[576] Saert, on the Bohtan Su or Eastern Tigris, also called Asaerd and Mobaelra, has been identified by d’Anville and Kinneir as the ancient Tigranocerta, though Mr. Ainsworth more recently has combated that idea, as no ruins are to be seen above ground. Tacitus and Strabo both place Tigranocerta near Nisibin; but coins of Tigranes are to be found here. [577] Sassone. [578] Arzen, on the Huzu Arzen, near the village of Giri Hassan, has fallen into ruins, which are still very extensive. Numerous coins have been found here. [579] Orfà, Kara Amid (Diarbekr), Mardin, Jezireh, Hesn Keyf, and Saert. [580] Jemeleyn. [581] Keffendo. [582] The Bitlis Tchai, rising near the Van Lake, flows into the Bohtan Su or Eastern Tigris. [583] Modern travellers give a very different account of this region. [584] Caravan Bashi. [585] Bitlis. See Zeno, p. 8. [586] The Bitlis Tchai. See p. 156. [587] Sheibani Khan, Yeshilbash. See Zeno, p. 55. [588] Yezd. [589] Sheibani Khan was a descendant of Gengis Khan, and an enemy of the house of Timour. [590] Tadvan, on the Van Lake. [591] Van, the ancient Artemita, according to Kinneir, is situated two miles from the lake. “It is surrounded with a good wall and deep ditch, and has four gates: one, corresponding with the palace of the governor; another, to the east, called the Gate of Tauris; the third, to the south, called the Middle Gate; and the fourth, fronting the lake, known by the appellation of the Gate _Sinla_. On the north is a castle built on a high and perpendicular hill, which rises abruptly from the plain. This fortress can only be approached by one passage, so narrow as to admit only two persons abreast; it is always supplied with corn and military stores, and in the centre of the works stands the palace of the Aga of the Janissaries. This city is abundantly supplied with water and provisions; the houses are built of stone and tile; the streets are spacious and well paved; and the population is said to amount to fifty thousand souls, two-thirds of which number are Turks, and the remainder Kurds and Armenians. The air is pure, and the environs of the city delightful.” [592] Peygri, now Beygir Kellah, hardly on the lake, but a short distance from it, on a small stream falling into the same. [593] Arjish, Ardh-el Jivaz. [594] Iklat, a very ancient Armenian town. Subsequently it became the seat of the Eioobites, and then of the Ak-koinloo. [595] Arjish (the ancient Arzes) is a town containing six thousand inhabitants, situated on the north-west side of the lake, three days’ journey from Van. [596] Island of Ak-Tamar, the seat of the Catholicos of the Armenians, described by Layard. [597] Vastan in ruins to the south of the lake, nearly opposite the island of Aktamar. [598] There are numerous cuneiform inscriptions on the castle walls, of which it is curious he should make no mention. [599] Khoi.