HjBBKttii
Sog<U
Progreffive
Geography,
the tefidencè ofAbülgazi.and Khiva, afmriltoWn, butthe-reMèUêe ó f *
,a khaftA'■
Tb the 6.' óf the -range M theJAk Tab appears the1 fertile Te^irih Óf
•'Spèd^ the Apcieht Sogdiaria, with TtA ^eapïtll BamA^knlV vrindth^ith
Vafli and Kotlah, TeetrièAo have cbnftitutéti the: Mawéralhar%f^;arferttal
' ‘gee^aphjvtfmplymg thb t^imtry heyoèéthb nVer ® b e n ë i ©ktis;nc©iv
thé S. the-provinces of Balk, Kilan, Tokaréftan, ahd ‘Gaur, terminate
-the hóunds of Independent Tafary, here feparated by tiéfeitfs’ on Thé W.
from the PerfiAn province of Córafan. In genera! Kharizéi oft the W.
•is not> confideréd as.a part
irnift be regarded as‘ embracing -the whole extent* from the mountains
of Argun and fdutdes' of thëttver flak, to the eóhfihes bf (HTfidofisla. •;
In ancient, periods Wqftern Tufkiftan, and*the Uorth of'^Êé' Cafpiah,'
.w^re the feats of the Maffagetae; to ihe.S. of whom were- thetSbythiam
on this fide of the Imaüs or fielur Tagd* iS ^ ö é f 'tlfiè.
Imaus are defcribed by Ptoletny as réftridted to AcöidirieÜftFip qf ferri*
-*My bn the eallera fide •ofthe Imaüs, and divided b y an iftiai^öalcf liftfe
froth the Seres, who were Undoubtedly the peopleof Iiitlé! Bdéfiariai.
But as ancient knowledge here terminated, tS¥$j2’ *èhé-Scythians
beyond the I-maus not only held the eadJèrn 1 rid ^ s b f ‘théfe
mountains, as a barbarous race’ continues ‘to do Mthbft’lttibfeftingv the
induftry of the diftant plains, but that they were diffufed alon^'fhe-ridge
of Alak and the wide region called Geté, extending as far as the mountains
of Bogdo, till they werfe expelled or fubdued by. more numerbuS
or powerful nations from the èaft.
As it is now grabted by all geographers that the rangé èüllöd Bèluf
Tag reprëfènts the Imaus, and that this range runs from 'Nü tb^Sv, förm-
ing the eaftern boundary of Great Bucharia, it will be dear from' Ptolemy’s
deicription and maps that Serica can be no other country but
Little Bucharia, always poffeffed by an induftrious and intelligent race
of men. Not only the ridge of Imaus; but the remarkable courfe of
tw o cónfiderable rivers towards the N, E., while all his other Afiat'iC •
dreams have very different diredions, fufficiently indicate Littlé Bucha*-
ria, in which the rivers correfpond with Ptolemy’s delineation, the Oe-
6 chardes
chardes being „probably.die Qxankâfet of modern -maps, tat, perhaps thé
-riwercbf Yareand W r
diat!bi|^ari'a.: ) fTAnvillé’ has transferred •rhé'îcapitalf 'df ' this cauntryas
far eaft as Kaatçheoai, which belongs1 to the AHhinefe province of Shenli,
ftandiag-on .the river .Eteins, viwhi'dh bethinks cbfemtd^s tiftte Bautifus
of Ptolemy ; and-he adds that .the Jaritudccorugfpo&ds with that of Pto-
'lenjy’ss/Sera; I. a 'cogent f ar.gumëitât* :? hodptyb t, whiM|ijaR-iiha%{ author’s
foqgitudes and tetrtudfe in ' eaftern Aha>are'-completely. e*ppgebus|* It
is truly fur.priling that this -able.' geographer Ihquld thus infer that the
-ancients had paffed the great defect .ef Goba, or had difepvsjgd Ghitxa
by laud, without itherfmalleft acquaintance-with Tib-ell fi The1 plan/oftlfe
learned Gqffedm reftribted him tolpurfue only thefea Goads, but he ex-
preiTes his opipion -that Sera muft^ot be placpd at,,fo great a diftanpp
to the eaft.‘ It has already been lhewn that thes numerous,,- ajp,d
inaeceffible, pun tains of \Yeftern Tibtet have prevepted evçi?. t-he jnorieçusirôm
acquiring a jyft knowledge of that country,^jvhiçhj from the
fame ' unavoidable qaufe, was tç^allynunknown to, th’e ancients ; and
there is no region but Little Bucharia which cah’correfpbnd ,to Ptole-
.m ^ s^ ric a .
The connexion hetwqen the two Bucharias ha^'^ccationea The' in-
trbddïïtïun oiiï.t;Èis difquiÇüoft „hefq, Vfnerç it ileemed that tHe’fubjedt
would' appear more ' clear and connedfed than if a parfipnTy had been
cohfidered in the[account óf Chmefe Tatary. It -Is to 'be lamënfè'd that
the details concerning Little Buchària are< lb imperfect, ,that few .oorix-1
ppriions can be iaftituted between the modern names and'fffùaiiohs arid
thofe of Ptolemy) whofe knowledge dpçs not appear to h‘iye_extended
further than Sp° frpm Greenwich, * D’Anyilletlpgpo|es that the mountains
of Anna^i are thofe of Altai ; but th,ey are Qle^dy .tl|ofs ,of A3ak
(called by fpmfe Mufart), pn the N. of^Littfe Bucbari%. ( His^vsfps of
Au^§i%»;'|ffe4qa^..#Pti might perhaps l?e j^in tq^tt^pe iafh e .
fpeedy heclines and changes, of Afjariç townSj.évenùf wepoireired.aJîiple
and accurate maps of Little.Bucharia. The mountains' on, the S. cor- '
refpond with the chain-of Mus Tag* ôr the Mountains'of Ice;.on t^e '
" 1 G cog. des Grecs. Anal, p, 132.
P r o g r e -s -
si.vle G eo-
N. of