Roman Scholar Describes Ancient Africa // Pliny on Source of The Nile and Aethiopia - 1st century AD

[@VoicesofthePast]

Hello all! For more information on this topic, check out Raoul Mccloughlin's video on the interaction between Rome and Meroë: kzbin.info/www/bejne/goWTipKCmdCjgaM

[@chopppacalamari]

Can you please do a video about how Manetho described the beginning of Egypt as in where they came from and who was the first ruler?

[@xmaniac99]

He is on of my favourite authors and scholars! Deserves many more subs than he currently has.

[@lisaenglert3202]

Was Mauritania actually called that so far back? Wild! I went there...lots of sand 🤓

[@ancientruins2856]

Voices of the Past - It is amazing to see that as advanced as we think Romans were yet they struggled to fathom how this Black African Civilization taught what we call western civilization. Ancient Africa no doubt was the cradle of not only the current western civilization but possibly the whole world. Respect to our Black African ancestors.

[@johnlewis3891]

Did you know that an "Aethiopian" named occupied a position of power in medieval 1300s Italy? The Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio, who visited the kingdom of Naples in the 1320s-1330s, wrote that an "Aethiopian" named Raimondo de Cabanni had risen from being a slave and palace chef to be a noble knight and seneschal(steward) of the royal court. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raimondo_de%27_Cabanni www.academia.edu/1350433/Una_storia_di_integrazionenella_Napoli_angioina www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/raimondo-de-cabanni_%28Dizionario-Biografico%29/

[@kyle857]

I just love the random stuff thrown in. "None of the animals there have ears." What!?

[@VoicesofthePast]

It's an odd mix from Pliny

[@feddyvonwigglestein3481]

Animals without ears - a Roman meme

[@possum2u]

I know there's a breed of goat with no ears

[@possum2u]

@Hernando Malinche I dunno there's goats but they have no ears google it

[@makky6239]

@@feddyvonwigglestein3481 damn those Romans were really ahead of their times

[@drdeesnutts48]

Weird how did the Romans know about the Great Courses Plus?

[@VoicesofthePast]

It's how they learnt about their own history

[@wexpyke]

How you think they got so advanced?

[@wexpyke]

@@autumnicleaf wtf that was mean :(

[@autumnicleaf]

@@wexpyke- Deleted. I didn't mean to appear arrogant. It was a joke.

[@DATA-qt3nb]

Library of Alexandria fo sho

[@awadmanoe2094]

Aethiopia was the name to all the lands of the Nile south of Egypt, so they're talking about ancient Nubia/Kush. This is not to be confused with the modern day Ethiopians who were known as Abyssinia and before that as Axum.

[@isaacwitthebigmac8221]

But the kush people are the modern Ethiopian. And Nubian and kush are not the same thing.

[@johnlewis3891]

@@isaacwitthebigmac8221 Kush was the Egyptian name for Nubia. Aethiopian was the name given for all black people by the Greeks and the Romans. The reason why the Nubians were the most frequently referred to as "Aethiopians" is that they were the ones who came in most contact with the Europeans.

[@meklitgetacheww]

Read ancient history books

[@maragolihistory2118]

@@objectoriented3049 Correct.

[@maragolihistory2118]

Modern Ethiopians are not Kush, they're Abyssinia. Kushites are Nilotes.

[@ninny65]

There's no such thing as a perfect governm- "The Tonobari are a people who have a dog for a King"

[@44CoReY44]

The very definition of a good boy!

[@popeyethepirate5473]

Dog for president 2020

[@Master...deBater]

As long as I get to be the guy who interprets the dog King's movements!!!

[@michaelmclaughlin261]

But...do the dog faced men have souls?

[@BubblewrapHighway]

@@popeyethepirate5473 Good boy 2020

[@wybo2]

I love this channel but the add smack in the middle really throws me out of the immersion. It does not fit inyour style of video. Might I humbly suggest to put the ad in either the very beginning or the very end. Or failing that, have a different narrator read the ad?

[@VoicesofthePast]

Thanks for the suggestions, it's a learning process so feedback is appreciated 👍

[@InimitaPaul]

Great suggestions, I agree entirely.

[@eem8039]

I HAVE INSTALLED MOZZILA AND ADDBLOCKER FOR KZbin GUESS HOW MANY ADDS I GET?

[@Robwolf28]

@@eem8039 The ads help the person doing the video to be monetized, but he makes the ads, sort of like people like Ben Shappiro and Lauren Chen they anounce the ads themselves like people in the old days did. Like Ed MCmahon did on the Carson show I am seeing from watching old Carson show clips.

[@wybo2]

@@eem8039 I was talking about the skillshare ad the narrator read out himself in the middle of the video. You had it too, unless you either didnt watch the video or paid no attention to what was read.

[@jackzarazun5007]

Do you spell it with an A or an E? Pliny the Elder: Yes

[@IsaacJ143]

I mean... They were.

[@johnd2058]

æ says "ah"; its name is "ash". Bad news, then, for all those of us who've mispronounced "enn-SIGH-cloh-PAD-ee-uh" literally every time for all of our lives. @Captain Cook Yes, someone had to be in charge to literally sell out their people to middlemen trying to satisfy New World 'entrepreneurs' who wanted labor they could treat like Eastern European serfs. BTW, Epstein did nothing wrong; job-killed regulations killed him.

[@anon2427]

John D æ isn’t pronounced “ah” it’s pronounced more like “ay” and also there’s no æ in encyclopedia lol

[@histguy101]

@@anon2427 Sure there is. That's how it was once spelled on the Encyclopedia Brittanica. It comes from the Greek "enkyklios paedia" (ἐγκύκλιος παιδεία)

[@anon2427]

Christus Regnet I’m sure in esoteric versions of the word have it, but I never see that particular character used in English, I think it would just be ae

[@Nathanfx2006]

As someone who enjoys re-listening to Dan Carlins Hardcore History podcasts on a regular basis, i must say i'm excited to see your videos are becoming longer. There's a real high demand and short supply for this type of content.

[@Nathanfx2006]

@Western Man Amen brother!

[@frankmill2.07]

everybody just ignores the fact that he said Atlantis was in Africa

[@crimatorslick5271]

Yeah, it was found in Nigeria a sunken Ancient city

[@AvalonianA]

Robert Sepher has a lot of good vidoes on it

[@Joker-yw9hl]

I've heard theories that Atlantis was in north west Africa so it interesting to hear

[@maurgi17]

Yes, the eye of Africa, or Richat structure

[@patricelumumba4396]

@@Joker-yw9hl The eye of the sahara is where it is,theres a white youtuber who does videos of Atlantis being there,and as tourists you not allowed there

[@marcuscicero5033]

I'm still unsure of how to answer this.. a) to have your cup full of knowledge and learning (like one could achieve today) b) to have your cup full of wonder, with a sense of not knowing what is beyond the horizon (like an ancient explorer would possess) Imagine seeing an Elephant or a Nubian pyramid for the first time

[@zzrzz6199]

B

[@marktrain9498]

My impression is that ancient peoples were quite confident about what was beyond the horizon. They were just wrong.

[@dionwilson9775]

it turned them evil…

[@wargriffin5]

If you think about it, it's remarkable that it took THAT LONG for explorers to follow the Nile back to it's source. With all the trade that occurs along the coastline, you'd think that either the Egyptians, Nubians, Arabs, Phoenicians, Greeks, or even some Indian merchants would have organized an expedition by that point.

[@bircruz555]

It did not take long. Egyptians dispatched maritime expeditions down the Red Sea to the region. Hatshepsut did so in the middle of the 2nd millennium B.C.E. and other pharaohs before her. Egyptians are also said to have reached the sacred springs of the Blue Nile in antiquity. One video cannot cover it all efficiently.

[@Rynewulf]

@@bircruz555 can a comment though? More seriously have you got any links, because I love ancient Egypt but hadn't heard about them exploring to the blue Nile or far down the east coast

[@bedstuyrover]

The ancient Egyptians claimed that they came from the lands about the source of the Nile; they often undertook pilgrimages to the south. Archaeological evidence indicate a migration from the south as well as west of the Nile ( when the fertile lands underwent desertification); so they must have known of the source of the Nile.

[@Tom-2142]

jigger jones based on what? What ancient ship could cross the Atlantic? How would they navigate? Know where to go?

[@bedstuyrover]

@@Tom-2142 Analysis of the mummies found cocaine, the source of which is the Americas.

[@hydrolifetech7911]

There is a place called Dabel to the south of Ethiopia. Could this be where the Dabeli people used to live. My ancestors are from that area. And to the South of Dabel are the Maasai people of Kenya who use red earth on their body. Could it be that he is referring to the Maasai when he talks of Mesache?

[@ExVeritateLibertas]

9:05 see they lived off milk from the cynecophalus...I keep telling my girlfriend it has vitamins in it.

[@theoldar]

Lonely Traveler, 80AD edition.

[@BunnyUK]

Can you do an excerpt from Freidrich Engels "The Condition Of The Working Class in England", which he wrote from his first-hand experience of living in Manchester, UK, in the 19th Century? Maybe the part where he describes walking through working-class areas and seeing front doors open showing living rooms with no furniture in them, and the river Irwell? in Manchester bubbling with foul gases.

[@SomasAcademy]

I think they focus more on Ancient and occasionally medieval history; something that recent might be a bit of a departure.

[@sergeant_chris6209]

4:36 flash forward to some Christian Middle Ages monks arguing over wether the Cynocephalae are sentient

[@christosvoskresye]

Flash further forward to people on KZbin arguing over whether Dogmen are abducting people from national parks.

[@thisisbetterthanmyprevious6674]

Cynocephalae are the ancient furry race. Humanity creates images in their form out of an innate longing for them, and grief of their loss. Furries are embracing the celebration of their ancient culture and visage.

[@drraoulmclaughlin7423]

Brilliant! Great to see this subject brought to the fore...

[@VoicesofthePast]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. Periplus soon!

[@drraoulmclaughlin7423]

@@VoicesofthePast I should have my Source Intro Video-Lecture up this weekend! kzbin.info/www/bejne/goWTipKCmdCjgaM

[@menaseven9093]

Nice translation of Pliny description of Africa that is a mixture of facts and myths.

[@maragolihistory2118]

The narrator is doing a wonderful job.

[@itsjp3941]

He’s describing tribes that are around today especially the himba their dark and put red clay on their skin

[@maragolihistory2118]

Correct.

[@Demothios]

The Himba live in present day Namibia. Furthest south the Romans ever travelled down the continent was to present day southern Mali in the West, and possible as far south as Zanzibar in the East. Putting red clay on one's skin has also been used in Morrocco. Remember the Romans had a different idea of what "Africa" meant - probably a loanword from ancient Berber language. For the Romans, Africa meant simply our present-day Algeria and Tunisia, not the entire continent (which they didn't know the size or shape of). Besides, in the time of Pliny the Elder, that's several centuries before the great Bantu expansions that gave rise to numerous different tribes (including Himba) over the span of over a thousand years. The ancestors of the Himba would have lived around west-central Africa, and they would not have been Himba back then yet, but more like part of one, bigger, proto-Bantu tribe that migrated into all basicly all parts of Africa - very similar to how ancient Indo-Europeans migrated into all basicly parts of Europe and Asia.

[@admirekashiri9879]

More like the Nuba and Dinka.

[@blackbird5634]

seriously, people with no noses, no upper lips, oddly enough some have only one 'open tube' through which they imbibe, , have mercy!

[@breakstone1000]

what is it ?

[@blackbird5634]

@@breakstone1000 some of the descriptions written about the people 'discovered' in Africa by the Romans. The details are sketchy at best.

[@ihatejpmorgan]

Mutilation, not naturally occurring.

[@MSR-ok9xl]

Mutilation more likely

[@amanduswestin9211]

It could be due to body modifications and/or exaggerations of the physical traits from the Romans them selves or from the people who told the Romans about these cultures.

[@DigitalDuelist]

Is this a better account than Heriditus account on Egyot and North Africa in your opinion? I also highly recommend reading the accounts if Caesar in the Galic War. I'd love to see you do that, but realize it's no light undertaking.

[@conerliushueylong2259]

Great course plus have PT-BR subtitles?

[@frankjamesbonarrigo7162]

Did Pliny actually travel or just document what people told him?

[@benr.4238]

Both. Which is probably why some of these accounts sound absurd. Translation errors.

[@alexanderchatziioannidis4767]

The ''nation of pygmys'' sounds familiar, as pygmy people(ethnic groups in Africa that have a very short average height) do exist today. Also of interest are the people that ''stain their body all over with a kind of red earth'', as today there exist some tribes that do this, for example the Himba tribe(their women paint their body and hair with ''otzije'', a mixture of butter fat and red ochre).

[@Kalydosos]

Informative video didn't scroll down to read the comments.

[@stephanc197]

This channel is quickly becoming my favourite non political channel, a lot of it has to do with objectivity and the non bias

[@dlasky]

One eye, no nose, head of dogs? LOL that roman scholar was tripping on some form of ancient psychedelics.

[@teddyissak2720]

because these accounts are collection of fairy tales.

[@pancakeofdestiny]

Would love some content about the Axumites on this channel!

[@abdullahidahir9884]

Great Job!

[@VoicesofthePast]

Thanks pal

[@nurturingglobal2local473]

What didn't come from Ancient Africa for example the Coptic writing system which Greek influenced from is Ancient Ethiopia/ ጦቢያ Alphabet geez and number: አ ቡ ጊ ዳ ፩ ፪ ፫ ፬ ፭ ፮ ፯ ፱

[@ΜιχΛαζ]

Greeks had runes before alphabet just like celts and north people just like Mesopotamia people.Its the first symbol writing society’s master to communicate.Disk of phaistos grammical A and B.

[@Gracchi]

Coptic was the ancient the Egyptian language,written down in Greek. not to be confused with the hieroglyphs ,the language of the gods, ahaha

[@nurturingglobal2local473]

@@Gracchi how so, the human history must be rewrite. Black Athena: the Afroasiatic of classical civilization, author Martin

[@Gracchi]

@@nurturingglobal2local473 yeh good book ,read it, 10 years ago, does not mean he is 100% correct. how so? the same way many European languages were codified into text through Latin. No racial goggles on bro,

[@nurturingglobal2local473]

Agree or disagree, except you to do your own research, the info once controlled, is out of control, Africa is the oldest. Arabic and Hebrew alphabet is based on the African/ Ethiopian abugida geez script order, which also the Greek borrowed from ,here evidence: አቡጊዳ /abugida א (Alif), ב (Bet), ג (Gimel), ד (Dalt) so on ,see the light of man kind true history, Egypt, Israel, Saud Arabia is in Africa, so many confusions by design...

[@wanttohangoutjamesmay9058]

Idk lol sounds like ancient fiction no upper lips, have four feet, and only has one eye on his forehead. He was looking for book sales

[@M.Ghilas]

the are actually a tribe of pygmies in Africa the average Male height is 4ft tall you can search them. and the third eye is probably a body modification just like the strange traditionsn many Africans tribes do to this day.

[@MaxHohenstaufen]

So a roman historian would write about Egyt, Greece, etc. What would an egyptian storian write about?

[@guts5379]

Was Memnon a real king or was he just mythological?

[@MattieK09]

Guts myth at this point

[@SomasAcademy]

He was probably mythical. There's a possibility that there was some real African king that provided aid to the Trojans during the Trojan War, but in all likelihood the individual characters of the Trojan War story are all fictional or mostly fictional. We can say with confidence that Memnon was not the son of a Goddess and a half-Naiad Trojan prince if he existed, though ;P

[@ArthurSum]

maybe it refers to Menes or Narmer..first king of all Egypt

[@SomasAcademy]

@@ArthurSum That's unlikely, as the Trojan War took place thousands of years after Narmer lived, and the story was probably composed centuries after that. Anything's possible, but the character being entirely fictional is more likely than him being based on such an ancient King.

[@histguy101]

I have no doubt that all of those people from the heroic age were, or were based on real kings, rulers, and strongmen.

[@illusionsstage3254]

king with 1 eye and in the forehead... ive been waiting for aliens rulers for a long time

[@v-gc7257]

Good video. Eye opener about the Romans

[@racypies]

"...under the command of P. Petronius" ERRONIUS! I'll see myself out.

[@Vercingetorix.Fantasia]

Had no idea Ethiopia had a greatbdybasty like that. Conquering a lot of the world at one point

[@AMR_k400]

Don't confuse aethiopia with modern day Ethiopia they are two very different places

[@MaxHohenstaufen]

These videos are great, but their comment sections are pure cancer. I'm guessing it's failing to reach the intended audience or if the educated people relucte to comment upon seeing what shit show is down there.

[@wisedragon173]

Nicely done.

[@teddyissak2720]

You must be on Drugs

[@tinkmarshino]

Pete is your brother? Well I will be snookered.. I watch his videos a lot.. I guess I will have to go and subscribe then.. Tantalizingly wondrous! I certainly enjoy these (what shall I call it) first hand accounts of life and adventure in the ancient times.. Thank you for all of your hard work.. I truly appreciate it.. and your brother also.. carry on!

[@VoicesofthePast]

Thanks! Glad youre enjoying both channels!

[@tinkmarshino]

@@VoicesofthePast oh believe me when I tell you it is my pleasure and your hard work thanks to you both..

[@fallenslave6684]

Can I use that site if I don't want to pay and not become a member? For free?

[@jackmclean8784]

Ever considered doing a select letter from the Paston family?

[@nobaso620]

What geographical feature does that active volcano represent?

[@parsifal2299]

Holy shit they went all the way to modern day Kenya?

[@sgcl10658]

Doubt it. The way he described ppl sounds very made up.

[@jobwesleycoxjr5103]

@@sgcl10658 Nah, it's a mix. He discribed people who still exist today like the Himba and Twa but some others sound like complete BS

[@johnnywrither128]

Why do I sense more incredulity about the pigmies than about people with no faces xP The asian hobbit is no myth or legend...

[@martinn.6082]

The Pygmies do exist!

[@markm2092]

Oh my beautiful Land!!! How Great is YHWH. All glory be to Him.

[@trevorreilly963]

So the dog head people i have heard a lot about in many different conditions and times and places.....I am very confused on what they mean by dog head men. What is the chance of a video on what all these sources mean by dog head men....because I am starting to think they were just darker complexion humans in tribal environments....I mean they were found in India as well and pacific islands.....maybe of aboriginal decent....I would love clarification

[@BentReality.369]

Trippy. The people there were mutants and giants and lost races or species. I wonder what happened to them. Stuff of fairytale.

[@bigfenix8272]

Are there DVDs available?

[@koreyjeffers6963]

Dude sounds like internet historian. Conspiracy?

[@yowut8075]

WE

[@PyroPuffs777]

Not fun fact: Aethiopia means burnt faces in Ancient Greek. The words aitho (meaning burn) and ops (meaning faces). The true name for the Nile people would be Nubia or Habesha(Abyssinia)

[@Rickuo]

Humans are naturally racist. Besides, it's a logical assumption not far from truth. The ancient Greeks knew of natural selection, though. They differentiated people according to metals such as bronze, iron, silver and gold to make clear the distinction of ability. Today we use IQ and character as measurement.

[@M.Ghilas]

Habesha means mixed people from different racesin in Arabic .

[@Doziethegreat]

This ancient historian never left Egypt. He got high, got laid and made up stories😆

[@AllenBethea]

AncestryDNA says I am 63% Pamphagi, but I have been vegetarian for the past 10 years.

[@drd444]

2000 years ago they were searching for the source of the Nile. Little did they know, it would take a floppy haired petrol head by the name of James May, to finally finish that quest.

[@DerFilc]

where did he got all this fake information from? obviously he didn' see those strange peoples himself.

[@theeccentrictripper3863]

Things like this start out as small exaggerations passed around by traders and sailors who have actually been to these regions, and as the information is transmitted from one person to another growing the exaggeration as who wants to tell a boring story; by the time you get to people like Pliny you then throw in the prestige and notability factors, its not nearly as interesting to say, "These people looked quite different than your average person, and they maintained older styles of living in comparison". Much safer to spin tales, many of which would be taken at face value at the time due to the saturation of the original rumors.

[@thefloridamanofytcomments5264]

Standing by for “we wus kangz n shiiiett” 😂

[@TIENxSHINHAN]

The Florida Man Of YT Comments why do you have to bring your racism

[@thefloridamanofytcomments5264]

Tien Shinhan you should ask google what a meme is

[@metalwellington]

we wus wikings

[@thefloridamanofytcomments5264]

metal wellington bro please stop, you just raped this SJW’s feelings by getting the 10 year old joke. This is very serious he’s calling the police to report internet hate crimes against humanity - see you at The Hague, kiddo.

[@metalwellington]

@@thefloridamanofytcomments5264 it's chilled dude I'm transgender. full immunity

[@Big_Black_Dick]

i wish u had specific illustrations of all these mentioned areas on the maps u was showing

[@Milky44]

Where are the Asantes from ?

[@acaydia2982]

Ghana

[@daviddalby9699]

I Like to find out .and it seems there's lots information on the lost civilization. From Africa and there powers of nature . They used to melt rocks ?

[@1979pmiller]

Sources?????????🤔🤔🤔

[@VoicesofthePast]

Literally in the title of the video. Pliny. Pliny pliny pliny.

[@kylefenrick7842]

I wonder if the people who fled and lives in that area for 300 years, are the descendants of those who are not the Jewish people

[@Opochtli]

Remarkable

[@DoctahDizzle]

Are there any physical depictions of Africa's perceived size during the age of the Roman empire?

[@monstermachine4783]

Nope, the continent is way too fast.

[@novaterra973]

Not from the Roman Empire, but according to Herodotus, it took three years for the Phoenicians to circumnavigate Africa.

[@theephraimite]

“...whose king has only one eye”... ...”the Pamphagi, who would eat anything.”... Random and weird stuff.

[@josephstalin6549]

Who is Candace?

[@johnnyhaigs243]

Do Diorodus Siculus Library of History, Book III. It's also on the Aethiopians and gives us some great exposition. penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/3A*.html

[@jeremyyo5469]

This guy needs to do guided meditations with that voice.

[@MPHJackson7]

"This video is sponsored by the Great Courses Plus" - a Roman scholar

[@VoicesofthePast]

A learned people

[@unifieddynasty]

This video is also sponsored by the Guild of Millers. The Guild of Millers uses only the finest grains. True Roman bread, for true Romans.

[@stevemorris6855]

Echoes of tribes I read about as a kid. I think the Dinka tribe went naked a used red dye. The Masai drink milk. The Hutus and Tutsis were very tall I seem to remember . Thought provoking.

[@TheMacaz]

@@unifieddynasty Best reference ever

[@realMaverickBuckley]

@ANT BANKS Really? They pretty much gave us modernity and civics.

[@timetobool9413]

Elephants with no ears: yes. People with no noses: yes. People with three eyes: No way man, that just means they are good at archery.

[@xopha]

@ShalakumX Simba Exactly, a man with a face in his chest is just a fat orangutan with one of those round faces.

[@MaxHohenstaufen]

Probably who made these accounts had no first hand contact and cited legendary content or met people with malformations and assumed to be ordinary. Also, the animals must've been misunderstood, like when ppl first met horse riders they thought it was a half beast half men and called it centaur, or when discovered elephant skulls, which have a single hole, imagined they were one eyed giants and called it cyclops.

[@Krushnow]

@@MaxHohenstaufen "...when ppl first met horse riders they thought it was a half beast half men and called it centaur..." A commonly cited factoid, which is however not true, centaurs were a part of Greco-Roman mythology. And even if you use centaur as a translation of "man-horse hybrid" it is also untrue, they however "mistook" horses for llamas, deer etc. At the very most I guess someone who had never seen a horse nor a white man could believe it to be one creature for a moment, until the man dismounts. Although through Chinese Whispers it could very well morph from a confused account to local folklore containing a half man, half horse.

[@dud3man6969]

The Nubians were actually called the pupil shooters because they were so accurate with their bows and arrows.

[@TsarOfRuss]

Want proof?? tell me where you want the arrow to land on your body, LMAO!

[@TheRandomGuyTheFarNoGameCat]

He's just like "and all this random stuff is true. Elephants without ears, it's crazy. Believe me."

[@wewuzvikangz4829]

The elephants without ears were probably hippos, if you didnt know what a hippo was it would be easy to confuse the two

[@criztu]

wait till you read the Byzantines describing the Huns, also called Bulgars. stuff like "they make clothes out of the skins of the people they conquer" and "they paint their bodies blue". also, Herodotus describing the dog headed people of northern europe is hilarious

[@wewuzvikangz4829]

@@criztu the huns did some really fucked up shit though. They practiced skull deformation, they ritualistically scarred their faces, and they sometimes made skull cups from their slain enemies.

[@CHAD-RYAN]

Hippo or maybe rhino?

[@danimotherofchickens479]

The Random Guy and Co he probably meant left over dinosaurs

[@gigastrike2]

I've never been to Africa, but I feel like I should take this account with a grain of salt.

[@kieran1670]

This account was written over 2,000 years ago. It should serve literally no basis to whether you should travel to Africa or not today.

[@aperson5876]

@@kieran1670 guy was joking

[@Shay45]

True Ancient Greeks and Romans tend to be a bit ethnocentric -example: they referred to anyone that didn’t speak Greek as a “Barber” aka barbarian

[@sdsd2e2321]

@@Shay45 Almost like "barbarian" meant "someone who does not speak our language"

[@CorvinTheSwasian]

@New_Account yes, i guess they're a bit salty about cannae

[@TanitAkavirius]

A town in Minnesota has a dog for mayor.

[@BALLARDTWIN]

@Hunter Bidens Crackpipe Ilhan Omar's a senator mate and somalis make up less than 1%of the minnesota population But nice try anyway

[@johnpears9558]

@Yuri Tarded I thought there was a town in Minnesota ruled by sharia law.

[@Joyride37]

John Pears Minnesotan here and no, that’s not true. The dog mayor is though, love that town

[@arandomyorkshireman9678]

I wish we had this in britian lol

[@All-shall-say-Jesus-is-Lord]

So to me, it sounds like the people the Caesar sent to explore went down to southern egypt, said, "I don't like travelling anymore, he'll never know the difference," got drunk out of their minds partying the whole time, and wrote down whatever came to mind to make sure nobody would want to go exploring after them to check their information.

[@suprcrzy]

They probably barely left the outskirts of town. Checked out a few "hot spots", and then came back with a bunch of made up stuff. "Oh my King, it was a terrible journey that we barely survived! Pay no attention to that stamp on my hand that signifies a club from the next town over."

[@Vercingetorix.Fantasia]

Seriously

[@frenchbreadstupidity7054]

Well I recognize at least one tribe that he gave a description for: the Himba from Namibia, who smeared red ochre over their skin as a method of moisturizing and to have a red tint to their skin. It's almost unbelievable that they travelled so far South. Maybe the Himba used to live more North than they do now. Their populations are declining.

[@MaxHohenstaufen]

If you check your facts, you'll know realise that many locations mentioned still exist today, albeit with a different name, but they are still known for their historic names cited here.

[@All-shall-say-Jesus-is-Lord]

@@MaxHohenstaufen oh cool. Why all the crazy stories about strange people then?

[@SomasAcademy]

I love the reference to Memnon having once been king of Ethiopia, and the rule of King Cepheus; it's so interesting to hear how myths and history were woven together in many records from this time.

[@cv4809]

@PHARAOH .BRAD because Greeks never ruled Ethiopia, memnon never existed in the first place, it's a mythical king

[@SomasAcademy]

@Forsaken Janissary Actually Memnon's parents were a Goddess and a Trojan man whose mother was a Naiad, so you're 0 for 2. There's no mythological account of how he came to be ruler of Ethiopia - he's said to have come from Ethiopia to conquer Egypt by Roman sources, but there aren't any myths of him marching south - so your assumption of conquest is fanfiction. He's also depicted as Black in most Greek art of him, and as mentioned desribed as starting in Ethiopia, which probably has more to do with why people depict him as an Ethiopian than whatever sinister conspiracy theory you've cooked up in your mind.

[@kertagin1]

@PHARAOH .BRAD you do realize that Pliny is not talking of dominating the region, but instead the exploration of. at no point does he claim it is Roman lands or subjects.

[@kertagin1]

@PHARAOH .BRAD I'd agree that no Greek state nor did the roman empire take lands as far south as Ethiopia. however it is not outside of possible for an individual Greek lord to have taken over the ruling house. sort of similar to how the Ptolemy dynasty took over Egypt post Alexander. mostly it was how you were phrasing your comment that seemed off to me. it seemed to me you were implying neither Greeks nor the Romans were in the area at all. if that was not your intent I do apologize for misunderstanding.

[@kertagin1]

@PHARAOH .BRAD I think I have heard of her in passing. admittedly Ethiopian history is not my strong suit. my interests were more with Rome and other major powers in history and the effects they had on the greater part of the planet. Ethiopia regrettably was not a major shaper of the world so I have not paid as much attention to them. Do you know for certain that Memnon was not Greek by decent? if so or not can you suggest some credible reading? memnon being another area I have not read as much on as I could and most what I have read is at best legend, so not really credible.

[@shanecarubbi7864]

People who have a dog for a king!

[@VoicesofthePast]

Great choice

[@TonyisToking]

That was my favorite part.

[@htoodoh5770]

@Joe Blow No honesty is not enough to be a good leader.

[@Brett-yq7pj]

@Nightmare Simulation obviously that idiot is crying about trump

[@shanecarubbi7864]

@Ted jaramillo He wasn't a dog tho, hes more like a jack ass.

[@nathanfenster3425]

Ancient sources have such a focus on names, places, and measurements. I could hardly name all the places in a 100 mile radius around me

[@alexv3357]

Of course. Back before there was GPS or even the printing press to disseminate accurate information, records of accurate distances were the difference between life and death and generally hard to come by.

[@KayLee-lw5iv]

Tricky thing is that they might not know anything about where they were. Think of the guys who called native americans "indian". That can't have been too uncommon, unless the traveller have a lot of resources at their disposal

[@Fuchsia_tude]

@@KayLee-lw5iv To be fair, that was because Columbus was dumb and used the wrong "mile" to calculate the circumference of the earth, believing it was half as big as it is. The other kings of Europe and their advisors were right; their sailing technology couldn't have possibly made the journey of the actual distance west from Europe to Asia. If he hadn't run into another continent halfway there, they would have all starved on the open sea.

[@zacharyb2723]

@@Fuchsia_tude Supposedly, Columbus did NOT think he was in India, he thought he had hit an island southeast of Japan. He wasn't completely dumb, they knew there was something out there between Europe and Japan and had a good guess on the circumference of the Earth, just confused over how far Japan was (since they relied on fourth hand sources for that)

[@RW2996]

To be fair, people back then didnt have as many luxuries and distractions that we have. To have any kind of excitement, you had to actually go out do shit like build pyramids , count stars and explore . No tv. No internet. No phones. No video games. No movies. Even books were rare for the average person.

[@gnosisdocumentaries4481]

... "a people that have a dog for their king" Laughed and spat my drink out.

[@tylerdurden3722]

The Romans had a horse as Consul once. The horse even got married and consummated the marriage and then got divorced. So it probably didn't seem too odd to them🤣

[@DonaldGerbino]

Well if you have seen a dog owner seems other way around, being led be them on a Leash then picking up thier poop.for them like a servant would do

[@CrazyLeiFeng]

I think the unit that was sent for this mission spent all their money in the first town partying and came back with those nonsensical reports to justify why they were not around for so long.

[@inanemme5603]

It's reminds me of Blackadder's voyage for Queen Elizabeth:)

[@danimotherofchickens479]

KeyboardWarrior that's incredibly ignorant

[@CrazyLeiFeng]

@@danimotherofchickens479 Rather realistic

[@steelpenfiddler5333]

I wonder if this explorer actually spent most of his time and money vacationing in Egypt. And just sort of made up his accounts of the people.

[@r.awilliams9815]

Probably more like "This trip is seriously boring, so I'll make some shit up, no one will ever know."

[@beninwarrior4579]

@@r.awilliams9815 Boring? In what way would it have been boring?

[@canadious6933]

@@beninwarrior4579 Probably a sarcastic joke. But one could imagine, people had a lot of expectations and there wasnt anything "out of this world" to report on at the time.

[@ashtonhaggitt216]

@@beninwarrior4579 uhmmm... its 2000 years ago and you're wandering through a desert. Boring would definitely be in the list of words used to describe such a journey, but not the best one to use.

[@OneEyedKeys]

''...they have a dog for their King, and divined from his movements their commands....'' After reading plenty of human history for over 4 decades, I absolutely believe that was probably true.

[@keirangrant1607]

I fear a lot of the things they said were true

[@jesussaves1875]

The Maasai and the Okavangu people still use red earth to colour themselves (We have a tribe called the Ndebele too)

[@RR-ri4vn]

This history has nothing to do with you

[@thatswhatshesaid.literally737]

😒 *(@**9:10**) The men there "live off of the milk from the cynocephylus"... 🤔 So the dog headed men produce milk?!? (From where, exactly?)*

[@user-ye6ty9ie8g]

both dogs and men have breasts that can produce milk

[@candyDREAMER]

Lol at the responses. A: we don’t know.

[@jomolololo4398]

It may be very hard to do , hut maybe a map showing the geogrpahy site talked about , sorry if im asking too much , just a thought

[@murmurrrr]

He generally shows maps when specific places are mentioned. The rest is all make belief

[@BIGIFANDYELLOWCARD]

I'd give my life to the dog king.

[@christosgiannopoulos828]

You have been visited by king doggo You will see a period of peace and prosperity if you comment "Long may you reign pupper"

[@joaquinpipinich2042]

@@christosgiannopoulos828 who's a good lord? Who's a good lord? You are

[@suprcrzy]

Does this mean all the cats are annexed from the territory? That's a shame, I like cats 🐈

[@KMO325]

So from the advert, might we finally be getting videos on the voyages of Zhung He?

[@VoicesofthePast]

I'm working on it! Ideally yes yes yes

[@theghosthero6173]

Great video! Maybe a video on the first description of the canari Islands and their extinct inhabitants could be a good video

[@hodgemoss]

Is this fantasy or what? People without ears, those who have a dog for a king and people who have 4 eyes. What the heck?

[@approachinggnosis4613]

catherine hodge-moss he is probably commenting on cultural practices. Many cultures throughout history have modified their bodies per customs

[@belstar1128]

Sounds like ancient Romans saw Africa the same way we see alien planets they knew almost nothing about it.

[@minuterepeater2257]

I could have been mis identification since many cultures alter their bodies, but one also cant rule out the stories are to be ment literally. Let behones the only history we know is what has been told to us. Till WO II the vast majority of the western masses (no matter the nation) had no education and also hardly moved far away from where they lived. Then there is the thing everything is being looked through a western lence, completely ignoring indigious wisdom keepers who still excist. And often also ignoring historians and scolars from Asia, Africa etc. In recent years they have found skelletons (even admitted by the mainstream) who have messed up the human focil record. Species wise and age wise.

[@davidkelly4210]

Dogs run cities even today. It's nit they odd.

[@rumfordc]

maybe he meant they wear glasses, just like we mean it today lol

[@selinuse]

Odysseus would be proud of that journey

[@guidoferri8683]

Pliny could have been an excellent dungeon master

[@sagapoetic8990]

The descriptions of some of the people encountered are bizarre. The one about the king with one eye and in the middle of his head, like a cyclops, also matches a description of a people I think Herodotus wrote about in Scythia, too.

[@anasevi9456]

12:20 shit gets real here.

[@si4632]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@wulfocrow5549]

I got an ad where some shrill woman was screaming "nazi" at the top of her lungs.

[@TIENxSHINHAN]

Western Man I know you're trying to say Africans are inferior. But do you really think all they ate was salted locusts? Do you really think the person who wrote this is to be trusted? The person who said the animals have no ears, the people have 4 eyes and the king is a dog?

[@roflswamp6]

@@TIENxSHINHAN well even today many places like liberia don't have food and eat human flesh and dead bodies no one thinks anyone is inferior this legit happens we aren't putting u down

[@linguaLatinae]

Someone should make a series about a world where all this stuff is true

[@nareshgodoy2186]

I gonna do it dont worry

[@Kujien]

It's like learning about an ancient time from a strategy guide for a video game set in the time and local.

[@xmaniac99]

Perhaps also interesting to mention that Nero sponsored an expedition to locate the source of the Nile. Apparently they went all the way to what is called lake Victoria today. Another (larger) expedition went around Africa and all the way to the vulcano area in what is called Kamerun today.

[@tylerdurden3722]

They only got as far as Sudan. It took until the 18th century to discover the source of the Nile. I think you're taking about the Carthegians expidition. They encountered a volcano. There were many expiditions by the Romans towards west Africa, using 5 different routes (I think all of these were land routes).

[@larry6130]

@@tylerdurden3722 the people around lake Victoria feast on locusts to this day

[@DerekOfRivia]

I was shocked to learn how far romans went into Africa. They came back with rhinos from Eastern central Africa.

[@CCSI322]

I felt like I was having a doctor Seuss book visually described to me

[@UmamiPapi]

8:54 Sounds like the Maasai tribe we have today unless there are others with that practice.

[@pixiecut11]

He explained a land of magnificent wonders... ! while me coming from Indonesia , what we are told in my childhood : Africa is a hot dry desert and poor land that nobody wants to go. Im so angry now