Page:EB1911 - Volume 26.djvu/1010

 mountains: the Khabur, a little north of 37° N., navigable for rafts; the Great Zab, at 36° N., just below Nimrud, the ancient Calah; the Little Zab, about 35° 15′ N.; the ’Adhem at 34° N. and the very large and important Diyala, a little below Bagdad, at 33° 15′ N.

The Tigris begins to rise about the middle of November and is highest in May and June, and lowest in September and October.

The principal towns on its banks are Diarbekr (anc. Amida), on the western branch; Bitlis, on the eastern branch; Mosul; Tekrit, a town dating from Persian days, said to have been founded by Shapur I. son of Ardashir I., formerly important, but now relatively insignificant; Samarra, also called Samira, the capital of the caliphate from 836 to 892, a place of pilgrimage of the Shia Moslems, containing magnificent tombs of two of their Imams the tenth and eleventh, with another much venerated shrine of the twelfth, as well as some interesting ruins; and Bagdad. While the Tigris never played the same role historically as the Euphrates, numerous remains of antiquity are to be seen along its course. Cuneiform inscriptions and bas-reliefs have been found at the sources of both the western and eastern Tigris, as well as at various points on the cliffs along the upper course of both branches. Opposite Mosul are the ruins of ancient Nineveh, the last capital of Assyria, and 20 m. below that the ruins of Calah, the second capital; while 35 m. farther south, on the opposite bank, lies Kal’at-Shergat, the ancient Assur, the original name-place and capital of the Assyrian Empire. A little south of Samarra. are found remains of the Median Wall, which stretched south-west towards the Euphrates near Sahlawych, marking the edge of the Babylonian alluvial plain. In this neighbourhood also stood the ancient Opis. At Bagdad, besides the memorials of the caliphate, may be seen a few remains of the old Babylonian city of Bagdadu, and a dozen miles southward, on the east bank of the river, stands Takhti-Khesra, the royal palace at Ctesiphon, the most conspicuous and picturesque ruin in all Babylonia, opposite which, on the other side of the river, are the low ruin mounds of ancient Seleucia.

TILBURG, a town in the province of north Brabant, Holland, and a junction station 13 m. by rail E. by S. of Breda. A steam tramway connects it northwards with Waalwijk. Pop. (1905), 46,517. Tilburg has risen into importance since the separation of Belgium from Holland as one of the chief industrial centres of the south. It has Roman Catholic and Protestant churches, a synagogue, a cloth hall, a higher-burgher school, an art and music school, and a Roman Catholic seminary. The woollen manufacture is the chief industry, besides which there are leather, soap, oil and tobacco factories, as well as breweries, tanneries and iron foundries.

TILBURY DOCKS, on the north shore of the Thames, in the county of Essex, England. They lie opposite Gravesend 25 m. below London Bridge and about the same distance from the Nore, being thus within the port of London. They were constructed in 1886 by the East &amp; West India Docks Company, and were later owned by the London & India Docks Company. The docks are four in number, having, with tidal basin and entrance locks, a total area of 74 acres. The depth of water in the tidal basin is 25 ft. at low tide and 44 ft. at high tide. The length of quayage is about 2 m., and there is extensive warehousing as well as accommodation for passengers, as the largest passenger steamers trading with the Port of London lie here. Railway communication is provided by the London, Tilbury & Southend line, and there is direct connexion for goods traffic with all the northern lines.

TILDEN, SAMUEL JONES (1814–1886), American statesman, was born at New Lebanon, New York, on the 9th of February 1814. In 1834 he entered Yale University, but soon withdrew on account of ill health, and later studied in the University of the City of New York. He was admitted to the bar in 1841, and rose rapidly to the front rank. In the financial troubles between 1850 and 1860 it is said that more than half the railways north of the Ohio river and between the Hudson and the Missouri rivers were at some time his clients. In spite of his activity at the bar, Tilden maintained an interest in politics, serving in the State Assembly in 1846 and in the state constitutional conventions of 1846 and 1867. In 1848, largely on account of his personal attachment to Martin Van Buren, he participated in the revolt