Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/914

* ZILLER. ' ZILLER, tsil'ler, Tviskon (1817-82)., A German educator, born at Wasungen, in Saxe- Jleiningen. He studied philology and law at the University of Leipzig. In 1854 he was made professor of philosopliy and pedagogy at Leip- zig. In 1801 he founded a pedagogical seminary at Leipzig, and in 1808 his pupils established with his help the Society for the Scientific Study of Pedagog}-. He was a pioneer in pedagogy, and as such had a profound influence upon later students of the new science. Among his publications were: Einleitung in die allye- meine Piklagogik (1856; 2d ed. 1901) ; flrundle- gung zur Lchre vom erziehenden Vnterricht (1805; 2d ed. 1883); and Allgemeine philoso- phische Ethik (1880; 2d ed. 1886). Con- sult: Lange, Tuiskon Zillcr (Leipzig, 1884) ; and Friihlich, Die wissenschriftUche Pddagogik Her- lurt-Ziller-Stoys (Vienna, 1892). ZILLERTHAL, tsil'er-tal. A beautiful val- ley of the Eastern Alps, in Xortheastern Tyrol, traversed by the Zillerbach, an affluent of the Inn. The "zillerthal Alps form the northeast- ern part of the watershed in Tyrol between the Inn and the Adige. They are composed of two chains: The Tuxer Alps on the northwest, the main Zillerthal range on the southeast, the Zillerthal Valley being between the two. Hoch- feiler is the loftiest elevation — 11.000 feet. There are altogether 1.30 glaciers. Cattle-raising and cheese-making are the chief occupations of the inhabitants. A railroad reaches up as far as Mairhofen. ZIMB (Ar., fly). A fly exceedingly destruc- tive to cattle in Abyssinia. It probably belongs to the same family as the tsetse (q.v. ), and is little larger than a bee, but thicker in propor- tion, the wings broader, and without color or spot. The zinib is found only where the soil consists of a rich black loam ; but all the in- habitants of the seacoast along the southern shores of the Red Sea, and southward bej'ond Cape Guardafui, are compelled to remove their cattle in the rainy season to the nearest sands, in order to prevent their destruction by this pest, as well as those of more inland districts from the mountains of Abyssinia northward to the con- fluence of the Astaboras and the Nile. The camel, the elephant, and the rhinoceros are liable to the attacks of the zimb, as well as the ox ; but the elephant and rhinoceros protect themselves by rolling in mud, which, when dry, coats them as with a kind of armor. ZIMBABWE, zeni-bilb'wtt (Bantu, stone houses). The name of the very remarkable ruins in Southeastern Mashonaland, in latitude 20° 1(1' 30" S. and longitude 31° 10' 10" E., also called Great Zimbabwe, to distinguish them from the numerous minor Zimbabwes scattered through the country. The ruins, which cover a large area, are situated upon a high plateau, 3300 feet above sea-level, and consist of a ciroi- lar structure placed upon a moderate eminence, and a strongly fortified acropolis on the top o£ a neighboring kopje, with a considerable mass of ruins in the valley between. The circular struc- ture, which .seems to have combined the functions of a temple and a fort, is 280 feet in diameter and is surrounded by a stone wall l)nilt of small granite blocks laid, as in all Imildings of this type, without mortar. The height of the wall 6 ZIMMERMANN. varies from 35 to 15 feet, and its thickness from 16 to 5 feet. It is pierced by three entrances and the interior is divided into compartments by a complicated system of inner walls. In an in- elosure at the southeastern end stand two solid conical towers, one of which is 32 feet higli, while its fellow is much smaller. These towers ap- pear to resemble the great phallic towers de- scribed by ancient writers as standing in the sacred inclosures of Phoenician temples. To the north of the circular structure the ground slopes down into a small valley filled with a great mass of ruins and debris, probably the remains of a city. On the opposite side of the valley is a precipitous hill or kopje crowned with the ruins of an ancient citadel or acropolis, which is ap- proached by a narrow way strongly fortified at every step. The hill is of great natural strength, being protected on one side by gigantic boulders, and on the south by a precipice from 70 to 90 feet high ; the only accessible side is protected by a massive wall, 13 feet thick at the top and 30 feet high in places. Like that of the circular structure below, the interior of the acropolis is divided by walls into a labyrinthine maze of compartments. From one of these compartments a stairway leads down to a series of caves in which were found a furnace for smelting gold, a number of small crucibles with particles of gold still adhering to them, and a soapstone ingot mold. The ruins of Great Zimbabwe are the most important of a long series of similar ruins extending along the whole length of the west side of the Sabi River. The region in which they oc- cur is rich in gold, and numerous ancient work- ings attest the fact that the metal was exten- sively mined here at a very early period. Indeed, it can hardty be doubted, in the light of recent discoveries, that in this auriferous district was the biblical Ophir whence King Solomon is said to have derived large quantities of the precious metal. The Zimbabwe and other similar ruins were undoubtedly the work of the ancient people who operated the gold mines in this district and established colonies for the carrying on of the industry. The strong fortifications of their ruined cities indicate that these colonies were surrounded by a hostile population. The archae- ological evidence tends to show that the ancient builders and miners were Semites, and probably South Arabians, though the country and its valu- able products seem to have been known to the Pha'nieians and Egyptians as well. Jlediicval Arabic writers frequently mention the gold ob- tained from this region, and a certain amount is reported to have been mined there at the time of the Portuguese settlement in the sixteenth century. At the present day mining operations are extensively carried on in the district, and a large amount of gold is produced. Tlu' ruins of Great Zimbabwe were discovered by Karl Mauch in 1871 ; they were carefully explored by Theo- dore Bent in 1S91. and have since been visited by several explorers. Consult : Bent, The lluined Cities of Manhonrilnnd (London, 1802): and Peters, Ini doldland des AUcrliims (Munich, 1902). ZIMMERMANN", tsTm'cr-man, Albert (1809-SH). . (Icrnian huidsca|)e painter, born at Zittau. Saxony. Without any instruction he began to (laint at the age of twenty, then studied in Dresden, and from 1832 to 1854 in Munich,