Delphi Complete Works of Pliny the Elder

by Pliny the Elder

  (15.) The river Jordanes rises from the spring of Panias, which has given its surname to Cæsarea, of which we shall have occasion to speak. This is a delightful stream, and, so far as the situation of the localities will allow of, winds along in its course and lingers among the dwellers upon its banks. With the greatest reluctance, as it were, it moves onward towards Asphaltites, a lake of a gloomy and unpropitious nature, by which it is at last swallowed up, and its be praised waters are lost sight of on being mingled with the pestilential streams of the lake. For this reason it is that, as soon as ever the valleys through which it runs afford it the opportunity, it discharges itself into a lake, by many writers known as Genesara, sixteen miles in length and six wide; which is skirted by the pleasant towns of Julias and Hippo on the east, of Tarichea on the south (a name which is by many persons given to the lake itself), and of Tiberias on the west, the hot springs of which are so conducive to the restoration of health.

  (16.) Asphaltites produces nothing whatever except bitu- men, to which indeed it owes its name. The bodies of animals will not sink in its waters, and even those of bulls and camels float there. In length it exceeds 100 miles being at its greatest breadth twenty-five, and at its smallest six. Arabia of the Nomades faces it on the east, and Machærus on the south, at one time, next to Hierosolyma, the most strongly fortified place in Judæa. On the same side lies Callirrhoë, a warm spring, remarkable for its medicinal qualities, and which, by its name, indicates the celebrity its waters have gained.

  (17.) Lying on the west of Asphaltites, and sufficiently distant to escape its noxious exhalations, are the Esseni, a people that live apart from the world, and marvellous beyond all others throughout the whole earth, for they have no women among them; to sexual desire they are strangers; money they have none; the palm-trees are their only companions. Day after day, however, their numbers are fully recruited by multitudes of strangers that resort to them, driven thither to adopt their usages by the tempests of fortune, and wearied with the miseries of life. Thus it is, that through thousands of ages, incredible to relate, this people eternally prolongs its existence, without a single birth taking place there; so fruitful a source of population to it is that weariness of life which is felt by others. Below this people was formerly the town of Engadda, second only to Hierosolyma in the fertility of its soil and its groves of palm-trees; now, like it, it is another heap of ashes. Next to it we come to Masada, a fortress on a rock, not far from Lake Asphaltites. Thus much concerning Judæa.

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  CHAP. 16. (18.)

  DECAPOLIS.

  On the side of Syria, joining up to Judæa, is the region of Decapolis, so called from the number of its cities; as to which all writers are not agreed. Most of them, however, agree in speaking of Damascus as one, a place fertilized by the river Chrysorroös, which is drawn off into its meadows and eagerly imbibed; Philadelphia, and Rhaphana, all which cities fall back towards Arabia; Scythopolis (formerly called Nysa by Father Liber, from his nurse having been buried there), its present name being derived from a Scythian colony which was established there; Gadara, before which the river Hieromix flows; Hippo, which has been previously mentioned; Dion, Pella, rich with its waters; Galasa, and Canatha. The Tetrar- chies lie between and around these cities, equal, each of them, to a kingdom, and occupying the same rank as so many kingdoms. Their names are, Trachonitis, Panias, in which is Cæsarea, with the spring previously mentioned, Abila, Arca, Ampeloëssa, and Gabe.

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  CHAP. 17. (19.)

  PUŒNICE.

  We must now return to the coast and to Phœnice. There was formerly a town here known as Crocodilon; there is still a river of that name: Dorum and Sycaminon are the names of cities of which the remembrance only exists. We then come to the Promontory of Carmelus, and, upon the mountain, a town of that name, formerly called Acbatana. Next to this are Getta, Jeba, and the river Pacida, or Belus, which throws up on its narrow banks a kind of sand from which glass is made: this river flows from the marshes of Cendebia, at the foot of Mount Carmelus. Close to this river is Ptolemais, formerly called Ace, a colony of Claudius Cæsar; and then the town of Ecdippa, and the promontory known as the White Promontory. We next come to the city of Tyre, formerly an island, separated from the mainland by a channel of the sea, of great depth, 700 paces in width, but now joined to it by the works which were thrown up by Alexander when besieging it, — the Tyre so famous in ancient times for its offspring, the cities to which it gave birth, Leptis, Utica, and Carthage, — that rival of the Roman sway, that thirsted so eagerly for the conquest of the whole earth; Gades, too, which she founded beyond the limits of the world. At the present day, all her fame is confined to the production of the murex and the purple. Its circumference, including therein Palætyrus, is nineteen miles, the place itself extending twenty-two stadia. The next towns are Sarepta and Ornithon, and then Sidon, famous for its manufacture of glass, and the parent of Thebes in Bœotia.

  (20.) In the rear of this spot begins the chain of Libanus, which extends 1500 stadia, as far as Simyra; this district has the name of Cœle Syria. Opposite to this chain, and separated from it by an intervening valley, stretches away the range of Antilibanus, which was formerly connected with Libanus by a wall. Beyond it, and lying in the interior, is the region of Decapolis, and, with it, the Tetrarchies already mentioned, and the whole expanse of Palæstina. On the coast, again, and lying beneath Libanus, is the river Magoras, the colony of Berytus, which bears the name of Felix Julia, the town of Leontos, the river Lycos, Palæbyblos, the river Adonis, and the towns of Byblos, Botrys, Gigarta, Trieris, Calamos, Tripolis, inhabited by the Tyrians, Sidonians, and Aradians; Orthosia, the river Eleutheros the towns of Simyra and Marathos; and opposite, Arados, a town seven stadia long, on an island, distant 200 paces from the mainland. After passing through the country in which the before-named mountains end and the plains that lie between, Mount Bargylus is seen to rise.

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  CHAP. 18.

  SYRIA ANTIOCHIA.

  Here Phœnicia ends, and Syria recommences. The towns are, Carne, Balanea, Paltos, and Gabale; then the promontory upon which is situate the free town of Laodicea; and then Diospolis, Heraclea, Charadrus, and Posidium.

  (21.) We then come to the Promontory of Syria Antiochia. In the interior is the free city of Antiochia itself, surnamed Epidaphnes, and divided by the river Orontes. On the promontory is Seleucia, called Pieria, a free city. (22.) Beyond it lies Mount Casius, a different one from the mountain of the same name which we have already mentioned. The height of this mountain is so vast, that, at the fourth watch of the night, you can see from it, in the midst of the darkness, the sun rising on the east; and thus, by merely turning round, we may at one and the same time behold both day and night. The winding road which leads to its summit is nineteen miles in length, its perpendicular height four. Upon this coast there is the river Orontes, which takes its rise near Heliopolis, between the range of Libanus and Antilibanus. The towns are, Rhosos, and, behind it, the Gates of Syria, lying in the space between the chain of the Rhosian mountains and that of Taurus. On the coast there is the town of Myriandros, and Mount Amanus, upon which is the town of Bomitæ. This mountain separates Cilicia from Syria.

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  CHAP. 19. (23.)

  THE REMAINING PARTS OF SYRIA.

  We must now speak of the interior of Syria. Cœle Syria has the town of Apamea, divided by the river Marsyas from the Tetrarchy of the Nazerini; Bambyx, the other name of which is Hierapolis, but by the Syrians called Mabog, (here the monster Atargatis, called Derceto by the Greeks, is worshipped); and the place called Chalcis on the Belus, from which the region of Chalcidene, the most fertile part of Syria, takes its name. We here find also Cyrrhestice, with Cyrrhum, the Gazatæ, the Gindareni, the Gabeni, the two Tetrarchies called Granucomatæ, the Emeseni, the Hyla- tæ, the nation of the Ituræi, and a branch of them, the people called
the Bætarreni; the Mariamitani, the Tetrarchy known as Marnmisea, Paradisus, Pagræ, the Pinaritæ, two cities called Seleucia, besides the one already mentioned, the one Seleucia on the Euphrates, and the other Seleucia on the Belus, and the Cardytenses. The remaining part of Syria (except those parts which will be spoken of in conjunction with the Euphrates) contains the Arethusii, the Berœenses, and the Epiphanæenses; and on the east, the Laodiceni, who are called the Laodiceni on the Libanus, the Leucadii, and the Larissæi, besides seventeen other Tetrarchies, divided into kingdoms and bearing barbarous names.

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  CHAP. 20. (24.)

  THE EUPHRATES.

  This place, too, will be the most appropriate one for making some mention of the Euphrates. This river rises in Caranitis, a præfecture of Greater Armenia, according to the statement of those who have approached the nearest to its source. Domitius Corbulo says, that it rises in Mount Aba; Licinius Mucianus, at the foot of a mountain which he calls Capotes, twelve miles above Zimara, and that at its source it has the name of Pyxurates. It first flows past Derxene, and then Anaitica, shutting out the regions of Armenia from Cappadocia. Dascusa is distant from Zimara seventy-five miles; from this spot it is navigable as far as Sartona, a distance of fifty miles, thence to Melitene, in Cappadocia, distant seventy-four miles, and thence to Elegia, in Armenia, distant ten miles ; receiving in its course the rivers Lycus, Arsanias, and Arsanus. At Elegia it meets the range of Mount Taurus, but no effectual resistance is offered to its course, although the chain is here twelve miles in width. At its passage between the mountains, the river bears the name of Omma; but afterwards, when it has passed through, it receives that of Euphrates. Beyond this spot it is full of rocks, and runs with an impetuous tide. It then divides that part of Arabia which is called the country of the Orei, on the left, by a channel three schœni in width, from the territory of the Commageni on the right, and it admits of a bridge being thrown across it, even where it forces a passage through the range of Taurus. At Claudiopolis, in Cappadocia, it takes an easterly direction; and here, for the first time in this contest, Taurus turns it out of its course; though conquered before, and rent asunder by its channel, the mountain-chain now gains the victory in another way, and, breaking its career, compels it to take a southerly direction. Thus is this warfare of nature equally waged, — the river proceeding onward to the destination which it intends to reach, and the mountains forbidding it to proceed by the path which it originally intended. After passing the Cataracts, the river again becomes navigable; and, at a distance of forty miles from thence, is Samosata, the capital of Commagene.

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  CHAP. 21

  SYRIA UPON THE EUPHRATES.

  Arabia, above mentioned, has the cities of Edessa, formerly called Antiochia, and, from the name of its fountain, Callirhoë, and Carrhæ, memorable for the defeat of Crassus there. Adjoining to this is the præfecture of Mesopotamia, which derives its origin from the Assyrians, and in which are the towns of Anthemusia and Nicephorium; after which come the Arabians, known by the name of Prætavi, with Singara for their capital. Below Samosata, on the side of Syria, the river Marsyas flows into the Euphrates. At Cingilla ends the territory of Commagene, and the state of the Immei begins. The cities which are here washed by the river are those of Epiphania and Antiochia, generally known as Epiphania and Antiochia on the Euphrates; also Zeugma, seventy-two miles distant from Samosata, famous for the passage there across the Euphrates. Opposite to it is Apamia, which Seleucus, the founder of both cities, united by a bridge. The people who join up to Mesopotamia are called the Rhoali. Other towns in Syria are those of Europus, and what was formerly Thapsa- cus, now Amphipolis. We then come to the Arabian Scenitæ. The Euphrates then proceeds in its course till it reaches the place called Ura, at which, taking a turn to the east, it leaves the Syrian Deserts of Palmyra, which extend as far as the city of Petra and the regions of Arabia Felix.

  (25.) Palmyra is a city famous for the beauty of its site, the riches of its soil, and the delicious quality and abundance of its water. Its fields are surrounded by sands on every side, and are thus separated, as it were, by nature from the rest of the world. Though placed between the two great empires of Rome and Parthia, it still maintains its independence; never failing, at the very first moment that a rupture between them is threatened, to attract the careful attention of both. It is distant 337 miles from Seleucia of the Parthians, generally known as Seleucia on the Tigris, 203 from the nearest part of the Syrian coast, and twenty-seven less from Damascus.

  (26.) Below the deserts of Palmyra is the region of Stelendene, and Hierapolis, Berœa, and Chalcis, already mentioned. Beyond Palmyra, Emesa takes to itself a portion of these deserts; also Elatium, nearer to Petra by one-half than Damascus. At no great distance from Sura is Philiscum, a town of the Parthians, on the Euphrates. From this place it is ten days’ sail to Seleucia, and nearly as many to Babylon. At a distance of 594 miles beyond Zeugma, near the village of Massice, the Euphrates divides into two channels, the left one of which runs through Mesopotamia, past Seleucia, and falls into the Tigris as it flows around that city. Its channel on the right runs towards Babylon, the former capital of Chaldæa, and flows through the middle of it; and then through another city, the name of which is Otris, after which it becomes lost in the marshes. Like the Nile, this river increases at stated times, and at much about the same period. When the sun has reached the twentieth degree of Cancer, it inundates Mesopotamia; and, after he has passed through Leo and entered Virgo, its waters begin to subside. By the time the sun has entered the twenty-ninth degree of Virgo, the river has fully regained its usual height.

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  CHAP. 22. (27.)

  CILICIA AND THE ADJOINING NATIONS.

  But let us now return to the coast of Syria, joining up to which is Cilicia. We here find the river Diaphanes, Mount Crocodilus, the Gates of Mount Amanus, the rivers Androcus, Pinarus, and Lycus, the Gulf of Issos, and the town of that name; then Alexandria, the river Chlorus, the free town of Ægæ, the river Pyramus, the Gates of Cilicia, the towns of Mallos and Magarsos, and, in the interior, Tarsus. We then come to the Aleian Plains, the town of Cassipolis, Mopsos, a free town on the river Pyramus, Thynos, Zephyrium, and Anchiale. Next to these are the rivers Saros and Cydnus, the latter of which, at some distance from the sea, runs through the free city of Tarsus, the region of Celenderitis with a town of similar name, the place where Nymphæum stood, Soli of Cilicia, now called Pompeiopolis, Adana, Cibyra, Pinare, Pedalie, Ale, Selinus, Arsinoë, Iotape, Doron, and, near the sea, Corycos, there being a town, port, and cave all of the same name. Passing these, we come to the river Calycadnus, the Promontory of Sarpedon, the towns of Holmœ and Myle, and the Promontory and town of Venus, at a short distance from the island of Cyprus. On the mainland there are the towns of Myanda, Anemurium, and Coracesium, and the river Melas, the ancient boundary of Cilicia. In the interior the places more especially worthy of mention are Anazarbus, now called Cæsarea, Augusta, Castabala, Epiphania, formerly called Œniandos, Eleusa, Iconium, Seleucia upon the river Calycadnus, surnamed Tracheotis, a city removed from the sea-shore, where it had the name of Holmia. Besides those already mentioned, there are in the interior the rivers Liparis, Bombos, Paradisus, and Mount Imbarus.

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  CHAP. 23.

  ISAURIA AND THE HOMONADES.

  All the geographers have mentioned Pamphylia as joining up to Cilicia, without taking any notice of the people of Isauria. Its cities are, in the interior, Isaura, Clibanus, and Lalasis; it runs down towards the sea by the side of Anemurium already mentioned. In a similar manner also, all who have treated of this subject have been ignorant of the existence of the nation of the Homonades bordering upon Isauria, and their town of Homona in the interior. There are forty-four other fortresses, which lie concealed amid rugged crags and valleys.

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  CHAP
. 24.

  PISIDIA.

  The Pisidæ, formerly called the Solymi, occupy the higher parts of the mountains. In their country there is the colony of Cæsarea, also called Antiochia, and the towns of Oroanda and Sagalessos.

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  CHAP. 25

  LYCAONIA.

  These people are bounded by Lycaonia, which belongs to the jurisdiction of the province of Asia, to which also resort the people of Philomelium, Tymbrium, Leucolithium, Pelta, and Tyrium. To this jurisdiction is also added a Tetrarchy of Lycaonia in that part which joins up to Galatia, containing fourteen states, with the famous city of Iconium. In Lycaonia itself the most noted places are Thebasa on Taurus, and Hyde, on the confines of Galatia and Cappadocia. On the [western] side of Lycaonia, and above Pamphylia, come the Milyæ, a people descended from the Thracians; their city is Arycanda.

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