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Essina
Essina ( grc, Εσσίνα) was an ancient Proto-Somali emporium located on the southeastern coast of Somalia in the Horn of Africa.Ptolemy's Topography of Eastern Equatorial Africa, by Henry Schlichter Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society and Monthly Record of Geography © 1891 - pg 443 History Having risen to prominence in the 2nd century CE, Essina was mentioned in Ptolemy's ''Geographia.'' Several modern scholars have positioned the ancient harbour in the vicinity of the early medieval cities of Merca and Barawa in modern-day southern Somalia based on Ptolemy's work. Alternatively, it has been suggested that Essina was buried somewhere along the Benadir coast. However, due to a general lack of excavations in the area, the old city's exact geographical location is unknown. See also *Sarapion *Toniki *Malao *Opone *Mosylon *Mudun * Damo * Heis *Hannassa *Gondershe *Qandala *Miandi Miandi is a proto-Somali small town in the southern Lower Juba province of Somalia. O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opone
Opone ( grc, Οπώνη) was an ancient proto-Somali city situated in the Horn of Africa. It is primarily known for its trade with the Ancient Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Persians, and the states of ancient India. Through archaeological remains, the historic port has been identified with the city of Hafun on the Hafun peninsula in modern-day Northeast Somalia. It is possible that it corresponds to the Land of Punt as known by the ancient Egyptians during the Old, Middle, and New Kingdom. History and trade Opone, like other city states such as Malao, Mundus and Mosylon, came into existence with the collapse of the Macrobian kingdom. Pottery found in Oponean tombs date back to the Mycenaean Kingdom of Greece that flourished between the 16th and 11th century BC. Its major periods of activity were during the 1st century BC and the 3rd to the 5th centuries AD. Opone was mentioned by an anonymous Greek merchant in the 1st century AD ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea''. The town is f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qandala
Qandala (also known as Candala, Andala, Bender Chor, Bandar Kor, Bender Kor or Taba Tege) is an ancient port town in the northeastern Bari province of Somalia. Overview Qandala sits on a wadi estuary, which forms a natural protective harbor for vessels on the Gulf of Aden. It lies 75 kilometres (47 mi) east of Bosaso, 549 kilometres (341 mi) south of Aden, and 475 kilometres (295 mi) west of Socotra. The city is located in the autonomous Puntland region of Somalia. It is the capital of the Qandala District. In antiquity, Qandala was an active trading center for merchants from the interior of the Horn of Africa, who transported goods such as incense, gum and aromatic woods to and from the port. Its nickname Gacanka Hodonka ("Gulf of Prosperity") is a relic from this era. Additionally, Qandala is coextensive with the ancient town of Botiala. The latter settlement features an old fortress complex, which overlooks and controls the mouth of the wadi leading in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mosylon
Mosylon ( grc, Μοσυλλόν and Μόσυλον), also known as Mosullon, was an ancient proto-Somali trading center on or near the site that later became the city of Bosaso. History Mosylon was the most prominent emporium on the Red Sea coast, as outlined in the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea''. With its large ships, it handled the bulk of the cinnamon trade arriving from the ports of ancient India. Dioscorides consequently noted that the city became known as the source of the best variety of the spice in the ancient world. A specific species of cinnamon exported from the harbour was known as ''Mosyllitic''. Due to its high quality and rarity at the time in Ancient Rome, the imported cinnamon was typically deposited in the Romans' Royal Treasury. According to classical writers such as Pliny and Herodutus, the inhabitants of Mosylon imported flint glass and glass vessels from Ancient Egypt, unripe grapes from Diospolis, unmilled cloths for the Berberi markets, including t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitution, (; ), is a country in the Horn of Africa. The country is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Kenya to the southwest. Somalia has the longest coastline on Africa's mainland. Its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains, and highlands. Hot conditions prevail year-round, with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall. Somalia has an estimated population of around million, of which over 2 million live in the capital and largest city Mogadishu, and has been described as Africa's most culturally homogeneous country. Around 85% of its residents are ethnic Somalis, who have historically inhabited the country's north. Ethnic minorities are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malao
Malao ( grc, Μαλαὼ) was an ancient proto-Somali port in present-day Somaliland. The town was situated on the site of what later became the city of Berbera. It was a key trading member involved in the Red Sea-Indian Ocean commerce in the early centuries CE. The town also maintained an important monetary market for merchants exchanging goods in the currencies of the Roman Empire. History and trade The ancient port city of Malao was positioned in the historic Somali city of Berbera. It is mentioned in the 1st century CE ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'': Other than Arabia, goods were also purchased and transported to the Greek, Roman and Egyptian empires. Malao gained its high level of trade from its nexus position, by being the closest African port to Arabia and the more peaceful nature of the city, as compared to other potential trade areas. See also * Mundus *Sarapion *Opone *Mosylon *Essina *Hannassa Hannassa is a proto-Somali historic town in southern Somalia. Hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toniki
Toniki (Ancient Greek: Τωνική) was an ancient proto-Somali market town on the coast of the southeastern Lower Shabelle province of Somalia. Overview Toniki is believed to have been situated in the vicinity of Makasi in the present-day Barawa District. It was one of a series of ancient commercial ports along the coast of Somalia, which were described in the 1st century CE Greco-Roman travelogue the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'', as well as in Ptolemy's ''Geographia''. Nearby market towns included Essina and Sarapion to the immediate north. See also * Miandi *Nikon (, ; ), also known just as Nikon, is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging products. The companies held by Nikon form the Nikon Group. Nikon's products include cameras, camera ... Notes {{reflist Ancient Somalia Archaeological sites in Somalia Lower Shabelle Ancient Greek geography of East Africa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hannassa
Hannassa is a proto-Somali historic town in southern Somalia. History Built on a promontory, Hanassa contains ruins of houses with archways and courtyards. It also features sites with pillar tombs, including a rare octagonal tomb. Additionally, excavations here have retrieved sherds of celadon and undecorated pottery. Amongst the ruins is a small mosque, with a well-preserved mihrab overlooking the Indian Ocean.Archaeological Remains on the Southern Somali Coast by Hilary Costa Sanseverino pg 159 It's believed to date back to the Ajuran Empire. See also *Essina *Gondershe *Mosylon * Miandi * Nikon (Somalia) *Sarapion Sarapion ( grc, Σαράπιον, also spelled Serapion) was an ancient proto-Somali port city in present-day Somalia. It was situated on a site that later became Mogadishu. Sarapion was briefly mentioned in Ptolemy's '' Geographia'' as one of the ... References Archaeological sites in Somalia Former populated places in Somalia Ajuran Sultanate Archaeo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gondershe
Gondershe, also known as Gandershe or El Torre, is an ancient landmark on the Somali Sea, as well as a town, in the Lower Shabelle region of Southwest State of Somalia. It is noted for its various historical structures. Overview Gendershe (also known as; Gendershe, Gandarshe, Gonderscia and Gondeurcheikh) is situated about 35 kilometers northeast of Merca and about 45 kilometers southwest of Mogadishu.Universität Frankfurt am Main. Frobenius-Institut, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kulturmorphologie, Frobenius Gesellschaft, Paideuma: Mitteilungen zur Kulturkunde, Volumes 26-28, (F. Steiner: 1980), p.202. It is an ancient stone city built on a coastal promontory. The town's ruins consist of typical Somali architecture, such as coral stone houses, fortifications, tombs and mosques. The town contains a shrine to Aw Garweyne. The town is said to date from the medieval Ajuran period, when it became a center of trade that handled smaller vessels sailing from India, Arabia, Persia and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merca
Merca ( so, Marka, Maay Maay, Maay: ''Marky'', ar, مركة) is a historic port city in the southern Lower Shebelle province of Somalia. It is located approximately to the southwest of the nation's capital Mogadishu. Merca is the traditional home territory of the Bimaal, Bimal clan and was the center of the Bīmāl Revolt, Bimal Revolt or Bīmāl revolt, Merka Revolt.http://www.landinfo.no/asset/2736/1/2736_1.pdf Marka is the traditional home territory of the Dir clan Biimaal (Lewis 2008, p. 5). History Antiquity The city of Essina is believed to have been the predecessor state of Merca. It used to be an ancient Proto-Somali Marketplace, emporium city-state. It is mentioned in the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'', a Greek travel document dating from the first century AD, as one of a series of commercial ports on the Somali littoral. According to the ''Periplus'', maritime trade already connected peoples in the Merca area with other communities along the Somali Sea coast. Mediev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Damo, Somalia
Damo ( so, Daamo) is an ancient proto-Somali town in northeastern Somalia. It is situated in the autonomous Puntland region, 5 km west of Cape Guardafui. From late October to early December 1975, at the invitation of the Somali government, Neville Chittick led a British-Somali archaeological expedition in the northern half of Somalia. Members of the party included the Director of the Somali National Museum in Mogadishu, Sa‘id Ahmad Warsame, as well as ‘Ali ‘Abd al-Rahman and Fabby Nielson. Particular emphasis was placed on the area near Cape Guardafui in the far northeast. Financed by the Somali authorities, the survey found numerous examples of historical artefacts and structures, including ancient coins, Roman pottery, drystone buildings, cairns, masjids, walled enclosures, standing stones and platform monuments. Many of the finds were of pre-Islamic origin and associated with ancient settlements described by the 1st century ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'', among ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Somalia
Somalia ( so, Soomaaliya; ), officially the Federal Republic of Somalia ( so, Jamhuuriyadda Federaalka Soomaaliya, ) and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. The country was an important centre for commerce with the rest of the ancient world, and according to most scholars, it is among the most probable locations of the fabled ancient Land of Punt.Christine El Mahdy, ''Egypt : 3000 Years of Civilization Brought to Life'', (Raincoast Books: 2005), p.297.Stefan Goodwin, ''Africa's legacies of urbanization: unfolding saga of a continent'', (Lexington Books: 2006), p. 48. During the Middle Ages, several powerful Somali states and port towns dominated the regional trade, the Mogadishu Sultanate and Ajuran Sultanate both centered around the port town Mogadishu, but also the port towns of Barawe and Merca. In the late 19th century, through a succession of treaties with these kingdoms, the Italian colonial empire gained control of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proto-Somali
Proto-Somalis were the ancient people and ancestors of Somalis The Somalis ( so, Soomaalida 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒆𐒖, ar, صوماليون) are an ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic Somali language is the shared ... who lived in present-day Somalia. Literature on proto-Somalis largely uses a time-frame pertaining to the 1st millennium BC and 1st millennium AD. History The Land of Punt, Puntites were ancient Cushites who are believed to have traded myrrh, spices, gold, ebony, short-horned cattle, ivory, and frankincense with neighbouring Ancient Egypt and with ancient Mesopotamia through their commercial ports. An Ancient Egyptian expedition sent to Punt by the 18th dynasty Queen Hatshepsut is recorded on the temple reliefs at Deir el-Bahari, during the reign of the Puntite King Parahu and Queen Ati. In the Classical antiquity, classical era, the Macrobians, who have been ancestral ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
