Hanno the Navigator

Hanno was a Carthaginian admiral and explorer traditionally dated to the fifth century BCE. His Atlantic coastal expedition is recorded in the Greek Periplus of Hanno.

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Periplus of Hanno: An ancient Greek account of Hanno’s voyage along the Atlantic coast of Africa. It is the principal surviving source for Hanno’s expedition.
Ancient Carthaginian navy: The naval forces maintained by Carthage for warfare, transport, and maritime control. Hanno’s title of admiral places the expedition within Carthage’s naval organization.
Cerne: An island named in the Periplus of Hanno as a settlement founded during the expedition. Its location is a major clue in attempts to reconstruct Hanno’s route.
Greek manuscript tradition: The copying and transmission of Greek texts through handwritten manuscripts. The Periplus survives through a later Greek textual tradition, not Hanno’s original record.
Carthage: An ancient Phoenician-founded city-state in North Africa that became a major Mediterranean power. Hanno sailed as an admiral of this maritime power.
Ancient Mediterranean ship: A vessel built and used for transport, trade, or warfare in the ancient Mediterranean. Ships of this broad tradition carried the expedition south and west.
The Gambia River: A major West African river flowing through Guinea, Senegal, and The Gambia to the Atlantic. Some proposed routes identify Hanno’s reported river journey with the Gambia.
Historical geography: The study of how places, landscapes, and spatial relationships changed through history. Scholars use geographical evidence to test proposed locations along the Periplus route.
Punic language: A variety of Phoenician spoken in Carthage and other western Mediterranean settlements. The expedition’s account survives in Greek, but Hanno’s own language was Punic.
Coastal navigation: Navigation that uses shorelines, landmarks, and nearshore waters to determine a vessel’s position and route. Hanno’s reported journey followed the African coastline rather than crossing open ocean.