DARFUR 



1703 



DARIUS 



properly, Constantinople, became the heart of 

 the Byzantine Empire, and it was not until 

 the Turks were in absolute command of the 

 Dardanelles that the empire was doomed. 



After the fall of the empire in 1453, the 

 Turks remained absolute- masters of the Dar- 

 danelles. In 1807 a British fleet forced its way 

 through to Constantinople, which up to that 

 time had never seen a hostile fleet. In 1841 

 the five great powers of Europe Great Britain, 

 France, Russia, Prussia and Austria agreed 

 with Turkey that no foreign man-of-war should 

 pass the Dardanelles without Turkey's special 

 permission. This agreement was renewed in 

 1856, after the Crimean War, and again in 1871 

 and in 1878. 



For many years it was Russia's announced 

 intention to secure a change in this policy, and 

 if possible to secure for itself the control of 

 the strait, that it might have access to the 

 sea from ports that were never frozen. Great 

 Britain was the leader of the opposition to Rus- 

 sian expansion. With the revolution and the 

 end of Russia as a great power this danger was 

 averted. J.R. 



DAR'FUR, the most westerly state of the 

 Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, in East Central Africa. 

 It covers an area of 150,000 square miles and 

 consists chiefly of a vast plateau nearly 3,000 

 feet above sea level. The inhabitants are 

 negroes and Arabs whose chief occupations are 

 agriculture and raising cattle. Ostriches are 

 also bred, and their feathers are an important 

 item of commerce. The climate is fairly 

 healthful, except in the rainy season, which 

 lasts from June to September. There are no 

 rivers, but instead there are many small water 

 courses, which are filled with raging torrents 

 during the rains. Copper, iron and salt are 

 produced, and the mineral wealth of the coun- 

 try is very great. The capital is El Fasher, a 

 town with a few buildings in European styles 

 but consisting principally of straw-covered huts. 

 The country is ruled by a sultan under British 

 guidance, and it pays a yearly tribute of $2,500 

 to the Anglo-Egyptian government. Popula- 

 tion, about 1,000,000. 



DARIEN, darien', the name given to a gulf 

 and isthmus geographically located between the 

 continents of North and South America. The 

 isthmus, however, is no longer known by that 

 name, but is now called the Isthmus of Panama. 

 The isthmus was reached by Columbus on his 

 fourth voyage, in 1502, and was an early field 

 for Spanish exploration and settlement. It was 

 crossed in 1513 by Balboa, governor of the 



Darien settlement, who from its highest point 

 discovered the Pacific Ocean. The first settle- 

 ment was that of Santa Maria del Antigua, 

 situated on the small Darien River, northwest 

 of the Atrato. -The gulf of the same name is 

 a portion of the Caribbean Sea, between the 

 republics of Colombia and Panama, its south- 

 ern extension being called the Gulf of Uraba. 



Darien Scheme, a gigantic project launched 

 in 1695 by William Paterson, a Scotchman and 

 first projector of the Bank of England, to es- 

 tablish a colony and commercial center on the 

 Darien isthmus near Panama, in order to gain 

 trade for Scotland. European manufactures 

 were to be sent to the Gulf of Darien and con- 

 veyed by land across the isthmus, where the 

 products of South America and Asia were to 

 be exchanged. Nearly $4,000,000 was sub- 

 scribed, although a considerable portion of it 

 was never paid in, and in 1698 five vessels laden 

 with merchandise and provisions, with 1,200 

 persons, sailed from Leith, the Scottish port, 

 for New Caledonia, the name given to the 

 new Darien settlement. The climate proved 

 unhealthful, the Spaniards attacked the de- 

 fenseless colony, the English colonies of Amer- 

 ica disapproved, and after a period of eight 

 months the colonists were compelled by dis- 

 ease, famine and persecution to return to 

 Europe. Paterson lost his reason for a time, 

 but later recovered. In 1706 the lords com- 

 missioners for England purchased the shares 

 of private individuals of the Darien Company, 

 to bring about a better understanding between 

 Scotland and England. 



DARIUS, daii'us, the name of the three 

 greatest monarchs in the long history of Persia. 

 Only two of them, however, are of present- 

 day interest. 



Darius I (558-485 B.C.) was one of the most 

 notable rulers the East has ever produced, for 

 he was distinguished as" a statesman, as a war- 

 rior and as an organizer. The record of his 

 achievements, which he had carved in cunei- 

 form writing on a lofty cliff known as the Be- 

 histun Rock, in Western Persia, states that 

 in the year 521 B. c. he slew Gautama, who had 

 usurped the Persian throne on the death of 

 Cambyses, and made himself ruler of Western 

 Asia and Egypt (see CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS). 

 After putting down revolts in various parts of 

 his empire, he devoted himself to the arts of 

 peace. The Persian realm was divided into 

 satrapies, or provinces, with a governor over 

 each; a magnificent system of post roads was 

 built, and a national coinage was provided. 



