It is inhabited by Serbs

The name was formerly applied to the kingdom of the Serbs. Rasgrad (räs'gräd). A town in Bulgaria, situated on the Ak Lom 35 miles southeast of Rustchuk. It was the scene of engagements between the Turks and Ru ians in 1810 and 1877. Population (1888), 12,974. Rashi (ra's he). [Contracted from the initials of the full name: Rabbi Salomoh Izhaki (i.e. 'son of Isaac').] Lived 1040-1105 at Troyes, in Champagne (northern France). One of the most eminent and influential men in Jewish talmud i cal and biblical literature. He studied in the celebrated schools of his time at Mainz and Worms (Germany). He was the first to compose a commentary on the Talmud (with the exception of three tracts) and on most of the books of the Old Testament. His commentaries, especially that on the Talmud, are distinguished by clearne of language and sobriety of judgment. His commentary on the Talmud saved that monumental work from neglect, and has not been surpa ed; and his commentary on the Bible is still a great favorite with the Jews, and is constantly drawn upon by modern exegetes. Rasht. See Resht. Rask (räsk), Rasmus Kristian. Born at Brän- dekilde, Denmark, Nov. 22, 1787: died at Copen- hagen, Nov. 14, 1832. A Danish philologist and writer, one of the founders of the modern science of comparative philology. He went to the Copenhagen University without means, but obtained a subsidiary position in the university library, and eked out a support by giving private instruction while he continued the linguistic studies to which he had devoted him self. His earliest work was particularly in the direction of Old Norse. In 1808 he published a translation of the Ra elas and his royal brothers and sisters live in a secluded portion of the earth known as the Happy Valley, where, completely isolated from the world, they await their succe ion to the crown of the imaginary land of Aby in i a, surrounded by every luxury which can make life agreeable, and shut off from all knowledge of those evils which can make it painful. The aim of the story is to show the vanity of expecting future happine , and the folly of sacrificing present advantages for the delusive promises of the future. Tucker man , Hist. of English Prose Fict., p. 234. Rastaban (räs-ta-bän'). [Ar. rás-al- thu bán , the head of the basilisk.] The third-magnitude stary Drac on is, in the head of the constellation. or Rastadt (räs'tät). A town in the circle of Baden-Baden, in Baden, situated on the Murg 14 miles southwest of Karlsruhe. is one of the strongest fortre es in Germany. The Baden insurrection of 1849 commenced here on May 11, and ended with the surrender of the fortre on July 23. Population (1890), 11,557. Rastatt, It Rastatt, Congre of. 1. A congre held in 1713-14 for putting an end to the war between Austria and France. 2. A congre held in 1797-99 for the purpose of arranging the questions at i ue between France and the Empire. It met Dec. 8, 1797, and was di olved April 8, 1799. The ce ion of the left bank of the Rhine to France and the secularization of various German dominions were agreed to. Two of the French envoys were murdered by Austrian hu ars near Rastatt, April 28, 1799. Rastatt, Convention of. A secret agreement between France and Austria, Dec. 1, 1797, providing for the delivery of the left bank of the Rhine to the French. Rastatt, Peace of. A treaty concluded between France and Austria in March 6, 1714. It was supplemented by the treaty of Baden (which see). Edda; in 1811 an Icelandic grammar. In 1813, with government a istance, he made a journey to Iceland to study the language, returning by the way of Scotland in 1815. In the meantime he had been awarded the gold medal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries for an e ay on the origin of the Old Norse language. In 1816, with public support, he started on an extended journey to the East. He was first for some months in Stockholm, then in St. Petersburg, whence he set out in the summer of 1819 for Tiflis. He traveled through Persia in 1820, and then went on to Rata. See Rota. Rastrick (ras'trik). A town in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, situated near the Calder 12 miles southwest of Leeds. Population (1891), 9,279. Bombay, everywhere actively engaged in studying the lan- Ratak Islands. See Radack Islands . guages of the countries through which he pa ed. In In- Ratazzi. See Rattazzi . dia he remained two years, engaged in linguistic study and Ratekau. See Ratkau . in collecting and copying MSS. He finally returned to Copenhagen in 1823. His labors for a long time failed of a just recognition. A small pension was given him for three years by the government; in 1825 he was made profe or extra ordinar i us of the history of literature, but without a stipend. In 1829, however, he was appointed university librarian; and at the end of 1831, barely a year before his death, he finally received the profe orship of Oriental lan- guages which he had so long desired. His linguistic studies covered a most extraordinary range. He published, among others, grammars of Icelandic, Anglo-Saxon, Singalese, Spanish, Friesian, Italian, Danish(in English), Lapp, and English, and wrote monographs on especial points of many languages and dialects. In numerous instances he cleared the way, by his preliminary labors and suggestions, for other workers in the same field. The principle of the relative correspondence of consonants in the Indo-Germanic languages, for instance, was discovered by him, although it was formulated as a law by Jacob Grimm whose name it bears. His collected e ays ("Samlade Afhandlinger") were published at Copenhagen, 1834-38, in 3 vols. Ras Mohammed (räs mō-häm'ed). The southernmost headland of the Sinai peninsula, projecting into the Red Sea. Raspail (räs-päy'), François Vincent. Born at Carpentras, France, Jan. 29, 1794: died Jan. 8, 1878. A French naturalist and radical republican politician. He took part in the revolution ary movements of 1830 and 1848, in which latter year he was imprisoned. He was a member of the Corps Législatif in 1869, and was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1876. Among his works are "Nouveau système de chimie organ i que" (1833), “Nouveau système de physio logie végétale" (1836), "His to ire naturelle de la santé et de la maladie" (1843), "Nouvelles études scient i fiques" (1864), etc. Raspe (räs'pe), Rudolph Erich. Born at Hannover, 1737: died at Muckro , Ireland, 1794. A German author. He was for a time profe or of archæology and curator of the museum at Ca el, but was charged with stealing medals under his care, and fled to England to avoid prosecution. He was a ay-master and storekeeper at the Dolcoath mines in Cornwall 1782-88. He wrote some scientific works, but is known chiefly as the compiler of "Baron Munchausen's Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Ru ia" (1785), a German translation of which was introduced in Germany by the poet Bürger in 1787 . Ra am (räs-säm'), Hormuzd. Born at Mosul, Turkey, 1826. A Turkish A yriologist, of Chaldean Christian parentage. He a isted Layard in his archæological excavations at Nineveh 1845-47. Having at Layard's instance completed his studies at Oxford, he accompanied him on his second expedition in 1849, and in Rathe now (rä'te-no), or Rathenau (rä'te nou). A town in the province of Brandenburg, Pru ia, situated on the Havel 45 miles west by north of Berlin. It has manufactures of spectacles and gla . It was repeatedly taken in the Thirty Years' War, and was the scene of a victory of the Great Elector of Brandenburg, Frederick William, over the Swedes, June 15, 1675. Population (1890), 16,353, Rathlin (rath'lin). A small island belonging to the county of Antrim, Ireland, situated in the North Channel 50 miles north by west of Belfast. Rath mines (rath-minz'). A place in Ireland 3 miles south of Dublin. Here, Aug. 2, 1649, the Royalists under Ormonde were defeated by the Parliamentarians under Jones. Ratibor (rä'tē-bör). A city in the province of Silesia, Pru ia, situated on the Oder in lat. 50° 5' N., long. 18° 12′ E. It has flourishing trade and manufactures, and was formerly the capital of the princi pality of Ratibor. Population (1890), 20,737. Ratibor, Duchy of. A duchy of the Holy Roman Empire, in the southeastern part of Silesia. It was acquired by the Hapsburgs 1532, and by Pru ia 1742. The principality of Ratibor was created 1822. Ratibor, Duke of (Victor Moritz Karl, Prince of Corvey and of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst). Born Feb. 10, 1818: died Jan. 30, 1893. A German politician, president of the Pru ian upper house from 1877. Ratisbon (rat'is-bon), G. Regensburg (rā'gensbörg). [F. Rat is bonne , ML. Ratisbona , from Celtic Radespona . The Roman name was Regi num or Castra Regina , the camp on the river Regen (OHG. Regan ); OHG. Reganespuruc , G. Regensburg .] The capital of the Upper Palatinate, Bavaria, situated on the south bank of the Danube, opposite the mouth of the Regen, in lat. 49° 2' N., long. 12° 5' E.: the Roman Reginum or Castra Regina. It has a transit trade, and manufactures of boats, pottery, lead-pencils, etc., and contains many medieval buildings. The cathedral was built between 1275 and 1534. The west front is of the 15th century; it is covered with Ratisbon 1851 became his succe or as British agent for the conduct of A yrian explorations, a post which he held until the explorations came to an end in 1854. In 1864 he was sent by the British government on a mi ion to Theodore, king of Aby in i a, by whom he was kept imprisoned until 1868. From 1876-82 he conducted explorations in Me so pot am i a arcading, flanked by 2 towers with lofty openwork spires (finished 1869), and has before its sculptured central portal a curious projecting arcaded triangular porch. The cathedral measures 306 by 125 feet; the nave-vault is 132 feet high. Other objects of interest are the Rathaus (the seat of the German Reichstag from 1663 to Golden Cro Inn, Golden Tower and other towers, Church of St. Ulrich, Abbey of St. Emmeram, and Schottenkirche. In the vicinity is the hall Walhalla. Ratisbon was an important Roman town, later a free imperial city, and one of the most flourishing medieval towns of Germany. It suffered in the Thirty Years' War; was given to the prince primate Dalberg in 1803; suffered severely in the five days' fighting between Napoleon and the archduke Charles, April 19-23, 1809; and pa ed to Bavaria in 1810. Population (1890), 37,934. Ratisbon Interim. A provisional arrangement devised by the emperor Charles V. for the set tlement of the points of dispute between the Catholics and Protestants. It was based on a conference held during the Diet at Ratisbon, in 1541, between leading theologians (Me lanch thon, Bucer, Eck, etc.). Rat (rat) Islands. A group of islands in the western part of the Aleutian chain. Ratkau (rät kou), or Ratkow (rät'kō), or Ratekau (rä'te-kou). A village 5 miles from Lübeck, Germany. Here, Nov. 7, 1806, Blücher, on the retreat from Auerstädt, surrendered with about 7,000 men to the French.