HAMAD AN. 492 HAMATH. fertile and picturesque region, about 180 miles southwest of Teheran (Map: Persia, C 4). It is unattractive in appearance, hut has a num- ber of tine well-stocked bazaars, several mosques, and two tombs of special interest, one claimed to be that of Jlordecai and Esther, and the other of the Arabian philosopher Avicenna (q.v.). Hamadan is famous for its copper ware, leather trunks and saddlery, carpet, silver, and gold works. Commercially the town is of considerable importance, owing to its position on the route between Bagdad and Teheran. The population is estimated at 25.000, including about 1000 Jewish families. Ilamadan is generally believed to occupy the site of the ancient Eebatana (q.v.) . HAM'ADRY'AD (Lat. hamadii/as, from Gk. a/Mti/jins, liiiinadri/tis, from a/Ma, haina, with + ipvs, drys, tree). A venomous serpent, the lar- gest of Oriental cobras (Xaja or Ophiopluujus iungarus) . It is nowhere numerous, but widely distributed, occurring in damp, forested regions from Ceylon to the Philippines, and is known as the 'giant cobra,' and in some parts of India as 'sunerkor.' It grows to a length of 13 feet, and probably more, and has a hood which it can ex- pand; but differs from the common cobra by the presence of a ])air of large shields on the head behind the parietals. It is variable in color, but usually, when adult, is some shade of brown, with broad dark cross-bands. It is fierce in disposi- tion, rarely showing any fear of man (though exhibiting much intelligence in captivity), and often climbs trees and conceals itself in their hollows. It feeds altogether ipon snakes, which it chases swiftly, seizes behind the head, and swallows head foremost. It is said that a man bitten by a vigorous snake of this species will die in three minutes, and an elephant in two h.ours. Were it not so rare it would be the most dangerous reptile in the world. See Cobra and Keait. Consult Favrer, Thanatryphidia of India iL.uidcm. 1S74). HAMADRYAD. The mandrill. See Ba- boon. HAMADRYADS. See Ntmptis. HA'MAN. A character introduced into the Book of Esther as an 'Agagite' (Amalekite) chief minister of Ahasuerus. King of Persia. When Jlordecai the .lew refused to obey the order to bow down before Haman, the latter made an at- tempt to destroy all the .Tews in the kingdom : Queen Esther, however, foiled his design, and Haman was hanged on the very gibbet which he had prepared for Jlordecai. See Esthek, Book of. HAMANN", hii'man, Johann Georg (17.30- 88) . A German writer and a very original think- er, sometimes called the 'Magician of tlie North.' He was born at Kiinigsberg, in Prussia. His early life was somewhat checkered, and he fre- quently changed his dwelling-place. In 1759 he returned to his home in Kiinigsberg. and de- voted himself to the study of the ancient lan- guages and Oriental literature. As an author Hamann was little esteemed by his contempora- ries. His language was figurative and symbol- ical in the highest degree, and frequently con- cealed rather than revealed the depth of his thinking. Yet he had the friendship of many eminent authors, and the influence which he exercised upon Herder, Goethe, and .lacobi was considerable. All his writings exhibit a deeply spiritual faith in the unseen and the eternal. Among them the Sokratische Denkaurdigkeiten (175!)) and Krcuz::ii<jc dcs I'll ilolotn'ii (1762) are perhaps less oracular than the rest. His complete works were published by Kotli (Berlin, 1821-43), in seven volumes; an eighth volume by Wiener (Berlin, 1843) contains additions and explana- tions and an indispensable index. His corre- spondence with .Tacobi was ])ublished by Gilde- nicister (Gotlia, 1868), who also wrote his biog- raphv (4 vols., 1857-63). For his life, consult Poel * ( Hamburg, 1874-76 ) . HAMASA, or HAMASAH, lui-nia'sa (Ar. Iiamu>iuli, bravery, from Iminisa, to be firm). The name of a famous anthology of Arabic poetiy, collected by Habib ibn Aus et-Tai, surnamed Ab.i Temmam (c.807-846). and divided by him into ten books. The first book is the longest, and deals with tile heroes of pre-Islamie times, illustrating the quality of hamasah (valor), which names the book, and also the whole collection. The remain- ing books deal with (2) Lamentations; (3) Manners; (4) Love; (5) Satires; (6) Hospital- ity; (7) Descriptions: (8) Travel: (9) Pleas- antries; (10) Blame of Women. The collection is made with siugiUarly good taste, and is taken from extempore works rather than from the standard poets. It is of great historical value, since it pic- tures very faithfully the life and the characteris- tics of the early Islamic era. There are three editions of the Arabic (1) by Frevtag (2 vols., Bonn, 1828-47); (2) the Bu'lak edition (A. H. 1256); (3) the Calcutta edition (18.)6). The Hamasah has been translated into German by Friedrich Riickert (Stuttgart, 1846), and selec- tions have been rendered into English by Lyall. Ancient Arabic Poetry (London, 1885). See Abu Temmam. HAMATH, ha'niath. A city in Northern Syria, situated on the banks of the Orontes (the modern el-Asi). The name signifies 'fortress' or 'sacred inclosure ;'by thciGreeks the citywas called Epiphania. by the Christians Emath Epiphania ; but the old name still maintains itself as Hama. Hamath is mentioned as earlv as the inscriptions of Thothmes III. (B.C. 1503-1449), and Seti I. (B.C. 1356-1347). King Tou (or Toi), of Ha- math, sent to David a message of congratulation upon his victory over Eehob (after B.C. 1026; II. Sam. viii. 9). Hamath was evidently the capital of a State whose boundaries extended to the northern limits of Israel, 'the entrance of Hamath,' which probably was the opening be- tween the Nasairiyeh Jlountains above Trijioli and the north point of Lebanon. It is doubtful whether Solomon exercised any authority north of this point. Irchuleni of Hamath was one of the allied kings against whom Shalmanezer II. fought at Karkar in B.C. 854. In II. Kings xiv. 28, the text is too corrupt to permit any conclu- sion as to the author's thought, and the passage cannot be used to prove a conquest of Hamath by Jeroboam II. of Israel. Ini-ilu of Hamath paid tribute to Tiglath-pileser III. in B.C. 730, who annexed 19 districts of the land to Assyria. Sar- gon conquered Hamath in B.C. 720 and flayed King Ilu-bidi alive. According to II. Kings xvii. 24-30. Hamathites were transported to Sa- maria ; a confusion with some other name is probable. Hamath belonged successively to the As.syrian, the Chaldean, the Persian, and the
