ancient history of mskett. 
107 
square tower, which 1 have mentioned a little above, as guarding 
the pass to the river, bears marks of the same military archi¬ 
tects ; and the fragments of an old wall, which has evidently 
run along the whole face of the northern bank of the Kur, 
resemble, in every part, the admirable workmanship, in that way, 
of the Roman soldier. This wall ceases at a ruined stone 
bridge which crosses the Kur, and is protected by two high 
quadrangular towers that stand on each bank of the river. On 
the other side of the bridge the wall re-commences, with addi¬ 
tional marks of fortification wherever points appear vulnerable, 
and takes its course all the way up, till it joins the great northern 
castle, on the bold projecting rock I have described before. 
Plutarch’s account of Roman transactions, in this part of the 
world, corroborates my view of the subject; and it is to such, 
evidence alone that we can refer as guides through the vestiges 
of past ages, scattered over these, now, half-barbarian wastes. 
He mentions, that after the subjugation of Tigranes, King of 
Armenia, Pompey, eager to follow his fortune, left Afranius 
with an adequate force, in charge of the conquered country, 
and set forth himself in pursuit of Mithridates. His line of 
march lay, of necessity, through the countries bordering on the 
Caucasus. The Albanians, at first, granted him a free passage ; 
and calculating on the performance of their promise, he pro¬ 
ceeded confidently towards their frontier. Rut he had scarcely 
cleared the mountain defiles which lead to the western shore of 
the Kur, when these hardy people, either repenting their 
acquiescence, or having granted it merely to throw the Roman 
general off his guard, appeared suddenly on the opposite bank 
of the river, advancing towards him with every show of deter¬ 
mined hostility. It was then the month of December, and the 
p 2 
