Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/734

 applied to its main body the name of Indian ocean, and to its great gulfs the names of Persian and Arabian, while the term Erythraean sea (Lat. Mare Rubrum) was variously used by different writers nntil it became confined to the Arabian gulf. The sea is supposed by some to have derived its name from the Phoenicians (Gr. φοίνιξ, red), who according to Herodotus originally dwelt on its shores; and by others from the red or purple hues imparted by coral reefs to the waters of the strait which connects the Red sea proper with the Indian ocean.

ERYX, an ancient town of Sicily, occupying the side of a mountain of the same name (now Monte San Giuliano), on the N. W, coast of the island, near the promontory of Drepanum. Above it was a temple of Venus, on the summit of the mountain. It early became a dependency of Carthage, was for a short time under the sway of Syracuse, was captured by Pyrrhus in 278 B. 0., reverted to the Carthaginians, and in the first Punic war was partially destroyed by Hamilcar, who converted it into a fortified camp, removing the inhabitants to Drepanum. A few years later it was taken by the Romans, but the city was surprised by Hamilcar Barca, and made his headquarters till the conclusion of the war, while the Romans continued to hold the temple as an impregnable fortress. The site of the ancient city is now occupied only by a convent, and that of the temple by a Saracenic castle, now a prison, surrounded by the town of San Giuliano.

'''ERZERUM. I.''' A province or vilayet of Asiatic Turkey, comprising the greater part of Turkish Armenia, and bounded N, by Trebizond. E, by the Russian dominions and Persia. S, by Kurdistan, and W, by Sivas; pop, estimated at from 400,000 to 600,000. It consists mainly of lofty table land, the elevation of which is estimated at 6,000 ft., traversed E, and W, by several ranges of mountains, between which lie rich and extensive valleys. Cultivation is here well attended to, and the soil produces a profusion of excellent fruits, rye, barley, and flax, and furnishes pasturage for large herds. The climate in winter and spring is severe, and in summer the heat is excessive. The rivers Euphrates. Aras. Kur, and Tchoruk have their sources here. The mountains are inhabited mainly by Kurds, who acknowledge but a nominal allegiance to the sultan. II. The capital of the province, and the principal city of Turkish Armenia, situated on the Kara-su or W, branch of the Euphrates, in a beautiful plain about 6,000 ft, above the level of the sea, 30 m, long and 20 m, broad, 110 m. S. E, of Trebizond, its nearest seaport. The population in 1829 was estimated at 130,000; but the large emigration of Armenians that year reduced it to about 45,000. A triple wall of stone which nearly surrounds the old part of the town, and a large massive citadel, encompassed by a double wall, and having four stout gates covered with plates of iron, are its principal defences. The citadel, however, is commanded by a hill in the neighborhood. The streets are narrow and filthy; the houses are mostly of wood, mud, or bricks dried in the sun; and the whole city is infested with savagelooking dogs. The principal buildings are the Greek and Armenian churches, and the custom Erzerum, house, besides which there are about 40 mosques and numerous caravansaries. Outside of the city are four suburbs. The caravans travelling from Teheran to Mecca usually halt here, and an active trade is carried on with all the adjacent countries. Shawls, silk, cotton, rice, indigo, tobacco, and madder are imported from the east, and broadcloth, chintz, cutlery, &c., from the west by the Black sea. The exports are furs, gall, and live stock. Erzerum was built by a general of the emperor Theodosius II, about A. D. 415, and named Theodosiopolis. A little E, of it was the Armenian town of Arzen or Ardzen, the inhabitants of which, on the destruction of their place by the Seljuks in 1049, removed to Theodosiopolis. The name Erzerum is therefore supposed to be a corruption of Ardzen Rum, the Turks frequently applying the word Rum (or Rome) to any territory anciently recognized as a part of the Roman or Byzantine empire. Erzerum was twice destroyed by fire and pillage, and in