198 



ON THE ANCIENT 



known to Ptolemy. From Bactria (Balkh) Kabul Is easily 

 reached. Many roads led from the Hindu Kush to Kabul 

 (Kabura, the Ortospana of the Ancients) though three are only 

 specially known. The road from Kabul to Kandahar passed 

 through Ghazna. At Kandahar (Alexandria Arachosiorum) 

 the high road left the Paropanisos and turned to Herat (Alex- 

 andria Ariorum). Herat and Balkh were connected by a 

 separate road. From Herat the road wound through Khorasan 

 (Margiana) and passing its capital Alexandria, (afterwards 

 called Antiochia) reached Hekatompylon, the most important 

 town of the Parthians, thence through the Caspian gates 

 to Ekbatana in Media and crossing the passes of the Zagros 

 arrived at Holvan. At this place three roads branched off, 

 the southern went to Susa, the south-western to Babylon and 

 thence over Palmyra, (Tadmor,) to Tyros and the northern 

 ended at Sardes. There was also from Kabul and Balkh 

 another passage along the Oxus through Khiva to the Caspian 

 sea, thence after 5 days' overland travel to the mouth of the 

 Phasis, where the Milesian colonies, Phasis and Dioskurias 

 were situated, and finally over the Black-Sea to Sinope. 



From this brief sketch we learn that there existed communi- 

 cation by land as well as by sea between the furthest East of 

 China and the utmost South of India on the one side, the 

 West of Asia, of Africa and of Europe on the other side. 

 Though we are unable to fix the time when the commerce 

 between China and India began, there is no doubt of its 

 antiquity. At first it was in the hands of middlemen. To 

 these belonged the ancient Issedones who delivered the goods 

 of China to the Indian Daradas and to the Turanians in Central 

 Asia. The Aorsi who communicated to the Greek settlers in 

 the Pontus the legends of the one-eyed men and of the gold- 

 watching griffins, acted in a similar manner. In early times 

 Chinese silk was a valuable article, and in the Bible we find 

 allusions to these Chinese traders. Ezekiel (xvi. 13) speaks 

 of raiments of silk in Jerusalem. The name of India itself 



