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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The 'Periplus of Hanno' in the History and Historiography of Black Africa
Author:Hair, Paul E.H.ISNI
Year:1987
Periodical:History in Africa
Volume:14
Pages:43-66
Language:English
Geographic term:Subsaharan Africa
Subjects:historiography
prehistory
historical sources
History and Exploration
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/3171832
Abstract:The 'Periplus of Hanno' describes a purported Carthaginian voyage down the coast of western Africa, a voyage to as far as Guinea in the opinion of some scholars. The brief text is of doubtful and at best partial historical authenticity. At least as far as black Africa is concerned, it must be questioned whether the Periplus is worth a fraction of the scholarly effort that has been spent on it during the past four hundred years. This article discusses the history of the text and commentaries, source and date of the Greek text, the Periplus as a source on West Africa, and the information in the Periplus. It argues that the Periplus does not add to our knowlegde of early west Africa. Yet four centuries of scholarly study have produced a corpus of bibliographical items which represents a substantial contribution to the historiography of black Africa, and for this reason the Periplus deserves attention. Bibliogr., notes, ref.
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