a celebrated, though very much un- known empire of Africa, whose boundaries have never been exactly defined either by ancient or modern geographers. By some writers of antiquity the title of Ethiopians was given to all nations whose complexion was black; hence we find the Arabians as well as many other Asiatics sometimes falling under this denomination; besides a number of Africans whose country lay at a distance from Ethiopia properly so called. Thus the Africans in general were by these writers divided into the western or Hesperian Ethiopians, and those above Egypt situated to the east of the former; the latter being much more generally known than the former, by reason of the commerce they carried on with the Egyptians.

From this account we may easily understand why there should be such a seeming disagreement among ancient authors concerning the situation of the empire of Ethiopia, and likewise why it should pass under such a variety of names. Sometimes, for example, it was named India, and the inhabitants Indians; an appellation likewise applied to many other distant nations. It was also denominated Atlantia and Eteria, and in the most remote periods of antiquity Cephenia; but more usually Abafene, a word somewhat resembling Abaffia or Abyssinia, two of its modern names. On the other hand, we find Persia, Chaldea, Assyria, &c., styled Ethiopia by certain writers; and all the countries extending along the coasts of the Red Sea were promiscuously denominated India and Ethiopia. By the Jews the empire of Ethiopia was styled Cush and Ludim.

Notwithstanding this diversity of appellations, and vast diffusion of territory ascribed to the Ethiopians, there was one country to which the title was thought more properly to belong than to any of the rest; and which was therefore called Ethiopia Propria. This was bounded on the north by Egypt, extending all the way to the lesser cataract of the Nile, and an island named Elephantine; on the west it had Libya Interior; on the east the Red Sea, and on the south unknown parts of Africa; though their boundaries cannot be fixed with any kind of precision.

In this country the ancients distinguished a great variety of different nations, to whom they gave names either from some personal property, or from their manner of living. The principal of these were, 1. The Blemmyes, seated near the borders of Egypt; and who, probably from the shortness of their necks, were said to have no heads, but eyes, mouths, &c., in their breasts. Their form, somehow or other, must have been very extraordinary, as we learn from Vopiscus, who gives an account of some of the captives of this nation brought to Rome. 2. The Nobatea, inhabiting the banks of the Nile near the island Elephantine already mentioned, said to have been removed thither by Osiris to repel the incursions of the Blemmyes. 3. The Troglo-dytes, by some writers said to belong to Egypt, and described as little superior to brutes. 4. The Nubians, of whom little more is known than their name. 5. The Pigmies, by some supposed to be a tribe of Troglo-dytes; but by the most approved writers placed on the African coast of the Red Sea. 6. The Anadite or Abalites, of which we know nothing more than that they were situated near the Abaltic gulf. 7. The Struthio-phagi, so called from their feeding upon ostriches, were situated to the south of the Memnones. 8. The Acridophagi; 9. Chelonophagi; 10. Ichthyophagi; 11. Cynamol-gi; 12. Elephanto-phagi; 13. Rhizophagi; 14. Spermatophagi; 15. Hylophagi; and, 16. Ophiophagi: all of whom had their names from the food they made use of, viz., locusts, tortoises, fish, bitches milk, elephants' roots, fruits, or seeds, and serpents. 17. The Hylogones, neighbours to the Elephanto-phagi, and who were so savage that they had no housetops, nor any other places to sleep in but the tops of trees. 18. The Pamphugae, who used almost every thing indiscriminately for food. 19. The Agriophagi, who lived on the flesh of wild beasts. 20. The Anthropophagi, or man-eaters, are now supposed to have been the Caffres, and not any inhabitants of Proper Ethiopia. 21. The Hippophagi, or horse-eaters, who lay to the northward of Libya Incognita. 22. The Macrobii, a powerful nation, remarkable for their longevity; some of them attaining the age of 120 years. 23. The Sambri, situated near the city of Tenuphis in Nubia upon the Nile; of whom it is reported that all the quadrupeds they had, not excepting even the elephants, were destitute of ears. 24. The Achaee, a people inhabiting the mountainous parts, and continually employed in hunting elephants. Besides these, there were a number of other nations or tribes, of whom we scarce know anything but the names; as the Gapachi, Ptoemphanes, Catadupi, Pechini, Cata-drae, &c.

In a country inhabited by such a variety of nations, Of the first all in a state of extreme barbarism, it is rather to be expected wondered that we have any history at all, than that it is not more dilated. It has already been observed, that the Jews, from the authority of the sacred writers no doubt, bestowed the name of Cush upon the empire of Ethiopia; and it is generally agreed that Cush was the great progenitor of the inhabitants. In some passages of scripture, however, it would seem that Cush was an appellation bestowed upon the whole peninsula of Arabia, or at least the greater part of it. In others, the word seems to designate the country watered by the Araxes, the seat of the ancient Scythians or Cuthites; and sometimes the country adjacent to Egypt on the coast of the Red Sea.

A number of authors are of opinion, that Ethiopia received its first inhabitants from the country lying to the east of the Red Sea. According to them, the People's descendants of Cush, having settled in Arabia, gradually migrated to the south-eastern extremity of that country; whence, by an easy passage across the straits of Babelmandel, they transported themselves to the African side, and entered the country properly called Ethiopia: a migration which, according to Eusebius, took place during the residence of the Israelites in Egypt; but, in the opinion of Syncellus, after they had taken possession of Canaan, and were governed by judges. Mr Bruce makes mention of a tradition among the Abyssinian Abyssinians, which, they say, has existed among them from time immemorial, that very soon after the flood, concerning Cush the grandson of Noah, with his family, passed it through Atbara, then without inhabitants, till they came to the ridge of mountains which separates that country from the high lands of Abyssinia. Here, filled with the thoughts of the deluge, and apprehensive of a return of the same calamity, they chose to dwell in caves made in the sides of these mountains, rather than trust themselves in the plains of Atbara; bara; and our author is of opinion, that the tropical rains, which they could not fail to meet with in their journey southward, and which would appear like the return of the deluge, might induce them to take up their habitations in these high places. Be this as it will, he informs us that it is an undoubted fact, "that here the Cushites, with unparalleled industry, and with instruments utterly unknown to us, formed to themselves commodious, yet wonderful, habitations in the heart of mountains of granite and marble, which remain entire in great numbers to this day, and promise to do so till the consummation of all things."

The Cushites having once established themselves among these mountains, continued to form habitations of the like kind in all the neighbouring ones; and thus following the different chains (for they never chose to descend into the low country), spread the arts and sciences, which they cultivated, quite across the African continent from the eastern to the western ocean. According to the tradition above-mentioned, they built the city of Axum early in the days of Abraham. This, though now an inconsiderable village, was anciently noted for its superb structures, of which some remains are still visible. Among these are some belonging to a magnificent temple, originally 110 feet in length, and having two wings on each side; a double porch; and an ascent of 12 steps. Behind this stand several obelisks of different sizes, with the remains of several others which have been destroyed by the Turks. There is also a great square stone with an inscription, but so much effaced that nothing can be discovered excepting some Greek and Latin letters, and the word Baghur. Mr Bruce mentions some "prodigious fragments of colossal statues of the dog-star" still to be seen at this place; "and Sir (adds he), which, in the language of the Troglodytes, and in that of the low country of Meroe, exactly corresponding to it, signifies a dog, instructs us in the reason why this province was called Sirè, and the large river which bounds it Siria."

Soon after building the city of Axum, the Cushites founded that of Meroe, the capital of a large island or peninsula formed by the Nile, much mentioned by ancient historians, and where, according to Herodotus, they pursued the study of astronomy in very early ages with great success. Mr Bruce gives two reasons for their building this city in the low country after having built Axum in the mountainous part of Abyssinia. 1. They had discovered some inconveniences in their caves both in Sirè and the country below it, arising from the tropical rains in which they were now involved, and which prevented them from making the celestial observations to which they were so much addicted. 2. It is probable that they built this city farther from the mountains than they could have wished, in order to avoid the fly with which the southern parts were infested.

This animal, according to Mr Bruce, who has given a figure of it, is the most troublesome to quadrupeds that can be imagined. He informs us, that it infects those places within the tropical rains where the soil is black and loamy, and no other place whatever. It is named Zimb (by whom we are not informed), and has not been described by any other naturalist. It is of a size somewhat larger than a bee, thicker in proportion, and having broader wings, placed separate like those of a fly, and quite colourless, or without any spots. The head is large, with a sharp upper jaw; at the end of which is a strong pointed hair about a quarter of an inch long; and the lower jaw has two of these hairs: all of which together make a resistance to the finger equal to that of a strong hog's bristle. One or all of these hairs are used as weapons of offence to the cattle; but what purpose they answer to the animal itself, our author does not say. So intolerable, however, are its attacks to the cattle, that they sooner hear its buzzing, than they forfeit their food, and run about till they fall down with fright, fatigue, and hunger. Even the camel, though defended by a thick and strong skin with long hair, cannot resist the punctures of this insect; which seem to be poisonous, as they produce large putrid swellings on the body, head, and legs, which at last terminate in death. To avoid this dreadful enemy, the cattle must all be removed as quick as possible to the sandy parts of Atbara, where they stay as long as the rains last, and where this dreadful enemy never ventures to follow them. The elephant and rhinoceros, who, on account of the quantity of food they require, cannot remove to these barren places, roll themselves in the mud, which, when dry, coats them over so hard, that they are enabled to resist the punctures of the insect; though even on these some tubercles are generally to be met with, which our author attributes to this cause. Mr Bruce is of opinion, that this is the fly mentioned by Isaiah, chap. vii. 18. 19. 'And it shall come to pass, in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt; and they shall come and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.' 'That is (says Mr Bruce), they shall cut off from the cattle their usual retreat to the desert, by taking possession of these places, and meeting them there, where ordinarily they never come, and which therefore are the refuge of the cattle.'

Meroe, which lay in N. Lat. 16°, the exact limit of the tropical rains, was without the bounds assigned by nature to these destructive insects; and consequently a place of refuge for the cattle. Mr Bruce, on his return through the desert, saw at Gerri, in this latitude, ruins supposed to be those of Meroe, and caves in the mountains immediately above them; for he is of opinion, that they did not abandon their caverns immediately after they began to build cities. As a proof of this, he mentions that Thebes, in Upper Egypt, was built by a colony of Ethiopians; and that near the ruins of that city, a vast number of caves are to be seen even up to the top of a mountain in the neighbourhood: all of which are inhabited at this day. By degrees, however, they began to exchange these subterranean habitations for the cities they built above ground; and thus became farmers, artificers, &c., though originally their sole employment had been commerce.

On this subject Mr Bruce has given a very curious dissertation; though how far the application of it to the magnificence of the Ethiopians may be just, we cannot pretend to determine. He begins with observing, that the magnificence of the Indians and Egyptians has been celebrated from the most remote antiquity, without any account of the sources from whence all this wealth was derived; and indeed it must be owned, that in all histories of these people, there is a strange deficiency in this respect. The kings, we are to suppose, derived their splendor splendor and magnificence from their subjects; but we are quite at a loss to know whence their subjects had it: and this seems the more strange, that in no period of their history are they ever represented in a poor or mean situation. Nor is this difficulty confined to these nations alone. Palestine, a country producing neither silver nor gold, is represented by the sacred writers as abounding in the early ages with both those metals in a much greater proportion than the most powerful European states can boast of, notwithstanding the vast supplies they derive from the lately discovered continent of America. The Assyrian empire, in the time of Semiramis, was so noted for its wealth, that M. Montesquieu supposes it to have been obtained by the conquest of some more ancient and richer nation; the spoils of which enriched the Assyrians, as those of the latter afterwards did the Medes. This, however, Mr Bruce very justly observes, will not remove the difficulty, because we are equally at a loss to know whence the wealth was derived to that former nation; and it is very unusual to find an empire or kingdom of any extent enriched by conquest. The kingdom of Macedon, for instance, though Alexander the Great overran and plundered in a very short time the richest empire in the world, could never vie with the wealth of Tyre and Sidon. These last were commercial cities; and our author justly considers commerce as the only source from whence the wealth of a large kingdom ever was or could be derived. The riches of Semiramis, therefore, were accumulated by the East India trade centring for some time in her capital. While this was suffered to remain undisturbed, the empire flourished: but by an absurd expedition against India itself, in order to become mistress at once of all the wealth it contained, the lost that which she really possessed; and her empire was soon after entirely ruined. To the same source he attributes the riches of the ancient Egyptians; and is of opinion, that Sofotris opened up to Egypt the commerce with India by sea; though other authors speak of that monarch in very different terms. As the luxuries of India have somehow or other become the objects of desire to every nation in the world, this easily accounts for the wealth for which Egypt has in all ages been so much celebrated, as well as for that with which other countries abounded; while they served as a medium for transmitting these luxuries to other nations, and especially for the riches of those which naturally produced the Indian commodities so much sought after. This was the case particularly with Arabia, some of the productions of which were very much coveted by the western nations; and being, besides, the medium of communication between the East Indies and western nations, it is easy to see why the Arabian merchants soon became possessed of immense wealth.

Besides the territories already mentioned, the Cushites had extended themselves along the mountains which run parallel to the Red Sea on the African side; which country, according to Mr Bruce, has "in all times been called Saba, or Azab," both which signify South;" an epithet given from its lying to the southward of the Arabian gulf, and which in ancient times was one of the richest and most important countries in the world. "By that acquisition (says our author), they enjoyed all the perfumes and aromatics in the east; myrrh, and frankincense, and cassia; all which grow spontaneously in that stripe of ground from the Bay of Bilur west of Azab to Cape Gardefan, and then southward up in the Indian ocean, to near the coast of Melinda, where there is cinnamon, but of an inferior kind." As the Cushites or Troglodytes advanced still farther south, they met not only with mountains, in which they might excavate proper habitations, but likewise with great quantities of gold and silver furnished by the mines of Sofala, which, our author says, furnished "large quantities of both metals in their pure and unmixed state, lying in globules without any alloy or any necessity of preparation or separation." In other parts of his work, he labours to prove Sofala to have been the Ophir mentioned in scripture.