Introduction.

The coasting voyage from the mouth of the Indus to the head of the Persian Gulf, designed by Alexander the Great, and executed by Nearkhos, may be regarded as the most important achievement of the ancients in navigation. It opened up, as Vincent remarks, a communication between Europe and the most distant countries of Asia, and, at a later period, was the source and origin of the Portuguese discoveries, and consequently the primary cause, however remote, of the British establishments in India. A Journal of this voyage was written by Nearkhos himself, which, though not extant in its original form, has been preserved for us by Arrian, who embodied its contents in his little work on India,[23] which he wrote as a sequel to his history of the expedition of Alexander.

Nearkhos as a writer must be acknowledged to be most scrupulously honest and exact,—for the result of explorations made in modern times along the shores which he passed in the course of his voyage shows that his description of them is accurate even in the most minute particulars. His veracity was nevertheless oppugned in ancient times by Strabo, who unjustly stigmatises the whole class of the Greek writers upon India as mendacious. “Generally speaking,” he says (II. i. 9), “the men who have written upon Indian affairs were a set of liars. Deimakhos holds the first place in the list, Megasthenês comes next, while Onêsikritos and Nearkhos, with others of the same class, stammer out a few words of truth.” (παραψελλίζοντες). Strabo, however, in spite of this censure did not hesitate to use Nearkhos as one of his chief authorities for his description of India, and is indebted to him for many facts relating to that country, which, however extraordinary they might appear to his contemporaries, have been all confirmed by subsequent observation. It is therefore fairly open to doubt whether Strabo was altogether sincere in his ill opinion, seeing it had but little, if any, influence on his practice. We know at all events that he was too much inclined to undervalue any writer who retailed fables, without discriminating whether the writer set them down as facts, or merely as stories, which he had gathered from hearsay.

In modern times, the charge of mendacity has been repeated by Hardouin and Huet. There are, however, no more than two passages of the Journal which can be adduced to support this imputation. The first is that in which the excessive breadth of 200 stadia is given to the Indus, and the second that in which it is asserted that at Malana (situated in 25° 17´ of N. latitude) the shadows at noon were observed to fall southward, and this in the month of November. With regard to the first charge, it may be supposed that the breadth assigned to the Indus was probably that which it was observed to have when in a state of inundation, and with regard to the second, it may be met by the supposition, which is quite admissible, that Arrian may have misapprehended in some measure the import of the statement as made by Nearkhos. The passage will be afterwards examined,[24] but in the meantime we may say, with Vincent, that if the difficulty it presents admits of no satisfactory solution, the misstatement ought not, as standing alone, to be insisted upon to the invalidation of the whole work.

But another charge besides that of mendacity has been preferred against the Journal. Dodwell has denied its authenticity. His attack is based on the following passage in Pliny (VI. 23):—Onesciriti et Nearchi navigatio nec nomina habet mansionum nec spatia. The Journal of Onesicritus and Nearchus has neither the names of the anchorages nor the measure of the distances. From this Dodwell argues that, as the account of the voyage in Arrian contains both the names and the distances, it could not have been a transcript of the Journal of Nearkhos, which according to Pliny gave neither names nor distances. Now, in the first place, it may well be asked, why the authority of Pliny, who is by no means always a careful writer, should be set so high as to override all other testimony, for instance, that of Arrian himself, who expressly states in the outset of his narrative that he intended to give the account of the voyage which had been written by Nearkhos. In the second place, the passage in question is probably corrupt, or if not, it is in direct conflict with the passage which immediately follows it, and contains Pliny’s own summary of the voyage in which little else is given than the names of the anchorages and the distances. Dodwell was aware of the inconsistency of the two passages, and endeavoured to explain it away. In this he entirely fails, and there can therefore be no reasonable doubt, that in Arrian’s work we have a record of the voyage as authentic as it is veracious.

Of that record we proceed to give a brief abstract, adding a few particulars gathered from other sources.

The fleet with which Nearkhos accomplished the voyage consisted of war-galleys and transports which had been partly built and partly collected on the banks of the river Hydaspes (now the Jhelam), where Alexander had supplied them with crews by selecting from his troops such men as had a knowledge of seamanship. The fleet thus manned sailed slowly down the Hydaspes, the Akesinês, and the Indus, its movements being regulated by those of the army, which, in marching down towards the sea, was engaged in reducing the warlike tribes settled along the banks of these rivers. This downward voyage occupied, according to Strabo, ten months, but it probably did not occupy more than nine. The fleet having at length reached the apex of the Delta formed by the Indus remained in that neighbourhood for some time at a place called Pattala, which has generally been identified with Ṭhaṭha—a town near to where the western arm of the Indus bifurcates,—but which Cunningham and others would prefer to identify with Nirankol or Haidarâbâd.[25] From Pattala Alexander sailed down the western stream of the river, where some of his ships were damaged and others destroyed by encountering the Bore, a phenomenon as alarming as it was new to the Greeks.[26] He returned to Pattala, and thence made an excursion down the Eastern stream, which he found less difficult to navigate. On again returning to Pattala he removed his fleet down to a station on the Western branch of the river (at an island called Killouta),[27] which was at no great distance from the sea. He then set out on his return to Persia, leaving instructions with Nearkhos to start on the voyage as soon as the calming of the monsoon should render navigation safe. It was the king’s intention to march near to the coast, and to collect at convenient stations supplies for the victualling of the fleet, but he found that such a route was impracticable, and he was obliged to lead his army through the inland provinces which lay between India and his destination, Sûsa.[28] He left Leonnatos, however, behind him in the country of the Oreitai, with instructions to render every assistance in his power to the expedition under Nearkhos when it should reach that part of the coast.

Nearkhos remained in the harbour at Killouta for about a month after Alexander had departed, and then sailed during a temporary lull in the monsoon, as he was apprehensive of being attacked by the natives who had been but imperfectly subjugated, and whose spirit was hostile.[29] The date on which he set sail is fixed by Vincent as the 1st of October in the year B.C. 326. He proceeded slowly down the river, and anchored first at a place called Stoura, which was only 100 stadia distant from the station they had quitted. Here the fleet remained for two days, when it proceeded to an anchorage only 30 stadia farther down the stream at a place called Kaumana.[30] Thence it proceeded to Koreatis (v. 1. Koreëstis)—where it again anchored. When once more under weigh its progress was soon arrested by a dangerous rock or bar which obstructed the mouth of the river.[31] After some delay this difficulty was overcome, and the fleet was conducted in safety into the open main, and onward to an island called Krôkala (150 stadia distant from the bar), where it remained at anchor throughout the day following its arrival. On leaving this island Nearkhos had Mount Eiros (now Manora) on his right hand, and a low flat island on his left; and this, as Cunningham remarks, is a very accurate description of the entrance to Karâchi harbour. The fleet was conducted into this harbour, now so well known as the great emporium of the trade of the Indus, and here, as the monsoon was still blowing with great violence, it remained for four and twenty days. The harbour was so commodious and secure that Nearkhos designated it the Port of Alexander. It was well sheltered by an island lying close to its mouth, called by Arrian, Bibakta, but by Pliny, Bibaga, and by Philostratos, Biblos.

The expedition took its departure from this station on the 3rd of November. It suffered both from stress of weather and from shortness of provisions until it reached Kôkala on the coast of the Oreitai, where it took on board the supplies which had been collected for its use by the exertions of Leonnatos. Here it remained for about 10 days, and by the time of its departure the monsoon had settled in its favour, so that the courses daily accomplished were now of much greater length than formerly. The shores, however, of the Ikhthyophagoi, which succeeded to those of the Oreitai, were so miserably barren and inhospitable that provisions were scarcely procurable, and Nearkhos was apprehensive lest the men, famished and despairing, should desert the ships. Their sufferings were not relieved till they approached the straits, which open into the Persian Gulf. When within the straits, they entered the mouth of the river Anamis (now the Minâb or Ibrahim river), and having landed, formed a dockyard and a camp upon its banks. This place lay in Harmozeia, a most fertile and beautiful district belonging to Karmania. Nearkhos, having here learned that Alexander was not more than a 5 days’ journey from the sea, proceeded into the interior to meet him, and report the safety of the expedition. During his absence the ships were repaired and provisioned, and therefore soon after his return to the camp he gave orders for the resumption of the voyage. The time spent at Harmozeia was one and twenty days. The fleet again under weigh coasted the islands lying at the mouth of the gulf, and then having shaped its course towards the mainland, passed the western shores of Karmania and those of Persis, till it arrived at the mouth of the Sitakos (now the Kara-Agach), where it was again repaired and supplied with provisions, remaining for the same number of days as at the Anamis. One of the next stations at which it touched was Mesembria, which appears to have been situated in the neighbourhood of the modern Bushire. The coast of Persis was difficult to navigate on account of intricate and oozy channels, and of shoals and breakers which frequently extended far out to sea. The coast which succeeded, that of Sousis (from which Persis is separated by the river Arosis or Oroatis, now the Tâb) was equally difficult and dangerous to navigate, and therefore the fleet no longer crept along the shore, but stood out more into the open sea. At the head of the gulf Sousis bends to westward, and here are the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates, which appear in those days to have entered the sea by separate channels. It was the intention of Nearkhos to have sailed up the former river, but he passed its mouth unawares, and continued sailing westward till he reached Diridôtis (or Terêdon), an emporium in Babylonia, situated on the Pallacopas branch of the Euphrates. From Diridôtis he retraced his course, and entering the mouth of the Tigris sailed up its stream till he reached the lower end of a great lake (not now existing), through which its current flowed. At the upper end of this lake was a village called Aginis, said to have been 500 stadia distant from Sousa. Nearkhos did not, as has been erroneously supposed by some, sail up the lake to Aginis, but entered the mouth of a river which flows into its south-eastern extremity, called the Pasitigris or Eulæus, the Ulai of the Prophet Daniel, now the Karûn. The fleet proceeded up this river, and came to a final anchor in its stream immediately below a bridge, which continued the highway from Persia to Sousa. This bridge, according to Ritter and Rawlinson, crossed the Pasitigris at a point near the modern village of Ahwaz. Here the fleet and the army were happily reunited. Alexander on his arrival embraced Nearkhos with cordial warmth, and rewarded appropriately the splendid services which he had rendered by bringing the expedition safely through so many hardships and perils to its destination. The date on which the fleet anchored at the bridge is fixed by Vincent for the 24th of February B. C. 325, so that the whole voyage was performed in 146 days, or somewhat less than 5 months.

The following tables show the names, positions, &c., of the different places which occurred on the route taken by the expedition:—

I.

From the Station on the Indus to the Port of Alexander (Karâchi Harbour).

Ancient name.Modern name.Distance
in Stadia.[32]		Lat. N.Long. E.
1. Station at Killouta.Near Lari-Bandar24° 30´67° 28´
2. Stoura100
3. KaumanaKhau30
4. Koreatis20
5. HermaBar in the Indus.
6. Krôkala120
7. Mount EirosManora.
8. Is. unnamed.
9. The Port of Alexander.Karâchi24° 53´66° 57´

II.

Coast of the Arabies (Sindh).

Length of the Coast from the Indus to the Arabis R.1000Stadia.
Actual length in miles English80
Time taken in its navigation38Days.
Ancient name.Modern name.Distance
in Stadia.		Lat. N.Long. E.
1. Port of AlexanderKarâchi24° 53´66° 57´
2. Bibakta
3. Domai Is. 6024° 48´66° 50´
4. Saranga 30024° 44´66° 34´
5. Sakala 24° 52´66° 33´
6. Morontobara 30025° 13´66° 40´
7. Is. unnamed
8. Arabis R.Purâli R.12025° 28´66° 35´

III.

Coast of Orcitai (Las.)

Length of the coast (Arrian)1600Stadia.
Length of the coast (Strabo)1800
Actual length in miles English100
Time taken in its navigation18Days.
Ancient name.Modern name.Distance
in Stadia.		Lat. N.Long. E.
1. Pagala20025° 30´66° 15´
2. Kabana40025° 28´65° 46´
3. KôkalaNearRâs-Katchari20025° 21´65° 36´
4. Tomêros R.Maklow or Hingul R.50025° 16´65° 15´
5. MalanaRâs Malan30025° 18´65° 7´

IV.

Coast of the Ikhthyophagoi (Mekran or Beluchistan).

Length of the coast (Arrian)10000Stadia.
Length of the coast (Strabo)7000
Actual length in miles English480
Time taken in its navigation90Days.
Ancient name.Modern name.Distance
in Stadia.		Lat. N.Long. E.
1. BagisaraOn Arabah or Hormara Bay60025° 12´64° 31´
2. Pasira
3. Cape unnamedRâs Arabah25° 7´64° 29´
4. Kolta20025° 8´64° 27´
5. KalamaKalami R.60025° 21´63° 59´
6. Karbine Is.Asthola or Sânga-dîp
7. Kissa in Karbis20025° 22´63° 37´
8. Cape unnamedC. Passence25° 15´63° 30´
9. MosarnaNear do.
10. Balômon750
11. Barna40025° 12´63° 10´
12. DendrobosaDaram or Duram20025° 11´62° 45´
13. KôphasRâs Koppa40025° 11´62° 29´
14. KuizaNear Râs Ghunse80025° 10´61° 56´
15. Town unnamedOn Gwattar Bay500
16. Cape called Bagia 25° 7´61° 28´
17. TalmenaOn Chaubar Bay100025° 24´60° 40´
18. Kanasis40025° 2460° 12´
19. Anchorage unnamed.
20. KanateKungoun85025° 25´59° 15´
21. Taœi or TroisiNear Sudich River80025° 30´58° 42´
22. BagasiraGirishk30025° 38´58° 27´
23. Anchorage unnamed1100

V.

Coast of Karmania (Moghistan and Laristan).

Length of the coast (Arrian and Strabo)3,700Stadia.
Actual length in miles English296
Time taken in its navigation19Days.
Ancient name.Modern name.Distance
in Stadia.		Lat. N.Long. E.
1. Anchorage unnamed
2. BadisNear Cape Bombarak25° 47´57° 48´
3. Anchorage unnamed800
4. Cape Maketa in ArabiaCape Musendom
5. NeoptanaNr. Karun70026° 57´57° 1´
6. Anamis R.Mînâb R.10027° 11´57° 6´
7. Organa Is.Ormus or Djerun
8. Orakta Is. 2 anchoragesKishm300
9. Island dist. from it 40 stadia.Angar or Hanjam
10. Island 300 stadia from mainland.Tombo40026° 20´55° 20´
11. Pylora Is.Polior Is.26° 20´54° 35´
12. SisidoneMogos?
13. TarsiaC. Djard30026° 20´54° 21´
14. Kataia Is.Kenn30026° 32´54°

VI.

Coast of Persis (Farsistan).

Length of the Coast4,400Stadia.
Actual length in miles English382
Time taken in its navigation31Days.
Ancient name.Modern name.Distance
in Stadia.		Lat. N.Long. E.
1. Ila and Kaikander Is.Inderabia Island40026° 38´53° 35´
2. Island with Pearl Fishery
3. Another anchorage here40
4. Mount Okhos26° 59´53° 20´
5. Apostana45027° 1´52° 55´
6. Bay unnamedOn it is Nabend40027° 24´52° 25´
7. Gôgana at mouth of Areôn R.Konkan60027° 48´52°
8. SitakosKara-Agach R.800
9. Hieratis75028° 52´50° 45´
10. Heratemis R. near it.
11. Podagron, R.
12. MesambriaNear Bushire.29°50° 45´
13. Taökê on Granis, R.Taaug20029° 14´50° 30´
14. Rhogonis, R.20029° 27´50° 29´
15. Brizana, R.40029° 57´50° 15´
16. Arosis or Oroatis, R.River Tâb.30°4´49° 30´

VII.

Coast of Sousis (Khuzistan.)

Length of the Coast2000Stadia.
Time taken in its navigation3Days.
Ancient name.Modern name.Distance
in Stadia.		Lat. N.Long. E.
1. Kataderbis R.50030° 16´49°
2. Margastana Is.
3. Anchorage unnamed.600
4. Diridôtis, the end of the sea voyage.Near Jebel Sanâm.90030° 12´47° 35´