BAMIAN, l);i'me-;in'. A valley and pass of Afglianistan. situated about 50 miles northwest of Kabul (Map: Asia, Central, L 3) . The ^lass is at an elevation of 8490 feet, and is the only known l)ass over the Hindu-Kush for artillery and military trans])ort. Considerable interest attaches to this region, on account of tlie his- torical remains in the form of numerous cells hewn in the rocU, and the gigantic statues which seem to indicate that the place was once one of the chief centres of Buddhist worship. The two largest statues are foiuid in a deep niche, and in spite of their dilapidated condition still show some traces of elaborate carving and painting. Each contains a winding stair, by which it is pos- sible to ascend to the head. The whole valley is covered with the ruins of tombs, mosques, and other buildings, once belonging to the town of Ghulghuleh, which more recently occupied this site, and was destroyed by Genghis Khan in 1221. Eight miles eastward of Bamian lies the ancient fortress of Zohak, attributed to the fabulous Per- sian serpent-king of that name. The fortress is preserved for the purjiose of guarding the important |)ass. Both there and in the valley of Bamian a great number of coins, ornaments, and other antiquities have been found.
BAMP'TON LECTURES. These lectures
are so called after the name of their founder, the
Rev. John Bampton, Canon of Salisbury (died
1751), who left estates originally worth £120 per
annum, to the University of Oxford, for the en-
dowment of eight divinity-lecture sermons, to be
preached at Great Saint JIary's every year, and to
be published, at the expense of the estate, within
two months of their being preached. The
preacher is to lecture on one of the following
subjects: "The Confirmation of the Christian
Faith and the Confutation of all Hej'etics and
Schismatics;" "The Divine Authority of the
Scriptures;" "The Authority of the Primitive
Fathers in Matters of Christian Faith and Prac-
tice;" "The Divinity of Christ;" "The Divinity
•of the Holy Ghost;" "The Apostles' and Nicene
Creeds." No person is qualified to preach these
lectures who has not taken the degree of M. A.,
•either at Oxford or Cambridge, and the same per-
son shall never preach them twice. The first
course was delivered in 1780. The more note-
worthy of these lectures are those by White, in
1784, Christianity and Jlohammedanism : Nott,
in 1802. Iiclif/ious Enthu.iiasin (against White-
field and Wesley) ; Hampden, in 1832, The .'Scho-
lastic Philnsophy Considered in Its Relation
to Christian Theology ; Maurel, in 1858, The Lim-
its of Helir/ious Tliought : Liddon, in 1860, Our
Lord's Dix^inity; Farrar, in 1885, History of In-
terpretation : Cheyne, in 1880, The Psalter; Gore,
in ISni, The Incarnation: Sanday, in 1893, In-
spiration. The complete and official list of lec-
tures will be found in the Historical Reyister of
the University of Oxford (published yearly).
BAN (OHG. ban, hann, AS. hann, order
under threat of ])unishnient ; hence Fr. ban,
public proclamation). A word derived from a
root signifying 'to signal,' 'to proclaim,' which
meaning it retained in the ])hrase bans or banns
(q.v. ) of marriage. In feudal times it denoted a
summons to arms, and also the militar.y force
thus summoned. The latter meaning it retains
in several countries of Europe — as in France,
where the National Guard is classed as the ban
and the arriere-ban, or reserve; and in Ger-
many, where the two divisions of the Landwehr
are distinguished as the first and second bans,
respectively. In the Middle Ages, the Acht or
bannuni was a sentence of outlawry pronounced
against those who escaped from justice, or re-
fused to submit to trial. We often read of re-
fractory princes, and even cities in Germany,
being placed under the ban of the Empire. The
following are the terms of banning used in an
old fornuila: "We declare thy wife a widow and
thy children orphans: we restore all thy feudal
tenures to the lord of the manor; thy private
property we give to thy children, and we devote
thy body and Mesh to the beasts of the forest and
fowls of the air. In all ways and in evei-y place
where others find peace and safety, thou shalt
find none: and we banish thee into the four
roads of the world — in the devil's name." Be-
sides these sentences of outlawry, many other
announcements were accompanied with denuncia-
tions and imprecations. When a grant of land
was made for a religious ])urpose, or when a
charter of liberties was granted, the transaction
was proclaimed in public with certain cere-
monies, and curses were denoiniced against any
one who should violate the deed. Thus banniny,
or publishing, came to be associated with curs-
ing; and hence the origin of the popular use of
the word. It occurs in this sense in Shake-
speare, Milton, and other early writers. The
phrase 'ban of the Church' is the equivalent of
the term excommunication (q.v.).
BAN, or BA'NUS (ban, in Southern Slavic
and Hungarian, from Persian bun, lord; cf.
rtuss. and Pol. pan. master, lord). The title
given to some of the militar.y chiefs who guarded
the southern boundaries of the Hungarian King-
dom. It is equivalent to the German niarkgraf.
The Ban Avas appointed by the King and his
appointment was ratified by the Diet. In
political, judicial, and military affairs, his
powers were almost royal, especially within
liis own territory. In times of war lie led
the troops of his banat (q.v.). Among the
banats were those of Dalmatia, Croatia, Sla-
vonia, and Bosnia. Their boundaries were con-
stantly changing with the encroachments of the
Turks. In the Sixteenth Century there was
formed the double banat of Dalmatia and
Croatia. In the reign of Maria Theresa the Ban
Avas acknowledged to be the third dignitary of
the Kingdom of Hungary: appointed a member
of the Hungarian Council of Government, and
President of the Council of the Banat: and was
made the bearer of the Golden Apple (the symbol
of sovei'eignty ) at the coronation of the King.
In 1840, Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia became
Austrian crown-lands: but l)y the Ausgleich of
1867 Croatia and Slavonia were restored to Hun-
gary, and continued as a banat, with a special
local administi'ation for internal affairs.
BAN, ban, ^UTIJA (1818-1903). A prominent poet of the Southern Slavs. He was born at Dubrovnik (Ragusa) , where he received a good education, a part of which consisted in a thorough knowledge of French and Italian. He traveled extensively over the Balkan Peninsula, made liis literarj' debut with Italian lyrics (II terrenionto di Ragusa; II Moscocito; Rudimiro) , and settled in Belgrade ( 1844) as tutor to the daughters of Prince Alexander Karageorgeviteh. For their benefit he wrote The Woman's Educator
