A M A 
barked for Conftantinople ; but, meeting withft orms on 
their pafliige, were caft away on the (bores of Salerno, and 
deprived of the means of purfuing their voyage. In this 
(fate of perplexity they long remained; but at laft came 
to the refolution of fettling on the prefent fite of Amalfi, 
where they expefted to enjoy fecurity, and fufficient plenty 
of the neceffaries of life. The earlieft notice of them in 
this fettlement dates no higher than the latter end of the 
fixth century. Impervious mountains and inacceffible 
coafts prefervcd their infant (fate from the firft fury of 
the Lombards, who feldom attempted the conqueft of a 
maritime people. 
In the year 825, when this little republic had attained a 
degree of wealth and reputation fufficient to excite the am¬ 
bition of its neighbours, Sico, prince of Salerno, marched 
a body of troops by night, furprifed Amalfi, and, carrying 
off the greateft part of the inhabitants, compelled them 
to fix at Salerno, which had lately fuffered a great lofs 
of people by an epidemical d ilo-rder. But, before the 
fourth year of their captivity was expired, the Ama'lfitans 
took advantage of the abfence of the Salernitan chiefs, 
who were then carrying on a war with the Beneventans; 
armed fhemfelves; and, after burning and plundering 
Salerno, marched in triumph back to their own country. 
Here they framed a better fyftem of government, and re¬ 
formed many abufes in their former legiflation ; adopting 
various meafures that were likely to promote internal con¬ 
cord,.and defeat the evil intentions of foreign enemies. 
Their rirft plan was to veft the flip re me authority in a 
temporary praifeft ; but the experience of a few years 
caufed them to prefer lodging that power in the hands of 
a duke elefted for the term of his natural life. Under 
thefe governors Amalfi attained the fummit of her mili¬ 
tary and commercial glofy. It extended its territory, 
which reached eaffward from Vico Vecchio, and weftward 
to the promontory of .Minerva, including likewife the 
ifland of Caprea, and the two illands of the Galli. To¬ 
wards the north, it comprehended the cities of Lettere, 
Gragnans, Pimontio, and Capule di Franchi; towards the 
fouth, thofe of Scala, Ravelli, Minori, Majuri, Atrani, 
Tramonti, Agenda, Citara, Prajano, and ROfilano. 
Leo IV. found the Amalfitans an ufeful ally in his wars 
■with the infidels, and honoured the commonwealth with 
the title of Defender of the Faith.- The Neapolitans, with 
whom, as Greek vaffals, they were united in If rift bonds 
of friendfhip, experienced many lignal favours at their 
hands; and the Muffulmen themfelves found it expedient 
to court their alliance, and to enter into treaty with them. 
Their fituatio'n had from the beginning given them a turn 
to commerce, and their attention to naval affairs fo much 
confequence in the eyes of their proteftor, the emperor of 
Conftantinople, that by his orders a court was eftabiifhed 
at Amalfi, for the decifion of all controverfics arifing in 
maritime tranfaftions. Its code and reports became the 
general rule in thofe cafes throughout this part of Europe; 
its precedents and decrees were allowed to be good autho¬ 
rity to found judgment upon even in foreign tribunals. 
To crown the mercantile and naval glory of the republic, 
it was referred to the lot of an Almafitan to make, or at 
lead to perfeft, the moft important difeovery ever made 
for the improvement of navigation. Palitano, a village 
which (lands on the fhore a few miles weft of Amalfi, 
boafts of having given birth to Flavius Gioia, the inven¬ 
tor of the mariner’s compafs. 
The merchants of this town engrafted the trade of the 
Levant, and tranl'acfed the commercial bufinefs of the 
world in a lucrative and exclufive manner. The Pifans, 
Venetians, and Genoefe, rofe upon their ruin ; and, after 
monopolizing the emoluments of trade for f'ome ages, 
made way for the more eomprehenfive and daring fpirit 
ol the prefent maritime powers. 
At prefent Amalfi is fubjeft to Naples, and is the fee 
of an archbifhop. It is but a ftiadow of what-it-was in its 
original (fate, when it extended over the ftupendous rocks 
that hang on each fide, ftili crowned with battlemented 
Vox, I. No. 2j. 
A lVI A 3S5 
walls and ruined towers. Its buildings, Mr. Swinburne 
fays, are not remarkable for elegance or (ize ; and contain 
at mod 4000 inhabitants, who fee'm to be in a poor line of 
life. The cathedral is an uncouth building. Under the 
choir is the chapel and tomb of the apoftle St. Andrew; 
in whofe honour the edifice was dedicated, when cardinal 
Capuano, in 1208, brought his body from Conftantinople. 
AMAL'GAM, or Amal'cama, f. [a/xas and ya/tnv. f 
This name is applied to the combinations or mixtures of 
mercury with other metallic (ubftances. As mercury is 
fo exceedingly fnfible as to be always in the fluid Hate in 
climates of a moderate temperature, it unites with many 
of the metals without any greater heat than that which it 
tifually poflefles. For this purpofe, therefore, nothing 
more is neeefliiry than to triturate thin leaves, or plates, 
or filings of the metallic fubftance with mercury. In other 
inftances, where the difpolition to combine is lefs power¬ 
ful, it is found neceffary either to fufe or ignite the metal 
intended to be-amalgamated. When a (mail quantity of 
mercury is combined with any metal, it renders it brittle, 
or rather friable; a greater quantity of mercury produces 
a kind of imperfeft 'fluidity refembling that of butter. 
This is commonly called the confidence of an amalgam. 
A Hill greater quantity of mercury renders the mafs more- 
fluid, but not uniformly fo ; for a portic-n of the taftial- 
gam either floats at the top, or finks to the bottom, in- 
(fead of intimately combining with the whole of the mer¬ 
cury. This faft is of the fame kind as that wherein falts 
are foluble in water in limited quantities, beyond which 
they ceafe to be taken up. Mercury very readily com¬ 
bines with gold, filver, lead, tin, bifmuth, and zinc. Ir* 
making an amalgam of gold or iilver, the clippings of the 
leaves from the gold-beaters may be ufed, or thin plates 
of the metals may be ignited, and plunged in mercury 
previoully heated, fo as to fmoke. When the quantity of 
mercury is fo large as to be fluid when cold, the fuper- 
fluous mercury may be (trained off by preffure through n 
leathern bag. The remaining amalgam of gold contains 
about one-third of its weight of mercury, but is perfectly 
white. The amalgam of iilver (inks in mercury, and con- 
fequently is heavier than either mercury or iilver. 
Mercury unites with difficulty into an amalgam with 
copper and arfenic; and learcely at all with platina, or 
with iron. This latter metal, however, does not abfo- 
lutely refufe to combine with mercury, for it adheres to 
and coats the end of iron peftles ufed for the trituration of 
amalgams: and Dr. Lewis has obferved, that a plate of 
tough iron is rendered brittle by keeping it immerfed in 
mercury for fome days; a faft which has been experien¬ 
ced in another way by Mr, de Luc, who found that .fprings 
immerfed under mercury, in the conftruftion of a baro¬ 
meter, were rendered brittle and ufelefs by its aftiom. 
Iron ignited to a white heat, and thrown into a large mafs 
of mercury, becomes completely covered with a ferrugi¬ 
nous bright amalgam. Regulus of antimony unites with 
mercury, though with great difficulty. Nickel and cobalt 
are faid not to unite with mercury; and its aftion on man- 
ganefe, wolfram, and molybdena, is not known. 
Amalgams are applied to a conliderable number of ufe¬ 
ful purpofes. The amalgam of gold is ufed in the pro- 
cefs called water-gilding, in which the mercury firft ferves 
as the medium of ad'ndion between the gold and copper, 
and is afterwards driven off by heat. See Gilding. 
Looking-gla'fles arc filvered by an amalgam of tin. See 
Silvering. The amalgam of zinc, triturated with tal¬ 
low, is found to aflift the excitation or production of elec¬ 
tricity, by the friftion of a cufhion againft glafs, in a won¬ 
derful degree ; infomuch that the quantity of ele6fricity is 
twenty or thirty times as great as without it. ' Wlien mer¬ 
cury is contaminated with any imperfeft metal, it is found 
that by agitation, in contact with vital air, or the air of the 
atmofphere, the imperfeft metal becomes converted into a 
black powdery calx, which (ep'arates from the mercury. 
To AMALGAMATE, v, a. To unite .metals with 
quicklilver, 
5 
AMAL- 
