This chapter presents new, annotated translations of the testimonia and fragments (mostly from Pliny the Elder) of various works by Augustus’ client king Juba II of Mauretania (active c.27 BC–AD 23/4), selected with a focus on geographical material. This is the first such collection of his geographical writings. The chapter introduction emphasizes his links with the former Ptolemaic dynasty through his queen, Kleopatra Selene (daughter of Mark Antony and Kleopatra VII), links which the royal couple kept up through iconography and patronage within their kingdom. Juba’s outstanding literary output can be seen as another reflection of this connexion, aimed at integrating Mauretania into the Greco-Roman cultural sphere and conferring distinction upon the kingdom. His geographical writing embodied travels and researches extending as far as Egypt and western Asia, and was based on a close appreciation of earlier writers including Agatharchides (Chapter 15 of this volume). His wide-ranging cultural and scientific interests are well represented in the extracts, particular highlights being the course of the Nile (believed to have its source within Mauretania), the fauna of the Canary Islands, and the discovery and naming of the plant family Euphorbiaceae, the spurges. A new map illustrates the range of Juba’s geographical interests, spanning the whole longitudinal range of the Roman empire south of the Mediterranean.

This chapter presents a new, annotated translation of the purported Circumnavigation by Hanno of Carthage, preserved in one of the two major manuscript collections of Greek geography. It narrates an expedition round the coast of north-western Africa, perhaps as far as Cameroon. Selected testimonia and fragments are arranged as nine extracts. The chapter introduction outlines the main controversies surrounding the text–whether it is a genuine 5th-century BC work; whether it was translated from the Punic; whether it records an actual voyage–while the notes assess details of the content, such as the apparent description of an encounter with gorillas. A new map illustrates the possible extent of the journey.