RESPONCE TO EARLY MODELOF EXODUS

8/12/2019 RESPONCE TO EARLY MODELOF EXODUS

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Ramses II, Nebuchadnezzar and Jeremiah

The Age of Images

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Comparison

Ramses II - Deutsch

ab!"on

The #"d $ingdom

Tutan%hamun

Hittite cautionsHazor g"!phs

Ramses III

&i' of Noahs Ar%

The Age of Images

The ab!"onian Archaeo"ogica" (ap

)esr-ma-Re, Ramesses a"-A%bar, Ramses II

Abu Simbe" Temp"e

Three &eriods in *g!pt

*"ephantine and Ramses II

Chance Disco+eries of Artifacts

Ramses - the *'odus and the cana"

)ho is right on Ramses II

Summation

Comments

The HittiteCha"deanab!"onian *mpire

Ramses Against $adesh


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The att"e of $adesh

The Hittites of the ib"e . Carchemish

Necharomes, Chief of Sta/

Conc"usion on Necharomes

Comparing Ramses II 0ith Necho

)or%ing out Some C"aims

)ritten Histor! Triumphs

1egend

Rahotep, #2cia" of Ramses II

Name of the $ing the ab!"onians 3oughtThe Treatment of Refugees

Nebuchadnezzar +isits Ramses

A +er! important fact

The Historica" Tab"et of Nebuchadnezzar

The so-ca""ed 4arriage Ste"e of Ramses II

The as-Re"ief of Abu Simb"e in Nubia

The eth Ni%%i ui"ding Inscription

Did Sheshon% s5ueeze the ubastite &orta"

The Red (ranit Co"umns from ubastis

Constructions in He"iopo"is

Summar!

The Inter"oc%ing Reigns

Time 1ine of Ramses . His Contemporaries

#ther persona"ities of the 67th D!nast!

3ood for Thought

Recent archaeo"ogica" disco+eries


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Notes . References &eace Treat!8 6, 9, :

&"an 9;6, :

ridging time

The Age of Images

oth, Harmhab and Ramses I ?Necho I@ 0ere appointees of Ass!rian %ingsHarmhab of Sennacheriba in about =>9 C and Ramses I of Assurbanipa" in

;;B C 99 !ears after the e'pu"sion of Harmhab b! Tirha%a Ramses I 0asnamed %ing The Age of ImagesHistorians ha+e 0ondered 0h! no references0ere found b! Ramses I to Harmhab Instead, Ramses I ca""s himse"fConductor of the Chariot of His 4aEest!, Deput! of His 4aEest! in North andSouth, 3anbearer of the $ing on His Right Hand The simi"arities of thesetit"es to those borne b! Harmhab 0ere noticed F6>>G, and 0e must emphasizethe! 0ere simi"ar on account of the Ass!rian bac%ing these pharaohs had, notbecause the! reigned in c"ose pro'imit! in time Assurbanipa" a"so e"e+atedRamses I son FSeti II - the (reat, so numbered because Sethos of the threebrothers shou"d be Seti IG to the position of co-ru"ership 0ith his father, and

"et him reign in Arthribis The Ass!rians ca""ed his son Nabushezibanni, butthe (ree% authors %ne0 him as &sammetichos In his o0n inscriptions hisname is Seti-4eri-en-4en-maat-Re, or Seti &tah-4aat Seti ?II@ the (reatbui"t a fortress at Te"" Nebi 4end %no0n a"so as Rib"ah in the ib"e

In con+entiona" chrono"og! Seti I ?our Seti II, the (reat@ is dated from 697-69=7 C, a mere 6B !ears, in re+ised +ie0 from about ;;:-;>7 C A numberof re"ief car+ings from Seti ha+e sur+i+ed representing his campaigns againstthe Shasu?Arabs@ and S!ria, as 0e"" as campaigns against the 1ib!ans andHittitesCha"deans During the reign of this %ing in *g!pt there 0as deepapostas! and re"igious confusion in Jerusa"em The !ears of the Je0ish *'i"e

0ere fast approaching Theirs 0as the age of images as e'emp"ied b! thedreams of Nebuchadnezzar, the go"den image in the p"ain of Dura FDanie" :Gand the man! images of Ramses II as both %ings dreamed of being empirebui"ders

Seti ma%ing his 0a! through &a"estine


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Seti the (reat on his 0a! through &a"estine And in the 9nd !ear of the reignof Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, and he 0as troub"edin his spirit b! them, and cou"d not s"eep

Thou, oh %ing, sa0est, and beho"d a great image 0ith a head of ne go"d,

his breast and arms of ne si"+er, his be""! and thighs of brass, his "egs ofiron, his feet part of iron and part of c"a! Danie" 986, :6-::

If the greatness of an *g!ptian &haraoh be measured b! the size andnumber of the monuments remaining to perpetuate his memor!, Sethoss sonand successor Ramses II 0ou"d ha+e to be adEudged the e5ua", or e+en thesuperior, of the proudest p!ramid bui"ders

F69>G

Nebuchadnezzar the %ing made an image 0hose height 0as three scorecubits and the 0idth si' cubits ?;> ' ; cubites or about 7> ' 7 feet@ he set itup in the p"ain of Dura FDanie" :86G

Cou"d it be that this "arge, free standing image or pedesta" 0ith an image atthe top 0as direct"! inspired b! his %no0"edge of NechoRamses II man!images of himse"f in *g!pt To our %no0"edge no other Cha"deanab!"onian%ing before him had e+er done so but Herodotus reported that in the da!s ofC!rus, that is Eust after the ab!"onian empire became his, there 0as a so"id

go"den statue or image of a man 6B feet high F6:>G

The ab!"onian Archaeo"ogica" (ap in and around Jerusa"emJudah

Archaeo"ogists ha+e been surprised not to nd p"ent! of ab!"onian artifactsfrom the time of Nebuchadnezzars campaign against Judah and his dea"ings0ith Ramses IINecho Do "arge in+ading armies "ea+e artifacts behind totrace their presence )hi"e there ma! be some sma"" items "ost during themarch of "arge armies, these ma! be a"so found b! peop"e "ater searching foran!thing these armies "eft behind 4an! times archaeo"ogists nd meta"arro0 tips but no such nds 0ere made around Jerusa"em from this timeperiod unti" more recent"! F6:BG This seems to agree 0ith the +ie0 that

Jerusa"em 0as not besieged b! Nebuchadnezzar but 0as ta%en 5uite easi"!Ne+erthe"ess his troops destro!ed at "east the rst Temp"e and too% thepopu"ation into a => !ears capti+it! ab!"onian presence at Jerusa"em 0as atone time scant or 0anting, not so an!more toda! Ass!rian presence in thearea has "ong been e+idenced b! constructions, "i%e the Kopen-court-design,


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an Ass!rian stamp and c!"inder sea" and potter! +esse"s assumed to beAss!rian because the t!pe 0as found at Nimrud and a"" of this 0as found atDor In re+ised +ie0 an! archaeo"ogica" nds from the time of Ramses II and"ater 67th D!nast! pharaohs, as 0e"" as nds of theHittiteab!"onianCha"dean $ing HattusaNebuchadnezzar 0ou"d fa"" into this

same time frame F6B>G

)esr-ma-Re, Ramesses a"-A%bar, Ramses II - the (reat

The 3ar 3"ung *mpire of Ramses II

3rom his apparent hometo0n of &iramesse F9>>G the acti+ities of Ramsese'tended in the south from Nubia to the borders 0ith 1ib!a as the recentdisco+er! of the remains of a "imestone chape" adEacent to a mi"tar! garrisonand %itchen at La0i!et Mmm A"-Ra%ham "ocated near 4arsa 4atruh on the0estern most coast of *g!pt sho0 To the north Ramses short "i+ed inuencee'tended up to Jerab"usCarchemish, the "and of the HittiteCha"deans, thep"ace of 0hich 0as rst redisco+ered in 6769 b! 1eonard )oo"e! and hisassistant, T* 1aurence, the "ater 1a0rence of Arabia F99>G

The *ar"! Oears of Ramses the (reatThe ear"ier !ears of Ramses, especia""! the !ears of his more o2cia" functions0ith his father, are usua""! deduced from the names he used According tothe K$uban Ste"a Ramses had a"read! some authorit! o+er a detachment ofKa group of peop"e, usua""! understood to be troops )e thin% it is a mista%eto a"0a!s thin% of prince%ing re"ations strict"! as coregencies *ach father-son re"ationship F>>G 0as di/erent, but that the "ength of the reign ofRamses cou"d be gured b! him inc"usi+e or non-inc"usi+e for the !ears of hisfather

The K>> Jahr Ste"e as a chrono"ogica" he"pfu" source8

6 The te't of the K>> Oear Ste"e states His maEest! commanded toma%e Seti had "eft it upon his son Ramesses to commission a memoria"ste"e Freasted, KRecords, Po" III, Sec B6G


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6 The fo""o0ing statement gi+es the reason for the ste"e, in the greatname of his fathers , this 5uotation points bac% to Seti and his father, thegrandfather of Ramesses II FIbidG

9 The fact that Seti commissioned a ste"e he"ps us understand that he

0as a"read! an o"der man at that time 9 The production of a memoria"ste"e is more a characteristic of o"der than that of !oung ru"ers In the end itbecame a memoria" for the father and grandfather of Ramses as 0e"" asconnecting to an e+ent, the estab"ishment of the nati+e *g!ptian %ings afterthe defeat of the H!%sos, some >> !ears in the past at the time of theproduction of the ste"e 1i%e man! fathers 0ou"d, Seti sought to impress onhis son a sense of histor! b! reca""ing such an important e+ent for *g!pt andits ro!a" house

: Seti I reigned "onger than 66-6B !ears and so 0e read8

th! heart is %ind"! to0ard th! father, 4enmare FSeti IG, the di+inefather As for him 0ho does that 0hich the god ?Seti@ did, he ?Ramses@ sha""ha+e the "ength of "ife 0hich he ?Seti@ enEo!ed Freasted, KRecords, Po" III,Sec 9=>G : Ramesses counted about the "ast 9>-9B !ears of hisfather as his o0n and that is 0h! he is credited toda! 0ith an o+er ;> !earreign

Seti I 0as an e"der"! man 0hen he commissioned the K>> Oear Ste"e

Ramses honored his father in +arious 0a!s more so than the %ings before himdid their fathers In our opinion that ts better a "ong "ife of gro0ing uptogether than the time a""otted to Seti toda! F$4T, Po" 6>, No , p B6 Seesma"" "imestone ste"a in sun% re"ief depicting the Eu+eni"e Ramses fo""o0inghis father, $ing Seti I The cartouche is that of Seti, there is not !et acartouche of his son sho0n oth ho"d imp"ements of their status in theirhand A"so Time-1ife oo%s8 Ramses II8 4agnicence on the Ni"e, A"e'andria,PA 677:, p ; The fu"" page image sho0n is the !outhfu" Ramses in pro"eseated on a "o0 cushion assuming a pensi+e posture 0ith his right handtouching his "ips He sti"" has the side "oc% of !outh and 0ears the diadem0ith the ro!a" cobra The cartouche contains his ro!a" nameG

Ho0 o"d 0as Ramses II 0hen he began his so"e ru"e

)e read in his inscriptions8 He ga+e me the "and 0hi"e I 0as in the egg 0hen I 0as insta""ed as e"dest son, as hereditar! prince upon the throne of$eb FIbid, Sec 9;=G Ramses 0as the Ke"desto"dest son of Seti, 0ho hadhim cro0ned 0hi"e he 0as sti"" a"i+e Ho0e+er, the abo+e citation seems toindicate that he did not become so"e ru"er after at "east a number of his


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brothers 0ere born, Ke"dest son, suggesting that he 0as not a chi"d himse"fan!more - probab"! in his ear"! to mid-t0enties 0hen he became pharaoh

(ranted con+entiona""! Setis reign "asts on"! a short time be!ond hisattested 66th !ear inscription but if he is gi+en some to B !ears in additionto these 66 !ears b! con+entiona" authors, 0h! not !ears After a"" there0as at "east one Apis bu"" dedicated to Seti )hi"e *g!pto"ogists can e'tendthe "atest %no0n KOear : date of the *thiopian %ing Shebit%uShabata%a b!considering his mi"itar! deeds, the! seeming"! ha+e not tried to do the same0ith respect to Seti the (reat And so the comment, So short a reign is%no0n to be impossib"e Thus 0e are ob"iged to assign a 69-!ear reign toShebit%u FB>>G

After a"" an! e'tension of Setis reign be!ond 66 !ears is on"! based onpersona" +ie0s asica""! it appears improbab"e that a %ing, of the stature ofSeti, the man! campaigns he conducted and perhaps e+en 0ars he fought,0ou"d not ha+e sought for a coregent in case of his demise The fact thatRamses 0ent on distant mi"itar! campaigns +er! ear"! in his reign seems toindicate that he had mi"itar! training and the bac%ing of the "eading o2cersfor some time before he became pharaoh, succeeding his father )e %no0that one of his commanders on the )estern 3ront 0as a man named Nebre Itis from his rst campaign that 0e nd the on"! 0ritten 0ords of Ramses II5uoted through his messengers outside the borders of *g!pt F$4T, Po" 6B,

3a"" 9>>, p 9


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)hen his maEest! arri+es in the countries, he o+erthro0s m!riads hedeso"ates them He has - Retenu, s"a!ing their chiefs his might! s0ord,s"a!ing KH-r0, 0asting Retenu ?KRtn0@, 0hich his s0ord o+erthre0

FKRecords, Po" III, Sec B6, B= reasted trans"ated Khr0 as K$haru, 4a'4Q""er as KHaru 3or a dra0n image 0hat the temp"e of Abu Simbe" "oo%ed"i%e in 6-69

Three &eriods 0hen Je0s, Israe"ites and Judahites Sett"ed in *g!pt

The :B !ear period of unrest from the time of the S!rian-*phraimite )ar of=:B C unti" the siege of Jersua"em in =>6 C

The midd"e of the =th centur! C 0hen 4anasseh Eoined *g!pt in an attempt


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to thro0 Ass!rian ru"e o+er his %ingdom

the ca :> !ear period bet0een the cro0ning of Jehoia%im in ;>7 C and theescape to *g!pt "ed b! Johanan b $areah after the assassination of thego+ernor (eda"iah b Ahi%am, Jeremiah 6-:

Communit! 3ormations and Mrbanization in the Ne0 $ingdom &eriod

The period described as the centra"ized Ne0 $ingdom &eriod e'perienced"arge increases in popu"ations as a 0ho"e &rimari"! these centered around4emphis, Tanis, Hera%"eopo"is and Thebes These immigrants formed tight%nit communities 0hich pro+ided s%i""ed 0or%ers in te'ti"es, g"ass ma%ing,trans"ators, scribes, seamen, merchants and mercenaries

*"ephantine and Ramses II

According to information Ramses II artifacts 0ere a"so found at *"ephantineAmong these are8

the upper part of a co"ossa" granite statue of Ramses ho"ding the ai" andcroo%, the ro!a" insignia, and 0earing the doub"e cro0n It comes from thetemp"e of $hnum on the Is"and of *"ephantine FT(H James, KRamses II, p69B, ritish 4useum *A;=G

Anu%is, "ad! of *"ephantine, one of the cataract deities, suc%"es Ramses II,0ho is not sho0n as a chi"d He is the (reat $ing, "ord of the T0o 1andsFIbid, p 9=9G

"oc%s of the time of Ramses II 0ere found at *"ephantine F3riedrich Junge,K*"ephantine I 3unde und autei"e, 6-= $ampagne, 67;7-67=;

Archo"ogische Per/ent"ichungen 7 4ainz, 67


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ensued on 0ho 0as the rst to bui"d this cana" This (ree% author on Histor!,ne+er ta"%s about a &haraoh named Ramses since the! ca""ed him Necho3urthermore, the recent disco+er! of the "i%e"! site 0here the &ersian arm!perished in B9B C, tends to +indicate Herodotus and points to the doubtersas uninformed 4odern historians argued against Herodotus statement F7>>G

In the end it 0as conc"uded that Ramses II bui"t the cana" and that Necho ?(rNe'a, Septuag 9Chr :;8 Jer 9;89@ nished 0hat Ramses had begun As aresu"t of this, a"" the inscriptions of *g!pt 0ere searched to nd out 0ho thispharaoh Necho actua""! 0as, for this name is %no0n on"! from (ree% andHebre0 sources The 0inner 0as one Ne%au-)ehemibre F6>>>G of 0homprecious "itt"e is %no0n and there is no so"id e+idence that he e+er 0as anenthroned %ing Sea" of Ne%auNecho The on"! cartouche of )ehemibre does"oo% rather mediocre for a famous 0arrior %ing he 0as supposed to ha+e

been He does not c"aim an! great deeds 0e 0ou"d e'pect if he in fact 0as&haraoh Necho of the boo% of Jeremiah Cartouche of )ahemibre, suggestedto ha+e been &haraoh Necho - a rather mediocre appearing cartouche for afamous %ing "i%e Necho )e Eust cant be"ie+e this identication representsthe %ing 0ho 0on a 0ar far a0a! from the borders of his countr! against abonied, "arge cit!, 0hi"e no hard proof e'ists for famous $ing Ramses II toha+e 0on his campaign against "itt"e Rib"ahF66>>G

*)udge 0rote8 He FNechoG ga+e orders for eets of triremes to be bui"t forhim, both in the 4editerranean Sea and the Red Sea In order to gi+e these+esse"s the opportunit! of being emp"o!ed in both seas, he concei+ed ofconnecting them b! means of a cana", 0hich he intended to Eoin the o"d cana"that 0as a"read! in e'istence in the da!s of Ramses II F69>>G

According to the (ree% historian Herodotus, Necho FRamses IIG used his o0npeop"e for his construction proEects

It 0as Necos 0ho began the construction of the cana" to the Arabian gu"f, a0or% after0ards comp"eted b! Darius the &ersian F6>>G

)ho is right on Ramses IINecho, *A)udge or Herodotus

According to con+entiona" chrono"og! it depends on 0hom !ou 0ou"d rather


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be"ie+e according to the re+ised chrono"og! there is no conict becauseRamses II and Necho I are the same person F6;>>G ut because of p"acingRamses II and a"" other pharaohs into ear"ier time s"ots the chrono"og! of*g!pt became +er! distorted, often resu"ting in the abandonment of the(ree% 0riters and the scriptura" account as trust0orth!

ecause historians interpreted the "ists of d!nasties as found in the unorigina"0ritings of 4anetho through Josephus, *usebius and Africanus as beingstrict"! successi+e in nature ear"ier scho"ars began to frame the o+era""histor! of *g!pt on a 0ea% foundation There is p"ent! of e+idence that there0as e'tensi+e o+er"apping of d!nasties as for e'amp"e the 6:th ha+ingpreceded, coe'isted 0ith and out"asted the 69th d!nast! Simi"ar"! the 96std!nast! coe'isted 0ith the &ersian ?9=th@ d!nast!, the names of 0hose %ingsare not gi+en b! 4anetho, as 0e sha"" sti"" discuss #f course 0e rea"ize b!

no0 that in our re+ision pharaoh Ramses II and Necho I are one and the sameperson

Ramses II 0as a contemporar! of Nebuchadnezzar, %ing of ab!"on, a"so%no0n as Hattusi"is 0hose father 0as Nabonidus, a"so %no0n as 4ursi"is ofthe so-ca""ed Hittite empire This 0as the age of dreaming about empires b!Nebuchadnezzar, as 0e "earn from the 0ritings of the prophet Danie", and b!Ramses II, as 0e see it cut in stones in man! of his monumentsNebu%adnezzar 0as the proud bui"der of the gates KThe eautifu", Kit-Lida

and Kit-Saggatu 0hich he caused to be made as bri""iant as the sun F)(1,Kab!"onian and Ass!rian 1iterature, Inscription of Nebuchadnezzar, Co"umnII, B6-B:, p 9BG 1i%e man! ancient batt"es the future of 0or"d histor! hadarri+ed at a cross road in the beginning of their reign To attribute theCha"dean empire to the Hittites 0as an unfortunate misnomer arising out of adistorted 0or"d +ie0 at the turn of the 67th Centur! Ho0 the 0ord KHittites0as deri+ed out of KHatti b! con+entiona" historians is sti"" another prob"em

&erhaps another c"ue as to the "ater chrono"og! for Ramses II ma! be deri+ed

from the facts found at (eba" ar%a" in 676;

)hen the Har+ard oston *'pedition of Do0s Dunham, )( $emp and (AReisner began 0or% at (eba" ar%a" from 69 to 9, 676;, the area of thetemp"es under the K0estern c"i/ seemed to be in a hope"ess condition ofdeca! and destruction The great temp"e of Amun 0as manifest"! in its da!


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the most important monument at (ebe" ar%a" It 0as the source of thefamous ste"ae 0hich at the time of our rst e'pedition constituted a"most theon"! materia" for the histor! of *thiopia, and 0as undoubted"! the greatnationa" temp"e to 0hich the inscriptions of the ste"ae contain so man!references

#n remo+ing the 4eroitic oor, the under"!ing stratum 0as found to bestratied The group of statues fragments "a! part"! on the 0hite debriso+er the pa+ement and part"! in this trough The insciptions on the statuesga+e the names of an *g!ptian go+ernor of $ush, named Dhutmose, and ofthe *thiopian %ings Tirha5a, Sen%amanse%en, An"aman, and Aspa"ta There0as a"so a torso 0ith the name of an *thiopian 5ueen, Amanma"enra Asimi"ar heap of fragments added the name of Tanutaman to the "ist Thetota" number of statues 0as 66, of 0hich the statuette of Dhutmose 0as on"!

a fragment, but of the others +e 0ere practica""! comp"ete and +e 0erecomp"ete e'cept for the heads Near the second group there 0as part of anobe"is% of At"anarsa, 0hose name is a"so borne b! the obe"is% in the Cairo4useum, b! an a"tar found b! 1epsius and b! another found b! us To thisgroup must be added the co"ossa" gre! granite statue found b! Dr udgeunder the portico of =>> ?probab"! representing At"anarsa@, the t0o co"ossa"statues on the Is"and of Argo, the unnished statue in the Tombos 5uarr!, andthe head"ess statue of Amta"5a found b! 1epsius at 4era0i

Summation

To sum up, the deposit of B>> be"ongs c"ear"! to the Ne0 *mpire, but is notas a 0ho"e identica" 0ith an! %no0n *g!ptian deposit In its bronze mode"sand in the absence of crude mortars, it resemb"es the deposits of the 6> is certain"! ear"ier than its Ksouthern chape", 0hich0as bui"t b! Ramses II ?Ne't in the report fo""o0s 0ea%, assumed e+idence@As the pecu"iar masonr! and the t!pe of construction are the same in bothchape" and temp"e, it is c"ear that the t0o 0ere bui"t b! the same schoo" of


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0or%men, probab"! e+en b! the same generation 1ess than 9B !earsinter+ened bet0een the end of the reign of Haremhab and the beginning ofthe reign of Ramses II *+en Tutan%hamun reigned "ess than => !ears beforeRamses II, and 0e %no0 that he sent +icero!s to Napata Thus B>>- rstma! ha+e been bui"t as ear"! as the reign of Tutan%hamun, but it seems to be

more probab"e that it 0as bui"t b! Haremhab or Sethos I An! moreconc"usion is for the moment be!ond the e+idence FJ*A, Po" PI, 676=, p 96:-99=G

Comments8 The author underscores the preset ideas of chrono"og! at thetime had to be +indicated in his e'ca+ation report 0hich is a ne e'amp"e ofthe inter0ea+ing of fact 0ith ction as his conc"usion part demonstrates,0hich is based on p"ans, masonr! and mortar but not inscriptions statingsuch "in%s )hat he doesnt repeat is that the co"umns 0ere di/erent The!

0ere bui"t of segments of drum and 0ere round, not man! sided "i%e those ofB>; Therefore, 0e ha+e here e+idence 0hich seems to ha+e simi"arities anddissimi"arities )hich one of these is more important is not certain andtherefore, 0e 0ou"d suggest, the e+idence deri+ed from the mentioned itemsis at best inconc"usi+e )hat the paper does seem to underscore is thatRamses II be"ongs into the time after the *thiopian D!nast! or is at "eastc"ose in time

4uch has been made on the supposed ;= !ear reign of Ramses Con+entiona"

historians ma%e much of the conditions of his teeth at death, but 0earing outof teeth is hea+i"! inuenced b! the diet o+er a "ife time and therefore isbased on assumptions Another, more important indicator is the degree ofossication of the articu"ated Eunction of the ribs to the sternum and thesere+ea" Ramses to ha+e died at a much !ounger age than in his nineties As aperson ages the ribs 0i"" become fused to the sternum "osing their carti"age

The degree of fusion then becomes an indicator of age not depending onfactors "i%e diet In addition to these considerations, the a+erage "ife span of*g!ptian men abso"ute"! seems to forbid such a "ong "ife span at this time inhistor! as current"! assigned to this %ingF6>G His reign 0as "ong becausehe counts it from his chi"dhood on but from the da! of his so"e ru"e he reignedon"! some :7 !ears It 0as Dr Rosa"ie Da+id of 4anchester Mni+ersit! 0hoe'amined the mumm! of Ramses and noted his fat c"ogged arteries,indicating that he died of a massi+e heart attac%

The HittiteCha"deanab!"onian *mpire - Ramses II contemporar! 0ith the1!dian $ingsU


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Searching the Ass!rian 0ar anna"s scho"ars found references to the Hatti,a"read! so %no0n from the 0ar anna"s of Thutmose III in a fe0 "ines on"!, thee" Amarna "etters fre5uent"!, and the anna"s of Seti and Ramses III,e'tensi+e"! In *g!ptian records from Thutmose III the! found references tothe $heta In a doub"e identication the $heta 0ere thought to be the Hatti of

Ass!rian records and the Hittites of the Scriptures )hen the rst tab"ets ofoghaz%oi 0ere studied scho"ars thought that eight "anguages 0ererepresented a"" using cuneiform signs #ne of these "anguages 0asrepresented more often than others and it 0as thought to be the "anguage ofthe Hittites and from then on referred to b! that name 3Hrozn!, aCzechos"o+a%ian cuneiformist, 0as ab"e to decipher this "anguage #n"! "aterit 0as found to be ca""ed KNeshi"i in the te'ts themse"+es It 0as thought tobe an Indo-*uropean "anguage but in no te't 0as it referred to as Hatti orHittite

)hen one more "anguage 0as decoded it 0as found to be ca""ed $hatti"i inthe te'ts, the name 0e %no0 from the *g!ptian documents ut it 0as too"ate to rename the rst decoded "anguage and the ne0"! disco+ered one 0asca""ed Hattish In essence then the rst "anguage trans"ated is Neshi"i and thesecond one is Hittite, $hatti"i or Hattish, the apparent main "anguage of theHittite empire ut in histor! boo%s Hittite shou"d be regarded as Neshi"i$hatti"i is a rich "anguage in its inections it emp"o!s pre'es but notsu2'es it is not Indo-*uropean and bears no recognizab"e re"ation to an!%no0n "inguistic group $hatti"i 0as used in the pa"ace and in temp"e ser+ices,for "itanies, pra!ers, songs, and e'orcisms 3our or +e other "anguages 0ereread b! the decipherers in the cuneiform tab"ets and named appropriate"! Itappears that the site 0here these tab"ets 0ere found, Hattusas ?oghaz%oi@,0as a capita" 0ith man! internationa" connections

Remo+ing the historica" scene to 0here it be"ongs, the se+enth and si'thcenturies C, 0e 0onder 0hich of these "anguages is Cha"dean, &hr!gian,1!dian, 4edian, and b! chance *truscan The ro!a" anna"s found at oghaz%oire+ea" a c"ose re"ation to the Ass!rian ro!a" anna"s of Sennacherib,*sarhaddon, and Assurbanipa" of the se+enth centur! CF9>>>G

Ass!rian Eustice, as far as ci+i" "a0s 0ere concerned, had much in common0ith the ci+i" "a0s of the oghaz%oi archi+es The Hittites had in common0ith the ab!"onians scho"ar"! 0or%s, h!mns, 0ritings based on historica"traditions, +ocabu"aries, and other "iterar! 0or%sF99>>G


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The Ass!rian empire 0as supposed to ha+e begun after the Hittite empireut in some 0a!s the Hittites 0ere more ad+anced than the Ass!rians, and

conse5uent"! it is assumed that the Ass!rians regressed cu"tura""! ascompared to the HittitesF9>>G

The goa" of Ramses 0as not the rather sma"", fortied to0n of Rib"aha"ongside the #rontes Ri+er Rib"ah 0ou"d "ater gure as a mi"itar! station forthe Hittiteab!"onian arm! The nationa" enemies he encountered 0ere a+er! po0erfu" force, the! 0on the conict Rib"ah cou"d not contain such anation The! had a +ast KHinter"and to dra0 their peop"e from, a situation0e"" e'p"ained once 0e put this 0ar into the time 0here it be"ongs

)e shou"d a"so rea"ize that the Hittites of the ib"e are not the same as theHittites of Oazi"i%a!a and oghaz%eui FHattushashG The rea" Hittite empire isthat of the Cha"deans 0hich had its ear"! beginnings in Centra" Tur%e! atHattushahogaz%oi some :>> mi"es NN) of Carchemish These 0ere the!ears before the cit! of ab!"on became the capita" for Nebuchadnezzar)hen Nabonidus died, his o"dest son Nergi" became the K(reat $ing ofab!"on Nergi" made his brother Nebuchadnezzar genera" of the arm!

4! brother Nirga" set on the throne of his father, and I came before his facethe commander of the arm! 4! brother "et me preside o+er the upper"and ?Ass!ria and the "and of the Hittites@ under m! ru"e FThe Autobiograph!of Nebuchadnezzar, Sec G

The princess of Hatti-"and be!ond the ri+er *uphrates to the 0est o+er 0homI e'ercised "ord-ship FInscription V6=G

sti"" in the prime of "ife, and sent against the rebe", Nebuchadnezzarengaged and defeated the "atter in a pitched batt"e, and p"aced the districtunder ab!"onian ru"e FJosephus, KAgainst Apion, oo% I, Sec 67G


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These 5uotations sho0 that ab!"on 0as more than the region around thecit! of ab!"on on the ban%s of the *uphrates It inc"uded a"so parts ofAss!ria and Asia 4inor

Ramses Against $adesh

Ramses II 0ar against $adesh, 0as the same 0ar that pharaoh Necho 0agedagainst the ho"! cit! of Carchemish 0here !oung genera" Nebuchadnezzaropposed and routed himF9;>>G

At Jerab"is, the ancient Carchemish on the *uphrates, a number

of Hittite inscriptions ha+e been disco+ered, and the inscribed

stones ha+e been secured for the ritish 4useumF9>G

)hen archaeo"ogists therefore found the Hittite ?Cha"dean@ +ersion of thepeace treat! bet0een Ramses II F:>>>G and Hattusas at ogaz%oi in asurprising"! "ate strata, it 0as not an in+ersion of the strata but an indicationthat he rea""! did "i+e at that time F:9>>G The A%%adian +ersion of this peacetreat! 0as signed b! Hattusi"is, son of 4ursi"is, grandson of Subbi"u"iumas Soman! times archaeo"ogists 0i"" e'p"ore a stratum of a "ater epoch and thencome une'pected"! upon an *g!ptian artifact of a much ear"ier pharaoh andeither date the 0ho"e "a!er to that period or e"se e'p"ain it a0a! b! ca""ing itintrusi+e or some such thing 0hen instead it represents a chec% on their datapro+ing their *g!ptian chrono"og! to be unre"iab"e This has happened o+er

and o+er againF:>>G

There 0as a di2cu"t! of a stratigraphic nature8 the remains among 0hich thetab"ets 0ere found indicated a much more recent period than the age ofthese documents ut the e'istence of the treat! 0ith Ramses II prec"udede+en a consideration of the conicting data, and a chrono"ogica" p"ace inaccord 0ith the time of Ramses II 0as a""otted to Hattusi"is, the %ing of Hatti,and to the entire period F:;>>G #ther famous debates among "eadingscho"ars as a resu"t of disagreements on *g!ptian chrono"og! 0ere those of

R Dussaud and ) Spiege"bergF:>G

There 0ere disagreements among art e'perts and epigraphists, historiansand a"" of them Msua""! these disagreements 0ere of a time span of aroundB>> - ;>> !ears A"so note instances of be0i"derment among archaeo"ogists0hen chrono"ogica""! irreconci"ab"e disco+eries 0ere made as for e'amp"e the


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WadeshCarchemish on"! from the north, 0est and south since the ri+er 0as anatura" barrier to0ard the east Ho0e+er, the %ing of the cit! 0as preparedand his arm! 0aited outside the 0a""s for the ad+ancing but no0 0ide"!separated *g!ptian troops )h! Ramses proceeded on this march %no0ingfu"" 0e"" that his arm! 0as not in a position to be at the read! in their pre-

p"anned attac% "ocations is nothing short of amazing and not easi"! e'p"ainedin either the con+entiona" or re+ised account So it happened then that theinitiati+e of the batt"e 0as assumed b! his enem! and Ramses ne+erregained a strategic ad+antage but ed "ea+ing his troops behind to fend forthemse"+es

3or images of the Katt"e of $adesh see T(H James, KRamses II, 9>>9 and anartic"e b! (onza"o 4 Sanchez, 4D, KInEuries in the att"e of $adesh in $4T,Spring 9>>:, Po" 6, p B mi"e "ine toCarchemish, are mentioned in Ramses inscriptions

The! are8 $adesh ?@ X Carchaemish, Jerab"us on the

9> mi"es *uphrates ?p-r-n-t@

Shabtuna ?@ X Hierapo"is of toda! Po" III, Sec :6>

Y6B mi"es

Arinama ?@ X Arima Po" III, Sec :6>

Y6> mi"es

a0 ?@ X A" ab of toda!, Po" III, Sec :> 3or a map see a"so

AH Sa!ce, KNotes on an Mne'p"ored District in Northern S!ria in

&roceedings of ib" Arch, June 6, 6766, p 6=9

3e0 discuss these cit! names as points on a map, t0o of them 0hich e+en


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toda! retained their o"d name This is an indication that man! con+entiona"historians do not seem to rea"ize their importance Hans (oedic%ecommented on this as fo""o0s8

The intensi+e nature of this po"itica" de"iberation is further demonstrated b!

the continuation of the pictoria" record According to it, the main decision ofthe sta/ meeting 0as the dispatch of the K+izier to hurr! on the arm! of His4aEest! as the! marched on the road to the south of the to0n of Shabtuna soas to bring them to 0here His 4aEest! 0as #nce the precarious situation ofRamesses II 0ith the arm! corps of Amun became apparent, the urgentassemb"! of the entire force 0as the ne't "ogica" step It 0as di+ided into fourbrigades, 0hich mo+ed separate"! 3or "ogistica" reasons, especia""! 5uestionsof 5uartering and supp"!, but a"so for the purpose of Kpacication, I ha+epre+ious"! argued that it is "i%e"! that the ad+ance co+ered both sides of the#rontes F#f course that is con+entiona" specu"ationG This suggests thatthe brigades mo+ed in a da!s distance FB>>>G

Interpretations of the site Ne't (oedic%es conc"usions, based on a fau"t!geographica" "ocation, bring out his concerns ho0 the 9,B>> Hittite chariots,manned 0ith : so"diers pu""ed b! 9 horses cou"d cross a ford 5uic%"! enoughto confront Ramses As our dra0ing sho0s, 0here red signies the *g!ptianand b"ue the Hittite forces, he ma! not ha+e crossed a ri+er bed at a"",e"iminating that concern

FDra0ing based on a boo% pub"ished in 6=B A"e'ander Drummond,

KTra+e"s as 3ar as the an%s of the *uphrates, ?1ondon, 6=B@ the map isreproduced in 4asperos KHistor! of *g!pt, and the insert in Hogarth,KCarchemish, &"t 6, p G

Carchemish 0as a center of the Cha"deanab!"onian 0or"d in the "ate =thcentur! C )e %no0 Carchemish 0as a center of Cha"dean cu"ture Eust fromthe fact that Nebuchadnezzar repu"sed here the *g!ptian attac% of &haraohNecho in ;>7 C In re+ised +ie0 Hattusi"is 0as another name forNebuchadnezzar and Necho for Ramses II

Citade" of Carchemish from the north The maEestic *uphrates Ri+er, tru"! asignicant barrier to the escape of Ramesses troops oth, the *uphrates andSadEur Cree% surrounded Carchemish on 9 or e sides, a situation not found atRib"ah 4odern historians arbitrar! choice of ca""ing the peop"e 0ho inhabitedthese regions at that time KHittites is fa"se in re+ised +ie0


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The Hittites of the ib"e ha+e nothing to do 0ith the Hittites ofOazi"i%a!aoghaz%oiCarchemish

The outcome of the batt"e 0as a defeat for Ramses Simi"ar to an *g!ptian

re"ief sho0ing the %ing c"utching Nubian, 1ib!an, and S!rian prisoners b! theirhair, Ramses 0ie"ds Carchemish from the north-0est an a' to dispatch them*g!ptian re"iefs, "i%e a "imestone fragment from 4emphis, proc"aim on"!+ictories, ne+er defeats Such painted propaganda had the unde+iatingpurpose to ensure "o!a"t! and inspire fear Such are the mar%s of despotismFB67>G

After the defeat of Ramses, te'tua" e+idence seems to indicate that e+en hisro!a" 0ife, presumab"! Neferure, had accompanied him to batt"e FB9>>G And

so it 0as that the ritish archaeo"ogica" team inc"uding 1eonard )oo"e! founda fragment of a stone mace bearing the cartouche of Ramses II inside ofCarchemish

The 1o0er &a"ace bordered the broad road that "ed to the )ater-(ate andthe *uphrates ban% Its facade, "oo%ing appro'imate"! south, faced on but0as not 5uite para""e" 0ith the Hera"ds )a"" and its pro"ongation past theKHi"ani to the )ater-(ate, so that at the 0estern end the distance from the&a"ace front to the Hera"ds )a"" 0as a "itt"e more than ;: meters, a 0ide

open space 0hich 0e ma! imagine to ha+e been the ceremonia" center of theto0n The &a"ace, or the part of it 0hich concerns us, 0as bui"t in terraces upthe s"ope of the Acropo"is mound but Eust before the Hera"ds )a"" turned toma%e the $ings (ate, a great 0ing of the &a"ace ?the Temp"e@ ran out o+erthe at ground at the mounds foot "ea+ing bet0een it and the Hera"ds )a"" aroad0a! 6B meters 0ide Against this 0ing the "o0er terrace 0a"" of the&a"ace 0as bro%en b! a monumenta" staircase 0hich "ed up the s"ope to thebui"ding on the top of the Acropo"is The main part, the Mpper &a"ace, no0tota""! destro!ed, presumab"! stood upon the mounds summit Certain"!there 0ere found here, bet0een the stairs and the )ater-(ate, numerous

fragments of scu"pture most of them 0ere in the K)ater-(ate st!"e or in thatof the Hera"ds )a"", so that the passage from the ri+er to the &a"ace stairsma! 0e"" ha+e been adorned on either side 0ith re"iefs of the 4idd"e Hittiteperiod Amongst the +er! fe0 obEects other than scu"ptured or inscribedfragments found here 0ere a stone mace-head bearing the cartouche of oneof the Ramessides, probab"! Ramses II and part of a terra-cotta cone orc!"inder inscribed in Hittite hierog"!phics both 0ou"d probab"! ha+e comefrom a pa"ace or o2cia" bui"ding FHogarth, Thompson . )oo"e!,


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KCarchemish, &art III, p 6B>G the troops of Nebuchadnezzar pursued the eeing

*g!ptians and entered into Judea ecause the Je0ish zea"ots, sti"" trusting inthe might of pharaoh, their countr! and Jerusa"em, 0ere no0 doomed TheHittiteCha"dean troops made Rib"ah into their fortress and center ofadministration

)e sha"" discuss more of the content of the peace treat! bet0een Ramses IIand Hattusi"is 0hose purpose it 0as to ma%e an end of hosti"ities bet0eentheir t0o "ands The name of one of the t0o "egates is gi+en in the treat! te'titse"f8

Cop! of the si"+er tab"et, 0hich the great chief of $heta, $hetasar ?H-t-s-r@caused to be brought to &haraoh, 1&H, b! the head of his messenger,

Terteseb ?T-r-t!-s-b0@, and his messenger, Ramose, to cra+e peace from themaEest! of Ramses II, the u"" of ru"ers, ma%ing his boundar! as far as hedesires in e+er! "andFB>>G

NecharomesNetEer0!mes, chief of sta/ for Ramses II

Recent"! the tomb of the chief of sta/ of Ramses II 0as found in a tomb nearNetEer0h!mes, Necharomes Sa55ara 0ith his name and image in situ Thename KNecharomes ?KnTr0-ms going b! sound@ itse"f, no0 a"so 0ritten asKNecheru!mes or KNetEer0!mes in 3rench ?the basic consonants Knchrmsremain the same@, seems intriguing The 3rench +ariant in spe""ing usingKtENetEe is not rea""! un"i%e KchNeche in trans"iteration )hat is moreimportant is to nd the hierog"!phics for the name and consider ho0 the(ree%s 0ou"d trans"iterate his name turning it into KNe%au or KNecoHo0e+er, it cou"d be that the (ree%s borro0ed the 0ord ?Ni%u@ from theAss!rian Anna"s of Assurbanipa" The disco+erer, A"ain Li+ie, 0rote, Insidethe tomb 0e found the en+o!s name inscribed on the 0a""s, though its e'actspe""ing remains unc"ear FNationa" (eographic, #ctober 9>>9, p 97G

Necharomes Cou"d it be made up of KNecha "i%e in KNecho and Kromes "i%e


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in Kramse?s@, KNecharomes or KNech?a@Ramose, see hereNecharomes?presumed g"!phs@ According to (aba""ah A"i (aba""ah8 He cou"dha+e been a member of a de"egation sent b! Ramses II to the Hittites toconc"ude a peace treat! - (aba""ah a"so said Necharomes 0as a"so anadministrati+e super+isor of the area of 4emphis and of the Treasur!

Did the chief of sta/ name himse"f after the %ing under 0hom he ser+edusing his *g!ptian and (ree% name Apparent"! before this treat! 0asconc"uded, his name 0as KRamose, to0ard the end of his "ife he changed itto KNecharomes, inc"uding the name of his pharaoh as the (ree%s andHebre0s ca""ed him As the e'ce""ent dip"omat of his %ing he certain"! had theright to gi+e himse"f a name recognizab"e 0or"d 0ide in his da!s If so, that0ou"d be a 0onderfu" conrmation of our point that Ramses II 0as &haraohNecho of the (ree% and Hebre0 authors The "east piece of information 0e

"earn from the tomb of Necharomes 0ou"d be that the name KNecho 0as inuse in the da!s of Ramses II *+en if the names of Ramses himse"f do notcontain the part KNeco, one of his o2cia"s apparent"! did )e reca"" that Setithe (reat&sammetichus, father of Ramses IINecho II FBB>>G 0as an admirerof the (ree%s

#ther o2cia"s in the da!s of Ramses II inc"uded K&a-ur, the 0e"" %no0ngo+ernor of Thebes 0hose name 0as found in the tomb of Ramses at Deir-e"-4edinet ?Thebes@ )e must a"so remember $PB, the buria" p"ace of at "east

t0o and perhaps as man! as e"e+en sons of Ramses II FBBB>G

&art of the responsibi"it! of 0ebsites on archaeo"og! ma! be to safeguardinformation 0hich cou"d become "ost especia""! if it is of this nature

The KAmerican Societ! of #rienta" Research, Summer 9>>> Po" B>, Number9 said it this 0a!8

Statues of a pharaoh thought to be Ramses II and an ancient co0 goddess,their co"ors intact, ha+e been disco+ered in a hidden chamber at a necropo"issouth of Cairo The meter-high statue of the %ing and the ta""er scu"pture ofHathor, goddess of "o+e and happiness and guardian of cemeteries, 0erefound in a sea"ed room beneath the Sa55ara funera" chape" of Ramses II chieftreasurer, Necheru!mes FSource8 Agenc! 3rance &ress, June 6>, 9>>>


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?emphasize ours@ 000asororgpubsne0sB>Z9pdfG

In the beginning more 0ebsites carried this ne0s item, toda! informationabout this nd is d0ind"ing )e ha+e the images 0hich 0ere then pro+idedSuch a disco+er! shou"d be pub"ished and discussed, ho0e+er, instead it

seems to be put under the she"f )h! Oour guess is as good as mine )eregard the origina" announcement as free of preconcei+ed ideas

Conc"usion

The fact that the name NechoNecharomes is no0 attested from the time ofRamses II together 0ith the fact that the name of feather cro0n 0earingso"diers of the time of Ramses III as represented at 4edinet Habu 0as

&rstt&eresett indicates that Ramses II 0as indeed &haraoh Necho andRamses III 0as ghting the &ersians rather than the &hi"istines )e be"ie+ethese t0in facts demo"ish con+entiona" chrono"og! for those 0ho are ab"e toread

)as one of the chiefs of Nebuchadnezzar this Terteseb 0hose name 0e readabo+e &resumab"! this KTerteseb 0ou"d ha+e been the counterpart toRamose

The names of Nebuchadnezzars chiefs are8 Nerga"-Sharezer, Sarsechim,Rabsaris )as Terteseb one of them FB;>>G

The treat! has an oath and curse c"ause K(ods of man! p"aces are in+o%edto %eep +igi"ance o+er the treat! and to punish those 0ho 0ou"d +io"ate it4ore important"! for our purposes in the "ist of these "oca" gods andgoddesses, the goddess of T!re is fo""o0ed b! the Kgoddess of Dan ut inthe da!s before the con5uest of Dan b! the Danites, in the time of the

Eudges, that p"ace 0as ca""ed K1aish, FB=>>G and it 0as Jeroboam 0ho bui"t atemp"e there The name of a p"ace ca""ed Dan in a treat! of RamsesII,presumab"! of the rst ha"f of the 6:th centur! C, sounds "i%e ananachronismFB>G

)hat is here interpreted as T!re is presumab"! KD !-!-t-h!-r- r! FB7>>G and
http://var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_6/www.asor.org%2Fpubs%2Fnews%2F50_2.pdfhttp://var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_6/www.asor.org%2Fpubs%2Fnews%2F50_2.pdf


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Dan is KD-!-n -- or KD-n---- n0-t! The reading of reasted appears to beforced, p"acing this treat! into its correct time frame a""o0s for a reading of

T!re and Dan

Comparing the att"e of $adesh 0ith the att"e of Carchemish - &haraohRamses II 0ith &haraoh Necho and Nebuchadnezzar

In this comparison 0e sho0 the account of t0o independent ancient sourcesand 0hat the! ha+e to sa! about the famous batt"e of Carchemish fought

bet0een the *g!ptians and the Hittites or 0as it the *g!ptians and theCha"deanab!"onians

The di+isions of Amon, Re, &tah and Sute%h on their 0a! to Carchemish

Hebre0 sources about pharaoh Necho *g!ptian sources about RamsesII

Time

6 &haraoh carries 0ar into &a"estine and S!ria F9$ings 9:897G

3our !ears after the rst in+asion of &a"estine b! pharaoh NechoF9Chronic"es :B89> 9 Chronic"es :;89 Jeremiah ;89G

The 0ord of the 1ord 0hich came to Jeremiah the prophet against *g!pt,against the arm! of &haraoh Necho, %ing of *g!pt 0hich Nebuchadnezzarsmote in the th !ear of Jehoia%im

The %ing of Juda before Jehoia%im 0as %ing Josiah ?;>-;>7 C@ 0ho died b!an arro0 shot through him b! the archers of &haraoh Necho on his rstcampaign Therefore the fourth !ear of Jehoia%im is four !ears after this rstencounter ?;>7 C@ bet0een an *g!ptian arm! and a Judean %ing but this

time the contenders 0ere NechoRamses II and Hattusi"isNebuchadnezzar,the chief of $adeshCarchemish, p"acing it into ;>B C

&haraoh reached the North of S!ria . estab"ished an outpost at Rib"ah in the"and of Hamath That he ho"ds capti+es here indicates Rib"ah 0as going to befar behind the "ines of his primar! goa" 3rom this campaign he brought bac%a captain of the ro!a" house of &a"estine and imposed tribute on the "andF9$ings 9:8::-:B 9Chronic"es :;8:, G 6 3our !ears after the rst


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in+asion of &a"estine b! pharaoh Ramses II

Ramses IIs rst campaign 0as directed a"ong the &hoenician coast during0hich he had the re"ief car+ing at Nahr e" $a"b ?Eust north of eirut, 1ebanon@made ne't to that of the Ass!rian $ing *sarhaddon in his fourth !ear

Another ste"a, dated K!ear 9 is ca""ed uncertain b! 1epsius, and is probab"!to be read K!ear 6> for the rst is c"ear"! and there 0as but one campaignbefore the K!ear B against $adesh

FSte"e of the 9nd !ear at Nahr-e"-$e"b KAnna"s K&oem of &entaur reasted,KRecords, Po" III, Sec 97=G

Oear 9, 66th month, 9;th da!, under the maEest! of Ramses II, be"o+ed ofAmon-Re, %ing of gods, and $hnum, "ord of the cataract region He haso+erthro0n m!riads in the space of a moment He has crushed theforeigners of the north, the Temeh ha+e fa""en for fear of him, the Asiatics are

an'ious for breath from him, 0ho sends *g!pt on campaigns FAssuanste"a restead, KRecords, Po" III, Sec =;G

Topograph!

: Near a fortress, surrounded on a"" sides b! 0ater the fortress assho0n on the a"a0at (ate at Nini+eh, has a doub"e 0a"" and moats itproEects into a "arge stream nearb! is a sacred "a%e FThe description andp"ans of the Carchemish e'ca+ationG Cit! of Carchemish from the 0a""s ofNini+eh : Near a fortress, surrounded on a"" sides b! 0ater the Cit!of $adesh from *g!ptian monuments fortress has a doub"e 0a"" and moats itproEects into a "arge stream nearb! is a sacred "a%e FThe four p"ans dra0n onthe 0a""s of $arna%

C"ic% on the image to see the hierog"!phic inscription of the "argest to0er inthe moat Compare corbu"ated fortress 0a"" of Carchemish at Nini+eh 0ith$adesh Compare the 3ortresses cro0n of Wodesh 0ith the fortress ofCarchemish as sho0n at the a"a0at (ate at Nini+eh oth sho0 t!pica"pointed bric%s

&osition 4ore 4apU


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Carchemish is north of ab Compare maps FK1ands of the ib"eToda!, Nationa" (eographic, )ashington 67;= *dited for better +isibi"it!G

4ap to Carchemish - 3or educationa" purposes on"! )e ha+e here 9 p"acenames, a0 and Arima, representing successi+e points on the map on the

0a! from A"eppo to Jerab"us ?Carchemish@In the past +arious cursor! attempts 0ere made to "ocate Arima, as far as 0e%no0, 0ithout success so far C"ic% on Kab and !ou 0i"" see t0o imagesdescribed as of A" ab in northern S!ria Toda! this region is described astree"ess but 1eonard )oo"e! mentions that it had forested areas unti" the6=th centur! of our era F1 )oo"e!, KCarchemish, &t 9, pp ::-:G

The e"d of batt"e 0as north of a0

See $arna% inscriptions No0 the di+ision of Re and the di+ision of &tah 0ere in the forest of Kb0! ?a0@ FJR*A, Po" III, Sec :> reasted

+oca"izes Ke0e! in Records and Kaui in KThe att"e of $adeshG

The records of Ramses state that the di+isions of &tah and Sute%h 0ere tothe south of the to0n of Aronama ?r-n-m@ ?Aranami@ FIbid, Sec :6>G This isthe to0n of Arima of toda!

F#rigina""! this to0n 0as ca""ed Kthe cit! of Arame, the name of the %ing0hose capita" it 0as in the da!s of Sha"maneser III Sha"maneser 0rote duringa campaign in his 6>th !ear8 Against the cities of Aarame I dre0 near Arne,his ro!a" cit!, I captured

?1uc%enbi"", KRecords of Ass!ria, Po" I, Sec B;= A (ardiner, K*g!ptian(rammar, 1ondon, 679=, pp B9-B:G

A""ies

B Cities 0ere a""ied 0ith pharaohs ad+ersaries KThe arm! of the S!rians0arring on the side of the Cha"dean ?ab!"onian@ arm! FJeremiah :B866G

0hen Nebuchadnezzar $ing of ab!"on came up into the "and, that 0esaid, Come "et us go to Jerusa"em for fear of the arm! of the Cha"deans,and the S!rians B KArmies of the S!rian cities on the side ofthe arm! of Hatti )hen his maEest! 0ent to "oo% behind him, he found9,B>> chariotr! surrounding him, in his 0a! out, being a"" the !outh of the0retched $heta, together 0ith its numerous a""ied countries, from Ar+ad,4esa, &edes, $esh%esh A"eppo $adesh 1u%a FJR*A, Sec :69G

)ho did Ramses ght against The Hittites #r 0as it the Hattiites )e"", ho0in the 0or"d did historians construe out of the KHatti the KHittites 3or morec"ic% Here or HereU


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&haraohs Arm!

; 3our di+isions8 *g!ptians, *thiopians, 1ib!ans, 1!dians Jeremiah ;87#f these 1!dians 0ere mercenaries, Khired men Jeremiah ;896 Chariotr!participated in the batt"e, Jeremiah ;87

Come up, !ou horses and rage, !ou chariots and "et the might! men comefor0ard the *thiopians and the 1ib!ans, that hand"e the shie"d and the1!dians, that hand"e and bend the bo0 *g!pt is "i%e a fair heifer ?sheep@,but destruction is coming, it comes out of the north A"so her hired men are inthe midd"e of her "i%e fatted bu""oc%s Jeremiah ;87, 9>, 96

Comment8 The *g!ptian account of their di+isions approaching $adesh sho0sho0 far apart the! 0ere b! the time the! reached the "and of the Hittites Inour +ie0 this aspect supports more so a "ong Eourne! to0ard far a0a!

Carchemish rather than Rib"ah ! the time the troops arri+ed in the region ofCarchemish o+erpo0ering 0eariness ma! ha+e set in The resu"t 0as, theirinabi"it! to maintain a c"ose %nit ghting force became "i%e"! factors in theirdefeat Though not admitting to defeat on the monuments, the "ac% of richspoi"s and boot! underscores that outcome ; 3our di+isions8 Amon, Re,&tah and Sute%h FJR*A, Sec :6>, K&oem of &entaurG 4ercenaries in thearm! 0ere the Sardana, or the 0arriors from Sardis in 1!dia Chariotr!participated in the batt"e FKAnna"s of Ramses II, K&oem of &entaurG

eho"d, his maEest! prepared his infantr! and his chariotr!, the Ksrd!n?SherdenSardana@ FJR*A, Sec :>=G, The arri+a" of the recruits of&haraoh FIbid, Sec :>G

Con+entiona" chrono"og! does not e5uate the KSherden 0ith Sardana, a cit!of "ater times according to their dates, tr!ing instead to turn them intorecruits from KSardinia for 0hich there is no good reason to understand 0h!the! 0ou"d ha+e chariots on Sardinia or be trained to use them, or ha+e greatbatt"e ships 0ith hard"! an! trees gro0ing there FParious chapters in N$Sandars, KThe Sea &eop"es ?1ondon, 67=


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)hen C!rus sa0 the 1!dians ta%e up batt"e positions on this p"ain, his fear oftheir ca+a"r! "ed him to adopt a suggestion of Harpagus, one of the 4edesthis 0as to get together a"" the came"sun"oad them and mount men armedas ca+a"r!men on their bac%sThe reason for confronting the 1!dian ca+a"r!0ith came"s 0as the instincti+e fear 0hich the! inspire in horses No horse

can endure the sight or sme"" of a came"The ruse succeeded, for 0hen thebatt"e began, the horses turned tai" the moment the! sme"t and sa0 thecame"s--and Croesus chief ground of condence 0as cut from under himFHerodotus, % I, Sec G

If this account is true or not, after the &ersian con5uest 1!dia, and 0ith itSardis, the region came under (ree% inuence

The Course of the att"e

= The *g!ptian arm! 0as ta%en b! surprise Kdisma!ed and turned bac%

&a"estine 0as ta%en b! the Cha"deans, Jeremiah ;8B, =Sudden"! attac%ed, the infantr! and chariotr! of His 4aEest! 0erediscomted FK&oem of the att"e of $adesh Sec :9B KAnna"s of RamsesIIG

The Retreat De+e"oped Into a 3"ight


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And a"" the inhabitants of *g!pt sha"" %no0 that I am the 1ord, because the!ha+e been a sta/ of reed to the house of Israe" *ze%ie" 978; 69

)or%ing out some C"aims

Con+entiona" authors c"aim that a specia" corps %no0n as the KNaharinturned the batt"e in Ramses fa+or The KNaharin 0ere an e"ite archer!detachment of perhaps around 9>> troops At an! rate the! 0ere too sma"" aforce to turn the batt"e into a +ictor! )hat the! did do is gi+e Ramsesenough time to ee the tightening noose of the enc"osing ab!"onianCha"deanHittites A far cr! from an *g!ptian +ictor!

The obEect of this comparison is that these 7 para""e"s as found in the

*g!ptian account and in the ib"e represent grid points 0hich in the %ind ofe+ents, their chrono"ogica" order, timing and outcomes are uni5ue points0hich ne+er repeated themse"+es in histor! and therefore pin do0n the timeof Ramses II into the =th;th centur! Not on"! are these 7 points su2ciente+idence but a"so the c"ose chrono"ogica" corre"ation and inter"oc%ing reignsof Ramses II, Nebuchadnezzar and $ing Jehoia%im of Judah demand the sameneed to re+ise ancient histor! and bring Ramses II into the time of Jeremiah

)ritten Histor! Triumphs o+er &otter! Dri+en Chrono"og!8 The fo""o0inginformation has been researched hereThe "arger picture A number of piecesof information direct our attention *n"arged +ie0 of the name K%adesh inhierog"!phics Die unter der )e""e ("!phen am Turm +on $ar%emischbuchstabieren $adesh ?Hei"ige Stadt@, da sie einen Tempe" hatteto0ardCarchemish as the site of confrontation bet0een Ramses II and Hattusi"isCarchemish being a prominent cit! 0ith a pa"ace and temp"e means,Carchemish certain"! 5ua"ies as a Kho"! %adesh cit! - The *g!ptian sourcefor KCarchemish as documented b! reasted reads, eginning of the +ictor!of $ing Msermare-Setepnere ?Ramses II@, udge8 Wethsu or WadeshF0ho is

gi+en "ifeG, fore+er, 0hich he achie+ed in the "and of $heta ?Ht@ and Naharin?N-h-r!-n@, in the "and of Ar+ad ?O-r-t0@, in &edes ?&!-d-s@, in the Derden ?D-r-d-n!@, in the "and of 4esa ?4-s@, in the "and of $e"e%esh ?F$G-r-F%G!-s, sicU@, -,Carchemish ?$-r G-%-m!-[@, $ode ?$d!@, the "and of $adesh ?$d[@, in the "and of*%ereth ?-%-r-t@, and 4esheneth ?40-[-n-t@ FJames reasted, Records, Po"III, Sec \\ :>;, p 6:;G - - Hierog"!phic names for $adesh can be compared inthis cit! "ist of Thutmose III and in this 0rite up The "eft is the form b! udge


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0ho "ocates it in S!ria F*A) udge, *g!ptian Dictionar!, Po" II, 6>BaG, theright is the 0riting in the "arger to0er in the fortress art0or% ?c"ic% on theimage@ of Wodesh on the north 0a"" of the great ha"" of the temp"e at AbuSimbe" oth of these renditions seem to ha+e enough in common be"o0 the0a+! "ine to conc"ude that 0e ha+e here the name for KWodesh represented

#ther forms can be seen here -- Here fo""o0s a cuneiform +ersion forKCarchemish, Carchemish 0hich cit! name, as far as 0e %no0, is not found inthe peace treat! +ersion b! Hattusi"is

(ebe" e" Asr8 This is some => %m N) of Abu Simbe" and is a %no0n gneissand 5uartz 5uarr!

1egend8

The faint out"ine of the pointing hand can be seen, it stands phonetica""!often for the "etter Kd, F)P Da+is, *g!ptian Hierog"!phics, p :6G

The rectangu"ar bric% is intended here

The cro0n can be seen 5uite readi"!

The upside do0n arro0 or pointer can be recognized

ecause of this 0ritten e+idence from the monuments of Ramses II ?udgesa!s, Ka district in S!ria situation un%no0n, he trans"iterated KWetshu etterit is KWodesh, a %no0n "ocation@, the 3ortress of Carchemich is the cit! of$adesh 0here his arm! engaged the forces of Hattusi"isNebuchadnezzar ofthe Hittiteab!"onianCha"dean *mpire There ne+er 0as a batt"e on the

ban%s of the #rontes Ri+er

&ost script - Necharomes8 )e 0ou"d "i%e to emphasize that the con+entiona"K$adesh on the #rontos Ri+er has ne+er re+ea"ed an! re"e+ant information tothe actions bet0een Ramses II and his counterpart Hattusi"is, 0hich cou"d notbe interpreted an! other 0a! That is so because the action too% p"ace nearCarchemish, at "east there 0as found a maze c"ub bearing the name of one ofthe Ramese, probab"! that of Ramses II for there is no reason to assume thatthe other Rameses had contact 0ith Carchemish Disp"acing Ramses II into a

0rong centur! 0rec%ed ha+oc 0ith ancient histor!, in particu"ar theparticipants of these batt"es The &eace Treat!, 0hich must ha+e been %no0nto Ramses Chief of Sta/ Necharomes, represents an agreement bet0eenNebuchadnezzarHattusi"is and Ramses II Necho to0ard the end of the =thcentur! C 0ritten in the 0riting of the ab!"onian Cha"deans of Anato"ia, theHatti, not the Hittites


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Another #2cia" of Ramses II FB7>9G

Rahotep, Ambassador Ro!a" to the Chetta$heta

4an! !ears ago a damaged *g!ptian statue 0as dug up in the neighborhoodof Nor0ood, in the count! of Surre!, *ng"and Ho0 it got there is not statedbut this statue represents a dignitar! of the court of Ramses II, seated in achair The gure ho"ds upon its %nees, bet0een its t0o hands, a "argecartouche containing the name of the (reat Rameses, Ramessu Amenmerie"o0 this 0e are informed that the statue is that of the KHigh Judge and&refect Rahotep, director of the festi+a"s of his 1ord Fthe %ingG

)e ne't ha+e the important notice that he 0as ("!phs reading KAmbassador

Ro!a" to the "and of $hetaKAmbassador Ro!a" to the "and of $heta

The name of Rahoteps son 0as Knnu-meri His duties "a! in the KHouse of1ife, a part of the great KTemp"e of &tah

#n the right side his mother, KSuten Hat, is named She 0as the K&resident ofthe co""ege of the chorists of Anheru

#n the "eft side is pictured his sister, b! the name of Hunrei, K&resident of theco""ege of the god Herset

#n the bac%side t0o personages are represented %nee"ing before a tab"e of

o/erings #ne of these is his brother, the rst prophet of Aman, Amsu-mesu The other is his father the (reat Craftsman of &tah, that is the High&riest of &tah at 4emphis, &a-nutar-hen F& 1e &age Renouf, An AmbassadorRo!a" of Ramses the (reat in &SA, Po" IP, June 6


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and FTH &inches, A Ne0 3ragment of the Histor! of Nebuchadnezzar IIIin TSA, Po" PII, Jan 6


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And Jehoia%im the %ing sent men into *g!pt and the! fetched forth Mriahout of *g!pt, and brought him unto Jehoia%im the %ing Jeremiah 9;899-9:

No0, 6> or 6B !ears "ater, the popu"ation of &a"estine and *dom 0ere onceagain eeing into *g!pt from the sight of the approaching Cha"deans

Jeremiah foreto"d that these refugees 0ou"d be remo+ed from *g!pt

none of the remnant of Judah, 0hich are gone into the "and of *g!pt tosoEourn there, sha"" escape or remain Jeremiah 86

The fo""o0ing pro+ision of the treat! 0as a fu"""ment of 0hat Jeremiah hadforeto"d on"! a fe0 !ears before

FIfG one or t0o peop"e ee and the! come to the "and of *g!pt in order tochange a""egiance, then Mser-4aat Re, Chosen-of-Re, the great ru"er of *g!pt,

sha"" not to"erate them, but he sha"" cause that the! be brought bac% to thegreat chieftain of HattiF;>B>G

It 0as the fate of Jeremiah that against his 0i"" he became a fugiti+e in *g!pt0hen the "ast remnants of Judah decided to migrate there

Jeremiah 686=8 And the! departed to go to enter into *g!pt,

Jeremiah 686>G

This treat! contained a paragraph ca""ing for humane treatment of the


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fugiti+es 0ho 0ere handed o+er

If peop"e ee from the "and of Hatti and the! come to Mser-4aat Re, thegreat ru"er of *g!pt FandG the! be brought bac% to the great chieftain ofHatti, FthenG the great chieftain of Hatti sha"" not Farraign theirG crimesagainst them and one sha"" not destro! his FhouseG, his 0oman or hischi"dren, and one sha"" not s"a! him nor sha"" one trespass against his ears,against his e!es, his mouth, or his "egs, F;6B>G

Ramses found it necessar! to inc"ude this humanitarian pro+ision in thetreat! for the protection of the unfortunates 0ho he 0as no0 ob"iged to hando+er 3or it 0as Nebuchadnezzar 0ho had %i""ed the chi"dren of Lede%iah andput his e!es outF;9>>G

*ze%ie" 9:89:8 The ab!"onians, and a"" the Cha"deans

*ze%ie" 9:89B8 the! sha"" ta%e a0a! th! nose and thine ears

The treat!s pro+ision dea"t 0ith an actua" situation It casts additiona" "ighton the stor! of mart!rdom as to"d in the ib"e8 the stor! of muti"atedprisoners, s"aughtered chi"dren, and deportations and the stor! of these fe0

0ho escaped from the horrors of torture, of their ight to *g!pt, and of the"ong arm that reached out for the refugees into the "and of their as!"um Doesan! of this sound fami"iar to e+ents happening in our o0n da!s ut as far asthe re+ised chrono"og! is concerned it represents a g"orious cro0ning stoneto ma%e histor! tru"! come a"i+e

Herodotus 0as right 0hen he sa!s that thousands of *g!ptians died 0henthe! tried to bui"d a cana" to the Red Sea He used his o0n peop"e for hisproEects ut b! p"acing Ramses II and a"" the other pharaohs into 0rong time

s"ots the histor! of those !ears became +er! distorted resu"ting main"! in theabandonment of the scriptura" accounts as trust0orth! Regarding thearrangement of the d!nasties of 4anetho as being successi+e in naturein+ited disaster for the chrono"ogica" order of the histor! 0e here discussRamses II FNechoG 0as a contemporar! of Nebuchadnezzar a"so %no0n asHattusi"is 0hose father 0as 4ursi"is %no0n a"so as Nabonidus The Hittite*mpire is that of the Cha"deans and Ramses II 0ar against $adesh Fho"! cit!G


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is the same 0ar that pharaoh Necho 0aged against the ho"! cit! ofCarchemish 0ere !oung genera" Nebuchadnezzar opposed and routed him

Ramses II 0as fo""o0ed b! 4erneptahF;9B>G He 0as the one 0ho had the so-

ca""ed Israe" ste"e made in 0hich he mentions Israe", the countr! that 0as Eust"aid 0aste b! the con5uest of the ab!"onians under Nebuchadnezzar

Therefore is the "anguage of this ste"e reminiscent of the "anguage of theboo% of Jeremiah, because the time period is the same

The art of the 67th d!nast! agrees 0ith such a p"acement The e+idencefound in the tomb of Ahiram and se+era" other "ocations agrees 0ith it and soon

Nebuchadnezzar Pisits Ramses II - The *+idence

The e+idence here presented is subt"e but persuasi+e #n"! b! an impossib"echance cou"d the soon fo""o0ing corre"ation ha+e happened b! some othermeans 0e cannot understand toda!

The scenario no0 presented cou"d hard"! be concei+ed of an! better b! a0riter of ction ut 0hat is being to"d no0 is not ction but nonction In thispart 0e sha"" compare the fo""o0ing sources8

a The ric%-%i"n and the ("azed Ti"es

b The sing"e tab"et of Nebuchadnezzar of historica" +a"ue

c The so-ca""ed 4arriage ste"e of Ramses II

d The as-Re"ief from the Roc% Temp"e of Abu-Simb"e in Nubia

e The *+idence from *'ca+ations at Daphnae, Te"" Defenneh of toda!

f The eth-Ni%%i ui"ding Inscription at ab!"on

g The *+idence from *'ca+ations of the &a"ace of Nebuchadnezzar at


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ab!"on

h Nebuchadnezzars con+ersion to (od in Hea+en

a@ The ric%-%i"n and the ("azed Ti"es

Jeremiah 0e "earned 0as ta%en to *g!pt b! his o0n peop"e,

So the! came into the "and of *g!pt e+en to Tah-pan-hes ?Daphnae in(ree%@ Jeremiah :8=

)hen in e'i"e in *g!pt, Jeremiah, in a s!mbo"ic act, too% stones and hid them8

in the c"a! of the bric%-%i"n, 0hich is at the entr! of &haraohs F;:>>Ghouse in Tah-pen-hes, in the sight of the men of Judah Jeremiah :8

Therefore thus saith the 1ord (od eho"d, I 0i"" gi+e the "and of *g!pt untoNebuchadnezzar %ing of ab!"on *ze%ie" 97867

The Tab"et of the ab!"onian Chronic"e )as this prophec! e+er fu"""ed 4ostib"e commentators sa! no, in fact none can present good e+idence for thise+ent No one can point to an! e+idence indicating that Nebuchadnezzar e+er

Kin+aded *g!pt to set up his ro!a" pa+i"ion there #thers, e+en toda!,misunderstand these te'ts, not rea"izing their prophetic character andconstrue out of these statements that Nebuchadnezzar marched against*g!pt and 0as defeated in b"ood! batt"es It is c"ear that the 5uote from theoo% of *ze%ie" ta"%s about it as a future e+ent "i%e it does about othere+ents, in a prophetic manner It hadnt happened !et Arabic sources ma!contribute to a mis-representation of the actua" historicit! of aab!"onian*g!ptian engagement )e be"ie+e that those interpreting the


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statements of the ab!"onian Tab"et =< and the ib"ica" references Fseebe"o0G in such a 0a! to mean that a b"ood! batt"e too% p"ace do so 0ithoutsu2cient e+idence

)hether Nebuchadnezzar e+er in+aded *g!pt 0e do not %no0F;:B>G

In connection 0ith his +isit to *g!pt, Nebuchadnezzar mentions K&utu-Oaman0hich means the co"on! of the (ree%s The Hebre0 name for this co"on! of(ree% so"diers in *g!pt 0as Tahpanheth

It 0as "ocated Eust south of the eastern most, &e"usian mouth of the Ni"e

F;>>G It had a ro!a" pa"ace according to Jeremiah and a"so 0as a fortress8

at the entr! of &haraohs house Jeremiah :87

This 0as Daphnae or Te"" Defenneh and housed (ree% so"diers in the =th and;th centuries to protect the &a"estinian side of the border of *g!pt

The *g!ptians had guard-posts in +arious parts of the countr!8 one at*"ephantine against the *thiopians, one at Daphnae at &e"usium against theArabians and Ass!rians one at 4area to %eep a 0atch on the 1ib!ans F;B>G

*'ca+ations at Daphnae re+ea"ed "arge numbers of (ree% sca"e armor, too"s,and 0ares Nebuchadnezzars %i"n-ba%ed bric%s (ree% iron sca"e armor fromDefenneh F&etrie, KDefennehG F;B>>G 3oundation stones of a temp"e ofRamses II bearing his cartouches Daphnae 0as supposed to ha+e been bui"tin the time of the 9;th d!nast! in about ;; C and e'isted unti" about B;B

C To nd remains of a temp"e of Ramses II there 0as comp"ete"!une'pected

3"inders &etrie 0as the e'ca+ator and 0as impressed b! reddish %i"n-ba%edbric%s found at Te"" Defenneh and the neighboring +i""age of Nebesheh Thebui"ding materia" in *g!pt had a"0a!s been stone and mud bric%s To nd %i"n-


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ba%ed bric%s 0as +er! unusua" in the e!es of &etrie He a"so found a statuebearing the name of Ramses II at the same "ocation He opened a fe0 tombsRight a0a! the rst tomb re+ea"ed the time of its origin

The ear"iest tomb opened, 0as one bui"t of red ba%ed bric%s, No :B, a"mostat the e'treme east of the cemeter! It had been much disturbed and bro%enup in ear"! times This tomb 0as of K&a-mer-%au, according to the t0o"imestone ushabti found in it and from a statue found in the temp"e,representing K4erenptah, son of K&a-mer-%au, and bearing the cartouche ofRamses II, it ma! be dated to the 67th d!nast! The st!"e of the t0o ushabtia"so e'act"! accords 0ith that period and some fragments of 0rought granitefound in the tomb again agreed to a Ramesside period The emp"o!ment of

red bric% in this tomb, and in the ne't, 0hich is a"so Ramesside, is of greatimportance Hitherto I had ne+er seen an! red bric% in *g!pt of ear"ier timesthan the Constantine period and it appeared to be a test of that age No0 0esee from these cases that ba%ed bric% 0as introduced in the Ramessidetimes in the De"ta F;BB>G

A"so in Tahpanheth ?Daphnae@ the archaeo"ogists e'ca+ated the foundationsof a structure bui"t of %i"n-ba%ed bric%s

The ear"iest remains found here are a part of the foundation of a bui"ding ofred bric%s Ibid p=

As these bric%s 0ere identica" to those of the tombs, the conc"usion 0asdra0n that some bui"dings had been erected in the time of the Ramessides

It is +er! important to note this fact8

The ba%ed bric%s 0ere not disco+ered in *g!pt of an ear"ier age than the timeof the Ramessides, or of an age fo""o0ing that of the Ramessides the!reappear on"! in the time of the Christian emperor Constantine ?about :9>AD@


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)e must as%, from 0here did this short "i+ed inno+ation come to *g!pt

R $o"de0e!, the e'ca+ator of the pa"ace of Nebuchadnezzar in ab!"on,0rote on the rst page of his account8

Nebuchadnezzar rebui"t the pa"ace of his father, rep"acing the 0a""s of mudbric% b! 0a""s of ba%ed bric%

Describing the characteristic features of the bui"dings of Nebuchadnezzar, thee'ca+ator of ab!"on repeated"! stressed the K0e"" ba%ed, reddishNebuchadnezzar-bric%s, and Nebuchadnezzar himse"f refers to them time

and again in his bui"ding inscriptionsF;;>>G

Conc"usion8 According to the se+era" "ines of e+idence 0hich tend to p"aceRamses II into the time of %ing Nebuchadnezzar and Jeremiah, 0hich 0ediscussed a"read!, this e+idence of the ba%ed bric%s, supports that nice"!

b@ The Sing"e Tab"et of Nebuchadnezzar of Historica" Pa"ue

Nebuchadnezzar in cuneiform8Nebuchadnezzar in cuneiform See8 Source

Thousands of c"a! bric%s inscribed 0ith the pra!ers of Nebuchadnezzar ha+ebeen found but comparati+e"! +er! fe0 tab"ets containing historica""!+a"uab"e content #n"! one sing"e, muti"ated fragment of a tab"et attributedto him has an! historica" signicant content The tab"et "eft much room forinterpretation

The %ings, the a""ies of his po0er and -- his genera" and his hired so"diers --he spo%e unto To his so"diers -- 0ho 0ere before -- at the 0a! of -- In the :=th!ear of Nebuchadnezzar, %ing of ab!"on -- the %ing of *g!pt came up to dobatt"e FG and ---es, the %ing of *g!pt -- and -- of the cit! of &utu-Jaman F;;B>G


41/66


42/66

after a speech de"i+ered before his nob"es and his arm! the %ing 0ent to*g!pt

he 0as accompanied b! mounted and foot so"diers

a pharaoh 0hose name ends 0ith ---es is mentioned

a"so mentioned is the cit! of the (ree% mercenaries in *g!pt-&utu-Jaman?Oaman@

To disco+er 0hat the Kin+asion of Nebuchadnezzar of *g!pt most "i%e"! 0asa"" about, read on

c@ The so-ca""ed 4arriage Ste"e of Ramses II

In s!nchronized histor! 0e ha+e here NebuchadnezzarHattusi"is +isitingRamses II In the :th !ear of Ramses II, Hattusi"is came to *g!pt to +isit thepharaoh and gi+e him a daughter for a 0ife He a"so 0anted to see the0onders of that countr! The K4arriage Ste"e records that the %ing of $hetagathered his arm! and his nob"es, and8

Then spa%e the chief of the "and of $heta to his Farm!G and his nob"esF;7>>G

He e'p"ained to them the ad+antages and disad+antages of gi+ing hisdaughter to be the 0ife of this pharaoh

His maEest! recei+ed the F0ordG - - FinG the pa"ace, 0ith Eo! of heart )henhe heard such strange and une'pected matters F;7B>G

His arm! came, their "imbs being sound, and the! 0ere "ong in strideThedaughter of the great chief of $heta marched in front of the arm!of hismaEest! in fo""o0ing her The! 0ere as regu"ars the! ate and the! dran% notghting face to face-- bet0een them F=>>>G


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d@ The as-Re"ief of the Roc% Temp"e of Abu-Simb"e in Nubia

This marriage too% p"ace in the :th !ear of Ramses II 0hich 0as the :=th!ear of Nebuchadnezzar A bas-re"ief on a roc% temp"e from Abu-Simb"e

sho0s the %ing of Hatti bringing his daughter to Ramses II She stands beforeher father he raises his arms 0ith open hands in an e'pression of arespectfu" greeting His face is c"ean sha+en and he has a "arge tuft of hairfa""ing do0n from his nec% under a ta"", cone shaped headdress 0hich "oo%s"i%e a bishops miter and is a &hr!gian cap FSee $enneth $itchens K&haraoh

Triumphant, p 7 for a ne0er imageG

Compare this image of the %ing of Hatti 0ith the remaining si"houette of theon"! %no0n representation of Nebuchadnezzar on a roc% re"ief found at )adi

rissa in 1ebanon *+en though his gure is 0eathered and 0orn a0a! 0esti"" can ma%e out his &hr!gian cap and his tuft of hair

His headdress is "i%e the miter of a bishop F=>B>G

4arriage scene Despite the damage of the "i%eness of Nebuchadnezzarsimage one can see the pro"ed "i%eness 0ith the image of Hattusi"is in the

bas-re"ief of Abu-Simb"e

The +isit of Nebuchadnezzar to *g!pt is not on"! recorded in pictures and thetab"et mentioned a"read! but is a"so testied to b! his ro!a" sea"s found in*g!pt These are8

Kset up his throne and Kspread his ro!a" pa+i"ion As he on"! passed a"ongthe S!rian road, and Daphnae 0ou"d be the on"! stopping p"ace on that road

in the region of the isthmus, a"" the inferences point to these ha+ing comefrom Defenneh FDaphnaeG, and being the memoria"s of estab"ishment thereF=6>>G

e@ The eth-Ni%%i ui"ding Inscription at ab!"on


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In other 0ords these sea"s 0ere e+idence of the +isit of Nebuchadnezzar toTahpenhes- Daphnae Pice-+ersa Ramses II a"so paid respects toNebuchadnezzar b! +isiting him in ab!"on The entresh Ste"e of Ramses IIte""s us8

1o, his maEest! 0as in Naharin F=6B>G according to his !ear"! customF=9>>G

It is of important interest that 0e can nd traces of his +isits to ab!"on Abui"ding inscription of Nebuchadnezzar mentions Keth-Ni%%i, or the house ofNecho, outside the 0a""s of ab!"onF=9B>G

Keth-Ni%i is genera""! understood to signif! The House of *'penditure

It 0as probab"! the house in 0hich the former enem! and no0 son-in-"a0sta!ed during his +isits The p"ace has ne+er been e'ca+ated to date

)hen the daughter of the (reat Chief of Hatti ga+e birth to a gir" he 0rote a"etter to Ramses demanding that the "itt"e one be sent to him and he 0ou"dgi+e her "ater to 5ueenship F=:>>G

Nebuchadnezzar 0as concerned that his granddaughter shou"d not "i+e the"ife of a minor princess in *g!pt Ramses had married the daughter ofNebuchadnezzar 0hen he 0as a"read! a midd"e-aged man a"though his 0ifebecame the chief 0ife, he had a chief 0ife before 0ho had borne himchi"dren This former chief 0ife had corresponded 0ith her sister, the 0ife ofthe Chief of Hatti, and copies of these "etters 0ere preser+ed in the archi+esof oghaz%oi FIbid, 1uc%enbi"", p 67BG

The prophec! of Jeremiah that the %ing of ab!"on 0ou"d spread his ro!a"pa+i"ion 0as fu"""ed Jeremiah accurate"! foreto"d the spot 0hereNebuchadnezzar 0ou"d set his throne The second part of the prophec! - And0hen he cometh, he sha"" smite the "and of *g!pt - ne+er 0as fu"""ed, as faras the *g!ptians 0ere concerned ut it came true as far as the Je0s 0ereconcerned, and this in accordance 0ith the treat! for the e'tradition of therefugees


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Did Sheshon% I s5ueeze in the ubastite &orta" bet0een the second &!"onand a sma"" temp"e of Ramses III at $arna% In the re+ised scenario Ramses III0as sti"" in the future, so ho0 are 0e to understand this statement b! A"an

(ardiner FA (ardiner, K*g!pt of the &haraohs, p :9;B is the Ramses#sor%on co"umn8 the big, fat one on the "eft of !ourpicture an ug"! pear-shaped thing that "oo%s "i%e a mismatched, 0orncomposite of t0o co"umns ?the big cemented Eoint is a bit higher, out of thepicture@

&"a5ue photo The top of the co"umn 0as as I remembered it, but about

ha"f0a! do0n it 0as no0 Eoined b! a band of cement to a di/erent base - a"arger, hea+ier, much more 0eathered part-co"umn purporting to be aco"umn of Ramesses II usurped b! #sor%on II

I as%ed a museum guide about the co"umn, and recei+ed the guarded ans0erthat I cou"d nd out about it from their computer information database ?Icou"d not@ Amateur image of the here Eoined red granite co"umn, ho0e+er,not sho0ing the name change in particu"ar So I too% a "oo% at this co"umn of


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Ramesses II usurped b! #sor%on II

As 0e are doubt"ess a0are, one of #sor%ons names 0as MsermaatRa, andindeed the +isib"e cartouches had a nice, deep-cut MsermaatRa at the top,0ith, interesting"!, a scratch!, indistinct, sha""o0-cut and partia""! 0orn a0a!

set of names for #sor%onOou te"" me ho0 an eighth-centur! 1ib!an monarch can usurp the co"umn of asupposed"! thirteenth-centur! pharaoh b! cutting in his name "ess deep"!than that of the pharaoh he 0as usurping from

Co"umn *A669:, the Ramses4erneptah co"umn, is much more e"egant ?notto mention more intact@ - a curious feature is ho0 sha""o0"! 4erneptahsname is cut, as if Ramses 0as e'pecting to ha+e to rep"ace him at somepoint The co"umns e+ident ne0ness re"ati+e to *A6>;B is, incidenta""!, apoint that 0e, 0ho %no0 that #sor%on preceded Ramses, ha+e no troub"e

e'p"ainingConc"usion8 the ne0 "o0er portion of ritish 4useum e'hibit *A6>;B 0as aco"umn origina""! of #sor%on II, and 0as usurped b! Ramesses II, but theprocess 0as not comp"eted, either because the co"umn 0as consideredunsuitab"e or because Ramesses died before it 0as nished Therefore, theinformation on the accompan!ing p"a5ue is mis"eading ?! our 1ondoncorrespondent &atric%@F=::>G

Constructions in He"iopo"is

The histor! of I0n0, the Cit! of &i""ars is regarded as ha+ing been the mostsignicant cu"tic "ocation of the sun god 3or this association 0ith sun 0orshipthe cit! 0as ca""ed in (ree% times He"iopo"is Its histor! is "ong and reachesbac% to at "east to th and Bth D!nast! timesF=:B>G Numerous inscriptionstestif! to the fact that a"most a"" %ings F=>>G errected structures at He"iopo"isindicating the centra" ro"e this cit! p"a!ed throughout the histor! of *g!ptF=B>G

3or this reason 0e ought not to be surprised to a"so nd constructions ofAmenhotep III and Ramses II in the area F=B>>G

Summar!


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The manufacturing of %i"n-ba%ed bric% 0as apparent"! an inno+ationintroduced into *g!pt from ab!"on under Nebuchadnezzar )e a"so ha+e thetestimon! of Jeremiah that in his time there 0as a bric%-%i"n in

DaphnaeTahpanheth Since no %i"n ba%ed bric%s ha+e been disco+ered in pre-Christian *g!pt, e'cept those of the Ramesside period, those 0ho adhere tothe con+entiona" chrono"og! must assume that the %i"n stood for se+encenturies from sometime after Ramses II do0n to Jeremiah 0ithout beingused in the meantime and that the bric%s made in the %i"n in the da!s of

Jeremiah a"" +anished

This "ast statement, once it sin%s in, emphasizes the fact that the ba%edbric%s of the time of Ramses II found at the +er! same "ocation - Te""

DefennehTahpenhes - and being discussed from t0o +ie0points8

6 The con+entiona" +ie0point b! +irtue of the fact that such bric%s 0erefound in association 0ith Ramses IIs artifacts 0ho 0as in modern times datedto the 6:th centur! C

9 The oo% of Jeremiahs p"ain references to the bric%-%i"n #f course theba%ed bric%s mentioned b! Jeremiah did not +anish, the! 0ere the sameba%ed bric%s attributed b! archaeo"ogists to the time of Ramses II

Mnfortunate"! the sources of this disco+er! b! &etrie are not 0e"" documentedand discussed in modern "iterature since their importance in con+entiona"thin%ing is not being recognized #+era"" it seems that a fa"se chrono"og! cana"so "ead to unfortunate choices in setting priorities 0hich "ocations toe'ca+ate or re-e'ca+ate

In essence then %i"n-ba%ed bric%s 0ere found on"! from one rather narro0period of *g!ptian histor! in a sing"e "ocation The oo% of Jeremiah aids usgreat"! in understanding the true time of the uni5ue bric%s 0hich together0ith the statements from ab!"onian sources in essence e5uate Necho 0ithRamses II and p"ace Ramses into the time of Jeremiah and Nebuchadnezzar

If Ramses II "i+ed during the period 0e describe here ho0 come 67th D!nast!potter! is not found in association 0ith ab!"onian times )e"", it is, Eust


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remember the +esse" in the tomb of Ahiram A"so con+entiona" historians,once the! ha+e a Kpotter! measuring rod estab"ished on perhaps a fau"t!scheme e+er!thing re"ated to it 0i"" be fau"t! but !et agree 0ith theirmeasuring rod

The Inter"oc%ing Reigns of $ing Jehoiachim, Ramses II and Nebuchadnezzar

#+er+ie0 of %e! e+ents8

B 6

B== Ramses II marries daughter of Nebuchadnezzar

B=B Jeremiah goes in+o"untari"! to *g!pt, Jer 986:8=8:>

B=> Nebuchadnezzar +isits Ramses II short"! before his death

B;7 4erneptah becomes pharaoh

B; 1!dian %ing Croesus destro!s Hittite capita" oghaz%oi

The present reconstruction of ancient histor! e"ucidates the "ength of thereigns of Seti, Ramses II, and 4erneptah if not to a !ear, then in c"oseappro'imation Seti-&tah-4aat ?&sammetich of Herodotus@ reigned from -;;:?the !ear he returned 0ith the retinue of Assurbanipa" to *g!pt@ to -;>7 ?:!ears after in -;69@, a"together for B !ears

Ramses II 0as made co-ru"er 0hi"e he 0as sti"" an infant In his o0n 0ords8

)hen m! father made his state appearance before the peop"e, I being achi"d in his "ap, he said referring to me8 K Cro0n him as $ing that I see his5ua"ities 0hi"e I am sti"" "i+ing F=BB>G


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Ramses 6st campaign to0ard Carchemish too% p"ace in his 9nd !ear,ob+ious"! counted from the beginning of his reign as a so"e ru"er on his 9ndcampaign he proceeded in his Bth !ear (aza and Ash%e"on he too% in his 7th!ear he conc"uded the peace treat! 0ith Nebuchadnezzar in his ?Ramses@96st !ear he married a daughter of Nebuchadnezzar in his :th !ear, a"0a!s

counted from the death of his father, Seti Jeremiah, 0hen in e'i"e in *g!ptand before he 0as remo+ed to ab!"on, refers to &haraoh Hophra, 0hom 0eidentied as 4erneptah Hophramae F=;>>G

4erneptahs reign, Eudged b! the dates in his inscriptions, endured for 6> or66 !ears If the gure : !ears for Amasis reign 6>:@ is true, then heF4erneptahG must ha+e begun his ru"e in -B;


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In the beginning of the rst campaign 0hich the %ing of *g!pt directedto0ard the *uphrates, Josiah, %ing of Jerusa"em, 0as %i""ed at 4eggido :months "ater F==B>G Jehoia%in 0as made %ing of Jerusa"em The beginning ofthe reign of Jehoia%im corresponds to the 9nd !ear of Ramses II In the th!ear of $ing Jehoia%im the pharaoh undertoo% his 9nd mi"itar! campaign and

reached CarchemishF=>G The th !ear of Jehoia%im started in the Bth !earof Ramses II according"! this 9nd campaign must ha+e ta%en p"ace inRamses Bth !ear This conforms 0ith the *g!ptian sources8

KRamses II started his 9nd campaign "ea+ing *g!pt on the 7th da! of the6>th month of the Bth !ear F=G

The I""ustrated Time 1ine of Ramses and His Contemporaries

The th !ear of Jehoia%im 0as a"so the6st !ear of Nebuchadnezzar %ing ofab!"onF=7>>G It fo""o0s that Nebuchadnezzar counted the !ears of his reignfrom the !ear that he fought the second batt"e at the *uphrates At the timehe 0as commander in chief of the ab!"onian arm! Nebuchadnezzar 0as%ing of Ass!ria, a part of the ab!"onian *mpire At rst he 0as ca""ed %ing ofAss!ria,F=7B>G "ater %ing of ab!"on or %ing of the Cha"deansF>>G

The inter"oc%ing reigns of Nebu%adnezar and Ramses II Nebuchadnezzarsrst !ear fe"" in the "atter part of the Bth !ear of Ramses and the ear"ier partof the ;th

According to the *g!ptian sources, &a"estine 0as in re+o"t against *g!pt fromthe end of the Bth to the


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The $arna% bas-re"iefs of the storming of Ash%e"on and Chapter = ofJeremiah gi+e prominence to this e+ent The presence of *g!ptian so"diers ineth-Shan in the 7th !ear of Ramses is testied b! a ste"e of his erected

there in his 7th !ear and indicates *g!ptian contro" of &a"estine

Three !ears after that, ear"! in the G and that the Cha"deans 0ou"d come again and ghtagainst Jerusa"em The inter+a" 0as "ong enough for the inhabitants of thecit!, 0ho had freed their s"a+es, to be"ie+e that the danger 0as o+er and tr!to +oid the re"ease FG In the 6>th month of the 7th !ear of Lede%iah,after the *g!ptians had returned to their countr! 0ithout o/ering batt"e,Nebuchadnezzar 0ent bac% to Jerusa"em and rene0ed the siege F>G

As the resu"t of the agreement bet0een the t0o empires, *g!pt !ie"ded S!riaand &a"estine to Nebuchadnezzar, "ea+ing Jerusa"em 0ithout support This

treat! bet0een the %ing of *g!pt and the %ing of the Cha"deans 0asconc"uded sometime before the 6>th da! of the 6>th month FG of the 7th!ear of Lede%iah, on 0hich da! the Cha"deans rene0ed the siege of

Jerusa"em F>G The 7th !ear of Lede%iah 0as the 6=th !ear ofNebuchadnezzarFG thus it must ha+e been the 96st !ear of Ramses IIActua""! the treat! bet0een Ramses II and the %ing of Hatti ?Nebuchadnezzar@0as signed on the 96st da! of the th month of the 96st !ear of Ramses II


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The entire conict bet0een *g!pt and Hatti ?A%%adians-Cha"deans@ "asted 67!ears, from the 9nd !ear of Ramses II F>G unti" his 96st !ear FG Achec% 0ith the Hebre0 data gi+es the fo""o0ing gures8 the time from the

death of Josiah at 4egiddo F>G to the beginning of the "ast siege ofJerusa"em b! the Cha"deans comprises three months of Jehoahaz,FG ten!ears and a number of months of Jehoia%im, : months of Jehoiachin, and

Since 9Chronic"es :;866 spea%s of the 66 !ears of Lede%iah, 0hereas inJeremiah :789 it is the 66th !ear, the 66 !ears of Jehoia%im referred to in9Chronic"es :;8B "i%e0ise ma! be ta%en to signif! the 66th !ear Thus 67!ears passed from the rst march of the pharaoh through &a"estine and the

death of Josiah to the 0ithdra0a" of the *g!ptian arm! and the beginning ofthe na" siege of Jerusa"em According to the data of the Scriptures and therecords of Ramses a"i%e, *g!pt participated in the 0ar for nineteen !ears

The *g!ptian and Hebre0 sources agree on the order and the "ength of a""stages of the *g!ptian-Cha"dean 0ar The e'act data in the *g!ptian andHebre0 sources made possib"e this cross chec%ing, and that 0ith a precisionunattained b! historiograph! of man! periods a thousand or e+en t0othousand !ears c"oser to us

The con+entiona" histor! of *g!pt assumes that Ramses II 0as the &haraoh of#ppression at the time of 4oses,FG

Conse5uent"! the campaigns of Ramses II in northern S!ria and in &a"estineare supposed to ha+e ta%en p"ace either in the da!s of the Israe"ite bondagein *g!pt or in the da!s 0hen the Judges ru"ed the tribes in &a"estine

Ho0e+er, no mention is made in the oo% of Judges of an *g!ptian ru"er or ofan! campaign of a pharaoh against S!ria and &a"estine

! the same to%en, 0ith Ramses II remo+ed to the remote past, it cou"d bepresumed in ad+ance that the records of the oo%s of $ings, Chronic"es,

Jeremiah, and *ze%ie" on the 0ar of Nebuchadnezzar 0ith &haraoh Necho 0i""

Documents

RESPONCE TO EARLY MODELOF EXODUS