were used for irrigating the adjacent country. The lake continued to serve this purpose down to the fifth century B.C. Later it was gradually dried up, and, under the Ptolemaic dynasty, a Macedonian colony was established on a portion of its former bed. The pyramid of Amenemhat III., at Hawara, near Illahun, is built of Nile brick and formerly had a casing of limestone. When entered by Petrie, in 1889, the King's stone sarcophagus was found in the sepulchral chamber, but the mummy had been removed. Adjoining the pyramid are the ruins of the famous Labyrinth, formerly a gigantic peristyle temple, covering an area 1000 feet long by 800 feet broad. Amenemhat IV. — Son of Amenemhat III., reigned for some nine years, from about 1941 B.C. His reign seems to have been marked by no event of special importance.
A'MEN-HO'TEP. See Amenophis.
AMEN'ITIES OF LIT'ERATURE. A work relating to English literary history, by Isaac Disraeli, completed in 1841.
AM'ENO'PHIS (Egypt. Amen-hôtep, Ammon is pleased). The name of four Pharaohs of the eighteenth dynasty.
Amenophis I., the second king of this dynasty, son of Amasis I. He reigned for ten years, from about 1570 B.C. He carried on some insignificant wars in Nubia, and against the Libyans on the northwest frontier of Egypt. After his early death he was revered as the patron of the Theban necropolis, and; together with his mother, Nofretari, received divine honors. His mummy, found at Dair el-Bahri, is now in the museum of Gizeh.
Amenophis II. He reigned for some twenty-five years, from about 1450 B.C., waged energetic wars in Syria, and maintained the territory inherited from his father, Thothmes III., in Asia and Ethiopia.
Amenophis III. Son of Thothmes IV. He reigned for thirty-six years, from about 1410 B.C. In the early part of his reign he seems to have warred in Asia, but later he did little to maintain his Syrian provinces. The Amarna Letters (q.v.) show that in his reign, and in that of his successor, the Egyptian supremacy in Asia was seriously threatened. Amenophis is noted for his activity as a builder. He erected in Thebes a gigantic temple; but of this nothing remains except the two colossi at the entrance, one of which, in classical times, became famous as "the vocal Memnon." The Amarna Letters record the fact that Amenophis married Gilukhepa, sister of King Dushratta of Mitani in northern Mesopotamia. He chose, however, as his principal wife a woman not of royal blood, the fair Teye, and indicated his love for her on his monuments. She was the mother of his son and successor.
Amenophis IV. The Napkhururiya (Egyptian Nefer-Khoper-re) of the Amarna Tablets. This monarch is one of the most interesting characters in Egyptian history, because of the great religious reform which he attempted. He endeavored to supersede the old polytheistic religion of Egypt by the exclusive worship of the Sun. But his fanatical efforts in this direction, his persecution of the cult of the Theban god Ammon, and the shifting of his residence to Tel-el-Amarna, led to no permanent results. After his reign of eighteen years (beginning about 1375 B.C.), his innovations were abolished, and the old religion was again triumphant. By his wife Nefer-titi he had six daughters.
AMEN'ORRHŒ'A (Gk. d, a, priv. + ui?i.
nii'ii, month + (loia, rhoiu. How, fiux). The sus-
pension from any cause other than pregnancy,
or the menopause, of the catamenial flow. It is
generally an indication of functional disturb-
ance, and is to be regarded as a symptom rather
than as a malady. It is frequently an accom-
paniment of anæmia (q.v.), and due to poverty
of the blood. It very often is an early symptom
of an imiiending chronic malady, such as tuber-
culosis. In both these cases the treatment
adopted should be one tending to strengthen the
general health: the diet should be nourishing and
generous, iron and arsenic should be adminis-
tered, the bowels should be carefully regulated,
and the patient should take mild exercise in the
sunlight. See Emmenagoque; Menstruation.
A'MENT (Lat. amentum, strap or thong), or CAT'KIN. A flower-cluster in which simple flowers are developed upon an elongated axis, and are subtended and more or less concealed by conspicuous bracts. Such clusters are found in the birches, alders, willows, etc., which, in consequence, are often called Amentiferæ. See Inflorescence.
A'MENT, William Scott (1851—). An American missionary in China. He was born at Owosso, Mich., of Dutch descent, and educated at Oberlin, and at Union (N. Y.) and Andover theological seminaries. He went to China as a missionary of the American Board, and was stationed in Peking, where, in the summer of 1900, he was one of the eight hundred foreigners and three thousand native Christians who were besieged. When the siege was raised, Dr. Ament, with the missionaries of his station and 500 native Christians, took possession of the deserted premises of a lesser Mongol prince who had become a fugitive. They acted as intermediaries in reëstablishing the native Christians, and in some of the economic readjustments made necessary by the outbreak; but subsequently they were severely criticised by many of the American newspapers, which accused them of having been morally guilty of looting. This charge was strenuously denied by all the missionaries and their supporters.
AMEN'THES. The Greek form of the Egyptian Amente[t], "the Lower World," or realm of departed spirits. The word signifies, literally, "the Western (World)," as the mysterious abode of the dead was supposed to lie beneath the western horizon. The graves of the ancient Egyptians were situated in the desert on the western side of the Nile, and the souls of the dead were believed to pass, with the setting sun, through the gates of Amenthes, where, after many perils, they appeared before Osiris (q.v.) and his forty-two assessors to undergo final judgment. The views of the Egyptians in regard to the life of the soul in the nether world were manifold. Plutarch defined Amenthes as meaning "giving and taking," and it is sometimes derived from amen, "hidden," but such etymologies are valueless. See also Anubis; Set; Athor.
AMERBACH, Ji'mer-biiG,
Johann (1443-1513). A German printer, educated in Paris. He established a press at Basel, publishing the works of St. Ambrose and St. Augustine, and began to publish those of St. Jerome, which were finished by his son Boniface. He was one of the first to use Roman instead of Gothic letters.
