a river which falls into the Euxine sea about 700 miles from Constantinople: "From the Iberian Caucasus (says Gibbon), the most lofty and craggy mountains of Asia, that river descends with such oblique vehemence, that in a short space it is traversed by 120 bridges. Nor does the stream become placid and navigable till it reaches the town of Sarapana, five days journey from the Cyrus, which flows from the same hills, but in a contrary direction, to the Caspian lake. The proximity of these rivers has suggested the practice, or at least the idea, of waiting the precious merchandise of India down the Oxus, over the Caspian, up the Cyrus, and with the current of the Phasis into the Euxine and Mediterranean seas. As it successively collects the streams of the plain of Colchis, the Phasis moves with diminished speed, though accumulated weight. At the mouth it is 60 fathoms deep, and half a league broad; but a small woody island is interposed in the midst of the channel: the water, so soon as it has deposited an earthy or metallic sediment, floats on the surface of the waves, and is no longer susceptible of corruption. In a course of 100 miles, 40 of which are navigable for large vessels, the Phasis divides the celebrated region of Colchis or Mingrelia, which, on three sides, is fortified by the Iberian and Armenian mountains, and whose maritime coast extends about 200 miles, from the neighbourhood of Trebizond to Dioscurias and the confines of Circassia. Both the soil and climate are relaxed by excessive moisture: 28 rivers, besides the Phasis and his dependent streams, convey their waters to the sea; and the hollowness of the ground appears to indicate the subterraneous channels between the Euxine and the Caspian."