Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/487

 CRILLON CRIMEA 483 Berton de CrHlon, born at Murs in Provence in 1541, died Dec. 2, 1615. He was the first to assume the name of Crillon, from a small estate of that name situated in the present de- partment of Vaucluse. Having become famous by his exploits, the name was adopted by the whole family. As the youngest of six brothers, he was destined for the order of the knights of Malta, studied with zeal and diligence at the school of Avignon, and eagerly pursued bodily and chivalric exercises. Under Francis de Lorraine, duke of Guise, he completed his ed- ucation as a warrior and cavalier in his 16th year. Under the command of the duke he was the first to scale the walls of Calais, which had been for two centuries in the hands of the English, and was taken in 1558 after a siege of eight days. He equally distinguished himself at the capture of Guines. He was presented by his commander to Henry II. as the chief instrument of his victories, and richly reward- ed by numerous clerical estates, it being at that period customary in France to bestow benefices on laymen, to be managed for their benefit by members of the clergy. In the en- suing civil wars of France he served against the Huguenots, defeating the conspiracy of Amboise formed against the Guises (1560), and fighting in the battles of Rouen, Dreux, St. Denis, Jarnac, Moncontour, and St. Jean d'An- g61y. As a knight of Malta he fought under Don John of Austria off Lepanto against the Turks (1571), was wounded, and sent with the news of the victory to Charles IX. of France and Pope Pius V. Already called "the brave " by the court of France, aud " the man without fear " by the army, he became the ob- ject of general admiration. He took no part in the massacre of St. Bartholomew's, though he continued to serve against the Huguenots. The duke of Anjou, brother of the king, hav- ing been elected king of Poland (1573) after the extinction of the house of Jagiello, Crillon followed him to that country through Ger- many, where he defended him against the in- sults of the Protestants, and accompanied him on his flight thence when he succeeded as Henry III. to the throne of France. On his return he was distinguished with new honors by the cities of Venice and Lyons. When, after the battle of Coutras (1587), Henry III. openly commenced hostilities against the league, and the states assembled at Blois de- creed the assassination of the duke of Guise, who had succeeded his father in the leader- ship of the Catholics, the monarch offered Crillon the honor of killing the duke, which he refused. He afterward fought for the king against the league, and after the assassination of Henry III. served with equal fidelity Henry IV. The battle of Ivry (1590) ended 'his ser- vices in the civil wars. In the war against Spain Crillon was active again. The peace of Savoy ended his military career, and he retired to Avignon. The chivalric bravery of Crillon was equalled by his generosity, which prompted him even to pardon an attempt at his own as- sassination. The estates of the family were in- herited by THOMAS, the third of the brothers, and made in the fourth generation a duchy by Benedict XIII. II. Louis, second duke de, born in 1718, died in Madrid in 1796. Having en- tered the French army at the age of 13, he fought under Villars in the campaign of 1733 in Italy, and distinguished himself in Germany. Entering the Spanish service in 1762, he con- quered Minorca (1782), and was rewarded by the title of duke of Mahon. He commanded at the unsuccessful siege of Gibraltar, and after- ward became captain general of the provinces of Valencia and Murcia. His Memoires mili- taires (Paris, 1791) contain many particulars valued by men of military science. CRIMEA (Russ. Krym), a peninsula at the southern extremity of the Russian empire in Europe, forming a part of the government of Taurida, between lat. 44 25' and 46 10' N., and Ion. 32 30' and 36 40' E. ; greatest ex- tent from E. to W. 190 m., from N. to S. 123 m. ; area, 7,654 sq. m. ; pop. about 200,000. This peninsula is connected with the main body of the empire by the narrow isthmus of Perekop, the breadth of which is about 4 m. The Crimea, in consequence of its geographical, commercial, and strategical position, is one of the most important divisions of the empire, commanding as it does the navigation of the Black sea. It has a coast line of 650 m. Along its N". E. shore there extends a long and narrow inlet of the sea of Azov, from which it is separated by a tongue of land, or rather a sand bar, about 70 m. long and 1 to 1 m. wide. This inlet is so shallow that in some places it has the appearance of a morass, and its name (Sivash, or Putrid sea) indicates its general aspect. The eastern part of the Crimea forms a minor peninsula, stretching eastward to the strait of Yenikale, the Cimmerian Bos- porus of the ancients. While the N". portion of the peninsula is only a continuation of the steppes of S. Russia, mostly barren, cheerless, and swept by chilling winds, the S. portion, sloping from a mountain chain which stretches from Sebastopol to Kaffa as a barrier to the north winds, enjoys a semi-tropical climate, which is particularly delightful in spring, and a great richness and variety of vegetation. Hence the N". portion has from time imme- morial been occupied by nomadic tribes, eking out a scanty subsistence by cattle raising ; while on the S. slope higher forms of culture have been developed by the Greeks, the Geno- ese, the Tartars, and the Russians, successively. There is only a comparatively narrow belt of arable soil on the N". slope, and on this belt the most important towns are situated, such as Sebastopol, Bakhtchiserai (the old capital of the Tartar rulers), Simferopol, Staroi Krym, and Karasu-Bazar. To the northward of this belt extends the steppe, its monotony relieved only by numerous herds of cattle, and thou- sands of cranes, storks, and gulls, swarming