Page:The geography of Strabo (1854) Volume 2.djvu/269

B. xi. c. xii. 5. MOUNT TAURUS. 26 1 ous to Asia. The following are the names of the mountains towards the north. The southern mountains on the other side of the Euphrates, extending towards the east from Cappadocia and Commagene, 1 at their commencement have the name of Taurus, which separates Sophene and the rest of Armenia from Mesopota- mia, but some writers call them the Gordyaean mountains. 2 Among these is Mount Masius, 3 which is situated above Nisi- bis, 4 and Tigranocerta. 5 It then becomes more elevated, and is called Niphates. 6 Somewhere in this part on the southern side of the mountainous chain are the sources of the Tigris. Then the ridge of mountains continuing to extend from the Niphates forms the mountain Zagrius, which separates Media and Babylonia. After the Zagrius follows above Babylonia the mountainous range of the Elymsei and Parastaceni, and above Media that of the Cossaei. In the middle of these branches are situated Media and Armenia, which comprise many mountains, and many moun- tain plains, as well as plains and large valleys. Numerous small tribes live around among the mountains, who are for the most part robbers. We thus place within the Taurus Armenia and Media, to which belong the Caspian Gates. 5. In our opinion these nations may be considered as situ- ated to the north, since they are within the Taurus. But Eratosthenes, having divided Asia into southern and northern portions, and what he calls seals, (or sections,) 7 designating some as northern, others as southern, makes the Caspian Gates the boundary of both climates. He might without any impropriety have represented the more southern parts of the Caspian Gates as in southern Asia, among which are Media and Armenia, and the parts more to the north than the Cas- pian Gates in northern Asia, which might be the case accord- ing to different descriptions of the country. But perhaps Eratosthenes did not attend to the circumstance, that there 1 Camasch. The country situated N. W. of the Euphrates in about 38 lat. 2 The range of Kurdistan on the E. of the Tigris. 3 The range lying between the Euphrates and the Tigris, between 37 and 38 lat. * Nisibin or Netzid. 5 Meja-Farkin, by " above" these cities, would appear to mean over- hanging them both, as it is situated between them. 6 Nepat-Learn. 7 B. ii. c. i. 22.