The world: historical and actual . ntersection of theleading caravan-routes of ancient commerce. Thegreat changes in these lines of trade, the devasta-tions of successive conquerors, and revolutions, thefanaticism of the Saracens, and the destruction ofthe fertile soil by the encroachments of the desert-sands, are causes sufficient for the ruin of such apowerful empire. Its decline was probably accele-rated by the pressure of the nomad hordes, who tookadvantage of its weakness to plunder its defenselesscitizens. with England which began early in 18G8. In a fewmonths the conquest was complete,
The world: historical and actual . ntersection of theleading caravan-routes of ancient commerce. Thegreat changes in these lines of trade, the devasta-tions of successive conquerors, and revolutions, thefanaticism of the Saracens, and the destruction ofthe fertile soil by the encroachments of the desert-sands, are causes sufficient for the ruin of such apowerful empire. Its decline was probably accele-rated by the pressure of the nomad hordes, who tookadvantage of its weakness to plunder its defenselesscitizens. with England which began early in 18G8. In a fewmonths the conquest was complete, and rather thanyield to Sir Robert Napiers demand for uncon-ditional surrender, Theodore committed in his reign he had shown some high qualitiesof statesmanship, and inspired the hope that Ethi-opia would Once more become a fairly prosperouscountry; but that hope was doomed to disajipoint-ment. Gondar, the capital and chief city, once hada population of 50,000, but now it has hardly morethan one-tenth of that Coast of Tyre. The population of Abyssinia, the present Ethio-pia, so far as there is a modern country correspond-ing to ancient Cush, is about 3,000,000. The com-mon people are industrious husbandmen, belonging,for the most part, to the Abyssinian Church, a branchof Christianity which retains the Oriental rite of cir-cumcision, as no less binding than baptism and thesacrament of the Lords Supper. The governmentis an absolute monarchy. In 1855, Theodore crowned king of Abyssinia, and under him thecountry came into considerable prominence. Heconceived the idea of conquering Egypt. This reallychimerical idea, and the imprisonment of certainBritish subjects, finally involved Theodore in a war Phoenicia was an insignificant tract of land in thenorth of Palestine, along the coast of the Mediter-ranean Sea, of uncertain extent. A plain twenty-eight miles in length and averaging about one milein width, constituted Phoenicia proper, hemmed inbetween
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectworldhistory, bookyea
