Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 7.djvu/120

 S^dd-Eskender, or Alexander s wall, which, while still entire, had a height of 29 feet and a thickness of about 10, and with its iron gates and numerous watch-towers formed a valuable defence of the Persian frontier. Derbend is a place of great antiquity, and is usually identified with Albana, the capital of the ancient Albania. The modern name, which is the Persian word for a gateway, probably came into use about the end of the 5th or the beginning of the 6th century, when the city was re-founded by Kobod of the Sassanid dynasty. The walls and the citadel are believed to belong to the time of Kobod s son, Nushirvan Chosroes. In 728 the Arabs entered into possession, and established a khanate in the city, which they called either Bab-el-abwab, &quot; the principal gate,&quot; Bab-el-Khadid, &quot; the iron gate,&quot; or Seril-el-Dagab, &quot;the golden throne.&quot; The celebrated caliph, Haroun-al-Rashid, lived in Derbend at different times, and brought it into great repute as a seat of arts and commerce. In 1220 it was captured by the Mongolians, and in the course of the succeeding centuries it frequently changed masters. In the reign of Feodor Ivanovitch, the Persian Government promised to make it over to Kussia in reward for assistance against the Turks, but the surrender was never completed. In 1722 Peter the Great took advantage of the disturbances in Persia, seized the town, established a garrison, and intrusted the govern ment to Imam Kuli-Beg; but in 1733 the supremacy of the Persian Nadir Shah was again recognized. Captured in 1760 by Fut AH Khan, and governed after his death by his brother Sheikh Ali, the town was in 1796 besieged by the Russians both by land and sea, and in 1813 formally incorporated by the treaty of Gulistan with the Russian empire. In 1831 it was vainly attacked by Kazi-mulL Population in 1873, 15,739.

 DERBY,, lies as nearly as possible in the centre of England, being about equally distant from the eastern and western seas. In the time of the Britons it was part of the district which constituted the kingdom of the Coritani. While under the Roman sway it formed a part of Britannia Prima ; and under the Heptarchy it belonged to the kingdom of Mercia. It is bounded on the E. by Nottinghamshire and a part of Leicestershire, on the W. by Staffordshire and Cheshire (from which it is separ ated by the rivers Trent, Dove, Etherow, and Goyt), on the N. by Yorkshire and a part of Cheshire, and on the S. by Leicestershire. Its greatest length from S.E. to N.W. is 56 miles, its greatest width from N.E. toS.W. is 33 miles. It contains an area of 656,243 statute acres, equal to about 1025f square miles. Its population in 1851 amounted to 296,084 persons, in 1861 to 339,327, and in 1871 to 379,394, of whom 190,657 were males, and 188,737 females. From the beginning of the century down to 1871, 13 per cent, was the mean rate of increase in each intermediate period of ten years; while from 1861 to 1871 the total increase was 40,067, or at the rate of nearly 12 per cent. For practical purposes the population may be taken at 400,000, giving an average of 0*60 persons per acre, or 1*64 acres per person. The rental of the county, as given in the Owners of Land Return, 1873, was 1,658,995. Derbyshire is divided into the hundreds of High Peak, Scarsdale, Appletree, Repton and Gresley, Morleston and Litchurch, and the wapentake of Wirksworth. It consists of 331 parishes, townships, -and parts of parishes. It has a court of quarter sessions, and is included as an archdeaconry in the diocese of Lichfield. For electoral purposes the county has been formed into the 3 divisions of east, north, and south, each returning 2 members to Parliament, and thus, with the 2 members from the borough of Derby, is represented by a total of 8 members.

 The geographical or physical aspect of Derbyshire is very diversified. The southern part presents little that is picturesque, or in any way striking, being for the most part a level surface, with occasional slight undulations. In its northern portions, however, particularly in the bold and mountainous regions of the High Peak, there are im posing combinations of those features which go to consti tute impressive and romantic scenery. In the more hilly districts, some of the valleys and dales are very beautiful, notably the valleys of Castleton and Glossop, Dovedale, Millersdale, and the dale of Matlock. Derbyshire is on the whole a well-wooded county, and in the spacious parks surrounding the numerous mansions of noblemen and others which it contains, may be seen many fine oaks of noble appearance, those at Kedleston, the seat of Lord Scars- dale, three miles from Derby, being considered among the largest and oldest in the kingdom.

The climate, as might be expected from the diversified configuration of the land, varies very considerably in different parts. From the elevation which it attains in its northern division the county is colder and is more frequently visited with rain than other midland counties. In summer cold and thick fogs are often seen hanging over the rivers, and clinging to the lower parts of the hills, and hoar-frosts are by no means unknown even in June and July. Owing to the great elevation some kinds of grain will not grow at all in many of the northern parts, while that which is sown in the more sheltered spots is exceptionally late in coming to maturity. The winters there are generally severe, and the rainfall heavy. At Belper, in 1876, there were 3 6 01 inches of rain during the year, while the average for the five years was 32 - 09 inches per annum. The elevation of the land proceeds gradually from south to north, the greatest altitudes being attained in the north division of the county, which is of a distinctly mountainous character. The mountains (or the plateau) of North Derbyshire may be said to form the central watershed of England, containing the source of many large rivers as the Don, the Trent, and the Mersey. The highest altitudes are Kinder Scout (1981 feet), the Peak (1880), and, on the borders of Cheshire and Staffordshire, Axe Edge (1751). From Axe Edge the streams of the county radiate. Those of the north-west belong to the Mersey, and those of the north-east to the Don, but all the others to the Trent, which, like the Don, falls into the Humber. The principal river is the Trent, which, rising in the Staffordshire moor lands, does not intersect this county, but forms its south west boundary for some distance, separating Derbyshire from Staffordshire on the south. After the Trent the most important river is the Derwent, one of its tributaries, which, taking its rise in the lofty ridges of High Peak, flows southward through a succession of striking and beautiful scenery, receiving a number of minor streams in its course. The other principal rivers are the following. The Dane rises at the junction of the three counties, Yorkshire, Cheshire, and Derbyshire. The Goyt has its source a very little further north, at the base of the same hill, and, taking a N.N.E. direction, divides Derbyshire and Cheshire, and falls into the Mersey. The Dove rises on the southern slope, and flows on as the boundary stream between Derbyshire and Staffordshire for about 45 miles. It receives several feeders, and falls into the Trent at Repton. The Erewash is the boundary between Notts and Derbyshire. The Rother rises about Baslow, and flows north-east into Yorkshire. A little more to the west are the Sheaf, Wallin, Poulter, and Ryton, which flow into the Don at Sheffield.

Canals.—There are numerous canals intersecting this county in various directions. The Trent and Mersey or Grand Trunk canal, communicating between Liverpool and 