[Solyman II.], surnamed The Magnificent, the tenth and greatest of the Ottoman sultans, the son and successor of Selim I.; succeeded his father at 24; set himself at once to reform abuses and place the internal administration on a strict basis, and after making peace with Persia and allaying tumult in Syria, turned his arms westwards, captured Belgrade, and wrested the island of Rhodes from the Knights of St. John; he twice over led his army into Hungary; in connection with the latter invasion laid siege to Vienna, from which he was obliged to retire after the loss of 40,000 men, after which he turned his arms to the east, adding to his territory, and finally to the North of Africa, to the conquest of the greater part of it; he died at Szigeth while opening a new campaign against Hungary; d. 1566.
[Soma], the intoxicating juice of a plant offered in libation to a Hindu god, especially to [Indra] (q. v.), to strengthen him in his war with the demons, and identified with the invigorating and inspiring principle in nature which manifests itself at once in the valour of the soldier and the inspiration of the poet; as a god Soma is the counterpart of [Agni] (q. v.).
[Somai, Brahmo]. See [Brahmo-Somaj].
[Somaliland], a broad plateau of East Africa, bounded by the Gulf of Aden on the N. and the Indian Ocean on the SE.; inhabited by the Somalis, a pastoral people, who rear camels, sheep, and oxen, and are of the Mohammedan faith; are under chiefs, and jealous of strangers.
[Somerset House], a handsome Government building in London, with a double frontage on the Strand and the Victoria Embankment, built on the site of the palace of the Protector Somerset, and opened in 1786; accommodates various civil departments of the Government—the Inland Revenue, Audit and Exchequer, Wills and Probate, Registry-General. The east wing is occupied by King's College and School.
[Somersetshire] (484), a maritime county of England, fronting the Bristol Channel, between Devon (N.) and Gloucester (SW.), with Wilts and Dorset on the E. and S.; diversified by the Mendips (NE.), Quantock Hills, Exmoor (SW.), and other smaller elevations; is yet in the main occupied by wide level plains largely given over to pastoral and dairy farming; watered by the Bristol Avon, the Parret, and other lesser streams; its orchards rank next to those of Devon; is prolific in Roman, Saxon, and ancient British remains; Taunton is the county town, but Bath the largest.
[Somerville, Mrs. Mary], a lady skilled in mathematics and physics, born at Jedburgh; was brought up at Burntisland and Edinburgh; contributed to the Transactions of the Royal Society; wrote a book entitled the "Mechanism of the Heavens" on the suggestion of Lord Brougham, as a popularisation of Laplace's "Mechanique Céleste," which was followed by her "Connection of the Physical Sciences," "Physical Geography," and "Molecular and Microscopic Science," the last published in her ninetieth year; died at Naples (1770-1872).
[Somme], 1, a river of North France; rises in the department of Aisne, near St. Quentin, and flows 150 m. SW. and NW. to the English Channel; navigable as far as Abbeville. 2, A department (546) of North France, fronting the English Channel, between Seine-Inférieure (S.) and Pas-de-Calais (N.); one of the most prosperous agricultural and manufacturing districts of France; [Amiens] (q. v.) is the chief town.
[Somnath] (7), an ancient maritime town of Oujarat, India, in the SW. of the peninsula of Kathiawar; has interesting memorials of Krishna, who, it is alleged, is hurled in the vicinity; close by is a famous ruined Hindu temple, despoiled in the 11th century of its treasures, sacred idol, and gates; in 1842 Lord Ellenborough brought hack from Afghanistan gates which he thought to be the famous "Gates of Somnath," but doubt being cast on their authenticity, they were eventually placed in the arsenal of Agra.
[Somnath, Idol of], "a mere mass of coarse crockery," says Jepherson Brick, an imaginary friend of Carlyle's, "not worth five shillings, sat like a great staring god, with two diamonds for eyes, which one day a commander of the Faithful took the liberty to smite once as he rode up with grim battle-axe and heart full of Moslem fire, and which thereupon shivered into a heap of ugly potsherds, yielding from its belly half a waggon-load of gold coins; the gold coins, diamond eyes, and other valuables were carefully picked up by the Faithful; confused jingle of potsherds was left lying; and the idol of Somnath, once showing what it was, had suddenly come to a conclusion."