[12] This people inhabited the country on the banks of the Danube, and were divided into two tribes, the Great and the Little Scordisci.1 The former occupied the space between two rivers, which empty themselves into the Danube, the Noarus,2 which runs beside Segestica, and the Margus, or, as some call it, Bargus. The Little Scordisci lived beyond this river close to the Triballi and Mysi.3 The Scordisci possessed some of the islands also. They increased so much in strength and numbers as to advance even to the Illyrian, Pæonian, and Thracian confines. Most of the islands on the Danube fell into their hands, and they possessed the cities Heorta and Capedunum.4 Next to the territory of the Scordisci, lying along the banks of the Danube, is the country of the Triballi and Mysi, whom we have before mentioned; we have also spoken of the marshes5 of the Lesser Scythia on this side the Danube. This nation, and the Crobyzi, and the nation called Troglodytæ, live above the districts in which are situated Callatis, Tomis, and Ister.6 Next are the people about the Mount Hæmus, and those who live at its foot, extending as far as the Pontus, Coralli, and Bessi, and some tribes of Mædi and of Dantheletæ. All these nations are very much addicted to robbery. The Bessi possess far the greatest part of Mount Hæmus, and are called Robbers from their mode of life as free-booters. Some of them live in huts and lead a life of hardship. They extend close to Rhodope, the Pæeones, and to the Illyrian nations; to the Autariatæ also, and the Dardanians. Between these and the Ardiæi are the Dasaretii, Hybrianes, and other obscure nations, whose numbers the Scordisci were continually reducing, until they had made the country a desert, full of impassable forests, which extended several days' journey.
1 The Agrianæ occupied the neighbourhood of Mount Pangæus on the confines of Thrace and Macedonia. The Triballi, at the time alluded to by Strabo, possessed nearly the whole of the country included between the Adriatic and the Euxine. The Scordisci, who were at first confined to the territory situated between the Drave and the Save, in their turn took possession of all this country. It is not possible, in consequence of the continual wars which existed amongst these people, to determine with exactness the places which they successively occupied. G.
2 Probably the Save. G.
3 Mædi.
4 Cities not identified.
5 The Dobrudscha.
6 Mangalia, Tomesvar, the place of Ovid's exile, Kara-Herman.
The Geography of Strabo. Literally translated, with notes, in three volumes. London. George Bell & Sons. 1903.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.