ASTRABAD, or Asterabad, a small province of Persia, bounded on the N. by the Caspian Sea and the desert, on the S. by the Elburz Mountains, W. by Mazanderan, and E. by the river Gourgan. The country, although mountainous, and interspersed with dense forests, in which it is scarcely possible to travel, possesses beautiful and fertile valleys, producing rice, wheat, and other grains in abundance, or spread out in a boundless expanse of verdure, the pasturage of numerous flocks and herds. Fraser, who travelled through Persia in 1822, extols in the most lavish terms the appear ance of the country. The soil, with little culture, is exceed ingly productive, owing to the abundance of water which irrigates and fertilises it. But while the province in many parts presents a landscape of luxuriant beauty, it is a prey to the ravages of disease, and the frequent incursions of the surrounding tribes. The heavy torrents which fall in the rainy season stagnate in the forests, forming morasses, which, in the heats of summer and autumn, exhale a pestilential vapour, from the decomposition of the vegetable matter they contain. From these seats of noxious effluvia the wandering tribes of shepherds fly beyond the Gourgan or the Atrek, and live on the verge of the burning sand, although they have to carry water for each day s consumption from the distant river. The better classes retire from the intense heats of summer into the moun tains ; but the settled inhabitants of the villages, who cannot so easily remove, and who generally remain, suffer severely from sickness. The inhabitants, notwithstanding the unhealthiness of their climate, are a stout and athletic race. The province is famous for furnishing a supply of matchlocks for the king s body-guard. It is the ancient Hyrcania, and the native country of the Kajers, a Turkish tribe, of whom the king is the head, and on whom he con siders he can rely in times of danger.
Astrabad, or Asterabad, the capital of the above province, is situated near the mouth of the River Gourgan, which flows into the Caspian, and at the head of a shel tered bay, convenient for shipping. It is a straggling town, about 3J- miles in circuit, and picturesque in appear ance, from the buildings being intermingled with trees and gardens. At one time of greater size, it was reduced by Nadir Shah within its present limits. It is surrounded by a dilapidated mud wall, once lofty and formidable, and defended by numerous towers, and also by a wide and deep ditch, now almost filled with rubbish. Astrabad owes its origin to Yezzen-ibn-Messlub, who commanded the armies of Soliman, the seventh caliph of the Ommiades, early in the 7th century. It was destroyed by Tamerlane in 1384. In 1744 Hanway the English traveller visited the place, and attempted to open a direct trade with Europe. At present its bazaars, though extensive, are but poorly filled, but commercial activity is said to be on the increase, in spite of the insecurity caused by the Turco mans, who attack the caravans at the very gate of the town. The number of houses within the walls is estimated at irom 2000 to 3000. Owing to the noxious exhalations of v the surrounding forests, the town is so extremely unhealthy during the hot weather as to have acquired the title of the City of the Plague. Distance N.E. of Ispahan, 400 miles. Long. 54 25 E., lat. 36 50 N.
ASTRAKHAN, a government of European Russia, bounded on the S.E. by the Caspian Sea, N.E. by Oren burg, N. by Saratov, W. by the country of the Don Cossacks, and S.W. by the government of the Caucasus. It lies between lat. 44 50 and 49 50 N. and between long. 43 30 and 51 E. It has an area of about 84,948 square miles, divided into two nearly equal parts by the Volga, and consists chiefly of sandy deserts, interspersed with saline lakes ; but in the delta, and on the banks of the rivers, grapes and other fruits of southern climates avo raised. The population in 1867 was estimated at 573,954, comprising Russians, Tatars, Georgians, Armenians, Per sians, Hindus, &c., who engage in the rearing of horses, cattle, and sheep, and also in fishing for sturgeon, which forms the principal source of the wealth of the govern ment. The vicissitudes of climate are great ; with a mean annual temperature of 48 Fahr., the summer averages 70, and the winter 13 Fahr. The government is divided into four districts : Astrakhan, Krasnoi-Yar, Zenota iesk, and Chemyi-Var. Its capital, Astrakhan, is the only place of much importance.
Astrakhan, the capital of the above government, is situated on a small island in the Volga, about 30 miles above the influx of that river into the Caspian. It is a large, rambling, wood-built city, " dusty in summer, windy in autumn, frozen-up in winter, and knee-deep in mud in spring." It consists of three parts, (1.) The Kremlin, or citadel, dating from 1550, which stands on a hill, and contains the cathedral of the Assumption (1582), a spacious brick edifice of peculiar architecture, with the archbishop s palace, and the convent of the Trinity. (2.) The Belogorod, or white town, containing the government buildings, bazaars, <fcc. (3.) The Llobodeo, or suburbs, where the bulk of the population reside. Astrakhan is the seat of a Greek and of an Armenian archbishop ; and, besides a number of Greek and Armenian churches and con vents, it contains a Catholic and a Lutheran church, a Hindu temple, and several mosques. Mention may also be made of a botanic garden, bazaars, a theatre, a gymnasium, an ecclesiastical seminary, and several inferior schools. From its favourable position the town enjoys a very considerable trade both with the interior of Russia, and with India, Persia, &c. Besides its importance as a fishing station, it has considerable manufactures of cotton, silk, leather, &c. Living is very cheap, 20 per annum being a fair income for the maintenance of an ordinary family. This city was anciently the capital of a kingdom belonging to the Tatars, who were expelled about 1554 by the Russian prince, Ivan Vassilivich. In 15G9 it was besieged by the Turks under Selim, but they were defeated with great slaughter by the Russians. In 1670 it was seized by the rebel Stenko Razin ; but in 1671 he was dispossessed of it by his uncle, Jacolof, who remained faithful to the Czar. In 1722, when Peter the Great extended his conquests on the Caspian, Astrakhan was his headquarters. In 1702, 1718, and 1767, it suffered severely from conflagrations, it was plundered by the Persians in 1719, and, in 1830, the cholera swept away a great portion of its inhabitants. Lat. 46 21 N., long. 47 55 E. Population estimated at 50,000 or 60,000.
heavens a moral influence over the earth and its inhabitants. For long ages astronomy and astrology were identified. Isidore of Seville is the first to distinguish between the two; nor did astronomy wholly rid itself of astrology, till, with the system of Copernicus, the conviction that the earth itself is one of the heavenly bodies was finally established. Even at the present day a few may be found who, from a superstitious reverence for the past, or the spirit of contradiction, pride themselves on their adherence to the belief in stellar influences. It is no longer necessary to protest against an error which is dead and buried, but let us pause a moment and ask what we mean by an error With Spinoza we would say that erroneous ideas consist in the fancies and opinions which the senses suggest to the mind in a confused, imperfect, and ill-ordered manner. To this sort of knowledge Spinoza gives the name of vague
experience. This vague experience ia further complicated