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 ( 213 ) 
 
 / 
 
 LETTER LXVIII. 
 
 x\S I defcribed Sympheropol on our former vifit, I have nothing 
 to add to that defcription here ; but 1 am convinced that you would 
 be much difappointed were 1 to quit the laft Tartar city of the 
 Taurida (for Perecop rather belongs to the wilds of Scythia,) with- 
 out, giving you fome account of the manners, cuftoms, &c. of 
 the inhabitants. 
 
 To begin, then, witli the different nations in the Taurida. Al- 
 though all the native inhabitants are included m the general name 
 of Crim Tartars, and all fpeak nearly the fame language, ftill 
 there appears to i to be three different races of men even amono- 
 the Tartars ; and each to be diftin6lly marked by their features, 
 independent of the Greeks, Armenians, Jews, &c. diftinguillied 
 by religion, manners, and every thing elfe, from the natives of Scy- 
 thian origin. 
 
 For example : on entering the peninfula, you find in the ftept, 
 or defert, the Hunnifh or Kalmouk face, diftinguiflied by high 
 cheek bones; little oblique eyes funk into the head, which is large 
 in proportion to the body; high Ihoulders ; bad legs; iwarthy 
 complexion; black hair, with little or no beard; in fhort, the 
 frightful Ique^king Huns of antient authors, who committed fuch 
 horrible ravages in Europe in old times, and compared with whom 
 
 tfe 
 
 4G31.90
 
 CM A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &:c. 
 
 the Goths, Vandals, &c. were civilized nations. Thcfe people are 
 then, very probably, a remnant of the Kozarcs who antitntly 
 poffciTed the Taurida, and whom all agree to have been of Hun- 
 nifh origin. 
 
 The iecond race of men that feemed to me different from the 
 .Crim .Tar-tixiirs, we found in the mountains, with a full, round, 
 . .and. rather. ruddy face, and ftout well-made bodies ; thefe, pofTibiy, 
 "'are'fhefen^aiiis of the Goths who maintained a highland princi- 
 pality there till the Turkifh conqueft. 
 
 The third and laft variety of the human fpecics are the real 
 Crim Tartars, who inhabit the vallies and other parts of the low 
 country, and are diftinguillied by a dark complexion and a rather 
 lono^ilh face, with features much more refcmbling the European 
 than the frightful Calmouk ; while their figure all together has 
 nothing of deformity about it. However, I mufl: once more remind 
 you, that thefe obfervations are merely the refult of my own re- 
 marks ; fo that I will not anfwer for other travellers feeing the 
 natives in the fame point of view ; and you muft likewile remember 
 that I do not include under this head the Armenians, Greeks, 
 Jews, &c. although naturalized in this peninfula for ages ; as 
 they Hill preferve their national religion, cuftoms, &c. &c. 
 and do not feem to have mixed their blood in any confiderable de- 
 gree with the Tartars. 
 
 Dress of the Crim Tartars. 
 
 The men wear the caftan, or long Eaftern garb, over a fhorter 
 tunic, that ferves for the waiftcoat in ufe with the Turks, Perfians, 
 Ruffians, &c. tied round the middle by a fafh, or koufak, the 
 zona of the Ancients ; with a pair of loofe drawers and boots ; 
 
 and
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 215 
 
 and under all a fliirt of coloured filk and cotton, commonly ftriped, 
 like the figures fkctched by Bruce (playing on harps) in the caves 
 of Egyptian Thebes. Their arms confift of a fabrc, dagger, and 
 pijlols ; Ibmetimes alio a gun : modern inftruments of deflru6lion 
 which have now fupplanted the old Scythian bow. 
 
 As to the women's drefs, it much refembles that of the Turks ; 
 and indeed, if theOriental and Byzantine authors be founded in 
 aflTerting that the Turks and Tartars are the fame people, the 
 exa6l fimilitude of the female garb will be eafily believed and 
 accounted for. 
 
 Houses. 
 
 The Tartar houfes are of one flory, confl;ru61ed of flone, ce- 
 mented together by a calcareous clay, and covered with tiles. 
 Toward the flreet they have no windows ; polygamy, and its 
 natural confequence, jealoufy, having turned the fa9ade of Tauric 
 dwellings to the inner court, where the women may breathe the frefh 
 air through muflin blinds. 
 
 LETTER
 
 ( 21^ ) 
 
 LETTER LXIX. 
 
 '•♦' Exaiftly the Hofpitalia of the Antients. 
 
 butter 
 
 Manners of the Crim Tartars. 
 
 X HE natives of this peninfula were much diftingullhed for 
 Oriental hofpitality while under fheir Khans ; and are ftill lb in 
 proportion to their means. 
 
 So late as 1780 Mr. Keelman found Hans'", or houfes of public 
 entertainment for travellers, liberally maintained by the noble 
 families on their eftates ; wherein you were moft generoufly enter- 
 tained, with your fervant and horfes, without a fliilling expcnce ; i 
 nay even the han-keeper could not be prevailed on to receive a i 
 prefent for all his attentions. 5 
 
 On vifiting a Tartar, men are prefented with a pipe and a difh ' 
 
 of coffee ; the firift being a mark of particular courtefy, and even 
 diftin£tion, from a man of rank. 
 
 Their rcpafls are very quickly difpatched, although fometimes 
 compofcd of a number of dithes ; as a want of the exhilarating and 
 focial juice of the grape renders the Tartar meals both lliort and 
 ferious ; for example, a dinner of 30 diihes given us by one of their 
 murfas, or chiefs, lafted but half an hour, and more refcmbled a - .' 
 
 qudker's meeting than one of our convivial European treats. 
 
 Their cookery refembles that of the antients, in honey being a 
 favourite ingredient ; but, inftead of oil, a large proportion of 
 
 ri?",__,
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 217 
 
 butter makes their dilhes as greafy as fwect, and infipld to a Euro- 
 pean palate, accuftomcd to high-i'eafoned food, which excites to 
 drink what Mahomet has rcfufed the i'aithful, and which is but 
 poorly rephiced by coohng beverages, compofed of the juice of 
 fruit and honey, the Pofea and Sera of the Anticnts. The gentle- 
 men of the company did not fecm much pleafed with the Tauric 
 regimen ; and 1 mult own, that even my ftomach gave me fome 
 hints during the evening, that a ghifs of wine would have been a 
 proper corrcdlor of the Tartar flicrbet. Mahomet furely was not fo 
 well fkilled in dietetics as in many other things, or he would have 
 recommended the high-fpiced food of the Orientals, which fuper- 
 fedes the ufe of ftrong licjuors in the Eaft, and renders pure water a 
 fufficient beverage for Bramins, Gentoos, &c. 
 
 After dinner, a dilh of coffee and a pipe are prefented as digef- 
 ters ; and, after Imoking fome time, the mafter of the houfc takes 
 leave of his guefts to retire to his afternoon repoie. 
 
 Marriages and Funerals. 
 
 The Oriental jealoufy which, as I remarked in my lafl, has turned 
 the front of the Tauric houfes to the court-yard, inftead of the 
 ftreet, and obliged the ladies to admire cattle inftead of men from 
 their mudin windows, has done flili more than all that in this 
 country ; as it has likewifc covered with a veil the face of the fair, 
 and indeed almoft every thing concerning them ; fo that all is 
 myftcry here that relates to the (ex, fliut up in a uiudern g:i:ncceon, 
 or haram, only -acceffible to their own lords and maftcrs, who are 
 literally io in Mahometan ft.ites, though wc right chriltian wives 
 only call you fo to laugh at your lordlhips. 
 
 Marriages, we are told, arc made in hca\cn ; and lucky it is that 
 
 F V they
 
 218 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 
 
 they are fo ; for an inhabitant of the Taurida never fees his bride till 
 the nuptial torch is lighted up ; fo that if it were not for the friendly 
 miniftry of a grave matron, or go between (the Pronuba of the 
 Antients), who has the privilege of taking a peep at the bride, a 
 man might marry the grandmother inftead of the daughter. 
 
 When a lover has acquired, in this manner, intimation of a mar- 
 riageable girl through the means of the privileged matron, he waits 
 on the father (for the mother is as invifible as the daughter), and 
 bargains for his v/ife in the manner of the antients before the in- 
 troduction of dowries, by offering a valuable confideration, which 
 is here commonly a cow, and a greater or lefs number of fheep, 
 according to the rank of the parties ; the iman, or prieft, then 
 marries the loving couple without further ceremony, and the 
 hulband carries home his beauty on the faith and tafte of theXauric 
 Proneba. 
 
 The new-married man entertains his companions and friends 
 with pipes, coffee, and fherbet, on the joyful occafion ; but he 
 takes care to do it al frefco, before the forbidden door of the houfe 
 that contains his jealou% care. 
 
 LETTER
 
 ( 219 ) 
 
 LETTER LXX. 
 
 Burials. 
 
 If the living move along the ftreets of this penlnfula with Afiatic 
 ftatelincfs and lolemnity, the dead, on the contrary, are carried to 
 the grave at fiich a pace as would beat your London penny-poft. 
 This alTertion is by no means jocular ; for we aaually favv the other 
 day a party of Tartars fcampering away with a corpfe at fuch a 
 rate, as obliged us ftrangers, who wilhed to fee the ceremony, to 
 take to our heels in a mod indecent manner, to keep up with thefe 
 Scythian pall-bearcrs. But how were we aftoniihed to find, that it 
 was the neareft relations of the deceafed who were thus hurrying 
 him to his long home, as if in fear of his recovery. 
 
 This extraordinary difpatch, with which Mahometans are buried 
 within 12 hours of their death, by exprcfs order of their prophet, 
 may have taken origin from the heat of the climate where he 
 preached and legiflated for his difciples ; and I think that the lotions, 
 envelopes, and perfumes, which he commanded on thcle occafions, 
 feem to confirm the conjc6lure. 
 
 The coffin was covered with a plain (luff, and only ornamented, 
 if it merited the name, with a bit of black filk, embroidered with 
 holy pafTages from the Koran, thrown over one end of it ; this, wc 
 
 V V 2 were
 
 220 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 
 
 were afifured, was a model of a confecrated veil from Mecca, of 
 great value and eftimatioii in the e^es of true believers. 
 
 Tiiis funeral was neither accompanied by flambeaux, tapers, in- 
 cenfe,nor church chanting ; nor was a wet eye to be feen.or a groan 
 to be heard ; nay, even a mourning drefs, the outward mark of 
 grief with us, was compleatly wanting here ; poflibly from an idea 
 of the happlnefs of the deceafed in his new fociety of houri:s, 
 promifed by Mahomet. 
 
 We likewife obferved, that no prayers were faid during the in- 
 terment ; but afterwards an iman fat down on his hams by the fide 
 of the grave, and feemed to be offering up orifons for the d parted 
 MunTuhuan ; a \'ery proper time, in my opinion; as, the body bemg 
 then covered with earth, neither the prieft nor the company ran 
 any rifk from putrid exhalations arifing from the corpfc in fuch a 
 climate. 
 
 On quitting the fubje6ts treated of in thefe lafl; three letters, I 
 mufl: obfcrve, that if Mahomet had no hand in the veiled nuptials, 
 I give him credit for the reft of the inftitutions that we have as yet 
 obferved ; and even thofe may have been fagely intended to make 
 every girl equally partake of the advantages of holy wedlock, in- 
 ftcad of adding, like you chritlians, one misfortune to another, by 
 condemning to the ftate of old-maidifm thofe who may be deprived 
 of external charms. 
 
 LETTER
 
 ( 221 ) 
 
 LETTER LXXI. 
 
 Religion. 
 
 I MUST own, that the ftriking fimplicity of both the mofques (or 
 metchets) and religious worfhip of the Crim Tartars pleafed me 
 much ; probably from being a proteftant ; though it is pofTible that 
 a greek, or catholic, might have been of a different opinion, on 
 feeing their priefts without facerdotal garments, and their temples 
 without othti^ ornaments than a few metal luftres and fmall lamps, 
 merely to illuminate the edifice when deprived of the light of dav. 
 Neither graven image, nor the likenels of any thing that is in 
 heaven abcn-e, or in the earth beneath, or in the waters under the 
 earth, are tj be feen in their metchets (mofques), made by the hand 
 of man ; nay, this commandment is fo ll:ri6lly obeyed by tlie dif- 
 ciples of Mahomet, that the) have even no painters among them ; 
 fo that your Sir Jofliua Reyrolds, if he had been born a Turk or 
 Tartar, would have died without leaving behind him a fingle por- 
 trait to immortalize his name ; nor would his able fucceflbr in the 
 academic chair have ever dilplaycd his powers in hidoric paintin:>-, 
 had he been born a mahometan inftcad of a quakcr. 'I he whole 
 furniture and fixtures, then, of a Tartar metchet are reduced to 
 a few lamps, a little pulpit, and a niche in the wall on the fide 
 towards Mecca, to direil the bows of the faithful to that holy 
 fnrine ; as you find there neither chairs nor benches ; but all niLift 
 
 • fquat
 
 *J22 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 
 
 fquat down on the carpets or mats which cover the floor, without 
 diftindlion of rank ; as "all are equal in the fight and temple of 
 God," fays Mahomet very wifely. 
 
 " Five namas, or prayers, each day are necelTary to he regarded !" 
 a good Mulfulman announced from the top of the Minaret hy a 
 crier, inflead of a bell, at ftated hours ; and each time the con- 
 gregation muft leave their flippers at the door of the mofque, that 
 they may not defile the holy place, and alfo, perhaps, that they- 
 may not dirty the carpets which they are to fit upon. 
 
 1 Ihall finifh the few remarks that I am able to make on the re- 
 ligion of the Tartars, with pbferving, that the fagacious Mahomet 
 feems to have compofed the externals or ceremonies of his worlhip 
 from thofe of both Pagans and Chriftians, probably to make them 
 more agreeable to the mixed mafs of his difciples. For example, 
 he feems to have taken the number of his namas, or daily prayers; 
 the mode of fitting bare-foot on carpets, &c. from the religion of 
 the Eafl: India Seeks '*% and fomething from the Greek or oriental 
 Chriftian church. 
 
 Laftly, 1 have to remark, that women are as little feen in mofques 
 as any where elfe in the Taurida. 
 
 Administration of Justice. 
 
 Julfice, while in the hands of the Tartars, was of fo fummary 
 a kind, that little can be faid of it. Indeed, when we confider that 
 the whole Code of Laws facred and profane is contained in the 
 Koran of Mahomet, it is eafy to conceive that it could not be very 
 complicated. 
 
 The proper magiftrate adminiftered juftice on the fpot ; fo that 
 the contending parties were put to no expence to obtain it ; nor 
 alternately agitated by hopes and fears. Crimes likcwife were im- 
 
 "■' See the Afiatic Refearches. 
 
 mediatelv
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 'i'23 
 
 mediately and publicly punillied. A fliopkecper caught in the a6t 
 of cheating with talfe or lliort weights was nailed by the car to his 
 own lliop-door, that the whole market might know the knave, and 
 watch him in future; a punilhment which fct Jews, Armenians, 
 and Greeks, the ordinary offenders in this country (for Turks and 
 Tartars are very little given to cheating), much on their guard, 
 as they had but little chance of efcaping the vigilant police. 
 Lefler offences were inftantly puniflied with the baftinado, and 
 greater with the bow-ftring, if a true believer; for a halter was 
 the portion of an infidel ; as they thought their old Scythian weapon 
 diflionourcd by the neck of a Chriftian or Jew. 
 
 All this is now, of courfe, changed, under the Ruflian dominion; 
 where feverai courts of jufticc fupply the place of the Cady's market- 
 tribunal. But it may be fairly remarked here, as in every country 
 where complicated laws and forms exifl, that, although decifions 
 may be made with more deliberation than formerly, yet the balance 
 is often folong held in the hand of the judge, that the accufed may- 
 grow light in the fcale before his merits are weighed ; and it fre- 
 quently kicks the beam from that very circumllance. 
 
 I lliall now take leave of this honeft and hofpitable race of men ; 
 (although I may ftill fay a few words on their nomade brtLhren in 
 our way home through theTauric ftept, or plain) with inferting the 
 price of provifions during the reign of the Tartar Chans, as left 
 us by Mr. Nicholas Kcelman in 1769, and contralling it with their 
 value when we vifited the Taurida. 
 
 Price of Provijions in Crint Tartary in 1769, under the 'Tartar 
 
 government. 
 
 Breads an ocka (23 1 ounces, troy) 4 afpcrs, or i (tT Englilli. 
 Butcher 5 Meat, an ocka, 2 paras, or 3^d. 
 yl Turkey, 7 paras, or is. oj d. 
 jijull-groivn Fo-iv!, 3 paras, or 5 ^ d.
 
 221. A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 
 
 Egf^s, 20 or -^o, according to the feafon of the year, i para, or 1 1 d. 
 
 Butter, an ocka, 8 paras, or ;s. 2d. 
 
 i'auric Wine, an ockn of the bcft, 5 afpers, or 1 1 d. 
 
 N. B. An afpcr is an EnglilTi farthing in value; a para 
 
 equal to lid. 
 
 Price of Proviftom in I 795, under the Rujftan government^''\ 
 
 Roubles. Cdpechs. 
 
 An ocka of Mtttton _ - _ 
 
 An ockaof ^?^//t'r _ _ _ 
 
 A Turkey ' - - . 
 
 A Fowl . . . . - 
 
 Ten Eggs _ _ . . 
 
 IVine, 1 6 bottles, from i rouble 50 copecks to 
 
 N. B. A rouble was equal to 30 pence at the time here mentioned, 
 varying with the exchange; 100 copecks are equal to 
 a rouble, copper. 
 
 '■»•' By.tliis comparative ftatemcnt, the price of provifions feems to have been doubled under 
 the Ruffian governtuent, from the vaft depopulation of the peninfula, and confequeut want of 
 cukivation. 
 
 
 
 ^5 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 »5 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 LETTER
 
 ( 225 ) 
 
 LETTER LXXir. 
 
 From the Tauric Slept, or Defert. 
 
 W E fet out from Sympheropol this morning, and bade adieu to 
 the fine mountainous part of theTaurida, to launch once more into 
 the Defert that occupies the Northern half of the peninfula, from 
 the river Salgir to the Golden Gate ; a tradl only calculated for 
 paftoral Tartars and their flocks ; of courfe, we could not expect 
 many intercfting objc£ls in our this day's journey. 
 
 I have always obferved, however, that when a traveller is refolved 
 to be pleafed, and to draw fome kind of amufement from every- 
 thing, inltead of getting out of humour at the more barren parts 
 of a journey, he may commonly find fomething or other worthy of 
 his attention : and this was juft our cafe ; for we met with fome 
 ftraggling Tartar villages in the flept, and fome flocks of the fmall 
 lean Tauric (hcep fo famous for their valuable furs and the fweet- 
 nefs of their flelh ; but we obferved that they were either black or 
 fpotted, comprifing but few of what is vulgarly called the blue 
 colour, which brings fo high a price for peliffes, muffs, caps, &c. 
 But what more particularly attracted our attention was, a real 
 Scythian cart drawn by a couple of dromedaries. 
 
 This was a deep vehicle, mounted on two high flrong wheels, 
 fomething like an Englifh baker's cart, lined firft with ruflies, and 
 then with the famj felt fluff with which the Tartar tents are made. 
 
 Go A covering
 
 '226 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 
 
 A covering of the fame felt was laid over the top when we faw it 
 pafs, poffibly to conceal the women, who, we Vv ere told, had com- 
 monly travelled in that kind of equipage from time immemorial. 
 
 Independent of what we did fee, you know that I derive a fund 
 of amul'ement from looking for what I very feldom find, viz. the 
 ruins of the antient cities which once Hood in theTaurida; and 
 fuch was my paftime to-day in returning by the Eaftern road along 
 the coafl: of the Putrid Sea, for the fake of variety; as we came into 
 the peninfula by the Weftern, along the coalt of the Dead and 
 Black Seas. 
 
 The Limen Zapra, as the Greeks called the Putrid Sea, feems to 
 be a portion of the Sea of AfofF, cut off from it by the gradual for- 
 mation of a long narrow fand-bank; at a very remote period, how- 
 ever, as it had the name of the peninfula of Zeno (Cherfonefus 
 Zenonis) in the time of the Antients. 
 
 This was the firll objecl that drew my attention to-day in begin- 
 ning our gallopping hunt after antiquities, while the fleet Tartar 
 horfes carried us brifkly forward ; and I was not a little puzzled to 
 conje6lure how a Greek phdofopher could have left his name on a 
 Tauric fand-bank ; till I recollected, that a fon of the orator Zeno 
 was made king of the Bofphorus by Marc Anthony ; this folved the 
 difficulty ; and, as to the name of Putrid given to the lake thus cut 
 off" from the fea of Afoff, by the Cherfonefus Zenonis, nothing can be 
 more applicable ; as, in fa6l, the narrow Straits of Jenitchi, at the 
 end of the bar, being the only communication between them, the 
 Putrid Sea is really nothing elle than a ftagnant pool, for want of 
 fufficient circulation ; exhaling a dangerous miafma during Summer, 
 which has eft'eclually prevented the founding of any modern city on 
 its fickly coafl. Ptolemy, indeed, mentions a couple of antient ci- 
 ties in this diflridl ; but in fb vague a manner, that we are left to 
 our own conje6lures relative to their pofition. 
 
 One of the two, Tarona, which Ortelius places to the S. E. of 
 Perecop, and the Eaft of the antient Satarcha, mentioned in a 
 
 former
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 227 
 
 former letter, I will venture to fuppofe may have ftood on the 
 Solinoy Ozera, or Salt Lake of the Ruflian maps ; as a trade in that 
 mineral, ftill a capital article, might well maintain a city on its banks ; 
 for, to look for any thing above the rank of a paltoral village in 
 any other part of this fide of the grazing plain, where there is not 
 a fonrce of commerce and wealth to fupport a city, would (hew 
 great ignorance of the principle which has in all ages collected men 
 into large municipal bodies. 
 
 As to the pofition of the other city of which Ptolemy fpeaks, let 
 fomc future traveller conjecture refpe6ling its fite, who can difcover 
 fources of wealth hidden from the rapid furvey of Yours, &cc. 
 
 LETTER LXXIII. 
 
 JL OU certainly expe6l me to pafs the remainder of the Tauric 
 defert without findmg any thing more worthy of remark ; but there 
 you are miftaken ; for, on the contrary, we found a new fubjc6t of 
 attention very much in your own line of refearch. 
 
 On {topping at a village, the hofpitable Tartars brought us a 
 wooden difh of their favourite koumis, with a fmall vefTel of brandy, 
 both made from mares' milk, in defiance of the opinion of chemifts, 
 who formerly affertcd, that an ardent fpirit could not be drawn from 
 milk, till they were taught the Tartar mode of diitillation in the 
 wilds of Scythia. 
 
 G G 2 You
 
 228 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 
 
 You will eafily believe that I did not let flip fo favourable an 
 opportunity of procuring information relative to the famous Tartar 
 difh fo often the fubje6t of converfation in Ruflia ; more particularly 
 as I knew that it would be moft acceptable to you ; and you 
 will judge of my fuccefs on perufmg the following refult of our 
 inquiry. 
 
 Preparation of Koumis. 
 
 To any given quantity of warm Mares' Milk, the Crim Tartars 
 add a fixth part warm water of the fame temperature, with a little 
 old Koumis, four cows' milk, or a piece of four leaven of their rye- 
 bread, as a ferment ; and mix all together in a fpecies of churn. 
 
 In the heat of Summer, very little agitation is requifite to throw 
 this mixture into fermentation ; after which, nothing more is necef- 
 fary than to break the thick fcum that forms at top, and intimately 
 mix it with the reft of the fermenting mafs, by three or four ftrokes 
 of the churn-ilafF feveral times repeated during the twenty-four 
 hours that the procefs lafts ; for in one day and a night, during this 
 hotfeafon, the koumis is ready ; but, in Winter, artificial heat and 
 more agitation are neceffary to produce the vinous fermentation. 
 In fhort, the inftructions that you gave for the preparation of our 
 Ruffian quafs in the LXIXth Volume of the " Philoiophical Tranf- 
 a6lions of the Royal Society of London," for the year 1778, are 
 perfedly applicable to the Winter preparation of koumis, with the 
 fole exception of the difference in the ingredients. 
 
 The koumis has a fourifh fweet tafte by no means unpleafant to 
 my palate, and greatly refemblinga preparation of milk which I re- 
 member eating very often in my vifit to Edinburgh fome years ago'*\ 
 
 '♦* The Scotch preparation of milk to which Mrs. G. here alludes, is known in Edinburgh by 
 the name of a village famous for it, called Corftarfin ; from which the difh is named Corftarfin 
 Cream. Editor. 
 
 However,
 
 A T" T'R THROUGH THE TAURIDA, Sec. 229 
 
 However, I (hould by no mtans choofe to partake of their koumis 
 out of the goat-flcui y"rtr/('j in which the Tartars carry it on their 
 nomade expeditions, as the Spaniards do their wine ; which, by the 
 by, is a practice fo common in Spain, as to give the name of Sack to 
 a fpeciesof fweet wine once highly prized in Great Britain, if we 
 are to judge from its being your Poet Laureat's aulic reward, and 
 the favourite cirink of your humourous glutton FalflafF. 
 
 But, to return to our mares' milk. T hat fluid has been long 
 known to yield an ardent fpirit ; hut Pallas tells us, that he met in 
 his travels a horde of Tartars who polTcfled the fee ret of throwing 
 cows^ milk into the vinous fermentation ; or, in other words, of con- 
 vertino- it into koumis,under the name of Ar'ten, from which they drew 
 an ardent fpirit called Arika ; a liquor that may probably have com- 
 municated its name to the well-known Eaft India fpirit Arrack ; at 
 leaft, I hazard fuch a conje6ture with my ufual boldnefs, as I regard 
 thefe Scythian arts as of high antiquity. 
 
 However, left you (hould ere6t a Hill in our dairy, in hopes of 
 converting all our milk into cow brandy, permit me juft to whifper 
 you, that the milk of this animal gives only one-ninth its quantity 
 of ardent fpirit, while the milk of mares gives one-third ; a won- 
 derful difference in ceconomics, which you would do well to calcu- 
 late before you begin your diftillation, if you have fpeculated on the 
 fubjedl ; but indeed, whether you have or not, you never efcape the 
 jokes of your moft dutiful fpoufe, M- G. 
 
 LETTER
 
 ( 230 ) 
 
 LETTER LXXIV. 
 
 x\S on entering the Taurida 1 faid every thing that fuch a town as 
 Perecop can merit from a traveller, I fliall now only tell you, that 
 we flept there laft night, and left it this morning, to plunge a fecond 
 time into the Nogay defert in our way back to Nicolayef on the 
 Bog, our head-quarters for a time ; indeed, till the roads fhall be 
 good enough for our return to Peterfburg. 
 
 In hopes of varying the monotonous fcenery of a vaft wild, we 
 took a different route from what we purfued in coming, and crofled 
 the defert towards the iliore of the Dead Sea ; to which I was the 
 rather induced by a hope of feeing the ruins of fome of the antient 
 cities which the Greek and Roman geographers fpeak of on that 
 
 coafl". 
 
 Our fearch after ruins, however, was as fruitlefs here as it had 
 often been in the Taurida which we have left ; yet that did 
 not deter me from marking the pofition of one of them in my Map, 
 on the angle of the Sinus Carcinatis of the Antients ; as we know 
 that this city gave its name of Tamyraca to that gulph, before the 
 Crim Tartars changed it a third time to the name that it flill bears, 
 viz. the Gulph of Koreli. 
 
 How the antient cities faid to have formerly flood on this coaft 
 were fupplied with frefh water, is a queftion that we mufl naturally 
 afk, after having found neither rivers, rivulets, nor fprings, in its 
 whole extent ; nay, we did not even fee a trace of the deep wells 
 
 which
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 231 
 
 ^vhich they mad have dug to fupply the want of them ; although, 
 indeed, they may have been filled up with fand in a number of ages, 
 and fo compleatly levelled with the rell of the plain as not to be 
 now vifible. 
 
 Leaving then the fruitlefs fcarch of ruins, we found fome enter- 
 tainment in examining a number of fculptured ftones fcattered over 
 the del'erts to the Eaft of the Dnieper. 
 
 They are (landing perpendicularly in the ground, bearing each 
 the buft of a man or woman to'erably fculptured for Tartar work- 
 manfliip ; which there can be no doubt of their being, from the 
 particular drefs in which they are reprefented, and the marked fea- 
 tures of the Calmouks, or Huns. But whether thefe rude monu- 
 ments of antiquity (for the preient race of Tartars know nothing 
 about them,) were originally intended to diftinguilh the grave of a 
 Scythian chief"", or to mark the limits of his grazing ground, like 
 the Roman termini, I will not take upon me to determine in my 
 pre'.ent inadequate knowledge of Tartar antiquities ; although I 
 have travelled over fo much of their territory, and even tailed their 
 koumis and mares' milk brandy. 
 
 We had now given overall hopes of drawing further amufement 
 from the Nogay defert, and were hurrying on to the Boryflhenes, 
 when we mofl uncxpe6ledly fpied a few Scythian tents, exa6tly the 
 fame to this day as dcfcribed by Greek and Roman authors. To 
 enable you to judge for yourfelf, however, 1 fliall give you an exa6l 
 defcription of thofc which we examined. 
 
 They \\ ere of a circular form, about four feet high and eight feet 
 in diameter, covered fiill with ruflies, and then with a very thick 
 fpecies of felt cloth, both outwardly and inwardly ; fo as to keep 
 the inhabitants warm and dry in all weathers. 
 
 •*' See an Inquiry into the Origin of thefe rude Statues at the end of the volume. Appendix, 
 No. III. 
 
 At
 
 232 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, kc. 
 
 At the top is a round opening, out of which arifes a flag-fl:afF and 
 banner, to diftinguilh the horde ; and, as the fire-place is in the 
 center of the tent, the Imoke idues from the fame opening, and 
 keeps the Tartar pendant in conftant motion, even when there is 
 no wind. How^ever, a fire is never lighted in the banner-tents but 
 in very cold weather ; as there are others allotted to the purpofc 
 of cookery, &c. 
 
 The door, wdiich is always covered with a fluff of the fame 
 colour as the banner, is fo I'mall and low, that you can with diffi- 
 culty get into thefe nomade tents, even to vifit a chief; and when 
 you do, you find no other furniture than a bulrufh mat or carpet, 
 a couple of felt mattraffes fpread on the ground, with a fabre, bow 
 and arrows hanging up on the fide ; and when the owner is able to 
 add a gun and piftol to his armory, he is molT: completely equipped 
 for the fpecies of irregular war that he occafionally engages in. 
 Thefe lafl-mentioned inftruments of death are the only addition to 
 the furniture of a Scythian tent fince the days of Herodotus, who firft 
 mentioned them and their owners under the name of Hamaxobitii"^^ 
 or a people dwelling in tents drawn by horles ; as applicable to the 
 Tartars of the prefent day, as to their ancellors the Scythians ; 
 for the very tents that I have been defcribing, called Kabitkies, are 
 placed on carts of the fame name, and drawn with their inha- 
 bitants from one grazing ground to another, as the difference of 
 feaion, or a want of paflure for their numerous flocks, demands a 
 change of place. The women arc kept in feparate tents pitched 
 near thofe of the men, and clofely (hut up from public view ; fo 
 that we here found the haram or feraglio in its primitive form, 
 which fcems to have taken origin in thedefert. 
 
 The kitchen utenfils, as fimple as the drefs, manners, and food 
 of thefe pafloral wanderers, arc kept in the female tents, and 
 
 "• £ee Letter X. 
 
 confift
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &e. 235 
 
 confifl only of a large iron kettle, a finaller witli a tripod, and a 
 block of wood for the kitchen drellcr. 
 
 When a horde are encamped together, as is commonly the cafe 
 (for the party that we faw were only a fmall detachment), they are 
 under the command of their murfa, a kind of patriarchal chief, of 
 much fuperiour confequence and authority to the petty leader to 
 whom we paid our compliments from a motive of curiofity. 
 
 Nothing more attra6led our attention till we arrived at Alefky, a 
 handfome village on the left bank of the Dnieper (much lower 
 down than the town of Beriflaf, where we crolFed that river in going 
 to the Taurida), placed in a fertile fpot, abounding in rich patture; 
 -a facl of which the quality of the milk and butter that we met 
 with here, would have convinced us, even if we had not feen the 
 herd of fine cows that produced them. This village likewife fur- 
 niflicd us with melons of an extraordinary fize and flavour ; but 
 what mod particularly excited our furprife was, the fize of their 
 millet feed, growing on (talks as thick as fmall bamboos. 
 
 How much is it to be regretted, that fo valuable a diftricl fhould 
 imbibe the feeds of defl:ru6lion to man, from the fame caufe to 
 which it owes its fertility ! for, the vernal overflowing of the Bo- 
 ryfthencs leaves here a vaft quantity of vegetable and animal mat- 
 ter, which, though it greatly enriches the foil, exhales, during July 
 and Augufl', a dangerous marfli miafma, which is, unfortunately, 
 watted to Cherfon by an EafI: wind that reigns in thofe months, and 
 carries with it death and dcfl;ruclion to the inhabitants of that de- 
 voted city, now dcfervedly abandoned for'Nicolayef by the troops, 
 •&:c. as explained in a former letter. 
 
 This and fomc other examples which I have obferveu in my 
 travels evidently demonftrate, that the overflowing of rivers in hot 
 <limatcs is cither a curie or a blcfling to man, according to his in- 
 dolence or induftry ; tor, if this lupcrfluous water were wifely con- 
 du6lcd, by fmall canals and other contrivances, to fertilize the ad- 
 
 H H joining-
 
 234. A TOUR THROUGH TPIE TAURIDA, c\c. 
 
 ioihing country, inftead of letting it form a dangerous morafs in 
 one fpot, it would be as ufeful to man, as it is now den:ru6tive. 
 
 One moft (Iriking ilLuftration of this fa£t we have in the over- 
 flowino- of the Nile ; which, to the anticnt induftrlous Egyptians, 
 was a fource of wealth and health ; while to the prefent flothful 
 race it only brings yearly peftilence fmce the antient canals and re- 
 fervoirs have been allowed to fill up. However, it muft at the 
 fame time be acknowledged, that fuch public works not only require 
 the aid of government, and a number of hands, but likewife a 
 more intelligent and laborious race of men than the prefent Tartar 
 inhabitants; for no branch of rural ceconomy demands more fkill 
 and attention than a well-regulated fyftem of irrigation '".. 
 
 But to continue our journey : — We embarked *at Ale(k_y, where 
 the Boryfthenes is magnificently wide, and rolls its majeftic waves 
 through a foreft of rulTies, peopled with fuch a variety of water- 
 fowl, that when difturbed they darken the air. From thence we 
 failed about 20 verfts up to Cherfon ; and, in following the varioas 
 turnings of the river, had every now and then a glimpfe of that city, 
 which we prefcntly loft again. This, occurring many times during 
 ■our fhort voyage, became a curious fort of game at hide and feek, 
 which had a fine effecl:, and agreeably beguiled the diftance by 
 flattering us feveral times with being at the end of our journey 
 before we really arrived. In lliort, my good friend, we ended our 
 Tour (for the remainder of our route to Nicolayef you know 
 already) with a moft fportive play of perfpeaive, which brought 
 us, in' good humour, to Cherfon ; whence we fliall fet off to-mor- 
 row morning for our head-quarters on the Bog, and remain with 
 the hofpitable family of the Commander in Chief, till the roads 
 permit my return to my own in St. Peterfburg, where I hope foon 
 to (how all my friends with what health, fpirits, and gaiety, an 
 
 i« Sec a paper On the Philofophy of Agriculture by the EciToa of this Tour, printed in the 
 additional Appendix to the Report on Manures by Uie Board of Agriculture. _ 
 
 invalia
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, kc. 235 
 
 invalid returns from the charming vallies of the Taurida, to em- 
 brace her anxious friends and relatives at home ; and to convince 
 you with how much fmcerity and attachment (he is your affec- 
 tionate wife, Maria Guthrie. 
 
 LETTER LXXV. 
 
 Nkolayef, on tlie Bog. 
 
 Here, my good friend, am 1 caught in a manner that I never 
 dreamed of, and compelled to winter in Nicolayef, as, from the 
 mildnefs of the feafon, there is no appearance either of the rivers 
 being frozen, or the roads pradicable in a fledge ; and as for my 
 attempting the journey to Peterfburg in my poft-coach on ivheeh, it 
 is pcrfecSlly out of the queftion ; for the couriers who arrive in the 
 lioht Kabitkies, or carts of the country, have much difficulty to 
 reach us, after hair-breadth efcapes on ,the intermediate rivers, 
 filled with floating ice, which is formed in the North, though 
 unable to unite, as ufual, in the South, for want of the accufl:omed 
 degree of cold. 
 
 Patience, then, I mufl: not only take to myfelf, but preach it 
 to my family at home. 
 
 To make the mofl:, therefore, of fo cruel a difappointment, I 
 fliali employ my Icifure hours till fpring (when I can be retired 
 from the company of the amiable family of the Admiral), in giving 
 you a iketch of the general hifliory of the antient colonics on the 
 
 il II 2 fliores
 
 236 A tOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 
 
 fhores of the Euxine and Mxotis, to connea:, and bring into one- 
 point of view, the detached and local hiftories of fuch of them as 
 we vifited in our Tour ; for, it muft be acknowledged, that the 
 whole were fo intimately linked together by ties of blood, iuter- 
 courfe, and commerce, that it is difficult to form a clear idea of a 
 part, without a certain degree of acquaintance with the totality of 
 the fubjedt. 
 
 This, however, I (liall enter upon in my next ; as gratitude, 
 refpedt, and even admiration, induce me to dedicate the remainder of 
 the prefent letter to the charming family in which Hive, and which 
 nothing could engage me to wifh to leave fo foon, but the ardent 
 defire of a mother to fee her children ; for I will not fay a word of 
 my impatience to rejoin my hulband, as you men are already quite 
 vain enough without fuch declarations. 
 
 As to your moft refpe6lable old friend Admiral MordwinofF, you 
 know better than T can tell you the uprightnefs of his mind, and 
 the fuavity of his manners ; but as your fair countrywoman, his 
 lady, never accompanies her hufband to Peterfburg, although fo 
 Well entitled in every relpe6l to appear at court, fome account of 
 that interefting fair-one I am fure will be acceptable ; and I wiU 
 begin it by afluring you, that llie feems to have been intended by 
 nature for the worthy Admiral, to whom by fortune fhe has beea 
 united. 
 
 The entire pleafure and happinefs of this ornament of her fes- 
 feems to confift in her fine family and domeilic duties ; for fhe really 
 appears above the little vanity of etiquette and precedency attached 
 to her fituation and rank, as wife of the Commander in Chief of. 
 the fltets on the Black Sea ; behaving to every one vrith that noble 
 fimplicity of manner, and native unaffe6ced politenefs, which ever, 
 fpring from a cultivated mind and found judgment.. 
 
 The influence that the example of chiefs has on the manners 
 and morals of a rifing colony, is finely illuftrated at Nicolayef in 
 many refpe(Sts ; but it ftruck me moft forcibly at the Admiral's 
 jpublic aflemblies ; where I obfervcd, that every lady feemed to vie 
 
 with
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c, 237 
 
 with her neighbour, who (hould appear there with the greatcft 
 neatnels and fimplicity of drels, to be in uniformity with the charm- 
 ino- miftrefs of the houfe, who always prefides m a plaui Imcn of 
 cotton gown, more ornamented by her native graces and diftin- 
 euilhed urbanity, than by all the ruinous finery fo common eveiy 
 where elfe in RufTia, but which the example of this worthy couple 
 has banillied from the fettlcment entruftcd to then care, to the 
 ereat relief of the inhabitants (moftly in the fervice of govern- 
 Lnt), who are thereby enabled to live comfortably on their pay. 
 although very inadequate to fupport luxury at the end of the .Sth. 
 century, hovsever ample it may have been n. the tnne of Pet r I. 
 the .re t founder of the military, naval, and civd eftabh hmcnts. 
 
 There Is one material want moil evident n. this new colony ; and. 
 that is of ladies, af I may judge from the number of fuitors for 
 .the hand of the young woman who left her attendance on our 
 children to accompany me in my journey. _ u,u,,^ ,11 
 
 The amiable Lady Mordwinof, who is fo much above all 
 petty prejudices, having infifled on her dinmg at table il^e was 
 courted, alternately by three officers, and married the laft who en- 
 tered tl.e lifts- (I venly believe) becaufe he was an Englilhman, as^ 
 £he had a liking to your country, and fpoke the language. 
 
 Thus you fee, my good friend, that the liberality of mmd of my 
 fair hoftefs, and the fcarcity of females in Nicolayef, has lett me 
 to return alone to St-. Peterfburg, if I can find no one to fupply ri.e 
 place of Mrs. Young, for that is her new name ; but, mftead of 
 being offended at Cupid for playing me fuch a tnck, I am, on the 
 contrary, thankful that he did not draw hi. bow before my Toux 
 to the Taurida ; and 1 confole myfclf with contemplating the hap. 
 
 pinefs of the young couple. . , ^ „• 
 
 Do not, however, be alarmed at the idea of my travelling un- 
 attended, as the Admiral has appointed an officer, a ferjeant and- 
 a Soldier, to fee me fate to my own houfe ; io that only a.female 
 is' wanting; and, if 1 can do no better, I i-haU take with me a 
 failor's wife, who now ads as waiting-woman to \ ''^'^:j,^£j^
 
 ( 238 ) 
 
 LETTER LXXVI. 
 
 J. SHALL now begin my purpofed hiflorical fkctch of the Greek 
 and Roman colonies, &c. founded on the llxores of the Enxine and 
 Ma^otis. 
 
 We are told, that on the fall of Troy "' the reftlefs Grecian 
 chiefs difperfed in queft of new exploits ; Menelaiis to Phaenicia and 
 Egypt ; Diomede to the Adriatic ; and fo on. But the hero whofe 
 adventures relate to my fubjedt, and with whom alone I have any 
 thing to do, was Neoptolemus (fon of Achilles), who failed with 
 his ThelTalians into the Euxine or Black. Sea, and made his firft 
 landing at the mouth of the Danube, known to the Greeks 70 
 years before by the flight of Jafon, who took that road with the 
 daughter and treafure of the unhappy King of Colchis, who was 
 robbed oi both by the Argonauts fo famous in antient hiftory for 
 this piratical expedition ; nay, feme of thefe lawlefs adventurers 
 were even deified for the nefarious exploit, which certainly, in a 
 political point of view, fetting afide the moral turpitude of the 
 ;i6lion, was of infinite national importance to Greece ; as the dif- 
 covery of the rich countries on the Ihores of the Black Sea opened 
 a new and vaft field for commerce and colonization, to bold and 
 entcrprifing maritime flates ; although they clothed the great event 
 in the drefs of fable, according to their ufual cuftom in all fuch 
 
 ' ° In fpite of every argument brought to prove the non-exiftence of the fiege of Troy^ in the 
 very ingenious work of the learned Preliclent of the Antiquarian Society of London, the Grecian 
 chiefs evidently I'cera to have been allcnibled about that time on fome expedition. 
 
 vCafes ;
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 1?-0 
 
 cafes ; and it muft be rcmai-ked, that the mode of colle6ling the 
 gold-duft walhed down from the Caucafus by mountain torrents,, as 
 Ttill praaifed in the antient Colchis, greatly favoured the Grecian 
 taile for apologue ; as the woolly aicep-lkins, funk in the rivers to 
 Goliecl the glittering treafure, are by no means unlike a golden 
 Jleece when drawn out of the water all befpangled with particles of. 
 that precious metal. 
 
 This expedition, then, of Neoptolemus, Avith which I begin 
 my fubjea:, feems to have been the firft attempt to turn to national 
 advantage the Argonautic difcoveries ; as we find him immediately 
 beginning a fyftem of colonization, by driving a Scythian hord^, 
 highly celebrated by Strabo for innocence and gentlcnefs of man^ 
 ners, from their lands at the mouth of the Ifter, or Danube, and 
 obliging them to take refuge in the ifland of Peuce, furrounded by 
 two of the branches or mouths of that noble river. 
 
 On the fpct thus obtained by cruelty and violence, he formed the 
 fettlement of Tome "\ afterwards fo famous for the exile of Ovid ; 
 and thence proceeded to the Tyras, now the river Dniefter ; at the 
 mouth of which he ereacd a tower bearing his own name, probably 
 as a mark of ponilTion, as the moderns .plant a crofs or flag on a 
 newly-difcovereu ifland ; and there left a fmall colony which he 
 called Hermonafla. 
 
 Neoptolemus next proceeded to the neck of land where the 
 Ruffian fort of Kinburn now flands. There he built a maufo- 
 leum''^ furrounded by a facred wood, and celebrated equeflrian. 
 games to the manes of his father ; which occafioned the fpct to be 
 ever after called by the'antients Dromos Achilleos ''% or the Courfe 
 of Achilles ; indeed that antique appellation feems to be ftill 
 preferved in the Turkish name of the place ; for Kill, or Achlll- 
 
 ■si Strabo tells us, in his 7th book, that Achilles was worfnipped amonsft the Getesj " and oa 
 the Danube," adds Dion Chrylbftoui in his 36th oration. 
 
 "s- Rather a cataphalcus. 
 
 'S3 Strabo tells us, in his 7th book, p. 472, that Achilles had a flatuc, temple, and fladium on 
 the.Boryllhencs ; the lall he calls lijojro; A;i(;iMi«;.
 
 210 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &:c. 
 
 bourn, means the Cape or Promontory of Achilles. Here ended 
 expedition of Neoptolemus. 
 
 The next fleet 
 of adventurers 
 that entered the 
 
 Euxine, appear 
 to have been the 
 Cariens, or Mi- 
 lefians "% from 
 the city of Miletus in Caria ; a peo- 
 ple who feem originally to have been 
 what the Greeks called Barbarians (an 
 appellation which they proudly be- 
 llowed on every one not of Grecian 
 origin), although they were early incorporated with them in their 
 military exploits, from, being the Swifs, or foldiers of fortune, of 
 that period ; ever ready to hire themfelves out to the belligerent 
 powers, or even to co-operate at their ov\-n expcnce where rich 
 plunder was the prize ; like the Riiflian Coffaks, Baikeers, &c. to 
 this day ; infomuch that they were even faid to have given origin to 
 the word Miles., a foldier. Thefe profeflional warriors foon \ an- 
 quilhed the feeble fleet of the Chaldeans, or Chalybs, the fole pro- 
 's* The temple of Apollo Didymenos of Milet, burned by Xei-xes; with his fiatuc, and two 
 men with lighted brands in the aft of firing it. 
 
 '-' As the Editor confidered the Greek colonies on the Euxine as very imperfe£tly knoun to 
 the Public at large, he thought that giving Ikctchcs of autonamate coins itruck by the principal 
 cities mentioned in this Tour, when they were free and independent Greek towns, might have a 
 good effeft in convincing fceptical readers not only of the exiftencc of fijch colonies, but even of 
 their antient conl'equence ; for which real'on only three Imperial medals will be found in the whole 
 number; that is to fay, coins llmck by them after being conquered by the Romans ; and, as moll 
 of thofe colonies were planted by the Milefians, a couple of fine medals of the mother country 
 (viz. the city of iVIiletus in Caria) are given, to begin with, from Pellerin, as are mofl of the 
 otheri-. More on this fubjeft %\ ill be found in Letter LXXXV. 
 
 »•=* Obverl'e, the Didyinen Ai;ollo. — — Rcverfe, the proper arms or emblem of Milct, wiili the 
 infcription Milefi. 
 
 te<5lion
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 241 
 
 te6lion of the Southern coaft of the Euxinc, and founded feveral 
 colonies in Afia Minor ; fuch as Trapezus, Ilcrmonaira, Ccralus, 
 Ifcopohs, &:c. but above all Sinope and Heraclea, the capitals of 
 their fettlements in Paphlagonia and Bythinia, witli which they 
 probably began their fjftem of colonization, as being neareft at 
 hand, and extended it gradually Eaflward along the coafl, as far as 
 Trapezus, or, as it is now called, Treblfond. 
 
 It was not long before they difcovered likewife the oppofite coaft 
 of the Taurida, by the lliipwreck thereon of Oreftes, and his fub- 
 fequent efcape, with his filter, from the bloody temple of Diana ; 
 for they availed themfelves of his knowledge of the coiintry, to 
 fend him, at the head of a colony from the Greek fettlement of 
 Heraclea in Bythinia, which founded the city of Cherfon in a fmall 
 peninfula, that they named, in honour of the mother colony, 
 Cher/ones Heraclea, clofe by the temple of the Tauric goddefs ; and 
 revenged on the cruel inhabitants their leader Oreftes, who had fo 
 nearly been facrificed on her altar. 
 
 They now extended their fettlements along the 
 Tauric coaft, as far as the Cimmerian Bofphorus ; /« 
 building, in fucceflion, the cities of Theodocia \^ 
 and Panticapeos ; then, pafTmg the Straits, they founded the city 
 of Phanagoria on the ifland of that 
 name, and ran up their pofts along 
 the Afiatic fliore of the Mxotis, as 
 fer as their great northern mart 
 Tanais, or AfofF, which they built 
 on the Don (then the river Tanais) ; with Alopecia, on an illand 
 at Its mouth ; and the other intermediate cities mentioned in the 
 Tour, and laid down on the Map that accompanies it. 
 
 Befide all thefe fettlements in the Taurida, and on the Afiatic fide 
 of the Bofphorus, it fcems to have been the fame commercial 
 Carians, or Milefians, who reaped all the fruits of Ncoptolemus's 
 expedition to the Iftcr, Tyras, &c. ; for we hear no more of cither 
 
 I I him
 
 242 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 
 
 hiiii or his colony ; while we know that all the trading cities on the 
 DuielkT and Dnieper were built by the Milefians ; inch as Ofmfa, 
 N'conia, and Tyras, on the firft of thcfe rivers ; wi^h the city of 
 Olbio, or The Happy, on the lecond, the great mart for Scythian^ 
 as Tanais on the Don was for Sarmatian barter. 
 
 LETTER LXXVII. 
 
 J. O finifh the hiftory of the Milefian colonies on the Euxine, with- 
 out interrupting the narration with the eftablilhments made by 
 others, I lliall now follow them to the Weft coaft of the Black Sea ; 
 although in fo doing, for the fake of perfpicuity, I iliall be guilty 
 of a great anachronifm ; as the colonies of the Cuban and the 
 Caucafus were certainly planted by the other Grecian flates, before 
 the Milefian fettlement of Heraclea in Afia Minor had had time to 
 multiply to fuch a degree, as to fend forth two fucceffive de- 
 tachments. 
 
 When the colony of Heraclea had fo much increafed in popu- 
 lation, as to be ready for a fecond emigration, after fending out 
 the Tauric colony mentioned above, they directed their courfe to 
 the Weft coaft of the Euxine, as the only remaining fliore of this 
 fea that offered a chance for a new fettlement ; and even that was 
 already occupied in its whole extent, except a fingle fpot (which 
 will be mentioned toward the end of this Letter), moftly by their 
 
 own
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &:c. 
 
 24-3 
 
 own countiymen the Milcfians, dire6lly from the mother country, 
 who feein to have rivalled oven the Phoenicians in a daring fpirit of 
 mercantile adventure. VVe mud now take a furvey of the Well 
 coaft at the time when the Heraclean colony arrived there. 
 
 Tome and Iftria toward the mouth of the 
 Danube, thirty-one miles diftant from each 
 other, belonged to the Carians (both reduced 
 to infignificant places in the time of Strabo) ; 
 and the fame people had likewife founded the 
 two cities of Crulii and Odclfa a little far- 
 ther to the South, and bordering on the 
 fettlements of Naulocus and Mefembria, 
 founded by the Megarians. Then 
 again, the Milefian colonies occupied 
 the coaft to the Southward of Mount 
 Hemus, where ftood their ftrong for- 
 tified city of ApoUonias, built partly 
 on an illand, partly on the continent, and 
 noted for both its fort and arfenal ; v. hile 
 its temple of Apollo, and its celebrated 
 ftatue of that god, made it famous throuoh 
 all Greece, till that fine piece of antient 
 fculpture was carried to Rome by Lucullus, on the Roman conqucfl 
 of the country. 
 
 The reft of the coaft down to Byzantium, now Conftantinople, 
 was moftly occupied by the Tynian Thracians, mafters of the cities 
 of Thinopoli?, Andrea, and Salmideda ; while the remainder was 
 a dangerous rocky Ihore, without a fingle port to take refuge in ; 
 indeed, all navigators ftrove to keep at a diftance from it ; as either 
 
 •" -A branch of the Vine on the leverjc of Mefcmbria lliows eitiicr that it was faraoin for 
 wine, or that Bacchus, whofc liead is reprdeiited on the obverfe, was w orlhipped there. 
 
 I I 2 death,
 
 l.'I4 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAUklDA, kc. 
 
 death, or, what was ftill worle, Thracian flavery, awaited the un- 
 happy iciimcn who reached the inhofpitable land'''. 
 
 After this lurvcv of the Weft coaft of the Euxinc, from the Danube 
 down to Byzantium, it becomes evident that the Heraclean colony 
 had no great choice of place ; and, in fact, they only found one 
 fpot vacant a little to the South of Tome, in beginning their 
 lurvey ; which probably had been left unoccupied on account of the 
 dangerous nature of the ])lace ; as the city of Callatias, which they 
 built there, v/as foon after demoliflied by the fame earthquake 
 
 which fwallowed up nearly half the 
 city and port of Byzon, another Gre- 
 cian fettlement on this fhore. 
 
 So tragic an end of their new 
 cPtablillimcnt obliged them to fleer 
 their courfe home again ; but, as probably the lame caufe which 
 had made them emigrate ftill exifted in Heraclea, and prefented a 
 
 '5'' Byzantium was originally founded by the Megarians 72a years before Clirift, and rebuilt by 
 the Milsfians on account of its tine fecure port, and its favourable fituation to command the 
 Thracian Bofphorus ; which afterwards caufed its alliance to be courted both by Sparta and Alliens ; 
 tluiugh the l.ill fuccceded, on account of its great commerce and naval power, which enabled it 
 to hold in fubjcftion moft of the iflands in the iEgean Sea, from Attica all the way up to Byzan- 
 tium, and to have a chain of colonies or faftories upon them, extending even through thefe Straits, 
 and along the coaft of Afia Minor on. the Eiuxine, down to the city of Amifus, which they beai\- 
 tified ; and ■! lufpeft that the city of Athena? (now Athenah), much farther down the coaft, was 
 built and named b)' tlrem after their Attic capital. The city of Byzantium was noble and fpacious, 
 fiijoying a popular government, with fine public buildings, a ftrong fort, gymnafium, &:c. &c. 
 It owed its great opulence to a lucrative fifliery, and a duty o&> all ihips pafling to and from the 
 Euxinc, like Denmark at prefent m ith regard to the Bailie ; befidcs tl)e great profit that it drew 
 
 from all the pading fliips fpending money there, and afterwards 
 leaving goods for fale> inftead of carrying them to the Euxine 
 markets, when the feafon was not favourable for navigating 
 tliat dangerous Sea. — Its fait lifti was Amous all over 
 Greece. 
 
 * As the fifliory of ilie Pcl.iniijes wns a great ohjefl to the inhabitants of Eyzjiilium, it wouhl feem, from the fifh- 
 huok. in a lauri:! ciown, tl!.it icw.iids were given to expert fidieis. 
 
 valid
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &:c. 
 
 245 
 
 valid reafon againft their re- entering the 
 fettlemcnt, they found tlicmfclves obliged 
 to turn their force againft the adjacent 
 country of Paphlagonia, inhabited by 
 the Cauconi and Heneti, of which they took 
 poiTcnTion without much oppofition ; moft of j 
 the able-bodied men being foldiers of for- 
 tune, who fervcd any State that chofe to employ them, and were 
 then abfent on a diftant expedition ; fo that they feizcd on the 
 remaining part of the province exaclly in the fame manner that 
 their ancelfors had feized on the firft portion of it, when they 
 founded Sinopc and the other jNIilcfian cities on this coaft ; that 'is to 
 fay, in the abfence of its natural defenders the Heneti (then famous 
 as cavalry, and for the firil breed of mules known to antiquity), who, 
 having followed their King Pylemenus to defend Troy, when fum- 
 moned by old Priam, for the moll: part fell there with their valiant 
 fovereign, and left their country an eafyconqueft to the entcrprifing 
 Carians ; exaclly as in the cafe I am fpcaking of, when their de- 
 fcendants obtained poflefTion of the remaining lands of the devoted 
 Paphlagonia. \ 
 
 »5' It is worthy of remnik, tliat the head of Hercules ou tlic obvcrfe, and his chib on the 
 reverfe, of thcfe rare medals of tills fliort-lived unfortuiuite city, points out its orio-iu from 
 Heraclca (being founded, according to the Grecian fable, by that denii-god), Independent of the 
 Greek infcrip'.ion round his head ill Fig. (5. 
 
 LETTER
 
 ( 24-a ) 
 
 LETTER LXXVIII. 
 
 W HILE yet the rage of forming fettlemcnts on the (hores of the 
 Euxhie obtained in Greece, a colony of Acheans eftabhlhed them- 
 felves on the coaft of the Cuban, to the Eaft of Phanagoria ; nay, 
 one even from Lacedemonia, the leafl mercantile of all the Grecian 
 ftates, took pofl'efTion of the remaining part of the fea fliore between 
 the Acheans and the famous kingdom of Colchis, giving themfelves 
 the name of Henioches, or coachmen, in honour of Recas and 
 Amphiftrates, charioteers of the Argonaut heroes, the two Diof- 
 cures ; and even called their capital Diofcurus ; the very city after- 
 wards fo celebrated (under the name of Sebaftapoli's) as a great 
 mercantile emporium up to the Middle Ages. 
 
 Thefe firft fettlers, however, feem to have had no hand in carry- 
 ing on the extended and honourable commerce which in time ren- 
 dered this country the admiration of the world, as I fliall after- 
 wards {how, in treating of the Euxine trade ; but, on the contrary, 
 the Acheans and Henochi were fo far from cultivating honeft trade, 
 that they even joined with their neighbours, the Zigi, in a6ts of 
 piracy, and helped to form a fleet which was long the terror of the 
 Euxine under the antient and general name of Pclafgi ; from whom 
 neither merchant ihips on the fea, nor the defenceleis Icttlements 
 on the lliores, were in fafety, till they at laft taught the inhabitants 
 of the Euxine to fortify their ports, and the commercial nations to 
 
 create
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, kc. 247 
 
 create a marine to protecl their trade, which in time put an end to 
 their dejTcdations. 
 
 The colonies fettled on the coafl: of the Cuban, when driven from 
 maritime piracy, feem to have taken to plundering on land, as we 
 lliortlv after find the Greek colony of Pitiuntus Magnus, fituated 
 a little to the Wert: of Diofcurus, building the famous Validus 
 Murus acrofs a valley, to fccure themfelves againrt: thefe lawlefs 
 robbers ; but to little purpofe, as they found means to fcale thecoftly 
 wall, and dert:roy that rich and flourithing fettlement ; it was after- 
 wards, indeed, rebuilt by the great Mithridates, when he became 
 mafl:er of thefe countries ; but a fecond time ravaged by the Goths 
 while in the poilcflion of the Romans, the conquerors of that 
 Afiatic hero. It began the attacks of the Goths by fea on the Roman 
 empire, which they afterwards dire6ted againrt: Trebifond, Bythinia, 
 Greece, and Italy, in large fleets from the Taurida. 
 
 But, of all the Greek fettlements on the Euxine, thofe in the rich 
 kingdom of Colchis certainly took the lead ; not fo much, however, 
 for the gold colle6led in its rivers, as for the lucrative Indian trade 
 which then flowed in that channel, as will be foon fhown on the 
 fubject of commerce. 
 
 T he Greeks founded feveral cities in Colchis, efpecially on the 
 noble river Phafis (ib famous in the antient Argonaut fable), 
 which divides the kingdom into halves. The principal of thefe 
 was Sarapanis, built about 80 verrts up the Phafis, where the river 
 begins to be navigable for fliips of burthen coming down to the 
 Euxine ; and it was there that they placed the emporium of their 
 Indian commerce, and that their veffels went up to load the rich 
 produce of the Eart:. 
 
 Iberia is a rtriking example of the happy effect that commerce has 
 on the opulence of a country ; as the Indian trade, by only pafllno- 
 through it on its way to the Grecian emporium on the Phafis, men- 
 tioned above, not only rendered it one of the bed cultivated coun- 
 tries of Afia, but even crowded it with cities built of rtonc, and 
 
 covered
 
 248 A TOUR tllROUGH THE TAURIDA, kc. 
 
 covered with tiles, containing; temples and other pnbHc edifices, as 
 the Greek writers aflTure us; nay, they add, that even the adjoining 
 country of Albany was almoft equally benefited by the Indian trade 
 having been carried on for ages by the fame route, long before any 
 Grecian colony was founded in Colchis ; a curious fact, which 
 explains the caufe of the riches of that antient kingdom when the 
 firlt Grecian adventurers arrived there. 
 
 Strabo tells us, that the people of the country of which I am now 
 treating, were divided into cafts, like the Indians ; and gives us 
 much curious information relative to this part of the world ; but 
 if I were to indulge in quoting from claffic authors, in this and 
 feveral other parts of my rapid glance at the Euxine colonies, (more 
 cfpccially in the antient Pontus and on the coaft of Afia Minor in 
 general,) I fhould at leaft add another volume to the Tour of 
 
 Your's, &c. 
 
 LETTER LXXIX. 
 
 Although I would not follow strabo through all his curious 
 ■remarks on the countries fituated among the Caucafian mountains; 
 yet 1 Ihall give him as my authority for faying, that a number of 
 Greek cities ftill exifted in his time on the river Cyrus (now Cur, 
 or Kur) all the way down to the Cafj^ian ; probably different flations 
 for the boats and merchandize on their way up from that fea ; and 
 we know, from the example of Palmyra, that even the palfage of 
 the India goods fupportcd populous cities of old. 
 
 But
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, Ac. 2i.O 
 
 But to return once more to the Phafis. With regard to the other 
 Greek cities on this central river, Strabo, Ptoleniy, and Pompo- 
 nius Mela, tell us, that the town of Phafis placed on its South 
 bank, near to its mouth, was the moft confiderablc of all ; and, in 
 fact, it became the capital of Colchis during the Greek reign in that 
 country. This city is i'uppofed to have been founded by Themif- 
 tagorus, and to have contained the temple of Phryxus, and the- 
 bower of the golden fleece ; and is ftill called Phaihc by the Turks 
 (who keep it garrifoncd by Janifaries), an evident corruption of 
 its anticnt name ; or, rather, a modification of it to their pro- 
 nunciation. 
 
 Another Greek city on the fame fide of the river was Circeum, 
 now the ruined fort of Irke; both commercial places in antient 
 times ; more efpecially the firft ; for Arrian fpeaks very highly of 
 the opulence and trade of Phafis in his Tour of thcEuxine fo often 
 quoted in mine. 
 
 A third celebrated city of antiquity fituated near the mouth of 
 this river (or rather a fourth, as the Greek Emporium Sarapanis 
 mull be counted here, though mentioned in a former letter), was 
 uEa, the refidence and capital of the unhappy King of Colchis, 
 who was the vi£lim of the Argonautic expedition. 
 
 Arrian tells us, that in his time the inhabitants of this city 
 fhowed part of a ftone anchor which had been left there by Jafon. 
 
 The remaining towns on the Phafis were, the Tyndaride and 
 the Cygnus of Pliny ; the firll now Pandary ; the fecond, pro- 
 bably, no longer exifts. 
 
 They likcwife poflefTed Cyta, the birth-place of Medea, now 
 Cutatis, the capital of Turkifli Georgia, fituated on the Rhoas of 
 Pliny, or the river Rione of the Turks, 
 
 The original inhabitants of Colchis feem to have been, as they 
 themfelves aficrted, of Egyptian extra6lion ""' ; at leafl if we may 
 
 judge 
 
 160 ^ffQ gjg ,(j]j jjy antient authors, (and even the fcepllc Mr. Jacob Bryant, in liis learned 
 attack on the fiege of Troy, cites the hiftorical ia&.) tliat the Egyptians at an early period had the 
 
 K K empire 
 
 4G3190
 
 250 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 
 
 iudoe from certain circumftances to be mentioned in the article of 
 their commerce, and the forcible argument of Herodotus, that they 
 were, of all the numerous nations of Caucafus, the only people 
 who praftifed circumcifion. 
 
 1 have now enumerated all the Greek colonies on the fhores of 
 the Euxine, and fuch cities as were commercial ; for to give an 
 account of the whole would be a voluminous work of itfelf. I 
 mean, therefore, to appropriate the. remainder of this Letter to a 
 few remarks on the interefting mountains of Caucafus, (where I 
 chanced to finifh my little fketch of the Grecian reign in the Eux- 
 ine) as one of the moft curious chains in the world, running from 
 near the river Cuban to the Cafpian fea, and prefenting both to the 
 natural hiflorian and the philofopher very interefting phenomena. 
 
 The firft that it falls into the nature of my plan to take notice 
 of here, are Ibme curious cufloms of the celebrated Circaffians, 
 more elpecially as they inhabit that part of the Caucafus which was 
 antiently the country of the Amazons, and may therefore ferve to 
 throw fome light on the antient fables concerning that nation of 
 warlike ladies ; for, in fa6l, to this day, a traveller finds there the 
 women living fep«irately from the men, to all appearance at lead ; 
 and as, even in modern battles between the different Caucafian 
 nations, thefe infulated viragoes have been found among the flain 
 completely clad in armour (See Mr. Ellis's Memoir accompanying 
 his Map of thefe mountains), a ftranger, with but a little turn to 
 the marvellous in his difpolition, might ftill imagine that he had 
 difcovered a community of warlike females, dwelling diftin£t from 
 the men, and only admitting their vifits to prevent the total ex- 
 tinflion of their Amazon ftate ; for in reality all this appears on 
 the face of the cafe, and requires the following explanation to in- 
 duce a different opinion of the whole. 
 
 empire of the ff-a, and conquered many of the Greek illands, with a part of the coaft of Afia 
 Minor ; fo that it is very poflibie they may have then planted a colony in Colchis, as tliey cer- 
 tainly did in Greece. 
 
 FirfV,
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, kc. 251 
 
 Firft, by an old eQablilhed cuftoin aiiTong the CircafTians, the 
 men fteal in like midnight thieves to cohabit with their wives, who 
 live perfectly alone and leparatcd from the men, without even a 
 male child under their care ; while it is a great difgracc to the men 
 to be caught, or even fcen, on fuch vifits. 
 
 Secondly, every boy is removed from his mother as foon as born, 
 to be educated folely by the men, in order to his becoming a bold 
 foldicr, and an expert thief; which here, as in antient Sparta, is a 
 high qualification ; and to be detedled in the a6l, a great fhame. 
 
 Now I cannot help thinking, that any traveller, confidering with 
 attention thcfc cujlcnu, ftill cxifting among the CircafTians in the 
 antient country of the Amazons, muft readily difcover in them the 
 origin of the Grecian fables concerning thofc famous ladies of an- 
 tiquity ; and, indeed, if the Greeks had as much foundation for 
 all their celebrated fi6liojis, as for the two that took origin in this 
 part of the world, viz. their golden fleece and the kingdom of the 
 Amazons, we can by no means give them all the credit for poetic 
 imagination, which has been commonly allowed to that nation. I 
 cannot take leave of this fubject without hazarding a conjecture, 
 that, as the country I have been fpeaking of is regarded by many 
 as the great cradle of the European variety of the human fpecics 
 the Lacedemonian cuftoms which diftinguillied them from the other 
 Grecian ftates may have taken origin in the Caucafus, where our 
 late imperial academician Guilinltead has found the ftriking refem- 
 blances related above ; and on which it is unnecefiary to comment 
 to thofe well acquainted with Grecian hiftory, M'ho will probably 
 find with me the bafis upon which the Spartans created their fyftcm 
 of public education detached from the women, their art of thieving 
 undifcovered, &c. 
 
 There is flill another cuftom, however, which I neo]e6lcd to 
 mention, viz. a leathern belt fewed round the waifl of female 
 children in Circadia, and which is renewed as often as burll by the 
 
 K K 2 growth
 
 252 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &:c. 
 
 * 
 
 growth of the girl, till the nuptial night, when it is cut loofe 
 by the fabre of the hufband in defiance of the bride's refifthnce. 
 Is it not ea(y to find, in this antient ufage, the origin of the 
 flruggle which took place between the Spartan bride and her huf- 
 band before he could untie the zone, where marriage feemed a fpe- 
 cies of privileged rape ? 
 
 LETTER LXXX. 
 
 J\?> the colonies founded by the Greeks on the fliores of the 
 Euxine and Macotis are now about to change their mafters, it may 
 not be amifs to fay a few words of their firfl conqueror, before we 
 come to relate his fuccefs, and the ufe that he made of his vi£lories. 
 Mithridates, King of Pontus (defervedly furnamcd The Great, 
 as he made head for 30 years againft the powerful republic of Rome 
 in ail its ftrength and glory, and is acknowledged by the Latin 
 writers to have given more trouble to Rome than Pyrrhus or Han- 
 nibal, with the Kings of Scythia and Macedon united), mounted 
 the throne of Pontus 124 years before the commencement of our 
 sera, whilft yet a child of 11 years of age, and was educated by 
 Greeks in his capital Sinope, in all the knowledge of the times, 
 more efpecially of Grecian tallies ; as the Romans found to their 
 coft, when he kept their famous legions at bay for fuch a number 
 2 of
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, c\'c. 253 
 
 of years, leading their generals and eagles in triumph more than 
 once during that period. However, his aoquiren^ients were by no 
 means coalined to the mihtar}' icience; as even, the Roman authors 
 acknowledge that he convcrled with 24 different ambafladors each 
 in his own language; for which we have the relpe6lab!e authorities 
 to be mentioned in anotlier part of this letter. 
 
 After Mithridates came of age, he fet out on his travels into fo- 
 reign countries, from which he returned in three years, after 
 having vifited many parts of the Eaft, and confiderably enlarged 
 his vie^v of things. The firft work that he fet about on coming" 
 home was the forming of an army to the Grecian manoeuvres, and 
 arming it, in their manner, to refifl: the Romans ; being unwilling 
 to remain a flave to thefc haughty republicans, as his father and 
 grandfather had been ; the one through neceffity, the other from 
 choice. 
 
 He therefore began his fyfhem of independence, by loudly de- 
 manding juftice, both of the fenate and their pro-conful in Afia, 
 for certain encroachments on his patrimony ; and on their treating 
 his reprefentations with derifion, according to their ufual llyle to 
 Afiatic princes, he immediately fet about righting himfelf, and, 
 with the rapidity of an Alexander, not only recovered all Afia 
 Minor, but even drove the Romans out of Greece, Macedon, 
 Thrace, &c. leading two of their generals with him in chains, viz. 
 Quintus Appius, and Manius Aquilius. The lad of the two he 
 punifhed for all the extortions and rapine that he had committed on 
 his fubjedls, by ordering melted gold to be poured down his throat ; 
 as he was the fomenter and caufe of the Mithridatic war, which, 
 indeed, only ended with the death of the Afiatic hero, after a glo- 
 rious ftruggle of 30 years againft the overgrown power of Rome ; 
 and even that was effetted by the treafon of his own children, as 
 has been already fliown '" on vifiting Panticapeos, the fcene of the 
 
 tragic event. 
 
 '«' Letter Ul. 
 
 The
 
 251 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, c«vc. 
 
 The only part of Mithridates' conqucft, however, that bclont^s 
 to my fubjedt is that of the Greek colonies, which he fubdued with 
 wonderful celerity from the Thracian Bofphorus, or ftraits of 
 Conftantinople (the antient Byzantium), all the way Eafl: to Tra- 
 pezius or Trebilond, and then carried his victorious arms to the 
 kingdom of Colchis, the Cuban, Phanagoria, the kingdom of 
 Bofphorus, and the Taurida ; nay, he feems even to have given 
 law to the colonies and nations dwelling on the Boryfthenes, Hy- 
 })anis, Axiacus, andTyras; as we find his general Diophanes de- 
 feating the Scythians in a pitched battle with a very inferior force, 
 on his victorious march to thofe countries after his conqueft of the 
 Taurida. 
 
 But we have another proof of his having carried his arms at 
 leafl: as far as the Tyras, or Dniefter ; for even the Roman authors, 
 Aulus Gellius, Valerius Maximus, and Quintillian, when confefllng 
 that Mithridates fpoke to 24 ambafladors every one in the language 
 of his refpe6tive country (as faid in the beginning of this letter), 
 tell us, that the ambaflfador of the Roxolaui was one of the num- 
 ber ; a people that we know dwelt between the Dniefter and Bog, 
 or rather wandered with their herds within the confines of thofe 
 two rivers, the very country latelv ceded to Ruffia, and which muft 
 have been only a reftitution made by the Turks, if the Roxolani 
 were, as fuppofcd, the anceftors of the Ruffians '"^ 
 
 This polifhed prince rebuilt the famous commercial city of Diof- 
 curus, afterwards called Sebaftapolis in honour of Auguftus, and 
 encouraged trade throughout all his conquefts ; that is to lay, as 
 much as his long defenfive war would permit him to cultivate the 
 
 '" The Editor, from his inquiries into the antiquities and origin of the Ruffians, is of this 
 opinion, though more from internal evidence than pofitive proof, whicli made him cautious of ad- 
 vaiicing it in his late work. 
 
 arts
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 255 
 
 arts of peace ; but, as the Romans never left him in quiet, except in 
 the two years of his long reign which elapfed between the firft and 
 fecond Mithridatic war, it is impofllble to fay what fuch a genius^ 
 mio-ht have done in favour of commerce and letters, which he loved 
 and cultivated, had he enjoyed more eafe and tranquillity. 
 
 LETTER LXXXI. 
 
 vJn the death of Mithridates, the Romans reduced all his vaft 
 dominions to the ftate of Roman provinces, governed either by 
 praetors, or tributary princes ; among which laft number Avas the 
 traitor Pharnaces, who was left for a time in the government of 
 the Taurida and Bofphorus, till, in an unfucceisful attempt to 
 recover the reft of his father's realms, he met the jull punifliment 
 of his unnatural crime, in the well-known battle begun by Julius 
 Caefar with the memorable words, '■^ Shall this treacherous parricide 
 go unptinijhedf' and who related his vidlory to the Senate in the cele- 
 brated line, Feni, vidi, vici ! I came, faw, and conquered ! 
 
 It is worthy of remark, that the field of battle was the fame on 
 which Mithridates defeated the Roman general Triarius. 
 
 The Romans, however, wifely and politicly declared mofl: of the 
 principal commercial Greek cities free, to the great advantage of 
 
 trade.
 
 256 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, kc. 
 
 trade ; and the warlike Emperor Trajan afterwards added to the 
 x:onquefts of Sylla, Lucullus, Pompey, and Julius Caefar, on the 
 fliores of the Euxine, that of the paftoral nations to the Eaft and 
 North of the Taurida, at the time \vhen he carried his viftorious 
 arms from the Danube to the Don, and planted Roman colonies in 
 the wilds of Scythia, where Darius and Philip of Macedon had met 
 with nothing but difgrace. 
 
 Thefe mighty conquefts, however, added more to the military 
 reputation of Trajan, than to the profit of the empire, if commerce 
 was in view in this pagan croifa^e to plant the Cadyceus of Mer- 
 cury, as we afterwards fo devoutly drove to plant the Crofs of Chrift 
 by force of arms ; a conclufion in which I am warranted by the 
 fubfequent condudt of the wife Adrian, who, finding the numerous 
 garrifons necefliiry to preferve thefe countries only a burthen to the 
 .(late, without any adequate advantage, withdrew them by degrees, 
 fo as not to expofe the lives of the Roman colonifts fettled there, as 
 would certainly have been the cafe had he done fo at once, before 
 they were prepared to defend themfelves. 
 
 I fliall now finifli this flight mention of the Roman pofiefllons on 
 the Euxiqe (to be foon refumed on the lubje6l of their commerce), 
 with obferving, that molt of our geographical knowledge of thefe 
 countries was acquired during the dominion of this enlightened 
 people ; for, what we poflefled before, was merely the information 
 from Herodotus, and the Periplos of Scylax, both works of high 
 antiquity. 
 
 Pliny has given us all that was colle6led by Varro (who accom- 
 panied Pompey), Mutius, and Cornelius Nepos : information, 
 which only reached asftir Eaft as the city of Diofcurias, or Sebafta- 
 polis; for the remainder we owe to the excellent Periplos of Arrian, 
 fo often mentioned in this Tour, who wrote in the reign of Hadrian ; 
 certainly with fuperior advantages, from his being a native of 
 Bythinia, governor of Cappadocia, and employed to make the 
 
 furveys,
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &:c. 257 
 
 furveys, with a Roman fleet, (^f both the Euxine and the colonies 
 placed on its fhores ; and accordingly we find in his work a much 
 more minute account of them than in thofe of Pomponius Mela, 
 Strabo, Ptolemy, and feme other antient writers, though all of 
 them have treated of thefe countries. 
 
 Since the time of the Romans, we find but litde on the Euxine, 
 if we except the vahiable information furnifhed by the Greek Em- 
 peror ConftaatinusPorphyrogcnitus, in his " De Adminiilrando 
 Imperio ;" for both the Venetians and Genoefe were too much 
 occupied with commerce, and in difputing the po(re(ri.on of the 
 valuable Tauric cities, &c. to write on the geography of the coun- 
 tries they were fighting for, although highly qualified to do fo, as 
 the moft enlightened nations of that period. Laflly, as the Euxine 
 and its colonies have been for fome centuries in the hands of the 
 ignorant Turks, who took them from the Genoefe, we could 
 expedt no information from men who have not even at this day the 
 invaluable art of printing general among them ; fo that it was 
 referved for the Rufllan dominion in thefe countries to revive inquiry 
 into the prefent ftate of the antient Greek colonies. 
 
 L L LETTER
 
 ( 258 ) 
 
 LETTER LXXXII. 
 
 Venetian and Genoese Possession of the Euxine Colonies. 
 
 X HE Venetians began to predominate in the Enxine toward the 
 decline of the Eaftern Roman empire ; as it was about that time 
 that the degenerate Cxfars courted their maritime aid asiainiT: the 
 Saracens and Turks, who had, by degrees, ahnoft penned them up 
 in Conftantinople by their repeated conquefts ; and it is but little 
 furprifing, that the feeble fucccflfors of the great Conftantine fhould 
 declare the powerful Venetians the moft favoured nation, when 
 even the terrible flaughter made among their enemies the Turks by 
 the famous Timur Beg (better known in Europe by his nick-name 
 Tamerlane, or the limpcr,) could not retrieve their affairs ; al- 
 though he came to the affiftance of the declining empire, and 
 almoft annihilated the Turkilli army, taking their Sultan Bajazet 
 prifoner, near Mount Stella in Pontus : a fpot already noted for the 
 total overthrow of Mithridates by Pompey. 
 
 The politic republicans, however, to ftrengthen ftill more their 
 intereft in Conllantinople, had the addrefs to direiSl a part of the 
 wild chivalry of the Croifades to that quarter ; well convinced, that 
 by feating a Latin Prince on the throne, they mull infallibly receive, 
 as they diti, a monopoly of the f'luxine trade, to counterbalance 
 the lofs of their commerce in the Saracen ports of the Mediter- 
 ranean,
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, cVc. ^50 
 
 rancan, then almoft entirely interrupted by the torrent of church 
 militants roUins: in that direction, and who would certainly all 
 have taken that road, had not the Venetians, as laid above, tranf- 
 ported 40,000 of thofc fanatics to the metropolis of the Greek em- 
 pire, and helped to feat a Frenchman on the throne. 
 
 The Venetians now rode triumphant on both the Black and Afoff 
 Seas, while they were at liberty to form fettlements on their ihorcs, 
 and accordingly took poireiTion of Theodocia, Tanais (or Afoff), 
 Trapczus (or Trebizond), &c. till a fecond revolution threw the 
 commerce and colonies on the Euxine into the hands of their rivals 
 the Genoefe, who baffled them at their own weapons, and reltored 
 the Greek dynafly, by which they became the moft favoured nation, 
 and monopolized in turn all the mercantile advantages enjoyed by 
 their rivals during the ihortl.atln reign. 
 
 Several bloody battles, however, were fought between the two 
 maritime republics, for the empire of the Euxine and Mxotis ; 
 till at length Venice gave up a contefl entirely fruitlefs on their fide, 
 while all advantages and privileges were given to Genoa by the 
 G:rateful Michael l^alxologus. 
 
 It was now that the democratic republic founded a fort of empire 
 in the Taurida, and chofe the antient city of Theodocia for its 
 capital, to which they reftorcd its antique Roman name of Cafum, 
 modified to CafFatofuit their own language. This they found in a 
 ruined condition; as, indeed, was the cafe when Arrian vifited it; 
 who fays, that he faw only lome Greek infcriptions on its moul- 
 dering waV.i. A comj^any of Genoefe merchants fettled there foon 
 after the rclloration of the Greek emperor "% by pcrmiflion of the 
 Chan of the Kozares, then fovcrcign of the Taurida, or Kozaria, ia 
 confequcnce of a treaty made with him, or rather a charter of pri- 
 
 '•' Tt may not be amifs to remind the reader that, in fpeakiiig of a Greek and Latin Emperor 
 filling the throne of the Roman empire crcaed in Conflantinople, the \\'riter nicrtly alkuks lo 
 thtir belonging to the Greek ur Latin Church. Editor. 
 
 L L 2 vilcges
 
 i>GO A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 
 
 vile^es granted them, whicli has been handei down to us, and is as 
 follows ; 
 
 Artijlc I. The Genoefe fliall pay the ordinary duties on all goods 
 imported and exported by them to and from Kozaiia in Genoefe 
 fliips. 
 
 Article II. Every Genoefe fubjei5t fliall have permiffion to buy and 
 fell all goods brought intoKozaria from every countrv whatfoevtr. 
 
 Article III. The Genoefe fhall be permirt d to build houfes and 
 magazines for themlelves and their n.erchandize, in iuch places as 
 the Chan fhall think proper. 
 
 Thus the Genoefe very modcflly began their Tauric colonization ; 
 but the port of CafFa was fo excellent, and its fituiition lo central 
 for the commerce of the Euxine, that they focm engroiTed it almoft 
 entirely, and daily increafed the number of mercantile fettlers, 
 houfes, magazines, &c. ; till at latf the fallen Theodocia arofe from 
 its ruins, and became, under its new name of Caffa, a greater and 
 more flouriihing city than ever it hud been in the time of the Greeks 
 and Romans. 
 
 The enter prizing republicans now thought it time to fecure their 
 Euxine mart from all attacks by land and fea ; and, in purfuancc of 
 this plan, obtained permifiion of the unfufpe6ling prince to cut a 
 trench round it, under pretence of guarding their magazines aga;nft 
 any fudden danger from the many pirates who infcflcd the leas ; 
 and, on obtaining this apparently-trifling favour, moft artfully 
 employed it to make themfelves independent, and, m fa(St, fove- 
 reigns of the peninfula, in the following manner. 
 
 The earth of the trench they heaped up on the outer fde of it 
 all round, as a fpecies of fimple rampart ; which gave neither um- 
 brage nor alarm to the reigning prince, who never fuipecled that 
 behind this fcreen they were bufily employed in building one of 
 brick, which, when finilhed, was furnilhed with turrets at proper 
 dillances, on various pretences ; thcfe the Tartars only fiared at as 
 novelties, till Catfa became a place regularly fortified in the ftile 
 
 of
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 2C1 
 
 of that period, and able to refill: all the force that Sc} thia could 
 brins; ap;ain(t it. 
 
 Exulting in their ftrength, it was not long before the infolence of 
 the co'ony fet the Kozar power at defiance, and ihowed the too 
 credulous prince the real ufc of the buildings that had excited 
 his furprize. 
 
 LETTER LXXXIII. 
 
 J. HE Genocfc had, from their advantages of eveiy kind over an 
 ignorant fimple race of men, become umpires in all difputes among 
 the natives ; and had gradually gained fuch an afcendancy in 
 Kozaria, as at laft even to influence the choice of its Chan, and 
 fettle all difputes among the princes of the blood relative to the fuc- 
 ceflii>n, &c. At length, a Tartar having a difpute with a Genoefe 
 fhopkeepcr in the market of Caffa, it ended in a fray wherein the 
 Tartar vvas killed. 
 
 The Chan, regarding this as an attack on his fovereignty, ordered 
 the Genoele to evacuate the pcninfula ; as he had only granted 
 them a lettlcment on his territory during their good behaviour, and 
 had now great rcafon to be difplcaled. The colony, however, al- 
 thoi:gh convinced that they had nothing to objeiSt to the fovereign 
 ri^ht of the Chan, were too haughty to deprecate his wrath by an 
 
 apology
 
 262 A TOUR TIIROrOII THE TAURIDA, 5.c, 
 
 apolog}- and a prefent, in the Oriental ftilc, as might eafilyhave been 
 done, but rather choTe to let his authority at defiance, and fent back 
 his herald with a fcornful anfwer ; convinced that their fortifications 
 were proof againft all the force of the Tartars, as was foon proved 
 to be the cafe ; for they met death under the walls of Catfa, } et 
 were unable to hurt a fingle republican by their arrows. 
 
 The Kozarcs, thus taught by fad experience the inequality of the 
 
 combat, turned their fruitlcfs attack into a blockade ; but here again 
 
 they were equally unfucceisful ; for the Genoefe gallies plentifully 
 
 furnilhed the city with every neceflary, while they prevented neutral 
 
 vefiels from bringing the Chan any kind of fuppUes, or even trading 
 
 w ith the natives ; fo that, in fa(5t, he found himfelf beficgcd, in- 
 
 flead of the colonifts, who enjoyed plenty and a free commerce. 
 
 Even this, however, was not all ; for, as the afpiring Genoefe had 
 
 by degrees pofiefied themfelves of the other ports of the Taurida, 
 
 during the period of unlimited credit and confidence which they 
 
 enjoyed before the rupture, and even built forts at Soudaja (or 
 
 Soudak), and the Portus Symbolon (now Balak!ava), they 
 
 made dcfccnts with their fleet, and plundered the country ; lb that 
 
 the Kczarcs were reduced to a moft humihating and diftrcflTmg 
 
 fituation. 
 
 Thcfe proceedings, however, at laft drew the attention, and 
 roufcd to arms the whole coaft of the Euxine, alarmed at the fpirit 
 of ufurpation afllinied by a fet of mercantile adventurers, who, 
 throwing afide all juftice and equity, with regard to a native fove- 
 reign whom they had betrayed and infultcd, were now difpofTefilng 
 him of his dominions. 
 
 All the other Genoefe colonies were immediately attacked and 
 taken, beginning with Trebizond, the antient Trapczus, and prin- 
 cipal of the whole, excepting Caffa ; fo that they would, in all 
 probability, have paid dearly for their ufurpation, had not fortune 
 moft unexpectedly delivered them from the danger they were in, 
 
 even
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, ^c. 265 
 
 even after their fleet had been beaten by that of Venice and Pifa 
 in a bold attempt made by the republic of Genoa (who coun- 
 tenanced the proceedings of their Tauric colony) to furprize Con- 
 flantinople itielf, by a powerful fquadron with 8000 land troops on 
 board, and the afliltance of their countrymen fettled in Galata, one 
 of the fuburbs of that city. 
 
 Their miraculous deliverance came from a quarter the leaft ex- 
 pected. Batis, or Baarty, nephew of the famous Tartar con- 
 queror, Zingis Chan, in marching to fubdue Ruflia in the begin- 
 ning of the thirteenth century, exterminated the Kozares, and 
 placed their own Mongul horde in the Taurida (which they now 
 called Crimea, or Crim Tartary), to the great joy of the Genoefe, 
 who, by that revolution, were not only delivered from their ene- 
 mies, but even found means to conciliate the good-will of their 
 new fovereigns ; by offering to furnilh them with every thing 
 that a people without arts and manufa6lures mufb (land in need 
 of, in return for a little of the fuperfluous riches that they had 
 amaflfed in plundering India and Perfia, which had obtained thera 
 the name of the Golden Horde. 
 
 LETTER
 
 ( 264 ) 
 
 LETTER LXXXIV. 
 
 JnLLTHOUGH the Genoefe colony of CafFa fortunately weathered 
 the dorm which their infolence and daring ufurpation had railed, 
 as related in my laft ; or, rather, was delivered from the punilh- 
 ment that awaited their tyranny by a fpecies of miracle, when the 
 whole Euxine was in arms againfl: them, aided by the fleets of 
 Venice and Pifa ; yet even that ferious lelTon does not feem to have 
 had much effeft on their future conduct ; for we find them, after 
 monopolizing the Commerce of the Euxine for 1 50 years more, 
 again rencwmg on the Crim Tartars the fame infults which had 
 armed the Kozares againft them, till they laid their proud city in 
 the duft, and entailed on themfelves and their pofterity the galling 
 yoke of Turkifh flavery. The particulars of this interefling event 
 will finilTi our propofed fketch of the Euxine colonies, as it brings 
 their hillory down to the Turkifli conqueft. 
 
 In 1474 (while Caffa was governed by Anthony Cabella, asconful, 
 with two counfellors or afliftants, named Francis Fiefchi and Hubert 
 Squarciafico, all three Genoefe ; and a fourth magiftrate, commonly 
 a native, and named by the Chan, becaufe he exercifed a jurifdi6tion 
 over the Chan's fubie6ts in the fervice of the Genoefe colony, at 
 their country feats, farms, &c. although afterwards to be approved 
 of by the Governors of Caffa), a man named Mamac, who filled 
 this fourth magifterial office, happening to die, Melinchery (or 
 
 Mengly
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, Sec. 265 
 
 Mcngly Ghcray)"% Chan of the Crhnea, appointed one Emlnek in 
 his place ; but the widow of the deceafcd, having found means, by 
 the judicious dillribution of 300 fequlns, to engage the Genocfc 
 mngiftratcs in favour of her fon Seitak, the Chan was, of courfe, 
 highly offended ; till it was agreed on, that the Genoefe govern- 
 ment, as an acknowledgement of the Sovereign's right, fhould 
 confirm any other perfon whom the Chan might name to the office, 
 except his firft choice Eminek, to whom they pretended to have 
 a dillike. Melinchery now appointed another, named Carai- 
 merfa, and accompanied him in perfon into the city, probably by 
 wav of fliowing that he had forgotten any reafon that he had had to 
 be diipleafcd with what had happened. But how much mud the 
 too credulousChan have been ihocked at finding himfelf a prifoner in 
 the hands of the faithlefs republicans, as he foon faw was the cafe, 
 when they plainly told him, that they muft ftillhave Seitak for their 
 Prefect (being, probably, unwilling to refund his mother's gold) ; 
 and the Counfellor Squarciafico rofe to threaten him v, ith inftantly 
 fending to open the (late prifon of Soudaja (Soudak), and letting 
 loofe the next heirs to his crown "% while he would be kept prifoner 
 in Caffk till his throne was feized upon, if he did not immediately 
 comply with their will : a piece of treachery that had the eftb6l, in 
 the mean time, of making Seitak prefect, but which hung the in- 
 (blcnt counfellor on a gibbet as foon as the city was taken. 
 
 "■• The lafl of tliefe appellations is tlie proper name of this Chan, although cr)i\Tinoiily wtitlen 
 Melinchery, after the Tartar prouuneiatioii. He is faid to have been taken prifoner wlicn very 
 young by the Genoefe, and carefully educated by them, fo as to be attached to thcmfclves and 
 their cul^oms, &c. in cafe they iliould find it for their intereft to raifc him to the Chanate as a 
 defcendant of Tfchingis Chan, fliould tlie Prince of the Peninfula not be fiitficicnily fubniiffive to 
 their will; and they accorduigly did fo tiirough the protciflion of Mahomet II. while in difpute 
 with the reigning Chan ; though they afterwards even domineered over hini in fuch a manner tliat 
 tlicir own (lave and creature could not bear it. 
 
 '*' In nioft Ealkrn countries, the next heirs to the throne are kept under guard, and carcl\illy 
 watched, to prevent infurrcdions and revolutions in the flatc. 
 
 M M The
 
 266 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, c^:c. 
 
 The means which they took to force the Chan into compliance 
 with their tvrannick will lb far fucceedcd ; but the iniured Eminek, 
 not having the fame political reafons as his fovereign for putting up 
 with his wrongs, had recourfe to the all-powerful protection of 
 Mahomet II. Sultan of the Turks, juft returned from his luccefsful 
 expedition againft Perfia, and mailer of a fleet of 482 armed veflels 
 built for the conqueft of Rhodes, who, finding that the reduction 
 of the rich colony of Caffa would make a good beginning to his 
 maritime exploits, and infure Conftantinople a fupply of corn, during 
 his abfence from the Taurida (then the granary of the Euxine), 
 ordered an embarkation of 10,000 Azaphs, and as many Janiflaries, 
 on board the fleet, which he fent to befiege Caffa, while Eminek, 
 with a body of Tartars, attacked it on the land fide. 
 
 This event decided the fate of that flourilhing city ; for, although 
 Melinchery, forgetting his perfonal wrongs in the general danger 
 of the peninfula, which was going to be torn from him, ran to its 
 affiftance with all the force that he could command, yet the terror 
 with which fuch an armament flruck the late infolent and haughty 
 colonifts was fo great, that they made not even one effort to prevent 
 the landing of the forces and artillery, which foon battered down a 
 part of their old walls, and made them lower the crofs to the 
 crefcent, even without conditions ; fothat, although AchmetBacha, 
 their conqueror, granted the citizens their lives on furrendering 
 at difcretion, he tranfported them to populate a fuburb of Con- 
 ftantinople, confounded with the other flaves of the Ottoman 
 empire. But while he fpared all the reft, after the fword was 
 llieathed, he hung upon a gibbet the venal traitor Squarciafico,. 
 immediately on his arrival in the Turkifh capital, without letting 
 him enter its gate, or defile the city by his prefence. 
 
 On the fall of the Genoeie, their rivals, the Venetians, applied 
 
 for the commerce of the Euxine ; which the politic Mahomet 
 
 granted, on the exprefs condition that fire-arms and gunpowder 
 
 • ihould coiiftitute a part of every cargo; by which means he foon 
 
 amaffed.
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 267 
 
 amafTcd a fufTicicnt quantity of both, to fliut up the Thracian 
 Bofphorus againfl; Venice and all other nations : a fyftem which 
 was followed by his fucceflbrs for 300 years, till Ruflla lately 
 opened it again with the fame key that Mahomet had employed to 
 fliut it. 
 
 LETTER LXXXV. 
 
 The antient Commerce of the Euxine Colonies, from the 
 
 Time of the Greeks, to the Russian Conquest of the 
 
 North Shore of the Black Sea, 
 
 JriAVING now completed the little (ketch that I propofed of the 
 hiltory of the Euxine colonies, I fhall finilli my Tour with a rapid 
 glance at their antient commerce ; as I fee no profpccl of winter 
 roads in this mild icafon, to carry me home to Pcterfturg ; fo that 
 I feem deftined to fcribble on the banks of the Bog till next fpring, 
 and know no fubject likely to interefl you fo much, as the one with 
 which 1 am now amufing myfclf. 
 
 Greek Commerce. 
 
 If the Greeks were really allured into the Euxine by the gold of 
 Colchis, they were much more fortunate than they deferved ; as 
 they found a more permanent iourcc of riches in its furrounding 
 
 M M 2 iliorcs,
 
 tes 
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, kc. 
 
 Ihorcs, than even the mines of Peru and Mexico, fiiperior to any 
 in the anticnt world ; and ftill the fad example of Spain fhews 
 Avhat would have been their fate if their fanguine expectations had 
 been fulfilled ; they would have been condemned to labour in the 
 mines for ages, to extract the precious metals for other nations ; 
 as the influx of gold would have banifhed induftry from their own 
 country, and obliged them to part with their dear-bought treafure, 
 obtained at the rifk of health, to purchafe the manufa6lures of 
 wifer and more vigorous nations, employed in lucrative trade and 
 falutary labour, which increafes population, inftead of diminiih- 
 
 mg it. 
 
 Fisheries. 
 
 The firft fpecies of commerce in which the Greeks engaged was, 
 that of all others the beft calculated to lay the foundation of future 
 greatncfs "^', as it not only tended to augment their infant marine 
 for the protection of the colonies already formicd, but likewife tQ 
 give them the command of the Euxine, with the facility of forming 
 others on its fhores wherever they thought proper. 
 
 The hrft fcttlements which the Mile* 
 
 fians planted were on the South coaft 
 
 of the Euxine, as faid in a former letter;; 
 
 and thofe all the way from Sinope '*' 
 
 Eaft to Trapczus, now Trebifond, fubfilfcd at 
 
 firft by catching three kinds of fifh, which an- 
 
 tient authors call Peladimus, Thymus, and 
 
 '<* The colonifis feem to have been fo convinced of the great importance of their fifljeries,, 
 that fevtral of them, fuch as Iftriopolls, Sinope, Olbiopolis, and Pauticapeum, have a fjh on 
 tkeir coins; -while even the great ciiy of Byzantium indicates, by a J'Jh-huok on its money, 
 how much it was beholden to that fource of riches. 
 
 •*' This famous city was taken by LuculluSj and became fubjeft to the Romans ;■ but all the 
 coins that I have given are Autonomi. 
 
 Dolphinus ;
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, c\c. 2G.9 
 
 Dolphinus '* ; but I have ftrong 
 .,^, reafon to fufpe6l, that this early 
 
 fillicry mull likewife have included 
 the Kephal, Calofa, and Sprattus ; as 
 \vc know from Pallas, that tlicfc hifl three fpecies are fillies of paf- 
 fao;e in the Euxine, which make the tour of the whole coaft, and 
 then go out of the Thracian IJolphorus. 
 
 Bcfides making their fillicry fubfcrvient to their nourifhmcnt, 
 they likewife exported great quantities ; and a deficiency of fait 
 for this laft purpofe, which they only procured from fome works 
 on the river Halys, ftruck out another lucrative branch of trade ; 
 for it obliged them to find out a way of extra6ling oil from the 
 larger kinds of filli, more particularly the dolphin, not to lofe 
 entirely the fruits of their labour in catching them ; and it found a 
 moft ready fale abroad, at a time when oil alone lighted the houfes 
 of all ranks of people, before the invention of candles. 
 
 1 have already mentioned, in the hiflory of the Euxine colonies, 
 another valuable fiiliery which the Milefians carried on in the Palus 
 Mxotis, at the mouths of fome of the principal rivers on the 
 Afiatic fide, where they caught a large filli which Strabo calls An-" 
 tacasi ; the curing and exportation of which muft have been a mofl: 
 lucrative branch of trade ; as the fame people were in pofTcfTion 
 of the Salt Lakes on both fides of the Cimmerian Bofphorus, and, 
 of courfe, muft have commanded any quantity of that ncceflary 
 article, even to fupply the deficiency for the filheries of Afia Minor. 
 As I have already remarked in another place, that the Antaccei of 
 Strabo and Pliny is a fpecies of fturgcon, or the Accipenfcr of 
 I.inn:n2us, 1 have only to add, that it is (till caught at tlie mouth of 
 the river Cuban, the Verdanus of the Antients, and is a valuable, 
 branch of trade to this day. 
 
 "" It is probable, that tlie fiift three fpecies of large fifli only ^vere exported, and. of courfe, 
 the only kinds known to authors abroad : the fuialler. being confumed at home, and unknown be! 
 yond the Euxine. 
 
 It
 
 1270 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &:c. 
 
 It may be worth remarking, that another name given by the An- 
 tients to the Cuban river, was Antacites ; probably derived from 
 its abounding in the fifli antacasi. In theprelent times, other kinds 
 of filh are caught in great numbers in the upper part of the fea of 
 AibfF; viz. the Cyprinus Ballerus, and Cyprini Cultrati of Lin- 
 nxus ; the firfl in fuch immenfe quantities as to be an article of ex- 
 portation from Taganrog, where they are cured for foreign com- 
 merce ; but 1 will not venture to fay that the Antients did the 
 fame : as I only go upon written record for every thing advanced 
 in this Tour that we did not fee ourfelves, except an occafional co;;- 
 je£lurcy which is always given as iuch. 
 
 East India Trade. ■ 
 
 The next valuable branch of commerce which the Greeks fell 
 into on the Euxine (for I hold their fiflieries as the firft) was the 
 rich Indian trade carried on far beyond the reach of hiftory, and 
 their arrival in thefe feas, by the channel of the Cafpian, Cyrus, 
 and Phafis ; and which the colonifts fettled in the antient kingdom 
 of Colchi- 'garned from the natives, cfpecially from the inhabitants 
 of Iberia, who had been rendered by it rich and flouridiing ; while 
 their country was become one of the belt cultivated in Afia, as 
 already remarked, and covered \\ ith well-built cities ; fo that there 
 is litcle wonder if the fame' of the riches nt Colchis had reached 
 Greece at an early period, and produced the Argonaut expedition 
 to Iharc in it. 
 
 We are to'd, that at firft the Greek fi'-f' r-^ went as far as Ni- 
 neveh, the capital t>f AlTvria, then'' ir.art^ tor India goods, 
 to purchafe their cargoes . -"'' nore knowledge of 
 the t. "1^ fliey dif'- ■>'•'■'-■ :;)'v the natives had 
 conc- iz. t-h .i much cheaper by 
 dea'Ii! .'ho brought them as 
 
 far
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, .\c. 271 
 
 far as the Cafpian fea, only 375 iniles from their principal ictrlc- 
 mcnt, Scrapanis on the Phafis, to which their fnips could come up 
 and load. 
 
 As to t'le whole coiirfc of this trade from India to the Euxine, 
 we ov.'c the information to the enquiries of Pompcv, after defeating 
 MithriiJates. That great man, wiilung to open once more this 
 channel of wealth to his country, which had been Ihut fince the 
 days of tlie Greeks (the period that I am treating of), fcnt intelli- 
 gent people to make enquiries ; and they related on their return, — 
 that the goods were conveyed in icven days from India to the river 
 Ica'-e in Bactria, which fails into the Oxus, and that river into 
 the Cafpian, where the Greek merchants received the rich mer- 
 chandizes, and brought them in boats up the Cvrus, now Kur, 
 frona which river they were carried by land to the Phafis, and ar- 
 rived at Sarapanis in four days, as the road w^as fo good as even to 
 admit the ufe of carts. From Serapanis the loaded veflcls eafily 
 dropped down to the Euxine; and, after traverfing that fea, failed 
 through the Thracian Bofphorus to the Grecian ftates for which 
 they were bound. 
 
 In tracing this channel of the Antient India Trade, I did not 
 choofe ta (top and explain an Herculean labour which we are told 
 the Greeks were obliged to effcift before they could convey the 
 goods from the Cafpian to the Phafis, viz. the cutting of a canal 
 through a mountain, to make the Cyrus and Araxus run toi;ether 
 in the fame bed into the Cafpian fea, from a ftagnant lake that in- 
 terrupted their courfe. Uut I haxd flill a better reafon for not clogr 
 ging the relation w^ith this boafled work ; which is, that 1 do not 
 comprehend it myfelf, having never {cen a map wherein it w^as- 
 laid down. 
 
 LETTER
 
 ( 272 ) 
 
 LETTER LXXXVI. 
 
 Roman Commerce in the Euxine. 
 
 W E have no detailed account of the Euxine trade while Mithrl- 
 dates was mafter of the colonies on its fhores ; although we know, 
 in general terms, that he encouraged commerce as much as the 
 Romans would give him leifure to do ; but as foon as thefe warlike 
 and afpiring republicans became fovereigns of the country, they 
 eftabliilied their emporium for the India trade in the city of Phafis, 
 on the river of the fame name, built on the fite of the antient JEa, 
 capital of Colchis, and the refidcnce of its king Athena, when 
 Jalon landed there. Arrian gives us a high idea of both the mag- 
 nitude and riches of this city when he vifited it in his Tour ; and, 
 indeed, from the minute accuracy with which he has defcribed 
 every thing on this coaft , efpccially the rivers (as may be feen on my 
 Map), he is well worthy of our credit. 
 
 He fays, the city of Phafis was fo vaft, that whole companies of 
 merchants, with their warehoufes and dwellings, were contained 
 in it ; all arranged along the banks of the river Phafis, on which it 
 flood ; in fliort, he found it a place of fo much mercantile im- 
 portance, that, though already garrifoned with 400 Roman foldicrs, 
 he ftiU thought proper, for greater fecurity, to cut a double trench 
 all around it, in cale of any ludden attack from the warlike moun- 
 taineers
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 273 
 
 talnccrs in the neighbourhood. (Sec his Periplos Pont. Euxin. 
 
 P'^ge 45-) 
 
 We fee, however, that thefe military colonifts (for commerce 
 among the Romans was left entirely to flaves, the property of the 
 martial nobles, or at the higheft to their freed m.en,) were much 
 worfe merchants than cither their predecefTors the Greeks, or their 
 fuccelTors the Venetians and Genoefe ; which is evident from their 
 never going beyond the old Greek mart of Scrapanis to purchaie 
 their merchandizes, but being content to receive them at fecond or 
 third hand in that city. 
 
 This extraordinary indolence has very little the appearance of 
 freemen trading for their own intercfl;, which commonly makes 
 men both aclive and quick-fightcd, and may account for a curious 
 circumflance in the Roman India trade, that greatly puzzled the 
 learned Formaleoni, whom I have chiefly followed in the Euxinc 
 commerce : this was, that a part of the India goods brought to 
 Serapanis, by a people whom Pliny the naturalill calls the IJ'cdona, 
 were fine furs ; and furely furs from India are enough to puzzle any 
 one. It may, however, be pofTible to account for this phenomenon 
 in the following manner. Naturalifts know, that the bell martin 
 fkins we have in RulTia come from the Caucafus ; therefore it is pro- 
 bable, that the merchants who traded with the Romans might pur- 
 chafe that handfome fur, fo much ufed to border garments, from the 
 mountaineers on their way up from the Cafpian to Serapanis, keep- 
 ing to themfelves the fecret that they were to be met w ith fo near 
 the habitations of the indolent colonifts, who avc arc told never 
 went beyond it in fearch of goods at the firft hand. As to the ufe 
 which the Romans made of thefe furs, their empire was fo valt, and 
 contained fo many climates, that the fale of them was cafy ; but we 
 fee to this day the Greeks, Turks, &c. wearing furs in warm climates, 
 to keep off the heat, as they aflert ; and, indeed, of late, flannel next 
 the n^in has been found the befl: prefervative in the fultrv Bririlli 
 iflands, probably from being a bad conductor of heat. 
 
 N N
 
 ( 274 ) 
 
 LETTER LXXXVII. 
 
 Roman Chinese Silk Trade. 
 
 v^NE article of Oriental merchandize which the Romans obtained 
 through this channel, even after a great part of the India goods had 
 found another, on Egypt becoming a Roman province, was filk ; 
 a luxury highly prized, and aftoniihingly dear in antient times, 
 till the eggs of the filk-worm were brought to Conflantinople 
 in the reign of juftinian, and the infe6l plentifully reared in 
 Europe. 
 
 This coftly article they received from a people whom they called 
 Seres ; in all probability the Chinefe, as the empire of Catai, or 
 China, was named Sereca at that time, and we even recognize 
 that fmgular people in the jealoufy which they fliewed of itrangers 
 then as now, and by their receiving, in return for their goods, little 
 elfc than the precious metals. 
 
 Thefe ihy traders came, as we are told, every year to a certain 
 river, and there laid down their goods on its bank, for the foreign 
 merchants to crofs over and examine them ; laying down likewife 
 the propofed equivalent, or price ; which the Seres looked at in 
 turn when the others were retired ; and, if they liked the bargain, 
 carried away the offered barter ; if not, their own goods, and left 
 the market, without having exchanged a w^ord with the Itrangers, 
 
 who.
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, ^-c. 275 
 
 ^"ho, probably, were fome intermediate people that thus procured 
 filk to carry to Serapanes. 
 
 Another curious fact occurs in this trade ; viz, that the Seres 
 always brought the filk to market in thofe days wrought up in fluffs, 
 either by itfelf or with cotton : fo that it was the employment of 
 the Roman ladies to unravel thefe webs, and to work the filk up a 
 fecond time (mixed with woollen or linen yarn from ceconomy) into 
 forms more fuitablc to their tafle and fafliions ; efpecially into a 
 fpecies of tranfparcnt gauze, then much in vogue, called Coas"" ; 
 under which (exclaims old Pliny) the Roman ladies did not blufhto 
 appear naked in the flreets. We likewife learn, that it was much 
 the fafliion to embroider thefe new-wrought filks with filver and 
 gold for the gay belles of Rome. 
 
 Another article of merchandize which the Romans received 
 through this channel, 1 own, puzzles me, as much as the furs did 
 Formaleoni ; and that w^sjlecl, which the venerable Pliny tells us 
 they likewife obtained from the Seres, or Chinefe ; at leaft the 
 Baclrians brought it up to Serapanes at the fame time, and laid 
 that they procui-ed it from the fame people. 
 
 This, wc are further told, was fo much fupcrior to the Occi- 
 dental, and even to that made by the dexterous Chaldeans of Pontus 
 (furnamed Chalybes, from their fame in working iron), that no line 
 work in that metal could be made in the Weft, without a certain 
 proportion of the Oriental fleel. 
 
 Now it fcems pretty evident, that the art of converting iron into 
 fteel was unknown at a time when the price was fo high as to pay 
 its carriage' from fuch a diftance, and flill bring profit to the mer- 
 chants who dealt in it ; and I think it very probable, that the crafty 
 
 "^ So named from this fpecies of pelucid garb being firft mnde in tlie illand of Cos ; but tlic 
 principal reafon of this ftcond fabrication of filk fccnis to have been the exccliive price of it in 
 thofe days ; for wc arc told, that even the Emperor Aurclian refufcd his wife a drefs of pure fill;, 
 «T koliiflrica; fo that Ihe was obliged to content lierfclf with afu'ffiha garb, or one of mixed 
 lilk. Veftes Meliicnlis were ilicn likewife worn, or cotton gowns ; probably fo called fiom their 
 being firft made in the city of Mclit. 
 
 N N 2 Chiucfc,
 
 27ff A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, Sic. 
 
 Chinefe, long a poliflied people before we emerged from barbarifm, 
 \vould keep the procefs a fecret, till the Europeans difcovered it of 
 thcmfclvcs. 
 
 Before quitting the fubjecl of the Roman India trade, I fhalljuft 
 remark, that we fee, from the 23d Chapter of the Vlth Book of 
 Pliny, that the branch of it which flowed by this channel, although 
 by no means fo lucrative as that by the way of Egypt (monopolized 
 by the Cxfars, to fill their private purfes, and bribe the troops and 
 the canaille of Rome for tyrannical purpofes), always afforded a 
 hundred per cent clear profit ; while he complains of its being a 
 conftant drain of European fpecie, as the Romans fent yearly to 
 Serapanis a hundred millions of fefterccs. 
 
 This feems to have been the complaint of all ages ; and it is 
 
 equally true and curious, that, although both India and China have 
 
 been repeatedly conquered and plundered by the Tartars, yet the 
 
 precious metals have always found their road back again, in the way 
 
 that Pliny and others complain of: a wonderful proof of the great 
 
 induftry and few wants of the Orientals, partly to be attributed 
 
 to their climate, and partly to the wifdom of their political and 
 
 religious inftitutions. It is impoffible to clofe this article Avithout a 
 
 remark on the high antiquity of this commerce. Solomon traded 
 
 to India upwards of 700 years before Chrift ; and he, probably, only 
 
 followed a tra6l beaten a thoufand years before him: afubjcfton 
 
 which the AbyfTniian Bruce is equally learned and luminous. 
 
 I fliall now finifli with obferving, that the only nation in hlftory 
 which ever drew a regular revenue from India into Europe, is the Engliih 
 fmce thcvaccniircd territorial poITcfllons there. 
 
 LETTER
 
 ( a"7 ) 
 
 LETTER LXXXVIII. 
 
 Venetian, Genoese, andTartar India Trade intheEuxine. 
 
 _L 11 E Venetians and Gcnocfe during the Middle Ages carried on 
 the India trade by this channel much in the fame manner as the 
 Greeks and Romans had done before them, though with more 
 activity than the lall: military people ; the Venetians making Con- 
 ftantinople, and the Genoefe Caffa, their mart for the rich merchan- 
 dife. Here I find nothing fufficiently new, or different from the 
 matter of my two laft letters, to be worth the trouble of communi- 
 cating; fo I ihall leave the two mercantile republics to carrv on 
 their Oriental commerce in filence, and acquire the wealth that 
 relulted from it, more particularly to Genoa, which enjoyed it 
 longcft. 
 
 There is ftill, however, another nation, whom few would fufpcdl 
 to have carried on the Indian trade during the Middle Ages ; and, 
 of courfc, fome account of it is likely to intcrcfl: you ; this wps t'lc 
 famous Golden Horde, fo long the mailers of RufTu), who in i.'zj, 
 under Bati, nephew of the Tartar conqueror Zingis Chan, iettkd 
 in the Kaptchak, or country lying between the rivers Don, Voi , i, 
 and Yaik. 
 
 Thcfe Tartars had gained much knowledge of India, and its 
 Wcftern trade, during their expedition into the Eaft, under their 
 
 warlike
 
 278 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 
 
 warlike prince ; fo that as foon as they were fairly fettled in their new 
 dominions under the government of his nephew, and had acquired 
 polTeffion of the Sea of AfofF, the Crimea, &c. they began a trade 
 to Smaracand, as they called the antient Maracanda (then the great 
 emporium for India goods, and afterwards deltined to be the capital 
 of their conqueror Tamerlane, who overturned the empire of Zingis, 
 and erected a new one on its ruins). 
 
 There the Golden Horde purchafed large quantities of rich India 
 merchandize, which they conveyed by the Oxus and Cafpian to the 
 city of Aftracan, then in their pofleflion ; from whence they fent 
 part up the Volga '° to Cazan, which found its way from thence to 
 Novogorod, and Stara Ladago on the river Wolkof, &c. Now as 
 we knovv" that the republic of Novogorod traded to the Hanfeatic 
 towns, and was even a member of their league, the India goods 
 fent thither by the Tartars mull have been diffbfed over the North 
 of Europe by that channel. 
 
 Another portion of the Eaftern merchandize the Tartars fent 
 likewife up the Endel, as they called the Volga, or Rha of the 
 Antients, as far as the place where it bends toward theTanais, or 
 Den, called Tan in their language : a name evidently derived from 
 the antient. Thence the rich cargoes were tranfported about 30 
 verfts over-land from the Volga to the Don, and carried down that 
 laft river to the great Sarmatian mart Tanais, nowAfoff, then the 
 principal fettlement of the Venetians in thefe countries, who mufl 
 have been the more pleafed to receive the India goods in this way 
 from the Tartars, as the Genoefe, their rivals, were then in pof- 
 fefllon of the antient channel fo often mentioned, from the Cafpian 
 to the Euxine or Black. Sea, by-the Cyrus and Phafis. 
 
 "' Everybody knows, that the river Volga wasthe Rha of the Antients j but it is a curious 
 faft, thnt to this day it goes by the fame uanie in the language of tiie Mordvines (or Mordva as 
 tlie Rufliiins cr.ll them), a peoi)le dwrliing on the river Cheremlflian, in tlie province of Oren- 
 burg. Who would have expefted to have lound the I'a of Ptolemy in the mouth of a Mordviiie^ 
 ■\vhofe language is made up of the Finnifli and Ungrilh ? 
 
 Having
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 279 
 
 Having now given all the information that I have been able to 
 coUedt, concerning the antient Eaft India trade flowing into Europe 
 by the way of the Euxine, and which I took up as it lay in my way, 
 although treated by the great hiftorian Robertfon, I ihall now return 
 to the commerce at large of the Euxine and Macotis in antient 
 times'". 
 
 General Commerce. 
 
 It appears to me, that the Greeks and Romans, as well as their 
 fuccefibrs in the Euxine colonies, found a more liable and conftant 
 
 ''• There was flill a rich and powerful people hi tlie Ruflian empue who muft have had a large 
 fiiare in the India trade, either direftly, by enterprifing merchants who came down to the Cafpian 
 yearly ; or (which is more probable) by fome intermediate people who bartered the Oriental mer- 
 chandize for their Northern furs ; poliibly the Sclavonians of Novogorod : 1 mean the rich and 
 powerful Permians o» the White Sea and the Dwina ; tlie greateft and mod opulent of all the Finnilh 
 race, the conftant topic of the Iceland Chnjnicle, and the conftant objeft of the piratical Northern 
 expeditions from Norway and the Baltic in general, drawn thitlier by the enormous riches in gold 
 and gems of the famous temple of their god Yuminala, (the fame name which tliry now give to the 
 Almighty, as the Ruffians do the name of tlieir facred river the Bog,) worth ipped in their pagan 
 ftatc, and held as facred as the Ganges in India. We cannot even conjeiSture any other fourcc 
 than India, where a nation dwelling on the White Sea in thofe times could have obtained fo much 
 of the precious metals; for, as to the exiftence of their fplcndid temple, it is better afcertained 
 than moll things of that period ; nay, we have even a book p\iblilhed in Sa\on by a Norwegian in 
 the fervice of the Britifli king Alfred the Great, who acknowledges that he himfclf was one of the 
 adventurers that made a piratical expedition (as we term thofe exploits now-a-days) to rob the 
 Permian temple of Yimmiala : I mean Other of Halgoland, at the extremity of Norway. This 
 feems to have been the firft expedition of the kind about the end of the ninth century ; but the 
 Norwegian princes and others continued them up to the beginning of the thirteentli century. 
 This country (PcrmiaJ was the Biaimc/and of the Old Chronicles, which fpcak of kings of tliat 
 country and a regular government ; fo that they feem to have been a civilized people ; nay, Mr. 
 T(joke adds (though he does not give his authority), that they weie famous in very remote ages for 
 their trade svith the Indians and Pcrlians, who brought their goods up to them from the Calpian 
 by the Volga and Kama, as far as an antient town named Tfcherdyn, on the river Kolva, where 
 they were received, and carried by the Permians tip the Pctfchora to the Frozen Ocean, to be bar- 
 tered for furs, with which the trade was chiefly carried ou. 
 
 fource
 
 280 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, cVc. 
 
 fource of commerce in the natural produ6lions of the kingdom of 
 Colchis, than even the lucrative India trade, fo often turned into 
 other channels by the conquefts of the Macedonians, Romans, 
 Saracens, and Tartars in the Eaftern countries ; troubling the 
 fource of the rich current at the fountain-head, and carrying part of 
 it another way, if they could not divert the whole. 
 
 The mountains of Caucafus feem to have furnifhed the i\ntients 
 with naval flores, ftill more ufeful than India goods ; and Colchis, 
 in particular, .appears to have fupportcd its claim, to have been 
 originally an Egyptian colony"', by the great Ikill which its in- 
 habitants Chewed in the cultivation oi jiax, the famous weed of the 
 Nile ; and the art with which they worked it up into fail-cloth, 
 cordage, linen, &c. 
 
 The celebrated city of Diofcurias, defervedly called Sebaftapolis 
 (or the Auguft City) by the Greeks, feems to have been the great 
 market to which the numerous nations of the Caucafus, including 
 the Iberians, Albanians, Colchidans, &c. &c. as well as all the 
 furrounding colonifts fettled on the fliorcs of the Euxine, reforted, 
 not to mention the many barbarous hordes of Scythians, Sarmatians, 
 mountaineers, &c. 
 
 Indeed, we may form a judgment of the 
 immenfe concourfe of different nations to 
 Seballapolis, when we fee that the Romans 
 found it their interefl, as faid in a former 
 Lettei', to keep there 1 20 interpreters for the facility of trade. 
 
 "* The evidence of Herodotus fecms moft drcifivt; on Ihis fubjeft j for he tells us, in his fccond 
 Book, Euterpe, Tlint he queftioncd the inhabitants of Colchis, while in theii- country, and 
 found that they remembered their Egyptian anceftors much better than the Egyptians remem- 
 bered them. After mentioning their continuing to circumcife tiieir children in the Egyptian 
 manner, he adds, that they are the only people who work up flax in the Egyptian mctiiod ; in 
 Ihort, that they fpeak tlic fame language, and live in the fame manner. The Greeks called the 
 flax that they received from Eg}'pt Egyptian flax, and what tJiey received from Colcliis Sardonic 
 flax J probably an error in the Greek text as Serapamc flax would haAC cxaif^ly indicated the very 
 city on the river Phafis where the gootls were flapped for Greece. 
 
 Certainly
 
 M' 
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, Sec. 281 
 
 Certainly its fine port, ftill the beft on that coaft, contributed 
 much to make it a common refort of inerchants, as well as its con- 
 venient fituation at the Northern extremity of the rich kingdom of 
 Colchis, where the naval ftores would eafily dcfcend the mountains, 
 to be loaded in the ihips awaiting them ; luch as timber, tar, marts, 
 &c. ; while the plains of Colchis would furnilh fail-cloth, cordage, 
 &:c. and the Phafis bring down cargoes of Indi.ni and Chinefe goods, 
 to be tranfported thither along the coaft, in the fame veflels that em- 
 barked them at Serapanes. 
 
 Befide the many articles of merchandife already enumerated, it 
 mud be remembered, that in the time of the Romans CafTa had not 
 as yet run away with the flave trade from this antient market, nor 
 engroflfed the fale of Circafllan beauty, then difpofed of in what may 
 be called their own port, from its greater vicinity to the native 
 abode of the fair Tlherkeffes (their real name), deftined in all ao-es 
 
 ■^ to 
 
 to be an article of commerce, by chriftians as well as pagans. I 
 mufl: own, that I ihould be curious to fee whether your Britifh 
 philanthropifts, who have made fuch a noife about the trade in 
 negroes, would as obftinately oppofe the importation of fair Cir- 
 caflians, if your lliips fhould refort to the Euxine for a cargo, inflead 
 of the coaft of Africa, and furnilTi thofe fturdy moralifts with lovely- 
 handmaids ? 
 
 My joke, you know, I muft always have ; and furely it is excufable 
 on taking leave of the Eaftcrn coaft of the Black Sea, where I have 
 1 een fo long engaged in fcrious commerce. Adieu. 
 
 O o LETTER
 
 ( 282 ) 
 
 LETTER LXXXIX. 
 
 General Commerce of the Euxine and M^eotis. 
 
 In purfui'ng the fubjedl of the general commerce of thefe feas, I 
 fliall continue the tour of the Euxine coaft, which I began at the 
 Greek colony of Sinope in Paphlagonia, on account of the fifliery 
 which was the foundation of the whole ; and having traced it Eaft- 
 ward along the fhores of Afia Minor to Trapezius, and journeying 
 on from thence, in my commercial relation, through the antient 
 kingdoms of Pontus and Colchis, with the Cuban ; I am now 
 arrived at the Milefian fettlement of Phanaeoria, in the antient 
 kingdom of Boiphorus. Here, befide the large exportation of 
 fturgeon caught, as already faid, in the Bay of Corocondamus, now 
 Cubanfkoy Liman, and on the Afiatic (liore of the Maeotis, or Sea 
 of Afoff, they fent from this ifland wax and honey, with fox and 
 martin flcins, probably received in exchange for fi(h from the nations 
 fettled in the Cuban. 
 
 The next trading city that we meet with on the Afiatic fide was 
 the city of Tanais, or Afoff, on the river Don : a famous Northern 
 mart, to which the Sarmatians brought flaves, fkins, and cattle, to 
 barter with the Greeks for cloth, wine, and the manufaclures of 
 their country, fuch as they were in thofe days, while they were 
 fupplicd by the Maeotidcs who dwelt on both fides the Pal us 
 
 Mxotis,
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, kc. 283 
 
 Mceotis, or Sea of Albff, with grain and other provifions for funilar 
 goods. 
 
 We hear* little of this fettlement in the time of the Romans, 
 although it makes a great figure in the Euxine trade when in pol- 
 feffion of the Venetians. 
 
 I have already taken notice of the India goods that they received 
 from the Golden Horde by the way of the Volga and Don; for 
 which they returned, by way of barter, wine, oil, and olives, with 
 not only all the manufactures of their own country, but likewife 
 thofc of the other flates of Italy, Avhich had now acquired many of 
 the arts of the Eaft, that the Orientals had kept fecret with much 
 care, and by that means furniflied Europe for ages. For example : 
 Venice had the addrefs, in the beginning of the twelfth century, to 
 obtain from Egypt the valuable fecret that it had fo long monopolized, 
 of making coloured glafs, by which the republic now gained immenfe 
 fums. Some of the other flates had in the fame manner obtained 
 the Oriental fecret of dyeing filk, and had already brought their 
 brocades to rival thofe of Damafcus. The art of embroidering 
 them with gold and filver had likewife got into Italy, where, indeed, 
 they hefitated at nothing that might enable them to acquire the 
 more lucrative and rich branches of raanufa6lure, as they in this 
 cafe carried off, by force, fome workmen fkillcd in the bufinefs, 
 from the ifland of Eubea, now Negropont, in the Greek Archi- 
 pelago. 
 
 In fhort, Venice was enabled at the time when the Golden Horde 
 were fettled in the Kaptchak, and carried on the India trade, to 
 fupply the Tartars with a number of European luxuries, in ex- 
 change for thofe of the Eaft, which they probably carried with them 
 to Smaracand, and the other commercial cities which they fre- 
 quented, after keeping what they wanted for their own confumption, 
 and the Southern provinces of Ruflia. 
 
 In taking leave of th's Venetian colony, I fliall juft mention, that 
 it was deftroycd by Tamerlane becaufe it unfortunately flood in his 
 
 O o 2 way
 
 284 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, c\c. 
 
 way when crofTing the Don to chaftife the Golden Horde, which he 
 nearly exterminated, and left them afterwards an eaiy conquefl: to 
 Ruffia. It murt likewile be noticed, that at prefent the port of 
 AfofF, once io much frequented, is become fo nearly inaccelhble, 
 from a bank of fand formed at its mouth, that lliips frequent the 
 other ports of the Maeotis, more efpecialiy Taganrog, by far the 
 largeft and beft. 
 
 [Thus far Mrs. Guthrie had written on her Tour to the Taurida ; 
 but, having fmce made another journey for her health, and fpent a 
 Summer at the new cannon foundery of Lugan on the Donetz, near 
 Taganrog, fl"ie made an excurfion to that lea port ; and, of courfe, 
 fome defcription of it will come with propriety into her remarks 
 upon thole countries.] 
 
 T'he port of Taganrog carries on a very confiderable trade with 
 Conftantinople, and the Greek Archipelago, in different articles of 
 merchandife ; and is employed in ihip-building by the Ruffian go- 
 vernment, who can here purchafe veffels ready for fea much cheaper 
 than it can build them in its own docks. Their exportation 
 confifts of iron, tallow, cordage, preffed caviar, falt-petre^ Ruffian 
 leather, fail- cloth, hemp, and Ruffian linen fabrics, briftles, and 
 furs; but their principal articles arc corn and butter, in great demand 
 in Conftantinople and the Archipelago. Of the firft they make a 
 great profit, as it fells at Taganrog, in good feafons, at 3 roubles 
 per coul of wheat, weighing 7I poods (36 pounds Englith to a 
 pood), and at Conftantinople often as high as 25 piaftres the maker 
 of 5 couls ; though the freight thither is only i rouble 65 copeaks 
 per coul ; fo that the North fhore of the Euxiue ftill continues to 
 be the granary of the Turks, though not from the fame ports as 
 formerly. Butter is a fecond article fully as lucrative as wheat, and 
 was antientiyfurniftied in great quantities fromCaffa, orTheodocia, 
 the produce of the Nogay Tartar hordes ; but fince the difpcrfion 
 of that famous tribe, now dwindled down to a comparatively 
 fmall number, the butter trade had been almoft loft, till the enter- 
 
 prifmg
 
 A TOUR THROUGH TPIE TAURIDA, kc. 285 
 
 prifing Ruffian merchants found means to procure it from Siberia 
 in the annual iron barks which bring down that metal by the Volga, 
 from whence it is tranfported to the Don, and falls down that laft 
 river in fmall boats to the AfofF Sea, at the trifling additional ex- 
 pence of from 13 to 20 copeaks per pood ; fo that the total charge 
 of tranfport is from 135 to 140 copeaks, and the coll of the article 
 in all 7 roubles per pood, melted in barrels ; while it fells for 19 or 20 
 at Conftantinople. However, all this commerce is carried on in 
 foreign bottoms, Ruffian merchant lliips being nearly as fcarce on 
 the Euxine and Masotis as on the Baltic ; but the foreign veffels take 
 care to be under the Ruffian flag, as that makes a confldcrable dif- 
 ference (about a third) in the freight that they receive ; for while 
 the Rufliian colours can pafs on to find a better market in the Greek 
 iflands, if that of Conftantinople does not fuit them, the native 
 flag muft not pafs the Turkilh capital ; and therefore the goods 
 carried under it mull be fold for what the Confl:antinople mer- 
 chants offer. 
 
 The balance of trade muff: be much in their favour ; for, in 
 return for all the exports mentioned above, though many are 
 omitted in this haff;y outline of the bufinefs, they only import fome 
 of the Greek wines, with Italian and Spanifh dried fruits, marma- 
 lade, lemons, oranges, lemon-juice, and rum : add to this, fome 
 filk and cotton fluff's from Turkey, and galls for dyeing, and you 
 have nearly their whole imports. 
 
 The third capital article, as faid above, is that of ready-built 
 fhips, fome pierced for 40 and even 50 guns, carrying 36-pounders 
 on their lower deck ; which government purchases, by contrail, for 
 150,000 roubles ; a price for which they cannot build in the crown- 
 docks. If, however, they draw more than 131 feet, the depth 
 of the Cimmerian Bolphorus, or Straits between th Maeotis and 
 Euxine, they mud be carried down to the laft-mentioned fea on 
 camels (fee my defcription of thoie conveyances in Letter 11); 
 although they would find depth enough in the Afoff Sea, generally 
 
 from
 
 285 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, Sec. 
 
 from 25 to 30 fathom all the way down from Taganrog to Kerch, 
 a length of 350 vcrfts. 
 
 Though there feem to be no reo-ular tides in the Euxine and 
 Macotis, more than in the Cafpian, (till certain winds and circum- 
 ftances confpire occafionally to give the water a range of a fathom 
 in the port of Taganrog, four feet of rife and three of fa'l ; but all 
 the a:dvantages of this place fuffer a drawback from the fhallow 
 ftraits that lead to it, asjurt remarked, which oblige Ihips of bur- 
 then to take in only a certain quantity of goods here, fo as to draw 
 from 10 to 12 feet ; and the reft of their cargo at Theodocia when 
 once got fafely into the Euxine. As, however, large fhips, even 
 with this difadvantage, anfwer the purpofe of the freighters better 
 than fmall, they are generally for three-mafted vefTels navigated by 
 at leaft ten feamen. The padage, with a fair wind, is only about eight 
 days to Conftantinople ; and the freight from one to two roubles the 
 kintar (of 232 pounds rufs) ; and infurance five to fix percent, (but 
 in ftormy feafons from 15 to 20, as no fea is more dangerous, from 
 fudden fqualls and Greek failors). In one thing the Sea of Afotf 
 refembles our Finnifli Gulph, at leaft in its upper part, where the 
 water is much freftiened towards the mouths of the rivers ; as it 
 there freezes, and interrupts the navigation in Winter ; nay, this 
 likewife happens in fevere feafons to the Cimmerian Bofphorus, and 
 (huts the pafiage entirely between the two feas. We fhall now clofe 
 this fubjecl by mentioning that the country round Taganrog is moft 
 fertile in corn and fruits ; fo that four or five crops of wheat may 
 be drawn from it, without dung, in fucceflion ; while it yields from 
 20 up to 38 for one in lome years ; and, at all times, ten for one is 
 regarded as a barren fealon. While we were there in the time of 
 the annual fair, the variety of nations, garbs, and tongues, made 
 it referable the Tower of Babel more than a European city, and pro- 
 duced a moft curious motley mafquerade. 
 
 A beautiful young lady in company, being led by curiofity too 
 near the gay ftiops to examine the various Afiatic ftufts difplayed in 
 
 them.
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &:c. 
 
 287 
 
 them, was furr jndcd by a groupe of men from the Cancafian 
 rrountains, who all vociferated together in their different languages 
 with fo much noife and gcftictrlation, that Ihe was extremely- 
 frightened ; although we were allured, by the Ruffian commandant 
 who accompanied us, that it was mere gallant admiration which pro- 
 duced thebuflle ; and, giving his arm to the lady, he led her out of 
 the circle, leaving the Circaffians, Georgians, &c.&c. to fettle among 
 themfelves the difpute about what part of the world /he came from ; for 
 that, it feems, was the fubje6t in difcuffion, with a wager among 
 them whether fhe was married or fingle, what was her age, &c. &c. ; 
 but, if Ihe had awaited the decifion, it would have wearied out her 
 patience indeed ; as we were told that it lafted for fome hours, and 
 was only ended by our declaring to a deputation fent to us, that 
 her hulband was the gentleman whom they faw in a Ruffian gene- 
 ral's uniform ; on which they touched the ground with their hands 
 and retired. 
 
 On the oppofite (or European) fide of the Cimmerian Bofphorus, 
 the antient Pauticapeos, now Kerch, is 
 the firft commercial city that prefents it- 
 felf ; which is laid to have carried on a 
 great trade in antient times, although its 
 own exports were chiefly fifli and fait, 
 from fome lakes in its neighbourhood ; a 
 valuable article, not only for the Maeotid 
 filhery, but like wife for thofc on the coaft 
 of Afia Minor ; which, as I faid before, were but 
 fcantily fupplied by fome fait works on the river 
 Halys in Paphlagonia. 
 
 The next trading city in the Taurida, 
 reckoning Well; from the Cimmerian Bof- 
 phorus, was Theodocia, a place of great 
 
 commerce even in the times of the Greeks, 
 
 if
 
 f238 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 
 
 if we ma) judge from the large exporta- 
 tion of grain in the time of Lecon II. 288 
 years before Mithridatcs conquered tlie 
 country, when 330 millions of pounds 
 of wheat were fent to Athens at one time, 
 as already related in the local hiftory of 
 the city. 
 
 The other exports of Theodocia, and 
 indeed of Soudak and Cherfon, the other 
 great trading places on the South coaft of the 
 Taurida, feem to have been, in all ages, 
 honey, wax, butter, flaves, hides, and furs, 
 efpecially the Tauric lamb-fkins, ever in 
 high efteem and requeft. 1 am to be under- 
 flood here as fpeaking of the natural pro- 
 ductions of the country ; for, after the fall 
 of the great Colchid emporium, Diof- 
 curius, or Sebaftapolis, the Circaflians 
 brought here for exportation their horfcs, 
 fox and hare-fkins, horfe leather, and women. 
 
 The Genoefe likewife, while matters of CafFa, greatly augmented 
 the articles of exportation, by trading with the Golden Horde ; and 
 although we nowhere find a detailed account of what thefe goods 
 were, yet we may form a probable conje6lure by recapitulating 
 the articles which another race of Tartars brought to Aftracan, 
 Afolf, and the Taurida, at a later period, from the very country to 
 which the Golden Horde traded. 
 
 The Bucharian Tartars, during the Turkifh dominion in the 
 Euxine, brought to thefe places, gold and filver duft found in the 
 rivers of Bucharia ; lapis lazuli, pearls, cotton, muflins, filks, 
 
 •73 AH thefe are rare coins of the antient capital of the kingdom of Bofphorus, tlie Panticapaiton 
 of the Greeks, and Pauticapeum of the Romans. 
 
 cotton
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, c\-c. 
 
 289 
 
 cotton (luffs., nitre, fal ammoniac, lamb-fl<.ins"', rhubarb, Bucha- 
 rian rice, dry fruits, fpiceries, drugs, faff"ron, fulphur, bitumen, and 
 Perfian filk, which 1 have mentioned hid, as probably a later article ; 
 for we lliould hardly have remained fo long without a knowlege of 
 the filk-worin, and been obliged to bring the eggs from China to 
 Conftantinoplc, if the infe6l had been common in Perfia, with 
 which the Eaftcrn Cxfars had much iatercourfc. All the other 
 kinds of goods may have been fuch as the Mongul Tartars of the 
 Golden Horde dealt in, as both brought them from the fame country, 
 viz. from Bucharia in general, and Smaracand in particular, one 
 of its principal cities, 
 
 Cherfon and the other commercial 
 cities on the South coaflof theTanrida, 
 
 I have already faid, exported much the 
 
 fame articles as Caffh, when in turn 
 
 they poffefTed the principal trade, and 
 
 for a time gave their name to the 
 
 peninfula, during the zenith of their 
 
 mercantile glory ; but Eupatoria, or 
 
 Koflaf on the Wed, fecms principally 
 
 to have fubfifted by the exportation of the fait of its lakes, and a 
 
 couple of antient manufa6lurcs, the one of leather, the other of 
 
 Scythian carpets, dcfcribed in my Letters from that city. 
 
 '"■* The lamb-ll;ins mentioned in thetext are a very antient branch of commerce with the Tartars, 
 and not only the Bucharian, but fonie other hordes, lake much pains to beautify this fur even on 
 the back of the animal. As foon as a lamb is dropped by a flieep of this kind (the Ovis Doiicliura 
 of Pallas), it is immediately fewed up in a fort of" coarfe linen (birt, to keep up a conllant and 
 geni-'c prclTure on the fine wool ; while warm water is poured over the animal every day, fo as to 
 make it foft and fleek ; and, in a word, to lay the fleece, in beautiful glofly ringlets, ilnnetiiiii'' 
 Tefcmbling (ilkdam.ilk, gradually letting out the bandage in proportion as the lamb augnicnis in 
 fize. The OvisTaurica of Pallas is treated in the fame manner, to prepare the fine Hue fur, as it 
 is called, which fells at fo high a price, for Polifti bonnets, muffs. Winter pelides, &c. in the 
 North of Europe. 
 
 "5 Thefc two medals have each only ihc three firll letteis of the city of Cherfon for inhiipUcm. 
 
 The city of Cherfon is known by the figure of Diana on the obvcrl'c, whofc famous Tauiic 
 
 temple flood clofe by it, and a griflin, tJie embh ni of this city, as well as of Panlicapcum. 
 
 P 1' LETTER
 
 ( '2D0 ) 
 
 L E 1^ T E Tv XC. 
 
 IN purfuingthe fubje6l of the Euxine commerce, advancing regu- 
 larly along the North coaft of the Black Sea, in the direcliou that 
 I am following, gradually Weft from Phanagoria, (or Taman, as it 
 ^vas lately called,) I lliould certainly fay a few words on Killbourn 
 in pafling, before I crofs the Liman of the Dnieper (the Sinus 
 Sagaricus of the Antients), to reach the antient colonies on the 
 main land, becaufe Formaleoni includes it among them ; but in 
 all my own reading I find no mention made of it, from the time 
 when it acquired its appellation of the Dromos Achilleos, from 
 the equefirian games celebrated there to the manes of thr,t 
 hero; {o that I have nothing more to remark upon it, than that it 
 feems for ages to have been the fite of a fort, to command the 
 gulph, or Liman, on which it flands, and is made that ufe of at 
 preient by the Ruffians. 
 
 In mounting the river Boryflhcnes, or the Dnieper, we come to 
 
 the great commercial Greek city 
 named by the Milefians, its found- 
 ers, Olbia and Olbiopolis, or The 
 Happy ; to \vhich retorted the Scy- 
 thians, and other Northern hordes, 
 
 ta
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. ^l 
 
 to trade with the Grecian colonics 
 fettled there as early as the time of ,;. 
 Herodotus, who fcems to have ac- 
 quired a furprifing portion of jult 
 information concerning thefc coun- 
 tries and its inhabitants, from the"citizens of 
 Olbio, and tlie other (rrccks on the Kuxine 
 coaft. We are well affured, that he made the 
 Tour in pcrfon about 460 years before Chrift 
 (for he read the firft part of his hiftory at the Olympic games in 453 
 A. C.) ; as he exprefsiy fays, in his IVth Book, when beginninj^ his 
 defcription of the countries on the North fliore of the Euxine, that 
 he is now going to relate i<cbat be faiv with his own eyes ; and, in- 
 deed, no one who had not been on the fpot could have collecled 
 fuch a mafs of curious and authentic irjformation ; it really afto- 
 nilhed me on cunfidering it with attention ; and I fliall here cive a 
 few fpecimens of it. 
 
 In treating of the hfliery in the Boryfthenes, Herodotus defcribes 
 the famous Ruffian Belingo (the Accipcnfer Huffo of Linnx'us) by 
 marks that would make it known to anaturalift of the 18th century; 
 as he calls it "a monltrous large fifli, without dorfal fins." 
 
 We next receive the lirfl: hint of the Ruffian hemp manufa6lory, 
 which feems to have taken origin here in the pafloral ftate ; for he 
 fays, "that the 'S>cyth\cin cultivators, who dwelt on the N. E. fide 
 " of the Boryfthenes, (the reft of the Scythians were paftoral no- 
 " mades) cultivated not only corn, but hkewil'e hemp, from which 
 
 "<> Tlircf Coins *^- ftnick in the famous Grcci.in comnierdal city of Olbiopolis, or Olbio 
 The Happy, on tlie river Eor) Itliencs. 
 
 ♦ BefiJe t!ie tlircc Coins eiveii liere, there nte two mnre in tlie cabiuet of Bjron Adi in our C.iJetCoipf, eyuRU 
 tire fame as fig. -9, except liie name cf llie masiltrat--, or mMit-niaftei ; \vliict>, ii fteij of t!ie letters .i I as in fig, 9, lus 
 Gii;^ ou one, an J ml un the other ; bvlh on the 1 everfc, hefiJc the baule-axa uud quiver. 
 
 P P 3 «« thcY
 
 29t> A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, kc 
 
 *' they made cloth, that would pafs on thofe -ignorant of the fact 
 *' for linen made of fliix." 
 
 I was again furprifed to find, in the manner that the Scythians 
 bathed themfelves, (for nothing feems to have efcaped this accurate 
 obferver,) the firlt rude fketch of the RufTian bath, which appears 
 likewife to have taken origin in the wilds of Scythia. 
 
 He fays, "that they threw red-hot ftones into a tub of water 
 *' ftanding in a tent, and received the hot fteam on their naked 
 " bodies:" exa6lly the Ruffian vapour bath, with the fole dif- 
 ference, that now, when they live in towns, they perform the fame 
 operation in a wooden room, inftead of a felt tent. But what is 
 ftill more furprifmg than all the reft, is, the accurate account that 
 Herodotus colle6led relative to the Ruffian climate, from what he 
 calls Hyperboreans, probably lome of the Northern hordes come 
 down the Dnieper to the market of Olbia, to which there feems to 
 have reforted a vaft concourfeof people every Summer from diftant 
 parts, to barter the natural productions of their country for Grecian 
 goods. 
 
 He tells us in his IVth Book, which contains all the curious in- 
 formation quoted in this work relative to theie countries, that he 
 learned from them, 
 
 " Firft, That they have eight months Winter, during which long 
 " period it feldom rains ; but the ground is covered with fnow, and 
 *' even the fea freezes. 
 
 " Secondly, That if water be thrown on the ground it freezes 
 " immediately, without producing mud or dirt ; for nothing but 
 fire can produce mud at that feafon." 
 
 N. B. The Greeks, his countrymen, laughed at his account of 
 the North as a fable, particularly at the ftory of the fea freezing ; fo 
 that this great man has been the fport of the ignorant in all ages. 
 
 " Thirdly, That thunder, fo common in Greece in Winter, is- 
 *' never heard in that feafon. 
 
 *' Fourthly,
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 293 
 
 '* Fourthly, That their Summer is rather fliort and wet'". 
 
 *' Fifthly, That they are exempt from earthquakes. 
 
 " Sixthly, That affes and mules will not live in their country, 
 *' though horfes thrive very well. 
 
 " Lailly, That their cows have either fhort horns, or arc without 
 *' them altogether." 
 
 Now I defy the moft able Naturalift at the end of the iGth cen- 
 tury to define in a more mafterly manner, in as few words, the cli- 
 mate of Ruffia''', than is here done by the firO: Greek hiilorian, 
 upwards of 2000 years ago. 
 
 I Ihall conclude thefe interefting quotations with remarking, that 
 if the fagacious Greek defcribed other countries as accurately as he 
 has done thofe through which I have travelled, and made his ob- 
 fervations upon them with equal judgement, his hiftory muft always 
 become more valuable, in proportion as wc acquire an intimate 
 knowledge of them ourfelves ; and I will take this opportunity of 
 faying, that, much as we are obliged to the grammarians for the 
 lliare they had in the revival of learning, yet they feem to have 
 forgotten the fage advice of Apelles, when they fncered at He- 
 rodotus, AriHotle, and Pliny, on fubje61:s out of their fphere of 
 knowledge ; as thefe antient authors are rifmg every day hichcr 
 in our cfteem, in proportion as we make progrefs in natural 
 hirtorv. 
 
 The virulent attack of Plutarch, which feems to have encourao-ed 
 others, every body fliould know, was merely a perfonal quarrel 
 
 "' Herodotus divides the Ruffian year into only two A-afons, including Spring and Autumn in 
 Winter ; w liich is very judicious in the North, where the intermediate feafons are feebly marked • 
 and in that point of view eight months of Winter and four in Summer is exaftly true. However 
 I fliall fliow in Letter XCIX. that this dcfeription of the climate was, in all probability, applicable 
 to the South of Kulfia iu his time, though now only to the North of Mofco. 
 
 "» The Editor, who has cxprefsly written on tlic Ruffian climate, acknowledges, that he hrn 
 faid nothing fojuft and charafteriftic in fo fmall a compafs ; and that if he had rccollefted at tlie 
 time the above pallage of Herodotus, he certainly rtiould have been proud to pl.-.ce it at the hc.id 
 of his Diflcrtatiiiu publifhcd in the fecond volume of the Philofophical Tranfadions of the Rov.il 
 Society of Edinburgh, 
 
 between
 
 t9i' A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, kc. 
 
 between the two writers ; for Plutarch acknowledges, that he thinks 
 himfclf bound in honour to rcfcue the memory of his anceftors 
 from the calumny of Herodotus, who had faid in his hiftory, 
 *' that the Boeotians and Corinthians not only betrayed the common 
 *' caufe of the Greeks, by fnbmitting to X-crxes, but even fought 
 " againft thtm at the battle of Platca :" and, to gain his caufc, 
 Plutarch employed the common expedient of all good advocates up 
 to the prefent day ; viz. to invalidate the evidence of the father 
 of hiltory by throwing a ftigma on his veracity in other things. 
 
 I lliall make no apology for this cffufion of gratitude in favour 
 of a man to whom I am fo much obliged, but go on with my com- 
 mercial furvey, by telling you, that the antient city of Olbia, as faid 
 in a former Letter, flood in the angle formed by the Inguletz falling 
 into the Dnieper, and carried on a great trade in corn, flaves, and 
 filli caught in the Boryfthenes, efpecially the Belingo juft defcribed 
 by Herodotus, the largeft of the fturgeon fpecics, which produces 
 the Ruffian caviar in larger quantities than any other ; fometimes 
 as far as five poods, or i8o Englilh pounds, when the fiili is at its 
 greateft fize. 
 
 As we are not informed of the other articles exported from this 
 place by the Greeks, I fhall fupply that omiffion by mentioning 
 thofe which at prefent come down the river to Cherfon ; and, as 
 they are all the natural produdions of the banks of the Boryfthenes, 
 or of the river itfelf, it is more.than probable, that they are ftill the 
 fame goods which antiently came to Olbia by the fame channel. 
 Indeed, Herodotus enumerates the moft of them as the produ6tions 
 of the country in his time. They are, grain, hemp and its oil, 
 flax, tallow, butter, wool, wax, honey, wood, pitch, tar, lea- 
 ther, preffed caviar (fturgeon roe), hog's briftles, peltry ; with 
 three other articles which I tliall place by themfelves, as probably 
 more modern ; viz. iron, copper, and tobacco ; the laft certainly 
 not cultivated then ; and I have my doubts whether the tw-o metals 
 were difcovered in the North at fo early a period. 
 
 Almoll:
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 295 
 
 Almoft oppofitc toOlbia flood the city of Sardenis of Strabo, on 
 the Bog, or theAxiacus of the Antieiits » but rcfpe6ling its com- 
 merce \vc have no information. 
 
 The city of Ochakolf, the OdclTus of the Antients, and Odu of 
 the Turks (which feems a contra£lion of the fame name), appears 
 to have been a pLice of commerce; and its good port makes the affer- 
 tion very probable. We are hkcwife told the fame of the city of 
 Axia, on the neighbouring river Berezcn, the Sagaris of the Antients ; 
 but what their trade confided in, I know not. 
 
 In purfuing this interefting inquiry, we muft now ad\ance to 
 the Dnicfter ; where there ftood another great commercial city 
 called "Tyras, after the antlcnt name of the river. It fcems to have 
 been originally built by the Greeks at the mouth of the river ; al- 
 though we learn from Strabo, that in the time of the Romans, when 
 it was become a famous market, the city was tranfported to the 
 iiland Tyras Getcs, 15 miles higher up, and that the river was 
 navigable fo far. Strabo and Pliny fpeak of two more cities on the 
 banks of the Tyras, nearly oppofite to one another ; viz. Niconia 
 and Ofiufa, both places of trade ; but with regard to the merchan- 
 dife that they exported, only two articles arc mentioned, corn and 
 flaves, which feem to have been the ftaple commodities of this 
 coafl: ; although there can be little doubt that the produiStions of the 
 countries watered by the Dnieper found their wjiy down to the 
 Greek markets, in exchange for foreign goods, which men have 
 ever dcHrcd in all ages, even to the favages difcovered by late 
 circumnavigators. 
 
 Before quitting the North coafl of the Euxinc, where we find the 
 Have trade exifling at fo early a period (the great topic of difputc in 
 our own times), it may be worth while to obferve, that Strabo, like 
 forae of our niodern philofophers, affcrts that it was introduced by 
 the more poliihed nations ; and is particularly fevere on the Greeks 
 for having corrupted the fimple manners of the Abien, or milk- 
 
 catln^.
 
 296 A TOUR TIIROU'GII THE TAURIDA, 5cc. 
 
 eating, Scythians, as be calls them, given them artificial wants, and 
 taught them the traffic in flaves to iatisfy them : exa6lly the accu- 
 fation brought at the cr.d of the 1 8th century againft the poliflied 
 nations of Europe, particularly the Engliih. This, however, is 
 more plaufible than true ; for, although the Scythians may have had 
 no market for their flaves before the Greeks furniilied one, yet we 
 know, from Herodotus, that all the men of confequence, of paftoral 
 property among them, were ferved by flaves long before the arrival 
 of the Gre.eks in the Euxinc ; nay, the well-known ftory of the 
 manner in which the Scythians vanquillied their flaves, who had feized 
 on their wives and flocks, during a long expedition into Afia, con- 
 firms the fa(5l ; viz. by attacking them with their whips, the com- 
 mon inflirument of their corre6tion, which quickly reminded them 
 of their fervile condition, and brought them to a fenfe of their duty 
 to their mailers ; while fome antient authors ftill go farther, and 
 aflert, that thofe flaves deftined for the domeftic drudgery of milking 
 the Scythian cattle, were deprived of fight, to make them more 
 attentive to that duty, and give up all thoughts of efcape; fo that 
 thofe furelv could not be intended for the Grecian market. 
 
 On the other hand, it is certain, that the Greeks, Romans, and 
 all the poliflied nations of antiquity, were ferved by flaves, whom 
 they ufed harflily enough, while they themfelves made the blefllng 
 of liberty their common theme'"- Nay, fuch has been the incon- 
 fiftent condu6l of men in all ages, that we have feen in our own 
 times thofe who talked loudeft of liberty, and the rights of the 
 
 179 We are told by Plutarch, in liis Life of Cato the Cenfoi-, that this famous republican 
 recommended to fell old flaves paft the age of labour, and not to feed ufelefs people; and en- 
 deavoured to keep up eternal ill blood among thofe unhappy men who had the misfortune to 
 belong to himfelf, left, if friendlhip reigned among them, they fliould plot againll llieir tyrannic 
 matter, who beat them feverely when his company were gone, if any tiling was ^v^ong at 
 tabic, 
 
 human
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 297 
 
 human fpecies while opprefled themfclves, become the moft: terrible 
 oppreflbrs in turn, when the)' acquired the power of making their 
 countrymen free, and realizing their favourite form of govern- 
 ment. 
 
 LETTER XCI. 
 
 i^ ROM the North I muft now draw your attention to the Weft 
 coalt of the Black Sea ; that is to fay, from the Danube down to the 
 antientByzantium, or Conftantinople "\ 
 
 The Greek colonics founded on this fliore I have already enume- 
 rated in my former furvey of it, when fpeaking of their original fettle- 
 ment there ; and, as to the particular commerce that they carried 
 on, no detail is to be found in the authors whom I have confulted, 
 although I fhould be inclined to think that the articles of antient 
 barter could not be very different from thofe flill brought down the 
 rivers to the few ports now carrying on fome trade under Turkifli 
 opprefTion ; fuch as KiliaNova, near the antient Tome ; and Fema^ 
 a fecond city in the Euxine which bore the name of OdefTus in 
 antiquity. Thefe two places export corn, wine, wool, leather, dried 
 fruits, &:c. all the productions of the country in every age. 
 
 '•" For the Medals belonging to tlicfe trading cities, from the Danube down to Byzantium^ fee 
 Letter LXXVII. where mention is made of them and iketdics of the COins given. 
 
 Q^CL Being
 
 253 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, kc. 
 
 Belnc; now arrived at the antient Byzantium, built about 722 
 years before Chrift, and fo often mentioned in this Tour by its later 
 name of Conflantinople, I lliall only remark on its commerce, that 
 it often ferved as an emporium for the Euxine and Mxotid goods, 
 particuhirly thofe from the Eaft hidies ; and as a general market, 
 '.vherc the colonifts at large could always purchafe fuch as they had 
 occafion for in return, nhen their Ihips were not deftincd for a 
 longer voyage. ' 
 
 From this antient capital of the Roman Caefars, I fliall now pafs 
 over the Thracian Bofphorus, to take a view of the commerce of 
 the numerous colonics on the coaft; of Afia Minor ; as, in beginning 
 the fubjecl there, I only talked of the Greek fifliery from Sinope to 
 Trapezius as the foundation of their trade. 
 
 I fhall commence with the Greek fettlements on the coafl of 
 Bithynia, at the mouths of the rivers Pfylis, Calpe, and Sangaris, 
 which never fcem to have greatly profpered, from being kept in 
 conftant alarms by the warlike Bithynians, their neighbours, as well 
 as by the Meyfians ; fo that their commerce makes no great figure 
 
 in the books which 1 have confulted. How- 
 ever, this was not the cafe with Heraclea, faid 
 to have been founded by Hercules, whom 
 the poets defcribe as dragging Cerberus out 
 of Hell through an opening in the promon- 
 tory Acherufia, on which the city ftands. 
 
 That powerful colony profpered in a rtiofl 
 extraordinary manner, probably from the 
 
 fuperior fecurity of 
 its fituation ; and 
 augmented its po- 
 pulation fo quickly, 
 as to be enabled, 
 as we have already 
 fhewn, to make a 
 
 new
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, c\c. 209 
 
 ■new fettlcmcnt in the Heraclea Cherfoncfus of the Taurlda, and 
 attempt another on the Weft coaft of the Euxine, which only a 
 want of a proper ipot made abortive, after a melancholy experi- 
 ment to efi'ecl it. 
 
 This city was afterwards the refidence of David Commenus, while 
 liis brother^ one of the three Greek emperors, whofc divifion gave 
 the empire to the Turks, made Trapezius, or Trcbifond, his capital ; 
 and it is ftill a place of fome note under its modern Turkifh name 
 of Erack, derived mofl: evidently from its antient ; or rather, as I 
 have remarked before, the name of this and many other of the 
 Greek cities on the Eujane, are preferved by the Turks, and only 
 pronounced in their way. 
 
 But the moft fplendid fcttlement on this coaft was the flourifliing 
 colony of Sinope, now Siniib'", which 
 boafted of being founded by a companion | ^^4 
 
 of Jafon during the Argonautic expe- 
 dition. 
 
 The projecting cape of Carambis, oppofite the Criu Mot»pon, or 
 Ram-head, of the Taurida, divided this fettlement into two parts. 
 On the Weft fide of it ftood four cities, Egialum, Cromna, Cytorus, 
 now Kudrofs, and Sefamus ; but the firft three were thrown into 
 one large city by the wife of Denis, tyrant or prince of Heraclea, 
 who gave it her own name Amaftris, now called Amafrech by the 
 
 '•■ I Iinve already given in Letter LXXXV. feveral autonomatic coins of the great Euxine city 
 of Sinope, the birih-place of the hero Mithrlclites Eupator, and mother of the tv.o otlicr Euxine 
 ritics, Trapezius and Ccrafus, the native country of the cherry. This coin is ht:c\vife given be- 
 caufe it refers to the fabulous origin of Sinope by the Diofcurias or Caftor and Pollux, during the 
 Argonaviiic expedition to Colchis. Accordingly, on the rcverfe we find a cornu-copia placed be- 
 tween the caps of thefc two demi-god heroes furmounted each by a ft:io as they were afteiwards 
 placed among the conftdlations. 
 
 Q_CL 2 Turks,
 
 •JOO A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 
 
 Turks, according to their 
 
 pronunciation of its antient 
 Greek name. On the Eaftr 
 fide of the fame promontory 
 this colony had their capital 
 Sinope, afterwards the birth- 
 place and tomb of the great Mithridates, 
 moft conveniently fituatcd, both for 
 trade and dominion, in the neck or 
 illhmus of a peninfula, which gives it 
 the uncommon advantage of a port on 
 each fide. They had likewife on the fame 
 ■Si fide the fmaller cities of Cinolis, now 
 Kinoli, with Anticinolis, Murofolon, and 
 Armenes. 
 
 The commerce of all the colonies mentioned above, befide the 
 produce of their fillieries, feems to have confided in exporting wood 
 for fhip-building ; with box-wood, in great demand in Europe be- 
 fore the introdu6lion of foreign ebony ; olives, and their oils ; fait 
 from the river Hayles, probably to the more diftant filherics on the 
 fame coaft ; and, laftly, fine wool, with the famous Angora goat 
 hair ; fo precious in all ages, as to be fufpccled by fome to be the 
 real golden fleece of which the Greeks went in fearch. 
 
 The great fair of thefe colonies, particularly of the fettlements 
 dependent on Sinope, was held in the antient city of Cytorus, now 
 Kudrofs^ which the Greeks, in their ufual fabulous ftyle, pretended 
 to have been founded by Cytorus, fon of Phrixus, during the 
 
 lEi The medal. Fit'.;, bearing the name of Ameftris on Uie obveife, nnd that of Sebafte, or the 
 Au^iift, on the reverfe, is the only coin which Ihews that tliis city ever bore that proud title. 
 
 "*3 This medal of Crorana feems to confirm what roiiie think, is the meaning of Strabo, that 
 tliis city, as well as Sefamvis Cytorum and Tium, only fuiniflied Ameflris a part of its inhabitants, 
 but was not incorporated into the new city of tlie Heraclean Princefs, afterwards the refidence of 
 the kings of Paphlagonia. 
 
 Argonautic
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, c\c. 301 
 
 Argonaufic expedition ; and it is certain, at leaft, that they named 
 it after him, by way of giving it a precedency on the fcore of an- 
 tiquity, like feveral other cities on this coafl. 
 
 We next come to the colony 
 of Amifus, one of the moft 
 happy and permanent of the 
 whole ; as it chiefly fubfifted 
 by agriculture and the rearing 
 of cattle, in the rich lands on 
 theXhermodon"', the moft folid 
 and ftable of all revenues, as 
 not being affe6led by many cir- 
 cumftances which have an influ- 
 ence on commerce. We accordingly not only find it a place of 
 confequcnce in the days of Strabo, but fo rich and flourilhing, by 
 the patronage and fuccefTive embellifhments of the Athenians, 
 Mithridates, Eupator, and the princes of Cappadocia, that it drew 
 the attention and tempted the avidity of the Roman general 
 Lucullus, fo famous in the records of elegance and luxury, who took 
 and plundered it, although it was afterwards reftored to the rank 
 of a free city by Auguftus. 
 
 The laft time that we read of Amifus in clafllc authors, is, when 
 Pompey joined it to another Eupatoria, which had received its name 
 from the cognomen of Mithridates, who gave the two cities, thus 
 united, his own, in that of Pompeiopolis. 
 
 Next comes the city of A mafia, now 
 Amafieh, on the river Iris, the antient 
 capital of Pontus, and birth-place of the 
 famous geographer Strabo. It was the 
 
 ■'•' The owl on the n verfe of this medal of Amifus confirms, that the Athenians font a colony 
 thither, as reported by Strabo, though originally founded by tiieMi!e(i:uis. 
 
 "' The river Thermodon was famous in antiquity for watering tlie lands of the Amazons ; as a 
 part of that female community are faid to have dwelt on its banks, before the fetilement of the 
 colony of Amifus. 
 
 refidcnce
 
 302 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, cVc. 
 
 refidence of the kings of Cappadocia in antient times ; and in 
 modern, of the eldeft fon of the Grand Seignior till called to 
 the throne. 
 
 Amafia traded to great advantage at all times with the produce 
 of its lands, and was celebrated for its fine fruit, which it likewifc 
 exported to a great amount, and docs fo ftill. 
 
 LETTER XCII. 
 
 W E now come to Tra- 
 pezius, known to the 
 Turks by its middle-age 
 name of Trebifcnd ; a 
 colony that will yield to 
 none founded by the Greeks. >ienophon tells us, that when he 
 flopped here in his celebrated retreat with the ten thoufand, both 
 Trapezius and Cerafus, now Kerefoun, (from which LucuUus after- 
 wards imported the cherry into Europe,) paid tribute to Sinope, 
 and, of courfe, was under its protection. This was a place of great 
 trade in all ages, although it began, like many other of the Greek 
 fettlements, by exporting filh ; for it foon found means to add iron, 
 and even the precious metals, which they obtained from their neigh- 
 
 »8« This is one of the three Imperial medals given in this Tour ; all the others were ftruck 
 while the cities were free. 
 
 hours
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, kc. 303 
 
 bours the Chaldeans, then the moft expert miners and workers in 
 iron of the Weft ; nay, thofe of them who dwelt neareft to the fea- 
 coaft had even obtained the name of Chalybde from their dexterity 
 in this laft art. 
 
 The port of Trapezius was repaired by Adrian, and the city by 
 Juftinian, as is flill to be fccn by an infcnption over one of its gates ; 
 although the facl has efcaped the notice of the hiftorian Juftin, who 
 is, in general, fo exa6l in recording every thing done by his imperial 
 mafter which could redound to his honour. During the middle 
 ages, the Venetians, and their fuccefTors the Gcnoefe, had moft 
 fiourilhing colonies here, from which thcv carried on a 2:reat trade : 
 and the laft of the two republics even built a new harbour to the 
 fine city, although their tyrannic ufurpii g condncl in the Taurida 
 at laft armed the other colonies of Afia Minor againft them, and loft 
 them Trebilond as it was then called. 
 
 As to its extended commerce, we know that it not only cut a 
 great figure in remote antiquity, but likewife during the whole 
 middle ages, and was for a time the emporium of the Eaft India 
 trade, an<l long the common depofitary of the Chriftians in the 
 neighbouring countries, who brought their merchandize to be fold 
 and exported from this place ; efpecially the Armenians, once a 
 moft enterprifmg and commercial people, who had almoft the 
 whole Perfian trade in their hands for a great length of time, and 
 ftill retain a good part of it. 
 
 Laftly, it became the feat of one of the three fub-divifions of the 
 Eaftern Roman empire, where the family of the Comneni reigned 
 from 1204 till 1 461, when they were involved in the general ruin 
 brought on all the pretenders to the throne of the Casfars, by their 
 foolifli difputes, which delivered them into the hands of Mahomet 
 the great ; weak and impotent from their divifions, like the princes 
 of Ruflia when conquered by the Tartars ; while both empires 
 would have rcfifted the attacks of the barbarians, had each been 
 under a finglc fceptre, and not already tottering on the brink of 
 
 dellrudlion
 
 :J04- a tour through THE TAURIDA, kc. 
 
 defl:ru6lion by bloody civil wars, which rendered them an eafy prey 
 to the firft invader. 
 
 On takino- leave of this important phice, I fliall jud remark, that 
 the celebrated botatiift Tournefort coUecled here, and in his travels 
 through Afia Minor, in iearch of plants, feme fine medals comme- 
 morating the fplcndour of this city, under its antient name of Tra- 
 pezius, and its more recent appellation of Trebifond. 
 
 There were flill fome diftinguilhed cities on each fide of 
 Trapezius, which deferve to be mentioned before I quit this 
 coaft and the fubject of the Euxine commerce: fuch as Boona 
 and Jafonium, which (till preferve their antient names ; Pole- 
 monium (now Vadifa), fo called after its fovcrcign Polemon, 
 
 placed on the throne of Pontus by Marc Anthony ; Caralla 
 
 ( now Kierali ) ; Tri polls 
 ( now Tircboli ) ; Zephe- 
 ' rium (now Zafra), &c. all 
 to the Eall: of Trebifond ; 
 while to the Weft of it we 
 find Rhifa^um (now Rizeh) ; 
 Athene (now Athenah), a city whofe name has puzzled fome geo- 
 graphers, under the idea of its being in fome way conne6led with 
 that of Athens, which they cannot account for ; but, in my opinion, 
 they need not go fo far for an explanation, as it may have been 
 named after .'Ethes, king of Colchis, and faiher of Medea ; al- 
 though certainly the great corhmercial republic traded to the 
 
 '•f? All Imperial medal of Trajan, flruck iu the fortified city of Tripolis in Pontus. 
 '" An Imperial mc dal of Commodus, finick in the city of Amafia, after its fubjcaion to the 
 Komans. 
 
 Euxme ;
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, &c. 305 
 
 Euxhic ; and furcly the Athenians, who beautified the city of 
 Araifus on this coaft, may have built Athenae. 
 
 Being now arrived at the kingdom of Colchis, on whofe trade we 
 have already treated, I have finillied the con'mcrcial circuit of the 
 Euxine propofed in taking up the fubje6l, and thrown all the light 
 upon it that was in my feeble power, probably in a different manner 
 from profelHonal gentlemen who compofe works on commerce, but 
 ftill in I'uch a form as befl: fuited the plan and purpofe of my Tour. 
 Of the part of the circuit of its coafts which I did not examine in 
 perfon, 1 have merely given the antient geography, as I only treat 
 of its antient Hate, while it befl: explains, in my opinion, tha 
 modern names of places, merely corruptions of the antient in the 
 mouths of barbarians who cannot pronounce them better ; this is 
 ftriclly the cafe on the coaft of Afia Minor in particular, where the 
 Turks feem to have been contented with the pofleffion of the antient 
 Greek and Roman cities, without naming them anew in their own 
 jargon, like the Tauric Tartars, Bulgarians, &:c. 
 
 The Ruffians have taken the wife meafure of reftoring the antient 
 Greek names of the cities lately come under their fceptre ", after 
 having been for ages difguifed under Kozar and Mongul names, 
 which have given much trouble to the geographer who wiflied to 
 identify them. 
 
 ''' Such an intention is certninly evident in tlic att?ni|rts that hare been made; but it by no 
 means follows, tluit the cxc-cution of the plan is equal U> ihe intention ; on the tontrary, it ai'peari 
 to me, that Prince Potemkin had no one with him well ac<]uain!('i.l uiih the autiiiit ftate of the 
 country; and, accordingly, we only find three cities rcftored to their real aniient names, v'z. 
 Lupatoria, Theodocia, and Phanagoria. My Map, however, will furnilh the reil, if the Go\e:;i- 
 ijicnt choofe to follow up tlie idea of reftoring all. 
 
 R R LETTER
 
 ( 506 ) 
 
 LETTER XCIII. 
 
 Reasons for supposing the River Bog to have been the Axiacus 
 
 OF THE ANTItNTS. 
 
 -A-S my fiippofition, that the river Bog was the Axiacus of the 
 Antients (inftcad of the Hypanis, as has been generally believed), 
 makes a moft effential change in the antient geography of the 
 countries ceded to Ruffia at the peace of JafTy, and indeed in the 
 whole tra6t between the Dniefter and Dnieper, it is incumbent on 
 me to ftate my reafons for this conclufion. 
 
 Firft, it muft be evident to all who have paid attention to the 
 fubjecl, that fuppofing the Bog to be the Hypanis throws into 
 confufion the whole antient geography of the countries above in- 
 dicated, and renders all the claflic authors unintelligible, by dif- 
 placing the nations they fpeak of, and by changing the dimenfions 
 and courfe of fome rivers ; as mufl; certainly be the cafe, when you 
 are obliged to take one for another, by miftaking the name of a 
 leading river that determines the pofition and appellations of many ; 
 but, to make this truth more evident, 1 fliall briefly Hate Vv hat antient 
 geographers lay of the country in queflion. 
 
 Firft, Pomponius Mela obierves, that the Hypanis limits the 
 country of the CaUipedae, and that the neighbouring river, the 
 j4x!acus, runs between the Calliped.e and the Axiacas, who are 
 feparated from the litrians by the Tyras, or Dniefter ; — a paflage 
 
 which
 
 A TOUR THROUGH THE TAURIDA, kc. 807 
 
 which evidently points out the Bog to be the Axiacus, and thelngu- 
 letz the Hypanis. 
 
 Secondly, Pliny fays, that the Tyras is 1300 paces diftant from the 
 Pfeudoftomns, or fourth mouth of the Ifler, or Danube; then you 
 come to the nation of the Axiacx, who take their name from the 
 river Axiacus, on which they dwell, and beyond which live the 
 Chyrobyzi. 
 
 Thirdly, In the map publiflied by Ortellius to illuflrate the geo- 
 graphy of this country by Ptolemy (the fnft of the Antients who 
 applied aftronomy to geography, and determined the pofition of 
 places by their latitude and longitude), the Tyras is placed firfl, then 
 the Axiacus, then the Chyrobyzes, and then the Boryilhencs, cxa(Slly 
 as I have laid them down on the Map 2;ivcn with this Tour. 
 
 Fourthly, Strabo tells us, in his VHth Book, that the famous city 
 of Olbio flood at the diftance of 200 ftadcs from the mouth of the 
 Boryfthenes ; and in the Peripl. Anonym. Olbio is placed at the 
 fame difcancc from the fca, cxa6lly on the fpot where the Hypanis 
 falls into the Boryfthenes. Now if we fuppofe the Bog to have 
 been the Hypanis, the two lafl paflTagcs are unintelligible ; for that 
 river falls into the Dnieper, or Boryfthenes, very near its inouth, 
 inftead of at aooftades, or 25 miles, diftance from the Black Sea, as 
 all the Antients aflTcrt ; and confcqucntly the pofition of Olbio is 
 flill unafcertaincd. 
 
 But let us fuppofe, for a moment, tlie Bog to be the Hypanis, and 
 where are we to find the Axiacus, which, all the Antients agree, ran 
 between the Tyras and Hypanis ? as there is nothing hut ri\ Lilcts in 
 the fpace thus pointed out (if-wc cxccjit the Bog) ; while Ptolemy 
 tells us, that the Axiacus was a large river, running through Sar- 
 inatia, a little above Dacia ; and feparating the Axiacas from the Cal- 
 lipcdx, according to Pomponius Mela : as clear a defcriptioa of the 
 Bog as it is pofTible to give, while it will by no means agree with any 
 of the rivulets in the limited diftrict ; and Monueur dc Pcyifontl adds 
 to the above rcafons for regarding the Bog as the A-\iacus, that the 
 
 R B. 2 Turka
 
 308 A TOUR TMROUGir THE TAURIDA, &e. 
 
 Turks have a£lually preferved its antient claffic name in their modern 
 appellation x'\kfon, pronounced in their manner; a merit which I 
 have lately demonftrated that they poflels in a degree fuperior to any 
 other people that 1 know. 
 
 I fliall now finifh this fubjecl, by remarking that whereas calling 
 the Bog the Hypanis throws into confufion the antient geography^ 
 of the country that I have been ipeaking of, the fingle alteration 
 (which I adopted from Mr. de Peyflbnel's Survey of the Diftri6l) of 
 fcttinp- down that river as the Axiacus folves all difficulties, and all 
 falls into its natural order, as defcribed by the Roman geographers, 
 who had colonies there, and of courfe Avere well acquainted with the 
 fpot ; for, now, the Axiacus becomes the large river that Ptolemy 
 defcribes it, flowing through Sarmatia, while it feparates, as Mela 
 faid, the Callipedte, who dwelt to the North of it, from the Axiacx, 
 who lived on its South bank. Now likewife the Inguletz, which 
 falls into the Boryfthencs exa61:ly at 200 ftades, or 25 miles, from its 
 mouth, becomes the Hypanis, and points out the pofition of Olbio 
 juft where its ruins were feen by general Hanibal (as faid in a former 
 Letter,) while he was governor of the Ruffian Cherfon, about ten 
 miles lower down the river. I.aftly, the Hypanis,. now fixed in its 
 proper pofition, inclofes the Callipedae between it and the Axiacus, 
 according to Pomponius Mela, while it feparates that nation from the 
 Borvfthenitas, as it ought to do, according to the antient geographers. 
 But this fingle alteration that 1 have adopted equally fettles the 
 pofition of all the rivulets to the Eaft, between the Bog (or Axiacus) 
 and the Dniefter (or Tyras), conformable to antient geography ; 
 for, now, the Gulph or JJman of Berezan becomes the Sinus Saga- 
 ricus, exactly where we are told to look for it ; the rivulet Berezan 
 becomes the Sagaris ; and its other branch, Safik Berezan, the 
 Rhodusof antiquity ; while the rivulet Deligheul becomes the Lycusy 
 and the Atchily the Bcnius o-f Ovid,
 
 SUPPLEMENT 
 
 BT 
 
 THE EDITOR.
 
 ( 311 ) 
 
 LETTER XCIV. 
 
 Tauric Ruins, Monuments, Greek Inscriptions, &c. 
 
 jL HE two Memoirs formerly mentioned, as having been fo 
 obligingly fent to me by the Imperial Academy of Sciences, one 
 in the Ruffian, the other in the German language, will furnilli two 
 or three more Letters (for I continue the epiftolary form) to finifli 
 this Tour, and illuftrate a very interefling part of it ; as they con- 
 tain much information relative to the remains of antiquity ftill 
 exifting in the antient kingdom of Bofphorus, more particularly on 
 the fliores of the Straits which join the Black and Afoft' Seas, known 
 to the Antients by the name of the Cimmerian Bofphorus ; but ftill 
 more abundant on the Afiatic than the European fide, efpecially in 
 the ifland of Taman, the Phanagoriaof the Antients. 
 
 Mr. MarflialBiberftein, the author of tliefe Memoirs, tchiefly de- 
 votes that which he has written in the German language to Strabo's 
 Geography of the Bofphorus ; but, as I had already cited every 
 thing that I thought neceffary to illuftrate our fair Traveller's 
 modern defcription of that kingdom "°, I Ihall not tranflate that part 
 
 ''>° The Editor did not receive the two Memoirs of the Academy, till after lie h. uiilhed the 
 Lady's Tour to llic Taurida and Bofphorus, and was employed on the Appendix; butjasStrabo 
 liad been always coniulted, there was tlic Icfs to regret. 
 
 of
 
 312 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 of his pa}>cr, nor fatigue the reader with unneceflary repetitions, 
 but confine niylelf to what he fays of the antiquities of the country:; 
 a fpecies of information the more defirahle, as it lay out of the 
 Lady's province to colle6t it'- '; and we have not a Hne on the fubjccSl 
 fmcc the days of the Roman autliors.fo often quoted in this work, 
 Avho were thcmfclves in fearch of the ruins of the more antient 
 Greek cities and monuments, as we are now of thofc defcribed 
 by them. 
 
 It is neceffary liowever to remark, that the fculptured monuments 
 of the Taurida are by no means in a good ftate of confervation ; 
 the Greek infcriptions which were originally meant to explain them 
 are fo much effaced, as rather to add to the labour of the antiquary 
 than to diminiih it; fo that all is guefs-work here, and ofiers a wide 
 field for opinion.. 
 
 Mr. de Biberftein has not -been backward in hazarding a few 
 conjedlures ; and, as detached fragments are lawful game, I have 
 likewife occauonally amufed myfelf in the fame manner, and freely 
 leave to every reader the fame privilege. 
 
 Another eflential piece of information is, that very few of thefe 
 precious remains of antiquity are to be found in their original 
 (ituations ; fnr, from the want of building materials in the ifland 
 of Phanagoria. together with the ignorance of the different hordes 
 of barbarians who have for many ages occupied thefe countries, the 
 fame hewn flones cut by the Greeks for their public edifices, have 
 been fucceffively er.iployed, probably feveral times over, in every 
 building fmce, whether Saracen, Gothic, or Tartar ; nay, fome 
 of them are once more beginning to make a figure, poffibly for the 
 fourth or fifth time, in the barracks conffru6ting by our Ruffian 
 foldiers in the ifland of Phanagoria. 
 
 It i? thus, that we mnfi: account for the flrange flraggling fituations 
 in winch the Correipondent of the Imperial Academy found the dif- 
 
 »»' See Letter LIX. 
 
 ferent
 
 SUPPLEMENT. 313 
 
 ferent monuments, &:c. which he defcribes. In one place, for 
 example, he dilcovered fome remains of Grecian columns, with 
 their capitals, built into a Tartar tower; fome fculpturcd ftoncs 
 and Greek, infcrlptions in another ; an antient bado relievo in the 
 wall of the commandant's court-yard ; a fecond peeping out of a 
 gothic church wall ; a third antient monument employed as a 
 thrcfliold to the Ruffian barracks ; and in this manner are difperfed, 
 and appropriated to different ufes, all the Tauric antiquities men- 
 tioned in his Memoirs ; while the remaining part of the ruined 
 Greek edifices form a number of little hillocks, compofed of the 
 fmaller ftones and mortar, converted by time into lliapelefs heaps, 
 after the larger hewn flones (highly valuable to unfkilful barbariaw-s,- 
 probably neither furnilhed with tools nor (kill to cut ou f tie w 'Ones) 
 had been carried away for the purpofes in which we now find 
 them employed. 
 
 1 have little doubt that a number of curiofitics might be difcovcred 
 by digging into thefe heaps of rubbifh, from my knowledge of the 
 indolence of the Scythian or Tartar race, who probably never took 
 the trouble to go deeper than the furface, in dilapidating thefe antient 
 buildings of their fafliioncd mafonry ; nor would they undergo the 
 labour for all the antiques in the world. 
 
 I fliall now finilhthis little introdudtion to the Tauric monuments 
 wuth fome mention of another fpecies of conic hills (for thefe heaps 
 of rubbifh afllime a conic form) very common on the Ihores of the 
 Bofphorus, efpecially in the ifland of Taman, or Phanagoria, which 
 fecm to have been antient burying places ; as the)' are found to con- 
 tain antique urns when dug into by the curious. 
 
 I mud: own, that, on reading the defcription of thofc conic 
 hillocks, I was ftruck with their refemblance, both in ficfurc and 
 contents, to the tumuli in the plain of Troy, as mentioned by the 
 Abbe Chevalier in his interelting Paper publifhed in the Illd Volume 
 of the Philofophical Tranfadtions of the Royal Society of Edin- 
 
 S s burgh ;
 
 314 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 burgh ; and, as we know that this early mode of interment was 
 difufed before the zenith of Grecian glory and poHlh, it was moft 
 probably introduced by the firft Tauric colonifts, the Mdefians, 
 which gives a very high antiquity to thefe primitive earthen 
 monuments. 
 
 I am much inclined to think, that the conic was the firft 
 fepulchral form everywhere ; for we find the wilds of Scythia 
 fludded with fuch earthen tumuli as the Abbe and Mr. Biberftein 
 defcribe, with the fole difference of their containing afhes without 
 urns ; and the Weft of Europe feems equally to have abounded 
 with them in antient times, compofed in general of 7?5»ifj inftead 
 of earth, probably from being ready at hand, which is by no means 
 the cafe in the Scythian deferts. 
 
 The places in Phanagoria that are pointed out in the Academic 
 Memoir as being furnilhed with the urn tumuli, are, firft, in 
 the neighbourhood of the antient capital or city of ! hanagoria ; 
 fecondly, near where the Lake (Liman) Kifeltalhkoy falls into the 
 Lake Cuban, antiently Corocondametis ; thirdly, in the neighbour- 
 hood of the City Temruk ; and, laftly, feveral are faid to ftand on 
 the Afiatic Ihore of the Cimmerian Bofphorus. 
 
 LETTER
 
 ( 315 ) 
 
 LETTER XCV. 
 
 XxS I purpofe dividing the Tauric monuments into two periods, 
 according to what I think their comparative antiquity, I fliall 
 firft mention three that appear to be at leaft as old as the time 
 of the Roman dominion in the Taurida, as the Roman Emperor is 
 mentioned. 
 
 First Monument. 
 
 basiaeyontos nappisaaoy 
 tot znaptaklot aeoitpatos 
 
 TEPTOr AAEA^Or .... TOS 
 Oil PI 
 
 The tranflation of this fragment by Mr. Biberllein is : • 
 
 *' During the reign of Parifades, fon of Spartacus, fon of Leo- 
 •' ftratus .... by his brother " 
 
 I Ihall only remark on this firft monument and its tranflation, 
 that it is difficult to conceive who this king Parifades, fon of Spar- 
 tacus, was ; as Diodorus Siculus tells us, that Parifades I. who fuc- 
 ceeded SpartacusIII. was his brother, not his fon. He muft then 
 have been the fon of Spartacus IV. ; as after the death of that 
 prince there is a chafm in the Bofphoric hiftory of 180 years; fo 
 that we neither know the names of his children nor of his fuccefTor ; 
 but all is dark and myfterious, till we find the good Parifades IV. on 
 
 S s 2 the
 
 516 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 the throne, who yielded it without a blow to Mithridates, rather 
 than Ihed in a hopelels contefl: the blood of his beloved fubjecls, 
 vv'ho had fo often defended him againlt the Scythians. 
 
 This monument was ieen by Mr. Biberftein in a low wall, near 
 the great gate of the old gothic church of Kerch, or the Panticapecs- 
 of the Greeks. 
 
 Second Monument. 
 
 . . lO . . nOSEIAONOS KA . . .- . 
 
 , . norS BAIIAEA BA£IAEaN MEFANTO 
 
 . . HTos BOOS nopor tibepioni otaiq 
 
 . . A THN TON BAIIAEOX PHZKOTOOPI 
 
 . . 2APA KAI *IAOPOM 
 
 . . NTA TAKA-A^EXANn NO 
 
 . . ZnTHFA ETSANTNOS KAOIIP 
 
 . . AI:.*ANtor riANT - STAII. 
 
 The tranfiation which Mr. de Biberftein has ventured to give (as- 
 conje6lure) of this mutilated monument, found in the ruins of the 
 antient c'ty of Phanagoria, is as follows : 
 
 " To him who, with the aid of Pofeidon, engaged the fublime 
 
 " King of Kings to declare fovereign of the Bofphorus, fon 
 
 " of King Rifco, friend af the Emperor and the Romans.*' 
 
 For my part, I can only make out Pofidonos, a name of Neptune, 
 with that of Tiberius, and a king Refkouporides ; fo that I ihould 
 fuppofe it to have been a monument dedicated to Neptune, and 
 erecSled by Refkouporides, in the reign of Tiberius, who, we know, 
 was lord paramount of the kingdom of Bofphorus, although it was 
 governed by its own kings, tributary to the Rom.ans ; and Refkou- 
 porides may have been one of them, although his name is not 
 found in our very imperfect lift of thefe princes. 
 
 The
 
 SUPPLEMENT. 517 
 
 The foregoing conjecSlure is much ftrengthened by a medal of this 
 fovereign in the colledion of Baron Allie, which was found fome- 
 where in the Taurida or Bofphorus ; though, till I faw the above 
 infcription, I took it for a coin of a king of Thrace of the fame 
 name, well known to antiquaries. 
 
 The hiftory of this antient kingdom, imperfeclly as it is tranf- 
 mitted to us, fhows its intimate conne6lion with Thrace ; and we 
 even find, in reading the civil wars among the fons of Spartacus IL 
 that one of them, named Emulus, was fupported in his claim to 
 the throne by an army of 42,000 Thracians, led by their king 
 Ariophai"nes. 
 
 Third Monument. 
 
 , . ;■ ASIEIMA . : . . 
 
 . . . MAS AnO ATTflN KAI EIS ATTCN FENOME-N . . . . 
 . . . AISTE KAI AAEIS<>OPIAI2 AHAIAIS TAIS KATA THN B . 
 . . . AEIXOENTATOT KAIIAPEIOT MA BIOT EIS TENOSTOI . 
 . . . TAI ANESTHSEN TEIMH2 XAPIN ZYN TXl KAI EHI TEI 
 . . . MEPAN ATTflN THO TE EMOT KAI TIIN EKFONflNM . . 
 
 On this third monument, found, like the fecond, in the ruins of 
 Phanagoria, it is diificult even to hazard a conjecture, as it wants 
 both the beginning and end of each line ; it feems, however, to have 
 been eredted in honour of a man and his poflerity who had merited 
 well of their country. 
 
 LETTER
 
 ( 518 ) 
 
 LETTER XCVI. 
 
 The Sepulchral Monuments of the Bosphorus. 
 
 J. HE remaining Monuments mentioned in Mr. Biberftein's two 
 Memoirs feem to be of the fepulchral kind, and not older than the 
 Eaftern Roman empire ; while the three former are undoubtedly of 
 the clafTic times. 
 
 The author introduces his account of thefe monuments by the 
 following obfervations, that are applicable to all, with refpe£ttothe 
 ftone out of which they are cut. 
 
 They are, in general, of a fine white folid marble, mixed with 
 chryftallized particles like alabafter, of about one archine and a 
 half long, and more than half an archine broad, (42Englifli inches 
 by 14,) bearing commonly fome human figures in bafib-relievo, 
 with an infcription in diale6lic Greek ; although we likewife find 
 fome of later ages on an inferior kind of white marble, like the 
 famous Ruflian monument lately found in Phanagoria, on which 
 Gleb, prince of Tmutaracan'", recorded his meafurement of the 
 Cimmerian Bofphorus, as already noticed in the Tour"^ 
 
 "- Tmutaracan was tlic name by which the ifland of Phanagoria was known in Ruflia while 
 it was a province of this empire, although called Tmutaracan by the Byzantine authors, from 
 which the Tartars feem to have derived their modern appellation of Taman, which in faft, is 
 only a contraction of it. 
 
 »w Letter LVIL 
 
 This
 
 SUPPLEMENT. S19 
 
 This inferior fpecies, Mr. Biberftein tliinks, may have been found 
 fomcwhere in the Bofphorus ; while he regards the finer as a foreign 
 marble, and the fame with that employed by the Greeks in their 
 own country for the precious monuments of antiquity which they 
 have left us. Befide the Bofphoric monuments in marble, there are 
 fomc likewife in common ftone. 
 
 Of the fcpulchral monuments in general, the author mentions 
 three kinds diftinguifliable by the figures upon them. 
 
 The First Species of Basso-Relievo 
 
 Commonly contains a female figure in a long robe, with a 
 child. 
 
 The Second Species, 
 A man on horfeback, with a child {landing by him. 
 
 The Third Species, 
 
 A man lying on a kind of bed, or couch, with a woman and child, 
 one on each fide of him. 
 
 With regard to what may be called the a6lion of the figures in 
 thcfe three different kinds of banb-rclicvos, fo often repeated on the 
 fcpulchral ftones of the Bofphorus, Mr. Bibcrflcin fays, that 
 
 In the Firfi:, The woman is generally rcprclented in a (landing 
 pofture, with her hands under the fore-part of her garment ; though 
 fometimes ihc is leaning againft a kind of altar ; and he has like- 
 wife
 
 3<20 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 wife feeii her fitting on a (lone, and wiping her eyes, with the marks 
 and expreflion of extreme grief. 
 
 In the Second, The man is reprcfented as on a horfe in flow 
 motion, with nothing but the bridle in his hands ; for he is, in 
 general, without weapons ; although in a few inftances he is clad 
 in warlike attire. 
 
 In the Third, The man lying on a couch is reprefented a*s leaning 
 on his left arm, while the right is extended, and holds a kind of 
 garland. 
 
 As to the child in all of them, it is commonly reprefented as in a 
 light drefs, only covering the middle of the body ; and in fome 
 inftances it holds in its two hands fomething much refembling an 
 nrn. 
 
 Laftly, He informs us, that in one cafe he faw a woman with two 
 children (infl:ead of the ufual number, one), having fome male 
 attendants apparently in waiting upon her. 
 
 Mr. Biberllein finifhes his preliminary remarks by obferving, that 
 he fometimes found two of the above-defcribed bado-relievos on one 
 monument, with each its own infcription below it, and that the flile 
 of fculpture in all of them is but indifferent ; while the Greek iii- 
 fcriptions are fadly mutilated and defaced. 
 
 LETTER
 
 ( 321 ) 
 
 LETTER XCVII. 
 
 After having dated, in my laft, Mr. Biberftein's obfervations on 
 the fepiilchral monuments of the Bofphorus, I fhall give, in this, 
 the fpecimens of each kind which he took the trouble to copy. 
 
 Sepulchral Monuments of the First Kind, bearing Female 
 
 Figures. 
 
 I. 
 
 On a common (lone in the wall of the old church of Kerch 
 (Panticapeos), is reprefented, in baflb-relievo, a woman and child, 
 with the following infcription : 
 
 HNANA MHTHP 
 
 MHNOAOPOT KAI AAEA«JH . . . 
 
 AHMOZTPATHA XAIPE. 
 
 This infcription Mr. Biberflcin tranflates : — " Mother of Meno- 
 *' dorus, and filler . . . Demoflratus, — repofe in peace." 
 
 Tt Oil
 
 522 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 II. 
 
 On a common ftone, built into the wall of the old gothic church 
 of Kerch, exactly fimilar in every refpedt to the above-defcnbed 
 monument with regard both to dimenfions and baflb -relievos, is the 
 following fragment of an infcription : 
 
 . . . nonAt TIE . . . 
 
 K0Z2A XAI . . 
 
 I 
 
 Mr. Blberftein does not attempt a tranflation of this infcription 
 in its very mutilated ftate ; however, we may hazard a conjecture, 
 that it means — — " Son of Poplus, with his wife, or daughter, 
 •« Cofla, — reft in peace." 
 
 III. 
 
 On a block of white marble, found in the ruins of the antient 
 Phanagoria, near the modern city of Taman, there are exadlly 
 the fame baflTo-relievos as on No. I, defcribed before, with the 
 following infcription : 
 
 AASE EnPEnior xaipe w. 
 *' Dafe, daughter of Eprepie, — repofe in peace. " 
 
 N. B. This monument offers an example of what Mr. Biberftein 
 before aflerts, viz. that they fometimes contain two diftindl baflb- 
 relievos, with each its peculiar infcription ; for on this block, below 
 
 '93 The XAIPE of the Greeks, with which every one of thefe fepulchral infcrlptions ends, 
 leems here to anfwcr to \.\\& Requiefcat in Face of the Latins; both equally wilhing an eternal 
 repofe to the fouls of the deceafed. 
 
 the
 
 SUPPLEMENT. 3 23 
 
 the firfl; baflfo-relievo, there is another of the fecond fpecies, where 
 a man appears on horfeback ; but the infcription is too much 
 effaced to be legible. 
 
 Sepulchral Monuments of the Second Species, where the 
 Basso-Relievo represents a Man on Horseback, with a 
 Child standing by him. 
 
 IV. 
 
 On a block of white marble, originally found in the ruins of the 
 city of Phanagoria, but at prefent built into a wall in the court- 
 yard of the commandant of Jcnikal (the Nymphcos of the Antients), 
 is a baflb-relievo reprefenting a man on horfcback, with a child 
 (landing by him. The infcription is : 
 
 HZOTS AnOAAON 
 
 AOT TOIZnA . . . \IOI 
 
 UN .... XAIP. 
 
 This infcription is much too imperfe£l for tranflation, as we only 
 fee diftin6tly the name of Appollonidus ; but whether he was the 
 pcrfon interred, or him who erected the monument in honour of 
 another, it is difficult to determine. For my own part, I fufpe6t 
 that it is the fon of Appollonidus who is to reft in peace. 
 
 Sepulchral Monuments of the Third Species, where a Man 
 
 IS REPRliSENTED LYING ON A CoUCH, WITH A WoMAN ON ONE 
 
 Side, and a Child on the other. ^ 
 
 V. 
 
 On a common flone lately difcovered on a hill near Kerch, now 
 
 T T a in
 
 324 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 in the polTeffion of the Prieft of the diftri6t, is a baflb-relievo of this 
 third kind, with the following fhort infcription : 
 
 AFAQH TT XAIPE. 
 
 *• Agathe, — reft in peace." 
 
 Laftly, Mr. Biberftein mentions fome Bofphoric monuments, of 
 the fepulchral kind, which he found bearing only an infcription, 
 without any fculptured figures upon them ; of which fpecies he 
 gives one example. 
 
 On a ftone in the wall of the church of Kerch is the following: 
 infcription : 
 
 GEONATE 
 ATONTSIOT 
 
 » 
 
 . AMAITPIANE 
 XAIPS. 
 
 ** Theonate, daughter of Dionyfius of Amaftris, — reft in 
 ** peace." 
 
 It would be improper to quit the fubje6l of the Bofphoric monu- 
 ments, without noticing in this Letter (peculiarly appropriated to 
 them,) the famous Monumenium Satyri of the ifland of Phanagoria, 
 at the fouthern entry of the Cimmerian Bofphorus. It is a conic 
 mount of earth ere6ted to a man of the name of Satyros, who had 
 excited the admiration and merited the gratitude of his country ; 
 
 and
 
 SUPPLEMENT. 325 
 
 and I fufpe6l it to be of the primitive kind of fepulchral tumuli on 
 a gigantic fcale mentioned in a former Letter, containing urns, 
 which denotes its great antiquity. Strabo makes particular men- 
 tion of it, and I have marked its pofition on the Map of this 
 Tour. 
 
 LETTER XCVIII. 
 
 
 1 HIS Letter will be appropriated to Mr. Marfhal Biberftein's 
 conjectures on the nature and purport of the Bofphoric monuments 
 that he copied in his travels, and which I have inferted here. 
 
 He thinks that the firft fpecies, and poflibly the third, were 
 dedicated to the fair fex, while the fecond were erefted to men 
 only. 
 
 He next fjppofes, that the figures fculptured on them either 
 reprefent the dcceai'ed, or the ereCters of the monuments ; and 
 when two bailo-relievos are feen on the fame ftone, the one anfwers 
 to the hrlt, and the other to the fecond of thefc fuppofitions ; he 
 however admits the probability of family vaults having axifted in 
 the Bofphorus at the time when thefe fepulchral monuments were 
 erected ; and in that cafe there is nothing more obvious to con- 
 jecture, than that feveral baffo-relievos would be fculptured on one 
 tomb-done belonging to a family, provided it were large enough 
 to hold them. 
 
 Lartly, Mr. Blbcrftein thinks that the woman reprefentcd as 
 {landing, the man on horfeback, or lying on a couch, as well as 
 
 the
 
 526 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 the child with a vafc ia its hand, may all relate to certain ceremonies 
 pra6liled at funerals. 
 
 Thus far the autlior of the Memoirs ; but, as conjc6lures are 
 free, and may amufe if they do not inftru6l, I fliall hazard a fc\r 
 of my OAvn on this curious fubject. 
 
 May not the female reprefented on thefe monuments, in an 
 infulated upright pofition, indicate a virgin ; the female figure 
 leaning on an a/far, a wife ; and the woman in tears, a widow, 
 lamenting the lofs of her hulband ? The male figures I fliould be 
 inclined to explain much in the fame manner, by fuppofing that 
 the man on horfeback bears a reference to the exercifes of young 
 men, and indicates his having died a batchelor ; and if what the 
 recumbent figure holds in his hand be the nuptial garland of 
 antiquity, it may allude to his having been married ; whilft the 
 child bearing an urn may reprefent an orphan carrying the aflies 
 of its parent ; and thus diftin6tly mark the different ftates of civil 
 
 fociety '". 
 
 Mr. Biberftein concludes his remarks on the Bofphoric monu- 
 ments, with fuppofing that they were moftly ere6led to children. 
 This curious hypothefis he endeavours to found on a difcovery of a 
 Mr. Geifler about the beginning of this century, who aflerts in his 
 travels, written in German, that from the fmallnefs of the bones in 
 a number of antique tombs which he examined in Italy, &c. the 
 Antients muft have generally buried children, without confuming 
 their bodies to afhes, as they did the corpfes of adults. 
 
 "* Thefe conjc6tures of mine are, perhaps, much more imfatisfaftory than they might have 
 been had Mr. Biberftein defcribed the drefs of at leaft the female figures on thefe fepulchral 
 moiuiments; as we know that the fimple vitt.T, or fingle ribbon of tlie Antients, indicated the 
 virgin, and the double vitt;c the married ftate : diftincHions which are lYM prcferved in tlie 
 bead-drefs of the Ruffian peafants, as maybe feen in my "Russian Antisuities. " The 
 Author of the Memoirs might likewifc have told us, whether they wore the zona of the Antients, 
 or not} which the hulband uivtied on the bridal night, &c. 
 
 Our
 
 SUPPLEMENT. 327 
 
 Our author likewife gives us another difcovery of Geifler's, appli- 
 cable to the fubjett of fepulchral infcriptions. Geifler, he fays, 
 found, on an attentive examination of the antient tombs in the 
 city of Albana, that the X lb often feen on tomb-ftones, and which 
 has commonly been taken for the crofs, and the peculiar mark of a 
 chriftian grave, is only the initial letter of the Greek word xphste- 
 XAIPE ; as he fometimes found it written at length, and fomctimes 
 nicrely the initial X, inftcad of the whole. 
 
 LETTER XCIX. 
 
 An Inquiry by the Editor into the geographical Position and 
 Religion of a famous Nation of Antiquity, which sent 
 ANNUAL Offerings from Russia to the Shrine of Apollo 
 in Delos. 
 
 X HERE ftill remain two curious fubjedls which fall into the 
 range of refearch carried on in this Tour, as they regard the new 
 dominions of Riiflia on the Euxine. 
 
 The firft is, an inquiry into the geographical pofition of the 
 Hyperboreans of the Anticnts, who fcnt yearly offerings from the 
 North, by the way of Scythia, to the temple of Apollo in the ifland 
 of Delos ; which were forwarded from Scythia by the Greek 
 colonifts fettled on the Euxine coafl: ; a facft that fecms to be as well 
 authenticated as any one in antient profane hiftory ; of courfc, it 
 
 becomes
 
 328 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 becomes a curious fubje6t of im^eftigation to a traveller, treating of 
 the Southern provinces of Ruflia, more efpccially as it appears, 
 from a number of circumflances brought to light in my prefent 
 refearch, that this iuterelfing people dwelt fomewhere between 
 Mofcow and K.iefF, profefling the religion and rites of the Greeks, at 
 a period of fuch remote antiquity. 
 
 The truth of fuch a ftory, it would be ridiculous in me not to 
 inquire into, by comparing the accounts of the Antients, at a mo- 
 ment when I am endeavouring to point out where and when the 
 antient Greeks in their pagan ftate had an opportunity of commu- 
 nicating to the anceflors of the Ruffians the number of analogies 
 which I have flriown (in my late Work) to fubfift between the two 
 nations, in their pagan rites, marriages, cufloms, dances, &c. &c. 
 more efpccially as it is a favourite amufement that can offend no 
 one, and the refult of which they may take if they pleafe — cum 
 grano falis. 
 
 It may be neceffary to introduce the information that I have 
 been able to collect relative to this curious people, by explaining 
 the meaning of the name given to them by the Greeks, who, we 
 know, called the inhabitants of Thrace Borea?i5 ; and, of courfe, 
 thofe who dwelt far to the Northward of them, Hyperboreans. 
 
 The next point is, to determine, if poflible, who thefe people 
 were, and where they lived ; a tafk of the molt difficult kind, as, 
 from the perfect ignorance of the Greeks with regard to the countries 
 North of the Sc) thian deferts, all that they fay is 'vague in the 
 extreme ; however, there is one clue by which we may poifibly trace 
 out their place of refidence ; viz. the route by w hich their famous 
 offerings were fent to Dclos ; of which we have very exa6t accounts, 
 not only frop»i Herodotus, but from the inhabitants ot Dclos who 
 received them, although the lall part of the journey is diiputed 
 by the x'\thenians, who infift on having always had the honour of 
 tranfporting them in a veffel of the republic, from the continent of 
 Greece, to the facred ifland, inflead of their being fhipped at 
 
 Caryfta2,
 
 SUPPLEMENT. 323 
 
 Caryftae, in the ifland of Eubca, for Dclus, as the inhabitants of 
 that city aflert ; and, indeed, (as I lliall prcfently Ihou) there may 
 be equal truth in both the claims. 
 
 The Delians then tell us, that the Hyperboreans did not always 
 fend holy ambafladors (or Tbcoroi'-\ as the Greeks called them) 
 with their offerings to Apollo ; but in general conveyed them, 
 through the religious refpecl of the intermediate nations for that 
 celebrated God of Antiquity, without any other accompaniment than 
 the fandlity univerfally attached to them. 
 
 The Hyperboreans contented themfelves then, for the mod part, 
 with handing their offerings for x'\pollo to their nearefi: Southern 
 neighbours, the IJfcdofiians, who gave them again to their next 
 neighbours the Scythians, to be carried down to the Greek colonifts 
 on the Euxine coafl: ; who forwarded them in the fame manner, from 
 nation to nation, to the place of their depofit. 
 
 Our furprize at fo long a journey as thefe Hyperborean offerings 
 performed, merely by religious zeal, will be confiderably diminiflied, 
 when we confider, that there then exiftcd a chain of Greek colonies, 
 all the way from the great market of Olbio on the Dnieper down 
 to Greece. 
 
 1 have already traced them in my fketch of the Euxine commerce 
 down to Byzantium, the limits of my plan ; and every body knows, 
 that the Propontide, or Sea of Marmora, as well as the Hellefpont, 
 were equally furnitlied with Greek colonies ; but it may not be fo 
 generally known, that they had extended their lettlemcnts along 
 the coafts of Thrace and Macedonia ; fo that when the Northern 
 firft fruits, wrapt up in zv/jeai-Jlraw, their conftant package, had 
 once got down to the Euxine colonies, by means of the Iffedonians 
 
 '9- ©liipoi, In tlie original llgnificalinn, were thofe wlio wenl yearly to Dilos in llio fame lliip; 
 which carried Thefcus to Crete ; tliuugli afterwards applied to all who carried oU'erings to Apollo 
 in that iHaud. 
 
 U u and
 
 330 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 and Scythians (who probably received a prcfent of Greek mer- 
 chandize as a reward for their diligence and care of the facred 
 charge), there is little doubt but they w ould be forwarded the relt of 
 the way, with marked attention, from colony to colony, by the 
 zealous worfhippers of Apollo. 
 
 I here fuppofe, that the way they were fent, after arriving at 
 Byzantium, was down the European fliore of the Propontidus and 
 HcUcfpont, and then along the coafts of Thrace and Macedonia 
 into Theflfaly, the country of Achilles ; where, being arrived oa 
 Grecian ground, they would quickly find their way for embarkation, 
 either at the famous port of Aulis in Boeotia (where the Grecian 
 fleet was fo long detained by contrary winds in their way to Troy), 
 or at the no lels celebrated port of Pire in Attica ; if the Athenians 
 are founded in faying, that the Hyperborean offerings were yearly 
 forwarded to Delos by them : but, as the Delians themfelves declare 
 that they received them from Caryftas in Eubea, by way of Tenos, 
 it is more than probable, that they were at firft fent from fome port 
 on the continent of Greece to Caryftx, till the all-powerful Athe- 
 nians became the lords paramount of Delos, as we know was the 
 cafe ; after which period, they certainly would claim the exclufive 
 right of a6ling as Theoroi to the diftant votaries of Apollo ; and 
 furcly it would not be the inhabitants of a fccondary Grecian city 
 that would dare to conteft with them an honour fo highly prized in 
 the pagan world. 
 
 1 have here overlooked another route by which fome pretend 
 thefe offerings were fent from Scythia, viz. ffcraight Weft to the 
 Adriatic, and from thence by the Ionian Sea to Dodona in Epirus, 
 and then carried for embarkation on the Sinus Maliacus to proceed 
 to Caryfta;, Tenos, and Delos. Surely fuch a-round-about journey 
 is very improbable ; more efpecially as the offerings muft have 
 paflcd through barbarous nations, who probably never heard of the 
 gods of the Greeks ; while wc know, that if there even had not 
 
 been
 
 SUPPLEMENT. 3.T1 
 
 hccn a Grecian colony in either Thrace or Macedonia, they would 
 have been refpecled in both ; for the Thracians oftcrcd to Diatia^'" 
 in ivheaten-Jlraiv, as did the Hyperboreans ; and, of courfe, any 
 thing on its way to her ifland would be treated with much refpect 
 in that country ; and we likewife know, that Macedonia was in 
 habits of friendlliip with Greece about the period alluded to ; for, 
 on the night before the battle of Plataca (479 vears before Chrift), 
 we find Alexander king of Macedonia, although forced to accom- 
 pa'ny Xerxes in his expedition againft Greece, dealing in the night 
 to the camp of the Athenians, to inform them of Mardonius's 
 intention to furprifc them at day-break ; and Pcrdiccas, another 
 of their kings, foliciting to become a citizen of Athens in the 454th 
 year before Chrift. 
 
 Having fliown, that the Hyperboreans worfliipped Apollo, Diana, 
 and Juno, and that they fent yearly offerings to their flirines in 
 Dclos, I think the cafe very clearly made out, that there did exilt 
 fuch a nation to the Northward of Scythia ; and fliall now endea- 
 vour to trace out, by the route of their offerings, the geographical 
 pofitlon of thofe who fcnt them. 
 
 Herodotus, whom I have already fliown '" to have obtained, 
 during his travels in Scythia, a valuable mafs of information relative 
 to the country of the Hyperboreans, likewife learned during his 
 Tour, that they gave their off'erings for Delos to their Southern 
 neighbours the IfTedonians, who committed them to the care of the 
 Scythians, on whofe country they bordered, to be conveyed down 
 to the Greek colonies on the Euxine ; exadlly the fame mode of 
 conveyance as is recorded in the writings or archives of Uelos. 
 
 «96 Dfclos was held doubly facred by ihc Anlients, as the birth-place of botli Apollo and 
 Diana; and we find that the Hyperboreans niuft have lent offerings and holy ambaffadors to 
 both of thole deities, as Herodotus mentions the aflies of two of thofe Hyperborean Theoroi 
 prefcrved with religious care in the temple of Diana in Dclos, befides tombs of the other two 
 of them, who died tlierc on an cmbally to Apollo. See " I'he Young Anacharfis," Vol. VIII. 
 p. S/i, 8vo. Deux Fonts. 
 
 •■'■ Sec Letter XC. 
 
 U u 2 Now
 
 332 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 Now \vc know that the deierts of Scythia extend, even at this 
 day, up to the 48th degree of North latitude, and in fome places 
 farther ; indeed, the Ruffian line of forts to be feen on the maps 
 of the empire, perfectly define their limits, as they were conftrudled 
 to defend the flationary cultivators dwelling in fixed habitations, 
 trom the roving inhabitants of the defert. 
 
 The I/J'cdonians then mud have dwelt beyond the 48th deo-rce of 
 North latitude, probably as high as the 50th, which is the latitude 
 of Kieff, the antient capital of the Great Dukes of Ruffia ; a pofition 
 which well agrees with that given them by the learned Jelbit father 
 Hardouin, w ho fays, that they dwelt in the South of Mufcovy, or 
 Ruffia. 
 
 But the Hyperboreans dwelt to the North of the IflTcdonians, who 
 were their nearefl: Southern neighbours, and tranfmitted their 
 offerings to the Scythians ; fo that this folar^"^^ nation, in the opinion 
 of the Greeks, mufl evidently have lived confiderably to the South- 
 ward of Mofcow ; . as they could not have given their offerings 
 dire£ily to the Ifledonians, had there been another nation between 
 them. 
 
 However, although Herodotus, and the reft of his countrymen, 
 never went fo high as Kieff, and were therefore completely ignorant 
 of the North and its inhabitants, which led them to imagine fo 
 many ridiculous fables concerning them ; yet I have fhown, in 
 Letter XC. that lie had acquired from the Greeks fettled in Scythia, 
 and the nomades of the defert, who came down to trade with them, 
 ;i moft accurate account of the Hyperborean climate ; which per- 
 
 ic» w'e imirt not be fo feveie on Heroclotus, and the Greeks in general, for their wild opinions 
 ef the cold ol thi- Hyperborean country, wlien we find a Roman 500 years afterwards, the famous 
 Ovid, painting his fuuation on the coaft of the Euxinc (far to the Southward even of the pofition 
 that 1 have given it) as the moft difmal poUible, from the uncommon feverity of the climate; al- 
 though we inhabitants of Teterlburg fly to it for health, as the Italy of Ruffia, and wiJi diffi- 
 culty fupport the heat : fo that all our ideas arc comparative, it would appear, as well as our 
 feelings. 
 
 feaiy
 
 SUPPLEMENT. 333 
 
 fe6lly agrees with the refult of my inquiry, ami points out their 
 geographical pofition to have been in the antient dominions of RulTia, 
 probably about the latitude of Baturin"", the antient rcfidcnce of 
 the Hetman of tiie Colfaks ; as they would there border on the 
 lands of the Iffedonians, as Herodotus and the Delians tell us 
 they. did. What makes this conje6lure fomething probable is, that 
 the river Defna, on which Baturin (lands, and which waters the 
 country where I fuppole the Hyperboreans may have dwelt, is a 
 branch of the Boryfthenes ; fo that in cafe this people, worlliipping 
 the gods of the Greeks, were of Grecian origin, it is eafy to believe, 
 that in the 500 years that Greek colonies had been fettled on the 
 banks of the Dnieper, before Herodotus, a detachment of them 
 might have gradually mounted up to the Ukraine in purfuing the 
 courfe of the river, whofe banks ail the way would invite them to 
 proceed, when regularly examined as they went on, whatever 
 prejudices might have been entertained againft the cold and fterility 
 of the upper regions, by their countrymen down at Olbio, and 
 which were mod probably kept alive by the cunning Scythians, to 
 prevent their going up to trade dirc(5f ly with the nations fettled in 
 the fertile lands of Little'°° Ruflia, without their intermediate aid ; 
 
 '»' It may be remarkeil with fome degree of truth, that t!ic Jplcriplion of Herodotus is more 
 applicable at prcfent to the part of Rullia on the Gulph of Finland, tlian to tlie South of Rullia ; 
 but when we confider how much the climate of a country is improved in a very few generations, 
 by being cleared and cultivated, we have reafon to think that his account was applicable 2000 year-; 
 ago to the Ukraine; and, to judge of the truth of my remark on ihc amelioration of the Ruffian 
 climate, let any one read the accounts that we have from the Romans of the climate of Germany 
 even in their time, and compare them with the fame country at prefcnt, (ince the lands have been 
 cultivated, the woods cleared, and the marfhcs drained. The revcrfe of this cafe is the prefent 
 ftate of pjgypt, Sardinia, and feveral other countries, become infcftious and deadly from ncleft, 
 although formerly the granaries of the world, and the pleafant and healthy abode of man, wI)iUl 
 the feat of indnlhy and agriculture. 
 
 "^ It is a curious fai.^, although I do not fuppofc it to have any reference to the remote period 
 treated of in this inquiry, that there lias exilied for ages a fmall Greek co'ony in tlie antient city 
 of Niejin, a little to the South Well of Baturin, which carried on a flourifliing commerce by the 
 Kuxinc Sea, till the eftablilliinent of tlie new Chcrfon near tlic mouth of the Dnieper made tlicir 
 trade languifh of late years, 
 
 for
 
 5^4f SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 for the rtiepherds of Scythia, like the flicpherds of Arabia, feem to 
 have been the carriers acrois their defcrts in antient times, before 
 the navigation of the Boryfthenes was put in train. 
 
 Who the Hyperboreans were, feems now the only remaining part 
 of this fubje(5t incumbent on me to inquire into; and my fentiments 
 are fo very much the fame with thoi'e of Mr. Larchcr, the learned 
 tranflator and commentator of Herodotus, as cxprclTed in his ^jth 
 Note on the IVth Book of that Author, that I ihall tranfcribe his 
 opinion as my own. 
 
 He fays, " the Hyperboreans muR; have been of Grecian or/gin, if 
 *' we are to judge from their worlhipping the Deiian xApollo, from 
 " their rites'"', and from the traces of their language vifible in the 
 " names of their Theoroi"% or holy ambaffadors, who occafionally 
 
 " came 
 
 "' What Mr. Larcher, probably, means by ///c/r ;//(?/ (for I have nowhere found any mention 
 of them) is, their manner of fenchng their oif^rrings to Dclos, wrapt up in tuieat-JIiniii, an 
 antient Grecian ceremony, fo well known, that thi fc who carried offerings thus arranged were 
 called Amallophori and Oulophori, with the only dltt'erence, that it was barley, the ol'lelt grain 
 of iheir country, inllead of wheat-flraw, in which they were enveloped, as the Greek word 
 indicates. The Greeks poured barley i^al in grain, and the Romans \n flour, ax^iro, on the heads 
 of the vidims to be facriliced. 
 
 ^^ The names of the Hyperborean ambaffadors, or Theoroi, in which Mr. Larcher traces the 
 Greek language, are, Oiipis, or Opis, Loxo, Hecaerge, Hyperoche, Laodice, Arge, Abaris, 
 Achtria, &c. who arrived at different times at Delos. Herodotus mentions the tombs of two 
 of them, viz. of Opis and Arge, Hyperborean virgins, which flood in his time to the Eafb 
 behind the temple of Diana, near the hall where the Ceians kept their feflivals. To them hke- 
 wiie the women of Dolos fung hymns ; but they feem to have come, according to Herodotus, 
 with offerings, no: to Apollo or Diana, but to llythia (Juno), in favour of the Hyperborean 
 women, to procure them eafy parturition; fo that here is another of the deities of the Greeks 
 worfhi[->ped by the Hyperboreans; an additional proof of Grecian extraiftion. 
 
 I mufl here take notice of an opinion on the origin of the Hyperboreans, to which a reverential 
 attention muft be paid, as coming from that great Oriental fcln lar the late learned judge of 
 Bengal, and prefidcnt of the Allatic fociety, Sir William Jones, whofe profound refearches make 
 an epoch in the hiftory of India and of human acquirements in languages. 
 
 In his eighth Anniverfary Difcourfe he thinks, that as to the Hyperborean?, from all that can 
 be learned of their antient religion and manners, they feem not to have been of the Tarrar, but 
 Gothic race ; that is, of the Hindu : for he docs not hefitate to affume, that the Gcths and Hindus 
 had originally the fame language, gave the fame appellations to the flsrs and planets, and had the 
 
 lame
 
 SUPPLEMENT. ' 335 
 
 " came to Dclos with their offerings, although in general they 
 " were lent alone." 
 
 Thus have I endeavoured to fliow, and I hope not without fome 
 degree of fucccfs, not only that Grecian colonies were eftablidied as 
 early as the time of Herodotus on the banks of the Dnieller, 
 Dnieper, &c. where I pro^'cd, in my former work, that the 
 anccllors of the Rulfians roved in their paftoral (late ; but that a 
 people profeifing the pagan religion of the Greeks dwelt at that 
 period in the antient dominions of the great diikcs of Ruflia, before 
 they became mailers of Mofcow ; fo that there is little difficulty 
 in finding where the Ruffians acquired the great number of ftriking 
 analogies with the manners of the antient Greeks, pointed out in 
 my " Ruffian Antiquities." 
 
 fame religious rites and ophiions ; now, as he has himfelf proved that the Greeks tcok the'r pngTn 
 deit'.es with their fables, &c. &c. diitftly or indireftly fiom India, where all are flill found in the 
 S.Tifcrit books and India temp'es, his opinion does net ani'.itate againft my inquiry. On the con- 
 trary, if the following ch.iin of rc-afoning be admitted, the Hyperboreans will appear to have 
 been Sclavonians, or RulTians. In an inquiry into the origin of tlie Sclavonians by the learned 
 J. Ciiriil. Gatterer, in the Cornmentaries of the Royal Society of Gotting-n for 1791 and 1792, 
 Vol. XI. it is proved, that, after the rcigti of Caracalla, the names of Go//« and <?c/.^ are uled 
 iiidifcriminately (|)robabiy from the Roman authors becoming better acquainted with that people 
 formerly fuppofed two different nations) ; and, aj the rcfiilt of his intjuiry fliows, that the names 
 of Gela: and Decians were niched into Anta- and Sclavi after the r.-i^n of Aiirelian, the Gi,i/isani 
 Sclavi fccm to have been a kindred [>eoplc, if not one and t'.ie fairc; and, indeed, there fesms to 
 he no polT;bility of tracing the barbarous hordes of Europe to their pireni ftock, by ihe moft 
 laborious rclearch, or even the real name by ivhidi tiiey pafed among tlicmfelvis; for thofe given 
 them by the Greeks and Romans were often very different, as 1 have found in the inquiries 
 nc:effa]y to this Work, and occafiona'.ly pointed out ; nay, even in our own days, we find feveral 
 hordes of Tartars difavowing the names given them by their neanft neighbours, the Chinefc and 
 RiiHians, and of courfe adopted by all Europe.- We lliall i()on, I imagine, call them by iheir 
 proper nancs on a more intimate knowledge of our neighbours in confequence of their fcrving as 
 irregu'ars in the RiilHsn armies,^ as tlie Ge's, Dacii, Goth', &c. did in the Roman about the 
 |trlnd when we find their names changed by their employers, poflibly on better acquaintance ; 
 lie Hjperborfaiis, Goths, and Sclavi, may, then, have been the fame pcojjle. 
 
 LETTER
 
 ( 335 ) 
 
 LETTER C. 
 
 Inquiry into the Species of Connexion that subsisted between 
 THE Colonies and the Mother Country in antient Times. 
 
 1 HE other fubjeft into which I could wilh to inquire is, the 
 nature of the connexion between the Euxinc Greek colonies and 
 the mother country ; as that Ipecies of refearch has become highly 
 interefting to Europe, fmce the impolitic difpute between Great 
 Britain and America on this fubjeit ; which, artfully fomented by the 
 natural enemies of the mother country, produced a feparation, pro- 
 bably half a century fooner than the child (to fpeak figuratively) 
 would naturally have become independent of the parent, by the 
 requifite degree of riches and power to a6l for itfelf without either 
 protedlion or aid, the only ties that can clofely unite nations at 
 fuch a diftance ; for filial and parental affedlion are figurative terms, 
 that mean nothing when applied to great bodies of men. For- 
 tunately, however, a new bond of union, which promifes to be 
 more permanent than the old, has united them a fecond time ; viz. 
 mutual intereft and commercial advantages. 
 
 I am forry to find fo few materials for my propofed inquiry ; as 
 commerce in antient times, although it mufl: have been tolerably 
 well underfliood by the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Athenians, and 
 
 Carthaginians,
 
 SUPPLEMExNT. 337 
 
 Carthaginians, as well as the Milefians, whom- we find fettling 
 mercantile colonies all round the fhorcs of the Euxine ; yet it does 
 not feem to have there been a fubject thought worthy the pen of the 
 hiftorian ; and no profcffional writers on commerce had then 
 appeared, or at leaft whofe works have come down to us ; nor 
 could we, indeed, expe6l any thing very fatisfa6tory on a fubje^St 
 which has only fo very lately been treated philofophically, although 
 the Moderns had carried commerce, for feveral ages, to an extent 
 unknown to the Antients ; Venice, Genoa, Antwerp, the Hanfeatic 
 cities, Holland, France, and England, (though lad, not leafl: in 
 the maritime lill:,) having all left antiquity at a diftance, in the 
 extcnfive range and magnitude of their trade, though certain 
 changes in the nature and current of commerce have made it flow 
 in a full dream to the laft three countries, efpecially England and 
 Holland, for more than a century ; while its antient channels arc 
 partly dried up. 
 
 As to information of the nature here required, applying direcUy 
 and exclufively to the Euxine colonies, I acknowledge that none 
 has prefented itfelf in my reading ; any thing, therefore, that I can 
 fay on the fubject muft: be merely occafional hints thrown out by 
 antient authors in treating of other fubjecls, and applicable to 
 colonies in (reneral. 
 
 As I find a few interefling facts on the fubjedl already colledled by 
 two celebrated writers, whofe reputation for careful and accurate 
 citation of the authors that they confultcd, is high in public elfi- 
 mation, I (hall content myfelf with quoting what they have brouo-ht 
 together on antient colonization, and refer the reader to the autho- 
 rities given in their own notes for every line that they advance. 
 
 We find, then, in the learned Abbe Bartheleray's agreeable Work, 
 *' The Young Anacharfis," (Vol. II. page 42), 
 
 That the conncclion between the Greek colonies and the mother 
 country was of the tendercit kind, like that of parent and child ; and 
 
 X X that
 
 338 SUPPLEIMENT. 
 
 that they even iifed thofe endearing cxpiefTuns to one another in. 
 all their intercourfe. 
 
 That the colonies preferved the lan-s, cufloms, and religion of the 
 mother country ; fent every year their firft fruits to its temples, and - 
 gave its citizens the firft places in their affcmblies and fports. Nay, 
 we are further told, that they often received their commanders and 
 priefts from the parent {fate, and were ever ready to fly to its aflift- 
 ance. So that it would fcem as if the Greek colonies* had remained, 
 cither voluntarily or by convention, under both the civil and facer- 
 dotal power of the mother country. Thus far the learned Abbe 
 Barthelemy. 
 
 1 fliall nov/ fee what our own celebrated countryman, Adam Smith, 
 has colle6ted on the fame fubjccl in his valuable Work " On the 
 Nature -and Caufes of the Wealth of Nations." 
 
 Smith feems to be of a different opinion from the learned Abbe, 
 though he does not give his authorities. He afcribcs the rapid 
 rile of th^ Greek colonies to two caufes ; the one, their being efta- 
 bliihed in barbarous countries, amOng people ignorant of arts and 
 agriculture; by which they obtained as much land to cultivate as 
 they chofe ; the other, becaufe the mother country permitted 
 them to make what colonial arrangements they pleal'ed, without 
 interfering. 
 
 Now this fecond caufe of profperity direiStly contradicts the 
 fa6ls colle6ted on the fubjc6l by Barthelemy from unfufpetSfed 
 fources ; while the firfl: feems fuiBcient to account for their prof- 
 perity ; more efpecially when we take into confideration the 
 great inferiority of the Roman colonies, from being founded con- 
 llantly in their conquered provinces, already filled with powerful 
 rivals in tlie arts of civil life, nay, even where they fomctimes 
 were only fcholars ; while the portion of laud allotted them for 
 cultivation was comparatively imall. The natural coniequence 
 of this was, that while the Grecian colonial cities of Syracufe and 
 
 Agrigentum
 
 SUPPLEMENT. 339 
 
 Agrigcntum in Sicily, Tarcntum and Locreum in Italy, Ephefug 
 and Miletus in Afia Minor, furpafled in fize and riches r.ny of the 
 cities in antient Greece, and boaftcd the firft fchools of Phi- 
 lofophy (thofe of Thales and Pythagoras); the Roman colonics 
 never made any great figure, although ibme of them, like Flo- 
 rence, rofe to eminence in time -, but it was after the fall of the 
 mother country. 
 
 This inquiry has proved as meagre and brief as I expected ; but, 
 fuch as it is, I mud leave it for want of farther materials to write 
 upon, and beg tlie Reader to accept the will for the deed^ 
 
 X X 2
 
 I
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 BY 
 
 THE EDITOR.
 
 ( 343 ) 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. L 
 
 ON TAURIC MEDALS. 
 
 Although the very intelligent Author of this Tour regrets her not having 
 been able, during her rapid courfe along the Euxine coaft, to colle6l fo many 
 Medals as fhe could have wifhed, fhe certainly amaffed many more than could 
 •have been expedled from a lady, though a large proportion of them are Roman, 
 not ftruck in the Taurida, the fpecies of coin generally found at a certain dif- 
 tance from the furface ; for it is only fincc the Ruffian pioneers have been dig- 
 ging deep to lay the foundations of the new forts and other buildings, that 
 Greek coins, and other antiquities of the Grecian colonics, have been obtained ; 
 owing, probably, to the earth being confiderably raifed in the number of ages 
 fince they flouriflied on the Euxine fliores ; but of which we have now many 
 curious proofs, independent of the intcrefttng information drawn from claflic 
 authors. 
 
 I intended to have defcribed all the Greek medals added to my colleftion by 
 the kind Traveller, and thofe in the cabinets of my friends here wiio have made 
 them an objecl of refearch as well as myfelf ; but, on a more clofe infpedlion, 
 I found that, with a few exceptions wliich I fhall afterwards notice, all of them, 
 and many more than we poflefs in Rudla, are difpcrfed in the different cabinets 
 of Europe, and well defcribed by thofe indefatigable and Ikilful antiquaries, 
 
 Mr.
 
 Si* APPENDIX. 
 
 Mr. Pellerin of Paris, and Father Gary ; fo that I have contented myfelf with 
 giving Iketches of them from their works, to illuftrate and authenticate fa6ls 
 advanced in this Tour; and I beg to fay a few words in juftification of this 
 ivnufiial application of antient coins. 
 
 To me, it appears high time to begin employing antient medals (hitherto 
 fhut up in coftly numifmatic works, principally bought up by antiquaries) 
 to public ufe; and furely one very efFeftiial way of doing fo is, by producing 
 the coin of a prince or city as evidence of any doubtful fa6l while relating it ; 
 more efpecially as many thoufand readers of travels are not in pofTeffion of fuch 
 books as treat of them ; and, as to the expence of engraving, furely that can 
 be no objection in an age when every publication is filled with coftly prints, 
 that raife the price much higher than fketches of medals can poffibly do. But 
 if ever the evidence of antient coins be neceflary, it is moft eflentially fo in 
 this Tour ; as the Greek colonies on the Euxine have been fo little mentioned 
 by the learned for fome ages lince they were in pofTeffion of the Turks, that 
 many people well acquainted with the hlftory of their mother country, fo ably 
 treated by Gillies, Micford, the Abbe Barthelemy, &:c. of late years, have 
 fcarcely heard of them ; and, as to the public at large, I am convinced that 
 Iketches of their coins will alone convince them even of the very exiftence of 
 many antient cities mentioned here as now fallen to decay, and prevent the fair 
 author from being fufpedted of relating Greek fables which never exifted but in 
 the works of Herodotus "^ and other poetic travellers. The fame may be faid 
 of the Bofphoric hiftory; fo very imperfe6t, from the lofs of the great work of 
 Trojus Pompeius, where alone a proper account of it was to be found, that if 
 it were not for the inrerefting feries of the coins of its kings in the cabinets of 
 Europe, e;iven in this Tour, we fliould know fcarcely any thing about it ; for 
 little information is to be gained from the Greek infcriptions (likewife coUedled 
 here), as they are all fo mutilated as to be, 1 am afraid, unintelligible. 
 
 On the autonomatic coins of the Scythio-Grccian cities we generally find 
 either Pan or Diana, very proper deities for a nation of fhepherds and hunters ; 
 but the firil is by far the moft common, as might be expe6led ; for the Scy- 
 thians in general were in the paftoral ftate, their open plains ftieltering but 
 
 ^'s I am only here alluding to the fartiionable manner of talking of the father of hiftory ; but 
 by no means join in the uniuft accufation of a writer whom I have found fo well-informed as to 
 the countries of which I am treating. 
 
 little
 
 APPENDIX. 345 
 
 little game. Ka^-, this attachment to the gods of Hicplierds and hunters, is 
 farther confirmed by the difcovery of the antient tombs at the mouth of the 
 Tyras, or Dniefter ; for tlie only two Penates '°+ found in them are, a buft of 
 Diana, and a moft curious figure of Pan in my poffeflion ; unique, I believe, 
 of its kind, for the three nymphs climbing up his body, and a fourth offering 
 a ram's head at his feet, all connected in the fame group. 
 
 On the medals of the Olbio, or Olbiopolis of Herodotus, betides Pan on the 
 obverfc. the Scythian bow and quiver is united on the reverfe, with the Amazon 
 battle-axe ; a happy allufion to th.e fabulous hiilory of the Scj^thians, as related 
 by Herodotus-°* and the other Greek writers; for, although thefe warlike ladies 
 came to attack them in a hoflile manner, yet they feem to have employed the 
 natural arms of the fex with more fuccefs than that on the coin; and finifhed 
 their campaign by uniting in marriage with their courageous adverfaries : from 
 which union, we are told, were defcended the Scythian nation in the time of 
 the Greeks. 
 
 The Deferts, or Stepts, are frudded with rude ftatues of great antiquity, the 
 origin and hiftory of which are perfe(5lly unknown to tlie Tartars, their pro- 
 bable dcfcendants ; although they exaftly reprefent the figure, features, and 
 even drefs, of one of the greateft Tartar nations, the Monguls, the conquerors 
 of China, India, Ruffia, &c. in different ages. As this fpecies of Scythian 
 antiques, however, are foreign to the fubjedl of medals which occupies us at 
 prefent, we muft refer to a fubfequcnt part of this Volume, where the fubjccft 
 is treated at length "*. 
 
 The remarks hitherto made, chiefly apply to the countries lately ceded to 
 RufTia ; but, as the whole circumference of the Euxine is mentioned in treating 
 of its antient commerce, I fhall likewife make a few obfervations on tlie medals 
 of the great trading cities which were intimately connected with thofe on the 
 Korth fhore (the proper limits of this Tour) by commercial intercourfe. 
 
 «* I employ the term Penates only to give Antiquaries, by aVell-known nnme, a better idea 
 of the curious antique in my pofleHion ; for I am well aware that the Greeks had no Dii Peiialcji, 
 •which the Romans only received from Troy with /Eneas; but ftill, if we could believe Varro, 
 tliat the Trojans got them from Samotlirace witTi Dardanus, in that cafe, the mother ifland, not 
 far from the, entrance to the Hellcfpont, was much nearer at hand, to fend a colony to the mouth 
 of the Dniefter, than either Greece or its colonies in Afi.i Minor. 
 
 *°5 In his IVth Book, Melpomene. 
 
 «« Sec Appendix, No. III. 
 
 Y Y The
 
 S45 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 The autohomatic coins of the free co'-nmercial Greek cities on the EafV, 
 South, and Weft coafts of the Euxine feem to me to announce either their 
 fabulous founders, or the origin of their opulence ; fuch as the conic cap and 
 ftar of the Diofcurius on the coins of Sebaft-apolis, Sinope, Fanticapeum, &c. 
 and the club and lion-fl<.in of Hercules on thofe of Callatia, Heraclea, &c. 
 the fuppofed founders of thefe cities ; while we iee a fifh on the coins of feveral 
 cities- which owed the commencement of their riches to a lucrative fifhery ; nay, 
 I even think that the particular fpecies commonly caught by them was attempted 
 on their money, fuch as the famous Ruffian Belingo"" (fo well defcribed by 
 Herodotus) on the coin of Olbio, which they caught in the Boryfthenes. 
 
 The Antacoeus'"^ of Strabo on thofe of Panticapeum, caught in the Palus 
 Maeotis ; and the dolphin on the coins of Iftriopolis, &c. caught in th« 
 Euxine. 
 
 But the moft ftrilcing mark of refpecl paid to a fifhery, as a fource of wealth, 
 is feen on the coins of antient Byzantium, which owed the origin of iis commer- 
 cial and maritime confequence to a fifhery of the Pelamides ; we there find a 
 fifh -hook in the center of a laurel crown, which I prefume muft indicate that 
 fuch a reward was bcfiiowed on thofe who diftinguifhed themfelves the moft in 
 what rendered the city rich and powerful, by formirtg a body of mariners, as 
 well as by furnifhing a lucrative branch of commerce ; for the falt-fifh of By- 
 zantium was known all over Greece ; and I think it very poffible, that thofe 
 crowns may have been given in the Hippodromus'°' during the annual games 
 celebrated there. 
 
 Notwithftanding the great fuperiority of modern commerce, that of antient 
 times muft have been very confiderable, when we reflect on the great riches of 
 fome of the kings and free cities of Afia Minor, who poffeffed no gold mines, 
 and, of courfc, muft have owed their vaft wealth to agriculture and trade, 
 which are fynonymous terms ; for the furplus of the productions of the tarth 
 muft be bartered for money or goods, if the Prince of tJie country be rich_ 
 The wealth of Crcefus is proverbial ; but Gj'ges muft have been equally fo, if we 
 may judge by the coftly prefents that he fent to Delphos, mentioneH in the 8th 
 chapter of the firft book of Herodotus, a native of Afia Minor. Nay, Pythius, 
 
 ^°7 The Accipcnfcr IIufTo of Linnasus. 
 «* Another fpecies of Accipenfer, or Sturgeon. 
 
 *" A curious account of the Games in the Hippodromus of Cnnftantlnople, in the reign of Leo^ 
 ViU be found in my Englifli tranllation of the Eniprefs Catharine's Ruffian Opei;a of Oleg. 
 
 only
 
 APPENDIX. 3i7 
 
 only a citizen of the free city of Celoene, in Phrygia, entertained the vaft army 
 of Xerxes, on his march to Greece, and oiFered to pay the whole expence of 
 the expedition. '1 he memorable difpute among the eleven cities, as to which 
 fhould ra''(e a temple to Tiberius, gives us a high idea of the riches of Afia 
 Minor, when we fee the magnificent rninsof Laodicea, one of the four which 
 were refufed that permiffion on account of inferiority of wealth. As to the 
 great riches of Mithridatcs, they certainly were acquired principally by com- 
 merce. 
 
 There has been given, in Letter LI. a coin of that great prince, which merits 
 notice; as the grazing ftag, &c. on the reverfe, feems to have puzzled Anti- 
 quaries. I have little doubt but that it was ftruck in the antient cit~y of 
 Cherfon while he was mafter of the Taurida ; and that the reverfe alludes to his 
 being then in pofTcflion of the temple of the Tauric Diana clofe to Cherfon, 
 which he may have repaired or beautified, and recorded his piety on his 
 money. 
 
 Every one knows the claflic fable, that when Ulyfles and Diomcde had 
 brought Iphigenia, to facrifice her at Aulis for a fair wind, Diana fubfi:ituted 
 a hind for the unhappy daughter of Agamemnon, and carried her off to be her 
 prieftefs in the Tauric temple. Now, that the Tauric goddefs, or her prieflefs, 
 is alluded to on this medal, I think, is evident, not only by the crefcent and 
 ftar of Diana before the ftag, but by the firfi: letter of her name behind it ; 
 for, as to the Ephefian Diana, fuppofing even that Mithridates had an equal 
 right to place her attributes on his coins, (which I deny) flie is generally 
 reprefented with two ftags, a bafket of fruit, and a number of Mammas ; and 
 was a very different pei fonage, or deity, from the bloody Tauric Diana, tlic 
 Hecate of the Antients, delighting in Jiuman facrifices, and adorned in the Indian 
 temples with a collar of golden fkulls. 
 
 But what has, I prefume, led Antiquaries into error with regard to this 
 medal is, the circumftance of no other kings of Bofphorus than Mithridates 
 pretending to place Diana on their coins ; and no one had a right, except that 
 old hero, who alone conquered the little peninfula of Clierfonefus Ileraclea 
 where the city of Cherfon and the temple of Diana flood, in the Weftcrn ancrle 
 or corner of the Taurida (fee my Map), from its tyrant Silurus and his fifty 
 fons, in fpite of its ftrong fortifications, till then impregnable ; whereas tlie 
 other Bofphoric kings were fo far from poflTciling Cherfon, that they had ever 
 after enough to do to defend thcmfclves againft the powerful republic, made fo 
 
 Yy 2 by
 
 348 APPENDIX. 
 
 by the Romans, his immediate fucceffors (as lords paramoun't of the Taurida) ; 
 and till the reign of Conftantine always fupportcd by them againft the 
 antient kingdom, according to their ufiial politics, as faid in another article. The 
 defcription of th.e medal is as follows : 
 
 Large Brass. — Obverfe: Theheadof Mithridates, in a good ftlle, encircled 
 with the royal diadem, or fillet. 
 
 Reverfe : A flag grazing in the center of the field ; before if, a crefccnt and 
 ftar; behind it, A. 
 
 Legend: B.ASIAEflS MI0PIAATOT ETnATOPXlI ; which ms3.ns the Illujlrious 
 King Mithridates ; Ettpator, or lUuflrious, being his conftant cognomen, which 
 his General Diophantus gave to a city that he repaired, or re-built, in the 
 Taurida foon after its conquell, the Koflof of the Crim Tartars, lately reftored 
 to its antient name of Eupator by Catharine the Second. 
 
 Here follow the few Scythio-Grecian Medals which feem never to have been 
 publifhed. 
 
 Middle Brass. — Obverfe : A head of Pan. 
 
 Reverfe : A Viftory, holding a bent bow in one hand. 
 
 Legend: In place of one, the Greek. Monogram of Panticapeum. 
 
 Middle Brass. — Obverfe : A female head. 
 
 Reverfe : The Scythian quiver, or parazonium, containing a bow as well as 
 arrows ; frill worn by fome hordes of their defcendants, the Tartars. 
 Legend : The Monogram of Phanagoria. 
 
 Middle Bv^ass.— Obverfe : Ahead of Pan. 
 Reverfe : The head of a bull. 
 
 Legend: TAT. This Medal feems to belong to the Taurida ; but in what 
 
 city it was flruck it is difficult to guefs. 
 
 Small Brass. — Obverfe: A man drawing a bow, much effaced. 
 Reverfe : A horfe, of barbarous workmanfhip. 
 Legend: XEP ; evidently meaning Cherfor>. 
 
 G01.V.— Obverfe : The head of Sauromates, the third king of Bofphoras, 
 
 encircled with a diadem. 
 
 Reverfe :
 
 APPENDIX. 349 
 
 Reverfe .- Head of the Roman Emperor Commodus, with an arrow Ijefore his 
 breaft ; dated AOT, or 474 of the Bofphoric oera. 
 Legend: B.AIIAEnS rATPOMATCT. 
 
 Small Brass. — Obverfe: A head ornamented with a mural crown. 
 Reverfe : A man flanding, and drawing a bow. 
 Legend: OABIO. 
 
 N. B. We have two more medals of 01 bio, exactly the fame as No. 9, given 
 in Letter XC. except that one of them, inftead of having the mark AI, has ME, 
 with the legend contradled thus: OAB.; and the other, the legend in full, 
 OABIO, with the mark BOS ; probably, all of them the names of magiftrates, or 
 mint-mafters. 
 
 With regard to the Roman coins colledled by our Traveller I have little to 
 fay, as they were not ftruck in any of the cities on the Euxine ; except that the 
 greater part of them are of Trajan and Hadrian, as might Iiave been fufpe6led ; 
 as the army of the firfl: of thofe Emperors muft have left a great quantity of 
 money during his conquefts, independent of the fums circulated by the colo- 
 nies that he planted in Moldavia, Wallachia (the antient Dacia), &c. The 
 fleet fent by Hadrian to make the famous furvey of the Euxine Sea, fo happily 
 prefcrved to us by its noble and learned commander Arrian, muft likewife have 
 fpent a great deal of money in thofe countries.
 
 ( 350 ) 
 
 N« II. 
 
 frag:ments of 
 BOSPHORIC HISTORY, 
 
 Illustrated by Medals op its Kings and Cities, in the different 
 Cabinets of Europe: all struck within the Antient Kingdom, 
 
 AND most of them IN ITS CAPITAL, PaNTICAPEUM (nOW KeRCH), 
 
 Since the Tour was finifhed, the Editor has been enabled, by the obliging 
 attention of tlie Imperial Librarian, to give a fketch of the remaining hiftory 
 of the kingdom of Bofphorus, fo far as the coins of its kings, and the im- 
 perfe6l mutilated accounts of its remaining records, colledled by Mr. Gary, 
 could affift him "°. 
 
 Xllth King. — PHARN ACES. 
 (In the 69 \J} year of Rome, and the 63^ before Chrift.) 
 
 The traitor Pharnaces, who received the kingdom of Bofphorus from Pompey 
 as a reward for his treafon '" (with the exception of Phanagoria, made free by 
 
 »'o The kingdom of Bofphorus exifted in its regal ftate at leaft 800 years ; for it liad its Kings 
 as early as the third year of Rome, and they reigned till the time of Conflantine the Great. 
 «■ See Letter LII. 
 
 the
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 351 
 
 the republicans, to encourage other cities to be the firft in rebelHon againft 
 their fovereigns), has left us one of his coins, given in tiie margin, and whicli 
 I fhall cJefcribe here. 
 
 Obvcrfe : The head of Pharnaces 
 encircled with a diadem. 
 
 Rfvcrfe : x^pollo fitting and holding 
 a branch of a tree in his right hand ; 
 while his left is leaning on his lyre, and 
 a tripod is {landing before him. 
 
 . Legend, in Greek : BAIIAnni BASI- 
 AEHN MEFAAor <^.'.PNAKOT. 
 
 Date — ZMI, or 247 of the Pontic and Bofphoric a?ra, which anfwers to 691 
 of the Roman, and to the year (ii^ before Jefus Chrift. 
 
 Xlllth King. — ASANDER. 
 (In the 7o6/Z> of Rome, and \%th before Chrljl.) 
 
 The next fovereign of the Bofphorus, whofe coins have come down to us, is 
 Jfander, whom Pharnaces left to command in the Bofphorus, while ].e himfelf 
 took charge of his other kingdom of Pontus, likewife given to the parricide by 
 Pompey, as a reward for betraying his father, after the old hero had refifted the 
 Roman plan of uniserfal ufurpation for 30 or 40 years. 
 
 The cruelties and vexations of Pharnaces having brought upon his s^uilty head 
 the vengeance of Julius Caefar, he fled to the Bofphorus after his defeat, and 
 there met with the punifhmcnt of his crimes from his viceroy Afander, who 
 revolted againft him, and put him to death; and we have tu-o coins of that 
 prince, one while he was only Archontus, or governor, of Bofphorus ; and 
 another ftruck after Auguftus had given hmi the title of king. The defcription 
 of the firft is as follows : 
 
 A Gold Medal in the cabinet of the Eledlor of 
 Saxony. 
 
 Obverfe : The head of Afander, without any 
 ornament. 
 
 Reverfe : A figure of Viftory, with her attributes. Handing on tlIe~prow 
 of a galley. 
 
 Legend, Greek : APXONTwS AIANAPOT BOinoPOT Xir. 
 
 Tlic
 
 552 APPENDIX. 
 
 The fecond is, a Gold Medal in the cabinet of the famous collector and 
 numifmatic writer, Pcllerin. 
 
 Ohverfe: The head of Afander encircled with a 
 diadem. 
 
 Reverfe : A Vi6lory ftanding on the prow of a 
 galley. 
 
 Legend, in Greek : BAIIAEnZ A2ANAP0T ; with the monogram of Pantica- 
 peum, which fhows that it was ftruck in that city. 
 
 This prince was one of the greatcft warriors of his time, and actually ftarved 
 himfelf to death at the age of 93, on Scribonius being fent byAuguflus to take 
 the command of the Eofphorian army, in the 740th year of the Pvoman aera, or 
 1.4 3'ears before Chrift. 
 
 XlVth King. --SCRIBONIUS. 
 (hi the 1 ^oth year of Rome , and 14th before Chriji.) 
 
 Scribonius, who feems to have been fent to command the Bofphoric troops, 
 on Auguftus fuppofmg the aged king Afander no longer capable of taking the 
 field at 93, endeavoured to make the people believe that he was likewife 
 appointed to the Bofphoric throne by the Roman Emperor, and actually 
 mounted it for a fhort time, ftrengthening his claim by marrying the heirefs of 
 the fceptre, Dynamis, widow of Afander, and daughter of Pharnaces, who had 
 been declared regent on the death of her proud warlike hufband. His ufurpa- 
 tlon, however, was fo quickly difcovered by his fubje{9:s, and punifhed with 
 death, that he probably never had time to ftrike money ; at leaft, none of his 
 coins have as yet been found. 
 
 XVthKiNG. — POLEMON the First. 
 (In the y midyear of Rome, and the nth before Chrift.) 
 
 So foon as the news of the ufurpation of Scribonius reached Agrippa, who 
 then commanded the Roman army in Syria, he fent againft him Polemon, fon 
 of the orator Zeno, whom Marc Antony had already placed on the throne of 
 
 Pontus
 
 APPENDIX. 353 
 
 Pontus and the Little Armenia. The king of Pontus found tlie nfnrper 
 Scribonius already killed by his fubjec^s ; who, however, took up arms to 
 prevent Polemon's feizing the vacant fceptrc ; and it was not till Agrippa him- 
 lelfdiredled the Roman force againft them, that they permitted him to place 
 his protege, Polemon, on the throne, i 2 or i ^ years before Chrill, -4.1 of the' 
 Roman £cra: a choice afterwards conllrmed by Aiiguftus, and llrenothened by 
 a marriage with the real heirefs, Dynamis, though now forty-nine years of a^c 
 after having been widow to the two laft kings; which Ihews liow much the Bofpho- 
 rites muft have been attached to the blood of the great Mithridatcs, her grand- 
 father, whofe glorious thirty years ftruggle for the independence of his country, 
 with his tragical death, feems to have rendered hismemoryftilldear to his fubje6ts. 
 
 After the death of this princefs without children, he efpoufed Pythodoris, 
 daughter of a rich Afiatic, by whom he had two fons, Polemon and Zeno ; 
 with a daughter, who was married to a king of Thrace. The time of Polemon's. 
 deatli is uncertain ; as we only know from Strabo that he fell in a battle witli 
 fome neighbouring nation. 
 
 We have but three medals of this prince ; and one of tliem, being ftruck in 
 his kingdom of Pontus, before he mounted the throne of Bofphorus (for the 
 bead of Antony is on the reverfe, who died before this lalt elevation), it does 
 not enter into my plan to give here. Of the other two, Mr. Gary has only 
 engraved the following, as the moft curious, from having a Greek infcription 
 on one fide and a Latin one on the other : 
 
 Brafs : — firft publifhed in the work of Vaillant. 
 
 Obverfe : The head of Polemon L encircled with 
 a diadem. 
 
 Legend, Greek : BASIAEnS nOAEMXlNOI. 
 
 Reverfe : The head of Auguftus Cafar, without 
 ornament. 
 
 Legend, Latin : IMP. CAESAR. AVG. 
 
 Befide thefe medals, a curious Greek infcription found at Cumes, in Eolia, 
 fhows, that Polemon was high prieft of a temple confecrated in that city to 
 Rome and Auguftus ; a furc fign that he had been much refpedted for his 
 virtues before he was elevated to the rank of a king ; as Cumes is even in a dif- 
 ferent province from his native city (Laodicca), which he and his father Zeno 
 defended fo valiantly in the year of Rome 714, when Labienus ravaged Afia; 
 till Pompey haftened from Egypt to their afliftance, and defeated him, which 
 
 Z z probably
 
 S54- APPENDIX. 
 
 probably laid the foundation of all Polemon's greatnefs"'. The infcription Fs 
 in I'.onoiir of one Labeon, a citizen of Cumes, and is very long; but the part 
 whx'h refers to Pole mo n is as follows : 
 
 MHNOZ ^PATPIfl AEKATAniONTOi: EHl lEPEflS 
 TAS PfiMAE KAI ATTOKPOS KAISAPOS GEOT 
 
 rm eEn ZEBAiTXi apxiepehs MEriixa kai 
 
 RATPOS TAS nAITIAOI nOAEMfiNOS Tli 
 ZHNHNOS AAOAli^EOS nPTTANEnZ AE 
 AETKin OTAKKin AETKIIi Tin AIMIAIA 
 AABEHNnS a)IAOKrMAIXi ETEPFETA 
 2:TE3>ANAvOPn AE STPATIINOI Til 
 HPAKAEAA. 
 
 " The 2ift of the month Phratrien, Polemon, fon of Zeno, of Laodocea, 
 *' being prieft of the temple dedicated to Rome and to the Emperor Caefar, 
 *' fon of Julia, the divine Auguftus, fovereign Pontiff and father of his 
 *' country — Lucius Vaccius Labeorr, of the tri-be of yEmilia, fon of Lucius, 
 " friend and benefactor of the Cumeans, being Pretanus ; and Straton, fon 
 *' of Pleraclidus, being Stephaneforus," &c. 
 
 N. B. The month Phratrien was unknown to Antiquaries till this infcriptioa 
 was found. 
 
 XVIthKiNG. — SAUROMATES the First. 
 
 Sauromatcs L mounted the throne of Bofphorus after the death of Polemon,. 
 ^•iiofe widow, Pythodoris, feems to have retired to his kingdom of Pontus^ 
 where ilie was fulfcred to reign ; as wc have two of her coins that were flruck. 
 v:hen queen of the country, after the death of the king her hufband. 
 
 This king added the name of the Roman emperor, his lord paramount, to 
 bis own ; a pretty common praftice among the tributary Greek princes. He 
 feems firft to have taken the name of Julius during the reign of his benefadtor 
 
 »'= It was a daughter of tliis prince, married to Cotys the \'th. King of Thrace, the protedor 
 of Ovid in his exile, who lu boldly accufed her hufband's murderer before the Roman Senate, and 
 broa^Ut him to puniUituent. though likewile King of Thrace. 
 
 Auguftus^
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 355 
 
 Auguftus'", who confirmed him on thetlironc; aiul afterwards, confidcing 
 himlelf as a client of the Julian family, he only added that of 'J iberitis to I i> 
 former borrowed appellation, to pay coint to the Imperial Cacfars, whofe 
 tributary he -.vas. We accordingly fee on his coins, not only the name of 
 Tiberius Julius Sauromates, but likewife all the regalia fent him from Hornc 
 at his inveftiture ; fuch as the crown, the curule chair, and the parazonium, 
 or truncheon, joined to his own arms, as on 
 
 Plate I "■*. fig. 7. Brafs : — in the cabinet 
 of Mr. Pellerin. 
 
 Obverfe: The crown, curule chair, para- 
 zonium, and arms of Sauromates I. 
 
 Legind, Greek: T. lOTAIOT B\CIAEflS 
 CATPOMATOr. 
 
 Reverfe : The letters HM "» in a crown of laurel. 
 
 Plate I. fig. 8, brafs : in tlie King of 
 France's cabinet. 
 
 Obverfe : The head of Sauromates I. 
 encircled with the diadem. 
 
 Legend, Greek : TI. lOTAIOT BACIAEns 
 CATPOMATOr. 
 
 Reverfe: An erec^l: figure of Victory, holding in the right hand a crown of 
 laurel, and on the left a branch of pa'm, with the letters MH. 
 
 A third Medal of the fame prince, which Mr. Gary regards as the moft 
 curious. 
 
 Plate I. fig. 9, brafs: in the cabinet of the 
 King of France. 
 
 Obvirfe : The fhield and lance, which feems 
 to have been the proper arms of the kings of 
 Bofphorus ; with a kind of inftrument befide 
 it, and the letters KA. 
 
 leg nd: 
 
 *" Vaillant h.is piiblillied a Medal of" tlus prince, wlih the head of Auguftus on the reverfe; 
 ■vi'liich fliows that he held the Rofphoric feeptre under tliat Emperor. 
 
 " ■• See the Itries of Coins, ivcc. at the end of this article. 
 
 "i I take this occalion to fay, th.-.t, excepting the Greek letters ^\hi<■h mark ilie ditesof the 
 Bofphoric coins, I feldom or never take any notice of one or two detached letters feen upon ni..H 
 
 Z i 2 oi
 
 556 APPENDIX. 
 
 Legend : The nuuilited infcriptions of the two fides of this medal muft be 
 read together to make fenfe ; and the words compleated : TEIMAI BAIIAF.nS 
 SATTOMATOT ASnoTPrOT : which Mr. Cary tranflates — " Tlie honours (pof- 
 *' fibly meaning the regalia) of the King Sauromates, fon of Afpurgus." 
 
 Mr. Gary doubts whether the cuftom of naming the father after mentioning 
 the fon exifted in the Bofphorus : a queftion that I can anfwer in the affirmative, 
 from infcriptions hitely found there ; and, indeed, the practice obtained among 
 all the hordes from that country ; the Ruflians fay, to this day, John, the fon 
 of Charles, when they fpeak of any one ; and our M/fdonalds of Scotland, the 
 H/zherberts of Wales, and the O'DonoUys of Ireland, all fhow that the fame 
 ufage once exifled in the Britifh dominions. 
 
 XVIIrli King. — RHESCUPORIS the First. 
 (In the jS^d year of Rome.) 
 
 On the coins of this prince, who fuccecded Sauromates the Firft, we begin 
 to find the date of the Bofphoric sera ; and Mr. Gary gives three of them. 
 
 Plate I. fig. lo, gold : in the King of France's 
 cabinet. 
 
 Obvcrfe : The head of Rhefcuporis I. without 
 ornament. 
 
 Legend : The monogram of his name and dignity 
 coupled together ; fo that we muft read it BAIIAEHI PHSKOTnoPIS, with the 
 date IKT or 326 of the Bofphoric aera, anfwerlngto 782 of the Roman. 
 Reverfe : The head of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. 
 
 Another, exaftly the fame, in the cabinet of M. Apoftolo Zeno, of Venice; 
 differing only in the date, which is AAT, or 331 of the Bofphoric sera, anfwering 
 to 7S7 of the Roman. 
 
 of them ; becaufe Anliquarics nre fo much divided in opinion as to their meaning, that nothing 
 certain can be faid on the fuljjeft. But 1 Ivave never failed to place them in my rough Iketchcs of 
 the medals (though not in my defcriptionsof them), in hopes that difcoveries may hereafter be 
 made, \vhich may throw light on thefe myftic chara(fterj. The HM on the above medal comes 
 under this head. 
 
 Plate
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 357 
 
 Plate I. fig. ii, brafs: in the cabinet of M. 
 Le Beau. 
 
 Obverfe : The head of Rhefcuporis, en- 
 circled with a diaclcm. 
 
 Legend : TIBEPI02 lOTAlOS BA£IAET2 
 
 PHiKornopii. 
 
 Reverfe : The head of a woman, likewife encircled with a diadem, and the 
 letter A. 
 
 Plate I. fig. 12. 
 
 Obverfe : The head of Rhefcuporis, en- 
 circled with a diadem. 
 
 Legend : The fame monogram of his name 
 and dignity, as already explained of fig. lo, ixp.. 
 
 Reverfe : The head of Caligula. 
 
 Legend: TAIOT KAISAPOS .... 
 
 We fee then, that the interval between the firft and fecond Polemon was 
 filled up by the two laft-mentioned princes, Sauromates and Rhefcuporis, pro- 
 bably owing to the tender age of the heirs of Polemon I who were children 
 when he died, and the Roman policy of not permitting the Bofphoric fceptre 
 to remain ad interim in the hand of their mother, who held at the fame time 
 that of Pontus, as well as Cappadocia, by her fecond marriage witli its fovereign 
 Archelaus. 
 
 XVIIIth King. — POLEMON the Second. 
 
 (2n the y^ijl year of Rome, A. D. 38.^ 
 
 This fovereign received the Bofphoric fceptre from Caligula in the 79111 year 
 of Rome, as we learn from Dion ; but he did not long enjoy that dignity, as 
 we find it befl:owed four years afterwards on Mithridates II (of Bofphorus) by 
 the Emperor Claudius ; for which he deceived a part of Cilicia as an equivalent ; 
 and it might be fo from his fituation as king of Pontus ; but we find that he 
 even gave up this laft kingdom to become a Roman province A. D. 61; ; but 
 for what new equivalent is unknown to the moderns ; fo that he at laft onlv 
 
 retained
 
 ^58 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 re ained the part which he had of Cilicia. Jofepluis mentions his marrying 
 Berenice the widow of Herod, in the Lift cliapter of Book XIX. 
 
 The Medal of him given here was ftruck. in the eighteenth year of his reign 
 in Pontus. 
 
 Plate II. fig. I, filver : in the cabinet of the 
 King of France. 
 
 Obverfe : The head of Polemon, encircled with 
 a diadem. 
 L'genJ, Greek : BACIAEflC nOAEMnNOC. 
 Reverfe : The 1-ead of Nero, crowned with laurel. 
 Legend: ETOrc, with the letters IH. 
 
 XlXth King. — MI FHRIDATES the Second, of Bofphorus. 
 {In the 'j^-^th year of Rome, A. D. 42,^ 
 
 Mithridates, wlio, as we have juft faid, was invefted. 
 In the kingdom of Bofphorus by the Roman Emperor 
 Y^ Claudius, then lord paramount, was of the blood of 
 Mithridates the Great, though his particular relation to 
 him Is not handed down ; for Dion fpeaks indi(iin6lly of this prince's being 
 admitted into the Roman Senate, where he returns thanks In Greek for the 
 kingdom of Bofphorus. This good intelligence with Rome, however, did 
 not laft long ; for he was deprived of his throne, ard his brother Cotys placed 
 on it by the Romans, who carried him to Rome, where he held the bold lan- 
 guage of an injured fovereign, fix or feven years after having returned thanks 
 in open Senate for his kingdom. 
 
 We have the following coin firruck by this prince : 
 
 Plate II. fig. 3, brafs : in the cabinet of the 
 King of France. 
 
 (Jbvcrfe : A young head of Mithridates II. 
 encircled with a diadem. 
 
 Legend: BAclAEflc MiePAA.'^TOr. 
 
 Reverfe :
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 359 
 
 Keverfe : The fpoils of a lion fupported by tlic club of Hercules ; with a bow 
 in its cafe, or flieath, on one fide, and the trident of Neptune on the other; 
 with the letters IB below the club. 
 
 Thefe bearings on the reverfe feem to indicate, that this prince had chofen 
 Hercules and Neptune as marked objects of worrtiip, or that ke celebrated 
 games ia honour of them. 
 
 XXth King. — COTYS the First. 
 fin the Sold year of Rome, and the ^^th of our ^ra.J 
 
 We are left in ignorance as to the father of this and the laft Bofphoric kino- - 
 or whether they were not merely fons of the fame mother. 
 
 There was a gold medal of this prince in the cabinet of M. Apoftolo Zena, 
 in Venice. 
 
 Obverfe : The head of Agrippina, mother of Nero (who fhared the authority 
 with her fon during the firft years of his reign, and often appears on liis 
 money). 
 
 Reverfe : The head of Cotys the firft. 
 
 Legend, Greek : BAK (probably meaning BASIAEHS KOTTX), and the date 
 BNT or 352 of the Bofphoric aera, anfwering to the 809th of the Roman- 
 Plate II. fig. 4, gold : in the cabinet of Mr. 
 Pellerin : 
 
 Obverfe : A head crowned with laurel, no 
 infcription. 
 
 Reverfe : A different head, alfo crowned with 
 laurel. 
 
 Legend : Tlie monogram NEK, or NEPK ; which probably means NEPflN 
 KOTTZ, Nero Kotys (as he, moft probably, had taken the name of his lord 
 paramount, like fome of his predcceffors), with the date ©NT. or 359 of 
 the Bofphoric aera, agreeing with 816 of the Roman, or the 9th year of 
 Nero's reign. 
 
 XX I ft
 
 S60 APPENDIX- 
 
 XXIft King. — RHESCUPORIS the Second. 
 (In the i'^Qtb year of Rome, or ^^d of our /Era.) 
 
 'SS't know fo little about this prince, that his very exiftence would have 
 cfcaped tlie moderns, had not one of his coins, in gold, been found ; which 
 is in the cabinet of M. Apoflolo Zeno, of Venice. 
 
 Plate II. fig. 5. 
 
 Obverfe : The head of Rhefcuporis II, encircled 
 with a diadem. 
 — Z<?^<fW, Greek : BACIAEHC PHCKOTnOPIAOC. 
 
 Reierje : The head of Domitian, crowned with laurel; with the date FIT, 
 or 380 of the Bofphoric sera, correfponding with the 837th of the Roman, or 
 the 3d of Domitian. 
 
 XXIId King. — SAUROMATES"« the Second. 
 
 This is the King of Bofphorus of whom the younger Pliny (minifter of 
 Trojan) fpeaks in his Letters, on account of the embaily which he fent to his 
 Imperial matter : and, indeed, this is all that we know of him, except from his 
 coins ; and we may here remark, that numifmatic inquiries never appeared to 
 more advantage than in the hiftory of the Bofphorus; where, without the aid 
 of medals, we fhould have been deprived of even the feeble light that has been 
 thrown on the hiftory of that antient kingdom. 
 
 Fortunately, the cabinets of Europe contain feveral coins of this prince ; 
 which I fhuU here defcribe from Mr. Gary's French work, in the order of their 
 dates, as ufual, to afcertain the chronology of the country. 
 
 *«« This name of a famous people (and which means Northern Meads, or a fubdivifion of tliat 
 nation, dwelling or ranging between the Don, Volga, and ducafiis), one might fulpea, was 
 affumed by fomc of the Bufphoric kings (for we have fix of the name), to indicate their defcent 
 from the antient lords of that country, long prior to the D/aally then filling the Bofphoric 
 throne. 
 
 Vaillant,
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 361 
 
 Vaillanr, from whom Mr. Gary often borrows, has publillied the following 
 . Medal, found in the cabinet of Zeno at Venice, which contains fo many from 
 the Bofphorus ; a circiunftance that furprifes me the lefs, on refledling that the 
 Republic had for ages a great commercial eftablifhment in fhe very heart of 
 that icingdom, and held their fettlement in AfofF, the Tanais of the Antients, 
 on the Bofphoric Sea, even long after the Cienoefe were maftcrs of the Euxine, 
 and had difpoflefled them of Caflfa, Soudak, Sec. 
 
 Plate II. fig. 6, gold : in the King of France's 
 cabinet. 
 
 Obvi.rfe : The head of Sauromates II. encircled 
 with a diadem and long whifKers. 
 
 Legend : BACIAEnc C.'iTPOMATnY. 
 
 Revcrfe : The head of Trajan, crowned with laurel; and under it the date 
 HY, or 408 of the Bofphoric aera, agreeing with 865 of the Roman, or the 
 the 15th of Trajan. 
 
 Another, of gold, in the Teforo Britannica. 
 
 Obverfe : The head of Sauromates, with a diadem. 
 
 Legend: BACIAEfiC CATPOMATOT. 
 
 Reverfe : The head of Hadrian, crowned with laurel ; below it, riT, or 413 
 of the Bofphoric sera, agreeing with 870 of the Roman, and the firft of 
 Hadrian. 
 
 Another, of gold, in the cabinet of tlie King of France : the fame ftamp, 
 with the date HIT, 418 of the Bofphoric acra, corrcfponding with 875 of the 
 Roman, and the 6th of Hadrian. 
 
 Another, of brafs, in the Pembroke cabinet : the fame ; with the date AKT, 
 or 421 of the Bofphoric aera, agreeing with 878 of the Roman, and the ninth 
 of Hadrian. 
 
 Plate II. fig. 7. In the cabinet of Mr. 
 Pellerin. 
 
 Obverfe : The head of Sauromates II. 
 with a diadem. 
 
 Legend: BACI/\Enc CATPOMATOT. 
 
 Rever/e : An eagle, holding a crown of laurel in its bill, with expanded 
 wings. 
 
 Ddte: BKT, or 422 of the Bofphoric nsra ; correfponding with 879 of the 
 Roman, and the loth of Hadrian. 
 
 AAA Plate
 
 362 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Plate II, fig. 8, brafs : in the cabinet of 
 the King of France. 
 
 Obverfe : The head of Sauromates, en- 
 circled with a diadem. 
 
 Lfgend : BACIAEHC CATPOMATOT. 
 
 Reverfe : A crown of laurel, with the 
 
 Greek letters MH in the centre of it. 
 
 XXIIId King. — COTYS the Second. 
 
 Two antient authors have handed down the name of this prince, and little 
 rnore than the name ; viz. Plegon, the freed man of Hadrian, in his hiftory 
 of the Olympiads, of which only a fragment rem.ains ; and Arrian, in his 
 famous Periplos Ponto Euxin. fo often cited in this modern Tour of the fame 
 coaft. 
 
 The firft of thefe authors, we are told by the Imperial hiftorian Conftantinus 
 Porphyrogenitus, who had read his whole work (fince loft), fays, that Hadrian 
 had given the Bofphoric throne to Cotys; and Arrian, on fending his Periplos 
 to his mafter Hadrian in the 15th year of his reign, who had commiflioned 
 him to make it, writes in his letter, " So foon as I heard of the death of Cotys, 
 " king of Bofphorus, I haftened to fend you this account of the voyage that 
 " may be made by fea to that kingdom, that you may be acquainted with the 
 " country if you intend to interfere in the arrangement of its internal affairs." 
 Now, as I have proved (fays Mr. Gary), that Arrian wrote his Periplos in the 
 15th of Hadrian, of courfe, the death of Cotys muft have happened that 
 year; and w-e have a coin of his in the cabinet of Mr. Pellerin, ftruck only 
 one year before his death, bearing his head on one fide, encircled with a 
 diadem, and the infcription BACIAEnc KOTTOC ; on the other, that of Hadrian, 
 with laurel, and the date IKT, or 426 of the Bofphoric ^ra, anfwering to 883 
 of the Roman, and the 14th of Hadrian. 
 
 The following Medal of the fame prince is likewife in the cabinet of Mr. 
 Pellerin, as well as in that of Mr. Fawkener, of London. 
 
 Plate
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 363 
 
 Plate fl. fig. 9, gold : in the cabinet of Mr, 
 Pellerin, &c. 
 
 Obverfe : Tlie head of Cotys II. encircled vvilli 
 a -diadem ; before it .1 club. 
 
 Legend, Greek : BACIAEnC KOTTOC 
 
 Reverfe : 'The head of Hadrian, crowned with laurel ; below it, the date HKT, 
 or 428 of the Bofphoric sera, agreeing with ^85 of the Roman, or the i6thol: 
 Hadrian. This was the very year of Cotys's death, as the medal of his fucceflbr 
 Rhoemetalces proves moft evidently, being ftruck the fame year. 
 "* There are ftill two more coins of the fame prince given by iVIr. Gary, but 
 without a date. 
 
 Plate II. fig. 10. 
 
 Obverfe : The head of Gotys II. encircled 
 with a diadem ; and the trident of Neptune 
 before the buft. 
 
 Legend: BAClAEfiC KOTTOC. 
 
 Reverfe: A crown of laurel, with the Greek letters MH in the centre 
 of it. 
 
 Plate II. fig. II. A third medal of the fame 
 prince, in the cabinet of Mr. Pellerin. 
 
 Obverfe : The monogram of Kotys, ^ fwith 
 KA belovvit) ; which means BAClAFnc KOTTOC. 
 
 Reverfe : A temple, with the infcription 
 KAHE ; which Mr. Gary fuppofes to be the beginning of the word KAnETOAION, 
 under the idea that the temple was dedicated to Jupiter Capitolinus. 
 
 XXIVth King. — RHCEMETALCES. 
 
 fin ike ^S^lh year of Rome, and I'^idof our /Era.) 
 
 This prince mounted the Bofphoric throne in 
 the 885th year of the Roman acra, during the 
 reign of Hadrian ; but, from a paflage of Ga- 
 pitolinus, in his Life of Antoninus Pius, it 
 
 A A A 2 
 
 would
 
 354 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 would fcem (accord ihg to Mr. Gary's reading of it), that his iLicceflbr Eupator 
 had made efforts to feize the fccptre of Rhoeinetalces during his life ; but was 
 difcountenanced by tlie Emperor Antoninus, then become lord paramount 
 by the death of Hadrian, and who fecured the throne to Rhremctalces till 
 death opened a peaceable and lawful road fur Eupator to afiljme the regal 
 dignity. 
 
 We ha\'e feveral coins of tliis prince in the cabinets of Europe. 
 x^W^J^ yj^^S'^V Pl^te III. fig. I, gold: in the cabinet of Mr. 
 
 ^'Sk.'i^-J^' ^^ U Pcllcrin. 
 
 "^^ - " Obverfc : Tlie head of Khoemetalces, encircled 
 
 with a diadem. 
 Legend: BACIAEXlc POIMHTAAK.Or. 
 
 River fe : The head of Hadrian, crowned with laurel ; and below it the date 
 TAT, or 433 of the Bofphoric jera ; according with 890 of the Roman, and 
 the 2xfl of Hadrian. 
 
 Another, in the cabinet of Mr. Fawkener, in London. 
 Obverfe : the fame as the laft. 
 
 Reverfe : The head of Antoninus Pius, crowned with laurel ; and below It, 
 the date MT, or 440 of the Bofphoric aora, agreeing with 897 of the Roman, 
 or the 7th of Antonini's Pius. 
 
 A third medal, of gold : exadly the fame as the laft ; with the date BMT, or 
 442 of the Bofphoric, correfponding with 899 of the Roman sera, and the 9th 
 of tlie reign of the Emperor Antoninus Pius. 
 
 A fourth, of gold, in the cabinet of Mr. Pellerin ; the fame, with the date 
 EMT, or 445 of the Bofphoric a;ra, agreeing with 902 of the Roman, or the 
 I2th of Antoninus. 
 
 Plate III. fig. 2, brafs : in the King of 
 France's cabinet. 
 
 Obverfe : The head of Rhoemetalces, 
 encircled with a diadem ; and before it a 
 trident. 
 
 Legend: BACIAEac POIMHTAAKOT. 
 Reverfe : A victory, on tiptoe, holding a crown of laurel In her right hand, 
 and a branch of palm in her left ; before her, the Greek letter M ; and behind 
 her, H 
 
 XXVth
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 365 
 
 XXVthKiNG. — EUPATOR. 
 
 On the death of Rhoemctalces, Antoninus invefted his turbulent rival, 
 Eupator, with the Bofphoric fceptre, though he had maintained the late king 
 in the enjoyment of it when unjuftl}' attacked by his fucceflbr, and prote6led 
 him till his death. 
 
 Tiiis prince is mentioned by Lucian in the following pafTage : 
 
 " I found there ambafladors from the Bofphorus, who had come by fea to 
 " Bythinia with the annual tribute from their king Eupator ;" and there is 
 reafon to fufpedV, that Eupator is meant (though not named) by Fhiloftratus in 
 his Life of the Sophifts, when he mentions as liis cotemporary, a king of Bof- 
 phorus, who had fo much knowledge and liking to Grecian literature, that he 
 travelled through Ionia to improve it. While at Smyrna, the philofophers of 
 that city all courted his acquaintance, except the fophift Polemon, who refufed. 
 to wait on his majefVy ; and, as that fovereign was curious to hear him, he 
 obliged the king to come to his houfe, and even received a fum of money for 
 his acquaintance. 
 
 Wc have a number of medals or coins of this prince. INIr. Cary gives 
 Engravings of two, and defcribes the others. 
 
 Plate III. fig. 3- In the cabinet of Mr. Pellerin. 
 
 Obvcrfe : The head of Eupator, encircled with 
 a diadem ; and before it a fceptre. 
 
 Legend: BACIAFXIC ETRATOPOC. 
 
 Reverfe : The head of Antoninus Pius, crowned 
 with laurel: with the date BNT, or 452 of the Bofphoric ara, correfponding 
 with 9'-9 of the Roman, and the 19th of Antoninus. 
 
 Another, of gold : exactly the fame, but without a fceptre, in Lcbret's 
 cabinet; with the date TNT, or 453 of the Bolphoric, agreeing witii 9ioof tiic 
 Roman aera. 
 
 A third, of gold, in the cabinet of Mr. Bofanquet, of London ; exactly the 
 fame as the two foregoing, except that, inftead uf a fceptre as in the iirfl, there 
 is a club placed before the head of Eupator ; and the date on the reverfe is 
 ENTj or 455 of the Bofphoric, agreeing witii 91 2 of the Roma.a ncra. 
 
 A fourthj
 
 56G 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 A fourth, exactly the fame, in gold; with a fceptre, or javelin; and the 
 date ZNT, or 456 of the Bofphoric, correlponding with 913 of the Roman 
 sera. 
 
 A fifth coin in gold, belonging to Mr.Pellerin. 
 
 Obverfe : The head of Eupator, encircled with a diadem. 
 
 Legend: BACIAEfiC ETnATCPOC. 
 
 Reverfe : The heads of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, without any 
 ornament'; and the date 0NT, or 459 of the Bofphoric aera, anfwering to 916 
 of the Roman. 
 
 A lixth coin, of gold, in Mr. Pellerin's cabinet, exadlly the fame ; with the 
 date HT, 460 of the Bofphoric, or 917 of the Roman asra. 
 
 A fcventh, in gold, belonging to Mr. Pellerin, exactly the fame, except a 
 fceptre between the heads of Aurelius and Verus, and the date A^T, 461 of 
 the Bofphoric, or 918 of the Roman aera. 
 
 Here follow two more coins of Eupator, with the head of 'SI. Aurelius alone 
 on the reverfe, after the death of his colleague Verus. 
 
 The one is in the cabinet of St. Peteriburg, and bears the date IHT, or 466 
 of the Bofphoric asra, and 92,3 of the Roman. 
 
 The other, of gold, in the cabinet of Mr.Pellerin, has the date ZHT, or 467, 
 of the Bofphoric aera, agreeing with 924 of the Roman. 
 
 Of the laft medal of Eupator mentioned by Mr. Gary, that gentleman gives 
 an Engraving ; and it is a corroborating proof, that Jupiter Capitolious was 
 adored in the Bofphorus. 
 
 Obverfe : The monogram of Eupator in a 
 crown of lavirel, which muft be read 
 B.\CIAEnC ETflATOPOC, with the Greek 
 letters NO above the monogram, and KA 
 below it ; which are not attempted to be 
 explained, except by fuppofing the NO a miftake in the reading or engraving 
 of the coin, and put there for the femi-circle, or little flourifh, which we have 
 always feen above the monograms containing the name and dignity of the 
 Bofphoric kings. See Plate I. fig. 10 and 12, and plate II. fig. i\. 
 
 Reverfe : A temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, with the Greek letters KAOE, for 
 Capitolinus. 
 
 XX\Tth
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 367 
 
 XXVIth King. — SAUROMATES III. 
 
 Mr. Gary mentions feveral coins of this prince, and ckfcribes the two fol- 
 lowing (probably on account of their dates), before he gives an Engraving of 
 a third, not ilruck till twelve years after the firft of the two, which is in gold, 
 in the cabinet of Mr. Fawkener, of London. 
 
 Obverfe : The head of Sauromates III. encircled with a diadem. 
 
 Legend: BACIAEHC CAYP MATOT. 
 
 Reverje : The head of Commodus, crowned with laurel ; and below it, the 
 date ZOT, or 477 of the Bofphoric aera, agreeing with 934 of the Roman. 
 
 Another, of gold, in the colledlion of Antonio Nani, of Venice ; exadlly 
 the fame, except a globe before the Roman Emperor's head, with the date 
 ZnT, or 487 of the Boi'phoric, anfwering to 944 of the Roman aera. 
 
 But the medal of which he gives the Engraving is in the cabinet of the 
 Abbe de Rothelin. 
 
 Plate III. fig. 5. 
 
 Obverfe : The head of Sauromates III. with a 
 diadem. 
 
 Legend : 
 
 Rever/e: 
 
 BACIAEnc CATPOMATOT. 
 The head of Commodus, with a crown 
 of laurel ; and the date ©nr, or 489 of the Bofphoric sera, agreeing with 945 
 or 946 of the Roman ; but it mull have been ftruck in the very beginning 
 of that laft year at lateft, as Commodus died on the laft day of 945 ; and his 
 death muft, in all probability, have been known in the Bofphorus two months 
 afterwards. 
 
 Another, of gold, in the cabinet of Mr. Pellerin, is exa<5lly the fame on 
 the obverfe ; but the 
 
 Rever/e bears the head of Severus, crowned with laurel ; and before it a 
 ilar : with the date *T, 490 of the Bofphoric a3ra, or 947 of the Roman. 
 
 Another, of gold, in the cabinet of the King of France, exaftly the fame 
 with the laft as to the heads of Sauromates and Septimus Severus ; except tliat 
 
 the
 
 36S 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 the date P.-I'T, or 492 of the Bofphoiic aera, 949 of the Roman, is placed below 
 the bufr of the lunperor ; and Mr. Pellerin lias a duplicate of it in brafs, with a 
 globe before the head of Severus. 
 
 In the King of France's cabinet there is another gold medal, exactly tlie 
 fame, with the fole difference of a ftar before the head of Severus, and the 
 date A$T, 494 of the Bofplioric an-a, or 951 of the Roman. 
 
 Another, of gold, in the colle6lion of Mr. Pellerin, with the fame obverfe 
 and legend. 
 
 Reverfe : The heads of Severus and Caracalla, crowned with laurel, with a 
 crefcent between them; and the date E«tT, 495 of the Bofphoric aera, or 952 
 of the Roman. 
 
 In the King of France's cabinet there is another, in gold, exadlly the fame ; 
 except a fceptre between the heads of the Roman Emperors, and the date A$, 
 501 of the Bofphoric acra, or 958 of the Roman. 
 
 After thefe, which he only defcribes, Mr. Cary gives Engravings of the four 
 following medals of Sauromates. 
 
 Plate III. fig. 6, brafs : in the King 
 of France's cabinet. 
 
 Obverfe : The head of Sauromates III. 
 encircled with a diadem. 
 
 Legend : BAClAEIiC CATPOMATOT. 
 Reverfe : A man on horfeback, with 
 the right hand raifed, and a fpear in the left; above him a ftar, and the letter 
 B below his horfe's fore feet. 
 
 Plate III. fig. 7, brafs : in the King of 
 France's cabinet. 
 
 Obverfe : The fame head and legend as 
 the lafl. 
 
 Reverfe: A female, fitting, withabunch of 
 corn on her head ; a fmall globe in her right, and a fpear in her left hand ; before 
 her ftands the buft of the Emperor Severus, crowned with laurel ; and behind 
 her chair, a kind of military enfign ; above this military flandard is a crofs, 
 and on each fide of her feet a Greek letter, viz. B before, and M behind 
 them. 
 
 Plate
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 SG9 
 
 Plate III. iig. 8, brafs : in the cabinet of M. 
 Pcllerin. 
 
 Ohverfe: The head of Sauroniates, and of a 
 half-veiled female, face to face. 
 
 Legend: BACIAEnc CATPOMATOT. 
 
 Revirfe : A female, fitting in a chair, holding a Patera, or libation cup, in 
 her right hand ; bcliind her neck, a ftar; and the letter B before her knees. 
 
 Plate III. fig. 9, brafs : in the cabinet of 
 Lord Pembroke : 
 
 Obverfe: The head of SauromateSj with 
 a diadem, and the ordinary legend. 
 
 Reverfe : A female, fitting on a chair, 
 with a globe in her right hand; behind her 
 fhoulders the Greek letter A, and below her feet VRV. 
 
 ISIr. Gary mentions four more coins of the fame king; but as they have all 
 been flruck in the reigns of the fame Roman Emperors already fl:ampt on his 
 medals given in this Work, without any date, and as he does not give en- 
 gravings of them to enable us to guefs at the period by their ftile, they cannot 
 ferve any hiflorical purpofc here, and are of courfe omitted. 
 
 XXVIIth King. — RMESCUPORIS III. 
 
 This is one of feveral kings of the Bofphorus not even mentioned in the 
 detached fragments of the iiirtory of that anticnt kingdom vvliich have come 
 down to our days, and whofe memories are only refcued from oblivion by tlicir 
 coins picked up by Antiquaries ; a ftrong proof of the great utility of numif- 
 matic rcfearches, and the aid that it affords to the hiftorian ; more particuhuly 
 when dates are found upon fuch medals, with the portraits of Emperors that 
 we are well acquainted with. As for example, in this very inltance ; Mr. 
 Pcllerin has a gold medal of llhefcuporis III. 
 
 Plate III. fig. ID. 
 
 Ohverfe: The head of Rhefcuporis III. en- 
 circled with a diadem. 
 
 Legend: IlACIAEnc PHCKflTririPIAnc. 
 
 Reverfe: The head of Caracalla, crowned wilh 
 
 B B B laurel.
 
 370 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 laurel, with a ftar before it ; and under the bufl the date AI*, 511 of the Bof- 
 phoric aera, or 968 of the Roman. 
 
 M. Pellerin has another, in gold, of the fame prince, exactly the fame as the 
 Lift, except that a fceptre is placed before Caracalla, wirh the date B!<I>, 512 of 
 the Bofphoric asva, or 969 of the Roman. 
 
 A third is defcribed by Spanheim, with exactly the fame obverfe. 
 
 Reverfe : The head of Alexander Severus, crowned with laurel ; before his 
 buft a ftar, and below it the date AKI, 521 of the Bofphoric aeru, or 978 of 
 the Roman. 
 
 XXVIIIth King. — COTYS III. 
 
 The cabinets of Europe contain three coins of this prince. 
 
 Plate IV. fig. I, lilver : in the King of 
 f-Jlf i^-tk \i\\ France's colledlion. 
 
 Obverfe : The head of Cotys III. with a 
 fceptre before it, and encircled with a diadem. 
 Legend: BACIAEfiC KXlTrnC 
 Rever/f : The head of Alexander Severus, crowned with laurel, and below 
 it, the date 0K*, 529 of the Bofphoric aera, or 986 of the Roman. 
 
 Another, the fame, in brafs : in the King of France's cabinet. And a thirds 
 publifhed in the Thef. Numif. of Patin, with the date A$, 530oftheEof~ 
 phoric aera, or 98 of the Roman. 
 
 XXIXth King. — ININTHIME\TJS.. 
 
 We owe the knowledge of the exiftence of this Bofphoric king to the An- 
 tiquary Seguin, who publifhed one of his coins in filver, which is at prefent 
 
 in the King of France's cabinet. 
 
 Plate
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 371 
 
 Plate IV. fig. 2. 
 
 Ohverfe : The head of Ininthimevus, encircled 
 with a diadem, and a fceptre before it. 
 
 Legend: BACIAEHS INlNQIMHTIiT. 
 
 Rever/e : The head of Alexander Severus, crowned with laurel ; and below 
 it the date AA$, 531 of the Bofphoric, or 988 of the Roman a^ra. 
 
 We fee by the medal of Cotys, dated 530, and that of his fucceffbr, flruck 
 in 531, that this prince could not have reigned a full year. 
 
 XXXth King. — RHESCUPORIS IV. 
 
 The cabinets of Europe contain anumber of medals of this prince ; the firft of 
 which fhows, asfaid above, thathis predecefTor could nothavc reigned a year com- 
 plete ; as it has on the reverfe the head of Severus, with laurel, and a fceptre, 
 and the date AA$, /;3i of the Bofphoric, or 988 of the Roman acra ; fo that 
 Ininthimevu=: died, and Rhefcuporis mounted the throne in this \ery year. 
 
 The next is a filver medal, in the pofl'eflion of Mr. Bofanquet, of London, 
 having on the 
 
 Ohverfe: The head of Rhefcuporis, encircled with a diadem. 
 
 Legend : BACIAEQC PHCKOTnOP.'A. 
 
 Reverfe : The head of Gordionus Pius, crowned with laurel ; and before 
 it a club, with the date lA^, ^^^ of the Bofphoric acra, or 993 of the 
 Roman. 
 
 A third, exactly the fame, of filver; in the cabinet of the Abbe Rothelin, 
 with the date 0A*, 536 of the Bofphoric, or 996 of the Roman a;ra. 
 
 A fourth, of brafs ; and a fifth, in filver: with the fame obverfe and legend, 
 given by Vaill.ani in his kings of Bofphorus. 
 
 Rever/e: The head of Philip, crowned with laurel; and below it the date 
 AM*, 541 of the Bofphoric, agreeing with 998 of the Roman aora. 
 
 A fixth, of brafs : exadtly the fame, with the date BX:*, 542 of the Bof- 
 phoric, or 999 of the Roman ocra. 
 
 A feventh, in filver, in the cabinet of Dr. Mead, of London: exa611y the 
 £ame, with the exception of a fceptre, inilead of a club, before the bufi: of the 
 
 13 B B 2 Roman
 
 372 APPENDIX. 
 
 Roman Emperor ; with the date r.M*, 543 of the Bofphoric, or 1 000 of the 
 Roman jcra. 
 
 An eighth, of brafs, in the cabinet of the Earl of Pembroke, with the fame 
 buft of Rhefcuporis and Philip, and the date EM$, 545 of the Bofphoric aera, 
 or the ico2d of Rome. 
 
 A ninth, of hlver, in the fame cabinet, with the head of the Emperor 
 Decius, and the date IM$, 546 of the Bofphoric sera, or 1003 of the 
 Roman. 
 
 A tenth, of the mixt-inetal pothin, in the King of France's cabinet. 
 
 Plate IV. fig. 3. 
 5 f ^^|> fl "^ Ot'verfe : The head of Rhefcuporis, encircled 
 
 with a diadem. 
 
 LegcnJ : BACIAEnc PHCKC Yn PIA. 
 Reverfe : The head of the Emperor Decius, crowned with laurel ; before it a 
 club; and under the buft the date ZM$, 547 of the Bofphoric, or 1004 of the 
 
 Roman sera. 
 
 An eleventh, of brafs, in the Pembroke collection. 
 
 Obverfe and Legend, exadlly the fame. 
 
 Reverfe : The head of Gallus, and either Volufianus or Ploftilianus ; and the 
 date HM$, 548 of the Bofphoric, or 1005 of the Roman aera. 
 
 A twelfth, of pothin, in the King of France's cabinet. 
 
 Obverfe : the fame. 
 
 Reverfe : the head of the ufurper ^Emilius, who aflumed the purple in Ital}-, 
 with the date QM^, 549 of the Bofphoric a?ra, or 1006 of Rome. 
 
 A thirteenth, of brafs, in the King of France's cabinet, has exacSlly the fame 
 bearings as the laft, with the fame date. 
 
 A fourteenth, of brafs, in the Pembroke colledlion, has the head and legend 
 of Rhefcuporis on the Obverfe, with a trident ; and on the 
 
 Reverfe : The head of the Roman Emperor Gallienus, with Odenathus, king 
 of Palmyra, the hufband of the famous Zenobia ; and the date H'I>, 560 of the 
 Bofphoric, or 1017 of the Roman sera. 
 
 Laftly, there is a brafs medal of the Hime prince in the King of France's 
 cabinet, with the head of Gallienus on the reverfe, and the date ^6;^ of the 
 Bofphoric, or 102,0 of the Roman asra. 
 
 XXXIft
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 373 
 
 XXXm King — TEIRANES. 
 
 This is another of the Bofphoric kings only known to iis by one of m^ i.ijin3 
 which i^Jr. Gary fortunately received direclly from that antient kin<ydom 
 bearing a date, as well as his-narne, which fliews us that he held his fcepfre' 
 under the Roman Emperor Probus, whofe buft is feen on the reverfe, as lord 
 paramount. 
 
 Plate IV. fig. 4. 
 
 Obvcrfe : The head of Tciranes, encircled with 
 a diadem. 
 
 Legend: BACIAEnc TEIPANOT. 
 
 Reverfe : The head of Probus, crowned with laurel; with the date To*, 573 
 of the Bofphoric sera, or 1030 of the Roman. 
 
 XXXIId King. — THOTIIORSES. 
 
 It is very poflible, that newlj^ difcovered Bofphoric medals may fill up the 
 long interval of twenty years between the laft coin that we have of Teiranes 
 and the firft of this prince, with the portrait and name of fome unknown 
 king of this country ; but till then we mufl regard Thothorfes as the immediate 
 fucceftbr of Teiranes; and even of him we have no more information than 
 what we obtain from five of his coins in the cabinets of Europe ; which fhow 
 that Dioclcfian was his lord paramount through the whole of his reign, as the 
 buft of that Emperor appears on the reverfe of all his medals. Mr. Gary only 
 gives one of them, but defcribes the others in the order of their dates. 
 
 The firft, of brafs, in the Pembroke collcdlion, has on the 
 
 Obverfc : The head of Thothorfes, encircled with a diadem. 
 
 Legend : BAClAEnC ©OGOPCOT . 
 
 Reverfe : The head of Dioclefian, crowned with laurel ; and the date rq<I>, 
 593 of the Bofphoric aera, or 1050 of the Roman ; with a $ in tlie field of 
 the medal. 
 
 The
 
 374 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 The fecond, of brafs, in the flinic colleftion, differs in nothing but the 
 date Aqif, 594 of the Bofphoric, or 105 1 of the Roman aera. 
 
 The third, of brafs, in the King of France's cabinet, only differs in having 
 a trident before the head of Thothorfes, and the date Iq$, 596 of the Bof- 
 phoric, or 1053 of the Roman aera. 
 
 The fourth is the one of which Mr. Gary gives an engraving ; it is of brafs, 
 and in the King of France's cabinet. 
 
 Plate IV. fig. 5. 
 
 Obvcrfe : The head of Thothorfes, encircled 
 ^ ©,'^\! '^h "'^ V " (J^-JfT" )l with a diadem ; before it, three points. 
 
 Legend : Ex-iCIAEriC ©OQOPCOr. 
 
 Rcverfe : The head of Dioclefian, crowned with laurel ; and three points, 
 or dots, behind his bufh; with the date Hq$, 598 of the Bofphoric, or 1055 
 of the Roman asra. 
 
 The fifth medal of this prince is of brafs, in the Pembroke colledlion, and 
 differs in nothing from the former, but in having a trident before the head 
 of the Roman Emperor, with the date 0q$, 599 of the Bofphoric sera, or 1056 
 of the Roman. 
 
 XXXIIId King. — SAUROMATES IV, 
 
 There are reafons for fuppofing that the father of this prince, who, the 
 Imperial hiflorian Conftantinus Porphyrogenitus tells us, was named Rhefcu- 
 poris, reigned a few weeks before he was taken prifoner by the Cherfonites, and 
 thafliis fon mounted the vacant throne ; for, longer his reign could not have 
 been, becaufe Thothorfes flruck money in the very lall year of Dioclehan, 
 and Rhefcuporis was made prifoner in the time of the fame Emperor. For 
 thefe reafons, and becaufe no medal of him has yet been found, Mr. Gary has 
 left Rhefcuporis out of the catalogue of Bofphoric kings, till the difcovery of 
 fome one of his coins fhall place him there. 
 
 To proceed with the hillory of Sauromates IV. fon of this prince Rhefcu- 
 poris. We are told by the Imperial Jiiftorian, in his work, " De Admi- 
 niflrando Imperio," quoted above, that he made war on the Romans, overcame 
 
 the
 
 APPENDIX. 375 
 
 the people under their obedience, and had advanced with his viiflorious army 
 as far as the river Halys on the oppofite coaft, before Dioclefian had time to 
 fend Conftance, fatlier of Cunftantine the great, againft him. That General, 
 however, found him to flrong, that he was obliged to engage the Cherfnnites, 
 the antient and confl^nt enemies of the Bofphoritcs, to make a diverfion in hia 
 favour ; which they did fo effcftually. as to oblige Sauromates to return to the 
 defence of his own dominions, and redeem his wives, whom they had taken 
 prifoners, by makmg peace vi'.i the Romans. For .this important fervice, 
 Dlociefian remitted the tribute which the Cherfonites annually paid the Romans, 
 to whom they f;em to have conft^ntly retrained fubmiffive ; pofTibly to gain a 
 powerful fupport againft the kings of Bol}ihorus, their natural rivals in trade, 
 as well as dominion in the Taunda; for it feerns to have been the policy of 
 thofc crafty conquerors of the antient world, to fow dillent'ons among the 
 native princes, and thereby keep tlie whole ,n fubjecRion from weaknefs, as 
 the Tartars of the Golden Horde did the Ruffi .ns for two centuries. 
 
 Mr. Gary gives us no medal of either thi prince or his fucceflbr of the fame 
 name ; but a coin of a king Sauroviaies, which he has placed among the un- 
 certain incertd , I think muft have been ftruck by one or other of them, for 
 the following reafons : firlt, becaufe this king Sauromates is the only prince of 
 tlie whole Bofphoric Dynafty (whole ccuis are known) tiiat aflumes the laurel 
 crown (See the mec.il given in the 
 margin from Plate IV. fig. 8), which 
 feems to have been always appropriated 
 to the lords paramount, the Roman 
 Ccefars, or the Bofphoric money, while 
 the tributary king conftantly appears 
 whh the regal fillet, ordindem, round his head. Now this boldnels perfedly 
 agrees with the account that we have from Conftantine Porphyrogenitus, that 
 Sauromates 'V. and V. had thrown off the Roman yoke, and fet the Ciefars at 
 defiance.— Secondly, becaufe we do not find (as on the other Bofphoric coins 
 in general) the head of a Roman Emperor on the reverfe; but in its place 
 a martial figure, indicating the independent military force of the reiguing. 
 prince. 
 
 XXXIVth
 
 37(? 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 XXXIVth King. — SAUROMATES V. 
 
 TJiis prince, fome years after the acceflion of Coiiftantine to the Imperial 
 throne, attacked the Cherfonites, to revenge the difgrace and captivity of his 
 grandfather, Rhefcuporis ; but he was beaten, and obHged to fix, by the 
 oath of himfelf and his chieftains, the boundaries of the two countries, which 
 they were never to pafs (poflibly not to go beyond the city of Theodofia, or 
 Caffa, the ufual limit, as fhewn in the Tour). 
 
 XXXVth King.— RHESCUPORIS V. 
 
 There are feveral coins of this prince. The firft given by Mr. Cary wants 
 his name, which is effaced on this brafs medal in the Pembroke collecTtion ; 
 although, from the date, it muft either belong to him or his predecellbr, 
 Sauromates V. which is not fo probable. 
 
 Plate IV. fig. 6. 
 
 Obverfe : The head of Rhefcuporis V. in all 
 probability, judging from the date. 
 
 Legend: BAClAEliC 
 
 Rejcrfi : A hcaci wearing a radiated crown, witii the Greek letters XII below 
 it, 608 of the Bufphoric, or 1065 of the Roman asra, and the fevenlh of 
 Conftantine. 
 
 A fecond, in the cabinet of Mr. de Lifle. 
 
 Plate IV. fig. 7. 
 
 Obverfe : The head of Rhefcuporis, witli a 
 tridentbefore.it; and encircled, as ufual, witli, a 
 fillet, or diadem. 
 BACIAEIZC 1 HSKOTnO .... 
 Reverfe : The head of Conftantine the great, crowned with laurel ^ below 
 it the date IIX, 616 of the Bofphoric, or 1073 of the Roman £era. 
 
 la. 
 
 hij^i'iid
 
 APPKXDIX. 577 
 
 In the King of France's cabinet there is anotlicr brafs medal, exactly the fame, 
 except fome unknown fymbol before the liead of Conftantine ; vviih the date 
 iHX, 6i8 of the Bofphoricasra, or 1075 of the Roman. 
 
 A third, in tlie fame cabiner, differs in nothing but the date KX, 620 of the 
 Bofphoric, or 1077 of the Roman sera.. 
 
 In the Travels of Mottray we fee another, with the date AKX, 621 of the 
 Bofphoric, or 1078 of the Roman xra. 
 
 In the Pembroke collection there is a brafs medal, with the head of Rhef- 
 cuporis on one fide, and Conftantine on rhe other ; before whom there is an 
 ere6t figure holding up the right hand; and the date BKX, 622 of the Bofphoric 
 sera, or 1079 of the Roman. 
 
 Mr. Pcllerin has likewife a brafs medal, with tlie heads of the fame king and 
 Emperor, and the date AKX, 624 of the Bofphoric asra, equal to 1081 of the 
 Roman. 
 
 And, laftly, there is mention made of a medal of Rhefcuporis in Mr. Peirefc's- 
 manufcript belonging to Mr. Boze, with the date MX ; which would prove (if 
 correal:) that this prince reigned till the 64cth j-ear of the Bofphoric acra, 01 
 the 1097th of the Roman, the lateft date that wc find on any Bofphoric 
 coin. 
 
 XXXVIth and laft King of the Bofphorus. — SAUROKIATES VC 
 
 We have no coins of this laft prince; and all we know of him is, that his 
 imprudence reduced tlie antient' kingdom of Bofphorus to a province of the- 
 republic of Cherfon ; tiiough, probably, by the holp of the Romans, who 
 could not be pleafed with the independent pretcnfions of tlie later Bofphoric 
 kings, who feemed to fct their power at dcliance; and pnflibly might have, 
 maintained their independence by tiicir maiiilme turce "' againft thofe haughty. 
 
 '" The maritime force of the Bofphorus feems to have been the grenteft in the Euxinc : and we 
 obfeivc ihc very laft kiiii; of it who liaick inoiKy canyiiig on Ku coin the tiidciit of Nej^nuic, cr 
 the emblem of maritime fupcriorily, in the year 6.'o of ll.v Bofphoric aTd, while his lord para- 
 mount, Conftantine the Great, ou thv- rtvei'c of the fame medal, is wilhoul it j and, imked, wc 
 never hear of a Roman ticct in the Luxlnc after Hadi laa. ' 
 
 C c c conquerors, •
 
 378 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 conquerors, had they not always had in rheir neighbourhood a formidable land 
 enemy in the powerful Clierfonites, ever obedient to the nod of Cccfar, when 
 the humiliation or dcftmeSlion of their natural rival was in queftion ; and it was 
 by that republic that tueyat laft fell, in the following manner, as related by the 
 Jniperial liiftorian Conftantine Porphyrooenitus. 
 
 Sauromatcs VI. enraged at the diGifters 
 brought on his piedeceflbrs bv the Cher- 
 fonires, rcfufed to abide by the limits pre- 
 fcribed to Sauromates V. and mad<; pre- 
 parations to retake the part of this an- 
 tient kingdom which he declared had been 
 unjuftly wrefled from that king. 
 For this purpofe he raifed an army, and marched againfl the republic ; but 
 the Cherfonite chief, named Pharnaccs (an ominous and treacherous name to 
 the Bofphoric kings), unc'er pretence of faving the efFufion of blood, offer- 
 ed to decide the quarrel by fingle com- 
 bat, which the high fpirit of Sauromates did 
 not permit him to refufe ; and, as the traitor 
 had ordered that his army fliould fet up a 
 loud Ihout the moment the king's back 
 was turned to it, the ftratagem had the delired effeO. of making him turn his 
 head to fee what was the matter ; which gavx Pharnaces an opportunity of 
 plunging his fword into his body, and, by the conditions of this daftardly duel, 
 ■reducing the Bofphorus to a province of the republic. Thus ended the third 
 and laft Dynafty of the kings of the Bofphorus, with the independence of the 
 •country; for an unfuccefsful attempt afterwards made, by one of the name of 
 Afander, only ended in his own ruin with that of his Ton. 
 
 Mr. Gary finifhes his work by giving three more Bofphoric medals, which he 
 ftiles inccrta, not being able to determine by which prince they were ftri«:k. 
 One I have already cop'od, as the head of Sauromates IV. for reafons then 
 affigned ; and the other two-are given in the margin of this page, in cafe future 
 difcoveries fhould throw light on the fubj-eft. 
 
 CONCLUSION
 
 APPENDIX. y>u 
 
 CONCLUSIOTsT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BOSPHORIC HISTORY 
 
 nv THE editor: 
 
 THUS fell the kingdom of Bofpliorus, after a lapfe of near eight hundred' 
 3'ears, a vi61im to tls'e Roman maxim, DiviJe and govern ; but in this inftance 
 the Caefars were tlie dupes of their own politics, in llipporting Cherfon againlt 
 a regal ftate that furnilhed a barrier between tlie barbarians and the Roman 
 provinces, which were quickly ravaged by the Goths after they got polfcllion 
 of the feeble fallen Cunmerian Bofphorus. 
 
 Their firft maritime expedition was directed againft tlie neareft Remark' 
 fcttlement of Pytius, whicli they took and ranfacked, antl then lailed to the 
 rich city of Trapezius, now Trebifond, w!iich they took by allault in the dead 
 of night, notwithltanding its flrong fortifications, and a numerous garrifon 
 of degenerate Romans, who might have held it againlt a whole nation of bar- 
 barians, iiad they not flept fecure in its ftrength, and fled througli the oppofite 
 gate as foon as the Goths made an etitrance. 
 
 C c c 2 Tihe.
 
 S80 APr-ENDIX. 
 
 The anttent kingdom of Blthynia was their next prey, with its rich capital 
 Nicomtdia-'', and the manv fomous cities mentioned by PHny, miniiler of 
 Trajan, in the Xtii Book of liis Letters vvlien governor of thofe countries, 
 iSicea, Prufa, Sinope, &c. 
 
 In their third expedition, with coo fail, they paffed through tlie TIn-acian 
 Bofphorus ; and, after taking in their way the antient city of Cyzicus, fitiiatcd 
 on the ifland of tluit name (where our unfortunate Scythian philofopher 
 Anatharfis learned th:e Grecian rites, which coft him his life on his return), 
 carried rire and fword into antient Greece, which they entered by fcaling 
 rhe famous wall, built in better times, clofe by the Athenian port of Pirc, 
 and which formerly, when kept in repair, fcrved as a bulwark, not only 
 •to the Attic capital, but to the whole republic, againft maritime attacks ; yet 
 in its ne=^le(?ted ftate proved a feeble obftacle to the furious Goths, who ravaged 
 •the claflic peninfida, and would probably have made even Italy tremble, if the 
 iniamous Empei-or Gallienus had not been roufed from his ignoble floth by 
 their fuccefs, and flown to its relief with the flower of the Roman legions, 
 which obliged tliem to return home, ravaging the coaft of Troy in their 
 -retrograde voyage, though their force in letting out was at moft only 15,000 = '". 
 
 -''^ Nieomedlii became afterwards the refidence of Dloclefian and fome of lili fucceflbrs, an 
 again fprang up from its gothic ylhes to a great and opulont city. 
 
 -i« The Cain.aT<e, or Euxiiie vellels, mentioned by Stnibo and Tacitus, were open bnrks built 
 without iron (;is the Ruflians are to tliis day), whicli had only an oLxafional floping cover (rather 
 than a deck) put up in Uid weather by the failors; and carried 25 or jo foldieri at moil; nciy 
 this was Itill the cafe even in the middle ages, when the Rullians fitted out fuch large fleets from 
 the Dnieper againlt Couftantinople, where 2,000 fail is talked of; but tluy were only Lotkics (in 
 the language of Ruliia), or Mnnoxyks (as Couft. Porphyrogenitus called them), made out oi one 
 t'-ee, with flielring planks fixed to their gunnel, which at moll fitted them to contain 25 or 30 
 men. But we after-.vards hear of Uie Goths and their allies embarking 320,000 nun in 2,000 
 veffels (according to Trebellius Pollion in his Life of Augullus) from the Dniefter, againll the 
 Roman empire; and in 6,000 barks according to Zonaras, whom Montef.juieu follows, the fame 
 army, defeated by tlie Emperor Qaudius, 320,000 llrong at the battle of Naillus, A. D. 269, 
 which gained him the cognomen of Gothicus. If the Emperor was exact in the number of 320,000 
 mentioned in his letter to the Senate, Hill in exillence, tlicn Montefquieu was right in prefering 
 the 6,000 barks of Zoiiaras to tlie a^ooo of Pollion, wliich could have held but a part of fucli 
 sn army. 
 
 Such
 
 APPENDIX, 381 
 
 Such wns the fuperlority of bold vigorous barbarians over cfFeminate poliftied 
 men, till the difcovery of gunpowder levelled human ftiength. 
 
 In agreeing with Mr. Gibbon, that the fall of the kingdom of Bofphorus was 
 one of the many caufes which contributed to the fall of the Roman empire, I 
 muft take the liberty of correcting a little inaccuracy of that celebrated and 
 elegant hiftorian, wlien he fpeaks of the Goths being mafirers of the Bofphorus, 
 and employing its fleet againft the Roman fetflements, in or before the ra'^n of 
 Ga/iienus, wl;o, he informs U3, drove them from Greece in their third expe- 
 dition, fitted out from the Taurida, as the two former were from the Bifphorus, 
 Kow this muft be a miftake ; as I fliall at the end of this article sive a fcries of 
 Bofphoric kings of the fame Dynafty down to Conftantine the great, l)caring 
 the heads of the Roman Emperors in fuccefPion on the reverfe of their coins, as 
 lords paramount of the kingdom. Rhefcuporis IV. king of Bofphorus, was 
 corcmporary v.'ith Ga.llienus, vvhofe head is on the reverfe of his coin, joined 
 with his colleague Odenathus of Palmyra on one ; but he is alone on another, 
 i^ruck in the 1097th year of R.ome, and the 640th of the Bofplioric a?ra, or 77 
 years after the date of the laft of the Bofphoric medals of Gallienus, who was 
 killed in the a68th year of the chriftlan aera. Mr. Gibbon then, in the mul- 
 tiplicity of materials which he had to collect for his learned hifcorv, muft have 
 made a miftake in the epoch when the Goths took pofleftion of the kingdom of 
 Bofphorus, and made ufc of its fleet to attack the Roman empire. When they 
 did conquer it I have not afcertained ; but it is very probable, that it may have 
 been foon after it hecame fubjcdl to the Cherfonefe republic, which feems to have 
 happened in the reign of Conftantine the great, or about that period. 
 
 The Goths, however, feem to have been in poflcflion of at Icaft a part of tlic 
 Taurida fo early as the reign of Gallienus, and their attack on Pytius, IVebifond, 
 .&C. ; and I have little doubt that all the three expeditions were fitted out from 
 the ports in the centre of the peninfula ; although the two extremities, containing 
 the republic of Cherfon on the Weft fide, and the kingdom of Bofphorus on 
 the Eaft, were ftill bodi in pofteftion of the antient proprietors till long after 
 the four maritime expeditions of the Goths from tin: Kuxine ; the laft of which 
 as faid in my note, was in the time of Claudius, long before the fall of the 
 Bofphorus ; fo that, it feems, the authentic Annals .of that antient kingdom, 
 drawn from its Medallic hiftory, were not known to our learned countryman at 
 
 tlie
 
 382 APPENDIX. 
 
 the time when he wrote the article which I have taken the liberty to corre6>, 
 having made thofe countries my particular ftudy for many years ; a thing 
 fcarcely poflible for that excellent hiftorian to have done amid the multifarious 
 objedts of his attention. 
 
 [Here follow a feries of G ins of the Bofphoric Kings, and other antient 
 Medals introduced in the preceding pagts ]
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 KINGS OF EOSPIIORU?. 
 
 383 
 Platk r. 
 
 %
 
 APPENDIX. 
 KINGS OF BOSPHORUS. 
 
 385 
 
 Plate II. 
 
 D D o
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 KINGS OF BOSPHORUS. 
 
 387 
 Plate III. 
 
 D D D 2
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 KINGS OF BOSPIIORUS. 
 
 3S9 
 Plate IV.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 ANTIENT MEDALS. 
 
 S91 
 
 Plate V. 
 
 \
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 ANTICNT MEDALS, 
 
 395 
 Plat i: VI. 
 
 E E E
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 ANTIENT MEDALS. 
 
 395 
 Plate VII. 
 
 E E ii a
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 ANTIENT MEDALS. 
 
 397 
 PlatpVIII.
 
 ( 599 ) 
 
 CATALOGUE of the COINS of the Bos- 
 PHORic KINGS, with the Names of the 
 Roman C^E^ARS on the Reverfe ; the 
 Length of each Reign ; the Date of the 
 BospHORic ^RA marked on them, com 
 pared with the Roman ; and, laftly, the 
 Number given here from the Cabinets of 
 Europe, as coined by each Prince. 
 
 The FirA Dynafty were^ the Archa;ana<5lides, about 48; 
 years before Chriil, aud the 267111 year of Rome. 
 
 The Second Dynafly began with 
 
 Spartacus I. 
 Scleucus 
 Spartacus II. 
 Satyrus 
 Lcucou 
 
 Of thefe lix Kings no Coins have as 
 
 yet been found, nor of two or three 
 
 more, though their names are men- 
 
 , tioned in this Catalogue to give a com- 
 
 \ plete \ ievv of the whole feries of Bof- 
 
 phoric Princes known to hillory, as 
 will be feen by a blank left in the 
 Spartacus III. (_column of medals. 
 Letter L. 
 5. Pnerifades I. is the firft Prince whofe Coins are known' 
 
 ». Emulus ' 
 
 N.B. His two brothers (Satyrus II. and Prytanis) both 
 
 mounted the throne for a fhort time before him : 
 
 althougii Mr. Cary has only regiftered the fuc- 
 
 cefsful ulurper, who conquered his brothers. 
 
 g. Spartacus IV. who died 289 years before Chrilt . . . . 
 
 A blank in the Bofphoric hiftory of 170 years. 
 10. Paerifades II. detJironed by Mitliridatcs 
 
 38 
 
 who 
 
 The Third Dynafty began with 
 Letter LI. 
 
 11. Mithridates the Great, furnamed Eupafor, 
 
 mounted the throne 1 1 ^ years before Chrift 
 N.B. All the reft of the Bofphoric Kings are in the 
 Supplement to tlie hiftory of tliat kingdom. 
 
 12. Pharnaces, his traitorous Ion, 63 years before Chrift' 
 
 13. Afander, 48 before Chrift 
 
 14. Scrihoniiis, 14 before Chrift ; nbout 
 
 jc;, Polemon, i j before Chrift ; about 
 
 16. SauromalPs I. about 
 
 17. Rhcfcuporis I 
 
 18. Pol'uion II. A. D. 38 
 
 19. Mithridates II. A.D. 42 
 
 14 
 
 o 
 
 Names of the Roman 
 Emperors their Lords 
 Paramount, appearing 
 on the Reverfe of the 
 Bofphoric Coins in 
 general. 
 
 3-6 
 
 .13' 
 
 46.'. 
 
 6J9 
 
 691 
 706 
 74c 
 742 
 782 
 
 787 
 791 
 
 795 
 
 \ 
 
 ijCoiif. Ponipey. 
 2L\oguftus. 
 
 Augiiftus. 
 I'Auguftus. 
 
 3 Augiiftus and Tiberius. 
 3 Tiberius and Caligula. 
 
 Caligula and Claudius. 
 
 Claudius.
 
 400 APPENDIX. 
 
 CATALOGtJE of the COINS of the Bos 
 PHORic KINGS, with the Names of the 
 Roman C^SARS on the Reveife ; the 
 Length of each Reign ; the Date of the 
 BosPHORic JEra marked on them, com- 
 pared with the Roman ; and, laftly, the 
 Number given here from the Cabinets of 
 EuROi'E, as coined by each Prince. 
 
 o 
 
 
 fe 
 
 y.i 
 
 20. Cotys I. A. D. 49 ... • 
 31. Rhelcuporis II. A. D. 83 
 aa. Sauromates II 
 
 iVames of the Roman 
 Emperors tlieir Lords 
 Paninioiint, appearing 
 on the Reverfe of 
 the Bofphoric Coin* 
 in general. 
 
 14 359 802 
 
 33. Cotys II 
 
 14, Rhoemetalces, A. D. 13 a 
 45. Eupator 
 
 a6. Sauromates III • 
 
 This Prince probably had a colleague ; as, a king 
 named Pepa;piraeu3 appears on the Re^xrle of one 
 of his Coins. 
 
 27. Rhefcuporls III. 
 
 42', 380 
 422 
 404 
 426 
 428 
 428 
 445 
 452 
 467 
 
 477 
 5°' 
 
 28. Cotys III. . 
 
 29. Ininthimevus, not quite 
 
 30. Rhefcuporis IV. . . . . 
 
 '7 
 
 IS 
 24 
 
 lOj 
 
 31. Teiranes, apparently about 
 
 32. Thothorfes ....•«•• 
 22t Sauromates IV 
 
 34. Sauromates V. about A. D. 310 . , 
 
 3 c. Rhefcuporis V 
 
 36. Sauromates VI. the hl\ King ; probably about . . . 
 
 5" 
 5i> 
 529 
 
 53 
 53 
 531 
 563 
 
 836 
 87S 
 861 
 883 
 885 
 883 
 902 
 90Q 
 9-4 
 934 
 95^ 
 
 968] 
 9-8 
 986 
 987 
 988 
 988 
 
 IC2C 
 
 03 1030 
 
 593,105'^ 
 599,i°5<'' 
 600,1057 
 608 1065 
 640 109; 
 645 1 102 
 
 1 
 
 Nero and Agrippina, bl» 
 
 mother. 
 Domitian. 
 
 Trajan and Hadrian. 
 Hadrian. 
 
 Hadrian and Anto. Pius, 
 
 Anton. Pius, M Aure« 
 lius, and Lucius Verus, 
 
 CommoJus, Sept. Se- 
 verusj and CaracaLla. 
 
 Caracalla and Alexander 
 
 Severus. 
 
 iiAlexande-r Severus. 
 
 1 Alexander Severus. 
 lAlex. Severus and Gor- 
 ' dian. Pius, Philippus, 
 DeciuSjGallus, Hortil. 
 Gallienus, and OJe- 
 nathus. 
 Probus. 
 
 Dioclefian. 
 
 I Dioclefian. 
 
 Conftaiitinc theGreat. 
 
 Conllantine the Great. 
 
 In this year the kingdom 
 tell, and became a 
 province of Cherf(jn. 
 
 N. B. The Bofphoric .^ra and that of the Kingdom of Pontus were the faroej as the 
 firft followed the computation of the laft ou all its Coins.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 401 
 
 CATALOGUE 
 
 Of the ANTIENT MEDALS inferted in Mrs. GUTHRIE'S TOUR to 
 the EUXINE ; with References to the Letters wherein they are employed 
 to iiluflrate the Text. 
 
 REGAL COINS. 
 
 The feries of Coins flruck by the Kings of Bofphorus, fvirprizingly complete 
 for a country fo little known, being 44. in number, have been given in our 
 preceding pages ; fo that we have only to mark here the pofition of the firft 
 two, viz. that of 
 
 Picrifades I. In Letter L. where the Bofphoric hidory begins; and 
 
 the great 
 Mithrldates Eupator, in Letter LII. ; all the others, as faid above, 
 
 being given together in the Plates. 
 One more Regal Medal is given in Letter VII. Cotys V. king of 
 Thrace, the friend of Ovid in his exile. 
 
 AUTONOMATIC COINS of free Grekk Cities. 
 
 Letter 
 
 LVII. Phanagoria, the capital of tlic ifland of the fame name. PI:Ue 
 
 VII. fig. I. 
 
 LXXVI. Miletus, in Carla. 
 Ibid. Its Temple of Apollo Didymcnos. Plate v 111. fig. 6. 
 
 F h' F LXXVII.
 
 402 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 I.ettpr 
 
 LXXVII. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 LXXXV. 
 
 LXXXVIII. 
 
 LXXXIX. 
 
 Ibid. 
 XC. 
 
 XCI. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 Ibid. 
 Ibid, 
 Ibid. 
 Ibid; 
 Ibid. 
 
 Tomb at the mouth of the Danubej Ovid's prlfon. 
 
 IfTripolis, in the fame country. 
 
 Mefembria. 
 
 Apnllonias, 
 
 Kallata. 
 
 Byzantium. 
 
 Sinopc, tliree coins. 
 
 Diofcurios, or Sebaftapolis, the famous Colchis mart. 
 
 Panticapcos, the capital of the Bofphorus, eleven coins while a 
 
 free cit)', before itsercdlion into a kingdom. 
 Cherlon, the capital of the famous Tauric republic, two coins. 
 Olbio, or Olbiopolis, the great Scythio-Grecian mart on the 
 
 Dnieper, or Boryfthenes, three coins from Pellerin, and two 
 
 from the cabinet of Baron Alli, here. 
 Chalcedonia. 
 
 Heraclea, in Pontus, two coins. 
 A fourth coin of Sinope. 
 Cromna. 
 
 Amaftris, two coins. ' 
 
 Amifus, two coins. 
 Amafia. 
 
 IMPERIAL COINS. 
 
 XCII. Trapezus, afterwards Trebifond. 
 Ibid. Tripolis, in Pontus, a medal of Trajan, ftruck there after tlie 
 
 Roman conqueft. 
 ■ Ibid. Amalia, a medal of Commodus. 
 
 REFERENCE
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 403 
 
 REFERENCE 
 
 Of the BosPHORic Medals to the Plates in the Margin of this TOUR. 
 
 Fig 
 I 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 6 
 
 7 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 10, 
 
 1 1 
 
 12. 
 
 Plate I. 
 
 P^eri fades I. 
 
 Mithridates Eupator. 
 
 Pharnaces, 
 
 Afander, as Archontos. 
 
 Afander, as King. 
 
 Polemon I, 
 
 Sauromates I. 
 
 Rhefcuporis I. 
 
 Plate II. 
 
 I . Polemon II. 
 ^' 1 Mithridates II. 
 
 4. Cotys I. of Bofphorus. 
 Rhefcuporis II. 
 
 5- 
 6. 
 
 7- 
 8. 
 
 9- 
 10. 
 
 1 1. 
 
 1 2. Rhoemetalces, 
 
 Sauromates II. 
 
 Cotys II. 
 
 Plate III
 
 40* 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Plate III. 
 
 Ti-r. 
 
 I. 
 
 2 
 
 ^ I Rhoemetalccs Cthe laft three coins of the fame prince). 
 
 t 1 ^"P" 
 6. 
 
 tor. 
 
 7- 
 8. 
 
 Sauromates III. 
 
 9-j 
 10. Rliefcuporis III. 
 
 I. 
 
 2. 
 
 3- 
 
 4- 
 
 5- 
 6. 
 
 7- 
 8. 
 
 9- 
 
 lO. 
 
 II. 
 
 Plate IV. 
 
 Cotys III. 
 
 Ininthimev'us. 
 Rhefcuporis IV. 
 Teiranes. 
 Thothorfes. 
 
 I Rhefcuporis V. 
 Sauromates VI. 
 
 I Incerta. 
 Cotj's V. king of Thrace, and the friend of Ovid in his exile.
 
 ( *03 ) 
 
 N° HI. 
 
 REMARKS 
 
 On some Scythian and Bospuoric Antiques DiJCovruEu in the' 
 
 Empire of Russia. 
 
 JL HE rude grotefque figures fent down hitlier fome years ago hy Prince 
 Potcmkin, and which I hav€ lately found (landing in an open court yard, 
 negledled and forgotten lincc the death of that General (who alone among the 
 Qrcat feemed to take an intercfl in the antient hlilory of the provinces conquered 
 from the Turks on the Euxine), have attracted my attention, as well as the 
 antique marble column difcovered by the Field- Marfhal Count Suworofr, in 
 the Cuban ; as they all appear curious monuments of remote, though not clafhc 
 antiquity, unlefs the Marfliars pillar fliould turn out to be (what I ihall prove 
 pofTible, and that is all) a famous antique monument once ererted in the very 
 country where this was found ; for, in tliat cafe, ir nnift commemorate an event 
 celebrated by the eloquence of Demofl-hen.cs ; though, in all probability, the 
 record was made in a language now loll, as I fhall fiiow when we come to 
 examine the Cuban column, after fpcaking of the rough Scvtliian flatues fent 
 down by the I'rince. 
 
 STATTJES.
 
 406 APPENDIX. 
 
 STATUES. 
 
 The Scvthian or Tartar Statues are four in number (two more are fince added), 
 rudely chilFeled out of as many blocks of a very coarfe-grained fand-ftone, and 
 of more than gothic workmanfhip. A confiderable portion of each block is left 
 in its na-^ural ftate below the fculptured figure, in order to be funk in the 
 ground and fupport the figure in an upright pofition, like the Roman Termini 
 and Priapi ; and it is thus rl;at they are frequently feen in the deferts of Scythia, 
 more efpecially on the Kourgans, or conic tumuli, fcattered over it, exadlly 
 refembling thofe mentioned by all travellers who have vifited the renowned 
 plain of Troy ; which fhovvs this fpecies of primitive tombs to be of high 
 antiquity, although the Scythians feem to be the only people who have 
 decorated them with the rude ftatues of their anceftors or heroes. I muft, 
 however, acknowledge, that this decifion is fcarcely founded, as certainly fuch 
 objecTts of rcfpefh to a particular race of men may be preferved for many ages 
 in deferts only frequented by the fame hordes (^for I look upon the Scythians and 
 Tartars as only different names for the fame people), while in populous 
 countries,- which have frequently changed mafters, very little refpeft would be 
 paid to fuch barbarous reprefentations of the human form, had they even 
 originally crowned the Trojan tumuli, which the learned prefident of the 
 Antiquarian Society, Mr. Bryant, thinks were erected by the Thracians, 
 long before the fubjedl of Homer's Song, or even the foundation of haughty 
 Ilium. 
 
 That all the four have been intended to reprcfent females, is evident from 
 their head-dreffes, necklaces, and breads, however badly they are otherways 
 executed, and damaged by time and the loofe texture of the ftone. 
 
 Platk II. fig. I — Reprcfents a naked female figure fitting on a ftone ; while 
 the tliree others are clad in a fliort garb reaching only a little below the knee, 
 like the drefs that we ftill fee worn by fome Finnifh women over a petticoat, 
 which a cold climate feems to have added to the antient habiliment in this 
 latitude. She has a monftrous projecfling face without any head-drefs ; but, 
 to make amends for that deficiencj', both her neck and naked thighs are fully 
 
 ornamented.
 
 //tf/(^ n to /hr/" .i^>t> 
 
 /'/'/. /. /-iiyf ^o6 
 
 Fii/ ■J- 
 
 /tayr 4aj 
 
 
 ,*-■ 
 
 iV-fjif 
 
 .''i- 
 
 ^,_^ -iiMtfirtlir 
 
 
 '•/// / /""y^'f/jiMBiDjiJij Fit/ . r> f,a,jf 4o8 fi_^. 6. puf^ 40S M \ 
 
 twimum 
 
 «' 
 
 O/y/^/r <> 6// //\(Ji^f/^.
 
 APPENDIX. 407 
 
 ornamented, the firft with a crofs cliain, which fufpends a round metal plate 
 on each l>reaft-, like what we fee fome Finnifh women wear to this day in the 
 fame manner; and the thighs aie covered with crolicd ribbons, or ilraps, from 
 the hip to the knee. 
 
 Her hair hangs down her back in one trefs, which marks the unmarried ftate 
 in Riiflia, an formerly in Rome (together with the fingle vittae of the Antients, 
 of narrow riband, round her head) ; and, laftly, flie holds in a moil awkward 
 manner, with both hands, a fpecies of cup below her belly, fom.ewhat in the 
 fliape of a flattened dice-box. 
 
 This is the only Scythian Statue that I have fcen where no part of the block 
 is left to enter the ground and keep it firm and ereft ; indeed, the bottom is 
 made large and flat on purpofe to ftand above the furface, inflead of bcir!'> 
 buried in the earth, like the others, to the depth of fome feet. 
 
 Fig. 2 — Wears a kind of high bonnet, like what the Ruffian women call a 
 kakoflinick ; having her hair done up in a roll, and placed in a circle round 
 her face, between it and the bonnet, from which a veil hangs down her back, 
 divided Into three lappels, juft as we fee the Ruffian married women ftiil dreffcd 
 in fome provinces of this vaft empire. On her neck ffie has a double row of 
 beads, or fomething of that kind, and in her hands the ufual cup held under 
 her belly. 
 
 Fig. 3 — Wears a head-drefs fomething lower than Fig. 2, witli a veil falling 
 from it on her fhoulders ; and a necklace, evidently meant to reprefent p:-.cious 
 ftones, cut into a lozenge-form in the Oriental manner ; below this fingle row 
 hang two otiiers, poffibly meant for gold chains (if the bead form is not effaced 
 by time) ; while her back is ornamented with ftraps, or ribands, croffing each 
 other at right angles. The cup is held in tlie ufual manner. 
 
 Fig. 4 — Is reprefcnted in a kind of low round hat, or bonnet, and a veil, 
 with two rows of ciiain or beads about the neck; and breafts evidently iniended 
 for thofe of a woman. This figure and all the others have fmall mislliapen 
 legs, without any veftige of feet, poffibly broken off in a lapfe of ages. 
 
 Modern tradition fays, tliat the cup held with tlic two hands by each of thcfe 
 Statues"" was intended for receiving alms from the paffing Nomade : and 
 
 that 
 
 *'° Animinnus Marcelliaus fpcnks of" tlicle very fame Statue's in the fifth ccnliuy ; whiih, lie 
 t'ays, are true reprefentations of the HuniiiJIi face i and, as he wrulc niucli about tin- tinu- uf thr 
 
 riuasc-s
 
 4Q8 APPENDIX. 
 
 th.it butli in anticiit Scytiiia, and tlie more modern p.igan Tartaiy, the 
 facerdotal order liad no other revenue than the volunt:try otFerings of tlieir 
 pious countrymen ; there is, however, one circumftance tlint makes me doubt 
 whether they could be intended for begging-boxes; which is, that only one 
 of t!!e four ia fitted to receive any tiling; for tlie oihcr three, inftead of being 
 hollow, are folid mafies of fl^onc, in a veil'tl or cup form. 
 
 la Inort, the whole fabjedl feems wrapped in the darknefs of remote an- 
 tiquity ; fo that I regard myfelf as rather a bold man, to have hazarded the 
 few conjectures above thrown out ; and fliall venture no more, till fome farther 
 light is thrown on the fubje(?t by new difcoveries ; in the mean time, fliould 
 any tiling fliid here be applicable to your antique grotefque ftatues iVanding on 
 the banks of the Donetz- ', which I fufpeA to be the v.ork of the fame rude 
 
 ravMges of thofe bnrbariaus iu Furope uiulcr Attila in 447, ihcir m:irkeJ featurts muft have been 
 >s'elL known to luiii. 
 
 "Ihc Eiiglilli Monk Rubruqnis llUewife mentions them daring his holy miflion in Tartary, abont 
 the year I2_53 ; and particukiily notices the Uttle veffels held by each figure in both hands clofe to 
 the belly. 
 
 --' Thefe remarks were originally fent to Sir Charles Gafcoigne, then nt his t-annon foundery 
 ef Liigan, on the Donetz : amd on his return to Peterlburg he brought with him two drawings of 
 the rude Scythian Statues found in that quarter, which appear to be naked female figures, exactly 
 rtfembHng tliofe already defcribed [Sec fig. 5 and 6] ; but the information received from 
 Mr. Gafcoigne relative to where they are found is interelling. 
 
 They are always found placed on the top of she Kourgans, or conic tumuli, which are fcatiered 
 ever the Stepts, or gralfy plains, in fuch a manner lliat my friend M)-. G. is of opinion, that they 
 muft have fervcd the double purpofe of fepuklires, and videttes, or watch towers, to the Scythian 
 JNomades who fed their flocks in thofe plains, to gtuird them agaiuli any futldea attack from 
 their hoftile brethren, who, being always mounted, make an irruption Into a country with the 
 fv.iUnefs and deftruttiou of a torrent. I'hefe conic hillocks are, therefore, always placed at fuch 
 diltanccs, and in fnch fituations, that an enemy nxaft be inlLantly feen from tlicm, even in tlie 
 occalional hollovrfs wliich fometinics occur in the Stepts j for Sir Charles particularly remarked, 
 that the Kourgans- always command them ; and he perceived in one Koiugan which he examined 
 a fubterraneous chamber, wliich he fufpciicd uiight have ferved as a liable to conceal the horfes 
 of the centincls placed there ;. with, pollibly, the man oft' guard, who might lleep while the other 
 ■watched. Mr. Gafcoigne, however, is by no means fure ihata fimilar fubterraneous apartment, or 
 cellar, belongs to eveny Kourgan ; for he only fpeaks of the one that he examined with atten- 
 tion, and candidly owns, that the excavatinu might have been made by people fearcliing for 
 treafure> as a popular belief cxilis in that country, that the Scythians buried their riches witU, 
 their bodies, which fcems to ha\c been true in fomc degree, as will have appeared in the 
 Tour. 
 
 jpaftoral
 
 An exaei Oyiy <ifrftt:Jn.rcri^eiori 
 on Cfu: /iucf:of'this /'ii/urr . 
 
 
 /•/./ / 
 
 fitj 3 
 
 • i^,.^ 
 
 C > -^/f. 
 
 •y^-rz va -Ou, 'W. Ui7<^».
 
 APPENDIX. 409 
 
 paftoral clilflcl ; — I faj% fhould the defcription of thefe four barbarous figures 
 coincide in any degree with thofe of Lugan, tlie intemion in fending you my 
 hazarded conjetftures will be fully anfwcred. 
 
 A ferious inquiry Into the origin of thofe antient Statues, or what nation they 
 reprefent, feems worthy the attention of the antiquary, even if not treating 
 particularly on the Euxine provinces; as we know from the Byzantine writers, 
 -as w^ell as from the evidence of Ammianus Marcellinus, quoted before in a 
 note, that they exaftly reprefent the marked countenance of the Huns, whofe 
 bloody ravages and devaftation in the 5th century had fo great a fliare in weak- 
 ening the Weftcrn Roman empire ; which ended in lefs than 4.0 years after the 
 vifitation of Attila, the fcourge of God, as he was emphatically called. 
 
 Thefe Statues then, rude as they are, reprefent to the conviilion of Pallas, 
 and of every other intelligent traveller, the Mongul nation, the conquerors of 
 China, India, RufTia, &c. in different ages; of which the Huns appear evi- 
 dently to have'been a horde inhabiting thefe deferts on the Maeotis and Euxine 
 at the time of their eruption into Europe ; a fa6l which feems confirmed by a 
 tradition fubfifting among their defcendants, the Calmouks, ftill dwelling in 
 the fame grafTy plains ; wdio fay, that a tribe of their anceftors called in their 
 language the Okt horde (this, by the by, is the generic name of the whole 
 Mongul nation), emigrated antiently to the Weftern countries, and were pro- 
 bably the Huns of the Roman authors, notwithftanding the difl^erence of name, 
 which proves nothing, as the civilized nations of antiquity, like the French 
 till very lately, never condefcended to confult barbarians with regard to their 
 real appellation, wkich they often could not eafily pronounce, but gave them a 
 new name, frequently a contemptuous one taken from fomething remarkable in 
 their figure, manners, drefs, arms, or atftions. 
 
 They have all the broad, flat, Calmouk, or Mongul face, and even fome 
 part of the drefs ftill worn by that nation ; although, in tUc number of ages 
 fince their creation (for we know they have flood at leaft 1300 years, and God 
 knows how much longer), it is natural to fuppofe that fome parts have been 
 changed, more panicularly that of the female ; and even fome modification 
 of the male garb may have taken place to fuit different climates and modes 
 of warfare. For example, the fmall conic cap, or bonnet, ftuck on the crown 
 of the head of the Statues (fee the figures of them given by Pallas) is ftill 
 «xadlly the charadlcriftlc cap of the whole Mongul nation in all its fubdivifions, 
 
 G G c thougk
 
 410 APPENDIX. 
 
 though the (hort caftan, or coat, and the crofs-belt, is no longer worn by 
 them. 
 
 As to the female figures, the exadl refemblance of the features fliow little 
 admixture of foreign blood ; while the treffed hair and coral necklace is ftill 
 all their own ; but the cap, as might be expedted in fuch a lapfe of time, is 
 not that now worn by the Mongul women, or any other in the North of 
 Alia. 
 
 I fhall farther remark, that thofe Statues are feen at unequal diftances and of" 
 unequal fculpture, from the Dnieper to the rivers Ural and Irtifh, and even as far 
 as the banks of the Jenefley*'^ ; but they gradually fhow a ruder workmanfliio 
 Eaftward from the Don ; as if the richer and more civilized hordes had con- 
 flantly chofen the neighbourhood of the three feas, the Euxine, Maeotis, and 
 Cafpian, where the pafture is richer, and where they could always procure a 
 number of defirable articles'-^ from the traders on its fliores, in exchange for 
 the fuperfluous produft of their herds and flocks ; and, as if the poorer and 
 more barbarous tribes had been obliged to feek a more fcanty fubfiflence to- 
 wards Siberia, in a colder climate, and in a more nomade ftate ; for the paucity 
 of the tombs and ftatues in thofe more Eaftern regions fhow that they made no 
 very long abode on one fpot; while the barbarous figures, fcarcely human, 
 carved on fhapelefs trunks without either garb or extremities, demonftrate, 
 that the paftoral chifel was ftill lefs expert there than in the deferts of Scythia ; 
 which, by the wideft latitude of Greece and Rome, did not extend beyond 
 the Cafpian. But there are other proofs of the permanent abode of a rich and 
 powerful nation in the Kaptchat, as Rubruquis with propriety caIIs the country 
 between the Volga and Ural (the real Tartar name of it) ; for in this diftridl we 
 find many ruins of buildings, which Pallas thinks all fepulchral or religious ; 
 thouc'h the tradition of the wandering hordes defcended from the fame people 
 points them out as remains of the fovereign refidence of the Mongul Chans, or 
 princes, in the days of their power and fplendour. Not to mention fmaller 
 mafles of ruins, thofe on the Achtuba, which falls into the Cafpian at Aftracan, 
 
 *-- There are other proofs befide thefc Statues in the conic form of the tombs oi tumuli of 
 Siberia, alio called Kourgans ; and the arched lower part, which covers thecorpfes, armSj &c. &c. 
 are all the fame. 
 
 "s Such as cloth, filk, female ornaments, kitchen utcnfils. Sec. and perhaps a fupply of fi(h 
 for the opulent, to chaase the monotony oi their food jVom the furrounding fcas and rivers. 
 
 are
 
 APPENDIX. 411 
 
 arc ver)' confiderable, and ftill more fo thofe at Madlliary on the river Kuma ; 
 which confifted of 32 bciildings as late as the year 1780, though now reduced 
 to four, of which Pallas has given drawings in 17^3 ; and, laftly, feven more 
 near the Terek, likewife fketched by his draughtfman, all of Tartar origin, as 
 is evident from feveral kinds of proof, viz. fhape, conftru6lion, and infcrip- 
 tions ; thofe on the Achtuba, however, are the ruins which bore the ftrongeft 
 marks of civilized riches (viz. vafes, arms, jewels, and horfe-furniture of gold 
 and filver) when the tombs were firft opened ; mofi: of which were concealed by 
 the finders ; but a part is ftill to be feen in the Imperial mufeum. I am of 
 Pallas's opinion with regard to the fcpulchral or religious deftination of all thofe 
 ruins, from the known attachment of the Monguls to a camp relidence, which 
 to this day prevents their defcendants, the Calmuc princes, from inhabiting a 
 palace built for them by the crown of Ruflia, though placed in their favourite 
 haunts. 
 
 The laft obfervation which I fliall make on thofe Scythian remains of an- 
 tiquity is, tliat the ancefiors of the Ruffians feem to have inhabited the deferts where 
 they fiand in the iph century; for Rubruquis found the Koumans there ; and 
 we have a proof that the Koumans and Rufiians were the fame people, in the 
 famous paffage already quoted in the Tour from the Maccarean regifter ; a fi(ft 
 that I have proved in my "Ruffian Antiquities," though I had no date to 
 afcertain the exadl period when they did fo. The name of Koumans Is evi- 
 dently derived from their refidence on the river Kuma. 
 
 Finally, we muft be convinced that the army of Gingis Chan, a part of 
 which, under his nephew, Baaty Khan, fetded in the Kaptcliat after fub- 
 duing Ruffia (the famous Golden horde fo well known in the hiftory of this 
 empire), was only a fecond invafion of the Monguls at the end of the i3tk 
 century, many ages after their anceftors had already penetrated to and fettled 
 in the fame Weftern deferts, as the numerous ftatues bearing theirnational face 
 and drefs can teftify; although, poffibly, the Tartar conqueror was ignorant of 
 the fa(ft'-"', and never fufpedfed that he was only taking ponelTion of tlie lands 
 of his anceftors in re-conquering the Kaptchat. 
 
 But 
 
 4M " We have a confirmation of this hiftorical fa£l from the Olots, or Kalmuks thcrarelves; 
 •' who affirm, that long before Tfthinghis Khan, the greateft and mightieft part of their nation 
 " made a military cxpcdilion Wtflwarcl, as far as Alia Minor; and the remaining flock (which 
 " then obtained the name of Khalimak, or the Separated) lofl fit,ht of tlieir brcllircn amongll the 
 
 G G c a " mountaini
 
 412 APPENDIX. 
 
 But neither the proofs of the antiquity or riches of the Scythians, or Tartars, 
 (by whichever of the two names we may be difpofed to call the antient in- 
 habitants of thefe deferts) are confined to the Kaptchat ; for the ruins of a 
 number of cities dcfcrihed by Mr. Rychkof, in his Topography ©f the Govern- 
 ment of Orenburg (1762), all evidently belonged to the fame people, as well as 
 the many antique tombs containing rich arms, 8cc. on the Toboland Irtifh, as 
 far down as the Obe ; nay even thofe beyond the lake Baikal equally be- 
 longed to the fame race of men at a ftill more remote period than the conqueft 
 of India or China ; for they certainly were conftrucfled before they poirefled 
 iron ; all the arms, knives, utenfils, &c. found in them being of copper, as 
 the points of the Scythian arrows were in the time o( Herodotus, who fpeaks of 
 an immenfe copper veflel made of them on an occafion mentioned in this Tour, 
 when each man was ordered to furnifh one. We know that the Antients pof- 
 fefled an art of hardening brafs fo as to form inftruments for war, and even of 
 fculpture in ftone, now entirely loft. 
 
 A curious fpecies of fllver coin fometimes accompanies the copper accoutre- 
 ments in the antique Siberian tombs, bearing a. full-blown rofe without any in- 
 fcription ; an indication which may poffibly throw fome light on the period, 
 if not on the people, if it attradls the attention of the learned fociety in Bengal, 
 to whom we owe fuch a large portion of deep Aftatic refearch in fo fhort a 
 time ; for it is more than probable, that the coin in queftion was from fomc 
 Afiatic mint. 
 
 " mountains of Caucafus ; now it was but natural for them to defcend into the Stepts of the 
 " Kaptchakj the fpecies of country in which all paftoral tribes delight, and to wliich they had 
 " been ever accuftomed ; for we find all tlie tribes of Tartars chufe grafly plains as an abode for 
 " themfelves and their fl(jcks. 
 
 Notwithftanding all the trouble taken by Profeflbr GeorgI, Mr. Tooke, &:c. to diftin- 
 guilh the Monguls, &c. from the Tartars, there is fo much fimilitude in almoft every tiling 
 among all the hordes of paftoral Nomades wandering with tlieir flocks in the Stepts of Alia 
 and Europe, that a generic name for die whole will always be employed by every one who 
 is not minutely ti'eating of their fubdivifions, let profeffed hiftorians do what they pleafe to 
 prevent it ; and, as the general appellation of Scythians in antient times, and Tartars in 
 modern, applied to the whole tribes of thofe wanderers, are univerfally known and received in 
 all the languages of civilized nations, we fliall flill continue to ufc them, to fave trouble, and avoid 
 explanations that are tirelbme to readers when they do not fit down with the exppefs purpofe of 
 foch inveftigations ; for which a Lady's Tour is certainly a y^ry improper place; though we are by 
 BO means ignorant of what has been faid on the fubjed. 
 
 As
 
 APPENDIX. 415 
 
 As to the antique marble column (Plate II. fig. 7.) that was found by the 
 Field Mar fhal Suworof, buried in tlie earth on the banks of the Cuban (the 
 Verdanus, or Antacasres, of the Antients), near fome antient military works 
 of earth, which arc Roman by the tradition of the country, — it is nine Encrlifh 
 feet high, and four in circumference, and is covered with infcriptions in fome 
 language unknown to all our interpreters of the college of foreign affairs, thouo^h 
 they are acquainted with the Tartar, Perfian, Arabic, Turkifh, and Chinefe. 
 
 Conjec^ture here has a fine field to roam in ; and, as it is free to all, I fhall 
 hazard one by way of fetting the fubjcdt afloat. 
 
 Strabo informs us, that Leucon II. fcventh king of the Bofphorus, durino- a 
 great fcarcity in Greece, fent to his friends the Athenians one hundred thoufand 
 Grecian medimi of corn (330 millions of pounds weight), from his city of 
 Theodocia ''aftervvards Cufi'a', where he then refidcd ; and the grateful repub- 
 licans rewarded him by electing him a citizen of Athens, then held in high 
 efteem by foreign princes, whom the Greeks arrogantly ftilcd barbarians and 
 tyrants ; although the reafon of their defiring that honour was, to gain a pro- 
 tedlion from the uiurpaMon and tyranny of the Greek republics, who made 
 conftant war upon one or other of them, if for no other objecft than to procure 
 helots or fiaves ; for they permitted no freedom but their own. This event 
 was commemorated by three columns; one of which was fet up in Athens, one 
 in the capital of the Bofphorus (Panticapeos, or Bofphorus, now Kerch >, and 
 a third near the Temple of the Argonauts, which muil have flood fomewhere 
 in the Cuban, on the road between the two antient kingdoms of Bofphorus and 
 Colchis ; or in the very difl:ri6t where Count Suworof foundthis antique marble 
 column. 
 
 As to the language in which the infcription was written, I think it muft have 
 been barbarous, and likely to be now unknown, for the following reafons : 
 
 The column eredled in Athens would certainly be infcribed in Greek ; that 
 erecSlcd in Leucon's capital would as certainly be infcribed in the language of 
 Bofphorus, that his fubje<9:s might read it; and the third, eredled in the 
 Cuban, inoft probably, would record his being elefted a citizen of x'\thens 
 (whofe fleet then rode triumphant in the Euxine) in the language then predomi- 
 nant in the mountains of Caucafus ; as placing it there could have no other 
 objedl than to make known to the neighbouring nations the powerful alliance 
 that he jiad formed. 
 
 Now
 
 414 APPENDIX. 
 
 Now the principal nation of Caucafus was the kingdom of Colchis, fituated 
 on the Euxine ihore ; but a city ftill nearer the fpot where the coluiiin was 
 found was the famous city of Diofcurias, or SebaftapoHs, the great mercantile 
 port of tliofe days -, which carried on fo extenfive a commerce, and was fre- 
 quented by fo many different nations, that the Romans, when they became 
 matters of it, found it tlieir interell to keep 120 interpreters there, as I have 
 before noticed from Arrian, who was fent with a Roman fleet to examiire and 
 regulate thofe countries during the reign of Hadrian. I fhould, therefore, 
 think it mofl: probable, that the infcription on Leucon's Cuban column would 
 be in the language of Sebaftapolis ; fo that if the Marfhal had really found this 
 pillar, (which I will not take upon me to fiiy that he has,) the writing on it 
 would be as unintelligible to us, as is the infcription on that now in this city. 
 However, fo far I will venture to aflert, that there is nothing impoffible in its 
 being the very column in queftion, even if it had been always expofed to the 
 air, inflead of being buried in the earth; for feveral monuments of the fame 
 period have come down to us in very good prefervation. Leucon's gift of corn 
 is mentioned in an ojation of Demofthenes againft Leptines ; and, if I 
 remember right, the famous orator was one of Leucon's Athenian friends. We 
 learn one more curious fa6t from tliis eloquent fpeech, viz. that Tiieodocia 
 was then one of the greateft commercial cities in the anticnt world ; and Pliny 
 tells us, that the exploits of this very fame prince Leucon IL were celebrated 
 by the Greek philofopher Chryfippus, whofe work is lofl; fo that, on the 
 whole, the exiilence, gift, and column of the Bofphoric fovereign, is well 
 afcertained by claffic authors ; and if we fhould adlually pofiefs it in Peterfburg, 
 it win be a moft valuable antique indeed. 
 
 It is, probably, unneceffary to add, that the kingdom of Bofphorus was 
 lituated on the two fliores of the ftraits of jenikal, or the Cimmerian Bof- 
 phorus of the Antients, that join the Black to the Afoff Sea, and included 
 fome part of the Taurida, on one fide as far as the city of Caffa, or Tiieodocia, 
 which belonged to it ; and the ifland of Phanagoria, or Taman, on the other; 
 with fome part of the Cuban ; poffibly the pofition of Suworof's column may 
 have marked its boundary on the iide of Colchis --5, its rival in arms and 
 
 commerce; 
 
 **- It is a curious fa3, which feems to confirm the ereiStion of the tvo columns in the fpots 
 that I have indicated above, that I found one Medal of Panticapeum, and another of Diofcurias, 
 
 bearing
 
 APPENDIX. 415 
 
 commerce; and, indeed, it may have been for that very purpofe that the 
 pillar was eredted there; and its infcription may contain nothing more than a 
 claim of the territory that it ftood upon, with the name of the prince who 
 crefted it, &c. 8cc. ; which, I muft own, is fully as probable as its being 
 the famous column eredted by Leucon on his eledlion into the body of 
 Athenian citizens, however much I may wifh. to find th« Attic monument 
 in Peterfburg. 
 
 ROMAN ENTRENCHMENTS. 
 
 The laft fubjedl that I fhall glance at in paffing is, the military earthen 
 works, called Roman, near which Suworof found the before -mentioned 
 column. 
 
 Now I cannot conceive on what occafion it could be that the Romans threw 
 
 them up ; for, although Mithridates efcaped to the Bofphorus by this road 
 
 after his defeat by Pompey near the Euphrates, in the j-ear 6^ before Chrift, 
 
 and although his conqueror made every effort to follow him, ftill we know 
 
 that the Albanians gave him fo much employment in pafling through their 
 
 country, even making him turn back to chaftife them when he had got down 
 
 to Colchis on the fea fhore, that he never could get fo far as the Cuban before 
 
 he heard of the death of the old hero, fubdued at laft only by domeftic 
 
 treafon, after keeping the Romans at bay for thirty years, and often defeating 
 
 their legions. It is more probable, that Mithridates may have thrown up 
 
 thefe works on getting to his kingdom of Bofphorus (then governed by a 
 
 treacherous fon), to defend its entry agalnft the Romans, or, he may have 
 
 ercdted them on a former occafion, when, as we are told by Apolan, the 
 
 old king was engaged In a military expedition agalnft the Achasans in the 
 
 Cuban, during the only rcfplte that he ever had from the reftlcfs republicans 
 
 during his long reign, by the friendfhip of Sylla, who kept them quiet for a 
 
 time ; but on the death of the Didlator they fell upon him again, and he was 
 
 bearing each a column on the Reverfe; and I have given a fketch of both in Letters LXXXVIII. 
 and LXXXIX. of this Tour. 
 
 fuddcnly
 
 416 APPENDIX. 
 
 fiiddenly called from this very expedition in tlie Cuban, to defend his own 
 dominions againll the Romans. Thus, there are two occaiions on which the 
 warlike king of Pontus may have thrown up the works fcen by our Marflial ; 
 but I know of none when the Romans could have done it, unlefs it was after 
 their becoming poffeffors of the Greek cities on this coaft, the ncareft of 
 which to thefe intrenchments, was Pytius Magna, down upon the fea fliore, 
 above a hundred miles diftant ; fo that I ftill do not fee what they were to do 
 with military works at the river Cuban. The Bofphorus was always governed 
 by its own kings tributary to the Romans, after the death of Mithridatcs, who 
 poifoned himfelf in Kerch, the Panticapeos of the Greeks, and Panticapeum 
 of the Romans.
 
 ( 417 ) 
 
 N" IV. 
 
 COPY 
 
 Of a Paper by the EDITOR, on fome curious objecHis of Antiquit}' found 
 in the Antient Greek Tombs mentioned in Lettkr V. of the TOUR, as 
 Jiaving been lately difcovercd at the Mouth of the Dniester, or Tyras, 
 and now in his Colleftion. 
 
 [ Tranfinitted to the Society of Antiquaries. ] 
 
 Sir, 
 
 IN a Paper prefented in 1795 to the Antiquarian Society of London"", and 
 read on the 20th of November of that year, as I fee by a letter of thanks now 
 before me, I mentioned fome antient tombs juft then difcovered by Major- 
 General Wollant, a Dutch engineer in the fervice of Ruflla, in digging- the 
 foundation of a new fort on the North fliore of the Euxine, or Black Sea, near 
 the mouth of the Dnieftcr, the Tyras of the Antients, We know, from both 
 Greek and Roman authority, that Grecian, and afterwards Roman colonies 
 were planted on that coaft, more efpecially toward the mouths of the lar"-cr 
 rivers, which ran tlirougli Scythia into the Black and Afoff Seas; fuch, for 
 inftwnce, as the colony and city of Tyras on the river of that name, now the 
 Dnicfter, where thefe tombs are found ; tlic city of Olbia, or Olbiapolis, on the 
 
 "» For the fuhfbnce of this fufl Riper, fee IjCltci'sV, and Vf. 
 
 H II i( Boryflhcnes,
 
 418 APPENDIX. 
 
 Boryfthenes, now the Dnieper ; and Tanais, on the river Tanais, now AfofF j 
 on the Don, ccc. &c. "' 
 
 It is, however, aqueftion, to which of thefe antient nations the newly- 
 difcovered fepulchres belong, although it is pretty evident that they appertained 
 to one of them^ from the form of the vafes, ftanding one at each end of thofe 
 curious tombs (or rather Oiruarii), from the aflies and penates conftantly- 
 contained within them, and the fcpulchral lamp as conllantly found ftanding 
 en the top of each, Sec. 
 
 I forgot to mention in my former Paper, that there is nothing in antiquity 
 which conveys fojiift an idea of thcfe uncommon tombs as the Ojjuariuniy 
 or fquare box, in wliich the Antients fent Jiome the bones and aflies of a 
 perfon deceaftd abroad ; for, I believe the Area, or Loculus, as well as the 
 Sarcophagus, were appropriated to the corpfe in its entire ftate, like the 
 coffin of tlie moderns, and never, that I recolletfb, to the burnt remains of the 
 funeral pile. 
 
 Indeed, I believe that they were little ufed except for children, who- were 
 not burnt before they had cut their teeth, after the introducftion of the latter 
 pradlice. It is impoffible for a naturalift, when fpeaking of the Sarcophagus, 
 even to the Antiquarian Society, vvhofe line of refearch may poflibly not 
 extend fo far, not to vvjfh fome inquiry inftituted into the nature of the cauftic 
 ftone with whicli that fiefli-confuming-coffin was made which decompofed a 
 corpfe in 40 days. I own myfelf ignorant of fuch a foffil, and cannot 
 conceive of what fpecies of earth it could be compofed. 
 
 It is true, our calcareous ftones, when deprived by fire of their fixed air^ 
 or carbonic acid gas, pofTefs that quality ; but they fall to pieces on abforbing 
 the humidity of the atmofphere ; now, even fuppoling that this were prevented 
 by inftandy burying the Sarcophagus and its contents in dry fand (an improbable 
 fuppofition for many reafons), yet, as we are told tliat t'lis curious ftone was 
 
 "' I have given other proofs, drnwn fi-om medals and Greek iiifcripiions fent me from tlie North 
 ftiore of the Kuxine, in n Utile wcirk ftill in Mnnulcrijit, ^vhich will fcrvc as a coiitimiation of my 
 " Kuflian Antiquities," fince the countries that I have now treated of are become a part of the 
 Ruffian empire by the peace of Kainargi and ^afiy ; nay, I beliei-e we might venture to lay, that 
 they are only reliorcd to this empire, if we arc to give credit to Uie conquelts of the Rulhnn hero 
 Swetollaf, or Sviatollav, and liis illullrious fon Volodimir the Great, as recorded in the Chronicle 
 of Neftor. 
 
 brouglji:
 
 APPENDIX. 419 
 
 brought from tlie town of Alios in Troas, it muft have contradcd humidity 
 on the way, and of courfe could not be our lime-ftone rendered cauftic by the 
 procefs of burning. 
 
 But, indeed, Diofcorides, Pliny, and Galen, make it a very different ftonc, 
 light, fpungy, and friable, and covered with a mealy powder called the flowers 
 of Aflian-ftone. They fay, or rather Galen fays, that this powder had a faltifh 
 tafre, and was of fo cauftic a nature, that it corroded flefli much fooner than 
 the ftone itfelf ; while Diofcorides tells us, that the ftone was of a grcyifli 
 colour, with numerous yellow veins. 
 
 An inquiry then into the exiftence and nature of this curious ftone, I 
 prefume to fuggeft to the Antiquarian or Royal Societies ; and in the mean 
 time fhall write to tlie Ruffian ambafladoratConftantinople(an old acquaintance), 
 to endeavour to procure me a fpecimen of the famous Aflian ftone, if ftill to 
 be met with on the antient fpot. 
 
 To return to the more immediate fubje6t of this letter, I have lately received 
 from the North fliore of the Euxine two of the curiofities found in the newly- 
 difcovered tombs; viz. one of the Vafes, and one of the Penates, which, as 
 they may poflibly ferve to throw fome light on the fubjeft, I fhall here defcribe 
 and accompany my paper with accurate drawings, as I formerly did the tomb 
 (fancifully fuppofed by fome people to be that of Ovid), with the exadl fketch 
 fent me by the General himfclf, which I hope ferved to render my account 
 of it more intelligible to the learned Society. Tlie Vafe is of a handfome fliape ; 
 and fo very large, that it is a wonder to fee it brought upwards of 2000 verfts 
 by land perfcftly entire in all its parts. It appears to me to be the (Xa.So;) 
 Cados of the Greeks, and the Amphora of the Romans, or the common wine 
 vefl'cl of both nations. I have, however, obtained a collateral proof of this 
 fac9:, by meafuring the quantity of liquid that it contains, after corking the 
 hole always left in the bottom of this fpecies of veflcl for the convenience 
 of cleaning it when empty-'. 
 
 It 
 
 *^ I liave given below the exaft dlmenfions for Oiofe v.ha make a fiuJy of fuch objefts of 
 antiquity : 
 
 Feet, Inches, Engiyii. 
 
 Jleight, when (landing upright — — 38 
 
 Circumference at the belly, or largeft part — 3 n 
 
 ■ ■ at the bottom, where ii tapers down t9 — 12 
 
 H a H 2 ' Circumfercuce
 
 420 APPENDIX. 
 
 It is well known, that the Cados and Amphora held two urnse, or forty- 
 eight fextarii ; now, counting a pint and a half to' a fextarius, the forty- 
 eioht fextarii make juft nine gallons, or thirty-fix bottles, exactly the quantity 
 that filled myvafe. 
 
 Other queftions now arife : How came the Amphora, or its fubdivifions Tfor I 
 have feen drawings of both the urnae and modi found there), to be the fpecies 
 of vafe conftantly found in our Scythio-Grecian fepulchres, and never with 
 any afhes in them ; as if they had been placed there for Lachrymal urns ? 
 This is a ridiculous fuppofition, as the company of mourners muft have been 
 large indeed, who could be fuppofed to have wept my Amphora full. How- 
 ever, the hole at the bottom was probably plugged with cork, or fome fuch 
 perifliable matter, according to the cuftom of the Antients ; in which cafe, it 
 muft have been decompoled in a lapfe of ages; and the aflies, if ever they 
 contained any, returned to their kindred earth"' fome hundred years before 
 our pioneers difcovered thofe m.anfions of the dead : fo that itieems difficult 
 to determine whether the urns were originally empty or full, though one would 
 rather fappofe the latter to be the cafe. 
 
 I am, in fome meafure,. entitled to fpeak thus pofitivelyof the great antiquity 
 of thefe urns, from a curious circumftance attending mine ; viz. its being 
 incmikiited \\\th. fca JJjeih in a fojikjla/e^^''. Now this evidendy demonftrares 
 
 two 
 
 Circumference at the neck — — — 
 
 Length of the neck — — — — 
 
 of each handle — — — — 
 
 The two handles, almoft ftraight, arc fixed to within about an inch 
 of tlie top, or mouth. 
 Diameter of the moutii — — — — 
 
 of the hole at the bottom — — — 
 
 N. B. There is juft room left to admit the hands eafily between the vafe and tlie handles in 
 lifting it. 
 
 "9 I am aware that this is very unphilofophical language at the end of the i8th century, when 
 the human corpfe is fuppofed to refolve into the elafiic fluids of which it is compofed ; but ftillj 
 if I were perfectly convinced of the fad, the Englifli language does not yet yield to fuch flights 
 before dinner, when a man writes in profe. 
 
 *3° The fliells, though fomcwhat changed in their foflile ftate, and by the friftion of fo long 
 a laud-joiu'ncy, icem to be the genera of Anoraia, JNIaftra, Ofterea^ and probably Cardium ; tlie 
 
 whole 
 
 iet 
 
 ,-/«c/u'.v. 
 
 Enc 
 
 lijh 
 
 I 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 ID 
 
 
 
 
 
 I>l 
 
 
 
 
 
 5i 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 4 
 

 
 APPENDIX. 421 
 
 two things; firft, tliat they could not have originally been buried very deep to 
 have been overflowed by the fca ; fecondly, that thev were then within th.c 
 reach of that element, although found at a great diftance from the Euxine, 
 with ten feet of earth above them. 
 
 I- need not fay much upon this fubjeft, to convince thofe who have paiti 
 attention to fuch phoenomena, that thefe two laft-mentioned facfts indicate a 
 high antiquity ; as the retreat of the fea is a very gradual and flow operation,' 
 and the formation of a certain quantity of vegetable earth no lefs fo. 
 
 In my reading I recollecl but one fpot on the globe that furniflies us with 
 data vvherefrom to judge of the time that vegetable earth takes to form, and 
 that is the fmall quantity as yet collected on a ftratum of lava thrown out by 
 yEtna 2000 years ago, during the fecond Punic war. 
 
 We know that, during the fiege of Syracufe by the Romans, a detachment 
 fent to its relief from Tauronienum was ftopped by this ftream of lava, which 
 had already reached the fea when the troops came up to it, and on that account 
 •were obliged to make a circuit of a hundred miles another way, to reach the 
 place of their deftination. Now tliis iintient lava has accumulated but a fcanty 
 covering of vegetable earth in two thoufand years, not fufficient to be arable, 
 or to produce either corn or vines -^'. 
 
 Judging then from this folitary inftance (for I know of no othcr\ my vafe 
 muft be of high antiquity, by the quantity of earth coUecfled over it, even 
 fuppofing th.it it was originally buried four feet below the furface ; for there 
 will flill remain an accumulation of lix, which certainly indicates a lapfe 
 of many ages. As to the time that the Euxine may have taken to retreat to 
 its prefent bed, I have not the fame data to go upon, for want of the exaft 
 diftance between tlic tombs and the new fca-mark ; but have applied to friends 
 on the fpot for the required meafurement ; which, when obtained, mav I 
 believe, be of fome ufe ; as even in Britain you have land gained from the fea, 
 and in all probability hiftorical records of its gradual incrcafe; it is always 
 undcrftood, however, that accumulations of fand are out of thequcftion, for 
 
 •whole interwoven like net-work, by Serpula, niiftaken by thofe who fcntme llic vafc for petrified 
 earth-worms, which they certainly rcfemble very much. The incruftation adheres lb firmly, 
 that the vafe would probably break in fcparating any part of it, if atUmpted. 
 
 ^i' Sec the account of the hi''orian of JFMu, Signiur Recupero, in tiie Firft Volume of Bry- 
 doiieis Travels tJirough Sicily and Malta, page 1^4. 
 
 evident
 
 422 APPENDIX. 
 
 evident reafons. I fhall now finifli the fubjedl of my Amphora, with re- 
 marking, that its having been employed in a hj'pogea feems not pecuUar to 
 the North fliore of the Euxine, as I fee five fepukhral and lachrymal urns'", 
 all of this form, in the plates of Andrew Bardon, Profeffor in the Royal 
 Academy of Tainting in Paris ; nay, one of them has even a plug ftill re- 
 maining in the bottom hole of the Amphora ; fo that it has either lain a fliorter 
 time in the earth than mine, or been placed in a drier fitiiation, with the cork- 
 er plug well covered with rolin, which we fee has preferved Egyptian mummies 
 for fome thoufand years, in the dry lituations where they are found. 
 
 The other prefent that I have received from the fame place is, one of the 
 Penates found in thofe antient tombs, or oiTuarii on the Tyras ; but very different 
 from the little delicate female bufl: defcribed in my lail ; for, on the contrary, 
 this figure has its virility ftrongly marked by a larg€ bufhy beard, and the 
 Phallus moft confpicuoufly and fingularly placed a little below the middle 
 of his belly, in lieu of a navel ; wliile four nymphs are cHmbing upon 
 his body. 
 
 Which of the heathen gods of antiquity^ this curious houfehold god was 
 intended to rcprefent, is not for me to determine in a country where there is 
 ib little affiftance to be had in fuch inquiries. 
 
 This figure, made of the fame potter's clay as the urns, fepukhral lamps, 
 bufl, &:c. found in the Euxine hypogea, has a well-executed head, placed 
 on one of the fquare fhapelefs trunks that always reprefent the body of Ter- 
 minus, and fometimes that of Priapus when charged with the care of a 
 garden ; three female figures are reprefented at different heights clinging to his 
 iides ; nay, one of them has got affride his right fhoulder, and feems looking 
 
 *5- In Vol. T. Plate 51, Bardon gives a fepukhral urn of the Ampliora f(5rm, diftingiiiflied from 
 all other vafcs bv always tapering to a point towards the bottom ; lo as not to ftand upright with- 
 out being ft Lick in the ground; an excellent conftruAion for wine velfels, as they mu ft always 
 have been laid on their fides till buried in the earlli, which would fwell the cork and prevent 
 conimunicatian with the atmofi)!iere. In Plate 52, he gives two more. In plate 60, a lachr)'mal 
 urn of the fame fliape, widi the word Amiiitr and two hearts on its fide, which iliow that it 
 was dedicated to Friendihip. In Vol. II. Plate 76, a fourth ; and, laftly, in Plate 6g, he gives a 
 moft curious lachrymal urn of the Amphora form, with the head of one of tlie hired female 
 mourners, or Frefe'u^, ferving as a cover, or flopper, to its upper orifice, or mouth. 
 
 N. R. One of ihefe Amphora: (the firft mentioned above) has a cork or plug in tlie 
 iower hole. 
 
 over
 
 APPENDIX. 423 
 
 over the ok! man's head at a fourth, ofFcrlng at his feet what looks like a pye, 
 or fonie kind of very kirge fruit, poflibly a water-melon, the moft cominon 
 produdlionof the country, to cool him, or to gain permifTion to climb- up after 
 her comrades. 
 
 Notwithftanding his wanton companions, and indecent ventral ornament, T 
 cannot believe this pagan deity intended for Priapus, as he is perfedVly devoid 
 of the leer, the horns, the ears, and the laurel or vine crown of the lafcivious 
 cladic god ; unlcis it fhould be fomc colonial modification of him, poiiibly 
 Scythian ; as Herodotus tells us, that even as early as the time when he vifited 
 Jiis countryrr .n fituated on this coaft, they had already adopted many of the 
 rites and cjftonT^ of the Scythians with whom they had long intermarried,, and 
 in return given their own mythology and rites to feveral tribes whom he 
 names. 
 
 Fur her inquiry into the nature and origin of my Penates I m.uft leave to the 
 
 learned Society, and content myfelf with remarking, that I have fomewhere 
 
 feen the p-int of a Kilometre Ibmething like it; for, if I remember right, 
 
 female figures attached at difixrent heights to the old god of that famous river 
 
 (perfonified not unlike mine,) marked the different altitudes of the Nile during 
 
 its rife from the Tropic raiiis. Should, therefore, my Penates be fuppofed of 
 
 Egyptian manufacTture, there is no great miracle in its being found at the mouth 
 
 of the Tyras -^ as I have fliown, in another work before alluded to in this Letter,. 
 
 that Egypt had antiently planted a colony on the Eafi: lide of the Euxine, at no 
 
 very great dillance, viz. in the arjient kingdom of Colchis; probably at thr, 
 
 time when your Learned Prefident tells us, in his DifJertation on the Siege 
 
 of Troy, that the Egyptians were mafters of thefe feas, had fubdued a part 
 
 of the coaft of Alia iVlinor, and left a colony in Greece. Now all the colonics 
 
 on the fhores of the Euxine had much conmiercial intercourfe, and carried on 
 
 a conftant exchange or barter of their refpecflive commodities; but, above 
 
 all, the merchandife of Colchis was in univerfal demand, as thp.t antient 
 
 kingdom not only cultivated the weed of the Nile, j^tix,. but likewife made- 
 
 fail-cloth and cordage of it; behdcs furnifliing timber for the conftrurtion 
 
 of fliips from Mount Caiicafus; fo that it was the great mart of naval ftores in 
 
 thofe days, as likewife for Eaft India goods, then brought to Colchis by the 
 
 Cafpian, Cyrus, and Phafis ; when, therefore, we add to thofe fources of 
 
 wealth, the gold wafhed down from its mountains by torrents through the bed 
 
 of the famous gold-rolling Hypaiis (which they ulcd to colledl by finking woolly 
 
 fhe.ep-
 
 424' APPENDIX. 
 
 Hieep-fkins in the brook), fiirmed to this day to Jews by the Turks, it is little 
 wonder if its riches allured a fet of needy Grecian adventurers, or that rhey 
 made a fort of miracle of their Argonautic expedition in the infancy of their 
 navigation ; and it certainly was a great exploit for them, though I much doubt 
 whether either the Phoenicians or Egyptians would have thought fo fhort and 
 trifling a voyage v.-orth recording. As, ho;vever, this firfi: trip to the Black 
 Sea opened a wide field of commerce to thcfe young merchants, their rulers 
 at^ed politically in making a noife about it, with the flory of the Golden 
 fleece, 8:c. fprobably only one of the woolly fheep-lkins drawn out of the 
 Ilypafis befpangled with particles of gold) to direct the attention of their 
 juvenile navigators to the Euxine; v.'here piracy, when rcfifted, would foon 
 end in peaceable barter and commercial connexion, as was afterwards the 
 .cafe. 
 
 I fliall now conclude this long letter with acknowledging myfelf at prefent a 
 convert to General Wollant's opinion relative to the Grecian origin of the 
 Tombs that he difcovered ; lince I am now in polTeflion of data to form an 
 opinion upon ; which was not the cafe v/hen I wrote lafi:, nor had I then made 
 fo particular a ftud}"- of the antient and modern hiflory of the country where 
 they were found-, and I now agree with him, tliat they feem to have been 
 depofited many ages before Ovid's exile to the No.th fhore of the Euxine -"3, 
 
 I mentioned in my former Paper, tl:at the General founded his opinion on 
 the exquifite workmanftiip of the little buft which f!ie late Emprcfs, on 
 comparing with others in her fine colleftioh of antiquities, thought to refemble 
 the beautiful daughter of Auguftus (the fecret, though not ihe ottenfible caufe 
 of the poet's exile) ; and on this circumftance, joined fo that of the lake at the 
 mouth of the Dnieper, where it was found, bearing ftill the name of Ovid in 
 the language of the country, was founded the opinion, that the bufl: of Julia 
 jiad been difcovered in the aflies of her old lover, the unfortunate Roman 
 bard. But General Wollant, on the contrary, maintained, that both the face 
 and workmanfhip was Grecian, while the print of the human fkin, ftlll vifible 
 "n the bnrt, fhowcd it to have been formed by the fingers of wet clay, and 
 
 -" Indcpendin' of much valuable information furnillied me by friends on the North fliore 
 .of the Euxine, I was many years ago fen t thither mylclf by the late Emprefs on profelhonal 
 dutyi a journey that fuggelled the iirft idea of my former work, from the number of antique 
 <;ull:o;ns, 8:c. v.hich I remarked in travelling through Ruflia, Moldavia, the antient Scythia, Sec. 
 befides furnifliing fome materials for the ■\\'ork that I am now engaged in. 
 
 afterwards
 
 APPENDIX. 425 
 
 afterwards baked, according to the prat^ice of the Greeks; and that the hair 
 gathered up on the forehead, in form ot a crefccnt, indicated a buft of Diana, 
 who then iuid her temple in tiie I'auiida, or Crimea, at no great diliance, and 
 was worlliipped on all this coaft. 1 likewife made two remarks which had 
 efcaped my friend, though they made ftrongly for his hypothefis ; viz. that ;}. 
 Grecian colony (that of I'yras) once ftood at the mouth of the Dnieller ; and 
 that I obferved tlircc Greek letters Anr on one of the vafes in the Iketch that he 
 had himfelf made for me, and which I had the honour of tranfmitting to the 
 Antiquarian Society ; to whom I beg to prefent a fecond time my humble 
 refpedls ; andto you, Sir, the thanks and compliments of 
 
 Your verj' obedient humble fervant, 
 
 M. GUTHRIE. 
 
 Imperial Corps of Noble Cadets in St. Petersburg, 
 Aitgujt 20, 3 798. 
 
 P. S. A pair of m.ucli better eyes than mine, belonging to an ingenious 
 young portrait-painter, who called to draw my antiques (though much out 
 of his line), inftantly difcovcred, that the offering which the Nyn-ipli is tnaking 
 at the feet of my penates, is a ravi's head, which I now fee clearly myfelf by 
 the help of my glafs, iince it was pointed out to me. Tliis difcovery feems to 
 ftrengthen a furmife which I formerly threw our, tliat my penates might have 
 been intended to reprefent Priapus, or, pofTibly, Pan, whofe bufhy-bearded 
 head appears fo often with much propriety on coins ftruck in a country of 
 fhcpherds. I have dcfcnbcd thofe of Olbio on the Dnieper, Chcrfon in the 
 Taurida, and Panticapeos on the Cimmerian Bofphorus, all bearing a head 
 of Pan. However, as conjecture is allowed on fucli occafions, may not this 
 figure reprefent the genius of tlie fmall peninfula of Heraclea Clierfonefus (at 
 no great diftance), the facred fite of the Tauric Diana's Temple, once wor- 
 fliipped on all iJiis coafl, and whofe buft was found in one of thefe tombs ? 
 What fuggef}-cd this idea was, tliat the little peiiinfula, whicli was feparated 
 from the large peninfula of Taurica Cherfonefus, by the famous fortified 
 wall built by the Hcraclcans from the oppofite coaft (when they left a 
 
 I I I colony
 
 425 APPENDIX, 
 
 colony here, and was afterwards taken by Mithrldates's General Dlophantcs, 
 when he fubdued its tyrant Scilurus and his fifty fens), fo much refembles, 
 on a good map, a ram's head, that the Greeks called it Criu MotepoN ; though 
 I obferve, that foine geographers only apply that name to one of its pro- 
 montories, which makes the nofe of the ram, while the two capes at the 
 entrance of the noble port of Sebaftapol, where the Ruffian fleet now rides (the 
 Sinus Portuofus of the Antients;, makes its two horns.
 
 ( *'^7 ) 
 
 N°. V. 
 
 A THIRD PzVPER, 
 
 Sent at the fame Time with the Second (as a kind of Appendix), 
 
 Augufta5, 1798. 
 
 1 STILL poflefs another curious relick of antiquity, likewife fent me from the 
 fl'.ores of the Euxine ; but, as I have no proof of its connexion with the 
 antient Tombs, the fubjefi: of my two papers to the Society, I fliall defcribe it 
 thu'5 feparately ; though I have little doubt that tliat Learned Body will think 
 it worthy their attention. 
 
 Moll unfortunately, I could procure na certain information with regard to 
 the exadl fpot where it was found, and other interefling circumftances attending 
 its difcovery ; and could only learn from the Gentleman who prefented it to 
 me, that he had it from an inhabitant of the North fhore of the Euxine, who 
 had purchafed it from a Tartar on the coaft. 
 
 The workmanlhip appears Egyptian; and I fhould think that the figure 
 may reprefent one of tlie Pricfts of the Nile ; from the lower part of the man 
 terminating in the mouth of a crocodile, while the upper part of his face 
 is veiled by the hood of his black gown, or upper mantle, and his legs and 
 feet are concealed from public view by a particular arrangement of his under- 
 garment ; all peculiarities of drefs that ferve to indicate fome particular facer- 
 dotal miniftryin the Pagan v/orlhip of the Nile, at leaft as far as tlie iHle 
 of fculpture, and the appropriated emblem of the crocodile, can fix it on that 
 antient feat of fcience and the arts. 
 
 1 1 I 2 T!iis
 
 428 APPENDIX. 
 
 Tliis little fl-atiie, which is only two inches and a quarter high, is cut out 
 of a fmall block of marble 1/ deux couches, compofed of one black and one 
 white layer. Out of the white layer, the fculptor has formed the whole figure 
 of tlie man, in a ftilf u))right pofition, with his left arm croflcd over his 
 breaft; while witli the riglit he is holding his under garment gathered up into 
 folds, in a particular manner, fo as to form a kind of bag to conceal his feet 
 from the ej'es of fpedlators. 
 
 The fecond, or black layer of marble, is chiirded into a fpecies of loofe 
 flowing mantle, or gown, which merely adheres to his back, without covering 
 any part of the human figure, except the forehead, eyes, and nofe ; leaving 
 the white mouth and beard to contraft ftrongly with the black upper part 
 of the face. 
 
 The body of the gown (for I fuppofe it to be the hood tliat is drawh over the 
 head) falls down the back, and terminates a little below the feet, in form of the 
 upper jaw of a crocodile ; as if the whole mantle was formed of the ikin of that 
 amphibious animal, with the head hanging downwards ; as we fee the Ikins 
 of lions and tigers thrown over the flioulders of the heroes of antiquity during 
 the period of Nimrodian atchievement. 
 
 You muft not, however, fuppofe that all this is lightly exprefled by the 
 Egyptian fculptor; on the contrary, this little black mantle is a lieavy clumfy 
 piece of drefs, more like a mattrafs for thicknefs, than an airy robe ; for I 
 took a bold poetic licence in reprefenting it as flowing on his back, merely to 
 convey the idea of its covering no part of the body, but falling in a ftraight 
 line from the head down to the feet. 
 
 On the back of this fpecies of ftone mummy (for the ftifFnefs and conftrained 
 attitude of the little figure almoft places it in that clafs) is engraven a line 
 of charad>crs (certainly not hieroglyphics) that extends the v.-hole length of the 
 robe ; but vvliat t!iey mean I muft leave to the Learned Society to difcover. 
 
 I entertain hopes, that the infcription, joined to the peculiarities of drefs fo 
 remarkable in the figure now defcribed, may enable fome Member of the Society 
 who has made the antiquities of Kgypt a favourite lludy, to give us fome 
 information on the fubjedl ; while, in the mean time, I rtiall conclude with 
 oblerving, that the finding of this Egyptian relick on the fliore of tiie Euxine 
 feems in lome meafure to ftrengthen the opinion of a colony from that nation 
 being once fettled in Colchis, as afferted by the Antients, and by the in-' 
 liubitants themfclvcs in the time of Herodotus ; who informs us of a very. 
 
 eirential
 
 APPENDIX. 429 
 
 cffential facl:, viz. that they alone of all the numerous nations of Caucafus 
 pra6tiled circumcifion. 
 
 Since writing tlie two foregoing papers I have received the required infor- 
 mation relative to tlie ciiftance between the antient Tombs and the Euxine ; 
 wliich is juft twelve verfts and a half, or a little more than eight EnglilTi 
 miles. Admiral de Ribos, Lite conim.andcr in chief of all the fortifications 
 erefting in thofe countries, and under whom General WoUant adlcd as 
 engineer, mod obligingly furniflicd me with the required diftance, and liksvvife 
 put into my hand a very accurate furvey of the fi)ot taken by the able foreign 
 engineers employed on that fervice ; from which I fee tliat the fort, in digging 
 the foundation of wluch the tombs were difcovered, is two verfts and a 
 half farther from the Tea than the City of Ovidopol, founded by order of 
 the late Em{)rcfs on the Liman or lake at the mouth of the DnicfVer, 
 bearing the name of Ovid to this day in the language of the country; which 
 circumllancc, with the difcovcry of the tomb fufpef5led to belong to the fame 
 Roman poet, fcems to have determined her Majefty as to the name of her 
 new city. 
 
 In taking leave of the Society, it may not be Improper to declare, that 
 my objedl in colleding the many Greek and Roman medals, infcriptions, 
 and other remains of antiquity, which I have procured from the North fhorc 
 of the Euxine (more efpecially from the Tauric Cherfonefus, the ifland of 
 Phanagoria, the antient kingdom of Bofphorus, Sec) is far from being mere 
 curiofity ; but to promote a favourite inquiry into the antient hiftory of thefe 
 once famous countries. I fliould, therefore, efteem myfelf particularly for- 
 tunate, if any Member of the Antiquarian Society, who has hkcwife turned 
 his attention to the fame clafTic region, fo long flnit up from refearch by the 
 barbarous policy of the ignorant Turks, would communicate liis ideas on the 
 fubjeft ; as it would much affift my inquiries, wliich mufi- naturally grow 
 languid in a part of the world where fo few take an interefl in fuch 
 difquifuions. 
 
 Diftantly fltuated as I have been for near 30 years, I liave the honour 
 of knowing perfonalU but very few of your members, or, indeed, of tliofc 
 of any other Literary Society with whicii I correfpond. Your Learned 
 Prefidcnt, however, is well known to me by his writings, and feems to be 
 the gentleman who, of all others of late, has carried his refcarches neareft to 
 
 my
 
 430 APPENDIX. 
 
 my range of inquiry. Should any thing have appeared relative to thofe 
 countries, which has not as yet reached Ruflia (for I know of nothing but the 
 excurfions of Mr. Dallaway, confined to the South fhore of the Euxine), 
 pray be fo kind as to favour me with the title of the book, that I may get it 
 over with the firft king's meflfenger, fhould our navigation be frazen up; and 
 you will confer a particular obligation on, Sir, 
 
 Your very humble fervarht, 
 
 M. GUTHRIE. 
 
 P. S. The upper part of the face being covered, I am told, was a practice 
 with the Egyptian priefis ; to indicate, that the Source of the Nile (lately 
 difcovered by Bruce) was then hidden from the knowledge of its minifters^ as, 
 well as from the world at large*
 
 ( -^31 ) 
 
 N°. VI. 
 
 SEt; 
 
 [In this and the foUozvhig Article, in which the fubje^s alluded to are further and more 
 correctly confidercd than hcfoie, many repetitions luill ncccjfarily occur; for zviiuh 
 the Editor entreats the indulgence of the candid Reader. If all the former -part 
 of the Work, had not been prin ed prcvioujly to thefe being prepaid, the new 
 matter would h ve been incorporated with the preceding Papers of ibe Ai'PEiSDix, 
 and the repetitions thm avoided.'] 
 
 DESCRIPTION 
 
 Of fome curious Grecian Tombs difcovered at the Mouth of the Dniester, 
 the Tyras of tlie Antients, vvitli the Antiques found in t!iem , one 
 of which is in the Imperial Cabinet, and tivo in the Poffeffion of Dr. 
 GUTHRIE in St. Petersburg. 
 
 OiNCE I wrote the two Memoirs to the Antiquarian Society of London, 
 relative to the Grecian Tombs difcovered at the mouth of the Dniefter, I have 
 had fufficient leifure to ftudy the curious antiques found in them (now in the 
 Imperial and my own colle6tion) with much more attention than I could then, 
 for fcveral reafons ; and am, therefore, enabled to treat tlie fubje(5l more 
 <horouglily ; which I fhall do in the following Paper, and bring the whole 
 under one point of view as a Supplement to Mrs. Guthrie's Tour to the 
 Euxine Sea, with which it has a natural connexion ; altliough I fliall l>e 
 obliged, in concentrating here tlie whole information that I have at different 
 times received, to repeat fome things mentioned in her Letters from the ipot. 
 
 About
 
 432 ATPENDIX. 
 
 About eiglit years ago that able Dutch engineer, Major-General Wollant, 
 in digging the foundation of a new fort ereding on the Liman or lake at the 
 mouth of the Dnieftcr, the Tyras of the Antients, wiiere it falls into the 
 Pontus Euxinus, or Black Sen, difcovered a number of antique tombs ten feet 
 below the prelcnt furface of the earth, and fcven verfts from the prefent bed 
 of the Euxine ; two marks of high antiquity, as fhall be fhown at the end 
 of this paper, by proofs drawn from natural hiftory. 
 
 Each of thofe ftone cofTins (fee the Engraving in Letter V. cf the Tour), 
 which Antiquaries may call an Ofluarium, Area, Loculus, or Sarcophagus, 
 as they think fit (though I fhould think the laft term Improper where the 
 caullic ftone had no corpfe to a&. upon and confume), contained burned bones, 
 or allies ; and fometimes a fmall figure, or penates, of baked clay lay buried in 
 tlie calcined remains of the funeral pile ; only two of whicli have found their 
 way to this city, viz. the beautiful female buft (mentioned in General 
 WoUant's letter to me given below), now in the cabinet of his Imperial 
 Majefty, and the curious male figure in my own collection, which I called 
 a Penate in my Paper to the Antiquarian Society, merely to give a better idea 
 of the nature of my antique by that well-known name ; though well aware that 
 the Greeks had no Dil Penates, objedls of fuperi^ition which the Romans did 
 not derive from that refined people, to whom they owed fo much, but from 
 the Troians when Eneas brought his houfehold gods with him to Italy. How- 
 ever, in holding thus the language of antiquity, I do not mean to enter into, 
 or vouch for, the hiftorical veracity of the event. 
 
 Before I proceed to defcribe the curious objects mentioned above, his 
 Excellency's letter to me, announcing his difcovery, with his opinion of them, 
 will make a proper introducflion to the obfervations which I fhall take the 
 liberty of offering to the publick. The following is an exadl tranflation of 
 General Wollant's letter from the original in French : 
 
 " Sir, 
 " It appears to me, that the little antique buft which we difcovered on the 
 banks of the Liman of the Dniefter, named Laculi OviJuli by the natives of the 
 country, may m.erit your attention ; and I am forry that important occupations 
 have prevented me till nov/ from informing you of the chance which put us in 
 pofTeffion of the beautiful antique fo worthy the attention of connoiffeurs. 
 
 " It reprefents the head of a very handfome woman, and may be about 
 three inches high, made of baked clay, and of exquifite workmanfhip j bearing 
 
 markg
 
 APPENDIX. 45S 
 
 marks of having been formed merely by the fingers, without the ufe of any 
 kind of inH-rument. The profile is Grecian, and the hcad-drcfs that of Diana; 
 her hair is divided in front into two knots, which form together a fpecies of 
 crefcent ; the back of the head is covered with a veil ; and although that drapery 
 feems but flightly wrought, flill it is highly finiflied, and anfwers well to the 
 rell of the bull. 
 
 " This antique, fo worthy of attention, was found in one of the Tombs 
 which we daily difcover in our works at the fortifications eredling on the banks 
 of the above Liman (lake) of the Dniefter; and the conftrudlion of thefe 
 fepulchres is as curious as intercfting. 
 
 " Five flat ftones of a fpathic fchiftus (flate) compofe a fpecies of urn -3* 
 which contains human bones, charcoal, and in general a fort of broken 
 fepulchral lamp, with ajar, all of the fame baked clay. I fend you aDrav/ing 
 of the Tomb in which the buft was found, with two large jars (one of which 
 the Writer afterwards received), flanding in the pofition reprefented in my 
 Iketch. My conjectures lead me to fuppofe that our buft reprefents a penate 
 goddefs buried with the aflies of the dead ; who by the lizc of the tom.b, and 
 being furniflied with two vafes, while the others have but one, feems to have 
 been a perfon of diftindlion. The head-drefs of the buft leads to a fuppofition 
 that it muft be the figure of Diana, if the veil does not rather indicate one 
 of her priefteftes, or a veftal virgin. Some people .will have it to be a head, 
 of Julia, from finding its great refemblance to the portrait of that unfortunate 
 princefs preferved to us on medals; and they are the r.iore confirmed in that 
 opinion from the lake on which the Tomb ftands bearing the name of Ovid in 
 the tradition of the country ; but ftrong reafons permit us to deny that ever 
 Ovid was beyond the Danube. I have the honour to be with much con- 
 lideration, £cc." 
 
 On this Letter from General Wollant I fliall remark, that as to the opinion 
 of thofe who, from the name of the lake, and the refemblance of the buft to 
 portraits of the beautiful though lubricious daughter of Auguftus, think the 
 Tomb that of Ovid, I fhall fay little, from my perfedt convidlion that the 
 
 "■• My correfpondent is counlenanred in calling the/yKarfOiruarinmreprefentecl inhisDrawing 
 (See Letter V.) an urn, by the praclice of the Italian anliquarieSj who give that name to exactly 
 rnchjr/iiare objcdU when they contain human aflies. 
 
 K K K fepulchres
 
 43'i. APPENDIX, 
 
 fepulclires and all their contents are Grecian, not Roman ; otlierwife tlie 
 Generars aflertion that the Roman bard never was beyond the Danube would 
 have but little weight with me, for reaibns limilar to thofe given in Mrs. 
 Guthrie's Letters from the Dnicfter; for, when we refledl on Julia's being 
 the real caule of Ovid's exile, among whofe fuccefsful lovers he is fufpefted 
 to have been, and Hie the fair Corinna that he fo often celebrates, we find a 
 much better reafon for her father's anger, than the pretended caufe of it, his 
 " Jrt of Love;'' and in"that point of view there would have been nothing fur- 
 prifmg in having found her buft in the poet's tomb, according to a pra6lice 
 of the Antients explained below. As to its being difcovered at the mouth 
 of the Dniefter, when we know from himfelf that he was baniflied to the 
 mouth of the Danube ; we have only to recolledl his many applications to his 
 friends- in Rome, repeated in almoft every letter of his "T///?/^," to obtain 
 the Emperor's permiflion for his removal from the fortified town of Tome to 
 fome more wholefome fituation, where his loft health might be reftored in 
 breathing a free air out of conftant dread of the poifoned arrows of the hoftile 
 Getse ; I fay, when we combine thofe eternal lamentations with the great 
 efteem that he was held in by both the Roman garrilon and inhabitants of 
 Tome, who crowned him with laurel, and exempted him from taxes paid by 
 every one elfe; and when we add to all thofe marks of refpedl the friendfhip of 
 the native prince of the country, the. enlightened Cotys V. a brother poet, 
 whofe medal is given in this Tour j it is difficult to believe that Ovid might 
 not have been indulged fo far (though we have no order of Auguftus on record 
 to authorife it) as to attempt the re-eftablifliment of his health in the neigh- 
 bouring Roman colony of Tyras on the Dniefter; more efpecially as we find 
 (fee Letter VII. of the Tour) that a couple of infignificant rivulets ftill beyond 
 that river bore his name in antiquity ; fo that, although we have no politive 
 proof of Ovid ever having been to the North Eaft of the Danube, I cannot 
 think my correfpondent can fhovv caufe for politively frying that he never 
 was. 
 
 As to the General's own opinion of the buft (for, the idea of its refembling 
 Julia, he only gives as that of others), I perfeftly agree with him, that the 
 workmanfhip and profile are Grecian ; but I cannot fubfcribe to its reprefcnting 
 Diana, although rendered probable by that goddefs having anticntly her temple 
 in the Taurida, and being worfhipped on all the coaft. However, to enable 
 
 the
 
 APPENDIX. 435 
 
 the reader to form a judgement on the fubjec^, I have given a moft 
 exquifite and. exaA Drawing of the charming little objec^t \^fee Plate I.) 
 with the obfervations which have occurred to me, from an examination 
 of the original, through the indulgence of the learned Antiquary Mr. Koehler, 
 under whofe care that and all the other precious antiques of the Imperial cabinet 
 are moft defervedly placed. 
 
 It is made of baked clay, two and a half Englifli inches, high, 
 ard reprefents (as the General fays) a beautiful 3-oung woman, with the 
 marked Grecian profile fo well known to painters, with her hair dreficd 
 in the form called by the Antients Corytnbus, and commonly given to Venus 
 and Apollo ; but flie wears no cvclcent or other attribute of a divinity ; 
 on the contrary, it rather appears to me to be one of the Jmagunculae or 
 PlaguncuhT3 mentioned by Cicero in his letters, to Atticus, or one of the 
 fmall images given by Roman ladies to their favourite lover, as a modern 
 lady would give her picture. It is true, the Imagunculas generally were of 
 wax, as they came from the Lady's hands ; but it is as certain, that the fa- 
 voured gentlemen, to make them more durable, had them cafl in baked 
 clay ; or Count Caylus could not have aflembled fuch a number of them, all 
 of that laft-mentioned matter, both Grecian and Roman, as he has delineated 
 in the firft, fccond, and fifth Volume of his " Recueil d'Antiquites ;" and, 
 what is very fingular, all found in Tombs of Eg5'pt ; which would n-;ake it feem 
 as if the practice had obtained more in that country than in any other governed 
 by the Greeks and Romans, for the lovers to be interred with the buft of their 
 miftreircs, a cuftom which mull have exifted under the Ptolemies, as well as 
 Ca^fars, as the Imagunculas in the collect ion of Count Caylus are of Grecian 
 as well as of Roman workmanfliip. I will jufl hint at an antient native pradfice 
 of Egypt, fully explained in my fccond Memoir, which may have pofTibly 
 determined the cuflom of the conquerors of the country, of burying their 
 Imagunculas with them in their tombs; viz. the Egyptian pra(5lice of burying 
 with their mummies fmall figures in baked clay of Ofiris, or Ifis Averlunca. 
 (See the Paper on my Egyptian Scarabscus, Appendix, No. V.) 
 
 Our little Grecian bull feems likewife to have been moulded in wet clay, and 
 afterwards baked in an oven ; but whether from an image of wax, we have no 
 means of judging ; however, it appears only to have been the face and fore- 
 part of it that was preflcd into the mould ; while the back part, on the con- 
 
 K K K 2 trary.
 
 45<T APPENDIX. 
 
 trary, was certainly left out, and afterwards merely flightly fculptured with 
 fome inftrument, and the fuperfluous clay cut off, which has produced fome- 
 thing like the fimilitude of a veil, tliough we cannot take upon us to fay (not- 
 withilanding our refpecTt for the opinion of General Wollant) that the artift 
 pofitively meant to reprefent that fpecies of drapery ; although, indeed, the 
 reader will judge for himfelf of all thofe circumftances, from the accurate 
 Drawing that I have had made by a painter of reputation. 
 
 I fliall now proceed to defcribe the two valuable relicks of antiquity in my 
 own collection, from the fame Tombs ; the one a prefent from the General 
 PopofF, the other from Mr. Felix de Ribas. 
 
 The firft of them (fee Plate III. fig. 3.) is a figure of baked clay, or potter's 
 red ware, four inches and three quarters high. It reprefents a bearded head 
 on one of the fhapelefs trunks which the Antients conftantly gave to Terminus, 
 often to Priapus, and fometimes to Pan ; but what render this antique unique 
 of its kind are three female figures climbing up the old man's body, one of 
 whom has got aftride his right fhoulder, and feems looking down at a fourth 
 female, offering a ram's-head at his feet. 
 
 The Phallus fo confpicuoufly placed on his belly feems to announce this 
 figure as a reprefentation of Priapus ; but, as it wants the horns, ears, and 
 appropriate crown of that antient emblem of generation, and, inftead of the 
 lafcivious leer of the wanton god, has a fedate decent countenance, I will 
 hazard a conjecTture, that it poffibly may have been meant for Pan, god of 
 fhepherds, fo often feen on coins of this paftoral country (fee the Tour for 
 feveral of them), fporting with his nymphs; for Grecian mythology not only 
 makes Pan be educated by nymphs on mount Mocnatus in his native country 
 Arcadia, but afterwards their leader, they having followed him from love to his 
 mufic ; and if we could credit Dionyfius, that the Pan of the Greeks was a 
 modification of Ofiris, we might then account for another ftriking charadler 
 of our penates, the glaring Phallus, from what Plutarch fays of the Egyptian 
 god, membrum z'in'e eft ipfi arreSlum, to indicate (adds the moralifi:) the genera- 
 tive power of the deity. Now we know that it was a practice in Egypt to inter 
 with the dead fmall figures of Ofiris in baked clay, as well as flones cut in 
 form of the beetle, and covered witti engraved objedls of their worfhip ; and as 
 the Greeks took fo many other things from Egypt, they may likewife have 
 taken that cuftom. 
 
 However,
 
 APPENDIX. 437 
 
 However, as conjecture is free, and indeed is the only refource we have in 
 fuch a cafe where the obje6l is unique, and where of courfe wc have no com- 
 parifonsto guide our judgement, we might fiippofe the four female figures the 
 four feafons or hours ; more efpecially as then the ram's head may have fome 
 reference to the feafon of the year when Oliris, or the fun, enters that 
 fign of the zodiac ;. I fay, this, like the lafb, might appear a very plaufible 
 conjecflure, did not a ftubborn facSt fland in the way of botli ; which is that 
 the females are drefied in the corrrtnon Greek garb, with the veil called Calyptera, 
 on their heads and fhoulders, which Grecian women conflantly wore when they 
 went abroad ; fo that their coftume will neither bear out the idea of nymphs or 
 of hours, unlefs we can believe that the Antients took fometimes fculptoric as 
 well as poetic licence. 
 
 I make little doubt but that the placid countenance and well-combed beard 
 (fo unlike the face and bufliy beard of Pan) will make fome readers fuppofe 
 it rather the head of Jove than the god of Ihepherds, conftantly placed on fuch 
 fhapelefs trunks to rcprefent Terminus ; and in that cafe, if any one can fuo^trefl- 
 a reafon for finding Jupiter in fucli company, I will give up my own conjecture 
 of Pan, of which I am not over fond. The ram's head offered at his feet can 
 be no impediment to the hypothefis, as Jupiter was worfhipped in Egypt under 
 the form of a ram, though the Greeks drew him in human iliape with only the 
 horns of a ram, under the name of Jupiter x'Vmmon. But in fpite of all that I 
 can conjecture in favour of the more decent and modefl: nature of my antique I 
 am afraid that the weight of evidence will be found for its reprefenting Priapus ; 
 and even the decent placidity of his countenance will not avail, as Count 
 Caylus gives us two figures of Priapus with the head of Jupiter. But the 
 analogy, abo\e all others, that fixes its character, is a painting on an outfide 
 wall in Pompeia, reprefenting Priapus with a fl:ill more remarkable Phallus 
 furroundul with wine vefi^els and girls, one of whom is in the adt of ofi'ering 
 him a ram; — a ftriking coincidence! This curious fign-poft has led Antiquaries 
 to fufpeCt that the houfe was not of the belt fame; and I fhould be forry to 
 think that we had difcovered at the mouth of the Tyras the tomb of the matron 
 of a houfe of this denomination, who had been buried with the infignia of her 
 profefiion. 
 
 INIy fecond antique (fee Plate Til. fig. 2) is one of the Vafcs which belonged 
 to the largeft of the tombs, the fame as fkctched by the General, and, like 
 all the other objc(5ls, of potters' ware; it is two feet eight inches liigh, and three 
 
 feet
 
 438 APPENDIX. 
 
 feet eleven inches in circumference. Tt is incruftated infide and outfide with 
 fea-fhells in afolTile ftate ; a curious fadl which I fhall foon make ufe of to prove 
 the high antiquity of the tombs. It feems the Kados of the Greeks and the 
 Amphora of the Romans, both in form and fize ; a fa6l very evident from the 
 well-known figure of that antique wine veffel, fo pointed at the bottom as to be 
 incapable of Handing upright, if not fixed in the earth; wifely defi:ined for 
 an inclining pofition, fo as to make the liquor fwell the cork, and exclude the 
 air, as we place our modern bottles for the fame purpofe ; but I have likewife 
 afcertained the identity of my Vafe with the Greek and Roman jar, by mea- 
 furing the quantity of liquor that it can contain, which I find to be forty-eight 
 fextarii, or thirty-fix modern bottles, counting one pint and a half Englifli to 
 a fextarius, exaftly the quantity which the Amphora contained, the Diota 
 Sabina of Horace ; this our Euxine colonifl-s may have obtained from the famous 
 pottery on the ifland of Samos, which furniflied even Rome with the Vafa 
 Samia. 
 
 It may excite furprife to find only the common Greek and Roman wine 
 veflel employed as fepulchral urns in our Euxine Tombs ; for all that I have 
 either feen or heard of from thence are either the Amphora, or its fubdivifions 
 the Urnre and Modii, the one holding half, the other a quarter of the Am- 
 phora, or Kados. However, this pradlice does not feem to have been confined 
 to the colonies on the Black Sea, any more than the fingular confiiruc^ion of 
 their tombs without the ufe of any kind of cement to keep the plates together; 
 for thofe given in the lafi: Work of Sir William Hamilton, as the tombs of the 
 firfl: Greek colonies who fettled in Italy, are compofed exailly like ours, of 
 five large flat ftones put together without cement ; while the Vafes found in 
 them are exadlly of the fame form with mine, and both found, to make the 
 coincidence ftill more ftriking, at a confiderable depth from the prefent furface 
 of the earth ; nay, we even fee a fourth circumftance of agreement, in aflies 
 being found in none of the Vafes, but always, as with us, in theflione Oflliarii, 
 as I fometimes call tiiem, for want of a better name ; for thofe we are told 
 were fquare boxes. 
 
 But it muft be remarked, that it is only the fimplefi; and rudefl" of the many 
 Tombs and Vafes delineated and defcribed by the able Britifli minifter at 
 Naples, which refemble ours, and which both he and his learned friend M. 
 d'ltalenfky think by far the mofl: antient, and belonging to the firft colonifts 
 who emigrated to that part of Italy named by the anticnts Magna Grecia, 
 
 while
 
 APPENDIX. 4-3t^ 
 
 while the arts were ftill in their infancy in the mother country ; and we might 
 ahnoft hazard a conjecture, from the fingular affinity explained above in their' 
 fepulchres, that tlie colony which fettled at the mouth of the Dniefter left 
 Greece much about the fame time with the Italian emigrants. We likewife fee 
 by the valuable Work of Andrew Burdon, profcfTor of the Royal French 
 Academy of Painting, that the Antients occafionally ufed the Amphora form 
 in other parts of the world as both cinereous and lachrymal urns ; . of which he 
 has given a number found in tombs exadlly fimilar ; however, ours never could 
 have been intended for cinereous urns, as no cinders were found in any of- 
 them, any more than in thofe of Italy delineated by Sir William Hamilton, 
 unlefs we could fuppofe that the cork^J^ in the bottom of the Amphora has 
 been decompofed in fuch a number of ages, and the afhes returned to their 
 mother earth. As to their ferving as lachrymal urns, it would have been rather 
 abfurd to felecTt the Amphora, which would hold the tears of feveral colonies- 
 united ; fo that the ufe of thofe Vafes I fhall not take upon me to determine, 
 or whether they may not have been fuppofcd to contain wine, as vidluals are 
 placed on graves and tombs by fome nations (fee my " Ruffian Antiquities," 
 publifhed in French at St. Peterfburg 1795), a remnant of anticnt fuperftition 
 Hill exifting in our own days ; but indeed the pafTport and piece of coin put" 
 into the hands of a corpfe even by fome fpecies of Chriftians, fhow, that 
 material objedls are ftlU fuppofed ufcful to departed fpirits at the end of the 
 I 8th century. 
 
 I have now only to add a few words on the high antiquity and Grecian origin- 
 of the Euxine Tombs; boih, in my opinion, very demonftrable. 
 
 As to the general fadl of the North fhore of the Pontus Euxinus being once 
 planted with Greek colonies, there cannot be a doubt, as all the antient 
 liiftorians and geographers, from Herodotus down to Ptolemy, fpcak of them 
 as fettled at the mouths of all the great rivers running through Scytiiia into the 
 Black Sea. I fay, this fadl could not be doubted, if it had not even been men- 
 tioned at the end of a Tour wJicre the antient: hiftory, as well as modern 
 defcription, of moft of thofe cities are given, together with coins ftruck in 
 them with Greek infcripticns, both Imperial and Autonomatic. 
 
 «5 The Antients employed cork, wax, and refin, to fliut their Vafcs, exaaiy as the Modtm 
 ufc thefe fubftancci to cork bottles. 
 
 Now,
 
 440 APPENDIX. 
 
 Now, as to my reafon for thinking the Tombs difcovered by General 
 Wollant thofe of the Greek colony of Tyras, they are as follow : 
 
 Firft, there is ftrong internal and external evidence, from the ftile of the 
 workmanfhip of the antiques found in them, that they are Grecian. Secondly, 
 the ftriking refemblance of the Tombs themfelves, as well as the Vafes, with 
 thofe fuppofed to have belonged to the firft Greek colonies in Magna Grecia. 
 And, thirdly, the Greek letters ftill vifible on one of the Vafes in the General's 
 fketch, which led me to fufpedl them to be the Vafa Samia from the famous 
 pottery much in the courfe of velTels coming from the Ionian colonies in Alia 
 Minor, which carried on a great commerce with the Euxine ; and indeed the 
 people of Milet, juft by Samos, were the principal fettlers on this coaft. It is 
 another curious coincidence, that Sir William Hamilton mentions Greek letters 
 on fome of the antique Vafes found in the Tombs, which fo much refemble 
 ours. — So much for thefe Tombs having belonged to the Greeks ; and, as to 
 the particular city which filled them with afhes, &c. it muft certainly have been 
 that of Tyras ; as the other two Greek cities on the Dnieftcr, Ophiufa and 
 Niconia, are placed too high up the river, both by d'Anville and the Abbe 
 Earthelemy, to have buried their dead at its mouth, where the larger town of 
 Tyras flood till the time of the Romans; when Pliny the elder fays it was 
 moved to an ifland farther up, poffibly for greater fafety, or fome unknown 
 
 reafon. 
 
 Thus, I prefume, there is only left for me to prove that the tombs and antiques 
 treated of in this Memoir are as old as the exiftence of tlie faid Grecian colony, 
 ■which once ftood on the fpot where they were found ; a tafk rendered not 
 difficult by adverting to certain phenomena already hinted at in a curfory 
 
 manner. 
 
 My Vafe is incruftated with calcined fhells, not of the kind called d'luv'uin in 
 natural hiftory, which are often exotics, not found in the European feas, but 
 with fliells all natives of the Euxine, fuch as Oftrea, Madlray, Anomia, Sec. 
 It is evident then, that the Black Sea formerly rofe as high as the tombs, or it 
 could not have depofited its fhells on my Vafe; but now it is at the diftance 
 of feven verfts, or near five miles, from them. The Tombs likewife muft have 
 originally been placed near the furface of the earth to have received fuch a 
 depofition on a Vafe ftanding on a level with them ; but the General found 
 them buried ten feet below it. Surely thefe two ftmple fails require little 
 explanation to the learned, to fliow the number of ages neceflary for fuch a 
 
 retreat
 
 APPENDIX. 441 
 
 retreat of the fea, and fuch an elevation of the furfacc ; na}', even fuppofing that 
 our tombs had been originally buried at the depth of four feet, as Sir William 
 found thofe of Ttalj^, ftill there is an accuUiUlation of fix feet. 
 
 As to the firft phenomenon, or the number of years that the fea requires to 
 retreat to fuch adiflance, wc have but few certain obfervations on record to judge 
 from, except the port of Ravenna in Italy, confrrufted by Auguftus for 250 
 veflels of war, which is now at the difVance of near four miles from the fea. 
 However, our fa6l confirms the aflTertions of a number of antient authors with 
 regard to the gradual fall of the Euxine, and the theory of a celebrated modern 
 naturalifl:, whom we venerate in this country (Dr. Pallas), who accounts for the 
 formation of what he thinks a more modern horizontal ftratuni of earth on the 
 South coafi: of the Taurida, mixed with Euxine lliells, while thofe of the otiier 
 ftrata are moflily exotics, and inclined in a different dirccStion, by the fall of the 
 Euxine Sea. 
 
 As to the other phenomenon, or the time required for the formation of 
 vegetable earth, from tlie gradual decompofition of organic bodies, and the 
 accumulation of duft', &c. carried by the winds from one fpot to another, I 
 know of but one folitary inftance from which we can form a conjedlure, and 
 even that not very applicable to the cafe in point. 
 
 The learned hifl:orian of the fivmous Mount ^tna in Sicily, the Ahb6 
 Rofcoupero, informs us, that the wide ftratum of lava, erupted from the 
 mountain in the fecond punic war during the fiege of Syracufe, which flopped 
 a Roman army on its march, and obliged them to make the tour of jEtna to 
 arrive at their deftination, has as yet acquired in 2000 years not fufficient earth 
 to grow either corn or vines, though' certainly fome fine afhes muft occafionally 
 be blown that way during volcanos, independent of the decompofition of the 
 lava in fuch a lapfe of time, and the accumulation of dufl, feeds, leaves, &:c. 
 the fport of the winds in all countries. 1 he fame port of Ravenna, cited 
 above, would fhow, however, a much more prompt example of the accumu- 
 lation of foil ; as wc arc told, that, fo early as the fixth century,- vines grew 
 where the fleet of Auguftus rode five centuries before ; but as that port was 
 filled up with matter carried in by the fea and wind, no calculation can be 
 made from fuch a cafe ; and I fufpcft tliat the fame caufes may have operated 
 for a time at leafl: on our Tombs, or it woukl be otiierwife impofiible to account 
 /or fo uncommon an incrcafe of furface, wliicli I prcfume is without ex- 
 
 h L L. ample.
 
 412 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 ample. The conclufion that I would draw from thefe phenomena is, that 
 although, for the reafons given above, we cannot form any thing like an 
 accurate idea of the number of ages that our Tombs and other antiques have 
 lain where the General found them, ftill we may venture to conjedlure that 
 they are at leaft as old as when the Greeks inhabited the city of Tyras, before 
 Pompey conquered Mithridates Eupator, who then poflefled the Taurida and 
 adjacent countries, and of courfe was forced to cede them with his life to the 
 viiftorious Romans, as related in the Tour.
 
 ( **3 ) 
 
 N°. VII. 
 
 DESCRIPTION 
 
 Of a curious Egyptian Antique; in the Colledlion of Dr. MATTHEW 
 GUTHRIE, of St.Petersburg. 
 
 1 HIS curious Antique (fee Plate III. fig. i.) was given me by General de 
 KorfakofF, of the Artillery, well known in Ruflia for his tafte and collections 
 in the fine Arts and Natural Hiftory. I underflood, when I firft made the 
 valuable acquifltion, that it had been received from the fliores of the Euxine ; 
 but, on renewing the queflion, his Excellency told me, that he had led me into 
 an error ; for, on confulting afterwards the catalogue of his cabinet, he had 
 found the Antique given me noted there as brought from Egypt, with a 
 Mummy formerly in his pofleflion, and that the miftake Iiad arilen from a 
 wrong number being put on it, which referred to another object. 
 
 Before tliis explanation, however, I had fet it down as Egyptian in a Memoir 
 to the Antiquarian Society of London, from the well-known ftifF Itile of 
 Egyptian fculpture, never aiming at elegance, but always at durability, by 
 feldom rilking the lofs of a detaclied member, either concealed, or only Ihown 
 in relief on the folid block; which gives their (Vatues in general the aukward 
 flifF form and appearance of their mummies, of which the very objedl that I am 
 defcribing is an excellent example. 
 
 L L L 2 But
 
 444 APPENDIX. 
 
 But there arc other cogent reafons which ferve to determine the country 
 of my Antique ; fuch as its being cut into the well-known oblong form of the 
 facred Scarab?eus, an infe6t worlhipped in Egypt ; for which reafon they took 
 its form for the ftones cm which they engraved their amulets, whether in- 
 tended to be hung round the neck, ufed as a feal (before the ufe of the- 
 chirograph, or feal ring), or interred with the dead ; in all thefe cafes the 
 beetle-formed flones or amulets were conftantly covered with engraved objeds 
 which had a connection with their religion. For example, the Agathodemon, 
 or good demon, in form of a ferpent, was a favourite ob]e6t on their fepulchral 
 amulets ; as was their goddefs Ifis in her charafter' of Averfunca, or protedlrefs 
 againft the bad demon ; and therefore often found in what the Englilh call 
 mummy pits, as a guardiaji of the embalmed bodies depolited in thefe cata- 
 combs. I fhall likewife remark, in pafling, as it is not direftly connected with 
 my Antique, that fmall figures of Ofiris of baked clay, in matter and form 
 much refembling the lafli-mentioned guardian of the dead, are likewife often 
 found in the Egyptian catacombs interred with the mummies. 
 
 The Scarabaeus in my polTefTion, from its fuperior fize to the neck amulet 
 and feal J I fliould fuppofe may rather have been employed as an ex voto in fome 
 temple (likewife a ufe to which thefe facred ftones were put) ; or, what is flill 
 more probable, it may have been found buried with the mummy that it 
 accompanied to Europe, now in the Imperial mufeum of this city. 
 
 It appears to me to reprefent a Prieft of the Nile for the Mowing 
 reafons : '' 
 
 Firft, from the figure being cut C4i a ftone in the form of the facred 
 infecTl:. 
 
 Secondly, from the upper part of his face being covered with his black 
 mantle ; to indicate that the fource of the river was hid from its adorers, and 
 even its priefls. 
 
 Thirdly, from his white garb terminating in the mouth of a crocodile ; an 
 amphibious animal, fo common and dreaded in the N^le, as to render the 
 Ichneumon, or rat of Ph.ro, an object of worfhip, for its deftroying the 
 eggs of that voracious and dangerous monfter. The jaws of the crocodile 
 3 therefore fuppofe were placed where they are, to indicate the connection 
 of the figure with the NUe ; and indeed none of its emblems are fo well under- 
 J ftooda
 
 APPENDIX. 445 
 
 flood, thougli we fee the Sphinx"^', Lotus'^', Ibis''', and Sixteen Children"", 
 occalionaliy ufed as fuch, either fingly or two or three together, to diftinguifli 
 the perLbnification of the Nile from other river gods, fuch as the Tiber, Tigris, 
 Rhine, Euphrates, and Danube ; all reprefented inhuman forms by tlie Antients, 
 arid charafterifed by their peculiar attributes. 
 
 Tliere arc two objections which may be made by Antiquaries againft my 
 Antique reprefenting an Egyptian prieft ; but I flatter myfclf that they will be 
 removed by the following ohfervations : 
 
 The firft is, that the prieils of that country in general wore the plant 
 Perjea tied to their chin in lieu of their natural beard; but, as that vegetable 
 was facred to Ofiris, it was moft probably only indifpenf'able to his own 
 peculiar priefl-s, and not abfolutely nccefiary to all thofe of the other gods, of 
 which we have a proof in thofe of Horus wearing ihe lotus on their heads as a 
 diftingulfhing mark. 
 
 But I fliould think that the drefs of the priefls of the Nile muft Iiave been 
 regulated by the coftume of the god himfelf, who is reprefented in the fine 
 ftatue of the Nile in the Bclvidera as a venerable man, with a buHiy beard, 
 leaning on a fphinx and a crocodile, furrounded by fixteen children, all of 
 which are explained in the preceding Note ; the only attribute that l:e has in 
 common with other river gods is, a cornucopiae ; and, although that emblem 
 of plenty is certainly applicable to every one of them in fome degree, as the 
 fources of abundance in all hot climates, ftill the Nile, above all others, has a 
 fuperlative claim to the horn of plenty, as it alone fertilizes the fandy fields 
 of Egypt, which would be a defert without its annual inundations; wliile few 
 other countries depend for food on a fingle ftream. It would therefore appear, 
 
 *'* The Spliinx was ufed as an emblem of the Nile, from its allegoric compofition of Leo and 
 Vlrao, the figns of the zodiac in whlcli tin; ii.\n (wurlhipped in Egypt under tj;e name of ilurus) 
 is during the inundation of the river. 
 
 ^J' Ihe Lotus was anoliu-r emblem of the Nile, as a plant fac rt d to Ilorus, from bein" obfervcd 
 to rife with the I'un above the furface of thai river, and again return to its watery abode when the 
 fun fct in tlie evening. 
 
 *j" The Ibis was a third emblem of the Nile, as a bird worQiipped, or held facred for dc- 
 flroying the numerous ferpents hatched in the mud left by the inundations of that river. 
 
 "9 The Sixteen Children were a fourth emblem ; as by that allegory th- i.gyptians indicated Uie 
 fixteen cubits which the Nile rofe above its ordinary level in the molt plentiful and liappy years 
 for agriculture. 
 
 The tilth emblem I havf already mentioned (the voracious Crocodile) j and thefe were all em- 
 ployed on dirterciit rclicks of antiquity to charadcrife the Nile. 
 
 that.
 
 4.4G 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 that, tlie Niile being reprefented with a bufhy beard, it was the moft natural 
 drefs for its priefts, who would be out of character with the Perfca of Ofiris 
 hanging at their chins, to confound tliem with the niinifters of th.at deity ; and 
 of courfe the natural beard of my antique can be no objection to its repre- 
 fenting a prieft of the Nile, or indeed the river god hinifelf, as Mr. Bell, in 
 his "New Pantheon," (to whom we are obliged for a number of valuable 
 plates, and among the reft the Bclvidera ftatue, with all the other rivers men- 
 tioned above,) fays, he has feen a ftatue of the Nile, with b.is mantle drawn 
 half over his face''*", like the figure under defcription. 
 
 There is likewife an objeftion which may be made againft the antiquity 
 of my ScarabcTus, drawn from certain charafters engraven on the back, of the 
 mantle, regarded by fome as much more modern than the epoch of genuine 
 Egyptian fculpture; but I think even this apparently ftrong objeftion muft lofe 
 its force, when we know that the Abraxas in the difterent cabinets of Europe 
 are nothing elfe than Egyptian Scarabsi, disfigured and fcribbled on in various 
 charadters, Hebrew, Syriac, Coptic, Greek, &c. &c. by the Bafilidians or 
 Gnoftic Chriftians of Egypt, to convert them into tejfera bofpitalitcitis by marks 
 and figns only known among themfelves ; as with fuch a token in their pockets 
 they could travel through all Egypt, ever fure of fmding a hofpitablc reception 
 from the whole brotherhood. Now if we allow the truth of this afTertion by 
 the learned antiquary Count Caylus, to whofe refearches the world owes fo 
 much, the charafters on the mantle of this figure fhould not militate againft 
 the antiquity of my Scarab?eus, though they may have been placed there 
 many centuries after its fabrication ; as they may have no kind of conne6lion 
 with the original, and may merely be a mark of poftefiion, like a man's 
 n:ime on his book in Europe, if not a Gnoftic pafs-word, if ever my Scarabajus 
 ferved for a tejfera hofpilalitatis in th.e Eaft ; all as unknown to me as the 
 language, which, by the by, is on\\ fufpeBcd \o be modern; for no one here 
 underftands it. 
 
 P. S. I forgot to mention a collateral proof of my Scarabccus being 
 Egyptian, in the ftone being of that country, and of that fpecies called by 
 the Antients Lapis Hcracliaiius ; pofhbly from the place where it was firft 
 found, like the Labradore, though brought from Siberia. Count Caylus 
 found fome varieties of the Lapis Ileraclianus which effervefced with acids 
 
 like mine. 
 
 "=> See his Article " Nile," page 104. 
 
 THE END.
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page 123, line 6, from bottom, for Aiiflria, read AJIurias. 
 
 i6i, line 6, from bottom, ior both fons of Leucon, xtzdifon and grand/on of Leucon, 
 
 193, line 5, for Slarvi, read Staroi. 
 
 301;, line 14, for Shuralow, read Shuwahi/f. 
 
 291, line J9, for Bcluigo, read Belugo. 
 
 300, line 19, for ojA-. read oj7. 
 
 3i8j line 2, of the note, for Tmutaracan, read TamaracoT?, 
 
 329, line I, of the note, for Jhips, readf/tip. 
 
 360, line 15, {or Trojan, read Trajan. 
 
 375, line g, from bottom, for cr, read or^t 
 
 Jfi2, line 1) for Tomb, read Jbmf. 
 
 NjtiiOL* «ni^ SoK, tnnUrSf Jitd l,m i'ajlit^r, I'Uel-i>lrecl.
 
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