| 1062 | 1063 | 1064 | 1065 | 1066 |
| 1 | 306 | 613 | 919 | 1225 |
|
territory between Cappadocia and the Euphrates. It was not till
522, or even 1574 that the whole country came under the dominion of
1
the Ottoman Turks, in the reign of Selim I.
The Mamelook Sultans of Egypt seem to have taken a particular
interest in this, the most Northern province of their empire, which
was even then in danger of being conquered by the Turks. In the
autumn of 1477 Sultan Kait Bey made a journey of inspection,
visiting Antioch and the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates with a
numerous and brilliant escort. This tour is briefly alluded to by
Moodshireddin p. 561; and by WEIL, Geschichte der Abbasiden V,
p. 358. An anonymous member of the suite wrote a diary of the
expedition in Arabic, which has been published by R. V. LONZONE
(
'Viaggio in Palestina e Soria di Kaid Ba XVIII sultano della II
dinastia mamelucca, fatto nel 1477. Testo arabo. Torino 1878',
without notes or commentary). Compare the critique on this edition,
by J. GILDEMEISTER in Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palaestina Vereins
(Vol. Ill p. 246--249). Lanzone's edition seems to be no more than
an abridged copy of the original. I owe to Professor Sche'fer,
Membre de l'Institut, the information that he is in possession of a
manuscript in which the text is fuller, and more correctly given.
The Mamelook dynasty was, as is well known, of Circassian origin,
and a large proportion of the Egyptian Army was recruited in
Circassia even so late as in the XVth century. That was a period of
political storms in Syria and Asia Minor and it is easy to suppose
that the Sultan's minister, to whom Leonardo addresses his report as
1064
Page
Quick Jump
|