The nauigations, peregrinations and voyages, made into Turkie by Nicholas Nicholay Daulphinois, Lord of Arfeuile, chamberlaine and geographer ordinarie to the King of Fraunce conteining sundry singularities which the author hath there seene and obserued: deuided into foure bookes, with threescore figures, naturally set forth as well of men as women, according to the diuersitie of nations, their port, intreatie, apparrell, lawes, religion and maner of liuing, aswel in time of warre as peace: with diuers faire and memorable histories, happened in our time. Translated out of the French by T. Washington the younger.

Of Armenia.

Chap. 20.

TO come now to the original coūtrie of the Armeniās, you must vnderstand that Armenia is a region in Asia, so called Armenia by the name of Armene, otherwise called Thessall, cō¦panion of Iason the Thessaloniā in his expeditiō Argonātique, and is deuided in two parts, to wit, Armenia the greater, nowe called Turcomania, & Armenia the lesser, which yet reserueth his name. In this region (as Isidore saith) is the moūt Ararat, o∣therwise called the mount Gordian, vppon the toppe whereof rested and remained the arke of Noe, after the great deluge was ceassed. Through the playnes of Armenia passeth the ry∣uer Araxe by them called Arath, and likewise a great part of the renowmed Ryuers of Euphrates & Tiger. The Euphrates whych in the Assyrian tongue is called Almacher, through his

inundations (as Nilus doth in Egypt) maketh the coūtrie frute∣full and abundant, in the channell and decourse whereof are founde many pretious stones of great price and valew. Ptolo∣me in the first booke of his Geographie, & pope Pius in his 3. part of y^e descriptiō of Asia, describe Armenia after this maner: on the North side it hath a part of Colcide, now called Calpurt of Hiberia and Albania: on the West it hath the great course of the riuer of Euphrates, which on the left hande leaueth Ca∣padocia▪ Armenia the lesser, Sira, Comegena, and towards the Euxine the mounts Mosquises. On the East it is termined with part of the Sea Hircanum, and of Media, toward the which are the Caspian mountes: and on the South side hath Mesopota∣mia and Assyria. The most famous mountaines of Armenia are the Mosquises, which stretch towardes Capadocia vppon the part of Periade, whereas are the springs of Euphrates, Araxes and Antitaure, which is the halfe part of the Euphrates, & run∣neth through Media and Armenia, and at the ende of his course is called Albus: the Cordicque out of which the Tiger groweth and extendeth vnto the pales of Tospie the Taur, and the Niphante, whiche deuide Mesopotamia and Assyria from the Armenians, the Caspiens which decline to the Medes and the Caucases, whiche shut vp the North parts towards Iberia & Albania▪ As for the riuers most renowmed in Armenia▪ the 4 principallest are these whiche followe: Cyrus which growing from the mount Caucase, leaueth on the left hande Iberia and Albania, and on the right hande Armenia, and so falleth into the Hircan Sea: Araxe, (which as wee haue sayde) falling from the mount Periade, taketh his course farre Eastwardes, after∣wardes enclineth towardes the North, and hauing runne so a great way, deuideth into two streames, whereof the one kee∣peth hys course Northwardes, and falleth into Cyrus, and the other towardes the East, casteth out into the Sea Caspium: the Euphrates whiche issueth out of the same mounte towardes the West, runneth vnto the Mountes of the Mosquice, and to the borders of Capadocia, and from thence taketh his course farre towardes the South, returnyng too Antitaure parteth the same from Armenia the lesser: afterwards taking his right

course towards the South; the floud Mela, which falleth frō the mount Arga, after cutting the Taur in two, leaueth Syria on the right hand, and Mesopotamia on the left, extending vnto Ara∣bia the desart, & then againe hauing run along course towards the South, & tēding againe towardes the East and West, separa∣teth Babylon from Mesopotamia, & of new returning towards the East, not farre from Selencia, boweth towardes the South, & maketh a great course by Apamia: and afterwardes running once agayne towards the East, mingleth with the Tyger, which also taketh his origin in Armenia, from the mount Cordicke: & running with him towardes the south, entreth into the goulph of Persia. The most famous cities of Armenia the lesse, accor∣ding to Plinie in his sixt booke the nienth chapter, are Cesaria, Asa, and Nicopoli. And of Armenia the greater, Arsamote, whi∣che Ptolome calleth Arsamosate neere vnto Euphrates, and to the Tiger Carcachiocerte. In the mountaines is Tigranocerte, and in the playne neere vnto the floud Araxe, Artaxete. Ptolo∣me speaketh of a great many more which I leaue behind for es∣chewing of prolixity, but only that I will say, that at this present day, Armenia the greater hath the first place amongst the coun∣treyes of Sophy, as being ennobled of his royall city of Tauris or Terua, as Ptolome saith, or els as it seemeth vnto some He∣brewes very well experimented in languages, & assieties of coū∣tries, the famous & auncient citie of Susa. But as fo•• Armenia the lesser, the most part therof is now vnder the yoke & domi∣nion of the great Turke, and Armenia the greater, vnder the pu∣issance of Sophi king of the Persians.

[illustration]

A Merchant of Armenia.