Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/1098

 1074 SYRIA. tamia, 'vcas situated at the bridge of the Euphrates in this district, and was assigned to Commatrene by Pompey. Seleucis, otherwise called Tetrapolis, the best of tlie before-named districts, was sul)<iivided according to the number of its four principal cities, Seleucis of Pieria, Antioch, Apameia, and Laodiceia. The Orontes flowed from Coelesyria through this district, having to the east the cities of Bambyce, Beroea, and Heracleia, and the river Euphrates. Heracleia was 20 stadia distant from the temjile of Athena at Cyrrhestis. This gave its name to Gyrrhestice which extended as far as Antiochis to the souih, touched the Amanus on the north, and was cunterminous with Commagene on the east. In Gyrrhestice were situated Gindarus, its capital, and near it Heracleum. Contiguous to Gindarus lay Pagrae of Antiochis, on the Amanus, above the plain of Antioch, which was watered by the Arceuthus, the Orontes, the Labotas, and the Oenoparas, in which was also the camp of Meleager; above these lay the table mount, Trapezae. On the coast were Seleuceia and Mount Pieria, attached to tlie Amanu.s, and Rhosus ('Pwffi^s), between Issus and Seleuceia. South of Antiociiis was Apameia, lying inland ; south of Seleucis Mount Gasius and Anticasius : but the former was divided from Seleuceia by the embmtchure of the Orontes and the rock-hewn temple of Nyni- phaeum; then Posidium a small town, Heracleia, Laodiceia, &e. The mountains east of Laodiceia, sloping gradually on tneir west side, had a steeper inclination on the east towards Apameia (named by the Macedonians Pella) and the Ghersonese, as the rich valley of the Orontes about that city was called. Gouterininous with the district of Apaniene, on the east, was the country of the phylarch of the Arabs, named Parapotamia, and Chalcidice, extending from the Massyas ; while the Scenite Arabs also occupied the south, being less wild and less distinctively Arabs in proportion as they were brought nearer by position to the influences of Syrian civilisation. (^Ibid. pp. 749 — 7.53.) Then follows the description of the coast, which belongs to Phoenicia (sup. p. 606), and liis extraordinary mis-statement about Libanus and Antilibanus (p. 755) alluded to under those articles. According to this view, the western termination of Libanus was on the coast, a little to the south of Tripoli, at a place called 0eoG i:p6awTrov, while Anti- libanus commenced at Sidoii. The two ranges then ran parallel towards the east, until they terminated in the mountains of the Arabians, above Damascus, and in the two Trachones [Trac^honitis]. Be- tween these two ranges lay the great plain of Coelo- .syria, divided into several districts, the width at the sea 200 stadia, the length inland about double the width ; fertilised by rivers, the largest of which was the Jordan, and having a lake called Gcnnesaritis [Tib?:kiasMaue]. The Chrysorrhoas, which rose near Damascus, was almost wholly absorbed in irri- gation. The Lycus and Jordan were navigated by the Aradians. The westernmost of the plains, along the sea-border, was called Macra (Ma/cpa TreSioi'), next to which was Massyas, with a hilly district in which Ghalcis was situated as a kind of acropolis of the district, which commenced at Lao- diceia ad Libanum. This hilly district was held by the Ituraeans and Arabs [Itoraea]. Above Massyas was the Royal Plain {KvKwv BairiAiKis) and the country of Damascus, followed by the Tra- chones, &c. (pp. 755, 756). This very confused and inaccurate descnption has been sufficiently corrected in the account above given of the Physical Geo- SYRIA. graphy of Syria, and need not be further noticed than to observe that it is very strange that, after Syria had been occupied by the Macedonians and the Komana for so many years, and notwithstanding the frequent campaigns of the Roman legioiis in that country, even its main features were so little known. Pliny confines Syria to the limits usually assigned it, that is he distinguishes between Syria and Pales- tine, which are corifounded by Strabo. He de.-cribes Galilee as that part of Judaea which adjoins Syria (v, 14. s. 15), but coincides with Strabo in giving a description of the coast under the name of Phoenice (19. s. 17). His notion of the direction of the ranges of Libanus and Antilibanus is more correct than that of Strabo ; but his description of the coast of Phoenice, like that of his predecessor, is far more correct than that of the interior of the country ; while his grouping of the various districts is altogether arbitrary and incorrect. Thus, while he correctly describes Mount Lebanon as commencing behind Sidon, he makes it extend for 1500 stadia (a monstrous exaggeration, if the reading is correct) to Simyra, and this he calls Goelesyria. Then he loosely states the parallel range of Antilibanus to be equal to this, and adds a fact, unnoticed by other writers, that the two ranges were joined by a wall drawn across the intern;;ediate valley. Within, i. e. east of, this last range (''post eum introrsus ") he places the region of Decapolis and the tetrarchies which he had before enumerated (viz. Trachonitis, Paneas, Abila, Area, Ampeloessa, Gabe), and the whole extent of Palestine ("Palaestinae tota laxitas'"), — a confusion on the part of the author involving :i double or triple error; for, 1st, unless Damascus be included in the Decapolis, the whole region lay south of Antilibanus ; 2dly, the cities of the Decapolis lay in several tetrarchies, and therefore ought not to be distinguished from them as a separate district ; 3dly, the tetrarchies themselves, which are wrongly enumerated, lay, for the most part, within Goele- syria proper, and only Abilene, in any proper sense, to the east of Antilibanus, although this description might loosely apply to Trachonitis also [Tkaciio- NiTis]. But to descend to particulars. I'hoenice terminates to the north, according to Pliny, at the island Aradus, north of the river Eleutheros, near Simyra and JIarathos. On the coast were situated Carne, Balanea, Paltos, Gabale, the promontory on which lay Laodiceia Libera, Dios- polis, Hcraclea, Charadrus, Posidium; then the [iro- montory of Syria of Antioch, then that of Seleucia Libera, called also Pieria. Another egregious error follows this generally correct statement, and is accompanied with another example of exaggeration. Mons Cusius he places above Seleucia (" super eam") — from which it is distant about 15 miles to the north, the Orontes intervening — and states its as- cent to be xix. 1I.P., and its direct height iv. M. P., or nearly 20,000 feet! — its actual height being about 5,700 feet, — from the summit of which the sun might be seen above the horizon at the fourth watch, i.e. three hours before sunrise. North of this came the town Rhosos, behind which (" a tergo") Portae Syriae, between the Rhosii Montes and the Taurus; then Myriandros, on the coast, and Mount Amanus, on which was Bomitae, and which separated Syria from Cilicia (v. 20 22). In the interior the fol- lowing districts belonged to Coele.syria: Apameia, divided by the river Marsyas from the tetrarchy of the Nazerini ; Bambyce, otherwise called Hierapolis, but Mabog by the Syrians (famous for the worship