Volume I—A To Elba

Springfield, Massachusetts. The C. A. Nichols Company, Publishers MDCCCXCV

Copyright, 1893, By J. N. Larned.

The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. United States Of America Printed by H. O. Houghton & Company.

Preface.

This work has two aims: to represent and exhibit the better Literature of History in the English language, and to give it an organized body—a system—adapted to the greatest convenience in any use, whether for reference, or for reading, for teacher, student, or casual inquirer.

The entire contents of the work, with slight exceptions readily distinguished, have been carefully culled from some thousands of books,—embracing the whole range (in the English language) of standard historical writing, both general and special: the biography, the institutional and constitutional studies, the social investigations, the archeological researches, the ecclesiastical and religious discussions, and all other important tributaries to the great and swelling main stream of historical knowledge. It has been culled as one might pick choice fruits, careful to choose the perfect and the ripe, where such are found, and careful to keep their flavor unimpaired. The flavor of the Literature of History, in its best examples, and the ripe quality of its latest and best thought, are faithfully preserved in what aims to be the garner of a fair selection from its fruits.

History as written by those, on one hand, who have depicted its scenes most vividly, and by those, on the other hand, who have searched its facts, weighed its evidences, and pondered its meanings most critically and deeply, is given in their own words. If commoner narratives are sometimes quoted, their use enters but slightly into the construction of the work. The whole matter is presented under an arrangement which imparts distinctness to its topics, while showing them in their sequence and in all their large relations, both national and international.

For every subject, a history more complete, I think, in the broad meaning of "History," is supplied by this mode than could possibly be produced on the plan of dry synopsis which is common to encyclopedic works. It holds the charm and interest of many styles of excellence in writing, and it is read in a clear light which shines directly from the pens that have made History luminous by their interpretations.

Behind the Literature of History, which can be called so in the finer sense, lies a great body of the Documents of History, which are unattractive to the casual reader, but which even he must sometimes have an urgent wish to consult. Full and carefully chosen texts of a large number of the most famous and important of such documents—charters, edicts, proclamations, petitions, covenants, legislative acts and ordinances, and the constitutions of many countries—have been accordingly introduced and are easily to be found.

The arrangement of matter in the work is primarily alphabetical, and secondarily chronological. The whole is thoroughly indexed, and the index is incorporated with the body of the text, in the same alphabetical and chronological order.

Events which touch several countries or places are treated fully but once, in the connection which shows their antecedents and consequences best, and the reader is guided to that ampler discussion by references from each caption under which it may be sought. Economies of this character bring into the compass of five volumes a body of History that would need twice the number, at least, for equal fulness on the monographic plan of encyclopedic works.

Of my own, the only original writing introduced is in a general sketch of the history of Europe, and in what I have called the "Logical Outlines" of a number of national histories, which are printed in colors to distinguish the influences that have been dominant in them. But the extensive borrowing which the work represents has not been done in an unlicensed way. I have felt warranted, by common custom, in using moderate extracts without permit. But for everything beyond these, in my selections from books now in print and on sale, whether under copyright or deprived of copyright, I have sought the consent of those, authors or publishers, or both, to whom the right of consent or denial appears to belong. In nearly all cases I have received the most generous and friendly responses to my request, and count among my valued possessions the great volume of kindly letters of permission which have come to me from authors and publishers in Great Britain and America. A more specific acknowledgment of these favors will be appended to this preface.

The authors of books have other rights beyond their rights of property, to which respect has been paid. No liberties have been taken with the text of their writings, except to abridge by omissions, which are indicated by the customary signs. Occasional interpolations are marked by enclosure in brackets. Abridgment by paraphrasing has only been resorted to when unavoidable, and is shown by the interruption of quotation marks. In the matter of different spellings, it has been more difficult to preserve for each writer his own. As a rule this is done, in names, and in the divergences between English and American orthography; but, since much of the matter quoted has been taken from American editions of English books, and since both copyists and printers have worked under the habit of American spellings, the rule may not have governed with strict consistency throughout.

J. N. L.

The Buffalo Library, Buffalo, New York, December, 1893.

Acknowledgments.

In my preface I have acknowledged in general terms the courtesy and liberality of authors and publishers, by whose permission I have used much of the matter quoted in this work. I think it now proper to make the acknowledgment more specific by naming those persons and publishing houses to whom I am in debt for such kind permissions. They are as follows:

Authors.

Professor Evelyn Abbott; President Charles Kendall Adams; Professor Herbert B. Adams; Professor Joseph H. Allen; Sir William Anson, Bart.; Reverend Henry M. Baird; Mr. Hubert Howe Bancroft; Honorable S. G. W. Benjamin; Mr. Walter Besant; Professor Albert S. Bolles; John G. Bourinot, F. S. S.; Mr. Henry Bradley; Reverend James Franck Bright; Daniel G. Brinton, M. D.; Professor William Hand Browne; Professor George Bryce; Right Honorable James Bryce, M. P.; J. B. Bury, M. A.; Mr. Lucien Carr; General Henry B. Carrington; Mr. John D. Champlin, Jr.; Mr. Charles Carleton Coffin; Honorable Thomas M. Cooley; Professor Henry Coppée; Reverend Sir George W. Cox, Bart.; General Jacob Dolson Cox; Mrs. Cox (for "'Three Decades of Federal Legislation," by the late Honorable Samuel S. Cox); Professor Thomas F. Crane; Right Reverend Mandell Creighton, Bishop of Peterborough; Honorable J. L. M. Curry; Honorable George Ticknor Curtis; Professor Robert K. Douglas; J. A. Doyle, M. A.; Mr. Samuel Adams Drake; Sir Mountstuart E. Grant-Duff; Honorable Sir Charles Gaven Duffy; Mr. Charles Henry Eden; Mr. Henry Sutherland Edwards; Orrin Leslie Elliott, Ph. D.; Mr. Loyall Farragut; The Ven. Frederic William Farrar, Archdeacon of Westminster; Professor George Park Fisher; Professor John Fiske; Mr. William. E. Foster; Professor William Warde Fowler; Professor Edward A. Freeman; Professor James Anthony Froude; Mr. James Gairdner; Arthur Gilman, M. A.; Mr. Parke Godwin; Mrs. M. E. Gordon (for the "History of the Campaigns of the Army of Virginia under General Pope," by the late General George H. Gordon); Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould; Mr. Ulysses S. Grant, Jr. (for the "Personal Memoirs" of the late General Grant); Mrs. John Richard Green (for her own writings and for those of the late John Richard Green); William Greswell, M. B.; Major Arthur Griffiths; Frederic Harrison, M. A.; Professor Albert Bushnell Hart; Mr. William Heaton; Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginson; Professor B. A. Hinsdale; Miss Margaret L. Hooper (for the writings of the late Mr. George Hooper); Reverend Robert F. Horton; Professor James K. Hosmer; Colonel Henry M. Hozier; Reverend William Hunt; Sir William Wilson Hunter; Professor Edmund James; Mr. Rossiter Johnson; Mr. John Foster Kirk; The Very Reverend George William Kitchin, Dean of Winchester; Colonel Thomas W. Knox; Mr. J. S. Landon; Honorable Emily Lawless; William E. H. Lecky, LL. D., D. C. L.; Mrs. Margaret Levi (for the "History of British Commerce," by the late Dr. Leone Levi); Professor Charlton T. Lewis; The Very Reverend Henry George Liddell, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford; Honorable Henry Cabot Lodge; Richard Lodge, M. A.; Reverend W. J. Loftie; Mrs. Mary S. Long (for the "Life of General Robert E. Lee," by the late General A. L. Long); Mrs. Helen Lossing (for the writings of the late Benson J. Lossing); Charles Lowe, M. A.; Charles P. Lucas, B. A.; Justin McCarthy, M. P.; Professor John Bach McMaster; Honorable Edward McPherson, Professor John P. Mahaffy; Capt. Alfred T. Mahan, U. S. N.; Colonel George B. Malleson; Clements R. Markham, C. B., F. R. S.; Professor David Masson; The Very Reverend Charles Merivale, Dean of Ely; Professor John Henry Middleton; Mr. J. G. Cotton Minchin; William R. Morfill, M. A.; Right Honorable John Morley, M. P.; Mr. John T. Morse, Jr.; Sir William Muir; Mr. Harold Murdock; Reverend Arthur Howard Noll; Miss Kate Norgate; C. W. C. Oman, M. A.; Mr. John C. Palfrey (for "History of New England," by the late John Gorham Palfrey); Francis Parkman, LL. D.; Edward James Payne, M. A.; Charles Henry Pearson, M. A.; Mr. James Breck Perkins; Mrs. Mary E. Phelan (for the "History of Tennessee," by the late James Phelan); Colonel George E. Pond; Reginald L. Poole, Ph. D.; Mr. Stanley Lane-Poole; William F. Poole, LL. D.; Major John W. Powell; Mr. John W. Probyn; Professor John Clark Ridpath; Honorable Ellis H. Roberts; Honorable Theodore Roosevelt; Mr. John Codman Ropes; J. H. Rose, M. A.; Professor Josiah Royce; Reverend Philip Schaff; James Schouler, LL. D.; Honorable Carl Schurz; Mr. Eben Greenough Scott; Professor J. R. Seeley; Professor Nathaniel Southgate Shaler; Mr. Edward Morse Shepard; Colonel M. V. Sheridan (for the "Personal Memoirs" of the late General Sheridan); Mr. P. T. Sherman (for the "Memoirs" of the late General Sherman); Samuel Smiles, LL. D.; Professor Goldwin Smith; Professor James Russell Soley; Mr. Edward Stanwood; Leslie Stephen, M. A.; H. Morse Stephens, M. A.; Mr. Simon Sterne; Charles J. Stillé, LL. D.; Sir John Strachey; Right Reverend William Stubbs, Bishop of Peterborough; Professor William Graham Sumner; Professor Frank William Taussig; Mr. William Roscoe Thayer; Professor Robert H. Thurston; Mr. Telemachus T. Timayenis; Henry D. Traill, D. C. L.; General R. de Trobriand; Mr. Bayard Tuckerman; Samuel Epes Turner, Ph. D.; Professor Herbert Tuttle; Professor Arminius Vambéry; Mr. Henri Van Laun; General Francis A. Walker; Sir D. Mackenzie Wallace; Spencer Walpole, LL. D.; Alexander Stewart Webb, LL. D.; Mr. J. Talboys Wheeler; Mr. Arthur Silva White; Sir Monier Monier-Williams; Justin Winsor, LL. D.; Reverend Frederick C. Woodhouse; John Yeats, LL: D.; Miss Charlotte M. Yonge.

Publishers.

London:

Messrs. W. H. Allen & Company; Asher & Company; George Bell & Sons; Richard Bentley & Son; Bickers & Sons; A. & C. Black; Cassell & Company; Chapman & Hall; Chatto & Windus: Thomas De La Rue & Company; H. Grevel & Company; Griffith, Farran & Company; William Heinemann: Hodder & Stoughton; Macmillan & Company; Methuen & Company; John Murray; John C. Nimmo; Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Company; George Philip & Son; The Religious Tract Society; George Routledge & Sons; Seeley & Company; Smith, Elder & Company; Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge; Edward Stanford; Stevens & Haynes; Henry Stevens & Son; Elliot Stock; Swan Sonnenschein & Company; The Times; T. Fisher Unwin; Ward, Lock, Bowden & Company; Frederick Warne & Company; Williams & Norgate.

New York:

Messrs. D. Appleton & Company; Armstrong & Company; A. S. Barnes & Company; The Century Company; T. Y. Crowell & Company; Derby & Miller: Dick & Fitzgerald; Dodd, Mead & Company; Harper & Brothers; Henry Holt & Company; Townsend MacCoun; G. P. Putnam's Sons; Anson D. F. Randolph & Company; D. J. Sadler & Company; Charles Scribner's Sons; Charles L. Webster & Company;

Edinburgh:

Messrs. William Blackwood & Sons; W. & R. Chambers; David Douglas; Thomas Nelson & Sons; W. P. Nimmo; Hay & Mitchell; The Scottish Reformation Society.

Philadelphia:

Messrs. L. H. Everts & Company; J. B. Lippincott Company; Oldach & Company; Porter & Coates.

Boston:

Messrs. Estes & Lauriat; Houghton, Mifflin & Company; Little, Brown & Company; D. Lothrop Company; Roberts Brothers.

Dublin:

Messrs. James Duffy & Company; Hodges, Figgis & Company; J. J. Lalor.

Chicago:

Messrs. Callaghan & Company; A. C. McClurg & Company;

Cincinnati:

Messrs. Robert Clarke & Company; Jones Brothers Publishing Company;

Hartford, Connecticut:

Messrs. O. D. Case & Company; S. S. Scranton & Company;

Albany:

Messrs. Joel Munsell's Sons.

Cambridge, England:

The University Press.

Norwich, Connecticut:

The Henry Bill Publishing Company;

Oxford:

The Clarendon Press.

Providence, R. I.

J. A. & R. A. Reid.

A list of books quoted from will be given in the final volume. I am greatly indebted to the remarkable kindness of a number of eminent historical scholars, who have critically examined the proof sheets of important articles and improved them by their suggestions. My debt to Miss Ellen M. Chandler, for assistance given me in many ways, is more than I can describe.

In my publishing arrangements I have been most fortunate, and I owe the good fortune very largely to a number of friends, among whom it is just that I should name Mr. Henry A. Richmond, Mr. George E. Matthews, and Mr. John G. Milburn. There is no feature of these arrangements so satisfactory to me as that which places the publication of my book in the hands of the Company of which Mr. Charles A. Nichols, of Springfield, Massachusetts, is the head.

I think myself fortunate, too, in the association of my work with that of Mr. Alan C. Reiley, from whose original studies and drawings the greater part of the historical maps in these volumes have been produced.

J. N. Larned.

List Of Maps And Plans.

'Ethnographic map of Modern Europe,' Preceding the title-page. Map of American Discovery and Settlement, To follow page 46 Plan of Athens, and Harbors of Athens, On page 145 Plan of Athenian house, On page 162 Four development maps of Austria, To follow page 196 Ethnographic map of Austria-Hungary, On page 197 Four development maps of Asia Minor and the Balkan Peninsula, To follow page 242 Map of the Balkan and Danubian States, showing changes during the present century, On page 244 Map of Burgundy under Charles the Bold, To follow page 332 Development map showing the diffusion of Christianity, To follow page 432

Logical Outlines, In Colors.

Athenian and Greek history, To follow page 144.

Austrian history, To follow page 198.

Chronological Tables.

The Seventeenth Century: First half and second half, To follow page 208. To the Peloponnesian War, and Fourth and Third Centuries, B. C., To follow page 166.

Appendices To Volume I.

A. Notes to Ethnographic map; by Mr. A. C. Reiley.

B. Notes to four maps of Asia Minor and the Balkan Peninsula; by Mr. A. C. Reiley.

C. Notes to map of the Balkan Peninsula in the present century; by Mr. A. C. Reiley.

D. Notes to map showing the diffusion of Christianity; Mr. A. C. Reiley.

E. Notes on the American Aborigines; by Major J. W. Powell and Mr. J. Owen Dorsey, of the United States Bureau of Ethnology.

F. Bibliography of America (Discovery, Exploration, Settlement, Archæology, and Ethnology), and of Austria.

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History For Ready Reference.

A. C. Ante Christum; used sometimes instead of the more familiar abbreviation, B. C.—Before Christ.

A. D. Anno Domini; The Year of Our Lord.

See ERA, CHRISTIAN.

A. E. I. O. U.

"The famous device of Austria, A. E. I. O. U., was first used by Frederic III. [1440-1493], who adopted it on his plate, books, and buildings. These initials stand for 'Austriae Est Imperare Orbi Universo'; or, in German, 'Alles Erdreich Ist Osterreich Unterthan': a bold assumption for a man who was not safe in an inch of his dominions."

H. Hallam, The Middle Ages, volume 2, page 89, foot-note.

A. H. Anno Hejiræ.

See ERA, MAHOMETAN.

A. M.

"Anno Mundi;" the Year of the World, or the year from the beginning of the world, according to the formerly accepted chronological reckoning of Archbishop Usher and others.

A. U. C., OR U. C.

"Ab urbe condita," from the founding of the city; or "Anno urbis Conditæ," the year from the founding of the city; the Year of Rome.

See ROME: B. C. 753.

AACHEN.

See AIX-LA-CHAPELLE.

AARAU, Peace of (1712).

See SWITZERLAND: A. D. 1652-1789.

ABÆ, Oracle of.

See ORACLES OF THE GREEKS.

ABBAS I. (called The Great), Shah of Persia; A. D. 1582-1627

ABBAS II., A. D. 1641-1666.

ABBAS III., A. D. 1732-1736.

ABBASSIDES, The rise, decline and fall of the.

See MAHOMETAN CONQUEST, &c.: A. D. 715-750; 763; and 815-945; also BAGDAD: A. D. 1258.

ABBEY. ABBOT. ABBESS.

See MONASTERY.

ABDALLEES, The.

See INDIA: A. D. 1747-1761.

ABDALMELIK, Caliph, A. D. 684-705.

ABD-EL-KADER, The War of the French in Algiers with.

See BARBARY STATES: A. D. 1830-1846.

ABDICATIONS. Alexander, Prince of Bulgaria.

See BULGARIA: A. D. 1878-1886.

Amadeo of Spain.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1866-1873.

Charles IV. and Ferdinand VII. of Spain.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1807-1808.

Charles V. Emperor.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1552-1561, and NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1555.

Charles X. King of France.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1815-1830.

Charles Albert, King of Sardinia.

See ITALY: A. D. 1848-1849.

Christina, Regent of Spain.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1833-1846.

Christina, Queen of Sweden.

See SCANDINAVIAN STATES (SWEDEN): A. D. 1644-1697.

Diocletian, Emperor.

See ROME: A. D. 284-305.

Ferdinand, Emperor of Austria.

See AUSTRIA: A. D. 1848-1849.

Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland.

See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1806-1810.

Louis Philippe.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1841-1848.

Milan, King of Servia.

See SERVIA: A. D. 1882-1889.

Pedro I., Emperor of Brazil, and King of Portugal.

See PORTUGAL: A. D. 1824-1889, and BRAZIL: A. D. 1825-1865.

Ptolemy I. of Egypt.

See MACEDONIA, &c.: B. C. 297-280.

Victor Emanuel I.

See ITALY: A. D. 1820-1821.

William I., King of Holland.

See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1830-1884.

ABDUL-AZIZ, Turkish Sultan, A. D. 1861-1876.

ABDUL-HAMID, Turkish Sultan, A. D. 1774-1789.

ABDUL-HAMID II., 1876-.

ABDUL-MEDJID, Turkish Sultan, A. D. 1839-1861.

ABEL, King of Denmark, A. D. 1250-1252.

ABENCERRAGES, The.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1238-1273, and 1476-1492.

ABENSBURG, Battle of.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1809 (JANUARY-JUNE).

ABERCROMBIE'S CAMPAIGN IN AMERICA.

See CANADA (NEW FRANCE): A.D. 1758.

ABERDEEN MINISTRY, The.

See ENGLAND: A. D. 1851-1852, and 1855.

ABIPONES, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: PAMPAS TRIBES.

ABJURATION OF HENRY IV.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1591-1593.

ABNAKIS, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: ALGONKIN FAMILY.

ABO, Treaty of (1743).

See RUSSIA: A. D. 1740-1762.

ABOLITIONISM IN AMERICA, The Rise of.

See SLAVERY, NEGRO: A. D. 1828-1832; and 1840-1847.

ABORIGINES, AMERICAN.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES.

ABOUKIR, Naval Battle of (or Battle of the Nile).

See FRANCE: A. D. 1798 (MAY-AUGUST).

ABOUKIR, Land-battle of (1799).

See FRANCE: A. D. 1798-1799 (AUGUST-AUGUST).

ABRAHAM, The Plains of.

That part of the high plateau of Quebec on which the memorable victory of Wolfe was won, September 13, 1759. The plain was so called "from Abraham Martin, a pilot known as Maitre Abraham, who had owned a piece of land here in the early times of the colony."

F. Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe, volume 2, page 289.

For an account of the battle which gave distinction to the Plains of Abraham,

See CANADA (NEW FRANCE): A. D. 1759, (JUNE-SEPTEMBER).

ABSENTEEISM IN IRELAND.

In Ireland, "the owners of about one-half the land do not live on or near their estates, while the owners of about one fourth do not live in the country. … Absenteeism is an old evil, and in very early times received attention from the government. … Some of the disadvantages to the community arising from the absence of the more wealthy and intelligent classes are apparent to everyone. Unless the landlord is utterly poverty-stricken or very unenterprising, 'there is a great deal more going on' when he is in the country. … I am convinced that absenteeism is a great disadvantage to the country and the people. … It is too much to attribute to it all the evils that have been set down to its charge. It is, however, an important consideration that the people regard it as a grievance; and think the twenty-five or thirty millions of dollars paid every year to these landlords, who are rarely or never in Ireland, is a tax grievous to be borne."

D. B. King, The Irish Question, pages 5-11.

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ABSOROKOS, OR CROWS, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: SIOUAN FAMILY.

ABU-BEKR, Caliph, A. D. 632-634.

ABU KLEA, Battle of (1885).

See EGYPT: A. D. 1884-1885.

ABUL ABBAS, Caliph, A. D. 750-754.

ABUNA OF ABYSSINIA.

"Since the days of Frumentius [who introduced Christianity into Abyssinia in the 4th century] every orthodox Primate of Abyssinia has been consecrated by the Coptic Patriarch of the church of Alexandria, and has borne the title of Abuna"—or Abuna Salama, "Father of Peace."

H. M. Hozier, The British Expedition to Abyssinia, page 4.

ABURY, OR AVEBURY. STONEHENGE. CARNAC.

"The numerous circles of stone or of earth in Britain and Ireland, varying in diameter from 30 or 40 feet up to 1,200, are to be viewed as temples standing in the closest possible relation to the burial-places of the dead. The most imposing group of remains of this kind in this country [England] is that of Avebury [Abury], near Devizes, in Wiltshire, referred by Sir John Lubbock to a late stage in the Neolithic or to the beginning of the bronze period. It consists of a large circle of unworked upright stones 1,200 feet in diameter, surrounded by a fosse, which in turn is also surrounded by a rampart of earth. Inside are the remains of two concentric circles of stone, and from the two entrances in the rampart proceeded long avenues flanked by stones, one leading to Beckhampton, and the other to West Kennett, where it formerly ended in another double circle. Between them rises Silbury Hill, the largest artificial mound in Great Britain, no less than 130 feet in height. This group of remains was at one time second to none, 'but unfortunately for us [says Sir John Lubbock] the pretty little village of Avebury [Abury], like some beautiful parasite, has grown up at the expense and in the midst of the ancient temple, and out of 650 great stones, not above twenty are still standing. In spite of this it is still to be classed among the finest ruins in Europe. The famous temple of Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain is probably of a later date than Avebury, since not only are some of the stones used in its construction worked, but the surrounding barrows are more elaborate than those in the neighbourhood of the latter. It consisted of a circle 100 feet in diameter, of large upright blocks of sarsen stone, 12 feet 7 inches high, bearing imposts dovetailed into each other, so as to form a continuous architrave. Nine feet within this was a circle of small foreign stones … and within this five great trilithons of sarsen stone, forming a horse-shoe; then a horse-shoe of foreign stones, eight feet high, and in the centre a slab of micaceous sandstone called the altar-stone. … At a distance of 100 feet from the outer line a small ramp, with a ditch outside, formed the outer circle, 300 feet in diameter, which cuts a low barrow and includes another, and therefore is evidently of later date than some of the barrows of the district."

W. B. Dawkins; Early Man in Britain, chapter 10.

"Stonehenge … may, I think, be regarded as a monument of the Bronze Age, though apparently it was not all erected at one time, the inner circle of small, unwrought, blue stones being probably older than the rest; as regards Abury, since the stones are all in their natural condition, while those of Stonehenge are roughly hewn, it seems reasonable to conclude that Abury is the older of the two, and belongs either to the close of the Stone Age, or to the commencement of that of Bronze. Both Abury and Stonehenge were, I believe, used as temples. Many of the stone circles, however, have been proved to be burial places. In fact, a complete burial place may be described as a dolmen, covered by a tumulus, and surrounded by a stone circle. Often, however, we have only the tumulus, sometimes only the dolmen, and sometimes again only the stone circle. The celebrated monument of Carnac, in Brittany, consists of eleven rows of unhewn stones, which differ greatly both in size and height, the largest being 22 feet above ground, while some are quite small. It appears that the avenues originally extended for several miles, but at present they are very imperfect, the stones having been cleared away in places for agricultural improvements. At present, therefore, there are several detached portions, which, however, have the same general direction, and appear to have been connected together. … Most of the great tumuli in Brittany probably belong to the Stone Age, and I am therefore disposed to regard Carnac as having been erected during the same period."

Sir J. Lubbock, Prehistoric Times, chapter 5.

ABYDOS.

An ancient city on the Asiatic side of the Hellespont, mentioned in the Iliad as one of the towns that were in alliance with the Trojans. Originally Thracian, as is supposed, it became a colony of Miletus, and passed at different times under Persian, Athenian, Lacedæmonian and Macedonian rule. Its site was at the narrowest point of the Hellespont—the scene of the ancient romantic story of Hero and Leander—nearly opposite to the town of Sestus. It was in the near neighborhood of Abydos that Xerxes built his bridge of boats; at Abydos, Alcibiades and the Athenians won an important victory over the Peloponnesians.

See GREECE: B. C. 480, and 411-407.

ABYDOS, Tablet of.

One of the most valuable records of Egyptian history, found in the ruins of Abydos and now preserved in the British Museum. It gives a list of kings whom Ramses II. selected from among his ancestors to pay homage to. The tablet was much mutilated when found, but another copy more perfect has been unearthed by M. Mariette, which supplies nearly all the names lacking on the first.

F. Lenormant, Manual of Ancient History of the East, volume 1, book 3.

ABYSSINIA: Embraced in ancient Ethiopia.

See ETHIOPIA.

ABYSSINIA: Fourth Century. Conversion to Christianity.

"Whatever may have been the effect produced in his native country by the conversion of Queen Candace's treasurer, recorded in the Acts of the Apostles [chapter VIII.], it would appear to have been transitory; and the Ethiopian or Abyssinian church owes its origin to an expedition made early in the fourth century by Meropius, a philosopher of Tyre, for the purpose of scientific inquiry. On his voyage homewards, he and his companions were attacked at a place where they had landed in search of water, and all were massacred except two youths, Ædesius and Frumentius, the relatives and pupils of Meropius. These were carried to the king of the country, who advanced Ædesius to be his cup-bearer, and Frumentius to be his secretary and treasurer. On the death of the king, who left a boy as his heir, the two strangers, at the request of the widowed queen, acted as regents of the kingdom until the prince came of age. Ædesius then returned to Tyre, where he became a presbyter. Frumentius, who, with the help of such Christian traders as visited the country, had already introduced the Christian doctrine and worship into Abyssinia, repaired to Alexandria, related his story to Athanasius, and … Athanasius … consecrated him to the bishoprick of Axum [the capital of the Abyssinain kingdom]. The church thus founded continues to this day subject to the see of Alexandria."

J. C. Robertson, History of the Christian Church, book 2, chapter 6.

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ABYSSINIA: 6th to 16th Centuries. Wars in Arabia. Struggle with the Mahometans. Isolation from the Christian world.

"The fate of the Christian church among the Homerites in Arabia Felix afforded an opportunity for the Abyssinians, under the reigns of the Emperors Justin and Justinian, to show their zeal in behalf of the cause of the Christians. The prince of that Arabian population, Dunaan, or Dsunovas, was a zealous adherent of Judaism; and, under pretext of avenging the oppressions which his fellow-believers were obliged to suffer in the Roman empire, he caused the Christian merchants who came from that quarter and visited Arabia for the purposes of trade, or passed through the country to Abyssinia, to be murdered. Elesbaan, the Christian king of Abyssinia, made this a cause for declaring war on the Arabian prince. He conquered Dsunovas, deprived him of the government, and set up a Christian, by the name of Abraham, as king in his stead. But at the death of the latter, which happened soon after, Dsunovas again made himself master of the throne; and it was a natural consequence of what he had suffered, that he now became a fiercer and more cruel persecutor than he was before. … Upon this, Elesbaan interfered once more, under the reign of the emperor Justinian, who stimulated him to the undertaking. He made a second expedition to Arabia Felix, and was again victorious. Dsunovas lost his life in the war; the Abyssinian prince put an end to the ancient, independent empire of the Homerites, and established a new government favourable to the Christians."

A. Neander, General History of the Christian Religion and Church, second period, section 1.

"In the year 592, as nearly as can be calculated from the dates given by the native writers, the Persians, whose power seems to have kept pace with the decline of the Roman empire, sent a great force against the Abyssinians, possessed themselves once more of Arabia, acquired a naval superiority in the gulf, and secured the principal ports on either side of it."

"It is uncertain how long these conquerors retained their acquisition; but, in all probability their ascendancy gave way to the rising greatness of the Mahometan power; which soon afterwards overwhelmed all the nations contiguous to Arabia, spread to the remotest parts of the East, and even penetrated the African deserts from Egypt to the Congo. Meanwhile Abyssinia, though within two hundred miles of the walls of Mecca, remained unconquered and true to the Christian faith; presenting a mortifying and galling object to the more zealous followers of the Prophet. On this account, implacable and incessant wars ravaged her territories. … She lost her commerce, saw her consequence annihilated, her capital threatened, and the richest of her provinces laid waste. … There is reason to apprehend that she must shortly have sunk under the pressure of repeated invasions, had not the Portuguese arrived [in the 16th century] at a seasonable moment to aid her endeavours against the Moslem chiefs."

M. Russell, Nubia and Abyssinia, chapter 3.

"When Nubia, which intervenes between Egypt and Abyssinia, ceased to be a Christian country, owing to the destruction of its church by the Mahometans, the Abyssinian church was cut off from communication with the rest of Christendom. … They [the Abyssinians] remain an almost unique specimen of a semi-barbarous Christian people. Their worship is strangely mixed with Jewish customs."

H. F. Tozer, The Church and the Eastern Empire, chapter 5.

ABYSSINIA: Fifteenth-Nineteenth Centuries. European Attempts at Intercourse. Intrusion of the Gallas. Intestine conflicts.

"About the middle of the 15th century, Abyssinia came in contact with Western Europe. An Abyssinian convent was endowed at Rome, and legates were sent from the Abyssinian convent at Jerusalem to the council of Florence. These adhered to the Greek schism. But from that time the Church of Rome made an impress upon Ethiopia. … Prince Henry of Portugal … next opened up communication with Europe. He hoped to open up a route from the West to the East coast of Africa [see PORTUGAL: A. D. 1415-1460], by which the East Indies might be reached without touching Mahometan territory. During his efforts to discover such a passage to India, and to destroy the revenues derived by the Moors from the spice trade, he sent an ambassador named Covillan to the Court of Shoa. Covillan was not suffered to return by Alexander, the then Negoos [or Negus, or Nagash—the title of the Abyssinian sovereign]. He married nobly, and acquired rich possessions in the country. He kept up correspondence with Portugal, and urged Prince Henry to diligently continue his efforts to discover the Southern passage to the East. In 1498 the Portuguese effected the circuit of Africa. The Turks shortly afterwards extended their conquests towards India, where they were baulked by the Portuguese, but they established a post and a toll at Zeyla, on the African coast. From here they hampered and threatened to destroy the trade of Abyssinia," and soon, in alliance with the Mahometan tribes of the coast, invaded the country. "They were defeated by the Negoos David, and at the same time the Turkish town of Zeyla was stormed and burned by a Portuguese fleet." Considerable intimacy of friendly relations was maintained for some time between the against the Turks. {4} Abyssinians and the Portuguese, who assisted in defending them "In the middle of the 16th century … a migration of Gallas came from the South and swept up to and over the confines of Abyssinia. Men of lighter complexion and fairer skin than most Africans, they were Pagan in religion and savages in customs. Notwithstanding frequent efforts to dislodge them, they have firmly established themselves. A large colony has planted itself on the banks of the Upper Takkazie, the Jidda and the Bashilo. Since their establishment here they have for the most part embraced the creed of Mahomet. The province of Shoa is but an outlier of Christian Abyssinia, separated completely from co-religionist districts by these Galla bands. About the same time the Turks took a firm hold of Massowah and of the lowland by the coast, which had hitherto been ruled by the Abyssinian Bahar Nagash. Islamism and heathenism surrounded Abyssinia, where the lamp of Christianity faintly glimmered amidst dark superstition in the deep recesses of rugged valleys." In 1558 a Jesuit mission arrived in the country and established itself at Fremona. "For nearly a century Fremona existed, and its superiors were the trusted advisors of the Ethiopian throne. … But the same fate which fell upon the company of Jesus in more civilized lands, pursued it in the wilds of Africa. The Jesuit missionaries were universally popular with the Negoos, but the prejudice of the people refused to recognise the benefits which flowed from Fremona." Persecution befell the fathers, and two of them won the crown of martyrdom. The Negoos, Facilidas, "sent for a Coptic Abuna [ecclesiastical primate] from Alexandria, and concluded a treaty with the Turkish governors of Massowah and Souakin to prevent the passage of Europeans into his dominions. Some Capuchin preachers, who attempted to evade this treaty and enter Abyssinia, met with cruel deaths. Facilidas thus completed the work of the Turks and the Gallas, and shut Abyssinia out from European influence and civilization. … After the expulsion of the Jesuits, Abyssinia was torn by internal feuds and constantly harassed by the encroachments of and wars with the Gallas. Anarchy and confusion ruled supreme. Towns and villages were burnt down, and the inhabitants sold into slavery. … Towards the middle of the 18th century the Gallas appear to have increased considerably in power. In the intestine quarrels of Abyssinia their alliance was courted by each side, and in their country political refugees obtained a secure asylum." During the early years of the present century, the campaigns in Egypt attracted English attention to the Red Sea. "In 1804 Lord Valentia, the Viceroy of India, sent his Secretary, Mr. Salt, into Abyssinia;" but Mr. Salt was unable to penetrate beyond Tigre. In 1810 he attempted a second mission and again failed. It was not until 1848 that English attempts to open diplomatic and commercial relations with Abyssinia became successful. Mr. Plowden was appointed consular agent, and negotiated a treaty of commerce with Ras Ali, the ruling Galla chief."

H. M. Hozier, The British Expedition to Abyssinia, Introduction.

ABYSSINIA: A. D. 1854-1889. Advent of King Theodore. His English captives and the Expedition which released them.

"Consul Plowden had been residing six years at Massowah when he heard that the Prince to whom he had been accredited, Ras Ali, had been defeated and dethroned by an adventurer, whose name, a few years before, had been unknown outside the boundaries of his native province. This was Lij Kâsa, better known by his adopted name of Theodore. He was born of an old family, in the mountainous region of Kwara, where the land begins to slope downwards towards the Blue Nile, and educated in a convent, where he learned to read, and acquired a considerable knowledge of the Scriptures. Kâsa's convent life was suddenly put an end to, when one of those marauding Galla bands, whose ravages are the curse of Abyssinia, attacked and plundered the monastery. From that time he himself took to the life of a freebooter. … Adventurers flocked to his standard; his power continually increased; and in 1854 he defeated Ras Ali in a pitched battle, and made himself master of central Abyssinia." In 1855 he overthrew the ruler of Tigre. "He now resolved to assume a title commensurate with the wide extent of his dominion. In the church of Derezgye he had himself crowned by the Abuna as King of the Kings of Ethiopia, taking the name of Theodore, because an ancient tradition declared that a great monarch would some day arise in Abyssinia." Mr. Plowden now visited the new monarch, was impressed with admiration of his talents and character, and became his counsellor and friend. But in 1860 the English consul lost his life, while on a journey, and Theodore, embittered by several misfortunes, began to give rein to a savage temper. "The British Government, on hearing of the death of Plowden, immediately replaced him at Massowah by the appointment of Captain Cameron." The new Consul was well received, and was entrusted by the Abyssinian King with a letter addressed to the Queen of England, soliciting her friendship. The letter, duly despatched to its destination, was pigeon-holed in the Foreign Office at London, and no reply to it was ever made. Insulted and enraged by this treatment, and by other evidences of the indifference of the British Government to his overtures, King Theodore, in January, 1864, seized and imprisoned Consul Cameron with all his suite. About the same time he was still further offended by certain passages in a book on Abyssinia that had been published by a missionary named Stern. Stern and a fellow missionary, Rosenthal with the latter's wife, were lodged in prison, and subjected to flogging and torture. The first step taken by the British Government, when news of Consul Cameron's imprisonment reached England, was to send out a regular mission to Abyssinia, bearing a letter signed by the Queen, demanding the release of the captives. The mission, headed by a Syrian named Rassam, made its way to the King's presence in January, 1866. Theodore seemed to be placated by the Queen's epistle and promised freedom to his prisoners. But soon his moody mind became filled with suspicions as to the genuineness of Rassam's credentials from the Queen, and as to the designs and intentions of all the foreigners who were in his power. He was drinking heavily at the time, and the result of his "drunken cogitations was a determination to detain the mission—at any rate until by their means he should have obtained a supply of skilled artisans and machinery from England." {5} Mr. Rassam and his companions were accordingly put into confinement, as Captain Cameron had been. But they were allowed to send a messenger to England, making their situation known, and conveying the demand of King Theodore that a man be sent to him "who can make cannons and muskets." The demand was actually complied with. Six skilled artisans and a civil engineer were sent out, together with a quantity of machinery and other presents, in the hope that they would procure the release of the unfortunate captives at Magdala. Almost a year was wasted in these futile proceedings, and it was not until September, 1867, that an expedition consisting of 4,000 British and 8,000 native troops, under General Sir Robert Napier, was sent from India to bring the insensate barbarian to terms. It landed in Annesley Bay, and, overcoming enormous difficulties with regard to water, food-supplies and transportation, was ready, about the middle of January, 1868, to start upon its march to the fortress of Magdala, where Theodore's prisoners were confined. The distance was 400 miles, and several high ranges of mountains had to be passed to reach the interior table-land. The invading army met with no resistance until it reached the Valley of the Beshilo, when it was attacked (April 10) on the plain of Aroge or Arogi, by the whole force which Theodore was able to muster, numbering a few thousands, only, of poorly armed men. The battle was simply a rapid slaughtering of the barbaric assailants, and when they fled, leaving 700 or 800 dead and 1,500 wounded on the field, the Abyssinian King had no power of resistance left. He offered at once to make peace, surrendering all the captives in his hands; but Sir Robert Napier required an unconditional submission, with a view to displacing him from the throne, in accordance with the wish and expectation which he had found to be general in the country. Theodore refused these terms, and when (April 13) Magdala was bombarded and stormed by the British troops—slight resistance being made—he shot himself at the moment of their entrance to the place. The sovereignty he had successfully concentrated in himself for a time was again divided. Between April and June the English army was entirely withdrawn, and "Abyssinia was sealed up again from intercourse with the outer world."

Cassell's Illustrated History of England, volume 9, chapter 28.

"The task of permanently uniting Abyssinia, in which Theodore failed, proved equally impracticable to John, who came to the front, in the first instance, as an ally of the British, and afterwards succeeded to the sovereignty. By his fall (10th March, 1889) in the unhappy war against the Dervishes or Moslem zealots of the Soudan, the path was cleared for Menilek of Shoa, who enjoyed the support of Italy. The establishment of the Italians on the Red Sea littoral … promises a new era for Abyssinia."

T. Nöldeke, Sketches from Eastern History, chapter 9.

ALSO IN H. A. Stern, The Captive Missionary.

H. M. Stanley, Coomassie and Magdala, part 2.

ACABA, the Pledges of.

See MAHOMETAN CONQUEST: A. D. 609-632.

ACADEMY, The Athenian.

"The Academia, a public garden in the neighbourhood of Athens, was the favourite resort of Plato, and gave its name to the school which he founded. This garden was planted with lofty plane-trees, and adorned with temples and statues; a gentle stream rolled through it."

G. H. Lewes, Biog. History of Philosophy, 6th Epoch.

The masters of the great schools of philosophy at Athens "chose for their lectures and discussions the public buildings which were called gymnasia, of which there were several in different quarters of the city. They could only use them by the sufferance of the State, which had built them chiefly for bodily exercises and athletic feats. … Before long several of the schools drew themselves apart in special buildings, and even took their most familiar names, such as the Lyceum and the Academy, from the gymnasia in which they made themselves at home. Gradually we find the traces of some material provisions, which helped to define and to perpetuate the different sects. Plato had a little garden, close by the sacred Eleusinian Way, in the shady groves of the Academy, which he bought, says Plutarch, for some 3,000 drachmæ. There lived also his successors, Xenocrates and Polemon. … Aristotle, as we know, in later life had taught in the Lyceum, in the rich grounds near the Ilissus, and there he probably possessed the house and garden which after his death came into the hands of his successor, Theophrastus."

W. W. Capes, University life in Ancient Athens, pages. 31-33.

For a description of the Academy, the Lyceum, and other gymnasia of Athens.

See GYMNASIA GREEK.

Concerning the suppression of the Academy,

See ATHENS: A. D. 529.

ACADIA.

See NOVA SCOTIA.

ACADIANS, The, and the British Government. Their expulsion.

See NOVA SCOTIA: A. D. 1713-1730; 1749-1755, and 1755.

ACARNANIANS.

See AKARNANIANS.

ACAWOIOS, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: CARIBS AND THEIR KINDRED.

ACCAD. ACCADIANS.

See BABYLONIA, PRIMITIVE.

ACCOLADE.

"The concluding sign of being dubbed or adopted into the order of knighthood was a slight blow given by the lord to the cavalier, and called the accolade, from the part of the body, the neck, whereon it was struck. … Many writers have imagined that the accolade was the last blow which the soldier might receive with impunity: but this interpretation is not correct, for the squire was as jealous of his honour as the knight. The origin of the accolade it is impossible to trace, but it was clearly considered symbolical of the religious and moral duties of knighthood, and was the only ceremony used when knights were made in places (the field of battle, for instance), where time and circumstances did not allow of many ceremonies."

C. Mills, History of Chivalry, page 1, 53, and foot-note.

ACHÆAN CITIES, League of the.

This, which is not to be confounded with the "Achaian League" of Peloponnesus, was an early League of the Greek settlements in southern Italy, or Magna Græca. It was "composed of the towns of Siris, Pandosia, Metabus or Metapontum, Sybaris with its offsets Posidonia and Laus, Croton, Caulonia, Temesa, Terina and Pyxus. … The language of Polybius regarding the Achæan symmachy in the Peloponnesus may be applied also to these Italian Achæans; 'not only did they live in federal and friendly communion, but they made use of the same laws, and the same weights, measures and coins, as well as of the same magistrates, councillors and judges.'"

T. Mommsen, History of Rome, book 1, chapter 10.

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ACHÆAN LEAGUE.

See GREECE: B. C. 280-146.

ACHÆMENIDS, The.

The family or dynastic name (in its Greek form) of the kings of the Persian Empire founded by Cyrus, derived from an ancestor, Achæmenes, who was probably a chief of the Persian tribe of the Pasargadæ. "In the inscription of Behistun, King Darius says: 'From old time we were kings; eight of my family have been kings, I am the ninth; from very ancient times we have been kings.' He enumerates his ancestors: 'My father was Vistaçpa, the father of Vistaçpa was Arsama; the father of Arsama was Ariyaramna, the father of Ariyaramna was Khaispis, the father of Khaispis was Hakhamanis; hence we are called Hakhamanisiya (Achæmenids).' In these words Darius gives the tree of his own family up to Khaispis; this was the younger branch of the Achæmenids. Teispes, the son of Achaemenes, had two sons; the elder was Cambyses (Kambujiya) the younger Ariamnes; the son of Cambyses was Cyrus (Kurus), the son of Cyrus was Cambyses II. Hence Darius could indeed maintain that eight princes of his family had preceded him; but it was not correct to maintain that they had been kings before him and that he was the ninth king."

M. Duncker, History of Antiquity, volume 5, book 8, chapter 3.

ALSO IN G. Rawlinson, Family of the Achæmenidæ, appendix to book 7 of Herodotus.

See, also, PERSIA, ANCIENT.

ACHAIA:

"Crossing the river Larissus, and pursuing the northern coast of Peloponnesus south of the Corinthian Gulf, the traveller would pass into Achaia—a name which designated the narrow strip of level land, and the projecting spurs and declivities between that gulf and the northernmost mountains of the peninsula. … Achaean cities—twelve in number at least, if not more—divided this long strip of land amongst them, from the mouth of the Larissus and the northwestern Cape Araxus on one side, to the western boundary of the Sikyon territory on the other. According to the accounts of the ancient legends and the belief of Herodotus, this territory had been once occupied by Ionian inhabitants, whom the Achaeans had expelled."

G. Grote, History of Greece, part 2, chapter 4 (volume 2).

After the Roman conquest and the suppression of the Achaian League, the name Achaia was given to the Roman province then organized, which embraced all Greece south of Macedonia and Epirus.

See GREECE: B. C. 280-146.

"In the Homeric poems, where … the 'Hellenes' only appear in one district of Southern Thessaly, the name Achæans is employed by preference as a general appelation for the whole race. But the Achæans we may term, without hesitation, a Pelasgian people, in so far, that is, as we use this name merely as the opposite of the term 'Hellenes,' which prevailed at a later time, although it is true that the Hellenes themselves were nothing more than a particular branch of the Pelasgian stock. … [The name of the] Achæans, after it had dropped its earlier and more universal application, was preserved as the special name of a population dwelling in the north of the Peloponnese and the south of Thessaly."

Georg Friedrich Schömann, Antiquity of Greece: The State, Introduction.

"The ancients regarded them [the Achæans] as a branch of the Æolians, with whom they afterwards reunited into one national body, i.e., not as an originally distinct nationality or independent branch of the Greek people. Accordingly, we hear neither of an Achæan language nor of Achæan art. A manifest and decided influence of the maritime Greeks, wherever the Achæans appear, is common to the latter with the Æolians. Achæans are everywhere settled on the coast, and are always regarded as particularly near relations of the Ionians. … The Achæans appear scattered about in localities on the coast of the Ægean so remote from one another, that it is impossible to consider all bearing this name as fragments of a people originally united in one social community; nor do they in fact anywhere appear, properly speaking, as a popular body, as the main stock of the population, but rather as eminent families, from which spring heroes; hence the use of the expression 'Sons of the Achæans' to indicate noble descent."

E. Curtius, History of Greece, book 1, chapter 3.

ALSO IN M. Duncker, History of Greece, book 1, chapter 2, and book 2, chapter 2.

See, also, ACHAIA, and GREECE: THE MIGRATIONS.

ACHAIA: A. D. 1205-1387. Mediæval Principality.

Among the conquests of the French and Lombard Crusaders in Greece, after the taking of Constantinople, was that of a major part of the Peloponnesus—then beginning to be called the Morea—by William de Champlitte, a French knight, assisted by Geffrey de Villehardouin, the younger—nephew and namesake of the Marshal of Champagne, who was chronicler of the conquest of the Empire of the East. William de Champlitte was invested with this Principality of Achaia, or of the Morea, as it is variously styled. Geffrey Villehardouin represented him in the government, as his "bailly," for a time, and finally succeeded in supplanting him. Half a century later the Greeks, who had recovered Constantinople, reduced the territory of the Principality of Achaia to about half the peninsula, and a destructive war was waged between the two races. Subsequently the Principality became a fief of the crown of Naples and Sicily, and underwent many changes of possession until the title was in confusion and dispute between the houses of Anjou, Aragon and Savoy. Before it was engulfed finally in the Empire of the Turks, it was ruined by their piracies and ravages.

G. Finlay, History of Greece from its Conquest by the Crusaders, chapter 8.

ACHMET I., Turkish Sultan, A. D. 1603-1617.

ACHMET II., 1691-1695.

ACHMET III., 1703-1730.

ACHRADINA.

A part of the ancient city of Syracuse, Sicily, known as the "outer city," occupying the peninsula north of Ortygia, the island, which was the "inner city."

ACHRIDA, Kingdom of.

After the death of John Zimisces who had reunited Bulgaria to the Byzantine Empire, the Bulgarians were roused to a struggle for the recovery of their independence, under the lead of four brothers of a noble family, all of whom soon perished save one, named Samuel. Samuel proved to be so vigorous and able a soldier and had so much success that he assumed presently the title of king. His authority was established over the greater part of Bulgaria, and extended into Macedonia, Epirus and Illyria. He established his capital at Achrida (modern Ochrida, in Albania), which gave its name to his kingdom. The suppression of this new Bulgarian monarchy occupied the Byzantine Emperor, Basil II., in wars from 981 until 1018, when its last strongholds, including the city of Achrida, were surrendered to him.

G. Finlay, History of the Byzantine Empire from 716 to 1057, book 2, chapter 2, section 2.

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ACKERMAN, Convention of (1826).

See TURKS: A. D. 1826-1829.

ACOLAHUS, The.

See MEXICO, ANCIENT: THE TOLTEC EMPIRE.

ACOLYTH, The.

See VARANGIAN or WARING GUARD.

ACRABA, Battle of, A. D. 633.

After the death of Mahomet, his successor, Abu Bekr, had to deal with several serious revolts, the most threatening of which was raised by one Moseilama, who had pretended, even in the life-time of the Prophet, to a rival mission of religion. The decisive battle between the followers of Moseilama and those of Mahomet was fought at Acraba, near Yemama. The pretender was slain and few of his army escaped.

Sir W. Muir, Annals of the Early Caliphate, chapter 7.

ACRABATTENE, Battle of.

A sanguinary defeat of the Idumeans or Edomites by the Jews under Judas Maccabæus, B. C. 164.

Josephus, Antiquity of the Jews, book 12, chapter 8.

ACRAGAS.

See AGRIGENTUM.

ACRE (St. Jean d'Acre, or Ptolemais): A. D. 1104. Conquest, Pillage and Massacre by the Crusaders and Genoese.

See CRUSADES: A. D. 1104-1111.

ACRE: A. D.1187. Taken from the Christians by Saladin.

See JERUSALEM: A. D. 1149-1187.

ACRE: A. D. 1189-1191. The great siege and reconquest by the Crusaders.

See CRUSADES: A. D. 1188-1192.

ACRE: A. D. 1256-1257. Quarrels and battles between the Genoese and Venetians.

See VENICE: A. D. 1256-1257.

ACRE: A. D. 1291. The Final triumph of the Moslems.

See JERUSALEM: A. D. 1291.

ACRE: 18th Century. Restored to Importance by Sheik Daher.

"Acre, or St. Jean d'Acre, celebrated under this name in the history of the Crusades, and in antiquity known by the name of Ptolemais, had, by the middle of the 18th century, been almost entirely forsaken, when Sheik Daher, the Arab rebel, restored its commerce and navigation. This able prince, whose sway comprehended the whole of ancient Galilee, was succeeded by the infamous tyrant, Djezzar-Pasha, who fortified Acre, and adorned it with a mosque, enriched with columns of antique marble, collected from all the neighbouring cities."

M. Malte-Brun, System of Universal Geography, book 28 (volume 1).

ACRE: A. D. 1799. Unsuccessful Siege by Bonaparte.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1798-1799 (AUGUST-AUGUST).

ACRE: A. D. 1831-1840. Siege and Capture by Mehemed Ali. Recovery for the Sultan by the Western Powers.

See TURKS: A. D.1831-1840.

ACROCERAUNIAN PROMONTORY.

See KORKYRA.

ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS, The.

"A road which, by running zigzag up the slope was rendered practicable for chariots, led from the lower city to the Acropolis, on the edge of the platform of which stood the Propylæa, erected by the architect Mnesicles in five years, during the administration of Pericles. … On entering through the gates of the Propylæa a scene of unparalleled grandeur and beauty burst upon the eye. No trace of human dwellings anywhere appeared, but on all sides temples of more or less elevation, of Pentelic marble, beautiful in design and exquisitely delicate in execution, sparkled like piles of alabaster in the sun. On the left stood the Erectheion, or fane of Athena Polias; to the right, that matchless edifice known as the Hecatompedon of old, but to later ages as the Parthenon. Other buildings, all holy to the eyes of an Athenian, lay grouped around these master structures, and, in the open spaces between, in whatever direction the spectator might look, appeared statues, some remarkable for their dimensions, others for their beauty, and all for the legendary sanctity which surrounded them. No city of the ancient or modern world ever rivalled Athens in the riches of art. Our best filled museums, though teeming with her spoils, are poor collections of fragments compared with that assemblage of gods and heroes which peopled the Acropolis, the genuine Olympos of the arts."

J. A. St. John, The Hellenes, book 1, chapter 4.

"Nothing in ancient Greece or Italy could be compared with the Acropolis of Athens, in its combination of beauty and grandeur, surrounded as it was by temples and theatres among its rocks, and encircled by a city abounding with monuments, some of which rivalled those of the Acropolis. Its platform formed one great sanctuary, partitioned only by the boundaries of the … sacred portions. We cannot, therefore, admit the suggestion of Chandler, that, in addition to the temples and other monuments on the summit, there were houses divided into regular streets. This would not have been consonant either with the customs or the good taste of the Athenians. When the people of Attica crowded into Athens at the beginning of the Peloponnesian war, and religious prejudices gave way, in every possible case, to the necessities of the occasion, even then the Acropolis remained uninhabited. … The western end of the Acropolis, which furnished the only access to the summit of the hill, was one hundred and sixty eight feet in breadth, an opening so narrow that it appeared practicable to the artists of Pericles to fill up the space with a single building which should serve the purpose of a gateway to the citadel, as well as of a suitable entrance to that glorious display of architecture and sculpture which was within the inclosure. This work [the Propylæa], the greatest production of civil architecture in Athens, which rivalled the Parthenon in felicity of execution, surpassed it in boldness and originality of design. … It may be defined as a wall pierced with five doors, before which on both sides were Doric hexastyle porticoes."

W. M. Leake, Topography of Athens, section 8.

See, also, ATTICA.

ACT OF ABJURATION, The.

See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1577-1581.

ACT OF MEDIATION, The.

See SWITZERLAND: A. D. 1803-1848.

ACT OF SECURITY.

See SCOTLAND: A. D. 1703-1704.

ACT OF SETTLEMENT (English).

See ENGLAND: A. D. 1701.

ACT OF SETTLEMENT (Irish).

See IRELAND: A. D. 1660-1665.

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ACT RESCISSORY.

See SCOTLAND; A. D. 1660-1666.

ACTIUM: B. C. 434. Naval Battle of the Greeks.

A defeat inflicted upon the Corinthians by the Corcyrians, in the contest over Epidamnus which was the prelude to the Peloponnesian War.

E. Curtius, History of Greece, book 4, chapter 1.

ACTIUM: B. C. 31. The Victory of Octavius.

See ROME: B. C. 31.

ACTS OF SUPREMACY.

See SUPREMACY, ACTS OF; and ENGLAND: A. D. 1527-1534; and 1559.

ACTS OF UNIFORMITY.

See ENGLAND: A. D. 1559 and 1662-1665.

ACULCO, Battle of (1810).

See MEXICO: A. D. 1810-1819.

ACZ, Battle of (1849).

See AUSTRIA, A. D. 1848-1849.

ADALOALDUS, King of the Lombards, A. D. 616-626.

ADAMS, John, in the American Revolution.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1774 (MAY-JUNE); 1774 (SEPTEMBER); 1775 (MAY-AUGUST); 1776 (JANUARY-JUNE), 1776 (JULY).

In diplomatic service.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1782 (APRIL); 1782 (SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER).

Presidential election and administration.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A.D. 1796-1801.

ADAMS, John Quincy. Negotiation of the Treaty of Ghent.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1814 (DECEMBER).

Presidential election and administration.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1824-1829.

ADAMS, Samuel, in and after the American Revolution.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1772-1773; 1774 (SEPTEMBER); 1775(MAY); 1787-1789.

ADDA, Battle of the (A. D. 490).

See ROME: A. D. 488-526.

AD DECIMUS, Battle of (A. D. 533).

See VANDALS: A. D. 533-534.

ADEL. ADALING. ATHEL.

"The homestead of the original settler, his house, farm-buildings and enclosure, 'the toft and croft,' with the share of arable and appurtenant common rights, bore among the northern nations [early Teutonic] the name of Odal, or Edhel; the primitive mother village was an Athelby, or Athelham; the owner was an Athelbonde: the same word Adel or Athel signified also nobility of descent, and an Adaling was a nobleman. Primitive nobility and primitive landownership thus bore the same name."

William Stubbs, Constitutional History of England, chapter 3, section 24.

See, also, ALOD, and ETHEL.

ADELAIDE, The founding and naming of.

See AUSTRALIA: A. D. 1800-1840.

ADELANTADOS. ADELANTAMIENTOS.

"Adelantamientos was an early term for gubernatorial districts [in Spanish America, the governors bearing the title of Adelantados], generally of undefined limits, to be extended by further conquests."

H. H. Bancroft, History of the Pacific States, volume 6 (Mexico, volume 3), page 520.

ADEODATUS II., Pope, A. D. 672-676.

ADIABENE.

A name which came to be applied anciently to the tract of country east of the middle Tigris, embracing what was originally the proper territory of Assyria, together with Arbelitis. Under the Parthian monarchy it formed a tributary kingdom, much disputed between Parthia and Armenia. It was seized several times by the Romans, but never permanently held.

G. Rawlinson, Sixth Great Oriental Monarchy, page 140.

ADIRONDACKS, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: ADIRONDACKS.

ADIS, Battle of (B. C. 256).

See PUNIC WAR, THE FIRST.

ADITES, The.

"The Cushites, the first inhabitants of Arabia, are known in the national traditions by the name of Adites, from their progenitor, who is called Ad, the grandson of Ham."

F. Lenormant, Manual of Ancient History, book 7, chapter 2.

See ARABIA: THE ANCIENT SUCCESSION AND FUSION OF RACES.

ADJUTATORS.

See ENGLAND: A. D. 1647 (APRIL-AUGUST).

ADLIYAH, The.

See ISLAM.

ADOLPH (of Nassau), King of Germany, A. D. 1291-1298.

ADOLPHUS FREDERICK, King of Sweden, A. D. 1751-1771.

ADOPTIONISM.

A doctrine, condemned as heretical in the eighth century, which taught that "Christ, as to his human nature, was not truly the Son of God, but only His son by adoption." The dogma is also known as the Felician heresy, from a Spanish bishop, Felix, who was prominent among its supporters. Charlemagne took active measures to suppress the heresy.

J. I. Mombert, History of Charles the Great, book 2, chapter 12.

ADRIA, Proposed Kingdom of.

See ITALY: A. D. 1343-1389.

ADRIAN VI., Pope, A. D. 1522-1523.

ADRIANOPLE. HADRIANOPLE.

A city in Thrace founded by the Emperor Hadrian and designated by his name. It was the scene of Constantine's victory over Licinius in A. D. 323 (see ROME: 'A. D. 305-323), and of the defeat and death of Valens in battle with the Goths (see GOTHS (VISIGOTHS): A. D. 378). In 1361 it became for some years the capital of the Turks in Europe (see TURKS: A. D. 1360-1389). It was occupied by the Russians in 1829, and again in 1878 (see TURKS: A. D. 1826-1829, and A. D. 1877-1878), and gave its name to the Treaty negotiated in 1829 between Russia and the Porte (see GREECE: A. D. 1821-1829).

ADRIATIC, The Wedding of the.

See VENICE: A. D. 1177, and 14TH CENTURY.

ADRUMETUM.

See CARTHAGE, THE DOMINION OF.

ADUATUCI, The.

See BELGÆ.

ADULLAM, Cave of.

When David had been cast out by the Philistines, among whom he sought refuge from the enmity of Saul, "his first retreat was the Cave of Adullam, probably the large cavern not far from Bethlehem, now called Khureitun. From its vicinity to Bethlehem, he was joined there by his whole family, now feeling themselves insecure from Saul's fury. … Besides these were outlaws from every part, including doubtless some of the original Canaanites—of whom the name of one at least has been preserved, Ahimelech the Hittite. In the vast columnar halls and arched chambers of this subterranean palace, all who had any grudge against the existing system gathered round the hero of the coming age."

Dean Stanley, Lectures on the History of the Jewish Church, lecture 22.

ADULLAMITES, The.

See ENGLAND: A. D. 1865-1868.

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ADWALTON MOOR, Battle of (A. D. 1643).

This was a battle fought near Bradford, June 29, 1643, in the great English Civil War. The Parliamentary forces, under Lord Fairfax, were routed by the Royalists, under Newcastle.

C. R. Markham, Life of the Great Lord Fairfax, chapter 11.

ÆAKIDS (Æacids).

The supposed descendants of the demi-god Æakus, whose grandson was Achilles. (See MYRMIDONS.) Miltiades, the hero of Marathon, and Pyrrhus, the warrior King of Epirus, were among those claiming to belong to the royal race of Eakids.

ÆDHILING.

See ETHEL.

ÆDILES, Roman.

See ROME: B. C. 494-492.

ÆDUI. ARVERNI. ALLOBROGES.

"The two most powerful nations in Gallia were the Ædui [or Hædui] and the Arverni. The Ædui occupied that part which lies between the upper valley of the Loire and the Saone, which river was part of the boundary between them and the Sequani. The Loire separated the Ædui from the Bituriges, whose chief town was Avaricum on the site of Bourges. At this time [B. C.121] the Arverni, the rivals of the Ædui, were seeking the supremacy in Gallia. The Arverni occupied the mountainous country of Auvergne in the centre of France and the fertile valley of the Elaver (Allier) nearly as far as the junction of the Allier and the Loire. … They were on friendly terms with the Allobroges, a powerful nation east of the Rhone, who occupied the country between the Rhone and the Isara (Isère). … In order to break the formidable combination of the Arverni and the Allobroges, the Romans made use of the Ædui, who were the enemies both of the Allobroges and the Arverni. … A treaty was made either at this time or somewhat earlier between the Ædui and the Roman senate, who conferred on their new Gallic friends the honourable title of brothers and kinsmen. This fraternizing was a piece of political cant which the Romans practiced when it was useful."

G. Long, Decline of the Roman Republic, volume 1, chapter 21.

See, also, GAULS.

Ægæ.

See EDESSA (MACEDONIA).

ÆGATIAN ISLES, Naval Battle of the (B. C. 241).

See PUNIC WAR, THE FIRST.

ÆGEAN, The.

"The Ægean, or White Sea, … as distinguished from the Euxine."

E. A. Freeman, Historical Geography of Europe, page 413, and foot-note.

ÆGIALEA. ÆGIALEANS.

The original name of the northern coast of Peloponnesus, and its inhabitants.

See GREECE: THE MIGRATIONS.

ÆGIKOREIS.

See PHYLÆ.

ÆGINA.

A small rocky island in the Saronic gulf, between Attica and Argolis. First colonized by Achæans it was afterwards occupied by Dorians (see GREECE: THE MIGRATIONS) and was unfriendly to Athens. During the sixth century B. C. it rose to great power and commercial importance, and became for a time the most brilliant center of Greek art. At the period of the Persian war, Ægina was "the first maritime power in Greece." But the Æginetans were at that time engaged in war with Athens, as the allies of Thebes, and rather than forego their enmity, they offered submission to the Persian king. The Athenians thereupon appealed to Sparta, as the head of Greece, to interfere, and the Æginetans were compelled to give hostages to Athens for their fidelity to the Hellenic cause. (See GREECE: B. C. 492-491.) They purged themselves to a great extent of their intended treason by the extraordinary valor with which they fought at Salamis. But the sudden pre-eminence to which Athens rose cast a blighting shadow upon Ægina, and in 429 B. C. it lost its independence, the Athenians taking possession of their discomfited rival.

C. Thirlwall, History of Greece, volume 1, chapter 14.

Also in G. Grote, History of Greece, part 2, volume 4, chapter 36.

See, also, ATHENS: B. C. 489-480.

ÆGINA: B. C. 458-456. Alliance with Corinth in war with Athens and Megara. Defeat and subjugation.

See GREECE: B. C. 458-456.

ÆGINA: B. C. 431. Expulsion of the Æginetans from their island by the Athenians. Their settlement at Thyrea.

See GREECE: B. C. 431-429.

ÆGINA: B. C. 210. Desolation by the Romans.

The first appearance of the Romans in Greece, when they entered the country as the allies of the Ætolians, was signalized by the barbarous destruction of Ægina. The city having been taken, B. C. 210, its entire population was reduced to slavery by the Romans and the land and buildings of the city were sold to Attalus, king of Pergamus.

E. A. Freeman, History of Federal Government, chapter 8, section 2.

ÆGINETAN TALENT.

See TALENT.

ÆGITIUM, Battle of (B. C. 426).

A reverse experienced by the Athenian General, Demosthenes, in his invasion of Ætolia, during the Peloponnesian War.

Thucydides, History, book 3, section 97.

ÆGOSPOTAMI (Aigospotamoi), Battle of.

See GREECE: B. C. 405.

ÆLFRED.

See ALFRED.

ÆLIA CAPITOLINA. The new name given to Jerusalem by Hadrian.

See JEWS: A. D. 130-134.

ÆLIAN AND FUFIAN LAWS, The.

"The Ælian and Fufian laws (leges Ælia and Fufia) the age of which, unfortunately we cannot accurately determine. … enacted that a popular assembly [at Rome] might be dissolved, or, in other words, the acceptance of any proposed law prevented, if a magistrate announced to the president of the assembly that it was his intention to choose the same time for watching the heavens. Such an announcement (obnuntiatio) was held to be a sufficient cause for interrupting an assembly."

W. Ihne, History of Rome, book 6, chapter 16.

ÆMILIAN WAY, The.

"M. Æmilius Lepidus, Consul for the year 180 B. C. … constructed the great road which bore his name. The Æmilian Way led from Ariminum through the new colony of Bononia to Placentia, being a continuation of the Flaminian Way, or great north road, made by C. Flaminius in 220 B. C. from Rome to Ariminum. At the same epoch, Flaminius the son, being the colleague of Lepidus, made a branch road from Bononia across the Appenines to Arretium."

H. G. Liddell, History of Rome, book 5, chapter 41.

ÆMILIANUS, Roman Emperor, A. D. 253.

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ÆOLIANS, The.

"The collective stock of Greek nationalities falls, according to the view of those ancient writers who laboured most to obtain an exact knowledge of ethnographic relationships, into three main divisions, Æolians, Dorians and Ionians. … All the other inhabitants of Greece [not Dorians and Ionians] and of the islands included in it, are comprised under the common name of Æolians—a name unknown as yet to Homer, and which was incontestably applied to a great diversity of peoples, among which it is certain that no such homogeneity of race is to be assumed as existed among the lonians and Dorians. Among the two former races, though even these were scarcely in any quarter completely unmixed, there was incontestably to be found a single original stock, to which others had merely been attached, and as it were engrafted, whereas, among the peoples assigned to the Æolians, no such original stock is recognizable, but on the contrary, as great a difference is found between the several members of this race as between Dorians and lonians, and of the so-called Æolians, some stood nearer to the former, others to the latter. … A thorough and careful investigation might well lead to the conclusion that the Greek people was divided not into three, but into two main races, one of which we may call Ionian, the other Dorian, while of the so-called Æolians some, and probably the greater number, belonged to the former, the rest to the latter."

G. F. Schöman, Antiquity of Greece: The State, part 1, chapter 2.

In Greek myth, Æolus, the fancied progenitor of the Æolians, appears as one of the three sons of Hellen. "Æolus is represented as having reigned in Thessaly: his seven sons were Kretheus, Sisyphus, Athamas, Salmoneus, Deion, Magnes and Perieres: his five daughters, Canace, Alcyone, Peisidike, Calyce and Permede. The fables of this race seem to be distinguished by a constant introduction of the God Poseidon, as well as by an unusual prevalence of haughty and presumptuous attributes among the Æolid heroes, leading them to affront the gods by pretences of equality, and sometimes even by defiance."

G. Grote, History of Greece, part 1, chapter 6.

See, also, THESSALY, DORIANS AND IONIANS, and ASIA MINOR: THE GREEK COLONIES.

ÆQUIANS, The.

See OSCANS; also LATIUM; and ROME; B. C. 458.

ÆRARIANS.

Roman citizens who had no political rights.

See CENSORS, ROMAN.

ÆRARIUM, The.

See FISCUS.

ÆSOPUS INDIANS.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: ALGONQUIAN FAMILY.

ÆSTII, or ÆSTYI, The.

"At this point [beyond the Suiones] the Suevic Sea [the Baltic], on its eastern shore, washes the tribes of the Æstii, whose rites and fashions and styles of dress are those of the Suevi, while their language is more like the British. They worship the mother of the gods and wear as a religious symbol the device of a wild boar. … They often use clubs, iron weapons but seldom. They are more patient in cultivating corn and other produce than might be expected from the general indolence of the Germans. But they also search the deep and are the only people who gather amber, which they call glesum."—"The Æstii occupied that part of Prussia which is to the north-east of the Vistula. … The name still survives in the form Estonia."

Tacitus, Germany, translated by Church and Brodribb, with note.

See, also, PRUSSIAN LANGUAGE, THE OLD.

ÆSYMNETÆ, An.

Among the Greeks, an expedient "which seems to have been tried not unfrequently in early times, tor preserving or restoring tranquility, was to invest an individual with absolute power, under a peculiar title, which soon became obsolete: that of æsymnetæ. At Cuma, indeed, and in other cities, this was the title of an ordinary magistracy, probably of that which succeeded the hereditary monarchy; but when applied to an extraordinary office, it was equivalent to the title of protector or dictator."

C. Thirlwall, History of Greece, chapter 10.

ÆTHEL. ÆTHELING.

See ETHEL, and ADEL.

ÆTHELBERT, ÆTHELFRITH, ETC.

See ETHELBERT, etc.

ÆTOLIA. ÆTOLIANS.

"Ætolia, the country of Diomed, though famous in the early times, fell back during the migratory period almost into a savage condition, probably through the influx into it of an Illyrian population which became only partially Hellenized. The nation was divided into numerous tribes, among which the most important were the Apodoti, the Ophioneis, the Eurytanes and the Agræans. There were scarcely any cities, village life being preferred universally. … It was not till the wars which arose among Alexander's successors that the Ætolians formed a real political union, and became an important power in Greece."

G. Rawlinson, Manual of Ancient History, book 3.

See also, AKARNANIANS, and GREECE: THE MIGRATIONS.

ÆTOLIAN LEAGUE, The.

"The Achaian and the Ætolian Leagues, had their constitutions been written down in the shape of a formal document, would have presented but few varieties of importance. The same general form of government prevailed in both; each was federal, each was democratic; each had its popular assembly, its smaller Senate, its general with large powers at the head of all. The differences between the two are merely those differences of detail which will always arise between any two political systems of which neither is slavishly copied from the other. … If therefore federal states or democratic states, or aristocratic states, were necessarily weak or strong, peaceful or aggressive, honest or dishonest, we should see Achaia and Ætolia both exhibiting the same moral characteristics. But history tells another tale. The political conduct of the Achaian League, with some mistakes and some faults, is, on the whole, highly honourable. The political conduct of the Ætolian League is, throughout the century in which we know it best [last half of third and first half of second century B. C.] almost always simply infamous. … The counsels of the Ætolian League were throughout directed to mere plunder, or, at most, to selfish political aggrandisement."

E. A. Freeman, History of Federal Government, chapter 6.

The plundering aggressions of the Ætolians involved them in continual war with their Greek kindred and neighbours, and they did not scruple to seek foreign aid. It was through their agency that the Romans were first brought into Greece, and it was by their instrumentality that Antiochus fought his battle with Rome on the sacredest of all Hellenic soil. In the end, B. C. 189, the League was stripped by the Romans of even its nominal independence and sank into a contemptible servitude.

E. A. Freeman, History of Federal Government, chapter 7-9.

ALSO IN C. Thirlwall, History of Greece, chapter 63-66.

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AFGHANISTAN: B. C. 330. Conquest by Alexander the Great. Founding of Herat and Candahar.

See MACEDONIA, &c.: B. C. 330-323; and INDIA: B. C. 327-312.

AFGHANISTAN: B. C. 301-246. In the Syrian Empire.

See SELEUCIDÆ; and MACEDONIA, &c.: 310-301 and after.

AFGHANISTAN: A. D. 999-1183. The Ghaznevide Empire.

See TURKS: A. D. 999-1183; and INDIA: A. D. 977-1290.

AFGHANISTAN: A. D. 13th Century. Conquests of Jinghis-Khan.

See MONGOLS: A. D. 1153-1227; and INDIA: A. D. 977-1290.

AFGHANISTAN: A. D. 1380-1386. Conquest by Timour.

See Timour.

AFGHANISTAN: A. D. 1504. Conquest by Babar.

See INDIA: A. D. 1399-1605.

AFGHANISTAN: A. D. 1722. Mahmoud's conquest of Persia.

See PERSIA: A. D. 1499-1887.

AFGHANISTAN: A. D. 1737-1738. Conquest by Nadir Shah.

See INDIA: A. D. 1662-1748.

AFGHANISTAN: A. D. 1747-1761. The Empire of the Dooranie, Ahmed Abdallee. His Conquests in India.

See INDIA; A. D. 1747-1761.

AFGHANISTAN: A. D. 1803-1838. Shah Soojah and Dost Mahomed. English interference.

"Shah Soojah-ool Moolk, a grandson of the illustrious Ahmed Shah, reigned in Afghanistan from 1803 till 1809. His youth had been full of trouble and vicissitude. He had been a wanderer, on the verge of starvation, a pedlar, and a bandit, who raised money by plundering caravans. His courage was lightly reputed, and it was as a mere creature of circumstance that he reached the throne. His reign was perturbed, and in 1809 he was a fugitive and an exile. Runjeet Singh, the Sikh ruler of the Punjaub, defrauded him of the famous Koh-i-noor, which is now the most precious of the crown jewels of England, and plundered and imprisoned the fallen man. Shah Soojah at length escaped from Lahore. After further misfortunes he at length reached the British frontier station of Loodianah, and in 1816 became a pensioner of the East India Company. After the downfall of Shah Soojah, Afghanistan for many years was a prey to anarchy. At length in 1826, Dost Mahomed succeeded in making himself supreme at Cabul, and this masterful man thenceforward held sway until his death in 1863, uninterruptedly save during the three years of the British occupation. Dost Mahomed was neither kith nor kin to the legitimate dynasty which he displaced. His father Poyndah Khan was an able statesman and gallant soldier. He left twenty-one sons, of whom Futteh Khan was the eldest, and Dost Mahomed one of the youngest. … Throughout his long reign Dost Mahomed was a strong and wise ruler. His youth had been neglected and dissolute. His education was defective, and he had been addicted to wine. Once seated on the throne, the reformation of our Henry V. was not more thorough than was that of Dost Mahomed. He taught himself to read and write, studied the Koran, became scrupulously abstemious, assiduous in affairs, no longer truculent, but courteous. … There was a fine rugged honesty in his nature, and a streak of genuine chivalry; notwithstanding the despite he suffered at our hands, he had a real regard for the English, and his loyalty to us was broken only by his armed support of the Sikhs in the second Punjaub war. The fallen Shah Soojah, from his asylum in Loodianah, was continually intriguing for his restoration. His schemes were long inoperative, and it was not until 1832 that certain arrangements were entered into between him and the Maharaja Runjeet Singh. To an application on Shah Soojah's part for countenance and pecuniary aid, the Anglo-Indian Government replied that to afford him assistance would be inconsistent with the policy of neutrality which the Government had imposed on itself; but it unwisely contributed financially toward his undertaking by granting him four months' pension in advance. Sixteen thousand rupees formed a scant war fund with which to attempt the recovery of a throne, but the Shah started on his errand in February, 1833. After a successful contest with the Ameers of Scinde, he marched on Candahar, and besieged that fortress. Candahar was in extremity when Dost Mahomed, hurrying from Cabul, relieved it, and joining forces with its defenders, he defeated and routed Shah Soojah, who fled precipitately, leaving behind him his artillery and camp equipage. During the Dost's absence in the south, Runjeet Singh's troops crossed the Attock, occupied the Afghan province of Peshawur, and drove the Afghans into the Khyber Pass. No subsequent efforts on Dost Mahomed's part availed to expel the Sikhs from Peshawur, and suspicious of British connivance with Runjeet Singh's successful aggression, he took into consideration the policy of fortifying himself by a counter alliance with Persia. As for Shah Soojah, he had crept back to his refuge at Loodianah. Lord Auckland succeeded Lord William Bentinck as Governor-General of India in March, 1836. In reply to Dost Mahomed's letter of congratulation, his lordship wrote: 'You are aware that it is not the practice of the British Government to interfere with the affairs of other independent States;' an abstention which Lord Auckland was soon to violate. He had brought from England the feeling of disquietude in regard to the designs of Persia and Russia which the communications of our envoy in Persia had fostered in the Home Government, but it would appear that he was wholly undecided what line of action to pursue. 'Swayed,' says Durand, 'by the vague apprehensions of a remote danger entertained by others rather than himself, he despatched to Afghanistan Captain Burnes on a nominally commercial mission, which, in fact, was one of political discovery, but without definite instructions. Burnes, an able but rash and ambitious man, reached Cabul in September, 1837, two months before the Persian army began the siege of Herat. … The Dost made no concealment to Burnes of his approaches to Persia and Russia, in despair of British good offices, and being hungry for assistance from any source to meet the encroachments of the Sikhs, he professed himself ready to abandon his negotiations with the western powers if he were given reason to expect countenance and assistance at the hands of the Anglo-Indian Government. … The situation of Burnes in relation to the Dost was presently complicated by the arrival at Cabul of a Russian officer claiming to be an envoy from the Czar, whose credentials, however, were regarded as dubious, and who, if that circumstance has the least weight, was on his return to Russia utterly repudiated by Count Nesselrode. The Dost took small account of this emissary, continuing to assure Burnes that he cared for no connection except with the English, and Burnes professed to his Government his fullest confidence in the sincerity of those declarations. {12} But the tone of Lord Auckland's reply, addressed to the Dost, was so dictatorial and supercilious as to indicate the writer's intention that it should give offence. It had that effect, and Burnes' mission at once became hopeless. … The Russian envoy, who was profuse in his promises of everything which the Dost was most anxious to obtain, was received into favour and treated with distinction, and on his return journey he effected a treaty with the Candahar chiefs which was presently ratified by the Russian minister at the Persian Court. Burnes, fallen into discredit at Cabul, quitted that place in August 1838. He had not been discreet, but it was not his indiscretion that brought about the failure of his mission. A nefarious transaction, which Kaye denounces with the passion of a just indignation, connects itself with Burnes' negotiations with the Dost; his official correspondence was unscrupulously mutilated and garbled in the published Blue Book with deliberate purpose to deceive the British public. Burnes had failed because, since he had quitted India for Cabul, Lord Auckland's policy had gradually altered. Lord Auckland had landed in India in the character of a man of peace. That, so late as April 1837, he had no design of obstructing the existing situation in Afghanistan is proved by his written statement of that date, that 'the British Government had resolved decidedly to discourage the prosecution by the ex-king Shah Soojah-ool-Moolk, so long as he may remain under our protection, of further schemes of hostility against the chiefs now in power in Cabul and Candahar.' Yet, in the following June, he concluded a treaty which sent Shah Soojah to Cabul, escorted by British bayonets. Of this inconsistency no explanation presents itself. It was a far cry from our frontier on the Sutlej to Herat in the confines of Central Asia—a distance of more than 1,200 miles, over some of the most arduous marching ground in the known world. … Lord William Bentinck, Lord Auckland's predecessor, denounced the project as an act of incredible folly. Marquis Wellesley regarded 'this wild expedition into a distant region of rocks and deserts, of sands and ice and snow,' as an act of infatuation. The Duke of Wellington pronounced with prophetic sagacity, that the consequence of once crossing the Indus to settle a government in Afghanistan would be a perennial march into that country."

A. Forbes, The Afghan Wars, chapter 1.

ALSO IN; J. P. Ferrier, History of the Afghans, chapter 10-20.

Mohan Lal, Life of Amir Dost Mohammed Khan, volume 1.

AFGHANISTAN: A. D. 1838-1842. English invasion, and restoration of Soojah Dowlah. The revolt at Cabul. Horrors of the British retreat. Destruction of the entire army, save one man, only. Sale's defence of Jellalabad.

"To approach Afghanistan it was necessary to secure the friendship of the Sikhs, who were, indeed, ready enough to join against their old enemies; and a threefold treaty was contracted between Runjeet Singh, the English, and Shah Soojah for the restoration of the banished house. The expedition—which according to the original intention was to have been carried out chiefly by means of troops in the pay of Shah Soojah and the Sikhs—rapidly grew into an English invasion of Afghanistan. A considerable force was gathered on the Sikh frontier from Bengal; a second army, under General Keane, was to come up from Kurrachee through Sindh. Both of these armies, and the troops of Shah Soojah, were to enter the highlands of Afghanistan by the Bolan Pass. As the Sikhs would not willingly allow the free passage of our troops through their country, an additional burden was laid upon the armies,- the independent Ameers of Sindh had to be coerced. At length, with much trouble from the difficulties of the country and the loss of the commissariat animals, the forces were all collected under the command of Keane beyond the passes. The want of food permitted of no delay; the army pushed on to Candahar. Shah Soojah was declared Monarch of the southern Principality. Thence the troops moved rapidly onwards towards the more important and difficult conquest of Cabul. Ghuznee, a fortress of great strength, lay in the way. In their hasty movements the English had left their battering train behind, but the gates of the fortress were blown in with gunpowder, and by a brilliant feat of arms the fortress was stormed. Nor did the English army encounter any important resistance subsequently. Dost Mohamed found his followers deserting him, and withdrew northwards into the mountains of the Hindoo Koosh. With all the splendour that could be collected, Shah Soojah was brought back to his throne in the Bala Hissar, the fortress Palace of Cabul. … For the moment the policy seemed thoroughly successful. The English Ministry could feel that a fresh check had been placed upon its Russian rival, and no one dreamt of the terrible retribution that was in store for the unjust violence done to the feelings of a people. … Dost Mohamed thought it prudent to surrender himself to the English envoy, Sir William Macnaghten, and to withdraw with his family to the English provinces of Hindostan [November, 1840]. He was there well received and treated with liberality; for, as both the Governor General and his chief adviser Macnaghten felt, he had not in fact in any way offended us, but had fallen a victim to our policy. It was in the full belief that their policy in India had been crowned with permanent success that the Whig Ministers withdrew from office, leaving their successors to encounter the terrible results to which it led. For while the English officials were blindly congratulating themselves upon the happy completion of their enterprise, to an observant eye signs of approaching difficulty were on all sides visible. … The removal of the strong rule of the Barrukzyes opened a door for undefined hopes to many of the other families and tribes. The whole country was full of intrigues and of diplomatic bargaining, carried on by the English political agents with the various chiefs and leaders. But they soon found that the hopes excited by these negotiations were illusory. The allowances for which they had bargained were reduced, for the English envoy began to be disquieted at the vast expenses of the Government. They did not find that they derived any advantages from the establishment of the new puppet King, Soojah Dowlah; and every Mahomedan, even the very king himself, felt disgraced at the predominance of the English infidels. {13} But as no actual insurrection broke out, Macnaghten, a man of sanguine temperament and anxious to believe what he wished, in spite of unmistakable warnings as to the real feeling of the people, clung with almost angry vehemence to the persuasion that all was going well, and that the new King had a real hold upon the people's affection. So completely had he deceived himself on this point, that he had decided to send back a portion of the English army, under General Sale, into Hindostan. He even intended to accompany it himself to enjoy the peaceful post of Governor of Bombay, with which his successful policy had been rewarded. His place was to be taken by Sir Alexander Burnes, whose view of the troubled condition of the country underlying the comparative calm of the surface was much truer than that of Macnaghten, but who, perhaps from that very fact, was far less popular among the chiefs. The army which was to remain at Candahar was under the command of General Nott, an able and decided if somewhat irascible man. But General Elphinstone, the commander of the troops at Cabul, was of quite a different stamp. He was much respected and liked for his honourable character and social qualities, but was advanced in years, a confirmed invalid, and wholly wanting in the vigour and decision which his critical position was likely to require. The fool's paradise with which the English Envoy had surrounded himself was rudely destroyed. He had persuaded himself that the frequently recurring disturbances, and especially the insurrection of the Ghilzyes between Cabul and Jellalabad, were mere local outbreaks. But In fact a great conspiracy was on foot in which the chiefs of nearly every important tribe in the country were implicated. On the evening of the 1st of November [1841] a meeting of the chiefs was held, and It was decided that an immediate attack should be made on the house of Sir Alexander Burnes. The following morning an angry crowd of assailants stormed the houses of Sir Alexander Burnes and Captain Johnson, murdering the inmates, and rifling the treasure-chests belonging to Soojah Dowlah's army. Soon the whole city was in wild insurrection. The evidence is nearly irresistible that a little decision and rapidity of action on the part of the military would have at once crushed the outbreak. But although the attack on Burnes's house was known, no troops were sent to his assistance. Indeed, that unbroken course of folly and mismanagement which marked the conduct of our military affairs throughout this crisis had already begun. Instead of occupying the fortress of the Bala Hissar, where the army would have been in comparative security, Elphlnstone had placed his troops in cantonments far too extensive to be properly defended, surrounded by an entrenchment of the most insignificant character, commanded on almost all sides by higher ground. To complete the unfitness of the position, the commissariat supplies were not stored within the cantonments, but were placed in an isolated fort at some little distance. An ill-sustained and futile assault was made upon the town on the 3d of November, but from that time onwards the British troops lay with incomprehensible supineness awaiting their fate in their defenceless position. The commissariat fort soon fell into the hands of the enemy and rendered their situation still more deplorable. Some flashes of bravery now and then lighted up the sombre scene of helpless misfortune, and served to show that destruction might even yet have been averted by a little firmness. … But the commander had already begun to despair, and before many days had passed he was thinking of making terms with the enemy. Macnaghten had no course open to him under such circumstances but to adopt the suggestion of the general, and attempt as well as he could by bribes, cajolery, and intrigue, to divide the chiefs and secure a safe retreat for the English. Akbar Khan, the son of Dost Mohamed, though not present at the beginning of the insurrection, had arrived from the northern mountains, and at once asserted a predominant influence in the insurgent councils. With him and with the other insurgent chiefs Macnaghten entered into an arrangement by which he promised to withdraw the English entirely from the country if a safe passage were secured for the army through the passes. … While ostensibly treating with the Barrukzye chiefs, he intrigued on all sides with the rival tribes. His double dealing was taken advantage of by Akbar Khan. He sent messengers to Macnaghten proposing that the English should make a separate treaty with himself and support him with their troops in an assault upon some of his rivals. The proposition was a mere trap, and the envoy fell into it. Ordering troops to be got ready, he hurried to a meeting with Akbar to complete the arrangement. There he found himself in the presence of the brother and relatives of the very men against whom he was plotting, and was seized and murdered by Akbar's own hand [December 23]. Still the General thought of nothing but surrender. The negotiations were entrusted to Major Pottinger. The terms of the chiefs gradually rose, and at length with much confusion the wretched army marched out of the cantonments [January 6, 1842], leaving behind nearly all the cannon and superfluous military stores. An Afghan escort to secure the safety of the troops on their perilous journey had been promised, but the promise was not kept. The horrors of the retreat form one of the darkest passages in English military history. In bitter cold and snow, which took all life out of the wretched Sepoys, without proper clothing or shelter, and hampered by a disorderly mass of thousands of camp-followers, the army entered the terrible defiles which lie between Cabul and Jellalabad. Whether Akbar Khan could, had he wished it, have restrained his fanatical followers is uncertain. As a fact the retiring crowd—it can scarcely be called an army—was a mere unresisting prey to the assaults of the mountaineers. Constant communication was kept up with Akbar; on the third day all the ladies and children with the married men were placed in his hands, and finally even the two generals gave themselves up as hostages, always in the hope that the remnant of the army might be allowed to escape."