Dorylæum (Phrygia). Soliman, the Turkish sultan of Iconium, having retired from the defense of Nicæa, his capital, was here defeated with great loss by the Crusaders, July 1, 1097.
Douglas. An ancient noble family of Scotland. The earls of Douglas, the earls of Angus, and the earls of Morton belonged to this family. Sir James Douglas, surnamed “The Good,” was the founder of their fame and grandeur. He commanded the left wing at Bannockburn in 1314, and was killed by the Saracens in Spain about 1330, in a pilgrimage to Palestine. James the second, earl of Douglas, was a famous warrior, and was killed at the battle of Otterburn in 1388. Archibald the Grim, third earl, fought for the French at Poitiers, and died about 1400. He was succeeded by his son Archibald, fourth earl, who displayed great courage at the battle of Shrewsbury (1403), where he fought against Henry IV., and rendered important services to Charles VII. of France, who rewarded him with the duchy of Touraine. He was killed at the battle of Verneuil, in France, in 1424.
Dry Tortugas. A group of ten small, low, barren islands belonging to Monroe Co., Fla. These islands served as a place of imprisonment for persons under sentence by courts-martial during the late civil war. Several criminals concerned in the conspiracy in which President Lincoln was murdered were confined here.
E.
Egard (Fr.). An ancient tribunal of Malta which decided, by commission, suits among the knights.
Eleasa. In Palestine; here Judas Maccabæus was defeated and slain by Bacchides and Alcimus, and the Syrians about 161 B.C.
Entrenchments. The field-works which are hastily thrown up to cover a force in position.
Erivan, Irvin, or Irivan. A fortified town of Russian Armenia, situated on the Zenghi. It was taken by the Turks in 1553 and 1582, but recovered by Abbas the Great, 1604; after being several times captured, it was ceded to Persia, 1769. The Russians blockaded this place during six months in 1808, and were repulsed, with great slaughter, in an attempt to storm it. In 1827, however, it was taken by them.
Ermin. An order of knights instituted in 1450, by Francis I., duke of Bretagne, and which formerly subsisted in France. The collar of this order was of gold, composed of ears of corn in saltire, at the end of which hung the ermine, with the inscription a ma vie. But the order expired when the dukedom of Bretagne was annexed to France.
Erouad, or Erroad. A town of Hindostan, in the province of Coimbetoor. This town was reduced in size during the reign of Tippoo Sahib; and during the invasion of Gen. Meadows the town was destroyed. It was taken by the British in 1790, and retaken by Tippoo; but it came into the final possession of the British, along with the province, in 1799.