Invades Mauritius, not long after, being murdered by Phocas, Cofroes the Roman refolved to invade the Roman territories, under pretence of reprovinces. venging the death of his benefactor. Phocas endeavoured to apAn. Chr. peafe him, by large prefents and larger promifes; but he threw 603.

the Roman ambaflador into prison, and foon after marched into the Roman provinces, where at firft he met with fome oppofition; but the emperor's troops being badly fupported, and their general being flain, the Perans foon became fuperior, and laid all the frontiers under contribution. In the feventeenth year of his reign, he reduced feveral fortreffes; and the year following, he recovered the ftrong city of Dara, and plundered all Mefopotamia and Syria. The next campaign, he paffed the Euphrates, and ravaged, in a most barbarous manner, Syria, Palestine, and part of Phoenicia.

The year after, his troops, under Cardareganus, wafted Armenia and Cappadocia, defeated the Roman army with great flaughter, and afterwards ravaged Galatia, Paphlagonia, and all the country as far as Chalcedon, burning cities, and maffacring the inhabitants, without any refpect to fex or age. Cofroes, two years after, took Apamea and Edeffa, and blocked up Antioch; upon which the Romans venturing an engagement, their army was totally defeated, and almost all put to the fword. Next year he took Cæfarea, and carried many thousands of people into captivity. Syria was ravaged in the two next campaigns, in the latter of which he made himself master of Damafcus, whither Heraclius, who had fucceeded to the empire, fent amballadors to fue for peace; but Cofroes did not even condefcend to return them an answer. The year following he took and plundered the city of Jerufalem, carried away the crofs on which Chrift fuffered, and the patriarch Zacharias, into Perfia. In this campaign he fold 90,000 Chriftians for flaves to the Jews in his dominions, who put them all to death. In the facking of Jerufalem he was affifted by the Jews, who made high profeffions of loyalty to him, that under his protection they might exhaust the Chriftians with ufury.

The rapid conquefts of Cofroes ferved only to inflame his ambition; and the year following, which was the 27th of his reign, he made an expedition into Egypt; and having divided his forces, with one part of his army he took Alexandria, and fubdued all the country towards Lybia; while the other reduced Upper Egypt, and advanced to the very frontiers of Ethiopia. The year after he again entered Aa, and marched with his army within fight of Conftantinople, making himself master of Chalcedon, which ftands oppofite to it. He employed the remaining part of that year, and all the next, in regulating the government of the conquered provinces. Heraclius the emperor, who found himself incapable of making any refiftance, again folicited a peace: but his ambaffadors received the following contemptuous anfwer from Cofroes, who seems to have aimed at the utter extinction

tinction of the Roman name. Let your mafter know (faid he) His info"that I will hearken to no terms, till he has, with all his fub- lent anjects, renounced his crucified God, and adored the fun, the swer to the great god of the Perfians." This impious and infulting an- Roman fwer rouzed Heraclius as it were from a lethargy. He concluded ambassaa peace with the other barbarians; and by that means having dors. leifure to direct his whole ftrength against Cofroes, he defeated him in several pitched battles, and recovered all the provinces he had feized, as will be more fully related in the hiftory of the Conftantinopolitan empire. Cofroes, foon after this reverfe of fortune, finding himself loaded with the infirmities of age, declared his younger fon Merdafas his fucceffor; which fo provoked Siroes the eldeft, that he openly revolted; and being joined by many malcontents and the Roman captives, whom he fet at liberty, he feized on his father, loaded him with chains, and threw him into a dungeon, where he caused him and his brother Merdafas to be inhumanly murdered.

As Cofroes carried his conquefts farther than any of his pre- His magdeceffors from the days of Artaxerxes, he seems alfo, by the ac- nificence. counts of the eastern writers, to have exceeded them in magnificence and rapacity. He adorned the palace of his grandfather at Madain in a moft wonderful manner, by difpofing the upper part thereof in the form of a throne, which was fupported by 40,000 filver columns. The concave over them was adorned by 1000 globes of gold, wherein all the planets and great conftellations were feen to perform their natural revolutions. The walls were all covered with tapestry, wrought with gold flowers, and enriched with pearls and other precious ftones. The vaults underneath the palace were filled with treasure. He had 3000 women who were free, and 12,000 flaves, the most beautiful that could be found throughout his dominions. In his ftables he had 6000 horfes and mules for his own riding; 12,000 large mules, and 8000 of the ordinary kind served to carry his baggage. He had alfo 960 elephants, which he made ufe of in his armies. He was an outrageous perfecutor of the Christians; but did not even spare his other fubjects, who were at length fo exafperated by his cruelty, that they feized him, and loading him with chains of gold, thruft him into one of the vaults where he had laid up his treasure.

626.

Siroes, called by the eastern writers Khabad Schirouich, not Siroes. only caused his father to be put to death, but also murdered fe- An. Chr. venteen of his brothers. The eighteenth, named Scheheriar, had the good fortune to escape. He alfo concluded a perpetual peace with Heraclius, fet at liberty all the Roman captives, and among the rest Zacharias patriarch of Jerufalem, restored 300 enfigns, alfo the wood which was fuppofed to have been part of the crofs on which our Saviour died. He died, or, according Ardefer. to fome writers, was murdered, in the first year of his reign. Ardefer, or Ardfchir, his fon, a boy of feven years of age, was declared his fucceffor; but he was murdered in the second year of his reign, by the orders of Sarbas, or Scheheriar, the general

3

of

das.

of the army. According to fome writers, the young prince reigned only seven months; but, according to Mirkond, only 50 days. Sarbas, prefuming on the affection of his troops, placed himself on the throne; but he was foon oppofed by Barahanes, a prince of the royal blood. Barahanes dying, the Perfians murdered Sarbas, and raifed Ifdigertes, or, as fome writers call him, Hormifdas, to the royal dignity.

Ifdigertes, The eastern writers, however, fay, that Ifdigertes, or Jezdeor Hormif- gerd, who was the laft of the Perfian kings, and the fon of that brother of Siroes who had faved his life when his other brothers were murdered, was not the immediate fucceffor of Sarbas. According to them, upon the death of Sarbas, Touran-Dockt, the fifter of Siroes, was declared queen, who governed with great firmness and wifdom, and protected the poor against the infolence of the nobility. She died, after a fhort reign; and the nobility, in hopes of governing as they pleafed, declared Gihan Schedah king, who was of the royal blood, but a man of very weak parts. He was depofed a few days after, and Azurmi Dockt, the other fifter of Siroes, was declared queen. This princefs gave the people the strongest hopes of a mild and happy reign; but was foon feized and put to death by the fon of a governor of one of the provinces, whofe father the had refused to accept of for her hufband. Upon her death, a grandson of Cofroes, named Ferokhzad, who had efcaped the general flaughter of the royal family intended by Siroes, was made king. Before this prince had reigned a month, he was poifoned by one of his flaves; and his fucceffor was fezdegerd III. the fon of Scheheriar, and grandfon of Cofroes.

He is driven

cens.

Fezdegerd, or Ifdigertes, afcended the throne in the 16th year of his age, and had nothing but misfortunes to ftruggle with from the during his whole reign, which lafted 20 years. He had hardly throne by quelled the domeftic factions, and reftored tranquillity, when the Sara Perfia was invaded by the Saracens, under the conduct of the fucceffors of Mohammed. The invaders were for fome time oppofed by the Perfian general Ferokhzad; but at length having gained a compleat victory, after an obftinate engagement, which is faid to have lafted three days and three nights, they took poffeffion of the capital city, and made an intire conqueft of the greatest part of the Peran dominions. Jezdegerd was driven from his capital in the third year of his reign, and from that time was gradually ftript by the conquerors of all his do minions, except the provinces of Kerman and Sigeftan, which he held as long as he lived. In the last year of his reign, the provinces that remained to him were invaded by the Turks, His death. who were bafely called in by one of his governors. Jezdegerd An. Chr. hazarded an engagement with the rebels and invaders; but was defeated, and flain in his flight, while the waterman who had undertaken to carry him over the river Oxus was difputing about his fare. After the death of fezdegerd, the Arabs maintained themfelves in poffeffion of Perfia, almost all the Perfians embracing the Mohammedan religion, and quietly fubmitting to the conquerors. Jezdegerd

652.

Fezdegerd left behind him a fon and a daughter. His daughter, named Dara, married Boftenay, the head of the captivity, as the Jews call him; that is, the prince of the Jews fettled in Chaldæa. His fon Ferouz ftill preferved a little principality, and left an only daughter, who married the fon of the caliph Abdalmalek, to whom the bore a fon, named fezid. This Jezid became caliph or fovereign of Per a; and was fo far from thinking himself above claiming the title derived to him from his mother, that he conftantly ftiled himfelf the fon of Khofrou, or Cofroes, king of Perfia *.

Theophan. Chronogr. Cedren. Zonar. Gregor. Abulfar. D' Herbelot. bibl. orient. Lebtakikh.

Vol. II.

R

BOOK

The extent and bounds of

Greece.

The

various

CHAP. I.

The Hiftory of the antient kingdoms of GREECE, in the fabulous and heroic times.

REECE properly fo called was bounded on the north by the mountain Hamus and the river Strymon, the former dividing it from Illyricum and Mafia, and the latter from Thrace; and extended fouthwards to the promontory of Tenarus, the most fouthern point of the Peloponnefe, about fix degrees and a half. On the east it had the Egean fea; and on the weft the Ionian; and extended from eaft to west about 300 miles. It was divided into the five following countries; the Peloponnefe, Greece properly fo called, Epire, Theffaly, and Macedonia. The Peloponnefe contained the kingdoms of Sicyon, Argos, Mellenia, Corinth, Achaia Proper, Arcadia, and Laconia. In Grecia Proper were the kingdoms of Attica, Megara, Beotia, Locris, Epichnemidia, Doris, Phocis, Locris, Ozolaa, and Ætolia. In Epirus were the Moloffi, Amphilochi, Caffiopei, Dræopes, Chaones, Threfpotii, Almeni, and Acarnania. Theffaly contained the countries of Theffaliotis, Eftotis, Pelafgiotis, Magnesia, and Phthia: and Macedonia, according to Pliny (if no error has crept into his text) contained no lefs than 150 different nations *. All these have, at one time or other, been feverally governed by kings of their own, fome of whofe names we find only occafionally mentioned in the hiftory of the more confiderable kingdoms among them.

The general names by which all these various inhabitants were known, and are mentioned by old hiftorians and geogranames of phers, were those of Graioi and Graicoi, derived from Græcus the the Gre

cians.

* Ptol. Herod. Diod. Sic. Mela. Cluver. &c.

father,