Mohammedan schools for higher education. There are to be found the ruins of an old castle, built on the site of the ancient acropolis, and a number of archaic remains. The population is estimated at 30,000. Amasia was the birthplace of the geographer Strabo, and was once the capital of the kings of Pontus.
AMA'SIS, Aahmes (Gk. (
Greek characters), Egyptian
'Ah-mose, probably "child of the moon"). The
name of two Egyptian kings.
Amasis I. The first Pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty. He reigned for at least twenty-two years, from about 1600 B.C., or perhaps a little later. He finished the long war against the Hyksos or Shepherd Kings, rulers of a foreign race, who had subjugated part of Lower Egypt. He captured their stronghold, Avaris, in the Delta, expelled them from Egypt, and began the Egyptian conquests in Asia by making Palestine and Phœnicia tributary.
Amasis II. The fifth Pharaoh of the twenty-sixth dynasty, well-known through the anecdotes of Herodotus. Egyptian sources tend to confirm the statements of the Greeks that he was of humble origin, and not particularly refined as to habits. He came to the throne through an insurrection of the native troops against King Apries, whom he dethroned and slew. The usurper reigned from about 570 to 526 B.C., and was a wise and prudent ruler. He fought against Nebuchadnezzar, and later cleverly avoided the conflict with the rising Persian power. (See History of Egypt, under title Egypt.) The conquest of Cyprus is ascribed to him, though perhaps erroneously. He employed Greek mercenary troops, and assigned to the Greeks the city of Naucratis, in the Delta, which soon rose to great commercial importance. Greek writers speak of Amasis in a very kindly spirit, and endeavor to prove that he was the friend of various Greek sages and statesmen. (See Polycrates.) He is said to have married a Greek woman of Cyrene; but it is quite impossible that she could have been his legitimate wife.
AMATEUR' (Fr., from Lat. amator, lover, from amare, to love). It would seem at first easy to define the word "amateur" in sports; yet it is a subject that has for half a century taxed the most active and subtle brains of two continents. One would say offhand that the amateur in sport is one who engages in a personal physical contest of pluck, nerve, muscle, and skill for the love of it, as distinguished from the professional, who enters for profit; but that by no means disposes of this intricate subject. There were early found to be men in plenty who entered a particular contest because they loved the sport, and who derived no pecuniary interest from that contest, yet who it was unfair to allow to enter it. As a matter of fact, not long after the renaissance of athletic contests in 1850, it became obvious that the lines would have to be drawn more strictly, or those would have an unfair advantage whose daily occupations gave them a continuous training in the skill needful for perfection. Take, for example, a boat-builder of the old school, one who had been apprenticed to it in his youth, and had spent all his early manhood in the handling of boats and oars, and in rowing and gradually acquiring the knowledge, power, and endurance of a waterman. To such a man, trained and hardened by years, rowing became a second nature, and his skill in it automatic. It was plainly unfair to allow such a man, however much he rowed for love of the sport and without taking money for his prize, to enter contests where the rest of the participants had acquired their knowledge and skill only for the pleasure of the game, and as part of the ordinary routine of school and college, or for health and pleasure's sake. So it came to pass that the boat-builder and waterman were early excluded from the amateur ranks. The same principle has been working itself out ever since. Step by step the fences against professionalism have had to be raised, until now the rules bar them out of all contests under the control of the Amateur Rowing Association of England. No person can enter as an amateur "who has rowed or steered in any race for a stake, money, or entrance fee; who has ever knowingly rowed or steered with or against a professional for any prize; who has ever taught, pursued, or assisted in the practice of athletic exercises for any kind of profit; who has ever been employed in or about boats, or in any manual labor for money or wages; who is or has been by trade or employment for wages a mechanic, artisan, laborer, or engaged in any menial duty; or who is disqualified as an amateur in any other branch of sport." The most jealous stickler for the purity of amateur oarsmanship could hardly desire the line to be more firmly or decisively drawn; yet the rules governing amateur athletics in America do go farther, for inter alia, they make a man a professional who engages in an athletic contest where professionals participate, even though no prize is at stake. The following are the rules of the Amateur Athletic Union, which claims jurisdiction over the following games: 1, Basket ball; 2, billiards; 3, boxing; 4, fencing; 5, gymnastics; 6. hand ball; 7, hurdle racing; 8. jumping; 9, lacrosse; 10, pole vaulting; 11. putting the shot and throwing the discus, hammer, and weights; 12, running; 13, swimming; 14, tugs of war; 15, walking; 16, wrestling.
Conditions of Competition. "1. No person shall be eligible to compete in any athletic meeting, game or entertainment given or sanctioned by this Union who has (a) received or competed for compensation or reward, in any form, for the display, exercise, or example of his skill in or knowledge of any athletic exercise, or for rendering personal service of any kind to any athletic organization, or for becoming or continuing a member of any athletic organization; or (b) has entered any competition under a name other than his own, or from a club of which he was not at that time a member in good standing; or (c) has knowingly entered any competition open to any professional or professionals, or has knowingly competed with any professional for any prize or token; or (d) has issued or allowed to be issued in his behalf any challenge to compete against any professional, or for money, or (e) has pawned, bartered, or sold any prize won in athletic competition, or (f) is not a registered athlete. Nor shall any person residing within the territory of any active member of this Union be eligible to compete for or to enter any competition as a member of any club in the territory of any other active member of this Union, unless he shall have been elected to membership in such club prior to April 1, 1891; provided, however, that this restriction as to residence shall not apply to
