millionth that of the atmosphere may be obtained. See Air Pump, and read Kimball's Physical Properties of Gases, chap. v.
Valdai (vȧl-aī′) Hills, a range of hills in western Russia, midway between St. Petersburg and Moscow, 300 feet in height, but rising in Mount Popovagora to 1,080 feet. They extend about 250 miles; were formerly forested; but now are mostly cleared and cultivated. They form a watershed between the Volga, Dnieper and Diina.
Valen′cia, an ancient city and seaport of Spain and formerly its capital, stands on the shores of the Mediterranean, 300 miles by rail from Madrid. The Huerta, 35 square miles in extent, which surrounds the city, resembles an immense orchard, and is watered by an intricate network of pipes and rivulets laid down by the Moors 800 years ago and answering its purpose down to the present day. There are numerous picture-galleries in the city, in the chief of which only the productions of the great Valencian school are to be seen. There are a museum, a botanical garden and a fine old cathedral. The university, with its library of 50,000 volumes, has 39 professors and 1,728 students. The custom-house, dating from 1758, is now the cigar-factory, which employs more than 3,000 persons and produces 120,000 pounds of tobacco yearly. Valencia is connected with Madrid by rail, and is a famous summer resort of the more prosperous classes. Population 233,348.
Valencia, a town of Venezuela, South America, in the province of Carácas, two miles east of Lake Valencia. The city is situated in an exceedingly fertile district, in which cattle and horses are raised in great numbers. Population 38,654.
Val′entine, Basil, a celebrated German alchemist of whom so little is known that it is even disputed whether he lived in the 12th or in the 13th century. It has been maintained that he was a monk of the order of St. Benedict in St. Peter's convent at Erfurt; but his name does not appear on the Erfurt list nor on the general lists at Rome. His works were mostly written in the old Upper-Saxon dialect, and were not printed until 1602, after which many of them were published in the form of French translations.
Valentine or Valenti′nus, presbyter and martyr, according to the Roman legend, was arrested and thrown into chains at the instance of Emperor Claudius about 270 A. D. He was handed over to Calphurnius, who employed one Asterius to win him back to idolatry, but, instead of this, Asterius was won over to the Christian faith on account of the healing of his blind daughter by Valentine. The saint was kept in prison for a long time, but was finally beheaded. The custom of sending valentines is the survival of a practice connected with the worship of Juno on or about Feb. 14, and its association with this saint is purely accidental.
Valentin′ian I, emperor of the Western Roman empire from 364 to 375 A. D. As a military officer under Julian and Jovian he rose to a high position, and on the death of Jovian was chosen emperor by the officers of the army at Nicaea. Soon after this he named his brother Valens as his colleague, and the two brothers divided the empire between them, Valentinian, as emperor of the west, taking Italy, Illyricum, Spain, Britain, Gaul and Africa. During Valentinian's reign there were wars in Africa and Germany, and Rome also came into collision with peoples of whom we now hear for the first time —Burgundians, Saxons and Alemanni. The emperor's headquarters were at Treves during the greater portion of his reign. His general administration was wise and able and, in many respects, beneficent. Although hard and exacting in the collection of taxes from his people, the money was spent in defending and improving his dominions, and not in idle show or luxury. He died of apoplexy in 375, and was succeeded by Gratian and Valentian II, his sons.
Valentinian II, an infant four years of age, and his half-brother Gratian, a lad of 17, became joint emperors of the Western Roman empire in 375 A. D. They made Milan their residence, while the empire was at least nominally divided between them, Valentinian taking Italy and a part of Africa. Gratian died in 383, and four years later Maximus, who had commanded a Roman army in Britain, crossed the Alps into the valley of the Po and threatened Milan. The emperor and his mother Justina fled to Theodosius, emperor of the East, and besought his assistance, and. in accordance with their request Theodosius marched into Italy with an army, defeated Maximus, and again set Valentinian on the throne. He was assassinated in 392 A. D.
Valentinian III, grandson of Theodosius the Great, was declared Emperor of the West in 425 A. D. His reign of 30 years was a period of great and terrible events, associated with the names of Attila, Genseric and Ætius, "the last of the Romans." Valentinian's usual residence was at Ravenna; but he fled to Rome in 452 on the approach of Attila, who, after ravaging Italy, died in the following year. In 454 Ætius, who had won the great victory over Attila at Chalons in 451, and who alone could have saved Rome from the destruction which hung over her, was treacherously murdered by Valentinian; and the next year the crime was avenged by the murder of the emperor himself while he was viewing some games in the Campus Martius. With the death of Valentinian the family of Theodosius became extinct.
