Page:Imperial Dictionary of Universal Biography Volume 1.pdf/78

AHL AHLWARDT,, a noted German linguist, born at Greifswald, 23d July, 1760. He studied in his native town, and became a private teacher of languages. He was then appointed successively manager of the public school at Auklam, rector of the gymnasiums of Oldenburg and Greifswald, and lastly, was raised to the professorship of ancient literature in the university of that latter town. He translated portions from the writings of the chief classic authors; but his best known work is a translation of Ossian from the original Gaelic.—J. B.  AHLWARDT,, a German professor of logic and metaphysics at Greifswald, his native town. He has left some metaphysical works, and an essay on the phenomena of thunder and lightning. He was born in 1710, and died in 1791.  AHMED,, the author of a work on the interpretation of dreams according to the doctrine of the Indians, Persians, and Egyptians. It is supposed that he was an Arab physician, and lived in the ninth century.  AHMED,, a celebrated Arab writer, best known from his history of the Arabs in Spain, from the conquest of the country in the year 711-712 to the expulsion of the Moriscos under Philip III. in 1610. He was born at Telemsán in 1577, studied at Fez, travelled in Egypt, Arabia, Palestine, and Syria, and resided for several years at Damascus and Cairo. He died in 1632. A translation of portions of his history was published in London in 1840.—J. B.  AHMED or ACHMET, the name of three Ottoman emperors.

or A I., born in 1590, succeeded his father, Mahomet III., in 1603. After unsuccessfully assisting the Hungarians and the prince of Transylvania in a war with the Emperor Rudolph II., he concluded a trace for twenty years with that monarch at Sitvatorok in 1606. This is said to have been the first occasion on which the Turks negotiated on the principles of international law. Previously, every peace with a Christian nation was regarded by them as a respite accorded by Islam to infidel dogs on their submission and payment of tribute; and such is the notion of the ordinary orthodox Turk at the present day. The charatch ticket given to a Christian subject of the Porte, still certifies that the bearer has paid for permission to wear his head on his shoulders for another year longer. In 1612, Achmet terminated a disastrous war with the Persians, by ceding to them the city of Tauris, and all the other conquests they had made. In 1616 the war was renewed, and the Turks were defeated by a Persian army far inferior in numbers. Achmet had a taste for the fine arts, but was voluptuous and cruel.—E. M.

or II. was born in 1643, and ascended the throne in 1691, after living, from his birth down to that period, a prisoner in the seraglio. His brief reign was inglorious and disastrous. In 1691 the Turkish army, under the grand vizier Kiuprili, was defeated with great slaughter by the Imperialists at Slankamen in Hungary. To this calamity were added earthquakes, the plague, a famine, and the usual token of political discontent—a terrific conflagration at Constantinople, that desolated a large portion of the city. These and other disasters entirely crashed his spirit; and he died in 1695.—E. M.

or III. was born in 1673, and was raised to the throne in 1703, on the deposition of his brother, Mustapha II., by a revolt of the janissaries. He was the first sultan who announced his accession to the sovereigns of Europe. In 1709, Charles XII. of Sweden, after his defeat at Pultowa, took refuge on the Turkish territory, and was kindly received, and even furnished with a large sum of ready money, by Achmet. During the war between Russia and the Porte in 1711, the Czar Peter the Great was placed in a perilous position near the Pruth, from which he could not have escaped, had not the Turkish commander accepted a bribe, and betrayed his trust, by sparing the enemy, and recommending the treaty of Pruth, 22nd July, 1711. In 1715 the Turks took the Morea from the Venetians; but in 1716, the sultan's army was signally discomfited by Prince Eugene in the memorable battle of Belgrade. From 1723 till October, 1727, the sultan was engaged in a war with Persia, which, after reverses and advantages on both sides, was terminated by a treaty favourable to the Porte. In 1728 great preparations were made at Constantinople for renewing the war, but the reign of Achmet was suddenly brought to an end by a revolt of the army and people of Constantinople. After vainly attempting to save himself by sacrificing to the insurgents his unpopular ministers, he was dethroned, and succeeded by his nephew Mahmoud, in October, 1730. He survived this event several years, and died of apoplexy in April, 1739. He was a man of imposing appearance, and possessed many estimable and amiable qualities. He had a taste for literature and the arts. In his reign, 1727, the first printing-office was established at Constantinople, and under Achmet's auspices, numerous historical works, as well as treatises on other important subjects, were published. He also established five libraries, of which three were for the use of the public.—E. M.  AHMED-BEN-FARES, surnamed, a writer on jurisprudence, and author of an Arab dictionary, named Modj-mil-Alloghat, copies of which are preserved in the libraries of Paris and Leyden. He died at Hamadan in the year 1000.  AHMED-BEN-MOHAMMED, an Arabian poet and historian, born at Jaen in Spain, about the beginning of the tenth century. He lived at Cordova under the patronage of Al-hakem, the sultan. Besides writing original poetry, he made a collection of the best poems written by the Spanish Arabs, which he named "Hadáyik," or "Enclosed Gardens." He wrote also histories of the sultans of the Umeyyah dynasty. He died in the year 970.—J B.  AHMED-BEN-THOULON, the founder of the Egyptian dynasty of the Tulúnites, was born at Samarra in the year 835. He inherited from his father a position of dignity at the court of the Turkish caliph, and in 873 rose to be governor of Egypt, to which province he had gone in the suite of the governor Bakbak but a few years before. Suspicions being entertained of his loyalty, an attempt was made to displace him. He resisted, and proclaimed himself independent of the caliph. He then proceeded to extend his dominions by conquest, marched into Syria, and took Emessa, Hamah, Aleppo, and Antioch. A rebellion, headed by his son whom he had left to govern in his absence, recalled him to Egypt, and while he was engaged in settling matters there, Lulu, whom he had set over his new territory in Syria, rebelled in turn. He proceeded at once against him, but never succeeded in regaining all his conquests, and he died at Antioch in the year 833. He is represented as a wise and generous prince, who cared for the interests of his subjects, was hospitable at his palace, and gave largely to the poor. The dynasty which he founded lasted till the year 905, and numbered four sultans.—J. B. <section end="78H" /> <section begin="78I" />AHMED-IBN-ABDI-R-RABBISHI, an Arabian poet and historian; born at Cordova,. 860; died in 940. <section end="78I" /> <section begin="78J" />AHMED-IBN-ABABSHAH,, an Arabian historian, and the biographer of Timour, or Tamerlane. He died at Damascus,. 1450. <section end="78J" /> <section begin="78K" />AHMED-KHAN or NYGOUDAR, a Mongol emperor of Persia, of the family of Jenghis-Khan, succeeded to the throne . 1282, on the death of his brother Abaca-Khan. <section end="78K" /> <section begin="78Zcontin" />AHMED SHAH, founder of the Durani dynasty in Afghanistan, was born at a place situated between Herat and Kandahar in 1723. His father, Zaman-Khan, was chief of the Afghan tribe called the Abdalis. In 1738, after a gallant resistance, the Abdalis submitted to the famous conqueror. Nadir Shah. Following that extraordinary man, young Ahmed was soon intrusted with the command of a body of cavalry, and evinced such heroism as to gain Nadir's confidence. In 1747 Nadir Shah was murdered in his tent. Ahmed, after attempting to avenge his chief, effected his retreat to Afghanistan, on finding the assassins were supported by the whole Persian army. He was now proclaimed monarch of Afghanistan, and solemnly crowned at Kandahar in October, 1747, at the early age of twenty-three. He displayed remarkable discretion in respecting the prejudices of his countrymen, and abstaining from interference with the internal arrangements of the tribes. He was, by an unexpected occurrence, furnished with resources for undertaking an enterprise that was to extend his fame and power, as well as enrich his adherents. A convoy with a large amount of treasure on its way to Nadir Shah fell into his power, and he had already come into possession of the famous diamond, of enormous value, called the Koh-i-noor, or "Mountain of light," which ultimately passed into the hands of the British, on the conquest of the Punjab in 1847. A numerous army, full of hope and vigour, was soon collected under his banner, with which he at once marched for Hindostan. Before the end of 1752 he had subdued the Punjab, and made himself master of Kashmir. In 1757 he entered Delhi, which, in spite of his efforts to prevent them, his followers recklessly pillaged. Maladies in his armies, and other causes, compelled him to hasten his departure homewards, and his victorious troops returned to <section end="78Zcontin" />