"The region which extends from the frontiers of Egypt to the Atlantic Ocean, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger, was in ancient times inhabited by a people to whom we give the general name of Berbers, but whom the ancients, particularly those of the Eastern portion, knew under the name of Moors. "They were called Maurisi by the Greeks, " said Strabo, "in the first century A. D., and Mauri by the Romans. They are of Lybian origin, and form a powerful and rich nation. ""