BAJAZET I. sultan of the Turks, a renowned warrior, but a tyrant, was conquered by Timour, otherwise called Tamerlane, and exposed by him in an iron cage; the fate it is said which he had destined for his adversary if he had proved the victor. The iron cage, however, so long and so often repeated as a moral lesson, has been rejected as a fable by modern writers, who appeal to the Persian history of Sherefeddin Ali in support of their scepticism. Of this work a French version has been given, and from it Mr Gibbon has collected the following more specious narrative of this memorable transaction :— “No sooner was Timour informed that the captive Ottoman was at the door of his tent, than he graciously stepped forwards to receive him, seated him by his side, and mingled with just reproaches a soothing pity for his rank and misfortune. ‘ Alas,’ said the emperor, ‘ the decree of fate is now accomplished by your own fault: it is the web which you have woven, the thorns of the tree which yourself have planted. I wished to spare, and even to assist, the champion of the Moslems: you braved our threats; you despised our friendship; you forced us to enter your kingdom [7:4:285]with our invincible armies. Behold the event. Had you vanquished, I am not ignorant of the fate which you re- • served for myself and my troops. But I disdain to retaliate: your life and honour are secure; and I shall express my gratitude to God by my clemency to man.’ The royal captive showed some signs of repentance, accepted the humiliation of a robe of honour, and embraced with tears his son Mousa, who, at his request, was sought and found among the captives of the field. The Ottoman princes were lodged in a splendid pavilion; and the respect of the guards could be surpassed only by their vigilance. On the arrival of the haram from Boursa, Timour restored the queen Despina and her daughter to their father and husband; but he piously required that the Servian princess, who had hitherto been indulged in the profession of Christianity, should embrace without delay the religion of the prophet. In the feast of victory, to which Bajazet was invited, the Mogul emperor placed a crown on his head and a sceptre in his hand, with a solemn assurance of restoring him with an increase of glory to the throne of his ancestors. But the effect of this promise was disappointed by the sultan’s untimely death: amidst die care of the most skilful physicians, he expired of an apoplexy at Akshehr, the Antioch of Pisidia, about nine months after his defeat. The victor dropped a tear over his grave: his body, with royal pomp, was conveyed to the mausoleum which he had erected at Boursa; and his son Mousa, after receiving a rich present of gold and jewels, of horses and arms, was invested by a patent in red ink with the kingdom of Anatolia. Such is the portrait of a generous conqueror, which has been extracted from his own memorials, and dedicated to his son and grandson, nineteen years after his decease; and, at a time when the truth was remembered by thousands, a manifest falsehood would have implied a satire on his real conduct. On the other hand, of the harsh and ignominious treatment of Bajazet there is also a variety of evidence. The Turkish annals in particular, which have been consulted or transcribed by Leunclavius, Pocock, and Cantemir, unanimously deplore the captivity of the iron cage; and some credit may be allowed to national historians, who cannot stigmatize the Tartar without uncovering the shame of their king and country.” From these opposite premises, Mr Gibbon thinks a fair and moderate conclusion may be deduced. He is satisfied that Sherefeddin Ali has faithfully described the first ostentatious interview, in which the conqueror, whose spirits were harmonized by success, affected the character of generosity. But his mind was insensibly alienated by the unseasonable arrogance of Bajazet; the complaints of his enemies, the Anatolian princes, were just and vehement; and Timour betrayed a design of leading his royal captive in triumph to Samarcand. An attempt to facilitate his escape by digging a mine underneath the tent, provoked the Mogul emperor to impose a harsher restraint; and in his perpetual marches an iron cage on a waggon might be invented, not as a wanton insult, but as a rigorous precaution. Timour had read in sqme fabulous history a similar treatment of one of his predecessors, a king of Persia; and Bajazet was condemned to represent the person and expiate the guilt of the Boman Caesar. But the strength of bls mind and body minted under the trial, and his premature death might without injustice be ascribed to the severity of Timour.