BKoyjscfis.? by the lake of Zerégfpôr- Zurfa; the grand Aria Palus■ of antiquity. The
claffica'l provinces comprized within Corafan are in the-Nr Maigiaha and
inthfeSuAriaC
. 'iBefi§ÿ| thefeprovinces, and exdüfivg'of Afiattih TiiAl|E>n AT'.'
thel ânèieiit Peffian empire co'mprifëd'îBàOtriana^or Balk; which -may- be
termed a wide and well- watere'd>kifigd;0mreft between*vg'.o©ïand 400 B.
miles fqu'ate ; and on the other 1 -of the Oxusy Sögdiaioa;vorthe «tófB-fc
try on the river Sogd, .whichqpaffeà:by -mqderntSamarGâhdr* Nay the
fifteenth fa trapy: o f’Herodotus cdmprifes^the Sack and Cafpiiy pfpbabl y
the-cötintry o f Shafh, and fome Other’ tribesmearer ;theiCafpiah ifea^jfor-
it Would be bold to comprize in the Pérfian dömainsJanypartpF'Seythia.;
beyond the. I m aus, ••«*? inr other-yrof jHBwt
Ptoiëmóy’s exterior Scythia-is a mere ftripr and probably only reprefents
the hills and forefts bn the E. fideJöf theTîelur Tag. ‘ This province, o f
thè^Saçk and Gafpii adjoined cm the. W. toi Garâfmia,. which, belonged,
to the Sixteenth fatrapy, andris now the defeftfpaee of Kharifm, w-ithi
the fmall territory of Khiva.
The countries laft mentioned form fo eonfideraMe a .part -ofw.haf is-
called Independent Tatary, and have in all ages been fo intimately con^
netled with Perfian hiftory, that fome account o f them fhall be. annexed}
' toi this article j which, joined with thaf jp«th£iChtne^p0ipi^,.jeiill
complété the defeription o f the countries between the dominion? ofthat.
great flûte, and thofeof Ruffia and Perfia, fo far as, the very iinperfedt
materials will àllow.
The moft recent divifion of Perfia into two kingdoms,.and fome fmall :
independencies,, can be weighed with greater accuracy after a ihort view
of its modern hiftory, which will follow ;the hiftorical epochs, and anti- ■
quittes. But it muft not be omitted that the progreffive, geography of this
celebrated country may be traced through Strabo, Pliny, the hiftoriana
of Alexander, and other, claflical fqurces ; and afterwards through .the
Arabian authors Ebn Haukal, Edrifi, Abulfedaj &c. &c* to the modern
labours..of\Chardin, and. other intelligent travellers.
* There is either a "prodigious error in. Ptolemy, or his Maracanda is,1 in the weft o f the
country of Balk, perhaps the modern Marabad, The Maracanda of Arrian it- clearly Samar-
cand. ! -.
The
The'cpief hiftoricat epochs"lof^tqe Perhah^ernpirp may bearranged in Historicaj,
the Toll owing order'. ’ ’
■” *T. Theoc^ttiians*, pr K4fbarbus^inHa^itahts’ Of "Perfia, according tq the
■ aScoun^ o f ,’Juftin ^conquered a '-great part of Afia, and attacked 'pgypf
abbut i 5 ob^years before the reign of Ninus the founder of the Aflyrian.
moparehvf that is |tf Tar a^Tnerfamtiight b f chronology can pretend to
fuch' retfi.ole }£$$$& ^ f i^ ^ t fe l^ r lf t ia n ■ .
sera. -The Egyptians, a people of Aflyrian ex-traflt, as the Coptic lan-
guagiPfeems to- evince, vyere -froriBfuperior local ;adyantag£Sfcivjlized at
a more early period ; and their genuine .chronology;feems toi.■ begin
about 4000’;years, before Chrift. The venerable hiftorical.. records, cqnV
tamed in the Scriptures atteft the early civilization and ancient polity of
the Egyptians;; but as the Aflyrians fpread far to the eaft of Judea, they
feem to be. Rent concerning the Perfians,.except a fatrap or two be im-^
plied," .«The firil feat'-y>f the Perfifin monarchy^was pr.pb.aUyj• in thav
N. E. -on me river Ox?»s ; .while .the, Aflyrians poffeffed .the.Eugh^ateg
and tfie Tigris, aod^beS. jW* pEPerfia..- There is no evidence whatever,
from reporcisf Remains ,of antiquity, or any probable mdp.dtion, ‘
that this <pknetj has been inhahitjed ahoyp fix.^pr-feven.'tjLpufand yegxs.
The ipVentioru an'd.progrfefs of the ,arts, ithe ^mythologges aKd££,h r o no fogies'of
all nations, except the Hindoos, indicate this term as the utn^oft-'
limit; b’efpre which, i f men had ekifted, indelible, -traces*of them muft
have" appeared,'whereas/hiftory ban Recount fo p e v e ry^ e lk that is.
found. For the great antiquity of the earth there are many evidences
but none for tK# antiquity o f ’tnan. '
The hiftory "of ‘the Aflyrian empire begitfs with, Ninus ySput 216,0,
yeara;befb^e’ tcH-rift, who 4s laid toth^vf tformed an alfiance with the;
king of Arabia, and, in conjunction with him, to have fu.bdped all-Afia,,,
except India and, Baftriana; that is, according to tJie^apqiqRt.knowledge,
lie fubdued Afia Minor and-tfie weft o f Perfia..
2. Zoroafter king of. Baiftriana is faidiitp have been contemporary
with Ninus, and to haye invented magic,; that is', (he was a wife man,
who could produce uncommon effects ,by common caufes. Bpt tfie
hiftory of this Perfian lawgiverlis loft in remote antiquity,? The city of
Babylon, not far to the S; o f Bagdad, being the capital o f A d r ia n ’
i- ' power;