Hello!
I read this on Wikipedia:
During Augustus times
lake Chad was a huge lake and two Roman expeditions were done in order to reach it: Septimius Flaccus and Julius Maternus reached the "lake of ippopotamus" (as was called the lake Chad by
Claudius Ptolomeus). They moved from coastal
Tripolitania and passed near the
Tibesti mountains. Both did their expeditions trough the
Garamantes territories, and were able to leave a small garrison on the "lake of ippopotamus and rhinoceros" after 3 months of travel in desert lands.
Ptolemy wrote that in 50 AD Septimius Flaccus did his expedition in order to retaliate against nomad raiders who attacked
Leptis Magna, and reached
Sebha and the territory of
Aozou.
http://books.google.com/books?id=LY5Lmc-... Septimius Flaccus] He then reached the rivers Bahr Ergig,
Chari and
Logone in the lake Chad area, described as the "land of Ethiopes" (or black men).
Ptolomeus even wrote that around 90 AD Julius Maternus (or Matiernus) did a mainly commercial expedition. From the
Sirte gulf he reached the Oasis of
Cufra and the Oasis of Archei, then arrived to the river
Bahr Salamat and
Bahr Aouk, near the actual
Central African republic. He went back to Rome with a rhinoceros with two horns, that was showed in the Colosseum."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_expeditions_to_lake_Chad_and_western_Africa
Does anyone on this board know how big those garrisons were and how long they lasted?
Sincerely,
Jan