t 



A L t: 



(horn to fubinit, without rcriftnnce, to a fupcrioi* power. In 

 order to givo cffcil to liis conciliatory endoRvours, lie took 

 tlie national payment on liinifelf, and thus acquired the com- 

 M.iCLiicy of the Novogorodians as well as of the Tartars. But 

 jileontcnts continuing to prevail, and refilbnce having arifen 

 to a degree fo alarming in fcvcral places, that the Tartarian 

 coUefiors were mafTacred ; the Tartars were exceedingly ex- 

 afpcratcd againll the RnfTians, and the Ruffian piinces were 

 commanded to appear before the khan. Alexander under- 

 took the hazardous buiinefs of attempting, by a pcrfonal m- 

 terview, to avert the khan's wrath on account of the mur- 

 der of his deputies. After a delay of twelve months he at 

 laft fuccceded, and obtained a promife that the khan woiJd 

 forgive what had happened, and forego his purpofe of 

 railmg an army ; and in his return home he died fuddenly at 

 Corodetz, in the year izOz, with circumftances that render 

 it extremely probable, that in the camp of the khan poifon 

 had been adminillered to him fliortly before his departure. 

 For his various and fignal fervlces, and afts of valour, which 

 in thofe idays were deemed miraculous, the grateful adinira- 

 tion of his countrymen raifed him to the rank of one ot the 

 national f;iints. Peter the Great, avaihng himfelf of the ve- 

 neration that was paid to the memory of this diilinguifhed 

 hero, founded, in 17 12, a monailery near his new city of 

 I'eterfburgh, on the fpot which was reported to have been 

 the fcene of Alexander's viclory ; and in 1723 he caufed the 

 bones of the great duke to be brought thither. This mo- 

 nailer)' has been gradually enlarged by feveral fovereigns 

 fiBce the time of Peter ; and the late emprefs has built a 

 magnificent church within its walls, and a fumptuous maufo- 

 knm for herfelf and her defcendants. The flirine of the 

 faint, which was caufed to be made by Ehzabeth, isof maffy 

 filver. The orderof knighthood of St. Alexander Nevflvoi was 

 inftituted by Peter the Great in 1722; but as he died before 

 the knights were appointed, this was done by Catherine I. in 

 June 1725. The badge of this order is a golden eight- 

 pointed ftar, enamelled with red, with the figure of St. 

 Alexander in armour on horfeback. At the four corners of 

 the crofs are as many gold fpread-eagles, crowned. A broad, 

 deep red, watered ribbon is worn over the left flioulder ; the 

 motto is in Ruffian charafters, fignifying, " For labour and 

 patriotifm." The feaft is heldon the 30th of Auguft. The 

 monarch and the knights attend mafs at Kazan church, 

 and go a pilgrimage on foot to the raonaftery of the faint, at 

 the diftance of three vcrfts, and attend mafs again before his 

 filver fiirine, and then return to the winter palace, where they 

 partake of a fumptuous dinner, under a difcharge of can- 

 non. In 1790 the number of knights amounted to 122. 

 Tooke's Life of Cath. II. vol. ii. p. 373. Cox's Travels 

 into Ruffia. > 



ALEXANDERS, in Bo/atiy. See Smyrnium. 



ALEXANDREA Mons, in ylnc'unt Geography, a moun- 

 tain of Myfia, on the fea-coaft, forming a part of Mount 

 Ida, where Paris pronounced judgment on the three god- 

 deffi:s. Strabo. 



ALEX AND RETT A, now called Scanderoon by the 

 Turks, in Geography, is the port of Aleppo in Syria, and 

 fituated in the gulf of Ajazzo, near the fea coaft. N. lat. 

 36° 35' 10". E. long. 36° 20'. Its neareft diftance from 

 Aleppo, in a ftraight line, is between 60 and 70 miles; but 

 the ufual road for caravans, through Antioch, is computed to 

 be between 90 and 1 00 miles. 



Ancient and modem travellers, from Moryfon and Teix- 

 eira to Volney, concur in reprefenting the wretclied condi- 

 tion of this village, which owes its exiftence, as the habita- 

 tion of human beings, to its being the port and road that 

 lead to Aleppo. lu this road veffels anchor on a folid bot« 



ALE 



torn, fo that their cables are not liable to chafe ; and from" 

 hence merchants convey their goods as fpeedily as poffible, 

 by means of their factors, to Aleppo and other places. In 

 winter this harbour is incommdded by a wind, called by the 

 French failors " Lc Raguier," which ruffies from the fnowy 

 fummita of the mountains, and forces the (l«ps to drag their 

 anchors feveral leagues ; and (hips are prevented by tempef- 

 tuous winds from entering the harbour for three or four 

 months. The road to Aleppo by the plain is alfo infefted 

 by curd robbers, who conceal themfelves in the caverns of 

 the adjacent rocks, and plunder the ftrongefl: caravans. Be- 

 fides, fuch is the fituation of this port, that it is environed on 

 three of its fides with a fenny plain, and on the fourth fide by 

 the fea. On the eaft fide, beyond the fen, is a high moun- 

 tain, which intercepts the rays of the fun, and the remote 

 mountains on the north fide have the fame effeiSl, fo that the 

 ftagnant waters and mephitic exhalations produce an epide- 

 mic diforder, which prevails from May to September, and 

 which is fatal to the inhabitants and to the crews of the 

 (hips during their ftay in this place. This diforder is an in- 

 termitting fever of the moft mahgnant kind, accompanied 

 with obllruftions of the liver, which terminate in a dropfy ; 

 and, at the time when this fever is mofl; prevalent, fhips have 

 frequently loR all their men in two months; and " the place," 

 asMoiyfon (Travels, p. 250.) long ago obferved, " is infamous 

 for the deatii of Chriltians." Some years ago, fays Mr. Vol- 

 ney, the merchants of Aleppo, difgufted with the numerous 

 inconveniences of Alexandretta, withed to abandon that port, 

 and remove the trade to Latakia. They propofed to the 

 pacha of Tripoli to repair the harbour at their own expence, 

 on condition of his indemnifying them from all duties for ten 

 years. Regardlefs of any future advantages that might ac- 

 crue to his countiy from this plan, and of which he was not 

 likely to participate, their propofal was rejefted, and the Eu- 

 ropean faftors were obliged to remain at Scanderoon. The 

 only curiofity of the place, it is faid, that is (hewn for the 

 amufement of ftrangers, confifts of fix or feven marble mo- 

 numents, fent from England, on which is read the following 



infcription : " Here hes , carried off in the flower of his 



age by the fatal effefts of a contagious air." It is added, 

 that the languid and yellow afpeft, livid eyes, and dropfical 

 fymptoms of thofe who (hew thefe monuments, plainly indi- 

 cate that they are not likely long to efoape the fame fate. To 

 a village, however, called Beylan, fituate on a high hill, about 

 four leagues diitant, and abounding with frefh water and 

 excellent fruits, the inhabitants retire, and here they find no 

 inconfiderable rehef. The plain of Antioch, which lies at 

 fome dillance, is watered with a number of ftreams and ca- 

 nals, and abounds with moft of the neceffaries of life, parti- 

 cularly with cattle, which are driven there to fatten. This 

 port has a governor and fome few foldiers, and is defended 

 by an old caftle ; but as it is infufficient to refift any force, 

 it isfomewhat furprifing that the pirates, who fwarm on this 

 coaft, never attempt it. The aga has, for fome years paft, 

 applied the duties of the cullom-houfe at Alexandretta to his 

 own ule, and rendered himfelf almoil independent of the 

 pacha of Aleppo. In foimer times the carrier pigeon, Co- 

 lumha Tabellar'ui of Linnasus, was employed by the Engli(h 

 faftoiy to convey intelligence from Scanderoon of the arrival 

 of the company's fliips in that port. The praftice has been 

 difufed for many years; but Dr. RufFell (Hill. Aleppo, 

 vol. ii. p. 203.) informs us, that when it fubfifted, the pigeon 

 performed the journey in two hours and a half. 



ALEXANDRIA, now called Scanderia, the ancient 



capital city of Lower Egypt, was built by Alexander the 



Great, in the year 332 before Chrift. It was fituated on 



the Mediterranean between the Lake Mareotis and the beaU- 



4 tiful 



