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AIR, or ASBEN

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Originally appearing in Volume V01, Page 443 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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AIR, or ASBEN , a See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country of See also:

West See also:

Africa, lying between 15° and 19° N. and 6° and 1o° E. It is within the See also:

SAHARA

Sahara, of which it forms one of the most fertile regions. The See also:

NORTHERN

northern portion of the country is mountainous, some of the peaks rising to a height of 5000 ft. Richly wooded hollows and extensive plains are interspersed between the hills. The See also:

MIMOSA (so named from the movements of the leaves in many species which " mimic " animal sensibility)

mimosa, the dum See also:

palm and the date are abundant. Some of the plains afford See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good pasturage for camels, asses, goats and See also:

CATTLE (Norman Fr. catel, from Late Lat. capitale, wealth or property, a word applied in the feudal system to movable property and particularly to live stock, and surviving in its wider meaning as " chattel " or " chattle ")

cattle; others are See also:

DESERT

desert tablelands. In the less frequented districts See also:

WILD, JONATHAN (c. 1682-1725)

wild animals abound, notably the See also:

lion and the gazelle. The country generally is of See also:

SANDSTONE

sandstone or See also:

GRANITE (adapted from the Ital. granite, grained; Lat. granum, grain)

granite formation, with occasional See also:

TRACHYTE (Gr. rpaxus, rough)

trachyte and basaltic ranges. There are no permanent See also:

rivers; but during the See also:

RAINY, ROBERT (1826-1906)

rainy See also:

SEASON (0. Fr. seson, seison, mod. saison, Lat. satio, sowing time, the spring, from serere, to sow; in Late Lat. the word is found with its present meaning, the spring being considered as particularly the season of the year)

season, from See also:

AUGUST (originally Sextilis)

August to See also:

OCTOBER

October, heavy floods convert the See also:

WATER

water-courses in the hollows of the mountains into broad and rapid streams. Numerous See also:

wells See also:

SUPPLY (through Fr. from Lat. supplere, to fill up)

supply the wants of the See also:

PEOPLE

people and their cattle. To the See also:

south of this variegated region lies a desert See also:

plateau, 2000 ft. above See also:

sea-level, destitute of water, and tenanted only by the wild ox, the See also:

OSTRICH

ostrich and the See also:

GIRAFFE

giraffe. Still farther south is the fairly fertile See also:

DISTRICT

district of Damerghu, of which See also:

ZINDER

Zinder is the See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief See also:

TOWN

town.

Little of the See also:

SOIL

soil is under cultivation except in the neighbourhood of the villages. See also:

Millet, See also:

DATES

dates, See also:

INDIGO (earlier indico, from Lat. indicum, the Indian sub-stance or dye; the Sans. name was niti, from nila, dark blue, and this through Arab. al-nil, annil, gives " aniline ")

indigo and See also:

SENNA (Arab. sand)

senna are the See also:

PRINCIPAL

principal productions. The See also:

GREAT

great bulk of the See also:

food supplies is brought from Damerghu, and the materials'for clothing are also imported. A great See also:

CARAVAN (more correctly Karwan)

caravan annually passes through Air, consisting of several thousand camels, carrying See also:

salt from See also:

BILMA, or KAWAR

Bilma to the See also:

HAUSA

Hausa states. Air was called Asben by the native tribes until they were conquered by the See also:

BERBERS

Berbers. The See also:

PRESENT

present inhabitants are for the most See also:

PART

part of a mixed See also:

RACE

race, combining the finer traits of the Berbers with See also:

NEGRO (from Lat. eager, black)

negro characteristics. The See also:

SULTAN (an Arabic word meaning " victorious " or " a ruler," sultat, dominion)

sultan of Air is to a great extent dependent on the chiefs of the See also:

TUAREG, or TAWAREK (more properly Tawarik, the collective form of tarki, from Arabic terek, to give up)

Tuareg tribes inhabiting a vast See also:

TRACT (from Lat. tractare, to treat of a matter, through Provencal tractat and Ital. trattato)

tract of the Sahara to the See also:

north-west. A large part of his See also:

revenue is derived from See also:

TRIBUTE (Lat. tributurn, a stated payment, contribution)

tribute exacted from 'the salt caravans. Since 1890 Air has been included in the See also:

French See also:

SPHERE (Gr. vclsa?pa, a ball or globe)

sphere of See also:

INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence in West Africa. Agades, the See also:

capital of the country, 'which has a See also:

CIRCUIT (Lat. circuitus, from circum, round, and ire, to go)

circuit of 3z m., is built on the edge of a plateau 2500 ft. high, and is supposed to have been founded by the Berbers to serve as a secure See also:

MAGAZINE

magazine for their extensive See also:

trade with the See also:

SONGHOI, SONRHAY, SURHAI

Songhoi See also:

EMPIRE

empire. The See also:

LANGUAGE (adapted from the Fr. langage, from langue, tongue, Lat. lingua)

language of the people is a See also:

DIALECT (from Gr. Sia stcror, conversation, manner of speaking, &aXeyec6at, to converse)

dialect of Songhoi. In former times Agades was a See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place of great See also:

TRAFFIC

traffic, and had a See also:

POPULATION (Lat. populus, people; populare, to populate)

population of about 50,000.

Since the beginning of the 16th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century the prosperity of the town has, however, gradually declined. F. Foureau, who visited Agades in 1899, stated that more than See also:

HALF

half the See also:

TOTAL

total See also:

AREA

area was deserted and ruinous. The houses, which are built of See also:

clay, are See also:

low and See also:

FLAT (a modification of O. Eng. flet, an obsolete word of Teutonic origin, meaning the ground beneath the feet)

flat-roofed; and the only buildings of importance are the chief See also:

MOSQUE (through Fr. mosquie; Span. mezquila, from Arab. masjid, sajada, to adore)

mosque, which is surmounted by a See also:

TOWER (Lat. turris; Fr. tour, clocker; Ital. torre; Ger. Thurm)

tower 95 ft. high, and the sultan's See also:

RESIDENCE (Latin residere, to remain behind, to dwell, reside)

residence, a massive two-storied structure pierced with small' windows. The chief trade is See also:

GRAIN (derived through the French from Lat. granum, seed, from an Aryan root meaning " to wear down," which also appears in the common Teutonic word " corn ")

grain. The great salt caravans pass through it, as well as pilgrims on their way to See also:

MECCA (Arab. Makkah)

Mecca.

End of Article: AIR, or ASBEN

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