Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/468

Rh 432 A I X A J A associations. Its town-house, built in 1353 on the ruins of Charlemagne s palace, contains the magnificent corona tion hall of the German emperors, 162 feet long by 60 feet wide. Near the town-house are two ancient towers, one of which, called the Granustlturm, is sometimes said to be of Roman origin ; and a fountain, with a statue of Charle magne, which was erected in 1620. The cathedral of Aix-la-Chapelle consists of two parts, distinct both as to the time of their erection and their style of architecture. The older portion may be said to date either from 796 A.D., when it was erected by Charlemagne as the palace chapel, or from 983, when it was rebuilt on the old model by Otho III., after having been almost entirely destroyed by the Normans. It consists of an octagon, planned after that of St Vitale at Ravenna, surrounded by a sixteen- sided gallery, and terminating in a cupola. It contains the tomb of Charlemagne, which was opened in the year 1000, when the body of the emperor was found seated on a marble throne which was afterwards used in the imperial coronation ceremonies. The Gothic choir, which forms the more modern portion of the cathedral, was added during the latter half of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th centuries. The cathedral possesses many relics, the most sacred of which are exhibited only once every seven years, when they attract large crowds of worshippers. Be sides these buildings, almost the only other of any antiquity is the corn exchange, probably of the 12th century. Of modern edifices, Aix-la-Chapelle possesses a theatre, a public library, a gymnasium, and several churches and hospitals. The chief manufactures of Aix-la-Chapclle are woollen clqths, stockings, shawls, silks, leather, glass, needles, pins, machines, general ironmongery, carriages, beer, brandy, tobacco, and chemicals. There is a good trade in these articles, not only with Germany and other continental countries, but also, in the case of cloth especially, with the United States of America. The hot sulphur springs of Aix-la-Chapelle are another important source of revenue to the inhabitants. These springs were known to the Romans, and have long been celebrated for the cure of rheumatism and gout. There are six in all, of which the Kaiserquelle is the chief, with a temperature reaching as high as 136 Fahr. There are also two cold chalybeate springs. Aix-la-Chapelle is the Aquisgranum, or Civitas Aquensis, of the Romans. Charlemagne, who perhaps was born and certainly died in the town, made it the second city of his empire and the capital of his dominions north of the Alps. He conferred numerous privileges upon its citizens, exempt ing them from military service and from all taxes, even when they were living in other parts of the empire. From 813 to 1531 the emperors of Germany were crowned at Aix-la- Chapelle, which during that period became one of the most important free imperial cities, although it was ravaged by the Normans in 851, and again in 882. By the removal of the coronations to Frankfort, Aix-la-Chapelle lost its lead ing position in Germany, and its internal prosperity was much injured by a disastrous fire in 1656. During the revolution it for a time belonged to France, but in 1815 it was ceded to Prussia, and has now become one of the chief seats of commerce in that kingdom. Population of Aix-la- Chapelle (1871), 74,238. AIX-LA-CHAPELLE, Congresses and Treaties of. The first congress of Aix-la-Chapelle concerned the succession of Maria Theresa to the empire. It was held in 1748, and resulted in the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, signed in the same year, by which Maria Theresa was left in possession of most of her hereditary dominions, the chief exception being Silesia, which was ceded to Prussia. The second congress, held in 1818, resulted in the convention of Aix- la-Chapelle. The object of this congress was the regulation of the affairs of Europe, especially of France, after the war. A treaty of peace between France and Spain was also signed in this city in 1668, whereby Louis XIV. gave up his claim to the Spanish Netherlands, but was left in possession of much that he had already conquered. AJACCIO, the chief town of Corsica, one of the depart ments of France. It is a seaport, situated on the west coast of the island, in 41 54 N. lat., and 8 44 E. long. The harbour is commodious, and sheltered on all sides save the south-west. The town is well built, and its principal buildings are the cathedral, the town-house, and the citadel. It is the seat of a bishop and a court of justice, and has a commercial college, a school of hydrography, a large library, and a botanic garden. Wine, fruits, and olive oil are the chief articles of trade ; and anchovy and coral fisheries are extensively prosecuted along the coast. Ajaccio is cele brated as the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte. The house where he was born (15th August 1769) is still standing in good preservation. A marble statue was erected to his honour in 1850, and the people still retain strong Bonapartist sympathies. Population (1872), 16,545. AJAN (the ancient Azania), a tract which forms the eastern horn of Africa, with a coast-line of about 10 of latitude, from Cape Gardafui nearly to the equator. It extends inland to the territory of the Gallas, but its limits cannot be strictly defined, as this part of Africa has been little explored. The coast towards the soutli is low and sandy, but northward, near Cape D Orfui, it becomes high and mountainous, with some fertile valleys inter spersed. Cape Gardafui, the most eastern point of Africa, is a bold promontory backed by lofty hills. There are no considerable rivers in Ajan, and the land for the most part is barren. The inhabitants, a tribe of the Somali, carry on a trade with the Arabs in ivory and gum, and the country possesses an excellent breed of horses. AJAX (Aias), the son of Telamon. In Greek legend Ajax represents throughout only physical qualities, like Hercules, with whom, indeed, a likeness must have been recognised, or there would have been no sufficient basis for the belief that the child Ajax was born at the prayer of Hercules in behalf of his friend Telamon (the -name Ata? or Ai-as with digamma being an allusion to the eagle, ateros, which appeared to announce the success of the prayer); and again, that Hercules was present at the birth of the infant, and by wrapping it in his lion s skin made it invulnerable, except in the armpit. In respect of being open to a wound in only one small spot Ajax resembles Achilles, with whom in the usual genealogy he claims to be related as cousin. But of this relationship there is no evidence in the Iliad, where Ajax appears of colossal frame (TTcAwpios), in himself a tower of strength (?n;pyos A^aiwv), and, as the simile implies, prepared for defence, not to lead assaults, unmoved by the shafts of enemies as is an ass in a corn-field by the pelting of boys (Iliad, xi. 556-566), while Achilles is no less clearly drawn as sensitive to finer passions and tastes, if equally bold in war. Unwarranted as it was by the Iliad, the identification of Ajax with the family of ^Eacus was chiefly a matter which concerned the Athenians, and that not until Salamis had come into their possession, on which occasion Solon inserted a line in the Iliad (ii. 557) for the purpose of supporting the Athenian claim to the island. Ajax then became an Attic hero, his name being given to one of the tribes. In this way his deeds came to be a favourite subject of the Attic drama, though they are not always represented in a creditable manner as, for example, when, contrary to his steady character in the Iliad of being respectful to the gods, he is charged with insult to Athena, to account for her having influenced the decision against him in his competition with Ulysses for the armour of Achilles. It was Athena, also, who made him insane then, and led him to take his own life. From his blood