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to Comana, it is not the one in Taurus. But how it came to be, I shall make clear. 1.17.13 When Orestes departed from Taurus with his sister, it happened that his body fell ill. And as he inquired about the illness, they say the oracle prophesied that the affliction would not cease for him until he had built a temple to Artemis in a place of such a kind as the one in Taurus happens to be, and had there cut off his own hair and called the 1.17.14 city by the same name. For this reason, Orestes, wandering through the regions there, came to be in Pontus, and he saw a mountain which hung sheer at that point, and below, along the skirts of the 1.17.15 mountain, flowed the river Iris. Orestes therefore supposed at that time that the oracle indicated this place to him, and he built there a city worthy of note and the temple of Artemis, and having shorn his hair, he called the city by the same name, which indeed is called Comana even to 1.17.16 my time. And when these things had been accomplished by Orestes, the illness raged no less, if not even more. But the man, perceiving that he was not carrying these things out in accordance with the oracle, went wandering about again to investigate everything and found a certain place in Cappadocia 1.17.17 most closely resembling the one in Taurus. Which I myself, having seen it many times, admired exceedingly and seemed to me to be in Taurus. For this mountain truly resembles that one, since the Taurus is there too, and the river Sarus is like the Euphrates there. 1.17.18 Orestes, therefore, built a remarkable city there and two temples, the one to Artemis, and the other to his sister Iphigeneia, which indeed the Christians have made into their own sanctuaries, changing nothing at all of the 1.17.19 structure. This is called even now Golden Comana, being named after the hair of Orestes, which they say he cut off there and so escaped his 1.17.20 sickness. But some say that he escaped no other illness than that madness which possessed him after he had killed his own mother. But I shall return to my former account. 1.17.21 For from the Armenians in Taurus and the country of Celesene, the river Euphrates flows on the right, and it encircles much land, and since other rivers mix with it, including the Arsinus itself, which flows in great volume from the so-called Persarmenians, it has become, as is natural, a great river and proceeds into the land of those who were formerly called Leucosyrians, but are now called Lesser Armenians, 1.17.22 of whom the first city is Melitene, worthy of much account. And from there it flows past Samosata and Hierapolis and all the places in that region as far as the land of the Assyrians, where indeed both rivers, mixing with one another, are distinguished by the single name of the 1.17.23 Tigris. The land, at any rate, which is beyond the river Euphrates from Samosata, was formerly called Commagene, but now it is named after the river. The land within this, which is between it and the Tigris, is called Mesopotamia, as is natural; a portion of it, however, is called not only by this name, but also by certain 1.17.24 others. For the land as far as the city of Amida has been named Armenia by some, and Edessa with the regions around it is Osroene, named after Osroes, a man who reigned there in former times, when the people of this place were allies of the 1.17.25 Persians. The Persians therefore, since they held from the Romans both the city of Nisibis and certain other places of Mesopotamia, whenever they were about to march against the Romans, while making little account of the country outside the river Euphrates, since it was for the most part waterless and deserted of men, they would gather here with no trouble, since it was in their own country and very close to the enemy territory, and from there they always made their invasions. 1.17.26 And when Mirranes, having been defeated in the battle and having lost most of his men, came with the rest of the army to the Persian lands, he received a bitter punishment from King 1.17.27 Cabades. For he took from him the ornament which he was accustomed to bind on the hair of his head, made of both gold and pearls. And this is a great mark of distinction among the 1.17.28 Persians, second only to the honor of the king.

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Κομάνῃ, οὐχ ὁ ἐν Ταύροις ἐστίν. ἀλλ' ὅπως ἐγένετο, ἐγὼ δηλώσω. 1.17.13 Ἐπειδὴ ἐκ Ταύρων Ὀρέστης ξὺν τῇ ἀδελφῇ ἀπιὼν ᾤχετο, ξυνέπεσεν αὐτῷ νοσῆσαι τὸ σῶμα. καὶ ἀμφὶ τῇ νόσῳ πυνθανομένῳ χρῆσαι τὸ μαντεῖόν φασιν οὐ πρότερον λωφήσειν αὐτῷ τὸ κακὸν, πρὶν τῇ Ἀρτέμιδι ναὸν δείμασθαι ἐν χώρῳ τοιούτῳ, οἷον δὴ τὸν ἐν Ταύροις ξυμβαίνει εἶναι, ἐνταῦθά τε ἀποκείρασθαι τὴν αὑτοῦ κόμην καὶ αὐτῇ ὁμωνύμως καλέσαι τὴν 1.17.14 πόλιν. διὸ δὴ Ὀρέστην περιιόντα τὰ ἐκείνῃ χωρία ἐν Πόντῳ γενέσθαι, κατιδεῖν τε ὄρος, ὃ δὴ ἐνταῦθα ἀπότομον ἀπεκρέματο, ἔρρει τε ἔνερθεν παρὰ τὰς τοῦ 1.17.15 ὄρους ἐσχατιὰς ποταμὸς Ἶρις. ὑποτοπήσαντα οὖν τὸν Ὀρέστην τότε τοῦτόν οἱ τὸν χῶρον δηλοῦν τὸ μαντεῖον, πόλιν τε ἐνταῦθα λόγου ἀξίαν καὶ τὸν τῆς Ἀρτέμιδος νεὼν δείμασθαι, τήν τε κόμην ἀποθριξάμενον ὁμωνύμως αὐτῇ καλέσαι τὴν πόλιν, ἣ δὴ Κόμανα καὶ 1.17.16 ἐς ἐμὲ ὀνομάζεται. τούτων τε Ὀρέστῃ ἐξειργασμένων οὐδέν τι ἧσσον, εἰ μὴ καὶ μᾶλλον, τὴν νόσον ἀκμάζειν. αἰσθόμενον δὲ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ὡς οὐκ ἐπιτηδείως ταῦτα τῷ μαντείῳ ποιοίη, ἅπαντα αὖθις περιιόντα διασκοπεῖσθαι καὶ χῶρόν τινα ἐν Καππαδόκαις 1.17.17 εὑρεῖν τῷ ἐν Ταύροις τὰ μάλιστα ἐμφερέστατον. ὅνπερ καὶ ἐγὼ πολλάκις ἰδὼν ἠγάσθην τε ὑπερφυῶς καί μοι ἐδόκουν ἐν Ταύροις εἶναι. τό τε γὰρ ὄρος τοῦτο ἐκείνῳ ἀτεχνῶς ἔοικεν, ἐπεὶ κἀνταῦθα ὁ Ταῦρός ἐστι, καὶ ὁ ποταμὸς Σάρος τῷ ταύτῃ Εὐφράτῃ εἰκάζεται. 1.17.18 πόλιν τε οὖν ἀξιοθέατον ᾠκοδομήσατο ἐνταῦθα Ὀρέστης καὶ νεὼς δύο, τὸν ἕτερον μὲν τῇ Ἀρτέμιδι, τὸν δὲ ἄλλον τῇ ἀδελφῇ Ἰφιγενείᾳ, οὓς δὴ Χριστιανοὶ ἱερὰ σφίσι πεποίηνται, τῆς οἰκοδομίας οὐδὲν τὸ παράπαν 1.17.19 μεταβαλόντες. αὕτη καλεῖται καὶ νῦν ἡ χρυσῆ Κόμανα, τῆς Ὀρέστου κόμης ἐπώνυμος οὖσα, ἣν δὴ ἐκεῖνον ἐνταῦθά φασιν ἀποκειράμενον διαφυγεῖν τὸ ἀρρώ1.17.20 στημα. τινὲς δὲ λέγουσιν αὐτὸν οὐκ ἄλλην τινὰ νόσον ἢ τὴν μανίαν ταύτην ἀποφυγεῖν, ἥπερ αὐτὸν ἔσχεν, ἐπειδὴ τὴν μητέρα τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἔκτεινεν. ἐγὼ δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν πρότερον λόγον ἐπάνειμι. 1.17.21 Ἔκ τε γὰρ τῶν ἐν Ταύροις Ἀρμενίων καὶ χώρας τῆς Κελεσηνῆς ποταμὸς Εὐφράτης ἐν δεξιᾷ ῥέων γῆν τε πολλὴν περιβάλλεται καὶ ποταμῶν οἱ ἄλλων τε ἀναμιγνυμένων καὶ αὐτοῦ Ἀρσίνου, ὃς δὴ ἐκ τῶν Περσαρμενίων καλουμένων πολὺς φέρεται, μέγας τε, ὡς τὸ εἰκὸς, γεγενημένος ἐς τοὺς πάλαι μὲν Λευκοσύρους, νῦν δὲ Ἀρμενίους μικροὺς καλουμένους χωρεῖ, 1.17.22 ὧν δὴ πόλις πρώτη Μελιτηνὴ λόγου πολλοῦ ἀξία ἐστί. τὸ δὲ ἐντεῦθεν τά τε Σαμόσατα παραρρεῖ καὶ τὴν Ἱεράπολιν καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐκείνῃ χωρία μέχρι ἐς τῶν Ἀσσυρίων τὴν γῆν, οὗ δὴ ἀλλήλοιν ἄμφω τὼ ποταμὼ ἀναμιγνυμένω ἐς ἓν ὄνομα τὸ τοῦ Τίγρητος 1.17.23 ἀποκέκρινται. χώρα γοῦν, ἣ ἐκ Σαμοσάτων ἐκτὸς Εὐφράτου ποταμοῦ ἐστι, πάλαι μὲν Κομμαγηνὴ ἐκλήθη, τανῦν δὲ τῷ ποταμῷ ἐστιν ἐπώνυμος. ἡ δὲ τούτου ἐντὸς, ἣ δὴ αὐτοῦ τε μέση καὶ Τίγρητός ἐστι, Μεσοποταμία, ὡς τὸ εἰκὸς, ὀνομάζεται· μοῖρα μέντοι αὐτῆς οὐ τούτῳ μόνον τῷ ὀνόματι, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄλλοις 1.17.24 τισὶν ἐπικαλεῖται. ἥ τε γὰρ ἄχρις Ἀμίδης πόλεως Ἀρμενία πρὸς ἐνίων ὠνόμασται, Ἔδεσσά τε ξὺν τοῖς ἀμφ' αὐτὴν χωρίοις Ὀσροηνὴ τοῦ Ὀσρόου ἐπώνυμός ἐστιν, ἀνδρὸς ἐνταῦθα βεβασιλευκότος ἐν τοῖς ἄνω χρόνοις, ἡνίκα Πέρσαις οἱ ταύτῃ ἄνθρωποι ἔνσπονδοι 1.17.25 ἦσαν. Πέρσαι οὖν ἐπειδὴ πρὸς Ῥωμαίων Νίσιβίν τε πόλιν καὶ ἄλλα ἄττα Μεσοποταμίας χωρία ἔλαβον, ἡνίκα ἐπὶ Ῥωμαίους στρατεύειν ἔμελλον, χώραν μὲν τὴν ἐκτὸς Εὐφράτου ποταμοῦ ἐν ὀλιγωρίᾳ ποιούμενοι, ἐκ τοῦ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἄνυδρόν τε καὶ ἀνθρώπων ἔρημον οὖσαν, ἐνταῦθα δὲ πόνῳ οὐδενὶ ἀγειρόμενοι, ἅτε ἐν χώρᾳ οἰκείᾳ τε καὶ πολεμίᾳ τῇ οἰκουμένῃ ἀγχοτάτω οὔσῃ, ἐνθένδε τὰς ἐσβολὰς ἀεὶ ἐποιοῦντο. 1.17.26 Ἡνίκα δὲ ἡσσηθεὶς ὁ Μιρράνης τῇ μάχῃ καὶ τοὺς πλείστους ἀποβαλὼν τῷ ἄλλῳ στρατῷ ἐς τὰ Περσῶν ἤθη ἀφίκετο, ποινῆς ἔτυχε πρὸς βασιλέως Καβάδου 1.17.27 πικρᾶς. κόσμον γὰρ ἀφείλετο αὐτὸν, ὃν δὴ ἀναδεῖσθαι τῶν ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ τριχῶν εἰώθει, ἔκ τε χρυσοῦ καὶ μαργάρων πεποιημένον. ἀξίωμα δὲ τοῦτο ἐν Πέρ1.17.28 σαις μέγα μετά γε τὴν βασιλέως τιμήν.