Note 028
The princes of Servia (Ducange, Famil.
Dalmaticae, &c., c. 2, 3, 4, 9) were styled Despots in
Greek, and Cral in their native idiom, (Ducange, Gloss.
Graec. p. 751.) That title, the equivalent of king, appears
to be of Sclavonic origin, from whence it has been borrowed
by the Hungarians, the modern Greeks, and even by the Turks,
(Leunclavius, Pandect. Turc. p. 422,) who reserve the name
of Padishah for the emperor. To obtain the latter instead
of the former is the ambition of the French at
Constantinople, (Aversissement a l'Histoire de Timur Bec, p.
39.)]
The History Of The Decline And
Fall Of The Roman Empire
—Fall In The East
—Chapter 63