Aix (āks), a town of Southern France, department Bouches-du-Rhône, on the River Arc, the seat of an archbishop. It is well built, has an old cathedral and other interesting buildings, including a university, a library (over 100,000 vols.), museum, &c.; manufactures cotton and woollen goods, oil, soap, hats, flour, &c.; warm springs, now less visited than formerly. Aix was founded in 123 B.C. by the Roman consul Gaius Sextius Calvinus, and from its mineral springs was called Aquæ Sextiæ (Sextian Waters). Between this town and Arles, Marius gained his great victory over the Teutons, 102 B.C. In the Middle Ages the counts of Provence held their court here, to which the troubadours used to resort. Pop. 29,836.
Aix, or Aix-les-Bains (āks-lā-ban˙), a finely-situated village of France, department of Savoie, 8 miles north of Chambéry, on the side of a fertile valley, with much-frequented hot springs known to the Romans by the name of Aquæ Gratianæ, and with ruins of a Roman triumphal arch, and of a temple of Diana. Pop. 8900.
Aix-la-Chapelle (āks-la˙-sha˙-pel; Ger. Aachen), a city of Rhenish Prussia, 38 miles west by south of Cologne, pleasantly situated in a fine vale watered by the Wurm, formerly surrounded by ramparts, now converted into pleasant promenades. It is well built, and though an ancient town has now quite a modern appearance. The most important building is the cathedral, the oldest portion of which, often called the nave, was erected in the time of Charles the Great (Charlemagne) as the palace chapel about 796. It is in the Byzantine style, and consists of an octagon, surrounded by a sixteen-sided gallery and surmounted by a cupola, in the middle being the tomb of Charlemagne. The adjoining Gothic choir, begun in 1353 and finished in 1413, forms the other chief division of the cathedral; it is lofty and of great elegance, and has fine painted windows. Another noteworthy building is the Rathaus (town hall), erected in the fourteenth century. Aix-la-Chapelle, with the adjoining Burtscheid, which may be considered a suburb, is a place of great commerce and manufacturing industry, the chief productions being woollen yarns and cloths, needles, machinery, cards (for the woollen manufacture), railway and other carriages, cigars, chemicals, silk goods, hosiery, glass, soap, &c. A considerable portion of its importance and prosperity arises from the influx of visitors to its sulphur and chalybeate springs and baths.—Aix-la-Chapelle was known to the Romans as Aquisgranum. It was the favourite residence of Charles the Great, who made it the capital of all his dominions north of the Alps, and who died here in 814. During the Middle Ages it was a free imperial city and very flourishing. Thirty-seven German emperors and eleven empresses have been crowned in it, and the imperial insignia were preserved here till 1795, when they were carried to Vienna. The town was in possession of France from 1794 to 1814. Pop. 156,143.—Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle, a congress held in 1818, by which the army of the allies in France was withdrawn after France had paid the contribution imposed at the peace of 1815, and by which independence was restored to France.—A treaty of peace concluded at this city, 2nd May, 1668, as a result of the Triple Alliance, put an end to the war carried on against Spain by Louis XIV in 1667, after the death of his father-in-law, Philip IV, in support of his claims to a great part of the Spanish Netherlands, which he urged in the name of his queen, the infanta Maria Theresa. By this France obtained Lille, Charleroi, Douai, Tournai, Oudenarde, &c. The second peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, 18th Oct., 1748, terminated the Austrian war of succession.
Ajaccio (a˙-ya˙ch′ō), the capital of Corsica, on the south-west coast of the island, on a tongue of land projecting into the Gulf of Ajaccio, the birthplace of Napoleon and the seat of a bishop, with coral and sardine fisheries, and a considerable trade. There are here a cathedral, a college with library and museum, marble statue of Napoleon, monument of the Bonaparte family, &c. Ajaccio is connected by railway with Bastia and other places, and is becoming a winter resort for people with weak lungs. Pop. 20,946.
Ajan′ta, a village and ravine of India, in the north-west of the Nizam's dominions, about 50 miles north-north-east of Aurangabad. The ravine, 4 miles N.W. of the village, is celebrated for its cave temples and monasteries, twenty-nine in number, excavated out of a wall of almost perpendicular rock about 250 feet high. They are all richly ornamented with sculpture, and covered with highly-finished paintings, representing subjects of almost all kinds. The oldest are assigned to about 200 B.C., the most modern to about A.D. 600, and they may be said to furnish a continuous record of Buddhist art during 800 years, the faith at the latter date being practically expelled from India.
A′jax (Gr. Aias), the name of two Grecian chiefs who fought against Troy, the one being son of Oĭleus, King of Locris, surnamed the Little, the other son of Telamon, the Great or Telamonian Ajax. The latter was from Salamis, and sailed with twelve ships to Troy, where he is represented by Homer as the boldest and handsomest of the Greeks, after Achilles. He had more than one combat with Hector, against whom he was well matched. On the death of Achilles, when his arms, which Ajax claimed, were awarded to Ulysses, he became insane and killed himself. This is the subject of Sophocles' tragedy Ajax. The other Ajax was hardly of less importance as a champion on the Greek side in the Trojan war. At the fall of Troy he entered the temple of Pallas Athena and seized Cassandra. He lost his life during his homeward voyage, either by shipwreck or by a flash of lightning sent by Athena, who was offended at the violation of her temple.
Ajmere, Ajmir, or Ajmer, a British commissionership or province in India, Rajputána, divided into the two districts of Ajmere and Mairwara (or Merwara); area, 2711 sq. miles. The surface of the province, which is entirely surrounded by native States, is hilly in the north and west, where there is a branch of the Aravali range, but level in the south and east. The soil is partly fertile, but there are large barren sandy plains, and there are no rivers of any importance. There are a large number of tanks which collect the water of small streams, and are useful for irrigation. The province suffered severely from famine in 1899-1900, the population being reduced by 12 or 13 per cent. Pop. 501,395.—Ajmere, the capital, an ancient city, a favourite residence of the Mogul emperors, is 279 miles S.W. of Delhi, at the foot of Taragarh Hill (2853 feet), on which is a fort. It is surrounded by a wall, has well-built streets, and possesses a Government college, as also Mayo College for Rajput nobles, a Scottish mission, a mosque that forms one of the finest specimens of early Mahommedan architecture extant, and an old palace of Akbar, now the treasury. There is a trade in cotton, sugar, salt, &c., and the town is an important station on the Rajputána railway. Pop. 86,200.
Ajowan′ (Ptychōtis Ajowan), an umbelliferous plant cultivated in India, Persia, and Egypt, the seeds of which are used in cookery and in medicine, having carminative properties. The seeds much resemble caraway seeds, have a strong smell of thyme, and are exported in some quantity to Europe as a source of thymol, now so well known.
Aju′ga, a genus of plants belonging to the labiate family. See Bugle.