'Travels in Assyria, Media, and Persia, including a journey from Bagdad by Mount Zagros, to Hamadan, the ancient Ecbatana, researches in Ispahan and the ruins of Persepolis, and journey from thence by Shiraz and Shapoor to the sea-shore. Description of Bussorah, Bushire, Bahrein, Ormuz, and Muscat, narrative of an expedition against the pirates of the Persian Gulf, with illustrations of the voyage of Nearchus, and passage by the Arabian Sea to Bombay.' [‎432] (463/582)

432 VOYAGE FROM BUSH IRE
sids into thG interior, is one of the passes leading tlirougli tlie
mountains to Fironzabad.
This eity lay at the distance of a degree and a half only from
the coast at Berdistan ; and as Nearchus, during his stay here of
twenty-one days, to refit, received supplies of corn, which were
sent down to him by Alexander, it has been conjectured, with
great probability, that the division of the Macedonian army under
Hephestion, was halting here at Firouzabad, while Alexander was
yet to the eastward beyond the mountains, and that it was from
the stores of Hephestion's division that the supplies came. It has
been thought that a river called Sita Reghian descended from
hence to the sea, and the name of Sitakus was conceived to be
perceptible in this; but all my enquiries after such a stream led
to no confirmation of its existence. It is certain that there was
water in the neighbourhood of Firouzabad; but even this seems to
have been artificially conducted hither from the mountains, and
to have been afterwards exhausted in cultivation before it reached
the sea.
In some loose extracts and notes now before me, and made for
my journey through Persia, I find the following confirmations of
this fact. "During the reign of Firouz, there was a great famine,
in which, however, from his precautions, only one subject died of
hunger at Arderschir." This city, says De Sacy, in a note on the
passage above, from Mirkhond, is no doubt the same that the Per
sian geographer calls Arderschir Khoureh, and which was after
wards called Firouzabad. It is placed by Eastern writers in the
third climate, and one of the most remarkable objects it contained
was, according to them, a lofty edifice in the centre, for a pure air,
which building was called Ivan. Around the place was a large
platform, and water was conducted there from the mountains.
When Alexander conquered Persia, he could not master this
place, say they, from the difficulty of getting at it; but turning
the waters of the brook Khanikan from their course, he laid the
edifice under water, and made the whole town a lake. Ardeschir