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Description
STRABO.
Στράβωνος Γεωγραφικῶν βιβλίοι 17. Strabonis Rerum geographicarum Libri XVII.
Amsterdam: Jan Wolters, 1717. — Folio, 314 x 198: (22 ff.), 1329 pp., (49 ff.). Stiff parchment, gilt scrolls framing the edges, gilt coats of arms at the corners and in the centre on the covers, ribbed spine decorated with the same gilt coats of arms, mottled edges (contemporary binding).
Fifth Greek-Latin edition, published 87 years after the previous one (1620), of this geographical encyclopaedia written in Ancient Greek by Strabo between 20 BC and 23 AD, describing, in 17 books, the entire known world of his time. Brunet (V, 554) notes that whilst not of the highest quality, it ‘is regarded as one of the best [editions] we have of this author’.
Strabo organises his work into three main parts. Books I and II serve as a methodological introduction. Books III to X are devoted to Europe (Greece, Italy, Iberia, Gaul) and Asia Minor. Finally, Books XI to XVII deal with Asia beyond the Euphrates (India, Persia, Arabia) and Africa, with particular attention paid to Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia.
Egypt occupies a central place in Book XVII, where Strabo presents it as a country that is both African and Mediterranean, a crossroads between two worlds. He describes the Nile, its central role in agriculture, navigation and economic life, as well as the annual floods, which are essential to the fertility of the land. He also discusses key cities and regions such as Alexandria, Thebes and Memphis, as well as the monuments (temples, pyramids) and the history of these cities. Nubia (or Lower Ethiopia), a region situated to the south of Egypt, is populated by Black people whom he refers to as Ethiopians or Meroites, inhabitants of the Kingdom of Meroe. He describes their powerful kingdom, their architecture (the pyramids of Meroe), their economy (the trade in gold, ivory and slaves) and their conflicts with Egypt, particularly under the Black Pharaohs of the 25th Dynasty, such as Piye and Taharqa.
Strabo then extends his description to Libya (an ancient term referring to North Africa, from Egypt to the Atlantic), where he mentions the Garamantes, a Berber people of Fezzan (modern-day Libya), who dominated the trans-Saharan trade (gold, ivory, slaves). He describes them as formidable horsemen, organised into city-states and trade networks linking the Mediterranean to sub-Saharan Africa. He also mentions the Nasamons and the Getules, nomadic or sedentary peoples of the Sahara, well-adapted to desert life and possessing exotic customs.
Ethiopia (sub-Saharan Africa) is the subject of a specific section in Book XVII, in which Strabo regards it as a mysterious and distant region, a source of riches (gold, ivory, frankincense) and exotic peoples. He describes the Ethiopians, a generic term for the black peoples living south of Egypt. He divides them into Northern Ethiopians, close to Nubia and culturally intermingled with the Egyptians, and Southern Ethiopians, further afield, towards present-day Ethiopia, Sudan or Somalia. He mentions their kingdom of Meroe, an advanced civilisation with fortified cities, its own script (Meroitic) and an organised political system. He also refers to the most distant peoples, living near the Indian Ocean or the Upper Nile, whom he associates with legends (such as that of the dog-headed men – the Cynocéphales – or giants).
Strabo also describes African flora and fauna, such as elephants, rhinoceroses, giraffes (which he calls ‘camelopards’) and exotic plants (incense, myrrh), products highly sought after by the Romans. He discusses trade via the caravans linking Egypt and the Red Sea to the African interior, carrying gold, ivory, slaves and spices, as well as the ports on the Red Sea (such as Berenice or Leptis Magna) as departure points for Ethiopia and India.
In describing Africa, Strabo draws on his own observations (during his journey to Egypt around 25 BC), the accounts of travellers (such as Pliny the Elder, Agatharchides, Eratosthenes), historical works (Herodotus) and military and commercial reports (notably those from the Roman legions stationed in Egypt or from Alexandrian merchants). He sometimes criticises his predecessors for their exaggerations, but also repeats certain legends without verifying them.
Strabo does not merely describe Black people as exotic ‘others’: he acknowledges their civilisation, notably that of the Meroites (Nubia) and the South Ethiopians, whom he presents as builders, traders and warriors. However, he also perpetuates ancient stereotypes, such as the association of Black people with exoticism or the lack of knowledge about distant regions, reflecting the limitations of geographical knowledge in his time. Despite these prejudices, Strabo’s *Geography* remains one of the most comprehensive ancient sources on Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, Nubia and the Kingdom of Meroe, as well as on the Black peoples of ancient Africa, even though his approach remains marked by Greek and Roman prejudices. His work influenced later geographers and remains a major reference for understanding the ancient perception of Africa and its peoples. (Sources: Dueck, D. (2000). Strabo of Amaseia: A Greek Man of Letters in the Age of Augustus. Routledge; Potter, D. (2014). The World of Strabo: Greek Geography and the Roman Empire. Cambridge University Press; Desanges, J. (1978). Research into the Activities of the Mediterraneans on the Frontiers of Africa (6th century BC – 4th century AD). Rome: École française de Rome; Adams, W. Y. (1977). *Nubia: Corridor to Africa*. Princeton University Press (on Nubia and Meroe).
Published by Theodorus Jansonius, this edition is based on the manuscript corrected by the Calvinist theologian Isaac Casaubon (1559–1614), first published in 1620 and recognised by scholars. The editor has incorporated the observations of Guilielmus Xylander (1532–1576), Claude Saumaise (1588–1653), Christoph Cellarius (1638–1707), Philipp Clüver (1580–1622), Jacques Le Paulmier de Grentemesnil (1587–1670), Johannes Meursius (1579–1639), Lukas Holste (1596–1661), Fédéric Morel (1552–1630), Samuel Bochart (1599–1667), Isaac Vossius (1618–1689) and Ezechiel Spanheim (1629–1710), as well as scattered fragments gleaned from various works. It also contains a list of printed editions of Strabo’s Geography, the prefaces to previous Greek and Latin editions (1549, 1571, 1587 and 1620), as well as a treatise by Henry Dodwell (1641–1711).
The illustrations include a fine frontispiece title page engraved by Abraham de Blois after a composition by Cornelis Huyberts, an engraved vignette on the title page, and a copperplate engraving in the text on page 1157.
A fine copy in a contemporary binding bearing the coat of arms of the city of Amsterdam.
Soiling to the binding; the ties are missing. Water stains on the lower edges of the leaves.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale
Claude Mozis Library – Black Africa and the African diaspora
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10/21/2026 at 2:00 PM
Lot description modified on 10/02/2026 at 12:29 PM
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