BEJA (probably the

See also:

• ANCIENT
• ANCIENT (also spelt ANTIENT; derived, through the Fr. ancien, old, from the late Lat. antianum, from ante, before)

ancient

See also:

• PAX (Lat. for " peace ")

Pax Julia)  , the capital of an administrative district formerly included in the province of Alemtejo, Portugal; situated 95 M . S.S.E. of Lisbon by the Lisbon-Faro railway, and at the head of a branch line to Pias e Orada (3855), 26 M . E . Pop . (1900) 8885 . Beja is an episcopal city, built on an isolated hill, and partly enclosed by walls of Roman origin; on the south it has a fine Roman gateway . Its cathedral is modern, but the citadel, with its beautiful Gothic tower of white marble, was founded by King Diniz (1279-1325) . The city is surrounded by far-reaching plains, known as the Campo de Beja, and devoted partly to the cultivation of grain and fruit, partly to the breeding of cattle and pigs; copper, iron and manganese are also mined to a small extent, and Beja is the central market for all these products . Cloth, pottery and olive oil are manufactured in the city . The administrative district of Beja, the largest and most thinly-populated district in Portugal, coincides with the southern part of Alemtejo (q.v.); pop . (1900) 163,612; area, 3958 sq. m.; 41.3 inhabitants per sq. m .