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386 DESTEUCTION OF THE GEEEK EMPIEE CHAPTER, XVIII CAPTURE OF CONSTANTINOPLE A SURPRISE TO EUROPE ; CONQUEST OF TREBIZOND ; SUMMARY OF ITS HISTORY. CHARACTER AND CONDUCT OF MAHOMET : AS CON- QUEROR ; HE INCREASES TURKISH FLEET J AS ADMINIS- TRATOR ; AS LEGISLATOR J HIS RECKLESSNESS OF HUMAN LIFE ' AS STUDENT J WAS HE A RELIGIOUS FANATIC? SUMMARY. The capture of Constantinople sent an electric shock throughout Europe. The great achievement of the young sultan came as an almost incredible surprise. During the whole subsequent course of his reign the greatest question of interest in the West was, What progress is Mahomet making? Menaces of what he intended to do, reports of what he had done, occupied the attention of all. As with the capture of the Queen City the Greek empire came to an end, it is not my purpose to endeavour to tell the story of his subsequent life and conquests. But as he figured so largely on the European stage, and as his exploits and administration firmly established the Turks in Europe, it is desirable to indicate some of the principal events of his reign and to sketch the leading features of his character. Conquest His successes as a soldier were many and important. zond. e 1 One of the first of his conquests was to put an end to the empire of Trebizond. As its history and decay played an unimportant part in the destruction of the Greek empire, it has been unnecessary to give an account of this pretentiously named State. It had occupied a narrow strip of land along the southern shore of the Black Sea, of varying length, from a point near Batoum towards the west, on one occasion