SELF-DENYING ORDINANCE 330 SELIM of Antioch and other cities. He was suc- ceeded by his son Antiochus I. and by a number of monarchs of the name of Se- leucus and Antiochus, the most distin- guished being Antiochus the Great. The power of the Seleucidae began to decline as early as the reign of Seleucus II. (246- 226 B. a), and they successively lost, through revolts and otherwise, Bactria, Parthia, Armenia, Judea, etc., and what subsequently remained was converted into a Roman province in 65 B. c. See An- tiochus. SELF-DENYING ORDINANCE, a measure carried through the British Par- liament in 1645 by the influence of Crom- well and the Independents, by means of which generals who were either less ef- ficient or but half-hearted in the cause were removed from the command of the army. After Manchester's lack of energy at the second battle of Newbury (Oct. 27, 1645), Cromwell had determined on a change of tactics, and attacked Man- chester in Parliament, but he soon found the more sweeping measure a better means toward his ends. The lords threw out the measure, whereupon the Com- mons proceeded to form a new army under Sir Thomas Fairfax as general-in- chief. The lords now passed the measure with some alterations and called on all existing officers to resign. Thus Essex, Waller, and Manchester were got rid of, while Cromwell was specially reappointed to the command of the cavalry as lieu- tenant-general. SELFRIDGE, H(ARRY) GORDON, an American merchant, born in Ripon, Wis., in 1858. He received a public school education and, entering the employ of Field, Leiter & Co. in 1879, he was ad- vanced until he became a partner of Marshall Field & Co., and manager of the retail store. In 1904 he sold his inter- ests and retired, and afterward engaged in business in Chicago under the firm name of H. G. Selfridge & Co. In 1906 he organized in London, Selfridge & Co., Ltd., and in 1909 built and opened one of the largest retail stores in Europe. He wrote "The Romance of Commerce." SELFRIDGE, THOMAS OLIVER, an American naval officer; born in Charles- town, Mass., Feb. 6, 1836; son of rear- admiral of same name, graduated at U. S. Naval Academy in 1854, and pro- moted lieutenant in 1860. During the Civil War he was serving on board the ^Cumberland" when she was sunk by the "Merrimac" in Hampton Roads in 1862; commanded the ironclad "Cairo," which was blown up on the Yazoo river; had charge of a battery at the capture of Vicksburg; participated in both attacks on Fort Fisher, and commanded several vessels in the Mississippi fleet. He was promoted commander in 1869 and had charge of the surveys for the canal across the Isthmus of Darien in 1869-1874; was a member of the International Congress at Paris in 1876 and in 1896 was pro- moted rear admiral. He was retired, Feb. 6, 1898. SELIGMAN, EDWIN ROBERT AN- DERSON, an American educator; born in New York City, April 25, 1861; was graduated at Columbia University in 1879; then studied abroad; became Pro- fessor of Political Economy and Finance at Columbia University in 1891 ; editor of the Political Science Quarterly. He was a member of New York Mayor's Tax and Finance Committee, 1905; President of Roosevelt's Committee on Statistics and Reorganization, 1908; Chairman of trus- tees, Bureau of Municipal Research, 1905- 1910: President, Am. Science Ass'n and of National Tax Association. His publi- cations include "Railway Tariffs" (1887) ; "Finance Statistics of American Com- monwealths" (1889) ; "The Shifting and Incidence of Taxation" (1899) ; "Progres- sive Taxation in Theory and Practice" (1894) ; "Essays in Taxation" (1900) ; "Principles of Economics" (1919). SELIM, the name of three emperors of the Turks. Selim I., son of Bajazet II.; born 1467; dethroned his father and killed his two brothers, 1512; defeated the Shah of Persia 1514; conquered Syria and Egypt 1516-1517; died 1520. Selim II., succeeded his father, Soliman II., in 1566; took Cyprus from the Venetians 1570, and Tunis from the Spaniards in 1571. In the same year he lost the great naval battle of Lepanto; died 1574. Se- lim III., son of Mustapha III.; born 1761, succeeded his uncle, Abdul-hamed, 1789. He was ambitious to become a reformer, but the ill fortune of the Turks in the wars with Russia and Austria, and the numerous rebellions and insurrections in the empire, long prevented his attempt- ing the task. War with France fol- lowed, and Egypt was conquered, but it was recovered by the English and restored to Selim. In 1800 he became protector to the Ionian Islands. The organization and discipline of the army, the constitu- tion of the divan, and the system of tax- ation were the matters which he sought to regulate. War with Russia again broke out in 1806, the new army organ- ization, Nizam Jedid, excited immense dissatisfaction, and in May, 1807, the Janizaries revolted, and Selim was de- posed, imprisoned, and in the following year strangled in Constantinople, July 28, 1808.
