ABBA MARI (in full, Abba Mari ben Moses ben Joseph), French rabbi, was born at Lunel, near Montpellier, towards the end of the 13th century. He is also known as Yarhi from his birth place (Heb. Y erah; i.e., moon, lune), and he further took the name Astruc, Don Astruc or En Astruc of Lunel. In Montpellier, where he lived from 1303 to 1306, he was much distressed by the prev alence of Aristotelian rationalism, which, through the medium of the works of Maimonides, threatened the authority of the Old Testament, obedience to the law, and the belief in miracles and revelation. He, therefore, in a series of letters (afterwards col lected under the title Minhat Kenaot; i.e., "Jealousy Offering") called upon the famous rabbi Solomon ben Adret of Barcelona to come to the aid of orthodoxy. Ben Adret, with the approval of other prominent Spanish rabbis, sent a letter to the community at Montpellier proposing to forbid the study of philosophy to those who were less than 3o years of age, and, in spite of keen opposition from the liberal section, a decree in this sense was issued by ben Adret in 1305. The result was a great schism among the Jews of Spain and southern France, and a new impulse was given to the study of philosophy by the unauthorized interference of the Span ish rabbis. On the expulsion of the Jews from France by Philip IV. in 1306, Abba Mari settled at Perpignan, where he published the letters connected with the controversy.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.-Edition of the Minhat Kenaot by M. L. Bislichis Bibliography.-Edition of the Minhat Kenaot by M. L. Bislichis (Pressburg, 1838) ; E. Renan, Les rabbins francais, p. 647 et seq.; Perles, Salomo ben Abraham ben Adereth, p. 15-54; Jewish Encyclo pedia, s.v. "Abba Mari." 'ABBAS I. (c. 1557-1628 or 1629), shah of Persia, called the Great, was the son of Shah Mohammed (d. 1586). In the midst of general anarchy in Persia, he was proclaimed ruler of Khurasan, and became shah in 1586. Determined to raise the fallen fortunes of his country , he first directed his efforts against the predatory Uzbegs, who occupied and harassed Khurasan. After a long struggle, he regained Meshed, defeated them in a great battle near Herat in 1597, and drove them out of his dominions. In the wars he carried on with the Turks during nearly the whole of his reign, he acquired, or regained, a large extent of territory.
By the victory he gained at Basra in i6o5 he extended his empire beyond the Euphrates; Sultan Ahmed I. was forced to cede Shirvan and Kurdistan in 1611; the united armies of the Turks and Tatars were completely defeated near Sultanieh in 1618, and 'Abbas made peace on very favourable terms ; and on the Turks renewing the war, Baghdad fell into his hands after a year's siege in 1623. In 1622 he took the island of Ormuz from the Portuguese, by the assistance of the British, and much of its trade was diverted to the town of Bander-Abbasi, which was named after the shah. When he died (Jan. 27, 1628) his dominions reached from the Tigris to the Indus. Abbas distinguished him self, not only by his successes in arms, and by the magnificence of his court and of the buildings which he erected, but also by his reforms in the administration of his kingdom.
He encouraged commerce by constructing highways and build ing bridges. To foreigners, especially Christians, he showed a spirit of tolerance ; two Englishmen, Sir Anthony and Sir Robert Shirley, or Sherley, were admitted to his confidence. His fame is tarnished by numerous deeds of tyranny and cruelty. His own family, especially, suffered from his fits of jealousy; his eldest son was slain, and the eyes of his other children were put out, by his orders.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.-See The Three Brothers, or Travels of Sir Anthony, Bibliography.-See The Three Brothers, or Travels of Sir Anthony, Sir Robert Sherley, etc. (1825) ; Sir C. R. Markham, General Sketch of the History of Persia (1874).