[18] Next to the plain of Macras is that of Massyas, which also contains some mountainous parts, among which is Chalcis, the acropolis, as it were, of the Massyas. The commencement of this plain is at Laodiceia,
1
near Libanus. The Ituraeans and Arabians, all of whom are freebooters, occupy the whole of the mountainous tracts. The husbandmen live in the plains, and when harassed by the freebooters, they require protection of various kinds. The robbers have strongholds from which they issue forth; those, for example, who occupy Libanus have high up on the mountain the fortresses Sinna, Borrhama, and some others like them; lower down, Botrys and Gigartus, caves also near the sea, and the castle on the promontory Theoprosopon. Pompey destroyed these fastnesses, from whence the robbers overran Byblus,
2
and Berytus
3
situated next to it, and which lie between Sidon and Theoprosopon.