Persia in 1396, where he splendidly feasted his whole army. In 1398 he invaded Hindos tan, crossed the Indus on the 17th of September, reduced several fortresses, and made a vast number of captives. However, being afraid lest, in case of any emergency, these prisoners might take part with the enemy, he ordered his soldiers to put all their Indian slaves to death; and, in consequence of this inhuman order, more than 100,000 of these poor wretches were slaughtered in less than an hour. In the beginning of 1399 Timur was met by the Indian army, whom, after a desperate battle, he defeated with great slaughter, and soon after took the city of Delhi, the capital of the country. Here he seated himself on the throne of the Indian emperors, and here the sharifs, kadis, and principal inhabitants of the city, came to make their submission, and begged for mercy. The tame elephants and rhinoceroses likewise were brought to kneel before him, as they had been accustomed to do to the Indian emperors, and made a great cry as if they implored his clemency. These war-elephants, 120 in number, were, at his return, sent to Samarcand, and to the province where his sons resided. After this, at the request of the lords of the court, Timur made a great feast; at which he distributed presents to the princes and principal officers. Delhi at this time consisted of three cities called Seyri, Old Delhi, and Jehan Penah. Seyri was surrounded with a wall in form of a circle. Old Delhi was the same, but much larger, lying south-west of the other. These two parts were joined on each side by a wall; and the third, lying between them, was called Jehan Penah, which was larger than Old Delhi. Penah had ten gates; Seyri had seven, three of which looked towards Jehan Penah; this last had thirteen gates, six to the north-west, and seven to the south-east. Every thing seemed to be quiet, when, on the 12th of January 1399, the soldiers of Timur, being assembled at one of the gates of Delhi, insulted the inhabitants. The great emirs were ordered to put a stop to these disorders, but could not; and, the gates being open, above 15,000 more soldiers got in, while a far greater number of troops committed greater disorders in Seyri and Jehan Penah. The inhabitants in despair fell on them, while the disorder was increased by the admission of more troops; so that by the morning of the 13th the whole army was entered, and this great city was totally destroyed, and the people massacred or sold for slaves. The spoils in jewels, plate, &c., were immense. On the 15th, in Old Delhi, the Indians retired into the great mosque to defend themselves; but being attacked by the Tartars, they were slaughtered, and a dreadful carnage ensued throughout the whole city. The artisans were divided among the princes and commanders; but the masons were reserved for the emperor, to build a spacious stone mosque at Samarcand. After this terrible devastation, Timur marched into the different provinces of Hindostan, every where defeating the Indians who opposed him, and slaughtering the Ghebres or worshippers of fire. On the 25th of March he set out on his return, and on the 9th of May arrived at Samarcand. In a few months after his arrival, he was obliged to go into Persia, where affairs were in the utmost disorder by the misconduct of his son, whom he had appointed sovereign of that empire. Timur soon settled matters; after which he again set out on an expedition westward, reduced many places in Georgia which had not submitted, and conquered Syria. At the same time he quarrelled with Bajazet the Turkish sultan, then busied in an enterprise against Constantinople. Bajazet had demanded tribute from a prince who was under Timur s protection, aud returned an insulting answer to the Tartar ambassadors, who were sent to him on that business. Timur, being an enthusiast in the cause of Mahometanism, and considering Bajazet as engaged in the cause of heaven wnen besieging a Christian city, was very unwilling to disturb him in so pious a work; and therefore undertook several expeditions against the princes of Syria and Georgia, to give the Turkish monarch time to cool. Among other places he again invested Bagdad, which had cast off its allegiance; and, having taken it by storm, made such a dreadful massacre of the inhabitants that 120 pyramids were erected with the heads of the slain. In the mean time Bajazet continued to give fresh provocation, by protecting one Kava Yusef, a robber, who had insulted the caravan of Mecca; so that Timur at length resolved to make war upon him. Bajazet, foreseeing the danger of bringing such a formidable enemy against himself, asked pardon, by a letter, for what was passed, and promised obedience to Timur's will for the future. This embassy was graciously received; and Timur returned for answer, that he would forbear hostilities, provided Bajazet would either put Kava Yusef to death, send him to the Tartar camp, or expel him out of his dominions. Along with the Turkish ambassadors he sent one of his own; telling Bajazet that he would march into the confines of Antolia, and there wait his final answer. Though Bajazet had seemed at first willing to come to an agreement with Timur, yet he now behaved in such an unsatisfactory manner that the Tartar monarch desired him to prepare for war; upon which he raised the siege of Constantinople; and, having met Timur with an army greatly inferior to the Tartars, was utterly defeated and taken prisoner. This victory was followed by the submission of many places of Lesser Asia to Timur; the Greek emperor owned himself his tributary, as did also the sultan of Egypt. After this, Timur once more returned to Georgia, which he cruelly ravaged; after which he marched to Samarcand, where he arrived in 1405. Here, being now old, this mighty conqueror began to look forward to that state which at one time or other is the dread of all mankind; and, to quiet the remorse of his conscience, came to the following curious resolution, which he communicated to his friends; viz. that as the vast conquests which he had made were not obtained without some violence, which had occasioned the destruction of a great number of God's creatures, he was resolved, by way of atonement for his past crimes, to perform some good action; namely, to make war on the infidels, and exterminate the idolaters of China.' This atonement, however, he did not live to accomplish; for he died the same year of a burning fever, in the seventy-first year of his age, and thirty-sixth of his reign. On the death of Tamerlane, his empire fell immediately into great disorder, and the civil wars continued for five or six years; but at last peace was restored, by the settlement of Shah Rukh, Timur's son, on the throne. He did not, however, enjoy the empire in its full extent, or indeed much above one-half of it; having only Karazm, Khorassan, Kandahar, Persia, and part of Hindostan. Neither was he able, though a brave and warlike prince, to extend his dominions, though he transmitted them to his son Ulag Beg. He proved a wise and learned monarch; and is famous for the astronomical tables which he caused to be composed. He was killed in 1448 by his son Abdollatiff, who six months after was put to death by his own soldiers. After the death of Abdollah, a grandson of Shah Rukh, seized the throne; but after reigning one year, was expelled by Abusaid Mirza, the grandson of Miran Shah, the son of Timur. His reign was one continued scene of wars and tumults; till at last he was defeated and taken prisoner by one Hassan Beg, who put him to death in 1468. From this time we may consider the empire of Timur as dissolved, though his descendants still reigned in Persia and Hindostan. On the death of the above mentioned monarch, his son Baber succeeded him, but was soon driven out by the Usbeck Tartars; after which he resided some time in Gazna, when he made incursions into Hindostan, and at length became master of the whole empire, excepting the kingdoms of Dekan, Guzerat, and Bengal. For the transactions subsequent to this period, see HINDOSTAN and INDIA. MOHAIR, n. s. Fr. mohere, moire; Belg. and Teut. moor. Stuff made of camels' or other hair. She, while her lover pants upon her breast, Pope. MOHAIR, in commerce, is the hair of a kind of goat frequent about Angora in Turkey; the inhabitants of which city are all employed in the manufacture of camblets made of this hair. Some give the name mohair to the camblets or stuffs made of this hair of these there are two kinds : the one smooth and plain, the other watered like tabbies. The difference between the two only consists in this, that the latter is calendered, the other not. There are also mohairs, both plain and watered, whose woof is of wool, cotton, or thread. MOHAMMED (Sheick), the founder of the sect of the Wahebites, who derive their appellation from Abd el Waheb, the father of Mohammed, was born in Arabia, about the commencement of the eighteenth century, and claimed to be descended from the prophet of his religion. At an early age he formed the project of founding a new sect; and carefully studied the laws and traditions of the moslems. Ill-treated by his father, he at first fled and took refuge at Bassora; afterwards he travelled through Syria and Arabia. Mohammed Ibn Seoud, governor of one of the provinces of Arabia, at length gave him an asylum, and permitted him freely to propagate his opinions. From this chief he obtained a detachment of troops to assist his missionary labors; and, like his great namesake and predecessor, he offered to the choice of his hearers the alternative of conversion or death. On the death of his protector, he found the same favor with his successor, Abd el Aziz, who, at the head of his troops, converted to Wahebism all the tribes of the province of Nejd. An ineffectual attempt, made by the pacha of Bagdad, to crush this sect in 1798, added to their power; and in 1800 they made themselves for some time masters of Mecca. In the course of the expedition, however, Mohammed died at an advanced age; and Ebd el Aziz, who survived him a few years, was assassinated in 1803. The sect thus founded receive the Koran as of divine authority, but reject the traditions of the doctors; and their profession of faith is confined to the words, There is no other God but God,' without the addition, that Mahomet is the prophet of God.' MOHAWK, a river of New York, North America, which rises about twenty miles north of Rome. It passes by Rome, Útica, Schenectady, &c., and flows into the Hudson by three mouths between Waterford and Troy. Its length from Rome to the Hudson is about 117 miles. It is connected with Wood Creek by a canal one mile and a half long. There are also canals at German Flats and Herkimer. A boat navigation has been opened for several years from Schenectady through the Mohawk, Wood Creek, Queida Lake, and Oswego River, to the Lake Ontario. This river, about two miles west of the Hudson, has remarkable falls, called Cahoes or Cohoes. The river, just above the falls, is between 300 or 400 feet wide, and descends at high water in one sheet nearly seventy feet. About three quarters of a mile below, a bridge is erected across the river, from which there is a most sublime and beautiful view of the cataract. MOHAWK, a river in Delaware county, New York, which unites with the Popachton and forms the Delaware. MOHAWKS, a nation of North American Indians, acknowledged by the other tribes of the six nations to be the true old head of the confederacy. They were formerly very powerful, and inhabited the above country. Being strongly attached to the family of Sir William Johnston, a part of them emigrated with Sir John Johnston to Canada in 1776. About 300 of these reside in Upper Canada. The rest left their settlement at Hunter Fort in spring 1780, and settled on the Grand River. They had made great advances in civilisation; most of them could speak English, and many of them professed their faith in the Christian religion. MOHILEV, a considerable government of West European Russia, to the east of the government of Minsk, lying between 28° 50′, and 32° 40′ of E. long., and 53° 5′ and 55° 10′ of N. lat. Its area is 18,500 square miles, and its population about 800,000, of whom the majority are Poles. Here are likewise great numbers of Jews. It has an immense extent of forests, and marshes, which, however, contain iron ore that might be turned to good account. The soil is also in general fertile, and produces rye, barley, oats, maize, hemp, and flax, in abundance. The principal rivers are the Drieper, the Druz, and the Sosha: the largest lake the Sennoje. Timber is conveyed to Riga and the ports of the Black Sea: the other exports are corn, cattle, leather, glass, and paper. The manufactures are confined to a few tanneries, paper mills, and glass and iron works. The other trade is not considerable. It is divided into twelve circles. Chapman's Iliad. The name of the laborious William Noy, attorneygeneral to Charles the First, was anagrammatised, Imoyl in Law. Howel. Now he must moil and drudge for one he loaths MOHILEV, a town of European Russia, the capital of the above government, is situated on the right bank of the Dnieper, and divided into Dryden. four quarters, of which the castle, surrounded by Oh the endless misery of the life I lead! cries the an earthen mound, is the most conspicuous. It moiling husband; to spend all my days in ploughing. stands on a rising ground. In the centre of the L'Estrange. town is an octagonal area, surrounded with neat With thee 'twas Marian's dear delight stone buildings. The government offices, and To moil all day, and merry-make at night. Gay. archbishop's palace, are also handsome edifices. MOINE (Peter le), a French poet, born at Here is a Greek and a Latin archbishop: the Chaumont in Bassigni, A D. 1602. He joined latter being the superior of all the Catholics in the society of Jesuits, and enjoyed several offices Russia and Poland. The Jesuits, on the sup- among them. He is chiefly known by his verses, pression of their order, found an asylum here, which were collected into one vol. folio in 1671. and still retain their college. The population is They show genius and fancy, but are very extraabout 12,500, part of whom manufacture lea- vagant and bombastic. Among his prose works ther, while others trade with Riga, Memel, and are, 1. La Devotion aiseé, Paris, 1652, 8vo; 2. Dantzic, to which they export the country pro- Pensées Morales; 3. A short Treatise on Hisduce, and receive in return foreign goods; par- tory, in 12mo. He died at Paris, August 22nd, ticularly thrown silk. The number of Jews is 1672, aged seventy. nearly 2000. It consists chiefly of one long street. The church is a very handsome building, of the architecture of Henry VII. On the Bailey Hill, on the north of the town, are some towers of its strong and ancient castle. In the vicinity of the town are large cotton mills. Market on Saturday. Population 5083. MO'HOCK, n. s. The name of a nation of American Indians, given to ruffians who infested, or rather were imagined to infest, the streets of London.-Johnson. From milk-sop he starts up mohock. Prior. Who has not trembled at the mohock's name? Gay. Thou hast fallen upon me with the rage of a mad dog, or a mohock. Dennis. MOIDOR', n. s. A Portuguese coin, rated at one pound seven shillings. See COINS. MOIETY, n. s. Fr. moitié, from moien the middle; or Lat. medietas. Half; one of two equal parts. This company being divided into two equal moieties, the one before, the other since the coming of Christ; that part which, since the coming of Christ, partly hath embraced, and partly shall embrace, the Christian religion, we term, as by a more proper name, the church of Christ. The death of Antony Hooker. Shakspeare. Antony and Cleopatra. As this is likely to produce a cessation of arms among one half of our island, it is reasonable that the more beautiful moiety of his majesty's subjects should establish a truce. Addison. The militia was settled, a moiety of which should be nominated by the king, and the other moiety by the parliament. Clarendon. MOINE (Stephen le), a learned French protestant minister, born at Caen 1624. He was well skilled in the Greek, Latin, and oriental tongues, and professed divinity with high reputation at Leyden; where he died in 1689. Several dissertations of his are printed together, entitled Varia Sacra, in 2 vols. 4to. . He also wrote other works. MOISSAC, an ancient town and chief place of a subprefecture in the department of the Tarn-etGaronne, France. It is a post town with an inferior court and a chamber of commerce, and contains 9000 inhabitants. This place is very advantageously situated on the right bank of the Tarn, which is here navigable, and favors a brisk trade that is carried on with Bourdeaux. It stands in a fruitful vale, surrounded by hills covered with vineyards and orchards, producing abundance of excellent fruit. Its manufactures consist of minots, a name given to a certain sort of meal for the supply of the colonies, in which the inhabitants trade, as also in corn, wine, oil, saffron, fish, salt, wool, &c. Among the objects worthy of note may be mentioned the bridge lately built over the Tarn, and the fountain. It is twenty-one miles north-west of Montauban, thirty-six E.S. E. of Agen, and 504 south of Paris. Blackmore. Many who live well in a dry air, fall into all the diseases that depend upon a relaxation in a moist one. Arbuthnot. Nor yet, when moist Arcturus clouds the sky, The woods and fields their pleasing toils deny. Pope. The rose had been washed, just washed in a shower Which Mary to Anna conveyed, The plentiful moisture encumbered the flower, And weighed down its beautiful head. Cowper. MOIVRE (Abraham), F. R. S., an eminent mathematician, born at Vitri in Champagne in 1667. On the revocation of the edict of Nantes, he determined to fly into England rather than abandon the Protestant religion. Before he left France, he had begun to study mathematics; and, having perfected himself in that science in London, he resolved to teach it. Newton's Principia showed him how little progress he had made in a science of which he thought himself master. From this work he acquired a knowledge of the geometry of infinites with as great facility as he had learned the elementary geometry. His success in these studies procured him a seat in the Royal Society of London, and in the Academy of Sciences at Paris. His merit was so much esteemed that he was called in to decide the famous dispute between Leibnitz and Newton, concerning the differential calculus. He published a Treatise on Chances in 1738, and another on Annuities in 1752; both extremely accurate. The Philosophical Transactions contain many interesting memoirs of his compo sition, some on the method of fluxions; others on the lunula of Hippocrates; others on physical astronomy, in which he resolved many important problems; and others on the analysis of the games of chance. He died in London in 1754, aged eighty-seven. He was intimately acquainted with the best authors of antiquity; and was often consulted about difficult passages in their works. MOKDASI, a title among the oriental Christians, similar to that of hadsji among the Turks, given to those pilgrims who have not only performed the journey to Jerusalem, but kept the passover in it, and assisted at all the ceremonies of the holy weeks. MOKONTPORE, or MUKKUNPORE, a town of Hindostan, in the province of Agra, is situated on the bank of the Issah River, and contains the mausoleum of the celebrated Mahometan saint Syed Bedia Addeen, or Shah Mudar. Immense numbers of pilgrims resort to this tomb in the Jummad al Avul of every year, and remain here a fortnight. From all the large towns they go in bodies, distinguished by flags, and accompa nied by drums and music. The town is chiefly occupied by attendants on the tomb, clothed in black, who lay the pilgrims under heavy contributions. Long. 80° 20′ E., lat. 26° 45′ N. MOKSCHAN, a town of the government of Penza, European Russia. It has five churches, a monastery, and 4100 inhabitants, chiefly employed in agriculture. It stands near the river Moksha, thirty-six miles W. N. W. of Penza. Long. 44° 50′ E., lat. 58° 40′ N. MOLA, a considerable but decayed town of Italy, in the south-east part of the kingdom of Naples, on the Adriatic, and in the province of Bari. It has a good harbour, but the streets are irregular and gloomy. The chief trade is in the products of the adjacent soil. Twelve miles south-east of Bari. MOLA, or MOLA DI GAETA, a town of Italy, situated on the Via Appia, and around which are seen ruins of tombs and other structures. It is in the north-west part of the kingdom of Naples, in the Terra di Lavoro, and is a long straggling place, but has a pleasant neighbourhood, and a fort. The inhabitants, about 2000, live in great poverty, bearing the appearance of, and being in reality little better than banditti. The most remarkable ruins are those of the Villa Ciceronis, in the neighbourhood of Formiæ. Three miles north of Gaeta, and thirty-seven north-west of Naples. MOLA SALSA, salt cake, in antiquity, was barley parched, and afterwards ground to meal or flour, then mixed with salt and frankincense, with the addition of a little water. Thus prepared, it was sprinkled between the horns of the victim before it was killed in sacrifice. This act was called immolatio, and was common to the Greeks and Romans; with this difference, that the mola of the Romans was of wheat. The Greeks called it «λη or ελουχτη. MOLAI (James de), the last grand master of the Knights Templars, was admitted into the order about 1265. On the death of William de Beaujeu, he was unanimously elected to the office of grand master. The great wealth and power of the order, with their pride and dissolute manners, had at this time created them a multitude of enemies. In 1307 an order was issued for the general arrest of the knights throughout France. They were accused of heresy, impiety, and hide ous crimes. Fifty-seven were burnt in the year 1311, and the order was abolished the following year by the council of Vienne. Molai was detained in prison at Paris till 1313, when his trial took place before commissioners appointed by the pope, and confessing the crimes alleged against him, he was condemned to perpetual seclusion. Having subsequently retracted his confession, he was executed as a relapsed heretic, and perished in the flames at Paris, March 18th, 1314. MOLARES, or dentes molares, in anatomy, the large teeth, called in English the grinders. See ANATOMY. MOLDAU, a large, rapid river of Bohemia, rising near the mountains that separate it from Bavaria, to the south-west of Prachatitz. It passes by Budweis, Teyn, and Prague, and joins the Elbe above Melnik. In its course it receives the Malsch, Buschnitz, Woltawa, Sasawa, and Miess, and is navigable as far as Hohenfurt. MOLDAU, or MOLDAVA, a considerable river of Germany, rises in the Carpathian Mountains, traverses the Austrian province of the Bukowine, after which it enters the Turkish province of Moldavia, to which it gives name, and joins the Sereth at the town of Roman. MOLDAVIA, a north-eastern province of European Turkey, situated between long. 26° 16′ 45′′ and 28° 30′ 15′′ E., and lat. 45° 25′ and 48° 13′ N., bounded on the east by Russia, on the west by Transylvania, on the north by Austrian Poland, and on the south by Wallachia and Bulgaria. Its length from north to south is nearly 200 miles; its breadth about 120, and its superficial extent since 1812, when its eastern division was ceded to Russia, not above 17,000 square miles. It is divided into Upper Moldavia, or Zara de Suss, and Lower Moldavia, or Zara de Schass; the first containing four, and the last nine minor districts. The surface of the country is one vast undulating plain, generally covered with grass, and without hedges or landmarks. The great Carpathian chain separates it from Transylvania; and various small lakes diversify the landscape. The principal rivers are the Danube, the Pruth, and the Sereth. The larger lakes those of Bratetsch and Dorohoe. The climate, though warm in summer, is severe in winter; and in the neighbourhood of marshes unhealthy in the warm season. Its chief products are wheat, barley, maize, and millet, wine, and tobacco. Large quantities of wine are exported to Poland and Russia. Some qualities bear a considerable resemblance to Champagne, and all the white wines of the mountains are fine. It has been estimated that more than a fortieth part of the arable land is in a state of tillage: the far greater part being in pasture, and supporting large numbers of cattle, beautiful horses, and sheep. The inhabitants are careful, likewise, of their breed of cattle, of which the annual export (chiefly to Silesia and Bohemia) is computed at 40,000: the export of horses is about 10,000; that of sheep 220,000. The total number of sheep and goats in the country has been estimated at more than 3,000,000. Hogs are also largely fed in the forests, and bees are abundant: their honey is sent to Constantinople; their wax to Venice. The mineral productions are considerable, but few of the mines are wrought. Several of the rivers bring down small particles of gold. The trade of Moldavia is small, and it has no manufactures but for home consumption. The chief commerce, especially that of woollens and silks, is managed by Greek merchants. The Jews settled here deal chiefly in jewellery; the Russians in leather and tobacco; the Turks in Morocco leather, groceries, and perfumes. Moldavia composed part of the ancient kingdom of Dacia, finally conquered by Trajan. The present inhabitants are the descendants of Goths, Huns, Tartars, and other barbarous tribes. They are governed by princes, called hospodars, who are always Greeks, and appointed by the sultan. Most of the inhabitants profess Christianity; but both boyars (nobles) and peasants are free from the capitation tax paid by other rayahs, or tributary Christians. Mr. Wilkinson gives the following account of the present state of the common people :-The boyars resemble the barons in the feudal times of Europe. Their religious notions, grounded upon the most ridiculous superstitions, are extremely singular. They firmly believe in all sorts of witchcraft, in apparitions of the dead, in ghosts, and in all kinds of miracles performed by the images of saints, and by the virtues of the holy water. In illness, they place an image near them, and when they recover, though it were through the assistance of the ablest physician, they attribute their return to health to the good offices of the image alone. Their observance of Lent days is so strict, that the threats of instant death would hardly prevail upon any one to taste the aliments specified in the endless catalogue of forbidden food. Their other christian duties, although similar to those of the superior classes of their countrymen, are carried to greater excess. Invoking the holy Virgin, or any saint, is always substituted for regular prayer. Divine providence is never directly addressed. The villages throughout the country are principally composed of peasants' huts, all built in the same style and of the same size. The walls are of clay, and the roofs thatched with straw, neither of which are calculated to protect the lodgers from the inclemency of the bad season. The ground floors are, however, occupied as long as the weather will permit, and in winter they retire to cells under ground, easily kept warm by means of a little fire made of dried dung and some branches of trees; which at the same time serves to cook their scanty food. Each family, however numerous, sleep in one of these subterraneous habitations, men, women, and children, all heaped up together; and their respective beds consist of one piece of coarse woollen-cloth, which serves in the double capacity of mattrass and covering. Their ordinary food is composed of a kind of dough, to which they give the name of mam malinga, made of the flour of Indian wheat, sometimes mixed with milk. The first two or |