Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/302

AIZANI. of five semi-circular arches. Tombs, Roman coins, and inscriptions have been found. It is mentioned by Strabo.

AIZELIN, a'z'-laif', (1821— ?). A French sculptor. He was born at Paris, and studied with Ramey and Dumont at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Among his numerous works may be mentioned: "Nyssia au Bain" (1859, now in the Palais Pompéian on the Avenue Montaigne, Paris); "Psyché" (1863, Musée du Luxembourg); "L'Adolescence" (1868); "L'Idylle" (1872, for the court of the Louvre); "Amazone Vaincue" (1876); "Mignon" (1880); "Agar et Ismaël" (1888). He also executed the group entitled "La Danse" for the façades of Le Cirque, and a number of statues for the Théâtre du Châtelet, the Église de la Trinité, and other public buildings.

AJACCIO, a-ya'cho. The capital of the French department of Corsica, comprising the whole of the island (Map: France, Corsica, P 9). It is a seaport with a well-sheltered harbor, and stands on the west coast, in a fertile belt of land known as Campo d'Oro. Its cathedral dates from 1585, and the house of Napoleon, who was born in Ajaccio, August 15, 1769, is still standing. A marble statue of the First Consul is seen in the main square. The chief employments are the anchovy and pearl fisheries, and the trade in wine and olive-oil, which the neighborhood produces in abundance, and of good quality. The harbor is protected by a strong fort. Pop., 20,197. Consult O. Joanne, Ajaccio et ses environs (Paris, 1899).

AJALON, aj'a-lon, or AIJALON, a'ja-lon (R. V.). A town in ancient Palestine, 14 miles northwest of Jerusalem, where Joshua command- ed the moon to stay its course till he had fin- ished his battle (Joshua x: 13). It was given to Dan (Joshua xix: 42), who, however, could not keep it from the Amorites, who had it in the pre-monarchial period (Judges i: 35). Reho- boam fortified it (II. Chronicles xi: 10), but in Asa's days it passed into the hands of the Philis- tines (II. Chronicles xxviii: 18). It is men- tioned in the Amarna letters (fourteenth century B.C.) under the form Aialuna. The modern vil- lage of Yalo represents the ancient site.

AJAWA, a-ja'wa. A Bantu tribe of Portuguese East Africa, described by Livingstone. They have acquired some culture from contact with the Arabs. Cannibalism still exists among them, and at the funeral of a chief women are sacrificed: though they are accounted intelligent, industrious, and enterprising, a manly and independent tribe of blacks superior to others in this region.

A'JAX (Lat. form of the Gk. Αἴας, Aias). The name of two of the Greek heroes of the Trojan War. One of them was called Ajax the Less, or the Locrian, being the son of Oïleus, King of the Locrians. At the head of forty Locrian ships he sailed against Troy, and was one of the bravest of the Greek heroes; in swiftness of foot he excelled all except Achilles. When Cassandra fled to the temple of Athena, after the taking of Troy, it is said that Ajax tore her from it by force and dragged her away captive. Others make him even violate the prophetess in the temple. Though he exculpated himself by an oath when accused of this crime by Ulysses, yet he did not escape the vengeance of the goddess, who caused him to be engulfed in the waves on his voyage toward Greece.

The other Ajax, called by the Greeks the Greater, was the son of Telamon, King of Salamis, and grandson of Æacus. He sailed against Troy with twelve ships, and is represented by Homer as, next to Achilles, the bravest and handsomest of the Greeks. After the death of Achilles, Ajax and Ulysses contended for the arms of the hero, and when the prize was adjudged to Ulysses, Ajax in a fit of insanity slew the Grecian flocks, fancying he was slaying his enemies. On recovering his reason he threw himself on his sword. Sophocles, in the tragedy of Ajax, attributes his madness to the wrath of Athena. See.

AJMERE, aj-mer'. An ancient city of Rajputana, India, the capital of the British province of Ajmere-Merwara, 228 miles west of Agra (Map: India, B 3.) It is situated in a picturesque and rocky valley at the foot of the mountain of Taragurh, which is crowned by a fort commanding the city. The city is surrounded by a stone wall, with five lofty and handsome gateways on the west and north. Most of the streets'are narrow and dirty, but some of them are spacious and contain fine residences, besides mosques and temples of massive architecture. The Daulat Bagh, or "Garden of Splendor," is now the residence of the British commissioner of the province. The tomb of the Mussulman saint, Kwajah, within the town, is held in great veneration, and pilgrimages are made to it even by Hindus. The Emperor Akbar journeyed to it from Agra on foot in 1570, in fulfillment of a vow after the visit of his son Jehanghir. In October, a great annual fair is held in honor of the saint, at which presumed miracles are wrought. Ajmere has manufactures of oil, cotton cloths, celebrated dyeing establishments, and a trade in opium and salt. It is the seat of Ajmere College and of Mayo College, a secondary institution opened in 1875. The Anasagar, a large artificial lake to the north of the city, supplies it with water. Ajmere dates from about 145 A.D.; it came under British rule by purchase in 1818. Pop.. 1891, 68,800; 1901, 75,800.

AJMERE-MERWABA, -mrir-wa'ra. A province of British India, belonging to the Presidency of Bengal, and situated between 25° 30' and 26° 45' N. lat. and between 73° 53' and 75° 22' E. long. (Map: India, B 3). It occupies an area of 2711 square miles. The climate is unhealthful and fevers are prevalent. The surface is mountainous in the west, and the soil is naturally unfertile and scantily watered. By irrigation it has been brought to some degree of productivity, and now yields some cotton, wheat, and other food grains and oil seeds. Iron and a few other metals are found. Pop., 1901, 476,330, as against 542,358 in 1891. The inhabitants are mostly Hindus, the number of Mohammedans being about 75,000. The capital is Ajmere (q.v.).

AK'ABAH. A village near the Gulf of Akabah, supposed to occupy the site of the Elath of Scripture (Map: Asia, C 6). Ruins in the Red Sea a short distance to the south still bear the name Ezion-geber, It lies on the route from Egypt to Syria.

AKABAH,. Ancient Sinus Ælanites. The eastern of the two inlets on the north end of the Red Sea, running into Arabia Petræa,