(2 Chron. xx.) About B.C. 760, Jotham fought with the king of the Ammonites, and compelled the Ammonites to give him the same year 100 talents of silver, and 10,000 measures of wheat, and 10,000 of barley; so much they paid also the second and the third year. (2 Chron. xxvii.) From the prophetic writings, we derive some further information as to the history and character of the Ammonites. They are accused by Amos (i. 13.) of the barbarous practice of ripping up women with child. Their destruction is predicted by Isaiah, xi. 14; Zephaniah, ii. 9; Jeremiah, xlix. 1-5; Ezekiel, XXV.

About 600 B.C., bands of the Ammonites came with Nebuchadnezzar against Jerusalem, (2 Kings xxiv. 2.) and exulted in the downfall of their once powerful and inveterate enemy. About 457 B.C., Ezra enforced the Mosaical law (Deut. xxiii. 2.), that an Ammonite should not enter into the congregation of the Lord, even to his tenth generation. Consequently, Ezra separated many Israelites from their Ammonitish wives, (Ezra ix. x.) King Solomon, at an earlier period, had violated the Mosaic law, by having Ammonitish women in his harem. (1 Kings xi. 1.) Ezra's adherence to the law of Moses excited the hostility of the Ammonites to the rebuilding of Jerusalem, which was ridiculed by Tobiah the Ammonite, who said, even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall. (Neh. iv. 3.) Nehemiah, who was also a vigorous reformer, cursed and smote those Israelites who had married wives of Ammon and plucked off their hair (Neh. xiii.), about 434 B.C. Judas the Maccabee fought, during the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes, about 164 B.C., many battles with Timotheos, the mighty captain of the Ammonites, who had much people. Judas took their town, Jazar: (Maccabees v.) Rabbah had been already destroyed by Antiochus the Great. (Polyb. v. 71.) In the days of Justin Martyr, the Ammonites were still very numerous; and in the days of Origen, the Ammonites and Edomites went under the general name of Arabians (lib. v.) Their metropolis, Rabbah, which we must suppose had been rebuilt, is called by Josephus Paßada, by Eusebius Appay, by Polybius and Stephanus Byzantinus, Paßßuтáμμava, and Philadelphia; and by the Arabians, Am-man. Abulfeda describes its extensive remains (Tab. Syriæ, ed. Köhler, p. 91), which were found by Seetzen under the name of Robba and Rabba. (Zach's Monatliche Correspondenz, xviii. p. 433.) These, however, belong to the Greek period, not to the ruins of ancient Rabba. [See PHILADELPHIA.] The surrounding country was called Arabia Philadelphiensis. The bed of Og king of Bashan belonged to the curiosities of Rabbah; but how it got there, we are not told. [See AMORITES.] Nine cubits were the length, and four the breadth thereof, (Deut. iii. 2.) The Ammonites were uncircumcised (Jer. ix. 26.), and worshipped Molech or Milcom, and their idolatry was, by the Ammonitish wives of Solomon, introduced among the Israelites. (1 Kings xi. 7, 33. 2 Kings xxiii. 13.)

Of their kings, we know only Nahash and Hanun, in the time of David, and Baalis, contemporary with Nebuchadnezzar. (Jer. xl.)

AMMO'NIUM. [See Swan.]

AMMO'NIUM, a name proposed by Davy to express the supposed metal which amalgamates with mercury, when it is electrified in contact with ammonia, as already described; he thought it scarcely possible to conceive that a substance, which forms with mercury so perfect an amalgam, should not be metallic.-Phil. Trans., 1808.

Although few chemists have adopted this opinion, its probability is still maintained by Berzelius: he considers ammonium to be a compound of 1 volume of azotic gas and 4 volumes of hydrogen gas; these being nearly the proportions of them contained in the mixture of ammoniacal and hydrogen gases, obtained when the amalgam is decomposed by water.

The property of amalgamating with mercury is the only circumstance which denotes an approximation to the nature of a metal in the substance in question; while there are difficulties almost insuperable to such a conclusion. No metal has hitherto been decomposed; mercury is the only substance with which the supposed ammonium has been combined, and it has never been procured in a separate

brance. This word, however, both in the Greek and in the Latin language. into which latter it was introduced, (see Aurelian. Vopisc. chap. 39,) acquired a more particular signification, and was used to denote a declaration of the person or persons who had newly acquired or recovered the sovereign power in a state, by which they pardoned all persons who composed, supported, or obeyed the government which had been just overthrown. A declaration of this kind may be either absolute and universal, or it may except certain persons specifically named, or certain classes of persons generally described. Thus, in Athens, when Thrasybulus had destroyed the oligarchy of the Thirty Tyrants, and had restored the democratical form of government, an exceptive amnesty of past political offences was declared, from the operation of which the Thirty themselves, and some few persons who had acted in the most invidious offices under them, were excluded. So when Bonaparte returned from Elba in 1815, he published an amnesty from which he excluded thirteen persons, whom he named in a decree published at Lyons. The act of indemnity, passed upon the restoration of Charles II., by which the persons actually concerned in the execution of his father were excluded from the benefit of the royal and parliamentary pardon, is an instance of an amnesty from which a class of persons were excepted by a general description and not by name. Of a like nature was the law passed by the French Chambers in January, 1816, upon the return of Louis XVIII. to the throne of France after the victory at Waterloo, which offered a complete amnesty to all persons who had directly or indirectly taken part in the rebellion and usurpation of Napoleon Bonaparte,' with the exception of certain persons, whose names had been previously mentioned in a royal ordinance as the most active partizans of the usurper. It was objected to this French law of amnesty, that it did not point out with sufficient perspicuity the individuals who were to be excepted from its operation. Instead of confining itself to naming the offenders, it went on to except whole classes of offences, by which means a degree of uncertainty and confusion was occasioned, which much retarded the peaceable settlement of the nation. In consequence of this course,' says M. de Chateaubriand in a pamphlet published soon after the event, punishment and fear have been permitted to hover over France; wounds have been kept open, passions exasperated, and recollections of enmity awakened." The act of indemnity, passed at the accession of Charles II. was not liable to this objection, by the distinctness of which, as Dr. Johnson said, the flutter of innumerable bosoms was stilled,' and a state of public feeling promoted, extremely favourable to the authority and quiet government of the restored prince.

AMOL, a Persian town in the province of Mazanderan. It stands on the river Herauz, which flows through it, about twelve miles from the southern shore of the Caspian sea, in 36° 30′ N. lat. 52° 23′ 55′′ E. long. from Greenwich. There is a bridge of twelve arches, and eight feet in width, over the river, the stream of which is full and rapid. The only interesting building in Amol is the ruin of a mausoleum erected by Shah Abbas over the remains of his maternal ancestor, Seyed Quwam-u-deen, otherwise called Meer Buzoorg, king of Saree and Amol, who died in 1378. It was a structure of considerable magnificence, till the greater part of it was thrown down by an earthquake about twenty years ago. There were formerly other extensive ruins in the town and neighbourhood, but of these the only traces now existing are some mounds of earth. Amol is divided into eight muhulehs or districts, and in the winter, when it is fullest, may contain from 35,000 to 40,000 inhabitants. The houses are between 4000 and 5000 in number. The bazars are large and well supplied; but the only traffic carried on is with the country and villages in the iminediate vicinity. Amol is the capital of a government of the same name, which yields a revenue of between 70007, and 8ocel. sterling. The mountains approach close to the town on the south; the space between it and the sea is thickly covered with wood; there are many groups of houses among the trees, but no regular roads. (See Travels and Adventures in the Persian Provinces on the southern Banks of the Caspian Sea, by James B. Fraser, 4to., 1826.)

AMO'MUM, a genus of plants bearing aromatic seeds, and belonging to the natural order Seitaminea. It consists of species having white flowers collected in close heads, which arise from the base of the leaves, and only just raise themselves above the ground; the lower lip of the flower is

This area is partitioned in unequal proportions among 44 villages. Rather more than one half of the land is under cultivation: a large portion of that which is considered unproductive, consists of an extensive salt-flat, which lies along the north-western boundary of the pergunnah, and adjoins the sea. The only port, Ghundhar, is situated in this quarter; its trade is now insignificant, although the town must at some remote period have been a considerable place, as appears from the extensive ruins around it. The fands of Ghundhar are entirely neglected, not an acre has been cultivated for many years, although much of it is considered fit for tillage: the inhabitants are chiefly occupied in making salt. In the cold season salt is produced in the pans in about a month, but in the warm season the evaporation goes on much more rapidly. The gross produce of the salt-pans is thus divided: 50 per cent. to the government, 35 per cent. to the proprietors of the pans, and the remaining 15 per cent. in various proportions among different native functionaries.

Every foot of land in this and the other pergunnahs of the district belongs to some one or other of the villages

(Amomum Cardamomum.]

of which the pergunnah is composed. The strict observance paid to the preservation of their boundaries by the inhabitants of every village in this quarter is remarkable. These boundaries are commonly marked by strips of land 20 or 30 yards in breadth, which are left waste; and though they are sometimes ploughed up by common consent, the line remains as fully recognized as if it bore the most visible marks. Every pergunnah has its own hereditary officers of revenue and record, and every village has its establishment of public servants.

Some part of the soil of Amood is sandy, and of a light brown colour, but the greater part is of superior fertility, and well adapted for wheat, which, with millet, forms the principal food of the inhabitants. The wheat is of the bearded kind, and grows to the height of 18 inches: there are commonly about 50 grains of wheat in each ear. It is sown late in September, or early in October, and ripens in March, when it is pulled up by the roots. An experiment was tried in 1819, to ascertain the produce of wheat, which was ascertained to be equal to only 336 pounds, or 6 bushels per acre. The field on which this experiment was made had been fallow the preceding year, but had not been manured. The seed is sown very thin, at the rate of only two-thirds of a bushel to the acre, and the ripening grain is subject to the depredations of very large birds, called kulums, which visit the country just before harvest in large flocks. Numerous herds of antelopes are also commonly met with, and are very destructive to the crops. A considerable quantity of cotton is produced.

The population of Amood has been ascertained to amount

This pergunnah was obtained by cession from the late Peishwa Dowlut Rao Scindia, under the treaty of Poona, dated 13th June, 1817. (Report of Colonel Williams in Appendix to the Report of the House of Commons (1832) on the Affairs of the East India Company.)

AMORITES (ON, Auoppaio), the most powerful tribe of the Canaanites, or the aborigines of Palestine. The name Amorites seems sometimes to be used for all the Canaanites, as all the British are by foreigners sometimes called Englishmen. Canaan begat Sidon his first-born, and Heth, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite, and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, and the Arvadite. These are the sons of Ham. (Gen. x. 15-20.) The Amorites are mentioned among the ten nations whose country was given to the seed of Abraham. (Gen. xv. 19-21.) The Amorites dwelt chiefly in the mountains, which afterwards belonged to the tribe of Judah. (Numb. xiii. 29. Deut. i. 20.) The name has been explained by Simonis and Gesenius by mountaineer: means head, top of a tree, and head of a tribe, emir, chieftain, prince. Perhaps the name was given because the Amorites were like Emirs at the head of the Canaanitish tribes. Others have translated amarus, bitter, embittered, from 779; or rebel, from ; or talking, eloquent, from 8. The word occurs in the singular number only, which is often used collectively for the whole Amoritish nation. Some Amorites dwelt in the plains bordering upon the tribe of Dan, and others between the rivers Jordan and Arnon.

The river Arnon was the border between Moab and the Amorites. (Num. xxi. 13.) Of the cities of the Amorites it was said to the people of Israel, Thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth: but thou shalt utterly destroy the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizites, Hivites, and Jebusites, as the Lord thy God has commanded thee, that they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods.' (Deut. xx. 16.) Even their sous and their daughters have they burnt in the fire to their gods. (Deut. xii. 31.) Whoever of the children of Israel or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, giveth of his seed unto Moloch shall be put to death.' (Lev. xx. 2.)

The Amorites were of tall stature. According to Amos, (ii. 9.) they were high as cedars and strong as oaks. This poetical description is illustrated by the historical statement, that the size of the iron bedstead of the Amoritish king, Og of Bashan, was nine cubits by four. (Deut. iii. 11.) Hence we may infer, that Og's stature was gigantic, although it did not fill his iron bedstead any more than the Stuarts filled the enormous bedsteads at Hampton Court. But it is most likely that this bedstead, as it is called, was a kind of divan. But the biblical statement could not bridle the flights of rabbinical imagination, who, regardless of the sacred text which they professed to illustrate, surpassed all the extravagancies of Arabian, Persian, and Indian poesy; in the Jalkut Shimoni, Moses told the angel of death that Sihon and Og were so vast, that they could not be drowned in the deluge, its waters reaching only to their ancles. Sihon was harder than a wall and taller than any tower, and no creature on earth could withstand his strength. But after the demon with whom he was connected had been chained, Israel was let loose upon him and discomfited him and the Amorites. The Sevachir declares that Og, putting his hand against the windows of heaven, and his feet against the fountains of the great deep, stopped the deluge, until the water being made hot scalded the giant to the bone, who now, mounting the ark, rode out the storm. If Og retained his appetite, he must have been an inconvenient passenger, for his bill of fare was daily 1000 oxen, 1000 head of game, and 1000 measures of wine. According to Berachoth, Og, having ascertained that the camp of Israel was three miles in extent, tore up a sheet of rock of the same size, with the view to crush all arts of war, by putting this extinguisher upon the history of Israel. But whilst Og held the rock over his head it was bored by insects, broken into pieces, which fell on his shoulders, and nearly strangled the giant. Joshua,

So much seems certain, that in antient times the natives of Syria exceeded in stature the inhabitants of the desert and of Egypt.

The four confederate kings (Genesis xiv.), who plundered Sodom and Gomorrah and took Lot captive, smote also

הַצְצן תָּמָר the Amorites that dwelt in Hazzazon Tamar

amputation or cutting of the palm tree, which place was afterwards called Engeddi, "a ry Kid's Eye or Kids Fountain, on the western borders of the Dead Sea, (B.C. 1913.) Abram dwelt at this time in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol and Aner, Abram's confederates. Hence we perceive that the Amorites chiefly inhabited the country afterwards occupied by the tribe of Judah, (Gen. xiv. 13.) and that they were on friendly terms with Abram.

The inhabitants of Gideon were Amorites. By feigning to send ambassadors from a great distance they obtained peace with the Israelites under Joshua about the year B.C. 1451. (See Joshua ix.) For making this confederacy Gibeon was attacked by five kings of the Amorites; but Joshua chased them from Gibeon to Bethhoron, Azekah, and Makkedah, where, according to Joshua, (x. 11.) more died from hailstones than by the sword of the Israelites. But after all this, the Amorites retained so much power, that they forced (B.c. 1425) the children of Dan into the mountain, for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley. But the Amorites would dwell in Mount Heres in Ajalon, and in Shaalbim; yet the house of Joseph prevailed so that they became tributaries. And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabim, from the rock and upward. (Judges i. 34-36.) The remarkable fact, that the Israelites conquered the mountains sooner than the plains is explained (Judges i. 19.): it was because the inhabitants of the plain had chariots of iron.

and the Amorites. The Gibeonites (to whom seven deAbout the year B.C. 1120 there was peace between Israel scendants of Saul were delivered by David about the year atrocities) were of the remnant of the Amorites whom Joshua B.C. 1020, that they might revenge themselves for Saul's had made hewers of wood and drawers of water. (Jos. ix. ; 2 Sam. xx.) Another branch of the Amorites dwelt between the rivers Jordan and Arnon. (Num. xxi. 13., xxii. 36.; Judges xi. 18.) Here Moses and the children of Israel dwelt at Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, in the plain east had smitten two kings of the Amorites, namely, Sihon, who of Jordan. These kings had refused to let the Israelites pass through their borders. But it appears that these Amorites were not extirpated, and that their descendants formed, even during the time of the Maccabees, a distinct tribe: for we read in Josephus's Antiquit. (xiii. chap. 1.) that the Amorites (Auapuíov aides) from Medaba fell suddenly upon the corps of Johannes Gaddis, when he was conveying, according to the command of his brother Jonathan, the baggage of the Jewish host to the Nabathaean Arabs who roved between the Euphrates and the Red Sea. Simon and Jonathan revenged the death of their brother Johannes by falling suddenly upon the splendid train of an Amoritish bridegroom who was leading his bride, the daughter of a rich Arabian, from Gabatha to Medaba. On this occasion 400 men, women and children were killed.

AMOS, the prophet, was a native of the town of Thekoa, which was about six miles south of Bethlehem. He was not a prophet's son, but a herdsman, and a gatherer of sycamore fruit, and the Lord took him as he followed the flock, to prophesy unto Israel. (Amos vii. 14, 15.) Therefore, Amos mentions the kingdom of Judah only incidentally, and hence Dr. Coke, Dr. Adam Clarke, and several commentators before them have vaguely conjectured Amos to be a native of the kingdom of Israel. Amos saw his visions concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah, King of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam II., King of Israel, two years before the earthquake. (Amos i. 1.) This earthquake is mentioned by Zechariah, (xiv. 5.) Ye shall flee, like as ye tled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, King of Judah,' which happened, according to the