Piinies Natural! Hiftorie. 



A fpokeOjWhich doc environ and enclofe all thofe nations. It confineth Eaftward upon the Arij^ 

 and Southward, upon Carmania and the Arians : on the Weft fide it butteth upon thcPratites 

 and Modes: and on the Northjboundeth upon the reahn of Hircania : compafled round about 

 withdeferts and mountaines. The utmoft nations of the Parthians before yee come to thofe de- 

 ferts be called Nomades : and their cheefc townes feated toward the Weft, are Maris and Calli-* 

 opCj-whereof wee have written before : but toward the Northeaft^Europum^ and Southeaft.Ma^ 

 nia Jn the heart and midland ftandeth the citie HecatompyloSjas alfo Arfacia. And there like- 

 wife the noble region of Ny faea in Parthyerum : together wich the famous citie Alexandropolis^ 

 bearing the name ofy^/frvW^r the fir ft founder. . ;.. 



B~ Chap. XXVU 



R Equifitc now it is aiid needful in this place to defcribethe pofiture and fituation ofthc Me-* 

 dians kingdome,and to difcover all thofe countries round about^asfarre as to the Perfians 

 ■ - ' ^ fta, to the end that the defcription of other regions hereafter to bee mentioned^may the 

 better bee underftood. V\'herein this firftand formoft is tobeeobiervcd, that thekingdome oi 

 Media on the one fide confronteth both Perfis and Perfiaj' and eafting forth a crooked and win- 

 ding home as it were toward the Weft^ feemeth to enclofe within that compaffe both the faid 

 reahnes.Nevertheleflej on the Eaft fide it confineth upon the Parthians and Cafpians : on tlie 

 G South,Sittaccne3Sufiane,andPerfis : WeftwardjAdiwibenerandNorthwardjArmenia. As foK 

 the Perfiansjthey alwaies confronted the red fea^wherupon it was called the Perfian gulfe. How- 

 beiCjthe maritime coaft thereof is called Cyropolisjand that part which confineth upon Mzdh^ 

 Elymais. In thisrealme there is a ftrong fort called Megala, in the afcent of a fteepd high hill_, Co 

 dkctl upright, that a man muft mount up to it by fteps and degrees, and otherwife the parage 

 is very ftrcight and narrow . And this way Icadeih to Perfepolis the head citie of the whole king- 

 dome, which Alexander the great caufed to bee raled. Moreover^in the frontiers of this RealmCj 

 ftandeth the citie Laodicea,built by king Amwchu^, From whence as you turn into the E3ft5ths 

 fironp, fortor caftle Paflagarda is featedjwhich the fages or wife men of Perfia called MagijdoG 

 hold,and thcreiii is the tombe of Cjrm.K\{o the citid Ecbarana belonging to thefe fages, which 

 D DArm the king caufed to be tranfiated to the mountaincs.Betweene the Parthians and the Ari- 

 ans lie out in length the Parotacenes. Thefe nations and the river Euphrates fcrve to limit and 

 bound the feven lower realmes E'cforenamsd.Now are we to difcourfc of the parts remaining be- 

 hind of Mcfopotamia, letting afide one point and corner thereofl, as alfo the nations of Ara- 

 bia,whcrof wefpakc in the former L^ooke.This Mefopocamia was in times pail:, belonging whol- 

 ly to the x^ffyrians, difperfed into petic villages and burgades, all fave Babylon and N inus. The 

 Macedonians were thefirft, that after it canic under their hands reduced it into great citties, for 

 the goodncffe and pleniie of their foile and terriioricFor now befides the abovenamed townes^ 

 it hath in ir^Selcucia, Laodicea^and Arcemita : likcwife wichin the quarters of the Arabians na- 

 med Aroei andMardani,Antiochea:and that which being founded by governour of 

 E Mefopotamia^is called Arabis. Vpon thefe joine the Arabians^jbut well within the counney arc 

 the Eldamatij. And above them is the citric Bura, fituate upon the riverPelloconta: beyond 

 which are the Salmanes and MafcanSjArabians.Then there joine to the Gordi^ans thofe who 

 are called Aloni,by whom the river Zerbis paireih,^: fo difcharged into Tigris.Neere unto them 

 are the Azones & Siliccs,mountainers, together with the Orentians : upon whom confronteth 

 the citie Gaugamela on the Weft fidcMoreover, there is Sue among the rocks: above which ate 

 the Sylici & Claffitajjthrough whom Lycus the river runneth out ol Armenia. Alfojtoward the 

 Southeaft, Abfitris,and the town Azochis. Anon you come down into the plains & champion 

 cDuntrey, where you meet with thefe townSjDiofpage3Polytelia,Stratonicca,and Anthcmus. As 

 for the citie Nicephorium, as we have once alreadie faid,it is leated neere to the river Euphrates^ 

 E v^hQiQAlex4nder the great caufed it to bee founded, for the pleafant fi;ac of the place, and the 

 commoditie of the countrey there adjoining.Of the citie Apamia we have before fpoken in the 

 defcription of Zeugma :from which, they that goe Eaftward meet with a ftrong fortified towne^ 

 in old time carying a pourpriie and compaffe of ^5 fi:adia,called the roiall pallace of their great 

 dukes and potentates^ nam edSairapae^ unto which from ajl quarters men refortcd to pay theit 



N ij impofts. 



