[Belshazzar], the last Chaldean king of Babylon, slain, according to the Scripture account, at the capture of the city by Cyrus in 538 B.C.
[Belt, Great] and Little, gateways of the Baltic: the Great between Zealand and Fünen, 15 m. broad; the Little, between Fünen and Jutland, half as broad; both 70 m. long, the former of great depth.
[Belt of Calms], the region in the Atlantic and Pacific, 4° or 5° latitude broad, where the trade-winds meet and neutralise each other, in which, however, torrents of rain and thunder-storms occur almost daily.
[Beltane], or Beltein, an ancient Celtic festival connected with the sun-worship, observed about the 1st of May and the 1st of November, during which fires were kindled on the tops of hills, and various ceremonies gone through.
[Belted Will], name given to Lord William Howard, warden in the 16th and 17th centuries of the Western Marches of England.
[Belu`chistan] (200 to 400), a desert plateau lying between Persia and India, Afghanistan and the Arabian Sea; is crossed by many mountain ranges, the Suliman, in the N., rising to 12,000 ft. Rivers in the NE. are subject to great floods. The centre and W. is a sandy desert exposed to bitter winds in winter and sand-storms in summer. Fierce extremes of temperature prevail. There are few cattle, but sheep are numerous; the camel is the draught animal. Where there is water the soil is fertile, and crops of rice, cotton, indigo, sugar, and tobacco are raised; in the higher parts, wheat, maize, and pulse. Both precious and useful metals are found; petroleum wells were discovered in the N. in 1887. The population comprises Beluchis, robber nomads of Aryan stock, in the E. and W., and Mongolian Brahuis in the centre. All are Mohammedan. Kelat is the capital; its position commands all the caravan routes. Quetta, in the N., is a British stronghold and health resort. The Khan of Kelat is the ruler of the country and a vassal of the Queen.
[Be`lus], another name for [Baal] (q. v.), or the legendary god of Assyria and Chaldea.
[Bel`vedere], name given a gallery of the Vatican at Rome, especially that containing the famous statue of Apollo, and applied to picture-galleries elsewhere.
[Belzo`ni, Giovanni Battista], a famous traveller and explorer in Egypt, born at Padua, of poor parents; a man of great stature; figured as an athlete in Astley's Circus, London, and elsewhere, first of all in London streets; applied himself to the study of mechanics; visited Egypt as a mechanician and engineer at the instance of Mehemet Ali; commenced explorations among its antiquities, sent to the British Museum trophies of his achievements; published a narrative of his operations; opened an exhibition of his collection of antiquities in London and Paris; undertook a journey to Timbuctoo, was attacked with dysentery, and died at Gato (1778-1823).
[Bem, Joseph], a Polish general, born in Galicia; served in the French army against Russia in 1812; took part in the insurrection of 1830; joined the Hungarians in 1848; gained several successes against Austria and Russia, but was defeated at Temesvar; turned Mussulman, and was made pasha; died at Aleppo, where he had gone to suppress an Arab insurrection; he was a good soldier and a brave man (1791-1850).