c Turkey, on the direct carriage road from
Trebizond to Erzerum, situated on both banks of the Churuk river, which
here traverses an open cultivated plateau (altitude, 5100 ft.), before
turning east. It is the chief place of a kaza under Erzerum; the bazaar is
poor, and there is no special industry in the town. The houses run up the
hillsides on both banks of the river to a considerable height. On an
isolated mass of rock, on the left bank, is the old castle, with extensive
walls partly ruined, built originally by the Armenians and restored by the
Seljuks. The principal gate with some Arabic inscriptions stands at the
S.W. corner. There are remains of a vaulted chamber, a Christian church, a
mosque and two covered staircases to the river. A fine view is seen from
the summit over the plain and the Pontic ranges to the north. The
population numbers 10,000, mostly Turkish with some Armenians. The place
was occupied by the Russians under General Paskevich during their invasion
of 1829, and was the farthest point westward then reached by them.

(F. R. M.)

BAI[D.][=A]W[=I] ('Abdallah ibn 'Umar al-Bai[d.][=a]w[=i]), Mahommedan
critic, was born in Fars, where his father was chief judge, in the time of
the Atabek ruler Abu Bakr ibn Sa'd (1226-1260). He himself became judge in
Shiraz, and died in Tabriz about 1286. His chief work is the commentary on
the Koran entitled _The Secrets of Revelation and The Secrets of
Interpretation (Asr[=a]r ut-tanz[=i]l wa Asr[=a]r ut-ta' w[=i]l)_. This
work is in the main a digest of the great Mu'tazalite commentary
(_al-Kashsh[=a]f_) of Zamakhshar[=i] (_q.v._) with omissions and additional
notes. By the orthodox Moslems it is considered the standard commentary and
almost holy, though it is not complete in its treatment of any branch of
theological or linguistic knowledge of which it treats, and is not always
accurate (cf. Th. Noeldeke's _Geschichte des Qorans_, Goettingen, 1860, p.
29). It has been edited by H. O. Fleischer (2 vols., Leipzig, 1846-1848;
indices ed. W. Fell, Leipzig, 1878). There are many editions published in
the East. A selection with numerous notes was edited by D. S. Margoliouth
as _Chrestomathia Beidawiana_ (London, 1894). Many supercommentaries have
been written on Bai[d.][=a]w[=i]'s work. He was also the author of several
theological treatises.

See C. Brockelmann's _Geschichte der arabischen Litteratur_ (Weimar, 1898),
vol. i. pp. 416-418.

(G. W. T.)

BAIF, JEAN ANT