Note 196 — Chapter XXII · —Submission of the Oreitai—Description of the Gadrôsian desert

Gadrôsia in Arrian denotes the inland region which extends from the Oreitai to Karmania. The maritime region between the same limits he calls the country of the Ichthyophagoi. The Gedrôsian desert since the days of Alexander has protected Lower Sindh from any attack by the maritime route. The Persian invader has preferred to encounter the dangers and difficulties of the mountain passes of Afghânistân rather than to expose himself to such horrible sufferings in the burning desert as were experienced by the soldiers of Semiramis, Cyrus, and Alexander. The length of the Makrân or Beluchistan coast between the Oreitai and Karmania is given by Arrian at 10,000 stadia and by Strabo at 7000 only. The actual length is 480 English miles, and the time taken by Nearchos in its navigation was twenty days.