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in the Mcditeranean fea, viz.. the " Bofplinni? of Thwce," 

 commonly called the " Streights of C.'oiillaiitiiiopU'," or 

 " Channel of the Black Sea ;" and the " Cimmiiian, or 

 Scythian Bofphorus," fo called, it feems, from its refem- 

 biance to the Thracian : now more commonly the " .Streights 

 of C;ifFa," which unites the fea of Azof with the liuxine 

 or Black Sea. 



The origin of the name is better agreed on than the 

 reafon why it was tirll given to the Tlirucian Bofphorns. 

 Nvniphius tells us, on the anthority of Acearion, that the 

 Phrygians, deliring to pais the Thracian llreight, bnilt a 

 vefTel, on whofe prow was the figure of a bnllock, and which 

 was hence called ph;, bullock ; and which ferved them for a 

 ferry-boat. — Diontfuis, Val. Flaccus, Calliir.achns, ApoUo- 

 dorus, Marcellinns, &c. fay, that lo, being transformed into 

 a cow by Juno, paffed this Ih-eight fwimming, which hence 

 was called Bolphoius. — Arnan tells us, tliat the Phrygians 

 were enjoined by the oracle, to follow the route which a 

 bullock fhould mark out to them ; and that upon llirring 

 one up, it jumped into the fea to avoid their purfnit, and 

 fwam over this llreight. Others fay, that an ox, tormented 

 by a gad-fly, threw itfelf in and Iwam over ; and others, 

 that anciently the inhabitants of thefe coalls, when they 

 would pafs over, joined little boats together, and had them 

 drawn over by bullocks, &c. 



Some late writers rather fiippofe Bofphnrus to have been 

 fo called, bccaufe here was anciently the beall-market. 

 Tournef. Voyag. torn. ii. let. 12. and 14. 



The " Thracian Bofphorus," called alfo the " Myfian 

 Bofphorus," becaufe the Myfians inhabited the country op- 

 pofite to Thrace, connefttd the Euxine with the Propontis, 

 or prefent fea of Marmora, and formed a winding channel, 

 feparating Europe from Afia, through which the waters of 

 the Euxine flow, with a rapid and inceffant courfe, towards 

 the Mediterranean. This Ibeight has been very minutely 

 defcribed by Dionyfius of Byzantium, who lived in the time 

 ofDomitian, (See Hudfou's Geograp. Minor, torn, iii.) and 

 by GiUes or Gyllius, a Fiencli traveller of the i6t!i century. 

 On the lleep and woody banks of this channel the ancients 

 profufely fcattered a crowd of temples and votive altars, at- 

 telling the unfliilfnlnefs, th.e terrors and the devotion of the 

 Greek navigators, who, after the e.\ample of the Argonauts, 

 explored the dangers of the inlxjfpitable Euxine. On thefe 

 banks tradition long preferved tlie memory of the palace of 

 Phineus, infcfted by the obfcene harpies, which Le Clerc con- 

 jeftures to have been only loculls : and of the Sylvan reign of 

 Amycus, who defied the fon of Leda to the combat of tlie 

 Ceftus. The relidence of Amycus was in Afia, between the 

 old and the new rallies, at a place called I^aurus Inlana; and 

 that of Phineus was in Europe, near the village of Mauromole 

 and the Black Sea. The llreights of the Bofphorus are termi- 

 nated by thcCyanean rocks, which, as thepoetsdefcribethem, 

 had once floated on the face of the waters ; and were delUned 

 by the gods to protect the entrance of the Euxine againll 

 the eye of profane curlofity. At prefent there are two 

 fmall iflands, one towards either fhore ; that of Europe 

 being diftinguilhed by the column of Pompey. From the 

 Cyancan rocks, to the point and harbour of Byzantium, 

 the winding length of the Bofphorus extends about 16 

 miles, and its molt ordinary breadth may be computed at 

 about 1 1 mile. Accordinjj to the Itatement of Olivier, 

 ^Travels in the Ottoman Empire, p. 77.) it is ne:uly 7 

 leagues long, and about 20 miles from the point of the Se- 

 raglio of Conllantinople to the Cyanean iflands. In its greateft 

 breadth it is not two miles ; and in fevcral places it is fo 

 narrow, that fome ancient authors fay, that a perfon may 

 hear the birds flng from one fhore to the otlier, and that 



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two perfons may hold a convcrfation acrofs the channel. 

 Herudotns, Polybius, and Arriaii tftimated its length from 

 the temple of Jupiter to the city of Byzantinni at 120 

 iladia, or 15 Roman miles, i. e. 11 miles 5 furlongs and 

 'y'>.?36 yards in Englilh meafure. Its breadth was various. 

 At its entrance they reckoned it 4 Iladia, or 805 yards ; 

 and at the other extremity 14 Iladia, or 2^1 j yards. But 

 the ancients, as well as the inodcrnu, iliffer very much about 

 thcie meafiires. In certain places its waters formed large 

 bafons and deep bays. The new calihs of Europe and 

 Afia are conllrnrted, on either contineni, upon the founda- 

 tions of two celebrated temples of Serapis and of Jupiter 

 IFrius. The old callles, erected by the Greek en.perors, 

 command the narrowell part of the channel, in a place where 

 the oppofite banks advance within 500 pacts of each olher. 

 Mahomet II., when he meditated the liege of Couilanlinople, 

 rellored and llrtngthcned tlufe fortrelles ; but he was not ap- 

 prized, that near 2000 years before his reign, Darius had 

 cholen the fame fituation to connedt the two continents, 

 by a bridge ot boats, and thus to tranfport ;oo thoufand 

 men againll the Scythians. At thin place the crnfaders alfii 

 entered Afia, when they profecuted the feheme of refcuing 

 the holy land from the yoke of the Mahometans. At a 

 fmall dillancc from the old caftcs, we difcnvcr the little 

 town of Chryfopolis or Scutari ; and as the Bofphorus be- 

 gins to open into the Propontis, it paiTes between Byzantium 

 and Chalcedon. 



The harbour of Conllantinople may be confidered as an 

 arm of the Bofphoru';, and in a very remote period obtained 

 the denomination of the " Golden Horri," from the 

 rcftmblance which the curve it dcfcribes bears to the horn 

 of a ilag, or rather of an ox, with the epithet golden, ex- 

 prcffing the riches which every wind wafted from the moll 

 dillant countries into the fecurc and capacious port of Con- 

 ftantinople ; which fee. From the mouth of the Lycus, 

 formed by the conflux of two fmall ftreams, and fupplying 

 the harbour with frefli water, by which the bottom of the 

 harbour is clcanfed, and flioals of fifh are invited to make it 

 their retreat, to that ot the harbour, this arm of the Bof- 

 phorns is more than feven miles in length : the entrance is 

 about 500 yards broad, and a llrong chain might be occa- 

 fionally drawn acrofs it, to guard the port and city from the 

 attack of an hoftile navy. The navigation from the ilTue 

 of the Bofphorus to the entrance of the HcUcfpont is 

 about izomilts. See Hellespont, and PaoroNi is. 



The " Cimmerian Bofphorus," now called the llrtights of 

 Cafta, derived its name horn the " Cimmerians," a people 

 who inhabited the adjacent country ; feparatcd between 

 Cherfonefus Taurica, belonging to Europe, and the territo- 

 ries of Afia ; and joined the Euxine fea, with the Palua 

 Mxotis. Its breadth is ibout 4 leagues. See Sea of 

 Azof. 



BosPHORUs, or Cimmerian Bofphorus, the name of an 

 ancient kingdom, comprehending all the provinces that 

 were fubject to the Bolphoran princes, and bounded on the 

 eall by Colchis, on the well by the gulf Carc.nites, on the 

 fouth by the Eu.-clne lea, and on the north by the Tanais, 

 where that river falls into the Palus Msotis ; fo that it 

 compiifed the Cherlonefus Taurica in Europe, and in Afia the 

 whole traft which lies between the Palus MsEotis and the 

 Euxine fea. Diodorus Siculus (1. xii.) confines the kingdom 

 of Bofphorus within the Bofphorus Cimmerius, the boundary 

 of Europe and Afia on that fide ; but Strabo (1. vii. ) extends 

 it to the gulf Carcinites, which, with the Palus M^otis, forms 

 the illhmus of the Cherfonefus. The chief cities of the Afiatic 

 Bofphorus were Phanagoria, the metropolis of Bofphorus in 

 Aha, according to Strabo,. Cepi, HermonalFa, Stratoclea, 



Cim-> 



