above the sea, and all attempts to cultivate sultanas in other raisin-growing localities have failed, the grapes quickly reverting to a seed-bearing character. The dried fruit has a fine golden-yellow colour, with a thin, delicate, translucent skin and a sweet aromatic flavour. A very fine seedless oblong raisin of the sultana type with a brownish skin is cultivated in the neighbourhood of Damascus, but it is rarely seen in the Western markets. Raisins are chiefly valuable on account of the large proportion of grape sugar and cream of tartar which they contain. In old dry raisins these substances are found in hard nodular masses. The seeds contain from 15 to 18 per cent. of a bland fixed oil and about 5 cent. of tannin. The imports into the United Kingdom per average in value about £1,000,000 yearly, the quantity imported in 1883 having been 588,309 cwt., valued at £1,057,934.

RÁJÁ (English form RAJAH), Sanskrit nom. sing. of the stem rájan (in modern Indian vernaculars rájá, rájah, rája, rájan, rázu, irásen, also the forms ráí, ráo, ráná are traceable to the same stem) = king, prince, chief, from the root ráj, to be resplendent. In the oldest times the headman of any petty tribe was called rájá from the fact of his being conspicuous for the number of golden ornaments with which he was decked out. Then rájá became the common designation for a king, whether of a small tribe or of a large state. The constitution of all states was monarchical, mostly hereditary, occasionally also electoral, but in no case absolute, for the people had a voice in the government. On the other hand, the king was greatly hampered in his action by his duties towards the priestly caste. Even in that later stage of Indian civilization which we find portrayed in the code of Manu the king appears as subordinate to the priest, though his prerogative is in all other respects paramount, especially in the matter of revenue. Theoretically this system has been continued ever since; but practically the rájá's powers have been gradually extended, some of them being distributed by him at his pleasure among various officials, who were rewarded, not by regular salaries, but by grants and the profits of oppression. It thus appears that the title is, strictly speaking, only applicable to Hindu potentates, but in practice it is not unfrequently used to indicate a ruling chief irrespective of his nationality or creed.

The rights and privileges assigned to rájás by treaty and usage are manifold and varied. But all rájás are precluded from waging war against an external foe save with the permission of the British Government, and so none can be said to be independent in the fullest sense of the word. At the same time there are several princes in India who titularly hold that status, in so far, that is, as they possess the right to administer their kingdom according to their own notions of justice and equity; but even in these instances, and they are few, British residents are attached to the various courts, charged to advise in the interests of good government and righteous dealing. Such officers seldom fail to secure a powerful influence, and it is not often that their counsel is disregarded or their representations pass unheeded. More than this, when flagrant injustice occurs the British Government is occasionally compelled to interfere, and instances are not wanting when a rájá has been deposed, notwithstanding a clause in his treaty forbidding the intervention of the British Government in the affairs of his state. Such cases, which are not frequent, are justified by political necessity. In many instances native chiefs are allowed by treaty to maintain a military force, but at the present time the troops principally serve to gratify the cravings of Eastern potentates for the outward and visible signs of power.

Rájás of lesser note retain a semblance of power so far

See for the Vedic period, H. Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, Berlin, 1879, p. 162 87.; for later times, M. Duncker, Geschichte des Alterhums, il 152 sq., and Tod's Antiquities of Rajasthan, passim.

as concerns questions of minor importance, but in grave cases involving issues of life and death the officer attached to the court reviews and, should it be necessary, modifies or reverses the decrees which may be passed. Chieftains in this category do not even enjoy the appearance of independence, though in many instances they are allowed to keep a body of military retainers.

Other rájás are merely large and wealthy landholders with no sovereign rights or privileges, resembling in many respects the territorial magnates of Great Britain; while in some instances the term is simply a title of distinction unconnected with the possession of land or power.

Scarcely less complex and varied are the conditions which regulate succession to the rájships of India: in some instances adoption is admitted, in other cases collateral succession is accepted, while again there are occasions when the customs of the family are a potent factor in the choice of an heir. It might have been supposed perhaps that the salute could be fairly taken as indicative of the status of the chief to whom it is assigned; but in reality such an assumption would be most misleading, for not unfrequently the number of guns was fixed in bygone years, and the lapse of time has made numerous and essential changes in the status of the various chieftains. So much is this the case that it has never been settled authoritatively what chiefs are entitled to claim the Western prefix of "highness."

RAJAMAHENDRI (Rajamahendravaram, Rajahmundry), a town of India, in the Godavari district, Madras presidency, situated on high ground on the left bank of the Godavari river in 17° N. lat. and 81° 49′ E. long., and 365 miles north-east of Madras. Its population in 1881 numbered 24,555 (males 12,290, females 12,265). Rajamahendri was formerly the headquarters of a separate district of the same name, but is now incorporated with Godavari.

Tradition divides the merit of founding this city between the Orissa and Chalukya princes. There appears little doubt that the city of the Vengi kings was identical with the site of the present town, and that this also was the seat of the Orissa power in the south. In 1471 Rajamahendri was wrested from Orissa by the Mohammedans, but early in the 16th century it was retaken by Kristi 1572, when it yielded to the Moslems of the Deccan under Krishna Rájá and restored to Orissa. It continued under Hindu Rafat Khán. For the next century and a half it was the scene of perpetual fighting, and at last fell to Golconda, and became one of the four nawabships of that government. Rajamahendri passed into the possession of the French in 1753, but they were driven out by the British under Colonel Forde in 1758. The French, however, recaptured it, but, finding that the treasure had been removed, they evacuated it almost immediately.

RAJPUTÁNA, an immense tract of country in India, consisting of twenty states, having each its own autonomy and separate chief, besides the small British division of Ajmere, which is situated almost in the centre of the province. These territories lie between 23 and 30° N. lat. and between 69 30' and 78° 15′ E. long., and their combined area is approximately estimated at 130,000 square miles. Rájputána extends from the province of Sind on the west to the North-Western Provinces on the east, skirting the Bombay presidency on the south, and stretching to the Punjab on the north. It is traversed from south-west to north-east by the Rajputana State Railway, and from the south to that railway at Ajmere by the Malwa Railway from Khandwa on the Great Indian Peninsula line through Indore. The country is divided by the Aravalli Mountains into two unequal parts (of which the north-western is much the larger), and consists to a great extent of sandy, arid, and unproductive wastes, but it improves gradually to comparatively habitable and fertile tracts towards the north-east. This division includes the Thur or great sandy desert of northern India, covered everywhere by long parallel dunes, varying from 50 to 100

feet high, with few wells and streams, and almost destitute of vegetation. The south-eastern division is considerably more elevated and fertile, is diversified in character, and contains extensive hill-ranges and long stretches of rocky wold and woodland; it is watered by the drainage of the Vindhyás, carried north-east by the Chambal and Banas rivers. In many parts there are wide vales, fertile plateaus, and great stretches of excellent soil, with forests and artificial lakes; but even in this division the surface, for the most part, is stony, rugged, under jungle, and infertile, except close to the river banks.

The chief rivers of Rájputána are the Loni, the Chambal, and the Banas. The first of these, the only river of any consequence in the north-western division, flows for 200 miles from the Pukar valley, close to Ajmere, to the Runn of Cutch. In the southeastern division the river system is important. The Chambal is by far the largest river in Rájputána, through which it flows for about one-third of its course, while it forms its boundary for another third. The source of the river is in the highlands of the Vindhyás, upwards of 2000 feet above the sea; it enters the province at Chaurasgarh in Mewar and soon becomes a considerable stream, collecting in its course the waters of other rivers, and finally discharging itself into the Jumna after a course of 560 miles. Next in importance ranks the Banas, which rises in the south-west near Kankraoli in Mewar. It collects nearly all the drainage of the Mewar plateau with that of the eastern slopes and hill-tracts of the Aravallis, and joins the Chambal a little beyond the northeastern extremity of the Bundi state, after a course of about 300 miles. Other rivers are the W. Banas and the Sabarmati, which rise among the south-west hills of Mewar and take a south-westerly course. The river Mahi, which passes through the states of Partabgarh and Banswara, receiving the Som, drains the south-west corner of Rajputána through Gujrát into the gulfs of Cutch and Cambay. Rajputána possesses no natural freshwater lakes, but there are several important artificial lakes, all of which have been constructed with the object of storing water. The only basin of any extent is the Sambhar salt lake, of about 50 miles in circuit. Geologically considered the country may be divided into three regions,- -a central, and the largest, comprising the whole width of the Aravalli system, formed of very old sub-metamorphic and gneissic rocks; an eastern region, with sharply defined boundary, along which the most ancient formations are abruptly replaced by the great basin of the Vindhyán strata, or are overlaid by the still more extensive spread of the Deccan trap, forming the plateau of Malwa ; and a western region, of very ill-defined margin, in which, besides some rocks of undetermined age, it is more or less known or suspected that Tertiary and Secondary strata stretch across from Sind, beneath the sands of the desert, towards the flanks of the Aravallis. Rájputána produces a variety of metals. Ore of cobalt is obtained in no other locality in India, and although zinc blend has been found elsewhere it is known to have been extracted only in this province. Copper and lead are found in several parts of the Aravalli range and of the minor ridges in Ulwur and Shekhawati, and iron ores abound in several states. Alum and blue vitriol (sulphate of copper) are manufactured from decomposed schists at Khetri in Shekhawati. Good building materials are obtained from many of the rocks of the country, amongst which the Raialo limestone (a fine-grained crystalline marble) and the Jaisalmir (Jeysulmere) limestone stand pre-eminent.

Rájputána is of great archæologic interest, and possesses some fine religious buildings in ruins and others in excellent preservation. Amongst the latter are the mosque at Ajmere and the temples on Abu. But the finest and most characteristic features of architecture in the country are shown in the forts and palaces of the chiefs and in their cenotaphs.

Herds of camels, horses, and sheep are found wherever there is pasturage, and in the desert and in the southern part of the country wild asses, nylghau, and antelopes, besides lions, leopards, tigers, wolves, hyænas, jackals, and foxes, are met with.

States.

The mass of the people are occupied in agriculture. In the large towns banking and commerce flourish to a degree beyond what would be expected for so backward a country. In the north the staple products for export are salt, grain, wool, and cotton, in the south opium and cotton; while the imports consist of sugar, hardware, and piece goods. Rájputána is very poor in industrial production. The principal manufactures are salt, cotton, and woollen goods, carvings in ivory, and working in metals, &c., all of which handicrafts are chiefly carried on in the eastern states. The system of agriculture is very simple; in the country west of the Aravallis only one crop is raised in the year, while in other parts south and east of the Aravallis two crops are raised annually, and various kinds of cereals, pulses, and fibres are grown.

History.-Only faint outlines can be traced of the condition of Rájputána previous to the invasion of Upper India by the Mohammedans, and these indicate that the country was subject for the most part to two or three very powerful tribal dynasties. Chief of these were the Rahtors, who ruled at Kanauj; the Chauhans of Ajmere; the Solankhyas of Anhilwara, in Gujrát; the Gehlots with the Sesodia sept, still in Mewar or Udaipur; and the Kachwaha clan, still in Jaipur. These tribal dynasties of Rajputs were gradually supplanted by the Moslem invaders of the 11th century and weakened by internal feuds. At the beginning of the 16th century the Rajput power began to revive, but only to be overthrown by Baber at Fatehpur Sikri in 1527. The clans were finally either conquered, overawed, or conciliated by Akbar-all except the distant Sesodia clan, which, however, submitted to Jahangir in 1616. From Akbar's accession to Aurangzeb's death, a period of 151 years, the mogul was India's master. Aurangzeb's death and the invasion of Nadir Sháh led to a triple alliance among the three leading chiefs, which internal jealousy so weakened that the Mahrattas, having been called in by the Rahtors to aid them, took possession of Ajmere about 1756; thenceforward Rajputána became involved in the general disorganization of India. By 1803 nearly the whole of Rajputána had been virtually subdued by the Mahrattas. The victories of Generals Wellesley and Lake, however, saved the Rajputs; but on Wellington's departure from India the floodgates of anarchy were reopened for ten years. On the outbreak of the Pindari War in 1817 the British Government offered its protection. The Pindaris were put down, Amir Khán submitting and signing a treaty which constituted him the first ruler of the existing state of Tonk. By the end of 1818 similar treaties had been executed by the other Řájput states with the paramount power. Sindhia gave up the district of Ajmere to the British, and, the pressure of the great Mahratta powers upon Rajputána was permanently withdrawn. Since then the political history of Rájputána has been comparatively uneventful. The great storm of the mutinies of 1857, though dangerous while it lasted, was

short. The capture of the town of Kotah, which had been held by the mutineers of that state, in March 1858, marked the extinction of armed rebellion in the province. (W. T. R.) RAJSHÁHÍ or RAJESHAYE, a district of India, in the lieutenant-governorship of Bengal, forming the southwestern corner of the Rajshahí with Kuch Behar division.1 It lies between 24° 3′ and 24° 59′ N. lat. and between 88° 21′ and 89° 24′ E. long., and is bounded on the N. by the districts of Dinajpur and Bogra, on the E. by Bogra and Pabna, on the S. by the Ganges and Nuddea district, and on the W. by Maldah and Murshidabad. The area of 2359 square miles is one alluvial plain seamed with old river-beds and studded with marshes. The Ganges and the Mahanandá are its principal rivers; the former constitutes a great natural boundary-line to the south and south-west, and the latter, which rises in the Himalayas, borders the district on the west for a few miles before joining the Ganges. Other rivers are the Narad and Baral, important offshoots of the Ganges; the Atrai, a channel of the Tista; and the Jamuna, a tributary of the Atrai. Both the Atrai and the Jamuna belong to the Brahmaputra system and are navigable throughout the year for small cargo boats. The drainage of Rájsháhí is not carried off by means of its rivers, but through the chains of marshes and swamps, the most important of which is the Chalan "bil" or lake, which discharges itself into the Brahmaputra. The climate of Rajshahí does not differ from that of other districts of Lower Bengal; its average rainfall for the five years ending 1882/83 equalled 68 inches. The Northern Bengal State Railway intersects the district from north to south.

Population.-The census of 1881 gave a population, almost entirely rural, of 1,338,638 (males 660,226, females 678,412). Of this number 288,749 were returned as Hindus, 1,049,700 as Mohammedans, and only 121 as Christians. The only town with over 10,000 inhabitants was Rampur Beauleah (19,228), which is the chief town and administrative headquarters of the district. This town is situated on the north bank of the Ganges in 24° 22' N. lat. and 88° 39′ E. long.; it is of modern growth and is built for the most part on river alluvia. It was formerly the seat of the Dutch and East India Company's factories, and is still a centre of the silk and indigo trade.

Rice is the staple crop of the district; other cereal crops are wheat, barley, and Indian corn, which are grown to a small extent; among miscellaneous crops are indigo, sugar-cane, mulberry, and tobacco. Ganja is also grown in a small tract to the north of the district. Silk spinning and weaving and the preparation of indigo are the chief manufactures, but these are now both declining. The total revenue of Rájsháhí in 1883-84 amounted to £123,098, towards which the land-tax contributed £88,584.

History. When the East India Company took over the administration of Bengal in 1765 Rajshahí was one of the largest and most important districts in the province. It appears to have extended from Bhagalpur on the west to Dacca on the east, and to have included an important subdivision called Nij-Chakla Rájsháhí on the south of the Ganges, which extended over a great portion of what now lies within the districts of Murshidabad, Nuddea, Jessore, Birbhum, and Burdwan. The total area was estimated at 12,909 square miles, or more than five times the size of the present district. Having been found much too large to be effectually administered by one central authority, Rájsháhí was stripped by Government in 1793 of a considerable portion of its outlying territory, and a natural boundary-line was drawn to the west, south, and east along the Ganges and Brahmaputra. Its north-western limits were reduced in 1813, when the present district of Maldah was constituted. The erection of Bogra into a separate jurisdiction in 1821 still further reduced its area; and in 1832 the limits of Rajshahi were finally fixed very much at their present lines by the constitution of Pabna into an independent jurisdiction.

RÁKÓCZY, the name of an old and wealthy family of upper Hungary. SIGISMUND was on 11th February 1607 elected prince of Transylvania, but in the following year abdicated in favour of Gabriel Báthori, to whom succeeded

The Rajshahi with Kuch Behar division comprises the seven districts of Dinajpur, Rájsháhí, Rangpur, Bogra, Pabna, Dárjiling, Jalpaiguri, and the native state of Kuch Behar. Its total area is 18,735

square miles, and its population (1881) 8,336,399 (males 4,237,388,

females 4,099,011).

Bethlen Gábor. Bethlen died in 1629, and GEORGE I. (1591-1648), son of Sigismund, born in 1591, was, after the demission of Gábor's widow, Catherine of Brandenburg, 26th November 1631, elected prince of Transylvania by the estates. In 1645 he joined the Swedes in an attempt to deliver Hungary from the yoke of Austria and secure religious liberty to the Protestants, but when the emperor Ferdinand showed a disposition to enter into a treaty with him he became oblivious of the cause of which he had been the professed champion. By the treaty of Linz he was formally recognized as prince of Transylvania. He died on 24th October 1648. GEORGE II. (1615-1660), son of the preceding, was chosen by the estates to succeed him as prince of Transylvania. Having been disappointed in his hopes of the crown of Poland on the death of Casimir V., he entered into an alliance with John Casimir and invaded the country, but was completely defeated on 16th July 1657. His procedure against Poland provoked the hostility of the Turks, with whom he was engaged in continual war until his death at Grosswardein on 26th June 1660, from wounds received at the battle of Klausenburg. FRANCIS I. (1642-1676), son of the preceding, did not succeed his father as prince of Transylvania. Having become connected with a plot for the overthrow of the Austrian Government, his life was only saved through the intervention of his mother, who was a Catholic, and he had to pay a fine of 400,000 florins. He edited a volume of prayers, which had an extensive circulation in Hungary. He died on 8th July 1676. FRANCIS LEOPOLD (16761735), son of the preceding, was at the age of twelve along with his mother made prisoner by the Austrians, and by them was educated in a Jesuit college in Bohemia. his marriage with a princess of Hesse he returned to Hungary, where the greater portion of his estates was restored to him. On account of his connexion with a conspiracy of the malcontent party he was in 1701 arrested and brought to Vienna, but making his escape he went to Poland, where he spent several years in exile. In 1703 he headed a new insurrection, which had achieved considerable success before the death of the emperor Leopold in the end of 1705. Owing to the milder attitude of Joseph I., matters for a time assumed a more peaceful appearance. In 1707 Rákóczy was elected prince of Transylvania, and on 31st May of this year the independence of Hungary was proclaimed. From this time, however, the fortunes of the Hungarian cause began to decline, and Rákóczy finally in despair, having refused an amnesty and offers of pardon, retired to the frontiers of Poland, after which, on 1st May 1711, peace was concluded at Szatmár. Rákóczy refused to own it, and retired to France and subsequently to Turkey, where he died at Rodosto on 8th April 1735. (See HUNGARY, vol. xii. pp. 369-370.)

After

RALEIGH, a city of the United States, the capital of North Carolina and the seat of justice of Wake county, is situated in 35° 47′ N. lat. and 78° 48′ W. long., a little to the north-east of the geographical centre of the State, and occupies a kind of high ground in the upper valley of the Neuse, a river flowing south-east towards Pamlico Sound. Sound. It is the meeting-place of three railways-the Raleigh and Gaston, the Raleigh and Augusta, and the Richmond and Danville lines-and its railway distance from Portsmouth is 177 miles and from Washington 230. Raleigh is laid out round a park of 10 acres called Union which strike out symmetrically from this centre; the fine Square and divided into four sections by four broad streets old trees which were spared by the original settlers give it the sobriquet of "City of Oaks." Besides the State house or capitol (a substantial granite structure in Union Square), the public buildings comprise the county courthouse, the governor's mansion, the United States court