THE ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA

A DICTIONARY OF ARTS, SCIENCES, LITERATURE AND GENERAL INFORMATION

ELEVENTH EDITION

VOLUME XVII SLICE IV
Magnetite to Malt

Articles in This Slice

MAGNETITE, a mineral forming the natural magnet (see [Magnetism]), and important also as an iron-ore. It is an iron-black, opaque mineral, with metallic lustre; hardness about 6, sp. gr. 4.9 to 5.2. When scratched, it yields a black streak. It is an oxide of iron having the formula Fe3O4, corresponding with 72.4% of metal, whence its great value as an ore. It may be regarded as a ferroso-ferric oxide, FeO·Fe2O3, or as iron ferrate, Fe″Fe2″′O4. Titanium is often present, and occasionally the mineral contains magnesium, nickel, &c. It is always strongly magnetic. Magnetite crystallizes in the cubic system, usually in octahedra, less commonly in rhombic dodecahedra, and not infrequently in twins of the “spinel type” (fig. 1). The rhombic faces of the dodecahedron are often striated parallel to the longer diagonal. There is no distinct cleavage, but imperfect parting may be obtained along octahedral planes.

Magnetite is a mineral of wide distribution, occurring as grains in many massive and volcanic rocks, like granite, diorite and dolerite. It appears to have crystallized from the magma at a very early period of consolidation. Its presence contributes to the dark colour of many basalts and other basic rocks, and may cause them to disturb the compass. Large ore-bodies of granular and compact magnetite occur as beds and lenticular masses in Archean gneiss and crystalline schists, in various parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Urals; as also in the states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan, as well as in Canada. In some cases it appears to have segregated from a basic eruptive magma, and in other cases to have resulted from metamorphic action. Certain deposits appear to have been formed, directly or indirectly, by wet processes. Iron rust sometimes contains magnetite. An interesting deposit of oolitic magnetic ore occurs in the Dogger (Inferior Oolite) of Rosedale Abbey, in Yorkshire; and a somewhat similar pisolitic ore, of Jurassic age, is known on the continent as chamoisite, having been named from Chamoison (or Chamoson) in the Valais, Switzerland. Grains of magnetite occur in serpentine, as an alteration-product of the olivine. In emery, magnetite in a granular form is largely associated with the corundum; and in certain kinds of mica magnetite occurs as thin dendritic enclosures. Haematite is sometimes magnetic, and A. Liversidge has shown that magnetite is probably present. By deoxidation, haematite may be converted into magnetite, as proved by certain pseudomorphs; but on the other hand magnetite is sometimes altered to haematite. On weathering, magnetite commonly passes into limonite, the ferrous oxide having probably been removed by carbonated waters. Closely related to magnetite is the rare volcanic mineral from Vesuvius, called magnoferrite, or magnesioferrite, with the formula MgFe2O4; and with this may be mentioned a mineral from Jakobsberg, in Vermland, Sweden, called jakobsite, containing MnFe2O4.

(F. W. R.*)

MAGNETOGRAPH, an instrument for continuously recording the values of the magnetic elements, the three universally chosen being the declination, the horizontal component and the vertical component (see [Terrestrial Magnetism]). In each case the magnetograph only records the variation of the element, the absolute values being determined by making observations in the neighbourhood with the unifilar magnetometer (q.v.) and inclinometer (q.v.).

Declination.—The changes in declination are obtained by means of a magnet which is suspended by a long fibre and carries a mirror, immediately below which a fixed mirror is attached to the base of the instrument. Both mirrors are usually concave; if plane, a concave lens is placed immediately before them. Light passing through a vertical slit falls upon the mirrors, from which it is reflected, and two images of the slit are produced, one by the movable mirror attached to the magnet and the other by the fixed mirror. These images would be short lines of light; but a piano-cylindrical lens is placed with its axis horizontal just in front of the recording surface. In this way a spot of light is obtained from each mirror. The recording surface is a sheet of photographic paper wrapped round a drum which is rotated at a constant speed by clockwork about a horizontal axis. The light reflected from the fixed mirror traces a straight line on the paper, serving as a base line from which the variations in declination are measured. As the declination changes the spot of light reflected from the magnet mirror moves parallel to the axis of the recording drum, and hence the distance between the line traced by this spot and the base line gives, for any instant, on an arbitrary scale the difference between the declination and a constant angle, namely, the declination corresponding to the base line. The value of this constant angle is obtained by comparing the record with the value for the declination as measured with a magnetometer. The value in terms of arc of the scale of the record can be obtained by measuring the distance between the magnet mirror and the recording drum, and in most observations it is such that a millimetre on the record represents one minute of arc. The time scale ordinarily employed is 15 mm. per hour, but in modern instruments provision is generally made for the time scale to be increased at will to 180 mm. per hour, so that the more rapid variations of the declination can be followed. The advantages of using small magnets, so that their moment of inertia may be small and hence they may be able to respond to rapid changes in the earth’s field, were first insisted upon by E. Mascart,[1] while M. Eschenhagen[2] first designed a set of magnetographs in which this idea of small moment of inertia was carried to its useful limit, the magnets only weighing 1.5 gram each, and the suspension consisting of a very fine quartz fibre.

Horizontal Force.—The variation of the horizontal force is obtained by the motion of a magnet which is carried either by a bifilar suspension or by a fairly stiff metal wire or quartz fibre. The upper end of the suspension is turned till the axis of the magnet is at right angles to the magnetic meridian. In this position the magnet is in equilibrium under the action of the torsion of the suspension and the couple exerted by the horizontal component, H, of the earth’s field, this couple depending on the product of H into the magnetic moment, M, of the magnet. Hence if H varies the magnet will rotate in such a way that the couple due to torsion is equal to the new value of H multiplied by M. Since the movements of the magnet are always small, the rotation of the magnet is proportional to the change in H, so long as M and the couple, θ, corresponding to unit twist of the suspension system remain constant. When the temperature changes, however, both M and θ in general change. With rise of temperature M decreases, and this alone will produce the same effect as would a decrease in H. To allow for this effect of temperature a compensating system of metal bars is attached to the upper end of the bifilar suspension, so arranged that with rise of temperature the fibres are brought nearer together and hence the value of θ decreases. Since such a decrease in θ would by itself cause the magnet to turn in the same direction as if H had increased, it is possible in a great measure to neutralize the effects of temperature on the reading of the instrument. In the case of the unifilar suspension, the provision of a temperature compensation is not so easy, so that what is generally done is to protect the instrument from temperature variation as much as possible and then to correct the indications so as to allow for the residual changes, a continuous record of the temperature being kept by a recording thermograph attached to the instrument. In the Eschenhagen pattern instrument, in which a single quartz fibre is used for the suspension, two magnets are placed in the vicinity of the suspended magnet and are so arranged that their field partly neutralizes the earth’s field; thus the torsion required to hold the magnet with its axis perpendicular to the earth’s field is reduced, and the arrangement permits of the sensitiveness being altered by changing the position of the deflecting magnets. Further, by suitably choosing the positions of the deflectors and the coefficient of torsion of the fibre, it is possible to make the temperature coefficient vanish. (See Adolf Schmidt, Zeits. für Instrumentenkunde, 1907, 27, 145.) The method of recording the variations in H is exactly the same as that adopted in the case of the declination, and the sensitiveness generally adopted is such that 1 mm. on the record represents a change in H of .00005 C.G.S., the time scale being the same as that employed in the case of the declination.

Vertical Component.—To record the variations of the vertical component use is made of a magnet mounted on knife edges so that it can turn freely about a horizontal axis at right angles to its length (H. Lloyd, Proc. Roy. Irish Acad., 1839, 1, 334). The magnet is so weighted that its axis is approximately horizontal, and any change in the inclination of the axis is observed by means of an attached mirror, a second mirror fixed to the stand serving to give a base line for the records, which are obtained in the same way as in the case of the declination. The magnet is in equilibrium under the influence of the couple VM due to the vertical component V, and the couple due to the fact that the centre of gravity is slightly on one side of the knife-edge. Hence when, say, V decreases the couple VM decreases, and hence the north end of the balanced magnet rises, and vice versa. The chief difficulty with this form of instrument is that it is very sensitive to changes of temperature, for such changes not only alter M but also in general cause the centre of gravity of the system to be displaced with reference to the knife-edge. To reduce these effects the magnet is fitted with compensating bars, generally of zinc, so adjusted by trial that as far as possible they neutralize the effect of changes of temperature. In the Eschenhagen form of vertical force balance two deflecting magnets are used to partly neutralize the vertical component, so that the centre of gravity is almost exactly over the support. By varying the positions of these deflecting magnets it is possible to compensate for the effects of changes of temperature (A. Schmidt, loc. cit.). In order to eliminate the irregularity which is apt to be introduced by dust, &c., interfering with the working of the knife-edge, W. Watson (Phil. Mag., 1904 [6], 7, 393) designed a form of vertical force balance in which the magnet with its mirror is attached to the mid point of a horizontal stretched quartz fibre. The temperature compensation is obtained by attaching a small weight to the magnet, and then bringing it back to the horizontal position by twisting the fibre.

The scale values of the records given by the horizontal and vertical force magnetographs are determined by deflecting the respective needles, either by means of a magnet placed at a known distance or by passing an electric current through circular coils of large diameter surrounding the instruments.

The width of the photographic sheet which receives the spot of light reflected from the mirrors in the above instruments is generally so great that in the case of ordinary changes the curve does not go off the paper. Occasionally, however, during a disturbance such is not the case, and hence a portion of the trace would be lost. To overcome this difficulty Eschenhagen in his earlier type of instruments attached to each magnet two mirrors, their planes being inclined at a small angle so that when the spot reflected from one mirror goes off the paper, that corresponding to the other comes on. In the later pattern a third mirror is added of which the plane is inclined at about 30° to the horizontal. The light from the slit is reflected on to this mirror by an inclined fixed mirror, and after reflection at the movable mirror is again reflected at the fixed mirror and so reaches the recording drum. By this arrangement the angular rotation of the reflected beam is less than that of the magnet, and hence the spot of light reflected from this mirror yields a trace on a much smaller scale than that given by the ordinary mirror and serves to give a complete record of even the most energetic disturbance.

See also Balfour Stewart, Report of the British Association, Aberdeen, 1859, 200, a description of the type of instrument used in the older observatories; E. Mascart, Traité de magnétisme terrestre, p. 191; W. Watson, Terrestrial Magnetism, 1901, 6, 187, describing magnetographs used in India; M. Eschenhagen, Verhandlungen der deutschen physikalischen Gesellschaft, 1899, 1, 147; Terrestrial Magnetism, 1900, 5, 59; and 1901, 6, 59; Zeits. für Instrumentenkunde, 1907, 27, 137; W. G. Cady, Terrestrial Magnetism, 1904, 9, 69, describing a declination magnetograph in which the record is obtained by means of a pen acting on a moving strip of paper, so that the curve can be consulted at all times to see whether a disturbance is in progress.

The effects of temperature being so marked on the readings of the horizontal and vertical force magnetographs, it is usual to place the instruments either in an underground room or in a room which, by means of double walls and similar devices, is protected as much as possible from temperature changes. For descriptions of the arrangements adopted in some observatories see the following: U.S. observatories, Terrestrial Magnetism, 1903, 8, 11; Utrecht, Terrestrial Magnetism, 1900, 5, 49; St Maur, Terrestrial Magnetism, 1898, 3, 1; Potsdam, Veröffentlichungen des k. preuss. meteorol. Instituts, “Ergebnisse der magnetischen Beobachtungen in Potsdam in den Jahren 1890 und 1891;” Pavlovsk, “Das Konstantinow’sche meteorologische und magnetische Observatorium in Pavlovsk,” Ausgabe der kaiserl. Akad. der Wissenschaften zu St Petersburg, 1895.

(W. Wn.)

[1] Report British Association, Bristol, 1898, p. 741.

[2] Verhandlungen der deutschen physikalischen Gesellschaft, 1899, 1, 147; or Terrestrial Magnetism, 1900, 5, 59.

MAGNETOMETER, a name, in its most general sense, for any instrument used to measure the strength of any magnetic field; it is, however, often used in the restricted sense of an instrument for measuring a particular magnetic field, namely, that due to the earth’s magnetism, and in this article the instruments used for measuring the value of the earth’s magnetic field will alone be considered.

The elements which are actually measured when determining the value of the earth’s field are usually the declination, the dip and the horizontal component (see [Magnetism, Terrestrial]). For the instruments and methods used in measuring the dip see [Inclinometer]. It remains to consider the measurement of the declination and the horizontal component, these two elements being generally measured with the same instrument, which is called a unifilar magnetometer.

Measurement of Declination.—The measurement of the declination involves two separate observations, namely, the determination of (a) the magnetic meridian and (b) the geographical meridian, the angle between the two being the declination. In order to determine the magnetic meridian the orientation of the magnetic axis of a freely suspended magnet is observed; while, in the absence of a distant mark of which the azimuth is known, the geographical meridian is obtained from observations of the transit of the sun or a star. The geometrical axis of the magnet is sometimes defined by means of a mirror rigidly attached to the magnet and having the normal to the mirror as nearly as may be parallel to the magnetic axis. This arrangement is not very convenient, as it is difficult to protect the mirror from accidental displacement, so that the angle between the geometrical and magnetic axes may vary. For this reason the end of the magnet is sometimes polished and acts as the mirror, in which case no displacement of the reflecting surface with reference to the magnet is possible. A different arrangement, used in the instrument described below, consists in having the magnet hollow, with a small scale engraved on glass firmly attached at one end, while to the other end is attached a lens, so chosen that the scale is at its principal focus. In this case the geometrical axis is the line joining the central division of the scale to the optical centre of the lens. The position of the magnet is observed by means of a small telescope, and since the scale is at the principal focus of the lens, the scale will be in focus when the telescope is adjusted to observe a distant object. Thus no alteration in the focus of the telescope is necessary whether we are observing the magnet, a distant fixed mark, or the sun.

The Kew Observatory pattern unifilar magnetometer is shown in figs. 1 and 2. The magnet consists of a hollow steel cylinder fitted with a scale and lens as described above, and is suspended by a long thread of unspun silk, which is attached at the upper end to the torsion head H. The magnet is protected from draughts by the box A, which is closed at the sides by two shutters when an observation is being taken. The telescope B serves to observe the scale attached to the magnet when determining the magnetic meridian, and to observe the sun or star when determining the geographical meridian.

When making a determination of declination a brass plummet having the same weight as the magnet is first suspended in its place, and the torsion of the fibre is taken out. The magnet having been attached, the instrument is rotated about its vertical axis till the centre division of the scale appears to coincide with the vertical cross-wire of the telescope. The two verniers on the azimuth circle having been read, the magnet is then inverted, i.e. turned through 180° about its axis, and the setting is repeated. A second setting with the magnet inverted is generally made, and then another setting with the magnet in its original position. The mean of all the readings of the verniers gives the reading on the azimuth circle corresponding to the magnetic meridian. To obtain the geographical meridian the box A is removed, and an image of the sun or a star is reflected into the telescope B by means of a small transit mirror N. This mirror can rotate about a horizontal axis which is at right angles to the line of collimation of the telescope, and is parallel to the surface of the mirror. The time of transit of the sun or star across the vertical wire of the telescope having been observed by means of a chronometer of which the error is known, it is possible to calculate the azimuth of the sun or star, if the latitude and longitude of the place of observation are given. Hence if the readings of the verniers on the azimuth circle are made when the transit is observed we can deduce the reading corresponding to the geographical meridian.

The above method of determining the geographical meridian has the serious objection that it is necessary to know the error of the chronometer with very considerable accuracy, a matter of some difficulty when observing at any distance from a fixed observatory. If, however, a theodolite, fitted with a telescope which can rotate about a horizontal axis and having an altitude circle, is employed, so that when observing a transit the altitude of the sun or star can be read off, then the time need only be known to within a minute or so. Hence in more recent patterns of magnetometer it is usual to do away with the transit mirror method of observing and either to use a separate theodolite to observe the azimuth of some distant object, which will then act as a fixed mark when making the declination observations, or to attach to the magnetometer an altitude telescope and circle for use when determining the geographical meridian.

The chief uncertainty in declination observations, at any rate at a fixed observatory, lies in the variable torsion of the silk suspension, as it is found that, although the fibre may be entirely freed from torsion before beginning the declination observations, yet at the conclusion of these observations a considerable amount of torsion may have appeared. Soaking the fibre with glycerine, so that the moisture it absorbs does not change so much with the hygrometric state of the air, is of some advantage, but does not entirely remove the difficulty. For this reason some observers use a thin strip of phosphor bronze to suspend the magnet, considering that the absence of a variable torsion more than compensates for the increased difficulty in handling the more fragile metallic suspension.

Measurement of the Horizontal Component of the Earth’s Field.—The method of measuring the horizontal component which is almost exclusively used, both in fixed observatories and in the field, consists in observing the period of a freely suspended magnet, and then obtaining the angle through which an auxiliary suspended magnet is deflected by the magnet used in the first part of the experiment. By the vibration experiment we obtain the value of the product of the magnetic moment (M) of the magnet into the horizontal component (H), while by the deflexion experiment we can deduce the value of the ratio of M to H, and hence the two combined give both M and H.

In the case of the Kew pattern unifilar the same magnet that is used for the declination is usually employed for determining H, and for the purposes of the vibration experiment it is mounted as for the observation of the magnetic meridian. The time of vibration is obtained by means of a chronometer, using the eye-and-ear method. The temperature of the magnet must also be observed, for which purpose a thermometer C (fig. 1) is attached to the box A.

When making the deflection experiment the magnetometer is arranged as shown in fig. 2. The auxiliary magnet has a plane mirror attached, the plane of which is at right angles to the axis of the magnet. An image of the ivory scale B is observed after reflection in the magnet mirror by the telescope A. The magnet K used in the vibration experiment is supported on a carriage L which can slide along the graduated bar D. The axis of the magnet is horizontal and at the same level as the mirror magnet, while when the central division of the scale B appears to coincide with the vertical cross-wire of the telescope the axes of the two magnets are at right angles. During the experiment the mirror magnet is protected from draughts by two wooden doors which slide in grooves. What is known as the method of sines is used, for since the axes of the two magnets are always at right angles when the mirror magnet is in its zero position, the ratio M/H is proportional to the sine of the angle between the magnetic axis of the mirror magnet and the magnetic meridian. When conducting a deflexion experiment the deflecting magnet K is placed with its centre at 30 cm. from the mirror magnet and to the east of the latter, and the whole instrument is turned till the centre division of the scale B coincides with the cross-wire of the telescope, when the readings of the verniers on the azimuth circle are noted. The magnet K is then reversed in the support, and a new setting taken. The difference between the two sets of readings gives twice the angle which the magnetic axis of the mirror magnet makes with the magnetic meridian. In order to eliminate any error due to the zero of the scale D not being exactly below the mirror magnet, the support L is then removed to the west side of the instrument, and the settings are repeated. Further, to allow of a correction being applied for the finite length of the magnets the whole series of settings is repeated with the centre of the deflecting magnet at 40 cm. from the mirror magnet.

Omitting correction terms depending on the temperature and on the inductive effect of the earth’s magnetism on the moment of the deflecting magnet, if θ is the angle which the axis of the deflected magnet makes with the meridian when the centre of the deflecting magnet is at a distance r, then

in which P and Q are constants depending on the dimensions and magnetic states of the two magnets. The value of the constants P and Q can be obtained by making deflexion experiments at three distances. It is, however, possible by suitably choosing the proportions of the two magnets to cause either P or Q to be very small. Thus it is usual, if the magnets are of similar shape, to make the deflected magnet 0.467 of the length of the deflecting magnet, in which case Q is negligible, and thus by means of deflexion experiments at two distances the value of P can be obtained. (See C. Börgen, Terrestrial Magnetism, 1896, i. p. 176, and C. Chree, Phil. Mag., 1904 [6], 7, p. 113.)

In the case of the vibration experiment correction terms have to be introduced to allow for the temperature of the magnet, for the inductive effect of the earth’s field, which slightly increases the magnetic moment of the magnet, and for the torsion of the suspension fibre, as well as the rate of the chronometer. If the temperature of the magnet were always exactly the same in both the vibration and deflexion experiment, then no correction on account of the effect of temperature in the magnetic moment would be necessary in either experiment. The fact that the moment of inertia of the magnet varies with the temperature must, however, be taken into account. In the deflexion experiment, in addition to the induction correction, and that for the effect of temperature on the magnetic moment, a correction has to be applied for the effect of temperature on the length of the bar which supports the deflexion magnet.

See also Stewart and Gee, Practical Physics, vol. 2, containing a description of the Kew pattern unifilar magnetometer and detailed instructions for performing the experiments; C. Chree, Phil. Mag., 1901 (6), 2, p. 613, and Proc. Roy. Soc., 1899, 65, p. 375, containing a discussion of the errors to which the Kew unifilar instrument is subject; E. Mascart, Traité de magnétisme terrestre, containing a description of the instruments used in the French magnetic survey, which are interesting on account of their small size and consequent easy portability; H. E. D. Fraser, Terrestrial Magnetism, 1901, 6, p. 65, containing a description of a modified Kew pattern unifilar as used in the Indian survey; H. Wild, Mém. Acad. imp. sc. St Pétersbourg, 1896 (viii.), vol. 3, No. 7, containing a description of a most elaborate unifilar magnetometer with which it is claimed results can be obtained of a very high order of accuracy; K. Haufsmann, Zeits. für Instrumentenkunde, 1906, 26, p. 2, containing a description of a magnetometer for field use, designed by M. Eschenhagen, which has many advantages.

Measurements of the Magnetic Elements at Sea.—Owing to the fact that the proportion of the earth’s surface covered by sea is so much greater than the dry land, the determination of the magnetic elements on board ship is a matter of very considerable importance. The movements of a ship entirely preclude the employment of any instrument in which a magnet suspended by a fibre has any part, so that the unifilar is unsuited for such observations. In order to obtain the declination a pivoted magnet is used to obtain the magnetic meridian, the geographical meridian being obtained by observations on the sun or stars. A carefully made ship’s compass is usually employed, though in some cases the compass card, with its attached magnets, is made reversible, so that the inclination to the zero of the card of the magnetic axis of the system of magnets attached to the card can be eliminated by reversal. In the absence of such a reversible card the index correction must be determined by comparison with a unifilar magnetometer, simultaneous observations being made on shore, and these observations repeated as often as occasion permits. To determine the dip a Fox’s dip circle[1] is used. This consists of an ordinary dip circle (see [Inclinometer]) in which the ends of the axle of the needle are pointed and rest in jewelled holes, so that the movements of the ship do not displace the needle. The instrument is, of course, supported on a gimballed table, while the ship during the observations is kept on a fixed course. To obtain the strength of the field the method usually adopted is that known as Lloyd’s method.[2] To carry out a determination of the total force by this method the Fox dip circle has been slightly modified by E. W. Creak, and has been found to give satisfactory results on board ship. The circle is provided with two needles in addition to those used for determining the dip, one (a) an ordinary dip needle, and the other (b) a needle which has been loaded at one end by means of a small peg which fits into one of two symmetrically placed holes in the needle. The magnetism of these two needles is never reversed, and they are as much as possible protected from shock and from approach to other magnets, so that their magnetic state may remain as constant as possible. Attached to the cross-arm which carries the microscopes used to observe the ends of the dipping needle is a clamp, which will hold the needle b in such a way that its plane is parallel to the vertical circle and its axis is at right angles to the line joining the two microscopes. Hence, when the microscopes are adjusted so as to coincide with the points of the dipping needle a, the axes of the two needles must be at right angles. The needle a being suspended between the jewels, and the needle b being held in the clamp, the cross-arm carrying the reading microscopes and the needle b is rotated till the ends of the needle a coincide with the cross-wires of the microscopes. The verniers having been read, the cross-arm is rotated so as to deflect the needle a in the opposite direction, and a new setting is taken. Half the difference between the two readings gives the angle through which the needle a has been deflected under the action of the needle b. This angle depends on the ratio of the magnetic moment of the needle b to the total force of the earth’s field. It also involves, of course, the distance between the needles and the distribution of the magnetism of the needles; but this factor is determined by comparing the value given by the instrument, at a shore station, with that given by an ordinary magnetometer. Hence the above observation gives us a means of obtaining the ratio of the magnetic moment of the needle b to the value of the earth’s total force. The needle b is then substituted for a, there being now no needle in the clamp attached to the microscope arm, and the difference between the reading now obtained and the dip, together with the weight added to the needle, gives the product of the moment of the needle b into the earth’s total force. Hence, from the two observations the value of the earth’s total force can be deduced. In an actual observation the deflecting needle would be reversed, as well as the deflected one, while different weights would be used to deflect the needle b.

For a description of the method of using the Fox circle for observations at sea consult the Admiralty Manual of Scientific Inquiry, p. 116, while a description of the most recent form of the circle, known as the Lloyd-Creak pattern, will be found in Terrestrial Magnetism, 1901, 6, p. 119. An attachment to the ordinary ship’s compass, by means of which satisfactory measurements of the horizontal component have been made on board ship, is described by L. A. Bauer in Terrestrial Magnetism, 1906, 11, p. 78. The principle of the method consists in deflecting the compass needle by means of a horizontal magnet supported vertically over the compass card, the axis of the deflecting magnet being always perpendicular to the axis of the magnet attached to the card. The method is not strictly an absolute one, since it presupposes a knowledge of the magnetic moment of the deflecting magnet. In practice it is found that a magnet can be prepared which, when suitably protected from shock, &c., retains its magnetic moment sufficiently constant to enable observations of H to be made comparable in accuracy with that of the other elements obtained by the instruments ordinarily employed at sea.

(W. Wn.)

[1] Annals of Electricity, 1839, 3, p. 288.

[2] Humphrey Lloyd, Proc. Roy. Irish Acad., 1848, 4, p. 57.

MAGNETO-OPTICS. The first relation between magnetism and light was discovered by Faraday,[1] who proved that the plane of polarization of a ray of light was rotated when the ray travelled through certain substances parallel to the lines of magnetic force. This power of rotating the plane of polarization in a magnetic field has been shown to be possessed by all refracting substances, whether they are in the solid, liquid or gaseous state. The rotation by gases was established independently by H. Becquerel,[2] and Kundt and Röntgen,[3] while Kundt[4] found that films of the magnetic metals, iron, cobalt, nickel, thin enough to be transparent, produced enormous rotations, these being in iron and cobalt magnetized to saturation at the rate of 200,000° per cm. of thickness, and in nickel about 89,000°. The direction of rotation is not the same in all bodies. If we call the rotation positive when it is related to the direction of the magnetic force, like rotation and translation in a right-handed screw, or, what is equivalent, when it is in the direction of the electric currents which would produce a magnetic field in the same direction as that which produces the rotation, then most substances produce positive rotation. Among those that produce negative rotation are ferrous and ferric salts, ferricyanide of potassium, the salts of lanthanum, cerium and didymium, and chloride of titanium.[5]

The magnetic metals iron, nickel, cobalt, the salts of nickel and cobalt, and oxygen (the most magnetic gas) produce positive rotation.

For slightly magnetizable substances the amount of rotation in a space PQ is proportional to the difference between the magnetic potential at P and Q; or if θ is the rotation in PQ, ΩP, ΩQ, the magnetic potential at P and Q, then θ = R(ΩP − ΩQ), where R is a constant, called Verdet’s constant, which depends upon the refracting substance, the wave length of the light, and the temperature. The following are the values of R (when the rotation is expressed in circular measure) for the D line and a temperature of 18° C.:—

The variation of Verdet’s constant with temperature has been determined for carbon bisulphide and water by Rodger and Watson (loc. cit.). They find if Rt, R0 are the values of Verdet’s constant at t°C and 0°C. respectively, then for carbon bisulphide Rt = R0 (1 − .0016961), and for water Rt = R0 (1 − .0000305t − .00000305t²).

For the magnetic metals Kundt found that the rotation did not increase so rapidly as the magnetic force, but that as this force was increased the rotation reached a maximum value. This suggests that the rotation is proportional to the intensity of magnetization, and not to the magnetic force.

The amount of rotation in a given field depends greatly upon the wave length of the light; the shorter the wave length the greater the rotation, the rotation varying a little more rapidly than the inverse square of the wave length. Verdet[11] has compared in the cases of carbon bisulphide and creosote the rotation given by the formula

with those actually observed; in this formula θ is the angular rotation of the plane of polarization, m a constant depending on the medium, λ the wave length of the light in air, and i its index of refraction in the medium. Verdet found that, though the agreement is fair, the differences are greater than can be explained by errors of experiment.

Verdet[12] has shown that the rotation of a salt solution is the sum of the rotations due to the salt and the solvent; thus, by mixing a salt which produces negative rotation with water which produces positive rotation, it is possible to get a solution which does not exhibit any rotation. Such solutions are not in general magnetically neutral. By mixing diamagnetic and paramagnetic substances we can get magnetically neutral solutions, which, however, produce a finite rotation of the plane of polarization. The relation of the magnetic rotation to chemical constitution has been studied in great detail by Perkin,[13] Wachsmuth,[14] Jahn[15] and Schönrock.[16]

The rotation of the plane of polarization may conveniently be regarded as denoting that the velocity of propagation of circular-polarized light travelling along the lines of magnetic force depends upon the direction of rotation of the ray, the velocity when the rotation is related to the direction of the magnetic force, like rotation and translation on a right-handed screw being different from that for a left-handed rotation. A plane-polarized ray may be regarded as compounded of two oppositely circularly-polarized rays, and as these travel along the lines of magnetic force with different velocities, the one will gain or lose in phase on the other, so that when they are again compounded they will correspond to a plane-polarized ray, but in consequence of the change of phase the plane of polarization will not coincide with its original position.

Reflection from a Magnet.—Kerr[17] in 1877 found that when plane-polarized light is incident on the pole of an electromagnet, polished so as to act like a mirror, the plane of polarization of the reflected light is rotated by the magnet. Further experiments on this phenomenon have been made by Righi,[18] Kundt,[19] Du Bois,[20] Sissingh,[21] Hall,[22] Hurion,[23] Kaz[24] and Zeeman.[25] The simplest case is when the incident plane-polarized light falls normally on the pole of an electromagnet. When the magnet is not excited the reflected ray is plane-polarized; when the magnet is excited the plane of polarization is rotated through a small angle, the direction of rotation being opposite to that of the currents exciting the pole. Righi found that the reflected light was slightly elliptically polarized, the axes of the ellipse being of very unequal magnitude. A piece of gold-leaf placed over the pole entirely stops the rotation, showing that it is not produced in the air near the pole. Rotation takes place from magnetized nickel and cobalt as well as from iron, and is in the same direction (Hall). Righi has shown that the rotation at reflection is greater for long waves than for short, whereas, as we have seen, the Faraday rotation is greater for short waves than for long. The rotation for different coloured light from iron, nickel, cobalt and magnetite has been measured by Du Bois; in magnetite the direction of rotation is opposite to that of the other metals. When the light is incident obliquely and not normally on the polished pole of an electromagnet, it is elliptically polarized after reflection, even when the plane of polarization is parallel or at right angles to the plane of incidence. According to Righi, the amount of rotation when the plane of polarization of the incident light is perpendicular to the plane of incidence reaches a maximum when the angle of incidence is between 44° and 68°, while when the light is polarized in the plane of incidence the rotation steadily decreases as the angle of incidence is increased. The rotation when the light is polarized in the plane of incidence is always less than when it is polarized at right angles to that plane, except when the incidence is normal, when the two rotations are of course equal.

Reflection from Tangentially Magnetized Iron.—In this case Kerr[26] found: (1) When the plane of incidence is perpendicular to the lines of magnetic force, no rotation of the reflected light is produced by magnetization; (2) no rotation is produced when the light is incident normally; (3) when the incidence is oblique, the lines of magnetic force being in the plane of incidence, the reflected light is elliptically polarized after reflection, and the axes of the ellipse are not in and at right angles to the plane of incidence. When the light is polarized in the plane of incidence, the rotation is at all angles of incidence in the opposite direction to that of the currents which would produce a magnetic field of the same sign as the magnet. When the light is polarized at right angles to the plane of incidence, the rotation is in the same direction as these currents when the angle of incidence is between 0° and 75° according to Kerr, between 0° and 80° according to Kundt, and between 0° and 78° 54′ according to Righi. When the incidence is more oblique than this, the rotation of the plane of polarization is in the opposite direction to the electric currents which would produce a magnetic field of the same sign.

The theory of the phenomena just described has been dealt with by Airy,[27] C. Neumann,[28] Maxwell,[29] Fitzgerald,[30] Rowland,[31] H. A. Lorentz,[32] Voight,[33] Ketteler,[34] van Loghem,[35] Potier,[36] Basset,[37] Goldhammer,[38] Drude,[39] J. J. Thomson,[40] and Leatham;[41] for a critical discussion of many of these theories we refer the reader to Larmor’s[42] British Association Report. Most of these theories have proceeded on the plan of adding to the expression for the electromotive force terms indicating a force similar in character to that discovered by Hall (see [Magnetism]) in metallic conductors carrying a current in a magnetic field, i.e. an electromotive force at right angles to the plane containing the magnetic force and the electric current, and proportional to the sine of the angle between these vectors. The introduction of a term of this kind gives rotation of the plane of polarization by transmission through all refracting substance, and by reflection from magnetized metals, and shows a fair agreement between the theoretical and experimental results. The simplest way of treating the questions seems, however, to be to go to the equations which represent the propagation of a wave travelling through a medium containing ions. A moving ion in a magnetic field will be acted upon by a mechanical force which is at right angles to its direction of motion, and also to the magnetic force, and is equal per unit charge to the product of these two vectors and the sine of the angle between them. For the sake of brevity we will take the special case of a wave travelling parallel to the magnetic force in the direction of the axis of z.

Then supposing that all the ions are of the same kind, and that there are n of these each with mass m and charge e per unit volume, the equations representing the field are (see [Electric Waves]):—

where H is the external magnetic field, X0, Y0 the components of the part of the electric force in the wave not due to the charges on the atoms, α and β the components of the magnetic force, ξ and η the co-ordinates of an ion, R1 the coefficient of resistance to the motion of the ions, and α the force at unit distance tending to bring the ion back to its position of equilibrium, K0 the specific inductive capacity of a vacuum. If the variables are proportional to εl(pt−qz) we find by substitution that q is given by the equation

where

P = (a − 4⁄3πne²) + R1ιp − mp²,

or, by neglecting R, P = m (s² − p²), where s is the period of the free ions. If, q1², q2² are the roots of this equation, then corresponding to q1 we have X0 = ιY0 and to q2 X0 = −ιY0. We thus get two oppositely circular-polarized rays travelling with the velocities p/q1 and p/q2 respectively. Hence if v1, v2 are these velocities, and v the velocity when there is no magnetic field, we obtain, if we neglect terms in H²,

The rotation r of the plane of polarization per unit length

Since 1/v² = K0 + 4πne²/m (s² − p²), we have if µ is the refractive index for light of frequency p, and v0 the velocity of light in vacuo.

µ² − 1 = 4πne²v0² / m (s² − p²).

(1)

So that we may put

r = (µ² − 1)² p²H / sπµnev0³.

(2)

Becquerel (Comptes rendus, 125, p. 683) gives for r the expression

where λ is the wave length. This is equivalent to (2) if µ is given by (1). He has shown that this expression is in good agreement with experiment. The sign of r depends on the sign of e, hence the rotation due to negative ions would be opposite to that for positive. For the great majority of substances the direction of rotation is that corresponding to the negation ion. We see from the equations that the rotation is very large for such a value of p as makes P = 0; this value corresponds to a free period of the ions, so that the rotation ought to be very large in the neighbourhood of an absorption band. This has been verified for sodium vapour by Macaluso and Corbino.[43]

If plane-polarized light falls normally on a plane face of the medium containing the ions, then if the electric force in the incident wave is parallel to x and is equal to the real part of Aεl(pt−qz), if the reflected beam in which the electric force is parallel to x is represented by Bεl(pt+qz) and the reflected beam in which the electric force is parallel to the axis of y by Cεl(pt+qz), then the conditions that the magnetic force parallel to the surface is continuous, and that the electric forces parallel to the surface in the air are continuous with Y0, X0 in the medium, give

or approximately, since q1 and q2 are nearly equal,

Thus in transparent bodies for which µ is real, C and B differ in phase by π/2, and the reflected light is elliptically polarized, the major axis of the ellipse being in the plane of polarization of the incident light, so that in this case there is no rotation, but only elliptic polarization; when there is strong absorption so that µ contains an imaginary term, C/B will contain a real part so that the reflected light will be elliptically polarized, but the major axis is no longer in the plane of polarization of the incident light; we should thus have a rotation of the plane of polarization superposed on the elliptic polarization.

Zeeman’s Effect.—Faraday, after discovering the effect of a magnetic field on the plane of polarization of light, made numerous experiments to see if such a field influenced the nature of the light emitted by a luminous body, but without success. In 1885 Fievez,[44] a Belgian physicist, noticed that the spectrum of a sodium flame was changed slightly in appearance by a magnetic field; but his observation does not seem to have attracted much attention, and was probably ascribed to secondary effects. In 1896 Zeeman[45] saw a distinct broadening of the lines of lithium and sodium when the flames containing salts of these metals were between the poles of a powerful electromagnet; following up this observation, he obtained some exceedingly remarkable and interesting results, of which those observed with the blue-green cadmium line may be taken as typical. He found that in a strong magnetic field, when the lines of force are parallel to the direction of propagation of the light, the line is split up into a doublet, the constituents of which are on opposite sides of the undisturbed position of the line, and that the light in the constituents of this doublet is circularly polarized, the rotation in the two lines being in opposite directions. When the magnetic force is at right angles to the direction of propagation of the light, the line is resolved into a triplet, of which the middle line occupies the same position as the undisturbed line; all the constituents of this triplet are plane-polarized, the plane of polarization of the middle line being at right angles to the magnetic force, while the outside lines are polarized on a plane parallel to the lines of magnetic force. A great deal of light is thrown on this phenomenon by the following considerations due to H. A. Lorentz.[46]

Let us consider an ion attracted to a centre of force by a force proportional to the distance, and acted on by a magnetic force parallel to the axis of z: then if m is the mass of the particle and e its charge, the equations of motion are

The solution of these equations is

where

p² = α / m,

or approximately

Thus the motion of the ion on the xy plane may be regarded as made up of two circular motions in opposite directions described with frequencies p1 and p2 respectively, while the motion along z has the period p, which is the frequency for all the vibrations when H = 0. Now suppose that the cadmium line is due to the motion of such an ion; then if the magnetic force is along the direction of propagation, the vibration in this direction has its period unaltered, but since the direction of vibration is perpendicular to the wave front, it does not give rise to light. Thus we are left with the two circular motions in the wave front with frequencies p1 and p2 giving the circularly polarized constituents of the doublet. Now suppose the magnetic force is at right angles to the direction of propagation of the light; then the vibration parallel to the magnetic force being in the wave front produces luminous effects and gives rise to a plane-polarized ray of undisturbed period (the middle line of the triplet), the plane of polarization being at right angles to the magnetic force. The components in the wave-front of the circular orbits at right angles to the magnetic force will be rectilinear motions of frequency p1 and p2 at right angles to the magnetic force—so that they will produce plane-polarized light, the plane of polarization being parallel to the magnetic force; these are the outer lines of the triplet.

If Zeeman’s observations are interpreted from this point of view, the directions of rotation of the circularly-polarized light in the doublet observed along the lines of magnetic force show that the ions which produce the luminous vibrations are negatively electrified, while the measurement of the charge of frequency due to the magnetic field shows that e/m is of the order 107. This result is of great interest, as this is the order of the value of e/m in the negatively electrified particles which constitute the Cathode Rays (see [Conduction, Electric] III. Through Gases). Thus we infer that the “cathode particles” are found in bodies, even where not subject to the action of intense electrical fields, and are in fact an ordinary constituent of the molecule. Similar particles are found near an incandescent wire, and also near a metal plate illuminated by ultra-violet light. The value of e/m deduced from the Zeeman effect ranges from 107 to 3.4 × 107, the value of e/m for the particle in the cathode rays is 1.7 × 107. The majority of the determinations of e/m from the Zeeman effect give numbers larger than this, the maximum being about twice this value.

A more extended study of the behaviour of the spectroscopic lines has afforded examples in which the effects produced by a magnet are more complicated than those we have described, indeed the simple cases are much less numerous than the more complex. Thus Preston[47] and Cornu[48] have shown that under the action of a transverse magnetic field one of the D lines splits up into four, and the other into six lines; Preston has given many other examples of these quartets and sextets, and has shown that the change in the frequency, which, according to the simple theory indicated, should be the same for all lines, actually varies considerably from one line to another, many lines showing no appreciable displacement. The splitting up of a single line into a quartet or sextet indicates, from the point of view of the ion theory, that the line must have its origin in a system consisting of more than one ion. A single ion having only three degrees of freedom can only have three periods. When there is no magnetic force acting on the ion these periods are equal, but though under the action of a magnetic force they are separated, their number cannot be increased. When therefore we get four or more lines, the inference is that the system giving the lines must have at least four degrees of freedom, and therefore must consist of more than one ion. The theory of a system of ions mutually influencing each other shows, as we should expect, that the effects are more complex than in the case of a single ion, and that the change in the frequency is not necessarily the same for all systems (see J. J. Thomson, Proc. Camb. Phil. Soc. 13, p. 39). Preston[49] and Runge and Paschen have proved that, in some cases at any rate, the change in the frequency of the different lines is of such a character that they can be grouped into series such that each line in the series has the same change in frequency for the same magnetic force, and, moreover, that homologous lines in the spectra of different metals belonging to the same group have the same change in frequency.

A very remarkable case of the Zeeman effect has been discovered by H. Becquerel and Deslandres (Comptes rendus, 127, p. 18). They found lines in iron when the most deflected components are those polarized in the plane at right angles to the magnetic force. On the simple theory the light polarized in this way is not affected. Thus the behaviour of the spectrum in the magnetic field promises to throw great light on the nature of radiation, and perhaps on the constitution of the elements. The study of these effects has been greatly facilitated by the invention by Michelson[50] of the echelon spectroscope.

There are some interesting phenomena connected with the Zeeman effect which are more easily observed than the effect itself. Thus Cotton[51] found that if we have two Bunsen flames, A and B, coloured by the same salt, the absorption of the light of one by the other is diminished if either is placed between the poles of a magnet: this is at once explained by the Zeeman effect, for the times of vibration of the molecules of the flame in the magnetic field are not the same as those of the other flame, and thus the absorption is diminished. Similar considerations explain the phenomenon observed by Egoroff and Georgiewsky,[52] that the light emitted from a flame in a transverse field is partially polarized in a plane parallel to the magnetic force; and also Righi’s[53] observation that if a sodium flame is placed in a longitudinal field between two crossed Nicols, and a ray of white light sent through one of the Nicols, then through the flame, and then through the second Nicol, the amount of light passing through the second Nicol is greater when the field is on than when it is off. Voight and Wiechert (Wied. Ann. 67, p. 345) detected the double refraction produced when light travels through a substance exposed to a magnetic field at right angles to the path of the light; this result had been predicted by Voight from theoretical considerations. Jean Becquerel has made some very interesting experiments on the effect of a magnetic field on the fine absorption bands produced by xenotime, a phosphate of yttrium and erbium, and tysonite, a fluoride of cerium, lanthanum and didymium, and has obtained effects which he ascribes to the presence of positive electrons. A very complete account of magneto- and electro-optics is contained in Voight’s Magneto- and Elektro-optik.

[1] Experimental Researches, Series 19.

[2] Comptes rendus, 88, p. 709.

[3] Wied. Ann. 6, p. 332; 8, p. 278; 10, p. 257.

[4] Wied. Ann. 23, p. 228; 27, p. 191.

[5] Wied. Ann. 31, p. 941.

[6] Phil. Trans., A. 1885, Pt. 11, p. 343.

[7] Wied. Ann. 26, p. 456.

[8] Phil. Trans., A. 1895, Pt. 17, p. 621.

[9] Wied. Ann. 24, p. 161.

[10] Wied. Ann. 31, p. 970.

[11] Comptes rendus, 57, p. 670.

[12] Comptes rendus, 43, p. 529; 44, p. 1209.

[13] Journ. Chem. Soc. 1884, p. 421; 1886, p. 177; 1887, pp. 362 and 808; 1888, p. 561; 1889, pp. 680 and 750; 1891, p. 981; 1892, p. 800; 1893, pp. 75, 99 and 488.

[14] Wied. Ann. 44, p. 377.

[15] Wied. Ann. 43, p. 280.

[16] Zeitschrift f. physikal. Chem. 11, p. 753.

[17] Phil. Mag. [5] 3, p. 321.

[18] Ann. de chim. et de phys. [6] 4, p. 433; 9, p. 65; 10, p. 200.

[19] Wied. Ann. 23, p. 228; 27, p. 191.

[20] Wied. Ann. 39, p. 25.

[21] Wied. Ann. 42, p. 115.

[22] Phil. Mag. [5] 12, p. 171.

[23] Journ. de Phys. 1884, p. 360.

[24] Beiblätter zu Wied. Ann. 1885, p. 275.

[25] Messungen über d. Kerr’sche Erscheinung. Inaugural Dissert. Leiden, 1893.

[26] Phil. Mag. [5] 5, p. 161.

[27] Phil. Mag. [3] 28, p. 469.

[28] Die Magn. Drehung d. Polarisationsebene des Lichts, Halle, 1863.

[29] Electricity and Magnetism, chap. xxi.

[30] Phil. Trans. 1880 (2), p. 691.

[31] Phil. Mag. (5) 11, p. 254, 1881.

[32] Arch. Néerl. 19, p. 123.

[33] Wied. Ann. 23, p. 493; 67, p. 345.

[34] Wied. Ann. 24, p. 119.

[35] Wied. Beiblätter, 8, p. 869.

[36] Comptes rendus, 108, p. 510.

[37] Phil. Trans. 182, A. p. 371, 1892; Physical Optics, p. 393.

[38] Wied. Ann. 46, p. 71; 47, p. 345; 48, p. 740; 50, p. 722.

[39] Wied. Ann. 46, p. 353; 48, p. 122; 49, p. 690.

[40] Recent Researches, p. 489 et seq.

[41] Phil. Trans., A. 1897, p. 89.

[42] Brit. Assoc. Report, 1893.

[43] Comptes rendus, 127, p. 548.

[44] Bull. de l’Acad. des Sciences Belg. (3) 9, pp. 327, 381, 1885; 12 p. 30, 1886.

[45] Communications from the Physical Laboratory, Leiden, No. 33, 1896; Phil. Mag. 43, p. 226; 44, pp. 55 and 255; and 45, p. 197.

[46] Arch. Néerl. 25, p. 190.

[47] Phil. Mag. 45, p. 325; 47, p. 165.

[48] Comptes rendus, 126, p. 181.

[49] Phil. Mag. 46, p. 187.

[50] Phil. Mag. 45, p. 348.

[51] Comptes rendus, 125, p. 865.

[52] Comptes rendus, pp. 748 and 949, 1897.

[53] Comptes rendus, 127, p. 216; 128, p. 45.

(J. J. T.)

MAGNOLIA, the typical genus of the botanical order Magnoliaceae, named after Pierre Magnol (1638-1715), professor of medicine and botany at Montpellier. It contains about twenty species, distributed in Japan, China and the Himalayas, as well as in North America.

Magnolias are trees or shrubs with deciduous or rarely evergreen foliage. They bear conspicuous and often large, fragrant, white, rose or purple flowers. The sepals are three in number, the petals six to twelve, in two to four series of three in each, the stamens and carpels being numerous. The fruit consists of a number of follicles which are borne on a more or less conical receptacle, and dehisce along the outer edge to allow the scarlet or brown seeds to escape; the seeds however remain suspended by a long slender thread (the funicle). Of the old-world species, the earliest in cultivation appears to have been M. Yulan (or M. conspicua) of China, of which the buds were preserved, as well as used medicinally and to season rice; together with the greenhouse species, M. fuscata, it was transported to Europe in 1789, and thence to North America, and is now cultivated in the Middle States. There are many fine forms of M. conspicua, the best being Soulangeana, white tinted with purple, Lenné and stricta. Of the Japanese magnolias, M. Kobus and the purple-flowered M. obovata were met with by Kaempfer in 1690, and were introduced into England in 1709 and 1804 respectively. M. pumila, the dwarf magnolia, from the mountains of Amboyna, is nearly evergreen, and bears deliciously scented flowers; it was introduced in 1786. The Indian species are three in number, M. globosa, allied to M. conspicua of Japan, M. sphenocarpa, and, the most magnificent of all magnolias, M. Campbellii, which forms a conspicuous feature in the scenery and vegetation of Darjeeling. It was discovered by Dr Griffith in Bhutan, and is a large forest tree, abounding on the outer ranges of Sikkim, 80 to 150 ft. high, and from 6 to 12 ft. in girth. The flowers are 6 to 10 in. across, appearing before the leaves, and vary from white to a deep rose colour.

The first of the American species brought to Europe (in 1688 by John Banister) was M. glauca, a beautiful evergreen species about 15 ft. high with obtuse leathery leaves, blue-green above, silvery underneath, and globular flowers varying from creamy white to pale yellow with age. It is found in low situations near the sea from Massachusetts to Louisiana—more especially in New Jersey and the Carolinas. M. acuminata, the so-called “cucumber tree,” from the resemblance of the young fruits to small cucumbers, ranges from Pennsylvania to Carolina. The wood is yellow, and used for bowls; the flowers, 3 to 4 in. across, are glaucous green tinted with yellow. It was introduced into England from Virginia about 1736. M. tripetala (or M. umbrella), is known as the “umbrella tree” from the arrangement of the leaves at the ends of the branches resembling somewhat that of the ribs of an umbrella. The flowers, 5 to 8 in. across, are white and have a strong but not disagreeable scent. It was brought to England in 1752. M. Fraseri (or M. auriculata), discovered by John Bartram in 1773, is a native of the western parts of the Carolinas and Georgia, extending southward to western Florida and southern Alabama. It grows 30 to 50 ft. high, has leaves a foot or more long, heart-shaped and bluntly auricled at the base, and fragrant pale yellowish-white flowers, 3 to 4 in. across. The most beautiful species of North America is M. grandiflora, the “laurel magnolia,” a native of the south-eastern States, and introduced into England in 1734. It grows a straight trunk, 2 ft. in diameter and upwards of 70 ft. high, bearing a profusion of large, powerfully lemon-scented creamy-white flowers. It is an evergreen tree, easily recognized by its glossy green oval oblong leaves with a rusty-brown under surface. In England it is customary to train it against a wall in the colder parts, but it does well as a bush tree; and the original species is surpassed by the Exmouth varieties, which originated as seedlings at Exeter from the tree first raised in England by Sir John Colliton, and which flower much more freely than the parent plant. Other fine magnolias now to be met with in gardens are M. cordata, a North American deciduous tree 40 to 50 ft. high, with heart-shaped leaves, woolly beneath, and yellow flowers lined with purple; M. hypoleuca, a fine Japanese tree 60 ft. high or more, with leaves a foot or more long, 6 to 7 in. broad, the under surface covered with hairs; M. macrophylla, a handsome deciduous North American tree, with smooth whitish bark, and very large beautiful green leaves, 1 to 3 ft. long, 8 to 10 in. broad, oblong-obovate and heart-shaped at the base; the open sweet-scented bell-shaped flowers 8 to 10 in. across, are white with a purple blotch at the base of the petals; M. stellata or Halleana, a charming deciduous Japanese shrub remarkable for producing its pure white starry flowers as early as February and March on the leafless stems; and M. Watsoni, another fine deciduous Japanese bush or small tree with very fragrant pure white flowers 5 to 6 in. across.

The tulip tree, Liriodendron tulipifera, a native of North America, frequently cultivated in England, is also a member of the same family. It reaches a height of over 100 ft. in a native condition, and as much as 60 to 80 ft. in England. It resembles the plane tree somewhat in appearance, but is readily recognized by lobed leaves having the apical lobe truncated, and by its soft green and yellow tulip-like flowers—which however are rarely borne on trees under twenty years of age.

For a description of the principal species of magnolia under cultivation see J. Weathers, Practical Guide to Garden Plants, pp. 174 seq., and for a detailed account of the American species see C. S. Sargent, Silva of North America, vol. i.

MAGNUS, HEINRICH GUSTAV (1802-1870), German chemist and physicist, was born at Berlin on the 2nd of May 1802. His father was a wealthy merchant; and of his five brothers one, Eduard (1799-1872), became a celebrated painter. After studying at Berlin, he went to Stockholm to work under Berzelius, and later to Paris, where he studied for a while under Gay-Lussac and Thénard. In 1831 he returned to Berlin as lecturer on technology and physics at the university. As a teacher his success was rapid and extraordinary. His lucid style and the perfection of his experimental demonstrations drew to his lectures a crowd of enthusiastic scholars, on whom he impressed the importance of applied science by conducting them round the factories and workshops of the city; and he further found time to hold weekly “colloquies” on physical questions at his house with a small circle of young students. From 1827 to 1833 he was occupied mainly with chemical researches, which resulted in the discovery of the first of the platino-ammonium compounds (“Magnus’s green salt” is PtCl2, 2NH3), of sulphovinic, ethionic and isethionic acids and their salts, and, in conjunction with C. F. Ammermüller, of periodic acid. Among other subjects at which he subsequently worked were the absorption of gases in blood (1837-1845), the expansion of gases by heat (1841-1844), the vapour pressures of water and various solutions (1844-1854), thermo-electricity (1851), electrolysis (1856), induction of currents (1858-1861), conduction of heat in gases (1860), and polarization of heat (1866-1868). From 1861 onwards he devoted much attention to the question of diathermancy in gases and vapours, especially to the behaviour in this respect of dry and moist air, and to the thermal effects produced by the condensation of moisture on solid surfaces.

In 1834 Magnus was elected extraordinary, and in 1845 ordinary professor at Berlin. He was three times elected dean of the faculty, in 1847, 1858 and 1863; and in 1861, rector magnificus. His great reputation led to his being entrusted by the government with several missions; in 1865 he represented Prussia in the conference called at Frankfort to introduce a uniform metric system of weights and measures into Germany. For forty-five years his labour was incessant; his first memoir was published in 1825 when he was yet a student; his last appeared shortly after his death on the 4th of April 1870. He married in 1840 Bertha Humblot, of a French Huguenot family settled in Berlin, by whom he left a son and two daughters.

See Allgemeine deutsche Biog. The Royal Society’s Catalogue enumerates 84 papers by Magnus, most of which originally appeared in Poggendorff’s Annalen.

MAGNY, CLAUDE DRIGON, Marquis de (1797-1879), French heraldic writer, was born in Paris. After being employed for some time in the postal service, he devoted himself to the study of heraldry and genealogy, his work in this direction being rewarded by Pope Gregory XVI. with a marquisate. He founded a French college of heraldry, and wrote several works on heraldry and genealogy, of which the most important were Archives nobiliaires universelles (1843) and Livre d’or de la noblesse de France (1844-1852). His two sons, Edouard Drigon and Achille Ludovice Drigon, respectively comte and vicomte de Magny, also wrote several works on heraldry.

MAGO, the name of several Carthaginians, (1) The reputed founder of the military power of Carthage, fl. 550-500 B.C. (Justin xviii. 7, xix. i). (2) The youngest of the three sons of Hamilcar Barca. He accompanied Hannibal into Italy, and held important commands in the great victories of the first three years. After the battle of Cannae (216 B.C.) he sailed to Carthage to report the successes gained. He was about to return to Italy with strong reinforcements for Hannibal, when the government ordered him to go to the aid of his other brother, Hasdrubal, who was hard pressed in Spain. He carried on the war there with varying success in concert with the two Hasdrubals until, in 209, his brother marched into Italy to help Hannibal. Mago remained in Spain with Hasdrubal, the son of Gisco. In 207 he was defeated by M. Junius Silanus, and in 206 the combined forces of Mago and Hasdrubal were scattered by Scipio Africanus in the decisive battle of Silpia. Mago maintained himself for some time in Gades, but afterwards received orders to carry the war into Liguria. He wintered in the Balearic Isles, where the harbour Portus Magonis (Port Mahon) still bears his name. Early in 204 he landed in Liguria, where he maintained a desultory warfare till in 203 he was defeated in Cisalpine Gaul by the Roman forces. Shortly afterwards he was ordered to return to Carthage, but on the voyage home he died of wounds received in battle.

See Polybius iii.; Livy xxi.-xxiii.; xxviii., chs. 23-37; xxix., xxx.; Appian, Hispanica, 25-37; T. Friedrich, Biographie des Barkiden Mago; H. Lehmann, Der Angriff der drei Barkiden auf Italien (Leipzig, 1905); and further J. P. Mahaffy, in Hermathena, vii. 29-36 (1890).

(3) The name of Mago is also attached to a great work on agriculture which was brought to Rome and translated by order of the senate after the destruction of Carthage. The book was regarded as a standard authority, and is often referred to by later writers.

See Pliny, Nat. Hist, xviii. 5; Columella, i. 1; Cicero, De oratore, i. 58.

MAGPIE, or simply Pie (Fr. pie), the prefix being the abbreviated form of a human name (Margaret[1]), a bird once common throughout Great Britain, though now nearly everywhere scarce. Its pilfering habits have led to this result, yet the injuries it causes are exaggerated by common report; and in many countries of Europe it is still the tolerated or even the cherished neighbour of every farmer, as it formerly was in England if not in Scotland also. It did not exist in Ireland in 1617, when Fynes Morison wrote his Itinerary, but it had appeared there within a hundred years later, when Swift mentions its occurrences in his Journal to Stella, 9th July 1711. It is now common enough in that country, and there is a widespread but unfounded belief that it was introduced by the English out of spite. It is a species that when not molested is extending its range, as J. Wolley ascertained in Lapland, where within the last century it has been gradually pushing its way along the coast and into the interior from one fishing-station or settler’s house to the next, as the country has been peopled.

Since the persecution to which the pie has been subjected in Great Britain, its habits have altered greatly. It is no longer the merry, saucy hanger-on of the homestead, but is become the suspicious thief, shunning the gaze of man, and knowing that danger may lurk in every bush. Hence opportunities of observing it fall to the lot of few, and most persons know it only as a curtailed captive in a wicker cage, where its vivacity and natural beauty are lessened or wholly lost. At large few European birds possess greater beauty, the pure white of its scapulars and inner web of the flight-feathers contrasting vividly with the deep glossy black on the rest of its body and wings, while its long tail is lustrous with green, bronze, and purple reflections. The pie’s nest is a wonderfully ingenious structure, placed either in high trees or low bushes, and so massively built that it will stand for years. Its foundation consists of stout sticks, turf and clay, wrought into a deep, hollow cup, plastered with earth, and lined with fibres; but around this is erected a firmly interwoven, basket-like outwork of thorny sticks, forming a dome over the nest, and leaving but a single hole in the side for entrance and exit, so that the whole structure is rendered almost impregnable. Herein are laid from six to nine eggs, of a pale bluish-green freckled with brown and blotched with ash-colour. Superstition as to the appearance of the pie still survives even among many educated persons, and there are several versions of a rhyming adage as to the various turns of luck which its presenting itself, either alone or in company with others, is supposed to betoken, though all agree that the sight of a single pie presages sorrow.

The pie belongs to the same family of birds as the crow, and is the Corvus pica of Linnaeus, the Pica caudata, P. melanoleuca, or P. rustica of modern ornithologists, who have recognized it as forming a distinct genus, but the number of species thereto belonging has been a fruitful source of discussion. Examples from the south of Spain differ slightly from those inhabiting the rest of Europe, and in some points more resemble the P. mauritanica of north-western Africa; but that species has a patch of bare skin of a fine blue colour behind the eye, and much shorter wings. No fewer than five species have been discriminated from various parts of Asia, extending to Japan; but only one of them, the P. leucoptera of Turkestan and Tibet, has of late been admitted as valid. In the west of North America, and in some of its islands, a pie is found which extends to the upper valleys of the Missouri and the Yellowstone, and has long been thought entitled to specific distinction as P. hudsonia; but its claim thereto is now disallowed by some of the best ornithologists of the United States, and it can hardly be deemed even a geographical variety of the Old-World form. In California, however, there is a permanent race if not a good species, P. nuttalli, easily distinguishable by its yellow bill and the bare yellow skin round its eyes; on two occasions in the year 1867 a bird apparently similar was observed in Great Britain (Zoologist, ser. 2, pp. 706, 1016).

(A. N.)

[1] “Magot” and “Madge,” with the same origin, are names, frequently given in England to the pie; while in France it is commonly known as Margot, if not termed, as it is in some districts, Jaquette.

MAGWE, a district in the Minbu division of Upper Burma. Area, 2913 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 246,708, showing an increase of 12.38% in the decade. Magwe may be divided into two portions: the low, flat country in the Taungdwingyi subdivision, and the undulating high ground extending over the rest of the district. In Taungdwingyi the soil is rich, loamy, and extremely fertile. The plain is about 45 m. from north to south. At its southern extremity it is about 30 m. wide, and lessens in width to the north till it ends in a point at Natmauk. On the east are the Pegu Yomas, which at some points reach a height of 1500 ft. A number of streams run westwards to the Irrawaddy, of which the Yin and the Pin, which form the northern boundary, are the chief. The only perennial stream is the Yanpè. Rice is the staple product, and considerable quantities are exported. Sesamum of very high quality, maize, and millet are also cultivated, as well as cotton in patches here and there over the whole district.

In this district are included the well-known Yenangyaung petroleum wells. The state wells have been leased to the Burma Oil Company. The amount of oil-bearing lands is estimated at 80 sq. m. and the portion not leased to the company has been demarcated into blocks of 1 sq. m. and offered on lease. The remaining land belongs to hereditary Burmese owners called twinsa, who dig wells and extract their oil by the rope and pulley system as they have always done. Lacquered wood trays, bowls and platters, and cart-wheels, are the only manufactures of any note in the district.

The annual rainfall averages about 27 inches. The maximum temperature rises to a little over 100° in the hot season, and falls to an average minimum of 53° and 54° in the cold season.

The town of Magwe is the headquarters of the district; pop. (1901), 6232. It is diagonally opposite Minbu, the headquarters of the division, on the right bank of the Irrawaddy.

MAGYARS, the name of the dominant race in Hungary, or Hungarians proper. Though they have become physically assimilated to the western peoples, they belong in origin and language to the Finno-Ugrian (q.v.) division of the Ural-Altaic race. They form barely half of the population of Hungary, but are by far the largest and most compact of all its racial groups. Magyar is the official language of Hungary, the official name of which (Magyarorzág, or “country of the Magyars”) enshrines the Magyar claim to predominance. While all Magyars are properly Hungarians, all Hungarians are not necessarily Magyars. “Hungarian” may be used as a generic term covering all the various races of Hungary, while “Magyar” is strictly specific to a single group. The Magyars themselves, indeed, sometimes apply the name Magyarorzág to Hungary “proper,” excluding Croatia-Slavonia, the whole kingdom being called Magyarbirodalom, the Magyar monarchy or realm. See [Hungary].

MAHABALESHWAR, or Malcolmpeth, a hill station in Satara district, and the principal sanatorium in the Bombay presidency, India. Pop. (1901), 5299. It is reached by carriage from Wathar railway station (39 m.) or by motor car from Poona (119 m.). Mahabaleshwar occupies the summit of a ridge of the Western Ghats, with a general elevation of 4500 ft. above sea-level. It was established in 1828 by Sir John Malcolm, governor of Bombay, who obtained the site from the raja of Satara in exchange for another patch of territory. The superior elevation of Mahabaleshwar renders it much cooler than Matheran (2460 ft.), a sanatorium about 50 m. E. of Bombay, but its heavy rainfall (292 in. annual average) makes it almost uninhabitable during the rainy season. The mean annual temperature is 67° F. In the hottest season (March-April) an extreme of a little over 90° is reached during the day. Mahabaleshwar forms the retreat usually during spring, and occasionally in autumn, of the governor of Bombay, and the chief officers of his establishment, and has the usual public buildings of a first-class sanatorium.

MAHAFFY, JOHN PENTLAND (1839-  ), Irish classical scholar, was born in Switzerland on the 12th of July 1839. He received his early education in Switzerland and Germany, and later at Trinity College, Dublin, where he held the professorship of ancient history. Mahaffy, a man of great versatility, published numerous works, some of which, especially those dealing with what may be called the Silver age of Greece, became standard authorities. The following deserve mention: History of Classical Greek Literature (4th ed., 1903 seq.); Social Life in Greece from Homer to Menander (4th ed., 1903); The Silver Age of the Greek World (1906); The Empire of the Ptolemies (1896); Greek Life and Thought from Alexander to the Roman Conquest (2nd ed., 1896); The Greek World under Roman Sway from Polybius to Plutarch (1890). His translation of Kuno Fischer’s Commentary on Kant (1866) and his own exhaustive analysis, with elucidations, of Kant’s critical philosophy are of great value. He also edited the Petrie papyri in the Cunningham Memoirs (3 vols. 1891-1905).

MAHALLAT, a province of central Persia, situated between Kashan and Irak. Pop. about 20,000; yearly revenue about £2500. Until 1890 it was one of the five “central provinces” (the other four being Irak, Ferahan, Kezzaz, and Savah), which were under a governor appointed by the shah; since then it has formed part of the Isfahan government. It is traversed by the Anarbar or Kum River, and comprises the city of Mahallat, divided into upper and lower, or Rivkan and Zanjirvan, and twenty-two flourishing villages. It was known in former times as Anar, the Anarus of Peutinger’s tables. The city, capital of the province, is situated at an elevation of 5850 ft. in 33° 51′ N., 50° 30′ E.; pop. about 9000.

MAHAN, ALFRED THAYER (1840-  ), American naval officer and historian, was born on the 27th of September 1840 at West Point, New York. His father, Dennis Hart Mahan (1802-1871) was a professor in the military academy, and the author of textbooks on civil and military engineering. The son graduated at the naval academy in 1859, became lieutenant in 1861, served on the “Congress,” and on the “Pocahontas,” “Seminole,” and “James Adger” during the Civil War, and was instructor at the naval academy for a year. In 1865 he was made lieut.-commander, commander in 1872, captain in 1885. Meanwhile he saw service in the Gulf of Mexico, the South Atlantic, the Pacific, and Asia, and did shore duty at Boston, New York and Annapolis. In 1886-89 he was president of the naval war college at Newport, Rhode Island. Between 1889 and 1892 he was engaged in special service for the bureau of navigation, and in 1893 was made commander of the “Chicago,” of the European squadron. In 1896 he retired from active service, but was a member of the naval board of strategy during the war between the United States and Spain. He was a member of the peace congress at the Hague in 1899. This long and varied service gave him extensive opportunities for observation, which he supplemented by constant study of naval authorities and reflection on the interpretation of the problems of maritime history. His first book was a modest and compact story of the affairs in The Gulf and Inland Waters (1883), in a series of volumes by various writers, entitled The Navy in the Civil War; in 1890 he suddenly acquired fame by the appearance of his masterly work entitled The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783. Having been impressed by the failure of historians to allow for the influence of sea power in struggles between nations, he was led to make prolonged investigations of this general theme (see [Sea Power]). The reception accorded the volume was instant and hearty; in England, in particular, it was deemed almost an epoch-making work, and was studied by naval specialists, cabinet ministers and journalists, as well as by a large part of the general public. It was followed by The Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and Empire (2 vols. 1892); The Life of Nelson, the Embodiment of the Sea Power of Great Britain (1897); and Sea Power in its Relations to the War of 1812 (1905). The author’s general aim in these works—some of which have been translated into French, German and Japanese—was to make the consideration of maritime matters paramount to that of military, political or economic movements, without, however, as he himself says “divorcing them from their surroundings of cause and effect in general history, but seeking to show how they modified the latter, and were modified by them.” He selected the year 1660 as the beginning of his narrative, as being the date when the “sailing-ship era, with its distinctive features, had fairly begun.” The series as a whole has been accepted as finally authoritative, supplanting its predecessors of similar aim, and almost—in the words of Theodore Roosevelt—founding a new school of naval historical writing.

Other works by Mahan are a Life of Admiral Farragut (1892); The Interest of America in Sea Power (1897); Lessons of the War with Spain (1899); The Story of the War with South Africa and The Problem of Asia (1900); Types of Naval Officers drawn from the History of the British Navy (1901); Retrospect and Prospect, studies of international relations (1902).

MAHANADI, or Mahanuddy (“The Great River”), a river of India. It rises in 20° 10′ N., 82° E., 25 m. S. of Raipur town, in the wild mountains of Bastar in the Central Provinces. At first an insignificant stream, taking a northerly direction, it drains the eastern portion of the Chhattisgarh plain, then a little above Seorinarayan it receives the waters which its first great affluent, the Seonath, has collected from the western portion of the plain; thence flowing for some distance due E., its stream is augmented by the drainage of the hills of Uprora, Korba, and the ranges that separate Sambalpur from Chota Nagpur. At Padampur it turns towards the south, and struggling through masses of rock, flows past the town of Sambalpur to Sonpur. From Sonpur it pursues a tortuous course among ridges and rocky crags towards the range of the Eastern Ghats. This mountain line it pierces by a gorge about 40 m. in length, overlooked by forest-clad hills. Since the opening of the Bengal-Nagpur railway, the Mahanadi is little used for navigation. It pours down upon the Orissa delta at Naraj, about 7 m. west of Cuttack town; and after traversing Cuttack district from west to east, and throwing off numerous branches (the Katjori, Paika, Biropa, Chitartala, &c.) it falls into the Bay of Bengal at False Point by several channels.

The Mahanadi has an estimated drainage area of 43,800 sq. m., and its rapid flow renders its maximum discharge in time of flood second to that of no other river in India. During unusually high floods 1,500,000 cub. ft. of water pour every second through the Naraj gorge, one-half of which, uncontrolled by the elaborate embankments, and heavily laden with silt, pours over the delta, filling the swamps, inundating the rice-fields, and converting the plains into a sea. In the dry weather the discharge of the Mahanadi dwindles to 1125 cub. ft. per second. Efforts have been made to husband and utilize the vast water supply thrown upon the Orissa delta during seasons of flood. Each of the three branches into which the parent stream splits at the delta head is regulated by a weir. Of the four canals which form the Orissa irrigation system, two take off from the Biropa weir, and one, with its branch, from the Mahanadi weir. On the 31st of December 1868 the government took over the whole canal works from the East Indian Irrigation Company, at a cost of £941,368. The canals thus taken over and since completed, are the high-level canal, the Kendrapara canal, the Taldanda canal and the Machgaon canal, irrigating 275,000 acres.

MAHANOY CITY, a borough of Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., 56 m. N.E. of Harrisburg. Pop. (1890), 11,286; (1900), 13,504, of whom 3877 were foreign-born, mostly Slavs; (1910 census) 15,936. It is served by branches of the Lehigh Valley and the Philadelphia & Reading railways. The borough is situated in the valley of Mahanoy Creek, and has an elevation of 1240 ft. above the sea; Broad Mountain (1795 ft.), a ridge extending through Schuylkill county, overlooks it on the S.E. The valley is a part of the anthracite coal region of Pennsylvania, fire clay abounds in the vicinity, and the borough’s principal industries are the mining and shipping of coal, and the manufacture of shirts and foundry products. Mahanoy City, originally a part of Mahanoy township (pop. in 1910, 6256), was incorporated as a borough in 1863.

MAHAR, the name of a servile caste in the Deccan, India. Their special function, apart from that of scavenger, is to act as village watchman, as guardian of the village boundaries, and as public messenger. In some parts they are also weavers of coarse cotton cloth. In 1901 their total number in all India was just under three millions.

MAHARAJPUR, a village in Gwalior state, Central India. Pop. (1901), 366. It was the scene of a battle (Dec. 29, 1843) in which Sir Hugh Gough, accompanied by the governor-general, Lord Ellenborough, defeated the insurgent army of the Gwalior state.

MAHĀVAṂSA, the Great Chronicle, a history of Ceylon from the 5th century B.C. to the middle of the 5th century A.D., written in Pali verse by Mahānāma of the Dīghasanda Hermitage, shortly after the close of the period with which it deals. In point of historical value it compares well with early European chronicles. In India proper the decipherment of early Indian inscriptions was facilitated to a very great extent by the data found only in the Mahāvaṃsa. It was composed on the basis of earlier works written in Sinhalese, which are now lost, having been supplanted by the chronicles and commentaries in which their contents were restated in Pali in the course of the 5th century. The particular one on which our Mahāvaṃsa was mainly based was also called the Mahāvaṃsa, and was written in Sinhalese prose with Pali memorial verse interspersed. The extant Pali work gives legends of the Buddha and the genealogy of his family; a sketch of the history of India down to Asoka; an account of Buddhism in India down to the same date; a description of the sending out of missionaries after Asoka’s council, and especially of the mission of Mahinda to Ceylon; a sketch of the previous history of Ceylon; a long account of the reign of Devānam-piya Tissa, the king of Ceylon who received Mahinda, and established Buddhism in the island; short accounts of the kings succeeding him down to Duṭṭha Gāmīin (Dadagamana or Dutegemunu); then a long account, amounting to an epic poem, of the adventures and reign of that prince, a popular hero, born in adversity, who roused the people, and drove the Tamil invaders out of the island. Finally we have short notices of the subsequent kings down to the author’s time. The Mahāvaṃsa was the first Pali book made known to Europe. It was edited in 1837, with English translation and an elaborate introduction, by George Turnour, then colonial secretary in Ceylon. Its vocabulary was an important part of the material utilized in Childer’s Pali Dictionary. Its relation to the sources from which it drew has been carefully discussed by various scholars and in especial detail by Geiger. It is agreed that it gives a reasonably fair and correct presentation of the tradition preserved in the lost Sinhalese Mahāvaṃsa; that, except in the earliest period, its list of kings, with the years of each reign, is complete and trustworthy; and that it gives throughout the view, as to events in Ceylon, of a resident in the Great Minster at Anurādhapura.

See The Mahāvaṃsa, ed. by Geo. Turnour (Colombo, 1837); ed. by W. Geiger (London, 1908); H. Oldenberg, in the introduction to his edition of the Dīpavamsa (London, 1879); O. Franke, in Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes (1907); W. Geiger, Dīpavamsa und Mahāvamsa (Leipzig, 1905, trans. by Ethel M. Coomaraswamy, Colombo, 1908).

(T. W. R. D.)

MAHAYANA (“Great Vehicle”), the name given to the later Buddhism, the popular religion which embraced all the people and had its pantheon of Buddhas and Bodhisatvas, with attendant deities and demons, spacious temples and images, pompous ceremonial and noisy festivals. It was thus contrasted with the Hinayana (“Little Vehicle”) of the primitive Buddhism which had been only for the select few. (See [Buddhism].)

MAHDI (Arab. “he who is guided aright”), a title assumed by the third Abbasid caliph (see [Caliphate]: Abbasids, § 3). According to Moslem traditionists Mahomet declared that one of his descendants, the imam of God, who would fill the earth with equity and justice, would bear the name of al-mahdi. The Sunnis hold that this mahdi has not yet appeared. The name of mahdi is also given by the Shi’ite Mahommedans to the last of the imams of the house of ‘Ali. It was under the name of al-mahdi that Mokhtar proclaimed ‘Ali’s son Mahommed as the opponent of the caliph Abdalmalik, and, according to Shahrastani, the doctrine of the mahdi, the hidden deliverer who is one day to appear and fill the oppressed world with righteousness, first arose in connexion with a belief that this Mahommed had not died but lived concealed at Mount Radwā, near Mecca, guarded by a lion and a panther. The hidden imam of the common Shi‘ites is, however, the twelfth imam, Mahommed Abu‘I-Qasim, who disappeared mysteriously in 879. The belief in the appearance of the mahdi readily lent itself to imposture. Of the many pretenders to this dignity known in all periods of Moslem history the most famous was the first caliph of the Fatimite dynasty in North Africa, ‘Obaidallah al-Mahdi, who reigned 909-933. After him was named the first capital of the dynasty, the once important city of Mahdia (q.v.). Another great historical movement, headed by a leader who proclaimed himself the mahdi (Mahommed ibn Abdallah ibn Tumart), was that of the Almohades (q.v.). In 1881 Mahommed Ahmed ibn Seyyid Abdullah (q.v.), a Dongolese, proclaimed himself al-mahdi and founded in the eastern Sudan the short-lived empire overthrown by an Anglo-Egyptian force at the battle of Omdurman in 1898. Concurrently with the claim of Mahommed Ahmed to be the mahdi the same title was claimed by, or for, the head of the Senussites, a confraternity powerful in many regions of North Africa.

MAHDIA (also spelt Mehdia, Mehedia, &c.), a town of Tunisia, on the coast between the gulfs of Hammamet and Gabes, 47 m. by rail S.S.E. of Susa. Pop. about 8000. Mahdia is built on a rocky peninsula which projects eastward about a mile beyond the normal coast line, and is not more than a quarter of a mile wide. The extremity of the peninsula is called Ras Mahdia or Cape Africa—Africa being the name by which Mahdia was designated by Froissart and other European historians during the middle ages and the Renaissance. In the centre of the peninsula and occupying its highest point is a citadel (16th century); another castle farther west is now used as a prison and is in the centre of the native town. The European quarter and the new port are on the south-west side of the peninsula. The port is available for small boats only; steamers anchor in the roadstead about a quarter of a mile from the shore. On the south-east, cut out of the rock, is the ancient harbour, or cothon, measuring about 480 ft by 240 ft., the entrance being 42 ft. wide. There are manufactories of olive oil, but the chief industry is sardine fishing, largely in the hands of Italians.

Mahdia occupies the site of a Phoenician settlement and by some authorities is identified with the town called Turris Hannibalis by the Romans. Hannibal is said to have embarked here on his exile from Carthage. After the Arab conquest of North Africa the town fell into decay. It was refounded in 912 by the first Fatimite caliph, ‘Obaidallah-al-Mahdi, after whom it was named. It became the port of Kairawan and was for centuries a city of considerable importance, largely owing to its great natural strength, and its position on the Mediterranean. It carried on an active trade with Egypt, Syria and Spain. The town was occupied by the Normans of Sicily in the 12th century, but after holding it for about twelve years they were driven out in 1159 by the Almohades. In 1390 a joint English and French force vainly besieged Mahdia for sixty-one days. In the early part of the 16th century the corsair Dragut seized the town and made it his capital, but in 1550 the place was captured by the Spaniards, who held it until 1574. Before evacuating the town the Spaniards dismantled the fortifications. Under the rule of the Turks and, later, the beys of Tunis Mahdia became a place of little importance. It was occupied by the French in 1881 without opposition, and regained some of its former commercial importance.

During 1908 numbers of bronzes and other works of art were recovered from a vessel wrecked off Mahdia in the 5th century A.D. (see Classical Review, June 1909).

MAHÉ, a French settlement in the Malabar district of Madras, India, situated in 11° 43′ N. and 75° 33′ E., at the mouth of a river of the same name. Area, 26 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 10,298. It is the only French possession on the west coast of India, and is in charge of a chef de service, subordinate to the governor-general at Pondicherry. It is now a decaying place.

MAHESHWAR, a town in Indore state, Central India, on the N. bank of the Narbada (Nerbudda). Pop. (1901), 7042. Though of great antiquity and also of religious sanctity, it is chiefly noted as the residence of Ahalya Bai, the reigning queen of the Holkar dynasty during the last half of the 18th century, whose ability and munificence are famous throughout India. Close by her cenotaph stands the family temple of the Holkars.

MAHI, a river of western India, which rises in Central India and, after flowing through south Rajputana, enters Gujarat and falls into the sea by a wide estuary near Cambay; total length, 300 m.; estimated drainage area, 16,000 sq. m. It has given its name to the Mahi Kantha agency of Bombay, and also to the mehwasis, marauding highlanders often mentioned in Mahommedan chronicles.

MAHI KANTHA, a political agency or collection of native states in India, within the Gujarat division of Bombay. Over half the territory is covered by the native state of Idar. There are eleven other chiefships, and a large number of estates belonging to Rajput or Koli thakurs, formerly feudatories of Baroda. Several of the states are under British administration. Total area, 3125 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 361,545, showing a decrease of 38% in the decade, due to famine; estimated revenue, £76,000; tribute (mostly to the gaekwar of Baroda), £9000. Many of the inhabitants belong to the wild tribes of Bhils and Kolis. In 1897 a metre-gauge railway was opened from Ahmedabad through Parantij to Ahmednagar. At Sadra is the Scott College for the education of the sons of chiefs on the lines of an English public school. There are also Anglo-vernacular schools at Sadra, Idar and Mansa. The famine of 1899-1900 was severely felt in this tract.

MAHMUD I. (1696-1754), sultan of Turkey, was the son of Mustafa II., and succeeded his uncle Ahmed III. in 1730. After the suppression of a military revolt the war with Persia was continued with varying success, and terminated in 1736 by a treaty of peace restoring the status quo ante bellum. The next enemy whom Turkey was called upon to face was Russia, later joined by Austria. War went on for four years; the successes gained by Russia were outweighed by Austria’s various reverses, terminating by the defeat of Wallis at Krotzka, and the peace concluded at Belgrade was a triumph for Turkish diplomacy. The sultan, throughout desirous for peace, is said to have been much under the influence of the chief eunuch, Haji Beshir Aga. In 1754 Mahmud died of heart-disease when returning from the Friday service at the mosque. He had a passion for building, to which are due numberless kiosques, where nocturnal orgies were carried on by him and his boon companions. In this reign the system of appointing Phanariote Greeks to the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia was instituted. (See [Phanariotes].)

MAHMUD II. (1785-1839), sultan of Turkey, was the son of Abu-ul-Hamid I., and succeeded his brother, Mustafa IV., in 1808. He had shared the captivity of his ill-fated cousin, the ex-sultan, Selim III., whose efforts at reform had ended in his deposition by the janissaries. Mahmūd was thus early impressed with the necessity for dissembling his intention to institute reforms until he should be powerful enough to carry them through. The reforming efforts of the grand vizier Bairakdar, to whom he had owed his life and his accession, broke on the opposition of the janissaries; and Mahmud had to wait for more favourable times. Meanwhile the empire seemed in danger of breaking up. Not till 1812 was the war with Russia closed by the treaty of Bucharest, which restored Moldavia and the greater part of Wallachia to the Ottoman government. But though the war was ended, the terms of the treaty left a number of burning questions, both internal and external, unsettled. This was notably the case with the claim of Russia to Poti and the valley of the Rion (Phasis), which was still outstanding at the time of the congress of Vienna (1814-1815) and prevented the question of a European guarantee of the integrity of Turkey from being considered.

Meanwhile, within the empire, ambitious valis were one by one attempting to carve out dominions for themselves at the expense of the central power. The ambitions of Mehemet Ali of Egypt were not yet fully revealed; but Ali (q.v.) of Jannina, who had marched to the aid of the sultan against the rebellious pasha Pasvan Oglu of Widdin, soon began to show his hand, and it needed the concentration of all the forces of the Turkish empire to effect his overthrow and death (1822). The preoccupation of the sultan with Ali gave their opportunity to the Greeks whose disaffection had long been organized in the great secret society of the Hetaeria Philike, against which Metternich had in vain warned the Ottoman government. In 1821 occurred the abortive raid of Alexander Ypsilanti into the Danubian principalities, and in May of the same year the revolt of the Greeks of the Morea began the war of Greek Independence (see [Greece]: History). The rising in the north was easily crushed; but in the south the Ottoman power was hampered by the defection of the sea-faring Greeks, by whom the Turkish navy had hitherto been manned. After three abortive campaigns Mahmud was compelled, infinitely against his will, to summon to his assistance the already too powerful pasha of Egypt, Mehemet Ali, whom he had already employed to suppress the rebellious Wahhabis in Arabia. The disciplined Egyptian army, supported by a well organized fleet, rapidly accomplished what the Turks had failed to do; and by 1826 the Greeks were practically subdued on land, and Ibrahim was preparing to turn his attention to the islands. But for the intervention of the powers and the battle of Navarino Mahmud’s authority would have been restored in Greece. The news of Navarino betrayed Mahmud into one of those paroxysms of rage to which he was liable, and which on critical occasions were apt fatally to cloud his usual good sense. After in vain attempting to obtain an apology for “the unparalleled outrage against a friendly power” he issued on the 20th of December a solemn hatti sheriff summoning the faithful to a holy war. This, together with certain outstanding grievances and the pretext of enforcing the settlement of the Greek Question approved by the powers, gave Russia the excuse for declaring war against Turkey. After two hardly fought campaigns (1828, 1829) Mahmud was at length, on the 14th of September 1829, compelled to sign the peace of Adrianople. From this moment until his death Mahmud was, to all intents and purposes, the “vassal of Russia,” though not without occasional desperate efforts to break his chains. (For the political events of the period between the first revolt of Mehemet Ali (Sept. 1832) and the death of Mahmud see [Mehemet Ali].) The personal attitude of the sultan, which alone concerns us here, was determined throughout by his overmastering hatred of the upstart pasha, of whom he had stooped to ask aid, and who now defied his will; and the importance of this attitude lies in the fact that, as the result of the success of his centralizing policy, and notably of the destruction of the janissaries (q.v.), the supreme authority, hitherto limited by the practical power of the ministers of the Porte and by the turbulence of the privileged military caste, had become concentrated in his own person. It was no longer the Porte that decided, but the Seraglio, and the sultan’s private secretary had more influence on the policy of the Ottoman empire than the grand vizier.

This omnipotence of the sultan in deciding the policy of the government was in striking contrast with his impotence in enforcing his views on his subjects and in his relations with foreign powers. Mahmud, in spite of—or rather because of—his well-meant efforts at reform, was hated by his Mussulman subjects and stigmatized as an “infidel” and a traitor to Islam. He was, in fact, a victim to those “half-measures” which Machiavelli condemns as fatal to success. Ibrahim, the conqueror of Syria, scoffed at the sultan’s idea “that reform consisted in putting his soldiers into tight trousers and epaulettes.” The criticism is not entirely unjust. Mahmud’s policy was the converse of that recommended by Machiavelli, viz. in making a revolution to change the substance while preserving the semblance of the old order. Metternich’s advice to Mahmud to “remain a Turk” was sound enough. His failure to do so—in externals—left him isolated in his empire: rayahs and true believers alike distrusted and hated him. Of this hatred he was fully conscious; he knew that his subjects, even many of his own ministers, regarded Mehemet Ali as the champion of Islam against the “infidel sultan;” he suspected the pasha, already master of the sacred cities, of an intention to proclaim himself caliph in his stead. This, together with the weakness due to military reforms but recently begun, drove him to rely on foreign aid; which, in the actual conditions of Europe, meant the aid of Russia. The long tradition of French friendship for Turkey had been broken, in 1830, by the conquest of Algiers. Austria was, for the time, but the faithful ally of the tsar. On the 9th of August 1832 Mahmud made, through Stratford Canning, a formal proposal for an alliance with Great Britain, which Palmerston refused to consider for fear of offending France. Mahmūd bitterly contrasted the fair professions of England with the offers of effective help from Russia. His old ally having deserted him, he accepted the aid of his hereditary foe. The Russian expedition to the Bosporus, the convention of Kutaiah, and the treaty of Unkiar Skelessi (July 8, 1833) followed. Mahmud was under no illusion as to the position in which the latter placed him towards Russia; but his fear of Mehemet Ali and his desire to be revenged upon him outweighed all other considerations. He resented the action of France and England in forcing the settlement of Kutaiah upon him, and remained shut up in his palace, inaccessible to all save his favourites and the representative of Russia. With his single aim in view he busied himself with the creation of a national militia, with the aid of Moltke and other German officers. In 1834 the revolt of Syria against Ibrahim seemed to give him his opportunity. He pleaded the duty of a sultan to go to the aid of his subjects when oppressed by one of his servants; but the powers were obdurate, even Russia, much occupied in affairs nearer home, leaving him in the lurch. He was astute enough to take advantage of the offence given to the powers by Mehemet Ali’s system of monopolies, and in 1838 signed with Great Britain, and afterwards with others, a commercial treaty which cut at the root of the pasha’s system. A few months later his passionate impatience overcame his policy and his fears. The hand of death was upon him, and he felt that he must strike now or never. In vain the powers, now united in their views, warned him of the probable consequences of any aggressive action on his part. He would rather die, he exclaimed, or become the slave of Russia, than not destroy his rebellious vassal. On his sole initiative, without consulting his ministers or the council of the empire, he sent instructions to Hafiz Pasha, commanding the Ottoman troops concentrated at Bir on the Euphrates, to advance into Syria. The fatal outcome of the campaign that followed he did not live to hear. When the news of Ibrahim’s overwhelming victory at Nessib (June 24, 1839) reached Constantinople, Mahmud lay dying and unconscious. Early in the morning of the 1st of July his proud and passionate spirit passed away.

Mahmud II. cannot be reckoned among the great sultans, neither had he any of the calculating statecraft which characterized Abd-ul-Hamid II.; but his qualities of mind and heart, none the less, raised him far above the mass of his predecessors and successors. He was well versed in state affairs and loyal to those who advised and served him, personally brave, humane and kindly when not maddened by passion, active and energetic, and always a man of his word. Unhappily, however, the taint of the immemorial corruption of Byzantium had fallen upon him too, and the avenue to his favour and to political power lay too often through unspeakable paths. In view of the vast difficulty of the task before him at his succession it is less surprising that he failed to carry out his ideas than that he accomplished so much. When he came to the throne the empire was breaking up from within; one by one he freed the provinces from the tyrannical rulers who, like Ali of Jannina, were carving out independent, or quasi-independent, empires within the empire. If he failed in his wider schemes of reform, this was only one more illustration of a truth of which other “enlightened” sovereigns besides himself had experienced the force, namely, that it is impossible to impose any system, however admirable, from above on a people whose deepest convictions and prejudices it offends.

There is a great deal of valuable material for the history of Mahmud and his policy in the unpublished F.O. records (1832-1839), volumes of correspondence marked Turkey.—From Sir Stratford Canning.—From Mr. Mandeville.—From Lord Ponsonby. See further works mentioned under [Turkey]: History; and [Mehemet Ali].

(W. A. P.)

MAHMUD NEDIM PASHA (c. 1818-1883), Turkish statesman, was the son of Nejib Pasha, ex-governor-general of Bagdad. After occupying various subordinate posts at the Porte he became successively under-secretary of state for foreign affairs, governor-general of Syria and Smyrna, minister of commerce, and governor-general of Tripoli; minister successively of justice and of marine (1869); grand vizier from 1871 to 1872 and from 1875 to 1876. He was high in favour with Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz and fell much under the influence of General Ignatiev, the forceful Russian ambassador before the war of 1877-78, his subserviency to Russia earning for him the nickname of “Mahmudoff.” His administration was most unsuccessful from every point of view, and he was largely responsible for the issue of the decree suspending the interest on the Turkish funds. He was minister of the interior from 1879 to 1883.

MAHMUD[1] OF GHAZNI (971-1030), son of Sabuktagīn, Afghan conqueror, was born on the 2nd of October 971. His fame rests chiefly on his successful wars, in particular his numerous invasions of India. His military capacity, inherited from his father, Nasir-ud-din Sabuktagīn, was strengthened by youthful experience in the field. Sabuktagīn, a Turki slave of Alptagīn, governor of Khorasan under Abdalmalik I. b. Nuḥ of the Samanid dynasty of Bokhara, early brought himself to notice (see [Samanids]). He was raised to high office in the state by Alptagīn’s successor, Abū Ishāk, and in A.H. 366 (A.D. 977), by the choice of the nobles of Ghazni, he became their ruler. He soon began to make conquests in the neighbouring countries, and in these wars he was accompanied by his young son Mahmud. Before he had reached the age of fourteen he encountered in two expeditions under his father the Indian forces of Jaipal, raja of Lahore, whom Sabuktagīn defeated on the Punjab frontier.

In 994 Mahmud was made governor of Khorasan, with the title of Saif addaula (ud-daula) (“Sword of the State”) by the Sāmānīd Nūh II. Two years later, his father Sabuktagīn died in the neighbourhood of Balkh, having declared his second son, Ismail, who was then with him, to be his successor. As soon as Ismail had assumed the sovereignty at Balkh, Mahmud, who was at Nishapur, addressed him in friendly terms, proposing a division of the territories held by their father at his death. Ismail rejected the proposal, and was immediately attacked by Mahmud and defeated. Retreating to Ghazni, he there yielded, and was imprisoned, and Mahmud obtained undisputed power as sovereign of Khorasan and Ghazni (997).

The Ghaznevid dynasty is sometimes reckoned by native historians to commence with Sabuktagīn’s conquest of Bost and Kosdār (978). But Sabuktagīn, throughout his reign at Ghazni, continued to acknowledge the Sāmānid suzerainty, as did Mahmud also, until the time, soon after succeeding to his father’s dominions, when he received from Qādir, caliph of Bagdad (see [Caliphate], C. § 25), a khilat (robe of honour), with a letter recognizing his sovereignty, and conferring on him the titles Yamiīn-addaula (“Right hand of the State”), and Amīn-ul-Millat (“Guardian of the Faith”). From this time it is the name of the caliph that is inscribed on Mahmud’s coins, together with his own new titles. Previously the name of the Sāmānid sovereign, Mansūr II. b. Nūh is given along with his own former title, Saif addaula Mahmūd. The earliest of those of the new form gives his name Mahmūd bin Sabuktagīn. Thereafter his father’s name does not appear on his coins, but it is inscribed again on his tomb.

The new honours received from the caliph gave fresh impulse to Mahmud’s zeal on behalf of Islam, and he resolved on an annual expedition against the idolaters of India. He could not quite carry out this intention, but a great part of his reign was occupied with his Indian campaigns. In 1000 he started on the first of these expeditions, but it does not appear that he went farther than the hill country near Peshawar. The hostile attitude of Khalaf ibn Ahmad, governor of Seistan, called Mahmud to that province for a short time. He was appeased by Khalaf’s speedy submission, together with the gift of a large sum of money, and further, it is said, by his subdued opponent addressing him as sultān, a title new at that time, and by which Mahmud continued to be called, though he did not formally adopt it, or stamp it on his coins. Four years later Khalaf, incurring Mahmud’s displeasure again, was imprisoned, and his property confiscated.

Mahmud’s army first crossed the Indus in 1001, opposed by Jaipāl, raja of Lahore. Jaipāl was defeated, and Mahmud, after his return from this expedition, is said to have taken the distinctive appellation of Ghāzi (“Valiant for the Faith”), but he is rarely so-called. On the next occasion (1005) Mahmud advanced, as far as Bhera on the Jhelum, when his adversary Anang-pāl, son and successor of Jaipāl, fled to Kashmir. The following year saw Mahmud at Multan. When he was in the Punjab at this time, he heard of the invasion of Khorāsan by the Ilek Khan Nasr I. ruler of Transoxiana whose daughter Mahmud had married. After a rapid march back from India, Mahmud repelled the invaders. The Ilek Khan, having retreated across the Oxus, returned with reinforcements, and took up a position a few miles from Balkh, where he was signally defeated by Mahmud.

Mahmud again entered the Punjab in 1008, this time for the express purpose of chastising Sēwah Pāl, who, having become a Mussulman, and been left by Mahmud in charge of Multan, had relapsed to Hinduism. The Indian campaign of 1009 was notable. Near the Indus Mahmud was opposed again by Anang-pāl, supported by powerful rajas from other parts of India. After a severe fight, Anang-pāl’s elephants were so terror-struck by the fire-missiles flung amongst them by the invaders that they turned and fled, the whole army retreating in confusion and leaving Mahmud master of the field. Mahmud, after this victory, pushed on through the Punjab to Nagar-kōt (Kangra), and carried off much spoil from the Hindu temples to enrich his treasury at Ghazni. In 1011 Mahmud, after a short campaign against the Afghans under Mahommed ibn Sūr in the hill country of Ghur, marched again into the Punjab. The next time (1014) he advanced to Thanēsar, another noted stronghold of Hinduism, between the Sutlej and the Jumna. Having now found his way across all the Punjab rivers, he was induced on two subsequent occasions to go still farther. But first he designed an invasion of Kashmir (1015), which was not carried out, as his progress was checked at Lōh-kōt, a strong hill fort in the north-west of the Punjab. Then before undertaking his longer inroad into Hindustan he had to march north into Khwārizm (Khiva) against his brother-in-law Mamūn, who had refused to acknowledge Mahmud’s supremacy. The result was as usual, and Mahmud, having committed Khwārizm to a new ruler, one of Mamūn’s chief officers, returned to his capital. Then in 1018, with a very large force, he proceeded to India again, extending his inroad this time to the great Hindu cities of Mathra on the Jumna and Kanauj on the Ganges. He reduced the one, received the submission of the other, and carried back great stores of plunder. Three years later he went into India again, marching over nearly the same ground, to the support, this time, of the raja of Kanauj, who, having made friendship with the Mahommedan invader on his last visit, had been attacked by the raja of Kalinjar. But Mahmud found he had not yet sufficiently subdued the idolaters nearer his own border, between Kabul and the Indus, and the campaign of 1022 was directed against them, and reached no farther than Peshawar. Another march into India the following year was made direct to Gwalior.

The next expedition (1025) is the most famous of all. The point to which it was directed was the temple of Somnath on the coast of the Gujarāt peninsula. After an arduous journey by Multan, and through part of Rajputana, he reached Somnath, and met with a very vigorous but fruitless resistance on the part of the Hindus of Gujarāt. Moslem feet soon trod the courts of the great temple. The chief object of worship it contained was broken up, and the fragments kept to be carried off to Ghazni. The story is often told of the hollow figure, cleft by Mahmud’s battle-axe, pouring out great store of costly jewels and gold. But the idol in this Sivite temple was only a tall block or pillar of hewn stone, of a familiar kind. The popular legend is a very natural one. Mahmud, it was well known, made Hindu temples yield up their most precious things. He was a determined idol-breaker. And the stone block in this temple was enriched with a crown of jewels, the gifts of wealthy worshippers. These data readily give the Somnath exploit its more dramatic form. For the more recent story of the Somnath gates see [Somnath].

After the successes at Somnath, Mahmud remained some months in India before returning to Ghazni. Then in 1026 he crossed the Indus once more into the Punjab. His brilliant military career closed with an expedition to Persia, in the third year after this, his last, visit to India. The Indian campaigns of Mahmud and his father were almost, but not altogether, unvarying successes. The Moslem historians touch lightly on reverses. And, although the annals of Rajputana tell how Sabuktagīn was defeated by one raja of Ajmere and Mahmud by his successor, the course of events which followed shows how little these and other reverses affected the invader’s progress. Mahmud’s failure at Ajmere, when the brave raja Bisal-deo obliged him to raise the siege but was himself slain, was when the Moslem army was on its way to Somnath. Yet Mahmud’s Indian conquests, striking and important in themselves, were, after all, in great measure barren, except to the Ghazni treasury. Mahmud retained no possessions in India under his own direct rule. But after the repeated defeats, by his father and himself, of two successive rajas of Lahore, the conqueror assumed the right of nominating the governors of the Punjab as a dependency of Ghazni, a right which continued to be exercised by seven of his successors. And for a time, in the reign of Masa‘ud II. (1098-1114), Lahore was the place of residence of the Ghaznevid sovereign.

Mahmud died at Ghazni in 1030, the year following his expedition to Persia. He is conspicuous for his military ardour, his ambition, strong will, perseverance, watchfulness and energy, combined with great courage and unbounded self-reliance. But his tastes were not exclusively military. His love of literature brought men of learning to Ghazni, and his acquaintance with Moslem theology was recognized by the learned doctors.

The principal histories of Mahmud’s reign are—Kitāb-i-Yamīnī (Utbi); Tarīkh-us-Subuktigīn (Baihaki); Tabakāt i Nasiri (Minhāj el-Sirāj); Rauzat-us-Safa (Mir Khond); Habīb-us-Sivar (Khondamir). See Elliot, History of India; Elphinstone, History of India; and Roos-Keppel’s translation of the Tarīkh-i-Sultan Mahmūd-i-Ghaznavi (1901).

[1] The name is strictly Maḥmūd.

MAHOBA, an ancient town in India, in Hamirpur district of the United Provinces. Pop. (1901), 10,074. As the capital of the Chandel dynasty, who ruled over Bundelkhand from the 9th to the 13th century, the neighbourhood is covered with architectural antiquities, prominent among which are artificial lakes, formed by banking up valleys with masonry dams. The largest of these is more than 4 m. in circuit.

MAHOGANY, a dark-coloured wood largely used for household furniture, the product of a large tree indigenous to Central America and the West Indies. It was originally received from Jamaica; 521,300 ft. were exported from that island in 1753. It is known botanically as Swietenia Mahogani, and is a member of the order Meliaceae. It bears compound leaves, resembling those of the ash, and clusters of small flowers, with five sepals and petals and ten stamens which are united into a tube. The fruit is a pear-shaped woody capsule, and contains many winged seeds. The dark-coloured bark has been considered a febrifuge, and the seeds were used by the ancient Aztecs with oil for a cosmetic, but the most valuable product is the timber, first noticed by the carpenter on board Sir Walter Raleigh’s ship in 1595 for its great beauty, hardness and durability. Dr Gibbons brought it into notice as well adapted for furniture in the early part of the 18th century, and its use as a cabinet wood was first practically established by a cabinet-maker named Wollaston, who was employed by Gibbons to work up some mahogany brought to England by his brother. It was introduced into India in 1795, and is now cultivated in Bengal and as far north as Saharunpur.

The timber of species of Cedrela and Melia, other members of the order Meliaceae, are used as Mahogany, and the product of the West African Khaya senegalensis is known as African mahogany. There is some confusion between the product of these various trees. Herbert Stone (The Timbers of Commerce, 1904) says: “The various species of mahogany and cedar are so confusing that it is difficult to make precise statements as to their structure or origin. I know of no convincing proof that any of the American kinds met with on the English market are the wood of Swietenia Mahogani, nor that those shipped from Africa are the wood of Khaya senegalensis. These two genera are very nearly allied to Cedrela and Melia, and it is difficult to separate any of the four from the rest by the characters of the wood. After giving the most careful attention to every detail, I lean to the view that most if not all of the mahoganies commonly met with are Cedrelas.”

Kiggelaria Dregeana (natural order Bixineae), a native of South Africa, is known as Natal mahogany.

MAHOMET (strictly Muḥammad, commonly also Mohammed), founder of the religious system called in Europe after him Mahommedanism, and by himself Islam or Ḥanifism. He died, according to the ordinary synchronism, on the 7th of June 632 (12 Rabia, A.H. 11), and his birthday was exactly sixty-three or sixty-five years earlier, the latter number being evidently an interpretation in lunar years of a number thought to refer to solar years. The lunar system was introduced into Arabia by Mahomet himself quite at the close of his career; that which existed before was certainly solar, as it involved a process of intercalation—which, however, seems to have been arbitrarily manipulated by priests, whence certain synchronisms cannot be got for the events in the Prophet’s career. The number 63 for the years of his life may rest on tradition, though it is unlikely that such matters were accurately noted; it can also be accounted for by a priori combination. A Meccan, it is said, became a full citizen at the age of 40; this then would be the age at which the mission might be started. The Medina period (of which count was kept) lasted ten to eleven years; for the Meccan period ten years would seem a likely length. Finally it was known that for some years—about three—the mission had been conducted secretly. The only event in contemporary history to which the Koran alludes in its earlier parts is the Persian conquest of Palestine in 616. Clearly Mahomet had begun to prophesy at that date.

Before the rise of Islam, Mahomet’s native place, Mecca, appears to figure nowhere in historical records, unless there be a reference to it in the “valley of Baca” (Psalm lxxxiv. 6). Its sacred, and therefore archaic, name His Country. is Bakkah; hence the identification of the name with that of the sanctuary Makoraba, known to the Greek geographers, is not philologically tenable; although so eminent a linguist as Dozy evolved a theory of the origin of the city from this name, which appears to be South Arabian for “sanctuary,” and has no connexion with Hebrew (as Dozy supposed). In the 3rd century of Islam the mythology of Mecca was collected and published in book form, but we learn little more from it than names of tribes and places; it is clear that there was no record of the mode in which the community inhabiting the place had got there, and that little was remembered with accuracy of the events which preceded the rise of its prophet. The city had a sanctuary, called the Cube (ka‘ba), of which the nucleus was the “Black Stone,” probably to be identified with Allah, the god of the community; both still exist, or rather their legitimate substitutes, as the Ka‘ba has been repeatedly reconstructed, and the original Black Stone was stolen by the Carmathians in the 4th century of Islam; they afterwards returned one, but it may or may not have been the same as that which they removed. At some time in the 6th century—said to have been the birth-year of the Prophet, but really much earlier—an Abyssinian invader raided Mecca with the view of abolishing this sanctuary; but for some reason had to desist. This expedition, known as the “Raid of the Elephant,” one of these animals being employed in it, seems to be of great importance for explaining the rise of Islam; for a sanctuary which can repel an invader acquires tremendous reputation. Some verses in the Koran which are perhaps not genuine, record the miracle whereby Allah repelled the “People of the Elephant.” The sanctuary was apparently in the possession of the tribe Koreish (Quraish), the origin of whose name is unknown, said to have come originally from Cutha in Mesopotamia. They were known (we are told) as the people of Allah, and, by wearing a badge, were sacrosanct throughout Arabia. If this be true, it was probably a privilege earned by the miraculous defence of the Ka‘ba, and is sufficient to account for the rise of Meccan commerce of which we hear much in the biography of the Prophet, and to which some verses of the earliest part of the Koran allude; for merchants who were safe from attacks by bandits would have an enormous advantage. The records seem, however, to be inconsistent with this assertion; and the growth of the Meccan commerce is sufficiently accounted for by the fact that after the Abyssinian invasion pilgrimage to the Ka‘ba became the practice of numerous Arab tribes, and for four months in the year (selected by Meccan priests) raiding was forbidden, in order to enable the pilgrimage to be safely made. In addition to this it would seem that all Mecca counted as sanctuary—i.e. no blood might under any circumstances be shed there. The community lived by purveying to pilgrims and the carrying trade; and both these operations led to the immigration of strangers.

There seems to be no doubt that Mahomet was himself a member of the tribe Koreish, and indeed too many of his relatives figure in history to permit of his parentage being questioned. His cousin ‘Ali, fourth caliph, was the son of Abū Mahomet’s Family. Ṭālib, whose name attests the historical character of the kindred name ‘Abd al-Moṭṭalib, Mahomet’s grandfather: for the fact that this name is in part enigmatical is certainly no argument against its genuineness. In the 3rd century of Islam a document was shown in which a man of San’a in Yemen acknowledged that he had borrowed from ‘Abd al-Moṭṭalib 1000 silver dirhems of the Hudaida standard, and Allāh with the two “angels” (probably a euphemism for the goddesses Al-lāt and al-‘Uzzā) served as witness; it is difficult to see why such a document should have been forged. The name Hāshim (for ‘Abd al-Moṭṭalib’s father) may or may not be historical; here, as in the ascending line throughout, we have subjects without predicates. The name of ‘Abd al-Moṭṭalib’s son, who was Mahomet’s father, is given as ‘Abdallāh; the correctness of this has been questioned, because “Servant of Allah” would seem to be too appropriate, and the name was often given by the Prophet to converts as a substitute for some pagan appellation. This, however, is hypercritical, as the name of the father could not easily be altered, when relatives abounded, and it would seem that at one time the Prophet made no theological use of the name Allah, for which he intended to substitute Raḥmān. The name of his mother is given as Āminah, and with this one of his own titles, Amīn, agrees; although the Arabs do not appear to bring the two into connexion. Her father’s name is given as Wahb, and she is brought into relation with a Medinese tribe called the Banū ‘Adī b. al-Najjār, to whom she is said to have brought her son in his early infancy. The circumstances may have been suggested by his later connexion with that place; yet in what seems a historical narrative her grave is mentioned as known to be at Abwa, midway between the two cities, whence this early bond between the Prophet and his future home may have really existed.

His own name is given in the Koran in the forms Aḥmad and the familiar Muḥammad; in contemporary poetry we also find the form Maḥmūd. Similar variation between derivatives from the same root is found in proper names which occur in early poetry; the meaning of all would be “the praised,” if the root be given its Arabic signification—“the desired” if interpreted from the Hebrew.

The form Muḥammad (ordinarily transliterated Mohammed; Mahomet, Mehmet, &c., represent the Turkish pronunciation) is found in a pre-Islamic inscription, and appears to have been fairly common in Arabia. In Hag. ii. 7 a derivative of the Hebrew equivalent root occurs in the prophecy “and the desired of all nations shall come,” and this passage has suggested the idea that the name may have been taken by the Prophet as the equivalent of “Messiah,” while the Moslems themselves find its equivalent in the Paraclete of the Fourth Gospel, though this identification requires more ingenuity. His kunyah (i.e. the Arab title of respect, in which a man is called after his son) is Abu‘l-Qāsim; other names by which he is called are titles of honour, e.g. Muṣṭafā “chosen.” (See further the genealogical table, ad fin.)

In the Koran, Allah says that He found the Prophet an orphan, poor and astray; it is possible that all these expressions should be understood figuratively, like the “poor, naked, blind” of Christian hymns; the Arabs, however, Early Life. take them literally, and Mahomet is said to have been a posthumous child, whose mother died a few months or years after his birth, and who was brought up first by his grandfather, and then by his uncle Abū Ṭālib, one of the poorer members of the family; in the controversy between the Alid and Abbasid pretenders of the 2nd century of Islam the Abbasid Manṣūr claims that his ancestor fed the ancestor of ‘Ali, i.e. Abū Ṭālib, otherwise he would have had to beg. There was evidently an apparent inconsistency between Mahomet’s being a poor orphan and the favourite grandchild of the eminent and wealthy ‘Abd al-Moṭṭalib; and it was solved in this way. There was a tradition that in his early years he was sent into the desert to acquire the habits and the language of the Bedouins; and this seems to have been attested by the Prophet himself. In a tribal fight he is said to have acted as armour-bearer to one of his uncles, Zubair. There seems no doubt that he often accompanied Meccan caravans to the countries with which the Meccans had trade relations; such especially were Syria and south Arabia, and perhaps Egypt and Mesopotamia. It is conceivable that he may have visited Abyssinia by sea. For though accurate knowledge is nowhere to be found in the Koran, it exhibits a large amount of miscellaneous information, such as a trader might well pick up. His career as a caravan-conductor appears to have terminated with his marriage to Khadīja, daughter of Khuwailid, represented by the tradition as a wealthy widow, fifteen years his senior and forty years of age at the time of the union. As she became the mother of a numerous family, a special rule was discovered by Moslem physiologists extending the child-bearing period of Korashite women beyond that of others. Since it is claimed for Mahomet that he first gave Arab women the right to inherit property, the difficulty noticed is not the only one connected with this marriage; and Robertson Smith has called attention to some others, unconnected with his theory of “marriage and kinship in early Arabia.” After his marriage Mahomet appears to have been partner in a shop in Mecca; where he apparently sold agricultural produce. His style is strongly marked by phrases and metaphors drawn from trade, though as a statesman he never displayed any financial ability.

Writing in the monumental script of South Arabia had been known for centuries in the peninsula; and shortly before the rise of Islam a cursive script—the parent of the ordinary Arabic character—had been started in the Christian Education. state of Hira, with which the beginnings of modern Arabic literature are connected. A modification of this had been introduced into Mecca, and was probably used for contracts and similar documents. The word ummī, literally “popular” or “plebeian” (according to one etymology), applied to Mahomet in the Koran, is said to mean “one who can neither read nor write,” and the most generally accepted view is that he could do neither, a supposition which enters into the doctrine of the miraculous nature of the Koran. According to another interpretation the word means “Meccan,” i.e. native of “the Mother of the Villages” (Umm al-Qura); and the most probable theory is that he could do both, but unskilfully. Indeed on one historic occasion he erased certain words in a document; and where in the Koran he rebuts the charge of “taking notes,” he does not employ the obvious retort that he could not write, but gives a far less convincing answer. For poetry, which seems to have been cultivated in Arabia long before his time, he possessed no ear; but we have little reason for supposing that either writing or versification had yet entered into Arabian education. The former would be acquired by those who needed it, the latter was regarded as a natural gift. There is reason for thinking the language of the Koran incorrect and ungrammatical in parts, but as it afterwards became the ultimate standard of classical Arabic, this point is not easy to prove. On the whole then his early life seems to have been such as was normal in the case of a man belonging to one of the more important families in a community which had not long been started on a career of prosperity.

Of the organization of that community we unfortunately know very little, though we hear of a council-chamber, and, as has been seen, of an age-qualification for admission to it. It is, however, certain that the theory of Social System. decision by majority was absolutely unknown to Mahomet’s second successor, whence we learn little from this tradition (even if it be authentic) of the mode whereby the tribes who together formed the Meccan population managed their common concerns, whether commercial or political. The form of government seems to have been a rudimentary oligarchy, directed by some masterful individual; before the Flight we read of various prominent personages, after the Flight and the battle of Badr (A.H. 2) one chieftain, Abū Sofiān (see [Caliphate], ad init.), appears to take the lead whether in war or in policy. It would seem, however, that the right of independent action belonged to the individual tribes, even to the extent of refusing to take part in a campaign. For the settlement of ordinary disputes recourse was had (it appears) rather to soothsayers, near or distant, than to any regularly constituted authority or tribunal. On the other hand we are furnished with a list of officials who were concerned with different parts of the festal performances and the ordinary worship. Of these we may mention the Custodian of the Ka‘ba, and the official whose duty was siqāyah (“watering”), said to mean furnishing the pilgrims with water, but more ingeniously interpreted in recent times as “rain-bringing,” a function which even in the 2nd century of Islam the governor in some places was supposed to exercise.

Of Arabian paganism we possess no trustworthy or complete account; since we hear of no theological literature belonging to it, probably no such account could have been given. There were doubtless a variety of practices, many of Beginnings of the Mission. which have been continued to this day in the ceremonies of the pilgrimage, and offerings of different sorts to various deities, interpreted variously by the worshippers in accordance with their spiritual, intellectual and moral levels; e.g. as actual stones, or as men (or more often women) residing in the stones or otherwise connected with them, or bearing a similar relation to trees, or stars, &c. In general every tribe had its patron of the kind, and where there were aggregations of tribes, connexions were established between these deities, and affiliation-theories excogitated; hence the theory attributed in the Koran to the Meccans that the goddesses al-‘Uzzā, &c. were the daughters of Allah, may well represent the outcome of such speculation. These, however, were known to few, whereas the practices were familiar to all. Some of these were harmless, others barbarous; many offensive, but not very reprehensible, superstitions.

Before Mahomet’s time Arabian paganism had already been attacked both from the outside and from the inside. On the one hand the northern tribes had gradually been christianized, owing to the influence of the Byzantine External Influences. empire; on the other hand south Arabia had fallen successively under Jewish, Abyssinian and Persian influence; and the last, though little is known of Persian rule, is unlikely to have favoured pagan cults. Christianity had also some important representation in Najran far south of Mecca, while Jewish settlements were prospering north of Mecca in the Prophet’s future home Yathrib and its neighbourhood. Power, civilization and learning were thus associated with monotheism (Judaism), dualism (Mazdaism) and tritheism (as the Arabs interpreted Christianity); paganism was the religion of ignorance (jāhiliyyah, interpreted by Goldziher as “barbarism,” but the difference is not very considerable). Mecca itself and the neighbouring and allied Ṭāif are said to have produced some monotheists or Christians, who identified the Allah of Mecca with the Allāhā or God of the Syrian Christians, called by the Abyssinian Christians “Lord of the Regions,” and by the Jews “the Merciful” (Raḥmānā); one such is said to have been a cousin of Khadija, Mahomet’s wife; his name is given as Waraqah, son of Naufal, and he is credited with copying or translating a Gospel. We even hear of flagellant monks and persons vowed to total abstinence among the precursors of Islam.

With these persons Mahomet had little in common, since they do not appear to have claimed to enforce their views upon others, or to have interfered with politics. He appears mainly to have been struck by the personality of the founders of the systems dominant in the civilized world, and to have aspired from the first to occupy the place of legislator or mouthpiece of the Deity; and that he was this was and is the main proposition of the Mahommedan creed. The “Prophet” or “Apostle” (at different times he employed both the Jewish and the Christian phrase) was the divinely appointed dictator of his community; if he were not obeyed, divine vengeance would overtake the disobedient. At this proposition Mahomet arrived by induction from the records of the Biblical prophets, as well as others who seem to have figured in Arabian mythology, e.g. the destruction of the tribe Thamūd (mentioned by Pliny, and therefore historical) for their disobedience to their prophet Ṣāliḥ, and of ‘Ad (probably mythical) for their similar treatment of Hūd. The character of the message did not affect the necessity for obedience; at times it was condemnation of some moral offence, at others a trivial order. Divine vengeance overtook those who disobeyed either.

This is the theory of the prophetic office which pervades the Koran, wherein the doctrine is formulated that every nation had its divine guide and that Mecca before Mahomet’s time had none. This place, then, Mahomet felt a divine call to fill. The Prophet’s Call. But we are never likely to ascertain what first put the idea into his mind. The fables which his biographers tell on this subject are not worth repeating; his own system, in which he is brought into direct communication with the Deity, though at a later period the angel Gabriel appears to have acted as intermediary, naturally leaves no room for such speculations; and since his dispensation was thought to be absolutely new, and to make a tabula rasa of the pagan past, his first followers, having broken with that past, left no intelligible account of the state of affairs which preceded their master’s call. Some generations therefore elapsed before that past was studied with any sort of sympathy, and details could not then be recovered, any more than they can now be supplied by conjecture.

So far as Mahomet may be said from the first to have formulated a definite notion of his work, we should probably be right in thinking it to be the restoration of the religion of Abraham, or (as the Koran calls him) Ibrahim. Though we have no reason for supposing the name of Abraham or Ishmael to have been known in Mecca generally before Mahomet’s time, the Biblical ethnology was not apparently questioned by those who were told of it, and there are stories, not necessarily apocryphal, of precursors of Mahomet going abroad in search of the “religion of Abraham.” One feature of that system, associated in the Bible with the name of Ishmael as well, was circumcision, which was actually observed by the Meccan tribes, though it would appear with technical differences from the Jewish method; the association of monotheism with it would seem reasonable enough, in view of Jewish traditions, such as Mahomet may have heard on his travels; why the doctrine of the future life should be coupled with it is less obvious. That the Meccan temple and its rites had been founded by these two patriarchs appears to have been deduced by Mahomet himself, but perhaps at a later stage of his career. That these rites, so far as they were idolatrous, were in flagrant defiance of the religion of Abraham must have struck any one who accepted the accounts of it which were current among Jews and Christians. The precursors, however, appear to have felt no call to reform their fellow-citizens; whereas it is evident that Mahomet regarded himself as charged with a message, which he was bound to deliver, and which his God would in some way render effective.

As it was obvious that the claim to be God’s mouthpiece was to claim autocracy, Mahomet employed the utmost caution in his mode of asserting this claim; on the question of his sincerity there have been different opinions held, and it is not necessary to take any view on this matter. For three years his followers were a secret society; and this period appears to have been preceded by one of private preparation, the first revelation being received when the Prophet was in religious retirement—a ceremony called taḥannuth, of which the meaning is uncertain, but which can have no connexion with the Hebrew teḥinnōth (“supplications”)—on Mount Ḥirā, near Mecca.

If the traditional dates assigned to the suras (chapters) of the Koran (q.v.) are correct, the earliest revelations took the form of pages or rolls which the Prophet was to read by the “grace of God,” as Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon community, The Koran. said of the power given him to read the “Egyptian” characters on the gold plates which he had found. The command to read is accompanied by the statement that “his most generous Lord had taught man by the pen (calamus) that which he did not know.” Waraqah, to whom the event is said to have been communicated by Khadija, called these communications “the Greater Law (nomos).” The Prophet was directed to communicate his mission at the first only to his nearest relatives. The utterances were from the first in a sort of rhyme, such as is said to have been employed for solemn matter in general, e.g. oracles or prayers. At an early period the production of a written communication was abandoned for oral communications, delivered by the Prophet in trance; their delivery was preceded by copious perspiration, for which the Prophet prepared (in accordance with instructions found in the Koran) by wrapping himself in a blanket. Trusty followers were instructed to take these utterances down, but the phenomena which accompanied their delivery at least in one case suggested imposture to the scribe, who apostatized in consequence. It is extraordinary that there is no reason to suppose that any official record was ever kept of these revelations; the Prophet treated them somewhat as the Sibyl did her leaves. This carelessness is equally astounding whether the Prophet was sincere or insincere.

If the matter afterwards collected in the Koran be genuine, the early revelations must have been miscellaneous in content, magical, historical and homiletic. To some strange oaths are prefixed. Apparently the purpose to be compassed was to convince the audience of their miraculous origin. The formulation of doctrines belongs to a later period and that of jurisprudence to the latest of all. In that last period also, when Mahomet was despot of Medina, the Koran served as an official chronicle, well compared by Sprenger to the leading articles on current events in a ministerial organ. Where the continuous paragraph is substituted for the ejaculation, the divine author apologizes for the style.

Certain doctrines and practices (e.g. washing of the person and the garments) must have been enjoined from the first, but our authorities scarcely give us any clear notion what they were. The doctrines to which the Prophet himself throughout assigned most value seem to have been the unity of God and the future life, or resurrection of the body. The former necessitated the abandonment of the idolatrous worship which formed part of the daily life of Mecca, and in which Mahomet and Khadija had been accustomed to take their part. Yet it seems to have been due to the initiative of the proselytes themselves rather than to the Prophet’s orders that the Meccan worship was actually flouted by them; for the anecdote which represents the Prophet and his young cousin attempting to pull down the images in or about the Ka’ba appears to be apocryphal. The first Moslem ceremony would appear to have been the religious meeting for the purpose of hearing the delivery of revelations, of which after the Prophet’s death the sermon (khuṭbah) took the place. After various provisional meeting-places, the house of one al-Arqam on Mt. Safa was adopted for this purpose; and here proselytes were initiated.

The names which the new community received from its founder are both philological puzzles; for the natural sense of Moslem (Muslim) appear to be “traitors,” and to this a contemporary war-song of Mahomet’s enemies Growth of the Early Community. alludes; while Ḥanīf (especially applied in the Koran to Abraham) seems to be the Hebrew word for “hypocrite.” The former is explained in the Koran to mean “one who hands over his face or person to God,” and is said to have been invented by Abraham; of the latter no explanation is given, but it seems to signify from the context “devotee.” Since the divine name Raḥmān was at one time favoured by Mahomet, and this was connected with one Maslama of the tribe Ḥanīfa, who figures in politics at the end of Mahomet’s career but must have been a religious leader far earlier, it has been suggested that the names originally belonged to Maslama’s community. The honour of having been Mahomet’s first convert is claimed for three persons: his wife Khadīja, his cousin Ali, who must have been a lad at the commencement of the mission, and Abū Bekr, son of Abū Quḥāfah, afterwards Mahomet’s first successor. This last person became Mahomet’s alter ego, and is usually known as the Ṣiddiq (Heb. word signifying “the saint,” but to the Arabs meaning “faithful friend)”. His loyalty from first to last was absolutely unswerving; he was selected to accompany Mahomet on the most critical occasion of his life, the Flight from Mecca; Mahomet is said to have declared that had he ever made a confidant of any one, that person would have been Abū Bekr; implying that there were things which were not confided even to him. The success of the Prophet’s enterprise seems to have been very largely due to the part played by this adherent, who possessed a variety of attainments which he put at Mahomet’s service; who when an intermediary was required was always ready to represent him, and who placed the commendation of the Prophet above every other consideration, private or public. The two appear to have regularly laid siege to those persons in Mecca whose adherence was desirable; and the ability which many of the earlier converts afterwards displayed, whether as statesmen or generals, is a remarkable testimony to their power of gauging men. It seems clear that the growth of wealth in Mecca had led to the accentuation of the difference between persons of different station, and that many were discontented with the oligarchy which governed the city. Converts could, therefore, be won without serious difficulty among the aliens and in general those who suffered under various disqualifications. Some members of the Jewish community seem also to have joined; and some relics of the Abyssinian expedition (i.e. descendants of the invaders). Among the most important converts of the Meccan period were Mahomet’s uncle Ḥamza, afterwards for his valour called “the Lion of God”; ‘Abd al-Raḥman (Abdar-raḥman) son of ‘Auf; Othman, son of ‘Affān, who married two of the Prophet’s daughters successively, and was Mahomet’s third successor; and, more important than any save Abū Bekr, Omar, son of al-Khattāb, a man of extraordinary force of character, to whom siege seems to have been laid with extraordinary skill. At some time he received the honourable title Fārūq (“Deliverer”); he is represented as regularly favouring force, where Abū Bekr favoured gentle methods; unlike Abū Bekr, his loyalty was not always above suspicion. His adherence is ascribed to the period of publicity.

The secrecy which marked its early years was of the greatest value for the eventual success of the mission; for when Mahomet came forward publicly he was already the head of a band of united followers. His own family appear to have been either firm adherents, or violent enemies, or lukewarm and temporizing—this is the best which can be said for ‘Abbās, eponymus of the Abbasid dynasty; or finally espousers of his cause, on family grounds, but not as believers.

Rejecting accounts of Mahomet’s first appearance as a public preacher, which are evidently comments on a text of the Koran, we have reason for supposing that his hand was forced by ardent followers, who many times in his career First Period of Publicity. compelled him to advance. The astute rulers of the community perceived that the claim made by Mahomet was to be dictator or autocrat; and while this was naturally ridiculed by them, some appear to have been devoted adherents of the gods or goddesses whom he attacked. The absence of dated documents for the period between this open proclamation (which in any case commenced before 616) and the Flight to Medina in 622 renders the course of events somewhat conjectural, though certain details appear to be well established. Apparently there was a war of words, followed by a resort to diplomacy and then to force; and then a period in which Mahomet’s attention was directed to foreign conversions, resulting in his being offered and accepting the dictatorship of Yathrib.

Of the war of words we have an imperfect record in the Meccan suras of the Koran, which occasionally state the objections urged by the opponents. In the course of the debate the theological position of both parties seems to have shifted, and the knowledge of both was probably increased in various ways. The miracle of the Koran, which at first consisted in its mode of production, was transformed into a marvel connected with its contents; first by Mahomet’s claiming to tell historical narratives which had previously been unknown to him; afterwards by the assertion that the united efforts of mankind and Jinn would be unable to match the smallest passage of the Koran in sublimity. Probably the first of these claims could not be long maintained, though A. J. Davis, “the Seer of Poughkeepsie,” in our own time brought a similar one in regard to his Principles of Nature. Indeed both parties evidently resorted to external aid. To those who undertook to name the man who dictated stories of the ancients to Mahomet day and night, he replied that the individual whom they had in mind was a foreigner, whereas the Koran was in pure Arabic. This was obviously a quibble, for it was scarcely asserted that he delivered the matter dictated to him without alteration. The purity of the Arabic also appears to have been very questionable; for several expressions appear to be Ethiopic rather than Arabic, and the person whom the Meccans had in mind is likely to have been an Abyssinian Christian, since the Christian technicalities of the Koran are mainly derived from the Ethiopic Gospels and Acts. On one occasion when some questions suggested by learned foreigners had been propounded to the Prophet he required a fortnight’s delay before the revelation which solved them came; the matter contained in his reply was certainly such as required research. His sources of information seem at all times to have been legendary rather than canonical; and the community which seemed to his opponents to agree best with his views was that of the Sabians or Mandaeans (qq.v.).

It has been suggested that Mahomet first threatened the Meccans with temporal punishment, and only when this threat failed to take effect resorted to the terrors of the Day of Judgment and the tortures of Hell; it seems however a mistake to distinguish between the two. These threats provided the Prophet with his most powerful sermons. The boasts of incomparable eloquence which the Koran contains are evidence that his oratorical power was effective with his audiences, since the more successful among the Arabic poets talk of their compositions somewhat in the same way. These discourses certainly led to occasional conversions, perhaps more frequently among women than men.

The diplomatic war seems to have been due to the Prophet’s increasing success, which led to serious persecution of Mahomet’s less influential followers, though, as has been seen, no blood could be shed in Mecca. Abū Ṭālib, moreover, The Exiles in Axum. prevented him from being exiled, though he probably had to endure many personal insults. Something however had to be done for the persecuted Moslems, and (perhaps at the suggestion of his Abyssinian helper) Mahomet endeavoured to find a refuge for them in the realm of Axum. Abyssinia was doubtless connected in every Meccan mind with the “Expedition of the Elephant”; and such an alliance secured by Mahomet was a menace to the existence of the Meccan community. A deputation was therefore sent by the Meccan leaders to demand extradition of the exiles; and as chief of this expedition the future conqueror of Egypt, ‘Amr b. al-‘Āṣ (see [‘Amr ibn el-Ass]), first figures in history. To frustrate his efforts Mahomet sent his cousin Ja’far armed with an exposition of the Prophet’s beliefs and doctrines afterwards embodied in the Koran as the Sura of Mary (No. XIX.; though with the addition of some anti-Christian matter). The original document contained an account of the Nativity of Christ with various miracles not known to either the canonical or even the apocryphal gospels which have been preserved, but which would be found edifying rather than unorthodox by a church one of whose most popular books is The Miracles of the Virgin Mary. To this there were added certain notices of Old Testament prophets. The Abyssinian king and his ecclesiastical advisers took the side of Mahomet and his followers, whom they appear to have regarded as persecuted Christians; and an attempt made probably by the astute ‘Amr to embroil them with the Abyssinians on the difficult question of the Natures of Christ failed completely. There seems reason for thinking that the Abyssinian king contemplated bringing back the exiles by force, but was diverted from this purpose by frontier wars; meanwhile they were safely harboured, though they seem to have suffered from extreme poverty. The want of an Abyssinian chronicle for this period is a serious disadvantage for the study of Islamic origins. The sequel shows that regular correspondence went on between the exiles and those who remained in Mecca, whence the former were retained within the fold of Islam, with occasional though rare apostasies to Christianity.

Mahomet’s diplomatic victory roused the Meccan leaders to fury, and they decided on the most vigorous measures to which they could rise; Abū Ṭālib, Mahomet’s protector, and the clan which acknowledged him as sheikh, including the Prophet and his family, were blockaded in the quarter which they occupied; as in other sanctuaries, though blood might not be shed, a culprit might be starved to death. That this did not occur, though the siege appears to have lasted some months at least, was due to the weak good nature of the Meccans, but doubtless also to the fact that there were enlisted on Mahomet’s side many men of great physical strength and courage (as their subsequent careers proved), who could with impunity defy the Meccan embargo. After a time however the besieged found the situation intolerable, and any assistance which they might have expected from the king of Axum failed to come. The course adopted by Mahomet was retractation of those of his utterances which had most offended the Meccans, involving something like a return to paganism. A revelation came acknowledging the effectiveness of the Meccan goddesses as well as Allah, and the Meccans raised the siege. News of the reconciliation reached the Abyssinian exiles and they proceeded to return.

By the time they reached the Arabian coast the dispute had recommenced. The revelation was discovered to be a fabrication of the Devil, who, it appears, regularly interpolates in prophetic revelations; such at least is the apology preserved in the Koran, whence the fabricated verses have been expunged. Since our knowledge of this episode (regarded as the most disgraceful in the Prophet’s career) is fragmentary, we can only guess that the Prophet’s hand had once more been forced by the more earnest of his followers, for whom any compromise with paganism was impossible. The exiles went back to Abyssinia; and about this time both Abū Ṭālib and Khadīja died, leaving the Prophet unprotected.

He fled to the neighbouring oasis of Ṭāif, where wealthy Meccans had possessions, and where the goddess al-‘Uzza was worshipped with special zeal—where she is said still to exist in the form of a block of stone. He had but little success there in proselytizing, and indeed had to cease preaching; but he opened negotiations with various Meccan magnates for a promise of protection in case of his return. This was at last obtained with difficulty from one Moṭ‘im b. ‘Adi. It would appear that his efforts were now confined to preaching to the strangers who assembled at or near Mecca for the ceremonies connected with the feasts. He received in consequence some invitations to come and expound his views away from Mecca, but had to wait some time before one came of a sort which he could wisely accept.

The situation which led to Mahomet’s Flight (hijra, anglicized incorrectly hejira, q.v.) was singularly favourable to Mahomet’s enterprise, and utilized by him with extraordinary caution and skill. At the palm plantation called The Flight to Yathrib. Yathrib, afterwards known as al-Medina, Medina, “the City” (i.e. of the Prophet), there were various tribes, the two most important, called Aus and Khazraj, being pagan, and engaged in an internecine feud, while under their protection there were certain Jewish tribes, whose names have come down to us as Qainuqā, Naḍīr and Quraiza—implying that the Israelites, as might be expected, imitated the totem nomenclature of their neighbours. The memory of these Israelites is exclusively preserved by the Moslem records; the main stream of Jewish history flowed elsewhere. In the series of combats between the Aus and Khazraj the former had generally been worsted; the Jews, as usual, had avoided taking any active part in the fray. Finally, owing to an act of gross perfidy, they were compelled to fight in aid of the Aus; and in the so-called battle of Bu‘āth the Aus aided by the Jews had won a victory, doubtless attributed to the God of the Jews. As has been seen, the divine name employed by Mahomet (Raḥmān) was one familiar to the Jews; and the Yathribites who visited Mecca at feast-time were naturally attracted by a professed representative of al-Raḥmān. The first Yathribite converts appear to have been Khazrajites, and one As‘ad, son of Zurarah, is the most prominent figure. Their idea may have been in the first place to secure the aid of the Israelitish Deity in their next battle with the Aus, and indeed the primary object of their visit to Mecca is said to have been to request assistance for their war. For this the plan was substituted of inviting the Prophet to come to Mecca as dictator, to heal the feud and restore order, a procedure to which Greek antiquity offers parallels. The new converts were told to carry on secret propaganda in Yathrib with this end in view. At the next feast some of the rival faction embraced Islam. A trusty follower of Mahomet, Mus’ab b.’Umair, who resembled Mahomet in personal appearance, was sent to Yathrib to assist in the work. The correspondence between this person and the Prophet would, if we possessed it, be of the greatest value for the study of Islamic antiquity. We first hear at this time of the conditions of Islam, i.e. a series of undertakings into which the convert entered: namely, to abstain from adultery, theft, infanticide and lying, and to obey Mahomet in licitis et honestis. The wholesale conversion of Yathrib was determined by that of two chieftains, Usaid b. Ḥuraith and Sa‘d b. Mu’adh, both Ausites. The example of these was quickly followed, and iconoclasm became rife in the place. At the next Meccan feast a deputation of seventy Yathribites brought Mahomet a formal invitation, which he accepted, after imposing certain conditions. The interviews between Mahomet and the Yathribites are known as the ‘Aqabah (probably with reference to a text of the Koran). The attitude of the Jews towards the project appears to have been favourable.