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AXOLOTL. and has since been confirmed. Perpetual submergence or a permanently dry saline shore prevents the transformation in nature, while it is favored by an alternation of wet and dry conditions, such as are found on a wave-washed shore or in slowly drying lakes or ponds. The Colorado form (Axolotl tigrinum) delays its metamorphosis for a long time, but it always occurs eventually in nature, while the black Mexican (Axolotl maculatum), which is much prized as food by the natives, has never been known to make the change.

AX'STONE. A variety of nephrite of greenish color, which is hard, tough, and more or less translucent. It is found in primitive rocks in Saxony, Greenland, New Zealand, and other South Pacific islands, and is used by the natives for making hatchets, whence its name. The variety found on the banks of the Amazon River, in South America, has been called Amazonian stone.

AXUM, ak-soom' (Gk. 'Afou/iis, 'Aufwitus, axoumis auxōmis, Lat. auxumis). Once the capital of the Ethiopian kingdom of the same name, now capital of the modern Abyssinian Province of Tigré, situated in latitude 14° 7' N., and in longitude 38° 43' E. Even before the Christian Era, Axum seems to have become the capital of an Ethiopian kingdom, whose chief port was Adule (q.v.), about 100 miles distant, through which it carried on an extensive trade with Egypt and the Roman world. The kingdom of the Axumites seems to have been gradually extended from the borders of Roman Egypt to the south, as far as the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, or even Cape Gardafui, and its kings claimed also dominion over the Homerites (or Himyarites) on the Arabian coast of the Red Sea. These kings were acquainted with Greek culture, as is shown by the inscriptions at Adule and Axum. One of those in the latter place was also written in the Geez language, sometimes called Ethiopic, but in the Sabæan characters used in southern Arabia. Christianity was introduced by Ædesius and Frumentius early in the Fourth Century, and in A.D. 356 the Emperor Constantius wrote to King Aizanes, asking his assistance against the teachings of Athanasius. The kingdom later lost its power and wealth with the advance of Mohammedanism, which gradually hemmed it in, though the country has always kept its Christian faith. Axum is regarded now as a sacred city by the Abyssinians, and still contains memorials of its greatness in a large number of curious obelisks and the remains of an imposing Christian church. The population of the town at present is only about 5000. Consult: Dillmann, Abhandlungen der Berliner Akademie for 1879 and 1880; Mommsen, Provinces of the Roman Empire, Vol. II. (Eng. trans., New York, 1886); Bent, The Sacred City of the Ethiopians (London. 1893); Glaser, Geschichte Arabiens (Berlin. 1885-90); id. Die Abessinier in Arabien und Afrika (Munich, 1895).

AYACUCHO, a'ya-koo'cho. A department of Peru, bounded by the Department of Junin on the north, Cuzco and Apurimac on the east, Arequipa on the south, and Ica and Huancavelica on the west (Map: Peru, C 6). Area, 18,185 square miles. The surface is mountainous, well watered; the soil well adapted for agricultural purposes. The agricultural products are very extensive, and form the chief exports of the province. Population, in 1896, 302,469. Capital, Ayacucho (q.v.).

AYACUCHO (Indian, 'corner of death,' referring to a bloody battle once fought on this spot). An episcopal city, capital of the Department of Ayacucho, Peru, situated 240 miles southeast of Lima, on a small tributary of the Mantaro River, 7900 feet above sea-level. The town is the seat of a university, established in 1677. The surrounding district is chiefly devoted to cattle-breeding and agriculture, an active trade in their products being carried on with Lima. Pizarro founded the town in 1539, calling it San Juan de la Victoria de Guamanga. But the city has been called by its present name since 1825, to commemorate a great victory achieved by General Sucre over the Spaniards on December 9, 1824, on the plateau of Ayacucho. This battle assured the independence of Peru. Population, 22,000.

AYALA, a-yii'la, See.

AYAMONTE, U'ya-mon'ta. A town of Andalusia, Spain, on the left bank of the Guadiana, near its mouth, where it forms the boundary between Spain and Portugal (Map: Spain, B 4). It is picturesquely situated on the slope and at the foot of a hill. The upper part of the town consists of narrow and irregular streets: those of the lower part are regular and wide. There are three public squares. The principal occupation of the inhabitants is fishing, ship-building, and coast-trading. Population, 1897, 7500.

AYAPANA, a'ya-pa'na. See.

AYE-AYE, ai'ai' (native Malagasy name; from its cry). A small, brownish, squirrel-like lemur (Daubentonia Madagascariensis), of Mada- gascar, remarkable for its rodent-like dentition. It is arboreal and nocturnal in habits, living alone or in pairs in the bamboo jungle, construct- ing ball-like nests of dried leaves, and feeding on juicy vegetables, such as sugar-cane, and upon the grubs of wood-borers, to which its slender and curiously distorted fingers (see plate of and ) seem especially adapted. Consult Knowledge (London, December, 1901) for an illustrated account of its characteristics.

AYESHAH, a-ye'sha, also AYSHA, ji'sha, or i'sha, or AISHA. The favorite wife of Mohammed, and the daughter of Abu-Bekr, who afterwards became the first Caliph. She married Mohammed at the age of nine. She accompanied him in his campaigns, and upon his death successfully opposed the claims of Ali, and secured the succession for her father. After the death of Othman she was defeated in battle by Ali, and although taken prisoner was treated with great clemency by the victor. She was often called the Prophetess, and was generally denominated the Mother of the Faithful, although she had never borne any issue to Mohammed. Her chastity, which had been impugned, was vindicated by the Prophet in the twenty-ninth sura, or chapter, of the Koran.

AYLESBURY, alz'ber-I. A market-town and the county-seat of Buckinghamshire, England, about 38 miles northeast of London. (Map: England, F 5). Aylesbury contains the only convict prison for women in England. It is