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B. XV. A. D. Mufti with his fons, and Maurokordatus. The Saltân, expect1699. ing this, had fent-off the Mufti two days before, but with feveral Botânji's to attend him, with design to stop his flight, if the danger encreased: finding therefore the rebels more obftinate in their demands, he fends for him back, and delivers him up, with his two fons. As foon as they have him in their power, they fix nails in his knees; and, by other horrid cruelties, endeavour to make him discover the immenfe treafures he was reported to have amassed: but, being a man of great courage, he bears all with fingular patience; and utters not one word, excepting to defire vengeance from God on fuch an impious and ungrateful people. At length, exhausted with fo many torments, he is put to death; and his body (B) thrown into the river, as if he had been an infidel, and unworthy of burial.

Moftafa refigns

THE Soltan, perceiving, from thefe circumstances, that the people were more exafperated against him than he had imagined, fends to Dorojan Ahmed Pafbâ (C), the Wazir of the rebels, the feal belonging to that employment; and con-. firms the other officers chofen by them in their posts: with a promise to grant all their demands, and deliver up to them the Wazir, and Maurokordatus, who were fled, as foon as they should be taken. But, growing more prefumptuous by the Soltan's condefcenfion, they concert measures to depofe him. For this end, they dispatch a letter to Ahmed, brother of Soltân Moftafa, defiring him, fince they fcrupled to enter

ours, he is gone directly to hell; with which the Turks were fo pleased, that they both praised and rewarded the Papa for his ingenuity. Cant.

(C) So called by the rebels, because like Doroshenko, Hetmân of the Kofaks, who was called Doroban by the Turks. But he was before named Damad Ahmed Pasha, that is, Ahmed Pafha the fon-in-law: because he had married the fifter of the Wazir Amuje Ogli Huffeyn Pa

(B) As the laws of the Korán, and the empire, forbid putting a Mufti or Mollah to death (the highest punishment of the whole order of the Ulema and Kadis being banishment), the rebels, to excufe their treatment of him, declared he was a Gyawr; and would not allow his body Mohammedan burial, but hired a Greek prieft to put him in the ground. This man got fome perfon to drag him along, while he went before finging, instead of the burial, and grandaughter of Kyahymn, Ordure be upon thy foul; prili Moftafa Pasha; the handand, at laft, flung it into the fomeft woman in her time, but river, having firft, it is faid, fo lafcivious, that he kept maperfumed it with frankincenfe, ny gallants, efpecially Franks. And repeated two Turkish verfes, Cant. whofe fenfe is, neither yours wer

the

1699.

the imperial palace with an armed force, to come, if poffible, A. D. to the camp, either with or without his brother's leave, and the army would immediately proclaim him emperor,

SOLTAN Mostafa, intercepting this letter, continues the throne long in fufpence, whether he fhould kill his brother, or voto Ahmed, luntarily refign the fcepter to him. Many of his domeftick officers advife the fratricide; alledging, that the confpirators would be obliged to confirm him in the throne, in cafe there were no other heirs to the empire. But the Soltân abhors fuch a deed, and refolves to commit himfelf to the divine. providence. He goes therefore to Ahmed, and, embracing him with great affection, informs him, that he was univerfally defired to fill the throne, and firft falutes him Soltán. At his departure, he fpeaks as follows: " Remember, brother, that, while I governed the empire, you enjoyed the "utmoft liberty; I defire you will allow me the fame. Think

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alfo, that, although you by right afcend this throne, as "having been poffeffed by your father and brother, yet, that "the inftruments of your advancement are treacherous re"bels, who, if you fuffer them to efcape with impunity, "will quickly treat you as they do me (D) at prefent." Having faid this, he retires to the fame chamber in which he had kept his brother; where, fix months after his depofition (E), he died of a diftemper contracted through melancholy. He reigned eight years and fome months.

SOLTAN Mostafa was a prince of great expectations in His chathe beginning of his reign; but fortune afterwards blasted racter, them. He had greater advantages from nature than both his predeceffors: for he was of a mature judgment, great application, and strict fobriety. Neither covetous in collecting, nor profufe in distributing, the public monies. He was a good archer, and expert horfeman. A lover of juftice (F), and very devout in his religion. He gained great reputation by the peace of Carlowitz; which, having been in vain attempted by his father and uncles, he fettled, by wonderfully reconciling all parties.

He was, as to his perfon, of a moderate fize; his face round, and beautified with red and white : his beard red,

(D) Ahmed followed the advice of his brother, and, probably, by that means, efcaped an early depofition. However that fate befel him at laft: for he was depofed in 1730, by a fedition of the foldiery, which a corrupt adminiftration had given occafion to; and his ne

phew Mahmûd advanced in his
room. Ahmed died in 1736.

(E) More properly his abdi-
cation, which is a voluntary
depofition; by which he pre-
vented a forcible one.

(F) His treatment of Doltabân calls in queftion both his judgment and juftice.

His perfon

:

A.D. thin, and not long his nose short, and a little turned-up: 1699. his eyes blue; and his brows thin and yellow. In the fpring, he used to have spots break out in his face, which difappeared again in the winter. He left no fon alive (F), although he had been father of feveral. He was particularly fond of Ibrâhîm (G), son of his uncle Ahmed, whom he always carried with him; and defigned, as was thought, for his fucceffor, in cafe he died without iffue 2.

CANT. Othm. Hift. p. 435, & feqq.

(F) Motrays fays, he left three fons, Jefus, Muftapha, and Mabomet. Trav. vol. i. p. 247. Perhaps Mahomet is a mistake for Mahmud, who fucceeded Ahmed III.

(G) He was a hopeful and good-natured prince; but died at Conftantinople after I left that city. Cant.

END of the OTHMAN HISTORY.

Modern

Modern History:

BEING A

CONTINUATION

OF THE

Universal History.

BOOK XVI.

CHA P. I.

The Hiftory of the Difperfion of the Jews; or an
Account of their distressed State from the De-
Atruction of Jerufalem to the End of the last
Century.

E concluded the fecond part of the antient hiftory

W of the Jews, with an account of the dreadful siege

Impiety of

nation at

of their once celebrated metropolis; the horrid the Jewish slaughter of fome myriads of its inhabitants; and the difper- the time of fion and miferable flavery of the rest of the Jewish nation† their dif all which, we there obferved, befel them as a juft punish- perfion. ment for their horrid and complicated impieties, which were by that time grown to fuch a monftrous height, that Josephus himself fcruples not to fay, That, if this dreadful vengeance had not fallen upon them, the earth would, of its own accord, have opened itself to fwallow up thofe ungrateful mifcreants. Altho' the thing, which above all others aggravated their guilt, was their rejecting and crucifying the fo long promifed and expected Meffiah; who, in confequence of their unbelief, injustice, and horrid ingratitude, exprefly, and in the clearest terms, denounced all those woes which have hap

+ See before, vol. x. p. 686, & feq.

pened

Their wo

pened to them exactly according to his divine and infallible prediction. However had the divine vengeance ftopped here, and had God contented himself with the deftruction of a city and a temple, in which his worship had been fo impiously prophaned; and with the difperfion of a rebellious nation, whom he had fo often tried to gather under his wings; or had the effects of his vengeance fallen only on the guilty, efpecially on the chiefs of the nation, the Scribes and Pharifees, who were deepest in the guilt; there would have been nothing furprifing in all their punishment how heavy foever.

BUT that it fhould have continued from generation to geful ftate neration, and from age to age; that their pofterity fhould ever-fince. have already groaned under the fame fevere captivity almoft feventeen centuries, without the leaft glimpfe of relief or abatement, is what may justly fill us with wonder: especially if we add to it, that the Jewish nation, as unhappy and nume rous as it is over the world, hath preferved itself so long, under all the contempt and hatred, ill treatment and cruelty, and fometimes under the most bloody perfecutions, raifed against it almost in all the places of their dispersion. Such infinite difficulties and difcouragements have they met with from Christians, and Turks, as well as all other forts of nations, that their hiftory is hardly any thing but a continued feries of woes and miferies, of injuftice and violence, the most flagrant calamities, and bloody cruelties exercised against them: fo that one cannot but wonder, how a people, whom he might rather have expected to find long fince Preferved drowned in thofe feas of blood which had been drawn from bitherto by them, fhould yet fubfift in fo many parts of the world; undivine pro- lefs we fuppofe, that the divine providence has preserved vidence them hitherto for fome great and glorious purpose.

AND, if neither the length and dreadfulness of this their laft captivity, nor the learned books which have been fince written by Chriftians against them, expofing the poor shifts which their rabbies have been driven to, as well as the many palpable lies, forgeries, false gloffes, and interpretations of the facred books, to keep up their defponding hope in a Meffiah not yet come, hath not hitherto been able to open their eyes to their fatal error; if all attempts made by Chriftians, whether by fair arguments or by violence, have hitherto proved ineffectual to perfuade them to feek for truth, peace, and happiness, in the gospel of Christ; and, if they have all along for a mira- preferred a miferable and ignominious flavery to their tem culous con- poral, as well as eternal, welfare, we may juftly conclude, verfion. that the divine wifdom and goodnefs, which hath so wonder, fully preferved them through such a series of ages, and thro'

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