Part 258 (2/2)
ISRAEL, KINGDOM OF, the name given to the northern kingdom of the 10 tribes of the Israelites which revolted from the kingdom of Judah after the death of Solomon.
ISRaELS, JOSEF, a Dutch oil and water-colour artist and etcher, born in Groningen; studied in Amsterdam and Paris; devoting himself to _genre_ subjects, he has depicted the pathetic side of the life of the Dutch fisher-folks with great sympathy and power; he won a _grand prix_ at the Paris Exhibition of 1889; _b_. 1824.
ISRAFEEL, in the Mohammedan mythology an angel whose office it will be to sound the trumpet on the resurrection morning.
ISSUS, a river in Cilicia, Asia Minor, where Alexander the Great defeated Darius, 333 B.C.
ISSY (12), a village m. SW. of Paris, where Davout was defeated by Blucher on 3rd July 1815, and which suffered severely during the siege of Paris by the Germans in 1870-71.
ISTAMBOUL, the Turkish name for Constantinople.
ISTHMIAN GAMES, one of the four Pan-h.e.l.lenic festivals; they were periodically celebrated in honour of Poseidon or Neptune at the isthmus of Corinth, in Greece, whence the name.
ISTRIA (299), a mountainous territory of Austria, in the NE. corner of the Adriatic; yields olive-oil, figs, and vines, though often swept by sirocco and bora winds.
ISUMBRAS, ST., a hero of mediaeval romance, a proud man subdued by G.o.d's justice into a penitent and a humble.
ITALIAN ARCHITECTURE. The style of architecture called Italian was first developed by Filippo Brunesch.e.l.li, and flourished during the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries; it was an adaptation of cla.s.sical circular-arch form to modern requirements. In Rome it conformed most to ancient types; in Venice it a.s.sumed its most graceful form. It was more suitable to domestic than to ecclesiastical work; but the dome is an impressive feature, and St. Peter's a n.o.ble church.
ITALIC SCHOOL, the name given to the school of PYTHAGORAS (q. v.) who taught philosophy in Italy.
ITALIC VERSION, THE, a version of the Scriptures into Latin on the basis of the Septuagint, executed in N. Italy under episcopal authority from other versions in circulation; being of mixed quality and far from satisfactory, JEROME (q. v.) undertook its revision with the view of a new translation into Latin known as the Vulgate direct from the Hebrew and Greek originals.
ITALY (30,536), the central one of three peninsulas stretching into the Mediterranean Sea, in the S. of Europe, has the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian Seas respectively on the E. and W., and is separated from France, Switzerland, and Austria in the N. by the various ranges of the Alps. Between the Alps and the Apennines lies the extensive, fertile plain of Lombardy, watered by the river Po, and containing several large lakes, such as Garda, Como, and Maggiore. The Apennines form a very picturesque chain of mountains 5000 ft. high down the centre of the country. The climate varies in different districts, but is mostly warm.
Malaria curses many parts in autumn. Agriculture is extensive, but primitive in manner, and the peasantry are very poor. The most important crops are cereals, including rice and maize, grapes, olives, and chestnuts, and in the S. oranges and lemons. Italian wines are of indifferent quality. Coal and iron are scarce; sulphur is produced in large quant.i.ties in Sicily. There are large quarries of marble and alabaster. The most important industries are silk, gla.s.s, and porcelain.
There is an extensive foreign trade, chiefly with France and Great Britain; the exports consist of silk, sulphur, marble, fruit, and wine; the imports of coal, iron, and textile goods. The religion is Roman Catholic; education is now compulsory. The Gothic kingdom of Italy was founded on the ruins of the Roman Empire, A.D. 489. In succession the country was conquered by the forces of the Byzantine Empire, by the Lombards, and by the Franks. From the 11th century onwards its history has been one of constant internal strife and confusion. The presence of the papal power in Rome, the rise of such rich trading republics as the cities of Milan, Florence, Naples, Genoa, and Venice, the pretensions of French kings and German emperors, and factions like those of the Guelphs and Ghibellines, produced endless complications and ruinous wars. In the 16th century the influence of the Austro-Spanish house of Charles V.
became dominant; his son, Philip II., was king of Milan and Naples. In more recent times the small states of Italy were continually involved in the wars which devastated Europe, and pa.s.sed in alliance or in subordination into the hands of Austria, France, and Spain alternately.
The last 50 years have seen the unification of the kingdom. After the abortive movement of Mazzini came Cavour and Garibaldi, who, after severe struggles against the Austrians in the North and the despots of Southern Italy, proclaimed Victor Emmanuel king of Italy in 1861. By various steps the whole of the peninsula, with the islands of Sardinia and Sicily, have been brought into the kingdom. The temporal power of the Pope ceased in 1870. The Government is a const.i.tutional monarchy. Franchise is exercised by every citizen who can read and write. Conscription is in force for army and navy. These are both strong, the navy one of the best in Europe. Finances are bad; the debt amounts to 520,000,000, and taxation is ruinous.
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