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leagues, and the population, in 1800, was 380,480.
Evora is the capital.
Alencon, a city of France, capital of the de-
partment of Orne. Its manufacture of lace is
considerable. Near it are stone quarries in which
are found a sort of crystal like Bristol stones.
It is seated on the Sarte, which divides the de-
partments of L’Orne and La Sarte, 30 m. N. by W.
of Lemans, and 87 W. S. W. of Paris.
Aleppo, the capital of Syria, and next to Con-
stantinople and Cairo, the most considerable city
in the Turkish empire. It stands on 8 hills, in
the middle of a fruitful plain, and is of an oval
figure. The castle is on the highest hill, in the
centre of the city ; and the houses are better than
in other places in Turkey. As usual in the East,
they consist of a large court, with a dead wall to
the street, an arcade running round it, paved
with marble, and a marble fountain in the middle.
The streets are narrow, but well paved with large
square stones, and kept very clean. Here are
many stately mosques and caravanseras, fountains
and reservoirs of water, and vineyards and gar-
dens. The water in the wells is brackish, hut
food water is brought from some springs about
ve miles off, by an aqueduct, said to have been
built'by the empress Helena. The Christians
have their houses and churches in the suburbs
and carrv on a considerable trade in silks, camlets,
and leather. Large caravans frequently arrive
from Bagdad and Bassorah, charged with the pro-
ducts of Persia and India.
Several European nations have factories here,
and the merchants live in greater splendour and
safety than in any other city in the Turkish empire.
Coaches are not used here, but persons of quality
ride on horseback, with a number of servants be-
fore them, according to their rank. Aleppo and its
suburbs are 7 m. in compass. An old wall, and a
broad ditch, now in many places turned into gar-
dens, surround the city, which was estimated bv
Dr. Russel to contain 230,000 inhab., of whom 3' .
000 were Christians, and 5,000 Jews; but at present
according to Mr. Eton, it does not contain more
than 50,000, which depopulation, occasioned chief-
ly by the plague, has taken place since 1770;
whole streets being uninhabited and bazars aban-
doned. All the inhabitants of both sexes smoke
tobacco to great excess; even the very servants
have almost constantly a pipe in their mouths.
(Eighteen miles S. E. of Aleppo is a large plain,
bounded by low rocky hills, called the Valley
of Salt: this is overflowed in winter, and in April,
the water being soon evaporated by the sun,
leaves a cake of salt, in some places half an inch
thick, which is sufficient to supply all this part
of the country. Aleppo is seated on a rivulet, 70
miles S. E. of Alexandretta, or Scanderoon, and
150 N. of Damascus. Long. 37. 16. E. lat. 35.
40. N. It suffered greatly by a succession of
earthquakes in 1822.
Aleupo. t. Green Co. Pa.
A!den. u.t. Erie Co. N. Y. 287 m. AV. Albany.
Pop. 1,257.
Alessano. a town of Naples, near the extremity
of the promontory of the Terra d’ Otranto, 15
m. S. AA’. of Otranto.
Alessio, a town of European Turkey, in Dal-
matia, and a bishop’s see, seated on the Drino,
near its entrance into the Adriatic Sea. 20 m. S.
of Scutari. Long. 19. 30. E. lat. 41.53. N.
Aleutian Islands. See Archipelago, Northern.
Met, a town of France, in the department of
Aude, lately an episcopal see. It is noted for its
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baths, and stands near the Pyrenees, on the river
Auda, 15 m. S. by W. of Carcassone.
Alexander, p.t. Athens Co. Ohio, 75 m. S. E.
Columbus. This township and Athens belong to
the Ohio University.
Alexandersvitie, p.t. in Miami township, Mont-
gomery Co. Ohio, on the Great Miami, 75 m. S.
W. Columbus. The Miami canal runs through
this town.
Alexander, a Co. of the state of Illinois, at its
southern extremity, bounded ou the east by the
Ohio river to the point where it unites with the
Mississippi, which bounds on the county on the
west. Pop. 1,390. America is the chief town.
Alexander, t. Washington Co. Me. Pop. 334.
Alexander, a County of Illinois. Pop. 1,390.
Alexander, ph. Genessee Co. N. Y. 18 m. S. i
Batavia. Pop. 2,331.
Alexanders, p'.v. York Dis. S. C. 441 m. Wash.
Alexandretta, or Scanderoon, a town of Syria, on
the Mediterranean sea, and the port of Aleppo. xe2x80xa2
It is now a poor place, the tombs being more nu-
merous than the houses. It is 60 m. N. AV. of
Aleppo. Long. 36. 15. E. lat. 36. 35. N.
Alexandria, or Alessandria, a considerable and
strong city of Italy, in the Milanese, with a good
castle, built in 1178, in honour of Pope Alexan-
der III. It was taken in 1706, by prince Eugene ;
in 1746, by the French, but retaken in 1749, by
the king of Sardinia. The French again took it
in 1798, but were driven out by the Austro-Rus-
sian army in 1799 ; it was delivered up to the
French after the celebrated battle of Marengo, in
1800. but reverted to the dominion of Austria,
after the peace of Paris in 1815. It is 15 m. S.
E. of Casal, 35. N. AV. of Genoa, and 40. S. by
WT. of Milan.
Alexandria, a celebrated city of Egypt, now
much decayed, though there are still some re-
mains of its ancient splendor, particularly an obe-
lisk full of hieroglyphics, called Cleopatra’s Nee-
dle ; and Pompey’s Pillar, which is one entire
piece of granitev70 ft. high, and 25 in circumfer-
ence. The ancient Pharos, so famous in antiqui-
ty, that it was numbered among the seven won-
ders of the world, is now a castle called Pharil-
lon, and still used to direct vessels into the har-
bour. From the harbour is a canal to the west
branch of the Nile, at Rhamanie. This city was
built by Alexander the Great, and now consists
chiefly of one long street, facing the harbour, the
rest being a heap of ruins: part of the walls are
standing, with great square towers, 200 paces dis-
tant; and the gates are of Thebaic and granite
marble. It was formerly a place of great trade,
all the treasures of the East Indies being deposi-
ted there, before the discover}'of the route by the
Cape of Good Hope. It is subject to the grand
seignior who, however, has but a limited authority.
Alexandria was taken by the French, under Bona-
parte, in 1798; and taken from them by the Eng-
lish in 1801. It surrendered to the English in
1807, but was soon after evacuated. It is seated
on the Mediterranean, 125 m. N. W. of Cairo.
Long. 30. 16. E. 31. 11. N.
Alexandria, t. Grafton Co. N. Hampshire, 70
m. from Portsmouth. Pop. 1,083.
Alexandria, ph. Jefferson Co. N. Y. 172. m. N
W. Albany. Pop. 1,523.
Alexandria, t. Hunterdon Co. N. J. on the Dela-
ware, 15 m. S. E. Easton.
Alexandria, ph. Huntington Co. Pa. 192 m. N.
W. Philad.
Alexandria, a city and port of entry in the | |
