HISTORY Ancient Greek Geographer on Somali Coastal City States (Modern day Bosaso, Berbera, Zeila etc)

[Madaafiic]

Bosaso = Mosylon
Berbera = Malao
Zeila = Avalites

Short informative thread on the inhabitants of those cities:

Periplus of the Outer Sea, East and West, and of the Great Islands Therein

books.google.co.uk

 

[mohammdov]

Are these names used by the locals or the Romans?

 

[Emir of Zayla]

Are these names used by the locals or the Romans?

Avalites sounds like a Greek mispronunciation of Awdal which is where Adal gets its name from.

 

[Madaafiic]

Are these names used by the locals or the Romans?

the etymology is Greek I believe and was used by the Greco-Romans, it's possible some of the native patrician inhabitants also spoke Greek and later on Latin in order to continue trading with Greeks/Romans.

 

[Sophisticate]

I recently read this in a paper I came across.

Greco-Roman records and urban archeology regarding over 150 BCE–550 CE show that there had been a socioeconomically organized nation along the Somali coast. Some of the Greco-Roman named towns, such as Avalites, Mundu, Gaza, Pano, and Opone, are respectively identified with the historical and still enduring towns of Awtal > Awdal, Xiis, Gawa, Bina, and Ḥafūn.

 

[Somali_patriotic]

I recently read this in a paper I came across.

Link?

 

[NidarNidar]

They also regard Zeila as Havilah, it probably has another name across different ages and different people.

 

[Sophisticate]

Link?

Here is the link to the book chapter I found it from. https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/87000