Histories

The Ister, the greatest of all rivers which we know, flows with the same volume in summer and winter; it is most westerly Scythian river of all, and the greatest because other rivers are its tributaries.

Those that make it great, five flowing through the Scythian country, are these: the river called by Scythians Porata and by Greeks Pyretus,[*](Probably the +Prut [28.166,45.5] (river), Europe Pruth; the modern names of the other four rivers mentioned here are matters of conjecture.) and besides this the Tiarantus, the Ararus, the Naparis, and the Ordessus.

The first-named of these rivers is a great stream flowing east and uniting its waters with the Ister; the second, the Tiarantus, is more westerly and smaller; the Ararus, Naparis, and Ordessus flow between these two and pour their waters into the Ister.

These are the native-born Scythian rivers that help to swell it; but the Maris river, which commingles with the Ister, flows from the Agathyrsi. The Atlas, Auras, and Tibisis, three other great rivers that pour into it, flow north from the heights of +Stara Planina (mountain range), Europe Haemus.[*](The +Balkan [29.6,37.966] (inhabited place), Denizli Ili, Ege kiyilari, Turkey, Asia Balkan range. None of the rivers in this chapter can be certainly identified; the names *ka/rpis and *)/alpis must indicate tributaries descending from the +Alps (mountain system), Europe Alps and +Carpathian Mountains [25.5,47] (mountain system), Europe Carpathians.) The Athrys, the Noes, and the Artanes flow into the Ister from the country of the Crobyzi in Thrace (region (general)), EuropeThrace; the Cius river, which cuts through the middle of +Stara Planina (mountain range), Europe Haemus, from the Paeonians and the mountain range of +Nomos Rodhopis [25.5,41.83] (department), Western Thrace, Greece, Europe Rhodope.

The Angrus river flows north from +Illyria (region (general)), Europe Illyria into the Triballic plain and the Brongus river, and the Brongus into the Ister, which receives these two great rivers into itself. The Carpis and another river called Alpis also flow northward, from the country north of the Ombrici, to flow into it;