Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/645

* SARGENT. 579 SARMIENTO DE GAMBOA. and later spttlod in New York City. He devotoil niuoli of liis time to liistorieal reseiireh and piili- lislied works d<'alini: with the Colonial and Revo- lutionary (leriods, infliidinjj Hisionj of an Expe- dition Against t'urt Diuiiicsnc in I'loo, Under ilajor-Ocntral Edward liraddock (185U); Life and Career of Major John Andri (18U1) ; The Loyal Verses of Joseph titansbiiry and Dr. Jona- than Odell (IS(iO) ; and Loyalist Poetry of the KcviiUilion (ISflO). SARGON, siir'gon. The name of an early Babylonian king and of a famous ruler of As- syria. (1) Sargon I. (Shargani-shar-ali), a Semitic ruler of Agade, the biblical Acead (Gen. X. 10), a North Babylonian city, at a date which, upon the authority of a late IJabylonian state- ment and of arclueological evidence, is placed by some scholars at B.C. 3S00, while others ])lace it 1000 years later. An interesting story re- sembling that of the youth of Jloses and of Cyrus is told of his rise to power. He seems to have been the first to bring all Babylonia under the control of one Semitic dominion; at the same time he carried his arms far beyond the Eu- phrates Valley, claiming to have conquered Elam, and making progress into the west. His great buildings at Nippur, along with those of his son Naram-sin, likewise a redoubtable conqueror, have been unearthed by the University of Penn- sylvania expeditions. Consult: Hilprecht. Ex- earations in Bible Lands (Philadelphia. 1903); Winckler, in Keilinschriftliche Bihliothek. iii. (Berlin, 1889); Rogers, History of Babylonia ami Assyria (New York. 1901). (2) Sargon II. {Sharru-nkin, 'a god has established the king' — an etymological play on the name of the earli- er conqueror, by which name he was also known). King of Assyria. B.C. 722-70.5. He followed Shal- maneser IV., but how he came to the throne is not known. His first achievement was the cap- ture of Samaria, after its three years' siege by his predecessor ( II. Kings, xviii. et seq. ). How- ever, he was not present at this triumph, being engaged with a rebellion raised by ilerodach- baladan in Babylon, whom Sargon was unable to subdue. In the west rebellion soon broke out, led by Hamath in Central Syria and by Gaza, at the instigation of Egypt : but he defeated these foes at the battles of Karkar and Raphia (B.C. 720). The next decade was occupied with the laborious conquest of the aggressive State of Urartu to the north, which was annexed to the Empire, and with extensive conquests in Media. In B.C. 711 another rebellion broke out in South Syria, having its centre in Ashdod, .Judah also being implicated (ef. Isa. xx.). But the cities which opposed Sargon's arms easily succumbed. He then undertook the subjection of Babylon, and drove out Merodach-baladan by brilliant cam- paigning, being finally recognized as the legiti- mate lord of the land (B.C. 709). His ability as a conqueror not only .secured to him the tra- ditional limits of the Assyrian Empire, but also extended them in every direction, and in the west into Cilicia, Cappadocia. and CJyprus. The last years of his reign were occupied with great building operations, notably in connection with a new capital, Dur-sharrukin, the modern Khor- sabad (q.v.). He was succeeded by his son Sen- nacherib (q.v.). Consult: inckeT. Keilschrift- texte Rargovs (Leipzig, 1889) ; Peiser. in Keilin- schriftliche Bihliothek. ii. (Berlin, 1890) ; and the histories of Rogers and others. SARK, siirk, or SERCQ. The fourtli in size, but most picturesque, of the Channel Islands (q.v.), miles cast of Guernsey (Map: Krance, I) 2). It consists of Great and Little Sark, con- nected by the Coupee, a natural causeway, 150 yards long, 15 feet broad, and 384 feet iiigh. SARMATIANS, siirnia'sh<;nz. An ancient trilie wlio in iv linu' of Herodotus (fifth century B.C.) lived betwei'n the Caspian Sea. the Don, and the Sea of Azov. Later they subdued the Scy- thians of the great plains north of the Black Sea, to which the name of Sarmatia was ex- tended. They spoke the same language as the Scythians, and are now thought to have been one of a group of tribes of which the Scythian* are the best known. Herodotus describes some of the ancient tribes of the Don as semi-civilized, while others were in the lowest stage of bar- barism. Kenuiins of the Sarmatians luive been found in the burial mounds in their former habi- tat, and it is supposed by .some that they were the ancestors of the .Slavs (q.v.). Among the Sarmatian tribes were the Koxolani and the Jazyges. Some of the latter pushed as far west as the |ilaiiis of modern Hungary. SARMIENTO, s:ir'nn'-an't6. DoMixoo Faus- Tixo (1811-88). President of Argentina. He was born at San .Juan in Argentina, and for some time lived as a teacher at San Luis. For op- posing Rosas he was compelled to flee about 1830 to Chile, where he worked as clerk and teacher. He returned to San .Juan in 183G, established a school there for girls, and edited a literary paper, but was imprisoned on a pcditical charge, and forced once more to go to Chile. There he devoted himself to the question of public instruction, founded the first normal school in South Ameri- ca, and in 1845 was sent by the Chilean (iovern- ment to visit the educational institutions of Europe and the United States. After 1847 he acted as the editor of several journals. In 1851 he returned to the Argentine Republic, and fought in the war against the dictator Rosas. To liim was due the establishment of a Dejiartment of Public Instruction, of which he became Minister in 18(!0. In close succession he filled the olliees of Minister of Interior, Governor of San Juan, Minister to Chile, and finally Minister to the United States from 18G5 to ISOS. when he was chosen President of the Argentine Republic. Among his important works arc: Viajes por Europa. Afriea g Amtriea i 1848) ; Argarojiolis. 6 la capital de los Estados Confederados ( 1850) ; Cirilizacion y barbaric. 6 Facundo Quiroga y Aldao (1851). The results of his sojourn in America were his FiV/a de Ahrahun Lincoln (1S6G), and Las c^cuelas, base de la prosperidad en los Estados Vnidos (1868). SARMIENTO DE GAMBOA, dit grim-b.Va, Pedro (c.15."0-c.1591 ) . A South American navi- gator, born in Galicia, Spain. He was sent in 1570 from Callao in Peru with a small tieet to inter- cept Drake, then cruising along the coasts of Peru and Mexico, and further to explore the Straits of Magellan. On his return to Spain in 1580 he gave King Philip a description of the locality, which decided him to fortify it as a stronghold, and .a year afterwards Sarmienlo and Diego Flores Vahlez were sent there, in charge of a large exnedition. Sarniiento established a colony at San Felipe, now known as Port Famine, but on his way back to Spain he was captured by the English, and he was not released until 1588.