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of the fifliei-V) tlie curing of the fi(h, the preparing of ca- 

 viar and ifiiiglafs, which is extremely well made, particularly 

 at Gurief, and the making of wine. The wliite wine pro- 

 duced here is almoft as white as water, the red only reddifh. 

 Both are exceeding light, but well flavoured fvvcet table 

 wines. They commonly lofc their agreeable tafte after two 

 years, turning four, and then they are converted into brandy 

 or vinegar. Great quantities of the grapes are dried and fent 

 through the country, as raifins, or boiled into a fyrup. The 

 filkworm employs a great number of hands about the Terek, 

 between Kifliar and Mofdok, near Allrakhan, &c. likcwife 

 in the filk and cotton manufaftories in Allrakhan. In this 

 city alfo yellow, black, and particularly red RulTia leather is 

 fabricated of the greatell beauty and beil quality. The (lia- 

 green, which is manufaftured here molUy by Tartars and Ar- 

 menians, is a valuable fpecits of leather, not prepared in any 

 other country. The Tartarian foap, which is m.ade at and 

 about Allrakhan, of pot-a(hes and the blubber of the fea- 

 dog, is in great repute, and ufcd in the clotli-manufaftories. 

 The chief falt-petre works, about fixty verlls above 

 Allrakhan, are fituate on an arm of the Volga, and carried 

 on by the artillery company. They produce fuch abun- 

 dance of fah-petre, that, after deducting the Hated quanti- 

 ties for the powder-mills, many thouiand poods are an- 

 nually exported from St. Peterfburg, on the crown's acount. 



This is the only government of the empire that has 

 coafts on the Cafpian. The grand mart of the Cafpian 

 commerce is Allrakhan. The other Ruffian ports on this 

 fea are Kifliar and Gurief. The principal part of this 

 commerce is in the hands of the Armenians ; next to thefe 

 are the Ruffians, then follow the Indians, tlie Peraans, 

 the Truckmenian and Chivintzian Tartars, and lailly the 

 Nogay Tartars belonging to Allrakhan. The commodities 

 in which this trade confifts, have been already mentioned. 

 It was likcwife obferved, that it is divided into the fea 

 and land commerce ; the exports by the former amount 

 at prefent to about i,2O0,00O, and the imports to a million 

 rubles : the latter is carried on by way of Kifliar and JVIof- 

 dok, and amounts to about 300,000 rubles, the imports 

 being about three-fourths of that fum. — The inland trade 

 of this government with the other provinces of the Ruffian 

 empire is very confiderable. Its produdls having been 

 particularifed above, it needs here only to be obferved, that 

 in exchange it receives chiefly by the Volga, various kinds 

 of European commodities, the greater part whereof are 

 again exported to Perfla, &c. 



Allrakhan is a viceroyalty, and confifts; i. of the former 

 government of that name, which was a Tartarian kingdom 

 till it was conquered by the Ruffiarrs in the year 1554; 2. 

 of the Caucafian territory; and 3. of the north-eallern 

 divifion of the Kuban, which for the moll part fell to 

 •Kuffia by the peace of 1774, and the border treaty in 

 1783. It was erefted into a viceroyalty in 1785? and has 

 its own governor-general. 



The ecclefiaftical concerns of the Ruffians are under the 

 Jurifdidlion of the archbilhop of Allrakhan and Stavropol. 

 The other religious parties have prefidcnts appointed over 

 •them, or manage their own fpiritual affairs independently 

 .among themfelves. 



. The public expenditure of this government, including 

 the pay of the mihtary, is ftated at 147,373 rubles. — More- 

 over, this and the government of Saratof, have affigned them 

 in common 7000 rubles to provide for emergencies with the 

 neighbouring tribes. 



Along the Ural, from Uralfk to Gurief," is a line of 

 forts, for fecuring the borders againft the Kirghifes, which 

 are garrifoiied by Uralian Kozaks, who, in compenfation 



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for their fervice, have a grant of the free fifhery of the 

 Ural. Tiie corps of them, always in readincfs to march, 

 confifts of 12,000 men. 



Along the Kuban and the Terek lines are likcwife 

 drawn, and on the Volga, from Aftrakhan upwards, are 

 fevcral forepofts or redoubts. 



This confiderablc dillrift of Tartary formerly bore the 

 name of Kapfliak, in honour of the fon of a commander, 

 whom his mother brought into the world in the hollow of a 

 tree ; it was afterv.'ards denominated Nagaiya. The citv 

 was anciently called Tmutorakan ; but in proccfs of time 

 got the appellation of Adflii-Darchan, which the Ruffians 

 corriptedly pronounced Allrakhan. Old Aftrakhan was 

 fituate eight vtrfts liigher up than where the prefent city 

 ftands, and its iirlt fcite ftill difcovers ruins of ancient edi- 

 fices. At that time it bore the name of Tmutorakan; and 

 Lomonofof pofitively afferts, that tzar Yaroflaf Vladimiro- 

 vitch waged war, in coniundlion with his brother Mftiil :f, 

 againll the fovcreign of Tmutorakan, and terminated hofti- 

 lities by entering into an alliance with him; a circumftance 

 which would prove, on one hand, that the prttenfions bf 

 Ruffia upon Aftrakhan are of a much earher date than 

 the reign of Ivan Vaffilievitch, and, on the other hand, 

 authenticates the denomination of Tmutorakan, attributed 

 to it. As to the particular time, however, when this 

 city was transferred to another fpot, as well as that when 

 it changed its name, little or no knowledge is at prefent to 

 be obtauied. 



The term Adfhi-Darchan implies, " A pilgrim of Mecca 

 has granted liberty." Whence it is pretended, that a noble 

 Tartar, on his return from a pilgrimage to Mecca, precifely 

 at the time when the laboiuers were at work in laying 

 the foundations of the city in its new place, granted hbcrty 

 to one of his flaves, whether as a fort of favourable omen 

 to the fuccefs of the undertaking, or to teflify, according 

 to the principles of the Mohammedan religion, his gratitude 

 to heaven for the fortunate iffue of his journey: however 

 this m.ay be, it is aflTerted that the natives feized on the 

 event for giving the city the r.ppellation of Adlhi-Darchan, 

 as expreffive of their wMlhes for the perpetual prefervation 

 of their liberty. The Ruffians, however, derive its name 

 from Aflitar and khan, maintaining that it ought to be 

 pronounced Aftitarkhan, as if there had formerly been 

 in that country a king or khan Alhtar or Aftra, of whom, 

 by the way, not the flightcft veftige is to be traced in any 

 hillory. 



Ailrakhan then had been in the poffeffion of the Ruffians 

 long before the time when it fubmitted afrelli to the valour 

 of tzar Ivan Vaffilievitch. Formal proofs of this faft are 

 i'oiwd in the archives- of the city; where it is related, that 

 its firft Ruffian fovcreign was Mllillaf Vladimirovitch, and 

 that this prince caufed a church to be built of ftonc at 

 Tmutorakan. It was not till the year 1237, when Bathyus, 

 whom the Tartars call Bathal, having ravaged all Ruffia 

 and invefted both fhorcs of the Volga with his Tartars, that 

 the Ruffians loft the kingdom of Aftrakhan, and were 

 obliged to pafs their lives, for a great number of years, 

 in perpetual wars; which lafted till the Greater Tartary 

 received a declfive blow, which was followed by the wars 

 of Kazan, when Ivan Vaffilievitch began to raile his head, 

 at lenn-th reconquered the kingdom of Allrakhan, and annex- 

 ed it to the Ruffian empire. 



ASTRiEA, from ar^f,Jar, in /IJlronomy, a name which 

 fom.e give to the fign Virgo, by others called Erigone, and 

 (ometimes His. 



ASTRyEA, in Mythology, was the daughter of Aftnrus 

 and Themis, and regarded as the goddeis of juftice^ She 



