Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/524

* KHOKASAN. 476 KHOTIN. Margiana, and Aria, forming parts of the Per- sian, later of the Parthian, Empire. Up to the sixlLfUlh fentury the naiui' tuviTud also the Ter- ritory of Uerat, now belonging to Alghanislan. Khorasan has been several limes separaleil from the Persian Empire, but was finally reunited to it at the eouunenct-ment of tlic sixteenth century by Ismail Sofi, the lirst Sutfavean Shah of Per- sia. Consult : ilaegregor. Journey Throuyh liho- rassan (London, IST'J) ; Radde, "Wis.seiisehaft- liche Ergebnisse," in I'etermanns MUtciliingcn, vol. cxxvi. (Gotha. 1898) ; Tate, Khurasan and Sistmi (London, 1900). KHORSABAD, Kor'si-biid'. A mound and small village situated in the territory of ancient Assyria, about live hours northeast of the modern Mosul (Map: Turkey in Asia, K 4). The town whose ruins constituted the mound was in reality a suburb of Nineveh. Excavations at Khorsabad were begun in 1843 by Paul liotta (q.v. ), after three months' work at Koyunjik (see Xineveh), with results which he considered unsatisfactory. At the new location he immediately brought to light im])ortant remains, his success marking the beginning of discoveries in Assyria. Supported by the Erench Government, Botta continued his work through 1844, and uncovered portions of a large palace. In 18.')l-5.j Victor Place, also at the expense of the French Government. eomi)leted the examination of this palace, discovered that it had fonned part of a fortified town, and deter- mined the position and extent of the town walls. Records which were f.'iund showed that the palace had been built by Sargon (B.C. 721-70,5), after whom the town was named DftriSharriikfn, "Sar- gon's Fortress.' The town was nearly square, .ibout a mile on each side, the angles of the walls being directed toward the four points of the com- pass. Eight gates were discovered, three of them very elaborate, flanked by winged bulls and other sculptures, while the arches were decorated with blue and white enameled tiles representing va- rious figures of excellent design and execution. The palace stood on a terrace forty-five feet high, at the northwest side of the town, a considerable portion of it extending without the wall. ( For full description of the palace, and for a plate, see Assyrian Art.) Jlost of the sculptures and other works of art from Khorsabad are now in the Louvre, although unfortunately many of the antiquities discovered by Place were lost while being transported down the Tigris. Consult liotta and Flandin, Monument de Xinirc {5 vols.. Paris. 1849-50) : Place and Thomas, yinive et IWsaiiric C? vols., ib., 1866-GO) : and the works mentioned under XlNE-E!l (q.v.). KHOSRU, Kos-rijo' (Av. Busraiah. having good renown). (1) The name of a legendary King of Persia, known as Kai Khosru. See Kai.man. (2) The name of the Sassanian King of Persia commonly called KiiosEti I. or, more accurately. Khusrau. Surnamed Anu- shirvan (the noble soul), and known to Byzan- tine histors- as Chosroes I., he was the third son of Knbad. or Kavadh. King of Persia, and was the greatest monar<h of the Sassanian dynasty. In A.n. .531 Khosru mounted the throne, accord- ing to the terms of his father's will. The young King is said to have put to death his elder broth- er, who had been excluded from the succession, and had therefore conspired against him. In ,540 Khosru reopened the standing feud between the Persians and the Bvzantines, and hostilities continued for twenty years. Although the Persians reai)ed an abtmdant harvest of glory, the other results were luiimportant. On llie accession of Justin 11., the Persian ambassadors were igno- miniously treated, and the Greeks took possession of Armenia. Kliosru, justly indigiumt, again declared war in 570, and took Dara, the eastern bulwark of the Greek Empire, but was terribly defeated at Melitene (577) by .Justinian, grand- nephew of the Emperor of that name. The vic- torious Greek was in his turn totally routed in Armenia. Khosru did not live to .see the end of the contest, as he died in 579. His governnunt, though despotic and occasionally oppressive, was marked by a firnmess and energy- rarely seen among (Jrientals. Early in his reign he divided the country into the four jirovinces of Assyria, Media, Persia, and Bactriana, administering the government of each by a viceroy. Agriculture, commerce, and science were encouraged, ravaged provinces were repeopled from his concpiests, and wasted cities rebuilt. His memory was long cherished by the Persians, and many a story of the stern justice of Kliosru is still current among them. During his reign Persia stretched from the Red Sea to the Indus, and from the Arabian Sea far into Central Asia. In addition to the histories of the period, such as Rawlinson. Eduard Meyer, and others, consult .lusti, in firundriss dcr iranischen Philologie, vol. ii. (Strassburg, 189G). KHOSRU II. King of Persia from 590 to &2S. Surnamed 'Parvez' (the Victorious). He was the grandson of Khosru I. He overthrew in 590, with the help of the Byzantine Emperor Maurice, the Armciii.nn rebel Baliram Chr'iin, who had usurped the throne of the young prince's father. Ormazd IV. In gratitude he surrendered Dara. Nisibis, and a great ]iart of Arni( nia to the Greeks, and preserved peace with them till the murder of his benefactor by Phocas in 002. Khosru invaded Mesopotamia in 004. took Dara, and for seventeen years inflicted upon the Byziintines a series of disasters the like of which they had never before experienced. Syria was conquered in 611. Palestine in 614, Egjpt and Asia Minor in 016. and the last bulwark of the capital. Chahedon, fell soon after. At this crisis the fortune of war changed sides. ( ,See Heraci.ii'.s.) Khosru was driven to the very gates of Ctesiphon. He was deposed, and mur- dered by his eldest son, Sheroe, or Siroes, Febru- ary 28, 028. Consult Justi, in Orundrisn der iraninchen Philologie, vol. ii. (Strassburg, 1896). KHOTAN, Ko-tiin', or Ilciii. A city in the southern part of East Turkestan. Chinese Em- pire, situated on the Khotan-Darya. on the edge of the great desert of the Tarim Basin, and on one of the most important trade routes of Cen- tral Asia (Jlap: Asia. G 5). It is an ill-built but extensive place, fortified with Oriental ram- parts: it has an important silk industry, and exports gold and musk. It was formerly the capital of a khanate of the same name. The population is estimated at 40.000. mostlv Uzbek Tatars. KHOTIN, KA'ty^n. or CHOTIN. The capital of the district of the same name in the Govern- ment of Bessarabia. Russia, situated on the right bank of the Dniester, a few miles from the Aus- tro-Hungarian frontier (Jlap: Russia. C 5). It is of little commercial importance. The inhabit-