Notes upon the Comparative Geography of the Cilician and Syrian Gates

Author(s): William Ainsworth

Source: The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London , 1838, Vol. 8 (1838),
pp. 185-195
Published by: Wiley on behalf of The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of
British Geographers)

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1797793

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 ( 185 )

XIII. Notes upon the C'omparative Geogra

and Syrian Gates. By WILLIAM AINSW
April 9, 1838.

THE Gulf of Isk

To the south it is
elevation of a00
JelJel Kheserik a
room for the pass
l)een overcome, a
southerly chain vv
western base bea
ries of which it is
At the norther
length and man
Arsiis by the na
The chain of Rh
of Iskenderun, w
Amanus, which r
This pass is cal
monly practicab
the ruins of Pagr
overlooked the
the verge of wh
khan occupieal b
pass in his adva
neighbourhooel t
in the mounta
before an arch-
bandit, were off
summit les-el of
crest, is the mo
fine air and w
* Rhosus. See Stra
MSS. and coins have o
t Cape Hog. , Or Ka'bah (the Cul)e).
? Bakras Kal'ah-sl (the Castle of Bakras in M. R
(Abul-feda, Tabull. Syris, }). 119), " with a lofty cast
miles from AIltioch asd ;s many {lom Isken(lerull, ov
Herem, lvhich lies to the east ot it."
The towllof Beilallwasf()lnel,bybarometricalmea
ove the Mediterranean. 'l'he Christian church (zone
lonia oak) '>6'36 feet; tem)erature oi an abtlndallt sp
(12.6 cent.); air 62; Ktlllti (Wolves') Pass, 4068, stlm
stone), 533X. Jebil Kheselik, accordillg to Ca}>t. Bea
sea; the first cone svest of it, by l)arometer, was foul
cond cone west 5091 iet high. The lower limit of the
tempelature ot springs 51? i'ahr. (1().4 cel1t.); sprillg
feet 48 l'ahr. (8? 8 c*elot.).
l OL. * III. O

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 186 Mr. AINSWrORTH on tlile

and its mosque or jAmi' by Sultan Selim. Upwards of 500 feet

above the town is a longituelinal valley, communicating with
Bayas, by a road which passes by the side of the Mount, called
BeilEn. In this valley are the ruins of a Christian church.
Between the north-western foot of the Beilan-pass and the sea
is a rocky site with abundant springs and caves. This is supposed
by Rennell to be the site of Myriandrus.
Beyond is the almost depopulated Alexandria, Alexandretta,
Iskenderun, or Scanderoon; and between it and Myriandrus, the
ruins of Godfrey of Bouillon's castle and some stone fortifica-
tions, which, in the 'Mecca Itinerary,' are said to have been
built by Ibn-Abi Dawud in the time of the Khaliph Wathik.
Scymnus of Chios and Strabo attribute the foundation of Ales-
andria to the conqueror of Darius. A traveller of the thirteenth
century, Willebrand of Oldenburg (Itin. Terr. Sanct. p. 135),
says that, according to the tradition of the natives, the town was
built in one day by Alexander for his horse Bucephalus, and that
he gave it its name.
The bay at Iskenderun extends still further east than the
town of the same name to the foot of the mountains, and the
traveller who proceeds by land to BAyAs must pursue a circular
direction till he reaches a ruined marble gateway, where the
mountain acclivity descends with a gentle slope, covered with
brushwood, into the sea. Over this narrow pass the road is carried
with care, and, although steep, is paved throughout. This ruined
gateway, presenting at sea the appearance of two columns, has
been called by sailors (; Jonas' Pillars.>' *
The road, which was formerly carried through the marble
gateway, has, in its southern continuatlon, been swept away by
the sea; and the present one is carried higher up on the hill-side.
Both are constructe(l in a coarse limestone conglomerate. This
pass, in the ' Mecca Itinerary,' is called Sakal Tutan.T
* The ruins consist simply of two crumbling ualls 13 feet 6 inches in lellgth
and 3 feet in thickness, the length of the plinth beitlt, 17 feet. The width of the
gate valls was 20 feet. The walls are btlilt of blocks of white and black marble
from 2 to 3 feet in lellgth, 1 foot 10 inches in depth, and 18 inches in width. This
ruin has been noticed by many travellers, as Pococke, Niebllhr. Kinneir, Dlum-
mond, and, indeed, it must be observed, by all who travel along thi sroad.
Also, in a slight outline of M. CallierSs travels (p. 225, Vol. V.! of the ButZetan de
ga Soc. de Geog.), it is said, " to the north of the defiles, the acclivities of Amanus
recede from the shore, the plain develops itself, and is soon a league in width: here
1W. Callier thought he recognised the field of Issus.' This is very general, and
may apply to the plain of Bayas, as well as to that of the Pinarlls. It is much to
be regretted that so long a space of time, now nearly four years, has elapsed since
M. Callier s journev ill the East, before any account of it has been published
In No. 24 of the Views in Syria and Palestine, published by Fisher aIld (Fo., there
is- a well-executed sketch of part of this coast * it is taken from ammediately south
of the Sakal Tfltin, and embraces the approach of Amanus to the shore, the plain of
Bayas, and in the distance the rise of the country towards the Pinarus.
+ "Beard-catcher." ('rurk,)

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 Ctlician and Syrzan Sates. 187

Immediately beyond the marlJle gates the plain begins to

widen, and there is a modern Turkish castle called Merkez,* upon
the top of a hill about 300 feet high, which commands the pass,-
but the fort is now dismantled.
Half a mile beyond, is a stone wall, which crosses the plain
from the mountains to the sea, where it terminates in a tower;
an(l a short (listance beyond this wall, is a river about forty feet
in width. Following the river up to the point where it issues
from the mountains, a distance of nearly two miles, more ruins
are met with, and also traces of a double wall, between which the
river flowed. Above is a steep and remarkable pass (Baghras
Beli). There is also at this point a pretty village, which is
called Merkez, and a little beyond the village, abundant springs
issue an(l give birth to another river, which loses itself in the sea
about three miles to the north of the former. The inhabitants
called the rivulet which comes from the mountains Merkez-su;.
It is the ancient Kersus. Between it and the more northerly
river there is a small pile of ruins, which appear to be a mass of
Roman brickwork.
Between the Kersus and Bayas, or Payas, two headlands ad-
vance into the sea, known as Ras BSyas and Eski Ras Bayas.
Beyond the most northerly is a little gulf *vith a few feet of water
only, in which are the remains of a pier and tower: close by, is a
small village, and, in the plain and commanding the harbour, a
modern castellated building.
The public buildings belonging to the town of BEyas lie due
south of the castle, half a mile across tlle plain. They are
abandoned, but in perfect repair, and consist of a mosque or
mesjid, castle, khan, bazar, and baths of superior construction
and considerable beauty and solidity. The houses are all de-
stroyed. A mile to the north-east there is a village with a
governor and a body of soldiers placed in a secluded position
near the entrances of a transverse valley, which has an opening
into the chain of Amanus, and affiords a summer pass over the
mountains.
The public buildings of Bayas were erected by Sakuli-Mo-
hammed Pasha, known by the name of Ibrahim Khan-Zadeh,
one of the viziers of Sultan Sulelman. There can be no doubt
that Bayas is the Baiae of the Romans, a favourite bathing-place.
Pococke supposed it to be Issus and its river the Pinarus, and Mr.
Williams identifies it with Myriandrus. The shore is high and
dry, the vegetation truly beautiful, and the scenery magnificent.
There are two villages between BayEs and the Issus, the

* "Centre," (Arab.)
t " Baghrasd its fork." (Turk.)

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188 Mr. AINSWORTH on {he

most southerly Yuzler,* the northern Woi Chai or {' village-

stream."
The Pinarus or Issus flows letween the latter and the village
of Urzin or Urtsuli: it is called the Dell Chai or Mad River,
and, at the time we visite(l it (January, 1836), was about forty-
five feet wi(3e, on a stony bed: it comes from the Amanus,
flolving across the plain in a direction a little south of west.
The plain to the south of Deli Chai is about seven miles
witle; and around the villages and near the sea it is much culti-
vatetl and diversified by orange and lemon groves. It is crossed
by the stony leds of several mountain torrents, and a considerable
brook runs through I(oi Chai.
North of Oeli Chai the country begins to rise. The plain is
uncultivate(l, but exerywhere covereel with green sward, and ge-
nerally with shrul)s: towar(l the higher part it is intersected by
ras-ines. The valley of the r;ver penetrates to some deptll into
the hills, and to this point the Amanus preserves its direction of
S.Ml. and N.E., gradually receding more and more from the
shore; but here the base of the mountains ads-ances farther to
the westvfartl into the plain.
At this point the gulf bends round to the west, leaving at its
north-eastern point a low plain which is bor(lered to the north by
nearly insulate(l hills of no great height, and which themselves are
separateci from the Amanus by a valley which is prolonged to
the north-east to some elistances until closed up by hills, which
stretch along the foot of the mountain-chain.
On the western side of this valley at the foot of a hill, and
about seven miles from the sea, are the ruins of a considerable
town, in which many public builllings may still be traced, and
where an acropolis and aqueduct still exist in some perfection.
This is probably the town of Nicopolis, which, according to Ste-
phanus Byzantinus, was first called Issus by the Macedonians, in
honour of the victory gained there; but two much better autho-
rities, Strabo and Ptolemy, speak of Issus and Nicopolis as two
*listinct places.
To the west the plain begins to narrow: near to the sea, south
of Issus, is a tell or mounel, called Kara^Kaya, composed of black
la^7a-pebbles, an(l having ruins of lava-walls upon the summit.
About four miles to the west of this tell a river traverses the plain.
It is called the 13urnaz Su, an(l is crossed by a bridge. The plain
is here covered by a sanel-flood, and is not above cwo miles in
* Probably (4021er. '; Eyes or sprillgs*"
+ Near Yuzler are some extensive il1dications of ruins which might have been
supposell to belong to Issus, if Arrian had not described Dariux as a(lvancing, af'ter
marching upon Issuss llext day to Pintlrlls. If lssus and Nicopolis were two dis-
tillCt places, one of thenl remaills to be discovered.
t ;' Black-reck,!' (Tllrk.)

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 Cilician and Syrian Gate.s. 189

width, leing bounded to the north l)y a range of low sandstone

hills. Ruined arches are seen peeping in two or three places out
of the sands. They are constructed of tile-bricks.
The hilly country is soon united with the sea by loftier mounds
of Plutonic rocks, and the elirection of the shere changes to the
south-west.
In this plain, thus enclosed between hills and tlle sea, are many
ruins of former times: a little l)rook runs through its centre, and
passes by the foot of a round tell, in part artificial, having the
remains of fortifications on its top; remnants of forts and arches
occur in the plain around. These ruins, belonging probably to
the Castabalum of the Romans, are designated in the ' Mecca
Itinerary' as 'Uzeir (Esdras), otherwise called 3\1atakh.
To the north, a pass through the sandstone range is guar(led by
a gateway and tower of tile-larick; ruins of a peculiar character,
consisting of two masses of an imperfect obelisk-like form, having
four sides, with re-entering angles at each corner, alld slightly ta-
pering towards the summit. A building in the same style occupied
the other side of the pass; and the two appear to have been con-
nected by a limestone wall. The pass here was upwards of 500
feet in width. To the north-west, the great Constantinopolitan roa(l
follows the direction of the rivulet through a valley where the
sandstone chain ben(ls round to meet tlle higher hills of Plutonic
formation. Half-way up this pass, about 300 feet above the level
of the sea, and where the pass is scarcely 500 feet in lvidth, is an
arch of elaborate workmansllip; polygonal stones fitting with
great nicety, arranged in courses and of the same height, an(l
rather noble dimensions, built of limestone and flanked by walls
of angular masses of lava, closely fitted, and of the tllird era of
Cyclopian architecture, according to the divisions made by Mr.
Hamilton,* and as in Argolis and other Phocian and Baeotian
cities. The remains of a causeray are also still in existence.
These gates are called Kara Kapu (or black gate), Timur Kapu,
or Demir Kapu (orthe iron gate), in the ' lVfecca Itinerary.' The
country ras examined on two different occasions from these gates
to the south-west to 'Ayas, and to the north-west by Kurd Kulakt
(Tarde(lueia) to blissisah (Mopsuestia), where other ruins occur
to throw light upon the character of those observed surroundint,
the gulf of Issus from point Ras el Khanzir to the mouth of the
Pyramus.

In discussing the questions of historical geography connecteel

with the country we have just described, one of the most imme-
diate causes of error has been a passage of Strabo (xiv. Ca-
saul. p. 676), in which he saJs, " after Mallus (NIopsuestia),

$ Archtolzagia,xol.xvi.
t "Bolf'sear,"' (Turk.)

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l9o Mr. AINSWORTH o

comes iEgae ('Ayas), a small town with a road-stead; then the

Amanian gates with an anchoring station." The Amanian gates
may either apply to the Beilars-pass, to tlle gates of Kersus, or to
the marble gateway of Sakal Tutan, both near Iskenderun; but
there can be no doubt, from another passage (lib. xvi. p. 751),
when he says " Pagrae is situated on the road which, traversing
Amanus, lea(ls from the Amanian gates into Syria," that one of
the last two is meant. " After Ggav, Issus," continues Strabo,
(xiv. p. 676) " a small town with an anchoring station, and
the Pinarus,* where the battle was fought between Alexander
an(l Dawrius, and the gulf called Issic. On it (the gulf) are the
cities Rhosus and Myriandrus, and Alexandria, and Nicopolis,
and Mopsuestia, and the place called ' the Gates,' the boundary
between the Syrians and the Cilicians." The gates referred to in
this passage appear to be the Kara Kapu, or black gate.
Ptolemy's description of the sea-coast is,- " In Cilicia, the
Cydnus (Tarsus River), the Sarus (Saihan), the Pyramus
(Jaihan), Mallus (Xtisis), the village Serrepo]is (unknown),
EDga (Atyas), an(l Issus. Inland the Armenian gates" (Kulleh
BughAz pass in Taurus froxn Adanah to Koniyeh). " In Syria
after Issus and the Cilician gates (Sakal Tutan), Alexandria
near Issus (Iskenderun), Myriandrus, and Rhosus. Inland the
Syrian gates (Pass of Beilan). Few difficulties present them-
selves, where there is an accurate knowle(lge of the pc)sition of
places, in assigning the localities of what, in historical geography,
has often been confusedly described an(l variously named.
It is well known that Cyrus, in the e2mpedition of which so
admiralJle an account has been transmitted to us by Xenophon,
led his army by these passes. According to the narrative of that
general and historian,T Cyrus marched from the Pyramus (Jaihan)
in two days' march, fifteen parasangs, and arrived at Issus, the last
town of Cilicia, situated near the sea, a large city, rich and well
situated, where he staid three days. " Hence Cyrus made, in
one march, five parasangs to the gates of Cilicia and Syria.
There were two walls of which the inner, next to Cilicia, was
occupiea ly Syennesis with a guard of Cilicians, and the outer,
ne2at to Syria, was said to be defended by the king's troops.
Between these two walls runs a river called Kersus, 100
feet in breadth. The interval l)etween thesn was three stadia,
or 6252 yards, through which it was not possible to force a way,
the pass leing narrow, the walls reaching down to the sea,
* Pindus in the MS. of Strabo alld the text of Casaubon. This variation from
the form in Arrian has been pointe(l out to the allthor by Mr. Long, to whom he is
anxious to express his obligations for several valuable hints and c()rrectiorlx. Pina-
rus, in Fischercke's edition of Strabo, is a correction on the authority of Plutarch
(Vita Alexandri, i. 20) as well as Arrian.
t Xenophon, Anab., I. ilr. 4.

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 Cilician anel Syrzan GaVes. 191

and inaccessible rocks above. In both these walls stood the gates.
Hence Cyrus proceeded through Syria, five parasangs in one
march, to Myriandrus, a city near the sea, inhabited by Phni-
cians, at which, being a trading town, where many ships lay at
anchor, they continued seven days."
The river Kersus correspon(ls with the Merkez of the present
day; it traverses ruined walls at its entrance into the plain, but
now falls into the sea at a short (listance from where the walls
terminate. Rennell supposed a wide space of alluvia to have
been deposite(l at or near this pass, but such is not the case, for
the walls terminate at the present day in the sea. As the two
walls were distinguished as outer and inner, and in ' Cilicia' and
' Syria,' the description has reference to ruins observed at about
half a mile to the north, and the walls and ruins which stretch
from the sea up to the rocks south of the Kersus.
It may be observed, in connexion with this, that, according to
his historian,* " In order to gain this pass, Cyrus sent for his
ships, that, by landing his heavy armed men both within and
without the gates, they might force their passage through the
Syrian gates if defended by the enemy."
The next most important tests are those of the historians of
Alexander, who also invaded the East by the same road, and
there met and conquered the Persian king.
Q. Curtius (iii. 7), who is supposed to have derived his history
from the memoirs of Aristobulus and Ptolemyv relates that " Ales-
ander, having moved, and thrown a bridge across the Pyramus,
arrived at the city of Mallus:" in two days more he reached
Castabalum. From this it would appear that Mallus, afterwards
Mopsuestia, was the present Missisah. Castabalusn appears to
have been at or beyond the Kara Kapu. There he met Parmenio,
who had been sent forward to examine the road through the defile
(Kara Kapu) which lay between them and Issus. This general,
after having made himself master of the passes, left a suicient
guard there, and then captured Issus, whence the barbarians had
fled. He then advance(l from Issus, dislodged the enemy who
occupied the interior heights (Amanus?), placed there strong
bodies of troops, and having hurried back, announced his own
success to the king. From Castabalum, Alexander advanced to
Issus. According to Arrian (ii. 6), " before Alexander had quitted
Mallus, he was informe(l that Darius, with all his forces, was
encampe(l at Sochi. This place is in the Assyrian territory, and
distant about two days' march from the Assyrian gates." The gates
here alluded to are the pass in Amanus, which is to the north-
east of Issus. The roa(l is still usell in going from Bayas to
Mar'ash, but is not practicable in the winter season, and in the

* An^.ab., I. iv. 5,

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 A!lr. AINS\VORTLI on the

summer could only be so to the li>,ht (Parthian) horse, which did

not alone constitute the armv of Darius.
" Next (lay," saas Arrian, " Alexander advanced (from Mal-
lus) to meet Darius and his Persians; and after surmounting the
pass, encamped on the second day at Myriandrus." The
omission which occurs here of the march to Issus, renders it
doubtful whether the pass alluded to means that between Mallus
an(l Issus (Kara Kapu), or that between Issus and Myriandrus
(Sakal-tfitan), but most llrobab]y the latter.
" By chance," to continue the narrative of Curtius, " on the
very same night Alexaneler arrive(l at the pass by which Cilicia
is entered" (This alludes evidently to where Cilicia is entered
from Syria (Sakal-tutan), which is corrol)orated by the continu-
ation of th? narrative by the same historian) " and Darius at
the spot calle(l the Amanian gates. Nor did the Persians doubt
that the lMacedonians had fled, as Isslls, captured by them, had
been left unguarded." No great importance can lJe attached to
the distance of an army's out-post given to Alexander, under
circumstances of considerable anxiety, if not alarm; but still the
distance, if we suppose the Olympie stadium to have been that
used by the Macedonians, as I have uniformly found to be the
case in Babylonia, will amount to about ten miles, which is not
very far from what might a priori be supposed to be the position
of the out-posts of an army occupying the southern loank of the
Issus. " Alexander could scarcely believe them, and sent scouts,
who ascertained the truth; he then ordered his men to prepare
for battle, and marched back at twelve o'clock at night. At
break of day they arrived at the narrow pass which they ha(l
letermined to occupy."
Arrian (ii. 7) gives the following account of Alexander's march
at this interval:-" Darius crossed the mountain by the pass
called the Amanian Gates, marched upon Issus, and thus placed
himself in the rear of Alexander, who was ignorant of his move-
ments.-Next day he advanced to the Pinarus. When Alexander
heard that Darius was in the rear, as he did not think the account
credible, he embarked some of the accompanying troops on board
a thirty-oared galley, with orders to examine into the truth of the
report. These sailed up in the galley, and as the sea here forms
a curve or bay, they more easily discovered the Persians encamped,
and made their report that Darius was at hand.
" Alexander oralered his troops to refresh themselves, sent a few
of the cavalry and archers in the direction of; the gates,' in or(ler
to reconnoitre the road, and placing himself, as soon as it was night,
at the head of his army, set out in order to occupy sthe gates'
a second time. About midnight he again made himself master of
the pass, and after carefully stationing sentinels upon the rocks,
allowed his army to repose for the remainder of the night."

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 Cilician and Syria1t Gates. 193

Throughout this detail Arrian keeps in excellent consistency

with his first statement, that Alexander went to Myriandrus, and
tllat '; the gates" which he occupie(l a second time were those
which occurred between Myrian(lrus an(l Issus. The Sakal-
tutan was the midnight halt. Had Myrialldrus been the present
BAyAs, as advance(l by Mr. Williams,* there roul(l have been no
necessity to send a reconnoitring galley, since the army on the
ridge alsove Pinarus woul(l have been easily recognisable. There
are no gates between Bayas and Issus.
{' With the dawn he descen(led from the gates along the road,
and as lont, as the pass was narrow he led his army in columns;
but as the (lefile expandeel " (which it (loes considerably about
four miles beyond) " he reglllarly f()rmed his column into line,
by bringing up his heavy-armed troops success;s-ely to occupy
the vacant space between the main column and the mountain on
the right, antI the sea on the left."
There is also a subsequent deseription of the arrangements
which Alexander made to prevent his right wing from being
flanked by the left wing of Darius's army, which corresponds
with the condition of the country, the mountains descending so
rapidly to the south-west from the valley of the Pinarus, that the
army which ocoupied that valley would, in the deploying of the
line, I)e enalulc(l to commantl the extreme wings of the enemy on
the south.
Mr Williams has objected to these distances as too great;
although they are the same as those Alexan(ler marched when not
expecting Darius from Tarsus to Mopsuestia on account of the
mountain to be crossed loetween the Pinarus and Issus, and
the gates to be surmounted between I ssus and Myriandrus.
There is some hilly country at Kurd Kulak to be crossed and
a low mountain-chain, the pass of which is not however 500 feet
in height, an(l thc slol7e is gentle to tlle Jebel El-nur, 'Moun-
tain of Light,' between Missisah and Castabalum; but the Kara
Kapu is not 200 feet, and the Sakal scarcely 100 feet abo^re the
zTNIediterranean. The points in historical geography of the
greatest iml7ortance which Mr. Willialns ads-ocates are, that Kara
Kapu was the lmidnight halt of Alexander. Now Issus is to
the east of Kara Kapu, and would in that case lJe before Ales-
ander. How could Darius by crossing Amanus, then, have
placed himself in the rear of the lMacedonians ? How could he,
by descending to Issus, haxe been in the rear, for by march-
ing to the Pinarus, he woul(l have placed himself still farther in
aelvance of his enemy, instead of approaching them from the rear,
as Arrian relates ?
According to Xenophon, tlle Greeks marched in one day from
* ()n the Geography of Ancient Asia. Lontlon, 1829.

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194 Mr. AINSWORTH ^ the

the pass (Kersus) to Myriandrus; and according to Arrian, Ales-

ander and his army quitted Myriandrus as soon as it was night,
and arrived at the pass (Soika]-tutan, which was not quite so far)
at midnight. If, therefore, says Mr. Williams, the pass was at Kara
Kapu, Myrian(lrus must l)e represented by the modern Baytis.
If this were the case, the armies of Cyrus and of Alexander must
have marche(l a distance of thirty miles, that of Alexander be-
tween sunset and midnight; and where is Issus, which, according
to Mr. Williams himself, is to the south-east of Kara Kapu ?
The opening which I have described as occurring in the Ama-
nus above, or to the east of BSyAs, has been noticed by Captain
Corry, and also by most mo(lern map-makersg as the pass by
which Darius came down to Issus, but if this were the case, it
certainly is not that by which he eSected his retreat after the
battle, and which yet is stated to be the same as that by which
he approached from Sochi to Issus; for he would have had to
force his way through Alexander's victorious army, which occupied
the plain on the Pinarus, between Bayas and Issus. Pococke
calls it the middle of the three passes into Cilicia. But the rivers
lvhich flow into the lake at Antioch are no more avoided by pass-
ing from Briyas to Aleppo, than they are by passing from Beilan;
and the silence of Xenophon upon this subject remains in the
same mystery.
It has been supposed that Abrocomas, in his retreat before
Cyrus, retired along the sea-coast by Rhosus and the site of Se-
leucia; and Mr. Williams has also asserted, that it was by the same
road that the Macedonian Amyntas, and his Greek mercenaries,
reached the Phenician Tripolis after the battle of Issus; but
it is to be objected to this line of retreat, that the Jebel Musa
terminates in abrupt and nearly perpendicular cliSs over the sea,
not far to the north of Seleucia; and though there is a horse-road
over Rhosus, it is te(lious an(l diicult.
Cicero, in his letter to Cato,t says, " There are two passes
from Syria into Cilicia, both of which, from their narrowness, can
easily be defended by a few troops; nor can anything be better
protected than Cilicia on the Syrian side." These passestare
evidently the upper Amanian pass (the pass of Darius) and the
lower Amanian pass (the pass of Beilan). Cicero, also, in the
same Epistle, when he gives the reasons, why he letl the army
which he commanded, as Proconsul, into Cappadocia, rather than
into Cilicia, says " Duo enim sunt a(litus in Ciliciam ex Syria."
The Antonine Itinerary furnishes us with a line of road between
Nicopolis anci Zeugma, by the upper Amanian pass.

* See Modern Travel!er. Syria and Asia Minor. t Gic. Ep. ad Fam. sv. 4.
+ Cilicla, Ptolem;ni Geographia, Ed. Bertii, p, 15.

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 Cilician cmd Syrian (7ates. 195

Nicopolis . . *
Aliaria .... 13 ... Unknown.
Gerbedissus . . 15 . . . Unknowrl.
Doliche . . . 20 . . . Doliche, north of 'Aintab.
Zeugma . . . 24 . . . Rum-kal'ah.
Major Rennell, it may be remarked, in his; Illtlstrati
History of the Expellition of Cyrus,' p. 38, ef seq., distinguishes,
with his usual critical sagacity, four passes. The first is the Kuli
Boghaz, which he calls the Cilician pass; the second is that
formed by the near approach of Mount Amanus to the Sinus
Issicus, and which he calls the Maritime pass, I)ut very properly
observes that the descriptions of Xenophon an(l Arrian refer to
distinct sites, although very near to each other. He considers
Strabo as having been ignorant of the existence of this pass. The
third pass is that of Beilan, which he calls the lower or Southern
pass of Amanus, and the fourth is the Upper or Northern pass of
Amanus. The only omission here is the pass of Kara Kapu and
the hills beyon(l it, so essential to the true understanding of the
movements of Alexander and his general Parmenio. In the Ap-
pendix to the same work these gates are, however, alluded to,
without feeling their importance; but he ju(liciously advances that
the causeway met near them is the pavement of a street of Casta-
balum. In(lee(l the-Kara Kapu appears to have been one of the
gates of that city; the piers of a gateway in the valley to the east,
to have marked another; and the arch in the sand hills to have
formed a third or eastern gatew-ay.
Colonel Leake (Jotlrnal of a Tour, Qc., p. 209) beint, ac-
quainted with the liara Kapu, an(l viewing Strabo and Ptolemy
as naming the same two Pyl or passes, identifies these with
the Wara Kapu, which he calls the Northern or Amanic pass,
and vith the Maritime pass, at or near which Pococke noticed
the Pillars of Jonas.
It will be seen, then, that many questions of high interest in
comparative geography here present themselves within a very small
extent of territory, and in which one celebrated traveller states
that he saw neither defiles nor passes. There are, nevertheless,
in that circumscribed spot, gates, walls, rivers, and ruins, which
hase almost every one some association of ancient times connectecl
with them; and to unravel the importance to be attached to each
of these, has been the humble endeavour of the author of this essay.
It remains only to acknowledge the ol)ligations due to Colonel
Chesney, for the use of the geographical points obtained by Lieu-
tenant Murphy, R.E., in the neighbourhood of Iskenderun, and
which have been used in the construction of the accompanyinDt
sketch map.

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