Shikoku

Shikoku. See Japan.

Shildon

Shildon, a Durham town, 3 miles SSE. of Bishop Auckland, with neighbouring quarries and coal-mines. Pop., with East Thickley, 11,760.

Shilka

Shilka. See Amur.

Shillelagh

Shillelagh (Shilleh'la), County Wicklow, 17 miles SW. of Aughrim, a once famous oak-forest.

Shiloh

Shiloh, one of the most desperate battles (6th and 7th April 1862) of the American civil war, named from a log meeting-house near the Tennessee River, 8 miles above Savannah.

Shimonoseki

Shimonosek'i, a port of Japan, at the SW. extremity of the main island, open to foreign trade since 1890, was partly destroyed during a bombardment by a combined English, French, Dutch, and American fleet in 1864. Pop. 42.800.

Shin

Shin, Loch. See Sutherland.

Shingking

Shingking. See Mukden.

Shingles

Shingles, a shoal, 2 1/2 miles long, off the Isle of Wight, between the Needles and Hurst Castle.

Shipka

Shipka, a Balkan pass, 50 miles NE. of Philip-popolis, stoutly held by the Russians against the desperate assaults of Suleyman Pasha, August 21-26, and September 9-17, 1877.

Shiplake

Shiplake, an Oxfordshire village, on the Thames, 3 1/4 miles S. by E. of Henley. Tennyson was married here.

Shipley

Shipley, a Yorkshire town, on the Aire, 3 miles NNW. of Bradford. It manufactures worsted. Pop. (1851) 3272; (1901) 25,573.

Shipston-on-Stour

Shipston-on-Stour, a market-town in Worcestershire (detached), 6 miles E. of Chipping Campden station. Pop. 1546.

Shiraz

Shiraz (Shee-rahz'), capital of the Persian province of Fars, much celebrated in Persian poetry for its climate, its wine, and its rose-gardens, is situated in a broad plain, 115 miles ENE. of Bushire and 35 SW. of the ancient Persepolis. Rose-water is prepared; and inlaid articles in wood and metal, glass, and woollens are made here. The city was founded in the 8th century, and was a favourite resort of the Persian princes. In 1812 a destructive earthquake laid it partly in ruins, and another in 1824 cost 4000 lives, and destroyed its splendid mosques and bazaars. It was rebuilt and numbered 40,000 people, when a third visitation, in 1853, laid almost the whole town again in ruins, and caused 10,000 deaths. It has since been partially rebuilt, and its pop. is now 40,000. The tombs of the poets Hahz and Sadi, both natives, are in the vicinity.

Shirburn Castle

Shirburn Castle, Oxfordshire, 7 miles SSW. of Thame, the seat (1332) of the Earl of Macclesfield.

Shire

Shire (Shee'ray), a river of East Africa, flows 370 miles S. out of Lake Nyassa to the Zambesi. The navigation is obstructed by cataracts (Murchison Cataract) for 35 miles, in which the Shire falls 1200 feet. The Shire Highlands are included in Nyassaland (q.v.). See John Buchanan, The Shire Highlands (1885).

Shirwa

Shirwa, a lake of South-east Africa, 45 miles SE. of Lake Nyassa. It is 40 miles long, 15 to 20 miles broad, and 1970 feet above sea-level. On the W., between the lake and the river Shire, is Mount Zomba (7000 feet).