citadel (now gaol), built by the Pisans, was demolished and re-erected by Lorenzo de’ Medici. The castle of Sarzanello was built by Castruccio Castracani (d. 1328), whose tomb by the Pisan Giovanni di Balducci is in S. Francesco. The Palazzo del Capitano, by Giuliano da Maiano (1472), has been entirely altered. Sarzana has one of the most important glass-bottle factories in Italy, also brick-works and a patent fuel factory.
Sarzana was the birthplace of Pope Nicholas V. Its position at the entrance to the valley of the Magra (anc. Macra), the boundary between Etruria and Liguria in Roman times, gave it military importance in the middle ages. It arose as the successor of the ancient Luna, 3 m. S.E.; the first mention of it is found in 983, and in 1202 the episcopal see was transferred hither. A branch of the Cadolingi di Borgonuovo family, lords of Fucecchio in Tuscany from the 10th century onwards, which had acquired the name of Bonaparte, had settled near Sarzana before 1264; in 1512 a member of the family took up his residence in Ajaccio, and hence, according to some authorities, was descended the emperor Napoleon I. Sarzana, owing to its position on the frontier, changed masters more than once, belonging first to Pisa, then to Florence, then to the Banco di S. Giorgio of Genoa and from 1572 to Genoa itself. In 1814 it was assigned to the kingdom of Sardinia, the frontier between Liguria and Tuscany being now made to run between it and Carrara.
SĀSANA VAṂSA, a history of the Buddhist order in Burma, which was composed, in that country, by Paññā-sāmi in 1851. It is written in Pali prose; and is based on earlier documents, in Pali or Burmese, still extant, but not yet edited. The earlier part of the work deals with the history of Buddhism outside of Burma. This is based on the Mahāvaṃsa, and other well-known Ceylon works; and has no independent value. The latter part of the work, about three-fifths of the whole, deals with Buddhism in Burma, and contains information not obtainable elsewhere. Down to the 11th century the account is meagre, legendary and incredible. After that date it is sober, intelligible and in all probability mostly accurate. This portion occupies about one hundred pages 8vo in the excellent edition of the text prepared for the Pali Text Society in 1897 by Dr Mabel Bode. It shows a continuous literary effort through the eight and a half centuries, and constantly renewed ecclesiastical controversy. The latter is concerned for the most part with minor questions relating to rules of the order, there being a tendency, as relaxations of the rules crept in with the lapse of time, to hark back to the original simplicity. Of differences in matters of doctrine there is no mention in this manual. Dr Bode has prefixed to her edition a detailed summary of the contents of the book. (T. W. R. D.)
SASARAM, a town of British India, in the Shahabad district of Bengal, with a station on the East Indian railway, 406 m. N.W. from Calcutta. Pop. (1901) 23,644. It is famous as containing the tomb of the Afghan Sher Shah, who defeated Humayun and became emperor of Delhi (1540–1545). The tomb, which is the finest example of Mahommedan architecture in Bengal, stands on an island in the middle of an artificial lake. Close by is the tomb of Sher Shah’s father.
SASH. (1) A framework of wood in which glass is fixed for a window, particularly a framework for large panes of glass in two parts which open and shut by sliding up or down. The word is a corruption of the Fr. châssis, châsse, Lat. capsa, box, case, capere, to hold. The word is, therefore, a doublet of “case” and “cash” (qq.v.) (2) A long band of silk or other fine or ornamented material worn round the waist or over the shoulders as part of a woman’s or child’s dress, or as a sign or badge of office, or as part of an official costume or uniform. The word is an adaptation of the Arab. shāsh, muslin, especially used (of the soft muslin or silken bands used for wrapping round the head in the form of a turban). In its early uses in English it appears as a term used by oriental travellers and writers on the East as an equivalent for a Mahommedan.
SASKATCHEWAN, a province of Western Canada, lying between the two provinces of Alberta and Manitoba. Area, 250,650 sq. m. The south-eastern portion is chiefly prairie, being the continuation of the second prairie steppe found in Manitoba. About 104° W. the Missouri Coteau, an elevation of several hundred feet, probably an old glacial moraine, crosses the southern boundary and runs north-westward, being the eastern escarpment of the third prairie steppe which runs to the Rocky Mountains. Several elevations of note are found in the southern half of the province. On the central part of the southern boundary is Wood Mountain, a succession of clay hills. On the lower level is Moose Mountain, and north of it Beaver Hills and Touchwood Hills. These are elevations of morainal or glacial deposits. The river Saskatchewan (q.v.) gives its name to the province. In central Saskatchewan near the south bend of the South Saskatchewan begins the river Qu’Appelle (“Who Calls?”), which runs eastward, and crossing the western boundary of Manitoba falls into the Assiniboine river. Farther to the south rises the Souris river, which flows parallel to the Missouri Coteau, passes southward into N. Dakota, and again entering the province of Manitoba finds its way at length into the Assiniboine river. North of the Saskatchewan river the
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