ZAeHRINGEN, a village 2 m.  N. of Freiburg, in Baden, with a castle now in ruins which gives name to the reigning grand-ducal family of Baden, the founders of which were counts of Breisgau.

ZAIRE, name for the CONGO (q. v.) in part of its lower course.

ZAKKUM, a tree, according to Moslem belief, growing in hell, and of the bitter fruit of which the damned are compelled to eat so as to intensify their torment.

ZALEUCUS, law-giver of the ancient Locrians, a Greek people settled in Lower Italy, and who flourished in 700th century B.C.; had a supreme respect for law, and was severe in the enforcement of it; punished adultery with the forfeiture of sight; refused to exonerate his own son who had been guilty of the offence, but submitted to the loss of one of his own eyes instead of exacting the full penalty of the culprit; had established a law forbidding any one to enter the Senate-house armed; did so himself on one occasion in a sudden emergency, was reminded of the law, and straightway fell upon his sword as a sacrifice to the sovereignty of the claims of social order.

ZAMA, a fortified city of ancient Numidea, 100 m.  SW. of Carthage, where HANNIBAL (q. v.) was defeated by Scipio Africanus, and the SECOND PUNIC WAR (q. v.) brought to an end, and the fate of Carthage virtually sealed.

ZAMBESI, one of the four great African rivers, and the fourth largest as regards both the volume of its waters and the area it drains, the other three being the Nile, the Congo, and the Niger; its head-streams being the Lungebungo, the Leeba, and Leeambye; it waters a rich pastoral region, and it falls into the Indian Ocean after a course of nearly 1600 m., in which it drains 600,000 sq. m. of territory, or an area three times larger than that of France; owing to cataracts and rapids it is only navigable in different stretches; at 900 m. from its mouth it plunges in a cataract known as the Victoria Falls, and which rivals in grandeur those even of Niagara.

ZAMBESIA, a territory on the Zambesi, under British protection, and in the hands of the British South Africa Company, embracing Mashonaland, Matabeleland, and the country of Khama.

ZAMORA (15), ancient town of Spain, on the right bank of the Douro, 150 m.  NW. of Madrid; now in a decayed state; was a flourishing place in Moorish times; contains interesting ruins; manufactures linens and woollens, and trades in wine and fruits.

ZANGWILL, ISRAEL, litterateur, born in London, of Jewish parents in poor circumstances; practically self-taught; studied at London University, where he took his degree with triple honours; became a teacher, then a journalist; has written novels, essays, and poems; among his works the “Bachelor’s Club,” “Old Maid’s Club,” “Children of the Ghetto,” “Dreams of the Ghetto,” “The Master,” “Without Prejudice,” &c.; b. 1854.

ZANGWILL, LOUIS, man of letters, brother of preceding; self-taught; has written several works under the pseudonym of ZZ; distinguished himself at one time as a chess-player; b. 1869.