224. AIX-LA-CHAPELLE AJACCIO public view once in seven years. Until 1558 all the German emperors were crowned here, and their portraits, together .with Charle- magne's chair and many other interesting his- torical memorials, are preserved either in the cathedral or in the town hall. The imperial insignia were removed to Vienna in 1793. The burghers enjoyed rare exemptions and privileges until the reformation, which was warmly espoused by the citizens. After des- perate contests, however, the Catholics, with the aid of Spanish soldiery from the Nether- lands, suppressed Protestantism, and the priv- ileges were taken away from the city. The population is now Catholic, excepting about 3,000 Protestants and 400 Jews. A magnifi- cent monument in commemoration of the war- riors of 1866, by Friedrich Drake, was inaugu- rated in 1872. Aix-la-Chapelle is renowned for its mineral baths, which were known to the Romans, by whom the place was called Aquisgranum, either from an epithet of Apollo, to whom thermal springs were sacred, or from Severus Granius, a Roman commander about A. D. 125. The waters contain sulphur, and have a heat of 131 F. They are very benefi- cial in skin and paralytic affections. In the suburb of Borcette (Burtscheid) there are also springs, both hot and cold, which are not im- pregnated with sulphur. Treaty of, 1668t At the death of Philip IV. of Spain, 1665, Louis XIV., his son-in-law, asserting a claim to parts of the Spanish dominions in right of his wife, Maria Theresa, under the Brabant laws of de- volution, commenced the war of succession and seized the province of Franche-Comte, together with several fortresses and strongholds in the Netherlands. The Spaniards were una- ble to make head against such commanders as Conde and Turenne, and Holland, alarmed at the progress of the French, concluded the tri- ple alliance with England and Sweden. Louis accepted mediation in preference to the alter- native of arms, and a congress at Aix-la-Cha- pelle ended in a treaty, May 2, 1668, by which Franche-Comte was restored to Spain, but sev- eral of the strong towns in the Netherlands, including Lille and Valenciennes, were retained by France. Treaty of, 1748. The Austrian war of succession had arisen from the claims raised by several German princes in opposition to Maria Theresa, who succeeded to the throne of her father, Charles VI., in virtue of the pragmatic sanction. The war lasted from 1740 to 1747, and almost all the powers in Europe were engaged on one side or the other Eng- land and France being, as usual, opponents. The preliminaries were signed in April, 1748, and ratified in October. The pragmatic sanc- tion was renewed, and the status quo ante bel- lum of most of the parties restored. Frederick the Great remained in possession of Silesia, which he had conquered. Austria ceded, be- sides, to Sardinia, some portions of the Mila- nese territory ; and to Philip, the brother of the king of Spain, Parma, Piacenza, and Guas- talla. The Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle (1818) was held for the purpose of settling out- standing questions incident to the wars conclud- ed by the treaties of Vienna. It was attended by the emperors of Austria and Russia and the king of Prussia in person, and by the repre- sentatives of the allied powers, Prince Metter- nich, Lord Castlereagh, the duke of Welling- ton, Counts Hardenberg, Bernstorff, Nessel- rode, and Capo d'Istria. France, being invited to cooperate, sent the duke de Richelieu. The conferences resulted in declarations by the powers confirmatory of the principles of the holy alliance, in a circular to that effect to all the minor courts of Europe, and in freeing France from the allied army, which had re- mained in that country for nearly three years. A1X-LES-BAINS, or All (anc. A quce Allobrogum, A. Gratiance, or A. Domitianai), a bathing place of 8. E. France, in the department of Savoie, 8 m. N. of Chambery; pop. in 1866, 4,430. The waters are warm, impregnated with sul- phur, and have a temperature of from 112 to 117 F. West of it is the lake of Bourget. AIZANI, or Azanl, an ancient city of Asia Mi- nor, in Phrygia, mentioned by Strabo, but his- torically unknown. Its numerous remains at Tchavdyr, 30 m. S. W. of Kutaieh, have been described by several travellers since their dis- covery by the earl of Ashburnham in 1824. They comprise an ancient temple of Jupiter, a theatre, stadium, and gymnasium. The thea- tre is in fine preservation. Its greatest diame- ter was 185 feet, and the auditorium had 15 rows of marble seats. The river Rhyndacus (now Adranas) rises near the town and passes through it, and was spanned by two bridges of white marble, each consisting of five semicircu- lar arches. There are besides many tombs, and Roman coins and inscriptions have been found. See Hamilton's " Researches in Asia Minor," and Sir C. Fellows's "Asia Minor." AJACCIO, capital of the island and French department of Corsica, a seaport on the W. Birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte.
