873 



BEJAH. 



BELFAST. 



974 



Ibn '1 Wardi, an Arabian geographer who wrote about the 13th 

 century, and is quoted by Salt in the Appendix, says, "the Bujja, or 

 Boja, are the merchants of Habesh to the north, their country being 

 between Habesh and Nuba : " and he describes them as black, naked, 

 and worshippers of idols ; but he adds that " many Arabs of the tribe 

 of Raben Ibn Nuzzar have connected themselves with these people, 

 and intermarried with them." This seems to show that the Beja, or 

 Boja, were originally an African race and became intermixed with 

 Arab blood, and gradually and partially adopted the profession of 

 Islamism. Bruce says the Beja speak a dialect of the Geez. Ibn '1 

 Wardi speaks of a mine of gold, probably the Jebel Dyab, and gold 

 nands in the country of the Boja, in the valley of Allaki (the modern 

 Salaka), the collecting of the gold constituting the chief support of 

 the natives. In describing the land of Aidhab (now called Gidid, or 

 Has Gidid), which was then a much-frequented harbour on the Red 

 Sea, to the north of Suakim, he says, " A governor from the Bujja 

 presides over it, and another from the sultan of Egypt, who divide 

 the revenues between them. The duty of the governor from Egypt 

 is to provide supplies ; and the governor of the Bujja has to guard it 

 from thf: Habshi," the people of Habbesh or Abyssinia. It is evident 

 that at the time of Ibn "1 Wardi the Beja were a powerful and widely- 

 extended people, cr confederation of tribes, and we have also an 

 account of their sending a large army, together with the Nubians, to 

 the assistance of the Christians of Oxyrhynchus in Upper Egypt, 

 against the Saracen invaders. (Appendix to Burckhardt's 'Nubia.') 

 The Beja and Nuba are said to have had elephants in their army. 

 Burckhardt, in his journey from Berber to Suakim in 1814, passed 

 through the country of Taka, "which," he says, "forms part of the 

 C'unitry of Bedja, whose inhabitants are called Bedjawa, and which 

 extends from Goz Radjib on the Atbara as far southward as the 

 mountains of Abyssinia ; while to the north the chain of mountains 

 called Langay marks its boundaries towards the Bisharye or Bishareeu. 

 It includes various deserts and several hilly districts and valleys, 

 some of which are very fertile." The range of country thus described 

 extends from about 15 to 18" N. lat, and from the right bank of the 

 Atbara to the shores of the Red Sea. It is in this region that the 

 Mareb must terminate its course, either by being lost in the sands or 

 bv joining the Atbara. 

 BEJAH. [PASJAB.] 



BEJAPO'RE, a considerable province of the Deccan in Hindustan, 

 lying between 15 and 18 N. lat., 73 and 76 E. long. The province 

 is bounded N. by Aurungabad, E. by Aurungabad and Beeder, S. by 

 Canara, and W. by the Indian Ocean. Its length is about 320 miles, 

 and the average breadth 200 miles. 



Towards the west, running parallel with the coast, and at a distance 

 varying from 25 to 60 miles from the sea, is a range of lofty moun- 

 t'orming a continuation of the Ghauts. In these mountains are 

 several fortresses which, aided by their natural position, are of great 

 strength. They are usually built on isolated eminences, the sides 

 of which are either naturally scarped or cut perpendicular for 70 or 

 80 feet below their upper margin, with only one narrow path leading 

 tip to the fortress. The passes through these mountains to the low 

 land of the Concan on the sea-shore are always difficult, and at times 

 are rendered almost impracticable by the swelling of mountain-streams 

 during the frequent and abundant rains in those high regions. 



The province of Bejapore is divided into numerous districts. The 

 principal towns of the province are: Bejapore (the capital), Sattara, 

 Hijanagur, Warree, Colapoor, Darwar, Shahnoor, Hoobly, and 

 Meritch. 



The principal rivers of the province are the Kistna, the Toom- 

 Imildra, the Beema, and the Gutpurba. 



On the ruin of the Bhamenee empire in this quarter the Adil 

 Shahy dynasty was established in Bejapore in the year 1489; the 

 dynasty ended in 1689, when Aurungzebe took possession of Bejapore. 

 After his death it speedily passed under the sway of the Mahrattas, 

 with whom it remained until 1818, when on the expulsion of the 

 Peishwa Bajee Rao the province was brought under British govern- 

 ment. On this occasion a treaty was made with the raja of Sattara, 

 then a minor, assigning to him a small principality uuder British 

 tion out of his former dominions, the peishwa, who was actually 

 the sovereign of the province, having been nominally the minister 

 of the raja. [SATTARA.] 



(Rennell's .!/. /-.,, . Mill's Britieh India ; Parliamentary Papers.) 



BEJAPO'RE, or VIZIAPO'RE ( Vijayapura,, signifying in Sanscrit 

 the victorious or triumphant city), was the ancient capital of the 

 province of Bejapore. It stands in 16 48' N. lat., 75 46' E. long., 

 and is now the capital of the district of Bejapore. 



The fortifications which formed the outworks of Bejapore are said 

 to have been of such extent that 15,000 cavalry might have encamped 

 between them and the wall of the city. The citadel, or inner fort, 

 incd the king's palace, the houses of the chief people, and large 

 magazines. The great extent of Bejapore is still evident from the 

 quantity of niiiM in all directions, amid which many cupolas, spires, 

 and minarets are still distinguishable. The wall of the outer fort 

 measures 8 miles in circuit and has seven gates. 



There is (till a considerable number of buildings in the inner fort, 

 or city, which contains a regular street 3 miles long and CO feet wide ; 

 it U paved, and has many moiquef and private dwelling! built with 



stone. Among the religious structures in the town is a low Hindoo 

 temple, supported by numerous pillars, each of which is formed of a 

 single stono : the building throughout exhibits the earliest and rudest 

 style of Brahminical architecture. 



Within the fort are some cultivated inclosures, and in every part 

 of its area are mud hovels, with a few buildings of a better class and 

 extensive ruins of some larger edifices. The only quarter of the 

 city which contains any considerable number of inhabitants is near 

 the western gate, in the neighbourhood of the ' jumma musjeed," or 

 great mosque. In this quarter, but outside of the western gate of 

 the fort, is a well-frequented bazaar built of stone. The larger 

 buildings are solid and massive erections. 



From the western gate a succession of ruins, the principal of which 

 are Mohammedan tombs, occurs for a distance of 5 miles. The ruins 

 of the mausoleum and mosque of Ibrahim Adil Shah, erected about 

 1626, are 400 feet long and- 150 feet wide ; it has been richly orna- 

 mented, and has an immense dome supported on arches. The 

 Mohammedan mosque of Chunda Saheb is much resorted to by 

 pilgrims. 



The walls of the fort were formerly provided with twelve guns of 

 immense size ; only two of these remained when the English obtained 

 possession of the place. One of them was made of iron ; the other, 

 which was of brass, was cast in 1549, and carried shot weighing 

 26461bs. 



Previous to the expulsion of the peishwa, the ruins of Bejapore 

 were the haunt of numerous thieves, who have been wholly extir- 

 pated since the English authority was established in the province. 

 The city and the district in which it is situated are inhabited chiefly 

 by Canarese, who retain their original language and customs, and in 

 1818 assisted the English in expelling their Mahratta rulers. 



BEKES. [HUNGARY.] 



BELBROUGHTON. [WORCESTERSHIRE.] 



BELEEFF, or BJELEFF. [TULA.] 



BELEM. [LISBON.] 



BELFAST, the principal town of the province of Ulster in Ireland, 

 in the parish of Belfast or Shankill, and in the baronies of Upper and 

 Lower Belfast in the county of Antrim, with the suburb of Ballyma- 

 carret in the parish of Ballymacarret and county of Down, is a sea- 

 port and post-town, a municipal and parliamentary borough, and the 

 seat of a Poor-Law Union. It is situated on the left bank of the 

 river Lagan, at its embouchure in the Bay of Belfast, 101 miles N. 

 from Dublin, 35| miles N.E. from Armagh by the Ulster railway, and 

 33 miles S.S.E. from Ballymena by the Belfast and Ballymena rail- 

 way, in 54 36' N. lat., 5 55' W. long. The population in 1841 was 

 75,308; in 1851 it was 100,300, exclusive of 1803 persons in the 

 Union workhouse. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Connor. 

 Belfast Poor-Law Union comprises 12 electoral divisions, with an area 

 of 47,592 acres, and a population in 1841 of 100,595 ; in 1851 of 

 125,491. The borough is governed by 10 aldermen, one of whom is 

 mayor, and 30 town councillors, and returns two members to the 

 Imperial Parliament. 



Belfast occupies an area of about 1900 acres, of which 1542 acr^s 

 are within the municipal boundary. The site of the greater part of 

 the town is low and flat, being in a great measure reclaimed from the 

 marshy banks of the Lagan. The Lagan river and bay bound the 

 town along the eastern side ; the bay is quayed in to a distance of 

 about a mile below the principal bridge. The river here is 250 yards 

 wide, and was formerly crossed by a bridge of 21 arches erected in 

 1682 on the site of the ancient ford, from which the place derives its 

 original name of Bealafarsad, or Ford-mouth. The old bridge was 

 taken down in 1840 and a handsome new bridge (called the Queen's 

 Bridge) built of granite, and consisting of five arches, each of 50 feet 

 span, was erected in its stead. Another bridge crosses the Lagan 

 about a quarter of a mile farther up, designed to afford accommoda- 

 tion to the southern districts of the town, which is rapidly extending 

 in that direction. A third bridge three-quarters of a mile farther up 

 crosses the river opposite Ormeau, the seat of the Marquis of Donegal, 

 adjoining the site of the Queen's College, the Botanical Garden, and 

 the large and increasing suburb of Malone. The oldest, and still 

 the principal, street in Belfast terminates in a wet dock about 200 

 yards below the principal bridge, from which a canal formerly extended 

 into the centre of the town. This canal having been covered in, 

 gives a remarkable width to High Street and its continuation, Castle 

 Place. This line of street with the adjoining streets of Bridge Street 

 (so called from a" bridge which formerly crossed the canal at its 

 intersection), Corn Market, and Donegal Place, the last a very hand- 

 some and airy street, contain the principal hotels, shops, and retail 

 establishments. The chief mercantile quarter of the town lies along 

 the quays. These are, commencing from below the bridge, Custom- 

 House quay, which with the High Street dock, is chiefly occupied by 

 colliers : Chichester quay, on which is situated the office of the 

 ballast-office corporation, having charge of the harbour; Lime-kiln 

 dock, terminating Waring Street, parallel to High Strict, for vessels 

 in the coasting trade ; Donegal quay, a spacious esplanade nearly 

 a quarter of a mile in length, the station for the steam navy and 

 West-India traders of the port ; Ritchie's dock, frequented by timber 

 merchantmen ; the Ballast Corporation graving and dry-docks, and 

 (hip-yards; and at the eztrem north an extensive basin called 



