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DAMIETTA

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Originally appearing in Volume V07, Page 788 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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DAMIETTA , a See also:

TOWN

town of See also:

LOWER

Lower See also:

EGYPT

Egypt, on the eastern (Damietta or Phatnitic) See also:

BRANCH (from the Fr. branche, late Lat. branca, an animal's paw)

branch of the See also:

Nile, about 12 M. above its mouth, and 125 M. N.N.E. of See also:

Cairo by See also:

RAIL

rail. Pop. (1907) 29,354. The town is built on the See also:

east See also:

BANK

bank of the See also:

RIVER

river between it and See also:

Lake Menzala. Though in See also:

general See also:

ILL

ill-built and partly ruinous, the town possesses some See also:

FINE

fine mosques, with lofty minarets, public See also:

BATHS

baths and busy bazaars. Along the river-front are many substantial houses furnished with terraces, and with steps leading to the See also:

WATER

water. Their wooden lattices of saw-See also:

WORK

work are very graceful. After Cairo and See also:

Alexandria, Damietta was for centuries the largest town in Egypt, but the silting up of the entrance to the See also:

HARBOUR (from M.E. hereberge, here, an army; cf. Ger. Heer and -beorg, protection or shelter. Other early forms in English were herberwe and haiborow, as seen in various place names, such as Market Harborough.. The French auberge, an inn, derived through

harbour, the rise of See also:

PORT

Port Said, and the remarkable development of Alexandria have robbed Damietta of its value as a port. It has still, however, a See also:

COASTING

coasting See also:

trade with See also:

SYRIA

Syria and the See also:

LEVANT

Levant. See also:

SHIPS

Ships over 6 ft. See also:

DRAUGHT (from the common Teutonic word " to draw "; cf. Ger. 7'racht, load; the pronunciation led to the variant form " draft," now confined to certain specific meanings)

draught cannot enter the river, but must anchorin the offing. Lake Menzala yields large supplies of See also:

fish, which are dried and salted, and these, with See also:

rice, furnish the See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief articles of trade.

Damietta is a Levantine corruption of the Coptic name Tamiati, Arabic Dimyat. The See also:

ORIGINAL

original town was 4 M. nearer the See also:

sea than the See also:

MODERN

modern See also:

CITY (through Fr. cite, from Lat. civitas)

city, and first See also:

rose into importance on the decay of See also:

PELUSIUM

Pelusium. When it passed into the hands of the See also:

SARACENS

Saracens it became a See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place of See also:

GREAT

great See also:

WEALTH

wealth and See also:

commerce, and, as the eastern See also:

BULWARK (a word probably of Scandinavian origin, from bol or bole, a tree-trunk, and werk, work, in Ger. Bollwerk, which has also been derived from an old German bolen, to throw, and so a machine for throwing missiles)

bulwark of Egypt, was frequently attacked by the crusaders. The most remarkable of these sieges lasted eighteen months, from See also:

JUNE

June 1218 to See also:

NOVEMBER (Lat. novem, nine)

November 1219, and ended in the See also:

CAPTURE (from Lat. capere, to take; Fr. prise maritime; Ger. Wegnahme)

capture of the town, which was, however, held but for a brief See also:

period. In June 1249 See also:

Louis IX. of See also:

France occupied Damietta without opposition, but being defeated near See also:

MANSURA

Mansura in the See also:

FEBRUARY

February following, and compelled (6th See also:

APRIL

April) to surrender himself prisoner, Damietta was restored to the Moslems as See also:

PART

part of the See also:

RANSOM (from Lat. redemptio, through Fr. rancon)

ransom exacted. To prevent further attacks from the sea the See also:

MAMELUKE (anglicized through the French, from the Arabic mantluk, a slave)

Mameluke See also:

SULTAN (an Arabic word meaning " victorious " or " a ruler," sultat, dominion)

sultan Bibars blocked up the Phatnitic mouth of the Nile (about 126o), razed old Damietta to the ground, and transferred the inhabitants to the site of the modern town. It continued to be a place of commercial importance for a considerable period, until in fact Port Said gave the eastern part of the See also:

DELTA (from the shape of the Gr. letter A, delta, originally used of the mouth of the Nile)

Delta a better port. Damietta gives its name to See also:

DIMITY

dimity, a See also:

KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind of striped See also:

CLOTH

cloth, for which the place was at one See also:

time famous. See also:

Cotton and See also:

SILK

silk goods are still manufactured here.

End of Article: DAMIETTA

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