Page:The geography of Strabo (1854) Volume 2.djvu/279

B. xi. c. xiv. 911. ARMENIA. 271 At the extremity of the lake the river falls into a deep cavity in the earth. After pursuing a long course under-ground, it re-appears in the Chalonitis ; thence it goes to Opis, and to the wall of Semiramis, as it is called, leaving the Gordyasi l and the whole of Mesopotamia on the right hand. The Eu- phrates, on the contrary, has the same country on the left. Having approached one another, and formed Mesopotamia, one traverses Seleucia in its course to the Persian Gulf, the other Babylon, as I have said in replying to Eratosthenes and Hipparchus. 9. There are mines of gold in the Hyspiratis, 2 near Ca- balla. Alexander sent Menon to the mines with a body of soldiers, but he was strangled 3 by the inhabitants of the coun- try. There are other mines, and also a mine of Sandyx as it is called, to which is given the name of Armenian colour, it resembles the Calche. 4 This country is so well adapted, being nothing inferior in this respect to Media, for breeding horses, that the race of Nesaean horses, which the kings of Persia used, is found here also ; the satrap of Armenia used to send annually to the king of Persia 20,000 foals at the time of the festival of the Mi- thracina. Artavasdes, when he accompanied Antony in his invasion of Media, exhibited, besides other bodies of cavalry, 6000 horse covered with complete armour drawn up in array. Not only do the Medes and Armenians, but the Albanians also, admire this kind of cavalry, for the latter use horses covered with armour. 10. Of the riches and power of this country, this is no slight proof, that when Pompey imposed upon Tigranes, the father of Artavasdes, the payment of 6000 talents of silver, he immediately distributed the money among the Roman army, to each soldier 50 drachmas, 1000 to a centurion, and a talent to a Hipparch and a Chiliarch. 11. Theophanes represents this as the size of the country ; its breadth to be 100 schoeni, and its length double this num- ber, reckoning the schoenus at 40 stadia ; but this comput- ation exceeds the truth. It is nearer the truth to take the 1 The Kurds. 2 Groskurd proposes Syspiritis. 3 cnri}yxQr}. Meineke. 4 It is doubtful whether this colour was red, blue, or purple.