REPORT,

Concerning the Voyage of ANTHONY JENKINSON in the Caspian Sea.

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The Caspian Sea is one of those places in the world that have not been well known until now, and therefore is well worthy of a new description. This is especially true of its northern coasts, which have remained unknown to modern as well as ancient writers. This has caused the disagreement that one finds concerning the vast extent of this sea. Herodotus and Aristotle knew in their time that it had no likely connection to other seas. Yet, in the time of Pliny, as one perceives in his writings, and even when Emperor Justin reigned, and still later, it was believed that it was a gulf or sea-inlet and a part of the North Sea. The cause of this error was that it is salty, from which they drew a false conclusion. They wished it to have a connection to other seas because it possessed this quality, without considering that this quality could arise from something else, and that there are large lakes found whose waters are salty. Regarding these coasts, it is well enough known that they stretch from the mouth or outlet of the Volga to Ferabat. All those who travel from Muscovy to Persia make a crossing by ship over it. Olearius, in his Persian Voyage, reports to us accurately about this coast; and regarding the extent, which he estimates at 120 German miles, he agrees with Herodotus. Yet, he still wants to improve all the ancient and modern maps, assuming that the greatest extent of this sea is North-West and South-West