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ALAND ISLANDS ernment of AI)u-Biiirncboi{;, Finland, at the en- trance of the Gulf of Bothnia ( Map: Paissia, B 2 ) . The narrow pass of sea separating them on the west from the Swedish coast at Grisslehanin is known as the Aland Bay (Aland Haf). About eighty of them are inhabited. The group has an area "of 550 square miles. Pop., 18,400. Al- though these rocUy isles are covered with but a thin stratum of soil, they bear Scotch hr. spruce, and birch trees, and with proper cultivation pro- duce barley and oats, besides affording subsist- ence to a hardy breed of cattle. The inhabitants, of Swedish origin, are skillful sailors, fishermen, and seal-hunters. The largest of the islands, which gives its name (signifying "land of streams") to the whole group, is about 18 miles long by 1-1 broad. It is tolerably wooded and fruitful. These islands belonged formerly to Sweden, but were seized by Russia in 1809. Pre- vious to this they had several times changed hands between tliesc two powers. In 1717 the Swedes were defeated by the Russians in a naval engagement near Aland, the first important ex- ploit of the Muscovite navy. The importance of these islands as a military position led to the construction, in the reign of the Emperor. Nicho- las I., of those strong fortifications at Bomar- sund, which, in August, 1854, were destroyed by the Anglo-French force, commanded bj' Sir Charles Napier and Baragua}' d'Hilliers.

ALA'NI (Gk. 'A?.avoi, Alanoi). Nomadic tribes of Eastern origin who spread over Europe during the decline of the Roman Empire. They probably were first encountered by the Romans , when Pompey, in the Mithridatic War, led an I expedition into the Caucasus. In 276 a.d. they 1 were checked by the Emperor Tacitus in their at- tempt to go eastward into Persia. The Iluns gave them a severe defeat on the Tanai's (now Bon) in 375, and tlien the Alani divided, some going east, but the larger portion joining their conquerors in an onslaught upon the Goths. With the Vandals and Suevi they entered Gaul in 40(>, and later crossed the Pyrenees and founded set- tlements in Lusitania, where they lived for some time in peace. In 418 they were attacked by the Visigoths, their king was slain, and they became subject to Gunderic, king of the Vandals, losing completely their national independence. Later they served under the ^'isigothic king, Theodoric, but they .sympathized with the Huns, and their desertion at Chalons (451) came near bringing defeat upon the Roman army. They were mentioned occasionally in later times, and seem to h.ave kept their independence in the East a.fter the si.xth century. In 1221 Genghis Khan defeated them, and they were so completely sub- jugated in 1237 by Batu Khan that their name disappeared from history.

ALA'NUS AB IN'SULIS. See. AL-ARAF, al-a'raf. See Araf.

ALARCON, ii'lilr-krm', Hernando de. A Spanish-.-imerican navigator, and the first European to ascend the Colorado River. On Jlay 9, 1540, he sailed, with two vessels, from Aeapulco, with instructions from the ^'■ieeroy Mendoza to coilperate with the expedition under Vasquez Coronado. which had gone in search of the Seven Cities of Cibola, in what is now New Mexico. Alareon sailed to the head of the Gulf of California, and completed the explorations begun by Ulloa in the preceding year, by satis- fying himself that there was no ojien water pas- sage between the Gulf and the South Sea or Pa- cific Ocean. Subsequently he entered the Colorado River, which he named the Buena Guia. With two small boats he ascended the river for a considerable distance, making important obser- vations of the natives. On the .second voyage he probably proceeded past the present site of Fort Yuma. He learned that Coronado had reached Cibola, but was unable to communicate with him. A map drawn l)y Domingo del Cas- tillo, one of Alarcon's pilots, in 1541, is the ear- liest detailed representation of the Gulf and the lower course of the river, of which it gives a very accurate idea. It was first engraved for the Archbishop Lorenzana in 1770, and is given in facsimile by Winsor, Xurrulive and Critical History of America (Boston, 1886). Consult Winship, "Coronado," in Reports of Bureau of FAhnology (Washington, 1895).

ALARCON, Pedro Antonio de (1833-91). A modern Spanish novelist and statesman, born at Guadix, in Granada. He began his professional career as a journalist, and wrote for the Eco del Occidcnte of Cadiz, and after the outbreak of the revolution in 1854 edited for a time a radical satirical paper. El Latigo. But he soon with- drew from participation in politics and began the series of short stories and essays which after- ward were collected into numerous volumes, such as Cosas que fucron (1871); Amores y amorios (1875): Juicios literarios y artisticos (1883). His share in the Morocco campaign of 1859 bore fruit in his Diario de uii tesiiyo de la guerra de Africa (1860), a chronicle noteworthy for its vivid picturesqiieness and stirring patriotism. For many years after this he took an active part in national affairs, and served successively as deputy, member of the Council of State, and am- bassador to the Porte. Of his many later novels. El escdndalo (1875), written in defense of the .Jesuits, made the greatest sensation at the time, and led him to write other novels with religious themes: El niiio de la hola (1880), and La pro- diga (1881). But their fame was transitory, and he will be much longer remembered for his less ])retentious stories and sketches, his His- torietas nacionnles. and his El sombrero de tres picos (1874), a study of rustic manners, trulj' Spanish in its atmosphere, which shows lilareOn at his best. His last volume was a brief account of his works, Historia de mis libros (1884), a sort of literary testament.

ALARCON Y MENDOZA, a'liir-kon' e men-d.rtha. Don .Iian Ruiz de (?-1639). A Spanish dramatist of importance, born in the province of Tosco, Jle.vico. At least as early as l(i22 he was in Spain, where he was appointed prolocutor to the royal council for the Indies, and where he published, in 1628, a volume of eight dramas. He added, in 1635, a second volume, containing twelve others. His haughty remonstrance against the inadequate appreciation of his merit made him the object of the often boorish ridicule of Lope de Vega, Gilngora, and other contemporary poets. Moreover, many of his works passed current under the names of others, by whom they were appropriated, or to whom they were attributed. Thus, his Verdad sospechosa ("Truth Suspected"), which served as prototype for the Mentcur of Corneille, was by the latter originally referred to Lope de Vega. In the opinion of Ticknor: "He is to be ranked with