The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus: During the Reigns of the Emperors Constantius, Julian, Jovianus, Valentinian, and ValensAmmianus Marcellinus
History
The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus: During the Reigns of the Emperors Constantius, Julian, Jovianus, Valentinian, and Valens
Ammianus Marcellinus
Rome -- History -- Empire, 284-476
38. At the very beginning then of this district, where the Rhipæan
mountains end, lie the Arimphæi, a just people known for their quiet
character, whose land is watered by the rivers Chronius and Bisula; and
next to them are the Massagetæ, the Alani, and the Sargetæ, and several
other tribes of little note, of whom we know neither the names nor the
customs.
39. Then, a long way off, is the bay Carcinites, and a river of the
same name, and a grove of Diana, frequented by many votaries in those
countries.
40. After that we come to the Dnieper (Borysthenes), which rises in the
mountains of the Neuri; a river very large at its first beginning, and
which increases by the influx of many other streams, till it falls into
the sea with great violence; on its woody banks is the town of
Borysthenes, and Cephalonesus, and some altars consecrated to Alexander
the Great and Augustus Cæsar.
41. Next, at a great distance, is an island inhabited by the Sindi, a
tribe of low-born persons, who upon the overthrow of their lords and
masters in Asia, took possession of their wives and properties. Below
them is a narrow strip of coast called by the natives the Course of
Achilles, having been made memorable in olden time by the exercises of
the Thessalian chief, and next to that is the city of Tyros, a colony of
the Phoenicians, watered by the river Dniester.
42. But in the middle of the arc which we have described as being of an
extended roundness, and which takes an active traveller fifteen days to
traverse, are the Europæan Alani, the Costoboci, and the countless
tribes of the Scythians, who extend over territories which have no
ascertained limit; a small part of whom live on grain. But the rest
wander over vast deserts, knowing neither ploughtime nor seedtime; but
living in cold and frost, and feeding like great beasts. They place
their relations, their homes, and their wretched furniture on waggons
covered with bark, and, whenever they choose, they migrate without
hindrance, driving off these waggons wherever they like.
43. When one arrives at another point of the circuit where there is a
harbour, which bounds the figure of the arc at that extremity, the
island Peuce is conspicuous, inhabited by the Troglodytæ, and Peuci, and
other inferior tribes, and we come also to Histros, formerly a city of
great power, and to Tomi, Apollonia, Anchialos, Odissos, and many others
on the Thracian coast.
44. But the Danube, rising near Basle on the borders of the Tyrol,
extending over a wider space, and receiving on his way nearly sixty
navigable rivers, pours through the Scythian territory by seven mouths
into the Black Sea.
45. The first mouth (according to the Greek interpretation of the
names) is at the island of Peuce, which we have mentioned; the second is
at Naracustoma, the third at Calonstoma, the fourth at Pseudostoma. The
Boreonstoma and the Sthenostoma, are much smaller, and the seventh is
large and black-looking like a bog.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account