A. D. market places and streets; and, having abolished this military 1688. order, forms a regular militia after the manner of other Chriftian princes. IN the Morea this year, the Venetians besiege Monembaffia (or Malvafia), and cut-off all provifions; while Liberaki, lately made prince of that country, attempts to relieve the city, but is repulfed with lofs z. Affairs of THIS war in the Morea requires a more particular account Albania. from the Christian hiftorians; but, before we proceed to it, ir will be proper to fpeak of what paffed in Albania. Count Picolomini, who commanded in those parts, fent word in October to prince Lewis, that all the Albanians having fubmitted to him, he intended foon to fubdue the country from Skutari to Novibazar, but wanted forces; hereupon the prince fent him three regiments under the prince of Hanover. With this reinforcement, he marched from Procopia to Priftina and Kline (or Klin), where fix thousand Arnauds (or Albanians) met him with thirteen hundred carts of provifions. After this, he arrived at Kazianek, a little city with a castle; from whence he marched to Scopia (or Ufkopia), whose Greek and Turkish inhabitants had abandoned it, and fled to Mahmûd Pafbá encamped in a valley with ten thousand men. But these were so terrified at the bare fhouts of the Germans, and noise of their cannon, which they fired for joy, that they fled alfo in great confufion into the woods, where many were killed by the Huffars; and two thousand carts recovered which had been preffed in the country to carry-off the inhabitants into flavery. Places reduced. PICOLO MINI, marching forward, burnt the antient feat of Ladislaus Cziocchi, and then returned to Kazianek, where his diftemper, fuppofed by fome to be the plague, greatly increafed. From thence he removed to Panni, where he heard that the governor of Pyroth, having invaded the enemy's country, and defeated a party of fifteen hundred Turks encamped near Dragoman before-mentioned, fome hours from Sofia (T), was afterwards defeated by feveral larger bodies who came against him. After much fatigue, he arrived at the city of Profferin, where he was met by the archbishop of Albania, and patriarch of Klementa, with eight thousand Arnauds, both Greeks and Turks, who came to fubmit themselves. Soon after this, the brave count departed z CANT. p. 363. (T) Said here to be 6 or 7 hours, but only 4 in the former place. this life to the unfpeakable grief of the whole army, the A. D. command of which devolved on Veterani. 1688. Venetians LET us now come to the affairs of the Morea. After the Venetians had withdrawn the laft year from before Negropont, the Doge, Morofini, who had ftill an eye upon it, win- attempt tered with the fleet at Napoli di Romania, and ordered the channel on both fides to be well guarded. For all this, the captain Pafba broke through with feveral gallies, and landed five hundred men, with proper inftruments to repair the breaches, which was accordingly done. Mean time, Morofini, wanting forces to renew the fiege of that place, refolved to attack Napoli di Malvafia, whither he fent ten gal-. lies and twelve galliots to affift the Maniots in building two forts near the town bridge, in order to block up the place. At the fame time Liberakhi, or Liberio, Bey of the Morea, lay encamped at Xeromerto, or Miffelonghi, near Lepanto, with one hundred Turks, one hundred and fifty Sclavonians and fome Venetians, who daily deferted to join the enfigns, Boffina and Vito, gained over by him two years before. To put a stop to this desertion, ten chekins a head were offered to fuch as brought any to the camp; which had the defired effect. THEIR next attempt was to destroy Liberakhi, either by alluring him to their camp, or rendering him fufpected by berakhi. againfi Lithe Turks. To this end they fent one Dambi, formerly an intimate of his, to Urakori, near Lepanto, where, having de-, livered his commiffion, Liberakhi told him, he should readily have complied with the request of the Dage, who was his godfather, but was too deeply engaged with the Turks to defert them for that he had not only married the late prince of Moldavia's widow, with an eftate of twenty thousand crowns, by favour of the Wâzîr, but his wife, children, and two friends, were in pledge for his fidelity. However he gave Dambi feveral lights into the ftate of affairs; promifed further information to the Doge, and fent him back in oppofition to Ali Bey, who wonld have carried him to the Serafkier, then lying at Zeytûn with four thousand men. Befiege ON Dambi's return, the Doge fet fail for Malvafia, and laid fiege to the place both by fea and land. The garrifon Malvafia. confifted of no more than feven hundred foldiers, which, with the inhabitants, made about two thousand fouls. The streets were narrow, but the houfes ftrongly built; and the upper rooms filled with earth to cover them from the bombs. Mean time, in June, the villages about Salóna, which is near Zeytûn, refufing to pay the Kharach, or poll-money, demanded by Liberakhi, he marched against them: but, after a 8 bloody A. D. bloody fight was defeated by the country people, under the 1688. conduct of Kharopoliti. Soon after it was refolved to leave fome thousand men at the pass of Korinth under Dambi, to prevent the Serafkier from entering into the Morea; while to block up Malvafia fome regiments were ordered to raise certain redoubts on the fide towards the gardens, and a squadron of gallies posted there to affift the forces on fhore: but are repulfed; block it up. Kyoprioli THE Doge, in the mean time, removed from the forts of St. Nicholas, which was the old Malváfia, to the new forts built at the bridge, whence they played with four fifty pounders on the town; which was not idle neither with its cannon. But on a fudden, a furious ftorm arose, which favoured the Turks: for it filled their cifterns with water, while it fhattered the fleet, and overthrew the tents of the Chriftians on land. The hurricane being over, and the batteries raised, they plied the town inceffantly both by fea and land, with their cannon and bombs, by which they hoped to reduce it; for, when they had made wide breaches, they had neither men nor other preparations to ftorm them. They failed alfo to burn the galliots and other vessels, which the Turks had drawn close under the walls, for want of four ships which stayed behind. At the fame time, the officers and foldiers on fhore approaching the town nearer than was fafe or neceffary to view the action, feveral were flain with musket-shot, and among the rest admiral Venier, the best sea officer belonging to the republick; while the befieged, from the concourse, apprehending an affault to be intended, fallied, and put them to flight with some slaughter. AFTER this the Doge, despairing of taking the place by force, caufed it to be blocked up; and, having battered down the fuburbs from his fhips, failed away, intending to spend the remainder of the fummer cruifing in the Archipelago. But, being seized with a violent fever, and a report flying that the captain PaЛba was at fea with a strong fleet, it was thought proper to return to Venice, whither they directed their course the 15th of September. While the Doge performed quarantine at Spalato, news came in the beginning of November, that the proveditor-general Molino had fucceeded in his defign against Trebigno, having poffeffed himfelf in that country of ten towers, feven of which he had demolished, and garrifoned the other three, to check the incurfions of the Turks. to whose hiftorians we shall now return. ABOUT the end of this campaign Soltân Soleymân, lamade Wa bouring under a dropfy, by advice of his phyficians, removes zir. a RICAUT, ubi fupra. from from Adrianople to his other capital, where he puts to death Rejeb Pafba, Serafier of Hungary, for fighting with the Germans contrary to his orders. He likewife banishes the Wazir, Tefekiar Daghi Mostafa Pafhâ, to Malgara, a little town near Rodoftus, as a man unqualified either for war or the administration of affairs; and advances in his room Kioperli Mostafa Pafbâ, Kaymaykam of Conftantinople. The new Wazir immediately fends for the Mufti and Kadio'lafkers, with the reft of the Ulema, and generals of the army, who, being met, he orders the interpreters of the law to give their opinion, whether it was proper to defire peace of the Germans, or recover by force what the confederates had unjustly feized? The Mufti firft declares, that it was not contrary to the divine law to defire peace, even of Infidels, in times of neceffity. The fame opinion is embraced by the Rumeli Kadio'lafker: but the Anadol Kadio'lafker (A), either by the Wazir's inftigation, or because he faw his provinces out of danger, maintains it to be more eligible, that all the Musulmans should perish by the sword, than to make Eynallak with the Gyawrs; fince thereby the honour of the prophet and the Koran would be wounded. 66 66 A. D. 1688. THE Wazir Kyoperli, who approved of this speech, thereSpeech in upon faid, "That, as often as he had confidered the con- council; "duct of the ministry for feven years paft, against the em"peror of Germany, he could not fufficiently wonder at the imprudence of the Othmân generals, the blindness of the "counfellors, and the fearful or perverse minds of the interpreters of the law: that the two firft minded nothing but "to raise large armies, and fill the treafury by any means; "while the Ulema, content with their ftipends, and pre"ferring ease to labour, never concerned themselves whe"ther the Othman ftate was well administered, or thought "of reforming the vices of the people, which was the fource " of all the prefent calamities; but immediately approved of "the proposals of peace, and almost forced it on the MufulThat when God, still more provoked by this infidelity, debarred them of peace upon honourable terms, "they returned to their old practice, and cast the blame due "to the subjects upon the emperor: that, having obtained cenfures "their ends, they foretold the foldiers, at their departure, former mi"out of the law, that the Gyawrs would be driven from nifers, "the Othman borders: that yet this did not happen, and it was no wonder God did not affift the Mufulmân forces, "fince good works, purity in the foldiers, and juftice in the -(A) That is the Kadio'lafkers, of Europe, and Anatolia, or Afia or military lord chief juftices Minor. MOD. HIST. VOL. XIII. "mâns. D "rulers, A. D. 1688. : "rulers, thofe neceffary conditions on which the prophet "Mohammed promifed them fuccefs, had all along been "wanting that for his part, to demonstrate the truth of "what he spoke, he defired only twelve thousand true fol"lowers of the Korân, men pure in heart and mind; with "whom he trufted, by God's affiftance, to humble the num"berlefs forces of the Gyawrs, in fuch a manner as to oblige them to restore all they had taken from the Othman empire." To this fpeech the Mufti replies, that, although the Waand peace zir had traced out the true caufes of the corruptions, and advisors. the misfortunes confequent thereupon, yet they could hardly War re be corrected by the method he propofed; fince the army wanted fpirit, and the treafury money, the finews of war. He added, that all people were in hopes of an approaching peace, raised by the letters lately fent by the ambaffadors at Vienna. Upon this, the Wazir afks who were the ambassadors, and what peace they were fent to make? The Mufti having informed him of the whole state of that affair, he is fired with indignation; and, in a long speech, fhews, how much the authors of that embaffy (of whom he deemed his predeceffor to be the principal) had acted against the good of the empire. At last, raifing his voice aloud, he cries out, "I account the ambafadors, with those who fent them, to "be Gyawrs; and, as fuch, do I think they will be treated "in the divine judgment: for no true Musulmân, versed in "the precepts of the Korán, could have involved the Soltán, "a prince of great mildnefs and fimplicity, in fo heinous "and execrable a crime." THIS ftrong difpofition in the Wazir to war is greatly enfolved on. couraged by the French ambaffador, who poffeffes the whole court with fuch a confidence in the arms of France, that a Galibeh Diwán (U) being called, it is unanimously refolved to profecute the war with the utmost vigour. However, that (U) So is called the Soltan's Diwan, held every Sunday and Tuesday, under a Kubbeh in the large hall of the outer court, named Babi Humayun, or the fublime Porte. The prime Wair prefides in it, and has, on his right hand, the Rumeli Kadi lafker; on his left, the Anadol Kadi lasker, with the Mufti (if fummoned, and the reft of the Kubbeh Wazirs; and lower, the Tefterdar. The Reis Effendi, and other chiefs of the Kalemij, ftand by: but the military officers, as the Aga of the Janizaries, Spahilar Agafi, Silhadar Agafi, and the reft, fit without the Diwan at the gate of Babi Humayun. The Soltán hears out of a window over the prime Wazir's head, all that is done. The Wazir is dreffed in white filk, with a triangular turbân; the other great officers of the Diwân, in brown garments. Cant. the |