Aethiopia

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Ancient Aethiopia (Greek: Αἰθιοπία, romanized: Aithiopía) first appears as a geographical term in classical documents in reference to the skin color of the inhabitants of the upper Nile in Sudan, areas south of the Sahara, and less often to certain parts of Asia. Its earliest mention is in the works of Homer: twice in the Iliad, and three times in the Odyssey. The Greek historian Herodotus uses the appellation "Aethiopian" to refer to people of regions south of Egypt, most commonly Nubia. Despite this, the Byzantine Greeks also started to call the Aksumites "Aethiopians" after Negus Ezana conquered Meroë in 330 AD and took on the title of "king of Aethiopia" from the Nubians (modern-day Sudan). Greco-Roman sources also report the existence of 'White Aethiopians.' By the modern period, the term Aethiopian Sea was used to refer to the southern Atlantic Ocean, particularly the area adjacent to West Africa. Though near universally used to invoke the "Aethiopia of Africa" ("African Aethiopia...

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