geography. 
30; i 
ANCIENT AFRICA, on LIBYA. 
This divifion of the world is parted from Afia by the 
Idhmus of Suez and the Red Sea; on the other fides 
it is wafhed by the Ocean, and the Mediterranean. The 
parts of it chiefly known to the ancients were Eg'ypt, 
and the country on the coaft of the Mediterranean. 
Mizraim, or Egypt, is a narrow vale on each fide of 
the Nile, widening rvhere the river branches off, before 
it empties itfelf into the Mediterranean. It was divided 
into Inferior ct Superior, Lower and Upper. 
Lower Egypt extended along the coaft from Plinthines 
Sinus, the Gulf of the Arabs, to the Lacus Sirbonis, Lake 
Bardoil, towards Paleftine. It included tlie Delta, and 
ftretched fouthward tls Lav m Heptanomis. ,It was divided 
into the four following provinces : 
Mareotis Nontos, towards Libya, took its name from the 
Lake Marea, Birk-Mariout, and was famous for its 
wines.—Mentemque lymphatam Mareotico. Horace. 
Akxandrina Regia, between the Lake Marea and the 
weftern branch of the Nile. Its chief tov/n was 
dria, famous for its commerce and opulence, built by 
Alexander, where the town of R/iacotis had flood, afia 
the refidence of the Ptolemies. It was called by the 
Jews No, and is now Scanderik, It was joined by a 
mole to the oppofue illand of Pharos, on which was 
oretlled a light-houfe, reckoned one of th-e wonders of 
the world. 
The Dr/fa; was comprehended between tlie eaftern and 
weftern branches of the Nile and the Mediterranean. 
Of the channels of the Nile there were feven large, and 
five fmall. Thefe began to branch vmzx Memphis, 
and their extreme points on the Mediterranean were the 
towns of Canopus, Bekir or Aboukir to the weft, and Pe- 
iufmm, Damietta, to the eaft, which gave name to the 
contiguous channels: 
--Luxuria, quantum ipfe notavi, 
Barbara famofo non cedit Turba Canopo. Juvenal, 
The intermediate channels took their names from thofe 
towns w'hich flood towards their mouths ; Tunis, alfo 
called Zoar; Mendes, Sebennytus, Eolhelyne, &c. On the 
Canopic branch flood Metelis, now Rofetta. On the eaft¬ 
ern fide of the Delta were, Magdolim, Bubajtus, Babylon, 
the Land of Gqjhen, Heroopolis, Kalaat-Agerud ; Arfinoe, 
Suez ; Cafius, with a mountain of the fame name, at the 
bottom of which flood Pompey’s tomb. Near this town 
■was the Lake Sirbonis, into which Typho is fabled to 
have thrown himfelf after the murder of Ofiris. Rhino- 
colura, on the Jewifh frontier, an intermediate flation be¬ 
tween Tyre and the Red Sea, long convenient to the 
Phoenicians, is now Faramina : the landy deferts on this 
fide of Egypt rendered the invafiqn of it from Afia dif. 
ficult. The Delta, as indeed all Egypt, was divided 
into various nomes or prjefeilures: of thefe there were 
in all fifty-three. 
Upper Egypt commenced at the foiithern point of the 
Delta, and was generally divided into Heptanomis, and 
Thebais.—Heptanomis was fo called from the feven Nomoi 
«r governments into whicli it was divided. The chief 
of thefe was that of Memphis, long the capital of all 
Egypt, on the weftern bank of the Nile. Not far from 
its ruins are the Pyramids, fuppofed to have been the 
burial-places of the kings of Egypt. The largeft of 
thefe covers about eleven acres of gi'ound, and is above 
five hundred feet in height. Near the pyramids are the 
inummy-pits or fubterranean vaults, in which the em¬ 
balmed bodies were depofited. Grand Cairo, on the 
oppofite fide of the river, has fucceeded to a part of its 
confequence. The canals which feparated Memphis 
from the burying-grounds, according to fome, fuggefted 
to the poets the ideas of the infernal rivers-of Styx, 
Acheron, Cocytus, 2.nA Lethe, 
In the Dome of or the City ef the Crocodiles, 
now Feyyuin, was Maris Lacus, Lake Kein, dug to re¬ 
ceive the overflowing of the Nile. On the banks of It 
flood the famous labyrinth, conftru£lcd- by twelve 
princes who ruled Egypt at the fame time; it is laid to 
have confifted of twelve palaces and three thoufand' 
apartments; Heracleopolis, Oxyrinchiis, fo called from tlie 
worfliip of a fifh of this name, now Bohnefe ; Hermopolu . 
Magna, Afiimouneim; Befa, afterwards Antinoe, in honour 
of tlie favourite of Adrian, now Enfeae, 
In tliis divifion of Egypt lay the Greater and the 
Smaller Oafis\ diftridls of dangerous accels, on account 
of the moving fands with which they were furrounded. 
They lay to tlie fouth-weft, and near one of them was- 
the temple of Jupiter Ammon. 
Thebais, which took its name from the ancient Thebes, 
now Said, extended from Heptanomis to Ethiopia. Its 
chief towns and nomes on the weft of tiie Nile were : 
Lycopolis, Ofiot; HypJ'de, Sciot; Thin, Ptolemais, Menlhic ; 
Difpolis Parva. How; Tentira, Dendera; the town and', 
ifland of Elephantine, near which was the laft cataradt 
of the Nile. Tlie people wlio lived near the catarails 
were called Catadupa. 
On the eallern fide were thofe of Antaopolis, Kau ; Pa-- 
nopoliSy Coptos, Keft,, from which a great trade was carried 
on to Berenice, on the Red Sea ; Theha or Diofpclis Mag¬ 
na, now Luxor, a very great city, laid to liave had a 
hundred gates 
Dimidio magicae refonaiit ubi Memnone chords, 
Atqiie veius Thebe centum jacet obruta porvis. JuvenaL, 
Sycne, Afuan, under the Tropic of Cancer:; 
--- Quis ad exuftaiii, Cancro torrente, Syenein- 
Iblt, et umbrifera ficcas fub Pleiade Thebas ? Lucan. 
Phila, an ifland and town above the cataraft ; and Meta- 
compfo, which, with Elephantine, were tlie loutliern boun¬ 
daries of Egypt.—See the article Eg ypt, vol.vi. p. 353 - 
Befides tJie towns of Heroopolis, Kalaat-Agerud ; Arji- 
me, Suez ; and Berenice, founded by Seleucus for the In¬ 
dian trade; there were, on the Egyptian iide of the Red 
Sea, Clyfma, now Kolfum; Myos-Hermos or Aphrodytes, 
Sufaiiy-ul-Bahri ; Philoterai Urhs, CoH'eir. 
Thefe coafts were inhabited by favage tribes of Id- 
thyophagi, and Troglodyte, who lived in caves; they are 
now part of Abyllinia; the higher parts of the Nile 
were occupied by the Nobata, in whole country was the 
■greater catara6l; by the Blemmyes, faid to have been of 
iiionftrous fhape; tht Sebride, Auxumite, Nuba, Ethiopes, 
different tribes of Nubians and Abylfinians. The rivers' 
Afaboras Awdi Afapus iorm, with the Nile, the ifland or 
peninfula of Merde. The Afaboras vecc'wes tor its mo¬ 
dern appellation the name of Tacaze; the Afapus, that 
of Abawi. 
The next divifion of Africa, between Egypt and the- 
Greater Syrtes, included Marmarica, Cyrenaica or Penta- 
polis, and Libya. This lall name was alfo extended t<j 
them all, and even to the whole of Africa, by the 
Greeks, to whom this part of it was bell known. Un¬ 
der the Ptolemies thefe countries were fubjedt to Egypt 
they now form the kingdom of Barca. A conliderablc 
declivity in the country, called the Catabatkmus, Magnus^ 
feparated Cyrenaica from Marmarica. It was alfo made 
by fdnie a line of divifion bet-vveen Africa- and Afia, fo. 
as to include Egypt in Afia.—The chief towns were : 
Cyrene, Curiii; Berenice, Bernic; Ptolomais, Tolometai 
Arfinoe, Teukira; Barce, Barca, and the temple of Ju¬ 
piter Ammon. At Berenice are tliought to have beea 
the gardens of the Hefperides : 
Malfylae gentis monftrata facerdos,. 
Hefperidum templi cuftos, epulafque draconi 
Qua: dabat, et facros. fervabat arbore ranios. Virgil. 
Aniojig'other tribes inhabiting this country, were the 
Najamones, infamous for their cruelty to thofe wrecked 
on the Syrtes; and the PJylli, who, by certain charms, 
pofl'elfed power over the nioftveiioiiiouslnak.es:. 
Natura locorum 
Juffit ul immuiies mixti ferpentibvis cflent. 
Lucan. 
