Untitled treatise on Revelation (Section 1.8)
The first king therefore is to be interpreted of or Saviour a single person: but as he is equivalent to a series of many so ye other three Kings must be applyed each to a series of many; for this ye great number of Emperors to be distributed among them requires.
The second Seal opened.
The second king is introduced by ye second beast wch is an Ox situate to ye west: & this whilst in ye vision it bids St Iohn look toward it, informs us that this Seal must begin wth Trajan ye Spaniard an Emperour out of ye west Trajanus, inquit Dion, homo Hispanus nec Italus erat nec Italicus: Ante eum nemo alterius nationis Imperium Romanum obtinuerat. In ye former Seal it was in ye family of Cæsar, & to ye end of this it continued in Trajan's.
To this Horsman it was given to take peace from ye earth (i.e. from his neighbours by invading them,) & that they (he & his neighbours, or his own subjects by civil wars) should kill one another. This killing one another you have expressed by ye Ox wch is a beast appointed to ye slaughter, & represents his armies & other people of his kingdom; but \yet/ ye great sword wch was given is an emblem of \his/ victoriousnes, as ye Bow was of ye first Rider's.
Now for ye victoriousnes of this Rider I need only tell {sic} you that after ye Empire was almost dissolved by seditions & defections in Nero's reign, & something repaired by Vespasian, & again made to totter by Domitian: Trajan not only setled it but enlarged it exceedingly, conquering wherever he went, & heaping victories upon victories more then ever did any other Emperor since or Saviours days: insomuch that historians reccon ye ἀκμὴ of ye Empire to have been in his reign. Trajanus saith Sextus Rufus, qui post Augustum Romanæ Reip. movit lacertos, Armeniam recepit a Parthis: sublato Diademate Regi Armeniæ majoris regnum ademit: Albanis regem dedit: Iberos, Bosphorianos, Colchos in fidem Romanæ ditionis accepit: Saracenorum loca, & Arabum occupa vit: Corduenos & Marcomedos obtinuit: Anthemusiam optimam Persidis regionem, Seluciamqꝫ & Ctesiphontem ac Babyloniam accepit & tenuit: usqꝫ ad Indiæ fines post Alexandrum accessit: Provincias fecit Armeniam Mesopotamiam & Assyriam, & quæ inter Tigridem et Euphratem sita irriguis ammibus instar Ægypti fæcundantur. So Eutropius: Romani Imperij quod post Augustum defensum magis fuerat quam nobiliter ampliatum, Trajanus fines longè latéqꝫ diffudit: urbes trans Rhenum in Germania reparavit: Daciam Decibalo victo subegit, Provincia trans Danubium facta in his agris quos nunc Thaiphali tenent & Victophali & Theruingi. Ea Provincia decies centena millia in circuitu tenuit. Armeniam quam occupaverant Parthi recepit, Sarmato Rege occiso qui eam tenebat. Albanis regem dedit. Iberorum regem & Sauromatarum & Bosphoranorum {sic} & Arabum & Osdroenorum & Colchorum in fidem accepit. Adiabenos, Marchomedes, occupavit; & Anthemusium magnam Persidis regionem, Seleuciam & Ctesiphontem, Babylonem et Edessios vicit ac tenuit: Vsqꝫ ad Inde fines & mare rubrum accessit, atqꝫ ibi tres Provincias fecit Armeniam Assyriam & Mesopotamiam cum his Gentibus quæ Madenam attingunt. Arabiam postea in Provinciæ formam redegit. In mari *[1] rubro classem instituit ut per eam Indiæ fines vastaret. De Indis enim, saith Dion, cogitare cœpit ac de rebus ejus gentis curiosè quærere, tum Alexandrum beatum dicere, nonnunquam tamen asserere se longius progressurum esse: idqꝫ scripsit ad Senatum: cùm tamen ea quæ cœperat tueri non posset. Cujus rei causa Senatus præter alia multa decrevit ut triumphos quotquot vellet ageret. Nam cum Trajanus tot gentes a se superatas esse scriberet, Senatus eas neqꝫ cognoscere neqꝫ nominare satis poterat. Itaqꝫ cum alia multa tum arcum triumphalem in foro ipsius ædificari jussit. Parabant cives redeunti longius obviam procedere sed is nunquam in Vrbem reversus est, neqꝫ ut extrema principijs responderent efficere potuit, ea enim quæ subjugarat amisit. Dum enim navigat Oceanum atqꝫ inde revelitur, ea quæ cœperat omnia tumultu defecerunt, præsidijs quæ apud eas gentes reliquerat dejectis cæsisqꝫ. Atqꝫ hæc ad Trajanum dum esset in navi præferuntur. — Igitur cognita defectione Lucium & Maxmum {sic} contra rebelles mittit. Maximus prælio superatus obijt. Lucius præclarè se gessit, recuperavitqꝫ Nisibide, Edessam expugnavit dereptamqꝫ incendit. Seleucia ab Euricio Claro & Iulio Alexandro capta et incensa est. Trajanus metuens ne Parthi quoqꝫ aliquid molirentur, - ijs regem Parthamaspatem designat, eiqꝫ diadema imponit. Inde profectus in Arabiam adoritur Agarenos qui et ipsi defecerant. &c. His wars wth Decibalus you have at large described in ye same Dion: the greatnes of wch you may learn from this passage in Eutropius: Hadrianum Daciam relinquere conatum amici deterruerunt ne multi cives Romani Barbaris traderentur, propterea quod Trajanus, victa Dacia, ex toto orbe Romano infinitas eo copias transtulerat ad agros et urbes colendas. Dacia enim diuturno bello Decibali fuerat exhausta. Eutrop. l 8.
Thus did this Emperor weild ye great sword & take peace from ye earth: & at ye revolting of ye conquered nations they also killed one another. But yet this killing one another was perhaps more notable in broiles between ye Iews & his other subjects. Incredibili motu, (saith Orosius,) sub uno tempore Iudæi quasi rabie {efferti} efferati per universas terrarum partes exarserunt. Nam et per totam Libyam adversas incolas atrocissima bella gesserunt: quæ & adeò tunc interfectis cultoribus desolata est, ut nisi postea Hadrianus Imperator collectas illuc aliunde colonias deduxisset vacua penitus abraso habitatore mansisset \Ægyptum vero totam et Cyrenem & Thebaida crucutis seditionibus turbaverunt. \(Hac ex Oros.)/ Salaminem urbem Cypri interfectis omnibus accolis deleverunt. (Oros (Euseb.) In Alexandria autem commisso prælio victi et attriti sunt. In Mesopotamia quoqꝫ rebellantibus jussi Imperatoris bellû illatum est. Itaqꝫ multa millia./ Qui circa Cyrenem habitabant, (saith Dion,) Andrea quodam duce, Romanos pariter atqꝫ Græcos {sic} concîluent, vescuntur eorum carnibus eduntqꝫ viscera; tum oblinuntur eorum sanguine, pellibus induuntur. Multos a vertice serris discidere medios, multos objicere Bestijs, multos etiam certare inter se coegerunt; ita ut interierint hominum ducenta viginti millia. {illeg} Præterea in Ægypto consimilis cædes, facta est.) & in Cypro \Nec minore clade Cypris affecti fuere: siquidem in ea Insula/, Artemione Duce, {sic} {illeg} \conspirantes Iudæi circiter/ ducenta quadraginto millia |capitum millia trucidarunt. Ex quo fit quod Iudæo in Cyprum venire non liceat: {illeg} etiam si forte vi tempestatis in Insulam appulerit interficitur. {illeg} Sed in ultra cædes non mansit nam Trajanus misso cum exercitu Lucio, tum accedentibus alijs ducibus, Iudæos qui per universum ferè terrarum Orbem tantum cædis ediderant, profligavit. (Ziphilin & Alexandrinus ex Dione) In Alexandria autē, commisso prælio victi et attriti sunt (Oros {illeg}) Iudeis etiam Mesopotamiæ rebellantibus: præcepit Imp: Trajanus Lysiæ Quieto ut & eos provincia exterminaret. Adversum quos Quietus aciem instruens infinita millia eorū interfecit (Euseb)|. Salaminem urbem Cyri interfectis omnibus accolis deleverunt. [Oros. Euseb.] In Alexandria autem commisso prælio victi et attriti sunt. [Oros.] Tandem et ab alijs & maximè a Lysio quem Trajanus miserat, subacti sunt. In Mesopotamia quoqꝫ rebellantibus, jussu Imperatoris bellum illatum est. [Oros. Euseb.] Atqꝫ ita multa millia eorum vastâ cæde delecta sunt.
This was in Trajan's time: but that wch followed under Hadrian by ye rebellion of Barchocheb was more notable. Cum Hadrianus, saith Dion, in urbem Hierosolymam coloniam deduxisset, ac quo loco Dei Templum fuerat, alterum Iovi Capitolino ædificari curavisset; magnum et diuturnum bellum inde moveri cæptum, totam Iudæam commoveri, Iudæos omnes ubiqꝫ gentiū tumultuari, multa damna occultè aperteqꝫ Romanis inferre, cumqꝫ ijs complures alias gentes lucri cupiditate conjungi, atqꝫ ea de re omnem ferè orbem \terrarum/ commotum esse. - Hos Hadrianus optimis quibusqꝫ ducibus adversus eos missis, sed (multitudine eorum & desperatione cognita) non nisi singulatim eos adoriri ausis, serò tandem oppressit fregitqꝫ; cæsis in excursionibus prælijsqꝫ non minùs quingentis et octoginta millibus. Eorum autem qui fame morbo & igne interiêre tanta fuit multitudo ut numerus indagari non potuit. Tot ex Romanis quoqꝫ in eo bello periêre, ut Hadrianus, cùm scriberet ad Senatum, non est usus illo exordio quo uti Imperatores consueverant, Si vos liberiqꝫ vestri valetis bene est, ego quidem et exercitus valemus.
The estimation wch ye Iews give of their own loss is no less then this; for one saith [2] that Hadrian slew twice as many Iews in this war as came out of Egypt; & another [3]that Hadrian afflicted them more then either Nebuchadnezzar or Titus. And this falling upon God's own people, & being ye accomplishment of their so much threatned dispersion into all nations, could deserve no less then to be taken notice of in this Prophesy.
Next after Hadrian reigned Antoninus Pius & Marcus Antoninus, ye most illustrious potent & victorious Emperors of all those that followed till ye reign of Dioclesian & \Dioclesian &/ Constantine. The Emperor Marcus, together wth Iulius Cæsar, Octavius, Trajan, & Constantine were by ye Empeor Iulian chosen out as ye five gallantest among ye Roman Emperors to compare wth Alexander ye great in a Dialogue intitled Cæsares, where all these are introduced pleading wth one another the greatnes of their actions. Iulius Octavius, & Trajan he calls πολεμικωτέρους bellicosiores, but yet accounts Marcus, considering all things, the completest Hero. And therefore Marcus may deservedly be recconed wth Trajan for a wielder of ye great sword. Nor does Antoninus Pius fall much short of Marcus, excepting in this, yt he performed his wars by Delegates.
Antoninus Pius, saith Iulius Capitolinus, per Legatos suos plurima bella gessit. Nam et Britannos per Lollium Vrbicum Legatum vicit, alio muro cespititio submolis Barbaris ducto: & Mauros ad pacem postulandam coegit: et Germanos et Dacos et multas Gentes, atqꝫ Iudæos rebellantes contudit per Præsides et Legatos. In Achaia etiam et Ægypto rebelliones repressit. Alanos molientes sæpe refrenavit. \/ refrenavit. - Provinciæ sub eo cunctæ floruerunt. - Pharasmanes Rex ad eum Romam venit, plusqꝫ illi quam Hadriano detulit. Pacorum regem Ladijs dedit. Parthorum regem ab Armeniorum expugnatione solis literis repulit. Abgarum regem ex Orientis partibus sola autoritate deduxit. Causas regales terminavit. Sellam regiam Parthorum regi repetenti, quam Trajanus cœperat pernegavit. Rimethalcen in regnum Bosphoranum, audito inter ipsum et Curatorem negotio, remisit. Olbiopolitis contra Tauroschythas in Pontum auxilia misit: & Tauroschythas usqꝫ ad dandos Olbiopolitis obsides vicit. Tantum sane autoritatis apud exteras gentes nemo habuit. — Tantum sane autoritatis apud exteras gentes nemo habuit.
Imperator Marcus Antoninus multis adversum se nascentibus bellis sæpe ipse intererat, sæpe Duces nobilissimos destinabat [Euseb. Chron.] Contra Germanos (Cattos scil. in Germania et Rhætia) res feliciter gessit. Speciale ipse bellum Marcomannicum, sed quantum nulla unquam memoria fuit, tum virtute tum etiam felicitate transegit. — Marcomannos in ipso transitu Danubij delevit & prædam provincialibus reddidit. Gentes omnes ab Illyrici limite usqꝫ Galliam conspiraverant, ut Marcomanni, Narisci, Hermunduri, & Quadi, Suevi, Bastarnæ, Alani, Peucini, Co Sarmatæ, Latringes, & Buri: hi alijqꝫ cum Victovalis Sosibes, Sicobotes, Rhoxolani, Bastarnæ, Alani, Peucini, Costoboci. Imminebat et Parthicum bellum & Britannicum. Magno igitur labore etiam suo gentes asperrimas vicit. — Voluit Marcomanniam Provinciam, voluit etiam Sarmatiam facere et fecisset nisi Avidius Cassius rebellasset in Oriente. — Relicto ergo Sarmatico Marcomanni eoqꝫ bello, contra Casssium profectus est. — Deinde ad conficiendum bellum conversus est. — Triennio bellum postea cum Marcomannis Hermunduris Sarmatis Quadis etiam egit: et si anno uno superasset Provincias ex his fecisset. — Duces autem confecerunt Parthicum bellum Statius Priscus & Avidius Cassius & Martius Verus per quadrennium ita ut Babylonem et Mediam pervenirent & Armeniam vendicarent. Iul. Capitolinus in vitis Marci et Veri. The remainder of ye Marcomannic war was prosecuted & successfully finished by ye delegates of ye next Emperor Commodus who ends this seal|, being ye last of Trajan's family|
The third Seal opened.
The third king is introduced by ye third Beast wch is \like/ a Man & situate to ye South. And this \directing us to look that way/ points out Septimius Severus an Emperor from yt {sic} South \quarter/, of whom Eutropius saith: [4]Oriundus ex Africâ, provinciâ Tripolitanâ, oppido Lepti, solus omni memoria et antea et post ex Africa Imperator. |Yet the Empire continued in his family during this seale, ye year's reign of Macrinus excepted. For his successsors were Caracalli Antoninus Caracalla his son, Heliogabalus his Son's son & Alexander his \near/ Kinsman.|
Now this King is described rigourously just. ffor ye Ballance signifies Iustice by Fig & ye blacknes of his hors may denote ye severity thereof: wch agrees well wth ye humane shape of ye Beast, as being ye fountain & chief of moral virtues wherein humanity consists. And how this was fulfilled by Severus & Alexander another Emperor soon after succeeding him, you may perceive by ye following sentences gathered out of Aurelius & Lampridius & here joyned together.
Severo, saith Aurelius, præclarior in republica fuit nemo, legum conditore longè æquibilium. Implacabilis delictis, strenuum quemqꝫ præmijs extollebat. Nulli in dominatu suo permisit honores venundari. Ne parva quidem latrocinia impunita patiebatur, in suos animadvertens magis, quod vitio ducum aut etiam Præfectorem fieri vix experiens intelligeret. So Spartian calls him implacabilem delictis & latronum ubiqꝫ hostem. And by all this you may perceive he was a Prince every way suitable to his Standart: but yet as to Iustice he is outdone by Alexander, who from his wonderfull stricktness therein acquired also ye name of Severus. Id, saith Lanpridius, leges de jure fisci et populi et fisci moderatas et infinitas sanxit, neqꝫ ullam constitutionem sacravit sine viginti Iurisperitis. Severissimus Iudex contra fures, appellans eosdem quotidianorum scelerum reos, et damnans acerrimè; ac solos hostes inimicosqꝫ Reipublicæ vocans, jussit (de judicibus furibus, ni fallor, loquitur) in civitatibus nunquam videri & si essent visi deportari per Rectores Provinciarum. Referebat Eucolpius, pergit, (quo ille familiarissimè usus est, illum si unquam furem judicem vidisset, paratum habuisse digitum ut illi oculum erueret. Addit Septimius qui vitam ejus non mediocriter executus est, tanti stomachi fuisse Alexandrum in eos Iudices qui furorum fama laborassent, etiamsi dam nati non essent, ut si eos casu aliquo videret commotione animi stomachi choleram evomeret, toto vultu exerdescente, ut nihil possit loqui. Iussit imò per Præcanem edici ut nemo salutaret Principem qui se furem esse nosset, ne aliquando detectus capitali supplicio subderetur. Siquis militum de via in alicujus possessionem deflexisset, pro qualitate loci aut fustibus subjiciebatur in conspectu ejus, aut virgis, aut condemnationi; aut, si hæc omnia transiret dignitas hominis, gravissimis contumelijs; cùm diceret: Visne in agro tuo fiere quod alteri facis? Clamabatqꝫ sæpius, quod a quibusdam sive Iudæis sive Christianis audierat et tenebat, idqꝫ per Præconem, cum aliquem emendaret, dici jubebat: Quod tibi fieri non vis alteri ne feceris. Quam sententiam usqꝫ adeo dilexit ut et in Palatio et in publicis operibus præscribi jubevat. Hæc mandata, saith Carion Tribunis militum dedit: Si vis Tribunus esse, imò si vivere vis, manus militum contine: Nemo segetes afferat, nemo salem Oleum, ligna auferat: nemo ovem alterius rapiat: annona sua miles contentus sit, ex præda hostium non ex lachrymis provincialibus habeat. Such an unparalleld instance of Iustice as this is, & that in a Heathen, {tis} it's no wonder ye Holy Ghost in this Seal should have respect unto.
But besides their justice the ffrugality of these two Emperors joyned wth bounty was very remarkable. Frumenti summam, saith Herodian of Severus, primus adauxit. Rei frumentariæ, saith Spartian, quam minimam repererat, ita consuluit ut excedens ipse vitâ septem annorum Canonem populo Romano relinqueret, ita ut quotidiana septuagena quinqꝫ millia modiorum expendi possent. Populo Romano diurnum oleum gratuitum primus donavit: ejus vero tantum reliquit ut per quinquennium non solum urbis usibus, sed et totius Italiæ, quæ oleo egeret {sic}; suficerit. And of Alexander Lampridius saith: Commeatum populi Romani sic adjuvit, ut cùm frumenta Heliogabalus evertisset, vicem de prpria pecunia loco suo reponeret. — Oleum quoqꝫ quod Severus populo dederat, quodqꝫ Heliogabalus imminuerat integrum restituit, addidit et Oleum luminibus Thermarum. And this affords a further & perhaps a more perfect exposition of ye voice saying: A measure of wheat for a peny & three measures of barley for a peny; & see thou hurt not ye oyle & ye wine: the first part of wch expresses ye selling of corn to ye people out of ye Emperor's store-houses, & ye last part an injunction not to misspend what he gave them freely.
Some have thought that this Seal is to be interpreted of a famin: but besides what was said of ye signification of a Ballance in Fig I see not what agreement there can be between a famin & ye human shape of ye third Beast wch is ye ensign of this King: nor how it suits wth \expresses/ a famin either to rate corn by the peny, or to measure it out for that {illeg} price by ye Chænix; a measure wch may be large enough, a[5] the least \ordinary/ Chænixes {sic} conteining ye sustenence of a man for a day, \&/ a military Chænix being put by ye 70 for ye Bath, a very large measure of ye Hebrews. Nor lastly is it so likely that one of ye qualities of ye fourth Seale should be made ye principal subject of this, seing ye designe of these seales is to describe & distinguish successive times by incommunicable characters.
The fourth Seale opened.
The Præco to ye fourth seale is ye fourth Beast situate to ye north: & this directs \us now the family of Severus is run out/ to look that way & begin \this Seale/ wth Maximinus Alexander's successor Maximinus an Emperor from that quarter. Of him Iulius Capitolinus saith: Maximinus de vico Thraciæ, vicino Barbaris, Barbaro etiam patre et matre genitus.
<10r>Now this king is accompanied wth a fourfold desolation: ye sword, hunger, death, & wild beasts; that is slaughter, famin, pestilence, & invasion. For ye Greeks use δάνατος death for ye pestilence; & ye rapine of wild beasts is an emblem of invasion & captivity, as you may see in Fig. in ye notes upon Ier. 15.2, 3, where ye very same quaternary of calamities is threatned to ye Iews. Compare ye places for they plainly illustrate one another. This is therefore ye combination of calamities: & they are further represented by ye eagle a bird of prey feeding upon carcasses; & notably aggravated by ye name of this King, Death; & by ye colour of his hors, a pale one; & by his ghastly attendant, Hell. Nor is ye event inferior to ye Prophesy.
Of ye sword.
Of ye first of these calamities you may make estimation by ye civil wars & slaughter of ye great ones, for betwen Maximinus & Dioclesian (that is wthin ye compas of 48 years) of about a[6]thirty legitimate Emperors & Cæsars (beside about eight or nine tyrannical ones who perished all by ye sword) there died only Licinian & Claudius by ye pestilence, & Marcus either by ye pestilence or some other distemper, & Carus by lightning, & three more were slain by ye public enemy, & all ye rest fell by ye sword of their own soldiers or of one another or by their own hands out of desperation. And besides all these wthin ye reign of Gallienus alone, who was one of ye 30, there were no less then 29 or 30 others proclaimed Emperors by ye soldiers in divers parts of ye Empire; all wch fell by ye sword, excepting 3 or 4 who had their lives given them by ye mercy of their conquerors. These were ye principal Tyrants some of wch might vie wth ye Emperor himself for greatness, but you shall presently hear their number made up to six hundred. And to make these times yet more bloody, ye Emperor himself Gallienus was one of ye most cruel beasts that ever lived. Pollio in lib. de 30 Tyrannis, saith of him: Occiso Ingenuo qui a Mœsiacis Legionibus Imperator est dictus, in omnes Mœsiacos tam milites quàm cives asperrimè sævijt {sic}, nec quenquam suæ crudelitatis exortem reliquit: usqꝫ adeo asper et truculentus ut plerasqꝫ civitates vacuas a virili sexu relinqueret. Extat sanè epistola Gallieni, pergit, quam ad Celerem Verianum scripsit, qua ejus nimietas crudelitatis ostenditur. Gallienus Veriano: Non mihi satisfacies si tantùm armatos occideris quos et fors belli interimere potuisset. Perimendus est omnis sexus virilis, si et senes atqꝫ impuberes sine reprehensione nostra occîdi possint. Occidendus est quicunqꝫ malè voluit. Occidendus est quicunqꝫ malè dixit. contra me, contra Valeriani filium, contra tot \Principum patem {sic} et fratrem Ingenuus factus est Imperator./ Lacera, occîde, concîde: animum meum intelligere potes, mea mente irascere qui hæc manu{illeg} mea scripsi. Also in ye life of Gallienus he says: Scythi in Cappadociam pervadentibus, milites iterum de novo Imperatore faciendo cogitaverant, quos omnes Gallienus {suo} more suo occîdit. And at ye end he adds: ffuit nimiæ crudelitatis in milites: nam et terna millia & quaterna militum singulis diebus occîdit. And in another place: Ne quid mali deesset Gallieni temporibus, Byzantinorum civitas, clara navalibus bellis, & claustrum Ponticum per Gallieni milites ita omnis vastata est ut prorsus nemo superesset. Quorum cladi ulciscendæ, Gallienus vicissim Byzantio receptus, omnes milites inermes armatorum corona circundatos, interemit, fracto fœdere quod promiserat. This was ye cruelty of this Emperor \& his soldiers/, & yet he seems to fall short of Maximinus ye Emperor wch began this seal, who was such a Butcher, ut illum, saith Iulius Capitolinus, alij Cyclopem, alij Busiridem, alij Scyronem, nonnulli Phalarim, multi Typhonem vel Gygem nominarent. Senatus eum tantum timuit ut vota in Templis publicè prvatimqꝫ, mulieres etiam cum suis liberis, facerent, ne ille unquam urbem Romam videret. Audiebant enim alios in crucem sublatos, alios animalibus nuper occisis inclusos, alios feris objectos, alios fustibus elisos; atqꝫ omnia hæc sine delictu dignitatis. - Ignobilitatis tegendæ causa omnes conscios generis sui interemit; nonnullos etiam amicos qui ei sæpe misericordiæ et pietatis ergo causa pleraqꝫ donaverant; neqꝫ enim fuit crudelius animal in terris, &c.
By ye cruelty of these Emperors, & of some others perhaps not much inferior to these; but chiefly by the unparallel'd raging of ye civil wars wch must necessarily have been between so many Tyrants & Emperors, & those almost all slaughtered; you may now guess what havock ye sword made of ye people among the soldiers & people.
Of ye wild Beasts.
Hitherto you have heard only of intestine slaughters wch I suppose was ye meaning of ye first calamity. But ye invasion & tearing of ye Empire by wild Beasts, that is by forreign armies, is a calamity still more notable. This action began The first memorable attempt of ye Northern Barbarous nations was in \on/ ye Empire was in Marcus's reign, of wch you heard above. Being then stoutly repulsed they rested pretty quiet till now, but now made a second attempt & overran all: ye Scythians breaking in first in ye reign of Philip ye successor of Maximinus, & others soon imitating them; whereby ye Empire for 30 years together was torn wth unexpressible violence. The greatest heat of these invasions was in ye reign of Gallienus. Gallieno, saith Eusebius, [7] in omnem lasciviam dissoluto, Germani Ravennam usqꝫ venerunt; Alemanni vastatis Gallijs in Italiam transiêre {sic}; Græcia, Macedonia, Pontus, Asiæ depopulatæ per Gothos; Quadi & Sarmatæ Pannonias occupaverunt; Germanis b[8] Hispanias obtinentibus Tarracon expugnata est; Parthi {illeg} Mesopotamiam incursantes tenentes Syriam incursaverunt.
tans were Barchiaruc (or Belchiaroc,) Muhammed, Mahmud, David, Masud, Melechsah, Muhammed, & Solyman Shah in whome ye race of ye Salghucides at Bagdad ended about ye year 1160: & from thence foreward unto ye taking of Bagdad by ye Tartars, ye Chalifa recovered & maintained ye supreme temporal power wthin this Sultany, wch hd been interrupted for about 224 years.
2 The Sultany of Mausela or Mosul a city of Mesopotamia of seated also upon Tigris northwest of Mausela about 6 or 7 days journey westward from Bagdad & one or two days journey from one of ye streams of Euphrates. Its Sultans were 1 Iagarmish. 2 Zengius fil: who began his reign A.C. 1107. 3 Maudud 1109. 4 Oksenkar (or Assangur) 1121. 5 Ezzodin fil: 1126. 6 Zengius (or Sanguin) frat. 1127. 7 Gaza fil: 1145. 8 Cotboddin frat: 1149. 9 Gazi fil: 1170. 10 Ezzodin frat: 1180. 11 Nuroddin fil: 1193. 12 Ezzoddin fil: 1211. 13 Nuroddin fil: 1218. 13 Nuroddin fil: 1218. 14 Naseroddin frat: 1218. 15 Badroddin 1234 who reigned to ye end of ye fift Trumpet. 16 Saleh fil: wth his brothers 1259.
3. The Sultany of Maredin Mirdin or Marde another city of Mesopotamia seated also upon Tigris Northwest of Mosul. Its Sultans were 1 Ortoc who was contemporary to Olub-Arslan, Melechsah & Barkiaruc. 2 Gazi fil. 3 Tamartash fil: who began his reign A.C. 1122. 4 Nojmoddin fil: 1152. 5 Gazi fil. 6 Cotboddin fil. 7 Hosamoddin fil: who began 1184. 8 Kotboddin frat: 1200 {sic}. * 9 Pater Modhafferi anonymus. 10 Modhaffer who began A.C. 1260.
4 The Sultany of Miyapharekin \(Magaerkin or Martyropolis)/ a city of ye greater Armenia upon ye borders of Mesopotamia seated about two days journey north or northwest of Ameda on ye other side Tigris. What Sultans it had before ye year 1121 I find not, but then it came into the hands of Gazi Sultan of Maredin, & the next year he dying, his sons Solyman & Tamartash inherited ye one Miyapharekin ye other Maredin. Afterwards Maredin & Miyapharekin were united again under one Sultan, & I know not whither they continued so till Saladin A.C 1182 invaded Mesopotamia, who amongst his other victories took Miyapharekin wth ye adjacent regions, & left it to after his death it had sultans of his kindred 1 Adel frat 1193 & sub eo Nojmoddin fil. 2 Modhaffer alius Adeli filius 1218, & 3 Ashraph Modhafferi fil: who reigned to ye end of ye fift Trumpet who soon after extended his dominion into ye territories first of Damascus & then of Egypt & set his son Nojmoddin over Miyapharekin, presiding himself at Damascus. After Nojmoddin succeeded his brother Modhaffer his brother {illeg} A.C. 1218 & then Ashraph ye son of Modhaffer who reigned to ye end of ye fift Trumpet.
5 The Sultany of Syria seated at Damascus & Aleppo. Its first absolute Sultan was Tajuddaulas Tatash ye son of Olub-Arslan who first obteined Damascus A.C. 1079 & then Aleppo wth all Syria A.C. 1085. After his death A.C. 1095 Syria became divided between his sons Decac & Roduan[9] ye first residing at Damascus ye other at Aleppo & in this divided state it continued till ye year 1154 when Nuroddin united it again under himself, inlarging his dominion into Egypt also. After his death Saladin out of Egypt obteined it & A.C. 1193 left it again divided between his sons Aphdal (or Saphadin) at Damascus & Dhaher Gazi at Aleppo. But \wthin three years/ his Brother {D Adll} Adel out of Mesopotamia as was said took Damascus from Aphdal, & soon after Egypt also. And in his posterity Ægypt wth ye Sultany of Damascus continued, sometimes united under one Sultan, sometimes divided till ye Mamalukes d[10] A.C. 1250 & continued Sultan of that & Aleppo together till ye beginning of ye sixt seal.
6 The Sultany of Asia seated {usually} at Iconium. Its Sultans were 1 Cutlumish of ye race of Saljuk. 2 Solyman fil. 3 Kelui-Arslan (or Tanisman) fil: who began his reign A.C. 1100. 4 Masud fil. 1106. 5 Kelij-Arslan (or Clisasthan) fil: wth his brothers 1152 6 Cai-Chosroes fil: wth his brothers 1192. 7 Ezzoddin fil. 8 Aladin frat: {illeg} 1219. 9 Giyathoddin (or Iathatin) fil 1237. 10 Ezzoddin fil: 1244, together wth his brothers Rocnoddin & Aladin who reigned till ye beginning of ye sixt trumpet.
Besides these & ye Sultanies of Egypt & Chorasan (wch I reccon not here as well by reason of their distance from Euphrates as because they ceased in ye time of ye fift Trumpet) there were sometimes other sultanies split out of these; But those were but of small extent, bearing perhaps yt proportion to these wch ye European Dukedomes & Principalities do to kingdoms. And if any of them were at any time greater yet they were but of short continuance & extinct before ye end of ye fift Trumpet, & therefore deserve not to be here remembred unless wth reference to ye forementioned cardinall sultanies out of wch they were derived & into wch they returned again.
Yea & of ye Sultanies here described, two make nothing to or purpose; the Sultany of Bagdad becaus it ceased long before ye end of ye fift Trumpet & while it lasted was contemporary coincident wth ye Chalifate; & ye Sultany of Maredin becaus of its distance from Euphrates {sic}, for when Saladin invaded Mesopotamia (viz A.C. 1182) he took Roha, Harran, Nisibis, Senjar, Ameda & Miyapharekin wth their ditions, that is almost all ye regions round Maredin on that side towards Euphrates, proceeding to besiege even Maredin it self, as did also after him his brother Adel oftner then once: And these regions his & his brother's ofspring \posterity/ inherited to the end of ye fift Trumpet, except yt ye Sultan of Mausel towards ye end obteined Senjar wth ye neighbouring regions wthin wch I suppose was Nisibis also.
These two Sultanies therefore \{are}/ being rejected, there remaine for ye four angels ye Sultanies of Asia, Syria, Mosul & Miyapharekin.
The Sultany of Asia was watered by \Melec/ a large arm of Euphrates passing through ye middle of it & not only so but bordered upon the main channel especially towards ye end of ye fift seal, for then & for ye last 60 years before it comprehended ye d[11]Province {sic} of Malatia & Chartaberta wch lay upon that river, & at ye very time of loosing A.C. 1260 e[12] Pharagius expresses yt it extended to ye confines of Armenia major. You
The Sultany of Syria was not only always adjacent to ye river but at ye time of loosing extended a good way into Mesopotamia
The Sultany of Mosul was watered by ye river Alchabur (or Harnas) a {sic} large arm of Euphrates & bordered also upon Euphrates it self: for Mosul though seated upon Tigris, yet was distant not above one or \at most/ two days journey from one of ye streams of ye other river. \the other river. \ // other river: or rather it was {sic} seated upon ye common channel of Tigrim & Euphrates after their concours. ffor ye river Naharomalca or Basilius wth its two branches wch run through Babylonia into Tigris, ye higher at Seleucia, the lower at Aræ Herculis a[13]were but artificial channels of Euphrates cut by ye Persian & Roman Emperors', & therefore ye main channel must run into Tigris higher. The division of Tigris into ye two streames wch run ye one by Susa the other by Seleucia & aræ Herculis into ye Persian Sea Pliny (Hist. l 6, c 27) puts at Apamia a town of Moesene 125 miles above Seleucia & Geogr. Nub (part 6, clim 4) at Tacrit a town two little days journey (that is about 40. miles) below Mosul: & Philostorgius (l 3, c 7, 8) informs us that it receives Eufrates before this division & from ye rapidness caused \then becoming very rapid/ by ye access of so much water, is thence called Tigris fera. So Procopius (lib. 1 de Bel. Pers.) Tigris urbem Amidam; - Eufrates Samosata, Hierapolim omniaqꝫ circa loca præterfluit usqꝫ ad Assyrios ubi ambo simul confusi in unum Tigridis nomen exeunt. Herodotus (in Clio n. 193) &c Herodotus (in Clio n 193) \further informs us/ that a streame of Euphrates went into Tigris there where Nineve was seated \or rather above it/, Ἐσέχει δὲ ἐς ἄλλον ποταμὸν ἐκ του Ἐυφρήτεω ἐς τὸν Τίγριν, περ{illeg}\τ/ ὃκ Νινος πόλις ὀικέαται. Exit autem ex Euphrate in Tigrim alterum flumen, ad quod urbs Ninus sita erat. And Diodorus Siculus (Antiqu. l 2) c {illeg} saith yt Nineve was built upon Euphrates, meaning I suppose this {sic} concours of both {sic} rivers, & adds (I guess out of Ctesias) that when ye Medes besieged Sardanapalus in Nineve, Euphrates swelling overflowed a part of ye City & threw down a part of ye wall for ye space of 20 furlongs; whereupon Sardanapalus fell into desperation becaus of an old prophesy that Nineve should not be taken till ye river became its enemy: wch history is much confirmed by ye qualities of Euphrates; for Ammianus \Dion (in Trajano/ ) saith that it lay higher then Tigris, Strabo (lib 16. Geogr) that it was much more apt to overflow then Tigris & Arrianus (Expedit. Alexandri l 7) that in winter it keeps wthin its banks but in spring & sommer swells & overflows ye fields of Assyria Ⓧ Ⓧ & Herodotus |in| Clio ) yt Assyria having but little rain was made fruitful by ye overflow of Euphrates as Egypt by Nilus & that this river anciently running in a streight line through ye city (I think he means Nineve,) Nitocris ye mother of Labyritus or Darius Medus, to mitigate its rapidness turned it into a crooked channel so as to make it flow thrice through Arderica a certain town of Assyria. Mosul therefore {illeg} \wth Assyria is seated/ /{&c}\ Mosul therefore is seated as well upon Euphrates {sic} as Tigris b [14] for it is seated opposite to \ye ruins of/ Nineve, a bridge only intercepting them. |It augmented f[15] opposite to Nineve, a bridge only interceding them: & Herodotus in Clio, n. 193 (if we may believe him) tells us that one streame of Euphrates went into Tigris \there/ where abouts Nineve was seated. Εσέχει δὲ ἐς ἀλλον ποταμὸν εκ του Ευφρήτεω ἐς τὸν Τίγριν, περ ὁν Νίνος πόλις οικέαται. And hence perhaps it was that Diodorus Siculus in Antiqu. l. 3. c. 1, saith that Nineve was built upon Euphrates.|
🅇 🅇 The Sultany of Miyapharekin was indeed something further from Euphrates, namely 126 I Italian miles from that streame of it wch divides ye two Armenias, & is by Strabo & Pliny called Pixirates. But there is another streame of this river {illeg} (sometimes called wch take its rise from ye a same fountains wth Tigris or b others very neare them \c wch soon meet/ & run {sic} together wth it first through ye Lake Arethusa, Arsissa or Arsacis, & then d under ye Mountain Taurus, & afterwards through \meadows &/ ye lake Thospites & then parting e they flow so neare one another for some space that upon swelling they mingle waters for about 4 miles yet so that those of Euphrates flote above those of Tigris. After this they divide & flow contrary ways & encompas Mesopotamia parting it from Armenia. This chann streame of Euphrates is in Geogr. Nub. clim 5. part 5. said to be a great river & to meet wth ye other {one} \streame/ Pixirates at Somasat. & though Sometimes {sic} its calld by other names, yet by (as Arsanias, Arsamotes, {illeg} Annes, Araxes yet \but b/ Procopius de Bel. Pers. l. 1. a Salustus Hic (apud Isidorum Hispalensem) Orig. l 13. c 21. d e Lucan Pharsal. l. 3. a Boetius De cons. Philos. l 5. carm 1 d & Cl. Marius Victor Genes. l 1. call it Euphrates, & the learned & judicious author of ye book intitled A discours of ye Terrestrial Paradise proves it be yt very Euphrates of Moses wch flowed out of Paradise. Now to this part \channel/ of Euphrates Miyapharekin was very neare being seated upon ye river Nymphæus wch flows into Tigris at a place \where Tigris having coursed under ground for some way breaks out again wch place is/ about 25 miles from ye Lake Thospites (Plin l 6. c 27) & two days journey or a degree southward or southeast from this city, for ye city Almeda is seated by ye opposite bank \eruption/ of Tigris neare \opposite to/ ye mouth of nymphius (Ammian l 18) \&/ two days journey from Miyapharekin in ye way from Miyafarekin to Mosul. (Geogr. Nub. part 6 .) Whence Miyapharekin could not be above a days journey from \the common stream of Tigris &/ Euphrates. |ffor it was seated between that stream & ye river Nymphæus at a little distance from Nymphæus as is to be learnt out of Procopius De Bello Persico lib 1.|
Nor was this Sultany seated only upon this part of Euphrates, but (so far as I can learn) extended also to that other stream wch parts ye two Armenias. ffor it was founded -
Hæc in margine. b Mons non valde præruptus est in Armenijs est a Theodosia civitate 42 stadia distans, ad boream pertinens, unde duo exeunt fontes totidem flumina constituentes, Euphratem dextrorsus Trigrim {sic} verò sinistrorsus Procop de Bello Pers. l 1. a Salustius autem author est certissimus asserit Tigrim et Euphratem uno fonte manare in Armenia qui per diversa euntes longius dividuntur spatio medio derelicto multorum millium, quæ tamen terra quæ ab ipsis ambitur Mesopotamia dicitur. Isidorus Hispalensis Orig l 13. c 21.
a Tigris et Euphrates uno se fonte resolvunt
Et mox abjunctis dissociantur aquis Boetius De cons. Philos l 5.
c Tam vicinum Arsaniæ (i.e. Euphrati) fluere eum (sc. {illeg} Tigrim) in regione. Arrhene Claudius Cæsar Author est, ut cum intumuere confluant nec tamen misceantur, leviorqꝫ Arseniæs innatat 4 Mill. ferè spatio, mox divisus in Eufratem mergitur. Plin l 6. c 27. Whence Lucan
c d Quaqꝫ caput rapido tollit cum Tigride magnus
Euphrates, quos non diversis fontibus edit
*[16]Persis; et incertum tellus si misceat amnes
Quòd potiùs sit nomen aquis. Lucan Pharsal. l 3.
c Tigris fluvius est Armeniæ defluens in Araxem simul et Arsacidem paludem. Plutarch lib. De fluvijs.
d Tertius hinc rapido percurrens gurgite Tigris.
It comes Euphrati {sic}, juncta quos mole ruentes
Tellus victa cavo sorbet patefacta barathro
Donec in Armenia slatus ac Medica Medica Tempe
Quos non sustinuit, nec jam capit, evomit amnes. Cl. Marius Victor Genes. \lib. 1./
Miyapharekin was indeed something further from Euphrates, namely about 5 days journey g[17]or 126 Italian miles [but yet it was nearer to it then Maredin by two days journey or more, & in all probability it extended its jurisdiction to Euphrates] ffor it was \founded by the conquests of Saladin wch extended from Euphrates to this City. On ye north it was/ guirded on ye North by ye kingdō of Armenia {illeg} wch towards ye end of ye 5t Trumpet k[18] was pretty potent, & on ye South East by ye Sultany of Maredin, & therefore it must have been of large extent towards ye other quarters becaus a powerful Sultany as may be collected from the defiance wch its Sultan (as Pharagius informs us) bad to ye Tartars even when they had newly sacked Bagdad. But more particularly \It lay partly between Maredin & Eufrates for the lesser Asia, for/ it comprehended ye a [19] territories of Ameda & & lay & partly between Maredin & Euphrates. It bordered \also/ upon ye Syrian Sultany, for \as/ in ye reign of Saladin & his successor Adel, it was united to Syria under one supreme sultan, & still at ye so now upon ye Syrian Sultany, as may appear from hence that its b [20] Sultan Ashraph after ye sacking of Bagdad went \in person/ into Syria to consult wth Naser ye Sultan thereof about their common safety & mutuall aid \whereby they might keep ye Tattars out of Syria, that is out of Syria Osroene a Province on ye east of Euphrates comprehending among other cities Edessa Carrhæ & Nicephorium: some part of wch therefore belonged to Ashraf./ And if it extended to ye Syrian Sultany, much more should it extend to that of Asia wch lay over against it on ye other side ye river, for I read not of any other Sultany between them. There {sic} was indeed once a Principality at Chelatum \or Seltia/ in Armenia \wch might take up some part of ye river/, but this c [21] Nojmoddin ye Sultan of Miyapharekin took from ye Armenians, & though ye it c [22] fell afterward into ye hands of ye Sultan of Asia for a little while yet it's most probable that when they lost it, they lost it again to ye Sultan of Miyapharekin. I may further add yt some part of ye Sultany of Miyapharekin was d[23] watered by a large river wch flows out of ye mountains of Armenia & joyns wth ye main channel of Euphrates a little below Samoset.
These four Sultanies therefore were all seated upon Euphrates, & so fitly answer to ye 4 angels bound in that river. But there is another character of them wch notably confirms this interpretation for f by ye fourth condition of this Trumpet their \seat or/ head cities were to resemble ye square position of ye four horns of ye Altar. And how nearly they resemble it you may see in this map delineated out of Ptolome, & ye Nubian Geography \& ye Geographical collections in ye \afforesaid above mentioned/ Discourse of ye Terrestrial Paradise/: where note that I reccon Damascus rather then Aleppo ye head city of Syria becaus it had been so in former ages, & the Sultan at ye time of loosing ye angels, resided there.
< insertion from f 17v >Ex Geogr. Nubiensi.
A Mosul ad Senjar 57 mil. pass.
Inde ad Nisibin
A Mosul ad Nisibin 105 m. p.
Inde ad Amedam 78. m. p.
Inde ad Miyapharekin 2 stati
ones vel 1 grad circiter.
Ab Ameda ad Samosat 3 st
magni \scil./ vel 2 grad circiter.
A Malatia ad Alhamam bore
eam versus 12 mil pass
Ab Alhama ad Miyapharikē /126 mp.\
Ab Amed ad Raccam 212 mp.
A Roka ad Roccan 54 mp.
5. Supposing therefore that these Tetrarchies are ye four Angels & that by their being bound in Eufrates is meant their residence upon that river; the loosing of them since it stands in opposition to binding must be {sic} interpreted their loosing from those seats. And this happened at ye invasion of ye Tattars, ye history of wch is as follows.
In ye year 1203 the supreme Empire of ye Tattars (a name not heard of before this time) was founded by Jingiz Chan, by whome among other eastern & northern regions Chorasan was subdued, & by his successors ye Kingdom of Armenia much afflicted, & ye sultany of Iconium also (A.C. 1243) but not ruined. At length Mangaca Chan ye 4th Emperor of ye Tattars being converted to Christianity by means of Ayton King of Armenia, sent his brother Hulacu (or Halaon) wth a great army to invade ye Turks & root out their religion. Hulacu therefore advancing from ye east, after he had stayed some time in Persia & subdued it, came to Bagdad Ian 22, 1258 & in a day & a night compassed ye city wth a wall & a ditch & took it ye 10th of February following & his soldiers continuing to spoile kill & make captives for seven days together, at ye end of wch time ye Chalifa was also put to death & so ye Chalifate dissolved. |This according to what we explained above must be referred to the fift Trumpet as ye end thereof; & now begins ye sixt Trumpet wth ye loosing of ye four angels, as follows|
After this Asclan /In the same yeare\ Ashraf ye Sultan of Miyafarekin {sic} went ye same year into Syria to Naser Sultan thereof to desire aid of him whereby ye Tattars might be kept out of Syria, but Naser not hearkning to him he returned in anger, & when he came again to Miyafarekin {sic} ejected ye Prefects of ye Tattars, & crucified a certain Priest sent to him wth commands from ye great Chan. Whereupon Hulacu sent his son Yashmut wth part of his army to besiege Miyafarekin, who in a day & a night compassed it wth a wall & deep ditch, & began to assault it, but after some sharp conflicts finding they could not take it by force, they determined to keep it shut up till it should be worn out by famin.
The next year A.C. 1259 Hulacu cited ye Sultans of Syria & Asia to come to him & submit themselves, wch Ezzodin ye Sultan of Asia wth his brother Rucnoddin did but Naser ye sultan of Syria refused. Wherefore he sent back ye Asian Sultans honourably & confirmed them in their dominions but invaded Syria A.C. 1260 wth an Army of four hundred thousand, taking first a[24] Harran & c[25]Roha wth ye adjacent regions on ye east of Eufrates wch belonged to ye Syrian Sultany, & then passing ye River, whilst his Captains invaded ye other cities of this Sultany (Emessa, Hama, \Calamele/ Moarra &c) he himself besieged Aleppo & took it wthin b[26] nine days took it by storm, a greater {sic} number of people being slain there then at Bagdad. In ye mean while, Naser who wth his Court resided at Damascus, hearing of ye progress of ye Tattars, fled wth his family into ye Desert {sic} Carac & Chau Shaubac, & the Nobles of Damascus so soon as ye Tattars approached ye City delivered it to them.
Not long after Hulacu being about to return into ye eastern regions, ye other army came to him from ye siege of Miyapharekin, bringing wth them Ashraf ye Sultan thereof & relating how they had slain all yt were in ye city, there being but few of them whom ye famin had not destroyed before, becaus otherwise ye army of ye Tattars would not have sufficed to take ye city. |Ashraf was \then/ also slain by ye command of Hulacu.|
About ye same time Hulacu so soon as he came neare Maredin cited ye Sultan thereof to appear before him, but {sic} he refusing, ye Tattars besieged that city also. But the Sultan dying suddenly his son Modhaffer presently yeilded ye city to Hulacu: wherupon Hulacu treated him honourably & restored ye city to him wth ye rest of his fathers dominions.
Whilst Hulacu besieged Maredin, Naser wth his family was taken & slain \Ashraf being slain before/, & ye next year A.C. 1261 Saleh ye Sultan of Mausel Mosul combining wth ye Egyptians against ye Tattars, was invaded also by them under ye leading of Samdago one of Hulacu's Captains, & Mosul besieged & taken, ye soldiers continuing for eight days together to spoile kill & captivate. And amongst ye rest Saleh was taken & by Hulacu commanded to be slain.
The same yeare ye Tattars, I know not upon what occasion, invaded Asia also & easily subdued it[27] forc taking ye Imperial cities Iconium & Cæsarea & forceing the {sic} sultan Ezzoddin (or Azatines) wth one of his brothers to fly to Michael Palæologus ye Greek Emperour, where being confined they were set at liberty by an incursian {sic} of ye Scythians from beyond ye Danube: Ezzoddin died soon after he had passed beyond the Danube wth them, but his brother escaped into Asia & was received for a while by ye Satrapæ of ye Turkish reliques as their Sultan.
<21r>Thus were ye Sultanies of Miyapharekin, Mosul, Syria & Asia, all at once in ye yeares 1260 & 1261, as it were at a watch watch word given, dissolved: & from that time ye Turks out of these Sultanies flying every where from ye violence of ye Tattars flocked into ye more western parts of Asia: the reliques of them also wthin 30 years after, (viz A.C. 1289) being universally ejected hither out of ye new Tattarian Empire. In ye mean while the r to obtein new seats their severall Princes or heads of families under whose conduct they fled hither made war upon ye Romans, every one gaining what he could for himself. Turci autem, saith Nicephorus,[28] Satrapis illis variè divisi cùm a Scythis pellerentur Romanos pellebant: & quàm infirmi erant adversus Scythas tam fortes contra Romanos extiterunt: ut Scytharum incursio non calamitatis causa sed summa felicitatis occasio illis esset. Nam et e Paphlagonia & e Pamphylia irruebant Romanasqꝫ Provincias populabantur. Tandem etiam ad bella & assiduas dimicationes ventum: e quibus unum prælium Romanos in omnia mala conjecit. |This fight was in ye days \before the reign/ of Pope Iohn 20 & Bzovius in his annals refers it to the year 1276.|
Vntill ye afforesaid dissolution of ye four Turkish Euphratean Sultanies,[29]the Greeks had constantly possessed Asia strictly so called, Paphlagonia, Bythinia, Phrygia magna, Phrygia Pacatiana Caria & part of Cilicia. And ye rest of ye Asian Provinces to Euphrates namely Lycaonia, Galatia, Pamphylia, Armenia, Hellenopontus, Pisidia & Lycia belonged to ye Sultany of Iconium. But from that time, & chiefly after ye battel newly mentioned (wch happened about ye year ) ye ye Turkish Princes spreading by degrees into ye Greek {sic} Provinces, Mantachia subdued ye city of Ephesus & ye Province Caria; Atin conquered Lydia as far as Smyrna: Sarchan all Magnesia to Pergamus together wth ye Province of ye Magedi: Carmian all Phrygia: Carasses the other Phrygia between Hellespont & the city Asso; & Othman all Bythinia wth part of Paphlagonia: the last of wch growing more powerfull then the rest, at lengty (A.C. 1299) took upon ye him the dignity & title of Sultan, & by degrees became ye universal Monarch of ye Turks ye rest of their Princes uniting under him: whereby being rendred more powerful they prevailed still more upon ye Greeks & soon after invaded Europe, not ceasing to propagate their victories till at length they overthrew ye Constantinopolitan Empire & on its ruins founded a greater of their own.
Thus you see ye four Angels were all at once in ye very beginning of ye sixt Trumpet loosed from their Euphratean seats & forced upon ye Christians to make war upon them & thereby erect that great Empire wch reigns at present & is ye plague of Apostate Christendome threatne prefigured in this Trumpet.
Analogous to the loosing of these Angels is ye drying up of ye waters of Euphrates in ye sixt Vial. For these two actions must correspond because ye beginnings of this Trumpet & Vial {sic} wch are contemporary. Now by the waters of this river we are to understand ye people situate upon it by Def that is, ye Turkish Sultanies. And by ye pouring a Vial upon this River the inflicting of some great calamity upon yt people: such as was ye Tattarian invasion. And by ye consequent drying up the waters thereof ye wasting of ye power & dominion of that people by Def that is, ye dissolution of ye Turkish Sultanies by that invasion. And consequently by the a[30]Kings or Princes from ye East whose way was prepared by the drying up these waters we must understand the chief leaders of the great army of horsmen wch upon ye loosing of the four angels came from Euphrates to execute the plague of this Trumpet that is ye Princes under whose conduct the Turks fled from ye Tattars into Asia to invade the Christians. ffor these were ye Princes or Kings from ye East whose way was prepared by ye dissolution of the Euphratean Sultanies. And of these there are recconned by historians seven eminent ones a little before they united under Othoman, besides others of inferior note wch first united under those. Thus much concerning the originall of this great Empire. Proceed we now to ye rest of its circumstances.
7. And ye next is ye numerousness of ye Turkish Armies. But how great this hath been since their loosing & still is, is better known then yt I need stay to compute it. I shall rather observe that since these horsmen as well as ye Locusts were to be so exceeding numerous, we may thence collect that they were to be ye Armies of two very great empires & consequently of none other then ye Saracenical & Turkish ye only two great ones by wch ye christian world has been hitherto afflicted.
In both these armies there is mention made only of horsmen, but we are not to conclude thence that ye armies should consist of horsmen only, but rather yt ye description is taken from ye nobler part & that part wherein they should notably excell. Yea ye foot are included in ye Hors {sic}, being represented by their tailes. For ye taile of a Hors according to ancient Interpreters[31] signifies ye train of his rider, & the train of an Army is ye Foot. Hence it is that in this Trumpet the tailes are said to have heads, & to do hurt, that is to fight as well as ye riders of ye Horses: wch is a plain intimation that they signify men as well as ye riders.
8 The description of ye armour of these horsmen (that they had breastplates of fire & jacinth & brimstone &c) is very singular, there being no where els in ye whole scriptures such a description of armour to be met with. What therefore can be here intended but ye new way of fighting not known in ye world before the beginning of this Trumpet? I mean
[1] * sc. Persico
[2] Lib. Iuchasin.
[3] Lib. פ חמי
[4] a Zosimus lib. 1 dicit Alexandrum ex familia Severi pregnatum. a Zos
[5] a Vide Caspar. Waserum de Antiqu. mensur. l. 2. c. 3.
[6] a See ye Catalogue of Emperors in Onuphrius, lib. 1 Romanorum Principum.
[7] Euseb. Chron. & Eutrop. lib. 9.
[8] b Hispania duodecim annis ferè sub Barbaris laboravit regnante Gallieno. Oros. l. 7. c. 41.
[9] Successores Decaci, et Roduani & Adsli vide apud Pharagium, {illeg}helmum Guilielmū Tyrium, & Sanutū.
[10] d. Pharajius pag 325. Vincentius in Speculo Historiale lib 31 cap {illeg}
[11] d. Pharagius {sic} pag: 314, {illeg} 317, 321, 332, & 333.
[12] e pag: 347.
[13] a Ammianus lib 24. Plin. Nat. hist. l 6, c 26. Greg. Nazianzen. Orat. 2 in Iulian.
[14] b Benjamin in Itinerario pag 62 edit. Elzevir. & Geogr. Nub. part 6, clim 4.
[15] f. Benjamin in Itinerario pag 62. Edit. Elzevir & Geogr. Nub. part. 6, clim 4.
[16] * Sic vocabant totum regnū Persicum seu Parthicum, sub quo tunc continebatur Armenia.
[17] g Geogr. Nubiensis clim: 5, Part: 5.
[18] k. Heroldi continuatio belli sacri.
[19] a Pharagius p 333
[20] b Pharag. pag 345
[21] c Pharagius pag 279 & 283.
[22] c Pharagius pag 279 & 283.
[23] d Geogr. Nub. Clim 5. part 5.
[24] a. Carrhæ.
[25] c. Rok Edessa.
[26] b Aython Armenus cap 28. Pharagius dicit intra paucos dies
[27] |Niceph: lib 4. cap 5. Sanuti secreta crucis lib 3. part 13. cap 7.| Sanutus {sic} \in/ {secreta} crucis lib 3, part 13. cap 7 refert hanc Asiæ invasionem ad an 1259, sed {illeg} \Nicephorus/ meliùs ad annū post invasionem Syriæ.
[28] Niceph. lib 7.
[29] Ducæ Hist. Byzantin.
[30] NB. Βασιλεις Reges, apud Græcos tantum pro Monarchis præpotentibus quales nos jam reges dicimus: usurpabatur, sed inferioris etiam generis Principes significabat ut apud {Homsmum} uno loco ridere et sic et {בילך} significationis vox Hebræa, in Sacris literis pro Principibus, Ducibus & singularum ferè urbium Dominis usurpatur, ut e regibus triginta et uno quos Ioshua in exiguo illo terræ sanctæ circuitu superavit, (Iosh 12,) & quinqꝫ Regibus Midian a Mose cæsis Num. 31.8, qui in Iosh: 13.21 Principes Midian & Duces Sehon vocantur, manifestum est.
[31] Apomasar cap 152.
