125 
further north the metals were and are abundant in Cau- 
casus, whence silver used to be obtained, as well as some 
gold. Maden, in the heart of Taurus, is celebrated for 
its mines ; and is said to yield excellent copper, as well as 
some iron, silver, and gold. Copper and iron were known 
to the Masagetae in the time of Herodotus. Xenophon 
mentions the numerous copper utensils among the Cadusii; 
and the Chalybi were early celebrated for their iron and 
steel. The saphire, found in Persia, is probably Lapis 
lazuli, which, as well as the turquoise, we have seen (p. 103), 
is abundant in Persia. The Vasa murrhina, said to have 
been made in Caramania, are considered by Dr. Thomson 
to have been formed of fluor spar. 
Babylon, which, though long anterior to, may be consi- 
dered as a portion of this empire ; it owed its riches chiefly 
to its being an entrepot for this extensive commerce. 
Without any trees but the cypress and the date, of which 
the fruit afforded food and its sap might be fermented 
into wine; the country was fertile only from the attention 
paid to irrigation in this warm climate. Its soil afforded clay 
for bricks, and calcareous concretions, as well as bitumen, for 
mortar. Cotton was cultivated in the island of Tylos, 
probably also in the neighbourhood of the capital ; 
where it was no doubt weaved into cloth, and dyed of a 
variety of colours, constituting, according to some, the 
sindon of the ancients. Silk is likewise thought to have 
been weaved into cloth, and dyed of different colours. 
The Babylonians were likewise celebrated for the manufac- 
ture of scents, carved ornaments, and seal stones. Tylos 
furnished them also with timber and pearls. 
The Phoenicians were indebted for their riches, to their 
commerce, which consisted chiefly of exchanges, and but little 
to the variety or extent of the products of their small terri- 
tory. Manufacturing skill, however, enabled them to produce 
some articles, which were in the highest estimation ; as the 
