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ABDUL-HAMID II.  settled upon his son, instead of his nephew Murad, in accordance with Turkish custom. He next entered into intrigues with Russia, and plunged ever into deeper financial difficulties. At last a conspiracy forced him to abdicate the throne, May 30, 1876. Four days later, he was found dead.  ABDUL-HAMID II., 34th Sultan of Turkey, born Sept. 22, 1842, the second son of the Sultan Abdul-Medjid; succeeded to the throne in 1876, on the deposition of his brother, Murad V. ABDUL-HAMID II. in the war of 1877–1878 with Russia, he was compelled by the Treaty of Berlin to surrender a small portion of territory in Europe and Asia, to recognize the independence of the suzerain states in Europe, and to acknowledge Bulgaria as a tributary principality. In 1895-1896, during the massacres of the Armenians, he took an active part in the negotiations with the European powers, and communicated personally with Lord Salisbury, protesting his intention to grant an investigation and the reforms urged by the powers. In 1897, Greece forced war on Turkey in behalf of the Cretans, and in 1898 Great Britain and Russia forced Turkey to evacuate the island. As the years progressed, the Sultan's rule became steadily more despotic and sanguinary, until he had won the sobriquet of "Abdul the Damned." It was only when a rebellion broke out in Macedonia, July 22, 1908, that Abdul became alarmed and restored the Constitution which he had abrogated thirty years before. The new Turkish Parliament opened Jan. 15, 1909. On April 14 following, the Sultan instigated a counter-revolution that failed. April 24, forces of the Young Turks entered the capital and took possession of the person of the Sultan. He was banished temporarily to Salonica, whence he was brought back, Nov. 12, 1912, to Constantinople and confined in a palace on the Asiatic side of the Bosporus. He died Feb. 10, 1918.  ABDUL-MEDJID, a Sultan of Turkey, born April 23, 1822; succeeded to the throne July 1, 1839, at the early age of 17, eight days after the battle of Nezib, in which the troops of the Sultan Mahmoud II. were defeated by Ibrahim-Pasha. The interference of the allied powers alone prevented the empire from dismemberment at this juncture. The great event of his reign was the Crimean War, in which France and England allied themselves with Turkey against the encroachments of Russia, and which was terminated by the fall of Sebastopol after a long siege, in 1856. He was succeeded by his brother, Abdul-Aziz Khan. He died June 25, 1861.  ABDURRAHMAN KHAN, Ameer of Afghanistan, was born in 1845, the eldest son of Ufzul Khan, and nephew of the Ameer Shere Ali. During the civil war, in 1864, in Afghanistan, the great victories of Shaikhabad and Khelat-i-Ghilzai were mainly due to his ability. In 1868, however, he was unable to offer a successful resistance to his cousin, Yakoub Khan, who defeated him at Tinah Khan. Abdurrahman then fled from the country. The Russian General Kaufmann permitted him to reside at Samarcand. Here he remained until 1879, when he slowly made his way through Balkh to the Kabul frontier, and in July of 1880 he was formally chosen by the leading men of Kabul and acknowledged by the British Indian Government as Ameer of Afghanistan. In March, 1900, he made an official declaration of his sympathy with England. Died Oct. 1, 1901, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Habibullah Khan.  À BECKET, THOMAS. See.  ABEL, the second son of Adam and brother of Cain. The latter was a tiller of the ground; Abel, a shepherd. Both brought their offerings before the Lord; Cain, the first-fruits of the ground; Abel, the firstlings of the flock. God accepted the offering of Abel; the offering of Cain he rejected. The latter, instigated by envy, murdered his brother in the field.  ABÉLARD, PIERRE (ä-bā-lär′), a French scholastic philosopher and theologian, born near Nantes, 1079. 