50

THE DECLINE AND FALL

chap. Turkish frontier against the Christians of Trebi-zond and Georgia. The castle, in Asiatic war-fare, was esteemed impregnable; and the city ofAmasia,* which is equally divided by the riverIris, rises on either side in the form of an am-phitheatre, and represents on a smaller scale theimage of Bagdad. In his rapid career, Timour appears to have overlooked this obscure and con-tumacious angle of Anatolia ; and Mahomet,without provoking the conqueror, maintained hissilent independence, and chased from the pro-vince the last stragglers of the Tartar host. Herelieved himself from the dangerous neighbour-hood of Isa; but in the contests of their morepowerful brethren, his firm neutrality was re-spected; till, after the triumph of Mousa, hestood forth the heir and avenger of the unfortu-nate Soliman. Mahomet obtained Anatolia bytreaty, and Romania by arms; and the soldierwho presented him with the head of Mousa,wasrewarded as the benefactor of his king and coun-try. The eight years of his sole and peacefulreign were usefully employed in banishing thevices of civil discord, and restoring on a firmerbasis the fabric of the Ottoman monarchy. Hislast care was the.choice of two vizirs, Bajazetand Ibrahim/ who might guide the youth of his

• Arabshah, loc. citat. Abulfeda , Geograph, tab. xvii, p. 302. Bui-bequius, epist. i, p. 06, 97, in Itinere C. P. et Amasiano.

f The virtue* of Ibrahim are praised by a contemporary Greek (Du-ca#, c. 25). His descendants are the sole nobles in Turkey : they con-tent themselves with the administration of his pious foundations, are ex-cused from public offices, and receive two annual visits from the suit an(Cantemir, p. 76).

I.f