anciently a people of Thrace, or (according to some authors) of Scythia. They had no fixed habitations; they led a wandering life. Their houses were waggons, which carried all their possessions. They lived on the flesh of their herds and flocks, on milk and cheese, chiefly on that of mare's milk. They were unacquainted with commerce. They only exchanged commodities with their neighbours. They possessed lands, but they did not cultivate them. They assigned their agriculture to any who would undertake it, reserving only to themselves a tribute; which they exacted, not with a view to live in affluence, but merely to enjoy the necessaries of life. They never took arms but to oblige those to make good a promise to them by whom it had been broken. They paid tribute to none of the neighbouring states. They deemed themselves exempt from such an imposition; for they relied on their strength and courage, and consequently thought themselves able to repel any invasion. The Abians, we are told, were a people of great integrity. This honourable eulogium is given them by Homer. (Strabo).