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744 [720]

K. Henry. 7. The history and tyranny of the Turkes.

humetes dyed, Baiazetes being in Cappadocia, and Demes in Lycaonia. Wherfore when great dissension was among the nobles for the succession, and great strife and bloudshed for the matter, the Ianizarites, whiche were the Turkes garde,MarginaliaOf these Ianizarites read before pag. 717. dyd proclayme Baiazetes Emperour: others in the absence of Baiazetes the father, did chuse Corcuthus hys sonne. Baiazetes the father commyng at length from Cappadocia, partly through yeldyng, partly by corruptyng with money, got the wils of the Ianizarites & was made emperour. Demes the other brother beyng in Lycaonia more neare, although he made no lesse speede in his commyng, yet was preuented of Baiazetes, and excluded out of Constantinople. Wherefore he beyng put backe from all hope of hys kyngdome, incited by some of his frendes, moued warre agaynst his brother.MarginaliaBaiazetes slayeth his brothers and mother and his two nephewes. Who beyng ouercome in three battayles by Acomates Baiazetes Captaine, who had got Hydruntum before, dyd flye to the great Maister of the Rhodes leauyng in a place called Cariæ, his mother and two young children, whom Baiazetes slue.

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This Demes beyng with the maister of the Rhodes, was desired first of Pope Innocēt the fourth then of Ludouicus the second, French kyng, but especially of Mathias Coruinus, kyng of Hungary, entendyng by hym to obteine great victory agaynst Baiazetes. But in conclusion the Knightes of the Rhodes sent hym to the Byshop of Rome, where he beyng kept & afterwardes sent to Charles the viij. French kyng, for an hostage of Pope Alexander the vi. was poysoned by the way at Terracina, by the sayd Pope Alexander, as is before declared.MarginaliaRead before pag 709. After whose death Baiazetes, to requite the foresayd Acomates for hys good seruice, put him to the halter, partly misdoutyng his power, partly for lucre sake to haue his treasure:MarginaliaFalse treason worthely recompensed Whose death redounded to the great profite of the Christians, for so much as he was euer an vtter enemy to the Religion and name of Christ.

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MarginaliaLithostomus. Moncastrum, Christian fortes subdued of the turke. Baiazetes thus beyng confirmed in his tyranny, made his first expedition agaynst Walachia, where he subdued two great fortes, one called Lithostomus, the other called Moncastrum. From thence hee remoued his power, takyng his viage into Asia, thinkynge to be reuenged of the Sultane of Egypt, which had succoured and entertained before his brother Demes against him, where he lost two great battailes, the one fought at Adena, the other at Tarsus:MarginaliaThe turke ouerthrowen at Tarsus. but specially at the fielde of Tarsus the army of the Turke tooke such a wound, that of. 100. thousand brought into the field, scarse þe third part remained vnslayne. But as touching  

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The details of Bayezid's payment to the Master of the Knightsof St John (who at this time were based in Rhodes) is from Johannes Cuspinian,De Turcorum orgine (Antwerp, 1541), fos. 43v-44r.

the Rhodians, although they were succourers of Demes aforesayd, yet Baiazetes (whether for feare, or for subtiltie) absteyned to prouoke them with warre, but rather entred with them the league of peace, requiring the Maister of the Rhodes to kepe his brother safe vnder his custody, promising for his yearely salary, to be payed vnto hym euery yeare in the moneth of Auguste. 45000. duckettes.

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Thus Baiazetes beyng ouerthrowne and terrified with euill lucke fightyng agaynst the Sultane of Egypt, remoued from Asia, and directed his army into Europe,MarginaliaDyrrachium taken of the turke. where he got Dyrrachium neare vnto Velona, and had a great victory ouer the Christian army in the countrey of Croatia, where the Illyrians, Pannonians and Croatians ioynyng their power together, encountred with the Turke and lost the field, about the yeare of our Lord. 1493.  

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Foxe is taking his account of this battle from Casper Peucer,Chronicon Carionis (Wittenburg, 1580), p. 659 but no such battle ever took place.

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MarginaliaThe turke agaynst the Venetians. From thence the Turke leadyng his army agaynst the Venetians had with them diuers and doubtful conflictes, where the Turke sometymes was put to the worse, and sometymes agayne preuailyng, out of Iadra and diuers other Cities about Dalmatia,MarginaliaThe Christians caryed away captiues. caried away great multitudes of Christians into captiuitie, which was about the yeare of our Lord. 1498.  

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These raids actually took place in the years 1499-1502.

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MarginaliaPeloponesus agayne inuaded by the turke. Two yeares after this, whiche was the yeare of our Lord. 1500. Baiazetes with. 150. thousād armed men, entred into Peloponesus, whiche although Mahumete had expugned before, yet the Venetiās had defended Methone, otherwise called Modō, all this while agaynst the Turkes.  

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Again, this chronology (taken from Peucer) is inaccurate. Thecoastal fortress of Methoni fell to the Turks in 1500. There were a series of largeTurkish raids on the Peloponnesos, but the full-scale invasion described by Peucerand Foxe never occurred.

Whiche Methone the Turke besieged with three armyes, hauing about the walles. 500. great brasen Canōs, wherof. 22. were most violent and hurtfull, wherewith he battered the Citie both day and night, but the Citizens, whiche were within the Citie, committing themselues to God defended their Citie as well as they could, rather chusing to dye then to yeld vnto the Turkes tyrāny. But the Turke preuailyng, and they not hable to withstand the siege, the Christians conuented together into a certaine house prepared for the purpose, both men, women, and childrē, where they settyng the house on fire, gaue themselues rather to be burned. then to come into the tyrauntes handes. Certeyne MarginaliaMethone taken of the turkes, and miserably destroyed. women also with their children, cast themselues headlong into þe sea, by that meanes to auoyde the Turkish captiuitie. Some writers there be which affirme that the Methonians, seyng fiue great shyps of þe Venetians cōming with men & vittailes toward them, issued downe from the walles to the Sea side to receaue them, which were all taken captiues beyng aboue the number of a thousand: which all beyng tyed with long ropes, were brought before the tyraunt and in his sight were cruelly slayne, except certeine Nobles whom Cherseogles sonne in law to Baiazetes, got to be pardoned, amōgest whom was Andreas Gritto.MarginaliaCoron, Pilus, Crisseum, yelded to the turkes. The Citie of Coron, and also Pilus Cities in Grece beyng terrified with the example of the Methonians, yelded themselues to the power of the Turkes. Crisseum otherwise called Caput Sācti Galli, was expugned by Cherseogles, by force of gunnes.

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These thynges thus atchieued, although Baiazetes went away victor vnto Constantinople,MarginaliaChephalenia, Leucas, Nericus, Ilandes recouered of the turkes by the Venetians. yet notwithstādyng the Venetians, through the helpe of the kynges of Fraūce and Spayne, had wonne from the Turke Chephalenia an Ilande very commodious for their trafficke: Also had gottē other ij. Ilandes Leucas & Nericus, otherwise called Sancta Maura, slaying all the garrison of the Turkes. But afterward peace beyng taken betwen the Venetians and the Turke, by the counsaile of Andreas Gritto aforesayde, the Turkes so agreed, that Leucas and Nericus the Ilandes abouesayd should be rendred vnto the Turke, and the Venetians should keepe still the possession of Chaphalenia.

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MarginaliaTruce betwene the Venetians & the turke. Vnto this league the Turke did the rather condescend, for that he had to mainteine warre agaynst Ismael Sophus in Asia, kyng of Persia:MarginaliaWarre betwen Sophus and Baiazetes. Which Sophus was styrred vp by Gods prouidēce to warre with this Baiazetes, wherby the Christian Churches in Europe might haue some breathyng tyme, and fredome from the Turkes cruell tyranny & bloudshed. This Sophus was a valiaunt Turke,  

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Shah Ismail I, of the Safavid dynasty, ruler of Persia, was not aTurk.

who with great power and victoryes had ouer rūne a great compasse of the East partes of Asia: then passyng from Assiria into Media, and returnyng agayne into Armenia, he made warre agaynst the Albanians, Hiberians, and Scythians, and from thence commyng vnto Asia Minor, encountred with Corcuthus Baiazetes sonne, and afterward comming to Bithynia, fought with Caragius Bassa, Baiazetes Captaine, whom he ouercame and put to flight,MarginaliaCaragius the turkes captaine takē prisoner and slayne of Sophus. and afterward tooke hym alyue and his wife prisoners. Afterward he was encountered by Halibassa an other Captaine of the Turkes, whom Techelles one of the sayd Sophus Captaines meeting in the playne of Galatia dyd withstēd, and so by the way slue Caragius the Captaine and hanged him vpon a pole in the sight of Halibassa,MarginaliaHalibassa the turkes captayne slayne. whiche Halibassa shortly after was slayne in warre, and his army scattered and put to flight.  
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This account came from Casper Peucer, Chronicon Carionis (Wittenburg, 1580), pp. 600-602. It confuses Shah Ismail I with Shah Kulu, the leader of a rebellion against Ottoman rule, which broke out in 1511 in a region ruled by Bayezid's son Korkud. During the course of the rebellion, Shah Kulu defeated and killed Karagöz Pasha, the Ottoman governor of Anatolia. Shah Kulu then defeatedand killed Hadim Ali Pasha, the Ottomam grand vizier. However, Shah Kulu was also killed in this battle and his death ended the rebellion.

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MarginaliaRest geuen to the Christians by the discorde of the turkes. The through the admirable example of Gods Iustice and prouidence, were these turkes kept occupyed, & so came it to passe, that these barbarians being blasphemous against the sonne of God  

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This passage is from Caspar Peucer, Chronicon Carionis (Wittenburg, 1580), p. 1233 although Foxe would have wholeheartedly endorsed the sentiment.

should thus horribly runne one to the destruction of an other, beyng worthely punished with mutuall slaughter & bloudshed for their impietie and blasphemie agaynst Christ and his Religiō, wherby in the meane tyme some rest was geuen to the Christians.

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Baiazetes partly by these victories discouraged, partly diseased and languishyng of the goute, and partly also broken with age, findyng himselfe vnweldy to the regiment of that tumultuous kyngdome, began to haue talke with hys nobles about the chusing of one to succede hym. The occasion whereof ministered much matter of inward warres amongest the Turkes. This Baiazetes had in all vj. sonnes, wherof three dyed before him and three yet were left alyue, to witte, Acomates, Corchutus and Zelymus. Baiazetes himselfe had most mynde to Acomates, but the chiefest of his nobles dyd fauour rather Zelymus: who through their traiterous incitation prouoked hym to styrre warre agaynst his father: and notwithstandyng that he was ouercome in warre, yet through intercession he was reconciled agayne to his father,MarginaliaZelimus made Emperour against his fathers will. and afterward proclaymed agayne Emperour agaynst his fathers will, through the helpe & fauour of the souldiours, entryng the first begynnyng of his kyngdome, with the murtheryng of his owne father. The story wherof some authours is thus declared.  

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The following narrative, which takes up the remainder of Foxe'saccount of the reign of Bayezid II, comes from the Italian historian Giovann BattistoRamusio's history, as excerpted in Laonicus Chalkokondylas, De origine et rebusgestis Turcorum (Basel, 1556), pp. 195-6. Foxe went to the trouble of includingthis account because it underscored what he perceived as the lack of family loyaltyamong the Ottomans (see C177/93).

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After that the IanizaritesMarginaliaWhat these Ianizarites were, read pag. 717. had perswaded with Baiazetes for that he hymselfe was vnweldy, therfore he should do well to constitute some successour, and that he had assigned Acomates to succeede him, the Ianizarites beyng offēded with the sayd Acomates because he would not enlarge their stipēdes and bribe them, compassing about the kynges pallace with their priuie swordes whiche they had vnder their garmentes, with a mighty crye, required Zelimus to

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be