Twenty First Egyptian Dynasty, 1077 - 943 B.C.E., Smendes, Amenemnesut, Pinudjem I

The pharaohs of the Twenty-First Dynasty ruled from Tanis, but were mostly active only in Lower Egypt which they controlled. This dynasty is described as 'Tanite' because its political capital was based at Tanis, a city in the north-eastern Nile delta of Egypt. It is located on the Tanitic branch of the Nile which has long since silted up.. Meanwhile, the High Priests of Amun at Thebes effectively ruled Middle and Upper Egypt in all but name. The later Egyptian Priest Manetho of Sebennytos states in his Epitome on Egyptian royal history that "the 21st Dynasty of Egypt lasted for 130 years".

Smendes (Nesbanebdjed)/Hedjkheperre-Setepenre 1077 - 1051 B.C.E.

Amenemnesut/Neferkare-Heqawaset 1051 - 1047 B.C.E.
Pinudjem I (co-regent)/Kheperkare-Setepenamun 1062 - 1039 B.C.E.
Psusennes I (Pasebkhanut I)/Akheperre-Setepenamun 1047 - 1001 B.C.E.
Amenemope/Usermaetre-Setepenamun 1001 - 992 B.C.E.
Osorkon (Elder)/Akheperre-Setepenre 992 - 986 B.C.E.
Siamun/Netjerkheperre-Meryamun 986 - 967 B.C.E.
Psusennes II (Pasebkhanut II)/Tyetkheperure-Setepenre 967 - 943 B.C.E.

Hedjkheperre Setepenre Smendes was the founder of the Twenty-first dynasty of Egypt and succeeded to the throne after burying Ramesses XI in Lower Egypt - territory which he controlled. His Egyptian nomen or birth name was actually Nesbanebdjed meaning "He of the Ram, Lord of Mendes" but it was translated into Greek as Smendes by later classical writers such as Josephus and Sextus Africanus. While Smendes' precise origins remain a mystery, he is thought to have been a powerful governor in Lower Egypt during the Renaissance era of Ramesses XI and his base of power was Tanis. Nesibanebdjedet (Smendes) may have been a son of a lady named Hrere. Hrere was a Chief of the Harem of Amun-Re and likely the wife of a high priest of Amun. If Hrere was the mother of Nesibanebdjedet, then he was a brother of Nodjmet and through her brother in law of the High Priests Herihor and Piankh. Nesibanebdjedet (Smendes) was married to Tentamun B, likely a daughter of Ramesses IX. They may have been the parents of his successor Amenemnisu.

Smendes features prominently in the Report of Wenamun, dated to Year 5 of the Renaissance or Whm Mswt era (or Year 23 proper of Ramesses XI), as a person of the highest importance. Wenamun states here that he had to visit Tanis and personally present his letters of accreditation to Smendes in order to receive the latter's permission to travel north to modern Lebanon and procure precious cedar wood for use in the Great Temples of Amun at Thebes. Smendes responded by dispatching a ship for Wenamun's travels to Syria and the Levant. Smendes' nominal authority over Upper Egypt is attested by a single inscribed stela found in a quarry at Ed-Dibabiya, opposite Gebelein on the right bank of the Nile as well as a separate graffito inscription on an enclosure Wall of the Temple of Monthu at

Karnak dating from the reign of Tuthmose III. The quarry stela describes how Smendes "while residing in Memphis, heard of danger to the temple of Luxor from flooding, gave orders for repairs (hence the quarry works), and received news of the success of the mission." Smendes is assigned a reign of 26 Years by Manetho in his Epitome and was the husband of Tentamun. This figure is supported by the Year 25 date on the Banishment Stela which recounts that the High Priest Menkheperre suppressed a local revolt in Thebes in Year 25 of a king who can only be Smendes because there is no evidence that the High Priests counted their own regnal years even when they assumed royal titles like Pinedjem I did. Menkheperre then exiled the leaders of the rebellion to the Western Desert Oases. These individuals were pardoned several years later during the reign of Smendes' successor, Amenemnisu.

Neferkare Amenemnisu was a pharaoh during the 21st Dynasty of ancient Egypt. His existence was only confirmed in 1940 when the tomb of his successor Psusennes I was discovered by Pierre Montet. A gold bow cap inscribed with both Amenemnisu's royal name, Neferkare, and that of his successor Psusennes I was discovered in the tomb of Psusennes I. Previously, his existence had been doubted as no objects naming him had been discovered. However, the memory of his short rule as the second pharaoh of the 21st Dynasty was preserved in Manetho's Epitome as a king Nephercheres who is assigned a short reign of 4 years. Amenemnisu's name means "Amun is King" in Egyptian. While his reign is generally obscure, the then High Priest of Amun at Thebes, Menkheperre, is known to have pardoned several leaders of a rebellion against the High Priest's authority during Amenemnisu's reign. These rebels had previously been exiled to the Western Oasis of Egypt in Year 25 of Smendes.

Pinedjem I was the High Priest of Amun at Thebes in Ancient Egypt from 1070 BC to 1032 BC and the de facto ruler of the south of the country from 1054 BC. He was the son of the High Priest Piankh. However, many Egyptologists today believe that the succession in the Amun priesthood actually ran from Piankh to Herihor to Pinedjem I. According to the new hypothesis, Pinedjem I was too young to succeed to the High Priesthood of Amun after the death of Piankh. Herihor instead intervened to assume to this office. After Herihor's death, Pinedjem I finally claimed this office which had once been held by his father Piankh.

This interpretation is supported by the decorations from the Temple of Khonsu at Karnak where Herihor's wall reliefs here are immediatedly followed by those of Pinedjem I with no intervening phase for Piankh and also by the long career of Pinedjem I who served as High Priest of Amun and later as king at Thebes. His parents Piankh and Nodjmet had several children; three brothers (Heqanefer, Heqamaat, Ankhefenmut) and one sister (Faienmut) of Pinedjem I are known. Three of his wives are known. Duathathor-Henuttawy, the daughter of Ramesses XI bore him several children: the future pharaoh Psusennes I, the God's Wife of Amun Maatkare, Princess Henuttawy and probably Queen Mutnedjmet, the wife of Psusennes.

Ancient Greece, Philosophy, Negro Gods

Homer in an often quoted passage tells how the Greek gods used to go on their feast-days to Ethiopia to commune with their ancestors. Dionysius wrote “Upon the great Atlantic (formally known as Sea of Ethiopia), near the isle of Eritrea, for his pastures famed, the sacred race of Ethiopians dwell.”

Melainis

The rites of Apollo were founded by Delphos, son of Apollo or Poseidon, and his mother Melainis; and the worship of Black Isis and Horus was very popular in Rome, including Roman colonies as far as Britain. This later evolved into the worship of Black Madonna and Black Christ. Top right: Melainis mother of Delphos. Bottom left: "Head of a Negro" Silver coin from ancient Greece (Delphi). 5th century B.C.E.

The black man depicted is "Delphos," the eponym of Delphi. The father of Delphos in one ancient story was Apollo; in another, Poseidon. The "Delphic Oracle" occupied an important ancient seat of prophecy at Delphi. Middle left: Greek God Apollo as depicted on ancient coin. Middle left: Medusa, aka Gorgon as depicted on ancient coin. The myth of the Greek god Hephaistos (Hephaestus the divine blacksmith), was based on Ptah. The Memphis theology is based around Ptah above on the left), who himself becomes the primordial fire and gives it substance.

Sex And Race by J.A. Rogers 1967 A.D.  and Sir E.A. W. Budge, gives a list of the Egyptian Gods that originated in the Sudan, the land of the Negroes, and says there is "Little doubt that the Great God of Memphis, Ptah was originally a great handicraftsman and worker in metals who was deified."

"It was the Negroes in the South who introduced the use of iron into Ancient Egypt. Prehistoric iron furnaces discovered in northern Rhodesia, almost in the heart of Africa, by Nino Del Grande, shows that the Negro knew the use of iron untold centuries before the European. Archaeologists generally agree that it was the Negro who first discovered the secret of Iron."

Delphos

This cosmological system was developed at Memphis, when it became the capital city of the kings of Egypt. Ptah is the creator-god of Memphis, and during the long period the city served as the capital of Egypt it was known as Het-ka-Ptah or "House of the Soul of Ptah".

Ptah is one of several Egyptian deities attributed with a myth about fashioning creation. Ptah, as the god Ta-tenen (the primordial mound), creates in the so-called "Memphite Theology" the world, its inhabitants, and the kas of the other gods.

Hephaestus, being the most unfaltering of the gods, was given Aphrodite’s hand in marriage by Zeus to prevent conflict over her between the other gods.

The gods were fighting over her so much, they feared that they would lose their peace with one another and go to war on the other gods.Hephaestus and Aphrodite had an arranged marriage, and Aphrodite, disliking the idea of being married to the unsightly Hephaestus, began an affair with Ares, the god of war.

Aesop Aesopus

Eventually, Hephaestus discovered Aphrodite’s promiscuity through Helios, the all-seeing Sun, and planned a trap during one of their trysts. While Aphrodite and Ares lay together in bed, Hephaestus ensnared them in an unbreakable chain-link net so small as to be invisible and dragged them to Mount Olympus to shame them in front of the other gods for retribution. However, the gods laughed at the sight of these naked lovers, and Poseidon persuaded Hephaestus to free them in return for a guarantee that Ares would pay the adulterer's fine. Hephaestus states in The Odyssey that he would return Aphrodite to her father and demand back his bride price.

Aesop Aesopus Lochmam 620 - 560 B.C.E: Fables existed before the printed word as folktales that were recounted orally. Hundreds of fables have been attributed to the Greek slave? Aesop, who lived between 620 and 560 B.C.E.  Two hundred of his tales were gathered in about 320 B.C.E. to make up the earliest known collection. During the medieval period, Latin translations of Aesop's fables were used as textbooks in schools. "The Crow and the Pitcher," "The Lion and the Mouse," "The Hare and the Tortoise" and "The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse" are some of Aesop's fables. Other ancient fable collections includes:

The Panchatantra and The Jatakas, both from India. The Panchatantra was written about 200 B.C.E. Structured in verse; these stories are much more elaborate than Aesop's are. The Jatakas, a huge collection of stories about the reincarnation of Buddha, dates at least as far back as the fifth century A.D.

Mytilene was the capital of the island of Lesbos. It was one of the mints that struck electrum coins for a very long time. These hecte from Mytilene is made of electrum. It was minted around 500 BC, the time of the Ionian revolt (500-493 BC), which was crushed by the Persian King Darius I. Lesbos Uncertain (BCE. 550-500) BI - African 108 view sca 500-480 BC. BI 1/12 Stater (0.90g). Head of African left Quadripartite / incuse punch. Lesbos Uncertain (BC 550-500) BI - African 228 view sca 550-500 BCE. BI 1/12 Stater (?) (0.80g). Head of African right / Quadripartite incuse punch. There are over 200 varieties of these coins.

"Know thyself" Most young students in The world believed that, The opening, Quote was uttered by Socrates. But The truth is that The Egyptian Temples carried, such inscriptions, like the weekly bulletins of our modern Churches. Similarly, on hearing or reading about The four cardinal virtues, most people assumed that It was determined by Plato. Nothing could be more misleading. The Egyptian Mystery System contained ten virtues, of which Pluto copied four; justice, wisdom, temperance and courage.

The Athenian government of time, treated Philosophy for what It was, foreign religion from Egypt. Therefore most of The prominent Greek Philosophers were relentlessly persecuted. Anaxagoras was imprisoned and exiled, Pythagoras was expelled, Plato was sold into slavery, Socrates was executed and Aristotle was indicted and exiled. Most of the heroes of Greek mythology are direct copies from Egyptian mythology and Gods like The Ennead.

Black Youth Greece 300 B.C.E.

The teachings of the Egyptian mysteries reached other lands many centuries before it reached Athens. According to history Thales who had also received his Education in Egypt and associates Anaximander and Anaximenes , were native of Ionia in Asia Minor which was a stronghold of the Egyptian mysteries school. 640 B.C.

Similarly Parmenides, Zeno and melissus also natives of Ionia migrated to Elea in Italy spreading the teachings of the Egyptian mysteries. 576 B.C. Pythagoras after receiving his training in Egypt returned to his native Island of Samos. He the migrated to Croton where His order grew to enormous proportion until he was expelled from that country. 540 B.C. Heraclitus, Empedocles, Anaxagoras and Democritus who were also natives of Ionia studied physics in Egypt. 530 B.C. Left: Black Youth Greece 300 B.C.E.

History makes it clear that the surrounding neighbour of Egypt became familiar with the teachings of the Egyptian mysteries many centuries before the Athenians. The Ionians and Italians made no attempt to claim the Authorship of Philosophy because they were well aware that the true authors were the Egyptians The Ionians were not Greek citizen, they were firstly Egyptians subject and later Persian subject. The Chronology of Greek Philosophers is mere speculation. The life, Training and the early work of Greek Philosophers, pre Socrates era was marred with uncertainty and confusion.

Including Diogenes, Parmenides, Anaxagoras, Anaximander, Heraclitus, Xenophanes,

Anaximenes, Xeno, Pythagoras, Empedocles and Leucippus. The Compilation of the history of Greek Philosophy was the plan of Aristotle executed by his School. Aristotle must have made wishes known to his pupils about the compilation of Greek Philosophy. Thephratus and Eudemus were both student under Aristotle. Right: Black Youth Greece 100 B.C.E.

This was about the same decade that Alexander conquered Egypt Therefore, Aristotle being good friend with Alexander would have had the opportunity not only to do extensive research but also help himself to looted books from Egyptian libraries with the help of his students. Eudemus, Thephratus and Andronicus, produced works ranging from Arithmetic, Geometry, Astronomy and Theology to Physics.  Right: Black Youth Greece 100 B.C.E.

The Earlier Ionian School: This Group consisted of 1 Thales, 2 Anaximander and 3 Anaximenes. Thales, supposed to have lived 620-546 B.C. And a native of Miletus, is credited by Aristotle, with teaching that (a) water is the source of all living things. (b) all things are full of God. Both history and tradition are silent as to how Thales arrived at his conclusions, except that Aristotle attempts to offer his opinion as a reason: that is that, Thales must have been influenced by the consideration of the moisture of nutriment, and based his conclusion on a rationalistic interpretation of the myth of Oceanus.

This however is regarded as mere conjecture on the part of Aristotle. Turner's History of Philosophy p 34. Anaximander, supposed to have been born 610 B.C. At Miletus, is credited with the teaching that, the origin of all things is "the Infinite", or the Unlimited (i.e., aphelion), or the Boundless.

Medusa aka Gorgon

Aphelion is regarded as equivalent to the modern notion of space, and the mythological notion of chaos. Both history and tradition are silent as to how Anaximander arrived at his conclusion: but here again we find Aristotle offering his opinion as a reason, i.e., that, Anaximander must have supposed that change destroys matter, and that unless the substratum of change is limitless, change must at sometime cease. This opinion, is of course, mere conjecture, on the part of Aristotle. Turners History of Philosophy, p.36.

Anaximenes, also a native of Miletus, and supposed to have died in 528 B.C., Is credited with the teaching that all things originated from air. Both history and tradition are silent as to how Anaximenes arrived at his conclusion; and all attempts to furnish a reason are regarded as mere conjecture. Turner's History of Philosophy, p.37-38.

What was the source of the data of the histories of this sciences, which must have taken any nations thousand of years to develop ? Greece or Egypt ? At least we know which of the two country had the oldest civilisation according to archaeological data.

Etruscan man 500-400 BCE

Sources:
History of Science by Sedgwick and Tyler page 141 and 153
C. IX. History of Philosophy by Zeller Introduction page 31.
Europe in the Middle Ages by Ault page 216-219.
History of the Arabs by Hitti page 370, 629, 665 and 572.
Esoteric Christianity by Annie Besant page 107, 128-129.
Ancient Mysteries by C.H. Vail page 59, 61, 74-75 and 109.
History of Philosophy William Turner: p. 34; 39; 45; 53.
Roger Student: p. 15 B.C. Alexander: p. 13; 21.
Zeller: p. 37; 46; 58; 66-83; 112; 127; 170-17
(The Mechanical Triumphs of the Ancient Egyptians F. M. Barber)
(The Book of the Foundation of Temples by Moret) A short history of Mathematics by W. W. R. Ball)
(The Problem of Obelisks by R. Enjelbach)
(The Great Pyramid Its Divine Message by D. Davidson)
(History of Mathematics by Florian Cajori)

The Confederation of the People of the Mediterranean Countries: The Sea People

By 1200 B.C, the invaders had destroyed many of the Mycenaean strongholds. And the end of Mycenaean civilization came at about 1100 B.C. Soon the presence of these newcomers had caused enough upheaval in the Mediterranean Islands and Southern Europe, so as to cause the original African inhabitants to band together and leave.

Minoan snake Goddess

 Though the precise circumstances are unknown, it can be surmised that as more and more of these newcomers moved into the area, their need for more land and resources grew. The natural result of this competition for land and resources would be conflicts and wars. As a consequence of these wars, there was a general collapse of the indigenous economies, and their trade. This general collapse prompted some members, of seemingly all of the countries, to band together and head East and South, perhaps to re-populate their former homelands.

This confederation of the people of the Mediterranean countries became known as "The Sea People". Among this group called "The Sea People" were the following. The Peleset and Tjeker (Minoans) of Crete, they would later be known as the "Philistines" after they had settled in Southern Canaan. Over time, this area became known by a form of their name "Palestine".

The Lukka who may have come from the Lycian region of Anatolia, The Ekwesh and Denen seem to be identified with the original (Black) Greeks, The Shardana (Sherden) who may be associated with Sardinia, The Teresh (Tursha or Tyrshenoi), the Tyrrhenians - the Greek name for the Etruscans, and The Shekelesh (Sicilians?). The fate of those that stayed behind, would of course be absorption. Unfortunately for the Sea People, their first choice for a new homeland was Egypt. Pharaoh Rameses III easily defeated them, but allowed the Cretans to settle in Canaan.

About 1100 B.C, the Mycenaean Greeks, refugees from their homeland, settled in Cyprus. They introduced their skills and produced many luxury articles in a mixed Mycenaean-Cypriot style.

Cyprus initially escaped the invasions that finally destroyed Mycenaean and Minoan culture, but its own culture did not last much longer. By about 1050 B.C, the White invaders reached Cyprus too, and its culture ceased to exist. On Melos island, the most south westerly of the major islands of the Cyclades Islands. The great city of Phylakopi was destroyed in about 1100 B.C, by Dorian invaders.

With the exit of the "Sea People", the Eurasian invaders are now in a quandary. They have taken it, but they don't know how to use it, or how to maintain it. After all, they are still illiterate nomads. There follows a period known as the Greek "Dark Ages" - the conventional time-frame for this period is from 1,200 to 900 B.C. The Eurasians seemed to have used this three hundred years well. By the end of this period, they seem to have figured things out, and have continued their expansion.

Minoan  Coin

It is said that the Greek Dark Ages were a time of Ionian settlement; and a consolidation into an alliance called the Ionian League. It is also said that the Archaic Period of Greece began with a sudden and brilliant flash of art and philosophy on the coast of Anatolia. And that the first Greek science was devised by the Milesian School of philosophy: (Miletus was an ancient city on the western coast of Anatolia that after being sacked by the Anatolian Carians, was later resettled extensively by the Ionian Greeks - about 1000 B.C.).

If that is true, then much of the science and knowledge of the original Black Greek civilization, must have been destroyed by the wars of the White invasion, and was subsequently learned by Whites in Anatolia, from the Blacks there - who had a similarly advanced Black civilization - and then re-introduced into Greece by the White Greeks from Anatolia.

Abstract In this study, we present the first extensive genetic data on a European population of the pre-classical period, the Etruscans. The origins of the Etruscans, a non-Indo-European population of pre-classical (pre-Roman) Italy, are unclear. There is broad agreement that their culture developed locally, but the Etruscans’ evolutionary and emigrational relationships are largely unknown.

Etruscan Vase, 325 B.C.E.

In this study, we determined mitochondrial DNA sequences in multiple clones derived from bone samples of 80 Etruscans who lived between the 7th and the 3rd centuries B.C.

No significant heterogeneity emerged among archaeological sites or time periods, suggesting that different Etruscan communities shared not only a culture but also a mitochondrial gene pool. Genetic distances and sequence comparisons show closer evolutionary relationships with the eastern Mediterranean shores for the Etruscans than for modern Italian populations.

The ancient inhabitants of the eastern Mediterranean shores were Canaanites, Phoenicians, Hebrews, and Egyptians, all of whom were Black people). Admixture coefficients were inferred from differences in haplotype frequencies, considering the Etruscans and the modern Italian populations as hybrids among up to four potential parents. Left: Etruscan Vase, 325 B.C.E. Bottom: Etruscan Terracotta Relief, 600 B.C.E.

The mitochondrial features of the parental populations were approximated assuming that the best available estimate of allele frequencies in past (and unknown) populations is found in their modern counterparts, as is customary in admixture studies.

Etruscan Terracotta Relief, 600 B.C.E.

We chose the Basques as representative of Western Europe, the Turks as representative of the eastern Mediterranean region, Karelians and Volga Finns as representative of north-eastern Europe, and Egyptians and Algerians as representative of North Africa. Various tests show that the Tuscans (see next study below) are the Etruscans’ closest neighbours in terms of genetic distances. Despite that broad similarity, however, Etruscans and Tuscans share only two haplotypes.

This finding is difficult to interpret in the absence of data on any other European population of the pre-classical period. One possible interpretation is that all or most European populations of that time period were as different from their modern counterparts as the Etruscans appear to be. This would imply extensive gene flow or a high rate of extinction of mitochondrial haplotypes, both processes causing a drastic change of the mitochondrial pool in the last 2,500 years. More importantly, a result of that kind would force us to reconsider the universally held assumption that patterns in the DNA of modern individuals reflect the evolutionary processes affecting their prehistoric ancestors.

tributeToFela

The background music of  “Afro-Jungle Beat” is dedicated to Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, King of Afrobeat and a political activist of extraordinary proportion,  first among equals and second to none.