tpr of instruction, lie rosi^icd his ])rofcssorship at Florence in 187S ami renioveJ to Home, where he continueil liis liistorieal studies. He died July 10, 1889. Other writings of Amari are upon the languajre and history of the Arabs, in the Revue Archiologique, the Journal Asiatique, etc.
AMAR'NA LET'TERS. A collection of more than three hundred letters and dispatches, inscribed upon clay tablets, which were found, in the winter of 1SS7-88, in the village of Tel-1 1-Aniarna (q.v. ) in Jliddle Egypt. They represent the Asiatic correspondence of the Egyptian
court about 1-100 B.C., and it is a remarkable
fact that they are in the cuneiform character,
and, with three exceptions, in the Babylonian
language, which would thus appear to have been
the medium of diplomatic conmiuuieation
throughout Western Asia. One of the Icttei's is
in the language of ilitani. in northern Mesopo-
tamia, and two are in that of Argapi or Arzaya
(probably Cyprus). Among the writers are the
Egyptian kings Amenophis III. (q.v.). and
.menophis IV. (q.v.), and the kings of Jlitani,
of Babylonia, of the Hittites, and of Alashia
(Cyprus). It a])pears from these letters that
the Egyptian kings of the eighteenth dynasty
intermarried with the royal houses of both
!Mitani and Babylonia. Amenophis III. married
a sister of Kadashman-Bel, King of Babylonia,
and also a sister of Dushratta, King of Jlitaiii ;
while Amenophis IV. married a niece of his
father's Milanian wife. Frequent reference is
made to connnercial atTairs. implving a consider-
able intereouise between Egypt and the Asiatic
states. By far the greater number of the
Amarna letters proceed from Egyptian officials
and subject allies in Syria, at that time a de-
pendency of Egypt, and afford a valuable insight
into the state of Palestine before the Hebrew in-
vasion. The growing weakness of Egypt and the
extension of the Hittite dominion in the north
can be clearly seen, and the withdrawal of the
Egyptian troops gave opportunity for conflicts
between the princes of the small city-states into
which the land was broken up. To add to the
general confusion, the country was threatened
on the east by the Khabiri — marauding nom-
ads from the Arabian Desert, whose sphere
of activity extended from southern Palestine as
far north as Sidon. Beirut, and Gebal. Some
scholars are inclined to identify the Khabiri
with the Hebrews; bnt this theory has not met
with general approval. The letters of the Pales-
tinian princes, which are full of mutual recrim-
inations, reveal the fact that there were two
chief parties; one loyal to Egypt, the other pro-
fessing loyalty, but in reality allied with the
enemies of Egypt. The latter party seems to be
everywhere successful. Among the most zealous
supporters of Egypt was the Piince of Jerusalem,
which appears, at this time, as a city of some
importance. For a translation into German of
the Amarna tablets, consult Winekler, in Sriira-
der's KeiUnschriftUcheBibliofhckCiierlinASQe) :
English translation by Sletealfc, under the
title. The Tcil El Amarna Letters (New York,
1S9C).
AM'ARYL'LIDA'CEÆ (The Amartllis Family). An order of monocotyledonous plants with about 75 genera and nearly 1000 species. The plants resemble those of the Liliacea> in -many respects, except that they all have inferior ovaries. The species are mostly tropical and subtropical, and are generally found in dry regions. Many are bulbous, leafing and flowering only in the wet season, while others have thick fleshy leaves covered with wax or otherwise protected for their xerophytic habit. The inflorescence is usually a scape; the flowers
have an inferior three-celled ovary, six stamens,
and six petal-like segments to the i)erianth. In
some s])ecies, as in Narcissus, a sort of corona is
present between the normal perianth and the
stiimens. The fruit is a capsule or berry. The
recent classification by Pax is into Amaryllid-
oidea;, of which the chief genera are Hajmianthus,
Galanlhus, Amaryllis, Crinum, and Narcissus;
Agavoideae, with Agave and Fourcrora. the lead-
ing genera; Hypoxidoidea>, with Alstroemeria,
Bomaria and Anigoz;inthus: and Campynemat-
oidese, represented by Canipynema. Home of
these are of gieat economic value (see Ag.we;
Hemp, Sisal), while many others are extensively
cultivated as ornamentals. See N.pcissf.s;
Amaryllis; Blood Flower; Alstrcemeria ;
(JALANTIIUS, etc.
AM'ARYL'LIS (from the famous nymph
Aiiiari/Uis) . A genus of bulbous-rooted plants
of the natural order Amar3'llidacca>, having a
simple six-partite perianth, and containing a
large number of species, natives of the warmer
regions of the globe. Many of them have flowers
of very great bcaut.y. Many of the species for-
merly grouped under Amaryllis have been sepa-
rated into (lillerent genera, of which Amaryllis,
Ncrine, HipiJcastrum and Brunisvigia are the
best known. A .species of this genus. Amaryllis
forraosissima, was brought to Europe from South
America in the end of the seventeenth century,
and has since been in connuon cultivation as a
garden flower. Its scentless flowers are of a
beautiful red color, exhibiting a play of golden
gleams in the sunshine. Amaryllis belladonna,
known also as a Belladonna Lily, has a scape
1-3 feet high, bearing an umbel of rose-colored
fragiant flowers. Amaryllis amabilis, Amaryllis
josephinte, and Amaryllis vittata are among the
most admired bulbous-rooted plants. Amaryllis
sarniensis is one of the most hardy species, flow-
ering freely in Guernsey, with a little protection
during winter, and although commonlv called
Guernsey Lily, it is supposed to be a native of
Japan. By artificial impregnation, a gieat num-
ber of hybrid forms have been produced in this
genus. Consult J. G. Baker, Handbook of the
Aiiiart/Uidcc (London, 1888).
AMARYLLIS. A shepherdess in the Idyls
of Theocritus and in Vergil's Eclogues. The name
is sometimes used as the type of a bucolic sweet-
heart, as in the pastoral of The Faithful Shep-
herdess, by Fletcher, and Milton's Lycidas.
AM'ASA. See Joab.
AMASIA, a-ma'se-a (ancient Gk. ' Afidacta,
Anias(ia). A town of Asiatic Turkey, the capital of the sanjak of the same name, in the vilayet of Sivas, on the right bank of the Veshil-Irmak, 200 miles southwest of Trebizond (Map: Turkey in Asia, G 2). It stands in a deep and narrow valley, and the river flows through a
narrow channel, between precipitous rocky banks.
The environs are very fraitful and of much
natural beauty. Amasia is the centre of the silk
industry in Asia Minor, and exports silk to
Aleppo. Damascus, and even Constantinople. It
contains a fine bazaar and a large number of
