Necho II was the Pharoah of Egypt from 610 to 595 BC. His reign saw some momentous projects, including the start of construction of the first Suez Canal in about 600 BC and a major military defeat in Syria at the hands of the Babylonians. Another big project was the circumnavigation of the continent of Africa. Necho ordered a fleet manned by his allies the Phoenecians, to sail south along the coast of Africa to the land of Punt, where regular trade was conducted for antimony and incense. The fleet was then to continue along the coast of Africa into unknown water. It seems that the fleet departed in July, and reached the Horn of Africa where they put ashore, planted wheat, and stayed long enough to harvest the wheat for provisions.
Sailing and rowing on after the harvest in November, they sailed until planting time in the Spring came again. They again put ahore and planted and harvested wheat. Again in November they pushed on with the coast of Africa to their right, but they were going north by then. Going around the bulge of Africa, they finally encounted the westernmost Phoenecian colonies along the Morroccan coast. The ships used were likely Phoenecian and Egyptian warships, possibly triremes, forming a mixed fleet.
The journey was related by the Greek historian and world traveler Herodotus in 440 BC, in his Histories:
"the Phoenicians made a statement which I myself do not believe (though others may if they wish) to the effect that they sailed west around the southern end of Africa, they had the sun on their right".
However this comment adds to the credibility of the account, since a west sailing ship in the northern hemisphere has the sun on its left side, but in the southern hemisphere the sun is on its right side. Since Herodotus did not know about the equator and the Earth as a sphere, this statement would have not appeared to make sense. The Greek scientist Eratosthones didn't calculate the circumference of the Earth as a sphere for another 200 years, in 205 BC.
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