well informed to fall into the error respecting its

source.

Our Author speaks of the Araxes as the only considerable one known to him on the east of the Caspian sea. The following are the passages relating to it, collected from his history of the expedition of Cyrus the Great, against the Massagetæ; Clio, 201, et seq.

"The nation of the Massagetæ lay beyond the Araxes-some reckoned this river less, others greater, than the Danube. There are many islands scattered up and down in it, some of which are nearly equal to Lesbos in extent-like the Gyndes, it rises amongst the Matienian hills. It separates itself into 40 mouths, all of which, except one, lose themselves in the fens and marshes-the larger stream of the Araxes continues its even course to the Caspian."

"The Caspian is bounded on the east by a plain of prodigious extent, a considerable part of which formed the country of the Massagetæ, against whom Cyrus meditated an attack-he advanced to the Araxes, threw a bridge of boats over it-passed it with his army from his own territories into those of the enemy, and advanced beyond it," &c. Clio, 204, 205, 206, 208, 211.

In this description, the Jaxartes and Oxus (Sirr and Jihon,) appear to be confounded together, (he had perhaps heard certain particulars of both rivers, but might refer them to one only,) for there are circumstances that may be applied to each respectively, although most of them are applicable only to the

former. It may be observed that our Author mentions only one large river in this part of the empire of Cyrus; that is, the river which separates it from the Massagetæ, and which was unquestionably the Sirr or Jaxartes; for there is no question that Sogdia was included in the empire of Cyrus', and it lay between the Oxus and Jaxartes. The Oxus, therefore, has no distinct place in the geography of our Author, although a river of much greater bulk and importance than the Jaxartes. But that the Oxus was intended, when he says that the larger stream continued its even course to the Caspian, appears probable; although the numerous branches that formed the large islands, and were afterwards lost in bogs and marshes, agrees rather to the description of the Aral lake, and lower part of the Sirr. It is indeed possible that the Jaxartes may at some period have sent a branch into the Oxus; or, vice versa, the Oxus into the Jaxartes; but no such idea is warranted by the ancient descriptions.

Strabo, as we have said, describes it under the name of Araxes, p. 512, and seems in this place to follow Herodotus both in the name and description of it; as, that it borders on the country of the Massagetæ, and affords a retreat to them in the islands formed by the division of its streams, and in its marshes; as also that one branch of it alone ran into

'Alexander saw a city, or cities, that had been founded by Cyrus, in Sogdia, near the Jaxartes, and one of them bore his But the modern empire of Persia, or IRAN, is properly bounded by the Jihon, or Oxus.

name.

the Hyrcanian sea (Caspian). As Strabo describes this river in another place, under the name of Jaxartes, p. 510, 514, 518, and the Oxus also in its place, it appears that he must have taken the Araxes for a distinct river; and it is not improbable that he copied the passage from Herodotus, without rightly understanding the subject of it.

The remarkable mistake of our Author deriving this Araxes from the mountains of Matiene, and giving it an easterly course (Melp. 40), must have arisen from his having heard of the Armenian Araxes, and confounded it with the other. There is no possibility of getting rid of his error in this matter, for he refers the source of the Massagetan Araxes to the same quarter with that of the Gyndes. It can only be said that it is a prodigious mistake.

Such was the ASIA of HERODOTUS, in respect of its general extent and subdivision. We shall next proceed to illustrate such of the subdivisions as the authorities afford the means of describing.

It is proper to observe, that there is much confusion in some of the ancient authors, between the proper Tanais at the Mæotis, and the Jaxartes, which was improperly called Tanais by the followers of Alexander; from a supposition, probably, that it was the head of the other river; and there is little doubt but that they supposed their station on the Jaxartes to be much nearer the Mæotis than it really was. It has appeared that the Araxes was also confounded with the Tanais and Jaxartes; particularly in Diodorus, lib. ii. c. 3.

SECTION X.

OF EASTERN SCYTHIA, OR THE COUNTRY OF THE

MASSAGETÆ.

Herodotus in doubt whether the MASSAGETE were to be classed as SCYTHIANS-regarded as such by succeeding Greek Writers -Distinction of Scythia, within, and beyond, IMAUS-Limits of both Countries respectively-The Imaus of Ptolemy recognized in modern Geography-Vast Error of Ptolemy, and the modern Geographers, in the Extent of hither Scythia-The ancient Geographers had a very limited Knowledge of Eastern Scythia; and of these, Herodotus, perhaps, the most limitedextended by the Expedition of Alexander; and still more by the Commerce with Serica, for Silk-Issedonians, the first Nation beyond Scythia-By the Massagetæ, Herodotus intended the Eastern Scythians, collectively-Opinions of different Authors, respecting the Tribes of Eastern Scythians; Arrian, Diodorus, Strabo, Pliny, Ptolemy, Justin-It may be collected, that they reckoned three great Tribes; the Massagetæ, Sacæ, and Dahæ, besides many lesser ones — Sacă, although the name of a particular Tribe, was extended by the Persians to ALL the Scythians-Geographers overcome by the Number and Names of Scythian Tribes.-Authorities for the geographical Positions of the several Tribes of Massagetæ, Sacæ, Dahæ, Jaxartæ, Abii, Pasiani, and Tochari-Conjectures respecting the Name of the Kossacks, and of the Names of the rivers Jaxartes and Oxus-Remarks on the Expedition of CYRUS against the Massageta-Justin more circumstantial

than Herodotus.

IT has been stated in page 62, et seq. that Herodotus was in doubt whether to regard the MASSA

GETE as SCYTHIANS, but that the subsequent Greek writers universally reckoned them such. It may be added, that the people thus collectively denominated Massagetæ, by Herodotus, who had himself only heard of them in the gross, were in later times found to consist of many tribes, or nations, which had each of them a distinct appellation.

We propose to treat the subject, not merely according to the ideas of our Author, but rather according to those of the ancients at large; in which disquisition, however, the ideas of Herodotus will be made fully to appear.

EASTERN SCYTHIA, which is the country of the Massagetæ, according to Herodotus, was formed into Two natural divisions by the chain of mount Imaus.

Scythia intra Imaum commenced on the west, either at the river Daix (Jaik, or Daek), or at the mountains of Rhymnicus (Ural), and extended eastward to the great chain that divides in the first instance the Two BUCHARIAS; and in its course farther northward, the countries of Ferganah and Western Turkestan, from Kashgur; it being, in effect, the Imaus in question; concerning which, as well as the adjacent countries and levels, we have fully spoken in page 239, et seq. Accordingly, Scythia within Imaus, contained the countries since known by the names of Desht Kipzak, Western Turkestan, and the northern part of Ferganah. The Caspian and Aral seas, and the river Sirr (Sirt, or Jaxartes) formed its general boundary on the south. Northwards its boundary is not clearly ascertained; but Scythia pro