A B U A B Y 61 of men of letters, who repaired in large numbers to his court. Abulfoda s chief historical work is An Abridgement of the History of the Human Race, in the form of annals, extending from tiie creation of the world to the year 1328. A great part of it is compiled from the works of previous writers, and it is difficult to determine accurately what is the author s and what is not. Up to the time of the birth of Mohammed, the narrative is very succinct; it becomes more full and valuable the nearer the historian approaches his ovn day. It is the only source of information on many facts connected with the Saracen empire, and alto gether is by far the most important Arabian history we now possess. Various translations of parts of it exist, the earliest being a Latin rendering of the section relating to the Arabian conquests in Sicily, by Dobelius, Arabic professor at Palermo, in 1610. This is preserved in Muratori s Rerum Italicarum Scriplores, vol. i. The his tory from the time of Mohammed was published with a Lriin translation by Reiske, under the title Annales Mos- i lemici (a vols., Copenhagen, 1789-94), and a similar edition of the earlier part was published by Fleischer at Leipsic in 1831, under the title Abidfedc? Historia Ante- Islamitic.a. His Geography is chiefly valuable in the his torical and descriptive parts relating to the Moslem empire. From his necessarily imperfect acquaintance with astro nomy, his notation of latitude and longitude, though fuller than that of any geographer who preceded him, can in no case be depended on, and many of the places whose posi tion he gives with the utmost apparent precision cannot be now identified. A complete edition was published by MM. Reinaud and De Shine at Paris in 1840; and Reinaud published a French translation, with notes and illustrations, in 1848. MSS. of both Abulfeda s great works are pre served in the Bodleian Library and in the National Library of France. ABULGHAZI-BAHADUR (1605-1663), a khan of Khiva, of the race of Genghis-Khan, who, after abdicating in favour of his son, employed his leisure in writing a history of the Mongols and Tartars. He produced a valuable work, which has been translated into German, French, and Russian. ABUNA, the title given to the archbishop or metropoli tan of Abyssinia. ABUSHEHR. See BUSHIRE. ABU-SIMBEL, or IPSAMBUL, the ancient Aboccis or Abuncis, a place in Nubia, on the left bank of the Nile, about 50 miles S.W. of Dorr, remarkable for its ancient Egyptian temples and colossal figures hewn out of the solid rock. For a description of these see NUBIA. ABU-TEMAN, one of the most highly esteemed of Arabian poets, was born at Djacem in the year 1 90 of the Hegira (806 A.D.) In the little that is told of his life it is difficult to distinguish between truth and fable. He seems to have lived in Egypt in his youth, and to have been engaged in servile employment, but his rare poetic talent speedily raised him to a distinguished position at the court of the caliphs of Bagdad. Arabian historians assert that a single poem frequently gained for him many thousand pieces of gold, and the rate at which his con temporaries estimated his geimis may be understood from the saying, that " no one could ever die whose name had been praised in the verses of Abu-Teman." Besides writing original poetry, he made three collections of select pieces from the poetry of the East, of the most important of which, called Hamasa, Sir William Jones speaks highly. Professor Carlyle quoted this collection largely in his Speci mens of Arabic Poetry (1796). An edition of the text, with Latin translation, was published by Freytag at Bonn (1828-51), and a meritorious translation in German verse by Riickert appeared in 1846. Abu-Teman died 845 A.D. ABYDOS (1.), in Ancient Geography, a city of Mysia in Asia Minor, situated on the Hellespont, which is here scarcely a mile broad. It probably was originally a Thracian town, but was afterwards colonised by Milesians. Nearly opposite, on the European side of the Hellespont, stood Sestos; and it was here that Xerxes crossed the strait on his celebrated bridge of boats when he invaded Greece. Abydos was celebrated for the vigorous resistance it made when besieged by Philip II. of Macedon ; and is famed in story for the loves of Hero and Leander. The old castle of the Dardanelles, built by the Turks, lies a little southward of Sestos and Abydos. ABYDOS (2.), in Ancient Geography, a town of Upper Egypt, a little to the west of the Nile, between Ptolemais and Diospolis Parva, famous for the palace of Memnon and the temple of Osiris. Remains of these two edifices are still in existence. In the temple of Osiris Mr Bankes discovered in 1818 the tablet of Abydos, containing a double series of twenty-six shields of the predecessors of Rameses the Great. This tablet is now deposited in the British Museum. ABYSSINIA A BYSSIXIA is an extensive country of Eastern Africa, J_ the limits of which are not well defined, and authorities are by no means agreed respecting them. It may, however, be regarded as lying between 7 30 and 15 40 N. lat., and 35 and 40 30 E. long., having, N. and N.W., Nubia ;E., the territory of the Danakils ; S., the country of the Gallas; and W., the regions of the Upper Nile. 1 It has an area of 1 It is usual to include in Abyssinia the flat country which lies between it and the Red Sea, and to regard the latter as forming its boundary on the east. This, however, is not stiictly correct. Abyssinia proper com prises only the mountainous portion of this territory, the low lying por tion being inhabited by distinct and hostile tribes, and claimed by the Viceroy of Egypt as part of his dominions. The low country is very unhealthy, the soil dry and arid, and with few exceptions uncultivated, whereas the highlands are generally salubrious, well watered, and in many parts very fertile. This arid track of country is only a few miles broad at Massowah, in the north, but widens out to 200 or 300 miles at Tajurrah, in the south. It is, in a great measure, owing to Abyssinia being thus cut off from intercourse with the civilised world by this in hospitable region, which has for three centuries been in the hands of enemies, that it is at present so far sunk in ignorance and barbarism. about 200,000 square miles, and a population of from 3,000,000 to 4,000,000. The name Abyssinia, or more properly Habessiriia, is derived from the Arabic word llabesch, which signifies mixture or confusion, and was applied to this country by the Arabs on account of the mixed character of the people. This was subsequently Latinised by the Portuguese into Al>assia and Abassinos, and hence the present name. The Abyssinians call themselves Itiopyavan, and their country Itiopia, or Manghesta Itiopia, the kingdom of Ethiopia. The coiintry of Abyssinia rises rather abruptly from the low arid district on the borders of the Red Sea in lofty ranges of mountains, and slopes away more gradually to the westward, where the tributaries of the Nile have formed numerous deep valleys. It consists for the most part of extensive and elevated table-lands, with mountain ranges extending indifferent directions, and intersected by numerous valleys. The table-lands are generally from 6000 to 9000
feet above the level of the sea, but in the south there are
