CHAP. 16.—ADIABENE.
The kingdom of the Persians, by which we now understand
that of Parthia, is elevated upon the Caucasian chain between
two seas, the Persian and the Hyrcanian. To the Greater
Armenia, which in the front slopes towards Commagene, is
joined Sophene, which lies upon the descent[1] on both sides
thereof, and next to it is Adiabene, the most advanced frontier
of Assyria; a part of which is Arbelitis,[2] He alludes to the town of Arbela, where, as it is generally said, the
army of Darius was defeated by Alexander the Great; by which engage-
ment the conflict was terminated. It was the fact, however, that Darius
left his baggage and treasures at Arbela, while the battle really took place
near the village of Gaugamela, about twenty miles to the north-west of
Arbela. This place still retains its name of Arbil, where Alexander con-
quered Darius, and which joins up to Syria. The whole of this
country was called Mygdonia by the Macedonians, on account of
the resemblance it bore to Mygdonia[3] in Europe. Its cities are
Alexandria,[4] and Antiochia, also called Nisibis;[5] this last
place is distant from Artaxata seven hundred and fifty miles.
There was also in former times Ninus,[6] a most renowned city,
on the banks of the Tigris, with an aspect towards the west.
Adjoining the other front of Greater Armenia, which runs
down towards the Caspian Sea, we find Atropatene,[7] which
is separated from Otene, a region of Armenia, by the river
Araxes; Gazæ[8] is its chief city, distant from Artaxata four
hundred and fifty miles, and the same from Ecbatana in Media,
to which country Atropatene belongs.
1. 35 See c. 10.
2. He alludes to the town of Arbela, where, as it is generally said, the
army of Darius was defeated by Alexander the Great; by which engage-
ment the conflict was terminated. It was the fact, however, that Darius
left his baggage and treasures at Arbela, while the battle really took place
near the village of Gaugamela, about twenty miles to the north-west of
Arbela. This place still retains its name of Arbil.
3. A district in the east of Macedonia, bordering on the Thermaic gulf
and the Chalcidic peninsula.
4. Nothing is known of this place. Hardouin suggests that it may have
been built on the spot where Alexander defeated Darius.
5. Also known as Antiochia Mygdoniæ, the capital of Mygdonia. Its
ruins are still to be seen near a place called Nisibin. It stood on the river
Mygdonius, now the Nahral Huali.
6. Or Nineveh, the capital of the great Assyrian monarchy, destroyed
by the Medes and Babylonians about B.C. 606.
7. There is great difficulty in ascertaining, from the accounts given by
the ancient writers, the exact limits of this district, but it is supposed to have included a considerable portion of the province now known by the
name of Azerbaijan. It derived its name from Atropates or Atropes, who
was governor of this district under the last Darius.
8. Most probably the place now known as Gazæa, the royal residence of
the Parthian kings, and, as its name would imply, their treasure city.
Colonel Rawlinson thinks that this place underwent many changes of name
according to the rulers who successively occupied it; among other names, it
appears to have borne that of Ecbatana.