BAC 



190 



BAD 



lY-u-lri.:. 



People, go- 

 vernment, 

 religion, 

 *c. 



Descrip- 

 tion ol the 

 country. 



for themselves, and not to exalt it to its former rank 

 amongst the nations of Asia, that revolution does not 

 fall within the range of our rapid narrative. 



By Herodotus, and other ancient annalists, we are 

 informed, that the Bactrians were well made, vigo- 

 rous and healthy ; admirably adapted for supporting 

 the fatigues and dangers of war, by the habitual 

 temperance which they cultivated, and by that rest- 

 less activity which disdained repose. Their soldiers 

 were deservedly famous for the skill which they dis- 

 played in the use of the sling and the bow, with 

 which they levelled the ranks of the enemy at a great 

 distance. As they drew near to battle, they em- 

 ployed short darts, till joining man to man, the 

 slaughter which they made with the sword, or with 

 a large dagger that hung from their girdles, evinced 

 that the strength of their arm, and the valour of their 

 soul, were equally formed for close combat. Their 

 government was monarchical, hereditary, and despo- 

 tic. Their religion was idolatrous ; for though they 

 held the opinion of one Supreme God, yet the ado- 

 ration which they payed to the sun, and to fire, 

 even after Zoroaster had reformed their theology, 

 will warrant this conclusion. We shall not have a 

 very exalted idea of their morality, when we are in- 

 formed, that incontinence was not accounted a blemish 

 even in the female character, that incest was permit- 

 ted, and that the finer feelings, which dignify hu- 

 man nature, and are the source of the purest plea- 

 sures of our existence, were so completely eradicated 

 from their hearts, that they trained fierce mastiffs to 

 devour their aged parents, when they could no long- 

 er support themselves, and which, from that horrid 

 employment, were emphatically denominated Sepal- 

 chral do^s. Their learning, however, during the 

 latter period of the state, appears to have been con- 

 siderable ; and it is, perhaps, more than a conjecture, 

 that from this country the rays of science first dawn- 

 ed upon the Hindoos. During the same time, they 

 seem to have cultivated commerce to a great extent 

 with the various nations of India. They wore tiaras, 

 tunics, and breeches, like the Medes. 



Perhaps no country of the same extent ever dis- 

 covered a greater variety of soil than Bactria. The 

 northern provinces, which extended along the banks 

 of the river Oxus, were intersected with many streams 

 and fountains, which adorned and fertilized the fields. 

 The ancient topographers of this country, whose ac- 

 count is confirmed by Sir John Chardin, inform us, 

 that there is a fountain in Bactria, whose waters arc 

 so plesant to the taste of the musalinan, or albemec, 

 a fowl about the size of a hen, and of a black and 

 red colour, that it attracts it to its streams from a 

 great distance. As this fowl is gregarious, and feeds 

 upon locusts, whenever these insects settle upon any 

 field in such numbers as to endanger the crop, the 

 inhabitants convey the water of this fountain in ves- 

 sels to the place, and the flocks of mugalinans, which 

 are immediately drawn thither, deliver the country 

 from the locusts. Bactria could boast ef many ex- 

 tensive plantations j vines, and other fruit-trees, were 

 in great abundance, and the crops which they pro- 

 duced were not only liberal, but of an exquisite taste 

 and flavour. That species of tree which produced 

 manna of a yellowish colour and of a large size, and 



which was allowed to be the most valuable, grew to 

 greater perfection there than in any other country. 

 The fields were equally well adapted for every spe- 

 cies of grain ; and the nocks and herds which ranged 

 their pastures were all excellent in their kind. Tlie 

 goats of this country are said to have produced the 

 best kind of bezoar, a stony substance which is 

 formed within the animal, and is so famous in the an- 

 nals of medicine. The southern regions of this 

 country, however, being in a great measure destitute 

 of water, and covered with sand, are equally remark- 

 able for their sterility. The whirlwinds, which with 

 irresistible violence sweep along the surface, not only 

 blot out every vestige of the roads which lead through 

 these regions, and bury the unhappy travellers with 

 the clouds of sand which they roll before them, but 

 with their continued eddies raise lofty mountains on 

 the plains. Travellers, whom necessity compels to 

 traverse these pathless wastes, generally journey by 

 night, which from the brightness of the sky resem- 

 bles day, and direct their course by the stars as if 

 they were 3t sea. See Apollodorus. Plin. 1. vi. c. 15, 

 16. Q. Curt. 1. vii. Strab. 1. xi. xv. Ammian. Mar- 

 cel. 1. xxiii. Arrian. Syncel. Justin. 1. i. xli. Diod. 

 Sictd. Euseb. Wl Chron. Prideaux's Connect, v. i. ii. 

 and iii. Univ. Hist. v. iii. Pezron Antiq. of Nat. 

 Wise Hist, of Fab. Ages. Bryant Anal. Mythol. (n) 



BACTRIS, a genus of plants of the class Monce- 

 cia, and order Hexandria. See Botany, (xv) 



BADAJOZ, the Pax Augusta of the Romans, is 

 the capital of Spanish Estremadura. The town was 

 formerly situated on the high ground where the cas- 

 tle now stands, and the splendour and extent of its 

 buildings are still apparent in the deserted churches, 

 and in the remains of Roman, Gothic, and Moorish 

 architecture, which mark its ancient site. The mo- 

 dern town is situated on the lower ground, and ex- 

 tends into a beautiful plain on the banks of the Gua- 

 diana. The cathedral is the only public edifice de- 

 serving of notice, and some of the chapels are adorned 

 with excellent paintings. The town has five gates, 

 and the streets are narrow and irregular. Without 

 the gate of Las Palmas there is a fine bridge over the 

 Guadiana, built in 1596, and containing 28 arches, 

 the largest of which has a span of 78 feet, and the 

 smallest of 20. The length of the bridge is 1874 

 feet, and its breadth 20. 



Being one of the frontier towns of Spain, and near- 

 ly about a league and a half from Portugal, Badajoz 

 is defended by strong fortifications, and by the cas- 

 tles of Christobal and Las Pardaleras. It was con- 

 quered by the Goths in the fifth, and by the Moors 

 in the eighth century, and has undergone numerous 

 sieges in subsequent wars. 



Badajoz is the residence of a captain -general and 

 intendant of the province of Estremadura, of a mili- 

 tary and civil governor, a military governor of the 

 castle of Christobal, an Alcalde mayor for administer- 

 ing justice, and a principal contador of war. It has 

 also an arsenal called La Maestranza, which contains 

 all kinds of arms and military engines. 



Badajoz is the seat of a bishop, suffragan of the 

 metropolis of San Jago ; and there are in the town 

 five parish churches, seven monasteries, five nunne- 

 ries, and five hospitals. 



