DAG 



543 



D A H 



was taken by the Arabians, and called by them Babe- 

 ul-islam, (the gate of faith) ; but since 1796, it has been 

 in the possession of the Russians. It contains about 

 64-7 houses, and its principal inhabitants are Armenians, 

 Mahomedans, Jews, and Russians. 



The district of Tabasseran is about 50 versts in ex- 

 tent, and reaches to the highest of the Lesghaen moun- 

 tains. It lies between the Darbach and Rubas near 

 their sources, and consequently to the west of Uzmey. 

 The vallies are beautiful and fertile. The inhabitants 

 speak a language of their own. According to Reinneg, 

 they amount to 10,000, and the family of the reigning 

 prince has held the supreme power for 600 years. 

 The town of Tabasseran is the centre of the trade car- 

 ried on between Russia and Daghestan. See Reinneg's 

 Historical and Topographical Description oj Caucnsus, 

 and Macdonald Kinneir's Geographical Memoir of the 

 Persian Empire, p. 353 — 356. (tt) 



DAGO, or Dajen, or Dagiio, the name of an island 

 in Riga, belonging to Russia. It is about 34 miles 

 long, and 24 broad. The southern and the eastern 

 parts of the island have a good soil, consisting of a blue- 

 ish clay, and produce a considerable quantity of corn. 

 The western part of the island is very sandy. There 

 are forests and abundance of stone in the island. The 

 population is so great, that the estates are overburthen- 

 ed with vassals, many of whom go to the mainland, 

 and employ themselves in embanking, bricklaying, &c. 

 and it is said that whole families are frequently sold. 

 The inhabitants are principally Esthonians, and there 

 are whole villages inhabited by Swedish Boors. The 

 principal places in the island are Rekki,. Pegalep, Pa- 

 den, and Dager-ort. The position of the lighthouse 

 of Dager-ort, situated on a hill 130 feet high at the 

 western point of the island, has been ascertained by 

 astronomical observations. It lies in east longitude 22° 

 9' 15", and north latitude 58° 56' 1". (tt) 



DAHALAC. See Dhalac. 



DAHLIA, a genus of plants of the class Dioecia, and 

 order Monandria. See Botany, p. 333. 



DAHOMY, a kingdom of Africa, often called by 

 the inhabitants Foy, is situated on the northern side of 

 Guinea, of which it forms a part, and extends 150 or 

 200 miles inland. The boundaries of the kingdom 

 have not been exactly ascertained by travellers, but its 

 capital Abomy lies in about 9° 50' N. Lat. and between 

 3° and 4° E. Long. Of the inland kingdoms, that to 

 the west is called Mahee, and that to the north-east 

 Eyeo. Till the beginning of the 1 8 th century the Da- 

 homans were an inconsiderable nation, known by the 

 name of Foy s; and the town Dawhee, which lies betwixt 

 Calmina and Abomey, about 90 miles from the sea-coast, 

 was the capital of their small territory. But by con- 

 quering and annexing to their dominions the kingdoms 

 of Whydah, Ardrah, and Jacquin, and thus extend- 

 ing their boundaries to the sea coast, the country be- 

 came better known to modern geographers ; and the 

 English, French, and Portuguese, erected and main- 

 tained forts in it for the protection of the slave trade. 

 As these countries now form a part of the Dahoman 

 kingdom, they will be included in our description of it. 



The present name Dahomy, is said to have been de- 

 rived from the following fact in the history of the 

 country. In the beginning of the 17th century, Ta- 

 coodonou, chief of the Foy nation, basely murdered a 

 neighbouring prince who had paid him a friendly visit. 

 He then attacked and took Calmina, the capital of the 

 deceased. Strengthened by that acquisition, he decla- 

 yed war against Da, the king of Abomey, who soon 



fell into his hands ; put Da to death by cutting open Daheniy. 

 his belly, and placed his body under the foundation »f — ""V"-' 

 a palace, which he built in Abomy, and which he call- 

 ed Dahomy; from Da, the unfortunate victim, and ho- 

 my, a belly ; that is, a house built on Da's belly. Af- 

 ter that conquest, he fixed his residence at Abomy, 

 and assumed the title of king of Dahomy ; his ancient 

 subjects still retain in that country the name of the 

 Foijs, but to Europeans they are known by the name 

 of Dahomans. 



In this manner Tacoodonou conquered Abomey, and 

 founded the Dahoman empire, about the year 1625. He 

 was succeeded by Adaunzou I. in 1650, and by Vibagee in 

 1680; but little of the history of the country is known 

 till Trudo enlarged the boundaries of the kindom, by 

 adding to it by conquest the kingdoms of Ardrah, 

 Whydah, and Jacquin, betwixt the years 1708 and 1727. 

 This people, like the other Africans, have no other 

 records of history than the traditionary legends of their 

 bards ; and their kings forbid any transactions to be 

 mentioned which might reflect disgrace upon them or 

 their ministers. The character of Trudo is very diffe- 

 rently drawn. By some he is represented as extreme- 

 ly cruel to those who opposed his arms, but mild and 

 generous to the vanquished ; remarkable for his kind- 

 ness to Europeans, and exhibiting many traits of a 

 great and generous mind. By others it is affirmed, that 

 his policy was that of an ambitious and brutal savage,, 

 who sought to retain the territories he had gained by 

 the horrid cruelty of burning the towns and butcher- 

 ing the inhabitants ; and that his reign entailed lasting 

 calamities on his country. He died in 1732, and was 

 succeeded by his son Rossa Ahadee, who is described 

 as tall in his person, graceful in his manners, polite to 

 strangers, but the terror and scourge of his own sub- 

 jects. During a reign of upwards of 40 years, his 

 country was wasted by wars foreign and domestic ; 

 and the mind is filled with horror at the recital of the 

 many sacrifices of human victims, for the purpose of 

 •watering (according to the expression of that country), 

 the graves of the deceased royal family. In 1774, he 

 was succeeded by Adaunzou II. by whose authority 

 these, and similar barbarous customs, of which we shall, 

 take some notice, still continued to be sanctioned. 



The country lying behind Whydah, rises with a gen- Soil and 

 tie and gradual ascent for about 150 miles from the produe- 

 sea, before there is any appearance of a hill or moun- tions. 

 tain ; and to the extent of 400 miles into the interior 

 it is covered with verdure, with open plains of grass, 

 and some woods and forests. The surface is generally 

 a loose sandy soil ; below that is a reddish earth • . and 

 what is very remarkable, there is not a stone to be 

 found in it of the size of a walnut. The villages are 

 pretty large and numerous. The houses are construct- 

 ed of mud walls, and covered with straw ; and are ge- 

 nerally budt at such a distance from each other, as to 

 admit betwixt them patches of cultivated ground. 



Of fruits and vegetables, the country yields a plen- 

 tiful supply, ih< proportion to the care bestowed on 

 their cultivation. Pine apples, melons, oranges, limes, 

 guavas, and other tropical fruits, are to be found here 

 in great variety. The soil also produces abundance of 

 maize, millet or Guinea corn, pease, and beans. They 

 likewise cultivate yams and potatoes, the plantain, the 

 banana, and the cassada or manioka ; which, in tro- 

 pical climates, is the cheapest of all the substitutes 

 for bread. A fruit of a very remarkable quality ie* 

 produced in this country, as well as in some other 

 parts of Africa. In size and shape it resembles a 



