Book Description

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1787 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER III. The real origin, and first progress, of the Scythians or Goths: and their Eastern Settlements., WE have already seen that the Scythian Empire, in present Persia, is the most ancient of which history has preserved any memorial. This very curious subject shall not be here enlarged on, but is left to some future Historian of the Scythians. This empire seems to have extended from Egypt to the Ganges; and from the Persian gulf, and Indian sea, to the Caspian. The conquests of Bacchus, reputed a king of this Scythian dominion, in India, are famous in antiquity: he introduced the vine, or the use of wine, into his dominions, and was deified as the god of wine by his subjects. The bacchanalian feasts of the Thracians, and other Scythae, are noted by classic authors; and from the Thracians they are mentioned to have past to the Greeks. The wine of barley, ale, supplied the want of the grape; and Bacchus retained his honours. Buty to enter more certain ground, the real Scythians of this original empire seem to have been bounded by the Euphrates on the west, and the Indus on the east. The Arabians, Syrians, &c. were certainly nor Scythae. We find Indo-Scythae on the Indus, and other remains on the Erythraean sea: but none beyond the Indo-Scythae. On the north the original Scythae extended to the Caspian. Due jpowlege of this empire would remove those embarrassments barraffments which the learned have fallen into, from ancient accounts of the wars between the Scythae and Egyptians, while Scythia On the Euxine is so remote from Egypt. Most of the ancient authors only knowing Scythia on the Euxine, as the early feat of the Scythae, have misrepresented some of those wars as carried on at such prodi