JOSEPHUS, the celebrated historian of the Jews, was of noble birth, being by his father Mattathias descended from the high priests, and by his mother of the blood-royal of the Maccabees. He was born A.D. 37, under Caligula, and lived under Domitian. At sixteen years of age he took himself to the sect of the Essences, and then to the Pharisees; and having been successful in a journey to Rome, upon his return to Judea he was made captain-general of the Galileans. Being taken prisoner by Vespasian, he foretold his coming to the empire, and his own deliverance by his means. He accompanied Titus to the siege of Jerusalem, and wrote his Wars of the Jews, which Titus ordered to be put in the public library. He afterwards lived at Rome, where he enjoyed the privileges of a Roman citizen, and where the emperors loaded him with favours, and granted him large pensions. Besides the above work, he wrote, 1. Twenty books of Jewish Antiquities, which he finished under Domitian; 2. Two books against Apion; 3. A Discourse on the Martyrdom of the Maccabees; and, 4. His own Life. These works are all written in Greek.

JOSHUA, the renowned general of the Jews, who conducted them through the wilderness, and died in 1424 before Christ, aged a hundred and ten years.

JOSHUA, a canonical book of the Old Testament, containing a history of the wars and transactions of the person whose name it bears. This book may be divided into three parts; the first of which is a history of the conquest of the land of Canaan; the second, which begins at the twelfth chapter, is a description of that country, and the division of it amongst the tribes; and the third, comprised in the two last chapters, contains the renewal of the covenant which he caused to be made by the Israelites, together with the death of their victorious leader and governor. The whole comprehends a term of seventeen, or, according to others, of twenty-seven years.

JOSIAH, king of Judah, the destroyer of idolatry, and the restorer of the true worship, an excellent magistrate and a valiant general, was slain in battle, 609 before Christ.

JOSSELIN, a town of the arrondissement of Plouermel, in the department of Finisterre, in France. It stands on the river Oust, contains 2692 inhabitants, and has some manufactures of coarse woollen cloths. It is visited in summer on account of celebrated mineral springs. Near to it is a curious cavern called the Pertuis des Fées, or Fairy's Cave, with an arch twenty-five feet in height.

JOTAPATA, in Ancient Geography, a town of the Lower Galilee, distant forty stadia from Gabara; a strong place, situated on a rock, walled round, and encompassed on all hands with mountains, so as not to be seen except by those who approach very near. It was taken with difficulty by Vespasian. When it surrendered, it was ordered to be razed.

JOUDEPOOR, an extensive rajpoot principality of Hindustan, in the province of Ajmeer, of which the proper and ancient name was Marwar, and its sovereign was called the Rhatore rajah. The boundaries of this territory are not very exactly defined, being intermixed with that of Odeypoor and Jyeepoor. They are said, however, to reach nearly to the Indus on the west, the town of Amerkote in Sind, within thirty miles of that river, being in possession of the rajah; on the east his territories comprehend the city of Meerta or Meerat; on the north they are bounded by Bicanere and Jesselmere; on the south by the province of Gujerat and Odeypoor; and on the east by the dominions of Jyenagur. The southern and eastern parts of Joudepoor are fertile, being watered by streams that flow from the mountains. They are chiefly cultivated by Jauts, and they produce wheat, barley, and other kinds of grain common in India; also cotton, sugar, &c. The western portion of the country consists principally of desert or pasture lands, on which is bred a hardy race of horses, camels, and cattle. There are also lead mines in the country. The imports consist of cloth, shawls, spices, opium, rice, sugar, steel, and iron. The exports are salt, camels, bullocks, and horses. The principal inhabitants of Joudepoor are Rhatore rajpoots, who are a brave, handsome race of men, of the purest castes. The rajahs of Odeypoor, Jyeepoor, and Joudepoor formerly enjoyed considerable power and consequence, and their alliance was much sought after by the Mogul emperors of Hindustan. The country is described as having been much more populous in ancient times.

The rajahs of Jyeepoor and Joudepoor were employed with their followers in the imperial armies, and attained the highest military rank till the time of Aurungzebe, who attempted to enforce the capitation tax on his Hindu subjects, and sought to obtain possession of the children of the rajah Jerwont Sing, who died in the year 1678; a circumstance that gave rise to a war, in which the rajpoots were ultimately victorious, and, after the death of Aurungzebe, they only paid a nominal allegiance. Being afterwards weakened by dissensions amongst themselves, they became tributary to the Mahrattas, and were only delivered from their yoke by the British in their successful war against the Pindaries.

Joudepoor, a fortified city, and capital of the above principality, is well built, mostly of stone. It is situated on a hill; and carries on a considerable traffic, by means of caravans, with Gujerat and the Deccan. The rajah is now one of the British allies. Long. 73. 18. E. Lat. 26. 27. N.

JOURNAL, a day-book, register, or account of what passes daily. See Diary.

Journal, in merchants' accounts, is a book in which every particular article is posted out of the waste-book, and made debtor. This is to be very clearly worded, and fairly engrossed. See Book-Keeping.

Journal, in Navigation, a sort of diary or daily register of the ship's course, winds, and weather, together with a general account of whatever is material to be remarked in the period of a sea-voyage. In all such journals, the day, or what is called the twenty-four hours, terminate at noon, because the errors of the dead reckoning are at that period generally corrected by a solar observation. The daily compact usually contains the state of the weather; the variation, increase, or diminution of the wind; and the suitable shifting, reducing, or enlarging the quantity of sail extended; as also the most material incidents of the voyage, and the condition of the ship and her crew; together with the discovery of other ships or fleets, land, shoals, breakers, soundings, and the like.

Journal is also a common name of weekly essays, newspapers, and also of several books which come out at stated times, and give abstracts, accounts, or criticisms of the new books that are published, and the improvements daily made in arts and sciences.