Coast, or Mofes would not have ventured into fuch an ambush; for here would have been a proper place for his enemies to have attacked him, without the poffibility of a retreat. We shall hereafter

find, that the Greek writers have placed the Scythians in this tract of Country (D). For God had enlarged Japhet, and he was to dwell in the Tents of Sem, and Canaan was to be his Servant. The Canaanites had now ferved the Japhetans 13 years; there is no trace in Scripture that the Scythians retained the Sovereignty after the lofs of Pentapolis, but there is strong proof in the fequel of this hiftory, that they united with them and became one people, known in profane history, by the name of Phanicians, and in Scripture by the name of Canaanites. It is not clear from Scripture that all the Canaanites owe their origin to Canaan the Son of Ham, for Canaan in Hebrew is the name of Noah's Grandfon and also a Merchant. Our Magogian Scythi being the firft Navigators and Merchants would call themselves Ceannaith and Aonaic, that is, Merchants. If, fays Bates y Canaan is from

Canaa which cannot be disputed, then it is a mistake, though a common one; that a merchant was named from Canaan, Grandfon of Noah and father of the Canaanites, because the word fignifies merchandizing independent of them; and the land as well as the people of Canaan, was named from their trading, and Job, Ifaiah and Hofea, ufe the word as a merchant. Bates Critica Hebræa, P. 276.

Thefe words ceannai-gim to buy or fell, and Aonac a fair, a place of traffick, are in common ufe in Ireland at this day. Aonach Tailtean, was the general mart of the whole Kingdom, Keating p. 359. Anac,

Aonac

Aonac or Eineac, fignifies alfo a Fir tree, a tall ftraight tree; a prop, pillar, fupport, a Column, and hence metaphorically, protection; Example, tug ced bo in a eincac, he gave 20 Cows for his protection. Whence it became an Epithet to many petty princes in Arabic anuk, a column, a pillar, a root, a caufe; hence the Gaduli or Magogian Scythians, being of tall ftature, might have taken the name of Anakim; and for this reafon Arba might have called his Son py Anak, i. e. the Fir Tree, the Column, &c. Jof. 14, 15. et expulit inde Caleb tres filios Anac, Seffai, Abiman, and Talmai, natos Anac; here we meet three Names corresponding to the Irish, viz. Anac, Achamon, and Tolam.

The Jews invented strange Stories of thefe Anakim. Benjamin Judæus, in his itinerary, fays, that in Damafcus, he faw the Rib of one of thefe Anakim, that measured 9 spanish palms in length, and 2 in breadth; it was preferved in the palace, and had been taken from a Sepulchre :--dicitur ille fuiffe ex antiquiffimis regibus Anak, nomine Abshamaz ut ex Sepulchri illius lapide infcripto eft indicatum: in quo fcriptum etiam est, illum toto orbe regnaffe. The Hebrew language has loft the proper fignification of the word py Enac, Gigas. pl. Enakim, ad omnes Gigantes traductum, q. d. Torquati, (Caft.) vel quia injicerunt terrorem Statura fua, (Benjamin).)-The Syriac Ny Anakia, which allo in the Samaritan fignifies adjuvit; fubvenit alicui, Ramus propago, comes nearest to the fenfe of the Irish; the Arab, neoj a fir tree is not far diftant.

Arba the name of Anaks father, feems to point out that they were Merchants or Shipmen, for

with y ארבע .arba in Chaldee, is, Navis ארבא

in the termination fignifies four, whence J. Capellus thinks he was a Giant of four Cubits; quatuor cubitorum ftatura minor fuerit, quam ut famæ refpondeat, observes Bochart. (Geogr. Sac. L. 1, C. 1.)-Again, Arba in Arabic fignifies Negotium; as the y is frequently written for N in many places of the facred Scripture, I am of opinion Anak and Arba imply a tall Gigantic race of Men as our Scythians were, and Merchants. It must be obferved that Anac in Irish does alfo imply a man of extraordinary Stature; but when it fignifies a Giant, that is, a wild ungovernable strong man, robbing and ranfacking his neighbours; the word Fi (i. c. bad, wicked) is always præfixed, hence in our Irish Lexicons Fianach a Giant.

From hence I deduce pyn Chadre Anak, in Irish, Cadhair Aonach, i. e. the City of the Merchants; the Chadreanak or Carthage of Plautus, for in his time it was the Seat of Merchandize, and the Carthaginians gave it a proper name, i. e. Sedes Mercatorum, for if Anek or Bene Anak had been a proper name of the Phænicians, as Bochart pretends, why did not their first Colony in Utica take that name?-Where they were feated 300 Years before Carthage was built; the reason is plain, this Colony was not conveniently feated for traffick-they were making fettlements on the terra firma, till Dido came to Africa, and built Cadre Anak. See next Chapter.

The Poem on the expedition of Partholan, concludes with a Lift of the principal Officers attending him on the expedition, and with them, it is recorded, were Biobal agus Bebal, a dha Ceannuithe, that is, Biobal and Bebal, two Merchants; and this is the first account of traffick in the Irish history.

CHA P.

N

CHA

NEMED or

P. IV.

NIOMA D.

IOMAD (i. e. the leader of a multitude,) is faid to be the Son of Achemon or Aghamon, Son of Pamp, Son of Tath, Son of Seara, Son of Sru, Son of Afru, Son of Bram, Son of Aiteacht, defcended of Magog. Nemed failing out of the Euxine Sea, came to Aigen, (that is, Ægina, one of the Infulæ Atticæ,) from thence he failed to Eire, (that is, Eria,) or Crete; and pursuing his Voyage, S. W. landed in Africa.

Here they were inftructed by the Africans, to build houses and palaces; the names of the African Architects who taught them this fcience were, Rog, Robhog, Rodan, and Ruibne. They had feveral Skirmishes with the Africans, and in the fourth battle Nemed was flain: from this time the Africans grew more troublesome, and after seven years, Siim Breac, the Grandfon of Nemed, led a Colony to Greece; this weakened the main body, who fuffered great hardships from the natives of Africa, till the arrival of the Firr D'Omnann. Siim Breac left Greece, and feizing on the Grecian fleet, failed to Spain, from whence they came to Ireland, and to Britain, where the pofterity of this Siim Breac were fettled, when the Cruitne arrived in Scotland. The African Pyrates called Fombaraigh, harraffed the Nemedians in their fettlements in the Western Ifle, and are faid to have fucceeded fo far, as to have lain them under contribution in Ireland.

RE

REMARK S.

Keating the compiler of the Irish History, has committed many egregious blunders in this Article from Crete he brings them to Ireland, but the best authorities carry them to Africa, to Greece, to Spain; and fo to the Britanic Iflands.

The Punic annals reflect a ftrong light on this remote part of our hiftory. We have fhewn in the introduction, that the original Perfians and Parthians, were Scythians; who defcending the Euphrates, fettled on the Perfian gulph, and from thence along the Sea Coaft, up the Red Sea to the head of it; poffeffing a narrow skirt of fandy foil, called Oman; whence Fir D'Omann: here they were known by the Greeks, by the name of Ichthyophagi, (o) and Troglodyta, fish eaters and dwellers in Caves: by the Hebrews they were denominated Siim and Am-Siim y or shipmen; the Ægyptians called them Nephthyn from the Coptic Neph a Ship, (p) hence the) Nephthuim of the Scriptures; but the whole Coast of Oman was called by the Arabs Al-muzun i. e. Terra Oman, pars Arabiæ, aliis quoque Nauta, Naucleri (Golius & Gigg.) This great body of Scythians or Perfians and Parthians, paffed over to Africa, to the fupport of their Countrymen the Nemedians, and established themselves in Numi

(0) Not only the inhabitants but the animals of this Coast are Ichthyophagi at this day, Monf. Niebuhr, who was lately in that Country, fays, they feed their Cows and Affes with fish, and the ground is manured with them.

(p) It is acknowledged that the Greeks received the worship of Neptune from the Lybians.