Res Gestae

Those who dwell on the western side of the lofty mountain Coronus[*](In Parthia.) abound in fields of grain and vineyards,[*](Polyb. v. 44, 1.) enjoy the fertility of a productive soil, and are rich in rivers and clear springs.

Their green meadows produce a noble breed of horses, on which their chiefs (as the writers of old say, and as I myself have seen) when entering battle are wont to ride full of courage. These horses they call Nesaean.[*](Cf. Herodotus, vii. 40; Strabo, xi. 13, 7; 14, 9. Others say that they were used only for the kings’ chariots.)

Therefore Media abounds in rich cities, in villages built up like towns, and in a great number of inhabitants; it is (to speak briefly) the richest residence of the kings.

In these parts are the fertile fields of the Magi, about whose sects and pursuits—since we have chanced on this point—it will be in place to give a few words of explanation. According to Plato,[*](Ax. 371, D; Isoc. ii. 28, 227 A.) the most eminent author of lofty ideas, magic, under the mystic name of hagistia,[*](ἁγιστεία, (ritual, holy rites. ) is thepurest worship of the gods. To the science of this, derived from the secret lore of the Chaldaeans, in ages long past the Bactrian Zoroaster[*](For Zarathustra, the founder of the Perso-Iranian native religion, which prevailed from 559 B.C. to A.D. 636. The Greek and Roman writers assign his birth to various places, into which his religion was introduced; it was probably Bactria, or western Iran. His date is also uncertain; Aristotle put it 6000 years before the death of Plato (Pliny, N.H. xxx. 3), others 1000 B.C.) made many contributions, and after him the wise king Hystaspes,[*](Hystaspes was not king. Others regard a much earlier Hystaspes as the teacher of magic.) the father of Darius.

When Zoroaster had boldly made his way into the unknown regions of Upper India, he reached a wooded wilderness, whose calm silence the lofty intellects of the Brahmins control. From their teaching he learned as much as he could grasp of the laws regulating the movements of the earth and the stars, and of the pure sacrificial rites. Of what he had learned he communicated something to the understanding of the Magi, which they, along with the art of divining the future, hand on from generation to generation to later times.

From that time on for many ages down to the present a large class of men of one and the same descent have devoted themselves to the service of the gods.[*](Their priesthood was hereditary, handed on from father to son.) The Magi also say (if it is right to believe them) that they guard on ever-burning braziers a fire sent down from heaven in their country, and that a small portion of it, as a good omen, used to be carried before the Asiatic kings.

The number of Magi of this origin in old times was very small, and the Persian potentates made regular use of their services in the worship of their gods. And it was sin to approach an altar, or touch a sacrificial victim, before one of the Magi, with a set form of prayer, poured the preliminary libations. But they gradually increased in number and became a strong clan, with a name of their own; they possessed country residences, which were protected by no great walls,[*](I.e. without walls.) and they were allowed to live in accordance with their own laws, and through respect for religion were held in high esteem.

From this seed of the Magi, as the ancient records relate, seven men after the death of Cambyses mounted the Persian

In this neighbourhood the Medic oil is made. If a missile is smeared with this oil and shot somewhat slowly from a loosened bow (for it is extinguished by a swift flight), wherever it lands it burns persistently; and if one tries to put it out with water, he makes it burn the more fiercely, and it can be quelled in no other way than by throwing dust upon it.[*](Cf. 4, 15, above, where Ammianus uses similar language of the malleoli; and 6, 16.)

Now, the oil is made in this way. Those who are skilled in such matters take oil of general use, mix it with a certain herb, and let it stand for a long time and thicken, until it gets magic power from the material. Another kind, like a thicker sort of oil, is native to Persia, and (as I have said)[*](6, 16, above.) is called in that language naphtha.

In these lands are many scattered cities; greater than all the rest are Zombis, Patigran and Gazaca.[*](Called Gaza by Strabo and Pliny, the capital of Atropatene.) Conspicuous for their wealth and their mighty walls are Heraclia, Arsacia, Europos,[*](According to Strabo, xi. 13, 6, Arsacia and Europos were the same city, also called Khaga or Khagae.) Cyropolis and Ecbatana,[*](Cf. Hdt. i. 98; to-day Hamadan.) all situated at the foot of

Many streams flow through this country, of which the greatest are the Choaspes, Gyndes,[*](This river is in Syria, not in Media.) Amardus, Charinda, Cambyses, and Cyrus. To this last, a great and beautiful river, the elder Cyrus, that lovable king, when he was hastening on his way to seize the realms of the Scythians, gave that name in place of its older one, because it is valiant, as he himself also was said to be, and forcing its way with the exercise of great power, as he did, flows into the Caspian Sea.

Beyond these tracts, but extending farther to the south, next to the seacoast lies Old Persia, rich in small fruits,[*](Fruits and leguminous vegetables.) date-palms, and an abundance of excellent water. For many rivers flow through it into the above-mentioned gulf, the greatest of which are the Batradites,[*](Unknown; apparently the Arosis in Susiana.) Rogomanius, Brisoana, and Bagrada.

But the inland cities are the greater -and it is uncertain for what reason they built nothing conspicuous along the seacoast-notable among which are Persepolis,[*](With striking ruins; the other cities are unknown. Ammianus omits Pasargada, the second city after Persepolis, unless Ardea is a corruption of this.) Ardea, Habroatis, and Tragonice. But only three islands are to be seen there: Tabiana, Fara, and Alexandria.