Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
Liber De Mensura Orbis Terrae (Author: Dicuil)

Book 4

¶1] IV. Lower Egypt is bounded on the east by Arabia of the Tented Arabs, on the west by the Libyan desert, on the north by the Egyptian sea, on the south by Ethiopia. Its longitude is three hundred and sixtyfour, its latitude one hundred and sixty-seven miles.

¶2] According to Plinius Secundus in the same book, Agrippa estimated the longitude of upper Egypt, including Ethiopia, as one thousand four hundred and seventy miles, and the latitude of the same as nine hundred and fifty-seven miles.


p.57

¶3] Ethiopia is situated between the winter rising and the winter setting of the sun. It has rich forests, mainly of ebony trees, on its main axis running from north to south. At the middle of its coast a high mountain overhangs the sea, and glows with never-dying fires; it is called the Chariot of the Gods by the Greeks. Four days' sail from it is a cape called Horn of Hesperus. It borders on Africa, beside the western Ethiopians. Some authors also relate that in this area there are low hills pleasantly shaded with trees, inhabited by Goat-Pans and Satyrs. Ephorus, and also Eudoxus and Timosthenes, state that there are many islands throughout all of the Eastern sea, while Clitarchus says that it was reported to king Alexander . . .