Arabia

crowded by pilgrims, most of whom disembark at Jidda, the seat of government. A telegraph line has been laid along the caravan route from Damascus to Medina and Mecca, and the Sultan is credited with a desire to construct a railway along this route. The cap. of Yemen (approx. area, 77,200 sq. m.; pop. 750,000) is Sana'a, and its port is Hodeida, which exports the coffee and hides of the province. The latter place has now superseded Mokha. In Hadramaut the cap. is Shibam, lying in a broad valley parallel to the s. coast. Frankincense is exported from Mokalla. The chief towns of the once splendid kingdom of Oman are Muscat, the cap., and Oman, the port on the gulf of the same name. See W. S. Blunt's A Visit to Jebel Shammar,' in Proc. R. G. S. (1880); Lady Anne Blunt's Pilgrimage to Nejd (1881); C. M. Doughty's Travels in N. Arabia in 1876-7 (1886), and Travels in Arabia Deserta (1888); Theodore Bent's 'Southern Arabia,' in Geog. Jour. (1895), and Hadramaut,' in Geog. Jour. (1894); Eduard Glaser's Journeys in Arabia,' in Proc. R. G.S. (1889); W. Harris's A Journey through the Yemen (1893); L. Hirsch's Reisen in Süd-Arabien (1897); Hull's Geology and Geography of Arabia Petræa (1886); and Zwerner's Arabia the Cradle of Islam (1900).

of

History.-Arabian history is divided by Islam into two epochs, each with different characteristics. Of the pre-Islamic period only a few facts stand out with any distinctness; one is, that the Romans tried in vain to subdue the peninsula. Arab historians distinguish (1) Extinct Arabs of prehistoric times; (2) Arabs proper, or the inhabitants S. Arabia, who are said to be the descendants of Kahtan (the Biblical Joktan); (3) Mostarabs, or Ishmaelites, who entered the country from the N., and became gradually amalgamated with the natives. The beginning of Arab history proper is commonly dated from the breakdown of the great dyke at Mareb, in Yemen, which forced many tribes to seek new habitations in the north. There they founded a number of small states. One of these tribes, Thamud, settled in the Hejaz (N.w. coast strip). Traces of their existence are still found at the ruins of Al Hijr (Al Ola). the inscriptions on which have been deciphered by European scholars Doughty. Documents Epigraphiques (1884); Euting, Nabatäische Inschriften (1885). Little is known of the history of Mecca prior to the epoch of Mohammed. The town enjoyed a

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certain superiority over the rest of pagan Arabia on account of the Kaaba, or ancient shrine of the national deities. This was a source of much wealth to the town, as it attracted many pilgrims. The care of the Kaaba was in the hands of the family of Koreish. Not far from Mecca was Okaz, where yearly fairs were held, at which poets competed for prizes. In 612 Mohammed proclaimed his new faith. The opposition he encountered was not only of a religious character, but also political; because the wealth of the town, which depended largely on the worship at the Kaaba, was threatened. After ten years' struggle he retired to Medina with a small band of followers. This journey is known as the Hijra or Hegira (erroneously translated by 'flight'), which begins the Moslem era. Through Islam, Arabia entered upon the second or political period of its history. Mohammed founded a theocratic state, as chief of which he united in himself the highest secular and ecclesiastical powers. Only the first four caliphs (lieutenants of Mohammed) — viz. Abu-Bekr, Omar, Othman, Ali (632-660)held sway over all believers. More from political than religious reasons, a schism arose, which henceforth separated Sunnites (conservatives) from Shiites (sectarians). The dynasty of the Ommiads (661-749) represents the old aristocratic party of Mec

ca.

Through the removal of the court from Medina to Damascus, Mecca and Medina sank to the position of religious centres only, whilst the history of Arabia became merged in that of the Moslem empire. The great reactionary movement of the Wahhabites, at the beginning of the 18th century, made the peninsula again the area of an independent realm, which lasted about one hundred years. Although the Wahhabite armies were eventually defeated by the Turkish and Egyptian troops, they are still powerful in Central Arabia. In 1897 the Wahhabite tribes, under Abdulben-Metaah, advanced on Koweit, and this led to a retaliatory raid, followed by much fighting in Jebel Shomar.

Language and Literature.-Arabic forms a branch of the Semitic languages, and belongs to its southern group, which also includes Ethiopic. It would be more correct to say North Arabic, since the southern dialects bear the names Sabæan (Himyaritic) and Minæan. Through the Koran, Arabic was spread over large tracts of Asia, Africa, several islands of the Mediterranean Sea, and Spain. Although it has disappeared from the latter coun

Arabia

try, the Spanish language has retained a large number of Arabic words and formations (see Dozy and Engelmann's Glossaire des Mots Espagnols et Portugais dérivés de l'Arabe, 1869). Maltese is an Arabic dialect, though much influenced by Italian. In spite of its very numerous dialects, Arabic has retained a certain unity, due to the retarding influence of the Koran and the old poetic literature. As the language remained for many centuries secluded in the Arabian desert, it preserved much of its originality down to the 7th century. It approaches primitive Semitic speech more nearly than any other member of the family. Its importance for the study of the Semitic languages is therefore apparent. The gradual decay of the language into 'vulgar Arabic' is particularly interesting, as it developed many forms and characteristics peculiar to the northern Semitic languages, classical Hebrew in particular. The ramifications of Arabic grammar are much more numerous than those of any kindred tongue. Its terminations of inflection not only secure to the morphology of Arabic a great variety of forms, but endow it with a syntax to which none of the other Semitic languages can show a parallel. It is particularly suitable for metric style, and Arabic prosody alone forms a vast chapter in the history of the language. Its vocabulary also is enormous, although its synonyms are less numerous than is generally supposed, since many poetic epithets recorded by the old lexicographers have been taken literally. The language has preserved roots lost in the other Semitic dialects. Many obscure words in the Old Testament receive light from Arabic. Persian and Turkish teem with Arabic words. There are also more Arabic words in European languages than most people are aware of. Medieval Arabs were zealous prosecutors of several branches of study. In astronomy many technical terms and names of stars are Arabic.

The pre-Islamic period of Arabic literature consists of poems which lived in the mouths of the people. Beginning with short ditties and epigrams of an impromptu character, it soon developed more artistic forms, and about one hundred years before Mohammed we find that a number of metres had been developed. Although the productions of this period were later collected, annotated, and edited by native scholars, the texts of many of the poems, as transmitted to us. are in anything but a sound condition. The same men also wrote on the lives of the poets, and arranged their works in groups

Arabia

pride, satire, the sword, the horse, and the camel. The Koran gave an impetus to the compilation of the traditional lore that was needful to establish the minutiae of Mohammedanism, to fix, or rather embellish, incidents in the life of the prophet, and to collect his real and alleged sayings. This is called the Sunna, and it forms an enormous chapter in Arab literature. The Sunna was followed by writings on the history of the Koran, its reading and exegesis, and biographies of the prophet. At about the same time the Arabs became acquainted with the gist and method of Greek thought, and employed their knowledge to construct a scholastic theology. They philosophized on the nature of God, and the question whether the Koran was eternal or created. The great philosophers Al-Kindi, Al-Farabi, Avicenna (ibn-Sina), and Averroes (ibn-Roshd) exercised an important influence on the spread of Aristotelian philosophy in Europe. The mere necessity of understanding the Koran awakened linguistic studies, which were subsequently taken up for their own sake, and resulted in compendia of grammar astounding in their hair-splitting elaboration. Dictionaries were compiled, which, in our time, are indispensable to the European student of Arabic. There is hardly any branch of human thought to which the Arabs did not devote their pens. Mathematics, astronomy, and medicine, history, geography and cosmography and their kindred subjects, had their full share of attention. In spite of the Koran, poetry, proverbs, elegant prose, and fiction flourished everywhere, and shot forth new branches. The tales of the Arabian Nights belong to the world's literature: the Assemblées of Hariri have been translated into various European languages, and imitations of the ancient forms of Arab songs may be found in the works of many modern European poets. See Silvestre de Sacy, Grammaire Arabe (2 vols., 1831); W. Wright, Arabic Grammar (2 vols., 3rd ed., 1896-8); Socin, Arabic Grammar (3rd ed., 1895); Green, Practical Arabic Grammar (3rd ed., 1893); Freytag, Lexicon Arabico-Latinum (4 vols., 1830-1837); Dozy, Supplément aux Dictionnaires Arabes (2 vols., 1881); Belot, Vocabulaire arabe-français (6th ed., 1899); Hava, Arabic-English Dictionary (1899); HammerPurgstall, Literaturgeschichte der Araber (7 vols., 1850-7), not very reliable; Brockelmann, Geschichte der Arabischen Literatur (2 vols., 1899-1902); Huart, History of Arabic Literature (1903), with bibliography; Ahlwardt, Poesie und Poetik der Araber (1856);

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Freytag, Darstellung der Arabischen Verskunst (2nd ed. 1838); Clouston, Arabian Poetry for English Readers (1881); Wüstenfeld, Geschichte der Arabischen Aerzte und Naturforscher (1840), and Die Geschichtschreiber der Araber und ihre Werke (1882).

Arabian Nights Entertainments (Ar. Alf Laylah wa Laylah, 'A Thousand Nights and a Night') is believed to be in form and substance the Arabic translation of a Persian book, Hazár Afsánah, or 'Thousand Tales.' Mohammedibn-Ishak states that the book was compiled by or for Humai, daughter of Bahman Ishak (Artaxerxes), whose mother, according to Al- Masudi, was the Jewess Esther of Old Testament history.

Much difference of opinion exists regarding the authorship and the date of composition of the Arabian Nights.

Arabian Sea, the Erythræan Sea of the ancients, is the N.w. part of the Indian Ocean, stretching from India to Arabia. Its N.W. extension, between Persia and Arabia, leads through the Strait of Ormuz into the Persian Gulf. Its s.w. extension is known as the Gulf of Aden, and has connection through the Strait of Babel-Mandeb with the Red Sea. See INDIAN OCEAN.

Arabis, a genus of the order Cruciferæ; a dwarf perennial of various colors. A. albida is the white rock-cress, whose masses of white flowers are excellent for garden surfaces or borders.

Aracan. See ARAKAN.

Aracati, port of Ceará, Brazil, 75 m. S.E. of Ceará. Large trade in cotton, cattle, and hides. Pop. about 12,000.

Araceæ, an order of plants, chiefly tropical, with the flowers crowded on a spadix, which is generally enclosed in a spathe. The calla lily, and anthuriums, are familiar cultivated examples, while the Jack - in - the - pulpit, skunk-cabbage, and golden-club are some arums native to America. The cuckoo-pint is European. The bulbs or rootstocks, the berries, and sometimes the whole plant, are often acrid-poisonous, but the American Indians overcame this by cooking, and ate the arums in safety.

Arachnida, a class of arthropods, including spiders. scorpions, and mites, and differing from insects in having four pairs of legs instead of three, and in the absence of antennæ, or feelers. Near the mouth there are two pairs of appendages, known as cheliceræ and pedipalpi; and, as in the scorpion, there may be abdominal appendages in addition. The eyes are generally simple. There are, indeed, few resemblances to insects, save in the frequent presence of tracheæ,

Arago

which may be functionally replaced by the lung-books of the scorpion. The following are the orders usually recognized:—(1) Scorpionida, the true scorpions; (2) Pseudoscorpionida, book scorpions; (3) Pedipalpi, whip scorpions; (4) Phalangida, harvestmen ; (5) Solpugida, wind scorpions; (6) Araneida, or spiders; (7) Acarida, or mites and ticks. Some other groups are doubtfully included.

Arad. (1.) County, Hungary; area, 2,488 sq. m.; pop. (1900) 329,400, mostly Roumanians. The E. part is occupied by the Bihar Mts.; the w. part is a fertile plain traversed by the White Körös and the Maros. Produces cereals, wine, tobacco, and iron. (2.) OLD ARAD, tn., cap. of the above, on the r. bk. of the Maros, is the see of a Greek Orthodox bishop, and has a Greek seminary. It is an important railway centre, being the junction of the Transylvanian railway system, and on the line Budapest-Temesvar. Active trade; important distilleries. Pop. (1900) 53,903. The fortifications round the town were several times captured and destroyed by the Turks in the HungarianTurkish wars of the 17th century, but were rebuilt in 1763, and played an important part in the Hungarian revolution of 1848. Arad was the second seat of the National Assembly, and from here Kossuth issued the famous proclamation of Aug. 11, 1849. On August 17 of the same year the town was surrendered to the Russians by Görgei. (3.) New ARAD (Uj-Arad), tn., Hungary, on the 1. bk. of the Maros, opposite Arad. Pop. (1900) 6,124.

Araf (Ar. Al-Araf), the Mohammedan purgatory, a raised wall of separation between heaven and hell. There is a great variety of opinion as to who are admitted to Araf, and whether their abode there is temporary or permanent.

Arafat, or JEBEL-ER-RAHM ('Hill of Mercy '), a granite hill (about 250 ft. high) 15 m. s.E. of Mecca. An important duty of Mohammedan pilgrims is to stand on this hill on the ninth day of the pilgrimage month, or last month (Dhu'l Hijja) of the Mohammedan year, the day being spent in prayer and religious exercises. Mohammedans believe Arafat to be the place where Adam and Eve met after their expulsion from Paradise. Adam, they also maintain, built the chapel on the summit. See Burton's Pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina.

Arafura or ALFURA SEA, the division of the Pacific lying between the N. of Australia and the w. half of New Guinea.

Arago, DOMINIQUE FRANÇOIS (1786-1853), French astronomer

Arago

and physicist, born near Perpignan; was appointed secretary to the Bureau des Longitudes at the age of nineteen, and in 1806 assisted Biot in measuring an arc of the meridian. While engaged in making observations in Majorca, Arago was mistaken for a spy. After a series of adventures, he returned to France in 1809, was elected a member of the Institute, and appointed professor of analytical geometry in the Ecole Polytechnique. Arago filled that chair for twenty years, and did much to popularize scientific discovery, especially in optics, astronomy, and magnetism. He confirmed the undulatory theory of light (1816), and for his discovery of rotatory magnetism received (1825) the Copley medal from the Royal Society of London. In 1830 he was appointed director of the observatory in Paris, and perpetual secretary to the Academy of Mathematical Science. He opposed the presidency of Louis Napoleon, and refused to take the oath of allegiance (Dec., 1851); but his position and character were such that the new government refrained from prosecuting him. Among his best-known works are his Autobiog. (trans. Powell, 1858); Lectures, etc. (trans. Smyth and Grant, 1855); Astronomie Populaire (1834-5; Eng. ed. 1855-8). A complete edition of his works was published in 185462; 2nd ed., 1865, etc. See Audiganne's François Arago (2nd ed., 1869).

Aragon, an ancient kingdom and former province of Spain, with an area of 17,976 sq. m. and a pop. (1900) of 912,711; bounded on the N. by the Pyrenees. Cap. Zaragoza. It is now divided into the three provinces of Huesca in the N., Zaragoza in the middle, and Teruel in the s. The soil is sterile, though intersected by the Ebro, but is rich in minerals of almost every kind. The inhabitants are characterized by intense nationalistic conservatism, and by vindictiveness and bigotry, but are patriotic, intrepid, and energetic. Aragon was a county from the 9th century, and a kingdom from the middle of the 11th century. By the marriage of its ruler's daughter in 1137 it acquired the county of Barcelona, and under Jaime the Conqueror (1238) annexed the Moorish kingdom of Valencia. It became the most powerful maritime state in Spain, and aspired to found a great Romance kingdom on the Mediterranean; but the growing power of France made this impossible. The marriage of King Ferdinand with Isabella of Castile united the two crowns. From 1282 to 1730 it also embraced Sicily, and from 1416 to

1. SCORPIONIDA-Scorpio indicus, nat. size. 2. PEDIPALPI-Titanodamon Johnstonii, nat. size. 3. PHALANGIDA-Phalangium copticum. 4. ACARIDA-Rhypicephalus an nulatus. 5. SOLPUGIDA-Rhax brevipes, i nat. size. 6. ARANEIDA-Araneus tarnensis, nat. size. 7. PSEUDOSCORPIONIDA-Chelifer sesamoides. (No. 4, somewhat enlarged; 3 and 7 greatly enlarged.)

(1760). Pignatelli, the Italian engineer, constructed it from Zaragoza to Tudela. See SPAIN.

Aragona, tn., prov. Girgenti, Sicily, 10 m. by rail N. of Girgenti. Has important sulphur mines. Pop. (1901) 14,126.

the same composition as calcite, though differing from it in specific gravity, crystalline form, and physical properties. (See DIMORPHISM.) Satin spar is a fibrous variety of aragonite.

Araguaya, or RIO GRANDE, a

Arakan

riv. of Brazil, rises in the Serra Cayapo, and joins the Tocantins near São Francisco. It flows N.E., and has a length of 1,300 miles, one-half of which is navigable.

Arakan, or ARACAN, the N.W. division of Lower Burma, on E. shore of Bay of Bengal; ceded to Great Britain (1826); cap. Akyab. Area, 18,540 sq. m. Pop. (1901) 762,102.

Aral, SEA OF (Aralskoye More), the second largest sheet of inland water in Asia, fills the lowest part of the W. Turkestan depression, between 43° 40′ and 46° 45′ N. and 58° 20′ and 61° 45′ E. It lies 160 ft. above sea-level, and 245 ft. above the level of the Caspian; measures 280 m. from N. to S., and 140 m. to 190 m. in breadth, and has an area of 26,000 sq. m. On the N. and w. are plateaus of clay formation about 230 to 330 ft. high, including that of Ust-Urt, which separates the Sea of Aral from the Caspian; and on the E. is a sandy desert, broken only by the Syr Daria. Evaporation being in excess of precipitation, the sea is gradually drying up. As late as the middle of the 18th century it extended 50 m. farther to the N.E. than it now does; and the Aibughir Gulf, in the s., has disappeared since the middle of the 19th century. The average depth is less than 100 ft.; the deepest part, 220 ft., is towards the N.W. Its water is only slightly saline, and every winter it freezes for several miles all around its shores. Its fish, of which it yields a rich harvest, are fresh-water species. The two great desert streams of W. Turkestan, the Syr Daria (Jaxartes) and the Amu Daria (Oxus), both pour their waters into this sea. There exists very conclusive evidence that at a comparatively recent geological period the Sea of Aral and the Caspian Sea both formed part of a much more extensive basin or inland sea.

Aralia, a genus of the Araliacea, or ginseng family, natives of the temperate and tropical regions. The greenhouse plant, commonly called A. Sieboldii, now known as Fatsia japonica, was introduced from Japan in 1858. Its large, round leaves are often mistaken for those of the castor-oil plant. The roots of another species, A. edulis (cordata), are eaten by the Japanese. A species in Formosa produces pith which the Chinese make into rice-paper. Several American species have aromatic rootstocks, as the wild sarsaparilla, and wild spikenard; and one, the Hercules' Club, or Angelica Tree (A. spinosa), has bark which smells like Angelica, when bruised. But the one chiefly known on the Pacific Coast is the Devil's Club, Fatsia horrida, of snaky, awkward habit,

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and covered with vicious spines which make bad wounds.

Aram, an old Semitic geographical term which included Syria and Mesopotamia, but excluded Palestine. It gave name to a division of the Semitic family of speech, Aramean or Aramaic, the dialects of which formed the group of North Semitic, as distinguished from Middle Semitic (i. e. Hebrew and Phoenician) and from South Semitic (i. e. Arabic and Ethiopic). Aramaic was divided into two main branches-Chaldee and Syriac. Large portions of the Books of Daniel and Ezra are written in the former, which was, for this and other reasons, taken to have been the language of ancient Babylonia. But this is an error; even the Semitic dialects employed in the Assyrian and Babylonian cuneiform inscriptions are not Aramaic. During the rule of the Persian dynasties Aramaic was a sort of official language and commercial lingua franca for the provinces of the empire which stretched w. and s.w. from the Euphrates to Egypt. In this way Aramaic is believed (the fact is not definitely known) to have supplanted the Hebrew of the Old Testament as the everyday speech of the people of Palestine. At any rate, Aramaic was the vernacular of Palestine in the time of Christ, and it is Aramaic that is meant when the New Testament speaks of 'Hebrew.' Chaldee (Aramaic) is the language of the Targums and Talmuds of Jerusalem and Babylon. Syriac, a literary language, embraced the Peshito version of the Bible, and was extensively used from the 4th to the 13th century, though it is now superseded by Arabic. The ancient Samaritans, the Nabatæans (though Arab by blood), and the Mandeans all spoke Aramaic dialects. See Nöldeke's Die Semitischen Sprachen (1887).

Aram, EUGENE (1704-59), an English felon: born at Ramsgill, Yorkshire. Though wholly selfeducated, he was the first to grasp clearly the affinity of the Celtic to the other Indo-European languages. He became a schoolmaster at Knaresborough, where he was intimate with a man named Daniel Clark, who soon after disappeared. A man named Houseman, who was apprehended on the charge of murdering Clark, gave evidence against Aram, who was tried, and after an able selfdefence convicted. After an unsuccessful attempt at suicide, he was hanged at York. The interest attaching to Aram's crime is mainly due to Bulwer Lytton's novel and Hood's poem on the subject of the murder. See Scatcherd's Memoirs of Eugene

Arany

Aram (1838); also the Annual Register (1759).

Aran, or ARRAN ISLES, a group of small islands at the entrance to Galway Bay, about 4 m. off the w. coast of Ireland, and 27 m. s.w. of Galway city. The chief islands are named Inishmore, Inishmaan, and Inisheer. The isles are rich in archæological remains, among which Dun Engus, a cyclopean fort of unhewn stone, is notable. They were anciently the seat of a monastic school, and their old shrines attract many visitors to 'Aran of the Saints.' The chief industry is fishing.

Aranda, PEDRO PABLO ABARCA Y BOLEA, COUNT OF (171899), Spanish statesman, born at Saragossa of a noble family, was sent in 1759 as ambassador to the Polish court, and in 1766 was made prime minister and military governor of Castile. His home policy was very liberal, and much influenced by the ideas of the French philosophers. He suppressed many abuses of the church, restrained the Inquisition, and procured the expulsion of the Jesuits from Spain (Apr. 1, 1767). In his foreign policy he was a great adversary of England. The clergy worked for his downfall, and at their instigation he was sent as ambassador to Paris (1773), and took an active part in the conclusion of the treaty of Paris (1783). Recalled in 1787, he was in 1792 for a short time prime minister, until supplanted by Godoy.

Aranjuez (anc. Ara Jovis), tn., prov. Madrid, Spain, on 1. bk. of Tagus, 21 m. by rail s. of Madrid. It is the spring residence of the Spanish court, and has a beautiful castle built by Philip II., containing many art treasures. Here took place the insurrection which forced King Charles IV. to abdicate in favor of Ferdinand (Apr. 18, 1808). Pop. (1900) 12.670.

Aransas Pass, a strait, the entrance to Aransas Bay, an arm of the Gulf of Mexico, on the Texan coast. Here, in Nov., 1864, a battle of the Civil War was fought, in which the Federal troops captured the Confederate fortifications at the Pass.

Arany, JÁNOS (1817-82), Hungarian poet, born in Nagy-Szalonta, Bihar, won in 1845 a prize of the Kisfaludy Society of Budapest with a humorous enic, As Elevszett Alkotmány (The Lost Constitution). His epic poems, Toldi (1847) and Murány Os troma (The Siege of Murány) (1847), made him the favorite poet of the Hungarian nation. In the revolution of 1848 he held an appointment in the national government, and after the defeat of Kossuth lived in poverty in his native town until 1854, when he became professor at the college