ABB 



Jucc and fncourtgc commerce among his fubji-fts. Having 

 made Ifp.ili.in the metropolis of Perlia, lie built the royal 



n- ' ■ • ! palace, a:id cauL'd the nicintains at the diftance 



( 1 to be cut through, in order to augment tlieZan- 



li 1 ..III, v.iiich runs through tlic city, by turning into it the 

 dream of another river, ric alfo adorned fevenJ of his other 

 cities with magnitieent ftniclures. Ncverthcicfs, his cruelty, 

 of which many notoriouiinftanccsareivcordcd in his hiftory, 

 e .•.itles liim to rank with t'.iofe ferocious eailcrn tyrants, 

 wliiiin Providence fccms to fond into the world to harafs, 

 aggrieve, and dirtroy the human race. Mod. Un. Hiil. 

 vol. V. p. iiS, &c. 



ABUAS. Shah, II. the 9th king of Perfia, oftlicSofi 

 race, wa3 the great grandfou of the fomier, and fucceedcd 

 his father in 164.2, at the .ige of thirteen years. His cruel 

 ■nd tyrannical father Ind oixlercd him to be deprived of 

 light ; but the eunuch, who was charged with the office, 

 more comp,inion:ite than the favage parent, refrained from 

 vxccutiiig it. The father relented, aad rejoicing to find, 

 V. lien he was d\nng, that his command had been difobeyed, 

 appiiiiittd him for his lucceflbr. The lucccfsful expedition 

 ol tiiis pnncc, when he was 18 years of age, tor the reco- 

 covcry of Candahar, which had been furrendered to the 

 (treat Mogul in che time of his father, and his defence of 

 it agaii'.ll .ui army of 30x3,000 men, fcem to have been the 

 principal events of his reign. His charafter has been very 

 dideieiitly reprefented by tliofe who have profcfled to give an 

 account of his life. Whilft fome have extolled his jullice 

 and clemency, and fpoken in the highell tenns of his talents 

 and niilit2i-y exploits ; other? have reproached him for his 

 cruelty and debauchery. Upon the whole, he feems to 

 have been more kitid and tolerant to ftningcrs than to 

 ? s own fubjee^s, and cfpecially to tlie Chriltians, whom 

 lie dillinguiilied by his protection and favour. He was 

 very much addicted to drinking, and governed by 

 paflion : and after a reign of about 24 years, fell a fa- 

 crifice to his intemperance, and died in 1666. The 

 Jews were very feveiely perfecuted during his reign ; be- 

 caufc, as it is pretended, the McfTiah did not appear, ac- 

 cording to the adurances which tlicy are faid to have given 

 to Abbas the Great, and which was the llipulated condition of 

 their toleration. See Mod. Univ. Hill. vol. v p. i i;o. 8vo. 



Abbas III. was fucceedcd by the famous Kuli Khan. 



ABBASSIDES, in Hifiory, a race of Cahphs, wiio 

 were tliirty-fevcn in number, and fucceedcd one another 

 from between A. D. 746 and 750, forabout 523 years with- 

 out interruption. They were fo called from jILul Albas, 

 fumamcd Sajfah, with whom tiiis dynafty commenced, ac- 

 cording to Dr. Blair, (Clironology, pi. -^5.) A. D. 749. 



ABBASSUS, in Anc'unt Geography, a town of the 

 greater Phr\gia, on the borders of the Toliftobojii, a 

 people who inhabited the northern parts of Galatia in Afia. 



ABBE', in a monajlh f:np, the fame with Abuot. 



ABBE', in a modern fenft, the denomination of a clafs of 

 perfons, which has been popular in France, but was not 

 known among the Romanills till about a century and a 

 half ago. Alhes are perfons who have not obtained any 

 fixed (ettlement either in church or ftate, but they are ex- 

 pectants of any office that may occur, ''f'heir drefs is rather 

 tJKit of an academic, or of a profeflfed fcholar, than of an 

 ecclefiaftic. They are a numerous and ufefiil body. In 

 colleges they are the infti-uftors of youth, and tutors in pri- 

 vate fai.iilies ; and many of them obtain a decent fubfifttnce 

 by their writings. They are perfons of univerfal talents and 

 Naming, and are held in eftcem and rcfpeft by people of 

 various defcriptions, and particularly by the female fex to 

 whom they are devoted. 



t2 



ABB 



ABBEFIORD, in Geography, a fea-port town of Norway, 

 about 60 miles fouth-vveft of Chriftiana, fituate on a fmall 

 bay, in v.-hich are three illands. 



ABBER-LOUGH, a lake of Lome, in Argylethirc, 

 in Scotland. 



ABBESS, the fuperior of an abbey, or convent of 

 KUNS. The aWc/J has the fame rights and authority over 

 the nims, that the abbots regular nave over their monks. 

 Her fex, indeed, does not allow her to perform the fpiritual 

 funftions annexed to the priclltiood ; but in fome inftances 

 obbcjfts have the privilege of commiffioning a pried to act for 

 them : and they have even a kind of epilcopal jurifdittion. 



F. Martene, in his treatile on the rights of the church, 

 obfcrves, that fome aW(^.f have fonncily confeffed their nuns. 

 But he adds, that their exceffive curiofity carried them 

 fuch lengths, that there arofc a iieceflity ot checking it. 



St. Bafil, in his rule, allows the ablcfs to be prefent VN'ith 

 the prieft at the confefTion of her nuns. 



Before the conqucll abbejfc' were fummoned to the Wit- 

 tcnagemote, and they affilled in the deliberations of eccle- 

 fiaiHcal councils. 



ABBEVILLE, in Geography, the capital of Ponthieu in 

 the late province of Picardv, in France. It lies in a pleafant 

 valley, and is divided into two parts by the river Somnie. This 

 town carries on a confidcrable trade in grain, oil, hemp, flax, 

 cordage, foap, &c. by means of the Somine, in which 

 the tide rifes fix feet, and by which Ihips may come to the 

 middle of the town. The woollen manufartory was efta- 

 blilhed here in 1665, and has fucceedcd fo well, that its 

 cloths are deemed little inferior to thofe of England and 

 Holland. In this refpeft it has been aided by the clan- 

 deftine importation of Englilli and Irilh wool, and of work- 

 men frqm this country. It is conveniently fituatcd for a 

 fortification, and as it has never been taken, it is fometimea 

 called the miiidcn town. It lias a collegiate church, thirteen 

 parilh churches, and other pubhc buildings. It is ^2 milea 

 fouth of Calais, and 80 N. by W. of Paris. E. long. 1° 49' 

 45". N. lat. 50° 7' I". 



Abbeville is alfo the name of a county in the diftrift of 

 Ninety-fix, in South Carohna, bounded on the N. E. by the 

 Saluda, and on the S. W. by the Savannah ; 35 miles in length, 

 and 21 in breadth, containing 9197 inhabitants, of whora 

 1665 are llaves. 



Abbey, or Abby, a monaflery, or religious houfe, 

 governed by a fuperior under the title of abbot, or 

 abbess. 



In our ancient ftatutes the word is fometimes alfo written 

 ahla'.hy. By 31 H. VIII. c. xiii. ablathks are given to the 

 king. 



Abbeys differ from Priories, in that the former are under 

 the diredion of an abbot, and the latter of a prior ; but abbot 

 and prior (-ac mean a prior conventual) are much the fame 

 thing, and difler in little but the name. 



One tliirdof the h'.'A. benefices in England were anciently 

 by the pope's grants, appropriated to abbeys, and other re- 

 1 gious houfes ; which, upon their diflblution under king 

 Henry VIII. became lay-fees. For a farther account and 

 an eftimate of the numbeK and value of religious houfes abo- 

 hfhcd and furrendered in this reign, fee Monastery. 



Abbev-lands. See Fkemunire and Tithe. 



ABBEYBOYLE, in Geography, a town of Ireland, in 

 the county of Roieom:-ion, and province of Connaught, 

 famous for an old abbey. ^V. long. 8 32'. N. lat. 56 54'. 



ABBEYHOLM, a town lu Cumberland, fo cailedfrora 

 an abbey built by David liing of Scots. It is fituated on aa 

 arm of the fea, and is i6 miles S. W, of Carlifle. W. iong. 

 3^ 29'. N. lat. 54° 53'. 



ABBEY- 



