Geography

​The southern side of Ariane, indeed, has such a disposition of its coast and of the adjacent land lying just above it, which belongs to the Gedrosians and Oritae. And Gedrosia also extends far into the interior until it borders on the Drangae, Arachoti, and Paropamisadae, concerning whom Eratosthenes has spoken as follows; for we have nothing better to say about them. Indeed, he says that Ariane is bounded on the east by the Indus, on the south by the great sea, on the north by the Paropamisus and the succeeding mountains as far as the Caspian Gates, and on the west by the same boundaries by which Parthylene is separated from Media and Carmania from Paraitacene and Persis. The width of the country is the length of the Indus from the Paropamisus to its outlets, which is twelve thousand stadia (though some say thirteen thousand). And the length from the Caspian Gates, as recorded in the Asiatic Stations, is twofold. As far as Alexandria in Aria from the Caspian Gates, there is one and the same road through Parthyaea; then, one road goes straight through Bactriana and the passage over the mountain to Ortospana to the three-way junction from Bactra, which is in the country of the Paropamisadae; while the other turns aside a little from Aria toward the south to Prophthasia in Drangiana; and then again the remaining road goes as far as the boundaries of India and the Indus; so that this road through the Drangae and Arachoti is longer, the whole being fifteen thousand three hundred stadia. If, then, one should subtract the thirteen hundred, one would have the remaining length of the country in a straight line, fourteen thousand stadia; for it is not much less than the coast, even if some increase it by placing Carmania at six thousand in addition to the ten thousand; for they will appear to place it either including the gulfs or including the Carmanian coast within the Persian Gulf. And the name of Ariane is extended to some part of both the Persians and Medes, and further to the Bactrians and Sogdians to the north; for they are also, in a way, almost of the same language.

​The arrangement of the tribes is as follows: along the Indus are the Paropamisadae, above whom lies the Paropamisus mountain; then the Arachoti to the south; then in succession to the south the Gedroseni, along with the others who hold the coast; and the Indus runs alongside all of these along the widths of their countries. Of these, the Indians hold a certain part along the Indus, which formerly belonged to the Persians, which Alexander took away from the Ariani and established settlements of his own, but Seleucus Nicator gave to Sandrocottus, having made a marriage alliance and received in return five hundred elephants. Alongside the Paropamisadae to the west are the Arii, and alongside the Arachoti and Gedrosii are the Drangae; and the Arii are adjacent to the Drangae both to the north and to the west, surrounding them to a small extent; and Bactriana lies adjacent to Aria to the north and to the Paropamisadae, through whose country Alexander crossed the Caucasus when marching to Bactra; to the west, next to the Arii, are the Parthyaei and the region around the Caspian Gates; to the south of these is the desert of Carmania, and then the rest of Carmania and Gedrosia.