History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 5

Name: History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 5
Author: Gibbon, Edward

Gibbon, Edward

Byzantine Empire -- History -- To 527; Rome -- History -- Empire, 30 B.C.-476 A.D.

211 (return) [ About the middle of the xth century, the clergy of
      Cordova was reproached with this criminal compliance, by the
      intrepid envoy of the Emperor Otho I., (Vit. Johan. Gorz, in
      Secul. Benedict. V. No. 115, apud Fleury, Hist. Eccles. tom. xii.
      p. 91.)]

      212 (return) [ Pagi, Critica, tom. iv. A.D. 1149, No. 8, 9. He
      justly observes, that when Seville, &c., were retaken by
      Ferdinand of Castille, no Christians, except captives, were found
      in the place; and that the Mozarabic churches of Africa and
      Spain, described by James a Vitriaco, A.D. 1218, (Hist. Hierosol.
      c. 80, p. 1095, in Gest. Dei per Francos,) are copied from some
      older book. I shall add, that the date of the Hegira 677 (A.D.
      1278) must apply to the copy, not the composition, of a treatise
      of a jurisprudence, which states the civil rights of the
      Christians of Cordova, (Bibliot. Arab. Hisp. tom. i. p. 471;) and
      that the Jews were the only dissenters whom Abul Waled, king of
      Grenada, (A.D. 1313,) could either discountenance or tolerate,
      (tom. ii. p. 288.)]

      213 (return) [ Renaudot, Hist. Patriarch. Alex. p. 288. Leo
      Africanus would have flattered his Roman masters, could he have
      discovered any latent relics of the Christianity of Africa.]

      After the revolution of eleven centuries, the Jews and Christians
      of the Turkish empire enjoy the liberty of conscience which was
      granted by the Arabian caliphs. During the first age of the
      conquest, they suspected the loyalty of the Catholics, whose name
      of Melchites betrayed their secret attachment to the Greek
      emperor, while the Nestorians and Jacobites, his inveterate
      enemies, approved themselves the sincere and voluntary friends of
      the Mahometan government. 214 Yet this partial jealousy was
      healed by time and submission; the churches of Egypt were shared
      with the Catholics; 215 and all the Oriental sects were included
      in the common benefits of toleration. The rank, the immunities,
      the domestic jurisdiction of the patriarchs, the bishops, and the
      clergy, were protected by the civil magistrate: the learning of
      individuals recommended them to the employments of secretaries
      and physicians: they were enriched by the lucrative collection of
      the revenue; and their merit was sometimes raised to the command
      of cities and provinces. A caliph of the house of Abbas was heard
      to declare that the Christians were most worthy of trust in the
      administration of Persia. “The Moslems,” said he, “will abuse
      their present fortune; the Magians regret their fallen greatness;
      and the Jews are impatient for their approaching deliverance.”
      216 But the slaves of despotism are exposed to the alternatives
      of favor and disgrace. The captive churches of the East have been

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

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History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 5Gibbon, Edward

History

History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 5

Gibbon, Edward

Byzantine Empire -- History -- To 527; Rome -- History -- Empire, 30 B.C.-476 A.D.

211 (return) [ About the middle of the xth century, the clergy of
      Cordova was reproached with this criminal compliance, by the
      intrepid envoy of the Emperor Otho I., (Vit. Johan. Gorz, in
      Secul. Benedict. V. No. 115, apud Fleury, Hist. Eccles. tom. xii.
      p. 91.)]

      212 (return) [ Pagi, Critica, tom. iv. A.D. 1149, No. 8, 9. He
      justly observes, that when Seville, &c., were retaken by
      Ferdinand of Castille, no Christians, except captives, were found
      in the place; and that the Mozarabic churches of Africa and
      Spain, described by James a Vitriaco, A.D. 1218, (Hist. Hierosol.
      c. 80, p. 1095, in Gest. Dei per Francos,) are copied from some
      older book. I shall add, that the date of the Hegira 677 (A.D.
      1278) must apply to the copy, not the composition, of a treatise
      of a jurisprudence, which states the civil rights of the
      Christians of Cordova, (Bibliot. Arab. Hisp. tom. i. p. 471;) and
      that the Jews were the only dissenters whom Abul Waled, king of
      Grenada, (A.D. 1313,) could either discountenance or tolerate,
      (tom. ii. p. 288.)]

      213 (return) [ Renaudot, Hist. Patriarch. Alex. p. 288. Leo
      Africanus would have flattered his Roman masters, could he have
      discovered any latent relics of the Christianity of Africa.]

      After the revolution of eleven centuries, the Jews and Christians
      of the Turkish empire enjoy the liberty of conscience which was
      granted by the Arabian caliphs. During the first age of the
      conquest, they suspected the loyalty of the Catholics, whose name
      of Melchites betrayed their secret attachment to the Greek
      emperor, while the Nestorians and Jacobites, his inveterate
      enemies, approved themselves the sincere and voluntary friends of
      the Mahometan government. 214 Yet this partial jealousy was
      healed by time and submission; the churches of Egypt were shared
      with the Catholics; 215 and all the Oriental sects were included
      in the common benefits of toleration. The rank, the immunities,
      the domestic jurisdiction of the patriarchs, the bishops, and the
      clergy, were protected by the civil magistrate: the learning of
      individuals recommended them to the employments of secretaries
      and physicians: they were enriched by the lucrative collection of
      the revenue; and their merit was sometimes raised to the command
      of cities and provinces. A caliph of the house of Abbas was heard
      to declare that the Christians were most worthy of trust in the
      administration of Persia. “The Moslems,” said he, “will abuse
      their present fortune; the Magians regret their fallen greatness;
      and the Jews are impatient for their approaching deliverance.”
      216 But the slaves of despotism are exposed to the alternatives
      of favor and disgrace. The captive churches of the East have been

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 5

History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 5

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