Malao
Μαλάω
Malao (Μαλάω, Ptol. 4.7.10. corn. Μάλεως), probably answers to the modern Berbera, the chief town of the Somâleh, who inhabit the western coast of Africa from the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb to cape Guardafui. This district has in all times been the seat of an active commerce between Africa and Arabia, and Malao was one of the principal marts for gums, myrrh, frankincense, cattle, slaves, gold-dust and ivory. (See Heeren, African Nations, vol. i. p. 330, Engl. transl.)
From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.