Abkhasia
a region between the south slope of Caucasus and the Black Sea, having an area of about 2,500 square miles. The country is mountainous and has dense forests of oaks and walnuts. Maize, figs, wines, and wheat are produced. Its chief town is Sukhum Kalé. Under the Byzantine emperors it was an independent state, called Abassia. In 1154, the Russian Grand Prince Islayif Mstislavitch married an Abkhasian princess. In the 15th century it became subject to Turkey. After the peace of Adrianople in 1829, the region was annexed to Russia, but was not fully pacified until 1864. The inhabitants differ from the Cherkess in character and appearance. Their principal occupations are agriculture, grazing, wine raising, and bee-keeping. After the Turko-Russian War, many of them emigrated to Turkey. They number about 21,000. Total pop. about 150,000.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Abnoba
now ABENAU, a long range of mountains in Germany, extending from the Rhine to the Neckar, having different names in the different countries through which they stretch: the Oden, or Odenwald, about the river Main; the Spessart, between Hesse and Franconia; Baar, in Württemberg. ÅBO, a city in the former Russian province of Finland, and chief town of the government of the same name. (Pop. about 525,000.) It is situated near the extremity of the promontory formed by the Gulfs of Bothnia and Finland, and is divided into two parts by the river Aurajoki. Previous to 1817, Abo was the capital of Finland. Pop. about 55,000. ÅBO, ARCHIPELAGO OF, an extensive group of low, rocky islands in the Baltic Sea, spreading along the S. and W. coasts of Finland, opposite the city of Abo, rendering the navigation difficult and dangerous. ÅBO, PEACE OF, a treaty concluded Aug. 17, 1743, between Russia and Sweden, by which Russia retained a part of Finland and restored to Sweden the remainder on condition that the latter power should elect the Prince of Holstein- Gottorp successor to the throne. On Aug. 30. 30, 1812, the Emperor Alexander I., of Russia, and the Crown Prince Karl Johann, of Sweden, confirmed the second treaty between the two countries already signed March 24th, containing a secret article of mutual protection. It treated of Napoleon and the subjugation of Norway.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Aboma
a large and formidable American snake, called also the ringed boa. It is the epicratis cenchrea. Anciently it was worshipped by the Mexicans.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Abomey
the former capital of Dahomey, Africa; a walled town, containing several royal palaces. It is mostly clay-built, and the walls are of mud; is of large area, much of which is under cultivation; carries on important trade with the interior in palm oil, ivory, and gold. It has often been the scene of human sacrifices, especially at the great festivals. The town was captured by the French in 1892. Pop., formerly 60,000, now about 10,000. See DAHOMEY. ABORIGINES. (1) An old tribe inhabiting Latium. (2) The earliest known inhabitants of any other land. The aborigines of a country, as a subject of scientific investigation, have received great attention since the publication of Herbert Spencer's "Synthetic Philosophy." The greatest discussion has been occasioned by the theories of Morgan with reference to the aborigines of the United States.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Abortion
the immature product of an organ; any fruit or product that does not come to maturity, or anything which fails in its progress, before it is matured or perfect.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Abou-Ryhan
An Arabian astrologer whose real name was Mohammed-ben-Ahmed, to whom is ascribed the introduction of Judicial Astrology (q.v.) Many stories were told of him in the East, to show that he possessed in an extraordinary degree the power to read the future.
Only in An Encyclopaedia of Occultism
Aboukir
a small town of Egypt, 12 miles E. of Alexandria. In about Aboukir Bay, Nelson found the French fleet which had conveyed Bonaparte into Egypt, and destroyed or captured the greatest part of it (Aug. 1, 1798). In other respects, Aboukir is not of much importance. rtance
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Aboulfeda
or ABULFEDA, the hereditary prince of Hamah; the most celebrated of the Arabian writers on his tory and geography. Among his contemporaries he was also distinguished both as a ruler and a warrior.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Abraham
PLAINS OF and HEIGHTS OF, a table-land near Quebec, rising above the St. Lawrence, where the battle of Quebec was fought between the British and French (1759). A noble monument now marks the spot.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Abrasives
term applied to substances used in polishing and grinding. They include implements fashioned from natural materials, such as grindstones, millstones, whetstones, etc., mineral substances used in a granulated form and artificial abradants. The familiar grindstone, known from the earliest times, is made from a gritty, tenacious sandstone, found in abundance in Germany and the British Isles, and plentiful in Ohio and other Western States. Millstones and buhrstones, the latter of which are largely imported from France, are used in grinding coarse cereals, cement rock and certain minerals. The increasing use of the roller process in flour-making has decreased the demand for millstones. Oilstones, scythestones, and whetstones are chiefly of American origin, although an appreciable amount is imported from Belgium, Italy, and France. Pumice is a volcanic ash used in scouring powders and soaps. It is found in Utah and Nebraska, and is also brought from the Lipari Islands. Crystalline quartz is used for sandpaper, garnet for woodworking and shoemaking and corundum for metals, the latter being the hardest material known except the diamond. Alundum is a very efficient abrasive for hardened and toughened steels. Carborundum or carbide of silicon is extensively used in difficult tasks. One of the newest abrasives is electrite, which has a composition between alundum and carborundum. The water power of Niagara Falls is used for the treatment and manufacture of abrasives in great plants that have been established near the Falls.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Abraxas
(or Abracax). The Basilidian (q.v..) sect of Gnostics, of the second century, claimed Abraxas as their supreme god, and said that Jesus Christ was only a phantom sent to earth by him. They believed that his name contained great mysteries, as it was composed of the seven Greek letters which form the number 365, which is also the number of days in a year. Abraxas, they thought, had under his command 365 gods, to whom they attributed 365 virtues, one for each day. The older Mythologists placed him among the number of Egyptian gods, and demonologists have described him as a demon, with the head of a king and with serpents forming his feet. He is represented on ancient amulets, with a whip in his hand. It is from his name that the mystic word, Abracadabra (q.v.) is taken. Many stones and gems cut in various symbolic forms, such as the head of a fowl, a serpent, and so forth, were worn by the Basilidians as amulets.
Only in An Encyclopaedia of Occultism