BAAL-ZEBTJB 371 BASER and there are other structures of an elaborately ornate type. Originally a center of the sun-worship, it became a Roman colony under Julius Csesar, was garrisoned by Augustus, and acquired increasing renown under Trajan as the seat of an oracle. Under Constantine its temples became churches, but after being sacked by the Arabs in 748, and more completely pillaged by Tamerlane in 1401,, it sank into hopeless decay. The work of destruction was completed by an earthquake in 1759. BAAL-ZEBUB. Evil spirit; Beelzebub. BABA, a Turkish word, signifying father, originating, like our word papa, in the first efforts of children to speak. In Persia and Turkey it is prefixed as a title of honor to the names of ecclesi- astics of distinction; it is often affixed in courtesy, also, to the names of other persons, as Ali-Baba. BABA BUD AN (ba-ba bo-dan'), a spur of the West Ghats, Mysore, India, which strikes E. for 15 miles, leaving a narrow opening at its W. end for the passage of the Bhadra, then S. in an unbroken line for 20 miles, inclosing between itself and the main chain of the Ghats a rich, but unhealthy valley. To this spur belong three peaks above 6,000 feet high, among these Mulaina-giri, 6,317 feet, the high- est in the West Ghats. Coffee was first pknted in India on another part of this spur toward the close of the 17th century, by a Mohammedan saint named Baba Biidan. BABBAGE, CHARLES, an English mathematician, born near Teignmouth, Devonshire, Dec. 26, 1792; was Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge (1828- 1839), and one of the founders, secre- taries, and vice-presidents of the Astro- nomical Society. He is best known as the inventor of a calculating machine. His principal work was "On the Econ- omy of Machinery" (1832), which was translated into several languages. He died in London, Oct. 18, 1871. BABBITT, IRVING, an American ed- ucator, born in Dayton, O., in 1865. He graduated from Harvard University in 1889 and after post-graduate courses at Harvard he studied in Paris for several ^ years. He was instructor of Romance languages in Williams College in 1894, and later successively instructor, assist- ant professor, and professor of French literature in Harvard University. He was the author of "Literature and the American College" (1908) ; "Masters of Modern French Criticism" (1912) ; etc, • He edited the works of several French ', 25— Vol. I— Cyc writers and was a frequent contributor to magazines. BABBITT METAL, a soft metal re- suiting from alloying together certain proportions of copper, tin, and antimony, used with a view of obviating, as far as possible, friction in the bearings of jour- nals, cranks, axles, etc. Invented by Isaac Babbitt. BABEL, a place or circumstances in which confusion of sounds — as, for in- stance, by several people speaking at once — is the predominating characteris- tic. The reference is to the confusion of tongues divinely sent in consequence of the building of the Tower of Babel (Gen. xi: 1-9). The magnificent temple of Belus, asserted to have been originally this tower, is said to have had lofty spires, and many statues of gold, one of them 40 feet high. In the upper part of this temple was the tomb of the founder, Belus (the Nimrod of the sacred Scrip- tures), who was deified after death. BAB-EL-MANDEB (i. e., the gate of tears), so called from the danger arising to small vessels from strong currents, is the name of the strait between Arabia and the continent of Africa, by which the Red Sea is connected with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Within the strait, but nearer to Arabia, lies the bare, rocky island of Perim, since 1857 occupied by the British as a fort; its guns command the entrance to the Red Sea. BABER (or "The Tiger") , the histori- cal surname of Zehir-ed-din-Mohammed, the conqueror of Hindustan and founder of the so-called Mogul dynasty. Babei was of mixed Turkish and Mongol origin, being descended from Timour the Great on the father's side, and from Genghis Khan on the mother's. Baber was born on Feb. 14, 1483, and at the age of 12, on his father's death, ascended the inse- cure throne of Ferghana in Turkestan; soon ^fter he was attacked on all sides by his uncles and other neighboring princes. Accordingly, at the age of 15, Baber seized on Samarcand, the capital of Timour, but, while thus engaged, a revolution at home deprived him of his sovereignty. After many years of an ad- venturQus career, he raised an army, entered Hindustan, and was met by Ibra- him, the ruling Sultan of that country. The two armies fought the battle at Paniput, which decided the fate of India, on April 21, 1525. Baber, with his army of 12,000 men, completely overthrew that of Ibrahim, numbering 100,000, and en- tered Delhi in triumph. In the battle of Sakri, in February, 1527, Baber ut-
