ĀLA, ĀLĀRES, ĀLĀRĬI. _Ala_, which literally means _a wing_, was from
the earliest epochs employed to denote the wing of an army, but in
process of time was frequently used in a restricted sense.--(1) When
a Roman army was composed of Roman citizens exclusively, the flanks
of the infantry when drawn up in battle array were covered on the
right and left by the cavalry; and hence _Ala_ denoted the body of
horse which was attached to and served along with the foot-soldiers
of the legion.--(2) When, at a later date, the Roman armies were
composed partly of Roman citizens and partly of _Socii_, either
_Latini_ or _Italici_, it became the practice to marshal the Roman
troops in the centre of the battle line and the Socii upon the wings.
Hence _ala_ and _alarii_ denoted the contingent furnished by the
allies, both horse and foot, and the two divisions were distinguished
as _dextera ala_ and _sinistra ala_.--(3) When the whole of the
inhabitants of Italy had been admitted to the privileges of Roman
citizens the terms _alarii_, _cohortes alariae_ were transferred
to the _foreign_ troops serving along with the Roman armies.--(4)
Lastly, under the empire, the term _ala_ was applied to regiments
of horse, raised it would seem with very few exceptions in the
provinces, serving apart from the legions and the cavalry of the
legions.
ĂLĂBARCHĒS (ἀλαβάρχης), the chief magistrate of the Jews at
Alexandria, whose duties, as far as the government was concerned,
chiefly consisted in raising and paying the taxes.
ĂLĂBASTER or ĂLĂBASTRUM, a vessel or pot used for containing
perfumes, or rather ointments, made of that species of marble which
mineralogists call _gypsum_, and which is usually designated by the
name of _alabaster_. When varieties of colour occur in the same
stone, and are disposed in bands or horizontal strata, it is often
called onyx alabaster; and when dispersed irregularly, as if in
clouds, it is distinguished as agate alabaster. The term seems to
have been employed to denote vessels appropriated to these uses, even
when they were not made of the material from which it is supposed
they originally received their name. Thus Theocritus speaks of
golden alabastra. These vessels were of a tapering shape, and very
often had a long narrow neck, which was sealed; so that when Mary,
the sister of Lazarus, is said by St. Mark to break the alabaster
box of ointment for the purpose of anointing our Saviour, it appears
probable that she only broke the extremity of the neck, which was
thus closed.