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CENT.

PARTI.

laid for the

cens out of

Spain.

IV. The Saracens maintained, as yet, a conXIV., siderable footing in Spain. The kingdoms of Granada and Murcia, with the province of AnA scheme dalusia, were subject to their dominion; and expulsion of they carried on a perpetual war with the kings the Sara- of Castile, Arragon, and Navarre, in which, however, they were not always victorious. The African princes, and particularly the emperors of Morocco, became their auxiliaries against the Christians. On the other hand, the Roman pontifs left no means unemployed to excite the Christians to unite their forces against the Mahometans, and to drive them out of the Spanish territories; presents, exhortations, promises, in short, every allurement that religion, superstition, or avarice could render powerful, were made use of in order to the execution of this arduous project. The Christians, accordingly, united their counsels and efforts for this end; and though for some time the difficulty of the enterprize rendered their progress but inconsiderable, yet even in this century their affairs carried a promising aspect, and gave them reason to hope that they should one day triumph over their enemies, and become sole possessors of the Spanish dominions [k].

[k] See Jo. DE FERRERAS, Histoire de l'Espagne, tom. iv. v. vii.-Fragmenta Histor. Romanæ, in MURATORII Antiqq. Ital. medii ævi, tom. iii. p. 319. in which, however, there is a considerable mixture of truth and falsehood.-BALUZII Miscellan. tom. ii. p. 267.

CHAP.

CHA P. II.

Concerning the calamitous events that happened to the Church during this century.

1. TH

XIV.

Asia.

1. THE Turks and Tartars, who extended CENT. their dominions in Asia with an amazing PAR T I. rapidity, and directed their arms against the The ChriGreeks as well as against the Saracens, destroyed stian reliwherever they went, the fruits that had sprung up gion loses in such a rich abundance from the labours of the ground in Christian missionaries, extirpated the religion of JESUS in several provinces and cities where it flourished, and substituted the impostures of MAHOMET in its place. Many of the Tartars had formerly professed the gospel, and still more had tolerated the exercise of that divine religion; but, from the beginning of this century, things put on a new face; and that fierce nation renounced every other religious doctrine, except that of the Alcoran. TIMUR BEG, commonly called T▲MERLANE, their mighty emperor, embraced himself the doctrine of MAHOMET, though under a form different from that which was adopted by the Tartars in general [1]. This formidable warrior, after having subdued the greatest part of Asia, having triumphed over BAJAZET the emperor of the Turks, and even filled Europe with terror at the approach of his victorious arms,

made

[1] This great TAMERLANE, whose name seemed to strike terror even when he was no more, adhered to the sect of the Sonnites, and professed the greatest enmity against their adversaries the Schiites. See PETIT CROIX, Histoire de Timur-Bec, tom. ii. p. 151. tom. iii. p. 228. It is, however, extremely doubtful, what was, in reality, the religion of TAMERLANE, though he professed the Mahometan faith. See MOSHEIM, Hist. Eccles. Tartaror. p. 124.

PARTI

CENT. made use of his authority to force multitudes of XIV. Christians to apostatize from their holy faith. To the dictates of authority he added the compulsive power of violence and persecution, and treated the disciples of CHRIST with the utmost barbarity. Persuaded, as we learn from the most credible writers of his life and actions, that it was incumbent upon the true followers of MAHOMET, to persecute the Christians, and that the most ample and glorious rewards were reserved for such as were most instrumental in converting them to the Mahometan faith [m]; he employed the most human acts of severity to vanquish the magnanimous constancy of those that persevered in their attachment to the Christian religion, of whom some suffered death in the most barbarous forms, while others were condemned to perpetual slavery [n].

The decline

of Christianity in

^

II. In those parts of Asia, that are inhabited by the Chinese, Tartars, Moguls, and other China and nations as yet less known, the Christian religion in Tartary not only lost ground, but seemed to be totally

extirpated. It is, at least, certain, that we have no account of any members of the Latin church residing in those countries, later than the year 1370, nor could we ever learn the fate of the Franciscan missionaries that had been sent thither from Rome. We have, indeed, some records, from which it would appear that there were Nestorians residing in China so far down as the sixteenth

[m] PETIT CROIX, Histoire de Timur-Bec, tom. ii. p. 329. tom. iii. p. 137. 243, &c.

[n] Many instances of this we find in a History of Timur-Bec, wrote by a Persian, who was named SCHERFEDINUS, tom. ii. p. 376. 384. 386. tom. iii. p. 243. tom. iv. p. 111, 115. 117. and published at Delft, in four volumes, 8vo, in the year 1723. -See also HERBELOT, Biblioth. Oriental. at the article TIMUR, p. 877.

E N T.

XIV. PARTI.

sixteenth century [o]; but these records are not C so clear in relation to this matter, as to remove all uncertainty and doubting. However that may be, it is evident beyond all contradiction, that the abolition of Christianity in those remote parts of the world, was owing to the wars that were carried on by the Tartars against the Chinese and other Asiatic nations; for in the year 1369, the last emperor of the race of GENGIS KAN was driven out of China, and his throne filled by the Mim family, who, by a solemn law, refused to all foreigners the privilege of entering into China.

[o] NICOL. TRIGAUTIUS, De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas, lib. i. cap. xi. p. 116.—Jos. SIM. ASSEMANNI Biblioth. Orient. Vatican. tom. iii. part I. p. 592. & part P. 445. 536.-HALDE, Description de la China, tom. i. p. 175.

II.

PART

PART II.

The INTERNAL HISTORY of the CHURCH.

XIV.

PART II.

The state

Greeks.

CHAPTER I.

Concerning the state of letters and philosophy during this century.

TH

CENT.I.THE Greeks, though dejected by the foreign and intestine calamities in which they were involved, were far from withdrawing of letters their attention and zeal from the cause of literaamong the ture, as is evident from the great number of learned men who flourished among them during this period. In this honourable class was NICEPHORUS GREGORAS, MANUEL CHRYSOLORAS, MAXIMUS PLANUDES, and many others, who, by their indefatigable application to the study of humanity and antiquities, criticism and grammar, acquired considerable reputation. To omit writers of inferior note, THEODORUS METOchila, JOHN CANTACUZENUS, and NICEPHORUS GREGORAS, applied themselves to the composition of history, though with different success. Nor ought we to pass over in silence NICEPHORUS CALLISTUS, who compiled an Ecclesiastical History, which, notwithstanding its being debased with idle stories and evident marks of superstition, is highly useful on account of the light it casts on many important facts.

mong the

The state II. As none of the sages of this century was of philo- adventurous enough to set up for a leader in phisophy alosophy, such of the Greeks as had a taste for philosophical researches adhered to ARISTOTLE, as their conductor and guide; but we may learn from

Greeka.

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