The Periplus of the Erythræan sea : travel and trade in the Indian Ocean / by a merchant of the first century; tr. from the Greek and annotated by Wilfred H. Schoff.

Date:
1912
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The Periplus of the Erythræan sea : travel and trade in the Indian Ocean / by a merchant of the first century; tr. from the Greek and annotated by Wilfred H. Schoff. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    out into the bay. Here there is a river affording an entrance for ships, with a little market-town at the mouth, called Oraea; and back from the place an in- land city, distant a seven days’ journey from the sea, in which also is the King’s court; it is called (prob- ably Rhambacia). This country yields much wheat, wine, rice and dates; but along the coast there is nothing hut bdellium. 38. Beyond this region, the continent making a wide curve from the east across the depths of the bays, there follows the coast district of Scythia, which lies above toward the north; the whole marshy; from which flows down the river Sinthus, the greatest of all the rivers that flow into the Erythraean Sea, bringing down an enormous volume of water; so that a long way out at sea, before reaching this country, the water of the ocean is fresh from it. Now as a sign of ap- proach to this country to those coming from the sea, there are serpents coming forth from the depths to meet you; and a sign of the places just mentioned and in Persia, are those called gi^aoe. This river has seven mouths, very shallow and marshy, so that they are not navigable, except the one in the middle; at which by the shore, is the market-town, Barbaricum. Before it there lie-8 a small island, and inland behind it is the me- tropolis of Scythia, Minnagara; it is subject to Parthian princes who are constantly driving each other out. 39. The ships lie at anchor at Barbaricum, but all their cargoes are carried up to the metropolis by the river, to the King. There are imported into this mar- ket a great deal of thin clothing, and a little spurious; figured linens, topaz, coral, storax, frankincense, vessels
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