SIVAS, se-vas, or RHUM, Asia Minor, (1) Capital of the vilayet of that name on the Kizil hank, 170 miles southwest of Trebizond, on the site of the ancient Sebastia. It contains some fine ruins of Seljuk art, chief of which are the nsedresses, or colleges of the 13th cen tury. One of them contains the tomb of Izz-ed din Kai Kaits I, the founder (1210-19). In the Armenian convent are preserved several relics, among them the throne of Senekherim. The heights (4,420 feet) are crowned by castles, and the general view, including mosques, minarets, colonnades, etc., baths, khans and bazaars, through which wind the narrow streets, is typically OrientaL There are Armenian churches, American and Jesuit schools and missions, and manufactories. On the route from Bagdad to Diarbeker and Malatiyeh and thence to the Black Sea, it is important com mercially. The chief manufactures are coarse Cotton cloth and woolen hose. The inhabitants are Moslems, Armenians and Greeks. Under Diocletian it became an Armenian capital, and was an emporium of wealth under Turkish dominion. In 1172 it was captured by the
Seljuk, sultan of Rhum. In 1400 when the city was taken by Timur it was a metropolis of 100,000 people; but never recovered from the atrocities perpetrated at that time. In 1895 a cruel massacre of Armenian Christians again decimated its population. Pop, 45,000. (2) Sivas is a large vilayet, and one of the most important of the country. Its area is 32,300 square miles. It has a productive soil; the main crops are wheat and barley; fruit orchards and vineyards are extensively culti vated. The forests are extensive, mainly fir, pine, oak and beech. The chief mineral de posits are silver, lead, salt, coal, iron, alum, i arsenic and manganese. The exports grain, flour, textiles, tobacco, opium, wool, car pets and cattle. The principal imports are cot ton manufactures. The climate is salubrious. Pop. 1,090,000.