Page:Imperial Dictionary of Universal Biography Volume 1.pdf/134

ALG ALGAZI,, a Greek rabbi, who wrote in the seventeenth century, a work entitled "Neschiboth Mischpot," (The Paths of Judgment,) Constantinople, folio, 1669.  ALGAZI,, a rabbi who has written a great many works on the Talmud; among others, "Ahabath Olam," (Eternal Love,) 4to, Constantinople, 1647; "Zehab Secah," (The God of Ancient Times,) 8vo, Constantinople, 1683, &c. He was a native of the Levant, and became grand-rabbi at Mayence. Died in 1683.—A. M.  ALGER, a learned churchman of the 12th century, who filled various ecclesiastical dignities at Liege, and died at Cluny in 1131. He has left works on the "Sacrament of the Lord's Supper," on the "Freedom of the Will," and other subjects.  ALGHAFIKI, , was an Arabian physician, who flourished during the earlier half of the twelfth century in Spain. There are said to be three works of his in manuscript in the Bodleian library at Oxford.  ALGHALIB-BILLAH. See.  ALGHISI,, was architect and military engineer to the Duke of Ferrara, towards the close of the 16th century.  ALGHISI,, was an Italian surgeon, celebrated in his day for his skill in operations for the stone. He graduated at Padua under Vallisnieri. Born 1669; died 1713. His work on "Lithotomy" was published at Florence in 1707, and at Venice the year after.  ALGMAEDSCH,, a Spanish rabbi, who translated into Hebrew the Ethics of Aristotle, lived in the fifteenth century. <section end="134H" /> <section begin="134I" />ALGOENER,, a Lutheran divine, born at Ulm in 1678, author of a variety of works on mathematics and theology, and editor of Sturm's Prælectiones. Died in 1737. <section end="134I" /> <section begin="134J" />ALGOZALI,, an Arabian philosopher, who wrote on the unity of God, on law, and many other topics, some of which were translated into Hebrew, and published. <section end="134J" /> <section begin="134K" />ALGRIN,, was bishop of Besançon in 1225, and afterwards, as cardinal and legate under Gregory IX., preached in Aragon the crusade against the Saracens. Died in 1237. Sermons of his are still extant. <section end="134K" /> <section begin="134L" />ALHAKEM I., a Moorish prince, emir of Cordova in the time of Charlemagne, whose son, Louis Debonnaire, unsuccessfully menaced his throne, in conjunction with two rebellious uncles of the emir. Though not naturally cruel, his character deteriorated towards the close of his reign, when, having settled the succession on his son Abd-er-Rahman, he shut himself up in his seraglio, and abandoned himself to pleasure, at the same time levying heavy taxes to support his excesses. By means of his numerous body-guard of Christian prisoners and Mamelukes, he crushed the revolts which ensued with such cruelty as to procure for himself the surname of Abou-l'Assin the Great in Wickedness. Four years afterwards he died of remorse . 821.—A. M. <section end="134L" /> <section begin="134M" />ALHAKEM II., son of Abd-er-Rahman III., and one of the most remarkable of the Moorish princes of Spain, was the ninth king of Grenada, where he reigned during the latter half of the tenth century. The reign of Alhakem II. was richer in the blessings of peace than in the questionable glories of war, and, from the munificent encouragement given to men of letters during the period, may be styled the Augustan age of Arabic literature. He founded a library of such extent, that an incomplete catalogue of it contained 4400 pages, and this magnificent collection of books he opened to the students of all nations. Alhakem II. ended his prosperous and splendid reign . 976.—A. M. <section end="134M" /> <section begin="134N" />ALHAKEM BIAMBILLAH, sixth Fatimite caliph of Egypt, succeeded his father Aziz-Billah in. 996. At first a dissolute monarch, he afterwards became a particularly strict Mohammedan, and destroyed all the vineyards in his realm. He fell a victim to a conspiracy in the twenty-fifth year of his reign. <section end="134N" /> <section begin="134O" />ALHAKEM-IBN-ATTA, the (Mocanna), the original of the "Veiled Prophet" of Moore's well-known poem, founded a body of Arabian sectaries towards the close of the eighth century. His skill in the natural sciences enabled him to pass himself off for a prophet, and even for an incarnation of the Son of God. Merou in Khorassan was the scene of this imposture. When hard pressed by the soldiers of the caliph Mahdi,. 780, he poisoned all his immediate followers, and then burned himself, in order to make his disappearance from the earth mysterious and complete.—A. M. <section end="134O" /> <section begin="134P" />AL-HARTITH, an Arabian astronomer of the ninth century. <section end="134P" /> <section begin="134Q" />ALHAZEN; among the Arabians ALHAZER, deserves a special notice. His treatise on the phenomena of twilight is astonishingly correct in theory, and indicates a distinct knowledge of astronomical refractions. He teaches how the observer may assure himself of the displacement of a star through effect of such refraction; and he very acutely refutes the common conception, that the great apparent size of the sun or moon, when in the horizon, is owing to this cause. The period at which Alhazen lived is not well determined.—J. P. N. <section end="134Q" /> <section begin="134R" />AL-HEDJADJ-IBN-MUTAR, an Arabian mathematician, who, about the commencement of the ninth century, or close of the preceding, translated into Arabic Euclid's Elements and Ptolemy's Almagest—the Arabic name for the of that author. <section end="134R" /> <section begin="134S" />AL-HOMAYDI, a voluminous Arabic author of the eleventh century, who wrote a work, still extant, giving an account of the principal Spanish Moslems of celebrity. He was a native of Majorca; and a copy of his book is in the Bodleian library. <section end="134S" /> <section begin="134T" />AL-HORR, emir of Spain, sent to supersede his predecessor Ayoub in 717, and himself, on account of his tyranny, superseded two years after. <section end="134T" /> <section begin="134U" />ALHOY,, was the successor of the Abbé Sicard as director of the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb at Paris. He has left, among other works, a "Discourse on the Education of Deaf Mutes." Born 1755; died 1826. <section end="134U" /> <section begin="134V" />ALI, the name of various orientals of celebrity, whom we arrange chronologically, without reference to the order of their surnames:— <section end="134V" /> <section begin="134Zcontin" />'ALI-IBN-ABI´-TA´LIB, the fourth Khaleefeh, i.e., "Successor" or "Vicar" (of Mahomet) in Arabia. He was born at Mecca at the close of the sixth, or the commencement of the seventh century of the Christian era. His father, Abu Tàlib, a member of the illustrious tribe of Koraysh, was Mahomet's uncle, and having a numerous family, he placed Ali under his nephew's care. Ali devoted himself to the prophet's service, and gave early proofs of great energy of character, as well as of remarkable courage and intrepidity. When the future legislator of Arabia assembled his relatives to announce to them the nature of his mission, and to demand from among them one who should be his vizier, Ali, after waiting impatiently for some of his seniors to reply, offered his services with the utmost zeal and enthusiasm, and in his subsequent conduct afforded ample evidence of the sincerity with which he devoted himself to Mahomet's cause. He was second only to the prophet himself, in the vigour and success with which he proclaimed and established the religion of Islam. When the Korayshites resolved to destroy Mahomet, it was Ali who, clad in the green mantle of the prophet, deceived the conspirators, and enabled his benefactor to escape the sword of the assassins; and at the battle of Bedr, it was the heroism of Ali which mainly contributed to the victory. In almost every engagement with the hostile tribes of Arabia, in the campaigns in Syria and Yemen, the most singular success attended the arms of this intrepid warrior. As a reward for his signally important services, Mahomet gave him his daughter Fatimah in marriage, and conferred upon him the title of As'ad Allah Al-ghalib, "the Lion of God always victorious."

The eminent qualities of Ali pointed him out as the most suitable successor of Mahomet, but he does not seem to have been inspired with the love of empire. It was not till after the death of 'Othman that he was raised to the dignity of Khaleefeh, and it was with great reluctance that he permitted himself to be persuaded to assume the government. No sooner, however, was he invested with supreme power, than he found himself surrounded by enemies. Several of the most powerful chiefs, with their followers, arrayed themselves against him, and united with the governor of Syria, and 'Ayeshah, the favourite wife of Mahomet, in raising the standard of revolt. Ali lost no time in opposing the formidable confederacy, and having in vain endeavoured to bring about a reconciliation, met his adversaries in battle, and was completely victorious. Subsequently to this event he gained several important victories over his opponents, and at length united the Arabs and Irakians under his government; but Muawiyah, the governor of Syria, still retained possession of that province, while the sovereignty of Egypt was seized by his lieutenant, 'Amru. The utmost disorder was thus occasioned, and a conspiracy formed, which proved fatal to Ali, who died by the hand of an assassin,. 661, in the sixty-third year of his age, and after a reign of nearly five years.

Ali, as already mentioned, had married Fatimah, the daughter <section end="134Zcontin" />