ORTOSPANA
ORTOSPANA (
Ὀρτόσπανα,
Strab. xi. p.514, xv. p. 723;
Κάρουπα ἡ καὶ Ὀρτόσπανα,
Ptol. 6.18.5;
Amm. Marc. 23.6), an ancient city of Bactriana, which there is good reason for supposing is identical with the modern town of
Kábul. The name is written variously in ancient authors Ortospana or Ortospanum; the latter is the form adopted by Pliny (
6.17. s. 21). Three principal roads
[p. 2.498]leading through Bactriana met at this place; hence the notice in Strabo (
l.c.) of the
ἡ ἐκ Βάκτρων τρίοδος. Groskurd has (as appears to us), on no sufficient ground, identified Ortospana with the present
Kandahar. If the reading of some of the MSS. of Ptolemy be correct,
Kábul may be a corruption of
Κάβουπα.
It is worthy of note, that in the earlier editions of Ptolemy (
6.18.3) mention is made of a people whom he calls
Καβολῖται; in the latest of Nobbe (Tauchnitz, 1843) the name is changed to
Βωλῖται. It is not improbable that Ptolemy here is speaking of
Kábul, as Lassen has observed. (
Ind. Alterthums. vol. i. p. 29.)
The three roads may be, the pass by
Bamián, that by the
Hindú--Kúsh, and that from
Anderáb to
Khawar. [
V]
