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Around 61 AD Emperor Nero sent a small group of praetorian guards to explore the sources of the Nile in Africa. He did this in order to obtain information for a possible conquest of Ethiopia, which was what the Romans called sub-Saharan Africa. The Roman legionaries navigating the Nile from southern Egypt initially reached the city of Meroë and later moved to the Sudd, where they found huge difficulties in going further.
Seneca wrote about this exploration and detailed that the sources were from a big lake in central Africa, south of the swamp region now called "the Sudd" in South Sudan. But other Roman historians, such as Pliny, suggest that the exploration was done in order to prepare a conquest of Ethiopia by Nero's legions.[1]
However, the death of Nero prevented further explorations of the Nile as well as a possible Roman conquest south of Roman Egypt.[2]
Some historians suggest that the Roman legionaries of Nero probably reached the Murchison Falls in Uganda (but there is a major controversy about this very difficult achievement).[3]
The Roman legionaries navigating the Nile from southern Egypt initially reached the city of Meroe and later moved to the Sudd, where they found huge difficulties to going further.
From Meroe the Roman party travelled 600 miles up the White Nile, until they reached the swamp-like Sudd in what is now southern Sudan, a fetid wetland filled with ferns, papyrus reeds and thick mats of rotting vegetation. In the rainy season it covers an area larger than England, with a vast humid swamp teeming with mosquitoes and other insects. The only large animals in the Sudd were the crocodiles and hippos that occupied the muddy pools within its vast expanse. Those who entered this region had to endure severe heat and risk disease and starvation. The Sudd was discovered to be too deep to be crossed safely on foot, but its waters were also too shallow to be explored any further by boat. The Romans ‘reached an area where the swamp could only bear a small boat containing one person’. At this point the party despaired of ever finding a definite source for the Nile and turned back reluctantly to report their findings to the emperor in Rome. They had probably reached a position nearly 1,500 miles south of the Roman-Egyptian border.[4]
— Raoul McLaughlin
According to Seneca the small group of praetorian guards reported back to Nero stating, "we personally saw two rocks from which an immense quantity of water issued". Some modern historians, such as Giovanni Vantini, argue that this place is the Murchison Falls in northern Uganda, meaning that the Romans may have reached equatorial Africa, though this is debated.
Historian David Braund wrote, in 2015, that Nero's expedition to the Nile's sources probably opened a new route toward the Indian Ocean, bypassing the dangers of piracy in the Red Sea area while allowing future Roman commerce toward India and Azania.[5]
^David Braund: Nero’s Nubian Nile, India and the rubrum mare (Tacitus, Annals 2.61)
Further readingedit
Emma Buckley, Martin Dinter. A Companion to the Neronian Age. Publisher John Wiley & Sons. Oxford, 2013 ISBN1118316533
Kirwan, L. P. (1957). "Rome beyond The Southern Egyptian Frontier". The Geographical Journal. 123 (1): 13–19. doi:10.2307/1790717. JSTOR 1790717.
Moller T. O. The Fantastic three thousand: Nero's Nile Expedition and the Make-Believe Elephants of Meroe. Ancient West and East, volume 21, 2022, pages 127-153.
May 05, 2024
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You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Italian Click show for important translation instructions Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate rather than simply copy pasting machine translated text into the English Wikipedia Consider adding a topic to this template there are already 3 069 articles in the main category and specifying topic will aid in categorization Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low quality If possible verify the text with references provided in the foreign language article You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Italian Wikipedia article at it Spedizione romana alle sorgenti del Nilo see its history for attribution You may also add the template Translated it Spedizione romana alle sorgenti del Nilo to the talk page For more guidance see Wikipedia Translation The Roman exploration of the Nile River under Nero was a Roman attempt to reach the sources of the Nile It was organized by emperor Nero in 60 61 AD Murchison Falls in Uganda that perhaps were reached by a Roman expedition promoted by Nero Contents 1 History 2 Accounts of Seneca and Pliny 3 See also 4 References 5 Further readingHistory editAround 61 AD Emperor Nero sent a small group of praetorian guards to explore the sources of the Nile in Africa He did this in order to obtain information for a possible conquest of Ethiopia which was what the Romans called sub Saharan Africa The Roman legionaries navigating the Nile from southern Egypt initially reached the city of Meroe and later moved to the Sudd where they found huge difficulties in going further Seneca wrote about this exploration and detailed that the sources were from a big lake in central Africa south of the swamp region now called the Sudd in South Sudan But other Roman historians such as Pliny suggest that the exploration was done in order to prepare a conquest of Ethiopia by Nero s legions 1 However the death of Nero prevented further explorations of the Nile as well as a possible Roman conquest south of Roman Egypt 2 Some historians suggest that the Roman legionaries of Nero probably reached the Murchison Falls in Uganda but there is a major controversy about this very difficult achievement 3 Accounts of Seneca and Pliny editAccounts are found in Seneca the Younger s Naturales quaestiones VI 8 3 and Pliny the Elder s Natural History VI XXXV p 181 187 The Roman legionaries navigating the Nile from southern Egypt initially reached the city of Meroe and later moved to the Sudd where they found huge difficulties to going further From Meroe the Roman party travelled 600 miles up the White Nile until they reached the swamp like Sudd in what is now southern Sudan a fetid wetland filled with ferns papyrus reeds and thick mats of rotting vegetation In the rainy season it covers an area larger than England with a vast humid swamp teeming with mosquitoes and other insects The only large animals in the Sudd were the crocodiles and hippos that occupied the muddy pools within its vast expanse Those who entered this region had to endure severe heat and risk disease and starvation The Sudd was discovered to be too deep to be crossed safely on foot but its waters were also too shallow to be explored any further by boat The Romans reached an area where the swamp could only bear a small boat containing one person At this point the party despaired of ever finding a definite source for the Nile and turned back reluctantly to report their findings to the emperor in Rome They had probably reached a position nearly 1 500 miles south of the Roman Egyptian border 4 Raoul McLaughlin According to Seneca the small group of praetorian guards reported back to Nero stating we personally saw two rocks from which an immense quantity of water issued Some modern historians such as Giovanni Vantini argue that this place is the Murchison Falls in northern Uganda meaning that the Romans may have reached equatorial Africa though this is debated Historian David Braund wrote in 2015 that Nero s expedition to the Nile s sources probably opened a new route toward the Indian Ocean bypassing the dangers of piracy in the Red Sea area while allowing future Roman commerce toward India and Azania 5 See also editRomans in sub Saharan AfricaReferences edit Buckley Emma Dinter Martin 3 May 2013 A Companion to the Neronian Age John Wiley amp Sons p 364 ISBN 9781118316535 Buckley amp Dinter A Companion to the Neronian Age Vantini Giovanni 2004 Da dove viene l acqua del Nilo Ricerche e risposte di antichi scienziati Piroga volume 8 numero 23 pgs 88 91 url http www volint it piroga piroga10 nilo pdf Archived 2018 01 14 at the Wayback Machine Desert legionaries in Africa David Braund Nero s Nubian Nile India and the rubrum mare Tacitus Annals 2 61 Further reading editEmma Buckley Martin Dinter A Companion to the Neronian Age Publisher John Wiley amp Sons Oxford 2013 ISBN 1118316533 Kirwan L P 1957 Rome beyond The Southern Egyptian Frontier The Geographical Journal 123 1 13 19 doi 10 2307 1790717 JSTOR 1790717 Moller T O The Fantastic three thousand Nero s Nile Expedition and the Make Believe Elephants of Meroe Ancient West and East volume 21 2022 pages 127 153 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Nero 27s exploration of the Nile amp oldid 1204717353, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
