ORONTES
Eth.
ORONTES a people of ancient Assyria, described by Pliny as being to the east of Gaugamela (6.26. s. 30).
There can be no doubt that these are the present
Rowándi, a tribe living, as in ancient times, about the great mountain
Rowándiz, in
Kurdistán, and doubtless connected with the Orontes of Ptolemy (
6.2.4). They derive, their name from
Erwend, a pure old Persian root, which was usually Hellenized into Orodes or Orontes. (Rawlinson,
Journ. of Geog. Soc. x. p. 73.)
[
V]