Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/25

 ABACUS ABASOAL largest of the Bahama group, 150 m. E. of Flori- da, 80 m. long by an average of 15 wide. Its N. point is in lat. 26 30' N., Ion. 76 57' W. Pop. about 2,000, including Little Abaco, ad- joining, 28 by 4 to 5 m. Many of the inhabit- ants are white Creoles. They work at ship- building, turtling, and wrecking. ABACUS. I. In architecture, the upper part of the capital of a column, supporting the en- Corinthian Abacus. Doric Abacus. tablature, said to have been designed from a square tile laid over a basket. The shape of the abacus differs in different orders. II. Among the ancients, a cupboard. III. The mystic staff carried by the grand master of the Templars. Its head was of silver, marked with the peculiar cross of the order; but it was supposed to bear another secret device, concealed or disguised, and revealed only to the initiated, being no other than the ortho- phallic symbol of heathen antiquity, indicating the worship of the generative power as dis- tinct from the cre- ative attribute of God. IV. A cal- culating machine to facilitate arith- metical computa- Counting Abacus. ,. T /-,, ., tions. In China it is much employed. The Chinese call it shwan- pan. A man who uses the shwanpan can tell the amount of a column of figures the moment they are read off to him. It is also found in Russian shops and counting houses. Improved forms of this machine are known in the Uni- ted States as the "adder." ABAD I. (Asu AMRU IBK HABED), first Moorish king of Seville, and founder of the Abadite dy- nasty, born in the latter half of the 10th cen- tury, died about 1041. His ancestors, from Emesa in Syria, had settled at Tocina, on the Guadalquivir. He was brought up at Seville, where by his munificence and amiability he became so popular that the people, wearied by the bad administration of the Ommiyade rulers, chose him in 1028 as their king. After con- solidating his power at Seville, he added Cor- dova to his dominions, and reigned 13 years. Abad II. (MOHAMMED IBN HABED), son of the preceding, born in 1012, died in 1069. He added the territory of Carmona to Seville, gra- dually acquired all Andalusia, and aimed at the subjugation of entire Spain. He was cruel and relentless. Abad III. (MOHAMMED IBN HABED), son of the preceding, born in 1039, died in 1095. He was celebrated for love of art and letters and for poetical talent. He continued the conquests of his father and grandfather, added a part of Portugal to his dominions, and threatened Cas- tile. At the same time he was tolerant and kindly. Alfonso VI. of Castile, after having been his enemy, married his daughter. This alliance with a Christian king excited the jeal- ousy of the petty Moorish rulers. Aided by the king of Morocco, they attacked Alfonso and Abad, and the latter only avoided the sack- ing of Seville by surrendering (1091). He was imprisoned four years in Morocco, where his four daughters were compelled to spin wool for their subsistence. His poems, composed during his captivity, were admired. The Abadite dy- nasty ended with him. ABADDON. See APOLLTON. ABAKA KHAN, second Mongol king of Persia, of the family of Genghis Khan, succeeded his father, Hulaku Khan, in 1265, and died about 1280. He completed the conquests of his father, restored Bagdad, and consolidated the Mongol sway over western Asia. ABANA, mentioned in Scripture in connection with Pharpar as a river of Damascus, is now generally identified with the Barada, the Chry- sorrhoas of the Greeks, while the Awaj is con- sidered identical with Pharpar. ABANCOURT, Charles Xavier Joseph d>, min- ister of Louis XVI. of France, born at Douay, July 4, 1758, died Sept. 10, 1792. At the commencement of the revolution he was captain in the cavalry, but was made minister of war in consequence of the occurrences of June 20, 1792. During the proceedings of the 10th of August he was accused of being a foe to freedom, and was imprisoned. With many others he was dragged before the tribunal at Orleans, whence he was to be reconducted to Paris ; but the transport was mobbed on the way at Versailles, and Abancourt and his fellow prisoners were butchered. ABANO, Pietro d' (Lat. Petrw de Apono), an Italian philosopher, born at Abano in 1250, died in 1316. He studied at Constantinople and Paris, became professor of medicine at Padua, and wrote several works on philosophy and medicine. Like other men of his age, he practised astrology, and was accused of magic and sentenced to be burnt, but died in prison. ABARBMEL. See ABRAVANEL. ABARCA, Joaqnin, a Spanish bishop, born in Aragon about 1780, died at Lanza, near Turin, June 21, 1844. Having been promoted in 1823 from a village priest to be bishop of Leon, for supporting the absolute rule of Ferdinand VII., he accompanied the pretender Don Carlos to Portugal and England, and acted as his agent, and in 1836 as his prime minister in the Basque provinces, but finally forfeited his regard. Being banished from Spain after various political in- trigues and adventures, he retired in 1839 to a monastery at Lanza, where he remained until his death. ABARIM, a mountain or range of highlands in eastern Palestine, facing Jericho. Its most elevated spot was Nebo, on which Moses died. ABASCAL, Jose Fernando, a Spanish states- man, born at Oviedo in 1743, died in Madrid, June 30, 1821. He entered the Spanish army in 1762, and distinguished himself as colonel in the war against the French republic. In 1796