'Some years travels into divers parts of Africa, and Asia the great. Describing more particularly the empires of Persia and Industan: interwoven with such remarkable occurrences as hapned in those parts during these later times. As also, many other rich and famous kingdoms in the oriental India, with the isles adjacent. Severally relating their religion, language, customs and habit: as also proper observations concerning them.' [‎160] (181/448)

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Had that amhitiom Nimrod thought on thih
Cambyfes, or the Semiramis,
With all thofe Princely Rulers which dtdjway
The Baft em Scepters, when thou didft obey h
It would have qnelVd their pride, and let them know
AH humane JBions have both ebb and flow.
The greatefi Monarchs cannot conquer Fate,
Time'doth by turns advance and fubjugate.
Now Royal Abbas rules, Spahawn mutt nje:
Where Kings ajfett, there mop Men cafi their eyes *,
There flockjhe Peofle! 'Tis his-powery not thine.
Which hath eclipsed their light, to make thee jhtne.
Then ufe thy Fortune fo, that none from thence
May wijh thy fall, or grudge thy Eminence-
SP AH A.WN has Artick elevation 32 degrees 39 minutes, and longitude 86 de
grees 30 minutes: differing a little from Don Garcia* accompt, whofe height exceeded
not 31 deg ee 30 minutes ' In whofe defcription if I feem prohx, impute it to the de-
Sre I have to give what I found obfervable. And firft, In regard fome fuppofe her like
Agra) an upftart Town, I will trace her in her antiquity and variations fo tar as my little
^That i^was ^^^Cas Niger thinks) is ridiculous to imagine*, Tabriz, by fuffrage of
molt Writers being taken for that City. Two thoufand three hundred yearsago itwas
called Dura: But whether that which Polomy calls Dera, (not probable, feemg he pla
ces it in Sufiana^rOt that Dara which was built by Arfaces the firit Parthian Emperour
after his vidory over Seleuchm, as juflin records in his 41 Book, I know not: But pro
bably this old name has mifled thofe that judge it to be Dura in that Province where the
haughty Affyrim ereded his golden Colof Hecatompylos is the next name 1 find it had ;
recorded by Apollodom, Polybim, Ptolomy and Pliny lib. 6. c. 8. fo denominated from
her hundred Gates*, albeit the name be alfo given to Thebes, qu<& centum jacetobrutator^
tis: In Hyrcania alfo there was another of that name •, and one in Libya which was bunt
by Hercules as Diod. Skulus mentions*, whereby we may imagine her in thole days a
great City. And though in Alexanders conquefts Curtim name her not, it leems ine
was then varied into that Greektjh denomination : For of this name goes a tradition,
That Demetrius Nycamr ( Sotor's Son) thirfting after Syria and Jerufalem (upon mstrea
cherous killing Antiochus Alexander's Son, to make the conqueft eafier) he was attronte
by Tryphon Lieutenant of Syria and forced to fly to Arbaces the Perfian King for iuccour,
who being acquainted with his unnatural defign, not onely deny'd him the Law or lio-
fpitality but fent him prifoner to Hecatompylon, where he was held in fetters, till upon
fubmiifion he was releafed, and by Arbaces re-feated in his own Dominion.
After that this City was called which fignifiisth Half the world:
hyperbole being given to Rome which fome call Epitomen Vniverfu) By Ben Jonas (here
An. Heg. 540. of our Lord 1160.) 'tis called Ajhbahan or Acjpachan who reports alio,
that then it had twelve miles compafs. By Cluverim 'tis called Hagiftan. By the Jravtan
GeographerAsbahawn,Etenim fub Algebal,(u e. the mountainous part of Media)funt Vf es
perilluftres quarum maxima funt Hamadan, Asbahawn, Deinur & Comm. AsbadanaZiK
that and under the true latitude. By Mandevil our Countrey-man (three hundred ana
40 years ago) Saphaon. At this day'tis called Spawhawn (or as they fibboleth" SphawhawrtJ
but by Writers differently IpelPd, as Spaha, Spachen, Acbahan, Ajpachan, Iz,paart, ^r'
han and Hijfahan , errours Ipringing from length of time and diverfity of Idioms* W
from whence the name Spawhawn derives it felf is not known unto the Natives, f 111 >
neverthelefs venture a conjecture of the Etymon, That it is either that old Town 5^
where Eunuchs were firft guelded *, or from a compound of AJpa (which fignifies a H or w
and Chawna ( a Houfe or Stable,) Spawhawn, as the City Pafargad which fignifies a Hor-
and the rather, in that the Hippodrome (the Body of the great Mydan) was an olcl , . c jj
cuftomed place for viewing of Horfes. And not unlikely to be that Ajpadana w 1
Ptolomy in his fifth Table of Afia places amongft the Cities of Pcrfia and in the f arn ^.
gree of latitude, which gives it the greater probability : For Ajpa in Ptolomy is tni y
miles more towards the South than that which he calls Hecatompylon Regia. But 1 can y
no means clofe with thofe who are confident that this Spawhawn was that old City w
was called Hecatompylon. For albeit I deny not that fuch a place there was, (as . ^
our Gr^Hiftorians) and that placed in this Countrey •, neverthelefs by con:1 P ann ^ Yera i