The emperor Caligula had designed Alexandria as the seat of his empire in the event of his massacring the chief senators and knights of Rome. In the year A. D. 40, the Jews, who, to the amount of a million, had for many years enjoyed a variety of privileges, were, by an edict of Flaccus, now declared strangers in Alexandria—and underwent, as one of the signs of the time of their approaching destruction and the complete dispersion of their nation, grievous privations, losses, and cruelty. It was within a few years after this, that the gospel of Jesus Christ was promulgated in Alexandria, and received by many. The names of Pantænus, St. Cle ment, and Origen, are found as presidents of a Christian school of considerable eminence founded in this city. The admixture, however, of the philosophy which distinguished Alexandria, with the tenets of Christianity, and the dogmas of Judaism, tended materially to corrupt both truth and wisdom; and the eclectic philosophy proved the foundation of the Jewish cabbala, and many corruptions of the Christian faith. Under Claudius, Alexandria again reckoned the Jews as citizens. It was the first place which hailed Vespasian emperor, A. D. 69; and here he abode whilst his generals and armies were deciding his cause against Vitellius The account Adrian, who visited the city A. D. 130, gives of it, is characteristic of the industry and enterprise of commerce, as well as of its worst and most pernicious effects upon the inhabitants who thrive upon its riches Under the emperor Severus, Alexandria obtained several immunities and privileges, A. D. 202; a grateful sense of which was manifested by a monument erected to him. Different, however, was their fortune under the despicable Caracalla, who rewarded their entertainment of him by a gen eral massacre of the inhabitants, A. D. 215; by abolishing the societies of learned men, who were maintained in the museum; by the plunder of temples and private houses; and by separating different parts of the city from one another by walls and towers. During the reign of Gallienus. Alexandria suffered most severely both by water and pestilence. But history, here, records with admiration the conduct of two Christian bishops, Eusebius and Anatolius, who, like the good Samaritan, bound up the wounds of the wretched, and, like their heavenly Master, were un wearied in alleviating the distresses of their suffering fellow-creatures. Their conduct sheds a lustre over the annals of this city, far transcending the most brilliant exploits which emblazon its heraldry. Alexandria was now almost depopulated. It, however, again recovered somewhat of its former greatness, again to feel the unsparing havoc of war and dissension, in the reign of Dioclesian, who having captured it from Achilleus, the usurper of Egypt, gave it up to indiscriminate pillage and plunder, A. D. 296 He made some retribution for this severity by establishing certain salutary regulations, amongst which may be reckoned, his establishment for the perpetual distribution of corn, for the benefit of this city, A. D. 302. Un der Constantine, Alexandria again flourished by its trade and commerce A dreadful and almost universal earthquake, July 21, 365, shook this city to its very foundation, and swallowed up fifty thousand of its inhabitants Although the second capital of the Roman empire, Alexandria was cap tured by the Moslems, under Amrou, the general of the caliph Omar, De cember 22, A. D. 640. Bloody and obstinate was the siege: amply sup pled with provisions, and devoted to the defence of their dearest rights and honours, its inhabitants bravely withstood the astonishing efforts and wearied bravery of their enemies; and had Heraclius as promply seconded their resolution, the crescent of Mahomet had not then reigned in bloody supremacy over the Christian cross. It was invaluable to Herarlius, and its loss was a source of great inconvenience to Byzantium, to which it had been the storehouse. Since, in the short space of five years, the harbours and fortifications of Alexandria were occupied by a fleet and army of Romans, twice did the valour of its conqueror, Amrou, expel

them; but his policy had been to dismantle several walls and towers, pursuance of a vow he had made of rendering Alexandria as accessible as the home of a prostitute. In the year 612, the library of Alexandria was destroyed by order of the caliph Omar; and so extensive was it, that its volumes of paper or parchment sufficed to light the fires of the four thousand baths which were in the city, for more than six months!

So waned the splendour and glory of this mighty city. The dominion of the Saracens withered its energies, and Alexandria gradually sunk from its high estate, so that in the year 875, its extent was contracted to naif its former dimensions. Mournful, but still majestic in its decline, ii still retained the Pharos, and part of its public places and monuments. In 920 its great church, called Cosarea, which had formerly been a pagan temple, erected by Cleopatra, in honour of Saturn, was destroyed by fire; and two years after, this second, or Arabic, Alexandria, was taken by the Magrebians, who, after various vicissitudes, at length finally lost it to the Moslems, A. D. 928, when more than two hundred thousand of the wretched inhabitants perished. The discovery of the Cape of Good Hope in 1499, completed the ruin which had, for some centuries, been advancing under the Turkish dominion; and Alexandria ceases from that time to possess any particular interest for the historian, until the close of the last century The first consul of France, whose name will be reckoned up with the Macedonian Alexander and the Roman Cæsar, like these two great prototypes of his ambition, displayed in Alexandria his skill and prowess. It fell to his army July 4, 1798, after a defeat of the Arabs and Mamelukes. The thunders of the British navy, braving defeat and discomfiture through. the ships of France, at Aboukir, were heard at Alexandria, and the British ensign waved triumphant over its walls in the year 1801, as again in 1800. Among the names of various heroes connected with this once mighty city, that of Abercrombie, who died there in the arms of victory, shall live enrolled in the annals of history.

ANTIOCH.

The history of this interesting place is pregnant with great and important events connected as well with profane as sacred history. It was founded by Antigonus, and called Antigonia, a name soon after changed for Antiocha, in honour of Antiochus, father of Seleucus. The seat of empire for the kings of Syria, and of government for the Roman officers, Antioch was a place of considerable importance. It contained four distinct cities, and was therefore called Tetrapolis. Another city, built in its suburbs, called Daphne, superceded it in magnificence and luxury so much, that, not only did "to live after the manner of Daphne " become proverbial, but Antioch was termed Antioch near Daphne.

Its history is confined pretty much to the various calamities of war and pestilence which, at different times, have visited and scourged this city. By the assistance of Jonathan, the leader of the Maccabees, king Demetrius punished the entumacy of his dissatisfied subjects by slaying ten thousand of them, . C. 145. An extraordinary earthquake laid it in ruins in the reign of Trajan, A. D. 115; the emperor himself being with difficulty saved from destruction. Antioch rose from its ashes under the auspices of Trajan, and was again nearly consumed by fire in 155. It was restored by Antoninus Pius, but was dispossessed, A. D. 177, by a severe edict of his. of all its ancient rights and privileges, as a punishment for abetting the faction of Ovidius Cassius, governor of Syria, a measure, however, which was soon annulled. In 194 Severus, to punish the part which its natives took in the faction between him and Niger, passed a similar edict, an

subjected Antioch, reduced to the level of a village, to Laodicea, but the next year he revoked his sentence. In the meanwhile Antioch had been distinguished for some events connected with the spread of Christianity, which, it is said, was established here by St. Peter, in the year 38. It was here the followers of the Redeemer were first called Christians, and an assembly of the apostles was held in 56. There have also been several councils convened in Antioch at different periods.

From its situation, it was necessarily exposed to severe attacks during the wars between the Persians and the Romans, when the power of the latter began to decline. It was three times taken by the Persian monarch, Sapor, who, after its last capture, plundered it and laid all its public buildings prostrate. In 331 it was visited by a severe famine. Sixteen years afterward its importance was increased by Constantine II., who, at an immense expense, formed the harbour of Seleucia for its convenience. During the residence of the emperor Julian here, on his way to the Persian empire, there occurred throughout the Roman provinces a severe famine, which visited Antioch more severely than other places, from the establishment of a corn-law by the emperor. In 381, two great scourges appeared, plague and famine; the former soon subsided, but on the continuance of the latter, Libanius, the bishop, entreated assistance from Icairus, prefect of the East, who answered the entreaty with brutality and insult. A commotion ensued, which, however, terminated without bloodshed. Six years afterward, a tremendous tumult took place, in con sequence of a tax imposed upon the people by the emperor Theodosius, in commemoration of the tenth year of his own reign, and the fifth of that of his son Arcadius. The governor of the city with difficulty escaped the frenzy of the populace; and great indignities were offered to the emperor's statues by the people, who were made to atone for this offence by the most cruel punishments. St. Chrysostom distinguished himself on this occasion by preaching homilies to the people, which tended very much to reform their dissolute and corrupt practices. Severe measures were on the point of being executed against Antioch by command of Theodosius, when they were averted by the united entreaties of St. Chrysotom, some hermits, and Flavianus, bishop of Antioch. But there was no defence to this ill-fated place in the year 598 against the awful visitation of an earthquake, which, on September 19, laid desolate the most beautiful quarter of the city. A similar visitation occurred in 525, in the reign of Justin. Neither was the fury of man long withheld from working de struction to Antioch. In 540 it was captured by Chosroes, king of Persia. The churches were pillaged, and, like another Nebuchadnezzar, be ap propriated their gold and silver to his own use. Rapine, pillage, and Até in her fullest insubordination, were let loose. Antioch had not a dwelling left; her people were scattered, slain, or carried into captivity. Once more, phoenix-like, it rose from its ruins, to experience another earthquake in 530, which destroyed thirty thousand persons.

A new enemy now appears on the page of its history. The Saracens took Antioch in the year 634, and retained possession of it till 858, when again it was annexed to the Roman empire. The Turks next became masters of it; and they in turn lost it to the Crusaders, who made a principality of Antioch, in 1098, under Bohemond, prince of Torento. He was taken prisoner by the Turks in 1101, but liberated in 1103. Meanwhile Antioch had been governed by Tancred, who died the year after his appointmeet. The whole of the principality of Antioch, excepting the city, was overrun by the sultan Noureddin in 1148, who in the year 1160 took Bohemond III. prisoner. On his liberation in 1175, he was created knight by Louis VI. of France, and died in 1201. The principality of Antioch was dis solved in 1268 by the capture of the city by Bibars, sultan of Babylon. It then became a portion of the Turkish empire, which it has since con

tinued, having experienced during that period two earthquakes—one in 1759, and the other in 1822.

Antioch has listed to the march or empires; the splendors of the Macedonian, the majesty of the Roman, the voluptuousness of the Persian, the vigour of the Saracenic, and the tyranny of the Osmanic, have in turns revelled in her palaces, and adorned or degraded her beauty; while the voice of Christianity has whispered in her temple, and the thunders of the Incomprehensible Deity have spoken in awful prodigies, and awed her inhabitants by pestilence, famine and earthquakes.

THE BARBARY STATES.

Barbary is a vast territory of Africa, containing the states or kingdoms of Algiers, Morocco, Fez, Tunis, Tripoli, and Barca. It stretches entirely across the northern shores of Africa, from the Atlantic Ocean on the western boundary of Egypt, taking almost the whole range of the south. ern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. In width it is various, and bounded by the "great desert." The Romans obtained possession of Barbary in the time of Julius Cæsar, and remained masters of it till A. D. 428. At that time Bonifacius, the Roman governor, revolted, and called in to his assistance Genseric, king of the Vandals, who had been sometime settled in Spain. They agreed to divide the country between them: Genseric was to have two-thirds, and Bonifacius one-third. Genseric set sail in May the same year, with an army of eighty thousand men, together with their wives, children, and effects. Genseric had no sooner effected his landing, and secured a part of the country, than he turned his arms against Bonifacius, defeated him, and obliged him to shelter himself in Hippo, which place he besieged in May, 430; but was under the necessity of retiring from famine. The Romans sent an army into Africa, under the conduct of the celebrated Aspar, from Constantinople; a dreadful battle ensued, and Genseric became the victor. The Vandals were by this victory rendered masters of Africa. Cirtha and Carthage were the only strong places possessed by the Romans.

In 435, peace was concluded between the Romans and the Vandals. The former gave up part of Numidia, the province of Procon Salariz and Byzancene, for which a yearly sum was to be paid to the emperor of the East. However, in 439, the Romans being engaged in a war with the Goths of Gaul, Genseric took this advantage to seize Carthage, by which he considerably enlarged his African dominions. On the taking of Carthage, Genseric made it the seat of his empire; and, in 440, made a descent on the island of Sicily, plundered it and returned to Africa. Being now become formidable to both empires, Theodosius, emperor of the East, resolved to assist Valentinian against so powerful an enemy. Accordingly, he fitted out a fleet of eleven hundred ships, filled with the flower of his army, under Arcovindus. Genseric now pretending a desire to be at peace with both empires, amused the Roman general with pacific proposals, till the eason for action was over. Theodosius being obliged to recall his forces to oppose the Huns, Valentinian found it necessary to conclude a peace with the Vandals, yielding them quiet possession of the countries they had seized. Genseric was now become so powerful, or

rather so low was the power of the Roman empire reduced, that, in 455. he took the city or Rome, and plundered it; and after his return to Africa made himself master of all the remaining countries held by the Romans in that part of the world.

The kingdom of the Vandals in Africa was now fully established; and Genseric made himself master of Sicily, as well as all the other islands between Italy and Africa, without opposition from the western emperors, who were now too feeble to resist him, A. D. 476. Genseric made his dominions a scene of blood, and died in 477, after a reign of forty-seven years. He was succeeded by his son Hunneric, who proved a greater tyrant than his father, persecuting the Christians with the utmost fury; and during his short reign of seven years and a half, he destroyed more of them than Genseric had done during the whole of his life. The successors of Hunneric, Gutamund, Thrasamund, and Hilderic, of whom we know very little, except that the latter was deposed, in the seventh year of his reign, by Gelimer, a prince of the blood-royal, who proved a greater tyrant than any that had gone before him, and was held in abhorrence, when the emperor Justinian proposed an invasion of Africa. Accordingly, he sent a powerful fleet and army against Gelimir, under the command of the celebrated Belisarius. Gelimir committed the management of his army to his brothers, Gundimer and Gelamund: they attacked the Romans; the engagement was long and bloody, but at length the Vandals were defeated, and the two princes slain. Gelimer headed a fresh army, which was also defeated, and the loss of Carthage followed. Another defeat followed close upon the former. Gelimer fled into Numidia, and an end was put to the vandal power in Barbary. Gelimer was afterward brought in gold chains before Justinian, whom he besought, in the most submissive manner, to spare his life. This was readily granted by the emperor; and a handsome yearly pension was also allowed him.

Barbary remained under the Roman power until the caliphate of Omar, when it was reduced by the Saracens. It continued subject to the caliph till the reign of Haroun al Raschid, when Ebn Aglab, the governor, assumed independence. The house of Aglab was driven out by Al Mohdi, the first Fatimite caliph. Al Mohdi reigned twenty-four years, and was succeeded by his son, Abul Kasem, who took the name of Al Kayem Mohdi. During this reign we read of nothing remarkable, except the rebellion of Yesod. He was succeeded by his son Ishmael, who took upon himself the title of Al Mansur. Al Mansur was succeeded by his son, Abu Zammin Moad, who assumed the surname of Al Moez Ledenillah. This caliph conquered Egypt, and removed the caliphate to that country. The other material events that have taken place in the Barbary States will be found in the historical notice of Algiers.

ALGIERS.

Algiers, a country of northern Africa, and which was regarded as the most powerful of the Barbary states, has long been the subject of European indignation for its piratical practices, and the ignominious slavery to which all Christians who fell into its power were irrevocably doomed But the hour of retribution has at length come; and the events of late