صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني

Alexander

much discussed Second Mrs. Tanqueray, in which Mrs. Patrick Campbell scored her first great hit, and Guy Domville, by Henry James. Among subsequent productions may be mentioned The Masqueraders, The Prisoner of Zenda, Rupert of Hentzau, The Princess and the Butterfly, The Tree of Knowledge, and The Ambassador, by Mrs. Craigie (John Oliver Hobbes), If I were King, Old Heidelberg.

Alexander, JAMES (1630-1756), American colonial lawyer, born in Scotland. He was a lawyer in N. J. after 1815, and for defending John Peter Zenger (q.v.) was temporarily disbarred from practice. He was one of the founders of the Am. Philosophical Society, and was the father of the Revolutionary soldier, 'Lord Stirling' (William Alexander).

Alexander, JAMES WADDELL (1804-59), American clergyman, was born near Gordonsville, Va., a son of Archibald Alexander, and was educated at Princeton.

In

1833-44 he was professor of Latin and belles lettres at Princeton; and in 1849-51 professor of rhetoric, ecclesiastical history, and church government in the seminary there. In 1844-49 he was pastor of the Duane street church, N. Y. city, and he was also pastor of Fifth avenue Presbyterian church (N. Y. City) from the time of its organization (1851) until his death. His works include Thoughts on Preaching (1864); The American Mechanic and Workingman (1847), and a biography of his father (1854).

Alexander, JANNEUS (d. 78 B.C.), succeeded his brother Aristobulus as king of the Jews in 104 B.C. With the help of Cleopatra, he ultimately repelled Ptolemy Lathyrus from Palestine; but throughout his reign he was engaged in constant strife with the surrounding tribes. In the civil conflicts of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, with the latter of whom he sided, Alexander exhibited unusual cruelty. An account of him is given by Josephus.

Alexander, JOHN HENRY (1812-67), American physicist, was born at Annapolis, Md., and educated at St. John's College there. He served with the geological survey of Md., interesting himself in the development of its coal fields. He was subsequently professor of physics at his alma mater and at the Univ. of Penn. He published a History of the Metallurgy of Iron (1840), a Universal Dictionary of Weights and Measures (1850), and took part in the efforts to establish an international coinage between this country and Great Britain. Hilgard's Biographical Memoir (1877).

See

Alexander, JOHN WHITE

149

(1856), American portrait and figure painter, was born in Allegheny, Pa., studied at Paris and Munich, and was influenced by Whistler. He possesses a special sense of feminine grace, chooses daring color schemes, unusual postures, unconventional backgrounds. He first exhibited at the Champ de Mars in 1893, and was made associate of the Société Nationale (1894). His portrait of Walt Whitman is in the Metropolitan Gallery, New York; and he painted The History of the Book in the Congressional Library, Washington (1897). His characteristics are well shown in his portrait of Rodin (1900). See the Studio, vol. xx., 1900.

Alexander, JOSEPH ADDISON (1809-60), American Biblical scholar, a son of Rev. Dr. Archibald Alexander,, was born in Philadelphia, and graduated at Princeton, where he was assistant professor of ancient languages (1830-33), associate professor of Oriental and Biblical literature (1833-50), and afterwards professor of church history and government, and of New Testament literature and Biblical Greek (1851-60). He was a fine Semitic scholar and a frequent contributor to the Princeton Review, as well as an impressive preacher. He published several well-known commentaries, such as those on Isaiah (in 2 vols. 1846); on Psalms (3 vols. 1850); on Acts (1857); on Mark (1858); and on Matthew (1860). See Alexander's Life (1869).

Alexander, STEPHEN (180683), American scientist and astronomer, was born at Schenectady, N. Y., and educated at Union College and at Princeton, at which latter institution he was for a long time professor of mathematics (1834-45), of astronomy (1840-78). Among his published works are: Physical Phenomena Attendant upon Solar Eclipses (1843); Harmonies in the Arrangement of the Solar System; and Present Condition of Some of the Clusters of the Stars.

Alexander, SIR WILLIAM (c. 1567-1640), a Scottish poet and colonizer, created Earl of Stirling and Viscount of Canada in 1633 and Earl of Dovan in 1639. He became interested in the colonizing of America, was a member of the Council of New England, and in September, 1621, received from James I. a grant to the peninsula now known as Nova Scotia, together with a vast and ill-defined tract of adjacent territory-the whole to be known as Nova Scotia, cr New Scotland, and to be held as a fief of the crown of Scotland. In 1629 this was supplemented by a grant of "The River and Gulf of Canada,' embracing a belt of land, 300 miles in width,

Alexander

extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The French leaders in Arcadia, Charles St. Etienne de la Tour and his father Claude de la Tour were made baronets of Nova Scotia. Alexander planted a Scottish colony at Port Royal, and in 1629, Admiral David Kirke, sent out under Alexander's auspices, dispossessed the French in Canada; but in 1632 Canada and Acadía were restored by England to France and Alexander's grants were thus abrogated. Alexander was made secretary of state for Scotland in 1626. His writings, long_forgotten, include Monarchicke Tragedies (1603-7), Paraenesis to the Prince (1604), and Doomesday (1614). See his Poetical Works (1870-3), with a memoir, and Slafter, Sir William Alexander and American Colonization (1873).

Alexander, WILLIAM (1824), archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland since 1896, was born at Londonderry. He was appointed bishop of Derry and Raphoe (1867). Publications: Witness of the Psalms (Bampton Lectures, 1874) (1876); St. Augustine's Holiday, and other Poems (1887). He wrote the Thanksgiving Hymn (1897), set to music by Sir Arthur Sullivan. In 1896 he published the collected poems and hymns of his wife, Cecil Frances Alexander.

on

Alexander, WILLIAM (172683), American revolutionary soldier, frequently called 'Lord Stirling, from a lapsed Scotch earldom, the title to which he claimed, though his claim was disallowed (1762) by the Committee Privileges of the British House of Lords. He was born in New York City, served in the French and Indian War, was surveyorgeneral of New York and a member of the Provincial Council, and in October, 1775, entered the Continental Army as colonel of a New Jersey regiment. He captured a British transport ship at Sandy Hook in January, 1776, was immediately made a brigadier-general, and in the battle of Long Island (Aug. 27, 1776) met the first British attack, by Gen. Grant, his troops thus being the first Americans to meet British troops in open field and in regular line of battle. His division, ultimately attacked in the rear by Lord Cornwallis, was almost cut to pieces, and he himself was captured. Subsequently exchanged, he became a major-general in February, 1777, and afterwards took part in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. It was he who gave to Washington the first hint of the existence of the so-called 'Conway Cabal.' See Life of William Alexander, Earl of Stirling (1847), by his grandson, W. A. Duer.

Alexander I.

Alexander I. (?1078-1124). King of Scotland, fourth son of Malcolm Canmore, succeeded (1107) his brother Edgar to the northern kingdom, while his younger brother David 1. ruled the country south of the Clyde and Forth. Alexander promoted important ecclesiastical reforms, introducing a diocesan episcopacy on the Roman model, establishing the see of St. Andrews and defending it against the claims of the English Church, and founding abbeys at Inchcolm and Scone. He died childless, and was succeeded by David.

Alexander II. (1198-1249), King of Scotland, son of William the Lion, succeeded to the throne in 1214. After continuous disputes with regard to the Northumbrian and Cumbrian provinces, he concluded a treaty with HENRY III. (1217), and married Joan, sister of the English king. Henry, however, attempted to force Alexander to give homage (1244), but the matter was peacefully settled by the treaty of Newcastle. Alexander protected the church, reformed the laws, and by his wisdom and courage brought prosperity to Scotland.

Alexander III. (1241–86), King of Scotland, succeeded his father Alexander II. when eight years old, and till 1261 was sore beset by regencies of English and Scottish nobles. Alexander is renowned for his splendid architecture, his pure coinage, his wise administration of justice, and for the defeat of Haco of Norway at Largs in 1263, which united the Hebrides to Scotland. Externally, the disputes with England about homage began to take a form ominous of the fast approaching struggles for independence. On March 12, 1286, he perished by falling over a cliff between Burntisland and Kinghorn. A monument (1887) now marks the spot.

Alexander I., PAULOVITCH (1777-1825), Emperor of Russia, eldest son and successor of Paul Paulovitch, was educated by Laharpe, a Swiss of high character and liberal ideas. The assassination of the Emperor Paul in March, 1801, placed Alexander on the throne. The reign of Alexander began well. It synchronizes with the stormy period of Napoleonic conquest, aggrandizement, and decay. Yet, although Russia inevitably found herself arrayed against France, Alexander himself was full of admiration for Napoleon's lofty genius. The chief incidents of the struggle between the two nations were Russia's alliance with Prussia and the treaty of Tilsit (1807), and Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia (1812). Under the influence of

150

Mme. de Krüdener, Alexander was instrumental in forming the Holy Alliance. More purely Russian events were the definite annexations of Georgia and Finland (1809), and the tightening of the Russian grip on Poland. This enlightened ruler founded universities and schools; fostered trade; abolished torture, the secret tribunal, and the transference of peasants as mere chattels, whether by sale or by gift; and reconciled church and people. Nevertheless, the closing years of his life were marked by reactionary measures. Disappointed and broken in spirit, he took refuge in dissipation, alternating with fits of religious mysticism. He died at Taganrog, on the Sea of Azov. See Countess ChoiseulGouffier's Mémoires (Eng. trans., by Patterson, 1900); and Joyneville's Alexander I. (1875).

Alexander II., NICOLAEVITCH (1818-81), Czar of Russia, known as the CZAR LIBERATOR, was the eldest son of Czar Nicholas, whom he succeeded on March 2, 1855. The reign of Alexander II. is marked by two great wars -the Crimean war, which was going on at the time of his accession, and the war with Turkey in 1877. Into this last he was in great part forced by the Panslavist party. Moreover, from 1866 to 1881 his troops were engaged in intermittent and successful warfare with the Turcoman tribes of Central Asia, and the Russian frontier was ever pushed farther and farther to the southeast. The subjugation of the peoples of the Caucasus was likewise completed; and he acted with great severity in suppressing the Polish insurrection of 1863. On the other hand, the emancipation of the serfs in 1861 was due to the initiative of the Czar; and he also took a keen interest in advancing internal reforms in Russia, especially the reorganization of the judíciary and the army. The emancipation of the serfs involved radical changes in the prevailing system of land holding. About 100,000 noble families held ninetenths of the arable land of Russia, and these great estates were cultivated by serfs who worked under conditions which made them virtually the slaves of the actual land owners. In 1858 Alexander freed the serfs attached to the royal family, and on March 3 (February 19, Old Style), 1861, he issued a ukase extending this emancipation to all of the serfs of the Empire. The landed nobility naturally opposed this policy vigorously, but the Czar could not be shaken in his purpose. By means of a Government loan, the sometime serfs could buy from the former landlords a

Alexander John I.

re

given share of the land which was held in trust by the village communities. These changes sulted in the freeing of 23,000,000 people. In 1872 the Triple Alliance was concluded between Alexander and the emperors of Austria and Germany. But the many attempts on his life by the Nihilists drove him to adopt methods of the most severe repression, with no result; and at length, on March 13, 1881, he was fatally injured by the explosion of dynamite bombs thrown at his carriage in the streets of St. Petersburg. See Cardonne's L'Empereur Alexandre II. (1883).

Alexander III., ALEXANDROVITCH (1845-94), Czar of Russia, second son of Alexander II., succeeded to the throne on the death of his father on March 13, 1881, his elder brother Nicholas having died in 1865. Plain and blunt in manner (the Peasant Czar'), and of great personal strength, Alexander III. evinced also a dogged determination to continue the hereditary policy of his house. In matters of foreign policy he consistently followed the idea of Russian expansion, and strengthened the army and navy. See Andrews's Historical Development of Modern Europe, vol. ii. (1898), and Lowe's Alexander III. (1895).

Alexander I., OBRENOVITCH, King of Servia (1876-1903), succeeded his father, ex-King Milan, in 1889, but was under the guardianship of two regents till_1893. In 1900 he married Mme. Draga, née Lunyevica, against the wishes of his advisers and the people; this led, in 1903, to the assassination of both king and queen at Belgrade.

Alexander I. OF BULGARIA (1857-93), titular Prince of Battenberg, second son of Prince Alexander of Hesse and his morganatic wife, Countess Hauke. He was elected first Prince of Bulgaria (1879) under the treaty of San Stefano (1878), and became Prince of E. Roumelia (1885), without the consent of Russia and against the wishes of Servia. In a campaign of a fortnight he repelled the Servian invasion (Nov., 1885), but was abducted from Sofia (Aug., 1886) by Russian intrigue, carried to Reni, handed over to the Russians, and compelled to abdicate. Restored to freedom after a few days by a counter-revolution, he returned to the throne, only to abdicate in a month because of the difficulties thrown in his way by Germany, Russia, and Austria, when he retired to Graz. See Draudor's Prince Alexander of Battenberg (1884).

Alexander John I. (Cusa), Prince of Roumania (1820-73),

Alexander Nevski

born at Husshi; joined the patriotic party in 1848; and in 1859 was elected Hospodar of Moldavia and Wallachia, but was not recognized by the Porte till 1861. Though justly popular, his absolutist tendencies and inability to cope with the financial difficulties of the country united all parties against him. On Feb. 22, 1866, he was forced to abdicate.

name

Alexander Nevski (1219-63), second son of Grand Duke Jaroslav II., became Prince of Novgorod (1239). The Tartars having raided the south of Russia, the Swedes, Danes, and Livonians invaded the north, but were routed (1240) by Alexander near the Neva, whence the Nevski. He succeeded his father (1247); opposed Pope Innocent Iv.'s attempt to reunite the Eastern and Western Churches. Reverenced in life, he was canonized after death. In his honor Peter the Great founded (1710) monastery near the scene of his and famous victory, created (1722) the Order of Alexander Nevski. The monastery includes a dozen churches, the residence of the metropolitan of St. Petersburg, a theological academy, and the tombs of several distinguished Russians -e.g. Suwa

rov.

a

the

Alexander Severus, Roman emperor (208-235), born at Arca, Syria; adopted by his cousin, Heliogabalus; on the murder of Heliogabalus proclaimed emperor by the Prætorians (222); was a wise and studious man and a just prince. He was killed near Mainz by mutinous Prætorians. Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.), son of Philip II. of Macedon, was born at Pella. He was educated in the best culture of the day; from about 343 B.C. for several years, possibly until 335, Aristotle was his tutor. It was at the battle of Charonea, in 338 B.C., that Alexander obtained his first military distinction, cavalry under his command being the main factor in Philip's victory. In the last year of Philip's life Alexander was estranged from his father, owing to the latter's divorce of Olympias and marriage with Cleopatra, niece of his general Attalus; even Alexander's legitimacy was suspected. When Cleopatra bore a son, an assassin was found-probably by Olympias-who murdered Philip. Alexander was the gainer by the crime; and though there is no evidence against him, it cannot be asserted that his innocence is incontestable. It was in 336 E.C. that Alexander ascended the throne, and found himself surrounded by enemies the Greeks, the Thracians, the Illyrians, and Attalus-who supported the claims of Cleopatra's infant son.

151

With marvellous rapidity he met and conquered his foes in turn; the Greeks, overawed by his energy, gave in without striking a blow, and he was elected commander-in-chief of the Greek forces, for the expedition against Persia. Meanwhile Cleopatra and her son had been murdered by Olympias's command, and Attalus by that of the king. Next year he crushed the Thracians, advancing as far north as the Danube. In his absence, a report of his death reached Greece. Several states became restless, and Thebes took up arms, blockading the Macedonian garrison in the citadel. But in a fortnight Alexander marched from Thrace to Boeotia, outstripping even the news that he was alive; and as the city would not surrender, he took it and razed it to the ground, sparing only the house of Pindar the poet. Nearly all the inhabitants were enslaved. The other disaffected states, particularly Athens, submitted, and were pardoned (335 B.C.). Alexander then prepared for his conquest of Asia, and in the spring of 334 set out with but 30,000 foot and 5,000 horse. Only the outline of his campaigns can be given. In May he utterly defeated the Persians on the banks of the river Granicus in Mysia. He then advanced along the coast, through Lycia and Pamphylia, to Gordium in Phrygia, where he cut the famous Gordian knot, and thence into Cappadocia, and through the pass called the Cilician Gates, which the Persians did not defend, to Tarsus in Cilicia. There he fell ill of a fever, and while ill received a letter from Parmenio warning him that his doctor was bribed by Darius to poison him. He drank the doctor's medicine, and then gave him the letter; his confidence was rewarded by a speedy recovery. In October he defeated the Persian forces under Darius at Issus in Cilicia. Next year (332) he subdued the cities of Phoenicia-Tyre only after a seven months' siege. The fall of Gaza opened the road to Egypt, which he entered November, 332. The country at once submitted, and Alexander was crowned king, for which purpose-as the Pharaohs were held to be sons of the god Ammon-he visited the oracle Ammon in the Libyan desert, and was acknowledged son of the god. The conquest of Syria and Egypt destroyed the sea-power of Darius, and left Alexander free to advance against Persia. He did so in 331, and in September of that year gained the decisive victory of Gaugamela (generally known as Arbela, which place is many miles distant). His foes are

Alexander the Great

Isaid to have numbered a million of men. As a result of the victory, Babylon and Susa submitted. At once he pressed on, forcing the pass known as the Persian Gates, to Persepolis, the old capital of the Persian kingdom, which he took, with, it is said, $150,000,000 of treasure. His next object was to secure the person of Darius, whom he pursued through Media into Parthia. Bessus, satrap of Bactria, seized the king and murdered him; Alexander found him breathing and no more (?May, 330 B.C.). He then subdued Hyrcania Tabaristan). A revolt in Areia called him back; he put it down, founded a city, Alexandria Areia (on the site of which is probably the modern Herat). and conquered Drangiana (E. Afghanistan). There he discovered that Philotas, son of his general Parmenio, was conspiring against him. Philotas was condemned and slain by the Macedonians, and Parmenio was executed by Alexander's orders as an act of precaution. He then advanced southwards through Gedrosia (Seistan and S.W. Baluchistan), and in the spring of 329 reached Kandahar-probably a corruption of Alexandria. Then he crossed the Paropamisus (HinduKush) into Bactria; thence, in pursuit of Bessus, into Sogdiana, the country between the rivers Oxus and Jaxartes. He seized Maracanda (Samarkand), captured Bessus, and founded Alexandria Eschata (farthest '). where he fixed the frontier of his empire at the pass over the Tian-Shan Mountains. The year 328 was spent in securing the recent conquests. It was at Samarcand that, in a drunken bout, he killed, to his great remorse, his foster-brother Clitus. In the same year he married Roxana, daughter of a Sogdian prince. In 327 he returned to Afghanistan, and prepared to invade India, which he reached through the Khyber Pass. In 326 he crossed the Indus, and advanced to the Hydaspes (Sutlej), where Porus, an Indian king, resisted stoutly, but was finally defeated after the third of Alexander's three great battles. Porus received his kingdom back from Alexander. He then reached the Hyphasis (Beas), which was the limit of his advance; his soldiers absolutely refused to go further, and the king had to yield (326). After nearly losing his life at the siege of Multan, he made his way to the mouth of the Indus. Thence he marched across Baluchistan (Aug., 325 B.C.) to Pura, losing, it is said, more than half his force. Upon getting back to Susa, he married Statira, daughter of Darius, and Parysatis,

[graphic][subsumed]

Alexander the Great

daughter of Ochus, to set his soldiers and officers an example in the fusion of the races, which was the great object of his policy. In the spring of 324 he went to Ecbatana, and in that year his bosom friend Hephaestion died. At the end of the year he returned to Babylon, where he met embassies from the Bruttians, Lucanians, and Etruscans in Italy, the Carthaginians, Celts, Scythians, Libyans, and Ethiopians a wonderful testimony to his renown. His next purpose was to conquer Arabia, for which he began to make preparations (323 B.C.). When all was in readiness for the expedition, after a banquet to Nearchus, followed by two nights of carousal,

[subsumed][subsumed][ocr errors][ocr errors][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][ocr errors][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed]

153

ture of Hellenism, which was destroyed only by the Saracen conquests in the 7th and 8th centuries. It is not the least of Alexander's claims to greatness that, truly Greek as he was, he was able to disregard the distinction of Greek and barbarian, and to attempt to unite all races in a cosmopolitan empire. As soldier and statesman, in brilliancy of strategy, rapidity of movement, grasp of detail, and breadth of organization, Napoleon alone among men can compare with him; and Napoleon's work perished almost entirely before he died. As a man, Alexander displayed a singularly lovable character; he was generous, warm-hearted, chivalrous, brave

Alexander the Great

ters whose works are lost. See Hogarth's Philip and Alexander of Macedon (1897); Droysens's Geschichte A. des Grossen (5th ed., 1898); B. I. Wheeler's Alexander the Great (1900); M'CrinIdle's The Invasion of India by Alexander the Great. Dr. Budge has edited Syriac (1889) and Ethiopic (1896) Lives of Alexander.

It is not surprising that this illustrious figure has given rise to many legends. After the death of Alexander, the Egyptians claimed him to be the son of their last native king, Nectanebus II. A later version, from the same country (c. A.D. 200), extant in Greek MS., was falsely ascribed to Pseudo-Callisthenes.

[graphic]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

Sketch Map showing Campaigns of Alexander

he was attacked by a fever. The report spread among the Macedonians that he was dead, and they forced their way into the palace, and passed his couch in single file; he was able to greet them with a movement of his head and by signs. He died a few days later, in the thirtysecond year of his age and the thirteenth of his reign.

In twelve years Alexander made himself master of W. Asia, and left a mark upon it which centuries could not efface. That he spread Greek civilization even beyond the Euphrates was the most enduring monument of his fame; for though the remoter provinces soon relapsed into barbarism, yet when Mesopotamia was lost to the Seleucids by the establishment of the Parthian empire, even the Parthian conquerors retained some tinc

even to a fault; certainly not naturally cruel, though capable of severity on occasion. For his age and position, his morality was remarkable. He never stooped to intrigue. His marriage with Roxana was one of affection, his others of pure policy. His great fault was excess in drinking, which more than once led him to acts, such as the murder of Clitus, quite inconsistent with his nature; and it was this vice, together with the labors he imposed upon himself, and the many wounds that he received, ever fighting among the first of his men, that caused his premature death. There are no contemporary authorities for the history of Alexander; we have to depend on Arrian (Anabasis of Alexander), Quintus Curtius, Plutarch, Justin, and Diodorus, who all make use of earlier wri

RE ERYTHRUM the Great.

Jarabad)

We meet with versions in Latin (3rd century), Armenian (5th century), and Syriac (7th century), the last of which, having originated in a Persian source, makes Alexander a Persian prince. The Ethiopic hero and his counsellor, Aristotle, are both trinitarian Christians; the Hebrew Alexander is a student of the Book of Daniel; he has been identified with the two-horned' of the Arabic Koran. The legendary Alexander has been found in Siam and Malay. A Turkish epic has this subject. A portion of a French poem by Alberic de Besançon (12th century) is still extant, and the library of Venice holds the MS. of a later French epic in decasyllables. These were followed by the most popular French version (pub. 1846), from the old romance composed (c. 1180) by

« السابقةمتابعة »