Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/480

Rh 442 A L A A L A contemporary writers show that the Alani were frequently in conflict with the Roman power. In March 276 A.D. they received a decisive check in an attempt to make their way eastward into Persia, being defeated by the emperor Tacitus, who forced them to recross the Phasis. The most com plete account of the Alani is to be found in the pages of Ammianus Marcellinus (lib. xxxi.), who describes their manners and customs at considerable length. From him, too, we learn of the advance of the Huns, who signally defeated the Alani in a battle fought on the banks of the Tanais in 375. The race thereupon divided, some retiring to the east, while the great majority joined their conquerors in an invasion of the kingdom of the Goths. Associated with the Vandals and Suevi, they left the settlements they had in Pannonia and entered Gaul in 406, whence three years later they crossed the Pyrenees into Spain, and founded a settlement in Lusitania and Baetica, where they remained in peace for some years. In 418, however, they were attacked and defeated by Wallia, king of the Visigoths, with whom they had quarrelled. Their king, Ataces, was slain in the battle, and they became subject to Gunderic, king of the Vandals, their national independence being lost. Those of the Alani who had remained in Gaul when the others invaded Spain, settled near Valence and Orleans. Though serving under Theodoric, they sympa thised with Attila and the Huns, and by deserting at Chalons (451), all but changed the victory of the Romans into a defeat. Soon afterwards their separate national existence in Gaul was merged in that of the Visigoths. The small portion of the Alani that had remained in their original seat in the Caucasus are frequently noticed in history down to the middle ages. In 572 they were allied with the Armenians under King Saroes. They seem to have afterwards regained their independence. In 1221 they were defeated by Gengis Khan, and in 1237 they were so completely subjugated by Batu-Khan that their very name disappears in subsequent history. ALARCON, HERXAXDO DE, a Spanish navigator of the 16th century, known only in connection with the expedi tion to the coast of California, of which he was leader. He set sail on the 9th May 1540, with orders from the Spanish court to await at a certain point on the coast the arrival of an expedition by land under the command of Vasquez de Coronado. The junction was not effected, though Alarcon reached the appointed place and left letters, which were afterwards found by Diaz, another explorer. Alarcon was the first to determine with certainty that Cali fornia was a peninsula and not an island, as had been sup posed. He made a careful and exact survey of the coast, sailed a considerable distance up the Rio del Tizon (Colo rado), and was thus able, on his return to New Spain in 15 41, to construct a map of California, which, according to M. Duflot de Mofras, scarcely differs from one of the present day. ALARCON Y MENDOZA, JUAN Ruiz DE, one of the most distinguished Spanish dramatists, born at Tasco in Mexico about the close of the 16th century, was descended from a noble family belonging to Alarcon in Cuenga. Nothing is known with certainty of his early life, but it is probable that he was educated at one of the Spanish univer sities. In 1 6 2 2 he had taken up his residence at Madrid, and in 1628 he was appointed to the office of relafor (reporter) of the royal council of the Indies, which afforded him a com petency. In the same year he published the first volume of his comedies, dedicating it to &quot; the rabble&quot; in a daringly contemptuous address. A second volume of comedies appeared at Barcelona in 1634, in which he brought charges against several poets of appropriating his productions. About the same time he was successful in an open com petition for a dramatic libretto to be played at the fetes in honour. of Philip IV. These two facts, combined with hi&amp;lt;s haughty disdain both of the public and of his literary brethren, made Alarcon very unpopular; and he Avas scur- rilously lampooned by most of the poets and. dramatists of the day, Calderon honourably distinguishing himself by his silence. A further injustice was done him in the piracy of his works by other and better known authors than himself. To such an extent was this carried that Alarcon s reputa-- tion as a dramatist was almost extinct even before the close of his life, and it is only quite recently that it has been revived. The date of his death is given, on doubtful authority, as 1639. Alarcon holds a foremost place among Spanish dramatists, being surpassed only, if at alJ, by Lope de Vega and Calderon. He is distinguished by the cor rectness of his language, the harmony of his verse, and the elevation of his sentiment. His La Verdad Sospechosa (Suspicious Truth) supplied Corneille with the materials for his Menteur, and called forth the highest praise from the great French dramatist. His Tcjedor de Segovia (Weaver of Segovia) and LasParedesOycn( Walls have Ears) are acted at the present day. A complete edition of his comedies was published by Hartzenbusch at Madrid (1848-52). ALARIC (Al-ric, i.e., All rich), a chief, and afterwards king of the Visigoths, was born of the noble family of Balti (baltka, bold). He first appears in history (394 A.D.) as a commander in the army of subjugated Goth? whom the Emperor Theodosius employed in his war with Eugenius. On the death of Theodosius in 395 the Goths asserted their independence, and under the leadership of Alaric made an incursion from Thrace, where they had been located,, into the Morea. Athens yielded to them without resistance, and Alaric enriched himself with the movable treasures of the city, though he did not, as some hate asserted, destroy buildings and works of art. Rufinus, the crafty minister of Arcadius, did nothing to check the advance of the barbarians, and it has even been said that he had a secret understanding with Alaric. Opposition came, however, from the Western Empire. Stilicho, the famous general, landed at Corinth, and drove the Goths to Mount Pholoe, on the frontiers of Elis, where he besieged their camp. With proper vigilance, the siege could not have been raised; but the Romans were careless, and Alaric with his army contrived to escape to Epirus. Stilicho was prevented from following him by an order from the Emperor Arcadius, who conferred upon Alaric the pre fecture of eastern Illyricum. About the same time the Gothic chief was chosen king by his people. It was natural that Alaric s desire of conquest should increase with the increase of his power, and accordingly about the year 400 A.D. he set out to invade the Empire of the West. His inarch was exceedingly slow, and it was not until the spring of 403 that he appeared before Milan, from which the Emperor Honorius instantly fled to the fortress of Asta in Liguria, Being besieged there, he was on the point of capitulating when he was relieved by Stilicho, who, in the battle of Pollentia, fought on Easter- day, gained a somewhat doubtful victory over Alaric. Some time after, the contest was renewed at Verona, and Alaric sustained a decisive defeat. He was obliged to accept terms of peace, and to retreat for the time ; but his attitude was always threatening, and Honorius found it expedient to buy him off by appointing him prefect of western Illyricum, with a large revenue. In this capacity Stilicho encouraged Alaric to lead his army against Con stantinople, probably more with the design of keeping him at a distance from Italy than with any hope of reuniting the divided empire. The final expedition to Constantinople was not undertaken ; but for his services during three years in Epirus, Alaric claimed an extravagant reward, and Honorius, on the advice of Stilicho, promised him 4000 pounds of gold. Shortly afterwards the weak-