ossed 28
the river and entered with Filimer into the country of
Oium, came into possession of the desired land, and there
they soon came upon the race of the Spali, joined battle
with them and won the victory. Thence the victors hastened
to the farthest part of Scythia, which is near the sea
of Pontus; for so the story is generally told in their early
songs, in almost historic fashion. Ablabius also, a famous
chronicler of the Gothic race, confirms this in his
most trustworthy account. Some of the ancient writers 29
also agree with the tale. Among these we may mention
Josephus, a most reliable relator of annals, who everywhere
follows the rule of truth and unravels from the
beginning the origin of causes;--but why he has omitted
the beginnings of the race of the Goths, of which I have
spoken, I do not know. He barely mentions Magog
of that stock, and says they were Scythians by race and
were called so by name.

Before we enter on our history, we must describe the
boundaries of this land, as it lies.

[Sidenote: SCYTHIA]

V Now Scythia borders on the land of Germany as 30
far as the source of the river Ister and the expanse of the
Morsian Swamp. It reaches even to the rivers Tyra,
Danaster and Vagosola, and the great Danaper, extending
to the Taurus range--not the mountains in Asia but
our own, that is, the Scythian Taurus--all the way to
Lake Maeotis. Beyond Lake Maeotis it spreads on the
other side of the straits of Bosphorus to the Caucasus
Mountains and the river Araxes. Then it bends back to
the left behind the Caspian Sea, which comes from the
north-eastern ocean in the most distant parts of Asia, and
so is formed like a mushroom, at first narrow and then
broad and round in shape. It extends as far as the Huns,
Albani and Seres. This land, I say,--namely, Scythia, 31
stretching far and spreading wide,--has on the east the
Seres, a race that dwelt at the very beginning of their
history on the shore of the Caspian Sea. On the west are
the Germans and the river Vistula; on the arctic side,
namely the north, it is surrounded by Ocean; on the south
by Persis, Albania, Hiberia, Pontus and the farthest
channel of the Ister, which is called the Danube all the
way from mouth to source. But in that region where 32
Scythia touches the Pontic coast it is dotted with towns
of no mean fame:--Borysthenis, Olbia, Callipolis, Cherson,
Theodosia, Careon, Myrmicion and Trapezus. These
towns the wild Sc