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Question 1:
The following passage is taken from "Geography," written by the Greek historian Strabo around 22 C.E. He is describing African societies along the eastern coast of present day Somalia and Ethiopia.
"On this coast there are two very large lakes extending as far as the promontory Pytholaus [on the northern Somalian coast]. One of them contains salt water, and is called a sea; the other, fresh water, and is the haunt of hippopotami and crocodiles. On the margin grows the papyrus. The ibis [bird] is seen in the neighborhood of this place … Next is the country which produces frankincense (tree); it has a promontory and a temple with a grove of poplars. In the inland parts is a tract along the banks of a river bearing the name of Isis … Also a lagoon filled with water from the mountains… There are many tracts in succession on the sides of the rivers on which frankincense grows, and rivers extending to the cinnamon country. The river which bounds this tract produces rushes in great abundance. Then follows another river, and the port of Daphnus, and a valley called Apollo's, which bears, besides frankincense, myrrh and cinnamon."
Source: Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University: Geography by Strabo, Book XVI
What is the meaning of the term tract as it is used in the source?
Question 2:
This passage is also from "Geography," written by the Greek historian Strabo around 22 C.E. He is describing African societies along the eastern coast of present day Ethiopia.
"Their largest royal seat is the city of Meroë, of the same name as the island. The shape of the island is said to be that of a shield … It is very mountainous, and contains great forests. The inhabitants are nomads, who are partly hunters and partly farmers. There are also mines of copper, iron, gold, and various kinds of precious stones. It is surrounded on the side of Libya by great hills of sand, and on that of Arabia by continuous precipices. In the higher parts on the south, it is bounded by the confluence of the rivers Astaboras, Astapa, and Astasobas. On the north is the continuous course of the Nile to Egypt…"
Source: Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University: Geography by Strabo, Book XVII
What is the meaning of the term bounded as it is used in the source?
Question 3:
The following passage is taken from "History of the Wars," written by the Roman historian Procopius of Caesarea around 550 C.E. He is describing relations between the Roman Empire and the kingdoms along the eastern coast of present day Ethiopia.
"At that time, when Ellestheaeus was reigning over the Ethiopians, and Esimiphaeus over the Omeritae, the Emperor Justinian sent an ambassador, Julianus, demanding that both nations on account of their … religion should make common cause with the Romans in the war against the Persians; for … the Ethiopians, by purchasing silk from India and selling it among the Romans, might themselves gain much money, while cause the Romans to profit in only one way, namely, that they be no longer compelled to pay over their money to their enemy (Persia)…"
Source: Ancient History Sourcebook: Accounts of Meröe, Kush, and Axum, c. 430 BCE - 550 CE
Which of the following is the closest to the meaning of ambassador as it is used in the source?
