Page:Islam, Turkey, and Armenia, and How They Happened.djvu/117

Rh The terrified Greek population hastened into the sanctuary of St. Sophia for protection, and to the last moment many clung to the belief that an angel would be sent from heaven there to vindicate the orthodoxy of the Greek church and destroy the Mohametan who should dare to enter its door. The victor, attended by his pashas and generals, visited the desolate hall of the imperial palace, and arriving at the door of St. Sophia alighted from his horse, passed into the temple, and ordered all the crosses to be thrown down and all the paintings torn from the walls, and got upon his knees and muttered his prayer. A few days afterwards the muezzin proclaimed the public invitation for prayer in the name of Allah and His apostle, Mohamet. Thus the stately edifice of Justinian, which upon its completion drew from him the exclamation, "I have outdone thee, O Solomon," became a Mohametan mosque, and has ever since been preserved with the greatest care and pride.

After a time of perfect license to his ferocious troops, the Sultan undertook the task of repairing the ravages of war, and commemorated his triumph by taking the proud title of "The Lord of Two Continents and Two Seas," and fixed his residence on the site of the imperial palace, and founded that seraglio where his successors have resided, and which has been the scene of so much luxury, violence and crime.

5. "Lord, Save Us from the Devil, the Turk and the Comet." It was the settled purpose of Mohamet II. to extend his empire to the west, and some succeeding sultans also entertained the same idea;