Expansion of the Ottoman Empire from "summary" of History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
The power of the Turks, after the fall of Bagdad, was exercised by the Sultan of Iconium, who beheld with a jealous eye the conquests which were achieved by the Emir of Aleppo. These two crowns were united by the marriage of Solyman and the daughter of the Arabian prince; but the death of Malek terminated the union, and Solyman asserted and extended his dominion over the kingdoms of the East. He passed the Euphrates, and invaded the kingdom of Romania or Asia Minor, which was possessed by a race of princes, the companions or victims of the Greeks. In the defence of the Christians, the temple of Diana at Ephesus was consumed by the flames; but the columns of that fabric were reared in the church of St. Sophia at Constantinople. Under the reign of Orchan, the son of Solyman, the Ottoman empire was firmly established. The first attack was on the province of Nicomedia; a perpetual warfare was maintained between the two monarchies, and the cities of the Bithynian shore were laid in ruins. The captivity of Christians and the flight of the fugitives were the common disasters of war, and the coast of the Propontis was covered with the vessels of the Saracens and the Latins. The distress of the times reconciled the Greeks to the Ottoman yoke, and rendered the conquest more easy and permanent. The feeble emperor, John Cantacuzene, retired to a monastery, and the princes who disputed the succession were exterminated by the sword or the hand of the executioner. The conquests of Bajazet extended from the Danube to the Euphrates; and the conquest of the Sultan was justified by the maxims of his religion; but his designs were disappointed by Timour, the Tartar Khan. The Turkish captives were dismissed, but the Sultan himself was led in chains to the presence of Timour. The victor, after a short repast, declared his intention of sending Bajazet to paradise, and the unfortunate captive expired in chains. The victorious troops of Timour overran the northern countries of Asia and Europe, and the Ottoman empire was left to the feeble hands of his sons.
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