or ARDEVIL, a town of Persia in the province of Aderbijan. It was taken and burnt by Jenghiz Khan in 1222, when most of the inhabitants were destroyed; but it has been since rebuilt; and is still ranked for dignity among the best cities of the kingdom, on account of its having been the residence and burying-place of some of the Persian kings; par- ticularly the sepulchre of Sheik Sefi is at this place, to which the people resort in pilgrimage. He founded a place, which they call his kitchen, with a revenue sufficient to maintain 1000 poor people, and to feed them three times a-day. Three or four of the largest principal streets have shops, and are planted on each side with elms and linden trees, to keep off the exces- sive heat of the sun; but the houses are poorly built, with bricks dried in the sun; yet most of them, that are not in the bazars or market places, have the plea- sure and conveniency of a garden full of trees bearing fruit; and there are large spots in the out-parts of the town, where the houses are at a distance from each other, and the spaces between planted with trees, which render the city of a large extent. The meidan, or great square, is 300 paces long, and 150 broad, having shops all round; which, when this place was in a flour- ishing condition, were stored with all manner of valu- able commodities.

Through the city there pass two branches of a rivulet, which have been sometimes enlarged by the melt- ing of the snow on the mountains, that they have been forced to make canals to divert the stream. In the reign of Sha Abbas, it broke down the dykes, and carried away a great number of houses. The city is without walls, and is seated in the midst of a large plain encompassed with mountains, the highest of which lies westward, and is always covered with snow. These render the air sometimes extremely hot, and at others intolerably cold, which occasion epidemical distempers, that carry off great numbers of people. The soil pro- duces no fruit near the city but apples, pears, and peaches; and yet is good both for corn and pasture. The sheep are so numerous, that 100,000 have passed over the city bridge in a day. There are here several sorts of mineral waters, which serve both for common bath- ing, and for the cure of various diseases; one of these is a sulphureous spring, whose exhalations render the circumambient air extremely disagreeable. There are three springs which produce as hot water as if it was boiling, and from which waters are conveyed to the public baths in the city. About half a league from the city, on the right hand of the public road, there is a pool of standing water, which is covered all over with salt like ice. E. Long. 47° 30'. N. Lat. 37° 55'.