Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/945

OMMIADS. 809 O'MOBE. Abu-Moslem, who lind pruclainicil the cliiims of the Abbassidi's amid tlic ruins of Mcrv in 747, took the field at the head of a snuill but zealous band, and carried the hlaek flag of the Abbascides from vietory tu vietory. till before the elosc of the followini,' year the whole of Khorasan acknowl- edged his authority. Irak was subdued in 740; and though Ibrahim, the Abbasside claimant, was seized by iMerwan, and executed in Ihe same year, his brotlicr, AInil-Abbas, succeeded to his claims, and the unfortunate Caliph, defeated in two engagements, lied to Egj-pt (750), whither he was pursued and slain. Abdallah, the uncle of the successful claimant, treacherously invited the remaining members of the House of Omayya to a conference, and ordered a general massacre of them. Two only escaped : the one to the south- east of Arabia, wdiere he was recognized as Caliph, and where his descendants reigned till the sixteenth century; the other, Abderrahnum, to Spain, where he founded the Emirate or King- dom (afterwards Caliphate) of Cordova in 7.50. O.MMIADS OF .Sp.IN. AbdERRAHMAN I. (750- 787) accepted the Spanish throne, which was offered him by the Arab chiefs of the West. In spite of numerous revolts, he strengthened and extended his power in Spain, till, with the exception of Asturias and the country north of the Ebro. his authority was everywhere acknowl- edged. He divided his kingdom into six prov- inces, whose rulers, with the lailis of the twelve principal towns, formed a sort of national diet. His successors. Hi.siiAM I. (787-700) and Al- Hakem I. (700-821), were troul>led with internal revolts, under cover of which the Christians established in the northwest what was known as the 'Spanish March.' Abderr.iiman II. (821- 852) ree-stablished internal quiet, and occupied his subjects with incessant wars against the Christians. These conflicts developed among the Arabs that chivalrous heroism which is found nowhere else in the Mohammedan world. Abder- rahman II., himself a man of learning, greatly encouraged the arts and sciences, and diffused information among his people; he also attempted, by regulating the laws of succession to property, to constitute his kingdom on a basis similar to that of other European nations. During his reign Mohammedan Spain was the best governed country in Europe. His successors, Mohammed I. (8.52-880). Monayyir (880-882), and Abi).l- LAH (882-012), followed in his footsteps. Abder- RAHMAn III. (012-001), who assumed the title of Caliph, in opposition to the Abbasside caliphs of Bagdad, after sup])ressing some dangerous revolts which had gathered head during his minority, conquered the Kingdom of Fez from the'Edrisites, and brought a long and exhausting war with the powers of Asturias and Leon to a victorious conclusion. This period is justly termed the golden age of the .rab domination in Spain. for at no period was their power so consolidated. and their prosperity so flourishing. (See Cor- dova.) Abdcrrahnian III., like his predecessors, was a great patron of learning, and a poet of no mean ability. He founded schools which far sur- passed those in other parts of Europe. His son, Al-Hakem II. (061-076). was in every way worthy to he his successor. Hisiiam II. (076- about 1000), a child of eight years, now occupied the throne: but fortunately liis mother, Sobeiha, possessed the .abilities necessary for such an emergency, and appointed as her son's vizier Mohammed ibn Abdallah, surnamcd Al-Mansur, who had Originally l)een a peasant. His adminis- tration was equally just and judicious, and his encouragement of literature, science, and art alike liberal and discriminating. But it is as a warrior that he is chiefly rememl)ered. The lost provinces were recovered ; Castile, Ix'on, and Barcelona were conquered; and Navarre was on the point of shar- ing the game fate, when a rebellion in Fez com- pelled him to detach a portion of his forces for ser- vice in Africa, and the combined armies of the four Christian monarchies, seizing this opportunity, inflicted upon the .rabs a sanguinary defeat in 1001. Mohammed's spirit was completely broken by this blow, and he died a few days afterwards. With him the star of the House of Omayya set forever. The rest of Hisham's reign was a scene of disorder and civil war. Pretenders to the caliphate arose, while the walis of the various provinces set up as independent rulers, and the invasions of the Christians added to the confu- sion. With the expiration of the brief reign of Hisiiam III. (1027-.31), the family of Oma.'s-ya disappears from histcn-y. The three centuries of Onimiad rule in Spain is the period which gives lustre to the name. Consult Dozy. Histnire des Musuhnans d'Espagtie (Leyden, 1801); Viordot, Histoire dcs Arabes et des Maiires d'Espagne (Paris, 1851). See references under Moors. OMNIBUS BILL. A term frequently ap- plied to single legislative acts in which are in- corporated a number of loosely related or wholly disconnected measures. The term probably first applied to a bill proposed in Congress in 1850 for the admission of California to the Union with a Constitution prohibiting slavery: for the organ- ization of Xew Jlexico and Utah without refer- ence to slavery; for the abolition of the slave trade in the District of Columbia ; for the pav- ment of .$10,000,000 to Texas for her claim to'.-i part of Xew ]Iexico; and for the more efticient rendition of fugitive slaves. (See Compromise Measures of 1850.) As each of these matters was finally covered by a separate bill, it is in- correct to speak of the compromise measures of 1850 as the 'omnibus bill,' as is frcquentl.y done. A more recent instance of the kind was the Springer 'omnibus bill' of February, 18S0. for the admission of "ashington. ilontana. and the Da- kotas to the Union. Omnibus bills were formerly passed with some frequency by State Legisla- tures, but in recent years provisions have found their way into a number of Constitutions re- quiring that single statutes shall deal with but one main subject, which .shall be clearly indicated in the title. This has proved fatal to the 'om- nibus bill' in most cases. O'MORE, ft-mUor'. Koger, or Rory (?-1052). An Irish patriot. He was the principal con- spirator Avith Sir Phelim O'Xeill in the at- tempted seizure of Dublin Castle in 1641. and as colonel of Ulster troops won a victory at Julianstown Jleath. He fought imder Owen Roe and with Antrim in 1044. but after the failure of the 16.50 uprising, in which he was engaged, he disappeared and is supposed to have died miser- ably. O'MORE, Rory, or Rrnv Oge (?-1.578). An Irish patriot, second son and namesake of a captain of Leix. He entered young into the na- tional conflict, and was pardoned in 1565-06. He was imprisoned for his share in the Kildare plots