VLADIKAVKAZ, a fortified town of Russia, in the province of Terek, is advantageously and picturesquely situated at the northern base of the Great Caucasus chain, on a raised plain, 2230 feet above the sea-level, where the gorge of the Terek emerges from the mountain tracts. It is the present terminus of the railway from Rostoff ( q.v. ), which is intended ultimately to cross the main ridge. The fortress, formerly but a small redoubt, erected in 1784 at the northern entrance of the pass by which the Caucasus used to be crossed, now stands higher up, and is connected by a bridge with the town proper. Vladikavkaz is now the capital of the province. It is tidily built, and its population since it became an entrepot for trade between Russia and Caucasus has rapidly grown (32,340 in 1883). The transport of merchandise is the principal occupation of the place, 400,000 cwts. of goods annually arriving by rail to be forwarded to Tiflis, while 160,000 cwts. are sent from Vladikavkaz northwards.