Two-handed. Used with both hands; as, a two-handed sword.
Tyana (ruins at Kiz Hisar). A city of Asia Minor, stood in the south of Cappadocia, at the northern foot of Mount Taurus, on the high road to the Cicilian Gates. It was a position of great natural strength, which was improved by fortifications. Under Caracalla it was made a Roman colony. It was taken in 272 B.C. by Aurelian, in the war with Zenobia, to whose territory it then belonged.
Tycocktow Island. An island in the Canton River, China, 8 miles long and 6 miles broad. It is situated at the entrance of the Bocca Tigris, a few miles below Canton. The British took the fort on this island in 1841.
Tykoczin. A town of Russia in Europe, situated on the Narew, 17 miles northwest from Bialystock. A battle was fought between the Russians and Poles here in 1831.
Tyler’s Insurrection. Arose in opposition of the poll-tax imposed on all persons above fifteen, November 5, 1380. One of the collectors acting with indecent rudeness to Wat Tyler’s daughter, the father struck him dead, June, 1381. His neighbors took arms to defend him, and in a short time almost the whole of the population of the southern and eastern counties were in a state of insurrection, extorting freedom from their lords, and plundering. On June 12, 1381, they gathered upon Blackheath to the number of 100,000 men. On June 14, they murdered Simon of Sudbury, archbishop of Canterbury, and Sir Robert Hales, the royal treasurer. The king, Richard II., invited Tyler to a parley, which took place on the 15th at Smithfield, where the latter addressed the king in a menacing manner, now and again lifting up his sword. On this the mayor, Walworth, stunned Tyler with a blow of his mace, and one of the king’s knights dispatched him. Richard temporized with the multitude by promising them a charter, and thus led them out of the city, when Sir R. Knollys and a band of knights attacked and dispersed them with much slaughter. The insurrection in Norfolk and Suffolk was subdued by the bishop of Norwich, and 1500 of the rebels were executed.
Tympanum. A drum, a musical instrument which the ancients used, and which consisted of a thin piece of leather or skin, stretched upon a circle of wood or iron, and beat with the hand. Hence the origin of our drum.
Tyrant. A name given in modern times to an arbitrary and oppressive ruler, but originally applied, not necessarily to one who exercised power badly, but merely to one who had obtained it illegally, and therefore equivalent to our word usurper. If the one who thus rose to power as a “tyrant” happened to be a man of sense, and wisdom, and generosity, his “tyranny” might prove a blessing to a state torn by the animosities of selfish oligarchs, and be the theme of praise in after-ages, as was the case with the “tyrannies” of Pesistratos, Gelon, and others; but if he was insolent, rapacious, and cruel, then he sought to reduce the citizens to a worse than Egyptian bondage, and his name became infamous to all time. Such has been the fate of most of the “Thirty Tyrants of Athens.” It was the method of exercising authority pursued by these and similar usurpers that latterly, even in ancient times, gave the word tyrant that evil significance it has ever since uninterruptedly retained.
Tyre (ruins at Sur). One of the greatest and most famous cities of the ancient world, stood on the coast of Phœnice, about 20 miles south of Sidon. The Assyrian king Shalmanezer laid siege to Tyre for five years (713 B.C.), but without success. It was again besieged for thirteen years by Nebuchadnezzar, and there is a tradition that he took it (572 B.C.), but the matter is not quite certain. At the period when the Greeks began to be well acquainted with the city, its old site had been abandoned, and a new city erected on a small island about half a mile from the shore, and a mile in length, and a little north of the remains of the former city, which was now called Old Tyre. In 322 B.C. the Tyrians refused to open their gates to Alexander, who laid siege to the city for seven months, and united the island on which it stood to the main land by a mole constructed chiefly of the ruins of Old Tyre. After its capture and sack by Alexander, Tyre never regained its former consequence. It recovered, however, sufficiently to be mentioned as a strong fortress and flourishing port under the early Roman emperors; it even took an active part (193) in the contest between Septimius Severus and Pescennius Niger, which, resulting in the success of the former, brought back to it some of its ancient distinction. In St. Jerome’s time it was again one of the noblest and most prosperous cities of the whole East. In the 7th century it came under the dominion of the Saracens; and so remained until taken by the Crusaders. On February 11, 1124, the Christian army encamped before it, and on June 15 it fell into their hands. The strength of its fortifications, the splendor of its houses, and the excellence of its harbor, excited their admiration. On the evening of the day on which Acre was taken by the Mohammedans (May 19, 1291), Tyre was abandoned by the Crusaders, and the Saracens entered it the following morning. It was captured by the French, April 3, 1799; and by the allied fleet, during the war against Mehemet Ali, 1841.
Tyrol. The most western province of the Austrian empire, is bounded on the north by Bavaria, on the east by Salzburg, Carinthia, and Venetia, on the south by Italy, and on the west by Switzerland and Italy. In early times Tyrol formed part of Rhætia, was conquered by the Romans, 15 B.C. Subsequently it was overrun by various German tribes; still later the southern valley fell to the share of the Lombards, and the northern valleys to the Bavarians. The dukes of Austria acquired possession of it in 1363. The French conquered Tyrol in 1805, and united it to Bavaria, much to the discontent of the population; but in 1809 an insurrection broke out, headed by Andreas Hofer, an innkeeper, who drove the Bavarians out of the Tyrol, and thoroughly defeated some French detachments, but was overpowered at last by reinforcements sent from France. The Tyrolese riflemen were very effective in the Italian war in 1859.
Tyrone. An inland county of the province of Ulster, in Ireland. According to some authorities the Erdini, and to others the Scoti, were the earliest known inhabitants of this district. The chief town of Tyrone was Dungannon, which, though several times taken and sacked by the English forces in their attempts to reduce the country to obedience to the royal authority, continued to be of importance until the close of the reign of Elizabeth, when it was burned by Hugh O’Neill, earl of Tyrone, to prevent its falling into the hands of the English. The insurrection of 1641 may be said to have had its commencement in this county, by the capture of Charlemont Fort and Dungannon by Sir Phelim O’Neill; and in 1646 the Parliamentary forces under Gen. Munroe received a signal defeat from Hugh Roe O’Neill at Benburb. During the greater part of the war between King William and King James, this county was in the possession of the forces of the latter, and suffered much from the partisan warfare carried on chiefly by the townsmen of Enniskillen.