314

being 60,000 fathoms, the bridge being 2070 fathoms in length, 220 feet high, and consisting of 632 arches.-Aqueduct, in anatomy, is a bony canal or passage, in the os petrosum, supposed to contribute to the purposes of hearing.

AQUILA; the chief city of Abruzzo Ulteriore II, on the chain of the Apennines, with a population of 7500. It is the ancient Amiternum, and the birth-place of Sallust. It is of military importance as the point where several roads meet, and contains a citadel which capitulated, 1815 and 1821, on the first appearance of the Austrians. (See Abruzzo.) In 1703, it suffered most severely by an earthquake. Lon. 13° 25 E.; lat. 42° 19′ N.

AQUILEIA, also AGLAR; in the time of the Roman emperors, a flourishing commercial city on the Adriatic sea, and the Timavus, in Upper Italy. Marcus Aurelius made it, A. D. 168, the principal fortress of the empire. It was the key of Italy against the barbarians, and, on account of its wealth, was sometimes called the second Rome. It was also the seat of a patriarch, whose diocese, in 1750, was divided into the archbishoprics Udine and Gorz, afterwards Laybach. In 452, it was destroyed by Attila. The inhabitants fled to the islands on which Venice was afterwards built. An inconsiderable city afterwards arose here, which now belongs to the Austrian kingdom Illyria (circles Trieste and Friuli). The inhabitants (1500) support themselves, chiefly, by a trifling fishery, and foreigners visit the place on account of the Roman antiquities to be found there.

AQUINAS, St. Thomas, a celebrated scholastic divine, descended from the counts of Aquino, in Calabria, in the kingdom of Naples, was born in the year 1224. He acquired the rudiments of education at the school of Monte Cassino, and was thence removed to the university of Naples. At the age of 17, he entered a convent of Dominicans, much against the wishes of his mother, who persevering in her wishes to recover him, the monks, anxious to secure so honorable an addition to their fraternity, determined to send him out of the kingdom to Paris. He was, however, arrested by his two brothers on his way, and, refusing to give up his intention, was shut up in a castle belonging to his father for two years. He at last, however, found means to escape to Naples, and, in the year 1244, was conducted by John, master of the Teutonic order, to Paris, whence he soon after departed to Cologne. At Cologne, he

studied under Albert, an eminent teacher of philosophy, who foresaw his future celebrity. In 1246, he visited Paris, in company with Albert, and, at the age of 24, became a preceptor, at the university of that capital, in dialectics, philosophy and theology, and acquired the highest reputation. Princes and popes held him in the greatest estimation, and he was invited by St. Louis, then reigning in France, to his court and table. On a visit to Rome, Aquinas distinguished himself by a neat repartee: being in a closet with Innocent IV, when an officer brought in a large sum of money produced by the sale of absolutions and indulgences, "You see, young man," said the pope, "the age of the church is past, in which she said, 'Silver and gold have I none.'" "True, holy father," replied the angelic doctor; "but the age is also past, when she could say to a paralytic, Rise up, and walk.'" In 1263, he returned to Italy, when pope Clement IV offered him the archbishopric of Naples, which he refused. A general council being summoned at Lyons, in 1274, for the purpose of uniting the Greek and Latin churches, Aquinas was called thither, to present the council with a book, which he had written on the subject, but died on the way, near Terracina. After his death, the honors paid to his memory were prodigious: besides the title of angelic doctor, bestowed on him after the fashion of the times, he was called the angel of the schools, the eagle of divines, and the fifth doctor of the church; and, at the request of the Dominicans, he was canonized by John XXII, his tomb supplying the necessary testimony of miracles. His writings, which were held in the highest estimation in the next century, gave rise to a sect, called, after him, Thomists. They are exceedingly voluminous, amounting to 17 volumes folio. His principal work, Summa Theologia, bears a high reputation in the Roman Catholic church, and the second section on morals is universally esteemed. The latest edition of his works at large is that of Antwerp, 1612; but his Summa Theologia has passed separately through various editions. The resemblance, in thinking and writing, between Augustin and Aquinas is so marked, that it has been fancifully said, that the soul of the one had passed into the body of the other.-Another A., properly called Philip d' Aquino, a bap tized Jew, acquired much reputation by his knowledge of Hebrew, which he taught at Paris, in the reign of Louis XIII,

as well as by his Dictionarium HebræoChaldæo-Thalmudico-Rabbinicum. AQUITANIA; the name of a Roman province in Gaul, which comprehended the countries on the coast from the Garonne to the Pyrenees, and from the sea to Toulouse. Augustus extended it to the Loire. Those who dwelt near this western coast were called, by the Celts, Armoricans, and were probably of Spanish origin, driven towards the west by the incursions of the Celts. They were actively engaged in commerce. In Aquitania the Visigoths established a kingdom, A. D. 412. Since that time, it has been sometimes a kingdom, sometimes a duchy; and, more lately, it has passed under the name of Guienne. At present, the ci-devant Guienne forms the two departments of Gironde, and of Lot and Garonne.

ARABELLA STUART; commonly called the lady Arabella. This unhappy and innocent victim of jealousy and state policy was the only child of Charles Stuart, earl of Lennox, younger brother to Henry lord Darnley, the husband of Mary queen of Scots. She was therefore cousin-german to James I, to whom, previously to his having issue, she was next in the line of succession to the crown of England, being the grand-daughter of Henry VII, by the second marriage of his eldest daughter, Margaret. She received an excellent education. Her proximity to the throne was the source of her misfortunes. Elizabeth, for some time before her decease, held the lady Arabella under restraint, and refused the request of the king of Scotland to give her in marriage to the duke of Lennox, his kinsman, with a view to remove her from England. The pope had likewise formed the design of raising her to the English throne, by espousing her to the duke of Savoy; which project is said to have been listened to by Henry IV of France, from a wish to prevent the union of England and Scotland. The detection of a plot of some English nobles to set aside James in favor of A., of which she was altogether innocent, ultimately proved her destruction; for, although left at liberty for the present, when it was some time after discovered that she was secretly married to the grandson of the earl of Hertford, both husband and wife were committed to the tower. After a year's imprisonment, they contrived to escape, but the unhappy lady was retaken. Remanded to the tower, the remainder of her life was spent in close confinement,

which finally deprived her of her reason. She died on the 27th September, 1615, aged 38 years. She possessed talents of a superior order, and a very pleasing person. ARABESQUE, or ARABESK. (See Grotesque.)

ARABIA; a peninsula containing about 1,000,000 square miles, and 12,000,000 inhabitants; the most westerly portion of southern Asia, extending from 33° 30′ to 59° 30′ E. lon., and from 12° to 30° N. lat. By the inhabitants, it is sometimes called Arabia, sometimes Dschesira al Arab; by Turks and Persians, Arabistan. It lies between the Red sea and Persian gulf; bounded on the north by the great deserts Irak and Dschesira, on the south by the Arabian sea, and connected with Af rica on the north-west by the isthmus of Suez. Instead of the old divisions of Ptolemy, A. Deserta, A. the Stony, or A. Petrea (from an ancient fortified place, used for merchandise, called Petra), and A. the Happy, the more natural division is that which distinguishes the coast, covered with aloes, manna, myrrh, frankincense, indigo, nutmegs, and especially coffee, from the interior, consisting of a desert of moving sand with thorns and saline herbs. The civil divisions are 5 provinces:-1. The country of Yemen, containing about 68,700 sq. miles, and 3,000,000 inhabitants, is governed by the hereditary caliph or imam of Yemen, who recognises the supremacy of the Turkish caliphate, and resides at Sana. In 1818, the viceroy of Egypt subjected Yemen, which contains Mocha, on the straits of Babelmandel. The tribute which he obtains from it is 2000 hundred weight of coffee. Aden, the chief gum-market, lies in ruins. 2. The province Oman, under the imam of Mascat, a seaport, containing 60,000 inhabitants, to which belongs, also, the island Socotra (which furnishes the best aloes), on the coast of Africa. 3. The province Lachsa, or Hadsjar, whose harbors, in the Persian gulf, are infested with pirates, has also rich pearl-fisheries. 4. The provinces Nedsched and Jemama, the original and principal country of the Wahabees (q. v.), or Wehhabites, with their chief city, Derrejeh. This country, or Central Arabia, has become very familiar by Mengin's Hist. d' Egypte sous Mohammed Ali, and a map of Jomard, 1823. 5. The province Hedsjas, on the upper shore of the Red sea. Here is the Holy Land of the Mohammedans, containing Mecca, Medina, &c. Not far from the valley of Moses are the remarkable antiquities of Petra and Jerrasch. The

sea-port, Jidda, population 5000, is indeed the residence of a Turkish pacha, but the sheriff of Mecca conducts the government himself. In the Syrian deserts lie the ruins of Palmyra. (q. v.) On the western coast of Arabia there are high chains of mountains, which unite on the north with the mountains of Syria, and are connected with the primitive mountains of Asia: among them are Sinai and Horeb. Of the rivers, which appear only after great rains, and seldom reach the sea, the Aftan, on the sea-coast is the most considerable: the Euphrates lies on the northern boundary.-The climate is very various. Countries where it rains half the year alternate with others, where dew supplies the place of rain for the whole season. The greatest cold prevails on high places, and the most oppressive heat in the plains. Damp winds succeed to the dry simoom, which is as dangerous to life as the harmattan and khamseen in Africa. The soil consists of sandy deserts and the most fruitful fields. Wheat, millet, rice, kitchen vegetables, coffee (which grows on trees in Arabia, its home, and on bushes in America, the plants being kept low for the sake of gathering the fruit more easily), manna, sugar-cane, cotton, tropical fruits, senna-leaves, gums, aloes, myrrh, tobacco, indigo, odorous woods, balsam, &c., are the rich products of Arabia. There are, also, precious stones, iron and other metals (gold excepted, which the ancients, however, seem to have found pure in rivers and in the earth). The animals are, mules, asses, camels, buffaloes, horned cattle, goats, noble horses, lions, hyænas, antelopes, foxes, apes, jerboas; birds of all sorts, pelicans, ostriches, &c.; esculent locusts, scorpions, &c.The inhabitants are principally genuine Arabs, who speak a peculiar language, and profess the Mohammedan religion, The Arabians are still, as in the most ancient times, Nomades, of patriarchal simplicity. They are herdsmen and husbandmen. A passionate love of liberty, independence and justice keeps them in a condition in many respects happy. The old "Peace be with thee" is still their common salutation. "Welcome! what do you wish?" is the address to a stranger, whose entertainment costs him only a "God reward you." They practise robbery, though never at the expense of the laws of hospitality. This warlike people have much activity and skill in bodily exercises; a good physical conformation; in warm plains, a skin of a

brownish-yellow: their hardy education, cleanliness and temperance secure then from sickness. They call themselves Bedouins (Bedevi, sons of the desert, the Arabes Sienita among the ancients), and are distinguished by their mode of life from the Moors, who dwell in houses, and carry on, exclusively, agriculture, trade and commerce. Besides the original inhabitants, Christians, Jews, Turks and Banians dwell in the country. Formerly, Arabia was the great depot of the Phoenician land trade: at present, the trade by land and sea is wholly in foreign hands. That by land is conducted by caravans. In the high schools of the Arabians, instruction is given in astronomy (rather astrology), pharmacology, and philosophy, so called: attention is also paid to history and poetry. The Bedouins remain in the deepest ignorance. Their government is very simple: the chiefs are named the great emir, the emir, and sheikh, and the judges are called cadi. The Turkish sultan is, indeed, nominal master of the country, but the free Arabian scorns his imbecile rule, and only obeys when he pleases.-The history of the Arabians, before Mohammed, is obscure, and, on account of its slight connexion with the rest of the world, of li tle interest. The original inhabitants of the country are called by the present Arabs Bajudites (the lost). The present Arabs derive their origin from Joktan or Kahtan in part, and in part from Ishmael. The descendants of the former call themselves, emphatically, Arabs; those of the latter, Mostarabs. The name Arab signifies an inhabitant of the West (for they are in that direction from the Asiatics: in Europe and Africa, they were called Saracens (inhabitants of the East). The older Arabian historians understand by Arabia only Yemen. Hedsjaz (the rocky they regard as belonging partly to Egypt. partly to Syria; and the rest of the country they call the Syrian desert. The princes (tobbai) of this land were, anciently, entirely of the race of Kahtan, to which belonged the family of the Homeyrites, who ruled over Yemen two thousand years. The Arabians of Yemen and a part of the desert of Arabia lived in cities, and practised agriculture: they had commerce, also, with the East Indies, Persia, Syria and Abyssinia; and to the latter of these countries they sent many colonies, so that it was probably peopled by them. The rest of the population then, as now, led a wandering life in the deserts.-The religion of the Arabians, in

the time of their ignorance (as they call the period before Mohammed), was, in general, adoration of the stars; varying much, however, in the different tribes, each of whom selected a different constellation as the highest object of worship. -For a thousand years, the Arabians manfully defended the freedom, faith and manners of their fathers against all the attacks of the Eastern conquerors, protected by deserts and seas, as well as by their own arms. Neither the Babylonian and Assyrian, nor the Egyptian and Persian kings, could bring them under their yoke. At last they were overcome by Alexander the Great; but, immediately after his death, they took advantage of the disunion of his generals and successors to recover their independence. At this period, the northern princes of the country were bold enough to extend their dominion beyond the limits of Arabia. The Arabian Nomades, especially in winter, made deep inroads into the fertile Irak or Chaldæa. They finally conquered a portion of it, which is hence still called Irak Araby. Thence the tribe of Hareth advanced into Syria, and settled in the country of Gassan, whence they received the appellation of Gassanides. Three centuries after Alexander, the Romans approached these limits. The divided Arabians could not resist the Roman arms every where successfully; their country, however, was not completely reduced to a province; the northern princes, at least, maintained a virtual independence of the emperors, and were regarded as their governors. The old Homeyrites in Yemen, against whom an unsuccessful war was carried on in the time of Augustus, preserved their liberty. Their chief city, Saba, was destroyed by a flood. With the weakness of the Roman government, the struggle for absolute independence increased, which a union of all the Arabian tribes would have easily gained; but, weakened and scattered as they were, they spent several centuries in this contest, during which the mountainous country of the interior (Nedschid) became the theatre of those chivalrous deeds so often sung by Arabian poets, till a man of extraordinary energy united them by communicating to them his own ardor, and union was followed by augmented force.-Christianity early found many adherents here, and there were even several bishops, who acknowledged as their metropolis Bosro in Palestine, on the borders of Arabia. Yet the original worship of the stars could not be entirely

317

abolished. The former opposition of the Arabians to the despotism of Rome drew to them a multitude of heretics, who had been persecuted in the orthodox empire of the East, especially the Monophysites, and the Nestorians, who were scattered through all the East; and the religious enthusiasm of those exiles rekindled the flame of opposition. The Jews, also, after the destruction of Jerusalem, became very numerous in this country, and made proselytes, particularly in Yemen. The last king of the Homeyrites (Hamjarites) was of the Jewish faith, and his persecutions of the Christians, A. D. 502, involved him in a war with the king of Ethiopia, which cost him his life and his throne. To the indifference excited by so great a variety of sects is to be referred the quick success of Mohammed in establishing a new religion. He raised the Arabians to importance in the history of the world, and with him begins a new epoch in the history of this people. (See Moors, and Caliph, Caliphate.)

ARABIAN GULF. (See Red Sea.)

ARABIAN LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE. Of the first cultivation and literature of this country, we have but few accounts. That poetry early flourished in Arabia, may be inferred from the character of the inhabitants, who are known to be bold, valiant, adventurous, proud, and excessively fond of honor. The tribes who wandered, under the government of their sheiks, through the beautiful region of Arabia the Happy, had every thing favorable to the growth of poetry,—a delightful country, lively feelings and warm fancy. If it were beyond doubt, that the poem of Job was of Arabian origin, this would show, not only that Arabia Petræa had its poets, but also the character of their productions. We find in it bold images, noble metaphors, comparisons and descriptions, mingled with enigmas. The antiquity of philosophy among the Arabians might also be shown from Job,-a poem comprehending, at the same time, physical and astronomical knowledge, which is, however, very imperfect. Even before the time of Mohammed, the genius of the people was very conspicuous, particularly in poetry. In the fairs at Mecca and at Okadh, A. D. 500, poetical contests were held, and the poems to which the prize was awarded, were written on byssus, in letters of gold, whence they were called Modabahath, (gilt), and hung up in the caaba, at Mecca, therefore called Moallakath, (hung up). The collection of the Moallakath contains 7 poems, by 7

318

authors-Amralkeis, Tharasalı, Zoheir, Lebid, Anthara, Amru Ben Kalthun, and Hareth. They are distinguished by deep feeling, high imagination, richness of imagery and sentiment, national pride and liberal spirit, violent breathings of revenge and love.—The brightest period of the Arabian history commenced with Mohammed, and was soon followed by the golden age of their literature. Mohanimed announced himself to the people as a prophet sent from God, and laid down rules of faith and life, which were collected by Abubekr, first caliph after his death, corrected and published by Othman, the third caliph, and constitute the Koran. (q. v.) By this, the Arabian language of literature was fixed, the first literary direction given to the people, and their national character determined. The AraLians seem to be favorably situated for commerce, but less so for conquest, particularly as a large part of the population consists of tribes wandering through the desert, and living alternately by keeping cattle and by plunder. But Mohanimed succeeded in subduing the whole country, gave it a constitution at once religious and military, and inflamed the native valor of the people by an enthusiastic zeal for religion. When he died, A. D. 632, without a male heir, his adherents chose a caliph (successor) in his room, under whom the spirit of conquest first took possession of the Arabians, and urged them onward like a rapid stream. Only 80 years after the death of Mohammed, their power extended from Egypt to the Indies, from Lisbon to Samarcand. During this period, the nation was only animated with warlike enthusiasm, under the dominion of which the tender blossoms of genius seldom thrive. Time, and intercourse with cultivated nations, by degrees overcame the ir rudence With the government of the eph of the family of the Abassides, A. D. 750, began their progress in the arts and sciences, In the splendid court of Al Masir, at Bagdad, thes first found support; bat it was Haroun al Raschid, (756-8, wao ir fased into his people an enduring love for them. He invited learned men, from all countries, to his kingdom, and paid then princely salaries. He caused the works of the most famous Grecian authors to be translated into Arabic, and spread abroad by numerous copies. Al Mamurn, who ruled soon after him, offered the Grecian emperor 10,000 pounds of gold and a perpetual peace, if he would send him the philosopher Leo, for a time, to instruct

him. Under his government, excellent schools were established at Bagdad, Ba sora, Bochara, Cufa, and large libraries at Alexandria, Bagdad and Cairo. Tcaliph Motasem, who died A. D. ×H1. was of the same disposition, and a lig. degree of literary rivalry existed between the dynasty of the Abassides in Bagita, and that of the Ommaiades in Spear What Bagdad was to Asia, the tig school at Cordova was to Europe, where, particularly in the 10th century, the Arabians were the chief pillars of literatur At a time when learning found scarcet, any where else a place of rest and ecouragement, the Arabians employ. themselves in collecting and diflusing a in the three great divisions of the wo, & Soon after the beginning of the 10th ce tury, students travelled from France, and other European countries, to the Aran schools in Spain, particularly with tview of learning mathematics and mes cine. Besides the academy of Cories 2, the Arabians had established 14 others op Spain, without mentioning the Irgi.and the elementary schools. They h 5 public libraries, and Casiri mentions 17 Arabians, in Spain, who undertook scientific journeys. Such rapid advances did this nation make (which, scarcely a century before, was limited to the Kran, poetry and eloquence) when thy had formed an acquaintance with 1 Grecks. In geography, history, přisieme phy, medicine, physics, mathematie», «*. especially in arithmetic, geometry astronomy, their efforts have been ervar ed with great success, as is proved f. the various terms of Arabian origin, < in use; for example, almanar, alz-krat, = coho', azimuth, zenith, nalir, and ... others. The invention of the for cipiers, also, has been generally ascr.s to them; but professor Seyfarth, wise i been lately engaged in exam.ning precious collection of papyri sund Egyptian antiquities in the royal mus ar of Turm, among other import int des ve eries, asserts, that the Arabie figures found among those of the Egyptians which renders it probable that the A-." ans did not invent, but merely borrowtheir ciphers. The Egyptians wro we do, 1, 2, 3, &c. Even their friet or e resemble ours, their fractional figure ing written above and below a small hor izontal line. He has also discovered Pat they employed the decimal system. M=2 of the geography in the middle ages 19 the work of the Arabians. They extended, in Africa and Asia especially, the