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placed a brazen figure of a demon (’afrít), which once a year spit out
fire and flames; and whoever caught a spark kept it in his kitchen;
and, as long as his health was good, that fire was never
extinguished.
Thirteenth talisman. On the skirt of the place called Zírek-báshí there
is a cavern dedicated to St. John, and every month, when the
piercing cold of winter has set in, several black demons (kónjólóz)
hide themselves there.
Fourteenth talisman. To the south of Ayá Sófiyah there were four
lofty columns of white marble, bearing the statues of the four
cherubs (kerrúblir), Gabriel (Jebráyíl), Michael (Míkáyíl), Rafael
(Isráfíl), and Azrael (Azráyíl), turned towards the north, south, east,
and west. Each of them clapped his wings once a year, and
foreboded desolation, war, famine, or pestilence. These statues were
upset when the Prophet came into existence, but the four columns
still remain a public spectacle, near the subterraneous springs
(chukúr cheshmeh) of Ayá Sófiyah.
Fifteenth talisman. The great work in the Atmeïdán (Hippodrome),
called Milyón-pár (Millium?), is a lofty column, measuring a hundred
and fifty cubits (arshún) of builders measure. It was constructed by
order of Kostantín, of various coloured stones, collected from the
300,000 cities of which he was king, and designed to be an eternal
monument of his power, and at the same time a talisman. Through
the middle of it there ran a thick iron axis, round which the various
coloured stones were placed, and they were all kept together by a
magnet, as large as the cupola of a bath (hammám), fixed on its
summit. It still remains a lasting monument; and its builder, the
head architect, Ghúrbárín by name, lies buried at the foot of it.
Sixteenth talisman. This is also an obelisk of red coloured stone,
covered with various sculptures, and situate in the At-meïdán. The
figures on its sides foretell the different fortunes of the city. It was
erected in the time of Yánkó ibn Mádiyán, who is represented on it
sitting on his throne, and holding a ring in his hand, implying
symbolically, ‘I have conquered the whole world, and hold it in my
hands like this ring.’ His face is turned towards the east, and kings
stand before him, holding dishes, in the guise of beggars. On
another are the figures of three hundred men engaged in erecting
the obelisk, with the various machines used for that purpose. Its
circumference is such that ten men cannot span it; and its four
angles rest on four brazen seats, such that, when one experienced in
the builders art has looked at it, he puts his finger on his mouth.
Seventeenth talisman. A sage named Surendeh, who flourished in
the days of error, under king Púzentín, set up a brazen image of a
triple-headed dragon (azhderhá) in the Atmeïdán, in order to destroy
all serpents, lizards, scorpions, and such like poisonous reptiles: and
not a poisonous beast was there in the whole of Mákedóniyyah. It
has now the form of a twisted serpent, measuring ten cubits above
and as many below the ground. It remained thus buried in mud and
earth from the building of Sultán Ahmed’s mosque, but uninjured, till
Selím II., surnamed the drunken, passing by on horseback, knocked
off with his mace the lower jaw of that head of the dragon which
looks to the west. Serpents then made their appearance on the
western side of the city, and since that time have become common
in every part of it. If, moreover, the remaining heads should be
destroyed, Islámból will be completely eaten up with vermin. In
short, there were anciently, relating to the land at Islámból, three
hundred and sixty-six talismans like those now described, which are
all that now remain.

Talismans relating to the Sea.

First talisman. At the Chátládí-kapú, in the side of the palace of an

emperor whom the sun never saw, there was the brazen figure of a
demon (dív) upon a square column, which spit fire, and burnt the
ships of the enemy whenever it was they approached from the White
Sea (Archipelago).
Second talisman. In the galley-harbour (kadirghah límání) there was
a brazen ship, in which, once a year, when the cold winter-nights
had set in, all the Witches of Islámból used to embark and sail about
till morning, to guard the White Sea. It was a part of the spoils
captured with the city by Mohammed II. the conqueror.
Third talisman. Another brazen ship, the counterpart of this, was
constructed at the Tóp-khánah (cannon-foundery), in which all the
wizards and conjurors kept guard towards the Black Sea. It was
broken in pieces when Yezíd Ibn Mo’áviyyah conquered Ghalatah.
Fourth talisman. At Seraglo-Point there was a triple-headed brazen
dragon, spitting fire, and burning all the enemy’s ships and boats
whichever way they came.
Fifth talisman. There were also, near the same place, three hundred
and sixty-six lofty columns bearing the figures of as many marine
creatures; a White sun fish (khamsín bálighí) for example, which,
when it uttered a cry, left not a fish of that kind in the Black Sea, but
brought them all to Makedún, where all the people got a good
bellyful of them.
The sixth talisman was, that, during all the forty days of Lent, all
kinds of fish were thrown ashore by the sea, and caught without any
trouble by the people of Rúm (Turkey).
All these talismans having been overthrown by the great earthquake
on the night of the prophets birth, the columns which bore them still
lie strewed like a pavement along the Seraglio-Point, from the
Selímiyyeh Kóshk, to the castle of Sinán Páshá, and are manifest to
those who pass along in boats. Though upset they still retain their
talismanic virtues, and every year bring many thousand fishes to the
shore.
There were also twenty-four columns round Islámból, each bearing a
talisman. All could be visited by a man in one day, provided it was a
day of fifteen hours: now the longest day at Islámból, from sun-rise
to sun-set, is fifteen hours and a half. That city is situated in the
middle of the fifth climate, and therefore enjoys excellent air and
water.
 SECTION VII.

Concerning the Mines within and without the City of Kostantín.

By God’s will there was anciently a great cavern in Islámból, below

the Sultán’s mosque (Sultán jámi’-sí), filled with sulphur, nitre, and
black powder, from which they drew supplies in time of need.
Having, by the decree of heaven, been struck by lightning in the
time of Kostantín, or, according to our tradition, at the time of the
taking of the city by the conqueror, all the large buildings over the
cavern were blown up, and fragments of them scattered in every
direction; some may still be seen at Uskudár (Scutari), others at
Salájak búruní, and Kází kóï (Chalcedon); one large piece,
particularly, called the Kabá-tásh, and lying in the sea before the
chismehler tekkiyeh, to the north of the village of Funduk-lí, near
Tóp-khánah, was probably thrown there when the city was blown
up.
In the neighbourhood of the castle of Kúm-búrghaz, half a days
journey from the Seven Towers, to the south of Islámból, a fine
white sand is found, in great request among the hour-glass makers
and goldsmiths of Islámból and Firengistán (Europe).
Near the privy-garden of Dáúd Páshá, outside of the Adrianople-
gate, there are seven stone quarries, which appear to be
inexhaustible. It is called the stone of Khizr, because it was pointed
out by that prophet for the construction of Ayá Sófiyah.
A kind of soft clay (tín) like electuary (ma’jún), found near the
suburb of Abú Iyyúb ansárí, is called tín ansárí; it has a sweet scent
like terra sigillata (tiní makhtúm), from the island of Alimání (Jezírehi
Alimání, i.e. Lemnos); and it is used for the sigillate earth found at
Lemnos; making jugs, a draught from which refreshes like a draught
of the water of life.
From a pool (buheïreh) between the suburbs of Iyyúb Sultán and
Khás-kóï, divers bring up a kind of black clay, which is excellent for
making jugs, cups, plates, and all kinds of earthenware.
The springs of Jendereh-jí, in the delightful promenade (mesíreh-
gáh) called Kághid Khánah (Kïahet-haneh, or les eaux douces, i.e.
fresh-water springs), are famous all over the world. The root of a
kind of lign-aloes (eker) is found there superior to that of Azák
(Assov), the city of Kerdeh, or the canal of the castle of Kanizzhah.
One of its wonderful properties is, that when a man eats of it it
occasions a thousand eructations; it fattens tortoises marvellously,
and the Franks of Ghalatah come and catch them, and use them in
all their medicines with great advantage.
At Sárí Yár, north of Kághid Kháneh, a kind of fermented clay is
found, which smells like musk, and is used in making jugs and cups,
which are much valued, and offered as presents to the great.
At the village of Sári Yár, near the entrance of the strait of the Black
Sea, there is a lofty mountain of yellow-coloured earth, covered with
gardens and vineyards up to its summit. On its outside, near to the
sea-shore, there is a cavern containing a mine of pure gold, free
from any alloy of Hungarian (Ungurús) Búndúkání brass. From the
time of the infidels till the reign of Sultán Ahmed, it was an imperial
domain, farmed out for one thousand yúk of aspers (loads, each
equal to 100,000). The Defterdár, Ekmek-ji-zádeh Ahmed Páshá,
closed it, as bringing little into the treasury; it is now, therefore,
neglected, but if opened again by the Sultán’s order would be found
a very valuable mine.
From this mountain in the valley of Gók-sú, near the castles (hisár)
on the Bosphorus, a kind of lime is obtained which is whiter than
snow, cotton, or milk, and cannot be matched in the world.
In the same favourite place of resort, the valley of Gók-sú, a kind of
red earth is found, of which jugs, plates, and dishes are made; and
the doctors say, that pure water drunk out of vessels made of this
earth cures the básuri demeví (blood-shot eyes?).
In the mountains near the town of Uskudár (Scutari), is found a kind
of fossil whetstone (kayághán), which breaks in large slabs, and is
much used for tombstones.
Beneath the palace known by the name of Ghalatah-seráï, above the
suburb of Tóp-khánah, is an iron mine, called the mine of old
Islámból, and the ore extracted from it is known by that name all
over the world. Not a soul in the universe knew any thing of it till
Khizr pointed it out, in the time of king Ferendú, for the building of
Ayá Sófiyah; and all the ironwork of that edifice, as well as the iron
hoops round the column in Táúk-bázár [Forum Theodosii], were
made of iron from Eskí Stámból. The mine was worked till the time
of Sultán Báyazíd Velí, who was much pleased with the air and water
of the place, and often spent some time there; and having been
admonished in a dream by the Prophet, founded a hospital and
college on the spot; and having finally made it a school for pages of
the seraglio, the mine was abandoned. The humble writer of this
remembers, in the time of his youth, when ’Osmán the Martyr was
on the throne, there was between the lead-magazine (kúrshúnlí
makhzen) and Tóp-kapú a manufactory of Damascus blades, made
from the iron of this mine, where Mohamed the Conqueror, who
established it, had most excellent blades made. I myself have seen
Mustafá, the head sword-maker of Sultán Murád IV., and master of
little David, working in that manufactory. It was a large building,
outside of the walls, on the sea-shore. Afterwards, when Sultán
Ibráhím ascended the throne, Kara Mustafá Páshá became a martyr,
and every thing was thrown into confusion; this building was turned
into a house for the Jews, by ’Alí Aghá, superintendant of the
custom-house, and neither the name, nor any trace of the mine or
the sword manufactory, are to be found.
The thirteenth mine is that mine of men, the Good City, i.e.
Kostantiniyyeh, which is an ocean of men and beautiful women, such
as is to be found no where else. It is said, that if a thousand men die
and a thousand and one are born, the race is propagated by that
one. But Islámból is so vast a city, that if a thousand die in it, the
want of them is not felt in such an ocean of men; and it has
therefore been called Káni Insán, a mine of men.
 SECTION VIII.

Sieges of Constantinople.

In the forty-third year of the Hijreh (A.D. 663), Mo’áviyyah became

Commander of the Faithful; and in the course of his reign sent his
commander in chief Moslemah, son of ’Abdu-l-malik, at the head of a
hundred thousand men of the Syrian army, with two hundred ships,
and two hundred transports laden with provisions, ammunition, &c.
from the port of Shám-Tarah-bólús (Tripoli in Syria), and trusting in
God, first against the island of Máltah, which at that time was Rodós
(Rhodes), and of which they made a conquest almost as soon as
they disembarked. They next proceeded to the islands of Istánkóï
(Cos), Sákiz (Scio), Medellí (Mitylene), Alimániyah (Lemnos), and
Bózjah (Tenedos), which were taken in a few days; and they
immediately afterwards laid siege to Kostantaniyyeh, having taken
four hundred ships in their passage, and intercepted all vessels laden
with provisions coming from the White or Black Sea. The infidels
soon sued for peace, on condition of paying the annual tribute of a
galley laden with money; and the victorious general returned to
Arabia with joy and exultation, carrying with him the impure son of
that erring king (királ) Herkíl (Heraclius) as a hostage, with treasures
to the amount of some millions of piastres.
Second Siege. In the fifty-second year of the Hijrah of the pride of
the world (A.D. 671), Ebú Iyyúb Ansárí, the standard-bearer of the
Prophet, and ’Abdullah ibn ’Abbás ibn Zeïd, proceeding with some
thousands of the illustrious companions of the Prophet, and 50,000
brave men, in two hundred ships, followed by reinforcements under
the command of Moslemah, first carried supplies to the warriors of
Islám in garrison at Rodós, and then, casting anchor before the
Seven Towers and landing their men, laid siege to Islámból by sea
and land. Thus, for six months, did this host, which had the
fragrance of Paradise, contend day and night with the infidels. By
the wise decree of God. Ebú Iyyúb their leader suffered martyrdom
in one of these assaults, by an arrow from a cross-bow: but,
according to a sure tradition, he was received into mercy (i.e. he
died) of a disorder in his bowels.
Third Siege. In the year of the Hijrah 91 (A.D. 710), by order of the
khalif Suleïmán, son of ’Abdu-llah of the Bení Ummayyah, his
nephew ’Omar ibn ’Abdu-l-’azíz marched by land against Islámból
with 87,000 men, who ravaged Ghalatah with fire and sword, and
having carried off an immense booty, crossed over into Anátólí
(Natolia); and after having laid siege to Sínób, which made its peace
at a great price, and Kastemúní, the capture of which likewise it did
not please God to make easy to him, he returned to Syria (Shám).
The fourth Siege. In A.H. 97 (A.D. 716), the same khalif again sent
his nephew ’Omar ibn ’Abdu-l-’azíz against Islámból, with an army of
120,000 men by land, and 80,000 embarked in three hundred ships
at sea. They established their winter-quarters that year in the town
of Belkís-Aná, near Aïdinjik (Cyzicus), in the district of Brúsah, and in
the following spring they laid siege to Islámból, and reduced the
inhabitants to the greatest distress, by laying waste all the
surrounding fields and meadows.
The fifth Siege. In the year of the Hijrah——, ’Omar ibn ’Abdu-l-’azíz,
having become khalif of Shám (Syria), sent an army of 100,000
men, by land and by sea, against Islámból, and crossing the Strait of
the Black Sea at Ghalatah, conquered it, and built the mosque of the
lead magazines; and the mosque of the Arabs (’Arab jámi’sí) in that
suburb was likewise named from its having been built by him.
Having erected a lofty heaven-aspiring tower at Ghalatah, he called
it Medíneto-l Kahr (the City of Oppression). He made peace with the
Tekkúr of Islámból on condition that Mohammedans should be
allowed to settle in that city, from the Crooked (Egrí) and Adrianople
gates, and the hill on which the Suleïmániyyah stands, to that of
Zírek-báshí, and from thence by the flour-market (ún-kapání) as far
as Iyyúb Ensárí. He built the rose-mosque (Gul-jámi’í) in the market
of Mustafá Páshá, erected the court of justice near the Sirkehjí-
tekiyeh, and formed a new district of the town at the summer-
quarters of Kójah Mustafá Páshá, near the Seven Towers. Another
condition on which this unilluminated Tekkúr (emperor) obtained
peace, was the annual payment of a tribute (kharáj) of 50,000
pieces of gold. ’Omar ibn ’Abdu-l-’azíz fixed his winter-quarters at
Ghalatah for that year, having received the tribute due for three
hundred years in consequence of a former treaty, departed, leaving
Suleïmán ibn ’Abdu-l Malik governor of Ghalatah, and appointing
Moselmah his Grand Vizír. His fleet having met near Rodostò one of
two hundred sail, sent by the infidels to succour the Tekkúr, a great
battle ensued; and just as the infidels were about to be destroyed, a
stormy wind sprung up and drove both fleets on shore,
notwithstanding all the cherubims in heaven emulated the zeal of
the true believers on earth. The Moslims disembarked, laid waste all
the villages round about, carried away more than 3,000 horses,
asses, and mules, and 23,000 prisoners. The treasures taken from
the ships which were sunk, were so great, that God only knows their
amount; and the number of the dust-licking infidels passed over the
edge of the sword such that their bones lie piled up in heaps in a
well known valley, called even now ‘Omar Kírdúghí Jórdú, i.e. ‘the
camp broken up by ‘Omar.’ After gaining another signal victory by
sea and land, he returned into Syria (Shám).
The sixth Siege. In the year of the hijrah 160 (A.D. 777) Merván
ibnu-l Hakem besieged Islámból with an army of 150,000 Moslims
and a fleet of a thousand ships during six months, added three new
districts and built a mosque in the Mahommedan part of the city, and
compelled Mesendún, son of Herakíl (Heraclius), to pay a yearly
tribute of 500,000 golden tekyánúses, (i.e. coins called Decianus).
The seventh Siege. Seventy-four years after the peace made with
Merván, in the year of the hijrah 239 (A.D. 853-4), after the
conquest of Malatíyyah, Islámból was pillaged by the khalif Yahyá
son of ’Ali, who returned to Kharrán (Charrhæ) after having smote
20,000 infidels with the edge of the sword.
The eighth Siege. Sixteen years afterwards, A.H. 255 (A.D. 869),
I’liyá (Elias) son of Herakíl being king (királ) of Islámból, Harúnu-r-
rashíd marched from his paradisiacal abode at the head of 50,000
troops; but finding it difficult to effect the conquest of the city, he
made peace on condition of receiving as much ground within the
walls as a bulls hide would cover. He therefore cut the hide into
strips, so as to enclose space enough in the district of Kójah Mustafá
Páshá for building a strong castle, and he fixed the annual tribute at
50,000 fulúrí (florins). He then returned to Baghdád, having levied
the tribute (kharáj) due for the last ten years.
About this time the infidels, taking advantage of the dissensions
which prevailed among the Muselmáns respecting the khalífat,
massacred all those established in Islámból and Ghalatah, not
however without great loss on their own side, the king and royal
family being all slain; in consequence of which Ghirándó Mihál
(Grando Michael), a grandson of Herakíl who had come from
Firengistán, was made king; and on that very day Seyyid Bábá Ja’fer,
one of the descendants of Imám Hoseïn, and Sheïkh Maksúd, one of
the followers of Veïsu-l-Karní, sent by Hárúnu-r-rashíd as
ambassadors, entered Islámból. They were attended by three
hundred fakírs and three hundred followers, and were received by
the new king with innumerable honours. The Sheïkh asked and
obtained permission to bury the remains of the many thousand
martyrs who had been slain in the late massacre, which lasted seven
days and seven nights. He immediately set to work, and with the aid
of his own three hundred fakírs and Bábá Ja’fer’s three hundred
followers, buried those many thousand martyrs in the places where
they had died. In the ancient burying ground behind the arsenal,
there are large caverns and ancient vaults, where, from the time of
’Omar ibn ’Abdu-l-’azíz, some thousand companions (of the Prophet)
had been buried. To that place Sheïkh Maksúd carried some
thousand bodies of these martyrs, and buried them there, where, on
a hewn stone, there is written in large and legible characters, so that
it may be easily read, this inscription, said to be by the Sheïkh’s own
blessed hand:
These are the men who came and went!
In this frail world (dári fenà) what have they done?
They came and went, what have they done?
At last to th’ endless world (dári bakà) they’re gone.
It is to this day celebrated throughout the world as an extraordinary
inscription, and is visited by travellers from Rúm (Greece), ’Arab
(Arabia), and ’Ajem (Persia). Some of them, who, in the expectation
of finding hidden treasures, began to work at these ancient buildings
with pickaxes like Ferhád’s, perished in the attempt, and were also
buried there. Some holy men make pilgrimages to this place
barefoot on Friday nights, and recite the chapter entitled Tekásur
(Korán, chap. 102); for many thousands of illustrious companions (of
the Prophet) Mohájirín, (who followed him in his flight), and Ansárs
(auxiliaries) are buried in this place. It has been also attested by
some thousands of the pious, that this burial ground has been seen
some thousands of times covered with lights on the holy night of
Alkadr (i.e. sixth of Ramazán).
In short, Seyyid Bábá Ja’fer, Hárúnu-r rashíd’s ambassador, having
been enraged, and taking offence at his not having been well
received by the king Ghirándó Míhál, reproached him bitterly, and
suffered martyrdom by poison in consequence of it. He was buried
by Sheïkh Maksúd, who received an order to that effect, in a place
within the prison of the infidels, where, to this day, his name is
insulted by all the unbelieving malefactors, debtors, murderers, &c.
imprisoned there. But when (God be praised!) Islámból was taken,
the prison having likewise been captured, the grave of Seyyid Ja’fer
Bábá Sultán, in the tower of the prison [the Bagno], became a place
of pilgrimage, which is visited by those who have been released from
prison, and call down blessings in opposition to the curses of the
unbelievers.
The ninth Siege. Three years after that great event related above,
Hárúnu-r-rashíd marched from Baghdád with an immense army, to
require the blood of the faithful from the infidels of Rúm (Asia Minor
and Greece), and having reached Malatiyyah, which was conquered
by Ja’fer Ghází, surnamed Seyyid Battál, that hero led the vanguard
of the army into Rúm; and Hárún himself brought up the rear with
reinforcements. Having taken possession of the straits, they
blockaded the city, cut off all its supplies, gave no quarter, slew
300,000 infidels, took 70,000 prisoners, and made an immense
booty, which they sent to Haleb (Aleppo) and Iskenderún, and then
returned laden with spoils to Baghdád. Yaghfúr (void of light), the
king at that time, was taken prisoner and carried before Hárún, who
gave him no quarter, but ordered him to be hung in the belfry of Ayá
Sófiyyah (Sancta Sophia). Having been from my infancy desirous of
seeing the world, and not remaining in ignorance, I learned the
Greek and Latin languages of my friend Simyún (Simeon) the
goldsmith, to whom I explained the Persian glossary of Sháhidí, and
he gave me lessons in the Aleksanderah (Alexandra), i.e. the History
of Alexander. He also read to me the history of Yanván, from which
these extracts are taken. But after the race of the Cæsars
(Kayásirah) became extinct in Kanátúr, Kostantiniyyah fell into the
hands of various princes, till the house of ’Osmán arose in A.H. 699
(A.D. 1300), and, at the suggestion of ’Aláu-d-dín the Seljúkí, first
turned its attention to the conquest of that city.
 SECTION IX.

Concerning the Sieges of Constantinople by the Ottoman Emperors.

The first portion of the descendants of Jafeth which set its foot in
the country of Rúm (Asia Minor) was the house of the Seljúkians,
who, in alliance with the Dánishmendian Emírs, wrested, in A.H. 476
(A.D. 1083), the provinces of Malatiyyah, Kaïsariyyah, ’Aláiyyah,
Karamán, and Kóniyah from the hand of the Greek emperors (Kaïsari
Rúm Yúnániyán). They first came from Máveráu-n-nehr
(Transoxiana). On the extinction of the Seljúkian dynasty, A.H. 600
(A.D. 1204), Suleïmán-sháh, one of the begs (lords) of the town of
Máhán in Túrán, and his son Ertoghrul, came into Rúm, to the court
of Sultán ’Aláu-d-dín. The latter having been set on his feet as a man
(er-toghrílúb), and made a beg by that prince, made many brilliant
conquests, and, at the death of ’Aláu-d-dín, was elected sovereign in
his stead, by all the great men (a’yán) of the country. He died at the
town of Sukúdjuk, and was succeeded by his son ’Osmán, who was
the first emperor (pádisháh) of that race. He resided at ’Osmánjik,
from whence the dazzling beams of the Mohammedan faith shed
their light over Anátólí, Germiyán, and Karamán. In the time of his
son and successor, the victorious Órkhán, seventy-seven heroes,
friends of God (evliyáu-llah, i.e. saints) fought under the banners of
the Prophet.
It was in his reign, that the holy (velí) Hájí Begtásh, who had been
in Khorasán, one of the followers of our great ancestor, that Túrk of
Túrks, Khójah Ahmed Yaseví, came over to his camp with three
hundred devout (sáhibi sejjádeh) fakírs carrying drums and
standards, and, as soon as they had met Órkhán, Brúsah was taken.
From thence he proceeded to the conquest of Constantaniyyeh. His
son, Suleïmán Beg, joined by the permission and advice of Begtásh
and seventy great saints (evliyà), with forty brave men, such as
Karah Mursal, Karah Kójah, Karah Yalavà, Karah Bíghà, Karah
Síghlah, in short forty heroes (bahádur) called Karah (black), crossed
over the sea on rafts, and set foot on the soil of Rúm, shouting
Bismillah, the Mohammedan cry of war. Having laid waste the
country on all sides of the city, they conquered, on a Friday, the
castle of Ip-salà (it is called Ip-salà by a blunder for Ibtidà salà, i.e.
the commencement prayer), and having offered up the Fridays
prayer there, they pushed on to the gates of Adrianople, taking
Gelíbólí (Galipoli), Tekir-tághí (Rodosto), and Silivrì (Selymbria) in
their way, and returned victorious, laden with spoils and captives,
after an absence of seven days, to Kapú-tághí on the Asiatic shore,
from whence they marched with their booty into Brúsah. The brain
of the whole army of Islám being thus filled with sweetness, the
shores of Rúm were many times invaded, all the neighbouring
country was laid waste, nor were the infidels (káfirs) able to make
any resistance; while the Moslim heroes found means of raising a
noble progeny by being tied with the knot of matrimony to the
beautiful virgins whom they carried off. Sultán Murád I., who
succeeded Órkhán, following the advice formerly given by Aláu-d-dín
Sultán and Hájí Begtásh, made himself master of the country round
Kostantaniyyeh before he attempted the conquest of the city itself.
He therefore first took Edreneh (Adrianople), and filled it with
followers of Mohammed coming from Anátólí, while the infidels could
not advance a step beyond Islámból. However, they contrived to
assemble an army of 700,000 men in the plain of Kós-óvà (Cossova),
near the castle of Vechteren in Rúm-ílí (Romelia), where, by the
decree of the Creator of the world, they were all put to the sword by
the victorious Khudávendikár (Murád); but while walking over the
dead bodies in the field of battle, praising God, and surveying the
corpses of the infidels doomed to hell (dúzakh), he was slain by a
knife from the hand of one Velashko, who lay among the slain. The
assassin was instantly cut to pieces, and Murád’s son, Yildirim
Báyazíd Khán, mounted the throne. In order to avenge his father’s
death, he fell like a thunderbolt on Káfiristán (the land of the
unbelievers), slew multitudes of them, and began the tenth siege of
Kostantaniyyeh.
Yildirim Báyazíd wisely made Edreneh (Adrianople) the second seat
of empire, and besieged Islámból during seven months with an army
of a hundred thousand men, till the infidels cried out that they were
ready to make peace on his own terms, offering to pay a yearly
tribute (kharáj) of 200,000 pieces of gold. Dissatisfied with this
proposal, he demanded that the Mohammedans (ummeti
Mohammed) should occupy, as of old in the days of ’Omar ibn ’Abdu-
l-’azíz, and Hárúnu-r-Rashíd, one half of Islámból and Ghalatah, and
have the tithe of all the gardens and vineyards outside of the city.
The Tekkúr king (i.e. the Emperor) was compelled of necessity to
accept these terms, and twenty thousand Musulmáns having been
introduced into the town, were established within their former
boundaries. The Gul jámi’í, within the Jebálí kapú-sí, was purified
with rose-water from all the pollutions of the infidels, whence it
received its name of Gul-jámi’í (i.e. Rose mosque). A court of justice
was established in the Sirkehjí Tekiyeh in that neighbourhood;
Ghalatah was garrisoned with six thousand men, and half of it, as far
as the tower, given up to the Mohammedans. Having in this manner
conquered one half of Islámból, Báyazíd returned victorious to
Edreneh. Soon afterwards Tímúr Leng issuing from the land of Írán
with thirty-seven kings at his stirrup, claimed the same submission
from Báyazíd, who, with the spirit and courage of an emperor,
refused to comply. Tímúr, therefore, advanced and encountered him
with a countless army. Twelve thousand men of the Tátár light-horse
(eshkinjí), and some thousands of foot soldiers, who, by the bad
counsels of the vazír, had received no pay, went over to the enemy;
notwithstanding which Báyazíd, urged on by his zeal, pressed
forwards with his small force, mounted on a sorry colt, and having
entered the throng of Tímúr’s army, laid about him with his sword on
all sides, so as to pile the Tátárs in heaps all around him. At last, by
God’s will, his horse that had never seen any action fell under him,
and he, not being able to rise again before the Tátárs rushed upon
him, was taken prisoner, and carried into Tímúr’s presence. Tímúr
arose when he was brought in, and treated him with great respect.
They then sat down together on the same carpet (sejjádeh) to eat
honey and yóghúrt (clotted cream). While thus conversing together,
“I thank God,” said Tímúr, “for having delivered thee into my hand,
and enabled me to eat and discourse with thee on the same table;
but if I had fallen into thy hands, what wouldst thou have done?”
Yildirim, from the openness of his heart, came to the point at once,
and said, “By heaven! if thou hadst fallen into my hand, I would
have shut thee up in an iron cage, and would never have taken thee
out of it till the day of thy death!” “What thou lovest in thy heart, I
love in mine,” replied Tímúr, and ordering an iron cage to be brought
forthwith, shut Báyazíd up in it, according to the wish he had himself
expressed. Tímúr then set out on his return, and left the field open
for Chelebí Sultán Mohammed to succeed his father Yildirim. He
immediately pursued the conqueror with 70,000 men, and
overtaking him at Tashák-óvá-sí, smote his army with such a
Mohammedan cleaver, that his own men sheltered themselves from
the heat of the sun under awnings made of the hides of the slain,
whence that plain received the ludicrous name by which it is still
known. But, by God’s will, Yildirim died that very night of a burning
fever, in the cage in which he was confined. His son Mohammed
Chelebí, eager to avenge his father, continued to drive Tímúr
forwards, till he reached the castle of Tókát, where he left him
closely besieged. He then returned victorious, carrying the illustrious
corpse of his father to Brúsah, where it was buried in an oratory in
the court before his own mosque. His brothers ’Ísá and Músá
disputed his right to the empire; but Mohammed, supported by the
people of Rúm, was proclaimed khalífah at Edreneh (Adrianople),
where he remained and finished the mosque begun by his father. On
hearing of these contentions for the empire, the king (tekkúr) of
Islámból danced for joy. He sent round cryers to make proclamation
that, on pain of death, not a Muselmán should remain in the city of
Kostantín, allowing only a single day for their removal: and he
destroyed a great number of them in their flight to Tekirtágh
(Rodostó) and Edreneh (Adrianople). The empire, after the demise
of Chelebí Mohammed, was held first by Murád II., and then by
Mohammed (II.) the conqueror, who during his father’s lifetime was
governor (hákim) of Maghnísá (Magnesia), and spent his time there
in studying history, and in conversing with those excellent men ’Ak-
Shemsu-d-dín, Karah-Shemsu-d-dín, and Sívásí, from whom he
acquired a perfect knowledge of the commentaries on the Korán and
the sacred traditions (hadís). While he was at Maghnísá, having
heard that the infidels from Fránsah (France) had landed at ’Akkah
(Acri), the port of Jerusalem, on the shore of the White Sea, and in
the dominions of Keláún, Sultán of Egypt, and taken possession of
’Askelán and other towns, from which they had carried off much
plunder and many prisoners to their own country, he was so much
grieved at the thoughts of thousands of Muselmáns being carried
into captivity, that he shed tears. “Weep not, my Emperor,” said Ak-
shemsu-d-dín, “for on the day that thou shalt conquer Islámból,
thou shalt eat of the spoils and sweetmeats taken by the unbelievers
from the castle of ’Akkah: but remember on that day to be to the
faithful an acceptable judge as well as victor (kúzí ve-ghází rází),
doing justice to all the victorious Moslims.” At the same time taking
off the shawl twisted round his Turban, he placed it on Mohammed’s
head, and announced the glad tidings of his being the future
conqueror of Islámból. They then read the noble traditions (hadís) of
what the Prophet foretold relative to Islámból, and observed that he
was the person to whom these traditions applied. Mohammed on
this, covering his head with Ak-Shemsu-d-din’s turban (’urf), said:
“Affairs are retrieved in their season!” and, recommending all his
affairs to the bounty of the Creator, returned to his studies.
On the death of his father Murád II., ambassadors to congratulate
him were sent by all monarchs, except Uzún Hasan, Prince (Sháh) of
Azerbáïján, of the family of Karah Koyúnlí; against him, therefore, he
first turned his arms, and defeated him in the field of Terján.

Account of the Rise of Mohammed II., the Father of Victory.

He mounted the throne on Thursday the 16th Moharrem 855 (A.D.

1451), at the age of twenty-one years. My great grandfather, then
his standard-bearer, was with him at the conquest of Islámból. He
purchased with the money arising from his share of the booty, the
houses within the U’n kapání, on the site of the mosque of
Sághirjílar, which he built after the conquest of the city by
Mohammed II., together with a hundred shops settled on the
mosque as an endowment (vakf). The house in which I was born
was built at the same time, and with money so acquired. The
patents (baráts) for the mosques and the shops, however, were
made out in the conquerors name, and signed with his cypher
(tughrà), the administration of the endowment being vested in our
family. From the deeds relative to it now in my hands, I am well
acquainted with the dates of all the events of his reign. He was a
mighty but bloodthirsty monarch. As soon as he had mounted the
throne at Adrianople, he caused Hasan, his younger brother by the
same mother, to be strangled, and sent his body to Brúsah, to be
interred there beside his father. He conquered many castles in the
country round Brúsah, built those called the key of the two seas, on
the strait of the White Sea, and two likewise on that of the Black
Sea, and levied a tribute on Islámból. According to the peace made
by Yildirim, a tithe of the produce of all the vineyards round was to
be paid to the Sultán, before any infidel could gather a single grape.
After the lapse of three years, some grapes having been gathered by
the infidels in violation of this article of the treaty, in the vineyards of
the Rúmílí hisár (i.e. the European castle on the canal of
Constantinople), a quarrel ensued, in which some men were killed.
Mohammed, when this was reported to him, considered it as a
breach of the treaty, and immediately laid siege to Islámból, with an
army as numerous as the sand of the sea.
 SECTION X.

The last Siege of Kostantaniyyeh by Mohammed II. the Conqueror.

In the year of the Hijrah 857 (A.D. 1453), Sultán Mohammed

encamped outside of the Adrianople gate, with an immense army of
Unitarians (Muvahhedín); and some thousands of troops from
Arebistán, who crossed the Strait of Gelíbólí (Gallipoli), and having
joined the army of Islám, took up their quarters before the Seven
Towers. All the troops from Tokát, Sívás, Erzrúm, Páï-búrt, and the
other countries taken from Uzún Hasan, crossed the strait near
Islámból, and encamped on the ’Ok-meïdán in sight of the infidels.
Trenches, mines, and guns were got ready, and the city was invested
by land on all sides; it was only left open by sea. Seventy-seven
distinguished and holy men beloved by God (Evliyáu-llah) followed
the camp; among them were Ak-Shemsu-d-dín, Karah-Shemsu-d-
dín, Sívásí, Mollá Kúrání, Emír Nejárí, Mollá Fenárí, Jubbeh ’Alí,
Ansárí-Dedeh, Mollá Púlád, Ayà Dedeh, Khorósí Dedeh, Hatablí
Dedeh, and Sheïkh Zindání. The Sultán made a covenant with them,
promising that one-half of the city (devlet) should belong to them,
and one-half to the Muselmán conquerors; “and I will build,” said he,
“for each of you a convent, sepulchral chapel, hospital, school,
college, and house of instruction in sacred traditions (Dáru-l-hadís).”
The men of learning and piety were then assembled in one place;
proclamation was made that all the troops of Islám should renew
their ablutions, and offer up a prayer of two inflections. The
Mohammedan shout of war (Allah! Allah!) was then thrice uttered,
and according to the law of the Prophet, at the moment of their
investing the city, Mahmúd Páshá was sent with a letter to the
Emperor (Tekkúr) of Constantaniyyeh. When the letter had been
read and its contents made known, relying on the strength of the
place and the number of his troops, the Emperor proudly sent the
ambassador back, saying, “I will neither pay tribute, nor surrender
the fortress, nor embrace Islám.” On one side, the troops of Islám
surrounded the walls like bees, crying out Bismillah, and beginning
the assault with the most ardent zeal; on the other, the besieged,
who were twice one hundred thousand crafty devils of polytheists,
depended on their towers and battlements by land, and feared no
danger by sea, the decrees of fate never entering into their
thoughts. They had five hundred pieces of ordnance at Seraglio
Point, five hundred at the Lead-magazines (on the Ghalatah-side),
and one hundred, like a hedge-hog’s bristles, inside and outside of
the Kíz kulleh-sí (Tower of Leander), so that not a bird could fly
across the sea without being struck from these three batteries. The
priests (pápás), monks, and patriarchs encouraging those polluted
hosts to the battle, promised some useless idols, such as Lát and
Menát, to each of the infidels. The ’Osmánlús, in the mean time,
began to batter the walls, and received reinforcements and
provisions; while the Greeks, who were shut out of the canals of
Constantinople and the Dardanelles by the castles built there, could
obtain none. After the siege had been carried on for ten days, the
Sultan assembled his faithful sheiks, saying, “See to what a condition
we are reduced! The capture of this fortress will be very difficult, if
the defence of it is thus continued from day to day.” Ak-Shemsu-d-
dín told him that he must wait for a time, but would infallibly be
conqueror: that there was within the city a holy man named Vadúd,
and that as long as he lived it could not be taken; but that in fifty
days he would die, and then at the appointed hour, minute, and
second, the city would be taken. The Sultán therefore ordered
Tímúr-tásh Páshá to employ 2,000 soldiers in constructing fifty
galleys (kadirghah), in the valley near Kághid kháneh, and some
villages were plundered to provide them with planks and other
timber for that purpose. Kójah Mustafá Páshá had previously
constructed, by the labour of all his Arab troops, fifty galleys and
fifty horse-boats (káyik), at a place called Levend-chiftlik, opposite to
the Ok-meïdán. The galleys built at Kághid kháneh being also ready
on the tenth day, the Sultán went on that day to the Ok-meïdán,
with some thousands of chosen men, carrying greased levers and
beams to move the said ships. By the command of God, the wind
blew very favourably; all sails were unfurled, and amidst the shouts
of the Moslims crying Allah! Allah! and joyful discharges of muskets
and artillery, a hundred and fifty ships slid down from the Ok-meïdán
into the harbour. The terrified Káfirs cried out “What can this be?”
and this wonderful sight was the talk of the whole city. The place
where these ships were launched is still shown, at the back of the
gardens of the arsenal (Ters kháneh), at the stairs of Sháh-kulí
within the Ok-meïdán.
The millet (dárú, i.e. sorghum) which was scattered there under the
ships (in order to make them slide down more readily) grew, and is
to this day growing in that place. All the victorious Moslims went on
board armed cap-à-pie, and waited till the ships built by Tímúr-tásh
at Kághid kháneh made their appearance near Iyyúb (at the
extremity of the harbour), in full sail, with a favourable wind. They
soon joined the fleet from Ok-meïdán, amid the discharge of guns
and cannons, and shouts of Hóï Hóï! and Allah! Allah! When the
Káfirs saw the illustrious fleet filled with victorious Moslims
approach, they absolutely lost their senses, and began to manifest
their impotence and distress. Their condition was aptly expressed in
that text (Kor. II, 18): “They put their fingers in their ears, because
of the noise of the thunder, for fear of death!” and they then began
to talk of surrendering on the twentieth day. Pressed by famine and
the besieging army, the inhabitants deserted through the breaches
in the walls, to the Moslims, who, comforted by their desertion,
received them well. On that day, the chiefs (báïs) of Karamán,
Germiyán, Tekkeh-ílí, Aïdin, and Sáríkhán, arrived with 77,000 well-
armed men, and gave fresh life to the hearts of the faithful. Tímúr-
tásh having passed over with his fleet to the opposite side, landed
his troops on the shore of Iyyúb, where he attacked the gates of
Iyyúb and Sárí-Sultán; Mulá Pulád, a saint who knew the scripture
by heart and worked miracles, attacked that of Pulád; and Sheikh
Fanárí took post at the Fener kapú-sí (the Fanal-gate). The Káfirs
built a castle there in one night, which would not now be built in a
month, and which is actually standing and occupied. A monk named
Petro having fled from that castle with three hundred priests, all
turned Moslims, and that gate was called from him Petró kapú-sí.
Having by God’s will conquered the newly-built castle that night, he
received a standard and the name of Mohammed Petro. Ayà-dedeh
was stationed with three hundred Nakshbendí Fakírs before the gate
of Ayá, where he fell a martyr (to the faith), and was buried within
the walls, at our old court of justice the Tekiyéh (convent) of
Sirkehjí; in the same manner, the gate at which Jubbeh ’Alí was
posted, was called the Jebálí gate, in memory of him, Jebálí being
erroneously written for Jubbeh ’Alí. He was the sheikh (i.e. spiritual
guide) of Keláún, Sultán of Egypt, and having come to Brúsah for
the purpose of being present at the taking of Islámból, became a
disciple of Zeïnu-d-dín Háfí, and was called Jubbeh ’Alí, from his
always wearing a jacket (jubbeh) made of horse-cloth; he was
afterwards, when Mohammed marched against Islámból, made chief
baker (ekmekchí-báshí), and provided, no creature knows how, from
one single oven the whole army, consisting of many hundred
thousand servants of God, with bread as white as cotton. He did not
embark at the Ok-meïdán, but with three hundred Fakírs, disciples of
Zeïnu-d-dín Háfí, who, having spread skins upon the sea near the
garden of the arsenal, employed themselves in beating their drums
and tambours, and singing hymns in honour of the unity (tevhíd) of
God. They then, unfurling the standard of Háfí, passed over the sea
clearer than the sun, standing on their skins as on a litter, to the
terror of the infidels doomed to hell! Jubbeh ’Alí having taken up his
from the sea, was posted at the Jebálí gate. After the conquest he
voluntarily fell a martyr, and was interred in the court of the Gul-
jámi’í (the rose-mosque), where an assemblage of Fakírs afterwards
found a retreat from the world. Khorós dedeh was engaged at the
Un-kapání gate, which therefore bears his name; and below it, on
the left hand as one enters, there is a figure of a cock (khorós). He
was a Fakír, and one of the disciples of my ancestor Ahmed Yeseví.
He came from Khurasán, when old and sickly, with Hájí Begtásh, in
order to be present at the siege of Islámból, and got the nickname
of Khorós-dedeh (father cock), from his continually rousing the
faithful, by crying out, “Arise, ye forgetful!” Yáúzún Er, who was a
very pious man, built within the Un-kapání a mosque in honour of
him; it is now in the Sighirjílar chárshu-sí (beast market), and named
afterwards the mosque of Yáúzún Er. Khorós-dedeh died sometime
afterwards near the gate called after his name, and was buried near
the high-road, outside of the Un-kapání gate, beside my ancestor. A
conduit for religious ablutions has been erected near it, and is now
visited as a place of pilgrimage. ’Alí Yárík, Bey of Ayázmánd, a
nephew of Uzún-Hasan, of the Karákoyúnlí family, attacked the
Ayázmah gate. He dug a well there for the purpose of renewing his
ablutions; hence the gate received the name Ayázmah (Ἁγίασμα)
kapú-sí: the water is pure spring-water, though on the edge of the
sea. Sheïkh Zindání was a descendant of Sheïkh Bábá Ja’fer, who
having come as ambassador in the time of Hárúnu-r-Rashíd, was
poisoned by the king (i.e. emperor), and buried within the Zindán
kapú-sí (prison-gate). Sheïkh Zindání visited this place, having come
from Edirneh (Adrianople) with “the conqueror,” at the head of 3,000
noble Seyyids (descendants of Mohammed), who gave no quarter,
soon made the Zindán kapú-sí his castle, and having entered it,
made a pilgrimage to his ancestor’s tomb, and laid his own green
turban on the place where Bábá Ja’fer’s head rested. He continued
for seventy years after the conquest as Turbehdár (warden of the
sepulchre) and built a convent there. The Emperor, as he had made
a prison in that place, called it Zindán kapú-sí (the Bagnio), and it
was conquered by Zindání. The Sheïkh having appointed in his stead
a Sayyid of the same pure race, to take charge of the tomb of Ja’fer
Bábá, accompanied Sultán Báyazíd in his expedition against Kilí
(Kilia) and Ak-kirmán, in the year 889 (A.D. 1484). He died at
Edirneh (Adrianople), after his return with Báyazíd from those
conquests, and on that occasion the Sultán caused all the prisoners
in the public prison there to be set at liberty for the good of the
Sheïkh’s soul, and erected a chapel (turbeh) over his tomb, outside
of the Zindán Kulleh-sí, having attended his funeral in person. His
turbeh is now a great place of pilgrimage, and all his children are
buried there. It is called the Ziyáret-gáh of ’Abdu-r-ruuf Samadání.
The wardens of the tomb of Bábá Ja’fer at Islámból are still
members of his family, and their genealogical tree is as follows:
’Abdu-r-ruuf Samadání (otherwise called Sheïkh Zindání) son of
Sheïkh Jemálu-d-dín, son of Bint-Emír Sultán, son of Eshrefu-ddín,
son of Táju-d-dín, son of the daughter of Seyyid Sikkín (buried near
Ak-Shemsu-d-dín, at Túrbahlí Kóï), son of Ja’fer Bábá (buried at
Islámból), the son of Mohammed Hanifí, from whom my ancestor
Ahmed Yeseví was also descended; our genealogical trees were
therefore well known to me.
Kámkár Beg, of Kútáhiyeh, was one of the Germiyán-óghlú (i.e. the
children of Germiyán). He, with three thousand young heroes,
assailed the Shehíd kapú-sí (martyrs-gate). As it is near Ayá Sófiyah,
the Christians assembled there in great multitudes, opened the gate,
and sallying forth with great fury, made all their Muselmán assailants
martyrs. In the time of Hárúnu-r-rashíd, also, some of the illustrious
auxiliaries of the Prophet (ansár) quaffed the cup of martyrdom
there, hence it has been named the Martyrs (Shuhúd) gate, though
incorrectly called by the vulgar, Jews’ (Juhúd) gate. The gates of the
royal palace (Khúnkár seráï) sustained no siege; but the gate near
the Seven Towers was attacked by Karamán-óghlú with the new
reinforcements. The troops from Tekkehbáï were posted before
Silivrí-gate; those from Aïdín, before the new gate (Yení kapú); those
from Sárúkhán, before the Cannon-gate (Tóp kapú-sí), where they
were slain, and replaced by those from Munteshá. The force from
Isfendiyár was ordered to besiege the Adrianople-gate (Edirneh
kapú-sí), and that from Hamíd, the Crooked-gate (Egrí kapú). So
that Islámból was besieged on two sides, and nothing but the Kúm
kapú (Sand-gate) on the sea-shore, and the wall from the Seven
Towers to Seraglio-Point, remained free from attack. At the Seven
Towers, the poet Ahmed Páshá, disregarding the fire of the infidels
made several breaches. At the Silivrí-gate, Haïder Páshá’s fire gave
not a moments respite to the infidels. At the new gate (Yení kapú),
Mahmúd Páshá, commander of the troops from Aïdín, stormed the
wall which he had battered three times without success. The
commander at the Tóp kapú-sí was Nishání, also called Karamání
Mohammed Páshá, a disciple of Jellálu-d-dín Rúmí. He had given
devilish (khabelí) proofs of his valour in the war against Uzún Hasan.
While he stood at the Cannon-gate, not a cannon could the Káfirs
discharge. At the Edirneh-gate (Adrianople), the commander was
Sa’dí Páshá, who having dwelt along with Jem-Sháh in Firengistán,
had learned many thousand military arts. Being united heart and
soul with the valiant men from Isfendiyár stationed at that gate, they
vied with him in their heroic deeds, remembering the prophetic
tradition that says “We shall be the conquerors of Kostantaniyyeh”
(Constantinople). Seven places are yet shewn near that gate where
they battered down the wall. Hersek-Oghlú Ahmed Páshá had the
command at the Crooked-gate (Egrí-kapú), where by many straight-
forward blows he sidled himself into the midst of the infidels till he
reduced them all to a mummy.
In this way Kostantaniyyeh had been besieged for twenty days,
without any signs of its being conquered. The Moslem warriors, the
seventy Unitarians, and three thousand learned ’Ulemás, favourites
of God (Evliyá-llah), masters of the decrees of the four orthodox
sects, began to be afflicted by the length of the siege, and with one
accord offered up their prayers to the Creator for his aid, when
suddenly there was darkness over Islámból, with thunder and
lightning; a fire was seen to ascend to the vault of heaven from the
Atmeïdán; the strongest buildings flew into the air, and were
scattered over sea and land. On that day three thousand infidels fled
from the city, through alarm and terror. Some were honoured by the
profession of Islám, and admitted into the emperors service; others
fled to different countries; but the rest, who would not abandon the
faith of the Messiah, set to work to repair the breaches, and
continued firm in their resistance. They were much pressed,
however, by want of food and ammunition.
On the thirtieth day of the siege, Sultán Mohammed having placed
the ’Urf (i.e. the judicial turban) on his head, and sky-coloured boots
on his feet, mounted a mule which might rival Duldul (Mahomet’s
steed), made the round of the walls, and distributed largesses
among his troops. He then passed over with many thousand men
from Iyyúb to Kághid khánah, and crossing the streams of Alí Beg
Kóï and Kághid Khánah came to the place called Levend-chiftlik,
where forty ships (firkatah) had also been built. These, like the
former, they moved on rollers to the Ok-meïdán, and launched them
at the Sháh-kúlí stairs into the sea, filled with some thousand scarlet
scull-capped Arabs, burning as brandy, and sharp as hawks.
 SECTION XI.
There appeared off Seraglio Point ten large admirals’ ships and ten
frigates, completely armed and equipped, with the cross-bearing
ensign flying, drums beating, and music playing; and casting anchor
there, they fired their guns with indescribable demonstrations of joy,
while the Moslims advanced from the Ok-meïdán in two hundred
boats and skiffs, embarked on board their own vessels, rushed on
these ten ships like bees swarming upon a hive, and enthralled
them, head and stern, with their ropes like a spiders web. The
infidels, supposing that they were only come on a parley, stood
quietly without stretching out a hand against them. The Moslims, in
the mean time, shouting “Allah! Allah!” began to tie their hands
behind their backs, and to plunder their ships; when the infidels,
speaking in their own language, said “Chi parlai,” that is to say,
“What do you say?” The Káfirs discovered by the answer who they
were, and cried out, “These Turks have entered our ships like a
plague, we can make no resistance.” On entering the harbour they
had fired all their guns as signals of joy, and were now so crowded
together that they could not use their arms, they were therefore all
taken. The infidels within the town, seeing this sad event, those who
were coming to succour them having been thus taken, tore their hair
and beards, and began a heavy fire from the batteries at Seraglio
Point, the Lead Magazines at Ghalatah, and the Kíz Kulleh-sí (Tower
of Leánder). The undaunted Moslims, however, in spite of the
enemy’s batteries, lowered the cross-bearing flag on the twenty
ships which they had taken, put all the prisoners on board of their
own vessels, and came to an anchor before the garden of the
arsenal, firing their guns repeatedly from joy and exultation. The
serden-gechdí (i.e. mad caps) immediately disembarking from the
vessels, brought the glad tidings to the Sultán and Ak-Shemsu-d-dín,
in the garden of the arsenal; when the latter, turning to Mohammed,
said: “When your majesty, being then a prince at Maghnísá, heard of
the taking of ’Akkà, Saïdá, and Berût (Acrí, Sidon, and Beïrút) in
Egypt, by the infidels, and grieved at the thoughts of what the
captives, women, and children must suffer, I comforted you by
saying, that when you conquered Islámból you would eat of the
sweetmeats taken in the plunder of ’Akkà. Lo! those sweetmeats are
now presented to you, and my prophetic prayer, that the city might
be conquered on the fiftieth day, has been answered!” There were
found by the Musulmáns on board the twenty ships, three thousand
purses of coins (fulúrí) of Tekiyánús (Decianus), one thousand loads
of pure gold, two thousand loads of silver, eight thousand prisoners,
twenty captains of ships, a French princess (a kings daughter, a yet
unexpanded blossom), a thousand Muselmán damsels, brilliant as
the sun, noble and ignoble, and some thousand-times a hundred
thousand warlike stores; all of which the Sultán confided to the care
of Ak-Shemsu-d-dín, while he himself was entirely engaged in
continuing the siege.
The complete account of the affair is this: Kostantín, the late King of
Islámból, being betrothed to a daughter of the King of Fránsah, the
latter, in order to send her with an escort worthy of her rank,
equipped a fleet of six hundred ships, and sent them to ravage the
coasts of Arabia (’Arabistán). In that unhappy year they had
plundered ’Akkah, Saïdah, Berút, Tarábulus (Tripoli), Ghazzah, and
Ramlah, as far as the land of Hásán (Haúrán?), and carried off more
than two thousand Húrí-like damsels from ’Arabistán, with spoils to
the amount of millions. Of this fleet, ten galeons and ten frigates
were dispatched to carry the Princess to Islámbúl. When they
reached the straits of the White Sea (the Dardanelles), they
discovered that the Túrks had built castles there; but these accursed
fellows, by disguising themselves, taking advantage of a fresh
southerly breeze, and sending forwards five empty ships to receive
the fire from the castles, in two hours got twenty miles beyond
them. Having by this stratagem reached Islámból, they were taken,
thank God! as has been related. This French princess afterwards
gave birth to Yildirím Báyazíd; but other historians tell the story
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