Encyclopaedia Britannica > Volume 21, ROT-Siam

616. SEE-
very sanguine temperament, took place at Rome in 1547.
Sebastiano directed that his burial, in the church of S.
Maria del Popolo, should be conducted without ceremony
of priests, friars, or lights, and that the cost thus saved
should go to the poor ; in this he was obeyed.
Numerous pupils sought training from Sebastiano del Piombo ;
but, owing to his dilatory and self-indulgent habits, they learned
little from him, with the exception of Tommaso Laureti. Sebas¬
tiano, conscious of his deficiency in the higher sphere of invention,
made himself especially celebrated as a portrait painter : the like¬
ness of Andrea Doria, in the Doria Palace, Rome, is one of the
most renowned. In the London National Gallery are two fine
specimens: one canvas represents the friar himself, along with
Cardinal Ippolito de’ Medici ; the other, a portrait of a lady in the
character of St Agatha, used to be identified with one of Sebastiano’s
prime works, the likeness of Julia Gonzaga (painted for her lover,
the aforenamed cardinal), but this assumption is now discredited.
There were also portraits of Marcantonio Colonna, Yittoria Colonna,
Ferdinand marquis of Pescara, Popes Adrian VI., Clement VII.
(Studj Gallery, Naples), and Paul III., Sanmicheli, Anton Fran¬
cesco degli Albizzi, and Pietro Aretino. One likeness of the last-
named sitter is in Arezzo and another in the Berlin gallery.
SEBASTOPOL, or Sevastopol, the chief naval station
of Russia on the Black Sea, is situated in the south-west
of the Crimea, in 44° 37' N lat. and 33° 31' E. long., 935
miles from Moscow, with which it is connected by rail via
Kharkoff. The estuary, which is one of the best roadsteads
in Europe and could shelter the combined fleets of Europe,
is a deep and thoroughly sheltered indentation among
chalky cliff’s, running east and west for nearly 3f miles,
with a width of three-quarters of a mile, narrowing to 930
yards at the entrance, where it is protected by two small
promontories. It has a depth of from 6 to 10 fathoms,
with a good bottom, and large ships can anchor at a
cable’s length from the shore. The main inlet has also
four smaller indentations,—Quarantine Bay at its entrance,
Yuzhnaya (Southern) Bay, which penetrates more than a
mile to the south, with a depth of from 4 to 9 fathoms,
Dockyard Bay, and Artillery Bay. A small river, the
Tchornaya, enters the head of the inlet. The main part
of the town, with an elevation ranging from 30 to 190 feet,
stands on the southern shore of the chief inlet, between
Yuzhnaya and Artillery Bays. To the east are situated
the barracks, hospitals, and storehouses; a few buildings
on the other shore of the chief bay constitute the “northern
side.” Before the Crimean War of 1853-56 Sebastopol
was a well-built city, beautified by gardens, and had 43,000
inhabitants; but at the end of the siege it had not more
than fourteen buildings which had not been badly injured.
After the war many privileges "were granted by the Govern¬
ment in order to attract population and trade to the town ;
but both increased slowly, and at the end of seven years
its population numbered only 5750. The railway line
connecting Sebastopol with Moscow gave some animation
to trade, and it was thought at the time that Sebastopol,
although precluded by the treaty of Paris from reacquiring
its military importance, might yet become a commercial
city. In November 1870, during the Franco-German
War, the Russian Government publicly threw off the
obligation of those clauses of the treaty of Paris which
related to the Black Sea fleet and fortresses, and it was
decided again to make Sebastopol a naval arsenal. In
1882 Sebastopol had a population of 26,150 inhabitants,
largely military. The town has been rebuilt on a new
plan, and a fine church occupies a prominent site. There
are now two lyceums and a zoological marine station.
Although belonging to the government of Taurida, Sebas¬
topol and its environs are under a separate military
governor.
The peninsula between the Bay of Sebastopol and the Black Sea
became known in the 7th century as the Heracleotic Chersonese
(see vol. vi. p. 587). In the 5th century b.c. a Greek colony was
founded here and remained independent for three centuries, when
it became part of the kingdom of the Bosphorus, and subsequently
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tributary to Rome. Under the Byzantine emperors Chersonesus
was an administrative centre to their possessions in Taurida. Ac¬
cording to the Russian annals, Vladimir, prince of Kieff, conquered
Chersonesus (Korsuft) before being baptized there, and restored it
to the Greeks on marrying the princess Anna. Subsequently the
Slavonians were cut off' from relations with Taurida by the Mongols,
and only made occasional raids, such as that of the Lithuanian
prince Olgerd. In the 16th century a new influx of colonizers,
the Tatars, occupied Chersonesus and founded a settlement named
Akhtiar. This village, after the Russian conquest in 1783, was
selected for the chief naval station of the empire in the Black Sea
and received its present name (“The August City”). In 1826
strong fortifications were begun, and in 1853 it was a formidable
fortress. In September 1854, after having defeated the Russians
in the battle of the Alma, the Anglo-French laid siege to the
southern portion of the town, and on 17th October began a heavy
bombardment. Sebastopol, which was nearly quite open from the
land, was strengthened by earthworks thrown up under the fire
of the besiegers, and sustained a memorable eleven months’ siege.
On 8th September 1855 it was evacuated by the Russians, who
retired to the north side. The fortifications were blown up by the
allies, and by the Paris treaty the Russians were bound not to
restore them.
SEBENICO (Sibenik), a town of Austrian Dalmatia, on
the coast of the Adriatic, about half-way between Zara and
Spalato, is situated on an irregular basin at the mouth of
the Kerka, connected with the sea by a winding channel 3
miles long. The channel is defended by a fort designed
by Sanmicheli, and the town itself, picturesquely situated
on the abrupt slope of a rocky hill, is guarded by three
old castles, now dismantled. There is also a wall on the
landward side. Sebenico is the seat of a bishop, and its
Italian Gothic cathedral, dating from the 15th and 16th
centuries, is considered the finest church in Dalmatia.
Its excellent harbour and its situation at the entrance of
the Kerka valley combine to make Sebenico the entrepot
of a considerable trade. Fishing is carried on exten¬
sively. The population of the commune in 1880 was
18,104, of the town proper about 8000.
SECCHI, Angelo (1818-1878), Italian astronomer, was
born on 29th June 1818 at Reggio in Lombardy, and
entered the Society of Jesus at an early age. In 1849 he
was appointed director of the observatory of the Collegio
Romano, which was rebuilt in 1853; there he devoted
himself with great perseverance to researches in physical
astronomy and meteorology till his death at Rome on 26th
February 1878.
The results of Secchi’s observations are contained in a great
number of papers and memoirs. From about 1864 he occupied
himself almost exclusively with spectrum analysis, both of stars
(Catalogo delle Sidle dicui sih determinato lo Spettro Luminoso, Paris,
1867, 8vo ; “ Sugli Spettri Prismatici delle Stelle Fisse,” two parts,
1868, in the Atti della Soc. Ital.) and of the sun (Lc Soleil, Paris,
1870, 8vo ; 2d ed. 1877). Though his publications always bear
witness of his indefatigable zeal and energy, they are often uncritical
and wanting in accuracy.
SECKENDORF, Veit Ludwig yon (1626-1692), a
German statesman and scholar of the 17th century, was
the most distinguished member of an ancient and wide¬
spread German noble family, which took its name from
the village Seckendorf between Nuremberg and Langen-
zenn, and is said to have been ennobled by the emperor
Otho I. in 950, though it traces its own genealogy no
further back than 1262. The family was divided into
eleven distinct lines, but at present only three are pre¬
served, widely distributed throughout Prussia, Wiirtem-
berg, and Bavaria.1 Veit Ludwig von Seckendorf, son
of Joachim Ludwig, of the Gudentine line, was born
at Herzogenaurach (near Erlangen) in Upper Franconia,
20th December 1626. His youth fell in the midst of the
Thirty Years’ War, in which his father was actively
1 Amongst the Seckendorfs less known to fame than Veit Ludwig
are his nephew, Friedrich Heinrich (1673-1763), soldier and diplo¬
matist ; Leo (1773-1809), poet, literary man, and soldier ; the brothers
Christian Adolf (1767-1833) and Gustav Anton (“Patrik Peale”)
(1775-1823), both literary men of some note.