Encyclopaedia Britannica > Volume 2, A-Anatomy

A K H
Akerblad and he went on revising and correcting it for several years;
II but finding this task to grow upon his hands, and despairing of
Akhbar. ever executing it to his own satisfaction, he abandoned the pur-
'"■"’v'—^ pose of correcting, and resolved to write the poem over anew
upon a somewhat different and enlarged plan. He finished
two books of his new poem, a few copies of which were
printed for the use of the author and certain friends ; of the
first book in 1757, of the second in 1765. He finished also
a good part of a third book, and an introduction to a fourth ;
but his most munificent and excellent friend, conceiving all
that was executed of the new work too inconsiderable to sup¬
ply the place and supersede the republication of the original
poem, and yet too valuable to be withheld from the public,
caused them both to be inserted in the collection of his
poems. (d. s.)
AKERBLAD, Jan David, a learned Swede, who greatly
distinguished himself by his profound researches in Runic,
Coptic, Phoenician, and ancient Egyptian literature. His re¬
searches on the hieroglyphics of the latter are held in much
estimation. After having travelled much in the east, he re¬
tired to Rome, where he had a pension from the late Duchess
of Devonshire, and died there, in the prime of life, in 1819.
AKERMAN, a circle in the Russian province of Bess¬
arabia, extending along the banks of the Black Sea, where
the Dneister forms an estuary. It is nearly destitute of po¬
pulation, except the capital, of the same name, which is built
on a tongue of land projecting into the estuary. It is the
ancient Roman colony of Alba Julia. It is surrounded with
strong walls and ditches, contains a castle, two public baths,
five churches, several mosques, and a synagogue for Jews.
The population, of various nations, religions, and languages,
amounts to about 25,000. Its situation renders it a place
of considerable trade. It is in Long. 30. 24. 15. E. and Lat.
46. 11. 45. N. Here the treaty with Turkey was concluded
in 1826.
AKHALIES, a class of religious warriors among the Sikhs,
and the most dissolute and most turbulent members of the
Sikh community. They are both fanatics and fatalists, and
admit proselytes from the lowest dregs of society. They
acknowledge no God, but make fate the cause of all things.
AKHALZIKE, a fortress on the south-west frontier of
Russian Georgia, formerly the capital of a Turkish pashalic.
Lat. 41.35. N. Long. 42.45. E. The adjoining town is sup¬
posed to have a population of 15,000. The neighbourhood
produces silk, honey, and wax, with excellent raisins, peaches,
apricots, figs, and other fruits.
AKHALZIKH, or Akiska, a city of Georgia, in Asia¬
tic Russia, on an affluent of the Kur, 110 miles west of
Tiflis. Lat. 41. 40. N. Long. 43.1. E. It was formerly the
capital of a pashalic, and carried on an active trade in white
slaves, now entirely suppressed. It has a strong castle, a
college, and library, a fine mosque, and a considerable trade
in silk, honey, and wax. Pop. about 12,000.
AKHBAR, or Ukhbar, called also Acbar or Acber,
or Akbar or Akber, the greatest and the best of the Mo¬
gul emperors of Hindustan, was the son of Humayun, the
son of Baber, the founder of the empire. He was born at
the foot of Anercote, in the desert of Sinde, on 14th Octo¬
ber 1542; ascended the throne 15th February 1556, and
died at Agra, 13th October 1605, after a chequered, but
generally prosperous, reign of nearly fifty years. He esta¬
blished his dominion over all Hindustan, or Northern India,
and was, in fact, the real founder of the empire ; his two pre¬
decessors having commenced the conquest of India without
complete success, and Humayun having lost nearly all that
his father had gained. Although almost continually occu¬
pied with enemies abroad, and rebellions and revolutions at
home, he found time to cultivate the arts of peace, and gave
the most anxious and most enlightened attention to every-
A K Y 435
thing that seemed calculated to promote the welfare of his Akhissar
people. He encouraged trade and commerce, reduced tax- l!
ation, and kept a strict watch over the conduct of his officers. ^ Akyab- ^
But what most of all distinguished him from other Maho-
metan rulers was his spirit of toleration. Professing no dog¬
matic faith himself, he not only did not persecute the adhe¬
rents of any creed, but showed the same benevolent atten¬
tion to the interests of all his subjects, whether Moslem or
Hindu. The mildness of his character, his strict impar¬
tiality, magnanimity, and personal courage, are mentioned
with praise even by the Jesuits, who visited India during his
reign; and the memory of his good qualities and deeds still
lives among the people of Hindustan. His body was depo¬
sited in a splendid mausoleum, which remains entire at Se-
cundra, a ruinous village six miles north of Agra ; and is
considered to be one of the finest architectural monuments
of India, inferior only to the Taj-Mehal at Agra. It is built
of red stone, and consists of several tiers of arcades and gal¬
leries, on the top of which is a small platform, surrounded
by a marble screen richly carved, and affording an extremely
fine view of the surrounding country. In the centre of the
platform is Akbar’s monument, of white marble, with these
words:—“ The god Ahbar, may his glory be magnified an
inscription that is thought to countenance the charge made
against him, that he had aspired to divine honours. The
body reposes in a plain sarcophagus, under a lofty dome,
on the ground floor. See Abulfazl.
AKHISSAR, the ancient Thyatira, a city of Natolia, in
Asia, situate in a plain 18 miles broad, which produces
plenty of cotton and grain. The inhabitants, who are rec¬
koned to be about 8000, are Greeks, Armenians, and Turks.
The houses are built of earth or turf dried in the sun,
and are very low and ill constructed; but there are six or
seven mosques which are all of marble. There are remark¬
able inscriptions on marble in several parts of the town, which
are part of the ruins of the ancient Thyatira. It is on a
branch of the river Hermus, 50 miles from Pergamos. Long.
28. 30. E. Lat. 38. 50. N.
AKHMETSCHET. See Simferopol.
AKHTIAR. See Sevastopol.
AKIBA, a famous rabbi, flourished a little after the de¬
struction of Jerusalem by Titus. He kept the flocks of a
rich citizen of Jerusalem till the fortieth year of his age, and
then devoted himself to study in the academies for twenty-
four years; and was afterwards one of the greatest masters
in Israel. According to the Jewish accounts, he had 24,000
scholars. He declared for the impostor Barcochebas, whom
he owned as the Messiah; and not only anointed him king,
but took upon himself the office of his master of the horse.
The troops which the emperor Hadrian sent against the
Jews, who, under the conduct of this false Messiah, had com¬
mitted horrid massacres, exterminated this faction. Akiba
was taken, and put to death with great cruelty. He lived
120 years, and was buried with his wife in a cave upon a
mountain not far from Tiberias. According to tradition, his
24,000 scholars were buried around bim. It is said that he
invented a supposititious work under the name of the pa¬
triarch Abraham.
AKOND, an officer of justice in Persia, who takes cog¬
nisance of the causes of orphans and widows, of contracts,
and other civil concerns. He is the head of the school of
law, and gives lectures to all the subaltern officers. He has
his deputies in all the courts of the kingdom, who, with the
second sadra, make all contracts.
AKYAB, a town and seaport of Arracan, in the East
Indies, situate on the eastern side of the island of the same
name, and at the mouth of the river Kuladyne. Previous
to its occupation by the British, in 1826, Akyab was a petty
village, consisting of a few fishermen’s huts; but since that