136 
PARTHIAN EMPIRE. 
mountain fastnesses of old; than to suppose that a phalanx of 
armed tribes would be allowed to march quietly from the heights 
of Courdistan, across the most populous valleys of Media, to 
plant a hostile government in one of the royal strong-holds on 
the other side of the kingdom. Besides, Hyrcania, which lay 
north of Elburz, has been mentioned by early authors in a con¬ 
joined way with Parthia, as if the districts were naturally united. 
Hence, we find on almost all maps of that part of the world, that 
Parthia Proper is now set down on the eastern border of Hyr¬ 
cania, (modern Mazanderan,) stretching considerably on both 
sides of the range of Elburz, which here runs out towards Kho- 
rasan. But whether Arsaces were originally of Courdistan, or 
of Khorasan, does not appear to signify at all, in the explanation 
why his whole race were treated with such abhorrence by the 
native historians, that were it not for the writers of the west, we 
should know nothing of the great names of Phrahates, Orodes, 
and Mithridates, which afford subjects for so many brilliant 
passages in the Roman accounts of the Parthian empire. But 
there is yet a probability of forming some satisfactory list of the 
regular succession of this dynasty, by amassing a large collection 
of these Arsacidasan coins, which might be done on the spot by 
some assiduous antiquary ; and, when got together, collated and 
arranged, possibly from the first Arsaces, who raised the standard 
of revolt against the Greeks, to Arduan, who lost the sceptre, to 
the founder of the Sassanian line. 
September 18th. My little party having again become con¬ 
valescent, I took leave of my friends of the synagogue, and the 
mesched, and bade adieu to the ancient capital of the Medes, 
this morning at a very early hour. Our road lay along the foot 
of Elwund, in a direction due north; the plain, on this side of 
