A Brief Description of the Whole World, Part 18
Of Asia the lesse.
ON the North-west side of Mesopotamia, lyeth that Countrey which is now called Natolia, but in times past, Asia minor, having on the North side Pontus Euxinus, on the West, the Hellespont, and on the South, the maine Mare Mediterraneum. In the ancient writings both of the Grecians, and of the Romans, this is oftentimes called by the single name of Asia, because it was best knowne unto them, and they were not so much acquainted with the farther places of Asia the Great.
This Countrey in generall, for the fruitfulnesse of the Land, standing in so temperate a Climate, and for the convenience of the Sea every way, and so many good Havens, hath been reputed alwaies a very commodious and pleasurefull Countrey. It is wholly at this day under the Turke. The mountaine Taurus goeth along from the West unto the East part of it.
The greatnesse of this Countrey is such, that it hath comprehended many Kingdomes and large Provinces, besides Cities of great fame. On the South-East part thereof, neare to Palestina lyeth Cilicia; Cilicia. The City Tarsus.the chiefe City whereof is Tarsus, the Countrey of Saint Paul, the place whither Solomon sent for great store of his gold, and provision for the Temple, whither Jonas also fled, when he should have gone to Niniveh.
In the straits of the Cilicia, neare to the mountaine Taurus, did Alexander Alexanders overthrow of Darius.give a great overthrow in person to Darius, in the joining of their first battell.
This place seemes to have been very fortunate for great Fights; in as much as there also neare unto the straits, was the ba…ell fought out between Severus the Emperour and Niger; who being Governour of the Romanes of Syria, would needs have aspired to the Empire, but in a battell which was very hardly fought out, he was overthrown in the straits of Cilicia.
In the very corner where Cilicia is joined unto the upper part of Syria, is a little Bay, which in times past was named Sinus Isicus, near unto which Alexander built one of his Cities, which he called by his own name. But howsoever in times past it was named Alexandria, The City of Alexandriait is now by the Venetians and other Christians, called Alexandretta; who should say, little Alexandria, in comparison of the other. In Egypt the Turkes do call▪ it Scandarond, and it is a petty Haven, where our Merchants do land most of their goods, which are afterwards by Camels carried up to Aleppo. At this day the City is so decayed, that there be onelyonly a few houses there.
Westward from Cilicia, lieth the Province called Pamphylia: whereinPamphylia. …he City of Seleuchus. stands the City Seleucia, built by Seleuchus, one of the foure great successours of Alexander the Great.
On the West of this Pamphylia, standeth Lycia, and more west fromLycia. thence confining upon the Ile of Rhodes, is Caria; one of the SeaTownesCaria. whereof, is Halicarnassus, which was the Countrey of Herodotus, who is one of the most ancient Historians that is extant of the Gentiles, and who dedicated his nine bookes to the honour of the Muses.
Here also was that Dionysius borne, who is called commonly Dionysius Halicarnassus, one of the Writers of the Romane Story, for the first three hundred yeares after Rome was built.
The whole Countrey of Caria is sometimes signified by the name of this Halicarnassus, although itHalicarnassus. was but one City; and thereupon Artemisia, who in the dayes of Xerxes, came to aid him against the Graecians, and behaved her selfe so manfully in a great fight at sea, when Xerxes stood by as a coward, is intituled by the name not of Queen of Caria, but of Halicarnassus. Also in the daies of Alexander the Great, there was another Queen, named Ada; who also is honoured by the title of Queen of Halicarnassus.
We have thus farre described those Cities of Asia the lesse, which do lie from that part that joineth unto Syria, along the Sea coast Westward; but being indeed the Southern part of Asia minor.
Now upwards towards theIonia. North, standeth Ionia, where those did dwell, who had like to have joined with Xerxes, in the great battell at sea, but that Themistocles by a policy, did winne them from him, to take part with the Gr…cians. Diodorus Siculus writeth, that the Athenians, who professed to be of kin to those Ionians, were on a time marvellous importunate with them, that they should leave their own Country, and come and dwell with them: which when the Ionians, hardly, but yet at length did accept, the Athenians had no place to put them in, and so they returned with great disgrace to them both.
A little within the Land, lying North and East from Ionium, was Lydia, which sometimes was theLydia. Kingdome of Croesus, who was reputed so rich a King; when he was in his prosperity, making best of his happinesse, he was told by Solon, that no man could reckon upon felicity so long as he lived, because there might be great mutability of Fortune, which he after ward found true: For he was taken prisoner by Cyrus, who was once mindedCroesus overthrowne by Cyrus. to have put him to death, but hearing him report the advertisement of Solon formerly given to him, he was moved to thinke that it might be his own case, and so took pity on him, and spared his life.
These Lydians being inhibited afterward by Cyrus, to use any Armour, and give themselves to Bathes and Stewes, and other such effeminate things.
Upon the sea-coast in Ionia standeth the City Ephesus, which wasEphesus. one of the seven Cities, unto which John in his Revelation did write hi… seven Epistles: and Saint Paul also directed his Epistle to the Ephesi ans, unto the Church which was in this place.
This was one of the most renowned Cities of Asia the lesse, but the Fame thereof did most arise fromThe Temple of Diana. the Temple of Diana, which was there built, and was reputed for the magnificence thereof, one of the seven wonders of the world. This Temple was said to be two hundred yeares in building, and was burnt seven severall times, whereof the most part was by lightning, and the finall destruction thereof came by a base person, called Herostratus; who to purchase himself some fame, did set it on fire.
This was the place of which it is said in the Acts of the Apostles, that all Asia, and the whole World doe worship this Diana.
Tully reporteth, De natura Deorum, that Tin…us being asked the reason, why the Temple of Diana was on fire that night when Alexander the Great was born, gave that jest thereof, that the mistresse of it was from home; because she being the Goddesse of Midwives, did that night wait upon Olympias the Mother of Alexander the Great, who was brought to bed in Macedonia.
Another of the seven Cities unto which John did write, is Smyrna, City of Smyrna.standing also in Ionia, upon the Sea coast, but somewhat more North then Ephesus; which is the place where Polycarpus was Bishop,Polycarpus, Scholar to St John the Evangel st. who sometimes had been Scholler unto Iohn the Evangelist, and living till he was of great age, was at l…st put to death for Christs sake, when before he had been moved by the Governour of the Countrey to deny his Sa viour, and to burn Incense to an Idoll: But he answered that …ourescore and six yeares he had served Christ Jesus, and in all that time he had never done him harm: and therefore now in his old age he would not beginne to deny him.
The third City unto which the Epistle is directed in the Apocalyps, is Sardis: which standethCity of Sardis. within the land in Lydia, as is described by the best Writers; and it was a City both of great pleasure and profit unto the Kings in whose Dominion it stood: which may be gathered hereby, that when once the Grecians had wonne it, Durius Histaspis, or Xerxes, who were Kings of Persia, did give charge, that every day at dinner, one speaking aloud, should remember him, that the Grecians had taken Sardis, which intended, that he never was in quiet till it might bee recovered again.
There stood also in the In-land, Philadelphia, Thyatina, Laodicea, Four Cities of …ote.and most of all to the North Pergamus: which were the other foure Cities, unto which St John the Evangelist did direct his Epistle.
Going upward from Ionium to the North, there lyeth on the SeacoastEolis. a little Country called Eolis: and beyond that, although not upon the Sea, the two Provinces calledMysia major, &▪ Mysia minor. Mysia Major, and Mysia Minor; which in times past, were so base and contemptible, that the people thereof were used in speech as a proverb, that if a man would describe one meaner then the meanest, it was said, he was Mysiorum postremus.
On the West part of Mysia major, did lye the Countrey called Troas, wherein stood Ilium, and the City of Troy, against which asThe City of Troy. both Virgil and Homer have written, the Grecians did continue their siege for the space of tenne yeares, by reason that Paris had stollen away Helena, the wife of Menelaus, who was King of Sparta.
Eastward both from Troas and Mysia major, a good space within the land was the Countrey called Phrygia, where the GoddessePhrygia. which was called Bona Dea, or Pessinuntia, or Cybele, the mother of the old gods, had her first abiding, and from thence (as Herodia… wrteth) was brought to Rome, as implying that good fortune should follow her thither.
In this Countrey lived that Gondius, who knit the …ot called for the intricatenesse thereof, Nodus, Gordianus; and when itGordianus knot. could not be untied, was cut in sunder by Alexander the Gre…t, supposing▪ that it should bee his fortune, for the loosing of it so to be the Conquerour, and King of Asia, as by a prophecy of the same Gordius had been before spoken.
Yet North-ward from Phrygia, lyeth the Countrey of Bythinia; Bythinia.which was sometimes a Kingdome, where Perusias raigned, that had so much to do with the Romanes.
In this Countrey standeth the City Nicea, where the first GeneralCi…y of Nice. Councill was held against Arius the Hereticke by Constantine the Great, thereof called the Nicene Council… ▪ Here standeth also Chalcedon, Chalcedon.where the fourth Generall Councill was held by the Emperour Marcianus, against the Heretick Nestorius.
From Bythinia Eastward, on the North side of Asia the lesse, standeth the Countrey of Paphlagonia, Paphlagoniawhere was the City built by Pompey the Great, called by his name, Pompeiopolis. On the SouthPompciopolis. of Paphlagonia, toward the Iland of Asi… minor, di… stand the Countrey of Galatia, whereuntoGalatia. Saint Paul wrote his Epistle to the Galathians. And this also was one of those Countries where the Iewes were dispersed, unto which Saint Peter wrote his first Epistle; as also unto them which were in Pontus, Cappadocia, and Bythinia, from whence Southward lyeth the Province termed Lyeaoni: AndLyeaonia. from thence, yet more South, bordering upon Pamphylia, which touches the Mediterranean sea, lyeth Pisidia, concerning whichPisidia. Countries we find oftentimes mention made in such stories as do touch Asia the l…sse.
From these Sourthern parts, if we returne back againe unto the North and East of Asia major, lieth the Kingdome of Pontus, confiningThe Kingdome of Pontus. upon that which is named Pontus Euxinus. In this Pontus did reigne Mithridates, who in his youngerMithridates daies had travelled over the greatest part of Asia, and is reported to have been so skilfull, that he could well speak more then twenty Languages. His hatred was ever great towards the Romans, against whom, when he meant first to put his malice in practise, he so combined with the Naturals of those parts, that in one night they slew more than threescore and ten thousand of the Romans, carrying their intendment so close, that it was revealed by none till the execution was done.
Pompey the Great was the manPompey brought Mithridates to distresse. who distressed this Mithridates, and brought him to that extremity, that he would gladly have poisoned himselfe, but could not; in as much as his stomack had been used so before unto that kind of Treacle (which by reason of his inventing of, unto this day is called Mithridate) which is made of a kinde of poyson allaied, that no venome would easily work upon him.
Southward from this Pontus, standeth the old Kingdome of Cappadocia, Cappadocia.which in times past was observed to have many men in it, but little money: Whence Horace saith, Mancipiis locuples eget aris Cappadocum Rex.
Eastward from this Cappadocia, as also from Pontus, is Armenia minor, Armenia minor.whereof the things memorable are described in the other Armenia. And thus much touching Asia the lesse.