Page:An Account of Corsica (1769).djvu/106

 order, ſince the dates are almoſt always uncertain.

I ſhall however give a ſhort view of what ſeems to have been the progreſs of events.

When the power of the Saracens roſe to that height, of which we read with amazement, they drove the Goths from Corſica, and maintained the dominion there for a conſiderable time.

It is believed, that they firſt gave the title of kingdom to Corſica; and, to this day, the coat armonial of the iſland bears a Moor's head on its ſhield.

There are Mooriſh coins frequently dug up in Corſica; and near to Ajaccio, are Saracen tombs, which appear to have had ſome magnificence. They are ſubterraneous vaults, ſupported by ſtone pillars; and in them are found ſepulchral urns of an earthen compoſition, ſimilar to brick.

It would appear, that the Pope has always had a view towards the annexation of Corſica to his territories; and, that he at different times inſtigated the kings of Arragon, as well as the ſovereigns of France, to make againſt it, what in the ſlile of thoſe times was called a holy war; which