Ancient Kings Lists

[Beagle]

http://in.geocities.com/nvasrikanth/Royal_Chron.htm

This list is mainly of India, but also includes Egypt, Israel, Iraq, Iran, and China. I can't attest to it's accuracy.

[Forum Monk]

That's a good link Beagle, thanks. (I wonder which parts you attest to?)

One line of kings corresponds to the list I have mentioned in my opening post, covering several millenia. The list I have enumerates the kings rules in years, months and days. So here is my question - how many days in a month and how many months in a year and has the reckoning of the calendar been the same throughout that expanse of time?

I have no clue about Vedic calendars but feel reasonably certain they had a 365 day year with approprate intercalary days to resync with the vernal equinox.

[kbs2244]

Good point FM.
I would have to guess (and it is just a guess) that the complier would use whatever calendar was in use at his location and time for the relatively recent Kings. Maybe even converting from the foreign dates to his. But sooner or later the conversions would start to fall apart.
Then all you really have is a list of who followed who unless you can tie them together with a agreed upon occurrence. (Comet sighting, etc)

[Ishtar]

I have no clue about Vedic calendars but feel reasonably certain they had a 365 day year with approprate intercalary days to resync with the vernal equinox.

Given their knowledge about astronomy, I think that's a good bet.

[Forum Monk]

Good point FM.
I would have to guess (and it is just a guess) that the complier would use whatever calendar was in use at his location and time for the relatively recent Kings. Maybe even converting from the foreign dates to his. But sooner or later the conversions would start to fall apart.
Then all you really have is a list of who followed who unless you can tie them together with a agreed upon occurrence. (Comet sighting, etc)

I agree KB. This is apparently what happened with the Sumerian Kings List. They were copied and converted from sexegisimal to decimal by a scribe who was expanding the list. Then, when discovered in modern times, the archaeologists attempted to apply the original sexegismal numbering system to some of the reigns and we ended up with kings who reigned for 1000's of years. It is not known for certainty, this is what happened, but when these long rules are converted back to decimal the list looks much more realistic.

Another possibility, is the lists had impossibly long rules in order to give the appearance of antiquity to a particular ethnocultural group. This established legitimacy in a region and gave them land rights.

[kbs2244]

History and Archaeology as propaganda for national or racial claims?!?!
Say it isn’t so!
These are pure, truly academic pursuits!

[Beagle]

Another possibility, is the lists had impossibly long rules in order to give the appearance of antiquity to a particular ethnocultural group. This established legitimacy in a region and gave them land rights.

I would not think that all of them would engage in the misrepresentation though. From Egypt to India it seems to be a common practice. Plus there may be King's Lists that haven't been discovered.

And while not a King's List per se, the generations of Seth and Cain in Genesis also have impossibly long dates. The list of the generations of the sons of Noah get a little more reasonable. I think there's something about the dates that hasn't been figured out.

[kbs2244]

The "Fundies" explanation for the long lives of the pre flood people is that the “water above” sheltered them from the Sun, cosmic rays, etc.
After the flood those “waters” were gone and we were exposed to these life shortening things.
This is a real common problem when we look at something outside our realm of experience. We cannot relate and so we discount it.
For the last few thousand years men haven’t lived to be over 100 years old. So when confronted by accounts otherwise, we just dismiss them.
Are the Fundies right? I don’t know. But I haven’t seen any evidence that their claims could not be true.

[Ishtar]

Are the Fundies right? I don’t know. But I haven’t seen any evidence that their claims could not be true.

Rookie question: Who are the Fundies?

[Beagle]

Who are the Fundies?

They are "Fundamentalist" Christians who take the Bible as the literal word of God. So....the earth was created in 7 literally "days", etc.

Some of my grandfathers last thoughts were that he had to come back and fight the battle of Armageddon.

[Ishtar]

Thanks!

You're up early!

[Beagle]

Yes - on weekends I am occupied with football and my 2 yr. old grandson. Tomorrow we get to give him back. But he wakes up early and wants to watch "Mickey Mouse" which I satisfy by putting on a 2 hr. CD.

My life returns to normal later today. In the US, this is a gov't. holiday. My wife is a nurse practitioner in a Veterans hospital and so has the day off. That's why we have the little bugger for an extra day.

[Ishtar]

Good luck!

I do the same with my granddaughter - put on a DVD in the mornings - except it's not Mickey Mouse, it's Dora the Explorer who she totally identifies with.

[Manystones]

The "Fundies" explanation for the long lives of the pre flood people is that the “water above” sheltered them from the Sun, cosmic rays, etc.
After the flood those “waters” were gone and we were exposed to these life shortening things.
This is a real common problem when we look at something outside our realm of experience. We cannot relate and so we discount it.
For the last few thousand years men haven’t lived to be over 100 years old. So when confronted by accounts otherwise, we just dismiss them.
Are the Fundies right? I don’t know. But I haven’t seen any evidence that their claims could not be true.

KB, You're not serious are you - a layer of water has the capability to increase life spans up to 12 times? Of course we can relate to it, it's nonsense to suggest that it was possible in the past.

I think there's something about the dates that hasn't been figured out.

I am wondering what there is left to figure out? Marduk provided a comprehensive and to my mind satisfactory explanation of the apparently extraordinarily long reigns in some instances in the King's lists here http://archaeologica.boardbot.com/viewtopic.php?t=948
the reigns make sense in one or other system of counting, it's easy enough to understand which is which in most cases.

[Minimalist]

But he wakes up early and wants to watch "Mickey Mouse" which I satisfy by putting on a 2 hr. CD.

You could get the same result from Fox News.