SOLYMAN III 490 SOMERSWORTH his arms against Europe. In 1521 he took Belgrade; and in the following year Rhodes fell into his hands after an obsti- nate defense. In 1529 he made himself master of Buda, and then laid siege to Vienna, whence he was obliged to retreat with the loss of 120,000 men. In 1534 he marched into the East, and took Tauris from the Persians, but was soon after- ward defeated by the Shah. His forces were also repulsed before Malta; but he took the Isle of Chios in 1566. He was a poet, legislator, and warrior of eminent greatness for an Oriental. He encouraged arts and literature, made roads, bridges, erected noble mosques and public build- ings, and superintended the compilation of an administrative code. He died in Szigeth, Hungary, in 1566. SOLYMAN III., became sultan on the deposition of his brother, Mahomet IV., in 1687. His life had been spent up to his 49th year, in the seraglio, where he had devoted himself to the study of the Koran. Under his weak rule the Turks were defeated in Hungary and in Servia. He died in Constantinople in 1691. SOMALILAND, a country S. E. of Abyssinia on the coast of the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, apportioned to Great Britain, France, and Italy. Two ranges of mountains traverse the penin- sula S. E. to N. W., between which lie3 the Wadi Nogal, of which the natives speak in the most glowing terms. Sev- aral varieties of gum trees occur, and the mimosa, tamarisk, wild fig, and several species of the cactus and aloe are abundant. The wild beasts include the elephant, lion, leopard, hyena, wolf, and jackal. Several varieties of deer, jer- boas, and squirrels are common. The Somali are a fine race, mainly Moham- medans, though still in a bai'barous state. The principal articles of trade or pro- duce are myrrh, ivory, ostrich feathers, hides and horns, coffee, indigo, and gum arabic. A strip 180 miles broad on the coast was reserved to Italy by the treaty of Adis Abeba. By the Cairo convention, signed Jan. 19, 1899, the ports of Berbera and Zilah with the adjacent strip on the N. coast now belong to Great Britain. In 1898 Great Britain ceded to Abyssinia a part of Somaliland. See Abyssinia. * SOMALILAND PROTECTORATE, a British protectorate in Africa. It is on the Gulf of Aden and is bounded inland by Italian territory. The area is 68,000 square miles. The natives lead a nomad existence and engage in cattle-raising, and in the coastal towns there is much commerce, with exports of hides and skins, cattle and sheep, gold, salt, ivory, and gums. Cotton piece-goods, rice, dates, shirtings and sugar are largely imported. The ports are Zeila, Bulhar, and Berbera. It formerly belonged to Abyssinia, but in 1884 the British succeeded in gaining a footing, and it has since been admin- istered by a commissioner, with officials in the coast towns. Pop. about 375,000. SOMBRERETE, a town of Mexico, State of Zacatecas, 85 miles N. W. of the town of that name, is the center of a rich silver mining district. Pop. about 11,000. SOMBRERO ISLAND, a small rocky British island midway between Anguilla and the Virgin group, West Indies. It has a lighthouse. There are large de- posits of phosphates of lime. SOMERSET, LADY HENRY (ISA BEL), an English social worker, born in 1850, the eldest daughter of the third Earl Somers. In 1873 she married Lord Henry Somerset. She became interested in temperance reform, and in 1895 she founded an industrial farm colony for inebriate women at Duxhurst. It was the first institution of its kind in England. She also established a home for training workhouse children, and other philan- thropic organizations. She was for a number of years president of the National British Women's Temperance Association and of the World's Women's Temperance Union. She made several visits to the United States. SOMERSETSHIRE, a county of S. W. England, forming parts of the S. and E. shores of the Bristol Channel. Area, 1,615 square miles. Pop. about 425,000. The surface of the county is diversified. There are lofty hills, rich valleys, barren moors, and vast stretches of marsh lands, much of the latter being below high water and protected by sea banks and sluices. The wild district of Exmoor in the west- ern part of the county, is well known. The principal river is the Bristol Avon. The principal agricultural products are wheat and barley, the quality of which is especially famous in the neighborhood of Bridgewater. ^ Cattle-breeding is also car- ried on extensively, and the dairy products of the county, especially cheddar cheese, have been noted for a long time. The rich mineral products, consisting chiefly of iron, are not worked extensively. The principal manufactures are woolens, coarse linens, gloves, silk, and lace. Capi- tal, Taunton (pop. about 23,000). SOMERSWORTH, a city of New Hampshire, in Strafford co. It is on the Salmon Falls river, and on the Boston and Maine railroad. It is important for its manufactories of textiles and dyes. It has a public library and a municipal
