When was africa named

He gets his name from Africa. Historians who have researched the name origin of the African continent say the original ancient name of Africa was Alkebulan. Alkebulan is the oldest and the only African name of indigenous origin. Diop goes on to argue, along with other historians in this school, that the continent was also called by other many names.

Several other theories shed some light on how this second largest continent with the second largest population acquired its befitting name. The ancient name of Africa was Alkebulan. Some experts believe that the name came from two Phoenician words. According to this theory, the Phoenicians called Africa the land of corn and fruit.

A seventh-century rendering of the divisions of the world in symbolic form. Printed in in Augsburg. Image source: wikipedia. Some European cartographers, who tended to privilege Latinate derivations above others, preferred the Roman terms for the region, using the word Africa to designate the northern landmass, rather than the Greek term Libya, although Libya was still used by many.

During the Middle Ages, the Christian cartographers adopted the Greek division of the world into three greater regions surrounding the Aegean Sea. The medieval cartographers, however, moved this understanding away from a geographical conception of the world into a more metaphorical understanding. This tripartite conception of the world was represented in extremely abstract and symbolic, rather than geographical, form, as is shown in the image above. Image Source: wikipedia. According to many sources, the name of that tribe was Afri.

Originally, the Romans supposedly called the continent Afri-terra, which was later transformed into Africa. Several other theories aim to discover how the continent of Africa got its name. Many experts believe that the name actually came from two Phoenician words. According to this theory, the Phoenicians called Africa the land of corn and fruit, which actually makes sense.

The Phoenicians inhabited cities along the coast of the Mediterranean, and it is quite possible that they managed to discover Africa. Reconstruction of the mosaic depiction of the Battle of Issus by Apelles. Public Domain. Statue of Khafre — Ancient History Encyclopedia. The belief is that modern Egyptologists have mixed up the order of the ancient Egyptian writing style of Kh-afre to mean Afre-Kh or Africa.

Join the conversation Share your thoughts. Subscribe to premium. History June 24, at am.