672 
SARD 
The word is of Persian origin, and is derived from sar, 
which, in that language, signifies a head or chief. 
This officer is a colonel of a detached body; he is attended 
in his expedition by his deputy, and two secretaries, and 
his office expires at his return from the business he was dis¬ 
patched on. 
SARDARA, a town in the island of Sardinia, in the 
Capo di Cagliari, noted for its mineral baths. 
SARDE, in Mineralogy, a variety of chalcedony. It 
has an orange-ye'low colour, sometimes inclining to brown: 
by transmitted light it is blood-red. 
SA'RDEL, Sa'rdine Stone, orSA'RDius, s. A sort of 
precious stone. —He that sat was to look upon, like a jasper 
and a sardine stone. Rev. iv. 3. 
SARDELLA, in Ichthyology, a name by which some 
have called the pilchard of the Mediterranean sea, supposing 
it different in species from that of the ocean; but it seems, 
in reality, to be no other than the common pilchard, only 
not growing so large there as in the ocean. 
SARDIAN, Sardoin, or Lapis Sardius, a precious 
stone, of a blood colour, semi-transparent; the same with 
what we otherwise call a cornelian. 
The most beautiful sardians are those brought from about 
Babylon: those of Sardinia, whence they take their name, 
are in the second class. There are others, and those no 
contemptible ones, found near St. Mauro, in Albania; and 
others, very small ones, about the Rhine, in Bohemia, 
Silesia, &c. To give them the greater lustre, it is usual, 
in setting them, to lay silver-leaf underneath. The sardian 
is most used for seals, as graving easily, yet taking a fine 
polish. 
SARDICA, or Serdica, a town which was the capital 
of the Eastern Illyria. Geographers have differed concerning 
both the orthography and position of this place. Ptolemy 
places it among the Mediterranean towns of Thrace; others 
place it in Dacia, i. e. the Aurelian Dacia, on the other side 
of the Danube. 
Sardica appears to have been the capital of the second 
Illyria; it was a considerable town, having been enlarged 
by Trajan. The Bulgarians gave it the name of Triaditza. 
The emperor Basil laid siege to it in 981, according to 
Zonaras, which he afterwards discontinued. Some remains 
of Sardica appear near Sophia. 
SARDINA, the same as Sardanus. 
SARDINAS, a river of South America, in Terra Firma, 
which rises near the point of San Bias, and enters the Atlantic 
Ocean. 
SARDINAS, a river of South America, in New Granada, 
which runs nearly south, and enters the Sulia, just before 
this joins the lake Maracaibo. 
SARDINAS, a river of Quito, in the province of Mainas, 
which rises in the confines of the province of Quixos, 
runs east, and enters the Aguarico, or as others say, the 
Orinoco. 
SARDINATA, a river of New Granada, in the province 
of Maracaibo, which rises north of the city of Las Palmas, 
and enters the Sulia. 
SARDINIA, the name of a kingdom in the south of 
Europe, composed in part of the island of Sardinia, but in a 
much greater proportion of Piedmont, Savoy, and the ter¬ 
ritory of Genoa. The extent and population of its com¬ 
ponent parts are as follow:— 
Divisions. Superficial Extent. Population. 
The island of Sardinia. 
9,250 
520,000 
Piedmont, including the county ofl 
Nice..J 
7,900 
1,750,000 
Savoy. 1 
’ 3,780 
450,000 
Genoese territory... 
2,360 
534,000 
Sardinian part of Milanese territory.. 
3,310 
560,000 
Duchy of Montferrat. 
900 
186,000 
Total of Sardinian dominions.. 
27,500 
4,000,000 
The religion of the state and of the royal family is the 
I N I A. 
Roman Catholic. The residence of the court is at Turin. 
The royal title is King of Sardinia, Cyprus, and Jerusalem, 
and Duke of Genoa; the title of the crown prince is Prince 
of Piedmont. The constitution is a monarchy, with few 
definite limits, except the privileges guaranteed to particular 
states, on their incorporation with the rest of the kingdom. 
Here, as in the other monarchies of Europe, the appoint¬ 
ments of the judges, governors, and public functionaries, is 
vested in the crown. As to the administration of justice, 
the laws are in an undigested state, consisting of an accumula¬ 
tion of royal ordinances, and of precedents deduced from 
judicial decisions. Reference is had to the Roman law, 
when that of the country is found insufficient. The high 
courts of justice are held at Turin, Genoa, Chambery, Nice, 
Cagliari, and Sassari. There are also a number of courts of 
the second rank, forming a medium between the high courts 
and the petty tribunals established in the small towns and 
villages. 
The reigning family is descended from the counts of Savoy, 
who are of great antiquity, and are mentioned in authentic 
history, in the early part of the 11th century. A branch 
of that house possessed the principality of Piedmont, and 
becoming extinct in 1418, their dominions were added to 
Savoy, then governed by Amadeus, whose title had been 
shortly before changed by the emperor of Germany, from 
count to duke of Savoy. The dominions of this house were 
progressively extended by purchase, conquest, or donation; 
one of the chief acquisitions was the duchy of Montferrat, 
obtained in 1631. The political importance of this state 
was much increased by the contest between France and 
Austria for the north of Italy, in the latter part of the 17th, 
and beginning of the 18th century. The vacillating con¬ 
duct of the reigning duke, who took part at onetime against, 
and at another time in favour of the allies; the siege of 
Turin by the French in 1706, and their signal defeat by the 
allies under prince Eugene, . are all matters of notoriety and 
interest in the history of that age. The eventual successes 
of the allies led to an increase of the dominions of this power, 
and obtained^or the reigning duke, Victor Amadeus II., 
the island of Sicily, in 1713. In 1720 he exchanged it for 
Sardinia, and assumed the present royal title. After a peace 
of thirty years, this state became involved in the war between 
France and Austria, which was closed by the peace of 
Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748; but it had no part in the war of 
1756, the operations of which did not extend to Italy. After a 
peace of full half a century, the kingdom of Sardinia took 
part in the war of the French revolution. This contest 
began in 1792, and was maintained, with the aid of Austrian 
troops and an English subsidy, with ’Varied success, until 
1796, when the assumption of the command by Buonaparte 
led to the overthrow of the allied forces in the course of a 
few weeks, and to the conclusion of an unfavourable treaty of 
peace. This treaty was, as might have been foreseen, 
followed in the course of two years, bv the removal of the 
royal family to Sardinia, and the incorporation of their 
continental states with the French territory. The successes 
of the allies in 1799, opened at one time a prospect of rein¬ 
statement, but it was completely overcast by the battle of 
Marengo, and the subsequent retreat of the Austrians. The 
continental territory was parcelled out anew into departments 
of the French empire, and was not restored to the legitimate 
sovereign until the overthrow of Buonaparte in 1814. The 
Genoese territory was added to it by the congress of Vienna, 
in 1815. 
For an account of late events that have occurred in 
Sardinia, and especially of the abortive attempt at a re. 
volution, we refer the reader to the article Piedmont. 
The revenue of this kingdom is estimated at about one 
million and a half sterling. The standing army is nearly 
60,000, and the national militia about 40,000. 
The religion of the king, and of all his states, is Catholic i 
but the consent of the king is necessary to the promul¬ 
gation of any papal bull or mandate. Courts of justice 
are held at Turin, Genoa, Chamberry, Nice, Cagliari, and 
Sassari. 
Principal 
