a province of Persia, part of the ancient Media. It is separated from Armenia on the N. by the River Araxes; and from Irak on the S. by the Kizil-Ozein, or Golden Stream. It has the Caspian Sea and Ghilan on the E., and Armenia and Kurdistan on the W. The country is superior to the southern provinces of Persia, being richly diversified with wood and water. It differs entirely from the provinces of Fars and Irak, as it consists of a regular succession of undulating eminences, partially cultivated, and opening into extensive plains such as Anjan, Tabreez, and Urumea or Van. Near the centre of the province the mountains of Sahend rise in an accumulated mass to the height of 9000 feet above the sea. Mount Sevellan, towards its eastern frontier, attains a height of nearly 13,000 feet; and the Talish Mountains, which run from N. to S., parallel to and at no great distance from the Caspian, attain an altitude of 7000 feet. Azerbijan is a fertile country, and of a most pleasing aspect. It is reckoned one of the most productive provinces of Persia, and the villages have a more pleasing appearance than those of Irak. The orchards and gardens, in which they are for the most part embosomed, yield delicious fruits of almost every description. Provisions are cheap and abundant, and wine is made in considerable quantities. This province is watered by several considerable rivers, namely, the Araxes, the Kizil-Ozein, and the Juggaty. The Yezalian and the Harasa are tributaries of the Araxes; and the Agi and Shar flow into the lake of Urumea. This lake is about 300 miles in circumference. Its waters are more intensely salt than the sea. It is surrounded by some of the most fertile districts in Persia. The country to the N. and W., namely, the districts of Urumea and Selmart, is the most picturesque and prosperous part of Azerbijan; yet even here the traveller from the more civilized regions of Europe laments at every step the sloth and want of enterprise among the inhabitants, who entirely neglect the natural advantages of their country. There are many rivers which fall into the lake, by which the produce of the rich and well-cultivated valleys through which they run might be transported across its waters, and dispersed among the different towns in the province. The truth, however, is, that individual exertion is damped by the tyranny of the government; the inhabitants fearing that, if boats were constructed for the navigation of the lake, they would be subjected to heavy duties, or arbitrarily impressed into the service of government. The bulk of the people are so held down by their rulers, that, in the hope of bettering their condition, they would hail with pleasure the approach of a Russian army. Lead, copper, saltpetre, and sulphur, are found within the confines of Azerbijan; also a kind of beautiful transparent marble or jasper, which takes the highest polish, and is used in the buildings of Tabreez, Schiraz, and Isphahan, under the name of Tabreez marble. The chief towns are Tabreez, Urumea, Ardebil, and Khoece. The climate is healthful—in summer and autumn hot, but cold in winter, which is severely felt by the lower orders, owing to the want of fuel, for which there is no substitute except dried cow-dung, mixed with straw. The spring is temperate and delightful in the plains, but on the mountains snow lies eight months in the year; and hail-storms are so violent as frequently to destroy cattle in the fields. The best soils yield from fifty to sixty fold when abundantly irrigated; and supplies of water for this purpose are drawn from the many small rivers by which the province is intersected. Oxen are generally used to draw the plough. (Kinneir's Geographical Memoir of the Persian Empire; Fraser's Travels and Adventures in the Persian Provinces on the Caspian Sea.) (D.B.—N.)