Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/815

ARA CŒLI. A'RA CŒ'LI (Lat.. Altar of Heaven). The name f.'iven t(i the famous ehinvli of the Virgin erected on the summit of the Capitoline Hill in Rome. It was the only Christian ediliee on the Capitol, and was for centuries called Sancta Maria in Capitolio; but popular lejjend connected it with the possession by Christianity of the strong- hold of Paganism, and the Middle Ages imagined a dream of Augustus, to whom the Sibyl an- nounced that here was the altar of the Son of (Jod; lience Ara Cocli. The church took over all the celebrity of the pagan Capitol, and was the meeting-place for the city council and the people. ARAD, or'od. Two towns of the Kingdom of Hungary. (1) Old Akad (Hung. 0-Arad). The capital of the county of Arad, situated on the right bank of the Maros. a tributary of the Theiss, about thirty-seven miles north of Temes- viir (Map: Hungary, G 3). The town has many handsome streets and fine modern buildings, such as the theatre, town-hall, and the palaces of justice and industry. The former strong fortifications are now rather out of date. Arad is the seat of a Greek-Oriental and of a Rumanian bishop. It is one of the most important industrial towns of Hungary. Its manufactures include alcohol (one of the largest distilleries in Europe), starch, leather, and machinery. There is also a considerable export trade in grain, to- bacco, wine, and cattle. Population, in 1890, 42,050.

During the Seventeenth Century it was often captured by the Turks. Its new fortifications, erected in 1763, made Arad an important posi- tion in the Revolutionary War of 1848-49, when it was occupied for a considerable time by the Austrian general, Berger, Avho capitulated here in July, 1849. From this place Kossuth issued the last proclamation to the Hungarian patriots. After the capitulation at Vilagos, August 13, 1849, Arad was surrendered to the Russians by the order of Gorgey. Here, on October 6th of the same year, a number of Hungarian generals were executed by order of the Austrian com- mander, Haynau.

(2). New Arad (Hung. Vj-Arad). A town in the count}' of Temes, on the left bank of the Maros opposite Old Arad, with which it is con- nected by a long wooden liridge. It has a large trade in Hour and wood. Population, 1890, 6000. AR'ADUS (now Ruad). An ancient Phoeni- cian town situated on a small island of the same name, aliout 35 miles north of the town of Trip- olis (Map: Turkey in Asia, F .5). Strabo says that the city of Aradus was founded by fugitives from Sidon. It was independent, ruled over the adjacent coast, and assisted the Macedonians in the siege of Tyre. In 638 the Caliph Omar's commander destroyed Aradus, and it was not rebiiilt. The ruins show that it was once a very strong place. The Hebrew name of the town was Arvad. The present village of Ruad lia.s a small population. ARAF, iiVaf, or more accurately AlA'raf. The name given in the Koran (Sura vii. 44) to the partition separating heaven from hell. Mo- hammed vividly portrays those standing by the partition saluting the happy inhabitants of Para- dise without being able to enter it, while on the other hand they are also terrified at the sight of those who are condemned to the tortures of hell- fire. In .Mohammedan theology. El-Araf is a sort of limbo for those whose good and evil works so balance one another that they cannot enter Paradise until the last day of judgment; but in addition to this class, there are others who, ac- cording to the views of some theologians, are consigned to El-Araf. ARAFAT, a'ra-fiit'. ilouxT, or .Tebei, ai,- Kaiimah I Mount of Jlercy). A granite hill some twelve miles east of Mecca. According to the Mohammedans, when Adam and Eve were cast forth from Paradise for eating the wheat which deprived them of their pristine purity, Adam fell at Ceylon, and Eve on Mount Arafat: and after much wandering, Adam finally joined Eve on this mountain. The mount is about two hundred feet high and a mile and a half in circuit. The mount is the real goal of the Jlohammedan pilgrimage to Jlecca, for while the visit to the Kaaba — the sanctuary at Jlecca — may be made at any time, it is known as the "small pilgrimage." The "great pilgrimage," which ends with a visit to Arafat, can only be made in the month Dim ainijjah. i.e. "month of pilgrimage." The ninth day of this month, the most sacred of the year, is spent by the pilgrims at Arafat, to which they proceed in a body on the eveninc of the eighth day. The day is spent in prayers and in listening to a sermon which always lasts many hours. See Burton's account in his Pilfirimage to El-Medina and Kaa- ha, Mecca and Medina, chapter xxviii. See, also, Kaasa; IMecca; Islasi. ARAGO, a'ra-gfl; French pron. a'ra'g6'. (1786-18.53). A celebrated French astronomer and natural philosopher, born at Estagel, near Perpignan, in the Department of Basses-Pyrenees. At the age of seventeen he entered the Ecole Polytechnique at Paris, where the spirit, promptitude, and vivid intelligence he exhibited in his answers to the questions of Legendre excited the admiration of every one. In 1805 he became secretary' to the Bureau des Longitudes at Paris. Two years afterwards he was engaged, with Biot and others, by the French Government, to carry out the measurement of an arc of the meridian, which had been commenced by Delambre and ^lechain. Arago and Biot had to extend it from Barcelona to the Balearic Islands. The two savants established themselves on a lofty summit near the eastern coast of the Spanish peninsula, where they lived for many months, communicating by signals across the Mediterranean with their Spanish collaborators in the little isle of Iviza. Before Arago comjdeted his calculations, Biot had returned to France, and war had broken out between France and Spain. Arago was now held to be a spy; his signals were interrupted: and with great difl!iculty he succeeded in making his escape to JIajorca, where he voluntarily imprisoned himself in the citadel of Belver, near Palma. At last he obtained his lilierty on condition of pro<'eeding to Algiers, which he did; but on his way back to France was captured by a Spanish cruiser, and sent to the hulks at Palamos. He was, however, liberated after a time and sailed once more for France; but almost as he was entering the port of Marseilles, a tempest arose which drove the vessel across the Mediterranean all the way back to the coast of Africa, landing it at Bougia. He went by land to Algiers, where he was com-