Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XV.djvu/903

 TRIPOLI system of piratical plunder which was con- tinued for centuries. The Christian nations ad their commerce were the objects of attack .nd all prisoners taken were sold into slavery! The capital was bombarded by a French fleet - 1683, when the pasha professed submission ,o Louis XIV. A controversy with the United States grew out of the practice of piracy, and ifter several conflicts in 1801-'5, in which Jommodores Preble and Decatur chiefly dis- tinguished themselves (see FEEBLE, and DECA- TUB), the latter in 1815 enforced reparation for injuries inflicted by the Tripolitans upon American commerce. In 1816 a similar mis- on was undertaken by a British force, which apelled the bey to renounce piracy and _ee to treat all future prisoners according the usages of civilized nations. Though .ripoli is a dependency of the Ottoman em- ire, the bey enters into treaties with foreign 'Owers without consulting any superior. In 873 early times beys were appointed from Con- stantinople and supported by a Turkish gar- l 01 !! ^ Ut a Moori ^ chief, Earned Karamauli rebelled successfully in 1713 and estabhshed himself as bey. His descendants continued to rule the country till 1832, when the last bey of the line was compulsorily removed on account ol his excessive oppressions, and the Porte has since resumed its authority. The chiefs of the interior acknowledge but slight allegiance, and maintain amicable relations with the bey chiefly because the commerce carried on through the capital is advantageous to them ; and the Arabs sometimes resort to open hostilities II. A city (anc. (Ea the capital, situated upon a rocky promontory on the Mediterranean, about 600 m. S. E. of Algiers, and 300 m. 8. of the Sicilian coast, in lat. 3254'N., Ion. 13 11' E pop. about 24,000. The land defences are 'a castle and wall flanked by bastions, and seaward there are strong batteries. The harbor no- Port of Tripoli where exceeds five or six fathoms in depth, but the roadstead affords deep anchorage. The streets are narrow and uneven, and the houses low and irregular. They are nearly all one story high, without exterior windows, built of stones and mud, and whitewashed. Tripoli contains six handsome mosques and many others. The roof of the great mosque is formed by small cupolas, supported by 16 marble columns. There are Christian places of worship, a Fran- ciscan convent, and several synagogues ; and all religions are tolerated within the limits of the city. The pasha's residence is an immense building of very irregular appearance, con- structed at different times. There are numer- ous caravansaries, two bazaars, and many tine public baths. Woollen goods (particularly car- pets), leather, and potash are manufactured. A great part of the trade of the state, as well as _ that of the interior of Africa, centres at Tripoli. The merchants are principally Jews, who trade under monopolies granted by the government. There is frequent steam com- munication with the ports of Europe. The foreign commerce is chiefly with Malta, Mar- seilles, Leghorn, Trieste, and the Levant ; and the land trade is carried on by means of cara- vans with all the surrounding countries and as far as Morocco, Timbuctoo, and Mecca. The city contains several remains of antiquity, the most remarkable of which is a triumphal arch of marble, erected in A. D. 164 to the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and his colleague Lucius Verus; the inscription is perfect, al- though the sculptures are greatly defaced. TRIPOLI, Tarabtas, or Tarabnlus (anc. Tripolis), a seaport town of Syria, on the Mediterranean, in lat. 34 26' K, Ion. 35 49' E., 40 m. N. N. E. of Beyrout, and 70 m. N. W. of Damascus ; pop. about 16,000, one half Greek Catholics. It stands at the foot of an offset of Mt. Leba- non, on a small triangular plain, with the sea at a little distance on the N. and S. sides. A hill on the south is crowned by an old castle ; and the town is divided into two parts by the Nahr Kadisha. The harbor, at El Mina, about 1 m. to the northwest, is small, shallow, and unsafe. There are several mosques, which are generally fine buildings, most of them for- merly Christian churches. It is one of the neatest towns in Syria, and is surrounded by many fine gardens and groves of orange and