B O K 



BoiviN, John", a younger brother of the preceding, was 

 born in 1662, and inflrufted by his brother, ellabhflied his re- 

 putation as a man of letters at Paris, at tl-.e age of iS years. 

 His difpofition was a counterpart to that of his brother, and 

 he was much eftecmed for liis amiable temper and manners. 

 The abbe de Louvois afTigncd him a confiderable peiifion, and 

 in 17 14 procured for liim the place of under-keeper of the 

 king's librar^■. In 1 721, he was admitted member of the 

 French academy, and became penfionary of that of belles 

 lettres in 1724, on the death of his brother. He excelled 

 in the Greek language, of which he was profefTor in the 

 royal college. His printed works are " An apology for 

 Homer, and the fliield of Achilles," l2mo ; a French tranf- 

 lation of " Homer's Bntrachomyomachia ;" a French tranf- 

 lation of the " Oedipus of Sophocles, and the Birds of Arif- 

 tophanes ;" " Greek Poems," much admired for their ana- 

 creontic delicacy; an edition of the " Mathematici Veteres," 

 1693, fol. ; a Latin " Life of Claude Pellctier ;" a Latin 

 tranflation of the " Byzantine Hilloi-y of Nicephorus Gre- 

 goras, with notes," 1702, which is elteemed faithful, learned, 

 and elegant. He alfo publidied feveral dilTertations on hif- 

 torical and literary topics in the " Memoirs of the Academy 

 of Belles Lettres." He died in 1726. Nouv. Dift. Hill:. 



BOIUM, in yfiicient Geography, one of the four principal 

 cities of the Doride country in Greece. It was feated on 

 the river Pindus, to the eaft of Erineui. 



BOKEA, in Botany, (Aubl. Guian. Sup. 38. t. 391.) 

 frudlitication unknown. 



Species. B. pronacinfs, A tree fixty feet high, three 

 feet and a half in diameter. Tiunli with a greyifh, fmooth 

 bark, throwing out at its fummit a great number of branches, 

 fome upright, others inclining, and almoft horizontal, which 

 fpread in all direftions. Leaves alternate, oval-lanceolate, 

 entire, terminated by a long, tender point, fmooth, firm, 

 green, on (hort petioles ; two caducous ilipules at the bafe 

 of each petiole ; the exterior part of the wood is white, the 

 interior brown, intermixed with yellowilh green. The 

 latter is vei-)' firm and compaft. It is a native of Guiana. 

 See La Marck, Encyc. Method. 



BOKELM.^N, JoHS Frederic, in Biography, pub- 

 lilhed the beginning of the lad century at Leyden, " Me- 

 dicus Romanus fervus, fexaginta folidis sllimatus." On 

 this fubject, a moll interelling controverfy was carried on 

 fome years after, between Drs. Mead and Middleton, in 

 which many of the literati took part ; and this diDertation, 

 originally written to convey a cenfure on Drelincourt, was 

 republirtied. The fubjeft will be noticed again in the life 

 of Dr. Mead. Haller Bib. Med. 



BOKENEM, in Geography, a town of Germany, in the 

 circle of Lower Saxony, and bifhopric of Hildelhcim, 16 

 miles S.S.E. of Hildefheim. 



BOKET, a town of Ciermany, in the circle of Fran- 

 conia, and bilhopric of Wurtzburg, 4 miles N. of Kif- 

 fingen. 



BOKHARA, BucH.iRiA, or Bogar, a famous city of 

 Great Bucharia (fee Bucharia), feated on the river Sogd, 

 in that diftrif^, lying N.E. of the river Jihon, or Oxus,calltd 

 Sogdiana, or Al Sogd. It is.'itinted very advautageoufly for 

 trade, in a delightful and fertile country, and ha» repeatedly 

 contefted the metropolitan dignity with Samarcand. Befides 

 its own wall, which was very Ihong, it had an outward in- 

 Ciofure, comp)vhendi:-,g not only the fi)hurbs, but a diftric^ 

 about four leagues in extent on each fide, which contained 

 feveral villages and farms, watered by the river Sogd. The 

 Sogd, which is the valley or plain of Sarmacand on the eaft, 

 and the mountain called Vorka on the nurth, were the 

 boundaries of this territory ; although its }urifdi£tiuii ex- 



B O K 



tended to feveral towns which were fituated beyond its great 

 wall. Mirkhond, in his hiftory of the pofterity of Japhet, 

 affirms, that Bokhara was the capital of Turqucftan, in the 

 time of Oguz Khan, one of the moll ancient kings of the 

 Moguls, or Tartars, and reckoned by the Mahomeddan Tar- 

 tarothe eighth in defcent from Japhet ; and enumerates feveral 

 towns which were dependent upon it. Bokhara aftenvards 

 became the capital of the (late of the Samanides founded 

 by Ifmaei, the great grandfon of Satpan, in the year of the 

 Hegira 297, or of Chrill 909, under the caliph MotaJhed. 

 After the fall of the empire of the Samanides, the Moguls 

 of Cathai made fhemfelves mailers of this city ; but it was 

 retaken by Mohammed, kirg of Karafm, in the year of the 

 Hegira '594, or A. D. 1197. This conquell of the Karaf- 

 mians alarmed the nations of the north, and drew towards 

 Jihon ver; powerful armies of Moguls and Tartars, who 

 defolated fome of the finell provinces of Afia. In the year 

 of the Hegira 617, or A. D. 1220, Jenghiz Khan, after a 

 fiege of fome continuance, took this city, and ordered it to 

 be fet on fire ; fo that nothing of it remained, except the ful- 

 tan's palace, called " Ark," conftrufted of Hone, and forne 

 few private houfes built of ftonc, all the reft having been 

 wooden edifices. He then caufed a fcarch to be made in 

 the palace and houfcs, and commanded all the foldiers, who 

 had concealed thcmfelves, to be put to death. Bokhara 

 continued for fome years in this defolate ilate ; but at 

 length the Khan ordered it to be rebuilt, not long before 

 his death. In the year of the Hegira 772, A. D. 1370, 

 Tamerlane took this city from fultan Haflain, who was the 

 laft prince of the houfe of Jenghiz Khan ; and the Timurides, 

 or defcendants of Tamerlane, retained pofleffion of it till 

 about the year of the Hegira 904, A. D. 1498 ; when 

 Baburwasdefpoiled of all his territories in Tranloxana and 

 Khorafan by Schaibek Khan, who obliged him to fly to 

 India ; and from that time Bokhara has always belonged to 

 the Ufbeks, who have maintained it by frequent wars with 

 the Perfians. Herbelot Bib. Or. p. 190. 



Bokhara was eminently diftinguiftied in former times by 

 the arts and fciences which flourifhed in it, and by its fa- 

 mous univerfity, to which Undents reforted from all parts, 

 and in which the celebrated Aviecnna was educated. As 

 an emporium of commerce, it was alfo no lefs famous. To 

 this place merchants repaired from all parts of India, from 

 the different countries inhabited by the Tartars, fromPerfia, 

 and even from the dominions of the grand fignior on one 

 fide, and from Ruflia and Poland on the other ; fo that in 

 the warchoufes and markets of this city might be feen a 

 great variety of oriental and European merch-.ndife. About 

 the middle of the i6th century it was vifited by Anthony 

 Jenkins, an Englifhman, whole curious and interefting ac- 

 count of the mart of this city has been trantlated into feveral 

 languages, and copied by the bell writers. See Hackluyt's 

 Collcttion, p. 25;{- At that period, indeed, it fullai'ned 

 lome injury from the vicinity of Samarcand ; but fince it 

 became the feat of the khan of the Ufbek Tartars, who is 

 mailer alfo of Samarcand, which he vifits only in the fum- 

 mer ftafon, its commerce has revived, to wh'ch th.e con- 

 venience of its fiti-.ntion in no fmall degree contributes. When 

 it was vifited by the Englifh agents in 1741, (fee Hanway's 

 Travels, J. 242.) it was large ar.d populous, fubjeCt to its 



khan ; ftanding on a 



ground, with a llender wall of 



earth ; the houfes of clay, but the numerous mofques of 

 brick. The citizens manufactured foap and callico ; and 

 the chief products were cotton, rice, and cattle. From th« 

 Kalmuks they received rhubarb and mu.Oi ; and from Ba- 

 duklhan, they ufed to receive lapis lazuli, and other precious 

 Hones ; that city being co .mputtd at 16 days' journey from 



Bokhajra. 



