Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/91

MARITIME PKOVINCE. MAKItrS. northeastern oxtn'mity of A^^ia, is a mountainous peninsula, exiveding 8000 feet in elevation in the northern part and watered by the Anadj'r and many other rivers. Its eoasts are deeply in- dented anil present a number of i)romontories toward Bering Strait and Bering Sea — promon- tories that range from 1000 to 2000 feet in height. The central part of the province is a narrow strip of land along the Sea of Okhotsk, occupied by the Stanovoi Mountains and inter- sected by numerous short streams. The southern part is somewhat lower west of the Amur, wliile the portion east of that river is occupied to some extent by the mountainous dis- trict of Sikhota Alin, rising above 5000 feet in its highest peaks. The flora of the northern part is extremely poor, consisting only of some lichens, mosses, and dwarf trees. The lower mountain slopes of the central portion of the province and the deep river valleys are tliickly wooded. The same is true of the mountains in the southern part, where the lowlands are cov- ered with thick grass, and some plants peculiar to warmer regions, such as the wild vine, are found. Northern Siberia has long been famous for its rich fauna, but many species, such as the blue fox, the black sable, the sea-otter, the sea-lion, the sea-cow, and the whale, have either entirely disappeared or are rapidly approaching extinction. The fauna of the southern region is remarkable for its variety, including such differ- ent species as the tiger and the bear. The rivers in this part of the country are exceedingly rich in fish, and it is along their banks that the population of the province is concentrated. The northern part of the province is inhabited chief- ly by the Tchuktches, who are engaged in fish- ing on the coast, and in reindeer breeding and himting in the interior. Besides the Tchuktches there are found some Koryaks on the coast. The central part of the province is inhabited only by a few Tunguses. The climate necessarily presents great variety, owing to the large extent of the region, but even in the southern part it is very severe. The tem- perature at Vladivostok, at the southern end of the province, averages only 39.5° F.. while at Nikolayevsk. at the mouth of the Amur, it is below the freezing point. The summers in the southern part are extremely wet, and inundations are not infrequent. Agriculture is confined by natural conditions to the southern portion of the province and is progressing very slowly. Hunting and fishing are still the chief occupations. Some gold is pro- duced along the Anmr. Immigration has made some progress of late, owing no doubt to the Trans-Siberian Railway. Many Little Russian peasants and Cossacks from the Don territory and Orenlnirg have been transported to the prov- ince by the Government. Roads are very scarce, but a branch of the Trans-Sil)erian line traverses the province from Khabarovsk to Vladivostok for a distance of 4(i9 miles. Nikolskoye, 69 miles north of Vladivostok, is the eastern terminal of tlie Manchurinn branch of the Trans-Siberian line. The population in 1897 was 248,823, including about 4.1.000 natives, more than 23,000 Koreans, and over 29,000 Chinese. The Russians constitute over one-half nf the entire population. The orig- inal Russian population is organized on a mili- tary basis, and the inhabitants are known as Cos- sacks. The capital of the province is Vladivostok. MARITZA, ma-re'tsa ( Lat. Bcbrus) . The principal river of European Turkey (Map: Tur- key in Europe, E 4). It rises in the Balkans, Hows .southeast through the Province of Eastern Rumelia past the town of i'hilippniiolis, and con- tinues in that direction as far as Adrianoi)lc. where it bends south and falls into the -Egean Sea near its northeast corner. It is 300 miles in length, and is navigable for small boats to Adrianoplc. about 100 miles from its mouth. MARIUPOL, ma're-<l<i;'p61-y'. The capital of a district of the same name in the Government of Ekaterinoslav, Russia, situated on the northern shore of the Sea of Azov^ 63 miles west of Tagan- rog (Map: Russia, E 5). It has two gymnasia, a theatre, and a custom house. Soap and leather are its chief manufactures; it carries on a con- siderable trade in grain. Its harbor is visited annually by over 1300 coasting and about 100 sea-going vessels. Mariupol was founded in 1779 by Greek emigrants from the Crimea. Pop- ulation, in 1897, 31,600, chielly Greeks and Jews. MA'RIUS, (Jaius (c.156-86 B.C.). A Roman general, l)orn of an obscure family, at the village of Cereatae, near Arpinum, about B.C. 156. In the Nuniantine War (B.C. 134-133) he served with great distinction under the younger Scipio Afri- canus. In B.C. 119 he was elected tribune of the plebs, and vigorously opposed the nobles, by whom he was intensely hated. He acquired political influence by his marriage with .Tulia, aunt of Julius C;esar. In B.C. 114 he went to Spain as proprsetor, and cleared the country of the robbers who infested it. He accompanied Q. Coecilius Metellus to Africa in B.C. 109, was elected consul two years after, and intrusted with the conduct of the .Jugurthine War, which he brought to a successful close in the beginning of B,C. 106. Marius sent Sulla, then his quiestor, to receive Jugurtha. and this laid the foundation of future personal enmity. The military success of Marius had now made him the most conspicuous officer in the Roman army, while he had aroused enthu- siastic admiration among his soldiers. Meanwhile an immense horde of Cimbri, Teutones, and other northern barbarians had burst into Gaul, and re- peatedly defeated the Roman forces with great slaughter. Marius was again called to the con- sulate for the year n.c. 104, and for the third, fourth, and fifth times in B.C. 103-101. for it was felt that he alone could save the Republic. The war against the Teutones in Transalpine Gaul occupied him for more than two years ; but he finally annihilated them in a battle of two days' duration at Aquip Sextia'. now Aix, in Provence, where 200.000— according to others, 100,000— Teutones were slain. After this he assumed the chief command in the north of Italy against the Cimbri (q.v.), whom he also overtlircw on the Raudian Fields with a like destruction (n.c 101). The people of Rome knew no bounds to their joy. Marius was declared the savior of the State, the third foimder of Rome, and his name was men- tioned along with those of the gods at banquets. He was made consul for the sixth time in n.c. 100. When Sulla, as consul, was intrusted with the conduct of the Mithridatic War. Marius, who had long manifested an insane jealousy of his patrician rival, and was himself an aspirant for the command of the war, attempted to deprive him of the command, and a civil war began (n.c. 88) . By procuring a new organization of the Roman