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Isidore of Charax (/ˈɪzɪˌdɔːr/;Ancient Greek:Ἰσίδωρος ὁ Χαρακηνός,Isídōros o Charakēnós;Latin:Isidorus Characenus) was aGreekgeographer of the 1st century BC and 1st century AD, a citizen of theParthian Empire,[1] about whom nothing is known but his name and that he wrote at least one work.
Isidore's name has been interpreted by editor and translator W.H. Schoff[2] to indicate that he was from the city ofCharax inCharacene on the northern end of the presentPersian Gulf. However, the Greekcharax merely means "palisade" and there were several fortified towns that bore the name (seeCharax).
Isidore's best known work is "TheParthian Stations" (Ancient Greek:Σταθμοί Παρθικοί,Stathmœ́ Parthicœ́;Latin:Mansiones Parthicae), anitinerary of the overlandtrade route fromAntioch toIndia along thecaravan stations 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 II againstPhraates IV, which occurred in that year.
In its surviving form, "The Parthian Stations" appears to be a summary from some larger work. A reference inAthenaeus[3] suggests 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 Elder refers 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 forArmenia to take the command against theParthians andArabians";[4] this occurredc. 1 BC. 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.[5]
The 2nd-centurysatiristLucian of Samosata also cites an Isidore (although not necessarily this one) for claims oflongevity.[6] Lucian does not note the name of the work he is quoting.
A collection of translations of the variousfragments attributed to Isidore of Charax were published withcommentary in "The Parthian Stations", a forty-six-pagebooklet byWilfred Harvey Schoff in 1914. The Greek text in that volume is that established byKarl Müller.[7]
