ABYSS, used in Scripture to denote the ocean, or the under world, and for Hades, or the place of the dead, but indicating especially the place where sinful souls were imprisoned. In the A. were imprisoned the giants of old; and there the prophets tell us the kings of Egypt, Tyre and Babylon were punished for pride and cruelty. The A. was the place dreaded by evil spirits, and to which they begged the Saviour not to send them. A vast, boundless and chaotic region of darkness is common to most mytholo gies, and is called the A., or by some name of similar signification.
called Habesh by the Arabs, is the large tract of highlands in the c. of Africa. From the Red sea, on the n.e., it rises in terraces towards the s.w. Between the highlands and the Red sea lies a flat tract called Adal, narrow at the n. (in lat. 50° 30'), and widening to the s. The plains of Nubia and Kordofan form the boundaries on the n. and w., while the southern limits are not well known. The total area is about 200,000 sq.m., and the population 3,000,000 to 4,000,000. The country consists of high table lands, intersected by deep ravines formed by the rivers, and steep ..?rraces. Numerous mountain-chains, mostly of volcanic origin, rise above the table-lands; the highest are the mountains of Samen or Samien, rising to about 15,000 ft. above the sea level. Some of the plains have an elevation of from 7 to 10,000 ft. A. gives birth to numerous rivers, the largest of which are the Abai or Nile (13ahr-el-Azrek or Blue river), and the Takkazie, an affluent of the Nile. In the s. is the Hawash—from which the country takes its name—which flows eastward into the salt-lake of Assal in Adal. The largest lake is that of Tzana or Dembea, through which the Abai or Blue Nile flows. The climate in the elevated tracts of Abyssinia is temperate and salubrious; in the low tracts along the coast, and in the n. and n. w., the heat is excessive and the climate noxious. On the whole, A. is a country of great fertility; but, like the climate, the productions of the soil vary greatly with the different degrees of elevation. Wheat and barley are cultivated, also maize, the grains called tell (Poa Abyssinka) and tocusso (Eleusine tocusso), various leguminous plants, cotton, coffee, sugar-cane, tobacco, etc. The coffee plant grows wild. Among wild animals, the lion, leopard, hyena, wolf, jackal, elephant, buffalo, rhinoceros, and zebra are found.
The people of A. belong mostly to the Shemitic race, and resemble the Arabs both in physical characteristics and structure of language. See ETHIOPIA. The ethnology of the country is variously given by different authorities. According to Ruppell, there are three principal races. The aboriginal Abyssinians, inhabiting the greater part of Amhara, and numerous also in Tigre, are of middle size, with oval faces, lips not thicker than those of Europeans, pointed noses, and straight or slightly curled hair. In this race he includes the Falashas, or Jews, the Gamant, and the Agows. A second race, abounding most in the n. of Tigre, have thick lips, nos.; blunt and somewhat curved, and thick hair verging on wooliness. The third are the Gallas, inhabiting the s. of Shoa and the regions iv. of lake Dembea and the Abai; a large-bodied race, round-faced, short nosed, with a depression between the nose and brow, deep-set lively eyes, and thickish lips. The color of these races is brown of various shades. The only negroes in A. are
slaves from the country of the Shangallas, to the w.
The oldest accounts of the Abyssinians are full of fables, but seem sufficient to prove that they attained some degree of civilization even in remote antiquity. Christianity was introduced about the middle of the 4th c., and soon prevailed extensively. Axum was at that time the capital. Two centuries later, the Abyssinians were powerful enough to invade Arabia, and conquer a part of Yemen. In the subsequent struggles against the invading Moslem, the coast-land Samhara and the country of Adal were lost. In the 10th c., a Jewish princess overthrew the reigning dynasty, tile surviving repre sentative of which fled to Slum. After three centuries of confusion the empire was restored under Icon Ainlac, and some progress was made in improvement. Early in the 15th c., the Abyssinians entered into close relations with the Portuguese, by whose assist ance the empire was saved, in 1540, from falling into the hands of the invader Granie, sultan of Adal. The southern provinces, however, were lost, and the seat of empire was removed from Shim to Gondar. Under the influence of the Portuguese missionaries, the royal family adopted the Roman Catholic faith: and the old Coptic church was formally united to the see of Rome. The people and ecclesiastics obstinately resisted the innova tion; the emperor gave way; and ultimately, in 1632, the Romish priests were expelled or put to death. In consequence of the eonunotions thus excited, the monarchical power declined, while that of the governors of provinces greatly increased, and indeed became almost absolute. The later history of A. is given under the article TuEononr.i. The political divisions of the country arc subject to continual alteration; but the following are the most important: 1. The kingdom of Tigre, extending between the river Takkazie or Bahr el-Aswad (Black river), and the mountains of Sainen on one side, and the district of Samhara on the other. Its chief towns are Antalo and Adowa. 2. The kingdom of Gondar or Amhara, extending on the w. of the Takkazic and the Semen mountains. The capital, Gondar, is situated in the u.e. of the plain of Dembea or Gondar, at an elevation of 7420 ft. 3. The kingdom of Shock (including Efat), lying s. of Amhara and separated from the Galla tribes by the Hawash. This is, by all accounts, the best organized and most powerful state now existing in A. The capital, Ankobar, at an elevation of 8198 ft., contains from 8000 to 10,000 inhabitants, and enjoys a delightful climate. .The Gallas, a savage but enterprising race, effected a settlement in the s. of A. in the 16th c. They inhabit the whole of the eastern part of tropical Africa. Several of their tribes have been modified in character and customs • by conversions to Mohammedanism, and have founded kingdoms—such as Enarea, one of the highest mountain countries of Africa, and rich in produce; Kasha, on the river Goshob, where the slave-trade is actively carried on by the Portuguese; and several smaller independent states of which little is known.