Page:The geography of Strabo (1854) Volume 2.djvu/278

 270 STRABO. CASATTB. 529. iasata, built by Hannibal for the king Artaxias, and Arxata, both situated on the Araxes ; Arxata on the confines of Atropatia, and Artaxata near the Araxenian plain ; it is well inhabited, and the seat of the kings of the country. It lies upon a peninsular elbow of land ; the river encircles the walls except at the isthmus, which is enclosed by a ditch and rampart. Not far from the city are the treasure-storehouses of Ti- granes and Artavasdes, the strong fortresses Babyrsa, and Olane. There were others also upon the Euphrates. Ador, (Addon ?) the governor of the fortress, occasioned the revolt of Artagerse, but the generals of Ctesar retook it after a long siege, and destroyed the walls. 7. There are many rivers in the country. The most cele- brated are the Phasis and Lycus ; they empty themselves into the Euxine ; (Eratosthenes instead of the Lycus men- tions the Thermodon, but erroneously ;) the Cyrus and the Araxes into the Caspian, and the Euphrates and the Tigris into the Persian Gulf. 8. There are also large lakes in Armenia ; one the Man- tiane, 1 which word translated signifies Cyane, or Blue, the largest salt-water lake, it is said, after the Palus Maeotis, ex- tending as far as (Media-) Atropatia. It has salt pans for the concretion of salt. The next is Arsene, 2 which is also called Thopitis. Its waters contain nitre, and are used for cleaning and fulling clothes. It is unfit by these qualities for drinking. The Tigris passes through this lake 3 after issuing from the moun- tainous country near the Niphates, and by its rapidity keeps its stream unmixed with the water of the lake, whence it has its name, for the Medes call an arrow, Tigris. This river contains fish of various kinds, but the lake one kind only. 1 We should read probably Matiane. The meaning of the word pro- posed by Strabo may easily be proved to be incorrect, by reference to the Armenian language, in which no such word is to be found bearing this sense. As Kapoit in the Armenian tongue signifies " blue," this ex- planation of Strabo's appears to refer to the lake Spauta or .Kapauta, above, c. xiii. 2. Kramer. ' z The lake Arsissa. Thospitis or Van. 8 This is an error ; one of the branches of the Tigris rises among the mountains on the S. W. of the lake Van, and which form part of the range of Nepat-Learn or Niphates.