Synchronized Chronology: Rethinking Middle East Antiquity

268 Pages·2002·5.55 MB·English

by  Roger Henry

S C
YNCHRONIZED HRONOLOGY

S C
YNCHRONIZED HRONOLOGY

RETHINKING MIDDLE EAST ANTIQUITY
A SIMPLE CORRECTION TO EGYPTIAN CHRONOLOGY
RESOLVES THE MAJOR PROBLEMS IN BIBLICAL AND
GREEK ARCHAEOLOGY

Roger Henry

Algora Publishing
New York
© 2003 by Algora Publishing.
All Rights Reserved.
www.algora.com

No portion of this book (beyond what is permitted by
Sections 107 or 108 of the United States Copyright Act of 1976)
may be reproduced by any process, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form, or by any means, without the
express written permission of the publisher.
ISBN: 0-87586-191-1 (softcover)
ISBN: 0-87586-192-X (hardcover)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: 2002014693

Henry, Roger, 1949-
The synchronized chronology : a simple correction to Egyptian chronology resolves the major
problems in biblical and Greek archaeology / Roger Henry.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-87586-191-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-87586-192-X (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Egypt—History—To 332 B.C.—Chronology. 2. Middle East—History—To 622—Chronology.
3. Chronology, Egyptian. 4. Bible—Antiquities. 5. Greece—Antiquities. I. Title.

DT83 .H54 2002
932'.002'02—dc21
2002015851

Front Cover: The Pharaoh Akhnaton and Greek Pottery

Printed in the United States
TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE 1

1. WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS CHRONOLOGY? 5
THE OBJECTIVE 6
THE SOLUTION 8
THE KEY TO THE SYNCHRONISMS 10

2. FOUNDATIONS OF CONVENTIONAL CHRONOLOGY 13
MANETHO 13
BIBLICAL CHRONOLOGY 15
THE STARTING POINT 17

3. THE EXODUS AND THE END OF THE MIDDLE KINGDOM OF EGYPT 21
THE MOST IMPORTANT SYNCHRONISM 23
THE PAPYRUS IPUWER 24
THE EL ARISH SHRINE 26
THE ERMITAGE PAPYRUS 27
THE INVASION 27
THE AMALEKITES 28
THE DEFEAT OF THE HYKSOS/AMALEKITES 30

4. THE CONQUEST AND THE TIME OF THE JUDGES 33
THE MIDDLE BRONZE AGE 35
THE BIBLICAL MIDDLE BRONZE AGE 37
THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN 38
ISRAELITE OCCUPATION OF PALESTINE 40
JERICHO 40
SHECHEM 41
ABRAHAM AND THE AMORITE MIGRATION 43
THE ORIGIN OF THE ALPHABET 45
VII
5. THE 18TH DYNASTY AND THE UNITED KINGDOM 47
THE UNITED KINGDOM 47
THE THEBAN DYNASTY 49
QUEEN SHEBA 50

6. THE WARS OF EGYPT AND ISRAEL 59
SOLOMON’S PUNISHMENT 61
ASA BATTLES AMENHOTEP II 66
THE MITANNI, THE KHURRIANS, AND THE RISE OF ASSYRIA 67

7. ISRAEL AND DAMASCUS AT WAR PART 1 OF THE TELL EL-AMARNA LETTERS 71
JEHOSAPHAT’S CAPTAINS 75
THE MESHA STELE 79

8. JERUSALEM IN THE TIME OF AKHNATON PART 2 OF THE TELL EL AMARNA
LETTERS 85
JERUSALEM 87
IVORY 90
AKHNATON 91

9. THE END OF THE BRONZE AGE 97
MANETHO 98
ITALY 101
ROME 101
SICILY 102
SPAIN 102
TROY 103
THE END OF THE BRONZE AGE 105
EARTHQUAKES 105
MIGRATION 106
DROUGHT 106
POLITICAL COLLAPSE 107
WARFARE 108
IRON 108

10. NEW LIGHT ON THE GREEK DARK AGES 111
HOMER 113
OTHER PEOPLES OF ASIA MINOR 116
LITERACY 118
ARGOS 120
VIII
11. THE RISE OF ASSYRIA. PART 3 OF THE TELL EL AMARNA LETTERS 125
THE INTERNATIONAL SCENE 128
BABYLONIA 128
ASSYRIA 130
ANOTHER DARK AGE 131
SHALMANESER 132
SHALMANESER ATTACKS PHOENICIA 132
SHALMANESER’S SYRIAN WAR 133
THE KING OF HATTI 136
THE AGE OF THE AMARNA SCRIPT 137
MITANNI 138

12. SAMARIA AS A BENCHMARK FOR ARCHEOLOGY 141
ARCHAEOLOGY IN “CANAAN” 143
LOOKING FOR A BENCHMARK 144
THE LACHISH OSTRACA 146
MEGIDDO 148

13. THE THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD IN EGYPT 151
THE CASE FOR SHOSHENQ AS SHISHAK 153
SHOSHENQ IN THE SYNCHRONIZED CHRONOLOGY 154
THE PHOENICIAN SCRIPT 155
SAMARIA AS THE BENCHMARK 155
ISRAEL 157
LIBYA WITH A DISTRACTED ASSYRIA 158

14. WHO WERE THE HITTITES? 161
THE ARCHIVE 161
A MIXED PEOPLE 163
HITTITE ORIGINS 164
THE KHIRBET KERAK PEOPLE 165
THE HATTI LANDS 166
GREEK REFERENCES TO HITTITES 169
THE CHALDEANS 171
THE URARTIANS 171
THE CIMMERIAN INVASION 172
THE TWO HITTITES 174
UR OF THE CHALDEAS 175

IX
15. CHALDEAN ART 177
THE CONVENTIONAL ORDER 178
PHASE 1 179
PHASE 2 180
PHASE 3 180
EAST AND WEST HITTITE COMPARED 181
THE SCRIPT 183
MALATYA 185
PHRYGIA 185
THE CHALDEAN SECRET WRITING 187
A ROYAL “HITTITE” BURIAL IN CARCHEMISH 188

16. THE BATTLE OF CARCHMISH 191
PSAMATICH (SETI-PTAH-MAAT) 193
NECHO (RAMSES II) 194
JUDAH 195
THE BATTLE 197
THE OTHER SIDE 199
HOPHRA (MERNEPTAH HOTPHIRMAE) 202
THE ISRAEL STELE 204

17. RAMSES III AND HIS TIME 207
THE HISTORICAL SCENE 211
THE HARRIS PAPYRUS 214
THE EGYPTIAN RECORD 217
WHO ARE THE P-R-S-TT? 220
TELL EL YAHUDIYEH 223
THE NECROPOLIS 225

18. THE PEOPLE OF THE SEA 229
THE BATTLES 230
WHERE IS THE EGYPTIAN RECORD? 235

19. SUMMARY 241

BIBLIOGRAPHY 251
X