dic Gulf lies adjacent to Phoenicia,' does not in the ASIA. least interfere with this boundary line; as the town CHAP. II. of Mariandrus, which gave its name to the bay, might be Phoenician, whilst the land farther in the interior might be Cilician. Xenophon even expressly calls it a Phoenician place.2 Such then was the extent of our author's know- Conclusion. ledge of Asia Minor. The geography of the western coast is more full than that of all the remaining territory; but it would have been impossible to curtail the topographical description of the Greek colonies without omitting information of considerable importance, whilst the interior and eastern districts are almost as little known now as they were in the days of Herodotus, and we gladly leave them to enter upon the more important geography of Upper Asia. ASIA. CHAP. III. CHAPTER III. UPPER ASIA, OR SYRIA, BABYLONIA, CISSIA, AND PERSIS. Plateau of Iran.-Traversed east and south by two great ranges.Zagros, or mountains of Kurdistan.-Elburz and Ghur mountains.Country watered by the Euphrates and Tigris.-Assyria.-Babylonia.— Mesopotamia. Syria.-Media.-Cissia and Persis.-Three satrapies known to Herodotus.-5. SYRIA PROPER, or Phoenicia and Palaestine. -Distinction between the Syrians of Palaestine and the White Syrians of Cappadocia and Assyrians of Babylonia and Mesopotamia.-Face of the country.-Libanus and Anti-Libanus.-Valley of the Jordan.-Desert of Syria. Phoenicians, their migrations from the Erythraean.-Commercial enterprise.-Naval superiority.-Equipment.-Practice of circumcision.—Figure-heads on their ships.-Palm wine.-Tyrian_camp settlement in Aegypt.-Tyre: ancient temple of Heracles.-Sidon.— Aradus.-Syrians of Palaestine, or Hebrews, scarcely known to Herodotus.-Importance of Palaestine as a key to Aegypt.-Ascalon: temple of Aphrodite or Astarte.-Magdolus, or Megiddo.-Cadytis.-Identified by Prideaux with Jerusalem-by Mr. Ewing with Kadesh in Galilee-by Col. Rawlinson with Gaza.-Correctness of the latter view.-Sea-ports of Palaestine. Arid tract between Jenysus and Lake Serbonis.-Practice of circumcision.-Pillars of Sesostris.-Cyprus.-9. ASSYRIA, or Babylonia and Mesopotamia, answering to Irak Arabi, and Algezirah.—Inhabitants called Syrians by the Greeks, and Assyrians by the Barbarians. Great importance of this satrapy.—Want of rain supplied by the Euphrates. Numerous canals.-Extraordinary growth of corn.-Palm trees.-Babylon, the only city described.-Site of the ruins of Babylon near Hillah.-Three mounds on the eastern bank of the Euphrates.— Mujelibe, or "the overturned."-Erroneously supposed by Rennell to be the temple of Belus.-El Kasr, or "the palace."- Amram hill.-Remains of ancient ramparts.-River embankment.-Western bank of the Euphrates.-Small scattered mounds.-Birs Nimroud, or tower of Babel and temple of Belus.-Its extreme antiquity.-Herodotus's description of Babylon: a vast square protected by a moat and wall.-Towers on the wall. One hundred brass gates.-The city cut in two by the Euphrates. Walls along the river-banks with brazen gates.-Inner wall. The royal palace.-Temple of Belus: its eight towers and spiral ascent.-Statements of the Chaldaean priests.-Bridge over the Euphrates. Sepulchre of Nitocris.-Names of the city gates.-Destruction of the fortifications by Darius.-Town of Is.-Account of the Euphrates. -Anciently overflowed the country.-Dams raised by Semiramis and Nitocris. Course of the river rendered winding by Nitocris.-Numerous artificial canals.-Towns of Opis and Ampe.-Dress of the Babylonians. -Manners and customs.-Annual sale of maidens.-No physicians : sick persons carried into the market for advice.-Embalming.-Funeral lamentations like those of the Aegyptians.-Burning of incense after sexual intercourse.-Disgraceful practice connected with the worship of Aphrodite. Three tribes of Babylonian Icthyophagi.-Chaldaeans.Babylonian sun-dial.-Gnomon.-Talent.-8. CISSIA and PERSIS, answering to Khuzistan and Farsistan.-General description of the country. -Sandy plains along the coast.-Rising of the land in terraces.-Mountains on the north the fatherland of the Persians.-Great city of Susa on the Choaspes.-The Memnonium.-Stone figure of Darius on horseback. -Identification of Susa with Shus on the river Kerkhah.-Ardericca, seat of the transplanted Erythraeans.-Well producing asphalt, salt, and oil. -Persians divided into ten tribes, viz. the Pasargadae, Maraphii, Maspii, Panthialaei, Derusiaei, Germanii, Dahae, Mardi, Dropici, and Sagartii.— Religion of the Persians. -No statues, temples, or altars.-Name of Zeus applied to the vault of heaven.-Sacrifices on high places.-Ancient worship of the sun, moon, earth, fire, water, and winds.-Later worship of Aphrodite or Mitra.-Mode of sacrifice.-Prayer of the sacrificer. Ode sung by the Magi.-Social customs.-Celebration of birthdays.Moderation at meals, but profusion afterwards. - Addiction to wine. -Debates when drunk and again when sober.-Modes of salutation according to rank. - Respect for neighbouring nations according to their proximity to Persia.-Attachment to foreign customs.-Polygamy, concubinage, and pederasty.-Respect for fathers of large families.-Education of sons.-Trial of criminals.-Parricide considered impossible.Lying and getting into debt especially abhorred.-Lepers and white pigeons expelled from cities.-Veneration for rivers.-Ceremonies practised on dead bodies.-Weakness of the Persian skull.-Magi a peculiar race unlike the Persian priests.-Persian ignorance of navigation.— Contempt for markets and traders.-Equipment.-Especial honours paid to valour.-Horrible custom of burying alive in honour of Ahriman.— Persian system of post.-Matters pertaining to the king.-Celebration of his birthday. Those who obliged him called Orosangae, or benefactors. -Drank only of the water of the river Choaspes.-Regarded as the master of Asia.-General veneration for him.-Conduct of the harem.— Persian language. ASIA. IN the preceding chapter we traversed Asia Minor to its eastern frontiers, and we therefore now find CHAP. III. ourselves standing on the mountains of Armenia, Plateau of near the sources of the river Frat, or Euphrates. Iran. Before us is the gigantic plateau of Iran, spreading out from the base of Ararat southward towards the Persian Gulf, eastward nearly to the Indus, and sloping westward, as we have already seen, through the peninsula of Asia Minor to the shore of the Aegean. The whole of this elevated region is connected with the vast conical summits of Ararat by numerous mountain ranges. Westward the huge arms of Taurus and Anti-Taurus spread through Asia Minor. East and southward two other great Traversed ranges proceed in distinct lines to the limits of an- south by cient Persia. First the brown bleak mountains of two ranges. east and Zagros, or of Kurdis tan. tains.. ASIA. Kurdistan, anciently called the Zagros, run towards CHAP. 1. the south, and separate Assyria from Media; and then, after approaching the coast, take a bend mountains towards the cast, and gradually decrease in height until they lose themselves near the banks of the Elburz and Indus. The second chain runs almost due east, and Ghurmoun- skirts the northern side of Iran. It proceeds from the plateau of Ararat along the southern shore of the Caspian under the name of Elburz, and from thence stretches through Khorassan, and entering Cabul is interrupted by the valley of Herat. Beyond this break it bears the name of the Ghur mountains or ancient Paropamisus, but afterwards joins the Hindoo Koosh, and at length reaches the Himalayas, first sending off a branch towards the north, which skirts the great desert of Gobi, or Shamo, and was known to the ancients as the Imaus, but is now called Belur-tagh, or the mountains of Bolor.' From the elevated region of Armenia rise two great rivers, the Euphrates and the Tigris, and these, phrates and after a long and devious course towards the south, at last unite and fall together into the Persian Gulf. The country on the northern course of the Tigris Assyria. was called Assyria; that on the southern course of Babylonia. the Euphrates was called Babylonia. The large intervening space between the Euphrates and Tigris, Mesopota- and to the south of Babylonia, was called Mesopotamia, or "country between the rivers." The region westward of the Euphrates, and stretching to the Mediterranean, is generally known by the name of Countries watered by the Eu Tigris. mia. Syria. 1 The plateau of Iran, with its various ridges, is evidently described by both Strabo and Arrian, who copy from Eratosthenes, under the general name of Mount Taurus. "India," they say, " is bounded on the north by Mount Taurus, which mountain retains the same name even in that country. It rises on the sea-coast near Pamphylia, Lycia, and Cilicia, and extends itself in one continued ridge as far as the Oriental Ocean, running quite through all Asia. In some parts, nevertheless, it is called by other names; for in one country it is named Paropamisus; in another, Emodus; in a third, Imaus; and it is very probable it has many more, in the various territories through which it passes. The Macedonian soldiers who accompanied Alexander in his expedition, called it Caucasus; whereas Caucasus is a mountain of Scythia, widely distant from this; but their reason was, that they might boast that Alexander had passed over Mount Caucasus." Strabo, lib. xv. Arrian, Indica. Op. c. ii. 1 ASIA. CHAP. III. Persis. Syria. Eastward of Assyria was Media, and eastward of Babylonia was Cissia and Persis. Assyria Proper answers to the modern country of Kurdistan, Media. Babylonia to Irak-Arabi, Mesopotamia to Algezirah, Cissia and Media to Irak-Ajemi, Cissia to Khuzistan, and Persis to Farsistan. Syria Proper is still best known by its ancient name. It is necessary for the reader to bear these names and particulars continually in mind whilst investigating Herodotus's geography of central Asia. pics known tus, viz. ria; Cissia The countries thus named and mapped out em- Three satrabraced certainly all, and probably a great deal more to Herodothan was known to our author. In the present Syria Prochapter we shall confine ourselves to the region be- per; Assytween the Mediterranean and the Tigris, answering and Persis. to the provinces of Syria, Mesopotamia, and Babylonia; and to these we shall add Cissia and Persia Proper, which lie eastward of the united streams of the Tigris and Euphrates. This region is bounded on the north by the mountains of Armenia and Media, and on the south by the Arabian desert and Persian Gulf, and was divided by Darius Hystaspis into three satrapies, which we shall name as follows: 1. Syria Proper, including Phoenicia and Palaestine. 2. Assyria, so called by Herodotus, although it only comprised Babylonia and Mesopotamia, as Assyria Proper, or Kurdistan, was included in the Armenian satrapy. 3. Cissia, to which we shall also add Persis. These in the arrangement of Darius form the fifth, ninth, and eighth satrapies. PROPER, Or and Palaes V. SYRIA PROPER, or the fifth satrapy, extended V. SYRIA from the town of Poseideium which was built by Phoenicia Amphilochus on the borders of Syria and Cilicia, as tine. far as Aegypt, and thus comprised all Phoenicia, Syria which is called Palaestine, and Cyprus. It paid a tribute of 350 talents.3 2 This territory may be called Syria Proper,1 in con We shall presently see that the terms Syria and Assyria were sometimes used as general names for the entire region described in the present paragraph. 2 This satrapy could scarcely include any part of Arabia, which paid separately a yearly tribute of frankincense. 3 iii. 91. Herodotus seems to have applied the name of Palaestine to the en |