Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 01.djvu/206

AMUR 156 AMURATH from the Arctic silences until March 25, 1920. Then a wireless message from Amundsen was picked up at Cordova, Alaska, from the radio station on St. Paul's Island, which reported that the expedition was icebound in the Kolyma river. No details were given as to the experiences or discoveries of the party, but it was gathered that the attempt to sail farther north had been abandoned, and that Amundsen was contemplating a return to the United States. It was understood that the object of his expedi- tion had been not to reach the North Pole, but to explore the deep sea that covered the polar circle, to take sound- ings to determine the shape of the bot- tom, the temperature and direction of the winds, and other meteorological data. See Arctic and Antarctic Explorations. AMUR (am-or'), a river formed by the junction (about 53° N. lat., and 121" E. long.) of the Shilka and the Argun, which both come from the S. W. — the former rising in the foothills of the Yablonoi Mountains. From the junction, the river flows first from S. E. and then N. E., and, after a total course of 2,500 miles, falls into the Sea of Okhotsk, op- posite the island of Sakhalin. Its main tributaries are the Sungari and the Us- suri, both from the S. Above the Ussuri, the Amur is the boundary between ^ Si- beria and Manchuria; below it the river runs through Russian territory. It is very valuable for navigation, and carries a considerable fleet of steamers. The river is frozen for six months of the year; in summer there are extensive in- undations. From as early as 1636, Russian adven- turers made excursions into the Chinese territories of the lower Amur. In 1854- 1856 two military expeditions were con- ducted by Count Muravieff, who twice descended the river, unopposed by the Chinese, and established the stations of Alexandrovsk and Nikolaevsk. In 1858 China agreed to the Treaty of Tientsin, by which the boundaries of Russia and China were defined. The left bank of the Amur, and all the territory N. of it, became Russian; and below the conflu- ence of the Ussuri, both banks. In 1860, after the occupation of Pekin by the British and French, General Ignatieff se- cured the signature of Prince Kung to a treaty, by which Russia acquired the broad and vnde territory comprised be- tween the river Amur and the mouth of the Tumen, extending 10° of latitude nearer the temperate regions, and run- ning from the shore of the North Pa- cific eastward to the banks of the river Ussuri, a principal affluent of the Amur. In September, 1900, Russia took foi*mal possession of the right bank of the river. This vast territory was divided into two Russian provinces — the Maritime province between the Ussuri and the sea, and the government of Amur, N. of the river. The latter has an area of 175,000 square miles. Pop. about 250,000. The country is richly timbered, and is ad- mirably adapted for pasturage and agri- culture. Fur bearing animals are still plentiful, and the river abounds in fish. The capital is Blagovestschensk. Niko- laevsk, once the only important place in these regic'-is, is on the Amur, 26 miles from its mouth, where the river is 1^ miles wide, and in places 15 feet deep; but the political center tends south- ward to the more temperate maritime province (area, 730,000 square miles), near the southern end of which is sit- uated the important harbor of Vladivos- tok ("Rule of the East"), or Port May, which, in 1872, was placed in telegraphic communication with Europe by the China submarine cable, and is now the capital of the Amur provinces. As a result of the World War and the Russian revolu- tion the political future of the region is doubtful. Japan has made steady in- roads, but may not be able to maintain herself eventually. AMURATH I. (am-o-raf), a sultan of the Turks; succeeded his father Or- chan in 1360. He founded the corps of Janissaries, conquered Phrygia, and, on the plains of Kossovo, defeated the Christians. In this battle he was wounded and died the next day, 1389. AMURATH II., one of the more illus- trious of the Ottoman emperors, suc- ceeded his father, Mohammed I., in 1421, at the age of 17. In 1423 he took Thes- salonica from the Venetians; in 1435, subdued the despot of Servia, besieged Belgrade, which was successfully de- fended by John Hunniades; defeated the Hungarians at Varna, in 1444, and slew their king, Ladislaus. He died at Adria- nople in 1451. AMURATH III., succeeded his father, Selim II., in 1574. His first act was the murder of his five brothers. He add- ed several of the best provinces of Per- sia to the Turkish empire. He died in 1595. AMURATH IV., succeeded his uncle. Mustapha X., 1623. After two unsuc- cessful attempts he took Bagdad from the Persians in 1638, and ordered the massacre of 30,000 prisoners who had surrendered at discretion. He died in 1640.