Abraham Ortelius — Epitome du theatre du monde (1601)

The ancients divided this region in many ways; today, as John Leo note: Leo Africanus reports, they distinguish it into four parts: Barbary, Numidia, Libya, and the land of the Negroes. Barbary, which they consider the better part, they circumscribe by the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlas Mountains, and the Barcha region bordering on Egypt. Numidia, which is called Biledulgerid by them and produces dates (whence it is named by the Arabs as nothing other than the Date-bearing Region), is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the west and by the Atlas Mountains on the north; it runs towards the east to the city of Eloacat, one hundred miles distant from Egypt. The sandy deserts of Libya are to its south. The third part of Libya, called Sarra Sahara in the Arabic language, which word signifies the same as desert, has its beginning from the Nile to the rising sun, and from there proceeds towards the Atlantic Ocean to the west: Numidia is to its north; in the south, it joins the Negroes. The fourth part follows, which they call the land of the Negroes, the name being taken either from the inhabitants, who are affected by a black color, or from the Niger river, which licks this region: this has Libya to the north; the Ethiopian Ocean to the south; the Kingdom of Gualata to the west, and the Kingdom of Goaga to the east. It must be noted that in this way they bind the entire Africa with the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the Ethiopian Ocean, and the Nile river; whence both Egypt and Ethiopia are ascribed to Asia, which nevertheless we consider ought to be numbered properly to Africa. For true Ethiopia today contains the Empire of Prester John (which is attributed to Africa by all moderns). We, therefore, with Ptolemy judge that it ought rather to be circumscribed by the Mediterranean Sea and the Ocean than by a river, and it will have the form of a peninsula; joined to Asia by the isthmus that is between the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Gulf. The southern part of this remained unknown to the ancients until the year 1497, when Vasco da Gama, the first to pass beyond the Cape of Good Hope, circumnavigated Africa and arrived at Calicut. This part is called Zanzibar by the Persians and Arabs.

A detailed map of the African continent. To the north, the Mediterranean coastline includes "Tunis", "Tripoli", "Alexandria", and "Cairo", with "Jerusalem" visible in the northeast corner labeled "Part of Asia". The interior of the continent is divided into regions such as "Barbary", "Negroes", "Nubia", "Guinea", "Biafar", "Congo", "Quiloa", and "Zanzibar". The Nile river and the Niger river are depicted. A central eastern region is labeled "Abyssinians, or the Empire of Prester John." The surrounding oceans are labeled "Ethiopian Ocean" to the west and south, and "Indian Ocean" to the east. To the far west, a portion of South America is visible. Numerous islands are shown, including the "Canary islands", "Cape Verde islands", "St. Thomas island", and "St. Lawrence [Madagascar]". The southern tip is marked as "Cape of Good Hope".