Listed 19 sub titles with search on: Various locations for wider area of: "MESSOPOTAMIA Ancient area PERSIAN GULF" .
ASSYRIA (Ancient country) PERSIAN GULF
Artemita (Artemita, Strab. xi. p. 519, xvi. p. 744; Ptol. vi. 1. §
6; Steph.; Isid. Char. p. 5; Artemita, Plin. vi. 26; Tab. Peutinger.), a city
of Assyria, or perhaps more strictly of Babylonia (Strab. xi. p. 519), in the
district of Apolloniatis (Isid. Char.); according to Strabo (xvi. p. 744) 500
stadia (Tab. Peuting. 71 mill.) E. of Seleucia, and 8,000 stadia N. of the Persian
Gulf. (Strab. xi. p. 519.) According to Tacitus (vi. 41) it was a Parthian town,
in which Stephanus (on the authority of Strabo, though that geographer does not
say so) coincides with him. Pliny (vi. 26) places it wrongly in Mesopotamia. It
was situated on a river called the Sillas. The modern Sherban is supposed to occupy
its site.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Messabatene (Plin. vi. 27. s. 31; Messabatike. Strab. xi. p. 524: Eth. Messabatai, Ptol. vi. 4. § 3), a narrow district in the mid-land of Susiana (as indeed its name implies), situated according to Pliny under Mt. Cambalidus (one of the southern spurs of Mt. Zagros), to the N. of the tribe of the Cossiaei. Strabo states that it lies under Zagrus, and is either a part of Media, or, as others hold, of Elymaea (xi. p. 524): in another place he calls Massabatice an eparchate of Elymaea, and adds that the best pass into Assyria lay through it (xvi. p. 744). Ptolemy (l. c.), who does not mention the district by its name, makes the Messabatae the inhabitants of Paraetacene, itself a subdivision of Persis, adjoining Media.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Zabatus (Zabatos), a river of Assyria, first noticed by Xenophon (Anab. ii. 5. § 1, iii. 3. § 6), and the same as the Lycus of Polybius (v. 51), Arrian (Anab. iii. 15), and Strabo (ii. p. 79, xvi. p. 737). It is called Zabas by Ammianus (xviii. 14) and Zerbis by Pliny (vi. 26. s. 30). There can be no doubt that it is now represented by the Greater Zab, a river of considerable size, which, rising in the mountains on the confines of Armenia and Kurdistan, flows into the Tigris a little to the S. of the great mound of Nimrud (Tavernier, ii. c. 7; Layard, Nineveh and its Remains, i. p. 192.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
MEGALI SELEFKIA (Ancient city) MESSOPOTAMIA
The river, junction with the Euphrates by a canal, Ninus on it, Ampe on it.
Total results on 24/7/2001: 136 for Tigris, 37 for Tigris;River.
MESSOPOTAMIA (Ancient area) PERSIAN GULF
Balissus (Balissos, Plut. Crass. 23), a small river in Mesopotamia,
below Carrhae, where the first battle took place between the soldiers of Crassus
and the Parthians; and where Publius, the son of Crassus, and many of his men,
were cut off. The name of this river appears under various forms, but there can
be no doubt that the Balissus of Plutarch, the Belias of Ammianus (xxiii. 3),
and the Bilecha (Bilecha) of Isid. Char. (p. 3), are one and the same stream.
It flowed in a westerly direction from the Chaboras (Khabur), past Callinicum,
and fell into the Euphrates. Its present name is said to be Belikhe. (Forbiger,
vol. ii. p. 628.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited October 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Birtha (Birtha, Ptol. v. 18; Virta, Amm. Marc. xx. 7. § 17: Tekrit), an ancient fortress on the Tigris to the S. of Mesopotamia, which was said to have been built by Alexander the Great. It would seem, from the description of Ammianus, to have resembled a modern fortification, flanked by bastions, and with its approaches defended by out-works. Sapor here closed his campaign in A.D. 360, and was compelled to retire with considerable loss. D'Anville (Geog. Anc. vol. ii. p. 416) identifies this place with Tekrit, in which Gibbon (vol. iii. p. 205) agrees with him. St. Martin (note on Le Beau, vol. ii. p. 345) doubts whether it lay so much to the S. The word Birtha in Syriac means a castle or fortress, and might be applied to many places. From the known position of Dura, it has been inferred that the remarkable passage of the Tigris by Jovian in A.D. 363 took place near Tekrit. (Atmm. Marc. xxv. 6. § 12; Zosim. iii. 26.) Towards the end of the 14th century, this impregnable fortress was stormed by Taimur-Bec. The ruins of the castle are on a perpendicular cliff over the Tigris, about 200 feet high. This insulated cliff is separated from the town by a broad and deep ditch, which was no doubt filled by the Tigris. At the foot of the castle is a large gate of brick-work, which is all that remains standing; but round the summit of the cliff the walls, buttresses, and bastions are quite traceable. There are the ruins of a vaulted secret staircase, leading down from the heart of the citadel to the water's edge. (Rich, Kurdistan, vol. ii. p. 147; comp. Journ. Geog. Soc. vol. ix. p. 448; Chesney, Exped. Euphrat. vol. i. pp. 26, 27; Ritter, Erdkunde, vol. x. p. 222.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Mascas (Maskas, Xenoph. Anab. i. 5. § 4), a small river of Mesopotamia,
mentioned by Xenophon in the march of Cyrus the Younger through that country.
It flowed round a town which he calls Crosote, and was probably a tributary of
the Euphrates. Forbiger imagines that it is the same as the Saocoras of Ptolemy
(v. 18. § 3), which had its rise in the neighbourhood of Nisibis.
Masius (to Masion oros, Strab. xi. pp. 506, 527; Ptol. v. 18. § 2), a chain of mountains which form the northern boundary of Mesopotamia, and extend in a direction nearly east and west. They may be considered as connecting the great western mountain known by the name of Amanus, between Cilicia and Assyria, and the Niphates, on the eastern or Armenian side. The modern name is Karja Baghlar. Strabo states, that M. Masius is in Armenia, because he extends Armenia somewhat more to the W. and S. than other geographers. A southern spur of the Masian chain is the mountain district round Singara (now Sinjar).
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Mesene (Mesene, Strab. ii. p. 84), a small tract of land in ancient
Mesopotamia, about the exact position of which there has been much discussion,
owing to the indistinct and confused accounts of it which have been preserved
in ancient authors. The real cause of this would seem to be that there were two
districts at no great distance one from the other, both of which, from similar
reasons, bore the name of Mesene, or Middle-Land. One of these was near the mouths
of the Tigris, where that river is divided into two branches, corresponding to
the modern tract called Shat-al-Arab (Steph. B. s. v. Mesene.) To this Mesene
must be referred the passage in Philostorgius (H. E. iii. 7), in which he states
that the Tigris, before it reaches the sea, is divided into two great branches,
forming an extensive island, which is inhabited by the Meseni. To this also belongs
the Mesene, mentioned in the history of Trajan by Dion Cassius, who calls it an
island in the Tigris, over which Athambilus was the ruler (lxviii. 28). The other
was much higher up on the same river, and has derived its chief importance from
its capital Apameia. Stephanus speaks of this tract in two places ; first (s.
v. Apameia), where he states that that city is surrounded by the Tigris, where
that river is divided into two streams, of which that on the light hand is called
Delas, and that on the left bears the name of Tigris; and secondly (s. v. Oratha),
where he asserts that Oratha is a town of Mesene, which is near the Tigris, according
to Arrian, in the 16th book of his Parthica.
Pliny evidently refers to this Mesene, when he is speaking of Apameia,
which town he states to have been 125 miles on this side (i.e. to the N.) of Seleuceia;
the Tigris being divided into two channels, by one of which it flows to the S.
and to Seleuceia, washing all along Mesene (vi. 27. s. 31). There might have been
some doubt to which Mesene Ammianus refers; but as he mentions Teredon, which
was near the mouth of the Tigris, it is probable that he is speaking of the former
one (xxiv. 3). The district in the neighbourhood of the Apameian Mesene has been
surveyed with great care by Lieut. Lynch; and, from his observations, it seems
almost certain that the more northern Mesene was the territory now comprehended
between the Dijeil and the Tigris. (Roy. Geogr. Journ. vol. ix. p. 473.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Singara (ta Singara, Dion Cass. xviii. 22), a strongly fortified post at the northern extremity of Mesopotamia, which for awhile, as appears from many coins still extant, was occupied by the Romans as an advanced colony against the Persians. Its position has not been clearly defined by ancient writers, Stephanus B. calling it a city of Arabia, near Edessa, and Ptolemy placing it on the Tigris (v. 18. § 9). There can, however, be no doubt that it and the mountain near it, called by Ptolemy d Singaras oros (v. 18. § 2), are represented at the present day by the district of the Singar. It appears to have been taken by Trajan (Dion Cass. lxviii. 22); and as the legend on some of the coins reads AUP. OEP. KOL. OINGARA. and bears the head of Gordian on the obverse, it appears to have formed a Roman colony under the emperors Severus and Gordian. It was the scene of a celebrated nocturnal conflict between Constantius and Sapor, the king of Persia, the result of which was so unsatisfactory that both sides claimed the victory. (Amm. Marc. xviii. 5; Eutrop. x. 10; Sext. Ruf. c. 27.) Still later, under the reign of Julian, it is recorded that it underwent a celebrated siege, and at length was carried by the Persians by storm, though gallantly defended by the townspeople and two legions. (Amm. Marc. xx. 6.) The country around it is stated by Ammianus and Theophylactus to have been extremely arid, which rendered it equally difficult to take or to relieve from a distance.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Zaitha or Zautha (Zauthza, Zosim. iii. 14), a small town or fortified place in Mesopotamia, on the Euphrates, to the SE. of Circesium. It is said by Ammianus to have been called Zaitha (or more properly Zaita) from the olive trees (xxiii. 5. § 7), which we must suppose grew there, though the climate is very hot for that tree. He adds that it was celebrated for the monument erected by the soldiers to the emperor Gordianus. Zosimus, on the other hand, places this monument at Dara (l. c.), in which Eutropius agrees with him (ix. 2). Ptolemy calls it Zeitha (Zeitha, v. 18. § 2).
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Zenodotium (Zenodotion, Dion Cass. xl. 12; Steph. B. s. v.), a strong castle in
the upper part of Mesopotamia, which was held by the Parthians during the war
between them and the Romans under Crassus. It is called by Plutarch, Zenodotia
(Crass. c. 17). It cannot be identified with any modern site, but it was, probably,
not far distant from Edessa.
Maride (Ammian. xviii. 6), a castle or fortified town in Mesopotamia, mentioned
by Ammianus Marcellinus in his account of Constantius. There can be no doubt that
it is the same as the present Mardin, which is seated on a considerable eminence
looking southward over the plains of Mesopotamia.
Osrhoene a small district in the NW. corner of Mesopotamia (taken in its most extended sense), which there is some reason for supposing would be more correctly written Orrhoene. It does not appear in any writer earlier than the times of the Antonines, and is not therefore mentioned by either Strabo or Ptolemy. Procopius states that it derived its name from a certain Osroes, who ruled there in former times (Pers. i. 17); and Dion Cassius declares that the name of the man who betrayed the Roman army under Crassus was Abgarus the Osroenian (xl. 19; see for the same name, lxviii. 18, and lxxvii. 12.) Again, Herodian calls the people who dwelt in those parts Osroeni (iii. 9, iv. 7, vii. 1). Ammianus writes the name Osdroene (xiv. 3, 8, xxiv. 1). The name prevailed in the country as late as the seventh century. (Hierocl. p. 713.) In the Notitia Imperat. Osroene was placed under a Praeses Provinciae, and appears to have been sometimes included in Mesopotamia, sometimes kept separate from it. (See Justinian, Notit. cit. § 11; ,Joan. Malalas, xi. p. 274, ed. Bonn; Noris. de Epoch. ii. p. 110.) It is most likely that the correct form of the name is Orrhoene; and that this is connected with the Mannouorrha of Isidorus. (Stathm. Parth. 1.; and see Dion, lxviii. 2, for the name of Mannus, a chief of the Mesopotamian Arabs, who gave himself up to Trajan.) Not impossibly the Oruros of Pliny may refer to the same district. (vi. 30, 119.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Scirtus (Skirtos, Procop. de Aed. ii. 7), a river of Mesopotamia, a western tributary
of the Chaboras (Chabur). It flowed from 25 sources, and ran past Edessa. (Chron.
Edess. in Asseman, Bibl. Or. i. p. 388.) Its name, which signifies the skipping
or jumping (from skirtao), is said to have been derived from its rapid course
and its frequent overflowings; and its present name of Daisan means the same thing.
Receive our daily Newsletter with all the latest updates on the Greek Travel industry.
Subscribe now!
