Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/1097

 SYRIA. of wljioh has been described by Burckhardt, and its southern by the no less enterprising and more accu- rate Porter, in more recent times. (Burclchardt, Syria, p. 121, &c.; Porter, Damascus^ vol. ii. p. 350, &c.) The northern part of Syria is now compreliended in the pashalic of Aleppo. It is bounded on the east by the Euphrates, and on the north and west by the mountain chains of Taurus and Anianus, the former of which throws off other diverging branches to the south, until they ultimately flank the valley of the Orontes on the east, so continuing the connection between Antilibanus and its parent stock. Aleppo itself is situated in a rich and extensive plain, sepa- rated on the east by undulating hills from the almost unoccupied country, which consists of a level sheep- track, extending from thence to the Euphrates. The sandy level of this Syrian desert is, however, diver- sified by occasional ranges of hills, and the plateaus are of various elevation, rising a little west of the meridian of Aleppo to a height of 1 500 feet above the Mediterranean, and thence declining suddenly to the east and much more gradually to the west. It is on one of these ranges in the heart of the desert, north- east of Damascus, that Palmyra is situated, the only noticeable point in all the dreary waste, which has been described in an article of its own [Pai-jiyka]. The tract between Damascus and Palmyra has been frequently explored by modern travellers, as well as the ruins themselves; but there is no better account to be found of them than in Mr. Porter's book, already so frequently referred to (vol. i. pp. 149 — 254; compare Irby and Mangles, pp. 257 — 276). III. Ancient (jeo<jrapldcal divisions. — The ear- liest classical notice of Syria, which could be ex- pected to enter into any detail, is that of Xenophon in his Anabasis. Unhappily, however, this writer's account of the march of Cyrus through the north of Syria is very brief. The following notes are all that be offers for the illustration of its ancient geography. Issus he mentions as the last city of Cilicia, towards Syria. One day's march of 5 parasangs brought liie anny to the gates of Cilicia and Syria: two ualls, 3 stadia apart, — the river Cersus (Ke'pcros) flmviiig between, — drawn from the sea to the precipi- li'Us rocks, fitted with gates, allowing a very narrow
 * i|ipniach along the coast, and so difficult to force,

i''en against inferior numbers, that Cyrus had tliDiight it necessary to send for the fleet in order to iii.ible him to turn the flank of the enemy : but the position was abandoned by the general of Arta- Mi'xes. One day's march of 5 parasangs brought tliLMii to Myriandrus (Mupiaj'Spos), a mercantile city of the Phoenicians, on the sea. Four days' march, or 20 piarasangs, to the river Chains (XaAos), ulioiuidiiig in a fish held sacred by the Syrians. Six days, or 30 parasangs, to the fountains of the I'aradax (al. Dardes, AdpSrjs), where were palaces and parks of Belesys, govei-nor of Syria. Three days, 15 parasangs, to the city Thapsacus on the Euphrates (Anab. i. 4. §§ 4 — 18). It is to be niiiarked that the days' march of 50 parasangs l''i'ud this is said by Xenophon to have led through .■^N lia, where he uses that term of the Aram Naha- i.iini, of the Scriptures, equivalent to Me.sojjotaniia. (M the places named by the historian in Syria Pro- jier, Issus has been fully described [Issus]. The piibition of the Cilician and Syrian gates is markeil by the narrow passage left between the buse of the Ainauus and the sea, where the ruins of two walls, separated by an interval of about 600 yards, still VOL. II. SYRIA. 1073 preserve the tradition of the fortifications mentioned in the narrative. The Cersus, however, now called the jMerkez-su, appears to have been diverted from its ancient channel, and runs to the sea in two small streams, one to the north of the northern wall, the other to the south of the southern. The site of Myriandrus has not yet been positively determined, but it must have been situated about half-way between Ishanderun (Alexandria) and Arsiis (Rho- sus), as Strabo also intimates (see below). Fjoin this point the army must have crossed the Amanus by the Beildn pass, and have marched through the jilain of 'Umk, north of the lake of Antioch, where three fordable rivers, theLabotas(A'«ra-sw),theOcno- paras (Aswdd), and the Arceuthus ('Afrin), must have been crossed on their march ; which, however, are unnoticed by the historian. The river Chains, with its sacred fish, is identified with the Cfialib or Koiveik, the river of Aleppo, the principal tributary to which in the mountains is still called BaldUu- su, or Fish-river. The veneration of fish by the Syrians is mentioned also by Diodorus, Lucian, and other ancient writers. (Ainswortli, Travels in (lie Track of the Ten Thousand, pp. 57 — 65.) The source of the river Daradax, with the palaces and parks of Belesys, 30 parasangs, or 90 geographical miles, from Chains, is marked by an ancient site called to the present Aax Ba'Us, " peculiarly positioned with regard to the I^uphrates, and at a point whore that river would be first approached on coming aci-oss Northern Syria in a direct line trending a little south- ward, and corresponding at the same time with the distances given by Xenophon." (Ainsworth, I. c. p. 6G.) The ruins of a Roman castle, built upon a mound of ruins of greater antiquity, doubtless ]ive- servethe site of the satrap's palace; while the rich and productive alluvial soil of the plain around, covered with grasses, flowering plants, jungle, and shrubs, and abounding in game, such as wild boars, francolin, quails, landrails, &c., represents " the very large and beautiful paradise:" the river Daradax, liowever, is reduced to a canal cut from the Euphrates, about a mile distant, which separated the large park from the mainland; and Mr. Ainsworth thinks that the fact of the fountain being 100 feet wide at its source, " tends to show that the origin of a canal is meant, rather than the source of a liver" (p. 67. n. 1). Thapsacus is described in a separate article. [Thap- sacus.] Far more full, but still unsatisfactory, is the de- scription of Syria given by Sti'abo, a comparis<in of which with the later notices of Pliny and Ptolemy, illustrated by earlier histories and subsequent Itine- raries, will furnish as complete a view of the tlu.ssi- cal geography of the country as the existing mate- rials allow. The notices of Phoenicia, necessarily intermingled with those of Syria, are here omitted as having been considered in a .separate article [PiiuE- nicia]. On the north Syria was separated from Cilicia by Mons Amanus. From the sea at tho gnit of Issus to the bridge (jf the Enjjhrates in Connnagene was a distance of 1400 stadia. On tiie east of the Euphrates, it was bounded by the Scenite Arabs, on the south by Arabia Felix and Egypt, on the west by the Egyptian sea as far as Issus (xvi. p. 749). He diviiles it into the i'ollowing dis- tricts, connnencing on the north: Connnagene; Selencis of Syria; Coele.syria; Phoenice on the coast; .hulaea inland. Connnagene was a small terri- tory, having Saino.sata for its capital, stu'rounded by a rich country. Seleucis, the fortress of Mesopo- 3 z