Statements made by renowned and respected ancient historians about the Jews
We find numerous statements concerning the biblical Jews, published by highly respected and credible ancient historians... All this evidence reinforces the hypothesis that the Jews who lived in Judea (Judaei), the province of ancient Rome that included the regions of Samaria and Idumaea, were people of black descent from Sub-Saharan Africa.
Here's an excerpt from “The Histories: The Jews - Book 5 Chap. 2” by Cornelius Tacitus (56 - 120 A.D.), Roman orator and politician considered the greatest Roman historian, in which he asserts that the Judeans (Jews) who populated Judea originated from ancient Ethiopia.
Others assert that in the reign of Isis the overflowing population of Egypt, led by Hierosolymus and Judas, discharged itself into the neighboring countries. Many, again, say that they were a race of Ethiopian origin, who in the time of king Cepheus were driven by fear and hatred of their neighbors to seek a new dwelling-place.
Abd Allah Mohammed Al-Idrissi, the greatest geographer and cartographer of the Middle Ages, toured the world and observed the indigenous populations. In 1154, he was able to write the world's first geography with detailed descriptions. His works are preserved in the most prestigious libraries, such as Oxford's Bodleian Library and the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris. Interestingly, in his maps, he indicated that Jews populated the southern regions below the Sahara desert, including all of West Africa and sub-Saharan Africa:
Senegambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Mauritania, Liberia, Malia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, South Sudan, South Africa, Angola, Congo Basin (DRC), Congo Brazzavile, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Gabon, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Uganda, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Here's a quote from what Al-Idrissi wrote in his book entitled “Description de l'Afrique et de l'Espagne”, on page 4 of the chapter 'Premier Climat - Première Section', referring to the sub-Saharan regions and Central Africa.
"The inhabitants are traveling merchants and obey the prince of Tacrour. To the south of Barisa is the country of Lamlam, distant about 10 days. The inhabitants of Barisa, Silla, Tacrour and Ghana make forays into the Lamlam , reduce the inhabitants to captivity, transport them to their own country, and sell them to the merchants, who come there and send them elsewhere. big as villages. One of them is called Mallel, and the other Daw. They are distant from each other by 4 days. According to what the people of this region report, the inhabitants are Jews, but for the most part they are steeped in impiety and ignorance. When they have reached the age of puberty, they brand their faces and temples with fire. These are signs that serve to make them recognised. All the dwellings of their country are built on the banks of a river which throws into the Nile. Beyond the Lamlam, to the south, there is no inhabited country. That of Lamlam touches on the western side to Magzara, to the east to Wangara, to the north to the country of Ghana, to the south to deserts. The language of the inhabitants of Lamlam differs from that of the Magzarians and that of the Ghanaians."
Here are more statements made by Al-Idrissi in which he asserts that the Jews populated the empire of Kanem or Cânem (the Camnouria), part of the region formerly known as Nigritie. Cânem included at various times what is today southern Chad, northern Cameroon, northeastern Nigeria, eastern Niger and southern Libya.
“[There used to be] remarkable towns and residences in Camnouria, belonging to the Negroes, but the Zaghawa and Lamtouna of the desert, who inhabited both sides of this country (I mean Kamnouria), conquered it, exterminated most of the inhabitants and dispersed the rest. The inhabitants of Camnouria, according to the report of the merchants, claim to be Jews. Their religion is a confused mixture of all things; they are nothing and have no fixed beliefs; they have no king themselves and do not obey a foreign king, but are the playthings of all the neighboring tribes. In the past, there were two flourishing towns in Camnouria, one known as Camnouri, the other Naghîra. Both were densely populated, with chiefs and shaikhs administering affairs and dispensing justice in criminal cases and disputes; but in time, these institutions were lost, and discord prevailed among them; Incursions from neighboring towns desolated the country, and the inhabitants fled, seeking refuge in the mountains or dispersing into the deserts, falling under the yoke of their neighbors or placing themselves under their protection, so that only a small number of individuals belonging to the Camnourians remain, living, scattered in these deserts or on the shore, on dairy and fish. They lead a hard life, having barely enough to live on, and wandering ceaselessly...” |Deuxième Climat - Première Section pg 35-36|
Al-Idrissi also mentioned the following about Jews exiled to the Rif in southern Egypt, which was also called “Aethiopia sub Aegypto” or “Aegypto”.
"Most of Egypt's towns and villages are in the Upper and Lower Rif. The Rif is the region south of the Nile. Most of the inhabitants of these villages are Christian Copts and Jacobites - according to one tradition, the name derives from Jacob, the biblical patriarch. A Jacobite deacon claimed that his people were descended from Jewish converts to Christianity, and another source asserts that the name comes from St. James, brother of Jesus and first bishop of Jerusalem. They have a large number of churches. They are a harmless people and live in abundance of all goods." |Deuxième Climat - Première Section pg 193|.
Ludovico di Varthema, also known as Barthema and Vertomannus (c. 1470 - 1517), was an Italian traveler, chronicler and aristocrat known for being the first non-Muslim European to enter Mecca on pilgrimage. Almost everything we know about his life comes from his own travel account, Itinerario de Ludouico de Varthema Bolognese, published in Rome in 1510. Here's an excerpt from what he wrote about Ethiopia and the Jews on page 22 of his book “The Travels of Ludovico de Varthema, in Egypt, Syria, Arabia, Persia, India and Ethiopia in 1503-1508.
You be the judge, and we encourage you to do your own research.
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