“stone-breakers”) about 30 m. north-west from Maragha. It is deposited from water, which bubbles up from a number of springs in the form of horizontal layers, which at first are thin crusts and can easily be broken, but gradually solidify and harden into blocks with a thickness of 7 to 8 in. It is a singularly beautiful substance, being of pink, greenish, or milk-white colour, streaked with reddish, copper-coloured veins. An analysis of the marble gave the following result: calcium carbonate, 90·93; magnesium, ·75; iron, 1·37; manganese, 4·34; calcium sulphate, 2·30; calcium phosphate, ·24 (R. T. Günther, Geog. Journ. xiv. 517).
MARANHÃO, or Maranham (Span. Marañon, the name given
to the upper Amazon), a northern state of Brazil, bounded
N. by the Atlantic, E. and S.E. by Piauhy, S.W. and W. by
Goyaz and Pará. Area, 177,569 sq. m.; pop. (1890), 430,854;
(1900), 499,308. The coastal zone and the north-west corner of
the state belong to the Amazon valley region, being a heavily
forested plain traversed by numerous rivers. The eastern and
southern parts, however, belong to the lower terraces of the great
Brazilian plateau, broken by eroded river-courses between which
are high open plains. There are no true mountain ranges in
Maranhão, those indicated on the maps being only plateau
escarpments marking either its northern margin or the outlines
of river valleys. The climate is hot, and the year is divided into
a wet and dry season, extreme humidity being characteristic
of the former. The heat, however, is greatly modified on the
coast by the south-east trade winds, and the climate is generally
considered healthy, though beri-beri and eruptive diseases are
common on the coast. The coast itself is broken and dangerous,
there being many small indentations, which are usually masked
by islands or shoals. The largest of these are the Bay of Tury-assú,
facing which is the island of São João, and several others of
small size, and the contiguous bays of São Marcos and São José,
between which is the large island of Maranhão. The rivers of
the state all flow northward to the Atlantic and a majority
of them have navigable channels. The Parnahyba forms the
eastern boundary of Maranhão, but it has one large tributary,
the Balsas, entirely within the state. A part of the western
boundary is formed by the Tocantins, and another part by the
Gurupy, which separates the state from Pará. The principal
rivers of the state are the Maracassumé and Tury-assú, the
Mearim and its larger tributaries (the Pindaré, Grajahú, Flôres
and Corda) which discharge into the Bay of São Marcos, and the
Itapicurú and Monim which discharge into the Bay of São José.
Like the Amazon, the Mearim has a pororoca or bore in its lower
channel, which greatly interferes with navigation. There are a
number of small lakes in the state, some of which are, apparently,
merely reservoirs for the annual floods of the rainy season.
The principal industries of Maranhão are agricultural, the river valleys and coastal zone being highly fertile and being devoted to the cultivation of sugar-cane, cotton, rice, coffee, tobacco, mandioca and a great variety of fruits. The southern highlands, however, are devoted to stock-raising, which was once an important industry. Troublesome insects, vampire bats, and the failure to introduce new blood into the degenerated herds, are responsible for its decline. Agriculture has also greatly declined, the state producing for export only a comparatively small quantity of cotton, rice, sugar and aguardiente. Besides São Luiz, the capital of the state, the principal towns, with the population of their municipal districts in 1890, are: Caxias (19,443), Alcantara (4730), Carolina (7266), Grajahú (11,704), Tury-assú (8983) and Viana (9965).
The coast of Maranhão was first discovered by Pinzon in 1500, but it was included in the Portuguese grant of captaincies in 1534. The first European settlement, however, was made by a French trading expedition under Jacques Riffault, of Dieppe, in 1594, who lost two of his three vessels in the vicinity of the island of Maranhão, and left a part of his men on that island when he returned home. Subsequently Daniel de la Rivardière was sent to report on the place, and was then commissioned by the French crown to found a colony on the island; this was done in 1612. The French were expelled by the Portuguese in 1615, and the Dutch held the island from 1641 to 1644. In 1621 Ceará, Maranhão and Pará were united and called the “Estado do Maranhão,” which was made independent of the southern captaincies. Ceará was subsequently detached, but the “state” of Maranhão remained independent until 1774, when it again became subject to the colonial administration of Brazil. Maranhão did not join in the declaration of independence of 1822, but in the following year the Portuguese were driven out by Admiral Lord Cochrane and the province became a part of the new empire of Brazil.
MARANO (accursed or banned), a term applied to Jewish
Christians in Spain. Converted to Roman Catholicism under
compulsion, these “New Christians” often continued to observe
Jewish rites in their homes, as the Inquisition records
attest. It was in fact largely due to the Maranos that the Spanish
Inquisition was founded. The Maranos made rapid strides in
prosperity, and “accumulated honours, wealth and popular
hatred” (Lea, History of the Spanish Inquisition, i. 125). This
was one of the causes that led to the expulsion of the Jews from
Spain in 1492. Maranos emigrated to various countries, but
many remained in the Peninsula. Subsequently distinguished
individuals left home for more tolerant lands. The Jewish
community in London was refounded by Maranos in the first
half of the 17th century. Hamburg commerce, too, owed
much to the enterprise of Portuguese Maranos. In Amsterdam
many Maranos found asylum; Spinoza was descended from
such a family. There are still remnants of Marano families in
Portugal.
See Lea, loc. cit. and elsewhere; see index s.v. “New Christian”; Graetz, History of the Jews, Eng. trans. see index s.v. “Marranos”; M. Kayserling, in Jewish Encyclopedia, viii. 318 seq.; and for the present day Jewish Quarterly Review, xv. 251 seq. (I. A.)
MARASH (anc. Germanicia-Marasion), the chief town of a sanjak of the same name in the Aleppo vilayet, altitude 2600 ft. situated E. of the Jihan river, at the foot of Mt Taurus. The sanjak lies almost wholly in Mt Taurus, and includes the Armenian town of Zeitun. Marash is prosperous, and has a large trade in Kurd carpets and embroideries. The climate is good, except in summer. Of the population (50,000) about half are Turkish-speaking Armenians. There are a college, church and schools belonging to the American mission, a native Protestant church and a Jesuit establishment. The site, which lies near the mouths of the three main passes over the eastern Taurus—viz. those descending from Geuksun (Cocysus), Albistan-Yarpuz (Arabissus), and Malatia (Melitene)—is shown to have had early importance, not only by the occurrence of Marasi in Assyrian inscriptions, but by the discovery of several “Hittite” monuments on the spot. These, said to have been unearthed, for the most part, near the Kirk Geuz spring above the modern town, are now in Constantinople and America, and include an inscribed lion, once built into the wall of the citadel known in the middle ages as al-Marwani, and several stelae. No more is known of the place until it appears as Germanicia-Caesarea, striking imperial coins with the head of L. Verus (middle of 2nd cent. A.D.). The identification of Marash with Germanicia has been disputed, but successfully defended by Sir W. M. Ramsay; and it is borne out by the Armenian name Kermanig, which has been given to the place since at least the 12th century. Before the Roman period Marash doubtless shared the fortunes of the Seleucid kingdom of Commagene. Germanicia-Marasion played a great part in Byzantine border warfare: Heraclius was there in A.D. 640; but before 700 it had passed into Saracen hands and been rebuilt by the caliph Moawiya. During the 8th and 9th centuries, when the direct pass from Cocysus came into military use, Marasion (the older name had returned into general use) was often the Byzantine objective and was more than once retaken; but after 770, when Mansur incorporated it in “Palestine” it remained definitely in Moslem power and was refortified by Harun-al-Rashid. It was seized by the crusaders after their march across Mt Taurus, A.D. 1097, became an important town of Lesser Armenia and was taken by the Seljuks in 1147. In the 16th century it was added to the Osmanli Empire by Selim I. Marash
