[3] Upon the river, and on the lake, stands a city Tanaïs, founded by the Greeks, who possess the Bosporus; but lately the King Polemon1 laid it waste on account of the refractory disposition of the inhabitants. It was the common mart both of the Asiatic and of the European nomades, and of those who navigate the lake from the Bosporus, some of whom bring slaves and hides, or any other nomadic commodity; others exchange wine for clothes, and other articles peculiar to a civilized mode of life. In front of the mart at the distance of 100 stadia is an is land Alopecia, a settlement of a mixed people. There are other small islands not far off in the lake. The city Tanaïs,2 to those who sail in a direct line towards the north, is distant from the mouth of the Mæotis 2200 stadia, nor is the distance much greater in sailing along the coast (on the east).
1 About B. C. 16. Smith, art. Polemon I.
2 If there ever did exist such a city as Tanaïs I should expect to find it at the extremity of that northern embouchure of the Don, which I have before mentioned as bearing the very name the Greeks gave to the city, with the slightest variation of orthography, in the appellation Tdanæts or Danætz. Clarke's Travels in Russia, chap. 14.
The Geography of Strabo. Literally translated, with notes, in three volumes. London. George Bell & Sons. 1903.
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