880 TARSUS. -
Tarragona obtained a considerable share of cele-brity, by its protracted siege by the French in 1811,which was so creditable to the talents, and so disho-nourable to the humanity of marshal Suchet. Anattempt to retake it, in June, 1813, by an allied forceunder sir John Murray, was not successful, thatofficer deeming it imprudent to await the approachof a French army, with the small number of troopsunder his command, the Spanish part of which wasvery indifferently disciplined. He accordingly re-embarked, and although at first exposed to censure,was soon justified by the events of the campaign, inwhich these troops, under other commanders, werefound unable to withstand their veteran antagonists.
Tarragona has a population of 8000 persons, and isforty-nine miles W.S.W. of Barcelona, and 278 E.of Madrid.
Tarsus. An ancient city of Asia Minor, which issaid by Strabo to have been founded by Sardanapalus.It was adorned hv a number of magnificent temples,as well as with a gymnasinm and theatre. Its inha-bitants enjoyed the privileges of Roman citizens, andthe city rose to such distinction as to rival Athens,Antioch, and Alexandria in wealth and grandeur, aswell as in the arts and sciences.
Tartarus. In the earliest mythology of theGreeks, the kingdom of the dead, the infernal regionsin general, or the realm of the subterranean Jupiter,Pluto. At a later period it was limited to that partof the infernal regions in which the Titans and thedamned were confined. It was represented as a darkand gloomy region, surrounded by a triple wall, andencircled by the fiery river Phlegethon, Cocytus, thestream of lamentation, and Acheron. We find adescription of Tartarus in Hesiod, one of the earliestGreek poets; and Virgil paints the horrors of theplace. Here lay the monstrous Tityos, stretchingover nine acres, while two vultures incessantly gnawedhis liver; here Sisyphus rolled a ponderous stone ;Ixion revolved on his wheel; Tantalus was tormentedwith inextinguishable hunger and thirst, and the Da-naids toiled in vain to fill their sieves from the watersof the Lethe.
Tartary, Tartars. The old geographers dividedthe country of the Tartars into European or LittleTartary, and Asiatic or Great Tartarv. The formercomprised those countries round the Black Sea whichwhich were inhabited by the Nogay Tartars, and theBudshiac Tartars, or Bessarabians, and a part of thecountry between the Dnieper and the Dniester. Butsince these districts have been annexed to Russia, thename has gone out of use, and they constitute thegovernments of Taurida, Cherson, and Ekaterinoslav,which contain several commercial cities, and, besidesTartars, have many Russian, Greek, German, andJewish colonists among their population.
Asiatic Tartary, called, from its extent, Great Tar-tary, borders on the Asiatic provinces of Russia, onPersia, Thibet, and the Chinese empire. The northernpart(Dschagatai, or Zagatai, or Independent Tartary)contains extensive steppes, and is partly occupied bynomadic tribes, which are governed by separate khans(princes), who differ considerably in their characterand manners : some of these khans are under the pro-tection of Russia. The southern part is called GreatBucharia, in which, among other commercial cities,is Samarcand, once the residence of Timour. LittleBucharia is subject to China. The whole of CentralAsia, to the west of Dschagatai, is often improperly
T A R T A R Y.
styled Chinese Tartary. This error arises from theconfusion of the Mongol and Mantchoo tribes, whoroam over these regions with the Tartars, with whomthey have no affinity. The proper Tartars, or, morecorrectly, Tatars, are divided into numerous branchesand, under different names, occupy a large extent ofterritory in Europe and Asia. Their true name isTurks, or Turcomanns, that of Tatar being, accordingto some, a Chinese term for all the nomadic tribes ofCentral Asia, and, according to others, the name of aMongol tribe. Once the terror of their neighbours,and not without civilisation, some traces and monu-ments of which still exist, they are now, for the mostpart, subject to foreign masters. Some tribes continueto preserve their independence, occupying regionstoo barren to offer any temptation to conquerors, ortoo remote to be easily accessible ; hut these circum-stances, which have protected them from the arms offoreign conquerors, have also prevented them frombeing much visited by travellers ; and little is knownof them and of their country.
The Tartar population in Russia amounts to aboutthree million of souls, residing chiefly in the southernprovinces, in stationary habitations, and occupied withagriculture: they are peaceful and industrious intheir habits. Some Tartar colonies are distributedamong the Russian villages in the governments ofOrenburg, Kasan and Tobolsk, and several hordesare independent allies of Russia. The Russian Tar-tars consist of several branches ; the Tartars proper,the Nogays, the Bashkirs, the Kirghises, Yakoutes,and Teleutes. The habits of these people are inmany respects interesting, and though in the construc-tion of their domestic edifices they exhibit but a veryimperfect acquaintance with the principles of archi-tecture, iyet their baths are frequently of a verybeautiful and permanent character. One of thesestructures is exhibited in the subjoined cut.
■.ft*
■'-mf
Wfi?’
The Tartars proper are descendants of the twogreat hordes which the successors of Gengis Khanestablished in Siberia and on the Volga. They com-prise the tribes of Kasan, Astraehan, and Taurida.They still preserve the peculiar national physiognomy.The true Tartar is well formed, of middle size, slen-der, with small, but lively and expressive eyes, andof even dignified demeanour: he is frank, kind, hos-pitable, peaceful, courageous, fond of instruction andof the arts, agriculture, and mechanical occupations.