The Classical Quarterly· 2026Q2
WARDING OFF A ROMAN INVASION IN AETHIOPIA (UPPER NUBIA) WITH TALL ELEPHANT TALES? REVISITING PLINY, NATURALIS HISTORIA 6.186
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- 2026year
Short summary
This paper argues against the theory that Romans under Nero avoided invading Upper Nubia (Aethiopia) due to a belief in a large war elephant army, finding this interpretation of Pliny's Naturalis Historia 6.186 textually and contextually unsupported.
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Key points
- Challenges the theory that Romans under Nero were deterred from invading Upper Nubia by a belief in a large war elephant army.
- Argues that this theory is based on a minority interpretation of Pliny's Naturalis Historia 6.186.
- Contends that the textual and contextual evidence does not support the idea of 3,000 elephants being stationed on the island of Meroë as a deterrent.
- Suggests that the 'elephant tale' explanation for Roman non-expansion is difficult to support.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Abstract It has recently been suggested that the Romans baulked at the idea of expanding their empire beyond Egypt into Aethiopia (Upper Nubia) during the principate of Nero because they were tricked into thinking that a powerful army equipped with war elephants awaited them. This discussion aims to demonstrate that such a view, based on a minority reading of Pliny, HN 6.186 that plumps for 3,000 elephants once being stationed on the island of Meroë, is difficult to support on both textual and contextual grounds.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. The Classical Quarterly, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: Anthropology
AnthropologySocial Sciences