X E R 



X 1 M 



24. X. hajlilis. Spear-ftalked Xerotes. — " Stem none. 

 Spike very long. Stalk round. Leaves elongated." — 

 Gathered by Mr. Brown, on the fouthern coaft of New 

 Holland. The habit of this fpecies appears, by the above 

 charaAers, to differ widely from the reft of its genus, rather 

 approaching a Xanthorrhcea. See that article. 



XEROTRIBIA, formed of l^^o;, dry, and rjiCi.;, I rub, 

 a term ufed by authors to exprefs a dry friftion, a rubbing 

 of fome affefted part with the hand or otherwife, to recall 

 the warmth and circulation. 



XERTE, in Geography, a river of Spain, which paffes 

 by Placentia, and runs into the Alagon. 



XERTIGNY, a town of France, in the department of 

 the Vofges ; 7 miles E. of Epinal. 



XERUMENHA, or Jerumenha, or Gerumenha, a 

 town of Portugal, in Alentejo ; 10 miles S. of Elvas. N. 

 lat. 38^35'. W. long. 6=58'. 



XERXENA, in Ancient Geography, a country of Afia, 

 on the confines of Leffer Armenia, of which it makes a part. 

 Strabo. 



XERXES, in Biography, was the fon of Darius I. by 

 Atoffa, the daughter of Cyrus ; and on the death of his 

 father, fucceeded to the crown of Perfia, in the year 

 485 B.C. Having in the fecond year of his reign fubdued 

 the revolted Egyptians, and committed them to the govern- 

 ment of his brother Achaemenes, he determined to renew 

 the invafion of Greece, in which Darius had been difap- 

 pointed ; and for the fuccefs of his expedition, he formed 

 an alliance with the Carthaginians, on condition of their 

 making an attack on the Greek colonies in Italy and Sicily, 

 fo that they might not have it in their power to aflift the 

 mother-country. His preparations were immenfe, and oc- 

 cupied feveral of the firll years of his reign. Having pro- 

 vided a large navy, he formed a projeft of cutting a canal 

 through mount Athos, of fufBcient breadth to admit two 

 galleys a-breaft ; and to this undertaking, which fome have 

 regarded as a fiftion, he devoted three years. He alfo 

 conftrufted a bridge of boats acrofs the HeUefpont, in order 

 to convey his army from Alia to Europe ; and as the firfl 

 bridge which had been laid was dcmoliftied by a ilorni, he 

 not only manifelled his childidi rage by ordering 300 lafhes 

 to be inflitled on the fea, and a pair of fetters to be thrown 

 into it, but liis tyrannical and cruel difpofition by beheading 

 thofe to whom the conduft of the work had been committed. 

 The number of fea and land forces which he employed in 

 this expedition is faid to have amounted to two millions and 

 a half, to which we may add as many more attendants. 

 When he afcended a high tower at Abydos, and took a 

 view of the immenfe number that covered the fea and fur- 

 rounding plain, his pride and triumph are faid to have given 

 way to tears, when the refleftion occurred, that the brevity of 

 human life was fuch as not to allow one of this countlefs hoft 

 to furvive the lapfe of 100 years. Without detailing the 

 events of this difaftrous expedition, which are the proper 

 fubiefts of hiilory, we fhall merely mention that it termi- 

 nated in the defeat of Xerxes's navy at Salamis, and the 

 lubfequent overthrow and difperfion of Mardonius's army 

 of 300,000 men ; and fpecify fome traits of the difpolition 

 and charafter of this ambitious defpot. For his ignominious 

 treatment of Leonidas, we refer to his article. Upon his 

 taking pofleflion of Athens, he wreaked his vengeance on 

 the buildings and the temples, and difpatched a fpecial meflen- 

 ger to his uncle Artabanus, to inform him of this inglorious 

 triumph. Having erefted a throne on a lofty mountain, in 

 order to view the expefted viftory at Salamis, the event 

 produced fuch coniternation, that he fuddenly left Mar- 

 donius and the army, and haftened to the HeUefpont, where 



Vol. XXXIX. 



finding his bridge fhattered by florms, but ftill haunted with 

 terror, he intrufled himfelf in a fifhing-boat, and haftened 

 to Sardes ; but when Mardonius was defeated, and all his 

 hopes of conquering Greece were fruftrated, he quitted 

 Sardes, after having given orders for the demolition of all 

 the temples in the Greek cities of Afia, and proceeded with 

 all poffible expedition to the Perfian frontier. The other 

 traces of his difgraceful expedition were the records of the 

 cruelties and debaucheries exercifed by himfelf and his 

 family. So much at length did Xerxes become the objeft 

 of contempt and hatred, that a confpiracy was formed 

 among his own guards, which terminated in his murder 

 during fleep, in the 2lft year after his acceffion, B.C. 465. 

 Herodotus. Diodorus. Anc. Un. Hift. 



XESTA, HsrEf, an Attic meafure of capacity, anfwer- 

 ing to the Roman fextary. 



XESTES, an ancient Greek liquid meafure, which is 

 = 2 cotyli. See Measure. 



XIAMETLA, in Geography, a town of Mexico, in the 

 province of Xalifco ; 30 miles S.E. of Purification. 



XIASSI, a town of the duchy of Warfaw ; 20 miles 

 S.S.E. of Pofen. 



XIBACA, a town of Japan, in the ifland of Niphon ; 

 120 miles S.W. of Meaco. 



XICOCO, called alfo Siioio, and Siioif, an ifiand of 

 Japan, about 90 miles in length, and about half as many in 

 breadth, divided into feveral provinces, fituated near the 

 fouth-weft extremity of Niphon, from which it is feparated 

 by a llrait, full of fmall iflands, and to the north-eaft of 

 Ximo. It has feveral convenient harbours, and many towns 

 within the country. N. lat. 33° 30'. E. long. 132°. 



XICONA. See XixoNA. 



XILCA. See Chilca. 



XILOA. See QuiLOA. 



XILOCA, a river of Spain, which rifea in the fouth 

 part of Aragon, about 7 miles N.E. of Albaracin, and at 

 Calataiud changes its name to Xalon, 



XILOTEPEC, a town of Mexico, in the province of 

 Guafteca ; 90 miles S.S.W. of Panuco. 



XILVAN, a town of the principabty of Georgia; 20 

 miles N. of Gory. 



XIMABARA, a town of Japan, on the fouth coait of 

 the idand of Ximo, on a gulf to which it gives name ; 

 33 miles E. of Nangafaki. N. lat. 32^ 45'. E. long. 

 132° 7'. 



XIMAGUINO, a town of Japan, in the ifland of Xi- 

 coco ; 10 miles S. of Awa. N. lat. 33° 50'. E. long. 

 130° 30'. 



XIMENA, a town of Spain, in the province of Seville. 

 Near this town Craffus is faid to have concealed himfelf in a 

 cave, till Marius and Cinna were overthrown by Sylla ; 

 24 miles E. of Medina Sidonia. 



XIMENES, Francis, CarJiiial, in Biography, was 

 born in 1437, in Old Caftik-, and educated at Alcala and 

 Salamanca. Renouncing preferments which he obtained in 

 his youth, he afTumed the habit of St. Francis, in a monaf- 

 tery of the Obfervantines, one of the moil rigid orders of 

 monks in the Romifh church. Dillinguiflied by his aufte- 

 rities and devotional praftices, he became confefTor to queen 

 Ifabella ; and flill retaining his cullomary modes of living, 

 he fo far engaged her refpecl and attachment, that he was 

 nominated by her to the archbiftiopric of Toledo, the richell 

 benefice in Europe next to the papal fee; but his real or 

 aflFefted reluftance to accept this high preferment could be 

 overcome only by the authority of the pope. In this ele- 

 vated llation he maintained his llritl adherence to the rigours 

 of the order to which he belonged, and fo far from relaxing 



D ifi 



