had left to them; but Sancho having, in 1072, been killed at Zamora, his brothers recovered their estates. The Cid shortly after falling into disgrace, retired from court, not to an inactive life, for with his own followers alone he took Alcazar, and maintained himself on a rock near the Guadalaviar, which still bears the name of Pena de el Cid. One of his most remarkable exploits was the siege of Toledo, which lasted twelve months, and attracted many cavaliers from Italy and France. From the number of French families which settled in that town, their privileges derived the name of Franchise. The Cid next conquered Valencia, which he governed with the authority of an independent sovereign. He died in 1099.

ARABIAN EMPIRE.

TURKISH CONQUESTS.-In 1038, an unsuccessful battle terminated the Ghaznevide dynasty, and the choice of the victorious Turks fell on TOGRUL-BEG, founder of the family which bears the name of Seljukian. In the space of sixteen years he conquered Balkh, Carmania, Taberistan, and obeying the summons of the caliph, he overthrew the Bowides, who had long reigned at Ispahan. Togrul next assumed the title of Emir al Omra: seated behind a black curtain and holding the sceptre of the prophet, the Abbasside invested him with seven robes, gave him seven captives born in the seven climates which obeyed the Arab dominion, presented him the mystic veil, placed two crowns on his head, and girt him with two swords, to show that he was master both of the East and the West. Dying without children, he was succeeded by his nephew, ALP ARSLAN, in the title and prerogatives of sultan, 1063. The Valiant Lion, for such is the meaning of his name, gallantly attacked the Greek empire, and the provinces of Armenia and Georgia fell in three years. Romanus Diogenes bravely opposed him, but after a few trivial successes, was defeated and made prisoner, 1071. The fairest part of Asia submitted to Arslan; his throne was surrounded by 1200 princes, and guarded by 200,000 hardy warriors. He died in 1073, and on his tomb might be read the following inscription :- "O ye who have seen the glory of Alp Arslan exalted to the heavens, repair to Maru, and you will behold it buried in the dust!"

MALEK-SHAH, the eldest son of Alp, was victorious over all his competitors for the sovereignty, and extended his dominions from the Chinese frontier to Arabia and the neighbourhood of Constantinople. Twelve times this active monarch is said

to have travelled through his vast kingdom. He embellished the cities of Asia with public buildings; revived and honoured the pursuits of literature; and by his reformation of the calendar, approximated nearly to the accuracy of the Gregorian style. The era named Gelalæan (i. e. glory of the faith), from one of Malek's titles, is fixed to the 15th of March A. H. 471, a. D. 1079. The shah's death, in 1092, was preceded by the murder of the vizier Nizam, the wise and virtuous minister of two sovereigns. Thirty years' faithful service could not screen him from the attacks of faction, and at the age of ninety-three he fell beneath the dagger of a fanatic-the first victim of Hassan Sebek, the celebrated founder of the Assassins.

With the son of Alp Arslan disappeared the unity of the empire. Barkiarok succeeded in Persia; but already three separate dynasties reigned in Carmania, Syria, and Iconium, which, though they had obeyed Malek-Shah, became nearly independent at his death. The most powerful of these petty kingdoms was Roum, which had been founded by a prince of the royal family in 1084. Towards the end of the tenth century Jerusalem was alternately under the power of the Turks and the Egyptian caliphs, but access to its holy places was still allowed to the Christians. In 1076, it was taken by the Turks, who insulted and oppressed the citizens and pilgrims during the twenty years that their domination lasted. The Caliph of Egypt obtained possession of it in 1096, but three years afterwards it was captured by the crusaders.

BRITAIN.

DANISH LINE.-Ethelred II., in the hope of freeing himself and his subjects from the odious tribute of Danegelt, plotted the massacre of every Dane within his kingdom. At the appointed time, 13th November 1002, the treacherous design was executed, but failed, as it merited, in its results. Sweyn reappeared with a numerous force, and after some years of hostility, compelled the native sovereign to take refuge in Normandy, and was himself proclaimed king of England, 1014. Edmund Ironside, 1016, struggled manfully for his father's crown, and was several times victorious over Canute, Sweyn's successor; but his death established the foreigner on the throne in 1017. This prince, justly named the Great, was affable, wise, and virtuous. By his marriage with Emma, Ethelred's widow, he conciliated the vanquished, and disarmed the Duke of Normandy, while the powerful Earl Godwin was gained over by receiving the hand of his daughter.

His reproof of the flatteries addressed to him by his courtiers is well known, and throws a favourable light on his character. Preserving the authority of the laws, he added to their efficiency by other good institutions of his own; and effectually checked the incursions of the Scotch on the northern frontier. He composed songs which were sung alike by Danes and Saxons ; and patronized the literature of the monks not less than the wild poems of the scalds. In 1030, he visited Rome as a pilgrim; and after a reign of twenty years, he died with a reputation inferior to no monarch of his age. He was succeeded by his sons Harold, 1036, and Hardicanute, 1039 ; on the death of the latter the crown returned to the ancient family, in the person of EDWARD THE CONFESSOR, 1041. The accession of the Danish kings had produced little change in England, since most of their followers had embraced Christianity, and assimilated themselves gradually to the natives, whose laws and language were not unlike their own. The mildness of Edward's character endeared him to his subjects, in spite of his Norman favourites; but his reign was disturbed by the rebellion of Godwin, earl or governor of Kent, which was soon quelled, and by occasional hostilities with the Welsh and Scotch. In 1054, Siward, earl of Northumberland, and Macduff, earl of Fife, led an army against Macbeth, whose usurpation of the northern throne has been immortalized by the pen of Shakspeare. Edward died in 1066, and was buried in the magnificent church of St Peter at Westminster, which he had rebuilt from its foundation, his subjects bewailing his loss like that of an affectionate parent. Harold, the son of Godwin, immediately claimed the sceptre, and procuring his election by the witan, to the prejudice of Edgar Atheling, the legitimate heir, was crowned in 1066. Two rivals, the King of Norway, and his own brother Tostig, now appeared to endanger his kingdom, but they were soon defeated. William, duke of Normandy, proved a more formidable competitor, founding his claim to the crown on the purpose, if not the testament, of Edward, and on the oath which Harold himself had made to promote the duke's succession to it. The king's reply was, that the promise had been extorted by violence, and that as he had been elected by the people, he would endeavour to show himself worthy of their choice.

Each party immediately prepared for war, but it was unfortunate for Harold that he had meanwhile to march against the Norwegian king, who had landed in the north of England. The two armies met at Stamford Bridge; and the ranks of

the hostile cavalry having been broken, their leader was slain, and his army almost annihilated. In the midst of the rejoicings which followed this victory, the news was announced that the Normans had landed on the coast of Sussex.

No sooner had William received the answer of Harold, and heard of his coronation, than he began to make vigorous preparations for invading England. Ships were immediately constructed, supplies collected from all the adjacent parts of the Continent, and volunteers from every quarter crowded to his camp at the mouth of the Dive, eager to share in the danger and plunder of the campaign. Contrary winds, and the loss of several vessels, depressed for a time the spirit of the adventurers. At length the favourable moment arrived; and quitting St Vallery with seven hundred ships, he landed at Pevensey, 28th September 1066. Thither Harold flew with all the forces he could muster, and at a place called Senlac, about nine miles from Hastings, was fought the battle that decided his fate. From an early hour until sunset the fight was continued with varying success, until the king fell pierced by an arrow, and his soldiers fled panic-stricken from the field.

"It was ordained (says Turner), by the supreme Director of events, that England should no longer remain insulated from the rest of Europe; but should, for its own benefit and the improvement of mankind, become connected with the affairs of the Continent. The Anglo-Saxon dynasty was therefore terminated; and a sovereign, with great continental possessions, was led to the English throne. By the consequences of this revolution, England acquired that interest, and established that influence in the transactions and fortunes of its neighbours, which have continued to the present day, with equal advantages to its inhabitants and to Europe.”

THE NORMAN CONQUEST, 1066.-WILLIAM I. did not even yet succeed to the crown without further struggle. Edgar, surnamed Atheling or the Illustrious, who had been nominated king on the death of Harold, was supported by the Londoners and others; but disunion and disaffection prevented them from taking advantage of William's delay in marching upon the capital. At length, when he appeared before the city, after devastating all the surrounding country, a deputation of the inhabitants waited upon him with an offer of the crown, which was accepted, and the festival of Christmas appointed for the coronation.

The Saxon chiefs, Edwin and Morcar, whose fatal retreat

into their northern provinces had led to the surrender of London, being now overawed by the additional power which the invader had acquired by his possession of the capital and the title of king, took the customary oaths of submission. Meanwhile the Normans were almost wholly engaged in dividing the riches of the conquered territory. Commissioners overran all the country which was in the power of their army, making inventories of every kind of property, public and private; inscribing and enregistering each article with the greatest care. Particular inquiries were made as to the names of the individuals who died in battle under Harold, of such as had survived, as well as of those who had been prevented, by what cause soever, from joining his standard. All these persons or their heirs were deprived of their possessions; and the immense proceeds of this universal spoliation were the pay of the adventurers who had been enrolled in William's host. He himself retained for his own share all the treasures of the ancient kings, the churchplate, and the most precious of the articles found in the warehouses of the merchants. The barons and knights received vast domains, castles, villages, and even entire towns, while the vassals were rewarded by smaller portions. Towers and strong places arose in every direction; all the natives were disarmed, and compelled to swear obedience to their new sovereign. To overawe the city of London, the conqueror took up his abode in the Tower, which he enlarged and strengthened; here he raised his dreaded banner bearing the three lions, and similar ensigns floated over two new castles towards the west of the city. The name of Saxon became a term of reproach, and during a whole century not one individual of this race was elevated to any civil or ecclesiastical dignity. Even their language and alphabetical characters were rejected as barbarous; in the schools, French only was allowed to be taught; the Norman idiom was employed in all legal acts until the reign of Edward III.; and some slight traces of it may be found at the present day.

The victor, having thus secured his conquest, returned to his dukedom to receive the felicitations of his Norman subjects; and during his absence, the Saxons, incensed by the arrogant government of his viceroys, rose in arms. Their revolt, however, was of brief duration; for, hastily returning, he attacked Exeter, the stronghold of the insurgents, and took it after a siege of eighteen days.

While all hopes of independence were thus gradually