Page:Destruction of the Greek Empire.djvu/334

294 DESTEUCTION OF THE GEEEK EMPIEE Romanus Gate, the turret was moved and stood overhanging the ditch. A fierce fight took place between the Turks inside it and the Greeks and Italians under Justiniani. The Turks flung earth, wood, and all kinds of material available into the foss, employing mainly the stone from the ruined tower, so as to form a level pathway across. The besieged fought hard from daylight till after sunset to prevent the Turks from making use of the turret, and the emperor and Justiniani assisted all the night at the repair of the tower. It was probably the fact that the ditch had been largely filled with brushwood which brought about the destruction of the machine. The besieged managed to place barrels of powder in the ditch, set fire to the brushwood, and blew up the whole structure. Several of its occupants perished in the explosion. At daylight the sultan found that his huge turret was reduced to ashes, that the foss had been cleared out, and that the ruined tower had been in great part repaired. He swore that the thirty-seven thousand prophets could not have persuaded him that the besieged could have compassed its destruction in so short a time. 1 A similar turret was erected opposite the Pege Gate, or, what is more probable, opposite the Third Military Gate, and possibly there were others near the Golden Gate and elsewhere. 2 Further Undeterred by the discovery and failure of the attempt to^nde^- to undermine the walls at Caligaria, the Turks made other mme * trials in the same neighbourhood. But Grant was always ready, countermined and destroyed the enemies' work before they could use it. On three successive days mines were found in this place, ' where there were no barbicans,' but they also were destroyed, and a number of Turks, who could not escape in time, either lost their lives or were captured. On the 24th, a mine was found which had apparently been more carefully concealed. A wooden turret had been 1 The Moscovite, 1087 ; Phrantzes, 247. 2 Leonard, p. 93 : ' Mauritius Cataneus . . . inter portam Pighi, id est fontis, usque ad Auream contra ligneum castrum, pellibus bourn contectum, oppositum accurate decertat.' Cardinal Isidore, in the Lamentatio, says, p. 676 : ' Admo- ventur urbi ligneae turres.'