296 AST 
Media. He nominated governors in Aflyria and Babylon, 
who were honoured with the title of kings, while they re¬ 
mained fubjeet and tributary to the Median monarchs. 
Belefis received the government of Babylon as the reward 
of his fervices; and Phul was entrufted with that of Afly¬ 
ria. The Aflyrian governor gradually enlarged the boun¬ 
daries of his kingdom, and was fucceeded by Tiglath- 
prlefer, Salmanafar, and Sennacherib, who alferted and 
maintained their independency. After the deatlt of A (Tar¬ 
'll addon, the brother and fucceffor of Sennacherib, the 
kingdom of Alfyria was fplit, and annexed to the king¬ 
doms of Media and Babylon. Several tributary princes 
.afterwardsreigned in Nineveh ; but no particular account 
of them is found in the annals of ancient nations. We hear 
,no more of the kings of Aflyria, but of thofe of Babylon. 
Cyaxares king of Media, aflifted Nebuchadnezzar king of 
Babylon in the liege of Nineveh, which they took and 
deftroyed, B. C. 606. The Chaldaean or Babylonifli king¬ 
dom was transferred to the Medes, after the reign of Na- 
bonadius, fon of Evil-merodach, and grandl'on of Nebu¬ 
chadnezzar. He is ftyled Bellhazzar in the facred records, 
and was conquered by Cyrus, B. C. 53S. Ancient Aflyria 
is now called the Turkilh Curdiftan, though part of it is 
fubjeft to the Perlians. The capital is Curdiftan; the an¬ 
cient Nineveh being now a heap of ruins. 
AS'TA, a town of the United Netherlands, in the du¬ 
chy of Guelderland, four miles fouth-eaft of Culemburg. 
Asta, a river of Spain, which empties itlfelf into the 
bay of Bifcay, at Villa Viciofa. 
Asta Re'gia, anciently a town of Bsetica, fituated at 
the mouth of the Baetis, fixteen miles diftant from the port 
of Cadiz. Antoninc. Its ruins (hew its former greatnefs. 
Its name is Phoenician, denoting a frith or arm of the fea, 
on which it flood. It is faid to be the fame with Xera. 
ASTABAT', a town of Armenia, in Afia, fituated near 
the river Aras, twelve miles fouth of Nakfhivan. The 
land about it is excellent, and produces very good wine. 
There is a root peculiar to this country, called ronas; 
which runs in the ground like liquorice, and ferves for dy¬ 
ing red. Lat. 39.0.N. Ion. 46. 30. E. 
ASTAN'DA,yi in antiquity, a royal courier or me (Ten¬ 
ge r, the fame with Angaru-s. King Darius of Perfla is 
laid by Plutarch, in his book on the fortune of Alexan¬ 
der, to have formerly been an ajtanda. 
ASTARABAT', a town of Perfla, in the province of 
Segeften, 100 miles north of Zareng, and 220 weft-north- 
weft of Candahar. 
ASTARAC', a fmall province of France, before the 
late divilion of the country, fituated in Gafcony, about 
eight leagues fquare. Mirande was the capital. 
AS'TAROTH, or Ashtaroth, a goddefs of the Si- 
donians. The word is Syriac, and fignifies /keep, efpecially 
when their udders arc turgid with milk. From the fecun¬ 
dity of thefe animals, which in Syria continue to breed a 
long time, they formed the notion of a deity, whom they 
called AJlarotk, or AJlartc. See Astarte. 
Astaroth, the ancient refidence of Og king of Ba- 
fhan ; whether the fame with Aftaroth Carnaim, is matter 
of doubt: if one and the fame, it follows from Eufebius’s 
account, that it lay in Baftian, and to the eaft of Jordan, 
becaufe in the confines of Arabia. 
AS'TAft, Es'tar, or Eoas'tar, was a goddefs wor- 
Ihipped by the ancient Saxons, fuppofed by fome to be the 
Astarte of the Phoenicians and Syrians. Many Ger¬ 
man etymologifts from hence derive their and our word 
Eafter. 
ASTAR'TE, (the lingular of Aftaroth,) a Phoenician 
goddefs, called in Scripture the queen of heaven, and the 
goddefs of the Sidonians. Solomon, in compliment to one 
of his queens, erected an altar to her. In the reign of 
Ahab, Jezebel caufed her worfhip to be performed with 
much pomp and ceremony: (lie had 400 priefts; the wo¬ 
men were employed in weaving hangings or tabernades for 
her; and Jeremiah obferves, that “the children gathered 
the wood, the fathers kindled the fire, and the women 
AST 
kneaded the dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven.’* 
Astarte, anciently a city on the other (ide Jordan ; 
one of the names of Rabbath Ammon, in Arabia Petraea. 
Siephanus. 
AS'TEISM,yi in rhetoric, a genteel irony, or hand fome 
way of deriding another. Such, e. gr v is that of Virgil: 
Qui Bavium non odit, amet tua carmina, Mecvi, &c. 
Diomed places the charaderic of this figure, or fpecies of 
irony, in that it is not grofs and ruftic, but ingenious and 
polite. 
AS'TELL (Mary), the great ornament of her fex and 
country, was the daughter of Mr. Afteil, an opulent mer¬ 
chant at Newcaftle-upon-Tyne, where (he was born about 
the year 166S. She was well educated, and, among!! other 
accomplifhments, was miftrefsof the French, and had fome 
knowledge of the Latin tongue. Her uncle, a clergyman, 
obferving in her fome marks of a promiflng genius, took 
her under his tuition, and taught her mathematics, logic, 
and philofophy. She left the place of her nativity at the 
age of,twenty years, and fpent the rr -.aining part of her 
life in the vicinity of London. Here (he purfued her (In¬ 
dies with great afiiduity, made great proficiency in tire fei- 
ences, and acquired a complete knowledge of many clafiic 
authors. Her life was fpent in w riting for the advancement 
of learning, religion, and virtue ; and in the practice of 
thofe religious duties which (he fo zealoufly and patheti¬ 
cally recommended to others, and in.which perhaps no 
one was ever more fincere and devout. Her fentiments of 
piety, charity, humility, and other Chriftian virtues, were 
were uncommonly refined and fublime. Her mind was 
calm and ferene; and her converfation was innocently fa¬ 
cetious, and highly entertaining. She would fay, “ The 
good Chriftian only hath reafon, and lie always ought, to 
be cheerfuland, “That dejeCied looks and melancholy 
airs are very unfeemly in a Chriftian.” When (he was con¬ 
fined to her bed by a gradual decay, and the time of her 
diflolution drew near, (he ordered her fliroud and coffin to 
be brought to her bed-lide; and there to remain in her 
view, as a conftant memento of her approaching fate, and 
to keep her mind fixed on proper contemplation. She died 
in the year 1731, in the fixty-third year of her age, and 
was buried at Che! fea. She wrote, 1. A Serious Propofal 
to the Ladies. 2. An Effay in Defence of the Female Sex. 
3. Letters concerning the Love of God. 4. Reflections 
upon Marriage. 5. Moderation truly dated. 6. The 
Chriftian Religion, as profefled by a Daughter of the 
Church of England ; and fome other traCts. 
AS'TER,y. [acmj§, a ftar; fo called becaufe the flower 
is radiated.] In botany, a genus of the fyngenefia polyga- 
mia fuperfl.ua clafs, of the natural order of compofiti ra- 
diati. The generic characters are—Calyx: common im¬ 
bricate; the inner feales prominent a little at the end, the 
lower ones fpreading. Corolla : compound radiate ; co- 
rollules hermaphrodite, numerous in the difk; females li- 
gulate, more than ten in the ray; proper, of the herma¬ 
phrodite, funnel-ftiaped, with a five-cleft fpreading bor¬ 
der; of the female, ligulate, lanceolate, three-toothed, at 
length rolling back- Stamina: hermaphrodite; filaments 
five, capillary, very fliort; anthera cylindric, tubulous. 
Piftillum: hermaphrodite; germ oblong; ftyle filiform, 
the length of the ftamens; ftigma bifid, fpreading; fe¬ 
males, germ and ftyle the fame; ftigmas two, oblong, re¬ 
volute. Pericarpium: none; calyx fcarcely changed. 
Seeds: folitary, oblong, ovate ; down capillary. Recep- 
taculum : naked, flattifli.— Ef 'ential CharaEler. Recepta- 
culum naked ; down Ample ; corolla, ray more than ten; 
calyx, imbricate, lower feales fpreading. 
Species. I. Shrubby. 1. After taxifolius, or yew-leaved 
ftarwort: underflirubby ; leaves decurrent, fubulate, chan¬ 
nelled, ciliate ; flowers terminal. Leaves alternate, much 
crowded. Stem fcarcely a foot high, ereft, branching at 
top. 2. Afterreflexus, orrefleCted-leaved ftarwort: ftirub-. 
by; leaves ovate, fub-imbricate, recurved, ferrate-ciliate; 
flowers terminal. Stem proliferous. 3. After crinitus; 
2 flirubbyifti,* 
