Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 4.djvu/228

186 its mouth. About a mile west of Drogheda, an obelisk, 150 feet in height, marks the spot where the forces of William III. gained the celebrated victory over those of James II., on 1st July 1690, known as the &quot; battle of the Boyne.&quot;  BOYSE, or, one of the translators of the English Bible, was born in Suffolk in 1560. He was educated by his father, the rector of West Stowe, and at an early age exhibited great intellectual powers, being able to read Hebrew when only five years old. He completed his studies at Cambridge, particularly devoted himself to Greek, and for ten years was lecturer on that language in St John s College. At the age of thirty-six he married, and became rector of Boxworth, in Cambridgeshire. He was selected as one of the translators of the Bible, and is said to have completed not only his own share, the Apocrypha, but that of another clergyman. He received a prebendal stall in Ely cathedral from Bishop Andrews in 1615, but had no other preferment. He died in 1643, leaving behind him an immense mass of MSS.  BOZRAH. There are, according to the more usual opinion, two places of this name mentioned in Scripture, one a city of Edom, and the other a city of Moab. About the identification of these cities there has been much dis cussion, some maintaining that the former occupied the site of the modern village of el-Buseirah, about 25 miles S.E. of the Dead Sea, and that the latter was the city afterward known to the Romans as Bostra and at present as Busrah ; while others suppose that the various passages of the Scriptures all refer to one place, and others again that there are two places, but that neither of them is to be identified with Bostra. The first view seems to be freer from difficulties than the other two. Bozrah, or el-Buseirah, is now a small village with a strong fortress on the top of a hill. It is the centre of a pastoral district, and its inhabitants, who number between 100 and 200, are all shepherds. Bozrah, Buzrah, or Bostra, on the other hand, is a very extensive collection of ruins of various ages, situated about 80 miles S. of Damascus. The area with in the walls is about a mile and a quarter in length, and nearly a mile in breadth, while extensive suburbs lie without, to the east, north, and west. The principal buildings that can still be distinguished are a temple, an aqueduct, a large theatre (enclosed by a castle of much more recent workmanship), several baths, a triumphal and other arches, three mosques, and what are known as the church and convent of the monk Boheira. In 105 A.D., the city was beautified and perhaps restored from ruin by Trajan, who made it the capital of the province of Arabia. In the reign of Alexander Severus it was made a colony, and in 245 a native of the place, Philippus, ascended the imperial throne. By the time of Constantino it seems to have been Christianized, and not long after it was the see of an extensive bishopric. It was one of the first cities of Syria that was subjected to the Mahometans, and it successfully resisted all the attempts of the Crusaders to wrest it from their hands. As late as the 14th century it was a populous city. (See Burckhardt s Travels, Robin son s Biblical Researches, Porter s Damascus, Freshfield s Caucasus. )  BOZZARIS,, a Greek patriot, was born in Suli towards the close of the 18th century. With the remnant of the Suliotes he crossed in 1803 to the Ionian islands, and in 1820, with some 800 of his countrymen, joined the sultan against Ali Pasha. They soon, however, came over to Ali s party, and fought gallantly against their old enemies the Turks. After the death of Ali the Suliotes carried on the war with great success, and in 1822 were joined by a body of regular troops under Prince Mavro- cordato. At the battle of Petta the Greeks were betrayed and defeated with heavy loss. Bozzaris fell back to Missolonghi, which he successfully defended until the arrival of a Hydriote fleet compelled the besiegers to retire. In the summer of 1823 he learned that a large Turkish force had again been despatched against the town, and resolving to anticipate the attack, he set out secretly with 1200 men. On the 20th of August he came upon the encampment of the Turkish vanguard, and a night attack was crowned with success. The victory of the Suliotes was saddened by the loss of Bozzaris, who fell while lead ing on his men. The assault on the Turkish camp has been made the subject of a very fine poem by Fitz-Greene Halleck.  BRA, a town of Italy in the province of Cunco and district of Alba, on the River Stura, 25 miles N.E. of Cuneo. It has three parish churches, a gymnasium, a hospital, manufactures of silk and linen goods, and a con siderable trade in corn, cattle, wine, and silk. Population, 12,946.  BRABANT, an extensive district in the Netherlands, which formerly constituted a separate duchy, but is now divided between Belgium and Holland. The Belgian portion includes the provinces of Brabant and Antwerp, while the whole of the Dutch portion is still known by its ancient name. Godfrey the Bearded, count of Louvain, who lived in the beginning of the 12th century, was tho first to assume the title of count of Brabant, which his great-grandson, Henry I. the Warrior (1190-1235) ex changed for that of duke. The duchy passed in regular succession to Henry II. the Magnanimous (1235-1248), and Henry III. the Debonnair (d. 1261); but on the death of the latter the natural heir was supplanted by his younger brother John I. the Victorious, who added the district of Limburg to his possessions by the battle of Woeringen in 1288, in which he killed his competitor Henry of Luxem bourg with his own hand. The next duke, John II., is memorable for the privileges he bestowed on his subjects by the statute of the Common Weal and the charter of Cortemberg. His successor, John III. the Triumphant, had to contend against a rebellion of Brussels and Louvain, and an offensive alliance of his neighbours, but managed to make himself not only secure but formidable. His three sons having died before him without issue, he was succeeded by his daughter, who had married Wenceslas of Luxembourg. The count of Flanders laid claim to the duchy, and, after a considerable struggle, was only bought off by the surrender of Antwerp. In 1404 the whole of Brabant was handed over to the countess of Flanders, and in 1406 her son took the title of duke. On his death at the battle of Agiucourt, in which he- fought on the side of the French, he was succeeded by John IV., whose marriage and divorce created much excitement in his day. In 1430, on the decease of Philip, second son of John IV., the duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good, was also recognized as dtike of Brabant; and in 1440 the country passed to the house of Austria by the marriage of Mary of Burgundy his granddaughter to Maxi milian the emperor, who transmitted it to Charles V. and thus to the crown of Spain. In 1648 the northern portion of the duchy succeeded in freeing itself from the Spanish tyranny, while southern Brabant continued under the yoke till 1714. Brabant possessed a liberal constitution known as the Joyeuse Entree, Blijde Inkomst, or Joyous Entrance, which, inter alia, prevented the duke from raising the clergy above the other states of the realm, from prosecuting his subjects except in the regular courts, and from appointing foreigners to political office. A consent of the three states the clergy, the nobles, and the repre sentatives of the chief cities was necessary for the passing of a law ; and the towns had the right of refusing assistance 