alenu \a-'la-nii\ (Hebrew: “it is our duty”) Opening words of a Jewish prayer recited at the end of the three periods of daily prayer since the Middle Ages. The first section is a prayer of thanks for Israel’s being cho¬ sen for God’s service; the second expresses hope for the coming messi¬ anic age. Though traditionally ascribed to Joshua, it is often credited to Abba Arika, a Jewish scholar in Babylonia in the 3rd century ad.
Aleppo \9-'le-po\ Arabic Halab \'ha-lab\ City (pop., 2004 est.: 1,975,200), northwestern Syria. Syria’s largest city, it is about 30 mi (48 km) from the Turkish border. Lying at the crossroads of great commer¬ cial routes, it has long been inhabited and is first mentioned at the end of the 3rd millennium bc. It subsequently came under the control of many kingdoms, including the Hittites (17th—14th centuries bc). Controlled by the Persian Achaemenian dynasty in the 6th-4th centuries bc, it soon came under the control of the Hellenistic Seleucid dynasty, under which it was renamed Beroea. It was absorbed into the Roman Empire in the 1st cen¬ tury bc and it prospered for several centuries. In ad 637 it was conquered by the Arabs, under whom it reverted to its old name, Halab. The city successfully defended itself from the Crusaders (1124), fell to the Mon¬ gols (1260), and finally was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire (1516). Modem Aleppo is an industrial and intellectual centre rivaling the Syrian capital, Damascus. Its historic structures were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986.
Alessandri Palma \a-la-'san-dre-'pal-ma\, Arturo (b. Dec. 20, 1868, Longavi, Chile—d. Aug. 24, 1950, Santiago) President of Chile (1920- 25, 1932-38). He was the son of an Italian immigrant, and his election in 1920 represented the urban classes’ first successful challenge to Chile’s oligarchy. When he defended workers’ groups and attempted liberal reforms, he encountered stiff opposition in Congress. A coup led by Car¬ los IbAnez forced him into exile, but he was soon recalled and drafted a new constitution that increased the president’s power. He became presi¬ dent again in 1932 during the Great Depression, dependent for support on the political right. His declaration of a state of siege in response to wide¬ spread strikes cost him his labour and middle-class support.
Alessandro de' Medici See Alessandro de’ Medici
Aleut \,a -le-'ut\ Any native of the Aleutian Islands and western portion of the Alaska Peninsula. The name Aleut, used in 1745 by Russian fur traders from the Kamchatka Peninsula, refers primarily to the people of the Aleutian Islands, who call themselves Unangan or Unangas, but also by extension to the Pacific Yupik, who call themselves Alutiit (plural of Alutiiq), an adaptation of the Russian name. Aleuts speak two main dia¬ lects and are physically and culturally closely related to the Eskimo. Tra¬ ditional Aleut villages were located on the seashore near fresh water, where the people hunted marine mammals, fish, birds, caribou, and bear. Aleut women wove fine grass basketry; stone, bone, and ivory were also worked. After the arrival of the Russians in the 18th century, their popu¬ lation declined drastically. Some 6,600 people claimed sole Aleut ances¬ try in the 2000 U.S. census.
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Aleutian ► Alexander Island I 43
Aleutian \9-Tu-shon\ Islands Chain of small islands, Alaska, U.S. They form a border of the Bering Sea, extending in an arc about 1,100 mi (1,800 km) west from the tip of the Alaska Peninsula to Attu Island. The major island groups, from east to west, are the Fox Islands (including Unimak and Unalaska), Islands of the Four Mountains, Andreanof Islands (including Adak), and Near Islands (including Attu). The main settlements are on Unalaska and Adak. Originally inhabited by Aleuts, the islands were explored by Russian-sponsored ships in 1741. As Siberian fur hunt¬ ers moved eastward through the islands, the Russians gained a foothold in North America but nearly caused the extinction of the Aleuts. Russia sold the islands, with the rest of Alaska, to the U.S. in 1867.
alewife Important North American food fish ( Pomolobus , or Alosa, pseudoharengus ) of the herring family. The alewife grows to about 1 ft (30 cm). Most populations spend several years along North America’s Atlantic coast before ascending freshwater streams to spawn each spring in ponds or sluggish rivers.
Alexander, Harold (Rupert Leofric George) Alexander, 1 st Earl (b. Dec. 10, 1891, London, Eng.—d. June 16, 1969, Slough, Buck¬ inghamshire) British field marshal in World War II. In 1940 he helped direct the Dunkirk evacuation and was the last man to leave the beaches. Appointed British commander in chief in the Mediterranean theatre in 1942, he helped lead the North Africa Campaign against the Germans. He directed the invasions of Sicily and Italy, then became commander in chief of Allied forces in Italy. After the war, he served as governor-general of Canada (1946-52) and as Britain’s minister of defense (1952-54).
Alexander, Severus See Severus Alexander
Alexander, William See William Alexander, 1st earl of Stirling
Alexander I Russian Aleksandr Pavlovich (b. Dec. 23, 1777, St. Petersburg, Russia—d. Dec. 1, 1825, Taganrog) Tsar of Russia (1801— 25). He became tsar in 1801 after the assassination of his father, Paul I. He and his advisers corrected many of the injustices of the preceding reign but failed to carry out the abolition of serfdom. During the Napoleonic Wars he alternately fought and befriended Napoleon and helped form the coalition that finally defeated him. Alexander also participated in the Con¬ gress of Vienna (1814-15) and formed the Holy Alliance (1815). After his sudden death in 1825, a legend sprang up that he had simply “departed” to a Siberian retreat.
Alexander I (b. Dec. 4, 1888, Cetinje, Montenegro —d. Oct. 9, 1934, Marseille, France) King of Yugoslavia (1921-34). After commanding Ser¬ bian forces in World War I, Alexander succeeded his father, Peter I, as king of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes in 1921. In 1929 he abolished the constitution and established a royal dictatorship. As part of his efforts to unify his subjects, he changed the name of the country to Yugoslavia; outlawed political parties based on ethnic, religious, or regional distinctions; reorganized the state; and standardized legal sys¬ tems, school curricula, and national holidays. In 1934 he was assassinated by an agent of Croatian separatists.
Alexander II Russian Aleksandr Nikolayevich (b. April 29, 1818, Moscow, Russia—d. March 13, 1881, St. Petersburg) Tsar of Rus¬ sia (1855-81). He succeeded to the throne at the height of the Crimean War, which revealed Russia’s backwardness on the world stage. In response, he undertook drastic reform, improving communications, gov¬ ernment, and education, and most importantly, emancipating the serfs (1861). His reforms reduced class privilege and fostered humanitarian progress and economic development. Though sometimes described as a liberal, Alexander was in reality a firm upholder of autocratic principles, and an assassination attempt in 1866 strengthened his commitment to conservatism. A period of repression after 1866 led to a resurgence of revolutionary terrorism, and in 1881 he was killed in a plot sponsored by the terrorist organization People’s Will.
Alexander II (b. Aug. 24, 1198, Haddington, Lothian—d. July 8, 1249, Kerrera Island) King of Scotland (1214—49). He came to the throne on the death of his father, William I (the Lion). In 1215 he supported the rebellious English barons against King John, hoping to regain land in northern England. After the rebellion collapsed (1217), he did homage to Henry III and in 1221 married Henry’s sister, Joan. He consolidated royal authority in Scotland and subdued Argyll in 1222. In 1237 he concluded the Peace of York with Henry by which he abandoned his claim to land in England and received in exchange several English estates.