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Book IV, Chapter 7

Location of Aethiopia below Egypt
(from the Fourth Map of Libya)

Aethiopia, which is below Egypt, is terminated, as we have indicated, on the north by Libya and Egypt; on the west by a part of Interior Libya along the meridian extending from Darnis to the

on the south by the line leading from this terminus along the remaining part of the Aethiopian interior to:

It is terminated on the east by a part of the Bay of Arabia and the Red Sea, and the Barbarian Sea to the Rhaptum promontory, the description of which is the following:

After the Bazium promontory referred to above:

and in the Aduliticus Bay,

After the strait in the Red Sea,

Then in Avalites Bay,

In the Barbarian Bay,

The remaining part of the Nile, after the Great Cataract, is described as follows thru the names of the villages adjacent to it:

After Pselcis and the Lesser Cataract,

on the west bank of the river are the villages

On the east bank of the river are the villages

Here the Nile River on the west and the Astaboras on the east form the region of the island of Meroë, in which island are the following towns:

The towns remote from the river in the interior are:

The mountains in this region toward the west of the Nile river, extending along the entire Nile, which are commonly called the Aethiopian mountains, are celebrated;

The mountains to the east of the Nile are called the Garbatum,

The land which is near the Arabian Bay and the Avalites gulf, along the sea is called Troglodytica as far as the Elephas mountains, in which region are the Adulitae, and the Avalitae near a bay of this name, and the Mosyli above the promontory with a market place of this name. The entire seacoast to the Rhaptum promontory is called Azania; the interior region is called Barbaria, in which there are many elephants.

The Colobi occupy that part of the region toward the east from the river which is near the Bazium promontory; next to these toward the south are the Tabieni; then the Sirtibes; next to these are the Attiri; then the Babylleni and the Rhizophagi; then the Axumitae and the Sobridae; next the Molibae, the Megabardi, and the Nubae toward the west from the Avalitae; then below the Molibae are the Blemyes; below whom are the Dedacae, and the Pechini between the river Astapus and the Garbatum mountains; from whom toward the west are the Strathophagi Aethiopes; toward the south from the mountain are the Catadrae and the Myrrhifera land stretching up to Lake Coloë, after which are the Mastitae to the lake of the Nile.

To the west, from this part of the Nile river, those occupy the land after the Greater Cataract, who pasture the Triacontaschoenus region between the Aethiopian mountains and the Nile river,​a after these toward the south are the Euonymitae; then Aethiopia Media and the Sebridae; these races also inhabit the island of Meroë, and below them are the Gapachi; below these the Ptoemphanae, and below these the Cadupi; next to these are the Elephantophagi Aethiopes; below these the Pesendarae, and beyond the lake the Cinnamon-bearing land; moreover between the Nile and the Astapus river, toward the island of Meroë, are the Memnones and more to the south are the Sapaei. In the remaining parts of the land toward the west from the Aethiopian mountains next to the sandy and dry region dwell the Phazaniae and the Bacalitides races; then the Scenitae and the Tralletae, after these the race of the Daradi; then the Orypaei Venatores next to these the Nygbenitae Aethiopians.

The following islands are near Aethiopia below Egypt in the Arabian Bay:

In the Bay of Avalites is

Next to Aromata are these islands:

Then to the east of these islands is the sea called Hippalum near which is the Indian Sea.

---

Thayer's Note:

a Triacontaschoenus: But see Bevan's opinion (House of Ptolemy, p293).

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