White Aethiopians

Location of the White Aethiopians in the Maghreb near Morocco, with the Gaetulians and Garamantes to their east and the Aethiopians across the Sahel region (Oric Bates, 1914)

White Aethiopians (Λευκαιθίοπες ; Leucæthiopes) is a term found in ancient Greco-Roman literature, which may have referred to various light-complexioned populations inhabiting the Aethiopia region of antiquity.[1] The exonym is used by Pliny the Elder, and is also mentioned by Pomponius Mela, Ptolemy and Orosius. These authorities do not, however, agree on the geographical location of the White Aethiopians.

Medieval geographers, including Ibn Hawqal and Leo Africanus, similarly noted the existence of various "white" or "olive" groups and individuals in territories and kingdoms south of the Sahara. However, the fate of these inhabitants is uncertain.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Morel142 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).