The Preaching of Islam

Chapter VI · THE SPREAD OF ISLAM AMONG THE CHRISTIAN NATIONS IN EUROPE UNDER THE TURKS.

Reading edition

In the following pages it is proposed to give a more detailed and particular account of the spread of Islam among the Christian populations of Albania, Servia, Bosnia and Crete, as the history of each of these countries after its conquest by the Ottomans presents some special features of interest in the history of the propagation of Islam.

Their country was first invaded by the Turks in 1387, but the Turkish forces soon had to withdraw, and the authority of the Sultan was recognised for the first time in 1423. For a short period Albania regained its independence under George Kastriota, who is better known under his Muhammadan name of Scanderbeg or Sikandarbeg. Recent investigations have established the falsity of the romantic fictions that had gathered round the story of his early days—how that as a boy he had been surrendered as a hostage to the Turks, had been brought up among them as a Muslim and had won the special favour of the Sultan. The truth is, that the days of his youth were passed in his native mountains and his warfare with the Turks began with the victory gained over them in 1444; for more than twenty years he maintained a vigorous and successful resistance to their invading forces, but after his death in 1467, the Turks began again to take possession of Albania. Krūya, the capital of the Kastriot dynasty, fell into their hands eleven years later, and from this date there appears to have been no organised resistance of the whole country, though revolts were frequent and the subjection of the country was never complete. Some of the sea-port towns held out much longer; Durazzo was captured in 1501, while Antivari, the northernmost point of the sea-coast of Albania, did not surrender until 1571. The terms of capitulation were that the city should retain its old laws and magistrature, that there should be free and public exercise of the Christian religion, that the churches and chapels should remain uninjured and might be rebuilt if they fell into decay; that the citizens should retain all their movable and immovable property and should not be burdened by any additional taxation.

In the accounts we have of the social relations between the Christians and the Muslims, and in the absence of any sharp line of demarcation between the two communities, we find some clue to the manner in which Muhammadan influences gradually gained converts from among the Christian population in proportion as the vigour and the spiritual life of the Church declined.

Such being the state of the Christian Church in Albania in the latter half of the seventeenth century, some very trifling incentive would have been enough to bring about a widespread apostasy; and the punishment inflicted on the rebellious Catholics in the latter half of the century was a determining factor more than sufficient to consummate the tendencies that had been drawing them towards Islam and to cause large numbers of them to fall away from the Christian Church. The rebellious movement referred to seems to have been instigated by George, the thirty-ninth Archbishop of Antivari (1635–1644), who through the bishops of Durazzo, Scodra and Alessio tried to induce the leaders of the Christian community to conspire against the Turkish rule and hand over the country to the neighbouring Christian power, the Republic of Venice. As in his time Venice was at peace with the Turks a fitting opportunity for the hatching of this plot did not occur, but in 1645 war broke out between Turkey and the Republic, and the Venetians made an unsuccessful attempt to capture the city of Antivari, which before the Turkish conquest had been in their possession for more than three centuries (1262–1571). The Albanian Catholics who had sided with the enemy and secretly given them assistance were severely punished and deprived of their privileges, while the Greek Christians (who had everything to fear in the event of the restoration of the Venetian rule and had remained faithful to the Turkish government) were liberally rewarded and were lauded as the saviours of their country. Many of the Catholics either became Muhammadans or joined the Greek Church. The latter fact is very significant as showing that there was no persecution of the Christians as such, nor any attempt to force the acceptance of Islam upon them. The Catholics who became Muhammadans did so to avoid the odium of their position after the failure of their plot, and could have gained the same end and have at the same time retained their Christian faith by joining the Greek Church, which was not only officially recognised by the Turkish government but in high favour in Antivari at this time: so that those who neglected to do so, could have had very little attachment to the Christian religion. The same remark holds good of the numerous conversions to Islam in the succeeding years: Zmaievich attributes them in some cases to the desire to avoid the payment of tribute, but, from what has been said above, it is very unlikely that this was the sole determining motive.

At the present day the Muhammadans in Albania are said to number about 1,000,000 and the Christians 480,000, but the accuracy of these figures is not certain. The Mirdites are entirely Christian; they submitted to the Sultan on condition that no Muslim would be allowed to settle in their territory, but adherents of both the rival creeds are found in almost all the other tribes. Central Albania is said to be almost entirely Muhammadan, and the followers of Islam form about sixty per cent. of the population of Northern Albania; the Christian population attains its largest proportion in Southern Albania, especially in the districts bordering upon Greece.

The kingdom of Servia first paid tribute to the Ottomans in 1375 and lost its independence after the disastrous defeat of Kossovo (1389), where both the king of Servia and the Turkish sultan were left dead upon the field. The successors of the two sovereigns entered into a friendly compact, the young Servian prince, Stephen, acknowledged the suzerainty of Turkey, gave his sister in marriage to the new sultan, Bāyazīd, and formed with him a league of brotherhood. At the battle of Nikopolis (1394), which gave to the Turks assured possession of the whole Balkan peninsula, except the district surrounding Constantinople, the Servian contingent turned the wavering fortune of the battle and gave the victory to the Turks. On the field of Angora (1402), when the Turkish power was annihilated and Bāyazīd himself taken prisoner by Tīmūr, Stephen was present with his Servian troops and fought bravely for his brother-in-law, and instead of taking this opportunity of securing his independence, remained faithful to his engagement, and stood by the sons of Bāyazīd until they recovered their father’s throne. Under the successor of Stephen, George Brankovich, Servia enjoyed a semi-independence, but when in 1438 he raised the standard of revolt, his country was again overrun by the Turks. Then for a time Servia had to acknowledge the suzerainty of Hungary, but the defeat of John Hunyady at Varna in 1444 brought her once more under tribute, and in 1459 she finally became a Turkish province.

The latest territorial acquisition of the Ottoman conquests was the island of Crete, which in 1669 was wrested from the hands of the Venetian Republic by the capture of the city of Candia after a long and desperate siege of nearly three years, which closed a struggle of twenty-five years between these rival powers for the possession of the island.

Notes in this chapter

Note 1 · This is no place to give a history of these territorial acquisitions, which may be briefly summed up thus. In 1353 the Ottoman Turks first p Note 2 · Phrantzes, pp. 305–6. ↑Note 3 · Finlay, vol. iii. p. 522. Pitzipios, seconde partie, p. 75. M. d’Ohsson, vol. iii. p. 52–4. Arminjon, vol. i. p. 16. ↑Note 4 · A traveller who visited Cyprus in 1508 draws the following picture of the tyranny of the Venetians in their foreign possessions: “All the in Note 5 · Finlay, vol. iii. p. 502. ↑Note 6 · Urquhart, quoted by Clark: Races of European Turkey, p. 82. ↑Note 7 · Karamsin, vol. v. p. 437. ↑Note 8 · Martin Crusius writes in the same spirit: “Et mirum est, inter barbaros, in tanta tantæ urbis colluvie, nullas cædes audiri, vim iniustam no Note 9 · Phrantzes, p. 81. ↑Note 10 · Phrantzes, p. 92. ↑Note 11 · Finlay, vol. v. pp. 5, 123. Adeney, p. 311. Gerlach, writing in the year 1577, says: “Wo Christen oder Juden in den Orten wohnen, da es Kadi Note 12 · Hertzberg, pp. 467, 646, 650. ↑Note 13 · Finlay, vol. v. pp. 156–7. ↑Note 14 · This interval was, however, not a fixed one; at first, the levy took place every seven or five years, but later at more frequent intervals a Note 15 · Qurʼān, viii. 42. ↑Note 16 · Id. x. 99. 100. ↑Note 17 · “On ne forçait cependant pas les jeunes Chrétiens à changer de foi. Les principes du gouvernement s’y opposaient aussi bien que les précepte Note 18 · Hertzberg, p. 472. ↑Note 19 · “Sed hoc tristissimum est, quod, ut olim Christiani imperatores, ex singulis oppidis, certum numerum liberorum, in quibus egregia indoles pr Note 20 · Creasy, p. 99. M. d’Ohsson, tome iii. p. 397. Menzel, p. 53. Thomas Smith, speaking of such parents, says: “Others, to the great shame and d Note 21 · “Verum tamen hos (liberos) pecunia redimere a conquisitoribus sæpe parentibus licet.” (David Chytræus, p. 13.) De la Guilletière mentions it Note 22 · Confessio, p. 205. ↑Note 23 · An Account of the Greek Church, p. 12. (London, 1680.) ↑Note 24 · Menzel, p. 52. Thomas Smith: De Moribus ac Institutis Turcarum, p. 81. (Oxonii, 1672.) ↑Note 25 · Hill, p. 174. ↑Note 26 · Joseph von Hammer (2), vol. ii. p. 151. Hans Schiltberger, who was captured by the Turks in 1396 and returned home to Munich after thirty-tw Note 27 · Soli Sacerdotes, quasi in honorem sacri illius, quo funguntur, Deo ita ordinante, ministerii hoc factum sit, una cum fœminis, ab hoc tributo Note 28 · Silbernagl, p. 60. ↑Note 29 · Martin Crusius, p. 487; Sansovino, p. 67; Georgieviz, p. 98–9; Scheffler, § 56; Hertzberg, p. 648; De la Jonquière, p. 267. A work published Note 30 · Georgirenes, p. 9; Tournefort, vol. i. p. 91; Tavernier (3), p. 11. ↑Note 31 · In a work published by Joseph Georgirenes, Archbishop of Samos, in 1678, during a visit to London, he gives us an account of the income of h Note 32 · Tournefort, vol. i. p. 91. ↑Note 33 · Scheffler, § 56. “Was aber auch den Ducaten anbelangt, so werdet ihr mit demselben in eurem Sinn ebener massen greulich betrogen. Denn es is Note 34 · Finlay, vol. v. pp. 24–5. H. von Moltke: Brief über Zustände und Begebenheiten in der Türkei aus den Jahren 1835 bis 1839, pp. 274, 354. (5t Note 35 · Hammer (2), vol. i. p. 346. ↑Note 36 · “The hard lot of the Christian subjects of the Sultan has at all times arisen from the fact that the central authority at Constantinople has Note 37 · Businello, pp. 43–4. ↑Note 38 · “The central government of the Sultan has generally treated its Mussulman subjects with as much cruelty and injustice as the conquered Chris Note 39 · It was in the sixteenth century that the tribute of children fell into desuetude, and the last recorded example of its exaction was in the y Note 40 · De la Jonquière, p. 333. Scheffler, § 45–6. Gasztowtt, p. 51. ↑Note 41 · “Denn ich höre mit grosser Verwunderung und Bestürtzung, dass nicht allein unter den gemeinen Pövel Reden im Schwange gehn, es sey unter dem Note 42 · Hertzberg, p. 650. ↑Note 43 · De la Jonquière, p. 34. A similar contrast was made in 1605 by Richard Staper, an English merchant who had been in Turkey as early as 1578: Note 44 · Macarius, vol. i. pp. 183, 165. Cf. the memorial presented by Polish refugees from Russia to the Sublime Porte, in 1853. (Gasztowtt, p. 217.Note 45 · “Alii speciem sibi quandam confixerunt stultam libertatis … quod quum sub Christiano consequuturos se desperent, ideo vel Turcam mallent: qu Note 46 · Turchicæ Spurcitiæ Suggillatio, fol. xvii. (a). ↑Note 47 · Blount, vol. i. p. 548. ↑Note 48 · Scheffler, §§ 51, 53. ↑Note 49 · Dousa, p. 38. Busbecq, p. 190. ↑Note 50 · Thomas Smith, p. 32. ↑Note 51 · Thomas Smith, p. 42. Blount, vol. i. p. 548. Georgieviz, p. 20. Schiltberger, pp. 83–4. Baudier, pp. 149, 313. ↑Note 52 · Alexander Ross, p. ix. Baudier, p. 317. Cf. also Rycaut, vol. i. p. 276. “On croit meriter beaucoup que de faire un Proselyte, il n’y a pers Note 53 · By an anonymous writer who was a captive in Turkey from 1436 to 1458. Turchicæ Spurcitiæ Suggillatio, fol. xvii. (a). ↑Note 54 · Turchicæ Spurcitiæ Suggillatio, fol. xi. (b). Lionardo of Scio, Archbishop of Mitylene, who was present at the taking of Constantinople, spe Note 55 · J. H. Krause: Die Byzantiner des Mittelalters, pp. 385–6. (Halle, 1869.) ↑Note 56 · Hertzberg, p. 616. Finlay, vol. v. p. 118. ↑Note 57 · Turchicæ Spurcitiæ Suggillatio, fol. xix. (a). ↑Note 58 · Rycaut, vol. i. pp. 710–11. Bizzi, fol. 49 (b). ↑Note 59 · Pichler, pp. 164, 172. ↑Note 60 · Id. p. 143. ↑Note 61 · Pichler, p. 148. It is doubtful, however, whether Cyril was really the author of this document bearing his name. (Kyriakos, p. 100.) ↑Note 62 · Id. pp. 183–9. ↑Note 63 · Id. p 226. ↑Note 64 · As regards the Christian captives the Protestants certainly had the reputation among the Turks of showing a greater inclination towards conv Note 65 · Pichler, pp. 211, 227. ↑Note 66 · Id. pp. 181, 228. ↑Note 67 · Id. pp. 222, 226. ↑Note 68 · Pichler, p. 173. ↑Note 69 · Id. pp. 128, 132, 143. ↑Note 70 · Id. p. 143. ↑Note 71 · Le Quien, tom. i. col. 334. ↑Note 72 · Pichler, p. 172. ↑Note 73 · Hefele, vol. i. p. 473. ↑Note 74 · Cyril II of Berrhœa. ↑Note 75 · Le Quien, tom. i. col. 335. ↑Note 76 · Id. tom. i. col. 336. ↑Note 77 · Id. tom. i. col. 337. ↑Note 78 · However, in an earlier attempt made by the Protestant theologians of Tübingen (1573–77) to introduce the doctrines of the Reformed Church in Note 79 · Scheffler, §§ 53–6. Finlay, vol. v. pp. 118–19. ↑Note 80 · Hammer (1), vol. vi. p. 94. ↑Note 81 · Spon, vol. ii. p. 57. ↑Note 82 · Hammer (1), vol. vi. p. 364. ↑Note 83 · Early Voyages and Travels in the Levant, edited by J. Theodore Bent, p. 210. (London, 1893.) Similarly, Michel Baudier concludes his descrip Note 84 · Scheffler, § 55. ↑Note 85 · Thomas Smith: An Account of the Greek Church, pp. 15–16. (London, 1680.) ↑Note 86 · A. de la Motraye: Voyages en Europe, Asie et Afrique, vol. i. pp. 306, 308. (La Haye, 1727.) ↑Note 87 · Pitzipios, Seconde Partie, pp. 83–7. Pichler, p. 29. ↑Note 88 · Tournefort, vol. i. p. 107. Spon uses much the same language, vol. i. p. 56. ↑Note 89 · Gaultier de Leslie, p. 137. ↑Note 90 · A. J. Evans, p. 267. Similarly Mackenzie and Irby say: “In most parts of Old Serbia the idea we found associated with a bishop, was that of Note 91 · Pitzipios, Seconde Partie, p. 87. ↑Note 92 · Id. Seconde Partie, p. 87. Pichler, p. 29. ↑Note 93 · Lazăr, p. 223. ↑Note 94 · Finlay, vol. iv. pp. 153–4. ↑Note 95 · Tournefort, vol. i. p. 104. Cf. Pichler, pp. 29, 31. Spon, vol. i. p. 44. ↑Note 96 · Turchicæ Spurcitiæ Suggillatio, fol. xiii. (b); fol. xv. (b); fol. xvii. (b); fol. xx. (a). Veniero, pp. 32, 36. Busbecq, p. 174. ↑Note 97 · Gaultier de Leslie, pp. 180, 182. ↑Note 98 · Rycaut, vol. i. p. 689. See also Georgieviz, pp. 53–4, and Menavino, p. 73. ↑Note 99 · Alexander Ross, p. ix.; he calls the Qurʼān a “gallimaufry of Errors (a Brat as deformed as the Parent, and as full of Heresies, as his scal Note 100 · Finlay, vol. v. p. 29. ↑Note 101 · Schiltberger, p. 96. ↑Note 102 · Turchicæ Spurcitiæ Suggillatio, fol. xii. (b), xiii. (a). ↑Note 103 · Id. fol. xxvii. (a). ↑Note 104 · “Dum corpora exterius fovendo sub pietatis specie non occidit: interius fidem auferendo animas sua diabolica astutia occidere intendit. Huiu Note 105 · Menavino, p. 96. John Harris: Navigantium atque Itinerantium Bibliotheca, vol. ii. p. 819. (London, 1764.) ↑Note 106 · “Dieses muss man den Türken nachsagen, dass sie die Diener und Sclaven, durch deren Fleiss und Bemühung sie sich einen Nutzen schaffen könne Note 107 · Sir William Stirling-Maxwell says of these: “The poor wretches who tugged at the oar on board a Turkish ship of war lived a life neither mor Note 108 · Gmelin, p. 16. ↑Note 109 · Id. p. 23. ↑Note 110 · John Harris: Navigantium atque Itinerantium Bibliotheca, vol. ii. p. 810. ↑Note 111 · “Die ersten Jahre sind für solche unglückliche Leute am beschwehrlichsten, absonderlich wenn sie noch jung, weil die Türken selbige entweder Note 112 · “Fromme Christen, die nach der Türkei oder in andere muhamedanische Länder kamen, hatten Anlass genug zur Trauer über die Häufigkeit des Abf Note 113 · Thomas Smith, pp. 144–5. ↑Note 114 · Turchicæ Spurcitiæ Suggillatio, fol. xxxv. (a). ↑Note 115 · M. d’Ohsson, vol. iii. p. 133. Georgieviz, p. 87 (quoted above). Menavino, p. 95. ↑Note 116 · Von den Driesch, p. 250. ↑Note 117 · Id. p. 131–2. ↑Note 118 · Turchicæ Spurcitiæ Suggillatio, fol. xi. ↑Note 119 · Hertzberg, p. 621. ↑Note 120 · “The old People dying, the young ones generally turn Mahumetans: so that now (1655) you can hardly meet with two Christian Armenians in all Note 121 · H. H. Jessup: Fifty-three Years in Syria, vol. ii. p. 658. (New York, 1910.) ↑Note 122 · For a list of these, see Finlay, vol. vi. pp. 28–9. ↑Note 123 · Leake, p. 250. ↑Note 124 · The name by which the Albanians always call themselves, lit. rock-dwellers. ↑Note 125 · One of themselves, an Albanian Christian, speaking of the enmity existing between the Christians and Muhammadans of Bulgaria, says: “Aber fü Note 126 · Finlay, vol. v. p. 46. ↑Note 127 · Clark, pp. 175–7. The Mirdites, who are very fanatical Roman Catholics (in the diocese of Alessio), will not suffer a Muhammadan to live in Note 128 · Published in Farlati’s Illyricum Sacrum. ↑Note 129 · Alessandro Comuleo, 1593. Bizzi, 1610. Marco Crisio, 1651. Fra Bonaventura di S. Antonio, 1652. Zmaievich, 1703. ↑Note 130 · Bizzi, fol. 60, b. ↑Note 131 · Bizzi, fol. 35, a. ↑Note 132 · Farlati, vol. vii. pp. 104, 107. ↑Note 133 · It is also complained that the Archbishop’s palace was appropriated by the Muhammadans, but it had been left unoccupied for eight years, as Note 134 · Bizzi, fol. 9, where he says, “E comunicai quella mattina quasi tutta la Christianità latina.” From a comparison with statistics given by Zm Note 135 · Bizzi, fol. 27, b; 38, b. ↑Note 136 · Veniero, fol. 34. This was also the custom in some villages of Albania as late as the beginning of the nineteenth century; see W. M. Leake: Note 137 · Bizzi, fol. 38, b. Farlati, tom. vii. p. 158. ↑Note 138 · Bizzi, fol. 10, b. Veniero, fol. 34. ↑Note 139 · Shortly after Marco Bizzi’s arrival at Antivari a Muhammadan lady of high rank wished to have her child baptised by the Archbishop himself, Note 140 · For modern instances of the harmonious relations subsisting between the followers of the two faiths living together in the same village, see Note 141 · Bizzi, fol. 38, a. ↑Note 142 · Garnett, p. 267. ↑Note 143 · Bizzi, fol. 36, b. ↑Note 144 · Id. fol. 38, b; 37, a. ↑Note 145 · Bizzi, fol. 38, b; 61, a; 37, a; 33, b. ↑Note 146 · Zmaievich, fol. 5. The Venetian real in the eighteenth century was equal to a Turkish piastre. (Businello, p. 94.) ↑Note 147 · Bizzi, fol. 12–13. Zmaievich, fol. 5. ↑Note 148 · Bizzi, fol. 10–11. ↑Note 149 · Id. fol. 31, b. ↑Note 150 · Id. fol. 60, b. ↑Note 151 · Id. fol. 33, b. “Qui deriva il puoco numero de Sacerdoti in quelle parti e la puoca loro intelligenza in quel mestiero; il gran numero de’ C Note 152 · “Se l’Albania non riceverà qualche maggior agiuto in meno di anni anderà a male quasi tutta quella Christianità per il puoco numero dei Vesc Note 153 · Id. fol. 36, a. Id. fol. 64, b. ↑Note 154 · Finlay, vol. v. pp. 153–4. Clark, p. 290. ↑Note 155 · “E quei miseri hanno fermata la conscientia in creder di non peccar per simil coniuntioni (i.e. the giving of Christian girls in marriage to Note 156 · Garnett, p. 268. ↑Note 157 · Bizzi, fol. 38, b; 63, a. ↑Note 158 · Kyriakos, p. 12. ↑Note 159 · Farlati, tom. vii. pp. 124, 141. ↑Note 160 · Marco Crisio, p. 202. ↑Note 161 · Zmaievich, fol. 227. ↑Note 162 · Bizzi, fol. 60, b. ↑Note 163 · Zmaievich, fol. 137. ↑Note 164 · Zmaievich, fol. 157. ↑Note 165 · Zmaievich, fol. 11, 159. ↑Note 166 · Zmaievich, fol. 13. ↑Note 167 · Bizzi, fol. 38, b. Farlati, vol. vii. p. 158. ↑Note 168 · Zmaievich, fol. 13–14. ↑Note 169 · Informatione circa la missione d’Albania, fol. 196. ↑Note 170 · Crisio, fol. 204. ↑Note 171 · Fra Bonaventura, fol. 201. ↑Note 172 · Marco Crisio, fol. 202, 205. ↑Note 173 · Id. fol. 205. ↑Note 174 · Zmaievich, fol. 13. ↑Note 175 · Farlati, tom. vii. p. 109. Bizzi, fol. 19, b. ↑Note 176 · Marco Crisio, fol. 205. ↑Note 177 · Zmaievich, fol. 11. ↑Note 178 · Id. fol. 32. ↑Note 179 · Crisio, fol. 204. ↑Note 180 · Zmaievich, fol. 11. Farlati, vol. vii. p. 151. ↑Note 181 · Farlati, vol. vii. pp. 126–32. Zmaievich, fol. 4–5, fol. 20. ↑Note 182 · “Plerique, ut se iniquis tributis et vexationibus eximerent, paullatim a Christiana religione deficere coeperunt.” (Farlati, tom. vii. p. 31 Note 183 · Zmaievich fol. 5. ↑Note 184 · Id. fol. 5. ↑Note 185 · Zmaievich, fol. 15, 197. ↑Note 186 · Id. fol. 11. ↑Note 187 · Id. fol. 137. ↑Note 188 · Id. fol. 149. ↑Note 189 · Id. fol. 143–4. ↑Note 190 · Zmaievich, fol. 22. ↑Note 191 · Farlati, tom. vii. p. 141. ↑Note 192 · Zmaievich, fol. 7, 17. ↑Note 193 · Id. fol. 9. ↑Note 194 · Id. fol. 141. ↑Note 195 · Farlati, vol. vi. p. 317. ↑Note 196 · Eliot, p. 401. ↑Note 197 · Id. p. 392. ↑Note 198 · Yāqūt, vol. i. p. 469 sq. ↑Note 199 · Géographie d’Aboulféda, traduite par M. Reinaud, tome ii. pp 294–5. ↑Note 200 · Enrique Dupuy de Lôme: Los Esclavos y Turquía, pp. 17–18. (Madrid, 1877.) ↑Note 201 · De la Jonquière, p. 215. ↑Note 202 · Id. p. 290. ↑Note 203 · Kanitz, p. 37. ↑Note 204 · Id. pp. 37–8. ↑Note 205 · A map of this country is given by Mackenzie and Irby (p. 243): it contains Prizren, the old Servian capital, Ipek, the seat of the Servian P Note 206 · Kanitz, p. 37. ↑Note 207 · Mackenzie and Irby, pp. 250–1. ↑Note 208 · Farlati, vol. vii. pp. 127–8. ↑Note 209 · Mackenzie and Irby, pp. 374–5. Kanitz, p. 39. ↑Note 210 · Id. pp. 39–40. ↑Note 211 · Kanitz, p. 38. ↑Note 212 · Bizzi, fol. 48, b. ↑Note 213 · Zmaievich, fol. 182. ↑Note 214 · Kanitz, p. 38. ↑Note 215 · Montenegro was ruled by bishops from 1516 to 1852. ↑Note 216 · E. L. Clark, pp. 362–3. ↑Note 217 · Honorius III in 1221, Gregory IX in 1238, Innocent IV in 1246, Benedict XII in 1337. The Inquisition was established in 1291. ↑Note 218 · Asboth, pp. 42–95. Evans, pp. xxxvi–xlii. ↑Note 219 · Asboth, pp. 96–7. ↑Note 220 · “They revile the ceremonies of the church and all church dignitaries, and they call orthodox priests blind Pharisees, and bay at them as dog Note 221 · Sūrah iv. 156. ↑Note 222 · Cf. the admiration of the Turks for Charles XII of Sweden. “Son opiniâtreté à s’abstenir du vin, et sa régularité à assister deux fois par j Note 223 · Kosmas, quoted by Evans, p. xxxi. ↑Note 224 · Asboth, p. 36. Wetzer und Welte, vol. ii. p. 975. ↑Note 225 · Olivier, pp. 17–18. ↑Note 226 · Olivier, p. 113. ↑Note 227 · Amari, vol. i. p. 163; vol. ii. p. 260. ↑Note 228 · Cornaro, vol. i. pp. 205–8. ↑Note 229 · Perrot, p. 151. ↑Note 230 · Pashley, vol. i. p. 30; vol. ii. pp. 284, 291–2. ↑Note 231 · Id. vol. ii. p. 298. ↑Note 232 · Pashley, vol. ii. p. 285. ↑Note 233 · Id. vol. i. p. 319. ↑Note 234 · Perrot, p. 151. ↑Note 235 · Charles Edwardes: Letters from Crete, pp. 90–2. (London, 1887.) ↑Note 236 · Pashley, vol. ii. pp. 151–2. ↑Note 237 · Id. vol. i. p. 9. ↑Note 238 · Perrot, p. 159. ↑Note 239 · Pashley, vol. i. pp. 10, 195. ↑Note 240 · T. A. B. Spratt: Travels and Researches in Crete, vol. i. p. 47. (London, 1865.) ↑Note 241 · R. du M. M. vii. p. 99. ↑Note 242 · The Albanians, with the exception of some settlements in Greece,122 inhabit the mountainous country that stretches along the east shore of t Note 243 · The Albanians under Turkish rule appear always to have maintained a kind of semi-autonomy, and the several tribes and clans remained as esse Note 244 · The consideration of these facts is of importance in tracing the spread of Islam in Albania, for it appears to have been propagated very gra Note 245 · During the sixteenth century, Islam appears to have made but little progress, though the tide of conversion had already set in. In 1610 the Note 246 · It had become very common for Christian parents to give their daughters in marriage to Muhammadans, and for Christian women to make no objec Note 247 · If only we had something more than vague general complaints against the “Turkish tyranny,” we should be better able to determine how far thi Note 248 · However this may have been, there can be little doubt of the influence exerted by the zealous activity and vigorous life of Islam in the fac Note 249 · It may here be observed that the Albanian priests were not the repositories of the national aspirations and ideals, as were the clergy of th Note 250 · There is a curious story of conversion which is said to have taken place owing to a want of amicable relations between a Christian priest an Note 251 · Through the negligence and apathy of the Christian clergy many abuses and irregularities had been allowed to creep into the Christian societ Note 252 · In the course of the seventeenth century, the social conditions and other factors, indicated above, bore fruit abundantly, and the numbers o Note 253 · Throughout the whole of Albania there was not a single Christian school,176 and the priests were profoundly ignorant: some were sent to stud Note 254 · In 1649 a still more widespread insurrection broke out, an Archbishop of Antivari, Joseph Maria Bonaldo (1646–1654), being again the main in Note 255 · Unfortunately the Christian writers who complain of the “unjust tributes and vexations” with which the Turks oppressed the Albanians, so tha Note 256 · What active efforts Muhammadans themselves were making to gain over the Christians to Islam, we can hardly expect to learn from the report o Note 257 · Zmaievich speaks of one of the old noble Christian families in the neighbourhood of Antivari which was represented at that time by two broth Note 258 · No subsequent period of Albanian history appears to have witnessed such widespread apostasy as the seventeenth century, but there have been Note 259 · It is not impossible that the Servians who had embraced Islam after the battle of Kossovo had knowledge of the fate of the little Muslim com Note 260 · The Servian Muslims may, therefore, well have been pleased to escape from the rule of Hungary, like their Christian fellow-countrymen, for w Note 261 · The spread of Islam among the Servians began immediately after the battle of Kossovo, when a large part of the old feudal nobility, such as Note 262 · Albanian colonists from the south pressed into the country vacated by the fugitives: these Albanians at the time of their arrival were Roman Note 263 · After this Albanian immigration, Islam began to spread more rapidly among the remnant of the Servian population. The Servian clergy were ver Note 264 · After the battle of Kossovo and the downfall of the Servian empire, the wild highlands of Montenegro afforded a refuge to those Servians who Note 265 · To pass now to Bosnia:—in this country the religious and social conditions of the people, before the Turkish conquest, merit especial attent Note 266 · From this time forth we hear but little of the Bogomiles; they seem to have willingly embraced Islam in large numbers immediately after the Note 267 · The Turks, as was their usual custom, offered every advantage to induce the Bosnians to accept their creed. All who embraced Islam were allo Note 268 · This was not the first time that Crete had come under Muslim rule. Early in the ninth century the island was suddenly seized by a band of Sa Note 269 · It is not surprising to learn from the same sources that the Cretans longed for a change of rulers, and that “they would not much stick at s Note 270 · The Turkish conquest seems to have been very rapidly followed by the conversion of large numbers of the Cretans to Islam. It is not improbab Note 271 · Recent political events have brought about a considerable diminution in the Muhammadan population of Crete. In 1881 the number of Muhammadan Note 272 · In order to follow the course of the spread of Islam eastward into Central Asia, we must retrace our steps to the period of the first Arab c Note 273 · To the distracted Christian Church in Persia the change of government brought relief from the oppression of the Sāsānid kings, who had fomen Note 274 · But the Muslim creed was most eagerly welcomed by the townsfolk, the industrial classes and the artisans, whose occupations made them impure Note 275 · In addition to the causes above enumerated of the rapid spread of Islam in Persia, it should be remembered that the political and national s Note 276 · That this widespread conversion was not due to force or violence is evidenced by the toleration extended to those who still clung to their a Note 277 · In the face of such facts, it is surely impossible to attribute the decay of Zoroastrianism entirely to violent conversions made by the Musl Note 278 · It was probably about the same period that the grandfather of the great geographer, Ibn K͟hūrdādbih, was converted through the influence of Note 279 · Scanty as these notices of conversion are, they appear to have been voluntary, and the Zoroastrians would seem to have enjoyed on the whole Note 280 · In the middle of the eighth century, Persia gave birth to a movement that is of interest in the missionary history of Islam, viz. the sect o Note 281 · By such means as these an enormous number of persons of different faiths were united together to push forward an enterprise, the real aim of Note 282 · The history of the spread of Islam in the countries of Central Asia to the north of Persia presents little in the way of missionary activity Note 283 · In Buk͟hārā and Samarqand the opposition to the new faith was so violent and obstinate that none but those who had embraced Islam were allow Note 284 · The progress of Islam in Transoxania was certainly very slow: some of the inhabitants accepted the invitation of ʻUmar II (A.D. 717–720) to Note 285 · Pious legends have grown up to supply the lack of sober historical record of such conversions. The city of Khīva reveres as its national sai Note 286 · A strange legend is told of the conversion of Sātūq Bug͟hrā K͟hān, the founder of the Muhammadan dynasty of the Īlik-K͟hāns of Kāshgar, abou Note 287 · Of supreme importance to Islam was the conversion of the Saljūq Turks, but no record of their conversion remains beyond the statement that i Note 288 · When at the close of the twelfth century, the Saljūq empire had lost all power except in Asia Minor, and when Muḥammad G͟hūrī was extending