Pliny the Elder and the Eastern Fringes of the Earth

Vigasin Alexei A.

The article discusses the information on the Far East in Plinius’ Natural History. The author suggests, inter alia, the following identifications: Tabis – the Taebaek Ridge of the Korean Peninsula; the rivers of “the land of Seres” and South East Asia: Psitharas – the Yellow river, Cambari – the river Chang (Yangtze), Lanos – the Mekong (Lang-tsang), Atianos – the Irrawaddy. He also tries to associate Cainnas and Prinas with the river basin of Brahmaputra. Information on all these rivers is obviously connected with the functioning of the Great Silk Road, but also of the land routes leading from North-East India and Burma to South-West China.

Keywords: Pliny, map of Asia, Korea, rivers of China, South-East Asia, trade routes
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