Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/634

ANDRONICUS. became his mistress. He was appointed to a military command in Cilicia; but, although the favorite of the army, his imprudence and waste of time in dissolute pleasures involved him in defeat. Having engaged in a treasonable correspondence with the King of Hungary and the German Emperor, he was thrown into prison by Manuel, and remained there more than twelve years. At last he succeeded in making his escape, and reached Kiev, the residence of Prince Yaroslav. He regained the favor of his cousin by persuading the Russian Prince to join in the invasion of Hungary, but incurred his cousin's displeasure again by refusing to take the oath of allegiance to the Prince of Hungary, the intended husband of Manuel's daughter, as presumptive heir to the Empire. He was sent in honorable banishment to Cilicia, where he found a new mistress in a sister of the Empress. The resentment of the Emperor breaking out against him, he sought refuge in a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. His professions of zeal caused his former conduct to be forgotten, and he was invested with the lordship of Berytus; but his profligacy became, if possible, more scandalous than ever. He seduced Theodora, the widow of Baldwin, King of Jerusalem, who lived with him for years as his mistress. The Emperor's anger made the Syrian coast unsafe for him, and he fled with Theodora to Damascus, and finally settled down among the Turks in Asia Minor, with a band of outlaws, making frequent inroads into the Roman province of Trebizond, from which he carried away spoil and slaves. Theodora and her children were at last taken and sent to Constantinople, and thither he followed, imploring the forgiveness of the Emperor, which he obtained: but he was sent to ŒEnoë, in Pontus. After the death of Manuel, popular indignation was excited against the Empress, who acted as regent for her son, Alexius II., and Andronicus was recalled, in 1182, to deliver the Empire from her tyranny. He was appointed guardian of the young Emperor, and soon after his colleague in the Empire. He caused the Empress-mother to be strangled, and afterward Alexius himself, whose widow he married. His reign, though short, was vigorous, and restored prosperity to the provinces; but tyranny and murder were its characteristics in the capital. He set no bounds to the gratification of his revenge against all who had ever offended him, and his jealousy of possible rivals was equally sanguinary. At last, a destined victim, Isaac Angelus, one of his relatives, having fled to the church of St. Sophia for sanctuary, a crowd gathered, and a sudden insurrection placed Isaac on the throne, while Andronicus was put to death by the infuriated populace, after horrible mutilations and tortures, on September 12, 1185. He was the last of the Comneni that sat on the throne of Constantinople; but the succeeding dukes and emperors of Trebizond were descendants of his son, Manuel. — (1260-1332), the son of Michael Pahrologus, ascended the throne in 1282; but, after a weak and inglorious reign, was driven from it, in 1328, by his grandson. — (1296-1341), after a reign equally inglorious, died in 1341. — as the result of a conspiracy against his father, John Palæologus, was proclaimed Emperor, 1377, but was obliged to abdicate and beg forgiveness the following year. Consult Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

ANDRONICUS (Gk. Ἀνδρόνικος, Andronikos), also called from his birthplace, Cyrrhus, in Syria. A Greek architect, who erected the so-called Tower of the Winds at Athens, a building dating from the first century B.C. This tower was an octagonal structure, made of Pentelic marble and surmounted by a figure of Triton, which moved with the wind and pointed to the direction from which the wind came. On the eight sides of the tower were sculptured in relief figures representing the eight principal winds, and beneath these was a sun-dial. The interior contained a water-clock. In the Middle Ages this structure was called "The Lantern of Demosthenes."

ANDRONICUS (Gk. Ἀνδρόνικος, Andronikos) A peripatetic philosopher, who lived at Rome in Cicero's time and employed himself in criticising and explaining the works of Aristotle (q.v.), a great number of which he was probably the means of preserving to us. None of the writings of Andronicus are extant; a work On the Passions, attributed to him, is a compilation of the Roman imperial period; a paraphrase of the Nicomachean Ethics is the work of Constantine Palæocappa of the sixteenth century. Consult, in general, Zeller, Geschichte der griechischcn Philosophie (Leipzig, 1893).

ANDRONICUS, Livius. See.

ANDRONICUS,. The hero of the Shakespearean play Titus Andronicus (q.v.).

AN'DROPO'GON (called so from the barbed male flowers, from the Gk. ai't/p, aner, man -f- nuyav, pogOn, beard). A cosmopolitan genus of grasses, including about 150 species, the relative merits of which vary widely. Some are highly prized for hay and pasturage, as Andropogon halepense, or Johnson grass, which has been under cultivation in the United States since about 1830. It yields large quantities of hay, and in the Southern States may be cut three or four times a year. On account of its habit of growth — it spreads by its rhizomes — when once established it is difficult of eradication. It is somewhat sensitive to cold, and will not persist as a perennial except in warm regions. A number of species of dropogon are well known in the semi-arid region of the United States under the name of blue-stem grasses, and in these regions are of value. The principal of these species are: Andropogon nutans, Andropogon provincialis, and Andropogon scoparius. Other species are common in the eastern and southern parts of the United States as broom sedge; of these Andropogon virginicus is one of the most widely distributed. If cut early, the broom sedges make good hay: but if left too long, the plant becomes so woody as to be refused by all stock. Andropogon squarrosus, a native of India, is famous for the fragrance of its roots, which are employed in making fans, and yield the perfume known as vétiver. The roots are sometimes sold for their stimulant properties in drug stores under the name of Radix anatheri. In some systems of classification the sorghums are grouped under this genus. The specific name Andropogon sorghum and its variety, sativus, comprise under these classifications the saccharine and non-saccharine forms. Among the latter are durra, Millo maize, Jerusalem corn, broom corn, etc., some of which are valuable for forage in dry countries. Eight or ten species