es; and
proclaimed his resolution of marching against the Ottoman Emperor.
Conscious of the importance of the war, he collected his forces from
every province; eight hundred thousand men were enrolled on his military
list, but the splendid commands of five and ten thousand horse may be
rather expressive of the rank and pension of the chiefs than of the
genuine number of effective soldiers. In the pillage of Syria the
Mongols had acquired immense riches; but the delivery of their pay and
arrears for seven years more firmly attached them to the imperial
standard.

During this diversion of the Mongol arms, Bajazet had two years to
collect his forces for a more serious encounter. They consisted of four
hundred thousand horse and foot whose merit and fidelity were of an
unequal complexion. We may discriminate the janizaries, who have been
gradually raised to an establishment of forty thousand men; a national
cavalry (the _spahis_ of modern times); twenty thousand cuirassiers of
Europe, clad in black and impenetrable armor; the troops of Anatolia,
whose princes had taken refuge in the camp of Timur: and a colony of
Tartars, whom he had driven from Kiptchak, and to whom Bajazet had
assigned a settlement in the plains of Adrianople. The fearless
confidence of the Sultan urged him to meet his antagonist; and, as if he
had chosen that spot for revenge, he displayed his banner near the ruins
of the unfortunate Sebaste.

In the mean while Timur moved from the Araxes through the countries of
Armenia and Anatolia. His boldness was secured by the wisest
precautions; his speed was guided by order and discipline; and the
woods, the mountains, and the rivers were diligently explored by the
flying squadrons, who marked his road and preceded his standard. Firm in
his plan of fighting in the heart of the Ottoman kingdom, he avoided
their camp, dexterously inclined to the left, occupied Caesarea,
traversed the salt desert and the river Halys, and invested Angora;
while the Sultan, immovable and ignorant in his post, compared the
Tartar swiftness to the crawling of a snail. He returned on the wings of
indignation to the relief of Angora; and as both generals were alike
impatient for action, the plains round that city were the scene of a
memorable battle, which has immortalized the glory of Timur and the
shame of Bajazet.

For this signal victory the Mongol Emperor was indebted to himself, to
the genius of the moment, and the discipline of