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0424 The Pulse of Asia : vol.1
アジアの鼓動 : vol.1
The Pulse of Asia : vol.1 / 424 ページ(カラー画像)

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doi: 10.20676/00000233
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great lagoon. With Istakhri, however, we enter upon a new
era, a time when the Arabs and Persians rose to a high state
of civilization and produced a literature of great excellence.
They were especially proficient in geography and related
sciences, and have left several works of high accuracy. One
of the best of these is that of Istakhri. He corrected the
Alexandrine idea of a northern outlet of the Caspian Sea,
which, in spite of Ptolemy, was still prevalent. In a journey
around the sea he came to Derbent, where he records that
the old wall projected into the sea so far that six of its towers
stood in the water. Brückner considers that there is good
evidence that none of the towers have disappeared, and
therefore concludes that about 920 A. D., at the time of Ista-
khri's visit, the Caspian stood twenty-nine feet higher than
the modern mean level, or zero. Now at that date the Oxus
quite surely did not enter the Caspian. Istakhri's map shows
it as entering the Sea of Aral, whose circumference is said
to be one hundred parasangs, nearly four hundred miles.
Moreover, Istakhri says distinctly, "Aral receives the Oxus,
the Jaxartes, and several other rivers. Nevertheless, one
perceives no increase in its waters; and so one supposes
a subterranean communication with the Caspian Sea." If
there had been a visible communication, he surely would not
have made such a supposition. Elsewhere he speaks of the
mouth of the Oxus as being ten days' journey, about two
hundred and fifty miles, from that of the Jaxartes; but there
is no hint of any connection with the Caspian. In describing
the lake, he says, "On the shore itself of Aral there is a
mountain called Sheghagher, on which snow remains from
winter almost to the end of summer." So far as I can learn,