them to make a stand for four years longer. Saladin in the mean time went on with his conquests. Having made himself master of Ascalon, after a siege of fourteen days, he next invested Jerusalem. The garrison was numerous, and made an obstinate defence; but Saladin having at last made a breach in the walls by sapping, the besieged desired to capitulate. This was at first refused; upon which the Christian ambassador boldly said to him: If that be the case, sultan, know that we who are extremely numerous, and have been restrained from fighting like men in despair, only by the hopes of an honorable capitulation, will kill all our wives and children, commit all our wealth and valuable effects to the flames, massacre 5000 prisoners now in our hands, leave not a single beast of burden or animal of any kind belonging to us alive, and level with the ground the rock you esteem sacred, together with the temple Al Aksa. After this we will sally out upon you in a body; and doubt not but we shall either cut to pieces a much greater number of you than we are, or force you to abandon the siege.' This desperate speech had such an effect upon Saladin, that he immediately called a council of war, at which all the general officers declared, that it would be most proper to allow the Christians to depart unmolested. The sultan therefore allowed them to march out freely with their wives, children, and all their effects; after which he received ten dinars from every man who was capable of paying that sum, five from every woman, and two from every young person under age. For the poor who were not able to pay any thing, the rest of the inhabitants raised the sum of 30,000 dinars. Most of the inhabitants of Jerusalem were escorted by a detachment of Saladin's troops to Tyre; and, soon after, he advanced with his army against that place. As the port was blocked up by a squadron of five men of war, Saladin imagined that he should easily become master of it But in this he found himself mistaken. For one morning, by break of day, a Christian fleet fell upon his squadron, and entively defeated it; nor did a single vessel escape their pursuit. A considerable number of the Mahommedans threw themselves into the sea during the engagement; most of whom were drowned, though some few escaped. About the same time Saladin himself was vigorously repulsed by land; so that, after calling a council of war, it was thought proper to raise the siege. In 1188 Saladin reduced the city of Laodicea and some others, together with many strong castles; but met also with several repulses. At last he took the road to Antioch; and having reduced all the fortresses that lay in his way, many of which had been deemed impregnable, Bohemond, prince of Antioch, was so much intimidated that he desired a truce for seven or eight months. This Saladin found himself obliged to comply with, on account of the prodigious fatigues his men had sustained, and because his auxiliaries Bow demanded leave to return home. All these heavy losses of the Christians, however, proved in some respects an advantage, as they were thus obliged to lay aside their animosities, which had originally proved the ruin of their affairs. Those who had defended Jerusalem, and most of the other fortresses taken by Saladin, having retreated to Tyre, formed there a very numerous body. This proved the means of preserving that city and also of re-establishing their affairs for the present. For, having received powerful succours from Europe, they were enabled, in 1189, to take the field with 30,000 foot and 2000 horse. Their first attempt was upon Alexandretta; from whence they dislodged a strong party of Mahommedans, and made themselves masters of the place with very little loss. They next laid siege to Ptolemais; of which Saladin had no sooner received intelligence, than he marched to its relief. After several skirmishes with various success, a general engagement ensued, in which Saladin was defeated with the loss of 10,000 men. This enabled the Christians to carry on the siege of Ptolemais with greater vigor; which place, however, they were not able to reduce for two years. This year the sultan was greatly alarmed, by an account that the emperor of Germany was advancing to Constantinople with an army of 260,000 men, to assist the other crusaders. This prodigious armament, however, came to nothing. The multitude were so reduced with sickness, famine, and fatigue, that scarcely 1000 of them reached the camp before Ptolemais. The siege of that city was continued, though with bad success on the part of the Christians. They were repulsed in all their attacks, their engines were burnt with naphtha, and the besieged always received supplies of provisions in spite of the utmost efforts of the besiegers; while a dreadful famine and pestilence raged in the Christian camp, which sometimes carried off 200 people a-day. In 1191 the Christians received powerful succours from Europe. Philip II. of France, and Richard I. of England, arrived before the camp at Ptolemais. The latter was esteemed the bravest and most enterprising of all the generals the crusaders had; and the spirits of his soldiers were greatly elated by the thoughts of acting under such an experienced commander. Soon after his arrival, the English sunk a Mahommedan ship of vast size, having on board 650 soldiers, and a great quantity of arms and provisions, going from Berytus to Ptolemais. Of the soldiers and sailors who navigated this vessel, only one person escaped; who, being taken prisoner by the English, was despatched to the sultan with the news of the disaster. The besieged still defended themselves with the greatest resolution; and, the king of England happening to fall sick, the operations of the besiegers were delayed. On his recovery, however, the attacks were renewed with such fury, that the inhabitants found themselves under a necessity of surrendering the place. One of the terms of the capitulation was, that the crusaders should receive a very considerable sum of money from Saladin, upon delivering up their Mahommedan prisoners. With this article Saladin refused to comply; in consequence of which, Richard caused 3000 of those unfortunate men to be slaughtered at once. After the reduction of Ptolemais, the king of England, now made generalissimo of the crusaders, took the road to Ascalon in order to besiege that place; after which, he intended to make an attempt upon Jerusalem itself. Saladin, to intercept his passage, placed himself in the way with an army of 300,000 men. On this occasion was fought one of the greatest battles of that age. Saladin was totally defeated, with the loss of 40,000 men; and Ascalon soon fell into the hands of the crusaders. Other sieges were afterwards carried on with success, and Richard even approached within sight of Jerusalem, in 1192, when, by the weakened state of his army, and the divisions among the officers, he was under the necessity of concluding a truce with the sultan, for three years, three months, three weeks, three days, and three hours; soon after which Richard set out on his return to England. In 1193 Saladin died, to the inexpressible grief of the Mahommedans, who held him in the utmost veneration. His dominions in Syria and Palestine were divided among his children and relations into many petty principalities. His son Othman succeeded to the crown of Egypt; but, as none of his successors possessed the enterprising genius of Saladin, the history from that time to 1250 affords nothing remarkable. was, that every native must be a slave, they were at a loss how to act; being justly suspicious of all the rest of the army. At last they resolved to buy Christian slaves, and educate them in the same way that they themselves had formerly been. These were commonly brought from Circassia, where the people, though they professed Christianity, made no scruple of selling their children. When they were completed in their military education, these soldiers were disposed of through all the fortresses erected in the country, to bridle the inhabitants; and, because in their language such a fort was called Borge, the new militia obtained the name of Borgites. By this expedient the Mamelukes imagined they would be able to secure themselves in the sovereignty, but they were mistaken. In process of time, the old Mamelukes grew proud, indolent, and lazy : and the Borgites, taking advantage of this, rose upon their masters, deprived them of the government, and transferred it to themselves about A. D. 1382. The Borgites, however, assumed the name of Mamelukes; and became famous for ferocious valor. They were almost perpetually engaged in wars either foreign or domestic; and their dominion lasted till 1517, when they were invaded by Selim I., the Turkish sultan. The Mamelukes defended themselves with incredible valor; notwithstanding which, being overpowered by numbers, they were defeated in every engage ment. The same year, their capital, the city of Cairo, was taken, and a terrible slaughter made of those who defended it The sultan, Tuman Bey, was forced to fly; and, having collected all his forces, he ventured a decisive battle. The most romantic efforts of valor, however, were insufficient to cope with the innumerable multitude which composed the Turkish army. Most of his men were cut in pieces, and the unhappy prince himself was at last obliged to take shelter in a marsh. He was dragged from his hiding place, where he had stood up to the shoulders in water, and soon after put to death. With him ended the glory, and almost the existence, of the Mamelukes, who were now every where searched for and cut in pieces. In 1250 the reigning sultan, Malek Al Salek, was dethroned and slain by the Mamelukes or Mamlouks, as they are called, a kind of mercenary soldiers who served under him. In consequence of this revolution, the Mamelukes became masters of Egypt, and chose a sultan from among themselves. These Mamelukes were originally young Turks or Tartars, sold to private persons by the merchants, from whom they were bought by the sultan, educated at his expense, and employed to defend the maritime places of the kingdom. The reason of this institution originally was, that the native Egyptians were become so cowardly, treacherous, and effeminate, from a long course of slavery, that they were unfit for arms. The Mamelukes, on the contrary, made most excellent soldiers; for, having no friends but among their own corps, they turned all their thoughts to their own profession. According to M. Volney, they came originally from Mount Caucasus, and were distinguished by the flaxen color of their hair. The expedition of the Tartars, in 1227, proved Selim gave a specimen of his government the indirectly the means of introducing them into very day after his being put in full possession of Egypt. These horrible conquerors, having it by the death of Tuman Bey. Having ordered slaughtered and massacred till they were weary, a theatre to be erected, with a throne upon it, on brought along with them an immense number of the banks of the Nile, he caused all the prisoners, slaves of both sexes, with whom they filled all upwards of 30,000, to be beheaded in his prethe markets in Asia. The Turks purchased sence, and their bodies thrown in the river. about 12,000 young men, whom they bred up in But notwithstanding this horrid barbarity, he did the profession of arms, in which they soon at- not attempt the total extermination of the Mametained to great perfection; but at last, becoming lukes, but seems to have recollected that, if he mutinous, they turned their arms against their established a pacha in Egypt with the same masters, and in 1250 deposed and murdered the powers with which he invested those of other sultan, Malek. The Mamelukes having thus got parts, he would be under strong temptations to possession of the government, and neither under-revolt, by reason of the distance from the capital. standing nor valuing any thing but the art of war, every species of learning decayed in Egypt, and a great degree of barbarism was introduced. Neither was their empire of long duration, notwithstanding their martial abilities. The reason was, that they were originally only a small part of the sultan of Egypt's standing forces. As a numerous standing army was necessary in a country where the fundamental maxim of government He therefore proposed a new form of government, by which the power, being distributed among the different members of the state, should preserve an equilibrium; so that the dependence of the whole should be upon himself. With this view he chose, from among those Mamelukes who had escaped the general massacre, a divan, or council of regency, consisting of the pacha and chiefs of the seven military corps. The former was to notify to this council the orders of the Porte, to send the tribute to Constantinople, and provide for the safety of government both external and internal; while, on the other hand, the members of the council had a right to reject the orders of the pacha, or even of deposing him, provided they could assign sufficient reasons. All civil and political ordinances must also be ratified by them. Besides this, he formed the whole body into a kind of republic; for which purpose he issued an edict, stating: "Though, by the help of the Almighty, we have conquered the whole kingdom of Egypt with our invincible armies, nevertheless our benevolence is willing to grant to the twenty-four sangiacs of Egypt (see SANGIAC) a republican government with the following conditions. 1. That our sovereignty shall be acknowledged by the republic; and, in token of their obedience, our lieutenant shall be received as our representative, but to do nothing against our will or the republic; but, on the contrary, shall co-operate with it for its welfare on all occasions: Or, if he shall attempt to infringe any of its privileges, the republic is at full liberty to suspend him from his authority, and to send to our Sublime Porte a complaint against him, &c. 2. In time of war the republic shall provide 12,000 troops at its own expense, to be commanded by a sangiac or sangiacs. 3. The republic shall raise annually and send to our Sublime Porte the sum of 560,000 aslans (see ASLAN), accompanied by a sangiac, who shall have a satisfactory receipt, &c. 4. The same sum to be raised for the use of Medina, and Kiabe, or Mecca. 5. No more troops or janizaries shall be kept by the republic in time of peace than 14,000; but in time of war they may be increased to oppose our and the republic's enemies. 6. The republic shall send annually to our granary, out of the produce of the country 1,000,000 of casiz (twenty-five occa, see Occa), or measures of corn, viz. 600,000 of wheat, and 400,000 of barley. 7. The republic, fulfilling these articles, shall have a free government over all the inhabitants of Egypt, independent of our lieutenant; and shall execute the laws of the country with the advice of the mollah, or high priest, under our authority, and that of our successors. 8. The republic shall be in possession of the mint as heretofore; but with the condition that it shall be under the inspection of our lieutenant, that the coin may not be adulterated. 9. That the republic shall elect a sheik bellet out of the number of beys, to be confirmed by our lieutenant; and that the said sheik bellet shall be our representative, and shall be esteemed by all our lieutenants, and all our officers, both of high and low rank, as the head of the republic; and if our lieutenant is guilty of oppression, or exceeds the bounds of his authority, the said sheik bellet shall represent the grievances of the republic to our Sublime Porte. But in case any foreign enemy or enemies disturb the peace of the republic, we and our successors engage to protect it with our utmost power, until peace is re-established, without any cost or expense to the republic. Given and signed by our clemency to the repub lic of Egypt.' Thus the power of the Mamelukes still continued in a very considerable degree, and gradually increased so much as to threaten a total loss of dominion to the Turks. During the last sixty years, the Porte having relaxed from its vigilance, such a revolution took place, that the Turkish power is now almost reduced to nothing. But to understand this we must consider the way in which the race of Mamelukes was continued or multiplied in Egypt. This is not in the ordinary way, by marriage; on the contrary, M. Volney assures us, that 'during 550 years in which there have been Mamelukes in Egypt, not one of them has left subsisting issue; all their children perish in the first or second descent. Almost the same thing holds good with regard to the Turks; and it is observed, that they can only secure the continuance of their families by marrying women who are natives, which the Mamelukes have always disdained. The means by which they are perpetuated and multiplied are the same by which they were first established, viz. by slaves brought from their original country. From the time of the Moguls this commerce has been continued on the banks of the Cuban and Phasis, in the same manner as it is carried on in Africa by the wars among the hostile tribes, and the misery or avarice of the inhabitants, who sell their children to strangers. The slaves thus procured are first brought to Constantinople, and afterwards dispersed through the empire, where they are purchased by the wealthy. When the Turks subdued Egypt (says M. Volney), they should undoubtedly have prohibited this dangerous traffic; their omitting which seems about to dispossess them of their conquest, and which several political errors have long been preparing. For a considerable time the Porte had neglected the affairs of this province: and, in order to restrain the pachas, had suffered the divan to extend its power till the chiefs of the janizaries and azabs were left without control. The soldiers themselves, become citizens by the marriages they had contracted, were no longer the creatures of Constantinople: and a change introduced into their discipline still more increased these disorders. At first the seven military corps had one cominon treasury; and, though the society was rich, individuals not having any thing at their own disposal, could effect nothing. The chiefs finding their power diminished by this regulation, got it abolished, and obtained permission to possess distinct property, lands, and villages. And as these lands and villages depended on the Mameluke governors, it was necessary to conciliate them, to prevent their oppressions. From that moment the beys acquired an ascendancy over the soldiers, who till then had treated them with disdain: and this continually increased, as their government procured them considerable riches. These they employed in creating friends. They multiplied their slaves; and, after emancipating them, employed all their interest to advance them in the army. These upstarts, retaining for their patrons the same superstitious veneration common in the East, formed factions, implicitly devoted to their pleasure.' Thus, about 1746, Ibrahim, one of the kiayas of the of the beys who were inimical to his designs, hanished the rest, and assumed the whole power to himself. Still, however, his ambition was not satisfied: and he determined to throw off his dependence on the Porte altogether, and become sultan of Egypt. With this view he expelled the pacha, refused to pay the accustomed tribute, and in 1768 proceeded to coin money in his own name. The Porte, being at that time on the eve of a dangerous war with Russia, had not leisure to attend to the proceedings of Ali Bey; so that the latter had an opportunity of going forward with his enterprises very vigorously. His first expedition was against an Arabian prince named Hammam; against whom he sent his favorite Mohammed Bey, under pretence that the former had concealed a treasure entrusted with him by Ibrahim, and that he afforded protection to rebels. Having destroyed this unfortunate prince, he next began to put in execution a plan proposed to him by a young Venetian merchant, of rendering Gedda, the port of Mecca, an emporium for all the commerce of India; and even imagined he should be able to make the Europeans abandon the passage to the Indies by the Cape of Good Hope. With this view, he fitted out some vessels at Suez: and manning them with Mamelukes, commanded the bey Hassan to sail with them to Gedda, and seize upon it, while a body of cavalry under Mohammed Bey advanced against the town. Both these commissions were executed according to his wish, and Ali became quite intoxicated with his success. Nothing but ideas of conquest now occupied his mind, without considering the immense disproportion between his own force and that of the grand seignior. Circumstances were then indeed very favorable to his schemes. The sheik Daher was in rebellion against the Porte in Syria; and the pacha of Damascus had so exasperated the people by his extortions, that they were ready for a revolt. Having therefore made the necessary preparations, Ali Bey despatched, in 1770, about 500 Mamelukes to take possession of Gaza, and thus secure an entrance into Palestine. Osman the pacha of Damascus, however, no sooner heard of the invasion than he prepared for war, while the troops of Ali Bey held themselves in readiness to fly on the first attack. Sheik Daher hastened to their assistance, while Osman fled without even offering to make the least resistance; thus leaving the enemy masters of all Palestine. About the end of February, 1771, the grand army of Ali Bey arrived: which was supposed to consist of 60,000 men. M. Volney allows that there might be two thirds of that number, who were classed as follows: 5000 Mamelukes, constituting the whole effective part of the army; 15,000 Arabs from Barbary on foot, constituting the whole infantry of the army. Besides these, the servants of the Mamelukes, each of whom had two, would constitute a body of 10,000 men. A number of other servants would constitute a body of about 2000; and the rest of the number would be made up by sutlers and other usual attendants on armies. It was commanded by Mohammed Bey, the friend of Ali. But,' says M. Volney, as to order and discipline, these must not be mentioned. janizaries (see KIAYA), rendered himself in reality master of Egypt; having managed matters so well, that of the twenty-four beys, or sangiacs, eight were of his household. His influence too was augmented by always leaving vacancies, in order to enjoy the emoluments himself, while the officers and soldiers of his corps were attached to his interest; and his power was completed by gaining over Rodoan, the most powerful of all the colonels, to his interest. Thus the pacha became altogether unable to oppose him, and the orders of the sultan were less respected than those of Ibrahim. On his death, in 1757, his family, i. e. his enfranchised slaves, continued to rule in a despotic manner. Waging war, however, among each other, Rodoan and several other chiefs were killed; but, in 1766, Ali Bey, who had been a principal actor in the disturbances, overcame his enemies, and for some time rendered himself absolute master of Egypt. Of this man there are various accounts. The following is given by M. Volney:-It is supposed that Ali was born among the Abazans, a people of Mount Caucasus; from whom, next to the Circassians, the slaves most valued by the Turks are obtained. Having been brought to a public sale at Cairo, Ali was bought by two Jew brothers, named Isaac and Yousef, who made a present of him to Ibrahim. At this time he is supposed to have been about thirteen or fourteen years old, and was employed by his patron in offices similar to those of the pages belonging to European princes. The usual education was also given him, viz. that of learning to manage a horse well; fire a carbine and pistol, and throw the djerid, a kind of dart used in the diversions of that country. He was also taught the exercise of the sabre, and a little reading and writing. In all these feats of activity he discovered such impetuosity, that he obtained the surname of Djendali, or the madman; and, as he grew up, discovered an ambition proportionable to the activity displayed in his youth. About the age of eighteen or twenty Ibrahim gave him his freedom; the badge of which among the Turks is letting the beard grow, for among that people it is thought proper only for women and slaves to want a beard. By his kind patron also he was promoted to the rank of kachef, or governor of a district, and at last elected one of the twenty-four beys. By the death of Ibrahim, in 1757, he had an opportunity of satisfying his ambition; being now engaged in every scheme for the promotion or disgrace of the chiefs, and having had a principal share in the ruin of Rodoan, Rodoan's place was quickly filled by another, who did not long enjoy it; and in 1762 Ali Bey, then styled Sheik el Beled, having got Abdelrahman, the possessor, exiled, procured himself to be elected in his room. However, he soon shared the fate of the rest, being condemned to retire to Gaza. This town, being under the dominion of a Turkish pacha, was by no means a safe retreat; for which reason, Ali having turned off to another place, kept himself concealed for some time, until in 1766 his friends at Cairo procured his recall. On this he appeared sudenly in that city; and killed in one night four The armies of the Turks and Maraei :kes are of his forces. A sudden reverse of fortune now |