EEGGIO DI CALABRIA REGIOMONTANUS 261 cipal parts of it formed a duchy, successively ruled by the houses of Este, Correggio, Gon- zaga, Visconti, and others, and from about 1527 to 1859 by the dukes of Este (afterward of Modena), excepting during the French dom- ination (1796-1814). Marshal Oudinot was made duke of Reggio. II. A city (anc. Be- gium Lepidi), capital of the province, 16 m. W. N. W. of Modena; pop. about 21,000 (as a commune, in 1872, 50,657). It is the seat of a bishop, and has broad streets, some lined with arcades, a fine cathedral and several oth- er churches, convents, a museum and public library, and trade in wine, silk, cheese, and hemp. It is the birthplace of Ariosto, whose 400th anniversary was celebrated in 1874. Regium Lepidi is supposed to have been found- ed by TEmilius Lepidus, the constructor of the JEmilian way. It was destroyed by the Goths in 409, and refounded by Charlemagne. REGGIO DI CALABRIA. I. Or Calabria Mtc- rlore I., a province forming the S. extremity of Italy, bordering on the Ionian sea, the strait of Messina, the Tyrrhenian sea, and the prov- ince of Catanzaro; area, 1,515 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 353,608. It is traversed by many moun- tains and numerous small rivers. The country is not favorable to pasturage and agriculture, but is rich in timber, oil, silk, and minerals. (See CALABBIA.) The province is divided into the districts of Reggio, Gerace, and Palmi. II. A city (anc. Rhegium), capital of the prov- ince, on the strait and 9 m. S. E. of the city of Messina; pop. about 18,000 (as a commune, in 1872, 35,235). It is situated in a most beautiful region, is the seat of an archbishop, and has a handsome cathedral, a theological seminary, a gymnasium and public library, an active trade in local products, and manufac- tories of silks, linens, and pottery. Its bay presents the remarkable optical phenomenon known as fata morgana. The ancient Rhe- gium was an important city of Magna Greecia, colonized by Eubceans and Messenians about 740 B. C. It was governed under an aristo- cratic constitution by a body of 1,000. Under Anaxilaus, who gained supreme power in the early part of the 5th century B. 0., it became very prosperous. His sons, however, were expelled by the people. -In 427 the Rhegians supported the Athenians against Syracuse, but in 415 remained neutral. In 388 Dionysius the Elder besieged the city, which was despe- rately defended by Phyton. After 11 months of resistance it was compelled by famine to surrender. Phyton and his family were put to death, the inhabitants were sold as slaves, and the walls were razed to the ground. It was partially rebuilt by Dionysius the Young- er. On the arrival of Pyrrhus in Italy in 280 it formed an alliance with the Romans, and re- ceived a garrison of 4,000 Campanian troops. The soldiers, taking advantage of an alleged defection, massacred the male inhabitants, took possession of their property, and made slaves of their wives and children. In 271 the Ro- mans reduced the city after a long siege, exe- cuted all the surviving soldiers, and Rhegium came again into the hands of its former in- habitants. During the Punic wars it remained faithful to Rome. After the fall of the west- ern empire it was subject to the emperors of the East. It was taken by Totila in A. D. 549, by the Saracens in 918, by Robert Guiscard in 1060, and by Pedro III. of Aragon in 1283 ; and during the 16th century it was three times sacked by the Turks. The modern city was almost entirely destroyed by the. earthquake of 1783, and rebuilt on a larger and finer scale ; and it was again much damaged by an earthquake in 1841. REGILLES, Lake, a small body of water in Latium, where, according to the historical legends of ancient Rome, was fought the bat- tle which decided the fate of the last Roman king (about 498 B. C.). Its site has been con- sidered doubtful, but it is now generally sup- posed to be identical with the lake of Cornu- felle, at the foot of the hill on which stands the town of Frascati (the ancient Tusculum), about 10 m. S. E. of Rome; this lake was formed by a volcanic crater about half a mile in diameter, and was artificially drained in the 17th century. Here Tarquin the Proud, hav- ing after the failure of Porsena's expedition enlisted the Latins in his cause, with his son- in-law Octavius Mamilius gave battle to the Romans under the dictator Albums Postumius, was wounded and utterly defeated, and fled alone from the field. The chiefs on both sides were nearly all killed or wounded. According to the tradition, the Romans owed their vic- tory to Castor and Pollux, who were seen to charge at the head of their cavalry, and who first made it known in the forum at Rome. There a temple was dedicated to them, where the day (July 15) was afterward annually cele- brated. REGIMENT, a body of troops, whether in- fantry, cavalry, or artillery, numbering from 800 to 2,400 men, and commanded by a colo- nel and one or more lieutenant colonels and majors, according to the number of battalions into which it is divided. The battalions are subdivided into companies, each of which is commanded by a captain and one or more lieu- tenants. The regiment forms the third sub- division of an army corps, or, where the di- vision by corps is omitted, of an army, two or more regiments constituting a brigade, and two or more brigades a division. It origina- ted in the French service about 1560. REGIOMONTANFS, or Johann Mtiller, a German mathematician, born at Konigsberg, Franconia (whence his Latin name), June 6, 1436, died July 6, 1476. He completed his studies un- der Purbach at Vienna, whom he succeeded in 1461 as professor of mathematics. Subse- quently he lectured on astronomy at Padua, spent some time at the court of Matthias Cor- vinus in Hungary, and resided at Nuremberg from 1471 to 1474, when Pope Sixtus IV.
