The term 'Africa' was first used by the Romans to refer to the land they had captured from their great rival, Carthage. Carthage, and many other trading posts, had been established by the Phoenicians along the southern coast of the Mediterranean and the eastern coast of the Atlantic Ocean in Berber territory. West of Africa lay the Berber kingdoms of Numidia and, still further to the west, Mauretania. The Greeks called the peoples who lived west of Egypt, 'Libyans'. South of Numidia and Mauretania lay unknown territory. During Carthaginian times, from 800 to 500 BC, the Garamantes and other groups used horse-drawn chariots to raid and trade in the Sahara. (1) The Garamantes have been linked with the Mande or Manding. The Mande spoke a language that is related to ancient Egyptian and Elamite (the Niger-Congo language family). Others link the Garamantes with the Berbers. (1) The people of the western Sahara had domesticated cattle by 5000 BC. or earlier. Around 2000 BC, the Sahara entered a dry period and many moved to the Fezzan, a fertile valley, and to nearby oases. The capital city of the Garamantes was Garama or Jerma. (3) In Roman times, African imports came mostly from north of the Sahara. The Berbers continued to trade with peoples south of the Sahara, but only for local goods. (1)
See Numidian and Mauretanian Names.
The Greeks called the peoples who lived south of Egypt, 'Ethiopian'. South of Egypt lay the kingdoms of Kush/Meroe and Aksum (Ethiopia). Ports on the Red Sea were important links with trading ports on the Erythraean Sea (Indian Ocean). (1)
See Kushite and Napatan Names, Meroite Names, Names of Aksum and Sheba.
The east African coast was called Azania by the Greeks and Romans. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea ('Voyage of the Indian Ocean'), was a guide to ports in the Erythraean Sea (Indian Ocean) for Greek ships. The southernmost port was called 'Rhapta' (perhaps in modern Tanzania). The Greeks knew very little about the people of Azania. By 500 AD, the people were iron-using Bantu-speakers. Khoisan-speaking hunters and gatherers lived in the area before the arrival of the Bantu-speakers.(1)
Aksum was a trading power centered on the Red Sea. Sabaean-speakers from Arabia set up trading towns on the Eritrean coast of northeastern Africa, south of Egypt. They mixed with the existing peoples and developed into a new people, the Ge'ez-speakers of Aksum. Their Red Sea port, Adulis, became the largest ivory market in northeast Africa, taking away trade from the interior kingdom of Meroe. The Kingdom of Aksum lasted from about 100 to 700 AD. Ethiopian history goes back to 1000 BC.(1, 6)
Female Names
Makeda - Queen of Sheba during the time of Solomon (6)
Male Names
Ezana - King of Aksum (1)
The Kingdom of Kush was a powerful entity from about 900 (or 750) to 300 BC. The kingdom was centered on Napata, near the Nile's fourth cataract. Kawa and Tare are two important Kushite cities. The kingdom was heavily influenced by the Egyptians. Various Egyptian kings had their eyes on conquering Nubia since 3000 BC. Senefru, in 2750 BC, reportedly attacked the land of the Nehesi (Nubians). The people of Kush invaded Egypt and formed Egypt's 25th Dynasty. The Assyrians drove the Napatans out of Egypt and ended the 25th Dynasty. The Kingdom of Kush eventually was moved further south, perhaps because of conflict with the Romans, and became the Kingdom of Meroe. (1, 2, 4, 6)
Kushite Female Names
Alakhebasken - A queen of Napata (4)
Kushite Male Names
Akhratan - Ruled 353 to 340 B.C. (14)
Kushite Deities
Amon - This name appears in many personal names (4)
The Kingdom of Meroe lay to the south of Egypt and was the successor to the earlier state of Kush. While Kush was centered on Napata, near the Nile's fourth cataract, Meroe was centered on the more southern town of Meroe, near the Nile's sixth cataract. The Kingdom of Meroe lasted from about 500 BC to 300 AD. The wealth of Meroe came from the production of iron and iron tools, the raising of sorghum and millet, cattle herding, and trade. Meroe's merchants traded with their northern neighbor, Egypt, and with other cultures through towns on the Red Sea, such as Massawa. At first, Meroe was strongly influenced by Egyptian culture but gradually, the inhabitants adapted Egyptian hieroglyphs and culture to fit their own needs. A local language, called Meroitic, replaced Egyptian as the court language. Meroitic is no longer spoken and its relationship with other languages is not clear. It may have been a Nilo-Saharan language. Nilo-Saharan languages used to be spoken from the upper Niger river to the Upper Nile river. Nilo-Saharan languages include Songhay, Kanuri, the language of the Kanem and Bornu kingdoms of Lake Chad between the 9th and 19th centuries, and Maasai. The deities of Meroe were largely those of Napata. Meroe was eventually abandoned. The land was worn out and the trading power of Aksum had eclipsed Meroe's trading connections. (1, 13)
Meroitic Female Names
Amanishakhete - Meroite queen, 35 BC to 20 AD (9)
Meroitic Male Names
Adeqetali - Ruled 134 to 140 A.D. (14)
Like Mauretania, Numidia was originally a Berber kingdom to the west of Carthage. The people were made up of nomadic mountain pastoralists and settled farmers along the coast. The pastoralists herded sheep, goats, and sometimes cattle. The ruling class was strongly influenced by Greek and Phoenician culture and later by Roman culture. Outside of the towns and large estates, the people remained Berber in language and culture. The Romans formed an alliance with Numidia but later conquered it and made it a Roman province. Mauretania was also absorbed by the Romans. The Romans imposed heavy taxes on the wheat and olive oil of Numidia. When Rome fell, Berber chieftains retook the area. (1)
Numidian and Mauretanian Female Names
Dahia al-Kahina, Dihya, al-Kahena - A Berber queen of Mauretania who assumed command of the Berber army in 690 AD and fought the Arabs until her death in 701 AD. Kahina may mean "Priestess". (11, 12)
Numidian and Mauretanian Male Names
Adherbal - Numidian king (5)
Sources:
(1) History of Africa, Kevin Shillington, New York, St. Martin's Press, 1989, 1995.
(2) Before Color Prejudice: The Ancient View of Blacks, Frank M. Snowden, Jr., Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1983.
(3) Blacks in Science: Ancient and Modern, Ivan Van Sertima (ed.), New Brunswick: Transaction Books, 1983.
(4) Kush
(6) Great Civilizations of Ancient Africa, Lester Brooks, New York: Four Winds Press, 1971.
(7) Collection from the Sudan National Museum
(8) The Demotic Dictionary Project
(9) Archaeological Sites in Sudan
(10) Ancient History Sourcebook: Accounts of Meroe, Kush, and Axum, c.430 BCE - 550 CE
(11) Dahia Al-Kahina: Valiant North African Freedom Fighter, by Runoko Rashidi, 1998, 2000.
(12) Dihya al-Kahina: Resources and background on a Jewish Berber leader
(13) Cultural Atlas of Africa, Jocelyn Murray (ed.), New York: Facts on File Publications, 1985.
(14) The Kingdom of Kush: The Napatan and Meroitic Empires, Derek A. Welsby, Princeton, New Jersey: Markus Wiener Publishers, 1996, 1998.
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Ancient Names Galleria
Names of Aksum and Sheba
Tamrin - Merchant during the time of Makeda, Queen of Sheba (6)
Kushite and Napatan Names
Henttawy - Wife of Pinodjem (7)
Kasaqa - Mother of Tabiry (7)
Neferukekashta - A wife of Piye (7)
Nensela - Kandake (queen) of Kush and mother of Aspalta c. 600 BC (10)
Tabiry - A wife of Piye and daughter of Alara and Kasaqa (7)
Takahatamani - A wife of Taharqa, 600s BC (7)
Aktisanes - Ruled between 315 and 270 B.C. (14)
Alara - One of the first Kushite kings, ruled 785 to 760 B.C. (7)
Amaniastabarqo - Ruled 510 to 487 B.C. (14)
Amani-nataki-lebte, Amani-natake-lebte - A king of Napata, ruled 538 to 519 B.C. (4, 14)
Amani-bakhi - A king of Napata, ruled 340 to 335 B.C. (4)
Analmaaye - Ruled 542 to 538 B.C. (14)
Anlamani - A king of Napata, ruled 623 to 593 B.C. (4, 14)
Aramatelqo - Ruled 568 to 555 B.C. (14)
Aryamani - Ruled between 315 and 270 B.C. (14)
Aspalta, Aspelta - A king of Napata, ruled 593 to 568 B.C. (4, 14)
Atlanersa - Ruled Kush from 653 to 643 B.C. (14)
Baskakeren - Ruled 405 to 404 B.C. (14)
Dakka - Napatan or Meroite official (8)
Harsiyotef - A king of Napata, ruled 404 to 369 B.C. (4, 14)
Irike-Amanote - A king of Napata, ruled 431 to 405 B.C. (4, 14)
Irike-Piye-qo - Ruled between 315 and 270 B.C. (14)
Kalabsha - Napatan or Meroite official (8)
Karkamani - Ruled 519 to 510 B.C. (14)
Kashta - Ruler of Napatan Kush and Egypt (2)
Malonaqen - Ruled 555 to 542 B.C. (14)
Malowiebamani - Ruled 463 to 435 B.C. (14)
Nasakhma - Ruled 468 to 463 B.C. (14)
Nastasen - A king of Napata, ruled 335 to 315 B.C. (4, 14)
Paiftauaabaste - Name on a situla (water vessel) from the time of Taharqa (7)
Pinodjem - Kushite king? (7)
Piye, Piankhy - Son of Kashta (2)
Sabrakamani - Ruled between 315 and 270 B.C. (14)
Senkamanisken - Ruled 643 to 623 B.C. (14)
Shabaka, Shabaqo - Ruled from 716 to 702 BC (2, 14)
Shebitku, Shebitqo - Ruled 702 to 690 BC (2, 14)
Siaspiqa - Ruled 487 to 468 B.C. (14)
Taharqa, Taharqo - Ruled 690 to 664 BC (2, 14)
Talakhamani - Ruled 435 to 431 B.C. (14)
Tantamani, Tenutamon - A king of Napata (4)
Tanwetamani - Last Napatan king of Egypt, reigned until 663 or 653 BC. (2, 14)
Anubis (4)
Apedemak - The lion god (4)
Isis (4)
Ra (4)
Meroite Names
Amanishakheto - Ruled 10 to 1 B.C. (14)
Amanitore - Meroite queen, 20 to 0 BC or ruled between 1 and 20 A.D. (9, 14)
Kaditede - Wife of the Meroite king, Amanikhabale, c. 50 BC (7)
Shanakdakhete - Ruled 170 to 150 B.C. (14)
Akinidad - Ruled between 40 and 10 B.C. (14)
Amanikhabale - King of Meroe about 50 to 40 BC (7)
Amanikhalika - Ruled 170 to 175 A.D. (14)
Amanikhareqerem - Ruled 190 to 200 A.D. (14)
Amanikhatashan - Ruled 62 to 85 A.D. (14)
Amanirenas - Ruled between 40 and 10 B.C. (14)
Amanislo - Ruled 260 to 250 B.C. (14)
Amanitaraqide - Ruled 40 to 50 A.D. (14)
Amanitenmemide - Ruled 50 to 62 A.D. (14)
Arikakahtani - Ruled between 1 and 20 A.D. (14)
Arikhankharer - Ruled between 1 and 20 A.D. (14)
Aritenyesbokhe - Ruled 175 to 190 A.D. (14)
Arkamani-qo - Ruled 270 to 260 B.C. (14)
Arnekhamani - Ruled 235 to 218 B.C. (14)
Arqamani - 218 to 200 B.C. (14)
Aryesbokhe - Ruled 215 to 225 A.D. (14)
Bekemete - Military and civil leader in the mid-third century A.D. (14)
Khaleme - Name found in Mediq in Lower Nubia, date not stated (14)
Maleqorobar - Ruled 266 to 283 A.D. (14)
Naqyrinsan - Ruled 130 to 110 B.C. (14)
Natakamani - Ruled between 1 and 20 A.D. (14)
Nawidemak - Ruled between 90 and 50 B.C. (14)
Netekamani, Natakani - King of Meroe from 12 BC to 12 AD. (1, 9)
Pakheme - Name found in Mediq in Lower Nubia, date not stated (14)
Pisakar - Ruled 30 to 40 A.D. (14)
Shorkaror - Ruled 20 to 30 A.D. (14)
Takideamani - Ruled 140 to 155 A.D. (14)
Tamelerdeamani - Ruled 114 to 134 A.D. (14)
Tanyidamani - Meroite king from 120 to 100 BC. or 110 to 90 B.C. (6, 14)
Tarekeniwal - Ruled 155 to 170 A.D. (14)
Teqerideamani - Ruled 90 to 114 A.D. A second king by this name ruled 246 to 266 A.D. (14)
Teritedakhatey - Ruled 200 to 215 A.D. (14)
Teriteqas - Ruled between 40 and 10 B.C. (14)
Teritnide - Ruled 85 to 90 A.D. (14)
Yesbokheamani - Ruled 283 to 300 A.D. (14)
Numidian and Mauretanian Names
Alyamas - Numidian king (5)
Capussa - Numidian king (5)
Gaia - Numidian king (5)
Galussa - Numidian king (5)
Gauda - Numidian king (5)
Hiempsal - Numidian king (5)
Isalcas, Oesalces - Numidian king (5)
Jugurthen - Numidian king (5)
Juva - Numidian king (5)
Lacumaces - Numidian king (5)
Masgava - Numidian king (5)
Massinissa, Massnsen - A ruler of Numidia who controlled most of northern Algeria. (1, 5)
Massiva - Numidian king (5)
Mastanabal - Numidian king (5)
Micipsa - Numidian king (5)
Misagenes - Numidian king (5)
Niptasan - Numidian king (5)
Oxynta - Numidian king (5)
Ptolemee - Numidian king (5)
Stembanos - Numidian king (5)
Tabat, Thabitah - Mauretanian father of Dahia al-Kahina (12)
Zalelsan - Numidian king (5)