The city of Borium, lying near the Moorish barbarians, has remained free from imposts down to this time, nor have any gatherers of tribute or taxes visited it since the creation. From ancient times Jews dwelt close to it, and had an ancient temple which they greatly respected and reverenced, as it had, according to tradition, been built by Solomon the King of the Hebrew nation. However, the Emperor Justinian compelled them all to desert their ancestral religion and become Christians, while he turned this temple into a church. III. Beyond this lie what are called the Great Syrtes. I will explain what their appearance is, and why they have received this name. The shore in this quarter, divided by the inroads of the sea, and washed away by the beating of the waves, seems to retire and to withdraw itself inland, so as to form an immense crescent-shaped gulf. The distance across the mouth of this gulf is forty stadia, while the perimeter of the crescent extends to a distance of six days’ journey. The sea forms this gulf by pressing against the mainland; and when a ship is once forced by the wind or the waves within the horns of the crescent, it is thenceforth impossible for it to retrace its course, but it seems dragged along, and always forced further forward. It was, I imagine, from this destruction of ships that the ancients called the place Syrtes. Nor can ships float as far as the shore, for the greater part of the gulf is full of sunken rocks, which make it impossible for ships to float there, so that they are wrecked in the shallows. The crews of these ships can only escape, if they escape at all, in small boats, and reach the land with very great danger. Here is the frontier of the region named Tripolis. In it dwell Moorish barbarians of Phœnician origin. Here is also a city named Cidama, inhabited by Moors who have long been on terms of friendship with the Romans, and all of whom, by the persuasion of the Emperor Justinian, voluntarily adopted the Christian faith. These Moors are now called Pacati, because they always are at peace with the Romans; for the Romans in the Latin language call peace _pacem_. Tripolis is distant from Pentapolis a journey of twenty days’ journey for a lightly equipped traveller.