Page:The Fall of Constantinople.djvu/130

 112 THE FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE. which the sultan desired. It drew from the Asiatic provinces of the empire a considerable number of emigrants, and made further conquests easier. In the words of Nicetas, the cities of Greece were depopulated to make colonies in the territory of the barbarians.* The opposition which Alexis made was of a very feeble character, partly because the presence of other enemies required his return to the capital, and partly because he himself was suffering from gout. As the century closed, the history of the Seljukian Turks entered upon a phase which at another time might, as we have seen, have enabled the empire to recover lost ground. The division of the Sultanate of Iconium was itself an advantafre to the empire, but a further gain was shortly obtained by the jealousies of the sons of Kilidji Arslan. On the death of one of these, two out of the others who had divided their father's empire among them contended for the succession of their dead brother. The victor then attacked Kaikhosro, Sultan of Iconium, who was the son of a Christian mother, and was hated on that account.^ Kaikhosro thereupon made a truce with the empire. He subsequently asked the aid of Leo, King of Armenia, but was nevertheless defeated and came to Con- stantinople, where he was allowed to live as a private citizen. The further quarrels among the sons of Kilidji-Arslan contrib- uted to make the end of the century a favorable opportunity in the eyes of the pope, and of other Western statesmen, for striking an effective blow at Moslemism. , J Nicetas usually and correctly speaks of the subjects of the Greek- speaking Roman empire as Romans. The inhabitants — to this day almost purely Greek — of the western provinces of Asia Minor he calls Greeks. '^ That the Turkish sultans were often the sons of Christian slaves has had a very important effect upon Turkish history. This is a point which the late Mr. Scudamorc carefully examined. The undoubtedly able sul- tans who carried the Turkish arms successfully, first to Constantinople and then to the gates of Vienna, were almost in every case the sons of Christian mothers, and were therefore, after a few generations, of almost purely European descent. TJic decline in ability among the Ottoman sultans dates from the destruction in the last century of the corsairs who ravaged the coasts of Italy, France, Spain, and, in the previous century, even the south coast of England, for the capture of slaves.