The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c9.11

c9.11

The writer of the article *Ophir* in Smith’s ‘Dictionary of the Bible’ argues in favour of Arabia, by assuming that “ivory, apes, and peacocks” were not imported from Ophir, but from Tarshish, and that gold and *algum* trees only were imported from Ophir. By this assumption he gets rid of the Indian names for the elephant, monkey, and parrot; but there still remains the name of *algum* wood, which Professor Lassen derives from the Sanskrit *valgu*, or sandal-wood. He admits that Arabia does not now produce gold, but thinks that it may once have done so, or if not, that it at least possessed gold by importation, as the Queen of Sheba presented much gold to Solomon.