Chapter XVI: Book V (1)

AN ACCOUNT OF COUNTRIES, NATIONS, SEAS, TOWNS, HAVENS, MOUNTAINS, RIVERS, DISTANCES, AND PEOPLES WHO NOW EXIST OR FORMERLY EXISTED.

CHAP. 1.—THE TWO MAURITANIAS.

The Greeks have given the name of Libya[3232] to Africa, and have called the sea that lies in front of it the Libyan Sea. It has Egypt for its boundary, and no part of the earth is there that has fewer gulfs or inlets, its shores extending in a lengthened line from the west in an oblique direction. The names of its peoples, and its cities in especial, cannot possibly be pronounced with correctness, except by the aid of their own native tongues. Its population, too, for the most part dwells only in fortresses[3233].

(1.) On our entrance into Africa, we find the two Mauritanias, which, until the time of Caius Cæsar[3234], the son of Germanicus, were kingdoms; but, suffering under his cruelty, they were divided into two provinces. The extreme promontory of Africa, which projects into the ocean, is called Ampelusia[3235] by the Greeks. There were formerly two towns, Lissa and Cotte[3236], beyond the Pillars of Hercules; but, at the present day, we only find that of Tingi[3237], which was formerly founded by Antæus, and afterwards received the name of Traducta Julia[3238], from Claudius Cæsar, when he established a colony there. It is thirty miles distant from Belon[3239], a town of Bætica, where the passage across is the shortest. At a distance of twenty-five miles from Tingi, upon the shores of the ocean[3240], we come to Julia Constantia Zilis[3241], a colony of Augustus. This place is exempt from all subjection to the kings of Mauritania, and is included in the legal jurisdiction of Bætica. Thirty-two miles distant from Julia Constantia is Lixos[3242], which was made a Roman colony by Claudius Cæsar, and which has been the subject of such wondrous fables, related by the writers of antiquity. At this place, according to the story, was the palace of Antæus; this was the scene of his combat with Hercules, and here were the gardens of the Hesperides[3243]. An arm of the sea flows into the land here, with a serpentine channel, and, from the nature of the locality, this is interpreted at the present day as having been what was really represented by the story of the dragon keeping guard there. This tract of water surrounds an island, the only spot which is never overflowed by the tides of the sea, although not quite so elevated as the rest of the land in its vicinity. Upon this island, also, there is still in existence the altar of Hercules; but of the grove that bore the golden fruit, there are no traces left, beyond some wild olive-trees. People will certainly be the less surprised at the marvellous falsehoods of the Greeks, which have been related about this place and the river Lixos[3244], when they reflect that some of our own[3245] countrymen as well, and that too very recently, have related stories in reference to them hardly less monstrous; how that this city is remarkable for its power and extensive influence, and how that it is even greater than Great Carthage ever was; how, too, that it is situate just opposite to Carthage, and at an almost immeasurable distance from Tingi, together with other details of a similar nature, all of which Cornelius Nepos has believed with the most insatiate credulity[3246].

In the interior, at a distance of forty miles from Lixos, is Babba[3247], surnamed Julia Campestris, another colony of Augustus; and, at a distance of seventy-five, a third, called Banasa[3248], with the surname of Valentia. At a distance of thirty-five miles from this last is the town of Volubilis, which is just that distance also from both[3249] seas. On the coast, at a distance of fifty miles from Lixos, is the river Subur[3250], which flows past the colony of Banasa, a fine river, and available for the purposes of navigation. At the same distance from it is the city of Sala[3251], situate on a river which bears the same name, a place which stands upon the very verge of the desert, and though infested by troops of elephants, is much more exposed to the attacks of the nation of the Autololes, through whose country lies the road to Mount Atlas, the most fabulous[3252] locality even in Africa.

It is from the midst of the sands, according to the story, that this mountain[3253] raises its head to the heavens; rugged and craggy on the side which looks toward the shores of the ocean to which it has given its name, while on that which faces the interior of Africa it is shaded by dense groves of trees, and refreshed by flowing streams; fruits of all kinds springing up there spontaneously to such an extent, as to more than satiate every possible desire. Throughout the daytime, no inhabitant is to be seen; all is silent, like that dreadful stillness which reigns in the desert. A religious horror steals imperceptibly over the feelings of those who approach, and they feel themselves smitten with awe at the stupendous aspect of its summit, which reaches beyond the clouds, and well nigh approaches the very orb of the moon. At night, they say, it gleams with fires innumerable lighted up; it is then the scene of the gambols of the Ægipans[3254] and the Satyr crew, while it re-echoes with the notes of the flute and the pipe, and the clash of drums and cymbals. All this is what authors of high character have stated, in addition to the labours which Hercules and Perseus there experienced. The space which intervenes before you arrive at this mountain is immense, and the country quite unknown.

There formerly existed some Commentaries written by Hanno[3255], a Carthaginian general, who was commanded, in the most flourishing times of the Punic state, to explore the sea-coast of Africa. The greater part of the Greek and Roman writers have followed him, and have related, among other fabulous stories, that many cities there were founded by him, of which no remembrance, nor yet the slightest vestige, now exists.

While Scipio Æmilianus held the command in Sicily, Polybius the historian received a fleet from him for the purpose of proceeding on a voyage of discovery in this part of the world. He relates, that beyond[3256] Mount Atlas, proceeding in a westerly direction, there are forests filled with wild beasts, peculiar to the soil of Africa, as far as the river Anatis[3257], a distance of 485 miles, Lixos being distant from it 205 miles. Agrippa says, that Lixos is distant from the Straits of Gades 112 miles. After it we come to a gulf which is called the Gulf of Saguti[3258], a town situate on the Promontory of Mulelacha[3259], the rivers Subur and Salat[3260], and the port of Rutubis[3261], distant from Lixos 213 miles. We then come to the Promontory of the Sun[3262], the port of Risardir[3263], the Gætulian Autololes, the river Cosenus[3264], the nations of the Selatiti and the Masati, the river Masathat[3265], and the river Darat[3266], in which crocodiles are found. After this we come to a large gulf, 616[3267] miles in extent, which is enclosed by a promontory of Mount Barce[3268], which runs out in a westerly direction, and is called Surrentium[3269]. Next comes the river Salsus[3270], beyond which lie the Æthiopian Perorsi, at the back of whom are the Pharusii[3271], who are bordered upon by the Gætulian Daræ[3272], lying in the interior. Upon the coast again, we find the Æthiopian Daratitæ, and the river Bambotus[3273], teeming with crocodiles and hippopotami. From this river there is a continuous range[3274] of mountains till we come to the one which is known by the name of Theon Ochema[3275], from which to the Hesperian Promontory[3276] is a voyage of ten days and nights; and in the middle of this space he[3277] has placed Mount Atlas, which by all other writers has been stated to be in the extreme parts of Mauritania.

The Roman arms, for the first time, pursued their conquests into Mauritania, under the Emperor Claudius, when the freedman Ædemon took up arms to avenge the death of King Ptolemy[3278], who had been put to death by Caius Cæsar; and it is a well-known fact, that on the flight of the barbarians our troops reached Mount Atlas. It became a boast, not only among men of consular rank, and generals selected from the senate, who at that time held the command, but among persons of equestrian rank as well, who after that period held the government there, that they had penetrated as far as Mount Atlas. There are, as we have already stated, five Roman colonies in this province; and it may very possibly appear, if we listen only to what report says, that this mountain is easily accessible. Upon trial, however, it has been pretty generally shown, that all such statements are utterly fallacious; and it is too true, that men in high station, when they are disinclined to take the trouble of inquiring into the truth, through a feeling of shame at their ignorance are not averse to be guilty of falsehood; and never is implicit credence more readily given, than when a falsehood is supported by the authority of some personage of high consideration. For my own part, I am far less surprised that there are still some facts remaining undiscovered by men of the equestrian order, and even those among them who have attained senatorial rank, than that the love of luxury has left anything unascertained; the impulse of which must be great indeed, and most powerfully felt, when the very forests are ransacked for their ivory and citron-wood[3279], and all the rocks of Gætulia are searched for the murex and the purple.

From the natives, however, we learn, that on the coast, at a distance of 150 miles from the Salat, the river Asana[3280] presents itself; its waters are salt, but it is remarkable for its fine harbour. They also say that after this we come to a river known by the name of Fut[3281], and then, after crossing another called Vior which lies on the road, at a distance of 200 miles we arrive at Dyris[3282], such being the name which in their language they give to Mount Atlas. According to their story there are still existing in its vicinity many vestiges which tend to prove that the locality was once inhabited; such as the remains of vineyards and plantations of palm-trees.

Suetonius Paulinus[3283], whom we have seen Consul in our own time, was the first Roman general who advanced a distance of some miles beyond Mount Atlas. He has given us the same information as we have received from other sources with reference to the extraordinary height of this mountain, and at the same time he has stated that all the lower parts about the foot of it are covered with dense and lofty forests composed of trees of species hitherto unknown. The height of these trees, he says, is remarkable; the trunks are without knots, and of a smooth and glossy surface; the foliage is like that of the cypress, and besides sending forth a powerful odour, they are covered with a flossy down, from which, by the aid of art, a fine cloth might easily be manufactured, similar to the textures made from the produce of the silk-worm. He informs us that the summit of this mountain is covered with snow even in summer, and says that having arrived there after a march of ten days, he proceeded some distance beyond it as far as a river which bears the name of Ger[3284]; the road being through deserts covered with a black sand[3285], from which rocks that bore the appearance of having been exposed to the action of fire, projected every here and there; localities rendered quite uninhabitable by the intensity of the heat, as he himself experienced, although it was in the winter season that he visited them. We also learn from the same source that the people who inhabit the adjoining forests, which are full of all kinds of elephants, wild beasts, and serpents, have the name of Canarii; from the circumstance that they partake of their food in common with the canine race, and share with it the entrails of wild beasts.

It is a well-known fact, that adjoining to these localities is a nation of Æthiopians, which bears the name of Perorsi. Juba, the father of Ptolemy, who was the first king[3286] who reigned over both the Mauritanias, and who has been rendered even more famous by the brilliancy of his learning than by his kingly rank, has given us similar information relative to Mount Atlas, and states that a certain herb grows there, which has received the name of ‘euphorbia’[3287] from that of his physician, who was the first to discover it. Juba extols with wondrous praises the milky juice of this plant as tending to improve the sight, and acting as a specific against the bites of serpents and all kinds of poison; and to this subject alone he has devoted an entire book. Thus much, if indeed not more than enough, about Mount Atlas.

(2.) The province of Tingitana is 170 miles in length[3288]. Of the nations in this province the principal one was formerly that of the Mauri[3289], who have given to it the name of Mauritania, and have been by many writers called the Maurusii[3290]. This nation has been greatly weakened by the disasters of war, and is now dwindled down to a few families only[3291]. Next to the Mauri was formerly the nation of the Massæsyli[3292]; they in a similar manner have become extinct. Their country is now occupied by the Gætulian nations[3293], the Baniuræ[3294], the Autololes[3295], by far the most powerful people among them all, and the Vesuni, who formerly were a part of the Autololes, but have now separated from them, and, turning their steps towards the Æthiopians[3296], have formed a distinct nation of their own. This province, in the mountainous district which lies on its eastern side, produces elephants, as also on the heights of Mount Abyla[3297] and among those elevations which, from the similarity of their height, are called the Seven Brothers[3298]. Joining the range of Abyla these mountains overlook the Straits of Gades. At the extremity of this chain begin the shores of the inland sea[3299], and we come to the Tamuda[3300], a navigable stream, with the site of a former town of the same name, and then the river Laud[3301], which is also navigable for vessels, the town and port of Rhysaddir[3302], and Malvane[3303], a navigable stream.

The city of Siga[3304], formerly the residence of King Syphax, lies opposite to that of Malaca[3305] in Spain: it now belongs to the second[3306] Mauritania. But these countries, I should remark, for a long time retained the names of their respective kings, the further Mauritania being called the “land of Bogud[3307],” while that which is now called Cæsariensis was called the “country of Bocchus.” After passing Siga we come to the haven called “Portus Magnus[3308]” from its great extent, with a town whose people enjoy the rights of Roman citizens, and then the river Mulucha[3309], which served as the limit between the territory of Bocchus and that of the Massæsyli. Next to this is Quiza Xenitana[3310], a town founded by strangers, and Arsenaria[3311], a place with the ancient Latin rights, three miles distant from the sea. We then come to Cartenna[3312], a colony founded under Augustus by the second legion, and Gunugum[3313], another colony founded by the same emperor, a prætorian cohort being established there; the Promontory of Apollo[3314], and a most celebrated city, now called Cæsarea[3315], but formerly known by the name of Iol; this place was the residence of King Juba, and received the rights of a colony from the now deified Emperor Claudius. Oppidum Novum[3316] is the next place; a colony of veterans was established here by command of the same emperor. Next to it is Tipasa[3317], which has received Latin rights, as also Icasium[3318], which has been presented by the Emperor Vespasianus with similar rights; Rusconiæ[3319], a colony founded by Augustus; Rusucurium[3320], honoured by Claudius with the rights of Roman citizens; Ruzacus[3321], a colony founded by Augustus; Salde[3322], another colony founded by the same emperor; Igilgili[3323], another; and the town of Tucca[3324], situate on the sea-shore and upon the river Ampsaga. In the interior are the colony of Augusta, also called Succabar[3325], Tubusuptus[3326], the cities of Timici and Tigavæ[3327], the rivers Sardabal[3328], Aves[3329], and Nabar[3330], the nation of the Macurebi, the river Usar[3331], and the nation of the Nababes. The river Ampsaga is distant from Cæsarea 322[3332] miles. The length of the two Mauritanias is 1038, and their breadth 467 miles.

CHAP. 2. (3.)—NUMIDIA.

At the river Ampsaga Numidia begins, a country rendered illustrious by the fame of Masinissa. By the Greeks this region was called Metagonitis[3333]; and the Numidians received the name of “Nomades” from their frequent changes of pasturage; upon which occasions they were accustomed to carry[3334] their _mapalia_, or in other words, their houses, upon waggons. The towns of this country are Cullu[3335] and Rusicade[3336]; and at a distance of forty-eight miles from the latter, in the interior, is the colony of Cirta[3337], surnamed “of the Sitiani;” still more inland is another colony called Sicca[3338], with the free town of Bulla Regia[3339]. On the coast are Tacatua[3340], Hippo Regius[3341], the river Armua[3342], and the town of Tabraca[3343], with the rights of Roman citizens. The river Tusca[3344] forms the boundary of Numidia. This country produces nothing remarkable except its marble[3345] and wild beasts.

CHAP. 3. (4.)—AFRICA.

Beyond the river Tusca begins the region of Zeugitana[3346], and that part which properly bears the name of Africa[3347]. We here find three promontories; the White Promontory[3348], the Promontory of Apollo[3349], facing Sardinia, and that of Mercury[3350], opposite to Sicily. Projecting into the sea these headlands form two gulfs, the first of which bears the name of “Hipponensis” from its proximity to the city called Hippo Dirutus[3351], a corruption of the Greek name Diarrhytus, which it has received from the channels made for irrigation. Adjacent to this place, but at a greater distance from the sea-shore, is Theudalis[3352], a town exempt from tribute. We then come to the Promontory of Apollo, and upon the second gulf, we find Utica[3353], a place enjoying the rights of Roman citizens, and famous for the death of Cato; the river Bagrada[3354], the place called Castra Cornelia[3355], the colony[3356] of Carthage, founded upon the remains of Great Carthage[3357], the colony of Maxula[3358], the towns of Carpi[3359], Misua, and Clypea[3360], the last a free town, on the Promontory of Mercury; also Curubis, a free town[3361], and Neapolis[3362].

Here commences the second division[3363] of Africa properly so called. Those who inhabit Byzacium have the name of Libyphœnices[3364]. Byzacium is the name of a district which is 250 miles in circumference, and is remarkable for its extreme fertility, as the ground returns the seed sown by the husbandman with interest a hundred-fold[3365]. Here are the free towns of Leptis[3366], Adrumetum[3367], Ruspina[3368], and Thapsus[3369]; and then Thenæ[3370], Macomades[3371], Tacape[3372], and Sabrata[3373] which touches on the Lesser Syrtis; to which spot, from the Ampsaga, the length of Numidia and Africa is 580 miles, and the breadth, so far as it has been ascertained, 200. That portion which we have called Africa is divided into two provinces, the Old and the New; these are separated by a dyke which was made by order of the second Scipio Africanus[3374] and the kings[3375], and extended to Thenæ, which town is distant from Carthage 216 miles.

CHAP. 4.—THE SYRTES.

A third Gulf is divided into two smaller ones, those of the two Syrtes[3376], which are rendered perilous by the shallows of their quicksands and the ebb and flow of the sea. Polybius states the distance from Carthage to the Lesser Syrtis, the one which is nearest to it, to be 300 miles. The inlet to it he also states to be 100 miles across, and its circumference 300. There is also a way[3377] to it by land, to find which we must employ the guidance of the stars and cross deserts which present nothing but sand and serpents. After passing these we come to forests filled with vast multitudes of wild beasts and elephants, then desert wastes[3378], and beyond them the Garamantes[3379], distant twelve days’ journey from the Augylæ[3380]. Above the Garamantes was formerly the nation of the Psylli[3381], and above them again the Lake of Lycomedes[3382], surrounded with deserts. The Augylæ themselves are situate almost midway between Æthiopia which faces the west[3383], and the region which lies between[3384] the two Syrtes, at an equal distance from both. The distance along the coast that lies between the two Syrtes is 250 miles. On it are found the city of Œa[3385], the river Cinyps[3386], and the country of that name, the towns of Neapolis[3387], Graphara[3388], and Abrotonum[3389], and the second, surnamed the Greater, Leptis[3390].

We next come to the Greater Syrtis, 625 miles in circumference, and at the entrance 312 miles in width; next after which dwells the nation of the Cisippades. At the bottom of this gulf was the coast of the Lotophagi, whom some writers have called the Alachroæ[3391], extending as far as the Altars of the Philæni[3392]; these Altars are formed of heaps of sand. On passing these, not far from the shore there is a vast swamp[3393] which receives the river Triton[3394] and from it takes its name: by Callimachus it is called Pallantias[3395], and is said by him to be on the nearer side of the Lesser Syrtis; many other writers however place it between the two Syrtes. The promontory which bounds the Greater Syrtis has the name of Borion[3396]; beyond it is the province of Cyrene.

Africa, from the river Ampsaga to this limit, includes 516 peoples, who are subject to the Roman sway, of which six are colonies; among them Uthina[3397] and Tuburbi[3398], besides those already mentioned. The towns enjoying the rights of Roman citizens are fifteen in number, of which I shall mention, as lying in the interior, those of Assuræ[3399], Abutucum, Aborium, Canopicum[3400], Cilma[3401], Simithium, Thunusidium, Tuburnicum, Tynidrumum, Tibiga, the two towns called Ucita, the Greater and the Lesser, and Vaga. There is also one town with Latin rights, Uzalita by name, and one town of tributaries, Castra Cornelia[3402]. The free towns are thirty in number, among which we may mention, in the interior, those of Acholla[3403], Aggarita, Avina, Abzirita, Canopita, Melizita, Matera, Salaphita, Tusdrita[3404], Tiphica, Tunica[3405], Theuda, Tagasta[3406], Tiga[3407], Ulusubrita, a second Vaga, Visa, and Zama[3408]. Of the remaining number, most of them should be called, in strictness, not only cities, but nations even; such for instance as the Natabudes, the Capsitani[3409], the Musulami, the Sabarbares, the Massyli[3410], the Nisives, the Vamacures, the Cinithi, the Musuni, the Marchubii[3411], and the whole of Gætulia[3412], as far as the river Nigris[3413], which separates Africa proper from Æthiopia.

CHAP. 5. (5.)—CYRENAICA.

The region of Cyrenaica, also called Pentapolis[3414], is rendered famous by the oracle of Hammon[3415], which is distant 400 miles from the city of Cyrene; also by the Fountain of the Sun[3416] there, and five cities in especial, those of Berenice[3417], Arsinoë[3418], Ptolemais[3419], Apollonia[3420], and Cyrene[3421] itself. Berenice is situate upon the outer promontory that bounds the Syrtis; it was formerly called the city of the Hesperides (previously mentioned[3422]), according to the fables of the Greeks, which very often change their localities. Not far from the city, and running before it, is the river Lethon, and with it a sacred grove, where the gardens of the Hesperides are said to have formerly stood; this city is distant from Leptis 375 miles. From Berenice to Arsinoë, commonly called Teuchira, is forty-three miles; after which, at a distance of twenty-two, we come to Ptolemais, the ancient name of which was Barce; and at a distance of forty miles from this last the Promontory of Phycus[3423], which extends far away into the Cretan Sea, being 350 miles distant from Tænarum[3424], the promontory of Laconia, and from Crete 225. After passing this promontory we come to Cyrene, which stands at a distance of eleven miles from the sea. From Phycus to Apollonia[3425] is twenty-four miles, and from thence to the Chersonesus[3426] eighty-eight; from which to Catabathmos[3427] is a distance of 216 miles. The Marmaridæ[3428] inhabit this coast, extending from almost the region of Parætonium[3429] to the Greater Syrtis; after them the Ararauceles, and then, upon the coasts of the Syrtis, the Nasamones[3430], whom the Greeks formerly called Mesammones, from the circumstance of their being located in the very midst of sands[3431]. The territory of Cyrene, to a distance of fifteen miles from the shore, is said to abound in trees, while for the same distance beyond that district it is only suitable for the cultivation of corn: after which, a tract of land, thirty miles in breadth and 250 in length, is productive of nothing but laser [or silphium[3432]].

After the Nasamones we come to the dwellings of the Asbystæ and the Macæ[3433], and beyond them, at eleven days’ journey to the west of the Greater Syrtis, the Amantes[3434], a people also surrounded by sands in every direction. They find water however without any difficulty at a depth mostly of about two cubits, as their district receives the overflow of the waters of Mauritania. They build houses with blocks of salt[3435], which they cut out of their mountains just as we do stone. From this nation to the Troglodytæ[3436] the distance is seven days’ journey in a south-westerly direction, a people with whom our only intercourse is for the purpose of procuring from them the precious stone which we call the carbuncle, and which is brought from the interior of Æthiopia. Upon the road to this last people, but turning off towards the deserts of Africa, of which we have previously[3437] made mention as lying beyond the Lesser Syrtis, is the region of Phazania[3438]; the nation of Phazanii, belonging to which, as well as the cities of Alele[3439] and Cilliba[3440], we have subdued by force of arms, as also Cydamus[3441], which lies over against Sabrata. After passing these places a range of mountains extends in a prolonged chain from east to west: these have received from our people the name of the Black Mountains[3442], either from the appearance which they naturally bear of having been exposed to the action of fire, or else from the fact that they have been scorched by the reflection of the sun’s rays. Beyond it[3443] is the desert, and then Talgæ, a city of the Garamantes, and Debris, at which place there is a spring[3444], the waters of which, from noon to midnight, are at boiling heat, and then freeze for as many hours until the following noon; Garama too, that most famous capital of the Garamantes; all which places have been subdued by the Roman arms. It was on this occasion that Cornelius Balbus[3445] was honoured with a triumph, the only foreigner indeed that was ever honoured with the triumphal chariot, and presented with the rights of a Roman citizen; for, although by birth a native of Gades, the Roman citizenship was granted to him as well as to the elder Balbus[3446], his uncle by the father’s side. There is also this remarkable circumstance, that our writers have handed down to us the names of the cities above-mentioned as having been taken by Balbus, and have informed us that on the occasion of his triumph[3447], besides Cydamus and Garama[3448], there were carried in the procession the names and models of all the other nations and cities, in the following order: the town of Tabudium[3449], the nation of Niteris, the town of Nigligemella, the nation or town of Bubeium[3450], the nation of Enipi, the town of Thuben, the mountain known as the Black Mountain, Nitibrum, the towns called Rapsa, the nation of Discera[3451], the town of Debris[3452], the river Nathabur[3453], the town of Thapsagum[3454], the nation of Nannagi, the town of Boin, the town of Pege[3455], the river Dasibari; and then the towns, in the following order, of Baracum, Buluba, Alasit, Galia, Balla, Maxalla[3456], Zizama, and Mount Gyri[3457], which was preceded by an inscription stating that this was the place where precious stones were produced.

Up to the present time it has been found impracticable to keep open the road that leads to the country of the Garamantes, as the predatory bands of that nation have filled up the wells with sand, which do not require to be dug for to any great depth, if you only have a knowledge of the locality. In the late war[3458] however, which, at the beginning of the reign of the Emperor Vespasian, the Romans carried on with the people of Œa, a short cut of only four days’ journey was discovered; this road is known as the “Præter Caput Saxi[3459].” The last place in the territory of Cyrenaica is Catabathmos, consisting of a town, and a valley with a sudden and steep descent. The length of Cyrenean Africa, up to this boundary from the Lesser Syrtis, is 1060 miles; and, so far as has been ascertained, it is 800[3460] in breadth.

CHAP. 6. (6.)—LIBYA MAREOTIS.

The region that follows is called Libya Mareotis[3461], and borders upon Egypt. It is held by the Marmaridæ, the Adyrmachidæ, and, after them, the Mareotæ. The distance from Catabathmos to Parætonium is eighty-six miles. In this district is Apis[3462], a place rendered famous by the religious belief of Egypt. From this town Parætonium is distant sixty-two miles, and from thence to Alexandria the distance is 200 miles, the breadth of the district being 169. Eratosthenes says that it is 525 miles by land from Cyrene to Alexandria; while Agrippa gives the length of the whole of Africa from the Atlantic Sea, and including Lower Egypt, as 3040 miles. Polybius and Eratosthenes, who are generally considered as remarkable for their extreme correctness, state the length to be, from the ocean to Great Carthage 1100 miles, and from Carthage to Canopus, the nearest mouth of the Nile, 1628 miles; while Isidorus speaks of the distance from Tingi to Canopus as being 3599 miles. Artemidorus makes this last distance forty miles less than Isidorus.

CHAP. 7. (7.)—THE ISLANDS IN THE VICINITY OF AFRICA.

These seas contain not so very many islands. The most famous among them is Meninx[3463], twenty-five miles in length and twenty-two in breadth: by Eratosthenes it is called Lotophagitis. This island has two towns, Meninx on the side which faces Africa, and Troas on the other; it is situate off the promontory which lies on the right-hand side of the Lesser Syrtis, at a distance of a mile and a half. One hundred miles from this island, and opposite the promontory that lies on the left, is the free island of Cercina[3464], with a city of the same name. It is twenty-five miles long, and half that breadth at the place where it is the widest, but not more than five miles across at the extremity: the diminutive island of Cercinitis[3465], which looks towards Carthage, is united to it by a bridge. At a distance of nearly fifty miles from these is the island of Lopadusa[3466], six miles in length; and beyond it Gaulos and Galata, the soil of which kills the scorpion, that noxious reptile of Africa. It is also said that the scorpion will not live at Clypea; opposite to which place lies the island of Cosyra[3467], with a town of the same name. Opposite to the Gulf of Carthage are the two islands known as the Ægimuri[3468]; the Altars[3469], which are rather rocks than islands, lie more between Sicily and Sardinia. There are some authors who state that these rocks were once inhabited, but that they have gradually subsided in the sea.

CHAP. 8. (8.)—COUNTRIES ON THE OTHER SIDE OF AFRICA.

If we pass through the interior of Africa in a southerly direction, beyond the Gætuli, after having traversed the intervening deserts, we shall find, first of all the Liby-Egyptians[3470], and then the country where the Leucæthiopians[3471] dwell. Beyond[3472] these are the Nigritæ[3473], nations of Æthiopia, so called from the river Nigris[3474], which has been previously mentioned, the Gymnetes[3475], surnamed Pharusii, and, on the very margin of the ocean, the Perorsi[3476], whom we have already spoken of as lying on the boundaries of Mauritania. After passing all these peoples, there are vast deserts towards the east until we come to the Garamantes, the Augylæ, and the Troglodytæ; the opinion of those being exceedingly well founded who place two Æthiopias beyond the deserts of Africa, and more particularly that expressed by Homer[3477], who tells us that the Æthiopians are divided into two nations, those of the east and those of the west. The river Nigris has the same characteristics as the Nile; it produces the calamus, the papyrus, and just the same animals, and it rises at the same seasons of the year. Its source is between the Tarrælian Æthiopians and the Œcalicæ. Magium, the city of the latter people, has been placed by some writers amid the deserts, and, next to them the Atlantes; then the Ægipani, half men, half beasts, the Blemmyæ[3478], the Gamphasantes, the Satyri, and the Himantopodes.

The Atlantes[3479], if we believe what is said, have lost all characteristics of humanity; for there is no mode of distinguishing each other among them by names, and as they look upon the rising and the setting sun, they give utterance to direful imprecations against it, as being deadly to themselves and their lands; nor are they visited with dreams[3480], like the rest of mortals. The Troglodytæ make excavations in the earth, which serve them for dwellings; the flesh of serpents is their food; they have no articulate voice, but only utter a kind of squeaking noise[3481]; and thus are they utterly destitute of all means of communication by language. The Garamantes have no institution of marriage among them, and live in promiscuous concubinage with their women. The Augylæ worship no deities[3482] but the gods of the infernal regions. The Gamphasantes, who go naked, and are unacquainted with war[3483], hold no intercourse whatever with strangers. The Blemmyæ are said to have no heads, their mouths and eyes being seated in their breasts. The Satyri[3484], beyond their figure, have nothing in common with the manners of the human race, and the form of the Ægipani[3485] is such as is commonly represented in paintings. The Himantopodes[3486] are a race of people with feet resembling thongs, upon which they move along by nature with a serpentine, crawling kind of gait. The Pharusii, descended from the ancient Persians, are said to have been the companions of Hercules when on his expedition to the Hesperides. Beyond the above, I have met with nothing relative to Africa[3487] worthy of mention.

CHAP. 9. (9.)—EGYPT AND THEBAIS.

Joining on to Africa is Asia, the extent of which, according to Timosthenes, from the Canopic mouth of the Nile to the mouth of the Euxine, is 2639 miles. From the mouth of the Euxine to that of Lake Mæotis is, according to Eratosthenes, 1545 miles. The whole distance to the Tanais, including Egypt, is, according to Artemidorus and Isidorus, 6375[3488] miles. The seas of Egypt, which are several in number, have received their names from those who dwell upon their shores, for which reason they will be mentioned together.

Egypt is the country which lies next to Africa; in the interior it runs in a southerly direction, as far as the territory of the Æthiopians, who lie extended at the back of it. The river Nile, dividing itself, forms on the right and left the boundary of its lower part, which it embraces on every side[3489]. By the Canopic mouth of that river it is separated from Africa, and by the Pelusiac from Asia, there being a distance between the two of 170 miles. For this reason it is that some persons have reckoned Egypt among the islands, the Nile so dividing itself as to give a triangular form to the land which it encloses: from which circumstance also many persons have named Egypt the Delta[3490], after that of the Greek letter so called. The distance from the spot where the channel of the river first divides into branches, to the Canopic mouth, is 146 miles, and to the Pelusiac, 166.

The upper part of Egypt, which borders on Æthiopia, is known as Thebais. This district is divided into prefectures of towns, which are generally designated as “Nomes.” These are Ombites[3491], Apollopolites[3492], Hermonthites[3493], Thinites[3494], Phaturites[3495], Coptites[3496], Tentyrites[3497], Diopolites[3498], Antæopolites[3499], Aphroditopolites[3500], and Lycopolites[3501]. The district which lies in the vicinity of Pelusium contains the following Nomes, Pharbæthites, Bubastites[3502], Sethroites, and Tanites[3503]. The remaining Nomes are those called the Arabian; the Hammonian, which lies on the road to the oracle of Jupiter Hammon; and those known by the names of Oxyrynchites, Leontopolites, Athribites[3504], Cynopolites[3505], Hermopolites[3506], Xoites, Mendesium, Sebennytes[3507], Cabasites, Latopolites, Heliopolites, Prosopites, Panopolites, Busirites[3508], Onuphites[3509], Saïtes[3510], Ptenethu, Phthemphu[3511], Naucratites[3512], Metelites, Gynæcopolites, Menelaites,—all in the region of Alexandria, besides Mareotis in Libya.

Heracleopolites[3513] is a Nome on an island[3513] of the Nile, fifty miles in length, upon which there is a city, called the ‘City of Hercules.’ There are two places called Arsinoïtes[3514]: these and Memphites[3515] extend to the apex[3516] of the Delta; adjoining to which, on the side of Africa, are the two Nomes of Oasites[3517]. Some writers vary in some of these names and substitute for them other Nomes, such as Heroöpolites[3518] and Crocodilopolites[3519]. Between Arsinoïtes and Memphites, a lake[3520], 250 miles, or, according to what Mucianus says, 450 miles in circumference and fifty paces deep, has been formed by artificial means: after the king by whose orders it was made, it is called by the name of Mœris. The distance from thence to Memphis is nearly sixty-two miles, a place which was formerly the citadel of the kings of Egypt; from thence to the oracle of Hammon it is twelve days’ journey. Memphis is fifteen miles from the spot where the river Nile divides into the different channels which we have mentioned as forming the Delta.

CHAP. 10.—THE RIVER NILE.

The sources of the Nile[3521] are unascertained, and, travelling as it does for an immense distance through deserts and burning sands, it is only known to us by common report, having neither experienced the vicissitudes of warfare, nor been visited by those arms which have so effectually explored all other regions. It rises, so far indeed as King Juba was enabled to ascertain, in a mountain[3522] of Lower Mauritania, not far from the ocean; immediately after which it forms a lake of standing water, which bears the name of Nilides[3523]. In this lake are found the several kinds of fish known by the names of alabeta[3524], coracinus, and silurus; a crocodile also was brought thence as a proof that this really is the Nile, and was consecrated by Juba himself in the temple of Isis at Cæsarea[3525], where it may be seen at the present day. In addition to these facts, it has been observed that the waters of the Nile rise in the same proportion in which the snows and rains of Mauritania increase. Pouring forth from this lake, the river disdains to flow through arid and sandy deserts, and for a distance of several days’ journey conceals itself; after which it bursts forth at another lake of greater magnitude in the country of the Massæsyli[3526], a people of Mauritania Cæsariensis, and thence casts a glance around, as it were, upon the communities of men in its vicinity, giving proofs of its identity in the same peculiarities of the animals which it produces. It then buries itself once again in the sands of the desert, and remains concealed for a distance of twenty days’ journey, till it has reached the confines of Æthiopia. Here, when it has once more become sensible of the presence of man, it again emerges, at the same source, in all probability, to which writers have given the name of Niger, or Black. After this, forming the boundary-line between Africa and Æthiopia, its banks, though not immediately peopled by man, are the resort of numbers of wild beasts and animals of various kinds. Giving birth in its course to dense forests of trees, it travels through the middle of Æthiopia, under the name of Astapus, a word which signifies, in the language of the nations who dwell in those regions, “water issuing from the shades below.” Proceeding onwards, it divides[3527] innumerable islands in its course, and some of them of such vast magnitude, that although its tide runs with the greatest rapidity, it is not less than five days in passing them. When making the circuit of Meroë, the most famous of these islands, the left branch of the river is called Astobores[3528], or, in other words, “an arm of the water that issues from the shades,” while the right arm has the name of Astosapes[3529], which adds to its original signification the meaning of “side[3530].” It does not obtain the name of “Nile” until its waters have again met and are united in a single stream; and even then, for some miles both above and below the point of confluence, it has the name of Siris. Homer has given to the whole of this river the name of Ægyptus, while other writers again have called it Triton[3531]. Every now and then its course is interrupted by islands which intervene, and which only serve as so many incentives to add to the impetuosity of its torrent; and though at last it is hemmed in by mountains on either side, in no part is the tide more rapid and precipitate. Its waters then hastening onwards, it is borne along to the spot in the country of the Æthiopians which is known by the name of “Catadupi[3532];” where, at the last Cataract[3533], the complaint is, not that it flows, but that it rushes, with an immense noise between the rocks that lie in its way: after which it becomes more smooth, the violence of its waters is broken and subdued, and, wearied out as it were by the length of the distance it has travelled, it discharges itself, though by many mouths[3534], into the Egyptian sea. During certain days of the year, however, the volume of its waters is greatly increased, and as it traverses the whole of Egypt, it inundates the earth, and, by so doing, greatly promotes its fertility.

There have been various reasons suggested for this increase of the river. Of these, however, the most probable are, either that its waters are driven back by the Etesian winds[3535], which are blowing at this season of the year from an opposite direction, and that the sea which lies beyond is driven into the mouths of the river; or else that its waters are swollen by the summer rains of Æthiopia[3536], which fall from the clouds conveyed thither by the Etesian winds from other parts of the earth. Timæus the mathematician has alleged a reason of an occult nature: he says that the source of the river is known by the name of Phiala, and that the stream buries itself in channels underground, where it sends forth vapours generated by the heat among the steaming rocks amid which it conceals itself; but that, during the days of the inundation, in consequence of the sun approaching nearer to the earth, the waters are drawn forth by the influence of his heat, and on being thus exposed to the air, overflow; after which, in order that it may not be utterly dried up, the stream hides itself once more. He says that this takes place at the rising of the Dog-Star, when the sun enters the sign of Leo, and stands in a vertical position over the source of the river, at which time at that spot there is no shadow thrown. Most authors, however, are of opinion, on the contrary, that the river flows in greater volume when the sun takes his departure for the north, which he does when he enters the signs of Cancer and Leo, because its waters then are not dried up to so great an extent; while on the other hand, when he returns towards the south pole and re-enters Capricorn, its waters are absorbed by the heat, and consequently flow in less abundance. If there is any one inclined to be of opinion, with Timæus, that the waters of the river may be drawn out of the earth by the heat, it will be as well for him to bear in mind the fact, that the absence of shadow is a phænomenon which lasts continuously[3537] in these regions.

The Nile begins to increase at the next new moon after the summer solstice, and rises slowly and gradually as the sun passes through the sign of Cancer; it is at its greatest height while the sun is passing through Leo, and it falls as slowly and gradually as it arose while he is passing through the sign of Virgo. It has totally subsided between its banks, as we learn from Herodotus, on the hundredth day, when the sun has entered Libra. While it is rising it has been pronounced criminal for kings or prefects even to sail upon its waters. The measure of its increase is ascertained by means of wells[3538]. Its most desirable height is sixteen cubits[3539]; if the waters do not attain that height, the overflow is not universal; but if they exceed that measure, by their slowness in receding they tend to retard the process of cultivation. In the latter case the time for sowing is lost, in consequence of the moisture of the soil; in the former, the ground is so parched that the seed-time comes to no purpose. The country has reason to make careful note of either extreme. When the water rises to only twelve cubits, it experiences the horrors of famine; when it attains thirteen, hunger is still the result; a rise of fourteen cubits is productive of gladness; a rise of fifteen sets all anxieties at rest; while an increase of sixteen is productive of unbounded transports of joy. The greatest increase known, up to the present time, is that of eighteen cubits, which took place in the time of the Emperor Claudius; the smallest rise was that of five, in the year of the battle of Pharsalia[3540], the river by this prodigy testifying its horror, as it were, at the murder of Pompeius Magnus. When the waters have reached their greatest height, the people open the embankments and admit them to the lands. As each district is left by the waters, the business of sowing commences. This is the only river in existence that emits no vapours[3541].

The Nile first enters the Egyptian territory at Syene[3542], on the frontiers of Æthiopia; that is the name of a peninsula a mile in circumference, upon which Castra[3543] is situate, on the side of Arabia. Opposite to it are the four islands of Philæ[3544], at a distance of 600 miles from the place where the Nile divides into two channels; at which spot, as we have already stated, the Delta, as it is called, begins. This, at least, is the distance, according to Artemidorus, who also informs us that there were in it 250 towns; Juba says, however, that the distance between these places is 400 miles. Aristocreon says that the distance from Elephantis to the sea is 750 miles; Elephantis[3545] being an inhabited island four miles below the last Cataract, sixteen[3546] beyond Syene, 585 from Alexandria, and the extreme limit of the navigation of Egypt. To such an extent as this have the above-named authors[3547] been mistaken! This island is the place of rendezvous for the vessels of the Æthiopians; they are made to fold up[3548], and the people carry them on their shoulders whenever they come to the Cataracts.

CHAP. 11.—THE CITIES OF EGYPT.

Egypt, besides its boast of extreme antiquity, asserts that it contained, in the reign of King Amasis[3549], 20,000 inhabited cities: in our day they are still very numerous, though no longer of any particular note. Still however we find the following ones mentioned as of great renown—the city of Apollo[3550]; next, that of Leucothea[3551]; then Great Diospolis[3552], otherwise Thebes, known to fame for its hundred gates; Coptos[3553], which from its proximity to the Nile, forms its nearest emporium for the merchandise of India and Arabia; then the town of Venus[3554], and then another town of Jupiter[3555]. After this comes Tentyris[3556], below which is Abydus[3557], the royal abode of Memnon, and famous for a temple of Osiris[3558], which is situate in Libya[3559], at a distance from the river of seven miles and a half. Next to it comes Ptolemais[3560], then Panopolis[3561], and then another town of Venus[3562], and, on the Libyan side, Lycon[3563], where the mountains form the boundary of the province of Thebais. On passing these, we come to the towns of Mercury[3564], Alabastron[3565], the town of Dogs[3566], and that of Hercules already mentioned[3567]. We next come to Arsinoë[3568], and Memphis[3569], which has been previously mentioned; between which last and the Nome of Arsinoïtes, upon the Libyan side, are the towers known as the Pyramids, the Labyrinth[3570] on Lake Mœris, in the construction of which no wood was employed, and the town of Crialon[3571]. Besides these, there is one place in the interior, on the confines of Arabia, of great celebrity, the City of the Sun[3572].

(10.) With the greatest justice, however, we may lavish our praises upon Alexandria, built by Alexander the Great on the shores of the Egyptian Sea, upon the soil of Africa, at twelve miles’ distance from the Canopic Mouth and near Lake Mareotis[3573]; the spot having previously borne the name of Rhacotes. The plan of this city was designed by the architect Dinochares[3574], who is memorable for the genius which he displayed in many ways. Building the city upon a wide space[3575] of ground fifteen miles in circumference, he formed it in the circular shape of a Macedonian chlamys[3576], uneven at the edge, giving it an angular projection on the right and left; while at the same time he devoted one-fifth part of the site to the royal palace.

Lake Mareotis, which lies on the south side of the city, is connected by a canal which joins it to the Canopic mouth, and serves for the purposes of communication with the interior. It has also a great number of islands, and is thirty miles across, and 150 in circumference, according to Claudius Cæsar. Other writers say that it is forty schœni in length, making the schœnum to be thirty stadia; hence, according to them, it is 150 miles[3577] in length and the same in breadth.

There are also, in the latter part of the course of the Nile, many towns of considerable celebrity, and more especially those which have given their names to the mouths of the river—I do not mean, all the mouths, for there are no less than twelve of them, as well as four others, which the people call the False Mouths[3578]. I allude to the seven more famous ones, the Canopic[3579] Mouth, next to Alexandria, those of Bolbitine[3580], Sebennys[3581], Phatnis[3582], Mendes[3583], Tanis[3584], and, last of all, Pelusium[3585]. Besides the above there are the towns of Butos[3586], Pharbæthos[3587], Leontopolis[3588], Athribis[3589], the town of Isis[3590], Busiris[3591], Cynopolis[3592], Aphrodites[3593], Sais[3594], and Naucratis[3595], from which last some writers call that the Naucratitic Mouth, which is by others called the Heracleotic, and mention it instead[3596] of the Canopic Mouth, which is the next to it.

CHAP. 12. (11.)—THE COASTS OF ARABIA, SITUATE ON THE EGYPTIAN SEA.

Beyond the Pelusiac Mouth is Arabia[3597], which extends to the Red Sea, and joins the Arabia known by the surname of Happy[3598], so famous for its perfumes and its wealth. This[3599] is called Arabia of the Catabanes[3600], the Esbonitæ[3601], and the Scenitæ[3602]; it is remarkable for its sterility, except in the parts where it joins up to Syria, and it has nothing remarkable in it except Mount Casius[3603]. The Arabian nations of the Canchlæi[3604] join these on the east, and, on the south the Cedrei[3605], both of which peoples are adjoining to the Nabatæi[3606]. The two gulfs of the Red Sea, where it borders upon Egypt, are called the Heroöpolitic[3607] and the Ælanitic[3608]. Between the two towns of Ælana[3609] and Gaza[3610] upon our sea[3611], there is a distance of 150 miles. Agrippa says that Arsinoë[3612], a town on the Red Sea, is, by way of the desert, 125 miles from Pelusium. How different the characteristics impressed by nature upon two places separated by so small a distance!

CHAP. 13. (12.)—SYRIA.