Regnal Years Research Articles

The Climax-Decline Pattern in the Book of Kings

Abstract The Book of Kings is the main source for reconstructing the chronology of the monarchic period in Israel, but it contains many contradictions and raises difficulties that make the reconstruction disputed to this day. The prevailing approach tends to attribute historical credibility to the biblical data, while few have suggested that some of the numbers have been deliberately manipulated to create symbolic or meaningful schemas. The purpose of the present study is to reinforce the artificiality of these numbers by presenting two cases of a »climax-decline pattern« at key points in the Book of Kings’ chronology, in which a king with the longest reign in the history of a kingdom is followed by a period of deterioration towards disaster over the same duration. If these regnal years have been reworked to incorporate them into the book’s literary design, then they may mislead the historian who wishes to use them to reconstruct a relative or absolute chronology.

The construction of the Giza pyramids chronicled by human copper contamination

Abstract Although the construction of the Giza necropolis necessitated the creation of an extensive array of metal tools, the significance of these early instances of metallurgy, and the contamination they left, has been overlooked in favor of understanding pyramid building techniques. We geochemically analyzed a sediment core from the Khufu harbor, on the Nile floodplain at Giza, Egypt, to track the construction of the necropolis, with a particular focus on copper contamination deriving from metallurgical activities. We found that significant local contamination occurred during the regnal years of Kings Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure, consistent with metalworking during the preparation and construction of the edifices. While the pyramid complex led to the creation of an outstanding cultural legacy for humanity, it also marked the onset of significant human-caused metal contamination at Giza.

Copper Plates: An Inevitable Source Material to Reconstruct the Hineage and Historicism of the Pallavas

The Pallavas rose to power in the Krishna-Guntur region after the fall of the Ikshvakus of Vijayapuri. They moved further south and established their capital at Kanchipuram in Thondaimandalam, which forms the northern part of Tamil Nadu and ruled from there for nearly six centuries from the middle of 3rd century A.D. to the first decade of the 10th century A.D. There were many debates among scholars regarding the origin of the Pallavas. Prof. S. Krishnaswamy Aiyangar also refuted the theories of the foreign origin of Pallavas and says that the two terms Pallava and Pahlava refer to historically different people and draws his support from a ninth century work Kavyamimamsa. The Hirahadagalli plates issued during the eigth regnal years of Sivaskandavarman < I (330 A.D.-350 A.D.) seem to hint at the imperial status attained by him after the overthrow of the Ikshvakus, as known from his title dharmamaharajadhiraja and the performance of vajapeya and asvamedha sacrifices. Regarding the rise of Pallavas as an independent power, Dr. T. V. Mahalingam relies on the account mentioned in the Velurpalaiyam plates of Nandivarman III (846 to 869 A.D.), and says that ‘considering the political situation during the aftermath of the fall of the S~atavahana power, it is not unlikely that Virakurca by a matrimonial alliance with the Cut/u-Nagas of Vanavasi was able to become an independent ruler’. The Velurpalayam plates of Nandivarman < III credit Kumaravishnu II and his son Buddhavarman < to have regained Kanchi from the Telugu-Cholas, who seem to have defeated the Pallavas and occupied Kanchi for some time during the early days of the reign of Kumaravishnu II. According to the Honnur plates of Chalukya Vikramaditya I, dated in his 16 regnal years (670 A.D.-671 A.D.), he camped in Malliyur on his way to Kanchipuram and with the help of the Gangas of Talakkad defeated the Pallavas.

Eine Titeldivergenz in den Grabräuberpapyri

Summary In papyrus Amherst 6 + Léopold II (16th regnal year of Ramesses IX) of the so-called Tomb Robbery Papyri, a certain Amenemheb is mentioned three times among a number of other individuals. He was convicted of robbing the tombs of western Thebes. In this context, the titles attributed to him on the papyrus are of particular interest. In 2:2 and 3:13, he is referred to as “cultivator of the temple of Amenope” (ꜥḥ.wtj n(.j) pr Jmn-jp.t), whereas, in 4:6 he is called “agent of the temple of Amenope” (rwḏ.w Jmn-m-ḥb n(.j) pr Jmn-jp.t). Based on a detailed analysis of the contents of Papyrus Amherst 6 + Léopold II, this article demonstrates that the reason for this difference is ouster. This means that Amenemheb at least formally lost his office – unlike his colleagues. Afterwards, he was sentenced to death, which is not mentioned explicitly in the text but which we may assume with some certainty. If this is correct, this is one of the few examples of ouster as a punishment being carried out in reality. However, it was not targeted primarily at the denial of the delinquent’s access to the assets, which were tied to it.

Revisiting the Bactrian and Gāndhārī Bilingual Inscriptions from Dasht-e Nāwūr

Abstract The historically important Kushan trilingual inscriptions of Dasht-e Nāwūr are revisited. The readings and interpretations of the bilingual DN I (Bactrian)—DN IV (Gāndhārī) are presented. Through careful analysis of the photos, paper rubbings and latex moulds of DN I published by Gérard Fussman in 1974, a reading of lines 7–13 is proposed which shows further significant parallels with known Kushan-period Bactrian inscriptions, supplementing the decipherment of lines 1–6 by Nicholas Sims-Williams. Furthermore, a comprehensive reading of the Gāndhārī version DN IV in Kharoṣṭhī script is proposed, which presents a true bilingual with DN I and corroborates our reading of DN I. Based on our reading of the bilingual DN I–DN IV, the inscriptions commemorate the arrival of Vema Taktu to Dasht-e Nāwūr, located in the Ghaznī province of Afghanistan, in Vema’s fifteenth regnal year.

The Eponyms of the Babylonian War of Tukultī-Ninurta I

Abstract Following the recent reconstruction of the order of eponyms in the Dūr-Katlimmu archive by Nahm, this study considers the eponyms of the period in which Tukultī-Ninurta I waged war for domination of Babylonia, from his 13th regnal year onward. It is argued that recently published evidence supports the identification of the eponymy of Etel-pī-Aššur as the year in which Kaštiliaš IV of Babylonia was captured, and that the eponymy of Ellil-nādin-apli is to be placed three years later. The campaign to the lands between the Tigris and the Zagros, undertaken by Tukultī-Ninurta I in the eponymy of Ellil-nādin-apli, was probably directed against the power base of Kadašman-Ḫarbe II, including the city of Lubdu which then passed under Assyrian control. Following the dethronement of Kadašman-Ḫarbe II, Tukultī-Ninurta I maintained closer control over Babylonia, which did not prevent the king of Elam from putting an end to the reign of the Assyrian vassal Adad-šuma-iddina in the 22nd regnal year of Tukultī-Ninurta I.

The Aramaic Inscription from a Cave Complex at Abraham’s House, Mount of Olives and the Hasmonean Calendar—A New Reading and Interpretation

Abstract This article presents a new reading and interpretation of the Aramaic burial inscription from the “Abraham’s House” complex. Rather than representing a curse, we propose that the inscription records the year in which the loculus was completed. Moreover, we suggested that year 99 is counted not from Hyrcanus’ death but rather from the time of his accession to high public office, either as king or as high priest. The use of a continuous numbering system extending back to a foundation date rather than the regnal years of an individual ruler is paralleled by the Seleucid calendar, and also echoes traditions found in Hebrew and Greek sources that such a system was current amongst the Hasmoneans. The identity of Hyrcanus and the implications for the dating of the inscription are also discussed.

A Ptolemaic Stamped Amphora from Patara: Some Notes on Stamp Attribution and its Likely Implications

Located in ancient Lycia at the southwest corner of Asia Minor, excavations at the important port city of Patara shed new light on the city’s relations with Ptolemaic Egypt. The most significant finds concerning Patara’s connection with the Ptolemaic Dynasty have emerged from ongoing fieldwork at the Tepecik settlement, located on a natural hill just east of the ancient inner harbour. During excavations conducted there in 2019, an ancient dump of pottery was identified in the İ-20 trench. The focus of this study concerns a unique stamped Egyptian amphora found in this dump. The stamp records the name Ptolemaios alongside a regnal year, thus indicating that the amphora represents royal production during the third century BC. In this study, I suggest that the name on the stamp should be attributed to King Ptolemy III Euergetes (246–222 BC) and explore the likely implications of royal production. [Formula: see text]

A DIE STUDY OF THE YEAR 21 GOLD COINS OF KHUSRO II (590–628)

AbstractThis paper discusses two denominations of gold coins struck by the Sasanian kingof kings, Khusro II (590–628). They both have the same design. On the obverse is theprofile head of the king facing right, similar to that found on the silver but without themarginal stars and crescents. The legend on the left is the same as that on the drachmsbut there is a longer legend on the right so the whole legend reads: 'Khusro king of kingshas increased the royal glory‘. On the reverse there is a facing bust with the headsurrounded by flames, similar to that seen on some 'special‘ issue silver drachms. Therehave been a number of different identifications of this bust, the most plausible being thatit is the personification of xwarrah, the 'Royal Glory‘, a concept that was very importantto Khusro II. There is no mint on these gold coins but there is a date, regnal year 21(610/11), on the left. On the right the legend reads: 'he (= Khusro II) has increasedĒrān, he is well-omened‘.Gold coins were struck in small quantities by most Sasanian kings. It appears tohave been mostly a ceremonial coinage, with only Shapur II (309–79) and Peroz (459–84) striking larger amounts. Khusro II‘s gold coinage is relatively plentiful whencompared to that of other late Sasanian rulers. Khusro II‘s predecessor, Hormizd IV(579–90), struck no gold coins and only five coins of Khusro I (531–79) have beenrecorded. The usurper Vahran VI (590–1) is the sole other late Sasanian king whose goldcoins have survived in comparatively large numbers.The larger of Khusro‘s two denominations, the heavy (or 1½) dinar, is knownfrom three specimens, plus another which has been over-struck as an Ilkhanid dinar ofAbu Said (1316–35). The smaller denomination, the light (or 1) dinar, is more plentifulwith over 50 coins recorded. The year 21 gold coinage was struck using three obverse and three reverse dies, one pair of dies being used for both the heavy and light dinar coins. Two obverse and reverse dies were used together but the third pair has not yet been linked to them. As light dinars of Khusro II are regularly seem in commerce this picture may change.The gold coins have been listed and the source of each coin noted (Table 1). All the dies have been identified, and the available physical information, weight, diameter and die axis, has been added. The result shows that two pairs of dies were used to strike 42 out of the 53 light dinars and also the three heavy dinars. The other die pairings struck many fewer coins: one pair struck eight coins, one pair struck two coins and one pair struck one coin.A number of the coins are double struck on both obverse and reverse and one reverse die has a flaw across the neck and shoulder of xwarrah (reverse die 1). Die flaws and double striking are frequently seen on the drachm coinage and it is evident that the mint did not take especial care when producing the gold.The average weight of the light or 1 dinar coins is 4.56 grams (with a mean of 4.57 grams). The average of the four heavy dinars is about 6.73 grams but with so few coins one cannot arrive at any definitive result regarding the weight. The relationship between these two denominations is not clear (4.57g x 1½ = 6.855g). The diameters of the light dinars vary between 21.3 and 23.5 millimetres (from 16 specimens). The diameters of the heavy dinars are similar, as one would expect, varying between 22 and 22.7 millimetres. The exception is the over-struck coin which is larger.

A Note Clarifying the Date of the Last Will and Testament of Richard FitzAlan, earl of Arundel (d. 1397)

In the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry for the Appellant lord, Richard FitzAlan (1346–1397), fourth earl of Arundel and ninth earl of Surrey, the biographer asserts that the earl’s will, later proved at the court of his brother, Thomas Arundel, archbishop of Canterbury, was dated 4 March 1393 (emphasis mine).1 There is, however, some contention around this date due to what is likely a scribal error in the still-unedited and -unpublished register of Archbishop Arundel: early in the will, the scribe has either misidentified the regnal year or has miscopied the calendar date. The text opens: En noun de piere du fitz et de seint espririt Amen. Jeo Richard counte darundell et de Surrey le quart jour de Mars, lan del incarnation nostre seignour ihu crist mill ccc quatre vintz et douze, et lan du regne le Roy Richard seconde seszime en moun chastel philipp en bone et seine memorie face mon testament (In the name of [the] Father, [the] Son, and [the] Holy Spirit, Amen. I, Richard, earl of Arundel and of Surrey, [on] the fourth day of March, the year of the incarnation of our Saviour Jesus Christ [one] thousand three hundred ninety-two, and the sixteenth year of the reign of the king Richard II, at my castle Philipp, in good and healthy mind, make my testament).2

The Regnal Years of Antigonos Gonatas

Although the decline of Demetrios I Poliorketes’ rule and the succession by his son Antigonos II Gonatas are well known in principle, inconsistencies in the ancient sources have so far obscured the dynastic chronology. However, difficulties can be overcome, if an inclusive count is applied persistently and if the Armenian version of Eusebios’ Chronicle (Porphyry FGH / BNJ 260 F 3), is preferred over the Greek version: the former ascribes Gonatas 43 regnal years, the latter 44. It can be shown that the latter is part of a tradition implying that Gonatas died in 239/38 instead of 240/39 BCE. As a result, Demetrios I began his final campaign in Asia Minor in 286 or 285, was captured in spring 284, and died in 283/82 BCE, whence Gonatas began counting his regnal years. The latter died in 239 BCE, probably in the later summer, yielding the throne to his son Demetrios II.

THE ASSYRIAN DISTANZANGABEN IN RELATION TO THE REGNAL YEARS RECORDED IN THE ASSYRIAN KING LIST

Several so-called Distanzangaben (lit. “designations of distance”), found in Assyrian inscriptions, record time spans between events (mainly building activities) of Assyrian rulers. Such chronological data have mostly been studied as entities (for purposes of absolute chronology), and only rarely with regard to their composition. While some of the Distanzangaben can be explained as mere summations of the regnal years recorded in the Assyrian King List, others remain enigmatic. The present article attempts to trace the composition of every Distanzangabe. For those compiled by Tiglath-pileser I and Esarhaddon, ideological purposes seem to be implied. The one compiled by Sennacherib sheds light on the chronology of Tiglath-pileser I's campaigns.

Bactrian χϸονο ‘(calendar) year, (regnal) year’

Abstract Since H. Humbach's Baktrische Sprachdenkmäler (Wiesbaden, 1966) the main etymological proposal for Bactrian χϸονο ‘(calendar) year, (regnal) year’ has been A. Thierfelder's suggestion of a loanword from Hellenistic Greek χρόνος ‘time’. In this article the plausibility of this etymology is re-examined, and it is further argued that it should be rejected on the grounds that the formal phonological differences between the potential Hellenistic Greek source form and its presumable loan-adaptation form in Bactrian are inconsistent with what is known of Bactrian diachronic phonology.

ON TWO SEVENTEENTH CENTURY PERSIAN PAINTINGS DEPICTING COMETS OR FIREBALLS: A CORRECTION

In a recent issue of the <italic>Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage</italic> I looked into two seventeenth century Persian paintings depicting tailed objects (comets or possibly fireballs) in the sky (Kapoor, 2019). One of these, the painting by Muhammad Zaman, has a date inscribed at the lower left as 'sana 7'. Elsewhere, the date has been interpreted as the seventh year of the reign of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb (r. CE 1658-1707). Two bright comets, one in December 1664 (C/1664 W1) and another in April 1665 (C/1665 F1), had appeared during the Emperor's seventh regnal year and it was suggested by others that the comet of December 1664 could be the one portrayed by Zaman. In my work, I had inadvertently considered that the seventh regnal year ended on 24 July 1664, which therefore ruled out either of the comets, but since the recorded date of the coronation was 1 <italic>Dhu l-Qa'da</italic> 1068 AH (31 July 1658 CE Greg), Aurangzeb's seventh regnal year should be 1 <italic>Dhu l-Qa'da</italic> 1074-29 <italic>Shawwal</italic> 1075 A.H. (≡26 May 1664-15 May 1665), which revives the suggestion that the comet of December 1664 or of April 1665 was the one portrayed by Zaman. The December 1664 comet rose in the morning in the S-E during its best-view dates, while the April 1665 comet remained a morning object through its visible phase. I have computed ephemerides of the comets and compared their positions in the sky with respect to some bright stars that also were observed on the best-view dates. A late night or early morning skywatcher in Isfahan would have seen the comets rise in the S-E, or, in the N-E, but their respective orientations in the sky would have been the opposite to that portrayed in Zaman's painting where the tailed form is shown headed S-W, suggestive of an evening apparition. While the period of Aurangzeb's seventh regnal year stands corrected, this does not affect the inferences and the conclusions drawn in Kapoor (2019).

Ras Al Tin The Summer Residence of Muhammad Ali Dynasty at Alexandria

Muhammad Ali dynasty had several ruling residences in Cairo as Citadel of Salah Al-Din (Al Gawhara Palace), Abdeen Palace within the reign of Khedive Ismail until 1952, and Al Qubba palace that was often used by king Fuad and King Farouk. Alexandria was considered the summer Capital of Egypt, Muhammad Ali dynasty used to rule from Ras Al Tin Palace and sometimes Al Montazah Palace during the summer season. Muhammad Ali Founded Ras Al Tin Palace in 1834 and it was the summer ruling residence until 1952. Ras Al Tin Palace is the only Royal Palace that witnessed the glory of Muhammad Ali Dynasty and its fall after more than 150 regnal years in 1952. The Palace witnessed major historical events that took place within modern and contemporary history. On the 5th of September 2015, Ras Al Tin Palace was registered in the Islamic and Coptic monuments Archive by the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

A MENGUJEKID TURKMEN BEG: FAKHR AL-DÎN BAHRÂMSHÂH AND HIS NEWLY DISCOVERED GOLD COINS

DOI: 10.26650/TurkJHist.2019.19009 Although he was the malik of the Mengujekid Principality (the branch of Erzincan and Kemah) from the mid-12th century to the end of the first quarter of the 13th century, the primary sources were not very generous in the years of the sovereignty of Bahrâmshâh (560-622 / 1165-1225). Apart from mentioning his active roles in only a few political cases, these sources share records emphasizing his wealth and generosity. In this article, besides the information given in the primary sources, there will be two different types of gold coins struck by the Mengujekid melik which will make an important contribution to the years of the Mengujekid Principality and the regnal years of Bahrâmshâh. These unique dinars, which were put up for sale in some auctions in Europe, have never been involved in any coin catalogues or academic studies. These numismatic findings are undoubtedly important in order to complete the limited information in other written sources. It should be remembered that no gold coins belonging to the first period of Turkish principalities in Anatolia had been found until recently. In this respect, the gold coins we will share in this article will allow us to bring a new interpretation to the history of the Anatolian Turkish numismatic. Cite this article as: Miynat, Ali, “Bir Mengucekli Turkmen Beyi: Fahreddin Behrâmsâh ve Yeni Kesfedilen Altin Sikkeleri”, Turk J Hist sayi 70 (2019), s.19-36.

Data epistula: Later Additions of Latin Dating Formulae in Latin and Greek Papyri and Ostraka from the First to the Sixth Centuries AD

A feature of the standardization imposed by Roman bureaucracy on official documents all over the Empire is the presence of a distinctive Roman dating formula written in a large number of those documents, usually indicating the presiding pair of consuls, but sometimes augmented with the emperor’s regnal year. A distinction is to be made between documents in which the date is “organic” (i.e., written as part of the document itself and inserted into the document within the writing frame during the process of drafting) and documents, either Latin or Greek, in which the dating formula has been added afterward, either in the margins or any available space outside the writing frame. This paper will survey all papyri, ostraka, and manuscripts from the first to the sixth century AD that contain additions of Roman dating formulae after the document was written and that are introduced by a specific marker (data or accepta) or are apparently unmarked, to understand the reasons for the addition and the relevance (or lack thereof) of its position within the document. Ultimately, it will try to establish the history and nature of the legal requirements (if there were any) of such a practice.

The Dates of Vladimir Yaroslavich’s Expedition Against Byzantium in Rus Chronicles and the Regnal Years of Yaroslav the Wise

The Rus Primary Chronicle (Povest’ vremennykh let, PVL) reports s. a. 6551 (1043) an unsuccessful military expedition of the Rus against Byzantium. This event is reported by Byzantine sources as well, and they confirm the date: 1043. As Alexander Nazarenko rightly points out, the date in PVL belongs to a series of year-dates which can be confirmed by foreign sources and which must go back to contemporary annalistic records of the first half of the 11th century. However, two of the Rus chronicles (the Novgorodian Karamzin and the Fourth Novgorodian) have another date of the expedition: 6549 (1041). At the same time they contain a version of the narration of this event which appears to be earlier in comparison with that of PVL and probably goes back to one of the late 11th-century texts-predecessors of PVL. A hypothesis is put forth that the original annalistic record of the expedition was dated not to a year from the Creation of the World, but to the 26th year of Yaroslav the Wise’s reign. When later chroniclers converted this regnal date into annus Mundi, they regarded different years as the first year of Yaroslav’s reign: 6524 (1016) or 6526 (1018). This hypothesis can look too speculative, but one can provide confirmation to both: to the usage of regnal dates in the first half of the 11th century, and to the treatment of different years as the first year of Yaroslav.

Talir Marije Terezije iz 1780.: Der Levantetaler

The thaler of the queen and empress Maria Theresa, minted in her last regnal year of1780, is one of the most famous silver coins in the world. Th aler is a type of large silvercoin (around 40 mm in diameter, weighing around 30 g) that was used throughoutEurope for almost 400 years. Because of its high quality and beautiful craft smanship,the thaler of Maria Theresa was in use as a trade coin from 1780 until as recently as the1960s.

Chota Nagpur - An Untold History: A Socio-Historical Analysis

It is customary with historians to divide the history of a country into the historic and the pre historic periods. The historic period of India has been dated to be the seventh century B.C. by Dr. V. Smith, apparently rejecting the earlier events on the ground that no fixed dates can be assigned to them. On the same principle, the historical period of Chota Nagpur will be dated from the later part of the 16th century A.D., when in the 30th regnal year of Emperor Akbar’s reign, i.e., 1585 A.D. a detachment was sent to Chota Nagpur under Shahbaz Khan Kambu; while the excessively date-minded scholars would prefer to begin regular history of this plateau from the year 1765, when the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa was conferred upon the East India Company. Indus Valley and Chotanagpur: Sir John Marshall, while dealing with the extent of the Indus civilization eastward does not seem to have taken into his consideration the pre-historic relics of Chota Nagpur, discovered between the years 1915 and 1920, and published in the Journal of the B and O Research Society by Rai Bahadur Roy. The late learned Director-General of Archaeology in India, however, admits that no effort has yet been made to trace the Indus valley civilization eastward. Nevertheless, the learned Archaeologist frankly recognizes that “it is difficult to believe that while the Punjab and Sind were in possession of this highly advanced culture, the valleys of the Jamuna and the Ganges, of the Narmada and Tapti could have been far behind them” . Yet here in the Gangetic valley, Sir John stops and does not condescend to come down a little to the south to this plateau to find in this country more implements that he could expect. It may not seem to be a startling revelation to the readers to assume that the pre-munda traditional people, the asuras of chota Nagpur belong to the same race as the “ Proto-Mediterraneans,”and of the same type of culture as that of the indus valley, through in a miniature scale. In fact, if we compare the sites and the finds, unearthed at Mahenjodaro and at Harappa with those in Chota Nagpur, we cannot fail to be impressed with the idea that the pre- Munda Asuras might represent the same age and culture of people, or, as some advocates of the theory of migration would prefer to think an earlier batch of immigrants to chota Nagpur.