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 millions[461] 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.[462] 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,[463] and is distant[464]

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,

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,[465] 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 Ocelis[466] in Arabia, or else at Cane,[467] in the region which

bears frankincense. There is also a third port of Arabia, Muza[468] 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,[469] and there is another city known by the

name of Save. To those who are bound for India, Ocelis is the best

place for embarcation. If the wind, called Hippalus,[470] happens to

be blowing, it is possible to arrive in forty days at the nearest mart

of India, Muziris[471] 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,[472] is known as Cottonara.[473] 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 as[474] 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.

CHAP. 27.—CARMANIA.

Nearchus states in his writings that the coast of Carmania[475] extends

a distance of twelve hundred and fifty miles. From its frontier to

the river Sabis[476] 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,[477] a distance of twenty-five miles. This

region is known by the name of Armuzia. The cities of Carmania are

Zetis and Alexandria.[478]

CHAP. 28.—THE PERSIAN AND THE ARABIAN GULFS.

The sea then makes a two-fold indentation[479] in the land upon

these coasts, under the name of Rubrum[480] or “Red,” given to it by

our countrymen; while the Greeks have called it Erythrum, from king

Erythras,[481] 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 this gulf is called the

Azanian[482] Sea. The Persian Gulf, at the entrance, is only five[483]

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

resembles[484] 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,[485] 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;[486] 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 promontory[487] are the

Armozei,[488] joining up to the Carmani; some writers, however, place

between them the Arbii,[489] extending along the shore a distance

of four hundred and twenty-one miles. Here is a place called Portus

Macedonum,[490] 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,[491] which

separates it from Elymais.[492] Opposite to the coast of Persis, are

the islands of Psilos, Cassandra, and Aracia, the last sacred to

Neptune,[493] and containing a mountain of great height. Persis[494]

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.”[495] I shall now

devote a few words to the Parthian empire.

CHAP. 29.—THE PARTHIAN EMPIRE.

The kingdoms[496] 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, Parthia[497] always lay at the foot of the

mountains[498] 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;[499] on this side

of them there are deserts. On the west are the cities of Issatis and

Calliope, already mentioned,[500] on the north-east Europus,[501]

on the south-east Maria; in the middle there are Hecatompylos,[502]

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. Media[503] lies crosswise to the west,

and so presenting itself obliquely to Parthia, closes the entrance

of both kingdoms[504] 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;[505] on the side on which it runs up

to that of the Medi, there is a place known by the name of Climax

Megale,[506] where the mountains are ascended by a steep flight of

stairs, and so afford a narrow passage which leads to Persepolis,[507]

the former capital of the kingdom, destroyed by Alexander. It has

also, at its extreme frontier, Laodicea,[508] founded by Antiochus.

To the east of this place is the fortress of Passagarda,[509] held by

the Magi, at which spot is the tomb of Cyrus; also Ecbatana,[510] 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.[511] 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.[512]

CHAP. 30.—MESOPOTAMIA.

The whole of Mesopotamia formerly belonged to the Assyrians, being

covered with nothing but villages, with the exception of Babylonia[513]

and Ninus.[514] The Macedonians 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,[515] Laodicea,[516] Artemita;[517] and in Arabia, the

peoples known as the Orei[518] and the Mardani, besides Antiochia,[519]

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

Gordyæi[520] 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,[521] 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 Absithris[522] running

south-east, the town of Accobis, and then in the plains the towns

of Diospage, Polytelia,[523] Stratonice, and Anthermis.[524] In the

vicinity of the Euphrates is Nicephorion, of which we have[525] already

stated that Alexander, struck with the favourable situation of the

spot, ordered it to be built. We have also similarly made mention[526]

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 stated[527] that it

branches off,[528] 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,[529]

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 destroyed.

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 there[530] of Jupiter Belus[531] is still in

existence; he was the first 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,[532]

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,[533]

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

Vologesus[534] has of late years founded another city in its vicinity,

Vologesocerta[535] by name. Besides the above, there are still the

following towns in Mesopotamia: Hipparenum,[536] rendered famous,

like Babylon, by the learning of the Chaldæi, and situate near the

river Narraga,[537] 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.[538] 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 _schæni_ and _parasangæ_, each assigning to them a different

length.

When the Euphrates ceases, by running in its channel, to afford

protection[539] 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

Scenitæ.[540] 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,[541] it takes a turn to the south,[542] and leaves the solitary

deserts of Palmyra. Seleucia is distant, by way of the Euphrates, from

the beginning of Mesopotamia, eleven hundred and twenty-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

Seleucia[543] in Syria, on the shores of our sea, one hundred and

seventy-five[544] miles. Such is the extent of the land that lies in

these parts between the two seas.[545] 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.[546] (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,[547] from a very remarkable source,

situate on a plain. The name of the spot is Elegosine,[548] and the

stream, as soon as it begins to flow, though with a slow current,

has the name of Diglito.[549] When its course becomes more rapid,

it assumes the name of Tigris,[550] given to it on account of its

swiftness, that word signifying an arrow in the Median language. It

then flows into Lake Arethusa,[551] the waters of which are able to

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 disappears[552] in a cavern of that mountain, and

passing beneath it, bursts forth on the other side; the spot bears

the name of Zoroande.[553] 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.[554] Claudius Cæsar informs us that, in the

district of Arrene[555] it flows so near to the river Arsanias,[556]

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 Orei[557] from the Adiabeni, and then forms by its course, as

previously mentioned, the country of Mesopotamia. After traversing the

mountains of the Gordyæi,[558] it passes round Apamea,[559] a town of

Mesene, one hundred and twenty-five miles on this side of Babylonian

Seleucia, and then divides into two channels, one[560] 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,[561] 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,[562] which comes from Media; and then, as

we have already stated,[563] 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;[564]

we have already made mention of Mesene, one of its districts.

Dabithac[565] is a town there, adjoining to which is the district

of Chalonitis, with the city of Ctesiphon,[566] famous, not only for

its palm-groves, but for its olives, fruits, and other shrubs. Mount

Zagrus[567] reaches as far as this district, and extends from Armenia

between the Medi and the Adiabeni; above Parætacene and Persis.

Chalonitis[568] 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

Arbelitis[569] and Palæstine. Its city of Sittace[570] is of Greek

origin; this and Sabdata[571] lie to the east, and on the west is

Antiochia,[572] between the two rivers Tigris and Tornadotus,[573] as

also Apamea,[574] to which Antiochus[575] gave this name, being that

of his mother. The Tigris surrounds this city, which is also traversed

by the waters of the Archoüs. Below[576] this district is Susiane,

in which is the city of Susa,[577] 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.[578] Upon the northern

channel of the river Tigris is the town of Babytace,[579] 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.[580] 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 mentioned[581] 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 up[582] 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 Cossiæi;[583] and

above them, to the north, is Mesabatene, lying at the foot of Mount

Cambalidus,[584] 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 Susa[585] and the 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,[586] and for that reason carry it with them on their

journies to any considerable distance. This river receives the waters

of the Hedypnos,[587] which passes Asylus, in Persis, and those of the

Aduna, which rises in Susiane. Magoa[588] 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,[589] upon the coast adjoining to Persis,

and extending from the river Orates[590] to Charax, a distance of two

hundred and forty miles. Its towns are Seleucia[591] and Socrate,[592]

upon Mount Casyrus. The shore which lies in front of this district

is, as we have already stated, rendered inaccessible by mud,[593] 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,[594] the frontier city

of the kingdoms of Arabia. Of 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:[595]

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,[596] 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 harbour[597] 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 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,[598] 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 eldest[599] 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 work[600] 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,[601]

from Mount Amanus, over against Cilicia and Commagene; many of the

Arabian nations having been removed to those countries by Tigranes the

Great,[602] while others again have migrated of their own accord to

the shores of our sea[603] and the coast of Egypt, as we have already

mentioned.[604] The Nubei[605] 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, 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 size[606] of Italy, there being

no difference either in the climate of the two countries, as they lie

in the same latitudes.[607] This, too, renders it equally fertile with

the countries of Italy. We have already mentioned[608] 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,[609] 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,[610] 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,[611]

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 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 Apamea[612] 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,[613]

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,[614] and the Promontory of Chaldone,[615] from which

spot, the sea along the coast, for an extent of fifty miles,[616]

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.[617] 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 Attene, and

opposite to Gerra is the island of Tylos,[618] 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,[619] 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.[620] Beyond this, the navigation is impracticable on

that side,[621] according to Juba, on account of the rocks; and he has

omitted all mention of Batrasave,[622] a town of the Omani, and of the

city of Omana,[623] which former writers have made out to be a famous

port of Carmania;[624] 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,[625] 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 region of Dabanegoris, Mount Orsa, with a harbour, the

gulf of Duatus, with numerous islands, Mount Tricoryphos,[626] 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,[627] 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 name[628]

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,[629] with

numerous islands, and the city of Acila,[630] which is their mart, and

from which persons embark for India. We next come to the region of

Amithoscutta, 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.[631]

Opposite to this place, in the main sea, lies the island of

Ogyris,[632] famous for being the burial-place of king Erythras;[633]

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,[634] and lying in the Azanian Sea;[635] it

is distant two hundred and eighty miles from the extreme point of the

Promontory of Syagrus.[636]

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,[637] the best known

of all the tribes of Arabia, on account of their frankincense; these

nations extend from sea to sea.[638] 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,[639] whose capital, Sabota, has sixty temples within its

walls. But the royal city of all these nations is Mariaba;[640] 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 Minæi; the Elamitæ[641] 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;[642] the Arsi,

the Codani, the Vadei, who dwell in a large town, the Barasasæi, the

Lechieni, and the island of Sygaros,[643] 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 Læenitæ, who have given

to it their name; also their royal city of Agra,[644] and upon the gulf

that of Læana, or as some call it Ælana;[645] 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 Nabatæi[646] the ancients joined the Thimanei; at present

they have next to them the Taveni, and then the Suelleni, the

Arraceni,[647] and the Areni,[648] whose town is the centre of all the

commerce of these parts. Next come the Hemnatæ, the Aualitæ, the towns

of Domata and Hegra, the Tamudæi,[649] with the town of Badanatha,

the Carrei, with the town of Cariati,[650] the Achoali, with the town

of Foth, and the Minæi, who derive their origin, it is supposed,[651]

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 origin[652]

from Rhadamanthus, the brother of Minos—the Homeritæ,[653] with their

city of Masala,[654] the Hamirei, the Gedranitæ, the Amphyræ, the

Ilisanitæ, the Bachilitæ, the Samnæi, the Amitæi, with the towns of

Nessa[655] 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 Mathatæi,

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,[656] which signifies “the town of the camels.”

Ampelome[657] also, a Milesian colony, the town of Athrida, the

Calingii, whose city is called Mariva,[658] 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

which signifies “most rich in herds,” the Coranitæ, the Œsani, and

the Choani.[659] Here were also formerly the Greek towns of Arethusa,

Larisa, and Chalcis, which have been destroyed in various wars.

Ælius Gallus,[660] a member of the Equestrian order, is the sole person

who has hitherto carried the Roman arms into these lands, for Caius

Cæsar, the son[661] 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 Mariva[662]

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 Nomades[663] 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.[664]

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;[665] 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,[666] their streams for 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.[667] The Arabs

either wear the mitra,[668] 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 Straits[669] 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 south-east, 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 Sœa, upon which

is situate the city of Heroön.[670] The town of Cambysu[671] 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,[672] the

distance between the river and the Red Sea being sixty-two miles.

This was contemplated first of all by Sesostris,[673] king of Egypt,

afterwards by Darius, king of the Persians, and still later by Ptolemy

II.,[674] 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.[675] 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 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,[676]

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,[677] 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;[678] 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,[679] the Halonnesi,[680] a group of islands not less in number,

Cardamine, and Topazos,[681] 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 governors[682] appointed by the kings. In the

interior 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,[683] as also a third surnamed

Epidires,[684] 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,[685]

which also produces the topaz.

Beyond this are forests, in which is Ptolemais,[686] built by

Philadelphus for the chase of the elephant, and thence called

Epitheras,[687] situate near Lake Monoleus. This is the same region

that has been already mentioned by us in the Second Book,[688] 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 first[689]

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 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 Azanian[690] 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,[691] and the town of the Adulitæ,[692] a

place founded by Egyptian runaway slaves. This is the principal mart

for the Troglodytæ, 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,[693] and slaves. Beyond the Æthiopian Aroteræ

are the islands known by the name of Aliæu,[694] 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,[695]

much resorted to by 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,[696] and those in it, the same in number, are known

as Pylæ;[697] upon one of these there are some stone columns inscribed

with unknown characters. Beyond these is the Gulf of Abalites, the

island of Diodorus,[698] 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,[699] to the latter of which cinnamon

is brought for exportation: it was thus far that Sesostris led[700] his

army.

Some writers place even beyond this, upon the shore, one town of

Æthiopia, called Baricaza. Juba will have it that at the Promontory

of Mossylum[701] the Atlantic Sea begins, and that with a north-west

wind[702] 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,[703] 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

distance to the open sea[704] 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,[705] 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 Troglodytæ have the name of Therothoæ,[706] 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 mentioned[707] 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,[708] and unite it to Africa;[709] 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 side[710] in

the order in which they are given.

CHAP. 35.—ÆTHIOPIA.

On leaving Syene,[711] and taking first the Arabian side, we find

the nation of the Catadupi, then the Syenitæ, and the town of

Tacompsos,[712] 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,[713] which lies between Egypt and Æthiopia, 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,[714] Nomades, who dwell in tents,

Cyste, Macadagale, Proaprimis, Nups, Detrelis, Patis, the Ganbreves,

the Magasnei, Segasmala, Crandala, Denna, Cadeuma, Thena, Batta,

Alana, Mascoa, the Scammi, Hora, situate on an island, and then Abala,

Androgalis, Sesecre, the Malli, and Agole.

On the African side[715] 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,[716] 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 that were sent by the Emperor

Nero[717] 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,[718] 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,[719] Primis, Abuncis, Phthuris,

Cambusis, Atteva, and Stadasis, where the river Nile, as it thunders

down the precipices, has quite deprived the inhabitants of the power of

hearing: he also sacked the town of Napata.[720] 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 continual wars with

Egypt, having been a famous and powerful country even at the time of

the Trojan war, when Memnon[721] was its king; it is also very evident

from the fabulous stories about Andromeda,[722] 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, 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,[723] 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 Sycaminos[724]

they make to be fifty-four miles, from thence to Tama seventy-two,

to the country of the Evonymitæ,[725] 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 sphingium[726] was first discovered by them, and after passing

Tergedus, the cynocephalus.[727] 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 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

Meroë 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,[728] 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,[729] 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,[730] 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,[731] 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,[732] 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;[733] 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.[734] 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, the Palugges, and, on

the mountains themselves, the Asachæ, 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,[735] 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.[736]

Beyond is the region of Sirbitum, at which the mountains

terminate,[737] 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,[738]

Dalion says that the people, who use rain-water only, are called the

Cisori, and that the other nations are the Longompori, 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,[739] who live principally on the flesh of panthers and

lions, the Pamphagi,[740] who will eat anything, the Anthropophagi, who

live on human flesh, the Cynamolgi,[741] a people with the heads of

dogs, the Artabatitæ, who have four feet, and wander about after the

manner of wild beasts; and, after them, the Hesperiæ and the Perorsi,

whom we have already spoken[742] of as dwelling on the confines of

Mauritania. Some tribes, too, of the Æthiopians subsist on nothing but

locusts,[743] 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 length[744] 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 ocean[745] 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,[746] and at a distance of four days’ sail from it is a

promontory, known as Hesperu Ceras,[747] 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 Ægipans[748] 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 another[749]

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. Cerne[750] 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 Columnæ[751] there, some little islands so called. Polybius says

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.[752] 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,[753] 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 skins[754] 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.[755]

CHAP. 37. (32.)—THE FORTUNATE ISLANDS.

There are some authors who think that beyond these are the Fortunate

Islands,[756] and some others; the number of which Sebosus gives, as

well as the distances, informing us that Junonia[757] is an island

seven hundred and fifty miles distant from Gades. He states also

that Pluvialia[758] and Capraria[759] are the same distance from

Junonia, to the west; and that in Pluvialia 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,[760] one of which, from its undulating surface,

has the name of Invallis,[761] and another that of Planasia,[762]

from the peculiarity[763] 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.[764] He states that the first is called Ombrios,[765] and

that it presents no traces of buildings whatever; that among the

mountains there is a lake, and some trees,[766] which bear a strong

resemblance to giant 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, island[767] 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,[768] which has received that name from its perpetual snows;

this island abounds also in fogs. The one next to it is Canaria;[769]

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,[770] 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 without[771] 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 three thousand

four hundred and thirty-seven miles and a half, and that, starting

from the same point,[772] 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-mentioned, and beginning at the same point,[773] 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.[774] 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 two hundred

and fifty miles.[775] 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

admitted[776] 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,[777] 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-fourteenth part of one-fourth,

and Africa, one-fifth and one-sixtieth part of one-fifth of the whole

earth.[778]

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 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 Phœnicia, 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 Imaüs, and runs through the Caspian Gates and the

nearer parts of Media, Cataonia, Cappadocia, 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, 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 Imaüs, 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 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,[779] 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,[780] 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, 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,[781] M. Varro,[782] Varro

Atacinus,[783] Cornelius Nepos,[784] Hyginus,[785] L. Vetus,[786] Mela

Pomponius,[787] Domitius Corbulo,[788] Licinius Mucianus,[789] Claudius

Cæsar,[790] Arruntius,[791] Sebosus,[792] Fabricius Tuscus,[793] T.

Livius,[794] Seneca,[795] Nigidius.[796]

* * * * *

Foreign authors quoted.—King Juba,[797] Hecatæus,[798] Hellenicus,[799]

Damastes,[800] Eudoxus,[801] Dicæarchus,[802] Bæton,[803]

Timosthenes,[804] Patrocles,[805] Demodamas,[806] Clitarchus,[807]

Eratosthenes,[808] Alexander the Great,[809] Ephorus,[810]

Hipparchus,[811] Panætius,[812] Callimachus,[813] Artemidorus,[814]

Apollodorus,[815] Agathocles,[816] Polybius,[817] Eumachus,[818] Timæus

Siculus,[819] Alexander Polyhistor,[820] Isidorus,[821] Amometus,[822]

Metrodorus,[823] Posidonius,[824] Onesicritus,[825] Nearchus,[826]

Megasthenes,[827] Diognetus,[828] Aristocreon,[829] Bion,[830]

Dalion,[831] the Younger Simonides,[832] Basilis,[833] Xenophon[834]

of Lampsacus.