Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/1099

 SYRIA. of the monstrous Atarfrati.s, the Derceto of the Greeks); Clialcis ad Beluin, which gave its name to the region of Chalcidene, the most fertile in Syria; then Cyrrhestice, named from Cyrrhum; the Gazatae, Giiidareni, Gabeni ; two tetrarchies named Granu- coraatae; the Emeseui; Hylatae; the Ituraeans and their kindred Baetarveni ; the Mariammitani, the te.trarehy of ilannnisea, Paradisus, I'agrae, Pinaritae ; two other Seleuciae, the one at the Eupin-ates, the other at Belus ; the Cardytenses. All these he places in Coelesyria: the towns and peoples enmne- raied in the rest of Syria, omitting those on the Euphrates, which are separately described, are the Arethusii, Beroeenses, Epiphanoenses; on the east, the Laodiccans by Libanus, the Leucadii, Larisaei, betides seventeen tetrarcliies with barbarous names not further specified. The towns named in connec- tion with the Euphrates are, Samosata, the head of Commagene, xl. M. P. below the cataracts, where it receives the Marsyas ; Cingilla the end, and Im- mea the commencement, of Commagene; Epiphania, Antiothia adEuphraten; then Zeugma, l.xii. JI. P. from Samosata, celebrated for the bridge over the Euphrates — whence its name — which connected it with Apameia on the left bank of the river; Europus; Thapsacus, then called Amphipolis. On reaching Ura, the river turned to the east, leaving the vast desert of Palmyra on the right. Palmyra was cccxxxvii. M. P. from the Parthian city of Seleuceia ad Tigrim, cciii. M. P. from the nearest part of the Syrian coast, and xxvii. M. P. from Damascus. Be- low ("infra") the deserts of Palmyra was the region Strelendena, and the above-named Hierapolis, Beroea, and Chalcis; and beyond ("ultra") Palmyra,Eniesa and Elatius, half as near again (" dimidio propior ") to Petra as was Damascus (lb. cc. 23 — 26). It is difficult to discover many of these names in their Latin disguise still further obscured by corrupt readings ; but many of them will occur in the more accurate and methodical notices of Ptolemy, in con- nection with which a comparative Geography of Ancient and Modern Syria may be attempted. The boundaries of Syria are fixed by Ptolemy consist- ently with earlier writers. On the N., Cilicia, part of Cappadocia, and Mons Amanus ; on the W. the Syrian sea ; on the S. Judaea ; on the E. the Ara- bian desert as far as the ford of the Euphrates, near Thapsacus ; then the river itself as far as Cappadocia (Ptol. v. 15. §§ 1 — 8). The districts and towns are enumerated under the following subdivisions: — i. Thk Coast (§§ 2, 3) after Issus and the Cili- cian Gates. 1. Alexandreia by the Issus. 2. Myrian- dius. 3. Khossus. 4. The Khossian Rock (ffKoireAos). 5. Seleuceia of Pieria. 6. The mouth of the Orontes. 7. Poseidion. 8. Heracleia. 9. I.aodiccia. 10. Gabala. 11. Paltos. 12. Balaneae. [Then follows Phoe- nice, from the Eleutherus to the Chorsens, S. of Dora. SeePHoENiC'E.] Of the above-named maritime towns of Syria, No. 2 alone has occurred in Xeiio- phon, 5 parasangs S. of the Cilician Gates. Both tills and most of the others occur in Strabo and Pliny, and the distances are furnished by the author of the Stadiasmus Maris Magni, and the Itinerarium Hicrosolymitanum. Alexandreia (^hhanderuii), not mentioned by Strabo or Pliny, was 4.5 stadia from the Cilician Pylae. Myriandrns was 80 stadia from Alexandreia. Its site has not been identified (Ains- worth. Travels in the Track of the Ten Thousand, p. .59), but is conjecturally, though probably, placed by Pococke on the river DtiJgclian. (^Observations SYRIA. 107; ore Sp-ia, p. 1 79.) Rhossns (now Arsi'is) is 90 stadia from Jlyriaiidrus ; while the Rhossicus Scopulus, 80 stadia from Rhossus, is to be identified in the Eas Khameer, the southern promontory of the Gulf of Iskanderun, a well-known nautical feature ou this coast, {lb. p. 180; Chesney, Exjmlition, i. p. 410.) Between Seleuceia and the Rhossic rock the Stadiasmus inserts Georgia, 40 stadia from the former, 80 from the latter. Seleuceia is clearly marked by extensive and important ruins. [Seleuceia.] From Seleuceia to the Orontes, 40 stadia. Between the Orontes and Poseidion the Stadiasmus enumerates Nymphaeuni, 15 stadia; Long Island {ViaKpa z/jjcros), one of the PiyeonRocks, 50 stadia ; Chaladrus, or Chaladropolis (obviously the Charadrus of Ptolemy), 10 stadia; Sidonia, GO stadia, above which was a lofty mountain called the Throne {Qp6vos), distant 80 stadia from Poseidium. Heracleia {Has-el-Basit), situated on a cape called Polia, was 1 00 stadia from Poseidium, and Laodiceia 120 stadia direct distance from Heracleia; between which the Stadiasmus inserts Pasieria and Albus Portus, the former 120 stadia from Polia, the latter 30 stadia from Laodiceia, with a like interval between the two. From Lao- diceia the Stadiasmus reckons 200 stadia to Balaneae (Banias'), in direct distance, subdivided as follows: from Laodiceia to a navigable river, probably Nahr- el-Kebir, 70 stadia ; from that to Gabala {Jehili), 80; to Paltus (Boldo), 30; to Cape Balaneae, 70 stadia. ii. By the Euphrates (§11). 1. Cholma- dai-a. 2. Samosata. iii. PiEKiA. (§ 12.) 1. Pinara. 2. Pagrae. 3. The Syrian Gates. This was the N.-western part of the country, where Bayras still marks about the centre of the district. [Pagrae.] iv. CvRRHESTicE (§ 13). 1. Ariseria. 2. Rhegias. 3. Buba. 4. Heracleia. 5. Niara. 6. Hier- apolis. 7. Cyrrhus. 8. Berrhoea. 9. Baena. 10. Pa- pliara. This district lay to the east of Pieria, and corresponded with the fertile plain watered by the three streams that flow into the lake of Antioch, the Labotas, the Arceuthus, and the Oenoparas of Strabo; on the last and easternmost of which, now called the Afrin, the modern village of Corvs still represents the ancient Cyrrhus, the capital of the district to which it gave its name. This part of Syria is so little known that it is impos.'-ible to identify its other ancient towns, the names of which, however, might doubtless be recovered in existing villages or sites. The village of Corns, which has ruins in its vicinity, is situated on the slopes of the Taurus, about 40 miles N. by V. of Aleppo and 15 miles NW. of Kills, the seat of the Turco- man government, whose limits nearly correspond with those of the ancient Cyrrhestice. (Chesney, Evphrates Expedition, vol. i. p. 422, and map i.) v. By the Euphrates (§ 14). 1. L'rima. 2. Arustis. 3. Zeugma. 4. Europus. 5. Caecilia. f). Bethamania. 7. Gerrhe. 8. Arimara. 9. Eragizu or Errhasiga. These towns of the Euiihratcs were situated lower down the stream than tho.se mentioned above (iii.), apjiarently between Samosat and the river Sojiir, a tributary of the Eujihrates, which, rising near 'Ain Tab, enters that river a little below some ancient ruins, supposed to represent the Caecilia of Ptolemy (Xo. 5). The names of several of these towns are still preserved in the native villages situated between the i-'ajur and the Euphrates; and il is clear that the gcDgraplier did S z 2