1 
2 AAA 
AAA. The chemical abbreviation for Amalgama, or 
Amalgamation. 
AA, rivers of Courland, Germany, SwifTerland, Flan¬ 
ders, and France ; Aa in the Daniffi language, Ea in the 
Saxon, and Eau in the French, fignifying water. 
AACH, a fmall town of Nellenburgh in Suabia, near 
a river of the fame name which falls into the lake of Zell. 
1 1 is fubject to Auftria, and feated on an eminence between 
the Danube and the lake of Conftance. Lat. 47. 45. N. 
Ion. 9. o. E. 
AAGG 1 I-DOGGII, a mountain of Amafia, over which 
the caravans pal's, in their journey between Conliantinople 
and Ifpahan. 
AAG-HOLM, a fmall illand of Norway. 
AAHUS, a fmall town, in a county of the fame name, 
in Weltphalia, is iituated near the fource of the A a. Lat. 
48. 13. N. Ion. 7. 22. E. 
AA 1 N-CHARIN, a village near Jerufalem, faid to be 
the place where Zacharias lived: it is yet frequented by 
pilgrims; and near it there is a convent, a large elegant 
building with a handfome cupola, under which is an ex¬ 
traordinary fine mofaic pavement : the altar is a very 
fplendid one, encompafled with marble fteps, and is,faid 
to be built on the very fpot where John the Baptift was 
born. 
AAKIAR, a diftriift of North Jutland, in Denmark. 
AAKIRKE, an inland place in Bornholm, is the feat of 
the civil court and fynod, and has the privileges of a town. 
AALBERG, or Aalburgh, a biflioprir in Jutland, 
Denmark; has for its capital 
AALBORG, (that is, eel-town, from the number of 
eels taken there) an old, large, and populous, city, and, 
next to Copenhagen, the richeft and beft in Denmark. It 
has an exchange, and a harbour deep and fecure, but ra¬ 
ther dangerous in the entrance. It carries on a confider- 
able trade in herrings and corn, and a manufactory of 
faddles and gloves. Lat. 57. 18. N. Ion. 29. 16. E. 
AALHEIDE, a large heath in Jutland. 
AAM, or FIaam, a liquid meafure in ufe among the 
Dutch, containing 128 mingles, each weighing nearly thir¬ 
ty-fix ounces averdupoife; whence the Aam contains 288 
Englifh, and 1485 pints Paris meafure. 
AAMA, a province of Barbary, fifteen days journey 
from Tunis. The entrance to it is very dangerous, being 
very long and narrow, among quickfands and rivers, fo 
covered with duft, that they appear like one continued 
plain. 
AAN-SIRE, a fmall illand of Norway. 
• AAR, rivers in Germany and Swilferland, and an illand 
in the Baltic containing feveral villages but no town. 
AARACK, a city of Hira in Perfia. 
AARASSUS, an ancient city of Alia Minor, men¬ 
tioned by Strabo, but at prefent only a village. It is 
thought to be the Anaflus of Ptolemy. 
AARAW, a town and bailiwick in Bern, where the 
diets of the proteftant cantons are held. In thefe alfem- 
blies the deputies and their fervants being all citizens, dine 
in the fame hall. Their town-houfe is built of the ruins 
of she caftle, which.the inhabitants of Aaraw entirely de- 
molifhed when the Swifs Ihook off the yoke of Auftria. 
Lat. 47. 20. N. Ion. 8. 10. E. 
A ARHUUS, in North Jutland, Denmark, the capital of 
the diocefe of the fame name, is an open, large, and po¬ 
pulous, city, with two market-places, an hofpital, uni- 
verfity, cathedral, and other public buildings. It lies 
low, on a beautiful plain, between the lea and an inland 
lake; from which laft the water is conveyed, by means of 
a pretty broad canal, through the town. The harbour 
at the mouth of this canal or river is indeed fafe and com¬ 
modious, but hardly of fufficient depth and extent for the 
trade of the place. I.at. 56. 6. N. Ion. 10. o. E. 
AARON, high pried of the Jews, and brother to Mofes, 
was by the father’s fide great grandfon, and by the mother’s 
grandfon, of Levi. By God’s command lie-met Mofes at 
the foot of mount Horeb, and they went together into 
AAR 
Egypt to deliver the children of Ifrael. They went to 
the court of Pharaoh, and told him that God commanded 
him to let the Hebrews go to offer facrifices in the defert 
of Arabia; but the impious monarch difregarded this 
command, and caufed the labour of the Ifraelites to be 
doubled. The meffengers of the Almighty again returned 
to the king, when Aaron wrought a miracle in his fight 
to move his heart, and induce him to let the people go. 
Aaron caft down his miraculous rod, and it was immedi¬ 
ately converted into a ferpent: but the fame thing being 
performed by the king’s magicians, his heart was hard¬ 
ened more and more; and his obftinacy at laft drew down 
the juft judgments of heaven upon his kingdom, which 
was afflicted with ten dreadful plagues, in the fame order 
that Aaron ftretched forth his rod, at the command of 
the Almighty. The firft was the changing of the waters 
of the Nile and of all the rivers into blood, fo that the 
Egyptians died of thirft. In confequence of the fecond 
plague, the land was covered with innumerable fwarms of 
frogs, which entered even into Pharaoh’s palace. By the 
third plague, the duft was converted into lice, which cru¬ 
elly tormented both man and beaft. The fourth plague 
was a multitude of deftrufitive flies, which fpread through¬ 
out Egypt, and infefted the whole country. The fifth 
was a Hidden peftilence, which deftroyed all the cattle of 
the Egyptians, without injuring thofe of the Ifraelites. 
The fixth produced numberlefs ulcers and fiery biles upon 
man and beaft. The feventh was a dreadful ftorm of hail, 
accompanied with thunder and lightning, which deftroyed 
every thing that was in the fields, and fpared only the land 
of Goflien, where the children of Ifrael dwelt. By the 
eighth plague fwarms of locufts were brought into the 
country, which devoured every green herb, the fruit of 
the trees, and the produce of the harveft. By the ninth 
plague thick darknefs covered all the land of Egypt, ex¬ 
cept the dwellings of the children of Ifrael. The tenth 
and laft plague was the death of the firft-born in Egypt, 
who were all in one night cut of!' by the deftroying angel, 
from the firft-born of the king to the firft-born of the 
flaves and of the cattle. This dreadful calamity moved 
the heart of the hardened Pharaoh, and he at length con-• 
fented to allow the children of Ifrael to depart. That 
thefe miracles refulted from the immediate interpofition of 
an offended Deity, is admitted by all authors facred and 
profane; but the feats performed on this occafion by Pha¬ 
raoh’s magicians, have, without much reafon, opened a 
wide field for controverfy and difpute. We are told, that 
when Aaron caft down his rod, and it became a ferpent, 
they alfo did the like with their inchantments; “ for they 
caft down every man his rod, and they became ferpents.” 
This was a phenomenon which, it mud be confefted, had 
a very miraculous appearance; and yet there feems to be 
nothing in it which might not have been effefited by (light 
of hand. The Egyptians, and perhaps the inhabitants of 
every country where ferpents abound, have the art of 
depriving them, of their power to do mifehief, fo that they 
may be handled without danger. It was eafy for the ma¬ 
gicians, who were favoured by the court, to pretend that 
they changed their rods into ferpents, by dexteroufty fub- 
ftituting one of thofe animals in place of the rod. In like 
manner they might pretend to change water into blood, 
and to produce frogs; for, after the previous information 
of the nature of the miracles which were to be wrought 
was given, the magicians might eafily provide themlelves 
with a quantity of "blood and a number of frogs fufficient 
to anfwer their purpofe of deceiving the people. Beyond 
this, however, their power could not go. It flopped 
where that of all workers in legerdemain mufthave (lop¬ 
ped—at the failure of proper materials to work. Egypt 
abounds with ferpents; blood could be eafily procured; 
and without difficulty they might have frogs from the ri¬ 
ver. But when Aaron proceeded to the other miracles, 
and with his rod produced lice from the duft of the 
ground, the magicians, who had it not in their power to 
eollebt a fufficient quantity of thefe animals, were com- 
i pelled 
