<USUtlFSUqUl' - trUì'UUI'FUqUì' - rtFUqUì,

< uì,+tru

REVUE

BAZN'I{AVEP
tl,ftUì'Cl'US t ql

l-4

200s

--&
=-.
'*-'
=*g
;r=:'
..'-
 THE SOUTHERNBORDER
OF CAUCASIAN ALBANIA
(tST B.C. - 2ND A.D.): CALLING UP THE SOURCES.

Tsn Pnonrpvr
Along with Armenia and Iberia, Caucasian Albania was one
of the most important political entities in Subcaucasia between the
lst c. B.C. and the 8th c. A.D. Yet our information about it is
scanty, and Albania has long been neglected by scholars,
particularly in the West. A most debated question about Albania is
the definition of its bordersr, particularly the southern border,
dividing Albania from Armenia. Many diff'erent solutions to this
problem have been put forward and all of them had to reckon with
the examination of the same few ancient sourcest. So the question
is the following: are the sources so contradictory to permit such
different and sometimes diametrically opposed interpretations, or
is it possible to single out some basic data that allow to determine
the conception ancient authors had of Albanian southern border?

A draft of this article w&s presented to the First Chicago Conference on Cau-
May 1999. The revised version wa.s expected to be publishetl
cu.sia, Chicago 6-9
in the Procccdings of the Conf'erence under the editorship of Profes.sor H.I.
Aronson. Most regrettably some months ago Professor Aronson announced to all
contributors that the proceedings would not be published any more.
When I speak of border without other specifìcations I mean the political border
and not the ethnic one. Of course not always the two coincided.
)
I do not deem it possible nor prot'itable to elaborate here on the different hypo-
theses proposed so far. A review of the bibliography on this subject should take
into account the cultural and ideological background on which Albanian scho-
lamhip developed. Anyway, to have an idea of the debate going on about the
territorial defìnition of Caucasian Albanian see: Aliev 1974:83-l?3; Mamedova
1986: I l6- l3 I ; Akopjan 1987:2O-36; Bais 2001 : 149-153.
 2005 THE SOLITHERN BORDER OF CAUCASTAN ALBANIA 331

Souncps
For the period lst c. B.c.-2nd A.D. the sources providing us
with useful elements for the reconstruction of Armeno-Albanian
border are represented by the following Greek and Latin works (I
give here the list in chronological order):
Strabo's Geography wrrtten in the second half of the lst c.
B.C. The 9th book contains information about Caucasia and the
4th chapter is dedicated to Albania3.
Pliny's Natural History composed in the lst c. A.D. In the 6th
book we find a description of the Caucasian regiona.
Plutarch's Ltfe of Pompey composecl in the lst c. A.D. The
author describes Pompey's Mithridatic campaign and his fights
against Albanianss.
Ptolemy's Geogrophy co\posed in the 2nd c. A.D. The chap-
ter V. I I is devoted to Albania6.
cassius Dio's History oJ' Rome, composed between the 2nd
and the 3rd c. A.D. The books XXXVI-XXXVII relate the events
of Pompey' s Mithridatic campaignt.
The above mentioned sources are basically of two kinds: on
the one hand there are the geographical and scientific works (Stra-
bo, Pliny the Elder and Ptolemy), and on the other the historians
(Plutarch and Cassius Dio). Historians' contribution to the recons-
truction of Albanian southern border must not be underestimated.
In fact, notwithstanding the paucity and fragmentariness and the
occasional character of the information that may be drawn from
this kind of source, the fact that it consists of a series of references

3
Quoted after the text edited by c. Aujac (book II) and F. Lasserre (book XI).
4
Quoted after the text edited by L. Jan-C. Mayhoff.
_5

Quoted af-ter the text edited by È. Chambry.

6
Quoted after the unfìnished critical edition by C. Mùiller (and C. Th. Fisher). The
most recent integral edition of the text, without apparatus criticus, is that by
C.F.A. Nobbe. Since one of the most authoritative branch of the tradition (mss.
Vatic. Urbin. gr. 82 and Istambul Seragliensis 57) coulcl not be taken into con-
sideration by C. Mtiller, it is worth to consult J. Fisher 1932.
Quoted after the Loeb edition.
 MARCO BAIS 2005
332

intendecl to represent the geopolitical space within which Roman

and Albanian armies performed their tactical movements, makes it
even more reliable8.
Unfortunately the information we get from our sources does
not cover the period between the lst c. B.C- and the 2nd c' A'D'
thoroughly, so that only the Albanian border situation in specific
moments can be sketched out.

AT,gANTAN SOUTHERN BORDER IN THE l.St C. B.C.

The mititary operations led in the Caucasus by the Romans
just
against Mithridates VI Eupator king of Pontus and his allies
béfore the half of the lst c. B.C. mark an important step in the
improvement of the knowledge of the Caucasian area in the West'
The first data permitting a discussion about the territorial extension
of Albanian klngdom go back to this periocl. The work of Theo-
phanes of Mytilàne, who took part in the expedition, is now lost,
6ut Cassius Dio and Plutarch, relating the history of those years, as
well as Strabo drew on it. Strabo, describing the Caucasian region
in the second half of the 1st c. 8.C., mentions Albanians and Ibe-
rizrns as populations better known in his times than beforee'
According to Cassius Dio, in 66-65 B.C., after the surrender
of Armenia, Pàmpey "wintered in the land of Anaitis and near the
River Kural0... However he did not pass the winter quietly. In fact,

1986: 120 who questions the value of the infornta-

' I do not agree with Mamedova
goal
tion about Albania hancled down by Pompey's historians, claiming that the
of Roman Caucasian campaigns in the lst c. B.C. was to strike Mithridates, and

not to studY Caucasian tribes,

) Strabo II.5.l2 "In particular the writers of the present time can give a better
peoples in
account of the things concerning Britans and Germans... and also the
the regions of Cauóasus, such as the Albanians and the Iberians" (Md\toro E'

oi r.,ùr., ii;.lelyol tyorcv dv n \ÉyeLv nepì" róv rca.rà TlperrouoùS rcci l-ep-
"l[]rìpos)'
p,.a,rol)g...!-rL Sè ioùs repì- ròy Kaúrc<roov, otov 'A\Bavor)g rcai
on the soufces of strabo's XI book, see Lasserre 1975:7-28.

'n Th" classical sources call this r.er Cyr^s/Kùpog, but Cassius Dio and Plutarch
name of
have KÚpvoS. To simplity I translate everywhere Kufa, the present-day
the river.
2005 THE SOUTHERN BORDER OF CAUCASIAN ALBANIA 333

Oroeses, king of the Albanians dwelling beyond the Kura... made

an expedition against them (i.e. the Romans) at the time of the
Saturnalru"ll. After describing the engagement between Albanians
and Romans, the historian ends the chapter by saying that Pompey
"seized and destroyed many of the Albanians near the crossing of
the Kura. He then made a truce at their request; for although on
other accounts he was extremely anxious to invade their country
out of revenge, he was glad to postpone the war becallse of the
winter"'t. The following year (6tB.C.), after pursuing Mithridates
through the territory of the Colchians and other populations,
Pompey ordered the fleet to blockade the king, "while he himself
directed his course against the Albanians, not taking the shortest
route, but turning back into Armenia, in order to take them una-
wares, also for this reason in connection with the truce. He forded
the Kura at a point where the summer had made it passable"l3.
Without encountering any resistance the Romans marched on to
the River Cambyses and to the Abasto, got across the river and cla-
shed with the Albanian army, which suffered a defeat.
In his Lqfe of Pompey Plutarch says that the Romans pursued
Mithridates passing through a great number of Caucasian tribes,
inclLrding Iberians and Albanians, "these latter at first granted
Pompey's request for a free passage; but when winter hacl

" C,,rr. Dio XXXVI.53.5-54. I "év r€ rfr 1ópg rfr 'Arro.irL8r rcoì npòg rQ no-
rulrQ r(l ou pÉuroL rco[ eu riouxig 8texeípooeu.
Kúpur'.r...nope1eip.croe...
'Opoiorls ydp 'A\pouóu rriu úmàp ro0 Kúpuou olrcoúyrcoy BcroL\eúg... ào-
rpóteuoev èn' oùroùs î"op' ourd rd Kpóvlo".
't Cl .r. Dio XXXVI.54.5 "rtìy p.évrot 'A\Bourîr, ouloùg ri'e pl rr\u ro0 Kup-
r,ou ELriBaoLv ou\).crBtbv éQ0erpe. r<<irc roúrou 6eq0eîoLu ourois Èoneioo-
ro' d\\t,rs pàu ydp rcoì ofóEpa ene0úpeL €s rùy yritpav, oùrriy cÌurep-
flo\eîr,, 6Lò Eà 611 ròv 1e Lp.rîua r16ero9 'ròu nó\e tr;nv àve Ba\6ro".
'' Cur*. Dio XXXVII.3.3-4 "oùros Sè ènì 'roùs 'A\Bauoùg ou rlu ouurop(r)-
'rcírqv, ónt'rg oóds rcaì" ùno roúrou npòs roîs oroy6oîs ri.ueì.n[otoug
rccrr-o\ríBr1, dÀ.\'es rùu 'Aptt.evLav èncrye\0cby èrprinero. rcoì roú re Kúp-
uou, fi n-opeúcrLpos únò "roi' 0épous èyeyór,eL, n'e(fr 6rÉ8q".
to
Th" two rivers are iclentified with River Iori and River Alazani respectively. See
tbr instance Herrmann 1919:1810; JuSkov 1937:135; Aliev 1974:l l8 n. l;
Akopjan 1987:28; Hewsen 1992:144 n.69. According to Tomaschek 1894:18
the Abas could be identitied also with the AldZigan-óaj.
334 MARCO BAIS

overtaken the army in the region/in its positionls and the Romans
were occupied in celebrating the Saturnalia, they mustered no less
than forty thousand men and made an attack upon them, crossing
the Kura River, which rises in the Iberian mountains, and receiving
the Araxes as it issues from Armenia, empties itself by twelve
mouths into the Caspian Even if he could prevent the
Albanians from fording the Kura, Pompey let them cross the river
and inflicted them a heavy defeat. The following year (65 B.C.),
while Pompey was carrying on the pursuit of Mithridates "word
was brought to him that the Albanians had again revolted. Turning
back against these out of resentment and wrath, he crossed the
Kura again with difficulty and hazard, since the Barbarians hacl
fenced off its banks with long stretches of palisades..."l7.
Ph-rtarch's narration of these events ends with the Roman victory
on the Albanierns near the Abas River and Pompey's unsuccessfr-rl
march ttlough Albania towards the Caspian Sea.
What do the two historians tell us about the political border
between Albania and Armenia?
When Cassius Dio says that Oroeses is the king of the
Albanians who dwell beyond the Kura ('Opo[or1s yàp 'A\poucîu
rCv ùnèp roù Kúpuou oi,rcoúvrav pooL\eús), it is clear that he
perceives the river as bordering the territory subject to Albanian
rule. This consideration is corroboratecl by the fact that when Oro-
eses decided to attack the Romans he had to cross the river, and af-
ter the battle, which took place on the right bank of the Kura where
the Roman army was encamped, he obtained a truce from Pompey,

''t Th. translation of eu (rfl) X(ípg will be cliscussed at length below.

l(' Pl,",t. Pomp.
XXXIV.3 "O0ror nptîrou Uèv al'roùurL ftop.nrlirp 6ioEov É6o-
oav' XeLpór,og òà rlu orparLàu èv yt(tpq rcarcrì.oBór,ros rcai rfls KpouL-
rcîs àopd19 rois 'Pc'lpaí.o1g rcoOqrcoÚor1s, yer'ópevot r€Tpot(LopupLt':v où6
è\<írrous èneyeLpeoav ourois 8LcBdureg ròv Kúpvov noropóu, 6s 6K
rtîrv 'lBr1ptrc6u óprîu duLorrípeuog rcoì" EeXópeuog rcorrór,ro ròr., 'Apcífr1v
rì.n' 'Appeuiog è€íqoL &íEercn orópcroru els rò Kdonroy...".
l7 PI,rt. Pomp.
XXXV.I-2 "'A\Bcuoì 6' a00Ls <ióeoróres au'rQ npoorlyyéÀ.-
0qoov. TIpòs oùs ùn' ópyfls rcal SL\ouLrciog enLorpéidrag róv re Kúpvot,
p"óì.19 rcnì n'crpo.Bó}.r'rs nrí\tu ELenÉpooey ènì ro\ù oroupois ùnò r6v pop-
BcÍ pr'ru dnorceXapo K{ùpÉL,ou".
2OO5 THE SOUTHERN BORDER OF CAUCASIAN ALBANIA 335

br-rtthe Roman general was planing to invade Albania (es rùv

ytipav qùróy oure ppo\eîu). This can only mean that the Roman
winter quarters in the land of Anaitis and near the Kura River did
not lie on a territory controlled by the Albanians. Accorcling to
Cassins Dio, in fact, one of the reasons which led the Albanians to
attack was that they feared the Romans wolrld invade Albania (ès
rùv 'A\Bau[6o... eoBa].óoL) and this was possible only if they
were or-rtside Albania.
Br-rt what was the political status of the territory where the
Romans were encamped? The interpretation of the first Plutarch's
peusage I quoted has a great significance in answering this ques-
tion. Plutarch says that Pompey asked the Albanians for a free
passage, which they granted him, but then, when winter came upon
the Roman army while it was in that region/in its position (the
translation depends on the reading we choose) and the Romans
were celebrating the Saturnalia, the Albanians attacked them. If we
follow the reading of almost all the critical editions of Plutarch's
text, we should reacl èv rfr Kipq and translate "while the <Roman
army> was in the/that region" that is to say, according to the
context, in the region of the Albanianst*. In this case we have to
imagine that the Romans asked the Albanians for the passage thro-
ugh their land and as they got the permission entered Albania,
where they were overcome by the winter and so on. This interpre-
tation leads to the conclusion that the territory on the right side of
the Kura, where the Romans were attacked by the Albanians, was
subject to Albanian authority. Thus, if this reading is correct,
Plutarch's statement is at variance with Cassius Dio's version of
the facts. The critical edition publishecl by Les Belles Lettres, ho-
wever, instead of e v rfi xópq reads èv xtipq.Although no diffe-
rence can be noted in the French translator's rendering "dans leur
poys", the omission of the article does change the meaning. I chec-

'8 And this is in f-act how the translators I looked

up translate this passage: "When
winter had overtaken his (Pompey's) army in their country..." (trans. by B. per-
rin, Loeb, V, p. 205); "Les Albans accordèrent d'abord à Pompée le droit de pas-
sage qu'il demandait, mais, I'hiver ayant surpris son armée dans leur pays.-."
(trans. by R.Facelière and È. Chambry, Les Belles Lettres, VItr, p. 206).
336 MARCO BAIS 2005

ked this syntagm in Plutarch's works and it appears that when the
author refers to a geographical place, and particularly to a place
mentioned before, he uses the article (eu tfl Xópg), while the syn-
tagm ev Xópq, is mostly employed in connection with the soldiers
or the army to refer to their (its) position (Plut. Fabius Maximus
XI.6 line 6; Aemilius Paullus XVII.5 line 3; Aristides XVI.2 line
3)''. In this case the agreement reached by Pompey and the Alba-
nians about the passage on the land of these latter falls within the
preparations for the following year campaign. The Romans' goal
was the capture of Mithridates, and in fact, after wintering in Anai-
tis, they began pursuing the king again. When winter arrived the
Romans were encamped in the region south of the Kura, waiting
for the goocl weather to resume the operations and to enter Alba-
nier, traversing which they planed to reach western Caucasia on
Mithridates' track. Cassius Dio (XXXVII.3.3) states clearly that
there was a route connecting western Caucasia with Albania shor-
ter than that passing through Armenia. But the Albanians, fearing
of being invaded and conquered, decided to attack. If this is how
things went there is no contradiction between the information
given by Plutarch and that given by Cassius Dio. The two versions
make up a whole.
Strabo opens the section of his work dedicated to Caucasian
Albanians saying that they "live between the Iberians and the Cas-
pian Sea, reaching the sea towards the east and bordering on the
Iberians towards the west. Of the remaining sides the northern is
protected by the Caucasian Mountains for they lie above the
plains, their parts next to the sea are generally called Ceraunian;
the southern side, on the other hand, is formed by Armenia, which
stretches alongside them, partly flat, partly mountainous, like
Cambysenett', where the Armenians are in contact with both the

't' R.f-.r.nces are to Plutarch's works recordecl in the Thesaurus Linguae Grecae
CD ROM (version D), University of Califbrnia, on which this investigation was
mncle.
)n
"" In this place Cambysene, lying north of River Kura, is considered by Strabo a re-
gion where Armenians border on Albania and lberia. Of course this does not
imply that Armenians were on the northern bank of'the Kura, they could simply
2OO5 THE SOUTHERN BORDER OF CAUCASIAN ALBANTA 337

Iberians and the Albanians"2l. In these lines Strabo gives an expli-

cit description of the borders of the tenitory inhabited by the Alba-
nians, but only the northern and eastern borders are delimited by
geographical features (the Caucasus and the Caspian See), while
the western and southern ones are defined by ethnic and/or politi-
cal entities, the Iberians and the Armenians/Armenia respectively.
This does not help us to determine the border between Armenia
and Albania. The passage of Strabo's Geography concerned with
the Armenian northern borderzz says nothing more.
More interesting data can be drawn from another passage of
Strabo's work, in which, describing that part of Iberia surrounded
by the Caucasian Mountains, the geographer says that "in the mid-
dle is a plain intersected by rivers, the largest being the Kura,
which has its beginning in Armenia, flows immediately into the
plain above mentioned, receives both the Aragus, flowing from the

border on Cambysene along the Kura, and the region could be divided between
Iberians and Albanians. In XI.4.5 Strabo mentions a passage from Iberia to
Albanian through this region: it seems a direct way linking the two countries
without passing through Armenia. In XI.14.4, on the contrary, the geographer
mentions this region as the northernmost region of Armenia along with Chor-
zene. Maybe this inconsistency can be explained on the basis of the different
sources used by Strabo, although according to Lasserre 1975:21-22 Strabo's
source of all this passages is the same: Posidonius (using Theophanes of Myti-
lene). The solution proposed by Akopjan 1987:29-30, who supposes the exis-
tence of two distinct regions bearing the same name, is not convincing. On this
point see Bais 2001 : 17l-112.
2t
srab. Geog. xI.4.l "olrco0oL Eà perofr) lîr, 'lB{poru rcoì rfls Koonicrs 0o-
\rírrqs, npòs éro pèu ónróp€voL rfls ()c\<irrqs, n.pòs EúoLv 6è ópopoOv-
r€s 19Ls "lBr1poL, Tóv Eè À.oLnóv n).eupóu 'rò pèu Bópetov tfpoupeîraL
roîs Ka.urcooloLg ópeor, raO'rcr yàp ùnépK€LTor róv ne6icov, rco\EîroL òè
rrì npòg rfr Oo\rÍ.rrq pd).Loro. KepoúuLc' rò 6è vórLov noreî q 'Appeu'rcr
noprircouon, no\$ p.èu ne6Lri9, no\\l Eè rcoì. ópeLu{, rca.O<ínep 11 KcrpBu-
oquq, rcaO' fiu dp.o rcaÌ roig "lf3npor rcoì rois 'A\Boudig ol 'AppÉuLoL ou-
v(ttr-Touo.:'l'.
22
Srab. Geog.xI.l4.l "npoodprcrLo. 6É èorL rd t'neprceípreuo rîs Ko.onias
Ocr\círrqs ópq rd 'ro0 llapoXorí0pcr rcoì. 'AÀ.Bauoì Ko.i "lPnpes rcol ó Kaú-
Kcloos èyrcurc).oúpr€yos; rd éOuq roOrc. rcoì ouvdnrctv rois 'AppreuioLg..."
("and on the North are the mountains of Parachoathras that lie above the Caspian
Sea, the Albanians, the lberians, and the Caucasus which last encircles these
nations and reaches the Armenians").
338 MARCO BAIS 2005

Caucasus, and other streams, and empties through a nafrow valley

into Albania; and between this (Albania) and Armenia it flows in
great volume through plains that have exceedingly good pasture,
receives still more rivers, among which are the Alazonius,
Sanclobanes, Rhoetaces, and Chanes, all navigable, and empties
into the Caspian Sea"23. What I translatecl "between this (Albania)
ancl Armenia" in Greek sounds pero{r) Sè raÚrqS r€ rcaì rîS
'Appeuiog. The modern translators take the pronoun 'raÚr1S to
refer not to the immediately preceding word 'A\paulou brlt to the
more clistant ore uflS notolrlag (narrow fluviaú valley)24. The
meaning we get according to this reading is the following: the
abundant Kura River, flowing between that narrow valley and
Armenia, ancl receiving more rivers, discharges itself into the
Caspian Sea. This does not quite make sense. In fact, if we
consider the quotecl passage as a whole, it appears clearly that it
describes the entire course of the Kura in short, from its source to
its mouths and the oteul noro.plcr is just the point in which the
river enters Albania, and it can not be considered a long narrow
valley bordering on Armenia, with the Kura River flowing bet-
ween it and Armenia. The most obvious interpretation (also from ar
syntactical point of view) takes the pronoun roÚrqS to refer to
'AXpoulo.u2s. If we do so, the passage becomes clear: flowing

23
Strrb. X13.2 "'Ev p.éocp 6' Èorì" ne6iot, norapoig ELtippuror', preyiortp Eé
rQ Kúptp, 6s rlv dpXù, tytsv nnò rîs 'Aptrreuícg, eloBa\tìrv euOùs els
rr\ neòtov rò \e10eu napo.\oBtîu rcoì- ròy 'ApoyÓva €K roÙ Kourcdoou
piovra rccrì d\).cr ÚEara, ijLd. oreufls noropriag els rùy 'A\Bauíou èrc-
nimreL' perofr) òè roúrr1s r€ rcoi rîs 'Ap;r.euiog eue10eìg ro\ùs 6Lrì
neEir,l, euporoup.Étr(,)v oóóòpa, Ee[ctp.eyos rccì n\etous noralroÚg, ór' èo-
.rLp ií re 'A\o(ór,Log r<oì" ó lcrv6opdr.,qS rco.i ò 'Pot'rór<r1S r<oi Xriuqg, n\t'r-
rcllt rctvres, eis rly Kooní.ov ercBcÍ\\eL 0<í\crrrav".
24
"... ancl between thevalley ancl Armenia it flows..." (trans. by H.L. Jones, Loeb,
V, p. 217); "Entre cette vallée et l'Arménie, il roule des eaux abondantes..."
(trans. by F. Lasserre, Les Belles Lettres, VIII, p. 59).
--' Tlris is the way the same passage, found in Strabo's epitome (Chrestomathiae c
15

Strcthonis Geographicorum), is translated in GGM, l[, P. 595: "per angustum al-

veum in Albaniam ingreditrr, inte r quonx et Armenictrn copiosus labens...". Even
Aliev lt)'74:89, who goes to great lengths to detènd his pointof'view of an Al-
bano-Armenian border south of River Kura, sometimes misinterpreting the
 2005 THE SOUTHERN BORDER OF CAUCASIAN ALBANIA 339

between Albania and Armenia and receiving the water of many

tributaries, the Kura empties into the Caspian Sea.
In another passage, Strabo describes the fertile valleys of Ar-
menia, "..just as the Araxene plain, through which the Araxes Ri-
ver flows to the extremities of Albania and then empties into the
caspian Sea; and after this the sacar"n"t6, this too tordering on
Albania and the Kura River; and then the Gogarene"Z7. sacasene is
thr,rs considered rccl crùrÍ1, this too, i.e. like the above mentioned
Araxene, rfr 'A\paulg npóoXarpog rcal rQ Kúpq., noro.pQ, ly-
ing near Albania and the Kura. This implies that the part of Kura
running along Sakasene and Araxene, lies on the border between
Armenia and Albania2s.
Two other passages of the geographer, however, seem to call
into question the Albano-Armenian border emerging from the
above quoted data.
In the first of them Strabo describes the first of the four parts
in which he divides Cis-Tauran (euroe roù Taúpou) Asia like a
sort of peninsula surrounded "...on the east by this same sea (i.e.
the Caspian Sea) as far as the boundary between Albania and Ar-
menia, where empty the Rivers Kura and Araxes, this latter flow-
ing through Armenia whereas the Kura through Iberia and Alba-

soLlrces, in this case understands the text correctly, following the translation of
Laty5ev I 893: 139.

"' S.knr"ne is a clistrict of the region of Utik', lying south of River Kura between
Gardman and the Utik' proper, it is mentioned as Sakasèn by the AjX tn.
Armenian geography of-the 7th c. A.D. among the Albanian districts taken from
Armenia (A_X Long version, p. 3a8). See Hewsen 1992:59A.
-' Strab. xr.14.4 ".-.rcn0rinrp rò 'Apa[rl.,òu ne6ioy, EL' o0 ó 'Ap<í€qs norcrpòg
).7
pérou ei5- rd. drcpl rrls 'A\Bau[ag rcoì rlu Kaoniay ercnínreL'-0ri\arrny,
rcoì" perd rcrOra q )orcooquri, rco.ì- ourrl riì 'A\Bcruig *"i iuJ
"po"lirpol
)!ì Kuprp noralrri, .Ì0' n fcoyapqurj".
-" Sakasene and Araxene are mentionecl also in other places of Strabo's Geogrcqthy
as regions belonging to Armenia, but they are never considered Albanian ter-
ritories. See fbr instance Strab. XI.1.2 where we read: "like in Hyrcania in Sa-
casene and Araxene (regions) of Armenia (rfls 'AppLeuiag èv rfr )arcaor1ufl
rccrì- rfr 'Apafr1vfi) bees have their hives in the trees and honey drìps fiom the
leaves"; and in XI.8.4 we are tolcl that "The Sacae acquired possession of the
best land in Armenia, which they lett named afier themselves, Sakasene".
340 MARCO B AIS 2OO5

nia; and on the south by the tract of country which extends from
the outlet of the Kura River to Colchis, which is about three thou-
sand stadia from sea to sea, across the territory of the Albanians
and the Iberians"2e.
The second passage at issue is dedicated specifically to the
Kura River and it begins with these words: "the Kura, which flows
thror-rgh Albania, and the other rivers by which it is supplied, cont-
ribute to the excellent qualities of the land.
Although in the first passage the place where the Rivers Kura
and Araxes empty into the Caspian Sea is considered to be on the
borderland between Albania and Armenia, the Kura is said to flow
through Iberia and Albania (pe ou ò Sè K0pos 6ià tîs 'l 9q-
ptas r<ol rîS 'A\pou[as). The same statement we find in the se-
cond passage. The most plain way to translate the Greek preposi-
tion (and preverb) ELcÍ in these two contexts is "through" but this
interpretation is at variance with other statements of the geogra-
pher. To avoid such a contradiction, Akopjan proposed to give the
preposition the meaning of "by, alongside, along", thus one should
translate "the Kura which flows alongside Iberia and Albania..."
and "the Kura flowing alongside Iberia and Albanra" (Akopjan
1987:25-26). This solution is puzzhng for more than one reason.
First of all, in XI.1.5 we should attribute to the preposition 6Lcí the
meaning "alOngSide" aS well aS "thrOugh", becaLlse, even if we
assume that the Kura flows alongside Albania, it does flow thro-
ugh Iberia. But the most serious objection to this interpretation is
that the preverb ELci in 8LcrppeÎu (XI.4.2) can mean only "through"
ancl thr-rs the verb means "to flow through"3l.

29
Strob.XI.l.s "...ÉtoOey òè ourfr raÚrn rfr Oo\drrn péXpL 1fi1r pe0o6l'Lorv rfrS
16 'A\Bcvtag rcai rfls 'Appeuio.g, rccr0' & o KÙpos rcaì ó ApdEnS àr6t6r'roL
roropóg, pét,rv ò p.àu rco.O' Ét,r rfls 'Appeutog, ó Eà KyOgs ELd 'ris 'lflq-
piag'rcoì rîs 'A\Bauiag' Èrc yorou 6è (r)fr dno ris ÈrcBo\s_ roÙ Kupou
ireipt rîs i{o\Xl6o9, 6oou 'rpLoXL\ic'ru oúor1 ora8ltov rinò 0a}.rÍrrrls ènì
Od\CIrrclv, 6t' 'A\Bovóu rco.ì 'lB{pt'tu".
30 rilu 'A\Bouio.v rcoi o'L ii\\oì" noro-
Strob. XI.4.2"'O Eè K0pos ó 8rappÉr,tv
poi oi n\poùr,res èrceit,oy raÎg trràv rfrS yÎS dpercrig npoo\apBrívouoL...".
3l See Schwyzer 1950:448-454; Chantrain 1968:275-276 and 970-971; Liddell-
Scott 1996:388-389 and 410.
 2OO5 THE SOUTHERN BORDER OF CAUCASIAN ALBANIA 341

So, how can the inconsistency of Strabo's testimony be ac-

counted for? Since Strabo's Geography may be considered a sort
of patchwork32 consisting of information taken from different
works, it has been supposed that the author's frequent contradic-
tions (not only about Caucasian Albania!) are due to the use of
conflicting sources, and this may be regarded as a proof of Stra-
bo's unreliability33. As a matter of fact, ihe material of XI.4 is pro-
bably taken from Theophanes of Mytilene or, perhaps, from posi-
donius quoting Theophanes (Lasserre 1975:L6-23), while the des-
cription of Asia in XI.1.5 is very likely to go back partly to Eratos-
thenes (3rd c. B.C.), and partly to Posidonius (Lassene 1975:II
and 21). Anyway, in spite of the complex eueltengeschichte of
Strabo's work, I think that if a river divides the territories of two
political entities, flowing through their borderlands, it may be tho-
ught of as belonging to (i.e. flowing through) both of them. Mo-
reover from Strabo's description of the Kura it seems that the river
flowing from lberia enters Albania through a narrow valley (xI.3.z
6Là oreufrs noraplag els rùy 'A\paulau èr<rilrireL), and then
it flows between Albania and Armenia, so it is not incoherent to
say that the river flows through Albania.

ArnnNrAN sourHERN BORDER ARouND THE HALF or, lst c. A.D.

Around the second half of the lst c. A.D. writing about cau-
casia in the vI book of his Natural History, pliny the Elder coulcl

32
Péd".h 1976:160 "... il a dfi consulter un grancl nombre de ses clevanciers, non
seulment pour décrire d'après eux les contrées qu'il n'avait pas vues, mais encore
pour sa tbrmation génerale de géographe. A ce point de vue , Strabon est I'heritier et
le tributaire de la géographie antérieur. Sa méthode consiste à combiner d'une t4on
pltts ott moins adroite les sources dont il clisposait et à y joindre ses propres
réflexions". According to Pédech, Strabo's main source for the description of
Caucasia was Posidonius (p. 165), by whose mediation he got acquainted with
Theophanes (p. 163) "cette mosaique d'auteurs enlève à I'ouvrage beaucoup
d'originalitè, ntais surtout, elle le rend disparatre... Il ne décrit pas le monde
contemporain, mais des régions prises à différentes époque". In spite of his great deal
of quotations
f'rom many authors, Strabo knew directly only few of them (162).
î?
"" Nevertheless I do not consider this a valid reason to dismiss Strabo's testimony
entirely, as does Mamedova 1986: I l9-120.
342 MARCO BAIS 2005

enrich his description with the information brought back by the

participants in the recent Armenian campaign of Corbr"rlo. Among
other things, Plíny mentions the existence of maps of Caucasia
drawn by the Romans (Nat. hist. YI.40). This can be considered ats
an evidence of the Romans' interest in the geography of the re-
gions where they carried out military operations and particularly of
the exploratory character of Roman expeditions at the periphery of
the empire.
Surveying the populations living in the Caucasian region, Pli-
ny says: "Now we shall mentioned the peoples dwelling along the
border of Armenia. All the plain from the Kura onward is occupied
by the race of the Albanians and then by that of the Iberians, sepa-
rated from them (i.e. the Albanians) by the River Ocazamtto flo*-
ing down from Mount Caucasus into the Kura"35. Thus, Iberians
and Albanians, bordering on Armenia, are located on the plain
north of the Kura, in fact they are said to be separated from each
other by the Alazant River, a left-bank tributary of the Kura. This
is stated even more clearly in another place of the Naturalis Histo-
ria where we read that "as previously stated, this race (i.e. the Al-
banians) overflowing the Caucasus Mountains comes down as far
ets the River Kura, which forms the boundary of Armenia and Ibe-
ria"36. Moreover, farther on Pliny considers Otene, a region on the
right bank of the Kura, as a "district of Armenia"37.
From the above quoted passages it appears that Pliny the El-
cler holds the Kura to be the boundary between Albanians, living to
the north of the river, and Armenia, lying to the south of it, i.e. on

t* Thi, river is iclentifiecl with the present-day Alazani, called by the clirssical sour-
or 'A).rr(ór,tosi. See above n. 14.
ces "ABcrg
t-t
Plin. Nat. hist. VI.28-29 "Incolae per confìnium Armeniae nunc dicentur. Plani-
tiem omnem a Cyro usqlle Albanorum gens tenet, mox Hiberum, discreta ab iis
iìmne Ocazane in Cyrum Caucasis montibus defluente"
tu Plin. Ncú. hist. VI.39 "Haec gens supertusa montibus Caucasis ad Cyrum am-
nern, Armeniae contìnium atque Hiberiae, descendit, ut dictum est".
tt Pli,.,. Nat. hi.st. YI.42 "reliqua vero fionte, qua tendit ad Caspium nlare, Atra-
patene, ab Armeniae Otene regione discreta Araxe". For the identifìcation of
Otene with the Utik' of Armenian sources see fbr instance Hùbschmann
1904:219-275; Eremyan 1963:75, and Akopjan 1987:22,81.
 2OO5 THE SOUTHERN BORDER OF CAUCASIAN ALBANIA 343

the right-bank territories. According to some scholars3t, hor""u"r,

this picture of Albano-Armenian border clashes with the following
Plinian statement: "the rivers running down to the sea through Al-
bania are the Casus and the Albanus, then the Cambyses, which ri-
ses in the Caucasus Mor"rntains, and then the Kura, rising in the
coraxici"3e. If the Kura is listed among the rivers flowin gThrough
Albrtnia (per Albanicrm) it can not be taken as the border between
this country and Armenia. It is the same objection raised to Strabo
xI.l.5: 4.2, and the same should be the answer: a river dividing
two territories can be taken to belong to either of them.

ArnaNrAN sourHERN BoRDER ACCoRDTNG To pror,nvrv (2nd c.

A.D.)
Ptolemy, writing in the 2nd c. A.D., does not mention his
soLrrces (Polaschek 1965:753-764), so it is difficult to ascertain to
which period his description of Albania goes back. Anyway he got
information fiom solrrces now lost such as maps and itineraria and
his contribution to our knowledge of Albanian geography can not
be disregarded.
In the section of the fe orypc@Lrcl 'róiynoLs dedicated to Al-
bania, Ptolemy writes: "Albania is bounded on the north by the
part of Sarmatia which we have described; on the west by Iberia
along the line designated; on the south by the part of Greater Ar-
menia which extends from the extremities bordering on Iberia to
the Hyrcanian sea near the mouths of the Kura River... on the east
by the.,.part of Hyrcanian sea extending as far as the soanas
River"40. The definition of the southern border of Albania given in

t* Fo, instance Aliev 1974:87 who gives a tiee translation of Nat. hist. W.39 (above n.
36) to avoid what he thinks to be a contradiction with the passage quotecl below n. 39.
3n
Plin' Nat. hist. VI.39 "Flumina per Albaniam decurrunt in mare Casus et Alba-
nus, dein Cambyses, in Caucasis ortus montibus, mox Cyrus, in Coraxicis".
ot'
Ptol. ceog. v.l l. | "'H 'Aì.Bo,io
nepLopi(ercrL rinò lrày dprcrtv rQ èrcre -
L tls )o.ppcrriag. dno òe òuoprîu 'lpnpíg rcord rflu <ifo_
0e Lpé.ur1r pÉpe
pLopér,r1u ypoppriu. qttò.. pè 'Appeuio5- iîr: Meycí\r1s
rql cin'o ro0 rpòs rfl 'lpnpig .peo_rl.p.Bptcre
néparoe péxbL rl; ,Iprcar,raî gàlal""ns
trré'pe L
 MARCO BAI,S 2005

this place is quite vague, because it mentions only the starting and
ending points of the borderline, which are located in the region of
the Armeno-Iberian border and near the mouths of River Kura re-
spectively, without describing the its development. Ptolemy's in-
formation becomes more precise if we read the section of his work
dealing with Armenian borders: "Greater Armenia is bouncled on
the north by a part of Colchis, and by Iberia and Albania on the
line which we have describecl running along the Kr-rra River"4l.
The Ptolemaic conception of Armeno-Albanian border emerging
from these statements is clenched by another passage of'the geo-
grapher, where he says that the Kura "... runs.along entire Iberia
and Albania separating Armenia from both..."'tr2. T'lìl,ls, accol:ding
to Ptolemy the borcler between Armenia and Albania stitt'ts in the
point where the Armeno-Iberian border fìnisltes ancl reaches the
mouth of Kura, running along this river.

>1. >lr t:

The analysis of the testimonies concerning the southern bor-

cler of Caucasian Albania for the period lst c.B.C.-Znd c. A.D. al-
lows to conclude that the great deal of clebate going on about this
question and the different positions taken by the scholars are to
some extent conditioned by the sources. At first sight, in fact, there
seem to be elements supporting the hypothesis of a boundary rlln-
ning along the Kura River as well as that of an Albano-Armenian
boundary lying somewhere south of the Kttra. Anyway, taking into
account all the data pertinent to this issue, I would say that the Ri-
ver Kura is considered by ancient authors to run betlveett Armenia
and Albania, being thus perceived as bordering these two count-
ries. This is the sole interpretation to match alrnost all the data han-

rcortì rcìs èrcgo\às roi' Kúpou noro.poù... rÌno 6à rivcrro\óv rC') èvreù\ev
pé1pL 'roù )odvCI. îîorCIpo0 tîs 'Iprcoulog 0o\doo1s |,t"iper".
o' prol. Geog.v.l2.1 "'H Meyd\q 'Appeuio nepLopi(ero.r <inò pèr,tiprcrc,l, rrl
re rfrs Ko\XiEos pÉpe L rccrì" 'l[3qpig rcoì 'AXBovig rccrd rlv Èr<reOe LpÉr.,r1u
òLà Kúpou ro0 noropoù ypcppúv".
O'
Prol- Geog. V.I1.3 "... nop' 6).qu ríy re 'lBrlpiau rccrì rly 'AÀ.Bcruiou beÎ
òLopi(ol, rlu 'Appev'tav oîT' aínîv,".
2OO5 THE SOUTHERN BORDER OF CAUCASIAN ALBANIA 345

ded down by the sources, and the information which seems to be

inconsistent with it can be easily accounted for. To my knowledge,
the other solutions proposed so far do not explain adequatety an-
cient authors' statements contradicting them: this kind oÌ infotmu-
tion is simply ignored or rejected as unreliable. Of course I do not
think that Albanian southern border was static, I would rather ima-
gine it shifting and impermanent, but our sources for this period do
not allow us to reconstruct its dynamics.

MARCO BAIS
 MARCO BAIS 2005
346

Brnr,rocRAPHY
L. Sources
AsX Ashkharhatsoyts (Aixarhac'oyc') - The seventh century Armenian
Geogralthy attributecl to Ananias o.f Shirok. A Jttcsimile Reproduction of
the IBBI Venice edition of the long version of the text, of the Unique
Manuscript (Venice no. 1245) upotx which it v'as baset[ and o.f the 1944
yerewan editiott oJ'the Short Version and vvith an Introduction hy R-
Hewsen, Caravan Books, Delmar, New York 1994'
Cassius Dicl Dio's Roman History, ed. and trans. E. Cary on the basis of the
version of H. B. Foster, III, Loeb, London l9l4 (repr. 1969).
CGM Geographi Graeci Minores, ed. C. Miiller, 3 vols., Firmin Didot, Paris
I 855-1861 (repr. Olms, Hildesheim 1990).
pliny the Elder C. Plini Secundi 'Naturalis Historiae' Iibri XXXVI|, eds. L.
Jan - C. Mayhoff, I, Teubner,Leipzig 1906 (repr' 1985)'
Plutarch Plutarque, wes, tome VIII, Sertorius-Eumène - Agésilas-Pompée, eds.
and trans. R. Facelière and È. chambry, Belles lettres, Paris 1973.
Plutarch's Lives, ed. and trans. by B. Perrin, V, Loeb, London 19l7
(repr. 1968).
Ptolerny Claudii Ptolemaei Geo graphia, eds. C. Mùller and C. Th. Fisher, I.2,
Firmin Didot, Paris l90l .
Claudii Ptolemaei GeograPhia I-III, ed. C. F. A. Nobbe, 3 vols.'
Leipzig 1843-1845 (rePr. Oltns, Hildesheim 1990 with an Introduction
by A. Diller).
Claudii Ptolemaei Geo graphiae Cotlex Urb. graecus B), ed. J. Fischer,
Pars I (textus), (Codices e Vaticanis selecti qLlam simillirne expressi
XVilD Leiden- LeiPzig 1932.
Strabo Strabon, Géographie, YIII (livre XI)' ed. and trans. F. Lasserre, Les
Belles Lettres, Paris 1975.
Strabon, Géographie, 1.2 (livre II), ed. and trans. G. Aujac, Les Belles
Lettres, Paris 1969.
The Geography of Strabo, ed. and trans. H.L. Jones, V, Loeb, London
1928 (repr. l96l).
Literature
A
2.
Akopjan' A
,,,"!#;:,:l:#^:rk: f:#:*'J:;'tÍ;ff, L!::::'"rmjans-
I?!1
Aliev, K.c. lg74 Kavkazskaia Albaniia (l t, clo tre.-l v. n.e.), Elm,
Baku.
Bais, M. 2001 Albania Cauccrsica. Ethnos, ,storia, territorio attrtt-
verso tefonti greche, Iatine e úrtnene,l\{imesis, Milano'
Chantraine,P. 1968 Dictionnaire É4'mologique de lo Langue Grerltte'
HistoÌre des mots,2 vols., Klincksieck, Paris 1968 (repr. 1984-
1990)
2OO5 THE SOUTHERN BORDER OF CAUCASIAN ALBANIA 347

Erernyan, S.T. 1963 Hctyustane ast "Aixat'hac'oS'c"'-i, Ízt)- A.N. Armjan-

skoj SSR, Erevan.
Fisher, J. 1932 see Sources: Ptolemy.
Herrmann, A. l9l9 "Kambyses 1". in Retrlencyclopiidie Pauly-Wissowa,
X.2, Metzler. Stuttgart, 1810.
Hewsen, R.H. lgg} Tlrc Ceogrctphy ofArtcmias of Sírak (Aixarhuc'o)'c').
The Long and the Short Recensions, trans. R.H. Hewsen,
Wiesbaden.
Hiibschnrann, H. 1904 Die Altarntenischen Ortsnonten mit Beitrcigen zur
historischen Topographie Arnteniens, Indogermanische Fors-
chungen, Band XVI, 197-.190 (repr. Oriental Press, Amster-
dam 1969).
Juskov, S.V.1937 "K voprosu o granicach drevnej Albanii", IstoriÒeskie
zapiski, l, 129-148.
Lasserre, F. 1975 see Sources: Strabo.
LatySev, V.V. 1893 lzvestija tlrevnich pisatelcj greéeskich i lcuinskich o
Skifii i Ka,-kqze, I.l. Tipogratìja Imperatorskoj Akademii
Nauk, Sanktpeterburg.
Licldell, H.C. - Scott,R. 1996 A Greek-English Lexicort, Clarendon Press,
Oxfbrd, ( lst ed. 1843).
Mamedova, F. 1986 Politièeskaja Istorija i istoriceskajtt geograflia kav-
kaukoj Alhanii (lll v. do n. e. - WII v. n. e.), Elm, Baku.
Novosel'cev, A.P. t979 "K voprosu o politiÒeskoj granice Armenii i Kavkazs-
koj Albanii v antiènyj period", in S.T. Eremjan et alii (eds.)
Kavkaz i Vizantija, I, Izd. A.N. Armjanskoj SSR, Erevan' l0-
l8 (repr. in B.A. Arudunjan et alií (eds.) K osveSceniiu
problem istorii i kul'tury kabkazskoi Albanii i vostocn;-ch
províncij Armenii, I, Izd" Erevanskogo Universiteta, Erevan
1991,7-15).
Pédech, P. 1976 La géographie des Grecs, PUP, Paris.
Polaschek, E. 1965 "Klaudios Ptolemaios: Das geographische 'Werk", in
Rcalencyclopcidie Pauly-Wissowa, Supplementband X, Metz-
ler, Stuttg 7 53-7 64.
Schwyzer, E. ^rt,
1950 Gríechísche Grammatik, lI, Syntctx und s7'ntaktische
stíli.rtík. Beck, Múnchen (repr. 1975).
Smbadan, 5.V. 1989 "E5òé raz o juZnoj granice kavkazskoj Albanii", Lrn-
ber hasarakan gitowt' 1'ownneri,l0, 3-17 .
Tomaschek,W. 1894 "Abas 1", in Realencyclopridie Pauly-Wissowa, I,
Metzler, Stuttgart, I 8.
Trever, K.V. 1959 Oóerki po istorií i kul'ture kavkaz.skoj Alhanít (lV v.
do n. e. - WI v. n. e.),Izd. Akademii Nauk SSSR, Moskva-Le-
ningrad.