Magetobria (now Moigte de Broie, on the Saône). A town on the western frontiers of the Sequani, near which the Gauls were defeated by the Germans shortly before Cæsar’s arrival in Gaul.
Magistral Line. The tracing or guiding line in fortification,—the first laid down on the work or on paper,—and from which the position of all the other works is determined. In field fortification the crest line of the parapet is the magistral; in permanent fortification the cordon or coping of the escarp wall is the guide.
Magna Charta. The great charter, so called, obtained by the English barons from King John in 1215, at Runny Meade. This name is also given to the charter which was granted to the people of England in the ninth year of Henry III., and confirmed by Edward I.
Magnate. A person of rank or dignity; a grandee or nobleman; one of influence or distinction in any sphere.
Magnesia (now Manissa). A town of Lydia, usually mentioned with the addition of ad Sypilum (“at or near Sypilus”) to distinguish it from Magnesia on the Mæander, in Ionia, situated on the northwestern slope of Mount Sypilus. It is chiefly celebrated in history for the victory gained under its walls in 190 B.C. by the two Scipios over Antiochus the Great, whereby that monarch was forever driven from Western Asia. The town after the victory of the Scipios surrendered to the Romans.
Magnetic. Pertaining to the magnet; possessing the properties of the magnet, or corresponding properties; as, a magnetic needle. Magnetic needle, a slender bar of steel magnetized and suspended at its centre on a sharp-pointed pivot, so that it may take freely the direction of the magnetic meridian. It constitutes the essential part of a mariner’s compass.
Maharajpoor. A small town in Hindostan, India. This place was the key of the position of the Mahratta army on December 29, 1843, when the battle took place between them and the British army under Sir Hugh Gough. The Mahrattas were totally defeated.
Mahe. A seaport in Hindostan, India; is a French settlement on the coast of Malabar, and was taken possession of by them in 1722; retaken by the British in 1761; restored at the peace of Paris in 1763, but was again taken in 1793. It was restored to the French in 1815.
Mahrattas. A people of Hindoo (Hindu) race, inhabiting Central India, south of the Ganges, from Gwalior to Goa, and supposed by many to be the descendants of a Persian or North Indian people. They are first mentioned in history about the middle of the 17th century. Under the leadership of Sevaji, a freebooter or adventurer, they overran and subdued a large portion of the emperor of Delhi’s territory. They subsequently were divided into tribes under powerful leaders, and endeavored to overcome the Mogul; but they sustained a frightful defeat in January, 1761, at the hands of Ahmed Shah Abdalli, the ruler of Afghanistan, on the field of Paniput, where they lost 50,000 men, and all their chiefs except Holkar. They still, however, continued to be the hired mercenaries of the Delhi emperor, till the growing influence of the British compelled them to look to their own safety. After many long and bloody contests with the British and their allies, in which sometimes the whole, but more frequently a portion of the Mahrattas joined, they were one by one, with the exception of Scindiah, reduced to a state of dependence. This last-mentioned chief having raised a powerful army, officered by Frenchmen and disciplined after the European method, continued the contest for a number of years, till his power was finally broken in 1843. The Mahratta chiefs still possess extensive dominions under British protection.
Maida. A town of Naples, in Calabria Ulta, 9 miles south from Nicastra. It is noted for the defeat of the French under Regnier by the British under Sir John Stuart, in an action that took place in the plains near the town in 1806.