Me'shech (Heb. Me'shel; T\'^/g, a draicing out, as in Psa. cxxvi, G; or possession, as in Job xxviii, 18; Sept. MofTtJX, Yulg. Mosoch ; a pronunciation which the Samaritan codex also exhibits, TjVdi^ ; but in Ezek. xxxviii, 2, 3; xxxix, 1, Sept, v. r. 'SloaitK and :\Ikj<')X' ; in Ezck. xxvii, 13, ra TrapaTtivovTa ; in Psa. cxx, 5, Sept. i-/iai,-()i-)'s)i,'Vu\'^.prii!iiiH/alii.'! m/, Auth.Yers. "^le- s(.h-|. the sixth son olMapheth, B.C. cir. 2500 (Gen. x, •_' 1. and roiiiider of a tribe mentioned among his descend- ants (1 Cliron. i, 5), and later (Ezek. xxvii, 13) as en- gaged in traffic with Tyre, in connection with Gog (Ezek. xxxviii, 2, 3 ; xxxix, 1). In nearly ever}' instance they are coupled with Tubal or the Tibareni as neiglibors ((Jen. X, 2 ; Ezek. xxvii, 13 ; xxxii, 2(J ; xxxviii, 2, 3 ; xxxix, 1: so also Herodotus, iii, 94; vii, 78; comp. Ilengstenberg, Moses, p. 206; ^Yilkinson, i, 378 sq.); and from one passage at least (Ezek. xxxii, 26) they appear to have lived near Assyria and I";iymais. They are without doubt the same ^vith the Moschi (Bochart, Phaleg, iii, 12), a barbarous people of Asia, inhabiting what were known as the JNIoschian Mountains (Ptol. v, 6, 1 ; 13, 5), between the Black and Caspian seas (Strabo, xi, 344, 378, 498 sq.; Pliny, vi, 11), in the later Iberia (comp. Josephus, Ant. i, 6, 1), who are named by ancient authors as forming a single deitartnicnt of the Persian empire under a separate jurisdiction with the Tibare- nians (Ilerod. iii, 94; vii, 78). In contirmation of the trade alluded to in Ezek. xxvii, 13, Beineggs remarks {Beschreib. dcs Caucas. i, G; ii, Gl) that the IVIoschiau Mountains contain rich copper-mines, and this region has always been noted for the export of slaves, espe- cially females, whose beauty usually commands a ready market for the Turkish harems (.see Kosenm tiller. .1/- ttrth. I, i. 248 s(|.). In Psa. cxx, 5, the name occurs in ccmjiection with Kcdar as a synonyme for foreigners or barbarians (Michaclis, Siippl. p. 1560~), like the modern phrase "Turks and Hottentots." — AViner, ii, 86. The same name, but in a plural form, appears, according to
MESHED-ALI
127
MESHULLAM
some, in Isa. Ixvi, 19 (OliJp ''?P'2) Sept. Moffox,Vulg. tendentes saffittam, Auth.YeTS. "that draw the bow"), but it there is rather an appellation of the archers (comp. Jer. xlvi, 9) ; also, but with still less probability, in Jer. v, 8 (D'^SIL*'?, Sept. ^7]\vnavHg,Vu\g. einissarii, Auth. Vers. " fed"). " The Colchian tribes, the Chalybes more especially, were skilled in working metals, and hence arose the trade in the "vessels of brass' with Tyre; nor is it at all improbable that slaves were largely exported thence as now from the neighboring district of Georgia. Although the Moschi were a comparatively nnimpor- tant race in classical times, they had previously been one of the most powerful nations of Western Asia. The Assyrian monarchs were engaged in frequent wars with them, and it is not improbable that they had occupied the whole of the district afterwards named Cappadocia. In the Assyrian inscriptions the name appears under the form of Mitskai: a somewhat similar name, Ma- shoas/i, appears in an Egyptian inscription which com- memorates the achievements of the third Kameses (Wilkinson, Anc. E(j. i, 398, Abridg.). The subsequent history of Meshech is unknown ; Knobel's attempt to connect them with the Ligurians {VOlkertaf. p. 119, etc.) is devoid of all solid ground" (Smith). "The names of the Moschians and Tybarenians are also joined frequently on the Assyrian inscriptions (Rawlinson's Jlcrodotits, i, Gol ; comp. Pliny, vi, 4). The primitive seat of the Moschi appears to have been among the Caucasus Mountains, on the south-eastern shores of the Black Sea, immediately north of Armenia (Strabo, xi, p. 498 sq.) ; and, according to Strabo, a part of the great chain or group of mountains took their name (xi, p. 521). The Jloschi were, however, a wild and warlike race, and extended their depredations and conquests far bej-ond the confines of their native hills. Cappadocia appears to have 'been, at least in part, occupied by them (Jose- phus, .4?^^ i, 6,1), and probably from them its capital city took its name Mazaha (Strabo, xii, p. 538; Eaw- linsdn's Ifi roJotKs, iv, "222). In the time of the Hebrew prophets their power was felt even in Syria and Egypt in conjunction with their Scythic allies, Gog and Ma- gog, under whose command they had apparently placed themselves. It is interesting to observe how Ezekiel's description of their equipments — ' bucklers, small shields ("S'S), and swords' (Ezelv. xxxviii, 1-5) — corresponds with that of Herodotus (vii, 78). During the ascend- ency of the Bab\'lonians and Persians in Western Asia the Moschi were subdued; but it seems probable that a large number of them crossed the Caucasus range and spread over the northern steppes, mingling with the Scythians. There they became known as Jlimkoi^i, and gave that name to the Russian nation, and its ancient capital, by which they are still universally known throughout the East (Rawlinson's Herod, iv, 222)" (Kit- to). See EriiNOLOGY.
Meshed-Ali and Meshed-Hossein is the name of a jMohannnedan cemetery situated near the ruins of IJaliylim, which is one of the most celebrated places of pilgrimage of the Shiit;es. Many thousands of corpses are brought thither during the year for inter- ment from all parts of the East.