Isidore of Charax

Isidore of Charax(/ˈɪzɪˌdɔːr/;Ancient Greek:Ἰσίδωρος ὁ Χαρακηνός,Isídōros o Charakēnós;Latin:Isidorus Characenus) was aGreco-Romangeographerof the 1st century BC and 1st century AD, a citizen of theParthian Empire,about whom nothing is known but his name and that he wrote at least one work.

Name

Isidore's name has been interpreted by editor and translator W.H. Schoffto indicate that he was from the city ofCharaxinCharaceneon the northern end of the presentPersian Gulf.However, the Greekcharaxmerely means "palisade" and there were several fortified towns that bore the name (seeCharax).

Parthian Stations

Isidore's best known work is "TheParthianStations "(Ancient Greek:Σταθμοί Παρθικοί,Stathmœ́ Parthicœ́;Latin:MansionesParthicae), anitineraryof the overlandtrade routefromAntiochtoIndiaalong thecaravanstations maintained by theArsacid Empire.He seems to have given his distances inschoeni( "ropes" ) of debated value. Isidore must have written it some time after26 BC,for it refers to the revolt ofTiridates IIagainstPhraates IV,which occurred in that year.

In its surviving form, "The Parthian Stations" appears to be a summary from some larger work. A reference inAthenaeussuggests that the title of the greater work wasA Journey around Parthia(τὸ τῆς Παρθίας περιηγητικόν,tò tês Parthías periēgēticón). Athenaeus's reference, not included in the present text of "The Parthian Stations", is a description ofpearl fishing.

The 1st-centuryhistoriographerPliny the Elderrefers to a "description of the world" commissioned by theEmperorAugustus"to gather all necessary information in the east when his eldest son was about to set out forArmeniato take the command against theParthiansandArabians";this occurredc. 1BC.Pliny refers to the author as a "Dionysius", but it is assumed by Schoff that this is a mistake and Isidore was meant. It is Isidore who is cited for the relevant measurements ofgeographic distances.

The 2nd-centurysatiristLucian of Samosataalso cites an Isidore (although not necessarily this one) for claims oflongevity.Lucian does not note the name of the work he is quoting.

A collection of translations of the variousfragmentsattributed to Isidore of Charax were published withcommentaryin "The Parthian Stations", a forty-six-pagebookletbyWilfred Harvey Schoffin 1914. The Greek text in that volume is that established byKarl Müller.