fitted out, consisting of two hundred and fifty ships-ofwar, with fifty transports. Don John of Austria, brother of Philip (a natural son of Charles V.), was admiral of the fleet. Historians compute that the The number of men on board was fifty thousand.

fleet of the Turks, who had not been wanting in their preparations, consisted likewise of two hundred and fifty galleys. These powerful armaments met in the gulf of Lepanto, near Corinth, and an engagement ensued, more memorable than any naval fight that had happened since the battle of Actium. All the ancient and all the modern weapons of war were used in this sea-fight, which terminated to the honour of the Christians. The Turks lost above one hundred and fifty ships; the number of their slain is said to have been fifteen thousand, and among these was Ali, the admiral of their fleet, whose head was cut off and fixed upon the top of his flag.*

Don John of Austria acquired by this signal victory A very high degree of reputation, which was still heightened by the taking of Tunis, about two years after. But from these successes the Christians, after all, did not derive any lasting advantage; for Tunis was very soon recovered, and the Ottoman empire was as powerful as before. The Turks, after the death of Selim II., preserved their superiority both in Europe and in Asia. Under Amurath II., they extended the limits of their empire into Hungary on the one side, and into Persia on the other. Mahomet III., the successor of Amurath, began his reign like a monster, by strangled nineteen of his brothers, and drowning twelve of his father's concubines, on the supposition of their being pregnant. Yet this barbarian supported the dignity of the empire and extended its dominions. From his death, which was in the

In the battle of Lepanto, Cervantes, as he informs us in his inimitable romance of "Don Quixote," lost his left hand by the stroke of a Turkish sabre.

year 1603, the Ottoman power began to decline. The Persians at this period became the predominant power in Asia, under Shah-Abbas the Great, a prince who, in all his wars with the Turks, was constantly victorious. He gained from them many of their late acquisitions of territory; and effectually checking that career of success which had for several years attended their arms, he gave great relief to several of the princes of Europe, who at that time were scarcely able to defend their own dominions. Shah-Abbas thus involuntarily shielded the European kingdoms from the fury of the Turkish arms, as we have seen that Tamerlane and Gengis Khan had formerly been, in an indirect manner, the protectors of Constantinople.

Persia, under Shah-Abbas, was extremely flourish

Xing This vast empire had, some time before this pe

riod, experienced a revolution, somewhat similar to that which the change of religion produced in Europe. Toward the end of the fifteenth century, a new sect was formed by a Persian named Sophi, and his opinions were eagerly embraced by a great part of his countrymen, merely from the circumstance of thus distinguishing themselves from the Turks, whom they hated. The principal difference seems to have been that the reformer Sophi held Ali, the son-in-law of Mahomet, to have been the legitimate successor of the prophet; whereas the Mahometans generally acknowledged Omar the prophet's lieutenant. Sophi fell a martyr to his opinions: for he was assassinated by some of the opposite sect, in the year 1499. His son Ismael maintained his father's doctrines by force of arms: he conquered and converted Armenia and subdued all Persia, as far as Samarcand; and he left this empire to his descendants, who reigned there peaceably till the revolutions in the last century. The conqueror, Shah-Abbas, was the great grandson of this Ismael Sophi.

The government of Persia is as despotic as that of Turkey; but there seems to be this substantial differ

ence between the state of Turkey and of Persia, that the inhabitants of the latter enjoy their possession with some security, for the payment of a small tax or land-rent to the government. The kings of Persia receive presents from their subjects, as the Grand Seignior does; and according to Sir John Chardin's account, the king of Persia's new year's gifts amounted in those days to five or six millions of livres.

The crown of Persia is hereditary, with the exclusion of females from the succession; but the sons of a daughter are allowed to inherit the sovereignty. By the laws of Persia the blind are excluded from the throne. Hence it is a customary policy of the reigning prince to put out the eyes of all those of the blood royal of whom he has any jealousy.

The national religion of the Persians we have said is the Mahometan as reformed by Sophi. The slender difference of opinions between them and the Turks is the cause of an aversion much stronger than ever subsisted between the Protestants and Catholics. If a Persian were washing his hands in a river, he would conceive himself contaminated if he knew that a Turk had bathed in it. There are, however, various sects of Mahometans in Persia; and some of these adopt not a few of the tenets of Christianity. The ancient religion of Zoroaster, too, is yet preserved among the Persian Guebres, who pretend in their temples to have kept alive the sacred fire from the days of the great founder of their religion down to the present time. Of the religion of Zoroaster we formerly gave a full

account.

The language of the Persians is extremely beautiful, and peculiarly adapted to poetical composition. Sir William Jones has given to the public several beautiful translations from that language, which display the utmost luxuriance of fancy; and Mr. Richardson, in his curious dissertation on the languages, literature, and manners of the Eastern nations, has given a pretty full account of the learning of the Per

sians, who seem at one period (from the tenth to the thirteenth century) to have far surpassed in that respect the contemporary nations of Europe. The epic poet Firdousi, in his romantic history of the Persian kings and heroes, rivals Ariosto in luxuriance of imagination, and is said to equal Homer in the powers of description. The writings of Sadi and of Hafiz, both in prose and in poetry, are to this day in high estimation with those who are conversant in Oriental literature.

The trade of Europe with Persia is carried on by the gulf of Ormuz, and by the way of Turkey. The chief manufactures of Persia are raw and wrought silks, mohair, camlets, carpets, and leather; for which the English merchants give woollen cloths in exchange. The sovereign of Persia is himself the chief merchant, and he usually employs his Armenian subjects to traffic for his behoof in different quarters of the world. The agents of the king must have the refusal of all merchandise before his subjects are permitted to trade.*

To the north of Persia, that immense tract of country which is called Tartary had from time to time sent forth a succession of conquerors, who, carrying everything before them, produced astonishing revolutions in the continent of Asia. We have formerly taken notice of the subversion of the empire of the califs by this race of northern invaders. Mahmoud conquered Persia and a great part of India toward the end of the tenth century; Gengis Khan marched from the extremity of Tartary in the beginning of the thirteenth century, and subdued India, China, Persia, and Russia. Batoucan, one of the sons of Gengis, ravaged as far as the frontiers of Germany. Of the vast empire of Kapjac, which was the patrimonial inheritance of Batoucan, there remained in the last century no more

The history of Persia has now been made fully and accurately known to Europeans by the writings of Genera! Sir John Malcolm, who died in 1833.-EDITOR.

than Crim Tartary, which till lately was possessed by his descendants under the protection of the Turks. Tamerlane, whose conquests we have already taken notice of, was of the same nation of the Tartars, and of the race of Gengis.

The

To the north of China were the Mongol and Mantchou Tartars, who made a conquest of this country under Gengis, and who professed that religion, of which we shall presently speak, whose head is the Great Lama. Their territories again are bounded on the west by the empire of Russia. A variety of different hordes of wandering Tartars occupy the country extending from thence to the Caspian sea. Sultan Baber,* great grandson of Tamerlane, subdued the whole country that lies between Samarcand, in the territory of the Úsbecs, and Agra, one of the capitals of the Mogul empire. At that time, India was divided between four principal nations-the Mahometan Arabians; the ancient Parsees or Guebres: the Tartars of Gengis Khan and Tamerlane; and lastly, the real Indians in different castes or tribes.

The wandering Tartars follow at this day the life of the ancient Scythians. In the spring, a large body or horde, amounting perhaps to ten thousand, set out in quest of a settlement for the summer. They drive before them their flocks and herds; and when they come to an inviting spot, they live upon it till all its verdure is eaten up, and till the country supplies no more game for the chase. They exchange cattle with the Russians, the Persians, or the Turks, for money, with which they purchase cloth, silks, stuffs, and apparel for their women. They have the use of firearms, which they are very dexterous at making, and it is almost the only mechanical art which they exercise. They disdain every other species of labour, and account no employment to be honourable, unless that

The curious Autobiography of Baber has recently been translated into English.-EDITOR.