OF ACCOMPANYING ANIMALS AND PLANTS. 629 



Piper cubeba of Java and Prince of Wales Island. The " kababat " of Ebn Masawia — (Haller) 

 Honain, Elbathrik, I. E. Amran, Rhazes, Gafeki, M. E. Elkakam, and Ebn Baitar, and the « hhobeba » 

 of Avicenna, and Serapion, are referred here by writers : "cubeba" is enumerated by Forskal mat 

 med. as used medicinally in Egypt; and farther North, cubebs is mentioned by Leonicenus, Fo'esius 

 Stapel, Caesalpinus, and dried specimens of the plant are described by the younger Linnsus suppl 00' 

 Eastward, cubebs is imported into Hindustan, and is called in both Bengalee and Hindustanee " kabab 

 chim or "sital chini " (D'rozar.). Farther East, " cubebe " of the Greater Java is mentioned by 

 Marco Polo 163, and cubebs was seen by Jordanus on Sumatra; but is regarded by Crawfurd as 

 exotic there, and according to H. Yule, is the " only one of the spices " produced in Java. The speci- 

 mens sent by Wallich 6646 from Singapur and Penang, were therefore probably cultivated : Lindley 

 was unable to distinguish the dried fruit from the cubebs of druggists ; but according to Blume, the 

 fruit of P. cubeba although of good quality is not sent to Europe. 



Piper caninum of Java and Prince of Wales Island. — Observed in the East Indies by Rum- 

 phius v. pi. 28 ; and (from transported specimens) described by Roxburgh i. 161 (Lindl.). According 

 to Blume act. bat. xi. pi. 26, the cubebs of commerce is probably furnished chiefly by this species, hav* 

 ing the fruit smaller and shorter stalked, wilh a distinct anise flavour and less pungent than in the 

 preceding. 



"832 A. D." (Blair), by the emperor Theophilus, painters and sculptors banished from the 

 Byzantine Empire, "from his hatred against images." He however built the Hebdomon ; a saloon 

 or palace extant at Constantinople (Salzenberg, and Lubke and Lutrow). 



" The same year " (Marcel), arrival in Egypt of khalif El-Mamun. He opened the Great pyramid 

 (according to Alhokm, see Greaves pyramidogr.). 



By his order, the nilometer at Rhoda repaired, and k'ufic inscriptions sculptured on the walls ; — 

 noticed by Marcel. Among the Kufic inscriptions at Assuan, some (according to Wilkinson theb. 

 and eg. 455) are very nearly as ancient. 



"833 A. D." (art de verif.), El-Mamun succeeded by Motassem, eighth Abbassid khalif. Coins 

 issued by Motassem are figured in Marcel 53. 



"In or about this year" ( . 1, Sicily conquered by the Muslims. — Who held possession 



more than two centuries. 



"834 A. D." (ann. Jap. transl. Tits., and art de verif.), Siunwa or Zioun-wa succeeded by his 

 nephew Nin-mio, son of Sa-ga and now fifty-fourth dairo of Japan.* 



One hundred and fifty-fourth generation. May 1st, 834, onward mostly beyond youth : the Jewish 

 writers, the Karaites Ismael el Okbari, and Al-Tiflisi : the Arab writers, Abraham ben Aun, Thaleba 

 the grammarian, Thabet, the astronomer Albumasar (Blair) : the Greek writers, Theophanes 6 grap- 

 tos d. 842, Joannes of Sicily, Antonius Rhetor ; the biographer Anastasius : Strabus Fuldensis, Bertra- 

 mus, Eulogius, Angelomus, Christianus Druthmarus, Nithardus, Freculphus, Hilduinus : the botanists, 

 Plinius Valerianus, and Placidus Actor. 



"836 A. D." (Nicol.), Egbert succeeded by Ethelwulf, second Anglo-Saxon king of England. 

 "837 A. D." (J. R. Hind, and Humb. cosm. i. 1), a comet whose orbit is known from Chinese 

 observations. Passing within " two millions of miles " of the Earth, and terrifying Louis emperor of 

 France and Germany into building churches and founding monastic establishments. 



Hardly earlier than this date (Graha Munjari tables, Puranas, and Bentl ), Bradhna reignino- in 

 Hindustan. 



" Towards the middle of the Ninth century " (Pouchet), weight substituted for the action of water 

 and clocks first made with wheels by Pacificus. — " Clocks with weights " were found by Ebn Wahab 

 in use in China. 



"838 A. D." (Blair), the Picts defeated and extirpated by Kenneth II. king of Scotland. 

 " Sept. 6th '' (Nicol.), a synod at Quiercy on Oise. The liturgical writings of Amalarius were 

 condemned. 



"839 A. D." (Sm. b. d.). Amorium in Phrygia captured and destroyed by khalif Motassem. From 

 a Greek captive Motassem heard of the varied acquirements of Leo of Thessalonica, and by letter 

 invited him to Bagdad. The invitation was not accepted, but proved the means of making Leo known 

 to the Greek emperor Theophilus. — Leo was living "in 869," and is generally designated as "phi- 

 losophus " by Byzantine writers. 



The medical compendium by "Leo philosophus " is dedicated to Georgius (compare "Georgius 

 praefectus militarium tabularum " under Theophilus). 



* Volkameria Japonica of Corea. A large and lofty tree introduced thence into Japan, where it 

 is called "fi giri " or "go too" (Thunb.) ; in which we recognize the "go to" or tree of the phoenix, 

 representations of which were visited by Nin-mio at the commencement of his reign : — V. Japonica 

 was also seen in Japan by Kasmpfer v. p. 861. 



