Delphi Complete Works of Pliny the Elder

by Pliny the Elder

  When the Euphrates ceases, by running in its channel, to afford protections to those who dwell on its banks, which it does when it approaches the confines of Charax, the country is immediately infested by the Attali, a predatory people of Arabia, beyond whom are found the Scenite. 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, it takes a turn to the south, 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 in Syria, on the shores of our sea, one hundred and seventy-five miles. Such is the extent of the land that lies in these parts between the two seas. The length of the kingdom of Parthia is nine hundred and eighteen miles.

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  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. (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, from a very remarkable source, situate on a plain. The name of the spot is Elegosine, and the stream, as soon as it begins to flow, though with a slow current, has the name of Diglito. When its course becomes more rapid, it assumes the name of Tigris, given to it on account of its swiftness, that word signifying an arrow in the Median language. It then flows into Lake Arethusa, 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 in a cavern of that mountain, and passing beneath it, bursts forth on the other side; the spot bears the name of Zoroande. 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. Claudius Cæsar informs us that, in the district of Arrene it flows so near to the river Arsanias, 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 from the Adiabeni, and then forms by its course, as previously mentioned, the country of Mesopotamia. After traversing the mountains of the Gordyæi, it passes round Apamea, a town of Mesene, one hundred and twenty-five miles on this side of Babylonian Seleucia, and then divides into two channels, one 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, 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, which comes from Media; and then, as we have already stated, 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; we have already made mention of Mesene, one of its districts. Dabithac is a town there, adjoining to which is the district of Chalonitis, with the city of Ctesiphon, famous, not only for its palm-groves, but for its olives, fruits, and other shrubs. Mount Zagrus reaches as far as this district, and extends from Armenia between the Medi and the Adiabeni, above Parætacene and Persis. Chalonitis 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 and Palæstine. Its city of Sittace is of Greek origin; this and Sabdata lie to the east, and on the west is Antiochia, between the two rivers Tigris and Tornadotus, as also Apamea, to which Antiochus gave this name, being that of his mother. The Tigris surrounds this city, which is also traversed by the waters of the Archoüs.

  Below this district is Susiane, in which is the city of Susa, 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. Upon the northern channel of the river Tigris is the town of Babytace, 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. 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 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 the Pasitigris to Susa, there is a village situate on the Chaldæan Lake, Aple by name, from which to Susa is a distance of sixty miles and a half. Adjoining to the people of Susiane, on the east, are the Cossiei; and above them, to the north, is Mesabatene, lying at the foot of Mount Cambalidus, 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 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, and for that reason carry it with them on their journies to any considerable distance. This river receives the waters of the Hedypnos, which passes Asylus, in Persis, and those of the Aduna, which rises in Susiane. Magoa 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, upon the coast adjoining to Persis, and extending from the river Orates to Charax, a distance of two hundred and forty miles. Its towns are Seleucia and Socrate, upon Mount Casyrus. The shore which lies in front of this district is, as we have already stated, rendered inaccessible by mud, 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, 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 Taur
us 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: 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, 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 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, 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 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 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.

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  CHAP. 32. (28.)

  ARABIA.

  Arabia, inferior to no country throughout the whole world, is of immense extent, running downwards, as we have previously stated, from Mount Amanus, over against Cilicia and Commagene; many of the Arabian nations having been removed to those countries by Tigranes the Great, while others again have migrated of their own accord to the shores of our sea and the coast of Egypt, as we have already mentioned. The Nubei 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 of Italy, there being no difference either in the climate of the two countries, as they lie in the same latitudes. This, too, renders it equally fertile with the countries of Italy. We have already mentioned 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, 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, 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, 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 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, 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, and the Promontory of Chaldone, from which spot, the sea along the coast, for an extent of fifty miles, 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. Here we find the city of Gerra, five miles in circumference, with towers built of square blocks of salt. Fifty miles from the coast, lying in the interior, is the region of At- tene, and opposite to Gerra is the island of Tylos, 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, 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. Beyond this, the navigation is impracticable on that side, according to Juba, on account of the rocks; and he has omitted all mention of Batrasave, a town of the Omani, and of the city of Omana, which former writers have made out to be a famous port of Carmania; 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, 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, the region of Car
daleon, 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, 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 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, with numerous islands, and the city of Acila, which is their mart, and from which persons embark for India. We next come to the region of Amithos- cutta. Damnia, the Greater and the Lesser Mizi, and the Drimati. The promontory of the Naumachæi, over against Carmania, is distant from it fifty miles. A wonderful circumstance is said to have happened here; Numenius, who was made governor of Mesena by king Antiochus, while fighting against the Persians, defeated them at sea, and at low water, by land, with an army of cavalry, on the same day; in memory of which event he erected a twofold trophy on the same spot, in honour of Jupiter and Neptune.