SAMARITANS 221 SAMOAN ISLANDS the 10 revolted tribes raised their inde- pendent state and formed the kingdom properly denominated Israel, in contra- distinction to that of Judah, embracing the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, from which the other 10 had seceded when, refusing the authority of Reho- boam, they established a dynasty of their own, at the head of which they placed Jeroboam, the first king of the nation of Israel. So deadly was the animosity and so implacable the hatred that existed be- tween these two nations of Jews, that, from the time of their severance to the destruction of their capital and the cap- tivity of Israel, an almost perpetual state of warfare existed between Judah and Israel; and the term of Samaritan was one of the bitterest contempt and re- proach that could be applied to any one. The antipathy borne by the people of Judah for those of Israel or Samaria was not only political, but religious. Theolog- ical dissensions were, however, in time greatly modified by the return of the Samaritans to the ancient form of wor- ship, and by the erection of a temple in the capital, an event that was celebrated soon after the passage of Alexander the Great through the land of Syria. The city of Samaria, and capital of the king- dom, was situated on a hill, Mount Same- ron, was founded by Omri, and from that time till its overthrow by the Assyrians was the residence of all the Kings of Israel. It was subsequently rebuilt by Herod, who called it Sebaste (a Greek word signifying Augustus), in honor of Augustus Caesar. SAMARITANS, a mixed people, which inhabited the region between Judea and Galilee, and formed a sect among the Jews. They consisted partly of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh left in Sama- ria by the King of Assyria when he had carried their brethren away captive, and partly of Assyrian colonists. On the re- turn of the Jews from captivity they de- clined to mix with the Samaritans, though united with them in religion. The latter attempted to prevent the Jews from build- ing the temple at Jerusalem, and failing in this, they built a temple on Mount Ge- rizim exclusively for their own worship. A few of the race still exist scattered in Egypt, at Damascus, and at Gaza. They adhere strictly to the Mosaic law, but are regarded by the Jews as heretics, as they accept only the Pentateuch, of which they have a special version of their own. They believe in the existence of angels, in a resurrection and future retribution, and expect the coming of a Messiah, in whom they look only for a prophet. In the syna- gogue the Aramaic Samaritan dialect is used, but they generally speak Arabic. O— Cyc They avoid any connections with other sects and marry only among their own nation. SAMBRE, a river of France and Bel- gium; a tributary of the Meuse, which it enters at Namur; length 110 miles, great part of which is useful for naviga- tion. SAMNITES, a people of ancient Italy, that inhabited the country between Apulia on the E. and Latium and Campania on the W. ; a brave and warlike nation, they distinguished themselves by their implac- able hatred of the Romans, with whom from their earliest existence as a people they waged a perpetual hostility. They were, however, ultimately compelled to succumb before the growing power of Rome, and after a succession of disasters were finally exterminated about 290 B. C. Their capital city was called Samnium, or Samnis. The term Samnites was sub- sequently applied to an order of Roman gladiators, so named because accoutred and armed in the fashion of the ancient nation of Samnites. SAMOAN ISLANDS, a group in the South Pacific Ocean, formerly known as the Navigator's Islands. Location. — They are located about 2,000 miles S. and 300 miles W. of the Hawaiian Islands and 14° S. of the equa- tor. The group consists of 12 inhabited and 2 uninhabited islands, with an area of 1,700 square miles; aggregate population, (1917) 41,128. The islands are of vol- canic origin, but fertile, producing cocoa- nuts, cotton, sugar, and coffee, the most important, however, being cocoanuts, from which the copra of commerce is obtained by drying the kernel of the cocoanut, the copra, which is exported to Europe and the United States, being used in the manu- facture of cocoanut oil. Government. — The government of the Samoan Islands had been from time im- memorial under the two royal houses of Malietoa and Tupea, except on the island of Tutuila, which was governed by native chiefs. In 1873, at the suggestion of foreign residents, a house of nobles and a house of representatives were estab- lished, with Malietoa Laupepa, and the chief of the royal house of Tupea as joint kings. Subsequently Malietoa be- came sole king. In 1887 he was deposed by the German Government on the claim of unjust treatment of German subjects, who formed the bulk of the foreign popu- lation on the island, and was deported first to German New Guinea and then to the Cameruns, in Africa, and finally in 1888 to Hamburg, Tamasese, a native chief, being meantime proclaimed by the Vol 8
