rk upon the Third Crusade in 1189.
But the prowess of the Emperor Frederic Barbarossa, the gallantry of
Richard I of England, the astuteness of Philip Augustus of France,
were of no avail. The Fourth and Fifth Crusades were equally
unsuccessful, and the tide of Islam's success rose high.

After Saladin's death his empire gradually crumbled to pieces, and
under Ghenghis Khan an invasion took place of hordes of Mongols and
Tartars, of whom the Ghuz had been merely the precursors. They overran
China and Russia, Persia, and parts of Western Asia. The effete
Caliphate at Bagdad was overthrown, but to Islam itself fresh life was
imparted. The rapid decline of the Mongol power at the end of the
thirteenth century gave free scope to the rise of the Ottoman Turks,
who had been driven from their haunts east of the Caspian Sea. Like
their kinsmen the Seljuks they settled in Asia Minor, and embraced the
Mohammedan faith, an example which many Mongols followed. The converts
proved trusty warriors to fight the cause of Islam, which gradually
attained the zenith of success. On May 29, 1453, Constantinople was
captured by the Turks, and an end was made of the Byzantine Empire.
Eastern Europe was subsequently overrun by them, and it was not until
John Sobieski defeated the Turks under the walls of Vienna in 1683
that their victorious career was checked.

Then at last the tide of Islam turned, and its fortunes have been
ebbing ever since. At the present day little territory remains to them
in Europe. India and Egypt are now subject to England; Russia has
annexed Central Asia; France rules Algiers and Tunis. One wonders
whether there will be a pause in this steady decline of Islam, and
whether the prophetic words of Scripture will continue to hold good:
"He will be a wild man, his hand will be against every man, and every
man's hand against him, and he shall dwell in the presence of all his
brethren."

This brief consideration of the struggle between Cross and Crescent
may serve to indicate the importance of the revival of Islam, which
took place between the Second and Third Crusades, at the time when
Benjamin wrote his Itinerary.

II. THE OBJECT OF BENJAMIN'S JOURNEY.

We may ask what induced Benjamin to undertake his travels? What object
or mission was he carrying out?

It must be explained that the Jew in the Middle Ages was much given to
travel. He was the Wandering Jew, who kept up communications between
one country and