| Pliny the Elder, Natural History (English) (XML Header) [genre: prose] [word count] [lemma count] [Plin. Nat.]. | ||
| <<Plin. Nat. 4.37 | Plin. Nat. 5.1 (Latin) | >>Plin. Nat. 5.2 |
The Greeks have given the name of Libya [Note] to Africa, and have called the sea that lies in front of it the Libyan Sea. It has Egypt for its boundary, and no part of the earth is there that has fewer gulfs or inlets, its shores extending in a lengthened line from the west in an oblique direction. The names of its peoples, and its cities in especial, cannot possibly be pronounced with correctness, except by the aid of their own native tongues. Its population, too, for the most part dwells only in fortresses [Note].
(1.) On our entrance into Africa, we find the two Mauritanias, which, until the time of Caius Cæsar [Note], the son of Germanicus, were kingdoms; but, suffering under his cruelty, they were divided into two provinces. The extreme promontory of Africa, which projects into the ocean, is called Ampelusia [Note] by the Greeks. There were formerly two towns, Lissa and Cotte [Note], beyond the Pillars of Hercules; but, at the present day, we only find that of Tingi [Note], which was for-
merly founded by Antæus, and afterwards received the name of Traducta Julia [Note], from Claudius Cæsar, when he established a colony there. It is thirty miles distant from Belon [Note], a town of Bætica, where the passage across is the shortest. At a distance of twenty-five miles from Tingi, upon the shores of the ocean [Note], we come to Julia Constantia Zilis [Note], a colony of Augustus. This place is exempt from all subjection to the kings of Mauritania, and is included in the legal jurisdiction of Bætica. Thirty-two miles distant from Julia Constantia is Lixos [Note], which was made a Roman colony by Claudius Cæsar, and which has been the subject of such wondrous fables, related by the writers of antiquity. At this place, according to the story, was the palace of Antaeus; this was the scene of his combat with Hercules, and here were the gardens of the Hesperides [Note]. An arm of the sea flows into the land here,
with a serpentine channel, and, from the nature of the locality, this is interpreted at the present day as having been what was really represented by the story of the dragon keeping guard there. This tract of water surrounds an island, the only spot which is never overflowed by the tides of the sea, although not quite so elevated as the rest of the land in its vicinity. Upon this island, also, there is still in existence the altar of Hercules; but of the grove that bore the golden fruit, there are no traces left, beyond some wild olive-trees. People will certainly be the less surprised at the marvellous falsehoods of the Greeks, which have been related about this place and the river Lixos [Note], when they reflect that some of our own [Note] countrymen as well, and that too very recently, have related stories in reference to them hardly less monstrous; how that this city is remarkable for its power and extensive influence, and how that it is even greater than Great Carthage ever was; how, too, that it is situate just opposite to Carthage, and at an almost immeasurable distance from Tingi, together with other details of a similar nature, all of which Cornelius Nepos has believed with the most insatiate credulity [Note].
In the interior, at a distance of forty miles from Lixos, is Babba [Note], surnamed Julia Campestris, another colony of Augustus; and, at a distance of seventy-five, a third, called Banasa [Note],
with the surname of Valentia. At a distance of thirty-five miles from this last is the town of Volubilis, which is just that distance also from both [Note] seas. On the coast, at a distance of fifty miles from Lixos, is the river Subur [Note], which flows past the colony of Banasa, a fine river, and available for the purposes of navigation. At the same distance from it is the city of Sala [Note], situate on a river which bears the same name, a place which stands upon the very verge of the desert, and though infested by troops of elephants, is much more exposed to the attacks of the nation of the Autololes, through whose country lies the road to Mount Atlas, the most fabulous [Note] locality even in Africa.
It is from the midst of the sands, according to the story, that this mountain [Note] raises its head to the heavens; rugged and craggy on the side which looks toward the shores of the ocean to which it has given its name, while on that which faces the interior of Africa it is shaded by dense groves of trees, and refreshed by flowing streams; fruits of all kinds springing up there spontaneously to such an extent, as to more than satiate every possible desire. Throughout the daytime, no inhabitant is to be seen; all is silent, like that dreadful stillness which reigns in the desert. A religious horror steals imperceptibly over the feelings of those who approach, and they feel themselves smitten with awe at the stupendous aspect of its summit, which reaches beyond the clouds, and well nigh approaches the very orb of the moon. At night, they say, it gleams with fires innumerable lighted
up; it is then the scene of the gambols of the Ægipans [Note] and the Satyr crew, while it re-echoes with the notes of the flute and the pipe, and the clash of drums and cymbals. All this is what authors of high character have stated, in addition to the labours which Hercules and Perseus there experienced. The space which intervenes before you arrive at this mountain is immense, and the country quite unknown.
There formerly existed some Commentaries written by Hanno [Note], a Carthaginian general, who was commanded, in the most flourishing times of the Punic state, to explore the sea-coast of Africa. The greater part of the Greek and Roman writers have followed him, and have related, among other fabulous stories, that many cities there were founded by him, of which no remembrance, nor yet the slightest vestige, now exists.
While Scipio Æmilianus held the command in Sicily, Polybius the historian received a fleet from him for the purpose of proceeding on a voyage of discovery in this part of the world. He relates, that beyond [Note] Mount Atlas, pro-
ceeding in a westerly direction, there are forests filled with wild beasts, peculiar to the soil of Africa, as far as the river Anatis [Note], a distance of 485 miles, Lixos being distant from it 205 miles. Agrippa says, that Lixos is distant from the Straits of Gades 112 miles. After it we come to a gulf which is called the Gulf of Saguti [Note], a town situate on the Promontory of Mulelacha [Note], the rivers Subur and Salat [Note], and the port of Rutubis [Note], distant from Lixos 213 miles We then come to the Promontory of the Sun [Note], the port of Risardir [Note], the Gætulian Autololes, the river Cosenus [Note], the nations of the Selatiti and the Masati, the river Masathat [Note], and the river Darat [Note], in which crocodiles are found. After this we come to a large gulf, 616 [Note] miles in extent, which is enclosed by a promontory of Mount Barce [Note], which runs out in a westerly direction, and is called Surrentium [Note]. Next comes the river Salsus [Note], beyond which lie the Æthiopian Perorsi, at the back of whom are the Pharusii [Note], who
are bordered upon by the Gætulian Daræ [Note], lying in the interior. Upon the coast again, we find the Æthiopian Daratitæ, and the river Bambotus [Note], teeming with crocodiles and hippopotami. From this river there is a continuous range [Note] of mountains till we come to the one which is known by the name of Theon Ochema [Note], from which to the Hesperian Promontory [Note] is a voyage of ten days and nights; and in the middle of this space he [Note] has placed Mount Atlas, which by all other writers has been stated to be in the extreme parts of Mauritania.
The Roman arms, for the first time, pursued their conquests into Mauritania, under the Emperor Claudius, when the freedman Ædemon took up arms to avenge the death of King Ptolemy [Note], who had been put to death by Caius Cæsar;
and it is a well-known fact, that on the flight of the barbarians our troops reached Mount Atlas. It became a boast, not only among men of consular rank, and generals selected from the senate, who at that time held the command, but among persons of equestrian rank as well, who after that period held the government there, that they had penetrated as far as Mount Atlas. There are, as we have already stated, five Roman colonies in this province; and it may very possibly appear, if we listen only to what report says, that this mountain is easily accessible. Upon trial, however, it has been pretty generally shown, that all such statements are utterly fallacious; and it is too true, that men in high station, when they are disinclined to take the trouble of inquiring into the truth, through a feeling of shame at their ignorance arc not averse to be guilty of falsehood; and never is implicit credence more readily given, than when a falsehood is supported by the authority of some personage of high consideration. For my own part, I am far less surprised that there are still some facts remaining undiscovered by men of the equestrian order, and even those among them who have attained senatorial rank, than that the love of luxury has left anything unascertained; the impulse of which must be great indeed, and most powerfully felt, when the very forests are ransacked for their ivory and citron-wood [Note], and all the rocks of Gætulia are searched for the murex and the purple.
From the natives, however, we learn, that on the coast, at
a distance of 150 miles from the Salat, the river Asana [Note]
story there are still existing in its vicinity many vestiges which tend to prove that the locality was once inhabited; such as the remains of vineyards and plantations of palm-trees.
Suetonius Paulinus [Note], whom we have seen Consul in our own time, was the first Roman general who advanced a distance of some miles beyond Mount Atlas. He has given us the same information as we have received from other sources with reference to the extraordinary height of this mountain, and at the same time he has stated that all the lower parts about the foot of it are covered with dense and lofty forests composed of trees of species hitherto unknown. The height of these trees, he says, is remarkable; the trunks are without knots, and of a smooth and glossy surface; the foliage is like that of the cypress, and besides sending forth a powerful odour, they are covered with a flossy down, from which, by the aid of art, a fine cloth might easily be manufactured, similar to the textures made from the produce of the silk-worm. He informs us that the summit of this mountain is covered with snow even in summer, and says that having arrived there after a march of ten days, he proceeded some distance beyond it as far as a river which bears the name of Ger [Note]; the road being through deserts covered with a black sand [Note], from which rocks that bore the appearance of having been exposed to the action of fire, projected every here and there; localities rendered quite uninhabitable by the intensity of the heat, as he himself experienced,
although it was in the winter season that he visited them. We also learn from the same source that the people who inhabit the adjoining forests, which are full of all kinds of elephants, wild beasts, and serpents, have the name of Canarii; from the circumstance that they partake of their food in common with the canine race, and share with it the entrails of wild beasts.
It is a well-known fact, that adjoining to these localities is a nation of Æthiopians, which bears the name of Perorsi. Juba, the father of Ptolemy, who was the first king [Note] who reigned over both the Mauritanias, and who has been rendered even more famous by the brilliancy of his learning than by his kingly rank, has given us similar information relative to Mount Atlas, and states that a certain herb grows there, which has received the name of 'euphorbia' [Note] from that of his physician, who was the first to discover it. Juba extols with wondrous praises the milky juice of this plant as tending to improve the sight, and acting as a specific against the bites of serpents and all kinds of poison; and to this subject alone he has devoted an entire book. Thus much, if indeed not more than enough, about Mount Atlas.
(2.) The province of Tingitana is 170 miles in length [Note]. Of the nations in this province the principal one was formerly that of the Mauri [Note], who have given to it the name of Mauritania, and have been by many writers called the Maurusii [Note]. This nation has been greatly weakened by the disasters of war, and is now dwindled down to a few families only [Note]. Next to the Mauri was formerly the nation of
the Massæsyli [Note]; they in a similar manner have become extinct. Their country is now occupied by the Gætulian nations [Note], the Baniuræ [Note], the Autololes [Note], by far the most powerful people among them all, and the Vesuni, who formerly were a part of the Autololes, but have now separated from them, and, turning their steps towards the Æthiopians [Note], have formed a distinct nation of their own. This province, in the mountainous district which lies on its eastern side produces elephants, as also on the heights of Mount Abyla [Note] and among those elevations which, from the similarity of their height, are called the Seven Brothers [Note]. Joining the range of Abyla these mountains overlook the Straits of Gades. At the extremity of this chain begin the shores of the inland sea [Note] and we come to the Tamuda [Note], a navigable stream, with the site of a former town of the same name, and then
the river Laud [Note], which is also navigable for vessels, the town and port of Rhysaddir [Note], and Malvane [Note], a navigable stream.
The city of Siga [Note], formerly the residence of King Syphax, lies opposite to that of Malaca [Note] in Spain: it now belongs to the second [Note] Mauritania. But these countries, I should remark, for a long time retained the names of their respective kings, the further Mauritania being called the "land of Bogud [Note]," while that which is now called Cæsariensis was called the "country of Bocchus." After passing Siga we come to the haven called "Portus Magnus [Note]" from its great extent, with a town whose people enjoy the rights of Roman citizens, and then the river Mulucha [Note], which served as the limit between the territory of Bocchus and that of the Massæsyli. Next to this is Quiza Xenitana [Note], a town founded by strangers, and Arsenaria [Note], a place with the ancient Latin rights, three miles distant from the sea. We then come to Cartenna [Note], a
colony founded under Augustus by the second legion, and Gunugum [Note], another colony founded by the same emperor, a prætorian cohort being established there; the Promontory of Apollo [Note], and a most celebrated city, now called Cæsarea [Note], but formerly known by the name of Iol; this place was the residence of King Juba, and received the rights of a colony from the now deified Emperor Claudius. Oppidum Novum [Note] is the next place; a colony of veterans was established here by command of the same emperor. Next to it is Tipasa [Note], which has received Latin rights, as also Icasium [Note], which has been presented by the Emperor Vespasianus with similar rights; Rusconiæ [Note], a colony founded by Augustus; Rusucurium [Note], honoured by Claudius with the rights of Roman citizens; Ruzacus [Note], a colony founded by Augustus; Salde [Note], another colony founded by the same emperor; Igilgili [Note], another; and the town of
Tucca [Note], situate on the sea-shore and upon the river Ampsaga. In the interior are the colony of Augusta, also called Succabar [Note], Tubusuptus [Note], the cities of Timici and Tigavæ [Note], the rivers Sardabal [Note], Aves [Note], and Nabar [Note], the nation of the Macurebi, the river Usar [Note], and the nation of the Nababes. The river Ampsaga is distant from Cæsarea 322 [Note] miles. The length of the two Mauritanias is 1038, and their breadth 467 miles.
| Pliny the Elder, Natural History (English) (XML Header) [genre: prose] [word count] [lemma count] [Plin. Nat.]. | ||
| <<Plin. Nat. 4.37 | Plin. Nat. 5.1 (Latin) | >>Plin. Nat. 5.2 |
