STRABO. - Lot 33

STRABO. Strabo’s Geographical Works, Book 17. Strabonis Rerum geographicarum Libri XVII. Amsterdam: Jan Wolters, 1717. — Folio, 314 x 198: (22 ff.), 1329 pp., (49 ff.). Stiff parchment, gilt scrolls framing the edges, gilt coats of arms at the corners and in the center of the covers, ribbed spine decorated with the same gilt coats of arms, mottled edges (contemporary binding). Fifth Greek-Latin edition, published 87 years after the previous one (1620), of this geographical encyclopedia written in Ancient Greek by Strabo between 20 B.C. and 23 AD, describing, in 17 books, the entire known world of his time. Brunet (V, 554) notes that while not particularly good, it “is regarded as one of the best [editions] we have of this author.” Strabo organizes his work into three major parts. Books I and II serve as a methodological introduction. Books III through X are devoted to Europe (Greece, Italy, Iberia, Gaul) and Asia Minor. Finally, Books XI through XVII deal with Asia beyond the Euphrates (India, Persia, Arabia) and Africa, with particular attention to Egypt, Libya, and Ethiopia. Egypt occupies a central place in Book XVII, where Strabo presents it as a country that is both African and Mediterranean, a crossroads between two worlds. He describes the Nile, its central role in agriculture, navigation, and economic life, as well as the annual floods, which are essential to the fertility of the land. He also discusses key cities and regions such as Alexandria, Thebes, and Memphis, as well as the monuments (temples, pyramids) and the history of these cities. Nubia (or Lower Ethiopia), a region south of Egypt, is populated by Black people whom he calls Ethiopians or Meroites, inhabitants of the Kingdom of Meroe. He describes their powerful kingdom, their architecture (the pyramids of Meroe), their economy (trade in gold, ivory, and slaves), and their conflicts with Egypt, particularly under the Black Pharaohs of the 25th Dynasty, such as Piye and Taharqa. Strabo then extends his description to Libya (an ancient term referring to North Africa, from Egypt to the Atlantic), where he mentions the Garamantes, a Berber people of Fezzan (present-day Libya), who dominated the trans-Saharan trade (gold, ivory, and slaves). He portrays them as formidable horsemen, organized into city-states and commercial networks linking the Mediterranean to sub-Saharan Africa. He also mentions the Nasamons and the Getules, nomadic or sedentary peoples of the Sahara, adapted to desert life and possessing exotic customs. Ethiopia (sub-Saharan Africa) is the subject of a specific section in Book XVII, where Strabo regards it as a mysterious and distant region, a source of riches (gold, ivory, incense) and exotic peoples. There he describes the Ethiopians, a generic term for the black peoples living south of Egypt. He divides them into Northern Ethiopians, who are close to Nubia and culturally intermingled with the Egyptians, and Southern Ethiopians, who live farther away, in the areas of present-day Ethiopia, Sudan, or Somalia. He mentions their kingdom of Meroe, an advanced civilization with fortified cities, its own writing system (Meroitic), and an organized political system. He also refers to the most distant peoples, living near the Indian Ocean or the Upper Nile, whom he associates with legends (such as that of the dog-headed men—the Cynocéphales—or the giants). Strabo also describes African flora and fauna, such as elephants, rhinoceroses, giraffes (which he calls “camelopards”), and exotic plants (incense, myrrh)—products highly sought after by the Romans. He discusses trade via the caravans linking Egypt and the Red Sea to the African interior, transporting gold, ivory, slaves, and spices, as well as the ports of the Red Sea (such as Berenice or Leptis Magna) as departure points for Ethiopia and India. To describe Africa, Strabo draws on his own observations (from his journey to Egypt around 25 B.C.), the accounts of travelers (such as Pliny the Elder, Agatharchides, Eratosthenes), historical works (Herodotus), and military and commercial reports (notably those from the Roman legions stationed in Egypt or from Alexandrian merchants). He sometimes criticizes his predecessors for their exaggerations, but also repeats certain legends without verifying them. Strabo does not merely describe Black people as exotic “others”: he acknowledges their civilization, particularly that of the Meroites (Nubia) and the South Ethiopians, whom he portrays as builders, merchants, and warriors. However, he also perpetuates stereotypes