AZO'TUS. Same as Ashdod (q.v.).
AZOV, a-zof. A fortified town and seaport
in the Russian territory of the Don Cossacks,
on the left bank of the river Don, about 25
miles east of Rostov, and within 5 or 6 miles
of the Sea of Azov (Map: Russia, E 5). The
principal industries are fishing and gardening.
It carries on an extensive trade in grain, serv-
ing as an outlet for the southeastern part of
Russia. Population, in 1885, 16,600; in 1897,
27,500. The flourishing trading colony of the
Greeks, Tanais, on or very near the present
site of Azov, was conquered by Mithridates
(B.C. 115). Then it fell under the successive
rule of the Sarmatians, Huns, Khazars, and the
Petchenegs. In the Tenth Century, it was cap-
tured by the Russian prince Vladimir I. When
in the Thirteenth Century it was taken by the
Genoese, Azov became the commercial centre and
entrepot for the Indo-Chinese trade, and the
Genoese fortified it by high walls and towers.
In 1.395 Tamerlane took the town and sacked it.
In 1471 the Turks conquered it, and called it and
the neighboring sea Asak. The closing of the
Black Sea by the Turks to all navigation, fol-
lowed by the discovery of the sea-route to India,
brought al)0ut the speedy decline of the town.
In 1696 Peter the Great took the town. Captured
later more than once by the Turks, it was finally
ceded to Russia in 1774, by the Treaty of Kut-
chuk-Kainardji. In 1855 it was bombarded and
greatly injured by an allied English and French
squadron.
AZOV, Sea of. A large gulf connecting with
the Black Sea by the Strait of Kerteh and in-
closed by Russian territory (Map: Russia, E 5).
Its greatest length is about 200 miles, its width
about 120 miles, and its area is estimated at
about 15,000 square miles. At its northeast
extremity it becomes narrow, and forms the Gulf
of Taganrog. It has some islands, of which
Berusch Island is the largest (about 65 square
miles). Its shores are mostly low and sandy,
with only here and there, especially on the south,
a short strip of rocks. Its waters contain very
little salt — so little, indeed, that in the neighbor-
hood of Taganrog it is used for drinking. It is very
shallow, and but poorly fitted for navigation.
The three ports on its shores are Taganrog,
Mariupol, and Berdiansk, annually visited by
about 2700 vessels, with a tonnage of about
500,000. The sea abounds in fish. A narrow
strip of the sea, on the west, cut off from the
main body by a long tongue of land, and border-
ing on the Crimea, is called Sivasli (q.v.), or
Putrid Hen. The Sea of Azov receives several
large rivers, the most important of which is the
Don, near whose mouth is the town of Azov.
AZPEITIA, as-pa'e-sya. Caatilian .•?/). proii.
atli-pa'etya. A district town in the Spanish
Province of Guipuzcoa, sitiuited on the I'rola. a
short distance from San Sebastian. It contains
interesting remains of ancient buildings, has
mineral springs, and in its vicinity is situated
the Loyola Monastery, oecipying the site of the
house in which the founder of the Society of
Jesus was born in 1491. Population, about 7000.
AZRAEL, az'ra-el (Heb., help of God). In
Mohammedan belief, Azrael, also called Izrail, is
the angel of death (Koran, surah xxxii. 11), and
is often called JIalak-al-Maut. It is he who
separates the soul from the body, doing this
gently or harshly, as the case may be. When a
man has been God-fearing, the soul leaves as
gently as water from a bag; but the soul of an
infidel is drawn out as a hot spit out of wet wool.
The angel of death figures also in Jewish litera-
ture.
AZ'TEC (from Nahuatl aztlan, place of the
heron, or the 'Heron' clan). A name frequently
used to designate all the ancient semi-civilized
tribes of Xahuatlan stock in Central and South-
ern Mexico, but properly applying only to a small
group of seven cognate tribes occupying the val-
ley of Mexico and its immediate vicinity. Accord-
ing to tradition they had migrated together from
the north. The principal tribe fixed its capital
at Tenochtitlan, now the City of Mexico, and by
successive wars of conquest gradually acquired
dominion over nearly all the tribes of Southern
Mexico, thus building up the Mexican Empire,
which flourished for perhaps two centuries until
overthrown by Cortes in 1521. Although pos-
sessed of a high degree of culture, perhaps de-
rived from their predecessors in the country, the
Aztecs were distinguished for their cruelty and
the bloody character of their religious rites.
Some of their descendants, still retaining their
ancient language, reside in outlying villages in
the neighborhood of the City of Mexico. See
Cortes; Mexico; Montezuma; Nahuatlan
Stock.
AZTEC CLUB OF 1847. A society formed
to cherish the memories and traditions of the
Mexican War. The club was founded in the
City of Mexico, in 1847. Membership proceeds
bv primogeniture. The members number about
300.
AZUA, a-soo'a, or AZUA DE COMPOSTELLA, da kom'po-stel'ya. A town in the Province of Santo Domingo, in the island of Haiti, on the Bia River, 4 miles from Ocoa Bay,
and 60 miles west of the city of Santo Domingo
(Map: West Indies, M 5). It has sulphur
springs, and tlie horses of the neighborhood are —
greatly prized. Population, 2000.
AZITAY, S'soo-i'. A province of Ecuador,
situated in the southwestern part of the coun-
try, and covering an area of about 11,150 square
miles. The surface is mountainous. Agriculture and cattle-raising are the chief occupations " of the inhabitants, who are mostly Indians. The cinchona tree is found in abundance on the mountain slopes. Population, in 1890, 1.32,400. Capi-
tal. Cuenca (q.v.).
AZULEJO, ii'thon-la'no (Sp. azul, blue; see
AziRE). The name given, on account of its pre-
vailing color, to a kind of painted glazed tile
made originally by Mohammedan artists in Per-
sia, Egjpt, Spain, etc., and used for the decora-
tion of wall surfaces. (See Tii.ES.) Some pat-
terns were repeated century after century, and
the Spaniards, who inherited the art of making
them from the Moors, modified the designs and
colors so slightly that it is not easy to distin-
guish a Renaissance from an early niediieval
S]):inish tile.
AZUNI, ad-zoo'ne, Domenico Alberto (1749-
1827). A distinguished Italian Jurist and his-
torian, born at Sassari, in the Island of Sardinia.
In his youth he began the study of law, devoting
himself particularly to the maritime relation-
ships of nations, on which he became a great
