Hanno The Navigator
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Hanno the Navigator (sometimes "Hannon"; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤀 , ; ) was a
Carthaginian The term Carthaginian ( la, Carthaginiensis ) usually refers to a citizen of Ancient Carthage. It can also refer to: * Carthaginian (ship), a three-masted schooner built in 1921 * Insurgent privateers; nineteenth-century South American privateers, ...
explorer of the fifth century BC, best known for his naval exploration of the western coast of Africa. The only source of his voyage is a ''
periplus A periplus (), or periplous, is a manuscript document that lists the ports and coastal landmarks, in order and with approximate intervening distances, that the captain of a vessel could expect to find along a shore. In that sense, the periplus wa ...
'' translated into Greek. He has sometimes been identified as a king. Historians have attempted to identify places on Hanno's route based on the ''periplus''. According to some modern analyses of his route, Hanno's expedition could have reached as far south as
Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...
; however, according to others, it could not have taken him further than southern
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
.


Biography

The name
Hanno Hanno may refer to: People * Hanno (given name) :* Hanunu (8th century BC), Philistine king previously rendered by scholars as "Hanno" *Hanno ( xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤀 , '; , ''Hannōn''), common Carthaginian name :* Hanno the Navigator, Carthagi ...
was given to many other Carthaginians. Ancient authors who discussed Hanno the Navigator did not provide direct information to identify him exactly. Some called him king, and others used the
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
words ''
dux ''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, '' ...
'' (leader or general) or '' imperator'' (commander or emperor).. The Greek translation of Hanno's ''periplus'' account names him a '' basileus'',. a term which may be interpreted as "king", but was commonly used for high-level Carthaginian officials.. The consensus of scholarship places Hanno in the 5th century BC and identifies him as a member of the aristocratic
Magonid The Magonids were a political dynasty of Ancient Carthage from 550 BCE to 340 BCE. The dynasty was first established under Mago I, under whom Carthage became pre-eminent among the Phoenician colonies in the western Mediterranean. Under the Magon ...
family. R.C.C. Law identifies Hanno as the son of Hamilcar I..


''Periplus'' account

Hanno's account, the ''periplus'' ( circumnavigation), remains extant in Greek-language manuscripts. The original version, written in the
Punic language The Punic language, also called Phoenicio-Punic or Carthaginian, is an extinct variety of the Phoenician language, a Canaanite language of the Northwest Semitic branch of the Semitic languages. An offshoot of the Phoenician language of coastal W ...
, has been lost. The Greek translation is abridged. and 101 lines long. While it contains contradictions and obvious errors,. it is likely derived from an original Carthaginian text. The ''periplus'' has survived as "the nearest we have to a specimen of Carthaginian 'literature' ". and one of the few extant accounts of ancient exploration penned by the explorer himself.. In the fifth century, the text was translated into Greek. Over the centuries, the translation was copied several times by Greek and Greek-speaking Roman clerks. Two copies remain extant, dating to the 9th and 14th centuries.


Summary

This summary is based on a translation by Al. N. Oikonomides.. The
proper names A proper noun is a noun that identifies a single entity and is used to refer to that entity (''Africa'', ''Jupiter'', ''Sarah'', ''Microsoft)'' as distinguished from a common noun, which is a noun that refers to a class of entities (''continent, ...
are unchanged from the translation. It reflects the views of the translator and may ignore more widely accepted theories among scholars. As the work begins, "this is the report of the ''periplus'' of Hanno, king of the Carthaginians, into the
Libyan Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...
areas of the earth beyond the
Pillars of Hercules The Pillars of Hercules ( la, Columnae Herculis, grc, Ἡράκλειαι Στῆλαι, , ar, أعمدة هرقل, Aʿmidat Hiraql, es, Columnas de Hércules) was the phrase that was applied in Antiquity to the promontories that flank t ...
which he dedicated in the sanctuary of Kronos.". With 60 ships and 30,000 people, Hanno intends to found cities along the African coast. He first founds one city, then sails some distance and founds five others.The six cities are named, in the order of the original,
Thymiaterion A thymiaterion (from Ancient Greek: θυμιατήριον from θυμιάειν ''thymiaein'' "to smoke"; plural ''thymiateria'') is a type of censer or incense burner, used in the Mediterranean region since antiquity for spiritual and religio ...
(the first founded), Karikon Teichos, Gytte, Akra, Melitta, and
Arambys Essaouira ( ; ar, الصويرة, aṣ-Ṣawīra; shi, ⵜⴰⵚⵚⵓⵔⵜ, Taṣṣort, formerly ''Amegdul''), known until the 1960s as Mogador, is a port city in the western Moroccan region of Marakesh-Safi, on the Atlantic coast. It ha ...
.
Arriving at a river, the Carthaginians meet the Lixitae, a friendly nomadic tribe. They learn of the nearby
Ethiopians Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts o ...
, and taking aboard several Lixitae, set sail again. At the small island Kerne, another settlement is built. Around the lake Chretes and an unnamed river, there are savage men and large wild beastsHippopotami and crocodiles are the two animals mentioned. respectively. After returning to Kerne, they sail further south down Africa, finding Ethiopians whose language even the Lixitae interpreters do not understand. Passing further, Hanno finds an "immense opening of the sea",. from which fires may be sighted. At a bay called the "Horn of the West", they land on an island where humans live. The Carthaginians hurry away in fearThe text does not record any word about an actual interaction between the Carthaginians and the unnamed people on the island. and reach lands where there are many flames. A very tall mountain is there. Finally arriving at a bay, the "Horn of the South", there is an island with hostile, hirsute men named "Gorillas" (see ). Three of them are killed, their skins brought home to Carthage. Having run out of provisions, they do not sail further. The ''periplus'' abruptly ends here without discussing the return journey.


Textual criticism

Both ancient and modern authors have criticized the work. Most attempts to locate the places described in the ''periplus'' based on the reported sailing distances and directions have failed. To make the text more accurate, scholars have tried
textual criticism Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts or of printed books. Such texts may range in da ...
. Ultimately, the Carthaginians probably edited the real account to protect their trade: other countries would not be able to identify the places described, while Carthaginians could still boast about their accomplishments. Oikonomides theorizes that the hypothetical Punic manuscript that was translated into Greek was incomplete itself: it left out the later parts of the original ''periplus''. The ending of the narrative is abrupt, and it would also have been logically impossible for the expedition to end as described. Therefore, he argues, the final two lines must have been inserted to compensate for an incomplete manuscript.


Expedition

Carthage dispatched Hanno at the head of a fleet of 60 ships to explore and
colonize Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...
the northwestern coast of
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
.. He sailed through the straits of Gibraltar, founded or repopulated seven colonies along the African coast of what is now Morocco, and explored significantly farther along the Atlantic coast of the continent. Hanno encountered various
indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
s on his journey and met with a variety of welcomes. The gold trade was a foundation of the Carthaginian empire since the fifth century BC. It may have been the original motivation for Carthaginian exploration of
sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
.. The purpose of Hanno's voyage was to secure the gold route to west Africa. A number of modern scholars have commented upon Hanno's voyage. In many cases, the analysis has been to refine information and interpretation of the original account. William Smith points out that the complement of personnel totalled 30,000, and that the core mission included the intent to found Carthaginian (or in the older parlance 'Libyophoenician') towns. Some scholars have questioned whether this many people accompanied Hanno on his expedition, and suggest 5,000 is a more accurate number. R. C. C. Law notes that "It is a measure of the obscurity of the problem that while some commentators have argued that Hanno reached the Gabon area, others have taken him no further than southern Morocco.". Harden reports a consensus that the expedition reached at least as far as
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
. Due to the vagueness of the ''periplus'', estimates for the voyage's distance range from under to at least .. Some agree he could have reached Gambia. However, Harden mentions disagreement as to the farthest limit of Hanno's explorations:
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...
,
Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
, or
Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...
. He notes the description of
Mount Cameroon Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in the South West region of Cameroon next to the city of Buea near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako (the name of the higher of its two peaks) or by its indigenous n ...
, a
volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...
, more closely matches Hanno's description than Guinea's Mount Kakulima. Warmington prefers Mount Kakulima, considering Mount Cameroon too distant. The historian Raymond Mauny, in his 1955 article "La navigation sur les côtes du Sahara pendant l'antiquité", argued that the ancient navigators (Hannon, Euthymène, Scylax, etc.) could not have sailed south in the
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
farther than
Cape Bojador Cape Bojador ( ar, رأس بوجادور, trans. ''Rā's Būjādūr''; ber, ⴱⵓⵊⴷⵓⵔ, ''Bujdur''; Spanish and pt, Cabo Bojador; french: Cap Boujdour) is a headland on the west coast of Western Sahara, at 26° 07' 37"N, 14° 29' 57"W ...
. He pointed out that ancient geographers knew of the Canary Islands but nothing further south. Ships with square sails, without stern rudder, might navigate south, but the winds and currents throughout the year would prevent the return trip from Senegal to Morocco. Oared ships might be able to achieve the return northward, but only with very great difficulties. Mauny assumed that Hanno did not get farther than the Drâa. He attributed artifacts found on Mogador Island to the expedition described in the
Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax The ''Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax'' is an ancient Greek periplus (περίπλους ''períplous'', 'circumnavigation') describing the sea route around the Mediterranean and Black Sea. It probably dates from the mid-4th century BC, specifically ...
and notes that no evidence of Mediterranean trade further south had yet been found. The author ends by suggesting archaeological investigation of the islands along the coast, such as
Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...
, or the île de Herné (Dragon Island near
Dakhla, Western Sahara Dakhla ( ar, الداخلة, Berber: Eddaxla / ⴷⴷⴰⵅⵍⴰ, es, Dajla, Villa Cisneros) is a city in the disputed territory of Western Sahara, currently occupied by Morocco. It is the capital of the claimed Moroccan administrative reg ...
) where ancient adventurers may have been stranded and settled.


Gorillai

The end of the ''periplus'' describes an island populated with hairy and savage people. Attempts to capture the men failed. Three of the women were taken, but were so ferocious that they were killed, their skins brought home to Carthage.. The skins were kept in the Temple of Juno (
Tanit Tanit ( Punic: 𐤕𐤍𐤕 ''Tīnīt'') was a Punic goddess. She was the chief deity of Carthage alongside her consort Baal-Hamon. Tanit is also called Tinnit. The name appears to have originated in Carthage (modern day Tunisia), though it doe ...
or
Astarte Astarte (; , ) is the Hellenized form of the Ancient Near Eastern goddess Ashtart or Athtart ( Northwest Semitic), a deity closely related to Ishtar ( East Semitic), who was worshipped from the Bronze Age through classical antiquity. The name ...
) on Hanno's return and, according to
Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
, survived until the Roman destruction of Carthage in 146 BC, some 350 years after Hanno's expedition.. Hanno's interpreters of an African tribe (Lixites or Nasamonians) called the people ''Gorillai'' (in
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
, ). In 1847, the
gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...
, an ape species, was
scientifically described A species description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species that have be ...
and named after the ''Gorillai''. The authors did not affirmatively identify Hanno's ''Gorillai'' as the gorilla.


Ancient authors' accounts

The text was known to the Roman
Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
(c. 23–79) and the Greek
Arrian of Nicomedia Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; la, Lucius Flavius Arrianus; ) was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander and philosopher of the Roman period. '' The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best ...
(c. 86–160).


Pliny the Elder

Pliny may have recorded the time vaguely because he was ignorant of the actual date. His claim that Hanno completely circumnavigated Africa, reaching Arabia, is considered unrealistic by contemporary scholarship.


Arrian

Arrian mentions Hanno's voyage at the end of his ''
Anabasis of Alexander ''The Anabasis of Alexander'' ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἀνάβασις, ''Alexándrou Anábasis''; la, Anabasis Alexandri) was composed by Arrian of Nicomedia in the second century AD, most probably during the reign of Hadrian. T ...
'' VIII (Indica):


Herodotus

Greek historian Herodotus, writing around 430 BC, described Carthaginian trade on the Moroccan coast ('' Histories'' 4.196), though it is doubtful whether he was aware of Hanno's voyage itself.


Legacy


Modern

The lunar crater
Hanno Hanno may refer to: People * Hanno (given name) :* Hanunu (8th century BC), Philistine king previously rendered by scholars as "Hanno" *Hanno ( xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤀 , '; , ''Hannōn''), common Carthaginian name :* Hanno the Navigator, Carthagi ...
is named after him.


Historiography

In the 16th century, the voyage of Hanno saw increased scholarly interest from Europeans in an age when European exploration and navigation were flourishing. Already then, the extent of Hanno's voyage was debated..


Notes


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Ancient

* * * *


Further reading

* *


External links

*
"Hanno's ''Periplus'' on the Web"
a 2003 directory of links about Hanno

an article by classical scholar
Livio Catullo Stecchini Livio Catullo Stecchini (6 October 1913 – September 1979) was a professor of ancient history at Paterson State Teachers College (now William Paterson University) in New Jersey. He wrote on the history of science, ancient weights and measures ...
that analyzes parts of Hanno's ''periplus'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanno the Explorers of Africa Carthaginians 5th-century BC writers Navigators Year of death unknown Ancient explorers Punic-language writers Peripluses in Greek 5th-century BC Punic people