posted
I have been searching for the complete text of Merneptah's Victory Stele with no luck. I am interested in the last third of the text where Merneptah describes the Sea People. Owing to the controversial nature of these racial descriptions, that part of the Stele text is rarely (if ever) published. If anyone has a source, please post it. (It is also known as the Israel Stele).
Typically transcripts end with..
The princes are prostrate saying: "Shalom!" Not one of the Nine Bows lifts his head: Tjehenu is vanquished, Khatti at peace, Canaan is captive with all woe. Ashkelon is conquered, Gezer seized, Yanoam made nonexistent; Israel is wasted, bare of seed, Khor is become a widow for Egypt. All who roamed have been subdued. By the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Banere-meramun, Son of Re, Merneptah, Content with Maat, Given life like Re every day.
I am interested in what comes next.
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My source, Pritchard, James Bennett "Ancient Near Eastern texts relating to the Old Testament", says:
quote: ... Khor has become a widow for Egypt. All lands together, they are pacified; Everyone who was restless, He has been bound By the King of Upper and Lower Egypt: Ba-en-Re Meri-Amon; The Son of Re: Merneptah Hotep-hir Maat, given life like Re every day.
quote:Originally posted by sam p: This is fascinating.
From what era is it?
13th century BC.
From what I've been reading (, the identification of the Egyptian name with Hebrew Israel has been contested by some, the most credible of these theories claiming that it was a reference to Jezreal, "the Valley North of the country".
quote: Israel in the Merneptah Stela Michael G. Hasel Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, No. 296 (Nov., 1994), pp. 45-61
quote:Year 5, 3rd month of summer, day 3, under the Majesty of Horus: Mighty Bull, Rejoicing in Maat; the King of Upper and Lower Egypt: Banere-meramun; the Son of Re: Merneptah, Content with Maat, magnified by the power, exalted by the strength of Horus; strong bull who smites the Nine Bows, whose name is given to eternity forever.
Recital of his victories in all lands, to let all lands together know, to let the glory of his deeds be seen: the King of Upper and Lower Egypt: Banere-meramun; the Son of Re: Merneptah, Content with Maat; the Bull, lord of strength who slays his foes, splendid on the field of valour when his attack is made:
Shu who dispelled the cloud that was over Egypt, letting Egypt see the rays of the sun disk. Who removed the mountain of copper from the people's neck, that he might give breath to the imprisoned folk. Who let Hut-ka-Ptah exult over its foes, letting Tjenen triumph over his opponents. Opener of Memphis' gates that were barred, who allowed the temples to receive their foods. The King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Banere-meramun, the Son of Re, Merneptah, Content with Maat. The Sole One who steadied the hearts of hundred thousands, breath entered their nostrils at the sight of him. Who destroyed the land of the Tjemeh in his lifetime, cast abiding terror in the heart of the Meshwesh. He turned back the Libyans who trod Egypt, great is dread of Egypt in their hearts.
Their leading troops were left behind, Their legs made no stand except to flee, Their archers abandoned their bows, The hearts of their runners grew weak as they sped, They loosened their waterskins, cast them down, Their packs were untied, thrown away. The vile chief, the Libyan foe, Fled in the deep of night alone, No plume on his head, his feet unshod, His wives were carried off from his presence, His food supplies were snatched away, He had no drinking water to sustain him. The gaze of his brothers was fierce to slay him, His officers fought among each other, Their tents were fired, burnt to ashes, All his goods were food for the troops. When he reached his country he was in mourning Those left in his land were loath to receive him "A chief, ill-fated, evil-plumed", All said of him, those of his town. "He is in the power of the gods, the lords of Memphis The Lord of Egypt has made his name accursed; Merey is the abomination of Memphis, So is son after son of his kin forever. Banere-meramun will be after his children, Merneptah, Content with Maat is given him as fate. He has become a [proverbial saying] for Libya, Generation says to generation of his victories: It was never done to us since the time of Re;" So says every old man speaking to his son.
Woe to Libyans, they have ceased to live In the good manner of roaming the field; In a single day their stride was halted In a single year were the Tjehenu burned! Seth turned his back upon their chief, By his word their villages were ruined; There's no work of carrying [loads] these days. Hiding is useful, it's safe in the cave. The great Lord of Egypt, might and strength are his, Who will combat, knowing how he strides? A witless fool is he who takes him on, He knows no tomorrow who attacks his border! As for Egypt, "Since the gods," they say, "She is the only daughter of Pre; His son is he who's on the throne of Shu, None who attacks her people will succeed. The eye of every god is after her despoiler, It will make an end of all its foes", So say they who gaze toward their stars, And know all their spells by looking to the winds.
A great wonder has occurred for Egypt, Her attacker was placed captive (in) her hand, Through the counsels of the godly king, Who prevailed against his foes before Pre. Merey who stealthily did evil To all the gods who are in Memphis, He was contended with in On, The Ennead found him guilty of his crimes. Said the Lord-of-all: "Give the sword to my son, The right-hearted, kind, gracious Banere-meramun, Who cared for Memphis, who avenged On, Who opened the quarters that were barred. He has freed the many shut up in all districts, He has given the offerings to the temples, He has let incense be brought to the gods, He has let the nobles retain their possessions, He has let the humble frequent their towns". Then spoke the lords of On in behalf of their son, Merneptah, Content with Maat: "Grant him a lifetime like that of Re, To avenge those injured by any land; Egypt has been assigned him as portion, He owns it forever to protect its people". Lo, when one dwells in the time of the mighty, The breath of life comes readily. The brave bestows wealth on the just, The cheat cannot retain his plunder; [What a man has of ill-gotten wealth Falls to others, not (his) children.]
This (too) shall be said: Merey the vile foe, the Libyan foe Had come to attack the walls of Ta-tenen, Whose lord had made his son arise in his place, The King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Banere-meramun, Son of Re, Merneptah, Content with Maat. Then said Ptah concerning the vile Libyan foe: "His crimes are all gathered upon his head. Give him into the hand of Merneptah, Content with Maat, He shall make him spew what he gorged like a crocodile. Lo, the swift will catch the swift, The lord who knows his strength will snare him; It is Amun who curbs him with his hand, He will deliver him to his ka in Southern On, The King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Banere-meramun, Son of Re, Merneptah, Content with Maat".
Great joy has arisen in Egypt, Shouts go up from Egypt's towns; They relate the Libyan victories Of Merneptah, Content with Maat: "How beloved is he, the victorious ruler! How exalted is he, the King among the gods! How splendid is he, the lord of command! O how sweet it is to sit and babble!" One walks free-striding on the road, For there's no fear in people's hearts; Fortresses are left to themselves, Wells are open for the messengers' use. Bastioned ramparts are becalmed, Sunlight only wakes the watchmen; Medjai are stretched out asleep, Nau and Tekten are in the fields they love. The cattle of the field are left to roam, No herdsmen cross the river's flood; There's no calling out at night: "Wait, I come," in a stranger's voice. Going and coming are with song, People don't [lament] and mourn; Towns are settled once again, He who tends his crop will eat it. Re has turned around to Egypt, The Son is ordained as her protector, The King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Banere-meramun, Son of Re, Merneptah, Content with Maat
The princes are prostrate saying: "Shalom!" Not one of the Nine Bows lifts his head: Tjehenu is vanquished, Khatti at peace, Canaan is captive with all woe. Ashkelon is conquered, Gezer seized, Yanoam made nonexistent; Israel is wasted, bare of seed, Khor is become a widow for Egypt. All who roamed have been subdued. By the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Banere-meramun, Son of Re, Merneptah, Content with Maat, Given life like Re every day.
Though primarily about TMHHW I find no mention of their HAU NBW or "Sea Peoples" allies.
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The point of all of this is that “White people” (Europeans and Turks), have crafted a totally bogus history of the ancient world. Since they are the ones in possession of the lands and the artifacts, they are free to translate the ancient documents in any way that suites them, and that situation is not going to change anytime soon. Our one opportunity for truth lies in the fact that they sometimes don’t all tell the exact same lie.
In the case of the Merneptah stele: What does the other side say? Merneptah also has an inscription on the wall at the sixth pylon at Karnak, which also deals with the same battles. But here he mentions taking Circumcised penises and other things. This has great bearing on who the ancient Europeans were NOT, and it does mention the Sea Peoples. So if the same story is on the stele, why is there a difference.
As an example of how ancient history is politicized, note the supposed mention of Israel on the stele: some say it is ysrir, others say it is Isrir; in either case, how does that mean Israel when this is the first incidence of the word, and it has not been defined elsewhere. Why couldn’t the word mean toilet paper? Also in regards to the stele; Breasted is known to have omitted a derogatory remark in his translation; what was it, and did Pritchard also omit it.
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I think the point is the text says what it says not what you want it to say. Look, if you think the translation is deficient why not translate it yourself? Do you care what Merenptah left on this record? Or do you just want to use this particular stele as an excuse to bad talk the wicked ol' white devils?
How does it advance Africana studies to repeatedly chant the white man mantra instead of writing about some aspect of African civilization through African eyes?
There are at least four known records Merenptah left for us on his battle against the TMHHW. The Hymn of victory doesn't mention any H3W NBW.
Merenptah's records at Athribis, Cairo, and Karnak do recount various H3W NBW. Turn to them not the Hymn of Victory if you want those descriptions. Each of these records differ from each other in detail and purpose because their author had specific reasons in mind for erecting each of them. Give the pharaoh some credit for the vision to do more than to just replicate.
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alTakruri - You say that as if you know something; I do not, that is why I question everything. But to make my point that the "White Devils" cannot be trusted to produce accurate and truthful translations, I offer-up the translation of the preamble to Hammurabi's code; Translated by L. W. King.
When Anu the Sublime, King of the Anunaki, and Bel, the lord of Heaven and earth, who decreed the fate of the land, assigned to Marduk, the over-ruling son of Ea, God of righteousness, dominion over earthly man, and made him great among the Igigi, they called Babylon by his illustrious name, made it great on earth, and founded an everlasting kingdom in it, whose foundations are laid so solidly as those of heaven and earth; then Anu and Bel called by name me, Hammurabi, the exalted prince, who feared God, to bring about the rule of righteousness in the land, to destroy the wicked and the evil-doers; so that the strong should not harm the weak; so that I should rule over the black-headed people like Shamash, and enlighten the land, to further the well-being of mankind.
Hammurabi, the prince, called of Bel am I, making riches and increase, enriching Nippur and Dur-ilu beyond compare, sublime patron of E-kur; who reestablished Eridu and purified the worship of E-apsu; who conquered the four quarters of the world, made great the name of Babylon, rejoiced the heart of Marduk, his lord who daily pays his devotions in Saggil; the royal scion whom Sin made; who enriched Ur; the humble, the reverent, who brings wealth to Gish-shir-gal; the white king, heard of Shamash, the mighty, who again laid the foundations of Sippara; who clothed the gravestones of Malkat with green; who made E-babbar great, which is like the heavens.
The warrior who guarded Larsa and renewed E-babbar, with Shamash as his helper; the lord who granted new life to Uruk, who brought plenteous water to its inhabitants, raised the head of E-anna, and perfected the beauty of Anu and Nana; shield of the land, who reunited the scattered inhabitants of Isin; who richly endowed E-gal-mach; the protecting king of the city, brother of the god Zamama; who firmly founded the farms of Kish, crowned E-me-te-ursag with glory, redoubled the great holy treasures of Nana, managed the temple of Harsag-kalama; the grave of the enemy, whose help brought about the victory; who increased the power of Cuthah; made all glorious in E-shidlam, the black steer, who gored the enemy; beloved of the god Nebo, who rejoiced the inhabitants of Borsippa, the Sublime; who is indefatigable for E-zida;
The divine king of the city; the White, Wise; who broadened the fields of Dilbat, who heaped up the harvests for Urash; the Mighty, the lord to whom come scepter and crown, with which he clothes himself; the Elect of Ma-ma; who fixed the temple bounds of Kesh, who made rich the holy feasts of Nin-tu; the provident, solicitous, who provided food and drink for Lagash and Girsu, who provided large sacrificial offerings for the temple of Ningirsu; who captured the enemy, the Elect of the oracle who fulfilled the prediction of Hallab, who rejoiced the heart of Anunit; the pure prince, whose prayer is accepted by Adad; who satisfied the heart of Adad, the warrior, in Karkar, who restored the vessels for worship in E-ud-gal-gal; the king who granted life to the city of Adab; the guide of E-mach; the princely king of the city, the irresistible warrior, who granted life to the inhabitants of Mashkanshabri, and brought abundance to the temple of Shidlam.
The White, Potent, who penetrated the secret cave of the bandits, saved the inhabitants of Malka from misfortune, and fixed their home fast in wealth; who established pure sacrificial gifts for Ea and Dam-gal-nun-na, who made his kingdom everlastingly great; the princely king of the city, who subjected the districts on the Ud-kib-nun-na Canal to the sway of Dagon, his Creator; who spared the inhabitants of Mera and Tutul; the sublime prince, who makes the face of Ninni shine; who presents holy meals to the divinity of Nin-a-zu, who cared for its inhabitants in their need, provided a portion for them in Babylon in peace; the shepherd of the oppressed and of the slaves; whose deeds find favor before Anunit, who provided for Anunit in the temple of Dumash in the suburb of Agade; who recognizes the right, who rules by law; who gave back to the city of Ashur its protecting god; who let the name of Ishtar of Nineveh remain in E-mish-mish; the Sublime, who humbles himself before the great gods; successor of Sumula-il; the mighty son of Sin-muballit;
This is Hammurabi
As is all too appearant, Hammurabi can't be both a black steer and a White Man. His statue says that he could be a black steer, but certainly not a White King. So the question is: Is this just a poor translation, or is it a racist translation. Life might be a bit more complicated than you thought alTakruri.
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Mike111: I agree that tracking down Ancient texts' ethnonyms to compare them with modern ones only relying on sound ressemblance is kind of arbitrary, but what would make you believe in the authenticity of the authenticity of the stela and of the identification with Israel? Do you have arguments against this theory?
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Agluzinha - The Israel thing is more of a coincidence to my interest, but it does serve to demonstrate the often capricious and self-serving nature of translations.
Language is an agreement by which a group of people all agree that certain sounds mean certain things. Written language is the same process, but with symbols. In written language, a good example is the word "pain", in french and English it means completely different things. Nowhere in the texts concerning this, have I seen examples of the Egyptians later using the words ysrir or Isrir to describe the nation of Israel. Therefore the meaning of the word cannot be established, it could mean anything.
But that aside; my interest in the stele and wall inscription was piqued by this paragraph in MYTHS OF CRETE & PRE-HELLENIC EUROPE By DONALD A. MACKENZIE [1917]
The first sea raid occurred about a quarter of a century earlier, during the reign of Merne-ptah, son of Rameses II. It was conducted in conjunction with the Hittites, and taken part in by the Shardana, who may have given their name to Sardinia; the Akhaivasha, usually identified with the Achæans; the Shakalsha, who may have been Cretanized Sicilians; and the Tursha, perhaps the Turseni, who were represented in Etruria. The piratical peoples were probably remnants of the Cretans and their conquerors. They were defeated by Merne-ptah, but some settled in Libya and became mercenaries in the Egyptian army.
In no modern translation of texts relating to the battles, is this level of detail found. Unless we are to believe that Mr. Mackenzie made it up, modern translators are obviously leaving it out. The question is; where is it, and why are they leaving it out.
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Perhaps it's too complex a thing for you to read the four known inscriptions Merenptah left to see MacKenzie's source for his listed ethnonyms? I have no troble finding them from Merenptah. Where are you looking? If we know that then maybe we can be of aid. You also need realize historians analyze texts and interpolate their own reasoning into the primary document. This is whay you're seeing in what you call MacKenzie's level of detail which draws on other historians as well as the primary documents left by Merenptah.
Nonetheless perusing the four records I find these H3W NBW listed
* Ekwesh * Teresh * Luka * Sherden * Shekelesh
and Kheta whom were supplied with corn before turning on Merenptah. There is very much detail MacKenzie left out of that quoted paragraph. But to see the details, one must read the four records taking notes while doing so and later synthesizing all the components with ones own original insights. A student of Africana studies will do this without the need to introduce extraneous bugbears like "white devils."
quote:Originally posted by Mike111:
But that aside; my interest in the stele and wall inscription was piqued by this paragraph in MYTHS OF CRETE & PRE-HELLENIC EUROPE By DONALD A. MACKENZIE [1917]
The first sea raid occurred about a quarter of a century earlier, during the reign of Merne-ptah, son of Rameses II. It was conducted in conjunction with the Hittites, and taken part in by the Shardana, who may have given their name to Sardinia; the Akhaivasha, usually identified with the Achæans; the Shakalsha, who may have been Cretanized Sicilians; and the Tursha, perhaps the Turseni, who were represented in Etruria. The piratical peoples were probably remnants of the Cretans and their conquerors. They were defeated by Merne-ptah, but some settled in Libya and became mercenaries in the Egyptian army.
In no modern translation of texts relating to the battles, is this level of detail found. Unless we are to believe that Mr. Mackenzie made it up, modern translators are obviously leaving it out. The question is; where is it, and why are they leaving it out.
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alTakruri - I tire of your sophomoric attempts to sound authoritative: If you have the material please post it; otherwise get lost.
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I posted some of it and you denied it. After that you think I'm going to hand over my research efforts to you scott free? NoKay. It's your thread so I'm audi, beep beep! I don't just sound authoritative, I am authoritative. You asked for the complete Hymn of Victory and I gave it to you with not a word of thanks in return and you want I should give your ungratefuleness even more text? What am I, a dog or a doormat to you?
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In my original post, I indicated the pedestrian text that I already had; you simply gave more of the same; which any high schooler could do. If you consider that to be authoritative, good for you.
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Have it your way. You asked for the complete text now I guess because you lacked the high schoolers ability to get it yourself.
So be the average high schooler and get the other three texts for yourself like I told you to do a few posts ago.
What do you want to do? Have beef with me or advance the knowledge re Merenptah and the TMMHW / H3W NBW wars?
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alTakruri - I do not want to have a beef with you. However; I do object to your totally inappropriate condescending preamble to nothingness, (if something of substance had been provided, it might have been tolerable). You talk of advancing knowledge, but yet provide nothing except pedestrian material. You make suggestions that are impractical, yet seem quite self-satisfied with them. So all-in-all, it seems that your game is all talk.
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You're the only one playing games, son. A game called 'ding whitey,' in lieau of teaching real Africana studies. It's easy to say whitey this and whitey that than to dig down and do some hard time consuming research. Nothing impractical about that. I did it, others here do it, and I really believe you cano it too, if only you will try.
But what do you think you have provided? I'll tell you. Poppycock! You wanted The complete hymn, you didn't know how to find it, I gave it to you freely in a spirit of cooperation. You claimed puzzle pieces were missing, I named the remaining three. You claimed MacKenzie provided secret information hidden away by the white devils (but isn't MacKenzie himself a white devil -- is Satan casting out Satan here?), I told you to read all four records left by Merenptah to assure yourself there's no hidden or mistranslated material barring anyone from knowing about Merenptah's war on the TMHHW and their H3W NBW allies and earlier war on A3MW.
Your main claim is that Merenptah had some lavish pejoratory description of Europeans but he does not. You have yet to cite where such an idea arose other than from your misreading of only a small section of one primary document.
To answer your query, nothing comes next. It's the conclusion of the Hymn of Victory. If not please provide us with any remainder text and explain why what's obviously the hymn's closing remarks indicate other than a closing of the hymn.
And you owe me thanks for handing you a complete translated text of the Hymn of Victory, man up.
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^^^My situation being that I have some time to kill; I will continue this inane conversation with you. Dinging Whitey is not a game; it is a correct and totally justifiable placement of blame. If you do not know the acts for which blame is placed, that’s too bad. My understanding is that it takes years to master an ancient language, to me, your suggesting that I learn hieroglyphics to resolve the Merneptah stele seems impractical. You say you did it, and I say good for you. However, I can’t think of a time when you displayed this talent, as a matter of fact, I can’t ever remember you posting anything of particular note or value, I guess you are saving the good stuff.
You keep saying that you provided the complete text of the Merneptah stele, In fact what you provided was the same translation that can be found at 35,500 websites (that is the browser count), you take credit for that??? The last three paragraphs of your rant above are totally illogical, if I am searching for the missing parts of Merneptah’s account, how could I possibly produce it, so as to prove to you that it exists? Take a pill.
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Well, I've posted much info. You've posted much diatribe. Obvious you have nothing on Merenptah's war on TMHHW. No one else seems interested so go on with your polemic. By the way, I learned hieroglyphics when I wanted a literal translation of the Book of Gates, it was the most practical thing to do to acheive my objective.
Go on search for missing text that you have no way of knowing is missing because no one has seen it. Gee, every pharaoh has missing text if I will only believe whitey is hiding it and of course I can't prove it's missing because it is missing. Isn't that your rant?
Your writing begins to remind me of the last Hardy Boys story; The Zig-Zag papers.
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