Ahmednagar

Ahmednagar (Ahmadnagar), a town of the province of Bombay, 122 miles E. of Bombay, is the third city of the Deccan. It was Jounded in 1494 by Ahmed Nizam Shah. In 1797 it fell into the hands of the Mahrattas, and in 1817 became British. It became a municipality in 1855; and possesses a good supply of water by means of aqueducts. Strong carpets, cotton and silk cloths, and copper and brass pots, are manufactured here. Pop. 42,492.

Ahmedpur

Ahmedpur', a town of India, 25 miles SW. of Bahawalpur; pop. 30,000.

Ahwas

Ahwas, a small village of Persia, in the province of Khuzistan, 70 miles NE. of Bassora. The neighbourhood is covered with the ruins of the capital of Artabanus, the last of the Parthian kings.

Aidin

Aidin (Guzel-Hissar), a town of western Asia Minor, on the Meander, 60 miles SE. of Smyrna by rail, is the capital of a province, and was built out of the ruins of the ancient Tralles. The trade is important in morocco leather, cotton, and fruit. Pop. 37,000.

Aigues-Mortes

Aigues-Mortes (Aig Mort), a town (pop. 4787) in the French dep. of Gard, in an extensive salt-marsh, 3 miles from the Mediterranean by a canal. In the middle ages, when the sea came much nearer the town, it was a very important Mediterranean harbour.

Ailsa Craig

Ailsa Craig, a rocky islet of Ayrshire, 10 miles W. by N. of Girvan. Rising abruptly out of the sea to a height of 1114 feet, it is about 2 miles in circumference, and is accessible only at one point. The rock is a mass of trap, assuming in some places a distinctly columnar form. On the NW., perpendicular cliffs rise to a height of from 200 to 300 feet; on the other sides, the Craig descends to the sea with a steep slope. Till the erection of a lighthouse (1883-86), the only inhabitants were goats, rabbits, and wild-fowl; solan geese, in particular, breeding in the cliffs in countless numbers. About 200 feet from the summit are some springs, and on the ledge of a crag on the eastern front, are the remains of an ancient stronghold. In 1831, the Earl of Cassillis, the proprietor of Ailsa Craig, was raised to the dignity of Marquis of Ailsa. Pop. about 30 in all.

Ain

Ain, a French river flowing 118 miles south-westward, through the deps. of Jura and Ain, to the Rhone, 18 miles above Lyons.

Ain

Ain, an eastern dep. of France, separated from Savoy by the Rhone. The eastern part is mountainous, with summits 5000 to 6500 feet high. Bourg is the capital. Area, 2239 sq. m.; pop. (1891) 356,907; (1901) 350,416.

Aln-Tab

Aln-Tab, a town of Syria, on an affluent of the Euphrates, 64 miles NNE. of Aleppo; pop. 40,000.

Air

Air, or Asben, an oasis-kingdom in the north of the Soudan. Agades (q.v.) is the capital.

Aira Force

Aira Force, a waterfall, 80 feet high, near the west shore of Ullswater.

Airdrie

Airdrie, a flourishing municipal burgh in NE. Lanarkshire, 2 miles E. by N. of Coatbridge, and 11 E. of Glasgow. Standing on the high-road between Edinburgh and Glasgow, near the Monk-land Canal and the North British Railway, it owes its prosperity to the abundance of coal and ironstone in the vicinity. The weaving of cotton goods is carried on, as are also iron-founding, silk-weaving, and paper-making. Since 1832 it has united with Falkirk, etc. to send a member to parliament. Pop. (1831) 6594; (1861) 12,918; (1891) 15,133, or, with suburbs, 19,135.