Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol 6 | Page 3

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History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire Edward
Gibbon, Esq. With notes by the Rev. H. H. Milman Vol. 6 The
Crusades.

Part I.
Preservation Of The Greek Empire. - Numbers, Passage, And Event, Of
The Second And Third Crusades. - St. Bernard. - Reign Of Saladin In
Egypt And Syria. - His Conquest Of Jerusalem. - Naval Crusades. -
Richard The First Of England. - Pope Innocent The Third; And The
Fourth And Fifth Crusades. - The Emperor Frederic The Second. -
Louis The Ninth Of France; And The Two Last Crusades. - Expulsion
Of The Latins Or Franks By The Mamelukes. In a style less grave than
that of history, I should perhaps compare the emperor Alexius ^1 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 countries of Asia, the crafty Greek improved the favorable
occasion when the emirs of the sea-coast were recalled to the standard
of the sultan. The Turks were driven from the Isles of Rhodes and
Chios: the cities of Ephesu and Smyrna, of Sardes, Philadelphia, and
Laodicea, were restored to the empire, which Alexius enlarged from the

Hellespont to the banks of the Maeander, and the rocky shores of
Pamphylia. The churches resumed their splendor: the towns were
rebuilt and fortified; and the desert country was peopled with colonies
of Christians, who were gently removed from the more distant and
dangerous frontier. In these paternal cares, we may forgive Alexius, if
he forgot the deliverance of the holy sepulchre; but, by the Latins, he
was stigmatized with the foul reproach of treason and desertion. They
had sworn fidelity and obedience to his throne; but he had promised to
assist their enterprise in person, or, at least, with his troops and
treasures: his base retreat dissolved their obligations; and the sword,
which had been the instrument of their victory, was the pledge and title
of their just independence. It does not appear that the emperor
attempted to revive his obsolete claims over the kingdom of Jerusalem;
^2 but the borders of Cilicia and Syria were more recent in his
possession, and more accessible to his arms. The great army of the
crusaders was annihilated or dispersed; the principality of Antioch was
left without a head, by the surprise and captivity of Bohemond; his
ransom had oppressed him with a heavy debt; and his Norman
followers were insufficient to repel the hostilities of the Greeks and
Turks. In this distress, Bohemond embraced a magnanimous resolution,
of leaving the defence of Antioch to his kinsman, the faithful Tancred;
of arming the West against the Byzantine empire; and of executing the
design which he inherited from the lessons and example of his father
Guiscard. His embarkation was clandestine: and, if we may credit a tale
of the princess Anne, he passed the hostile sea closely secreted in a
coffin. ^3 But his reception in France was dignified by the public
applause, and his marriage with the king's daughter: his return was
glorious, since