Bounm- weft the'frontiers correfpond with thofe between Afia and Europe.
*ISS’ The fouthern limits .require more explanation-. The river Cuban, part
of the Caucafian chain, and an ideal line, divide the Ruffian territdry
from Turkey-and-Perfia. s The boundary then afcends alongpfehe north
of the Gafpian^throughrthe ftepp pr'fkfart'ofrlffim, ,and the eaftem
ftiore -df the river Ob, to where it iffues from'the Altaian mountains,
when it meets the vaft empire of China; and. proceeds along that
chain to, tfre fources,of the Onon, where it includes a confidetable
re^on called Daouria, extending aboutr 2oq_ miles in breadth, to-the
fouth of the mountains called Yablonnoythe -limit between Ruffia
and Chmefe Tatary being partly an ideal line, and partly the r-iver Ar-
gpon, which; joined with the .Onon ctmffitutesjhe great,rjyfer Amur.
Thence the boundary returns to'the mountainous -.chain, and |oJlow$,
a branch of it to a promontqry on the north of the--mouth of the
Amur.
Orirfna! Po- The population of Afiatic Ruffia may be regarded as wholly primi-
puiation. t i y(. p-gppp t a few Ruffian colonies recently planted, .-and the^gghuk-s
in the part oppofite to America, who have been fuppofed to,have proceeded
from that continent, as already mentioned* becaufe.their perfons
and cuftoms are different from thofe of the other Afiatic tribes. Next
tp the Techuks, in the furtheft north, are the'Yukagirs, a branch-of the
Yakuts,* and yet further weft the Samoieds. To the foUth of the Te-
chuka are the Coriaks, a branch of the fame race: and ydt’ furthexA'fbuth
the KamcHadals, a diftina people, who fpeak'a differefrt -ljailguSge. \ The
Lamuts are a part of the Mandfhurs or Tungufes, who havp been
vaguely called Tartars or Tatars, though They neither belong ,40: that
race nor to the- Monguls. The Tungufes are widely diffufed between
the Yenifei and the Amur and the fouthern tribes-ruled by i. khan or
monarch, conquered China in the feventeenth century.' The Oftiaks,
and other tribes of Samoieds, have penetrated confiderably to the fouth
between the Yenifei and the irtifh, and are followed by various tribe«
of the'Monguls, as the Calmucs, Burats, &c., and by thofe of the Tatars
• The Yakuts are expelled Tatars from the fouth, as the Ruffian writers decide from their lan- .
guage,-traditions, and manners. The far greater part o f the Monguls and Mandihurs are fubjedt
to c^ n a : and the Tatars are beftobferved in Independent Tatary. or
tpr Htfns* s&n&g Telltlf,; KirghfesV' Ad others'. The radically diftinfr
flkngjiage’s- amount to'* fevenf;iri!diepeifdent 'of many dialefts and mix-
■ tUris.*;-.
*■ & JThe vaff extentfiofr northern Afia was; firfL known by the name of
Sibir or Siberia';* btit {this feems gradually to pafs into difufe.
When" the Monguls 'efta'blifbetfoa kingdom* in tshefe northern.
. regions',“ the firft rjffidehceTof. t-he-p'rin'c^s was on "the, riyer T-ura, on the
fpot twhefe' now ftands the^fowb of ThimenJ about 180 milesJS.W. Of
•Tpholfk.1; But thm khans-afterwards moved to the eaftern fhore of the.
Irtifh, w-here‘they foundad< the cit^ofTfeerlmeanTphallk." This new
refidence was alfd- callediSibir, from'what etymon* or; caufe-i'sl not ex-..
plamTed'^ .and the name of'the city patted tdvthe’.MonguUprincipalityvf.
When-the Ruffiansbegan the, conqueft of the .country, being uncon,—
, fiffehs ©fits extent, thd name of this weftern province;was; gradually
diffufed ?oyer half o£-Afia.
The progrefljve geography bf this vaft part,of Afia commences at a
recent period ; nor was it difclofed to5 the attention' of -civilized lEnrope
till the middle of the fixteenth' century. Tt is'indeed-aftngblaf circum-,
, ftanee~in human affairs, that -America may.Befaiefcito hahe-been dif-
covered-before-! Afia* though it be natural ,to' fuppofe that, the latter
would have engaged, .a more deep and immediate intereft, becaufe the
b^rbarojus fwarms in the extremity of Afia, fiad!' repeate-dLyv:aftonifhed
and1- almoft fubjugated Europe. It has, ^already- been- mentioned-that/in
1242 the Monguls under SKeibani eftabliftied a principality *in. the
- weftern part of Siberia, around Tqbolfk, and the . river , Tura, whence,
this principality was 'fonrntimes ftyldcb that of Turati:$yVTfte hiftory of
this diftant principality is,oMc,ure, and loft in the fuperior fplendoUr pf,
the ojher ■ Mongul -dynafties. ,
In the reign of Ivan Vafilivitch,1 the ..fifft .oftboth thefe names, and by
. his conqueft over the Tatars-the, founder of Ruffian gr'eatnefs^ fome- in-
* See the Hift. dea Dehou^ertea Ruffes,r&c. Berne 1779- 17*7. 6tols 8V0., being an^abfttaft' '
. of the travels of Pallas, Gnielin, Ghiorghi, &c. y
* Tooke’s Ruffia, is 60.
t This is doubtful, Coxe, 1S2.' Muller thinks the denomination "was ufed by the Pertnians, a *
Finniffi nation on the confines of Siberia. ’
* 4 This mull not-l>e confounded wffcji fhe-Toutan' (o^yataryhofthe Perfialls.
* G 2 , '• ‘ curfions
O rig in a l
P o ru L A -
TiqN.
Names. J
Trogreffive
Geography.