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CHAPTER 26
THE ANCIENT KING LISTS OF THE WORLD |
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Table 26-1 shows the lists of kings from Plato, China, Genesis, Berossus,
and two Sumerian clay tablets. The WB designations for the latter refer
to the catalog numbers of the Weld-Blundell collection in the Ashmolean
Museum of Oxford University.
It can be seen that the first Chinese king, Fu Hsi, falls in
line with Adam, strengthening our supposition that he is a Chinese memory
of Adam. However Daonos as #6 in Berossus' list, and Dumuzi as #5
in the two Sumerian lists, suggests that his memory was already faded by
the time the lists were recorded. The Flood falls at the end of the lists
from China, Genesis, Berossus and Sumeria. In Plato's account the ten twin
sons were born before the geological disruptions of Atlantis. This Table
is for illustration only; for simplicity I have not included the Egyptian
list, or others for an exhaustive display from people around the world.
Table 26-2 is a tabulation of kings from the WB-144 list both before
and after the Flood, including the first dynasty of Kish, and the first
dynasty of ErechSKL. Many other dynasties follow but I do not
show them since they are not pertinent to our discussions.
It is significant that ancient people acknowledged extremely long periods
of time. The Sumerians reckoned in periods of 60 years, equal to one
soss, 600 (60 X 10) years equal to one ner, and 3600 (60 X 60)
years equal to one sar. (Note the sar designation, for kingly
rulership.)
If this scheme is carried farther a great sar of 60 X 3600 would
be equal to 216,000 years. That number is exactly one-half of the Berossus
sum for his king ages = 432,000.
We would not use such long time designations in our modern world. In
fact, we do not believe the old records; we see them only as "mythological"
or fanciful inventions. Scholars have attempted to reconcile the long spans
by suggesting they are moon or day counts. 930 years for Adam would be
930 months, approximately 80 years. However, 72,000 days for Alagar is
almost two hundred years, obviously still not real for mortal earthly reigns,
as we know them. These attempts also neglect the worldwide traditions of
long time spans. They are nothing more than efforts to reconcile the data
to conventional modern and godless views, a phenomena observed in the Chinese
euphemizing process when Confucius said the 300 years is actually 100,
plus 100 of memory, plus another 100 of fame.
Other curiosities present themselves in the numbers from the Sumerian
lists. In Norse mythologies the "War of the Wolf" was the recurrent cosmic
battle between the gods and the antigods. In the Icelandic Poetic Edda
we are told that in Odin's heavenly warrior hall were 540 doorsMOG:
Curiously 540 doors times 800 warriors is 432,000,
that magical number from Berossus. We are also reminded of the Hindu myths
of
12,000 divine years with 360 human years in each divine year. These 4,320,000
human years (10 X 432,000) are in each period of Brahma. The age of Kali,
in which we now live, had 1200 divine years and therefore 432,000 human
years, the same as the number from the Icelandic epic tale and from the
Berossus' king reigns. Each speaks of a great cycle of earth time, a dispensation
of the gods.
But the other Sumerian sums, although different
from Berossus, also carry significance. The WB-62 sum is 456,000 years
while that of the WB-144 is 241,200. Some of the magic of the numbers is
seen in that 1200 (60 X 20) divides into all of them. 456,000/1200 = 380;
432,000/1200 = 360; 241,200/1200 = 201. But far more intriguing is the
fact that the movement of the earth through the heavens also has a natural
period related to the Sumerian numbers.
Our planet moves with its orbital axis pointed
toward Polaris, the North Pole star. But this orientation is not stationary.
It precesses over a period of 25,920 years. This precession is observed
on March 21 when the vernal equinox takes place. Each year the heavenly
bodies lag in their position by about 50 seconds of arc. In 72 years this
lag amounts to one degree (50" X 72 = 3600" = 60' = 1 degree). Since there
are twelve signs of the zodiac each sign occupies 30 degrees. Therefore
the crossing of the earth at the vernal equinox changes zodiac sign every
2160 years. The cycle completes itself through the twelve signs in the
25,920 years. The North Pole position will continue to move around the
heavens until it returns to its present position directed toward Polaris
25,920 years from now -- if other geophysical events do not take place.
If we take the Sumerian time unit of one soss
= 60 years and divide it into the precessional period of 25,920 we obtain
432, that magical number given by Berossus. Little do modern people recognize the strength
of our inheritance from the past. The daily time keeping of 60 seconds
in one minute, and 60 minutes in one hour is a memory of those old reckoning
systems. 360 degrees in a circle is also part of that legacy. It is easy
to recognize how the Sumerian sexagesimal system, which so greatly clocks
our daily lives, could have been derived from the precessional period of
the planet.
The ancient Sumerians also had a festival calendar
which was reckoned by five-day periods or weeks. There are 72 such periods
in 360 days. The extra five days in a year were considered special, not
part of the regular 72-week cycle. In 72 years, the length of time for
the earth to precess one degree, occur 72 X 360 = 25,920 festival weeks,
the same as the number of years in the precession of the equinoxes. Also
interesting, are the "lost" days. Five each for 72 years is the magic number
of 360, and another full festival year. (Except that leap year confuses
the neat mathematics.)
Although these coincidences of numbers are
intriguing they do not necessarily indicate a basic relationship between
mathematics and physical cycles. Rather they indicate that ancient people
tied their clocks, their calendars, their circular measurements, and their
activities to the natural cycles of the earth over very long spans of time.
They knew much about the great cycles of the earth and of time.
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Other relationships exist among the lists.
Translation into year equivalents has obscured these connections; if the
lists had been published with the sar numbers the patterns might
have been more apparent. In Table 26-3 I list the numbers in both years
and sars. It is obvious that except for three cases the numbers are rounded
off to whole sar values. (The fractional values are also round numbers:
1/6 sar = 600 years; 4/6 sar = 2400 years; 5/6 sar = 3000 years.)
We also find certain repetitive patterns: Berossus
has 18-10-18-10-8-18 in the last six kings. These numbers are not random,
but show a rhythmic sequence. WB-144 also show a rhythmic sequence in 8-10-12-8-10-8.
WB-62 also suggests artificial numbers in the sequence of 6-8-6-10-20.
The first three kings of the Berossus' list
have reigns of 10-3-13 sars; the third number is the sum of the first two.
The number 18 is the sum of 8 and 10. Thus it appears that the numbers
are not real; they were modified to reflect ancient traditions of spans
of 6, 8, 10, or 12 sars, and were further modified to add to sums that
go back nearly 500,000 years! The kings from these lists are related to
the physical precessional cycles of the earth.
A more exact appraisal of the numbers can be
obtained by closer examination of the patterns. If we move the WB-144 list
down one position to compensate for a missing king we find that the fourth
king on each list has reigns of 12-6-12 sars respectively. The WB-62 number
is one-half the 12 from Berossus and WB-144. The kings in the fifth position
have reigns of 18-8-8 sars; the Berossus number 18 is the sum of 8, shown
on the two Sumerian lists, plus 10.
From these coincidental numbers we open the
door to perception of artificial adjustments used by the scribes to obtain
their magic sums. If we assume numbers were coupled together by Berossus
to obtain his 432,000 magic years we arrive at insight into his mathematics.
If the number 18 in the sequence 18-10-18-10-8-18 is the addition of 8
and 10 then the order might originally have been 8-10-8-10-8-10. Thus the
kings would be grouped into sets of two, or twinned, as in Plato and the
Egyptian list. This procedure also gives other correlations. If we reduce
the Berossus' numbers to their primary values, the sequence 10-12-8-10-8
occurs from the third king to the seventh in both Berossus and WB-144.
WB-144 remains unchanged except for realignment
with the other two lists.
Similarly if we uncouple the numbers on the
WB-62 list by assuming that 20 should be 10, and that 6 should be 12, we
find six numbers correlating with the modified Berossus' list. Berossus
coupled numbers by adding consecutive values, while the WB-62 scribe multiplied
or divided some numbers by two to obtain his 456,000 total. The scribes
were playing with the numbers to take the origin of the kings back nearly
one-half million years!
The scribe for the WB-144 list did not attempt
to adjust the ages. This suggests that WB-144 may be the most accurate
of the lists.
Based on these adjustments I show all lists
in the second part of Table 26-3, together with a suggested optimum list.
The first king is the most remote in time and the most uncertain. He does
not show on WB-144. The next six values are as shown on WB-144 and find
support by majority vote of the three lists. The last two also are subject
to question; I again use the WB-144 values since they seem to be more "real"
than the values from the other lists. They are more recent in time and
perhaps may have been remembered more precisely. I assume that WB-144,
being the most honest list, has two kings missing. The second missing value
I place in position eight because of the good correlation across all the
lists and because the last two positions appear as artificial repetitions
on both Berossus and WB-62.
Thorkild Jacobsen, in his expert analysis of
WB-144, expressed the opinion also that it represents the best tradition
of the lists. He showed that the documentation could be traced over several
centuries by the mannerisms of the scribes. He expressed the opinion that
the WB-62 and Berossus' lists were changed after they broke away from a
common line of preservation. Based on the assessment that WB-144 represents
the best tradition of the lists Jacobsen concluded that two kings were
inserted on the other lists to preserve the tradition of ten kings. He
felt that a king was added in the last position to satisfy the pervasive
myth of the Flood. But he admits that the tradition of ten kings is very
strongSKL.
Joseph Campbell expressed two major thoughts
which reflect on the listsMOG:
The first point is that although Berossus differs
considerably from the earlier lists, and they between themselves, there
is enough to indicate that all are variants of a common legacy. The strength
of the tradition shows also that they persisted in essential continuity
for at least two thousand years (from 4,000 to 2,000 BC).
By this remark Campbell emphasizes the conservative
strength of cultural memory in ancient times. People clung to their folk
tales and their traditions much more strongly than people of more recent
times. The lists reflect actual planetary periods, just as the myths of
Dumuzi and Inanna reflected actual events, although distorted and debased
with time.
Campbell goes on to make a foolish remark:
We shall now go on to show the significance of the lists, and how they remember the natural history of this planet. But first we must examine that greatest of all earth events -- the Great Flood. |
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TABLE 26-1
THE KING LISTS OF THE WORLD
Plato Atlantis |
China |
Genesis I |
Genesis II |
Berossus |
Sumerian WB-62 |
Sumerian WB-144 |
Atlas |
Fu Hsi |
Adam |
Adam
|
Aloros
|
Alulim
|
Alulim
|
Eumelus |
Shen Nung
|
Cain |
Seth
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Alaparos
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Alagar
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Alagar
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Ampheres |
Yen Ti |
Enoch* |
Enosh
|
Amelon
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Kidunnushakinkin
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Enmenluanna
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Evaemon |
Huang Ti |
Irad |
Kenan
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Ammenon
|
?
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Enmengalanna
|
Mneseus |
Shao Hao |
Mehujael |
Mahalalel
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Megalaros
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Dumuzi*
|
Dumuzi*
|
Autochthon |
Chaun Hsu
|
Methushael |
Jared
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Daonos‡
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Enmenluanna
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Ensibzianna
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Elasippus |
K'u
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Lamech
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Enoch*
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Euedoraches
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Ensibzianna
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Enmenduranna
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Mestor |
Yao*† |
Jabal-Jubal |
Methuselah
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Amempsinos
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Enmenduranna
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Ubardudu
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Azaes |
Shun |
Tubal-Cain
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Lamech
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Opartes
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Arad-gin
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Diapprepes |
Yu
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Noah
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Xisuthros
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Ziusudra
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* Denotes divine designation. Enoch is included because of his unique status. High status of Dumuzi is indicated when he
appears again later in lists.
† Yao is name similar to Hebrew Yahweh.
‡ Danaos is Greek form of Don name.
Remember that Plato's list has the names in twin pairs. Remember also that Jabal-Jubal and Tubal-Cain from the
Genesis Cain list were paired.
Enmenluanna, Ensibzianna, and Enmenduranna names appear in both WB-62 and WB-144 lists, but in different positions. I do not reconcile them, or other peculiarities, in this tabulation. |
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TABLE 26-2
THE SUMERIAN KINGS LIST (WB-144)
(From Thorkild Jacobsen, University of Chicago
Press, #11, 1939)
PREFLOOD
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When kingship was lowered from heaven the kingship
was in Eridu.
Alulim became king and reigned 8 sars.
The kingship was carried to Badtibira.
The kingship was carried to Larak.
The kingship was carried to Sippar.
The kingship was carried to Shuruppak.
There were five cities. Eight kings reigned
67 sars.
The Flood swept thereover. After the Flood swept thereover, when the kingship was lowered from heaven, the kingship
was in Kish.
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POST FLOOD
The First Dynasty of Kish
King Years |
King Years |
King Years |
King Years |
Ga..ur 1200 |
Kalibuum 960 |
Arpium 720 |
Tizkar 306 |
Gullanidabba 960 |
Kalumumu 840 |
Etana* 1500 |
Ilku 900 |
Palakinatim 900 |
Balih 400 |
Enmenunna 660 |
Iltasaduum 1200 |
Nangishlishma ? |
Zuqaqip 900 |
Melamkishi 900 |
Enmenbaragisi 900 |
Bahina ? |
Atab 600 |
Barraknumma 1200 |
Agga 625 |
Buan..um 840 |
Mashda 840 |
Samug 140 |
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23 kings reigned 24,510 years, 3 months, 3 ½ days.
(Notes: *Etana has Adana or Don form. Commentary in the Sumerian list states that he was a shepherd, similar to Dumuzi, who ascended into heaven, and who consolidated all the lands.) |
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The First Dynasy of Erech
Mesking-gasher 324 |
Dumuzi 100 |
Utulkalamma 15 |
Meshe 36 |
Enmekar 420 |
Divine Gilgamesh 126 |
Laba..ir 9 |
Melam-annak 6 |
Divine Lugulbanda 1200 (A shepherd) |
Urnungalak 30 |
Enmendara-Anna 8 |
Lugalkitum 36 |
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12 kings reigned 2310 years.
(Notes: Other dynasties follow. Dumuzi appears both before and after the Flood. The lists appear as artifical attempts to recollect the past earth dispensations.) |
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TABLE 26-3
KINGS LIST AGES
King Number |
Berossus |
WB-62 |
WB-144 |
Optimum |
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Years |
Sars |
Years |
Sars |
Years |
Sars |
Years |
Sars |
|
1 |
36000 |
10 |
67200 |
18 4/6 |
----- |
---- |
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2 |
10800 |
3 |
72000 |
20 |
28800 |
8 |
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3 |
46800 |
13 |
72000 |
20 |
36000 |
10 |
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4 |
43200 |
12 |
21600 |
6 |
43200 |
12 |
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5 |
64800 |
18 |
28800 |
8 |
28800 |
8 |
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6 |
36000 |
10 |
21600 |
6 |
36000 |
10 |
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7 |
64800 |
18 |
36000 |
10 |
28800 |
8 |
||
8 |
36000 |
10 |
72000 |
20 |
21000 |
5 5/6 |
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9 |
28800 |
8 |
28800 |
8 |
18600 |
5 1/6 |
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10 |
64800 |
18 |
36000 |
10 |
----- |
--- |
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KINGS LIST ADJUSTED AGES
King Number |
Berossus |
WB-62 |
WB-144 |
Optimum |
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Years |
Sars |
Years |
Sars |
Years |
Sars |
Years |
Sars |
|
1 |
36000 |
10 |
33600 |
9 2/6 |
----- |
---- |
? |
? |
2 |
10800 |
3 |
36000 |
10 |
28800 |
8 |
28800 |
8 |
3 |
36000 |
10 |
36000 |
10 |
36000 |
10 |
36000 |
10 |
4 |
43200 |
12 |
43200 |
12 |
43200 |
12 |
43200 |
12 |
5 |
28800 |
8 |
28800 |
8 |
28800 |
8 |
28800 |
8 |
6 |
36000 |
10 |
43200 |
12 |
36000 |
10 |
36000 |
10 |
7 |
28800 |
8 |
36000 |
10 |
28800 |
8 |
28800 |
8 |
8 |
36000 |
10 |
36000 |
10 |
----- |
--- |
36000 |
10 |
9 |
28800 |
8 |
28800 |
8 |
21000 |
5 5/6 |
21000 |
5 5/6 |
10 |
36000 |
10 |
36000 |
10 |
18600 |
5 1/6 |
18600 |
5 1/6 |