τῆς Κιλικίας δὲ τῆς ἔξω τοῦ Ταύρου ἡ μὲν λέγεται τραχεῖα ἡ δὲ πεδιάς· τραχεῖα μέν, ἧς ἡ παραλία στενή ἐστι καὶ οὐδὲν ἢ σπανίως ἔχει τι χωρίον ἐπίπεδον, καὶ ἔτι ἧς ὑπέρκειται ὁ Ταῦρος οἰκούμενος κακῶς μέχρι καὶ τῶν προσβόρρων πλευρῶν τῶν περὶ Ἴσαυρα καὶ τοὺς Ὁμοναδέας μέχρι τῆς Πισιδίας· καλεῖται δʼ ἡ αὐτὴ καὶ Τραχειῶτις καὶ οἱ ἐνοικοῦντες Τραχειῶται· πεδιὰς δʼ ἡ ἀπὸ Σόλων καὶ Ταρσοῦ μέχρι Ἰσσοῦ, καὶ ἔτι ἧς ὑπέρκεινται κατὰ τὸ πρόσβορρον τοῦ Ταύρου πλευρὸν Καππάδοκες· αὕτη γὰρ ἡ χώρα τὸ πλέον πεδίων εὐπορεῖ καὶ χώρας ἀγαθῆς. ἐπεὶ δὲ τούτων τὰ μέν ἐστιν ἐντὸς τοῦ Ταύρου τὰ δʼ ἐκτός, περὶ μὲν τῶν ἐντὸς εἴρηται, περὶ δὲ τῶν ἐκτὸς λέγωμεν ἀπὸ τῶν Τραχειωτῶν ἀρξάμενοι.
OF Cilicia without the Taurus one part is called Cilicia Tracheia, the rugged; the other, Cilicia Pedias, the flat or plain country.
The coast of the Tracheia is narrow, and either has no level ground or it rarely occurs; besides this, the Taurus overhangs it, which is badly inhabited as far even as the northern side, about Isaura and the Homonadeis as far as Pisidia. This tract has the name of Tracheiotis, and the inhabitants that of Tracheiotae. The flat or plain country extends from Soli and Tarsus as far as Issus, and the parts above, where the Cappadocians are situated on the northern side of the Taurus. This tract consists chiefly of fertile plains.
I have already spoken of the parts within the Taurus; I shall now describe those without the Taurus, beginning with the Tracheiotae.
πρῶτον τοίνυν ἐστὶ τῶν Κιλίκων φρούριον τὸ Κορακήσιον ἱδρυμένον ἐπὶ πέτρας ἀπορρῶγος, ᾧ ἐχρήσατο Διόδοτος ὁ Τρύφων προσαγορευθεὶς ὁρμητηρίῳ καθʼ ὃν καιρὸν ἀπέστησε τὴν Συρίαν τῶν βασιλέων καὶ διεπολέμει πρὸς ἐκείνους, τοτὲ μὲν κατορθῶν τοτὲ δὲ πταίων. τοῦτον μὲν οὖν Ἀντίοχος ὁ Δημητρίου κατακλείσας εἴς τι χωρίον ἠνάγκασε διεργάσασθαι τὸ σῶμα· τοῖς δὲ Κίλιξιν ἀρχὴν τοῦ τὰ πειρατικὰ συνίστασθαι Τρύφων αἴτιος κατέστη καὶ ἡ τῶν βασιλέων οὐδένεια τῶν τότε ἐκ διαδοχῆς ἐπιστατούντων τῆς Συρίας ἅμα καὶ τῆς Κιλικίας· τῷ γὰρ ἐκείνου νεωτερισμῷ συνενεωτέρισαν καὶ ἄλλοι, διχοστατοῦντές τε ἀδελφοὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους ὑποχείριον ἐποίουν τὴν χώραν τοῖς ἐπιτιθεμένοις. ἡ δὲ τῶν ἀνδραπόδων ἐξαγωγὴ προὐκαλεῖτο μάλιστα εἰς τὰς κακουργίας ἐπικερδεστάτη γενομένη· καὶ γὰρ ἡλίσκοντο ῥᾳδίως, καὶ τὸ ἐμπόριον οὐ παντελῶς ἄπωθεν ἦν μέγα καὶ πολυχρήματον, ἡ Δῆλος, δυναμένη μυριάδας ἀνδραπόδων αὐθημερὸν καὶ δέξασθαι καὶ ἀποπέμψαι, ὥστε καὶ παροιμίαν γενέσθαι διὰ τοῦτο ἔμπορε, κατάπλευσον, ἐξελοῦ, πάντα πέπραται. αἴτιον δʼ ὅτι πλούσιοι γενόμενοι Ῥωμαῖοι μετὰ τὴν Καρχηδόνος καὶ Κορίνθου κατασκαφὴν οἰκετείαις ἐχρῶντο πολλαῖς· ὁρῶντες δὲ τὴν εὐπέτειαν οἱ λῃσταὶ ταύτην ἐξήνθησαν ἀθρόως, αὐτοὶ καὶ λῃζόμενοι καὶ σωματεμποροῦντες. συνήργουν δʼ εἰς ταῦτα καὶ οἱ τῆς Κύπρου καὶ οἱ τῆς Αἰγύπτου βασιλεῖς ἐχθροὶ τοῖς Σύροις ὄντες· οὐδʼ οἱ Ῥόδιοι δὲ φίλοι ἦσαν αὐτοῖς ὥστʼ οὐδὲν ἐβοήθουν· ἅμα δὲ καὶ οἱ λῃσταὶ προσποιούμενοι σωματεμπορεῖν ἄλυτον τὴν κακουργίαν εἶχον. ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ Ῥωμαῖοί πω τοσοῦτον ἐφρόντιζον τῶν ἔξω τοῦ Ταύρου, ἀλλʼ ἔπεμψαν μὲν καὶ Σκιπίωνα τὸν Αἰμιλιανὸν ἐπισκεψόμενον τὰ ἔθνη καὶ τὰς πόλεις καὶ πάλιν ἄλλους τινάς, ἔγνωσαν δὲ κακίᾳ τῶν ἀρχόντων συμβαῖνον τοῦτο, εἰ καὶ τὴν κατὰ γένος διαδοχὴν τὴν ἀπὸ Σελεύκου τοῦ Νικάτορος αὐτοὶ κεκυρωκότες ᾐδοῦντο ἀφαιρεῖσθαι. τοῦτο δὲ συμβὰν τῆς μὲν χώρας ἐποίησε κυρίους Παρθυαίους, οἳ τὰ πέραν τοῦ Εὐφράτου κατέσχον, τὸ τελευταῖον δὲ καὶ Ἀρμενίους, οἳ καὶ τὴν ἐκτὸς τοῦ Ταύρου προσέλαβον μέχρι καὶ Φοινίκης, καὶ τοὺς βασιλέας κατέλυσαν εἰς δύναμιν καὶ τὸ γένος αὐτῶν σύμπαν, τὴν δὲ θάλατταν τοῖς Κίλιξι παρέδωκαν. εἶτʼ αὐξηθέντας ἠναγκάσθησαν καταλύειν Ῥωμαῖοι πολέμῳ καὶ μετὰ στρατιᾶς οὓς αὐξομένους οὐκ ἐκώλυσαν. ὀλιγωρίαν μὲν οὖν αὐτῶν χαλεπὸν καταγνῶναι· πρὸς ἑτέροις δὲ ὄντες τοῖς ἐγγυτέρω καὶ κατὰ χεῖρα μᾶλλον οὐχ οἷοί τε ἦσαν τὰ ἀπωτέρω σκοπεῖν. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἔδοξεν ἡμῖν ἐν παρεκβάσει διὰ βραχέων εἰπεῖν.
The first place is Coracesium, a fortress of the Cilicians, situated upon an abrupt rock. Diodotus surnamed Tryphon used it as a rendezvous at the time that he caused Syria to revolt from her kings, and carried on war against them with various success. Antiochus, the son of Demetrius, obliged him to shut himself up in one of the fortresses, and there he killed himself.
Tryphon was the cause of originating among the Cilicians a piratical confederacy. They were induced also to do this by the imbecility of the kings who succeeded each other on the thrones of Syria and Cilicia. In consequence of his introduction of political changes, others imitated his example, and the dissensions among brothers exposed the country to the attacks of invaders.
The exportation of slaves was the chief cause of inducing them to commit criminal acts, for this traffic was attended with very great profit, and the slaves were easily taken. Delos was at no great distance, a large and rich mart, capable of receiving and transporting, when sold, the same day, ten thousand slaves; so that hence arose a proverbial saying, Merchant, come into port, discharge your freight—everything is sold. The Romans, having acquired wealth after the destruction of Carthage and Corinth, employed great numbers of domestic slaves, and were the cause of this traffic. The pirates, observing the facility with which slaves could be procured, issued forth in numbers from all quarters, committing robbery and dealing in slaves.
The kings of Cyprus and of Egypt, who were enemies of the Syrians, favoured their marauding enterprises; the Rhodians were no less hostile to the Syrians, and therefore afforded the latter no protection. The pirates, therefore, under the pretence of trading in slaves, continued without intermission their invasions and robbery.
The Romans paid little attention to the places situated without the Taurus; they sent, however, Scipio Aemilianus. and afterwards some others, to examine the people and the cities. They discovered that the evils arose from negligence on the part of the sovereigns, but they were reluctant to deprive the family of Seleucus Nicator of the succession, in which he had been confirmed by themselves.
For the same reason the Parthians, who occupied the parts beyond the Euphrates, became masters of the country; and lastly the Armenians, who also gained possession of the country without the Taurus as far as Phoenicia. They used their utmost to extirpate the power of the kings and all their descendants, but surrendered the command of the sea to the Cilicians.
The Romans were subsequently compelled to reduce the Cilicians, after their aggrandizement, by war and expeditions, whose progress, however, and advancement they had not obstructed; yet it would be improper to accuse the Romans of neglect, because, being engaged with concerns nearer at hand, they were unable to direct their attention to more distant objects.
I thought proper to make these remarks in a short digression from my subject.
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