Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/879

 SHIAHS binding. The loaves were placed in two piles, one above another, and were changed every sabbath day by the priests. The removed bread became the property of the priests, who alone had a right to eat of it, and only in the holy place. But in cases of emergency they incurred no blame by giving it to persons who were in a state of ceremonial purity, as in the instance of David and his men (1 Sam. xxi.). SHIAHS, Sheeahs, or Shlites (Ar. ahia, a faction), a sect of Mohammedans, who believe that Ali, the son-in-law of Mohammed, was by right entitled to be his immediate successor. The proper name of the sect is Shiat Ali, or All's party. After the death of the prophet the party that supported Ali's rivals, Abubekr, Omar, and Othinan, successively effected their eleva- tion to the caliphate before him, and he did not attain that office till 23 years after the death of Mohammed. The Shiahs consisted mainly of the Persian portion of the early adherents of Islam. They entertained the most exag- gerated notions concerning Ali, and even du- ring his lifetime propounded doctrines assign- ing to him a certain participation in the na- ture and attributes of God, and placing him above Mohammed. The Shiahs reject such of the traditions of Islam as relate to the first three caliphs or any other enemies of Ali, and they accept certain traditions which are rejected by the Sunnis, or orthodox Moham- medans. To the common formula of faith, "There is no God but Allah, and Moham- med is his prophet," they add, "Ali is the vicar of God." The Shiah doctrines made rapid progress, and in the early centuries of Islam repeatedly attained to power (see CA- LIPHS) ; and at present they form the majority of the Persian and Hindoo Mohammedans. SHIiWASSEE, a central county of Michigan, intersected by Shiawassee river, a head stream of the Saginaw; area, 576 sq. m. ; pop. in 1874, 21,773. The surface is undulating and the soil fertile ; timber is abundant, and bitu- minous coal is found. It is traversed by the Detroit and Milwaukee railroad, and the Jack- son, Lansing, and Saginaw division of the Mich- igan Central. The chief productions in 1870 were 484,587 bushels of wheat, 262,861 of In- dian corn, 202,510 of oats, 17,341 of barley, 240,162 of potatoes, 32,464 tons of hay, 192,- 612 Ibs. of wool, 491,606 of butter, and 32,999 of maple sugar. There were 4,718 horses, 5,864 milch cows, 1,480 working oxen, 6,142 other cattle, 45,536 sheep, and 8,399 swine; 4 manufactories of furniture, 7 of iron castings, 2 tanneries, 10 saw mills, 6 flour mills, and 1 woollen mill. Capital, Corunna. SHIELD (Ger. Schild), & piece of defensive armor, which before the invention of gunpow- der was in almost universal use, but is now employed chiefly by barbarous races. It was sometimes called also buckler and target. The shield of the ancients from the earliest times was a framework of twisted osiers or light Tvood, over which one or more thicknesses of SHIELD 868 ox hide and sometimes ornamental or defen- sive metal work were fastened; and those de- scribed by Homer covered the body from the face to the knee. Shields were carried on the FIG. 1. 1. Scutum, from Trajan's Column. 2. Clipeus, from a Greek Vase. left arm, and were of various shapes and sizes. The shield called by the Romans clipeus was large and round, having sometimes a projec- tion in the centre of the exterior, called the umbo, which frequently terminated in a spike. The scutum of the Roman legionary soldiers was oblong and rectangular, and was general- ly 4 ft. high by 2 ft. wide. The parma, a smaller round framework of iron covered with hides, was used by light troops; the pelto, which was lighter still and sometimes ellipti- cal, but oftener truncated at the top with one or more semicircular indentations, was intro- duced among the Greeks by Iphicrates, and the troops armed with it were called peltasta. The cetra was a small round target, borne by many ancient races, and probably identical with that formerly used by the Scottish high- landers. In time of peace the Greeks hung their shields in the temples, removing the han- dles to render them unserviceable in case of a popular outbreak. The Roman soldiers in- scribed their names upon their shields, and men of family emblazoned them with devices illustrating the heroic feats of their ancestors, FIG. 2. 1. 2. Amazons with the Pelta, from a marble bass relief. 8. Parma, from a terra cotta bass relief. and sometimes with their own portraits, a practice to which may be ascribed the modern use of armorial bearings. To lose a shield in battle, or to return without it, was a mark