The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Gibbon, Volume VI
Volume VI: The Crusades to the ruins of Rome — the fall of Constantinople, and the prospect from the Capitol. Read with Gibbon's own footnotes and Milman's corrections of them beside the text.
Edition: Edward Gibbon · Project Gutenberg #736 (Milman edition) — public domain
Voices: Chapter LIX · The Crusades · Chapter LX · The Fourth Crusade · Chapter LXI · Partition Of The Empire By The French And Venetians · Chapter LXII · Greek Emperors Of Nice And Constantinople · Chapter LXIII · Civil Wars And The Ruin Of The Greek Empire · Chapter LXIV · Moguls, Ottoman Turks · Chapter LXV · Elevation Of Timour Or Tamerlane, And His Death · Chapter LXVI · Union Of The Greek And Latin Churches · Chapter LXVII · Schism Of The Greeks And Latins · Chapter LXVIII · Reign Of Mahomet The Second, Extinction Of Eastern Empire · Chapter LXIX · State Of Rome From The Twelfth Century · Chapter LXX · Final Settlement Of The Ecclesiastical State · Chapter LXXI · Prospect Of The Ruins Of Rome In The Fifteenth Century
In a style less grave than that of history, I should perhaps compare the emperor Alexius to the jackal, who is said to follow the steps, and to devour the leavings, of the lion. Whatever had been his fears and toils in the passage of the first crusade, they were amply recompensed by the subsequent benefits which he derived from the exploits of the Franks. His dexterity and vigilance secured their first conquest of Nice; and from this threatening station the Turks were compelled to evacuate the neighborhood of Constantinople. While the crusaders, with blind valor, advanced into the midland…
In the twelfth century, three great emigrations marched by land from the West for the relief of Palestine. The soldiers and pilgrims of Lombardy, France, and Germany were excited by the example and success of the first crusade. Forty-eight years after the deliverance of the holy sepulchre, the emperor, and the French king, Conrad the Third and Louis the Seventh, undertook the second crusade to support the falling fortunes of the Latins. A grand division of the third crusade was led by the emperor Frederic Barbarossa, who sympathized with his brothers of France and England in the common loss…Read it in the reading room ›