Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/591

* MIN^ANS. 531 MINARET. and Lidzbarski to liave lioen formed from ilie l*ha?niciaii alphabet by a modification of certain signs to denote kindred sounds and l)y changes rendering the signs generally symmetrical. There is indeed good reason to suppose that many new signs were added in Arabia by slight changes in those already existing, and that the characters were given a squarer form. But there are some letters that are so different from those of the Phoenician alphabet as to raise the question whether other extraneous influences may not have been at work. Wliatever the relations o'f the various Egypto-Liliyan, Jlyeeiuean, and Anato- lian alphabets, the contact of tlic Jlina'ans with Egj'pt and the Philistine eo.-i.st makes it probable that it was in the nm-thwcst rather than on the Persian Gulf that this alphabet grew up. A tablet found at Lachish shows that not only eimeiform signs, but also the Mycenaean signary was to some extent used in the Philistine cities in the fourteenth century B.C. Signs liave l)een foimd on Egyptian potterj- that can scarcely have originated in the hieroglyphs that gave rise to the hieratic script. It may have been from Gaza that the ilina'ans broiight the prototype signs of their alphabet. As our oldest inscrip- tions in the Phoenician alphabet, dating from the ninth century, show that this system of writing must have been long in use, so our earliest Mina'an inscriptions indicate that the South Arabian alphabet already had a long and as yet quite obscure history of develojnncnt. BiiiLlOGEAPllY. Osiander, "Zur himjarisehen Altertumskunde," in Zcitschrift der deutschen morffenUindischen Gesellschaft, vol. xix. (Leip- zig, 1865) ; Hale^y, Etudes sabce^incs (Paris, 1875) ; D. H. Jlilller, Die Burgen und Schlbsser Hiid-Arabiens, i., ii. (Vienna, 1879-81) ; id., Epi- (jraphische Denkmiilcr atis Arabien (Vienna, 1889); id., SiUl-arabische AUerthiimcr (Vienna, 1899); Eduard Glaser, ^kizze dcr Oeschichte Arabieiis (ilunich, 1889) ; id., Oeschichte und tlcofimpltie Arabiens (i., ib., 1889; ii., Berlin, 1890) ; id.. Die Abessi/nii^ in Arabien und Afrika (Munich, 1895) ; Hommel, Aufsdtze und Abhand- hingeti, i.-ii. (ib., 1892-1901); id., Siidnrabische Chrestomatie (ib., 1893) ; id., Alti/iruelitische Ueherlieferung (ib., 1897) : N. Schmidt, in He- braica, vol. x. (Chicago, 1894) : Winckler, Gc- schichte Israels (Leipzig, 1895) ; id,, Muzri, Meluliha, Main, i.-ii. (Berlin, 1898) ; IMordtmann, Britriige sur miniiischen Epigraphik (Weimar, 189(i) ; Hartmann, in Zeitachrift fiir Assyrio- logic, vol. X. (ib., 1895) ; H. Derenbourg, Nou- renu memoire siir Vepitaphe min^en (Paris, 1895) ; Margoliouth, "Arabia," in the Hastings Bible Dictionary (New York, 1898) ; Lidzbarski, in Ephemeris fiir semitische Epigraphik (Giessen, 1902) ; Otto Weber, Studien zur siidarabischcn Altertumskunde (Berlin, 1901); id., Eine neue miniiisehe Inschrift (ib., 1901) ; Corpus Inserip- tionum Semitiearum, part iv.. Inscriptiones IJiinjnritica' et Sahww (Paris, 1889 seq.). MINAEFF, me-na'ef, DMniii (1835-89), A Kussiau poet, born at Simbirsk, lie was edu- cated in a military school, and, after brief serv- ice as secretary in the Department of the In- terior, from which he resigned in 1857, devoted him.self to literature. His most im])ortant work was as a translator of parts of Dante's Inferno, and of some of the works of Victor Hugo, and, among EnglLsh poets, of Shelley, Byron, and Marlowe, His original works include poetry, especially satire, and a comedy which won a prize from the Saint Petersburg Academy. MIN'AHAS'SAS. The natives of the Prov- ince of ,linaliassa in Xorthorn Celebes, called by some autliorilics Alfuros. A mixture of types certainly exists. Semi-Papuan somatic features have been detected anong some of the less civi- lized triJjes, while in many of the villages the ifalay tyjio of CelelK-s prevails. In this prov- ince, ])arlicul!irly in the Tondano district, the so-called 'Indonesian' type is to be seen, and infiltrations from Borneo and the Philii)pines are suspected. The Malayan language proper has in recent years made considerable inroad upon the native dialects. Among the Minahassas women arc on an equal footing with men, although from Mohammedan intliicnces some modifications have been made upon the ancient monogamy of this people. The best account of the !^iinahassas in English is in Iliekson, A Naturalist in Sorth Celebes (London, 1SS9I, MINAMOTO YOSHITSTJNE, mC'na-mu'to yo'she-tsoo'na (1158-1189), A Japanese chief- tain, Japanese history in the eleventh and twelfth centuries a,d. is concerned with the struggles of the Taira and the Minamoto clans. In 1159 Yoshitomo, the head of the Minamoto, was killed and his elan defeated. His three sous escaped, and after years of adventure defeated the Taira finally in 1185. Yoshitsune, the young- est of the three, was the lieutenant of his elder brother Yoritomo, and the most efiicient warrior in his army. Yoshitsune was in command when the last battle was fought, but his success ex- cited the jealousy of his brother, who sought his death. Escaping with eleven comrades, Yo- shitsune was pursued, and committed suicide in 1189. His history, with its adventures, triumphs, and tragic end, is the favorite theme of romance, poetry, and drama. In one form of the story the liero escaped with his life, and found refuge among the Aino in Yezo, where he is still wor- shiped as a god. Another legend represents him as going to the continent of Asia and identifies him with Genghis Khan. MIN'ARET. The tower of a mosque (q.v.), corresponding to the bell-tower or campanile of Christian churches, and so called ('light-tower') because on feast days it was illuminated at night. The Mohammedan call to ]5rayer is not by bell, but by the voice of the olTieial termed nuiezzin who at stated times (five times daily) mounts to the suunnit of the minaret and summons the people from its upper balcony with the pre- scribed formula. Each mosque has one or more minarets. The normal number for the largest DJami mosques is four, one at each angle of the inclosure. Some have as many as six, e.g. the Ahmed mosque at Constantinople. The mosque at Mecca has the exceptional number of seven. The usual type is a slender polygonal and cylindrical structure of stone or brick, often rising from a square base and consisting of sev- eral stories marked by balconies, either pro- jecting on stalactite .sujjports, or with a receding story above ; it is crowned by a pinnacle or small dome. The smnmit is reached by a winding inner stairway; only the old stone minaret of TuUni at Cairo has an external winding staircase. The earliest mosques had no minarets. They were first built during the seventh century, the Khalif Omar being said to have erected two at