and twenty-two nations, though the whole has the general name of Parthia.
To the westwards, Babilonia, Chaldea, and Mesopotamia are between the
rivers Tigris and Euphrates. Within this country there are twenty-eight
nations, the northern boundary being Mount Caucasus, and the Red Sea to the
south. Along the Red Sea, and at its northern angle, are Arabia, Sabaea,
and Eudomane, or Idumea. Beyond the river Euphrates, quite westward to the
Mediterranean, and northward to Mount Taurus, even into Armenia, and
southward to near Egypt, are many countries, namely Comagene, Phenicia,
Damascena, Coelle, Moab, Ammon, Idumea, Judea, Palestine, and Sarracene,
all of which are comprehended under the general name of Syria. To the north
of Syria are the hills called Taurus, and to the north of these are
Capadocia and Armenia, the former being to the westward of the latter; and
to the westward of Capadocia is the country called the lesser Asia. To the
north of Capadocia is the plain called Temisere, and betwixt Capadocia and
lesser Asia are Cilicia and Isauria. Lesser Asia is entirely surrounded by
salt water, except to the eastward; having the Euxine on the north, the
Propontis and Hellespont on the west, and the Mediterranean on the south.
In it is the high mountain of Olympus.

§ 5. To the northward of _hither_ Egypt is Palestine, to the eastwards
the land of the Sarracens, to the west is Libia, and to the south the
mountain called Climax. The head of the Nile is near the _cliffs_ of
the Red Sea, though some say it is in the western part of Africa, near
Mount Atlas, whence it flows over a large track of land, till it sinks;
after which, it proceeds in its course, till it becomes a great sea, or
wide river[14]. The spot where the river takes its rise is called by some
Nuchal, and by others Dara. Hence, for some distance from the wider part,
_before_[l5] it rises from the sand, it runs westward to Ethiopia,
where it is called Jon, till it reaches the eastern part, where it becomes
a wide river[16], and then it sinks again into the earth; after which it