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History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 6

Edward Gibbon · Public domain text

236,905 words · about 16 h 35 min to read

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About this edition

The text of History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 6 comes from Project Gutenberg e-text #895. It is in English and public domain in the United States. RedLectern sets the text out for reading on screen; no words of the book are rewritten or summarized. More formats (EPUB, Kindle) · How RedLectern is built

This book is long enough to be split into 7 parts, so each one loads quickly on its own.

Contents (43)
  1. Opening about 1 min
  2. LIX. The Crusades.--Part I about 30 min
  3. LIX. The Crusades.--Part II about 27 min
  4. LIX. The Crusades.--Part III about 30 min
  5. LX. The Fourth Crusade.--Part I about 31 min
  6. LX. The Fourth Crusade.--Part II about 28 min
  7. LX. The Fourth Crusade.--Part III about 30 min
  8. LXI. Partition Of The Empire By The French And Venetians.--Part I about 23 min
  9. LXI. Partition Of The Empire By The French And Venetians.--Part II about 22 min
  10. LXI. Partition Of The Empire By The French And Venetians.--Part III about 16 min
  11. LXI. Partition Of The Empire By The French And Venetians.--Part IV about 18 min
  12. LXII. Greek Emperors Of Nice And Constantinople.--Part I about 24 min
  13. LXII. Greek Emperors Of Nice And Constantinople.--Part II about 22 min
  14. LXII. Greek Emperors Of Nice And Constantinople.--Part III about 15 min
  15. LXIII. Civil Wars And The Ruin Of The Greek Empire.--Part I about 24 min
  16. LXIII. Civil Wars And The Ruin Of The Greek Empire.--Part II about 29 min
  17. LXIV. Moguls, Ottoman Turks.--Part I about 13 min
  18. LXIV. Moguls, Ottoman Turks.--Part II about 25 min
  19. LXIV. Moguls, Ottoman Turks.--Part III about 21 min
  20. LXIV. Moguls, Ottoman Turks.--Part IV about 20 min
  21. LXV. Elevation Of Timour Or Tamerlane, And His Death.--Part I about 29 min
  22. LXV. Elevation Of Timour Or Tamerlane, And His Death.--Part II about 24 min
  23. LXV. Elevation Of Timour Or Tamerlane, And His Death.--Part III about 30 min
  24. LXVI. Union Of The Greek And Latin Churches.--Part I about 20 min
  25. LXVI. Union Of The Greek And Latin Churches.--Part II about 24 min
  26. LXVI. Union Of The Greek And Latin Churches.--Part III about 23 min
  27. LXVI. Union Of The Greek And Latin Churches.--Part IV about 27 min
  28. LXVII. Schism Of The Greeks And Latins.--Part I about 25 min
  29. LXVII. Schism Of The Greeks And Latins.--Part II about 25 min
  30. LXVIII. Reign Of Mahomet The Second, Extinction Of Eastern Empire.--Part I about 20 min
  31. LXVIII. Reign Of Mahomet The Second, Extinction Of Eastern Empire.--Part II about 20 min
  32. LXVIII. Reign Of Mahomet The Second, Extinction Of Eastern Empire.--Part III about 25 min
  33. LXVIII. Reign Of Mahomet The Second, Extinction Of Eastern Empire.--Part IV about 28 min
  34. LXIX. State Of Rome From The Twelfth Century.--Part I about 23 min
  35. LXIX. State Of Rome From The Twelfth Century.--Part II about 15 min
  36. LXIX. State Of Rome From The Twelfth Century.--Part III about 26 min
  37. LXIX. State Of Rome From The Twelfth Century.--Part IV about 20 min
  38. LXX. Final Settlement Of The Ecclesiastical State.--Part I about 22 min
  39. LXX. Final Settlement Of The Ecclesiastical State.--Part II about 23 min
  40. LXX. Final Settlement Of The Ecclesiastical State.--Part III about 28 min
  41. LXX. Final Settlement Of The Ecclesiastical State.--Part IV about 22 min
  42. LXXI. Prospect Of The Ruins Of Rome In The Fifteenth Century.--Part I about 30 min
  43. LXXI. Prospect Of The Ruins Of Rome In The Fifteenth Century.--Part II about 19 min

The opening of LIX. The Crusades.--Part I

Preservation Of The Greek Empire.--Numbers, Passage, And
Event, Of The Second And Third Crusades.--St. Bernard.--
Reign Of Saladin In Egypt And Syria.--His Conquest Of
Jerusalem.--Naval Crusades.--Richard The First Of England.--
Pope Innocent The Third; And The Fourth And Fifth Crusades.--
The Emperor Frederic The Second.--Louis The Ninth Of
France; And The Two Last Crusades.--Expulsion Of The Latins
Or Franks By The Mamelukes.

In a style less grave than that of history, I should perhaps compare the emperor Alexius [1] to the jackal, who is said to follow the steps, and to devour the leavings, of the lion. Whatever had been his fears and toils in the passage of the first crusade, they were amply recompensed by the subsequent benefits which he derived from the exploits of the Franks. His dexterity and vigilance secured their first conquest of Nice; and from this threatening station the Turks were compelled to evacuate the neighborhood of Constantinople. While the crusaders, with blind valor, advanced into the midland countries of Asia, the crafty Greek improved the favorable occasion when the emirs of the sea-coast were recalled to the standard of the sultan.

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