CHA

NEMED or

P.

IV..

NIOMA D.

N

IOMAD (i. c. the leader of a multitude,) is faid to be the Son of Achemon or Agha, mon, Son of Pamp, Son of Tath, Son of Seara, Son of Sru, Son of Afru, Son of Bram, Son of Aiteacht, defcended of Magog. Nemed failing out of the Euxine Sea, came to Aigen, (that is, Ægina, one of the Infulæ Atticæ,) from thence he failed to Eire, (that is, Eria,) or Crete; and pursuing his Voyage, S. W. landed in Africa.

Here they were inftructed by the Africans, to build houses and palaces; the names of the African Architects who taught them this fcience were, Rog, Robhog, Rodan, and Ruibne. They had feveral Skirmishes with the Africans, and in the fourth battle Nemed was flain: from this time the Africans grew more troublefome, and after feyen years, Siim Breac, the Grandfon of Nemed, led a Colony to Greece; this weakened the main body, who fuffered great hardships from the natives of Africa, till the arrival of the Firr D'Omnann. Siim Breac left Greece, and feizing on the Grecian fleet, failed to Spain, from whence they came to Ireland, and to Britain, where the pofterity of this Siim Breac were fettled, when the Cruitne arrived in Scotland. The African Pyrates called Fombaraigh, harraffed the Nemedians in their fettlements in the Western Ifle, and are faid to have fucceeded fo far, as to have lain them under con tribution in Ireland..

RE

REMARK S.

Keating the compiler of the Irish History, has committed many egregious blunders in this Article from Crete he brings them to Ireland, but the best authorities carry them to Africa, to Greece, to Spain; and fo to the Britanic Iflands.

The Punic annals reflect a strong light on this remote part of our hiftory. We have fhewn in the introduction, that the original Perfians and Parthians, were Scythians; who defcending the Euphrates, fettled on the Perfian gulph, and from thence along the Sea Coaft, up the Red Sea to the head of it; poffeffing a narrow fkirt of fandy foil, called Oman; whence Fir D'Omann: here they were known by the Greeks, by the name of Ichthyophagi, (o) and Troglodyta, fish eaters and dwellers in Caves: by the Hebrews they were denominated Siim and Am-Siim y y or shipmen; the Ægyptians called them Nephthyn from the Coptic Neph a Ship, (p) hence the

Nephthuim of the Scriptures; but the whole Coast of Oman was called by the Arabs Al-muzun i. e. Terra Oman, pars Arabiæ, aliis quoque Nauta, Naucleri (Golius & Gigg.) This great body of Scythians or Perfians and Parthians, paffed over to Africa, to the fupport of their Countrymen the Nemedians, and established themselves in Numi

(0) Not only the inhabitants but the animals of this Coast are Ichthyophagi at this day, Monf. Niebuhr, who was lately in that Country, fays, they feed their Cows and Affes with fish, and the ground is manured with them.

(p) It is acknowledged that the Greeks received the worship of Neptune from the Lybians.

dia,

dia, Gætulia & Utica, about 300 Years before the arrival of Dido from Tyre.

Niomad or Nemed, the leader of the Euxine Colony, was fo named from Niomad a multitude; it is the Perfian Namadud, innumerable: And as the Arabic habah (q)or habashut has the fame fignification, and is fuppofed to be the root of the name Abaffinia, given to the inhabitants of Ethiopia, that dwell near the coaft of the Red Sea ; I have no doubt but the Arabic Name, is a tranflation of our Niomad, becaufe the Abaffinians are fuppofed to be compofed of a mixed body of people, who were conftantly croffing the Red Sea from Oman, and these were originally Scythians, Perfians and Parthians.

Nemed having performed thefe Voyages, was honoured foon after with the name of Siim Abreac, or Dux Navium, a name which defcended to his Grandfon, of whom hereafter. The Authors of the Univerfal History, under the article Numidians, obferve that Ifidore intimates that the Medes and Perfians in ancient times planted a colony in Numidia, and that Salluft more than infinuates the fame thing. The writer of that Article in the Univerfal History (r) has not done juftice to Salluft, he was not of that opinion although he was fo informed from the written Records of the Country, and with that extract Salluft has blended his own opinion, warped by the writings of the Greeks, who have alway confounded the Phæni

(q) Stephanus prius Nomæos vocatos ait, ac deinde Scythas, a Scytha Herculis filio. (Gorop. Becan.)

In Irish Abhus, a herd, a flock, a multitude; Aibhrioch, a great multitude.

(r) Late Dr. Swinton.

cians. The words of Salluft are thefe, "As to "the first inhabitants of Africa, and those that in

fucceeding ages fettled there, and how they in"corporated, I fhall give a very brief account,

different indeed from the common one; but, fuch as was interpreted to me, out of the Punic books, "which were faid to be King Hiempfal's, and what "the people of that country take to be fact. But, "let the Authors answer for the credibility of it. "The original inhabitants of Africa were the Gæ"tulians, and the Lybians, a rough unpolished "people, who lived upon flesh taken in hunting, or upon herbs like cattle. They were under no "manner of confinement from cuftom, law or

government, but, ftrolling about here and there, "took up their lodging where the night happen"ed to overtake them. But, after Hercules died "in Spain, as the Africans have it, his army that "was made up of divers nations, upon the lofs of their leader, and a buftle made by a competition for the command, difperfed in a fhort time. Of that number the Medes, the Perfians, and Armenians paffing over by fhipping into Africa, feized upon thofe parts of it that lie up" on our Sea; but the Perfians lay more upon "the Ocean. (s) They made ufe of their Ships "turned bottom upwards, for houses; because

there was no wood in that country, nor had

(s) De fuerte, que concuerdan todos en el origen de estas Naciones, y que vinieron defde Oriente acompanando à Hercules, efpecialmente los Pharufos, de los quales hacen tambien mencion Dyonifio, Ptalomeo, Eftrabon, y Eftephano, que cita para lo mefmo à Artemidoro. Efpana primitiv. V. 1. p. 252.

The

they any opportunity of buying any, or barter"ing for it with the Spaniards: a wide sea and a language to them unknown, rendered all com

66

merce impracticable. (t) By degrees, they by "intermarriage mixed with the Gætulians; and "because they were often fhifting about from place to place to try the goodness of the Soil, "they called themfelves Numidians. To this day "the cottages of the Numidians which they call

..

Mapalia, are of an oblong form bulging out, "like the hulls of Ships. The Libyans joined the "Medes and Armenians, who lived nearer the "African Sea. The Getulians lie more to the "Torrid Zone, and thefe quickly built towns: "For, being divided only by a narrow Sea from "Spain, they carried on a traffick there; but "the Libyans by degrees altered their name, calling them in their language Mauri instead of

"Medi.

The greatest part of our Pharfai or Perfians remained in Spain, Pharufii quondam Perfæ, Comites fuiffe dicuntur Herculis ad Hefperides tendentis. (Pliny.)

Deinde Pharufii aliquando tendente ad Hefperides Hercule dites, nunc inculti, & nifi quod pecore aluntur admodum inopes. (Mela.)

Efta dilatada relacion hace Saluftio de los fucceffot, y Poblafiores de las tres Naciones del Exercito de Hercules, que defpues de fu muerte falieron de Efpana, yen la Africa poblaron tan dilatadas Provincias a que oy correfponde lo que ay defde el Reyno de Tunez hafta le ultimo del Reyno de Maurruecos, defta fuerte; las Lybios, y Medos toda la Cofta del Mediterraneo conlas dos Mauritanias Cæfarienfe, y Sitifenfe, y parte de la Tingitana, y los Getalas, y Perfas la Cafta del Oceano, y en ella lo reftante de la Tingitana con las Defiertos interiores de Zoara y Bitedulgerid. (Efpana primitiva. V. 1. p. 251.)

(t) This must be an obfervation of Salluft, who had forgot that Hercules had established a Colony at Gades before the dif

perfion