used as dwellings, cloisters and graves, where are most of the inscriptions published by Sachau, who also visited and describes (pp. 204-206) the Der Ya'qub, nearly two hours distant. Urfa is the capital of a sanjak of the same name, in the vilayet of Aleppo. The population was estimated by Olivier in 1796 at 20,000 to 24,000, by Buckingham at 50,000, by Chernik in 1873 at 40,000, by Sachau in 1879 at 50,000, in Baedeker's Handbook in 1906 at 30,000. Vice-Consul Fitzmaurice said that before December 1895 it was close on 65,000, of whom about 20,000 were Armenian, 3000 or 4000 Jacobites, Syrian-Catholic, Greek-Catholic, Maronites and Jews, and the remaining 40,000 Turkish, Kurdian and Arab Mahommedans. Two barbarous massacres occurred on the 28th and 29th of October and the 28th and 29th of December 1895; 126 Armenian families were absolutely wiped out. He believes that 8000 Armenians perished in the second massacre. The Deutsche Orient-Mission has its chief seat in Urfa, and there have for years been American and French missions. The Germans have an orphanage with 300 Armenian children, a carpet factory and a medical station. The American school had some years ago 250 pupils. AUTHORITIES.--Inscriptional: H. Pognon, _Inscriptions sémitiques de la Syrie, de la Mésopotamie et de la région de Mossoul_ (1907, 1908); Sachau, "Edessenische Inschriften," in _Z.D.M.G._ xxxvi. 142-167; F.C. Burkitt, "The Throne of Nimrod," in _P.S.B.A._ xxviii. 149-155 (1906); J. Rendel Harris, _The Cult of the Heavenly Twins_ (1906); Nöldeke, "Syrische Inschriften," in _Z.A._ xxi. 151-161, 375-388 (1908). Literary: Ludwig Hallier, _Untersuchungen über die Edessenische Chronik mit dem Syrischen Text_ (1892); F. Nau, _Analyse des parties inédites de la chronique attribuée à Denys de Tell-mahré_ (1898); J.-B. Chabot, _Chronique de Denys de Tell-Mahré, quatrième partie_ (1895); W. Wright, _The Chronicle of Joshua the Stylite_ (1882); Bayer, _Historia Osrhoena et Edessena_ (St Petersburg, 1784), collects the references in classical authors; for the coinage see references in von Gutschmid (see below). Discussions: A. von Gutschmid, "Untersuchungen über die Geschichte des Königreichs Osroëne" (in _Mémoires de l'acad. imper. des sciences de St-Pétersb._ vii. sér. tome 35, No. 1, 1887); L.-J. Tixeront, _Les Origines de l'église d'Édesse et la légende d'Abgar_ (1888); R.A. Lipsius, _Die Edessenische Abgarsage kritisch untersucht_ (1880); K.C.A. Matthes, _Die Edess. Abgarsage auf ihre Fortbildung untersucht_ (1882); F. Nau, _Une Biographie inédite de Bardesane l'astrologue_ (1897); _Bardesane l'astrologue: le livre des Lois des Pays_ (1899); A. Hilgenfeld, _Bardesanes, der letzte Gnostiker_ (1864); A.A. Bevan, "The Hymn of the Soul" (in _Texts and Studies_, 1897); F.C. Burkitt, _Early Eastern Christianity_ (1904); J.R. Harris, _The Dioscuri in Christian Legend_