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Land Of The Berbers
Barbaria was the name used by the ancient Greeks for coastal northeast Africa. The corresponding Arabic term, ''bilad al-Barbar'' (land of the Barbar), was used in the Middle Ages.Michael Peppard, "A Letter Concerning Boats in Berenike and Trade on the Red Sea", ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'' 171 (2009), pp. 193–198. The name of Barbaria is preserved today in the name of the Somali city of Berbera, the city known to the Greeks as Malao.David M. Goldenberg, "Geographia Rabbinica: The Toponym Barbaria", ''Journal of Jewish Studies'' 50, 1 (1999), pp. 67–69. Greek sources According to the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'', a 1st-century travelogue written by a Greek merchant based in Alexandria, Barbaria extended from the border of Egypt just south of Berenice Troglodytica to just north of Ptolemais Theron. From there to the Bab-el-Mandeb was the kingdom ruled by Zoskales (possibly Aksum), after which the "rest of Barbaria" extended to Opone. This second Barba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Periplus Erythraen Sea
A periplus (), or periplous, is a manuscript document that lists the ports and coastal landmarks, in order and with approximate intervening distances, that the captain of a vessel could expect to find along a shore. In that sense, the periplus was a type of log and served the same purpose as the later Roman itinerarium of road stops. However, the Greek navigators added various notes, which, if they were professional geographers, as many were, became part of their own additions to Greek geography. The form of the ''periplus'' is at least as old as the earliest Greek historian, the Ionian Hecataeus of Miletus. The works of Herodotus and Thucydides contain passages that appear to have been based on ''peripli''. Etymology ''Periplus'' is the Latinization of the Greek word περίπλους (''periplous'', contracted from περίπλοος ''periploos''), which is "a sailing-around." Both segments, ''peri-'' and ''-plous'', were independently productive: the ancient Greek speaker un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glen W
A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. The word is Goidelic in origin: ''gleann'' in Irish and Scottish Gaelic, ''glion'' in Manx. The designation "glen" also occurs often in place names. Glens are appreciated by tourists for their tranquility and scenery. Etymology The word is Goidelic in origin: ''gleann'' in Irish and Scottish Gaelic, ''glion'' in Manx. In Manx, ''glan'' is also to be found meaning glen. It is cognate with Welsh ''glyn''. Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrower than a strath". Examples in Northern England, such as Glenridding, Westmorland, or Glendue, near Haltwhistle, Northumberland, are thought to derive from the aforementioned Cumbric cognate, or another Brythonic equivalent. This likely underlies some examples in Southern Scotland. As the name of a river, it is thought to derive fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myrrh
Myrrh (; from an unidentified ancient Semitic language, see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a few small, thorny tree species of the '' Commiphora'' genus, belonging to the Burseraceae family. Myrrh resin has been used throughout history in medicine, perfumery, and incenses. Myrrh mixed with posca or wine was widely used in many ancient cultures to produce pleasurable feelings and as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic. Extraction and production When a cut on a tree penetrates through the bark and into the sapwood, the tree secretes a resin. Myrrh gum, like frankincense, is such a resin. Myrrh is harvested by repeatedly cutting the trees to bleed the gum, which is waxy and coagulates quickly. After the harvest, the gum becomes hard and glossy. The gum is yellowish and may be either clear or opaque. It darkens deeply as it ages, and white streaks emerge. Myrrh gum is commonly harvested from trees of the genus Commiphora. It is commonly extracted fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elephant Hunting
Elephants are the Largest and heaviest animals, largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''). They are the only surviving members of the Family (biology), family Elephantidae and the Order (biology), order Proboscidea; extinct relatives include mammoths and mastodons. Distinctive features of elephants include a long proboscis called a trunk, tusks, large ear flaps, pillar-like legs, and tough but sensitive grey skin. The trunk is Prehensility, prehensile, bringing food and water to the mouth and grasping objects. Tusks, which are derived from the incisor teeth, serve both as weapons and as tools for moving objects and digging. The large ear flaps assist in maintaining a constant body temperature as well as in communication. African elephants have larger ears and concave backs, whereas Asian elephants hav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ptolemaic Dynasty
The Ptolemaic dynasty (; , ''Ptolemaioi''), also known as the Lagid dynasty (, ''Lagidai''; after Ptolemy I's father, Lagus), was a Macedonian Greek royal house which ruled the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Ancient Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Reigning for 275 years, the Ptolemaic was the longest and last dynasty of ancient Egypt from 305 BC until its incorporation into the Roman Republic in 30 BC. Ptolemy, a general and one of the '' somatophylakes'' (bodyguard companions) of Alexander the Great, was appointed satrap of Egypt after Alexander's death in 323 BC. In 305 BC he declared himself Pharaoh Ptolemy I, later known as ''Sōter'' "Saviour". The Egyptians soon accepted the Ptolemies as the successors to the pharaohs of independent Egypt. The new dynasty showed respect to local traditions and adopted the Egyptian titles and iconography, while also preserving their own Greek language and culture. The Ptolemaic period was marked by the intense interactions and blending ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and on the southeast by the Laccadive Sea and the Maldives, on the southwest by Somalia. Its total area is and its maximum depth is . The Gulf of Aden in the west connects the Arabian Sea to the Red Sea through the strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, and the Gulf of Oman is in the northwest, connecting it to the Persian Gulf. Geography The Arabian Sea's surface area is about .Arabian Sea Encyclopædia Britannica The maximum width of the sea is approximately , and its maximum depth is . The biggest river flowing into the sea is the Indus River. The Arabian Sea has two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephanus Of Byzantium
Stephanus or Stephen of Byzantium (; , ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD) was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethnica'' (). Only meagre fragments of the dictionary survive, but the epitome is extant, compiled by one Hermolaus, not otherwise identified. Life Nothing is known about the life of Stephanus, except that he was a Greek grammarian who was active in Constantinople, and lived after the time of Arcadius and Honorius, and before that of Justinian II. Later writers provide no information about him, but they do note that the work was later reduced to an epitome by a certain Hermolaus, who dedicated his epitome to Justinian; whether the first or second emperor of that name is meant is disputed, but it seems probable that Stephanus flourished in Byzantium in the earlier part of the sixth century AD, under Justinian I. The ''Ethnica'' Stephanos' work, originally written in Greek, takes the form of an alphabetical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cosmas Indicopleustes
Cosmas Indicopleustes (; also known as Cosmas the Monk) was a merchant and later hermit from Alexandria in Egypt. He was a 6th-century traveller who made several voyages to India during the reign of emperor Justinian. His work '' Christian Topography'' contained some of the earliest and most famous world maps.''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2008, O.Ed, Cosmas Indicopleustes. Cosmas was a pupil of the East Syriac Patriarch Aba I and was himself a follower of the Church of the East. Voyage Around AD 550, while a monk in the retirement of a Sinai cloister, Cosmas wrote the once-copiously illustrated '' Christian Topography'', a work partly based on his personal experiences as a merchant on the Red Sea and Indian Ocean in the early 6th century. His description of India and Ceylon during the 6th century is invaluable to historians. Cosmas seems to have personally visited the Kingdom of Axum in modern day northern Ethiopia, as well as Eritrea. He sailed along the coast of Socotra, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marcian Of Heraclea
Marcian of Heraclea (, ''Markianòs Hērakleṓtēs''; ; fl. century AD) was a minor Greek geographer from Heraclea Pontica in Late Antiquity. His known works are: *'' Periplus of the Outer Sea'' (Greek: ''Περιπλοισ τησ εΞω Θαλασσησ''). It mentions places from the Atlantic ocean to China. *An epitome of Menippus of Pergamon. *An epitome of Artemidorus Ephesius: *On the Distances of Cities from Rome. Artemidorus and Menippus both likely wrote around the 1st century AD.Diller147-150/ref> Only little survives of the Epitome, epitomes, through citations in the work of Stephanus of Byzantium,Diller45-47/ref> but in the case of Menippus there is also some manuscript material. From it, it seems Marcian had not improved much upon Menippus. Early in its publication history, the work of Pseudo-Scymnus had been attributed to Marcian. Apart from his writings, philologists believe that an annotated collection Marcian made of his sources in geography forme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhapta
Rhapta () was an emporion said to be on the coast of Southeast Africa, first described in the 1st century CE. Its location has not been firmly identified, although there are a number of plausible candidate sites. The ancient ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' described Rhapta as "the last emporion of Azania", two days' travel south of the Menouthias islands (Chapter 16). The ''Periplus'' also states that the city and port were ruled by South Arabian vassals of the Himyarite kingdom, particularly a certain " Mapharitic chieftain."Lionel Casson (ed.)''The Periplus Maris Erythraei: Text with Introduction, Translation, and Commentary''(Princeton University Press, 1989), p. 45. According to Claudius Ptolemy, Diogenes, a merchant in the Indian trade, was blown off course from his usual route from India, and after travelling 25 days south along the coast of Africa arrived at Rhapta, located where the river of the same name enters the Indian Ocean opposite the island of Menouthias. D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Azania
Azania () is a name that has been applied to various parts of southeastern tropical Africa. In the Roman period and perhaps earlier, the toponym has been hypothesised to have referred to a portion of the Southeast Africa coast extending from southern Somalia to the border between Mozambique and South Africa. during classical antiquity Azania was mostly inhabited by Southern Cushitic peoples, whose groups would rule the area until the great Bantu Migration. In 1933, G.W.B Huntingford proposed a theory of Azanian civilization existing in Kenya and northern Tanzania, between the Stone Age and Islamic period. It was supposed that these people were from Somalia where they eventually perished around the 14th to 15th-century. Ancient Azania Azania was a region in ancient Arcadia, which was according to Pausanias named after the mythical king Azan. According to Herodotus, the region contained the ancient town of Paus. The use of this name coincides with a reference in which Pliny t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zanzibar
Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. The capital is Zanzibar City, located on the island of Unguja. Its historic centre, Stone Town, is a World Heritage Site. Zanzibar is also a Autonomous administrative divisions, semi-autonomous region that united with Tanganyika (1961–1964), Tanganyika in 1964, and formed the present-day Tanzania, United Republic of Tanzania. The archipelago's main Industry (economics), industries are spices, raffia palm, raffia, and tourism. The main spices produced are clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, coconut, and black pepper. The Zanzibar Archipelago, together with Tanzania's Mafia Island, are sometimes referred to locally as the "Spice Islands". Tourism in Zanzibar is a more recent activity, driven by government promotion that caused an increase from 19,000 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
