Northwest Africa and Carthage to the Roman Invasion, by Prof. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis

  • 8 years ago
Northwest Africa and Carthage to the Roman Invasion, by Prof. Megalommatis

This video features the first chapter of the Historical Context section of the Modern Greek edition of Hanno's Periplus, by Prof. Megalommatis; this chapter illustrates the role played by the Canaanites and the Phoenicians in the diffusion of the Oriental civilization across the Mediterranean.

Ιστορικό Πλαίσιο Β
Η Βορειοδυτική Αφρική και η Καρχηδώνα μέχρι την Ρωμαϊκή Κατάκτηση
Historical Context II
Northwest Africa and Carthage to the Roman Invasion

The Periplus of Hanno, King of the Carthaginians, edited by Prof. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
Άννωνος Βασιλέως Καρχηδονίων Περίπλους, έκδοση Μουχάμαντ Σαμσαντίν Μεγαλομμάτη

The Periplus of Hanno, King of the Carthaginians, and explorations of West Africa before 2450 years

Published in Greek, in 1991 (STOHASTIS Publishing House, Athens - Greece), 112 p., the book consists in a historical presentation of the brief Carthaginian text that has not been saved in its original, but in an Ancient Greek translation. The text is very small, 656 words altogether, but the author made of it an entire book.

It is noteworthy that with this text starts the History of Morocco and the Western Coast of Africa down to Sierra Leone, which was the furthermost point reached by the maritime expedition of King Hanno, and described by the Carthaginian royal scribes. Through further epigraphical evidence, we have been able to date King Hanno at the middle of the 5th century BCE.

Consequently, the Periplus (circumnavigation) of Hanno consists in the oldest historical reference to Western Africa in the World Literature.

Beyond the Commentary, the author adds an entire part of Historical Context; this part contains two chapter. The first consists in an effort to highlight the socio-political, cultural and religious background of the Phoenician and the Carthaginian expansions in the Mediterranean Sea and, more particularly, in North-Western Africa. The Phoenician interactions with the indigenous Berbers and the formation of a mixed Semitic -- Kushitic Civilization (Carthaginian or Punic) are at the epicenter of the author´s interest.

The second chapter concerns the History of the Region of North-Western Africa, Atlas or Maghreb, down to the Roman times, with greater focus on the indigenous Kushitic populations, the ancestors of the modern inhabitants in their totality, either they speak Berberic (Tamazight) or Arabic.

Maps, diagrams, as well as photographical documentation enrich this book, and offer the average reader a very vivid understanding of the Phoenician and the Carthaginian worlds.

Book review:
https://www.academia.edu/23363041/The_Periplus_of_Hanno_King_of_the_Carthaginians_and_explorations_of_West_Africa_before_2450_years