.

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MarginaliaThe cõming vp of Ottomannus. Ottomannus hauyng this occasion, very fitte & meete to accomplishe that which he long had sought for, gathering vnto him all such as he thought to be geuen to robbing and spoylyng, and set all vppon mischief, in shorte tyme began to grow in authoritie, & first set vpon certeine townes, as he saw oportunitie to serue him: Of which townes, some he tooke by force, some by yeldyng, other some he spoyled & ouerthrew, to terrifie the rest, thus laying the first foundation of his risyng. In the meane tyme, the discorde whiche was among the Christians, was no small aduauntage to this Ottomannus, by occasion wherof,MarginaliaBithinia, Natolia, Ancyra, Sinope, Sebastia, subdued. he within x. yeares space, subdued Bithynia, and all the prouinces about Pontus: Also Natolia, which comprehendeth all the dominion of the Greekes within Asia: Ancyra a Citie in Phrygia: Sinope a citie in Galatia: and Sebastia a Citie in Capadocia: and thus styll preuaylyng, he increased in short time, to a mightie power, eyther through the secrete iudgement of God agaynst that nation, or els because God would haue them so farre and so cruelly to preuayle, for the punishment of the sinnes of other nations, lyke as it was prophecied before, that such a kyngdome there shoulde be of Gog and Magog.MarginaliaEzech. 38. This Ottomannus, after he had reigned. 28. yeares in the yeare of our Lord. 1327  

. dyed, and departed to his Mahumet, leauing behinde hym three sonnes, of whom Orchanes beyng the youngest, kylled his two brethren, whylest they were at variaunce betwene themselues   .

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MarginaliaOrchanes the second Emperour of the turks, after Ottomannus. ORchanes  

, the youngest of the sonnes of Ottomannus, after he had slayne his two brethren, tooke the regiment of the turkes after his father. Who after he had drawen to hym the hartes of the multitude, such as had their dispositions set vpon the licentious life of warre, cõuerted his power, further to enlarge hys fathers dominion,MarginaliaMysia, Lydia, Lycaonia, Phrigia, Caria, Prusia, Nicia, Nicomedia, Christē Cities subdued of the turkes. winning & subduyng Mysia, Lydia, Lycaonia, Phrygia, and Caria: All which countryes, beyng within the compasse of Asia, vnto the sea side of Hellespontus, and the sea Euxinus, he added to the Turkishe Empyre. Also he wanne Prusia, which was the metropolitane Citie of Bithynia, which thē he made the chiefe seate of the Turkes Empire. Besides these moreouer, he conquered Nicea, & got Nicomedia: all which were before Christian Cities & regions.MarginaliaCiuil warre among the Grecians. And yet all this could not make the Christian Princes in Grecia, to cease their ciuill warres, & to ioyne & accorde amonge themselues: Such debate and variaunce was thē betwene Cãtacuzenus, on the Greekes part, & Paleologus þ^e Emperor of Constantinople   . By reason whereof, þ^e turkes ayde was sent for out of Asia. to helpe our Christians one to kill an other, and at length to get also those partes of Europe from them both.MarginaliaBy the discorde of Christians, the turkes encrease. Who if they had according to their profession, so well ioyned in brotherly vnitie, as they did in cruel hostilitie dissent, neither had Orchanes so preuailed in getting Prusia frõ þ^e Grecians, neither had þ^e turkes so soone presumed into Europe as afterward they did. Orchanes after these victories, whē he had reigned 22. yeares, was stroockē, as some say, with a dart in the shoulder, at the siege of Prusia. The opinion of other is, that he fighting against the Tartarians, where he lost a great part of hys armye, was there also slayne himselfe. an 1349   .

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MarginaliaAmurathes the third after Ottomannus. THe Greeke writers doe holde that Orchanes had two sonnes, Solimannus, and Amurathes.  

Of whiche. ij. first Solimannus reigned, albeit not long.   MarginaliaAmurathes seketh occasion to inuade Europe. After him folowed Amurathes, who after that Asia now was subdued by his predecessors, sought by all meanes and wayes how to proceede further and to inuade Europe. To whose ambytious purpose the domesticall warres of the Christians gaue vnprosperous occasion: whiche occasion is thus declared. Certeine discord fell betwen the Princes of Grece (whose captaine was Cantaguzenus) 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   : 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 vpon them, and to accomplishe his conceaued desire.

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The Turkes thus beyng called into Europe by the Christians, whether they testyng the sweetnesse of the soyle incensed Amurathes their Emperour to make inuasion, or whether Amurathes of his owne head thought good to vse the tyme,MarginaliaThe first cõming of the Turke into Europe. in 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 assist the Emperour Paleologus, whether he would or no, and to subdue such as had fallen from hym.MarginaliaThe couetuousnes of Christiãs brought ouer the turkes. The Christian shyppes of the Ligurians for mony were hyered to conduct them ouer, takyng for euery souldiour a peece of gold. Ex Peucer. et aliis.

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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, & there plantyng themselues, and preparyng shyppes of their own, for transportyng their munitions out of Asia, aduaunced their power further into Thracia, and there wanne Philippolis then got Adrianopolis, whiche was not farre from Constantinople, & there Amurathes made his chiefe seate. Then began Paleologus the Emperour at length to bewayle his offer & couenaunt made with Amurathes.MarginaliaThe turke entreth into Mysia, and Bulgaria and Seruia. When 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, and Bulgaria:MarginaliaLazarus Despota ouercome of the turkes where they ioyninge battaile with Lazarus Despota prince of Seruia, and with other, Dukes of Dalmatia, and Epirus, wanne of them the fielde, and put them to þ^e worse  

: where Lazarus Despota beyng taken, and committed to prison, ended his lyfe   .MarginaliaExample of a faithfull seruaūt. Thys Lazarus had a certaine faythfull client or seruaunt, who to reuenge his maisters death, with a bolde courage, although seyng death before eyes, yet ventred his life so farre, that he came to the tyraūte & thrust hym through with his dagger.   This Amurathes reigned. 23. yeares, and was slayne in the yeare of our Lord. 1372.

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MarginaliaBaiazetes the 4. after Ottomannus. THe power of the Turkes began to increase in Europe, what tyme Baiazetes  

, the first of that name, after the death of his father, entred the possession of the turkes kingdome. This Baiazetes had ij. brethrē, Solimãnus & Sauces. Which Sauces had his eyes put out by his father for striuing for the kingdome. Solimãnus was slayne of hys brother. Thus Baiazetes beginning his kingdome wyth the murther of his brother, reduced hys Imperiall seat frõ Prusia a citie of Bithynia, vnto Adrianople, entēding with hymselfe to subdue both Asia & Europe to his own power.

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