For
what is ancient, false, and marvellous is called fable.
what is ancient, false, and marvellous is called fable.
Strabo
Their habits are the same even in a foreign country, for they
are acquainted with wooded tracts, in which, after concealing their
camaræ, they wander about on foot day and night, for the purpose of
capturing the inhabitants and reducing them to slavery. But they readily
allow whatever is taken to be ransomed, and signify this after their
departure to those who have lost their property. In places where there
is a regular government, the injured find means of repelling them. For,
frequently, the pirates are attacked in return, and are carried off
together with their camaræ. But the country subject to the Romans is not
so well protected, in consequence of the neglect of those who are sent
there.
13. Such then is their mode of life. But even these people are governed
by persons called Sceptuchi, and these again are subject to the
authority of tyrants, or of kings. The Heniochi had four kings at the
time that Mithridates Eupator fled from the country of his ancestors to
the Bosporus, and passed through their country, which was open to him,
but he avoided that of the Zygi on account of its ruggedness, and the
savage character of the people. He proceeded with difficulty along the
sea-coast, frequently embarking in vessels, till he came to the country
of the Achæi, by whom he was hospitably received. He had then completed
a journey from the Phasis of not much less than 4000 stadia.
14. From Corocondame, the course of the voyage is directly towards the
east. At the distance of 180 stadia is the Sindic harbour, and a city.
Then at the distance of 400 stadia is Bata,[934] as it is called, a
village with a harbour. It is at this place that Sinope on the south
seems to be directly opposite to this coast, as Carambis[935] has been
said to be opposite to Criu-Metopon. [936]
Next to Bata Artemidorus places the coast of the Cercetæ, which has
places of shelter for vessels, and villages along an extent of about 850
stadia; then at 500 stadia more the coast of the Achæi, then that of the
Heniochi, at 1000 stadia, then the Great Pityus, from which to
Dioscurias are 360 stadia.
The authors most worthy of credit who have written the history of the
Mithridatic wars, enumerate the Achæi first, then Zygi, then Heniochi,
then Cercetæ, Moschi, Colchi, and above these the Phtheirophagi, Soanes,
and other smaller nations about the Caucasus.
The [CAS. 497] direction of the sea-coast is at first, as I have said,
towards the east, with a southern aspect; but from Bata it makes a bend
for a small distance, then fronts the west, and terminates towards
Pityus, and Dioscurias, for these places are contiguous to the coast of
Colchis, which I have already mentioned. Next to Dioscurias is the
remainder of the coast of Colchis, and Trapezus contiguous to it; where
the coast, having made a considerable turn, then extends nearly in a
straight line, and forms the side on the right hand of the Euxine,
looking to the north.
The whole of the coast of the Achæi, and of the other nations, as far as
Dioscurias, and the inland places lying in a straight line towards the
south, are at the foot of the Caucasus.
15. This mountain overhangs both the Euxine and the Caspian seas,
forming a kind of rampart to the isthmus which separates one sea from
the other. To the south it is the boundary of Albania and Iberia, to the
north, of the plains of the Sarmatians. It is well wooded, and contains
various kinds of timber, and especially trees adapted to ship-building.
Eratosthenes says that the Caucasus is called Mount Caspius by the
natives, a name borrowed perhaps from the Caspii. It throws out forks
towards the south, which embrace the middle of Iberia, and touch the
Armenian and those called the Moschic mountains,[937] and besides these
the mountains of Scydises, and the Paryadres. All these are portions of
the Taurus, which forms the southern side of Armenia, and are broken off
in a manner from it towards the north, and extend as far as Caucasus,
and the coast of the Euxine which lies between Colchis and
Themiscyra. [938]
16. Situated on a bay of this kind, and occupying the most easterly
point of the whole sea, is Dioscurias,[939] called the recess of the
Euxine Sea, and the extreme boundary of navigation, for in this sense we
are to understand the proverbial saying,
“To Phasis where ships end their course. ”
Not as if the author of the iambic intended to speak of the river, nor
of the city of the same name upon the river, but Colchis designated by a
part, because from the city and the river there remains a voyage of not
less than 600 stadia in a straight line to the recess of the bay. This
same Dioscurias is the commencement of the isthmus lying between the
Caspian Sea and the Euxine. It is a common mart of the nations situated
above it, and in its neighbourhood. There assemble at Dioscurias 70 or,
according to some writers who are careless in their statements,[940] 300
nations. All speak different languages, from living dispersed in various
places and without intercourse, in consequence of their fierce and
savage manners. They are chiefly Sarmatians, but all of them Caucasian
tribes. So much then respecting Dioscurias.
17. The greater part of the rest of Colchis lies upon the sea. The
Phasis,[941] a large river, flows through it. It has its source in
Armenia, and receives the Glaucus,[942] and the Hippus,[943] which issue
from the neighbouring mountains. Vessels ascend it as far as the
fortress of Sarapana,[944] which is capable of containing the population
even of a city. Persons proceed thence by land to the Cyrus in four days
along a carriage road. [945] Upon the Phasis is a city of the same name,
a mart of the Colchians, bounded on one side by the river, on another by
a lake, on the third by the sea. Thence it is a voyage of three or
two[946] days to Amisus and Sinope, on account of the softness of the
shores caused by the discharge of rivers. [947]
The country is fertile and its produce is good, except the [CAS. 498]
honey, which has generally a bitter taste. It furnishes all materials
for ship-building. It produces them in great plenty, and they are
conveyed down by its rivers. It supplies flax, hemp, wax, and pitch, in
great abundance. Its linen manufacture is celebrated, for it was
exported to foreign parts; and those who wish to establish an affinity
of race between the Colchians and the Ægyptians, advance this as a proof
of it.
Above the rivers which I have mentioned in the Moschic territory is the
temple of Leucothea,[948] founded by Phrixus[949] and his oracle, where
a ram is not sacrificed. It was once rich, but was plundered in our time
by Pharnaces, and a little afterwards by Mithridates of Pergamus. [950]
For when a country is devastated, in the words of Euripides,
“respect to the gods languishes, and they are not honoured. ”[951]
18. How great anciently was the celebrity of this country, appears from
the fables which refer obscurely to the expedition of Jason, who
advanced as far even as Media; and still earlier intimations of it are
found in the fables relative to the expedition of Phrixus. The kings
that preceded, and who possessed the country when it was divided into
Sceptuchies,[952] were not very powerful, but when Mithridates Eupator
had enlarged his territory, this country fell under his dominion. One of
his courtiers was always sent as sub-governor and administrator of its
public affairs. Of this number was Moaphernes, my mother’s paternal
uncle. It was from this country that the king derived the greatest part
of his supplies for the equipment of his naval armament. But upon the
overthrow of Mithridates, all the country subject to his power was
disunited, and divided among several persons. At last Polemon obtained
possession of Colchis, and after his death his wife Pythodoris reigned
over the Colchians, Trapezus, Pharnacia, and the Barbarians situated
above them, of whom I shall speak in another place.
The territory of the Moschi, in which is situated the temple, is divided
into three portions, one of which is occupied by Colchians, another by
Iberians, and the third by Armenians. There is in Iberia on the confines
of Colchis, a small city, the city of Phrixus, the present Idessa, a
place of strength. The river Charis[953] flows near Dioscurias.
19. Among the nations that assemble at Dioscurias are the Phtheiropagi,
who have their appellation from their dirt and filth.
Near them live the Soanes, not less dirty in their habits, but superior
perhaps to all the tribes in strength and courage. They are masters of
the country around them, and occupy the heights of Caucasus above
Dioscurias. They have a king, and a council of three hundred persons.
They can assemble, it is said, an army of two hundred thousand men, for
all their people are fighting men, but not distributed into certain
orders. In their country the winter torrents are said to bring down even
gold, which the Barbarians collect in troughs pierced with holes, and
lined with fleeces; and hence the fable of the golden fleece. Some[954]
say that they are called Iberians (the same name as the western
Iberians) from the gold mines found in both countries. The Soanes use
poison of an extraordinary kind for the points of their weapons; even
the odour of this poison is a cause of suffering to those who are
wounded by arrows thus prepared.
The other neighbouring nations about the Caucasus occupy barren and
narrow tracts of land. But the tribes of the Albanians and Iberians, who
possess nearly the whole of the above-mentioned isthmus, may also be
denominated Caucasian, and yet they live in a fertile country and
capable of being well peopled.
CHAPTER III.
1. [CAS. 499] The greater part of Iberia is well inhabited, and contains
cities and villages where the houses have roofs covered with tiles, and
display skill in building; there are market-places in them, and various
kinds of public edifices.
2. Some part of the country is encompassed by the Caucasian mountains;
for branches of this range advance, as I have said, towards the south.
These districts are fruitful, comprise the whole of Iberia, and extend
to Armenia and Colchis. In the middle is a plain watered by rivers, the
largest of which is the Cyrus, which, rising in Armenia, immediately
enters the above-mentioned plain, having received the Aragus,[955] which
flows at the foot of the Caucasus, and other streams, passes through a
narrow channel into Albania. It flows however between this country and
Armenia in a large body through plains, which afford excellent pasture.
After having received several rivers, and among these the
Alazonius,[956] Sandobanes, the Rhœtaces, and Chanes, all of which are
navigable, it discharges itself into the Caspian Sea. Its former name
was Corus.
3. The plain is occupied by those Iberians who are more disposed to
agriculture, and are inclined to peace. Their dress is after the
Armenian and Median fashion. Those who inhabit the mountainous country,
and they are the most numerous, are addicted to war, live like the
Sarmatians and Scythians, on whose country they border, and with whom
they are connected by affinity of race. These people however engage in
agriculture also, and can assemble many myriads of persons from among
themselves, and from the Scythians and Sarmatians, whenever any
disturbance occurs.
4. There are four passes into the country; one through Sarapana, a
Colchian fortress, and through the defiles near it, along which the
Phasis, rendered passable from one side to the other by a hundred and
twenty bridges, in consequence of the winding of its stream, descends
abruptly and violently into Colchis. The places in its course are
hollowed by numerous torrents, during the rainy season. It rises in the
mountains which lie above, and many springs contribute to swell its
stream. In the plains it receives other rivers also, among which are the
Glaucus[957] and the Hippus. [958] The stream thus filled and navigable
discharges itself into the Pontus. It has on its banks a city of the
same name, and near it a lake. Such is the nature of the entrance into
Iberia from Colchis, shut in by rocks and strongholds, and by rivers
running through ravines.
5. From the Nomades on the north there is a difficult ascent for three
days, and then a narrow road by the side of the river Aragus, a journey
of four days, which road admits only one person to pass at a time. The
termination of the road is guarded by an impregnable wall.
From Albania the entrance is at first cut through rocks, then passes
over a marsh formed by the river (Alazonius),[959] in its descent from
the Caucasus. On the side of Armenia are the narrow passes on the Cyrus,
and those on the Aragus, for before the junction of these rivers they
have on their banks strong cities set upon rocks, at the distance from
each other of about 18 stadia, as Harmozica[960] on the Cyrus, and on
the other (Aragus) Seusamora. Pompey formerly in his way from Armenia,
and afterwards Canidius, marched through these passes into Iberia.
6. The inhabitants of this country are also divided into four classes;
the first and chief is that from which the kings are appointed. The king
is the oldest and the nearest of his predecessor’s relations. The second
administers justice, and is commander of the army.
The second class consists of priests, whose business it is to settle the
respective rights of their own and the bordering people.
The third is composed of soldiers and husbandmen. The fourth comprehends
the common people, who are royal slaves, and perform all the duties of
ordinary life.
Possessions [CAS. 501] are common property in families, but the eldest
governs, and is the steward of each.
Such is the character of the Iberians, and the nature of their country.
CHAPTER IV.
1. The Albanians pursue rather a shepherd life, and resemble more the
nomadic tribes, except that they are not savages, and hence they are
little disposed to war. They inhabit the country between the Iberians
and the Caspian Sea, approaching close to the sea on the east, and on
the west border upon the Iberians.
Of the remaining sides the northern is protected by the Caucasian
mountains, for these overhang the plains, and are called, particularly
those near the sea, Ceraunian mountains. The southern side is formed by
Armenia, which extends along it. A large portion of it consists of
plains, and a large portion also of mountains, as Cambysene, where the
Armenians approach close both to the Iberians and the Albanians.
2. The Cyrus, which flows through Albania, and the other rivers which
swell the stream of the Cyrus, improve the qualities of the land, but
remove the sea to a distance. For the mud, accumulating in great
quantity, fills up the channel in such a manner, that the small adjacent
islands are annexed to the continent, irregular marshes are formed, and
difficult to be avoided; the reverberation also of the tide increases
the irregular formation of the marshes. The mouth of the river is said
to be divided into twelve branches, some of which afford no passage
through them, others are so shallow as to leave no shelter for vessels.
The shore for an extent of more than 60 stadia is inundated by the sea,
and by the rivers; all that part of it is inaccessible; the mud reaches
even as far as 500 stadia, and forms a bank along the coast. The
Araxes[961] discharges its waters not far off, coming with an impetuous
stream from Armenia, but the mud which this river impels forward,
making the channel pervious, is replaced by the Cyrus.
3. Perhaps such a race of people have no need of the sea, for they do
not make a proper use even of the land, which produces every kind of
fruit, even the most delicate, and every kind of plant and evergreen. It
is not cultivated with the least care; but all that is excellent grows
without sowing, and without ploughing, according to the accounts of
persons who have accompanied armies there, and describe the inhabitants
as leading a Cyclopean mode of life. In many places the ground, which
has been sowed once, produces two or three crops, the first of which is
even fifty-fold, and that without a fallow, nor is the ground turned
with an iron instrument, but with a plough made entirely of wood. The
whole plain is better watered than Babylon or Ægypt, by rivers and
streams, so that it always presents the appearance of herbage, and it
affords excellent pasture. The air here is better than in those
countries. The vines remain always without digging round them, and are
pruned every five years. The young trees bear fruit even the second
year, but the full grown yield so much that a large quantity of it is
left on the branches. The cattle, both tame and wild, thrive well in
this country.
4. The men are distinguished for beauty of person and for size. They are
simple in their dealings and not fraudulent, for they do not in general
use coined money; nor are they acquainted with any number above a
hundred, and transact their exchanges by loads. They are careless with
regard to the other circumstances of life. They are ignorant of weights
and measures as far as exactness is concerned; they are improvident with
respect to war, government, and agriculture. They fight however on foot
and on horseback, both in light and in heavy armour, like the Armenians.
5. They can send into the field a larger army than the Iberians, for
they can equip 60,000 infantry and 22,000 horsemen; with such a force
they offered resistance to Pompey. The Nomades also co-operate with them
against foreigners, as they do with the Iberians on similar occasions.
When there is no war they frequently attack these people and prevent
them from cultivating the ground. They use javelins and bows, and wear
breastplates, shields, and coverings for the [CAS. 502] head, made of
the hides of wild animals, like the Iberians.
To the country of the Albanians belongs Caspiana, and has its name from
the Caspian tribe, from whom the sea also has its appellation; the
Caspian tribe is now extinct.
The entrance from Iberia into Albania is through the Cambysene, a
country without water, and rocky, to the river Alazonius. The people
themselves and their dogs are excessively fond of the chase, pursuing it
with equal eagerness and skill.
6. Their kings differ from one another; at present one king governs all
the tribes. Formerly each tribe was governed by a king, who spoke the
peculiar language of each. They speak six and twenty languages from the
want of mutual intercourse and communication with one another.
The country produces some venomous reptiles, as scorpions and
tarantulas. These tarantulas cause death in some instances by laughter,
in others by grief and a longing to return home.
7. The gods they worship are the Sun, Jupiter, and the Moon, but the
Moon above the rest. She has a temple near Iberia. The priest is a
person who, next to the king, receives the highest honours. He has the
government of the sacred land, which is extensive and populous, and
authority over the sacred attendants, many of whom are divinely
inspired, and prophesy. Whoever of these persons, being violently
possessed, wanders alone in the woods, is seized by the priest, who,
having bound him with sacred fetters, maintains him sumptuously during
that year. Afterwards he is brought forth at the sacrifice performed in
honour of the goddess, and is anointed with fragrant ointment and
sacrificed together with other victims. The sacrifice is performed in
the following manner. A person, having in his hand a sacred lance, with
which it is the custom to sacrifice human victims, advances out of the
crowd and pierces the heart through the side, which he does from
experience in this office. When the man has fallen, certain
prognostications are indicated by the manner of the fall, and these are
publicly declared. The body is carried away to a certain spot, and then
they all trample upon it, performing this action as a mode of
purification of themselves.
8. The Albanians pay the greatest respect to old age, which is not
confined to their parents, but is extended to old persons in general.
It is regarded as impious to show any concern for the dead, or to
mention their names. Their money is buried with them, hence they live in
poverty, having no patrimony.
So much concerning the Albanians. It is said that when Jason,
accompanied by Armenus the Thessalian, undertook the voyage to the
Colchi, they advanced as far as the Caspian Sea, and traversed Iberia,
Albania, a great part of Armenia, and Media, as the Jasoneia and many
other monuments testify. Armenus, they say, was a native of Armenium,
one of the cities on the lake Bœbeis, between Pheræ and Parisa, and that
his companions settled in Acilisene, and the Suspiritis, and occupied
the country as far as Calachene and Adiabene, and that he gave his own
name to Armenia.
CHAPTER V.
1. The Amazons are said to live among the mountains above Albania.
Theophanes, who accompanied Pompey in his wars, and was in the country
of the Albanians, says that Gelæ and Legæ,[962] Scythian tribes, live
between the Amazons and the Albanians, and that the river
Mermadalis[963] takes its course in the country lying in the middle
between these people and the Amazons. But other writers, and among these
Metrodorus of Scepsis, and Hypsicrates, who were themselves acquainted
with these places, say that the Amazons bordered upon the
Gargarenses[964] on the north, at the foot of the Caucasian mountains,
which are called Ceraunia.
When [CAS. 504] at home they are occupied in performing with their own
hands the work of ploughing, planting, pasturing cattle, and
particularly in training horses. The strongest among them spend much of
their time in hunting on horseback, and practise warlike exercises. All
of them from infancy have the right breast seared, in order that they
may use the arm with ease for all manner of purposes, and particularly
for throwing the javelin. They employ the bow also, and sagaris, (a kind
of sword,) and wear a buckler. They make helmets, and coverings for the
body, and girdles, of the skins of wild animals. They pass two months of
the spring on a neighbouring mountain, which is the boundary between
them and the Gargarenses. The latter also ascend the mountain according
to some ancient custom for the purpose of performing common sacrifices,
and of having intercourse with the women with a view to offspring, in
secret and in darkness, the man with the first woman he meets. When the
women are pregnant they are sent away. The female children that may be
born are retained by the Amazons themselves, but the males are taken to
the Gargarenses to be brought up. The children are distributed among
families, in which the master treats them as his own, it being
impossible to ascertain the contrary.
2. The Mermodas,[965] descending like a torrent from the mountains
through the country of the Amazons, the Siracene, and the intervening
desert, discharges itself into the Mæotis. [966]
It is said that the Gargarenses ascended together with the Amazons from
Themiscyra to these places, that they then separated, and with the
assistance of some Thracians and Eubœans, who had wandered as far as
this country, made war against the Amazons, and at length, upon its
termination, entered into a compact on the conditions above mentioned,
namely, that there should be a companionship only with respect to
offspring, and that they should live each independent of the other.
3. There is a peculiarity in the history of the Amazons. In other
histories the fabulous and the historical parts are kept distinct.
For
what is ancient, false, and marvellous is called fable. But history has
truth for its object, whether it be old or new, and it either rejects or
rarely admits the marvellous. But, with regard to the Amazons, the same
facts are related both by modern and by ancient writers; they are
marvellous and exceed belief. For who can believe that an army of women,
or a city, or a nation, could ever subsist without men? and not only
subsist, but make inroads upon the territory of other people, and obtain
possession not only of the places near them, and advance even as far as
the present Ionia, but even despatch an expedition across the sea to
Attica? This is as much as to say that the men of those days were women,
and the women men. But even now the same things are told of the Amazons,
and the peculiarity of their history is increased by the credit which is
given to ancient, in preference to modern, accounts.
4. They are said to have founded cities, and to have given their names
to them, as Ephesus, Smyrna, Cyme, Myrina, besides leaving sepulchres
and other memorials. Themiscyra, the plains about the Thermodon, and the
mountains lying above, are mentioned by all writers as once belonging to
the Amazons, from whence, they say, they were driven out. Where they are
at present few writers undertake to point out, nor do they advance
proofs or probability for what they state; as in the case of Thalestria,
queen of the Amazons, with whom Alexander is said to have had
intercourse in Hyrcania with the hope of having offspring. Writers are
not agreed on this point, and among many who have paid the greatest
regard to truth none mention the circumstance, nor do writers of the
highest credit mention anything of the kind, nor do those who record it
relate the same facts. Cleitarchus says that Thalestria set out from the
Caspian Gates and Thermodon to meet Alexander. Now from the Caspian
Gates to Thermodon are more than 6000 stadia.
5. Stories circulated for the purpose of exalting the fame [of eminent
persons] are not received with equal favour by all; the object of the
inventors was flattery rather than truth; [CAS. 505] they transferred,
for example, the Caucasus to the mountains of India, and to the eastern
sea, which approaches close to them, from the mountains situated above
Colchis, and the Euxine Sea. These are the mountains to which the Greeks
give the name of Caucasus, and are distant more than 30,000 stadia from
India. Here they lay the scene of Prometheus and his chains, for these
were the farthest places towards the east with which the people of those
times were acquainted. The expeditions of Bacchus and of Hercules
against the Indi indicate a mythological story of later date, for
Hercules is said to have released Prometheus a thousand years after he
was first chained to the rock. It was more glorious too for Alexander to
subjugate Asia as far as the mountains of India, than to the recess only
of the Euxine Sea and the Caucasus. The celebrity, and the name of the
mountain, together with the persuasion that Jason and his companions had
accomplished the most distant of all expeditions when they had arrived
in the neighbourhood of the Caucasus, and the tradition that Prometheus
had been chained on Caucasus at the extremity of the earth, induced
writers to suppose that they should gratify the king by transferring the
name of the mountain to India.
6. The highest points of the actual Caucasus are the most southerly, and
lie near Albania, Iberia, the Colchi, and Heniochi. They are inhabited
by the people whom I have mentioned as assembling at Dioscurias. They
resort thither chiefly for the purpose of procuring salt. Of these
tribes some occupy the heights; others live in wooded valleys, and
subsist chiefly on the flesh of wild animals, wild fruits, and milk. The
heights are impassable in winter; in summer they are ascended by
fastening on the feet shoes as wide as drums, made of raw hide, and
furnished with spikes on account of the snow and ice. The natives in
descending with their loads slide down seated upon skins, which is the
practice in Media, Atropatia, and at Mount Masius in Armenia, but there
they fasten circular disks of wood with spikes to the soles of their
feet. Such then is the nature of the heights of Caucasus.
7. On descending to the country lying at the foot of these heights the
climate is more northerly, but milder, for the land below the heights
joins the plains of the Siraces. There are some tribes of Troglodytæ who
inhabit caves on account of the cold. There is plenty[967] of grain to
be had in the country.
Next to the Troglodytæ are Chamæcœtæ,[968] and a tribe called Polyphagi
(the voracious), and the villages of the Eisadici, who are able to
cultivate the ground because they are not altogether exposed to the
north.
8. Immediately afterwards follow shepherd tribes, situated between the
Mæotis and the Caspian Sea, Nabiani, Pangani,[969] the tribes also of
the Siraces and Aorsi.
The Aorsi and Siraces seem to be a fugitive people from parts situated
above. The Aorsi lie more to the north. [970]
Abeacus, king of the Siraces, when Pharnases occupied the Bosporus,
equipped 20,000 horse, and Spadines, king of the Aorsi 200,000, and the
Upper Aorsi even a larger body, for they were masters of a greater
extent of territory, and nearly the largest part of the coast of the
Caspian Sea was under their power. They were thus enabled to transport
on camels the merchandise of India and Babylonia, receiving it from
Armenians and Medes. They wore gold also in their dress in consequence
of their wealth.
The Aorsi live on the banks of the Tanaïs, and the Siraces on those of
Achardeus, which rises in Caucasus, and discharges itself into the
Mæotis.
CHAPTER VI.
1. The second portion of northern Asia begins from the Caspian Sea,
where the first terminates. This sea is called also the Hyrcanian Sea.
We must first speak of this sea, and of the nations that live near its
shores.
It is a bay extending from the Ocean to the south. At its commencement
it is very narrow; as it advances further inwards, and particularly
towards the extremity, it widens to the extent of about 500 stadia. The
voyage from the entrance [CAS. 507] to the extremity may exceed that a
little, the entrance approaching very near the uninhabited regions.
Eratosthenes says that the navigation of this sea was known to the
Greeks, that the part of the voyage along the coast of the Albanians and
Cadusïi[971] comprised 5400 stadia; and the part along the country of
the Anariaci, Mardi, [or Amardi,] and Hyrcani, as far as the mouth of
the river Oxus,[972] 4800 stadia, and thence to the Iaxartes[973] 2400
stadia.
But with respect to the places situated in this portion of Asia, and to
those lying so far removed from our own country, we must not understand
the accounts of writers in too literal a sense, particularly with regard
to distances.
2. Upon sailing into the Caspian, on the right hand, contiguous to the
Europeans, Scythians and Sarmatians occupy the country between the
Tanaïs and this sea; they are chiefly Nomades, or shepherd tribes, of
whom I have already spoken. On the left hand are the Eastern Scythian
Nomades, who extend as far as the Eastern sea, and India.
The ancient Greek historians called all the nations towards the north by
the common name of Scythians, and Kelto-Scythians. Writers still more
ancient than these called the nations living above the Euxine, Danube,
and Adriatic, Hyperboreans, Sauromatæ, and Arimaspi. [974] But in
speaking of the nations on the other side the Caspian Sea, they called
some Sacæ,[975] others Massagetæ. They were unable to give any exact
account of them, although they relate the history of the war of Cyrus
with the Massagetæ. Concerning these nations no one has ascertained the
truth, and the ancient histories of Persia, Media, and Syria have not
obtained much credit on account of the credulity of the writers and
their love of fable.
3. For these authors, having observed that those who professedly were
writers of fables obtained repute and success, supposed that they also
should make their writings agreeable, if, under the form of history,
they related what they had never seen nor heard, (not at least from
eye-witnesses,) and had no other object than to please and surprise the
reader. A person would more readily believe the stories of the heroes in
Hesiod, Homer, and in the tragic poets, than Ctesias, Herodotus,
Hellanicus, and writers of this kind.
4. We cannot easily credit the generality of the historians of
Alexander, for they practise deception with a view to enhance the glory
of Alexander; the expedition also was directed to the extremities of
Asia, at a great distance from our country, and it is difficult to
ascertain or detect the truth or falsehood of what is remote. The
dominion of the Romans and of the Parthians has added very much to
former discoveries, and the writers who speak of these people describe
nations and places, where certain actions were performed, in a manner
more likely to produce belief than preceding historians, for they had
better opportunities of personal observation.
CHAPTER VII.
1. The nomades, or wandering tribes, who live on the left side of the
coast on entering the Caspian Sea, are called by the moderns Dahæ, and
surnamed Parni. [976] Then there intervenes a desert tract, which is
followed by Hyrcania; here the Caspian spreads like a deep sea till it
approaches the Median and Armenian mountains. The shape of these hills
at the foot is lunated. [977] Their extremities terminate at the sea, and
form the recess of the bay.
A small part of this country at the foot of the mountains, as far as the
heights, if we reckon from the sea, is inhabited by some tribes of
Albanians and Armenians, but the greater portion by Gelæ, Cadusii,
Amardi, Vitii, and Anariacæ. It is said, that some Parrhasii were
settled together with the Anariacæ, who are now called Parrhasii,
(Parsii? ) and that the Ænianes built a walled city in the territory of
the Vitii, which city is [CAS. 508] now called Æniana (Ænia). Grecian
armour, brazen vessels, and sepulchres are shown there. There also is a
city Anariacæ, in which it is said an oracle is shown, where the answer
is given to those who consult it, during sleep, [and some vestiges of
Greek colonization, but all these] tribes are predatory, and more
disposed to war than husbandry, which arises from the rugged nature of
the country. The greater part of the coast at the foot of the
mountainous region is occupied by Cadusii, to the extent of nearly 5000
stadia, according to Patrocles, who thinks that this sea equals the
Euxine in size. These countries are sterile.
2. Hyrcania[978] is very fertile, and extensive, consisting for the most
part of plains, and has considerable cities dispersed throughout it, as
Talabroce, Samariane, Carta, and the royal residence, Tape,[979] which
is said to be situated a little above the sea, and distant 1400 stadia
from the Caspian Gates. The following facts are narrated as indications
of the fertility of the country. [980] The vine produces a metretes[981]
of wine; the fig-tree sixty medimni[982] of fruit; the corn grows from
the seed which falls out of the stalk; bees make their hives in the
trees, and honey drops from among the leaves. This is the case also in
the territory of Matiane in Media, and in the Sacasene, and Araxene of
Armenia. [983]
But neither this country, nor the sea which is named after it, has
received proper care and attention from the inhabitants, for there are
no vessels upon the sea, nor is it turned to any use. According to some
writers there are islands on it, capable of being inhabited, in which
gold is found. The cause of this neglect is this; the first governors of
Hyrcania were barbarians, Medes, and Persians, and lastly, people who
were more oppressive than these, namely, Parthians. The whole of the
neighbouring country was the haunt of robbers and wandering tribes, and
abounded with tracts of desert land. For a short time Macedonians were
sovereigns of the country, but being engaged in war were unable to
attend to remote possessions. Aristobulus says that Hyrcania has
forests, and produces the oak, but not the pitch pine,[984] nor the
fir,[985] nor the pine,[986] but that India abounds with these trees.
Nesæa[987] belongs to Hyrcania, but some writers make it an independent
district.
3. Hyrcania[988] is watered by the rivers Ochus and Oxus as far as their
entrance into the sea. The Ochus flows through Nesæa, but some writers
say that the Ochus empties itself into the Oxus.
Aristobulus avers that the Oxus was the largest river, except those in
India, which he had seen in Asia. He says also that it is navigable with
ease, (this circumstance both Aristobulus and Eratosthenes borrow from
Patrocles,) and that large quantities of Indian merchandise are conveyed
by it to the Hyrcanian Sea, and are transferred from thence into Albania
by the Cyrus, and through the adjoining countries to the Euxine. The
Ochus is not often mentioned by the ancients, but Apollodorus, the
author of the Parthica, frequently mentions it, [and describes it] as
flowing very near the Parthians.
4. Many additional falsehoods were invented inspecting this sea, to
flatter the ambition of Alexander and his love of glory; for, as it was
generally acknowledged that the river Tanaïs separated Europe from Asia
throughout its whole course, and that a large part of Asia, lying
between this sea and the Tanaïs, had never been subjected to the power
of the Macedonians, it was resolved to invent an expedition, in order
that, according to fame at least, Alexander might seem to have conquered
those countries. They therefore made the lake Mæotis, which receives the
Tanaïs, and the Caspian Sea, which also they call a lake, one body of
water, affirming that there was a subterraneous opening between both,
and that one was part of the other. Polycleitus produces proofs to show
that this sea is a lake, for instance, that it breeds serpents, and that
the water is sweetish. [989] That it was not a [CAS. 510] different lake
from the Mæotis, he conjectures from the circumstance of the Tanaïs
discharging itself into it. From the same mountains in India, where the
Ochus and the Oxus rise, many other rivers take their course, and among
these the Iaxartes, which like the former empties itself into the
Caspian Sea, although it is the most northerly of them all. This river
then they called Tanaïs, and alleged, as a proof that it was the Tanaïs
mentioned by Polycleitus, that the country on the other side of the
river produced the fir-tree, and that the Scythians there used arrows
made of fir-wood. It was a proof also that the country on the other side
of the river was a part of Europe and not of Asia, that Upper and
Eastern Asia do not produce the fir-tree. But Eratosthenes says that the
fir does grow even in India, and that Alexander built his ships of that
wood. Eratosthenes collects many things of this kind, with a view to
show their contradictory character. But I have said enough about them.
5. Among the peculiarities recorded of the Hyrcanian sea, Eudoxus and
others relate the following. There is a certain coast in front of the
sea hollowed out into caverns, between which and the sea there lies a
flat shore. Rivers on reaching this coast descend from the precipices
above with sufficient force to dart the water into the sea without
wetting the intervening shore, so that even an army could pass
underneath sheltered by the stream above. The inhabitants frequently
resort to this place for the purposes of festivity and of performing
sacrifices, one while reclining beneath the caverns, at another basking
in the sun (even) beneath the fall of water. They divert themselves in
various ways, having in sight on each side the sea and shore, the latter
of which by the dew [and moisture of the falls] is rendered a grassy and
flowery meadow.
CHAPTER VIII.
1. In proceeding from the Hyrcanian Sea towards the east, on the right
hand are the mountains which the Greeks call Taurus, extending as far as
India. They begin from Pamphylia and Cilicia, and stretch to this part
from the west in a continuous line, bearing different names in different
places. The northern parts[990] of this range are occupied first by
Gelæ, Cadusii, and Amardi, as we have said, and by some tribes of
Hyrcanians; then follow, as we proceed towards the east and the Ochus,
the nation of the Parthians, then that of the Margiani and Arii, and the
desert country which the river Sarnius separates from Hyrcania. The
mountain, which extends to this country, or within a small distance of
it, from Armenia, is called Parachoathras.
From the Hyrcanian sea to the Arii are about 6000 stadia. [991] Next
follow Bactriana, Sogdiana, and lastly nomade Scythians. The Macedonians
gave the name of Caucasus to all the mountains which follow after
Ariana,[992] but among the barbarians the heights and the northern parts
of the Parapomisus were called Emoda, and Mount Imaus;[993] and other
names of this kind were assigned to each portion of this range.
2. On the left hand[994] opposite to these parts are situated the
Scythian and nomadic nations, occupying the whole of the northern side.
Most of the Scythians, beginning from the Caspian Sea, are called Dahæ
Scythæ, and those situated more towards the east Massagetæ and Sacæ; the
rest have the common appellation of Scythians, but each separate tribe
has its peculiar name. All, or the greatest part of them, are nomades.
The best known tribes are those who deprived the Greeks of Bactriana,
the Asii, Pasiani, (Asiani? ) Tochari, and Sacarauli, who came from the
country on the other side of the Iaxartes,[995] opposite the Sacæ and
Sogdiani, and which country was also occupied by Sacæ; some tribes of
the Dahæ are surnamed Aparni, some Xanthii, others Pissuri. [996]
[CAS. 511] The Aparni approach the nearest of any of these people to
Hyrcania, and to the Caspian Sea. The others extend as far as the
country opposite to Aria.
3. Between these people, Hyrcania, and Parthia as far as Aria lies a
vast and arid desert, which they crossed by long journeys, and overran
Hyrcania, the Nesæan country, and the plains of Parthia. These people
agreed to pay a tribute on condition of having permission to overrun the
country at stated times, and to carry away the plunder. But when these
incursions became more frequent than the agreement allowed, war ensued,
afterwards peace was made, and then again war was renewed. Such is the
kind of life which the other Nomades also lead, continually attacking
their neighbours, and then making peace with them.
4. The Sacæ had made incursions similar to those of the Cimmerians and
Treres, some near their own country, others at a greater distance. They
occupied Bactriana, and got possession of the most fertile tract in
Armenia, which was called after their own name, Sacasene. They advanced
even as far as the Cappadocians, those particularly situated near the
Euxine; who are now called Pontici. When they were assembled together
and feasting on the division of the booty, they were attacked by night
by the Persian generals who were then stationed in that quarter, and
were utterly exterminated. The Persians raised a mound of earth in the
form of a hill over a rock in the plain, (where this occurred,) and
fortified it. They erected there a temple to Anaïtis and the gods Omanus
and Anadatus, Persian deities who have a common altar. [997] They also
instituted an annual festival, (in memory of the event,) the Sacæa,
which the occupiers of Zela, for this is the name of the place,
celebrate to this day. It is a small city chiefly appropriated to the
sacred attendants. Pompey added to it a considerable tract of territory,
the inhabitants of which he collected within the walls. It was one of
the cities which he settled after the overthrow of Mithridates.
5. Such is the account which is given of the Sacæ by some writers.
Others say, that Cyrus in an expedition against the Sacæ was defeated,
and fled. He advanced with his army to the spot where he had left his
stores, consisting of large supplies of every kind, particularly of
wine; he stopped a short time to refresh his army, and set out in the
evening, as though he continued his flight, the tents being left full of
provisions. He proceeded as far as he thought requisite, and then
halted. The Sacæ pursued, who, finding the camp abandoned and full of
the means of gratifying their appetites, indulged themselves without
restraint. Cyrus then returned and found them drunk and frantic; some
were killed, stretched on the ground drowsy or asleep; others, dancing
and maddened with wine, fell defenceless on the weapons of their
enemies. Nearly all of them perished. Cyrus ascribed this success to the
gods; he consecrated the day to the goddess worshipped in his own
country, and called it Sacæa. Wherever there is a temple of this
goddess, there the Sacæan festival, a sort of Bacchanalian feast, is
celebrated, in which both men and women, dressed in the Scythian habit,
pass day and night in drinking and wanton play.
6. The Massagetæ signalized their bravery in the war with Cyrus, of
which many writers have published accounts; we must get our information
from them. Such particulars as the following are narrated respecting
this nation; some tribes inhabit mountains, some plains, others live
among marshes formed by the rivers, others on the islands among the
marshes. The Araxes is said to be the river which is the chief cause of
inundating the country; it is divided into various branches and
discharges itself by many mouths into the other sea[998] towards the
north, but by one only into the Hyrcanian Gulf. The Massagetæ regard no
other deity than the sun, and to his honour they sacrifice a horse. Each
man marries only one wife, but they have intercourse with the wives of
each other without any concealment. He who has intercourse with the wife
of another man hangs up his quiver on a waggon, and lies with her
openly. They account the best mode of death to be chopped up when they
grow old with the flesh of sheep, and both to be devoured together.
Those who die of disease are cast out as impious, and only fit to be the
prey of wild beasts; they are excellent horsemen, and also fight well on
foot. They use bows, swords, breastplates, and sagares [CAS. 513] of
brass, they wear golden belts, and turbans[999] on their heads in
battle. Their horses have bits of gold, and golden breastplates; they
have no silver, iron in small quantity, but gold and brass in great
plenty.
7. Those who live in the islands have no corn-fields. Their food
consists of roots and wild fruits. Their clothes are made of the bark of
trees, for they have no sheep. They press out and drink the juice of the
fruit of certain trees.
The inhabitants of the marshes eat fish. They are clothed in the skins
of seals, which come upon the island from the sea.
The mountaineers subsist on wild fruits. They have besides a few sheep,
but they kill them sparingly, and keep them for the sake of their wool
and milk. Their clothes they variegate by steeping them in dyes, which
produce a colour not easily effaced.
The inhabitants of the plains, although they possess land, do not
cultivate it, but derive their subsistence from their fiocks, and from
fish, after the manner of the nomades and Scythians. I have frequently
described a certain way of life common to all these people. Their
burial-places and their manners are alike, and their whole manner of
living is independent, but rude, savage, and hostile; in their compacts,
however, they are simple and without deceit.
8. The Attasii (Augasii? ) and the Chorasmii belong to the Massagetæ and
Sacæ, to whom Spitamenes directed his flight from Bactria and Sogdiana.
He was one of the Persians who, like Bessus, made his escape from
Alexander by flight, as Arsaces afterwards fled from Seleucus
Callinicus, and retreated among the Aspasiacæ.
Eratosthenes says, that the Bactrians lie along the Arachoti and
Massagetæ on the west near the Oxus, and that Sacæ and Sogdiani, through
the whole extent of their territory,[1000] are opposite to India, but
the Bactrii in part only, for the greater part of their country lies
parallel to the Parapomisus; that the Sacæ and Sogdiani are separated by
the Iaxartes, and the Sogdiani and Bactriani by the Oxus; that Tapyri
occupy the country between Hyrcani and Arii; that around the shores of
the sea, next to the Hyrcani, are Amardi, Anariacæ, Cadusii, Albani,
Caspii, Vitii, and perhaps other tribes extending as far as the
Scythians; that on the other side of the Hyrcani are Derbices, that the
Caducii are contiguous both to the Medes and Matiani below the
Parachoathras.
9. These are the distances which he gives.
Stadia.
From the Caspian Sea to the Cyrus about 1800
Thence to the Caspian Gates 5600
Thence to Alexandreia in the territory of the Arii 6400
Thence to the city Bactra, which is called also Zariaspa 3870
Thence to the river Iaxartes, which Alexander reached, about 5000
------
Making a total of 22,670
------
He also assigns the following distances from the Caspian Gates to India.
Stadia.
To Hecatompylos[1001] 1960
To Alexandreia[1002] in the country of the Arii (Ariana) 4530
Thence to Prophthasia[1003] in Dranga[1004]
(or according to others 1500) 1600
Thence to the city Arachoti[1005] 4120
Thence to Ortospana on the three roads from Bactra[1006] 2000
Thence to the confines of India 1000
------
Which together amount to 15,300[1007]
------
We [CAS. 514] must regard as continuous with this distance, in a
straight line, the length of India, reckoned from the Indus to the
Eastern Sea.
Thus much then respecting the Sacæ.
CHAPTER IX.
are acquainted with wooded tracts, in which, after concealing their
camaræ, they wander about on foot day and night, for the purpose of
capturing the inhabitants and reducing them to slavery. But they readily
allow whatever is taken to be ransomed, and signify this after their
departure to those who have lost their property. In places where there
is a regular government, the injured find means of repelling them. For,
frequently, the pirates are attacked in return, and are carried off
together with their camaræ. But the country subject to the Romans is not
so well protected, in consequence of the neglect of those who are sent
there.
13. Such then is their mode of life. But even these people are governed
by persons called Sceptuchi, and these again are subject to the
authority of tyrants, or of kings. The Heniochi had four kings at the
time that Mithridates Eupator fled from the country of his ancestors to
the Bosporus, and passed through their country, which was open to him,
but he avoided that of the Zygi on account of its ruggedness, and the
savage character of the people. He proceeded with difficulty along the
sea-coast, frequently embarking in vessels, till he came to the country
of the Achæi, by whom he was hospitably received. He had then completed
a journey from the Phasis of not much less than 4000 stadia.
14. From Corocondame, the course of the voyage is directly towards the
east. At the distance of 180 stadia is the Sindic harbour, and a city.
Then at the distance of 400 stadia is Bata,[934] as it is called, a
village with a harbour. It is at this place that Sinope on the south
seems to be directly opposite to this coast, as Carambis[935] has been
said to be opposite to Criu-Metopon. [936]
Next to Bata Artemidorus places the coast of the Cercetæ, which has
places of shelter for vessels, and villages along an extent of about 850
stadia; then at 500 stadia more the coast of the Achæi, then that of the
Heniochi, at 1000 stadia, then the Great Pityus, from which to
Dioscurias are 360 stadia.
The authors most worthy of credit who have written the history of the
Mithridatic wars, enumerate the Achæi first, then Zygi, then Heniochi,
then Cercetæ, Moschi, Colchi, and above these the Phtheirophagi, Soanes,
and other smaller nations about the Caucasus.
The [CAS. 497] direction of the sea-coast is at first, as I have said,
towards the east, with a southern aspect; but from Bata it makes a bend
for a small distance, then fronts the west, and terminates towards
Pityus, and Dioscurias, for these places are contiguous to the coast of
Colchis, which I have already mentioned. Next to Dioscurias is the
remainder of the coast of Colchis, and Trapezus contiguous to it; where
the coast, having made a considerable turn, then extends nearly in a
straight line, and forms the side on the right hand of the Euxine,
looking to the north.
The whole of the coast of the Achæi, and of the other nations, as far as
Dioscurias, and the inland places lying in a straight line towards the
south, are at the foot of the Caucasus.
15. This mountain overhangs both the Euxine and the Caspian seas,
forming a kind of rampart to the isthmus which separates one sea from
the other. To the south it is the boundary of Albania and Iberia, to the
north, of the plains of the Sarmatians. It is well wooded, and contains
various kinds of timber, and especially trees adapted to ship-building.
Eratosthenes says that the Caucasus is called Mount Caspius by the
natives, a name borrowed perhaps from the Caspii. It throws out forks
towards the south, which embrace the middle of Iberia, and touch the
Armenian and those called the Moschic mountains,[937] and besides these
the mountains of Scydises, and the Paryadres. All these are portions of
the Taurus, which forms the southern side of Armenia, and are broken off
in a manner from it towards the north, and extend as far as Caucasus,
and the coast of the Euxine which lies between Colchis and
Themiscyra. [938]
16. Situated on a bay of this kind, and occupying the most easterly
point of the whole sea, is Dioscurias,[939] called the recess of the
Euxine Sea, and the extreme boundary of navigation, for in this sense we
are to understand the proverbial saying,
“To Phasis where ships end their course. ”
Not as if the author of the iambic intended to speak of the river, nor
of the city of the same name upon the river, but Colchis designated by a
part, because from the city and the river there remains a voyage of not
less than 600 stadia in a straight line to the recess of the bay. This
same Dioscurias is the commencement of the isthmus lying between the
Caspian Sea and the Euxine. It is a common mart of the nations situated
above it, and in its neighbourhood. There assemble at Dioscurias 70 or,
according to some writers who are careless in their statements,[940] 300
nations. All speak different languages, from living dispersed in various
places and without intercourse, in consequence of their fierce and
savage manners. They are chiefly Sarmatians, but all of them Caucasian
tribes. So much then respecting Dioscurias.
17. The greater part of the rest of Colchis lies upon the sea. The
Phasis,[941] a large river, flows through it. It has its source in
Armenia, and receives the Glaucus,[942] and the Hippus,[943] which issue
from the neighbouring mountains. Vessels ascend it as far as the
fortress of Sarapana,[944] which is capable of containing the population
even of a city. Persons proceed thence by land to the Cyrus in four days
along a carriage road. [945] Upon the Phasis is a city of the same name,
a mart of the Colchians, bounded on one side by the river, on another by
a lake, on the third by the sea. Thence it is a voyage of three or
two[946] days to Amisus and Sinope, on account of the softness of the
shores caused by the discharge of rivers. [947]
The country is fertile and its produce is good, except the [CAS. 498]
honey, which has generally a bitter taste. It furnishes all materials
for ship-building. It produces them in great plenty, and they are
conveyed down by its rivers. It supplies flax, hemp, wax, and pitch, in
great abundance. Its linen manufacture is celebrated, for it was
exported to foreign parts; and those who wish to establish an affinity
of race between the Colchians and the Ægyptians, advance this as a proof
of it.
Above the rivers which I have mentioned in the Moschic territory is the
temple of Leucothea,[948] founded by Phrixus[949] and his oracle, where
a ram is not sacrificed. It was once rich, but was plundered in our time
by Pharnaces, and a little afterwards by Mithridates of Pergamus. [950]
For when a country is devastated, in the words of Euripides,
“respect to the gods languishes, and they are not honoured. ”[951]
18. How great anciently was the celebrity of this country, appears from
the fables which refer obscurely to the expedition of Jason, who
advanced as far even as Media; and still earlier intimations of it are
found in the fables relative to the expedition of Phrixus. The kings
that preceded, and who possessed the country when it was divided into
Sceptuchies,[952] were not very powerful, but when Mithridates Eupator
had enlarged his territory, this country fell under his dominion. One of
his courtiers was always sent as sub-governor and administrator of its
public affairs. Of this number was Moaphernes, my mother’s paternal
uncle. It was from this country that the king derived the greatest part
of his supplies for the equipment of his naval armament. But upon the
overthrow of Mithridates, all the country subject to his power was
disunited, and divided among several persons. At last Polemon obtained
possession of Colchis, and after his death his wife Pythodoris reigned
over the Colchians, Trapezus, Pharnacia, and the Barbarians situated
above them, of whom I shall speak in another place.
The territory of the Moschi, in which is situated the temple, is divided
into three portions, one of which is occupied by Colchians, another by
Iberians, and the third by Armenians. There is in Iberia on the confines
of Colchis, a small city, the city of Phrixus, the present Idessa, a
place of strength. The river Charis[953] flows near Dioscurias.
19. Among the nations that assemble at Dioscurias are the Phtheiropagi,
who have their appellation from their dirt and filth.
Near them live the Soanes, not less dirty in their habits, but superior
perhaps to all the tribes in strength and courage. They are masters of
the country around them, and occupy the heights of Caucasus above
Dioscurias. They have a king, and a council of three hundred persons.
They can assemble, it is said, an army of two hundred thousand men, for
all their people are fighting men, but not distributed into certain
orders. In their country the winter torrents are said to bring down even
gold, which the Barbarians collect in troughs pierced with holes, and
lined with fleeces; and hence the fable of the golden fleece. Some[954]
say that they are called Iberians (the same name as the western
Iberians) from the gold mines found in both countries. The Soanes use
poison of an extraordinary kind for the points of their weapons; even
the odour of this poison is a cause of suffering to those who are
wounded by arrows thus prepared.
The other neighbouring nations about the Caucasus occupy barren and
narrow tracts of land. But the tribes of the Albanians and Iberians, who
possess nearly the whole of the above-mentioned isthmus, may also be
denominated Caucasian, and yet they live in a fertile country and
capable of being well peopled.
CHAPTER III.
1. [CAS. 499] The greater part of Iberia is well inhabited, and contains
cities and villages where the houses have roofs covered with tiles, and
display skill in building; there are market-places in them, and various
kinds of public edifices.
2. Some part of the country is encompassed by the Caucasian mountains;
for branches of this range advance, as I have said, towards the south.
These districts are fruitful, comprise the whole of Iberia, and extend
to Armenia and Colchis. In the middle is a plain watered by rivers, the
largest of which is the Cyrus, which, rising in Armenia, immediately
enters the above-mentioned plain, having received the Aragus,[955] which
flows at the foot of the Caucasus, and other streams, passes through a
narrow channel into Albania. It flows however between this country and
Armenia in a large body through plains, which afford excellent pasture.
After having received several rivers, and among these the
Alazonius,[956] Sandobanes, the Rhœtaces, and Chanes, all of which are
navigable, it discharges itself into the Caspian Sea. Its former name
was Corus.
3. The plain is occupied by those Iberians who are more disposed to
agriculture, and are inclined to peace. Their dress is after the
Armenian and Median fashion. Those who inhabit the mountainous country,
and they are the most numerous, are addicted to war, live like the
Sarmatians and Scythians, on whose country they border, and with whom
they are connected by affinity of race. These people however engage in
agriculture also, and can assemble many myriads of persons from among
themselves, and from the Scythians and Sarmatians, whenever any
disturbance occurs.
4. There are four passes into the country; one through Sarapana, a
Colchian fortress, and through the defiles near it, along which the
Phasis, rendered passable from one side to the other by a hundred and
twenty bridges, in consequence of the winding of its stream, descends
abruptly and violently into Colchis. The places in its course are
hollowed by numerous torrents, during the rainy season. It rises in the
mountains which lie above, and many springs contribute to swell its
stream. In the plains it receives other rivers also, among which are the
Glaucus[957] and the Hippus. [958] The stream thus filled and navigable
discharges itself into the Pontus. It has on its banks a city of the
same name, and near it a lake. Such is the nature of the entrance into
Iberia from Colchis, shut in by rocks and strongholds, and by rivers
running through ravines.
5. From the Nomades on the north there is a difficult ascent for three
days, and then a narrow road by the side of the river Aragus, a journey
of four days, which road admits only one person to pass at a time. The
termination of the road is guarded by an impregnable wall.
From Albania the entrance is at first cut through rocks, then passes
over a marsh formed by the river (Alazonius),[959] in its descent from
the Caucasus. On the side of Armenia are the narrow passes on the Cyrus,
and those on the Aragus, for before the junction of these rivers they
have on their banks strong cities set upon rocks, at the distance from
each other of about 18 stadia, as Harmozica[960] on the Cyrus, and on
the other (Aragus) Seusamora. Pompey formerly in his way from Armenia,
and afterwards Canidius, marched through these passes into Iberia.
6. The inhabitants of this country are also divided into four classes;
the first and chief is that from which the kings are appointed. The king
is the oldest and the nearest of his predecessor’s relations. The second
administers justice, and is commander of the army.
The second class consists of priests, whose business it is to settle the
respective rights of their own and the bordering people.
The third is composed of soldiers and husbandmen. The fourth comprehends
the common people, who are royal slaves, and perform all the duties of
ordinary life.
Possessions [CAS. 501] are common property in families, but the eldest
governs, and is the steward of each.
Such is the character of the Iberians, and the nature of their country.
CHAPTER IV.
1. The Albanians pursue rather a shepherd life, and resemble more the
nomadic tribes, except that they are not savages, and hence they are
little disposed to war. They inhabit the country between the Iberians
and the Caspian Sea, approaching close to the sea on the east, and on
the west border upon the Iberians.
Of the remaining sides the northern is protected by the Caucasian
mountains, for these overhang the plains, and are called, particularly
those near the sea, Ceraunian mountains. The southern side is formed by
Armenia, which extends along it. A large portion of it consists of
plains, and a large portion also of mountains, as Cambysene, where the
Armenians approach close both to the Iberians and the Albanians.
2. The Cyrus, which flows through Albania, and the other rivers which
swell the stream of the Cyrus, improve the qualities of the land, but
remove the sea to a distance. For the mud, accumulating in great
quantity, fills up the channel in such a manner, that the small adjacent
islands are annexed to the continent, irregular marshes are formed, and
difficult to be avoided; the reverberation also of the tide increases
the irregular formation of the marshes. The mouth of the river is said
to be divided into twelve branches, some of which afford no passage
through them, others are so shallow as to leave no shelter for vessels.
The shore for an extent of more than 60 stadia is inundated by the sea,
and by the rivers; all that part of it is inaccessible; the mud reaches
even as far as 500 stadia, and forms a bank along the coast. The
Araxes[961] discharges its waters not far off, coming with an impetuous
stream from Armenia, but the mud which this river impels forward,
making the channel pervious, is replaced by the Cyrus.
3. Perhaps such a race of people have no need of the sea, for they do
not make a proper use even of the land, which produces every kind of
fruit, even the most delicate, and every kind of plant and evergreen. It
is not cultivated with the least care; but all that is excellent grows
without sowing, and without ploughing, according to the accounts of
persons who have accompanied armies there, and describe the inhabitants
as leading a Cyclopean mode of life. In many places the ground, which
has been sowed once, produces two or three crops, the first of which is
even fifty-fold, and that without a fallow, nor is the ground turned
with an iron instrument, but with a plough made entirely of wood. The
whole plain is better watered than Babylon or Ægypt, by rivers and
streams, so that it always presents the appearance of herbage, and it
affords excellent pasture. The air here is better than in those
countries. The vines remain always without digging round them, and are
pruned every five years. The young trees bear fruit even the second
year, but the full grown yield so much that a large quantity of it is
left on the branches. The cattle, both tame and wild, thrive well in
this country.
4. The men are distinguished for beauty of person and for size. They are
simple in their dealings and not fraudulent, for they do not in general
use coined money; nor are they acquainted with any number above a
hundred, and transact their exchanges by loads. They are careless with
regard to the other circumstances of life. They are ignorant of weights
and measures as far as exactness is concerned; they are improvident with
respect to war, government, and agriculture. They fight however on foot
and on horseback, both in light and in heavy armour, like the Armenians.
5. They can send into the field a larger army than the Iberians, for
they can equip 60,000 infantry and 22,000 horsemen; with such a force
they offered resistance to Pompey. The Nomades also co-operate with them
against foreigners, as they do with the Iberians on similar occasions.
When there is no war they frequently attack these people and prevent
them from cultivating the ground. They use javelins and bows, and wear
breastplates, shields, and coverings for the [CAS. 502] head, made of
the hides of wild animals, like the Iberians.
To the country of the Albanians belongs Caspiana, and has its name from
the Caspian tribe, from whom the sea also has its appellation; the
Caspian tribe is now extinct.
The entrance from Iberia into Albania is through the Cambysene, a
country without water, and rocky, to the river Alazonius. The people
themselves and their dogs are excessively fond of the chase, pursuing it
with equal eagerness and skill.
6. Their kings differ from one another; at present one king governs all
the tribes. Formerly each tribe was governed by a king, who spoke the
peculiar language of each. They speak six and twenty languages from the
want of mutual intercourse and communication with one another.
The country produces some venomous reptiles, as scorpions and
tarantulas. These tarantulas cause death in some instances by laughter,
in others by grief and a longing to return home.
7. The gods they worship are the Sun, Jupiter, and the Moon, but the
Moon above the rest. She has a temple near Iberia. The priest is a
person who, next to the king, receives the highest honours. He has the
government of the sacred land, which is extensive and populous, and
authority over the sacred attendants, many of whom are divinely
inspired, and prophesy. Whoever of these persons, being violently
possessed, wanders alone in the woods, is seized by the priest, who,
having bound him with sacred fetters, maintains him sumptuously during
that year. Afterwards he is brought forth at the sacrifice performed in
honour of the goddess, and is anointed with fragrant ointment and
sacrificed together with other victims. The sacrifice is performed in
the following manner. A person, having in his hand a sacred lance, with
which it is the custom to sacrifice human victims, advances out of the
crowd and pierces the heart through the side, which he does from
experience in this office. When the man has fallen, certain
prognostications are indicated by the manner of the fall, and these are
publicly declared. The body is carried away to a certain spot, and then
they all trample upon it, performing this action as a mode of
purification of themselves.
8. The Albanians pay the greatest respect to old age, which is not
confined to their parents, but is extended to old persons in general.
It is regarded as impious to show any concern for the dead, or to
mention their names. Their money is buried with them, hence they live in
poverty, having no patrimony.
So much concerning the Albanians. It is said that when Jason,
accompanied by Armenus the Thessalian, undertook the voyage to the
Colchi, they advanced as far as the Caspian Sea, and traversed Iberia,
Albania, a great part of Armenia, and Media, as the Jasoneia and many
other monuments testify. Armenus, they say, was a native of Armenium,
one of the cities on the lake Bœbeis, between Pheræ and Parisa, and that
his companions settled in Acilisene, and the Suspiritis, and occupied
the country as far as Calachene and Adiabene, and that he gave his own
name to Armenia.
CHAPTER V.
1. The Amazons are said to live among the mountains above Albania.
Theophanes, who accompanied Pompey in his wars, and was in the country
of the Albanians, says that Gelæ and Legæ,[962] Scythian tribes, live
between the Amazons and the Albanians, and that the river
Mermadalis[963] takes its course in the country lying in the middle
between these people and the Amazons. But other writers, and among these
Metrodorus of Scepsis, and Hypsicrates, who were themselves acquainted
with these places, say that the Amazons bordered upon the
Gargarenses[964] on the north, at the foot of the Caucasian mountains,
which are called Ceraunia.
When [CAS. 504] at home they are occupied in performing with their own
hands the work of ploughing, planting, pasturing cattle, and
particularly in training horses. The strongest among them spend much of
their time in hunting on horseback, and practise warlike exercises. All
of them from infancy have the right breast seared, in order that they
may use the arm with ease for all manner of purposes, and particularly
for throwing the javelin. They employ the bow also, and sagaris, (a kind
of sword,) and wear a buckler. They make helmets, and coverings for the
body, and girdles, of the skins of wild animals. They pass two months of
the spring on a neighbouring mountain, which is the boundary between
them and the Gargarenses. The latter also ascend the mountain according
to some ancient custom for the purpose of performing common sacrifices,
and of having intercourse with the women with a view to offspring, in
secret and in darkness, the man with the first woman he meets. When the
women are pregnant they are sent away. The female children that may be
born are retained by the Amazons themselves, but the males are taken to
the Gargarenses to be brought up. The children are distributed among
families, in which the master treats them as his own, it being
impossible to ascertain the contrary.
2. The Mermodas,[965] descending like a torrent from the mountains
through the country of the Amazons, the Siracene, and the intervening
desert, discharges itself into the Mæotis. [966]
It is said that the Gargarenses ascended together with the Amazons from
Themiscyra to these places, that they then separated, and with the
assistance of some Thracians and Eubœans, who had wandered as far as
this country, made war against the Amazons, and at length, upon its
termination, entered into a compact on the conditions above mentioned,
namely, that there should be a companionship only with respect to
offspring, and that they should live each independent of the other.
3. There is a peculiarity in the history of the Amazons. In other
histories the fabulous and the historical parts are kept distinct.
For
what is ancient, false, and marvellous is called fable. But history has
truth for its object, whether it be old or new, and it either rejects or
rarely admits the marvellous. But, with regard to the Amazons, the same
facts are related both by modern and by ancient writers; they are
marvellous and exceed belief. For who can believe that an army of women,
or a city, or a nation, could ever subsist without men? and not only
subsist, but make inroads upon the territory of other people, and obtain
possession not only of the places near them, and advance even as far as
the present Ionia, but even despatch an expedition across the sea to
Attica? This is as much as to say that the men of those days were women,
and the women men. But even now the same things are told of the Amazons,
and the peculiarity of their history is increased by the credit which is
given to ancient, in preference to modern, accounts.
4. They are said to have founded cities, and to have given their names
to them, as Ephesus, Smyrna, Cyme, Myrina, besides leaving sepulchres
and other memorials. Themiscyra, the plains about the Thermodon, and the
mountains lying above, are mentioned by all writers as once belonging to
the Amazons, from whence, they say, they were driven out. Where they are
at present few writers undertake to point out, nor do they advance
proofs or probability for what they state; as in the case of Thalestria,
queen of the Amazons, with whom Alexander is said to have had
intercourse in Hyrcania with the hope of having offspring. Writers are
not agreed on this point, and among many who have paid the greatest
regard to truth none mention the circumstance, nor do writers of the
highest credit mention anything of the kind, nor do those who record it
relate the same facts. Cleitarchus says that Thalestria set out from the
Caspian Gates and Thermodon to meet Alexander. Now from the Caspian
Gates to Thermodon are more than 6000 stadia.
5. Stories circulated for the purpose of exalting the fame [of eminent
persons] are not received with equal favour by all; the object of the
inventors was flattery rather than truth; [CAS. 505] they transferred,
for example, the Caucasus to the mountains of India, and to the eastern
sea, which approaches close to them, from the mountains situated above
Colchis, and the Euxine Sea. These are the mountains to which the Greeks
give the name of Caucasus, and are distant more than 30,000 stadia from
India. Here they lay the scene of Prometheus and his chains, for these
were the farthest places towards the east with which the people of those
times were acquainted. The expeditions of Bacchus and of Hercules
against the Indi indicate a mythological story of later date, for
Hercules is said to have released Prometheus a thousand years after he
was first chained to the rock. It was more glorious too for Alexander to
subjugate Asia as far as the mountains of India, than to the recess only
of the Euxine Sea and the Caucasus. The celebrity, and the name of the
mountain, together with the persuasion that Jason and his companions had
accomplished the most distant of all expeditions when they had arrived
in the neighbourhood of the Caucasus, and the tradition that Prometheus
had been chained on Caucasus at the extremity of the earth, induced
writers to suppose that they should gratify the king by transferring the
name of the mountain to India.
6. The highest points of the actual Caucasus are the most southerly, and
lie near Albania, Iberia, the Colchi, and Heniochi. They are inhabited
by the people whom I have mentioned as assembling at Dioscurias. They
resort thither chiefly for the purpose of procuring salt. Of these
tribes some occupy the heights; others live in wooded valleys, and
subsist chiefly on the flesh of wild animals, wild fruits, and milk. The
heights are impassable in winter; in summer they are ascended by
fastening on the feet shoes as wide as drums, made of raw hide, and
furnished with spikes on account of the snow and ice. The natives in
descending with their loads slide down seated upon skins, which is the
practice in Media, Atropatia, and at Mount Masius in Armenia, but there
they fasten circular disks of wood with spikes to the soles of their
feet. Such then is the nature of the heights of Caucasus.
7. On descending to the country lying at the foot of these heights the
climate is more northerly, but milder, for the land below the heights
joins the plains of the Siraces. There are some tribes of Troglodytæ who
inhabit caves on account of the cold. There is plenty[967] of grain to
be had in the country.
Next to the Troglodytæ are Chamæcœtæ,[968] and a tribe called Polyphagi
(the voracious), and the villages of the Eisadici, who are able to
cultivate the ground because they are not altogether exposed to the
north.
8. Immediately afterwards follow shepherd tribes, situated between the
Mæotis and the Caspian Sea, Nabiani, Pangani,[969] the tribes also of
the Siraces and Aorsi.
The Aorsi and Siraces seem to be a fugitive people from parts situated
above. The Aorsi lie more to the north. [970]
Abeacus, king of the Siraces, when Pharnases occupied the Bosporus,
equipped 20,000 horse, and Spadines, king of the Aorsi 200,000, and the
Upper Aorsi even a larger body, for they were masters of a greater
extent of territory, and nearly the largest part of the coast of the
Caspian Sea was under their power. They were thus enabled to transport
on camels the merchandise of India and Babylonia, receiving it from
Armenians and Medes. They wore gold also in their dress in consequence
of their wealth.
The Aorsi live on the banks of the Tanaïs, and the Siraces on those of
Achardeus, which rises in Caucasus, and discharges itself into the
Mæotis.
CHAPTER VI.
1. The second portion of northern Asia begins from the Caspian Sea,
where the first terminates. This sea is called also the Hyrcanian Sea.
We must first speak of this sea, and of the nations that live near its
shores.
It is a bay extending from the Ocean to the south. At its commencement
it is very narrow; as it advances further inwards, and particularly
towards the extremity, it widens to the extent of about 500 stadia. The
voyage from the entrance [CAS. 507] to the extremity may exceed that a
little, the entrance approaching very near the uninhabited regions.
Eratosthenes says that the navigation of this sea was known to the
Greeks, that the part of the voyage along the coast of the Albanians and
Cadusïi[971] comprised 5400 stadia; and the part along the country of
the Anariaci, Mardi, [or Amardi,] and Hyrcani, as far as the mouth of
the river Oxus,[972] 4800 stadia, and thence to the Iaxartes[973] 2400
stadia.
But with respect to the places situated in this portion of Asia, and to
those lying so far removed from our own country, we must not understand
the accounts of writers in too literal a sense, particularly with regard
to distances.
2. Upon sailing into the Caspian, on the right hand, contiguous to the
Europeans, Scythians and Sarmatians occupy the country between the
Tanaïs and this sea; they are chiefly Nomades, or shepherd tribes, of
whom I have already spoken. On the left hand are the Eastern Scythian
Nomades, who extend as far as the Eastern sea, and India.
The ancient Greek historians called all the nations towards the north by
the common name of Scythians, and Kelto-Scythians. Writers still more
ancient than these called the nations living above the Euxine, Danube,
and Adriatic, Hyperboreans, Sauromatæ, and Arimaspi. [974] But in
speaking of the nations on the other side the Caspian Sea, they called
some Sacæ,[975] others Massagetæ. They were unable to give any exact
account of them, although they relate the history of the war of Cyrus
with the Massagetæ. Concerning these nations no one has ascertained the
truth, and the ancient histories of Persia, Media, and Syria have not
obtained much credit on account of the credulity of the writers and
their love of fable.
3. For these authors, having observed that those who professedly were
writers of fables obtained repute and success, supposed that they also
should make their writings agreeable, if, under the form of history,
they related what they had never seen nor heard, (not at least from
eye-witnesses,) and had no other object than to please and surprise the
reader. A person would more readily believe the stories of the heroes in
Hesiod, Homer, and in the tragic poets, than Ctesias, Herodotus,
Hellanicus, and writers of this kind.
4. We cannot easily credit the generality of the historians of
Alexander, for they practise deception with a view to enhance the glory
of Alexander; the expedition also was directed to the extremities of
Asia, at a great distance from our country, and it is difficult to
ascertain or detect the truth or falsehood of what is remote. The
dominion of the Romans and of the Parthians has added very much to
former discoveries, and the writers who speak of these people describe
nations and places, where certain actions were performed, in a manner
more likely to produce belief than preceding historians, for they had
better opportunities of personal observation.
CHAPTER VII.
1. The nomades, or wandering tribes, who live on the left side of the
coast on entering the Caspian Sea, are called by the moderns Dahæ, and
surnamed Parni. [976] Then there intervenes a desert tract, which is
followed by Hyrcania; here the Caspian spreads like a deep sea till it
approaches the Median and Armenian mountains. The shape of these hills
at the foot is lunated. [977] Their extremities terminate at the sea, and
form the recess of the bay.
A small part of this country at the foot of the mountains, as far as the
heights, if we reckon from the sea, is inhabited by some tribes of
Albanians and Armenians, but the greater portion by Gelæ, Cadusii,
Amardi, Vitii, and Anariacæ. It is said, that some Parrhasii were
settled together with the Anariacæ, who are now called Parrhasii,
(Parsii? ) and that the Ænianes built a walled city in the territory of
the Vitii, which city is [CAS. 508] now called Æniana (Ænia). Grecian
armour, brazen vessels, and sepulchres are shown there. There also is a
city Anariacæ, in which it is said an oracle is shown, where the answer
is given to those who consult it, during sleep, [and some vestiges of
Greek colonization, but all these] tribes are predatory, and more
disposed to war than husbandry, which arises from the rugged nature of
the country. The greater part of the coast at the foot of the
mountainous region is occupied by Cadusii, to the extent of nearly 5000
stadia, according to Patrocles, who thinks that this sea equals the
Euxine in size. These countries are sterile.
2. Hyrcania[978] is very fertile, and extensive, consisting for the most
part of plains, and has considerable cities dispersed throughout it, as
Talabroce, Samariane, Carta, and the royal residence, Tape,[979] which
is said to be situated a little above the sea, and distant 1400 stadia
from the Caspian Gates. The following facts are narrated as indications
of the fertility of the country. [980] The vine produces a metretes[981]
of wine; the fig-tree sixty medimni[982] of fruit; the corn grows from
the seed which falls out of the stalk; bees make their hives in the
trees, and honey drops from among the leaves. This is the case also in
the territory of Matiane in Media, and in the Sacasene, and Araxene of
Armenia. [983]
But neither this country, nor the sea which is named after it, has
received proper care and attention from the inhabitants, for there are
no vessels upon the sea, nor is it turned to any use. According to some
writers there are islands on it, capable of being inhabited, in which
gold is found. The cause of this neglect is this; the first governors of
Hyrcania were barbarians, Medes, and Persians, and lastly, people who
were more oppressive than these, namely, Parthians. The whole of the
neighbouring country was the haunt of robbers and wandering tribes, and
abounded with tracts of desert land. For a short time Macedonians were
sovereigns of the country, but being engaged in war were unable to
attend to remote possessions. Aristobulus says that Hyrcania has
forests, and produces the oak, but not the pitch pine,[984] nor the
fir,[985] nor the pine,[986] but that India abounds with these trees.
Nesæa[987] belongs to Hyrcania, but some writers make it an independent
district.
3. Hyrcania[988] is watered by the rivers Ochus and Oxus as far as their
entrance into the sea. The Ochus flows through Nesæa, but some writers
say that the Ochus empties itself into the Oxus.
Aristobulus avers that the Oxus was the largest river, except those in
India, which he had seen in Asia. He says also that it is navigable with
ease, (this circumstance both Aristobulus and Eratosthenes borrow from
Patrocles,) and that large quantities of Indian merchandise are conveyed
by it to the Hyrcanian Sea, and are transferred from thence into Albania
by the Cyrus, and through the adjoining countries to the Euxine. The
Ochus is not often mentioned by the ancients, but Apollodorus, the
author of the Parthica, frequently mentions it, [and describes it] as
flowing very near the Parthians.
4. Many additional falsehoods were invented inspecting this sea, to
flatter the ambition of Alexander and his love of glory; for, as it was
generally acknowledged that the river Tanaïs separated Europe from Asia
throughout its whole course, and that a large part of Asia, lying
between this sea and the Tanaïs, had never been subjected to the power
of the Macedonians, it was resolved to invent an expedition, in order
that, according to fame at least, Alexander might seem to have conquered
those countries. They therefore made the lake Mæotis, which receives the
Tanaïs, and the Caspian Sea, which also they call a lake, one body of
water, affirming that there was a subterraneous opening between both,
and that one was part of the other. Polycleitus produces proofs to show
that this sea is a lake, for instance, that it breeds serpents, and that
the water is sweetish. [989] That it was not a [CAS. 510] different lake
from the Mæotis, he conjectures from the circumstance of the Tanaïs
discharging itself into it. From the same mountains in India, where the
Ochus and the Oxus rise, many other rivers take their course, and among
these the Iaxartes, which like the former empties itself into the
Caspian Sea, although it is the most northerly of them all. This river
then they called Tanaïs, and alleged, as a proof that it was the Tanaïs
mentioned by Polycleitus, that the country on the other side of the
river produced the fir-tree, and that the Scythians there used arrows
made of fir-wood. It was a proof also that the country on the other side
of the river was a part of Europe and not of Asia, that Upper and
Eastern Asia do not produce the fir-tree. But Eratosthenes says that the
fir does grow even in India, and that Alexander built his ships of that
wood. Eratosthenes collects many things of this kind, with a view to
show their contradictory character. But I have said enough about them.
5. Among the peculiarities recorded of the Hyrcanian sea, Eudoxus and
others relate the following. There is a certain coast in front of the
sea hollowed out into caverns, between which and the sea there lies a
flat shore. Rivers on reaching this coast descend from the precipices
above with sufficient force to dart the water into the sea without
wetting the intervening shore, so that even an army could pass
underneath sheltered by the stream above. The inhabitants frequently
resort to this place for the purposes of festivity and of performing
sacrifices, one while reclining beneath the caverns, at another basking
in the sun (even) beneath the fall of water. They divert themselves in
various ways, having in sight on each side the sea and shore, the latter
of which by the dew [and moisture of the falls] is rendered a grassy and
flowery meadow.
CHAPTER VIII.
1. In proceeding from the Hyrcanian Sea towards the east, on the right
hand are the mountains which the Greeks call Taurus, extending as far as
India. They begin from Pamphylia and Cilicia, and stretch to this part
from the west in a continuous line, bearing different names in different
places. The northern parts[990] of this range are occupied first by
Gelæ, Cadusii, and Amardi, as we have said, and by some tribes of
Hyrcanians; then follow, as we proceed towards the east and the Ochus,
the nation of the Parthians, then that of the Margiani and Arii, and the
desert country which the river Sarnius separates from Hyrcania. The
mountain, which extends to this country, or within a small distance of
it, from Armenia, is called Parachoathras.
From the Hyrcanian sea to the Arii are about 6000 stadia. [991] Next
follow Bactriana, Sogdiana, and lastly nomade Scythians. The Macedonians
gave the name of Caucasus to all the mountains which follow after
Ariana,[992] but among the barbarians the heights and the northern parts
of the Parapomisus were called Emoda, and Mount Imaus;[993] and other
names of this kind were assigned to each portion of this range.
2. On the left hand[994] opposite to these parts are situated the
Scythian and nomadic nations, occupying the whole of the northern side.
Most of the Scythians, beginning from the Caspian Sea, are called Dahæ
Scythæ, and those situated more towards the east Massagetæ and Sacæ; the
rest have the common appellation of Scythians, but each separate tribe
has its peculiar name. All, or the greatest part of them, are nomades.
The best known tribes are those who deprived the Greeks of Bactriana,
the Asii, Pasiani, (Asiani? ) Tochari, and Sacarauli, who came from the
country on the other side of the Iaxartes,[995] opposite the Sacæ and
Sogdiani, and which country was also occupied by Sacæ; some tribes of
the Dahæ are surnamed Aparni, some Xanthii, others Pissuri. [996]
[CAS. 511] The Aparni approach the nearest of any of these people to
Hyrcania, and to the Caspian Sea. The others extend as far as the
country opposite to Aria.
3. Between these people, Hyrcania, and Parthia as far as Aria lies a
vast and arid desert, which they crossed by long journeys, and overran
Hyrcania, the Nesæan country, and the plains of Parthia. These people
agreed to pay a tribute on condition of having permission to overrun the
country at stated times, and to carry away the plunder. But when these
incursions became more frequent than the agreement allowed, war ensued,
afterwards peace was made, and then again war was renewed. Such is the
kind of life which the other Nomades also lead, continually attacking
their neighbours, and then making peace with them.
4. The Sacæ had made incursions similar to those of the Cimmerians and
Treres, some near their own country, others at a greater distance. They
occupied Bactriana, and got possession of the most fertile tract in
Armenia, which was called after their own name, Sacasene. They advanced
even as far as the Cappadocians, those particularly situated near the
Euxine; who are now called Pontici. When they were assembled together
and feasting on the division of the booty, they were attacked by night
by the Persian generals who were then stationed in that quarter, and
were utterly exterminated. The Persians raised a mound of earth in the
form of a hill over a rock in the plain, (where this occurred,) and
fortified it. They erected there a temple to Anaïtis and the gods Omanus
and Anadatus, Persian deities who have a common altar. [997] They also
instituted an annual festival, (in memory of the event,) the Sacæa,
which the occupiers of Zela, for this is the name of the place,
celebrate to this day. It is a small city chiefly appropriated to the
sacred attendants. Pompey added to it a considerable tract of territory,
the inhabitants of which he collected within the walls. It was one of
the cities which he settled after the overthrow of Mithridates.
5. Such is the account which is given of the Sacæ by some writers.
Others say, that Cyrus in an expedition against the Sacæ was defeated,
and fled. He advanced with his army to the spot where he had left his
stores, consisting of large supplies of every kind, particularly of
wine; he stopped a short time to refresh his army, and set out in the
evening, as though he continued his flight, the tents being left full of
provisions. He proceeded as far as he thought requisite, and then
halted. The Sacæ pursued, who, finding the camp abandoned and full of
the means of gratifying their appetites, indulged themselves without
restraint. Cyrus then returned and found them drunk and frantic; some
were killed, stretched on the ground drowsy or asleep; others, dancing
and maddened with wine, fell defenceless on the weapons of their
enemies. Nearly all of them perished. Cyrus ascribed this success to the
gods; he consecrated the day to the goddess worshipped in his own
country, and called it Sacæa. Wherever there is a temple of this
goddess, there the Sacæan festival, a sort of Bacchanalian feast, is
celebrated, in which both men and women, dressed in the Scythian habit,
pass day and night in drinking and wanton play.
6. The Massagetæ signalized their bravery in the war with Cyrus, of
which many writers have published accounts; we must get our information
from them. Such particulars as the following are narrated respecting
this nation; some tribes inhabit mountains, some plains, others live
among marshes formed by the rivers, others on the islands among the
marshes. The Araxes is said to be the river which is the chief cause of
inundating the country; it is divided into various branches and
discharges itself by many mouths into the other sea[998] towards the
north, but by one only into the Hyrcanian Gulf. The Massagetæ regard no
other deity than the sun, and to his honour they sacrifice a horse. Each
man marries only one wife, but they have intercourse with the wives of
each other without any concealment. He who has intercourse with the wife
of another man hangs up his quiver on a waggon, and lies with her
openly. They account the best mode of death to be chopped up when they
grow old with the flesh of sheep, and both to be devoured together.
Those who die of disease are cast out as impious, and only fit to be the
prey of wild beasts; they are excellent horsemen, and also fight well on
foot. They use bows, swords, breastplates, and sagares [CAS. 513] of
brass, they wear golden belts, and turbans[999] on their heads in
battle. Their horses have bits of gold, and golden breastplates; they
have no silver, iron in small quantity, but gold and brass in great
plenty.
7. Those who live in the islands have no corn-fields. Their food
consists of roots and wild fruits. Their clothes are made of the bark of
trees, for they have no sheep. They press out and drink the juice of the
fruit of certain trees.
The inhabitants of the marshes eat fish. They are clothed in the skins
of seals, which come upon the island from the sea.
The mountaineers subsist on wild fruits. They have besides a few sheep,
but they kill them sparingly, and keep them for the sake of their wool
and milk. Their clothes they variegate by steeping them in dyes, which
produce a colour not easily effaced.
The inhabitants of the plains, although they possess land, do not
cultivate it, but derive their subsistence from their fiocks, and from
fish, after the manner of the nomades and Scythians. I have frequently
described a certain way of life common to all these people. Their
burial-places and their manners are alike, and their whole manner of
living is independent, but rude, savage, and hostile; in their compacts,
however, they are simple and without deceit.
8. The Attasii (Augasii? ) and the Chorasmii belong to the Massagetæ and
Sacæ, to whom Spitamenes directed his flight from Bactria and Sogdiana.
He was one of the Persians who, like Bessus, made his escape from
Alexander by flight, as Arsaces afterwards fled from Seleucus
Callinicus, and retreated among the Aspasiacæ.
Eratosthenes says, that the Bactrians lie along the Arachoti and
Massagetæ on the west near the Oxus, and that Sacæ and Sogdiani, through
the whole extent of their territory,[1000] are opposite to India, but
the Bactrii in part only, for the greater part of their country lies
parallel to the Parapomisus; that the Sacæ and Sogdiani are separated by
the Iaxartes, and the Sogdiani and Bactriani by the Oxus; that Tapyri
occupy the country between Hyrcani and Arii; that around the shores of
the sea, next to the Hyrcani, are Amardi, Anariacæ, Cadusii, Albani,
Caspii, Vitii, and perhaps other tribes extending as far as the
Scythians; that on the other side of the Hyrcani are Derbices, that the
Caducii are contiguous both to the Medes and Matiani below the
Parachoathras.
9. These are the distances which he gives.
Stadia.
From the Caspian Sea to the Cyrus about 1800
Thence to the Caspian Gates 5600
Thence to Alexandreia in the territory of the Arii 6400
Thence to the city Bactra, which is called also Zariaspa 3870
Thence to the river Iaxartes, which Alexander reached, about 5000
------
Making a total of 22,670
------
He also assigns the following distances from the Caspian Gates to India.
Stadia.
To Hecatompylos[1001] 1960
To Alexandreia[1002] in the country of the Arii (Ariana) 4530
Thence to Prophthasia[1003] in Dranga[1004]
(or according to others 1500) 1600
Thence to the city Arachoti[1005] 4120
Thence to Ortospana on the three roads from Bactra[1006] 2000
Thence to the confines of India 1000
------
Which together amount to 15,300[1007]
------
We [CAS. 514] must regard as continuous with this distance, in a
straight line, the length of India, reckoned from the Indus to the
Eastern Sea.
Thus much then respecting the Sacæ.
CHAPTER IX.
