"naciously continued their fiege, and then defpairing "of fuccefs, departed to Cyzicum, where they winter"ed, and in fpring again renewed the war: and this "courfe they held for feven years, as the Greek annals "tell us. If thefe months be taken for prophetic months or 150 years, it was within that space of time that the Saracens made their principal conquefts. Their empire might fubfift much longer, but their power of hurting and tormenting men was exerted chiefly within that period. Read the hiftory of the Saracens, and you will find that their greateft exploits were performed, their greatest conquefts were made, between the (5) year 612 when Mohammed first opened the bottomless pit, and began publicly to teach and propagate this impofture, and the year 762 when the caliph Almanfor built Bagdad, to fix there the feat of his empire, and called it the city of peace. Syria, Perfia, India, and the greatest part of Afia; Egypt, and the greatest part of Africa; Spain, and fome parts of Europe, were all fubdued in the intermediate time. But when the caliphs, who before had removed from place to place, fixed their habitation at Bagdad, then the Saracens ceafed from their excurs fions and ravages like locufts, and became a fettled nation; then they made no more fuch rapid and amazing conquefts as before, but only engaged in common and ordinary wars like other nations; then their power and glory began to decline, and their empire by little and little to moulder away; then they had no longer, like the prophetic locufts, one king over them, Spain (6) having revolted in the year 756, and set up another caliph in oppofition to the reigning houfe of Abbas. If thefe months be taken doubly, or for 300 years, then according to (7) Sir Ifaac Newton, "the whole time that the caliphs of the Saracens reigned

2. Cap. 3. p. 101. Blair ibid.

(7) Sir Ifaac Newton on the Apoc. Chap. 3. p. 305. See likewife p. 91. of Mr. Jackfon's Addrefs to the Deifts: wherein are fome pertinent obfervations concerning the pletion of this and the fucceeding Woe.

com.

th a temporal Dominion at Damafcus and Bagdad gether, was 300 years, viz. from the year 637 to e year 936 inclufive;" when (8) their empire was en and divided into feveral principalities or king. So that let these five months be taken in any le conftruction, the event will ftill anfwer, and the necy will ftill be fulfilled; tho' the fecond method of pretation and application appears much more prothan either the firft or the third.

the conclufion it is added, (ver. 12.) One woe is and behold there come two woes more hereafter. This led not only to distinguish the woes, and to mark ftrongly each period, but alfo to fuggeft that fome will intervene between this first woe of the Arabian ts, and the next of the Euphratéan horsemen. The tude between the locufts and Arabians is indeed fo that it cannot fail of ftriking every curious obferver: a farther refemblance is (9) noted by Mr. Dauthat "there hath happened in the extent of this tornt a coincidence of the event with the nature of the ufts. The Saracens have made inroads into all thofe ts of Christendom where the natural locufts are wont be feen and known to do mifchief and no where e: And that too in the fame proportion. Where locufts are feldom feen, there the Saracens ftayed le: where the natural locufts are often feen, there e Saracens abode moft; and where they breed ft, there the Saracens had their beginning and eatest power. This may eafily be verified by hif

y."

13 And the fixth angel founded, and I heard a ce from the four horns of the golden altar, which before God,

14 Saying to the fixth angel which had the trumLoofe the four angels which are bound in the eat river Euphrates.

15 And the four angels were loosed which were

1-sprepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to flay the third part of men.

16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thoufand thoufand; and I heard the number of them.

17 And thus I faw the horfes in the vifion, and them that fat on them, having breaft-plates of fire, and of jacinct, and brimftone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths iffued fire, and fmoke, and brimftone.

18 By thefe three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimftone, which iffued out of their mouths.

19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails for their tails were like unto ferpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by thefe plagues, yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they fhould not worship devils, and idols of gold and filver, and brafs, and stone, and of wood: which neither can fee, nor hear, nor walk:

21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their forceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

At the founding of the fixth trumpet (ver. 13, 14, 15.) a voice proceeded from the four horns of the golden altar, (for the fcene was ftill in the temple) ordering the angel of the fixth trumpet to loose the four angels which were bound in the great river Euphrates; and they were loofed accordingly. Such a voice proceeding from the four horns of the golden altar is a ftrong indication of the divine difpleafure; and plainly intimates that the fins of men must have been very great, when the altar, which was their fanctuary and protection, called aloud for vengeance. The four angels are the four fultanies or four leaders of the Turks and Othmans. For there were four principal fultanies or kingdoms of the Turks, bordering

1

ering upon the river Euphrates; (1) one at Bagfounded by Togrul Beg, or Tangrolipix, as he is ufually called, in the year 1055: another at afcus founded by Tagjuddaulas or Ducas in the 1079: a third at Aleppo founded by Sjarfuddaulas Melech in the fame year 1079: and the fourth at um in Afia Minor founded by Sedyduddaulas or a Mufes, or his fon, in the year 1080. Thefe four nies fubfifted several years afterwards; and the fulwere bound and reftrained from extending their cons farther than the territories and countries adjoino the river Euphrates, primarily by the good provie of God, and fecondly by the croifades or expens of the European Christians into the holy land in latter part of the eleventh, and in the twelfth and eenth centuries. Nay the European Christians took ral cities and countries from them, and confined within narrower bounds. But when an end was to the croifades, and the Chriftians totally abandoned - conquefts in Syria and Palestine, as they did in the r part of the thirteenth century; then the four angels he river Euphrates were loofed. Soliman Shah (2) irft and chief founder of the Othman race, retreating his three fons from Jingiz Chan and the Tartars, ld have paffed the river Euphrates, but was unfortuly drowned, the time of loofing the four angels being yet come. Difcouraged at this fad accident, two is fons returned to their former habitations: but ogrul the third, with his three fons Condoz, Saani, and Othman, remained fome time in thofe s, and having obtained leave of Aladin the fultan of ium, he came with four hundred of his Turks, and ed in the mountains of Armenia. From thence they an their excurfions; and the other Turks affociating n them, and following their ftandard, they gained eral victories over the Tartars on one fide, and over

Elmacini Hift. Saracen. Lib. ap. 7. et 8. 271 et 284. Edit. Er. Heylin's Cofm. B. 3. p. 726.

Travels. B. 1. p. 34. 7th Edit.

1

(2) Pocockii Supplem. Abul-Pharaj. Hist. p. 41, 42. Herbelot. Bib.

the Christians on the other. Ortogrul (3) dying in the year 1288, Othman his fon fucceeded him in power and authority; and in the year 1299, as fome fay with the confent of Aladin himfelf, he was proclaimed fultan, and founded a new empire; and the people afterwards, as well as the new empire, were called by his name. For tho' they disclaim the name of Turks, and affume that of Othmans, yet nothing is more certain, than that they are a mixt multitude, the remains of the four fultanies above mentioned, as well as the defcendants particularly of the houfe of Othman.

In this manner and at this time the four angels were loofed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to flay the third part of men, that is as before, the men of the Roman empire, and efpecially in Europe, the third part of the world. The Latin or Western empire was broken to pieces under the four first trumpets; the Greek or eaftern empire was cruelly hurt and tormented under the fifth trumpet; and here under the fixth trumpet it is to be flain and utterly deftroyed. Accordingly all Afia Minor, Syria, Paleftine, Egypt, Thrace, Macedon, Greece, and all the countries, which formerly belonged to the Greek or eaftern Cæfars, the Othmans have conquered, and fubjugated to their dominion. They firft (4) paffed over into Europe in the reign of Orchan their fecond emperor, and in the year 1357; they (5) took Conftantinople in the reign of Mohammed their feventh emperor, and in the year 1453; and in time all the remaining parts of the Greek empire fhared the fate of the capital city. The laft of their conquefts were (6) Candia or the ancient Crete in 1699, and Cameniec in 1672. For the execution of this great work it is faid that they were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a

(3) Pocock. ibid. Herbelot. p. 694, 697.

(4) Pocockii Supplem. p. 43. Herbelot. p. 693. A, H. 758. cæpit Decem. 25. 1356. Pocockii Index.

(5) Leunclav. Pande&t. Hift. Turc. Cap. 129. p. 448. Edit. Paris. p. 339. Edit. Venet. Pocock ibid, p.

47. Herbelot. p. 615. Prince Cantemir's Hift. of the Othman empire. B. 3. Chap. 1. Sect. 9. p. 103. Savage's Abridgment of Knolles and Rycaut. Vol. 1. p. 180, &c.

(6) Prince Cantemir, B. 3. Chap. 12. Sect. 8. p. 262. Sect. 16. p. 265. Savage, ibid. Vol. 2. p. 192, et 200.

year;