̔η δὲ χώρα φέρει κριθὰς μὲν ὅσας οὐκ ἄλλη (καὶ γὰρ τριακοσιοντάχουν λέγουσι), τὰ δὲ ἄλλα ἐκ τοῦ φοίνικος παρέχεται· καὶ γὰρ ἄρτον καὶ οἶνον καὶ ὄξος καὶ μέλι καὶ ἄλφιτα· τά τε πλεκτὰ παντοῖα ἐκ τούτου· τοῖς δὲ πυρῆσιν ἀντʼ ἀνθράκων οἱ χαλκεῖς χρῶνται, βρεχόμενοι δὲ τοῖς σιτιζομένοις εἰσὶ τροφὴ βουσὶ καὶ προβάτοις. φασὶ δʼ εἶναι καὶ Περσικὴν ᾠδήν, ἐν ᾗ τὰς ὠφελείας τριακοσίας καὶ ἑξήκοντα διαριθμοῦνται· ἐλαίῳ δὲ χρῶνται τῷ σησαμίνῳ τὸ πλέον· οἱ δʼ ἄλλοι τόποι σπανίζονται τούτου τοῦ φυτοῦ.
Babylonia produces barley in larger quantity than any other country, for a produce of three hundred-fold is spoken of. The palm tree furnishes everything else, bread, wine, vinegar, and meal; all kinds of woven articles are also procured from it. Braziers use the stones of the fruit instead of charcoal. When softened by being soaked in water, they are food for fattening oxen and sheep.
It is said that there is a Persian song in which are reckoned up 360 useful properties of the palm.
They employ for the most part the oil of sesamum, a plant which is rare in other places.
γίνεται δʼ ἐν τῇ Βαβυλωνίᾳ καὶ ἄσφαλτος πολλή, περὶ ἧς Ἐρατοσθένης μὲν οὕτως εἴρηκεν ὅτι ἡ μὲν ὑγρὰ ἣν καλοῦσι νάφθαν, γίνεται ἐν τῇ Σουσίδι, ἡ δὲ ξηρὰ δυναμένη πήττεσθαι ἐν τῇ Βαβυλωνίᾳ· ταύτης δʼ ἐστὶν ἡ πηγὴ τοῦ Εὐφράτου πλησίον· πλημμύροντος δὲ τούτου κατὰ τὰς τῶν χιόνων τήξεις καὶ αὐτὴ πληροῦται καὶ ὑπέρχυσιν εἰς τὸν ποταμὸν λαμβάνει· ἐνταῦθα δὲ συνίστανται βῶλοι μεγάλαι πρὸς τὰς οἰκοδομὰς ἐπιτήδειαι τὰς διὰ τῆς ὀπτῆς πλίνθου. ἄλλοι δὲ καὶ τὴν ὑγρὰν ἐν τῇ Βαβυλωνίᾳ γίνεσθαί φασι. περὶ μὲν οὖν τῆς ξηρᾶς εἴρηται πόσον τὸ χρήσιμον τὸ ἐκ τῶν οἰκοδομιῶν μάλιστα· φασὶ δὲ καὶ πλοῖα πλέκεσθαι, ἐμπλασθέντα δʼ ἀσφάλτῳ πυκνοῦσθαι. τὴν δὲ ὑγρὰν ἣν νάφθαν καλοῦσι, παράδοξον ἔχειν συμβαίνει τὴν φύσιν· προσαχθεὶς γὰρ ὁ νάφθας πυρὶ πλησίον ἀναρπάζει τὸ πῦρ, κἂν ἐπιχρίσας αὐτῷ σῶμα προσαγάγῃς, φλέγεται· σβέσαι δʼ ὕδατι οὐχ οἷόν τε (ἐκκαίεται γὰρ μᾶλλον) πλὴν εἰ πάνυ πολλῷ, ἀλλὰ πηλῷ καὶ ὄξει καὶ στυπτηρίᾳ καὶ ἰξῷ πνιγεὶς σβέννυται. πείρας δὲ χάριν φασὶν Ἀλέξανδρον ἐν λουτρῷ προσχέαι παιδὶ τοῦ νάφθα καὶ προσαγαγεῖν λύχνον· φλεγόμενον δὲ τὸν παῖδα ἐγγὺς ἐλθεῖν τοῦ ἀπολέσθαι, πλὴν πολλῷ σφόδρα καταντλοῦντες τῷ ὕδατι ἐξίσχυσαν καὶ διέσωσαν οἱ περιεστῶτες. Ποσειδώνιος δέ φησι τοῦ ἐν τῇ Βαβυλωνίᾳ νάφθα τὰς πηγὰς τὰς μὲν εἶναι λευκοῦ τὰς δὲ μέλανος· τούτων δὲ τὰς μὲν εἶναι θείου ὑγροῦ (λέγω δὲ τὰς τοῦ λευκοῦ· ταύτας δʼ εἶναι τὰς ἐπισπώσας τὰς φλόγας), τὰς δὲ τοῦ μέλανος ἀσφάλτου ὑγρᾶς, ᾧ ἀντʼ ἐλαίου τοὺς λύχνους κάουσι.
Asphaltus is found in great abundance in Babylonia. Eratosthenes describes it as follows.
The liquid asphaltus, which is called naphtha, is found in Susiana; the dry kind, which can be made solid, in Babylonia. There is a spring of it near the Euphrates. When this river overflows at the time of the melting of the snow, the spring also of asphaltus is filled, and overflows into the river, where large clods are consolidated, fit for buildings constructed of baked bricks. Others say that the liquid kind also is found in Babylonia. With respect to the solid kind, I have described its great utility in the construction of buildings. They say that boats (of reeds) are woven, which, when besmeared with asphaltus, are firmly compacted. The liquid kind, called naphtha, is of a singular nature. When it is brought near the fire, the fire catches it; and if a body smeared over with it is brought near the fire, it burns with a flame, which it is impossible to extinguish, except with a large quantity of water; with a small quantity it burns more violently, but it may be smothered and extinguished by mud, vinegar, alum, and glue. It is said that Alexander, as an experiment, ordered naphtha to be poured over a boy in a bath, and a lamp to be brought near his body. The boy became enveloped in flames, and would have perished if the bystanders had not mastered the fire by pouring upon him a great quantity of water, and thus saved his life.
Poseidonius says that there are springs of naphtha in Babylonia, some of which produce white, others black, naphtha; the first of these, I mean the white naphtha, which attracts flame, is liquid sulphur; the second, or black naphtha, is liquid asphaltus, and is burnt in lamps instead of oil.
πάλαι μὲν οὖν ἡ Βαβυλὼν ἦν μητρόπολις τῆς Ἀσσυρίας, νῦν δὲ Σελεύκεια ἡ ἐπὶ τῷ Τίγρει λεγομένη. πλησίον δʼ ἐστὶ κώμη Κτησιφῶν λεγομένη, μεγάλη· ταύτην δʼ ἐποιοῦντο χειμάδιον οἱ τῶν Παρθυαίων βασιλεῖς φειδόμενοι τῶν Σελευκέων, ἵνα μὴ κατασταθμεύοιντο ὑπὸ τοῦ Σκυθικοῦ φύλου καὶ στρατιωτικοῦ· δυνάμει οὖν Παρθικῇ πόλις ἀντὶ κώμης ἐστὶ * καὶ τὸ μέγεθος, τοσοῦτόν γε πλῆθος δεχομένη καὶ τὴν κατασκευὴν ὑπʼ ἐκείνων αὐτῶν κατεσκευασμένη καὶ τὰ ὤνια καὶ τὰς τέχνας προσφόρους ἐκείνοις πεπορισμένη. εἰώθασι γὰρ ἐνταῦθα τοῦ χειμῶνος διάγειν οἱ βασιλεῖς διὰ τὸ εὐάερον· θέρους δὲ ἐν Ἐκβατάνοις καὶ τῇ Ὑρκανίᾳ διὰ τὴν ἐπικράτειαν τῆς παλαιᾶς δόξης. ὥσπερ δὲ Βαβυλωνίαν τὴν χώραν καλοῦμεν, οὕτω καὶ τοὺς ἄνδρας τοὺς ἐκεῖθεν Βαβυλωνίους καλοῦμεν, οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς πόλεως, ἀλλʼ ἀπὸ τῆς χώρας· ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς Σελευκείας ἧττον, κἂν ἐκεῖθεν ὦσι, καθάπερ Διογένη τὸν στωικὸν φιλόσοφον.
In former times the capital of Assyria was Babylon; it is now called Seleuceia upon the Tigris. Near it is a large village called Ctesiphon. This the Parthian kings usually made their winter residence, with a view to spare the Seleucians the burden of furnishing quarters for the Scythian soldiery. In consequence of the power of Parthia, Ctesiphon may be considered as a city rather than a village; from its size it is capable of lodging a great multitude of people; it has been adorned with public buildings by the Parthians, and has furnished merchandise, and given rise to arts profitable to its masters.
The kings usually passed the winter there, on account of the salubrity of the air, and the summer at Ecbatana and in Hyrcania, induced by the ancient renown of these places.
As we call the country Babylonia, so we call the people Babylonians, not from the name of the city, but of the country; the case is not precisely the same, however, as regards even natives of Seleuceia, as, for instance, Diogenes, the stoic philosopher [who had the appellation of the Babylonian, and not the Seleucian].
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