BACTRIANA or Battria, now called Choraffan, anti- Bactriana. ently inhabited by the Salatara, Zariafpa, Chomatri, Comi, Acinaca, Tambyzi, Thocara, a powerful people, and feveral other nations of lefs note. It was, in the first ages of the world, a kingdom, and a very famous one too. In later times, it boafted a thousand cities; the chief of thefe were Batra and Ebufmi, both royal cities, as Ptolemy tells us, Maracanda, and Charracharta. Its modern cities of note are alfo numerous; but we fhall not mention them here, because we shall have occafion hereafter to confider this country more particularly. MARGIANA is bounded on the weft by Hyrcania; on Margiana the north by Tartary; on the fouth by Aria; and on the eaft by Bactria, now called Eftarabad. It is divided from Tartary by the river Oxus, called, by the modern Perfians, Ruth-khané-kurkan; and was inhabited antiently by the Derbica, the Maffagete, who came hither from Scythia, the Parni, the Dae, and the Tapurni. Among its cities of note we may reckon Alexandria, one of the fix cities of that name in Perfia, afterwards called Antiochia, and, after that, Seleucia; Nigaa, or rather Nyfaa, mentioned by Ptolemy. As to modern places of note, Eftarabad, Amul, and Damkau, deferve chiefly to be mentioned (H). * ProL. 1. vi. c. 11. 2 CLUV. ubi fupra, dit (39). The foil of this coun- HYR Y TAVERN. Voy. 1. iv. C. I. dia, it is confequently a place (H) Many antient authors (39) Strabo, lib. xi. p. 348, Arrian, expędit, Alex, lib. v. c. 3. watered HYRCANIA is bounded on the north by the Cafpian fea, called fometimes Mare Hyrcanum, from its washing the fhore of this province; on the weft by Media; on the fouth by Parthia; and on the east by Margiana, called now Mazandran, and including likewife the province of Kylan. The old inhabitants of this country were the Maxera, Aftabeni, and Chrindi. Its antient capital was called Hyrcania, as well as the province; nor has it, at this diftance of time, much changed its name, fince it is ftill named Hyrcana. Sambrace was likewife a confiderable and very ftrong place, at the time when Arfaces began to lay the foundation of his empire. Modern places of note are Ferb-abad, a port feated on a navigable arm of the Cafpian fea, a fine city, much frequented by Ruffian merchants, as being not above a fortnight's fail from Aftracan: Giru, Talarapefet, Ciarman, and Efcref, are alfe places of note in this country (I). ARIA, b Sir THOMAS HERBERT'S a PTOL. I. vi. c. 9. watered with pleasant rivers; (I) Antient writers agree, in reprefenting Hyrcania as a country fruitful in wine, wheat, figs, and all other kind of fruits; here-and-there, however, interfperfed with meadows and pafture-lands; and, in fome places, with the lefs pleasant profpect of thick woods, abounding with wild beafts of almoft every kind, even to a proverb. As to its prefent condition, nothing can be more amazing than the wide difference there is between the accounts given us by perfons of credit and capacity; and who have had equal opportunities of acquiring a perfect knowlege of the things of which they difcourfe. The reader will the better judge of this, if he takes the trouble of comparing the following paffage, extracted from the travels of the duke of Holftein's embaffadors, with what we (40) Strabo, lit. xi. p. 355. &Plin. 1, vi. c. 16. (41) Tavern, vol, i. p. 397. fhall ARIA, bounded on the north by Margiana and Ba- Aria, Aria; on the weft by Parthia and Carmania the Defert; on the fouth by Drangiana; on the eaft by Paropamifus, now comprehended under the province of Chorafan. It was antiently inhabited by the Nifai, Aftaveni, Mufdorani, Caffiorta, Obares, Elymandri, and the Borgi. Its principal cities of old were Aria, feated on the river Arias, mentioned by Pliny, thought to be the fame city, which is ftill famous under the name of Heri or Herat, rebuilt, and fplendidly adorned, by the fultan Heuffien-Mirza; Alexandria, built by Alexander, who fettled a colony of Macedonians therein; Artacanda, by Strabo called Artacana, and Bitaxa (K). 66 PAR d Geogr. lib. xi. p. 350. fanderan (part of the pro"vince of Kilan) lies under fo "cold a climate, that the fruits "there feldom come to full maturity; when it is con"feffed by all that have any right knowlege of thofe "parts, that, among all the provinces of that vast empire, there is none that challenge prerogative for a tem"perate and benign air, be"fore that of Meanderan, "which, beyond all difpute, "produces the beft fruits of all Perfia." Shah Abbas was "fo well convinced of this point, that he gave the pre"ference, in his opinion, to this province, before any "other of all his dominions; "which made him lay the "foundation of the city of "Ferabath, his ordinary rettdence, where he died (43)." up the trees), being very excellent here, are as big in "compass as a man in the "wait. The Cafpian fea, as "well as the rivers belonging "to this province, afford to "the inhabitants prodigious" "quantities of fish, as their "pafture-grounds furnish them "with great ftore of cattle, "and their forefts with "fon and wild-fowl; which "makes me admire how John "de Laet, who follows the "footsteps of Johannes de Perfia, could affert with fo "much confidence, that Mef 66 veni (K) It is not eafy to determine, whether Aria and Ariana were the fame province; or, if they were not, how they differed. To difcufs fo" per (43) Harris's collect. vol. ii. p. 101. Parthia. PARTHIA, bounded on the weft by Media; on the north by Hyrcania; on the eaft by Aria; on the fouth by Carmania the Defert; furrounded with mountains, which ferve for boundaries on every fide; at this day called Erak or Arak; and, to diftinguish it from Chaldea, which is likewife called Erak, this is ftiled Erac-Agami. The antient f Parthians are faid to have been originally Celtes, of whom we fhall fpeak in the fequel; who, being driven out of their own country, fettled here, and had this name given them, which, in their own, that is, in the Celtic lanf CLUV. ubi fupra. e PTOL. lib. vi. c. 5. plexed a queftion here, and to endeavour to folve what to the beft geographers has appeared an inexplicable doubt, would be at once an act of vanity and rashness. It is better, therefore, to refer the learned reader to the authors cited at the bottom of the page, from whom he may receive all the fatisfaction the nature of the thing will admit (44). In our defcription in the text, we have followed Ptolemy exactly, as knowing no better guide, though we muft at the fame time allow, that fome things there are in his defcription of this province, which are not eafily understood, fuch as the feveral fountains from whence he derives the ftream of the river Arius, and the lake which he fays it forms (45). Of the thirty-five cities mentioned by that author, we cannot find above five or fix mentioned by any other antient writer; and of thefe the greatest part are found all together, in a paragraph of Ammianus Marcellinus (46). It was antiently a very populous country, though much fubject to heats, and intermixed with deferts, heaths, and forefts, near the mountains: however, where the heat of the fun is a little rebated, they have very fruitful plains, which, among other things, produce grapes, the wine of which hath fo ftrong a body as to keep fourscore or a hundred years, without diminution of colour or flavour. The antient city of Aria, now known by the name of Heri, or Herat, is ftill large and populous. Sir Thomas Herbert, in his travels, tells us, that, when he was there, he found it under a governor of its own; and adds, that the adjoining country abounds with rofes, of which they make a water much ftronger in its fmell than that made in Europe. There are likewife, fays another eminent traveller, admirable tapestries made in the neighbourhood of this place, fuch as tranfcend not only the tapestries of Europe, but even those that come from the reft of the Perfian looms (47). ·(44) Gellar. geogr. antiq. lib. iii. c. 22. p. 721. Cafaub. in Strab. lib. xv. p. 720. (45) Lib. vi. c. 17. (46) Ammian. Marcellin. lib. xxiii. fub fin. 3 (47) Harris's collect. vol. i. p. 435. guage, guage, fignified feparated, or put away. Ptolemy reckons twenty-five large cities within this province; and it muft certainly have been very populous, fince many cities, and about two thousand villages, are reckoned to have been deftroyed by earthquakes. Its capital was Hecatompylus, fo called from its having an hundred gates, a noble and magnificent place, and fo lucky, as fome think, to remain ftill the capital of Perfia, under the name of Hifpaban, or rather Spauhawn. Modern towns of note are & Touchercau, and Hamadan, a very confiderable place, and especially noted for great herds of cattle fed in its neighbourhood, producing great quantities of butter, cheese, and hides; Chachan, Com, Cashin, &c. (L), and fome others lefs con- . fiderable. TAVERN. Voy. 1. iv. c. 1. PER "being by civil wars driven "out of Scythia, first fixed "themselves by ftealth in the "6 country adjoining to Hyrca"nia; and afterwards obtain"ed by force more extended "dominions (48)." Though, in later ages, Parthia became the miftrefs of her neighbours, and shared with Rome the empire of the world, yet under the antient Perfian, and even under the Macedonian monarchs, it was fo little confidered, that it remained an adjunct of Hyrcania, and was not made a particular province. It is not easy to fix the (L) The mighty reputation which the kings of Parthia, by 'their military virtues,obtained, will oblige us to fpeak hereafter of this province more accurately, than in this general defcription of the Perfian dominions it was proper for us to do. As to what we have advanced concerning the origin of the Parthians, it may not be amifs to give the reader here the words of that author, on whofe authority we took it, 'bating that he has confounded the Scythians and Celtes, or mistaken the one for the other, as fhall be further proved in the hiftory of thofe two na-derivation of the capital of tions. Parthia. In antient time, Polybius fays, that it was called Hecatcmpylos, because all the roads through the Parthian dominions centred here (49): Curtius fays it was built by the Greeks; but by whom, or at what time, he informs us not (50). It should feem, that Hecatompylos is rather a Greek (48) Ifidor, origin, ix. c. 2. (49) Lib. X. 6. 25% (50) Lib. vi, c. 11. |