216 



CHOSROES CHRIST. 



dians of the present age, of whom Schiller was the 

 fir>t (see his prologue to the Bride of Mesfina) liave 

 attempted to revive the ancient chorus. 



Chorus, in music, in its general sense, denotes a 

 composition of two, three, four, or more parts, each 

 of which is intended to be sung by a plurality o 

 voices. It is applied, also, to the performers who 

 sing those parts. These choruses are adapted to ex- 

 press the joy, admiration, grief, adoration, &c., of a 

 multitude, and sometimes produce much effect, but 

 are very difficult for the composer. 



CHOSROES I., king of 1'ersia, succeeded to the 

 throne in 531. His memory is still venerated in tlu 

 East, and his virtues obtained him the titles of the 

 Magnanimous and the Just. At his accession to the 

 crown, Persia was involved in a war with Justinian, 

 to whom Chosroes granted a perpetual peace, on the 

 payment of a large sum of money. But, in 540, 

 Chosroes invaded >yri;i. laid Antioch in ashes, and 

 returned home laden with spoils. After several other 

 victorious expeditions, he invaded India and Arabia, 

 renewed the war with Justin, the successor of Justin- 

 ian, whom he compelled to solicit a truce, but was, 

 soon after, driven back across the Euphrates by Ti- 

 berius, the new emperor, and the Romans took up 

 their winter quarters in the Persian provinces. Chos- 

 roes died in 679. His love of'justice sometimes led 

 him to acts of cruelty; but he encouraged the arts, 

 founded academies, and made a considerable profici- 

 ency in philosophy himself. His reputation obtained 

 him a visit from seven sages of Greece, who still ad- 

 hered to the pagan religion ; and, in a treaty with 

 Justinian, he required that they should be exempt 

 from the penalties enacted against those who con- 

 tinued to favour paganism. Persian historians ascribe 

 to him the completion of the great wall of Jabouge 

 and Magogue, extending from Derbent along the 

 Persian frontiers. 



CHOSROES II., grandson to the preceding, as- 

 cended the throne in 590, and carried his arms into 

 Judea, Libya, and Egypt, and made himself master of 

 Carthage. In 617, he reduced Heraclius, the Roman 

 emperor, to solicit a peace, which he refused to grant, 

 except on condition of his renouncing the crucified 

 God, and worshipping the sun. Heraclius, deriving 

 courage from despair, penetrated into the Persian 

 empire, and pillaged and burned the palace of Chos- 

 roes, who was dethroned by his own son, and cast 

 into prison, after witnessing the massacre of eighteen 

 of his sons, and suffering every indignity. His suf- 

 ferings were terminated oy his death, in 628. 



CHOUANS, in the French revojution ; the insur- 

 gents on the right and left banks of the Loire. The 

 name was properly applied to the royalists on the 

 right bank of the Loire, in Bretagne, Anjou, and 

 Maine. The principal theatre of the war formed 

 nearly a square, the angles of which are the cities of 

 Nantes, Angers, Mayenne, and Rennes ; but the ex- 

 cursions sometimes extended to the coast, to the city 

 of L'Orient. The origin of the word Chouans is not 

 known. Some derive it from the name of the sons of 

 a blacksmith, who first excited the insurrection in that 

 quarter ; others from a corruption of the word chat- 

 huant (screech-owl). According to the latter, there 

 was a horde of smugglers, who, before the revolution, 

 secretly exported salt from Bretagne into the neigh- 

 bouring provinces, and whose signal was the cry of 

 the screech-owl. The revolution broke up the trade 

 of these men, most of whom had no other resource. 

 Accustomed to a vagabond life, they wandered 

 through the country, committing depredations, and 

 were gradually joined by others of a similar charac- 

 ter. At first, murder and pillage were the chief ob- 

 jects of these wretches, but they afterwards united 

 with the Vendeans (see featiee) in defence of monar- 



chy and religion, and shared their fate. Since the re- 

 turn of Louis XVIII., several of the chiefs of the 

 Chouans have been honourably rewarded for their 



CHOUGH, or CHOUCH (choucat, French) ; the 

 trivial name of a species of crow (corvus monedttla, L.). 

 1 1 is about the size of a pigeon, and has a sharp cry ; 

 is nearly omnivorous, except that it does not feed uj>- 

 on carrion; is of a dark ash colour about, the neck 

 and under the belly, though frequently entirely black. 

 The choughs live together in large flocks, and make 

 their nests in steeples, old towers, or in large and 

 lofty trees. Their manners are very similar to tlur 

 of the rooks, with which they are sometimes seen 

 flying in company. They are exceedingly vigilant 

 in guarding their nests and young from birds of prey. 

 which they attack and drive off with great vigour 

 whenever they approach their vicinity. 



CHOUMLA, SHUMLA,orSHIUMLA ; a Turk- 

 ish fortress in the mountains of the Balkan (q. v.). 

 Varna (q. v.) and Choumla are called, on account of 

 their great military importance, the gates of Constan- 

 tinople. The town of Choumla, properly so called, 

 is nearly surrounded by a natural rampart, consisting 

 of a portion of mount Hasmus, or the Balkan. The 

 steep slopes of this great bulwark are covered with 

 detached rocks and close, thorny bushes. The nature 

 of the ground makes it a very advantageous position 

 for the Turkish soldier, who, when sheltered by the 

 inequalities of the ground and a few entrenchments, 

 displays great resolution and address. The town is 

 about a league in length and half a league in breadth, 

 and may contain from 30,000 to 35,000 souls. The 

 fortifications are rudely constructed, but its situation 

 in the midst of a vast natural fortress, capable of con- 

 taining an immense army, with its magazines, &c., 

 secures it from the enemy's artillery. 1 ne air is very 

 healthy in the elevated parts of the Balkan, and in 

 the narrow valleys which lie between its ridges. On 

 the other hand, there cannot be a more unhealthy 

 country than that which extends from the Balkan to 

 the borders of the Danube and the Pruth. This dif- 

 ference between the climate of the mountains and 

 that of the plain is the most effectual defence which 

 nature has given to Choumla. In the late war be- 

 tween Russia and Turkey, it was besieged by the 

 troops of the former power from July 20, 1828, until 

 Oct. 25, of the same year, when they retired, after 

 the conquest of Varna, Oct. 11. On the llth of 

 June, 1829, a decisive victory was gained by the 

 Russians over the Turks, not far from Choumla. The 

 aprand vizier commanded the Turks, who are said to 

 lave lost 6000 killed, 1500 prisoners, and 60 pieces 

 of cannon, with large quantities of ammunition and 

 Baggage. The loss of the Russians amounted only 

 to 1400 killed and 600 wounded. 



CHRISM (from the Greek xewi salve); the 

 loly oil prepared on Holy Thursday by the Catholic 

 jishops, and used in baptism, confirmation, ordination 

 of priests, and the extreme unction. Hence the name 

 Christ, the anointed. 



CHRIST (Gr. Xf/<rro,-, the anointed). Messiah, 

 "rom the Hebrew, has the same signification. See 

 Christianity, and Jesus. 



Christ, Pictures of. Legends exist of a portrait of 



,he Saviour, which king Abgarus of Edessa is said to 



lave possessed. This was miraculously impressed 



jy the Saviour on a napkin which he placed upon his 



ace, and afterwards sent to the king. The handker- 



:hief of St Veronica (Berenice) is said to have also 



ontained a portrait of Christ impressed in a similar 



way. A picture of Christ, taken by St Luke is 



ikewise mentioned. In a letter, evidently spurious, 



which Lentulus, the predecessor of Pilate, is said to 



have written to the Roman senate, Christ is describ- 





