she ascended the river in her elegant barge, with all the pomp and magnificence of eastern splendour; a stratagem of her offended and ambitious beauty, which succeeded too well with the courteous Antony 168. The city of Tarsus 16 Tersoos, the metropolis of the province, was not many miles up the river;. it was of very ancient date, and was said by some to have been founded by Sardanapalus; others ascribed its origin to an Argive colony, who migrated hither under Triptolemus ; and others, again, to Bellerophon and his horse Pegasus, which last losing his hoof here, caused the city to be called Tarsus. Tarsus is called Tarshish in the Bible 160: it is presumed to have derived its name from Tarshish, the son of Javan, and grandson of Japhet, the recollection of whom seems to have been preserved in the especial worship here paid to an idol called Jupiter Tersius. Tarsus was famed at an early period for the expertness of its seamen, who appear to have been the chief merchants in the early ages of the world; and the ships which they built for some of their distant voyages are thought to have been of a larger and stronger make than the vessels ordinarily used in navigation: hence ships of large burden appear to be denoted, in the Scriptures, by the appellation "Ships of Tarshish," and not from their having been built at the city of Tarshish itself. Solomon's navy, which sailed to Ophir once in three years, to fetch gold and other precious commodities, is called a Navy of Tarshish 170; and the ships that were built by Jehoshophat's order, for the same purpose, are termed "Ships of Tarshish."171 Now, both these fleets were for the navigation of the Erythræan Sea, and are therefore thought to have been built on its coasts, perhaps at Eziongeber, where the ships of Jehoshophat, that were to have gone to Ophir, but went not, were broken to pieces. The whole of the Mediterranean Sea seems to have been at one time comprehended under the name of the Sea of Tarshish, though it is very probable that this appellation was at first applied to the sea in the immediate vicinity of Tarsus, or to that part of it which the profane writers distinguish as the Mare Cilicium. Tartessus in Spain, at the mouth of the R. Bætis, is thought, with great probability, to have been a colony from the Asiatic city. Tarsus was made a free colony by the Greeks, an honour which was granted to it by the Romans also; and hence St. Paul, who was a native of the city, styles himself a free-born Roman 172: it was a rich and populous place, and so noted for its excellent Academy, 168 For a description of her ascending the Cydnus, sec Shakesp. Ant. and Cleop. Act II. sc. 2. 100 Ezek. xxvii. 12. 25.-Jonah, i. 3. 1701 Kings, x. 22. 171 1 Kings, xxii. 48.-2 Chron. xx. 36-7. 172 Acts, xxii. 3. 25-8; xxiii. 27. K K that it became the rival of Alexandria and Athens, in literature and the study of the polite arts. It produced a number of great men; amongst others, Antipater, Archidamus, and the Athenodori. During the civil war it espoused the cause of Cæsar so warmly, as to adopt the name of Juliopolis, on which account it was roughly handled by Cassius; but this injury was made up for by the munificence of the Triumviri. Julian the Apostate is stated to have been buried in one of the suburbs of Tarsus. 79. Adana Adana was to the Eastward of Tarsus, and was always at enmity with it; it stood on the right bank of the Sarus, and was built by Pompey, who settled some of the Cilician pirates here. The Pyramus Jyhoon is a river of some magnitude to the East of the Sarus, and towards the borders of Syria; it runs a little to the North of Mt. Taurus, through which it forces its way, and flows with a South Westerly course past Anazarbus into the Mediterranean Sea at Mallos. Anazarbus Anzarba derived its name from the isolated hill on which it stood; it was enlarged and beautified by Augustus during his journey to the East, after which it was called Cæsarea: it was the birth-place of Dioscorides, and of the poet Oppian, and in the later ages was constituted the metropolis of Cilicia Secunda. Lower down the river was Mopsuestia Messis, said to have been so called from being the residence of Mopsus, the diviner, who retired hither from the neighbouring Mallos, which had been founded by him and Amphilochus, shortly after the siege of Troy. The Pyramus is joined in the upper part of its course by the little river Carmalus, on which stood Cocusus Cocson, whither the great St. John Chrysostom, bishop of Constantinople, was banished for opposing the raising of a statue to the empress Eudoxia, wife of Arcadius. A little E. of this was Germanicia Marash, or Banicia, a town of some consequence; the district hereabouts was called Lycanitis, and has communicated the modern name of Lokham to Mt. Amanus. Returning to the coast East of the Pyramus, we find Aga Ayas, a convenient port-town, where Euxenes, the Pythagorean, had his schools; Castabala is now Karabolat. 80. Issus Oseler, the Easternmost town of Cilicia, on the coast of the Mediterranean, was situated at the foot of Mt. Amanus, and on the frontiers of Syria. It was a wealthy and flourishing place, and has been rendered famous by the second battle between Alexander the Great and the Persians under Darius, fought here B. C. 333, in which the latter were defeated with terrible slaughter: in consequence of this victory, Alexander built the neighbouring town of Nicopolis. It was also the scene of another battle, in which the emperor Severus defeated his rival Niger, A. D. 194173. The little river Pinarus 174, which runs through the plain, is now called Deli. Issus gave name to Issicus Sinus B. of Iskenderoon, which extends between Ammodes Pr. in Cilicia, and Rhossicus Scopulus in Syria. 173 Plut. Alex.-Arrian. II. 8.-Diodor. Sic. XVII. 32.-Xenoph. Anab. I. 4.Cic. V. epist. 20. ad Attic.; II. epist. 10.-Mela, I. 13.-Strab. XIV. 402.— Plin. V. 27. 174 Καὶ τῷ μὲν πλεόνων ποταμῶν ἐπιμίσγεται ὕδωρ Dion. Perieg. 868. CHAPTER XX. SYRIA ET CYPRUS. 1. Syria Syria, or Sham as it is called by the natives, was bounded on the W. by the Mediterranean; on the N. by Mt. Amanus, and by Mt. Taurus; on the E. by the R. Euphrates and the Desert of Palmyra; and on the S. by the R. Arnon, the Dead Sea, and the Torrent of Egypt. To the N. it touched upon Asia Minor, to the E. on Mesopotamia, and to the S. on Arabia and Egypt: it contained 55,800 square miles, and was divided into the three great divisions of Syria Superior, or Syria properly so called, Phoenice, and Palæstina or Judæa. Syria is also called Assyria, as forming part of that great empire; and the two names, though sufficiently defined in geography, are often used indiscriminately in history3. 2. The name of Syria, which is supposed to have been derived from Sora, or Tyre, does not appear to have been applied to the country until this city had risen to the preeminence it enjoyed, which was long after the time of Homer, who mentions neither the one nor the other. The old Greeks called the inhabitants of Syria, 1 1 Syria was much commended for a particular kind of pear: hence Virgil says, nec surculus idem Crustumiis, Syriisque pyris, gravibusque volemis. And, Juvenal: Signinum Syriumque pyrum, de corbibus iisdem Georg. II. 88. Sat. XI. 73. It was, likewise, famed for its perfumes and spices; but these were brought hither from Arabia and India, and were not indigenous productions. Hence Horace : Cum quo morantem sæpe diem mero Fregi, coronatus nitentes Malobathro Syrio capillos. Carm. II. vii. 8. The Syrians, from religious motives, abstained from eating fish: And from doves: 2 Ovid. Fast. II. 473. Quid referam, ut volitet crebras intacta per urbes Tibull. I. vii. 17. from the bordering flood Of old Euphrates, to the Brook that parts Milton, Par. Lost, Book I. 420. 3 Οὗτοι δὲ ὑπὸ μὲν ̔Ελλήνων ἐκαλέοντο Σύριοι, ὑπὸ δὲ τῶν βαρβάρων Ασσύριοι ἐκλήθησαν. KK 2 Herod. VII. 63. Armenia, and Mesopotamia, Arimai, or Arimi1; a name which they doubtlessly derived from Aram, one of the sons of Shem, to whose lot these countries first fell (with the exception of Phœnice and Palæstine, which belonged to Canaan); they seem, also, to have extended the appellation to the Leuco-Syri of Asia Minor. Syria, prior to its invasion by the Assyrians, does not appear to have been governed by one king; for, besides the Phoenicians, and the Jews, who were a people distinct from all others, there were also the kingdoms of Damascus, of Hamath, and probably other dynasties in the Northern part of the country. From the hands of the Assyrians and Medes, the whole of Syria fell under the Persian yoke, to which it remained subject until wrested from it by Alexander the Great, after whose death, Seleucus Nicanor, one of his generals, received this province as a part of his lot, in the division of the Macedonian dominions: he raised it B. c. 312 to an empire, which is known in history, as the Kingdom of Syria, or Babylon. The Seleucidæ, or successors of this prince, governed the country for more than 200 years, during which they contested parts of it with the Egyptians, the Parthians, and the Jews; the last of their race was Antiochus Asiaticus, who was dethroned by Pompey, B.C. 65, and from that time Syria became a Roman province. The new conquerors allowed the ancient divisions of the country to remain, and kept possession of it until it was reduced by the Saracens, A. D. 640. 3. The Western half of Syria is intersected with several ranges of hills, running for the most part parallel with the coast, and forming, as it were, a connecting chain between Mt. Taurus in Asia Minor, and Mt. Sinai on the borders of the Red Sea. Amanus M. Lokham, or Alma Daghy, is a spur of the Taurus, which quits the main ridge on the borders of Cilicia, and terminates on the coast of the Mediterranean, a little above the mouth of the Orontes. It forms two great passes leading into Asia Minor, one of which between it and the sea, was called Syriæ Pyle Saggal Doutan, the other, leading into the interior of the country, was known as the Amanidæ Pyle, and has left its name in the neighbouring town of Bylan: they are rendered very interesting from the manœuvres of Alexander and Darius, previous to the fatal battle of Issus. On the opposite, or Southern side of the Orontes, not far from its mouth, rises Mt. Casius Ocral, which was said to be so lofty, that from it, at the fourth watch of the night, the sun might be seen rising, when the surrounding country was enveloped in darkness; this spectacle caused the 4 They are supposed by some to be the people alluded to by Homer: Γαῖα δ ̓ ὑπεστονάχιζε, Διὶ ὡς τερπικεραύνῳ II. B. 783. But the learned are by no means agreed where to place the Arimi here mentioned, See p. 269, Note 180, supra. 5 Cappadoces, duri populus nunc cultor Amani, Lucan. III. 244. Μέσσην καὶ χθαμαλὴν ὀρέων δύο πρῶνες ἔχουσιν, Dion. Pericg.901. mountain to be frequently visited, even by some of the emperors, who presented rich offerings to the temple of Jupiter Casius, which stood on its summit. The continuation of Mt. Casius to the Southward was called Bargylus Anzeyry, and connects itself, towards the source of the Orontes, with the ranges of Libanus and Anti-Libanus, which still maintain their names. These two mountains, so famous for the large and beautiful cedars which they produced, are mentioned in Scripture under the common name of Lebanon'; they are covered with snow during the greater part of the year. Mt. Libanus terminates on the sea-coast, a little to the S. of Sidon, whilst the Anti-Libanus diverges from it, between the sources of the Orontes and Leontes, and skirts the latter river for some distance, forming with Mt. Libanus, a large and beautiful valley called Aulon, or El Bekaa. At the source of the Jordan, AntiLibanus again divides into two ridges, one of which passes to the Southward, through the countries East of the Jordan, till it enters Arabia; the other directs its course West of the Jordan, and joins the mountains of Galilee and Judæa. Carmel, or Carmelus, Carmel, is a spur of the Anti-Libanus on the borders of Judæa and Phoenice, which terminates on the Mediterranean Sea, in Carmelum Pr. C. Carmel; it is celebrated for the miracle wrought there by Elijah, which Ahab, together with the people of Israel, the prophets of Baal, and the prophets of the groves, had been summoned by him to witness. Mt. Carmel was a favourite residence of Pythagoras the philosopher, and was consecrated, according to the heathen writers, to the god Carmelus, whose priest is said to have foretold Vespasian that he would one day rise to the sovereignty of a powerful state". Mt. 4. The three great rivers of Syria are, the Orontes in the North, the Leontes in the centre, and the Jordanes, or Jordan in the South. Of these, the Orontes 10 is much the longest; it rises in the angle formed by the Libanus and Anti-Libanus, and after a Northerly, and then Westerly course of 225 miles, it enters the Mediterranean, opposite the Island of Cyprus. It is a rapid and troubled river, and is said to have been formerly called Typhon, from the giant of that name, who being struck by the thunderbolts of Jupiter, sought refuge under the 7 Psal. civ. 16.-1 Kings, v. 6. Præcipuum montium Libanum erigit, mirum dictu, tantos inter ardores opacum fidumque nivibus. Idem amnem Jordanem alit, funditque. 81 Kings, xviii. 19, et seq. 9 Jamblich. vit. Pythag. c. 3.-Tacit. Hist. II. 78. 10 Jam pridem Syrus in Tiberim defluxit Orontes Et linguam et mores →→ Tacit. Hist. V. 6. Juv. Sat. III. 62. |