He then adds: “Said
Garamantes go hunting the cave-dwelling
Ethiopians, mounted in
a four horse cart, which
is necessary because
these Ethiopian men
are the lightest on their
feet we have heard
about”.
Although they seemed
extremely
literary,
the annotations by
Herodotus
already
underline two singular
facts in connection with
the Garamantes. The
first is when their skill
in farming activities is
highlighted. Regarding
the second, the Greek
historian
describes
what anyone who visits
the region and observes
the cave paintings can
verify by himself: The
Garamantes were masters in the driving of
quadrigas, long before
the vehicle was adopted by the armies of
their Egyptian neighbors.
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Roman
historians underlined the
Garamantes’
combat ferocity as well.
A verifiable fact from
the figure of General
Lucious
Cornelious
Balbo Moinore, who
finally defeated them
in 19 B.C. Such was
the merit of that victory and the loot he took
to Rome that Balbo,
even when he was born
in Cadiz, received the
Ovatio from the hands
of the Roman senate,
an honor which only
politicians and military
men born in the Italian
13
peninsula had received.
Even when it lost the
capital of its kingdom,
Garama, it is said that
irreducible factions of
the Garamantes continued harassing the
Roman legions, through
incursions which lasted
until the years 110-