284 



THE CENTURY BOOK OF FACTS. 



Arkansas (Bear State) First settlement, by the 

 French, at Arkansas Post, 1685. Admitted to the Union 

 in 1836. Ranks tlf th in cotton, ninth in mules, twenty- 

 second in miles of railway, twenty-fifth in popula'tio'n 

 and in square miles, thirty-first in wealth. The mineral 

 resources of the State are very large, and receiving 

 much_ attention. Stock raising is extensive. Agricul- 

 ture is the chief industry; corn, cotton, and wheat 

 being the leading productions. Oats, tobacco, sweet 

 potatoes, and fine fruits are also produced to a con- 

 siderable extent. 



Arbela, Battle of, when Alexander conquered Persia, 

 B. C. 331. 



Arcadians, Colony of, conducted by Evander into 

 Italy, B. C. 1243. 



Areopagus, The famous senate of, established at 

 Athens in the reign of Cecrops, B. C. 1509. 



Areeiitria, in Alsace, Battle of, where the German 

 tribe, the Alemanni, were defeated by the Romans, 

 with a loss of 35,000 out of 40,000 men, May, 378 A. D. 



Arizona was first explored by the Spaniards in 

 1526, and missions were established in this region before 

 1600. It ranks fifth in silver, eighth in sheep, ninth in 

 gold. Mining and cattle raising are the chief in- 

 dustries. 



Armada, The Spanish, consisting of 130 ships, with 

 50,000 men, arrived in the English channel July, 1588, 

 but was dispersed by a storm. 



Arms, Coats of, became hereditary in families in the 

 latter end of the twelfth century. They took their rise 

 from the knights painting their banners with different 

 figures, to distinguish them in the Crusades. The arms 

 of England and France were first quartered by Edward 

 the III., 1358; the French arms discontinued by the 

 English kings, January 1, 1801. 



Army, first standing one in modern times, established 

 by Charles VII. of France, 1445 ; introduced into England 

 by Charles I., 1638; declared illegal, together with the 

 Royal Guards, 1679. 



Ascalon, Judea, Battle of, where Richard I. defeated 

 Saladin's army of three hundred thousand men, 1191. 



Assyria, Kingdom of, began under Ninus, called As- 

 sur, B. C. 2084; lasted about one thousand two hundred 

 and sixty-fours years, ending with Sardanapalus. 



Athens, founded by Cecrops, B. C. 1571; kingdom 

 ended in Codrus, 1070 ; governed by annual archons, 684 ; 

 city taken by Xerxes, 480 ; by the Romans, 87 ; by the 

 Venetians, A. D. 1204 ; by the Turks, 1687 ; by the Greeks, 

 1826. 



Austerlitz, Battle of, December 2, 1805. 



Austria, anciently the Belgic Gaul, of the Romans, 

 taken from Hungary and annexed to Germany, when it 

 received its present name, 1040; erected into a duchy, 

 1156; made an empire, August It, 1804; Francis II. , 

 emperor of, made a formal resignation of the high office 

 of Emperor of Germany, August 7, 1806. Austria and 

 Russia united against France, August, 1805. The Aus- 

 trian army, under Mack, surrendered at Ulm to Napo- 

 leon, October 20, 1805. 



Avignon, taken from the Pope by the French, 1769; 

 restored, 1773; declared to belong to France by the Na- 

 tional Assembly , 1791 ; and confirmed by the congress of 

 allied sovereigns, 1815. 



Aztecs The, were the early inhabitants of Mexico, who 

 became highly civilized, and adopted a monarchical 

 form of governmentin 1352. Their most celeb rated king 

 was Montezuma-Illumicamina, who erected several mag- 

 nificent buildings, the remains of which are still to be 

 seen. They believed in a Supreme Being, whom they 

 never represented bv sculpture or painting, as they be- 

 lieved him to be invisible. The Aztecs were conquered 

 by the Spaniards under Cortez, 1521. 



Babylon, founded by Niinrod, the grandson of Ham, 

 B. C. 2640; city walled, 1243; taken by Cyrus, 588: by 

 Darius, 511. According to Herodotus, the ancient city 

 of Babylon stood on a broad plain, and was an exact 

 square, 120 stadia (equal to fourteen miles) each way, so 

 that the entire circuit of the city was 480 stadia. It was 

 surrounded by a broad and deep moat, full of water, be- 

 hind which rose a wall 50 royal cubits (equal to 93y 3 feet) 

 in width, and 200 in height. On the top, along the edges 

 of the wall, were constructed buildings of a single 

 chamber, facing one another, leaving oetween them 

 room for a four-horse chariot to turn. In the circui t of 

 the walls were a hundred gates, all of brass, with brazen 

 lintels, and side-posts. Subsequent writers reduce the 

 circuit of the city to 360 stadia, and the height of the 

 wall to from 60 to 70 feet. The other walls ran along the 

 banks of the Euphrates, and the quays with which it 



was lined, each contained twenty-five gates, which an- 

 swered to the number of the streets they led into. The 

 most remarkable edifice in the city was the Temple of 

 Bel, a pyramid of 8 square stadia, the basement stage 

 being over 200 yards each way. On the summit were a 

 golden image of Bel, 40 feet high, two other statues of 

 gold, a golden table 40 feet long and 15 broad, and man\ 

 other colossal objects of the same precious metal. At toe 

 base was a. second shrine, with a table and images, and 

 altars. A similar temple stood at Borsippa, the suburb 

 of Babylon ; and it is believed that the ancient Babel of 

 the Bible was also at Borsippa, a little below the later 

 Babylon. The city came prominently into notice about 

 747 B\ C., but its great importance dates from the fall of 

 Nineveh, when Nabopolassar made it the capital of the 

 Chaldean empire, and began the series of fortifications 

 and public works, completed by his son, Nebuchadnez- 

 zar. It was several times dismantled, and, when Alex- 

 ander the Greattook possession of it, was a comparative 

 ruin. Much of the material from which it was built was 

 used by his successors to build Seleucia. That city, in 

 its turn, fell into decay, and from its material several 

 other cities were built, among them Bagdad. Since 

 1847 it has been established beyond reasonable doubt 

 that the village Hilleh is located on the site of ancient 

 Babylon. 



Baltimore, Battle of, in which 9,000 British, under 

 General Ross were repulsed by the Americans, and <; en- 

 era! Ross killed, September 12, 1814. 



Bannockburn, Battle of, between 30,000 Scotch and 

 200,000 English, when the latter were routed with a loss 

 of 50,000 slain, and 30,000 prisoners, June 25, 1314. 



Barbers, the profession first brought to Rome from 

 Sicily, B. C. 299; barbers and surgeons in London made 

 one company, 1540; separated, 1744. They formerly ex- 

 hibited ahead or poll at their doors, and the barber's 

 pole now used by them is a burlesque imitation of it. 



Barcelona, said to be built by Hamilcar, the Car- 

 thaginian general, who subdued Spain ; reduced bv Louis 

 XIV. of France, 1714. 



Baron, Title of, first used^n England, 1388. 4 The bar- 

 ons attended Parliament in complete armor, in the reign 

 of Henry III. 



Baronets, English, first created, 1611 ; Scotch, 1025; 

 thirteen new ones created, December 9, 1827. 



Bastille, at Paris, taken, and the governor killed, July 

 14, 1789. 



Bastille,this famous French stronghold was originally 

 built by Charles V., asachateau, in 1369. The high wall 

 around it was subsequently erected by 1'hilippe-Auguste. 

 Louis XI. first used it asa state prison, anil it was even- 

 tually demolished by the people during the Revolution, 

 July 14, 1789. The "Man in the Iron Mask" was im- 

 prisoned there, and died in 1703. 



Battle of Lake Erie, between the British squadron, 

 commanded by Captain Barclay, and the United States, 

 commanded by Captain Perry, in which the whole Brit- 

 ish force was captured, September 10, 1813. 



Congress of Vienna, 1815 j declared itself independent, 

 October 4, 1830, and has since chosen a king as its ruler. 



Belgrade, Battle of, between the Germans and Turks, 

 when the latter were beaten and lost 40,000 men, 1456; the 

 city taken by the Turks, 1690; battle of, between the 

 Hungarians under Prince Eugene, and the Turks, when 

 the latter were defeated, July 16, 1717. 



Bermuda Islands, discovered 1609; settled 1612; set- 

 tlements destroyed by a hurricane, October 11, 1780. 



Bedouins, The, are that class of Arabs who lead a 

 nomadic life. Living in the desert of Arabia, they have 

 evolved characteristics as robbers and herdsmen in- 

 timately connected with their mode of life. Keen of 

 physical sense, with active imagination, yet destitute 

 of "solid knowledge, the Bedouin unites independence 

 and love of liberty, with a violent passion, an infamous 

 love of plunder, and an entire disregard of the rights of 

 property. They are professedly Mohammedan. Big- 

 amy is fare; polygamy scarcely known. 



Bible Societies, first commenced under the auspices 

 of Granville Sharp, March 7,1804; the pope issued a 

 bull against them, March 20, 1807. 



Bithynia, a kingdom of Asia, conquered by Croesus, 

 king of Lydia, B. C. 560; by Alexander, 332. From its 

 ruins rose the Ottoman Turks, who made Prusa their 

 capital before they possessed Constantinople, 1327. 



Blenheim, Battle of, between the English and 

 French, when the latter were defeated, with a loss of 

 27,000 killed and 13,000 prisoners ; while the total loss of 



