'Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society, from September 1850 to June 1852. Edited by the Secretary. Volume X.' [‎119] (252/458)

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MEMOIR ON THE “ TIGRIS.” 219
ositon to the present bridge of boats at Baghdad, and Opis repre
sented by the mounds of Manjur, are correct, for their equivalent, or fifty
eotrraphical miles, exceeds by ten miles only the distance between the
places as the crow flies,* and Xenophon no where tells us that in this
part of the journey the nearest route to Opis by the Tigris, supposing
it could be done direct, was followed on the march. ‘ On the contrary
the Anabasis is silent with regard to the Tigris until Opis is reached,
and I am led to infer from this that the march was conducted adjacent
to the K&tul or Phuskus, as the lower country bordering on the Tigris
must have been covered with fields and numerous irrigants, which all
pour that way, as at present, from the Kh&lis, and were, consequently,
impassable by an army.f It w T as, moreover, suspected that the Persians
wished to keep them from strengthening their position in the event of
their determination to settle and abide events, and, therefore, we may
conclude they were conducted by the more open road along the higher
soil at a distance from the Tigris until the bridge of the Phuskus, where
the enemy awaited them, was crossed , and the anxiety of the Persians
thus relieved; they were then enabled to concert those projects which
they put into execution so treacherously at the Z&b. The excess of
route over direct distance is, therefore, fairly chargeable, under the
circumstances of the retreat, to the irregularities of roads, without any
allowance on the score of error in the dead reckoning, which, on the
more lengthened march from Opis to Coenoe, must have been consider
able, harassed as they were after passing the Phuskus by the attendance
of a vigilant enemy. Discarding his distances, however, beyond this
point, there are in the Anabasis, and in other ancient writers, local
evidences of importance for ascertaining the approximate position of
Opis which are not so liable to dispute, inferred from Xenophon placing
this “large and populous town* on the Phuskus while other writers
* See note *at page 90. I have remarked before that the farsakh of the Arab geographers,
which I have compared with my own measurements, give an exact quantity of two and a
half geographical miles to the farsakh ; for instance ’Akbara is given by Abul-feda, in the
Taquim al Baldan, as ten farsakhs from Baghdad; on this journey by my work it is 25
geographical miles from outside to outside of the cities in direct distance. Ibis makes the
equivalent of the farsakh 5,062 English yards.
f The road to the North at present leads to the East at a distance from the Tigris.