CASPIAN SEA sea, or large lake of salt water in Asia. It is bounded towards the north by the Russian pro vince of Astracan and the Caucasus; and on the south, east, and west, by different provinces of Persia. It ex tends in length from north to south about 680 miles. It is no where more than 260 miles in breadth, varying be tween that and its smallest breadth of about 100 miles. It is situated in latitude between 37° and 47° north, in longitude between about 50° and 56° cast. Its superficial contents have been estimated at somewhat above 36,000 square English miles. This sea has at different periods, and among different nations, been known by different names. By the ancient Greeks, it was distinguished by appellation of the Hyreanian, i. e. the Persian Sea. By be Tartars it is denominated Akdinghis, or the White By the Georgians, it is termed the Kurt shenskian 5a t and the Persians call it by the name of Gursen, from tt,. old Persian capital Gurgan, which is said to have stood in province of Astrabad, only seven vcrsts from the sea.
We find the Caspian Sea at a very early pe riod by ancient writers. Ilerodotus, the 5th century A. C., mentions it in his works, d ives such a description of it as corresponds pretty nearly to what we know of its present state, particularly adverting to the circumstance of its having no apparent outlet, nor any visible connection with any of the great seas. a The Caspian," says he, " is a sea by itself, unconnected with any other. Its length is as much as a vessel can sail with oars in fifteen days, and its greatest breadth as much as it can sail in eight days. It is bounded, lie adds, on the west by the Caucasus, and on the east by an immense plain, which extends beyond the reach of the eye." Aris totle describes it in a manner similar to this, and with his usual precision contends, that it ought to be called a great lake, not a sea. With these writers also concurs Diodorus Siculus. But others of the ancient writers, and these commonly too of rather later date than those who have been named, have expressed themselves NNith respect to this sea in such a manner as would indicate, on their part, a more imperfect knowledge of it than had at periods so much earlier been attained. Strabo speaks of the Caspian as a bay that communicates with the great northern ocean, from which it issues at first by a narrow strait, and then expands into a sea, extending in breadth 500 stadia. \Vith him Pomponius Meta agreFs, and de scribes the strait by which the Caspian is connected w ith the ocean, as considerable in length, and in breadth so narrow that it had the appearance of a river. Pliny gives . a similar description of it. In the age of Justinian, this opinion conceining the communication of the Caspian Sea with the ocean, was still prevalent. Some early writers, among whom is Quintus Curti us, seem to have considered the Caspian Sea to 1w connected with the Euxine. Arrian also, who, from his residence for some time in the province of Cappadocia as governor, might certainly have obtained more accurate information, de clares in one plat e, that the origin of the Caspian Sea was still unknown, and expresses a doubt whether it %%as connected with the EuNin•, or vs ith the great east( rn ocean which surrounds India. Ptolemy maintains its communication w ith the Enxine, but this by a siffiterra mous passage:, conceiving it to he impossible, without some supposition of this sort, to account for the flossing of so many VINCI'S into it, while on the one hand, there is no appearance of any chanin I 01.11. it, 1101' on Inc other any perceptible swelling of its water, except in the spring, when it is obviously occasioned only by the me king of the snow at that season. Indeed it has in all ages been found a problem of great difficulty to furnish an) tolerable solution of the phenomena connected with the sea in question, both in respect to the circumstance just alluded to, and also as it appears in the character of a large sheet of water, possessing the distinguishing properties of sea-water, hut dissevered and insulated completely, so far, at least, as is perceptible to any hu man eye, from all connection w ith the other portions of that widely extended fluid. waters of the Volga,
the Yaeik, the Pemba, the liar or Cyrus, the A raxes, the Ilystraia, the Aksa, the Koisa, the Terek, with many others genet ally of considerable, sonic of them rivers of very 'great, magnitude, run into the Caspian Sea. What, it is reasonable to inquire, becomes of all this water. which certainly cannot be evaporated by the sun alone so fast as it contributes to the enlargement of the body of this sea, and for which, however, there is no other appa rent means of escape? And how, moreover, is it that we meet here, in an inland country, and even in the midst of deserts, with a sea detached from all others, yet possess ing the same properties, and yielding similar produc tions? Perhaps the notion or a subterraneous passage is one, which, amidst these difficulties, would occur as na turally, and which really might seem to offer as plausi ble a solution of them as any other. It has accordingly been strenuously asserted, both in ancient and in modern times, and various arguments have been adduced in sup port of it. Two of these arc as follows : The Caspian, it has been observed, rises very high with a is ester) y wind, w h•rcas the Lustre, on the contrary, rages most when the wind is at east. It has hence been inferred, that the east wind favours the exit of the waters of the Caspian, and the west wind impedes it. It has, in the second place, been alleged, that there is a whirlpool in a parti cular part of this sea, by which all its superfluous water is, with a tremendous noise, discharged into the Euxine ; and it has been asserted, that near to the mouth of the vortex, there is found a species of sea-weed, which grows only on the shores of the Caspian; that a sort of fish pe culiar to the Euxine has been observed in the Caspian sea, near to the place of the supposed vortex ; and lastly, that in former days, a fish was taken in that sea with a golden ring about its tail, on which was this inscription, .Mithridates mihi dabat in urbe Sinoirc hbertalcm et hoc But as to the first of these arguments, it is 1..) be observed, that the cohnection attempted to be traced between the character and effects of particular mind:" .Ind a subterraneous communication between ti c Euxii,c and tile Caspian seas, does not seem to rest 111)0,1 a satisfactory grounds. In fact, it is known that all is lads that bring with them humid vapours, are more stormy which proceed Irom arid region ; and this i ircumstaw e' is plainly sufficient, ss ithout any is nec to tames, the existence: ell whi( h is unknown, to a''rid t lin. the greater agitation produced in tin Caspian by winds coming towards it in the (lire( tier of Lie Luxioe and the Palm, \hxotis, than is ( aused by the eastern inds, which, in their approal Ii to it, piss over a great extent only of dr), and even parched land. Of the whit I pool alluded to, it is enough to sat, that we find no no tice taken of it in the late st accounts which we has e re lative to those parts. Ser.-weed grows c yet) along the shores of this sea ; but we know nothing of any par ticular description of this kind of plants which grows only there.' We would require also more particular infor mation as to the fishes that arc said to he found (July in the Caspian and the Euxine seas. The story w hich Kircher, in his Mundus Subtcrraneus, introduces respet ling the fish with the ring, is unworthy of notice.