[1] According to Voigt, Gaza came to Italy some ten years later from
Constantinople, where he had been a teacher or held some clerical
office.
GAZA (or 'AZZAH, mod. _Ghuzzeh_), the most southerly of the five
princely Philistine cities, situated near the sea, at the point where
the old trade routes from Egypt, Arabia and Petra to Syria met. It was
always a strong border fortress and a place of commercial importance, in
many respects the southern counterpart of Damascus. The earliest notice
of it is in the Tell el-Amarna tablets, in a letter from the local
governor, who then held it for Egypt, with which country it always stood
in close connexion. It never passed for long into Israelite hands,
though subject for a while to Hezekiah of Judah; from him it passed to
Assyria. In Amos i. 6 the city is denounced for giving up Hebrew slaves
to Edom. To Herodotus (iii. 5) the place seemed as important as Sardis.
The city withstood Alexander the Great for five months (332 B.C.), and
in 96 B.C. was razed to the ground by Alexander Jannaeus. It was rebuilt
by Aulus Gabinius, 57 B.C., but on a new site; the old site was
remembered and spoken of as "Old" or "Desert Gaza": compare Acts viii.
26. In the 2nd and 3rd centuries Gaza was a thriving Greek city, with
good schools and famous temples, especially one to the local god Marna
(i.e. "Lord" or "Our Lord"). A statue of this god has been found near
Gaza; it much resembles the Greek representation of Zeus. The struggle
with Christianity here was long and intense. Egyptian monks gradually
won over the country folk, and in 402, under the influence of Theodosius
and Porphyry the local bishop, the Marneion was destroyed and the cross
made politically supreme. In the 5th and 6th centuries Gaza was held in
high repute as a place of learning. But after it passed into Moslem
hands (635) it gradually lost all save commercial importance, and even
the Crusaders did little to revive its old military glory. It finally
was captured by the Moslems in 1244. Napoleon captured it in 1799.
The modern town (pop. 16,000) is divided into four quarters, one of
which is built on a low hill. A magnificent grove of very ancient olives
forms an avenue 4 m. long to the north. There are many lofty minarets in
various parts of the town, and a fine mosque built of ancient materials.
A 12th century church towards the south side of the hill has also been
converted into a mosque. On the east is shown the tomb of Samson (an
erroneous tradition dating back to the middle ages). The ancient walls
are now covered up beneath green mounds of rubbish. The water-supply is
from wells sunk through the sandy soil to the rock; of these there are
more than twenty--an unusual number for a Syrian town. The land for the
3 m. between Gaza and the sea consists principally of sand dunes. There
is no natural harbour, but traces of ruins near the shore mark the site
of the old Maiuma Gazae or Port of Gaza, now called el Mineh, which in
the 5th century was a separate town and episcopal see, under the title
Constantia or Limena Gaza. Hashem, an ancestor of Mahomet, lies buried
in the town. On the east are remains of a race-course, the corners
marked by granite shafts with Greek inscriptions on them. To the south
is a remarkable hill, quite isolated and bare, with a small mosque and a
graveyard. It is called el Muntar, "the watch tower," and is supposed to
be the mountain "before (or facing) Hebron," to which Samson carried the
gates of Gaza (Judg. xvi. 3). The bazaars of Gaza are considered good.
An extensive pottery exists in the town, and black earthenware peculiar
to the place is manufactured there. The climate is dry and comparatively
healthy, but the summer temperature often exceeds 110° Fahr. The
surrounding country is partly cornland, partly waste, and is inhabited
by wandering Arabs. The prosperity of Ghuzzeh has partially revived
through the growing trade in barley, of which the average annual export
to Great Britain for 1897-1899 was over 30,000 tons. The dress of the
people is Egyptian rather than Syrian. Gaza is an episcopal see both of
the Greek and the Armenian church. The Church Missionary Society
maintains a mission, with schools for both sexes, and a hospital.
GAZALAND, a district of Portuguese East Africa, extending north from the
Komati or Manhissa river, Delagoa Bay, to the Pungwe river. It is a
well-watered, fertile country. Gazaland is one of the chief recruiting
grounds for negro labour in the Transvaal gold mines. The country
derives its name from a Swazi chief named Gaza, a contemporary of Chaka,
the Zulu king. Refugees from various clans oppressed by Dingaan (Chaka's
successor) were welded into one tribe by Gaza's son Manikusa, who took
the name of Sotshangana, his followers being known generally as
Matshangana. A section of them was called Maviti or Landeens (i.e.
couriers), a designation which persists as a tribal name. Between 1833
and 1836 Manikusa made himself master of the country as far north as the
Zambezi and captured the Portuguese posts at Delagoa Bay, Inhambane,
Sofala and Sena, killing nearly all the inhabitants. The Portuguese
reoccupied their posts, but held them with great difficulty, while in
the interior the Matshangana continued their ravages unchecked,
depopulating large regions. Manikusa died about 1860, and his son
Umzila, receiving some help from the Portuguese at Delagoa Bay in a
struggle against a brother for the chieftainship, ceded to them the
territory south of the Manhissa river. North of that stream as far as
the Zambezi and inland to the continental plateau Umzila established
himself in independence, a position he maintained till his death (c.
1884). His chief rival was a Goanese named Gouveia, who came to Africa
about 1850. Having obtained possession of a _prazo_ in the Gorongoza
district, he ruled there as a feudal lord while acknowledging himself a
Portuguese subject. Gouveia recovered from the Matshangana and other
troublers of the peace much of the country in the Zambezi valley, and
was appointed by the Portuguese captain-general of a large region. From
1868 onward the country began to be better known. Probably the first
European to penetrate any distance inland from the Sofala coast since
the Portuguese gold-seekers of the 16th century was St Vincent W.
Erskine, who explored the region between the Limpopo and Pungwe
(1868-1875). Portugal's hold on the coast had been more firmly
established at the time of Umzila's death, and Gungunyana, his
successor, was claimed as a vassal, while efforts were made to open up
the interior. This led in 1890-1891 to collisions on the borderland of
the plateau with the newly established British South Africa Company, and
to the arrest by the company's agents of Gouveia, who was, however, set
at liberty and returned to Mozambique via Cape Town. An offer made by
Gungunyana (1891) to come under British protection was not accepted. In
1892 Gouveia was killed in a war with a native chief. Gungunyana
maintained his independence until 1895, when he was captured by a
Portuguese force and exiled, first to Lisbon and afterwards to Angola,
where he died in 1906. With the capture of Gungunyana opposition to
Portuguese rule largely ceased.
In flora, fauna and commerce Gazaland resembles the neighbouring regions
of Portuguese East Africa. (q.v.).
See G. McCall Theal, _History of South Africa since 1795_, vol. v.
(London, 1908).
GAZEBO (usually explained as a comic Latinism, for "I will gaze"; the
_New English Dictionary_ suggests a possible oriental origin now lost),
a term used in the 18th century for a structure on the outer wall of a
garden, having an upper storey with windows on each side so as to
overlook the road. Similar buildings are found in Holland on the borders
of the canals, which in some cases form very picturesque features.
GAZETTE, a name given to news-sheets or newspapers having an abstract of
current events (see NEWSPAPERS). The _London Gazette_ is the title of
the English official organ for announcements by the government, and is
published every Tuesday and Friday. It contains all proclamations,
orders of council, promotions and appointments to commissions in the
army and navy, all appointments to offices of state, and such other
orders, rules and regulations as are directed by act of parliament to be
published therein. It also contains notices of proceedings in
bankruptcy, dissolutions of partnership, &c. By the Documentary Evidence
Act 1868 the production of a copy of the _Gazette_ is prima facie
evidence of royal proclamations and government orders and regulations.
Similar gazettes are also published in Edinburgh and Dublin. Most
countries (the United States excepted) have official journals containing
information more or less similar to that of the _London Gazette_, as the
French _Journal officiel_, the German _Deutscher Reichs-und Kgl. Preuss.
Staats-Anzeiger_, &c. The word "gazetteer" was originally applied to one
who wrote for "gazettes," but is now only used for a geographical
dictionary arranged on an alphabetical plan.
GEAR (connected with "garb," properly elegance, fashion, especially of
dress, and with "gar," to cause to do, only found in Scottish and
northern dialects; the root of the word is seen in the Old Teut.
_garwjan_, to make ready), an outfit, applied to the wearing apparel of
a person, or to the harness and trappings of a horse or any draft
animal, as riding-gear, hunting-gear, &c.; also to household goods or
stuff. The phrase "out of gear," though now connected with the
mechanical application of the word, was originally used to signify "out
of harness" or condition, not ready to work, not fit. The word is also
used of apparatus generally, and especially of the parts collectively in
a machine by which motion is transmitted from one part to another by a
series of cog-wheels, continuous bands, &c. It is used in a special
sense in reference to a bicycle, meaning the diameter of an imaginary
wheel, the circumference of which is equal to the distance accomplished
by one revolution of the pedals (see BICYCLE).
GEBER. The name Geber has long been used to designate the author of a
number of Latin treatises on alchemy, entitled _Summa perfectionis
magisterii, De investigatione perfectionis, De inventione veritatis,
Liber fornacum, Testamentum Geberi Regis Indiae and Alchemia Geberi_,
and these writings were generally regarded as translations from the
Arabic originals of Abu Abdallah Jaber ben Hayyam (Haiyan) ben Abdallah
al-Kufi, who is supposed to have lived in the 8th or 9th century of the
Christian era. About him, however, there is considerable uncertainty.
According to the _Kitab-al-Fihrist_ (10th century), which gives his name
as above, the authorities disagree, some asserting him to have been a
writer on philosophy and rhetoric, and others claiming for him the first
place among the adepts of his time in the art of making gold and silver.
The writer of the _Kitab-al-Fihrist_ says he had been assured that Jaber
only wrote one book and even that he never existed at all, but these
statements he scouts as ridiculous, and expressing the conviction that
Jaber really did exist, and that his works were numerous and important,
goes on to quote the titles of some 500 treatises attributed to him. He
is said to have resided most frequently at Kufa, where he prepared the
"elixir," but, according to others, he never spent long in one place,
having reason to keep his whereabouts unknown. His patron or master is
variously given as Ja'far ben Yahya, and as Ja'far es-Sadiq; in the
Arabic _Book of Royalty_, professedly written by him, he addresses the
last-named as his master. In addition to these details the Fihrist
mentions a tradition that he originally came from Khorasan. Another
story given by d'Herbelot (_Bibliothèque orientale_, s.v. "Giaber")
makes him a native of Harran in Mesopotamia and a Sabaean. Leo
Africanus, who in 1526 gave an account of the Alchemists of Fez in
Africa (see the English translation of his _Africae descriptio_ by John
Pory, _A Geographical History of Africa_, London, 1600, p. 155), states
that their principal authority was Geber, a Greek who had apostatized to
Mahommedanism and lived a century after Mahomet. In Albertus Magnus the
name Geber occurs only once and then with the epithet "of Seville";
doubtless the reference is to the Arabian Jabir ben Aflah, who lived in
that city in the 11th century, and wrote an astronomy in 9 books which
is of importance in the history of trigonometry.
The great puzzle connected with the name Geber lies in the character of
the writings attributed to him, their style and matter differentiating
them strongly from those of even the best authors of the later
alchemical period, and making it difficult to account for their
existence at all. The researches of M.P.E. Berthelot threw a great deal
of light on this question. Taking the six treatises enumerated above he
concluded, after critical examination, that the two last may be
disregarded as of later date than the others, and that the _De
investigatione perfectionis_, the _De inventione_ and the _Liber
fornacum_ are merely extracts from or summaries of the _Summa
perfectionis_ with later additions. The _Summa_ he therefore regarded as
representative of the work of the Latin Geber, and study of it convinced
him that it contains no indication of an Arabic origin, either in its
method, which is conspicuous for clearness of reasoning and logical
co-ordination of material, or in its facts, or in the words and persons
quoted. Without going so far as to deny that some words and phrases may
be taken from the writings of the Arabian Jaber, he was disposed to hold
that it is the original work of some unknown Latin author, who wrote it
in the second half of the 13th century and put it under the patronage of
the venerated name of Geber. The MS. of this work in the Bibliothèque
Nationale at Paris dates from about the year 1300. Berthelot further
investigated Arabic MSS. existing in the Paris library and in the
university of Leiden, and containing works attributed to Jaber, and had
translations made of six treatises--two, of which he gives the titles as
_Livre de la royauté_ and _Petit Livre de la miséricorde_,--from Paris,
and four--_Livre des balances, Livre de la miséricorde, Livre de la
concentration_ and _Livre de la mercure orientale_--from Leiden.
Berthelot was not prepared to assert that these treatises were actually
written by Jaber, but he held it certain that they are works written in
Arabic between the 9th and 12th centuries, at a period anterior to the
relations of the Latins with the Arabs. In style these treatises are
entirely different from the _Summa_ of Geber. Their language is vague
and allegorical, full of allusions and pious Mussulman invocations; the
author continually announces that he is about to speak without mystery
or reserve, but all the same never gives any precise details of the
secrets he professes to reveal. He holds the doctrine that everything
endowed with an apparent quality possesses an opposite occult quality in
much the same terms as it is found in Latin writers of the middle ages,
but he makes no allusion to the theory of the generation of the metals
by sulphur and mercury, a theory generally attributed to Geber, who also
added arsenic to the list. Again he fully accepts the influence of the
stars on the production of the metals, whereas the Latin Geber disputes
it, and in general the chemical knowledge of the two is on a different
plane. Here again the inference is that the Latin treatises printed from
the 15th century onwards as the work of Geber are not authentic,
regarded as translations of the Arabic author Jaber, always supposing
that the Arabic MSS. transcribed and translated for Berthelot are
really, as they profess to be, the work of Jaber, and as representative
of his opinions and attainments.
But while Berthelot thus deprived the world of what were long regarded
as genuine Latin versions of Jaber's works, he also gave it something in
their place, for among the Paris MSS. he found a mutilated treatise,
hitherto unpublished, entitled _Liber de Septuaginta (Johannis),
translatus a Magistro Renaldo Cremonensi_, which he considered the only
known Latin work that can be regarded as a translation from the Arabic
Jaber. The latter states in the Arabic works referred to above that
under that title he collected 70 of the 500 little treatises or tracts
of which he was the author, and the titles of those tracts enumerated in
the _Kitab-al-Fihrist_ as forming the chapters of the _Liber de
Septuaginta_ correspond in general with those of the Latin work, which
further is written in a style similar to that of the Arabic Jaber and
contains the same doctrines. Hence Berthelot felt justified in assigning
it to Jaber, although no Arabic original is known.
The evidence collected by Berthelot has an important bearing on the
history of chemistry. Most of the chemical knowledge attributed to the
Arabs has been attributed to them on the strength of the reputed Latin
writings of Geber. If, therefore, these are original works rather than
translations, and contain facts and doctrines which are not to be found
in the Arabian Jaber, it follows that, on the one hand, the chemical
knowledge of the Arabs has been overestimated and, on the other, that
more progress was made in the middle ages than has generally been
supposed.
See M.P.E. Berthelot's works on the history of alchemy and especially
his _Chimie au moyen âge_ (3 vols., Paris, 1893), the third volume of
which contains a French translation of Jaber's works together with the
Arabic text.
GEBHARD TRUCHSESS VON WALDBURG (1547-1601), elector and archbishop of
Cologne, was the second son of William, count of Waldburg, and nephew of
Otto, cardinal bishop of Augsburg (1514-1573). Belonging thus to an old
and distinguished Swabian family, he was born on the 10th of November
1547, and after studying at the universities of Ingolstadt, Perugia,
Louvain and elsewhere began his ecclesiastical career at Augsburg.
Subsequently he held other positions at Strassburg, Cologne and
Augsburg, and in December 1577 was chosen elector of Cologne after a
spirited contest. Gebhard is chiefly noted for his conversion to the
reformed doctrines, and for his marriage with Agnes, countess of
Mansfeld, which was connected with this step. After living in
concubinage with Agnes he decided, perhaps under compulsion, to marry
her, doubtless intending at the same time to resign his see. Other
counsels, however, prevailed. Instigated by some Protestant supporters
he declared he would retain the electorate, and in December 1582 he
formally announced his conversion to the reformed faith. The marriage
with Agnes was celebrated in the following February, and Gebhard
remained in possession of the see. This affair created a great stir in
Germany, and the clause concerning ecclesiastical reservation in the
religious peace of Augsburg was interpreted in one way by his friends,
and in another way by his foes; the former holding that he could retain
his office, the latter that he must resign. Anticipating events Gebhard
had collected some troops, and had taken measures to convert his
subjects to Protestantism. In April 1583 he was deposed and
excommunicated by Pope Gregory XIII.; a Bavarian prince, Ernest, bishop
of Liége, Freising and Hildesheim, was chosen elector, and war broke out
between the rivals. The cautious Lutheran princes of Germany, especially
Augustus I., elector of Saxony, were not enthusiastic in support of
Gebhard, whose friendly relations with the Calvinists were not to their
liking; and although Henry of Navarre, afterwards Henry IV. of France,
tried to form a coalition to aid the deposed elector, the only
assistance which he obtained came from John Casimir, administrator of
the Palatinate of the Rhine. The inhabitants of the electorate were
about equally divided on the question, and Ernest, supported by Spanish
troops, was too strong for Gebhard. John Casimir, who acted as
commander-in-chief, returned to the Palatinate in October 1583, and
early in the following year Gebhard was driven from Bonn and took refuge
in the Netherlands. The electorate was soon completely in the possession
of Ernest, and the defeat of Gebhard was a serious blow to
Protestantism, and marks a stage in the history of the Reformation.
Living in the Netherlands he became very intimate with Elizabeth's
envoy, Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester, but he failed to get
assistance for renewing the war either from the English queen or in any
other quarter. In 1589 Gebhard took up his residence at Strassburg,
where he had held the office of dean of the cathedral since 1574. Before
his arrival some trouble had arisen in the chapter owing to the fact
that three excommunicated canons persisted in retaining their offices.
He joined this party, which was strongly supported in the city, took
part in a double election to the bishopric in 1592, and in spite of some
opposition retained his office until his death at Strassburg on the 31st
of May 1601. Gebhard was a drunken and licentious man, who owes his
prominence rather to his surroundings than to his abilities.
See M. Lossen, _Der kölnische Krieg_ (Gotha, 1882), and the article on
Gebhard in band viii. of the _Allgemeine deutsche Biographie_
(Leipzig, 1878); J.H. Hennes, _Der Kampf um das Erzstift Köln_
(Cologne, 1878); L. Ennen, _Geschichte der Stadt Köln_ (Cologne,
1863-1880); and _Nuntiaturberichte aus Deutschland_. _Der Kampf um
Köln_, edited by J. Hansen (Berlin, 1892).
GEBWEILER (Fr. _Guebwiller_), a town of Germany in the imperial province
of Alsace-Lorraine, at the foot of the Vosges, on the Lauch, 13 m. S. of
Colmar, on the railway Bollweiler-Lautenbach. Pop. (1905) 13,259. Among
the principal buildings are the Roman Catholic church of St Leodgar,
dating from the 12th century, the Evangelical church, the synagogue, the
town-house, and the old Dominican convent now used as a market and
concert hall. The chief industries are spinning and dyeing, and the
manufacture of cloth and of machinery; quarrying is carried on and the
town is celebrated for its white wines.
Gebweiler is mentioned as early as 774. It belonged to the religious
foundation of Murbach, and in 1759 the abbots chose it for their
residence. In 1789, at the outbreak of the Revolution, the monastic
buildings were laid in ruins, and, though the archives were rescued and
removed to Colmar, the library perished.
GECKO,[1] the common name applied to all the species of the _Geckones_,
one of the three sub-orders of the _Lacertilia_. The geckoes are small
creatures, seldom exceeding 8 in. in length including the tail. With the
head considerably flattened, the body short and thick, the legs not high
enough to prevent the body dragging somewhat on the ground, the eyes
large and almost destitute of eyelids, and the tail short and in some
cases nearly as thick as the body, the geckoes altogether lack the
litheness and grace characteristic of most lizards. Their colours also
are dull, and to the weird and forbidding aspect thus produced the
general prejudice against those creatures in the countries where they
occur, which has led to their being classed with toads and snakes, is no
doubt to be attributed. Their bite was supposed to be venomous, and
their saliva to produce painful cutaneous eruptions; even their touch
was thought sufficient to convey a dangerous taint. It is needless to
say that in this instance the popular mind was misled by appearances.
The geckoes are not only harmless, but are exceedingly useful creatures,
feeding on insects, which, owing to the great width of their oesophagus,
they are enabled to swallow whole, and in pursuit of which they do not
hesitate to enter human dwellings, where they are often killed on
suspicion. The structure of the toes in these lizards forms one of
their most characteristic anatomical features.
[Illustration: Leaf-tailed Gecko (_Gymnodactylus platurus_) of
Australia.]
[Illustration: Lower Surface of the Toe of (a) _Gecko_, (b)
_Hemidactylus_--enlarged.]
Most geckoes have adhesive digits and toes, by means of which they are
enabled not only to climb absolutely smooth and vertical surfaces, for
instance a window-pane, but to run along a white-washed ceiling, back
downwards. The adhesion is not produced by sticky matter but by numerous
transverse lamellae, each of which is further beset with tiny hair-like
excrescences. The arrangement of the lamellae and pads differs much in
the various genera and is used for classificatory purposes. Those which
live on sandy ground have narrow digits without the adhesive apparatus.
Most species have sharp, curved claws, often retractile between some of
the lamellae or into a special sheath. The tail is very brittle and can
be quickly regenerated; it varies much in size and shape; the most
extraordinary is that of the leaf-tailed gecko. _Ptychozoon
homalocephalon_ of the Malay countries has membranous expansions on the
sides of the head, body, limbs and tail, which look like parachutes, but
more probably they aid in concealing the creature when it is closely
pressed to the similarly coloured bark of a tree. Most geckoes are dull
coloured, yellow to brown, and they soon change colour from lighter to
dark tints. They are insectivorous and chiefly nocturnal, but are fond
of basking in the sun, motionless on the bark of a tree, or on a rock
the colour of which is then imitated to a nicety. Some species are more
or less transparent.
Geckoes, of which about 270 species are known, subdivided into about 50
genera, are cosmopolitan within the warmer zones, including New Zealand,
and even the remotest volcanic islands. This wide distribution is due
partly to the great age of the suborder (although fossils are unknown),
partly to their being able to exist for several months without food so
that, concealed in hollow trunks of trees, they may float about for a
very long time. Ships, also, act as distributors. In south Europe occur
only _Hemidactylus turcicus_, _Tarentola mauritanica (Platydactylus
facetanus)_ and _Phyllodactylus europaeus_.