Chap. 16.] ACCOUNT OF COUNTRIES, ETC. 
27 
as it was really intended for those which lead through 
Iberia into the territory of the Sarmatae ; there being hardly 
any possibility of approach to the Caspian Sea, by reason of the 
close juxtaposition of the mountains there. There are, how- 
ever, other Caspian Gates, which join up to the Caspian tribes : 
but these can only be distinguished from a perusal of the narra- 
tive of those who took part in the expedition of Alexander the 
Great. 
CHAP. 16. — ADIABENE. 
The kingdom of the Persians, by which we now understand 
that of Parthia, is elevated upon the Caucasian chain between 
two seas, the Persian and the Hyrcanian. To the Greater 
Armenia, which in the front slopes towards Commagene, is 
joined Sophene, which lies upon the descent^^ on both sides 
thereof, and next to it is Adiabene, the most advanced frontier 
of Ass}a-ia ; a part of which is Arbelitis,^^ where Alexander con- 
quered Darius, and which joins up to Syria. The whole of this 
country was called Mygdonia by the Macedonians, on account of 
the resemblance it bore to Mygdonia^^ in Europe. Its cities are 
Alexandria, and Antiochia, also called Msibis this last 
place is distant from Artaxata seven hundred and fifty miles. 
There was also in former times JSTinus,'*^ a most renowned city, 
on the banks of the Tigris, with an aspect towards the west. 
Adjoining the other front of Greater Armenia, which runs 
down towards the Caspian Sea, we find Atropatene,'*^ which 
35 See c. 10. 
36 He alludes to the town of Arbela, where, as it is generally said, the 
army of Darius was defeated by Alexander the Great ; by which engage- 
ment the conflict was terminated. It was the fact, however, that Darius 
left his baggage and treasures at Arbela, while the battle really took place 
near the village of Gaugamela, about twenty miles to the north-west of 
Arbela. This place still retains its name of Arbil. 
37 A district in the east of Macedonia, bordering on the Thermaiij gulf 
and the Chalcidic peninsula. 
38 Nothing is known of this place. Hardouin suggests that it may have 
been built on the spot where Alexander defeated Darius. 
39 Also known as Antiochia Mygdoniae, the capital of Mygdonia. Its 
ruins are still to be seen near a place called Nisibin. It stood on the river 
Mygdonius, now the Nahral Huali. 
*o Or Nineveh, the capital of the great Assyrian monarchy, destroyed 
by the Medes and Babylonians about b.c. 606. 
*i There is great difficulty in ascertaining, from the accounts given by 
the ancient writers, the exact limits of this district, but it is supposed to 
