http://SaturnianCosmology.Org/ mirrored file
   For complete access to all the files of this collection
        see http://SaturnianCosmology.org/search.php
  ==========================================================

	*Connecting the 19th and 26th Dynasty of Egypt* 	


*THE PROBLEM*

Current, conventional chronology has the 19th Dynasty positioned after
the 18th Dynasty from about 1295 - 1186 BC. We endeavor here to show
that the 19th Dynasty is the same as the 26th Dynasty and that it
belongs into the 7th century BC.Seti (I) the Great The evidence is
multifaceted and we present only a portion of it in this particular file
by discussing the complexities surrounding Seti the Great and what
occurred to bring him to power. Conventional historians had been looking
long and hard on the Egyptian monuments to find who Psammetichos* and
Necos* were and came up with identities we shall soon carefully examine.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Only known as such from the writings of the Greek authors who named
every king by totally different names than the Egyptians themselves
used, making it more difficult for us today to tell who each one
actually was.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following account is intended to show that the ancient Greek
historian Herodotus, who lived from about 484-424? BC, has the sequence
of the Egyptian dynastic kings more correct than modern historians. His
sequence is:

22nd Dynasty- (The 3 brothers) - 25th Dynasty (Ethiopian) - 19th(26th)
Saitic Dynasty.

Part I

Herodotus has the 22nd Dynasty, king Asychus [Sheshonk IV(Sosenk),
Herodotus, Bk.II, Sec. 136], followed by the Ethiopians invading Egypt
[Ibid., Sec. 137]. Next came Sethos according to Herodotus. Sethos was
one of the three brothers we read about in Josephus(1), he ruled after
Ramses Siptah, Twosre and Merneptah Siptah, toward the end of the 22nd
Dynasty. Actually Ramses Siptah should be regarded as Ramses I, but
today's history books make the later Ramses, father of Seti the Great,
the first (I).

Conventional history books will not provide this history because they
view things entirely different and wrongly so we might add. As the
reader might guess the affairs surrounding the three brothers are quite
complex and are discussed under the title `Harmhab'.
1)Josephus, `Against Apion', Book I, par. 15.

Note:/ Harmhab was one of these three brothers and also belongs into
this time frame but is not mentioned by Herodotus who also does not
mention the Assyrian King Esarhaddon./

Herodotus varies here from what we might expect by not talking about a
king of the Ethiopians but rather Anysis, a blind man, [Herod. Bk. II,
Sec. 137]. The time of Sethos (712-705 BC) is synchronized with that of
the Assyrian king Sennacherib (704-681 BC). Here Herodotus makes it
clear that the lack of support for the Egyptian officers and army
personall made this Sethos an unfavorable king. [Herodotus, Book. II,
Sec. 141] The consequence of this attitude became apparent in the
following period of time when the Assyrian King Sennacherib invaded
Egypt, now they did not want to serve their country.

Strabo states that one he calls Psamtik (Psammetichus) was a
contemporary of the Median King Cyaxares (653-612 ...? BC), son of
Phraortes (675-653 BC). [Strabo, Vol. XVII, p. 673; E. Marion Smith,
/`Naukratis'/, Vienna, 1924, pp. 12-34]

[Note: The Assyrians (Greek: Sacherdonos
<turtan.html#sacherdones>/Ashurbanipal) invaded Egypt in the early 7th
century BC and came as far as the town of `Ishupri', located east of the
Nile Delta, possibly near Kantara of today.]

Ishupri is the equivalent to `Sethosville', `town of Sethos'.Map of Nile
Delta From here the Assyrians confront Tirhaka as he mentions that town
three times. Sethos throne name was `W_esher_-khe_pru_-Re' where
`Ishupri' apparently comes from. Sethos later was regarded as a savior
of Egypt and was the adversary of the father of Esarhadon (Sennacherib).
Together with Tirhaka Sethos stood up against the Assyrians and from the
Bible and other sources we know how the Assyrian army was destroyed
without a fight.
[See also Herodotus, Bk. II, Sec. 141; 2.Kings 19:35; Isaiah 37:36;
Josephus, `Antiquities', Bk. X, Sec. 4-5]

*Pamairiti, Greek: Naukratis - The Home Town Of Psammetichus*

A difference in opinion arose among archaeologists. "This difference of
opinion may be summed up by saying that Hogarth and Hirschfeld believed
that Aahmes gave over to the Greeks a town that was mainly Egyptian,
whereas Petrie and others believed that he gave to the Greeks a town
that was mainly Greek." [E.M.Smith, /`Naukratis'/, p. 17 (1924)]

Besides evidence for Greek presence artifacts relating to both,
`Psamtek' and `Uah-ab-ra', were found at Naukratis. Being a harbor town
it was a city with powerful officials. 	

	
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For another angle on the story of the Assyrian losses read D. Mackey's
paper on the Book of Judith <judith.html>.


*/Comparing the Book of Kings/Isaiah with Herodotus, Josephus and the
Book of Judith/*

	

	*The Biblical Report*
"Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote the camp of the
Assyrians 185,000: and when they arose early in the morning, behold,
they were all dead corpses." Isiah 37:36; 2.Kings 19 says essentially
the same. 		*The Report of Herodotus*
"...when Egypt was invaded by Sennacherib, the king of Arabia and
Assyria, with a great army...thousands of field-mice swarmed over the
Assyrians during the night, and ate their quivers, their bowstrings, and
the leather handles on their shields, so that on the following day,
having no arms to fight with, they abandoned their position and suffered
severe losses during their retreat..." Herodotus 	

	*Excerpts from the Book of Judith Report*

"*Chapter 2*
1. In the thirteenth year of the reign of Nabuchodonosor, the two and
twentieth day of the first month, the word was given out in the house of
Nabuchodonosor king of the Assyrians, that he would revenge himself.
2 And he called all the ancients, and all the governors, and his
officers of war, and communicated to them the secret of his counsel:
3 And he said that his thoughts were to bring all the earth under his
empire.
4 And when this saying pleased them all, Nabuchodonosor, the king,
called Holofernes the general of his armies,
5 And said to him: Go out against all the kingdoms of the west, and
against them especially that despised my commandment.
6 Thy eye shall not spare any kingdom, and all the strong cities thou
shalt bring under my yoke.
7 Then Holofernes called the captains and officers of the power of the
Assyrians: and he mustered men for the expedition, as the king commanded
him, a hundred and twenty thousand fighting men on foot, and twelve
thousand archers, horsemen.
*Chapter 4*
1 Then the children of Israel, who dwelt in the land of Juda, hearing
these things, were exceedingly afraid of him.
2 Dread and horror seized upon their minds, lest he should do the same
to Jerusalem and to the temple of the Lord, that he had done to other
cities and their temples.
*Chapter 5*
1 And it was told Holofernes the general of the army of the Assyrians,
that the children of Israel prepared themselves to resist, and had shut
up the ways of the mountains.
2 And he was transported with exceeding great fury and indignation, and
he called all the princes of Moab and the leaders of Amman.
3 And he said to them: Tell me what is this people that besetteth the
mountains: or what are their cities, and of what sort, and how great:
also what is their power, or what is their multitude: or who is the king
over their warfare:
5 Then Achior captain of all the children of Ammon answering, said: If
thou vouch safe, my lord, to hear, I will tell the truth in thy sight
concerning this people, that dwelleth in the mountains, and there shall
not a false word come out of my mouth.
*Chapter 6*
1 And it came to pass when they had left off speaking, that Holofernes
being in a violent passion, said to Achior:
2 Because thou hast prophesied unto us, saying: That the nation of
Israel is defended by their God, to shew thee that there is no God, but
Nabuehodonosor:
3 When we shall slay them all as one man, then thou also shalt die with
them by the sword of the Assyrians, and all Israel shall perish with thee:
*Chapter 8*
1 Now it came to pass, when Judith a widow had heard these words
4 And the Lord also gave her more beauty: because all this dressing up
did not proceed from sensuality, lent from virtue: and therefore the
Lord increased this her beauty, so that she appeared to all men's eyes
incomparably lovely.
*Chapter 10*
5 And she gave to her maid a bottle of wine to carry, and a vessel of
oil, and parched corn, and dry figs, and bread and cheese, and went out.
*Chapter 11*
1 Then Holofernes said to her: Be of good comfort, and fear not in thy
heart: for I have never hurt a man that was willing to serve
Nabuchodonosor the king.
2 And if thy people had not despised me, I would never have lifted up my
spear against them.
3 But now tell me, for what cause hast thou left them, and why it hath
pleased thee to come to us?
4 And Judith said to him: Receive the words of thy handmaid, for if thou
wilt follow the words of thy handmaid, the Lord will do with thee a
perfect thing.
*Chapter 12*
10 And it came to pass on the fourth day, that Holofernes made a supper
for his servants, and said to Vagao his eunuch: so, and persuade that
Hebrew woman, to consent of her own accord to dwell with me.
11 For it is looked upon as shameful among the Assyrians, if a woman
mock a man, by doing so as to pass free from him.
*Chapter 13*
1 And when it was grown late, his servants made haste to their lodgings,
and Vagao shut the chamber doors, and went his way.
2 And they were all overcharged with wine.
3 And Judith was alone in the chamber.
4 But Holofernes lay on his bed, fast asleep, being exceedingly drunk.
...she went to the pillar that was at his bed's head, and loosed his
sword that hung tied upon it.
9. And when she had drawn it out, she took him by the hair of his head,
and said: Strengthen me, O Lord God, at this hour.
10 And she struck twice upon his neck, and cut off his head, and took
off his canopy from the pillars, and rolled away his headless body.
11 And after a while she went out, and delivered the head of Holofernes
to her maid, and bade her put it into her wallet.
12 And they two went out according to their custom, as it were to
prayer, and they passed the camp, and having compassed the valley, they
came to the gate of the city.
*Chapter 14*
1 And Judith said to all the people: Hear me, my brethren, hang ye up
this head upon our walls.
2 And as soon as the sun shall rise, let every man take his arms, and
rush ye out, not as going down beneath, but as making an assault.
3 Then the watchmen must needs run to awake their prince for the battle.
4 And when the captains of them shall run to the tent of Holofernes, and
shall find him without his head wallowing in his blood, fear shall fall
upon them.
5 And when you shall know that they are fleeing, go after them securely,
for the Lord will destroy them under your feet.
4 And because the Assyrians were not united together, they went without
order in their flight ; but the children of Israel pursuing in one body,
defeated all that they could find.
5 And Ozias sent messengers through all the cities and countries of Israel.
6 And every country, and every city, sent their chosen young men armed
after them, and they pursued them with the edge of the sword until they
came to the extremities of their confines.
7 And the rest that were in Bethulia went into the camp of the
Assyrians, and took away the spoils, which the Assyrians in their flight
had left behind them, and they were laden exceedingly." 		*How the same
excerpts from the Book of Judith Report read with the names suggested by
Damien Mackey *
"*Chapter 2*
1. In the thirteenth year of the reign of Sennacherib, the two and
twentieth day of the first month, the word was given out in the house of
Sennacherib king of the Assyrians, that he would revenge himself.
2 And he called all the ancients, and all the governors, and his
officers of war, and communicated to them the secret of his counsel:
3 And he said that his thoughts were to bring all the earth under his
empire.
4 And when this saying pleased them all, Sennacherib, the king, called
Holofernes (or Turtan) the general of his armies,
5 And said to him: Go out against all the kingdoms of the west, and
against them especially that despised my commandment.
6 Thy eye shall not spare any kingdom, and all the strong cities thou
shalt bring under my yoke.
7 Then Holofernes called the captains and officers of the power of the
Assyrians: and he mustered men for the expedition, as the king commanded
him, a hundred and twenty thousand fighting men on foot, and twelve
thousand archers, horsemen.
*Chapter 4*
1 Then the children of Israel, who dwelt in the land of Juda, hearing
these things, were exceedingly afraid of him.
2 Dread and horror seized upon their minds, lest he should do the same
to Jerusalem and to the temple of the Lord, that he had done to other
cities and their temples.
*Chapter 5*
1 And it was told Holofernes the general of the army of the Assyrians,
that the children of Israel prepared themselves to resist, and had shut
up the ways of the mountains.
2 And he was transported with exceeding great fury and indignation, and
he called all the princes of Moab and the leaders of Amman.
3 And he said to them: Tell me what is this people that besetteth the
mountains: or what are their cities, and of what sort, and how great:
also what is their power, or what is their multitude: or who is the king
over their warfare:
5 Then Achior (Rabshakeh the Ephraïmite) captain of all the children of
Ammon answering, said: If thou vouch safe, my lord, to hear, I will tell
the truth in thy sight concerning this people, that dwelleth in the
mountains, and there shall not a false word come out of my mouth.
*Chapter 6*
1 And it came to pass when they had left off speaking, that Holofernes
being in a violent passion, said to Achior:
2 Because thou hast prophesied unto us, saying: That the nation of
Israel is defended by their God, to shew thee that there is no God, but
Nabuehodonosor:
3 When we shall slay them all as one man, then thou also shalt die with
them by the sword of the Assyrians, and all Israel shall perish with thee:
*Chapter 8*
1 Now it came to pass, when Judith a widow had heard these words
4 And the Lord also gave her more beauty: because all this dressing up
did not proceed from sensuality, lent from virtue: and therefore the
Lord increased this her beauty, so that she appeared to all men's eyes
incomparably lovely.
*Chapter 10*
5 And she gave to her maid a bottle of wine to carry, and a vessel of
oil, and parched corn, and dry figs, and bread and cheese, and went out.
*Chapter 11*
1 Then Holofernes said to her: Be of good comfort, and fear not in thy
heart: for I have never hurt a man that was willing to serve Sennacherib
the king.
2 And if thy people had not despised me, I would never have lifted up my
spear against them.
3 But now tell me, for what cause hast thou left them, and why it hath
pleased thee to come to us?
4 And Judith said to him: Receive the words of thy handmaid, for if thou
wilt follow the words of thy handmaid, the Lord will do with thee a
perfect thing.
*Chapter 12*
10 And it came to pass on the fourth day, that Holofernes made a supper
for his servants, and said to Vagao his eunuch: so, and persuade that
Hebrew woman, to consent of her own accord to dwell with me.
11 For it is looked upon as shameful among the Assyrians, if a woman
mock a man, by doing so as to pass free from him.
*Chapter 13*
1 And when it was grown late, his servants made haste to their lodgings,
and Vagao shut the chamber doors, and went his way.
2 And they were all overcharged with wine.
3 And Judith was alone in the chamber.
4 But Holofernes lay on his bed, fast asleep, being exceedingly drunk.
...she went to the pillar that was at his bed's head, and loosed his
sword that hung tied upon it.
9. And when she had drawn it out, she took him by the hair of his head,
and said: Strengthen me, O Lord God, at this hour.
10 And she struck twice upon his neck, and cut off his head, and took
off his canopy from the pillars, and rolled away his headless body.
11 And after a while she went out, and delivered the head of Holofernes
to her maid, and bade her put it into her wallet.
12 And they two went out according to their custom, as it were to
prayer, and they passed the camp, and having compassed the valley, they
came to the gate of the city.
*Chapter 14*
1 And Judith said to all the people: Hear me, my brethren, hang ye up
this head upon our walls.
2 And as soon as the sun shall rise, let every man take his arms, and
rush ye out, not as going down beneath, but as making an assault.
3 Then the watchmen must needs run to awake their prince for the battle.
4 And when the captains of them shall run to the tent of Holofernes, and
shall find him without his head wallowing in his blood, fear shall fall
upon them.
5 And when you shall know that they are fleeing, go after them securely,
for the Lord will destroy them under your feet.
4 And because the Assyrians were not united together, they went without
order in their flight ; but the children of Israel pursuing in one body,
defeated all that they could find.
5 And Ozias (Isaiah) sent messengers through all the cities and
countries of Israel.
6 And every country, and every city, sent their chosen young men armed
after them, and they pursued them with the edge of the sword until they
came to the extremities of their confines.
7 And the rest that were in Bethulia (fortress of Shechem) went into the
camp of the Assyrians, and took away the spoils, which the Assyrians in
their flight had left behind them, and they were laden exceedingly."
	

	It appears that the Biblical account agrees with the Book of Judith on
the slaying of a large part of the Assyrian army, albeit the Book of
Judith has it happen as the Assyrians fled the area while the Bible in
its brevity makes it sound like it happened at the place where they were
camped.
We must remember that according to D. Mackey the compiler of the Book of
Judith in its present form has the names of the participants mixed up.
In reality the story of Judith did not happen during the reign of
Nebuchadnezzar but the Assyrian King Sennacherib.
The Greek historian's account seems to suggest a fabricated story so as
not to embarrass the Assyrians for the murder of their highest ranking
general by a Jewish woman.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

*The Testimony of the Royal Stela*

It is not surprising that a city would be named after him (Sethos) for
this event. Even though, in earlier days he did not have a good
reputation among the Egyptian military. But Esarhaddon <dogriver.html>
overcame the Egyptians eventually and routed the Ethiopians without
capturing Tirhaka. This way the Assyrian King Esarhaddon laid the
foundation for the native kings of the 19th/26th Dynasty to come to
prominence. We believe that Ramses' II appreciation for Esarhaddon to
have become the instrument in establishing his dynasty was the reason he
placed his stela next to that of Esarhaddon at Nahr el Kalb, near Beirut
(Lebanon) years later. One will look in vain for a rational explanation
why Esarhaddon would place his stela (left side) next to that of Ramses
II in conventional view. He would have defaced it no doubt. In revised
view the Assyrian king's stela was there first.

*Murder and Political Mayhem*

Then came Sabacos the Ethiopian who was either Shabataka, the
predecessor of Tirhaka or Tirhaka himself. According to historians
Herodotus was wrong in saying Sabacos killed Ramses I (as Seti I,
663-642 BC, Dynasty 19) who Herodotus called Necos, Sec. 152. It was not
Sabaco (Shabaku) but his son Tandamane who killed Necos in 664/663 BC.
But chronologically speaking who did it has no apparent impact.
[See E. Meyer, /`Geschichte des Alten Ägyptens'/, (Berlin, 1887) , p.
325; also A. Spallinger, /`Assurbanipal and Egypt: A Source Study'/,
Journal of the American Oriental Society 94, (1974), p. 323]

Ramses I, Necos I are different names for the same person. Ramses I was
installed king by Assurbanipal in 665 BC but the designation `I (one)'
actually belongs more properly to the previous Ramses Siptah, one of the
three brothers, who reigned briefly a few decades earlier.
[See website under `Harmhab' for more info]

Note:/ Historians wondered why the conventional Ramses I does not
mention his supposed, immediate predecessor Harmhab; and why there could
not be found anything linking these two together. The synchronization
detailed here and elsewhere shows that Harmhab was expelled in 688 BC,
23 years before the time of Ramses I./
[See R, Hari, /`Horemheb et la Reine Moutnodjemet'/, (Geneva, 1964), p.
412. But both, Harmhab and Ramses I were appointees of Assyrian kings.]

Meanwhile Psammetich became king after Necos I had died and became known
as Seti the Great II (663-609 BC), the grandson of Sethos. Herodotus
credited Psammetich with 54 years showing that our Seti II included the
reign of his predecessor father as if they were his own, 663-609 BC =54
years. This explains the fact that in his 1st year he could refer to his
campaigns in Palestine, Arabia, and Libya [Breasted, /`Records'/, Vol.
III, Sec. 81].

The highest year found on inscriptions attributed to Seti is the year 13
and many give Seti only a 13-15 year reign. How then can we identify
Seti with Psammetichus and give him over 50 years? It appears to us that
the highest year inscription found does not preclude that a king reigned
longer. Why no other statements as to reign length were found could have
various reasons not apparent to us today. One clue that his reign lasted
longer than 13 years is the art and constructions he left behind. Below
is a list of these.

*Seti and the 12 Officials*

According to Herodotus Seti was one of the 12 officials overseeing the
nomes of Egypt at that time, he was a vassal to the Assyrians and
through an interesting selection based on an oracular message, became
king of Egypt, Sec. 151. He was known to the Assyrians as
`Nabushezibanni' and the Greeks as `Psammetich', `p*S*amm*ETI*chus',
`S-eti'. In his own inscriptions he refers to himself as
`Seti-Meri-en-Men-Maat-Re' or `Seti-Ptah-Maat'.

We just saw that for over 60 years Egypt or parts of Egypt had been
ruled by the non-native Ethiopian kings. During this time Egypt had
suffered a lot from Assyrian advances into Egypt directed at unseating
the Ethiopian rulers. The very dynasty Seti the Great belonged to became
Egypt's new ruling line of kings known to us as the 19th Dynasty and
according to Greek historical sources it was named the 26th Dynasty in
modern times before scholars had any clue that the 19th and 26th Dynasty
ruling kings were the same. Economically the nation was still
functioning since Assyrian wrath usually effected more often than not
their religious institutions. In 663 BC Assurbanipal also conquered Thebes.

"Are you better than populous `No' (or `On', see map), that was situated
among the rivers, that had water round about it, and whose rampart was
the sea, and her wall was from the sea?" Nahum 3:8

When Necho I died, Assurbanipal reconquered Egypt and re-established a
system of numerous vice-kings, who "came to meet me and kiss my feet".
Sometime later Assurbanipal informs us that this vice-kings government
was discontinued when one of them took all the power to himself. This he
accomplished with the aid of soldiers who had arrived in Egypt from
Sardis, a city located on the Greek side of Asia Minor. At that time
Gyges was king in Sardis.

At first Gyges sent messengers to Assurbanipal, "Guggu (Gyges), king of
Lydia, a district of the other side of the sea, a distant place, whose
name the kings, my fathers, had not heard, he dispatched his messengers
to bring greetings to me." [Luckenbill, /`Records of Assyria'/, Vol. II,
Sec. 784]

But soon Gyges ceased this approach to Assurbanipal, "His messengers,
whom he kept sending to bring me greetings, he discontinued." According
to Assurbanipal, Gyges sent his troops to the aid of the king of Egypt.
[Ibid., Sec. 785. Assurbanipal called the Egyptian king who received
support from Gyges, Tusharniiki. It is known that at that time
Psammetichos became the sole ruler of Egypt. The Assyrian kings
occasionally gave Egyptian cities and Egyptian kings Assyrian names.
Assurbanipal called the Egyptian city Sais (should be Tanis)
`Kar-bel-matate'.]

Along the same line of events, Herodotus reports that Psammetichos, one
of the 12 vice-kings, deposed his 11 co-rulers, and he did it with the
help of the Ionian and Carian mercenaries who had been `stranded' on
their beaches.
	

	"...a company of sea-raiders from Ionia and Caria were forced by bad
weather to land on the Egyptian coast. They wore bronze armour ...
Psammetichos made friends with the raiders, and by promising of rich
rewards persuaded them to enter in his service, and by their help...
defeated and deposed his 11 enemies." [Sec. 152]

	

	Gyges was able to provide Egypt with Ionian mercenaries because he had
recently occupied the town of Colophon in Ionia, west of Turkey.
[Herodotus, Bk. I, Sec. 14; See also E.M. Smith, /`Naukratis'/, (Vienna,
1926), p.14, n.16]

It appears therefore that it was not bad weather which brought them to
Egypt but an agreement of Gyges with Egypt, as stated by Assurbanipal.

The Homeric poems seem to imply the importance of trade in metal,
particularly with the emergence of wrought iron, and with it the control
of trade routes. There was a caravan route from Thebes to the Siwa Oasis
and from there to the Greek colony at Cyrene. Ships could voyage from
Greece via Rhodes to Naucratis, a longer and more dangerous route, or
via Crete to Cyrenaica. The existence of orcales in Greece are a
reflection of its interactions with ancient Egypt.

Diodorus also mentions this first meeting of Greek mercenaries with
Egyptians, "He [Psammetichos] was the first Egyptian king to open to
other nations the trading places throughout the rest of Egypt ... For
his predecessors in power had consistently closed Egypt to strangers."
[Diodorus, Vol. I, 66-67]

Diodorus also said that Psammetichos was a great admirer of the Greeks
and gave his son Necho [the future Ramses II], a Greek education. Greek
arms, utensils and vases, and the very bones of the Greek mercenaries in
particular their sarcophagi, have been found in and near the Delta,
often together with objects of the 19th Dynasty.
[See Naville, /`The Mound of the Jews'/, (London, 1893), Plate 13; cf.
A. Rowe, /`The Topography and History of Beth-Shan'/, (Philadelphia,
1930), pp. 2, 26, 39]

Organized formations of mercenaries from Sardis were called Shardana or
Sar-an, and were in the service of Seti the Great. The evidence for
Greek presence in the later half of the 7th century BC, the time of
Psammetichus/Seti the Great, comes to us from imported Eastern Greek and
Corinthian pottery at places like Ashkelon, Tel Miqne-Ekron, and Tel
Batash-Timnah. Here sealed destruction layers attributable to the
Babylonian conquests of the late seventh century BC contain sherds some
of which can be directly paralleled at the nearby coastal site of Mesad
Hashavyahu, a site that is generally interpreted as a garrison of Greek
mercenaries.

"While the Greek pottery from all four sites consists of types dated
stylistically to the seventh century B.C., there has previously been
little independent historical evidence to confirm this dating. The
chronology of early Greek pottery is based on its presence at other Near
Eastern sites that have problematical stratigraphy. Some scholars, in
questioning the traditional chronology for Greek pottery, have tried to
lower the accepted dates, though still without specific historical
evidence. Syro-Palestinian archaeologists, on the other hand, have used
the standard chronology of Greek imports to help date the local material
at sites such as Mesad Hashavyahu and Tyre.

The new, securely dated material from Ashkelon and Tel Miqne-Ekron,
supported also by evidence from Tel Batash and Kabri, shows definitively
that specific types of East Greek pottery were present in the Levant
before the end of the seventh century, and that the final days of Mesad
Hashavyahu were closely contemporary with the destructions of Miqne and
Batash." [J. C. Waldbaum & J. Magness, /`American Journal of
Archaeology'/, Vol. 101, January, 1997]

The time of Seti in conventional thinking is the 14th century; that of
Psammetichos is from 663-609 BC, and Herodotus lived from 484-424? BC.
The events discussed occurred only about 200 years before the time of
Herodotus and he must have been well informed about them, since he grew
up in Halicarnassus in Ionia-Caria. Excavators unearthed Greek tombs at
Beth-Shan, "Doubtless among all these troops [of Seti] were many
Mediterranean (Aegean-Anatolian) mercenaries, including the redoubtable
Sherdenen [Shardana]; these must have formed the major part of the
garrison left at Beth-Shan by Seti." [Naville, Ibid., p. 26]

This statement by E. Naville should help us to realize that there is a
connection between Seti the Great and peoples from the Greek Isles.

Many claim Israel was in bondage in Egypt in the days of Ramses II.
Those who argue that way, are they then prepared to claim that Greek
soldiers from the Aegaean Sea were also present in the Nile Delta region
at that time as the above evidence proofs? Did Greeks and Israelites
co-exist as neighbors in the Delta? The problem stated in this way will
not appeal to historians.

The explanation of the presence of Greek mercenary soldiers in the army
of Seti, 700 years before Psammetichos had the same report to make, is
simple: Seti the Great was Psammetichos of Herodotus and other Greek
writers, and he lived in the 2nd half of the 7th century BC, 700 years
after the time conventional history has appointed for him.

Here then we have another example of how duplication in ancient history
occurs and what the causes are. Many more such phenomena exist and are
pointed out in the pages on this website.

Note:/ Seti the Great campaigned extensively in the former Israel and
besieged Beth-Shan, then known as the Scythian's town who, according to
Herodotus, arrived there during that time. These campaigns are not
mentioned in the Bible because after the fall of Israel in 722 BC
nothing happening in that region is mentioned in Jewish books. Beth Shan
was besieged and taken by Seti as evidenced by a stele he left and the
graves of the Greek mercenaries discovered there who served under him.
Ramses II also occupied Beth Shan for some time but archaeologists found
nothing at the location from subsequent kings. Archaeologists reported
the 19th Dynasty layer was followed directly by that of the Babylonian
period with no 700 year layer separating them. This forced them to
conclude that after Ramses II Beth Shan was not inhabited until the time
of the Neo-Babylonian Empire in the 7th century although from the
scriptures we know that it was an important city during the time of the
Judges and Kings. The reason for this discrepancy is at hand, Seti and
Ramses did not live in the 13th century, they lived in the 7th century
BC. Ramses II is the son of Psammetichus, also called Necos. [Herodotus,
/`Histories'/, Bk. II, Sec. 158./

Further details about Psammetichos according to Herodotus are that
during his reign Egyptians first came in contact with Greek soldiers who
landed or shipwrecked their ship on the shores of Egypt but who also
might have arrived on the wishes of the Egyptian king. Having never seen
bronze chest armor before, these mariners made news in Egypt.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

*
Conventional authors story on Seti the Great

*
Some influential conventional authors have Seti growing up in the days
of Amenhotep III. "Erected by Amenhotep III in his temple behind the
Memnon colossi ...", the inscription of Amenhotep III was almost totally
erased by Akhnaton and once again restored by Seti the Great who let it
be written there:

"Restoration of the monument which the King of Upper and Lower Egypt,
Menmare (/Seti/), made for his father Amon-Re, King of all Gods."
[Breasted, /`Records'/, Vol. II, Sec. 878]

There are no serious indications that Seti the Great grew up in the days
of Amenhotep III. But Seti the Great on numerous occasions shows that he
took care to preserve a knowledge of historical connections to the great
native kings of Egypt who had ruled before him.

**

*The Times and Campaigns of Seti the Great*


His contemporaries during his lengthy reign (665-609 BC) in revised view
were Assurbanipal (668-627 BC), Assuruballit II (627 to the destruction
of Niniveh) in Assyria.

In Judah they were Manasseh (696-642 BC), Amon (642-640) and Josiah
640-609 BC).

In the realm of the Hittite/Chaldeans/Babylonians they were
Suppiluliumas II, grandfather of Mursilis (no years stated but they
paralleled Seti's time till about 635 BC). From about 629-607 BC there
was Mursilis/Nabopolassar followed by Nergil (Nergilissar I) (605-600
BC) and Nebuchadnezzar (600-560 BC).

Greece had not yet come onto the world stage as it would later, but the
age of Draco (621 BC) is included in this portion of time. Homer
(680-670 BC) had already written his works (but see here
<lost_and_found_cultural_foundations.html#h>).

The El Amarna period <elamarna_period.html> itself was some 200 years in
the past but in many ways life in Palestine was still the same during
this entire time. The power of the rulers of Damascus, once the dread of
Israel and Judah, had been broken by the Assyrians making the spread of
Arabic tribes, Shasu, possible in this entire area.

The military road from Egypt to Palestine, that is from El-Kantareh to
Rafa, was described by the artists of Seti the Great on the eastern and
western portion of the Hypostyle Hall at Karnak. "The sculptures are
divided into two series by a door that is nearly in the centre and leads
into the Hypostyle Hall." [A.H.Gardiner, /`The Ancient Military Road
Between Egypt and Palestine'/ in *JEA*, Vol. VI, 1920, p. 99-116.]

Seti became king in the year Assurbanipal destroyed Egyptian temples in
665 BC, 2 years before the end of the Ethiopian Dynasty in Egypt (663 BC).

The following *questions we like to pose*:

	

	1. Why would an Egyptian king conduct lengthy military campaigns into
the former territory of the 10 tribes, which, at that time was still
much under the sphere of influence of Assyria?
	Highlights of these campaigns were the subduing of the Shasu, the
taking of `Pekanon' which is most likely the town of Samaria after
having been repaired and/or reconstructed to some extent by King Pekah
of Israel ruling in Gilead (about 752-732 BC) who was a rival to King
Menahem (752-742 BC) ruling from Samaria.
In his Year 1, Seti left Egypt from his fortress at Tharu and moved his
troops into position to fight the Shasu, he entered Gaza and on to
Pekanan. Pekanan was the town built by the Israelite King Pekah (752-732
BC) and may have been the rebuilt old capital of Samaria. Therefore to
put Seti before King Pekah seems to be anachronistic. In an inscription
Seti wrote:
"Year 1 ... the destruction which the mighty sword of Pharaoh ... made
among the vanquished of the Shasu from the fortress of Tharu to
*Pekanan*, when his majesty marched against them like a fierce-eyed lion
..." [Breasted, /`Records'/, Vol. III, Sec. 88]
At some point Seti continued north and had additional inscriptions made
not known by Breasted. We read on his commemorative stele found at Beth
Shan:
"On this day, His majesty was informed as follows: The despicable foe
who comes from the town of *Hammath* has gathered a large force,
capturing the town of *Beth-Shan*. And in league with the people of
Pahil, he has prevented the chief of Rehob from getting out."
"So His Majesty dispatched the first division of Amun, `Mighty of Bows',
against the town of Hammath; the first division of Re, `Abounding in
Valor', against the town of Beth-Shan; and the first division of Seth,
`Strong of Bows', against the town of *Yenoam*. In the space of a single
day, they had fallen to the power of His Majesty."
[See our CIAS Encyclopedia <encyclo.html> for more on these city names.]
The Egyptian records also mention the capture of the town of Yenoam,
next he moves past Tyre and Othu along the old Phoenician coast already
largely abandoned by the Phoenicians at this time. How far north he
proceeded we don't know since the upper portion of his inscriptions at
this point are missing.
Like so many times in antiquity, the fastest way to gain fame, riches
and fortunes of all kinds, after having been under foreign rule for so
long, was to go out and conquer. This many ancient kings had done before
him.
The window of opportunity for these events in revised view could likely
be anywhere between 662-640 BC. 	

	2. What was Seti's relationship with Assyria?
	It appears that Seti did not come in contact with Assyrian forces
during his campaign. Assurbanipal's Assyria was not punctuated by
numerous military actions in the area of Palestine after his inital
campaign into Egypt in 665 BC. His efforts were directed more toward the
growing Chaldean might in the north and north west. 	

	3. Was he acting in support of Assyrian interests?

	For a more detailed discussion on this complex time read here <#ally>
on Seti the Great. 	

	4. If Seti was Psammetichus why did he not have any contact with
Manasseh of Judah?

	Here we can point to Egyptian inscriptions naming `Menate (mn't'yw)',
King of Judah.
"Slaying of the Asiatic men of Menate, all inaccessible countries, all
lands ..." [Breasted, /`Records'/, Vol. III, Sec. 118] This detail is
also further discussed in Part #2 <#ally>. 	

	5. Can the many constructions of this king help in placing him on the
BC time scale?

	Among all the ruins of ancient Egypt the temple complex of Seti the
Great is the best preserved. In revised view that is much more
understandable since his age has been misdated some 600 years. There in
the gallery of kings can we find the names of 76 kings which preceeded
Seti according to his count as well as a list of 120 gods of Egypt. A
famous building in this complex is the Osireion, a 100x60 foot
undecorated building made of huge stones. It is located 50 feet below
the temple of Seti and probably was not constructed by him and included
waterway passages to be traversed by small boats. Even though Seti had
inscriptions and his name carved in its walls the structure itself is
not typical for his period and he probably added the inscriptions and
appropriated the Osireion for himself.

	

	*List of Constructions of Pharaoh Seti the Great* 	

	1. Seti's Temple at Abydos
2. Parts of the Cenotaph at Abydos
3. The great Temple of On at Tell el Yahoodieh
4. He filled Heliopolis with obelisks <eop.html#obels> (at least with two)
5. The Temple Model of Heliopolis consisting mainly of the `Holy of
Holies', understandable considering that the Jerusalem Temple was a
daily reminder of such a feature.
For more details see Peter J. Brand, /`The Monuments of Seti:
Epigraphic, Historical and Art Historical Analysis'/, E.J.Brill, Leiden
2000.
[H. Frankfort evaluated the Cenotaph as a late monument.]
	

	*1. The relationship between the cosmogeny of Seti's Cenotaph with
/`The Seven Tablets of Creation'/ (Enuma Elish) from the time of the
Assyrian king Assurbanipal (668-627 BC).*
*Seti's Cenotaph at Abydos*
The cenotaph depicts the `watery abyss' not merely as a figurative
expression but as a literal entity. Creation is depicted on a mound
surrounded by water, an island which to this day is subterranean, in the
middle of living water. Life, death and rebirth are reflected in this
view of creation of the universe to the last detail.
[Peter J. Brand, /`The Monuments of Seti I: Epigraphic, Historical and
Art Historical Analysis'/, (Leiden, 2000)] 	The Assyrian `Seven Tablets
of Creation'. The first of these two myths is the myth of creation
[6,7], the work consisting of seven tablets. These tablets were first
discovered by the British excavation of Nineveh. The outline of this
myth begins with a description of the primeval condition of the universe
when nothing existed except Apsu, the god of the sweet (fresh) water,
and Tiamat, the goddess of the salt water. From the union of these two,
the gods were brought into existence. The first pair, Lahmu and Lahamu,
give birth to Anshar and Kishar, interpreted by some scholars as the
circular horizons of sky and earth. Anshar and Kishar in turn give birth
to Anu, the sky god, and Ea, the earth and water god (also known as the
god of wisdom and the source of all magic). Ea then begets Ashur, the
hero of the Assyrians form of myth. But before the birth of Ashur, there
was an account of the first conflict between the primeval gods and those
whom they have begotten. Tiamat and Apsu are disturbed by the noise of
the younger gods and take counsel with Mummu, Apsu's vizier, on how to
destroy them. Tiamat is reluctant to destroy her offspring, but Apsu and
Mummu devise a plan. Their intention is disclosed to the gods, who are
alarmed, but Ea, the all-wise, devises a counter-scheme; he casts a
spell of sleep upon Apsu, slays him, binds Mummu and puts a cord in his
nose. He then builds his sacred chamber. In this chamber the birth of
Ashur takes place, and a description of his beauty and tremendous
strength follow. The preparation for a renewed conflict between the
primeval gods and the younger gods went on. Tiamat is reproached by her
other children for having remained quiescent when Apsu was destroyed,
and they succeed in stirring her up to take measures for the
annihilation of Anu and his associates. She makes Kingu, her first born,
the leader of the attack, arms him and invests him with the tablets of
destiny. She then begets a horde of monstrous beings, and places Kingu
at the head of this host, and prepares to avenge Apsu. The assembly of
the gods received the news of the coming attack. Then Anu is sent armed
with the authority of the assembly of the gods to turn Tiamat from her
purpose, but he returns unsuccessful. Then Anshar rises in the assemble
of gods and proposes that Ashur, the strong hero, should be entrusted
with the task. Ashur's father, Ea, advises him to accept the task, and
Ashur agrees to undertake it on the condition that he is given full and
equal authority in the assembly of the gods, and that his word is to
determine destiny unalterably. The gods are satisfied and proclaim
"Ashur is King". Then Ashur arms himself for the combat; his weapons are
the bow and arrow, mace, lightning, and a net held at the corners by the
four winds; he fills his body with flame, and creates the seven raging
hurricanes; he mounts his storm chariot and advances against Tiamat and
her host. He challenges Tiamat to single combat, he casts his net to
enclose her and when she opens her mouth to swallow him, he drives in
the evil wind to distend her and transfixes her with his arrow,
splitting her heart. Her demon helpers flee, but are caught in the net
and bound. Their leader, Kingu, also is caught and bound. Then Ashur
takes from Kingu the tablets of destiny and fastens them upon his own
breast. He then splits the body of Tiamat in two; he places half of her
above the earth as the sky, fixes it with bars, sets guards and charges
them not to let her water escape. Ashur declares his intention of
creating man for the services of the gods. By the advice of Ea, it is
decided that the leader of the rebellion, Kingu, shall die so that
mankind may be fashioned. Accordingly Kingu is slain and from his blood
mankind is created for the services of the gods. Then the gods build a
temple for Ashur, and at the command of Anu, they proclaim the fifty
great names of Ashur, a proceeding that occupies the rest of the poem.
The second myth, which gave rise to the choice of April the first to
become the beginning of the New Year for the Assyrians and Babylonians,
is the myth of Ishtar and her lover Tammuz. The details of this mythical
story begin with a discussion between Ishtar and her brother, the god
Utu. Initially, she announces her love for the farmer and her desire to
marry him, whereas Utu prefers her marry to the shepherd Tammuz.
Eventually, she is persuaded to accept her brother's choice especially
after listening to Tammuz claim to be gifted with superior qualities.
After this meeting, Ishtar falls in love with the shepherd Tammuz, who
in turn asks for her hand in marriage. Hence Ishtar, the goddess of
love, marries the shepherd Tammuz, who is elevated into the god of
Fertility. Their marriage endows the earth with fertility and renewal of
life is ensured. From this myth we also learn of the descent of Ishtar
to the Netherworld (land of no return), the realm of Ereshkigal
(Ishtar's sister). The original version gave no reasons for this
journey, but the Assyrian version states that she sets free some of the
dead. The version runs as follows [3]: Ishtar determines to descend to
the Netherworld. When Ishtar reaches the gate of the land of no return,
she says these words to the gatekeeper: "O gatekeeper, open thy gate,
Open thy gate so that I may enter! If thou openest not the gate so that
I cannot enter, I will smash the door. For I will shatter the bolt, I
will smash the doorpost, I will move the doors, I will raise up the
dead, eating the living, so that the dead will outnumber the living."
Although Ereshkigal is Ishtar's sister, she is filled with joy at the
thought of capturing such a prize, and orders her to be admitted. At
each of the seven doors of hell, through which she must pass, the keeper
of the gate forces Ishtar to remove part of her apparel; first her
crown, and then her earrings, her necklaces, her breastband of precious
metal, her belt made of charms of "stones of childbirth", her bracelets
from her wrists and her ankles, and finally her "garment of modesty."
Thus Ishtar appears naked in the presence of the queen of the
Netherworld, and overcomes with rage, without a moment's thought, she
attacks her. In revenge, Ereshkigal bids her minister, Namtar, to
unleash upon Ishtar a multitude of diseases, like a pack of hounds.
During these events in the underworld, everything on earth is withering
away. Trees and plants will not turn green; animals and human beings
alike are sterile. But Ishtar has already asked her devoted messenger
Papsukkal, the vizier of the great gods, to inform Ea, the god of
wisdom, of her misfortune if she does not return from the Netherworld
within three days. Three days elapse and Ishtar has not appeared.
Consequently, Papsukkal pleads with Ea to rescue Ishtar from the
Netherworld. When Ea learns of Ishtar's predicament, a being Asushunamir
of extreme beauty (or the eunuch) is created and instructed by the god
Ea to undertake the rescue of Ishtar from the Netherworld. Ea sends
Asushunamir down to induce Ereshkigal to give him the life-water bag. By
his charm he succeeds in doing this, and Ereshkigal reluctantly orders
her vizier Namtar to sprinkle Ishtar with the water of life. Ishtar is
released and returns, receiving back those articles of adornment and
apparel which had been taken from her as she passes through the seven
gates on her return journey. But a reference is made to the ransom,
which she must pay. Ereshkigal says to Namtar, "If she does not give
thee her ransom price, bring her back." What this is to be is not
specified, but the mention of Tammuz at the end of the myth seems to
imply his return from the underworld, although no indication has been
given as to how he came there. Mr. Yousip Nimrud Canoon, in his article
[1], describes in details the mythical story of how Ishtar passes
through many cities whose inhabitants are in mourning because of the
news of her death. When Ishtar reaches her husband's house, she realizes
his indifference to what had happened to her. She also realizes that he
is not saddened by her death. Instead he is wearing immaculate robes and
sitting in opulent surroundings. In anger Ishtar casts a deathful look
on Tammuz followed by an attack of Namtar, but Tammuz escapes several
times aided by the god Utu. Eventually, Tammuz is captured and beaten to
death by Namtar and taken to the Netherworld. His sister mourns his
death and pleads with Ishtar to set him free; Ishtar also mourns the
death of Tammuz her beloved husband. When her anger subsides, Ishtar
pleads with the council of gods to restore Tammuz to life, but the gods
agree to a partial reprieve only, whereby Tammuz spends six months in
the world of living and the following six months in the Netherworld.
Hence, Tammuz is restored to life on the 1st of Nissan (April), the 1st
day of spring. The event is marked by the renewal of life on earth and
the promise of fertility, and Tammuz returns to the Netherworld by the
end of August, the onset of autumn. The Seven Tablets of Creation,
greatly mutilated and incomplete, found at Nineveh by the Assyriologist
George Smith in 1872, read as follows: When above were not raised the
heavens: And below the earth was not called by name, The primeval deep
(Apsu) was the source of both, The chaos of the sea (Tiamat) was the
mother of them all. Their waters were embosomed in one place, The
corn-stalk was ungathered, the marsh-plant was ungrown. Time was when
gods had not been made, No name was named, no destiny determined: Then
were created the gods in the midst [of heaven] Lakmu and Lakhamu burst
forth. Ages increased. Anshar and Kishar were created, Days grew long...
Anu, [Bel and Ea were created.] In time a brood of monsters arose, all
sorts of combinations of animals and men, with Tiamat at their head. At
last Marduk says he will undertake to dispose of them. Follows the
forging of weapons and then, after a long encounter, Bel trampled on the
underpart of Tiamat, With his blows unceasing he smote the skull.
..................... And he brake her like a dried fish in two pieces;
He took one-half of her and made it the covering of the sky; He
stretched out the skin, and caused a watch to be kept, Enjoining that
her waters should not issue forth. After this victory He established the
stations for the great gods; The stars, their likenesses, he set up as
constellations; He fixed the year, and marked the divisions. The twelve
months he divided among three stars, From the beginning of the year till
the close. He established the station of Jupiter to indicate their
boundary, So that there might be no deviation nor wandering from the
course. He established with him the stations of Bel and Ea.
.......................... He made the moon appear illuminating the
night. .................... [saying:] ["On the 28th day] thou shalt
approach the sun-god." .......................... At that time the gods
in their assembly created [the beasts], They made perfect the mighty
monsters. They caused the living creatures [of the field] to come forth,
The cattle of the field, [the wild beasts] of the field, and the
creeping things. But the gods complain to Marduk that they are lonely
and unhappy because there is no one to worship them. Upon Marduk's
hearing the utterance of the gods he was prompted to carry out [a clever
plan]. He opened his mouth and unto Ea [he spake], "My blood I will
gather and bone [I will take], ......................... I will create
man to inhabit the earth, That the worship of the gods may be
established." Turning now to the Old Testament, we find in Genesis I: 1.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2. And the earth
was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3. And God
said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4. .....and God divided
the light from the darkness. 7. And God made the firmament, and divided
the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were
above the firmament. 9. And God said ...... let the dry land appear; 11.
And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed,
and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in
itself. 14. And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the
heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and
for seasons, and for days, and years: 16. And God made two great lights;
the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the
night: and he made the stars also. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . 20. And God said: Let the waters bring forth
abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly
above the earth... 21. And God created great whales, and every living
creature that moveth.... 25. And God made the beast of the earth ... and
cattle ... and everything that creepeth upon the earth after their kind:
and God saw that it was good. 26. And God said, Let us make man in our
own image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish
of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over
all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the
earth. 27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God
created he him; male and female (i.e., androgynous) created he them.

2. The relationship between Plato's /`Timaeus'/ and Seti's /`Book of
Gates'/.
	

	
*The Continuity of the Dynasties*

How Seti the Great became an ally of Assurbanipal, King of Assyria, who
ruled from ca. 668 - 627 BC.

King Assurbanipal was a mighty warrior king and led two military
campaigns against Egypt and one against the city of Tyre just off the
coast of Lebanon of today. No sooner were these campaigns over and he
found himself surrounded by enemies. The instigator of trouble was his
own brother Shamash-shum-ukin. When we say brother we don't always know
if they were first brothers or second brothers from another concubine
wife of the king. Esarhaddon had passed on (bequeathed) the throne of
Babylonia to this Shamash-shum-ukin and left Assyria to Assurbanipal.
The military exploits of Assurbanipal started to worry Shamash and he
began to look for other rulers who also might have something to worry
about. One of these rulers was Tirhaka the new pharaoh of Egypt who was
an Ethiopian and had taken advantage of the weak government of Egypt
during the last years of Esarhaddon/Sennacherib and taken over that
ancient kingdom. So Shamash, over the years, wrote letters to Tirhaka
until his death. Shamash also wrote letters to the kings of Elam, Aram
(which is Damascus), and other less consequential countries for our
story. All of these were alarmed about the aggressive violence Assyrians
demonstrated in their drive for conquest.

After a campaign against Elam, whose king "plotted" against him,
Assurbanipal became aware that his own brother was his chief enemy. He
wrote, "In these days Shamash-shum-ukin, the faithless brother of mine,
king of Babylon, stirred to revolt against me the people of Akkad,
Chaldea, the Arameans (in the area of Damascus) ... along with the kings
of Gute, Arnurru and Melukha (Ethiopia)." [Luckenbill, `Records of
Assyria', Vol. II, Sec. 789]

Assurbanipal was no longer able to interfere in the affairs of Egypt,
and Seti succeeded in overcoming the eleven vice-kings of the nomes and
regained the throne of his father. The revolt stirred up all around
Assyria absorbed Assurbanipal's entire attention. In the fraternal war
he captured Babylon, and his brother Shamash-shum-ukin killed himself.
But a number of years later a new opponent, an untiring avenger, arose
in the person of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon. Nabopolassar, together
with the king of the Medes, waged a protracted war against Assurbanipal,
who desperately needed an ally. Assurbanipal found him in Seti, whose
father (Ramses I) had been pardoned and was crowned by him. In this way
Seti rose from the status of a vassal to that of a partner of the
Assyrian king in a long war.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Year 1, 3rd month...Seti Mer-ne-Ptah...the great god...terrible in
combat, penetrating into a mass of Asiatics and making them prostrate,
crushing the princes of Retenu...He causes to retreat the princes of
Syria...On this day one came to speak to his majesty as follows: `The
wretched foe who is in the town of Hamath is gathering to himself many
people, while he is seizing the town of Beth-Shan...' Thereupon his
majesty sent the first army of Amon...to the town of Yanoam...they (the
enemies) were overthrown..."
[Excerpts from Luckenbill, /`Egyptian Historical Texts'/, p. 182-183]
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seti may have numbered the years of his own reign from the day he became
the sole king of Egypt, or from the day he achieved independence for
Egypt and was recognized as Assurbanipal's ally. This explains the fact
that already in his first year Seti, in recording his accomplishments,
could refer to his campaigns in Palestine, Arabia, and Libya.
[Breasted, `Records', Vol. III, Sec. 81]

The princes of Babylon, Nabopolassar and his brother, revolting against
Assyria, sent emissaries to Aleppo, Hamath, and Damascus, and to the
chieftains of the unsettled tribes of the desert (later called
Bedouins), inciting them to create disturbances in the Assyrian domain.
At that time, in the reign of Assurbanipal, the provinces were ruled
more by anarchy than by the will of the despot. Usurper replaced
usurper, to be assassinated in turn, and there was neither order nor
authority in northern Palestine and Syria. "They have taken to cursing
and quarrelling, each of them slaying his neighbor," wrote Seti. [Ibid.,
Sec. 101]

Seti moved his troops into Galilee, the land of the Ten Tribes which
became desolate after the exile in 722 BC, about 70 years prior to this
day. The new settlers were unable to protect their habitations against
bandits from the marauding desert tribes or even against wild beasts:

	

	"And so it was at the beginning of them dwelling there, that they
feared not the Lord: therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which
slew some of them." 2.Kings 17:25-26.
	

	During the reign of King Sennacherib of Assyria and Assurbanipal,
Menashe (Manasseh), son of Hezekiah, reigned in Judea. For 54 years he
occupied the throne of Jerusalem. The Bible does not mention any war of
Menashe, only his being carried away into a short captivity in Babylon.
In those turbulent times 54 years could hardly have passed without
involving Judea more than once into greater or lesser conflicts. But of
Manasseh we read that he built a wall on the west side of Gihon up to
the fish gate to a very great height. Such a wall has been found by
archaeologists. "The remains of an impressive structure of the monarchy
period, founded on bedrock and built of very large, roughly hewn
rectangular stones, was discovered above the Gihon spring in the Kidron
Valley. It is believed to be part of the fortifications built at the end
of the First Temple period (8th-7th century BCE) by Menassah, King of
Judah, to defend the entrance to the Gihon spring: Now after this he
built a wall without the City of David on the west side of the Gihon, in
the Valley..." [2 Chronicles 33:14]

Perhaps Menashe's penchant for erecting idols, at the same time as he
was building on the house of the Lord, conducting paganistic ceremonies
and spiritualistic seances were all an effort to ward off the constant
threat he felt from the foreign troops surrounding his kingdom. Menashe
certainly must have been successful in his politics if he could keep
Judea out of a war for that long a time but it came at a price.

Seti repeatedly led military campaigns toward the Euphrates River
marching each time as an ally of the Assyrian king. He also took
measures to secure the safety of the cities of Galilee and defended them
against bands from the desert. His activities in Galilee and his
numerous marches across the plains of the Philistines, close to Judea,
might easily have infringed on Menashe's territorial rights. But
apparently Menashe leaned toward Assyria and Egypt; he called his son
Amon, a sacred name among the Egyptians. He tried to avoid a major
conflict, but he certainly was no friend to the Egyptians.

The latter part of Menashe's long reign coincided with the earlier part
of the long reign of Seti, and it would be strange indeed if, in Seti's
inscriptions of his march to Galilee and Syria, he would not mention
Menashe. With this thought in mind, it is worthwhile to re-read the
annals of Seti. There we find Seti's boast that he had "set terror in
Retenu (Rezenu, Palestine)", and had taken from there "every costly
stone of God's land", and had "beat down the men of Menate (M-n-ty)."
The men of Menate, named twice in this passage of the Egyptian records
by Seti were the men of Menashe. We have here the name we had every
reason to expect to find, inasmuch as Seti and Menashe were
contemporaries and knew each other. [Breasted, `Records', Vol. III, Sec.
118]

But we are not done yet. We must answer some questions. If history went
the way described above, Why is there no mention of these goings on in
the Bible and for that matter why don't the other history books describe
it like it is done here? Conventional historians admit that a pharaoh
went with his army on a prolonged military expedition to Palestine in
the days of Menashe, but they call him Psammetichos, as Herodotus tells
the story.

The reason for the omission in the Bible is easy to see. Since the time
of Hezekiah, the father of Menashe, the land of the Ten Tribes had been
settled by non-Israelites, and the books of Kings and Chronicles no
longer occupy themselves with any history of that region at all, no
matter what happened there.

	

	"Not far into Asia, Seti apparently meets a fortified town, to which
the relief gives the name Pekanan (Pekanonm) .... Exactly what this
name means here is not certain."
[Breasted, `Records', Vol. III, Sec. 87; See W.M. Müller,
`Asien und Europa nach Altägyptischen Denkmälern', p. 205]
	

	A scene on a bas-relief illustrates the occupation of the fortress
Pekanon in Palestine. The accompanying inscription reads:
	

	"Town of Pekanon (P-k-n-n), Year 1, King of Upper and Lower
Egypt, Menmare (Seti). The destruction which the mighty sword
of Pharaoh made among the vanquished of the Shasu (invading
Bedouins) from the fortress of Tharu (in Egypt) to Pekanan, when
his majesty marched against them like a fierce-eyed lion, making
them carcasses in their valleys, overturned in their blood..."
[Breasted, `Records', Vol. III, Sec. 88]
	

	A few other places in the plain of Jezreel are also mentioned as having
been occupied with the intention of repelling the invasion of the
foreigners, but prominence is given to Pekanan. No reference to a city
by that name is found in previous city lists of Palestinian cities
compiled by the pharaohs, nor had the Israelites found a city by that
name when they occupied Canaan. Some scholars presume that it may mean
`Pi-Canaan' or "The Canaan," but others disagree.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The name has the sign of a country, but it is pictured in the bas-relief
as a city. This suggests that the city was the capital of the country.
The city of Pekanon must have existed for only a short time. It is
conceded that Egyptian documents before Seti (whose reign, according to
conventional chronology started in about 1310 BC) do not know such a
city. Hebrew annals containing a list of the Palestinian cities of the
13th century (the time of the conquest by Joshua) do not know it either.
In the Egyptian sources Pekanon is met once more on the stele of
Merneptah (the grandson of Seti), who mentions the Israelites in
Palestine. Thus the name Pekanon became a hopeless issue in historical
geography.

Pekanon was a city fortified by Pekah, the next to the last king of
Israel. The form "Pekanon" is derived from King Pekah, like Shomron is
derived from Shemer [See 1.Kings 16:24]. Pekanon could also be Shomron
(Samaria) renamed by Pekah, an explanation most probable. Cities built,
rebuilt, or fortified by kings were often named in their honor. Pekah,
son of Remaliah, reigned in Samaria for 20 years (2.Kings 15:27). He was
a ruler eager for enterprises, from the day he slew Pekahiah, his
master, until the day he slaughtered 120,000 people of Judah and
"carried away captive of their brethren 200,000" (2.Chronicles 28:8),
only to release them shortly thereafter.

According to the synchronization of the people and events here
presented, Pekah preceded Seti the Great by two generations. This order
of things explains why, in the list of cities, the name of Pekanon does
not appear, and why, in the biblical register of city names of Canaan,
there is no mention of this name in the days of Joshua's conquest or later.

Judging by the significance attached to Pekanon in the records of Seti,
it was an important city in or near the Esdraelon Valley renamed by King
Pekah, who rebuilt or fortified it. We think it was most likely the name
for rebuilt Samaria.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

*But the names Pekanan and Retenu are found again in the `Papyrus
Harris' of the age of Ramses III*:

"I built for thee the mysterious house in the land of Zahi (D-h), like
the horizon of heaven which is in the sky, (named): `The-House
(h-t)-of-Ramses-Ruler-of-Heliopolis, -L.P.H., - in-*Pekanan*,' as the
property of thy name. I fashioned thy great statue resting in the midst
of it (named): `Amon-of-Ramses-Ruler-of-Heliopolis, L.P.H.' The Asiatics
of *Retenu* (Rtnw) came to it, bearing their tribute before it, for it
was divine." [Breasted, /`Records'/, Vol. IV, Sec. 219]

After his short lived success in driving out the `Peoples of the Sea
(remnants of the Persian/Greek armies)' invaders Ramses had an
opportunity to chase them through Palestine no doubt to pick up booty
along the way and set up a token `mystery' house to ward off such
enemies in the future in Pekanan, perhaps the old capital of Samaria.
His references to himself as the `ruler of Heliopolis' seems to indicate
that he was in foreign land when he did so where people were not
necessarily informed in who he (Ramses III) was.
Traditionally Palestine was were Egypt got its cattle from. The Jewish
economy with its sacrificial temple services required a continuous
supply of sheep and cattle. "The Canaanites (think Israelites) lands are
constantly mentioned in the Egyptian documents as providers of cattle
for Egypt." [A. Nibbi, /`The Sea Peoples and Egypt'/, New Jersey, 1975,
p. 66]

*A Brief Survey of the Time and Records of Ramses III*
Since we place these events into the late 370's BC, the arrival of the
Persian armies no doubt forced displacements of the inhabitants of
Palestine. For this reason we read:
"(As for the) foreign (countries) ... destruction to their towns,
devastated at one time; their trees and all their people are become
ashes. They take counsel with their hearts: `Whither shall we go?'
(Their chiefs) come ... (their children and their tribute upon) their
backs, to Egypt..." [Ibid., p. 70]
Apparently the armies destroyed even the remaining forests and/or
orchards of the helpless population.
The enemy of Egypt included people from the `hill countries' an
appropriate reference to Asia Minor where many mercenary soldiers of the
Greeks and Persians came from. 	

	
*Pekanon, the name of the land or a king?*

"Not far into Asia, Seti apparently meets a fortified town, to which the
relief gives the name Pekanan [Pekanon]. . . . Exactly what this name
means here is not certain." [380 <#ewtnb>] A scene on a bas-relief
illustrates the occupation of the fortress Pekanon in Palestine. The
accompanying inscription reads:

Town of Pekanan (P' -k' -n' -n' ), Year I, King of Upper and Lower
Egypt, Menmare (Seti). The destruction which the mighty sword of Pharaoh
made among the vanquished of the Shasu (invading Bedouins) from the
fortress of Tharu (in Egypt) to Pekanan, when his majesty marched
against them like a fierce-eyed lion, making them carcasses in their
valleys, overturned in their blood. . . ." [390 <#feyl>]

A few other places in the plain of Jezreel are also mentioned as having
been occupied with the intention of repelling the invasion of the
foreigners, but prominence is given to Pekanon.

No reference to the city of Pekanon is found in previous lists of
Palestinian cities compiled by the pharaohs, nor had the Israelites
found a city by that name when they occupied Canaan. Some scholars
presume that it may mean Pi-Canaan or "The Canaan", but others
disagree.[410 <#pica>] The name has the sign of a country, but it is
pictured on the bas-relief as a city. This suggests that the city was
the capital of a country.

The city of Pekanon must have existed for but a short moment. It is
conceded that Egyptian documents before Seti (whose reign, according to
the conventional chronology, started in -1310) do not know such a city.
Hebrew annals containing a list of the Palestinian cities of the
thirteenth century (the supposed time of the conquest by Joshua) do not
know it either. In the Egyptian sources Pekanon is met once more on the
stele of Merneptah (the grandson of Seti), who mentions the Israelites
in Palestine. Thus the name Pekanon became a hopeless issue in
historical geography.

Pekanon was a city fortified by Pekah, the next to the last king of
Israel.[420 <#pepe>] Cities built, rebuilt, or fortified by kings were
often named in their honor. Pekah, son of Remaliah, reigned in Samaria
for twenty years [2.Kings 15:27]. He was a ruler eager for enterprises,
from the day he slew Pekahiah, his master, until the day he slaughtered
120,000 people of Judah and "carried away captive of their brethren two
hundred thousand" [2.Chronicles 28:8], only to release them shortly
thereafter.

According to the reconstruction of history offered here, Pekah preceded
Seti the Great by two generations. This order of things explains why, in
the list of Thutmose III containing the names of hundreds of Palestinian
and Syrian localities, the name of Pekanon does not appear, and why, in
the biblical register of cities of Canaan, there is no mention of this
name in the days of Joshua's conquest or later. Judging by the
significance attached to Pekanon in the records of Seti, it was an
important city in or near the Esdraelon Valley, renamed by King Pekah,
who rebuilt or fortified it.

*/ /*

	

	
*Seti, King of Egypt*

A damaged stele found at Amarah West yielded the hieroglyphics for
`Regnal Year' and four lines or strokes can be seen but more strokes or
lines could have been there leaving open what regnal year we are talking
about, but that portion of the stele is now missing. Besides leading
campaigns against the Asiatics, Seti also appears to have campaigned in
Nubia, the deep South of Egypt. From this time stems his `Nauri Decree'
which mentions at least the threat of infliction of severe punishements
like mutilations and/or impalement. [K.Kitchen, /`Historical
Observations on Ramesside Nubia'/ in *Ägypten und Kush*, p. 215, 223.;
These types of punishments remind us once again of Assyrian times.]

*The End of Nineveh*

	

	Seti, who, as an ally of Assyria, took it upon himself to attend to
rebellious Syria, moved with his army along the Esdraelon Valley and
came to the city of Beth-Shan not far from the Jordan. A stele of Seti
was found in Beth-Shan, the inscription of which reads:

"The wretched enemy who was in the city of Hamath, he had collected to
himself many people, was taking away the town of Beth-Shan..." [The
stele was found by the expedition of the University of Pennsylvania in
1923. See Rowe, Topography and History of Beth-shan, p. 28]

The stele further states that the army of Amon was sent to the town of
Hamath, the army of Seth to the town of Yanoam while the Egyptian army
of Ra, called also "Many Braves", captured the city of Beth Shan at the
command of the pharaoh. The erection of the stele in that place
indicates that Seti succeeded in conquering this city-fortress. Later
his son and successor, Ramses II, would use a four division army in his
campaign against Carchemish the fourth army being that of Suthek,
mercenaries from Sardis. [Basalt stele of Seti the Great from Beth Shan;
ANET 253-254]

Beth-Shan guards the road from Gilead in Trans-Jordan and also from
Galilee along the valley of the Jordan; consequently it is an important
strategic point at a crossroads, protecting the eastern gate of the
Esdraelon Valley against encroachment from the north and east.

In the days of Assurbanipal's father, Esarhaddon, the Scythians came
down from the steppes (prairies) of Russia and, crossing the Caucasus,
arrived at the lake of Urmia. Their king went to the help of
Assurbanipal when the Medes and the Babylonians marched against Assyria.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bartatua, the king of the Scythians, proposed an alliance to Assyria and
asked a daughter of Esarhaddon for wife. Madyas, the son of Bartatua
(Madyas, son of Protothyas, according to Herodotus), came to the help of
Assurbanipal when Cyaxares of the Medes marched against Assyria. I, 103 ff.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Herodotus [Bk. I, Sec. 103] narrates that the Scythians descended from
the slopes of the Caucasus, battled the Medes who were pressing on
Nineveh, and, moving southward, reached Palestine. There they were met
by Psammetichos, the pharaoh, *who for a long time tarried in Palestine*.

Chapters 4-6 of the young Jeremiah are generally regarded as expressing
the fear of the people of Palestine at the approach of the Scythian
hordes. The prophet spoke of the evil that would come down from the
north and a great destruction (4:6), of whole cities that would "flee
for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen" (4:29), of "a mighty nation .
. . whose language thou knowest not" (5:15). "Behold, a people cometh
from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the
sides of the earth" (6:22).

The Egyptian king, however, succeeded by persuasion in halting their
advance toward Egypt. He, like the Scythians, was an ally of
Assurbanipal. According to Herodotus, Psammetichos was besieging a city
in Palestine when the Scythians reached that country. We have identified
Seti the Great with Psammetichos of Herodotus. Now we are bound to ask:
What city was Psammetichos besieging when the Scythians descended from
the north?

The translation of the Seventy (Septuagint) calls Beth-Shan by the name
of Scythopolis; so do Josephus and Eusebius. Georgius Syncellus, the
Byzantine chronologist, explained that the use of the name Scythopolis
for Beth-Shan was due to the presence of Scythians, who had remained
there from among the invading hordes in the days of Psammetichos.
[Judges 1:27(Septuagint); 2.Maccabeans 12:29ff; Josephus, AJ, Bk. V,
Chap. I, 22. "Bethshan, which is now called Scythopolis", (p.108); also
Bk. XII, Ch. IV, 5, (p.254)]

As has been said above, Beth-Shan was besieged and occupied by Seti, and
his steles and the graves of the Greek mercenaries who served with him
were discovered there. Ramses II, his successor, also occupied Beth-Shan
for some time, but no vestiges have been found there of Egyptian kings
of later times.

The conventional chronology compelled the archaeologists of Beth-Shan to
conclude that after Seti and Ramses II the city was practically
uninhabited until the time of the Neo-Babylonian Empire in the seventh
century, although from the Scriptures we know that Beth-Shan was an
important city in the days of Judges and Kings.

Seti-meri-en-Ptah Men-maat-Re, who left his steles in Beth-Shan, was
Psammetichos of Herodotus. It was the seventh century.

There is a mural that shows Seti capturing a city called Kadesh. Modern
scholars recognized that this Kadesh or Temple City was not the Kadesh
mentioned in the annals of Thutmose. Whereas the Kadesh of Thutmose was
in southern Palestine, the Kadesh of Seti was in Coele-Syria. The
position of the northern city suggested that it was Dunip, the site of
an Amon temple built in the days of Thutmose III. Dunip, in its turn,
was identified as Baalbek <jeroboam.html>. [Chronographia, I, 405;
Breasted, Records, Vol. III, Sec. 140]

Following the Orontes, which was reportedly called Typhon in the years
before 400 BC and is a river which has its source not far from Baalbek,
Seti occupied the site of Tell Nebi-Mend near the village of Riblah and
built a fortified mound. A stele of his was unearthed there. Then he
proceeded farther to the north and fought in the valley of the
Euphrates. In his war record on the wall of the Kamak temple he wrote
that he fought in Mesopotamia (Naharin), but with the destruction of the
upper row of his bas-reliefs the illustrations of this part of the
campaign were lost. ["Kadesh in Judah"]
[Orontes was the name of a Bactrian, son of Artasyras, who married a
daughter of Artaxerxes II (Mnemon) (404-358 BC) and who received his
Athenian citizenship in 349 or 348 BC by a decision of the Athenians.
This Orontes reportedly built a bridge across the Typhon which was then
named after him. [Strabo, /`The Geography'/, transl. M.L.Jones, Vol.
XVI, p. 750; Xenophon, /`Anabasis'/, Vol. II, Book iv, 8; Plutarch,
/`Lives'/, "Artaxerxes", 27]

The war in the valley of the Euphrates is described by Seti, king of
Egypt, by Assurbanipal, king of Assyria, by Nabopolassar, king of
Babylonia, and by Greek authors. But there is still another description
of this war. We have documentary sources in the so-called Hittite annals.

Nabopolassar, the Chaldean, was allied with the king of the Medes and
the prince of Damascus; Assurbanipal, the Assyrian, was aided by Pharaoh
Seti and for some time by the king of the Scythians. For many years the
fortunes of war changed camps. Then Nabopolassar and Cyaxares, the Mede,
brought the Scythians over to their side. Their armies advanced from
three sides against Nineveh. The dam on the Tigris was breached, and
Nineveh was stormed. In a single night the city that was the splendor of
its epoch went up in flames, and the centuries-old empire that
ceaselessly carried sword and fire to the four quarters of the ancient
world - as far as Elam and Lydia, Sarmatia and Ethiopia - ceased to
exist forever.

"The shield of [the] mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in
scarlet; the chariots are fire of steel. . . . The chariots rush madly
in the streets, they jostle one against another in the broad places; the
appearance of them is like torches, they run to and fro like the
lightnings. . . . Hark! the whip, and hark! the rattling of wheels; and
prancing horses, and bounding chariots; the horsemen charging, and the
flashing sword, and the glittering spear; and a multitude of slain, and
a heap of carcasses . . . and they stumble upon their corpses. . . .
Nineveh is laid waste; who will bemoan her?"

Thus did Nahum, a contemporary seer, described the end of Nineveh and
Assyria. [Nahum 2 & 3]

The Assyrian king Sin-shar-ishkun, perished in the flames of his own
palace. Nabopolassar founded the Neo-Babylonian Empire and defended and
strengthened it in endless wars. When he was struck by illness and after
a time died, the empire was threatened with disintegration. But his
young sons successfully defended it against all enemies. The most
formidable among the latter was the new king of Egypt, the successor to
Seti.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the continuation of the story read the files on Harmhab
<harmhab.html> for the time before the 19th Dynasty or Ramses II
<ramses2.html> for the time subsequent to this account.
By what name the Egyptians knew the `Scythians' we don't know, even the
scriptures refer to them only as `horsemen', `bowmen' or `northerners'
but see the story on the town of Beth Shan. More often then not distant
events were refered to in Egyptian texts only in general terms.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seti the Great also conducted campaigns to the south of Egypt but these
are so far not helpful chronologically speaking. One record of such a
campaign is a rock stela by Qasr Ibrim, on the banks of the Nile. A part
of it reads as follows:

"Horus, strong Bull, steady at heart as the son of Nut, victorious king!
He sets up all his borders at each place according to his desire.
He spends the time of ploughing in Egypt.
He brought to its knees the land of the people of Retenue
when he felled their trees
and destroyed their cities ..."
[F. Hintze, /`Die Felsenstele Sethos' I. bei Qasr Ibrim'/, in
/`Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache'/, p. 35]

When did Seti/Psammetichus destroy cities in Palestine? The siege of
Beth-Shan may have been on his mind when this was written.

*Is there a Seti the Great / Psammetichus connection?*

Connecting Seti the Great with the Greek Psammetichus is certainly not
an easy task. Can we point to any evidence from Egypt itself which would
help? 	

	The gods and city locations of Seti 		The gods and city locations of
Psammetichus 	

	*Seti's time in the Delta*
That Seti spent a lenghty period of time in the Delta is supported by
bills for the maintenance of his court during year 2 and part of year 3,
in particular also Memphis and Heliopolis. This was probably the time he
fought the Libyans. While the god Amon was a principal deity during his
time, the mortuary temple at Thebes (Kurna)[500 <#qurna>] and Abydos
make references to Osiris.

But the real person we need to connect with location and gods would be
Psamtek. Since Psamtek was not a seated king we do not find wall
inscriptions or his deeds of war and peace engraved on walls of temples
and palaces. He took no prisoners and destroyed no cities. 	
Hieroglyphic name for `Psamtek' which means `Negus vendor' and does not
have the characteristic appearance of Egyptian royal names containing
cognomen of Egyptian deities like `Ptah' and `Maat' in the name of Seti
the Great'. 	*Abusir*
Petrie found at this location a block of red granite stone bearing the
cartouched name of Darius. Besides the name of Darius the stone bore the
name of a goddess `Menkhetheb', goddess of Busiris. Abusir was the
Busiris of the Greeks we are told, a name which has preserved part of
the old Egyptian name of /the house of Osiris, the lord of Dad'/. It was
a famous place and Herodotus describes the kind of sacrifices which were
offered there in a great annual festival. The name he dared not mention
was `Dad' . The Cairo Museum also holds part of a statue judged to be of
the time of Psammetichus which was of the chancellor of this king and
bears the inscription "(to put) Osiris *Dad* in his eternal dwelling."

We need to know that in the case of Psammetichus, Psamtek and Seti the
Great we have again their history told from different viewpoints. The
first two of these men did not live in the same age. In revised view
Seti the Great was king in the second half of the 7th century BC,
Psamtek governed Egypt in the middle of the 5th century BC and
Herodotus' Psammetichus, we hold, was the Greek alter ego of Seti the
Great - . Therefore, let us be reminded when conventional authors
mention Psammetichus and the 26th Dynasty the artifacts of this
Psammetichus are those of Psamtek, the well known and powerful
functionary and governor of southern Egypt under his employer, the
Persian satrap Arsames. However, even though Psamtek oversaw Upper and
Lower Egypt at first (Letter II), later Nehtihur/Nekht-horeb (Letter
VII) became the governor of Lower (northern) Egypt. 	

	
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For a list of Seti's officials go to the List <annals_of_assurbanipal.html>.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

*The tomb of Psammetichus in Egypt*

No tomb has been identified in Egypt as belonging to Psammetichus
neither was one found for his successor Pharaoh Necho (II) but about
hieroglyphic signs on the alabaster sarcophagus of Oimeneptah I, Seti
the Great (I), we know that it features the glyph for the tall hook
`severus uncus' tall hook also known as the "severus uncus".
[/Proceedings/, May/June 1886, p. 108, 239]

Conversly, there are many publications presenting information on the
tomb of Seti I, KV 17. One of these is Time-Life Books: *Ramses II:
Magnificence on the Nile*, Alexandria, VA, p. 40ff as well as
*`Ägyptische Abhandlungen'*, Band 40, Wiesbaden, 1984 and many others.
The Time-Life book contains a superb color image of the very refined and
difficult to make raised relief scenes in the Karnak Temple, scenes
which are executed in the corresponding scenes of his son Ramses II in
sunk relief.

*Canopic Jars*

A museum at Luxor, however, has canopic jars described as having
belonged to `Wahibre Menneferu' who, they say, was the son of king
Psamtek. [*KMT*, Spring 2000, p. 20] From this we can see that even
extended family members of highly placed individuals could afford such
costly items for their agrandizement and `after life'.

*A six sided Column of the time of Seti the Great from Pi-Ramesses.*

The color image of this column, later appropriated by Seti's son Ramses
II, who overwrote the original, can be seen in A. Malamat, /`Let My
People Go'/ in *BAR*, Vol. 24, Jan/Feb 1998, p. 62-(66)-85.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Post Script:

We hope the reader got a feel for the history here presented and how it
all fits together making these ancient times read like a scene from a
documentary movie. Popular scholars have not yet begun to grasp the
magnitude of their errors. It will take a new generation to straighten
out the crooked paths and learn how history really happened. 	

	
*Notes & References*

[0500] As an aside, in the tombs of Abd el Qurna the hieroglyphic word
for "whip" is found numerous times.

	

	[0380] Breasted, Records, Vol. III, Sec. 87. See W.M. Müller, Asien und
Europa nach Altägyptischen Denkmälern, p. 205.

[0390] Breasted, Records, Vol. III, Sec. 88.

[0410] G. Steindorff, /`Journal of Egyptian Archaeology (*JEA*)'/, Vol.
XXV, 1939, p. 32, supports equating `Pekanan' with `the Canaan';
But Gauthier, /`Dictionnaire des noms geographiques contenus dans les
textes hieroglyphiques'/, Cairo, 1925-31, Vol. V, p. 187-188, questions
it because the picture represents a city.

[0420] The form "Pekanon" is derived from Pekah, like Shomron from
Shemer [1.Kings 16:24]. Pekanon could also be Shomron (Samaria) renamed
by Pekah.

	

	Crawl out of this tomb <index.html> Submenu <submenu.html>