Agadez, the capital of the sultanate of Air or Asben, Africa, in lat. 16° 40' N., lon. 7° 30' E., about 400 m. N. W. of Lake Tchad; pop. about 8,000. It is believed to have been founded at the end of the loth century by Berbers, as an entrepot for their commercial intercourse with the capital of the Songhay empire. The principal article of trade was gold, the town having its own standard weight, which still regulates the circulating medium. But the commerce of the present day is inconsiderable, and its chief importance to the world consists in its lying on the most direct road to Sackatoo and contiguous parts of Soodan.