CHAPTER X.. The Illustrious Ivan Iii.

THE ILLUSTRIOUS IVAN III.

From 1462 to 1480.

Ivan III.--His Precocity and Rising Power.--The Three Great Hordes.--Russian Expedition Against Kezan.--Defeat of the Tartars.--Capture of Constantinople By the Turks.--The Princess Sophia.--Her Journey To Russia, and Marriage With Ivan III.--Increasing Renown of Russia.--New Difficulty With the Horde.--The Tartars invade Russia.--Strife On the Banks of the Oka.--Letter of the Metropolitan Bishop.--Unprecedented Panic.--Liberation of Russia.