chiefly fiction, most of the material for which is drawn from Indian legend, include O Guarany, Iracema, O Gaucho, and Urabijara.
ALENÇON, Fr. u'IUn'sun'; Engl. a-len'sOn.
The capital of the department of Orne, in Normandy, France, situated on the Sarthe (Map: France, G 3). It is one of the brightest and freshest looking towns in France. It is the see town of a bishop, and the cathedral is its principal building. Three battlemented towers, the only portion of the old castle which remains, are used as the Hôtel de Ville. The town church — a structure of the sixteenth century, containing the remains of the tombs of the Alençon family, which were almost completely destroyed at the Revolution — is built in the Gothic style. The inhabitants produce excellent woolen and linen stuffs, embroidered fabrics, straw hats, lace, artificial flowers, hosiery, etc. The manufacture of point d'Alençon, and of Alençon diamonds, is no longer important. Pop., 1901, 17,270. Consult Odolant-Desnas, Mémoires historiques sur la ville d'Alençon (Alençon, 1787).
ALEP'PO (Ar. Haleb). One of the most important cities of Syria, and capital of the Turkish vilavet of Aleppo (30,340 square miles; pop., 995,800) (Map: Turkey in Asia, G 4). It is about 80 miles east of the Mediterranean Sea, on the desert stream of Nahr-el-Haleb, in about 36° 12' N. lat., and 37° 12' E. long. It is surrounded by hills, and has regular and clean streets. In the northwestern part stands the citadel, situated on a hill and surrounded by a deep moat. The town was formerly surrounded by a strong wall, of which only a small portion is left, the remainder, together with many of the public buildings, having been destroyed by the earthquake of 1822. The bazaar is extensive and well built. The European colony of Aleppo is considerable, and there are several European schools and Christian churches. Among the mosques the most noteworthy is the Great Mosque, or Jami Sakarya, containing the alleged remains of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist. Before the earthquake of 1822, and repeated visitations of the plague and cholera, Aleppo was a great commercial centre in spite of its inland position. It supplied a large part of the Orient with various fabrics of wool, cotton, silk, and silver and gold ware. The trade is still considerable, and its chief exports are wool, cotton, grain, gums, saffron, sesame, and hides. Some silk, embroidery, and leather goods are manufactured. The chief port of Aleppo is Alexandretta (q.v.). The importation of European goods by native merchants is increasing rapidly. Aleppo is the seat of a United States and several European consuls. The population is estimated at 125,000, including about 20,000 Christians, 5000 Jews, and some Armenians. Aleppo is believed to be of great antiquity. In ancient times its name was Berœa, given to it by Seleucus Nicator. It was attacked and taken repeatedly by the Saracens and Mongols, and suffered considerably from earthquakes during the twelfth century. In 1516 Aleppo was wrested from the Mamelukes by the Turkish Sultan Selim, and it became the capital of a pashalic. The city is supposed to have contained in those times about 300,000 inhabitants, and carried on a large trade by caravans, which subsequently fell off on account of the discovery of the sea route to the East Indies. In 1850 there was an uprising of Christians, suppressed only after considerable bloodshed. Consult E. Blochet, "L'histoire d'Alep," in the Revue de l'Orient Latin (Paris, 1897).
ALEPPO BUT'TON. See Boil.
ALER, ii'ler,
Paul (1656-1727) . A Jesuit and scholastic, born at St. Veit, Luxemburg. After teaching at Cologne, he became professor of theology at Trèves, and in 1703 regent of the gymnasium of Cologne. In 1713 he became regent of the gymnasia at Aix-la-Chapelle, Münster, Trèves, and Jülich. His best known work is the Gradus ad Parnassum (Cologne, 1702); 8th revised edition by Koch (Cologne, 1879).
ALES, U-lcs',
or ALESSE, Alexander. See Alesius, Alexander.
ALESHKI, a-lesh'ke,
formerly Dnieprovsk. The chief town of a district, in the Government of Taurida, Russia. It is near the Dnieper River, 3 miles southeast of Kherson, and 153 miles northwest of Simferopol, the capital of the government (Map: Russia, D 5). Pop., 1897, 9100. It was founded by the Genoese in the tenth century and called by them Elice.
ALESIA, a-le'shi-a. a town of Gaul, the cap-
ture of which, in B.C. 52. forms one of Cæsar's
greatest exploits. The Gauls were making a last
effort to shake off the Roman yoke, and Vercin-
getorix, their bravest leader, after several de-
feats, had shut himself up with 80,000 men in
Alesia, there to await the reënforcements ex-
pected from a general insurrection. The town
was on a lofty hill, and well calculated for de-
fense. Cæsar, with 60,000 men, surrounded the
place, with the view of starving it into a sur-
render. He fortified his position by two lines
of ramparts of prodigious extent and strength;
one toward the town, for defense against the
sallies of the besieged; the other toward the
plain, against the armies of relief. Before they
could assemble, 250,000 strong, he was ready
for them; and all their assaults, combined with
the desperate efforts of the besieged, were of no
avail. Alesia was obliged to surrender, and
Vercingetorix was made prisoner. Alesia was
afterwards a place of some note under the Em-
pire, but was destroyed by the Normans in 864.
Near the site of Alesia, west of Dijon, stands the
modern village of Alise Sainte-Reine. near which,
on the summit of Mont-Auxois, Napoleon III.
erected a colossal statue of Vercingetorix.
ALESIUS, a-le'slu-us, Alexander (1500-65). A Protestant theologian. His original name was Ales, but he was also called Alesse, ab Ales, and Alane. He was born in Edinburgh, studied at St. Andrews, became a canon of the Collegiate Church, and contended vigorously for scholastic theology. He was appointed (1528) to refute the reformed views of the Scotch protomartyr Patrick Hamilton, but the result was that his own faith in the old church was shaken, though he long kept the fact secret. For a sermon against dissoluteness among the clergy he was put in prison (1531), whence he escaped to the Continent (1532), traveled in Europe, and settled in Wittenberg, where he met Melanchthon. Meantime he was condemned in Scotland (1534), for heresy, without a hearing. After Henry VIII. broke with the Church of Rome, Alesius went to England (1535), and was cordially received by the King, Cranmer, and Cromwell, and was ap-
