we are told that they were as insensible as cattle to EUROPE. all laws of decency or morality.' CHAP. VIII. Eastward of the Caspian Sea was the vast plain or The Massteppe at present inhabited by the Kirghis Tartars. sagetae. The greatest portion of this steppe belonged to the Massagetae, a tall and valiant people, who lived towards the east beyond the river Araxes, (or Jaxartes -the modern Sirr-deria,) and over-against the Issedones. Under this name of Massagetae our author seems to include all the nomade tribes of Independent Tartary eastward of the lake Aral, and extending into Mongolia southward of the Issedones. description By some persons the Araxes was said to be larger, Herodotus's but by others to be smaller, than the Ister. Persons of the river said also that it surrounded many islands, of which Araxes. some were nearly as large as Lesbos, and that these islands were inhabited by men, who during the summer fed upon roots which they dug out of the ground, and at the same time gathered the ripe fruits from the trees, and stored them up for winter consumption. One species of this tree fruit possessed wonderful qualities, which were thus exhibited. The people used to assemble together in parties, and kindle a fire, and sit in a circle round it; they then threw the fruit into the flames, and became as intoxicated with the fumes as the Greeks were with wine, and finally begun to dance and sing. The river rose from forty springs in the mountains of Matiene, all of which lost themselves in fens and swamps, except one that flowed on to the Caspian, in the direction of the rising sun. These swamps were said to be inhabited by men who lived upon raw fish and clothed themselves in the skins of seacalves.' 2 i. 204. 3 i. 201. 1 i. 203. 4 The Araxes was probably considered larger than the Ister, because it contained such large islands; but smaller, because Herodotus apparently thought that it did not flow through so great an extent of country as the Ister. See Niebuhr, Diss. on the Geog. of Herod. p. 26. I would suggest that it was the western Araxes, or the Aras, which was thought to be smaller than the Ister, and the eastern and northern Araxes, or the Jaxartes and Volga, which were supposed to be larger than the Ister. 7 i. 202. 5 i. 202. 6 iv. 40. EUROPE. The term Araxes was probably a general appellaCHAP. VIII. tion, meaning simply any "rapid" stream. The deExplana- scription seems in most cases to apply to the river tion of the now called Aras, which rises in the mountains of Arcontradic- menia, and flows in an easterly direction into the Cas apparent tions. Manners and customs 2 ge pian. Two other rivers are also evidently noticed by Herodotus under the same name of Araxes. The Massagetae are described as living with the Araxes on their southern frontier, and Cyrus had to cross this river before he could invade their country.' At the same time this people had another river called Araxes, to the north of their territory, for when they drove out the Scythians who had anciently occupied this region, the latter had to cross the Araxes, on their way round the northern shores of the Caspian, before they could reach Cimmeria, afterwards Scythia Proper. The southern Araxes is therefore nerally identified with the Jaxartes, or modern Sirrderia, whilst the northern Araxes may be supposed to be the Volga. The confusion which always attends the use of any general name, unless some distinguishing mark is adopted, has not only perplexed many modern commentators, but also probably led to some confusion on the part of Herodotus himself, for his description, already given at length, although generally applying to the Aras, would yet seem, from its being included in the geography of the countries east of the Caspian, to apply to the river Jaxartes. Rennell thinks that Herodotus has confounded the Jaxartes with the Oxus, as he applies the particulars to one river, which refer to both. We are, however, more disposed to think that the confusion lay between the Aras and Jaxartes, especially as Heeren has pointed out that Herodotus distinctly refers to the river Oxus under the name of the river Aces.* The Massagetae were said by some to be a Scy 1i. 201, 205. 2 iv. 11. 3 Rennell, Geog. of Herod. vol. i. p. 270. The Jaxartes certainly did not discharge itself into the Caspian, but into the Aral, whilst, at that period, the Oxus did perhaps empty itself into the Caspian, as described by Herodotus. This part of the description may however refer to the Aras. iii. 117. Cf. Heeren, Asia, vol. ii. p. 20. of the Mas thian nation,' whom they resembled in their dress and EUROPE. manner of living. They had both cavalry and in- CHAP. VIII. fantry, archers and spear-men; and also carried battle-axes. They employed gold and brass, of which sagetac. they had great abundance, for everything they used. Spears, arrow-heads, and battle-axes, they made of brass, but they decorated their helmets, belts, and shoulder-pieces with gold. The breastplates on their horses were also made of brass, but the bridle bit and cheek pieces were ornamented with gold. Silver and iron they never used, for neither of these metals could be found in their country." Each man married a wife, but they all totally disregarded the marriage tie. The custom which the Greeks incorrectly attributed to the Scythians, was practised by this nation without shame. Whenever a Massagetan desired the company of a female, he merely hung up his quiver in front of a chariot or waggon, to prevent any interruption. The people fixed no prescribed limit to the extent of human life, but when a man grew to be very old, his kindred assembled and sacrificed him, together with cattle of various kinds; and having hashed the whole together, they boiled the flesh and feasted upon it. This death they universally accounted to be the happiest, and those who died of disease were buried in the earth, lamenting in their dying hour that they could not live long enough to be sacrificed. The Massagetae sowed no grain, but entirely subsisted upon their own herds of cattle, and upon the fish which the river Araxes abundantly supplied. Their principal, if not their sole, drink was milk. Of gods they worshipped only the Sun, to whom they sacrificed horses, thinking it right to offer the swiftest of creatures to Helios, the swiftest of gods.* 3 The Massagetae and Issedones both belonged to the great Mongol race, and were undoubtedly Scy 3 This custom seems to have been nearly the same as that followed by their neighbours the Issedones, only it is differently described. The Issedones ate their fathers, who however died a natural death; but the Massagetae killed and then feasted upon all their old men. 4 i. 216. EUROPE. thians. The principal points of similarity between CHAP. VIII. the Massagetae and the Scythians, so called by Herodotus, were their dress and living;' their abode in waggons or carriages; their fighting on horseand their sacrifices of horses to their 3 back; 1 i. 215. 2 i. 216. Comp. iv. 46, 121. 3 i. 215. Comp. iv. 46, 136. 4i. 216. Comp. iv. 61. ASIA. CHAPTER I. GENERAL SURVEY. Two great mountain ranges of Asia: the Altai, and the Taurus or plateau of Iran.-Rivers of Asia. Separation of the continent into three divisions. -Extent of the Asia of Herodotus.—Discoveries of Scylax of Caryanda. -Herodotus's own map of Asia. The four central nations. The two western Actae: Asia Minor; Syria and Libya.-Ancient division of Asia between the Lydians, Babylonians, and Medes.-Establishment of the Persian empire of Cyrus.-Division into twenty satrapies by Darius Hystaspes.-Extent of Herodotus's travels in Asia.-His general acquaintance with Phoenicia and Asia Minor.-Visit to Babylon.-Travels along the great highway between Sardis and Susa.-Visit to Ecbatana very doubtful.-Examination of the list of twenty satrapies.-Reasons for including distant tribes in the same satrapy.-General want of geographical order arising from Herodotus's ignorance of the more distant satrapies. -Catalogue of nations in the army and navy of Xerxes.-Value of a comparison of the catalogue with the list of satrapies.-Catalogue to be further digested in a future chapter.-Topography of the languages of Asia.-Languages of Asia Minor from the Aegean to the Halys.-Semitic dialects between the Halys and Tigris.-Persian dialects between the Tigris and Indus.-Conclusion. ASIA. Two great ranges of THE continent of Asia, according to the division of modern geographers, comprises an area five times CHAP. I. greater than that of Europe, and nearly a fourth larger than that of Africa. It is divided into three mountain parts by two vast mountain ranges, which stretch Asia. across it from west to east, and form by their ramifications to the north and south the skeleton of the whole country. The first of these ranges is called The Altai. the Altai chain, and begins at the sources of the rivers Sirr-deria and Irtish,' and traverses southern 1 Heeren thought that the Altai was connected with the Ural (Asia, vol. i. p. 4); but an immense mass of low country separates the western extremity of the former from the southern ranges of the latter. |