his army, established ports, and sunk Wells; whereas he particularly describes the former road, as being seven or eight days’ journey, formerly performed on camels in the night, by observation of the stars, and carrying water with them.  Latterly, he adds, deep wells had been sunk, and cisterns formed for holding water.  Every detail of the road to Berenice is Roman, and relates to periods considerably posterior to the conquest of Egypt by the Romans—­a proof that the plan of Philadelphus, of substituting Berenice for Myos Hormos, had not been regularly adopted by his successors, nor till the Romans had firmly and permanently fixed themselves in Egypt.

In the extract we have already given from Agatharcides respecting Arabia, he expressly mentions that the Gerrheans and Sabeans are the centre of all the commerce that passes between Asia and Europe, and that these are the nations which have enriched the Ptolemais:  this statement, taken in conjunction with the fact that his description of the coast of the Red Sea reaches no farther than Sabaea on the one side, and Ptolemais Theron on the other, seems decisive of the truth of the opinion, that in the time of Philometor the Egyptians did not trade directly to India.  It may be proper to add, that in the extracts from Agatharcides, given by Photius, it is expressly mentioned that ships from India were met with by the Egyptian ships in the ports of Sabaea.  The particulars of this trade between India and Egypt, by means of the Arabians, will be afterwards detailed, and its great antiquity traced and proved; at present we have alluded to it merely to bear us out in our position, that Indian ships, laden with Indian commodities, frequenting the ports of Sabaea, and those ports being described by Agatharcides as the limits of his knowledge of this coast of the Red Sea, we are fully justified in concluding, that, in the reign of Philometor, there was not only no direct trade to India, but no inducement to such trade; and that 146 years after the death of Alexander, the Greek sovereigns of Egypt had done little to complete what that monarch had projected, and in part accomplished by the navigation of Nearchus—­the communication by sea between Alexandria and India.

Under the successors of Philometor, the trade in the Red Sea languished rather than increased, and the full benefits of it were not reaped till some time after the Roman conquest.  Even in the time of Strabo, the bulk of the trade still passed by Coptus to Myos Hormos.  We are aware of a passage in this author, which, at first, sight seems to contradict the position we have laid down, and to prove, that at least in his time, there was a direct and not unfrequent navigation between the Red Sea and India.  He expressly states, that in the course of six or seven years, 120 ships had sailed from Myos Hormos to India:  but on this it may be observed, in the first place, that he begins his description of India, with requesting his readers to peruse what he relates concerning it