BOOK VI. AN ACCOUNT OF COUNTRIES, NATIONS, SEAS, TOWNS, HAVENS, MOUNTAINS, RIVERS, DISTANCES, AND PEOPLES WHO NOW EXIST, OR FORMERLY EXISTED.
CHAP. 1. (1.)--THE EUXINE AND THE MARYANDINI.
THE Euxine1 Sea, which in former times had the name of Axenus,2 from the savage and inhospitable character of the nations living on its borders, by a peculiar whim of nature, which is continually giving way before the greedy inroads of the sea, lies between Europe and Asia. It was not enough for the ocean to have surrounded the earth, and then deprived us of a considerable portion of it, thus rendering still greater its uninhabitable proportion; it was not enough for it to have forced a passage through the mountains, to have torn away Calpe from Africa, and to have swallowed up a much larger space than it left untouched; it was not enough for it to have poured its tide into the Propontis through the Hellespont, after swallowing up still more of the dry land --for beyond the Bosporus, as well, it opens with its insatiate appetite upon another space of immense extent, until the Mæotian lakes3 unite their ravening waters with it as it ranges far and wide.
That all this has taken place in spite, as it were, of the earth, is manifested by the existence of so many straits and such numbers of narrow passages formed against the will of [p. 2002] Nature--that of the Hellespont,4 being only eight hundred and seventy-five paces in width, while at the two Bospori5 the passage across may be effected by oxen6 swimming, a fact from which they have both derived their name. And then besides,7 although they are thus severed, there are certain points on which these coasts stand in the relation of brotherhood towards each other--the singing of birds and the barking of dogs on the one side can be heard on the other, and an intercourse can be maintained between these two worlds by the medium even of the human voice,8 if the winds should not happen to carry away the sound thereof.
The length of the borders of the Euxine from the Bosporus to the Lake Mæotis has been reckoned by some writers at fourteen hundred and thirty-eight miles; Eratosthenes, however, says that it is one hundred less. According to Agrippa, the distance from Chalcedon to the Phasis is one thousand miles, and from that river to the Cimmerian Bosporus three hundred and sixty. We will here give in a general form the distances as they have been ascertained in our own times; for our arms have even penetrated to the very mouth of the Cimmerian Straits.
After passing the mouth of the Bosporus we come to the river Rhebas,9 by some writers called the Rhesus. We next come to Psillis,10 the port of Calpas,11 and the Sagaris,12 a famous [p. 2003] river, which rises in Phrygia and receives the waters of other rivers of vast magnitude, among which are the Tembrogius13 and the Gallus,14 the last of which is by many called the Sangarius. After leaving the Sagaris the Gulf of the Mariandyni15 begins, and we come to the town of Heraclea,16 on the river Lycus;17 this place is distant from the mouth of the Euxine two hundred miles. The sea-port of Acone18 comes next, which has a fearful notoriety for its aconite or wolf's-bane, a deadly poison, and then the cavern of Acherusia,19 the rivers Pædopides, Callichorus, and Sonautes, the town of Tium,20 distant from Heraclea thirty-eight miles, and the river Billis. 
CHAP. 2. (2.)--PAPHLAGONIA.
Beyond this river begins the nation of Paphlagonia,21 by some writers called Pylæmenia;22 it is closed in behind by the country of Galatia. In it are Mastya,23 a town founded by the [p. 2004] Milesians, and then Cromna,24 at which spot Cornelius Nepos also places the Heneti,25 from whom he would have us believe that the Veneti of Italy, who have a similar name, are descended. The city also of Sesamon, now called Amastris,26 Mount Cytorus,27 distant sixty-three miles from Tium, the towns of Cimolis28 and Stephane,29 and the river Parthenius.30 The promontory of Carambis,31 which extends a great distance into the sea, is distant from the mouth of the Euxine three hundred and twenty-five miles, or, according to some writers, three hundred and fifty, being the same distance from the Cimmerian Bosporus, or, as some persons think, only three hundred and twelve miles. There was formerly also a town of the same name, and another near it called Armene; we now find there the colony of Sinope,32 distant from Mount Cytorus one hundred and sixty-four miles. We then come to the river Evarchus,33 [p. 2005] and after that a people of the Cappadocians, the towns of Gaziura34 and Gazelum,35 the river Halys,36 which runs from the foot of Mount Taurus through Cataonia and Cappadocia, the towns of Gangre37 and Carusa,38 the free town of Amisus,39 distant from Sinope one hundred and thirty miles, and a gulf of the same name, of such vast extent40 as to make Asia assume the form of a peninsula, the isthmus of which is only some two hundred41 miles in breadth, or a little more, across to the gulf of Issus in Cilicia. In all this district there are, it is said, only three races that can rightly be termed Greeks, the Dorians, the Ionians, and the Æolians, all the rest being of barbarian origin.42 To Amisus was joined the town of Eupatoria,43 founded by Mithridates: after his defeat they were both included under the name of Pompeiopolis. [p. 2006] 
CHAP. 3. (3.)--CAPPADOCIA.
Cappadocia44 has in the interior Archelais,45 a colony founded by Claudius Cæsar, and past which the river Halys flows; also the towns of Comana,46 watered by the Sarus, Neocæsarea,47 by the Lycus,48 and Amasia,49 in the region of Gazacene, washed by the Iris. In Colopene it has Sebastia and Sebastopolis;50 these are insignificant places, but still equal in importance to those just mentioned. In its remaining districts there is Melita,51 founded by Semiramis, and not far from the Euphrates, Diocæsarea,52 Tyana,53 Castabala,54 Magnopolis,55 [p. 2007] Zela,56 and at the foot of Mount Argæus57 Mazaca, now called Cæsarea.58 That part of Cappadocia which lies stretched out before the Greater Armenia is called Melitene, before Commagene Cataonia, before Phrygia Garsauritis, Sargarausene,59 and Cammanene, before Galatia Morimene, where their territories are divided by the river Cappadox,60 from which this people have taken their name; they were formerly known as the Leucosyri.61 From Neocæsarea above mentioned, the lesser Armenia is separated by the river Lycus. In the interior also there is the famous river Ceraunus,62 and on the coast beyond the town of Amisus, the town and river of Chadisia,63 and the town of Lycastum,64 after which the region of Themiseyra65 begins. [p. 2008] 
CHAP. 4.--THE REGION OF THEMISCYRA, AND THE NATIONS THEREIN.
The river Iris brings down to the sea the waters of the Lycus. In the interior is the city of Ziela,66 famous for the defeat of Triarius67 and the victory of C. Cæsar.68 Upon the coast there is the river Thermodon, which rises at the fortified place called Phanarœa,69 and flows past the foot of Mount Amazonius.70 There was formerly a town of the same name as the river, and five others in all, Amazonium, Themiseyra, Sotira, Amasia, and Comana,71 now only a Manteium. (4.) We find here the nations of the Genetæ,72 the Chalybes,73 the town of Cotyorum,74 the nations of the Tibareni and the Mossyni, who make marks upon their bodies,75 the people called Macro- [p. 2009] cephali,76 the town of Cerasus,77 the port of Chordule, the nations called the Bechires78 and the Buzeri, the river Melas,79 the people called the Macrones, and Sidene with its river Sidenus,80 by which the town of Polemonium81 is washed, at a distance from Amisus of one hundred and twenty miles. We next come to the rivers Iasonius82 on the site of the older city of Side, at the mouth of the Sidenus and Melanthius,83 and at a distance of eighty miles from Amisus, the town of Pharnacea,84 the fortress and river of Tripolis;85 the fortress and river of Philocalia, the fortress of Liviopolis, but not upon a river, and at a distance of one hundred miles from Pharnacea, the free city of Trapezus,86 shut in by a mountain of vast size. Beyond this town is the nation of the Armenochalybes87 and the [p. 2010] Greater Armenia, at a distance of thirty miles. On the coast, before Trapezus, flows the river Pyxites, and beyond it is the nation of the Sanni88 Heniochi. Next comes the river Absarus,89 with a fortress of the same name at its mouth, distant from Trapezus one hundred and forty miles.
At the back of the mountains of this district is Iberia, while on the coast are the Heniochi, the Ampreutæ,90 the Lazi, the rivers Acampsis,91 Isis,92 Mogrus, and Bathys,93 the nations of the Colchi, the town of Matium,94 the river Heracleum and the promontory of the same name,95 and the Phasis,96 the most celebrated river of Pontus. This river rises among the Moschi, and is navigable for the largest vessels a distance of thirty-eight miles and a half, and for small ones very much higher up; it is crossed by one hundred and twenty bridges. It formerly had many cities of note on its banks, the more famous of which were Tyndaris, Circæum, Cygnus, and Phasis97 at its mouth. But the most celebrated of them all was Æa, fifteen miles98 distant from the sea, where the Hippos and the Cyaneos,99 rivers of vast size, flow into it from opposite directions. At the present day its only place of note is Surium, which [p. 2011] derives its name from the river which flows at that spot into the Phasis, and up to which place the Phasis is navigable for large vessels, as we have already100 mentioned. It receives also some other rivers, wonderful for their number and magnitude, and among them the Glaucus.101 At the mouth of the Phasis, at a distance of seventy miles from Absarus, are some islands, which, however, have no name. After passing this, we come to another river, the Charieis,102 and the nation of the Salæ, by the ancients called Phthirophagi,103 as also Suani.104 The river Chobus105 flows from the Caucasus through the country of the Suani. The river Rhoas comes next, then the region of Ecrectice, the rivers Singames,106 Tarsuras,107 Astelephus,108 Chrysorrhoas, the nation of the Absilæ, the castle of Sebastopolis,109 one hundred miles distant from Phasis, the nation of the Sannigæ, the town of Cygnus,110 and the river and town of Penius.111 We then come to the tribes of the Heniochi,112 who are distinguished by numerous names. 
CHAP. 5. (5)--THE REGION OF COLICA, THE NATIONS OF THE ACHÆI, AND OTHER NATIONS IN THE SAME PARTS.
Below this lies the region of Pontus known as Colica,113 in [p. 2012] which the mountain chain of Caucasus bends away towards the Riphæan mountains, as we have previously114 mentioned; one side running down towards the Euxine and the Lake Mæotis, the other towards the Caspian and the Hyrcanian sea. The remaining portion of these shores is peopled by savage nations, the Melanchlæni,115 and the Coraxi, who formerly dwelt in Dios- curias,116 near the river Anthemus, now deserted, but once a famous city; so much so, indeed, that we learn from Timos- thenes, that three hundred nations, all of different languages, were in the habit of resorting to it, and in later times we had there one hundred and thirty interpreters for the purpose of transacting business. There are some authors who are of opinion that this place was built by Amphitus and Telchius, the charioteers117 of Castor and Pollux, from whom it is generally understood that the nation of the Heniochi sprang. After passing Dioscurias we come to the town of Heracleium,118 seventy miles distant from Sebastopolis, and then the Achæi,119 the Mardi,120 and the Cercetæ,121 and, behind them, the Cerri and the Cephalotomi.122 In the innermost part123 of this district there was Pityus,124 a city of very considerable opulence, but [p. 2013] destroyed by the Heniochi: behind it are the Epageritæ, a people of Sarmatian origin, dwelling upon the range of the Caucasus, and beyond them, the Sauromatæ. It was with these people that Mithridates125 took refuge in the reign of the Emperor Claudius: and from him we learn that the Thalli126 join up to them, a people who border on the eastern side upon the mouth127 of the Caspian sea: he tells us also that at the reflux the channel is dry there. Upon the coast of the Euxine, near the country of the Cercetæ, is the river Icarusa,128 with the town and river of Hierus , distant from Heracleium one hundred and thirty-six miles. Next to this, is the promontory of Cruni, after passing which, we find the Toretæ upon a lofty ridge of mountains. The city of Sindos129 is distant from Hierus sixty-seven miles and a half; after passing which, we come to the river Setheries. (6.) From thence to the entrance of the Cimmerian Bosporus the distance is eighty-eight miles and a half. 
CHAP. 6.--THE CIMMERIAN BOSPORUS.
The length of the peninsula130 which projects between the [p. 2014] Euxine and Lake Mæotis, is not more than sixty-seven miles and a half, and the width across never less than two jugera:131 it has the name of Eion.132 The shores of the Bosporus then take a curve both on the side of Europe and of Asia, thus forming the Mæotis. The towns at the entrance of the Bosporus are, first Hermonassa,133 next Cepi,134 founded by the Milesians, and then Stratoclia and Phanagoria,135 and the almost deserted town of Apaturos,136 and, at the extremity of the mouth, Cimmerium,137 which was formerly called Cerberion. (7.) We then come to Lake Mæotis, which has been already mentioned138 in the description of Europe. 
CHAP. 7.--LAKE MIEOTIS AND THE ADJOINING NATIONS.
After passing Cimmerium, the coast139 is inhabited by the Mæotici, the Vali, the Serbi,140 the Arrechi, the Zingi, and the Psessi. We then come to the river Tanais,141 which discharges [p. 2015] itself into the sea by two mouths, and the banks of which are inhabited by the Sarmatæ, the descendants of the Medi, it is said, a people divided into numerous tribes. The first of these are the Sauromatæ Gynæcocratumeni,142 the husbands of the Amazons. Next to them are the Ævazæ,143 the Coitæ,144 the Cicimeni, the Messeniani, the Costobocci, the Choatræ, the Zigæ,145 the Dandarii, the Thyssagetæ, and the Iyrcæ,146 as far as certain rugged deserts and densely wooded vallies, beyond which again are the Arimphæi,147 who extend as far as the Riphæan Mountains.148 The Scythians call the river Tanais by the name of Silis, and the Mæotis the Temarunda, meaning the "mother of the sea." There is149 a city also at the mouth of the Ta- [p. 2016] nais. The neighbouring country was inhabited first by the Carians, then by the Clazomenii and Mæones, and after them by the Panticapenses.150 
There are some writers who state that there are the following nations dwelling around the Mæotis, as far as the Ceraunian mountains;151 at a short distance from the shore, the Napitæ, and beyond them, the Essedones, who join up to the Colchians, and dwell upon the summits of the mountains: after these again, the Camacæ, the Orani, the Autacæ, the Mazacasi, the Cantiocæ, the Agamathæ, the Pici, the Rimosoli, the Acascomarci, and, upon the ridges of the Caucasus, the Itacalæ, the Imadochi, the Rami, the Anclacæ, the Tydii, the Carastasei, and the Anthiandæ. The river Lagoüs runs from the Cathæan152 mountains, and into it flows the Opharus. Upon it are the tribes of the Cauthadæ, and the Opharitæ. Next to these are the rivers Menotharus and Imityes, which flow from the Cissian mountains, among the peoples called the Acdei, the Carnæ, the Oscardei, the Accisi, the Gabri, the Gogari, and, around the source of the Imityes, the Imityi, and the Apatræi. Some writers say that the Auchetæ, the Athernei, and the Asampatæ, Scythian tribes, have made inroads upon this territory, and have destroyed the Tanaitæ and the Inapæi to a man. Others again represent the Ocharius as running through the Cantici and the Sapæi, and the Tanais as passing through the territories of the Sarcharcei, the Herticei, the Spondolici, the Synhietæ, the Anasi, the Issi, the Catetæ, the Tagoræ, the Caroni, the Neripi, the Agandei, the Mandarei, the Satarchei, and the Spalei. 
CHAP. 8. (8.)--THE SITUATION OF CAPPADOCIA.
We have now gone over the coast which borders upon the [p. 2017] Inner153 Sea, and have enumerated the various nations that dwell thereon; let us now turn to those vast tracts of land which lie further in the interior. I do not deny that in my description I shall differ very materially from the ancient writers, but still it is one that has been compiled with the most anxious research, from a full examination into the events which have transpired of late in these countries under the command of Domitius Corbulo,154 and from information received either from kings who have been sent thence to Rome, as suppliants for our mercy, or else the sons of kings who have visited us in the character of hostages.
We will begin then with the nation of the Cappadocians.
Of all the countries of Pontus, this155 extends the greatest distance into the interior.156 On the left157 it leaves behind the Lesser and the Greater Armenia, as well as Commagene, and on the right all the nations of the province of Asia which we have previously described. Spreading over numerous peoples, it rises rapidly in elevation in an easterly direction towards the range of Taurus. Then passing Lycaonia, Pisidia, and Cilicia, it advances above the district of Antiochia, the portion of it known as Cataonia extending as far as Cyrrhestica, which forms part of that district. The length of Asia158 here is twelve hundred and fifty miles, its breadth six hundred and forty.159 
CHAP. 9. (9.)--THE LESSER AND THE GREATER ARMENIA.
Greater Armenia,160 beginning at the mountains known as the [p. 2018] Paryadres,161 is separated, as we have already stated,162 from Cappadocia by the river Euphrates, and, where that river turns off163 in its course, from Mesopotamia, by the no less famous river Tigris. Both of these rivers take their rise in Armenia, which also forms the commencement of Mesopotamia, a tract of country which lies between these streams; the intervening space between them being occupied by the Arabian Orei.164 It thus extends its frontier as far as Adiabene, at which point it is stopped short by a chain of mountains which takes a cross direction; whereupon the province extends in width to the left, crossing the course of the Araxes,165 as far as the river Cyrus;166 while in length it reaches as far as the Lesser Armenia,167 from which it is separated by the river Absarus, which flows into the Euxine, and by the mountains known as the Paryadres, in which the Absarus takes its rise. 
CHAP. 10.--THE RIVERS CYRUS AND ARAXES.
The river Cyrus168 takes its rise in the mountains of the Heniochi, by some writers called the Coraxici; the Araxes rises in the same mountains as the river Euphrates, at a distance from it of six miles only;169 and after being increased by the waters [p. 2019] of the Usis, falls itself, as many authors have supposed, into the Cyrus, by which it is carried into the Caspian Sea.
The more famous towns in Lesser Armenia are Cæsarea,170 Aza,171 and Nicopolis;172 in the Greater Arsamosata,173 which lies near the Euphrates, Carcathiocerta174 upon the Tigris, Tigranocerta175 which stands on an elevated site, and, on a plain adjoining the river Araxes, Artaxata.176 According to Aufidius, the circumference of the whole of Armenia is five thousand miles, while Claudius Cæsar makes the length, from Dascusa177 to the borders of the Caspian Sea, thirteen178 hundred miles, and the breadth, from Tigranocerta to Iberia,179 half that distance. It is a well-known fact, that this country is divided into prefectures, called "Strategies," some of which singly formed a kingdom in former times; they are one hundred [p. 2020] and twenty in number, with barbarous and uncouth names.180 On the east, it is bounded, though not immediately, by the Ceraunian Mountains and the district of Adiabene. The space that intervenes is occupied by the Sopheni, beyond whom is the chain of mountains,181 and then beyond them the inhabitants of Adiabene. Dwelling in the valleys adjoining to Armenia are the Menobardi and the Moscheni. The Tigris and inaccessible mountains surround Adiabene. To the left182 of it is the territory of the Medi, and in the distance is seen the Caspian Sea; which, as we shall state in the proper place, receives its waters from the ocean,183 and is wholly surrounded by the Caucasian Mountains. The inhabitants upon the confines of Armenia shall now be treated of. 
CHAP. 11. (10.)--ALBANIA, IBERIA, AND THE ADJOINING NATIONS.
The whole plain which extends away from the river Cyrus is inhabited by the nation of the Albani,184 and, after them,185 by that of the Iberi,186 who are separated from them by the river Alazon,187 which flows into the Cyrus from the Caucasian [p. 2021] chain. The chief cities are Cabalaca,188 in Albania, Harmastis,189 near a river190 of Iberia, and Neoris; there is the region also of Thasie, and that of Triare, extending as far as the mountains known as the Paryadres. Beyond these191 are the deserts of Colchios, on the side of which that looks towards the Ceraunian Mountains dwell the Armenochalybes;192 and there is the country of the Moschi, extending to the river Iberus, which flows into the Cyrus; below them are the Sacassani, and after them the Macrones, upon the river Absarus. Such is the manner in which the plains and low country are parcelled out. Again, after passing the confines of Albania, the wild tribes of the Silvi inhabit the face of the mountains, below them those of the Lubieni, and after them the Diduri and the Sodii. 
CHAP. 12. (11.)--THE PASSES OF THE CAUCASUS.
After passing the last, we come to the Gates of Caucasus,193 by many persons most erroneously called the Caspian Passes; a vast work of nature, which has suddenly wrenched asunder in this place a chain of mountains. At this spot are gates barred up with beams shod with iron, while beneath the middle there runs a stream which emits a most fetid odour; on this side of it is a rock, defended by a fortress, the name of which is Cumania,194 erected for the purpose of preventing the passage of the innumerable tribes that lie beyond. Here, then, we may see the habitable world severed into two parts by a pair [p. 2022] of gates; they are just opposite to Harmastis, a town of the Iberi.
Beyond the Gates of Caucasus, in the Gordyæan Mountains, the Valli and the Suani, uncivilized tribes, are found; still, however, they work the mines of gold there. Beyond these nations, and extending as far away as Pontus, are numerous nations of the Heniochi, and, after them, of the Achæi. Such is the present state of one of the most famous tracts upon the face of the earth.
Some writers have stated that the distance between the Euxine and the Caspian Sea is not more than three hundred and seventy-five miles; Cornelius Nepos makes it only two hundred and fifty. Within such straits is Asia pent up in this second instance195 by the agency of the sea! Claudius Cæsar has informed us that from the Cimmerian Bosporus to the Caspian Sea is a distance of only one hundred and fifty196 miles, and that Nicator Seleucus197 contemplated cutting through this isthmus just at the time when he was slain by Ptolemy Ceraunus. It is a well-known fact that the distance from the Gates of Caucasus to the shores of the Euxine is two hundred miles. 
CHAP. 13. (12.)--THE ISLANDS OF THE EUXINE.
The islands of the Euxine are the Placate or Cyaneæ,198 otherwise called Symplegades, and Apollonia, surnamed Thynias,199 to distinguish it from the island of that name200 in Europe; it is four miles in circumference, and one mile distant from the mainland. Opposite to Pharnacea201 is Chalceritis, to which the Greeks have given the name of Aria,202 [p. 2023] and consecrated it to Mars; here, they say, there were birds that used to attack strangers with blows of their wings. 
CHAP. 14. (13.)--NATIONS IN THE VICINITY OF THE SCYTHIAN OCEAN.
Having now stated all that bears reference to the interior of Asia, let us cross in imagination the Riphæan203 Mountains, and traverse the shores of the ocean to the right. On three sides does this ocean wash the coasts of Asia, as the Scythian Ocean on the north, the Eastern Ocean on the east, and the Indian Ocean on the south; and it is again divided into various names, derived from the numerous gulfs which it forms, and the nations which dwell upon its shores. A great part of Asia, however, which lies exposed to the north, through the noxious effects of those freezing climates, consists of nothing but vast deserts. From the extreme north northeast to the point204 where the sun rises in the summer, it is the country of the Scythians. Still further than them, and beyond205 the point where north north-east begins, some writers have placed the Hyperborei, who are said, indeed, by the majority to be a people of Europe.206 After passing this point,207 [p. 2024] the first place that is known is Lytarmis,208 a promontory of Celtica, and next to it the river Carambucis,209 where the chain of the Riphæan Mountains terminates, and with it the extreme rigour of the climate; here, too, we have heard of a certain people being situate, called the Arimphæi,210 a race not much unlike the Hyperborei.211 Their habitations are the groves, and the berries their diet; long hair is held to be disgraceful by the women as well as the men, and they are mild in their manners. Hence it is that they are reported to be a sacred212 race, and are never molested even by the savage tribes which border upon them, and not only they, but such other persons as well as may have fled to them for refuge. Beyond these we come straight to the Scythians, the Cimmerii, the Cisianthi, the Georgi, and a nation of Amazons.213 These last extend to the Caspian and Hyrcanian Sea.214 
CHAP. 15.--THE CASPIAN AND HYRCANIAN SEA.
Bursting through, this sea makes a passage from the Scythian Ocean into the back of Asia,215 receiving various names from the [p. 2025] nations which dwell upon its banks, the two most famous of which are the Caspian and the Hyrcanian races. Clitarchus is of opinion that the Caspian Sea is not less in area than the Euxine. Eratosthenes gives the measure of it on the south-east, along the coast of Cadusia216 and Albania, as five thousand four hundred stadia; thence, through the territories of the Anariaci, the Amardi, and the Hyrcani, to the mouth of the river Zonus he makes four thousand eight hundred stadia, and thence to the mouth of the Jaxartes217 two thousand four hundred; which makes in all a distance of one thousand five hundred and seventy-five miles. Artemidorus, however, makes this sum smaller by twenty-five miles. Agrippa bounds the Caspian Sea and the nations around it, including Armenia, on the east by the Ocean of the Seres,218 on the west by the chain of the Caucasus, on the south by that of Taurus, and on the north by the Scythian Ocean; and he states it, so far as its extent is known, to be four hundred and eighty miles in length, and two hundred and ninety in breadth. There are not wanting, however, some authors who state that its whole circumference, from the Straits,219 is two thousand five hundred miles.
Its waters make their way into this sea by a very narrow mouth,220 but of considerable length; and where it begins to enlarge, it curves obliquely with horns in the form of a crescent, just as though it would make a descent from its mouth into Lake Mæotis, resembling a sickle in shape, as M. Varro says. The first221 of its gulfs is called the Scythian Gulf; it is inhabited on both sides, by the Scythians, who hold communication with each other across the Straits,222 the Nomades being on one side, together with the Sauromatæ, divided into [p. 2026] tribes with numerous names, and on the other, the Abzoæ, who are also divided into an equal number. At the entrance, on the right hand side,223 dwell the Udini, a Scythian tribe, at the very angle of the mouth. Then along224 the coast there are the Albani, the descendants of Jason, it is said; that part of the sea which lies in front of them, bears the name of ' Albanian.' This nation, which lies along the Caucasian chain, comes down, as we have previously stated,225 as far as the river Cyrus, which forms the boundary of Armenia and Iberia. Above the maritime coast of Albania and the nation of the Udini, the Sarmatæ, the Utidorsi, and the Aroteres stretch along its shores, and in their rear the Sauromatian Amazons, already spoken of226 
The rivers which run through Albania in their course to the sea are the Casius227 and the Albanus,228 and then the Cambyses,229 which rises in the Caucasian mountains, and next to it the Cyrus, rising in those of the Coraxici, as already mentioned.230 Agrippa states that the whole of this coast, inaccessible from rocks of an immense height, is four hundred and twenty-five miles in length, beginning from the river Casius. After we pass the mouth of the Cyrus, it begins to be called the 'Caspian Sea;' the Caspii being a people who dwell upon its shores.
In this place it may be as well to correct an error into which many persons have fallen, and even those who lately took part with Corbulo in the Armenian war. The Gates of Iberia, which we have mentioned231 as the Caucasian, they have spoken of as being called the 'Caspian,' and the coloured plans which have been sent from those parts to Rome have that name written upon them. The menaced expedition, too, that was contemplated by the Emperor Nero, was said to be designed to extend as far as the Caspian Gates, where- [p. 2027] as it was really intended for those which lead through Iberia into the territory of the Sarmatæ; there being hardly any possibility of approach to the Caspian Sea, by reason of the close juxtaposition of the mountains there. There are, however, other Caspian Gates, which join up to the Caspian tribes; but these can only be distinguished from a perusal of the narrative of those who took part in the expedition of Alexander the Great. 
CHAP. 16.--ADIABENE.
The kingdom of the Persians, by which we now understand that of Parthia, is elevated upon the Caucasian chain between two seas, the Persian and the Hyrcanian. To the Greater Armenia, which in the front slopes towards Commagene, is joined Sophene, which lies upon the descent232 on both sides thereof, and next to it is Adiabene, the most advanced frontier of Assyria; a part of which is Arbelitis,233 He alludes to the town of Arbela, where, as it is generally said, the army of Darius was defeated by Alexander the Great; by which engage- ment the conflict was terminated. It was the fact, however, that Darius left his baggage and treasures at Arbela, while the battle really took place near the village of Gaugamela, about twenty miles to the north-west of Arbela. This place still retains its name of Arbil, where Alexander con- quered Darius, and which joins up to Syria. The whole of this country was called Mygdonia by the Macedonians, on account of the resemblance it bore to Mygdonia234 in Europe. Its cities are Alexandria,235 and Antiochia, also called Nisibis;236 this last place is distant from Artaxata seven hundred and fifty miles. There was also in former times Ninus,237 a most renowned city, on the banks of the Tigris, with an aspect towards the west. Adjoining the other front of Greater Armenia, which runs down towards the Caspian Sea, we find Atropatene,238 which [p. 2028] is separated from Otene, a region of Armenia, by the river Araxes; Gazæ239 is its chief city, distant from Artaxata four hundred and fifty miles, and the same from Ecbatana in Media, to which country Atropatene belongs. 
CHAP. 17. (14.)--MEDIA AND THE CASPIAN GATES.
Ecbatana,240 the capital of Media, was built241 by king Seleucus, at a distance from Great Seleucia of seven hundred and fifty miles, and twenty miles from the Caspian Gates. The remaining towns of the Medians are Phazaca, Aganzaga, and Apamea,242 surnamed Rhagiane. The reason of these passes receiving the name of "Gates," is the same that has been stated above.243 The chain of mountains is suddenly broken by a passage of such extreme narrowness that, for a distance of eight miles, a single chariot can barely find room to move along: the whole of this pass has been formed by artificial means. Both on the right hand and the left are overhanging rocks, which look as though they had been exposed to the action of fire; and there is a tract of country, quite destitute of water, [p. 2029] twenty-eight miles in extent. This narrow pass, too, is rendered still more difficult by a liquid salt which oozes from the rocks, and uniting in a single stream, makes its way along the pass. Besides this, it is frequented by such multitudes of serpents, that the passage is quite impracticable except in winter.
(15.) Joining up to Adiabene are the people formerly known as the 'Carduchi,' now the Cordueni,244 in front of whom the river Tigris flows: and next to them are the Pratitæ, entitled the Par Odon,245 who hold possession of the Caspian Gates.246 On the other side247 of these gates we come to the deserts248 of Parthia and the mountain chain of Cithenus; and after that, the most pleasant locality of all Parthia, Choara249 by name. Here were two cities of the Parthians, built in former times for their protection against the people of Media, Calliope,250 and Issatis, the last of which stood formerly251 on a rock. Hecatompylos,252 the capital of Parthia, is distant from the Caspian Gates one hundred and thirty-three miles. In such an effectual manner is the kingdom of Parthia shut out by these passes. After leaving these gates we find the nation of the Caspii, extending as far as the shores of the Caspian, a race which has given its name to these gates as well as to the sea: on the left [p. 2030] there is a mountainous district. Turning back253 from this nation to the river Cyrus, the distance is said to be two hundred and twenty miles; but if we go from that river as far down as the Caspian Gates, the distance is seven hundreds254 miles. In the itineraries of Alexander the Great these gates were made the central or turning point in his expeditions; the distance from the Caspian Gates to the frontier of India being there set down as fifteen thousand six hundred and eighty255 stadia, to the city of Bactra,256 commonly called Zariaspa, three thousand seven hundred, and thence to the river Jaxartes257 five thousand stadia. 
CHAP. 18. (16.)--NATIONS SITUATE AROUND THE HYRCANIAN SEA.
Lying to the east of the Caspii is the region known as Apavortene,258 in which there is a place noted for its singular fertility, called Dareium.259 We then come to the nations of the Tapyri,260 the Anariaci, the Staures, and the Hyrcani, past whose shores and beyond the river Sideris261 the Caspian begins to take the name of the 'Hyrcanian' Sea: on this side of that stream are also the rivers Maxeras and Strato: all of them take their rise in the Caucasian chain. Next comes [p. 2031] the district of Margiane,262 so remarkable for its sunny climate. It is the only spot in all these regions that produces the vine, being shut in on every side by verdant and refreshing hills. This district is fifteen hundred stadia in circumference, but is rendered remarkably difficult of access by sandy deserts, which extend a distance of one hundred and twenty miles: it lies opposite to the country of Parthia, and in it Alexander founded the city of Alexandria. This place having been destroyed by the barbarians, Antiochus,263 the son of Seleucus, rebuilt it on the same site as a Syrian city.264 For, seeing that it was watered by the Margus,265 which passes through it, and is afterwards divided into a number of streams for the irrigation of the district of Zothale, he restored it, but preferred giving it the name of Antiochia.266 The circumference of this city is seventy stadia: it was to this place that Orodes conducted such of the Romans as had survived the defeat of Crassus. From the mountain heights of this district, along the range of Caucasus, the savage race of the Mardi, a free people, extends as far as the Bactri.267 Below the district inhabited by them, we find the nations of the Orciani, the Commori, the Berdrigæ, the Harmatotropi,268 the Citomaræ, the Comani, the Marucæi, and the Mandruani. The rivers here are the Mandrus and the Chindrus.269 Beyond the nations already mentioned, are the [p. 2032] Chorasmii,270 the Candari,271 the Attasini, the Paricani, the Sarangæ, the Marotiani, the Aorsi,272 the Gaëli, by the Greek writers called Cadusii,273 the Matiani, the city of Heraclea,274 which was founded by Alexander, but was afterwards destroyed, and rebuilt by Antiochus, and by him called Achaïs; the Derbices also,275 through the middle of whose territory the river Oxus276 runs, after rising in Lake Oxus,277 the Syrmatæ, the Oxydracæ, the Heniochi, the Bateni, the Saraparæ, and the Bactri, whose chief city is Zariaspe, which afterwards received the name of Bactra, from the river278 there. This last nation lies at the [p. 2033] back of Mount Paropanisus,279 over against the sources of the river Indus, and is bounded by the river Ochus.280 Beyond it are the Sogdiani,281 the town of Panda, and, at the very extremity of their territory, Alexandria,282 founded by Alexander the Great. At this spot are the altars which were raised by Hercules and Father Liber, as also by Cyrus, Semiramis, and Alexander; for the expeditions of all these conquerors stopped short at this region, bounded as it is by the river Jaxartes, by the Scythians known as the Silis, and by Alexander and his officers supposed to have been the Tanais. This river was crossed by Demodamas, a general of kings Seleucus and Antiochus, and whose account more particularly we have here followed. He also consecrated certain altars here to Apollo Didymæus.283 
CHAP. 19. (17.)--THE NATIONS OF SCYTHIA AND THE COUNTRIES ON THE EASTERN OCEAN.
Beyond this river are the peoples of Scythia. The Persians have called them by the general name of Sacæ,284 which properly [p. 2034] belongs to only the nearest nation of them. The more ancient writers give them the name of Aramii. The Scythians themselves give the name of "Chorsari" to the Persians, and they call Mount Caucasus Graucasis, which means "white with snow." The multitude of these Scythian nations is quite innumerable: in their life and habits they much resemble the people of Parthia. The tribes among them that are better known are the Sacæ, the Massagetæ,285 the Dahæ,286 the Essedones,287 the Ariacæ,288 the Rhymmici, the Pæsici, the Amardi,289 the Histi, the Edones, the Came, the Camacæ, the Euchatæ,290 the Cotieri, the Anthusiani, the Psacæ, the Arimaspi,291 the Antacati, the Chroasai, and the [p. 2035] Œtei; among them the Napæi292 are said to have been destroyed by the Palæi. The rivers in their country that are the best known, are the Mandragæus and the Carpasus. Indeed upon no subject that I know of are there greater discrepancies among writers, from the circumstance, I suppose, of these nations being so extremely numerous, and of such migratory habits. Alexander the Great has left it stated that the water of this sea293 is fresh, and M. Varro informs us, that some of it, of a similar character, was brought to Pompey, when holding the chief command in the Mithridatic war in its vicinity; the salt,294 no doubt, being overpowered by the volume of water discharged by the rivers which flow into it. He adds also, that under the direction of Pompey, it was ascertained that it is seven days' journey from India to the river Icarus,295 in the country of the Bactri, which discharges itself into the Oxus, and that the merchandize of India being conveyed from it296 through the Caspian Sea into the Cyrus, may be brought by land to Phasis in Pontus, in five days at most. There are numerous islands throughout the whole of the Caspian sea: the only one that is well known is that of Tazata.297 
CHAP. 20.--THE SERES.
After we have passed the Caspian Sea and the Scythian Ocean, our course takes an easterly direction, such being the [p. 2036] turn here taken by the line of the coast. The first portion298 of these shores, after we pass the Scythian Promontory, is totally uninhabitable, owing to the snow, and the regions adjoining are uncultivated, in consequence of the savage state of the nations which dwell there. Here are the abodes of the Scythian Anthropophagi,299 who feed on human flesh. Hence it is that all around them consists of vast deserts, inhabited by multitudes of wild beasts, which are continually lying in wait, ready to fall upon human beings just as savage as themselves. After leaving these, we again come to a nation of the Scythians, and then again to desert tracts tenanted by wild beasts, until we reach a chain of mountains which runs up to the sea, and bears the name of Tabis.300 It is not, however, before we have traversed very nearly one half of the coast that looks towards the north-east, that we find it occupied by inhabitants.
The first people that are known of here are the Seres,301 so famous for the wool that is found in their forests.302 After steeping it in water, they comb off a white down that adheres to the leaves; and then to the females of our part of the world they give the twofold task303 of unravelling their textures, and of weav- [p. 2037] ing the threads afresh. So manifold is the labour, and so distant are the regions which are thus ransacked to supply a dress through which our ladies may in public display304 their charms. The Seres are of inoffensive manners, but, bearing a strong resemblance therein to all savage nations, they shun all intercourse with the rest of mankind, and await the approach305 of those who wish to traffic with them. The first river that is known in their territory is the Psitharas,306 next to that the Cambari, and the third the Laros; after which we come to the Promontory of Chryse,307 the Gulf of Cynaba, the river Atianos, and the nation of the Attacori on the gulf of that name, a people protected by their sunny hills from all noxious blasts, and living in a climate of the same temperature as that of the Hyperborei. Amometus has written a work entirely devoted to the history of these people, just as Hecatæus has done in his treatise on the Hyperborei. After the Attacori, we find the nations of the Phruri and the Tochari, and, in the interior, the Casiri, a people of India, who look toward the Scythians, and feed [p. 2038] on human flesh. Here are also numerous wandering Nomad tribes of India. There are some authors who state that in a north-easterly direction these nations touch upon the Cicones308 and the Brysari. 
CHAP. 21.--THE NATIONS OF INDIA.
But we come now to nations as to which there is a more general agreement among writers. Where the chain of Emodus309 rises, the nations of India begin, which borders not only on the Eastern sea, but on the Southern as well, which we have already mentioned310 as being called the Indian Ocean. That part which faces the east runs in a straight line a distance of eighteen hundred and seventy-five miles until it comes to a bend, at which the Indian Ocean begins. Here it takes a turn to the south, and continues to run in that direction a distance of two thousand four hundred and seventy-five miles, according to Eratosthenes, as far as the river Indus, the boundary of India on the west.311 Many authors have represented the entire length of the Indian coast as being forty days' and nights' sail, and as being, from north to south, two thousand eight hundred and fifty miles. Agrippa states its length to be three thousand three hundred miles, and its breadth, two thousand three hundred. Posidonius has given its measurement as lying from north-east to south-east, placing it opposite to Gaul, of which country he has given the measurement as lying from north-west to south-west; making the whole of India to lie due west of Gaul. Hence, as he has shewn by undoubted proofs, India lying opposite to Gaul must be refreshed [p. 2039] by the blowing of that wind,312 and derive its salubrity there- from.
In this region, the appearance of the heavens is totally changed, and quite different is the rising of the stars; there are two summers in the year, and two harvests, while the winter intervenes between them during the time that the Etesian313 winds are blowing: during our winter too, they enjoy light breezes, and their seas are navigable. In this country there are nations and cities which would be found to be quite innumerable, if a person should attempt to enumerate them. For it has been explored not only by the arms of Alexander the Great and of the kings who succeeded him, by Seleucus and Antiochus, who sailed round even to the Caspian and Hyrcanian Sea, and by Patrocles,314 the admiral of their fleet, but has been treated of by several other Greek writers who resided at the courts of Indian kings, such, for instance, as Megasthenes, and by Dionysius, who was sent thither by Philadelphus, expressly for the purpose: all of whom have enlarged upon the power and vast resources of these nations. Still, however, there is no possibility of being rigorously exact, so different are the accounts given, and often of a nature so incredible. The followers of Alexander the Great have stated in their writings, that there were no less than five thousand cities in that portion of India which they [p. 2040] vanquished by force of arms, not one of which was smaller than that of Cos;315 that its nations were eight in number, that India forms one-third of the whole earth, and that its populations are innumerable--a thing which is certainly far from improbable, seeing that the Indians are nearly the only race of people who have never migrated from their own territories. From the time of Father Liber316 to that of Alexander the Great, one hundred and fifty-three kings of India are reckoned, extending over a period of six thousand four hundred and fifty-one years and three months. The vast extent of their rivers is quite marvellous; it is stated that on no one day did Alexander the Great sail less than six hundred stadia317 on the Indus, and still was unable to reach its mouth in less than five months and some few days: and yet it is a well-known fact that this river is not so large as the Ganges.318 Seneca, one of our fellow-countrymen, who has written a treatise319 upon the subject of India, has given its rivers as sixty-five in number, and its nations as one hundred and eighteen. The difficulty too would be quite as great, if we were to attempt to enumerate its mountains. The chains of Emaüs, of Emodus, of Paropanisus, and of Caucasus, are all connected, the one with the other; and from their foot, the country of India runs down in the form of a vast plain, bearing a very considerable resemblance to that of Egypt.
However, that we may come to a better understanding relative to the description of these regions, we will follow in the track of Alexander the Great. Diognetus and Bæton, whose duty it was to ascertain the distances and length of his expeditions, have written that from the Caspian Gates to Hecatompylon, the city of the Parthians, the distance is the number of miles which we have already320 stated; and that from thence to Alexandria,321 of the Arii, which city was founded by the same king, the distance is five hundred and seventy-five miles; from thence to Prophthasia,322 the city of the Drangæ, one [p. 2041] hundred and ninety-nine; from thence to the city of the Arachosii,323 five hundred and sixty-five; from thence to Ortospanum,324 one hundred and seventy-five; and from thence to the city built by Alexander,325 fifty, miles. In some copies, however, the numbers are found differently stated; and we find this last city even placed at the very foot of Mount Caucasus! From this place to the river Cophes326 and Peucolaitis, a city of India, is two hundred and thirty-seven miles; from thence to the river Indus and the city of Taxilla327 sixty; from thence to the famous river Hydaspes328 one hundred and twenty; and from thence to the Hypasis,329 a river no less famous, two hundred and ninety miles, and three hundred and ninety paces. This last was the extreme limit of the expedition of Alexander, though he crossed the river and dedicated certain altars330 on the opposite side. The dispatches written by order of that king fully agree with the distances above stated.
The remaining distances beyond the above point were ascertained on the expedition of Seleucus Nicator. They are, to the river Sydrus,331 one hundred and sixty-eight miles; to the river Jomanes, the same; some copies, however, add [p. 2042] to this last distance five miles; thence to the Ganges, one hundred and twelve miles; to Rhodapha, five hundred and sixty-nine--though, according to some writers, this last distance is only three hundred and twenty-five miles; to the town of Calinipaxa,332 one hundred and sixty-seven, according to some, two hundred and sixty-five; thence to the confluence of the river Jomanes333 and Ganges, six hundred and twenty-five; most writers, however, add thirteen miles to this last distance; thence to the city of Palibothra,334 four hundred and twenty-five--and thence to the mouth of the Ganges, six hundred and thirty-seven miles and a half.
The nations whom it may be not altogether inopportune to mention, after passing the Emodian Mountains, a cross range of which is called "Imaus," a word which, in the language of the natives, signifies "snowy,"335 are the Isari, the Cosyri, the Izi, and, upon the chain of mountains, the Chisiotosagi, with numerous peoples, which have the surname of Brachmanæ,336 among whom are the Maccocalingæ. There are also the rivers Prinas and Cainas,337 which last flows into the Ganges, both of them navigable streams. The nation of the Calingæ338 [p. 2043] comes nearest to the sea, and above them are the Mandei and the Malli.339 In the territory of the last-named people is a mountain called Mallus: the boundary of this region is the river Ganges. 
CHAP. 22. (18.)--THE GANGES.
Some writers have stated that this river, like the Nile, takes its rise from unknown sources,340 and, in a similar manner, waters the neighbouring territory; others, again, say that it rises in the mountains of Scythia. They state also that nineteen rivers discharge their waters into it; those among them that are navigable, besides the rivers already mentioned,341 are the Condochates,342 the Erannoboas,343 the Cosoagus,344 and the Sonus. Other writers again say that it bursts forth at its very source with a loud noise, hurling itself over rocks and precipices; and that after it has reached the plains, its waters become more tranquil, and it pauses for a time in a certain lake, after which it flows gently on. They say also that it is eight miles in breadth, where it is the very narrowest, and [p. 2044] one hundred stadia where it is but moderately wide, and that it is nowhere less than twenty paces in depth. The last nation situate on the banks of the Ganges is that of the Gangarides345 Calingæ; the city where their king dwells has the name of Protalis.346 (19.) This king has sixty thousand foot-soldiers, one thousand horse, and seven hundred elephants, always caparisoned ready for battle. The people of the more civilized nations of India are divided into several classes.347 One of these classes tills the earth, another attends to military affairs, others again are occupied in mercantile pursuits, while the wisest and the most wealthy among them have the management of the affairs of state--act as judges, and give counsel to the king. The fifth class,348 entirely devoting themselves to the pursuit of wisdom, which in these countries is almost held in the same veneration as religion, always349 end their life by a voluntary death upon the lighted pile. In addition to these, there is a class350 in a half-savage state, and doomed to endless labour; by means of their exertions, all the classes previously mentioned are supported. It is their duty to hunt351 the elephant, and to tame him when captured; for it is by the aid of these animals that they plough; by these animals they are conveyed [p. 2045] from place to place; these in especial they look upon as constituting their flocks and herds; by their aid they wage their wars, and fight in defence of their territories. Strength, age, and size, are the points usually considered in making choice of these animals.
In the Ganges there is an island of very considerable size, inhabited by a single nation; it is called Modogalinga.352 Beyond the Ganges are situate the Modubæ, the Molindæ, the Uberæ, with a magnificent city of the same name, the Modresi, the Preti, the Caloæ, the Sasuri, the Passalæ, the Colobæ, the Orumcolæ, the Abali, and the Thalutæ. The king of the last-named people has fifty thousand foot-soldiers, four thousand horse, and four hundred armed elephants. We next come to a still more powerful nation, the Andaræ,353 who dwell in numerous villages, as well as thirty cities fortified with walls and towers. They furnish for their king one hundred thousand foot, two thousand horse, and a thousand elephants. The country of the Dardæ354 is the most productive of gold, that of the Setæ of silver.
But more famous and more powerful than any nation, not only in these regions, but throughout almost the whole of India, are the Prasii, who dwell in a city of vast extent and of remarkable opulence, called Palibothra;355 from which circumstance some writers have given to the people themselves the name of Palibothri, and, indeed, to the whole tract of country between the Ganges and the Indus. These people keep on daily pay in their king's service an army, consisting of six hundred thousand foot, thirty thousand horse, and nine thousand elephants, from which we may easily form a conjecture as to the vast extent of their resources. Behind these [p. 2046] people, and lying still more in the interior, are the Monedes, and the Suari,356 among whom is a mountain known as Maleus, upon which the shadow falls to the north in winter, and to the south in summer, six months alternately. In this district the Constellation of the Greater Bear357 is seen at only one period in the year, and then but for fifteen days, according to what Bæton states. Megasthenes, however, informs us that the same is the case also in many other localities of India. The South Pole is by the Indians called Diamasa.
The river Jomanes runs into the Ganges through the territory of the Palibothri, between the cities of Methora358 and Chrysobora.359 In the regions which lie to the south360 of the Ganges, the people are tinted by the heat of the sun, so much so as to be quite coloured, but yet not burnt black, like the Æthiopians. The nearer361 they approach the Indus, the deeper their colour, a proof of the heat of the climate. After leaving the nation of the Prasii, we immediately come to the Indus; in the mountains of the Prasii a race of Pygmies is said to exist. Artemidorus says that between these two rivers there is a distance of two thousand one hundred miles. 
CHAP. 23. (20.)--THE INDUS.
The Indus, called Sindis by the natives, rises in that branch of the Caucasian range which bears the name of Paropanisus,362 [p. 2047] and runs in an easterly direction, receiving in its course the waters of nineteen rivers. The most famous of these are the Hydaspes,363 into which four other rivers have already discharged themselves, the Cantaba,364 which receives three other rivers, the Acesinus, and the Hypasis,365 which last two are navigable themselves. Still however, so moderate, as it were, do the waters of this river show themselves in their course, that it is never more than fifty stadia in width, nor does it ever exceed fifteen paces in depth. Of two islands, which it forms in its course, the one, which is known as Prasiane, is of very considerable size; the other, which is smaller, is called Patale. According to the accounts given by the most moderate writers, this river is navigable for a distance of twelve hundred and fifty miles, and after following the sun's course to the west, in some degree, discharges itself into the ocean. I will here give the distances of various places situate on the coast to the mouth of this river, in a general way, just as I find them stated, although they none of them tally with each other.
From the mouth of the Ganges to the Promontory of the Calingi and the town of Dandaguda,366 is six hundred and twenty-five miles; from thence to Tropina twelve hundred and twenty-five; from thence to the promontory of Perimula, where is held the most celebrated mart in all India, seven hundred and fifty, and from thence to the city of Patala, in the island just mentioned, six hundred and twenty miles.
The mountain races between the Indus and the Jomanes are the Cesi,367 the Cetriboni, who dwell in the woods, and after them the Megallæ, whose king possesses five hundred elephants, and an army of horse and foot, the numbers of which are unknown; then the Chrysei, the Parasangæ, and the Asmagi,368 whose territory is infested by wild tigers; these people keep in arms thirty [p. 2048] thousand foot, three hundred elephants, and eight hundred horse. They are bounded by the river Indus, and encircled by a range of mountains and deserts for a distance of six hundred and twenty-five miles. Below these deserts are the Dari and the Surve, and then deserts again for one hundred and eighty-seven miles, sands in general encircling these spots just as islands are surrounded by the sea. Below these deserts, again, are the Maltecoræ, the Singæ, the Marohæ, the Rarungæ, and the Morontes. These last peoples, who possess the mountains throughout the whole range of country as far as the shores of the ocean, are free, and independent of all kings, and hold numerous cities upon the declivities of the mountains. After them come the Nareæ,369 who are bounded by Capitalia, the most lofty of all the Indian peaks: the inhabitants who dwell on the other side of it have extensive mines of gold and silver. After these again are the Oratæ, whose king possesses only ten elephants, but a large army of foot; next come the Suarataratæ, who live under the rule of a king as well, but breed no elephants, as they depend solely on their horse and foot; then the Odonbeores, the Arabastree, and the Horacæ, which last inhabit a fine city fortified by trenches cut in the marshes. It is quite impossible to approach the city, except by the bridge, as the water in the trenches is full of crocodiles, an animal most insatiate for human flesh. There is another city also in their territory, which has been greatly extolled, Automula by name, situate on the sea-shore, a famous mart, lying at the point of confluence of five rivers: their king possesses sixteen hundred elephants, one hundred and fifty thousand foot, and five thousand horse. The king of the Charmæ is a less opulent potentate; he has only sixty elephants and some small remains of his former strength. After these we come to the nation of the Pandæ,370 the only one throughout all India which is ruled by women. It is said that Hercules had but one child of the female sex, for which reason she was his especial favourite, and he bestowed upon her the principal one of these kingdoms. The sovereigns who [p. 2049] derive their origin from this female, rule over three hundred towns, and have an army of one hundred and fifty thousand foot, and five hundred elephants. After passing through this list of three hundred cities, we come to the Darangæ,371 the Posingæ, the Butæ, the Gogaræi, the Umbræ, the Nereæ, the Brancosi, the Nobundæ, the Cocondæ, the Nesei, the Palatitæ, the Salobriasæ, and the Olostræ, who reach up to the island of Patala, from the extremity of whose shores to the Caspian Gates it is a distance of nineteen hundred and twenty-five miles.
After passing this island, the other side of the Indus is occupied, as we know by clear and undoubted proofs, by the Athoæ, the Bolingæ, the Gallitalutæ, the Dimuri, the Megari, the Ardabæ, the Mesæ, and after them, the Uri and the Silæ; beyond which last there are desert tracts, extending a distance of two hundred and fifty miles. After passing these nations, we come to the Organagæ, the Abortæ, the Bassuertæ, and, after these last, deserts similar to those previously 'mentioned. We then come to the peoples of the Sorofages, the Arbæ, the Marogomatræ, the Umbrittæ, of whom there are twelve nations, each with two cities, and the Asini, a people who dwell in three cities, their capital being Bucephala,372 which was founded around the tomb of the horse belonging to king Alexander, which bore that name. Above these peoples there are some mountain tribes, which lie at the foot of Caucasus, the Soseadæ and the Sondræ, and, after passing the Indus and going down its stream, the Samarabriæ, the Sambraceni, the Bisambritæ, the Orsi, the Anixeni, and the Taxilæ, with a famous city, which lies on a low but level plain, the general name of the district being Amenda: there are four nations [p. 2050] here, the Peucolaitæ,373 the Arsagalitæ, the Geretæ, and the Assoï.
The greater part of the geographers, in fact, do not look upon India as bounded by the river Indus, but add to it the four Satrapies of the Gedrosi,374 the Arachotæ,375 the Arii,376 and the Paropauisidæ,377 the river Cophes378 thus forming the extreme boundary of India. All these territories, however, according to other writers, are reckoned as belonging to the country of the Arii. (21.) Many writers, too, place in India the city of Nysa,379 and the mountain of Merus, sacred to Father Bacchus; in which circumstance380 originated the story that he sprang from the thigh of Jupiter. They also place here the nation of the Astacani, whose country abounds in the vine, the laurel, the box-tree, and all the fruits which are produced in Greece. As to those wonderful and almost fabulous stories which are related about the fertility of the soil, and the various kinds of fruits and trees, as well as wild beasts, and birds, and other sorts of animals, they shall be mentioned each in its proper [p. 2051] place, in a future portion of this work. I shall also very shortly have to make some further mention of the four Satrapies, it being at present my wish to hasten to a description of the island of Taprobane.
But first there are some other islands of which we must make mention. Patala,381 as we have already stated, lies at the mouth of the Indus: it is of a triangular figure, and is two hundred and twenty miles in breadth. Beyond the mouth of the Indus are the islands of Chryse and Argyre,382 abounding in metals, I believe; but as to what some persons have stated, that their soil consists of gold and silver, I am not so willing to give a ready credence to that. After passing these islands we come to Crocala,383 twenty miles in breadth, and then, at twelve miles' distance from it, Bibraga,384 abounding in oysters and other bell-fish. At eight miles' distance from Bibraga we find Toralliba, and many others of no note. 
CHAP. 24. (22.)--TAPROBANE.
Taprobane,385 under the name of the "land of the Antich- thones,"386 was long looked upon as another world: the age and the arms of Alexander the Great were the first to give satisfactory proof that it is an island. Onesicritus, the commander of his fleet, has informed us that the elephants of this island are larger, and better adapted for warfare than those of India; and from Megasthenes we learn that it is divided by a river, that the inhabitants have the name of Paleogoni,387 and that their [p. 2052] country is more productive of gold and pearls of great size than even India. Eratosthenes has also given the dimensions of this island, as being seven thousand stadia in length, and five thousand in breadth: he states also that there are no cities, but villages to the number of seven hundred.388 It begins at the Eastern sea, and lies extended opposite to India, east and west. This island was in former times supposed to be twenty days' sail from the country of the Prasii,389 but in later times, whereas the navigation was formerly confined to vessels constructed of papyrus with the tackle peculiar to the Nile, the distance has been estimated at no more than seven days'390 sail, in reference to the speed which can be attained by vessels of our construction. The sea that lies between the island and the mainland is full of shallows, not more than six paces in depth; but in certain channels it is of such extraordinary depth, that no anchor has ever found a bottom. For this reason it is that the vessels are constructed with prows at either end; so that there may be no necessity for tacking while navigating these channels, which are extremely narrow. The tonnage of these vessels is three thousand amphoræ.391 In traversing their seas, the people of Taprobane take no observations of the stars, and indeed the Greater Bear392 is not visible to them; but they carry birds out to sea, which they let go from time to time, and so follow their course as they make for the land. They devote only four months in the year to the pursuits of navigation, and are particularly careful not to trust themselves on the sea during the next hundred days after our summer solstice, for in those seas it is at that time the middle of winter. [p. 2053] 
Thus much we learn from the ancient writers; it has fallen to our lot, however, to obtain a still more accurate knowledge of these people; for during the reign of the Emperor Claudius, an embassy came from even this distant island to Rome. The circumstances under which this took place were as follow: Annius Plocamus had farmed from the treasury the revenues arising from the Red Sea. A certain freedman of his, while sailing around Arabia, was carried away by a gale from the north beyond the coast of Carmania. In the course of fifteen days he had drifted to Hippuros, a port of Taprobane, where he was most kindly and hospitably received by the king; and having, after a study of six months, become well acquainted with the language, was enabled to answer all his enquiries relative to the Romans and their emperor. But of all that he heard, the king was more particularly struck with surprise at our rigid notions of justice, on ascertaining that among the money found on the captive, the denarii were all of equal weight, although the different figures on them plainly showed that they had been struck in the reigns of several emperors. By this circumstance in especial, the king was prompted to form an alliance with the Romans, and accordingly sent to Rome an embassy, consisting of four persons, the chief of whom was Itachias.393 
From these persons we learned that in Taprobane there are five hundred towns, and that there is a harbour that lies facing the south, and adjoining the city of Palæsimundus,394 the most famous city in the isle, the king's place of residence, and containing a population of two hundred thousand. They also informed us that in the interior there is a lake called Megisba, three hundred and seventy-five miles in circumference, and containing islands which are fertile, though for pasturage only. In this lake they informed us two rivers take their rise, one of which, called Palesimundus, flows into the harbournear the city of that name, by three channels, the narrowest of which is five stadia in width, the largest fifteen; while the other, Cydara by name, takes a direction northward, towards the Indian coast. We learned also [p. 2054] that the nearest point of the Indian coast is a promontory known as Coliacum,395 distant from the island four days' sail, and that midway between them lies the island of the Sun. They stated also that those seas are of a deep green tint; besides which, there are numerous trees growing at the bottom, so much so, that the rudders of the vessels frequently break off portions of their foliage.396 They were much astonished at the constellations which are visible to us, the Greater Bear and the Pleiades,397 as though they had now beheld a new expanse of the heavens; and they declared that in their country the moon can only be seen above the horizon398 from the eighth to its sixteenth day. They also stated that Canopus, a large bright star, gives light to them by night. But what surprised them more than anything, was that the shadow of their bodies was thrown towards our hemisphere399 and not theirs, and that the sun arose on the left hand and set on the right, and not in the opposite direction.400 They also informed us that the side of their island which lies opposite to India is ten thousand stadia in length, and runs in a south-easterly direction--that beyond the Emodian Mountains they look towards401 the Serve, whose [p. 2055] acquaintance they had also made in the pursuits of commerce; that the father of Rachias had frequently visited their country, and that the Seræ always came to meet them on their arrival. These people, they said, exceeded the ordinary human height, had flaxen hair, and blue eyes, and made an uncouth sort of noise by way of talking, having no language of their own for the pur- pose of communicating their thoughts. The rest of their information402 was of a similar nature to that communicated by our merchants. It was to the effect that the merchandize on sale was left by them upon the opposite bank of a river on their coast, and it was then removed by the natives, if they thought proper to deal on terms of exchange. On no grounds ought luxury with greater reason to be detested by us, than if we only transport our thoughts to these scenes, and then reflect, what are its demands, to what distant spots it sends in order to satisfy them, and for how mean and how unworthy an end!
But yet Taprobane even, isolated as it is by nature from the rest of the world, is not exempt from our vices. Gold and silver are held in esteem even there. They have a marble which resembles tortoise-shell in appearance; this, as well as their pearls and precious stones, is highly valued; all our luxuries in fact, those even of the most exquisite nature, are there carried to the very highest pitch. They asserted that their wealth is much greater than ours, but admitted that we know better than they how to obtain real enjoyment from opulence.
In this island no slavery exists; they do not prolong their sleep to day-break, nor indeed during any part of the day; their buildings are only of a moderate height from the ground; the price of corn is always the same; they have no courts of law and no litigation. Hercules is the deity whom they worship; [p. 2056] SABTUL and their king is chosen by the people, an aged man always, distinguished for his mild and clement disposition, and without children. If after he has been elected king, he happens to become the father of children, his abdication is the consequence; this is done that there may be no danger of the sovereign power becoming hereditary. Thirty advisers are provided for him by the people, and it is only by the advice of the majority of them that any man is condemned to capital punishment. Even then, the person so condemned has a right of appealing to the people, in which case a jury consisting of seventy persons is appointed. Should these acquit the accused, the thirty counsellors are no longer held in any estimation, but are visited with the greatest disgrace. The king wears the costume of Father Liber,403 while the rest of the people dress like the natives of Arabia. The king, if he is found guilty of any offence, is condemned to death; but no one slays him; all turn their backs upon him, and refuse to hold any communication or even discourse with him. Their festivals are celebrated404 with the chase, the most valued sports being the pursuit of the tiger and the elephant. The lands are carefully tilled; the vine is not cultivated there, but of other fruits there is great abundance. They take great delight in fishing, and especially in catching turtles; beneath the shells405 of which whole families find an abode, of such vast size are they to be found. These people look upon a hundred years as a comparatively short life. Thus much have we learned respecting Taprobane. 
CHAP. 25.--THE ARIANI AND THE ADJOINING NATIONS.
We will now proceed to give some further particulars [p. 2057] relative to the four Satrapies, of which we have postponed further mention406 till the present occasion.
(23). After passing the nations in the vicinity of the Indus, we come to the mountain districts. The territory of Capisene formerly had a city, called Capisa,407 which was destroyed by Cyrus. Arachosia408 has a river and a city of the same name; the city was built by Semiramis; by some writers it is called Cophen. The river Erymanthus409 flows past Parabeste,410 which belongs to the Arachosii. Writers make the Dexendrusi come next, forming the boundary of the Arachotæ on the southern side, and of the Paropanisadæ on the north. The city of Cartana411 lies at the foot of Caucasus; in later times it has been called Tetragonis.412 This region lies over against that of the Bactri, who come next, and whose chief city is Alexandria,413 so called from the name of its founder. We then come to the Syndraci,414 the [p. 2058] Dangalæ415 the Parapinæ,416 the Catuces, and the Mazi; and then at the foot of Caucasus, to the Cadrusi, whose town417 was built by Alexander.
Below all these countries, is the line of coast which we come to after leaving the Indus. Ariana418 is a region parched by the sun and surrounded by deserts; still, however, as the face of the country is every here and there diversified with well-shaded spots, it finds communities grouped together to cultivate it, and more especially around the two rivers, known as the Tonberos419 and the Arosapes.420 There is also the town of Artacoana,421 and the river Arius,422 which flows past Alexandria,423 a city founded by Alexander; this place is thirty stadia in extent. Much more beautiful than it, as well as of much greater antiquity, is Artacabane,424 fortified a second time by Antiochus, and fifty stadia in breadth. We then come to the nation of the Dorisdorsigi, and the rivers Phar- [p. 2059] naracotis,425 and Ophradus; and then to Prophthasia,426 a city of the Zaraspades, the Drangæ,427 the Evergetæ,428 the Zarangæ, and the Gedrusi;429 the towns of Pucolis, Lyphorta, the desert of the Methorgi,430 the river Manais,431 the nation of the Acutri, the river Eorum, the nation of the Orbi, the Pomanus, a navigable river in the territories of the Pandares, the Apirus in the country of the Suari, with a good harbour at its mouth, the city of Condigramma, and the river Cophes;432 into which last flow the navigable streams of the Saddaros,433 the Parospus, and the Sodanus. Some writers will also have it that Daritis434 forms part of Ariana, and give the length of them both as nineteen hundred and fifty miles, and the breadth one half of that435 of India. Others again have spread the Gedrusi and the Pasires over an extent of one hundred and thirty-eight miles, and place next to them the Ichthyophagi Oritæ,436 a people who speak a language peculiar to themselves, and not the Indian dialect, extending over a space of two hundred miles. Alexander forbade the whole of the Ichthyophagi437 to live any [p. 2060] longer on fish. Next after these the writers have placed extensive deserts, and then Carmania, Persia, and Arabia. 
CHAP. 26.--VOYAGES TO INDIA.
But before we enter into any details respecting these countries, it will be as well to mention what Oncsicritus438 has stated, who commanded the fleet of Alexander, and sailed from India439 into the heart of Persia, and what has been more recently related by Juba; after which I shall speak of the route along these seas which has been discovered in later years, and is followed at the present day. The journal of the voyage of Onesicritus and Nearchus has neither the names of the stations, nor yet the distances set down in it; and first of all, it is not sufficiently explained where Xylenepolis was, and near what river, a place founded by Alexander, and from which, upon setting out, they took their departure. Still, however, the following places are mentioned by them, which are worthy of our notice. The town of Arbis, founded by Nearchus on the occasion of this voyage; the river Nabrus,440 navigable for vessels, and opposite to it an island, at a distance of seventy stadia; Alexandria, built by Leonnatus441 by order of Alexander in the territories of this people; Argenus, with a very convenient harbour; the river Tonberos,442 a navigable stream, around whose banks are the Pasiræ; then come the Ichthyophagi, who extend over so large a tract of coast that it took thirty days443 to sail past their territory; and an island known by the names of the "Island of the Sun"444 and the "Bed [p. 2061] of the Nymphs," the earth of which is red, and in which every animal instantly dies; the cause of which, however, has not been ascertained.445 Next to these is the nation of the Ori, and then the Hyctanis,446 a river of Carmania, with an excellent harbour at its mouth, and producing gold; at this spot the writers state that for the first time they caught sight of the Great Bear.447 The star Arcturus too, they tell us, was not to be seen here every night, and never, when it was seen, during the whole of it. Up to this spot extended the empire of the Achæmenidæ,448 and in these districts are to be found mines of copper, iron, arsenic, and red lead.
They next came to the Promontory of Carmania,449 from which the distance across to the opposite coast, where the Macæ, a nation of Arabia, dwell, is fifty miles; and then to three islands, of which that of Oracla450 is alone inhabited, being the only one supplied with fresh water; it is distant from the mainland twenty-five miles; quite in the Gulf, and facing Persia, there are four other islands. About these islands sea-serpents451 were seen swimming towards them, twenty cubits in length, which struck the fleet with great alarm. They then came to the island of Athothradus, and those called the Gauratæ, upon which dwells the nation of the Gyani; the river Hyperis,452 which discharges itself midway into the Persian Gulf, and is navigable for merchant ships; the river [p. 2062] Sitiogagus, from which to Pasargadæ453 is seven days' sail; a navigable river known as the Phristimus, and an island without a name; and then the river Granis,454 navigable for vessels of small burden, and flowing through Susiane; the Deximontani, a people who manufacture bitumen, dwell on its right bank. The river Zarotis comes next, difficult of entrance at its mouth, except by those who are well acquainted with it; and then two small islands; after which the fleet sailed through shallows which looked very much like a marsh, but were rendered navigable by certain channels which had been cut there. They then arrived at the mouth of the Euphrates, and from thence passed into a lake which is formed by the rivers Eulæus455 and Tigris, in the vicinity of Charax,456 after which they arrived at Susa,457 on the river Tigris. Here, after a voyage of three months, they found Alexander celebra- ting a festival, seven months after he had left them at Patale.458 Such was the voyage performed by the fleet of Alexander.
In later times it has been considered a well-ascertained fact that the voyage from Syagrus,459 the Promontory of Arabia, to Patale, reckoned at thirteen hundred and thirty-five miles, can be performed most advantageously with the [p. 2063] aid of a westerly wind, which is there known by the name of Hippalus.
The age that followed pointed out a shorter route, and a safer one, to those who might happen to sail from the same promontory for Sigerus, a port of India; and for a long time this route was followed, until at last a still shorter cut was discovered by a merchant, and the thirst for gain brought India even still nearer to us. At the present day voyages are made to India every year: and companies of archers are carried on board the vessels, as those seas are greatly infested with pirates.
It will not be amiss too, on the present occasion, to set forth the whole of the route from Egypt, which has been stated to us of late, upon information on which reliance may be placed, and is here published for the first time. The subject is one well worthy of our notice, seeing that in no year does India drain our empire of less than five hundred and fifty millions460 of sesterces, giving back her own wares in exchange, which are sold among us at fully one hundred times their prime cost.
Two miles distant from Alexandria is the town of Juliopolis.461 The distance thence to Coptos, up the Nile, is three hundred and eight miles; the voyage is performed, when the Etesian winds are blowing, in twelve days. From Coptos the journey is made with the aid of camels, stations being arranged at intervals for the supply of fresh water. The first of these stations is called Hydreuma,462 and is distant463 twenty-two miles; the second is situate on a mountain, at a distance of one day's journey from the last; the third is at a second Hydreuma, [p. 2064] distant from Coptos ninety-five miles; the fourth is on a mountain; the next to that is at another Hydreuma, that of Apollo, and is distant from Coptos one hundred and eighty-four miles; after which, there is another on a mountain. There is then another station at a place called the New Hydreuma, distant from Coptos two hundred and thirty miles: and next to it there is another, called the Old Hydreuma, or the Troglodytic, where a detachment is always on guard, with a caravansary that affords lodging for two thousand persons. This last is distant from the New Hydreuma seven miles. After leaving it we come to the city of Berenice,464 situate upon a harbour of the Red Sea, and distant from Coptos two hundred and fifty-seven miles. The greater part of this distance is generally travelled by night, on account of the extreme heat, the day being spent at the stations; in consequence of which it takes twelve days to perform the whole journey from Coptos to Berenice.
Passengers generally set sail at midsummer, before the rising of the Dog-star, or else immediately after, and in about thirty days arrive at Ocelis465 in Arabia, or else at Cane,466 in the region which bears frankincense. There is also a third port of Arabia, Muza467 by name; it is not, however, used by persons on their passage to India, as only those touch at it who deal in incense and the perfumes of Arabia. More in the interior there is a city; the residence of the king there is called Sapphar,468 and there is another city known by the name of Save. To those who are bound for India, Ocelis is the best [p. 2065] place for embareation. If the wind, called Hippalus,469 happens to be blowing, it is possible to arrive in forty days at the nearest mart of India, Muziris470 by name. This, however, is not a very desirable place for disembarcation, on account of the pirates which frequent its vicinity, where they occupy a place called Nitrias; nor, in fact, is it very rich in articles of merchandize. Besides, the road-stead for shipping is a considerable distance from the shore, and the cargoes have to be conveyed in boats, either for loading or discharging. At the moment that I am writing these pages, the name of the king of this place is Cælobothras. Another port, and a much more convenient one, is that which lies in the territory of the people called Neacyndi, Barace by name. Here king Pandion used to reign, dwelling at a considerable distance from the mart in the interior, at a city known as Modiera. The district from which pepper is carried down to Barace in boats hollowed out of a single tree,471 is known as Cottonara.472 None of these names of nations, ports, and cities are to be found in any of the former writers, from which circumstance it would appear that the localities have since changed their names. Travellers set sail from India on their return to Europe, at the beginning of the Egyptian month Tybis, which is our December, or at all events before the sixth day of the Egyptian month Mechir, the same as473 our ides of January: if they do this, they can go and return in the same year. They set sail from India with a south-east wind, and upon entering the Red Sea, catch the south-west or south. We will now return to our main subject. [p. 2066] 
CHAP. 27.--CARMANIA.
Nearchus states in his writings that the coast of Carmania474 extends a distance of twelve hundred and fifty miles. From its frontier to the river Sabis475 is one hundred miles. At this spot begins the cultivation of the vine; which with the tillage of the fields, extends as far as the river Ananis,476 a distance of twenty-five miles. This region is known by the name of Armuzia. The cities of Carmania are Zetis and Alexandria.477 
CHAP. 28.--THE PERSIAN AND THE ARABIAN GULFS.
The sea then makes a two-fold indentations478 in the land upon these coasts, under the name of Rubrum479 or "Red," given to it by our countrymen; while the Greeks have called it Erythrum, from king Erythras,480 or, according to some writers, from its red colour, which they think is produced by the reflection of the sun's rays; others again are of opinion that it arises from the sand and the complexion of the soil, others from some peculiarity in the nature of the water. (24.) Be this as it may, this body of water is divided into two gulfs. The one which lies to the east is called the Persian Gulf, and is two thousand five hundred miles in circumference, according to Eratosthenes. Opposite to it lies Arabia, the length of which is fifteen hundred miles. On the other side again, Arabia is bounded by the Arabian Gulf. The sea as it enters [p. 2067] this gulf is called the Azanian481 Sea. The Persian Gulf, at the entrance, is only five482 miles wide; some writers make it four. From the entrance to the very bottom of the gulf, in a straight line, has been ascertained to be nearly eleven hundred and twenty-five miles: in outline it strongly resembles483 the human head. Onesicritus and Nearchus have stated in their works that from the river Indus to the Persian Gulf, and from thence to Babylon, situate in the marshes of the Euphrates, is a distance of seventeen hundred miles.
In the angle of Carmania are the Chelonophagi,484 who cover their cabins with the shells of turtles, and live upon their flesh; these people inhabit the next promontory that is seen after leaving the river Arbis;485 with the exception of the head, they are covered all over with long hair, and are clothed in the skins of fishes.
(25.) Beyond their district, in the direction of India, is said to be the desert island of Caicandrus, fifty miles out at sea; near to which, with a strait flowing between them, is Stoidis, celebrated for its valuable pearls. After passing the promontory486 are the Armozei,487 joining up to the Carmani; some writers, however, place between them the Arbii,488 extending along the shore a distance of four hundred and twenty-one miles. Here is a place called Portus Macedonum,489 and the Altars of Alexander, situate on a promontory, besides the rivers Saganos, Daras, and Salsa. Beyond the last river we come to the promontory of Themisteas, and the island of Aphrodisias, which is peopled. Here Persis begins, at the river Oratis,490 which [p. 2068] separates it from Elymais.491 Opposite to the coast of Persis, are the islands of Psilos, Cassandra, and Aracia, the last sacred to Neptune,492 and containing a mountain of great height. Persis493 itself, looking towards the west, has a line of coast five hundred and fifty miles in length; it is a country opulent even to luxury, but has long since changed its name for that of "Parthia."494 I shall now devote a few words to the Parthian empire. 
CHAP. 29.--THE PARTHIAN EMPIRE.
The kingdoms495 of Parthia are eighteen in all: such being the divisions of its provinces, which lie, as we have already stated, along the Red Sea to the south, and the Hyrcanian to the north. Of this number the eleven, called the Higher provinces, begin at the frontiers of Armenia and the shores of the Caspian, and extend to the Scythians, whose mode of life is similar in every respect. The other seven kingdoms of Parthia bear the name of the Lower provinces. As to the Parthi themselves, Parthia496 always lay at the foot of the mountains497 so often mentioned, which overhang all these nations. On the east it is bounded by the Arii, on the south by Carmania and the Ariani, on the west by the Pratitæ, a people of the Medi, and on the north by the Hyrcani: it is surrounded by deserts on every side. The more distant of the Parthi are called Nomades;498 on this side of them there are deserts. On the [p. 2069] west are the cities of Issatis and Calliope, already mentioned,499 on the north-east Europus,500 on the south-east Maria; in the middle there are Hecatompylos,501 Arsace, and Nisiæa, a fine district of Parthiene, in which is Alexandropolis, so called from its founder. (26.) It is requisite in this place to trace the localities of the Medi also, and to describe in succession the features of the country as far as the Persian Sea, in order that the account which follows may be the better understood. Media502 lies crosswise to the west, and so presenting itself obliquely to Parthia, closes the entrance of both kingdoms503 into which it is divided. It has, then, on the east, the Caspii and the Parthi; on the south, Sittacene, Susiane, and Persis; on the west, Adsiabene; and on the north, Armenia. The Persæ have always inhabited the shores of the Red Sea, for which reason it has received the name of the Persian Gulf. This maritime region of Persis has the name of Ciribo;504 on the side on which it runs up to that of the Medi, there is a place known by the name of Climax Megale,505 where the mountains are ascended by a steep flight of stairs, and so afford a narrow passage which leads to Persepolis,506 the former capital of the kingdom, destroyed by [p. 2070] Alexander. It has also, at its extreme frontier, Laodicea,507 founded by Antiochus. To the east of this place is the fortress of Passagarda,508 held by the Magi, at which spot is the tomb of Cyrus; also Ecbatana,509 a city of theirs, the inhabitants of which were removed by Darius to the mountains. Between the Parthi and the Ariani projects the territory of the Parætaceni.510 By these nations and the river Euphrates are the Lower kingdoms of Parthia bounded; of the others we shall speak after Mesopotamia, which we shall now describe, with the exception of that angle of it and the peoples of Arabia, which have been already mentioned in a former book.511 
CHAP. 30.--MESOPOTAMIA.
The whole of Mesopotamia formerly belonged to the Assyrians, being covered with nothing but villages, with the exception of Babylonia512 and Ninus.513 The Macedonians [p. 2071] formed these communities into cities, being prompted thereto by the extraordinary fertility of the soil. Besides the cities already mentioned, it contains those of Seleucia,514 Laodicea,515 Artemita;516 and in Arabia, the peoples known as the Orei517 and the Mardani, besides Antiochia,518 founded by Nicanor, the governor of Mesopotamia, and called Arabis. Joining up to these in the interior is an Arabian people, called the Eldamani, and above them, upon the river Pallaconta, the town of Bura, and the Arabian peoples known as the Salmani and the Masei. Up to the Gordyæi519 join the Aloni, through whose territory runs the river Zerbis, which falls into the Tigris; next are the Azones, the Silici, a mountain tribe, and the Orontes, to the west of whom lies the town of Gaugamela,520 as also Suë, situate upon the rocks. Beyond these are the Silici, surnamed Classitæ, through whose district runs the river Lycus on its passage from Armenia, the Absithris521 running south-east, the town of Accobis, and then in the plains the towns of Diospage, Polytelia,522 Stratonice, and Anthermis.523 In the vicinity of the Euphrates is Nicephorion, of which we have524 already stated that Alexander, struck with [p. 2072] the favourable situation of the spot, ordered it to be built. We have also similarly made mention525 of Apamea on the Zeugma. Leaving that city and going eastward, we come to Caphrena, a fortified town, formerly seventy stadia in extent, and called the "Court of the Satraps." It was to this place that the tribute was conveyed; now it is reduced to a mere fortress. Thæbata is still in the same state as formerly: after which comes Oruros, which under Pompeius Magnus formed the extreme limit of the Roman Empire, distant from Zeugma two hundred and fifty miles. There are writers who say that the Euphrates was drawn off by an artificial channel by the governor Gobares, at the point where we have stated526 that it branches off,527 in order that it might not commit damage in the city of Babylonia, in consequence of the extreme rapidity of its course. The Assyrians universally call this river by the name of Narmalcha,528 which signifies the "royal river." At the point where its waters divide, there was in former times a very large city, called Agranis, which the Persæ have de- stroyed.
Babylon, the capital of the nations of Chaldæa, long enjoyed the greatest celebrity of all cities throughout the whole world: and it is from this place that the remaining parts of Mesopotamia and Assyria received the name of Babylonia. The circuit of its walls, which were two hundred feet in height, was sixty miles. These walls were also fifty feet in breadth, reckoning to every foot three fingers' breadth beyond the ordinary measure of our foot. The river Euphrates flowed through the city, with quays of marvellous workmanship erected on either side. The temple there529 of Jupiter Belus530 is still in existence; he was the first [p. 2073] inventor of the science of Astronomy. In all other respects it has been reduced to a desert, having been drained of its population in consequence of its vicinity to Seleucia,531 founded for that purpose by Nicator, at a distance of ninety miles, on the confluence of the Tigris and the canal that leads from the Euphrates. Seleucia, however, still bears the surname of Babylonia: it is a free and independent city, and retains the features of the Macedonian manners. It is said that the population of this city amounts to six hundred thousand, and that the outline of its walls resembles an eagle with expanded wings: its territory, they say, is the most fertile in all the East. The Parthi again, in its turn, founded Ctesiphon,532 for the purpose of drawing away the population of Seleucia, at a distance of nearly three miles, and in the district of Chalonitis; Ctesiphon is now the capital of all the Parthian kingdoms. Finding, however, that this city did not answer the intended purpose, king Vologesus533 has of late years founded another city in its vicinity, Vologesocerta534 by name. Besides the above, there are still the following towns in Mesopotamia: Hipparenum,535 rendered famous, like Babylon, by the learning of [p. 2074] the Chaldæi, and situate near the river Narraga,536 which falls into the Narroga, from which a city so called has taken its name. The Persæ destroyed the walls of Hipparenum. Orchenus also, a third place of learning of the Chaldæi, is situate in the same district, towards the south; after which come the Notitæ, the Orothophanitæ, and the Grecichartæ.537 From Nearchus and Onesicritus we learn that the distance by water from the Persian Sea to Babylon, up the Euphrates, is four hundred and twelve miles; other authors, however, who have written since their time, say that the distance to Seleucia is four hundred and forty miles: and Juba says that the distance from Babylon to Charax is one hundred and seventy-five. Some writers state that the Euphrates continues to flow with an undivided channel for a distance of eighty-seven miles beyond Babylon, before its waters are diverted from their channel for the purposes of irrigation; and that the whole length of its course is not less than twelve hundred miles. The circumstance that so many different authors have treated of this subject, accounts for all these variations, seeing that even the Persian writers themselves do not agree as to what is the length of their schœni and para- sangœ, each assigning to them a different length.
When the Euphrates ceases, by running in its channel, to afford protections538 to those who dwell on its banks, which it does when it approaches the confines of Charax, the country is immediately infested by the Attali, a predatory people of Arabia, beyond whom are found the Scenite.539 The banks along this river are occupied by the Nomades of Arabia, as far as the deserts of Syria, from which, as we have already stated,540 it takes a turn to the south,541 and leaves the solitary deserts of Palmyra. Seleucia is distant, by way of the Euphrates, from the beginning of Mesopotamia, eleven hundred and twenty- [p. 2075] five; from the Red Sea, by way of the Tigris, two hundred and twenty; and from Zeugma, seven hundred and twenty-three, miles. Zeugma is distant from Seleucia542 in Syria, on the shores of our sea, one hundred and seventy-five543 miles. Such is the extent of the land that lies in these parts between the two seas.544 The length of the kingdom of Parthia is nine hundred and eighteen miles. 
CHAP. 31.--THE TIGRIS.
There is, besides the above, another town in Mesopotamia, on the banks of the Tigris and near its confluence with the Euphrates, the name of which is Digba.545 (27.) But it will be as well now to give some particulars respecting the Tigris itself. This river rises in the region of Greater Armenia,546 from a very remarkable source, situate on a plain. The name of the spot is Elegosine,547 and the stream, as soon as it begins to flow, though with a slow current, has the name of Diglito.548 When its course becomes more rapid, it assumes the name of Tigris,549 given to it on account of its swiftness, that word signifying an arrow in the Median language. It then flows into Lake Arethusa,550 the waters of which are able to [p. 2076] support all weighty substances thrown into them, and exhale nitrous vapours. This lake produces only one kind of fish, which, however, never enter the current of the river in its passage through the lake: and in a similar manner, the fish of the Tigris will never swim out of its stream into the waters of the lake. Distinguishable from the lake, both by the rapidity and the colour of its waters, the tide of the river is hurried along; after it has passed through and arrived at Mount Taurus, it disappears551 in a cavern of that mountain, and passing beneath it, bursts forth on the other side; the spot bears the name of Zoroande.552 That the waters on either side of the mountain are the same, is evident from the fact, that bodies thrown in on the one side will reappear on the other. It then passes through another lake, called Thospites, and once more burying itself in the earth, reappears, after running a distance of twenty-two miles, in the vicinity of Nymphæum.553 Claudius Cæsar informs us that, in the district of Arrene554 it flows so near to the river Arsanias,555 that when their waters swell they meet and flow together, but without, however, intermingling. For those of the Arsani, as he says, being lighter, float on the surface of the Tigris for a distance of nearly four miles, after which they separate, and the Arsanias flows into the Euphrates. The Tigris, after flowing through Armenia and receiving the well-known rivers Parthenias and Nicephorion, separates the Arabian Orei556 from the Adiabeni, and then forms by its course, as previously mentioned, the country of Mesopotamia. After traversing the mountains of the Gordyæi,557 it passes round Apamea,558 a town of Mesene, one [p. 2077] hundred and twenty-five miles on this side of Babylonian Seleucia, and then divides into two channels, one559 of which runs southward, and flowing through Mesene, runs towards Seleucia, while the other takes a turn to the north and passes through the plains of the Cauchæ,560 at the back of the district of Mesene. When the waters have reunited, the river assumes the name of Pasitigris. After this, it receives the Choaspes,561 which comes from Media; and then, as we have already stated,562 flowing between Seleucia and Ctesiphon, discharges itself into the Chaldæan Lakes, which it supplies for a distance of seventy miles. Escaping from them by a vast channel, it passes the city of Charax to the right, and empties itself into the Persian Sea, being ten miles in width at the mouth. Between the mouths of the two rivers Tigris and the Euphrates, the distance was formerly twenty-five, or, according to some writers, seven miles only, both of them being navigable to the sea. But the Orcheni and others who dwell on its banks, have long since dammed up the waters of the Euphrates for the purposes of irrigation, and it can only discharge itself into the sea by the aid of the Tigris.
The country on the banks of the Tigris is called Parapotamia;563 we have already made mention of Mesene, one of its districts. Dabithac564 is a town there, adjoining to which is [p. 2078] the district of Chalonitis, with the city of Ctesiphon,565 famous, not only for its palm-groves, but for its olives, fruits, and other shrubs. Mount Zagrus566 reaches as far as this district, and extends from Armenia between the Medi and the Adiabeni, above Parætacene and Persis. Chalonitis567 is distant from Persis three hundred and eighty miles; some writers say that by the shortest route it is the same distance from Assyria and the Caspian Sea.
Between these peoples and Mesene is Sittacene, which is also called Arbelitis568 and Palæstine. Its city of Sittace569 is of Greek origin; this and Sabdata570 lie to the east, and on the west is Antiochia,571 between the two rivers Tigris and Tornadotus,572 as also Apamea,573 to which Antiochus574 gave this name, being that of his mother. The Tigris surrounds this city, which is also traversed by the waters of the Archoüs. [p. 2079] 
Below575 this district is Susiane, in which is the city of Susa,576 the ancient residence of the kings of Persia, built by Darius, the son of Hystaspes; it is distant from Seleucia Babylonia four hundred and fifty miles, and the same from Ecbatana of the Medi, by way of Mount Carbantus.577 Upon the northern channel of the river Tigris is the town of Babytace,578 distant from Susa one hundred and thirty-five miles. Here, for the only place in all the world, is gold held in abhorrence; the people collect it together and bury it in the earth, that it may be of use to no one.579 On the east of Susiane are the Oxii, a predatory people, and forty independent savage tribes of the Mizæi. Above these are the Mardi and the Saitæ, subject to Parthia: they extend above the district of Elymais, which we have already mentioned580 as joining up to the coast of Persis. Susa is distant two hundred and fifty miles from the Persian Sea. Near the spot where the fleet of Alexander came up581 the Pasitigris to Susa, there is a village situate on the Chaldæan Lake, Aple by name, from which to Susa is a distance of sixty miles and a half. Adjoining to the people of Susiane, on the east, are the Cossiei;582 and above them, to the north, is Mesabatene, lying at the foot of Mount Cambalidus,583 a branch of the Caucasian chain: from this point the country of the Bactri is most accessible.
Susiane is separated from Elymais by the river Eulæus, which rises in Media, and, after concealing itself in the earth for a short distance, rises again and flows through Mesabatene. It then flows round the citadel of Susa584 and the [p. 2080] temple of Diana, which is held in the highest veneration by all these nations; the river itself being the object of many pompous ceremonials; the kings, indeed, will drink of no other water,585 and for that reason carry it with them on their journies to any considerable distance. This river receives the waters of the Hedypnos,586 which passes Asylus, in Persis, and those of the Aduna, which rises in Susiane. Magoa587 is a town situate near it, and distant from Charax fifteen miles; some writers place this town at the very extremity of Susiane, and close to the deserts.
Below the Eulæus is Elymais,588 upon the coast adjoining to Persis, and extending from the river Orates589 to Charax, a distance of two hundred and forty miles. Its towns are Seleucia590 and Socrate,591 upon Mount Casyrus. The shore which lies in front of this district is, as we have already stated, rendered inaccessible by mud,592 the rivers Brixa and Ortacea bringing down vast quantities of slime from the interior,--Elymais itself being so marshy that it is impossible to reach Persis that way, unless by going completely round: it is also greatly infested with serpents, which are brought down by the waters of these rivers. That part of it which is the most inaccessible of all, bears the name of Characene, from Charax,593 the frontier city of the kingdoms of Arabia. Of [p. 2081] this place we will now make mention, after first stating the opinions of M. Agrippa in relation to this subject. That author informs us that Media, Parthia, and Persis, are bounded on the east by the Indus, on the west by the Tigris, on the north by Taurus and Caucasus, and on the south by the Red Sea; that the length of these countries is thirteen hundred and twenty miles, and the breadth eight hundred and forty; and that, in addition to these, there is Mesopotamia, which, taken by itself, is bounded on the east by the Tigris, on the west by the Euphrates, on the north by the chain of Taurus, and on the south by the Persian Sea, being eight hundred miles in length, and three hundred and sixty in breadth.
Charax is a city situate at the furthest extremity of the Arabian Gulf, at which begins the more prominent portion of Arabia Felix:594 it is built on an artificial elevation, having the Tigris on the right, and the Eulæus on the left, and lies on a piece of ground three miles in extent, just between the confluence of those streams. It was first founded by Alexander the Great, with colonists from the royal city of Durine, which was then destroyed, and such of his soldiers as were invalided and left behind. By his order it was to be called Alexandria, and a borough called Pella, from his native place, was to be peopled solely by Macedonians; the city, however, was destroyed by inundations of the rivers. Antiochus,595 the fifth king of Syria, afterwards rebuilt this place and called it by his own name; and on its being again destroyed, Pasines, the son of Saggonadacus, and king of the neighbouring Arabians, whom Juba has incorrectly described as a satrap of king Antiochus, restored it, and raised embankments for its protection, calling it after himself. These embankments extended in length a distance of nearly three miles, in breadth a little less. It stood at first at a distance of ten stadia from the shore, and even had a harbour596 of its own. But according to Juba, it is fifty miles from the sea; and at the present day, the ambassadors from Arabia, and our own merchants who have visited the place, say that it stands at a distance of one hundred and twenty miles from the sea-shore. Indeed, in no part of [p. 2082] the world have alluvial deposits been formed more rapidly by the rivers, and to a greater extent than here; and it is only a matter of surprise that the tides, which run to a considerable distance beyond this city, do not carry them back again. At this place was born Dionysius,597 the most recent author of a description of the world; he was sent by the late emperor Augustus to gather all necessary information in the East, when his eldest598 son was about to set out for Armenia to take the command against the Parthians and Arabians.
The fact has not escaped me, nor indeed have I forgotten, that at the beginning of this work599 I have remarked that each author appeared to be most accurate in the description of his own country; still, while I am speaking of these parts of the world, I prefer to follow the discoveries made by the Roman arms, and the description given by king Juba, in his work dedicated to Caius Cæsar above-mentioned, on the subject of the same expedition against Arabia. 
CHAP. 32. (28.)--ARABIA.
Arabia, inferior to no country throughout the whole world, is of immense extent, running downwards, as we have previously stated,600 from Mount Amanus, over against Cilicia and Commagene; many of the Arabian nations having been removed to those countries by Tigranes the Great,601 while others again have migrated of their own accord to the shores of our sea602 and the coast of Egypt, as we have already mentioned.603 The Nubei604 have even penetrated as far as Mount Libanus in the middle of Syria; in their turn they are bounded by the Ramisi, these by the Taranei, and these again by the Patami.
As for Arabia itself, it is a peninsula, running out between the Red and the Persian Seas; and it is by a kind of design, [p. 2083] apparently on the part of nature, that it is surrounded by the sea in such a manner as to resemble very much the form and size605 of Italy, there being no difference either in the climate of the two countries, as they lie in the same latitudes.606 This, too, renders it equally fertile with the countries of Italy. We have already mentioned607 its peoples, which extend from our sea as far as the deserts of Palmyrene, and we shall now proceed to a description of the remainder. The Scenitæ, as we have already stated,608 border upon the Nomades and the tribes that ravage the territories of Chaldæa, being themselves of wandering habits, and receiving their name from the tents which constitute their dwellings; these are made of goats' hair, and they pitch them wherever they please. Next after them are the Nabatæi, who have a city called Petra,609 which lies in a deep valley, somewhat less than two miles in width, and surrounded by inaccessible mountains, between which a river flows: it is distant from the city of Gaza, on our shores, six hundred miles, and from the Persian Gulf one hundred and thirty-five. At this place two roads meet, the one leading from Syria to Palmyra, and the other from Gaza. On leaving Petra we come to the Omani,610 who dwell as far as Charax, with their once famous cities which were built by Semiramis, Besannisa and Soractia by name; at the present day they are wildernesses. We next come to a city situate on the banks of the Pasitigris, Fora by name, and subject to the king of Charax: to this place people resort on their road from Petra, and sail thence to Charax, twelve miles distant, with the tide. If you are proceeding by water from the Parthian territories, you come to a village known as Teredon; and below the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris, you have the Chaldæi dwelling [p. 2084] on the left side of the river, and the Nomadic tribes of the Scenitæ on the right. Some writers also make mention of two other cities situate at long intervals, as you sail along the Tigris, Barbatia, and then Thumata, distant from Petra, they say, ten days' sail; our merchants report that these places are subject to the king of Charax. The same writers also state, that Apamea611 is situate where the overflow of the Euphrates unites with the Tigris; and that when the Parthians meditate an incursion, the inhabitants dam up the river by embankments, and so inundate their country.
We will now proceed to describe the coast after leaving Charax,612 which was first explored by order of king Epiphanes. We first come to the place where the mouth of the Euphrates formerly existed, the river Salsus,613 and the Promontory of Chaldone,614 from which spot, the sea along the coast, for an extent of fifty miles,615 bears more the aspect of a series of whirlpools than of ordinary sea; the river Achenus, and then a desert tract for a space of one hundred miles, until we come to the island of Ichara; the gulf of Capeus, on the shores of which dwell the Gaulopes and the Chateni, and then the gulf of Gerra.616 Here we find the city of Gerra, five miles in circumference, with towers built of square blocks of salt. Fifty miles from the coast, lying in the interior, is the region of At- [p. 2085] tene, and opposite to Gerra is the island of Tylos,617 as many miles distant from the shore; it is famous for the vast number of its pearls, and has a town of the same name; in its vicinity there is a smaller island,618 distant from a promontory on the larger one twelve miles and a half. They say that beyond this large islands may be seen, upon which no one has ever landed: the circumference of the smaller island is one hundred and twelve miles and a half; and it is more than that distance from the Persian coast, being accessible by only one narrow channel. We then come to the island of Asclie, and the nations of the Nocheti, the Zurazi, the Borgodi, the Catharrei, the Nomades, and then the river Cynos.619 Beyond this, the navigation is impracticable on that side,620 according to Juba, on account of the rocks; and he has omitted all mention of Batrasave,621 a town of the Omani, and of the city of Omana,622 which former writers have made out to be a famous port of Carmania;623 as also of Homna and Attana, towns which at the present day, our merchants say, are by far the most famous ones in the Persian Sea. Passing the river Cynos,624 there is a mountain, Juba says, that bears marks of the action of fire; also, the nation of the Epimaranitæ, then a nation of Ichthyophagi, and then a desert island, and the nation of the Bathymi. We then come to the Eblitæan Mountains, the island of Omoënus, the port of Mochorbe, the islands of Etaxalos and Inchobrice, and the nation of the Cadæi. There are many islands also that have no name, but the better known ones are Isura, Rhinnea, and another still nearer the shore, upon which there are some stone pillars with an inscription in unknown characters. There are also the port of Gobœa, the desert islands called Bragæ, the nation of the Thaludæi, the [p. 2086] region of Dabanegoris, Mount Orsa, with a harbour, the gulf of Duatus, with numerous islands, Mount Tricoryphos,625 the region of Cardaleon, and the islands called Solanades, Cachinna, and that of the Ichthyophagi. We then find the Clari, the shore of Mamæum, on which there are gold mines, the region of Canauna, the nations of the Apitami and the Casani, the island of Devade, the fountain of Coralis, the Carphati, the islands of Calaëu and Amnamethus, and the nation of the Darræ. Also, the island of Chelonitis,626 numerous islands of Ichthyophagi, the deserts of Odanda, Basa, many islands of the Sabæi, the rivers Thanar and Amnume, the islands of Dorice, and the fountains of Daulotos and Dora. We find also the islands of Pteros, Labatanis, Coboris, and Sambrachate, with a town of the same name627 on the mainland. Lying to the south are a great number of islands, the largest of which is Camari; also the river Musecros, and the port of Laupas. We then come to the Sabæi, a nation of Scenitæ,628 with numerous islands, and the city of Acila,629 which is their mart, and from which persons embark for India. We next come to the region of Amithos- cutta. Damnia, the Greater and the Lesser Mizi, and the Drimati. The promontory of the Naumachæi, over against Carmania, is distant from it fifty miles. A wonderful circumstance is said to have happened here; Numenius, who was made governor of Mesena by king Antiochus, while fighting against the Persians, defeated them at sea, and at low water, by land, with an army of cavalry, on the same day; in memory of which event he erected a twofold trophy on the same spot, in honour of Jupiter and Neptune.630 
Opposite to this place, in the main sea, lies the island of Ogyris,631 [p. 2087] famous for being the burial-place of king Erythras;632 it is distant from the mainland one hundred and twenty miles, being one hundred and twelve in circumference. No less famous is another island, called Dioscoridu,633 and lying in the Azanian Sea;634 it is distant two hundred and eighty miles from the extreme point of the Promontory of Syagrus.635 
The remaining places and nations on the mainland, lying still to the south, are the Ausaritæ, to whose country it is seven days' journey among the mountains, the nations of the Larendani and the Catabani, and the Gebanitæ, who occupy a great number of towns, the largest of which are Nagia, and Thomna with sixty-five temples, a number which fully bespeaks its size. We then come to a promontory, from which to the mainland of the Troglodytæ it is fifty miles, and then the Thoani, the Actæi, the Chatramotitæ, the Tonabei, the Antidalei, the Lexianæ, the Agræi, the Cerbani, and the Sabæi,636 the best known of all the tribes of Arabia, on account of their frankincense; these nations extend from sea to sea.637 The towns which belong to them on the Red Sea are Marane, Marma, Corolia, and Sabatha; and in the interior, Nascus, Cardava, Carnus, and Thomala, from which they bring down their spices for exportation. One portion of this nation is the Atramitæ,638 whose [p. 2088] capital, Sabota, has sixty temples within its walls. But the royal city of all these nations is Mariaba;639 it lies upon a bay, ninety-four miles in extent, and filled with islands that produce perfumes. Lying in the interior, and joining up to the Atramitæ, are the Mitæi; are the Minæ; the Elamitæ640 dwell on the sea-shore, in a city from which they take their name. Next to these are the Chaculatæ; then the town of Sibi, by the Greeks called Apate;641 the Arsi, the Codani, the Vadei, who dwell in a large town, the Barasasæi, the Lechieni, and the island of Sygaros,642 into the interior of which no dogs are admitted, and so being exposed on the sea shore, they wander about there and are left to die. We then come to a gulf which runs far into the interior, upon which are situate the Lænitæ, who have given to it their name; also their royal city of Agra,643 and upon the gulf that of Læana, or as some call it Ælana;644 indeed, by some of our writers this has been called the Ælanitic Gulf, and by others again, the Ælenitic; Artemidorus calls it the Alenitic, and Juba the Lænitic. The circumference of Arabia, measured from Charax to Læana, is said to be four thousand six hundred and sixty-six miles, but Juba thinks that it is somewhat less than four thousand. Its widest part is at the north, between the cities of Heroopolis and Charax. We will now mention the remaining places and peoples of the interior of Arabia.
Up to the Nabatæi645 the ancients joined the Thimanei; at present they have next to them the Taveni, and then the Suelleni, the Arraeeni,646 and the Areni,647 whose town is the centre of [p. 2089] all the commerce of these parts. Next come the Hemnatæ, the Aualitæ, the towns of Domata and Hegra, the Tamudæi,648 with the town of Badanatha, the Carrei, with the town of Cariati,649 the Achoali, with the town of Foth, and the Minæi, who derive their origin, it is supposed,650 from Minos, king of Crete, and of whom the Carmæi are a tribe. Next comes a town, fourteen miles distant, called Marippa, and belonging to the Palamaces, a place by no means to be overlooked, and then Carnon. The Rhadamæi also--these too are supposed to derive their origin651 from Rhadamanthus, the brother of Minos--the Homeritæ,652 with their city of Masala,653 the Hamirei, the Gedranitæ, the Amphyræ, the Ilisanitæ, the Bachilitæ, the Samnæi, the Amitei, with the towns of Nessa654 and Cennesseris, the Zamareni, with the towns of Sagiatta and Canthace, the Bacascami, the town of Riphearma, the name by which they call barley, the Autei, the Ethravi, the Cyrei and the Mathatræi, the Helmodenes, with the town of Ebode, the Agacturi, dwelling in the mountains, with a town twenty miles distant, in which is a fountain called Ænuscabales,655 which signifies "the town of the camels." Ampelome656 also, a Milesian colony, the town of Athrida, the Calingii, whose city is called Mariva,657 and signifies "the lord of all men;" the towns of Palon and Murannimal, near a river by which it is thought that the Euphrates discharges itself, the nations of the Agrei and the Ammonii, the town of Athenæ, the Caunaravi, a name [p. 2090] which signifies "most rich in herds," the Coranitæ, the Œsani, and the Choani.658 Here were also formerly the Greek towns of Arethusa, Larisa, and Chalcis, which have been destroyed in various wars.
Ælius Gallus,659 a member of the Equestrian order, is the sole person who has hitherto carried the Roman arms into these lands, for Caius Cæsar, the son660 of Augustus, only had a distant view of Arabia. In his expedition, Gallus destroyed the following towns, the names of which are not given by the authors who had written before his time, Negrana, Nestum, Nesca, Masugum, Caminacum, Labecia, and Mariva661 above- mentioned, six miles in circumference, as also Caripeta, the furthest point of his expedition. He brought back with him the following discoveries--that the Nomades662 live upon milk and the flesh of wild beasts, and that the other nations, like the Indians, extract a sort of wine from the palm-tree, and oil from sesame.663 He says that the most numerous of these tribes are the Homeritæ and the Minæi, that their lands are fruitful in palms and shrubs, and that their chief wealth is centred in their flocks. We also learn from the same source that the Cerbani and the Agræi excel in arms, but more particularly the Chatramotitæ;664 that the territories of the Carrei are the most extensive and most fertile; but that the Sabæi are the richest of all in the great abundance of their spice-bearing groves, their mines of gold,665 their streams for [p. 2091] irrigation, and their ample produce of honey and wax. Of their perfumes we shall have to treat more at large in the Book devoted to that subject.666 The Arabs either wear the mitra,667 or else go with their hair unshorn, while the beard is shaved, except upon the upper lip: some tribes, however, leave even the beard unshaved. A singular thing too, one half of these almost innumerable tribes live by the pursuits of commerce, the other half by rapine: take them all in all, they are the richest nations in the world, seeing that such vast wealth flows in upon them from both the Roman and the Parthian Empires; for they sell the produce of the sea or of their forests, while they purchase nothing whatever in return. 
CHAP. 33.--THE GULFS OF THE RED SEA.
We will now trace the rest of the coast that lies opposite to that of Arabia. Timosthenes has estimated the length of the whole gulf at four days' sail, and the breadth at two, making the Straits668 to be seven miles and a half in width. Eratosthenes says that the length of the shore from the mouth of the gulf is thirteen hundred miles on each side, while Artemidorus states that the length on the Arabian side is seventeen hundred and fifty miles, (29.) and that along the Troglodytic coast, to Ptolemais, the distance is eleven hundred and thirty-seven and a half. Agrippa, however, maintains that there is no difference whatever in the length of the two sides, and makes it seventeen hundred and twenty-two miles. Most writers mention the length as being four hundred and seventy-five miles, and make the Straits to face the southeast, being twelve miles wide according to some, fifteen according to others.
The localities of this region are as follow: On passing the Ælanitic Gulf there is another gulf, by the Arabians called [p. 2092] Sœa, upon which is situate the city of Heroön.669 The town of Cambysu670 also stood here formerly, between the Neli and the Marchades, Cambyses having established there the invalids of his army. We then come to the nation of the Tyri, and the port of the Danei, from which place an attempt has been made to form a navigable canal to the river Nile, at the spot where it enters the Delta previously mentioned,671 the distance between the river and the Red Sea being sixty-two miles. This was contemplated first of all by Sesostris,672 king of Egypt, afterwards by Darius, king of the Persians, and still later by Ptolemy II.,673 who also made a canal, one hundred feet in width and forty deep, extending a distance of thirty-seven miles and a half, as far as the Bitter Springs.674 He was deterred from proceeding any further with this work by apprehensions of an inundation, upon finding that the Red Sea was three cubits higher than the land in the interior of Egypt. Some writers, however, do not allege this as the cause, but say that his reason was, a fear lest, in consequence of introducing the sea, the water of the Nile might be spoilt, that being the only source from which the Egyptians obtain water for drinking. Be this as it may, the whole of the journey from the Egyptian Sea is usually performed by land one of the three following ways:--Either from Pelusium across the sands, in doing which the only method of finding the way is by means of reeds fixed in the earth, the wind immediately effacing all [p. 2093] traces of footsteps: by the route which begins two miles beyond Mount Casius, and at a distance of sixty miles enters the road from Pelusium, adjoining to which road the Arabian tribe of the Autei dwell; or else by a third route, which leads from Gerrum, and which they call Adipsos,675 passing through the same Arabians, and shorter by nearly sixty miles, but running over rugged mountains and through a district destitute of water. All these roads lead to Arsinoë,676 a city founded in honour of his sister's name, upon the Gulf of Carandra, by Ptolemy Philadelphus, who was the first to explore Troglodytice, and called the river which flows before Arsinoë by the name of Ptolemæus. After this comes the little town of Enum, by some writers mentioned as Philotera; next to which are the Abasæi, a nation sprung from intermarriages with the Troglodytæ, then some wild Arabian tribes, the islands of Sapirine and Scytala, and after these, deserts as far as Myoshormon, where we find the fountain of Tatnos, Mount Æas, the island of Iambe, and numerous harbours. Berenice also, is here situate, so called after the name of the mother of Philadelphus, and to which there is a road from Coptos, as we have previously stated;677 then the Arabian Autei, and the Zebadei. 
CHAP. 34.--TROGLODYTICE.
Troglodytice comes next, by the ancients called Midoë, and by some Michoë; here is Mount Pentedactylos, some islands called Stenæ Deiræ,678 the Halonnesi,679 a group of islands not less in number, Cardamine, and Topazos,680 which last has given its name to the precious stone so called. The gulf is full of islands; those known as Mareu are supplied with fresh water, those called Erenos, are without it; these were ruled by governors681 appointed by the kings. In the interior [p. 2094] are the Candei, also called Ophiophagi, a people in the habit of eating serpents; there is no region in existence more productive of them.
Juba, who appears to have investigated all these matters with the greatest diligence, has omitted, in his description of these regions--unless, indeed, it be an error in the copying--another place called Berenice and surnamed Panchrysos,682 as also a third surnamed Epidires,683 and remarkable for the peculiarity of its site; for it lies on a long projecting neck of land, at the spot where the Straits at the mouth of the Red Sea separate the coast of Africa from Arabia by a distance of seven miles only: here too is the island of Cytis,684 which also produces the topaz.
Beyond this are forests, in which is Ptolemais,685 built by Philadelphus for the chase of the elephant, and thence called Epitheras,686 situate near Lake Monoleus. This is the same region that has been already mentioned by us in the Second Book,687 and in which, during forty-five days before the summer solstice and for as many after, there is no shadow at the sixth hour, and during the other hours of the day it falls to the south; while at other times it falls to the north; whereas at the Berenice of which we first688 made mention, on the day of the summer solstice the shadow totally disappears at the sixth hour, but no other unusual phænomenon is observed. That place is situate at a distance of six hundred and two miles from Ptolemais, which [p. 2095] has thus become the subject of a remarkable theory, and has promoted the exercise of a spirit of the most profound investigation; for it was at this spot that the extent of the earth was first ascertained, it being the fact that Erastosthenes, beginning at this place by the accurate calculation of the length of the shadow, was enabled to determine with exactness the dimensions of the earth.
After passing this place we come to the Azanian689 Sea, a promontory by some writers called Hispalus, Lake Mandalum, and the island of Colocasitis, with many others lying out in the main sea, upon which multitudes of turtles are found. We then come to the town of Suche, the island of Daphnidis,690 and the town of the Adulitæ,691 a place founded by Egyptian runaway slaves. This is the principal mart for the Troglodyte, as also for the people of Æthiopia: it is distant from Ptolemais five days' sail. To this place they bring ivory in large quantities, horns of the rhinoceros, hides of the hippopotamus, tortoise-shell, sphingiæ,692 and slaves. Beyond the Æthiopian Aroteræ are the islands known by the name of Aliæu,693 as also those of Bacchias, Antibacchias, and Stratioton. After passing these, on the coast of Æthiopia, there is a gulf which remains unexplored still; a circumstance the more to be wondered at, seeing that merchants have pursued their investigations to a greater distance than this. We then come to a promontory, upon which there is a spring called Cucios,694 much resorted to by [p. 2096] mariners. Beyond it is the Port of Isis, distant ten days' rowing from the town of the Adulitæ: myrrh is brought to this port by the Troglodytæ. The two islands before the harbour are called Pseudepylæ,695 and those in it, the same in number, are known as Pylæ;696 upon one of these there are some stone columns inscribed with unknown characters. Beyond these is the Gulf of Abalites, the island of Diodorus,697 and other desert islands; also, on the mainland, a succession of deserts, and then the town of Gaza, and the promontory and port of Mossylum,698 to the latter of which cinnamon is brought for exportation: it was thus far that Sesostris led699 his army.
Some writers place even beyond this, upon the shore, one town of Ethiopia, called Baricaza. Juba will have it that at the Promontory of Mossylum700 the Atlantic Sea begins, and that with a north-west wind701 we may sail past his native country, the Mauritanias, and arrive at Gades. We ought not on this occasion to curtail any portion of the opinions so expressed by him. He says that after we pass the promontory of the Indians,702 known as Lepteacra, and by others called Drepanum, the distance, in a straight line, beyond the island of Exusta and Malichu, is fifteen hundred miles; from thence to a place called Sceneos two hundred and twenty-five; and from thence to the island of Adanu one hundred and fifty miles; so that the dis- [p. 2097] tance to the open sea703 is altogether eighteen hundred and seventy-five miles. All the other writers, however, are of opinion that, in consequence of the intensity of the sun's heat, this sea is not navigable; added to which, commerce is greatly exposed to the depredations of a piratical tribe of Arabians called Ascitæ,704 who dwell upon the islands: placing two inflated skins of oxen beneath a raft of wood, they ply their piratical vocation with the aid of. poisoned arrows. We learn also from the same author that some nations of the Troglodytae have the name of Therothoæ,705 being so called from their skill in hunting. They are remarkable for their swiftness, he says, just as the Ichthyophagi are, who can swim like the animals whose element is the sea. He speaks also of the Bangeni, the Gangoræ, the Chalybes, the Xoxinæ, the Sirechæ, the Daremæ, and the Domazames. Juba states, too, that the inhabitants who dwell on the banks of the Nile from Syene as far as Meroë, are not a people of Æthiopia, but Arabians; and that the city of the Sun, which we have mentioned706 as situate not far from Memphis, in our description of Egypt, was founded by Arabians. There are some writers who take away the further bank of the Nile from Æthiopia,707 and unite it to Africa;708 and they people its sides with tribes attracted thither by its water. We shall leave these matters, however, to the option of each, to form his opinion on them, and shall now proceed to mention the towns on each side709 in the order in which they are given. 
CHAP. 35.--ETHIOPIA.
On leaving Syene,710 and taking first the Arabian side, we find the nation of the Catadupi, then the Syenitæ, and the [p. 2098] town of Tacompsos,711 by some called Thatice, as also Aramasos, Sesamos, Sanduma, Masindomacam, Arabeta and Boggia, Leupitorga, Tantarene, Mecindita, Noa, Gloploa, Gystate, Megada, Lea, Renni, Nups, Direa, Patiga, Bacata, Dumana, Rhadata, at which place a golden cat was worshipped as a god, Boron, in the interior, and Mallos, near Meroë; this is the account given by Bion.
Juba, however, gives another account; he says that there is a city on Mount Megatichos,712 which lies between Egypt and Ethiopia, by the Arabians known as Myrson, after which come Tacompsos, Aramus, Sesamos, Pide, Mamuda, Orambis, situate near a stream of bitumen, Amodita, Prosda, Parenta, Mama, Tesatta, Gallas, Zoton, Graucome, Emeus, the Pidibotæ, the Hebdomecontacometæ,713 Nomades, who dwell in tents, Cyste, Macadagale, Proaprimis, Nups, Detrelis, Patis, the Ganbreves, the Magasnei, Segasmala, Crandala, Denna, Cadeuma, Thena, Batta, Alana, Mascoa, the Scamini, Hora, situate on an island, and then Abala, Androgalis, Sesecre, the Malli, and Agole.
On the African side714 we find mentioned, either what is another place with the same name of Tacompsos, or else a part of the one before-mentioned, and after it Moggore, Sæa, Edos, Plenariæ, Pinnis, Magassa, Buma, Linthuma, Spintum, Sydop, the Censi, Pindicitora, Acug, Orsum, Sansa, Maumarum, Urbim, the town of Molum, by the Greeks called Hypaton,715 Pagoarca, Zmanes, at which point elephants begin to be found, the Mambli, Berressa, and Acetuma; there was formerly a town also called Epis, over against Meroë, which had, however, been destroyed before Bion wrote.
These are the names of places given as far as Meroë: but at the present day hardly any of them on either side of the river are in existence; at all events, the prætorian troops [p. 2099] that were sent by the Emperor Nero716 under the command of a tribune, for the purposes of enquiry, when, among his other wars, he was contemplating an expedition against Æthiopia, brought back word that they had met with nothing but deserts on their route. The Roman arms also penetrated into these regions in the time of the late Emperor Augustus, under the command of P. Petronius,717 a man of Equestrian rank, and prefect of Egypt. That general took the following cities, the only ones we now find mentioned there, in the following order; Pselcis,718 Primis, Abuncis, Phthuris, Cambusis, Atteva, and Stadasis, where the river Nile, as it thunders down the precipices, has quite deprived the in- habitants of the power of hearing: he also sacked the town of Napata.719 The extreme distance to which he penetrated beyond Syene was nine hundred and seventy miles; but still. it was not the Roman arms that rendered these regions a desert. Æthiopia, in its turn gaining the mastery, and then again reduced to servitude, was at last worn out by its con- tinual wars with Egypt, having been a famous and powerful country even at the time of the Trojan war, when Memnon720 was its king; it is also very evident from the fabulous stories about Andromeda,721 that it ruled over Syria in the time of king Cepheus, and that its sway extended as far as the shores of our sea.
In a similar manner, also, there have been conflicting accounts as to the extent of this country: first by Dalion, [p. 2100] who travelled a considerable distance beyond Meroë, and after him by Aristocreon and Basilis, as well as the younger Simonides, who made a stay of five years at Meroë,722 when he wrote his account of Æthiopia. Timosthenes, however, the commander of the fleets of Philadelphus, without giving any other estimate as to the distance, says that Meroë is sixty days' journey from Syene; while Eratosthenes states that the distance is six hundred and twenty-five miles, and Artemidorus six hundred. Sebosus says that from the extreme point of Egypt, the distance to Meroë is sixteen hundred and seventy-five miles, while the other writers last mentioned make it twelve hundred and fifty. All these differences, however, have since been settled; for the persons sent by Nero for the purposes of discovery have reported that the distance from Syene to Meroë is eight hundred and seventy-one miles, the following being the items. From Syene to Hiera Sycaminos723 they make to be fifty-four miles, from thence to Tama seventy-two, to the country of the Evonymitæ,724 the first region of Æthiopia, one hundred and twenty, to Acina fifty-four, to Pittara twenty-five, and to Tergedus one hundred and six. They state also that the island of Gagaudes lies at an equal distance from Syene and Meroë, and that it is at this place that the bird called the parrot was first seen; while at another island called Articula, the animal known as the sphingium725 was first discovered by them, and after passing Tergedus, the cynocephalus.726 The distance from thence to Napata is eighty miles, that little town being the only one of all of them that now survives. From thence to the island of Meroë the distance is three hundred and sixty miles. They also state that the grass in the vicinity of Meroë becomes of a greener and fresher colour, and that there is some slight appearance of forests, as also traces of the rhinoceros and elephant. They reported also that the city of Meroë stands at a distance of seventy miles from the first entrance of the island of Meroë, and that close to it is another island, Tadu by name, which forms a harbour facing those who enter the [p. 2101] right hand channel of the river. The buildings in the city, they said, were but few in number, and they stated that a female, whose name was Candace, ruled over the district, that name having passed from queen to queen for many years. They related also that there was a temple of Jupiter Hammon there, held in great veneration, besides smaller shrines erected in honour of him throughout all the country. In addition to these particulars, they were informed that in the days of the Æthiopian dominion, the island of Meroe enjoyed great renown, and that, according to tradition, it was in the habit of maintaining two hundred thousand armed men, and four thousand artisans. The kings of Æthiopia are said even at the present day to be forty-five in number.
(30.) The whole of this country has successively had the names of Ætheria,727 Atlantia, and last of all, Æthiopia, from Æthiops, the son of Vulcan. It is not at all surprising that towards the extremity of this region the men and animals assume a monstrous form, when we consider the changeableness and volubility of fire, the heat of which is the great agent in imparting various forms and shapes to bodies. Indeed, it is reported that in the interior, on the eastern side, there is a people that have no noses, the whole face presenting a plane surface; that others again are destitute of the upper lip, and others are without tongues. Others again, have the mouth grown together, and being destitute of nostrils, breathe through one passage only, imbibing their drink through it by means of the hollow stalk of the oat, which there grows spontaneously and supplies them with its grain for food. Some of these nations have to employ gestures by nodding the head and moving the limbs, instead of speech. Others again were unacquainted with the use of fire before the time of Ptolemy Lathyrus, king of Egypt. Some writers have also stated that there is a nation of Pygmies, which dwells among the marshes in which the river Nile takes its rise; while on the coast of, Æthiopia, where we paused,728 [p. 2102] there is a range of mountains, of a red colour, which have the appearance of being always burning.
All the country, after we pass Meroë, is bounded by the Troglodytæ and the Red Sea, it being three days' journey from Napata to the shores of that sea; throughout the whole of this district the rain water is carefully preserved at several places, while the country that lies between is extremely productive of gold. The parts beyond this are inhabited by the Adabuli, a nation of Æthiopia; and here, over against Meroë, are the Megabarri,729 by some writers called the Adiabari; they occupy the city of Apollo; some of them, however, are Nomades, living on the flesh of elephants. Opposite to them, on the African side, dwell the Macrobii,730 and then again, beyond the Megabarri, there are the Memnones and the Dabeli, and, at a distance of twenty days' journey, the Critensi. Beyond these are the Dochi, and then the Gymnetes, who always go naked; and after them the Andetæ, the Mothitæ, the Mesaches, and the Ipsodoræ, who are of a black tint, but stain the body all over with a kind of red earth. On the African side again there are the Medimni, and then a nation of Nomades, who live on the milk of the cynocephalus, and then the Aladi and the Syrbotæ,731 which last are said to be eight cubits in height.
Aristocreon informs us that on the Libyan side, at a distance of five days' journey from Meroë, is the town of Tolles, and then at a further distance of twelve days' journey, Esar, a town founded by the Egyptians who fled from Psammetichus;732 he states also that they dwelt there for a period of three hundred years, and that opposite, on the Arabian side, there is a town of theirs called Daron.733 The town, however, which he calls Esar, is by Bion called Sape, who says that the name means "the strangers:" their capital being Sembobitis, situate on an island, and a third place of theirs, Sinat in Arabia. Between the mountains and the river Nile are the Simbarri, tile Palugges, and, on the mountains themselves, the Asachæ, [p. 2103] who are divided into numerous peoples; they are said to be distant five days' journey from the sea, and to procure their subsistence by the chase of the elephant. An island in the Nile, which belongs to the Semberritæ, is governed by a queen; beyond it are the Æthiopian Nubei,734 at a distance of eight days' journey: their town is Tenupsis, situate on the Nile. There are the Sesambri also, a people among whom all the quadrupeds are without ears, the very elephants even. On the African side are the Tonobari, the Ptoenphæ, a people who have a dog for their king, and divine from his movements what are his commands; the Auruspi, who have a town at a considerable distance from the Nile, and then the Archisarmi, the Phaliges, the Marigerri, and the Casmari.
Bion makes mention also of some other towns situate on islands, the whole distance being twenty days' journey from Sembobitis to Meroë; a town in an adjoining island, under the queen of the Semberritæ, with another called Asara, and another, in a second island, called Darde. The name of a third island is Medoë, upon which is the town of Asel, and a fourth is called Garodes, with a town upon it of the same name. Passing thence along the banks of the Nile, are the towns of Navi, Modunda, Andatis, Secundum, Colligat, Secande, Navectabe, Cumi, Agrospi, Ægipa, Candrogari, Araba, and Summara.735 
Beyond is the region of Sirbitum, at which the mountains terminate,736 and which by some writers is said to contain the maritime Æthiopians, the Nisacæthæ, and the Nisyti, a word which signifies "men with three or four eyes,"-- not that the people really have that conformation, but because they are remarkable for the unerring aim of their arrows. On that side of the Nile which extends along the borders of the Southern Ocean beyond the Greater Syrtes,737 Dalion says that the people, who use rain-water only, are called the Cisori, and that the other nations are the Longompori, [p. 2104] distant five days' journey from the Œcalices, the Usibalci, the Isbeli, the Perusii, the Ballii, and the Cispii, the rest being deserts, and inhabited by the tribes of fable only. In a more westerly direction are the Nigroæ, whose king has only one eye, and that in the forehead, the Agriophagi,738 who live principally on the flesh of panthers and lions, the Pamphagi,739 who will eat anything, the Anthropophagi, who live on human flesh, the Cynamolgi,740 a people with the heads of dogs, the Artabatitæ, who have four feet, and wander about after the manner of will beasts; and, after them, the Hesperiæ and the Perorsi, whom we have already spoken741 of as dwelling on the confines of Mauritania. Some tribes, too, of the Æthiopians subsist on nothing but locusts,742 which are smoke-dried and salted as their provision for the year; these people do not live beyond their fortieth year.
M. Agrippa was of opinion that the length743 of the whole country of the Æthiopians, including the Red Sea, was two thousand one hundred and seventy miles, and its breadth, including Upper Egypt, twelve hundred and ninety-seven. Some authors again have made the following divisions of its length; from Meroë to Sirbitum eleven days' sail, from Sirbitum to the Dabelli fifteen days', and from them to the Æthiopian Ocean six days' journey. It is agreed by most authors, that the distance altogether, from the ocean744 to Meroë, is six hundred and twenty-five miles, and from Meroë to Syene, that which we have already mentioned. Æthiopia lies from south-east to south-west. Situate as it is, in a southern hemisphere, forests of ebony are to be seen of the brightest verdure; and in the midst of these regions there is a mountain of immense height, which overhangs the sea, and emits a perpetual flame. By the Greeks this mountain is called Theon Ochema, 745 and at a distance of four days' sail from it [p. 2105] is a promontory, known as Hesperu Ceras,746 upon the confines of Africa, and close to the Hesperiæ, an Æthiopian nation. There are some writers who affirm that in these regions there are hills of a moderate height, which afford a pleasant shade from the groves with which they are clad, and are the haunts of Ægipans747 and Satyrs. 
CHAP. 36. (31.)--ISLANDS OF THE ÆTHIOPIAN SEA.
We learn from Ephorus, as well as Eudoxus and Timosthenes, that there are great numbers of islands scattered all over this sea; Clitarchus says that king Alexander was informed of an island so rich that the inhabitants gave a talent of gold for a horse, and of another748 upon which there was found a sacred mountain, shaded with a grove, the trees of which emitted odours of wondrous sweetness; this last was situate over against the Persian Gulf. Cerne749 is the name of an island situate opposite to Æthiopia, the size of which has not been ascertained, nor yet its distance from the main land: it is said that its inhabitants are exclusively Æthiopians. Ephorus states that those who sail from the Red Sea into the Æthiopian Ocean cannot get beyond the Columnæ750 there, some little islands so called. Polybius says [p. 2106] that Cerne is situate at the extremity of Mauritania, over against Mount Atlas, and at a distance of eight stadia from the land; while Cornelius Nepos states that it lies very nearly in the same meridian as Carthage, at a distance from the mainland of ten miles, and that it is not more than two miles in circumference. It is said also that there is another island situate over against Mount Atlas, being itself known by the name of Atlantis.751 Five days' sail beyond it there are deserts, as far as the Æthiopian Hesperiæ and the promontory, which we have mentioned as being called Hesperu Ceras, a point at which the face of the land first takes a turn towards the west and the Atlantic Sea. Facing this promontory are also said to be the islands called the Gorgades,752 the former abodes of the Gorgons, two days' sail from the mainland, according to Xenophon of Lampsacus. Hanno, a general of the Carthaginians, penetrated as far as these regions, and brought back an account that the bodies of the women were covered with hair, but that the men, through their swiftness of foot, made their escape; in proof of which singularity in their skin, and as evidence of a fact so miraculous, he placed the skins753 of two of these females in the temple of Juno, which were to be seen there until the capture of Carthage. Beyond these even, are said to be the two islands of the Hesperides; but so uncertain are all the accounts relative to this subject, that Statius Sebosus says that it is forty days' sail, past the coast of the Atlas range, from the islands of the Gorgons to those of the Hesperides, and one day's sail from these to the Hesperu Ceras. Nor have we any more certain information relative to the islands of Mauritania. We only know, as a fact well-ascertained, that some few were discovered by Juba over against the country of the Autololes, upon which he established a manufactory of Gætulian purple.754 [p. 2107] 
CHAP. 37. (32.)--THE FORTUNATE ISLANDS.
There are some authors who think that beyond these are the Fortunate Islands,755 and some others; the number of which Sebosus gives, as well as the distances, informing us that Junonia756 is an island seven hundred and fifty miles distant from Gades. He states also that Pluvialia757 and Capraria758 are the same distance from Junonia, to the west; and that in Pluvi- alia the only fresh water to be obtained is rain water. He then states that at a distance of two hundred and fifty miles from these, opposite the left of Mauritania, and situate in the direction of the sun at the eighth hour, are the Fortunate Islands,759 one of which, from its undulating surface, has the name of Invallis,760 and another that of Planasia,761 from the peculiarity762 of its appearance. He states also that the circumference of Invallis is three hundred miles, and that trees grow to a height of one hundred and fourteen feet.
Relative to the Fortunate Islands, Juba has ascertained the following facts: that they are situate to the south in nearly a due westerly direction, and at a distance from the Purple Islands of six hundred and twenty-five miles, the sailing being made for two hundred and fifty miles due west, and then three hundred and seventy-five towards the east.763 He states that the first is called Ombrios,764 and that it presents no traces of buildings whatever; that among the mountains there is a lake, and some trees,765 which bear a strong resemblance to giant [p. 2108] fennel, and from which water is extracted; that drawn from those that are black is of a bitter taste, but that produced by the white ones is agreeable and good for drinking. He states also that a second island has the name of Junonia, but that it contains nothing beyond a small temple of stone: also that in its vicinity there is another, but smaller, island766 of the same name, and then another called Capraria, which is infested by multitudes of huge lizards. According to the same author, in sight of these islands is Ninguaria,767 which has received that name from its perpetual snows; this island abounds also in fogs. The one next to it is Canaria;768 it contains vast multitudes of dogs of very large size, two of which were brought home to Juba: there are some traces of buildings to be seen here. While all these islands abound in fruit and birds of every kind, this one produces in great numbers the date palm which bears the caryota, also pine nuts. Honey too abounds here, and in the rivers papyrus, and the fish called silurus,769 are found. These islands, however, are greatly annoyed by the putrefying bodies of monsters, which are constantly thrown up by the sea. 
CHAP. 38.--THE COMPARATIVE DISTANCES OF PLACES ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH.
Having now fully described the earth, both without770 as well as within, it seems only proper that we should succinctly state the length and breadth of its various seas.
(33.) Polybius has stated, that in a straight line from the Straits of Gades to the mouth of the Mæotis, it is a distance of [p. 2109] three thousand four hundred and thirty-seven miles and a half, and that, starting from the same point,771 the distance in a straight line to Sicily is twelve hundred and fifty miles, from thence to Crete three hundred and seventy-five, to Rhodes one hundred and eighty-seven and a half, to the Chelidonian Islands the same distance, to Cyprus two hundred and twenty-five, and from thence to Seleucia Pieria, in Syria, one hundred and fifteen miles: the sum of all which distances amounts to two thousand three hundred and forty miles. Agrippa estimates this same distance, in a straight line from the Straits of Gades to the Gulf of Issus, at three thousand three hundred and forty miles; in which computation, however, I am not certain that there is not some error in the figures, seeing that the same author has stated that the distance from the Straits of Sicily to Alexandria is thirteen hundred and fifty miles. Taking the whole length of the sea-line throughout the gulfs above-men- tioned, and beginning at the same point,772 he makes it ten thousand and fifty-eight miles; to which number Artemidorus has added seven hundred and fifty-six: the same author, including in his calculation the shores of the Mæotis, makes the whole distance seventeen thousand three hundred and ninety miles. Such is the measurement given by men who have penetrated into distant countries, unaided by force of arms, and have, with a boldness that exhibits itself in the times of peace even, challenged, as it were, Fortune herself.
I shall now proceed to compare the dimensions of the various parts of the earth, however great the difficulties which may arise from the discrepancy of the accounts given by various authors: the most convenient method, however, will be that of adding the breadth to the length.773 Following this mode of reckoning, the dimensions of Europe will be eight thousand two hundred and ninety-four miles; of Africa, to adopt a mean between all the various accounts given by authors, the length is three thousand seven hundred and ninety-four miles, while the breadth, so far as it is inhabited, in no part exceeds [p. 2110] two hundred and fifty miles.774 But, as Agrippa, including its deserts, makes it from Cyrenaica, a part of it, to the country of the Garamantes, so far as was then known, a further distance of nine hundred and ten miles, the entire length, added together, will make a distance of four thousand six hundred and eight miles. The length of Asia is generally admitted775 to be six thousand three hundred and seventy-five miles, and the breadth, which ought, properly, to be reckoned from the Æthiopian Sea to Alexandria,776 near the river Nile, so as to run through Meroë and Syene, is eighteen hundred and seventy-five. It appears then that Europe is greater than Asia, by a little less than one half of Asia, and greater than Africa by as much again of Africa and one-sixth. If all these sums are added together, it will be clearly seen that Europe is one-third, and a little more than one-eighth part of one-third, Asia one-fourth and one-four- teenth part of one-fourth, and Africa, one-fifth and one-sixtieth part of one-fifth of the whole earth.777 
CHAP. 39.--DIVISION OF THE EARTH INTO PARALLELS AND SHADOWS OF EQUAL LENGTH.
To the above we shall add even another instance of ingenious discovery by the Greeks, and indeed of the most minute skilfulness; that so nothing may be wanting to our investigation of the geographical divisions of the earth, and the various countries thereof which have been pointed out; that it may be the better understood, too, what affinity, or relationship as it were, exists between one region and another, in respect to the length of their days and nights, and in which of them the shadows are of equal length, and the distance from the pole is the same. I shall therefore give these particulars as well, and shall state the divisions of the whole earth in accordance with the various sections of the heavens. The lines or segments which [p. 2111] divide the world are many in number; by our people they are known as "circuli" or circles, by the Greeks they are called "paralleli" or parallels.
(34.) The first begins at that part of India which looks towards the south, and extends to Arabia and those who dwell upon the borders of the Red Sea. It embraces the Gedrosi, the Carmanii, the Persæ, the Elymæi, Parthyene, Aria, Susiane, Mesopotamia, Seleucia surnamed Babylonia, Arabia as far as Petra, Cœle Syria, Pelusium, the lower parts of Egypt called the Chora of Alexandria, the maritime parts of Africa, all the cities of Cyrenaica, Thapsus, Adrumetum, Clupea, Carthage, Utica, the two Hippo's, Numidia, the two Mauritanias, the Atlantic Sea, and the Pillars of Hercules. Within the meridian of this parallel, on the middle day of the equinox, the pin of the dial, usually called the gnomon, if seven feet in length, throws a shadow at mid-day no more than four feet long: the longest day and night are fourteen equinoctial hours respectively, the shortest being only ten.
The next circle or parallel begins with the western parts of India, and runs through the middle of Parthia, through Persepolis, the nearer parts of Persis, the nearer Arabia, Judæa, and the people who live near Mount Libanus, and it embraces Babylon, Idumæa, Samaria, Hierosolyma, Ascalon, Joppa, Cæsarea in Phoenicia, Ptolemais, Sidon, Tyre, Berytus, Botrys, Tripolis, Byblus, Antiochia, Laodicea, Seleucia, the maritime parts of Cilicia, the southern parts of Cyprus, Crete, Lilybæum in Sicily, and the northern parts of Africa and Numidia. In these regions, at the time of the equinox, a gnomon of thirty-five feet in length gives only a shadow twenty-four feet long; and the longest day and night are respectively fourteen equinoctial hours, and one-fifth of an hour, in length.
The third circle or parallel begins at the part of India which lies in the vicinity of Mount Imaiis, and runs through the Caspian Gates and the nearer parts of Media, Cataonia, (appadocia, Taurus, Amanus, Issus, the Passes of Cilicia, Soli, Tarsus, Cyprus, Pisidia, Side in Pamphylia, Lycaonia, Patara in Lycia, Xanthus, Caunus, Rhodes, Cos, Halicarnassus, Cnidos, Doris, Chios, Delos, the middle of the Cyclades, Gythium, Malea, Argos, Laconia, Elis, Olympia, Messenia in Peloponnesus, Syracuse, Catina, the middle of Sicily, the southern parts of Sardinia, Carteia, and Gades. A gnomon, [p. 2112] one hundred inches in length, throws a shadow seventy-seven inches long; the length of the longest day is fourteen equinoctial hours and a half, plus one thirtieth of an hour.
Under the fourth circle or parallel lie those parts of India which are on the other side of the Imaiis, the southern parts of Cappadocia, Galatia, Mysia, Sardis, Smyrna, Sipylus, Mount Tmolus, Lydia, Caria, Ionia, Tralles, Colophon, Ephesus, Miletus, Chios, Samos, the Icarian Sea, the northern part of the Cyclades, Athens, Megara, Corinth, Sicyon, Achaia, Patræ, the Isthmus, Epirus, the northern parts of Sicily, the eastern parts of Gallia Narbonensis, and the sea-coast of Spain, from New Carthage westward. In these districts a gnomon of twenty-one feet throws a shadow of sixteen feet in length; the longest day contains fourteen equinoctial hours and two-thirds of an hour.
Under the fifth zone are included, from the entrance to the Caspian Sea, the Bactri, Iberia, Armenia, Mysia, Phrygia, the Hellespont, Troas, Tenedos, Abydos, Scepsis, Ilium, Mount Ida, Cyzicus, Lampsacus, Sinope, Amisus, Heraclea in Pontus, Paphlagonia, Lemnos, Imbros, Thasos, Cassandria, Thessaly, Macedonia, Larissa, Amphipolis, Thessalonica, Pella, Edessa, Berœa, Pharsalia, Carystus, Eubœa in Bœotia, Chalcis, Delphi, Acarnania, Ætolia, Apollonia, Brudisium, Tarentum, Thurii, Locri, Rhegium, the Lucani, Neapolis, Puteoli, the Tuscan Sea, Corsica, the Balearic Islands, and the middle of Spain. A gnomon, seven feet in length, in these countries gives a shadow of six feet, and the length of the day is fifteen equinoctial hours.
The sixth division, in which Rome is included, embraces the Caspian nations, Caucasus, the northern parts of Armenia, Apollonia on the Rhyndacus, Nicomedia, Nicæa, Chalcedon, Byzantium, Lysimachia, the Chersonnesus, the Gulf of Melas, Abdera, Samothracia, Maronea, Ænus, Bessica, Thracia, Mædica, Pæonia, the Illyrii, Dyrrhachium, Canusium, the extreme parts of Apulia, Campania, Etruria, Pisæ, Luna, Luca, Genua, Liguria, Antipolis, Massilia, Narbo, Tarraco, the middle parts of Hispania Tarraconensis, and thence through Lusitania. A gnomon of nine feet here throws a shadow eight feet long; the greatest length of the day is fifteen equinoctial hours, plus one-ninth part of an hour, or, according to Nigidius, one-fifth.
The seventh division begins on the other side of the Caspian [p. 2113] Sea, and the line runs above Callatis, and through the Bosporus, the Borysthenes, Tomi, the back part of Thrace, the Triballi, the remainder of Illyricum, the Adriatic Sea, Aquileia, Altinum, Venetia, Vicetia, Patavium, Verona, Cremona, Ravenna, Ancona, Picenum, the Marsi, the Peligni, the Sabini, Umbria, Ariminum, Bononia, Placentia, Mediolanum, all the districts at the foot of the Apennines, and, beyond the Alps, Gallia Aquitanica, Vienna, the Pyrenæan range, and Celtiberia. A gnomon thirty-five feet in length here throws a shadow of thirty-six feet, except in some parts of Venetia, where the shadow just equals the length of the gnomon; the longest day is fifteen equinoctial hours, plus three-fifths of an hour.
Thus far we have set forth the results of observations made by the ancients. The remaining part of the earth has been divided, through the careful researches of those of more recent times, by three additional parallels. The first runs from the Tanais through the Mæotis and the country of the Sarmatæ, as far as the Borysthenes, and so through the Daci and part of Germany, and the Gallic provinces, as far as the shores of the ocean, the longest day being sixteen hours.
The second parallel runs through the country of the Hyperborei and the island of Britannia, the longest day being seventeen hours in length.
The last of all is the Scythian parallel, which runs from the Riphæan range to Thule, in which, as we have already stated,778 the year is divided into days and nights alternately, of six months' duration. The same authors have also placed before the first parallel, which we have here given,779 two other parallels or circles; the first running through the island of Meroë and the city of Ptolemais which was built on the Red Sea for the chase of the elephant; where the longest day is twelve hours and a half in length; and the second passing through Syene in Egypt, in which the longest day is thirteen hours in length. The same authors have also added half an hour to each of the parallels, till they come to the last.
Thus far on the Geography of the earth. 
SUMMARY.--Towns mentioned, eleven hundred and ninety-four. Nations, five hundred and seventy-six. Noted rivers, [p. 2114] one hundred and fifteen. Famous mountains, thirty-eight. Islands, one hundred and eight. Peoples or towns no longer in existence, ninety-five. Remarkable events, narratives, and observations, two thousand two hundred and fourteen. 
ROMAN AUTHORS QUOTED.--M.Agrippa,780 M. Varro,781 Varro Atacinus,782 Cornelius Nepos,783 Hyginus,784 L. Vetus,785 Mela Pomponius,786 Domitius Corbulo,787 Licinius Mucianus,788 Claudius Cæsar,789 Arruntius,790 Sebosus,791 Fabricius Tuscus,792 T. Livius,793 Seneca,794 Nigidius.795 
FOREIGN AUTHORS QUOTED.--King Juba,796 Hecatæus,797 Hellenicus,798 Damastes,799 Eudoxus,800 Dicæarchus,801 Bæton,802 [p. 2115] Timosthenes,803 Patrocles,804 Demodamas,805 Clitarchus,806 Eratosthenes,807 Alexander the Great,808 Ephorus,809 Hipparchus,810 Panætius,811 Callimachus,812 Artemidorus,813 Apol- lodorus,814 Agathocles,815 Polybius,816 Eumachus,817 Timæus Siculus,818 Alexander Polyhistor,819 Isidorus,820 Amometus,821 Metrodorus,822 Posidonius,823 Onesicritus,824 Nearchus,825 Megasthenes,826 Diognetus,827 Aristocreon,828 Bion,829 Dalion,830 [p. 2116] the Younger Simonides,831 Basilis,832 Xenophon833 of Lampsacus. [p. 2117] 

1 Or the "Hospitable" Sea, now the Black Sea. 
2 Or the "Inhospitable." 
3 The streams which discharge their waters into the Palus Mæotis, or Sea of Azof. 
4 Straits of the Dardanelles or of Gallipoli, spoken of in B. iv. c. 18, as seven stadia in width. 
5 The Thracian Bosporus, now the Channel or Straits of Constantinople, and the Cimmerian Bosporus or Straits of Kaffa, or Yeni Kale. 
6 From bous, an ox, andporos, "a passage." According to the legend, it was at the Thracian Bosporus that the cow Io made her passage from one continent to the other, and hence the name, in all probability, celebrated alike in the fables and the history of antiquity. The Cimmerian Bosporus not improbably borrowed its name from the Thracian. See Æsch. Prom. Vine. 1. 733. 
7 This sentence seems to bear reference to the one that follows, and not, as punctuated in the Latin, to the one immediately preceding it. 
8 It is not probable that this is the case at the Straits of Kaffa, which are nearly four miles in width at the narrowest part. 
9 Now the Riva, a river of Bithynia, in Asia Minor, falling into the Euxine north-east of Chalcedon. 
10 Probably an obscure town. 
11 On the river Calpas or Calpe, in Bithynia. Xenophon, in the Anabasis, describes it as about half way between Byzantium and Heraclea. The spot is identified in some of the maps as Kirpeh Limán, and the promontory as Cape Kirpeh. 
12 Still known as the Sakaria. 
13 Now called the Sursak, according to Parisot. 
14 Now the Lef-ke. See the end of c. 42 of the last Book. 
15 The modern Gulf of Sakaria. Of the Mariandyni, who gave the ancient name to it, little or nothing is known. 
16 Its site is now known as Harakli or Eregli. By Strabo it is erroneously called a colony of Miletus. It was situate a few miles to the north of the river Lycus. 
17 Now called the Kilij. 
18 Stephanus Byzantinus speaks of this place as producing whetstones, or akonai, as well as the plant aconite. 
19 This name was given to the cavern in common with several other lakes or caverns in various parts of the world, which, like the various rivers of the name of Acheron, were at some time supposed to be connected with the lower world. 
20 Now called Falios (or more properly Filiyos), according to D'Anville, from the river of that name in its vicinity, supposed by him and other geographers to be the same as the ancient Billis, here mentioned by Pliny. By others of the ancient writers it is called Billæus. 
21 Paphlagonia was bounded by Bithynia on the west, and by Pontus on the east, being separated from the last by the river Halys; on the south it was divided by the chain of Mount Olympus from Phrygia in the earlier times, from Galatia at a later period; and on the north it bordered on the Euxine. 
22 In the Homeric catalogue we find Pylæmenes leading the Paphlagonians as allies of the Trojans; from this Pylæmenes the later princes of Paphlagonia claimed their descent, and the country was sometimes from them called Pylæmenia. 
23 Suspected by Hardouin to have been the same as the Moson or Moston mentioned by Ptolemy as in Galatia. 
24 It is mentioned by Homer, Il. ii. 855, as situate on the coast of Paphlagonia. 
25 Strabo also, in B. xii., says that these people afterwards established themselves in Thrace, and that gradually moving to the west, they finally settled in the Italian Venetia, which from them took its name. But in his Fourth Book he says that the Veneti of Italy owe their origin to the Gallic Veneti, who came from the neighbourhood known as the modern Vannes. 
26 This city, ninety stadia east of the river Parthenius, occupied a peninsula, and on each side of the isthmus was a harbour. The original city, as here mentioned, seems to have had the name of Sesamus or Sesamum, and it is spoken of by that name in Homer, Il. ii. 853, in conjunction with Cytorus. The territory of Amastris was famous for its growth of the best box-wood, which grew on Mount Cytorus. The present Amasra or Hanasserall occupies its site. 
27 See the last Note. 
28 Otherwise called "Cinolis." There is a place called Kinla or Kinoglu in the maps, about half-way between Kerempeh and Sinope, which is the Kinuli of Abulfeda, and probably the Cirolis or Cimolis of the Greek geographers. 
29 The modern Estefan or Stefanos. 
30 Now known by the name of Bartin, a corruption of its ancient appellation. 
31 It still retains its ancient appellation in its name of Cape Kerempeh: of the ancient town nothing is known. 
32 Now called Sinope, or Sinoub. Some ruins of it are still to be seen. The modern town is but a poor place, and has probably greatly declined since the recent attack upon it by the Russian fleet. Diogenes, the Cynic philosopher, was a native of ancient Sinope. 
33 The boundary, according to Stephanus Byzantinus, also of the nations of Paphlagonia and Cappadocia. As Parisot remarks, this is an error, arising from the circumstance of a small tribe bearing the name of Cappadocians, having settled on its banks, between whom and the Paphlagonians it served as a limit. 
34 On the river Iris. It was the ancient residence of the kings of Pontus, but in Strabo's time it was deserted. It has been suggested that the modern Azurnis occupies its site. 
35 In the north-west of Pontus, in a fertile plain between the rivers Halys and Amisus. It is also called Gadilon by Strabo. D'Anville makes it the modern Aladgiam; while he calls Gaziura by the name of Guedes. 
36 Now called the Kisil Irmak, or Red River. It has been remarked that Pliny, in making this river to come down from Mount Taurus and flow at once from south to north, appears to confound the Halys with one of its tributaries, now known as the Izchel Irmak. 
37 Its site is now called Kiengareh, Kangreh, or Changeri. This was a town of Paphlagonia, to the south of Mount Olgasys, at a distance of thirty-five miles from Pompeiopolis. 
38 A commercial place to the south of Sinope. Its site is the modern Gherseh on the coast. 
39 Now called Eski Samsun; on the west side of the bay or gulf, anciently called Sinus Amisenus. According to Strabo, it was only 900 stadia from Sinope, or 112 1/2 Roman miles. The walls of the ancient city are to be seen on a promontory about a mile and a half from the modern town. 
40 He means the numerous indentations which run southward into the coast, from the headland of Sinope to a distance of about one degree to the south. 
41 On examining the map, we shall find that the distance is at least 300 miles across to the gulf of Issus or Iskenderoon. 
42 Not speaking the Greek language. 
43 A part of it only was added to Eupatoria; and it was separated from the rest by a wall, and probably contained a different population from that of Amisus. This new quarter contained the residence of the king, Mithridates Eupator, who built Eupatoria. 
44 The boundaries of Cappadocia varied under the dominion of the Persians, after the Macedonian conquest, and as a Roman province under the emperors. 
45 Founded by Archelaüs, the last king of Cappadocia. In Hamilton's Researches, the site has been assumed to be the modern Ak-serai, but that place is not on the river Halys, as Leake supposes. It is, however, considered that Ak-serai agrees very well with the position of Archelais as laid down in the Itineraries, and that Pliny may have been misled in supposing that the stream on which it stood was the Halys. 
46 Also called by the name of Chryse, or "Golden," to distinguish it from another place of the same name in Pontus. It is generally supposed that the town of Al-Bostan, on the Sihoon or Sarus, is on or near the site of this Comana. 
47 Now called Niksar, according to D'Anville, though Hardouin says that it is Tocat. Parisot remarks, that this place belonged rather to Pontus than to Cappadocia. 
48 A small tributary of the Iris, or Yeshil-Irmak, mentioned in the next Chapter. 
49 Both to the west of Neo-Cæsarea. According to Tavernier, as quoted by Hardouin, the modern name of Sebastia is Sivas. 
50 Still called Amasia, or Amasiyeh, and situate on the river Iris, or Yeshil Ermak. It was at one time the residence of the princes of Pontus, and the birth-place of the geographer Strabo. The remains of antiquity here are very considerable, and extremely interesting. 
51 Which gave name to the district of Melitene, mentioned in c. 20 of the last Book. 
52 Near Nazianzus, in Cappadocia, the birth-place of Gregory Nazianzen. The traveller Ainsworth, on his road from Ak Serai to Kara Hissar, came to a place called Kaisar Koi, and he has remarked that by its name and position it might be identified with Diocæsarea. Some geographers, indeed, look upon Diocæsarea and Nazianzus as the same place. 
53 Its ruins are still to be seen at Kiz Hisar. It stood in the south of Cappadocia, at the northern foot of Mount Taurus. Tyana was the native place of Apollonius, the supposed worker of miracles, whom the enemies of Christianity have not scrupled to place on a par with Jesus Christ. 
54 Some ruins, nineteen geographical miles from Ayas, are supposed to denote the site of ancient Castabala or Castabulum. 
55 This place was first called Eupatoria, but not the same which Mithridates united with a part of Amisus. D'Anville supposes that the modern town of Tchenikeb occupies its site. 
56 Or Ziela, now known as Zillah, not far south of Amasia. It was here that Julius Cæsar conquered Pharnaces, on the occasion on which he wrote his dispatch to Rome, "Veni, vidi, vici." 
57 Still known by the name of Ardgeh-Dagh. 
58 Its site is still called Kaisiriyeh. It was a city of the district Cilicia, in Cappadocia, at the base of the mountain Argæus. It was first called Mazaca, and after that, Eusebeia. There are considerable remains of the ancient city. 
59 Hardouin remarks, that the district of Sargarausene was not situate in front of Phrygia, but lay between Morimene and Colopenene, in the vicinity of Pontus. 
60 Now known as the Konax, a tributary of the Halys, rising in Mount Littarus, in the chain of Paryadres. 
61 Or "White Syrians." Strabo says that in his time both the Cappadocian peoples, those situate above the Taurus and those on the Euxine, were called Leucosyri, or White Syrians, as there were some Syrians who were black, and who dwelt to the east of the Amanus. 
62 It is doubtful whether this is the name of a river or a town. Notwithstanding its alleged celebrity, nothing is known of it. 
63 Hecatæus, as quoted by Stephanus Byzantinus, speaks of Chadisia as a city of the Leucosyri, or Cappadocians. Neither the river nor the town appears to have been identified. 
64 Probably on the river of that name, which has been identified with the Mers Imak, a river two or three miles east of the Acropolis of Amisus. 
65 The extensive plain on the coast of Pontus, extending east of the river Iris, beyond the Thermodon, and celebrated as the country of the Amazons. At the mouth of the Thermodon was a city of the same name, which had been destroyed by the time of Augustus. It is doubtful whether the modern Thermeh occupies its site. 
66 The same place apparently as is mentioned in the last Chapter under the name of Zela. 
67 Valerius Triarius, one of the legates of Lucullus, in the war against Mithridates. Plutarch tells us that Lucullus was obliged to conceal Triarius from the fury of his troops. 
68 Over Pharnaces, the son of Mithridates. 
69 Now called the Thermea. 
70 Still called Mason-Dagh. 
71 He alludes to Comana, in Pontus, the site of which is now called Gumenek, near to which, on the Tocat-su, the modern name of the Iris, Hamilton found some remains of a Roman town, and part of a bridge apparently of Roman construction. The language of Pliny seems to imply that it had become in his day nothing beyond a manteium or seat of an oracle. 
72 Strabo speaks of a promontory called Genetes; and Stephanus Byzantinus mentions a river and port of the same name. 
73 Strabo places the Chaldei, who, he says, were originally called Chalybes, in that part of the country which lies above Pharnacia (the modern Kerasunt). 
74 Or Cotyora. According to Xenophon, this was a colony of Sinope, which furnished supplies for the Ten Thousand in their retreat. The place was on a bay called after the town. Hamilton, in his Researches, &c., Vol. i., is of opinion that Cotyorum may have stood on the site of Ordou, where some remains of an ancient port, cut out of the solid rock, are still visible. He remarks, however, that some writers suppose that Cotvora was the modern bay of Pershembah, which is more sheltered than Ordou. Cotyora was the place of embarkation of the Ten Thousand. 
75 Similar to what we call tatooing. Parisot suggests that these people may have been the ancestors of the Mongol tribes who still dwell in tents similar to those mentioned by Mela as used by the Mossyni. 
76 Or the "long-headed people." 
77 Its site is not improbably that of the modern Kheresoun, on the coast of Asia Minor, and west of Trebizond. Lucullus is said to have brought thence the first cherry-trees planted in Europe. 
78 It has been remarked, that Pliny's enumeration of names often rather confuses than helps, and that it is difficult to say where he intends to place the Bechires. We may perhaps infer from Mela that they were west of Trapezus and east of the Thermodon. 
79 Now the Kara Su, or Black River, still retaining its ancient appellation. It rises in Cappadocia, in the chain of Mount Argæus. 
80 Still called by the same name, according to Parisot, though sometimes it is called the river of Vatisa. More recent authorities, however, call it Poleman Chai. 
81 On the coast of Pontus, built by king Polémon, perhaps the Second, 
82 Probably near the promontory of Jasonium, 130 stadia to the northeast of Polemonium. It was believed to have received its name from Jason the Argonaut having landed there. It still bears the name of Jasoon, though more commonly called Bona or Vona. 
83 Sixty stadia, according to arrian, from the town of cotyora 
84 Supposed to have stood on almost the same site as the modern Kheresoun or Kerasunda. It was built near, or, as some think, on the site of Cerasus. 
85 Still known by the name of Tireboli, on a river of the same name, the Tireboli Su. 
86 Now called Tarabosan, Trabezun, or Trebizond. This place was originally a colony of Sinope, after the loss of whose independence Trapezus belonged, first to Lesser Armenia, and afterwards to the kingdom of Pontus. In the middle ages it was the seat of the so-called empire of Trebizond. It is now the second commercial port of the Black Sea, ranking next after Odessa. 
87 The "Chalybes of Armenia." See p. 21. 
88 Theodoret says that the Sanni, and the Lazi, subsequently mentioned, although subdued by the Roman arms, were never obedient to the Roman laws. The Heniochi were probably of Grecian origin, as they were said to have been descended from the charioteers of the Argonauts, who had been wrecked upon these coasts. 
89 Or Apsarus, or Absarum. Several geographers have placed the site of this town near the modern one known as Gonieh. Its name was connected with the myth of Medea and her brother Absyrtus. It is not improbable that the names Acampsis and Absarus have been given to the same river by different writers, and that they both apply to the modern Joruk. 
90 It is suggested by Hardouin that these are the same as the Zydretæ mentioned in the Periplus of Arrian, and by him placed between the Heniochi and the Lazi. 
91 See note 91. 
92 Supposed to be the same as the modem Tshorok. 
93 Or "Deep" River. This stream may possibly be identified by observing that Pliny places only one river between it and the Phasis. 
94 Probably the Madia of Ptolemy, who places it in the interior. 
95 At the present day called Eraklia, according to Parisot. 
96 Now called the Faz or Poti. 
97 Still called El Faz or Poti. 
98 This place was in reality thirty-seven miles and a half from the sea. It was said to have been the native place of the enchantresses Circe and Medea. 
99 The rivers Hippos and Cyaneos do not appear to have been identified. 
100 In the previous page. 
101 Now called the Tehorocsu. 
102 It is doubtful whether this is the same river as that mentioned by Strabo under the name of Chares. D'Anville says that its modern name is Enguri. 
103 Or "Feeders on Lice;" so called, according to Strabo, from the extreme filthiness of their habits. 
104 There is a nation in this vicinity still called by a similar name. Professor Pallas, who visited them, says that nothing can equal their dishonesty, rapacity, and voracity. Parisot suggests that they are probably the descendants of the Phthirophagi of Pliny. 
105 Now called the Khalira, according to D'Anville. 
106 Now called the Hati-Scari, according to D'Anville. 
107 Now the Okhum, according to D'Anville. 
108 Now the Mosti-Skari, according to D'Anville. 
109 Still called Savastopoli, according to Hardouin. 
110 This must not be confounded with the other place of the same name mentioned in the present Chapter. See p. 10. 
111 Hermoläus suggests Pityus as the correct reading. 
112 The Sanni Heniochi; one of these nations has been already mentioned in the last page. 
113 16 Inhabited anciently by the Coli, and constituting the northern portion of ancient Colchis. 
114 In B. v. c. 27. 
115 Or nation "with the black cloaks," from some peculiarity in their dress. 
116 This was the great trading-place of the wild tribes in the interior; and so numerous were they, that the Greeks asserted that there were seventy different languages spoken in the market of Dioscurias. 
117 Whence the appellation Heniochi, from the Greek hêniochos. 
118 There were two places called Heracleium on this coast, one north and the other south of the river Achæus: probably the latter is here meant. 
119 Probably meaning the "martial people," or the "people of Mars." 
120 Said to have been descended from the Achæns or Greeks who accompanied Jason in the Argonautic Expedition, or, according to Ammianus, who resorted thither after the conclusion of the Trojan war. 
121 This was the title, not of a single nation, but of a number of peoples distinguished for their predatory habits. 
122 This people occupied the N.E. shore of the Euxine, between the Cimmerian Bosporus and the frontier of Colchis. Their name is still in existence, and is applied to the whole western district of the Caucasus, in the forms of Tcherkas, as applied to the people, and Tcherkeskaia or Circassia, to the country. 
123 Meaning, nearly in the extreme corner of Pontus. 
124 In the time of Strabo this was a considerable sea-port, and after its destruction by the Heniochi, it was restored, and served as an important frontier fortress of the Roman empire against the Scythians. 
125 This was Mithridates, king of Bosporus, which sovereignty he obtained by the favour of the emperor Claudius, in A.D. 41. The circumstances are unknown which led to his subsequent expulsion by the Romans, who placed his younger brother Cotys on the throne in his stead. 
126 Hardouin thinks that the Thalli inhabited the present country of Astrakan. 
127 It was the ancient opinion, to which we shall find frequent reference made in the present Book, that the northern portion of the Caspian communicated with the Scythian or Septentrional ocean. 
128 Mentioned only by Pliny. It is supposed to answer to the present Ukrash river; and the town and river of Hierus are probably identical with the Hieros Portus of Arrian, which has been identified with the modern Sunjuk-Kala. 
129 Inhabited by the Sindi, a people of Asiatic Sarmatia. They probably dwelt in and about the modern peninsula of Taman, between the Sea of Azof and the Black Sea, to the south of the river Hypanis, the modern Kouban. The site of their capital, Sindos, or Sinda, is supposed to have been the modern Anapa. Parisot conjectures that this place was one of the ancient settlements of the Zigeunes, the modern Bohemians or Gypsies. He seems to found his opinion upon some observations of Malte Brun (Précis de Geographie, vol. vi.) upon the origin of the Gypsy race, which will amply repay the perusal. 
130 The peninsula on which Taman or Timoutarakan is situate. 
131 The jugerum was 100 Grecian or 104 Roman feet in length. 
132 Signifying in Greek the "sea-shore." 
133 Lying between Singa and Phanagoria. Rennell fixes it at the opening of the lake into which the Kouban flows. 
134 Or the "gardens," from the Greek kêpoi. A town of the Cimmerian Bosporus, founded by the Milesians. Dr. Clarke identifies the modern Sienna with it, and the curious Milesian sculptures found there confirm the supposition. 
135 Its ruins are supposed to be those near Taman, on the eastern side of the Straits of Kaffa. It was the great emporium for all the traffic between the coasts of the Palus Mæotis and the countries on the south of the Caucasus, and was chosen by the kings of Bosporus as their capital in Asia. 
136 A town of the Sindæ; it possessed, like Phanagoria, a celebrated temple of Aphrodite Apaturos, or Venus "the Deceiver," whence probably its name. 
137 Clarke identifies it with the modern Temruk, but Forbiger with Eskikrimm. 
138 See B. iv. c. 24. 
139 That lying on the east of the Sea of Azof. It seems impossible to identify the spot inhabited by each of these savage tribes. Hardouin says that the modern name of that inhabited by the Mæotici is Coumania. 
140 Parisot suggests that this tribe afterwards emigrated to the west, and after establishing themselves in Macedonia, finally gave its name to modern Servia. He remarks, that most of these names appear to have been greatly mutilated, through the ignorance or carelessness of the transcribers, no two of the manuscripts agreeing as to the mode in which they should be spelt. 
141 Or Don. It flows into the Sea of Azof by two larger mouths and several smaller ones. Strabo says that the distance between the two larger mouths is sixty stadia. several smaller ones. Strabo says that the distance between the two larger mouths is sixty stadia. 
142 From the Greek gunaikokratoumenoi, "ruled over by women." It is not improbable that this name was given by some geographer to these Sarmatian tribes on finding them, at the period of his visit, in subjection to the rule of a queen. Parisot remarks, that this passage affords an instance of the little care bestowed by Pliny upon procuring the best and most correct information, for that the Roman writers had long repudiated the use of the term "Sauromatæ." He also takes Pliny to task for his allusion to these tribes as coupling with the Amazons, the existence of such a people being in his time generally disbelieved. 
143 Hardouin suggests from heuazô, "to celebrate the orgies of Bacchus." 
144 Perhaps from koitn, a "den" or "cavern," their habitation. 
145 Parisot suggests that they may have been a Caucasian or Circassian tribe, because in the Circassian language the word zig has the meaning of "man." He also suggests that they were probably a distinct race from the Zingi previously mentioned, whom he identifies with the ancestors of the Zingari or Bohemians, the modern Gypsies. 
146 The more common reading is "Tureæ" a tribe also mentioned by Mela, and which gave name to modern Turkistan. 
147 The Argippæi of Herodotus and other ancient authors. These people were bald, flat-nosed, and long-chinned. They are again mentioned by Pliny in C. 14, who calls them a race not unlike the Hyperborei, and then, like Mela, abridges the description given by Herodotus. By different writers these people have been identified with the Chinese, the Brahmins or Lamas, and the Calmucks. The last is thought to be the most probable opinion, or else that the description of Herodotus, borrowed by other writers, may be applied to the Mongols in general. The mountains, at the foot of which they have been placed, are identified with either the Ural, the western extremity of the Altai chain, or the eastern part of the Altai. 
148 Generally regarded as the western branch of the Ural Mountains. 
149 The former editions mostly have "there was," implying that in the time of Pliny it no longer existed. The name of this place was Tanais; its ruins are still to be seen in the vicinity of Kassatchei. It was founded by a colony from Miletus, and became a flourishing seat of trade. The modern town of Azof is supposed to occupy nearly its site. 
150 The people of Panticapæum, on the opposite side of the Palus Mæotis, occupying the site of the present Kertch. It was founded by the Milesians B.C. 541, and took its name from the neighbouring river Panticapes. 
151 The Ceraunian mountains were a range belonging to the Caucasian chain, and situate at its eastern extremity; the relation of this range to the chain has been variously stated by the different writers. 
152 He may possibly allude to a range of mountains in the Punjaub and the vicinity of the modern Lahore, by his reference to the Cathei, who are supposed to have been the ancient inhabitants of that district. The localities of the various races here mentioned are involved in great obscurity. 
153 Or Mediterranean. 
154 See Vol. i. p. 497. 
155 He includes under the term "Cappadocia," the northern part originally called "Cappadocia ad Pontum," and in later times simply Pontus, and the southern part, originally called "Cappadocia ad Taurum," and more recently simply Cappadocia. 
156 Running from the shores of the Euxine to the borders of Syria. 
157 I. e. on the eastern side. 
158 Meaning that part of Asia which we now call Asia Minor. 
159 This ill agrees with what he has said in c. 2, that the distance across from Sinope to the Gulf of Issus is but 200 miles. 
160 Greater Armenia, now known as Erzeroum, Kars, Van, and Erivan, was bounded on the north-east and north by the river Cyrus, or Kur of the present day; on the north-west and west by the Moschian mountains, the prolongation of the chain of the Anti-Taurus, and the Euphrates, or Frat of the present day; and on the south and south-east by the mountains called Masius, Niphates, and Gordiæi (the prolongation of the Taurus), and the lower course of the Araxes. On the east the country comes to a point at the confluence of the Syrus and Araxes. 
161 Now known as the Kara-bel-Dagh, or Kut-Tagh, a mountain chain running south-west and north-east from the east of Asia Minor into the centre of Armenia, and forming the chief connecting link between the Taurus and the mountains of Armenia. 
162 In B. v. c. 20. 
163 He means, where the river Euphrates runs the farthest to the west. 
164 Littré suggests that the reading should be "Aroei." 
165 The modern Eraskh or Aras. 
166 The modern Kur. 
167 This district was bounded on the east by the Euphrates, on the north and north-west by the mountains Scodises, Paryadres, and Anti-Taurus, and on the south by the Taurus. 
168 This river is said by Ammianus to have taken its name from Cyrus. It appears, however, to have been a not uncommon name of the rivers of Persia. 
169 It is probable that these rivers take their rise near each other, but it is not improbable that the intervening distance mentioned in the present passage is much too small. 
170 Hardouin thinks that this is Neo-Cæsarea, mentioned as having been built on the banks of the Euphrates. 
171 Now called Ezaz, according to D'Anville. Parisot suggests that it ought to be Gaza or Gazaca, probably a colony of Median Gaza, now Tauris. 
172 Originally called Tephrice. It stood on the river Lycus, and not far from the sources of the Halys, having been founded by Pompey, where he gained his first victory over Mithridates, whence its name, the "City of Victory." The modern Enderez or Devrigni, probably marks its site. 
173 Ritter places it in Sophene, the modern Kharpat, and considers that it may be represented by the modern Sert, the Tigranocerta of D'Anville. 
174 The capital of Sophene, one of the districts of Armenia. St. Martin thinks that this was the ancient heathen name of the city of Martyropolis, but Ritter shows that such cannot be the case. It was called by the Syrians Kortbest; its present name is Kharput. 
175 Generally supposed, by D'Anville and other modern geographers, to be represented by the ruins seen at Sert. It was the later capital of Armenia, built by Tigranes. 
176 The ancient capital of Armenia. Hannibal, who took refuge at the court of Artaxias when Antiochus was no longer able to afford him protection, superintended the building of it. Some ruins, called Takt Tiridate, or Throne of Tiridates, near the junction of the Aras and the Zengue, were formerly supposed to represent Artaxata, but Colonel Monteith has fixed the site at a bend in the river lower down, at the bottom of which were the ruins of a bridge of Greek or Roman architecture. 
177 A fortress in Lesser Armenia, upon the Euphrates, seventy-five miles from Zimara, as mentioned in B. v. c. 20. It has been identified with the modern ferry and lead mines of Kebban Ma'den, the points where the Kara Su is joined by the Murad Chaï, 270 miles from its source 
178 Justin makes it only 1100, and that estimate appears to be several hundreds too much. 
179 81 A country lying to the north of Armenia. 
180 We find in Strabo the names of some of them mentioned, such as Sophene, Acilisene, Gorgodylene, Sacassene, Gorgarene, Phanene, Comisene, Orchestene, Chorsene, Cambysene, Odomantis, &c. 
181 The Ceraunian Mountains. Parisot remarks that in this description, Pliny, notwithstanding his previous professions, does not appear to have made any very great use of the list drawn up by Corbulo. 
182 That is, looking towards the south. 
183 The Septentrional Ocean, with which the ancients imagined that the northern part of the Caspian Sea is connected. See c. 15. 
184 According to Strabo, Albania was bounded on the east by the Caspian, and on the north by the Caucasus. On the west it joined Iberia, while on the south it was divided from the Greater Armenia by the river Cyrus. By later writers, the northern and western boundaries are differently given. It was found to be the fact that the Albani occupied the country on both sides of the Caucasus, and accordingly Pliny, in c. 15, carries the country further north, as far as the river Casius, while in this Chapter he makes the river Alazon, the modern Alasan, the western boundary towards Iberia. To the west of Albania. 
185 To the west of Albania 
186 Iberia lay south of the great chain of the Caucasus, forming an extensive tract bounded on the west by Colchis, on the east by Albania, and on the south by Armenia, and watered by the river Cyrus. It corresponded very nearly with modern Georgia. 
187 The modern Alasan. 
188 Now called Kablas-Var, according to Parisot. 
189 Parisot says that this can be no other than Harmoza on the river Cyrus, in the vicinity of the modern Akhalzik. 
190 Probably meaning "of the same name." 
191 To the west. 
192 "The Armenian workers in iron," or "Chalybes of Armenia." See p. 9. 
193 There are two chief passes over the chain of the Caucasus, both of which were known to the ancients. The first is between the eastern extremity of its chief north-eastern spur and the Caspian sea, near the modern Derbend. This was called "Albaniæ," and sometimes, "Caspiæ Pylie," the "Albanian" or "Caspian Gates." The other, which was nearly in the centre of the Caspian range, was called "Caucasiæ" or "Sarmaticæ Pylæ," being the same as the modern pass of Dariyel, and probably the one here referred to. 
194 Probably the same as the present fortress of Dariyel. 
195 The first instance was that of the narrow isthmus to which the continent of Asia is reduced from Sinope across to the Gulf of Issus, as mentioned in c. 2. 
196 The shortest distance across, in a straight line, is in reality little less than 600 miles. 
197 The ancestor of the Seleucidæ, kings of Syria, treacherously slain by Ptolemy Ceraunus, brother of Ptolemy Philadelphus. 
198 Already mentioned in B. iv. c. 27. 
199 Mentioned in c. 44 of the last Book. 
200 The one lying at the mouth of the Danube, and mentioned in B. iv. c. 27. 
201 Mentioned in c. 4 of the present Book. See p. 9. 
202 Or "Mars' Island," also called Aretias; at this island, in the south of the Euxine, the two queens of the Amazons, Otrere and Antiope, built a temple in honour of Ares or Mars. It is thought to be the rocky islet called by the Turks Kerasunt Ada, between three and four miles from Kerasunt, the ancient Pharnacea. 
203 It is difficult to say what chain of mountains, if indeed any in particular, he would designate by this name. Parisot remarks that these mountains would seem to belong rather to the region of poetry and fable than of fact, and states that it is pretty clear that the Balkan chain, the districts in which the Danube takes its rise, the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Hercynian mountains, and even the chain of Taurus and Caucasus, have at different times been described or mentioned under the name of Riphæan Mountains. It was evidently Pliny's belief that the great Northern or Scythian Ocean skirted the northern shores of Asia, a little above the latitude perhaps of the northern extremity of the Caspian. In B. iv. c. 26, we find him crossing these, perhaps imaginary, mountains, and then proceeding to the left, along, as he supposes, the extreme northern shores of Europe; here he seems to start from the same point, but turns to the right, and proceeds along the northern, eastern, and southern shores of Asia. 
204 North-east. 
205 I. e. more to the west. 
206 See B. iv. c. 26. 
207 The extremity of the supposed shores of the Hyperborei 
208 D'Anville supposes that he means the headland called Cande-Noss or Kanin-Noss, in the White Sea. Parisot, who thinks that Pliny had no idea of the regions which lie in those high latitudes, supposes that he refers to Domnes-Ness in the Baltic, and that by the Carambucis he means the river Niemen. 
209 Ansart thinks that he means the Dwina, which falls into the Gulf of Archangel. 
210 Previously mentioned in c. 7. 
211 For a full description of them, see B. iv. c. 26. 
212 See the Note to c. 7, p. 15. This description is borrowed from that given by Herodotus. Their sacred character has been explained as referring to the class or caste of priests among this Eastern people, whoever they may have been. 
213 Ansart thinks that the Cicianthi, the Georgi, and the Amazons, inhabited the modern governments of Archangel and Vologda. It seems almost akin to rashness to hazard a conjecture. 
214 It has been already stated that the Caspian Sea was, in one portion of it, so called, and in another the Hyrcanian Sea . 
215 His meaning is, that the Scythian ocean communicates on the northern shores of Asia with the Caspian Sea. Hardouin remarks, that Patrocles, the commander of the Macedonian fleet, was the first to promulgate this notion, he having taken the mouth of the river Volga for a narrow passage, by means of which the Scythian or Northern Ocean made its way into the Caspian Sea. 
216 The country of the Cadusii, in the mountainous district of Media Atropatene, on the south-west shores of the Caspian Sea, between the parallels of 390 and 370 north latitude. This district probably corresponds with the modern district of Gilan. 
217 Now the Syr-Daria or Yellow River, and watering the barren steppes of the Kirghiz-Cossacks. It really discharges itself into the Sea of Aral, and not the Caspian. 
218 The supposed Eastern Ocean of the ancients. 
219 The imaginary passage by which it was supposed to communicate with the Scythian Ocean. 
220 This being in reality the mouth of the Rha or Volga, as mentioned in Note 18, p. 24. 
221 On the eastern side. 
222 Across the mouths of the Volga. 
223 On a promontory, on the right or eastern side of the mouth of the river Volga. 
224 He here means the western shores of the Caspian, after leaving the mouth of the Volga. 
225 In c. 11. 
226 See the end of c. 14. 
227 The Cæsius of Ptolemy, and the Koisou of modern times. 
228 Probably the modern river Samour. 
229 It is difficult to determine the exact locality of this river, but it would seem to have been near the Amardus, the modern Sefid-Rúd. 
230 In c. 10. 
231 See the beginning of c. 12, and the Note, p. 21. 
232 35 See c. 10. 
233 He alludes to the town of Arbela, where, as it is generally said, the army of Darius was defeated by Alexander the Great; by which engage- ment the conflict was terminated. It was the fact, however, that Darius left his baggage and treasures at Arbela, while the battle really took place near the village of Gaugamela, about twenty miles to the north-west of Arbela. This place still retains its name of Arbil. 
234 A district in the east of Macedonia, bordering on the Thermaic gulf and the Chalcidic peninsula. 
235 Nothing is known of this place. Hardouin suggests that it may have been built on the spot where Alexander defeated Darius. 
236 Also known as Antiochia Mygdoniæ, the capital of Mygdonia. Its ruins are still to be seen near a place called Nisibin. It stood on the river Mygdonius, now the Nahral Huali. 
237 Or Nineveh, the capital of the great Assyrian monarchy, destroyed by the Medes and Babylonians about B.C. 606. 
238 There is great difficulty in ascertaining, from the accounts given by the ancient writers, the exact limits of this district, but it is supposed to have included a considerable portion of the province now known by the name of Azerbaijan. It derived its name from Atropates or Atropes, who was governor of this district under the last Darius. 
239 Most probably the place now known as Gazæa, the royal residence of the Parthian kings, and, as its name would imply, their treasure city. Colonel Rawlinson thinks that this place underwent many changes of name according to the rulers who successively occupied it; among other names, it appears to have borne that of Ecbatana. 
240 A city of great magnitude, pleasantly situate near the foot of Mount Orontes, in the northern part of Greater Media. Its original foundation was attributed by Diodorus Siculus to Semiramis, and by Herodotus to Deioces. It was the capital of the Median kingdom, and afterwards the summer residence of the Persian and Parthian kings. The genuine orthography of the name seems to be Agbatana. The ruins seen at the modern Hamadan are generally supposed to represent those of the ancient Ecbatana; but it is most probable that at different times, if not contemporaneously, there were several cities of this name in Media. 
241 Pliny in this statement, as also in the distances which he here assigns to Ecbatana, is supposed to have confounded Ecbatana with Europus, now Veramin, rebuilt by Seleucus Nicator. 
242 This was a city in the vicinity of Rhagæ, which was distant about 500 stadia from the Caspian Gates. It was built by the Greeks after the Macedonian conquest of Asia. The other places here mentioned do not appear to have been identified. 
243 See the beginning of c. 12, p. 21. 
244 This was the name of the wild tribes which occupied the high mountainous district between the great upland of Persia and the low plains of Mesopotamia. In addition to the name mentioned by Pliny, they were called Gordyæ, Cardaces, and Curtii. The present Kurds, inhabiting Kurdistan, are supposed to be descended from them. 
245 The Greek par' hodon, "on the road"--meaning, probably, to the Caspian Gates. Hardouin says that the Pratitæ were so called from the Greek pratitai, "merchants." 
246 Although dwelling at a considerable distance, the custody of these gates was delivered to them, Hardouin says, by the kings of Media. 
247 To the south-east of them. 
248 Mentioned in c. 29 of the present Book. 
249 Or Choarene. 
250 Its site is unknown; but it is mentioned by Appian as one of the many towns erected by Seleucus. 
251 By the use of the word "quondam," he implies that in his time it was in ruins. 
252 A place of considerable importance, which seems to have derived its name from its "hundred gates." It was one of the capitals of the Arsacidan princes; but, extensive though it may have been, there is great doubt where it was situate, the distance recorded by ancient writers not corresponding with any known ruins. 
253 In a northern direction, along the western shores of the Caspian. 
254 According to Hardouin, Eratosthenes, as quoted by Strabo, makes the distance 5060 stadia, or about 633 miles. He has, however, mistranslated the passage, which gives 5600 stadia, or 700 miles exactly, as stated by Pliny. 
255 Or 1960 miles. 
256 Bactra, Bactrum, or Bactrium, was one of the chief cities, if not the capital, of the province of Bactriana. It was one of the most ancient cities in the world, and the modern Balkh is generally supposed to occupy its site. Strabo, as well as Pliny, evidently considers that Bactra and Zareispa were the same place, while Appian distinguishes between the two, though he does not clearly state their relative positions. 
257 The modern Syr-Daria, mentioned in c. 15. See p. 25. 
258 By some writers called Apavareticene, in the south-eastern part of Parthia. Ansart says that it is now known as Asterabad and Ghilan. 
259 Or Dara. A strongly fortified place, built by Arsaces I., and situate on the mountains of the Zapaorteni. 
260 According to Ansart, the district now known as Tabaristan, or Mazanderan, derives the first of those names from the Tapyri. 
261 D'Anville remarks that this river still retains its "starry" name, being the modern Aster or Ester, on which Asterabad is situate. 
262 This district occupied the southern part of modern Khiva, the southwestern part of Bokhara, and the north-eastern part of Khorassan. This province of the ancient Persian empire received its name from the river Margus, now the Moorghab. It first became known to the Greeks by the expeditions of Alexander and Antiochus I. 
263 Antiochus Soter, the son of Seleucus Nicator. 
264 The meaning of this, which has caused great diversity of opinion among the Commentators, seems to be, that on rebuilding it, he preferred giving it a name borne by several cities in Syria, and given to them in honour of kings of that country. To this he appears to have been prompted by a supposed resemblance which its site on the Margus bore to that of Antiochia on the Orontes. 
265 The modern Moorghab; it loses itself in the sands of Khiva. 
266 Its remains are supposed to be those of an ancient city, still to be seen at a spot called Merv, on the river Moorghab. 
267 The people of modern Bokhara. 
268 This appears to mean the nations of "Chariot horse-breeders." 
269 In former editions, called the 'Gridinus.' It is impossible to identify many of these nations and rivers, as the spelling varies considerably in the respective MSS. 
270 An extensive tribe of Sogdiana, now represented by the district of Khawarezm, in the desert country of Khiva. 
271 A tribe in the north-western part of Sogdiana. They appear to have been situate to the east of the district of Khawarezm. It has been suggested that they derived their name from the Sanscrit Gandharas, a tribe beyond the Indus. 
272 The chief seat of the Aorsi, who appear to have been a numerous and powerful people both of Europe and Asia, was in the country between the Tanais, the Euxine, the Caspian, and the Caucasus. It seems doubtful, however, whether it is these people who are alluded to in the present passage. 
273 These would almost seem to be a different people from those mentioned in c. 15 of the present Book, as dwelling in Atropatene. The present appears to have been a tribe of Sogdiana. 
274 Strabo mentions a town of this name, which he places, together with Apamea, in the direction of Rhagæ. If Pliny has observed anything like order in his recital of nations and places, the Heraclea here mentioned cannot be that spoken of by Strabo, but must have been distant nearly 1000 miles from it. 
275 This was a tribe, apparently of Scythian origin, settled in Margiana, on the left bank of the Oxus. Strabo says that they worshipped the earth, and forbore to sacrifice or slay any female; but that they put to death their fellow-creatures as soon as they had passed their seventieth year, it being the privilege of the next of kin to eat the flesh of the deceased person. The aged women, however, they used to strangle, and then consign them to the earth. 
276 The modern Jihoun or Amou. It now flows into the Sea of Aral, but the ancients universally speak of it as running into the Caspian; and there are still existing distinct traces of a channel extending in a southwesterly direction from the sea of Aral to the Caspian, by which at least a portion, and probably the whole of the waters of the Oxus found their way. into the Caspian; and not improbably the Sea of Aral itself was connected with the Caspian by this channel. 
277 Most probably under this name he means the Sea of Aral. 
278 The Bactrus. This river is supposed to be represented by the modern Dakash. Hardouin says that Ptolemy, B. vi. c. 11, calls this river the Zariaspis, or Zariaspes. See the Note at the end of c, 17, p. 30. 
279 Now known as the Hindoo-Koosh; a part of the great mountainchain which runs from west to east through the centre of the southern portion of the highlands of Central Asia, and so divides the part of the continent which slopes down to the Indian ocean from the great central table-land of Tartary and Thibet. The native term, Hindoo-Koosh, is only a form of the ancient name "Indicus Caucasus," which was sometimes given to this chain. The ancient name was derived probably from the Persian word paru,a "mountain." 
280 Flowing from the north side of the Paropanisus. According to Pliny and Ptolemy, this river flowed through Bactria into the Oxus; but ac- cording to Strabo, through Iyrcania into the Caspian Sea. Some suppose it to have been only another name for the Oxus. Ansart suggests that it may have been the river now known as the Bash. 
281 D'Anville says that there is still the valley of Al Sogd, in Tartary, beyond the Oxus. The district called Sogdiana was probably composed of parts of modern Turkistan and Bokhara. The site of Panda does not appear to be known. 
282 It was built on the Jaxartes, to mark the furthest point reached by Alexander in his Scythian expedition. It has been suggested that the modern Kokend may possibly occupy its site. 
283 The "twin," of the same birth with Diana. 
284 The Sacæ probably formed one of the most numerous and most powerful of the Scythian Nomad tribes, and dwelt to the east and north-east of the Massagetæ, as far as Servia, in the steppes of Central Asia, which are now peopled by the Kirghiz Cossacks, in whose name that of their ancestors, the Sacæ, is traced by some geographers. 
285 Meaning the "Great Getæ." They dwelt beyond the Jaxartes and the Sea of Aral, and their country corresponds to that of the Khirghiz Tartars in the north of Independent Tartary. 
286 The Dahæ were a numerous and warlike Nomad tribe, who wandered over the vast steppes lying to the east of the Caspian Sea. Strabo has grouped them with the Sacæ and Massagetæ, as the great Scythian tribes of Inner Asia, to the north of Bactriana. 
287 See also B. iv. c. 20, and B. vi. c. 7. The position of the Essedones, or perhaps more correctly, the Issedones, may probably be assigned to the east of Ichim, in the steppes of the central border of the Kirghiz, in the immediate vicinity of the Arimaspi, who dwelt on the northern declivity of the Altaï chain. A communication is supposed to have been carried on between these two peoples for the exchange of the gold that was the produce of those mountain districts. 
288 They dwelt, according to Ptolemy, along the southern banks of the Jaxartes. 
289 Or the Mardi, a warlike Asiatic tribe. Stephanus Byzantinus, following Strabo, places the Amardi near the Hyrcani, and adds, "There are also Persian Mardi, without the a;" and, speaking of the Mardi, he mentions them as an Hyrcanian tribe, of predatory habits, and skilled in archery. 
290 D'Anville supposes that the Euchatæ may have dwelt at the modern Koten, in Little Bukharia. It is suggested, however, by Parisot, that they may have possibly occupied a valley of the Himalaya, in the midst of a country known as "Cathai," or the "desert." 
291 The first extant notice of them is in Herodotus; but before him there was the poem of Aristeas of Proconnesus, of which the title was 'Arimaspea;' and it is mainly upon the statements in it that the stories told relative to this people rest--such as their being one-eyed, and as to their stealing the gold from the Gryphes, or Griffins, under whose custody it was placed. Their locality is by some supposed to have been on the left bank of the Middle Volga, in the governments of Kasan, Simbirsk, and Saratov: a locality which is sufficiently near the gold districts of the Uralian chain to account for the legends connecting them with the Gryphes, or guardians of the gold. 
292 The former reading was, "The Napæi are said to have perished as well as the Apellæi." Sillig has, however, in all probability, restored the correct one. "Finding," he says, "in the work of Diodorus Siculus, that two peoples of Scythia were called, from their two kings, who were brothers, the Napi and the Pali, we have followed close upon the footsteps of certain MSS. of Pliny, and have come to the conclusion that some disputes arose between these peoples, which ultimately led to the destruction of one of them." 
293 Of the Caspian Sea. 
294 Said on the supposition that it is a bay or gulf of the Scythian or Septentrional Ocean. 
295 Ansart suggests that this is the modern Rocsha. 
296 From the Oxus. 
297 Ansart suggests that this island is that now called Idak, one of the Ogurtchinski group. 
298 This would apply to the north-eastern coasts of Siberia, if Pliny had had any idea of land situate in such high latitudes; but, on the contrary, as already remarked, he appears to have supposed that the continent of Asia terminated a little above the northern extremity of the Caspian. It would be a loss of time to guess what locality is meant by the Scythian Promontory. 
299 Or "man-eaters." 
300 This, it would appear, he looks upon as the extreme north-eastern point of Asia. Parisot suggests that the word Tabis is allied to the Mongol Daba, which signifies "mountain;" or else that it may have some affinity with Thibet." 
301 The people of Serica, which country with Ptolemy corresponds to the north-western part of China, and the adjacent portions of Tibet and Chinese Tartary. The capital, Sera, is by most supposed to be Singan, on the Hoang-ho, but by some Peking. Pliny evidently refers to the same people, and has some notion of the locality of their country. 
302 This is generally supposed to bear reference to the cloths exported by the Seres, as Serica, and corresponding to our silks. On examination, however, it will appear that he rather refers to some textures of cotton, such as calicos or muslins; it being not unknown to Pliny that silks or bombycina were the produce of the bombyx or silk-worm; see B. xi. c. 22. The use of the word "canities" points strongly to cotton as being the substance meant. 
303 Whether it is silk or cotton that is here referred to, Pliny seems in this passage to allude to some peculiarity in the texture, which was perhaps so close, that when brought to the Western world it was the custom to draw out a portion of tie threads. In such case it perhaps strongly resembled the Chinese crapes of the present day. Speaking of Cleopatra in B. x. 141, of the Pharsalia, Lucan says, "Her white breasts are resplendent through the Sidonian fabric, which, wrought in close texture by the sley of the Seres, the needle of the workman of the Nile has separated, and has loosened the warp by stretching out the web." 
304 He either refers to dresses consisting of nothing but open work, or what we may call fine lace, and made from the closely woven material imported from China, or else to the 'Coan vestments' which were so much worn by the Roman women, especially those of light character, in the Augustan age. This Coan tissue was remarkable for its extreme transparency. It has been supposed that these dresses were made of silk, as in the island of Cos silk was spun and woven at an early period, so much so as to obtain a high celebrity for the manufactures of that island. Seneca, B. vii. De Benef. severely censures the practice of wearing these thin garments. For further information on this subject, see B. xi. c. 26, 27, and B. xii. c. 22. 
305 Meaning that they do not actively seek intercourse with the rest of the world, but do not refuse to trade with those who will take the trouble of resorting to them. This coincides wonderfully with the character of the Chinese even at the present day. 
306 Ptolemy speaks of it as the Œchordas. 
307 The headland of Malacca, in the Aurea Chersonnesns, was also called by this name, but it is hardly probable that that is the place here meant. 
308 See B. iv. c. 18. 
309 The Emodi Montes (so called probably from the Indian hemâdri, or the "golden") are supposed to have formed that portion of the great lateral branch of the Indian Caucasus, the range of the Himalaya, which extends along Nepaul, and probably as far as Bhotan. 
310 In c. 14 of the present Book. 
311 The whole of this passage seems very intricate, and it is difficult to make sense of it. His meaning, however, is probably this: that the coast of India, running from extreme north-east to south-east, relatively to Greece, the country of Eratosthenes, is exactly opposite to the coast of Gaul, running from extreme north-west to south-west--India thus lying due west of Gaul, without any intervening land. This, it will be remembered, was the notion of Columbus, when contemplating the possibility of a western passage to India. 
312 This appears also to be somewhat obscure. It is clear that if India lies to the west of Gaul, it cannot be Pliny's meaning that it is refreshed by the west wind blowing to it from Gaul. He may possibly mean that the west wind, which is so refreshing to the west of Europe, and Gaul in particular, first sweeps over India, and thus becomes productive of that salubrity which Posidonius seems to have discovered in India, but for which we look in vain at the present day. Amid, however, such multiplied chances of a corrupt text, it is impossible to assume any very definite position as to his probable meaning. The French translators offer no assistance in solving the difficulty, and Holland renders it, "This west wind which from behind Gaul bloweth upon India, is very healthsome," &c. 
313 As to the Etesian winds, see 1. ii. c. 48. 
314 In the geographical work which Patrocles seems to have published, he is supposed to have given some account of the countries bordering on the Caspian Sea, and there is little doubt that, like other writers of that period, he regarded that sea as a gulf or inlet of the Septentrional Ocean, and probably maintained the possibility of sailing thither by sea from the Indian Ocean. This statement, however, seems to have been strangely misinterpreted by Pliny in his present assertion, that Patrocles had himself accomplished this circumnavigation. 
315 See B. v. c. 36. 
316 Or Bacchus. 
317 Or seventy-five miles. 
318 This is the statement of Arrian. 
319 Among the lost works of that philosopher. 
320 In c. 17 of the present Book. 
321 See c. 25 of the present Book. 
322 See c. 25 of the present Book. 
323 See c. 25 of the present Book. 
324 A town placed by Strabo on the confines of Bactriana, and by Ptolemy in the county of the Paropanisidæ. 
325 See c. 25 of the present Book. 
326 See c. 24 of the present Book. 
327 The present Attok, according to D'Anville. 
328 One of the principal rivers of that part of India known as the Punjaub. It rises in the north-western Himalayah mountains in Kashmere, and after flowing nearly south, falls into the Acesines or Chenab. Its present most usual name is the Jhelum. 
329 The most eastern, and most important of the five rivers which water the country of the Punjaub. Rising in the western Himalaya, it flows in two principal branches, in a course nearly south-west (under the names respectively of Vipasa and Satadru), which it retains till it falls into the Indus at Mittimkote. It is best known, however, by its modern name of Sutlej, probably a corrupt form of the Sanscrit Satadru. 
330 See c. 18 of the present Book. The altars there spoken of, as consecrated by Alexander the Great, appear to have been erected in Sogdiana, whereas those here mentioned were dedicated in the Indian territory. 
331 It does not appear that this river has been identified. In most of the editions it is called Hesidrus; but, as Sillig observes, there was a town of India, near the Indus, called Sydros, which probably received its name from this river. 
332 It has been suggested that this place is the modern Kanouge, on the Ganges. 
333 The modern Jumna. It must be borne in mind by the reader, that the numbers given in this Chapter vary considerably in the different MSS. 
334 See the next Chapter. 
335 The Sanscrit for "snowy" is "himrarat." The name of Emodus, combined with Imaiis, seems here to be a description of the knot of mountains formed by the intersections of the Himalaya, the Hindoo Koosh, and the Bolor range; the latter having been for many ages the boundary between the empires of China and Turkistan. It is pretty clear, that, like Ptolemy, Pliny imagined that the Imaiis ran from south to north; but it seems hardly necessary, in this instance at least, to give to the word "promontorium" the meaning attached to our word "promontory," and to suppose that he implies that the range of the Imaüs runs down to the verge of the eastern ocean. 
336 A name evidently given to numerous tribes of India, from the circumstance that Alexander and his followers found it borne by the Brahmins or priestly caste of the Hindoos. 
337 Still called the Cane, a navigable river of India within the Ganges, falling into the Ganges, according to Arrian as well as Pliny, though in reality it falls into the Jumna. 
338 The Calingæ, who are further mentioned in the next Chapter, probably dwelt in the vicinity of the promontory of Calingon, upon which was the town of Dandaguda, mentioned in c. 23 of the present Book. This promontory and city are usually identified with those of Calinapatnam, about half-way between the rivers Mahanuddy and Godavery; and the territory of the Calingæ seems to correspond pretty nearly to the district of Circars, lying along the coast of Orissa. 
339 By the Malli, Parisot is of opinion that the people of Moultan are meant. 
340 So much so, indeed, that its sources were unknown to the learned world till the beginning of the present century, although the Chinese emperor Tang-Hi on one occasion sent a body of Llamas for the purpose of inquiring into the subject. It is now ascertained that the river Ganges is the result of the confluence of three separate streams, which bear the respective names of the Gannavi, the Bhagirathi, and the Alakananda. The second is of the most sacred character, and is the one to which the largest concourse of pilgrims resort. The ancients held various opinions as to the sources of the river. 
341 The Cainas and the Jomanes, mentioned in the last Chapter. 
342 The modern Gandaki or Gundûk is generally supposed to be represented by the Condochates. 
343 Represented as flowing into the Ganges at Palimbothra, the modern Patna. There has been considerable discussion among the learned as to what river is indicated by this name. It has, however, been considered most probable that it is the same as the Sonus of Pliny, the modern Soane, though both that author, as well as Arrian, speaks of two rivers, which they call respectively Erannoboas and Sonus. The name was probably derived from the Sanscrit Hyranyavahas, the poetical name of the Sonus. 
344 Supposed to be the same as the river Cosi or Coravaha. 
345 The wide diffusion of the Calingæ and their close connection with the Gangaridæ, are shown by the fact that Pliny here calls them "Calingæ; Gangarides," and mentions the Modogalingæ on a large island in the Ganges, and the Maccocalingæ on the upper course of that river. See note 43, p. 42. 
346 Called Parthalis in most of the editions. 
347 Or castes, as we call them. These institutions prevail equally at the present day, and the divisions of the duties of the respective castes are pretty much as Pliny states them to be, except that the husbandmen and merchants form one class, called the Vaisya, the Brahmins being the ministers of religion, the Kshatriya forming the warlike class, the Sudra constituting the menial or servant class. Pliny here represents the rulers and councillors as forming a distinct class. Such, however, does not appear to be the fact; for we find that the sovereign is chosen from the Kshatriya or military class, while from the Brahmins are selected the royal councillors, judges, and magistrates of the country. 
348 He alludes to the Brahmins, who seem to have been called by the Greek writers "Gymnosophists," or "naked wise men." The Brahmin Calanus is a memorable example of this kind of self-immolation. 
349 It is extremely doubtful if, even in his own day, Pliny was correct in venturing upon so sweeping an assertion. 
350 The Sudra or menial caste. 
351 He is incorrect here; these duties devolve on the Vaisya class. 
352 Inhabited, probably, by a branch of the Calingæ previously mentioned. 
353 Ansart suggests that this may be the modern kingdom of Pegu. He thinks also that the preceding kingdom may be that now called Arracan. 
354 These may possibly be the Daradræ of Ptolemy, but it seems impossible to guess their locality. 
355 Probably the present Patna. D'Anville, however, identifies it with Allahabad, while Welford and Wahl are inclined to think it the same as Radjeurah, formerly called Balipoutra or Bengala. The Prasii are probably the race of people mentioned in the ancient Sanscrit books under the name of the "Pragi" or the Eastern Empire, while the Gangarides are mentioned in the same works under the name of "Gandaressa" or Kingdom of the Ganges. 
356 Hardouin is of opinion that these nations dwelt in the localities occupied by the districts of Gwalior and Agra. 
357 The Septentriones or "Seven Trions," in the original. Parisot is of opinion that under this name of Mount Maleus he alludes to the Western Ghauts, and that the name still survives in the word Malabar. He also remarks that this statement of Pliny is not greatly exaggerated. 
358 Ansart says that this is the same as the modern town of Muttra or Matra upon the Jumna, and to the north of Agra. 
359 Or Clisobora, according to Hardouin. It does not appear to have been identified. 
360 In the Indian Peninsula, constituting more especially the presidency of Madras. 
361 It is clear that he looks upon the countries of the Indus as lying to the south of the Ganges. 
362 Or Hindoo Koosh. In this statement he is supported by Arrian, Strabo, Mela, and Quintus Curtius. It rises, however, a considerable distance on the north-east side of the Himalaya. 
363 The modern Jhelum. 
364 Some writers suppose that this must be the same as the Hydraotes, or modern Ravi, because the latter is not otherwise found mentioned in the list given by Pliny. The name, however, leaves but little doubt that Pliny had heard of the Acesines under its Indian name of Chandabragha, and out of it has made another river. 
365 The modern Sutlej. 
366 Probably in the vicinity of the modern Calingapatam; none of the other places seem to be identified. 
367 Ansart suggests that the Cesi may be the same race as the modern Sikhs. 
368 Perhaps the people of modern Ajmere. 
369 These peoples are supposed by Hardouin to have occupied the southern parts of the peninsula now known as Bisnagar, Calicut, and the Deccan, with the Malabar and Coromandel coasts. 
370 Hardouin suggests that this people dwelt on the present peninsula of Guzerat. 
371 None of these appear to have been identified; indeed, it appears to be next to impossible, owing to the corrupt state in which they have come down to us. 
372 Built on the Hydaspes by Alexander after his victory over Porus, B. C. 326, at the spot where he had crossed the river before the battle, and in memory of his celebrated charger Bucephalus, who had expired during the battle from fatigue and old age, or from wounds. The exact site of this place is not known, but the probabilities appear in favour of Jhelum, at which place is the usual passage of the river, or else of Jellapoor, about sixteen miles lower down. 78 Probably the same that is mentioned in c. 21 of the present Book. 
373 Parisot supposes that these were the inhabitants of the district which now bears the name of Pekheli. 
374 Gedrosia comprehended probably the same district as is now known by the name of Mekran, or, according to some, the whole of modern Beloochistan. 
375 The people of the city and district of Arachotus, the capital of Ara- ehosia. M. Court has identified some ruins on the Argasan river, near Kandahar, on the road to Shikarpur, with those of Arachotus; but Professor Wilson considers them to be too much to the south-east. Colonel Rawlinson thinks they are those to be seen at a place called Ulan Robat. He states that the most ancient name of the city, Cophen, (mentioned by Pliny in c. 25 of the present Book), has given rise to the territorial desig- nation. See p. 57. 
376 The people of Aria, consisting of the eastern part of Khorassan, and the western and north-western part of Afghanistan. This was one of the most important of the eastern provinces or satrapies of the Persian empire. 
377 This was the collective name of several peoples dwelling on the southern slopes of the Hindoo Koosh, and of the country which they inhabited which was not known by any other name. It corresponded to the eastern part of modern Afghanistan and the portion of the Punjaub lying to the west of the Indus. 
378 It is supposed that the Cophes is represented by the modern river of Kabul. 
379 The place here alluded to was in the district of Goryræa, at the north-western corner of the Punjaub, near the confluence of the rivers Cophen and Choaspes being probably the same place as Nagara or Dionysopolis, the modern Nagar or Naggar. 
380 The word mnros, in Greek, signifying a "thigh." 
381 Supposed by some to have been Lower Scinde, and the vicinity of Kurrachee, with its capital Potala. 
382 Ansart suggests that these may be the Laccadives. Their name means the "gold" and "silver" islands. 
383 Probably an island near the mouths of the Indus. 
384 Probably the same as the Bibacta of Arrian. The present name of it is Chilney Isle. 
385 Although Poinsinet will not admit its identity, it is now universally agreed among the learned that the island of Taprobana is the modern Ceylon. As Gosselin observes, in the accounts said to have been given of Ceylon by the ambassadors to Claudius, great allowance must be made for the wrong interpretation which, owing to their ignorance of the language, the Romans must have given to much of their narrative. 
386 From anti, "opposite," and chthôn, "the earth." Its people being supposed to be the antipodes of those of Europe. 
387 "The ancient race." As Ansart observes, the island contains a mountain, the name of which is "Adam's" Peak. 
388 Ælian makes the villages to be 750 in number. 
389 A general term probably, as already stated, for the great peninsula of India, below the Ganges. 
390 This expression has been relied upon by those who do not admit that Ceylon is identical with the ancient Taprobana. But it is not improbable that the passage here referred to is from Cape Comorin to Ceylon, and not from Cape Ramanan Cor, the nearest part of the continent. In such case, the distance would be sixty-five or sixty-six leagues, and we can easily conceive that Greek vessels, sailing from nine to ten leagues per day, might occupy seven days in making the passage from Cape Comorin, past Ramanan Cor, to the coasts of Ceylon. 
391 The amphora, as a measure, contained eight congii, or forty-eight sextarii. 
392 Or "Septentrio;" "the Seven Trions," which was more especially employed by the nations of Europe for the purposes of navigation. 
393 Parisot suggests that the word "Radijah," or "Rajah," denoting the rank which he held, may have been here taken by Pliny for his name. 
394 Ptolemy says that the ancient name of the island was Simundi, or Palæsimundi, but speaks of no such city as the one here mentioned, nor indeed of any other of the localities described by Pliny. 
395 It is difficult to say whether by this name is meant the modern Cape Comorin, or that known as Ramanan Cor, which is in reality the nearest point to the coast of Ceylon. Perhaps the latter is meant; in which case it is not improbable that the Island of the Sun will be represented by the islet called Rameserum in the maps, or else the one adjoining called Manaar. It must not be confounded with the Island of the Sun, mentioned in c. 26. See p. 60. 
396 It is not improbable that he alludes to coral reefs. 
397 This assertion Gosselin would either reject as a fabulous falsehood, or as having originated in some misconception on the part of the Romans; for, as he remarks, it is quite impossible that the Pleiades should be a constellation unknown at that time to the people of Ceylon; but, on the other hand, it would be equally true that the Greater Bear was concealed from them. 
398 This was also a fable, or else originated in misapprehension of their language on the part of the Romans. 
399 Gosselin remarks that their story may have been that for about seven months in the year the shadows fell to the north, and during the remaining five to the south, which would not have been inconsistent with the truth. 
400 This also is classed by Gosselin under the head either of fabulous stories or misapprehensions. 
401 "Scras--ab ipsis aspici." It is difficult to say whether this does not mean that they were in sight of the coast of the Seræ.-Under any circumstances, the Seræ here spoken of must not be taken for the Seres or supposed Chinese. Gosselin remarks that under this name the people of a district called Sera are probably referred to, and that in fact such is the name of a city and a whole province at the present day, situate on the opposite coast, beyond the mountains which terminate the plains of the Carnatic. It is equally impossible that under the name of "Emodi" Pliny can allude to the Himalaya chain, distant more than 2000 miles. The mountains, on the verge of the plains of the Carnatic, are not improbably those here referred to, and it is not impossible that they may be discerned from the shores of Ceylon. Gosselin is of opinion that the name of the ancient Seræ may still be traced in that of Seringapatam, and of the city of Seringham, situate on the river Godavery. 
402 Relative to the Seræ, or inhabitants of the opposite shores. 
403 Or "Bacchus." This means that he wears a long robe with a train; much like the dress, in fact, which was worn on the stage by tragic actors. 
404 "Festa venatione absumi, gratissimam earn tigribus elephantisque constare." Holland gives this sentence quite a different meaning, fancying that it bears reference to the mode in which the guilty king comes to his end, which, indeed, otherwise does not appear to be stated. "But to doe him to death in the end, they appoint a solemne day of hunting, right pleasant and agreable unto tigres and elephants, before which beasts they expose their king, and so he is presently by them devoured." It is difficult to say, however, where he finds all this. 
405 It is much more probable that they used the shells for the purpose of making roofs for their habitations. 
406 Mentioned already, towards the conclusion of c. 23 of the present Book. See p. 51. 
407 This place was included in the district of the Paropanisus or Hindoo Koosh. It is doubtful whether Pliny is correct in saying that it was destroyed by Cyrus, as we have no reason for supposing that he ever advanced so far to the north-east. It is supposed by some that Capisene represents the valley of the Kabul river, and Capisa the town on the Indus, now known as Peshawar. Lassen, in his researches, has found in the Chinese annals a kingdom called Kiapiche, in the valley of Ghurbend, to the east of Bamian. It is not improbable that Capisa and Kiapiche were different forms of the same name. 
408 See the Notes in p. 50. 
409 The principal river of Drangiana, which rises in the lower range of the Paropanisus or Hindoo Koosh, and enters Lake Zarah. Its present name is Ilmend or Helmend. Burnouf has supposed it to be the same as the Arachotus; but Professor Wilson is of opinion that the Arachotus was one of the tributaries of the Erymanthus or Erymandrus, and probably the modern Arkand-Ab. 
410 Parisot takes the meaning of this word to be "valley," and is of opinion that it is the modern Chabul; not to be confounded, however, with the country of Cabul, to the east of which it is situate. 
411 Now called Birusen, according to Parisot, and not the city of Cabul, as supposed by Hardouin. 
412 Or the "four-cornered city." 
413 This place has not been identified. It has been suggested that it is the same as the modern city of Candahar; but that was really Alexandria of the Paropanisadæ, quite a different place. 
414 Inhabiting the district now called Arassen, according to Parisot. 
415 Inhabiting the modern Danra, according to Parisot. 
416 Inhabitants of the modern Parasan, according to Parisot. 
417 The modern Candahar is generally supposed to occupy its site. 
418 Pliny is thought to have here confounded the extensive district of Ariana with the smaller province of Aria, which only formed a portion of it. Ariana comprehended nearly the whole of what had been previously ancient Persia 
419 The river known in modern times as the Ilincut, according to Parisot. 
420 This is supposed by Forbiger to be the modern Arghasan, one of the tributaries of the Helmend. Parisot says that it was the same as the modern Sat. 
421 27 Supposed to be the same as the "Aria civitas," or "city of Aria" of other authors, which, however, is most probably represented by Alexandria, the modern Herat, situate on the small stream now called the Heri-Rud. At all events, Artacoana (proved by M. Court to be a word of Persian origin --Arde Koun) was, if not the same place, at a very small distance from it. M. Barbie de Bocage is of opinion that it occupied the site of Fushing, a town on the Heri river, one stage from Herat; and by M. Court it is thought to have been at Obeh, near the same place. 
422 Now called the Heri-Rud, which runs to the west of Herat. 
423 It is said that, judging from a traditional verse still current among the people of Herat, that town is believed to unite the claims of the ancient capital built by Alexander the Great, or indeed, more properly, repaired by him, as he was but a short time in Aria. The distance also from the Caspian Gates to Alexandria favours its identification with the modern Herat. 
424 This place does not appear to have been identified. 
425 Ansart suggests that the river Pharnacotis is the same as the modern Ferrichround, and the Ophradus probably the Kouchround. 
426 Ansart suggests that the modern name is Zarang. Parisot says that it is Corcharistan. 
427 The inhabitants of Drangiana, a district at the eastern end of the modern kingdom of Persia, and comprehending part of the present Sejestan or Seistan. 
428 They gave its name to the modern Eudras, according to Parisot. 
429 It is doubtful whether these are the same as the Gedrosi, mentioned by Pliny in c. 23, 24. Parisot censures Hardouin for confounding them, and says that these inhabited the modern Bassar. In Dr. Smith's Dic- tionary, they are looked upon as the same people. 
430 Parisot says that this is the desert region now known as Eremaier, to the east of Mount Maugracot. 
431 As Parisot remarks, our author is now approaching the sea-shore; these places, however, do not appear to have been identified. 
432 Not the same as the river Cophen or Cophes mentioned in c. 24, the modern Kabul. Hardouin takes it to be the same as the Arbis or Arabius of Ptolemy, the modern Hilmend or Ilmend. 
433 Parisot seems to think that the modern names of these rivers are the Sal, the Ghir, and the Ilmentel, which, according to him, flow into the Ilmend. 
434 Situate, according to Ptolemy, in the eastern parts of Media. 
435 For this measurement see c. 21. 
436 Meaning the "Fish-eating Mountaineers." According to Parisot they occupied the site of the modern Dulcidan, and Goadel, which are bounded by mountains, whence the name. 
437 Not only the Oritæ, but all those mentioned in the following Chapter. For further particulars as to the Ichthyophagi, see B. vii. c. 2. 
438 See the Notes at the end of this Book. 
439 By descending the Indus, and going up the Persian Gulf. 
440 Near the mouth of the Indus, Hardouin says. 
441 One of Alexander's most distinguished officers, and a native of Pella. He commanded the division of cavalry and light-armed troops which ac- companied the fleet of Alexander down the Indus, along the right bank of the river. The Alexandria here mentioned does not appear to have been identified. It is not to be confounded with Alexandria in Arachosia, nor yet with a place of the same name in Carmania, the modern Kerman. 
442 A river Tomerus is spoken of by Arrian as lying between the Indus and the river Arabis or Arbis. 
443 They seem to have dwelt along the shores of the modern Mukran, south of Beloochistan, and probably part of Kerman. 
444 Called Nosala by Arrian. Ansart suggests that it is the island now known by the name of Sengadip. It lay probably off the promontory or headland of the Sun, on the eastern coast of Arabia. 
445 Mela suggests the reason, but gives to the island a different locality-- "over against the mouth of the Indus." He says that the air of the island is of such a nature as to take away life instantaneously, and appears to imply that the heat is the cause. 
446 Possibly that now known as the Rud Shur. 
447 Properly the "Seven Trions." 
448 The Persian kings, descendants of Achæmenes. He was said to have been reared by an eagle. 
449 Called the Promontory of Harmozon by Strabo. Hardouin says that the modern name is Cape Jash, but recent writers suggest that it is represented by the modern Cape Bombaruk, nearly opposite Cape Mussendom. 
450 Perhaps the modern Kishon, at the entrance of the Persian Gulf; or that may be one of the four islands next mentioned. 
451 The story of Pontoppidan's Kraken or Korven, the serpent of the Norwegian Seas, is as old as Pliny, we find, and he derived his information from older works. 
452 Forbiger has suggested that this may be the same as the modern Djayrah. 
453 Mentioned again in c. 29 of the present Book. Its modern name is Pasa or Fasa-Kuri, according to Parisot. 
454 Supposed to be the stream called by D'Anville and Thevenot the Boschavir, the river of Abushir or Busheer. 
455 A river of ancient Susiana, the present name of which is Karun. Pliny states, in c. 31 of the present Book, that the Eulæus flowed round the citadel of Susa; he mistakes it, however, for the Coprates, or, more strictly speaking, for a small stream now called the Shapúr river, the ancient name of which has not been preserved. He is also in error, most probably, in making the river Eulæus flow through Messabatene, it being most likely the present Mah-Sabaden, in Laristan, which is drained by the Kerkbah, the ancient Choaspes, and not by the Eulæus. 
456 Called, for the sake of distinction, Charax Spasinu, originally founded by Alexander the Great. It was afterwards destroyed by a flood, and rebuilt by Antiochus Epiphanes, under the name of Antiochia. It is mentioned in c. 31. 
457 The Shushan of Scripture, now called Shu. It was the winter residence of the kings of Persia, and stood in the district Cersia of the province Susiana, on the eastern bank of the river Choaspes. The site of Sisa is now marked by extensive mounds. 
458 The island of Patala or Patale, previously mentioned in c. 23. 
459 Most probably the Cape Ras-el-Bad, the most easterly peninsula of Arabia. 
460 35,000,000 francs, according to Ansart, which would amount to £1,400,000 of our money. 
461 Pliny is the only writer that mentions this place among the towns of Lower Egypt. Some suppose it to have been Nicopolis, or the City of Victory, founded by Augustus B.C. 29, partly to commemorate the reduction of Egypt to a Roman province, and partly to punish the Alexandrians for their adhesion to the cause of Antony and Cleopatra. Mannert, however, looks upon it as having been merely that suburb of Alexandria which Strabo (B. xvii.) calls Eleusis. 
462 From the Greek hudreuma, a "watering-place." 
463 From Coptos, the modern Kouft or Keft. Ptolemy Philadelphus, when he constructed the port of Berenice, erected several caravansaries or watering-places between the new city and Coptos. Coptos was greatly enriched by the commerce between Lybia and Egypt on the one hand, and Arabia and India on the other. 
464 Belzoni found traces of several of the stations here mentioned. The site of Berenice, as ascertained by Moresby and Carless, 1830-3, was nearly at the bottom of the inlet known as the Sinus Immundus, or Foul Bay. Its ruins still exist. 
465 Now called Gehla, a harbour and emporium at the south-western point of Arabia Felix. 
466 An emporium or promontory on the southern coast of Arabia, in the country of the Adramitæ, and, as Arrian says, the chief port of the increase-bearing country. It has been identified by D'Anville with Cava Canim Bay, near a mountain called Hissan Ghorab, at the base of which there are ruins to be seen. 
467 Probably the modern Mosch, north of Mokha, near the southern extremity of Arabia Felix. 
468 Its ruins are now known as Dhafar. It was one of the chief cities of Arabia, standing near the southern coast of Arabia Felix, opposite the modern Cape Guardafui. 
469 Or Favonius, the west wind, previously mentioned in the present Chapter. 
470 The modern Mangalore, according to Du Bocage. 
471 Or canoes. 
472 The Cottiara of Ptolemy, who makes it the chief city of the Æi, a tribe who occupied the lower part of the peninsula of Hindostan. It has been supposed to be represented by the modern Calicut or Travancore. Cochin, however, appears to be the most likely. 
473 Marcus observes that we may conclude that either Pliny or the author from whom he transcribed, wrote this between the years of the Christian era 48 and 51; for that the coincidence of the 6th of the month Mechir with the Ides of January, could not have taken place in any other year than those on which the first day of Thoth or the beginning of the year fell on the 11th of August, which happened in the years 48, 49, 50, and 51 of the Christian era. 
474 An extensive province of Asia, along the northern shores of the Persian Gulf, supposed to have comprehended the coast-line of the modern Laristan, Kirman, and Moghostan. 
475 Ptolemy mentions an inland town of Carmania of the same name. 
476 Supposed to be that known now as the Ibrahim Rud, which falls into the Persian Gulf. 
477 These sites are unknown. 
478 Forms two bays or gulfs in succession. 
479 He gives this name to the whole expanse of sea that lies between Arabia and Africa on the west, and India on the east, including the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. 
480 Or Erythrus. In all probability entirely a mythical personage. The sea having been called in Greek eruthraia, or "red"--the legend most probably thence took its rise. No very satisfactory reason has vet been given for its being so called. The Hebrew name of it signifies the "Sedgy Sea." 
481 From Azania in Æthiopia, mentioned again in c. 34 of the present Book. 
482 The maps appear to make it considerably more. 
483 The only feature of resemblance appears to be its comparative narrowness at the neck. 
484 Or "turtle-eaters." 
485 Different probably from the Cophis mentioned in c. 25, which was also called Arabius or Arbis, and probably represented by the modern Purali. 
486 Of Harmozon, probably the modern Bombareek. 
487 Their district is supposed to denote the vicinity of the modern Ormuz, an island off this coast, which is now known as Moghostan. 
488 Taking their name probably from the river Arbis, previously men- tioned. 
489 The "Port of the Macedonians." 
490 Now the Tab, falling into the Persian Gulf. 
491 A district of Susiana, extending from the river Euleus on the west, to the Oratis on the east, deriving its name perhaps from the Elymæi, or Elymi, a warlike people found in the mountains of Greater Media. In the Old Testament this country is called Elam. 
492 Ptolemy says that this last bore the name of "Alexander's Island." 
493 Persis was more properly a portion only or province of the ancient kingdom of Persia. It gave name to the extensive Medo-Persian kingdom under Cyrus, the founder of the Persian empire, B.C. B.C. 559. 
494 The Parthi originally inhabited the country south-east of the Caspian, now Khorassan. Under Arsaces and his descendants, Persis and the other provinces of ancient Persia became absorbed in the great Parthian empire. Parthia, with the Chorasmii, Sogdii, and Arii, formed the sixteenth satrapy under the Persian empire. See c. 16 of this Book. 
495 The provinces of Parthia have been already mentioned in detail in the preceding Chapters, except Susiana and Elymais, which are mentioned in c. 31. 
496 The original Parthia, the modern Khorassan. 
497 The so-called Caucasian chain. See c. 16 of the present Book. 
498 Or "Wandering Parthians," lying far to the east. 
499 In c. 17 of the present Book. 
500 Not to be confounded with the place in Atropatene, mentioned in c. 21 of the present Book. 
501 It has been supposed that the modern Damgham corresponds with this place, but that is too near the Portæ Caspie. It is considered most probable that the remains of Hecatompylos ought to be sought in the neighbourhood of a place now known as Jah Jirm. It is mentioned in c. 17 and 21 of the present Book. 
502 Media occupied the extreme west of the great table-land of the modern Iran. It corresponded very nearly to the modern province of Irak-Ajemi. 
503 The Upper and the Lower, as already mentioned. 
504 Hardouin suggests that this should be Syrtibolos. His reasons for so thinking will be found alluded to in a note to c. 31. See p. 80, Note 98. 
505 Or the "Great Ladder." The Baron de Bode states, in his Travels in Luristan and Arabistan, that he discovered the remains of a gigantic causeway, in which he had no difficulty in recognizing one of the most ancient and most mysterious monuments of the East. This causeway, which at the present day bears the name of Jaddehi-Atabeg, or the "road of the Atabegs," was looked upon by several historians as one of the wonders of the world, who gave it the name of the Climax Megale or "Great Ladder." At the time even of Alexander the Great the name of its con- structor was unknown. 
506 Which was rebuilt after it was burnt by Alexander, and in the middle ages had the name of Istakhar; it is now called Takhti Jemsheed, the throne of Jemsheed, or Chil-Minar, the Forty Pillars. Its foundation is sometimes ascribed to Cyrus the Great, but more generally to his son, Cambyses. The ruins of this place are very extensive. 
507 Its site is unknown; but Dupinet translates it the "city of Lor." 
508 The older of the two capitals of Persia, Persepolis being the later one. It was said to have been founded by Cyrus the Great, on the spot where he gained his victory over Astyages. Its exact site is doubtful, but most modern geographers identify it with Murghab, to the north-east of Persepolis, where there are the remains of a great sepulchral monument of the ancient Persians, probably the tomb of Cyrus. Others place it at Farsa or at Dorab-Gherd, both to the south-east of Persepolis, the direction mentioned by Strabo, but not in other respects answering his description so well as Murghab. 
509 It is most probable that he does not allude here to the Ecbatana, mentioned in c. 17 of this Book. 
510 There were several mountainous districts called Parætacene in the Persian empire, that being the Greek form of a Persian word signifying "mountainous." 
511 In B. v. c. 21. He returns to the description of Susiana, Elymais, and Characene in c. 31 of the present Book. 
512 The great seat of empire of the Babylonio-Chaldæan kingdom. It either occupied the site, it is supposed, or stood in the immediate vicinity of the tower of Babel. In the reign of Labynedus, Nabonnetus, or Bel- shazzar, it was taken by Cyrus. In the reign of Augustus, a small part only of Babylon was still inhabited, the remainder of the space within the walls being under cultivation. The ruins of Babylon are found to commence a little south of the village of Mohawill, eight miles north of Hillah. 
513 Nineveh. See c. 16 of the present Book. 
514 On the left bank of the Euphrates, opposite to the ford of Zeugma; a fortress of considerable importance. 
515 Its site is unknown. Dupinet confounds it with the place of this name mentioned in the last Chapter, calling them by the name of Lor. 
516 Pliny is wrong in placing Artemita in Mesopotamia. It was a city of Babylonia, in the district of Apolloniatis. The modern Sherbán is supposed to occupy its site. 
517 Burnouf, having found the name of these people, as he supposes, in a cuneiform inscription, written "Ayura," would have them to be called Aroei. The Orei are also mentioned in B. v. c. 20. 
518 This Antioch does not appear to have been identified. 
519 The mountains of the Gordyæi are mentioned in c. 12. 
520 This, as previously mentioned in a Note to c. 16, was the scene of the last great battle between Alexander and Darius, and known as the battle of Arbela. It has been suggested that it may perhaps be represented by a place now called Karnelis. See p. 27. 
521 According to Ansart, now called the Lesser Zab, and by the inhabitants the Altun-su, meaning the "Golden river." 
522 According to Parisot, the modern name is Calicala. 
523 Strabo speaks of the Aborras, or modern Khabur, as flowing in the vicinity of Anthemusia, the district probably in which the town of Anthermis was situate. According to Isidorus of Charax, it lay between Edessa and the Euphrates. Its site does not appear to have been any further identified. It is called Anthemusia in B. v. c. 21. 
524 In B. v. c. 21. 
525 In B. v. c. 21. 
526 In B. v. c. 21. 
527 This canal, leading from the Euphrates to the Tigris, is by some thought, according to Hardouin, to have been the river Chobar, mentioned in Ezekiel, c. i. v. 3. 
528 For Arar-Melik, meaning the "River King," according to Parisot. 
529 As to the identity of this, see a Note at the beginning of this Chapter. 
530 Meaning Jupiter Uranius, or "Heavenly Jupiter," according to Parisot, who observes that Eusebius interprets baal, or bel, "heaven." According to one account, he was the father of king Ninus and son of Nimrod. The Greeks in later times attached to his name many of their legendary fables. 
531 The city of Seleucia ad Tigrin, long the capital of Western Asia, until it was eclipsed by Ctesiphon. Its site has been a matter of considerable discussion, but the most probable opinion is, that it stood on the western bank of the Tigris, to the north of its junction with the royal canal (probably the river Chobar above mentioned), opposite to the mouth of the river Delas or Silla (now Diala), and to the spot where Ctesiphon was afterwards built by the Parthians. It stood a little to the south of the modern city of Baghdad; thus commanding the navigation of the Tigris and Euphrates, and the whole plain formed by those two rivers. 
532 Ammianus, like Pliny, has ascribed its foundation to the Parthians under Varanes, or Vardanes, of whom, however, nothing is known. It stood in the south of Assyria, on the eastern or left bank of the Tigris. Strabo speaks of it as being the winter residence of the Parthian kings, who lived there at that season, owing to the mildness of the climate. In modern times the site of this place has been identified with that called by the Arabs Al Madain, or the "two cities." 
533 Or Vologeses. This was the name of five kings of Parthia, of the race of the Arsacidæ, Arsaces xxiii., xxvii., xxviii., xxix., xxx. It was the first of these monarchs who founded the place here mentioned by Pliny. 
534 Or the "City of Vologesus;" certa being the Armenian for "city." 
535 Nothing appears to be known of this place; but Hardouin thinks that it is the same with one called Maarsares by Ptolemy, and situate on the same river Narraga. 
536 Parisot says that this river is the one set down in the maps as falling into the Tigris below its junction with the Euphrates, and near the mouths of the two rivers. He says that near the banks of it is marked the town of Nabrahan, the Narraga of Pliny. 
537 There is great doubt as to the correct spelling of these names. 
538 Against the attacks of robbers dwelling on the opposite side; the Attali, for instance. 
539 Or "dwellers in tents," Bedouins, as we call them. 
540 B. v. c. 20 and 21 
541 Towards Mahamedieh. 
542 Near Antioch and the Orontes: now Seleukeh, or Kepse, near Suadeiah. 
543 See B. v. c. 13. 
544 The Mediterranean and the Red Sea; the latter including the modern Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. 
545 Forbiger is of opinion that this is the same as the Didigua or Didugua of Ptolemy. It was situate below Alpamea. D'Anville takes it to be the modern Corna. 
546 The modern Turcomania. 
547 Now known as the Plain of Chelat, according to Parisot, extending between Chelat, a city situate on a great lake and the river Rosso, falling into the Caspian Sea. 
548 Called Diglith by Josephus. Hardouin states that in his time the name given to the river by the natives was Daghela. This name is also supposed to be another form of the Hiddekel of Scripture. See Genesis ii. 14. 
549 According to Bochart, this was a corruption of the Eastern name Deghel, from which were derived the forms Deger, Teger, and ultimately Tigris. 
550 Ritter has identified this with the modern lake Nazuk, in Armenia, about thirteen miles in length and five in breadth. The water at the present day is said to be sweet and wholesome. 
551 Seneca, however, in his Quæst. Nat. B. vi., represents the Tigris here as gradually drying up and becoming gradually smaller, till it disappears. 
552 This spot is considered by Parisot to be the modern city of Betlis. 
553 A spot where liquid bitumen or naphtha was found. 
554 Or probably Arzarene, a province of the south of Armenia, situate on the left bank of the Tigris. It derived its name from the lake Arsene, or the town Arzen, situate on this lake. It is comprehended in the modern Pashalik of Dyár Bekr. 
555 Now called the Myrád-chaï. See B. v. c. 24. Ritter considers it to be the southern arm of the Euphrates. 
556 Or Aroei, as Littré suggests. See Note to c. 30 in p. 71. 
557 See c. 17 of the present Book. 
558 The site of this place seems to be unknown. It has been remarked that it is difficult to explain the meaning of this passage of Pliny, or to determine the probable site of Apamea. 
559 Hardouin remarks that this is the right arm of the Tigris, by Stephanus Byzantinus called Delas, and by Eustathius Sylax, which last he prefers. 
560 According to Ammianus, one of the names of Seleucia on the Tigris was Coche. 
561 A river of Susiana, which, after passing Susa, flowed into the Tigris, below its junction with the Euphrates. The indistinctness of the ancient accounts has caused it to be confused with the Eulæus, which flows nearly parallel with it into the Tigris. It is pretty clear that they were not identical. Pliny here states that they were different rivers, but makes the mistake below, of saying that Susa was situate upon the Eulæus, instead of the Choaspes. These errors may be accounted for, it has been suggested, by the fact that there are two considerable rivers which unite at Bund-i- Kir, a little above Ahwaz, and form the ancient Pasitigris or modern Karun. It is supposed that the Karun represents the ancient Eulæus, and the Kerkhah the Choaspes. 
562 In c. 26 of the present Book. The custom of the Persian kings drinking only of the waters of the Eulæus and Choaspes, is mentioned in B. xxxi. c. 21. 
563 Or the country "by the river." 
564 Pliny is the only writer who makes mention of this place. Parisot is of opinion that it is represented by the modern Digil-Ab, on the Tigris, and suggests that Digilath may be the correct reading. 
565 Mentioned in the last Chapter. 
566 Now called the Mountains of Luristan. 
567 The name of the district of Chalonitis is supposed to be still preserved in that of the river of Holwan. Pliny is thought, however, to have been mistaken in placing the district on the river Tigris, as it lay to the east of it, and close to the mountains. 
568 From Arbela, in Assyria, which bordered on it. 
569 A great and populous city of Babylonia, near the Tigris, but not on it, and eight parasangs within the Median wall. The site is that probably now called Eski Baghdad, and marked by a ruin called the Tower of Nimrod. Parisot cautions against confounding it with a place of a similar name, mentioned by Pliny in B. xii. c. 17, a mistake into which, he says, Hardouin has fallen. 
570 Now called Felongia, according to Parisot. Hardouin considers it the same as the Sambana of Diodorus Siculus, which Parisot looks upon as the same as Ambar, to the north of Felongia. 
571 Of this Antiochia nothing appears to be known. By some it has been supposed to be the same with Apollonia, the chief town of the district of Apolloniatis, to the south of the district of Arbela. 
572 Also called the Physcus, the modern Ordoneh, an eastern tributary of the Tigris in Lower Assyria. The town of Opis stood at its junction with the Tigris. 
573 D'Anville supposes that this Apamea was at the point where the Dijeil, now dry, branched off from the Tigris, which bifurcation he places near Samurrah. Lynch, however, has shown that the Dijeil branched off near Jibbarah, a little north of 34° North lat., and thinks that the Dijeil once swept the end of the Median wall, and flowed between it and Jebbarah. Possibly this is the Apamea mentioned by Pliny in c. 27. 
574 The son of Seleucus Nicator. 
575 More to the south, and nearer the sea. 
576 Previously mentioned in c. 26. 
577 A part of Mount Zagrus, previously mentioned, according to Hardouin. 
578 Its site appears to be unknown. According to Stephanus, it was a city of Persia. Forbiger conjectures that it is the same place as Badaca, mentioned by Diodorus Siculus, B. xix. c. 19; but that was probably nearer to Susa. 
579 The buryer excepted, perhaps. 
580 In c. 28 of the present Book. 
581 As mentioned in c. 26 of the present Book, 
582 A warlike tribe on the borders of Susiana and the Greater Media. In character they are thought to have resembled the Bakhtiara tribes, who now roam over the mountains which they formerly inhabited. It has been suggested that their name may possibly be connected with the modern Khuzistan. 
583 Supposed to be the same as the modern Kirmánshah mountains. 
584 As mentioned in a previous Note, (67 in p. 77), Pliny mistakes the Eulæus for the Choaspes. In c. 26 he says that Susa is on the river Tigris. 
585 Pliny says this in B. xxxi. c. 21 of both the Eulæus and the Choaspes. 
586 Most probably the Hedyphon of Strabo, supposed to be the same as that now called the Djerrabi. 
587 Parisot thinks that this is the modern Jessed, in the vicinity of the desert of Bealbanet. 
588 Previously mentioned in c. 28. 
589 The modern Tab. 
590 Now called Camata, according to Parisot. 
591 The modern Saurac, according to Parisot. The more general reading is "Sosirate." 
592 Our author has nowhere made any such statement as this, for which reason Hardouin thinks that he here refers to the maritime region mentioned in c. 29 of the present Book (p. 69), the name of which Sillig reads as Ciribo. Hardouin would read it as Syrtibolos, and would give it the meaning of the "muddy district of the Syrtes." It is more likely, however, that Pliny has made a slip, and refers to something which, by inadvertence, he has omitted to mention. 
593 Charax Spasinu, or Pasinu, previously mentioned in c. 26 (see p. 62). The name Charax applied to a town, seems to have meant a fortified place. 
594 Called "Eudemon" by Pliny. 
595 The Great, the father of Antiochus Epiphanes. 
596 Though this passage is probably corrupt, the reading employed by Sillig is inadmissible, as it makes nothing but nonsense. "Et jam Vip sanda porticus habet;" "and even now, Vipsanda has its porticos." 
597 Dionysius of Charax. No particulars of him are known beyond those mentioned by Pliny. 
598 Caius, the son of Marcus Agrippa and Julia, the daughter of Augustus. He was the adopted son of Augustus. 
599 See B. iii. c. 1, p. 151, in vol. 1. 
600 In B. v. c. 21 and 22. 
601 Who called himself the King of kings, and was finally conquered by Pompey. 
602 The Mediterranean. 
603 See B. v. c. 12. 
604 Salmasius thinks that this should be written "Nombei;" but Hardouin remarks that the Nombæi were not of Arabian but Jewish extraction, and far distant from Mount Libanus. 
605 The only resemblance between them is, that each is a peninsula; that of Arabia being of far greater extent than Italy. It will be remarked that here, contrary to his ordinary practice, Pliny makes a distinction between the Red Sea and the Persian Sea or Gulf. 
606 "In eandem etiam cœli partem nulla differentia spectat." A glance at the map will at once show the fallacy of this assertion. 
607 In B. v. c. 12 and 21. 
608 In c. 30 of the present Book. 
609 Mentioned in B. v. c. 21, if, indeed, that is the same Petra. 
610 Omana or Omanum was their chief place, a port on the north-east coast of Arabia Felix, a little above the promontory of Syagros, now Ras el Had, on a large gulf of the same name. The name is still preserved in the modern name Oman. 
611 In Sitacene, mentioned in the preceding Chapter. 
612 Or rather, as Hardouin says, the shore opposite to Charax, and on the western bank of the river. 
613 Called Core Boobian, a narrow salt-water channel, laid down for the first time in the East India Company's chart, and separating a large low island, off the mouth of the old bed of the Euphrates, from the mainland. 
614 The great headland on the coast of Arabia, at the entrance of the bay of Doat-al-Kusma from the south, opposite to Pheleche Island. 
615 This is the line of coast extending from the great headland last mentioned to the river Khadema, the ancient Achenus. 
616 So called from the city of Arabia Felix, built on its shores. Strabo says of this city "The city of Gerra lies in a deep gulf, where Chaldæan exiles from Babylon inhabit a salt country, having houses built of salt, the walls of which, when they are wasted by the heat of the sun, are repaired by copious applications of sea-water." D'Anville first identified this place with the modern El Khatiff. Niebuhr finds its site on the modern Koneit of the Arabs, called "Gran" by the Persians; but Foster is of opinion that he discovered its ruins in the East India Company's Chart, situate where all the ancient authorities had placed it, at the end of the deep and narrow bay at the mouth of which are situated the islands of Bahrein. The gulf mentioned by Pliny is identified by Foster with that of Bahrein. 
617 The modern island of Bahrein, according to Brotier, still famous for its pearl-fishery. 
618 Now Samaki, according to Ansart. Its ancient name was Aradus. 
619 Hardouin takes this to be that which by the Arabians is called by the name of Falg. 
620 On the Arabian side of the Persian Gulf. 
621 Considered by modern geographers to be identical in situation with the Black Mountains and the Cape of Asabi, and still marked by a town and district named Sabee, close to Cape Mussendom. 
622 In the modern district still called Oman. 
623 On the opposite coast. 
624 He calls it Canis, evidently thinking that "Cynos" was its Greek appellation only: as meaning the "Dogs'" river. 
625 Or the mountain "with the Three Peaks." 
626 Stephanus mentions this as an island of the Erythræan Sea. Hardly any of these places appear to have been identified; and there is great uncertainty as to the orthography of the names. 
627 From which came the myrrh mentioned by Pliny in B. xii. c. 36. 
628 Or the Tent-Dwellers, the modern Bedouins. 
629 By some geographers identified with the Ocelis or Ocila, mentioned in c. 26, the present Zee Hill or Ghela, a short distance to the south of Mocha, and to the north of the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb. Hardouin says, however, that it was a different place, Acila being in the vicinity of the Persian Gulf, in which he appears to be correct. 
630 Nothing relative to Numenius beyond this fact has been recorded. 
631 Hardouin and Ansart think that under this name is meant the island called in modern times Mazira or Maceira. 
632 There seem to have been three mythical personages of this name; but it appears impossible to distinguish the one from the other. 
633 Or "Dioscoridis Insula," an island of the Indian Ocean, of considerable importance as an emporium or mart, in ancient times. It lay between the Syagrus Promontorium, in Arabia, and Aromata Promontorium, now Cape Guardafui, on the opposite coast of Africa, somewhat nearer to the former, according to Arrian, which cannot be the case if it is rightly identified with Socotorra, 200 miles distant from the Arabian coast, and 110 from the north-east promontory of Africa. 
634 So called from Azania, or Barbaria, now Ajan, south of Somauli, on the mainland of Africa. 
635 Now Cape Fartash, in Arabia. 
636 Their country is supposed to have been the Sheba of Scripture, the queen of which visited king Solomon. It was situate in the south-western corner of Arabia Felix, the north and centre of the province of Yemen, though the geographers before Ptolemy seem to give it a still wider extent, quite to the south of Yemen. The Sabæi most probably spread originally on both sides of the southern part of the Red Sea, the shores of Arabia and Africa. Their capital was Saba, in which, according to their usage, their king was confined a close prisoner. 
637 The Persian Gulf to the Rd Sea. 
638 The modern district of Hadramaut derives its name from this people, who were situate on the coast of the Red Sea to the east of Aden. Sabota, their capital, was a great emporium for their drugs and spices. 
639 Still known as Mareb, according to Ansart. 
640 Hardouin is doubtful as to this name, and thinks that it ought to be Elaitæ, or else Læanitæ, the people again mentioned below. 
641 A name which looks very much like "fraud," or "cheating," as Hardouin observes, from the Greek apatê. 
642 Off the Promontory of Ras-el-Had. 
643 Probably in the district now known as Akra. It was situate on the eastern coast of the Red Sea, at the foot of Mount Hippus. 
644 See B. v. c. 12, where this town is mentioned. 
645 Whose chief city was Petra, previously mentioned. 
646 Supposed by some writers to have been the ancestors of the Saracens, so famous in the earlier part of the middle ages. Some of the MSS., indeed, read "Sarraceni." 
647 Their town is called Arra by Ptolemy. 
648 Their district is still called Thamud, according to Ansart. 
649 Still called Cariatain, according to Ansart. 
650 A ridiculous fancy, probably founded solely on the similarity of the name. 
651 A story as probable, Hardouin observes, as that about the descendants of Minos. 
652 The Arabs of Yemen, known in Oriental history by the name of Himyari, were called by the Greeks Homeritæ. 
653 An inland city, called Masthala by Ptolemy. 
654 Agatharchides speaks of a town on the sea coast, which was so called from the multitude of ducks found there. The one here spoken of was in the interior, and cannot be the same. 
655 Hardouin observes, that neither this word, nor the name Riphearma, above mentioned, has either a Hebrew or an Arabian origin. 
656 Probably the same place as we find spoken of by Herodotus as Ampe, and at which Darius settled a colony of Miletians after the capture of Miletus, B. C. 494. 
657 Hardouin remarks that Mariaba, the name found in former editions, has no such meaning in the modern Arabic. 
658 Mentioned by Ovid in the Metamorphoses, B. v. 1. 165, et seq. Sillig, however, reads "Ciani." 
659 An intimate friend of the geographer Strabo. He was prefect of Egypt during part of the reign of Augustus, and in the years B. C. 24 and 25. Many particulars have been given by Strabo of his expedition against Arabia, in which he completely failed. The heat of the sun, the badness of the water, and the want of the necessaries of life, destroyed the greater part of his army. 
660 By adoption, as previously stated. 
661 The town of the Calingii, mentioned above. 
662 Or wandering tribes. 
663 Its uses in medicine are stated at length in the last Chapter of B. xxi. 
664 Another form of the name of Atramitæ previously mentioned, the ancient inhabitants of the part of Arabia known as Hadramant, and settled, as is supposed, by the descendants of the Joctanite patriarch Hazarmaveth. 
665 Arabia at the present day yields no gold, and very little silver. The queen of Sheba is mentioned as bringing gold to Solomon, 1 Kings, x. 2, 2 Chron. ix. i. Artemidorus and Diodorus Siculus make mention, on the Arabian Gulf, of the Debæ, the Alilæi, and the Gasandi, in whose territories native gold was found. These last people, who did not know its value, were in the habit of bringing it to their neighbours, the Sabæi, and exchanging it for articles of iron and copper. 
666 B. xii. 
667 The "mitra," which was a head-dress especially used by the Phrygians, was probably of varied shape, and may have been the early form of the eastern turban. 
668 The Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb. 
669 Or Heroöpolis, a city east of the Delta, in Egypt, and situate near the mouth of the royal canal which connected the Nile with the Red Sea. It was of considerable consequence as a trading station upon the arm of the Red Sea, which runs up as far as Arsinoë, the modern Suez, and was called the "Gulf" or "Bay of the Heroes." The ruins of Heroöpolis are still visible at Abu-Keyscheid. 
670 This place, as here implied, took its name from Cambyses, the son of Cyrus. 
671 In c. 9 of the preceding Book. "Dictum," however, may only mean, "called" the Delta. 
672 Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus, and Tzetzes, mention this, not with reference to Sesostris, but Necho, the grandson of Sesostris. 
673 Ptolemy Philadelphus, son of Ptolemy Soter, or Lagides. 
674 Now known by the name of Scheib. They derived their name from the saline flavour and deposition of their waters. These springs were strongly impregnated with alkaline salts, and with muriate of lime washed from the rocks which separated the Delta from the Red Sea. The salt which they produced being greatly valued, they were on that account regarded as the private property of the kings. 
675 The "not thirsty" route, so called by way of antiphrasis. 
676 See B. v. c. 9. 
677 In c. 26 of the present Book. 
678 Or "narrow necks," apparently, from the Greek stênai deirai. If this be the correct reading, they were probably so called from the narrow strait which ran between them. 
679 An island called Halonnesus has been already mentioned in B iv. c. 23. None of these islands appear to have been identified. 
680 See B. xxxvii. c. 32. 
681 This seems to be the meaning, though, literally translated, it would be, "These were the prefects of kings." 
682 It obtained this title ofpanchrusos, or "all golden," from its vicinity to the gold mines of Jebel Allaki, or Ollaki, from which the ancient Egyptians drew their principal supply of that metal, and in the working of which they employed criminals and prisoners of war. 
683 Or epi deirês, "upon the neck." It was situate on the western side of the Red Sea, near the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb. 
684 Ansart suggests that the modern island of Mehun is here meant. Gosselin is of opinion that Pliny is in error in mentioning two islands in the Red Sea as producing the topaz. 
685 Called Theron, as well as Epitheras. It was an emporium on the coast of the Red Sea for the trade with India and Arabia. It was chiefly remarkable for its position in mathematical geography, as, the sun having been observed to be directly over it forty-five days before and after the summer solstice, the place was taken as one of the points for determining the length of a degree of a great circle on the earth's surface. 
686 From the Greek epi thêras, "for hunting." 
687 In B. ii. c. 75. 
688 In the same Chapter. 
689 So called from Azania, the adjoining coast of Africa, now known as that of Ajan. It was inhabited by a race of Æthiopians, who were engaged in catching and taming elephants, and supplying the markets of the Red Sea coast with hides and ivory. 
690 Now called Seyrman, according to Gosselin. 
691 Its name was Adule, being the chief haven of the Adulitæ, of mixed origin, in the Troglodytic region, situate on a bay of the Red Sea, called Aduliticus Sinus. It is generally supposed that the modern Thulla or Zulla, still pronounced Azoole, occupies its site, being situate in lat. 15' 35' N. Ruins are said to exist there. D'Anville, however, in his map of the Red Sea, places Adule at Arkeeko, on the same coast, and considerably to the north of Thulla. According to Cosmas, Adule was about two miles in the interior. 
692 Pliny gives a further description of this ape in B. viii. c. 21., and B. x. c. 72. They were much valued by the Roman ladies for pets, and very high prices were given for them. 
693 Now called Dahal-Alley, according to Gosselin. 
694 Hardouin, from Strabo, suggests that the reading ought to be Co- racios. 
695 The "False Gates." 
696 The "Gates." 
697 D'Anville and Gosselin think that this is the island known as the French Island. 
698 Ansart thinks that this promontory is that known as Cape de Meta, and that the port is at the mouth of the little river called Soul or Soal. 
699 In his Ethiopian expedition. According to Strabo, he had altars and pillars erected there to record it. 
700 Under the impression entertained by the ancients, that the southern progress of the coast of Africa stopped short here, and that it began at this point to trend away gradually to the north-west. 
701 Coro. Salmasius seems with justice, notwithstanding the censures of Hardouin, to have found considerable difficulty in this passage. If it is Pliny's meaning that by sea round the south of the Promontory of Mossylum there is a passage to the extreme north-western point of Africa, it is pretty clear that it is not by the aid of a north-west wind that it could be reached. "Euro," "with a south-east wind," has been very properly suggested. 
702 By this name he means the Æthiopian Troglodytæ. Of course it would be absurd to attempt any identification of the places here named, as they must clearly have existed only in the imagination of the African geographer. 
703 The supposed commencement of the Atlantic, to the west of the Promontory of Mossylum. 
704 From the Greek askos, a "bladder," or "inflated skin." It is not improbable that the story as to their mode of navigation is derived only from the fancied origin of their name. 
705 Apparently meaning in the Greek the "jackal-hunters," thêrothôes. For an account of this animal, see B. viii. c. 52, and B. xv. c. 95. 
706 Heliopolis, described in B. v. c. 4. 
707 Considering it as part of Asia. 
708 Conformably with the usage of modem geographers, and, one would almost think, with that of common sense. 
709 Of the river Nile. 
710 As to Syene and the Catadupi, see B. v. c. 10. 
711 This place was also called in later times Contrapselcis. It was situate in the Dodecaschœnus, the part of Æthiopia immediately above Egypt, on an island near the eastern bank of the river, a little above Pselcis, which stood on the opposite bank. It has been suggested that this may have been the modern island of Derar. The other places do not appear to have been identified, and, in fact, in no two of the MSS. do the names appear to agree. 
712 Or the "Great Wall." 
713 Meaning, "the people who live in seventy villages." 
714 Or western side of the Nile, between Syene and Meroë. 
715 upaton, the "supreme," or perhaps the "last." 
716 Dion Cassius also mentions this expedition. From Seneca we learn that Nero dispatched two centurions to make inquiry into the sources; f the Nile. 
717 Dion Cassius calls him Caius Petronius. He carried on the war in B.c. 22 against the Æthiopians, who had invaded Egypt under their queen Candace. He took many of their towns. 
718 Du Bocage is of opinion that this place stood not far from the present Ibrim. 
719 Supposed by Du Bocage to have stood in the vicinity of the modern Dongola. 
720 He was clearly a mythical personage, and nothing certain is known with respect to him. Tombs of Memnon were shown in several places. as at Ptolemais in Syria, on the Hellespont, on a hill near the mouth of the river Æsepus, near Palton in Syria, in Æthiopia, and elsewhere. 
721 Her story has been alluded to in the account of Joppa, B. v. c. 34. Cepheus, the father of Andromeda, though possessing the coasts of Syria, was fabled to have been king of Æthliop. 
722 See B. v. c. 10, where Meroë is also mentioned. 
723 Or the sacred "sycamore tree." 
724 Situate beyond the Great Cataract, and on the western bank. 
725 See the Notes to the preceding Chapter, in p. 95. 
726 Or dog's-headed ape, described in B. viii. c. 80. It is supposed to be the baboon. 
727 Hesychius says that it was also called Aëria, probably from the time of its king Ægyptus, who was called Aërius. 
728 "Ubi desiimus." This appears to be a preferable reading to "ubi desinit," adopted by Sillig, and apparently referring to the river Nile. It is not improbable that our author here alludes, as Hardouin says, to his words in the preceding Chapter, "Hinc in ora Æthiopæ," &c. See p. 96. 
729 Ansart thinks that the country of this people was the modem Kor- dofan. This however, could not be the case, if the Macrobii, opposite to them, dwelt on the African side of the river. 
730 Or "long-livers." 
731 Mentioned again in c. 2 of the next Book. 
732 Who is mentioned again in B. xxxvi. c. 19. 
733 Ptolemy, however, speaks of Esar and Daron as the names of towns situate on the island of Meroë. 
734 On the eastern side of the Nile, and hearing no reference, as Har- douin remarks, to the people of modern Nubia. 
735 There is considerable doubt as to the correctness of these names, as they are differently spelt in the MSS. 
736 Marcus thinks that these mountains are those which lie to the west of the Nile, in Darfour, and Dar-Sale, or Dizzela, mentioned by Salt, in his Travels in Abyssinia. 
737 From this it would appear that Pliny, with Dalion, supposed that the Nile ran down to the southern ocean, and then took a turn along the coast in a westerly direction; the shore being skirted by Syrtes, or quicksands, similar to those in the north of Africa. 
738 So called from the Greek--"Eaters of wild beasts." 
739 The "all-eaters." 
740 Or the "livers on the milk of the dog." 
741 In c. 8 of the preceding Book. 
742 They were thence called by the Greeks "Acridophagi." According to Agatharchides, these people dwelt in what is modern Nubia, where Burkhardt found the people subsisting on lizards. 
743 Hardouin remarks, that the length is measured from south-east to south-west; and the breadth from south to north. 
744 The supposed Southern Ocean, which joins the Atlantic on the west. 
745 Or the "Chariot of the gods," mentioned also in Book ii. c. 110, and B. v. c. 1. It is supposed to have been some portion of the Atlas chain; but the subject is involved in the greatest obscurity. 
746 Or the "Western Horn." It is not known whether this was Cape de Verde, or Cape Roxo. Ansart thinks that it is the same as Cape Non. It is mentioned in c. 1 of B. v. as the "promontorium Hesperium." 
747 See notes to B. v. c. 1, in vol. i. p. 378. 
748 Marcus says that these islands are those called the "Two Sisters," situate to the west of the Isle of Socotra, on the coast of Africa. They are called by Ptolemy, Cocionati. 
749 The position of this island has been much discussed by geographers, as being intimately connected with the subject of Hanno's voyage to the south of Africa. Gosselin, who carries that voyage no further south than Cape Non, in about 28° north lat., identifies Cerne with Fedallah, on the coast of Fez, which, however, is probably much too far to the north. Major Rennell places it as far south as Arguin, a little to the south of the southern Cape Blanco, in about 20° 5′ North latitude. Heeren, Mannert, and others, adopt the intermediate portion of Agadir, or Souta Cruz, on the coast of Morocco, just below Cape Ghir, the termination of the main chain of the Atlas. If we are to trust to Pliny's statement, it is pretty clear that nothing certain was known about it in his day. 
750 The "Pillars." Marcus thinks that these were some small islands near the Isle of Socotra. 
751 Hardouin says that this is not the Atlantis rendered so famous by Plato, whose story is distantly referred to in B. ii. c. 92 of this work. It is difficult to say whether the Atlantis of Plato had any existence at all, except in the imagination. 
752 Medusa and her sisters, the daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. The identity of their supposed islands seems not to have been ascertained. For the poetical aspect of their story, see Ovid's Met., B. iv. 
753 It is not improbable that these were the skins of a species of uran- outang, or large monkey. 
754 The Purpurariæ, or "Purple Islands," probably the Madeira group. 
755 Or Islands of the Blessed--the modern Canaries. 
756 Supposed to be the modern island of Fuerteventura. 
757 Supposed to be that now called Ferro. 
758 Probably the modern Gomera. In B. iv. c. 36, Pliny mentions them as six in number, there being actually seven. 
759 He does not appear on this occasion to reckon those already men- tioned as belonging to the group of the Fortunatæ Insulæ. 
760 The present Isle of Teneriffe. 
761 Supposed to be that now called Gran Canaria. 
762 The smoothness of its surface. 
763 It is impossible to see clearly what he means. Littré says that it has been explained by some to mean, that from the Purpurariæ, or Madeira Islands, it is a course of 250 miles to the west to the Fortunate or Canary Islands; but that to return from the Fortunatæ to the Purpurariæ, required a more circuitous route in an easterly direction. 
764 Or Pluvialia, the Rainy Island, previously mentioned. 
765 Salmasius thinks that the sugar-cane is here alluded to. Hardouin says that in Ferro there still grows a tree of this nature, known as the "holy tree." 
766 Or the Lesser Junonia; supposed to be the same as the modern Lanzarote. 
767 Or "Snow Island," the same as that previously called Invallis, the modern Teneriffe, with its snow-capped peak. 
768 So called from its canine inhabitants. 
769 As to the silurus, see B. ix. c. 17. 
770 Hardouin takes this to mean, both as to the continent, with the places there situate, and the seas, with the islands there found; the continent being the interior, and the seas the exterior part. It is much more likely, however, that his description of the interior of the earth is that given in the 2nd Book, while the account of the exterior is set forth in the geographical notices contained in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th. 
771 The Straits of Gades or Cadiz. 
772 The Straits of Gades. 
773 Littré has the following remark: "Is it possible that Pliny can have imagined that the extent of a surface could be ascertained by adding the length to the breadth?" It is just possible that such may not have been his meaning; but it seems quite impossible to divine what it was. 
774 He means to say that the interior is not inhabited beyond a distance of 250 miles from the sea-coast. 
775 See B. v. c. 9. 
776 He is probably speaking only of that part of Asia which included Egypt, on the eastern side of the river Nile, according to ancient geography. His mode, however, of reckoning the breadth of Asia, i.e. from south to north, is singular. See p. 104. 
777 On a rough calculation, these aliquot parts in all would make 4/4 2/2 6/9 4/0 3/0 parts of the unit. It is not improbable that the figures given above as the dimensions are incorrect, as they do not agree with the fractional results here given by Pliny. 
778 B. iv. c. 26. 
779 In p. 111. 
780 See end of B. iii. 
781 See end of B. ii. 
782 See end of B. iii. 
783 See end of B. ii. 
784 See end of B. iii. 
785 See end of B. iii. 
786 See end of B. iii. 
787 See end of B. v. 
788 See end of B. ii. 
789 See end of B. v. 
790 See end of B. iii. 
791 See end of B. ii. 
792 See end of B. iii. 
793 The famous Roman historian, a native of Padua. He died at his native town, in the year A.D. 17, aged 76. Of his Annals, composed in 142, only 35 Books have come down to us. 
794 L. Annæus Seneca, the Roman philosopher and millionnaire. He was put to death by Nero. 
795 P. Nigidius Figulus, a Roman senator, and Pythagorean philosopher, skilled in astrology and other sciences. He was so celebrated for his knowledge, that Aulus Gellius pronounces him, next to Varro, the most learned of the Romans. He was an active partisan of Pompey, and was compelled by Cæsar to live at a distance from Rome. He died in exile, R. C. 44. There is a letter of consolation addressed to him by Cicero in his Epistles "ad Familiares," which contains a warm tribute to his worth and learning. 
796 See end of B. v. 
797 For Hecatæus of Miletus, see end of B. iv. Hecatæus of Abdera was a contemporary of Alexander the Great and Ptolemy Lagides. He is thought to have accompanied the former in his Asiatic expedition as far as Syria. He was a pupil of the sceptic Pyrrho, and is called a philosopher, critic, and grammarian. He was the author of a History of Egypt, a work on the Hyperborei, and a History of the Jews. 
798 See end of B. iv. 
799 See end of B. iv. 
800 For Eudoxus of Cnidos, see end of B. ii. Eudoxus of Cyzicus was a geographer and a native of Egypt, who was employed by Ptolemy Euergetes and his wife Cleopatra in voyages to India. He made attempts to circumnavigate Africa by sailing to the south, but without success. He is supposed to have lived about B.C. 130. See B. ii. c. 67 of the present work. 
801 See end of B. ii. 
802 See end of B. v. 
803 See end of B. iv. 
804 He commanded the fleets of Ptolemy Philadelphus, and of Seleucus Nicator, by whose orders he paid a visit to the coasts of India. Strabo speaks of his account of India as the best guide to the geography of that country. 
805 A native of Miletus--see the tenth Chapter of this Book. He appears to have written a geographical work on Asia, from which Pliny derived considerable assistance. 
806 Son of Deinon, the historian; he accompanied Alexander in his Asiatic expedition, and wrote a history of it. Quintus Curtius censures him for his inaccuracy. Cicero, Quintilian, and Longinus, also speak in slighting terms of his performance. 
807 See end of B. ii. 
808 He alludes to the letters of that monarch, and the journals which were kept on the occasion of his expeditions. In the middle ages several forged works were current under his name. 
809 See end of B. iv. 
810 See end of B. ii. 
811 See end of B. v. 
812 See end of B. iv. 
813 See end of B. ii. 
814 See end of B. iv. 
815 See end of B. iv. 
816 See end of B. iv. 
817 See end of B. iv. 
818 See end of B. iv. 
819 See end of B. iii. 
820 See end of B. ii. 
821 A Greek writer of uncertain date, who wrote, as Pliny tells us, (c. 20 of the present Book), a work on the people called Attaci, or Attacori. He also wrote another, describing a voyage, commenced at Memphis in Egypt. 
822 See end of B. iii. 
823 See end of B. ii. 
824 See end of B. ii. 
825 The admiral of Alexander, who sailed down the river Indus, and up the Persian Gulf. It is not known when or where he died. After the death of Alexander, he supported the cause of Antigonus. He left a history or journal of his famous voyage. 
826 See end of B. v. 
827 Mentioned by Pliny in c. 21. He measured the distances of the marches of Alexander the Great, and wrote a book on the subject. 
828 See end of B. v. 
829 A native of Soli. He is mentioned by Diogenes Lærtius, as the author of a work on Æthiopia, of which some few fragments are preserved. Varro and Pliny mention him, also, as a writer on agriculture. 
830 A writer on geography and botany, again mentioned by Pliny in B. xx. c. 73. He is supposed to have lived in the first century after Christ. See also c. 35. 
831 Said to have been a native of Meroë, and to have written a History of Æthiopia; nothing else seems to be known of him. 
832 The author of a work on India, of which the second Book is quoted by Athenæus. From what Pliny says, in c. 35, he seems to have also written on Æthiopia. He is mentioned by Agatharchides as one of the writers on the East: but nothing more seems to be known of him. 
833 See end of B. iii.