Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 17.djvu/135

Rh M Y S M Y S 123 Homer ; but nothing else is known of their early history. The story told by Herodotus (vii. 20) of their having invaded Europe in conjunction with the Teucrians before the Trojan War is probably a mere fiction ; and the first historical fact we learn concerning them is their subjuga tion, together with all the surrounding nations, by the Lydian king Croesus. After the fall of the Lydian monarchy they naturally passed under the Persian empire, and so continued until its overthrow by Alexander. After the death of the conqueror they were annexed to the Syrian monarchy, of which they continued to form a part until the defeat of Antiochus the Great (190 B.C.), after which they were transferred by the Romans to the dominion of Eumenes, king of Pergamum, as a reward for his services during the war. After the extinction of the Pergamenian dynasty (130 B.C.) Mysia became a part of the Roman province of Asia, and from this time disappears from his tory. The inhabitants probably became gradually Hellen- ized, but none of the towns of the interior, except Pergamum, ever attained to any importance. The only relic of the Mysian language is a very short inscription found by Mr Frank Calvert in the acropolis of Thymbria, and supposed by Professor Sayce to be in the Mysian dialect, but its evidence is very inconclusive. MYSORE or MAISI^R (i.e., Mahesh - asura, &quot;Buffalo- demon &quot;) is a native state in southern India, lying between 11 40 and 15 N. lat. and 74 40 and 78 30 E. long., and surrounded entirely by British territory, with an area of 24,723 square miles. The Mysore country above the Ghats, though frequently called &quot;the tableland,&quot; is by no means flat or a plain, but is in some parts mountainous and everywhere undulating. Deep ravines are situated in the angle where the Eastern and Western Ghats converge into the group of the Nllgiri hills. An interesting feature of the country is the large number of isolated rocks (drug, &quot;difficult of access&quot;) which often rear their heads as stupendous monoliths to the height of 4000 or 5000 feet above sea -level. Some of these rocks in particular Nandidrug (4810 feet) and Savandrug (4024 feet) have been the scene of many a hard -fought contest, while Kabaldrug obtained an evil fame as a state prison. The eight highest peaks in Mysore are Mulaina-giri (6317 feet), Kuduri-mukha (6215), Baba Budan-giri (6214), Kalhatti (6155), Rudra-giri (5692), Pushpa-giri (5626), Merti-gudda (5451), and Wodin-gudda (5006 feet). Five of these are comprised in the Bdba Budan or Chandradrona range, a magnificent horse-shoe-shaped cluster of mountains. My sore is naturally divided into two regions of distinct character the hill country called the Malnad, on the west, and the more open country known as the Maidan, comprising the greater part of the state, where the wide- spreading valleys and plains are covered with villages and populous towns. The drainage of the country, with a slight exception, finds its way into the Bay of Bengal, and is divisible into three great river systems that of the Krishna on the north, the Cauvery on the south, and the Pennair, Penar, and Palar on the east. A few minor streams flow west into the Arabian Sea. Owing to either rocky or shallow beds none of the Mysore rivers are navigable, but some are utilized for floating down timber at certain seasons. The main streams, especially the Cauvery and its tributaries, support an extensive system of irrigation by means of channels drawn from immense dams (anicuts), which retain the water at a high level and permit only the overflow to pass down stream. The streams Avhich gather from the hill-sides and fertilize the valleys are embanked at every favourable point in such a manner as to form a series of reservoirs or tanks, the out flow from one at a higher level supplying the next lower, and so on, all down the course of the stream at short intervals. These tanks, varying in size from small ponds to extensive lakes, are dispersed throughout the country to the number of 20,000 ; the largest is the Sulukere Lake, 40 miles in circumference. The census of 1881 returned the population of Mysore at 4,186,188 (males 2,085,842, females 2,100,346), viz., Hindus 3,956,336, Mohammedans 200,484, Christians 29,249, &quot;others&quot; 119. The population of the chief towns in the executive districts vas as follows : Bangalore, 155,857; Mysore, 60,292; Shimoga, 12,040; Kolar, 11,172; Tumkiir, 9909; Chikmagalur, 7088; Hassan, 5950; and Chitalchoog, 4271. In 1880-81 out of a total of 4,280,674 acres of cultivable land 3,139,560 were occupied by rdgi and other dry crops, 554,752 by rice, 21,058 by wheat, 147,464 by oil-seeds, 24,076 by sugar cane, 20,893 by cotton, 159,165 by coffee, 135,542 by cocoa- nut and areca-nut, and the remainder by fibres, tobacco, vegetables, mulberry, pepper, and lac. Two cinchona plantations have been recently established, and promise good results. In the Lai Bagh or Government garden at Bangalore, attempts have been made with some success to grow vanilla, cocoa, rhea, ipecacuanha, and various other exotic plants, while the culture of apples, peaches, straw berries, and other fruits has been greatly improved. The drought which affected all southern India in 1876-78 fell with especial severity upon Mysore. From October 1875 to October 1877 four successive monsoons failed to bring their full supply of rain. The harvest of 1875 was generally below the average, and remissions of revenue were found necessary ; but it was not till the close of 1876 that actual famine occurred. During the whole of 1877 famine was at work ; but in October of that year the monsoon broke with a fair rainfall, and cultivation at last became possible. It will, however, take many years before Mysore recovers its normal condition of prosperity ; and it is estimated by competent authorities that one-fourth of the entire population of the state was swept away by starvation or disease, while the mortality among cattle was yet more heavy. In 1880-81 also 200,000 head of cattle perished. In September 1877, when affairs were at their worst, no less than 280,000 persons were in receipt of relief. The total amount ex pended on state relief, apart from loss of land revenue, was upwards of a million sterling. The chief manufacture of Mysore is iron-smelting at Bangalore. Gold-mining is pursued in Kolar and Bangalore (since 1881) dis tricts. Jewellery is a speciality of Bangalore. Carpets, rugs, cotton textures, silk cloths, cumblies, &c., are also manufactured, the total estimated value being 6,281,651 rupees. Sandal-wood, which forms a state monopoly, yields an average annual income of about 15,000. The Madras railway runs through the state. An excellent net-work of provincial and district roads intersects the state, and great attention has been paid to the numerous passes through the Western Ghats to the low country beyond. The total revenue for 1880-81 was 10,270,383 rupees. Local funds to the extent of 700,697 rupees were also levied for the main tenance of district roads and tanks, and for the support of village schools. Municipalities have been established at all district head quarters, and also in sixty -seven other towns. The system of judicial procedure, both civil and criminal, has been assimilated to that in force in British territory. Mysore pays a yearly subsidy to the British Government of 2,450,000 rupees for the maintenance of a force for the defence of its territory. There is also a local force. In 1880-81 the total number of schools of all classes in the state was 899 Government schools and 1881 aided schools, the total number of scholars being 42,657. There are in all 20 hospitals or dispensaries ; the average daily attendance in 1880-81 was 1500. In the earliest historical times the northern part of Mysore was held by the Kadamba dynasty, whose capital, Banawasi, is men tioned by Ptolemy ; they reigned with more or less splendour during fourteen centuries, though latterly they became feudatories of the Chalukyas. The Cheras were contemporaries with the Kadambas, and governed the southern part of Mysore till they were subverted by the Cholas in the 8th century. Another ancient race, the Pallavas, held a small portion of the eastern side of Mysore, but were overcome by the Chalukyas in the 7th century A.D. These were overthrown in the 12th century by the Ballalas, an enter prising and warlike race professing the Jain faith. They ruled over the greater part of Mysore, and portions of the modern districts of Coimbatore, Salem, and Dlmrwar, with their capital at Dwara- samudra (the modern Halebid) ; but in 1310 the Ballala king was captured by Malik Kafur, the general of Ala-ud-dm ; and seventeen years later the town was entirely destroyed by another force sent by Muhammad Tughlak. After the subversion of the Ballala dynasty, a new and powerful Hindu sovereignty arose at Vijaya- nagar on the Tungabhadra (see INDIA, vol. xii. p. 794). In 1565 a confederation of the Mohammedan kingdoms defeated the Vnaya- nagar sovereign, Raja Ram, at the battle of Talikot ; and his descendants ultimately became extinct as a ruling house. During the feeble reign of the last king, the petty local chiefs (paligars) asserted their independence. The most important of these was