Chaps. 5-13.

Chap. 5. (5.)—The Region of Colica, the Nations of the Achæi, and Other Nations in the Same Parts.

Below this lies the region of Pontus known as Colica, [Inhabited anciently by the Coli, and constituting the northern portion of ancient Colchis.] in which the mountain chain of Caucasus bends away towards the Riphæan mountains, as we have previously [In B. v. c. 27.] mentioned; one side running down towards the Euxine and the Lake Mæotis, the other towards the Caspian and the Hyrcanian sea. The remaining portion of these shores is peopled by savage nations, the Melanchlæni, [Or nation “with the black cloaks,” from some peculiarity in their dress.] and the Coraxi, who formerly dwelt in Dioscurias, [This was the great trading-place of the wild tribes in the interior; and so numerous were they, that the Greeks asserted that there were seventy different languages spoken in the market of Dioscurias.] near the river Anthemus, now deserted, but once a famous city; so much so, indeed, that we learn from Timosthenes, that three hundred nations, all of different languages, were in the habit of resorting to it, and in later times we had there one hundred and thirty interpreters for the purpose of transacting business. There are some authors who are of opinion that this place was built by Amphitus and Telchius, the charioteers [Whence the appellation Heniochi, from the Greek ἡνιοχὸς.] of Castor and Pollux, from whom it is generally understood that the nation of the Heniochi sprang. After passing Dioscurias we come to the town of Heracleium, [There were two places called Heracleium on this coast, one north and the other south of the river Achæus: probably the latter is here meant.] seventy miles distant from Sebastopolis, and then the Achæi, [Said to have been descended from the Achæans or Greeks who accompanied Jason in the Argonautic Expedition, or, according to Ammianus, who resorted thither after the conclusion of the Trojan war.] the Mardi, [Probably meaning the “martial people,” or the “people of Mars.” This was the title, not of a single nation, but of a number of peoples distinguished for their predatory habits.] and the Cercetæ, [This people occupied the N.E. shore of the Euxine, between the Cimmerian Bosporus and the frontier of Colchis. Their name is still in existence, and is applied to the whole western district of the Caucasus, in the forms of Tcherkas, as applied to the people, and Tcherkeskaia or Circassia, to the country.] and, behind them, the Cerri and the Cephalotomi. [Hardouin suggests that these ought to be read as forming one name, the “Cerri Cephalatomi,” and suggests that they were so called from their habit of cutting off the heads of their slain enemies.] In the innermost part [Meaning, nearly in the extreme corner of Pontus.] of this district there was Pityus, [In the time of Strabo this was a considerable sea-port, and after its destruction by the Heniochi, it was restored, and served as an important frontier fortress of the Roman empire against the Scythians.] a city of very considerable opulence, but destroyed by the Heniochi: behind it are the Epageritæ, a people of Sarmatian origin, dwelling upon the range of the Caucasus, and beyond them, the Sauromatæ. It was with these people that Mithridates [This was Mithridates, king of Bosporus, which sovereignty he obtained by the favour of the emperor Claudius, in A.D. 41. The circumstances are unknown which led to his subsequent expulsion by the Romans, who placed his younger brother Cotys on the throne in his stead.] took refuge in the reign of the Emperor Claudius: and from him we learn that the Thalli [Hardouin thinks that the Thalli inhabited the present country of Astrakan.] join up to them, a people who border on the eastern side upon the mouth [It was the ancient opinion, to which we shall find frequent reference made in the present Book, that the northern portion of the Caspian communicated with the Scythian or Septentrional ocean.] of the Caspian sea: he tells us also that at the reflux the channel is dry there. Upon the coast of the Euxine, near the country of the Cercetæ, is the river Icarusa, [Mentioned only by Pliny. It is supposed to answer to the present Ukrash river; and the town and river of Hierus are probably identical with the Hieros Portus of Arrian, which has been identified with the modern Sunjuk-Kala.] with the town and river of Hierus, distant from Heracleium one hundred and thirty-six miles. Next to this, is the promontory of Cruni, after passing which, we find the Toretæ upon a lofty ridge of mountains. The city of Sindos [Inhabited by the Sindi, a people of Asiatic Sarmatia. They probably dwelt in and about the modern peninsula of Taman, between the Sea of Azof and the Black Sea, to the south of the river Hypanis, the modern Kouban. The site of their capital, Sindos, or Sinda, is supposed to have been the modern Anapa. Parisot conjectures that this place was one of the ancient settlements of the Zigeunes, the modern Bohemians or Gypsies. He seems to found his opinion upon some observations of Malte Brun (Précis de Geographie, vol. vi.) upon the origin of the Gypsy race, which will amply repay the perusal.] is distant from Hierus sixty-seven miles and a half; after passing which, we come to the river Setheries. (6.) From thence to the entrance of the Cimmerian Bosporus the distance is eighty-eight miles and a half.

Chap. 6.—The Cimmerian Bosporus.

The length of the peninsula [The peninsula on which Taman or Timoutarakan is situate.] which projects between the Euxine and Lake Mæotis, is not more than sixty-seven miles and a half, and the width across never less than two jugera: [The jugerum was 100 Grecian or 104 Roman feet in length.] it has the name of Eion. [Signifying in Greek the “sea-shore.”] The shores of the Bosporus then take a curve both on the side of Europe and of Asia, thus forming the Mæotis. The towns at the entrance of the Bosporus are, first Hermonassa, [Lying between Singa and Phanagoria. Rennell fixes it at the opening of the lake into which the Kouban flows.] next Cepi, [Or the “gardens,” from the Greek κῆποι. A town of the Cimmerian Bosporus, founded by the Milesians. Dr. Clarke identifies the modern Sienna with it, and the curious Milesian sculptures found there confirm the supposition.] founded by the Milesians, and then Stratoclia and Phanagoria, [Its ruins are supposed to be those near Taman, on the eastern side of the Straits of Kaffa. It was the great emporium for all the traffic between the coasts of the Palus Mæotis and the countries on the south of the Caucasus, and was chosen by the kings of Bosporus as their capital in Asia.] and the almost deserted town of Apaturos, [A town of the Sindæ; it possessed, like Phanagoria, a celebrated temple of Aphrodite Apaturos, or Venus “the Deceiver,” whence probably its name.] and, at the extremity of the mouth, Cimmerium, [Clarke identifies it with the modern Temruk, but Forbiger with Eskikrimm.] which was formerly called Cerberion. (7.) We then come to Lake Mæotis, which has been already mentioned [See B. iv. c. 24.] in the description of Europe.

Chap. 7.—Lake Mæotis and the Adjoining Nations.

After passing Cimmerium, the coast [That lying on the east of the Sea of Azof. It seems impossible to identify the spot inhabited by each of these savage tribes. Hardouin says that the modern name of that inhabited by the Mæotici is Coumania.] is inhabited by the Mæotici, the Vali, the Serbi, [Parisot suggests that this tribe afterwards emigrated to the west, and after establishing themselves in Macedonia, finally gave its name to modern Servia. He remarks, that most of these names appear to have been greatly mutilated, through the ignorance or carelessness of the transcribers, no two of the manuscripts agreeing as to the mode in which they should be spelt.] the Arrechi, the Zingi, and the Psessi. We then come to the river Tanais, [Or Don. It flows into the Sea of Azof by two larger mouths and several smaller ones. Strabo says that the distance between the two larger mouths is sixty stadia.] which discharges itself into the sea by two mouths, and the banks of which are inhabited by the Sarmatæ, the descendants of the Medi, it is said, a people divided into numerous tribes. The first of these are the Sauromatæ Gynæcocratumeni, [From the Greek γυναικοκρατουμενοὶ, “ruled over by women.” It is not improbable that this name was given by some geographer to these Sarmatian tribes on finding them, at the period of his visit, in subjection to the rule of a queen. Parisot remarks, that this passage affords an instance of the little care bestowed by Pliny upon procuring the best and most correct information, for that the Roman writers had long repudiated the use of the term “Sauromatæ.” He also takes Pliny to task for his allusion to these tribes as coupling with the Amazons, the existence of such a people being in his time generally disbelieved.] the husbands of the Amazons. Next to them are the Ævazæ, [Hardouin suggests from εὐάζω, “to celebrate the orgies of Bacchus.”] the Coitæ, [Perhaps from κοίτη, a “den” or “cavern,” their habitation.] the Cicimeni, the Messeniani, the Costobocci, the Choatræ, the Zigæ, [Parisot suggests that they may have been a Caucasian or Circassian tribe, because in the Circassian language the word zig has the meaning of “man.” He also suggests that they were probably a distinct race from the Zingi previously mentioned, whom he identifies with the ancestors of the Zingari or Bohemians, the modern Gypsies.] the Dandarii, the Thyssagetæ, and the Iyrcæ, [The more common reading is “Turcæ,” a tribe also mentioned by Mela, and which gave name to modern Turkistan.] as far as certain rugged deserts and densely wooded vallies, beyond which again are the Arimphæi, [The Argippæi of Herodotus and other ancient authors. These people were bald, flat-nosed, and long-chinned. They are again mentioned by Pliny in C. 14, who calls them a race not unlike the Hyperborei, and then, like Mela, abridges the description given by Herodotus. By different writers these people have been identified with the Chinese, the Brahmins or Lamas, and the Calmucks. The last is thought to be the most probable opinion, or else that the description of Herodotus, borrowed by other writers, may be applied to the Mongols in general. The mountains, at the foot of which they have been placed, are identified with either the Ural, the western extremity of the Altaï chain, or the eastern part of the Altaï.] who extend as far as the Riphæan Mountains. [Generally regarded as the western branch of the Ural Mountains.] The Scythians call the river Tanais by the name of Silis, and the Mæotis the Temarunda, meaning the “mother of the sea.” There is [The former editions mostly have “there was,” implying that in the time of Pliny it no longer existed. The name of this place was Tanais; its ruins are still to be seen in the vicinity of Kassatchei. It was founded by a colony from Miletus, and became a flourishing seat of trade. The modern town of Azof is supposed to occupy nearly its site.] a city also at the mouth of the Tanais. The neighbouring country was inhabited first by the Carians, then by the Clazomenii and Mæones, and after them by the Panticapenses. [The people of Panticapæum, on the opposite side of the Palus Mæotis, occupying the site of the present Kertch. It was founded by the Milesians B.C. 541, and took its name from the neighbouring river Panticapes.]

There are some writers who state that there are the following nations dwelling around the Mæotis, as far as the Ceraunian mountains; [The Ceraunian mountains were a range belonging to the Caucasian chain, and situate at its eastern extremity; the relation of this range to the chain has been variously stated by the different writers.] at a short distance from the shore, the Napitæ, and beyond them, the Essedones, who join up to the Colchians, and dwell upon the summits of the mountains: after these again, the Camacæ, the Orani, the Autacæ, the Mazacasi, the Cantiocæ, the Agamathæ, the Pici, the Rimosoli, the Acascomarci, and, upon the ridges of the Caucasus, the Itacalæ, the Imadochi, the Rami, the Anclacæ, the Tydii, the Carastasei, and the Anthiandæ. The river Lagoüs runs from the Cathæan [He may possibly allude to a range of mountains in the Punjaub and the vicinity of the modern Lahore, by his reference to the Cathæi, who are supposed to have been the ancient inhabitants of that district. The localities of the various races here mentioned are involved in great obscurity.] mountains, and into it flows the Opharus. Upon it are the tribes of the Cauthadæ, and the Opharitæ. Next to these are the rivers Menotharus and Imityes, which flow from the Cissian mountains, among the peoples called the Acdei, the Carnæ, the Oscardei, the Accisi, the Gabri, the Gogari, and, around the source of the Imityes, the Imityi, and the Apatræi. Some writers say that the Auchetæ, the Athernei, and the Asampatæ, Scythian tribes, have made inroads upon this territory, and have destroyed the Tanaitæ and the Inapæi to a man. Others again represent the Ocharius as running through the Cantici and the Sapæi, and the Tanais as passing through the territories of the Sarcharcei, the Herticei, the Spondolici, the Synhietæ, the Anasi, the Issi, the Catetæ, the Tagoræ, the Caroni, the Neripi, the Agandei, the Mandarei, the Satarchei, and the Spalei.

Chap. 8. (8.)—The Situation of Cappadocia.

We have now gone over the coast which borders upon the Inner [Or Mediterranean.] Sea, and have enumerated the various nations that dwell thereon; let us now turn to those vast tracts of land which lie further in the interior. I do not deny that in my description I shall differ very materially from the ancient writers, but still it is one that has been compiled with the most anxious research, from a full examination into the events which have transpired of late in these countries under the command of Domitius Corbulo, [See Vol. i. p. 497.] and from information received either from kings who have been sent thence to Rome, as suppliants for our mercy, or else the sons of kings who have visited us in the character of hostages.

We will begin then with the nation of the Cappadocians.

Of all the countries of Pontus, this [He includes under the term “Cappadocia,” the northern part originally called “Cappadocia ad Pontum,” and in later times simply Pontus, and the southern part, originally called “Cappadocia ad Taurum,” and more recently simply Cappadocia.] extends the greatest distance into the interior. [Running from the shores of the Euxine to the borders of Syria.] On the left [I. e. on the eastern side.] it leaves behind the Lesser and the Greater Armenia, as well as Commagene, and on the right all the nations of the province of Asia which we have previously described. Spreading over numerous peoples, it rises rapidly in elevation in an easterly direction towards the range of Taurus. Then passing Lycaonia, Pisidia, and Cilicia, it advances above the district of Antiochia, the portion of it known as Cataonia extending as far as Cyrrhestica, which forms part of that district. The length of Asia [Meaning that part of Asia which we now call Asia Minor.] here is twelve hundred and fifty miles, its breadth six hundred and forty. [This ill agrees with what he has said in c. 2, that the distance across from Sinope to the Gulf of Issus is but 200 miles.]

Chap. 9. (9.)—The Lesser and the Greater Armenia.

Greater Armenia, [Greater Armenia, now known as Erzeroum, Kars, Van, and Erivan, was bounded on the north-east and north by the river Cyrus, or Kur of the present day; on the north-west and west by the Moschian mountains, the prolongation of the chain of the Anti-Taurus, and the Euphrates, or Frat of the present day; and on the south and south-east by the mountains called Masius, Niphates, and Gordiæi (the prolongation of the Taurus), and the lower course of the Araxes. On the east the country comes to a point at the confluence of the Syrus and Araxes.] beginning at the mountains known as the Paryadres, [Now known as the Kara-bel-Dagh, or Kut-Tagh, a mountain chain running south-west and north-east from the east of Asia Minor into the centre of Armenia, and forming the chief connecting link between the Taurus and the mountains of Armenia.] is separated, as we have already stated, [In B. v. c. 20.] from Cappadocia by the river Euphrates, and, where that river turns off [He means, where the river Euphrates runs the farthest to the west.] in its course, from Mesopotamia, by the no less famous river Tigris. Both of these rivers take their rise in Armenia, which also forms the commencement of Mesopotamia, a tract of country which lies between these streams; the intervening space between them being occupied by the Arabian Orei. [Littré suggests that the reading should be “Aroei.”] It thus extends its frontier as far as Adiabene, at which point it is stopped short by a chain of mountains which takes a cross direction; whereupon the province extends in width to the left, crossing the course of the Araxes, [The modern Eraskh or Aras.] as far as the river Cyrus; [The modern Kur.] while in length it reaches as far as the Lesser Armenia, [This district was bounded on the east by the Euphrates, on the north and north-west by the mountains Scodises, Paryadres, and Anti-Taurus, and on the south by the Taurus.] from which it is separated by the river Absarus, which flows into the Euxine, and by the mountains known as the Paryadres, in which the Absarus takes its rise.

Chap. 10.—The Rivers Cyrus and Araxes.

The river Cyrus [This river is said by Ammianus to have taken its name from Cyrus. It appears, however, to have been a not uncommon name of the rivers of Persia.] takes its rise in the mountains of the Heniochi, by some writers called the Coraxici; the Araxes rises in the same mountains as the river Euphrates, at a distance from it of six miles only; [It is probable that these rivers take their rise near each other, but it is not improbable that the intervening distance mentioned in the present passage is much too small.] and after being increased by the waters of the Usis, falls itself, as many authors have supposed, into the Cyrus, by which it is carried into the Caspian Sea.

The more famous towns in Lesser Armenia are Cæsarea, [Hardouin thinks that this is Neo-Cæsarea, mentioned as having been built on the banks of the Euphrates.] Aza, [Now called Ezaz, according to D’Anville. Parisot suggests that it ought to be Gaza or Gazaca, probably a colony of Median Gaza, now Tauris.] and Nicopolis; [Originally called Tephrice. It stood on the river Lycus, and not far from the sources of the Halys, having been founded by Pompey, where he gained his first victory over Mithridates, whence its name, the “City of Victory.” The modern Enderez or Devrigni, probably marks its site.] in the Greater Arsamosata, [Ritter places it in Sophene, the modern Kharpat, and considers that it may be represented by the modern Sert, the Tigranocerta of D’Anville.] which lies near the Euphrates, Carcathiocerta [The capital of Sophene, one of the districts of Armenia. St. Martin thinks that this was the ancient heathen name of the city of Martyropolis, but Ritter shows that such cannot be the case. It was called by the Syrians Kortbest; its present name is Kharput.] upon the Tigris, Tigranocerta [Generally supposed, by D’Anville and other modern geographers, to be represented by the ruins seen at Sert. It was the later capital of Armenia, built by Tigranes.] which stands on an elevated site, and, on a plain adjoining the river Araxes, Artaxata. [The ancient capital of Armenia. Hannibal, who took refuge at the court of Artaxias when Antiochus was no longer able to afford him protection, superintended the building of it. Some ruins, called Takt Tiridate, or Throne of Tiridates, near the junction of the Aras and the Zengue, were formerly supposed to represent Artaxata, but Colonel Monteith has fixed the site at a bend in the river lower down, at the bottom of which were the ruins of a bridge of Greek or Roman architecture.] According to Aufidius, the circumference of the whole of Armenia is five thousand miles, while Claudius Cæsar makes the length, from Dascusa [A fortress in Lesser Armenia, upon the Euphrates, seventy-five miles from Zimara, as mentioned in B. v. c. 20. It has been identified with the modern ferry and lead mines of Kebban Ma’den, the points where the Kara Su is joined by the Murad Chaï, 270 miles from its source.] to the borders of the Caspian Sea, thirteen [Justin makes it only 1100, and that estimate appears to be several hundreds too much.] hundred miles, and the breadth, from Tigranocerta to Iberia, [A country lying to the north of Armenia.] half that distance. It is a well-known fact, that this country is divided into prefectures, called “Strategies,” some of which singly formed a kingdom in former times; they are one hundred and twenty in number, with barbarous and uncouth names. [We find in Strabo the names of some of them mentioned, such as Sophene, Acilisene, Gorgodylene, Sacassene, Gorgarene, Phanene, Comisene Orchestene, Chorsene, Cambysene, Odomantis, &c.] On the east, it is bounded, though not immediately, by the Ceraunian Mountains and the district of Adiabene. The space that intervenes is occupied by the Sopheni, beyond whom is the chain of mountains, [The Ceraunian Mountains. Parisot remarks that in this description, Pliny, notwithstanding his previous professions, does not appear to have made any very great use of the list drawn up by Corbulo.] and then beyond them the inhabitants of Adiabene. Dwelling in the valleys adjoining to Armenia are the Menobardi and the Moscheni. The Tigris and inaccessible mountains surround Adiabene. To the left [That is, looking towards the south.] of it is the territory of the Medi, and in the distance is seen the Caspian Sea; which, as we shall state in the proper place, receives its waters from the ocean, [The Septentrional Ocean, with which the ancients imagined that the northern part of the Caspian Sea is connected. See c..] and is wholly surrounded by the Caucasian Mountains. The inhabitants upon the confines of Armenia shall now be treated of.

Chap. 11. (10.)—Albania, Iberia, and the Adjoining Nations.

The whole plain which extends away from the river Cyrus is inhabited by the nation of the Albani, [According to Strabo, Albania was bounded on the east by the Caspian, and on the north by the Caucasus. On the west it joined Iberia, while on the south it was divided from the Greater Armenia by the river Cyrus. By later writers, the northern and western boundaries are differently given. It was found to be the fact that the Albani occupied the country on both sides of the Caucasus, and accordingly Pliny, in c. 15, carries the country further north, as far as the river Casius, while in this Chapter he makes the river Alazon, the modern Alasan, the western boundary towards Iberia.] and, after them, [To the west of Albania.] by that of the Iberi, [Iberia lay south of the great chain of the Caucasus, forming an extensive tract bounded on the west by Colchis, on the east by Albania, and on the south by Armenia, and watered by the river Cyrus. It corresponded very nearly with modern Georgia.] who are separated from them by the river Alazon, [The modern Alasan.] which flows into the Cyrus from the Caucasian chain. The chief cities are Cabalaca, [Now called Kablas-Var, according to Parisot.] in Albania, Harmastis, [Parisot says that this can be no other than Harmoza on the river Cyrus, in the vicinity of the modern Akhalzik.] near a river [Probably meaning “of the same name.”] of Iberia, and Neoris; there is the region also of Thasie, and that of Triare, extending as far as the mountains known as the Paryadres. Beyond these [To the west.] are the deserts of Colchios, on the side of which that looks towards the Ceraunian Mountains dwell the Armenochalybes; [“The Armenian workers in iron,” or “Chalybes of Armenia.” See p..] and there is the country of the Moschi, extending to the river Iberus, which flows into the Cyrus; below them are the Sacassani, and after them the Macrones, upon the river Absarus. Such is the manner in which the plains and low country are parcelled out. Again, after passing the confines of Albania, the wild tribes of the Silvi inhabit the face of the mountains, below them those of the Lubieni, and after them the Diduri and the Sodii.

Chap. 12. (11.)—The Passes of the Caucasus.

After passing the last, we come to the Gates of Caucasus, [There are two chief passes over the chain of the Caucasus, both of which were known to the ancients. The first is between the eastern extremity of its chief north-eastern spur and the Caspian sea, near the modern Derbend. This was called “Albaniæ,” and sometimes, “Caspiæ Pylæ,” the “Albanian” or “Caspian Gates.” The other, which was nearly in the centre of the Caspian range, was called “Caucasiæ” or “Sarmaticæ Pylæ,” being the same as the modern pass of Dariyel, and probably the one here referred to.] by many persons most erroneously called the Caspian Passes; a vast work of nature, which has suddenly wrenched asunder in this place a chain of mountains. At this spot are gates barred up with beams shod with iron, while beneath the middle there runs a stream which emits a most fetid odour; on this side of it is a rock, defended by a fortress, the name of which is Cumania, [Probably the same as the present fortress of Dariyel.] erected for the purpose of preventing the passage of the innumerable tribes that lie beyond. Here, then, we may see the habitable world severed into two parts by a pair of gates; they are just opposite to Harmastis, a town of the Iberi.

Beyond the Gates of Caucasus, in the Gordyæan Mountains, the Valli and the Suani, uncivilized tribes, are found; still, however, they work the mines of gold there. Beyond these nations, and extending as far away as Pontus, are numerous nations of the Heniochi, and, after them, of the Achæi. Such is the present state of one of the most famous tracts upon the face of the earth.

Some writers have stated that the distance between the Euxine and the Caspian Sea is not more than three hundred and seventy-five miles; Cornelius Nepos makes it only two hundred and fifty. Within such straits is Asia pent up in this second instance [The first instance was that of the narrow isthmus to which the continent of Asia is reduced from Sinope across to the Gulf of Issus, as mentioned in c. 2.] by the agency of the sea! Claudius Cæsar has informed us that from the Cimmerian Bosporus to the Caspian Sea is a distance of only one hundred and fifty [The shortest distance across, in a straight line, is in reality little less than 600 miles.] miles, and that Nicator Seleucus [The ancestor of the Seleucidæ, kings of Syria, treacherously slain by Ptolemy Ceraunus, brother of Ptolemy Philadelphus.] contemplated cutting through this isthmus just at the time when he was slain by Ptolemy Ceraunus. It is a well-known fact that the distance from the Gates of Caucasus to the shores of the Euxine is two hundred miles.

Chap. 13. (12.)—The Islands of the Euxine.

The islands of the Euxine are the Planctæ or Cyaneæ, [Already mentioned in B. iv. c. 27.] otherwise called Symplegades, and Apollonia, surnamed Thynias, [Mentioned in c. 44 of the last Book.] to distinguish it from the island of that name [The one lying at the mouth of the Danube, and mentioned in B. iv. c. 27.] in Europe; it is four miles in circumference, and one mile distant from the mainland. Opposite to Pharnacea [Mentioned in c. 4 of the present Book. See p..] is Chalceritis, to which the Greeks have given the name of Aria, [Or “Mars’ Island,” also called Aretias; at this island, in the south of the Euxine, the two queens of the Amazons, Otrere and Antiope, built a temple in honour of Ares or Mars. It is thought to be the rocky islet called by the Turks Kerasunt Ada, between three and four miles from Kerasunt, the ancient Pharnacea.] and consecrated it to Mars; here, they say, there were birds that used to attack strangers with blows of their wings.