A S t 



commonly froien in the latter end of December, and clear 

 cf ice in May. 



Faffing by the other Afiatic feas of inferior rote, a few 

 obfei-vations mny be offered on the remarkable ilrait that 

 divides Afia from America. This ilrait, which, as we have 

 already feen, was difcovered by Beeiing, and afterwards by 

 Cook, is about thirteen leaijucs or near furty miles in 

 brea^tth. Beerlng actually paffed this Ilrait in 1728, pro- 

 bably in the uiual fogs of the climate, without difcovering 

 land to the eail ; but our great navigator gave the name of 

 that Danifh adventurer to thcfe Ifraits, when he afterwards 

 explored them with his ufual accuracy. On the Afiatic 

 fhorc is the Eaft-cape ; and on the American that called 

 Prince of Wales. The depth of water in the Ilrait is from 

 twelve to thirty fathoms. To the north of thefc llraits the 

 Aiiatic fhore tends rapidly to the wcil, while the American 

 proceeds nearly in a northern direction, till, at the dillance 

 of about four or five degrees, the continents are joined by 

 folid and impenetrable bonds of ice. 



In the Aiiatic feas are numerous fhoals or far.d-banks ; 

 but few of them have been defcribed as conducive to human 

 indullry. 



The chief rivers of Afia are the Kianku and Hoang Ho, 

 the Lena, the Yenifey, and the Oby, ftreams which rival in 

 the length of their courfe any others on the globe. Next in 

 confequence are the Amoor, and the Makaung of L,aos, if 

 the courfe be rightly dehneated, the Sampoo or Burram- 

 pooter, and the Ganges ; compared with all which the Eu- 

 phrates and Indus are but moderate ftreams. 



The Afiatic mountains are reputed not to equal the 

 European in height. The Urahan chain forms one of the 

 boundaries of Europe ; and the Altaian ridge may be claffed 

 among the moil extenfive of the globe, reaching from about 

 the feventieth to the hundred and fortieth degree of longitude 

 eaft from London, or about 5000 miles, thus rivalling in 

 length the Andes of South America. But, as chains of 

 mountains rarely receive uniform appellations, except from 

 nations highly civilized, the Altaian chain, beyond the fources 

 of the Yenifey, is called the mountains of Sayaufli ; and 

 from the fouth of the fea Baikal, the Yablonnoy mountains, 

 branches whereof extend even to the country of the 

 Tlliuktthi, or extreme boundaries of Afia. The chain of 

 Alak may perhaps be regarded as a part of the Altaian, 

 branching to the fouth ; while the Taurus, now known by 

 various names in different countries, was by the ancients con- 

 fidered as a range of great length, reaching from cape Keli- 

 doni, on the weft of the gulf of Sataha, through Armenia, 

 even to India : this laft chain, however, has not impreffed 

 modern travellers with the fame idea of its extent. To the 

 fouth of the Altaian range extends the elevated defert Goby 

 or Shamo, running in a parallel direclion from eaft to weft ; 

 and the high region of Thibet may be included in this 

 central prominence of Afia. Other coniiderable ranges of 

 mountains are Bogdo, Khangay, Belur, thofe of Thibet, 

 the eaftern and wcltern Gauts of Hindoilan, and the Cau- 

 cafian chain between the Euxine and the Cafpian. 



The Afiatic governments are almoft univerfally defpotic ; 

 and the very idea of a commonwealth feems utterly unknown 

 to that quarter of the world. The mildcft fyftems are 

 perhaps thofe found in Arabia. (See Pinkertou's Modern 

 Geography, vol. ii.) 



Asia, Proper, mAndenl Geography. Much perplexity has 

 arifen among authors by the diverfe acceptations of the term 

 Afia ; fo as to r iider it extremely difficult for their readers 

 to know what region was diilindly iinderftood by that appel- 

 lation ; nor is it eafy to reconcile the apparent inconfiftency 

 between the facred and profane writers as to the provinces 

 I 



A s r 



comprifed under this denomination. The ancient geographers 

 divided the vaft continent tiiat was known to tlie Greeks and 

 Romans under the word Afia, firft into the Greater ar.d Leficr 

 Afia. The Lcffer, commonly termed Afia Minor, com- 

 prehended a great number of provinces ; but that which 

 included Phrygia, Myfia, Caria, and Lydia, was deno- 

 minated Afia Proper, or Afia properly fo caikd. Cicero 

 (Orat. pro Flacco.), enumerating the regions contained 

 in Afia Proper, makes no mention of ^olis or lolia, 

 though undoubtedly a diftridl of it, as being comprehended 

 partly in Lydia and partly in Myfia. Lydia, befide the 

 inland country commonly known by that name, contained 

 alfo Ionia, lying on the fea fide, between the rivers Hermus 

 and Meander; and jEolis, extending from Hei-miis to the 

 river Caicus (Ptol. hb. v. cap. 2.), or to the promontory 

 Leclum (Strabo, hb. xii. p. 393.), the ancient boundary 

 between Troas and the fea-coaft of the greater Mvfia, 

 Accordingly, Afia Proper comprehended Plirygia, Myfia, 

 Lydia, Caria, JEoYa, and Ionia. This tract was bounde<J, 

 according to Ptolemy, on the north by Bithynia and Pon- 

 tus, extending from Galatia to Propontis ; on the eaft by 

 Galatia, Pamphilia, and Lycia ; on the fouth bv part of 

 Lycia and the Rhodian fea ; on the weft by the Hellefpont, 

 by the ^gean, Scarian, and Myrtoau feas. It lies between 

 the thirty-fifth and forty-firft degree of north latitude, and 

 extends in longitude from jj' to 62°. 



As Afia Proper is but a part of Afia Minor, fo the 

 Lydian Afia is only a part of Afia Proper. Afia, in this 

 acceptation, comprehe-jds Lydia, jEolia, and Ionia ; and is 

 that Afia whereof mention is made in the Acts, and the 

 Apocalypfe. Ariftotle tells us that Smyrna was at firft 

 poireiFcd by the Lydians (Ariftot. lib. de poetica apud 

 Plutarch in lib. de vita & poefi Homeri) ; and Scylax 

 Coryandenfis reckons it among the cities of Lydia, as alfo 

 Ephefus, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Thyatira, are reckoned 

 by Ptolemy among the cities of Lydia, as is Laodicea by 

 Stephanus. (Steph. de Urbib.) 



That in ancient times Lydia was called Mseonia, and the 

 Lydians Mvconians, is manifeft from Herodotus, Diodorus 

 Siculus, Dionyfius Afer, Strabo, Pliny, Stephanus, and 

 others ; and that Maonia was called Afia, is no Icfs plain 

 from Callinius, who flourifiied before Archilochus, from 

 Demetrius Scepfius, contemporary with Crates, and Arif- 

 tarchus the grammarian, from Euripides, Suidas, the great 

 etymologift, &c.; nay, that Lydia was formerly called Afia '' 

 is exprelsly affirmed by the ancient fchohait of ApoUonius 

 Rhodius. From whence Lydia borrowed the name of 

 Afia is altogether uncertain ; fome deriving it from a city of 

 Lydia, fcated on mount Tmohis ; others from one Afias, 

 king of Lydia, who according to the Lydians, communica- 

 ted his name to the whole continent. But, be that as it 

 may, it is certain that Lydia has a better claim to the name 

 of Afia than any other part of tliat continent. 



Asia, in Modern Geography, falls into the following divi. 

 fions : Taitary, China, India, Pcrfia, Turkey in Afia. 

 Tartary is divided into Chinefe, Independent, and Ruffian ; 

 Chinefe Tartary contiiins the country of the Mandftiu, and 

 that of the Msiigole Tartars ; Independent Tartary contains 

 the dominions of the khan of the Qiloets or Kalmuks, 

 Turkeftan, the country of the Ulbec Tartars, the Daghef. 

 tan, CircafTia, and the tribes inhabiting mount Caucal'us ; 

 Ruffian Tartary contains the governments of Aftiakhan and 

 Kazan, and Siberia. China is divided into the northern 

 provinces of Pcchelj or Pekin, Changfi, Xenfi, Honan. Can- 

 ton, from eaft to weft, and the fouthern provinces of Nar.kin, 

 Chekian, Kiangfi, Fokicn, Huqiiniig, Quanton, Quangfi, 

 Queichcu, Yunnan, Suchuen, from call to weft. India i* 



divided 



