In the beginning of this War, (which was in the Year, 1203.) a Young Grecian Prince, of 23 years of Age, called Alexis, Implor'd the Aſſiſtance of theſe Chriſtian Argonautes, while they were Beſieging the City Zara, in Dalmatia, which the Hungarians poſſeſt, and they undertook in lieu of their expences at Venice, before their Departure. Iſaac Angelo, of the Houſe of Comnenes, Emperor of Conſtantinople, was the Father of this Prince Alexis, and Father-in-Law to Philip, Emperor of Germany, by his Daughter Irene. He was depoſed from his Empire, deprived of his Sight & Liberty, by his only, (though unnatural, and ungrateful) Brother Alexis; to whom he had always ſhewn the Marks of a more than Brotherly kindneſs. After the taking of Zara, reſtor'd through the Valour of the Confederates, to the Obedience of St. Mark's Lyon; the Generous Warriors embarkt on 250 Ships, in which were 20000 Foot, and 8000 Horſe. Henry Danduli, the Doge or Duke of Venice, though almoſt blinded by the cruelty of the Grecian Emperor Emanuel Commenes, who cauſed a burning Plate of Copper to be held to his Eyes, went in the Head of many Noble Venetians, perſwaded by the ſame Zeal, which made them equip a Fleet for this Expedition.

THis Impoſtor continued longer than any of the reſt, and had more Chances, and happy Hours. The Cruelty of Richard Duke of Gloceſter, Son of Richard Duke of York, and Brother of Edward the Fourth King of England, gave Henry Earl of Richmond, Grand-ſon of Owen Tudor, and Catharine of France, a Pretenſion to Arm againſt him, for the Recovery of the Kingdom of England, which Edward the Fourth, before Duke of York, and Head of the Red-Roſe, had uſurp't from Henry the Sixth. Richard Duke of Gloceſter, had alſo uſurp't the Crown from Edward the Fifth, a young Prince of Twelve years old, Eldeſt Son and Succeſſor to King Edward the Fourth; as likewiſe from his Brother Richard Duke of York, his two Nephews, whom he unnaturally and cruelly murthered in the Tower of London, in the year 1483. It was the Perſon of this laſt Richard Duke of York, and only Brother of King Edward the Fifth, that this Impoſtor, Peter Warbeck, commonly called Perkin Warbeck, ſo artfully imitated, for Five or Six Years time, from 1494 untill 1499, putting all England into combuſtion, and perplexity on that Subject: and giving much trouble to the new Conqueror, Henry the Seventh, who was before Earl of Richmond.

Margaret, Siſter to King Edward the Fourth, Widow of Charles the Hardy, Duke of Burgundy, and Soveraign of the Seventeen Provinces of the Lower Germany, produced, and inſtructed this Counterfeit, to take the Crown of England, (if ſhe could have effected, what ſhe had often endeavoured) from Henry the Seventh, Chief of the Houſe of Lancaſter, or the White-Roſe, whom ſhe mortally hated. This is the Truth of the Story, as Polydore Virgil, Hiſtoriographer to Henry the Eighth, relates it, in the Twenty-ſixth Book of his Hiſtory of England.

This Princeſs, (a Woman of an Ambitious and Intriguing humour) had conceived a great Averſion to Henry the Seventh, Exterminator of the Uſurper Richard Duke of Gloceſter. The principal cauſe of her Hatred proceeded from the long Enmity between his Family of Lancaſter, and her's of the Houſe of York; which made her continually endeavour, by all means imaginable, his extirpation, with the ſatisfaction of her own Revenge, in the removal of the Crown to One of her own Party: But finding all her endeavours miſcarried, and thoſe of John Earl of Lincoln were come to nothing, her old Inveterate temper prompted her with new Expedients, more difficult for Henry to prevent.

She met a young man at Tourney, who was handſom, of a ſubtle with and quick Apprehenſion, his name was Peter Warbeck, but the Engliſh, in Deriſion, after called him Perkin. He underſtood Engliſh, and ſome other Languages, was very little known, being of the meaneſt Birth, and in extream Poverty. He had Travel'd through divers Countrys like a Beggar and a Vagabond. Him, the Dutcheſs Margaret, thought a ſit Inſtrument, to Counterfeit the Duke of York, ſecond Son of Edward the Fourth. She hid him in her Houſe, and inſtructed him in the affairs of England, and the particular Intereſts of the Houſe of York, till he perfectly underſtood his buſineſs; Imprinting her Maxims in his memory, and talking properly of them, perſuading all that he was the Real Prince of that Illuſtrious Family. Perſons of that Quality and Birth have an Inſtinct not to be deſcribed, to follow the ſteps of their Glorious Anceſtors, that they may deſerve the ſame admiration, and even in this ſhe had informed him. And now ſhe, underſtanding that King Henry was raiſing Men for France, to aſſiſt Francis Duke of Brittain, (his old Benefactor) believing this a favourable occaſion to ſet her Engins at work, and cauſe a diſturbance in England, ſhe ſent Perkin privately into Ireland, that ſo this young and well-inſtructed Adventurer, might ſow the Seeds of Rebellion amongſt thoſe unciviliz'd People, who were always inclin'd to Mutiny.

When he Landed in Ireland, he ſo well imploy'd his time and favour there, that many of the principal Iriſh believed his deceit, and gave him the ſame Honour, as if he had really been what he pretended, promiſing to Arm, and follow him with all Neceſſaries for the War.

THe firſt Prince, that gave Beginning to the Royal Family of Portugal, was Henry, who Married Tereſa, or Tareſia, Alphonſo King of Caſtile's natural Daughter, in the Year 1090, having the Earldom of Portugal, for her Portion. The King hoping he would make as Vigorous a War againſt the Moors, as his Brother Hugh Duke of Burgundy, had done; giving him that Country for a Bulwark, to defend his own from thoſe Infidels; towards whom, it was the Frontiers. He was the Son of another Henry Duke of Burgundy, Grand-ſon of Robert Duke of the ſame, who was Grand-ſon to Robert, King of France, Succeſſor to Hugh Capet. I do not mind the Opinions of ſeveral Hiſtorians, who are much perplext to find out of what Family, and Country this Henry was. Theod. Godefroy, one of the moſt Learned, and moſt Curious Perſons of his Time, firſt diſcovered this Original of the Kings of Portugal; and thoſe Famous Twins, Scevola, and Lewis de St. Martha, have Authorized it, in their Genealogical Hiſtory of the Houſe of France.

The Princes of this Race, have held the Royal Dignity, and Signaliz'd their Conduct by many Victories, over the Unbelievers, even beyond our Hemiſphere: But to give an Account of their Actions, is no part of my Subject; therefore, I will only ſay, They have generally held the Scepter with Great Glory, and without any Interruption, in the Royal Family, to this very Don Pedro, who now Reigns with the Title of Prince Regent; no Objection being to be made, except two or three ſuſpicions of Illegitimacy; ſo that it has always been ſupported by the ſame Blood Royal.

Don Sebaſtian, whoſe misfortune we treat of, (which gave an opportunity for an Impoſtor to aſpire, and pretend to his Diadem, perſwading the World he Eſcaped from the Unhappy Battle of Alcazer) at three Years Old, which was in the Year, 1557. Succeeded Don John the Third, his Paternal Grand-Father: He was Grand-ſon to the Emperor, Charles the Fifth, by his Mother Jane. In his Youth, he had been under the Tutulage of Donna Catharina of Auſtria, his Paternal Grand-mother, Siſter to the ſame Emperor; and of the Cardinal Henry, his Great Uncle.

A Deſire to Augment his Glory, by ſetting a Mooriſh Prince on the Throne of Fez in Africa, (imitating Alexander the Great, who at his Age paſſed the Helleſpont, for the Conqueſt of Aſia) Perſwaded him to do the ſame over the Straights of Gibraltar, for the Subjugating Africk; his Anceſtors having ſhewed the way, eſpecially King Don Emanuel; whoſe Heroick Vertues, frequent Proſperities, and Signal Victorys, had vanquiſh't, and made Tributary ſeveral Kings, in thoſe Extream Parts of the World: Chiefly by the Conduct of the Famous Don Alphonſo Albuquerque; and alſo through his Care to plant the Chriſtian Faith, which Juſtly made him eſteemed one of the Greateſt, and moſt Happy Princes, in the World. The ſame Motives of Religion, and Glory, with the Hopes that Muley Mahomet, or Muley Hamet, King of Fez, whom he undertook to re-eſtabliſh in the Throne, would according to his Promiſe, embrace the Chriſtian Religion; perſwaded him to this moſt Unhappy Enterprize; and, as the Marquis of Piſani, then Ambaſſador for the Crown of France, in the Spaniſh Court, declares, That he was alſo puſh't on to this Engagement, by the Ʋnſound and Pernicious Counſels of the Jeſuites. I have Read in their Catechiſm, That this Prince, being a Jeſuite in his Heart, would not Marry; they having often ſollicited him, to make a Law, That for the future, none ſhould be King of Portugal, but a Jeſuite; and Elected by their Order, as the Pope is by the Cardinals: And becauſe this young Prince could not, or to ſay truely, durſt not condeſcend to it, (though Superſtitious enough) they aſſured him, that God had ſo ordained it, as he ſhould underſtand by a Voice from Heaven, when he came to the Sea-ſide, ſo that he ſeveral times expected it; but theſe good Apoſtles, (for ſo they called them in Portugal) could not ſo well carry on their Mummery, to procure the Voice: However, they ſo followed theſe Impreſſions, as carryed him into this unhappy War, in the Flower of his Age, being about Twenty Two Years Old.

This Diſaſter, one of the moſt terrible, that ever the Sun beheld, was preſaged the Year before it happened; that is, in 1577. by the Appearance of a Prodigious Comet, ſeen in the Ayr, when all Portugal was in Armes: Nunquam viſus Terris impune Cometes; if you believe the Poet. I will not leave my Subject, to ſeek further any Reaſons of the War, That having been at large declared by Giovanni Botero Beneſe, Abbot of St. Michael de la Chiuſa, in his firſt Volume of his General Deſcription of the World, which was augmented by Pierre Daviti of Tournay, and continued by Me in the Year 1660.

Cherif Xeque, King of F • z. and Morocco, gave his Kingdoms to his Sons Succeſſively, excluding his Grand-ſons. Abdalla, Succeſſor of Xeque, to Fruſtrate his Fathers Will, put all his Brothers to Death, who were very Numerous, being born of many Wives, after the Mahumetan Faſhion: Only Muley Moluc, or Abdelmeleck, and Hamet, ſled to Conſtantinople, for the ſaving their Lives: and for a better Expectation of the Crown, to exclude their Nephews, the Sons of Abdalla, according to their Father's Eſtabliſhment. Muley Mahomet, the Son of Abdalla, tryed to ſecure his Fathers Scepter, to the Prejudice of the Subſtitution, made in his Uncles Favour: And in truth, Juſtice was on his ſide, it being the Natural Order of Succeſſion. However, his Uncle Muley Moluc, or Abdelmeleck, aſſiſted by the Turks; beat him three ſeveral times.

This made him Croſs the Sea, to Implore the Aſſiſtance of King Don Sebaſtian, who, moved with hopes of converting the Moores, through more Zeal than Prudence, and heightned by his Deſire of Glory, heard the Affrican Kings Proteſtations; from whom he promiſed himſelf great Advantages, for the Chriſtian Religion, for the Reputation of his Name, and the Utility and Profit of his Subjects. With theſe Notions, he paſſed the Seas, at the Head of a very Powerful Army; and joyning with Muley Mahomet, he gave Battle to Muley Abdelmeleck, near the City Alcazer, on the Plains of Tamiſta, in the Year 1578. where, to his great Unhappineſs, his Army was defeated, with an extream Slaughter; and he, doing the Office of a Valiant Captain, was there kill'd: Though the Portuguezes have always believed, and yet affirm, his Eſcape from the Fight, into Italy, where many ſaw him as we ſhall after declare. Muley Moluc, or Abdelmeleck, in the Beginning of this Action, was taken with an Appoplexy, and carryed to his Tent, where he dyed, juſt when his Enemies were upon the Point of Flying: Hamet, his Brother, Reaping the Sole Fruit of this Victory. Mahomets Body was carefully ſought for, by his Order; and being found, his Skin was ſlayed off, and ſtufft with Straw, to be carryed before him, at his triumphant Entry into the City of Fez.

This Mahomet left a Son called Chiriſſi, whom his Uncle Albequerin brought into Spain, where turning Chriſtian, by the Munificence of Philip the Second, he was made Commendator of the Order of S. James, though commonly called the Prince of Morocco.

Some years after this, King Don Sebaſtian came back out of Affrica: But whether he were the True, or an Impoſtor, the World ſeems yet divided in their Opinions. Daniel Hawley, an Iriſh Man, of the Order of St. Dominick, called Arch-biſhop of Goa; when he was Ambaſſador in France, from Alphonſo, the Sixth King of Portugal, told me in Paris, That he was fain to refuſe the Licenſing a Book, which ſaid, This King Don Sebaſtian, had loſt his Life in that Battle of Alcazer, till he had Obliged the Author, to change his Language and Opinion. And, at this preſent, to ſay, That he was an Impoſtor, and not the true Don Sebaſtian, that returned from Affrica, is forbidden, and Criminal in Portugal.

Peter Math •• a, in his Hiſtory of Henry the Great, in the Third Book; and Mademoiſelle des J •••• as▪ in the Seventh Part of her A • nales Gallantes, in the Eighth Hiſtory, tells, by what good Fortune, this young Prince got from among the Dead, and how he wandred from the Field of Battle. I will not determ • ne any thing on the likelyhood, or real Truth of the Action. She ſays, That this King, though he were promiſed and engaged, to Many the Princeſs Mary, his near Kinſwoman, Daughter of Edw. Duke of Braganza, and Iſabel one of the Daughters of King Don Eman • eb, fell ſo much in Love with Xerine, Daughter of Muley Moluc, who being born of a Greek, was much whiter than Affricans commonly are, that he promiſed to Marry her, and underhand bring what Obſtacles he could, againſt the Diſpenſation to Marry his Couſin German.

This Mooriſh Princeſs, underſtanding Don Sebaſtians Defeat, whom ſhe dearly Loved, deſpiſeing the Crowns of Fez and Morocco, for the Hopes of that of Portugal, and Tranſported with a Grief, even to Deſpair, Rann, ere the Day-brake, to the Plains of Tamiſta, only accompanyed with Laura, a Chriſtian Slave, her Confident; reſolving to Sacrifice her ſelf, with her own Hand, on the Body of her Loved Sebaſtian; whom ſhe ſought amidſt the Horrid Numbers of the Dead and Dying, with which the Plain was covered. Some of the Wounded Men, who had yet a Glimmering of underſtanding left them, told the Place where Don Sebaſtian Fought; and carefully obſerving thoſe Bodys, ſhe eſpyed one extreamly reſembling her Lover; and with great Crys, ſhe embraced, and moved him, reſolving to Dye there; when the ſuppoſed Dead Man came to himſelf, a little opening his Eyes, and ſpake a few words imperfectly.

Xerine, being Tranſported with Joy, by the help of her Slave, carryed him to the Bank of the River Mucazen, which runs through thoſe Plaines; where ſhe waſh't, and bound up his Wounds, ſending Laura to a little houſe hard by, for ſome body to remove him from thence. A Mariner did that good Office, carrying him with his Boat into a ſmall Iſland, but Inhabited, at the Mouth of the River; for which ſhe well rewarded him.

The Allyance, which Don Sebaſtian had with Muley Mahomet, made his Death neceſſary to the Peace of the new King Hamet; ſo the Xerine fear'd equally the Life, & Liberty of her Lover, if he fell into his hands: ſhe tended, and dreſt him, till his Recovery; One Day ſaying to him; Heaven will not deprive Portugal of it's King; But has made your Xerine happy, in ſaving her Dear Don Sebaſtian's Life. The Wounded Man ſoon found the Princeſſes Error, without intending to undeceive her; but uſing his Endeavour to confirm her miſtake, from which he foreſaw ſuch happy Conſequences: Therefore, gave her Infinite Thanks, deſiring ſhe would inform him, how ſhe diſtinguiſh't him among the Dead; of which ſhe told him the Particulars. This ſhewed him Xerine's Birth, and Engagement with Don Sebaſtian, whom he ſtudyed to perſonate, which he might with Impunity; for he reſembled him much (a Prodigious and incredible thing!) even to ſeveral Moles, and Natural Marks on his Body.

Xerine, underſtood by thoſe, whom ſhe had ſent to enquire for News, that King Sebaſtian was drowned, in his endeavouring to ſave himſelf; but none could find his Body. This Truth ſhe thought an Error; as ſhe believed her own Error true; promiſing her ſelf no leſs, than to be Queen of Portugal; and thinking her Care, kind Words, and obliging Promiſes, well beſtowed on that Subject.

THis Man has paſt for an Impoſtor, in the Opinion of moſt Hiſtorians; as Hen. the Monk of Rebdorff, in his Chronicle; John Cuſpinian, in his Lives of the Emperors; Nicholas Lutinger in his Life of Frederic, the Firſt of that Name, Elector of Brandenburg; and John Leunclavius, in his Pandects of the Turkiſh Hiſtory, &c. For my own Part, after examining the Circumſtances of his Story, I am apt to conclude in his Favour, and pity this Princes Diſafter, in loſing his Country, and being decryed by ſo many Pens, for a Counterfeit, and placed in the number of Notorious Impoſtors, whoſe Lives we treat of. But this is the true Hiſtory.

Voldemar the Second, Marquis and Elector of Brandenburg, was the Thirteenth deſcended in a Right Line, from Albert de L'Ours, of the Family of the Earls of Aſcagne, who bore that Dignity: From which Albert, are alſo deſcended the Dukes of Saxon Lavemburg, and the Princes of Anhalt.

Voldemar was the Son of Henry, ſtiled Without Land, who dyed in 1313. and of Agnes, or as others ſay, Matilda de Sangerhuſe; the two Electors, John the Third, and Voldemar the Firſt, who preceded him, were his great Uncles, whom he Succeeded.

He had ſcarcely been three years Elector, when a Fit of Devotion, according to the Cuſtom of thoſe Times, perſwaded him to go a Pilgrimage, to the Holy Land. He left his Brother John the Fourth in Poſſeſſion of his Country; and diſcharged all his Servants, except two, whom he reſerved for his Voyage; not giving his Brother, his Relations, nor Subjects, any Account which way he travelled, nor what adventures befell him in his Journey. For indeed, there were then no Poſts in uſe, it being difficult ſending from Forreign Countrys, unleſs by expreſs Meſſengers.

Voldemar believed he had taken ſufficient Care of the Succeſſion, his Brother being only left alive, of the Eldeſt Branch; though in a ſhort time, there had been Nineteen Perſons of the ſame; who by Wars, and Inveterate contentions, for Avarice and Ambition, drew God's diſpleaſure on the Family, and were ſuddenly ſcattered, like the Duſt of the Earth. He obliged his Subjects, not to receive the Princes of Anhalt, who were of their Houſe of the Counts of Aſcagne, for this Sovereigns, in Caſe his Brother and He ſhould dye without Heirs. This their Subjects had Sworn juſtly to obey and execute: But it not being Authorized by the Electors, nor approved in the Empire; the Emperor Lewis thought he had Power to diſpoſe of it, when he ſhould receive News of Voldemar's Death.

He left his Country in the Year, 1322, and appeared not till Three and Twenty Years after, being in 1345. His Brother, who govern'd in his Abſence dyed Four and Twenty Days after he departed: I know not whether by Sickneſs or Poiſon. However, Lewis of Bavaria, then poſſeſſing the Empire, diſpoſed of the Electorate, inveſting in it his Eldeſt Son Lewis, by his Firſt Wife Beatrix of Poland, as a vacant Fief of the Empire.

Moſt of the German Hiſtories tell this much in Favour of the Houſe of Bavaria, as follows.

Rodolph, Duke and Elector of Saxony, deſign'd to take the Electorate of Brandenbourg, from Lewis of Bavaria, Son to the Emperor Lewis the Fourth, who had Inveſted him in it, after the Death of John the Fourth, State-holder, and Governor of Brandenburg, in the Abſence of Voldemar, his Elder Brother. Rodolph pretended, that being of the Houſe of Aſcagne, of which Voldemar was the Head, He ought to poſſeſs it, before any Other; or, at leaſt, ſome Prince of his Family, ſince Two Electorates could not poſſibly be in one, and the ſame Perſon.

The better to compaſs his Deſign, he reported his Couſin, the Elector Voldemar, was alive, who had not appeared in Twenty Three Years; Till underſtanding how matters went, after many Pilgrimages to Holy Places, like an ordinary Man, and having eſcap't from the Captivity, and Impriſonment of the Infidels, he was now returned to his Country; and to perſonate this Prince, he brought on the Stage, for a Principal Actor in this Tragedy, a Miller of Landreſtaw, or as others ſay of Beltztize, called James Rebok, a Cunning Fellow, and a Subtle Lyer, being near the Age of Voldemar, with ſomething of his Meen, & Shape; as much as ſo many years abſence, the changing of his Hair, the Miſery and Trouble he had ſuffered, with the Weakneſs of Age, could allow or perſwade. He had Lived many Years in Saxony, where he was throughly inſtructed, in the Life and Family of Voldemar. His Application and Addreſs, made his Deceit very Succeſsful; for to all Perſons he ſeemingly gave eminent Proofs, that he was no Counterfeit, but the true Marquis Voldemar.

The noiſe of his Return from Paleſtine, and Turky, where he had ſo many Years been detained, ſpread through the Country, and all Germany over; he being aſſiſted by the Emperor Charles the Fourth, who was alſo King of Bohemia, Grand-ſon of the Emperor Henry the Seventh, who brought that Dignity into his Family, of Luthzelburg. This Prince recommended him to the Cyrcles of the Empire, and ſeverely treating many of his Enemies. The Occaſion of his Enmity to Lewis the Elector, was, becauſe he got from his Brother Henry, Margaret Counteſs of Tyrol, with her vaſt Fortune.

His other Friends were the Dukes of Brunſwick, Pomerania, and Mekelbourg, the Arch-Biſhop of Magdebourg, Primate of Germany, beſides Fifteen others: The moſt Zealous for his Intereſt, being thoſe of his own Family, the Duke of Saxony, and the Princes of Anhalt; ſo that he wanted very little, of expelling the Elector Lewis of Bavaria.

Voldemar▪ preſently Summoned an Aſſembly, in the Year 1348. The Circle, and near all the Nobility of the Marquiſate, acknowledging him for their Prince, reiterated their Loyalty and Homage, being tranſported with Joy to ſee their Antient Maſter.

His Old Subjects, either touched with the Misfortunes, and Calamities, which he had ſuffred; or pleaſed with Novelty, being weary of the Bavarian Dominion; after having Experimented the Glory and Juſtice of Voldemars Family, the ſpace of One Hundred and Eighty Years; They lent him Mony, to acquire his Right, and drive out Lewis. All the Citys in the Marquiſate declaring for him except Francfort on the Oder, Spandaw, and Brizack.

Lutinger obſerves in the Two and Twentieth Book of his Commentarys of Brandenburg, that the Family of Lockhow, one of the Greateſt in the Marquiſate, continued on Lewis's Side; having the Principal Commands in his Army, during the War, which laſted Nine Years, with various Succeſs, according to the Chance of Fortune.

Voldemar King of Denmark, whoſe Name ſeemed a good Augury to Voldemar the Elector, was nevertheleſs quite contrary; for Carion, in the Fifth Book of his Chronicle, ſays, He was the Firſt that ſtop'd the Courſe of his Victorys, and prevented his abſolute Repoſſeſſing his Country.

Caſſimir, King of Poland; Lewis, called the Roman, for his being Born at Rome, Brother by a Second Venter to the Elector Lewis; the Duke of Stetin, (that Dutchy being then ſeparate from Pomerania) with many Lords of Poland and Sileſia, then aſſiſted Lewis: Notwithſtanding which, Voldemar the Aſſailant, gain'd a very Signal Battle, abſolutely defeating the Army of Lewis his Rival, commanded by Lewis the Roman his Brother; who very hardly himſelf eſcaped: The Duke Rodolph, Palatin of the Rhyne, with Seventy nine Gentlemen, bearing Shields of Arms; of which number were Forty of Poland; Fourteen being of the Family of Lettizia, he ma • e Priſoners of War, and Trophies of his Victory.

This Blow extreamly leſſened Lewis's Courage, and reduced his Affairs to ſuch a Point, that many Cities opened their Gates to the Governour.

Lewis, tired with the War, (which, according to Carion, in his Life of the Emperour Lewis of Bavaria, laſted Nine whole Years; though Lunclavius, in his German Hiſtory, mentions Three only) went into his Earldom of Tyrol, which he had had by his Wife Margaret, Daughter of Henry Duke of Carinthia, and Earl of Tyrol, leaving the Marquiſate and Electorate of Brandenbourg to his Brothers, Lewis of the ſame Name, ſirnamed the Roman, with Otho his Youngeſt: The Emperour Charles the Fourth confirming by his Letter Pattents at Budiſſine, in the Year 1350. his Transferring the Electorate to his two ſaid Brothers.

This Emperour Charles had (as we may ſay) extreamly longed for the Electorſhip; being vext, that the Emperour Lewis of Bavaria had been more Fortunate than he, in diſpoſing it to his Eldeſt Son, when the Death of Voldemar was reported. Lewis, the Eldeſt of the Three Brothers, in Poſſeſſion of Brandenbourg, deceaſed in 1361. and Maynard, his Eldeſt Son, left the World before he was Fourteen Years old, though Married, yet having no Heirs: He was born in 1349. and dyed in 1363. The Two remaining Brothers, the Roman and Otho, conſented by their Agreement with the Emperour Charles, to exclude their neareſt Relations, if they dyed without Heirs Male; and ſubſtitute Winceſlaus, his Eldeſt Son, Elector: But if neither He, nor the Emperour left a Son, then it ſhould paſs to John, Marquis of Moravia. They allowed Winceſlaus to uſe the Arms and Title of Marquis of Brandenbourg; obliging their Subjects to ſwear Allegiance to him. This Agreement was ſigned at Nuremberg, in 1363. where it is ſtill to be ſeen.

Now the Roman dying without Children, in 1366. left in poſſeſſion hereof Otho his Brother, Son-in-law to the Emperour, by the Marriage of his Daughter Agnes; who being alſo without Children, conſented to ſell the Marquiſate and Electorate of Brandenbourg, in his Life-time, for Two Hundred Thouſand Hungarian Ducats, to the ſame Emperour Charles, his Father-in-law, and to his Eldeſt Son Winceſlaus; there being delivered to Otho ſeveral Towns in Bohemia, as Pawns for a Security till Payment of the whole Sum.

Thus the Electorate of Brandenbourg, after having (with various Fortune) been One and Fifty Years poſſeſt by Voldemar, and his Party; was, by the Three Sons of the Emperour Levis of Bavaria, conveyed into the Family of Lutzelbourg; where it remained Four and Forty Years, being governed by State-holders, in the Reigns of the Emperours, Winceſlaus and Sigiſmond; which laſt ſold, and abſolutely diſpoſed of both this Marquiſate and Eleotorate to his Favourite Fredrick de Zoltern, the Burggrave of Nuremberg, whom he had before made Governour: Giving him the Inveſtiture, at the Council of Conſtance, with great Ceremony, the laſt Day of April, being the Eve of St. Philip and Jacob, and the Year 1415. Since which time, the Heirs-Male, deſcended in a Right Line, from the before-mentioned Frederick, have juſtly poſſeſt, and gloriouſly governed the Countries of the Marquiſate and Electorate of Brandenbourg.

But let us return to Voldemar. What Lunclavius ſays of his being Condemned, and Burnt alive for his Impoſture, is not true; though he affirms it in the Chronicle of Germany, Tranſlated by him: But it is moſt certain, that he died of a Natural Death; not at a Place called Korckei, or at Stendeil, in 1322; but at Deſſaw, in 1354, Nine Years after his Return; and was buried in the Chappel called The Holy-Ghoſt, which is the ordinary Place of Sepulture for the Princes of Anhalt, as is teſtified by the Chronicle of Magdebourg.

The Reaſons, which oblige me to believe he was the True Voldemar, contrary to the Opinion of thoſe Hiſtorians whom we have cited, are the Atteſtations of the Princes of his Family, who then were the Electors of Saxony, the Dukes of Lavembo • rg, and the Princes of Anhalt; which two laſt Branches are ſtill in being.

Theſe Princes would not have ſo much abuſed themſelves, to give ſuch Honours to an Impoſtor, nor have mingled his Aſhes with Theirs; who, without doubt, are one of the moſt Illuſtrious Sovereign Houſes of Europe. I have heard John George, Head of the Houſe of Anhalt, Earl of Aſcagne, Lord of Zerbſt and Bernberg, Governour of the Provinces of the Marquiſate of Brandenbourg, ſay, That he kept his Seal, and believed him the True Elector.

THere's none can be ſo ignorant in Hiſtory, as not to have heard of Tamberlain, Emperour of the Tartars, and of the Victory he gain'd over Bajazet, the Firſt of that Name, Emperor of the Turks. In the Turkiſh Annals, theſe two Monarchs are called, the one Temir Can; and the other, Gilderum Can. The Title Can, which ſignifies King or Lord, being commonly uſed to any other Tartar Prince, or Turkiſh Lord. But the Name of Tamberlain or Tamerland, was given him becauſe he was Lame; which Land expreſſes in the Perſian Tongue: Some called him Temir Cuthlus, ſignifying in the Tartarian Language, a Fortunate Sword. His Sirnames were, The Terrour and Deſolation of the Eaſt, Terror & Clades Orientis. He alſo ſtiled himſelf the Wrath of God, or the Inſtrument of his Indignation. As for Bajazet, he was Named Gilderum, or (as others ſay) Hildrim; which, in the Language of the Tartars, ſignifies the Terrour of Thunder and Lightning. The Greeks called him Lelapa; that is, a Violent Torrent. The Impoſture of this Falſe Muſtapha, who called himſelf the true Son of Bajazet, (certainly believed to have been killed in this great Battle, where his Father was defeated, and made a Priſoner) obliges me to look backward, and tell you of Bajazet, with the Subject and Circumſtances of the War.

Bajazet was a moſt Cruel, and Bloody Parricide; being the Firſt, who taught the Princes of his Family, to Imbrew their Hands in the Blood of their neareſt Relations; he cauſing his Brother Jacup or Jacob to be ſtrangled, whom Paulus Jovius calls, Solyman. His Ambition was ſo great, that without having any right, but the ſharper Scymitar, he drove many Soveraign Princes out of their Countrys: As Techrin, Prince of Erzingue, or Erzrum, in the Greater Armenia, whom ſome call Scander, and make him King alſo of Armenia; together with the Prince of Germian, the Duzinon, or Lord of Adem, and others, ſadly experimented. He had alſo much Afflicted Conſtantinople, and made great Devaſtations, in the Countrys of Emanuel, Emperour of the Eaſt.

Theſe expelled Princes being thus cruelly uſed, went in Perſon to implore the Protection of Tamberlain, againſt the Tyranny and Injuſtice of Bajazet: The ſame Greek Emperour groaning under the ſevere Yoak of this Tyrant, paying him Three Hundred Thouſand Crowns Tribute every Year; (Tres myriadas Auriorum, as Carion has it in his Chronicle) was conſtrained to ſurrender up the City of Philadelphia to him, which the Tyrant had ſo often Beſieged in vain; giving him alſo Hoſtages, and being Obliged to furniſh ſuch number of Souldiers for his Wars; this made him alſo ſend Ambaſſadours, to repreſent his miſerable condition.

Axalla, the braveſt of Tamberlain's Generals, was a Chriſtian of Genoeſe Extraction, born at Copha in Taurica Cherſoneſus, which was then a City, and Collony, under the Dominion of that State of Genoa. This generous Man endeavoured alſo by his entreaties, to perſwade his Maſter to re-eſtabliſh theſe Perſecuted Princes, and beat down the Pride and Inſolenc • of Bajazet. Tamberlain was pleaſed to hear him expreſs what Glory it would be to his Reputation, if he ſhould deliver the Emperour of Conſtantinople, and the other Princes, from ſo unjuſt a Tyranny. The Tartar was ſo ſenſibly touched with their Misfortunes, that he diſpatched away a Herald, to require Juſtice on their behalf from Bajazet; at the ſame time, ſending a very Rich Veſt, which is always by them preſented from a Superior to an Inferior.

This ſo enraged the Turk, that a War was ſoon declared; Bajazet bringing an Army of Eight Hundred Thouſand Men into the Field, (Paulus Jovius ſays a Million.) where in a bloody Fight, he was abſolutely defeated, and taken Priſoner. The Turkiſh Annals mention not the numbers of either Army, only that Bajazet's was as numerous as Tamberlain's. And that the Occaſion of Bajazet's defeat proceeded from the generoſity of the Tartars, in freeing of Dieſt, and other Nations, as Germian, Mentez, &c. which Bajazet had ſubjugated, whoſe Princes were in Tamberlains Army.

There was none but Bulcis or Bulcogli, for ſo they called George, Son of the Deſpot of Servia, who followed not the good Example, endeavouring to exterminate the Tyrant, by abandoning him as the reſt did. His Men behaved themſelves ſo well (to the Glory of the Chriſtians) that Tamberlain cry'd to thoſe about him, See how valiant and reſolute thoſe Dervices are! Proh quam feroces & truculenti; ſunt iſti Derviſii; till ſome of his Great Officers told him, They were Chriſtians, and not that ſort of Religious Turks, called Dervices & Turlacks. The Victory fell on Tamberlain's ſide, One Hundred and Fifty Thouſand Men being Killed upon the Place. This Battle was Fought in the Year 1399, and according to the moſt probable Opinion, in the great Plain called Caſſobe, or Deſcanards, near Mount Stella; Memorable for the Famous Defeat, that Pompey the Great gave there to Mithridates King of Pontus.

I find very different Accounts of this Action; but follow the Turkiſh Annals, which ſay, that Zelebis, or the Noble Muſtapha, (the Name of Zelebis being given to all the Children of the Turkiſh Emperor) was killed in this Fight: And he being the Subject of this Diſcourſe, who muſt appear, and pretend to the Ottoman Empire, and diſpute it with his Brothers, and with Amurath the Second, his Nephew; It ſeemed neceſſary to diſpoſe the Reader, for the Hiſtory and Adventures of this Impoſtor, by the recital of what preceded it, to give him a more full Idea and clear knowledge thereof.

The Diſaſters of his Father Bajazet, being ſo annexed to his Death, I will ſay ſomething farther concerning them, without reſting on what ſeveral Authors report of Tamberlains being the moſt Inhumane, and Bloody of Mankind; and of his Extraction from the meaneſt of the People; having been very well informed by that Excellent Book of this Conqueror's Life, Written by Monſieur Sainctyon, which was taken from an Arabian Hiſtorian, called Alhacent; who was an Occular Witneſs of his Actions, and Military Expeditions, and familiar with him, (which Life is very different from that Written by one Acamed, Son of Gueraſpes, a Creature of the Ottoman Family, and by conſequence an Enemy to Tamberlain.)

He was the Son of the Potent Monarch Og, King of Saketay (or the antient P •• ſhia) nearly related, and Succeſſor to the Great Cham of Tartary: He had two Sons Cham Sentrokius, (which ſignifies the Love of Mankind) and Letrokius, whoſe Variance occaſioned the Deſolation of their Country. But he, for the Goodneſs of his Life, his Royal Vertues, and above all his Juſtice and Victories, might be equal'd with Alexander the Great: So far was he from thoſe Vices of Cruelty, Barbarity, and Rage, which Paulus Jovius accuſes him of, Feritatem, truculentiam, ore truculento recedentibuſque Occulis ſemper minaci.

And the Turkiſh Annals call him Inhumane, for this reaſon, that when Gilderum, or Bajazet was taken, and brought to him, he conducted him to his Tent, receiving him on foot with great Honour: Gilderum was on Horſe-back, becauſe of his Wounds, ſupported by Tamberlain's People; and being brought in, they both ſate down, and eat together: Tamberlain ſaying thus to him; Prince, we ought to give God infinite thanks, and to ſing Hymns of Praiſe to him, that he has given me, who am a poor Lame Man, ſo vaſt an Empire; extending from the furtheſt Parts of India, to the Gates of Sivas, which is Sebaſte: And to Thee, from the Walls of this ſame City, to the Confines of Hungary. God having thus diſpoſed ſo great a Part of the World between us, what can ſuch a Cripple as I, deſire of him more? 'Tis for this his great Goodneſs, that we ought to make him our Acknowledgments: It may be, thou haſt not done this heretofore, as thou oughteſt; but haſt been ungrateful to his Bounty: for which Reaſon, this misfortune is come upon thee. Philip Camerarius, in the 54th. Chapter of his Hiſtorical Meditations, makes him continue it further, as follows: Can we think the Soveraign Diſpoſer of the World, thought us the moſt worthy, to Command ſo many Millions, who are wiſer and ſtronger than we? That it ſhould pleaſe Him, that Thou, who art almoſt blind, ſhouldeſt be Emperor of the Turks? And I, who am a Tartar, and Lame, be the Soveraign of ſo many People? No certainly, it was not our Merit, but a pure Effect of his Grace and Bounty.

Tamberlain ſent him Doggs and Hawks, either to divert him in his Trouble, or reproach his extraordinary Delight in thoſe Creatures. The Turkiſh Hiſtory ſaying, that Gilderum kept Seven Thouſand Faulconers, and Six Thouſand Dogs. He talked ſo inſolently to Temir on this Occaſion, that he expoſed him to the Contempt of his Army, ſetting him on a Mule, and commanding him to be led through it: Thus enduring the Mocks of the Souldiers, and cauſing his Wife, the Daughter of Eliazar, the Deſpot of Servia, whom he paſſionately Loved, to wait half naked at his Table.

One Day Temir, or Tamberlain, asked him, and deſired him to Anſwer ingenuouſly, If he had fallen into his Power, how he would have uſed him? Gilderum, or Bajazet, who was a Man of a terrible and cruel Temper, anſwered him in a Rage thus; To ſay the Truth, if Fortune had given me the Victory, and made me thy Maſter, I would have ſhut thee up in an Iron Cage, and ſo carried thee about with me. Tamberlain was not ignorant of the Lex Talionis, nor of that natural Law, which the Emperor Alex. Severus (as ſaith Lampridius) ſo often repeated, Do to another, what you would have done to you: Following the Law of the Twelve Tables of the Romans, and of that famous Edict mentioned by Aulus Gellius, in the Firſt Chapt. of his Noctes Atticae; where the Curious Diſcourſe is between Sextus Cecilius the Lawyer, and Phavorinus the Philoſopher. And therefore accordingly, he ſhut him up in an Iron Cage: Yet the Turkiſh Annals ſay, He ſtill continued his Humanity; always before he decamped, going to ſee, and civilly ſaluting his Priſoner: He aſſured him, he would • ere long grant what he ſhould deſire: But telling him, he would firſt carry him to Samarcand, where he kept his Court; and from thence ſend him to his own Country.

Bajazet was ſo afflicted with this, that he killed himſelf in the Fourteenth Year of His Reign, and the Fourth of his dreadful Impriſonment, in the Year 1403. and of the Hegira, or Flight of Mahomet, 804. Theod Spandugin relates theſe Circumſtances of it; That having no other way to end his Life, filled with Rage and Deſpair, he frequently and with ſuch violence beat his Head againſt the Bars of his Cage, that he broke his Skull, and died diſtracted.

This Emperor left Five Sons, of whom Muſtapha Zelebis, the Eldeſt, was loſt at the Battle; The Annals ſay, Amiſſus fuit in Temiriano praelio. The others eſcaped, who were Lemir Solyman, Iſa Zelebis, Zultan Muchemet, and Caſan Zelebis, who was then very young: I will not meddle with the Accidents, Wars, and Murders, which happened amongſt them; only relate, how after the Death of Lemir Solyman, in the Year of Chriſt 1423. which is of the Hegyra 824, Amurath his Son being newly Placed on his Throne, Twenty Years after Tamberlain's Famous Victory; a certain Man, called Duſmes Muſtapha, pretending to be the Son of Can Gilderum or Bajazet, appeared in Romania. And although Mahomet the Firſt, and Amurath the Second, was aſſured, that he was killed at Mount Stella; yet the Grecian Emperor Emanuel Paleologus, would never believe it; but always thought him the true Muſtapha; and by giving him his utmoſt Aſſiſtance, pulled many Unhappineſſes on his own Head. Amurath offered him great Advantages, not to meddle with their Quarrel; but to let them determine it among themſelves, with their own Arms.

Carion, in his Chronicle, ſpeaks not of Muſtapha, as an Impoſtor; but ſays, that the Greeks perceiving Amurath to raiſe the Ottoman Name and Power, after that Fatal Overthrow at Mount Stella, where his Grandfather loſt both his Glory and Liberty; and that he attacked all the little Chriſtian Princes, who had dependance on the Eaſtern Empire, to extirminate one after another; by their Spoils, ſeeking to repair his own Loſſes; though they moſt Religiouſly obſerved the Peace with his Father. Wherefore the Greeks then brake it alſo, taking out of Lemnos, his Uncle Muſtapha, whom they had kept there under a ſure Guard, as a Rival, capable of fruſtrating his Deſigns; for which purpoſe, they gave him all Imaginable Aſſiſtance, that he might diſpoſeſs Amurath, and obtain the Empire for himſelf.

This Prince, whither True or Falſe, is uncertain, lived ſometimes at Verdari, a little City of Theſſaly, bearing the Name of a River, which runs by it; where ſeverall Lords of the Family of the Eurenoſes, took his Party: Aſſiſted with whoſe Forces, he Beſieged the City Serra, which, with its Fortreſs, he forced to a Surrender. This great Succeſs exalted his Hopes, and gave him Courage to attempt Adrianople, then Capital of the Ottoman Empire; whoſe Inhabitants had a Favorable Opinion, both of his Perſon and Title; opening their Gates at his Approach, and ſwearing Fidelity to him. All Romagna followed their Example, and ſubmitted to his Government; yet he ſtill continued his Reſidence at Verdari.

Sultan Amurath thinking on little, but his Pleaſures at Burſa, where he then kept his Court or Port, heard what Progreſs Muſtapha had made, and ſent againſt him Baſſa Bajazet, with a conſiderable Army; but when he came before Adrianople, this Trayterous Baſſa abandoned his Conſcience, and his Honour, joining with Muſtapha's Army; for Recompence of which Treaſon, he was made Vizier; which is like Chancellor, or Prime Miniſter of State.

Zunaites, Prince of Smyrna, who had been Priſoner with the Impoſtor Muſtapha, in the ſtrong Fortreſs of Monemuaſia, which was the antient Epidaurus, armed alſo for him. The Turks call'd this Man Chuſines. He raiſed a conſiderable▪ Body of Men, compoſed for the moſt part of Azapes, being foot, who fight with Bows and Arrows: Laonicius ſuppoſes theſe to have been an Auxiliary of Strangers. He gave great priviledges to all thoſe, who took up Arms in his Favour, and that freely embraced his Party.

Having raiſed this Army, he left Adrianople, and Marched ſtreight to Burſa; and on the way, finding his new Vizier, the Baſſa Bajazet, was conſpiring againſt him; he cauſed him to be Excecuted publickly, as a Traytor, within one days Journey of Burſa: Thus paying with an Ignominious Death, his double Treaſon.

In the mean while, Amurath adviſed with his Baſſa's, how he might beſt defend himſelf from the Storm that threatned him. They counſell'd him to releaſe out of Priſon, Mechemet Beg, Chief of the Michalogli; of whom Lunclavius, in the Twenty Seventh Chapter of his Pandects, gives this account.

Oſman, one of the Chief Heads of the Ottoman-Family, the better to Eſtabliſh his Greatneſs, made a Friendſhip and Allyance with Three little Princes; by whoſe Aſſiſtance, he extraordinarily advanced his own Affairs, and gained many great Victories over the Chriſtians. One of theſe Princes was called Michael; another, Mark; both of the Eaſtern Imperial Family; and the Third, a Turk, named Aurami: From which Three, were deſcended the moſt Conſiderable Perſons then in the Ottoman-Empires: Still retaining the Names of the Son of Michel, Mark, and Aurami; or Michalogli, Marcalogli, and Auramogli; the Turkiſh Pronounciation calls the laſt Eurenoſogli, whom Muſtapha had on his ſide: as Amurath had the Micaloglis, and above all, Beg Mechemet, the Inſtrument of his Good Fortune, who extirminated his Rival, in this manner.

Amurath recalled him to the Port from Niſar, the antient Nicoceſaria, often called alſo Tocat, the Chief City of Capadocia; where he was under Reſtraint, kept like a Priſoner; giving him, with his Liberty, the Command of his Army: Mechemet, without ſtaying at Burſa, March't to Lupadi, or Ʋlabat, a conſiderable Town in Natolia; encamping near the Bridge. Duſmes Muſtapha likewiſe advanced with his Army, on the other ſide of it, oppoſite to him. Mechemet apprehending the Danger of a Battle, ſaw that Duſmes his Army was no way to be forced, thought on a Stratagem more for his purpoſe: He then in Diſguiſe went to the Enemy's Guards; and being one of the greateſt Men among the Turks, made himſelf known to them, deſiring to ſpeak with the Officers, that were his Friends; to whom, with Subſtantiall Evidence, he repreſented, and proved the Impoſture of Duſmes Muſtapha, with the Intereſt the Greeks were able to make of their Diviſion, by indeavouring to ſet up a baſe, unknown Impoſtor, and Creature of theirs, on the Ottoman Throne: Telling them alſo, what Recompences Amurath would give them. Mechemet, with the Sentiment of the Chriſtian Religion, had alſo renounced and diſclaimed the Blood of the Imperial Family of Greeks, of whom he was deſcended. By this, and other Arts, he drew to his Maſter Amurath's ſide, the moſt conſiderable Lords and Souldiers in Duſmes Army, (as Laonicius reports at large) which over-threw all his Affairs, without Hopes of any Re-eſtabliſhment; reducing him to the utmoſt Extremities. Duſmes Muſtapha, and Amurath, both ſent Ambaſſadors to the Emperor of Conſtantinople, Johannes Paleologus, to obtain his Aſſiſtance, making great Offers, and ſolliciting his Miniſters with mighty Promiſes.

This Affair was much debated in the Councel of State; The Reaſons of both Sides being conſidered, the Emperor declared for Muſtapha, who was his Creature, whom he had begun to oblige, when he was in Priſon: And therefore promiſed himſelf more from his gratitude, than Amurath would ever do. This had great Reaſon to fright Amurath's Party; and doubtleſs, had it been known, the greater part of his Captains would have declared for his Enemy: But his Ambaſſadors, foreſeeing the danger of ſuch a Report, returned with ſpeed after this denyal, to give the Army an Account of their Expedition; but Mechemet, the Michalogli, who was a cunning Souldier, and a Greek, though he had abjured his Country, with his Faith, cauſed it to be reported, that the Greeks were for them, and were ſending vaſt Succours to their Army. This Falſe News ſoon got into Muſtapha's Camp, where it put them in ſuch a Conſternation, and Diſorder, that before their Ambaſſadors could give them the True Account of their Alliance with the Empire, and the Aſſiſtance he was preparing, moſt of the chief Officers, and European Souldiers, deſerted him, getting over the River Lupadi in the Night, into Amurath's Camp; others, by various ways, flying into their own Countries. Muſtapha, ſeeing himſelf thus unhappily forſaken, and incapable to reſiſt his Enemies, (a Memoral 〈◊〉 Example, ſhewing the Power of True or Falſe News, ſpread oppo ••••• ly through an Army) fled with his Baggage toward the City Baga or B ••• , bearing the Name of the River, on whoſe Banks it ſtands; whither he was ſo cloſely purſued, that he very narrowly eſcaped the danger of being taken; but by the Favour and Aſſiſtance of the Cady, or Judge of the Place, to whom he gave a round Sum of Money, he there got ſhelter.

Zunaites, Prince of Smyrna, who had always followed Muſtapha's Fortune, both before, and ſince his Captivity, being as much afrighted as the leaſt Souldier in the Army could be, ſtole away ſecretly in the Night, with all his People; and by his Example, drew thoſe after him, who had any remains of Affection to the ſuppoſed Prince Muſtapha. Amurath putting all thoſe Troops that remained, to the Sword; while Muſtapha only thought of ſaving his Life, flying with very few followers; and being favoured by the Greeks, paſſed the Channel or Straights of Gallipoly into Romania, or antient Thrace; ſeizing all the Ships, and Veſſels he found in the Ports, or on thoſe Coaſts, to hinder Amurath from purſuing him; but could neither foreſee nor help a Genoeſe-Ship, that caſt anchor on that Shoar; having for its Fraight of Turks, at two Duckets the Head, paid to the Maſter of the Veſſel.

Hiſtorians differ about this Infamous Avarice of the Genoeſes, ſo prejudicial to Chriſtendom, by their helping the Turks for Money into Europe; ſome miſtaking it for the firſt time, which was long before, when the Turks were fled over from Aſia, at that narrow Neck which is near to the Fortreſs of Aſty or Maitos, formerly called Cheroneſus, at the Mouth of the Helleſpont; and took Zemenicum, at the ſame time, ſirnamed Chirocaſtron, or the Town of Widows; becauſe according to Nicolaides, they deſtroyed all the Men, and only kept the Women for their Uſe. And others miſtake it, for that, in a few Years after, when Pope Eugenius, having Abſolved Ʋladiſtaus King of Hungary, and Poland, of his Oath, given to Amurath, for the Obſervation of the Truce, made in the Year 1444. obliging him to declare War; which proved Fatal to himſelf; That deluded King loſing his Life, and a Great Army, at the Memorable Battle of Varna; The Grecian Emperor John Paleologus, with the Venetians; and other Chriſtian Princes of Italy, ſeconding his Intentions, promiſing to keep the Straights, and hinder the Turks from coming into Europe, while Ibraltem, Prince of Caramania, held him employed in a Fierce War in Aſia.

This was one of the deepeſt Wounds, that Chriſtendom er'e received from the Turks; their Army being Eighty Thouſand Men, compoſed of ſeveral Nations, as Hungarians, Germans, Bohemians, Polanders, Italians, and Walachians: beſides a Train of Four Hundred Pieces of Artillery. The Peace, after a Defeat of the Turks, had been concluded for Ten Years; and, for the Security of it, Lunclavius (in his Pandects, (Numb. 116.) affirms upon the Authority of ſeveral Chriſtian Writers, particularly Cuſpinian, and many others; That this Young King Ʋladiſlaus, by the Impious Advice of ſome Counſellors, or Miniſters of State, gave into the Hands of Amurath, a Conſecrated Hoſt, which he thought his God, pawned for the inviolable Obſervation of the Truce, and ſolemnly ſworn upon the Holy Goſpel of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt: Amurath ſwearing alſo by his Prophet Mahomet.

But notwithſtanding theſe ſacred Concluſions of this Affair, the Pope of Rome, Eugenius the Fourth, never left off, when Amurath was retired into Aſia with his Army, till he had broke the Peace, ſending the Cardinal Juliana Ceſarini, his Legate a latere, to diſpence with, and abſolve the Chriſtian Princes of their Faith and Oath, which they had plighted to the Turk, for the Obſervation of this Truce: Which Cardinal ſo acquitted himſelf of his unjuſt Meſſage, by his Prayers and Intreaties, added to the Papal Commiſſion, that he broke the Peace, notwitſtanding the Repugnancy of the moſt Conſciencious Oppoſers.

Amurath finding himſelf obliged to return our of Aſia, and meet Ʋladiſlaus his Army, came, bringing the greateſt Strength he could ſo ſuddenly raiſe: And when the Fight was begun near the City of Varna, in a Mariſh Ground, by the Mar Maggiore, or Pontus Euxinus, he ſaw the Beglerbeg of Romania killed by the Hands of the Valiant John Huniades, and the two Wings of his Army put into great Diſorder; he then abſolutely deſpairing of Victory, drew out of his Boſome the Conſecrated Hoſt, with the Articles of the Truce, which the Chriſtians had made; and lifting up his Hands and Eyes towards Heaven, ſaid theſe words, or to this effect: O Jeſus Chriſt! if thou art God, as the Chriſtians affirm to us, revenge the Perfidiouſneſs of thy Followers, who have pawned Thee in my Hands; ſee the Injury they do Thee, after having ſworn in Thy Name, and on Thy Holy Goſpel; violating by an execrable Crime, that Peace ſo holily and ſolemnly ſworn between us.

After he had made this Prayer, the Succeſs of the Battle ſoon alter'd: For Amurath, rallying his Routed Troops, and with Fury charging this half Victorious Army, in a ſhort ſpace defeated, and ruined it entirely.

Thus did God ſhew his Judgment on the Chriſtians, for having abuſed and violated, contrary to Juſtice, their Faith given in his Name; as both the Chriſtian and Turkiſh Hiſtories agree. Though Callimachus ſays, This matter was ſo ſecretly done, that the Publick could never know certainly, that any ſuch Gage was put into Amurath's Hands.

The Circumſtances of this Great Diſaſter, makes us obſerve, That the Protection, which the Emperour gave to the Falſe Mustapha, and the Avarice of the Genoeſe-Merchant, who ſold a Paſſage into Europe, to Amurath's Troops, were two dreadful blows to Chriſtendome; which has often endured its greateſt Loſſes by the blameable Conduct of Chriſtians them ſelves. But to return to our Story.

Amurath having paſſed the Straight, encamped with his Army upon the Plain Ezea, which is near to Maitos, on the ſide of Theſſaly. Muſtapha finding himſelf ſo preſſed, took his March towards Bolairis or Bolerus (This plain of Azea, is ſometime confounded with Bolairis) from thence he ſled into Adrianople; where, being abandoned by his Men, and his Diſaſters encreaſing, he endeavoured to ſave himſelf in ſome other Place; but was taken, and brought back to Adrianople: which Amurath, by this time, had ſeized. Here the miſerable Impoſtor was Hanged over the Battlements of the City-Wall.

For certain, Death is always equally the Puniſhment, or the Misfortune of thoſe, who of the Ottoman Family aim at, or ſeem to have any pretence to the Scepter. 'Tis neither the Innocence of Age, the Merit, the Proximity of Blood, the Sincerity, nor Juſtice of the Cauſe, can ever preſerve them, if they fall into the Hands of the Conqueror.

I have taken this Lamentable End of Muſtapha, word for word, out of the Turkiſh Annals, and the Pandects of Lunclavius, with the Hiſtory of that War, and its Accidents. Indeed, till Sultan Amurath was delivered from this conſiderable Opponent, he could not think himſelf ſecure, nor faſt ſettled in his Throne: Which happened in the Year of Chriſt, 1425, and of the Hegira, or Mahometan Computation, 827. It is true, that one of his Brothers, alſo named Muſtapha, who was in Natolia, gave him much Trouble, but he overcame it; and geting him into his Power, cauſed him to have his Throat Cut: Others ſay, to be Strangled at Nizar, or Nicea, where he was delivered into his Hands by his own Governour. Which ſeems to have been a miſtake, occaſioned by the Conformity of the Names of the two Muſtapha's.

Du Verdier writing the Adventures, and Death of our Muſtapha, believes him no Impoſtor; and tells his laſt Flight, and miſerable Cataſtrophe in another manner, as follows: After he found himſelf (ſays he) deſerted, he cryed out, Oh, how hard it is to preſerve a Great Heart againſt the Power of Fortune! There were many Proofs of his Courage; His Pretenſion to the Empire, was no weak Mark of it. But a Crown was then no longer in Controverſie: The Queſtion was, How to ſave his Life? For which purpoſe, when his Troops left him, he no more thought of Glory, Honour, nor Intereſt: but only fled, quitting all his Pretenſions, for the Hopes of Life; which, for a little while, he preſerved, by the Aſſiſtance of the Greeks, who received him kindly into their Veſſels, and gave him the Opportunity of gaining the Fortreſs of Gallipoli. But all this, only ſerved to ruine him more ſhamefully; for Amurath purſued him ſo obſtinately, that he beſieged him in the Place he choſe for his Retreat; compelling him to get out of it in mean Equipage; and at laſt, finding him hid in a Buſh on the Mountain Toganum, he cauſed him to be ſtrangled in his Preſence, that he might be ſure he had of him no Competitor left.

Lunclavius, in the 83. Chap. of his Pandects, makes a Parallel between this Muſtapha and Voldemar; ſaying, That Two Eggs were never more alike, than theſe two Men were: Whom he puts in the Rank of Impoſters. Both of them had mighty Allies; Muſtapha having for him, John Paleologus, the Grecian Emperor; and Voldemar had Charles the Fourth, Emperor and King of Germany, whoſe Empire was more Flouriſhing than the Others.

LƲnclavius, in his Supplements to the Turkiſh Annals, brings in this Man, whom, he affirms, he both ſaw and knew. He ſays, That he had a Noble Meen, was of a middle Stature, had a Body ſtrong and nervous; that he was diſcreet in his Diſcourſe, and uſed four Languages very well; to wit, the Latin, Greek, French, and Italian. He was called James Heraclides and Baziliquez, pretending to be of the Race of the Antient Deſpots, or Waywoods of Wallathia and Moldavia, Lord of the Iſle of Samos, and Marquis of Paros, in the Archipelago. He found ſome Lords in Poland credulous enough to believe him no Impoſtor, who were ſo much affected with his Perſon, that with an Army they Eſtabliſh't him Deſpot of Moldavia and Wallachia.

The Principal of theſe Poliſh Lord, were A •• ere Laſens, Philiponiſchy, and Laſſotchy. whoſe Army was much Inferior in Number to that of Alexander the Deſpot, whom they indeavoured to expel, for the putting this Impoſtor into his place. However the Victory fell on their Side; Alexander was driven out, and James Eſtabliſh't Deſpot; and confirmed in his Principality by the Turkiſh Emperor Soliman. This was effected by the influence of his Preſents, which he ſent the Baſſa's of the Port. The Victory gain'd by this Impoſtor, happen'd the 18th. of November, in the Year 1561. But yet, three Years after, though he governed his Subjects gently enough they ſuſpected him to be an Impoſtor, and the Wallachians Murthered him in cold Blood.