Page:Destruction of the Greek Empire.djvu/98

 64 DESTEUCTION OF THE GEEEK EMPIEE the ruler of Tartars who were in occupation of territory on the Volga, had sent twenty thousand men to aid the Bul- garians against the Empire. Bulgarians and Tartars together had occupied all the passes into Thrace, and the emperor had saved himself with difficulty. In 1284, ten thousand Tartars came southward into Thrace from the great host which were in Hungary. In 1300, the Turks who had entered the Crimea were driven out by another horde of Tartars who had occupied South Kussia. The number and strength of these invaders continued constantly to increase. Their power indeed remained firmly established in South Kussia until long after the conquest of Constantinople. They had no special sympathy with the Ottoman Turks, and were ready, as were the Alans, to fight either for the emperor or against him. Cantacuzenus mentions that in 1324 one hundred and twenty thousand of them entered Thrace and were beaten in detail by his friend the young Andronicus. Brousa 6 ° f Weakened by having to meet this huge northern army, 1326. ' for huge it must have been, although the number of the invaders is probably exaggerated, 1 the young emperor was forbidden or was unable to go to the relief of Brousa when, two years afterwards, Othman laid siege to that city. Its surrender in 1326 is a convenient mark of the progress made by the Ottoman Turks. Their great leader, Othman, died in the following year. 1 It is usually impossible to arrive at the correct estimate of the numbers of the invaders, but it may be said once for all that, while they were undoubtedly very large, the figures given by the Greek authors are seldom trustworthy.