History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 6Gibbon, Edward
History
History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 6
Gibbon, Edward
Byzantine Empire -- History -- To 527; Rome -- History -- Empire, 30 B.C.-476 A.D.
progress was hailed by the voluntary or reluctant acclamations of
the natives; and Greece, the proper and ancient Greece, again
received a Latin conqueror, 12 who trod with indifference that
classic ground. He viewed with a careless eye the beauties of the
valley of Tempe; traversed with a cautious step the straits of
Thermopylæ; occupied the unknown cities of Thebes, Athens, and
Argos; and assaulted the fortifications of Corinth and Napoli, 13
which resisted his arms. The lots of the Latin pilgrims were
regulated by chance, or choice, or subsequent exchange; and they
abused, with intemperate joy, their triumph over the lives and
fortunes of a great people. After a minute survey of the
provinces, they weighed in the scales of avarice the revenue of
each district, the advantage of the situation, and the ample or
scanty supplies for the maintenance of soldiers and horses. Their
presumption claimed and divided the long-lost dependencies of the
Roman sceptre: the Nile and Euphrates rolled through their
imaginary realms; and happy was the warrior who drew for his
prize the palace of the Turkish sultan of Iconium. 14 I shall not
descend to the pedigree of families and the rent-roll of estates,
but I wish to specify that the counts of Blois and St. Pol were
invested with the duchy of Nice and the lordship of Demotica: 15
the principal fiefs were held by the service of constable,
chamberlain, cup-bearer, butler, and chief cook; and our
historian, Jeffrey of Villehardouin, obtained a fair
establishment on the banks of the Hebrus, and united the double
office of marshal of Champagne and Romania. At the head of his
knights and archers, each baron mounted on horseback to secure
the possession of his share, and their first efforts were
generally successful. But the public force was weakened by their
dispersion; and a thousand quarrels must arise under a law, and
among men, whose sole umpire was the sword. Within three months
after the conquest of Constantinople, the emperor and the king of
Thessalonica drew their hostile followers into the field; they
were reconciled by the authority of the doge, the advice of the
marshal, and the firm freedom of their peers. 16
7 (return) [ In the treaty of partition, most of the names are
corrupted by the scribes: they might be restored, and a good map,
suited to the last age of the Byzantine empire, would be an
improvement of geography. But, alas D’Anville is no more!]
8 (return) [ Their style was dominus quartæ partis et dimidiæ
imperii Romani, till Giovanni Dolfino, who was elected doge in
the year of 1356, (Sanuto, p. 530, 641.) For the government of
Constantinople, see Ducange, Histoire de C. P. i. 37.]
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