the expedition was derived from members of the party. Consult also Bandelier, The Gilded Man (New York, 1893).
AGUJA, u-iiixr'na (Ciiliaii. probably corruplod
from Portu;j. uflnlha. nriulhno. spear-fish). A
large, voracious garfish {Ti/htisiirus foflialnr) of
the coasl of western Me.^ieo, held in preat dread
by fishenm-ii. The iian«> (also sjielled a-eivjon)
is extended to various related species of the West
Indies and iiei<;hboiing coasts. Sec KEEnt.EFlSH.
AGULHAS, ii-s^T^yas (rVirJtijr. needles >,
C^fE, Tlio most southern ]>oin1 of Africa, alvml
100 miles psstsoutheast of llie Ca^»e of Oood
Hcipc, in lat. 34° 51' S.. loufr. lfl° -VV K.. with a
lijrhthonse <>iyvtod in IS+lt at an elevation of "li
f^'t (Map: Cajx' fVilony. F 1M, The Asntlhas
Bank extends along the whole southern coast of
Africa. It is:!W»0 miles in lenirth. and opposite
the O^qie of <TOod Hope as ninch as 2Wl in
breadth.
AGUSTIN, a'gftos-ten'. Spe Imuai)E,
A(il STIX KC.
AGUSTINA, H'swis-t^'na (?-lfl.~). The
"Maid i)f Sarapiss;)." A iira»dirrr in the Span-
ish arniy. She distinsrtiished herself during the
siege of Sarajrossa, 180S-09, by heroic parti<ijia-
tion in several severe encounters with the French.
Onee slie siwtehed the fuse from a falling c;in-
nonier and fired the gun at the enemy, gaining
by this act the name of "La Artillcra." She was
n'lade suh-licutenant in the Spanish army, and
presented vith many decorations. Kyron sings
her praises in Child-c UnroM (t'anto i. .54-S<5).
AGUTAINO, ii'gtto-tr'no. A ilalay people on
Agutaiiio Island. See Philipines.
A'HAD (Heb. father's brothor). King of
Israel from 87,'> to S53 B-C-, tlw son and succes-
sor of Omri (I, Kings xri: 2J>^xxii: ■^^^). The
story of his rciga is told at greater length than
that of any other monarch. Intt the narrative,
in the opinion of many Bible critics, is deriv<>d
from two different scnuecs, which dill'er as to the
point of view frimi which the events in .Xhab's
reign are viewed. The one ix-presents the attitude
of tile Yalnveh purists, the other a i>atriotic ad-
miration of Ahab's Itravery and vigorous policy,
by means of which Ahab succ«'ded in checking the
adanee <if the Aramaic kingdom, whose seat was
«t Damascu>. This Syrian State, which could
easily combine witJi the enemies of the Hebrews
— Moab and Kdom more ]iar1icularly — was the
great danger that thrcateiie<i tin' ver_' existence
of the Israelitish kingdom. Ahab not only held
Menhadad at bay, but ictaincd contnd over Moab,
to which the inscription of King Mesha of Moab
(see Mo.MtlTE Stoxk) Wars witTOSs. Xo less
than tliree campaigns were waged against STia.
In llu' first two, Ahab was snccessful; and in the
interval between the second and third, Renhadad
and .hab joinwl forces to withstand an att^ick
of the .Assyrian king, Shalmanesn^r 11. Tlic lat-
U-r in his inscription mentions Ahab, and plac<'s
the size of the force furnished by him a1 1200
chariflts, liOO hois*>men, and i;0,000 soldiers.
The Assyrian kings were fond of exaggerating,
after a victory, the strengtli of their oppcmcnts,
and the figures mentioned are jirohably too liigh.
Shalmaneser met the combination of PaV-stinian
and Syrian forces at Karkar, near the river
Orontes. and claims to have gained a great vic-
tory. If this be so. the eonseqtiences do not
appear to have been of any moment, for shortly
aftiTwaril Assyrian armies are again obliged to
undertake' an expedition to the west. .Shortly
after the battle of Karkar, Ahab's relations with
Henhadad are. again hostile, and he combines
with .Tehoshaphat, Kingof .Indah, in a mov<-mcnt
to cru>ii Aram. The Hebrews, however, are de-
feated, and .hali himself is slain. Ahab. while
a follower of Yahwi'h, did not hesitate, in ac-
cordance with the tenib-ncy showii by vigorous
rulers, to seek the helo of other powers. His
marriage to .le-zebel, daughter of Ethbaal. the
King of Tyre (sc^e .1ose]]hus, Antiq., viii. KM),
led to the introdtiction of the worship of Mel-
kart, the Raal of Tvre, as part of the official
cttlt- That .hal) did not regard such an act as
hostik- to "ahwch is shown by the fact that his
chiMren liear namet. in which Yahweb appears as
an element (.Ichoram, Ahaziah, Athaliah), but
in the eyes of a 7x-alous Yahwist, like the prophet
Elijah, such conduct was reprchensiltle, and a
conlli<t ensm-s between the king and the prophet.
The story of the conflict, which covers chapters
xvii-xix. of I, Kings, is embellished with forceful
incidents, all intended to bring <mt the superior-
ity of Kiijah and to show Ahab in the light of
a wicked and sinful king, which he assuredly was
m>l. It must Ix' admitted, however, that his
ptdiey was a purely sivular one. and that he was
guided by political and not religious considera-
tions ill his various acts. So. the severest charge
brmight against him. his a^juiescence in the
judicial murder of aboth, which was brought
about by Jezebel, apjiears in a less opprobrious
liglit if we ixK-all that the questicm of royal au-
thority was at stake, and that Ahab could not
alTord to risk his position among his people as
their lord and master by yiidding (o any opposi-
tioti. however justified, against a rinal request.
(See Jk/ebeu) The story that the blixid of
Ahab's ixidy was licked up by dogs is an illustra-
tion of the uncompromising attitude towanl him
by the prophetical writers.
AHANTA, a-hiin'ta. A i>ortioii of the Tiiitish
colon,'*- of G<ild Coast in West .friea, fomierly
belonging to the Dutch, who founded the settle-
ment <if .xii]i.
AHASUERUS,;ih.=j:'fi-e'n1s. The name by which two kings of Media and Persia arc mentioned in the ]?ibh'. One and the best known is the monarch in Esther's days (sec Esther), who is the same as the Persian king Khshayarsha, corresponding as is now generally recognized
to Xerxes (48.V'iKi5 B.C.); the identity of the
other, referred to as the father of Darius the
Mede in the IJook of Daniel (chapter ix: 1 ) . can-
not he determined. The Hebrew form of the
nami' is Acba-iverosJi, See Xekxes.
AHASUERUS. ( 1 ) The name of the H'niirfcrhici .Ictr I q.v.) , according tn one legend. (2) The
title of a drama by Edgar (>)uinet (published 1SS31 based on thip same story.
A'HAZ (neb., he has taken hold). Son of Jolhani, and eb'veuth king of .Indah. who ruled from 731; to T'JS, though, acciu'iling to some scholars, his reign lasted till Tl.'i n.c. His rule was marked by disturbances, conlliets with surronnding nations, and innovations in religious rites. Early in his reign Pekah, King of Israel, and Reziii. King of Syria, undertook to conquer the kingdom of .ludah, and besieged .lerusalem, but did
not take the city ( Isaiali vii: 1). though they
carried away many ea]>tives (II. (Mironicles xxviii: 5) . Incursions were made by the Edomites
