First Ethiopians: The Image Of Africa And Africans In The Early Mediterranean World

The First Ethiopians explores the images of Africa and Africans that evolved in ancient Egypt, in classical Greece and imperial Rome, in the early Mediterranean world, and in the early domains of Christianity.

Inspired by curiosity regarding the origins of racism in southern Africa, Malvern van Wyk Smith consulted a wide range of sources and his research led to a startling proposition: Western racism has its roots in Africa itself, notably in late New Kingdom Egypt, as its ruling elites sought to distance Egyptian civilisation from its African origins.