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MASSAGETAE
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MASSAGETAE, an ancient warlike people described by Herodotus (i. 203-216; iv. 22, 172) as dwelling beyond the Araxes (i.e. the Oxus) in what is now Balkh and Bokhara. of Egypt. The Turks were reinstated about 1850, but in 1865 they handed the island back to Egypt for an annual tribute of 22 million piastres. In February 1885 Massawa was occupied by an Italian force, the Egyptian garrison stationed there being withdrawn in the November following (see EGYPT; ITALY; ABYSSINIA). The port was the capital of the Italian colony until 1900 when the seat of administration was removed to Asmara (see ERITREA). For a description of the town in 1769 see the Travels of James Bruce. At that time the governor, though appointed by the Turks, paid one half of the customs receipts to the negus of Abyssinia in return for the protection of that monarch.