Before Chrift 2 22 — 219. 97 



thus a calamity, which would have encouraged the neighbouring flates 

 to complete the ruin of a turbulent and warlike community, was the 

 means of raifing the Rhodians to greater profperity, than they had ever 

 enjoyed before : and we find them immediately after this event the pre- 

 dominant power in the eaftern part of the Mediterranean. \_Polyb. L. 

 V, cc. 88 et/eqq.] 



Ptolemy Euergetes, king of Egypt, in the later part of his reign 

 over-ran a great part of the Macedonian empire in Afia, and on his re- 

 turn fubdued many African tribes in the neighbourhood of Egypt. Of 

 this expedition he is himfelf almoft the only hiftorian, having infcribed 

 a pompous narrative of his conquefts upon a marble chair dedicated to 

 Mars, which was remaining at Aduli on the coait of the Red fea in the 

 fixth century, when Cofmas Indicopleuftes copied the infcription, which 

 has thereby come down to us. The only notice concerning commerce, 

 to be found in it, is, that, having by his fleet reduced fome tribes of the 

 Arabs on the eafl fide of the Red fea *, he charged them to guard the 

 roads from robbers and the feas from pirates. 



Byzantium (afterwards called Confiantinople) was a city founded by 

 a Grecian colony on the European fide of the fi;rait, which feparates 

 Europe from Afia. The Byzantines imported from the countries lying 

 around the Pontus, or Euxine fea, flaves, hides, falted provifions, honey, 

 wax, and corn, which, with vaft quantities of tunnies caught and cured 

 by themfelves, they exported to every part of Greece. Their territory 

 was very fertile, but very fmall ; and they found it neceffary to pur- 

 chafe the friendfliip, or rather the forbearance, of their neighbours by 

 a heavy annual tribute of eighty talents (;^i 5,500 fierling). Unable or 

 unwilling to raife fo large a fum among themfelves, and being abfolute 

 mafters of the flrait, not only by its fmall breadth of half a mile, but 

 alfo by the nature of the current, which fets in upon their fliore, and 

 forces every veflel clofe under their walls, they thought of renewing an 

 impoft, formerly exacted by the Athenia-ns, when they were mafi:ers of 

 Byzantium, in the time of Alcibiades ; and they accordingly compelled 

 all ftrangers, whom they perhaps confidered as interlopers, to pay a toll 

 for permiflion to pafs into the Euxine (a". 219). The trade mufl have 

 been very great indeed, if a moderate fum from each fhip belonging to 

 llrangers coald be equal to fuch a fubfidy ; or the fum extorted from 

 caA velTel muft have been intolerably great. 



The later feems to have been the cafe ; for, though a fimilar demand 

 is complied with by the mofl powerful of the maritime and commercial 



* He fays, he fubdacd the whole coafl from were independent, when Ptolemy Philometor wai 



Leuke kome to Sabsa. It may be piefumed, that king of Egypt ; and Diodorus Siculus, a later 



he does not include the opulent and commercial author, adds [L, iii, § 47] that they had pre- 



nation of the Sabseans in the number of his con- ferved that happinels unimpaired during many agee. 

 quells ; as we know' from Agatharchides, that they 



Vol I. N 



