[1] Diamonds are invariably weighed in carats and in 1/2, 1/4, 1/8,
1/16, 1/32, 1/64 of a carat. One (English) carat = 3.17 grains = .2054
gram. One ounce = 151-1/2 carats. (See CARAT.)
DIAMOND NECKLACE, THE AFFAIR OF THE, a mysterious incident at the court
of Louis XVI. of France, which involved the queen Marie Antoinette. The
Parisian jewellers Boehmer and Bassenge had spent some years collecting
stones for a necklace which they hoped to sell to Madame Du Barry, the
favourite of Louis XV., and after his death to Marie Antoinette. In 1778
Louis XVI. proposed to the queen to make her a present of the necklace,
which cost 1,600,000 livres. But the queen is said to have refused it,
saying that the money would be better spent equipping a man-of-war.
According to others, Louis XVI. himself changed his mind. After having
vainly tried to place the necklace outside of France, the jewellers
attempted again in 1781 to sell it to Marie Antoinette after the birth
of the dauphin. It was again refused, but it was evident that the queen
regretted not being able to acquire it.
At that time there was a personage at the court whom Marie Antoinette
particularly detested. It was the cardinal Louis de Rohan, formerly
ambassador at Vienna, whence he had been recalled in 1774, having
incurred the queen's displeasure by revealing to the empress Maria
Theresa the frivolous actions of her daughter, a disclosure which
brought a maternal reprimand, and for having spoken lightly of Maria
Theresa in a letter of which Marie Antoinette learned the contents.
After his return to France the cardinal was anxious to regain the favour
of the queen in order to obtain the position of prime minister. In March
1784 he entered into relations with a certain Jeanne de St Remy de
Valois, a descendant of a bastard of Henry II., who after many
adventures had married a _soi-disant_ comte de Lamotte, and lived on a
small pension which the king granted her. This adventuress soon gained
the greatest ascendancy over the cardinal, with whom she had intimate
relations. She persuaded him that she had been received by the queen and
enjoyed her favour; and Rohan resolved to use her to regain the queen's
good will. The comtesse de Lamotte assured the cardinal that she was
making efforts on his behalf, and soon announced to him that he might
send his justification to Marie Antoinette. This was the beginning of a
pretended correspondence between Rohan and the queen, the adventuress
duly returning replies to Rohan's notes, which she affirmed to come from
the queen. The tone of the letters became very warm, and the cardinal,
convinced that Marie Antoinette was in love with him, became ardently
enamoured of her. He begged the countess to obtain a secret interview
for him with the queen, and a meeting took place in August 1784 in a
grove in the garden at Versailles between him and a lady whom the
cardinal believed to be the queen herself. Rohan offered her a rose, and
she promised him that she would forget the past. Later a certain Marie
Lejay (renamed by the comtesse "Baronne Gay d'Oliva," the last word
being apparently an anagram of Valoi), who resembled Marie Antoinette,
stated that she had been engaged to play the role of queen in this
comedy. In any case the countess profited by the cardinal's conviction
to borrow from him sums of money destined ostensibly for the queen's
works of charity. Enriched by these, the countess was able to take an
honourable place in society, and many persons believed her relations
with Marie Antoinette, of which she boasted openly and unreservedly, to
be genuine. It is still an unsettled question whether she simply
mystified people, or whether she was really employed by the queen for
some unknown purpose, perhaps to ruin the cardinal. In any case the
jewellers believed in the relations of the countess with the queen, and
they resolved to use her to sell their necklace. She at first refused
their commission, then accepted it. On the 21st of January 1785 she
announced that the queen would buy the necklace, but that not wishing to
treat directly, she left the affair to a high personage. A little while
later Rohan came to negotiate the purchase of the famous necklace for
the 1,600,000 livres, payable in instalments. He said that he was
authorized by the queen, and showed the jewellers the conditions of the
bargain approved in the handwriting of Marie Antoinette. The necklace
was given up. Rohan took it to the countess's house, where a man, in
whom Rohan believed he recognized a valet of the queen, came to fetch
it. Madame de Lamotte had told the cardinal that Marie Antoinette would
make him a sign to indicate her thanks, and Rohan believed that she did
make him a sign. Whether it was so, or merely chance or illusion, no one
knows. But it is certain that the cardinal, convinced that he was acting
for the queen, had engaged the jewellers to thank her; that Boehmer and
Bassenge, before the sale, in order to be doubly sure, had sent word to
the queen of the negotiations in her name; that Marie Antoinette had
allowed the bargain to be concluded, and that after she had received a
letter of thanks from Boehmer, she had burned it. Meanwhile the "comte
de Lamotte" appears to have started at once for London, it is said with
the necklace, which he broke up in order to sell the stones.
When the time came to pay, the comtesse de Lamotte presented the
cardinal's notes; but these were insufficient, and Boehmer complained to
the queen, who told him that she had received no necklace and had never
ordered it. She had the story of the negotiations repeated for her. Then
followed a _coup de theatre_. On the 15th of August 1785, Assumption
day, when the whole court was awaiting the king and queen in order to go
to the chapel, the cardinal de Rohan, who was preparing to officiate,
was arrested and taken to the Bastille. He was able, however, to destroy
the correspondence exchanged, as he thought, with the queen, and it is
not known whether there was any connivance of the officials, who did not
prevent this, or not. The comtesse de Lamotte was not arrested until the
18th of August, after having destroyed her papers. The police set to
work to find all her accomplices, and arrested the girl Oliva and a
certain Reteaux de Villette, a friend of the countess, who confessed
that he had written the letters given to Rohan in the queen's name, and
had imitated her signature on the conditions of the bargain. The famous
charlatan Cagliostro was also arrested, but it was recognized that he
had taken no part in the affair. The cardinal de Rohan accepted the
parlement of Paris as judges. A sensational trial resulted (May 31,
1786) in the acquittal of the cardinal, of the girl Oliva and of
Cagliostro. The comtesse de Lamotte was condemned to be whipped, branded
and shut up in the Salpetriere. Her husband was condemned, in his
absence, to the galleys for life. Villette was banished.
Public opinion was much excited by this trial. It is generally believed
that Marie Antoinette was stainless in the matter, that Rohan was an
innocent dupe, and that the Lamottes deceived both for their own ends.
People, however, persisted in the belief that the queen had used the
countess as an instrument to satisfy her hatred of the cardinal de
Rohan. Various circumstances fortified this belief, which contributed to
render Marie Antoinette very unpopular--her disappointment at Rohan's
acquittal, the fact that he was deprived of his charges and exiled to
the abbey of la Chaise-Dieu, and finally the escape of the comtesse de
Lamotte from the Salpetriere, with the connivance, as people believed,
of the court. The adventuress, having taken refuge abroad, published
_Memoires_ in which she accused the queen. Her husband also wrote
_Memoires_, and lived until 1831, after having, it is said, received
subsidies from Louis XVIII.
See M. Tourneux, _Marie Antoinette devant l'histoire: Essai
bibliographique_ (2nd ed., Paris, 1901); Emile Campardon, _Marie
Antoinette et le proces du collier_ (Paris, 1863); P. Audebert,
_L'Affaire du collier de la reine, d'apres la correspondance inedite
du chevalier de Pujol_ (Rouen, 1901); F. d'Albini, _Marie Antoinette
and the Diamond Necklace from another Point of View_ (London, 1900);
Funck-Brentano, _L'Affaire du collier_ (1903); A. Lang, _Historical
Mysteries_ (1904). Carlyle's essay on _The Diamond Necklace_ (first
published in 1837 in _Fraser's Magazine_) is of historical literary
interest.
DIANA, in Roman mythology, an old Italian goddess, in later times
identified with the Greek Artemis (q.v.). That she was originally an
independent Italian deity is shown by her name, which is the feminine
form of Janus (= Dianus). She is essentially the goddess of the moon and
light generally, and presides over wood, plain and water, the chase and
war. As the goddess of childbirth, she was known, like Juno, by the name
of Lucina, the "bringer to light." As the moon-goddess she was also
identified with Hecate, and invoked as "three-formed" in reference to
the phases of the moon. Her most celebrated shrine was in a grove at
Aricia (whence her title of Nemorensis) near the modern lake of Nemi.
Here she was worshipped side by side with a male deity Virbius, a god of
the forest and the chase. This Virbius was subsequently identified with
Hippolytus, the favourite of Artemis, who was said to have been brought
to life by Aesculapius and conducted by Diana to Aricia (Ovid, _Fasti_,
iii. 263, vi. 731, _Metam._ xv. 497; Virgil, _Aeneid_, vii. 761). A
barbarous custom, perhaps reminiscent of human sacrifice once offered to
her, prevailed in connexion with her ritual here; her priest, called
_Rex Nemorensis_, who was a runaway slave, was obliged to qualify for
office by slaying his predecessor in single combat (Strabo v. p. 239;
Suetonius, _Caligula_, 35). This led to the identification of Diana with
the Tauric Artemis, whose image was said to have been removed by Orestes
to the grove of Aricia (see ARICINI).
After the destruction of Alba Longa this grove was for a long time the
united sanctuary of the neighbouring Latin and Rutulian cities, until at
last it was extinguished beneath the supremacy of Rome. The festival of
the goddess was on the ides (13th) of August, the full moon of the hot
season. She was worshipped with torches, her aid was sought by women
seeking a happy deliverance in childbirth, and many votive offerings
have been found on the site. The worship of Diana was brought to Rome by
Latin plebeians, and hence she was regarded as the protectress of the
lower classes, and especially of slaves. In accordance with this, her
most important temple was that on the Aventine, the chief seat of the
plebeians, founded by Servius Tullius, originally as a sanctuary of the
Latin league (Dion. Halic. iv. 26). No man was allowed to enter the
temple, and on the day of its dedication (August 13) the slaves kept
holiday (Plutarch, _Quaest. Rom._ 100). This Diana was identified with
the sister of Apollo, and at the secular games she was worshipped simply
as Artemis. Another celebrated sanctuary of Diana was that on the slopes
of Mount Tifata near Capua (where she was worshipped under the name of
Tifatina), a sanctuary specially favoured by Sulla and Vespasian. As
Noctiluca ("giving light by night") she had a sanctuary on the Palatine
which was kept illuminated throughout the night (Varro, _L.L._ v. 68).
On the Nemi priesthood see J. G. Frazer, _Golden Bough_.
DIANA MONKEY, a West African representative of the guenon monkeys taking
its name, _Cercopithecus diana_, from the presence of a white crescent
on the forehead; another characteristic feature being the pointed white
beard. The general colour of the fur is greyish, with a deep tinge of
chestnut from the middle of the back to the root of the tail. Together
with _C. neglectus_ of East and Central Africa, _C. ignitus_ of Liberia,
and _C. roloway_ of the Gold Coast, the diana represents the special
subgenus of guenons known as _Pogonocebus_. Although the diana monkey is
commonly seen in menageries, little is known of its habits in the wild
state.
DIANE DE FRANCE (1538-1619), duchess of Montmorency and Angouleme, was
the natural daughter of Henry II. of France and a young Piedmontese,
Filippe Duc. The constable de Montmorency went so far as to assert that
of all the children of Henry II. Diane was the only one who resembled
him. Catherine de' Medici was greatly incensed at this affront, and took
her revenge by having the constable disgraced on the death of Henry II.
Brantome is loud in praise of Diane. She was a perfect horsewoman and
dancer, played several musical instruments, knew Spanish and Italian,
and "estoit tres belle de visage et de taille." Legitimated in 1547, she
was married in 1553 to Horace Farnese, second son of the duke of Parma,
but her husband was killed soon afterwards at the siege of Hesdin. In
order to assure his position, the constable de Montmorency wished to
marry her to his eldest son, Francis. This was a romantic adventure, for
Francis had clandestinely married Mademoiselle de Piennes. The constable
dissolved this union, and after lengthy negotiations obtained the
dispensation of the pope. On the 3rd of May 1559 Francis married Diane.
A wise and moderate woman, Diane undoubtedly helped to make Francis de
Montmorency one of the leaders of the party of the _politiques_. Again a
widow in 1579, she had some influence at the court of Henry III., and
negotiated his reconciliation with Henry of Navarre (1588). She retained
her influence in the reign of Henry IV., conveyed the bodies of
Catherine de' Medici and Henry III. to St Denis, and died in 1619 at her
hotel of Angouleme.
See Brantome, ed. by Lalanne, in the _Coll de la societe d'histoire de
France_, vol. viii. (1875); J. de Thou, _Historia sui temporis..._
(1733); Matthieu de Morgues, _Oraison funebre de Diane de France_
(Paris, 1619).
DIANE DE POITIERS (1499-1566), duchess of Valentinois, and mistress of
Henry II. of France, was the daughter of Jean de Poitiers, seigneur de
St Vallier, who came of an old family of Dauphine. In 1515 she married
Louis de Breze, grand seneschal of Normandy, by whom she had two
daughters. She became a widow in 1533, but soon replaced her husband by
a more illustrious lover, the king's second son, Henry, who became
dauphin in 1536. Although he was ten years younger than Diane, she
inspired the young prince with a profound passion, which lasted until
his death. The accession of Henry II. in 1547 was also the accession of
Diane: she was virtual queen, while Henry's lawful wife, Catherine de'
Medici, lived in comparative obscurity. The part Diane played, however,
must not be exaggerated. More rapacious than ambitious, she concerned
herself little with government, but devoted her energies chiefly to
augmenting her income, and providing for her family and friends. Henry
was the most prodigal of lovers, and gave her all rights over the duchy
of Valentinois. Although she showed great tact in her dealings with the
queen, Catherine drove her from the court after Henry's death, and
forced her to restore the crown jewels and to accept Chaumont in
exchange for Chenonceaux. Diane retired to her chateau at Anet, where
she died in 1566.
Several historians relate that she had been the mistress of Francis I.
before she became the dauphin's mistress, and that she gave herself to
the king in order to obtain the pardon of her father, who had been
condemned to death as an accomplice of the constable de Bourbon. This
rumour, however, has no serious foundation. Men vied with each other in
celebrating Diane's beauty, which, if we may judge from her portraits,
has been slightly exaggerated. She was a healthy, vigorous woman, and,
by dint of great pains, succeeded in retaining her beauty late into
life. It is said that even on the coldest mornings she would wash her
face with well water. Diane was a patroness of the arts. She entrusted
to Philibert de l'Orme the building of her chateau at Anet, and it was
for her that Jean Goujon executed his masterpiece, the statue of Diana,
now in the Louvre.
See G. Guiffrey, _Lettres inedites de Diane de Poytiers_ (Paris, 1866)
and _Proces criminel de Jehan de Poytiers_ (Paris, 1867); Capefigue,
_Diane de Poitiers_ (Paris, 1860); Hay, _Madame Dianne de Poytiers_
(London, 1900).
DIAPASON (Gr. [Greek: dia pason], through all), a term in music,
originally for an interval of an octave. The Greek is an abbreviation of
[Greek: he dia pason chordon symphonia], a consonance through all the
tones of the scale. In this sense it is only used now, loosely, for the
compass of an instrument or voice, or for a harmonious melody. The name
is given to the two foundation stops of an organ, the open and the
stopped diapason (see ORGAN), and to a standard of musical pitch, as in
the French _diapason normal_ (see PITCH, MUSICAL).
DIAPER (derived through the Fr, from the Gr. [Greek: dia], through, and
[Greek: aspros], white; the derivation from the town of Ypres,
"d'Ypres," in Belgium is unhistorical, as diapers were known for
centuries before its existence), the name given to a textile fabric,
formerly of a rich and costly nature with embroidered ornament, but now
of linen or cotton, with a simple woven pattern; and particularly
restricted to small napkins. In architecture, the term "diaper" is given
to any small pattern of a conventional nature repeated continuously and
uniformly over a surface; the designs may be purely geometrical, or
based on floral forms, and in early examples were regulated by the
process of their textile origin. Subsequently, similar patterns were
employed in the middle ages for the surface decoration of stone, as in
Westminster Abbey and Bayeux cathedral in the spandrils of the arcades
of the choir and nave; also in mural painting, stained glass, incised
brasses, encaustic tiles, &c. Probably in most cases the pattern was
copied, so far as the general design is concerned, from the tissues and
stuffs of Byzantine manufacture, which came over to Europe and were
highly prized as ecclesiastical vestments.
[Illustration: A B C]
In its textile use, the term diaper was originally applied to silk
patterns of a geometrical pattern; it is now almost exclusively used
for diamond patterns made from linen or cotton yarns. An illustration
of two patterns of this nature is shown in the figure. The floats of
the warp and the weft are mostly in three; indeed the patterns are
made from a base weave which is composed entirely of floats of this
number. It will be seen that both designs are formed of what may be
termed concentric figures--alternately black and white. Pattern B
differs from pattern A only in that more of these concentric figures
are used for the complete figure. If pattern B, which shows only one
unit, were extended, the effect would be similar to A, except for the
size of the unit. In A there are four complete units, and hence the
pattern appears more striking. Again, the repeating of B would cause
the four corner pieces to join and to form a diamond similar to the
one in the centre. The two diamonds in B would then alternate
diagonally to left and right. Special names are given to certain kinds
of diapers, e.g. "bird's-eye," "pheasant's-eye"; these terms indicate,
to a certain extent, the size of the complete diamond in the
cloth--the smaller kind taking the name "bird's-eye." The size of the
pattern on paper has little connexion with the size of the pattern in
the cloth, for it is clearly the number of threads and picks per inch
which determine the size of the pattern in the cloth from any given
design. Although A is larger than what is usually termed the
"bird's-eye" pattern, it is evident that it may be made to appear as
such, provided that the cloth is fine enough. These designs, although
adapted mostly for cloths such as nursery-diapers, for pinafores, &c.,
are sometimes used in the production of towels and table-cloths. In
the figure, the first pick in A is identical with the first pick in B,
and the part C shows how each interweaves with the twenty-four
threads.
DIAPHORETICS (from Gr. [Greek: diaphorein], to carry through), the name
given to those remedies which promote perspiration. In health there is
constantly taking place an exhalation of watery vapour from the skin, by
which not only are many of the effete products of nutrition eliminated,
but the body is kept cool. Under exertion or in a heated atmosphere this
natural function of the skin is increased, sweating more or less profuse
follows, and, evaporation going on rapidly over the whole surface,
little or no rise in the temperature of the body takes place. In many
forms of disease, such as fevers and inflammatory affections, the
action of the skin is arrested, and the surface of the body feels harsh
and dry, while the temperature is greatly elevated. The occurrence of
perspiration not unfrequently marks a crisis in such diseases, and is in
general regarded as a favourable event. In some chronic diseases, such
as diabetes and some cases of Bright's disease, the absence of
perspiration is a marked feature; while, on the other hand, in many
wasting diseases, such as phthisis, the action of the skin is increased,
and copious exhausting sweating occurs. Many means can be used to induce
perspiration, among the best known being baths, either in the form of
hot vapour or hot water baths, or in that part of the process of the
Turkish bath which consists in exposing the body to a dry and hot
atmosphere. Such measures, particularly if followed by the drinking of
hot liquids and the wrapping of the body in warm clothing, seldom fail
to excite copious perspiration. Numerous medicinal substances have the
same effect.
DIAPHRAGM (Gr. [Greek: diaphragma], a partition). The diaphragm or
midriff (Anglo-Saxon, _mid_, middle, _hrif_, belly) in human anatomy is
a large fibro-muscular partition between the cavities of the thorax and
abdomen; it is convex toward the thorax, concave toward the abdomen, and
consists of a central tendon and a muscular margin. The _central tendon_
(q, fig. 1) is trefoil in shape, its leaflets being right, left and
anterior; of these the right is the largest and the left the smallest.
The fleshy fibres rise, in front from the back of the xiphoid cartilage
of the sternum (d), laterally by six serrations, from the inner surfaces
of the lower six ribs, interdigitating with the transversalis,
posteriorly from the arcuate ligaments, of which there are five, a pair
of external, a pair of internal, and a single median one. The _external
arcuate ligament_ (h) stretches from the tip of the twelfth rib (b) to
the costal process of the first lumbar vertebra in front of the
quadratus lumborum muscle (o), the _internal_ and _middle_ are
continuations of the _crura_ which rise from the ventro-lateral aspects
of the bodies of the lumbar vertebrae, the right (e) coming from three,
the left (f) from two. On reaching the level of the twelfth thoracic
vertebra each crus spreads out into a fan-shaped mass of fibres, of
which the innermost join their fellows from the opposite crus, in front
of the aortic opening (k), to form the _middle arcuate ligament_; the
outer ones (g) arch in front of the psoas muscle (n) to the tip of the
costal process of the first lumbar vertebra to form the _internal
arcuate ligament_, while the intermediate ones pass to the central
tendon. There are three large openings in the diaphragm; the _aortic_
(k) is behind the middle arcuate ligament and transmits the aorta, the
vena azygos major, and the thoracic duct. In the right leaflet is an
opening (sometimes called the _hiatus quadratus_) for the inferior vena
cava and a branch of the right phrenic nerve (m), while in front and a
little to the left of the aortic opening is one for the oesophagus and
the two pneumogastric nerves (l), the left being in front and the right
behind. The fleshy fibres on each side of this opening act as a
sphincter. Passing between the xiphoid and costal origins in front are
the superior epigastric arteries, while the other terminal branches of
the internal mammaries, the musculo-phrenics, pass through between two
costal origins.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Abdominal Surface of the Diaphragm.]
Through the crura pass the splanchnic nerves, and in addition to these
the left crus is pierced by the vena azygos minor. The sympathetic
nerves usually enter the abdomen behind the internal arcuate ligaments.
The phrenic nerves, which are the main supply of the diaphragm, divide
before reaching the muscle and pierce it in a number of places to enter
its abdominal surface, but some of the lower intercostal nerves assist
in the supply. The last thoracic or subcostal nerves pass behind the
external arcuate ligament.
For the action of the diaphragm see RESPIRATORY SYSTEM.
_Embryology._--The diaphragm is at first developed in the neck region
of the embryo, and this accounts for the phrenic nerves, which supply
it, rising from the fourth and fifth cervical. From the mesoderm on
the caudal side of the pericardium is developed the _septum
transversum_, and in this the central tendon is formed. The fleshy
portion is developed on each side in two parts, an anterior or
sterno-costal which is derived from the longitudinal neck musculature,
probably the same layer from which the sternothyroid comes, and a
spinal part which is a derivative of the transversalis sheet of the
trunk. Between these two parts is at one time a gap, the _spino-costal
hiatus_, and this is obliterated by the growth of the
pleuro-peritoneal membrane, which may occasionally fail to close and
so may form the site of a phrenic hernia. With the growth of the body
and the development of the lungs the diaphragm shifts its position
until it becomes the septum between the thoracic and abdominal
cavities. (See A. Keith, "On the Development of the Diaphragm," _Jour.
of Anat. and Phys._ vol. 39.) A. Paterson has recorded cases in which
the left half of the diaphragm is wanting (_Proceedings_ of the
Anatomical Society of Gt. Britain, June 1900; _Jour. of Anat. and
Phys._ vol. 34), and occasionally deficiencies are found elsewhere,
especially in the sternal portion. For further details see Quain's
_Anatomy_, vol. i. (London, 1908).
_Comparative Anatomy._--A complete diaphragm, separating the thoracic
from the abdominal parts of the coelom, is characteristic of the
Mammalia; it usually has the human structure and relations except that
below the Anthropoids it is separated from the pericardium by the
azygous lobe of the lung. In some Mammals, e.g. Echidna and Phocoena,
it is entirely muscular. In the Cetacea it is remarkable for its
obliquity; its vertebral attachment is much nearer the tail than its
sternal or ventral one; this allows a much larger lung space in the
dorsal than in the ventral part of the thorax, and may be concerned
with the equipoise of the animal. (Otto Muller, "Untersuchungen uber
die Veranderung, welche die Respirationsorgane der Saugetiere durch
die Anpassung an das Leben im Wasser erlitten haben," _Jen. Zeitschr.
f. Naturwiss._, 1898, p. 93.) In the Ungulata only one crus is found
(Windle and Parsons, "Muscles of the Ungulata," _Proc. Zool. Soc._,
1903, p. 287). Below the Mammals incomplete partitions between the
pleural and peritoneal cavities are found in Chelonians, Crocodiles
and Birds, and also in Amphibians (Xenopus and Pipa). (F. G. P.)
DIARBEKR[1] (_Kara Amid_ or Black Amid; the Roman _Amida_), the chief
town of a vilayet of Asiatic Turkey, situated on a basaltic plateau on
the right bank of the Tigris, which here flows in a deep open valley.
The town is still surrounded by the masonry walls of black basalt which
give it the name of _Kara_ or Black Amid; they are well built and
imposing on the west facing the open country, but almost in ruins where
they overlook the river. A mass of gardens and orchards cover the slope
down to the river on the S.W., but there are no suburbs outside the
walls. The houses are rather crowded but only partially fill the walled
area. The population numbers 38,000, nearly half being Christian,
comprising Turks, Kurds, Arabs, Turkomans, Armenians, Chaldeans,
Jacobites and a few Greeks. The streets are 10 ft. to 15 ft. wide, badly
paved and dirty; the houses and shops are low, mostly of stone, and some
of stone and mud. The bazaar is a good one, and gold and silver filigree
work is made, peculiar in character and design. The cotton industry is
declining, but manufacture of silk is increasing. Fruit is good and
abundant as the rich volcanic soil is well watered from the town
springs. The size of the melons is specially famous. To the south, the
walls are some 40 ft. high, faced with large cut stone blocks of very
solid construction, with towers and square bastions rising to 500 ft.
There are four gates: on the north the Kharput gate, on the west the
Rum, on the south the Mardin, and on the east the Yeni Kapu or new
gate. A citadel enclosure stands at the N. E. corner and is now partly
in ruins, but the interior space is occupied by the government konak.
The summer climate in the confined space within the town is excessively
hot and unhealthy. Epidemics of typhus are not unknown, as well as
ophthalmia. The Diarbekr boil is like the "Aleppo button," lasting a
long time and leaving a deep scar. Winters are frequently severe but do
not last long. Snow sometimes lies, and ice is stored for summer use.
Scorpions noted for the virulence of their poison abound as well as
horse leeches in the tanks. The town is supplied with water both by
springs inside the town and by aqueducts from fountains at Ali Punar and
Hamervat. The principal exports are wool, mohair and copper ore, and
imports are cotton and woollen goods, indigo, coffee, sugar, petroleum,
&c.
The Great Mosque, Ulu Jami, formerly a Christian church, occupies the
site of a Sassanian palace and was built with materials from an older
palace, probably that of Tigranes II. The remains consist of the facades
of two palaces 400 ft. apart, each formed by a row of Corinthian columns
surmounted by an equal number of a Byzantine type. Kufic inscriptions
run across the fronts under the entablature. The court of the mosque is
entered by a gateway on which lions and other animals are sculptured.
The churches of greatest interest are those of SS. Cosmas and Damian
(Jacobite) and the church of St James (Greek). In the 19th century
Diarbekr was one of the largest and most flourishing cities of Asia, and
as a commercial centre it now stands at the meeting-point of several
important routes. It is at the head of the navigation of the Tigris,
which is traversed down stream by _keleks_ or rafts supported by
inflated skins. There is a good road to Aleppo and Alexandretta on the
Mediterranean, and to Samsun on the Black Sea by Kharput, Malatia and
Sivas. There are also routes to Mosul and Bitlis.
Diarbekr became a Roman colony in A.D. 230 under the name of Amida, and
received a Christian bishop in A.D. 325. It was enlarged and
strengthened by Constantius II., in whose reign it was taken after a
long siege by Shapur (Sapor) II., king of Persia. The historian Ammianus
Marcellinus, who took part in the defence, gives a detailed account of
it. In the later wars between the Persians and Romans it more than once
changed hands. Though ceded by Jovian to the Persians it again became
annexed to the Roman empire, and in the reign of Anastasius (A.D. 502)
was once more taken by the Persians, when 80,000 of its inhabitants were
slain. It was taken c. 638 by the Arabs, and afterwards passed into the
hands of the Seljuks and Persians, from whom it was finally captured by
Selim I. in 1515; and since that date it has remained under Ottoman
rule. About 2 m. below the town is a masonry bridge over the Tigris; the
older portion being probably Roman, and the western part, which bears a
Kufic inscription, being Arab.
The vilayet of Diarbekr extends south from Palu on the Euphrates to
Mardin and Nisibin on the edge of the Mesopotamian plain, and is divided
into three sanjaks--Arghana, Diarbekr and Mardin. The headwaters of the
main arm of the Tigris have their source in the vilayet.
Cereals, cotton, tobacco, rice and silk are produced, but most of the
fertile lands have been abandoned to semi-nomads, who raise large
quantities of live stock. The richest portion of the vilayet lies east
of the capital in the rolling plains watered by tributaries of the
Tigris. An exceptionally rich copper mine exists at Arghana Maden, but
it is very imperfectly worked; galena mineral oil and silicious sand are
also found. (C. W. W.; F. R. M.)