196 AUVERGNE-

Burgundy : his diocese comprehended 611 parishesand thirteen abbeys. The present bishop standsunder the metropolitan of Besanca, and exercisesjurisdiction over the departments of the Soane andLoire, and Nievre. The town of Autun lies at thefoot of three high hills, and consists of the uppertown, the castle and the lower town. It is tolerablywell built, contained before the revolution nine parishchurches, live abbeys, with five other religious houses,and has about 8,000 inhabitants, the abbey church ofSt. Martin incloses the tomb of Queen Brunhaut";and both the town and environs abound in Romanantiquities. The principal gate is represented be-neath.

Auvergne. A ci-devant province of France, whichtook its name from the ancient inhabitants, calledAverni. It was surrounded by Velay and Forez,Limousin, Bourbonnais, Berry, Rovergue and Gevau-dan, in the heart of France. Upper and Lower Au-vergne contained together, on 500 square leagues,800,000 inhabitants. The mountains of Auvergne areamong the most noted of France. The northern partis called Puy de Dome ; the southern Puy de Cantal;while the centre is formed of the Mont rf Or. Therevolution divided this province into three depart-ments. Auvergne was celebrated in the time of ancientGaul, and has always remained a very important partof France.

Auxonne. The capital of a county of the samename in France, in the province of Burgundy. It isregularly fortified, and contains manufactures of sergeand other cloths. It has about 5280 inhabitants.

Ava, or Aungwa. A town in Asia, formerlythe capital of Burmah, on the Irrawaddy, 4 milesW. S.W. of Ummerapoora, 500 miles E. of Calcutta ;Ion. 95° 58' E. ; lat. 21° 51' N. It was divided intothe upper and lower city ; both fortified. The lowerwas about four miles in circumference, protected by awall 30 feet high, with a deep and broad ditch; anembankment of earth supports the wall within. Theupper town, which may be called the citadel, does notexceed a mile in circumference, and is much strongerand more compact than the other. The walls are nowmouldering, and a great part of the timber of which thehouses were built has been carried away to be used ina new town, called Ummerapoora. Numerous templesare falling, and the few houses built of brick becomethe abode of bats. In the temple of Logathero Prawis still to be seen a gigantic image of Godama, of mar-ble, The height of the idol, from the top of the headto the pedestal on which it sits, is nearly 24 feet; the

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head is eight feet in diameter, and across the breast itmeasures 10 feet. The Burmans assert that it is com-posed of one entire block of marble ; nor can anyjunction be perceived. See Burmese Empire.

Avadontas. A sect of Bramins, who, in austerity,surpass all the rest. They even reject the earthen

vessels to hold provisions, and the stick to lean on_

luxuries which the other sects allow- themselves.

Aval. An island in the Persian Gulf, the largestamongst the cluster called Bahhrein, celebrated forits pearl fishery. It is of an oblong form, about 30miles in length, and 12 in breath, but growing gra-dually narrower towards each end. It contains, be-sides the town of Bahhrein, which is fortified, about60 small villages. Long. 48° 4' E., lat. 26° 36' N.

Avares. A nation, the remains of the Scheu-Sehen,driven from their country by the Turks. They came,100 years later than the Bulgarians, to the regionsaround the Don, the Caspian Sea and the Wolga. Apart remained in Circassia, where they still exist;another portion advanced to the Danube in 555, andsettled in Dacia, served in Justinian’s army, aided theLombards in destroying the kingdom of the Gephte,and gradually conquered (especially under the power-ful khan Bajan, in 582) the region of Pannonia.Under his successors, they made themselves mastersof Dalmatia, pressed into Thuringia and Italy, wherethey fought with the Franks and Lombards, and ex-tended their dominion over the Sclavonians dwellingon the Danube, and farther north, as well as over theBulgarians, on the Black Sea. But they were soondivided, and lost Dalmatia in 640. Limited to Pan-nonia, they were at length overcome by Charlemagne,in 796, and expelled from Moravia and Petschenegern.

Avatar, in Hindoo mythology ; an incarnation ofthe Deity. Innumerable incarnations have taken place,according to the Hindoos, but ten are peculiarly dis-tinguished, and four of them are the subjects of Pu-ranas, or sacred poems. These ten are the incarna-tions of Vishnu, the supreme God. The MatsvaAvatar was the descent of the Deity in the form of afish; Kachyapa, or Kurma, in that of a tortoise;Varaha, as a boar ; Nara-singha, as a monster, halfman, half lion ; Vamana, as a dwarf; Parasu-Rama,as the son of Jamadagni. All these took place in theSatya Yuga, or golden age. The others are more re-cent. The seventh incarnation is called Rama-ekandraAvatar, the descent of Vishnu to destroy a giant. Theircontests are the subject of the celebrated epic calledthe Rdmayana. The eighth avatar, called Bala-Rama,was in order to chastise other giants; the ninth, Budd-ha, had a similar object. The Kalki, or tenth avatar,is yet to come, at the end of the Kali Yuga, or theiron age.

Avaton. A French town in the department ofGonne. It has a considerable trade in grain, wine,and cattle. In 1359 this town was taken and pil-laged by the English under Edward the Third. It is23 miles S. S. W. of Auxerre. Long. 4° E., lat. 47"27' N.

Avella. A handsome town in the province ofLavora, built in a delightful situation, commanding aview as far as Naples. The town and castle gavename to a family descended from the ancient dukes ofAustria. Not far from the town are the ruins ofAbell;*;, celebrated by Virgil for its honey and apples.Avella is 15 miles E. of Naples.

Avellino. A town in the Principato Ultra, thenumber of its inhabitants is estimated at 8,000 or