Ashley, William Henry (b. c. 1778, Powhatan, Va., U.S.—d. March 26, 1838, Cooper county, Mo.) U.S. fur trader. Arriving in Missouri about 1802, he prospered in mining and land speculation. In 1820 he became the state’s first lieutenant governor. With Andrew Henry (1771-1833), he organized the Rocky Mountain Fur Co. in 1822 and established a trading post at the mouth of the Yellowstone River. Forced to abandon the post by Indians, he instituted the annual rendezvous (1825), where trappers would trade their furs to him for supplies for the next year. By 1827 he had made a fortune and retired. Elected to the U.S. House of Represen¬ tatives (1831-37), he championed Western interests.
Ashoka \3-'sho-k3\ or Asoka \3-'so-ko\ (b. c. 304—d. c. 232 bc) Last major emperor (c. 269-232 bc) of the Mauryan empire in India and a patron of Buddhism. After his bloody conquest of Kalinga in the eighth year of his reign, Ashoka renounced military aggression and resolved to live according to the dharma. He spoke of Buddhism only to fellow Buddhists and adopted a policy of toleration for other religions. He spread Buddhist teachings through inscriptions known as the Rock Edicts and Pillar Edicts. He enjoined officials to be aware of the needs of common people and to dispense justice impartially; dharma ministers were appointed to relieve suffering and look to the special needs of other religions, women, outly¬ ing regions, and neighbouring peoples. He erected stupas and monaster¬ ies, developed a course of study for adherents, and sent missionaries to Sri Lanka. He is remembered as the ideal Buddhist ruler.
Ashqelon \'ash-k9-,lan\ formerly Ascalon Town (pop., 2000 est.: 98,937) and archaeological site, Israel. The historic coastal city-state of Ascalon was traditionally the key to the conquest of southwestern Pales¬ tine. Its name appears in Egyptian texts as early as c. 1800 bc. It was con¬ quered by several ancient empires, including that of Alexander the Great (332 bc). Conquered by the Arabs in ad 636, it was taken by Crusaders in 1153 and became one of their principal ports (see Crusades). It was retaken by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187 and destroyed by the Mamluk sultan Baybars I in 1270. Modern Ashqelon, originally an Arab town, was resettled by Israelis after 1949 and is now a resort and industrial centre.
ashram Yash-rem, 'ash-,ram\ or ashrama Vash-ro-moV In Hinduism, any of the four stages of life through which a “twice-born” (see upanay- ana) Hindu ideally will pass. These stages are: the student, who is devoted and obedient to his teacher; the householder, who supports his family and the priests and fulfills duties to the gods and ancestors; the hermit, who withdraws from society to pursue ascetic and yogic practices; and the homeless mendicant, who renounces all possessions and wanders from place to place begging for food. In English the word has come to mean a place for the pursuit of spiritual or religious disciplines, often under a GURU.
Ash tart See Astarte
Ashton, Sir Frederick (William Mallandaine) (b. Sept. 17, 1904, Guayaquil, Ecua.—d. Aug. 18, 1988, Sussex, Eng.) Principal cho¬ reographer and director of England’s Royal Ballet. After creating ballets from 1925 for the Ballet Club (later Ballet Rambert), he joined the Vic- Wells Ballet (later Royal Ballet) in 1933, becoming principal choreogra¬ pher, assistant director (1953-63), and director (1963-70). At least 30 of his works remain in its repertoire, including Fagade (1931), Symphonic Variations (1946), and Birthday Offering (1956). He also choreographed for companies such as the Royal Danish Ballet ( Romeo and Juliet, 1955) and the New York City Ballet ( Illuminations , 1950).
Ashur Ancient religious capital of Assyria. It is located on the Tigris River, 60 mi (97 km) south of Mosul, Iraq. The name Ashur was applied to the city, to Assyria itself, and to Assyria’s principal god. The capital’s site was originally occupied c. 2500 bc and later became part of Akkad. By the late 12th century bc it was under Assyrian control. Its religious sanc-
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116 I Ashurbanipal ► asparagus
Ashurbanipal carrying a basket in the rebuilding of the temple, stone bas- relief from the Esagila, Babylon, 650 bc; in the British Museum
tity ensured its continuous upkeep until 614 bc, when it was destroyed by Babylonia. The archaeological site has yielded fortifications, temples, and palaces.
Ashurbanipal V.a-sor-'ba-ni-.paL (fl. 7th century bc) Last great Assyr¬ ian king (r. 668-627 bc). He was appointed crown prince of Assyria in 672 bc; his half-brother was appointed crown prince of Babylo¬ nia. On his father’s death, Ashurba¬ nipal assumed full power without incident. He quelled a rebellion in Egypt and successfully besieged Tyre. His half brother, who served him in Babylonia peacefully for 16 years, joined a coalition of peoples from outlying areas of the Assyrian empire and plotted rebellion, but Ashurbanipal discovered the plots and, after a three-year siege, took Babylon. By 639 bc he had the whole known world under his control. A person of religious zeal, he rebuilt or adorned most of the major shrines of Assyria and Babylonia. His principal intellectual accomplishment was the creation in Nineveh of the first sys¬ tematically organized library in the Middle East; the clay tablets col¬ lected there preserved omen texts,
Mesopotamian epics, prayers and incantations, scientific texts, lexico¬ graphical texts, and folktales.
Asia Largest continent on Earth. It is bounded by the Arctic, Pacific, and
Indian oceans. The western boundary, with Europe, runs roughly north- south along the eastern Ural Mountains; the Caspian, Black, Aegean, and Mediterranean seas; the Suez Canal; and the Red Sea. The islands of Sri Lanka and Taiwan and the archipelagoes of Indonesia (excluding New Guinea), the Philippines, and Japan also form part of Asia. Area: 17,226,000 sq mi (44,614,000 sq km). Population (2004 est.): 3,879,659,000. Mountains and plateaus predominate on the continent, with the highest mountains located in Central Asia and north of the Indian subcontinent. Terrain features include Earth’s highest peak, Mount Ever¬ est, at 29,035 ft (8,850 m), and the lowest natural point, the Dead Sea, at 1,312 ft (400 m) below sea level. The largest of Asia’s many arid regions are the Thar and Gobi deserts. It has some of the longest rivers in the world, including the Euphrates, Tigris, Indus, Ganges (Ganga), Yangtze (Chang; the longest river in Asia), Huang He (Yellow), Ob, Yenisey, and Lena. The Caspian, Aral, and Dead seas are major saltwater lakes. About one-fifth of Asia’s landmass is arable. Its principal language groups include Sino- Tibetan, Indo-Aryan, Austronesian, Austroasiatic, and Semitic; important singular languages include Japanese and Korean. East Asia contains three main ethnic groups: Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. The Indian subcon¬ tinent is home to a vast diversity of peoples, most of whom speak lan¬ guages from the Indo-Aryan subgroup of the Indo-European family. Because of the influence of China and the former Soviet Union, the Man¬ darin Chinese dialect and the Russian language are used widely. Asia is the birthplace of all the world’s major religions and hundreds of minor ones. Hinduism is the oldest major religion to have originated in southern Asia; Jainism and Buddhism emerged in the 6th and 5th centuries bc, respec¬ tively. Southwest Asia was the cradle of the so-called Abrahamic reli¬ gions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Daoism and Confucianism, both of which originated in the 6th or 5th century bc, have profoundly influenced Chinese culture and the cultures of surrounding peoples. Asia is marked by great disparities in wealth. A few countries, notably Japan, Singapore, and the oil-rich countries of the Arabian Peninsula, have attained high standards of living; others, such as Bangladesh and Myanmar, are among the poorest. Between these two extremes lie Russia, China, and India. Asia is a land of great cultural diversity, but there are five main cultural influ¬ ences: Chinese, Indian, Islamic, European, and Central Asian. China has had great influence in East Asia as the source of Confucianism, artistic styles, and the Chinese writing system. Indian influence has been expressed through Hinduism and Buddhism, affecting Tibet, Indonesia,