| Transcript |
XV111
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE.
Soliman I. (or as he is by some classed II.) is represented as the greatest prince
that ever sat upon the Turkish throne ; and he obtained the name of "the Magnificent,''
for the splendour of his achievements. He commenced his reign in 1520, which lasted
forty years; and made three vows, which he hoped to accomplish before his death :
to complete the hydraulic works of Constantinople—to erect the finest mosque in the
world—and to establish the western capital of Islamism at Vienna. The two first he
effected, and nearly succeeded in the last. After conquering all the countries between the
Euxine, Caspian, and Red seas, he turned his arms to Europe, in order to accomplish
his vows, and penetrated to Vienna, to which he laid siege without success; but he
established a strong garrison at Buda, the capital of Hungary, and held possession of it,
to renew his attempt. In the mean time, his fleets, united with the piratical states
of Barbary, under the banner of Barbarossa, or " Red Beard," ravaged the shores of the
Mediterranean; and captive nobles from Spain, the most western country in Europe, were
seen in chains among his slaves at Constantinople. Carrying thus his conquering arms
from the Caspian to the Atlantic, and from the centre of Europe to the centre of Africa,
there was but one little spot which opposed his plan of universal empire: that spot
was the island of Malta. The crusaders had left this single remnant behind them, so
excellent and noble as to redeem all their other failings. The knights of St. John had
retired from Palestine to Rhodes, and from thence to Malta; and there they stood, the last
barrier and bulwark of Christianity against the overwhelming torrent of Turkish
dominion. These were now to be exterminated, and their island made the stepping-stone
to establish the religion of the Prophet in the western world. The siege which Malta
sustained on this occasion is the most gallant and interesting to be found in the records
of human actions. The knights amounted but to 700 men; they organized a force
of 8000, and with this they had to oppose a fleet of 200 sail, carrying an army of 50,000.
After incredible acts of heroism and devotedness, they compelled the Turks to withdraw
the remnant of their forces; and the first effectual check was given to their hitherto
resistless power.
The character of Soliman, as drawn by historians, is more perfect than that of any
other sovereign who occupied the throne of the Osmanli. His love of literature, his
enlightened mind, his inviolable faith, placed him in strong contrast with his fellow-sultans ;
yet his private life is stained with more than Oriental barbarity. He had children by
two wives, one of whom was the celebrated Roxalana; the elder, Mustapha, was heir
to the throne, and a youth of great promise, but Roxalana was determined to prefer her
own, and to that end stimulated Soliman to put Mustapha to death. He sent for him to
his tent; and as soon as he entered, caused him to be seized by several mutes, who were
in waiting with a bow-string to strangle him. The young man made a vigorous resistance,
when the father, fearing he might escape, raised his head above the canvass partition of the
tent, and with menacing gestures threatened the mutes with his vengeance if they did not
despatch him. The unhappy youth caught his fathers eye, and passively submitted to his
fate. He was strangled, and his body thrown on a carpet, to be exposed in front of the
tent. Mustapha had yet another brother, whom it was necessary to dispose of also.
He was a mere boy, and, as his mother kept him carefully secluded within the walls of her |
