Chapter 3: , page 89 (1)
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7. The bibliography in Volume 1, APPENDIX F on page xxi provides
additional details, including URLs of available internet
versions. Search for:
{xxi}
Another bibliography is provided in volume 5 at:
{3885}
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^MAGNESIA
End Transcriber's Notes.]
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[Image: Spine]
[Image: ETHNOLOGICAL MAP OF MODERN EUROPE (left)]
[Image: ETHNOLOGICAL MAP OF MODERN EUROPE (right)]
History For Ready Reference, Volumes 1 to 5
From The Best Historians, Biographers, And Specialists
Their Own Words In A Complete System Of History
For All Uses, Extending To All Countries And Subjects, And Representing For Both Readers And Students The Better And Newer Literature Of History In The English Language
By J. N. Larned
With Numerous Historical Maps From Original Studies And Drawings By Alan C. Reiley
In Five Volumes
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.
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_Dublin:_
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_Chicago:_
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_Albany:_
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_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.
{1}
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._
{2}
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._
{3}
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._
{6}
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.
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