Orunmila, Olorun and Obatala Creation Myth, not Oduduwa

The following statement are nothing but fabricated fallacy: "The third Ife was founded with the arrival of Oduduwa and his groups. Prominent among those people he met at Ile-Ife were Oreluere, a very powerful wiseman and Orunmila." 

Orunmila Depiction

The person who wrote this article has got his facts spectacularly wrong. First, Orunmila and Oduduwa did not exist in the same time-line. Second, Orunmila predated Oduduwa's existence by at least 10,000 years. Third, Orunmila (Olori-Ipin meaning a witness to creation), was a God and an Immortal in his own right, only second in command to Olodumare (The Supreme Architect) himself. Fourth, Oduduwa was a mere mortal whose father Lamurudu, was killed in Mecca during the wars of religion pertaining to polytheism and monotheism.

In the Beginning, Olodumare (God) gave the Orisa Orunmila a flawless method of communication between himself and the Orisa called Ifa. Ifa is linked to destiny through the symbolism of the number sixteen. Sixteen is the number of cosmos; it represents the primal order that issued from the unity of Olodumare. 

(Sixteen is also a significant number in the world of computers.) When the world was first created, it spread out from an original palm tree that stood at the centre of the world at Ile-Ife. The palm tree had sixteen branches, which formed the four cardinal points and the sixteen original quarters of Ile-Ife.

In political terms, Odudua, the first oni of Ife, fathered sixteen sons who founded the sixteen original kingdoms of the Yoruba. On a deeper level still, Orunmila taught the art of divination to his sixteen sons; they, in turn, passed it down to the Babalawos who practice it today, through the linked concepts of order, creation, and destiny, the number sixteen represents the variables of the human condition, the sixteen possible situations of human life. The Ogham lines on the face of Obatala (Eshin in Igboland) are transliterated into: R - Ra/Ora = Sun, Y - Iyi = Sea, N - Ana = Earth, Kw - Kwa = Tribes, Kw - Akwu = Alter/Temple, Ch - Chi = God/Spirit, P - Opa = Moon and so on.

Obatala Depiction

Orunmila! Witness of fate Second to Oludumare (GOD or The Supreme Architect)) Thou are far more efficacious than medicine, Thou are the Immense Orbit that averts the day of Death. My Lord, Almighty that saved mysterious Spirit that fought death. To Thee salutation is first due in the morning. Thou are the Equilibrium that adjusts World Forces. 

Thou art the One whose exertion it is to reconstruct the creature of bad lot. Repairer of bad-luck, He who knows thee becomes immortal Lord, the undisputable king, Perfect in the House of Wisdom! My Lord! Infinite in knowledge! For not knowing thee in full, we are futile, Oh, if we could but know thee in full, all would be well with us. Ase o, Amen, Amun or Amen-Re.

Furthermore, Orunmila, in order to make access to the retrieval of the Divine Message (Ifa) easy, devised the computer compatible binary coding system, thousands of years before the emergence of computer consciousness in so-called modern man! So, Ifa is preserved in binary coded format and is output Parable - Format. According to many indigenous African legends "their gods once existed as humans and had their way of communicating. Prior to their disappearance, they left with the people a means to communicate with them in the outer realm (Oracle Divination Systems)."

"Ifa Oracle divination is based on the square of 16=16x16=26 = 2^8 corresponding to the vertices of an 8-dimensional hypercube and to the binary 2-choice Clifford algebra C1(8) and so to related ones such as C1(8)xC1(8) = C1(16) [7]. Since the number of sub-hypercubes in an 8-dimensional hypercube is 6,561 =81x81=3^8, the Ifa Oracle has N=8 ternary 3-structure as well as binary 2-structure."  

And the following statement confirmed my assertion about how inaccurate this article is: "It is believed that Oduduwa, the founder of the Yoruba raced emerged after the deluge, he (Oduduwa) and his followers descended on to dry land by means of chain ropes from their life boat." Fifth, here this person has got Obatala exploits wrongly mixed up with Oduduwa's because Obatala was the creator God of the Yoruba myth and an Immortal in his own right, not Oduduwa. In addition, Obatala also predated Oduduwa's existence by at least 3,000 years.

The following paragraphs are the true and correct myth pertaining to Obatala from Yoruba and Igbo land. "In the beginning, there was only the sky above, water and marshland below. The chief god Olorun ruled the sky, and the goddess Olokun ruled what was below. Obatala, another god, reflected upon this situation, then went to Olorun for permission to create dry land for all kinds of living creatures to inhabit. He was given permission, so he sought advice from Orunmila, the oldest son of Olorun and the god of prophecy. " 

"He was told he would need a gold chain long enough to reach below, a snail's shell filled with sand, a white hen, a black cat, and a palm nut, all of which he was to carry in a bag. All the gods contributed what gold they had, and Orunmila supplied the articles for the bag. 

When all was ready, Obatala hung the chain from a corner of the sky, placed the bag over his shoulder, and started the downward climb. When he reached the end of the chain he saw he still had some distance to go. From above he heard Orunmila instruct him to pour the sand from the snail's shell, and to immediately release the white hen."

"He did as he was told, whereupon the hen landing on the sand began scratching and scattering it about. Wherever the sand landed it formed dry land, the bigger piles becoming hills and the smaller piles valleys. Obatala jumped to a hill and named the place Ife. Obatala soon found clay with which to mould figures like him and started his task, but he soon grew tired and decided to take a break. He made wine from a nearby palm tree, and drank bowl after bowl." 

Oduduwa's Statue in Ile-Ife

Not realizing he was drunk, Obatala returned to his task of fashioning the new beings; because of his condition he fashioned many imperfect figures. Without realizing this, he called out to Olorun to breathe life into his creatures. The next day he realized what he had done and swore never to drink again, and to take care of those who were deformed, thus becoming Patron Saint of the Disabled and Protector of the Deformed. 

Sixth, we have been able to transliterate the Ogham lines on the face of Obatala (Eshin in Igboland), and it does not equates to the same thing when transliterating the lines on Oduduwa's face. Seventh, Obatala existed during the fourth and fifth replenishing of the earth, while Oduduwa only existed during fifth replenishing of the earth. Yoruba mythology also shed light on the pre-Oduduwa era in the IIe-Ife, when 'Obatala' and Oreluere were the ruling chieftains of the indigenous Ife-speaking community.

'Awo' Ogboni (Freemason), among so many other 'Awos'(i.e cults) in Ife then, became so prominent and relevant, more as a pressure group to protest the unceremonious arrival of the great colonial master in history, (i.e.) Oduduwa. The Word "Osirica" taken from the Mystery of Osirica and derived from the name of the Egyptian God Osiris. The affinity this word has with the Yoruba word "Oriṣa," derived from the word Oriṣi, which means Gods or Deities who numbered 499 + 1, is quite remarkable. 

If we apply the word "Oriṣa" it equates to the Mystery of "Oriṣica." If we swap the "R" with the "S" in the word "Oriṣica," It eqates to the Mystery of Oṣirica. Left: These are ancient "Marks" not just a tribal mark and can be transliterate using Ogham lines and Iberian Script. A few Transliteration of the "Marks" There are a few letters Z/F at least twice, and the letters T twice as well as Letters OI, letters EA/CH/KH and AE/X/Xi, and the words Past, God/Spirit, Tribe and so on.

One of the stranger ancient scripts one might come across, Ogham is also known as the 'Celtic Tree Alphabet' and Iberian 'Script'. Estimated to have been used from the fourth to the tenth century BCE, it is believed to have been possibly named after the Irish god Ogma but this is debated widely. Ogham actually refers to the characters themselves, the script as a whole is more appropriately named Beith-luis-nin after the order of alphabet letters BLFSN.

The script originally contained twenty letters grouped into four groups of five. Five more letters were later added creating a fifth group. Each of these groups was named after its first letter. There are some four to five hundred surviving ogham inscriptions throughout Britain and Ireland with the largest number appearing in Pembrokeshire. The rest of the inscriptions were located around south-eastern Ireland, Scotland, Orkney, the Isle of Man and around the border of Devon and Cornwall. Ogham was used to write in Archaic Irish, Old Welsh and Latin mostly on wood and stone and is based on a high medieval Briatharogam tradition of ascribing the name of trees to individual characters. The inscriptions containing Ogham are almost exclusively made up of personal names and marks of land ownership.

There are four popular theories discussing the origin of Ogham. The differing theories are unsurprising considering that the script has similarities to ciphers in Germanic runes, Latin, elder futhark and the Greek alphabet. The first theory is based on the work of scholars such as Carney and MacNeill who suggest that Ogham was first created as a cryptic alphabet designed by the Irish. They assert that the Irish designed it in response to political, military and/or religious reasons so that those with knowledge of just Latin could not read it. 

The second theory is held by McManus who argues that Ogham was invented by the first Christians in early Ireland in a quest for uniqueness. The argument maintains that the sounds of the primitive Irish language were too difficult to transcribe into Latin. The third theory states that the Ogham script from invented in West Wales in the fourth century BCE to intertwine the Latin alphabet with the Irish language in response to the intermarriage between the Romans and the Romanized Britons. This would account for the fact that some of the Ogham inscriptions are bilingual; spelling out Irish and Brythonic-Latin.

The fourth theory is supported by MacAlister and used to be popular before other theories began to overtake it. It states that Ogham was invented in Cisalpine Gaul around 600 BCE by Gaulish Druids who created it as a hand signal and oral language. MacAliser suggests that it was transmitted orally until it was finally put into writing in early Christian Ireland. He argues that the lines incorporated into Ogham represent the hand by being based on four groups of five letters with a sequence of strokes from one to five. However, there is no evidence for MacAlisters theory that Ogham’s language and system originated in Gaul. 

Olojo Festival

Mythical theories for the origin of Ogham also appear in texts from the eleventh to fifteenth centuries. The eleventh-century Lebor Gabala Erenn tells that Ogham was invented soon after the fall of the tower of Babel, as does the fifteenth-century Auraicept na n-eces text. The Book of Babymote also includes ninety-two recorded secret modes of writing Ogham written in 1390-91 CE.

OLOJO FESTIVAL: It is the biggest annual festival of the IIe-Ife. On this occasion, Ooni (King) appears after about seven days of seclusion, completed, not communicating with anyone except the"spirits." He wears the special beaded Oduduwas original crown called “Aare” only once a year during this Olojo festival as he leads the crowd to Okemogun shrine.

The LOKOLOKOs are his bodyguards during the Olojo Festival. The time for the festival is indicated by the sun’s movement in about the month of October from the West to the East. Only the Olojo chief priest identifies the particular day to celebrate the festival.

Yoruba and Igbo Creation Myth, Vs Sumerian & Egyptian creation Myth

The word “God” is a combination of both Greek and Phoenician words which celebrates human attributes: G = Gomer = Wisdom, O = Oz(Uz) = Strength and D = Dabar = Beauty. There are portentous, misguided and utter piffles on the internet on various articles pertaining to Obatala and Oduduwa getting them seriously mixed up. Let me make it categorically clear that Obatala and Oduduwa did not exist during the same timeline. 

These erroneous and spurious assertions are made by people who do not know their own history, in which they try to authenticate their version of the Yoruba oral tradition by trying to link it to a European timeline. 

This is a fatal error in relation to the history of Ile-Ife, Western Nigeria, and the origin of the Yoruba tribes. The first error is to ignore the fact that: Historians categorised the writing schemes from Africa into the following groups; Syllographic Systems, Alphabetic Systems, Pictographic Systems, Petrographic Systems, Chromatographic Systems, and Philosophical Systems.... so there were many different types of scripts and just because it is unbeknown to these researchers it equates to non-existent.

It ignored the Ile-Ife (Yoruba) Creation Myth of Ifá, which states that “Obatala called (Eshin in Igboland), climbs down the chain from Heaven to Earth.” The chain is symbolic of the double helix which is the form found within genes used to store DNA (Also known as Hermes Staff, the Staff of Tehuti or the Caduceus).

Nsibidi Alphabets

 We also look at Nsibidi, which is a writing system of the Ejagham people of Eastern Nigeria. It is seen on tombstones, secret society buildings, costumes, ritual fans, headdresses, textiles, and in gestures, body and ground painting.

These scripts including Sumerian and Egyptian records have now afforded us the chance to decipher the ancient history of Ile-Ife.  Ile-Ife, according to ancient Ife myth, "is the cradle of human civilisation, the city of survivors, the spiritual seat of the modern Yorubas, where the dawn of the day was first experienced, the source, the head of the whole universe, the land of the most ancient day, the home of divinities is to the people of Ife “ILURUN” i.e Gateway to heaven." Ile-Ife is located in the southwestern part of Nigeria, West Africa.  

The History of Ile-Ife could be traced vaguely through activities and the history of the 'native' Ile-Ife Ogboni (Freemason) Society, and also to the era of the Egyptian's Horus Edfu Texts and Igbo Nri Myth, around 10,000 BCE. It can be properly traced from the time of the Sharu (priest) Kings of the Sumeria civilization sometime between 4,500 BCE and 3500 BCE in Ife-Oodaye. 

Ile-Ife has earned many enviable appellations, which are:
Ile-Ife, ile Owuro Ile-Ife, the land of the most ancient days
Ile-Ife, Oodaye Ile-Ife, where the word of creation took place
Ile-Ife, Ibi ti ojumo ti mowa Ile-Ife, where the dawn of the day was first experienced
Ile-Ife, Ori aye gbogbo Ile-Ife, head of the whole universe
Ile-Ife, Ooye Lagbo Ile-Ife the city of the Survivors.

That period of antiquity and a geological era, before the arrival of the legendary Oduduwa himself to lle-Ife, between the 4th and 5th centuries AD. The language spoken was 'Ife' and not 'Yoruba'. The ancient Ile-Ife Ogboni (Freemason) were the only people allowed to depict human beings via Edan (Images). 

The first replenishing of the earth first occurred during the time of Apsu (Freshwater) = “One who existed from the beginning” and Tiamat (Freshwater) = “The Maiden of life.” Both Fresh and Sea waters mingled together to become the first Adam and Eve, Nun and Naunet = the Primeval waters and the counter heaven, (Egyptian version). All marine life forms were supposed to have evolved from both Fresh and Sea waters. They existed during the period of the “First Moon or Silver Cycle,” known as “Morning.” 

When on high the Heavens had not been named, Firm ground below had not been called by name, Nothing but ‘Primordial Apsu’ the Begetter, [Fresh Water] and ‘Mummu Tiamat’, She Who Bore them All, [Salt Water] their waters commingling as a single body No reed hut had been matted, no marsh land had appeared, Uncalled by name, their destinies undetermined. Ile-Ife, ile Owuro Ile-Ife, the land of the most ancient days (Ile-Ife's version). 

The second replenishing of the earth occurred during the time of Lahmu (Mr. Mud) = “Deity of war” and Lahamu (Mrs. Mud) = “Lady of the battle,” Huh and Hauhet, = the boundless and its opposite, (Egyptian version). They existed during the period of the first Sun Cycle known as “Evening.” Then it was that the Gods were formed within Them. Lahmu [‘mud’] and Lahamu ‘Mrs. Mud’ was brought forth, by the name they were called Before they had grown in age and stature. Ile-Ife, Oodaye Ile-Ife, where the word of creation took place (Ile-Ife's version).  

Ogham Lines

The third replenishing of the earth occurred during the time of Anshar (Upper Firmament) = “Foremost of the heavens” and Kishar (Lower Firmament) = “Foremost of the farmlands,” Kuk and Kauket, = darkness and its opposite (Egyptian version). 

They existed during the period of the “Second Moon or Silver Cycle,” known as “Morning.”Anshar ‘Upper Firmament’ and Kishar [‘Lower Firmament’] were formed, surpassing the others. 

They prolonged the days and added on the years. Ile-Ife, Ibi ti ojumo ti mowa Ile-Ife, where the dawn of the day was first experienced (Ile-Ife's version).

The fourth replenishing of the earth occurred during the time of Anu = “The Heavenly One” and his spouse Antum. Amun, or (Amon) and Amaunet, = the hidden and its opposite (Egyptian version). They existed during the period of the second Sun Cycle known as “Evening.” This cycle was the last cycle of an equinox which occurs every 24,000 years. Anu was their heir, the rival of his fathers; Yes, Anu, Anshar’s first-born, was his equal.

Dr. Kobayashi's Map

  He begot in his image Nudimmud [Ea]. This Nudimmud was the master of his fathers; Of broad wisdom, understanding, mighty in strength, Mightier by far than his grandfather Anshar. 

He had no rival among the gods, his brothers. Ile-Ife, Ori aye gbogbo Ile-Ife, head of the whole universe (Ile-Ife's version).

The fifth replenishing of the earth or the first replenishing of a new set of four cycles occurred during the time pertaining to the Bible Genesis Chapter 1. Adam (Kadmon) son of Atum and Lillith, and Eve daughter of Ptah and Anath. Ile-Ife, Ooye Lagbo Ile-Ife the city of the Survivors (Ile-Ife's version).

Stranger almost that the "Manuscript found in a Copper Cylinder" is a copy of a map which came across the seas of Honolulu from a Buddhist Temple in the mountains of central Japan. It is a map of the world made 1000 years ago. Dr. Kobayashi, the well-known Japanese physician and surgeon of Honolulu, has received a copy of the map, which he believes to have been made by Chinese priests 10 centuries ago. 

The map was drawn on the principles of the Mercator Projection showing the North Pole as the centre of a circle in which are the continents of North and South America, Europe Africa, Asia and Australia. These maps show quite a significant amount of Land masses beyond the South Pole. 

Oral myths from Southern, Central, West and East Africa speculated that "this is the home of those mythical beings and the land of the Immortals," according to the initiates. The question is were they also subjected to destruction and replenishing? Are there still beings living there now? If so what replenishing period was their civilisations created? I have no answer to these questions but they are fascinating questions nonetheless. 

Right: "Eight Discs of Ifa Wormhole" to another dimension as depicted by the initiates. The circumference of the Earth in kilometres is 40,075 km, and the circumference of the Earth in miles is 24,901. In other words, if you could drive your car around the equator of the Earth (yes, even over the oceans), you’d put on an extra 40,075 km on the odometer. 

It would take you almost 17 days driving at 100 km/hour, 24 hours a day to complete that journey. 

The formula for calculating the circumference of a sphere is 2 x pi x radius. So, the radius of the Earth is 6371 km. Plug that into the formula, and you get 2 x 3.1415 x 6378.1 = 40,074. It would be more accurate if you used more digits for pi.

What is the Earth's circumference at different latitudes? I am also curious about the equator.  
The circumference is 40,074 km.
This means a radius of 6,377 km (N. pole to equator-FE) or (centre of sphere to equator-RE)


That would work for either one, however, the measured surface distance from the N. pole to the equator is 10,001 km.  That would give us a circumference at the equator of 62,838 km

Twenty Second Egyptian Dynasty 943 - 720 B.C.E., Pami, Shoshenq V, Pedubast II, Oskron IV

Twenty Second Egyptian Dynasty 943 - 720 B.C.E., Shoshenq I, Oskron I The kings of the Twenty-Second Dynasty of Egypt were a series of Meshwesh Libyans who ruled from circa 943 BC until 720 BC. They had settled in Egypt since the Twentieth Dynasty. Manetho states that the dynasty originated at Bubastis, but the kings almost certainly ruled from Tanis, which was their capital and the city where their tombs have been excavated. Another king who belongs to this group is Tutkheperre Shoshenq, whose precise position within this dynasty is currently uncertain although he is now thought to have ruled Egypt early in the 9th century BC for a short time.

Pami/Pamay

Shoshenq I/Hedjkheperre-Setepenre 943 - 922 B.C.E.
Oskron I/Sekhemkheperre-Setepenre 922 - 887 B.C.E.
Shoshenq II/Heqakheperre-Setepenre 887 - 885 B.C.E.
Takelot I/Hedjkheperre-Setepenre  885 - 872 B.C.E.
Oskron II/Usermaetre-Setepenamun 872 - 837 B.C.E.
Shoshenq III/Usermaetre-Setepenre 837 - 798 B.C.E.
Shoshenq IV/Hedjkheperre-Setepenre 798 - 785 B.C.E.
Pami/Usermaetre-Setepenamun 785 - 778 B.C.E.
Shoshenq V/Akheppere 778 - 740 B.C.E.
Pedubast II/Sehetepibenre 740 - 730 B.C.E.
Oskron IV/Akheppere-Setepenamun 730 - 716 B.C.E.

Usermaatre Setepenre Pami was an Egyptian Pharaoh who ruled Egypt for 7 years. He was a member of the Twenty-second dynasty of Egypt of Meshwesh Libyans who had been living in the country since the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt when their ancestors infiltrated into the Egyptian Delta from Libya. Their descendants began to rule Egypt from the mid-940s BC onwards with the ascendance of Shoshenq I to power. Pami's name, in Egyptian, means the Cat or "He who belongs to the Cat [Bastet]. Pami's precise relationship with his immediate predecessor - Hedjkheperre Setepenre Shoshenq IV - is unknown but he is attested as the father of Shoshenq V in a Year 11 Serapeum stela dating to the latter's reign. Pami was once assumed to be Pimay, the third son of Shoshenq III who served as the "Great Chief of Ma" under his father.

However, the different orthographies of their names (Pami vs. Pimay) prove that they were 2 different individuals. In addition, the name Pami translates as 'The Cat' in Egyptian whereas the name Pimay means 'The Lion.' Pami's name was mistakenly transcribed as Pimay by past historians based upon the common belief that he was Shoshenq III's son. This is now recognized to be an erroneous translation of this king's nomen/name which should rather be written as Pami. While a previous Dynasty 22 king held the title 'Great Chief of the Ma' before ascending the throne-namely Shoshenq I-Shoshenq III's son, Pimay, was a different man from king Pami because their names are different.
Moreover, if Pimay did indeed outlive his father, he should have then succeeded his father as king rather than the obscure Shoshenq IV who is not attested as a son of Shoshenq III.

Consequently, it seems certain that Shoshenq III outlived all of his sons through his nearly 4 decade long reign. While a minority of scholars hold to the traditional view that Pami was Pimay, a son of Shoshenq III by his wife Queen Djed-Bast-Es-Ankh, no archaeological evidence proves that Pami was ever a son of Shoshenq III. The different spelling and meanings of the word Pami and Pimay and the fact that Shoshenq III was actually succeeded by Shoshenq IV - rather than Pimay as was once thought - suggest rather that Pami was a son of his obscure predecessor - Shoshenq IV instead.

Shoshenq V was the final king of the Twenty-second dynasty of Egypt of Meshwesh Libyans which controlled Lower Egypt. He was the son of Pami according to a Year 11 Serapeum stela from his reign. His prenomen or throne name, Akheperre, means "Great is the Soul of Re." The burial of two Apis Bulls is recorded in Year 11 and Year 37 of his reign. Shoshenq V's highest Year date is an anonymous Year 38 donation stela from Buto created by the Libyan Chief Tefnakht of Sais which can only belong to his reign since Tefnakht was a late contemporary of this king.

Shosheng V Stela

This stela, which reads simply as "Regnal Year 38 under the Majesty of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Lord of the Two Lands, BLANK, Son of Re, BLANK," may reflect the growing power of Tefnakht in the Western Delta at the expense of Shoshenq V whose name is omitted from the document. Shoshenq V is believed to have died around 740 BC after a reign lasting 38 years. With his death, the Libyan 22nd Dynasty kingdom in the Egyptian Delta disintegrated into various city states under the control of numerous local kinglets such as Tefnakht at Sais and Buto, Osorkon IV at Bubastis and Tanis, and Iuput II at Leontopolis.

Pedubast II was a Pharaoh of Egypt associated with the 22nd Dynasty. Not mentioned in all King lists, he is mentioned as a possible son and successor to Shoshenq V by Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton in their 2004 book, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. They give his reign as about 743-733 BC, between Shoshenq V and Osorkon IV.

Osorkon IV was a ruler of Lower Egypt who, while not always listed as a member of the Twenty-second dynasty of Egypt, he is attested as the ruler of Tanis - and thereby one of Shoshenq V's successors. Therefore he is sometimes listed as part of the dynasty, whether for convenience or in fact. His parentage is uncertain: he could be a son of Shoshenq V. His mother, named on an electrum headpiece in the Louvre, is Tadibast III.

Kenneth Kitchendoes notBold text give his reign dates as 732/30 - 716 BC. His reign was never recognized at Memphis where documents were dated to the reign of 24th Saite dynasty king Bakenranef. During his time, Egypt was ruled concurrently by four dynasties - 22nd, 23rd, 24th and the 25th. Shortly after Osorkon had ascended the throne, Upper Egypt was conquered by the Kushite king, Piankhi, and Osorkon IV ended ruling only the East Nile Delta region.

Carthage, (Cart-Hadas), 800 to 150 BCE, Lesbos Coins

The two images on the left are the photograph of General Hannibal Barca, from both sides of the coins used in Carthage during his lifetime. The elephant is on one side and he is on the other side. Below coins from the Greek island of Lesbos from between 550 to 350 B.C.E.

General Hannibal Barca

Dido 814 - 760 B.C.E. a Queen
760 - 580 B.C.E. (unknown rulers)
Hanno I 580 - 556 B.C.E.
Malchus 556 - 550 B.C.E.
Mago I 550 - 530 B.C.E.
Hasdrubal 530 - 510 B.C.E.
Hamilcar I 510 - 480 B.C.E.
Himilco I (in Sicily) 460 - 410 B.C.E.
Hannibal I 440 - 406 B.C.E.
Himilco II 406 - 396 B.C.E.
Mago II 396 - 375 B.C.E.
Mago III 375 - 344 B.C.E.
Hanno III 344 - 340 B.C.E.
Hanno the Great 340 - 337 B.C.E.
Gisco 337 - 330 B.C.E.
Hamilcar II 330 - 309 B.C.E.
Bomilcar 309 - 275 B.C.E.?
Hamilcar III - 275 - 228 B.C.E.
Hannibal (Barca) 247 - 183 B.C.E.

Carthage was founded (traditionally by Dido) from Tyre in the 9th cent. B.C. The city-state built up trade and in the 6th and 5th cent. B.C. began to acquire dominance in the W Mediterranean. Merchants and explorers established a wide net of trade that brought great wealth to Carthage.

 The state was tightly controlled by an aristocracy of nobles and wealthy merchants.

Ancient Carthage 

Although a council and a popular assembly existed, these soon lost power to oligarchical institutions, and actual power was in the hands of the judges and two elected magistrates (suffetes). There was also a small but powerful senate.

The greatest weakness of Carthage was the rivalry between landholding and maritime families. The maritime faction was generally in control, and about the end of the 6th cent. B.C. the Carthaginians established themselves on Sardinia, Malta, and the Balearic Islands. The navigator Hanno is supposed to have sailed down the African coast as far as Sierra Leone in the early 5th cent.

The statesman Mago arrived at treaties with the Etruscans, the Romans, and some of the Greeks. Sicily, which lay almost at the front door of Carthage, was never brought completely under Carthaginian control.

Lesbos Coin 400-300 BCE

The Greek city-states of Sicily were thus preserved, but the Carthaginian threat continued and grew with the steadily increasing power of Carthage. The move against the island, begun by settlements in W Sicily, was brought to a halt when the Carthaginian general Hamilcar (a name that recurred in the powerful Carthaginian family usually called the Barcas) was defeated (480 B.C.) by Gelon, tyrant of Syracuse, in the battle of Himera.

Hamilcar's grandson, Hannibal (another name much used in the family), destroyed Himera (409 B.C.), and his colleague Himilco sacked Acragas (modern Agrigento) in 406 B.C. Syracuse resisted the conquerors, and a century later Carthage was threatened by the campaign (310–307?) of the tyrant Agathocles on the shores of Africa. After his death, however, Carthage had practically complete control over all the W Mediterranean.

Lesbos Coin 400-350 BCE

After the fall of the great Phoenician city of Tyre to Alexander the Great in 332 BCE, those Tyrians who were able to escape fled to Carthage with whatever wealth they had. Since many whom Alexander spared were those rich enough to buy their lives, these refugees landed in the city with considerable means and established Carthage as the new centre of Phoenician trade.

Not even one hundred years passed before Carthage was the richest city in the Mediterranean. The aristocrats lived in palaces, the less affluent in modest but attractive homes, while tribute and tariffs regularly increased the city’s wealth on top of the lucrative business in trade.

Hannibal (also known as Hannibal Barca, 247-183 BCE) was a Carthaginian general during the Second Punic War between Carthage and Rome (218-202 BCE).

Lesbos Coin 450-300 BCE

 He is considered one of the greatest generals of antiquity and his tactics are still studied and used in the present day. His father was Hamilcar Barca (275-228 BCE), the great general of the First Punic War (264-241 BCE). These wars were fought between the cities of Carthage in North Africa and Rome in northern Italy for supremacy in the Mediterranean region and the second war resulted directly from the first.

Hannibal assumed command of the troops following his father's death and led them victoriously through a number of engagements until he stood almost at the gates of Rome; at which point he was stopped, not by the Romans, but through a lack of resources to take the city. He was called back to Africa to defend Carthage from Roman invasion, was defeated at the Battle of Zama in 202 BCE by Scipio Africanus (236-183 BCE) and retired from service to Carthage.

Lesbos Coin 500-450 BCE

 The remainder of his life was spent as a statesman and then in voluntary exile at the courts of foreign kings. He died in 183 BCE by drinking poison.

According to the historian Philip Matyszak, "There is much we do not know about this man, though he was one of the greatest generals in antiquity.


No surviving ancient biography makes him the subject, and Hannibal slips in and out of focus according to the emphasis that other authors give his deeds and character" (24). Nothing is known of his mother and, although he was married at the time of some of his greatest victories, no records make mention of his wife other than her name, Imilce, and the fact that she bore him a son. What became her her or her son is not known. The story of Hannibal's life is told largely by his enemies, the Romans, through the historians who wrote of the Punic Wars.

Lesbos Coin 550-400 BCE

Moorish soldiers are mentioned as early as the expedition to Sicily in 406 B.C., in a revolt by a certain Hanno Barca 350 B.C. and the Roman invasion of Africa in 256 B.C. They are similarly mentioned in Livy's account of the second Punic War (218-201 B.C.).

In their bitter, prolonged and increasingly desperate struggle for national independence and control of the western Mediterranean, the Carthaginians utilized Moorish troops as integral elements in all of their battle campaigns.

With the Numidians, the Moors fought on the side of the Carthaginians against the Romans. These redoubtable Moorish warriors greatly aided the Carthaginians, and were particularly beneficial to Hannibal Barca ­the illustrious African general. Indeed, Hannibal, "who had over 6,000 [Moors] at his disposal, suffered his only defeat when they were no longer available."

Lesbos Coin 550-450 BCE

 Nevertheless, with the destruction of Carthage in the third Punic War (150­ - 46 B.C., Rome became the supreme power in North Africa.

In spite of Roman dominance, however, regional and national independence movements continued unceasingly.

499--Romans overthrow Latins at Battle of Lake Regillius.
498--Hippocrates becomes tyrant dictator at Gela, on the south coast of Sicily.
494--Plebs return to Rome after first "Secession of the Plebs". They have been at the "Mount of Curses" (Mons Sacer) and are coaxed into returning to Rome by being acknowledged as essential to Rome.
492--Troops under Hippocrates defeat Syracuse at the Helorus river.

Lesbos Coin 500-400 BCE

491--Gelon becomes the new tyrant of Syracuse. He lasts for more than 12 years until 478.
480--The Carthaginian, Hamilcar, suffers terrible defeat in war against Gelon.
478--Hieron I takes over in Syracuse upon the death of Gelon.
405--Peace treaty between Carthage and Syracuse is signed after Carthaginian troops are ravaged by plague and cannot conquer Syracuse. Reign of Dionysius I begins.
403--Dionysius becomes absolute ruler of Syracuse.
397--Motya, an important Phoenician/Carthaginian trading post on a small island just off the northwestern coast of Sicily is destroyed.

383--The third of the Carthaginian wars on Sicily breaks out, but this time the battle includes the land in the south of Italy which Dionysius had brought under his control.

Lesbos Coin 550-500 BCE

264--Rome begins first war against Carthage at Messina. This event is what is called the First Punic War.

It is also the beginning of a struggle which will last until Rome finally buries Carthage in the North African soil, so that Punic Carthage can never again populate the earth.
This year is the beginning, but the struggle will last 118 bitter years .
260--Rome achieves first naval victory over Carthaginians at Mylae on west coast of Sicily.
250--Carthaginians again destroy Selinunte.

226--Rome draws a boundary line in Spain between Carthaginian territory and Roman territory.

General Hannibal Barca's coin, courtesy of Cambridge University Coin Collection Deparment.