SEVILLE' (Span. Sevilla, the Rivas of the Romans), a famous city of Spain, for merly capital of the ancient kingdom, and now of the modern province of the same name, stands on the left bank of the Guadalquivir, 94 in. by railway n.n.e. of Cadiz. The city is almost circular in shape, is surrounded by Moorish walls, surmounted with 66 (for merly 166) towers, and pierced with 15 gates, and is 5,m., or including its 10 suburbs, 10 m. iu circumference. Held by the Moors for five centuries, and entirely rebuilt by them from the materials of former Roman edifices, Seville was long a purely Moorish city, and the old Moorish houses, which age, in this dry climate, has done little to destroy, are still the best houses to be seen. of the city still preserves its ancient character; but changes are taking place every year. The narrow tortuous streets that kept out the sun, with their Wide spacious mansions, with ample courts and gardens, so perfectly suited to the climate, are giving way to spacious straight streets of small, hot houses, open to the blaze of noon. The cathedral, one of the largest and finest in Spain, is an imposing edifice, of which the solemn and grandiose are the distinctive quali ties. It was completed in 1519, is 431 ft. long, 315 ft. wide, has 7 aisles, and an organ with 5,400 pipes. The pavement is in black and white checkered marble. The cathe dral is suberbly decorated. Its painted windows are among the finest in Spain, and It contains paintings by Murillo, Vargas, the Herreras, etc. Attached to the cathedral is one of the most remarkable towers in the world. It is called the Giralda (i.e. a weather cock in the form a statue), and is in all 350 ft. high. This Moorish tower was built in 1196, and was originally only 250 ft. high, the additional 100 ft. being the rich filioTee belfry added in 1568. pinnacle is crowned by a female figure in bronze, ft. Light, and 2,800 lbs. in weight, and which veers about with the slightest breeze. From this great tower the mueddin (q.v.) of Mohammedan days called the faithful to prayers. The royal residence, the Alcazar house of Ccesar), contains several noble halls, and much delicate ornamentation, that rivals that of the Alhambra. The house in which
Murillo lived and died is still to be seen here: The finest pictures in Seville are to be seen in the cathedral, the caridad, the museo, and the university. Seville contains 74 churches; but prior to the suppression of monasteries it contained 140. Besides the university (of four faculties), there are many educational institutions. The city contains upward of 100 squares. The fabrics de tabacos, where tobacco is made into snuff and cigars, employs several thousand hands, mostly females. The Plaza de Toros can accommodate upward of 12,000 spectators. There is regular communication with Cadiz by river and rail. There are here several royal foundries and factories for arms, and porcelain and iron and machine works. Weaving, soap-making, and other branches of manufacture are carried on. Pop. about 118.000..
The Ilispal of the Phenieians. the Hispalis of the Romans, was corrupted by the Moors into Ishbilliah, of which it is supposed the modern name is a modification. It was a place of great importance in the leter period of Roman dominion; became the capital of southern Spain during the ascendency of the Vandals and the Goths, when it was the scene of two notable church councils (590 A.D. and 619 A.D.); and fell into the hands of the Moors in the 8th c., under whom it rapidly rose to a speudid prosperity, and reckoned 400,000 inhabitants. In 1026 it became the capital of the Moorish king dom ruled by the Abadides, from whom it passed, in 1091, to the Almoravides, and in 1147 to the Almohades. In 1248 it was taken by Ferdinand III. of Castile, when 800, 000 Moors left for Grenada and Africa; and from this time to the removal of the court to Valladolid, in the reign of Charles V., Seville was the capital of Spain. The city rose to its climax of prosperity after the discovery of the new world, when it became the residence of princely merchants, and the mart of the colonies, hut its trade was after ward transferred to Cadiz. In 1810 it was taken and ravaged by Soult. It capitulated to Espartero in 1843.