family of Canaan. This, in fact, as well as the | other small northern states of Phoenicia, was a colony from the great parent state of Sidon. Arka, or Acra, their chief town, lay between Tripolis and Antaradus, at the western base of Lebanon, 32 R. miles from Antaradus, and 18 miles from Tripoli. Burckhardt, in travelling from the north-cast of Lebanon to Tripoli, at the distance of about four miles south of the Nahrel-keber (Eleutherus), came to a hill called TelArka, which, from its regularly flattened conical form and smooth sides, appeared to be artificial. Upon an elevation on its east and south sides, which commands a beautiful view over the plain, | the sea, and the Anzeyry mountains, are large and extensive heaps of rubbish, traces of ancient dwellings, blocks of hewn stone, remains of walls, and fragments of granite columns. These are no doubt the remains of Arka; and the hill was probably the acropolis or citadel, or the site of a temple. ARM. This word is frequently used in Scripture in a metaphorical sense to denote power. Hence, to break the arm' is to diminish or destroy the power (Ps. x. 15; Ezek. xxx. 21; Jer. xlviii. 25). It is also employed to denote the infinite power of God (Ps. lxxxix. 13; xlviii. 2; Isa. liii. 1; John xii. 38). In a few places the metaphor is, with great force, extended to the action of the arm, as:- I will redeem you with a stretched out arm' (Exod. vi. 5), that is, with a power fully exerted. The figure is here taken from the attitude of ancient warriors baring and outstretching the arm for fight. Thus in Isa. lii. 10, Jehovah hath made bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations.' ARMAGEDDON, properly the mountain of Megiddo,' a city on the west of the river Jordan, rebuilt by Solomon (1 Kings ix. 15). Both Ahaziah and Josias died there. In the mystical language of prophecy, the word mountain represents the Church, and the events which took place at Megiddo are supposed to have had a typical reference to the sorrows and triumphs of the people of God under the Gospel. In that day,' says Zechariah, xii. 11, 'shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon;' referring to the death of Josias. But the same spot witnessed, at an earlier period, the greatest triumph of Israel, when fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo' (Judg. v. 19). He gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armaged don,' is the language of the Apocalypse; and the word has been translated by some as the mountain of destruction,' by others as 'the mountain of the gospel;' many ingenious speculations having been employed on the passage in which it occurs, but with little satisfaction to the more sober readers of divine revelation. ARMENIA, a country of Western Asia, is not mentioned in Scripture under that name, but is supposed to be alluded to in the three following Hebrew designations, which seem to refer either to the country as a whole, or to particular districts. I. Ararat, the land upon (or over) the mountains of which the ark rested at the Deluge (Gen. viii. 4); whither the sons of Sennacherib fled after murdering their father (2 Kings xix. 37; Isa. xxxvii. 38); and one of the 'kingdoms' ARMENIA summoned, along with Minni and Ashkenaz, to arm against Babylon (Jer. li. 27). II. Minni is mentioned in Jer. li. 27, along with Ararat and Ashkenaz, as a kingdom called to arm itself against Babylon. The name is by some taken for a contraction of Armenia.' III. Thogarmah, mentioned by the prophet Ezekiel xxvii. 14; xxxviii. 6. The boundaries of Armenia may be described generally as the southern range of the Caucasus on the north, and a branch of the Taurus on the south. It forms an elevated table-land, whence rise mountains which (with the exception of the gigantic Ararat) are of moderate height. The climate is generally cold, but salubrious. The country abounds in romantic forest and mountain scenery, and rich pasture-land, especially in the districts which border upon Persia. Ancient writers notice the wealth of Armenia in metals and precious stones. The great rivers Euphrates and Tigris both take their rise in this region, as also the Araxes, and the Kur or Cyrus. Armenia is commonly divided into Greater and Lesser, the line of separation being the Euphrates; but the former constitutes by far the larger portion, and indeed the other is often regarded as pertaining rather to Asia Minor. There was anciently a kingdom of Armenia, with its metropolis Artaxata: it was sometimes an independent state, but most commonly tributary to some more powerful neighbour. Indeed at no period was the whole of this region ever comprised under one government, but Assyria, Media, Syria, and Cappadocia shared the dominion or allegiance of some portion of it, just as it is now divided among the Persians, Russians, Turks, and Kurds. In later times Armenia was the border-country where the Romans and Parthians fruitlessly strove for the mastery; and since then it has been the frequent battle-field of the neighbouring states. Towards the end of the last war between Russia and Turkey, large bodies of native Armenians emigrated into the Russian dominions, so that their bumber in what is termed Turkish Armenia is now considerably reduced. By the treaty of Turkomanshee (21st Feb. 1828) Persia ceded to Russia the Khanats of Erivan and Nakhshivan. The boundary-line (drawn from the Turkish dominious) passes over the Little Ararat; the line of separation between Persian and Turkish Armenia also begins at Ararat; so that this famous mountain is now the central boundary-stone of these three empires. Christianity was first established in Armenis in the fourth century; the Armenian church has a close affinity to the Greek church in its forms and polity; it is described by the American missionaries who are settled in the country as in a state of great corruption and debasement. The total number of the Armenian nation throughout the world is supposed not to exceed 2,000,000. Their favourite pursuit is commerce, and their merchants are found in all parts of the East. The Armenian or Haikan language, notwithstanding the great antiquity of the nation to which it belongs, possesses no literary documents prior to the fifth century of the Christian era. The translation of the Bible, begun by Miesro in the year 410, is the earliest monument of the language that has come down to us. The dialect in which this version is written, and in which i' ARMS, ARMOUR ARMS, ARMOUR 97 The throwstick, made of thornwood, is the same instrument which we see is still publicly read in their churches, is called | strong arm. ARMLET. Although this word has the same meaning as bracelet, yet the latter is practically so exclusively used to denote the ornament of the wrist, that it seems proper to distinguish by armlet the similar ornament which is worn on the upper arm. There is also this difference between them, that in the East bracelets are generally worn by women, and armlets only by 3 2 7 10 12 13 52. 51. men. The armlet, however, is in use among men only as one of the insignia of sovereign power. The Egyptian kings are represented with armlets, which were also worn by the Egyptian women. These, however, are not jewelled, but of plain or enamelled metal, as was in all likelihood the case among the Hebrews. ARMS, ARMOUR. In order to give a clear view of this subject, we shall endeavour to show succinctly, and from the best authorities now available, what were the weapons, both offensive and defensive, used by the ancient Asiatics. The instruments at first employed in the chace, or to repel wild beasts, but converted by the wicked to the destruction of their fellow-men, or used by the peaceable to oppose aggression, were naturally the most simple. Among these were the club and the throwing-bat. The first consisted originally of a heavy piece of wood, variously shaped, made to strike with, and, according to its form, denominated a mace, a bar, a hazmer, or a maul. This weapon was in use mong the Hebrews; for, in the time of the Kings, wood had already been superseded by metal; and the rod of iron (Ps. ii. 9) is supposed to mean a mace, or gavelock, or crowbar. It is an instrument of great power when used by a figured on Egyptian monuments. By the native Arabs it is still called lissan, and was anciently known among us by the name of crooked billet. These instruments, supplied with a sharp edge, would naturally constitute a battle-axe, and a kind of sword; and such in the rudest ages we find them, made with flints set into a groove, or with sharks' teeth firmly secured to the staff with twisted sinews. On the earliest monuments of Egypt, for these ruder instruments is already seen substituted a piece of metal with a steel or bronze blade fastened into a globe, thus forming a falchion-axe; and also a lunate-blade, riveted in three places to the handle, forming a true battle-axe; and there were, besides, true bills or axes in form like our own. Next came the dirk or poniard, the Hebrew name of which may possibly retain some allusion to the original instrument made of the antelope's horn, merely sharpened, which is still used in every part of the East where the material can be procured. From existing figures, the dirk appears to have been early made of metal in Egypt, and worn stuck in a girdle; but, from several texts (1 Sam xvii. 39; 2 Sam. xx. 8; and 1 Kings xx. 11), it is evident that the real H for commencing and ending a war. The blades were, it seems, always short; and the dirksword, at least, was always double-edged. The sheath was ornamented and polished. In Egypt there were larger and heavier swords, more nearly like modern tulwars, and of the form of an English round-pointed table-knife. But while metal was scarce, there were also swords which might be called quarter-pikes, being composed of a very short wooden handle, surmounted by a spear-head. In Nubia, swords of heavy wood are still in use. ARMS, ARMOUR in the desert east of Palestine. At a later period, the head was of brass, and afterwards of iron. Very ponderous weapons of this kind were often used in Egypt by the heavy infantry; and, from various circumstances, it may be inferred that among the Hebrews and their immediate neighbours, commanders in particular were distinguished by heavy spears. Among these were generally ranked the most valiant in fight and the largest in stature; such as Goliath, whose spear was like a weaver's beam' (1 Sam. xvii. 7), and whose spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; which by some is asserted to be equal to twenty-five pounds weight. The spear had a point of metal at the but-end to fix it in the ground, perhaps with the same massy globe above it, which is still in use, intended to counterbalance the point. It was with this ferrel that Abner slew Asahel (2 Sam. ii. 22, 23). The javelins appear to have had different forms. In most nations of antiquity the infantry, not bearing a spear, carried two darts, those lightly armed using both for long casts, and the heavy-armed only one for that purpose; the second, more ponderous than the other, being reserved for throwing when close to the enemy, or for handling in the manner of a spear. While on the subject of the javelin, it may be remarked that, by the act of casting one at David (1 Sam. xix. 9, 10), Saul virtually absolved him from his allegiance; for by the customs of ancient Asia, preserved in the usages of the Teutonic and other nations, the custom of the East Franks, &c., to throw a dart at a freedman, who escaped from it by flight, was the demonstrative token of manumission given by his lord or master; he was thereby sent out of hand, manumissus, well expressed in the old English phrase 'scot-free.' But for this act of Saul, David might have been viewed as a rebel. 1, 2. Spear-heads. 54. 3, 4. Darts. 5. Oryx horn spear-head. The spear was another offensive weapon common to all the nations of antiquity, and was of various size, weight, and length. Probably the shepherd Hebrews. like nations similarly situated in northern Africa, anciently made use of the horn of an oryx, or a leucoryx, above three feet long, straightened in water, and sheathed a thorn-wood staff. When sharpupon ened, this instrument would penetrate the hide of a bull, and, according to Strabo, even of an elephant: it was light, very difficult to break, resisted the blow of a battle-axe, and the animals which furnished it were abundant in Arabia and ARMS, ARMOUR course of time very strong and tall, was made of brass, of wood backed with horn, or of horn entirely, and even of ivory; some being shaped like the common English bow, and others, particularly those used by riding nations, like the buffalo horn. There were various modes of bending this instrument, by pressure of the knee, or by the foot treading the bow, or by setting one end against the foot, drawing the middle with the hand of the same side towards the hip, and pushing the upper point forward with the second hand, till the thumb passed the loop of the string beyond the nock. The horned bows of the cavalry, shaped like those of the Chinese, occur on monuments of antiquity. This was the Parthian bow, as is proved by several Persian bas-reliefs, and may have been in use in the time of the Elamites, who were a mounted people. These bows were carried in cases to protect the string, which was composed of deer sinews, from injury, and were slung on the right hip of the rider, except when on the point of engaging. Then the string was often cast over the head, and the bow hung upon the breast, with the two nocks above each shoulder, iike a pair of horns. The arrows were likewise enclosed in a case or quiver, hung sometimes on the shoulder, and at other times on the left side; and six or eight flight-arrows were commonly stuck in the edge of the cap, ready to be pulled out and put to the string. The infantry always carried the arrows in a quiver on the right shoulder, and the bow was kept unbent until the moment of action. On a march it was carried on the shield arm, where there was frequently also a horn bracer secured below the elbow to receive the shock from the string when an arrow was discharged. The flight or long-range arrows were commonly of reed, not always feathered, and mostly tipped with flint points; but the shot or aimed arrows, used for nearer purposes, were of wood tipped with metal, about 30 inches long, and winged with three lines of feathers, like hose in modern use: they varied in length at different periods, and according to the substance of the bows. The last missile instrument to be mentioned is the sling (Job xli. 28), an improvement upon 56. [Egyptian Slingers and Sling.] the simple act of throwing stones. It was the favourite weapon of the Benjamites, a small tribe, not making a great mass in an order of battle, but well composed for light troops. They could also boast of using the sling equally well with the left hand as with the right. The sling was made of plaited thongs, somewhat broad in the middle, to lodge the stone or leaden missile, and was twirled two or three times round before the stone was allowed to take flight. Stones could not be cast above 400 feet, but leaden bullets could be thrown as far as 600 feet. The force as well as precision of aim which might be attained in the use of this instrument was remarkably shown in the case of David; and several nations of antiquity boasted of great skill in the practice of the sling. All these hand-weapons were in use at different periods, not only among the Hebrews and Egyptians, but likewise in Assyria, Persia, Greece, and Macedonia. The Roman pilum was a kind of dart, distinguished from those of other nations chiefly by its weight, and the great proportional length of the metal or iron part, which constituted one half of the whole, or from two and a half to three feet. Much of this length was hollow, and received nearly twenty inches of the shaft within it: the point was never hooked like that of common darts. DEFENSIVE ARMS.-The most ancient defensive piece was the shield, buckler, roundel, or target, composed of a great variety of materials, very different in form and size. The Hebrews had the word tsenna, a great shield for defence and protection (Gen. xv. 1; Ps. xlvii. 9; Prov. xxx. 5), which is commonly found in connection with spear, and was the shelter of heavily-armed infantry; and the magin, a buckler, or smaller Ishield, which, from a similar juxtaposition with sword, bow, and arrows, appears to have been the defence of other-armed infantry and of chiefs: a third called sohairah or roundel, may have been appropriated to archers and slingers; and there were others called shelatim, apparently similar to the magin, and only differing from it in ornament. In the more advanced eras of civilization shields were made of light wood not liable to split, covered with bull-hide of two or more thicknesses and bordered with metal: the lighter kinds were made of wicker-work or osier, similarly, but less solidly covered; of double ox-hide cut into a round form. There were others of a single hide, extremely thick from having been boiled; their surface presented an appearance of many folds, like round waves up and down, which yielded, but could rarely be penetrated. We may infer that at first the Hebrews borrowed the forms in use in Egypt, and had their common shields, a kind of parallelogram, broadest and arched at the top, and cut square beneath, bordered with metal, the surface being covered with raw hide with the hair on. The lighter shields may have been soaked in oil and dried in the shade to make them hard. During the Assyrian and Persian supremacy the Hebrews may have used the square, oblong, and round shields of these nations, and may have subsequently copied those of Greece and Rome. The princes of Israel had shields of precious metals: all were managed by a wooden or leathern handle, and often slung by a thong over the neck. The tsenna was most likely what in the feudal ages would have been called a pavise, for such occurs on the Egyptian monuments. This was about five feet high, with a pointed arch above and square below, resembling the feudal knight's shield, but that the point was reversed. Shields were hung upon the battlements of walls, and, as still occurs, chiefly above gates of cities by the watch and ward. In time of peace they were covered to preserve them from the sun, and in war uncovered; this sign was poetically used to denote coming hostilities, as in Isa. xxii. 6, &c. The Helmet was next in consideration, and in the earliest ages was made of osier, or rushes, in the form of a beehive, or of a skull-cap. The skins of the heads of animals-of lions, bears, wild boars, bulls, and horses-were likewise adopted, ARMS, ARMOUR which the turban is usually wound; but these were almost invariably supplied with long lappets to cover the ears and the back of the head, and princes usually wore a radiated crown on the summit. This was the form of the Syrian, probably of the Assyrian helmets, excepting that the last mentioned were of brass, though they still retained the low cylindrical shape. Some helmet of this kind was worn by the trained infantry, who were spearmen among the Hebrews; but archers and slingers had round skull-caps of skins, felts, or quilted stuffs, such as are still in use among the Arabs. Body Armour.-The most ancient Persian idols are clad in shagged skins. In Egypt cuirasses were manufactured of leather, of brass, and of a succession of iron hoops, chiefly covering the abdomen and the shoulders; but a more ancient national form was a kind of thorax, tippet, or square, with an opening for the head in it, the four points covering the breast, back, and both upper arms. This was affected in particular by the royal band of relatives who surrounded the Pharaoh, were his subordinate commanders, messengers, and body-guards, bearing his standards, ensign-faus, and sun-screens, his portable throne, his bow and arrows. Beneath this square was another piece, protecting the trunk of the body. and both were in general covered with a redcoloured cloth or stuff. On the oldest fictile vases a shoulder-piece likewise occurs, worn by Greek and Etruscan warriors. It covers the upper edge of the body armour, is perforated in the middle for the head to pass, but hangs equal on the breast and back, square on the shoulders, and is evidently of leather. By the use of metal for defensive armour, the Carians appear to have created astonishment among the Egyptians, and therefore to have been the first nation so pro and were adorned with rows of teeth, manes, and bristles. Wood, linen cloth in many folds, and a kind of felt, were also in early use, and some of them may be observed worn by the nations of Asia at war with the conqueror kings of Egypt, even before the departure of Israel. At that time also these kings had helmets of metal, of rounded or pointed forms. The nations of farther Asia used the woollen or braided caps, still retained, and now called kaouk and fez, around 59. 1. Egyptian tigulated. 2. Sleeve of ring-mall, Ionian. tected in Western Asia; nevertheless, in the tombs of the kings near Thebes, a tigulated hauberk is represented, composed of small threecoloured pieces of metal; one golden, the others reddish and green. It is this kind of armour which may be meant by the Hebrew word techera, the closest interpretation of which appears to be a tiling. In 2 Chron. xviii, 33, Ahab may have been struck in one of the grooves |