S A M 
manor 5&1. pcY ann. for the liberty of colle&ing -the ma¬ 
terials. Near the town is a magnificent (eat lately built by 
'the earl of Fife. Lat. 57.40-N. Ion. 2. 12. W.Greenwich. 
BAMlYAN'j a city of Alia, in the province of Zable- 
ftan, ten days journey from Balkh, and eight from Gazna. 
It is remarkable, only for its dreadful cataftrophe when ta¬ 
ken by jenghiz Khan in 1221. At that time the city be¬ 
longed to fultan Jalallodin, the lad of the famous Mah¬ 
mud Gazni’s race. Jenghiz Khan was about to attack 
Gazna, that prince’s capital; but was for home time pre¬ 
vented by tlte prudence and forefight of the garrifon, which 
lie had hoped would give him no trouble. In this, how¬ 
ever, he was difappointed. The people had for a long 
time expedited an attack ; and had therefore defolated tlie 
country for five or fix leagues round, while the pealants 
had carried away every thing that could be of life to the 
befiegers. Accordingly, Jenghiz Khan having erected 
wooden towers, and planted his engines upon them, was 
in a fltort time obliged to give over his attacks, till the pro¬ 
per neceflaries could be brought from a great difiance. The 
walls of the city were very ftrong, (o that the engines of 
the Moguls made but little imprellion ; and the garrifon 
making frequent and furious Tallies cut off whole fquadrons 
of their enemies, and frequently overthrew their towers 
and engines. This exceedingly enraged Jenghiz Khan ; 
who one day returning from a fruitlefs attack, and hearing 
of the defeat of one of his generals by Jalallodin, he vow¬ 
ed to be revenged on Bamiyan. This cofi the life of one 
of his grandchildren; who, expofing himfelf too much, 
was fiain with an arrow. At lafi, by the numberlefs mul¬ 
titude of the Moguls, who continued the attack without 
intermifiion, the city was taken, after the braveft foldiers 
and officers of the garrifon had fallen in its defence. The 
mother of the young prince w ho had been killed, entering 
with the troops, and more deferving the name of a fiend 
than a human being, caufed the throats of all the inhabi¬ 
tants to be ciit, without exception. She even gave orders 
to rip up the bellies of all the women with child, iliat not 
an infant might be left alive. In fiiort, to gratify the rage 
of this unfeeling wortian, the buildings were levelled w ith 
the ground, and every living creature defiroyed ; infomut h 
that the relentlefs Moguls themfelves gave this piace the 
name of Maubalig, which fignifies the ‘unfortunate cit-y.’ 
A ftrong caftle has fince been built out of its ruins. 
BAM'MA,/ [from to imnterge.J A kind of 
medicated pickle to (op bread or other food in. 
BAMO'i H-BA'AL, one of the towns of the tribe of 
Reuben, which feems alfo to have had a temple of Baal 
on an eminence; lying-eaftwards; and not far from the fi¬ 
ver Arnon, and the territory of Moab. Jerome calls it 
Bainoth, a city of the Amorites, beyond Jordan, in the pof- 
fellion of the Tons of Reuben. Whether the fame with 
that mentioned Numb. xxi. is doubtful, from the difa- 
gfeement of interpreters; and yet Vve may admit it to be 
the place of encampment of .'he Ifraelites, and of Balaam’s 
fit (I ftation, where he had the firft view of the rear of the 
people. 
BAMP'TON, a market town in Oxfordfttire, pleafant- 
Jy fituated on a (mail (iream that runs into the Kis, a little 
below the town, difiant from London (evenly miles. It is 
laid to have been, a place of good repute even before the 
con'queft ; but at prelent there is not a building in the town 
that merits the notice of a traveller, except the church 
and the remains of an old caftle; the former of which is 
a very fpacious edifice, with a (lately fpire. What is 1110ft 
worthy of remark is, there are three vicars or portionills 
belonging to the chnrch, whole feparate livings amount to 
about 23d. per annum ; theparifhof confeqnence is Very 
extenfive, confiding of fix hamlets. It has a good fair for 
hotTes on the 26th of Auguft; but the weekly marker, 
which was formerly on a Wednelday, lias been long dif- 
COntinued. 
Bampton, cr Eaunton (for Bathampton), an an¬ 
cient inland borough-town in Devon, fituated upon a branch 
-»f the river Ex, about mid-way from Exeter to Mine- 
3 
BAN 
head.' It (lands in a valley, encompafled 'by hills. On the 
fouth and l'outh-eaft are two fine lime-rocks, w hich flip- 
ply a great number of farmers in the neighbourhood, and 
employ many poor labourers./ At the foot of the town 
runs a fine Terpentine river called Batitan, which empties 
itfelf into the beautiful river Ex. Tlte chief manufacture 
here are ferges. There is a large venerable church, with 
a lofty tower, very romantic. The market-day is on Wed- 
nefday : there are two fairs in the.year, viz. Whit-Tuef- 
day and the laft Tlmrfday in October, remarkable for as 
good flteep, in ftze and quality, as any in England. This 
town is weft of London a hundred and fixty-(even miles, 
north-weft of Exeter twenty-two, Tiverton (even, and 
Dttlverton five, miles. At the foot of the town is a fine 
mineral fpring of water, drunk by the inhabitants and tra¬ 
vellers for the benefit of their health. T his borough for¬ 
merly fent two members to parliament; but then the in¬ 
habitants paid the expence of them ; times are fo much al¬ 
tered now, that, if any gentleman could renew rite char¬ 
ter, he would doubtlefs be glad to pay his own expences, 
to name his colleague, and be returned to parliament. In 
614 an obftinate battle was fought here between the Sax¬ 
ons and the Britons, wherein the former were defeated. 
BAN,_/i [ban, Tent, a public proclamation, as.of pro- 
feriptian, interdiction, excommunication, &c.] Public no¬ 
tice given, whereby any thing is publicly commanded or 
forbidden. This word is tnoft efpeciaii.y ufed in the pub¬ 
lication of intended marriages; witch mu ft be done ow 
three feveral Sundays previous to the marriage, to the end, 
that, if any can (hew juft e,jufe agaiuft Inch marriage, they 
ntay have opportunity to make their objections. But the 
fpiritual judge by a licence may difpenie with the forma¬ 
lity of publication. But, if any perfons (hall be married 
without either publication of bans, or licence, the mar¬ 
riage (hall be void, and the minifter officiating (hall be 
tranfported. 26 Geo. II. c. 33. See Marriage. 
I bar it in the intereft of my wife; 
’ I is (he is fubcontraCled to this lord. 
And 1 her hufband contradict your bans, Shakefpeare. 
A curfe ; excommunication; interdiction: 
Bold deed to the eye 
The (acred fruit, (acred to abftinence, 
Much more to tafte it, under ban to touch. Milton. 
Ban, in commerce, a fort of fmooth fine mufiin, which 
the Englifh import from the Eaft Indies. The piece is al- 
moft a yard broad, and runs about 20| yards. 
Ban of the Empire, a public cenfure by which tire 
privileges of any German prince are fufpended.—Pie. pro¬ 
ceeded fo far by treaty, that he was proffered to have the 
imperial ban taken off Altapinus, upon fubmiffion. Howell. 
To Ban, v. a. [bannen, Dut. to curfe.] To curfe; to 
execrate.—Shall we think that it banneth the work which 
they leave behind them, or taketh away the ufe thereof? 
Hooker. —It is uncertain whether this word, in the forego¬ 
ing fenfe, is to be deduced from ban, to curfe, or bane, to 
poilbri.—Before thefe Moors went a Numidian pried, bel¬ 
lowing out charms, and calling fcrowls of paper on each 
fide, wherein lie curled and banned the Chriftians. Knolles. 
BANA'GHER, a town of Ireland, in King’s County, 
which fends two members to the Irifh parliament. It is 
finiated on the river Shannon, twenty-five miles weft of 
Portarlington. 
BANAMATAPA', a town of Africa, in the country 
of Monomotapa. 
B ANA'NA-TREE,y. a fpecies of the plantain. See 
Musa. 
BANA'RA,/ [a vernacular name of tlte country.] In 
botany, a genus of the clafs dodecandria, order monogy- 
nia, natural order of columnifene. The generic charac¬ 
ters are—Calyx: perianthiumone-Ieafed, fix-parted, per¬ 
manent; parts ovate. Corolla: petals fix, rounding, con¬ 
cave, (pleading, three times larger than the calyx, inferted 
into the receptacle. Stamina: filaments fifteen and more, 
capillary. 
