Part 201

As related in the Bible (Genesis xix. 37), Moab was the son of Lot's eldest daughter and the ancient people called Moabites were descended from him. They occupied at an early time the rich tableland or highlands on the east side of the Dead Sea; but the Amorites drove them out of the richer northern part of this territory into its southern half, where they occupied a very narrow domain, but one easily defended. This occurred shortly before the coming of the Israelites into Canaan. Between the Moabites and the Israelites, after the settlement of the latter, there was frequent war, but sometimes relations both peaceful and friendly. David finally subjugated their nation, in a war of peculiar atrocity. After the division of the kingdoms, Moab was subject to Israel, but revolted on the death of Ahab and was nearly destroyed in the horrible war which followed. The Biblical account of this war is given in 2 Kings III. It is strangely supplemented and filled out by a Moabite record—the famous Moabite Stone—found and deciphered within quite recent times, under the following circumstance. Dr. Klein, a German missionary, travelling in 1869 in what was formerly the "Land of Moab," discovered a stone of black basalt bearing a long inscription in Phœnician characters. He copied a small part of it and made his discovery known. The Prussian government opened negotiations for the purchase of the stone, and M. Clermont-Ganneau, of the French consulate at Jerusalem, made efforts likewise to secure it for his own country. Meantime, very fortunately, the latter sent men to take impressions—squeezes, as they are called—of the inscription, which was imperfectly done. But these imperfect squeezes proved invaluable; for the Arabs, finding the stone to be a covetable thing, and fearing that it was to be taken from them, crumbled it into fragments with the aid of fire and water. Most of the pieces were subsequently recovered, and were put together by the help of M. Clermont-Ganneau's squeezes, so that an important part of the inscription was deciphered in the end. It was found to be a record by Mesha, king of Moab, of the war with Israel referred to above.

_A. H. Sayce, Fresh Light from the Ancient Monuments, chapter 4._

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The Moabites appear to have recovered from the blow, but not much of their subsequent history is known.

_G. Grove, Dictionary of the Bible._

ALSO IN: _J. King, Moab's Patriarchal Stone._

See, also, JEWS: THE EARLY HEBREW HISTORY, and JEWS: UNDER THE JUDGES.

MOAWIYAH, Caliph (founder of the Omeyyad dynasty), A. D. 661-679.

Moawiyah II., Caliph, A. D. 683.

MOBILE: Start--------

MOBILE: A. D. 1702-1711. The founding of the city by the French.

See LOUISIANA: A. D. 1698-1712.

MOBILE: A. D. 1763. Surrendered to the English.

See FLORIDA: A. D. 1763 (JULY).

MOBILE: A. D. 1781. Retaken by the Spaniards.

See FLORIDA: A. D. 1779-1781.

MOBILE: A. D. 1813. Possession taken from the Spaniards by the United States.

See FLORIDA: A. D. 1810-1813.

MOBILE: A. D. 1864. The Battle in the Bay. Farragut's naval victory.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (AUGUST: ALABAMA).

MOBILE: A. D. 1865 (March-April). Siege and capture by the National forces.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (APRIL-MAY).

MOBILE: End--------

MOBILIANS, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: MUSKHOGEAN FAMILY.

MOCOVIS, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: PAMPAS TRIBES.

MODENA: Start--------

MODENA, Founding of.

See MUTINA.

MODENA: A. D. 1288-1453. Acquired by the Marquess of Este. Created a Duchy.

See ESTE, THE HOUSE OF.

MODENA: A. D. 1767. Expulsion of the Jesuits.

See JESUITS: A. D. 1761-1769.

MODENA: A. D. 1796. Dethronement of the Duke by Bonaparte. Formation of the Cispadane Republic.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1796-1797 (OCTOBER-APRIL).

MODENA: A. D. 1801. Annexation to the Cisalpine Republic.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1801-1803.

MODENA: A. D. 1803. The duchy acquired by the House of Austria.

See ESTE, HOUSE OF.

MODENA: A. D. 1815. Given to an Austrian Prince.

See VIENNA, THE CONGRESS OF.

MODENA: A. D. 1831. Revolt and expulsion of the Duke. His restoration by Austrian troops.

See ITALY: A. D. 1830-1832.

MODENA: A. D. 1848-1849. Abortive revolution.

See ITALY: A. D. 1848-1849.

MODENA: A. D. 1859-1861. End of the dukedom. Absorption in the new Kingdom of Italy.

See ITALY: A. D. 1856-1859; and 1859-1861.

MODENA: End--------

MODIUS, The.

See AMPHORA.

MODOCS, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: MODOCS.

MOERIS, Lake.

"On the west of Egypt there is an oasis of cultivable land, the Fayum, buried in the midst of the desert, and attached by a sort of isthmus to the country watered by the Nile. In the centre of this oasis is a large plateau about the same level as the valley of the Nile; to the west, however, a considerable depression of the land produces a valley occupied by a natural lake more than ten leagues in length, the 'Birket Kerun.' In the centre of this plateau Amenemhe [twelfth dynasty] undertook the formation of an artificial lake with an area of ten millions of square metres. If the rise of the Nile was insufficient, the water was led into the lake and stored up for use, not only in the Fayum, but over the whole of the left bank of the Nile as far as the sea. If too large an inundation threatened the dykes, the vast reservoir of the artificial lake remained open, and when the lake itself overflowed, the surplus waters were led by a canal into the Birket Kerun. The two names given in Egypt to this admirable work of Amenemhe III. deserve to be recorded. Of one, Meri, that is 'the Lake,' par excellence, the Greeks have made Moeris, a name erroneously applied by them to a king; whilst the other, P-iom, 'the Sea,' has become, in the mouth of the Arabs, the name of the entire province, Fayum."

_M. Mariette, quoted in Lenormant's Manual of Ancient History of the East, book 3, chapter 2._

MŒSIA, MÆSIA.

"After the Danube had received the waters of the Teyss [Theiss] and the Save, it acquired, at least among the Greeks, the name of Ister. It formerly divided Mœsia and Dacia, the latter of which, as we have already seen, was a conquest of Trajan, and the only province beyond the river. … On the right hand of the Danube, Mœsia, … during the middle ages, was broken into the barbarian kingdoms of Servia and Bulgaria."

_E. Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chapter 1._

Mœsia was occupied by the Goths in the 4th century.

See GOTHS: A. D. 341-381; and 376.

MOESKIRCH, Battle of (1800).

See FRANCE: A. D. 1800-1801 (MAY-FEBRUARY).

MŒSO-GOTHIC.

See GOTHS: A. D. 341-381.

MOGONTIACUM.

"The two headquarters of the [Roman] army of the Rhine were always Vetera, near Wesel, and Mogontiacum, the modern Mentz. … Mogontiacum or Mentz, [was] from the time of Drusus down to the end of Rome the stronghold out of which the Romans sallied to attack Germany from Gaul, as it is at the present day the true barrier of Germany against France. Here the Romans, even after they had abandoned their rule in the region of the upper Rhine generally, retained not merely the tête-de-pont on the other bank, the 'castellum Mogontiacense' (Castel), but also that plain of the Main itself, in their possession; and in this region a Roman civilisation might establish itself. The land originally belonged to the Chatti, and a Chattan tribe, the Mattiaci, remained settled here even under Roman rule."

_T. Mommsen, History of Rome, book 8, chapter 4 (The Provinces, volume 1)._

MOGUL EMPIRE. THE GREAT MOGUL.

See INDIA: A. D. 1399-1605.

MOHACS, Battle of (1526).

See HUNGARY: A. D. 1487-1526.

MOHACS, Second Battle of (1687).

See HUNGARY: A. D. 1683-1699.

MOHAMMED, The Prophet of Islam.

See MAHOMETAN CONQUEST AND EMPIRE.

Mohammed, Turkish Sultan, A. D. 1104-1116.

Mohammed I., Turkish Sultan, 1413-1421.

Mohammed II., Turkish Sultan, 1451-1481.

Mohammed III., Turkish Sultan, 1595-1603.

Mohammed IV., Turkish Sultan, 1649-1687.

Mohammed Mirza, Shah of Persia, 1577-1582.

Mohammed Shah, sovereign of Persia, 1834-1848.

MOHARRAM FESTIVAL, The.

See MAHOMETAN CONQUEST: A. D. 680.

MOHAVES, MOJAVES, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: APACHE GROUP.

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MOHAWKS, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY.

MOHAWKS, The, of Boston and New York.

See BOSTON: A. D. 1773; and NEW YORK: A. D. 1773-1774.

MOHAWKS, MOHOCKS, of London.

See MOHOCKS. [Third item below.]

MOHEGANS, MAHICANS, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: ALGONQUIAN FAMILY, HORIKANS, and STOCKBRIDGE INDIANS; also, NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1637.

MOHILEF, Battle of.

See RUSSIA: A. D. 1812 (JUNE-SEPTEMBER).

MOHOCKS, The.

"This nocturnal fraternity met in the days of Queen Anne: [1707] but it had been for many previous years the favourite amusement of dissolute young men to form themselves into Clubs and Associations for committing all sorts of excesses in the public streets, and alike attacking orderly pedestrians, and even defenceless women. These Clubs took various slang designations. At the Restoration they were 'Mums,' and 'Tityre-tus.' They were succeeded by the 'Hectors' and 'Scourers,' when, says Shadwell, 'a man could not go from the Rose Tavern to the Piazza once, but he must venture his life twice.' Then came the 'Nickers,' whose delight it was to smash windows with showers of halfpence; next were the 'Hawkabites'; and lastly the 'Mohocks.' These last are described in the 'Spectator,' No. 324, as a set of men who have borrowed their name from a sort of cannibals, in India, who subsist by plundering and devouring all the nations about them. … Their avowed design was mischief, and upon this foundation all their rules and orders were framed. They took care to drink themselves to a pitch beyond reason or humanity, and then made a general sally, and attacked all who were in the streets. Some were knocked down, others stabbed, and others cut and carbonadoed. … They had special barbarities which they executed upon their prisoners. 'Tipping the lion' was squeezing the nose flat to the face and boring out the eyes with their fingers. 'Dancing-masters' were those who taught their scholars to cut capers by running swords through their legs. The 'Tumblers' set women on their heads. The 'Sweaters' worked in parties of half-a-dozen, surrounding their victims with the points of their swords. … Another savage diversion of the Mohocks was their thrusting women into barrels, and rolling them down Snow or Ludgate Hill. … At length the villanies of the Mohocks were attempted to be put down by a Royal proclamation, issued on the 18th of March, 1712: this, however, had very little effect, for we soon find Swift exclaiming: 'They go on still and cut people's faces every night!' … The Mohocks held together until nearly the end of the reign of George I." [1727]

_J. Timbs, Clubs and Club Life in London, pages 33-38._

MOIRA, Lord (Marquis of Hastings), The Indian administration of.

See INDIA: A. D. 1805-1816.

MOJOS, MOXOS, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: ANDESIANS; also, BOLIVIA: ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS.

MÖKERN, Battle of (1813).

See GERMANY: A. D. 1812-1813.

MOLAI, Jacques de, and the fall of the Templars.

See TEMPLARS: A. D. 1307-1314; and FRANCE: A. D. 1285-1314.

MOLASSES ACT, The.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1763-1764.

MOLDAVIA. MOLDO-WALLACHIA.

See BALKAN AND DANUBIAN STATES.

MOLEMES, The Abbey of.

See CISTERCIAN ORDER.

MOLINISTS, The.

See MYSTICISM.

MOLINO DEL REY, Battle of.

See MEXICO: A. D. 1847 (MARCH-SEPTEMBER).

MOLINOS DEL REY, Battle of (1808).

See SPAIN: A. D. 1808-1809 (DECEMBER-MARCH).

MOLLWITZ, Battle of (1741).

See AUSTRIA: A. D. 1740-1741.

MOLOSSIANS, The.

See HELLAS; and EPIRUS.

MOLTKE'S CAMPAIGNS.

See TURKS: A. D. 1831-1840; GERMANY: A. D. 1866; FRANCE: A. D. 1870, and 1870-1871.

MOLUCCAS: Secured by Spain (1524).

See AMERICA: A. D. 1519-1524.

MONA.

The ancient name of the island of Anglesea. It was the final seat of the Druidical religion in Britain. Taken by the Romans under Suetonius, A. D. 61, the priests were slain, the sacred groves destroyed and Druidism practically exterminated.

_C. Merivale, History of the Romans, chapter 51._

See MONAPIA.

MONACANS, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: POWHATAN CONFEDERACY, and IROQUOIS TRIBES OF THE SOUTH.

MONAPIA.

"The name of Monapia first occurs in Pliny, and must be unquestionably identified with the Isle of Man; though the name of the latter would dispose us at first to consider it as representing Mona. But the Mona of the Romans, which was attacked by Suetonius Paulinus and Agricola, was certainly Anglesea."

_E. H. Bunbury, History of Ancient Geography., chapter 24, section 2, foot-note._

MONASTERY. MONASTICISM. CONVENT. ABBEY. PRIORY.

"Monasticism was not the product of Christianity; it was the inheritance of the Church, not its invention; not the offspring, but the adopted child. The old antagonism between mind and matter, flesh and spirit, self and the world has asserted itself in all ages, especially among the nations of the East. The Essenes, the Therapeutæ, and other Oriental mystics, were as truly the precursors of Christian asceticism in the desert or in the cloister, as Elijah and St. John the Baptist. The Neoplatonism of Alexandria, extolling the passionless man above him who regulates his passions, sanctioned and systematized this craving after a life of utter abstraction from external things, this abhorrence of all contact with what is material as a defilement. Doubtless the cherished remembrance of the martyrs and confessors, who in the preceding centuries of the Christian era had triumphed over many a sanguinary persecution, gave a fresh impulse in the fourth century to this propensity to asceticism, stimulating the devout to vie with their forefathers in the faith by their voluntary endurance of self-inflicted austerities. … The terms monastery, originally the cell or eave of a solitary, laura, an irregular cluster of cells, and cœnobium, an association of monks, few or many, under one roof and under one control, mark the three earliest stages in the development of monasticism. {2196} In Syria and Palestine each monk originally had a separate cell; in Lower Egypt two were together in one cell, whence the term 'syncellita,' or sharer of the cell, came to express this sort of comradeship; in the Thebaid, under Pachomius of Tabenna, each cell contained three monks. At a later period the monks arrogated to themselves by general consent the title of 'the religious,' and admission into a monastery was termed 'conversion' to God. … The history of monasticism, like the history of states and institutions in general, divides itself broadly into three great periods, of growth, of glory, and of decay. … From the beginning of the fourth century to the close of the fifth, from Antony the hermit to Benedict of Monte Casino, is the age of undisciplined impulse of enthusiasm not as yet regulated by experience. … Everything is on a scale of illogical exaggeration, is wanting in balance, in proportion, in symmetry. Because purity, unworldliness, charity, are virtues, therefore a woman is to be regarded as a venomous reptile, gold as a worthless pebble; the deadliest foe and the dearest friend are to be esteemed just alike. Because it is right to be humble, therefore the monk cuts off hand, ear, or tongue, to avoid being made bishop, and feigns idiocy, in order not to be accounted wise. Because it is well to teach people to be patient, therefore a sick monk never speaks a kind word for years to the brother monk who nursed him. Because it is right to keep the lips from idle words, therefore a monk holds a large stone in his mouth for three years. Every precept is to be taken literally, and obeyed unreasoningly. Therefore monks who have been plundered by a robber run after him to give him a something which has escaped his notice. Self-denial is enjoined in the gospel. Therefore the austerities of asceticism are to be simply endless. One ascetic makes his dwelling in a hollow tree, another in a cave, another in a tomb, another on the top of a pillar, another has so lost the very appearance of a man, that he is shot at by shepherds, who mistake him for a wolf. The natural instincts, instead of being trained and cultivated, are to be killed outright, in this abhorrence of things material. … The period which follows, from the first Benedict to Charlemagne, exhibits monasticism in a more mature stage of activity. The social intercourse of the monastery, duly harmonized by a traditional routine, with its subordination of rank and offices, its division of duties, its mutual dependence of all on each other, and on their head, civilized the monastic life; and, as the monk himself became subject to the refining influences of civilization, he went forth into the world to civilize others. … Had it not been for monks and monasteries, the barbarian deluge might have swept away utterly the traces of Roman civilization. The Benedictine monk was the pioneer of civilization and Christianity in England, Germany, Poland, Bohemia, Sweden, Denmark. The schools attached to the Lerinensian monasteries were the precursors of the Benedictine seminaries in France and of the professional chairs filled by learned Benedictines in the universities of mediæval Christendom. With the incessant din of arms around him, it was the monk in his cloister, even in regions beyond the immediate sphere of Benedict's legislation, even in the remote fastnesses, for instance of Mount Athos, who, by preserving and transcribing ancient manuscripts, both Christian and pagan, as well as by recording his observations of contemporaneous events, was handing down the torch of knowledge unquenched to future generations, and hoarding up stores of erudition for the researches of a more enlightened age. The first musicians, painters, farmers, statesmen, in Europe, after the downfall of Imperial Rome under the onslaught of the barbarians, were monks."

_I. Gregory Smith, Christian Monasticism, introduction._