Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/627

Rh A L L A L M 589 iis residence in America belong &quot; The Prophet Jeremiah,&quot; &quot;Saul and the Witch of Eudor,&quot; &quot; Miriam,&quot; &quot;Beatrice,&quot; &quot;Rosalie,&quot; &quot;Spalatro s Vision of the Bloody Hand,&quot; and the vast but unfinished &quot; Belshazzar s Feast,&quot; at which he was working at the time of his death. As a writer, Allston shows great facility of expression and imaginative power. His friend Coleridge said of him that he was surpassed by no man of his age in artistic and poetic genius. His literary works are The Sylphs of the Seasons and other Poems (1813), where he displays true sympathy with nature and deep knowledge of the human heart; Monaldi (1841), a tragical romance, the scene of which is laid in Italy ; and Lectures on Art, edited by his brother-in-law, R. H. Dana the novelist (1850). ALLUVIUM, soil or land made up of the sediment deposited by running water. Rivers act on the rocks in their course both mechanically and chemically, and are in consequence always more or less loaded with detritus, which in its turn again aids the water in abrading other O O rocks. A great proportion of the matter with which rivers are thus charged is carried out to sea. But in level tracts, where the motion of a river is slow, it frequently overflows its banks, and leaves a sediment of earth, mud, gravel, &c., when it returns to its ordinary channel. The principal alluvial tracts are the deltas or deltoid formations at the mouths of large rivers. These vaiy in character very con siderably. The Delta of the Nile is the best-marked speci men ; the waters of the Rhine, Ganges, &c., arrested by the solid matter they have washed down, force their way through it in numerous smaller channels ; the Mississippi has carried the solid matter it holds in suspension far into the Gulf of Mexico, forming long spits of land on the banks of the stream. The cognate term diluvium (now little used) has been applied to formations produced by extraordinary aqueous agencies. ALMA, a river of Russia, in the S.W. of the Crimea, which falls into the sea about 16 miles N. of Sebas- topol. It gives its name to a battle gained over the Russians, on the 20th September 1854, by the allied British, French, and Turkish armies. The British num bered 25,000 men, with 60 guns, and were commanded by Lord Raglan ; the French force consisted of 30,000 men and 68 guns, to which were added 7000 Turkish infantry all under the command of Marshal St Arnaud. To these were opposed 36,000 Russians, with 122 guns, under Prince Menschikoff, strongly posted on the heights on the left bank of the river. The victory was largely due to the determined advance of the British in face of the Russian fire. ALMADEN, or ALMADEN DEL AZOQUE (in Arabic, the &quot;Mine of Quicksilver&quot;), a town of Spain, in the province of (Jiudad Real, lies in the Sierra Morena, 55 miles S.W. of the town of Ciudad Real. It is the Sisapon of the Romans, and is famous for its quicksilver mines, which have been wrought extensively both in ancient and in modern times. They were the richest and most productive in the world until the discovery of quicksilver at New Almaden in California. The annual yield is about 1,400,000 ft), and 4000 workpeople are employed. The principal vein is 25 feet thick ; a depth of 1000 feet has been reached, and the ore increases in richness with the depth of the descent. These mines belong to the Spanish Government, and yield a large revenue. At various periods they have been leased to private speculators. The town has a good hospital and mining sohools. Population, 9000. ALMAGEST, compounded of the Arabic al and /xeyum;, the name applied by the Arabians to their translation of the MeydX-r) SwT af is of Claudius Ptolemy, which contains a large collection of problems in geometry and astronomy. The translation was made about the year 827 A.D. by order of the caliph AI-Mamun. The name is also applied to other editions and translations of the work, as well as to other scientific compilations. Thus Riccioli published a book of astronomy, the New Almagest, and Plukenet an Almagestum Botanicum. ALMAGRO, a town of Spain, in the province of Ciudad Real, 12 miles E.S.E. of the town of that name. It stands in a fertile plain, and is a well-built town, with spacious streets and a fine square. It was once almost exclusively inhabited by monks and the Knights of Calatrava, and contains several ruined churches, monasteries, and con vents. In the town and neighbourhood lace is extensively manufactured, as many as 9000 workmen being employed. Brandy, soap, earthenware, and leather are also made; and the surrounding district is famous for its breed of asses and mules, for the sale of which two great fairs are annually held. Excellent red wine is produced in the district. Population, 14,000. ALMAGRO, DIEGO DE, a Spanish commander, the com panion and rival of Pizarro, was born at Aldea del Rey in 1475. According to another account he was a foundling in the village from which he derived his name. Nothing is known of his life until 1525, when he joined Pizarro and Hernando de Luque at Panama in a scheme for the conquest of Peru. The details of his subsequent career are given at length in the article PERU. He was executed by order of his former associate Pizarro in 1538. ALMALI, a prosperous town of Asiatic Turkey, situated on the river Myra, 25 miles from its mouth, and 50 miles W.S.W. of Adalia. It lies 5000 feet above the sea, in a valley at the extremity of an extensive plain, the neigh bouring mountains rising to a height of 10,000 feet. The town is well built, with handsome houses, several mosques, and a bazaar; and its appearance is rendered very attractive by the lofty trees interspersed through the streets, and by the gardens of the environs. There are numerous mills and factories, tanyards and dyeworks; and the inhabitants are exceedingly industrious. The town is much frequented by merchants from Smyrna and other places, who purchase the produce of the district and send it to the coast for ship ment. Population, 8000. AL-MAMUN (also written AL-MAMOUN, AL-MAMON, and simply MAMUN), one of the most renowned of the Abbasside dynasty of caliphs, was born in 786 A.D. He was the son of Harun-al-Raschid, whose caliphate is the golden age of Mahometan history. Harun, dying in 808, left the supremacy to his son Al-Amin, Al-Mamun being at the time governor of Khorassan, and favourable to the succession of his brother. Irritated, however, by the treat ment he received at the hands of Amin, and supported by a portion of the army, Mamun speedily betook himself to arms. The result was a five years struggle between the two brothers, ending in the death of Amin, 4th October 813, and the proclamation of Al-Mamun as caliph at Baghdad. Various factions and revolts, which disturbed the first years of his reign, were readily quelled by his prudent and energetic measures. But a much more serious rebellion, stirred up by his countenancing the here tical sect of AH and adopting their colours, soon after threatened his throne. His crown was actually on the head of his uncle Ibrahim ben Mahdi (surnamed Mobarek) for a short time, and a civil war with the orthodox Mussul mans was imminent, when the timely death of Mamun s vizier and of the imam Rizza removed his principal here tical advisers, and restored the people to their allegiance. This inaugurated a period of tranquillity, which Al-Mamun employed in patronising and fostering the cultivation of literature and science throughout his empire. He had already, while governor of Khorassan, founded a college there, and attracted to it the most eminent men of the