SECTION IX.

THE SUBJECT OF ASIA, CONTINUED.

Brief Description of the four Regions of Asia, by HerodotusObservations on his Arrangement-His error in the relative Positions of the four Seas, the Mediterranean, Euxine, Caspian, and Persian, to each other-continued to the time of Strabo -Source of it-This error, one principal cause of the Wanderings of the Ten Thousand-Error of Herodotus in appreciating the Breadth of the Isthmus of Natolia-His ideas respecting the Positions of Persia, Media, Assyria, and Arabia-The latter given under too confined Limits, by most of the Ancients -Aria, Bactriana, Parthia-Caspian Sea, properly described as a Lake-its Hydrography corrected-Great Plain in Asia described-Aria Palus, the Lake of Zurrah-Sarangæans, or People of Sigistan-Erythræan, or Indian Sea-Arabian and Persian Gulfs, Members of it—Arabian Gulf first took the name of Erythræan, or Red; and the last that has preserved it-Erythræans, the same as Tyrians-Euxine Sea-Errors of Herodotus respecting its Dimensions-compared in Form to a Scythian Bow-Its Hydrography corrected-Principal Rivers in Western Asia-Gyndes divided by Cyrus-The Araxes of Herodotus meant for the Jaxartes.

AFTER the long digression from the immediate matter of our Author's work, at the conclusion of the last section, we proceed to give his short description of the several regions of Asia, known to him: reserving, however, the detail of the TWENTY SATRAPIES of DARIUS HYSTASPES, for a separate investigation.

R 2

Herodotus sets out with describing FOUR REGIONS in ASIA; Melpom. 37, et seq.

I. The FIRST region included the space between the two seas, the gulf of Persia and the eastern part of the Euxine; and contained" the region occupied by the Persians, which extends southward to the Red sea: (i. e. the Erythræan or Indian sea.) Beyond these, to the north, are the Medes: and next to them the Sapirians. Contiguous to the latter, and where the Phasis empties itself into the northern sea (Euxine), are the Colchians. These four nations occupy the space between the two seas'."

II. "From hence to the west, Two tracts of land stretch themselves towards the sea: the one on the north side commences at the Phasis 2, and extends to the sea, along the Euxine and the Hellespont, as far as the Sigeum of Troy. On the south side, it begins at the Marandynian bay 3, contiguous to Phoenicia; and is continued to the sea, as far as the Triopian Promontory. This space of country is inhabited by 30 different nations." Melpom. 38.

1 It may be proper to advertise the reader, in this place, that Herodotus supposes the Phasis to be nearly under the same meridian as the head of the gulf of Persia.

2 Here we have a proof that the Asia of Herodotus did not extend to the northward of the river Phasis. The proof is rendered more strong by the whole context of the chapters 37, 38, 39.

3 This ought to be the Myriandrian bay, or bay of Myriandrus in other words, the gulf of Issus. Marandynia was a part of Bithynia, and extended along the Euxine.

This was the Promontory of Asia Minor, opposite to the island of Coos. The territory of Cnidus was named Triopium : Clio, 174. There was a temple consecrated to Apollo, on the promontory of Triope, where games were celebrated; Clio, 144.

III. "The other district (of the two above mentioned) commences in Persia, and is continued to the Red sea 5. Besides Persia, it contains Assyria and Arabia, naturally terminating in the Arabian gulf, into which Darius introduced a channel of the Nile. The interval from Persia to Phoenicia is very extensive. From Phoenicia it again continues beyond Syria of Palestine, as far as Egypt, where it terminates. The whole of this region is occupied by three nations only. Such is the division of Asia from Persia, westward." Melpom. 39.

IV. "To the east, beyond Persia, Media, the Sapinians, and Colchians, the country is bounded by the Red sea; to the north by the Caspian and the river Araxes, which directs its course towards the east. As far as India, Asia is well inhabited: but from India, eastward, the whole country is one vast desert, unknown and unexplored." Melp. 40.

Thus we have the subdivisions of Asia, as known

5 That is, the Erythræan sea at large, or the sea between India and Arabia: not the Arabian gulf.

These are called Sapinians, Sapirians, and Saspires (or Saspirians), in different places; but all have a reference to the same people, who were situated between Media and Colchis.

'He can hardly mean, that the sea in question bounded this tract on the east, because it contradicts the rest of the statement; which implies, that India lies to the east of this tract. He must have meant "the country on the east of Persia," &c.

We must read west; because, by implication, in Clio, 202, 204, the Araxes, on which the Massagetæ are situated, runs into the east side of the Caspian. It will appear, in the sequel, that he confounds the Eastern Araxes (meaning the Jaxartes) with the Araxes of Armenia.

to Herodotus. The first remark that arises, on a view of this statement, is, that the Author had not a just idea of the relative positions of the Euxine and Caspian sea, to the Mediterranean sea, and Persian gulf (or rather sea, as he did not know that it formed a gulf there). For he supposes the Caspian sea to be situated to the east of the meridian of Persia; in Melpom. 40; whence the position of Colchis, in respect of Persia and Media, is inferred to be opposite to, or in the same meridian with them for such a position, the description evidently intends. (The reader is requested to turn to the Maps No. I. and II.) Not that the space between Tonia and Susa (a route well known to our Author, as will appear in a future discussion) was contracted by this arrangement; for the prolongation of the Euxine, westward, beyond the truth, made up in space for the false adjustment of the east end of that sea. But, on the other hand, the breadth of Arabia and Assyria were contracted very far within their proper bounds, by the error of supposing the mouth of the Nile and Cilicia to stand opposite to each other; Euterpe, 34; but more particularly by the deficiency of distance between Egypt and Babylon, as will appear presently. The consequences of these errors were, that a more northerly direction was given, both to the Arabian gulf, and the eastern side of the Mediterranean.

Several of these errors remained to the days of Strabo; for even the materials collected during Alexander's expedition, did not enable geographers to correct the whole error in the relative positions

of the Caspian, Euxine, and Persian seas, to each other, and to the Mediterranean. The true cause appears to have been, that no direct line of distance from Canopus to Babylon could be obtained, because the nature of the intervening ground (the Arabian desert) prevented it; and although the meridians of Canopus and the Sacrum Promontory (of Lycia) were pretty well adjusted in respect of each other, yet, as the line to Babylon, from the former, passed circuitously through Thapsacus and Arbela, a vast error in the direct distance (almost unavoidably) arose, through the default of means, to ascertain the various inflexions of the line of distance. Hence Eratosthenes allowed no more than 5,600 stadia, of 700 to a degree, between Heroopolis and Babylon, which is short of the truth by about one fourth. So that although Babylon was really more than 3o of longitude to the eastward of the mouth of the Phasis, in Colchis, yet the just-mentioned error, which amounted to 3° 3' (it being 156 G. miles), threw it somewhat to the west of the Phasis, on the Map1.

An error of the like kind, or perhaps a continua

"It was understood that these places were situated under the same meridian.

1 But it is, perhaps, yet more remarkable that an error in the relative positions of the Caspian and Persian seas, should have existed to the present times. M. D'Anville placed the NW part of the Caspian two degrees of longitude too far to the east, in respect of the Persian gulf, by means of an error in the reported longitude of Astrakan. And yet the Arabian and Persian Tables have it right. The above error had the effect of distorting the space, generally, between the Caspian sea and Constantinople.