Histories

Having traversed this part in forty days as I have said, you take boat again and so travel for twelve days until you come to a great city called Meroe [33.716,16.933] (deserted settlement), Nile, Ash-Shamaliyah, Sudan, AfricaMeroe, which is said to be the capital of all Ethiopia [39,8] (nation), AfricaEthiopia.

The people of the place worship no other gods but Zeus and Dionysus;[*](The Greek equivalents for Amun and Osiris.) these they greatly honor, and they have a place of divination sacred to Zeus; they send out armies whenever and wherever this god through his oracle commands them[*](Herodotus' account of the Nahr an- Nil [31.1,30.166] (river), AfricaNile in this chapter is for the most part vague and untrustworthy. He is right as to the current above Elephantine, as those who have made the passage between the As-Sadd al- Ali [32.866,23.966] (dam), Aswan, Upper Egypt, Egypt, AfricaAssuan Dam and Aswan [32.666,23.83] (governorate), Upper Egypt, Egypt, Africa Assuan will realize. But the conditions have of course been entirely altered by the construction of the dam.).

From this city you make a journey by water equal in distance to that by which you came from Elephantine to the capital city of Ethiopia [39,8] (nation), AfricaEthiopia, and you come to the land of the Deserters. These Deserters are called Asmakh, which translates, in Greek, as “those who stand on the left hand of the king”.

These once revolted and joined themselves to the Ethiopians, two hundred and forty thousand Egyptians of fighting age. The reason was as follows. In the reign of Psammetichus, there were watchposts at Elephantine facing Ethiopia [39,8] (nation), AfricaEthiopia, at Daphnae [32.183,30.866] (deserted settlement), Ash Sharqiyah, Lower Egypt, Egypt, AfricaDaphnae of Pelusium (deserted settlement), Shamal Sina', Desert, Egypt, Africa Pelusium facing Arabian Peninsula [45,25] (region (general)), AsiaArabia and Assyria, and at Marea facing Libya [17,25] (nation), AfricaLibya.

And still in my time the Persians hold these posts as they were held in the days of Psammetichus; there are Persian guards at Elephantine and at Daphnae [32.183,30.866] (deserted settlement), Ash Sharqiyah, Lower Egypt, Egypt, Africa Daphnae. Now the Egyptians had been on guard for three years, and no one came to relieve them; so, organizing and making common cause, they revolted from Psammetichus and went to Ethiopia [39,8] (nation), AfricaEthiopia.