10) Scorpion – at 3200 B.C. the tenth according to Rice. Sargon may have been called Ka-Ap in Egypt, at 3200 B.C. were Iry-Hor, Ro, Scorpion, Ka’a. Sargon the Great as Scorpion.
From Egyptian Civilization Its Sumerian origin & Real Chronology And Sumerian origin of Egyptian Hieroglyphs, by Louis A. Waddell, copyright 1933.
In Louis Waddell’s chart the Scorpion would be dated at 2725-2671 B.C. as King no. 37 and called "Sargon the Great" with Sumerian names of Guni (or Gani or Gin), Shar-Guni (or Shar-Gani), Kin (Sharru-Kin, Qenites, Qain, smiths
Of interest is Genesis Chapter 15:19-21 regarding the Ten tribes of Canaanites where we find names such as:
In the Indian Epic, "PURU had by his wife Paushti three sons PRA-VIRA (Puru II), Ishwara and Raudr-ashwa, whom were mighty charioteers. Then Pra-Vira (Sumerian Sargon) had by his wife ACCHURA Seni (Sumerian Ash-nar, Ash-lal, The Lady Ash) a son named MANASYU of the line of the PRABHU ["Pharaoh"), the royal eye of GOPTA [Kopt or Egypt, Aigyptos, ancient Egyptian Gebt or Gabt, cognate with the Greek Kopt-os or Copt]. Pra-Vira bears the title of Vira which equates to his Pir title in the Old Isin Sumerian king list. The Pra, in series with the longer form Prabhu (Sanskrit "ruler, master, lord"), is equivalent to the Egyptian Paraa or "Pharaoh." The Egyptian name of Pharaoh came from the Sumerian house-sign, Bar or Par, so as to mean "The Great House"; and in Sumerian Bar, Bara = "great house or palace or temple." Pharaoh (Heb. par’oh) known as the "Great House," in Egyptian "Per-o."
(Note: The Akkadian word pr and SAG.AZ is connected to the Apiru, Habiru, Hebrew) which is mentioned at the end of this section.
Louis A. Waddell promotes that "Sargon-the-Great" annexed or re-conquest of Egypt occurred in 2714 B.C. His titles "Pharaoh," Kad (Ka)," "Ukus, "Goth," and his father "Ro" at 2765 B.C. and grandfather "Khetm" at 2780 B.C., were Predynastic Pharaohs. Sargon around 2725 B.C. and on, conquered the West which is contained in the old official copies of his edicts and chronicles in the archives, and on the oldest Sun-temple in Mesopotamia at Nippur and repeated in the later Omen-tablets of the Babylonians. In my research one source calls En-lil as meaning "Chief Demon," also was a sky god, "Lord of the Storm," and was represented by the great winged bull, in the city of Nippur, where his temple was called "Mountain House."
At the Nippur temple "Sargon-the-Great" claims that: "Unto King Gin, king of the Land (or Earth), Lord Sakh gave no foe from the Upper Sea [Mediterranean] unto the Lower Sea [Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean], Lord Sakh ... subjected the lands to him."
Omen version states: "King Gin who marched against the Land of the West, and conquered the Land of the West, his hand subdued the Four Quarters of the World."
Waddell’s revised Omen Chronicle copy reads: "King Gin, king of Agudu City, through the Weapon of Lord Sakhar Tar (or ? Lady Ish-Tar) was exalted. And he possessed no foe or rival. His glory over the world poured out. The Sea in the East [?West] he crossed. And in the eleventh year the Land of the West (or Sunset) in full his hand subdued. He united them under one rule. He set up his images in the West. Their booty he brought over as arranged."
The above boundaries refer to his:
Rice continues on pg. 49 stating that, "After the emergence of the fetishes, the next phase of Egyptian god-making turned to invest certain animal forms with the prerogatives of divinity. The slate palettes which are amongst the earliest graphic representations to survive provide much evidence of this practice: scorpions, lions, bulls, the ubiquitous falcon, the ibex, gazelle, hounds are all shown as personifications of the gods, assisting the King in putting down his enemies or in conducting the rituals of the state. Men needed the power of animals; even the early Kings, in the later Predynastic period and the First Dynasty, called themselves by animal names: Scorpion, Catfish, Fighting Hawk, Serpent are four of the best known."
Rice confirms in Ch. 3 pg. 87, "The scorpion had a powerful appeal apparently to the Hierakonpolitans, one of those whose chiefs evidently adopted it as his own symbol. It had an important significance to the people of Elam and the Gulf, in the latter case up to a thousand years later, witnessed by the frequent appearance of scorpions in the design of the Gulf seals."
Above from Egypt's Making The Origins of Ancient Egypt 5000-2000 B.C., by Michael Rice, copyright 1990.
As stated before that from the Main Deposit at Hierakonpolis, a piece of steatite (or chlorite) carved in the round, centrally pierced and fitted with a copper rod is a mace-head typical of fourth millennium B.C. Sumerian or Elamite carving, it is untypical of Egyptian forms.
A pear-shaped mace associated with King Scorpion and King Narmer may have originated in Western Asia. In the case of Scorpion the King is accompanied by his high officer, who carries a number of standards on which are displayed symbols or fetishes identified with particular districts into which Egypt was divided.
Two of these standards are Set animals, the hound which identified the god, showing the Set tribes of the south were already supporters of the royal clan: others represent falcons, a jackal, the thunderbolt of Min, and one possibly representing the mountains.
It is significant perhaps that more standards are shown supporting Scorpion than is the case with the slightly later Narmer palette, on which only four standards are displayed.
A rosette or star identified the kings of this period. Scorpion wore the high white crown, his name as King possibly pronounced Selkh, Sekhen. Scorpion’s capital was probably Hierakonpolis, known as Nekhen in antiquity.
From the time of the Scorpion at least the King was depicted as a superhuman figure, towering over mortals, utterly splendid and awesome.
The early maceheads dating from Scorpion’s and Narmer’s reigns, and the ivory labels of their immediate successors show ceremonies already highly developed and complex in form.
The Sargon (SAHR gawn, Heb. sargon, the constituted king) referred to here has an unknown history before 3000 B.C. in some circles, even though the word is Akkadian. Of interest is why the Hebrew understanding of the word sargon represents the word constitute which means "make up; form as a necessary part, establish by lawful authority, appoint," which is what this king did.
The "Scorpion King," as he is called, holding a plow walking upon tilled soil with a scorpion and a flower before his face, and a subject placing a mat before his feet. The flower has seven petals, and is probably an early reference to the goddess of conception, Seshat, the creative consort of Thoth.
(Note: Compare the rosette or star identified Selkh, Sekhen against the Sumerian Girtab, Sargas).
Goddess Serket (Serqet, Selket) is a scorpion-goddess, shown as a beautiful woman with a scorpion on her head. She is the protector of Qebhsenuef, a son of Horus. If you would like to see more on this subject it will require a username and password to enter Volume III at Decan of Argo Navis
A Reuter news story dated September 4, 1995 describes work being conducted at Tel Hassan Daoud, Egypt. The site is being excavated by Nancy Lovell, a Canadian anthropologist interested in the development of social stratification in ancient Egyptian society. The site is located 60 miles east of Cairo on the edge of the Nile Delta.
A series of tombs has been found at Tell Hassan Daoud that provide the earliest evidence of social stratification in ancient Egypt. Some tombs have a lot of grave goods indicative of wealth and social status. Other tombs are nothing more than simple pits. Most of the burials were placed on their left side with their knees drawn up and their heads facing north.
Grave goods found with the high status burials include pots, plates, bases, beads, bracelets, and cosmetic holders. Lovell indicates the craftsmanship displayed by the grave goods is exceptional quality. Some vessels are carved from alabaster and at least one platter is carved from blue-gray schist. Two pots are particularly important since they have inscriptions about Narmer, the pharaoh who supposedly unified Upper and Lower Egypt around 3100 B.C. Narmer founded the First Dynasty of Egypt. If the pots are contemporaneous with Narmer, then the early burials from the site also date to 3100 B.C.
Samples have been taken for radiocarbon dating. However, it will take some time to run these tests and no results are available.
Tell Hassan Daoud will provide important information on the transition from an egalitarian Nagada culture to the embryonic Dynastic Egypt.
A Reuter news story by Johnathan Wright dated September 27, 1995 announced that a German archaeologist, Guenter Dreyer, has found inscribed names of Late Predynastic Kings of Egypt. He assigns these kings to Dynasty Zero since the First Dynasty is assigned to the earliest pharaohs of a unified Egypt.
Dreyer bases his interpretations on symbols found on a slate palette, inscribe pots, three statues, and around 150 ivory tags. Dreyer has been excavating the tomb of an Predynastic King he calls Scorpion at the site of Abydos. It is about 200 years older than the earliest First Dynasty tomb at Abydos, that of Aha or Menes. Dreyer believes that Scorpion is just one of about 20 Predynastic kings. Scorpion probably is one of the middle kings of this group.
Scorpion’s tomb contained many pots inscribed with symbols. Dreyer indicates most pots had a pair of signs, that of an animal and a plant. He thinks they represent the names of plantations (plant symbol) found by a king (animal symbol). The scorpion symbol was the predominant animal symbol. That is why Dreyer believes the tomb is that of a King named Scorpion.
Three statues were found at the town of Coptos in the early 1900’s, located about 500 km south of Cairo. Dreyer says that signs on the statues match some of those he found on pots in Scorpion’s tomb. He believes the statue inscriptions talk about kings who had some connection to the Coptos temple. He also adds that this is not a widely accepted interpretation.
Another important earlier discovery was that of the Tjehenu palette (See information in Libyan palette). It depicts animals attacking and conquering a series of fortified towns. This is usually interpreted as a representation of southern victories over more northerly Egyptian towns. ; Dreyer believes the animals on the tablet are names of Dynasty Zero kings. These symbols include a lion, falcon, and a scorpion. Dreyer indicates the scorpion symbol on the tablet represents another scorpion king he calls Scorpion II.
Dreyer’s interpretation of the different symbols as kings names is interesting. If his interpretations are supported by others examining the data, they will be an important contribution to our understanding of Predynastic Egypt. However, it is also likely that his interpretations will be controversial and possibly rejected.
On December 15, 1998 the controversy continues as reported in a recent news release. Gunter Dreyer, head of the German Archaeological Institute, claims that the earliest writing may be found on clay tablets uncovered from the tomb of a king named Scorpion, in a cemetary in the Suhag province, 300 miles south of Cairo.
| These tablets have been carbon-dated with certainty to between 3300 B.C. and 3200 B.C., provide records of linen and oil deliveries as a tithe to King Scorpion I. Only two-thirds of the tablets have been deciphered as accounts of taxes, short notes, numbers, lists of kings' names and names of institutions. As can be seen in the image below many kings before the first dynasty, such as Scorpion took the name of an animal. Records have been found of chieftains named Mouse, Falcon, Double Falcon and Elephant. Since 1985, Dreyer and associates have excavated 300 pieces of writing on clay tablets, clay jars and vases. This writing is in the form of line drawings of animals, plants and mountains, representing evidence that hieroglyphics existed before the Pharaonic dynasties developed. Therefore the debate of Sumerian verses Egyptian civilization were the first to create writing goes on. |
|
a star name in the constellation of Scorpius which is a very old Sumerian word for "scorpion" (more rarely it is called Sargas, another Sumerian word). It is definitely the Sumerian word for the constellation Scorpius. Whether Gir.tab, Sargas, Sa.gaz, Sargon, is connected to King Scorpion of Pre-dynastic times is still unknown.
Also noted is Abram, the Hebrew
where Hebrews - traditionally considered designated for Abram and his descendants, especially through Jacob which equates to proto-Israelites. There is the possibility, however, that in OT times that the names "Hebrew," "Habiru," "Khapiru," "Apiru," and "pr" were forms of the same word (equivalent to the Akkadian SA.GAZ), a designation without nation significance.
The Amarna Letters mention the ‘apiru’ (outlaws, renegades) led by Lab’ayyu had seized the city of Shechem. Though still unconfirmed some scholars relate the word ‘apiru’ to ‘Ibrim,‘ the Akkadian word for "Hebrews." Rather, they indicated wandering peoples greatly restricted as regards financial means and without citizenship and social status. Ancient records show the "Habiru" to be scattered over western Asia for centuries until about 1100 B.C. Nomadic peoples, mostly Semites ... sometimes raiders, sometimes skilled artisans ... they frequently offered themselves as mercenaries and slaves, with individuals occasionally rising to prominence. Hebrew and Habiru were terms used prior to the name "Israel."
Etymologically, it has been debated whether "Hebrew" is to be traced to Eber, the father of Peleg and Joktan (Gen. 10:24-25, 11:12-16) or is derived from the Hebrew root "to pass over" and has reference to "a land on the other side," as the dweller east of the Euphrates might think of Canaan. Habiru as to Hebrew, the Hebrew are "those who crossed over" in the sense of trespassing, i.e., "trespassers."
This link requires a username and password to continue to Volume III for more Late Breaking Information about Scorpion in the 20th Century.
This file updated on July 9, 2003.