Note 19 — Chapter I

The modern Arabs divide Northern Africa into three grand divisions: the first extends from the Equator to the Nile el Abeede, or river of Nigritia, and is called Soudan, which is an African word indicative of black, the inhabitants being of that colour: the second extends from the river of Soudan to Bled-el-jerrêde, and is denominated Sahara, from the aridity and flatness of the land: the third division comprises Bled-el-jerrêde, the maritime states of Barbary, Egypt, and Abyssinia. Some authors have affirmed that Bled-el-jerrêde signifies the Country of Dates; others, that it signifies the Country of Locusts; dates certainly abound there; but the name does not imply dates. Jerâad is the Arabic for locusts; but it is a different word from Jerrêde, which signifies dry.