Macrobians

The Macrobians (Μακροβίοι) was an ancient Somali Proto-Somali tribal kingdom positioned in the Horn of Africa mentioned by Herodotus.[1] It is one of the legendary peoples postulated at the extremity of the known world (from the perspective of the Greeks), in this case in the extreme south contrasting with the Hyperboreans in the extreme east.[2][3][4]

Reconstruction of the Oikumene (inhabited world) as described by Herodotus in the 5th century BC.

History

According to Herodotus' account, the Persian Emperor Cambyses II upon his conquest of Egypt (525 BC) sent ambassadors to Macrobia, bringing luxury gifts for the Macrobian king to entice his submission. The Macrobian ruler, who was elected based at least in part on stature, replied instead with a challenge for his Persian counterpart in the form of an unstrung bow: if the Persians could manage to string it, they would have the right to invade his country; but until then, they should thank the gods that the Macrobians never decided to invade their empire.[3][5][6]

Culture

According to Herodotus, the Macrobians practiced an elaborate form of embalming. The Macrobians preserved the bodies of the dead by first extracting moisture from the corpses, then overlaying the bodies with a type of plaster, and finally decorating the exterior in vivid colors in order to imitate the deceased as realistically as possible. They then placed the body in a hollow crystal pillar, which they kept in their homes for a period of about a year.[7] This is described by Herodotus in the following quote:

"and after this [the Persian spies] saw last of all their receptacles of dead bodies, which are said to be made of crystal in the following manner:—when they have dried the corpse, whether it be after the Egyptian fashion or in some other way, they cover it over completely with plaster 21 and then adorn it with painting, making the figure as far as possible like the living man. After this they put about it a block of crystal hollowed out; for this they dig up in great quantity and it is very easy to work: and the dead body being in the middle of the block is visible through it, but produces no unpleasant smell nor any other effect which is unseemly, and it has all its parts visible like the dead body itself. For a year then they who are most nearly related to the man keep the block in their house, giving to the dead man the first share of everything and offering to him sacrifices: and after this period they carry it out and set it up round about the city.[8]

People

In the fith Century BC, the Greek historian Herodotus refers to a race called the Macrobians who dwelled by the Red Sea. These people were famous for their longevity (an average age of 120 years) due to their diet that mainly comprises meat and milk. They were also, according to Herodotus, the "tallest and most handsome among all men".[9] Because of their postulated location, they are often associated with modern Somalis, a point of view affirmed by Mamta Agarwal, who wrote "these people were none other than the inhabitants of Somalia, opposite the Red Sea.[10][11] However, the story of Cambyses' military invasion has also been identified with the Kushite Empire,[12] against whom Persia clearly campaigned;[13] Stanley Burnstein sees the movement of the target of Cambysses' invasion from the Nile Valley to the Horn of Africa as a literary trick intended to further emphasize the "madness and tyranny [Herodotus'] Egyptian informants claimed characterized [Cambyses'] reign."[14]

See also

References
  1. Herodotus, the Histories book 3.114
  2. The Geography of Herodotus: Illustrated from Modern Researches and Discoveries by James Talboys Wheeler pg 528.
  3. Wheeler pg 526
  4. Njoku, Raphael (2013). The History of Somalia. Greenwood. p. 47. ISBN 9780313378577.
  5. John Kitto, James Taylor, The popular cyclopædia of Biblical literature: condensed from the larger work, (Gould and Lincoln: 1856), p.302.
  6. White, John S. (2018-04-05). The Boys ́ and Girls ́ Herodotus. BoD – Books on Demand. ISBN 978-3-7326-5420-8.
  7. Society of Arts (Great Britain), Journal of the Society of Arts, Volume 26, (The Society: 1878), pp.912-913.
  8. Herodotus, the Histories book 3.24
  9. Herodotus, the Histories book 3.20
  10. Abdurahman, Abdillahi (18 September 2017). Making Sense of Somali History. Scarecrow Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-909112-79-7.
  11. Briggs, Phillip (2012). Somaliland. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 7. ISBN 9781841623719.
  12. Emberling Et. Al., 2020. The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Nubia. Pg. 700.
  13. Welsby, Derek (1996). The Kingdom of Kush: the Napatan and Meroitic empires. London: Published for the Trustees of the British Museum by British Museum Press. ISBN 978-0-7141-0986-2. OCLC 34888835.
  14. Emberling Et. Al., 2020. Pg. 701
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