Geography

​Now the greater part of Adiabene is a plain; and though it is itself a part of Babylonia, it nevertheless has its own ruler, in some places bordering also on Armenia. For the Medes and the Armenians, and thirdly the Babylonians, the greatest of the nations in this region, continued from the beginning to be so constituted toward one another that they would attack each other at their respective opportunities and then reconcile again; and this state of affairs continued down to the supremacy of the Parthians. Thus, the Parthians rule over the Medes and the Babylonians, but not even once over the Armenians; indeed, although invasions occurred frequently, they were never conquered by force, but Tigranes even vigorously counter-dominated them, as has been said in the account of Armenia. Such, then, is Adiabene; next we shall speak of Mesopotamia and the nations toward the south, having first gone over briefly what is said concerning the customs among the Assyrians.

​Now their other customs resemble those of the Persians, but peculiar to them is the appointment of three prudent men as rulers of each tribe, who, bringing the marriageable girls before the multitude, always offer them by public crier to the bridegrooms, always the more highly valued ones first. In this manner marriages are consummated; and as often as they have intercourse with one another, they both rise up to burn incense, each separately; and at dawn they bathe before touching any vessel; for just as bathing after touching a corpse is customary, so also is it after sexual intercourse. It is also a custom for all Babylonian women, in accordance with a certain oracle, to have intercourse with a stranger, arriving at a certain temple of Aphrodite with a large retinue and crowd; and each woman is crowned with a cord. A man who approaches, having deposited on her knees as much silver as is suitable, has intercourse with her after leading her away outside the sacred precinct; and the silver is considered sacred to Aphrodite. And there are three tribunals: that of those already discharged from military service, that of the most illustrious, and that of the elders, besides the one appointed by the king. It is the duty of this last to give young women in marriage and to judge cases concerning adultery, while that of another is to judge cases of theft, and that of a third, cases of violence. They bring their sick out into the three-way crossroads and inquire of those who pass by if anyone has anything to say as a remedy for the disease; and no one of those who pass by is so base that, upon meeting the sick person, if he knows of any saving remedy, he does not suggest it. Their clothing consists of a linen tunic reaching to the feet, an upper tunic of wool, a white mantle, long hair, and footwear similar to a slipper. They also carry a seal and a sceptre, not plain but distinguished, having on top an apple or a rose or a lily or something of the sort; and they anoint themselves with sesame oil; they lament the dead, as do the Egyptians and many others; and they bury them in honey, having smeared them with wax. And there are three tribes of those who are destitute of grain; these are swamp-dwellers and fish-eaters, living in a manner similar to those in Gedrosia.