ARAGON, once a kingdom, then a province in the n.e. of Spain, lies between 40° 2' and 42' 54' n. lat., and long. 2' 10' w. and 0° 45' e. Greatest length from n. to s., 190 m.; breadth, 130. Arca, 17,900 sq.m. Pop. '70, 928,718. It is bounded, n., by the Pyrenees, separating it from France; w., by Navarre, and Old and New Castile; s., by Valencia, and part of New Castile; and e., by Catalonia, and part of Valencia. The river Ebro, which descends from the northern heights of Old Castile, flows through the middle of A. in a south-easterly direction, receiving numerous tributaries both from the lofty regions of the Pyrenees and from the Sierras in the south; of the former, the prin cipal are the Noguera, which forms the boundary-line between Aragon and Catalonia, the Essera, and the Gallega; of the latter, the principal are the Guadalopc, the San Martin, and the Salon. The province is naturally divided into the level country, along the Ebro, and the northern mountainous district of upper Aragon. The central plain is sterile, poorly supplied with water, and intersected by deep ravines (baraneos). Agricul ture is here confined to the raising of maize, vines, and olives; but on the sides of the Ebro, where water abounds, rice and other grains are abundantly produced; and in the valleys of upper A., which are at once the most beautiful and fertile of all the Pyrenean valleys, we find a splendid vegetation, and a soil that enables the inhabitants, in spite of the wretchedness of their agriculture, to grow considerable quantities of wheat, rye, maize, barley, etc. The climate of the province is various; comparatively cool in the mountain-districts, but often very sultry on the plains. Spurs of the Pyrenees strike down into the province a long way. It is between these ridges that the rich valleys lie,
some of them upwards of 20 mu. long. The slopes of the hills are clothed with forests of oak, beech, and pine, and the felled timber is floated down the rivers into the Ebro, and thence down to Tortosa at its mouth. The minerals of the province are copper, lead, iron, salt, alum, saltpetre, coal, and amber. The manufactures are inconsiderable. A., peopled by a brave, active, enduring, but obstinate race, has frequently been the arena of sanguinary warfare. It early became a Roman province; and, on the fall of the empire, passed into the hands of the West Goths, but was conquered by the Moors in the beginning of the 8th century. The rulers of A., after it had been recovered from the Moors, and united with Catalonia (1137), became powerful; obtained possession of the Balearic isles in 1213, of Sicily in 1282, of Sardinia in 1326, and of Naples in 1440. By the marriage of Ferdinand with Isabella, heiress of Castile, in 1469, the two states of A. and Castile were united, and formed the foundation of the great Spanish monarchy. After Ferdinand's death in 1516, the union of the states was made permanent. In the war with the French, 1808-9, Saragossa, the capital of A., was remarkable for its heroic defense under Palafox; and in recent Spanish wars the people of A. have displayed the same courage which marked their conduct on that memorable occasion. Upper A. was on the side of the queen; but lower A. generally adhered to the party of Don Carlos. The province is now divided into three departments—Saragossa, Teruel, and Huesca. The chief towns are Saragossa, Calatayud, Huesca, and Teruel. See SARAGOSSA, etc.