Ispahan

Ancient city of Persia, on the Zendeh; capital of province Irak-Ajemi. It was taken 1387 by Timur, who is said to have raised a skull-tower of 70,000 heads at the gate. It attained its greatest prosperity under Shah Abbas, who made it his capital 1590. It was sacked by Afghans 1722, and Chandler's Encyclopedia IMG:content-0828.png:[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][graphic] IMG:content-0829.jpg:[graphic] College of Sultan Husein at Ispahan. its manufactures are of higher reputation than the courage and morals of its people. It contains the finest specimens of modern Oriental architecture and decoration in Persia, but much of it is in ruins. I Spy. Children's game, in which a concealed player calls out Whoop, and the rest seek him. After being discovered, he pursues the others and endeavors to touch them before they reach Home. On discovering him the seeker cries, I spy the wolf, to warn the other seekers. Israel. 1. Surname of the patriarch Jacob. 2. The twelve tribes of his descendants. 3. Kingdom originating in the revolt of the Ten Tribes from the House of David. 4. The Christian Church, as spiritually descended from Jacob. Israeli tes. See HEBREWS. Israels, JOSEF, b. 1824. Dutch genre painter of high rank. I achar. Ninth son of the patriarch Jacob, and ancestor of one of the 12 tribes. I ue. Surface or channel kept in an ulcerating condition to relieve inflammation in the parts beneath. I ue. 1. All legitimate descendants. 2. Question in controversy between parties to a litigation, as shown by the pleadings. It may be one of law, to be determined by the court upon the pleadings alone, or one of fact, to be determined upon the evidence thereafter adduced. I us. Ancient city in s.e. Cilicia; scene of Alexander's defeat of Darius 333 B.С. I y. Suburb of Paris; scene of Davout's defeat by Blucher July 3, 1815. Isthmian Games. Celebrated on the Isthmus of Corinth in a pine grove sacred to Poseidon; originally octennial, after 580 biennial. The contests were nearly the same as at Olympia, including rhetorical, poetical, and musical exhibitions; the prize was a garland of pine leaves, afterward an ivy wreath, then pine again. By a law of Solon, every A then i an victorious at the Isthmus received 100 drachmæ. The games continued till 393. Isthmus. Neck of land connecting two larger portions, as those of Panama, Suez, and Corinth. Church of Santa Maria dell a Salute, Venice. Italian Language. One of the so-called Romance languages; its modern literary form is based upon the Tuscan dialect used by Dante and Boccaccio. Italian, like other Romance languages, goes back to the popular Latin. The documents begin ab. 1000, and since the 14th century literary Italian has remained in a fairly stable condition. Italian Literature. The Italian language and literature are the lineal succe ors of the Latin. Eight centuries, 5001300, intervene between the last age of Latin literature and the establishment of Italian. The language was fixed, and the literature begun, by the great masters, Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio, in the 14th century. Before that age, the literature existed in crude forms, mainly of poetry, lyric and dramatic, and of the novelle. In the 15th century the full influence of the Renai ance was exerted upon the Italian mind, and though it produced no names so eminent as its predece or, it paved the way for the appearance in the 16th century of such singers as Ta o and Ariosto, of political writers like Machi a vell i, and of notable historians and novelists. The 17th century was a period of decadence and of false taste. Much was produced in poetry and the drama, but it only made the sterility more apparent. With the 18th century the dawn of a better day appeared, due, it is claimed, to the influence of the study of French models. Vico founded the new school of historic study in the application of philosophy to history. Metastasio in poetry, Alfieri in tragedy, and Gold on i in comedy; these restored some. thing like the ancient renown. Contemporary Italian literature dates from 1815. It is specially rich in philosophy and history, and in the field of romance, both prose and poetic, it may boast high names. Italic Language. The original group of the Aryan family of which Latin later a erted itself as the most prom i. nent representative, and probably related more nearly to Hel. lenic than to any other Aryan tongues. Italy. Kingdom of s. Europe, consisting mainly of the Italian peninsula and the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. The Itacolumite. Sandstone containing, with the quartz peninsula is traversed by the A pennines, while upon the bor. grains, scales of mica, frequently so arranged arranged as to impart to the stone a marked degree of flexibility, whence the name flexible sandstone. The term is of Brazilian origin; the stone has been thought to be the home of the diamond. It is found also in the s. Appal a chi ans. Itagaki, TAISUKE, b. 1838. Japanese general 1868, Privy Councilor 1871, Minister of State 1878, Count 1887. ders of France and Switzerland are the Alps. The seacoast is somewhat broken, affording several fine harbors. The area is 110,623 sq. m. Agriculture and manufactures are in a backward state, yet much wine, olive oil, fruit, and silk are produced and exported. In 1893, 8,700 miles of railroad were in operation. Ancient I. was divided into three parts, Northern, Central, and Southern, occupied by Gauls, Etruscans and Latins, and Greeks. Gradually Rome conquered and incorporated the whole peninsula. Then. boundary was not advanced to the Alps until 222 B.C. From that time I. was the center of the Empire till the removal of the capital to Constantinople, 324, after which it was ruled by viceroys. The weakening bond with Constantinople was finally ruptured 476. Italian Architecture. The chief historical styles of architecture have left examples in Italy, the first being the aboriginal, or Etruscan, afterward converted by the admixture of elements imported from Greece into the cla ical or GrecoRoman. The Romanesque, practiced in Italy from the fifth to the fifteenth century, and distinguished in part by addition of Byzantine forms, produ produced many interesting monuments. The Gothic was imported from the North, and scarcely attained an independent development, except in a few churches, as at Sienna, and in the domestic architecture of Venice and of n. Italy in general. What is commonly designated as Italian architecture, however, is the revived Cla ic, introduced by Brunelleschi and Albert i, and carried on by their succe ors. This has extended, with national modifications, throughout Eu- | overthrown; Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the West Mediæval I. begins with Theodoric's kingdom of the Ostrogoths, 493-526. He was conquered by Belisarius and Narses, and the Emperor's authority re-established 536-574. N. Italy fell under the power of the Lombards 568-774. The aggre ions of the Lombards induced the Bishop of Rome to summon the victorious Franks to his deliverance. This proved a most fateful alliance. The kingdom of the Lombards was Chandler's Encyclopedia at Rome 800, and the foundation of the papal temporal power was laid. I. was merged in Charlemagne's Empire, except the s. extremity, which was divided between Greeks and Saracens. At the dismemberment of Charlemagne's Empire 887, I. fell under the sway of local feudal lords, until conquered by Otto I. 962. Then followed the long struggle of Church and Empire, resulting in the supremacy of the Church and the abasement of the Empire 1250. During this struggle, which convulsed all I., the Republics rose into prominence. Their monopoly of the Oriental trade had made them rich, and in the struggle between Pope and Emperor they achieved their independence, but proved unable to form a durable confederacy, and were rent with factional strife, which i ued in the rise of the despots, 1300-1492. The absence of the Popes at Avignon 1309-76, and the Great Schism 1378-1414, with the feeblene of the Empire, secured to I. a season of internal tranquillity. This is the most brilliant and prosperous period of Medieval I., 1300-1500. Five principalities had grown up, Milan and Venice in the north, Florence and the Papal States in the center, and the Kingdom of Naples (founded by Robert Guiscard and his Normans under Ancient Italy, by Turner. the suzerainty of the Pope 1053) in the south. A succe ful balance of power was maintained by the Medici of Florence, and the generous rivalry in art and literature formed an ideal bond of union. It is the period of the Renai ance, of the culmination of European art, of the Revival of Letters, and of the general awakening of the human mind, by means of which I. regained wakening an ideal ascendency in Europe. This prosperous period was disturbed by the invasion of Charles VIII. of France 1494, to establish his claim in Naples. This was followed by the rivalry of the Emperor Charles V. and Francis I., and the disturbances occasioned by the outbreak of the Reformation. I. now became the battlefield of Europe. In 1527 Rome was sacked by the imperial army, largely composed of Luther ans, and Pope Clement VII. was imprisoned. In 1530 Spanish hegemony was established over all I.: 1520-1796 is the most inglorious period of Italian history. Under the supremacy of Austria a torpor overspread the country. Her territories became the barter of kings, in whose wars she suffered. The French Revolution threw I. again into confusion. Rome became a part of the French Empire. The old order was re-established at the Congre of Vienna 1815, but germs of independent nationality had been planted which were not to perish. Modern I. dates from the rise of the House of Savoy to prominence. At the Congre of Vienna, Victor Emanuel was recognized as King of Sardinia. To this power the hopes of young I. gradually attached themselves; the names of Mazzini, Cavour, and Garibaldi are intimately a ociated with the achievement of national independence. The republican revolution of 1848 proved a failure, but the constitutional reforms of Victor Emanuel gained favor and solidity, while his union with the Allies in the Crime an War, 1854, won for the nascent kingdom consideration abroad. An alliance with Louis Napoleon against Austria caused the war of 1859, in which the expectations of I. were cruelly disappointed. In 1860 Central I. was annexed to the kingdom of Sardinia, and, through Garibaldi, the Sicilies. The alliance with Pru ia, 1866, secured Venice. Only Rome remained. The victory of Sedan released Rome from French control, and Sept. 20, 1870, Victor Emanuel entered the city. After centuries of distraction and humiliation I. was emancipated and Rome again her capital. Pius IX. was allowed to occupy the Vatican. The government is a limited monarchy, under a king, with a Senate nominated by the king, and a Chamber of Deputies elected by the people. A triple alliance with Germany and Austria was formed 1882. The development of the country by railroads and other public works, with the effort to maintain a place among the leading powers of Europe, the army and fleet, and the African occupation, have entailed heavy and embarra ing expenses. Pop., 1892, 30,535,848.