Symposium on Libya Antiqua; Libya antiqua; The General history of

258 Pages·2011·20.73 MB·English

The general history
of Africa:
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The general history ofAfrica: studies and documents
In thisseries:
1. ThepeoplingofancientEgyptandthedecipheringofMeroiticscript
2. TheAfricanslavetradefrom thefifteenth to thenineteenthcentury
3. HistoricalrelationsacrosstheIndian Ocean
4. ThehistoriographyofsouthernAfrica
5. ThedecolonizationofAfrica:southernAfricaandtheHornofAfrica
6. Africanethnonymsandtoponyms
7. Historicalandsocio-culturalrelationsbetweenBlackAfricaandtheArab worldfrom1935
tothepresent
8. ThemethodologyofcontemporaryAfricanhistory
9. TheeducationalprocessandhistoriographyinAfrica
10. AfricaandtheSecond WorldWar
11. LibyaAntiqua
Libya Antiqua
Report and papers of the symposium
organized by Unesco in Paris,
16 to 18 January 1984
Unesco
Publishedin 1986bythe UnitedNations Educational,
Scientificand CulturalOrganization
7placede Fontenoy, 75700Paris
Printed byImprimeriedesPressesUniversitairesde France, Vendôme
ISBN92-3-102376-4
Frenchedition: 92-3-202376-8
©Unesco 1986
PrintedinFrance
Preface
In 1964the General Conference ofUnesco, as part ofthe Organization's effort
to further the mutual understanding of peoples and nations, authorized the
Director-General to take the necessarymeasures forthe preparation and publi¬
cation of a General History ofAfrica.
Scientific colloquia and symposia on related themes were organized as
part ofthe preparatory work. The papers for discussion and the exchanges of
views on a wide variety of subjects at these meetings have provided valuable
historical material, whichUnesco decidedto make known as widely as possible
bypublishingit in a series entitled 'The General History ofAfrica: Studies and
Documents'.
Thepresentbook,theeleventhinthisseries,containsthepaperspresented
and a report onthe discussions thatfollowed atthe symposium held at Unesco
Headquarters in Paris,from 16to 18 January 1984, concerning'LibyaAntiqua:
a study on the Fezzän and relations between the Mediterranean, the Chad
Basin and the Nile Valley between the first and seventh centuries'.
The authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the
facts contained in thisbook, and for the opinions expressed therein, which are
not necessarily those of Unesco and do not commit the Organization.
The designations employed and the presentation ofmaterial throughout
the publication do not imply the expression ofany opinion whatsoever on the
part of Unesco concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or
area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or
boundaries.
Contents
Introduction 9
Roman agricultural development in Libya and its impact on the Libyan
Roman economy before the Arab conquest, A. Laronde 13
The silphium plant in Cyrenaica, R. El-Athram 23
Language and migrations of the early Saharan cattle herders: the formation
ofthe Berber branch, P. Behrens 29
Libyco-Berber relations with ancient Egypt: the Tehenu in Egyptian records,
A. H. S. El-Mosallamy 51
Formation of the Berber branch, Cheikh Anta Diop 69
The Berber migrations to North Africa, M. El Fasi 75
Garamantian burial customs: their relationto those of other peoples ofNorth
Africa, F. El-Rashdy 11
New data concerning the A'fr massif (Niger) and its surroundings,
Marianne Cornevin 107
Iwelen an archaeological site ofthe chariot period in northern Ai'r, Niger
/. P. Roset 113
Prehistoric rock art in the Libyan Sahara: the result ofa long biocultural
process, F. Mori 147
Libyan nationalism and foreign rule in Graeco-Roman times,
M. K. Abdelalim 153
The Semitic migrations to Libya and North Africa, B. H. Warmington 165
Newlights on the distinction betweenAmmon ofLibya and Zeus ofCyrene,
Ahmed H. Ghazal 173
Potential contactbetweenthe central valley ofthe Nile and the River Niger
area in the first seven centuries of the Christian era,
/. A. Ilevbare 179
Possible contacts between the central valley ofthe Nile and the River Niger
area, Boubé Gado 187
Society in the Lake Chad area atthe end ofthe Byzantine period, prior to
the introduction of Islam, D. Lange 235
Society at the end ofthe Byzantine period until the eve ofthe Arab conquest,
Bollo-Bi Kouahi 243
Summary record of the proceedings ofthe symposium 253
Appendix: Guidance note 263
In the presentation ofdates the Christian era has been adopted as the
international reference, but 'b.c.' and 'a.d.' have been replaced respect¬
ively by a minus sign and a plus sign: '2900 b.c.', for example, is
rendered as ' 2900', and 'a.d. 1800' as '+1800'. When the references
aretocenturiestheexpressions'beforeourera'and'ofourera' are used.
Introduction
Unesco has undertaken the task ofpreparing a General History ofAfrica. The
first volumes published have already begun to change long-established meth¬
odological approaches to the study of the history of the African continent.
By its very nature, scale and scientific character, the General History ofAfrica
project will undoubtedly furtherthe African peoples' questto define and assert
their cultural identity. Indeed, it will portray the African view of the world
from within and demonstrate the unique character of the values and civiliz¬
ations of the peoples of the continent as a whole.
The project was launched in 1965. The first five years were devoted to
making a critical survey of the documentary sources, culminating in the
publicationofthe seriesentitled 'Guideto the Sources ofthe HistoryofAfrica',
comprising eleven volumes.
The first eight volumes were published by the Inter Documentation
Company AG of Zug (Switzerland); Volume 9 was published by KG Saur
Verlag KG Tostfach, of Munich, and Volume 10 by the African Studies
Association of Waltham, Massachusetts.
The work is being supervised by an International Scientific Committee
with thirty-nine members, who represent all the major geocultural areas. The
committee decided to divide the General History ofAfrica into eight volumes
each ofwhich consists ofthirty chapters, covering African historyfrom prehis¬
toric times to the present day. It may be viewed, among other things, as a
statement ofproblems concerningthe presentstate ofknowledge andthe major
trends in research. In addition, it highlights divergencies of doctrine and
opinion where these exist. Each volume deals with a particular period and
examines the evolution of ideas and civilizations, societies and institutions
during that time.
While aiming at the highest possible scientific level, the history does not
seek to be exhaustive, but rather a work ofsynthesis which avoids dogmatism.
It applies to African history the methods and techniques of a broad spectrum
ofdisciplines, including linguistics, anthropology, archaeology, oral traditions,
history of religions, arts, musicology, sociology, law and the natural sciences.
Four volumes have so far been published: Volume I (Methodology and
10 Introduction
African Prehistory) in 1980 (French version), 1981 (English version) and 1982
(Spanish and Portuguese versions); Volume II (Ancient Civilizations ofAfrica)
in 1980 (French version), 1981 (English version) and 1983 (Spanish and
Portuguese versions); Volume IV (Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth
Century) in 1984 (English version) and 1985 (French version); Volume VII
(Africa under Colonial Domination) in 1985 (English and French versions);
translations into Italian of volumes already published will begin soon. The
Arabic version of Volume I was published in 1983 and that of Volume II
in 1985; those ofVolumes IV and VII are now being prepared for publication.
The other volumes will be issued as follows:
Volume III: Africafrom the Seventh to the Eleventh Century (1985/86)
Volume V: Africafrom the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century (1985/86)
Volume VI: The Nineteenth Century until the 1880s (1985/86)
Volume VIII: Africafrom 1935 (1986/87)
Although the volumes are numbered in historical sequence, the order oftheir
publication depends upon the completion by the authors involved.
The entire history is being issued first in English, French and Arabic.
Other translations into European or Asian languages are planned, since one
ofthe primary objectives ofthe General History ofAfrica project is to inform
the broadest possible public about the cultures and civilizations ofthe peoples
of Africa. This goal, in turn, is part of Unesco's mandate to encourage and
develop communication among the peoples of the world through a better
understanding of one another's cultures.
Abridgedversionsofthe GeneralHistoryofAfricaarenowbeingprepared
and will be published in Kiswahili and Hausa, and also in other African
languages. An edition in the form of cartoon strips based on the abridged
versionsis also planned, as well as audio-cassetteversionsinAfricanlanguages.
Scientific colloquia and symposia have been organized in order to make
available to the authors as much documentary material as possible and to take
stock ofthe mostrecent research on the subjects to be covered in eachvolume.
The papers prepared for discussion at these meetings are published in English,
Frenchandotherlanguagesintheseries 'The General HistoryofAfrica: Studies
and Documents'. The following volumes have already been published:
1. The Peopling ofAncient Egypt and the Deciphering of Meroitic Script.
2. The African Slave Tradefrom the Fifteenth to the Nineteenth Century.
3. Historical Relations across the Indian Ocean.
4. The Historiography ofSouthern Africa.
5. The Decolonization ofAfrica: Southern Africa and the Horn ofAfrica.
6. African Ethnonyms and Toponyms.
1. Historical and Socio-cultural Relations between Black Africa and the Arab
Worldfrom 1935 to the Present.
8. The Methodology ofContemporary African History.