A. D. 14. 141 



Indian goods were alfo conveyed from a diftrift in the north part of 

 India, within feven days' jnurney of Badria, through that country, 

 and thence down the River Oxus, and acrofs the Cafpian (ea, whence 

 they were carried up the River Cyrus, and, after a land carriage of five 

 days, refliipped on the Phafis, a river of Colchis, running into the eaft 

 end of the Euxine fea, at the mouth of which there was a town of the 

 fame name, whence they were difperfed to the weftern countries. [Plin. 

 L. vi, c. 17.] We may be pretty certain, that the valuable merchandize 

 of the Seres was alfo conveyed by the fame route. 



Arabia furnifhed the traders from Egypt with various aromatics ; 

 pretious ointments ; fmall diamonds and other gems ; pearls ; frankin- 

 cenfe; the beft myrh, and other pretious drugs; and fugar of a quali- 

 ty inferior to that of India. The Arabs alfo re-exported, or fold to fo- 

 reign traders, the goods they imported from the Eaft, among which 

 were fome aromatics fuperior in quality to any produced in their o^vll 

 country : and they took in exchange fome European goods, one article 

 of which was tin, probably the produce of the BritiJIj ?nijies and deflined 

 for India ; but they were chiefly paid in money. Thus, participating 

 largely in the increafed commerce of Egypt, and having the balance of 

 a brilk, conflant, and well-conduded, adive trade greatly in their favour, 

 they abounded in riches and plenty of all things. [Strabo, L. i, p. 67.] 

 Pliny fays [L. vi, c. 28] that they took no goods in exchange, and that 

 they fold their plunder (for fome of the nations comprehended under 

 the exteniive name of Arabia acquired goods by piracy and robbery) 

 to the Romans and Parthians for money only, whereby a great part of 

 the cafli of both empires refted with them. It is almoft needlefs to ob- 

 ferve, that the commercial nations of Arabia were not the perpetrators, 

 but the viftims, of the depredations committed by the roving Arabs. 

 [See Strabo L. xv'i, p. 1097.} 



From Ethiopia were imported cinnamon; marble; gems; ivory; 

 the horns of the rhinoceros ; turtle, and turtle-fhell *. 



Getulia, the country on the fouth fide of Mauritania, furniflied no- 

 thing, that I can difcover, except the dye-fi:uff extradled from the 

 purple fhell-fifli, found in great abundance on the fliore of the Atlantic 

 ocean. 



After this fecond circuit of the Roman trade it is proper to obferve, as. 

 an exception from the general terror of the Ocean among the Romans, 

 that fome vefl^els of theirs had before this time ventured to navigate the 

 Atlantic. The firfl we know of was one, which, we are told, followed 

 the track of a Phoenician bound to the Cafliterides, in order to difcover 

 the fecret, where that mine of wealth was fituated. The Phoenician 



* As the feveral branches of trade carried on from the Red fea were apparently much increafed 

 after this time, the confideration of them will be refimied with more ample, and better authenticated, 

 materials than could be obtained in the liitherto-infant Hate of the trade. 4 



