Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. It would seem logical to find any links with English place names to be fewer the further we get from the British Isles, yet this is not always the case.
Harare was, as any trivia buff will delight in telling you, known as Salisbury until 1982. This name came from the 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, he being prime minister of Great Britain at the time. Harare took its name from the nearby village now known as Mbare and, with nearby Harare Kopje, taken from the Shona chief Neharawa whose name means 'he who does not sleep'.
Bulawayo was founded in the middle of the nineteenth century. The Ndebele king Lobengula, son of King Mzilikazi kaMatshobana who had brought his people here all the way from Zululand, naming the place KoBulawayo which means 'a place where he is killed'. This is thought to refer to a dispute between two factions of the Ndebele people, those who questioned Lobengula's right of succession fighting his supporters. Indeed at this time Bulawayo was referred to as KoBulawayo UmntwaneNkosi or 'the place where they are fightint or risin against the prince'.
Mutare is a long-established outpost on an ancient trade route - soapstone carvings and figurines have revealed much of its unwritten history. The modern city was founded as a fort in 1897 between the Tsambe and Mutare rivers. Clearly the place took the river name, itself dervied from utare meaning 'iron' or, more likely, 'gold' as the river runs through the Penhalonga Valley where gold was discovered.
Gweru was known as Gwelo until 1982, however neither were original name. Originally this was Kwelu, this the Kalanga word for 'pheasant' and the name given to their chieftain, but when the English arrived they corrupted the pronunciation to Gwelo and thereafter, the original name now largely forgotten, became pronounced as the modern version.
Kwekwe was known as Que Que until 1983 which is not named from the noise of frogs, as is often thought. The true meaning is even stranger, for this was originally isikwekwe and had the rather unusual meaning of 'scurvy', 'mange' or 'scab'.
Kadoma is a corruption of the earlier name of Gadooma, known as such from 1890 until 1982. Previously this was Katuma, named after the cattle enclosure associated with Chief Katuma.
Chinhoyi had been known as Sinoia during its days as a British colony. Both names are simply corrupted versions of the original Tjinoyi, the Lozwi chief who was the son of Lukuluba, himself the third son of Emperor Netjasike.
Norton is clearly of Old English origin and means 'the northern tun or farmstead'. However it came to Zimbabwe as a surname, the Norton family farming this area from the 1890s and who were murdered when nationalist guerrillas rose up against the Rhodesian government in the 1960s.
Marondera was known as Marandellas until 1982. This latter name was the original recording of the place name, in full known as Marandella's Kraal. Bringing this full circle the original place name was a corruption of the present name of Marondera, he the chieftain of the Barozwi people.
Note the spellings are mostly English as the piece is written in English.
Sunday, 26 April 2015
Sunday, 19 April 2015
Albania’s City Names Explained
Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. It would seem logical to find any links with English place names to be fewer the further we get from the British Isles, yet this is not always the case.
Tirana is often said to have been named by the Turkish general Barkinzade Suleyman Pasha, who founded the place around 1600 and naming it Tigran in honour of his home of Tehran. However there is enough evidence to show this was known as such some 1300 earlier and certainly the Emperor Justinian built a castle in the early 6th century named Tirkan. Thus it seems likely this city was named as ‘the village of Tirania’, this being the ancient name of Tuscany inhabited by the Etruscans. While the Etruscans gave their name to the Tyrrhenian Sea, this being the Greek version of their name, the names have never been explained.
Durres was once recorded as Dyrrhachion and this comes from the Greek and means something akin ‘bad shoreline’. Undoubtedly the rocky coastline around here would have made landing here extremely hazardous. Roman historians claimed this represented the hero Dyrrachius, yet if there is anyone to link with he will have been named from the place.
Vlore was first known as the Greek Aulon meaning ‘valley’, likely a Greek translation of the existing ancient name for the area. Later pronunciations, notably the Italian Valona, resulted in the modern form.
Elbasan shares an origin with the name of Albania, where the Indo-European alb has been seen as ‘place of eagles’ and has been influenced by the Turkish il-basan ‘the fortress’.
Fier is certainly not from the Italian fiera or ‘trade fair’ despite there being an important Venetian marketplace here in the 14th and 15th centuries. There is a record of this name well before the heyday of the market and comes from the Albanian word for ‘fern’.
Berat was earlier known as Beligrad, itself meaning ‘white city’ in the Slavic tongues and a reference to stone buildings.
Sarande has undergone several minor changes, these solely down to pronunciation differences as successive cultures came and went. This name came from the Greek for the Byzantine monastery of Agioi Saranada or ‘forth saints’. This refers to the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, a group of Roman soldiers of the twelfth legion who were martyred on the orders of Licinius in 316.
Pogradec is another Albanian name of Slavic origin where po gradec literally means ‘under the city’. This not only defines the name of this place but also shows it was overlooked by the Illyrian settlement of Istarova located on the hill which still dominates the skyline.
Gjirokaster has often been recorded as being named after the legendary Princess Argjiro which, had she ever have existed, would be impossible as the name is known before her reputed lifetime in the 15th century. The true origin is Greek argyron kastron ‘the silver castle’.
Note the spellings are mostly English as the piece is written in English.
Tirana is often said to have been named by the Turkish general Barkinzade Suleyman Pasha, who founded the place around 1600 and naming it Tigran in honour of his home of Tehran. However there is enough evidence to show this was known as such some 1300 earlier and certainly the Emperor Justinian built a castle in the early 6th century named Tirkan. Thus it seems likely this city was named as ‘the village of Tirania’, this being the ancient name of Tuscany inhabited by the Etruscans. While the Etruscans gave their name to the Tyrrhenian Sea, this being the Greek version of their name, the names have never been explained.
Durres was once recorded as Dyrrhachion and this comes from the Greek and means something akin ‘bad shoreline’. Undoubtedly the rocky coastline around here would have made landing here extremely hazardous. Roman historians claimed this represented the hero Dyrrachius, yet if there is anyone to link with he will have been named from the place.
Vlore was first known as the Greek Aulon meaning ‘valley’, likely a Greek translation of the existing ancient name for the area. Later pronunciations, notably the Italian Valona, resulted in the modern form.
Elbasan shares an origin with the name of Albania, where the Indo-European alb has been seen as ‘place of eagles’ and has been influenced by the Turkish il-basan ‘the fortress’.
Fier is certainly not from the Italian fiera or ‘trade fair’ despite there being an important Venetian marketplace here in the 14th and 15th centuries. There is a record of this name well before the heyday of the market and comes from the Albanian word for ‘fern’.
Berat was earlier known as Beligrad, itself meaning ‘white city’ in the Slavic tongues and a reference to stone buildings.
Sarande has undergone several minor changes, these solely down to pronunciation differences as successive cultures came and went. This name came from the Greek for the Byzantine monastery of Agioi Saranada or ‘forth saints’. This refers to the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, a group of Roman soldiers of the twelfth legion who were martyred on the orders of Licinius in 316.
Pogradec is another Albanian name of Slavic origin where po gradec literally means ‘under the city’. This not only defines the name of this place but also shows it was overlooked by the Illyrian settlement of Istarova located on the hill which still dominates the skyline.
Gjirokaster has often been recorded as being named after the legendary Princess Argjiro which, had she ever have existed, would be impossible as the name is known before her reputed lifetime in the 15th century. The true origin is Greek argyron kastron ‘the silver castle’.
Note the spellings are mostly English as the piece is written in English.
Sunday, 12 April 2015
Afghanistan City Names Explained
Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. It would seem logical to find any links with English place names to be fewer the further we get from the British Isles, yet this is not always the case.
Kabul is by far the largest city of Afghanistan and indeed the only one with a population in excess of half a million. It stands on, and gets its name from, the River Kabul. While this name has never been defined with any certainty, suggestions it may be related to the Iranian for ‘storehouse’ can be dismissed as the river name is certainly the original. There are similar words from the same language which meaning either ‘red’ or ‘horse’, although just how these relate to the river name is a mystery.
Kendahar was founded in the third century BC as Alexandria Arachosia and named after its founder, Alexander the Great. It shares its name with Kandahar Province of which it is the capital,
Herat is derived from the Hari River, itself Old Iranian for ‘silken water’. This, as with so many rivers in this region, is described as shining or glistening, two adjectives which are invariably regarded as valuable and nothing can be more precious than a good and reliable water supply.
Mazar-i-Sharif has a name meaning ‘the noble shrine’. This refers to the city’s large sanctuary renowned for its resplendent blue tiling also known as the Blue Mosque or Shrine of Hazrat Ali. Some muslims believe it contains the tomb of Ali ibn Abi Talib, cousin and son-in-law of the prophet Muhammad.
Kunduz is derived from the Persian kuhan diz meaning ‘the ancient fortress’, although Turkic konak ‘residence, house’ is not beyond possibility.
Jalalabad, originally known as Adinapur, was renamed as recently as the end of the sixteenth century to honour Jalala, son of Pir Roshan who led the fighting against the Mughals.
Sheberghan is thought to have come from Shaporgan or ‘City of Shapor’. Two Sasanian kings named Shapur were associated with the general area but there is no evidence to link the two.
Lashkar Gah is from the Persian tongue and simply refers to the ‘army barracks’ created by the Saffarids in the ninth century and where soldiers were stationed on the route to the winter home of the Ghaznavid nobles.
Note the spellings of the places are generally English as the piece is written in English.
Kabul is by far the largest city of Afghanistan and indeed the only one with a population in excess of half a million. It stands on, and gets its name from, the River Kabul. While this name has never been defined with any certainty, suggestions it may be related to the Iranian for ‘storehouse’ can be dismissed as the river name is certainly the original. There are similar words from the same language which meaning either ‘red’ or ‘horse’, although just how these relate to the river name is a mystery.
Kendahar was founded in the third century BC as Alexandria Arachosia and named after its founder, Alexander the Great. It shares its name with Kandahar Province of which it is the capital,
Herat is derived from the Hari River, itself Old Iranian for ‘silken water’. This, as with so many rivers in this region, is described as shining or glistening, two adjectives which are invariably regarded as valuable and nothing can be more precious than a good and reliable water supply.
Mazar-i-Sharif has a name meaning ‘the noble shrine’. This refers to the city’s large sanctuary renowned for its resplendent blue tiling also known as the Blue Mosque or Shrine of Hazrat Ali. Some muslims believe it contains the tomb of Ali ibn Abi Talib, cousin and son-in-law of the prophet Muhammad.
Kunduz is derived from the Persian kuhan diz meaning ‘the ancient fortress’, although Turkic konak ‘residence, house’ is not beyond possibility.
Jalalabad, originally known as Adinapur, was renamed as recently as the end of the sixteenth century to honour Jalala, son of Pir Roshan who led the fighting against the Mughals.
Sheberghan is thought to have come from Shaporgan or ‘City of Shapor’. Two Sasanian kings named Shapur were associated with the general area but there is no evidence to link the two.
Lashkar Gah is from the Persian tongue and simply refers to the ‘army barracks’ created by the Saffarids in the ninth century and where soldiers were stationed on the route to the winter home of the Ghaznavid nobles.
Note the spellings of the places are generally English as the piece is written in English.
Sunday, 5 April 2015
The Phoenicians
Last time I highlighted the influential Greek tongue in the development of Indo-European languages. The biggest influence on ancient Greek had been the earlier Phoenician tongue. It is quite surprising to discover just how much influence the Phoenicians have had and continue to have on our modern world.
The Phoenicians are probably best remembered as navigators. Dominating the Mediterranean for more than five centuries, their initial wealth came from salt. Every Phoenician city stood on the coast and allowed the sea to flood the marshland by means of a series of man-made channels. Subsequently dammed, these were dried by the reliable Mediterranean sun. Compared to processes this was almost labour-free. This salt enabled them to cast their fishing nets much further from shore and keep the catch fresh for much longer.
The Phoenicians would never have referred to themselves as such, for this is a Greek term used to describe the Canaanite towns and comes from the Greek for ‘land of purple’. This is a reminder of the murex-shell dye exported from the region. As with Greece each city state was an independent unit. With little arable land they were forced to trade and built a great number of vessels from the one natural resource they did have – wood.
Not only did the Phoenicians leave us salt and sailing, their writing proved the basis for almost every modern alphabet – the language is held to have been very closely related to Hebrew but whether one is a dialect of the other or the two have an unknown common ancestor is disputed.
A culture with a wealth built on salt enabled their vessels to travel great distances and bring back wonderful and rare spices, the most valuable of which was pepper. The two are inseparable on 21st century tables and yet ironically it was pepper which devalued salt. Another link between the Phoenicians and the modern era is that of climate change. A few years of extreme weather destroyed half the salt marshes and abnormally heavy rains ruined the cycle of evaporation. They never recovered and eventually even the most famous of them all, Carthage, was no more.
The Phoenicians are probably best remembered as navigators. Dominating the Mediterranean for more than five centuries, their initial wealth came from salt. Every Phoenician city stood on the coast and allowed the sea to flood the marshland by means of a series of man-made channels. Subsequently dammed, these were dried by the reliable Mediterranean sun. Compared to processes this was almost labour-free. This salt enabled them to cast their fishing nets much further from shore and keep the catch fresh for much longer.
The Phoenicians would never have referred to themselves as such, for this is a Greek term used to describe the Canaanite towns and comes from the Greek for ‘land of purple’. This is a reminder of the murex-shell dye exported from the region. As with Greece each city state was an independent unit. With little arable land they were forced to trade and built a great number of vessels from the one natural resource they did have – wood.
Not only did the Phoenicians leave us salt and sailing, their writing proved the basis for almost every modern alphabet – the language is held to have been very closely related to Hebrew but whether one is a dialect of the other or the two have an unknown common ancestor is disputed.
A culture with a wealth built on salt enabled their vessels to travel great distances and bring back wonderful and rare spices, the most valuable of which was pepper. The two are inseparable on 21st century tables and yet ironically it was pepper which devalued salt. Another link between the Phoenicians and the modern era is that of climate change. A few years of extreme weather destroyed half the salt marshes and abnormally heavy rains ruined the cycle of evaporation. They never recovered and eventually even the most famous of them all, Carthage, was no more.
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