Explore "The Rise of Iskander" by Benjamin Disraeli on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
Iskander was the youngest son of the Prince of Epirus, who, with the / other Grecian princes, had, at the commencement of the reign of Amurath / the Second, in vain resisted the progress of the Turkish arms in Europe. / The Prince of Epirus had obtained peace by yielding his four sons as / hostages to the Turkish sovereign, who engaged that they should be / educated in all the accomplishments of their rank, and with a due / deference to their faith. On the death of the Prince of Epirus, however, / Amurath could not resist the opportunity that then offered itself / of adding to his empire the rich principality he had long coveted. A / Turkish force instantly marched into Epirus, and seized upon Croia, the / capital city, and the children of its late ruler were doomed to death. / The beauty, talents, and valour of the youngest son, saved him, however, / from the fate of his poisoned brothers. Iskander was educated at / Adrianople, in the Moslemin faith, and as he, at a very early age, / exceeded in feats of arms all the Moslemin warriors, he became a prime / favourite of the Sultan, and speedily rose in his service to the highest / rank.
At this period the irresistible progress of the Turkish arms was the / subject of alarm throughout all Christendom.