rather above that of their neighbors. Those of the islands cultivated corn, manioc, and cotton, as well as tobacco, which came first to European knowledge through them. They were skillful weavers and artisans in wood, stone, and native gold. Considerable study has been made of the mythologies of the stock. Of perhaps a hundred existing Arawakan tribes, the most important are the Anti, Arawak, Barre, Baure, Goajiro, Guana, Juri, JIanaos. JIaneteneri, Maipure, Maranho, Moxo, Pass^, Piro, Taruma.
ARAX'ES. See Abas.
ARAYAT, a-ri'at. A town of Luzon, Philip- pines, in the Province of Pampanga, about twelve miles northeast of Bacolor (Jlap: Luzon, E 6 ) . It •was occupied by American troo])s luider General Young on October 12, 1899, during the Filipino insurrection. Population, 14,000.
AR'BACES (Gk.'Apl3dKTj!,Arbakes). Accord- ing lo Ctesia^. a general of Sardanapalus (i.e. Asshurbanipal) , King of Assyria, who in con- nection with Belesys, commanding the Babylon- ian troops, organized a conspiracy against As- syria, and after defeating Sardanapalus (B.C. 876). founded the Jledian Empire. The dynasty established by Arbaces lasted till its overthrow by Cyrus (c. 559 B.C.). This account does not tally with" what we now know through the cuneiform inscriptions of the manner in which Assyria fell (see Assyria), nor with our present knowledge of the founding of the Median Empire. Belesys may be a corruption of, or intended for. Nabopo- lassar, and if there is any historical basis for Ctesias's account, Arbaces may be the name of the 'Scythian' chief who joined Nabopolassar in the attack upon Assyria under the last king, Sin-sharishkun, or the name may even be a dis- tortion of the latter.
AR'BACES. ( 1 ) The king of Iberia in Beau- iiiont iind Fletcher's King and .o King. (2) The ruler of .Media in Byron's Sanlanupalas. AR'BALEST (Lat. arcus, bow -|- ballista, a military engine, from Gk. ^dWeiv, ballein, to throw), Akbalist, Arcubalist, Arblast. A weapon of indefinite antiquity, known also as cross-bow or bow-gun. Some Roman forms are depicted on extant monuments, and it was from the Romans, possibly indirectly, that the arba- lest in use in the Middle Ages was derived, ^t was employed chietly in the Twelfth Century and later, although it was not unknown in the Tenth and Eleventh centuries. There were at least eight distinct forms, varjing in size and construction. Some were carried by foot-soldiers, others were permanently fixed on fortifications like modern cannons; some hurled short, thick arrows (called 'quarrels' or bolts): others shot stones, leaden balls, or other projectiles. The larger ones were worked by placing the foot in a loop, drawing the cords up with the hands, while the gun was maintained in an inverted position. When the weapon became so imjiroved that the bow was made of steel, it required, in order to bend it, a separate machine called a 'moulinet.' In the crude forniatiims of mcdi;pval tactics the arbales- tiers or cross-l)owmen were an important branch, and were usually advanced to the first line of bat- tle. They were divided into two branches, the mounted and dismounted, and their supplies of arrow ammunition were carried in carts. The use of the arbalest against Christians was pro- hibited by the Lateran Council of 11.39 on the ground that it was "a thoroughly diabolical weapon." But this prohibition was ineffective. Richard the Lion-Hearted was noted for his skill with the arbalest. One clause of the Magna Charta prohibited King .John from employing foreign cross-bowmen. In the Fourteenth Cen- tury the arbalest was superseded in England by the long-bow. See Archery.
ARBE′LA (Gk. Ἂρβηλα. Assyr. Arbailu, the city of four gods, from arba, four + il, god). An ancient town of Assyria, now the Turkish town of Erbil or Arbil, situated in latitude 36° 9′ N., longitude 44° 4′ E., to the southwest of Mosul. It is famous as having given name to the battle in which Alexander finally defeated Darius, b.c. 331. The battle was really fought near Gaugamela to the northwest of Arbela.
AR'BER, Edward. An English scholar. Fel- low of King's College, London, and emeritus j)ro- fessor of English literature in Mason College, Birmingham. To him English scholarship is greatly indebted for many careful reprints. They comprise Tyndale's yew Testament, lo2o (1871); A Transcript of the Registers of the Companij of atatioiiers of London, looli-lGJiO (1875); English lieprints (14 vols., 1868-71); An English Garner (8 vols., 1877-96); ,4)! English Scholar's Library (16 nos., 1878-84); British Anthologies (10 vols., 1899-1900): The First Three English Books on America (1885); The Story of the I'ilgrim Fathers, 160G-23 (1897).
ARBITRAGE, ar'bi-traj or iir'bi-triizh' (Lat. arbiter, umpire, judge). A term applied to transactions which take advantage of differ- ences of prices for the same articles in dirt'erent markets. At the same time that the trader buys in the cheaper market, he sells in the dearer. The margin between the two prices must be suffi- cient to do more than cover the costs of ex- change to insure a profit. The rate of profit is of necessity small, bteing frequently measured in small fractions of one per cent. The objects of such arbitrage transactions may be bullion or coin, bills and exchanges, or stocks and bonds.
ARBITRA'TION (LaJ. arbitrafio, judgment, from arbiter, umpire, judge). The submission of a dispute, which might otherwise be the suliject-matter of a civil litigation, to the decision of a private person instead of a court of justice. This is not permitted in criminal cases; nor are the parties to a civil dispute necessarily boind by an agreement to arbitrate, even though the agreement be upon a valuable consideration. At common law, contracts for the adjustment and settlement by arbitration of all disputes and differences lietwcen the contracting jiarties are not treated as binding so as to oust the jurisdiction of the courts. For example, if a landowner grants to another the privilege of laying water-pipes across certain land, in consideration of the latter's payment of a sjiccified sum, and of his agreement to pay all damages caused by the breaking or leaking of the pipe, a stipulation that the damages shall be fixed by arbitration is not enforceable. The landowner can maintain an action at law for any damages so caused, and refuse to abide by his agreement to arbitrate them. This, it has been judicially declared, both in England and the United States, rests "upon the general policy of the law. that parties cannot enter into a contract which gives rise to a right of action for the breach of it, and then withdraw
