ERZERUM 



and is an important commercial 

 town and military position. It is 

 walled, and its streets are narrow 

 and crooked. It has few fine build- 

 ings, the chief being the Armenian 

 and Greek churches. Erzerum is 

 the seat of an Armenian bishop. 



Its main importance came from 

 its position strategically with 

 respect to Russia. Under the 

 Turks, who occupied it in the 16th 

 century, it was made into a fortress 

 and was the headquarters of an 

 army corps. It was taken by the 

 Russians in 1829 and again in 1878. 

 During the Great War it was cap- 

 tured by the Russians in Feb., 

 1916, but during the winter of 

 1917-18 it was abandoned by them 

 by order of the Bolshevist Govern- 

 ment, and was reoccupied by the 

 Turks in March, 1918, in spite of 

 strong resistance by the local Ar- 

 menians. Before the Great War its 

 pop. was approximately 80,000, a 

 large number of whom were Ar- 

 menians. It was the scene of 

 massacres of Armenians in 1895 

 and again in 1915. 



Erzerum, CAPTURE OF. Russian 

 success against the Turks, Feb. 16, 

 1916. After capturing Koprikoi, 

 Jan. 19, 1916, the Russians under 

 Yudenitch pressed on to Hassan 

 Kale, 23 m. from Erzerum. The 

 enemy retreated to Deve Boyun, 

 a strongly fortified ridge on the 

 east front of that city, and on 

 Jan. 26 Yudenitch stood before it. 



The Russian right wing pushed 

 the Turks from Tortum to the 

 Chorok, crossed the mountains, and 

 reached Kara Gubek on the Kara 

 Su, or Western Euphrates, thus 

 threatening Erzerum from the N. 

 The left wing worked its way from 

 the S.E. to Palandoken, capturing 

 the enemy positions there, and 

 menacing Erzerum from the S. On 

 the N. Kara Gubek was taken on 

 Feb. 12, and Tafta, 5 m. nearer Er- 

 zerum, on Feb. 13. Yudenitch now 

 attacked the Deve Boyun forts, 

 nine of which fell into his hands on 

 Feb. 15 ; the defence collapsed, 

 and he entered Erzerum next day. 

 As a military operation its capture 

 was a great feat, considering that it 

 was the depth of winter, that his 

 wings had to advance through high 

 and most difficult mountain coun- 

 try, and that the city itself was 

 protected by many forts. In and 

 about Erzerum the Russians cap- 

 tured 13,000 prisoners, more than 

 300 guns, and immense quantities 

 of munitions and supplies. The 

 total loss of the Turks was put t 

 60,000 men. The town was reoccu- 

 pied'by the Turks, March 11, 1918. 

 See Caucasus, Campaign in the. 



Erzgebirge OR ORE MOUNTAINS. 

 Mountain range of Germany. It is 

 partly in Saxony and partly in 



2969 



Bohemia, stretching for about 90 

 m. from the Elbe to the Elsterge- 

 birge. The highest peaks are the 

 centre, the Keilberg being over 

 4,000 ft. high. Only a little lower 

 are the Fichtelberg and the Spitz- 

 berg. On the south the range has 

 a precipitous face, but on the north, 

 or Saxon side, it slopes more 

 gradually to the plain. The range, 

 as the name suggests, is rich in 

 minerals, silver, lead, tin, copper, 

 iron, and some gold being found 

 here. There are a number of 

 health resorts in the mountains 

 which are visited both for health 

 and pleasure, much of the scenery 

 being very fine. The hills are 

 densely wooded and the district is 

 well served by railways. 



Erzingan, ERZINJAN, or ERZIN- 

 GHIAN. Town of Asia Minor, the 

 medieval Arsinga. This formerly im- 

 portant military centre of the Turks 

 lies on the W. Euphrates (Kara Su) 

 about 75 m. W. of Erzerum. During 

 the Great War it was the head- 

 quarters of a Turkish army corps, 

 and as a military base was second 

 in importance only to Erzerum. It 

 was taken by the Russians in July, 

 1916. The pop. was 25,000 in 1914, 

 but many of its Armenian in- 

 habitants were massacred in 1915. 

 Erzingan, FALL OF. Russian 

 success, July 26, 1916. After the 

 capture of Erzerum on Feb. 16, 

 1916, Yudenitch advanced hismain 

 forces towards Erzingan, 75 m. 

 distant. In May, however, he was 

 held up at Mamakhatun by the 

 Turks, whose front reached from 

 Baiburt on the N. to Oghnut on 

 the S. At the beginning of July 

 Yudenitch resumed the offensive, 

 took Mamakhatun on the 12th, 

 drove the enemy out of Baiburt on 

 the 15th, and on the 18th captured 

 Kighi, N.W. of Oghnut. From Bai- 

 burt he struck W. to Kelkid, al- 

 most due N. of Erzingan, marched 

 to the N. and took Gumushkane 

 and Ardasa by July 22,thus making 

 easy his descent on Erzingan from 

 the N. Meanwhile other of his 

 forces had advanced from the E. 

 and S.E., and by July 25 had cap- 

 tured Mertekeli, 8 m. from Er- 

 zingan, which he occupied the next 

 day. The fall of Erzingan completed 

 the Russian conquest of Armenia. 

 Sec Caucasus, Campaign in the. 



Erzsebetfalva. Town of Hun- 

 gary, in the comitat of Pest Pilis. 

 It is a summer resort, 7.\ m. S.E. of 

 Budapest, on the main line from 

 the capital to Belgrade. Pop. 

 30,970, including a number of Jews. 

 Esarhaddon. Assyrian king, 

 who reigned 680-668 B.C. His first 

 three years were marked by the re- 

 building of Babylon, destroyed by 

 his father, Sennacherib (2 Kings 

 19). Besides conducting campaigns 



ESBJERG 



against Cilicia, Arabia, and Elam, 

 he sacked Sidon, 676, and Mem- 

 phis, 670. At Shamaal he set up a 

 stela with his portrait in relief, and 

 erected palaces at Nineveh and 

 Calah. His son Ashurbanipal suc- 

 ceeded him. See Sinjerli. 



Esashi. Town and seaport of 

 Japan, on the island of Hokkaido. 

 It is a port of call on the S.W. coast, 

 35 m. W.N.W. of Hakodate. Pop. 

 12,500. 



Esau. Son of Isaac and elder 

 brother of Jacob, whose great rival 

 he became after the younger 

 brother had secured by a trick the 

 privileges of primogeniture. He 

 became a hunting man, married 

 wives of Hittite nationality, and 

 founded a tribe which occupied the 

 mountains S. of the Dead Sea. In 

 his later days he was on friendly 

 terms with Jacob, but his descend- 

 ants were always hated and de- 

 spised by the Jews. See Jacob. 



Esbjerg. Seaport of Denmark, 

 in Jutland. It stands on the North 

 Sea, opposite the island of Fano, 

 56 m. by rly. W. of Fredericia, and 

 is the principal port on the W. Jut- 

 land coast. The harbour was built 

 in 1868-74, and is state subsidised. 

 Its exports to Great Britain 

 mainly consist of bacon, beef, 

 cattle and dairy produce. The fish- 

 ing and manufacturing industries 



Esarhaddon. Monument excavated 



at Sinjerli, showing the Assyrian 



king with an inscription, 670 B.C., 



detailing his conquest of Egypt 



Berlin Museum 



