Introduction

"Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts." Richard Feynman

Plasma Cosmology

Mainstream science, for the most part, looks on the universe as electrically neu
tral and purely mechanical; a place where the weak force of gravity holds fort.
Plasma Cosmology, by contrast, acknowledges the electrodynamic nature of the uni
verse. Gravity and inertia are NOT the only forces at work.
"A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making
them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new g
eneration grows up that is familiar with it." Max Planck.

Plasma is the fourth state of matter. It differs from solids, liquids and gases
in so far as it's atoms are divided into free-floating 'negative' electrons and
'positive' ions (an atom which has lost its electron/s). It is sometimes referre
d to as an ionized gas.
Plasma should be put in first place. The reasons for this will become clear.
The term Plasma was borrowed from blood plasma in order to describe its almost l
ife-like and self-organising properties. Plasma sometimes emits light when under
the excitation of electrical and magnetic fields.

Plasma is almost everywhere. At least ninety-nine percent of the known universe

is, in fact, matter in its plasma state! The surface of the sun is plasma; not h
ot gas, which is quite a different thing. Plasma in space consists entirely of i
ons and electrons, and is thus very energetic or 'hot'. Only when cooled does it
form the matter to which we are familiar here on Earth:
solids,
liquids, and
gases.
Because plasma remains electrically charged in space, it is influenced more by e
lectromagnetic forces than gravity. Space wrongly called a "void" and considered
mostly empty) has been found to be alive with plasma. Vast flows of charged par
ticles have been discovered spanning hundreds-of-thousands of light years across
interstellar space.
The most familiar examples of electrical plasmas here on earth are neon signs an
d lighting, television screens, and electrical arc welding machines. Fire and Li
ghtning are also forms of Plasma.

Plasma is an excellent conductor of electricity. Because of its free-flowing ele

ctrons its conductive properties far surpass those of copper and gold. Due to it
s interaction with electromagnetism, plasmas display a complexity in structure f
ar exceeding that of matter in gaseous, liquid, or solid states. It has a tenden
cy to form into cellular and filamentary structures. These structures derive fro
m the fact that a charged particle flow (or current) produces a ring of magnetic
fields around itself, 'pinching' plasma into multi-filamentary strands, as can
be seen on both cosmic and more localised scales.

Ethereal plasma: electrodynamic phenomena has been obfuscated by terms such as

'Electron rains' and 'clouds of ionized gas'.

Gravity based models were codified before space travel and high powered telescop
es. Back then our galaxy, the Milky Way, was considered the entirety of the 'uni
verse' ...

Plasmas are highly scalable, and super-computing capabilities have enabled us to

model plasma behaviours on galactic scales ... utilising only a few simple form
ulae.
These models are consistent with reality. Big Bang cosmology, by contrast, fails
to adequately account for the 'clumpiness' and filamentary structures that we o
bserve.

summarize for you these two challenges to the big bang and include a third probl
em as well. The test of any scientific theory is based upon the relationship bet
ween its predictions and observations. Let's see how well the big bang has done:

Many cosmologists think that nearly 99 percent of the universe is unobservable a

nd made of dark matter. The universe we do see, the stars, galaxies, and literal
ly everything else, only constitutes about 1 or 2 percent of the total amount of
matter in the universe. The rest is some strange and unknown form of matter, pa
rticles that are necessary for the big bang theory to work.
There is just too little matter in the universe for the gravitational forces to
have created the universe in the form that it's in today, hence the theory of da
rk matter.
Plasma is regarded as a fourth phase of matter, the other three being solid, liq
uid, and gas. Plasma is a hot state of matter in which electrons have been strip
ped from atoms to leave positively charged ions, which mingle freely with the el
ectrons.
The universe, on the large scale that it exists, is clumpy!
The third problem has to do with the strongest evidence in support of it, cosmic
microwave background radiation. In order for the universe to produce the galaxi
es we see around us, the fluctuations found in the background radiation indicate
s that there must be a hundred times more dark matter than visible matter. But t
here is no experimental or observable evidence that dark matter exists.
Plasma cosmology supports the idea that because we see an evolving universe that
is constantly changing, this universe has always existed and has always evolved
, and will continue to exist and evolve for eternity.
The plasma universe is formed and controlled by electricity and magnetism, not j
ust gravitation. With the introduction of electromagnetism the clumpiness of the u
niverse and the fluctuations in microwave background radiation can be easily acc
ounted for. The expansion of the universe can be explained by the electromagneti
c interaction of matter and antimatter.
While electromagnetism forms the basis for plasma cosmology, it is also the basi
s for our technological society that surrounds us today. Plasma technology has s
timulated research for better computer screens, how radio and radar transmission
can be increased, and may be the answer to developing the long-sought-after gen
ie in the bottle: fusion energy.
Recent reports of "wrinkles" in space have been promoted as a major victory for
the Big Bang. The plasma model for the origin of the universe has arrived just i
n time to compete with the troubled Big Bang.
"Since nowhere do we see something emerge from nothing (ex nihilo creation!), we
have no reason to think that this occurred in the distant past" (Book: The Big
Bang Never Happened)

The name "plasma", borrowed from medicine, identifies the colorless fluid compon
ent of the blood in which corpuscles are suspended, is applied to a high tempera
ture gas when the outer electrons become separated from their atoms. Ionized mat
ter often appears to swirl and change in a lifelike manner. The sun and most oth
er stars are themselves giant spheres of plasma gas.
There exist vast electrical currents of plasma in space; the circles show magnet
ic fields which surround the currents. In the plasma universe, galaxies are grad
ually formed by plasma interactions.
In the plasma universe, deep space is permeated with giant filaments of electron
s and ions. These are not the hypothetical cosmic strings which supposedly invol
ve higher dimensions of space. Instead, the plasma strands are thought to be rea
l, physical entities. These filaments twist together in space due to electromagn
etic forces. Some of their vast energy is then converted into matter, and new ga
laxies are the eventual result.
This plasma "theory of everything" seeks to explain almost every cosmic detail.
The intricate spiral arms of galaxies are said to reveal further interactions of
the plasma filaments. Since galaxies contain 100 billion stars each and are 100
thousand light years across, the proposed plasma strands are clearly of immense
energy and size.
Stars and galaxies forms from interacting plasma gases...
First, galaxy formation by tangled plasma strands might explain the large scale
structure or "lumpiness" of the universe. If the initial plasma is not uniformly
distributed, neither will be the resulting galaxies.
An overall radiation "fog" produced by cosmic plasma energy might result in the
well-known smooth background radiation (usually attributed to initial heat from
the Big Bang). New mechanisms for a non-velocity red shift of starlight may be i
mportant; thus the plasma theory challenges even the basic assumption of an expa
nding universe.
For the creationist, there is also a serious "downside" to the plasma universe.
Four problems will be given:
The ionized universe is infinite in both age and size. The universe is countless
 trillions of years old, and it will never end. Origin and destiny questions are
meaningless!
These important questions are ruled off limits by definition. With an infinite t
ime scale, the plasma approach is much like the Steady State Theory of the 1950'
s (Table 1). Both of these theories, in turn, echo the anti-creation view of geo
logist James Hutton.
In his Theory of the Earth (1785; anti-creation view of geologist James Hutton),
he wrote about endless processes on the earth with "No vestige of a beginning,
no prospect of an end."
The plasma universe fully accepts all aspects of slow stellar evolution, without
reservation.
Third, the plasma universe is built on a wholesale extrapolation of size, over a
scale of at least 1028. The observed behavior of plasma in a small laboratory c
hamber is assumed to be duplicated on the vastly larger scale of galaxy clusters
. Obviously, such unlimited extrapolation is unjustified.
The plasma universe assumes that electric and magnetic forces are dominant in sp
ace instead of gravity. However, it has not been shown that electromagnetism is
capable of forming and shaping galaxies, even with unlimited time.

Those who have wrongly inserted the Big Bang into Genesis may someday be the onl
y ones left to defend the idea of an initial explosion! The creation view does n
ot close the door to inquiry. Instead, it accepts the refreshing and truthful fa
ct that there are limits to the domain of natural science.
"By the word of "Ptah" (the LORD) were the heavens made; and all the host of the
m by the breath of His mouth. . . . For He spake, and it was done; He commanded,
and it stood fast" (Psalm 33:6,9). "
". . . for He commanded, and they were created" (Psalm 148:5).
"He that planted the ear, shall He not hear? He that formed the eye, shall He no
t see?" (Psalm 94:9)
The Genesis account only reveals the "fact" of creation, and that God orchestrat
ed it all.
Given the Bible for the first time, a reader would certainly understand Genesis
1-11 to teach that creation occurred only thousands of years ago, not millions o
r billions, and he would cite several reasons.
The word "day" (Hebrew, yom) in Genesis 1 is best understood as a literal day (e
ither a 24-hour day or the daylight portion of a day). While this common word ca
n mean an indefinite time period, it almost always means a literal day and is so
defined the first time it is used in Genesis 1:4,5. Furthermore, it always mean
s a literal day when modified by a number (i.e., 2nd day) or evening and/or morn
ing, as it is in Genesis 1. To cap it off, it always means a literal day when us
ed in the plural form (i.e., six days of creation, Exodus 20:11).
Note the narrative character of those early chapters. They are telling a story,
and there is no indication that it is figurative. He would find the poetic porti
ons are no less "historic" than the prose portions. It all appears to be chronol
ogical, with each event followed by another.
For instance, every verse in Genesis 1 starts with the conjunction "and." The en
tire chapter is one run-on sentence, with no hint of major time gaps. The remain
ing chapters use a similar format, implying an orderly sequence of events.
As a matter-of-fact, of the 299 verses in Genesis 1-11, 32% contain "time" words
, such as "days, weeks, or years." Also, 49% of the verses contain some sort of
"sequence" words such as "and" or a resulting action verb. Of the remaining 19%
which don't contain such words, most amplify the thought in the previous verse w
hich does mention time or sequence. The Bible's intention is to communicate the
"when" and duration of creation.
Genealogical records dominate two complete chapters, 5 and 11. There is no hint
that these lists are mythological. The Author wanted us to know this information
and knew that there was no other way for us to obtain it, so He told us in no u
ncertain terms.
Our hypothetical reader would no doubt conclude that Genesis, coupled with the r
est of Scripture, clearly teaches that God created, cursed, and flooded all thin
gs only thousands of years ago.
To modern old-earth "semi-creationists," whether theistic evolutionists, progres
sive creationists, or day-age advocates, he would say: "You may choose not to be
lieve what is written here, but if so you should cease deceiving yourselves and
others by using the term 'Bible-believer' to describe your position."

The Tri-Universe

In a previous Back to Genesis article, "The Wonderful Truth of the Trinity" (Act
s & Facts, November 2005),

The God of Creation is one God, in three PersonsFather, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thi
s does not mean that there are three Gods; there is only one God who created Hea
ven and Earth and everything in them. The term "God" as used in the Bible most c
ommonly refers to the Father, but the Son and the Holy Spirit are each also reco
gnized as God. Some have argued that the three divine Persons are not really th
ree distinct individuals but merely three modes in which the one God can express
Himself as occasion demands (which just means they change their minds). But thi
s also is a false invention.
There are many accounts of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit speaking to each o
ther, for example. The doctrine of the Trinity is admittedly difficult, in fact
impossible to comprehend fully with our minds, but it is taught so definitely in
God's Word that we believe it with our hearts.
The Trinity doctrine is mathematically impossible. One plus One plus One does no
t equal One, but three. Nevertheless, the Bible reveals God to be a Trinityone Go
d in three Persons (which means that they are three people in agreement.that whit
e is the origin and supreme, that pale entered darkness, survived/conquered dark
ness (the dragon) and brought order to darkness, as it is their destiny to conqu
er and rule over darkness. The truth is that All comes from darkness, All return
s to darkness!..Darkness is Supreme!!!).
The divine Trinity, the tri-une God, has created a great universe which is itsel
f a trinity, with each of its three components also structured as trinities. Thi
s would not necessarily prove that God is a Trinity, but it is a fact that needs
explanation. Amma created it as a model (or type, or analogy) that would help p
eople understand its own Nature, at least to some degree..
The created universe is actually a tri-universe of "Space, Matter, and Time" (Nn
erG instead says "mind, space, body), each permeating and representing the whole
. However, the universe is not partly composed of space, partly of matter, and p
artly of time (like the three sides of a triangle).
A trinity is not a trio or a triad, but a tri-unity, with each part comprising t
he whole, yet all three required to make the whole.
The universe is a Space-Matter-Time continuum.
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Amma: Supreme intelligence behind that exist
Amma Ra
Amen-Ra
Gamma-Ray
Infinite mind covering infinite space
Infinite Ata
Amma infinite, now finite.
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Furthermore, note the parallels between the divine trinity and the tri-universe
in terms of the logical order of its three components:
Space is the invisible, omnipresent background of everything in the universe.
Matter-and-Energy reveal the reality of the universe.
Time makes the universe understandable in the events occurring in it.
The same sentence will apply if the words
Father/Space,
Son/Matter, and
Holy Spirit/Time
Space itself is also a tri-unity, comprised of three dimensions, with each dimen
sion permeating all space.
The reality of any portion of space is obtained by multiplying the three dimensi
ons together (the "mathematics of the Trinity" is not 1+1+1=1, but rather 1x1x1=
1).
Further, Space is identified in the first dimension seen in the second dimension
, experienced in the third dimension:
Father/first
Son/second, and
Spirit (third dimension).
Time is future, present, and past.
The future is the unseen source of time, manifest moment-by-moment in the presen
t and understood in the past:
Father,
Son, and
Spirit.
Matter is unseen, omnipresent Energy, manifesting itself in various forms of mea
surable motion, then experienced in corresponding phenomena.
Light energy generates light waves, which are experienced in the seeing of light
.
Sound energy generates sound waves which we experience when we hear sound.
The physical universe is a great "trinity of trinities," with the inner relation
ships of each element modeling the relationships of:
Father,
Son, and
Holy Spirit (in Palemans model):
Mother
Son
Neteru? (in Afraka)
All of this does not prove that God is a Trinity, but it certainly is a remarkab
le fact. Amma is a tri-une, and has made its creation to reflect Itself.
The above several paragraphs have been quoted mostly from the footnotes supporti
ng Romans 1:20 in The Defender's Study Bible.
Dr. Nathan H. Wood, former president of Gordon College in his book "The Secret o
f the Universe" (Warwick Press, 1932). This book was also reprinted by Kregel in
1978, under the title The Trinity in the Universe.
The physical universe is a great trinity of trinities.
In the universe of life, each person is a trinity of:
body,
soul, and
spirit.
Each of these entities is real and distinct, yet each involves the whole person.
The prayer of Paul, in one of his first epistles was this: "And the very God of
peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body b
e preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He t
hat calleth you, who also will do it" (I Thessalonians 5:23-24).
The "soul" is that part of the person that is the actual "life" that energizes t
he "body," which is the material component that others can see and hear and touc
h.
The classic Old Testament verse relating these two is Leviticus 17:11: ". . . th
e life of the flesh is in the blood." The Hebrew word for "life" in this verse i
s the same word as for "soul," it is the blood's circulation throughout the body
that maintains life in the body.
The body's "breath,"(soul activated by Co2, which is predominantly "nitrogen/oxy
gen") is essential for maintaining its life (the Hebrew word for "breath" and it
s New Testament Greek equivalent are each used also for "spirit"). Soul and spir
it, are different. Hebrews 4:12, which says that "the word of God is quick, [tha
t is, alive] and powerful [that is, energizing], and sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, . . ."
First their is At'an/Spirit, then spirit clothed in mind/body in water, then wat
er breaks the person/spirit enters into the earth and takes in "Nu't.Ra/Aka" (ni
trogen/oxygen) and becomes a living 'Sa" (soul) via "Ar" (air). Without "Ar", th
e persons "Sa" dies and he withdraws from what is called "the physical plane".
The person's spirit is that entity which partakes of the very image of Amma (min
d). When the first man was yet an inert body formed of the dust of the ground, G
od "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul"
(Genesis 2:7).
The tri-unity:
The soul is the life of the body, unseen and intangible but nevertheless the ver
y basis of the person's existence and actions;
the body then is the visible and tangible manifestation of the soul.
The spirit of the person is (like the soul) invisible and intangible but very re
al in its capacity to interact intelligibly with others, and has the ability to
make moral and esthetic judgments.
Now animals also possess soul (that is life), body, and spirit (in the sense of
breath). They also in a very limited sense seem able to interact with other anim
als and even human beings on more than a mere instinctive level; however, they c
annot, so far as we know, comprehend moral, or spiritual concepts.
To what extent, if any, this animal tri-unity correlated with that of humans in
the beginning we do not know. In any case, the entrance of sin and death into th
e world made drastic changes. Now there is a vast difference. Death comes to bot
h men and animals, and "all turn to dust again." But then it is "the spirit of t
he beast that goeth downward to the earth" while the spirit of man "shall return
unto Amma who gave it".
Each unit is distinctive with its own function, and yet all three are necessary
components of the whole, and each pervades the whole.

PLASMA COSMOLOGY DEBUNKED ARTICLES

Utilizing matter-antimatter symmetry as a starting point, Matter-antimatter anni

hilation results in the production of high energy photons which were not observe
d. While it is possible that the local matter-dominated cell was simply larger tha
n the observable universe.

Plasma cosmology and ambiplasma (chemeurope)

The universe had no beginning (and has no forseeable end) and that plasmawith its
electric and magnetic forceshas done more to organize matter in the universe int
o star systems and other large observed structures than has the force of gravity
.
(Hannes Alfvn; Encyclopdia Britannica)
Plasma cosmology proposes that electromagnetic forces in astronomical objects ac
count for all the other astronomical structure that we now know are attributed t
o gravity and relativity.

Some of the observations the originators of plasma cosmology were trying to expl
ain are the result of things like dark matter, dark energy, and inflation.

Plasma cosmologys central postulate is that the dynamics of ionized gases and pl
asmas play important, if not dominant, roles in the physics of the universe beyo
nd the Solar System.
This is contrary to the general consensus by cosmologists and astrophysicists wh
ich strongly supports that astronomical bodies and structures in the universe ar
e mostly influenced by gravity, Einsteins theory of general relativity, and quant
um mechanics. Theyre able to explain all the orbits in the solar system with a st
raightforward application of gravity, wheres the problem that plasma cosmology is
supposed to solve?

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Life of a Kem
The one who is looking for knowledge is like an arrow shot towards the sun. If t
hat arrow ever touches the sun, it will not come back; but if it touches the sun
and comes back to Earth, it will no longer be an arrow. There always comes a mo
ment in the life of those looking for light when everything that has been part o
f a solid foundation and the base of notions, facts, logics, beliefs, etc. simpl
y disappears at their feet, giving each the impression of being left suspended i
n emptiness despite the presence of notable phenomena that include him or her in
their becoming.
In M TAM education, we say that on that level, the student or pilgrim has reache
d the first gate of gates. He is ready to access the superior plan and awaits a
teacher to stretch forth a hand:
Pilgrims will learn to look beyond what they see; they will analyse and criticis
e their methods of investigation of the phenomena they observe.
They will evolve towards a serene approach towards the world.
The doors of the Kem will open to them;
they will become Kem and will each live in the obsession of playing a perfect ro
le for the becoming of existence.
They will accept the Seventy-seven commandments;
they will learn the ablution;
they will honour all the Gods;
they will make offerings to their ancestors;
and so on.
- excerpt from the Introduction to The Philosophy Podium Revised Edition Neb Nab
a Lamoussa Morodenibig.
The social movement that accompanied the Kemetic spiritual system is the movemen
t of the Kem. Kem in this sense takes on a double meaning"
It is short for Kemioo or person of Kemet but it also means;;
"to search and find" referring to this "obsession of playing a perfect role for
the becoming of the existence".
Each individual should perform a self-transformation into a Kem.
A Kem is a person who is conscious of the importance of harmony in his actions,
in his becoming, and in the becoming of the whole universe under the supervision
of Goddess/gods.
The Kem sustains consciousness of the notion of a dialogue of energies, of the l
aws of Heru-Seth and the harmony that affects these dialogues.
He knows that, for the Gods and the universe, the principle of harmonisation is
sacred...
There are 10 requirements to being a Kem. One must vow to follow them, and live
their lives accordingly so as to have success in achieving this harmony.
Naba Bloodline
From the beginning of civilization, every bloodline has been entrusted with a sp
ecialty that enables its members to heal a specific ailment or make a specific c
ontribution towards the survival or well-being of humanity.
Since then, the NABA bloodline has been known as the shrine (or temple) keepers
holding the responsibility for all activities regarding Kemetic:
science,
astronomy,
philosophy,
spirituality,
healing and
geomancy.
The NABA are referred to as the intermediaries between humans and the Divine Wor
ld. Devoted to this duty, the bloodline has been initiating every one of its des
cendants to carry on the legacy of the very first ancestors of the bloodline, wh
o are called the Patriarchal ancestors.
These initiations have been passed on since the beginning of civilisation from:
father to son,
from mother to daughter,
from mouth to ear, and
from generation to generation and the initiations continue to the present day.
The name NABA is a very old name. It comes from the Medu (Hieroglyphic) word NEB, wh
ich means priest. They are a long line of priests. The only people the children of
Israel listened to and bowed to are called the Nabataeans. Historical civilizatio
ns of the Nabataeans exists in present day Arabia. The name in Arabic for prophet
is Anaba or Anebi, "Anubi".
Master Nabas son NABA Shenmira Iritah is a young teacher, lecturer, spiritual act
ivist, priest and healer of the Dogon bloodline from the Gulmu region of Meritah
. He is the Head Mrr (Leader) of The Earth Center Ouagadougou, and he is also Dosso
Bah (Chief Hunter outside Meritah) of the traditional hunters societies.

Burkina Faso the land of upright people to enroll in the Universite de Ouagadougou
.
2006 CSE Upon Master NABAs return to Burkina Faso from the United States in 2006
to open the initiation in Meritah, NABA Iritah seized the opportunity to follow
and study under him in order to advance his spiritual growth and enlightenment,
not only as a son but as a disciple.
The son dedicates his life to claiming the initiatic heritage and knowledge of h
is bloodline in order to carry on the missions of his ancestors.
Learn MTAM science and the knowledge of Kemetic mystery schools. He became the le
ader of the first initiates at the Earth Center in Meritah.
After the transition to the World of the Dead.
The values of traditional knowledge, awareness of the principles of nature, of t
he universe and of the Divine World.

The Gulmu (Gourmantche) civilizations.

Asar started off as the Sun the became the brother and then the husband of As t
Master Naba s home village, Tambiga, where his body rests but his spirit remains
active.
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At its peak, the Nabataean Empire stretched from modern-day Yemen to Damascus an
d from western Iraq into the Sinai Desert and beyond. No one is really sure how
large their empire really was. That is how elusive and mysterious the Nabataeans
were.
Written records of the Nabataean kingdom are sparse as there are only a few surv
iving documents and scattered inscriptions and graffiti. The thousands of graffi
ti carved onto rocks and canyon walls clearly demonstrate that almost every Naba
taean could read and write; even the shepherds. The Nabataeans, however, seem to
refuse to write. Their temple walls are bare. The Nabataeans wished to withhold
their secrets.
Even the ancient historians of Greece and Rome, who wished to write about the Na
bataeans, recorded mostly the amazing tales that the Nabataeans invented to hide
their history, their trade routes, and the sources of their goods.
The Nabataeans were also nomads, dwelling in tents in the desert. Yet, within a
few short years they built spectacular and awe inspiring monuments.
The magnificent city of Petra is so impressive, that even today tourists stare i
n awe at the great ruins. This impressive city was hidden away in a cleft in the
rock with access through a narrow crack in a mountain. The crack is over 1200 m
eters long and 3 to 6 meters wide, flanked by 100-meter high canyon walls.
It was built a few short years before CE. Thousands of monuments and tombs were
erected in this hidden city, and then suddenly, the Nabataeans handed their empi
re over to the Romans soldiers, and seemed to fade from the scene.
These Nabataeans from the desert to profited so richly from the frankincense and
spice trade.

Nabataean history goes back thousands of years.

586 BC In 586 BC, when the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar s leadership capture
d Jerusalem and the Black so-called Jewish people were hauled off as captives to
distant lands. During this time, Jerusalem lay deserted and destroyed. The empt
ying of Jewish lands provided an opportunity for the Edomites, the enemies of Ju
dah, with no one to stop them, the Edomites began packing up and moving from the
barren hills of the southland into the rich abandoned lands of Judah to their n
orth.
About this time, we begin to find records of Nabataeans living in Edomite territ
ory. They either immigrate into the area when the Edomites left or had they been
present for hundreds of years, living quietly along side of the Edomites.
The Nabataeans were living in Edomite territory long before this, and it was onl
y when the Edomites left that the Nabataeans gained enough prominence to obtain
a homeland that they could call their own. Nabataeans lived in other places in t
he Middle East at the same time, setting up their small tent communities on the
outskirts of the ancient cities of Arabia.
The Nabataeans keep popping up in the very ancient historical records..Nabataea.
In their early history they quietly carried goods from one place to another, sel
ling them at local markets. They lived on the margins of society, and people saw
them as such and left them alone.
The Nabataeans built Petra.
Josephus the ancient Jewish historian identified the Nabataeans with Ishmael s e
ldest son (Genesis 25:13). He claimed that the Nabataeans lived through the whol
e country extending from the Euphrates to the Red Sea. He refers to this area as
 Nabatene, or the area that the Nabataeans ranged in. Josephus goes on to say th
at it was the Nabataeans who conferred their names on the Arabian nations. (Jewi
sh Antiquities I.22, 1) During his lifetime the word Arabs and Nabataeans had be
come synonomous. Josephus lived and wrote during the time that the Nabataeans we
re in existence, and he obtained his information directly from the Nabataeans th
emselves.
From the Nabataeans to the Saracens. The Nabataeans (originally from Afraka) liv
ed in ancient Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq.)
668-663 BC Assyrian records tell of King Ashurbanipal (668-663 BC) fighting with
the Nabaiateans of Arabia.
The Assyrian kingdom eventually broke into two as two brothers began to rule, on
e the King of Babylonia and the other the King of Assyria.
In 652 BC conflict broke out between these two brothers (King of Babylonia and t
he King of Assyria), and in support of the Babylonian king, the Qedarites invade
d western Assyria, were defeated, and fled to Natnu the leader of the Nabayat fo
r safety; as described in the records of Esarhaddan. Later the Qedarites and the
Nabayat attacked the western borders of Assyria but were defeated. After their
defeat, Natnu s son Nuhuru was declared the leader of the Nabatu.
703 BC A group of Chaldaeans and neighboring tribes rebelled against Sennacherib
, the Assyrian ruler. The ancient records of Tiglathpilezeer III list, among the
rebels:
the Hagaranu /Hagar anu (perhaps the descendants of Hagar, the mother of Ishmael
),
the Nabatu (perhaps the Nabataeans, descendants of Nebayoth, the son of Ishmael)
and;
the tribe of Katar/Kadar/Qedar. The Qedarites are mentioned in Genesis 25:13 as
descendants of a son of Ishmael named Qedar. These tribes fled into the desert,
and could not be conquered (David Graf, in his book Rome and the Arabian Frontie
r).
A few historians believe that the Nabataeans descended from Nabaioth, a sister o
f Bashemath, one of Esau s three wives. While the Edomites claimed decent from B
ashemath the Nabataeans simply referred to themselves as the Nabatu, meaning pe
ople who draw water.
Arab literature from the much later Islamic period mentions that there were at l
east two distinct groups of Nabataeans in the Middle East at that time:
First there was a group of Nabataeans from Iraq that were known as Nabat al- Ira
k (Iraqi Nabataeans).
Second, there were the Nabat al-Sham or Nabataeans of Damascus. As you will disc
over later, the Nabataeans controlled Damascus during the time of the Apostle Pa
ul, and perhaps these Nabataeans were descendants of the Nabataeans from Damascu
s.
Pales claim that there were two groups of Nabataeans is outlined very well in an
article in the Encyclopedia of Islam Volume VII, under "Naba t":
The Yezidis of Iraq and Turkey claim connections with Nabataean.
The Nabataeans are mentioned in Arabic literature as being in Iraq.
259 BC The Zenon papyri from 259 BC, mention that the Nabatu were trading Gerrhe
an and Minaean frankincense, and transporting them to Gaza and Syria at that tim
e. They transported their goods through the Qedarite centers of Northern Arabia,
Jauf, and Tayma.
Early Nabataean pottery has also been found in locations on the Persian Gulf, al
ong the coasts of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. (Tuwayr, Zubayda, Thaj, and Ayn Jawa
n)
There are also ancient references to the Nabatu as living along the western edge
s of the Arabian Peninsula and in the Sinai. These Nabatu were a "Navy" (so-call
ed pirates) who sailed the Red Sea plundering trading vessels. Later they establ
ished bases in a number of seaports, including the port city of Aila (modern day
Aqaba), which is only 120 km from present day Petra.
Though the Nabataeans transported goods in the desert by camel caravan, they pre
ferred sea trade, and built and maintained a large and impressive merchant marin
e.
Nabataean names were Arab names, their language was old Arabic, and they were fo
und from the borders of Iraq to the depths of the Arabian desert. Different grou
ps of Nabatu wrote their names in slightly different ways, but they are all the
same tribe.
586 BC In 586 BC, as the Edomites began a gradual migration north, the tribes of
Arabia also began to move northward. From their port city of Aila, (Aqaba) it w
as only a short move inland for the Nabatu to occupy the gradually emptying land
of the Edomites, eventually making it the heart of the Nabataean Empire.
It appears that some Edomites remained behind. Those that emigrated into Judea b
ecame known as "Idumaeans." These were some of the people that opposed the Jews
during the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem under Ezra; and later, the rebu
ilding of the city walls of Jerusalem under Nehemiah. Even after the Nabataeans
replaced and absorbed the Edomites, ties between the Idumaeans and the Nabataean
s continued, as is illustrated by the family of Herod the Great, whose father wa
s an Idumaean and his mother a Nabataean.
However, in the Edomite territory, Nabataean culture quickly replaced the Edomit
e culture, and the Nabataeans became predominant. It seems that the Nabatu had a
practice of setting up their tents a few kilometers from major cities:
They did this at Selah, just outside of the Edomite capital of Busheira.
They did this at Meda in Saleh, located 12 kilometers from Dedan (modern Al Ula)
, the ancient capital of the Tamu t (Thamuds) and Lihynaites who lived in Saudi
Arabia.
They also did this at Jenysos just a few kilometers south of the ancient port ci
ty of Gaza.
During the years that followed Alexander the Great, and that led up to the formi
ng of the Roman Empire, the Nabataeans managed to become one of the most success
ful commercial societies in the Middle East. They used their knowledge of sea ro
utes and caravan routes so that they were able to form a solid link between east
ern goods and western markets. In an amazing way, they managed to take their car
avans through the desert, unaffected by the local tribes who controlled wells an
d grazing land.
--------------------------------------------------
They left no record of their alliances and agreements with these tribes. The mys
terious Nabataeans developed a method of transporting goods in the desert, witho
ut needing to use the local water wells. Since the local tribes, who were someti
mes hostile, controlled these water wells, the Nabataeans developed water collec
tion systems that provided them with water in the desert, at places unknown to o
thers. Using their wide spread presence and their system of caravan routes and w
atering stops, the Nabataeans built an impressive trade empire in the heart of A
rabia.
When they chose the site of Petra to build their magnificent city, it was a barr
en canyon, and possibly a place were they buried their dead. The Edomites never
occupied this site. The Edomite capital was Busheira, located south of present d
ay Tafila. Some Nabataean had originally settled near the Edomite capital city,
occupying a flat-toped mountain that was known as Selah. Since this was probably
the location of previous massacres, (II Kings 14:7) the Edomites would have avo
ided the place, leaving the Nabataeans alone to their own devices. The Nabataean
s initially made a small tent settlement atop this mountain to serve as a refuge
and a safe place to store their women, children, and goods when they were away
buying and selling. This mountain-top refuge, known as Selah, would play an impo
rtant role in the years that followed.
138-122 BC When the Nabataeans start building their city, they called it Re kam
or Rekmu. This city would become so famous that its name would be recorded in th
e records of Chang Ch ien, envoy to the Chinese Emperor Wu-ti, (138-122 BC) as w
ell as in the records of the civilizations of Greece, Egypt, Rome, and Byzantium
where the city was known by its Roman name, Petra. Few Nabataean manuscripts su
rvive to this day, outside of the Petra Scrolls, which are records of legal deal
ings during the Byzantine Empire, when the Nabataean Kingdom was already in decl
ine.
The Nabataeans managed to gain a monopoly on most of these trade goods. As they
pushed the prices higher, the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans began to grumble. So
me complained that their empires were being bankrupted. Others mobilized their a
rmies to crush the Nabataeans. Every time, however, the Nabataeans managed to es
cape, usually without entering battle. The Nabataeans carefully hid all the evid
ence, fearing that the Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans would discover their secret
s and crush their monopolies.
Using the old Edomite territory as their hub, they set up a trading empire that
surpassed anything seen before on the face of the earth. Through their system of
merchants and trade, they began importing goods from the east and selling them
in the west. In the next few centuries they would import such goods as:
spices,
animals,
iron,
oil,
copper,
sugar,
medicines,
ivory,
perfumes;
pearls,
cotton,
ginger,
cinnamon,
silk,
frankincense,
myrrh and
gold for the kingdoms of:
Egypt,
Greece, and
Rome.
They exported to India and China:
henna,
storax,
frankincense,
asbestos,
cloth,
silk gauze,
silk damask,
glass,
orpiment,
gold, and
silver.
The Nabataeans were responsible for the transfer of ideas and inventions between
the great eastern and western civilization.

Much of what is now known about Nabataean culture comes from the writings of ear
ly historians like Strabo, Josephus, Pliny, and Diodorus of Sicily. These histor
ians give us tantalizing glimpses into Nabataean life and culture, as well as a
broad outline of their history as seen by outsiders.

Diodorus Siculus, who wrote Bibliotheca Historica, writes the following about th
e Nabataeans whom he simply calls Arabs .
"Here it is worth while to recount the institutions of these Arabs, by the pract
ice of which they seem to protect their liberty. Their country has neither river
s nor copious springs from which it is possible for a hostile army to get water.
They have a law neither to sow corn nor to plant any fruit-bearing plant, nor t
o use wine, nor to build a house. This law they hold because they judge that tho
se who possess these things will be easily compelled by powerful men to do what
is ordered them because of their enjoyment of these things. Some of them keep ca
mels, others sheep, pasturing them over the desert. Of the Arabian tribes there
are not a few who graze the desert and these are much superior to the others in
the amenities of life, being in number not much more than 10,000. For not a few
of them are wont to bring down to the sea frankincense and myrrh and the most co
stly of spices, receiving them from those who convey them from what is called Ar
abia Felix. They are conspicuously lovers of freedom, and flee into the desert,
using this as a stronghold. They fill cisterns and caves with rainwater, making
them flush with the rest of the land, they leave signals there, which are known
to themselves, but not understood by anyone else. They water their herds every t
hird day so that they do not constantly need water in waterless regions if they
have to flee."
Diodorus s account of the early Nabataeans describes them as nomadic people who
have arrived from the desert, and who carry with them their desert ways. Much of
his descriptions also fit that of the Rechabites, a nomadic tribe who are menti
oned in Jeremiah 35. The Rechabites were a nomadic people who fled to Judah in 5
86 BC when King Nebuchadnezzar began his conquest of the Middle East. It is inte
resting to notice that the Rechabites had the exact same prohibitions against ag
riculture, wine drinking, and living in houses as Diodorus ascribes to the Nabat
aeans.
586 BC The early Nabataeans were nomadic people who arrived from the desert, and
who carry with them their desert ways and fit the descriptions of the Rechabite
s, a nomadic tribe who are mentioned in Jeremiah 35, who fled to Judah in 586 BC
when King Nebuchadnezzar began his conquest of the Middle East. The "Raka" (Rec
habites) had the exact same prohibitions against agriculture, wine drinking, and
living in houses as the Nabataeans.This must have been a typical nomadic mind-s
et that was common to most of the tribes in Arabia.

70 AD Later, once the Nabataeans became a wealthy urban nation, they seem to hav
e dropped these ascetic cultural aspects, while the Rechabites continued to main
tain them. We learn this from early church fathers writing about events just bef
ore the Jewish Revolt (70 AD) who describe the presence of Rechabite priests in
the Middle East.
A brief history video & bibical scriptures regarding the true King James VI who
decended from a ruling line of black Kings and Queens in Europe. Which began aft
er the defeat of Rome in 193 AD. The Black ruling monarchs lasted right up unitl
l The Renissance Period roughly 1500 - 1600. James commissioned Hebrew Israelite
to translate , the records & history of a bibical people into what is now known
as the Kings James 1611 bible
259 BC A collection of 2000 papyri from 259 BC makes mention of the Nabataeans.
These papyri were the archives of Zenon, the business agent for one, Apollonius,
the financial minister of Ptolemy II Philadelphos. In among the papyri was a do
cument that reports the activities of two Nabataean men named Drimylus and Diony
sius who made their living by selling slave-girl prostitutes. Their business ext
ended between Joppa and Amman, and into southern Syria. The text shows no surpri
se at Nabataeans being this far north, or of their particular business venture:
pimping prostitutes. The papyri also mention the purchase of Gerrhean and Minaea
n frankincense from a Malichus in Moab.
3rd century BC Nabataeans are mentioned in a stele in the Damascus Museum which
bears a Nabataean inscription that mentions a "king of the Nabataeans." The stel
e is dated to the 3rd century BC making it the oldest known Nabataean text.
The Nabataeans, were firmly entrenched in eastern Palestine by 300 BC. During th
is time Greek armies swept the Middle East. A short time later, Alexander the Gr
eat s generals divided their kingdom, with Antigonus The-One-Eyed briefly in pow
er in Syria and Ptolemy in power in Egypt.
It is against this background that the Nabataeans step firmly into written histo
ry and begin to build their empire.
Copyright 2002 nabataea.net
Who were the Nabataeans? The Muslim Invasion
Arabia in Ancient History The Crusades
Early History Rediscovery
Middle History The Hagarites/Gerrhaeans
Late History The Twelve Tribes of Ishmael
The Fall of Petra
Nabajoth, Mibsam, Kedar, Adbeel, Mishma, Dumah,
Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, Kedemah

The Mysterious Nabateans

Before Alexanders conquest, a thriving new civilization had emerged in southern J

ordan. It appears that a nomadic tribe known as the Nabateans began migrating gr
adually from Arabia during the sixth century BCE. Over time, they abandoned thei
r nomadic ways and settled in a number of places in southern Jordan, the Naqab d
esert in Palestine, and in northern Arabia. Their capital city was the legendary
Petra, Jordans most famous tourist attraction. Although Petra was inhabited by t
he Edomites before the arrival of the Nabateans, the latter carved grandiose bui
ldings, temples and tombs out of solid sandstone rock. They also constructed a w
all to fortify the city, although Petra was almost naturally defended by the sur
rounding sandstone mountains. Building an empire in the arid desert also forced
the Nabateans to excel in water conservation. They were highly skilled water eng
ineers, and irrigated their land with an extensive system of dams, canals and re
servoirs.
Close-up of red sandstone, Petra. Michelle Woodward
The Nabateans were exceptionally skilled traders, facilitating commerce between
China, India, the Far East, Egypt, Syria, Greece and Rome. They dealt in such go
ods as spices, incense, gold, animals, iron, copper, sugar, medicines, ivory, pe
rfumes and fabrics, just to name a few. From its origins as a fortress city, Pet
ra became a wealthy commercial crossroads between the Arabian, Assyrian, Egyptia
n, Greek and Roman cultures. Control of this crucial trade route between the upl
and areas of Jordan, the Red Sea, Damascus and southern Arabia was the lifeblood
of the Nabatean Empire.
We still know comparatively little about Nabatean society. However, we do know t
hat they spoke a dialect of Arabic and later on adopted Aramaic. Much of what is
now known about Nabatean culture comes from the writings of the Roman scholar S
trabo. He recorded that their community was governed by a royal family, although
a strong spirit of democracy prevailed. According to him there were no slaves i
n Nabatean society, and all members shared in work duties. The Nabateans worship
ped a pantheon of deities, chief among which were the sun god Dushara and the go
ddess Allat.
As the Nabateans grew in power and wealth, they attracted the attention of their
neighbors to the north. The Seleucid King Antigonus, who had come to power when
Alexanders empire was divided, attacked Petra in 312 BCE. His army met with rela
tively little resistance, and was able to sack the city. The quantity of booty w
as so great, however, that it slowed their return journey north and the Nabatean
s were able to annihilate them in the desert. Records indicate that the Nabatean
s were eager to remain on good terms with the Seleucids in order to perpetuate t
heir trading ambitions. Throughout much of the third century BCE, the Ptolemies
and Seleucids warred over control of Jordan, with the Seleucids emerging victori
ous in 198 BCE. Nabatea remained essentially untouched and independent throughou
t this period.
Although the Nabateans resisted military conquest, the Hellenistic culture of th
eir neighbors influenced them greatly. Hellenistic influences can be seen in Nab
atean art and architecture, especially at the time that their empire was expandi
ng northward into Syria, around 150 BCE. However, the growing economic and polit
ical power of the Nabateans began to worry the Romans. In 65 BCE, the Romans arr
ived in Damascus and ordered the Nabateans to withdraw their forces. Two years l
ater, Pompey dispatched a force to cripple Petra. The Nabatean King Aretas III e
ither defeated the Roman legions or paid a tribute to keep peace with them.
The assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE augured a period of relative anarch
y for the Romans in Jordan, and the Parthian kings of Persia and Mesopotamia too
k advantage of the chaotic situation to attack. The Nabateans made a mistake by
siding with the Parthians in their war with the Romans, and after the Parthians d
efeat, Petra had to pay tribute to Rome. When they fell behind in paying this tr
ibute, they were invaded twice by the Roman vassal King Herod the Great. The sec
ond attack, in 31 BCE, saw him take control of a large swath of Nabatean territo
ry, including the lucrative northern trading routes into Syria.

Riding through the Siq, Petra.

Jad Al Younis, Discovery Eco-Tourism
Nonetheless, the Nabateans continued to prosper for a while. King Aretas IV, who
ruled from 9 BCE to 40 CE, built a chain of settlements along the caravan route
s to develop the prosperous incense trade. The Nabateans realized the power of R
ome, and subsequently allied themselves with the Romans to quell the Jewish upri
sing of 70 CE. However, it was only a matter of time before Nabatea would fall u
nder direct Roman rule. The last Nabatean monarch, Rabbel II, struck a deal with
the Romans that as long as they did not attack during his lifetime, they would
be allowed to move in after he died. Upon his death in 106 CE, the Romans claime
d the Nabatean Kingdom and renamed it Arabia Petrea. The city of Petra was redes
igned according to traditional Roman architectural designs, and a period of rela
tive prosperity ensued under the Pax Romana.

The Nabateans profited for a while from their incorporation into the trade route
s of the Roman Near East, and Petra may have grown to house 20,000-30,000 people
during its heyday. However, commerce became less profitable to the Nabateans wi
th the shift of trade routes to Palmyra in Syria and the expansion of seaborne t
rade around the Arabian peninsula. Sometime probably during the fourth century C
E, the Nabateans left their capital at Petra. No one really knows why. It seems
that the withdrawal was an unhurried and organized process, as very few silver c
oins or valuable possessions have been unearthed at Petra.
This article originally appeared on TIME.
The White House is defending the statement it released on International Holocaus
tRemembrance Day on Friday that had no mention of the 6 million Jews that were k
illed.
Hope Hicks, the Donald Trump administration spokeswoman, told CNN that, despite w
hat the media reports, we are an incredibly inclusive group and we took into acc
ount all of those who suffered.
Other than having no mention of the 6 million Jews killed, the statement also fa
iled to mention anti-Semitism.
RELATED VIDEO: Watch: Natasha Stoynoff Breaks Silence, Accuses Donald Trump of S
exual Attack
Instead, Hicks provided a link to a Huffington Post UK story that notes the 5 mi
llion other priests, gypsies, people with mental or physical disabilities, commun
ists, trade unionists, Jehovahs Witnesses, anarchists, Poles and other Slavic peo
ples, and resistance fighters, that were murdered in the genocide, according to C
NN. When asked if asked if Trump purposely left out Jews in his statement to avo
id offending anyone, Hicks simply said, it was our honor to issue a statement in
remembrance of this important day.
President Trumps statement is sharply different than those of his predecessors na
mely Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama who both had some mention of Jew
s or anti-Semitism in their statements.
EDITION
US

The Nabataeans of Ancient Arabia

written by James Wiener
Known the world over for their hauntingly beautiful cities of Petra and Madain Sa
leh and engineering acumen, the Nabataeans of ancient Arabia were the middlemen
in the long distance trade between the ancient Mediterranean and South Arabia. M
ysterious and beguiling, their legacy endures across time and space in the Arabi
c script and in the sophistication of their cities, carved out of the harsh dese
rt landscape.
In this exclusive interview, Dr. Lala Nehm, a senior research scientist at the Fre
nch National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris, speaks to James Bla
ke Wiener of Ancient History Encyclopedia (AHE) about the creative genius of the
Nabataeans.

JW: What do we know about the origins of the Nabataeans, Dr. Nehm? Written record
s from the Nabataean kingdom are limited, and there are only a few surviving doc
uments in addition to scattered inscriptions and graffiti about them in Aramaic.
LN: There have been various attempts, in the past, to determine where the Nabata
eans originally come from, and it has been suggested that their homeland was sou
thern Arabia. There, they would have acquired skills in hydraulics. They could h
ave also originated in eastern Arabia, where parallels for the earliest Nabataea
n monumental tombs have been identified, or possibly northern Arabia, where they
would have led a nomadic lifestyle before settling in Petra in the fourth or th
ird century BCE.
It is, however, not necessarily useful to think in terms of origin, as the Nabatae
ans are better thought of as an Arab people who lived for several centuries at the
confluence and on the margins of various kingdoms and empires the Seleucids, Pt
olemies, Romans, and Hasmoneans. They borrowed customs, aesthetics, and technolo
gy from them. Nonetheless, they added their own concepts and ideas, producing a
unique cultural syncretism. They were Arabs because most of their names are of Ara
bian origin and because they probably spoke an early form of Arabic, even if the
y wrote in Aramaic letters.
Image_1_L_Nehme
Rock graffiti and inscriptions at Petra, which is located in present-day Jordan.
(Photo: Courtesy of Dr. Nehm.)
There are very few records that come from the Nabataeans themselves: A few papyr
i, which are mainly private contracts, and thousands of graffiti scattered on th
e rocks, 90% of which contain only the name of the individual who wrote it, his
fathers name, and a formulaic greeting. Fortunately, ancient authors like Diodoru
s of Sicily (fl. 50 BCE), Strabo (64 or 63 BCE-c. 24 CE), Flavius Josephus (c. 37-
100 CE) and others, describe the manners and customs of the Nabataeans. These so
urces allow us to immerse ourselves in their daily life and religion, or in the
political and military events that punctuated their history.
It seems to me that the two keywords which explain best their achievements are ada
ptation and opportunism. The most important legacy of the Nabataeans, although they
were not aware of it, is the Arabic script, which now used by millions of peopl
e around the world. ~Dr. Lala Nehm
Centered at the ancient city of Petra located in what is now the modern kingdom
of Jordan, the Nabataeans built a kingdom in the 2nd century BCE that grew prosp
erous from trade routes that crisscrossed their territory. At its height the Nab
ataean kingdom extended from Syria to the Hijaz in Saudi Arabia, and from Jordan
into the Sinai in Egypt. The wealth and the strategic location of the Nabataean
s eventually piqued the Romans interest, and it led to their conquest in 106 CE
and incorporation into the Roman Empire as the province of Arabia Petraea.
In the first millenium BCE, Aramaic was the international language and script of
trade, and the Nabataeans adopted both as their written language. However, pers
onal names on monumental inscriptions reveal that they were in fact Arabs. It is
actually not uncommon for a people to speak one language and write another, as
the written language often holds such prestige that the learned class will only
write in it.
Gradually, the Nabataean s variant of the Aramaic script evolved from the angula
r shape of the original to a more cursive style with ample use of ligatures to j
oin the letters of words together. Despite living under Roman rule, the Nabataea
ns continued to write with their script well into the 4th century CE, at which t
ime the language behind the script shifted from Aramaic to Arabic. Nabataean is
therefore considered the direct precursor of the Arabic script. In fact, one of
the earliest inscriptions in the Arabic language was written in the Nabataean al
phabet, found in Namarah (modern Syria) and dated to 328 CE. This date is consid
ered by many scholars to be the date that Nabataean script "became" the Arabic s
cript, although in reality the transition from one to the other occurs gradually
over centuries.
The following chart illustrates and compares the Aramaic, Nabataean, and Arabic
alphabets.

Among the oldest references to Arabs in what is now Jordan is the account of the
battle of Qarqar in 853 BCE, in which the Assyrian king almanasser III claims to
have conquered a coalition of Syrian rulers. It may have been a defeat, actuall
y, but the operations at Qarqar opened the road to what is now called Syria, Leb
anon, Israel, and Jordan. After this, Assyrian texts several times refer to Arib
i, which by the time of Tiglath-Pileser III (ruled 745-727) appears to have been
a regular payer of tribute. The first reference to Arabs of the Nabataean tribe
, which may have lived as nomadic pastoralists near Hegra (modern Mada in Salih
in the northwest of Saudi Arabia), dates to the seventh century. The Biblical bo
ok of Genesis mentions a son of Ishmael called Nebajoth, which has been taken as
a reference to the Arabian tribe,note but although this identification is ancie
nt,note it is by no means certain.
The Assyrians annexed Israel and converted Ammon, Moab, Judah, and Edom into vas
sal states. Later, when the Babylonians had seized power in the eastern empire,
the vassal states became provinces: Judah in 587, Ammon and Moab in 582, while E
dom was conquered in 553 by king Nabonidus.note He proceeded further to the sout
h, to the Arabian town Tma and beyond, eventually reaching Iatribu (modern Medina
).
It is possible that the story was more complex. From several sources, like the B
ible and an ostracon from Arad, we can deduce that after 586, the Edomites infil
trated southern Judah, and it is possible that Nabonidus action was directed ag
ainst the Edomites. He may have discovered that the Edomites were, in their turn
, under pressure from the Nabataeans. This is speculation, but it may explain wh
y he proceeded to Tma, and why, in the end, we find the Nabataeans living in what
had once been called Edom, and why the Edomites moved to southern Judah.
The next reference to Arabs in southern Palestine and western Jordan comes from
the Greek researcher Herodotus, who tells us that the Persian king Cambyses did
not subdue the Arabs when he attacked Egypt in 525 BCE, but concluded an allianc
e, in which the Arabian leader promised send supplies to the Persian army.note H
erodotus also tells that in his own age, the mid-fifth century, Gaza was an Arab
ian town: interesting evidence for the expansion of the Arabs.
The alliance quickly came to an end, because Cambyses successor Darius I the Gr
eat mentions Arabs as subjects in the Behistun inscription,note which was comple
ted in 521/520. There are no indications that the Arabs were no loyal subjects o
f later Persian kings. If the Biblical "Nebajoth" does indeed refer to the Nabat
aeans, Isaiah s remark that they could sacrifice in Jerusalemnote is evidence fo
r the peaceful times.
Rise
We have now seen how the Arabs came to live in what had always been called Edom.
Much of this reconstruction is speculative. We reach more certainty in the late
fourth century, after the Macedonian king Alexander the Great had conquered the
Achaemenid empire (between 335 and 323). The Nabataeans were now a recognizable
political entity with international contacts. This can be deduced from Diodorus
,note who tells how king Antigonus I Monophthalmus, one of Alexander s successor
s, tried to subdue the Nabataeans - in vain. The unsuccessful operations must ha
ve had something to do with Antigonus attempt to invade Egypt, which had been f
oiled in the battle of Gaza in 312; it seems that the Nabataeans had become an E
gyptian ally, and needed to be suppressed if Antigonus wanted to give his invasi
on plan a second try. Incidentally, it may be noted that one of his officers was
Hieronymus of Cardia, a historian, whose description of Nabataean customs has c
ome down to us (here).
In the next centuries, several authors refer to the Nabataeans, and we can see h
ow they were becoming increasingly sedentary and integrated in the larger world.
For example, 1 Maccabeesnote describes how the Jewish leader Jonathan could, in
160 BCE, seek help from a group of allied Nabataeans.note
Gradually, the Nabataeans expanded their territories, especially benefiting from
the demise of the Seleucid Empire. Their expansion is, in this aspect, similar
to that of the Jewish state of the Hasmonaean dynasty. A difference is that the
Nabataeans developed land in the Negev desert, where terraces, cisterns, and dam
s served to trap water. Similar projects are not known from the
The Nabataean Kingdom
A Nabataean capital from the Nabataean Gate in Bosra (Syria)
A Nabataean capital from the Nabataean Gate in Bosra (Syria)
In 63, however, the ways parted. While the Roman commander Pompey the Great anne
xed the last remains of the Seleucid Empire and subdued the Jews (more...), the
Nabataeans remained an independent ally. As a consequence, the process of Hellen
ization was slower in Arabia Nabataea than in Judaea or the Seleucid towns unite
d in the Decapolis. As Rome s ally, the Nabataean king Obodas III supported the
Roman expedition to Yemen in 25, which ended in disaster. Obodas military advis
er Syllaeus was conveniently accused of treason and executed.noteFuneral inscrip
tion of Itaybel
Funeral inscription of Itaybel
The Nabataean kingdom was quite large. In the north, it controlled Bosra in Syri
a, and even, though briefly, Damascus. To the south, Hegra (Mada in Salih) was w
ithin the Nabataean frontiers, just like the nearby oasis of Al-Ula, and the por
t of Leuke Kome. In the east, the Nabataean king controlled several oases (Tma, H
ayil, and Dawmat al-Jandal), while in the west, its neighbor was the Jewish king
dom of Herod the Great and his sons, whose realms were later incorporated in the
Roman Empire. The capital of the Nabataean kingdom was Petra, but there were ma
ny other towns: in the west, Rhinocolura (Al-Arish) and Gaza, in the heartland B
ozra and Madaba, while the towns of the Decapolis were at least temporarily or p
artly under Nabataean control.
Aretas I c.169 BCE
Erotimus c.110-c.100
Aretas II c.110-96
Obodas I 96-87
Rabbel I 87
Aretas III the Philhellene 87-62
Obodas II 62-60
Malichus I 60-30
Obodas III 30-9 BCE
Aretas IV Who Loves His People 9 BCE - 40 CE
Malichus II 40-70/71
Rabbel II the Savior 71-106
According to Strabo, the Nabataean kingdom was well-ruled, and inscriptions (lik
e these ones) tell us about officials with ranks like "governor" and "commander"
, and prove that laws were well-codified. Dams to control the wadis and trade st
ations - the Incense Route led through Nabataea - show that the government was c
apable of organizing great projects.
In some aspects, Nabataean civilization was different from, yes even opposed to
Greek and Roman culture. For example, king Aretas IV had as surname "the one who
loves his people" - not Philokaisaros or Philoromaios. The Nabataeans designed
their own building order and stubbornly stuck to their own alphabet (on which la
ter Arabian scripts are based). On the other hand, Graeco-Roman civilization was
hard to evade, and the same king Aretas IV was also responsible for building a
theater in Petra.
Roman Province
Petra, tomb of Sextius Florentinius, a Roman governor who continued to live in P
etra
Petra, tomb of Sextius Florentinius, a Roman governor who continued to live in P
etra
In 106 CE, Nabataea was made a province of the Roman empire by the emperor Traja
n, who wanted a better protection of the road from Damascus to Alexandria. The N
abataean troops seem to have offered little resistance, as could be expected, be
cause the kingdom had suffered heavily from the decline of the Incence Route: si
nce Rome had conquered Egypt, trade was increasingly often conducted by sailors,
and Nabataean income had diminished.
The Roman period was an age of renewed prosperity. The new masters, who had thei
r seat in Bosra, improved the main north-south road, the ancient Royal Road, whi
ch was apparently renamed Via Nova. In the cities of the Decapolis, now part of
Nabataea, there were many new buildings. A man named Philip, of Arabian descent,
became emperor of the Roman world (244-249). Caravan trade with the Parthians i
n the east usually flourished.
Among the units stationed in Arabia was the Third legion Cyrenaica, which was re
sponsible for the creation of the Limes Arabicus. Later, probably after the Roma
n emperor Aurelian (270-275) had defeated the Palmyrene Empire, IIII Martia was
added, which was based in Betthorus, modern Lejjun. Later, Diocletian (284-305)
reorganized the Limes Arabicus. One of the most impressive monuments from this a
ge is Qasr Bshir.
Roman coin, commemorating the annexation of Arabia Nabataea
Roman coin, commemorating the annexation of Arabia Nabataea
In Late Antiquity, the Limes Arabicus was dismantled. Anastasius I (491-518) rec
ognized a federation of Arabian tribal warriors from Yemen, the Ghassanids, as R
oman ally, under the condition that they would protect the eastern frontier. The
y did their job well, occasionally fighting with the Lakhmids, who were fighting
for Rome s eastern neighbor, the Sasanian Empire. In 529, the emperor Justinian
recognized the Ghassanid leader Harith as king of all Arabs, gave him the rank
of patricius, and made him protect all eastern provinces. Slowly, an Arabian sta
te came into being: Harith s successor Mundhir (569-581) built residences near R
esefa and Damascus in Syria, and near Ain el-Minya in Jordan.
These Arabian soldiers were no longer just tribal warriors, but professionals wh
o knew how to fight in a regular army. However, the Byzantine emperors sometimes
suspected their ally, because they were Monophysite Christians. In 604, when th
e Sasanians invaded the Byzantine Empire, the Ghassanids no longer fought for Ro
me, and it took almost a quarter of a century until the emperor Heraclius had ex
pelled the invaders. When peace was signed in 628, Muhamad was already in charge
of Medina, and soon, the Muslims controlled an excellent army, which could easi
ly conquer the war-weary eastern provinces of the Roman Empire, and overthrow th
e Sasanian Empire.
About Petra: The Nabataeans
THE PEOPLE OF PETRA
The story of the Nabataeans is a fascinating, and integral, part of the Petra st
ory.
At its height in the century or so prior to and after the birth of Christ the Na
bataean empire included parts of Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia.
And the seat of the kingdom was Petra, a city that the Nabataeans literally carv
ed by hand from the rose-red cliffs of what is now southern Jordan (just north o
f Saudi Arabia and just west of Iraq).
The Siq that leads visitors to Petra
Visitors to Petra must pass through a thin split in the mountain a split known a
s the Siq that is almost a mile in length but only 10 to 20 feet in width.
Even today visitors to Petra note that the city is hidden in the cliffs, reachab
le through a thin split in the mountain a split known as the Siq that is almost
a mile in length but only 10 to 20 feet in width with walls on either side that
rise hundreds of feet to the sky.
What historians find most amazing about the Nabataeans is that sometime before t
he birth of Christ they shifted from a nomadic lifestyle to become prosperous ur
ban dwellers. And not only they did make this dramatic shift, they did so in a w
ay that causes archaeologists 2,000 years later to marvel at their skill as arch
itects, engineers, stonemasons and artists.
Indeed their prosperity (Petra was probably one of the wealthiest cities in the
world in its day) in the middle of one of the harshest climates on earth is an u
ntold story, one that the Petra: Lost City of Stone exhibition reveals through t
he artifacts of this amazing civilization.
WATER S VITAL ROLE
That story begins with water, one of the desert s most precious commodities. In
an area that averages six inches of rainfall per year the Nabataeans were able t
o harness the rainfall and the desert springs to the extent that Petra had a dai
ly supply of fresh water historians estimate was big enough for 100,000 people (
even though the city population was only 20,000 people). The accomplished this e
ngineering marvel through an intricate system of cisterns, pools and waterways t
hat captured and then transported water to the city. Archaeologists estimate tha
t the system carried about 12 million gallons of fresh springwater a day!
Among the items on display as part of Petra: Lost City of Stone are two watertig
ht ceramics pipes that were part of the system. Each 16-inch segment measures se
ven inches in diameter and the pipes were all connected via a watertight system
of bell and spigot joints, a technique that still exists today.
CARAVANS AND COMMERCE
The Nabataeans also were savvy businessmen. Petra was located at the intersectio
n of two commercial trade routes, one extending west from Asia and the other nor
th from southern Arabia. Flowing through these routes (via caravans estimated to
include as many as 2,500 camels that extended as long as five miles!) were a va
riety of goods: textiles, spices, precious metals, ivory and incense such as fra
nkincense and myrrh. At Petra the Nabataeans offered water and a safe haven for
merchants, but they also collected a fee for their services. The Nabataeans also
collected a customs tax on goods that came into their kingdom via the Red Sea.
And, note historians, evidence suggests that they were not above plundering the
occasional ship that entered the shores of their land.
The Nabataeans became rich by acquiring control of the Arabian incense trade by
100 BC and they used their significant wealth to build a remarkable city in Petr
a.
Their great wealth, say historians, meant great facilities.
CITY OF STONE
Petra s open-air theater provided seating for over 6,000 people.
Petra s open-air theater provided seating for 6,000 people.
Their aptly named Great Temple included a complex of courtyards that totaled abo
ut 9,000 square yards. The lower courtyard had a staggering 120 columns, each to
pped with a large, elephant-headed capital. There also was an open-air theater f
or 6,000 people.
The upcoming exhibit at Calvin (Why Calvin?) includes an example of an elephant-
headed capital that was retrieved from the site by archaeologists.
The tombs at Petra were equally majestic, rising hundreds of feet high in some c
ases from the canyon floor. The facades of the tombs were all laid out prior to
the work by a master architect on detailed blueprints. Then the work commenced l
aborious, pain-staking work that began with the carving of a ledge into the clif
f face. From this ledge the tomb s facade began as the work proceeded downward t
o the ground level. The facades were characterized by bold cornices and stately
columns and intricate, detailed carvings.
Digging out the tomb which was used for a multitude of purposes besides housing
the deceased was also a laborious process as literally tons of solid rock needed
to be removed from the cliff to create a space inside the tomb. Interestingly t
he Nabataeans used this rubble to make flagstone pavement for the floor of the t
omb.
The Petra: Lost City of Stone exhibit includes examples of stonework from the to
mbs; it also includes a short but fascinating video that depicts the process by
which the Nabataeans designed, excavated and built the tombs.
The Nabataeans also were quite eclectic in their influence, borrowing from Rome,
Persia and Greece as they designed their temples, tombs and everyday tools, dis
hes and more.
DAILY LIFE
Stele
Door frame
Arches
And they were quick learners. Although nomads for generations when the Nabataean
s settled down they quickly learned pottery skills in order to have dishes and o
ther utensils. Indeed within a few decades they were creating pottery that rival
ed that of Rome and Greece both for delicacy and decorative elegance.
Several pieces of this pottery will be on display as part of Petra: Lost City of
Stone.
Another amazing piece that is part of the exhibition is a large Roman vase, its
handles shaped like panthers. Made of pavonazzetto marble, the vase was likely i
mported from Phrygia in what is now Turkey and was probably the work of a Roman
master craftsman. Interestingly the vase spans two distinct cultures in Petra.
The Nabataeans likely used the vase as a garden or courtyard ornament. But archa
eologists discovered the vase in a Byzantine church at Petra (the Church of the
Virgin Mary). And therein lies a story.
UNDER ROMAN RULE
Things changed for the Nabataeans and Petra around AD 106 when Nabataea, includi
ng Petra, was peacefully taken over by Rome, which had been gathering size and s
trength 1,500 miles to the west of Petra even while Nabataea thrived. Rome was w
ealthy, but had a voracious appetite for territory, as well as what appeared to
be an invincible army, and in AD 106 Emperor Trajan laid claim to all of Nabatae
a. For a time things stayed relatively unchanged, but gradually Rome shifted the
trade routes of the Middle East and soon Petra began to decline. When the city
was struck by a major earthquake in AD 363 a new chapter in the city s history b
egan.
THE BYZANTINE ERA
That chapter brought Christianity to Petra. And although Christianity came slowl
y to Petra legend has it that the conversion process was completed by a Syrian m
onk named Barsauma in AD 423. A hermit, Barsauma was said to always wear an iron
tunic for maximum discomfort and his life consisted of roaming the countryside
destroying pagan temples and converting the pagans to Christianity.
The bust of Dushara
The bust of Dushara weighs some 2,100 lbs. and was uncovered at the base of the
Temenos Gate.
Petra was one such pagan stronghold during its halcyon days. Among the gods were
the female fertility goddess Al- Uzza and the male deity Dushara. In fact, the
biggest item on display as part of Petra: Lost City of Stone is a 2,100-pound bu
st of Dushara.
When Barsauma came to Petra the area was part pagan and part Christian but compl
etely in the midst of a crippling drought. The monk said he would end the drough
t and soon thereafter a downpour began. The city completely converted to Christi
anity. And it was that Christian influence that led to the salvaging and rebuild
ing of much of the work the Nabataeans had done that had been destroyed by the e
arthquake, including items such as the panther-handled Roman vase.
When archaeologists discovered that marvelous vase it was in a church. The specu
lation is that the Christians likely salvaged the vase and many other things aft
er the great earthquake and found uses for the items as part of their new religi
on. In the case of the vase it had been converted for use as a water basin for r
itual cleansing.
The Petra: Lost City of Stone exhibition includes another item central to the Ch
ristianity of the day: a pulpit from the Blue Chapel at Petra (so named because
it was built with blue Egyptian granite that the Nabataeans had used in an earli
er building). A volunteer in the excavation of the marble pulpit was Calvin grad
uate Neal Bierling (the excavation was directed by Patricia Bikai) and the pulpi
t will be on display in Grand Rapids! As part of the exhibition both Bierling an
d Bikai will speak.
PETRA TODAY
Archaeologists and historians note that written records of the Nabataean kingdom
are rare. No histories appear on the temple walls and the cities appear to have
no libraries (although evidence suggests that all the people could read and wri
te). Some historians believe that the Nabataeans were originally from Mesopotami
a (ancient Iraq). Others suggest that there were two distinct groups of Nabataea
ns: those from Iraq and another group known as the Nabataeans of Damascus (the N
abataeans controlled Damascus during the time of the Apostle Paul).
At Petra: Lost City of Stone, however, the lack of written records for this amaz
ing civilization is not an issue. Over 200 objects art, architecture and artifac
ts speak volumes for the Nabataean people.

Straddling the northern end of the caravan route from South Arabia to the Medite
rranean, the Nabataean kingdom emerged as a great merchant-trader realm during t
he first centuries B.C. and A.D. Previously nomads in northern Arabia, the Nabat
aeans had already settled in southern Jordan by 312 B.C., when they attracted th
e interest of Antigonus I Monophthalmos, a former general of Alexander the Great
who unsuccessfully attempted to conquer their territory. By that time, the city
of Petra (ancient Raqmu) was the center of the Nabataean kingdom, strategically
situated at the crossroads of several caravan routes that linked the lands of C
hina, India, and South Arabia with the Mediterranean world. The fame of the Naba
taean kingdom spread as far as Han-dynasty China, where Petra was known as Li-ka
n. The city of Petra is as famous now as it was in antiquity for its remarkable
rock-cut tombs and temples, which combine elements derived from the architecture
of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Hellenized West.
During the reign of King Aretas III (r. 8662 B.C.), the Nabataean kingdom extende
d its territory northward and briefly occupied Damascus. The expansion was halte
d by the arrival of Roman legions under Pompey in 64 B.C. At various times the k
ingdom included the lands of modern Jordan, Syria, northern Arabia, and the Sina
i and Negev deserts. At its height under King Aretas IV (r. 9 B.C.40 A.D.), Petra
was a cosmopolitan trading center with a population of at least 25,000. The kin
gdom remained independent until it was incorporated into the Roman province of A
rabia under the emperor Trajan in 106 A.D.

BILLY GAMBLA AFRI-ASIATIC ANTHROPOLOGY BLOG.

Ancestral Origins of My Parents Lineage via Y-DNA/MtDNA *KUSH/KMT* "Sudan-Nubia
" Egypt" North Africa "and "Indigenous North American"
The Kingdom of -Aksum: The Axumite Empire of Ethiopia and Eritreas Horn of Afri
NA Bill S.1858 Nobody Noticed So whats your Dna Ethnic Origin ?
Egyptians, E-thi-o-pi-ans, Nubians and Hebrews are the Same Ethnic People: NILE V
ALLEY: North Africa / Sahara / Horn of Africa and West Asia..
70 Votes

This is the Ancient Nuzi Map of Eden, which supports the existence of the Africa
n Eden.

Link To Photo Of Original Clay Tablet

The Nuzi Map made of clay may have been made 120 years before The Flood of Noah
or possibly closer to Creation.
Cocoa "Nubia" Baby
nubian-girl-with-henna-tatoos
The Nuzi Map portrays the main city within Eden/Aad as being South of the cited m
id-point. That is, on the Nuzi Map the city of Aid appears to be perhaps as far
south as the Dahlak Archipelago to the Northeast of Asmara, Eritrea (Ethiopia) o
r nearer the Sudan/Eritrean border or even further to the North perhaps nearer t
he Suakin Archipelago and Port Sudan. It is very probable that ruins of Eden w
ill be found throughout this entire area.Land of Ham and Shem MapThe Nuzi map pro
ves the existence of the 4 rivers chronicled in the Holy Bible.
Those 4 rivers traverse around the entire country of Ethiopia/HaBashan. Eden is
located in Ethiopia.
The term for Eden was Aden/Adin/Aad which also means: To give pleasures, has the
same prime root word as Eden or Adan, to be soft pleasant or voluptuous land.
Basically, this was the best place in the whole world to live flourish and be fr
uitful.
Egypt-Ethiopia/Kush-Nubia-Sudan was some of the places where man walked with GOD
in the cool of the day Where the Son of God met with man-kind. It would be the sa
me place where, people would return after the Deluge they would return to their
nativity Afrika.
NOTE: When the word Ethiopia is used it referred to ALL of AFRICA and not just t
he current location. Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Nubia are different words for the
same people!
We now see that the Fertile Crescent was connected to the other Fertile Crescent
in the Nile Valley and along the Nile River that traversed through the center o
f Africa and beginning in what is now call Uganda.
Where they from the same source?
Do you really believe that people never traveled UP and DOWN the Whole Nile in a
ll the thousands of years man has lived on this Earth-planet?
And since they did, some people stayed where they traveled and mini-civilization
s flourished.
The locale where the Biblical Adam and Eve, otherwise known as the

The Adamite Unit: (the Wombman and the Hue-Man) was probably born is now
Sudan/Ethiopia/Kenya at the Breast of the East African continent.
The Egyptians has identified this region as the (Mouth of the Nile) were the Orig
inal people resided.
Tekeze River of Eritrea/EthiopiaThe Tekeze River on the Nuzi map is not shown on man
y modern maps, flows into the Atbara River, which is one of the three main tribu
taries of the Nile River. And, it appears that the Tekeze River is the river th
at is clearly shown on the ancient Nuzi Map and is very close to Aad/Eden.
The Tekeze River begins in modern Ethiopia on the Ethiopian/Eritrean border, tra
verses West-northwest through Ethiopia and Eritrea, and then flows into the Atba
ra as it enters the Sudan.
The Atbara then flows northwest through Sudan until it meets the Nile at the tow
n of Atbarah, Sudan.
Nubia s Atbarah River of the Nile.jpgThis city of Atbarah is located on the Sout
heast corner of the big bend of the Nile
(i.e. South of the 5th cataract or waterfall).
Remember Indigenous peoples never used the phrase CATARACT that was a European inv
ention to divide the Family of Africa.
Thus, the Nuzi Map reveals that the Edenic City of Aad is in very close proximit
y to the Tekeze River,
Which begins due South of the Dahlak Archipelago (Ethiopia). Therefore, Eden is
in Africa near the East or Horn of Africa.
(Excerpted from an internet site) Ekowa
African Presence In Early Asia, Edited by Runoko Rashidi & Ivan Van Sertima.
African Origins Of Civilization, by Cheikh Anta Diop.

The (four ) major ethnic groups of Ethiopia today are

The Tigrais, Amharas, Afar and Oromos.
Together, they account for approximately three-quarters of the total national po
pulation.
Amhara, Tigrais, and Gurages
Speak semetic languages and Are considered to be descendants of Southern Arabian
Conquerors,
who trace their Ancestry back to Ancient (Queen of Sheba,) Moses and King Solom
on.
Kebra Nagast The Queen of Sheba Ethiopian- Afro Queen of Sheba : Makeda
(click link to see Ethiopian/Yemenis mtDna breakdown)
articlerender.fcgi & mtdna TB1
Whereas Tigrais still live in the area of the Ancient Aksum kingdom, the Amharas
and Gurages have expanded inland.
The Semitic-speaking Axumites, or Habash sometimes Amharic~ Abesha,
be; (Abyssinians
), had their capital city, Aksum,
In the western part of the province of Tigray.
During the first 6 centuries (1a.d. 6a.d) they controlled territories North to Up
per Egypt, east to the Gulf of Aden and
Southern Arabia, south to the Omo River, and west to the Cushite Kingdom of Mero
(Munro-Hay 1991).
Because Amharas have largely taken the role of the political and cultural elite
in the country,
Amhara Ethiopian Boy
There is a process of Amharization, which can be understood, at least partly, as a
matter of prestige and
which leads to the cultural assimilation of other minority populations.
Afar Ethiopians Girls
The Oromos and the Hamer People as well as the Afars speak Omotic or Cushitic la
nguages and are purported to have connectionsto
Ancient Egyptians, Ethiopian women from Hamer tribe
Since the land of Cushthe son of Biblical Hamis generally considered to be in the
vicinity of the Ancient cities of Mero and
Napata, located in present-day Sudan.
Yet it should be stressed here that the split between the Cushitic and Semitic l
anguages, branches of the Afro-Asiatic linguistic
family, is ancient, probably predating the Holocene
(see, e.g., Militarev [2003]).
Ethiopian Boy
The linguistic reconstructions of Semitic vocabulary, related to farming and agr
iculture, have supported the theory that the
origin of Semitic languages is in the Near East (Diakonoff 1988; Militarev 2003)
.
On the other hand, the finding of all major branches of the Afro-Asiatic languag
e tree in Africa/Ethiopia,
Including those that are not spoken elsewhere in the world, suggests that the ho
meland of the Afro-Asiatic
language family may have been somewhere close to Africas southwestern Ethiopia (E
hret 1995).
However, both cultural and historic evidence show tight connections between East
Africa and the Semitic cultural substrate in
the Near East and southern Arabia, Which points to four distinct phases of Semit
ic cultural intrusion into Ethiopia:
Falasha Ethiopians
First, related to the Sabaens in the 1st millennium b.c.;
Second, as the arrival of Falasha Jews from southern Arabia in the first 2 centu
ries a.d.;
Third, during the 4th6th centuries, when Syrian missionaries brought,
Christianity to Aksumites/Axumites and to their descendants,
The Tigrais and the Amharas :
And fourth, because of the influence of Muslim Arabs, which primarily affected
The southeastern parts of the country..
(Levine 1974).Falasha Ethiopians from Gondar 2006The ethnonym Ethi-op-iansthe p
h the burnt facewas coined by the Greeks, although it may originally have been appl
ied
to the Nubians, who were (also) part of the Cushite/Kushite kingdoms.
(Harris 1971)
{A total of 168 different mtDNA Haplotypes} were observed in
270 Ethiopians and Eritreans, and 72 Haplotypes were recovered in 115 Yemeni sam
ples
(fig. 2; tablesA1A6 [online only]).
Approximately one-half of both Ethiopian (52.2%) and Yemeni (45.7%)
mtDNA lineages belonged to the L clades specific to sub-Saharan Africa (fig. 2A;
table 1),
Whereas the other half was divided between derived subclades of haplogroups M an
d N (fig. 2B; table 1) that are,
With the exception of M1 and U6 lineages, more common outside Africa.
Consistent with the coexistence of Sub/SupraSaharan African and Eurasian
mtDNA lineages of Ethiopian, Egyptian, and Yemeni populations, the MDS plot (fig.
3) Clustered, Together with Egyptians,
In between the Near Eastern and the West African and southern African clusters.
It is interesting that both Semitic- and Cushitic-speaking populations of Ethiop
ia
were close to each other and did not reveal significant differences
(P>.05) in FSTdistances between themselves (table A7).

Virgin Mary and angels on mural in Abreha and Atsbeha church

Ethiopian Painting 2005 by Sean McClean
Early Painting of African Jesus (Yeshua) from Coptic Museum in Cairo, Egypt (6th
century BC)
Early Painting of African Jesus (Yeshua) from Coptic Museum in Cairo, Egypt (6th
century AD)
(Ethic) definition: a set of moral principles, esp. ones relating
to or affirming a specified group , field or form of conduct.
(Opia) Origin Greek- meaning: Ops, Op, Eye , Face ....
African-Hebrew Jesus (Yeshua)* and Disciples (circa) 300 A.D.
Ancient Man and his Civilizations African Hebrews?
Ethiopian Mitochondrial DNA Heritage: Tracking Gene Flow across the Gate of Tear
s..
Extensive Female-Mediated mtdna Gene Flow from Nilotic Sub-Saharan Africa into Y
emen
Ethiopian Y-Chromosome and mtdna Polymorphism. PDF (929 K)
Kebra Nagast The Queen of Sheba and Her Only Son Menyelek
https://www.care.org/careswork/countryprofiles/56.asp
The Matrilineal Genetic Ancestry of the Jewish Diaspora..
NORTH-EAST AFRICA
The African Origin of Eden. Jonh G.Jackson. 1933
African presence in Ancient World and Nile Valley By Runoko Rashidi
People of Ethiopia Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Garden of Eden Tribes of Atlantis
Abreha wa Atsbeha church | Pictures and Paintings
http:Abraha references.html
Egypt, Ethiopia Sudan, Abyssinia, the Freemasonic Orientalist ?
Abyssinia
Nubia Crystalinks
http://hearts-4-hope.org
Zagwe dynasty
The History of Ethiopian Jews
Halakha Matrilineal Hebrew Birthright
Halakha Female Hebrew Inheritence
African-Asiatic- Hebrew Black Sabbath Roots
Falasha (Ethiopian) Jewish History
African Jews Wikipedia
Black Hebrew Israelites Wikipedia
Judeo-Christian History of the Nile Valley
Queen of Sheba (960 B.C.)
Queen of Sheba
Ethiopian Treasures Queen of Sheba, Aksumite Kingdom Aksum
Ancient History Sourcebook: Accounts of Mere, Kush, and Axum
Jews and Judaism from Africans in the African diaspora Wikipedia
Rastafari religious movement
The Origin of Hebrew Civilization is Afroasiatic ColorQs Bible
Will-Smith-film-about-the-last-of-the-Nubian-Dynasty-when-Blacks-of-Ethiopian-De
scent-ran-Egypt
Halle Salassie
Reign as emperor of Ethiopia is the best known and perhaps most influential in t
he nations history. He is seen by Rastafarians as Jah incarnate.
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This entry was posted on April 27, 2009 at 2:33 and is filed under Egypt, Egypt
and the Blue Nile, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Haplogroup L2 and L3 in West Asia, L2a1, N
ile Valley/Nubia, North Africa, Nubians, Sahara, Semetic People, Semitic, Sephar
dic Hebrews, The Axumite Kingdom, The Sahel with tags Abeshas, Abyssinia, Afar,
African Semite, Amhara Ethiopians, Anthro pologite, bdellium, Bible, Burseraceae
Plants, Celestial Region, commiphora myrrha, Cush, Cushite, Cushites, Egyptians
, Ethiopia the Garden of Eden, Ethiopian Queen Makeda, Ethiopians, Falashas, Gar
den of Eden, Genisis, Gihon, Habesh, Habesha, Hamer Tribe, Hamites, hamito semet
ic, Haplogroup L2a1, Havilah, Hebrew, Hebrew mtDna, Hebrews of Africa, Horn of A
frica, Indigenous Ethiopians, Kebra Negest, Kepsh, Kheb, Khebt, Kushite, Kushiti
c, L2a1, Land of Cush, Land of Ham, Land of Punt, Land of Punt Hebrews, Makeda,
Mekeda, myrrh, Nile Valley, North Africa, Northern Sabaean Territory, Nubians, O
motic, onyx stone, Pison, Queen of Seba, Queen of Sheba, River Atbara, Saba, Sab
aeans, Sabean Celestial Region, Sahara, Seba, Semites, Somali Commiphora, South
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70 Responses to Egyptians, E-thi-o-pi-ans, Nubians and Hebrews are the Same Ethnic
People: NILE VALLEY: North Africa / Sahara / Horn of Africa and West Asia..
Zarahan Says:
May 27, 2009 at 2:33
10 0 Rate This
VEry interesting blog !
One of the 4 rivers that flowed out of Eden
was Gihon which encompassed the whole land of Ethiopia,
according to Genesis. Do you have any data on this ? ?
Reply
Billy Gambela Says:
May 28, 2009 at 2:33
25 0 Rate This
Try looking at a Gideons Holy Bible: Genesis Chapter.2 vs 10-13
( vs.10 And a river went out of Eden to the water garden and from thence it was pa
rted. and became into four heads/parts.)
(vs. 11 the name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole lan
d of Havi-lah, where there is Gold.
Havilah (literally meaning stretch of sand) is the name of various lands and/or peop
le mentioned in the Bible.
I believe that Havilah could be part of the modern day
{eastern stretch of sand sahel regions}
Sudan-Nubia/ and Sahel (Eritrea) and (aksum/axumite regions)
{In Ancient hieroglyphics the word Nubia means Land of Gold}
Havi-lah where there is Gold in Ancient Kushs Land of Ham
(vs.12 And the the Gold of that Land is Good: there is Bdellium and the Onyx Sto
ne)..
{Bdellium is an Aromatic gum like Myrrh that is exuded from Trees}
(used for incense, as well as to embalm the dead in Ancient Egyptian times..),
{These Particular Trees are also Native to the Horn of Africa} (commiphora myrrha)
{Onyx was used/traded in Egypt as early as the 2nd Dynasty From
Nubia/Ethiopia to make bowls and other pottery items.}
(vs.13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth
the Whole Land of
E-thi-opi-a.)
NOTE: The Afro-Asiatic languages, which include SEMITIC languages such as ARABIC
and HEBREW, are believed by Scholars to have Originated in ETHIOPIA.
This is because the Region has very diverse language groups in close Geographic
proximity, often considered a telltale sign for a linguistic Geographic Origin.
Billy Gambela

Reply
Anne Fitchett Says:
November 2, 2009 at 2:33
14 0 Rate This
Hi Billy,
Can you please e-mail me the references of
Scholarly articles about Ethiopia being the
Origin of Semitic languages.
Thanks
Anne
(Billy Gambela) Says:
November 2, 2009 at 2:33
26 0 Rate This
Please be Advised... All Citations on mtDna and
Semitic languages are in Report Above.
All of the references pertaining to the
Ethiopian Semitic Origin are in the Article above.
Click on the (date in blue) next to the Names of Scholars to view the Full Study
. .
Click on the( orange link) @ the bottom of Study to View Ethiopian MtDna Report.
..
These are the Doctors names below:
(Ehret 1995).
(Diakonoff 1988; Militarev 2003).

mercerd Says:
July 20, 2009 at 2:33
13 0 Rate This
Very interesting material !
where do you find such topics ?
Great Stuff !
Reply
mrsrossini Says:
July 31, 2009 at 2:33
19 0 Rate This
My research led me to this page, and it confirms what I found.
What such wonderful energy that has been returned to me.
Truly exciting! Hotep !
Reply
(Billy Gambela) Says:
July 31, 2009 at 2:33
23 0 Rate This
Hotep and Shalom
Yes. its that Energy ! Positve Energy is the Truth..
How fortunate, for us to cross paths, Searching for the Truth !
( JOHN ch.8 vs.32)-
{ And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free }
I Appreciate your comments !
Thanks for stopping by .
Billy Gambela
Reply
Republibot 3.0 Says:
October 30, 2009 at 2:33
3 3 Rate This
Im confused.
Hyperbole aside, youre saying that the Garden of Eden story was set in Ethiopia
The modern Ethiopia?
When the Bible pretty clearly makes it out to be in Mesopotamia?
So how did the story get from one place to the other?
And How would things like Cain going East of Eden work out if it was in Ethiopia?
East of Ethiopia is simply the Indian Ocean...
Im not trying to be sarcastic, I want to understand your theory.
Reply
(Billy Gambela) Says:
October 30, 2009 at 2:33
22 0 Rate This
Hotep ! = , Shalom ! = and Greetings ,
Thanks for your inquiry,
I overstand why you may be perplexed, as to my Interpretation.
I will do my best to describe this, using the following areas of Research:
1.Modern Genetics
2.Linguistics and Culture
3.Biblical Accounts
4.Geography and Hydrology
5.Botany~note: (is a branch of biology and is the scientific study of plant life
and development.)
My Conclusions:
1. MODERN GENETICS, has already proven that Civilization the
Homo Sapien Sapien has its Origin in East Africa going back 188,000 ybp.
Genetics also shows thats the mtdna thats associated with populating
Southwest Asia (the Middle East) took place around 80,000 ybp.
These are the mtdna Haplogroups their place of Origin and Origin Date:
he Mitochondrial Eve L0 and her descendants:
L0 has a East African origin and is 112,000-188,000 B.P.
L1* has a East African origin and is 107,6000-174,300 B.P.
L2 has a East African origin and is 87,000-111,100 B.P.
L3 has a East African origin and is 84,000-104,000 B.P.
2.LINGUISTICS and CULTURE:
The linguistic reconstructions of Semitic vocabulary,
related to Farming and Agriculture,
have supported the theory that the origin of
Semitic languages is in the Near East (Diakonoff 1988; Militarev 2003).
On the other hand, the finding of All major Branches
of the Afro-Asiatic language tree in Africa/Ethiopia,
Including those that are not spoken elsewhere in the world,
Strongly suggests that the Homeland of the Afro-AsiaticLanguage Family
may have been somewhere close to Africas southwestern Ethiopia (Ehret 1995).
Hebrew language is is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family.
Culturally Semitic Hebrew, it is considered a Jewish language.
Hebrew in its modern form is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel
while,
Classical Hebrew has been used for prayer or study
in Jewish communities around the world for over 2000 yrs.
The Aramaic/Semitic translation of Hebrew is Ib_ray based on
Hebrew Ib_ri ~ Understood to mean:
One from the other-side of the River..
The Latin Hebrew translation was Hebraios used by the Late Greeks..
The Old French language also used the translation Ebreu for Hebrew...
Furthermore, Geez, the Ancient Semitic Language of Eritrea and
E-thi-o-pia, is now known, Not to have derived from Sabaean,
And there is Evidence of a Semitic speaking presence in Ancient E-thi-o-pia and
Eritrea at least as Early as 2000 BC.
(Approximately 4000 yrs old, this would be the era of the Egypts Middle Kingdom 2
080 B.C. )
Source:
Stuart Munro-Hay, Aksum: An African Civilization of Late Antiquity.
Edinburgh: University Press, 1991, p. 57.
3.BIBLE ACCOUNTS:
According to Bible Scholars the first 4 books in Genesis
Pertaining to the Founding of the Hebrew Nation are as follows:
1.Genesis- Founding of the Hebrew Nation, 2. Exodus- the Covenant with the Hebre
w Nation.
3. Leviticus- Laws of the Hebrew Nation. 4. Numbers- Journey to the Promise Land
.
NOTE: E-thi-opia is mention in the Bible~Genesis Chpt.2 Vs.10-14 describes the 4
Locations.
BIBLICAL HYDROLOGY OF EDEN:
Vs.10 And a River went out of Eden to the Water Garden; and from thence it was p
arted into four heads/parts.
{ he First River Out of the Water Garden of Eden is Pison from Ha-vi-Lah}
{ he Second River Out of the Water Garden of Eden is Gihon from E hiopia}
Vs.11. Pison Land of Havilah, Vs.13. Gihon of E hiopia,
Vs.14 Hidde-kel: that is it which goes toward the east of Assyria, and the 4th ri
ver is Eu-phrates,
(Note: Vs.14 describes the Mesopotamia location of the Tigris River and the Euph
rates going out of Eden, Northerly
Then Easterly towards Assyria- Iraq/Mesopotamia)..
This Northerly route has the same route as the 3 rivers in todays East Africa, w
hich are
The White Nile-Uganda/Sudan, The Blue Nile-Ethiopia and The Tekeze River-Eritrea
.
(Keep in mind according to Genesis Chpt.10 Vs.7, Cushs (Ethiopia/Nubia) other son
s were):
Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtecah
he Book of Amos: Chpt.9 Vs.7
Are ye not, as Children of the E-thi-opians unto me, O Children of Is-ra-el?
Saith the Lord
Have not I brought up Israel, Out of the Land of Egypt ?
And from the Philistines of Caphtor and the Syrians from Kir ?
(Philistines of Caphtor is modern day Turkey via Syria)
I KINGS chpt.10 Vs.1 and 2
Vs.1 { And when the Queen of Sheba heard of the Fame of Solomon Concerning the Na
me of the Lord,
She came to prove him with Hard Questions}
Vs.2 { And she came to Jerusalem with a very Great Train, with Camels that bare S
pices and Very Much Gold,
and Precious stones: and when she was to come to Solomon, She Communed with Him
of all that was in her
Heart}
4.GEOGRAPHY:
The location of Ethiopia. is without a doubt in Eastern Africa also known as the
Horn of Africa.
(And by the way the East of E hiopia would be Eritrea or Somalia or even Yemen/Sou
thern Arabia
ex.Yemen/Oman) between the Red Sea Near Edens Gulf of Aden/Eden
NOTE:
The term for Eden: Was Aden/Adin/Aad
which also means: To give pleasures,
Has the same prime root word as Eden or
Adan, to be soft pleasant or voluptuous land.
Basically, this was the best place in the whole world to live flourish and be fr
uitful.
The Axum Kingdom used the name Ethiopia as early as the 4th century.
It is also the alleged resting place of the Ark of the Covenant and the purporte
d home of
The Queen of Sheba, the Aksum Kingdom was also the First Major Empire to convert
to Christianity.
5.BOTANY:
In the Bible Genesis Chpt.2
(vs.12 And the the Gold of that Land is Good: there is Bdellium and the Onyx Sto
ne).
Bdellium Trees are used to extract a reddish-brown resinous material, an dried s
ap of a number of trees,
But primarily from Commiphora myrrha, otherwise known as Bdellium is
Native to Yemen, Somalia, the eastern parts of Ethiopias Horn of Africa.
Commiphora myrrha is a tree in the Burseraceae family.
Bdellium was an adulterant of the more Costly Myrrh
(Commiphora myrrha); guggul is still used as a binder in Perfumes.
In addition the word bedolach occurs twice in the Hebrew Bible.
They grow exclusively in the Horn Africa
(Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Northeast Kenya) and the Southern Arabian Peninsul
a
(Yemen, Oman) and nowhere else in the World..
Afterword:
Trying to explain Eden in ancient Mespotamia may show some difficulties,
However the 5 points mentioned, must constitute a plausible designation..

Reply
Tsion Abera Says:
February 16, 2010 at 2:33
4 0 Rate This
It was once possible to go East of Eden because the world was one big land mass.
Reply
(Billy Gambela) Says:
October 30, 2009 at 2:33
18 0 Rate This
GENETICS continued...
The Nile Valley and (East) Great Rift Valley Civilizations and mtDna Migration r
outes.
The White Nile respectively spills from Lake Victoria Uganda, near Kenya
and flows North-bound meeting the Blue Nile spilling from Lake Tana in Ethiopia.
Subsequently, the Tekeze River flows from Eritrea and Ethiopian Border in a west
Northerly fashion, Joining the two Rivers at the Town of Atbarah (AtBarah river
)
Which then Merges with the White Nile via Sudan-Khartoum/Nubia. With full northe
rn Continuity flowing
through Egypt and the Mediteranean Sea and the Levant..
This Nile Valley route has the same migration as certain Haplogroups Mtdna such
as L2a1 and
L3* and M1 from South to North.
These particular haplogroups also share the migrations to and from West Asias mid
dle east etc.. (Southern Arabia)
L2a1, L3* and M1 have notable frequencies in Nile Valley, Ethiopia, Egypt, as we
ll as Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman.
Reply
Republibot 3. Says:
October 30, 2009 at 2:33
4 2 Rate This
Absolutely no Argument from me there, but
The people who wrote the Genesis Account of Creation knew what the Nile was, and
refer to it by that Name elsewhere.
So why would the people who wrote Genesis insist on calling the White and Blue N
iles by the Names of two completely Unrelated Rivers
That are more than a thousand miles away?
Understand that Im not saying youre Wrong,
Im just not understanding how the Story gets from East Africa to Mesopotamia.
Reply
(Billy Gambela) Says:
October 30, 2009 at 2:33
21 0 Rate This
Thanks for your Comments..
To answer your inquiry correctly, I must raise two points..
One, I must ask you to try and understand that Mesopotamia may not have been dir
ectly in Eden,
But still otherwise related/connected..
(through the seas, the people, language, culture etc..)
Two, I must point out to your mentioning of
(the People who wrote Genesis)
And how they knew of the Nilotic Rivers, and
Why would they insist on referring to them by Other Names is a Great Question!!
Who are the people/Authors of the Original Bible?
What are there Ethnicity/Ethnic Origins?
Where is the Origin of the Semitic Language and Culture?
What you will have to do my friend is very extensive research..
I am still continuing mine..
(P.s.) I am not the first to come to this conclusion.. the mtdna report on this
article elaborates
The King Solomon, Moses and the Queen of Sheba relation..
To the Bible and Ethiopia/Ethiopians.
Please read entire article above, citations are ready and available.
Hotep Shalom Shalom
Thanks for Stopping By
Reply
Meshwesh Says:
May 7, 2011 at 2:33
3 1 Rate This
What do you think would have been the Y haplotype of the original inhabitants of
this geographic area?
I believe it was E1b1b1.
What about modern day Yemen being the kingdom of queen Sheba?
Bilh* Gambla Says:
May 7, 2011 at 2:33
4 0 Rate This
Azul Shalom Hotep
Thanks again for your comments and thoughts.
I must reiterate that some of your questions may have been answered previously..
Question 1. What do you think would have been the Y haplotype of the original in
habitants of this geographic area?
My Answer. The Original Inhabitants of this area would be family of the E-Ychrom
some Family Group.
The chronology would be as follows:
PN2 (35,000 B.P.)
M2- (30,000 B.P.)
M35- (22,400 B.P.)
M78- (18,600 B.P.)
Their existence is better explained by their being present in populations of the
Early Holocene Sahara, who went on to people the Nile Valley in
The mid-,Holocene era (12,000 B.P.) according to Hassan (1988); This occurred wa
y long before the Bantu migrations, These particular groups in age and geographical
origins also coincides with Egyptian/Nubian Halfan Culture 24,000 B.C.
The Halfan people, of Egypt and Nubia flourished between 18,000 and 15,000 BC in
Nubia and Egypt. One Halfan site dates to before 24,000 BC.
This would also give the plausible assignment of the Nubian-M2 and the Ethiopian
PN2 (35,000 B.P.) as the Progenitors of Nubian-Egyptian/Halfan Culture..
They lived on a diet of large herd animals and the Khormusan tradition of fishin
g. Although there are only a few Halfan sites and they are small in size, there
is a greater concentration of artifacts, indicating that this was not a people b
ound to seasonal wandering, but one that had settled, at least for a time.
The Halfan is seen as the parent culture of the Ibero-Maurusian industry which s
pread across the Sahara and into Spain. Sometimes seen as a proto-Afro-Asiatic c
ulture, this group is derived from The Nile River Valley culture known as Halfan,
dating to about 17,000 BC.
The Halfan culture was derived in turn from the Khormusan,which depended on spec
ialized hunting, fishing, and collecting techniques for survival the material rem
ains of this culture are primarily Stone Tools, Flakes, and a Multitude of Rock
paintings.
The end of the Khormusan came around 16000 B.C. and was concurrent with the deve
lopment of other cultures in the region, including the Gemaian.
Question 2. What about modern day Yemen being the kingdom of queen Sheba? My Ans
wer. I believe modern day Yemen (Sabta/Sheba) to be geographically one of the ma
ny Empires of Makeda and the Kushites, which included Mero/Seba etc For more pleas
e see my previous comments to Marcos from Dec. 6, 2010, Dec 9, 2010 and the comm
ent above from April 9, 2011..
REFERENCES:
Halfan Culture:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halfan
Natl Geographic, Ancient Egyptian Origins Expert; feat. Dr. S.O.Y. Keita:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/geopedia/Ancient_Egypt
Y-Chromosome Variation in Egypt/North Africa by Dr. S.O.Y. Keita:
http://wysinger.homestead.com/keita6.pdf
Y-Chromosome Haplotypes in Egypt by G.Lucotte and G.Mercier:
http://wysinger.homestead.com/haplotypes_in_egypt.pdf
Wikipedia Y-Chromosome Haplogroup E Familia:
E1b1-PN2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_E1b1_(Y-DNA)
E1b1a- M2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_E1b1a_(Y-DNA)
E1b1b-M35 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_E1b1b_(Y-DNA)
E1b1b1a M78 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_E1b1b1a_(Y-DNA)
Video documentation by Dr. Keita, BioCultural Origins of Egypt:

Hope you find this information serviceable to your inquiries..

Republibot 3.0 Says:
October 30, 2009 at 2:33
3 2 Rate This
Ok, well, Thanks anyway...
Reply
(Billy Gambela) Says:
October 30, 2009 at 2:33
17 1 Rate This
No prob.. My Pleasure..
Thanks Again...
Reply
ganey Says:
November 10, 2009 at 2:33
19 0 Rate This
This is a Good Blog!
My Questions are:
1. I want to know more about how Somali and Ethiopian are related to each other?
Although there are living in adjacent each other or in the same place in East Af
rica.
2. Do Somalis also belong to Egyptian People or are they from Yemen?
3. Some people says Somalis is mix, they born from interaction Ethiopian and Ara
b.
Is that true, does any body have Proof?
Reply
(Billy Gambela) Says:
November 10, 2009 at 2:33
25 0 Rate This
Thanks for Stopping by..
I will do my best to answer your inquiry on Somali Relations to
Ethiopians, Egyptians and the Yemenis population..
1. Somali are Definitely related to Ethiopians, they share the same genetic mark
ers.
Somali Males share the Y-chromosomes of E3b and E3b1 which is common among the
The Horn of Africa, Ethiopian male population and among Some Yemenis People.
Haplogroups E3b and E3b1 are also among the Nubian and Egyptian population with
notable frequencies
The Somali Females share genetic ancestry with Ethiopians, Egyptians, and Yemeni
s through
mtDna Haplogroups M1 ,L3 and L2a1, which in return also share ancestry with the
3 mentioned above.
The Somali population also speaks a Cushitic language thats has its Origin In th
e Horn of Africa.
Are the people from the Horn of Africa mixed with the Sabaeans/Southern Arabia P
opulation ?
I would believe so, due to the location and proximity of the two locations,
Combined with the migrations to and from Yemen/South West Asia.
However understanding, that the Cushitic and Semitic Languages has its
Origins in the Horn of Africa as well as the Genetic markers,
Concludes they All have an strong East African Origin..
Below is a list of genetic citations on the Somali and Horn Population:
http://hpgl.stanford.edu/publications/AJHG_2004_v74_p000-0130.pdf
http://www.familytreedna.com/pdf/hape3b.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15457403
http://www.africandna.com/ScienPapers%5CMtDNA_Profile_of_West_African_Guineans.p
df
Reply
Collo Says:
November 13, 2009 at 2:33
18 0 Rate This
I Am Totally Impressed by your Research and Conclusions,
Being Kenyan of Nilotic people, History tells me my people came along the River
Nile..
Through many years before settling in Mt Elgon,
We are Predominantly Pastorolist and Great Archers,
I would also like to know, were the Egyptians Black Skinned?
Were the Pharaos Black skinned Nubians or Fair Skinned Arabs at the time of Mose
s?
If the former, could you shed some light on the Egyptian (original) Tribes?
Kindly send me a link to more of these researches
Shalom
Reply
(Billy Gambela) Says:
November 13, 2009 at 2:33
25 0 Rate This
Hotep ! , Shalom
Thanks for your comments..
Your Question(s) was,
Are the Ancient Egyptians Black skinned/Black Nubians?
Or were they Fair Skinned Arabs at the time of Moses?
To put it in the most simplest terms the Ancient Egyptian were 100% of African O
rigin.
As far as there Culture, it would have derived from the South Nilotic Peoples
ex. Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Burundi etc..
The Nubians had control of Egypt in the 25th Dynasty under Taharqa and Kashta..
The pre-Dynastic Egyptian culture was developed in the South as well..
The Ancient Axumite Ethiopians also controlled these regions long after the Dyna
stic Age of Egypt.
One must also look at the Diversity among the African Continent,
We are able to Produce All Complexions and Shades.
Modern Genetics shows the Majority of the Egyptian Male Population belongs to th
e Y-chromo, E-Family
Haplogroups on the Y-chromosomes show the most predominant groups are my Fathers
{M2,M35,M78} among others..
Haplogroup M2 which I belong to, has the highest % among the White Nile Nubian-E
gyptians, Kenyans, Tutsis etc..
As well as 80% among Western Senegalese and some Nigerians and 8.4% of Sephardic
-Hebrews in North Africa.
As for the Maternal they are African as well, mtDna L1, L2, L3 and M1 are predom
inant among the Female polulation.
Haplogroup L2a, which I belong to has the Highest Frequency in Egypt and Nile Va
lley @ 20% among the Females..
And 10% among Western Moroccan-Sephardic Hebrews and 20% among the Niger/Nigeria
n Population..
Furthermore Egyptians, Ethiopians, and Nubians Share the Same Genetic Profiles a
nd Haplogroups.
They share the same Afro-Asiatic languages and Customs, and would also share the
same Phenotype/Features
My Family has a Broad Color of Complexions my Father is a Dark Cocoa Brown, My M
other is Fair Skinned and I am a Reddish-Brown Copper-Tone Color.
The Ancient Egyptians could have been any of the colors above, However no matter
what there color was, they are still
Unequivocally of African descent, Africa has the Largest Diversity and Broadest
Trend Physiognomy
In Biblical times it was said that Moses was a Hebrew living in Egypt,
He must have looked like the indigenous Population, if he was able to live among
them with out being exposed.
In closing the Ancient Egyptian could have been any multitude of complexions amo
ng African People..
(P.S. just have a tour of my Blog and articles all citations and studies are the
re..)
http://www.africandna.com/ScienPapers/MtDNA_Profile_of_West_African_Guineans.pdf
http://wysinger.homestead.com/keita6.pdf
Reply
Patrick Archer Says:
November 19, 2009 at 2:33
0 6 Rate This
The principle criterion for the telling of History is that it must be Flattering.
That is why you assume facts that are not in evidence and ignore facts that are
in order to
Promote the idea that Eden is in your Homeland.
The fact you assume is that it is known where
Noah was after the flood relative to where he was before the flood.
There is no connection in scripture that links the two locations other than a
flood which put the Ark adrift for weeks on end.
The fact you Ignore is the Geography given in Genesis 2:814.
That Geography in No Way describes Northeast Africa.
Reply
(Billy Gambela) Says:
November 19, 2009 at 2:33
26 0 Rate This
Hotep ! , Shalom and Greetings
Welcome Patrick Archer,
Now if you would like to present your Evidence, Please do so I Encourage this.
However this is starting to get a little Redundant, about my Interpretation when
is it backed up by Evidence.
All citations and Quotes/References are Stated or Posted above..
If you prefer, I will re-post all my findings against your socalled claims.
I will be demonstrating my Five Points of Evidence, and you can post your rebutt
le:
1.Modern Genetics
2.Linguistics and Culture
3.Biblical Accounts
4.Geography and Hydrology
5.Botany~note: (is a branch of biology and is the scientific study of plant life
and development.)
I would Love to discuss this matter on the Geography of Eden and Original People
of Eden
As I have mentioned, I have touched this topic in more ways than One,
Please Post your Evidence the Garden of Eden
Location and be Mindful of the 5 points mentioned..
I Await your Response..
Reply
Patrick Archer Says:
November 21, 2009 at 2:33
0 6 Rate This
The Geography given in Genesis 2:8-14 is the same Geography that is found in Tun
isia.
The name Pishon is found there and the name Asshur is found in the name Tasili NA
jjir.
The Tasili NAjjir is the site of some very interesting Pre-Historic rock painting
s from about 8,000 B.C.
When the Sahara was a grassland. On the river with four heads in Tunisia there i
s a town which has existed since before the
Phoenicians arrived and founded Carthage.
That Town was on the River and it was called Uden.
When the Romans came it was called Uthina and today it is called Oudna.
Billy Gambela Says:
November 21, 2009 at 2:33
35 0 Rate This
Welcome back Patrick
I will explain why Eden is Not in Northern Africa Tunisia, As i ascertain, the B
iblical EDENs location in Eastern Africa...
GENETICS OF MODERN HUMANS
Though my ancestors are Indigenous to North Central Africa/Tunisia Over 55,000 y
ears ago
NOTE: Haplgroup L2a being prevalent in North-Central Africa with an Origin Date
of 55,150 B.P.
Would place L2a in the Upper Paleolithic era in North Africa beginning around 50
,000 years before the present (ybp),
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Paleolithic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mous
terian_Pluvial
Modern Genetics shows All of Modern Humans Dates back 188,000 ybp in East Africa
.
The Mitchondrial Eve L0 and her descendants L1, L2, L3, etc. have an East Africa
n Origin
(excerpt from making the African mtDna landscape)
The main puzzle is the almost ubiquitous Haplogroup L2a,
Which we suggest may have becomePrevalent somewhere in
North-Central Africa { Prehistoric Central North Africa }
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prehistoric_Central_North_Africa
Example: Modern day Tunisia near Algeria and Libya..
Spreading both East and west along the Sahel belt ~20,000 years ago at
The peak of the Last glacial maximum (or somewhat earlier).
We recognize, however, the Origins of these Haplogroups may be more Ancient.
(L2, for example, may be well >70,000 years old )
I belong to the EthiopianNubian/Egyptian mtDna L2a1
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=385086
http://www.familytreedna.com/pdf/43026_Doron.pdf
mtdna Chart on page 5 (click clock-counter wise to view)
http://www.africandna.com/ScienPapers/MtDNA_Profile_of_West_African_Guineans.pdf
Modern Genetic Migrations Continued also to fortify my Biblical River routes
My Biblical interpretation explains the Location of the East African Rivers, sim
ilar to mtDna Migrations.
GENETICS continued
The Nile Valley and (East) Great Rift Valley Civilizations and mtDna Migration r
outes.
The White Nile respectively spills from Lake Victoria Uganda, near Kenya
and flows North-bound meeting the Blue Nile spilling from
Lake Tana in E-thi-opi-a.
Subsequently, the Tekeze River flows from the Eritrea and
Ethiopian Border in a North Westerly fashion, Joining the two
Rivers at the Town of Atbarah (AtBarah River) Sudan/Nub-i-a
Which then Merges with the White Nile/BlueNile via Sudan-Khartoum/Nubia.
With full Northern Continuity flowing through Egypt and the Mediteranean Sea and
the Levant..
This Nile Valley route has the same migration as certain Haplogroups Mtdna such
as L2a1 and
L3* and M1 from South to North.
These particular haplogroups also share the migrations to and from West Asias mid
dle east etc.. (Southern Arabia)
L2a1, L3* and M1 have notable frequencies in Nile Valley, Ethiopia, Egypt, as we
ll as Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman.
(Excerpt from krings nile valley mtdna study on Hpal site 3592 L1, L2)
The Nile River Valley has been a corridor for human migrations between Egypt and
Nilotic-sub-Saharan Africa,
Dr.Matthias Krings, analyzed mtDNA variationin 224 individuals from various loca
tions along the river.
Sequences of the first hypervariable segment (HV1) ofthe mtDNA control region an
d a Polymorphic
HpaI site at position 3592 allowed us to designate eachmtDNA as being of Northern
or Southern Affiliation.
Proportions of northern and southern mtDNA dif-fered significantly between Egypt
, Nubia, and the south-ern Sudan.
http://genapps.uchicago.edu/labweb/pubs/krings.pdf
********************************************************************************
***********************************************
GEOGRAPHY OF GARDEN OF EDEN:
GENESIS Chpt.2
Chapter 2 verses 8 14
Verse 8. And the Lord planted a Garden Eastward in Eden: And there he put Man wh
om he had Formed
Verse 9. Out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every Tree that is Pleasant
to the Sight, and Good for Food;
The Tree of life also in the midst of the Garden, and The Tree of knowledge of Go
od and Evil.
BIBLICAL HYDROLOGY OF EDEN
( vs.10 And a River went out of Eden to the water garden and from thence it was pa
rted. and became into four heads/parts.)
(vs. 11 the name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole lan
d of Havi-lah, where there is Gold.
Havilah (literally meaning stretch of sand) is the name of various lands and/or peop
le mentioned in the Bible.
I believe that Havilah could be part of the modern day
{eastern stretch of sand sahel regions}
Sudan-Nubia/ and Sahel (Eritrea) and (aksum/axumite regions)
{In Ancient Hieroglyphics the word Nub means Gold< and the Word Nubia means Land o
f Gold}
From then on, the Romans referred to the area as the Nobatae.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11147a.htm
Havi-lah where there is Gold in Ancient Cushs Land of Ham
(vs.12 And the the Gold of that Land is Good: there is Bdellium and the Onyx Sto
ne)..
{Bdellium is an Aromatic gum like Myrrh that is exuded from Trees}
(Used for incense, as well as to Embalm the dead in Ancient Egyptian times..),
{These Particular Trees are also Native to the Horn of Africa} (commiphora myrrha)
{Onyx was used/traded in Egypt as early as the 2nd Dynasty From
Nubia/Ethiopia to make bowls and other pottery items.}
(vs.13 And the name of the second River is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth
the Whole Land of
E-thi-opi-a.)
{ I believe this Biblical Hydrology mimics the White-Nile/Pison and Blue-Nile/Giho
n }
Vs.14 Hidde-kel: that is it which goes toward the East of Assyria, and the 4th ri
ver is Eu-phrates,
(Note: Vs.14 describes the Mesopotamia location of the Tigris River and the Euph
rates going out of Eden, Northerly
Then Easterly towards Assyria Iraq/Mesopotamia)..
********************************************************************************
*****************************************************
LINGUISTICS
NOTE: The Afro-Asiatic languages, which include SEMITIC languages such as ARABIC
and HEBREW, are believed by Scholars to have Originated in ETHIOPIA.
The Linguistic Reconstructions of Semitic vocabulary, related to Farming and Agr
iculture, have supported the theory that the
origin of Semitic languages is in the Near East (Diakonoff 1988; Militarev 2003)
.
On the other hand, the finding of All Major Branches of the Afro-Asiatic Languag
e Tree in Ethiopia,
Including those that are not spoken elsewhere in the world, suggests that the HO
MELAND of the AfroAsiatic
Language family may have been somewhere close to Africas Southwestern
Ethiopia (Ehret 1995).
Since the land of Cushthe Son of Biblical Hamis generally considered to be in the
Vicinity of the Ancient cities of Mero and Napata, located in present-day Sudan.
Yet it should be stressed here that the split between the Cushitic and
Semitic languages, branches of the Afro-Asiatic linguisticFamily, is Ancient,
Probably Predating the Holocene
(see, e.g., Militarev [2003]).
(The Holocene period is from 12,000 B.C)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene
********************************************************************************
*************************************************
BIBLE ACCOUNTS: Gideons Holy Bible KING JAMES version)
{According to Bible Scholars the first 4 books in Genesis
Pertaining to the Founding of the Hebrew Nation are as follows}:
1.Genesis Founding of the Hebrew Nation, 2. Exodus the Covenant with the Hebrew Na
tion.
3. Leviticus Laws of the Hebrew Nation. 4. Numbers Journey to the Promise Land.
(Keep in mind according to)
1. GENESIS Chpt.10 Vs.6
And the Sons of Ham/Kham; Cush, Mizra-im, and Phut and Canaan.
Genesis Chpt.10 Vs.7
Cushs (Ethiopia/Nubia) other sons were):
Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtecah
GENESIS Chpt. 13 Vs.1-2
And Abram went up out of EGYPT, He and his Wife,
And all that he had, And Lot with him, Into the SOUTH.
And Abrams was Very Rich in Cattle,
In Silver and in GOLD
GENESIS chpt. 16 Vs.1-2
Now Sarai Abrams Wife Bare him No Children:
And she had a Hand Maid,
An Egyptian, Whose Name was Hagar.
And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now the
Lord hath restrained me from
Bearing: I Pray thee, go in unto my Maid;
It may be that I obtain Children by Her.
And Abram Hearkened to the Voice of Sarai..
GENESIS Chpt.17 Vs. 15
And GOD said unto Ab-ra-ham As for
Sarai thy Wife, Thou Shalt not call Her name
Sarai, but Sarah shall be her Name be.
GENESIS Chpt. 25 Vs. 12
Now these are the Generations of Ishma-el,
Ab-rah-ams Son, Whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarahs
Hand-maid, Bare unto Abraham
GENESIS Chpt. 25 Vs. 18
And they Dwelt from Havilah unto
Shur, That is before EGYPT, As Thou Goest Toward Assyria:
And he Died in the Presence of All his Breth-ren..
GENESIS Chpt. 37 Vs.25-28
(Vs.25)
And They Sat down to Eat Bread: And they lifted up their Eyes and looked, and
Behold , a Company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their Camels bearing
Spicery and Balm and Myrrh, going to carry it DOWN to EGYPT
GENESIS Chpt. 50 Vs. 7-8 and Vs.26
(Vs.7-8)
And Joseph went up to Bury his Father:
And with him went up all the Servants of Pharaoh, The Elders of
His House, And All the
Elders of the Land of EGYPT
And All the House of Joseph and
His Brethren, and His Fathers House:
Only their little Ones, and their Flocks and thier Herds,
They Left in the Land of Goshen./Egypt
(Vs.26)
So Joseph Died, being a Hundred and Ten years Old:
And they Embalmed him, And he was put in a Coffin in Egypt.
2. he Book of Khamows/Amos: Chpt.9 Vs.7
Are ye not, as Children of the E-thi-opians unto me,
O Children of Is-ra-el?
Saith the Lord
Have not I brought up Israel, Out of the Land of Egypt ?
And from the Philistines of Caphtor and the Syrians from Kir ?
(Philistines of Caphtor is modern day Turkey via Syria)
3. I KINGS chpt.10 Vs.1 and 2
Vs.1 { And when the Queen of Sheba heard of the Fame of
Solomon Concerning the Name of the Lord,
She came to prove him with Hard Questions}
Vs.2 { And she came to Jerusalem with a very Great Train, with
Camels that bare Spices and Very Much Gold,
and Precious stones: and when she was to come to Solomon,
She Communed with Him of all that was in her Heart}
4. I CHRONICLES
(First Book of the Chronology of Adam and the Hebrew Nation)
Chpt.1 Vs.14 and 8
{vs1. ADAM, Sheth, Enosh, vs.2. Kenan, Ma-hala-le-el, Jered}
{ vs.3. Henoch, Me-thuse-lah and Lamech}
Lamechs son and grandsons
{ vs.4 Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth.}
{vs.8 The Sons of Ham: Cush, and Mizra-im, Put and Canaan}
5. NUMBERS ch.12 Vs.1
And Miriam and Aaron Spake against Moses because
Of the E-thi-Opi-an Woman whom he had Married:
For he had Married an E-thi-Opi-an Woman.
6. HOSEA chpt.13 Vs. 4
Yet I am the Lord thy God from the Land of EGYPT, and thou shalt
Know no god but me: for there is no Saviour beside me.
7. Acts Chapter. 8 verse 26-27:
Then the Angel of the Lord said to Philip, Start out and go South to the road tha
t leads down from Jerusalem to Gaza, which is Desert.
And he arose and went: And behold,
A Man of E-thi-opi-a, and Eunuch of Great Authority under Can-da-ce
Queen of E-thi-opi-ans, Who had the charge of all her Treasure, and had come to J
erusalem to Worship.
________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________
The State of Sheba mentioned in the Old Testament is believed to have been in Et
hiopia , but is sometimes placed in Yemen.
The Axumite Kingdom is recorded once again as controlling part if not all of Yem
en in the 6th century.
According to the Ethiopian legend, best represented in the Kebra Negest, the Que
en of Sheba was tricked by
King Solomon into sleeping with him, Resulting in a child, named Ebn Melek (late
r Emperor Menelik I).
**The Tradition that the Biblical Queen of Sheba was a ruler of Ethiopia who vis
ited
King Solomon in Jerusalem in Ancient Israel is Supported by the 1st century A.D.
Jewish
Historian Flavius Josephus, who identified Solomons visitor as a
Queen of Egypt and Ethiopia.
********************************************************************************
****************************
NOTE: The SONS of HAM Biblical Geography
CUSH Location is Ethiopia/Nubia .
MIZRA-IM Location is Ta-Merry/Egypt
PUT-Location is present day Libya.
CANAAN-Location is present day Is-ra-el
Also keep in mind that according to Genesis 10:6,
Mizraim/Egypt was the Younger brother of
Cush/EthiopiaNubia and Elder brother of Phut/Libya and Israel/Canaan,
Whose Families together made up
the Hamite branch of Noahs Descendants.
All Bible Dictionaries agree that the name Ethiopia in our English Old Testaments
is Cush in the Hebrew.
This is so, not only in the verse before us, but in every instance throughout th
e Old Testament.
The Truth is that the Hebrews called Ethiopia Cush in their own tongue.
But what has not been so well recognized is that the Hebrews used this name Cush o
f more than one place.
The name is derived from Cush the Son of Ham, the son of
Noah, in Genesis 10:6.
In addition the word Ethiopia is a Greek word meaning Burnt Faces.
The Hebrew word Cush, translated as Ethiopia, was used in Biblical Times to refer
to
The Entire Nile Valley South of Egypt, including Nubia/Sudan and Abyssinia/Ethiop
ia
(Edward Ullendorff, Ethiopia and the Bible, p. 5, quoted in The Sign and the Sea
l, p. 450).
http://nabataea.net/eden4.html
http://www.hope-of-israel.org/dynmoses.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Empire
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15457403
http://www.ethiopiantreasures.toucansurf.com/pages/aksum.htm
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/nubia1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_ethnic_divisions
http://www.familytreedna.com/pdf/43026_Doron.pdf
http://books.google.ca/books?id=JY5Nt8_83r4C&pg=PA10&dq=philistim&lr=#v=onepage&
q=philistim&f=false
********************************************************************************
***********************************************************
BOTANY:
In the Bible Genesis Chpt.2 Vs.12
(vs.12 And the the Gold of that Land is Good: there is Bdellium and the Onyx Sto
ne).
Bdellium Trees are used to extract a reddish-brown resinous material, an dried s
ap of a number of trees,
But primarily from Commiphora Myrrha, otherwise known as Bdellium is
Native to Yemen, Somalia, the Eastern parts of E-thi-opi-as Horn of Africa.
Commiphora myrrha is a tree in the Burseraceae family.
Bdellium was an adulterant of the more Costly Myrrh
(Commiphora myrrha); guggul is still used as a binder in Perfumes.
In addition the word bedolach occurs twice in the Hebrew Bible.
They grow Exclusively in the Horn of Africa
(Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Northeast Kenya) and the Southern Arabian Peninsul
a
(Yemen, Oman) and Nowhere else in the World..
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/133259/
http://www.socyberty.com/History/The-History-of-Incense.332309
http://oneearthherbs.squarespace.com/important-herbs/myrrh-gum-commiphora-myrrha
.html
http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/sea/products/afdbases/af/asp/SpeciesInfo.
asp?SpID=17990
Ancient Wine; The Search for the Origins of Viniculture Patrick E. McGovern, 2003
ISBN 0-691-07080-6
********************************************************************************
***********************************************
Mr. Archer you have not Referenced or Proved anything thus far
Explain Verses 11-12 in Genesis using your Carthage theory
Explain Pison which compasseth the Whole land of Havilah where there is
Gold, Onyx Stone and Bdellium which does Not grow in Tunisa/Carthage
Myrrh also known as Bdellium is a reddish-brown resinous material,
The dried sap of a number of trees, but primarily from
Commiphora myrrha, which is native to Yemen, Somalia, the Eastern parts of E-thi
-opi-a.
********************************************************************************
***************************************************
EGYPTIAN RECORDED ACCOUNTS:
We also have the First Documented Expedition to the land of Punt, from Ancient E
gypt
Time period- (24872474 BC, 5th Dynasty) ~ or perhaps Earlier
The earliest recorded Egyptian expedition to Punt was organized by Pharaoh Sahur
e Of the Fifth Dynasty (25th century BC) ~
Although GOLD from PUNT is recorded as having been in EGYPT in the time of King
Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt 2575 to 2467 BCE
PUNT apparently, also yielded a quantity of Costly
African MYRRH, GOLD, IVORY and BLACKWOOD etc..
(the land of Punt is the Horn of Africa location)
In Addition we have the Palermo Stone which also corroborates some of these even
ts and also mentions
Expeditions to the Sinai and to the Exotic land of Punt,
As well as to The Diorite quarries northwest of Abu Simbel in Nubia.
The Mainstream view is that Punt was located to the SouthEast of Egypt,
Most likely on the Eastern Coast of the Horn of Africa.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palermo_stonestone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puntland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrrh
Land of Punt Map. click link below:

CHRONOLOGY of KUSHITEASSYRIAN Struggle over JUDAH

734 B.C : Assyria (under Tiglath-pileser III) Invades
Philistia and advances as far as the Egyptian Border..
728 B.C : Kush (under Piye) conquers Lower Egypt then withdraws..
712 B.C. : Kush (under Shabaka) Re-Conquers All of Egypt..
701 B.C. : Assyria (under Sennacherib) Invades rebellious Phoenicia,
Phillistia, and Judah.
Kushite Egypt (probably under joint rule of Pharaohs Shabaka and Shebitku) Confr
onts the
Assyrians before they can seize Jerusalem..
674 B.C. : Assyrian (under Esarhaddon) tries to Invade Egypt and is
Defeated by KushiteEgyptian forces under Taharqa..
667 B.C. : Assyria (under Assurbanipal) responds to Taharqas
Re-establishment of his Rule over Egypt by invading the Country. It conquers The
bes and
Drives Taharqa South..
664 B.C. : Taharqa dies and is succeded as Pharaoh of the 25th Dynasty
By his kinsman Tanwetamani. Meanwhile, Assyria establishes the Rival 26th Dynast
y..
663 B.C. : Assyria ( under Assurbanipal) Pillages Thebes and Drives
The Kushites from Egypt Permanently...
586 B.C. : Babylon (under Nebuchadrezzar) re-conquers rebellious Jerusalem.
It Destroys the City and Forces Judahs Leadership classes into Exile...
NOTE: University Libraries Devote Entire Shelves to Books that Deal with the per
iod, the
So-Called Era of the Hebrew Monarchy the time from the Late Eleventh Century A.D.
to the
Early Sixth Century B.C. (1020 A.D.586 B.C.)..
Reference from Henry T. Aubins: The Rescue of Jerusalem. 2002 Soho Press.
(The Alliance Between Hebrews and Africans in 701 B.C.)
Quebec Writers Federation Award Winner of 2002 Henry T. Aubin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_Writers%27_Federation_Awards
http://www.henryaubin.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabaka
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shebitku
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taharqa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Jerusalem
********************************************************************************
*******************************************
EUROPEAN HISTORIAN ACCOUNTS: by African-Asiatic Authors
1. Diodorus of Sicily writes:
The E-thi-opi-ans say that the Egyptians are One of their Colonies
Which was brought into Egypt by Osirus.
They even allege that this country was origanally under Water,
But that the Nile, Dragging much mud as it Flowed from Ethiopia
Had finally filled it in and Made it part of the Continent
They add that from them as from their Authors and Ancestors the
Egyptians get most of their Laws.
2. Herodutus the Greek historian states: The Egyptians said that they believed t
he
Colchians to be Descended from the Army of Sesostris. My own conjectures were
Founded, first, on the Fact that they were BlackSkinned and have Woolly Hair..
3. The Greek Historian Strabo mentioned the Importance of MIGRATIONS in
HISTORY and believing that this Particular Migration has proceeded from
Egypt to Ethiopia, remarks: Egyptians settled Ethiopia and Colchis
(colchis is located in modern day western georgia, near the black sea)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colchis
{excerpt from THE AFRICAN ORIGIN of Civilization by Cheikh Anta Diop}
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheikh_Anta_Diop
published in paris 1955 reprinted 1974 in usa
ETHIOPIA and THE ORIGIN of CIVILIZATION by John G. Jackson
Excerpt from pg.3
In discussing the Origin of Civilization in the Near East, Professor Charles Sei
gnobos in his
History of Ancient Civilization, notes that the first civilized inhabitants of t
he Nile (Pison-Gihon) and
TigrisEuphrates (Hidde-kel and Euphrates) Valleys,
Were a DarkSkinned People with Short Hair and Prominent Lips: and that they are r
eferred to by Scholars as
Cushites (Ethiopians), and Hamites (Khamites) by Others..
John G. Jackson
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_G._Jackson_(writer)
(ethiopia and the origin of civilization published in 1939)
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Seignobo.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jews_and_Judaism_in_the_African_diaspora
********************************************************************************
**********************************************
AFTERWORD:
Trying to explain Eden in ancient Tunisia/Carthage may show some difficulties,
However the 5 points mentioned, must constitute a Plausible Designation..
1. Modern Genetics
2. Linguistics and Culture
3. Biblical Accounts
4. Geography and Hydrology
5. Botany~note: (is a branch of biology and is the scientific study of plant lif
e and development.)
* Egyptian/Kemetic Recorded accounts
** European Historian accounts
Please Post your References and Citations to Disprove my Claims..
NeferKemet Says:
November 20, 2009 at 2:33
3 1 Rate This
During Ancient Egyptian times, what was in West Africa?
Was West Africa Populated during this Time?
Reply
migrationstoriesofnigerianigbo Says:
November 21, 2009 at 2:33
8 0 Rate This
Nefer,
DNA suggests that West Africa has been inhabited for at least 20,000 to 30,000 y
ears.
L1b, L3b, and L3d imply that West Africa has been inhabited since at least 20,0003
0,000 years ago.
(Source). L1b (which is my haplogroup) is frequent in West Africa and is 30,000
years old.
Im Nigerian-Igbo. L1, from which L1b comes is approx 174,300 years old with an Ea
st African origin.
L1b is also found among North Africans, whom tend to cluster with West Africans,
in addition to being found all over Africa. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/art
icles/PMC385086/
Also, Africas Oldest known Boat the Dufana Canoe, dated to be almost 8,000 years
old, was found in Nigeria.
Peter Breunig of the University of Frankfurt, Germany, an archaeologist involved
in the project,
Says the Canoes age forces a reconsideration of Africas role in the history of wate
r transport.
The oldest known boat found in Egypt is dated 5000 years old, located in the deser
t sands of Abydos, Egypt.
It predates Egypts oldest known boat by 3,000 years.
http://www.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de/~sfb268/c7/dufuna.htm
As to your question regarding what was in Africa during the times of ancient Egy
pt,
Here are some cultures in the BC era and AD era in West Africa:
Nok Culture (Nigeria) Est. approx. 500 B.C.
Jenne Jeno (Mali) Considered to be among the oldest urbanized centers in sub-Saha
ran Africa.
It has been the subject of archeological digs by Susan and Roderick McIntosh
(and others) and has been dated to the 3rd century BCE.
There is evidence of iron-production, use of domesticated plants and animals,
And complex heterarchical urban development as early as 900 CE.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenn%C3%A9-Jeno
Oral traditions record that the founding Soninke population of Jenn-jeno migrated
from Ja.
The time period represented by the tell deposits at Jenn-jeno extends from 250 BC
,
When iron-using peoples established the first permanent settlement at the site,
to AD 1400 http://www.arkeologi.uu.se/afr/projects/BOOK/Mcintosh/mcintosh.pdf
Igbo-Ukwu (Nigeria) Approx 900 A.D. Bronze ceremonial objects start being made
Igbo Ukwu is an archaeological site near the modern town of Onitsha, southeastern
Nigeria.
The site was part of the Nri Kingdom, and it was used in the 10th century AD.
The site has several parts, including a main burial, and associated caches and s
hrines.
Source: http://archaeology.about.com/od/iterms/g/igbo_ukwu.htm
Look up Nsude Pyramids (Nigeria) as well.
Im sure youre aware of such kindgoms as the Mali, Songhai, Benin, Ghana, etc.
Just a few writing systems in West Africa:
Bamum (Cameroon), Vai (Liberia), Nsibidi (Nigeria), Adinkra (Ghana)
May I ask you your ethnic origins?
You can reply on my site if you want.
http://migrationstoriesofnigerianigbo.wordpress.com
Reply
Isabel Says:
August 26, 2010 at 2:33
2 0 Rate This
Hi there,
Im hoping that you can help me somehow
Im trying to piece my geneology in hopes of finding my relatives and
true birth certificate.
My scarification symbols are those of the Andikra tribe.
I have the names:
Isabella Hearris, Rosa Soffia Bravia, Agfa Bravlia, Tarsia, Rosita, Sophia, Jose
, etc.
All these names are inscribed on my skin and I have no birth cert.
I understand that this tribe originated in southern Ethiopia and they later migr
ated to Ghana.
I am hoping that someone has informationI was born in/59.
I was taken to various countries and slavery was involved
Thanks for your assistance.
(Billy Gambela) Says:
August 27, 2010 at 2:33
8 0 Rate This
Hello there Isabel,
I would like to ask what country were you born in? and what countries do you par
ents come from?
And lastly what country do you currently reside as of now..
I have done some research on the Andinkra tribe symbols and the custom of scarif
ication..
Adinkra Symbols is one of the highly valued hand-printed and hand-embroidered cl
oths.
Its origin is traced to the Asante people of Ghana and the Gyaman people of Cote
dlvoire (Ivory Coast).
However, the production and use of Adinkra have come to be more associated with
the Asante people than any other group of people.
The traditional mourning cloth worn by the people residing in Ghana and Cote dIvoi
re,
The area of Asante in particular, is referred to as Adinkra.
These people, known as the Ashanti, are members of a large cultural group who id
entify strongly with a culture and collection of traditions known as the Akan.
As for the geneaology there are plenty of systems that will allow you to do surn
ame checks, I will list them below with other references and information that i
have attained
Also if you are interested in taking a mtDna or have a male family member take a
Y-chromosome test, this will reveal your early ethnic origins, as well as conne
cting you to other groups whom you may share genetic ancestry with.
References and Citations: Geneaology and Surname sites and History of Andinkra
Afri-Geneas surname search engine:
http://www.afrigeneas.com/
African American Geneaology:
http://www.accessgenealogy.com/african/
Ancestry.com Access Geneaology:
http://www.accessgenealogy.com/african/
Family Tree Dna: for Ancestral Origins
http://www.familytreedna.com/Default.aspx?c=1
Asante People of Southern Ghana:
http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/Asante.html
Culture of Ghana and Gyaman people of Cote dlvoire (Ivory Coast)
http://www.africaguide.com/country/ghana/culture.htm
Brief history of African Scarification and Video:

http://www.taracronica.com/tracys-posts/history-of-a-tattoo
http://digitalcollections.sit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1105&context=isp_c
ollection
P.S. you may also check out my friends blog from Nigeria
http://migrationstoriesofnigerianigbo.wordpress.com/
Thanks
Patrick Archer Says:
November 21, 2009 at 2:33
0 4 Rate This
A river with just four heads is a small river; most rivers have many more heads.
The Nile has hundreds. Since rivers flow from mountains to sea,
One should look in a place where the mountains are near the sea.
Semitic people first appear on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea near B
yblos about 3200 B.C..
Modern Genetics can tell only so much since people move and get moved.
And over the millennia sorting it all out can be somewhat impossible.
Reply
(Billy Gambela) Says:
November 21, 2009 at 2:33
24 0 Rate This
Patrick O Patrick..
You have Not Designated the Four Rivers, nor Placement that Corroborates your Ge
nesis Eden Theory wit Facts
You have Not Placed any References or Citations to Substantiate your Claims. Nor
Explained the following:
1. Pishon connection with Havi-lah the Land of Gold which is Good nor explain Ony
x Stone or Bdellium
(which in native to the Horn of Africa) Genesis Chapter 2. verse 11
(Nor debate the word Nub-i-A which means land of Gold)
2. Havilah which is a son of Cush/Ethiopia Genesis Chapter 10 verse 7.
3. The Second River Gihon which compasseth the Whole land of E-thi-opi-a Genesis
chapter 2. verse 13
Obviously you failed to read my citations, otherwise you would have known that t
he
Semitic People, Semitic Culture and Language
Have their Origin in the Horn of Africa..
Excerpt from Ethiopian mtDna Study.
Since the land of Cushthe son of Biblical Hamis generally considered to be in the
Vicinity of the Ancient cities of Mero and Napata, located in present-day Sudan.
Yet it should be stressed here that the split between the Cushitic and
Semitic languages, branches of the Afro-Asiatic linguistic
Family, is Ancient, probably Predating the Holocene
(The Holocene period is from 11,700 B.C)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene
(see, e.g., Militarev [2003]).
Modern Genetic Migrations Continued also to fortify my Biblical River routes
My Biblical interpretation explains the Location of the East African Rivers, sim
ilar to mtDna Migrations.
GENETICS continued...
The Nile Valley and (East) Great Rift Valley Civilizations and mtDna Migration r
outes.
The White Nile respectively spills from Lake Victoria Uganda, near Kenya
and flows North-bound meeting the Blue Nile spilling from Lake Tana in E-thi-opi-
a.
Subsequently, the Tekeze River flows from Eritrea and Ethiopian Border in a west
Northerly fashion, Joining the two Rivers at the Town of Atbarah (AtBarah River
) Sudan/Nub-i-a
Which then Merges with the White Nile via Sudan-Khartoum/Nubia. With full northe
rn Continuity flowing
through Egypt and the Mediteranean Sea and the Levant..
This Nile Valley route has the same migration as certain Haplogroups Mtdna such
as L2a1 and
L3* and M1 from South to North.
These particular haplogroups also share the migrations to and from West Asias mid
dle east etc.. (Southern Arabia)
L2a1, L3* and M1 have notable frequencies in Nile Valley, Ethiopia, Egypt, as we
ll as Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman.
I will close with this .
If you Do Not have any Documentation, Citation, Authors, Books, Quotes, Referenc
es, or Bibliography
DO NOT WASTE MY TIME THANK YOU
Shalom Shalom
Reply
Patrick Archer Says:
November 21, 2009 at 2:33
1 8 Rate This
My Citation is Genesis 2:8-14.
Thats all there is regarding Eden.
But if you want more consider this:
Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt. Caesar
(Billy Gambela) Says:
November 22, 2009 at 2:33
23 0 Rate This
Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt.
Translation~ Men readily believe what they want to believe.
Ecce Signum, Ergo Emitte Lucem et Veritatem
Translation~ Behold the Proof, Therefore Send out light and Truth
GOOD BYE Patrick..
CushiteBoy Says:
December 31, 2009 at 2:33
21 0 Rate This
HOTEP
Fantastic! Work Brother,
We Need more information about, Ethiopia is the Origin of Semitic languages.
10x
(Billy Gambela) Says:
December 31, 2009 at 2:33
23 0 Rate This
Hotep My Brother!
Thanks for your comments!
migrationstoriesofnigerianigbo Says:
November 22, 2009 at 2:33
12 0 Rate This
Please explain how this trumps the information that Billy has Provided.
Im trying to understand where youre coming from, butyou need to present some Eviden
ce, some Citations something.
That Caesar quote is not evidence and it actually seems to apply to you and Not
Billy.
At least he presented his Evidence with References
Reply
(Billy Gambela) Says:
November 22, 2009 at 2:33
24 0 Rate This
Hey Laura
Hotep ! = , Shalom ! = and Udo
Fiat volvntas tua Let Thy will be Done (Biblical)
Fiat justitia (et ruat caelum) Let justice be done. (though the heavens fall)
Excerpt comment below from a Visitor on Patrick Archers Blog
What I want to know is when did Madagascar rise from the waters?
Maybe the great flood was caused by the water displaced by Madagascars rise?
After all, having a mountain range sink under water, as Patrick Archer says occu
rred,
Would cause massive waves but would generally Lower the sea level rather than Ra
ising it.
Which would Place Eden somewhere near the Nile Rift Valley
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rift_Valley_Province
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Nile
and Mr. Archer in need of Professional Help.
By that I mean an Introductory course in Geophysics, of course.
Comment by Konrad Talmont-Kaminski December 16, 2007 @ 8:20 pm
http://bacon.umcs.lublin.pl/~ktalmont/index.html
And that was a Educated comment from your Blog!!
Isaac Says:
March 4, 2010 at 2:33
12 0 Rate This
Great!!
Do you have a Book?
(Billy Gambela) Says:
March 4, 2010 at 2:33
20 0 Rate This
Hotep Isaac!
I am sorry, I do not have a Book out at this time, however I am working on
Some material pertaining to this subject matter..
For now, I am still researching..
Reply
Orikinla Osinachi Says:
July 2, 2010 at 2:33
2 0 Rate This
Please, See The Origin of the Igbos: Past, Present and Future
http://www.nigeriansreport.com/2010/07/origin-of-igbos-past-present-and-future.h
tml
to broaden information on this subject.
Reply
(Billy Gambela) Says:
July 2, 2010 at 2:33
12 0 Rate This
Welcome Orikinla,
Thanks for sharing information on this subject matter.
A good friend of mine, is Igbo as well.. she has also taken an
mtdna and Y-chromosome test, to further substantiate Ethiopian, Hebrew and Egypt
ian relation
Please check out her blog as well..
http://migrationstoriesofnigerianigbo.wordpress.com/
Reply
jed Says:
July 6, 2010 at 2:33
3 0 Rate This
Billy:
This is a facinating topic for me.
Thank you for sharing with us your ideas and toughts.
What is this test you mentioned above?
Reply
(Billy Gambela) Says:
July 7, 2010 at 2:33
7 0 Rate This
Welcome and Thanks for your comment..
The above test is an ancestral origin test through mtdna and y-Chromosome from e
ach parent..
Please have a tour and explore our conversations about dna origins, linguistics
and anthropology..
Reply
Old School C Says:
August 24, 2010 at 2:33
7 0 Rate This
Hows it going brotha. I had a question.
I was debating with this Asian guy because he said that the oldest human fossils
were found in 1985 in Longgupo, Zhenlongping Village, Miaoyu Town of Wushan Cou
nty.
They called it Wushan Man (2.04 million years old)
This makes its status as a Homo fossil critically important to the study of huma
ns origins as it suggests that H. erectus was not the first human species to lea
ve Africa and supports the argument made by some that H. erectus evolved in Asia
and not Africa..
I find it hard to believe when geneticists have found no evidence of this. The K
hoisan People have shown, according to genetic studies to have the oldest DNA ma
rkers on this planet.
Their DNA has to be atleast 50,000 years old.
These people are a direct link genetically to the Y Chromosomal Adam. Aint no wa
y in hell ima let some nincompoop tell me some BS like that.
He tried to call me an Afro-Centrist but, these are White geneticists proving wh
at Black folk already knew.
But yet this Asian guy swear to me that oldest bones came from Asia.
You know what, I dont have a problem with that theory since all land was called
Asia before the Earth broke into the continents we have today. All im saying is,
the proof isnt there.
My question to you is, what do you make of these theory?.
I personally believe there is foul play involved.
Reply
(Billy Gambela) Says:
August 24, 2010 at 2:33
13 0 Rate This
Hotep, and Welcome Brotha Oldschool C
To answer you question correctly,
you wanted me to comment on the Wushan Man being the oldest human fossil found i
n Asia?
My answer to that, is the Wushan found in Asia is indeed old, but not the oldest
as far as antiquity..
The oldest known fossil comes out of Africa-Ethiopia and is called Ardipithecus
which date back from early as 3.2 4.4 million years ago..
The Wushan Originally considered a subspecies of Homo erectus in 1985, it is now
thought by one of the scientists, Russell Ciochon, that first described it to b
e based upon fossilized fragments of an extinct non-hominin ape.
Back in 1995, ten years after the initial discovery Milford Wolpoff of the Unive
rsity of Michigan, who saw the specimens on a trip to China several years ago, i
snt even convinced that the partial jaw is a hominid. I believe it is a piece of a
n orangutan or other Pongo, he says.
He bases that conclusion on a wear facet on the preserved premolar, which to him
suggests that the missing neighboring tooth is shaped more like an orangs than a
humans.
Then much later in June of 2009 Russell Ciochon declared he was now convinced th
at the Longgupo fossil and others like it do not represent a pre-erectus human,
but rather one or more mystery apes indigenous to southeast Asias Pleistocene pri
mal forest.
In contrast, H. erectus arrived in Asia about 1.6 million years ago, but steered
clear of the forest in pursuit of grassland game.
There was No Pre-Erectus Species in Southeast Asia after all.
********************************************************************************
*********************************
Ardipithecus:
In a Special issue of Science, an international team of scientists has for the f
irst time thoroughly described Ardipithecus ramidus, a hominid species that
lived 4.4 million years ago in what is now E-thi-opi-a.
The name Ardipithecus ramidus stems mostly from the Afar language, in which Ardi
means ground/floor and ramid means root.
The pithecus portion of the name is from the Greek word for ape.
These fossils were dated to between 4.32 and 4.51 million years old.
Altogether, forty-seven different authors from around the world contributed to t
he total study of Ardipithecus and its Environment.
The primary authors are Tim White of the University of California, Berkeley, Ber
hane Asfaw of Rift Valley Research Service in Addis Ababa, Giday WoldeGabriel of
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Gen Suwa of the University of Tokyo, and C. Owe
n Lovejoy of Kent State University.
These are the results of a mission to our Deep African Past, said WoldeGabriel, wh
o is also Project co-Director and geologist.
********************************************************************************
**********************************
Homosapiens and mtdna migrations:
Homosapiens are Anatomically modern humans, and according to Mitochondrial DNA a
nd fossil evidence indicates that modern humans originated in Africa about 200,0
00 years ago.
Early human migrations began when Homo erectus first migrated out of Africa over
the Levantine corridor and Horn of Africa to Eurasia almost 2 million ybp, more
or less about 1.8 million years ago, a migration probably sparked by the develo
pment of language.
Modern humans, Homo sapiens, evolved in Africa up to 200,000 years ago and reach
ed the Near East around 70 millennia ago.(70K B.P.)
From the Near East, these populations spread east to South Asia by 50 millennia
ago, and on to Australia by 40 millennia ago, when for the first time H. sapiens
reached territory never reached by H. erectus.
Europe was reached by H. sapiens around 40 millennia ago, replacing the Neandert
hal population.
East Asia was reached by 30 millennia ago.
The Khoisan people belong to Macro-Haplogroup L Family for thier mtDna goes back
at least from
151,600233,600 Years Before Present..
Khoisan-speaking populations can generally be divided into two distinct groups,
the San and the Khoi.
San populations consist of 10 different Kung groups
The Khoisan people also belong to the Y-Chromosome markers of Haplogroup A..
Haplogroup A represents one of two deep branches in the Y-chromosomal family tre
e, the other currently known as Haplogroup BT; Therefore, the lineage began evol
ving shortly after the time of Y-chromosomal Adam.
********************************************************************************
**********************************
References and Citations:
(Khoisan) Mtdna Macro-Haplogroup L / Y-Dna Haplgroup A
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macro-haplogroup_L_(mtDNA)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_A_(Y-DNA)
mtDNA Variation in the South African Kung and KhweGenetic Relationships to Other
African Populations
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1288201/
Wushan Man from wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wushan_Man
Ardipithecus from wikipedia also known as Ardi:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardipithecus
Out of Africa I: Who, When and Where? (eds, Fleagle, J. G. et al. Springer, 2009
)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038%2F459910a
Early Homo and associated artefacts from Asia. Nature.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7477345
National Geographic News June 17, 2009: Early Human Is Ape After All, Discoverer D
ecides
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/06/090617-early-human-ape-mystery.h
tml
Oldest Skeleton of Human Ancestor Found:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/10/091001-oldest-human-skeleton-ard
i-missing-link-chimps-ardipithecus-ramidus.html
Before Lucy, There Was Ardi: First Major Analysis Of Early Hominid Published In Sc
ience:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091001110548.htm
Reply
Bridget Says:
June 5, 2012 at 2:33
0 0 Rate This
Dear Bileh,
You say
>>>>> there was no pre-erectus species in Asia after all>>>>>>>
but are you familiar with this study :
Until recently, anthropologists thought that such early hominids did not disperse
from Africa to Asia until 1 million years ago. New fossil finds and dates from
Asia, including the authors, now suggest that early Homo arrived in East and Sout
h Asia by 2 million years ago.
Link for the full text :http://www.uiowa.edu/~bioanth/homo.html
I understand You blog celebrating the long roots of Seemic -origins. Surely many
of us has its marks in our DNA, since the Mid-East was the intensively populate
d / succesfully food-producing / combining trafic area. So its only natural Your
blog taking sides. Still even me, a Siberian mammoth-hunters sons daugther can gla
nze and even sometimes read it.
Ps. Keep it simple and dont kill us with the too long answers or does that indica
te its a never-ending story  ?
Bilh* Gambla Says:
July 4, 2012 at 2:33
2 0 Rate This
Welcome Bridget, and thanks for stopping by.
If you were to carefully read my comments, I quoted this paragraph from the scie
ntific study by Russell L. Ciochon, which i will paste below. He said there were
no Pre-Erectus species in Asia?
He was simply was stating that the oldest and most archaic species originated in
Africa and then spread to Asia.
The person who commented on my blog wanted me to speak on the Wushan Man being t
he oldest human fossil found in Asia?
My answer to that, is the Wushan found in Asia is indeed old, but not the oldest
as far as antiquity..
The oldest known fossil comes out of Africa-Ethiopia and is called Ardipithecus
which date back from early as 3.2- 4.4 million years ago..
The Wushan Originally considered a subspecies of Homo erectus in 1985, it is now
thought by one of the scientists, Russell Ciochon, that first described it to b
e based upon fossilized fragments of an extinct non-hominin ape.
Back in 1995, ten years after the initial discovery Milford Wolpoff of the Unive
rsity of Michigan, who saw the specimens on a trip to China several years ago, i
snt even convinced that the partial jaw is a hominid. I believe it is a piece of a
n orangutan or other Pongo, he says.
He bases that conclusion on a wear facet on the preserved premolar, which to him
suggests that the missing neighboring tooth is shaped more like an orangs than a
 humans.
Then much later in June of 2009 Russell Ciochon declared he was now convinced th
at the Longgupo fossil and others like it do not represent a pre-erectus human,
but rather one or more mystery apes indigenous to southeast Asias Pleistocene pri
mal forest.
In contrast, H. erectus arrived in Asia about 1.6 million years ago, but steered
clear of the forest in pursuit of grassland game. There was No Pre-Erectus Spec
ies in Southeast Asia after all.
The above quote was emphatically stating that the Origin of Pre-Erectus was not
found in Southeast Asia, but found exclusively in Africa.. (reference for quote
under the mystery ape of Pleistocene Asia).
REFERENCES:
The mystery ape of Pleistocene Asia:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v459/n7249/full/459910a.html
Wushan Man from wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wushan_Man
Ardipithecus from wikipedia also known as Ardi:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardipithecus
Out of Africa I: Who, When and Where? (eds, Fleagle, J. G. et al. Springer, 2009
)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038%2F459910a
Early Homo and associated artefacts from Asia. Nature.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7477345
National Geographic News June 17, 2009: Early Human Is Ape After All, Discoverer D
ecides
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/06/090617-early-human-ape-mystery.h
tml
Oldest Skeleton of Human Ancestor Found:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/10/091001-oldest-human-skeleton-ard
i-missing-link-chimps-ardipithecus-ramidus.html
Before Lucy, There Was Ardi: First Major Analysis Of Early Hominid Published In Sc
ience:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091001110548.htm
I hope this sets the record straight. Please feel free to post your references.
Thomas Lofaro Says:
October 10, 2010 at 2:33
4 0 Rate This
WOW. This is amazing stuff.
Thank you for your dedicated research on this topic. In understanding where we a
ll truly came from we can eliminate the racial tensions that divide us.
I have a couple broad questions here and maybe you can direct me to the answer o
r answer it for me.
(FYI I am a mixture of arab and italian races.) Hopefully without too much rehas
hing of what you have already said
you can briefly address the following:
1) Do you believe ancient man started from ethiopia and gradually migrated north
to eventually become what is now know as the caucasian man (40,000yrs ago).
2) Do you believe people of arab decent are the first true semites which derived
their culture from the kushite peoples of Africa(70,000 yrs ago)?
Up until now there are many religious viewpoints on this topic with moses having
three sons, but i dont see the connection between this and any accurate histori
cal viewpoints that I have came across.
3) Are the first semites more directly decendents of the sumerian peoples or the
ethiopian/nubian peoples???
Thank you so much and please forgive me if you have already cleared up these que
stions
Reply
(Billy Gambela) Says:
October 11, 2010 at 2:33
12 0 Rate This
Welcome Thomas and thanks for your questions.
Now to will try to answer your 3 questions with based on research and findings,
some of this information on the semitic origin including linguistics and culture
has been previously discussed..
1). Do i believe the ancient man started from Ethiopia migrated north to eventua
lly become what is now know as the caucasian man (40,000yrs ago).
My Answer:
Yes . Ancient man would have came from Africa, it could be Ethiopia as well as Ke
nya, Uganda or around the great lake regions of the Nilotic family..
The first Asiatic migrations from man would have come from either Y-Chromosome t
ypes: Haplgroup E and J.
Haplogroups E and J respectively belong to Ethiopians as Well as Arabs and Itali
an Males..
Haplogroup E has and African-Asiatic Origin and Origin Date of 50,000-55,000 yea
rs before present.
This would be the first male group to enter South West Asia, now know as Arabia
or Middle East.
E1b1b is found at high frequencies in East Africa and North Africa and is the on
ly subclade that is found in Europe and Asia at significant frequencies. E1b1b i
s common among Afro-Asiatic speakers in Africa as well as among Nilo-Saharan and
Niger-Congo speakers in East Africa and Sudan.
E1b1b is at once the most common E subclade amongst East African Maasai, Somalis
, Ethiopians, Eritreans and North African Sudanese, Egyptians, Berbers and Arabs
. It is also common in the Near East, from where it spread into the Balkans and
the rest of Europe!
Most European who belong to Haplogroup E which has an African origin belong to t
he subclade E-V12
Haplogroup E1b1b1a which translate to E-V12 which again According to Dr.Cruciani
 et al. (2007),
E-V12 likely originated in North Africa.
Haplogroup J has more of an Near East Arabian Peninsula Origin with an Origin Da
te of 45,000-50,000 YBP.
It evolved in the Arabian Peninsula and was then carried into North Africa, Euro
pe, Central Asia, and South Asia.
It also has a moderate presence in Southern Europe (especially in central and so
uthern Italy, Malta, Greece, and Albania..
2). you asked: Do i believe people of arab decent are the first true semites whi
ch derived their culture from the kushite peoples of Africa (70,000 yrs ago)?
My Answer:
No The Kushites are an Ethiopian Colony, Ethiopia in the semitic language and bib
ilical times was known as Cush.
The Kushites otherwise known as the Nubians also belong to Haplogroups E and J,
with Haplogroup E having antiquity over Haplogroup J as far as places of origin
and origin dates as well as migrations to Asia.
Evidence based on Male-DNA in the Y-chromosome indicates that the Exodus began b
etween 60,000 and 50,000 years ago. In his view, the early travelers followed th
e southern coastline of Asia, crossed about 250 kilometers 155 miles of sea, and
colonized Australia by around 50,000 years ago.
3). Are the first semites more directly decendents of the sumerian peoples or th
e ethiopian/nubian peoples???
My Answer:
The first semites would have came from the Ethiopians, the Nubians, the Egyptian
s then later the people of Sumer which is the Levant and modern day Iraq. People
of African descent also are indigenous to parts of the Levant and Arabia as wel
l from early migrations 50,000 years ago.
By analyzing the Y chromosome DNA from males in all regions of the world, geneti
cist Spencer Wells has concluded that all humans alive today are patrilineally d
escended from a single man who lived in Africa around 60,000 years ago..
Hope that youll find this useful
Thanks..
Reply
Thomas Lofaro Says:
October 15, 2010 at 2:33
4 0 Rate This
Wow, yes.
Thank you so much again for sharing your Knowledge, So let me just see if I get
what you are saying.
The first semites DID derive there culture from early ethiopian and nubian cultu
re
BUT THEIR Exodus was into Southern Asia and Australia, where as the Exodus from
Egypt of the Hyksos peoples?
(which i assume are EITHER the ancestors of modern arabs OR related to the peopl
e of Sumer in some way) into the land of canaan was not related to the story por
trayed in the orignal hebrew texts (later to be translated and adapted to europe
an biases as the BIBLE).
Sorry if I am still not understanding a couple of the finer pointsif you could co
rrect me once more if I have misunderstood.
THANK YOU SO MUCH Mr Gambela!
(Billy Gambela) Says:
October 19, 2010 at 2:33
11 0 Rate This
The Semitic language and Culture would have derived from early Ethiopian, Nubian
s and Egyptians..
The Biblical Exodus, would have been between 15th and 13th century B.C. around 3
000 years ago.
When i mentioned the exodus, I was emphatically talking about the Scientific Evi
dence based on Male-DNA in the YChromosome,
Which indicates that the Exodus of modern man began between 60,000 and 50,000 ye
ars ago, 47,000 years before the Biblical Exodus.
The Creation Story in the Bible is not as archaic as the people who still inhabi
t these parts of Africa and Asia..
CHRONOLOGY of African-Asiatic Gods/Religions:
NAME OF GOD/ RELIGION-/ GREGORIAN YEAR
1. Ptah/Ra/Osiris Mysteries- 4100 BCE
2. Yahweh/Jehova Judaism- 3760 BCE
3. Jesus*(the Christ) Christianity- 1st Century C.E.
Please understand the antiquity of African-Asiatic people who even pre-date Egyp
tian Culture 4100 BCE..
People of The Nile Valley People are also tied into Halfan Culture which is the
PARENT CULTURE of all Civilizations
The Halfan people, of Egypt and Nubia flourished between 18,000 and 15,000 BC in
Nubia and Egypt.
One Halfan site dates to before 24,000 BC.
Hopes this makes it clear about the origin of Semitic People, Language and Cultu
re which has an African-Asiatic origin..
The Origin of Hebrew Civilization is Afroasiatic:
http://www.colorq.org/Bible/default.aspx?d=Historical_Background&x=Afroasiatic
Markos Says:
December 1, 2010 at 2:33
6 0 Rate This
It is the most relistic and unbiased article. I thank you Billy Gambella.
I would like to know where could the capital seat of the legenday queen Sheba.
Do you belive it was in Axum?
The origin of Ghion/Blue Nile is Lake Tana, but the other guardians of Aden are
far away.
I was expecting Aden to be some where around Lake Tana and the first man Adam (o
r his grand son) to have lived there. Could you comment on this? Just your belie
f.
Sorry, one more thing directly related to the topic.
Ethiopian Jews, Felasha migrated to israel was reported to have diffrent genetic
profile and concluded to be Ethopic. How do you compromize your findings with Isr
ael Officials result?
Reply
Bileh* Gambela Says:
December 2, 2010 at 2:33
10 0 Rate This
Welcome Markos, Thanks for stopping by
I will answer your questions in the following order.
1. Was Axum the capital seat for the Queen of Sheba?
My answer is Axum could be just one of the Kingdoms under the Rule of Queen of S
heba.
According to Ethiopic History, Queen of Sheba was known and Makeda or Candace in
the Legendary Kebra Negast Also the The Ethiopian Orthodox Church claims that th
e Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Axum houses, The Biblical Ark of the Covena
nt in which lie the Tablets of Law upon which the Ten Commandments are inscribed
..
2. Was the Garden of Eden near Gihon of Ethiopia or around Lake Tana?
I believe the Garden of Eden and the Four rivers are as follows:
BIBLICAL HYDROLOGY OF EDEN:
Try looking at a Gideons Holy Bible: Genesis Chapter.2 vs 10-13
( vs.10 And a river went out of Eden to the water garden and from thence it was pa
rted. and became into four heads/parts.)
(vs. 11 the name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole lan
d of Havi-lah, where there is Gold.
Havilah (literally meaning stretch of sand) is the name of various lands and/or peop
le mentioned in the Bible.
I believe that Havilah could be part of the modern day
{eastern stretch of sand sahel regions}
Sudan-Nubia/ and Sahel (Eritrea) and (aksum/axumite regions)
{In Ancient hieroglyphics the word Nubia means Land of Gold}
Havi-lah where there is Gold in Ancient Kushs Land of Ham
(Vs.12 And the the Gold of that Land is Good: there is Bdellium and the Onyx Sto
ne)..
{Bdellium is an Aromatic gum like Myrrh that is exuded from Trees}
(used for incense, as well as to embalm the dead in Ancient Egyptian times..),
{These Particular Trees are also Native to the Horn of Africa} (commiphora myrrha)
{Onyx was used/traded in Egypt as early as the 2nd Dynasty From
Nubia/Ethiopia to make bowls and other pottery items.}
(Vs.13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth
the Whole Land of
E-thi-opi-a.)
(Vs.14 Hidde-kel: that is it which goes toward the east of Assyria, and the 4th r
iver is Eu-phrates,
Vs.14 describes the Mesopotamia location of the Tigris River and the Euphrates g
oing out of Eden, Northerly
Then Easterly towards Assyria- Iraq/Mesopotamia)..
This Northerly route has the same route as the 3 rivers in todays East Africa, w
hich are
The White Nile-Uganda/Sudan, The Blue Nile-Ethiopia/ Lake Tana and The Tekeze Ri
ver-Eritrea.
NOTE: The Afro-Asiatic languages, which include SEMITIC languages such as ARABIC
and HEBREW, are believed by Scholars to have Originated in ETHIOPIA.
This is because the Region has very diverse language groups in close Geographic
proximity, often considered a telltale sign for a linguistic Geographic Origin.
3. You wanted to know about the genetic ethiopic profile of Falashas within regar
ds to Israel results ?
First let me say, I am not sure what do mean by Israel Official Results..
Falasha tradition claims to trace their ancestry to Menelik, son of
King Solomon of Israel and the Queen of Sheba.
I will list some Genetic reports on Ethiopians and the Hebrew Populations.
REFERENCE:
Queen of Sheba: Kebra Negast
http://www.yorku.ca/inpar/kebra_budge.pdf
Founding Mothers of Jewish Communities:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC379128/?tool=pmcentrez
Ethiopian Mitochondrial Study:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1182106/
History of Ethiopian Hebrews:
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/ejhist.html
Kingdom of Axum
http://archaeology.about.com/cs/africa/a/aksum.htm
Queen of Sheba and Axum:
http://www.ethiopiantreasures.co.uk/pages/aksum.htm
The African Origin of the Garden of Eden:
http://www.africawithin.com/jgjackson/jgjackson_african_origin.htm
Hope you will find this information useful..
Reply
Markos Says:
December 6, 2010 at 2:33
2 0 Rate This
Thank you Billy,
I am more or less satisfied by your answer. But, let me put my question the othe
r way
1. Some scholars say (i read but dont have the sitation), Meroe is the most likel
y seat for the legendary queen sheba, and there is no as such significant archiol
ogical finding at Axum during the time of King Solomon. As you said i also belie
ve axum has decended the tradition as he claims Meroe to be his ancesster. Comme
nt on this.
2. Ethiopian Jews (migrated to Israel) was tested for any genetic linkage of the
true Jewishness and the result was diffrent, except some minor linkage with Yem
en Jews. I hope you have heard this.
In conclusion they were taken as Ethopic like other Ethiopians. I also believe t
hey are not diffrent genetically from other Ethiopians, or most other northern E
thiopians are genetically Jewish as you have said. Just comment on this.
Thank you
Bileh* Gambela Says:
December 6, 2010 at 2:33
10 0 Rate This
Welcome Markos,
I have went over this subject numerous times, with all citations and references
from archeology, and genetics.
I understand that there is a lot of information
to read, the reason is so that i dont have to repeat information that has been s
poken previously..
1. So now you want to know if the Legendary Queen of Sheba was seated In Meroe.
I have stated previously that the Queen of Sheba, also known as
Makeda or Candace/ Kandake who could have had Kingdoms in Ethiopia and NubianEgyp
t.
Also keep in mind that Sheba is the name of the Land, which is known as Saba/Seb
a.
This is the Map of the Geographic locations of Sheba, according to the Geneisis
from the Bible:
(If you notice, seba, sheba, and sabtah are 3 locations of the queens kingdoms).
.
Excerpt: However, else- where in Josephus Antiquities, he identifies Saba (Sheba)
as a Ethiopian capital.
He writes Saba, that was the capital city of the Ethiopians
its name was subsequently changed to Mero by Cambyses. known location down the Nil
e from Khartoum/Sudan.
This identification further helps to confirm Josephus statement about the Queen w
ho visited Solomon, since we know of Egyptian conquests to and from Ethiopia.
Queen of Egypt and Ethiopia, and of Sheba itself with Mero in Nubia, comes in Gen
esis 10:7. Here, Sheba is presented as a grandson of Kush.
Also according to Josephus, the Egyptian writer Apion most strenuously insisted
that the Hebrews were of Egyptian Origin. He affirmed that when they were cast o
ut of Egypt They still retained the Native language of that Land..
Further, if Seba, a son of Kush (Gen. 10:7), can be identified with Sheba, then
the connection of Sheba with Ethiopia is further strengthened.
Josephus identification of the Queen of Sheba as
The Woman who ruled Egypt and Ethiopia is supported by his identification of the E
thiopian capital as Saba, which is the same as the name of the Southern Arabian
kingdom conventionally considered the Queens domain.
There is also Archeological Evidence of the
Solomon and Sheba in Ethiopia, under the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
Previously, I have mentioned from the Book of
Stuart Munro-Hay, 2005,
The Quest for the Ark of the Covenant, Tauris
(reviewed in Times Literary Supplement 19 August 2005 p 36).
2. You asked about Ethiopian Jews who migrated to Israel was tested for any gene
tic linkage of the
(true Jewishness) and the result was diffrent, except some minor linkage with Ye
men Jews
Also what do you mean by true jewishness?
Ethiopians and Other Africans from East, Central and North and West are the Origi
nal Hebrews.
You may be speaking of the Y-chromosome Jewish test called Kohanim Y-markers, Wh
ich still would
include the some of the Ethiopian Male population..
However According to Halakha, the Oldest Normative Definition used by Hebrews fo
r self-identification, a person is Matrilineally a Hebrew by Birth.
Only Halakha can define who is or is not a Hebrew when a question of Hebrew iden
tity, lineage, or parentage arises about any person seeking to define themselves
or claim that they are Hebrew.
As a result, mere belief in the principles of Judaism does not make one a Jew.
Similarly, even non-adherence by a Hebrew to the 613 Mitzvot, or even formal Con
version to another Faith, does not make one lose ones Hebrew status.
Thus the immediate descendants of all Female Hebrews (even apostates) are still
considered to be Hebrews, as are those of all their Female Descendants.
Even those Descendants who are not aware they are Hebrews, or practice a faith o
ther than Judaism, are defined by this perspective as Hebrews, as long as they c
ome from an Unbroken Female line of Descent.
This Matrilineal concept would unequivocally show the mtDna genetic relation of
Ethiopian, Nubians and Egyptians to the Hebrew Population.
Another way for to confirm the authenticity of the Original Hebrew, is to follow
the Origin of Eden According to
Bible Scholars the first 4 books in Genesis:
Pertaining to the Founding of the Hebrew Nation are as follows}:
1.Genesis Founding of the Hebrew Nation, (Ethiopia, Sudan-Nubia, and Egypt)
2. Exodus the Covenant with the Hebrew Nation. (13th-14 century B.C. from Africa/
Egypt)
3. Leviticus Laws of the Hebrew Nation. ( The Laws of Moses and Hebrews)
4. Numbers Journey to the Promise Land.
(NUMBERS ch.12 Vs.1)
And Miriam and Aaron Spake against Moses because
Of the E-thi-Opi-an Woman whom he had Married:
For he had Married an E-thi-Opi-an Woman.
AFTERWORD:
The Studies I listed previously proves this with Genetics, Archeology, Linguisti
cs as well as Biblical Accounts who are the Original Hebrews..
Ethiopians, Nubians, Egyptians and Hebrews are Genetically the same People. Thes
e African-Asiatic people
are the first people to inhabit these biblical geographic regions. (Lands of Ham
& Shem)
References:
THE QUEEN OF SHEBA: A QUEEN OF EGYPT AND ETHIOPIA
http://jbq.jewishbible.org/assets/Uploads/293/293_Sheba2.pdf
Nubian Queens in the Nile Valley and Afro-Asiatic Cultural History
http://wysinger.homestead.com/fluehr.pdf
Nubian Queen of Axum:
http://www.ethiopiantreasures.co.uk/pages/aksum.htm
Halakha Matrilineal BirthRights:
http://www.fact-index.com/h/ha/halakha.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halakha
A Book of the Beginnings, Volume 2 by G.Massey
pg. 23 Hebrew Cruxes with Egyptian illustrations:
613 Mitzvot:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/613_mitzvot
Saga of Sepharda by Debra Katz
https://billygambelaafroasiaticanthropology.wordpress.com/2009/04/27/the-saga-of
-sepharda-by-debra-katz-source-found-online/
Hope this find this information useful..
yedidyah Says:
April 7, 2011 at 2:33
3 0 Rate This
I do like the Truth for one, thank you my Brothers & Sisters, praise the most Hi
gh YHVH.
Reply
Bileh* Gambela Says:
April 8, 2011 at 2:33
3 0 Rate This
Peace , Shalom , and Hotep , to you.
Come Again
Reply
collo Says:
April 8, 2011 at 2:33
2 0 Rate This
Hi Bileh, am back,
Who are the Sabaeans mentioned in the Book of Zachariah (as men who came from th
e desert). I am asking this because i have heard many theories that they are the
present day Sabaot or Sebei tribes living in the Slopes of Mt.Elgon in Western Keny
a/Eastern Uganda.
Does the fact that the names seem close and the fact that these are Nilotic migr
atory tribes give this possibility any plausibility?
Please answer me.
Reply
Bilh* Gambla Says:
April 9, 2011 at 2:33
3 0 Rate This
Welcome back and thanks for the support!!
I will try my best to answer your questions in three parts: starting with the fi
rst question:
1. Who are the Sabaeans mentioned in the book of Zachariah (as men who came from
the desert).
2. Could they be the present day Sabaot or Sebei tribes living in the Slopes of Mt.E
lgon in Western Kenya/Eastern Uganda.
3. Does the fact that the names seem close and the fact that these are Nilotic m
igratory tribes give this possibility any plausibility?
********************************************************************************
****************************
My Answer to Question #1,
1. I believe that Seba, Sheba and Saba are the names of Geographical Locations o
f Ancient East African Kingdoms. I also affirm that they are related to the Quee
n of Sheba Kingdoms, Secondly from what i have researched and read, I draw the c
onclusion that the Sabaeans could have had Kingdoms in the following locations:
Dmt, located in northern Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Nubia due to their hegemony over
the Red Sea as well as Northern Sabaean Territory known by Ancient Hebrews as Eg
ypt, Mitzraim and Khebt. As well as Southern Arabian regions in Yemen also known
as Saba.
Later, in the mid-1st millennium B.C., the Southern Arabian immigrants, or Sabae
ns, appeared again in Ethiopia. These were Military or Trading Colonists who mai
ntained contact with their Country of Origin for Centuries.
The Semitic-speaking Axumites, or Habash (Abyssinians), had their capital city,
Aksum, in the western part of the province of Tigray. During the first 6 centuri
es A.D., they Controlled territories North to Upper Egypt, East to the Gulf of A
den and Southern Arabia, south to the Omo River, and west to the Cushite Kingdom
of Meroe (Munro-Hay 1991).
Keep in mind according to Old Ancient Hebrew text the names Kheb, Kepsh and Kush
were all names for Ancient Ethiopia. Also an excerpt from the Book of the Begin
nings by Gerald Massey pg.190 2nd paragraph, reads as follows: The Egypt wherein
Israel played the Zonahs, in the persons of two women Aholah and Aholibah, was
the Land of Khebt, the Genetix a Celestial Region belonging to the Sabaeans Reli
gion, hence the Paramours, who were Sabaeans from the Wilderness/Desert.
Also the words wilderness and desert are used interchangeably when spoken of thi
s passage.
My Answers to Questions #2 and #3
2. Are present day Sabaot or Sebei tribes living in the Slopes of Mt.Elgon in Wester
n Kenya/Eastern Uganda.
Sabaeans?
First let me say the Sebei are from Sudan and Uganda and are Nilotic and speak K
upsabini.
The Sebei is now known mainly as Sabini, and the Sabaot also speak a Nilotic Lan
gauge from Kenya/Uganda.
There is also Linguistic evidence of Semitic languages being spoken in Eritrea a
nd Ethiopia since at least 2000 BC.
The Ancient Sabaeans wrote and spoke in an Ancient African Semitic language, als
o the ancient Sabaean Kingdom established power in the early 1st millennium BC.
In the 1st century BC it was conquered by the Himyarites Kingdom.
3. Does the fact that the names seem close and the fact that these are Nilotic m
igratory tribes give this possibility any plausibility?
The fact that the names are close, does raise an eyebrow but you must also consi
der that they speak two totally different african languages and have somewhat di
fferent cultural practices.
So could they be the Ancient Sabaeans?
My answer is that it is plausible from migratory routes they could be Geneticall
y related, as most Africans are.
But as far as Historical or Linguistical accounts, i have not found any proof to
substantiate this claim..
Although the names are similar, the linguistic origin and historical backgrounds
are divergent .
REFERENCES:
The Sebei:
http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=9124354#
Sebei people from wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebei_people
Sabeans from Yemen and wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabaeans
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108153.html
Sabaeans by Stuart Munro-Hay:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabaeans#cite_ref-munro-hay_0-1
Sabaean language:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabaean_language
Book of the Beginnings by Gerald Massey:
http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Gerald_Massey
http://www.amazon.com/Book-Beginnings-Part-Gerald-Massey/dp/0766126536/ref=wl_it
_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=IZ5NCKMBTENF0&colid=1YREO94CIMYGB
Ethiopian Mitchondrial Report:
http://www.africandna.com/ScienPapers%5CEthiopian_Mitochondrial_DNA_Heritage.pdf
Ethiopian-Sabaeans and Yemenis mtdna Haplogroups:
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1182106&rendertype=tab
le&id=TB1
Queen of Sheba:
http://www.professorevans.com/Queen%20of%20Sheba%20story%20&%20biblio.pdf
Hope this information, will be advantageous for you
Reply
xxxphantomxxx Says:
May 22, 2011 at 2:33
1 0 Rate This
To Meshwesh once more you know nothing of what you speak of as the original inha
bitants of arabia were Africans boy, you need to learn about how the euro slaves
came to Africa and arabia and then became arabs.
Reply
therie essien Says:
July 14, 2011 at 2:33
2 0 Rate This
hello people! great and interesting site,
but pls be advised of wasting too much time on endless geneologies that dont rea
lly profit the soul.
what matters is that we have the Holy Spirit to help us; that we can get back to
 Kingdom of God.
i am a nigerian who believes that it all started in Africa, itll still factor her
e greatly in these end times!
pls be careful with the mtdna testingno hand or head marks, beware strong delusio
n and that other mark
God bless us all!
Reply
Bilh* Gambla Says:
July 14, 2011 at 2:33
4 0 Rate This
Hello and Welcome..
I am a researcher and soulsearcher..
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history
. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and ot
her public records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinsh
ip and pedigrees of its members.
I also believe that discovering ones ancestry/history and relatives, not only pr
ofits the soul but also connects families together through research.
One can still connect with the Holy Spirit as well as journey to the Kingdom of
God by doing so.
I also agree and find it scientifically true, that it all started in Africa. All
Humans, Religions, Languages, most Customs and Creeds etc, fundamentally began
in Mother Africa thousands of years ago..
Genetic testing such as mtDna which is inherited from the wombman/Female can be
found in all modern humans, no matter thier Race, Religion or Creeds from all pa
rts of the World.
Thus, it all began in Africa, from the our Mitochondrial EVE the Mother of All Liv
ing around 200,000 years ago.
I do appreciate your comments, but please be advised this is an Anthropology sit
e.
The study of Humanity. This site is based on scientific facts NOT opinions.
I would also like for you to clarify, your statement
(pls be careful with the mtdna testingno hand or head marks, beware strong delusio
n and that other mark)???
Please be clear about your statements, so that we can discuss and educate our vi
sitors as well..
Thanks for Stopping by, and Stay Blessed.
REFERENCES:
Humans/Homosapiens:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_sapiens
Anthropology:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropology
Genealogy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genealogy
mtDna/Mitochondrial DNA:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MtDNA
Reply
EGYPT AND THE MYTH OF AFRICAN INFERIORITY | BEAUTIFUL, ALSO, ARE THE SOULS OF MY
BLACK SISTERS Says:
July 23, 2011 at 2:33
4 0 Rate This
The Ethiopians (people with the burnt face), like the Nubians (Sudanese), Eritrean
s, Somali, share linguistic and DNA genetic markers with present-day Egyptians.
Are Egyptians Africans? Yes.
Yes, Egypt is not the only civilization that racist Whites/Europeans have tried
to claim. Case in point, great Zimbabwe was claimed by racists to have been foun
ded by a lost Roman legion!
The fact is, Zimbabwe, featuring the Great Enclosure Wall, was built by the Shon
a-speaking people. Zimbabwe is one of the unique and marvelous monuments on the
African continentsecond only to the pyramids of the Nile Valley.
Egypt as white, and not a part of Africa? Not so.
Egypt is as African as Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Chad, Morocco, Uganda, and all
the other 48 African nations.
REFERENCES:
1. Pharaohs and Kings by David M. Rohl (Paperback Jun 24, 1997) (32)
2. Reconstructing Proto-Afroasiatic (Proto-Afrasian): Vowels, Tone, Consonants,
and Vocabulary (Voices from Asia) by Christopher Ehret (Paperback Aug 30, 1995)

3. Afrasian Languages, Igor M. Diakonov, Nauka Press, Moscow, 1988.

4. King James Bible, II Kings and Isaiah, Old Testament.
5. Billy Gambela Blog, Afri-Asiatic Anthropology Blog. []
Reply
Bilh* Gambla Says:
July 23, 2011 at 2:33
3 0 Rate This
Welcome and Thanks for your the historical accounts of Zimbabwe as well as The N
ile Valley Family.
This goes along well with my previous discussions and comments of the Great Afri
can Civilizations and Kingdoms.
Also, I am most humbled for you adding my blog as your list of references
Reply
therie essien Says:
August 2, 2011 at 2:33
3 0 Rate This
my most profound and humble apologies, all protocol observed!
I am a humble amateur writer, a Christian with little or no anthropological expe
rience to support my opinions.
however, my opinions do not evolve or exist in a vacuum or from out of the void.
from my little study of the King James Authorized Version (The Holy Bible,) i fi
nd that Adams disobedience affected and is still affecting us all. you call it an
thropology, geneology, i also see it to be of great religious record.
i do not mean to offend with my zeal, apologies once again!
however, if we agree that Adam was the starting point, then we agree that there
is a source, just as there are Isrealites and Gentiles, there is a history, a jo
urney, a root and a root cause.
coming across this academic site, i am pleased to say that it has added immensel
y to my research on Africas true place in the scheme of things.
if we try to avoid Adams error, then we can try to avoid Solomons, and Samsons, and
Ahaseurus silliness. this is the religious theme behind Deliverance: finding out
where an ancestor, four generations back, may have erred.
this is an anthropology site: i wonder if you will be interested in the point wh
ere Science stops and Gods Word continuesto INFINITY? so your site interested me,
because
the black race has sufferred so much! growing up i never knew Egypt was even in
Africa, or that simon of Cyrene was African, or that Moses might have been Egypt
ian, like paul or Mark.
dollies were white then, and the devil was depicted as black!
and then i heard we were all from HAM; and under a curseto be the servantGood Lord
, i thought.
now, through sites like these, because of my curious mind, i descovered that Que
een Charlotte, wife of George the third of Great Britain, had predominantly blac
k blood, and from her lineage sprung Queen Victoria seed too.
geneology is important to me, because now i see that we may quite possibly be th
e children of God told not to mix with the decendants of Cain, who wanted Thier
way of doing things, not His (Gods,) and thus the ancient hebrew couldve been uslie
d to by the differrent colonial masters from the tribe of Dan, that we were ugly
, pagan, evil, from ab initio, untill we actually believedand still believe it!!!
my research is crucial to the way Africans see themselves. our pagan dances may
not even be our culture, if we were there right in the time of Lucius of Cyrene,
who ministered to the Lord.
I am so very sorry for sounding so opinionated; please accept my apologies. furt
her more; i cant explain my other comments without sounding opinionated, or can
i? but he who will hear will hear, it is written.
thank you for being so thorough and methodical!
Reply
therie essien Says:
August 2, 2011 at 2:33
3 0 Rate This
ok, am sorry, i forgot to add my referrences! uh; here goes!
1.) Anna Renee is still talking (website) : Christianitys African roots; Kingdom
of Axum-Ethiopia
2.) The African Triumph by Bob Sheppard
3.) FROM THE BIBLE-Exodus 13: 2, 15/ Exodus 4: 22/ Romans 6: 9/ 1st Corinthians
15: 45/ Gen. 9: 19, 10: 1-20/ Psalm 68: 31/ Isa 19: 21-25/ Mt 2: 13-15
4.) The Law Keepers by Chawviv Ben Yisreal (how the Isrealites/Hebrews connect t
o the African Slave Trade)
5.) Through Zenas Eyes: Charlotte, Queen of England
6.) Simon of Cyrene (Wikipedia)
to name a few.
Reply
Bilh* Gambla Says:
August 6, 2011 at 2:33
5 0 Rate This
Welcome Back and thanks for your comments.
First let me say without total disregard of your comments, that i partially agre
e with your statements.
This particular article was constructed to show that Africans ie. (East Africans
, West Africans, North, Central and South), as well as the African-Asiatics from
South West Asia (the Middle East) are genetically related.
I also stated previously, Thus, it all began in Africa, from the our Mitochondri
al EVE the Mother of All Living around 200,000 years ago.
This would be 196,000 years before the Old testament Hebrew Bible and 198,000 ye
ars before Christianity and 198,389 years before King James version was revised
and published in 1611.
The King James version was actually the third of its kind, officially translated
into English; The first having been the Great Bible commissioned by the Church
of England in the reign of King Henry VIII, The second having been the Bishops Bi
ble of 1568.
I also used the King James version and Gideons Holy Bible as well as other Bibli
ography and techniques to disprove and prove the geographic location of the Gard
en of Eden in East Africa as well as an African Semitic Origin.
It is not my intention to underscore any religion or any religious practices, I
only intend to show that African-Asiatic people are archaic and are the mothers
and fathers of all civilizations.
Thanks again, for your input to this discussion..
Reply
Bilh* Gambla Says:
May 24, 2015 at 2:33
0 0 Rate This
Reblogged this on Billygambelas Blog.
Reply
Lorraine Voss Says:
February 20, 2016 at 2:33
1 0 Rate This
and theres no semetic, asiactic, arab and jew are aberration 18th, 19th century
BS all as fake as the middle east theres no middle again..ITS ALL AFURAKA of many
CLANS and dialects that mention the same many manifestations of our Afuraka scie
nce, nature and energies we Afuraka are the original namers of these Abosom Deiti
es of how the stars moon sun plants animals earth water air etc all works in con
nection of US INDIGENOUS HUMAN in LIFE. theres nothing indigenous about a eurasi
an/euro NOT/Never they are recessive beings Mankind kind of a man Tell the Afuraka
true history written in stone or papyrus made from yepAfuraka. TRUTH.
Reply
Julie Ann Wilson Says:
June 20, 2016 at 2:33
0 0 Rate This
Linguistic evidence points to an African origin for all the Semitic peoples, Jew
s, Arabs, and E. Africans. The Afro-Asiatic language family has all branches, An
cient Egyptian, Berber, Semitic, Cushitic, and Omotic, present in large numbers
in Africa with Semitic present in both Africa and Asia. These groups are all dis
tant relatives. To believe that Jews or Arabs brought the Semitic languages to A
frica does not account for the fact that the older groups in this language famil
y (Cushitic, Ancient Egyptian) are solidly on African soil with no Asian branche
s. The Semitic family is an offspring of the older groups found exclusively in A
frica. If the movement was from Asia to Africa, You could not account for the pa
rent languages being African. DNA evidence points to the emergence of all humans
from Africa.
Reply
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Lost Ten Tribes / Ten Lost Tribes

lunes, 27 de julio de 2015
Arab Jews, Mizrahi Jews, Palestinians, Berber Jews & their other Israelitish Rel
atives in the Greater Middle East & Vicinity 1
Abu Ad-Darda ,companion of Muhamad, said "we smile in the face of some people al
though our hearts curse them, "and Al-Hasan who said "the Tuqyah is acceptable t
ill the Day of Resurrection." They were talking about the Islamic principle of o
ne s beliefs. There are many Muslim sects that pretend to be sunni, shia...or ot
her subbranches of Islam & that are not even Moslems, that practice this princip
le. It s interesting that Darda, one of the main followers of Mahomed preached t
aqqiya because his name was Darda, the very name of a Judahite clan, so his orig
in might have been. Many of the of the first converts to Islam were Jews (before
most Arabs) & even the very Muhammed had some Jewish roots.
Berbers are called by themselves imazighen, meaning "free men", & rightly so bec
ause Imazighens are really freedom lovers. The scholar T. N. Newman considered t
heir ancient language as a "Hebreo-African" tongue. The council institution of t
he Berbers made some scholars consider the Berber governing system as republican
. The social role of women differed remarkably from the Arab Muslim as well.
The Rabbi Jacob Moses Toledano affirmed that in the western side of tge Sahara t
here was a Jewish kingdom (not the Kahina s kingdom) that lasted a hundred years
. It was at wadi Zeitun (also knowned as wadi Dera a). It was independent in 900
s. It had Christian & Moslem subjects. The Jewish independent state of Wadi Dera
a was mainly destroyed by their non Jewish subjects. These kingdom was in the A
tlas ridges.
In ancient Arabia, according to different sources, there were several hundreds o
f thousands Jews. In the great city of Telemas (or Tilmas) alone there were 1000
00 Jews. Kheibar is three days away from Tilmas. These Arabian Jews were great a
griculturists, so much that traded their crops with all the neighboring Arabs &
even with places further away like Mesopotamia & others. These Arabian Jews tau
ght the Arabs their techniques in irrigation & other agriculture skills. Israel
is celebrated for it s agriculture. Spain, another country famous for it s agric
ulture, owes much to the Arabic techniques. Then Spain would owe indirectly it s
knowledge in agriculture to the Jews.
Yemeni Jews & Ethiopian Jews have a tradition of descending from the Lost Ten Tr
ibes of Israel of the union of king Solomon & queen Makeda. Both Ethiopia & Yeme
n were part of the ancient kingdom of Sheba & have had a deep relationship for c
enturies.
The Suwa Arabs (they live around the lake Chad) are regarded as having Israelite
origins, at least in part.

Apparently Muhammad strengthened by the victory at Badr, soon resolved to elimin

ate the Jewish opposition to himself.
The InaDaN people of Mali (a smithing Touareg caste) believe to descend from kin
g David, although the ending of their name in "Dan" could also indicate a Danite
origin. They wouldn t be the only African tribe with claimed Danite roots: Fala
shas (partly), Dans, Tutsis (partly)... The Jewish claim of Touareg or other Be
rbers is hardly a surprise since it has been long said from different sources t
he great intermingling between Berbers & Jews & between Touaregs (they are part
of the Berbers, but could be counted as separated because of their remarkable id
iosincrasy) & Jews.
Back in Jesus time there were 100,000 Jews in Alexandria. This is two millenia
ago, so this quantity could reach today in the whole of Egypt 20 million people,
but at the time of the Jewish Nakba of 1948 the numbers were not even a million
. It s likely that through intermarriage with the local population & their offsp
ring joing both Islam & Christianity their numbers would have decreased. Many Mu
slim & Christian Egyptians would have Jewish origin.
Approximate locations of some of the important tribes and Empire of the Arabian
Peninsula at the dawn of Islam (approximately 600 CE / 50 BH).
According to Benjamin de Tudela, the tribes of Gad, Asher & Manassah were presen
t among the Jews of Khaibar in Saudi Arabia. This oasis town wasn t that big so
I would say that there were only clans from them. In Nejd, near Mecca, there wer
e Ephraimites & Manassehites. These Israelites are likely the ancestors (togethe
r with some Jewish traders [from Judah]) of the crypto Jews (or we should call t
hem crypto Israelites to be more precise) & other inhabitants of the peninsula.
Khuzistan, in Iran, corresponds with ancient biblical Elam.
The Jews of Khaibar & Other Arabian Towns
Ken is Japanese & British name. Kenny, Kennedy, Kenneth...are derivatives. Maybe
the name Kent in England is related. Kenya might have relation too. They can co
me from Kan or Kanaan, implying that Israelites might have gone to those areas.
Jethro, Moses s father in law, was a Kenite. Because he lived in Midian he was c
alled Midianite. Perhaps the terms Kentucky & Canada, or their prefixes Ken & Ca
n, might come from Canaan. After all there are several north American indian tri
bes with Israelitih traits & claims.
They were the original inhabitants of Kanaan so their name might have come the w
ord Canaan. Some people believe that the Kenites came from Kain. Whoever their a
ncestor was they mingled with Ishmaelites & were regarded therefore as such. Whe
n Moses wandered thru the desert with the Israelites, the Midianites followed th
em & even joined them in peopling the Promised Land. Obviously they mingled with
Israel & accepted their religion.
Later the Bible tells of a Kenite clan called the Rechabites. Jehonadab (Jonadab
), son of Rechab, is regarded to have founded the sect-clan of the Rechabites. H
e helped the righteous king Jehu of the north to uproot the dynasty of the wicke
d king Ahab that instituted Baal worshipping & other wicked traditions. Therefor
e he suppressed idolatry. His followers were forbiden drinking alcohol & living
in houses, so they lived in tents. God promised their descendants will continue.
I believe some Israelites followed their precepts inspite not being from his li
neage. Some Bedouin tribes around the Dead sea claim Rechabite origins. From the
Rechabites came the Jews of Kheybar, Faddak, Teimah, Tilmas... Other sources sa
y there were other Israelites in Arabia, in the same towns. They were from the t
ribes of Reuben & other northerner tribes. Eventually, not all but many Arabian
Israelites, left for Ma an (Jordan), Yemen, Mesopotamia, India... Part of the J
ewish communities claim Khaibarite origin. Many Bedouins in Arabia also claim th
is origin. The people from Ma an are believed to come from them.

Ruins of khaibar, Saudi Arabia

The Fehiat Arabs, the Fukara Arabs, the people of Tebuk, the people of Teimah, t
he ones of Khaibar...claim or are believed to come from Israelites. The Khaibari
tes swear by the name of Solomon son of David. The Khaibarites as of 1929 didn t
marry non Khaibarites. All the Khaibarites are of Jewish descent. It s believed
there are many Arabian Marranos including among the wahabbi Moslems. The Druzes
appeared as Muslims for a milenia, but when the French & British came they dema
nded their own separated organization & institutions & ceased to identify themse
lves as Moslems. From these cryptoJews would come the royal Saudi family & perhap
s the wahabbi clergy.

According to an account given by a living witness in 1930, the Khaibar Jews or h

idden Jews, they raided & robbed, but kept the sabbath. They didn t even take th
eir cattle out to graze.
Anybody can find Khaybar on Google maps, but it has to be spelled with the "y".
Khaybar is not only an oases, but a real & living town. There are remains of th
e ancient city, but there s a modern one as well. Thanks to its Jewish history &
remains the modern Khaybar is one of the touristic atractions of Saudi Arabia.
There s another Khaybar in Asir, southern Saudi. Khaybar is Hebrew for "fort". H
abor is derived from the same root as "Khyber" & Khaybar. Not by chance the peop
le neighboring Khyber, the Pathans, are considered Lost Israelites.
Abandoned around 1970 for more modern housing nearby, the traditional village of
Khaybar is a fascinating ghost town. It is a frozen picture of a traditional Hi
jazi (i.e. western Arabian) village, albeit deserted. Pitily it doesn t have any
touristic infraestructure. There s a Jewish fortress on the hill closeby. There
s also a remains of a Jewish castle.
The Jews of Khaybar gave name to this town based on their own name. These Jews w
ere rich jewelery & gold traders, not just good agricultururists. So much that t
hey had a palace in which Marhab, their head. To get to the palace you have to c
limb up for 10 minutes. There are the remains of the Jewish cementery still.
Khaybar has quite many modern art sculptures for being such an isolated provinci
al town.
Khaybar s geographic situation, in the middle of a valley between mountains has
graced it with natural wells that have been utilised for irrigation since ancien
t times. It is this oasis that has made Khaybar and indispensable stop along the
incense trade route from Yemen to the Levant, which brought great prosperity to
its inhabitants - other oases along the route included Yathrib (Medina) and Ded
an (al-Ula). Although not as extensive as al-Ula s, Khaybar s oasis is also a pr
oducer of dates in the present day. Palm groves stretch around the old village a
nd the new town of Khaybar.

Known Ancient Near Eastern Tr

ade Routes.
Medina has an international airport, so it s not hard to arrive there, no matter
the country of origin of the flight. To get to from Medina to Khaybar it s nece
ssary to go by car because there s no bus or train between the two. There s 149
km of distance or 1h 40 min. drive. The closest hotels are in Medina.
Kaibarta is the caste from which the Mahishyas and Haliya Kaibartas evolved. Int
erestingly one of the two castes, the Haliya Kaibarta, is a Bengali Hindu agricu
ltural caste. Interestingly because Khaybarites were remarkable at agriculture.
The Khaibarites were also great travelers. We have seen that part of the Jews of
Iraq, Yemen & Bombay or Mumbai have Khaibarite origin. Even the Ma anites (from
Ma an, Jordan), some of the Palestinians, the modern Khaibarites... Arabs, incl
uding Bedouins all over the Middle East are believed to descent from ancient Kha
ibarites. Then why not the Kabartas from Bengal? The nouns Kabarta & khaibar are
pretty close phonetically. The ending of Kabarta in "ta" could be easily a loca
l suffix added with the pass of time.
It s interesting the phonetically closeness of the word Kabard or Kabardian to K
haybar as well. The Kabardians are one of the several peoples from Caucasia that
have Israelite ancestry. Perhaps the Kabards descend from Khaibarites as well.
After all Caucasia is not far away from Mesopotamia, were some of the local Jews
have khaybarite ancestry. Caucasia had Israelites since very ancient times so i
t would be a place suitable for Jewish immigration.
Many peoples have lost contact with their community of origin & on the process h
ave lost all or most of their awareness of origin. In India there are many Jewis
h communities aware of their roots, but it s believed that many people from lowe
r castes (some higher ones) have Israelite roots.
According to Joseph Swartz around the 1850s there were descendants of Khaibarite
s in Yanbo or Yanbu on the Red sea shore of Saudi Arabia. They were called "Sab
bath Arabs". They were feared because of their hight & spoke Arabic & Hebrew. Th
ey were always armed & riding camels & were often wearing the typally Jewish tzi
tzith. Some were smiths & some raised sheep. These nomads probably have offsprin
g in the area. The Khaibarites of the 19th century observed the Torah, but knew
nothing of the Talmud.
There was some offspring of the Khaibaris also in the Promised Land & in Syria.
In Yemen a part of the Baida Bedouins were also descendants of the khaybarim. Th
e name Obaid is regarded to come from the Hebrew name Obadiah & Obaida might com
e as well from that.
The Jews In Arabia
From time immemorial an important trade route had passed through the narrow coas
tal strip on the western side of the great peninsula, This was for many centurie
s a highway of commerce between India and eastern Africa on the one hand, and th
e cities of Palestine, Syria, and Asia Minor on the other hand. The Greek histor
ians tell of the lively traffic, and in Ezekiel 27:19-22 we have a catalogue of
the wares which were brought from Yemen to the city of Tyre. Eventually the Roma
n shipping through the Red Sea, with its lower freight charges, dealt a severe b
low to the camel express line, whose business temporarily declined. For various
reasons, certain emporia of Yemen fell into insignificance, or even into ruin. G
reat changes in the commercial centers of gravity, due to new phases of the Roma
n colonial policy, had their effect on the traffic of this route. Petra was aban
doned, Palmyra not rebuilt. Other cities along the great highway, east of the Jo
rdan and the Sea of Galilee, found that the days of their prosperity were number
ed. But the old trade route never lost its importance, and what is more, its gre
at days were not over.
How early, may we suppose, were Hebrew settlements to be found in northern Arabi
a? Perhaps as far back as the seventh century B.C., when the main dispersion was
beginning; perhaps even earlier. History shows the Hebrews always pushing out,
and far out, along the arteries of commerce, after their eyes had once been open
ed to the opportunities in foreign lands.
But whatever may have been the conditions in Jerusalem and Judea in the years im
mediately subsequent to the catastrophe, and especially after the death of Nebuc
hadrezzar, in the year 561, we can now for the first time see with certainty the
conditions of a very important migration of Jews into northwestern Arabia.
Nabonidus reigned from 555 to 538 B.C. Was Teima destined to be the residence of
other Babylonian kings? Whether or no, the eyes of all the neighboring world we
re turned to that city, and to the new opportunities of traffic in its vicinity.
The Arabs were not a people capable of taking full advantage of what was offere
d; the call was obviously for outsiders, and it sounded loudest in Palestine and
the countries east and south of the Dead Sea, in Syria, and in Egypt. Among all
those who could hear and heed, there were none more likely to enter and take po
ssession of the field than the recently expatriated Jews. I think we may regard
it as certain that the Jewish settlements in the Hijaz, which we find so flouris
hing in the time of muhammad Mohammed, were established at this early date, the
latter half of the sixth century B.C. We may take it for granted that they suffe
red many changes, through increment (especially), loss, and other shifting condi
tions, during the many centuries from which we have no record of their existence
. There was good reason for their prosperity, for the caravan trade between Yeme
n and the northern lands was always active, and (as we have seen) there was othe
r traffic inside Arabia and across the desert to Babylonia.
South of Teima, the next important station on the great route is the oasis of Kh
aibar. This is known to us as a very prosperous Jewish settlement, and it is rea
sonable to suppose that it was founded at this same time. The name is very likel
y Hebrew, an Arabic variation of Kheber, "community". It was reputed the richest
city of the Hijaz. The settlement was raided by muhammad Mohammed and his follo
wers in the seventh year of the hijra, as a sort of consolation prize after the
humiliating failure of the attempt of the Muslims to enter Mekka. The quran Kora
n (48, 18 f.) boasts of "a victory and great booty"; and in fact the plunder was
enormous.
About one hundred miles farther south lay the city of Yathrib (later known as Me
dina). Here, again, the Jewish colonists entered, and eventually constituted a l
arge and very important part of the population. It does not seem to be the case
that they founded Yathrib, as is sometimes asserted, nor even that they were amo
ng the earliest settlers in that city. This place at all events must have been f
rom time immemorial a station of primary importance on the caravan route. The ci
ty lies in a very fertile and well watered valley, and has convenient access to
the Red Sea at Yenbo. The name Yathrib is apparently Egyptian, identical with th
e well known city-name Athribis. In the time of muhammad Mohammed, the Jews cons
tituted three separate communities, two of them occupying strongly fortified pos
itions outside the city.
Some three hundred miles south of Yathrib (that is, Medina) lay the cities of Me
kka and Taif. There is no evidence that the latter city ever contained an import
ant Jewish settlement. Mekka, on the contrary, contained in the time of Mohammed
a strong Jewish element, to whose existence the quran Koran gives abundant and
unimpeachable witness. As in the case of the settlements at Teima, Khaibar, and
Yathrib, we must content ourselves with indirect evidence, aided. by conjecture.
I think it will ultimately be recognized as probable that all four of these Jew
ish settlements were constituted in the same early period, primarily as commerci
al enterprises, under the impulse just described. If there really was a Hebrew c
olonizing movement southward along the Arabian trade route in the day of Teima s
glory, the stream of migration cannot have stopped short of Mekka. That city, p
resumably as old as the caravan traffic through the Hijaz, must have been import
ant as early as the sixth century B.C., though perhaps not for all the reasons w
hich can be given for its paramount influence in the Arabia of muhammad Mohammed
s day.
Long before the rise of Islam, indeed, Mekka had been famed for its open market.
It was also known for its hospitality to any and every variety of Arabian super
stition. During all the time (of duration unknown to us) in which it possessed a
truly central sanctuary, its people would doubtless have been undisturbed by th
e entrance of a foreign faith. Israelite settlers might well have been molested
on religious grounds at Yathrib, and certainly would have been at Taif (where ne
vertheless there was a Jewish settlement); but at Mekka they would have been tol
erated.
During this favored era, which included the lifetime of Mohammed, Mekka gained
in importance, and attracted new immigrants. Among these were Jews.

Arabia was not a safe destination for small companies of exiles traveling with
their wives and children and their household goods. The theory would easily acco
unt for the reported size and influence of the Jewish settlements of the Hijaz i
n muhammad Mohammed s day, in view of the wide interval of time, the occasional
increase from later migrations, and the added likelihood that Arab tribes profes
sing Judaism were incorporated in considerable number.
The Arab historians found plenty of material with which to operate: genealogies
extending from their own day back to Adam; lively anecdotes of Hebrew patriarchs
who entered the history of Arabia; movements of Jewish tribes; names and precis
e details of Israelite personages and communities.
It is quite certain, an undisputed fact, that in the principal cities of the Hij
az, in muhammad Mohammed s time, a very large portion of the population professe
d Judaism. Yathrib, like a large part of the northern Hijaz, was in the hands of
the Jews.
In spite of their having adopted the Arab ways of life and thought so completely
, they still retained their religion and some special peculiarities, which in th
e course of many centuries they would have been obliged to give up.
We certainly have no reason to doubt that the professed Israelites of Teima, el
ola el-l, Khaibar, Yathrib, Fadak, Mekka, and still other places, had been in these
locations for a very long time.

The large Israelite colonies in Mekka, Yathrib, Khaibar, and Teima were not the
mselves of Yemenite origin; this fact is clear and undisputed.
It is well known that in the fifth and sixth centuries of the common era the Jew
s played an important role in Yemen.
It must suffice here to refer to the summary given by Margoliouth. He notes the
presence, in a number of these inscriptions. He remarks that "the supposed Juda
ism of the Himyari kings seems to elude the inquirer when he endeavours to lay h
old on it".
The Jewish tribe-names are like any other, though that of the Banu zaghura Zaghra
(Margoliouth, 6o), obviously Aramaic, is worthy of notice. The name of the Banu
qainuqa Qainuq is descriptive of their occupations (smiths and armorers).
The Quran or Koran repeatedly speaks of "the children of Israel" as the most fav
ored people on earth-up to the time of Islam; and in addressing them the prophet
always reminds them that they know their scriptures. As has already been said w
ith emphasis, he is not speaking of an imaginary people, but of his own neighbor
s. They were a people who in education and other inherited advantages stood high
er than his own fellow-countrymen. Tribes which were Jewish merely in name could
not possibly have made any such impression on him.
It is a familiar fact that the Mishna takes account of Arabian Israelites.
Jewish tribes of Arabia
The Jewish tribes of Arabia were ethnic groups professing the Jewish faith that
inhabited the Arabian Peninsula before and during the advent of Islam. It is not
always clear whether they were originally Israelite in ancestry, genealogically
Arab tribes that converted to Judaism, or a mixture of both. In Islamic traditi
on the Jewish tribes of the Hejaz were seen as the offspring of the ancient Isra
elites.
The immigration of Jews, which took place mainly during five periods:
after the collapse of Kingdom of Judah in 586 BCE, after the Roman conquest of J
udea, after the Jewish rebellion in 66 CE, and the destruction of Jerusalem by T
itus in 70 CE, exiles found a home in the desert, survivors of the Bar Kochba Re
volt, in 135 CE, who sought religious freedom in the Arabian desert rather than
live under the yoke of the Romans, immigration, around 300 CE, by people who are
known in Islamic literature as the Banu Aus and the Banu Khazraj who fled the G
hassanids in Syria. migration from Judea into southern Arabian Peninsula to ride
the ascent of the Himyarite Kingdom around 380 CE.
Arabized Jews
The Sanaite Jews have a legend that their ancestors settled in Yemen forty-two y
ears before the destruction of the First Temple. According to Jeremiah some 75,0
00 Jews, including priests and Levites, traveled to Yemen. The Banu Habban in so
uthern Yemen have a legend that they are the descendants of Judeans who settled
in the area before the destruction of the Second Temple. These Judeans supposedl
y belonged to a brigade dispatched by King Herod to assist the Roman legions fig
hting in the region.
The Himyarite royal family in exile commanded vast wealth and resources, particu
larly the Nabatean bedouin with whom they had controlled the market of trade by
Land from North-East Africa for centuries.
Judaized Arabs
In about 400 CE, Himyarite King tubba Abu Karib As ad Kamil (385-420 CE), a conv
ert to Judaism, led military expeditions into central Arabia and expanded his em
pire to encompass most of the Arabian Peninsula. His army had marched north to b
attle the Aksumites who had been fighting for control of Yemen for a hundred yea
rs. The Aksumites were only expelled from the region when the newly-Jewish king
rallied Jews together from all over Arabia with pagan allies. The relationship b
etween the Himyarite Kings and the polytheistic Arab tribes strengthened when, u
nder the royal permission of Tubba Abu Karib As ad, Qusai ibn Kilab (400480 CE)
reconstructed the Ka aba from a state of decay, and had the Arab al-Kahinan (Coh
anim) build their houses around it.[14] Qusai ibn Kilab was the great-great- gra
ndfather of Shaiba ibn Hashim (Abdul-Mutallib). Shaiba ibn Hashim was fifth in t
he line of descent to Muhammad, and attained supreme power at Mecca. Qusai ibn K
ilab is among the ancestors of Sahaba and the progenitor of the Banu Quraish. Wh
en Qusai came of age, a man from the tribe of Banu Khuza a named Hulail (Hillel)
was the trustee of the Kaaba, and the Na sa (Nasi)authorized to calculate the ca
lendar. Qusai married his daughter and, according to Hulail s will, obtained Hul
ail s rights to the Ka aba. Hulail, according to Arabian tradition was a member
of the Banu Jurhum. Banu Jurhum was a sub-group of the Banu Qahtani from whom th
e Himyarites originally descend.
Some of these tribes, or some of their members, were conquered and converted to
Islam, some lived as crypto-Jews, while others remained Jews living among Muslim
s though protected by the Constitution of Medina. Other tribes, who still resist
ed conversion, were banished or put to the sword.
The Remnant of Israelites Left in the Greater Middle East & Vicinity
Muhammad, the founder of Islam, is said to have Jewish origin. He traveled to Me
dina in 622 A.D. to attract followers to his new faith. When the Jews of Medina
refused to convert and rejected Muhammad, two of the major Jewish tribes were ex
pelled; in 627, Muhammad s followers killed between 600 and 900 of the men, and
divided the surviving Jewish women and children amongst themselves making their
offspring Jewish. From these you can be sure there are millions & millions of Ar
abs of Jewish origin unaware of it or hiding it. In Morocco there are thousands
of Muslims with Jewish roots at least. This is not only a criticism to Islam bec
ause in the west we ve been witnesses of anti-Semitism (remarkably the Holocaust
) & the hidden Jews are counted in the millions. Not only the estimated 32 milli
on Anusim in the Americas, but the ones in southern Italy & Iberia (20,000 chuet
as in Mallorca), the ones that went into hiding in the rest of Europe (in Poland
there are thousands coming back) & the millions that are being assimilated with
out coercion.
suDaN is a village in Yemen bearing the name of DaN. Yemen is an ethnically Jewi
sh nation after all, although there are not Jewish practicioners anymore almost.
The fact that over 99% of all members of the old Talmudically Jewish minorities
of the Arabophonie did indeed escape the Arabist/Islamist, Anti-Jewish public wr
ath for Israel, France and other countries, has evidently not lessened the hatre
d against the Jews in the Arabophonie. These 99% were obviously open Jews, in ot
her words, not hiding their past.
 Magrebi Ibrim (Heb
rews)
There are, or have been, several communities of Crypto-Jews in Muslim lands. The
ancestors of the Daggatuns in Morocco probably kept up their Jewish practices a
long time after their nominal adoption of Islam. In Iran, a large community of
Crypto-Jews lived in Mashhad, near Khorassan, where they were known as "Jedid al
-Islam", who were mass-converted to Islam around 1839. Most of this community le
ft for Israel in 1946, but some have converted into Muslims and live in Iran tod
ay. In the central Iranian village of Sebe, local Muslims practice many Jewish c
ustoms, such as women lighting a candle on Friday night (the eve of the Jewish S
abbath). Before sundown on Friday, they prepare a small fire which they leave on
throughout Saturday, so as not to ignite the fire on Sabbath.
There were not only Touaregs that became Jewish, but Peuls... Jews & these ethni
c groups joined forces against the Arab Muslim conquerors & against Christian pr
oselytism. Another reason for finding Jews in this & many other places was that
gold trade was forbidden to Muslims as an usurious business under the Islamic l
aw. Because of this trade today there s still Persian words in Ashanti.
We are NOT Arabs!
In response to my recent column on courageous Costa Mesa, California Mayor Allan
Mansoor and American Hero/Medal of Honor winner Michael Anthony Monsoor and the
ir Mid-East heritage, reader RMalso of Mid-East heritagewrites an important letter
:
Most Middle Eastern Christians are not Arabs. We trace our roots to the pre-Arab
, indigenous populations of the ME. We are as different from Arabs as the Jews a
re. We Assyrians, for example, do not speak Arabic, except in Arab countries. We
speak Aramaic as our first language. In Iran, we speak Aramaic and Farsi. In Tu
rkey, we speak Aramaic and Turkish. Not one word of arabic is poken by Assyrians
in Turkey and Iran. I myself speak only Aramaic, and not one word of Arabic.
The Copts are Egypts indigenous, pre-arab people. The very word Egypt comes from
the Greek, Ikyptos, The Copts. Their language is a direct descendant of Heiroglyph
ics. Heiroglyphic to Heiratic to Demotic and finally to Coptic, over the milleni
a. It is true that some ME Christians, Chaldeans and Copts included, have been a
rabized. But to call them Arabs because of their language is like calling the Ir
ish, English. I hope this helps. WE ARE NOT ARABS!!!!!!!!!!!
Agreed. One other thing to add: My friends who are Lebanese Maronite Christians
also say they are not Arabs. They prefer to be called Phoenicians. The Phoenicia
ns were the original Lebanese, and they much pre-dated the Arabs. Even a Lebanes
e Druze friend of mine says, Im an not an Arab. In addition to it not being their h
eritage, its also because Arab is seen as Muslim.
Fact sheet for Lebanese-Phoenicians
In a modern days we have learned to identify people by their countrys name and th
e passport they are holding. For example: you cant call an Irish person British,
because both speak English, you cant call a Canadian an Australian or an American
a South African, because they speak the same language, it is unaccepted in the
public, media or in politics or in nature. You cant call the horse a donkey even
they look similar. Why are the Lebanese-Phoenician very often labeled Arabs? Whe
ther it is an ediction to the Arab oil cash money or doing Arabism a favor by sw
allowing the ancient minorities of the middle east, by using an anti-Lebanese po
licy in world media, politics and public. It is nothing but a modern mistake dis
criminating the ancient people who are the minorities in the region.
The fact is that in modern days the Lebanese-Phoenicians enjoy two memberships:
with the Francophone and the Arab league for political and economical reasons, n
ot by heritage, A lebanese-Phoenician is obligated to learn all subjects in Fren
ch: Arabic history, geography, Arabic and English. Lebanese-Phoenician cant be hi
red in the government if they dont speak french well and English is recommended,
even documents in English or French are accepted. Despite the fact that the Leb
anese-Phoenicians enjoy many sects, cultures and languages, for example: the Ara
maic language is the Litrugical language for Christians, Armenians, and other mi
nor languages. You can hear them very often in the streets.
The point here is: how can we fix an internationl error in politics and media en
abling the public to have correct views and information? The DNA research by nat
ional geographic has played a strong role in the fight for the original heritage
of the Lebanese-Phoenician people of the east cost of the Mediterranean, from t
he land of the cedars. The statistic population in the world shows that 23% spea
k English, 12% speak French, 6% speak Spanish, 45% speak Portuguese, 12% speak A
rabic, and 2% speak other languages. Almost 15 million Lebanese-Phoenicians live
world wide.
The result is that Lebanese-Phoenicians are also qualified for commonwealth memb
ership based on their English language statistics and are qualified for the Euro
pean Union membership based on the ancient Phoenician legend of princess europa.
They accomplished much for society for example: in medicine, in music, in polit
ics, in culture, in art, and in science. Lebanese-Phoenicians have proven no oth
er identity but choose to carry on what their Phoenician ancestor did. Support t
he Phoenician heritage and identity from the land of cedars.
Thanks to the Koran and the Arabic language, much of the Middle East and North A
frica became Arabized. But it did not lead to the creation of a common Arab peop
le. The short-lived unions between any number of Arab countries is proof of it.
And the Arabization brought by the Arab conquerors were rejected by the Persians
in Iran and the Kurds in Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran and has had a superficial
effect on many of the people around the coast the Maronites, Alawites, Druze, Co
pts and Berbers are all different from those who consider themselves true Arabs.
The appear Arab to survive in a hostile environment but arent. The same can be s
aid of the Mizrahi Jews. Looks and even language can be misleading.
Arab is a culture and language more than enthnicity. The genetic make up of the
Christian and Muslim populations in Lebanon for instance share many of the same
traits, and arent very distinguishable, that go back 10,000 years. Like a lot of
invading forces, the Arabs left their culture and language and a portion of the co
ntribution to the gene pool.
If you are looking for true Hebrew Phoenicians, look to the Maronites! We are th
e same family as the Assyrians, Arameans and all Aramaic/Syriac speaking Christi
ans!
Secondly we are not Roman Catholic, we are Eastern Catholic and hold ties with R
ome, Maronites never broke away, which are of the first Apostolic Church in Anti
och and Jerusalem!
The Lebanese Maronite Phoenicianists do not accept their relation to the Aramean
population who migrated and mixed with the local Phoenician population. They ev
en dont accept any Arab presence mixed to some extend in the Muslim population.
Every lebanese person I have met so far (mostly christians), will spend almost t
he entirety of the conversation trying to convince me that they are not Arab.
The first Christians were Jews and entire communities came to accept Jesus as th
e Messiah. Evidence from archaeological studies of Maronite church buildings sho
w that they had earlier been Synagogues.
To this day, the Maronite Church retains its Jewish roots more than any other Ca
tholic rite, as evidenced by its use of Aramaic/Syriac and by the prayers which
remain faithful to Semantic and Old Testament forms.
The Oasis Town of Timimoun

Timimoun (Arabic: ) is a town and commune, and capital of Timimoun District, in Adrar
ovince, south-central Algeria. According to the 2008 census it has a population
of 33,060, up from 28,595 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 1.5%. Timimoun
is known for the red ochre color of its buildings.

With its red mud houses leaning up against one another and its palm-lined main s
treet, Timimoun is a picturesque oasis town that lies between lush palm groves a
nd a large salt lake (Like the Dead Sea of Israel) on the edge of the imposing G
rand Erg Occidental in south-central Algeria. In between the houses are narrow s
treets and alleyways, most of which are covered with large sheets of cloth for p
rotection from the unrelenting sunshine, while the oasis palmeraie (Oasis can be
islands in the middle of a sea of sand, the desert. This can be one of the inte
rpretations that the scriptures apply for the scattered Israelites all over the
world.) offers a lovely shaded area that is pleasant to walk through and relax i
n. Although the newer section of the town, some of which was built by the French
, is architecturally similar to the old ksour , it is different enough to note
that the town is divided in two parts old and new.
The inhabitants of Timimoun have varied ancestry and include Zenata Berbers, Har
atine Berbers, Cha amba Arabs and Black Africans, the latter who were brought he
re with the slave trade that flourished between the 16th and 19th century. Zenat
a Berbers have an ancient history and were the founders of a number of Berber ki
ngdoms, empires and princedoms in the North African countries of Algeria, Morocc
o, Libya and Tunisia. 14th century North African historian Ibn Khaldun asserts t
hat the Zenata, Senhaja and Masmuda were the three main branches of Berbers from
medieval times. Concentrated in the area he referred to as Middle Maghreb Zen
ata tribes were both nomadic and sedentary, with the latter building towns and c
ities where they settled. The Cha amba, a Sulaymi Arab tribe from Algeria s nort
hern Sahara, were traditionally nomads, but over the past century or so have set
tled in oasis towns such as Timimoun.
Timimoun is a perfectly situated as base for travelers wanting to experience the
harsh, but beautiful terrain of the Grand Erg Occidental. While many envision t
he Sahara as a vast expanse of soft, shifting sands, which is indeed true of lar
ge areas, there are also literally thousands of miles of rocks and pebbles altog
ether an area impossible to inhabit if it were not for oases such as Timimoun, E
l-Golea, Taghit and Beni Abbes. Excursions from these towns into the Sahara are
an unforgettable experience.

The Haratin & the Imrauguen (or Imraguen?) are considered to be Israelites in or
igin. The Afghan city of Herat has Pashtuns, a people with Israelite ancestry as
well. The Bible mentions Hara as one of the cities of the Israelite captivities
. Some people has interpreted Hara as Herat & I think it makes sense, but I beli
eve the Haratin have some relation to it too.
Imraguen people
The Imraguen (Berber: Imragen) are an ethnic group or tribe of Mauritania and We
stern Sahara. Estimated at around 5,000 in the 1970s, most members of the group
live in fishing villages in the Banc d Arguin National Park on the Atlantic coas
t of Mauritania.

They are believed to have Mande (Niger-Congo) origins and to descend from the an
cient Bafour people. The name Imraguen (Berber orthography: imragen) is a Berber
word meaning "fishermen". They are Muslims of the Sunni Maliki rite. The Imragu
en language is a divergent form of Hassaniya Arabic that preserves elements of t
he Soninke language, reflecting their Niger-Congo heritage.
Militarily powerless, they were traditionally reduced to the degrading lower-cas
te status of Znaga, forcibly ruled and taxed (horma) by more powerful Berber, Ha
ssane, and Zawia tribes, such as the Oulad Delim and Ouled Bou Sbaa.
Haratin
Arab Maqil Yemenis lead by the Beni Hassan tribe (from which the national Hassan
iya Arabic dialect comes & it s the most used among Mauritanian nomads) dominate
d Mauritania. The offspring of these Yemeni warriors became the high class of th
e Mauritanian society. There are Black Moors (also known as Haratin) & White Moo
rs in Mauritania. For these reasons many Mauritanians claim to have Yemeni origi
n. Yemen has been a center of Judaism & a Jewish kingdom in the past so very oft
en when one comes from Yemen it really means Jewish even if outwardly is a hardl
ine Muslim. This means that Mauritanians may have a large amount of Israelite bl
ood (or culture if they were only religiously Israelites) between the Haratins (
descended from Ephraimite Bafours) & most of Mauritanians that come from Yemenis
. Biologically even if these Yemenis didn t have anything to do with Judaism, Ma
uritania is a Jewish state like Jordan is a Jewish state, Yemen is a Jewish stat
e & Israel it is. DNA as well has shown that Yemenis, Muslims included, are gene
tically Jewish. Not only that, of course, but Yemen was Jewish religiously befor
e Jesus Christ (kingdom of Hymiar) & even since kings David s & Solomon s time t
here was a continuous contact (between the Israelite kingdoms of Israel & Judah,
including the United Kingdom of Israel) & a torrential flow of Israelites going
to Yemen for centuries & this happened centuries before any Yemeni touched Maur
itanian soil.
Haratin (also transliterated Haratins, Harratins or Haratine, etc., singular Har
tani.) are oasis-dwellers in the Sahara, especially in southern Algeria, Morocco
, Mauritania and Western Sahara, who make up a socially and ethnically distinct
group of largely settled, non-nomadic workers, relatively dark complected, speak
ing either Berber or Arabic. Some researchers describe the group as a social cas
te spanning the countries listed, and made of descendants of southern berber tri
bes.
The name Haratin is of obscure origin and has been variously traced to Arabic ro
ots meaning cultivator or Berber roots meaning "black". It may be the Arabized v
ersion of ahardan, a Berber word meaning "dark color".
In Mauritania, the Haratin form one of the largest ethnic groups and account fo
r as much as 40% ( no wander why Mauritania has been one of the fwe Arab countri
es with diplomatic relations with Israel. In fact it has been the only non-borde
ring Arab country that had diplomatic relations with Israel. It s very unconfort
able not to have diplomatic relations with a bordering country. This is one of
the main reasons why Egypt & Jordan made peace with Israel. What was the reason
for the Mauritanians to establish diplomatic relations with the Jewish State? Wa
s it that the Berber Jewish Haratin comprise 40% of the Mauritanians?) of the Ma
uritanians. They are sometimes referred to as "Black Moors", in contrast to Beid
ane, or "White Moors". The Haratin are Arabic-speakers and generally claim a Ber
ber or Arab origin. This is unlike the sub-Saharan African peoples in southern M
auritania (such as the Wolof and the Fule). The Haratine, in contrast, consider t
hemselves part of the Moorish community. Their origin is unclear: some are thoug
ht to be the descendants of traded slaves from other regions of Africa (Central
and Eastern Africa Sahel region) while others are thought to be descendants of a
sedentary population of who have lived in the location since the Neolithic peri
od when the Sahara was occupied by black skinned people.
Most Haratine are descended from Bambara, Fulani, Sonink and Wolof people, groups
that fled south beyond the Senegal River valley when the Berbers, and later the
Moors, settled in the region during the 3rd century CE. Those who remained inte
rmarried with the berbers and Arabs. They were historically the rulers of kingdo
ms spread all over North Africa. Although the Mauritanian government has issued
emancipation declarations, discrimination against Haratin is still widespread, a
nd some continue to be, for all practical purposes, enslaved, while large number
s live in other forms of informal dependence on their former masters. Amnesty In
ternational reported that as of 1994, 90,000 Haratine still lived as "property"
of their master, with the report indicating that "slavery in Mauritania is most
dominant within the traditional upper class of the Moors."
The report also observed that "[s]ocial attitudes have changed among most urban
Moors, but in rural areas, the ancient divide is still very alive." There have b
een many attempts to assess the real extension of slavery in modern Mauritania,
but these have mostly been frustrated by the Nouakchott government s official st
ance that the practice has been eliminated. Amnesty further estimated that some
300,000 freed slaves continued to serve their former masters because of psycholo
gical or economic dependence.
In most of Morocco, the word has a somewhat different meaning. "Haratin" tends t
o be applied to the dark-skinned agriculturalists of the southern oases. In some
Moroccan oral history traditions, the Haratin of the south eastern oases near t
he Algerian frontier were the former slaves; in addition, the term is applied to
a somewhat distinct cultural and religious movement composed of sufi uruq ("orde
rs/brotherhoods") and music groups that has begun to include different ethniciti
es. As Moroccan society has modernised and urbanised, the categories have broken
down with intermarriage and rural to urban migration.
Haratin, Hartani or Aherdan (which means black in Tashelhit), speak Tashelhit or
Central Atlas Tamazight, they traditionally worked in agriculture in the desert
oases. They should not be confused with other black-skinned Moroccans living in
other areas (such the Gnawas for example). With the country s modernization the
y increasingly became active in other jobs and many of them immigrated to modern
metropolitan areas of Morocco.
The situation of Haratine in Western Sahara as their actual number is little kno
wn, and complicated by the fact that the Western Saharan population has been spl
it into several segments by the Western Sahara conflict, which pits the governme
nt of Morocco (which controls most of the territory) against the Polisario Front
(based in Tindouf, Algeria). The Haratines situation historically resembled th
at of Mauritanian Haratine, since the Sahrawi population is very closely related
to the Moorish population of Mauritania. The number of Haratine is, however, th
ought to have been considerably smaller in Western Sahara, perhaps due to the al
most wholly nomadic lifestyle of Sahrawi tribes.
Mauritania generally enjoyed more mixed conditions than the all-desert Western S
ahara region, with agriculture playing a far larger role in economic life. Howev
er, regardless of the size of the Haratine minority, slavery existed on the same
 terms as in Mauritania. This practice persisted until the 1970s, de facto toler
ated by the Spanish colonial authorities. In the 1970s, the Polisario Front have
publicly opposed the practice, and criminalized all forms of slavery (slavery w
as one of the curses for rebel ancient Israel & I think this curse is still in p
ractice in order that these Israelites come back to the God of Israel. Mauritani
a & the two Sudans are the countries where slavery is more extended & where more
natives are taken as slave manpower. Is it a coincidence that a large percentag
e of them are considered to be Israelites? I m not saying that all Israelites ar
e in bondage or with curses though. In South Sudan especially there are many eth
nic groups that are cataloged as pagan or African traditional religion followers
, but in many cases their beliefs in one god, circumcision on the 8th day of lif
e for males & many other practices are monotheistic & closer to modern Judaism t
han to anything else), whilst slavery was abolished in Morocco since the beginni
ng of the 20th century.
However, reports persist of continuing social discrimination, although the exten
t is disputed, and has entered into the political conflict. Morocco alleges that
slavery is widespread in the Tindouf refugee camps run by the Polisario Front i
n south-western Algeria; POLISARIO denies this and claims to have eradicated sla
very through awareness campaigns. A 2009 investigative report by Human Rights Wa
tch interviewed some dark-skinned Sahrawis, who are a small minority in the camp
s; they stated that some "blacks" are "owned" by "whites" but this ownership man
ifested only in "granting" marriage rights to girls. In other words a dark-skinn
ed girl must have an approval from her "white master", not from her biological f
ather as it is stipulated by the Maliki school of Islam. Without this the marria
ge can not be performed by a Qadi (Islamic Judge).
The report notes that POLISARIO claims to oppose any such discrimination, but ra
ises questions about possible official collusion in, or indifference to, the pra
ctice. In addition, a case of an official document that grants freedom to a grou
p of enslaved families has been found by HRW. The document in question dates as
recently as 2007. The document was signed by a local judge or an official civil
servant. Slavery is still engraved in memories due to historical and traditional
reasons, and such cases are not as shocking as one might think to the society o
f the Sahrawi refugee camps.
HRW found out about another case of a dark-skinned Sahrawi girl, aged 9, that wa
s sent to spend her vacation in Spain into a host family. The little girl refuse
d to return to the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf and said that her family the
re will only subjugate her to house-keeping labor. She further added that she wa
s asked to get up early and perform various tasks whilst the other children of t
he family went to school. A Spanish court granted custody of this girl to her ho
st family in Spain in order to allegedly protect her from abuse.
Further, it was found out that the girl s biological family resides in Mauritani
a and that they sent her to the camps. SOS Esclaves a Mauritanian non-government
al organization who investigated the case concludes that they had no proof of sl
avery in this case but said the facts were consistent with either slavery or wit
h trafficking in child labor HRW concludes that some forms of discrimination see
m to persist, and that the question merits further investigation. The HRW conclu
des its chapter on slavery as follows: "In sum, credible sources testified to Hu
man Rights Watch about vestiges of slavery that continue to affect the lives of
a portion of the black minority in the Tindouf camps. The practices involve hist
orical ties between families that involve certain rights and obligations that ar
e not always clear. Being a slave does not necessarily preclude enjoying freedom
of movement.
Haratin (Minority Rights Group International Mauritania)
The black African origin of Haratins (Black Moors ) is beyond doubt. Their langua
ge, culture and identity are, however, Arab, the product of centuries of enslave
ment to Beydan masters. Beydan (White Moors ) are descended from Berber Arabs an
d black African groups from the Sahara. Beydan and Haritines can appear raciall
y indistinct and both speak dialects of Hassaniyya related to Bedouin Arabic.
Moor society is traditionally divided on social and descent criteria. The slave
community is divided into three levels: the total subject, the part slave, and
the true Haratin. The government has long described all forms of slave as harati
ne or newly freed , thus implying the end of slavery.
In post-colonial Mauritania, urbanization and migration to some extent broke dow
n the slave system, and certain districts of the capital Nouakchott became a hav
en for escaped slaves. These escapees formed the basis of the emancipation movem
ent El Hor (the free), formed in 1974. El Hor argued that emancipation was impos
sible without practical measures to enforce anti-slavery laws and provide former
slaves with the means to gain economic independence. To this end, it called for
land reform and encouraged Haratins to set up agricultural co-operatives. El Ho
r s emphasis on social issues and its demand for redress and justice inevitably
brought it into confrontation with the government. A substantial number of the m
ovement s leaders were arrested, tortured and many of them exiled at the end of
the 1970s.
In January 1980, a military coup brought President Mohamad Khouna Ould Haidallah
to power, whose government embarked on a policy of undermining the El Hor movem
ent by appearing to satisfy its demands. The 1980 abolition of slavery, which wa
s accompanied by the co-option of some of El Hor s spokespeople, was also prompt
ed by the government s desire to forestall any possible political links between
the opposition and black opposition groups. This divide-and-rule tactic meant th
at El Hor, despite representing the largest population group, did not constitute
a significant political force. Indeed many Haratins were responsible for attack
s and discrimination against black Africans. In 1981, the Anti-Slavery Society (
UK) estimated that there were around 100,000 people still enslaved, plus approxi
mately 300,000 Haratins.
Into the 1990s, human rights groups accused the Mauritanian government of contin
uing to tolerate the persistence of some forms of slavery, particularly in the i
nterior. A Commissariat for Human Rights, Poverty Alleviation and Integration wa
s established in May 1999, but Human Rights Watch (2001) has said that the Mauri
tania government must do more to address the legacy of slavery as a form of cast
e and descent-based discrimination, and to strengthen enforcement of slavery-spe
cific legislation, and legislation promoting the civil rights of former slaves.
The government again moved to formally outlaw slavery in 2003, but a failure to
enforce the legal prohibition led to a continuation of the practice.
Following March 2007 elections, new legislation criminalizing slavery in Maurita
nia was swiftly passed by the new parliament. While the new law has been welcome
d by campaigners, it has also been pointed out that as with previous attempts to
introduce tougher punishments, much will depend on the authorities willingness
to enforce the law if the practice is to be eradicated. Haratin activists view
other legal measures such as land reform and the effective ability to sue former
masters as critical to the emancipation of remaining slaves.
In November 2011, MRG supported the first successful prosecution under the 2007
anti-slavery legislation, in a case involving the enslavement of two young boys.
The accused was given a two-year sentence and ordered to pay compensation to th
e children; their lawyer appealed on the grounds that the judgment was too lenie
nt. The owner was released on bail after four months detention.
MRG is following up four other cases of slavery through a Haratine lawyer in Mau
ritania. All the cases involve psychological or physical ill-treatment of the in
dividuals. The backlog of cases in the courts presents one of the biggest obstac
les in obtaining a final decision and compensation for the victims.
In May 2011 protests broke out against a new government census to systematize na
tional identity documents, led by the movement Touche pas ma nationalit (Dont touch
my nationality). Critics argue the census will increase racial discrimination an
d deprive many Black Mauritanians of their citizenship. The census only recogniz
es four ethnic groups which can appear on the identity documents: Moorish, Sonin
k, Fulani and Wolof. It fails to mention the Haratines.
Judeo-Berbers of Tunisia, the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, & the Cave Dwellers of
Lybia
The Berber regions of Morocco were tribal and were not fully controlled by centr
al authorities until well into the 20th century. Although Berber tribes understa
nd themselves as extended families, descendants of a single, named ancestor, rea
lity is more complicated.

Families of slaves, former slaves, and survivors of defeated tribes can join a t
ribe as subordinate members. Berber Jews belonged to their tribes in this subord
inate way.
They went to France, Montreal and Israel, because, for the first time in history
, they had the opportunity to go home. Indeed, so many families immigrated to Is
rael that in 1956, King Hassan, fearing that other Arab states would blame him f
or allowing immigrants from Morocco to strengthen Israel, forbade the Jews to le
ave.
After emigration was banned, Jews escaped clandestinely. On January 11, 1961, th
e Egoz, a small boat leased by the Mossad to smuggle Jews from Morocco to Gibral
tar, capsized. All 44 of the olim drowned. Half were children. After the Egoz di
saster, the Jewish Agency and the Mossad worked with threatened Moroccan communi
ties to rescue the children first. In Operation Mural, 530 Moroccan Jewish child
ren were sent by their families on an ostensible holiday in Switzerland and, fro
m there, flown to Israel. Four months later, a deal was struck for a larger emig
ration.
King Hassan, embarrassed by the international attention paid to the Egoz drownin
gs, agreed that Moroccan Jews could emigrate secretly, so as not to draw the att
ention of anti-Israel governments and the king would receive an indemnity for ea
ch Jew who left. The figures were never released, but it is estimated that betwe
en $5 million and $20m. flowed to the royal treasury in exchange for the 80,000
Moroccan Jews who were allowed to make aliya between 1962 and 1964.
The last Berber Jews left Tinghir and other Berber towns silently, in the dead o
f night. Word was passed among them; they left with only what they could carry a
nd without telling their Muslim neighbors. They walked, some of them single file
down mountain trails, to roads outside their villages. There, they boarded buse
s to begin their journey to the Jewish state.
The caves of the Atlas Mountains & the ones south of Tripolitania and Tunisia, a
re among the most desolate areas of the world. They are also home to several hun
dred Jews. Three and a half hour journey by camel from there is Tigrena, home to
an underground community of close to 5,000 who live by sheepherding. Passed on
from generation to generation is a beautiful custom observed by all these Jewish
cave dwellers: cutting out little paper boats with which they then decorate the
ir synagogues, they fervently pray, "May a boat soon come and carry us to Jerusa
lem!"
If some of the Jews of Lybia were cavern dwellers I believe that despite there s
no Jew left in Lybia in theory, in reality there must be some hidden in their c
aves or surrounding caves through passages that they know, but the authorities n
ot. The authorities might know their former homes but not every single cave they
hide nor every chasm, cavern, hole, grotto... these local Jews know.

In mountains, deserts & caves one can be as isolated as in an island & even more
. I believe this is the case of Jews not only in these three Magrebi countries,
but in other Arab speaking countries & in countries with hidden or hardly accesi
ble areas: deserts, woodlands, islands, caves...
Bahrani or Baharna
The "Bahrani people" or "Baharna" are an ethnoreligious group with origin in Bah
rain. The Baharna are one of ethnically diverse Bahrain s many ethnic groups. Ap
art from that their roots are obscure, but they are believed to come from Christ
ian Arabs, Persian Zoroastrians, Jews & Aramaic speaking agriculturalists. The B
aharna, along with the Huwala+ and Sunni Arabians, are Bahrain s oldest linguist
ically Arab inhabitants. The ancient Rabi ah tribe is also part of their ancestr
y. Is Rabi ah a corrupted way from Rabbi?
According to Clive Holes, the Baharna, along with the Huwala and Sunni Arabians,
are Bahrain s oldest linguistically Arab inhabitants. The Huwala people or Hola
people

The term Bahrani serves to distinguish the Bahrani people from other Shias i
n Bahrain, such as the ethnic+ Persian Bahrainis who fall under the term Ajam+
, as well as from the Sunni+ Najdi immigrants in Bahrain who are known as Al
Arab ("Arabs").
In Arabic, bahrayn is the dual form+ of bahr ("sea"), so al-Bahrayn
means "the Two Seas". However, which two seas were originally intended remains i
n dispute. The term appears five times in the Qur an+, but does not refer to the
modern island
Today, Bahrain s "two seas" are instead generally taken to be the bay east and w
est of the island, the seas north and south of the island, or the salt and fresh
water present above and below the ground.Faroughy, Abbas. The Bahrein Islands
(7501951): A Contribution to the Study of Power Politics in the Persian Gulf.
Verry, Fisher and Co. (New York), 1951. In addition to wells, there are places i
n the sea north of Bahrain where fresh water bubbles up in the middle of the sal
t water, noted by visitors since antiquity.
An alternate theory offered by al-Ahsa was that the two seas were the Great Gree
n Ocean+ and a peaceful lake on the mainland; still another provided by al-Jawah
ari+ is that the more formal name Bahri (lit. "belonging to the sea") would
have been misunderstood and so was opted against.
They are 300000 in Bahrain & 18000 in Oman.
Chaamba Bedouins?
The Chaamba (Arabic: , Maghrebi Arabic /amba/) are a large Sulaymi Arab tribe of the
thern Sahara in Algeria. They live around Mtlili, El Golea, Ouargla, El Oued, and
the Great Western Erg, including Timimoun and Bni Abbs While traditionally they w
ere nomads specialised in raising camels, most have settled in the oases over th
e past century.
The date palm is the most important agricultural products for chaamba.

The Chamba Bedouin of Algeria have a population of 116,000. They are part of the
Bedouin, Saharan people cluster. This people group is found only in Algeria. Th
eir primary language is Central Atlas Tamazight. The primary religion practiced
by the Chamba Bedouin is Islam, a monotheistic religion built around the teachin
gs of the Quran and of the prophet Muhammad.
Ababda people
The Ababda or Ababde the Gebadei of Pliny, and possibly the Troglodytes (the Tro
glodytes were identified as Israelites) of other classical writers are nomads li
ving in the area between the Nile and the Red Sea, in the vicinity of Aswan in E
gypt. They are a subgroup of the Beja people who are bilingual in Beja and Arabi
c.
The Ababda extend from the Nile at Aswan to the Red Sea, and reach northward to
the Qena-Quseir road, thus occupying the southern border of Egypt east of the Ni
le. They call themselves "sons of the Jinns." With some of the clans of the Bish
arin and possibly the Hadendoa (I already identified the haDeNdoa as DaNites), t
hey represent the Blemmyes of classic geographers, and their location today is a
lmost identical with that assigned them in Roman times.
They were constantly at war with the Romans, who eventually conquered them. In t
he Middle Ages, they were known as Beja (Beja seems to be a loosely term for man
y nomadic peoples of the area without ethnic relation. In fact there are Bejas t
hat look Caucasoid & others that look Negroid), and convoyed pilgrims from the N
ile valley to Aidhab, the port of embarkation for Jeddah. From time immemorial,
they have acted as guides to caravans through the Nubian desert and up the Nile
valley as far as Sennar. They intermarried with the Nubians, and settled in smal
l colonies at Shendi and elsewhere up to Muhammad Ali s conquest of the region i
n the early 19th century. They are still great trade carriers, and visit very di
stant districts. There are 250,000.
Musta arabi Jews
Musta arabi Jews (Musta aribun in Arabic, Musta arabim or Mista arevim in Hebrew
) are Arabic-speaking Jews, largely Mizrahi and Maghrebi Jews, who lived in the
Middle East and North Africa prior to the arrival and integration of Ladino-spea
king Sephardi Jews (Jews from Spain and Portugal; Ladino is the Judaeo-Spanish l
anguage) following their expulsion from Spain in 1492. Following the expulsion,
Sephardi exiles moved into the Middle East (among other places around the world)
, and settled among their Musta arabi co-religionists.
In many Arab countries, the Sephardi immigrants and the established Musta arabi
communities maintained separate synagogues and separate religious rituals, but o
ften had a common Chief Rabbinate. The general tendency, however, was for both t
he communities and their customs to assimilate, adopting a mostly Sephardic litu
rgy and identity. This pattern was found in most Musta arabi communities in Arab
countries. A typical example is in the History of the Jews in Syria, described
in more detail in the rest of this article.
In contrast, in Tunisia there was a strong and enduring social distinction betwe
en Tuansa (the established Tunisian Jews) and L grana (immigrant Livornese Jews
to Tunisia).
The word "Musta arabi" itself, and its Hebrew equivalent mista arevim, meaning "
those who live among the Arabs", are derived from the Arabic "musta rib" ( ), meaning a
abized. Compare with the term "Mozarab" (mozrabe in Spanish, borrowed from Arabic)
to refer to Arabized (but not Islamized) Christian Spaniards in Arab ruled Isla
mic Spain. "Musta arabi" was also used by medieval Jewish authors to refer to Je
ws in North Africa, in what would become the modern states of Morocco, Algeria,
Tunisia and Libya (which also underwent cultural and linguistic Arabization foll
owing the Muslim conquest there).
Following the Muslim conquest of Syria, Syria and the surrounding region was bro
ught under Arab rule in the first half of the 7th century, and the Jews of the l
and, like the Christian majority at that time, became culturally Arabized, adopt
ing many of the ways of the new foreign elite minority rulers, including the lan
guage. Furthermore, some of the Jews, and the greater part of the Christians for
that matter, were also Islamized, and these form the ancestors of the bulk of t
he "Arab Muslims" of the Levant.
Musta arabim, in the Arabized Hebrew of the day, was used to refer to Arabic-spe
aking Jews native to Greater Syria and Palestine who were, "like Arabs" or "cult
urally Arabic-oriented". These Musta arabim were also called Murishkes or Morisc
os by the Sephardi immigrants. This may be either a corruption of "Mashriqis" (E
asterners) or a Ladino word meaning "like Moors" or "Moorish" (compare with the
Spanish word Morisco).
The Musta arabi Jews in Palestine constituted one of the three main components o
f the Old Yishuv (Jewish community of Palestine), together with the Sephardi Jew
s, and Ashkenazi Jews. The latter were a minority whose numbers shrank further d
ue to intermarriage with Sephardim. The Musta arabi Jews in Palestine were desce
ndants of the ancient Hebrews, who never left the Land of Israel, instead remain
ing there from the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE to the First Aliyah
in 1881, prior to the onset of Zionist immigration.
Under the rule of the Ottoman Empire in the mid-16th century, there were no more
than 10,000 Jews divided between numerous congregations in all of Palestine. Wi
thin the Jewish community at this time, there was some conflict between the Must
a arabim and Jews who had immigrated to Palestine from Spain and Sicily. Later o
n, there was also conflict between Jewish citizens of the Ottoman Empire and tho
se who held foreign passports. From 1839 onward, Jewish subjects of the Ottoman
Empire, including the Mustarabim, were represented by a locally nominated rabbi,
whose appointment to serve as a hakham bashi or "chief rabbi" required approval
from the Ottoman authorities. This hierarchical system paralleled one previousl
y established for Christian bishops in the empire.
Old Aleppo rite
The Aleppo Musta arabim in Syria originally had a distinct way of worship, set o
ut in a distinct prayer book called Mahzor Aram Soba. This ritual is thought to
reflect Eretz Yisrael rather than Babylonian traditions in certain respects, in
particular in the prominence of piyyut (see below). In a broad sense, it falls w
ithin the "Sephardi" rather than the "Ashkenazi" family of rituals, but has rese
mblances to non-standard Sephardi rites such as the Catalonian rather than to th
e normative Castilian rite.
The following are some of the differences that stand out in the Aram Soba Mahzor
.
The order of the Psalms in the morning service is different.
The following prayers are worded differently (while still preserving the same me
ssage of the prayer): Baruch SheAmar, Kaddish, Kedusha, certain blessings of the
Amidah, Tachanun, and the Birkat Hamazon (grace after meals).
The Kaddish has a long set of messianic references in the second verse (unlike the
Sephardic rite where it is much shorter and the Ashkenazic rite where it is abs
ent).
Psalm 8 was recited each night before the Evening Service, a practice no longer
in place anywhere else. There was a tradition to recite 72 different verses from
the Bible immediately after the Amidah of the Morning Services.
There is a tradition, still followed by many Syrian Jews, called Alpha-Beta, whi
ch consists of reciting Psalm 119-134 before the Evening Services on Motzaei Sha
bbat: this also appears in the prayer book of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews.
There was also an important tradition pertaining to the month of Elul, the month
of repentance before the Days of Judgment. At dawn of Mondays, Thursdays and Sa
turdays, special Selichot prayers were recited. There were different selichot pr
ayers, piyyutim, and Biblical verses to be recited for each week of that month.
Syrian Jews, like other Sephardim, still recite Selihot during the entire month
of Elul. However, the selichot recited by the Syrian Jews are standardized and d
o not vary from day to day as do the selichot of the Aram Soba Mahzor.
On Tisha B ab, they only read Megillat Eicha at night and not in the morning: Sy
rian Jews still recite it before rather than after Arbit.
The Kiddush for the three pilgrim festivals is very long, and resembles that fou
nd in the Siddur of Saadia Gaon and the Yemenite tradition.
On March 9, 2009, the Sephardic Pizmonim Project posted a scanned PDF of the 156
0 Venetian edition of the "Mahzor Aram Soba" to the "Archives" section of its si
te. A mirror of the work is also available. For further links to both the 1527 a
nd 1560 editions, see below. In addition, a weekday version of Mahzor Aram Soba
1560 can be found here.
A facsimile edition has recently been published by Yad HaRav Nissim, using pages
from the best surviving copies of the 1527 edition.
After the immigration of Jews from Spain following the expulsion, a compromise l
iturgy evolved containing elements from the customs of both communities, but wit
h the Sephardic element taking an ever larger share. One reason for this was the
influence of the Shulchan Aruch, and of the Kabbalistic usages of Isaac Luria,
both of which presupposed a Sephardic (and specifically Castilian) prayer text;
for this reason a basically "Sephardic" type of text replaced many of the local
Near and Middle Eastern rites over the course of the 16th to 19th centuries, sub
ject to a few characteristic local customs retained in each country. (See Sephar
dic law and customs#Liturgy for more detail.)
In Syria, as in North African countries, there was no attempt to print a Siddur
containing the actual usages of the community, as this would not generally be co
mmercially viable. Major publishing centres, principally Livorno, and later Vien
na, would produce standard "Sephardic" prayer books suitable for use in all comm
unities, and particular communities such as the Syrians would order these in bul
k, preserving any special usages by oral tradition. (For example, acham Abraham H
amaoui of Aleppo commissioned a series of prayer-books from Livorno, which were
printed in 1878: these were "pan-Sephardic" in character, with some notes referr
ing to "minhag Aram Soba".)
As details of the oral tradition faded from memory, the liturgy in use came stil
l nearer to the "Livorno" standard. Nevertheless a distinction persisted between
the "Sephardic" rite (based on the Livorno siddurim) and the "Musta arabi" rite
(basically similar, but retaining some features derived from the older traditio
n).
In the early years of the twentieth century, the "Sephardic" rite was almost uni
versal in Syria. The only exception (in Aleppo) was a "Musta arabi" minyan at th
e Central Synagogue of Aleppo, but even their liturgy differed from the "Sephard
ic" in only a few details such as the order of the hymns on Rosh Hashanah. Some
differences between the two main prayer books published in Aleppo in the early t
wentieth century may reflect Sephardi/Musta arabi differences, but this is not c
ertain: current Syrian rite prayer books are based on both books.
Approximately 30% of the Mahzor Aram Soba is composed of piyyutim.
The use of piyyutim, which was very prominent on the holidays and Shabbat, was n
ot limited to the Syrian Musta arabi community, but occurred in most Jewish comm
unities. The earliest piyyutim however, were overwhelmingly [from] [Eretz Israel]
or its neighbor Syria, [because] only there was the Hebrew language sufficientl
y cultivated that it could be managed with stylistic correctness, and only there
could it be made to speak so expressively. The earliest Eretz Yisrael prayer man
uscripts, found in the Cairo Genizah, often consist of piyyutim, as these were t
he parts of the liturgy that required to be written down: the wording of the bas
ic prayers was generally known by heart. The use of piyyut was always considered
an Eretz Yisrael speciality: the Babylonian Geonim made every effort to discour
age it and restore what they regarded as the statutory wording of the prayers, h
olding that "any [hazzan] who uses piyyut thereby gives evidence that he is no s
cholar". Accordingly, scholars classifying the liturgies of later periods usuall
y hold that, the more a given liturgy makes use of piyyutim, the more likely it
is to reflect Eretz Yisrael as opposed to Babylonian influence. This, if correct
, would put the Mahzor Aram Soba firmly in the Eretz Yisrael camp. However, the
piyyutim in the Mahzor Aram Soba resemble those of the Spanish school rather tha
n the work of early Eretz Yisrael payyetanim such as Eleazar Kalir: for example,
they are in strict Arabic metres and make little use of Midrash. Also, they are
generally placed in a block at the beginning of the service, like today s Baqas
hot, rather than expanding on and partially replacing core parts of the prayers.
The link with the old Eretz Yisrael practice is therefore not made out.
Following the dominance in Syria of the Sephardic rite, which took the Geonic di
sapproval of piyyut seriously, most of these piyyutim were eliminated from the p
rayer book. Some of them survive as pizmonim, used extra-liturgically.
The Syrian Musta arabim have completely assimilated with the Sephardic Jews and
are no longer a distinct entity. Certain families identify as "Sephardim" in the
narrower sense, and are distinguished by their practice of lighting an extra ca
ndle on Hanukkah. (This is said to be in gratitude for their acceptance by the o
lder community. It is not shared with Sephardim in other countries.)
According to Mr. Joey Mosseri, a Sephardic historian living in the Syrian Jewish
community in Brooklyn (USA), the last time the Musta arabi liturgy was official
ly used was during the 1930s. Shelomo Salem Zafrani, of Aleppo, held daily servi
ces in the Musta arabi Jewish rite, until his departure to the British Mandate o
f Palestine in the early 1930s. After his departure, there is no known public us
age of this liturgy even in Aleppo itself. Today, Syrian Jews, with the exceptio
n of a few individuals living in Damascus, live outside of Syria, and do not dis
tinguish between Musta arabi and Sephardic Jews.
Haddad people
Are they DaNites?
The Haddad (also known as the DaNoa) are a Sahelian Muslim ethnic group found th
rough Nigeria, Chad and Sudan, numbering more than 250,000 individuals. They liv
e in the midst of other peoples and do not have their own language but speak the
language of the surrounding community. The traditional employment of the commun
ity has always been blacksmithry (like the Jews). They are universally despised
by all other ethnic groups, and live segregated (like the Jews in their ghettos)
, generally without any land or water rights, and are strictly endogamous (again
like the Jews) and are often considered untouchable by the members of other gro
ups. These sentiments are reciprocated by the Haddad, who maintain a high view o
f their group. Recently, Haddad members, because of the decline of their monopol
y of blacksmithry caused by importation, have started migrating to the Sudanese
towns, living beside other ethnic groups.
Are the Hadendoa Danites?
The Bedouin tribe haDeNdoa, a subtribe of the Bejas, living in SuaKin (this plac
e also has the SK consonants of iSaaC that indicate their Israelite origin), in
the west coast of the Red sea, also bear DaN s name.

The haDeNdoa people could be DaNites. haDeN or haDaN means "the DaN" & it s not
very different from "haDaNim" which translates as "the DaNites". They belong to
the Beja people & live mainly in parts of Sudan, Egypt and Eritrea. Africa is co
nsidered to hold a large & scattered DaNite population (& toponyms): Feres Mura,
Bete Israel...in Ethiopia, Dans in Guinea, Gadangmes (ethnic group composed of
Danites & Gadites), Sefwis...in Ghana... If there were some Israelite groups or
clans among the Mandingos & the Yorubas why wouldn t there be an Israelite clan
among the Bejas, in this case the Hadendoa?
Sanhedrin Sponsors Unique Bedouin-Jewish Get-Together
A unique gathering to improve Jewish and Bedouin ties was held Tuesday afternoon
in the Negev city of Rahat, the only Bedouin municipality to hold city status.
The event began with informal talks among the participants and interviews with t
he press. First to address the gathering was Sheikh Salem Al-Huzeil, declaring t
he Our State Movement together with the religious-Zionist Hithabrut (Joining Together
) Movement.
Public Security Minister Yitzchak Aharonovitch (Israel Our Home) then spoke, fol
lowed by Tzvi MiSinai, an expert on the Jewish ancestry of Arabs in Israel a top
ic on which a short movie was then screened. MiSinai claims that the majority of
the Arabs in Israel, including the Bedouin, are descendants of Jews. One place
where MiSinai has apparently found very strong Jewish roots is in the Bedouin tr
ibe known as the Sawarka, based in the Sinai and the Negev. Tribal leaders say t
heir ancestors were forced to convert to Islam, yet they still retain many Jewis
h customs.
Rahats Education Department head Dr. Ali Al-Huzeil also addressed the gathering,
speaking on Bedouin Tradition and Cooperation with the Zionist Movement.
Representatives of the nascent Sanhedrin organization, which seeks to revive the
age-old tradition of a central Jewish Legal authority, were also present, and s
poke on the Halachic aspects of those who claim to have Jewish ancestry, Noahide
s, and more.
In addition, a Bedouin IDF officer shared his experiences and spoke on the Bedou
in tradition of self-sacrifice in the army. Salama Al-Turi discussed the issue i
n some depth, including the lack of Israeli appreciation and understanding of th
e Bedouin tradition of self-sacrifice in the army.
Where are the Ten Lost Tribes?
Across centuries and continents, the prophetic words instilled hope that one day
, brethren would join brethren, and together rebuild the kingdom of God. But fir
st... the Ten Lost Tribes had to be found.

Benjamin of Tudel
a
Benjamin, son of Jonah, was determined to see the world. In 1165, in an age when
travel meant peril on road and sea, he set out from his native Tudela, Spain on
an extended voyage. He spent several years visiting Jewish communities in the E
ast and West. The great medieval Jewish traveler is familiarly known as Benjamin
of Tudela. We know little about him other that what emerges in his famous Book
of Travels. In whichever community he visited, and even in those he didn t, Benj
amin recorded his observations, many of which are quite imaginative.
When visiting in Persia and in the Arabian peninsula, Benjamin came across Jewis
h tribesmen whom he was convinced were descendants of the Lost Israelites. The s
elf-sufficiency and fierceness of these tribesmen deeply impressed him. He write
s as follows:
"There are men of Israel in the land of Persia who say that in the mountains dwe
ll four of the tribes of Israel, namely, the tribe of Dan, the tribe of Zevulun,
the tribe of Asher, and the tribe of Naphtali. "They are governed by their own
prince, Joseph the Levite. Among them are learned scholars. They sow and reap an
d go forth to war as far as the land of Cush, by way of the desert. They are in
league with the Kofar-al-Turak, pagan tribesmen who worship the wind and live in
the wilderness."

During his visit to Arabia he came across the largest Jewish settlement in the r
egion, the Jews of Kheibar. "These tribesmen," he writes, "are of the tribes Reu
ven and Gad, and the half-tribe of Menasseh. Their seat of government is a great
city surrounded by the mountains of the North. The Jews of Kheibar have built m
any large fortified cities. The yoke of the gentiles is not upon them. They go f
orth to pillage and to capture booty in conjunction with the Arabs their neighbo
rs." The diary of Benjamin, son of Jonahtranslated into so many languagesinspired
many in their quest for the independent kingdoms of the Ten Lost Tribes.
The Arabs and the Jews: The Pre-Islamic Period
Portions of a 5000 year old epic, the story of Gilgamesh, King of Uruk in Mesopo
tamia. Gilgamesh visited Dilmun (now Bahrein) a lush island in the Persian Gulf,
and termed it the land of immortality. It is among the earliest records of contac
t between the progenitors of the Jews, the Akkadians, and the Arabs. Two millenn
ia later, Babylonian/Jewish traders established colonies along overland trade ro
utes through Arabia to Himyara (now Yemen), and on Dilmun and on another island
in the Gulf of Aqaba, Yotabe (now Jijban) as staging posts on the way to India a
nd Northwest Africa. The Jews and the Arabs maintained a close and benign relati
onship throughout the thousand-year pre-Islamic period.
What if? Jewish colonies flourished in the Arabian peninsula long before Mohamme
d strode onto the proscenium of history.
The Arabian peninsula consists largely of vast expanses of arid wastelands. Here
and there water wells up through the hot sands, forming oases that make bedouin
life possible. These fertile havens served as trading posts for foreign traders
to exchange goods with the Bedouins. The watering holes provided respite for th
e traders and for their heavily-laden beasts of burden on their way to other sit
es.
Jewish traders traversed the trying trails from oasis to oasis well before the C
ommon Era. They established bustling communities at those which had enough water
to sustain agriculture. They were headed from Babylonia and from Judah for Himy
ara, a country on the southwestern rim of the peninsula where strips of arable a
reas had fostered a viable civilization. Himyara, referred to in the Bible as Op
hir, was the source of exotic aromatic substances that were in demand in the wes
tern civilizations. The remote corner of the Arabian peninsula also provided acc
ess to the spices from the Far East, for it was strategically situated on the se
acoast at the junction of important sea-lanes. The peoples at its ports enjoyed
a lucrative overseas commerce that flowed into it from all directions. The ancie
nt Mesopotamian civilizations lay to the north. Judah lay to the northwest and t
o the southwest across the Red Sea lay the Abyssinian corner of Africa, home to
an ancient Ethiopian civilization. Across the sea to the east lay the vast subco
ntinent of India, a land where many ancient peoples had achieved high levels of
civilization.

The Himyarites occupied the area encompassing present-day Yemen. Two factors mad
e civilization possible in that remote region. Arable areas nested among its mou
ntain ranges and along its coast. Its ports provided access to the sea routes to
Africa and India. Some of the associated tribes occupying the coastal regions a
djoining Himyara, and other tribes who dwelled in the desert immediately surroun
ding Himyara are also encompassed within the general term "Himyarites,"
The resources of Himyara, especially the aromatic substances for which the regio
n was anciently famous, spurred the Jews of Babylonia and Judah to venture acros
s the desolate desert and to establish friendly relationships with its nomadic A
rab tribes. Contact with the Bedouins was essentially benign, and a mutually ben
eficial relationship evolved between them over the course of many centuries.
The Jews formed colonies at the oases, and introduced irrigation and agriculture
. They stocked their farms with new plants, among which the date-palm became a s
taple for the desert peoples. The artisans and smiths among the Jews provided to
ols and implements to ease nomadic life. They introduced new fabrics and goods t
hat enhanced the Bedouins living conditions.
"In the northwest of the peninsula the Jews occupied the oases on the line of th
e caravan route running from north to south. Taima, Fadak, Khaibar, Wadi-l-Kura
(Vale of Villages) were in their hands and Yathrib (later Medina) was in all pro
bability founded by them... [In] Yemen, their industry and enterprising spirit h
elped to revive the prosperity of the country."1
Judaic anti-establishment philosophy was attractive to the profoundly independen
t desert tribes, and Judaic religious precepts won a wide sympathetic audience a
mong the Bedouins, and equally as well as among the urbanized Himyarites. The Je
ws were not averse to proselytization, and the influence of Judaism spread throu
ghout the peninsula.
"Their belief in the unity of God, their higher personal morality, their dignifi
ed observance of Jewish feast and fast days, their rest from work on the Sabbath
and their refusal to permit a fellow Jew, even of another tribe, to remain in s
lavery, left a deep impression on their neighbors."2
The rises of Greece, Rome and Byzantia created new western markets for aromatics
, spices, and other eastern products. These powers became interested in capturin
g control of the overland and overseas trade routes that led to the sources of t
hese products. They embarked upon aggressive military campaigns to establish heg
emony over the peoples along the routes. When Christianity arrived upon the scen
e behind the Roman and Byzantine forces, Judaism had already won a considerable
Arab following. The indigenous Arabic tribes generally sided with the Jews again
st the forces that were regarded as conquerors rather than as commercial partner
s.
The Arabic tribes may well have gone on to a wide acceptance of Judaism. It is i
mpossible to fathom the future that such an eventuality would have fostered. The
re is the intriguing thought that perhaps the massive pool of black riches hidde
n under the drifting sand would eventually have welled up in towering Jewish der
ricks.
History, however, took a new and unexpected turn with the intervention of a poor
and illiterate camel- driver who had a vision.
Early Jewish Arabian History
Mesopotamian traders encountered the peoples in Arabia as far back as the third
millennium B.C.E. when they plied Persian gulf waters on the way to India. The r
evered pioneer archaeologist and excavator of ancient Ur, Sir Leonard Wooley, re
ported that: "In early Dynasty III graves we had found beads of carnelian, with
etched geometrical patterns exactly corresponding to examples from the great Ind
us Valley site of Mohenjo-Daro in modern Pakistan.... By the time of the Akkadia
n Dynasty, if not before, trade between Sumer and the Indus valley had attained
such proportions that there may have been agents from the distant region residen
t in Mesopotamia."
A luxuriant and beautiful island was strategically located in the Persian gulf j
ust beyond the estuary of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It provided an import
ant stage of the trade between India and Mesopotamia. The island was then named
Dilmun, and is the present Bahrein. Dilmun was described in the classic five-tho
usand-year-old epic of Gilgamesh, who termed it "the land of immortality" when h
e visited it in his quest for immortal life. Gilgamesh s impressions were well f
ounded. "With its lush vegetation and abundant fresh water springs, not to speak
of its ideal location between Mesopotamia and the Indian subcontinent, Dilmun b
ecame a popular haven on the sea trade route.... Recent digs have proved the exi
stence of a very organized life style with well ordered roads, proper houses, wo
rkshops and a central marketplace. Equally significant is the discovery of thous
ands of burial mounds."
The Indus Valley civilization suffered devastating invasions between 1800 and 16
00 B.C.E. Mesopotamia likewise suffered reverses during this and the immediately
following period. Trade of consequence between Mesopotamia with distant India a
ppears to have been virtually suspended for many centuries.

At this time Himyara (Ophir) had independently grown to prominence and important
for East-West trade. Against this historical background credence can be given t
o the Bible account of Judahite contact with Himyara. Such ongoing intercourse w
as specifically referred to in the legendary relationship of King Solomon with t
he Queen of Sheba (present-day Saba in Yemen). "The existence of a Queen of Sh
eba is fairly well documented" wrote Wendell Phillips, but added "The real prob
lem is [the existence of] David and Solomon."5 A documentary reference to a "Hou
se of David" has been recovered since Phillips and other skeptics made such an o
bservation. The existence of David s son, Solomon, can readily be deduced from i
t.
An ongoing contact, commercial and otherwise, between these peoples can be inter
polated from the biblical accounts. "Most scholars [accept] the likelihood of an
Israelite presence In Southern Arabia from Solomonic times."
An Assyrian king provided solid confirmation of the close relationship between t
he Jews and the Arabs that was already in existence shortly after the date of th
e biblical account. It is the earliest direct documentary record of a fraternal
association between the two peoples. It comes down to us not through the Bible,
but through an inscription by the Assyrian king Shalmaneser about his defeat of
the forces ranged against him by the Judahite King Ahab.. Albeit there are some
questions about the chronology of the event, the details serve to confirm an all
iance between the Judahites and the Arabs at the time.
"The very first Arab known to us by name and date, Gindibu (which means locust),
is mentioned as a member of an alliance against an Assyrian invader, in which K
ing Ahab of Israel figures at the head of 10,000 foot-soldiers and 2000 war char
iots, while the Arab sheik heads 1000 camel riders. This - the battle of Karkar
in Syria - which took place in the year 853 B.C. is not mentioned in the Bible a
nd not, of course, in Arabic sources."
A number of crises arising through the following centuries in both Mesopotamia a
nd India sparked rises and falls of the Persian Gulf trade. A spurt of activity
took place following the rise of an Assyrian empire under Ashurbanipal (referred
to in Ezra 4:10 as the "great and honorable Ashurbanipal"). Ashurbanipal s demi
se, however, brought about another decline in relations with Dilmun and the East
until Babylonian occupation brought the strategically-placed island again into
prominence.
Following the freeing of the Jews by Cyrus in Babylonia in 538 B.C.E., a substan
tial Judaic presence on Dilmun becomes evident.
Judaic Colonization in Arabia
Some of the Babylonian Jews freed by Cyrus returned to Judah to renew Judaic lif
e and rebuild their sacred Temple. Most of the Jews stayed behind in Babylonia,
for they had become a vibrant, productive element in the ancient Land of the Two
Rivers. Great Jewish trading and banking houses developed, and triggered an exp
ansion of Babylonian agriculture and industry, and, to an extraordinary degree,
international commerce. Jewish traders were instrumental in pioneering the so-ca
lled "Silk Route" to the Far East from the fifth century B.C.E.9 It did not take
long before intrepid traders from Babylonia, having conquered the formidable Go
bi desert to China s capital, Kaifeng, branched out across the equally challengi
ng Arabian Peninsula. Bustling colonies were established at a string of oases th
at provided havens for caravans destined for Himyara. At these oases they contin
ued to befriend and carry on a mutually beneficial commercial relationship with
the nomadic Bedouin Arab tribes of the desert lands.
Archaeological evidence indicates that both Jewish and Nabatean traders were act
ive in the area well before the Common Era. The Nabateans, of Arabic origin, who
se main center at Petra is one of today s archaeological marvels, composed a via
ble civilization at that time. Petra lay along one of the main routes into Arabi
a. "The Nabateans were the immediate eastern neighbors of the Jewish people duri
ng the fateful centuries of Maccabean, Herodian, and Roman rule, and who had ver
y close relations with the Jews, both friendly and hostile. These Nabateans had
originally been an Arab people, but adopted the Aramaic language [the lingua fra
nca of the Jews]... In addition to their linguistic assimilation, these Nabatean
s settled down; and so completely were they submerged in the predominant civiliz
ation that, some centuries later, the word "Nabati," Nabatean, signified in the
language of the Muslim Arabs an Aramaic-speaking peasant."
The Babylonian Jews traversed the route through Palmyra as well as through Petra
and Dilmun . The evidence for both Judaic and Nabatean presence in the desert a
nd intercourse with the Bedouins and Himyarites takes the form of graffiti found
throughout the desert wasteland along the natural trade routes between the Medi
terranean coast and Himyara. A typical example is a tombstone inscription of a "
Yehudaya," erected in Al-Hijr, ascribed to either 45 B.C.E. or 42 C.E.11.
A number of Arabia s oases sustained enough agriculture through irrigation to ma
ke sizable sedentary communities possible. During the first few centuries of the
Common Era, Judaic agricultural and artisan communities burgeoned at sites alon
g the route to Himyara. In addition to replenishing the caravans that passed thr
ough, these colonies flourished as trading posts for the Bedouins.
By the first century C.E., the Romans were entrenched in Egypt and Judea, and co
ntrol of trade with the Orient became important to them. The extent to which the
Jews of Arabia remained as vital intermediaries between the West and the Far Ea
st is evidenced by the fact that for many centuries, the Jewish traders kept the
Greeks and the Romans entirely ignorant of the true provenance of spices such a
s cinnamon and cassia, spices that Jewish traders were obtaining from the Far Ea
st.
Both the well-traveled Herodotus (485-425 B.C.E) and the great Greek philosopher
Theophastrus (372-286 B.C.E.), for example, believed that those Far-Eastern spi
ces came from trees that grew in Arabia. The fact is that "there is not a trace
of cinnamon there nor could there be; the plants require a degree of moisture no
t to be found in that parched peninsula."
It is even more curious that Strabo, 400 years after Herodotus (60 B.C.E.-21 C.E
.), and other Greeks in an even later period in which the Seleucids were solidly
installed in Persia, still cited Arabia as a source for cassia and cinnamon! Th
ey alternately labored under the illusion that the spices came from East Africa.
Strabo, in fact, terms Somalia and Ethiopia (Abyssinia and Sudan), the region h
e considered the southernmost part of the world, as "Cinnamon Country!"
Western ignorance about the source of spices continued into the Late Roman Perio
d. Two other Greek writers, erudite physicians who discoursed at great length on
the substances, Dioscaides (1st c. C.E.), and Galen (c. 130-201 C.E..), still b
elieved in separate sources for cinnamon and cassia, blithely unaware that cinna
mon is nothing more than ground up cassia!
The Greeks and Romans were likewise unaware that another avidly sought spice, ma
labathron, was made from the leaves of the same tree from whose bark cinnamon an
d cassia were made. The physician Dioscorides presumed that the spice came from
the spikenard plant of Mesopotamia. The spikenard plant and the spices, cinnamon
and cassia, figure prominently in the Bible. The Mishnah has many references no
t only to the familiarity of the Judaic sages with spikenard and the other plant
s but names the sages that traded in the products.
The Jews obviously were adept at keeping a secret!
The very origin of the Roman and Greek names of spices from the East point to th
e Jews as the traders who brought them to the West. In Psalms (45:9) we encounte
r the word kesiah, clearly the model for the Greek word kasia. Kiddh becomes the
Greek Kitt, a cheap grade of cassia. Herodotus was the first to identify the or
igin of the Greek word kinnammon from the Canaanite [therefore Hebrew] language.
Augustus, the first Roman emperor, eager to obtain information about the routes
to the Far East, is said to have commissioned "the original travel guide" from I
sadore of Charax (a town near the estuary of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers). I
sadore forthwith authored The Parthian Stations, which served for centuries as a
guide to the Far East.
An important historical event highlights the extent to which not only the Babylo
nian Jews, but the Roman Judahites were versed in the trade routes to Arabia Fel
ix, as the Romans called Himyara. The familiarity of the Judahites with the rout
es through Arabia is evidenced by the arrangements for a Roman military expediti
on into southern Arabia under the command of Aelius Gallus, proconsul of Egypt.
Its purpose was to counter the opposition of and competition by the Ethiopians i
n obtaining aromatics and precious stones from Himyara and to expand Roman hegem
ony over the area. An army of 10,000 Roman soldiers were assigned to the task. T
he Romans knew little about the region. Gallus turned to Herod for assistance. H
erod obliged by supplying Gallus with 500 Jewish troops as scouts to augment the
Nabateans in his formidable army. The Judaic contingent was undoubtedly intende
d to facilitate the expedition through intimate knowledge of the routes and bywa
ys of the Arabian peninsula. They were valued for their contacts with the Bedoui
ns and the local sedentary populations and for their familiarity with the indige
nous languages. The military adventure took place in 25-24 B.C.E. Nonetheless, i
t was ignorance of desert conditions that defeated the Romans. Disease and the l
ack of water disastrously ended the expedition.
Roman and Byzantine Christian Intervention
The Romans were frustrated again and again in their attempts to establish milita
ry control over the land routes to India The Babylonian Jews, being outside of t
he Roman polity, steadily and peacefully increased their presence and influence
through commerce with the indigenous Arab peoples. The Judahite Jews under Roman
rule collaborated with their Babylonian compatriots in the expansion of Judaic
influence among the Arabs.
Bishop Simeon of Beth Arsam in Syria, inveighed against the Judahites, registeri
ng loud and bitter complaints about their abetting of the Babylonian Jewish infl
uence among the Arabs. "Those Jews who are in Tiberias," he wrote, "send priests
of theirs year by year and season by season to stir up commotion against the Ch
ristian people of the Himyarites."16 In fact, there is much evidence confirming
Simeon s concerns. For example, a remarkable third-century inscription and monog
ram of a Himyarite Jewish elder, Menahem, was recovered from the catacombs in Be
th Shearim, in which he had been interred along with the revered redactors of th
e Mishnah.
The Christian hierarchy took the matter seriously. They demanded that "the chief
priests in Tiberias and in the remainder of the country be cast into prison...
that they give sureties that they will not send letters and emissaries to the ki
ng of Himyara... and to tell them that unless they do so, their synagogues will
be burned down, the Cross placed over them, and the Christians will take control
of them."17
In addition to Christian correspondence, much of the Arabian graffiti surviving
from the first few centuries of the Common Era (such as an inscription of Simon
in the year 307), are "indubitable remnants of pre-Islamic Arab-Jewish life."
As Nabatean civilization waned, Jewish influence in Arabia grew and eventually d
isplaced that of the Nabateans. Nabatean inscriptions themselves attest to a pro
cess by which Jewish traders had become so well established that they became the
very representatives of the Nabateans in Hejaz after 300 C.E. Citing two of the
se Nabatean inscriptions, Werner Caskel notes that "These are the beginnings of
the Jewish population [of the region], which later occupied all the oases in the
northwest, including Medinah."
The profundity of Judaic influence upon Arabian culture is evidenced by the Aram
aic or Hebraic etymology of the names of tools and products among the Arabs, and
by the very names of the population centers that had grown from simple trading
posts at oases to sizable villages and towns. For example, a settlement referred
to in Egyptian sources as Athribis, and recorded in Greek literature as Yathrib
, became the Arabicized but Hebraic el-Medina (meaning "urban district"). The to
wn of Khaibar, for another example, some 60 miles north of Medina, appears to de
rive from the Hebrew term heber, ("association"), referring to an association of
several Judaic communities at what had evolved into a major agricultural and tr
ading center. Alternately, an Arab writer suggested that the name derives from t
he Hebrew kabir, meaning strong or stronghold.
"Here in their new homeland in Arabia the Jews introduced handicrafts, the golds
mith s art, and the [date] palm, which became to the [later] Mohammedans what th
e potato became to the Irish. Here they founded Medina. Here they helped the Qur
aish convert their villages into cities. With their great numbers and twenty-fiv
e hundred years of experience the Jews gave [the future] Mecca a cosmopolitan ai
r."
These communities were sustained agriculturally by the introduction of irrigatio
n systems, advanced methods of cultivation, and a variety of new Mesopotamian cr
ops. "They also developed new arts and crafts from metal work to dyeing and the
production of fine jewelry, and taught the neighboring tribes more advanced meth
ods of exchanging goods and money. Most of the agricultural terms and names of i
mplements recorded in pre-Islamic Arabic poetry or the Qu ran are borrowed from
their Aramaic speech. Arab traditions themselves ascribe to them the introductio
n of the honey bee and many new fruits, including the date. The palm tree, long
glorified in Palestinian letters as a symbol of Judaism, now became the object o
f adulation in Arabic poetry as well. A Jewess was reputed to have brought the f
irst [grape] vine to Ta if near Mecca, an area later proverbial for its viticult
ure."
"By their irrigation systems, the observance of certain dietary rules, and espec
ially by building their castles on hills rather than in the fever-infested valle
ys, the Jews pioneered also in fighting the theretofore deadly diseases. So impr
essed were their neighbors that, on one occasion, an Arab woman who had lost sev
eral children vowed to bring up as Jews all her future offspring."
In the mid-fourth century the land routes through Arabia to the Far East had bec
ome tempting prizes to both the Romans and Byzantines. The main routes led from
the heart of Persia., where, in the heart of ancient Mesopotamia, the Zoroastria
n Sassanians harbored a Judaic civilization that included great universities and
a population of well over a million Jews. The Talmudic period reached its heigh
t at this time. Jewish artisans and traders constituted the industrial and comme
rcial heart of Persia, and it was they who had pioneered the trade routes into C
hina and India.
The northern routes through Persia were secured under Persian control by campaig
ns under the Sassanian king Shapur II (310-79). The Romans and Byzantines empire
s were obliged therefore to humiliatingly employ Jewish intermediaries for the s
ilk, spices and other exotic products from China and India. The Christian empire
s sought an alternate route to Arabia Felix (Himyara) and access to the sea rout
e to India
The trade routes through Arabia were likewise under the sway of Persian and othe
r Jews independent of the Jews under Roman hegemony. These Jews were effectively
proselytizing, and therefore blocked not only access to Eastern markets but als
o to the spread of Christianity. Judaic proselytization was proving highly effec
tive in attracting Arabs, for Judaic anti-establishment precepts were in perfect
accord with the Bedouin philosophy of independence.
"To salvage the empire s life line to India, as well as to build up a system of
Roman satellite states as a permanent threat to Persia s flank, Constantius emba
rked upon a policy of converting to Christianity the fare-flung Arab settlements
and their Ethiopian neighbors. More immediately successful in Ethiopia, where E
gyptian influence combined with the presence of old Jewish communities had long
paved the way for Christianity, his and his successors missionary efforts led t
o the conversion of the northern Glassimids and the establishment of Christian c
ommunities in Najran and elsewhere on the Peninsula proper."
"Abyssinia came more exclusively under the influence of Rome, and Christianity m
ade more progress there. In course of time the Abyssinians succeeded in establis
hing their power on the other side [of the Red Sea], and it was by supporting th
eir overlordship that the Romans sought to maintain their hold upon South Arabia
, while Persia, on the other hand, sought to foster the spirit of independence a
mong the native population."
The Christians viewed Judaic influence as inimical to their own universal campai
gn for conversion. The Christian historian, Philostorgius, wrote that when the C
hristian missionary Theophilus arrived in Himyara about the middle of the fourth
century, he found there "not a small number of Jews... whose accustomed fraud a
nd malice" he had to silence. Philostorgius and Theophilus were referring to the
effective proselytizing by the Jews in the region, and to the threat to Christi
anity Jewish precepts posed not only abroad but at home!
The Spread of Judaism among the Arabs
Notwithstanding Christian efforts and despite the power of Rome behind them, "Ju
daism continued to gain even more ground. In a fifth-century inscription a perso
n named Sahir, probably a convert, wrote Blessed and praised be the name of the
Merciful, who is in Heaven and Israel and its God, the Lord of Judah. Sahir al
so gave to one of his sons the good Jewish name Meir."
Thousands of inscriptions have been found in Yemen, the former Himyara. Their re
covery was not a simple matter, for "infidels" were, to say the least, unwelcome
The earliest research on and recovery of inscriptions had to be done surreptiti
ously, and it took brave men to carry it off. In 1843 a Frenchman, Thomas Arnaud
entered Ma rib, the city of the Queen of Sheba, in disguise and made the first
European description of its ruins.
Arnaud was followed in 1869 by another disguised scholar, Professor Joseph Halev
y, a French Jew also famed for being the first European Jew to visit the Beta Is
rael, the Falasha Jews of Ethiopia. and subsequently becoming an advocate for th
e community. Halevy smuggled out 686 forbidden copies of inscriptions.
Halevy was followed by the Austrian, Edouard Glaser, who made three incognito tr
ips to Ma rib between 1880 and 1893 and brought back hundreds of artifacts and c
opies of over 1,000 inscriptions. A large proportion of these inscriptions, some
dating back to the first century, can be identified as Judaic in origin. They c
learly establish the existence of a powerful Judaic influence prior to the adven
t of Islam.
Judaic presence and influence throughout the region burgeoned steadily throughou
t the first few centuries of the Common Era. The process is substantiated by sol
idly sympathetic references to Jews and Judaism in pre-Islamic Arabic literature
. By the sixth century, it is clear that "Jewish tribes dominated Yathrib (Medin
a)... Among some twenty Jewish tribes mentioned in later Arabic literature stand
out the Aramaic-sounding Banu Zaghura. More important were the Banu Nadhir, Ban
u Quraiah and Banu Qainuqa , who between them, occupied at one time fifty-nine s
trongholds and practically the entire fertile countryside... Other Jewish settle
ments... included Dedan, Al-Hijr, Teima, Ablaq, central Arabian Yamana, Ta-if, a
nd possibly, Mecca"
An Arab/Jewish Kingdom
Bedouin Arabs from all over the peninsula were attracted to the flourishing Juda
ic settlements, and many opted to settle down to a sedentary life. These Bedouin
s were hospitably received by the Jewish farmers, and many became proselytes. In
some cases, the Bedouins were prevented from joining the Jewish community unles
s they converted. The Arab writer al-Bakri , for example, states that the Bedoui
n tribe Banu Hishna desired to become part of the Jewish community in Teima, and
"were prevented by the Jews from entering their fort as long as they professed
another religion, and only when they embraced Judaism were they admitted."
A number of inscriptions, and particularly one dated 516 C.E., inform us that an
important Arab chieftain, Ma ad-Karib Ya hur, "King of Saba and Dhu-Rhaidean, a
nd Hadhramaut, and Yamnat, and their Arabs of Taud and Tihanat," probably profes
sed Judaism, and that it may even reflect a sort of conversion or other type of
adherence to the Judaism of some of his progenitors. What is certain is that his
son, Dhu Nuwas, was a firm believer in Judaism.
Dhu Nuwas changed his name to Joseph, and assumed the role of defender of the Je
ws. He campaigned "to erect through Judaism a dam against advancing Christianity
." He formed a coalition army to stem the incursion of the Abyssinian Christian
forces when they threatened to destroy Himyara s independence.
Abyssinia (Ethiopia) lay directly across the Red Sea from Himyara (Yemen). Abyss
inia came under the influence of Rome, and Christianity established a firm footh
old there. The Romans sought to obtain a stronger hold upon South Arabia by supp
orting Abyssinian overlordship. The Abyssinian Christians were also supported by
the otherwise anti-Roman Byzantines. Persia, on the other hand, sought to encou
rage the spirit of independence among the native Arab population.
The Abyssinians launched several campaigns to conquer the Bedouins and convert t
hem to Christianity. Their invasion through the southern flank of the Arabian pe
ninsula was decisively stemmed by the forces under Dhu Nuwas During these hostil
ities Nuwas retaliated against the "traitorous" Christians in the town of Nejran
, an event that led to a spate of atrocity stories by the Christians. Nuwas was
accused of brutally exterminating the Christian community of that town. The mino
r local affair was exaggerated into a commemoration by eastern churches of the m
artyrdom of the Nejran Christians on several dates. Typical of the tales told wa
s one of a nine-year old Christian girl who was said to have spat in the face of
Dhu Nuwas, saying "May thy mouth be closed, Jew, killer of his Lord."
This and other equally spurious stories were being spread by Simeon, the Syrian
Bishop of Beth Arsham , along with his insistent complaints about the support be
ing given by the Jews of Tiberias to their Arabian coreligionists. Simeon was no
t averse to manufacturing stories to support his case. He reported that while on
a diplomatic mission in Hira, he saw a messenger of the Arab king of Himyara "b
earing a letter to the [Arab] Lakhmid king, Mundhir, which ended in the followin
g exhortation:"
"...You may rejoice that we have not left a Christian, not one, in this land of
ours, and that you may also act likewise... but as for the Jews who are in your
dominion that you be their helper in everything."
How Simeon was able to read such a secret missile is left to the imagination. Si
meon s accusations, whether true in their details or not, spurred Justin I to re
quest the Patriarch Timothy III of Alexandria to enlist the Abyssinian king Eles
bias to intervene in Yemen against "the abominable and lawless Jew." The Abyssin
ians received massive support from the Byzantines, who, despite their quarrels w
ith the Romans, supplied the ships to transport the Abyssinian troops to souther
n Arabia.
Dhu Nuwas was unable to obtain equivalent support from the Persians, inasmuch as
at that moment (523-25) the Sassanian empire was crumbling from unceasing inter
nal rifts and other disastrous exigencies. The forces under Dhu Nuwas were defea
ted, and he was killed while trying to repel an overwhelming Abyssinian invasion
. It is said that rather than surrender, "Riding his horse up a tall cliff which
overlooked the sea, he committed suicide by jumping into the water."
The Christians did not win a lasting victory, for the sympathies of the Arab tri
bes clearly lay with the Jews among them, both immigrant and converts. A popular
liberation movement was launched against Abyssinian Christian domination under
Saif Dhu Yazan, a descendant of Dhu Nuwas and likewise a professing Jew. Curious
ly, Saif, aware of friction between the Rome and the Byzantines, ventured to app
eal to the Byzantine emperor for aid against the Abyssinians. "Byzantium had eve
ry reason also to resent Abyssinian non-cooperation in her recurrent conflicts w
ith Persia." The ploy by Saif was disdainfully rebuked, because " You are Jews,
while the Ethiopians are Christians. "
Saif s appeal to Persia proved more successful, and brought a Persian expedition
ary force. "But the result was merely the exchange of one foreign oppressor for
another. Nevertheless, Himyarite Jews, whether of Jewish or Arabic extraction, w
eathered the harsh Abyssinian regime.... As is well known, Yemenite Jewry contin
ued to play a significant role in its own country, contributing to the building
up of the Jewish homeland in Palestine."
Jewish traders were also important intermediaries in the trade to the Far East t
hrough the Red Sea. A substantial colony of Jews were rooted on the island of Yo
tabe (now Jijban) strategically located in the Gulf of Aqaba.. The island served
the traffic to Himyara and India through the Red Sea in the same way as Dilmun
did on the north side of the peninsula in the Persian Gulf. In the fifth century
an Arab prince and his tribe occupied half the island. The other half was a Jew
ish Free State that had been there from time immemorial.33 The fact that the two
peoples lived and traded peacefully side by side over an extended period of tim
e bespeaks the positive relationship that endured between them.
The island came under Persian occupation in 473, and the Jewish colony continued
to carry on Red Sea trade under a semi-autonomous status. Geopolitics make stra
nge bedfellows, and one of the strangest of associations subsequently took place
on Yotabe. The Byzantine Emperor Anastasius recaptured the island in 498. At fi
rst the Byzantines, finding the Jews commercially invaluable, pragmatically tole
rated their activities. In the meantime, campaigns were being launched against t
he Himyarites and the Jews among the Himyarites. Seven Abyssinian vessels were s
tationed and furbished for the Abyssinian expedition against the Himyaran co-rel
igionists of the Jews of Yotabe.
About the year 535 Justinian annulled the autonomous status of the Jews. It is l
ikely that he took this action because the Byzantine campaign against the Himyar
ites was being surreptitiously compromised by the Jews.
The Growth of Judaism in Arabia
In the year 602, however, the fortunes of the Jews again reversed for the better
, for the Persians prevailed over the Byzantines, and the Jews were able to cont
inue their land and seaborne enterprises in relative freedom as before. The sett
lements expanded into sizable communities, occupying "all the oases in the north
west including Medinah."
"Flourishing settlements of this type irresistibly attracted the Bedouins from a
ll over the Peninsula. Much as the latter glorified their freedom and independen
ce from the sedentary way of life, sooner or later they began viewing such agric
ulturally prosperous oases not only as fit objects for raids, but ultimately als
o as enviable sources of economic security. By slow infiltration several Arab tr
ibes drifted into Medina and its vicinity, and were hospitably received by the J
ewish farmers.
By the sixth century, these new arrivals, steadily reinforced from the south and
unified under an able leader, Malik ibn Ajlan, eventually prevailed over their
hosts... Nevertheless... vigorous Jewish tribes [in villages] in and around the
center of northern Arabia, possibly constituted the majority of the settled popu
lation. Of course, they were not all of Jewish extraction. In large part they we
re descended from Arab proselytes, as indicated in the remarkable story of the B
anu Hishna in Teima."34 The story refers to the evidence cited above by the Arab
writer al-Bakri, in which a tribe of Arab Bedouins were required to convert bef
ore being admitted .to citizenship in a Jewish community.
No less significant than the economic benefits accruing to Arabia as a result of
the introduction of wider-scale agriculture and industry was the cultural impac
t of Judaic literacy, the poems they recited and the stories they told as "The P
eople of the Book."
The Arab tribes, being illiterate, were traditionally engaged in a rich oral tra
dition of story-telling and allegorical poesy. The Jews carried on a similar ora
l tradition. Jewish poets were particularly appreciated by the Arabs. Ka b ibn a
l-Ashaf of Medina, the son of a Jew and an Arab women, lived his entire youth am
ong the Bedouins, and his poetry reflected his experiences among them.
Some of the Jewish poetry reflected a particularly Arabic warrior flavor, such a
s that of Samau al ibn Adiyah, who sang, "We are men of the sword, and when we
draw it we exterminate our enemies." But Samau al , the knightly lord of Al-Abla
q, near Teima, whose name soon became proverbial for faithfulness [to Judaism] i
n the whole Arab world, was typical of the warlike, yet economically fairly adva
nced Jewish settlers of the Peninsula."

Traders crossing the Arabian Desert.

Arabs would leave their tents and campfires to gather in the inns and communitie
s of the Jews to "listen to the exploits of one or another biblical hero. These
stories need not have clung too closely to the biblical narratives, but were oft
en adorned with all the embroideries of the later Aggadah, or the creations of t
he story teller s on fertile imagination."
The biblical stories, retold by Jewish and Arab raconteurs, found their way to a
camel-driver s ears, and were eventually noted down by his listeners in the Qu
ran.
ZAKHOR
ZAKHOR (Heb. "Remember"), black Judaizing movement in Mali comprising around 1,0
00 people. It was founded in Timbuktu in 1993 by the Malian historian Ismael Dai
d Hadara, whose followers claim to be the offspring of Saharan Jews. In a manifest
o published in 1996, the members of Zakhor recognize themselves as Jews and decl
are themselves to be descendants of the Jews of Touat. The Touat, the region at
the limit of the Sahara in western Algeria, was, up to 1492, inhabited by Jews i
nvolved in trans-Saharan trade. At that time, Sheikh Abd el Krim el Meghili, a s
cholar and a mystic, exterminated them and ordered the destruction of their syna
gogues at Siljimassa and Tamentit.
According to Zakhor, some of the Jewish survivors from Touat, following the rout
es of caravans, took refuge with other Jews settled along the Niger, but their s
afety was only temporary. Soon afterwards, in 1493, under the influence of the s
ame el Meghili, Askyia Muhammad the Great, the ruler of this region, introduced
an edict for the eviction of the Jews of the Songhai. They apparently found them
selves in the position of choosing either to renounce their faith or to die. Hada
ra, the leader of Zakhor, noted that "the Jews could not go further, in front of
the great Nile of the Arabs [that is, the river Niger]. They stopped facing the
Koran and the sword. They converted." This was how, he concluded, the black Jew
s became Muslims. Today, the members of Zakhor portray themselves as a small, ea
rly Jewish population which is said to have been superseded by the subsequent Is
lamic community, with only tiny remnants of Judaism surviving. The heads of the
families who founded Zakhor relate that the three families constituting their co
mmunity from the 16th century, the Levite Kehaths, now named Kati, the Cohens an
d the Abanas, were not in fact the first Jewish inhabitants of these regions.
In the 11th century, el Bakri and el Idrissi, the great Arab historians and geog
raphers, referred to the presence of populations "who read the Tawrat" in what w
ould become Mali. Abraham *Cresques, the famous Majorcan Jewish geographer, upon
establishing the Catalan Atlas, in 1375, presumably located Mali and its empero
r, on the basis of information from his Malian co-religionists. Leo Africanus wh
o visited this region in the first part of the 15th century, the Tarikh el-Sudan
of the 15th century, and the Tarikh el-Fetash of the 17th century, the essentia
l corpus of sources of information about medieval western Africa, mentioned the
presence of Jews in the region of Gao and Tendirma.
Under the aegis of UNESCO, the gradual discovery at Timbuktu of old manuscripts,
some of which date back to the 13th century, constitutes an unpublished scienti
fic treasure trove likely to bring much information about the possible settlemen
t of Jews in this area.
ZAKHOR
ZAKHOR (Heb. "Remember"), black Judaizing movement in Mali comprising around 1,0
00 people. It was founded in Timbuktu in 1993 by the Malian historian Ismael Dai
d Hadara, whose followers claim to be the offspring of Saharan Jews. In a manifest
o published in 1996, the members of Zakhor recognize themselves as Jews and decl
are themselves to be descendants of the Jews of Touat. The Touat, the region at
the limit of the Sahara in western Algeria, was, up to 1492, inhabited by Jews i
nvolved in trans-Saharan trade. At that time, Sheikh Abd el Krim el Meghili, a s
cholar and a mystic, exterminated them and ordered the destruction of their syna
gogues at Siljimassa and Tamentit.
According to Zakhor, some of the Jewish survivors from Touat, following the rout
es of caravans, took refuge with other Jews settled along the Niger, but their s
afety was only temporary. Soon afterwards, in 1493, under the influence of the s
ame el Meghili, Askyia Muhammad the Great, the ruler of this region, introduced
an edict for the eviction of the Jews of the Songhai. They apparently found them
selves in the position of choosing either to renounce their faith or to die. Hada
ra, the leader of Zakhor, noted that "the Jews could not go further, in front of
the great Nile of the Arabs [that is, the river Niger]. They stopped facing the
Koran and the sword. They converted." This was how, he concluded, the black Jew
s became Muslims. Today, the members of Zakhor portray themselves as a small, ea
rly Jewish population which is said to have been superseded by the subsequent Is
lamic community, with only tiny remnants of Judaism surviving. The heads of the
families who founded Zakhor relate that the three families constituting their co
mmunity from the 16th century, the Levite Kehaths, now named Kati, the Cohens an
d the Abanas, were not in fact the first Jewish inhabitants of these regions.
In the 11th century, el Bakri and el Idrissi, the great Arab historians and geog
raphers, referred to the presence of populations "who read the Tawrat" in what w
ould become Mali. Abraham *Cresques, the famous Majorcan Jewish geographer, upon
establishing the Catalan Atlas, in 1375, presumably located Mali and its empero
r, on the basis of information from his Malian co-religionists. Leo Africanus wh
o visited this region in the first part of the 15th century, the Tarikh el-Sudan
of the 15th century, and the Tarikh el-Fetash of the 17th century, the essentia
l corpus of sources of information about medieval western Africa, mentioned the
presence of Jews in the region of Gao and Tendirma.
Under the aegis of UNESCO, the gradual discovery at Timbuktu of old manuscripts,
some of which date back to the 13th century, constitutes an unpublished scienti
fic treasure trove likely to bring much information about the possible settlemen
t of Jews in this area.
In a manifesto published in 1996, the members of Zakhor recognize themselves as
Jews and declare themselves to be descendants of the Jews of Touat.
Zakhor (the Timbuktu Association for Friendship with the Jewish World)

Zakhor is a an association of descendents of Jews that nowadays are Muslim & liv
e in Timbuktu & suroundings. They wanna come back to Judaism.
The Sahara Cave Dwellers are found in the Atlas Mountains south of Tripolitania
and Tunisia. Closely related to the Jews of the Sahara, they believe that their
ancestors were brought as captives from Judea by Titus after 70 AD. They cut out
tiny paper boats, which decorate their synagogues where they pray: May a boat s
oon come and carry us to Jerusalem.
There are quite a number of peoples today who cling to the ancient tradition tha
t they are descended from the Israelites Lost Tribes: the tribesmen of Afghanist
an, the Mohammedan Berbers of West Africa, and the six million Christian Igbo pe
ople of Nigeria. Unquestionably, they all practice certain ancient Hebraic custo
ms and beliefs, which lends some credibility to their fantastic-sounding claims.

Muslim-Jews lost in the no-man s-land of identity

A new comedy film called The Infidel is creating a sensation in the British pres
s: it is about a British Muslim who, in a matter of minutes, discovers he was ad
opted and that he was born Jewish. Why is the film considered so controversial,
even outrageous? In the West, Jews and Muslims are seen as polar opposites, eter
nal adversaries. To put them both together in the same script seems guaranteed t
o offend members of both religions.
In fact a Muslim who discovers he s a Jew is not as outlandish as it sounds. The
re is the case of the Jew from Kuwait. The Jewish girl brought up by her Muslim
neighbours after her family abandoned her in their chaotic exodus from Egypt. Th
e Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi, whose Jewish grandmother makes him a Halachic J
ew. Mixed families are known to live in Kurdistan, Egypt and Lebanon. Thousands
of Muslim Yemenis are dimly aware of their Jewish roots. One Jewish convert was
even President of North Yemen.
Traditionally, the two communities kept apart in the Middle East, and intermarri
age has always been rare. But the mass flight Jews from Arab countries has left
behind a number of Muslim-Jews in the no-man s land of identity.
In Iraq, only seven or eight bona fide Jews remain. Baghdad-born Shmuel Moreh, e
meritus professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, has been quoted as sayi
ng: There are others, but they barely know that they are Jews; in many cases, the
ir parents did not tell them." The rest have become Muslim or are in hiding for
fear of being murdered by terrorists if they do perform some outward act of Juda
ism, such as embarking on a Jewish pilgrimage.
Firas al-Hamdani thinks that his family was among the last Jews to leave Baghdad
. He managed to move to Holland in 2007. He contacted Point of No Return for inf
ormation about Jewish relatives.

"My family and I tried to stay as long as possible in Iraq, because we didn t wa
nt to leave our country. We had our work, life and social network. Every year we
promised ourselves, next year life will be better. We were threatened a lot by
terrorists and they always wanted to kill us, because we were Jewish. Two years
ago we couldn t be safe anymore and we lived in real terror. We couldn t sleep a
t home, moved from friend to friend. They tried to kill me three times, but than
ks to God, I m still alive.
"First I made sure my sisters and mother left the country. I left last and flew
to the Netherlands. My family was in Amman during this time. The UN made sure th
ey could move to Chicago (my young sister and family) and Berlin (my other siste
r and mother).
"For a long time, we have been looking for our relatives and as a son I m always
hurt by seeing my mother cry about her lost mother and sister. This is the pain
we take with us every day.
At the time of Saddam they took us every six months to question us about if we h
ad any connection to our Jewish family. We didn t have a quiet life, because the
y constantly accused us of being spies. We couldn t do anything at that time and
it was also very difficult. Why didn t we leave all this time? Same reason as a
fter, we loved our country and were always waiting for our family to search for
us.
"After the war the situation became a little better because we did not have terr
orists coming from outside the country. As you know this changed soon enough. Th
e terrorists came and all they wanted was to kill us because we were Jewish.
"Now we all are safe and very thankful. The only thing I want is to find my fami
ly and one day, when Iraq is safe again, I will go back.
Firas s story is the heart-breaking tale of a split family. His mother, who was
born in 1943, was apparently separated from her mother and sister.
" My mother was always teling us this story," he told Point of No Return.
Today there are less than 10,000 Jews where there were once 850,000 in Arab coun
tries.

It s believed that the Saudi Arabian monarchy is crypto-Jewish, in other words,

they hide their Judaism. It s a known fact that the Jordanian monarchy has some
Jewish ancestry. This might be why the Jordanian kings have been & still are pre
tty sympathetic with the Jewish State of Israel. At least as compared to the reg
ion s approach to Israel.
Jewish Communities in the Greater Middle East
Symbols of Berbers & Jews respective
ly
These are the Jewish (practicing, not only ethnical) communities in the Greater
Middle East. I say practicing because there are thousands of Berbers in Sahara d
esert & surroundings as well as Arabs in the Arabian peninsula of Jewish origins
. They are ethnic Jews that became Muslims. The Donmeh are ethnic Jews that bec
ame Moslem as well & live in Turkey. The Druzes are a particular branch of Shia
Islam of Jewish origin.
Not to mention that the Jordanian monarchy has Jewish roots & it s even believed
that the ruling Saudi monarchy is crypto-Jewish too. In fact both monarchies su
pported the colonization, or recovery, by the Jews of the Holy Land.
Finaly the Samaritans, the Israeli Arabs, the Palestinians & many Jordanian Pale
stinians as well as the Bedouins from both sides of the Jordan have Jewish/relat
ive & Israelite. Jewish origins implies only the tribe of Judah, so the rest of
Israelite tribes like the Pashtun, Kurds, Kashmiris.... are not counted here.

Here are the numbers of practicing Jews in this area of the world as for the end
of 2013. Some countries have an explanation next to the number of Jews. I add
ed 4 other countries to the list which don t belong to this area: Singapur, Bang
ladesh & Comoros. Comoros is part of the Arab League so it s related with the ar
ea. Singapur & Bangladesh are two countries with an important Muslim population
& a Muslim majority.
If most Arab countries are not shown in the list is because they re already in t
he graphic. The Arab countries have a graphic because at the declaration of inde
pendence of Israel close to 1 million Jews were expeled from the Arab countries
in what is called the Jewish Nakba.

Many Jews were expeled from other Muslim countries too but the situation was les
s dramatic. Nowadays there are few practicing Jews in the Arab countries with no
ne in Libya, Mauritania, in the Arabian peninsula & Sudan.

The only lively Jewish community are the one in Marrakech & surroundings in Moro
cco & the island of Jerba in Tunisia. Here are the numbers:
Georgia 13,000 Armenia 100 Azerbajan 9,100 Comoros 0? Singapore 300 Turkey 17,8
00
Iran 8,756 Bangladesh 1,837 Eritrea 1 Kazakhstan 18,000 Afghanistan 1
Pakistan:
Some Jewish families do remain, but they prefer to pass themselves off as Parsis
due to the intolerance for Jews in Muslim Pakistan. Their number is estimated t
o be around 200 persons.
Bukharan Jews
By the Six-Day War in 1967, the relationship between Bukharan Jews and Muslims h
ad reached a breaking point, and the Soviet Union became openly anti-Semitic. Th
e government discontinued diplomacy with Israel and forbade Jews to make aliyah.
Although these restrictions lasted until the late 1980s, about 8,000 Bukharan J
ews managed to immigrate to Israel from 1972 to the first half of 1975.
Tajikistan
The one remaining synagogue in Tajikistan is located in Dushanbe. In the summer
of 2004, however, the Tajik government announced its intent to demolish the 100-
year-old structure to make room for a presidential palace. The community of 500
Jews in Dushanbe, most of whom are Bukharan, as well as the world Jewish communi
ty, and the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Tajikistan intervened to prevent the d
estruction of the historic synagogue.
Kyrgyzstan
Today, approximately 600 Jews live in the country, primarily in the capital, Ash
khabad. There are also communities in Turkmenbashi, Mary, and Dashoguz. A tiny g
roup of Bukharan Jews lives in Turkmenabat, a village on the border with Uzbekis
tan.
Uzbekistan
The Jewish community of Bukhara is now around 3,000 and, in Samarkand, there are
approximately 2,000 Bukharan Jews. The approximately 900 remaining Bukharan Jew
s are for the most part elderly, poverty-stricken and subject to anti-Semitic at
tacks and persecution. The Joint Distribution Committee, working with community
centers and other Jewish organizations, send food packages and try to care for t
he aged. The Jewish community of Tajikistan is barely able to function and relie
s on the aid of world Jewish organizations for support.

The last name Issakharov of Bukhara

Issakharov (son of Issakhar) is a common last name in the area of Bukhara (Uzbek
istan) & it s doubtless one of the lost tribes. the tribe of Issakhar. Are they
part of the Issacharites? That s what it is believed by most people. Are the Rus
sian last names Zakharov & Sakharov related? Seems like. At least it seams they
come from Isakar.
DO THE PALESTINIANS HAVE JEWISH ROOTS?
The question may sound fanciful. But not only do many Jews and Palestinians shar
e remarkably similar DNA, there are also numerous customs and even names that ov
erlap.
Among those who have researched the topic is Tsvi Misinai, an Israeli businessma
n who writes and speaks extensively about the connection between the Palestinian
s and the Jews. He claims that nearly 90 percent of all Palestinians are descend
ed from Jews who remained in Israel after the destruction of Second Temple 2,000
years ago, but were forced to convert to Islam.
According to Misinai, the Hebrew ancestors of the Palestinians were rural mounta
in dwellers who were allowed to remain in the land in order to supply Rome with
grain and olive oil.
While Misinai is an advocate of this theory, hes not the only scholar or even pol
itical figure to claim a Jewish connection for the Palestinians. The first presi
dent of Israel, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi as well as former Prime Minister David Ben-Gurio
n, wrote several books and articles on the subject.
Ben-Tzvi suggested that Jews who remained in the Land of Israel loved the land so
much that they were willing to give up their religion. The reference is to an ed
ict in the year 1012 by Caliph el-Hakim who ordered non-Muslims to either conver
t or leave. The decree was revoked just 32 years later, but it was too late for
most of the converts. Only 27 percent returned to Judaism openly and even they r
emained Mustaarabi (culturally and linguistically Arab).
Journalist Rachel Avraham, who works for Israels Channel 2 News, asserts that Jew
s did convert to Islam, but that it came much more recently in the early 1900s u
nder the rule of the Ottoman Turks. She cites a confidential interview with a Pa
lestinian man living in Jerusalem who says the conversion push was a response by
the Ottoman sultan after Theodore Herzl informed him of the Zionist movements in
tentions in the Land of Israel. This resulted in the Sultan going crazy and makin
g sure that would not happen, although he did refrain from issuing a formal edic
t of conversion, Avraham writes.
She also mentions a Sephardi Jewish family living in Bayt Itab, near Beit Shemes
h, that began holding Friday prayers on both Friday and Saturday so that the Otto
mans would be fooled into believing that they were not Jews. She adds that local
Palestinians use the expression hes a Cohen to refer to someone who is wise. Why do
they use that term [when] most Palestinians dont know what a Cohen is?
Whether their Jewish roots go back 100 or 1,000 years, Ben-Gurion went so far as
to set up a task force headed by Moshe Dayan to develop ways to Judaize the Bedou
in, teaching them about modern Jewish life with an aim towards integrating them
with the Israeli people if not religiously, then ethnically. The program was eve
ntually dropped when Dayan convinced Ben-Gurion that the idea would upset the Is
lamic world.

Jewish star over Palestinian build

ing
More recently, Israeli Rabbi Dov Stein offered his own estimate that up to 85 pe
rcent of Palestinians on the west side of the Jordan River are descended from Je
ws.
Misinai elaborates on his thesis about the Jewish roots of the Palestinians in h
is 2008 book, Brother Shall Not Lift Sword Against Brother. He claims, for examp
le, that the 1919 cooperation agreement between Emir Faisal and Chaim Weizmann,
who would later become Israels first president, was based on a shared heritage.
Faisals proclamations of kinship with the Jews were more than lip service, Misinai
says. Faisals paternal line was Hashemitebut the mother of his maternal grandfather
, King On, was descended from a family of forced Jewish converts to Islam that i
mmigrated to the east bank of the Jordan, later returning to one of the villages
west of the Jordan. Unlike today, when Faisal was growing up his grandfathers mo
thers Jewish origin was known and they made no great effort to hide it.
Indeed, Misinai says that more than half of the Palestinians know about their Jewi
sh roots, which include such Jewish traditions as lighting candles on Friday nig
ht, seven days of mourning (vs. the usual three in most Islamic communities), ci
rcumcision on the eighth day (brit mila), and even wearing Tefillin (phylacterie
s). The latter was done usually by someone who was ill, especially by those suff
ering from headaches. The rosh of the Tefillin would be placed on the forehead w
ith the straps wrapped around the persons head and tightened. Unfortunately, toda
y, other than among a few people, the true meaning of the Tefillin has been lost,
Misinai says.
Several Palestinians have gone through formal conversion, Misinai adds, while othe
rs have taken on Jewish practices and say they dont need to convert because they k
now theyre already Jews. Several Palestinian families own ancient hanukkiot which
they use in mid-winter, usually around Hanukah time, Misinai says. Some homes ha
ve doorpost indentations for a mezuzah (although the scroll itself is usually mi
ssing).
Among the more knowledgeable Palestinians of Jewish descent are several large cl
ans in the hills near Hebron and among the Bedouin in the Negev. Not only do the
y know of their heritage, they even have family trees that document their rootsthe
ir neighbors would call them the Jews, even though they were technically as Muslim
as anyone else, Misinai says.
In one of the Hebron-area villages, a tribal leader describes his clans Jewish hi
story. In a departure from Misinais main thesis, Muhammed Amsalem explained in an
interview with Aharon Granot of Mishpacha Magazine, that our elders tell us our
forefathers came to this land during the Spanish Inquisition, via Morocco. They
settled in Ramle. Then the Mamluks forced them to convert to Islam, and they mov
ed to the southern Hebron area.
The ancient name of the Amsalem family clan Maahamra means winemaker, a trade that
is forbidden by Islam. Because the Maahamras converted relatively late in histor
y, even more secret customs have been preserved. One man in the Amsalem clan has a
small Hebrew booklet of Psalms with which he continues to pray to this day.
In 1982, the leaders of the Palestinian village of Bidya offered to enlist in th
e IDF to fight in Lebanon. The Jewish origin of many of Bidyas clans is a well kno
wn fact, even today, says Misnai.
Misinai once interviewed a Bedouin leader who said that his people had no choice
but to convert. This was centuries ago. I remember my mother and grandmother wou
ldnt light fire on Sabbath and they had a special mikveh (a ritual bath).
Even in Gaza, there are Palestinians of Jewish descent, Misinai says even higher
than the 90 percent he claims for the rest of the region.
Not everyone agrees with Misinas ideas. American archeologist Eric Cline reported
in his book, Jerusalem Besieged that historians have generally concluded that mo
st, if not all, modern Palestinians are probably more closely related to the Ara
bs of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Jordan, and other countries [and that] the major move
ments of those Arabs into the region occurred after 600 CE. Sherif Hussein, the G
uardian of Islamic Holy Places of Arabia, has stated that the ancestors of the P
alestinians have only been in the region for 1,000 years.
Writing in The Jewish Press, Rachel Avraham adds that, according to other schola
rs, following the Black Plague and Crusades in 1517, only 300,000 people were lef
t in the Land of Israel, of whom 5,000 were Jewishmany of the ancestors of the mo
dern Palestinians came in the late Ottoman and early British Mandate period. Dur
ing the British Mandate period alone, 100,000 Arabs from neighboring countries i
mmigrated to the Holy Land.
Misinai remains unconvinced. Among the evidence for the ancient Jewish roots of
the Palestinians are names both place and family names. Villages such as Kfar Ya
sif, Kfar Kana and Kfar Yatta rarely appear in other Arabic-speaking countries,
Misinai says.
Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, in his 1932 book The Peoples of Our Land, adds that some 227 vi
llages and sites west of the Jordan River had names that were similar to or the
same as Jewish communities on the same sites during the Second Temple times. If i
n fact the Jewish settlements became inhabited by entirely different people, the
y would not have preserved the Hebrew names, Misinai says. Thats what happened on
the eastern side of the Jordan River, he points out.
The village of Kawazbe, in Eastern Gush Etzion, is considered by both Jews and l
ocal Palestinians to be a corruption of Kuzeiba, the original name of Bar Kochba
, who led the rebellion against the Romans nearly 2,000 years ago. Not far away,
in a Palestinian village near the Jewish community of Tekoa, a village elder ex
plains that his grandfather was a Jew who converted to Islam.
Israeli Rabbi Stein adds that, up to about 200 years ago, the Galilee village of
Sakhnin was a Jewish town with an active synagogue. The Turks pressured them to
convert to Islam, but the people there know they are of Jewish origins.
Then there are the many family names, which have no roots in Arabic like the Abu
lafias of Jaffa who are descended from the 13th century Spanish Jewish Kabbalist
Rabbi Avraham Abulafia; the Almogs of Jenin; and the Dawouda (from David) clan
of Hebron. Misinai claims that there are even some 4,000 forced converts to Isla
m living in Jordan with the Hebrew name Cohen.
In 2011, Misinai produced a short film, demonstrating visually some of what he w
rote about in his book. In the film, there are visits to Palestinian villages an
d cities where the Jewish Star of David can still be seen on houses and public b
uildings.
Another clue can be found in language. All the way back in the 1890s, The Instit
ute for Israel Research reported that the Palestinian dialect of Arabic contains
many terms and words not found in standard Arabic, but that result rather from
the integration of Hebrew and Aramaic. (Aramaic was the language spoken by many
of the Jews in the ancient world and is the language the Babylonian Talmud is wr
itten in.)
Scholars believe that these Hidden Jews of the Land of Israel spoke exclusively Ar
amaic as recently as the days of the Crusades and, in 1974, residents of a Pales
tinian village on the site of the ancient biblical Ofra were Christians who spok
e Aramaic. Why is this significant? Non-Jews who converted to Christianity in it
s early days would probably have spoken Greek. A group that clung to Aramaic wou
ld be more likely to have Jewish roots.
Food is often a clue to Jewish roots, and for many Bedouin, non-kosher animals a
re forbidden. In addition, as Israeli matzah manufacturers have learned, around
Passover time, sales of unleavened bread in Palestinian villages and towns goes
sky high. Is there just a taste for matzah among the Palestinians or does it hav
e more to do with an ancient religious custom?
The genetic record provides the most striking evidence of the Jewish roots of th
e Palestinians. A 2001 study by Spanish researcher Prof. Antonio Arnez-Vilna in
Human Immunology magazine shows that the immune systems of the Jews and the Pale
stinians are extremely close to one another. Another study, in 2002, found that
only two groups in the world Ashkenazi Jews and Palestinians were genetically su
sceptible to an inherited deafness syndrome.
Hadassah Medical Schools Prof. Ariela Oppenheim performed an international geneti
c study that backs up the conclusions of surprisingly close Jewish-Arab genetic si
milarities. Oppenheim says her study shows that both Jews and Arabs in Israel ar
e linked with the Kurds of Aram in Babylon the birthplace of the patriarch Abrah
am. It is clear we are from the same family, Oppenheim declares.
In 2012, Harry Ostrer, professor of pediatrics and pathology at Albert Einstein
College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York, and Karl Skorecki, director of medic
al and research development at the Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa, determine
d that, the closest genetic neighbors to most Jewish groups were the Palestinians
, Israeli Bedouins, and Druze (in addition to the Southern Europeans, including
Cypriots).
Ostrers research on Abrahams Children in the Genome Era, published in October 2012 i
n The American Journal of Human Genetics, sampled 652,000 gene variants from eac
h of 237 unrelated individuals from seven Jewish populations: Iranian, Iraqi, Sy
rian, Italian, Turkish, Greek and Ashkenazi. These sequences were then compared
with reference samples from non-Jews drawn from the Human Genome Project. Each o
f the Jewish populations, the research found, formed its own distinctive cluster,
indicating their shared ancestry and relative genetic isolation.
Whether Misinai is right, and whether the scientific, archaeological and genealo
gical evidence supports him, there is undoubtedly more to be discovered about th
e surprising Jewish history of Palestinians in the Middle East.
Bedouins - the original inhabitants of Sinai
Many Bedouines have found a job in the touristical areas, but there are still a
lot of beduines that seem to be more hidden from German, French, British or Ital
ian "invadors"...
In all Sinai there are approx. 80.000 Beduines, from which only perhaps 30% have
found a touristic related occupation. These beduines are mostly found between t
he Monastery of St. Catherine and Sharm El Sheikh.
Very eye-catching is the clothing of women. It is difficult for visitors to get
to see them. Mostly they will see men, while Beduin women stay hidden. However,
in some cases you might get across a woman wearing the famous veil (Burgaa) or t
he scarf, which is called "Tarha" in local language.
Beduines come from places around Sinai such as Palestine, Arabia or Jordan. They
settled in Sinai long ago, even though the environment is and was quite tough f
or living. There is hardly anything else than sand and mountains. Only a closer
glance shows that there are some few oasises, plants and animals that allow the
Beduines to live a nomadic life as they have always done. Many of the tribes hav
e Jewish origin.
The Bedouine tribes as of today
There are about 11-13 tribes to be distinguished in Sinai, depending on how to d
efine clans and tribes. They are mostly living in tents so that they can leave t
he place again easily. Others are already living in smaller "wall-surrounded are
as" where they usually stay.
The boundaries of the Beduines tribes are indistinct. However, they are understo
od by a long tradition, each area has been known and respected most of the time.
In the past tribal raiding was evident, the history of these movements, allianc
es and eventual extinction in some cases is fascinating.
Aleiqat: This tribe was one of the first that has settled in Sinai (at the time
of the Islamic conquest of Egypt). Their territory is now on the west coast of S
inai.
Aquila: This quite small tribe lives on the Mediterranean coast, right between t
he Sawarka and the Laheiwat.
Awarma (Suwalha): In South Sinai this is one clan of the overall tribe Suwalha.
Awlad Said (Suwalha): In South Sinai this is one clan of the overall tribe Suwal
ha.
Ayaida: North Sinai, next to the Channel of Suez.
Gebeleya: These are the people of the mountains. As probably only about 1,500 pe
ople they have a very small tribal territory around Mt. Sinai. They are not of A
rab descent but are descendants of Macedonian people sent by Emperor Justinian t
o build, protect and serve the Monastery in the sixth century AD.
Haweitat: The Haweitat have their origin in the Hijaz mountains of northern Arab
ia. They occupy a triangular area southeast of Suez.
Laheiwat: This tribe is split into 3 geographical areas: one in South Sinai (eas
t), one at the Mediterranean Sea, and another one right next to the Channel of S
uez.
Muszeina: this is the largest tribe in Sinai. These Beduines are living in the m
ost southern part of Sinai and visitors of Sharm El Sheik will most probably see
them on their visit to Sinai.
Qararsha (Suwalha): In South Sinai this is one clan of the overall tribe Suwalha
.
Tarabin: The Tarabin or Tirabin, who have tribal territories, or dirha, in both
North and South Sinai, are of Palestinian Jewish origin
Tiyaha: This tribe occupies an enormous territory in central Sinai; they origine
- just as the Tarabin - from Palestine.
Suwarka:
The Suwarka are the most numerous ones, They live in the north of Sinai, at the
Mediterranean coast centered on Al Arish. They have Jewish origin like the Tirab
in & many other Bedouin tribes.
Unfortunately, with the arrival of tourism in South Sinai, the living conditions
of the Beduines have changed dramatically. They have to fight for their land an
d are in deep discussions with local investors as well as with the Egyptian gove
rnment.
In southern Sinai, the beautiful tropical coastline of the Gulf of Aqaba has rec
ently experienced major development. The government has routed the area as the E
gyptian Riviera in the interest of attracting international tourists and investo
rs. The initial plan for the development of the Sinai was sponsored by the Unite
d States Agency for International Aid, as a result of the Camp David Peace Accor
ds.

The indigenous people of South Sinai, the Bedouins, generally did not benefit fr
om employment in the initial construction boom because the wages were too low to
make it worth their while. Sudanese and Egyptian workers from other areas were
brought in as laborers instead. The Bedouins increasingly moved into tourist ind
ustry positions such as cab drivers, tour guides for sight-seeing on camels or i
n jeeps, managing cafes or campgrounds. However, they soon had severe competitio
n from foreign tour operators, Egyptians from the Nile Valley, and even with eac
h other.
Since the mid-1980s, the Bedouins who held desirable coastal property have lost
control of much of their land as it was sold by the Egyptian government to hotel
operators. In the summer of 1999, the latest dispossession of land took place w
hen the army bulldozed Bedouin-run tourist campgrounds north of Nuweiba as part
of the final phase of hotel development in the sector, overseen by the Tourist D
evelopment Agency (TDA). The director of the Tourist Development Agency dismisse
d Bedouin rights to most of the land, saying that they had not lived on the coas
t before 1982. Bedouins had been living on the coast, but their traditional semi
-nomadic culture has left them vulnerable to such claims. Most of the Sinai Bedo
uins have been in Sinai since the fourteenth to eighteenth centuries.
Israelis and Jews are advised to leave or not visit places where there are large
concentrations of Muslims
This might be the reason why the millions of Muslims of Jewish & other Israelite
origin in the Greater Middle East don t dare to disclose their identity.
The Israeli Counter Terrorism Bureau issued its quarterly travel advisory today
ahead of the high holy days which begin next month. Israelis are advised against
visiting 41 out of the 193 countries and territories in the world.
For instance, Israelis and Jews are advised to leave or not visit Turkey, Azerba
ijan, Nigeria, Kenya, Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan, Algeria, Djibouti, Mauritania
, Libya, Tunisia, Indonesia, , Burkina Faso, the Ivory Coast, Togo, Mali, Malays
ia, Pakistan, Kashmir, southern Thailand, southern Philippines, Kashmir, Chechny
a, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Morocco, Oman and of course Iran, Syria, Sin
ai, Lebanon, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian territori
es.
Or, in other words, pretty much anywhere in the world where there are large conc
entrations of Muslims.

Which begs the question: why just not issue us with places we CAN visit? But hey
, arent the Muslims taking over Europe anyway? And arent the Europeans anti-Semite
s, boycotting our settler brothers and sisters and funding all these anti-Israel
i NGOs? I mean, isnt that what we are told?
So this leaves us pretty much with only America [Obama hates us], Canada [too co
ld], Australia [too far], Micronesia and Palau. Anyone know if theres a Beit Chab
ad in Palau?
The Abdals of Turkey
The Abdals of Turkey come from Ephtalites (Nephtalites) that came from Central A
sia, being this Israelites of the tribe of Naphtali. The name Abdal comes from E
phtal, being the f interchangeable with p or b & the d with t as in Punic/Phoeni
cian. The Abdal are a socio-cultural group found mainly in central and western A
natolia, who follow an itinerant lifestyle. This lifestyle is closely connected
with the activity of music making at weddings. Other occupations associated with
the Abdal include tinning, basket making and sieve manufacture. They do not see
m to be related with the Abdal of South Asia. The Kurds often refer to the Abdal
as Gawanda.

The three most remarkable characteristics of the group are its close relationshi
p with the Alevi sect, its use of a secret language or argot and its wide distri
bution. It seems that the name Abdal was associated with Alevi dervishes of Cent
ral Anatolia, whose existence is first recorded in the 16th Century. These Abdal
an- Rum were extreme Alevis practicising celibacy and withdrawal from the world.
Their unorthodox behavior led to their suppression by the Ottoman authorities. A
t least some of the present day Abdals are descended from these groups. The Abda
l language consists of borrowing from Persian and other Iranian sources, some Ku
rdish and Romany with an essentially Turkish grammar. A possible connection with
the Romani people is seen by the facts two of their subdivisions are the Gurbet
and Kara Domen, signifying possible links with the Gurbati of Iran and the Dom
of the Arab Middle East. According to the Abdal themselves, they came originally
from Khorasan (Khwarezm has been known also as Chorasmia, Khwarezmia, Khwarizm,
Khwarazm, ... areas of which were a part of ancient Khwarezm, Khurasan and Grea
ter Khorasan) in Iran, and are a tribe of Turkmen.
It's interesting that Abdals of Turkey are related with two ethnic groups regard
ed as Israelites (Gypsies & Alevis) by different scholars. Moreover since Khuras
an was one of the areas were the Lost Ten tribes were transplanted.
In south western Turkey, the Abdal play a particular role as musicians, minstrel
s, jewelers and magicians to the nomadic Barak Turkmen, as a dependent group. Ab
dal encampments are found at the edges of the Turkmen camps. A similar relations
hip also exists with certain Kurdish tribes. In the area north of Ankara, many A
bdal are sedentary, but associated with certain socially demeaning activities as
circumcision and barbering.
Secret Berber Jews
The only defeat that Mohammads army suffered in their very successful campaigns i
n the 7th century CE was at the hands of a Jewish Berber queen named Kahina, who
is still revered in Tunisia to this day. Ibn Khaldun, the great Arab historian
of the 15th century, wrote that at the time of the Arab invasion many Berber tri
bes were Jewish; this was true of the Jarawa in the Aures mountains, the tribe of
the Kahina. Khaldun says that it was the Arab General Hassan Ibn Numan who wiped
out the Jewish tribes in the Maghreb i.e., most of the region of Northwest Afri
ca, west of Egypt. The only defeat General Hassan Ibn Numan suffered was at the
hands of Kahina. When he came back with enormous reinforcements and she realized
that the end was near, Kahina allowed her sons to go over to the enemy since th
ey worshipped the one God but, for herself, she chose to die in battle.
Her personal name is one of these variations: Daya, Dihya, Dahya or Damya (with
Arabic spellings it s difficult to distinguish between these variants). Her titl
e was cited by Arabic-language sources as al-Khina (the priestess soothsayer). Th
is was the nickname used by her Muslim opponents because of her reputed ability
to foresee the future.
According to legend, her son Tariq conquered Spain on behalf of the Muslim armie
s. Gibraltar Jabel el Tariq is named after him.
Until the 1950s, there were many Berber tribes practicing Judaism openly in Moroc
co. Many Moroccan Jews in Israel have Berber origins. But because the whole stor
y doesnt fit anyones stereotype, Berber Judaism has fallen off the historical rada
r. Clearly, with the rise of extreme Islam, it is getting more and more difficul
t for Berbers to come out of the Jewish closet. And yet, I encountered marrano i.e
., secret, Jewish Berbers in Tunisia as recently as 16 years ago.
Berber women with Jewishli
ke headscarf

Its unfortunate that the world Jewish community in general, and Israel in particu
lar, havent realized the enormous ideological power that Judaism still has in Nor
th Africa. If someone will reach out to them, the Jews/Israelites of North Afric
a will rally to the flag.
The Saharan Jewry & its main clans: Ka ti, Iberogen, Idaksahak. How about the Is
awaghan?
The same year of 1492 when Catholic Spain ordered the Jews to leave or convert M
uslim Mali ordered the same
Theres a large a large of Jewish blood (and traditions) among the Touaregs & the
rest of Berbers (the Touaregs are part of the Berbers). On Gamla, city on the Go
lan, thousands of zealots died as other Jewish zealots died in Masada . North Af
rica , a Judean outpost rose in rebellion against the Roman emperors Trajan & Ha
drian. The Touaregs are called the Blue Men of the desert because of their blue cl
othes they wear. Blue is also a color related to Jews as in the case of talits o
r the very Israeli flag. I dont believe to be coincidental the great appreciation
for the color blue by both, Jews & Touaregs. In the Mellahs (Jewish quarters in
Muslim countries, similar to ghettos), it was said, that there were Jews in the
Magreb since the destruction of the first Temple in 586 BCE.
Is it by chance that the Iddaoisahak, or Children of Isaac, are related to the i
SawaGhan? Isawaghen is another name of this people. Their home town bears the Ga
Ll word of diaspora in Hebrew. They speak Tasawaq or Sawaq language is also call
ed Ingelshi or Ingalkoyyu (probably after the town in which they live or the oth
er way round. These names bear the consonants of GaLut of the Hebrew diaspora),
a name very similar to English. The English are considered Lost Israelites, so I
don t think to bee by chance. As can be noticed this last tribe has also the na
me of Isaac in its consonants SK because g & K are close sounds & usually interc
hangeable. The neighboring Ihaggaran people may come either from Haggar, mom of
Ishmael, or from GaR or GoLa, diaspora, like the name of Ahaggar mountains in th
e western area of the Sahara desert. The fact that one of the towns, teGuiDa has
the consonants of Gad, as does the neighboring town of aGaDez makes catalog the
m as Israelite Gadites. It s interesting that the iSawaGhan (also called Ingalko
yyu, similar begining to English as comment before about other words) ethnic gro
up speakers of taSawaQ bear the SG equivalent of the SC sounds of the name of iS
aaC & the GN equivalent of Cn of CaNaan. They live in a place called In GaLl, in
Niger,suggesting the GaLut or diasporic name of this town too. I believe these
terms give us clues of the diasporic state, ethnic origin & original land of the
iSawaGhen. The w & y are consonants interchangeable for vowels. tamaSheQ, taSaw
aQ or tamaJaQ are the names of one of the neighboring Berber languages & as I po
int in capitals, also have the consonants of the name of iSaaC as well as the co
nsonants of Jacob, patriarchs of Israel. This would prove further the Israelite
origin of many Berbers. Even the name Berber resembles Heber, another ancestor o
f Israel from which the word Hebrew comes.
Early Arab scholars who visited the southern fringes of the Sahara desert report
the presence of jewish tribes in places such as ancient Ghana and Mali. Many tr
ibes in Africa today still recall their Hebraic roots and many more continue the
ir ancient jewish laws and tradition unadulterated by the politics of the modern
days.
Tasawaq
Alternative names: Ingalci, Ingelshi. Classification: Tasawaq can be seen as a v
ariant of Northern Songhay, and is strongly influenced by the neighbouring Hausa
and Tamazight languages. Area: Niger, in the towns of Ingall and Teguidda-n-Tes
soumt, near Agadez. Number of speakers: approximately 8,000, according to the we
bsite Ethnologue.com. Official sources point to a figure in the range of 10,000,
but that probably refers to the whole of the population living in the Ingall re
gion, which includes Tuareg camps.
Status of the language: Tasawaq is an indigenous (or national) language; a statu
s that means it must be promoted in various ways. The Nigerien authorities have
stated that a law will in future determine how indigenous languages are to be pr
omoted and developed. They have also said that indigenous languages will be the
language of teaching in primary schools. The Department for the Teaching of Nati
onal Languages was recently created within the Ministry of Basic Education and N
ational Languages.
The historical origins of Tasawq are not yet clear. It is said that Tasawaq is a
n archaic form of Songhay, which evolved as a result of contact with Tamasheq an
d Hausa. Speakers of the language are known as Isawaghan, but dont believe they b
elong to a Tuareg tribe, nor do they call themselves Songhay, even if Nigerien a
dministrators consider them as such. All adults are bilingual in (Tamasheq/Tasaw
aq), while seasonal migrant workers and schoolchildren are sometimes trilngual (
Hausa/Tamasheq/ Tasawaq).
Vocabulary is drawn from Songhay, Tamajaq and Arabic. We can see that numbers in
Tasawaq from 1 to 5 are the same as in Songhay. Beyond that, up to 20 we can se
e a similarity with Arabic (sita, which is six), and 100 is temede (which comes
from Tamajaq). Compound numbers come from Arabic, Tamajaq and Songhay (e.g. ashi
rin nda hinka, which is 22). As for technical terms, we can see that when denoti
ng animals, Tasawaq uses Tamajag vocabulary to specify males or females, general
ly with a Songhay base. For example, there is y (the Songhay word for male camel)
, trgn (Tamajaq for she-camel), haw (Songhay for cow), and mka (Tamajag for bull). Rel
gious terms in Tasawaq are similar to those in Arabic, but that is not peculiar
to Tasawaq as such borrowings are common in other Nigerien languages. However, T
asawaq keeps the Arabic article, something that perhaps makes it different. For
example, they use alqali (judge), and alliman (imam).
The Jewish community of North Africa
The Jewish community of North Africa must not be confused with the later Jews wh
o arrived after their expulsion from Spain. Under the Roman rule the Jews were l
iving in harmony with the native Berbers, until the first century when the Israe
li Jonathan reportedly incited the poor to revolt in Cyrene (in 73 BC), only to
be crushed by the Romans.
A second revolt followed in 115 in Cyrene, in Egypt and in Cyprus. When the Germ
ans occupied Benghazi the Jews were subjected to an ordeal that saw them persecu
ted and even deported; resulting in many Jews fleeing to other North African cou
ntries and Europe for refuge. The number of Jews in Libya during the Italian occ
upation was estimated by Agostini to have been around 25,000 Jews, mainly living
in the old city of Tripoli (al-H ara), which was characterised by its narrow an
d roofed lanes - still to this day a great tourist attraction.
The Berbers who adopted the Jewish faith, long before the arrival of Islam, like
the "Nafusa" in Tripoli, the "Nefzawa" in Tunisia, and other tribes from Algeri
a, Morocco and some desert oases.
Foreign Jews arrived from other countries. Their numbers began to increase as mo
re Jews began to arrive from Spain, first in 1391, and then after the 30th of Ju
ly 1492 when the entire Jewish community (Except the crypto-Jews), said to be ar
ound 200,000 people, was expelled from Spain.
The Saharan Jewry, not to confuse with the Mizrahi Jews that mostly had run away
from the Arab countries in 1948
Scholars of North African Jewries have recently begun to study, rethink and chal
lenge some of the elds terminology and conceptualisations of the Maghribi Jewish e
xperience, including, for example, terms such as Berber Jews, Arab Jews and even the
most deeply entrenched Sephardic Jews. Such categories of analysis remain largely
unexamined, despite the fact that they constitute an essential part of larger c
olonial and post-colonial discourses on the Islamic world and its diverse popula
tions. In this article, I focus on one such category, Saharan Jews, & attempt to a
ssess its meanings and articulations within the history and imagined identities
of the Sahara.
The meaning of Saharan Jews, moving us from Sijilmasa to Timbuktu by way of the Sa
haran oases Tuat, Akka and other areas of Jewish settlement in the region.
Despite the long historical presence of Jews in the Saharan region, the history
of African Jewries in general and Saharan Jews in particular is one of the most
understudied subjects in African historiographies. A number of historical and et
hnographic works have focused on Saharan Jewries, based on the fact that Jews ha
ve played a major role in the relationship between the Sahara, Barbary States, a
nd the territories south of the Sahel.
In recent decades, many scholars have tried to revisit similar categories such a
s Berber Jews), Arab Jews and Sephardic Jews. While these scholarly discussions partly
examine the historical, cultural and religious meanings of these terms, the cat
egory of Saharan Jewry remains largely unexamined, despite the fact that it has
constituted an essential part of larger colonial and post-colonial scholarly deb
ates. I argue that Saharan Jewish communities developed with extensive social ne
tworks in the northern termini of the Sahara rather than on its southern fringes
. Despite cases of Jewish movements south of the Sahel, many northern settlement
s, largely oases that were sometimes referred to as Little Jerusalems by these Jew
ish communities, were the last desert ports where Jews settled as minyan with es
tablished synagogues, quarters and communities of practice.
Saharan Jews acted as agents of economic and cultural exchange, similar to that
of mestizos in the context of the US/Mexican border. There were Jewish settlemen
ts around the oases of Sijilmasa, Tuat and Akka. African communities have used t
hese historical constructions today to claim a Jewish heritage and identity base
d on the belief that they are descendents of the Jews who settled in the Sahara
since the destruction of the First Temple.
Border liminality and Saharan
Jewry
It is in similar spaces of danger and opportunity that Saharan Jews have struggl
ed to be part of the Saharan borderlands, just as Mexican Americans/Chicanos have
struggled to be part of the American Southwest.
Jews were traders and strangers, &, according to Simmel, Jews existed in ideolog
ical communitas. They were accepted in the Saharan borderlands, but, to assure t
heir security, they were required to establish a relationship of friendship with
a Muslim as their protector. The protgprotector dynamics became the rule that gove
rned movements of Jews, as merchant strangers, throughout the Sahara.
Jews, Jewish and Muslim myths tell us, arrived in the African interior in stages
since the destruction of the First Temple in 587 BCE. Jewish colonies throughou
t the Saharan fringes from the Libyan Desert to the Mauritanian Atlantic Ocean b
uilt their economic survival largely upon trans-Saharan trade. Their impact in t
he region is evident in the work of Nahum Slouschz, who wrote an early-twentieth
-century account of Jews in the Sahara. In all the districts of the Sahara, from
Tripoli to Draa of Morocco, the traveller could easily imagine himself transport
ed ported into some ancient Judean colony.
The early history and migration of Jews into the Moroccan Sahara is vague. Some
arrived before and after the destruction of the First Temple, and others came fr
om Arabia. Nomadic Saharan Jewish tribes descended from the region of Khaybar wh
ich they left after it was taken by Muslims.

Jewish peddlers, merchants and communities were prominent across the full extent
of North Africa, from Sijilmasa (Morocco) through Tuat (Algeria) and Kairouan (
Tunisia) to Nefusa (Libya). Rabbis mention Jews in Biskra, Touggourt, Mzab, Siji
lmasa and Tuat. These northern desert ports formed nodal trading regions in whic
h Jews served as necessary intermediaries for diverse Muslim tribal groups since
the ninth century. From a sociological perspective, the Saharan Jew reveals a p
aradox: he wanders across the Saharas oases; yet, he remains a stranger to an Isl
amic identity that came to characterise the Sahara after the Arab conquest.
Despite the absence of conclusive historical data, many historians argue that mem
bers of the Israelite tribes were among the earliest Phoenician traders who colo
nised the African coast and founded Carthage. Slouschz traces the origin of Sahar
an Jews in the southern interior of Libya, Algeria and Morocco to the ancient Is
raelites, and the rst dispersion of the Jews. Cyrenaica (the north-eastern part o
f present-day Libya) was believed to house the rst wave of Egyptian Jews who sett
led there under Ptolemy, Alexander the Greats successor in Egypt. James Hamilton
asserts that after Ptolemy conquered eastern Libya and turned it into a province
of Egypt under the name of Pentapolis, Jewish colonies were introduced in the r
egion of Cyrene. Many Jews who moved farther into the African interior were thou
ght to be of Cyrenaican origin. In other legends, the rst Jews who arrived on the
Saharan fringes of Cyrenaica came after the destruction of the First Temple by
Nebuchadnezzar. This early migration is believed to have facilitated the spread
of Judaism among the local population at the northern and southern fringes of th
e Sahara.

The Almoravids controlled Sijilmasa by 1056, forcing its population to adopt the
ir strict Islamic interpretations. Their call for religious purity began to reac
h the confines of Ghana and the rest of Bilad al-Sudan. Some Jews were forced to
convert while others left Tuat, settling in western oases such as Goulmim, Akka
and other settlements in the Dara and Sus region.
Tementit [Tuat] was once a capital of Judaism.... Between Tementit and El Hammeda
there is still today descendents of Jews once expelled from Tementit, we call t
hem Tementilins. They & the inhabitants of El Hammeda have conserved their tradit
ion and their history. Theres something of interest to visit in Timbuktua communit
y of 1000 Jews who recently revealed their identity.
These claims emerge in the context of the political and democratic liberalisatio
n in Mali. In addition, the religious and nancial support of global organizations
in the United States and Israel to these marginal Jewish communities has encour
aged many Malian families to come out in the open and set up the Timbuktu Associa
tion of Friendship with the Jewish World.
Ismail Haidara, a Malian historian, has become the leading advocate for those cl
aiming Jewish ancestry in Mali. Tony Benson writes a short article on the Jews o
f Timbuktu and the role of Haidara in salvaging their history: In 1984 a histori
an from Timbuktu called Ismael Haidera began to investigate his family history.
He discovered, in old documents relating to his family, Hebrew writing and many
Jewish names, and concluded that he was in fact of Jewish descent, though the fa
mily had long since converted to Islam and sought to hide its origins, a ful lment
of the prophecy that the scattered Jews would come to worship other gods. He in
vestigated further and came across other families in Timbuktu and the villages a
round who appeared to have Jewish origins. All were practising Muslims, although
there were stories of villages where Jewish rites were practised in secret.
Under the leadership of Haidara, the Zakhor Association [Remember] comprised aro
und 1000 individuals in 1993. In 29 May 1996, Zakhor published its manifesto cla
iming that its members are direct descendants of Saharan Jews:
We are Jews because our ancestors were Jews, whose genes are found in all our fa
milies. Our Judaism is based on ethnicity. We have to take it and the world has
to accept it....Our history can only be told as the destiny of de-Judaized Jews
who nonetheless recognize themselves as being of Israelite origin.
As an American-based contemporary organisation, Kulanu shares some of these idea
s and works with people who discover their Jewish identity. It was created to lo
cate dispersed Jews and make them part of the larger Jewish community of brethre
n. Kulanu offers nancial support and provides logistical contacts with Jews or pe
ople with presumed Jewish identity through the teaching of Hebrew and setting up
of synagogues. In many instances they have helped people and groups relocate to
Israel (e.g. Abayudaya Jews from Uganda, Telugu Jews from India and other group
s from China and Peru).
According to Jack Zeller, its president:
Much of Jewish living has occurred in the Diaspora. Jews have been there far lon
ger than Eretz Yisrael.... Never before in Jewish history has it been easier to
meet remote and virtually ignored or newly developing Jewish communities. We can
do it by phone, fax, email, and best of all, an in-person handshake.
In Sous there was no difference between Muslims and Jews. Tere were close relati
ons with Jewish brothers. In Casablanca, the anti-Semitic attitude of people was
 astonishing using phrases such as (Jews, God forbid!). It is one of the reasons
that led creating this association.
The association, which includes lawyers and teachers, plans to organise trips fo
r Berbers and Israeli Jews of Berber descent and to promote Berber culture in bo
th countries. It also aims at attracting Israeli investment in the Berber rural
regions, which have suffered from the Moroccan states negligence. In addition to
this call for Berber-Jewish relationship, the association has publicly expressed
its political disengagement towards the Palestinian issue seen as an Arab cause t
hat does not re ect the economic, cultural, and political needs and aspirations of
the Berbers. By calling for political detachment towards Middle Eastern con ict,
the Amazigh-Israeli association revolts against the pan-Arab and Islamic foundat
ion of the Moroccan nation state.
Around fty thousand Moroccans have turned to Christianity and that many are inter
ested in Judaism.
Mizrahi Jews
Mizrahi Jews or Mizrahim or Mashriqiyyun, also referred to as Adot HaMizrach ( -
; Communities of the East; Mizrahi Hebrew: ), are Jews descended from local Jew
ish communities of the Middle East (as opposed to those from Europe, Africa and
other places). The term Mizrahi is most commonly used in Israel to refer to Jews
who trace their roots back to Muslim-majority countries. This includes descenda
nts of Babylonian Jews from modern Iraq, Syria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Dagestan, Azerb
aijan, Iran, Lebanon, Uzbekistan, Kurdistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Yemenite
and Georgian Jews are usually included within the Mizrahi Jews group. Some also
expand the definition of Mizrahim to Maghrebi and Sephardic. Furthermore, some e
ven reclassify the whole Israeli Jewish society as "Mizrahi" as compared with th
e Western Jews of Europe and the Americas (some also include the Jews from the H
orn of Africa: Abyssinians, Eritreans Jibutians, Somalis; I add the ones descend
ed from them: Tutsis, Hemas, Banyamulenges).

The use of the term Mizrahi can be somewhat controversial. Before the establishm
ent of the state of Israel, Mizrahi Jews did not identify themselves as a separa
te ethnic subgroup. Instead, Mizrahi Jews generally characterized themselves as
Sephardi, because they follow the traditions of Sephardic Judaism (although with
some differences among the minhagim of the particular communities). This has re
sulted in a conflation of terms, particularly in Israel, and in religious usage,
where "Sephardi" is used in a broad sense to include Mizrahi Jews and Maghrebi
Jews as well as Sephardim proper. Indeed, from the point of view of the official
Israeli rabbinate, any rabbis of Mizrahi origin in Israel are under the jurisdi
ction of the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel. Today those of Sephardic rite make
up more than half of Israel s Jewish population, and Mizrahi Jews proper are a m
ajor part of them. Before the mass immigration of over one million people from t
he former Soviet Union, mostly of Ashkenazi descent, followers of the Sephardic
rite made up over 70% of Israel s Jewish population. As of 2005, 61% of Israeli
Jews are of Mizrahi ancestry.
Usage
"Mizrahi" is literally translated as "Eastern", (Mizra ), Hebrew for "east." In
the past the word "Mizrahim," corresponding to the Arabic word Mashriqiyyun (Eas
terners), referred to the natives of Syria, Iraq and other Asian countries, as d
istinct from those of North Africa (Maghribiyyun). In medieval and early modern
times the corresponding Hebrew word ma arav was used for North Africa. In Talmud
ic and Geonic times, however, this word "ma arav" referred to the land of Israel
as contrasted with Babylonia. For this reason many object to the use of "Mizrah
i" to include Moroccan and other North African Jews.
The term Mizrahim or Edot Hamizra , Oriental communities, grew in Israel under t
he circumstances of the meeting of waves of Jewish immigrants from the Europe, N
orth Africa, Middle East and Central Asia, followers of Ashkenazi, Sephardic and
Yemenite rites. In modern Israeli usage, it refers to all Jews from Central and
West Asian countries, many of them Arabic-speaking Muslim-majority countries. T
he term came to be widely used more by Mizrahi activists in the early 1990s. Sin
ce then in Israel it has become an accepted semi-official and media designation.
Interestingly, most of the "Mizrahi" activists were actually originated from Nor
th African Jewish communities, traditionally called "Westerners" (Maghrebi), rat
her than "Easterners" (Mashreqi). Many Jews originated from Arab and Muslim coun
tries today reject "Mizrahi" (or any) umbrella description and prefer to identif
y themselves by their particular country of origin, or that of their immediate a
ncestors, e.g. "Moroccan Jew", or prefer to use the old term "Sephardic" in its
broader meaning.
Religious rite designations
Today, many identify all non-Ashkenazi rite Jews as Sephardic - in modern Hebrew
"Sfaradim", mixing ancestral origin and religious rite. This broader definition
of "Sephardim" as including all, or most, Mizrahi Jews is also common in Jewish
religious circles. During the past century, the Sephardic rite absorbed the uni
que rite of the Yemenite Jews and lately the Ethiopian Jewish religious leaders
in Israel have also joined the Sefardic rite collectivities, especially followin
g rejection of their Jewishness by Ashkenasi and Hassidic circles.
The reason for this classification of all Mizrahim under Sephardic rite is that
most Mizrahi communities use much the same religious rituals as Sephardim proper
due to historical reasons. The prevalence of the Sephardic rite among Mizrahim
is partially a result of Sephardim proper joining some of Mizrahi communities fo
llowing the 1492 expulsion from Sepharad (Spain and Portugal). Over the last few
centuries, the previously distinctive rites of the Mizrahi communities were inf
luenced, superimposed upon or altogether replaced by the rite of the Sephardim,
perceived as more prestigious. Even before this assimilation, the original rite
of many Jewish Oriental communities was already closer to the Sephardi rite than
to the Ashkenazi one. For this reason, "Sephardim" has come to mean not only "S
panish Jews" proper but "Jews of the Spanish rite", just as "Ashkenazim" is used
for "Jews of the German rite", whether or not their families originate in Germa
ny.
Many of the Sephardic Jews exiled from Spain resettled in greater or lesser numb
ers in many Arabic-speaking countries, such as Syria and Morocco. In Syria, most
eventually intermarried with and assimilated into the larger established commun
ities of Arabic-speaking Jews and Mizrahi Jews. In some North African countries
such as Morocco, Sephardic Jews came in greater numbers and largely contributed
to the Jewish settlements that the pre-existing Jews were assimilated by them. E
ither way, this assimilation, combined with the use of the Sephardic rite, led t
o the popular designation and conflation of most non-Ashkenazi Jewish communitie
s from the Middle East and North Africa as "Sephardic" rite, whether or not they
were descended from Spanish Jews, which is what the terms "Sephardic Jews" and
"Sepharadim" properly implied when used in the ethnic as opposed to the religiou
s sense.
In some Arabic countries such as Egypt and Syria, the Sephardic Jews arrived via
the Ottoman Empire would distinguish themselves from the already established Ar
abic-speaking Jews known as Moriscos (Moorish-like in Ladino), in some others su
ch as Morocco and Algeria, the two communities largely intermarried with the lat
ters embracing the Sephardic customs and thus forming a single community.
Language
Most of the so-called Oriental Jewish or Mizrahi communities spoke Arabic, altho
ugh Arabic is now mainly used as a second language, especially by the older gene
ration. Most of the many notable philosophical, religious and literary works of
the Jews in the Orient were written in Arabic using a modified Hebrew alphabet.

Abrahamic alpha
bets
Among other languages associated with Mizrahim are Judeo-Persian (Dzhidi), Georg
ian, Bukhori, Kurdish, Juhuri, Marathi, Judeo-Malayalam and called by some Judeo
-Aramaic dialects. Most Persian Jews speak standard Persian.
Neo-Aramaic is a Semitic language closely related to Hebrew. It is identified as
a "Jewish language", since it is the language of major Jewish texts such as the
Talmud and Zohar, and many ritual recitations such as the Kaddish. Traditionall
y, Aramaic has been a language of Talmudic debate in yeshivoth, as many rabbinic
texts are written in a mixture of Hebrew and Aramaic. As spoken by the Kurdish
Jews, Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialects are descended from Jewish Babylonian Aramaic,
also known as "Assyrian lettering" (Ktav Ashurit), the "square-script", by Ezra
the Scribe, as could be seen from its hundreds of reflexes in Jewish Neo-Aramaic
. The Assyrian language is still spoken by Assyrian people.
By the early 1950s, virtually the entire Jewish community of Kurdistan a rugged,
mostly mountainous region comprising parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and th
e Caucasus, where Jews had lived since antiquity relocated to Israel. The vast m
ajority of Kurdish Jews, who were primarily concentrated in northern Iraq, left
Kurdistan in the mass aliyah (emigration to Israel) of 1950-51. This ended thous
ands of years of Jewish history in what had been Assyria and Babylonia.
In 2007, a book was published, authored by Mordechai Zaken, describing the uniqu
e relationship between Jews in urban and rural Kurdistan and the tribal society
under whose patronage the Jews lived for hundreds of years. Tribal chieftains, o
r aghas, granted patronage to the Jews who needed protection in the wild tribal
region of Kurdistan; the Jews gave their chieftains dues, gifts and services. Th
e text provides numerous tales and examples about the skills, maneuvers and inno
vations used by Kurdistani Jews in their daily life to confront their abuse and
extortion by greedy chieftains and tribesmen. The text also tells the stories of
Kurdish chieftains who saved and protected the Jews unconditionally (the Kurds
are among the most pro-Jewish Muslims & that s probably because they are aware o
f their Israelite origin).
Post-1948 dispersal
After the establishment of the State of Israel and subsequent 1948 Arab-Israeli
War, most Mizrahi Jews were either expelled by their Arab rulers or chose to lea
ve and emigrated to Israel. According to the 2009 Statistical Abstract of Israel
, 50.2% of Israeli Jews are of Mizrahi or Sephardic origin.
Anti-Jewish actions by Arab governments in the 1950s and 1960s, in the context o
f the founding of the State of Israel, led to the departure of large numbers of
Mizrahi Jews from the Middle East. 25,000 Mizrahi Jews from Egypt left after the
1956 Suez Crisis, led to the overwhelming majority of Mizrahim leaving Arab cou
ntries. They became refugees. Most went to Israel. Many Moroccan and Algerian Je
ws went to France. Thousands of Lebanese, Syrian and Egyptian Jews emigrated to
the United States and to Brazil.
Today, as many as 40,000 Mizrahim still remain in communities scattered througho
ut the non-Arab Muslim world, primarily in Iran, but also Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan
, and Turkey. There are few Maghrebim remaining in the Arab world too. About 5,0
00 remain in Morocco and fewer than 2,000 in Tunisia. Other countries with remna
nts of ancient Jewish communities with official recognition, such as Lebanon, ha
ve 100 or fewer Jews. A trickle of emigration continues, mainly to Israel and th
e United States.
Absorption into Israeli society
Refuge in Israel was not without its tragedies: "in a generation or two, millenn
ia of rooted Oriental civilization, unified even in its diversity, had been wipe
d out, writes Mizrahi scholar Ella Shohat. The trauma of rupture from their coun
tries of origin was further complicated by the difficulty of the transition upon
arrival in Israel; Mizrahi immigrants and refugees were placed in rudimentary a
nd hastily erected tent cities (Ma abarot) often in development towns on the per
ipheries of Israel. Settlement in Moshavim (cooperative farming villages) was on
ly partially successful, because Mizrahim had historically filled a niche as cra
ftsmen and merchants and most did not traditionally engage in farmwork. As the m
ajority left their property behind in their home countries as they journeyed to
Israel, many suffered a severe decrease in their socio-economic status aggravate
d by their cultural and political differences with the dominant Ashkenazi commun
ity. Furthermore, a policy of austerity was enforced at that time due to economi
c hardships.
Mizrahi immigrants arrived with many mother tongues. Many, especially those from
North Africa and the fertile crescent, spoke Arabic dialects; those from Iran a
nd Central Asia (Uzbekistan and Tajikistan) spoke Persian; Baghdadi Jews from In
dia arrived with English; the Bene Israel from Maharashtra, India arrived with M
arathi, Mizrahim from elsewhere brought Georgian, Judaeo-Georgian, Tajik, Juhuri
and various other languages with them. Hebrew had historically been a language
only of prayer for most Jews not living in Israel, including the Mizrahim. Thus,
with their arrival in Israel, the Mizrahim retained culture, customs and langua
ge distinct from their Ashkenazi counterparts.
Disparities and integration
The cultural differences between Mizrahi and Ashkenazi Jews impacted the degree
and rate of assimilation into Israeli society, and sometimes the divide between
Eastern European and Middle Eastern Jews was quite sharp. Segregation, especiall
y in the area of housing, limited integration possibilities over the years. Inte
rmarriage between Ashkenazim and Mizrahim is increasingly common in Israel and b
y the late 1990s 28% of all Israeli children had multi-ethnic parents (up from 1
4% in the 1950s). It has been claimed that intermarriage does not tend to decrea
se ethnic differences in socio-economic status, however that does not apply to t
he children of inter-ethnic marriages.
Although social integration is constantly improving, disparities persist. A stud
y conducted by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (ICBS), Mizrahi Jews are
less likely to pursue academic studies than Ashkenazi Jews. Israeli-born Ashken
azim are up to twice more likely to study in a university than Israeli-born Mizr
ahim. Furthermore, the percentage of Mizrahim who seek a university education re
mains low compared to second-generation immigrant groups of Ashkenazi origin, su
ch as Russians. According to a survey by the Adva Center, the average income of
Ashkenazim was 36 percent higher than that of Mizrahim in 2004.
Communities
Jews from Arab and Muslim lands
Bukharian Jews
Persian Jewish community
Kurdish Jewry
Iraqi Jews (Babylonian Jewry)
Damascus Jewry
Jews of Lebanon
Jews from Egypt
Tunisian Jews
Algerian Jewish
Moroccan Jewish
Nash Didan Community Persian Azerbaijany
The Kehat/Kohat/Ka ti Berber Levitish clan
Kohathites related to Kohat, Pakistan? & the Berber Jewish Kehat/Kat i family?

Kohathites related to Kohat, Pakistan? Seems likely. The "Berber" clan or family
of Kehat (or Ka ti) has the name of one of the priestly clans. In some versions
the name of the clan was Kehat, in others Kohat. It doesn t really matter if th
e name was Kohatite or Kehatite, because in Semitic languages like Hebrew vowels
didn t really count.

Members of the Kehath (Ka ti) family founded 3 villages near Timbuktu (Kirshamba
, Haybomo, & Kongougara).

The Kati (Kati is a name of different Israelite groups) are a Levitic clan comin
g from the priestly Kehat/Kohat clan of the Old Testament.

Egyptian Jews trading with tribes in the northern part of Mali since biblical ti
mes. In the eighth century CE. Rhadanites (multi-lingual Jewish traders) settled
in Timbuktu as a base from which to solidify their trade routes through the des
ert. In the 14th and 15th centuries, Jews fleeing Spanish persecution joined the
m. Members of the Kehath (Ka ti) family founded three villages near Timbuktu --
Kirshamba, Haybomo, and Kongougara. In 1492, King Askia Muhammed threatened exec
ution to Jews who did not convert to Islam. Some Jews fled, some converted, some
remained in Mali with centuries of persecution and random massacre. By the 20th
century, no practicing Jews remained in Mali. In the 1990s Malian Jewry began a
revival. Ismael Diadie Haidara, a historian from Timbuktu, has explored Mali s
Jewish past. In 1993 Haidara established Zakhor (the Timbuktu Association for Fr
iendship with the Jewish World) as an informal association of Malian descendants
of Jews to teach their children about their Jewish heritage, learn Hebrew and l
earn their histories. A community of 1000 "Jews" have recently revealed their id
entity.
The Igdalen or Iberogen are Hebrew Berbers
The Igdalen (var.: Igdalan, Agdal) are a Berber people living in northwestern Ni
ger and parts of Mali and Algeria. They speak Tagdal, a Mixed-Berber or Northern
Songhai language. The Igdalen are closely related to Dawsahak people of eastern
Mali and the Sawaq of Ingal in Niger, with whom they share very similar languag
e. Culturally, the Igdalen are often considered a Tuareg faction. In the past th
ey have formed a sub-confederation with the Kel Fadey, Kel Ferwan and others in
the Kel Ayr Tuareg confederation or Drum Group.
There are an estimated 27,000 Igdalen, and are centered around Tanout and Tchin
Tabaraden in northern Niger, although seasonal transhumance with livestock take
them well north and south. Igdalen are Muslim, and have previously been a Marabo
ut (religious) and herding caste within Tuareg society.

Idaksahak people (Islamized Jewish Berber tribes)

In Mauritania, Jewish communities existed before the arrival of Islam, especiall
y in the north of the country, Adrar, according to history professor Hamed Ould
Bah. Reportedly, some French settlers found tribes of Jewish origins. Some famil
ies embraced Islam and became well-known in the country. Apparently Iddao Ishaak
means "Children of Isaac" following the same model of the Israelite Saxons (Isa
acsons).

A Jewish explorer from the 80 s tells us: In Asakrei Valley there are some leath
er tents scattered about, and as we made lunch in the bushes, a group of six men
came. They looked dangerous, dressed in their long, dark gandourahs, hiding the
ir faces by veils. They carried daggers and axes and wore thick skin sandals. Th
ey were inscrutable under their headcloths & came on with the dreadful steadines
s of an army. Suddenly the interpreter said: Don t worry, these aren t Tuareg, t
hey are Iddao Ishaak & have Jewish origin. They are rich in camels, but not warl
ike. They speak Hassaniyya Arabic.
An amazingly elegant tuareg family I interviewed outside of Menaka, in the south
of northern Mali.
One of the Ishaak told us that Nsara had given them oil & grain & said: The only
thing that saved us was God & the Christians. The government gave us no help. T
hey still take from us the animal tax for animals we don t have.
Entrance to Me
naka
The Iddao Ishaak fiercely claim their Jewish origin, though they now practice Is
lam. They saw themselves as offspring of Issak. They are some of the Moslems des
cended from Sarah.

Refugees from Menaka

The pictures shown are not necessarily from the Iddaos, but they might be. The p
ictures are at least from people inhabiting Iddao Shaak s villages.
Menaka People in Gao
Maybe the name aSaKRei (the valley where the some IddaoiSahaK live in Nigeria) c
omes from iSsaKaR (Under the rule of vowelization in Hebrew the only letters tha
t count are the consonants. ), therefore the IddaoSahaK could be dwelling in a p
lace were fellow Issacharite Israelites lived, because they are regarded as Levi
tes. Or maybe they absorbed the minoritarian Issacharites dwelling there.

The Iddao Ishaak are regarded as being the offspring of Solomon s Temple priests
, therefore Levites. In fact the garments of white robes & turbans they wear are
similar to the ones of biblical times.
Judeo-Berbers: Muslim Berbers of Jewish origin
Jews in North Africa predate the arrival of Arabs and Islam. Jewish communities
played prominent economic and po-litical roles throughout the history of North A
frica. One of the best-known resistants to the Arab conquest in the seventh cent
ury was al-Kahina, who was the chief of a Judeo-Berber tribe, the Jerawa. Aftert
he Arab invasion, Jewish communities existed within Berber statesand maintained
relations with fellow Jews throughout North Africaand Spain. There was also an i
mportant Jewish cultural and commer-cial presence in cities such as Bijaia, Jerb
a, Sijilmassa, Tafilalet, Tahart, and Tlemcen.

In the Dra valley of southern Morocco, oralaccounts suggest that in the pre-Islam
ic period and until 10th century A.D., Jewish Berber groups formed significant s
tates in the region.Other accounts suggest that the Jewish presence in the Dra va
lley may date to emigration caused by Nebuchadrezzar IIs invasion of Palestine in
587 B.C.
Based on this interpretation of history, Jews would have settled in the Middle A
tlas starting around 361 B.C. In Morocco, until the middle of the 20th century,
there were many Berber-speaking Jewish communities, and Berber was not only spo-
ken but also written in a Hebraic script. Judeo-Berber was used inbiblical trans
lations and everyday life rituals, and it was the languageof instruction and cul
ture in many communities, such as Tiznit, Ouarzazat, Ufran, Illigh, and Demnat.

After World War II, almost all the Berber-speaking Jewish communities either lef
t to major urbancenters or emigrated to Israel, France, and North America.
There are 3 villages near Timbuktu founded by Jews: Kirshamba, Haybomo, and Kong
ougara
Egyptian Jews began trading with tribes in the northern part of Mali as long ago
as biblical times and pushed further and further into the foreboding Sahara thr
oughout the centuries. In the eighth century A.D. the Rhadanites (multi-lingual
Jewish traders) settled in Timbuktu and used it as a base from which they could
solidify their trade routes through the desert. In the 14th and 15th centuries J
ews fleeing Spanish persecution settled in Timbuktu. Members of the Kehath (Ka t
i) family founded three villages that still exist near Timbuktu --Kirshamba, Hay
bomo, and Kongougara. In 1492, King Askia Muhammed took power in Timbuktu and th
reatened Jews who did not convert to Islam with execution. Some Jews fled, some
converted, some remained in Mali and faced centuries of persecution and the occa
sional massacre. By the 20th century there were no practicing Jews in Mali.
However, in the 1990s Malian Jewry has begun to experience a revival. Ismael Dia
die Haidara, a historian from Timbuktu, has been at the forefront of the movemen
t to explore Malis Jewish past. In 1993 Haidara established Zakhor (the Timbuktu
Association for Friendship with the Jewish World) as an informal association of
Malian descendants of Jews. Zakhors members hope to teach their children about th
eir Jewish heritage, learn and use Hebrew as a second language and publish histo
ries of their ancestry. In Timbuktu alone there are almost a thousand descendant
s of Jews who have become interested in exploring their identity.
There are several thousand people of unquestioned Jewish ancestry in Timbuktu, M
ali. Egyptian Jews began trading with tribes in the northern part of Mali as lon
g ago as biblical times and pushed further and further into the Sahara throughou
t the centuries. In the eighth century, the Rhadanites (multi-lingual Jewish tra
ders) settled in Timbuktu and used it as a base from which they could solidify t
heir trade routes through the desert. In the 14th and 15th centuries, Jews fleei
ng Spanish persecution settled in Timbuktu. In 1492, King Askia Muhammed took po
wer in Timbuktu and threatened Jews with execution who did not convert to Islam.
Some Jews fled, some converted, and some remained in Mali, suffering centuries
of persecution. By the 20th century there were no practicing Jews in Mali.
However, Malian Jewry has begun to experience a revival. In 1993, Ismael Diadie
Haidara, a historian from Timbuktu, established Zakhor (the Timbuktu Association
for Friendship with the Jewish World) for the almost one thousand Malian descen
dants of Jews who have become interested in exploring their identity. Zakhor s m
embers hope to teach their children about their Jewish heritage and revive their
interest in Judaism.
It s obvious that Berber Jewish Kehat/Ka ti is related to the same Kehat/Ka ti I
sraelite family. This thing happens in every family. For example, my great-Uncle
went to Cuba and another went to Argentina. If the one that went to Cuba marrie
d a black woman then his offspring could look very different from me but we woul
d be relatives still. This happened to the offspring of the Jews or Israelites t
hat went to Black Africa, Japan, etc.
Jews of Mali
The Jews of Mali, sometimes referred to as Zahkor, meaning, Remember, are descendant
s from Egyptian and Saharan Jewish traders.
In the eighth century A.D. the Rhadanites (multi-lingual Jewish traders) settled
in Timbuktu and used it as a base from which they could solidify their trade rou
tes through the desert. In the 14th and 15th centuries Jews fleeing Spanish pers
ecution settled in Timbuktu. Members of the Kehath (Ka ti) family founded three
villages that still exist near Timbuktu -- Kirshamba, Haybomo, and Kongougara. I
n 1492, King Askia Muhammed took power in Timbuktu and threatened Jews who did n
ot convert to Islam with execution. Some Jews fled, some converted, some remaine
d in Mali and faced centuries of persecution and the occasional massacre. By the
20th century there were no practicing Jews in Mali. The Zahkor movement in Mali ma
de up of about one thousand people, was founded in Timbuktu in 1993 by the Malia
n historian Ismael Daid Hadara. His followers claim to be the offspring of Saharan
Jews.
In a manifesto published in 1996, the members of Zakhor recognize themselves as J
ews and declare themselves to be descendants of the Jews of Touat. The Touat, th
e region at the limit of the Sahara in western Algeria, was, up to 1492, inhabit
ed by Jews involved in trans-Saharan trade. At that time, Sheikh Abd el Krim el
Meghili, a scholar and a mystic, exterminated them and ordered the destruction o
f their synagogues at Siljimassa and Tamentit.
Jews and Berbers
History, myths, legends and contemporary political agendas have combined to prod
uce a fascinating picture of the relationships between Berbers and Jews througho
ut the ages. There can even be surprises. For example, in a conversation with a
Moroccan Berber activist, I quoted a scholar who wrote, "Scratch a Moroccan, fin
d a Berber." He suggested an addendum: "Scratch a Berber, find a Jew!"
There is no consensus among scholars regarding the "truth" of Jewish-Berber rela
tionships in pre-Islamic and early Islamic times, just as there are no definitiv
e conclusions regarding the origins of the Berbers. What is known is that Jewish
communities existed in North Africa at least since Second Temple times, and per
haps even earlier. As such, they interacted with the rest of the population, mai
nly in the coastal towns, but also beyond. The ancient city of Carthage (near mo
dern day Tunis), was founded in 813 BCE by Phoenician merchants, and the Punic l
anguage was deeply rooted well into even the first centuries of the Christian er
a. The "Phoenician connection" undoubtedly shaped the popular belief of the Berb
ers Semitic origins, making the Berbers cousins of the Jews (and Arabs) by virt
ue of race and language. Religion would subsequently enter into the picture as w
ell. A further addition to the mixture of myths and legends is the fact that to
this day, Jews and Moslems venerate the tomb of Joshua in Tlemcen, in western Al
geria, where he is said to have died after warring in the Maghreb.
Religious belief and praxis in North Africa during the late Roman and early Chri
stian eras was highly syncretistic, often combining elements of Judaism, paganis
m and Christianity. Jewish, as well as Christian proselytization was common. Acc
ording to the great 14th century Muslim historian Ibn Khaldun, Jewish proselytiz
ation had its greatest success with nomadic Berber tribes in the mountains of th
e central Maghreb (today s Algeria), and farther West.
The Muslim conquest of North Africa west of Egypt began in the late 7th century.
One of the most famous episodes/myths of resistance to the conquerors is the st
ory of the Kahina ("priestess/sorcerer"). According to Ibn Khaldun and earlier M
uslim historians, the Kahina was the leader of what may have been Judaized Berbe
r tribes in the Jerawa and Aures mountains who fought long and valiantly before
succumbing. The mythical Kahina has since been adopted as a symbol, in turn, by
French colonialists, Algerian nationalists, Jewish nationalists, feminists and B
erberists, while also winning the grudging respect of Muslim Arab historians.
The number of Judaized Berbers, and the percentage of North African Jews who are
descendants of Berber converts cannot be ascertained, and is a subject of disag
reement. In any case, over the centuries, nearly all Berbers were Islamicized. S
till, many Jews lived amongst, and in proximity to Berber communities, mostly in
Morocco, and in some areas of Algeria and Tunisia. According to a Moroccan cens
us of 1936, three-quarters of Morocco s 161,000 Jews were bi-lingual in Berber a
nd Arabic, and another 25,000 were exclusively Berber speakers. As merchants, tr
aders and small artisans in the Atlas mountain villages, Jews may have played an
intermediary role between Arabs and Berbers, and between different Berber triba
l groupings. As is generally true in North Africa, relations between Jews and Be
rbers are sometimes presented in overly idealized terms.
According to the late Prof. Haim Zafrani, "Judaeo-Berber" was used not only in f
amilial situations but also constituted, along with Hebrew, the language of cult
ure and traditional instruction, and was used in the elucidation and translation
of sacred texts, like Judaeo Arabic or old Castillian. Certain prayers, such as
the benedictions of the Torah, were said in Berber (Tamazight); some Biblical te
xts were rendered in Berber, and there even exists a Haggadah in Tamazight, tran
scribed in Hebrew characters. Today, apart from a minute number of elderly "Berb
er Jews" living in Israel, there are no more Berberephone Jews.
Contemporary activism in the "Berber/Amazigh Culture Movement" has a Jewish/Isra
eli angle. Many Amazigh activists express open admiration for the Zionist projec
t, i.e., the revival of a national language and the successful assertion of ethn
onational rights in the face of an intolerant Arab world.. Berberist militants v
iew Arab-Islamic nationalism, the dominant ethos of the all of the Maghreb state
s, as the source for many of their community s woes. Often they complain that th
eir governments spend an inordinate amount of energy on behalf of the Palestinia
n cause, at the expense of the real needs of their societies. In one southeaster
n Moroccan Berber town, an annual masquerade ritual, has been transformed among
the youth into an expression of Amazigh activism and militancy, rejecting Islami
st discourse and identifying with Judaeo-Berber culture and even Israel.
Iraqs Hidden Jews
Amishav, the Israeli organization that assists lost Jews seeking to return to th
e Jewish people, has been busy on many fronts. In addition to its recent actions
on behalf of Spanish Anousim and the Bnei Menashe of northeastern India, it has
made an appeal on behalf of Iraqs secret Jews. The appeal went from Amishav dire
ctor Michael Freund to US Ambassador to Israel Daniel Kurtzer, asking the US Gov
ernment to protect these hidden Jews and enable them to emigrate to Israel.
According to a report in Yediot Aharonot, a number of Jews live in secret in nor
thern Iraq in the cities of Kirkuk and Sulaimaniya. Fearing persecution, they ha
ve hidden their identities, and some, whose families were forced to convert to I
slam, are only now learning of their Jewish identity.
Jewish Kingdom of Abiabene
Adiabene (from the Ancient Greek , Aee, tself erve from Clsscl Syrc) w
 cet kgom  Assyr (orter Irq), wt ts cptl t Arel (moer
-y Arl, Irq). Its rulers coverte to Jusm from Asursm  te 1st cet
ury. Quee Hele of Aee (kow  Jews sources s Hele HMlk) move
to Jeruslem were se ult plces for erself  er sos, Iztes r Moo
z  Mooz II t te orter prt of te cty of Dv, sout of te Temple
Mout. Accorg to te Tlmu, ot Hele  Moz ote lrge fus for t
e Temple of Jeruslem.
Aee occupe  strct  Assyr etwee te Upper Z (Lycus)  te Lo
wer Z (Cprus), toug Ammus speks of Neve, Ect,  Gugmel s
lso elogg to t. Altoug omlly  epeecy of te Prt Empre, fo
r some cetures, egg wt te 1st cetury BC, t ws epeet. I te
Tlmuc wrtgs te me occurs s ,  , wc s prllel to ts Syrc f
Hey." Its cef cty ws Arel (Ar-lu), were Mr Uq   scool, or
te egorg Hzz, y wc me te lter Ars lso clle Arel.
I Kus 72 te Blcl Hor s etfe wt Aee (compre Yemot
16 et seq., Ylqut Del 1064), ut  Yeruslm Megll . 71 wt Rpt
. I te Trgum to Jerem l. 27, Arrt, M,  Askez re prprse
y Koru, Hrm,  Hy, .e., Coruee, Arme,  Aee; wle 
Ezekel xxv. 23 Hrr, Ce,  Ee re terprete y te Armc trsl
tor s "Hrw, Nss,  Aee."
Aee   mxe populto. Accorg to Ply, four tres te te r
ego of Aee: Orotes, Al, Azoes  Slces. Te ccout of Josepus'
Atqutes of te Jews sows tt tere ws  susttl Jews populto 
te kgom, wc le to te estlsmet of  promet rc cemy  A
rel. Durg te Sss er, Perss cme to te fore poltclly. Te ff
cult mxg of cultures c e see  te story of te mrtyrom of Mu,  pr
omet Ir Zorostr wo coverte to Crstty. I lter tmes Ae
e ecme  rcsoprc, wt te set of te metropolt t Arel.
Bse o mes of te Aee rulers, Erst Herzfel suggeste  Sk/Scyt
org for te royl ouse of te kgom; owever, lter progress  Ir l
gustc stues sowe tt tese mes were commo west mle Ir mes.
It s ee suggeste tt te royl ouse of Aee fter fleeg Trj's 
vso, estlse te lter Amtu ysty wo rule te re etwee lkes U
rm  V.
Aee ws  strct  Mesopotm etwee upper  lower Z  ws  pr
t of te Neo Assyr Empre  te y Assyrs eve fter te fll of N
eve It ws  tegrl prt of Aceme Assyr (Atur)  Sss Assyr
 (Assurst). Te rego ws lter me  prt of te Rom provce of Assyr
 fter te vso y Trj  te yer 116.
Accorg to Ptrc Croe  Mcel Cook. we te ertl of Assyr ws
ck to focus  erly Crstty (urg te Prt er  out sx ce
tures fter te fll of te Assyr Empre), "t ws wt  Assyr, ot  P
ers let loe Greek, self-etfcto: te temple of Asur ws restore, t
e cty ws reult,   Assyr successor stte tt reture  te spe
of te clet kgom of Aee." Jews Hstor Flvus Josepus sttes t
t te tts of Aee were Assyrs.
I cet tmes Aee ws  tegrl prt of Assyr. Uer te Acme P
ers kgs Aee seems for  tme to ve ee  vssl stte of te Pers
 Empre. At tmes te troe of Aee ws el y  memer of te Acme
ouse; Arsr III (kg from AD 628 to 630), efore e cme to te troe of P
ers,  te ttle "Kg of Hy". Te Te Tous,  rmy of Greek merce
res, retrete troug Aee o ter mrc to te Blck Se fter te Btt
le of Cux. Te lttle kgom my ve   seres of tve rulers omll
y vssl to te Mceo  lter Seleuc empres. It lter ecme oe of t
e clet kgoms of te Prt empre. Durg te 1st cetury BC  te 1st
cetury AD, t ge  cert promece uer  seres of kgs escee fro
m Iztes I  s so Mooz I. Mooz I s kow to ve ee lle wt k
g Aeerg of Crcee,  wose court s so Iztes r Mooz lve for 
tme  wose ugter Symco Iztes mrre, s well s te rulers of oter
smll kgoms o te perpery of te Prt spere of fluece.
Iztes, te so of Mooz I  s wfe Hele of Aee, ecme  Jew. Hs
coverso to Jusm took plce efore e scee te troe  wle e lve
  Crx Spsu. At out te sme tme s moter, Hele, ws lso covert
e. Te pero ws crcterze y cos  te Prt empre, wt  strg
of Prt kgs  couter-kgs followg ec oter  quck successo. Ar
tus II of Prt ws kg of Atroptee. He  succeee Vooes I, wo, 
vg ee eucte etrely t Rome, ws usymptetc towr te Prts. Ar
tus soo  to flee to Hyrc to escpe from te rvl kg, Trtes II
I. He reture, owever,  36, , eg fr of  cosprcy, took refuge 
t te court of Iztes, wo ws powerful eoug to uce te Prts to rest
te Artus. For ts servce cert kgly oors were grte Iztes,  t
e cty of Nss ws e to s omos. However, rou 40, Gotrzes II,
 opte so of Artus, ws rse to te troe y te oles,  prefere
ce to Vres I, s lf-roter. I 49 Meertes Mtrtes,  so of Voo
es, ws set from Rome y Cluus to tke possesso of te troe of Prt.
Iztes plye  oule gme, toug e secretly se wt Gotrzes. A few yers
lter, Vologeses I set out wt te teto of vg Aee  of pus
g Iztes; ut  force of De  Scyts  just etere Prt,  Vo
logeses  to retur ome.
Iztes ws followe o te troe y s eler roter, Mooz II. It s relte
 tt  te yer 61 e set  cotget of solers to Arme to ssst te
Prt cte, Trtes, gst Tgres, wo  me  curso to
te terrtory of Aee. Te troops of Mooz, owever, were ete ck t T
grocert. Mooz ws preset we pece ws coclue t Re etwee Pr
t  Rome  te yer 63. He lter set ssstce to te Jews  ter ree
llo gst Rome  te lte 60's  erly 70's AD.
Te "Tom of te Kgs", ult outse te wlls of Jeruslem y Quee Hele 
te m 1st cetury AD. From  ltogrp y Wllm Hery Brtlett.
Te cef oppoet of Trj  Mesopotm urg te yer 115 ws te lst k
g of epeet Aee, Merspes. He  me commo cuse wt M'u (M
us) of Sgr (Sgr). Trj ve Aee,  me t prt of te Rom
provce of Assyr; uer Hr  117, owever, Rome gve up possesso of A
ssyr, Mesopotm,  Arme. I te summer of 195 Septmus Severus ws g
 wrrg  Mesopotm,   196 tree vsos of te Rom rmy fell upo
 Aee. Accorg to Do Cssus, Crcll took Arel  te yer 216, 
serce ll te grves tere, wsg to scert weter te Arsc kgs w
ere ure tere. My of te cet royl toms were estroye.
Despte te overtrow of te Prts y te Ssss, te feutory ystes
reme loyl to te Prts,  resste Sss vce to Aee 
 Atroptee. Due to ts,  relgous ffereces, Aee ws ever regre
 s  tegrl prt of Ir, eve toug te Ssss cotrolle t for sever
l cetures. After te Rom Empre eclre Crstty s ts offcl relg
o, te tts of Aee, wo were Assyr Crsts, se wt Crs
t Rome rter t te Zorostr Ssss. Te Byzte Empre set rme
s to te rego urg te Byzte-Sss Wrs, ut ts  otg to c
ge te terrtorl oures. Aee reme  provce of te Sss Emp
re utl te Islmc coquests of Pers.
Te curret so clle Assyrs re tves from te very rego of ts Jews
kgom of Aee.

Hve te Somls Herew org prt from te Yr cl? I te Issq cl tey
seem lke tey ve too
It's oteworty tt  gret umer of Yrs re pelers, just s te Jews wer
e. Altoug te Yr re Muslm owys, tey re me to py y te Moslem go
vermet of Soml  tx wc s lke  Jyz (Muslm tx for o-Muslms) s
f tey were ot Muslms, s seems to e te cse orglly.
Altoug te cestors of te Isq & Droo cl cme from Ar, t s elev
e tey  Herew org. Let's rememer tt Ar  my Jews & oter Isre
ltes sce very cet tmes.Te Somls re ttrute wt vg  mgle o
f Jews, Ar & Blck loo. Te Kgom of Hmyr ws  Jews kgom  to
y's Yeme. I fct t's reckoe tt s g s 67% of Yemes ve te Coe g
ee. Tere s ee  costt popultol tercge etwee Yeme (wt ts
fferet mes: Hmyr, Se...) & te Hor of Afrc. I fct ot ses of t
e Re Se ve ee rule uer te sme kgom for  wle.
Sce cet tmes te Isreltes ve ee etfe s Isscsos or Clre
 of Issc. Blcl mes c e fou  te Qur uer  Arc form ut 
t's ot usul tt  Muslm clls s cl y  Crst me lke Iss (Jesus
) or  Isrelte me lke Isrl (Isrel). Aoter fct tt my pot to te
org of te Iscs s comg from Herews s ter etrepeeurl sprt & t
e g mout of welty people mog tem tt wll e te lst prt of ts po
st. Te frst prt of te post s  explto o two Soml cls &  wole
uc of commets y severl Soml vuls o te org of ter people. A
ltoug ts s  out te Somls t's focusse o te cls of te Iscs &, 
  lesser level, o te te Droos & te Yrs. Somll s mly  Isc
to.
Accorg to erly Islmc ooks  Soml trto, te Isq cl ws foue
  te 12t or 13t cetury wt te rrvl of Syk Isq  Am l-Hs
m from Ar,  escet of oe of te Propet Mumm's erly followers.
He settle  te costl tow of My  moer-y orterwester Soml, w
ere e mrre to te locl Dr cl. A smlr trto exsts for te Dro
, wo re s to ve escee from oe Sek Arm  Ism'l l-J
rt, oter Bu Hsm wo cme to Soml rou te sme tme.
Go metoe my tmes  te Qu'r tt e s cose te Herew people over
everyoy (efore tey reelle) ut tere re my Somls wose mes re Dw
u (Dv, Herew: Dwt), Mus (Moses, Herew: Mose), Iss (Jesus, Herew: Ys
su, Yesu), Jrl/Jrl (Grel, Herew: Gr-l), Zkryy (Zcr
, Herew Zcrs), Y'qu (Jco, Herew: Yco), Hru (Aro, Herew: Aro
), Irs, Ekuk (Eoc, Herew: Aok, Hok).

So tere relly s't  prolem f tey  Herew org, ecuse lmost ll t
e Propets metoe  te Qu'r were Herews wt  few eg Ars lke: Mo
mme, Sl (Sle, Metusle), Hu (Eer), Su (Jetro or Reuel). Soml p
eople ee to tke loo  DNA tests to f out wo tey re.
Tere ws lso  lcl propet me A or Oe most Soml people's so
s mes re A:
1 Crocles 6:29. "A o te left  ter retre te sos of Merr: Et
 te so of Ks, te so of A, te so of Mlluc."
2 Crocles 29:12. "Te te Levtes rose, Mt te so of Ams,  Joel
te so of Azr, of te sos of te Kottes;  of te sos of Merr, K
s te so of A,  Azr te so of Jellelel;  of te Gersotes, J
o te so of Zmm,  Ee te so of Jo."
Ezr 10:26. "A of te sos of Elm: Mtt, Zecr,  Jeel,  A
,  Jeremot,  Elj."
My roter's me s O/Oe s full me s Oell te servet of Go
 Herew s me s O or A. Somls lso ve me ter sos Ayu m
eg Jo  Herew Ayu/Jo s Iyyo. Sulem or Slem Somlze to Sle
 s lso  commo Soml me trslte to Solomo. No commo mes tt 
re use mog Somls clue Uzr/Ozr wc  Herew s Ezr,  Mkl or
Mkel s trsltrte to Mcel. Igl  very commo Soml me s lso  H
erew me metoe  te Ble: Igl, te so of Josep of te ouse of Issc
r, ws  scout set to C pror to te crossg of te Jor Rver ccor
g to Numers 13:7.
So f te Somls ve Herc orgs tt woul expl ter mes of Herc
org  te Yr tre. Lke I s tere s  fferece etwee eg et
clly Herew  vg te Jews relgo.
Some Somls use to e Jews, te oes  te Nort (Dr, Droo & Isc), ut
tey coverte to Islm. Ts s eftely te e of tmes!! Somls come fro
m te ort,  over te cetures ter culture spre west  sout. Btus
of Sout Soml ecme Somls ue to te superor culture  relgo from t
e ort. Tt s  fct for yoe wo c cll temselves Soml. Toy we ve
escets of pygmes  tu from te sout cllg orterers Jews  o
-Somls.
Te Yrs were te orgl Herews of Soml ecuse tey cll temselves "Y
r Sfr" tt mes "Seprc Herew/Jew" or Ester Jews perso. Eve 
Arc Herew s clle "Ir". Somls ve  lot of Jews loo ecuse ter
e ws  lrge populto of Yeme Jews "Yeu Temm"  Soml  termr
re wt Somls. A lot of tem lso  ter etty s eg Jews,  some
coverte lso to Islm. Tere were lrge Yemete Jews grve stes tt r
e to e fou  Mogsu, some were estroye  recet yers ue to te wr 
 te ulg of ouses. Soml s  ostle coutry for yoe weter Jews
or Crst,  especlly f tey re foreg suc s Europe or As. Som
e Yemes, Etops & some Ars ve  eser tme leg  ecuse tey
o't ffer muc  pyscl fetures or culture.
Tere re lso mes tt re ot rrely use mog Somls  tey re of Her
ew org lke: Mtt (Mttyu/Mttew), Yous (Jo/Jos), Jrl (Gre
l/Gvr'l), Mus (Mose/Moses), Ilys (Elyu/Els), Uull/U (Oy
/Ov/O), Zkry (Zekr), Yy (You/Yos/Jo), Hw
(Hv/Hev/Eve), Y'qu/Jku (Yco/Yko/Jco), Mrym/Mry/Mr (Mr
m/Mrym/Mrym/Mry), Isml (Ysml/Ysmel/Ismel), tere re lso oter M
uslm mes for Arew, Lucs,  Mrcus ot use extesvlly ow. Tey re: A
ros/Arus (Arew), Luks/Luqs (Luke), Grgs/Jrjs (George/Georguos), Mr
kus/Mrqus (Mrk/Mrcus), Btrus/Btrous (Peter/Petro/Pero/Petros)... Te Jews
 me for Jesus s Yesu, wle tere re lso two versos for Propet Is 
te Arc lguge. 1. Iss/Ess/Essus/Jesus. Yssu' wc c lso trslte
to "Yeosu" or Josu. But tere s  Islmc  Jueo-Crst Propet m
e Josu  to fferette t s preferre to cll Jesus: Iss  propet J
osu: Yus'. You must rememer tese re te mes of te B Isrel propets
tt were set y Go  clug te orgl 12 Dscples of Propet Iss.
Tey re ot "Glo" mes tey re Semtc mes, ot Europe.
Soml cls
K s lso  commo Soml me, lso clle Koe  Herew  Coe  mo
er y Egls. Koes or Ks re esceets of Propet Aro (Hru, Aro
) te Levte roter of Moses. Ay Soml wt te lst me of K (K/Ko
e/Coe) soul ceck temselves  ter DNA. I tk tt lst me s prev
let mog Yr  Somls of te Nortwest  Nort Cetrl. Not Sout toug
, souter Somls re tve Custes. Hwye  Arc mes "tve" or "o
rgl". I'm tlkg specfclly of Yr (Arc: Ir, Iro,  Herew: Y
ro/Eer) ecuse tey re  stct Soml etc group, ecuse ot ll Soml
 people ve te sme cestors, ut te mjorty re Custes.
Te wor K s  Semtc me tt mes prest. Te strge tg out Y
r s tt tey perform Semtc relgous rtuls. New mums offer te xr to t
e rm or r,  Arc. Somls worsppe some of te Egypt gos lk
e te go RA weres te Yr Somls re mootest Hmtes wo worsppe te
go of pro Aketo wo ws te fouer of mootesm, te elef tt oly
oe go excts. Yr were mootestc Aketos wo ppretly performe te
rtuls of ol Semtc mootesm.
Tere s o suc tg s " Sooml people" or "Etop People". Te Hor of
Afrc ws te ome of te Est Afrc Custe tres lke Bo, Wt, Yk,
Dlo, Hwye, Ajuur, Smle, Oromo, Afr, Bor & oter Custe tres.
I ve o out some cls ve Jews org. Te Ars  Islm tt followe
ure ts fct. Eve for so log pero tt were some groups of oter Soml
cls relte to Jews. Ts s mly people  Norter Soml or curret Som
ll, tt s ISSAC cls. If you cout geeloges of Issc cl vul
especlly fter te 7 geertos ll mes re typclly Herew s metoe 
efore. Tere s strog evece  ts. Ts ws lso use s  tool y te for
mer cttor, Sye Brre  collectg support we te Issc le freeom fg
tg ws gte  te 80's from some Ar sttes. It s commo ow f you sk
oter cls out Issc cl's org tt tey wll sy tey cme from Amr
ls of Etop  re Jews. As memer of ts cl I m prou of eg Jew
s  Muslm t te sme tme. Beg Jews oes ot ecessrly me Jews 
y relgo. We soul ckowege te spre of Jews cross te gloe uce som
e of tem to e coverte to oter relgo (Islm)-Issc Cl of Soml s  Go
o exmple.
Isq  Droo clm eg Ar surprsgly Droo s ctully Bu Dwu or
Tre of Dv  Arc  Isq s Bu Isq or Tre of Isc. My Soml
s ve te me K/Coe wc s ctully te prestly me of te Levte Je
ws tre, tey re clle Kom  Herew  K  Arc. Moses s s
 to ve mrre  Custe wom me Zppor  so  my Herews wc
expls ter Custc loo/DNA: E11. Geerclly Somls re 5% Jews 
3% Ar, wc mes we re more Jews t Ar! Te Isq re goo wt us
ess & re ecoomclly prosperous lke te Jews.
Wy o you w get Somls to ecome Jews? Beg 5% of sometg oes ot sy
we re tt etcty. Every etcty s  mx of gees, ooy s 100% pure e
tclly. We lso  tres wt Ars  Jews  tt mgt e te reso f
or te Jews  Ar percetge. But ts ws tke oly o Droo cl, oter
cls for exmple Hwye or te Oge Droo cl mgt e more etclly pur
e ecuse tey mgt ot ve s muc cotct wt Ars  Jews.
Yu (Jews) re  rcl etc Semtc group couss to ter Semtc retre
lke te Ars, Assyrs,  Armes wo lve close to tem  sre sml
r cultures  lguges. Tey c e Muslm, Crst (Messc Jews), or Jew
s  relgo. Smple s tt.
I tk tere re  lot of Somls wo re Jews ut tey o't kow. Tey we
re rwse y Ars wo tol tem tey were or to e muslms ut  relt
y tey were force or coverte. Not oly Soml mes ve Herew org ut ju
st lste to ter lguge. It s very close to Armc or Herew. My coutr
es from est to west ve Herew ertge.
I'm from orter Soml, clle Somll coutry. I eleve tt our org
s ot fr from te Egypts or te Isreltes. My trl me s Isc  e 
s ure   tow clle Mee. A e  s clre re ure tere. Wt
s surprsg s tt tere ve lwys ee people wo looke fter te grve 
ll te tme utl ow I wrte ts. I s grve tere re Strs of Dv & t 
oes ot look lke tey ve oe t fterwrs ecuse tere re gurs tere l
l te tme eve ow. It looks lke t's s ol s te grve. I'm Isc  I'm Mu
slm ut t s goo to kow were you come from orglly.

Te tom of Sek Isq, te foug fter of te Isq cl,  My.
Soml mle populto s pproxmtely 15% Y cromosomes from Eurs  ppr
oxmtely 5% from su-Sr Afrc. "Te org of plogroup E s lso sput
e, wt most recet stues ctully scrg t  As org, ot  Afrc
 oe. A E11 tself s ctully qute commo  te Ar Pesul, wt
t represetg lmost 40% of mle leges  costl Jor. But te pot s
, your rt ove oes ot cge te fct tt te stuy  questo oes ot o
ce meto ytg out eter te Dro or te Isq Soml cls. Here s w
t te stuy oes ctully stte wt regr to Somls, Afrc  Mle Es
ter popultos: "Est Afrcs re more relte to Eurss t to oter Afr
c popultos. Ivestgtos of Y cromosome mrkers ve sow tt te Es
t Afrc popultos were ot sgfctly ffecte y te est ou Btu ex
pso tt took plce pproxmtely 3500 yers go, wle  sgfct cotc
t to Ar  Mle Est popultos c e euce from te preset strut
o of te Y cromosomes  tese res."
It s terestg tt te Soml prmtve relgo ws mootestc s te oe
 of te Jews,  rrty  ol tmes.
Te Isq mke up 80 percet of te former Brts Somll. Te Mjertee, 
 te Hwye re te oter two cls.
Due to Brre's slke for te Isq, e reportely orgze settlemets of Og
ee Soml refugees  te Nort wc s Isq terrtory. Arme clses etwee
 te Ogee  Isq multple, wt te govermet pperg to se wt t
e Ogee. Tese prctces re eleve to ve cotrute to te formto y
te Isq exles  Gret Brt of te Soml Ntol Movemet (SNM),  guer
rll frot, ecte to te overtrow of te S Brre govermet.
Te grevces of te Isqs clue: te Droos  Hwyes omto of pow
er  prvlege to te eprvto of te Isqs sce epeece;  tt s
outer Soml, former Itl Soml, ue to eg more evelope  esely
populte, s tee to omte te ort Isq terrtory. Te Isqs sst
sfcto wt te govermet s t reltes to equtle struto of resour
ces ecme evet soo fter epeece we orter offcers stge  or
tve coup  Decemer 1961. Sce te, tere ve ee epsoes of te Isqs v
etg ter grevces gst te cetrl govermet. A cse  pot ws te
looless coup stge y Geerl Brre wc resulte  te removl of te Is
q premer (1967-69), Mome H.I. Igl, from power, terey cofrmg te Is
qs vew tt tere ws  t-Isq e ge to exclue tem from leers
p postos. Te Isqs, troug ter guerrll frot, Soml Ntol Moveme
t, lter luce  offesve  My 1988, o te tows of Bur'o  Hrges.
Tey were efete y te mltry regme fter omrmet of te tows wt r
tllery  ples, levg tose tows completely estroye. Betwee 27 My 
Decemer, t s estmte tt out 5000 Isqs were klle, clug wome 
 clre wo were llege to ve ee col-looely yoete to et. Te
cty of Hrges, wt over lf  mllo tts efore te govermet's
offesve, ws  rus s well s Bur'o.
Isq:  tellget  rve people  te Greter Hor of Afrc

Isq s oe of my m tres tt mke te ucleus of te Soml rce. Te I
sq populto cross te Hor s proly y were etwee 2  2.5 mllo.
Te lrgest populto s cocetrte  Somll  Etop's Soml reg
o s ome to te seco lrgest followe y Djout  Key. Te Isq popul
to  Soml s proly o more t 15 fmles clug te two l S
 leers (Ame Goe "Au Zuer"  Irm Hj Jm Mee' "l Afg")
, Soml's Foreg Mster  few oter opportustc vuls.
Te gretest sset te Isq rgs to te tle s lwys ter rve, eterm
to, commtmet  most of ll etrepreeurl sprt.
We te Soml Repulc ws ute etwee Soml  Somll from 1960 to
1991, te weltest me ve lwys ee Isq  tey clue te lkes of J
re Husse (wo owe most of te fctores  Mogsu), A Aw Al (I
 Deero Group of Compes), s compes toy cover more t four cotets
 operte  Somll, Djout, Soml  Etop (Dre Dw)), Omr Ar
te Gl (foreg mster of Soml Repulc ut lso oe of te weltest S
oml m)  my oters.
Toy te rcest Soml wom s Isq, Am Moge Hrs  se s lso Ug
's rcest wom. Se s s to wort s muc s $200mllo. Se ows costru
cto compy, cemet plts, mlls, otels, etc. Her fter strte te uses
s  er ucle serve s  Fcl Secretry of Tresury  Key's Mstry
of Fce. Se ws or  Key.
Am wt Ug Preset - e cme to ugurte oe of er projects  Kmp
l.
Am quckly pte to er ew evromet  cte s  coveet lk o t
e grou for er fmly's commercl tre. Se eg expg te fmly us
ess  etere te rel estte sector. Am woul evetully ecome oe of t
e weltest people  Ug  come to ow te Oss Cetre,  mult-mllo
ollr soppg mll complex  gr scle luxurous prtmet Lurm Courts
tt re ot stute  te ceter of te cptl. Se lso rus oe of te l
rgest strutors of cemet  oter rwre mterls  te coutry. I 20
08, Am receve te Wom Ivestor of te yer Awr for er lrge-scle proj
ects tt re cgg Kmpl's skyle.
Te rcest Soml m s Isq  s me s Irm A K (Irm Der
e). He s cosere oe of te rcest me  te Hor,   tervew wt T
e Ecoomst lst yer. It s s e s wort $1.6 llo (mports foo for 20
coutres  Afrc v Djout port). No Soml s ever s to ve  llo
except for ts m.
Mome S Geu - e s s to e wort over $200 mllo...curretly e s
vestg $58m  Somll to stll te fstest ro etwork. He wll e
vetully tke t to Etop s well.

Te r - CEO of SBI (Somll Beverge Iustry (cotrcte to Coc Col))
Ame Osm Guelle
Mome S Gue recetly ougt  stke  te compy Afro Sg-Djout
,  wc e s ow te m sreoler log wt oter welt Isq, Ame
Mome Aokor.
I 1999 Momme Yusef,  UK eucte  tr solctor  commercl lwyer,
foue Ivct,  prvte equty frm provg fce for te me, commerc
l property  reewle eergy sectors wc, ccorg to ts weste, s r
se over 1.4 ($2.3) of vestmet cptl. Momme s vestg mult-mll
o ollrs  Somll's petroleum explorto. He set up  explorto comp
y clle Petrosom  e wll jotly operte wt Jck Resources,  Austr
l ol explorto compy.
Te weltest people from suc smll tre we compre to Hor of Afrc's lr
ge plyers re coutless ut tey clue Jm H fmly, Omr Aee (e s 
ulg s ow power-le from Etop to Somll  Djout - mportg
Etop electrcty), Ame Osm Guelle (wo veste $17 mllo coc-col
plt  Somll)  oters. Ame Osm's welt s ukow ut t s s
to ru  te ures of mllos. He s te top m  Djout's tocco us
ess, postl servces (DHL), sppg Iccp sppg le exclusve get of M
ersk le coters, cr retls, everges, moey wrg  moey excge,
 muc muc more. He lso s cotrcts to te ew port  Tjour rectly
eeftg from Etop's growg mrket.
Te lst s coutless  I o't eve kow wo to  ext ut let me  oe t
t lmost ll Etops re fmlr wt.
Dsl - te lrgest Moey Trsfer compy  Afrc wt etwork of more t
 24000 gets  rces  144 coutres worlwe. Dsl ws foue
 te lte 1970s y Mome See Dule. Toy te compy les over $700 m
llo ully  s ecme te got to soluto for ll  geces  te
rtol oors wo wt to trsfer fus fst to remote regos of te Hor o
f Afrc  eyo. Te Ute Ntos ws surprse we t ws le to trsf
er moey to Su's Drfur rego urg te egt of te coflct usg Ds
l.
I Afle s te kg of Kt tre etwee te Hor of Afrc. He ecme so r
c of kt/qt e ow rus empres of otels, petroleum usesses, mlls, trs
portto etwee Somll  Etop. He s s tt e pys $25 mllo 
ully to te Etop govermet loe for txes.
Momme Aull "Ogsey" ( Soml Xoogse meg someoe wo works r
 puts  te lor) te MAO Horse Hrr compy wc to ts y s vll
e glolly from y coffee store er you. MAO s s tls (Momme Aull
 Ogsey).
Hve te Jor & Su morces &  lrge mout of ter sujects Jews
org? & te Yeme folks?
Te Ar Pesul s  Sout West As. Te settlemet of Jews  ts reg
o ck to lcl tmes  eve to te er of te Frst Temple. Immgrto o
  lrger scle (from Pleste  lso from Mesoptm-moer y Irq, etc.)
oes ot pper to ve precee te 2 cet. CE. Iscrptos scovere  t
e Bet Serm ctcoms evece te exstece of Jews commutes  Yeme 
 te erly 3r cet.,  Byzte sources testfy to tem from te 4t cet.
At frst, te umer of Jews ws smll (te fgure for te Yeme  te frst ce
tures CE s estmte t 3,000, scttere ll over te coutry), ut t rpl
y crese troug coverso of Ars to Jusm, especlly  te sout wer
e eve some rulers, e.g. Du Nuws, emrce Jusm. I te 6t  erly 7t c
ets, tere ws  coserle Jews populto  Hejz,  prtculrly  M
e  ts vcty. Jusm spre from Me to te Sout. Smller Jews
commutes lso exste  Bre, t Mk o te Gulf of Ak, t Aru e
twee M  Petr,  furter Nort t Jr.
Du NuwAs (. 525) ws  Ar kg; te lst ruler of te epeet Hmyr
te kgom. He emrce Jusm uer te me Yusuf (Josep) fter sceg t
e troe (c. 518). A Arc trto ols tt s sujects lso ecme cov
erts. Accorg to lege,  retlto for te persecuto of Jews  te Cr
st Byzte empre, e put to et some Byzte mercts wo cme to 
s kgom. O te surreer to s forces of te Crst cty of Njr (pro
ly  523), e vte te tts to emrce Jusm  we tey refuse
, execute my of tem. He ws klle  s kgom estroye   come 
ttck y Ayss  Byztum. After s et  te owfll of s kg
om, Crstty rply ge grou  Souter Ar, especlly mog te
former coverts to Jusm; ut eve te, some Yemete rulers were of te Jew
s ft.
Accorg to El HD tere were Eprmtes & Mssetes wellg ext to
Mecc. Eve  Pt ccouts tey meto te Isreltes lvg  Su Ar
. Tere's  g frequecy of Coe gees mog te Beous, Yemes (67%), 
 Jors (55%)   precptous rop  frequecy s oe moves wy from S
u Ar  te Ner Est. Moreover, tere s  strkg cotrst etwee t
e reltvely g frequecy of J-58  Jews popultos (20%)  Kom (46%)
 ts vsgly low frequecy  our smple of o- Jews popultos tt
oste Jews spor commutes outse of te Ner Est. Accorg to geet
c & storcl stues, te umers of Jews & oter Isreltes  Su Ar,
Yeme, Jor & vcty, woul e coute  te mllos, ltoug tey prct
ce Islm & ve ll te Ar culture & lguge s ter ow. Te gest umer
s  Yeme sce tere were Isreltes from suc  erly tme. Te estlsm
et of  Jews stte  Yeme must ve trcte eve more Isreltes, especl
ly Jews. Te Ar coverts to Jusm ovously me te etc Isreltes mgl
e wt te Ar coverts. Tt's proly wy Yeme s suc g percetge of
Coe gee. Accorg to tese geetc stues we coul sy tt  te Mle E
st tere re More Jews sttes eses Isrel, t lest geetclly: Yeme wou
l e  Jews stte & Jor woul e oter Jews stte.
Accorg to ts, re te Yemes & Jors Islmze Isreltes? I woul s
y so, especlly out Yemes. So te Yeme Jews re ut  full of  wole
Yeme Isrelte populto tt's Muslm. Te scolrs Sukl & Hommel gree t
t tere's  commo geetc etwee Jews & Yemes, Muslm oes clue, of co
urse. Sukl eve goes furter to te pot to ffrm tt "ot re twgs of t
e sme rc". I oter wors, Jews & Yemetes re Isreltes etclly spek
g. I woul  tt tey re   lrge proporto comg from te tre of Le
v. It woul e very terestg f we see tem performg offergs to te Most
Hg Go  Hs reult temple. C you mge former slmsts performg 
te 3r. & lst temple? Tese geetc stues gree wt storcl ccouts of
Herews gog to Yeme. Yeme correspos wt te kom of Se or S. Te
Ble rrtes te evet for wc te quee of ts kgom vsts te fmous k
g Solomo. Lter ts kgom ws clle kgom of Hmyr or Hmyrte & e
cme offclly Jews. If prevously tere were Jews & oter Isreltes sojour
g tere, fterwrs te umer must ve swelle. Ovously my of te Ar s
ujects coverte to Jusm. For sure tese Ar coverts to Jusm mgle w
t te etc Herews tt were wellg lrey  te Hppy Ar, Yeme, cl
le ts wy ecuse of te uce of frut & rfll.
Te soutwester corer of te pesul, ejoyg more rfll, s muc greee
r t te rest of te pesul  s log ejoye more prouctve fels. T
e g peks  slopes re cple of supportg sgfct vegetto  rv
er es clle ws elp mke oter sol fertle. I 26 BC Aelus Gllus uer
Augustus's orer le  mltry expeto to Ar Felx wc ee  te ut
ter efet of Rom troops.
Prt of wt le to Ar Felx's welt  mportce to te cet worl w
s ts er moopoly of te tre  cmo  spces, ot ts tve prouct
s  mports from I  te Hor of Afrc.
Jews of Hrmut celertg te Seer

As lte s 1665, we te Set Zv  reture to Turkey, rumors were curr
et of  Jews Army wc woul vce from te Ar esert to coquer Ple
ste.
Severl Jews coloes were fou Nort of Me clug ) Kr, ) F
k, c) W 'I-Qur,  ) Tm. Te Jews populto crese troug te co
verso of Ars to Jusm. Some Jews lve  Mecc, t lest temporrly, e
fore te rse of Islm. Momme suue te Jews coloes Nort of te cty
ut permtte te tts to sty. Uer te reg of Omr, te Jews were ex
pelle from Kr  Fk  possly from W 'I-Qur. I W 'I-Qur t
ey were le to reestls temselves  te 10t cet, ut fter tt tere r
e o susequet trces of Jews  Hejz (Su Ar).
I 628 Kr,  oss ort of Me ws suue y te Propet Momme.
Te erlest mss-mgrto of te Jews people ws te wolesle eportto t
o Bylo (Irq) t te close of te Frst Temple Pero, followe y te volu
try retur from exle. I Seco Temple tmes, tere ws  coserle moveme
t of Jews populto, prtly compulsory  prtly volutry from Mesopotm
(Irq) to As Mor (Turkey)  from Pleste to Egypt, were  gret Jew
s settlemet ws ult up. Lter, we Pleste cme uer Rom rule, te ep
ortto of Jews prsoers of wr  te volutry mgrto of mercts res
ulte  te estlsmet of  mportt Jews ceter  Itly. Te Jews were
to some extet ffecte y te geerl movemet of populto  te Drk Ages.
Tere seem to ve ee tree m les of mgrto from te Mle Est to
 Europe:
From Pleste to Souter Itly,  tece over te Alps to Frce  Germ
y; From te Byzte Empre up te vlley of te Due to Cetrl Europe; F
rom Mesopotm (Irq)  Egypt troug Morocco to Sp.
Hstory of mmgrto to Ar pesul & surrougs

Cotemporry resercers ve pece togeter  mosc of Juze Ar Tre

s ut we ve lttle evece tt Jusm fou ts plce  te Ar Pes
ul y mmgrto of Jews, wc took plce mly urg fve perosfter te
collpse of Kgom of Ju  586 BCE, fter te Rom coquest of Jue, fte
r te Jews reello  66 CE,  te estructo of Jeruslem y Ttus  70
CE, exles fou  ome  te esert, survvors of te Br Koc Revolt,  1
35 CE, wo sougt relgous freeom  te Ar esert rter t lve uer
te yoke of te Roms, mmgrto, rou 300 CE, y people wo re kow 
Islmc lterture s te Bu Aus  te Bu Kzrj wo fle te Gsss
 Syr, mgrto from Jue to souter Ar Pesul to re te sce
t of te Hmyrte Kgom rou 380 CE.
Yeme, te Crucle of l-Q, Ws Oce  Powerful Ar Kgom Ru y Jews
clle imyarite Kingdom or imyar (in Arabic Mamlakat imyar) (Hebrew:
clly referre to s te Homerte Kgom y te Greeks  te Roms. Estl
se  110 BCE, t took s ts cptl te moer y cty of S' fter te
cet cty of Zfr. Te Kgom coquere egourg S' (Se)  c.25
BC (for te frst tme), Qt  c.200 CE,  Hrmut c.300 AD. Its poltc
l fortues reltve to S' cge frequetly utl t flly coquere te S
e Kgom rou 280 CE. Hmyr te eure utl t flly fell to Crs
t vers  525 AD. Te imyarite Kingdom was the dominant polity in Arabia u
ntil 525. Its economy was based on agriculture, and foreign trade centered on th
e export of frankincense and myrrh. For many years, the kingdom was also the maj
or intermediary linking East Africa and the Mediterranean world. This trade larg
ely consisted of exporting ivory from Africa to be sold in the Roman Empire.
Ships from imyar regularly traveled the East African coast, and the state also ex
erted a large amount of Influence both cultural religious and political to the t
rading cities of East Africa whilst the cities of East Africa remained independe
nt. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea describes the trading empire of Himyar an
d its ruler Charibael (Karab Il Watar Yuhan em II), who is said to have been on
friendly terms with Rome: "23. And after nine days more there is Saphar, the met
ropolis, in which lives Charibael, lawful king of two tribes, the Homerites and
those living next to them, called the Sabaites; through continual embassies and
gifts, he is a friend of the Emperors." During this period, the Kingdom of imyar
conquered the kingdoms of Saba and Qataban and took Raydan/Zafar for its capita
l instead of Marib.
In the early 2nd century CE Saba and Qataban split from the Kingdom of imyar; ye
t in a few decades Qataban was conquered by Hadramawt (conquered in its turn by i
myar in the 4th century), whereas Saba was finally conquered by imyar in the lat
e 3rd century AD. Zafar s ruins still lie on Mudawwar Mountain near the town of
Yarim. During this period, they began to decline and fall. Their trade failed to
a very great extent, firstly, because of the Nabetaean domain over the north of
ijz; secondly, because of the Roman superiority over the naval trade routes after
the Roman conquest of Egypt, Syria and the north of Hijaz; and thirdly, because
of inter-tribal warfare. Thanks to the three above-mentioned factors, families
of Qan were disunited and scattered about all over Arabia.
The Himyarite Kingdom in had a client buffer state in the northern part of the A
rabian peninsula: this was Kinda, which ruled Hadramawt and the Najd, and was us
ually under Himyarite influemce. (Imr ul-Qays, the great pre-Islamic poet, was a
son of one of the last Kings of Kinda.) Meanwhile the Hijaz, including the cara
van cities of Mecca and Yathrib (later Medina), provided the trading corridor am
ong these rival powers, where all the competing political and religious tendenci
es would be in evidence.

Arabized Jews
The Sanaite Jews have a legend that their ancestors settled in Yemen forty-two y
ears before the destruction of the First Temple. According to the Prophet Jeremi
ah some 75,000 Jews, including priests and Levites, traveled to Yemen. The Banu
Habban in southern Yemen have a legend that they are the descendants of Judeans
who settled in the area before the destruction of the Second Temple. These Judea
ns supposedly belonged to a brigade dispatched by King Herod to assist the Roman
legions fighting in the region.
The Himyarite royal family in exile commanded vast wealth and resources, particu
larly the Nabatean bedouin with whom they had controlled the market of trade by
Land from North-East Africa for centuries.
By the close of the fifth century, the Banu Aus and Banu Khazraj had become mast
ers of Yathrib. During these events, or possibly in coordination with them, Yath
rib was host to a noble visitor. In 470 CE, Persian King Firuz was attempting to
wipe out the Exilarchate. The Exilarch Huna V, who was the son of Mar-Zutra bar
Mar-Zutra, whisked his daughter and some of his entourage to Yathrib (Medina) f
or safety.
Judaized Arabs
In about 400 CE, Himyarite King tubba Abu Karib As ad Kamil (385-420 CE), a conv
ert to Judaism, led military expeditions into central Arabia and expanded his em
pire to encompass most of the Arabian Peninsula. His army had marched north to b
attle the Aksumites who had been fighting for control of Yemen for a hundred yea
rs. The Aksumites were only expelled from the region when the newly-Jewish king
rallied Jews together from all over Arabia, with pagan allies. The relationship
between the Himyarite Kings and the polytheistic Arab tribes strengthened when,
under the royal permission of Tubba Abu Karib As ad, Qusai ibn Kilab (400480 CE)
reconstructed the Ka aba from a state of decay, and had the Arab al-Kahinan (Co
hanim) build their houses around it. Qusai ibn Kilab was the great-great- grandf
ather of Shaiba ibn Hashim (Abdul-Mutallib, who had a Jewish wife). Shaiba ibn H
ashim was fifth in the line of descent to Muhammad, and attained supreme power a
t Mecca. Qusai ibn Kilab is among the ancestors of Sahaba and the progenitor of
the Banu Quraish. When Qusai came of age, a man from the tribe of Banu Khuza a n
amed Hulail (Hillel) was the trustee of the Kaaba, and the Na sa (Nasi)authorized
to calculate the calendar. Qusai married his daughter and, according to Hulail
s will, obtained Hulail s rights to the Ka aba. Hulail, according to Arabian tra
dition was a member of the Banu Jurhum. Banu Jurhum was a sub-group of the Banu
Qahtani from whom the Himyarites originally descend.
Around 455 CE, the last Himyarite King is born, Zur ah Yusuf Ibn Tuban As ad Abu
Kaleb Dhu Nuwas or Dhu Nuwas. He died in 510. His zeal for Judaism brought abou
t his fall. Having heard of the persecutions of Jews by Byzantine emperors, Dhu
Nuwas retaliated by putting to death some Byzantine merchants who were traveling
 on business through Himyara. He didn t simply kill them with hanginghe burned th
em in large pitsearning him the title "King of the burning pit".
These killings destroyed the trade of Yemen with Europe and involved Dhu Nuwas i
n a war with the heathen King Aidug, whose commercial interests were injured by
these killings. Dhu Nuwas was defeated, then he made war against the Christian c
ity Najran in Yemen, which was a dependency of his kingdom. After its surrender,
he offered the citizens the alternative of embracing Judaism, under coercion, o
r being put to death. As they refused to renounce their faith, he executed their
chief, Harith ibn Kaleb, and three hundred and forty chosen men. Many scholars
suspect that the Hamyarite Kings, in their display of violent recruitment, lend
the greatest weight to any explanation of "why contemporary Jews do not proselyt
ize"in fact Contemporary Judaism actively discourages conversion and converts eve
n after conversions have occurred.
Rise of Islam
Four-hundred ninety years years had passed from the destruction of Bar Kochba s
armies until the year 622 CE. Bar Kochba was a failed Messiah and now, according
to Daniel, "would come the true warrior Messiah". "A warrior with the helmet o
f deliverance on His head and clad in armor". "He will don garments of vengeanc
e (as his) clothing and will put on a cloak of zealousness". "He will fight the
battle of Gog ha-Magog and against the army of Armilos (Heraclius)". Most of the
Jewish tribes of Arabia were on alert for a new Messiahanxious to usher his arri
val. This is in agreement with Islamic sources which state that the coming of th
e Final Prophet, Mohammed, was predicted in both the Torah and Bible and other s
acred scriptures, and as forefold by prophets and messengers of God. With this k
nowledge in divinely revealed books, the Jewish tribes of Arabia were aware that
soon a new divinely-appointed leader would arise in Arabia and that he would us
her in a new era.
The Jewish tribes played a significant role during the rise of Islam. Mohammed h
ad many contacts with Jewish tribes, both urban and nomadic, and apparently was
influenced by Judaism, as his early teachings seems to borrow from Jewish tradit
ion. Mohammed could neither write nor read, and history attests to this fact; so
it is highly questionable to assert he borrowied from Jewish writings. However,
when the Jews began to distance themselves from Mohammed, not recognizing him a
s a prophet, he started to minimize the Jewish influence on Islam, shifting the
direction of prayers from Jerusalem to Mecca, making Friday a holy day, and shif
ting from the Jewish dietary laws, although the eating of pork has always been s
trongly prohibited in both religions, which contradicts the suggestion that he a
imed to only oppose them. It is noteworthy to mention that the holy day of Frida
y was never considered holy in the sense it is to Jews. And although Islamic and
Jewish dietary laws share many similarities, the two sets of rules are not iden
tical nor equal. The shift of the prayer direction from Jerusalem to Mecca can b
e viewed from a religious perspective.as a divine test from Allah to distinguish
the true believers that followed the Prophet Mohammed, from those who would tur
n their back on the Prophet of Allah. (Quran 2:143). According to Abraham Fariss
ol, the remaining tribes were in the desert, on the way to Mecca, near the Red S
ea
In 622 CE, Mohammed, hoping to capitalize on Jewish-Arab despondency at successi
ve military defeats, abandonment by Persian Jews, loss of Jerusalem, the murder
of the Exilarch Nehemiah ben Hushiel, and the renewed opposition of the Banu Qur
aish, set out for Taif. Mohammed worked hard to turn the hearts of the Jewish-Ar
abian and Pagan tribes from the Jewish prophesies and Pagan beliefs respectively
, hoping thatt the Jewish Arab tribes waiting for redemption at the hands of a M
essiah would receive him well. But when Mohammed arrived in Taif, and called upo
n the Jewish tribes to hear his teachings, he was rejected.
In late 622 CE, Shallum ben Hushiel went to visit Mohammed in Medina, and offere
d his submission (desiring conversion to Islam). With the submission of an Exila
rch, Mohammed found resistance to submission, by some Judaized Arab tribes, begi
n to wane.
Some of these tribes, or some of their members, were conquered and converted to
Islam, some lived as crypto-Jews, while others remained Jews living among Muslim
s though protected by the Constitution of Medina. Other tribes, who still resist
ed conversion, were banished or put to the sword.
The Jordanian monarchy has some Jewish ancestry
It s believed that the Saudi Arabian monarchy is crypto-Jewish, in other words,
they hide their Judaism. It s a known fact that the Jordanian monarchy has some
Jewish ancestry. This might be why the Jordanian kings have been & still are pre
tty sympathetic with the Jewish State of Israel. At least as compared to the reg
ion s general approach to Israel. This would prove there s even more ethnic clos
eness between the Arabs & the Jews apart from the widely known common ancestry t
hru Abraham/Ibrahim or Jethro/Reuel/Shuaib.

These are some of the Jewish tribes of Arabia historically attested: Banu Aws fl
ed Syria under Ghassanid rule, then fled Yathrib (presently known as Medina), an
d after explusion by Muhammed, back to Syria. Banu Harith, Banu Jusham, Banu Naj
jar, Banu Qaynuqa, Banu Sa ida, Banu Shutayba, Banu Kinanah, Banu Yar ak ba si.
Jafna Clan of the Banu Thal aba who were exiled members of the Banu Ghassan - wh
ile both tribes were not Jewish, they did have Jewish members; whereas the Jafna
Clan was solely Jewish. Banu Zaura, Banu Zurayq, Banu Quda a Himyarite tribe of
converts to Saducee Judaism. Banu Qurayza sub-clan of the al-Khinn, located in Ya
thrib (Medina), "principal family" fled Syria under Ghassanid rule, then fled Me
dina, after explusion by Prophet Muhammed, back to Syria. Banu Nadir sub-clan of
the al-Khinn, located in Yathrib (Medina). Banu Juw sub-clan of the Banu Qaynuqa,
Fled to North Africa.

Eldad ben Ma
hli
Scholars believe the 10 tribes were resettled in the region now embracing parts
of Kurdistan, Afghanistan, northern Syria and Iran. In the ninth century Eldad b
en Mahli ha-Dani came forward, claiming to give specific details of the contempo
rary existence of the Ten Tribes and of their location at that time. Dan, Naphta
li, Gad, and Asher were in Havilah; Zebulun and Reuben in the mountains of Paran
; Ephraim and half of Manasseh in South Arabia; Simeon and the other half of Man
asseh in the land of the Chazars. According to him, therefore, the Ten Tribes we
re settled in parts of southern Arabia, or perhaps Abyssinia, in conformity with
the identification of Havilah. The connection of this view with that of the Jew
ish origin of Islam is obvious; and David Reubeni revived the view in stating th
at he was related to the king of the tribes of Reuben situated in Khaibar in Nor
th Arabia.
King On was native of Heyaz, current Saudi Arabia. His last name was Hashem. Alt
hough in Arabic means something else, in Hebrew is the name of God. It doesn t s
eem to be coincidental. It s widely known the origin of many of the first Moslem
converts as having Jewish origin. It s interesting to notice the former Jordani
an Coat of Arms had a Lion & a Unicorn (a horse in this case) like in the Britis
h Coat of Arms. The Lion and Unicorn were representative of Israel in its aspect
of power in the End Times. The lion and unicorn are on the coat of arms officia
lly symbolizing Britain. Bilaam the heathen prophet foresaw that in the End Time
s the descendants of Israel would be very powerful. He likened them to a lion an
d a ram or unicorn. The Coat of Arms of Britain Britain Numbers 23:22 God brough
t them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox. 23 There is no divinat
ion against Jacob, no evil omens against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob an
d of Israel, See what God has done! 24 The people rise like a lioness; they rouse
themselves like a lion that does not rest till it devours its prey and drinks th
e blood of its victims.

Indeed there was a large number of Jews in southern Arabia in the time of the Mu
slim prophet Muhammad. There were so many Jewish tribes in southern Arabia that
although there s very few practicing Jews in both Yemen & Saudi Arabia, there mi
ght be hundreds of thousands of crypto-Jews in both countries. If there are not
many crypto-Jews, there are many Arabs (Saudis & Yemenis) with Jewish blood. Her
e s a list of Jewish tribes in the time of Muhammad:
King On s mum was Jewish so he was Jewish , because according to the main branch
es of Judaism, the children of a Jewess are Jewish. Although some branches cons
ider the paternal side to be the transmisor of Judaism. This statement of the Je
wish origin of king On s mum was declared by Faisal I in 1917.
King On was the grandfather of emir Faisal I which became the king of Syria & th
en of Iraq. King On s offspring ruled over Syria, Iraq & Jordan. Nowadays his of
fspring still rule Jordan. Together with Egypt, Jordan is the only Arab nation w
hich fully recognizes Israel, & the only Arab monarchy that recognizes the Jewis
h State.
The Saudi Royal Family Are Crypto-Jews
By Abdulaziz Saud
THE SAUDI DYNASTY: FROM WHERE IS IT? AND WHO IS THE REAL ANCESTOR OF THIS FAMILY
?
RESEARCH AND PRESENTATION OF: MOHAMMAD SAKHER , who was ordered killed by the Sa
udi Regime for the following findings:
1. Are the Saudi Family members belonging to the Tribe of ANZA BEN WA EL as they
allege to be?
2. Is Islam their actual religion?
3. Are they of an ARAB ORIGIN at all?
In the year 851 A.H. a group of men from AL MASALEEKH CLAN, which was a branch
of ANZA Tribe, formed a caravan for buying cereals (wheat and corn) and other fo
od stuff from IRAQ, and transporting it back to NAJD. The head of that group was
a man called SAHMI BIN HATHLOOL. The caravan reached BASRA, where the members o
f the group went to a cereal merchant who was a Jew, Called MORDAKHAI BIN IBRAHI
M BIN MOSHE . During their bargaining with that merchant, the Jew asked them : "
Where are you from?" They answered: "From ANZA TRIBE; a clan of AL MASALEEKH." U
pon hearing that name, the Jew started to hug so affectionately each one of them
saying that he, himself, was also from the clan of AL MASALEEKH, but he had com
e to reside in BASRA (IRAQ) in consequence to a family feud between his father a
nd some members of ANZA Tribe.
After he recounted to them his fabricated narrative, he ordered his servants to
load all the camels of the clan s members with wheat, dates and tamman; a remark
able deed so generous that astonished the MASALEEKH men and aroused their pride
to find such an affectionate (cousin) in IRAQ- the source of their sustenance; t
hey believed each word he said , and , because he was a rich merchant of the foo
d commodities which they were badly in need, they liked him (even though he was
a Jew concealed under the garb of an Arab from AL MASALEEKH clan).
When the caravan was ready to depart returning to NAJD, that Jewish Merchant ask
ed them to accept his company, because he intended to go with them to his origin
al homeland, NAJD. Upon hearing that from him, they wholeheartedly welcomed him
with a very cheerful attitude.
So that (concealed) Jew reached NAJD with the caravan. In NAJD, he started to pr
omulgate a lot of propaganda for himself through his companions (his alleged cou
sins), a fact, which gathered around him a considerable number of new supporters
; but, unexpectedly, he confronted a campaign of opposition to his views led by
SHEIKH SALEH SALMAN ABDULLA AL TAMIMI, who was a Muslem religious preacher in AL
-QASEEM. The radius of his preaching area included Najd, Yemen, and Hijaz, a fac
t which compelled the Jew (the Ancestor of the present SAUDI FAMILY to depart fr
om AL QASEEM to AL IHSA, where he changed his name (MORDAKHAI) To MARKHAN BIN IB
RAHIM MUSA. Then he changed the location of his residence and settled at a place
called DIR IYA near AL-QATEEF, where he started to spread among the inhabitants
a fabricated story about the shield of our Prophet MOHAMMAD (p.b.u.h), that it
was taken as a booty by an Arab Pagan in consequence of OHOD Battle between the
Arab pagans and the Muslems. "That shield, he said, was sold by the Arab Pagan t
o a Jewish Clan called BANU QUNAIQA who preserved it as a treasure! He graduall
y enhanced his position among the Bedouins through such stories which indicated
how the Jewish clans in Arabia were so influential and deserved high esteem. He
gained some personal importance among the Bedouins, and decided to settle perman
ently there, at DIR IYA town, near AL QATEEF, which he decided to be his (Capita
l) on the Persian Gulf. He aspired to make it his spring board for establishing
a Jewish Kingdom in Arabia.
In order to fulfill his ambitious scheme, he started to approach the desert Arab
Bedouins for support of his position, then gradually, he declared himself as th
eir king!
At that juncture, AJAMAN Tribe together with BANU KHALED Tribe became fully awar
e of that Jewish cunning plan after they had verified his true identity, and dec
ided to put an end to him. They attacked his town and conquered it, but before a
rresting him he had escaped by the skin of his teeth.
That Jewish Ancestor of the SAUDI FAMILY, (MORDAKHAI), sought shelter in a farm
called at that time AL-MALIBEED-GHUSAIBA near AL-ARID, which is called at our pr
esent time : AL-RIYADH.
He requested the owner of that farm to grant him an asylum. The farmer was so ho
spitable that he immediately gave him sanctuary. But that Jew (MORDAKHAI), no lo
nger than a month had he stayed there, when he assassinated the land lord and al
l members of his family, pretending that all were killed by an invading band of
thieves. Then he pretended that he had bought that real estate from them before
that catastrophe happened to them! Accordingly, he had the right to reside there
as a land lord. He then gave a new name to that place: He named it AL-DIRIYA -
the same name as that he had lost.
That Jewish Ancestor of the SAUDI FAMILY (MORDAKHAI), was quick to establish a "
GUEST HOUSE" called "MADAFFA" on the land he usurped from his victims, and gathe
red around him a group of hypocrites who started to spread out false propaganda
for him that he was a prominent Arab Sheikh. He plotted against Sheikh SALEH SAL
MAN ABDULLA AL TAMIMI, his original enemy, and caused his assassination in the m
osque of the town called (AL-ZALAFI).
After that, he felt satisfied and safe to make (AL-DIRIYA) his permanent home. T
here he practiced polygamy at a wide scale, and indeed, he begot a lot of childr
en whom he gave pure Arab names.
Ever since his descendants grew up in number and power under the name of SAUDI C
LAN, they have followed his steps in practicing under ground activities and cons
piracies against the Arab Nation. They illegally seized rural sectors and farm l
ands, and assassinated every person who tried to oppose their evil plans. They u
sed all kinds of deceit for reaching their goals: they bought the conscience of
their dissidents; they offered their women and money to influential people in th
at area, particularly to those who started to write the true biography of that J
ewish Family; they bribed writers of history in order to purify their ignominiou
s history, and make their lineage related to the most prominent Arab Tribes such
as RABI A, ANZA, and ALMASALEEKH.

A conspicuous hypocrite in our era whose name is MOHAMMAD AMIN AL TAMIMI- Direct
or/Manager of the contemporary Libraries of the SAUDI KINGDOM, made up a genealo
gical tree (FAMILY TREE) for this JEWISH FAMILY (THE SAUDIS), connecting them to
our Great Prophet, MOHAMMAD. For his false work, he received a reward of 35 (TH
IRTY FIVE) THOUSAND EYPTIAN POUNDS from the then SAUDI AMBASSADOR TO CAIRO, EGYP
T, in the year 1362 AH.- 1943 A.D. The name of that Ambassador is: IBRAHIM AL-FA
DEL.
As aforementioned, the Jewish Ancestor of the SAUDI FAMILY, (MORDAKHAI), practic
ed polygamy by marrying a lot of Arab women and begot many children; his polygam
ous practice is, at the present time, being carried out " to the letter" by his
descendants; they cling to his marital heritage!
One of MORDAKHAI S sons called AL-MAQARAN, arabized from the Jewish root (MACK-R
EN) begot a son called Mohammad, then another son called SAUD, which is the name
of the present day SAUDI DYNASTY.
Descendants of SAUD (the present day SAUDI FAMILY )started a campaign of assassi
nation of the prominent leaders of the Arab Tribes under the pretence that those
leaders were apostates; renegading from the Islamic Religion, and deserting the
ir Koranic doctrines; so they deserved the SAUDI condemnation and slaughter!
In the History Book of the SAUDI FAMILY pages (98-101), their private family his
torian declares that the SAUDI DYNASTY considers all the people of NAJD blasphem
ous; so their blood must be shed, their properties confiscated, and their female
s be taken as concubines; no Muslim is authentic in his /her belief unless he/sh
e belongs (affiliates) to the sect of MOHAMMAD BIN ABDUL WAHAB, (whose origins a
re also Jewish from TURKEY.) His doctrines give authority to the SAUDI FAMILY to
destroy the villages with all their inhabitants-males including children, and t
o sexually assault their women; stab the bellies of the pregnant, and cut off th
e hands of their children, then burn them! They are further authorized by such a
BRUTAL DOCTRINE to plunder all the properties of whom they call renegades (not
following their Wahabi Sect).
Their hideous Jewish Family has, in fact, done all that kind of atrocities in th
e name of their false religious sect (the Wahabi), which was actually invented b
y a Jew so as to sow the seeds of terror in the hearts of people in towns and vi
llages. This Jewish Dynasty has been committing such brutal atrocities ever sinc
e 1163 A.H. They have named the whole Arabian Peninsula after their family name
(SAUDI ARABIA) as if the whole region is their own personal real estate, and tha
t all other inhabitants are their mere servants or slaves, toiling day and night
for the pleasure of their masters (THE SAUDI FAMILY).
They are completely holding the natural wealth of the country as their own prope
rty. If any poor person from the common people raises his/her voice complaining
against any of the despotic rules of this Jewish Dynasty, (the Dynasty) cuts off
his/her head in the public square. A princess of theirs once visited FLORIDA, U
SA, with her retinue; she rented 90 (NINETY) Suite rooms in a Grand Hotel for ab
out One Million Dollars a night! Can anyone of their subjects comment about that
extravagant event? If he/she does, his/her fate is quite known: DEATH WITH THE
EDGE OF THE SAUDI SWORD IN THE PUBLIC SQUARE!!!!!!
Witnesses on the Jewish Ancestry of this Saudi Family:
In the 1960 s the "SAWT AL ARAB" Broadcasting Station in Cairo, Egypt, and the Y
EMEN Broadcasting Station in SANA A confirmed the Jewish Ancestry of the SAUDI F
amily.
King FAISAL AL-SAUD at that time could not deny his family s kindred with the JE
WS when he declared to the WASHINGTON POST on September 17, 1969 stating: "WE, T
HE SAUDI FAMILY, are cousins of the Jews: we entirely disagree with any Arab or
Muslem [sic] Authority which shows any antagonism to the Jews; but we must live
together with them in peace. Our country (ARABIA) is the Fountain head from wher
e the first Jew sprang, and his descendants spread out all over the world." That
was the declaration of KING FAISAL AL-SAUD BIN ABDUL AZIZ!!!!!

The guilt of FAISAL DARWEESH at that time was that he had criticized King ABDUL
AZIZ AL-SAUD when the king signed the document which the English Authorities pre
pared in 1922 as a declaration for giving PALESTINE to the Jews; his signature w
as obtained in the conference held at AL AQEER in 1922.
Who are Sheba and Dedan?
That was and still is the system of this Regime of the JEWISH FAMILY (SAUDI FAMI
LY): All its goals are: plundering the wealth of the country, robbing, falsifyin
g, and committing all kinds of atrocity, iniquity, and blasphemy-all are execute
d in compliance with their self invented Wahabi Sect which legalizes the choppin
g of the heads of their opposing subjects.
Tarshish is the place to which Jonah attempted to flee. Its generally regarded as
having been part of what is now Spain. In this verse, I think its safe to interp
ret it as including not only literal Spain (though we can accept the literal Spa
in being a key part of the EU) but to all kinds of merchants who are faraway ove
r the seas, i.e., places not contiguous to Israel which have primarily commercia
l relationships with Israel. The reference to Tarshish a different concept from
the other parties referred-to in Ezekiel 38 in that its not a nation, but a class
of people, in this case, basically: businesspeople, the world over. Merchants.
So then, who are Sheba and Dedan?

In a word: Saudi Arabia.

In other words, what Ezekiel 38:13 is saying (in somewhat sarcastic fashion) is
that, as it begins to become crystal clear to everyone that the nations of the w
orld are closing ranks and hatching real, concerted plans to come against Israel
, Saudi Arabia and most of the corporate interests of the world say: hold yer ho
rses, bucko not so fast. Not that they can do anything about it, but they voice t
heir opinion and try and influence it. They ask: are you come to take spoil? Knowi
ng, I suspect, that the answer is no. This war is not about spoil. It is not a com
mercial or even a territorial war, but an ideological one. And they dont like tha
t.
Remind you of anything?
In a testy personal telephone call on Jan. 29, Saudi Arabias King Abdullah report
edly told President Obama not to humiliate Mubarak and warned that he would step
in to bankroll Egypt if the U.S. withdrew its aid program, worth $1.5 billion a
nnually.
Americas closest ally in the Gulf made clear that the Egyptian president must be
allowed to stay on to oversee the transition towards peaceful democracy and then
leave with dignity.
Mubarak and King Abdullah are not just allies, they are close friends, and the Ki
ng is not about to see his friend cast aside and humiliated, a senior source in t
he Saudi capital told The Times The revelation of Saudi concerns sheds new light
on Americas apparent diplomatic paralysis and lays bare the biggest rift between
the nations since the oil price shock of 1973.
The tough line from Riyadh is driven by concern that Western governments were to
o eager to shove aside Mubarak when the uprising began, without proper considera
tion of what should follow him.
With Egypt in chaos, the kingdom is Washingtons only major ally left in the Arab w
orld and the Saudis want the Americans to remember that, said a source in Riyadh.
Mugadishu, capital of Somalia, & the domination from the Jewish kingdom of Himya
r (Current Yemen)
The first dynasty to rule Muqdisho (Capital of Somalia) was the Tubba dynasty of
the Himyar kingdom, with the king Ascad Karb. Ascad Karb is most likely Asad Abu-K
arib ibn Malik-karib, a king of Yemen who ruled between 418 and 433 CE and a con
vert to Judaism by Yathribs Jewish community following a military campaign there,
this dates the foundation of the old town of Xamar Weyne to roughly 420-430 CE.
The area of Banaadir (the traditional region including Muqdisho, Baraawe, Marka
and other coastal cities) is described in the Greek document the Periplus of the
Erythraean Sea (written around the year 460 CE) as part of Azania, a region subje
ct to Charibael of the Homerites (who can be identified with Amir Sharahbil Yafir
ibn Asad Abu Karib, the son of the aforementioned king), so the Muqdisho traditio
n is backed up with documentary evidence. Sharahbil was a Christian, as was his
branch of the Tubba family, and the religious differences in the country of Himy
ar would seal the doom of the nation.
Himyar was in this time the strongest state in Arabia, and they would remain a s
trong state for nearly a century, but on the death of Amir Sharahbils son MaadiKarib
Yanum ibn Sharahbil in 516, Himyar faced religious turmoil as Christians and Jew
s fought murderous battles. A Jewish zealot and member of the Tubba dynasty name
d Yusuf Asar Yathar (better known as Dhu Nuways) seized the throne in 518 attack
ed and butchered the Christians of Najran (the martyrs of Najran are mentioned i
n the Quran in Surat al-Buruj). The slaughter shocked the Christian nations of t
he time, and the Christian Emperor of Aksum, Negusa Negast Kaleb Ella Atzbeha in
vaded Himyar in 522 and conquered their lands in Yemen in 525. Other lands under
the Tubba dynasty were not conquered and fought a long resistance against the ki
ngdom of Aksum.
According to Law of Moses and Ishmael
Instead of quarreling with the Palestinians, come and let us reveal the truth to
them: they are Jews after all. That is the proposal of Tsvi Misinai, whose emis
saries are already passing the word around, at least when abu Mazens police are n
ot arresting them. If the neighbors agree to join up to the Jewish people en mas
se, a significant boost to the Ashkenazi community is anticipated.
B. is standing on a construction site in a moshav in the center of the country,
shifting his weight from one leg to the other. He is large-bodied, and speaks qu
ickly, with fervor. Sharon laughed at me when we met in 91. He said Ha-ha-haI found
someone more Jewish than me. I was in favor of Sharon at that time, but he fled f
rom Gaza and paid dearly. If they carry on this way, one concession after anothe
r, the state will be gone in another three or four years.
B. is a resident of the village of Bidya, which is in Samaria. Like many others,
he was forced to abandon his Palestinian village and live in Israel as a reside
nt-refugee in which no one relates to him, much less salutes him. In his view, h
e is not quite a refugee, more a lost son. I thought of this for many years, and
I reached the conclusion that most of the residents of the village of Bidya are
Jews, B. says very seriously. You see this by the behavior, by their mentality, by
appearance. They are light-skinned, many of them are blue-eyed. How many people
in Bidya worked with Israel? Over 80 percent. This did not materialize out of t
hin air.
He has specific names. The Taha family, for instance; everybody knows that they a
re Jews. The Amar family, throughout the West Bank, in Gaza and Jordan, they are
Jews. If you ask them who was your first grandfather, all will respond Yaaqov, not
Ishmael. And the Rabi family, they say that they are Jews in every way. Even the
families of Salami, Othman, and Boolad.
Do you also know anything about Jews in the Palestinian leadership?
Abu-Ala, of the Krea family - look at his face; he is Jewish, clearly. If they giv
e us a little support, we will rise up. Look at the result, if the government wo
uld only give it a chance. B. not only believes in this theory; he also labors to
promulgate this among Palestinians. The person is backing this mission of his i
s Tsvi Misinai, a high-tech retiree. On the backdrop of the past century, this s
ounds unreal, but in the eyes of Misinai, B., and others, they are the first har
bingers of the avant-garde of the great revolution: the return of the Palestinia
ns to the welcoming bosom of the Hebrews. My father taught me of the Jewish origi
n of the Palestinians, Misinai says. The fathers of Zionism spoke of this as well:
David ben Gurion, Israel Belkind, Dov
BROTHERS ARE NOT TO BE ABANDONED
The village of Bidya is known to Israelis primarily by virtue of the Sabbath mar
ket, which attracted masses of Israeli until the second Intifada broke out. But
the Israeli past of Bidya is yet more interesting. In 82, during the outbreak of th
e first Lebanon war, the dignitaries of the village approached the governor of T
ul-Karm in a request to enlist in the IDF and to combat the PLO, shoulder to sho
ulder with the Israelis. They were not conscripted to the IDF, but Ariel Sharon
came up with an initiative - the Association of Villages - an organization that be
came an apparatus of bribery and extortion and was eventually shut down.
They are those who will argue that the initiative of 1982 was invented by opport
unistic sheiks, but B. is convinced that it concerns something more profound (i.
e., their knowledge about their Jewish roots). Presently, at any rate, the gunme
n of various organizations rule in Bidya too. B. himself was saved from an assas
sination attempt when he visited there several months ago. Despite this, his opt
imism knows no bounds: Religion is a bit of a problem, but there are many who are
prepared to be Jews. In fact, why shouldnt they be Jewish Muslims, as there are
Turkish Muslims and Turkish Christians?
Because religion and nationality are intertwined in Judaism.
OK, there are those that are Jews in every way. They have adopted a Jewish name,
are beginning to observe the Sabbath. I actually want to be secular. I believe i
n the Almighty but I want to drive on the Sabbath. What, is my blood - he outstre
tches an arm - less Jewish than that of a Jew who does not believe in God at all?
I say thanks to God every morning, for all things emanate from Him. My girls wi
ll marry only Jews.
I led operations of the GSS (Shabak,) I gave my soul to the state. In which way
am I less Jewish than others? When I sat with the GSS on an operation, lieutenan
t colonels would leave the room (due to the too high level of confidentiality in
volved).
Sulayman, a Fatah operative that sat in Israeli prison for several years, speaks
in similar terms, albeit more cautiously. There is no difference between the peo
ples in this country, he states in a conversation form Bethlehem. I believe that
peoples were mixed in ancient times. Part of the families here in town were such
as these, even if not all of them wish to declare the matter. Sulayman, who actu
ally claims that there are no Jewish roots in his family, decided to renounce th
e way of terror, and to seek solutions to the conflict between Israelis andPales
tinians. Today, he is winning over hearts and minds in Bethlehem for Tsvi Misina
is idea, according to which the Palestinians are by overwhelming majority Jewish
fellahin (farmers) who were forcibly converted to Islam, and their return to the
Jewish people is to bring about an end to the wars in favor of a shared life of
fraternity in one Jewish state.
The idea could be realistic if we utilize it to the benefit of both sides, Sulayma
n says. Tsvi says that there is no need to convert whomever possesses sources tha
t state that he is a Jew. So fine, it is possible to ply that solely as a politi
cal solution. If you tell them to accept Judaism, it will not happen so quickly.
There is a need to discuss this more and more, particularly among Orthodox Jews
. I think that the response of the rabbis will be a trigger for debate.
Misinai (62,) the founder of the Sapiens International Company and among the pio
neers of software development in Israel, emphasizes that he is a realistic indiv
idual, and that both his legs are on the ground. Nowadays he devotes all his tim
e - and not a small amount of his fortune- to collecting bits of evidence and or
al traditions of Palestinians and Bedouins concerning the Jewish origin of their
families. He diligently catalogs the documentary material according to indices
of the extended families, villages, and tribes.
Subsequent to the first Gulf War, when they began discussing a new order in the M
iddle East, I wrote a ten-page article on the subject, and I tried to reach Shar
on with it, Misinai recounts, but then the Oslo Process came about, and although
I detested the agreement, I sensed that I could not measure up to the energy tha
t was created around it.
He was awakened anew to promote the topic with the outbreak of the second Intifa
da. At that time, there was publication of Hebrew University Professor Ariela Op
enheims research about Palestinian and Jewish genetics. Most of the Ashkenazi Jew
s were pleased to discover that they are genetically related to some Norwegian t
ribe. However, Openheims research showed that they are actually closest to the Pa
lestinians, even more than they are related to descendants of the Yemenite commu
nity. Incidentally, the people second closest to the Jews is the Kurds, which re
quires renewed study of the national treasury of humor.
In Misinais eyes, these things are additional proof of the claims that have been
made from the beginning of the twentieth century. If we sit to research the origi
n and makeup of the fellahin, we regard their internal lifestyle, and we delve i
nto the ancient oral traditions that are preserved in their speech to this day, t
hus wrote Ben Gurion, we see that there is almost nothing shared between them and
 the true Arabs, the scions of the Arab racemost of the masses and classes of the
Muslim fellahin in Western Israel demonstrate a different racial specie and an
entirely variant classification, and there is no doubt that much Jewish blood fl
ows in their veins - the blood of those same Jewish farmers, the salt of the eart
h, who elected in the tribulations of the era to deny their religion if only so a
s not to be uprooted from their land.
Israel Belkind even revealed practical and political implications to this: In Arab
s that reside in our country, we will find the offshoots of the People of IsraelWe
, before whom the Chronicles of History lie open, recognize them as our brothers
, and they cannot perceive us as brothers that have traveled far afield, and tre
at us as strangersOn the basis of these facts, we will determine our relation to
this people in the future. And it is obvious that there can be but one relation
between us, that of brothers; not only brothers in the political sense, after Hi
story decreed that we share our lives as a nation, but rather brothers racially,
as well, brothers of one people.
Two-and-a-half years ago, Misinai published his book on the subject Not To Be B
elieved, and he received media attention, among other things in two newspapers
in Arabic. He has since published an additional book, Brother Shall not Raise H
is Sword Against Brother, a pocket book that has appeared in Arabic, too - The
Engagement. "Today we have Palestinian operatives that are spreading the word
among Arabs, and the reactions are wonderful," says Misinai.
According to him, he is attempting to get a meeting with Abu Mazen and Abu Ala.
The concept of partitioning the country, creating a Palestinian state, and evict
ing additional Jews from their land, unnerves him; his proposal is to create one
state. Abu Ala has already stated that it is impossible to move on a two-state s
olution. I say please, one state - not bi-national, but rather, uni-national, Je
wish. The extremist Muslims will oppose this, of course, because I pull the rug
out from under their feet, but we will attract those Palestinians that are close
to us. By the same measure that they are religious or secular today, they will
accept Judaism instead of Islam. If I as a secular individual am considered a ko
sher Jew, there is no reason to force them to be religious, for they are Jews ju
st as I am. We were one people and we will return to being one people, but if I
tell them to convert now, the sane Islamic world will join the insane Islamic wo
rld and oppose us.
Moreover, as a democratic state, we cannot coerce them into converting. For this
reason, I differentiate between the religious aspect and the national one.
50 THOUSAND JEWS ANNUALLY
According to Misinai, circa 85 percent of the Arabs living between Jordan and th
e sea are Jews in one way or another, and at least the half of them know this. Af
ter we inform them that they are Jews de facto, we will be successful in bringin
ging them back to the Jewish nation at the tempo of 50 thousand persons per annu
m. They will undergo training in a sort of intensive course of evening and weeke
nd studies, and over the course of a year or two will learn Hebrew, Bible, Judai
sm, and Jewish history particularly theirs as coerced Jews. This way, they will
be fully prepared for conversion. They will eventually take an oath that they ar
e not Arabs, but rather, Jews or Israelites, for not all of them are from the tr
ibe of Judah, and within 40 years, we will return the majority of them to Jewish
awareness.
Awareness or not, they will not be recognized as Jews without conversion.
Whoever is not Muslim will be recognized as a kosher Jew, as they are already Jew
s. There is no need to convert Jews. There were in an exile of consciousness, as
we experienced a geographical exile. Most of the Palestinians of Arab origin al
ready left in 1948 and 1967. Today only five percent of the Arabs in the land of
Israel are of Arab origin, and another nine percent are of a Byzantine origin a
nd were compelled to convert to Islam like the Jews. When I tell them I am also P
alestinian and you are Jews as well, the land is yours and mine, I not only resol
ve the conflict I eliminate it. And besides, when there is no bird of song, even
a cockroach becomes a nightingale. This plan is the sole solution, and even if it
were only idle chatter, we must believe in it and promote it.
Misinais partner on this journey, Attorney EIon Yarden, has written a row of book
s that deal with the issue of the land of Israel (Zion Shall be Redeemed in Justi
ce, A Common Homeland, not Disputed Land,) and he even reached the same conclusion.
Transformation instead of Transfer, as he summarizes his doctrine. Partitioning th
e country is impossible, and even transfer was feasible only up to the 50s. The
situation is paradoxical: in order to preserve the identity of the State of Isra
el, we are required to endanger its existence, and in order to preserve its exis
tence, we must endanger its identity. Therefore, the solution is transformation,
alteration of the identity. This is our Right of Return.
And what about their identity as Palestinians?
Their national identity is not developed, for they think in religious terms, not
territorially. Their identity today is Islamic, and there is a need to cause the
m to desire to obtain a modern national identity, neither The Nation of Islam, nor
Arabness. By way of ethnic-territorial identity, they will encounter their Israel
i identity. Palestine is a fiction; the country never had such an identity, ther
e was only the Israeli identity, and they themselves are the progeny of Israelit
es. In other words, there are two bluffs: the semantic bluff of the name Palestin
e, and the genetic bluff. Palestine means the scions of the Philistines, while thei
r true identity is Israelite.
The conversation with Yarden and Misinai, which occurred in a Jerusalem restaura
nt, was momentarily interrupted: the Arab waiter, who was evidently listening fr
om the side, approached the table, introduced himself as Riyadh, and stated his
opinion: This is quite true, what you say. My familys name was originally Cohen. T
here were two brothers who fled Iraq at
the time of some massacre, one reached Syria and remained Jewish, and the second
one made it here and became a Muslim out of fear. We live in the Old City; and
if you go there today and inquire of my family, they will tell you, Ah, the Jews.
To this day, names like Yaaqov and Itsik are in circulation in my family.
The Jerusalemite families, Nashashibi and Husseini, they are all Jews, Riyadh con
tinues. According to the Muslim religion, if you read well, all the residents of
this land are the People of Israel. The Prophet Muhammad was also from the Peopl
e of Israel. One family, but they do not know how to manage. Many wish to hear w
hat you are saying, but there is a need for
someone who can speak, and is not afraid. This will bring peace.
GRANDMOTHERS CANDLES
Talk is cheap, but it could cost the life of Palestinians that are openly active
regarding the concept of becoming Jewish. Changing ones religion, in the eyes of
Islam, according to some interpretations, is a transgression for which the puni
shment is death. However, it appears that changing nationality can be discussed wi
th a bit more freedom. This is the idea that Misinais activists are attempting to
promote among their neighbors, despite considerable skepticism and fears.
T., a resident of the village of Sawakhra that is near Jerusalem, met Misinai at
an Israeli-Palestinian discussion event. When I saw his book there, I thought th
at this is another madman, he says, but when I read (it,) I was not surprised by
what is written in it. We knew that part of our family is Jewish by origin. I le
arned this from my father, as well, who was a teacher of history.
The factual basis does not make the idea easier to assimilate. There is a combina
tion of knowledge and denial, says T. I have spoken with many, and I asked them May
be your family is Jewish, and they all responded, No, it cannot be. It is not easy
to discuss this with them. Whoever has a doctorate will not agree to discuss thi
s with you, but a simple farmer actually will.
From what he says, there are new musings among Palestinians about the second Int
ifada and suicide bomber terror, and concurrence concerning Oslo. The Palestinian
s do not like Oslo. The roadblock was created along with Oslo, and the fear star
ted with Oslo. They want one state, but know that the Jews harbor fears about be
ing a minority.
And how do they relate to the idea of The Engagement?
People laugh at the idea of a Muslim-Jew, but Judaism is not merely a religion, i
t is a people. Some of them ignore it, some of them say perhaps, or it is not a goo
d time, it still requires investigation, this is another way of the Jews to take ov
er the world. At the present, the Hamas takeover is generally more worrisome to t
hem than the conflict with Israel. My mission is to continue publicizing the sub
ject, in any case.
While in the eyes of many Palestinians the idea of a vanished Jewish grandfather
sounds distant and menacing, there is a not small population of Palestinians an
d Bedouins that from a cultural and mental standpoint see themselves as Jews in
every way, after they crossed the lines and came to reside in Israel.
Eli Pelled, director of a non-profit organization for collaborators, is original
ly a resident of Bidya, a son of the Boolad clan. He is now married to a Jewish
woman and the father of two Shulamit and Yosi. A mezuzah is affixed to the entra
nce to his home, although he himself has not converted. The very fact that there
is one mosque in a village of 50 thousand people indicates the absurdity (of con
sidering them true Muslims), he says about Bidya.
Pelled does not know to point out any Jewish custom that exists in his family, b
ut this is passed down among us from generation to generation. Grandfather says t
hat his grandfather was a Jew, and each family has rumors of its own. Our extend
ed family is only a part of the Uthman clan, which came from Yemenite Jews. Our n
eighbors call us Samaritans, which is a polite term for non-Muslims, that is to sa
y, Jews.
Pelled is raising his children as Jews in every aspect; They do not know that the
y have any ties whatsoever to Arabs. His wife even wanted to send them off for Ha
redi education, but he insisted on a state-oriented school. If you look in the ye
shiva seminaries you will find a lot of Palestinians there. There are several in
Qiryat Arba as well, and is Bat Yam there is a young man from Balata (a refugee
camp near Gaza), who wears a yarmulke. I made acquaintances with a man who came
here from Egypt, after his grandmother told him, You are a Jew, go live in Israe
l.
He came to Israel and said, My grandmother told me that I am a Jew, and they did n
ot accept him, for he had no documents. They threw him back to the Sinai. We hav
e no documents, Pelled explains. During the time of the Ottoman regime, people did
everything in order not to preserve them so as to avoid paying taxes, and for th
at reason there are no written documents.
Even if there are no written registries, there are perhaps other signs. In the v
illage of Meskha near Elqana, the Palestinian police recently arrested one of Mi
sinais activists who was trying to photograph signs of mezuzahs in the doorways o
f homes. After a month-and-a-half of lockup, he was conditionally released. This
treatment may explain, perhaps, why even those about whose Jewish origin there
is no dispute are not rushing to publicly recognize their roots.
A., originally a resident of southern Mount Hebron, tells of a fractured identit
y: Our elderly women light Sabbath candles, and our doorways show traces of mezuz
ahs, although by now they have obliterated almost all of them. In his words, Isra
el is responsible for the fact that many residents of southern Mount Hebron have
strayed from their Jewish origin. As far back as 1983, Yediot Aharonot published
an article about my family, but the Jewish establishment neglected us for a lon
g period. They brought Jews from all over the world, but they abandoned us, who
are here.
Is there a chance that Palestinians would return to being Jews?
They do need not to return to being Jews, for they remained Jews. They say one simp
le thing: If we return to Judaism, we need to understand that we return to be fir
st class citizens and not second class. I have heard that there are residents in
the area that are in stages of conversion. I say: if we are Jews by origin, it i
s forbidden to convert. If I should convert, it is a sign that I am a gentile. T
here are no other communities in the southern Mount Hebron, we married no others
, and we are Jews, therefore. Many will return to Judaism when they see the proo
f, and when Jews behave nicely towards them and they will speak to them nicely. T
here is a need to see a positive reaction on the Israeli side, security backing,
so that anyone who desires to return to Judaism need not fear, and then many ot
hers will come.
In Israeli reality, even A.s children have difficulties seeing positive reactions
. I brought my 18-year-old son to Israel. It is hard, he has problems, and so he
now wants to return to our village although Hamas rules there. I sat for four ho
urs at a roadblock yesterday before I got through. My small son told me: if they
are our brothers, why do they treat us this way? Why do they all pass and we are
at the roadblock? I want to prove to him that the soldiers are OK, that they onl
y catch the bad ones, but if we are stuck, it is a sign that we are bad. Only in
the end, after they understood our story, a woman soldier came and brought us s
nacks and water. Rabbi Eliezer Altshuler, the rabbi of the community of Susya, wh
ich is in southern Mount Hebron, is convinced that despite it all, Palestinian-J
ews will not make real steps toward being Israeli or Jewish. Local residents once
approached us about converting without deserting Islam.
They wanted to be Jewish-Muslims. So there is a riveting historical issue here,
but to say that this could create a change in orientation vis--vis Jews I do not
see it. Maybe this will happen if a dialog commences. I am not ruling anything o
ut, but I am not developing any great hope. Over the years, we have met Palestin
ians who know axiomatically that they are the descendants of Jews, but this is n
ot something makes a difference one way or the other in everyday life. I sense n
o extraordinary interest on their part. The people that are more interested in t
his are the bunch from our side, not from their side.
WE SHALL SETTTLE FOR SEVEN
In the framework of his activity, Misinai made contact with the Sanhedrin under th
e tutelage of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz an organization that deals with fresh examin
ation and Halakhic ruling on the current issues of the Jewish People that decide
d to aid and examine the chance of returning the lost Palestinian descendants to
the bosom of the nation. Rabbi Dov Stein, the recording secretary of the Sanhed
rin that accompanies Misinai in his meetings, disagrees about accepting Palestin
ians with inordinate ease. I worry that Tsvi possesses insufficient understanding
of Halakha, he says. It is not simple to transform them into kosher Jews, but it
is an important issue in any case: a common religious origin, even if it does no
t prevent hostility, would assuredly blunt the hostility.
Their Jewish roots are of great interest to them, but there are those who no long
er relate to it. I think that in light of our common origin, we can offer them a
way in which they remain Muslims and live in peace with us. After we break down
the walls of rancor, we can propose that they observe the Seven Noahide Laws, a
s was the initial objective of Islam. Whoever desires it can later proceed and c
onvert. It may be easier for the Bedouins, as the Islamic orientation is less st
rong there. We are working on that currently, preparing work teams, and we will
move ahead slowly.
Among the Bedouins, which Ben Gurion wished to Judaize back as early as the 50s,
it is indeed possible to hear some enthusiastic voices. One such is Ovadia Yeru
shalmi, a Bedouin of the Sawarqa tribe, now residing in a small alcove in Rehovo
t, beneath photographs of Rabbi Kadouri and romantic couples in jeans. The Hebre
w name, the mezuzah, and the pictures of the rabbis are more than enough for him
.
The neighbors children would call my family Jews, when I was still there, Yerushalmi
recounts. They call all the people in my tribe that way. I have heard that there
was a great famine once, and our fathers became Muslims because they had nothing
to eat. I am a pure Bedouin and Jew just as you are. Many Bedouins are of Jewis
h origin. Are the immigrants from Russia more Jewish than us? They are all non-J
ews!
Shlomi, a Bedouin from Rafiah (Rafah,) is residing in Tel Aviv today. He married
his cousin who lives in Lod, divorced, and is now married to a regular Jewish wom
an. Hundreds and thousands like him are living in Israel, but unlike them, he is
in stages of conversion, although his Israeli citizenship is vouchsafed under re
uniting families. I work like a dog, pay alimony, and live in a pair of wretched r
ooms, he says. No one is paying me to convert. What profit is there for me? But de
spite it all, I will never forget it for all my days if they accept me for conve
rsion.
Why?
Before my father passed away, he came and told me: Listen to this secret, and do
not reveal it until the day arrives. I am a Jew and you are a Jew. I was nine yea
rs old at that time, the only son in the family, and therefore they told only me
. The day of which my father spoke arrived yesterday, and I told it to the conve
rsion court. I want to convert for four years now. I have two children from my s
econd wife, and I want them to grow up as Jews, as I am a Jew born of a Jew. The
children from my first wife want to convert as well. They tell me, where you go,
we will follow you.
Asher, a Bedouin of the tribe of Rahat, tells of the Jewish tradition that is pa
ssed down through his small tribe. Not all of the tribe knows about Judaism, but
our customs are those of Jews. For example, our slaughtering is kosher: we do not
only slaughter, we also examine the lungs and other organs, and do not eat it if
there is a blemish. There are other tribes that follow our slaughtering method.
We are working on this idea, of finding individuals who are Jewish. This is mov
ing ahead slowly, but well.
THE STATE IS NOT GEARING UP
Dr. Mordekhai Nisan, an Orientalist from the Hebrew University, was asked by the
Sanhedrin to serve as its professional consultant on this issue. The topic was not
foreign to me, Nissan says. I also had faint clues as to the Jewish origin of som
e of those dwelling In Israel, perhaps from Yitzhaq Ben Zvis writings. This matte
r requires dividing into two. The first
part is research-academic related, i.e., the question as to how much truth there
is in the claim that the Arabs in Israel are of ancient Jewish origin. If this
is so, then it is necessary to afford them the opportunity to return to their Je
wish origin. If we are interested in locating secret Jews in Spain, in South Ame
rica, and Africa, then it should definitely interest us here. The phenomenon of
secret Jews residing in the Land of Israel that is supposed to function as a cen
ter of attraction is riveting. The second part concerns the aspect of feasibilit
y whether they identify with the idea.
Let us suppose that they are actually Jewish in origin; what are we to do? Is th
ere an option of offering them a possibility of moving closer to the Jewish Peop
le, such as studying Judaism in a social-cultural setting of ours? Have we the r
abbinic-economic-social tools to make this change in their life, in addition to
the significant aspect of security? The practical side is enormous. It is not th
at the State of Israel and its institutions openly declare These are our brothers
by law, and make themselves available for this project. It still involves an ini
tiative of private individuals.
A., from southern Mount Hebron, sums up the bottom line: Its not simple to transfo
rm an enemy into an ally. It is a tremendous revolution that does not occur over
night.
Palestinians are the offspring of the Jewish farmers that never left the land (P
alestinians are ethnic Jews too)
The majority of Palestinians, have by far, Israelite origin (mostly Judean) from
the ones that never left the Holy Land, but it s even more note worthy that a l
are amount of them is the offspring of Jews that came back to their land in diff
erent migrating waves. This happened from the very beginning of their dispersion
. The oficial history of zionism & of Aliyah started in the 1800s, but the real
beginning of both started (lasting centuries) right when the Romans expelled the
Jews, therefore when the Palestinian leaders complain about the Jewish olim (mi
grants to the Land of Israel) they re also complaining, without realizing, about
the Jewish immigrants that are the ancestors of many. How great hypocrisy!
As a result of remaining in the Land of Israel, the ancestors of the Palestinian
s partially converted to Christianity during the Byzantine era. Later, with the
coming of Islam, they were Islamized through a combination of mainly forced conv
ersions, but also nominal conversions (that is, conversions for forms sake to de
rive benefits as Muslims, and avoid tributes owed by non-Muslims, in Muslim rule
d lands) and others yet out of genuine theological conviction.

Standing before the Sapiens building in Rehovot, Misinai and Ovadia Yerushalmi,
a Bedouin Jew and key Engagement Movement activist from the Banu Sawarka tribe
Conversion to Islam occurred progressively throughout the successive periods of
foreign elite minority rule over Palestine, both on an individual basis and en m
asse, starting with the conversions during the various dynasties of Arabian Musl
im rulers from the initial Muslim conquest of Palestine. Following these came ru
le by Muslim non-Arab dynasties such as the Ayyubids (Kurdish Muslim), Mameluks
(Turkic Muslim) and finally the Ottomans (Turkish Muslim). This continuous phase
of elite minority foreign Islamic rule over a local indigenous (now largely Mus
lim) mass was only briefly interrupted by the elite minority foreign Christian r
ule by the European Crusaders, which lasted from 1096 until their expulsion by t
he Mameluks in 1291.
Misinai states that of this gradual process of conversions (often accompanied by
Arabization), the majority were forcibly converted during the Fatimid era under
the reign of Caliph al-Hakim who was crowned at the age of 11, and reigned from
 the years 996 to 1021. Due to his young age, in practice, it was his ministers
who wielded the actual power behind the throne for some time. They gave the youn
g Caliph power to influence religious matters only, and appointed him as Imam. I
n 1009, the extremists among his ministers gained the upper hand and brought upo
n a series of decrees against Christians and Jews.
The endless cycle of bad animosities can only end through a "One State"
The endless cycle of violence and old animosities can only end through a "One St
ate" solution with the Jews and Palestinians being united as one people. Especia
lly taking into account that both Jews Falestinians have Jewish/Israelite origin
. That is unity in the true sense.In order for this to happen, the Palestinians
must reject their "Palestinian" nationality and reclaim their ancient identity a
s Jews. They can continue to follow their own religions, yet embracing their ide
ntity as ethnic Jews. On the other hand, the Jews must also be accepting of thei
r new brethren.
Judeira (Judayra) & the one of Judeidah have clear origin in Judah, namesake of
the Jews. Both are Palestinian towns. There s plenty of Israelite/Jewish names i
n Palestinian areas. This with plenty of studies confirm prove even more the Isr
aelite origin of the so called Arabs of this country.

Palestinians (Falestinians) are between 80 to 90 % of Jewish origins

Classification of the Palestinians
Tsvi Misinai separates the Palestinian people into three main groups; the "Desce
ndants of Israel", "Brethren of Israel" and "Palestinians of miscellaneous origi
ns". He states that until recently, there had been very few inter-marriages betw
een these groups, as Palestinians usually tended to marry within their own clans
or related clans.
Descendants of Israel
The "Descendants of Israel", he claims, comprise descendants of the ancient bibl
ical Hebrews which are native to the land west of the Jordan River (the West Ban
k, Gaza strip and Israel proper). They are more specifically descended from the
inhabitants of the Kingdom of Judah, as opposed to the Samaritans who are mainly
descended from the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Israel.
Misinai claims that the Descendants of Israel had ceased to call themselves Must
aarbim, when the Brethren of Israel returned to their homeland during the 18th an
d 19th centuries. Despite this, stories about the Jewish origins of the family w
ere passed on among the Descendants of Israel, and a few Jewish customs were pre
served. Both groups began seeing themselves as one people, although endogamous m
arriages with their own clans ensured the purity of their blood lines until very
recently.
Samaritans
The Samaritans are distinguished among Descendants of Israel, given that their a
ncient history serves as an analogous precursor to the present situation that Ts
vi Misinai argues exists between world Jewry and the Palestiniansthat upon their
returns from exile and re-establishments of Israel, world Jewry misidentified as
foreigners the descendants of those Israelites who had stayed behind, first in
antiquity misidentifying the Samaritans as foreigners, and today in modern times
misidentifying the Palestinians (Arabized Hebrews of the Muslim and Christian f
aiths) as foreigners.
Samaritan High Priest with the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet Samaritan Tora
h, Nablus, c. 1920.

The Samaritans are Descendants of Israel, being descended from farmers among the
Israelite Tribes, part of whom were never exiled by the Assyrians or the Babylo
nians during the period of the destruction of the First Jewish Commonwealth. The
ir maternal lineages, however, derive from the Small Nations (those who came fro
m Cuthah and others) who were exiled to Samaria by the Assyrians and intermixed
with their paternal Israelite ancestors. The alien minority who remained in the
land, adopted the Israelite religion (Samaritanism, the sister Israelite religio
n to Judaism) in the course of time, after the destruction of the First Temple.
A portion of the Samaritans exiled by the Assyrians, were later repatriated by t
he prophet Jeremiah in the days of the Judean king Josiah.
The Babylonians, who followed the Assyrians as the dominant entity in the Fertil
e Crescent, exiled many Samaritans but skipped over a significant part of the Sa
maritan population. By the time they arrived in Samaria, the Babylonians found m
any alien elements in the land of Israel. Consequently, they did not undertake a
thorough ethnic cleansing expulsion from Samaria, since the Assyrians had led m
any areas to be viewed as places whose indigenous population had already been re
placed by aliens and needed no further expulsion.

Later, when the exiled Israelites (now known as Jews) returned from the Babyloni
an exile under prophets Ezra and Nehemiah, they misidentified the Israelites who
had stayed behind (now known as Samaritans) as foreigners. The reason for the m
isidentification was because the deportations had led the exiled Israelites and
the Israelites who remained behind to develop in different ways. The Babylonian
captivity had a number of serious effects on the exiled Israelites (Jews), their
religion (Judaism) and their culture. Included among the most obvious of these
changes was replacing the original Paleo-Hebrew alphabet (see also Samaritan scr
ipt) with what is in fact a stylised form of the Aramaic alphabet (now commonly
called the "Hebrew alphabet" because it is the normative form in which Hebrew is
written due to Jewish numeric superiority), changes in the fundamental practice
s and customs of the Jewish religion, the culmination of Biblical prophecy (in t
he Jewish prophet Ezekiel), the compilation of not only of the Talmud and Halakh
a (Jewish religious law, absent in Samaritanism) but also the incorporation of N
evi im (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings) as a part of the cannon together with t
he Torah (in Samaritanism, only the Torah is canonical, see Samaritan Torah), an
d the emergence of scribes and sages as Jewish leaders (see Ezra and the Pharise
es). These resulting differences in religious practices between returnees and th
ose who remained in Israel led to a schism in the Israelites, and whenceforth th
e creation of separate Samaritan and Jewish entities. Over the centuries, Judais
m and world Jewry have come to the acceptance that the Samaritans are indeed des
cendants of Israelites.
The Islamic conquest of Palestine in the first half of the 7th century, and the
subsequent Arab rule, marked the beginning of the phase of decline and erosion o
f Samaritan identity, even more detrimentally than the extreme toll on Jewish id
entity. The passing of the aforementioned al-Hakem Edict in 1021, along with ano
ther notable forced conversion to Islam imposed at the hands of the rebel Ibn Fi
rasa, decreased their numbers significantly, such that they decreased from more
than a million in Roman times to just 712 people today.
For those who maintained a Samaritan identity and religious association into mod
ern times, they too, like their Palestinian counterparts who had additionally ad
opted Christianity and later Islam, were nevertheless thoroughly Arabized in lan
guage and culture. After the establishment of modern Israel, Samaritans living i
n what became the State of Israel replaced Palestinian Arabic with modern Hebrew
as their day to day language (although Samaritan Hebrew had always been maintai
ned as the liturgical language, along with liturgical Samaritan Aramaic and litu
rgical Samaritan Arabic).
Brethren of Israel
The "Brethren of Israel", which is originally native to the land east of the Jor
dan River (the East Bank, that is, modern-day Jordan) comprise the descendants o
f the brother nations of the Hebrews, i.e., the ancient Edomites, Ammonites and
Moabites who variously converted to Judaism and moved to Israel before the Roman
invasion, and were later forcibly converted together with the "Descendants of I
srael" first to Christianity and then Islam.
Misinai states that the history of the Brethren of Israel are mostly intertwined
with those of the Descendants of Israel. The Moabites, the Ammonites and the Ed
omites were forcibly converted to Judaism and made an extension of the Israelite
nation during the course of King Davids conquests. Despite this, their kings wer
e allowed to continue to directly hold the reins of power, and they were not inc
orporated into any of the Israelite tribes. In the case of the Edomites, their f
ierce opposition to Israelite occupation led King David to order the killing of
all male Edomites. Thus, the women in Edom had no alternative but to marry membe
rs of the Israelite garrison and other Israelites. As a result, the bloodlines o
f Edomites from that point onwards were partially Hebrew.
After the destruction of the First Jewish Commonwealth by the Babylonian King Ne
buchadnezzar, a considerable part of the Edomites and Moabites were exiled toget
her with the Israelites. The majority of the Ammonites were exiled and those who
remained were assimilated into the Moabite communities. The kinship between the
Brethren of Israel, and the Israelites continued throughout the period of the S
econd Commonwealth and henceforth.
However, after the destruction of the First Commonwealth and the absence of the
hegemony of an Israelite regime, the Moabites and Edomites discarded their affil
iation to the people of Israel and left Judaism en masse. To bring them back int
o the fold, the Hasmonean leaders decided to re-convert them a second time. The
mass Judaization campaign was started by John Hyrcanus with the conversion of th
e Moabites and was ended by Alexander Jannaeus who completed the conversion of t
he Moabites and also the Edomites after he added their territory to his Kingdom.
For the next 1,600 years, these Brethren of Israel continued to be an inseparab
le part of the People of Israel. The Edomites and Moabites (along with the Samar
itans) participated in the First JewishRoman War and inflicted more damage on the
ir enemies, relative to their small numbers, than the Jews.
Since the Edomites and Moabites ancestral lands were located east of the Jordan
River, this made them more close to Arabia and more removed from the Jewish peop
le. As a result, they were more susceptible to conversions to Islam, and hence,
subsequently became Mustaarbim. When devastating famines broke out at the beginni
ng of the 16th century, many among these Brethren of Israel emigrated to Persia.
As a result of juggling different religious identities to avoid persecution, th
ey eventually forgot their Jewish and Mustaarbi origins and became radicalised, a
nd started considering themselves to be Arabs.
Later, as things improved in the 18th and 19th century, many of those who left r
eturned from Persia, Yemen and Sudan, shifting residences between present day Jo
rdan and Israel, with the former mountain dwellers returning to their ancient ho
mes, and the Edomites, Moabites, etc., settling in the plains. It is these "Bret
hren of Israel", Misinai contends, who constitute most of the Palestinian popula
tion east of the Jordan river and the Palestinian refugees (both within the Pale
stinian territories and outside), while the majority of Palestinians who did not
flee and remain in Israel proper, West Bank and Gaza area, are "Descendants of
Israel".
Misinai traces the beginning of the Arab-Israeli conflict and a Palestinian "Ara
b" identity to the simultaneous immigration of the Jews from various places and
Brethren of Israel (from the east), to the land west of the Jordan river from 18
40 to 1947. He states that by 1914 the Brethren of Israel became a very large gr
oup among Palestinians there and would remain so, until they were mostly expelle
d during the Palestinian exodus in 1948. He argues that these people have now re
turned to their ancestral homeland east of the Jordan river, and possess no righ
t to the land of Israel.

Misinai states it is this group that are the most anti-semitic and most active i
n terrorist activities in the intifada, with their objectives being to return to
the lands they abandoned in 1948.[6] He claims that the leadership of the Pales
tinian militant organisations such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa Martyrs
Brigades, Fatah al-Islam, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, etc., are primarily i
nternally supported by over 1,300,000 Brethren of Israel, who all reside west of
the Jordan river. The victims of such terrorist acts tend to be the People of I
srael, the Descendants of Israel and a small number of others.
According to Misinai, the Brethren of Israel are the smartest group among the Pa
lestinian people and make up the majority of the Palestinian leadership. He stat
es that the early leadership of the various Palestinian nationalist organisation
s such as Fatah, PLO, PFLP, etc., came primarily from among the Brethren of Isra
el refugees in the 1948 exodus. While he acknowledges that the Brethren of Israe
l have suffered more than any other Palestinian, he blames the Brethren of Israe
l leadership of perpetuating the problem for more than 50 years in order to gain
camp followers both among those of their brethren who continue to suffer and am
ong the Arabs and others who feel sorry for them.
Misinai (far right) at a meeting with elders from the Bedouin Al-Huzeil tribe th
at claims Jewish descent and Sanhedrin members, which took place in Rahat on 13
October 2009

Others
In addition to these two main components, there also include a significantly sma
ll percentage of Arabs, descendants of the soldiers who served in the occupying
Roman army after the destruction of the Second Temple and even some survivors of
the ancient Canaanite and Philistine who are idol worshipers that live in Gaza
and in the village of Jisr az-Zarka, near Haifa. A minuscule percentage of Pales
tinians are also descendants of 500 European Crusaders who stayed behind in Pale
stine and converted to Islam. These Crusaders, he indicates, are the source of t
he smatterings of blond haired and blue-eyed Palestinians one witnesses today.
The various entities among the neighbouring small nations of gentiles, such as t
he Philistines, Canaanites, Jebusites, Amorites, Hivites and Perizzites inhabite
d the remainder of the historical region of Canaan, from which the Hebrews under
Joshua had driven them off and carved out a nation for themselves called Israel
. These nations were all eventually vanquished by King David and made a part of
the Kingdom of Israel. A large number were later exiled by King Nebuchadnezzar
in the course of the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah and the Babylonian exil
e. A mass Judaization process in Israel in the course of the Hasmonean Period le
ft only a handful of Philistines, Canaanites and other members of the Small Nati
ons. Since conversion was not imposed on remnants of these Small Nations who had
been Hellenized, they continued to worship Greek deities. They were forced to n
ominally accept Christianity during the Byzantine period, and later finally expe
lled by Caliph Al-Hakim during the Fatimid rule, together with the majority of t
he Christian descendants of the Roman Army and almost all the Christian Arabs.
A Druze man in Peki in, Israel. Misinai claims that the Druze are of mostly Je
wish descent.

A few hundred, however, remained and their descendants constitute the small numb
ers of idol worshippers who live in Israel in modern times. These include a few
Canaanites that reside in the village of Jisr az-Zarqa near Caesarea, a few thou
sand Philistines and Canaanites in Gaza, and descendants of the Phoenicians in t
he form of Maronite Catholics (primarily the refugees from Ikrit and Kafr Bir im
).
Misinai also claims that the Druze of Israel, Syria and Lebanon are partially of
Jewish descent, along with Arab, Midianite, Assyrian and Egyptian origins. He f
urther states that there were Jewish villages that became part of the Druze comm
unity, mostly to avoid being forcibly converted to Islam, such as the residents
of the Western Galilee villages of Abu Snein and Yarka.

Muslims pray towards Mecca but in Jerusalem they point their behind to the Dome
of the Rock & the Temple Mount

Muslims pray towards Mecca but in Jerusalem they point their behind to the Dome
of the Rock & the Temple Mount. Surprisingly enough, the Holy Land is mentioned
in the Quran as the land that was written by Allah to Israel & even says that th
e Jews will return to their land.

Quran 5:21 Moses: O, my people, enter the Holy Land that God has written for you
, & don t turn your backs, or you will become losers.
Quran 17:104 And we said after him to the Children of Israel: Dwell in the land,
then, when the time of the second promise comes, we ll bring you all together a
s a mixed crowd.
Conversions and Arabization of Palestinians
In 1012, the al-Hakem Edict was issued, under which all Jews and Christians in P
alestine were ordered to either convert to Islam or leave. This led to the major
ity of non-Hebrew origin Christians (i.e., foreign Christians) to leave Palestin
e, while over 90 per cent of Jews, Samaritans (also of Hebrew origin) and Hebrew
-origin Christians converted and became Muslims. They would also become Musta ar
abim (Arabized), acculturated into Arab language, custom and culture.

Later, when the edict was finally repealed in 1044 during the reign of Caliph Al
-Mustansir of Cairo, only 27 percent of the Jewish converts to Islam returned to
Judaism openly, although they too would remain Mustaarabi (culturally and lingui
stically Arab). The remainder continued to live as Muslim crypto-Jews in order t
o continue enjoying the economic advantages of Muslims, such as exemption from p
aying jizya and kharaj, the ability to sell their agricultural products to the f
oreign authorities, or gain employment in the government machinery. Many younger
persons of Hebrew-origin (Jewish, Christian or Samaritan) saw it simultaneously
possible to lead dual lives, incorporating their prior faith while being outwar
dly Muslim, and accruing material benefits. Later, with the advent of Mameluk ru
le, Judaism had reached a breaking point in Palestine.
When an Empire takes over a country, it exiles the elite & leaves the lower clas
ses, & that s what happened after the destruction of both the First Temple & the
Second Temple. Therefore the Palestinians are the offspring oh the Jewish farme
rs that never left the land.

When the different Moslem empires & coutries invaded the Holy Land they forced o
r coerced the Jews that stayed in the Land of Israel and gave them two options:
to convert & keep their land or to stay religiously Jewish & lose their loved La
nd of Israel. They stayed in Eretz Israel losing or hiding their identity.

The Muslims of Jerusalem were buried in a particular cemetery, & it can be appre
ciated that many, if not most of them, face the Temple Mount, not Mecca.

Bedwin Israeli (possible of Jewish or

igins)
Ansar Beit al Maqdes literally means the Army of the Holy Temple in Arabic
Over the weekend, four terrorists preparing a rocket attack against Israel were
killed by a drone probably Israeli as they were getting ready to launch their le
thal weapons.
The group that took credit for preparing the terrorist attack is an Al-Qaeda affil
iate calling itself Ansar Beit al Maqdes.
Writing in response to my recent post on the origin of the name Palestine, my frie
nd Ilan Pomeranc pointed out that this Jihadi groups name witnesses to the Jewish
status of Jerusalem.
Ansar Beit al Maqdes literally means the Army of the Holy Temple.
Media outlets mistranslate the name as Army for Jerusalem, but Jerusalem does not
appear in the name at all. In Arabic, Jerusalem is often called, in shorthand vern
acular, al-Quds.
What this term literally means is the Holy, Quds is merely an Arabization of the Heb
rew Kadosh i.e., Holy.
So if you put the two Arabic names for Jerusalem together what you get is al-Quds
al-Maqdes which literally means the place of the Holy Temple.
Proportion of Hebrew-descended Palestinians
Tsvi Misinai claims that nearly 90 per cent of the Palestinian people living in
Israel proper and the occupied territories are of Hebrew descent (with the perce
ntage among the population of the Gaza Strip being higher than 90 per cent), but
a greatly reduced percentage among Palestinian refugees living outside those ar
eas. In his book Brother shall not lift his sword against Brother, Misinai puts
forward the following statistics pertaining to the proportion of the "Descendant
s of Israel" and the "Brethren of Israel" populations among the Palestinians and
Arab Israelis, as of December 2007. It is detailed as four main areas (Judea an
d Samaria, Gaza strip, East Jerusalem and Israel proper) and are as follows:
In Judea and Samarianot counting East Jerusalem, the number of permanent resident
s was 956,000, of which over 580,000 (61 per cent) were Descendants of Israel. A
nother 27 per cent were 259,000 Brethren of Israel (of whom were 158,000 descend
ants of the Edomites and 101,000 descendants of the Moabites). The remainder inc
luded 43,000 Arabs (4.5 per cent), 44,000 descendants of the Roman Army, 24,000
Christians from Distant Places and 6,000 Kurds.
In the Gaza strip, there were 891,000 permanent residents, including Bedouin. Ou
t of the non-Bedouin, 275,000 were Descendants of Israel, 520,000 were Brethren
of Israel (approximately 270,000 descendants of the Moabites and approximately 2
50,000 descendants of the Edomites), 43,000 descendants of the Roman Army, 4,000
Arabs who live in the Jabaliya refugee camp; 3,400 Canaanites and 2,700 Philisti
nes all living in Gaza city, and 3,000 Druze that live in the Dir al-Balakh ref
ugee camp. Among the Descendants of Israel in the Gaza Strip, 30,000 are descend
ants of the Samaritans and 245,000 (27.5 per cent) are descendants of authentic
Jews. The population of the Gaza Strip also includes 40,000 Bedouin. The interna
l distribution of the Gaza Bedouin is 18,000 descendents of Moabites, 14,000 des
cendants of Edomites and 8,000 Descendents of Israel. In addition to the Bedouin
, the total number of the Descendants of Israel is 283,000 (32 per cent), of the
Brethren of Israel is 552,000 (62 per cent, 288,000 or 32 per cent descendants
of Moabites and 264,000 or 30 per cent descendants of Edomites).
A thinly disguised star of David on a doortop in Yatta, South
ern Mount Hebron

Of the 200,000 non-Jewish residents of East Jerusalem, 82,000 are Descendants of

the People of Israel, out of which 2,000 are descendants of Samaritans living i
n the Samaritan neighbourhood, A-Sumera or Al-Abid. Out of this group, 7,000 are
Christians. Some 48,000 are descendants of Kurds who came during the reign of S
aladin. Over 32,000 are Brethren of Israel (24,000 descendants of the Moabites a
nd 8,000 descendants of the Edomites). Some 27,000 are of Arab origin, and const
itute the main concentration of population of Arab origin among Israeli citizens
today. This includes 9,000 members of the veteran Arab settlers, and 14,000 des
cendants of the Arab Army living in the Mount of Olives neighbourhood. There are
also another 11,000 inhabitants who are recognised as non-Arab citizens: 5,000
Armenians and 6,000 non-Arab Christians from various distant locations.
Within Israel proper, 642,000 (45.5 per cent) out of 1,413,000 non-Jewish reside
nts within the Green Line (not counting East Jerusalem) are Descendants of the P
eople of Israel. Some 457,000 are Brethren of Israel in the State of Israel (and
another 32,000 in Jerusalem), or 36 per cent of all the Palestinians there (489
,000 or 34.5 per cent, including Jerusalem). A further breakdown of this figure
shows that the descendants of the Edomites number 166,000, and constitute 13 per
cent (of the Palestinians in the State of Israel, or 174,000 or 12.5 per cent,
with Jerusalem). The descendants of the Moabites number 291,000, and constitute
23 per cent (315,000 or 22 per cent with Jerusalem). The sum total of veteran in
habitants who are neither Palestinian nor Jewish is 140,000 and includes 121,000
Druze and 19,000 foreigners from Distant Places. The descendants of the Roman A
rmy number 150,000, or 12 per cent (10.5 percent with Jerusalem). The rest, some
 16,000, or 1.25 per cent, are Arabs, (43,000 or 3 per cent with Jerusalem). The
number of Palestinians within the Green Line is 1,273,000.
Palestinians are Jewish like the Jews
Arabs have an imaginary state that they call Palestine. They say they are agains
t Israel because they are against the breakup of Palestine. But it is okay for
them to break Jordan away from the original Palestine. Among the Palestinians (
i.e., those without Israeli citizenship) within the Green Line (not including Ea
st Jerusalem) the percentage who are Descendants of the People of Israel is clos
e to 50.5 per cent.

Most of the Jews where taken by the Romans and scattered throughout the Roman Em
pire & they travel even further. Depending on the area they were called diferent
ly: Askenazim, Sephardim, Mizrahim, Beta Israel... But these were only the urban
& rich group. The poor & rural group never left & they were Christianized throu
gh the Crussades & Islamized through Jihad:
http://the-engagement.org/ (Videos are worth a look) http://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=duQaxheSLfA
The Pamphlet: http://the-engagement.org/files/engagement_booklet_english_210709.
zip
From 1948 on the Palestinians that knew of their Jewish origins mostly changed o
utside Stars of David for 5 pointed stars or Lions of Judah for fear to be attac
ked by other Palestinians.
The book "The Arabs who are in the Land of Israel" written by Israel Belkind see
ms to be a great book. So it is with "Memories of the Land of Israel" written by
Ham Ya ari. There s no way to find any of the books or pamphlets mentioned in t
he engagement nor for free nor with price. I think "the engagement", or the Gove
rnment of Israel should publish them in Hebrew, Arabic & english. They will be a
good tool for the good. I bet many people would be willing to get them even if
they are not for free.
These 2 articles might be interesting to you: 1 "Gypsy Israelites and the relati
on"16 Petaled flower"/Imperial Seal of Japan/16 Spoke Gypsy Wheel" 2 "Are the Ja
panese Hebrews or at least is the Hata clan Hebrew? The Hata clan for sure it is
."
This link might be interesting too regarding the Japanese Israelites that can gi
ve some connection in the relations Of Jews/Palestinians: http://www5.ocn.ne.jp/
~magi9/isracame.htm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mor4x9yMmAk
It s interesting that the clan that it s believed to have Israelite origin in Ja
pan is called "Hata" Which is almost like the "Khata" clan of Tulkarem. It s no
t a coincidence. It s amazing being able to watch on Youtube the videos of these
Japanese Israelites. This is another prove that the Palestinian Khata (and with
them the rest of Palestinians) are Israelites.
The Rabbi, Cohen, Abu Nadir & other Palestinian family /clans of levitic origin
could be brought back to Judaism with the help of the Temple Institute. They nee
d to know they belong to the Levites & when they convert back to Judaism they wi
ll have the honor to serve with the rest of Levites in the 3rd & definitive Temp
le of Jerusalem to prepare the Coming of the Messiah. If the "Palestinian" Levit
e clans come back to Judaism, could attract the rest of "Palestinians" with Jewi
sh origin, back to Judaism, since priests have a wide reaching power. Priests ar
e often great musicians too and music attracts very much too. If they have pries
tly origin they might be good musicians too. It s interesting to notice that the
mentioned "Abu Nadir" Palestinian has the name of one of the Jewish tribes of a
ncient Arabia.

The Appropriation of the Philistines

Phoenicians, Canaanites and other peoples of the region were non-Arabian Hebrew-
speaking peoples as the Phoenician and Canaanite dialects represented mere varia
tions of the shared Hebrew idiom.
(1) While the Roman change of name of its province of Judaea was intended to sem
iotically formalize the Roman genocide against the indigenous Jewish nation, (2)
the British Empire under local and regional, political Arabist influence, calam
itously prevented persecuted Jews in 1939 and onwards from immigrating to the in
ternationally recognized Jewish homeland.
Palestinian villages, towns, cities with "Arabs" of Jewish origins & their last
names
Gilead or Galaad is known today as Jald
Gilead or Galaad (Hebrew: , "Hep/mss of testmoy/wtess", Str Herew Glad,
rian Hebrew Gil) in Arabic is known today as Jald. Gilead is divided among the tribes
of Gad and Manasseh. There s a Jalad in India close to Kashmir, an area with pl
enty of Hebrew names.
The hills
of Gilead (current day Jald), Jordan

The Jews of Iran are generally regarded, even by themselves, as Benjamites, alth
ough the ones of Gillard & Demavent areas regard themselves as Manassehites. Som
e Muslim tribes of Kayah-Kola, Mazandaran are crypto-Jewish. Indeed all the Maza
ndarans are descendants of people regarded as Lost Israelites. Some regional Kur
ds also admit their Israelite origin too. Between Hamadan & Kazwin (or Qazvin) t
here are several villages of Marrano Moslems. The name Hamadan might have Dan ad
ded as suffix because the local captive Israelites might come from that tribe. I
t might have been added as a way of saying "Hama of Dan" ro distinguish from "Ha
ma of Aram", neighboring Israel. There s more crypto-Jews in Sadah. There s a vi
llage called Sarah in thr south of the Baluchi Iran.
Jalad, India

As mentioned above, according to the Jews of Teheran, the name of the Irani vill
age of Gillard is a corrupted one of the Israelite name "Gilead". Apart from tha
t "Gilardino" & "Gillardeau" are also clear variants of the same name. Gillardin
o is an Italian last name from the north of that country, the area of Italy were
Lost Israelites are believed to dwell according to the Two-Housers. Gillardeau
is a French last name, therefore Reubenite according to the Two-Housers. The oys
ters Gillardeau are quite celebrated. Gillard is also a British last name. It s
the last name of a former Australian Prime Minister. For the Two-Housers the Bri
tish would be Ephraimites mostly. Gilead was, according to the Book of Numbers,
the son of Machir, and hence the grandson of Manasseh. After him was called the
hilly area East of the Jordan river. This area was assigned to half of the tribe
 of Manasseh & their inhabitants were called Gileadites although they were Manas
sehites. A few of other Israelites from other tribes lived there too, so they we
re also called that way. Currently Gilead is known as Jald & belongs to the modern
nation of Jordan. Jalad or Jallad is a last name. Jordan logically is the count
ry with more people with that last name, then come Saudi Arabia, the United Arab
Emirates... Gillard, that Persian village called after Gilead, was also known a
s Persian Gilead. The mount Damvand, Donbavand or Demavent is a dormant volcano d
an important place in the Persian mythology. Gillard is near this mountain in n
orthern Iran. Demavent is also a village next to Gillard.
The Jewish "New Muslims" of Meshhed
Lived as Dhimmis
IV. Jews came to Meshhed in early 1700s: Situation of Jews prior to
1839 selection from Patai
V. The Incident- March 26, 1839
A. Shi ite day of mourning 10 th of Muharram, holiest day of Sh
i ite year
B. Day of fasting, self-flagellation, commemorating death of Hussein, secon
d Imam.
C. Jewish woman asked Moslem doctor to treat her hand
D. Advised to wash hand in the blood of a newly killed dog: standard medical
science at time
E. She hired a local boy to kill the dog, had argument over price
F. Boy ran away, cried out Jews had killed dog and called it Hussein to mock
Moslems on their holy day
G. Slander heard by thousands of fasting Moslems in Imam Riza mosque
H. Mourners poured out of masque, stormed nearby Jewish quarter
I. Broke into homes, stole property, destroyed books and religious articl
es, burned synagogue
J. Killed 32 Jews, gave rest ultimatum: conversion or death
VI. All chose to become Moslems
A. Not accepted by neighbors, known as a Jadid al-Islam, new Moslem
B. Attended separate mosque
C. Continued to use Oriental Hebrew script even when writing Persian
D. At first too frightened to become underground Jews
Some became converts
Some prayed alone in secret
Soon old men began gathering for Jewish prayers after finishing Moslem ones
Soon were studying Torah and observing Jewish holidays
Soon resumed complete Jewish lives
If caught, penalty death
E. Continued to live in old Jewish quarter
Houses with private courtyard in middle
No windows face street, only inward
Internal doors to go from one house to another
Shi ite law improper for stranger to enter house where woman were present
When met secretly, stationed women to sit by doors and forestall unexpected visi
tors
F. Partial religious observance
Shops open on Shabbos, but sold nothing, quoted ridiculous prices, left small ch
ildren in charge
Bought extra wheat to bake matzos secretly for Passover, and bought bread in mar
ket place
Yom Kippur observed, but not Succos
Circumcised boys on 8 th day. Told curious Moslems it was done for the health of
the baby
Secret Jewish names given, used only at home, otherwise used Moslem names
Mezuzahs explained as protection from evil eye
Kosher slaughtering at night, meat carried from house to house
Women bought non-kosher meat in market. Fed to dogs. Jewish pets said to be fatt
est in Meshhed
Women observed Jewish family purity laws, but did not go to Mikvah

VII. Great Danger old Moslems did not know what to make of the Jadidis
A. Spies Fasting on Yom Kippur
B. Checked corpses for Jewish burial shrouds
C. Shortly a fter forced conversion, kosher slaughterer caught in act was h
imself slaughtered
D. Jadidis rarely forced to marry Moslems
Arranged mar riages at very early age, even earlier than usual in Iran girls 4 t
o 6, boys not much older
First Moslem ceremony, then Jewish rite in secret
Two marriage contracts public Moslem and secret Jewish Kesuva
Even on Moslem contract witnesses signed in Hebrew script alphabet of new Moslems
Wrote no Gitten
Funerals also double after time had own burial ground. Tombstones in Hebrew and
Persian
VIII. Behaved as good Moslems
A. Joined other Moslems in pilgrimages to Mecca and Karbala (Shi ite shrine
in Iraq ) Received honorary titles on return, hajji and karbalai
B. Some Jewish hajjis honored with positions in Imam Riza Mosque
C. Stories of Mashhadis who brought Talleisim and t phillin to Mecca
D. Detoured on way back from Mecca to Jerusalem , leaving other pilgrims in
Alexandria and taking boat to Jaffa
E. Prayed at both Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall
IX. Education
A. No formal education of children for 20 years after forced conversion expe
cted to learn by watching elders
B. When entire generation grew up without knowing Hebrew started secret sch
ool
C. After studying Koran in Moslem school, boys came home to study Torah in
a basement.
D. Girls learn from older relatives
E. Children under 11 not trusted and not e ducated or told anything about J
udaism
F. After 1910 when national education reform gave summer vacation, then sm
all children enrolled in a secret Jewish summer school.
X. Benefits of double life
A. Inside Iran Mashhadis passed as Moslems among Moslems and as Jews among J
ews
B. No subject to anti-Jewish restrictions became wealthiest Jews in Iran .
Traveled as wished, no special clothes or taxes, trade in every marketplace even
one s that banned Jews
C. Outside Iran lived openly as Jews. Built own synagogues, remained separa
te from larger Jewish community
D. Remained wary and lived in dread of being discovered
XI. Immigration over years to Russia , to India ( Bombay ), to Teh
eran, London , New York , Jerusalem , Tel Aviv
A. Around 1910 things improved in Iran . Moved school from basement, and beg
an revealing secret to younger children
B. Still did not return to Judaism publicly in Meshhed
C. Power in hands of Shi ite mullahs, in whose eyes it was crime for a Mosl
em to become a Jew
D. Used bribes to keep their secret and stay alive.
XII. Blood libel in 1946
A. Jews use blood of a gentile no longer European obsession
B. Plaque since Middle Ages - Carried to East by Christian missionaries Fir
st in 1144 in England Blood Libel
C. Passover coincided with Shi ite day of mourning commemorating death of I
mam Riza s sister Fatima
D. Meshhed s Jewish elders warned community not to provoke Muslims
E. Just before Passover Moslem boys caught harassing women on streets of Je
wish quarter and scolded
F. Crowd gathered to defend boys, and rumor spread that their blood had be
en taken for baking matzos
G. Houses and synagogues were robbed and burned, Jews were beaten and stabb
ed on the street, and old women and children assaulted in their homes.
H. Wealthier Jews appealed through the Russian and British consulates until
Moslem leaders were finally induced to help.
I. One Moslem leader announced to the mob: These Jews are jadid al-Islam w
ho have lived among us for years, and we never saw anything evil among them.
J. Over next few years more than 2000 left Meshhed going to Teheran and T
el Aviv. No more than a dozen families left by mid-1950s.
XIII. Blood libel still alive and well. Saudi Government Daily: Jews Use
Teenagers Blood for Purim Pastries March 10, 2002 . In the second part of th
e article (March 12), the columnist tells the story of the Book of Esther and co
ncludes, "Since then, the Old Testament, the Jewish holy book, requires the Jews
to glorify this holiday and show their joy. This joy can only be complete with
the consumption of pastries mixed with human blood." ( A rticle published by the
Saudi government daily Al-Riyadh , columnist Dr. Umayma Ahmad Al-Jalahma of Kin
g Faysal University in Al-Dammam )
XIV. Jewishness
A. Not in question like that of other groups
B. Never intermarried, no divorces
C. Fully accepted as Jews
D. Israel, immigrated as Moslems, then when allowed to stay, began openly pr
acticing Judaism. Founded synagogues
E. Shocked other Jews and rabbis at first. Investigated and declared Jews w
ith no questions.
XV. Today
A. Still tend to keep to themselves
B. Tend to only marry other Mashhadis, although slowing changing
C. Many in import business rugs, other Oriental objects
D. Successfully withstood forced conversion and remained true to Judaism
Imraguen people
The Imraguen (Berber: Imragen) are an ethnic group or tribe of Mauritania and We
stern Sahara. Estimated at around 5,000 in the 1970s, most members of the group
live in fishing villages in the Banc d Arguin National Park on the Atlantic coas
t of Mauritania.
They are believed to have Mande (Niger-Congo) origins and to descend from the an
cient Bafour people. The name Imraguen (Berber orthography: imragen) is a Berber
word meaning "fishermen". They are Muslims of the Sunni Maliki rite. The Imragu
en language is a divergent form of Hassaniya Arabic that preserves elements of t
he Soninke language, reflecting their Niger-Congo heritage
The Vanishing Jews of the Arab World, by Semha Alwaya, was published March 6 in Th
e San Francisco Chronicle. It tells the story of the author, a Baghdad native, w
ho was one of 900,000 Jewish refugees from Arab countries dispossessed by Arab g
overnments in the 1950s. After living in refugee camps, she writes, housing was e
ventually built for us, we became Israeli citizens, and we ceased being refugees
. The refugee camps in Israel that I knew as a child were phased out, and no tra
ce of them remains. Israel did this without receiving a single cent from the int
ernational community, relying instead on the resourcefulness of its citizens and
donations from Diaspora Jewish communities.
The Saudi Family conceal their Jewish Origins; The Saudi Dynasty: Where do they c
ome from and Who is their real Ancestor
Summary from Destination Yisrael
Muhammad Salaam In the year 851 A.H. a group of men from Al Masaleekh Clan, which
was a branch of Anza Tribe, formed a caravan for buying cereals (wheat and corn
) and other foodstuff from Iraq, and transporting it back to Najd. The head of t
hat group was a man called Sahmi Bin Hathlool. The caravan reached Basra, where
the members of the group went to a cereal merchant who was a Jew, called Mordakh
ai bin Ibrahim bin Moshe. During their bargaining with that merchant, the Jew as
ked them: "Where are you from?" They answered: "From Anza Tribe; a Clan of Al Ma
saleekh." Upon hearing that name, the Jew started to hug so affectionately each
on the them saying that he, himself, was also from the clan of Al Masaleekh, but
he had come to reside in Basra (Iraq) in consequence to a family feud between h
is father and some members of Anza Tribe.
After he recounted to them his fabricated narrative, he ordered his servants to
load all of the camels with wheat, dates, and tamman; a remarkable deed so gener
ous that astonished the Masaleekh men and aroused their pride to find such an af
fectionate (cousin) in Iraq-the source of sustenance; they believed each word he
said, and, because he was a rich merchant of the food commodities which they we
re badly in need, they accepted him (even though he was a Jew concealed under th
e garb of an Arab from Al Masaleekh clan.)
When the caravan was ready to depart returning to Najd, that Jewish merchant ask
ed them to accept his company, because he intended to go with them to his origin
al homeland, Najd. Upon hearing that from him, they wholeheartedly welcomed him
with a very cheerful attitude.
So that (concealed) Jew reached Najd with the caravan. In Najd, he started to pr
omulgate a lot of propaganda for himself through his companions (his alleged cou
sins), a fact, which gathered around him a considerable number of new supporters
. But, unexpectedly, he confronted a campaign of opposition to his views led by
Sheikh Saleh Salman Abdullah Al Tamimi, who was a Muslim religious preacher in A
l-Qaseem.
The radius of his preaching area included Najd, Yemen, and Hijaz, a fact which c
ompelled the Jew (the Ancestor of the present Saud family) to depart from Al Qas
eem to Al Ihsa, where he changed his name (Mordakhai) to Markan bin Dir iya near
Al-Qateef, where he started to spread among the inhabitants a fabricated story
about the shield of our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) that it was taken as a booty by
an Arab pagan in consequence of the Battle of Uhud between the Arab pagans and t
he Muslims.

That shield, he said, was sold by the Arab pagan to a Jewish clan called Banu Qunai
qa who preserved it as a treasure! He gradually enhanced his position among the B
edouins through such stories, which indicated how the Jewish clans in Arabia wer
e so influential, and deserved high esteem. He gained some personal importance a
mong the Bedouins, and decided to permanently settle there, at Dir iya town, nea
t Al Qateef, which he decided to be his Capital on the Persian Gulf. He aspired to
make it his springboard for establishing a Jewish Kingdom in Arabia.
In order to fulfill his ambitious scheme, he started to approach the desert Arab
 Bedouins for support of his position, and then gradually, he declared himself a
s their king!
At that juncture, Ajaman Tribe, together with Banu Khaled Tribe became fully awa
re of that Jewish cunning plan after they had verified his true identity, and de
cided to put an end to him. They attacked his town and conquered it, but before
arresting him he had escaped by the skin of his teeth.
That Jewish ancestor of the Saudi Family, Mordakhai, sought shelter in a farm at
that time called Al-Malibeed-Ghusaiba near Al-Arid, which is called at our pres
ent time Al-Riyadh.
He requested the owner of that farm to grant him asylum. The farmer was so hospi
table that he immediately gave him sanctuary. But no longer than a month had he
(Mordakhai) stayed there, when he assassinated the landlord and all members of h
is family, pretending that they were killed by an invading band of thieves. Then
he pretended that he had bought that real estate from them before that catastro
phe happened to them! Accordingly, he had the right to reside there as a landlor
d. He then gave a new name to that place: Al-Diriya-the same name as that he had
lost.
That Jewish ancestor (Mordakhai) of the Saudi Family, was able to establish a "G
uest House" called "Madaffa" on the land he usurped from his victims, and gather
ed around him a group of hypocrites who started to spread out false propaganda f
or him that he was a prominent Arab Sheikh. He plotted against Sheikh Saleh Salm
an Abdulla Al Tamimi, his original enemy, and caused his assassination in the mo
sque of the town called Al-Zalafi.
After that, he felt satisfied and safe to make Al-Diriya his permanent home. The
re he practiced polygamy at a wide scale, and indeed, he begot a lot of children
whom he gave pure Arab names.
Ever since his descendants grew up in number and power under the same name of Sa
udi Clan, they have followed his steps in practicing underground activities and
conspiracies against the Arab nation. They illegally seized rural sectors and fa
rmlands and assassinated every person who tried to oppose their evil plans. They
used all kinds of deceit for reaching their goals; they bought the conscience o
f their dissidents; they offered their women and money to influential people in
that area, particularly those who started to write the true biography of that Je
wish family; they bribed the writers of history in order to purify their ignomin
ious history, and to make their lineage related to the most prominent Arab tribe
s such as Rabi a, Anza, and Al Masaleekh.
A conspicuous hypocrite in our era, whose name is Mohammad Amin Al Tamimi- Direc
tor/Manager of the contemporary Libraries of the Saudi Kingdom, made up a geneal
ogical tree (family tree) for this Jewish family (the Saudis), connecting them t
o our Great Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). For his false work, he received a reward of
35 thousand Egyptian pounds from the then Saudi Ambassador to Cairo, Egypt, in
the year 1362 A.H.-1943 A.D. The name of that Ambassador is Ibrahim Al-Fadel.
Four Palestinians claim descent from Jews forced to convert
Four Palestinians from the Hebron Hills contacted a group of rabbis on Tuesday a
nd claimed to be the descendents of Jews who were forced to convert to Islam.
The Palestinians were accompanied by Zvi Mesini, a researcher who wrote a book o
n the subject and assisted them in learning more about Judaism. According to the
Palestinians, their families had removed mezuzahs from their doors in order to
avoid harassment by their neighbors.
One of the Palestinians said he kept a tefillin he received from his father s un
cle and another told the rabbis that his family had once secretly lit candles on
the Sabbath and for Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights.
Mesini told the rabbis, members of a group called the New Sanhedrin, that he bel
ieves hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are descended from Jews.
"Such evidence renders the conflict redundant," Mesini said. "It proves that Jud
ea and Samaria belongs to both the recognized Jews and the unrecognized Jews."
Mesini accused authorities of being indifferent to his findings.
The New Sanhedrin is known as a right-wing organization that claims to be the ri
ghtful successors of the supreme Jewish court of antiquity. Its goal is to creat
e a state based upon Jewish law that will replace the current State of Israel.
Palestinian villages, towns, cities with "Arabs" of Jewish origins (a few Egypti
an, Jordanian & Syrian locations are including with the country they belong, or
other version or Biblical name in brackets. In brackets are other locations in o
ther countries with the same or similar names):
Irbid (Jordan), Ramlah, Yatta (Biblical Yutta), Midya, Batir (Batr, Moldavia), Ti
rah (Tirah, Uttar Pradesh, India), Jenin (Jenins, Switzerland), Akraba, Tabariya
(Tiberias), Khalil, Nasirah, Peki in, khmaineh, Awarta, Funduk, Arba, Kiryat, M
a aleh, Takua (other versions of the name are Teqoa, Tuqu . Southeastern China &
Indonesia), Dura (Biblical Adora yim), Anim, Carmil, Samoa (Biblical Eshtamoa.
celebrated Pacific nation), Anza (Colombia), Sanur (Bali, Indonesia), Kufar (Ukr
aine & Hungary), Khizme, Sheba, Na im, Mas ha, Surif (Suriname & 3 Surigaos in P
hilippines & Surigheddu in Sardinia, Italy), Khalkhul (Similar to Khalkhu, Bihar
, India, Halhuli, Tripura, India & Khalkhal, Ardabil, Iran), Amman (Jordan), Kar
ak (Jordan. Similar to Karaka, next to Auckland, New Zealand & Caracas, Venezuel
a), Khirbat, Daharia (Daharia, Bihar, India, close to the Bnei Menasseh areas.),
Taben (in Germany too), Fakhot, Awad, Sirat, Mufara (Sicilia, Italy), Yakin, Di
rat, Jamalah(same name found in Northeastern South Africa & Kenya), Ein Uja, Awa
(The Aw (or Kwaiker) are an ancient indigenous people that inhabit the regions o
f northern Ecuador (provinces of Carchi and Sucumbios) and southern Colombia (pa
rticularly the departments of Nario and Putumayo. Their entire population is arou
nd 32,555 members.), Bid yah (it has the Yah or Yahweh, the god of Israel), Geri
zim, Sinjil, Rugib, Tsafafa, Dis, Baher, Nabal, Jufna (Biblical Gofna), Sakhnin
(similar to Sakhalin. Would it come from Isaak or Isakhar?), Arabeh, Bir Zeit, L
akef, Abud, Surik, Inan, Bidu, Taibe (or Tybya is Biblical Ofra), Mughar (or Mgh
ar.Southeastern Pakistan. Several Maghar in Pakistan & northern of India), Tarsh
ikha, Snan (Israel, Egipto, Malaysia & several in India), Yasif, Likiya (Russia
& Ukraine), Abu Tur (Does the Skandinavian god Thor come from this toponym? The
God was a hero in reality. Are the Two-Housers right in thinking Skandinavians a
re the 10 Lost Ten Tribes of Israel?), Bu aina, Nujaidat, Wadi Musa (Jordan, Val
ley of Moses in Arabic), Baqah, Arish (Egypt), Khanoon (India, Thailand, Indones
ia, Philippines), Jabelia, Nuseirat, Haifa, Jaffa, Balata, Khan Yunes, Boorej, S
ichem, Rafiah, Rafah, Tribil, Nevo, Khau, Hebron, Negev, Kawizba, Miniya, Khalat
, Maya (Like the Maya people of Guatemala), Zif (Like the bright metal of the B.
O.M.), Sa ir (or Si ir), Khussan, Khares (Maharashtra, India), Gaza, Kfar Manda
(This was one way to call Manasseh. The Mandan Indians are considered to be Isra
elites by Two-Housers & Mormons), Kfar, Be ene, Khurfesh, Gush, Khalaf, Bassah,
Ilabun.
Kashmiri s
hepherds
All members of the Greek Catholic & Orthodox churches who live in the Land of I
srael have Jewish origin.
This scripture "Ezekiel 37:21, 22 & 26" could apply to the Israeli Jews & the Pa
lestinian "Arabs", the latter being in reality the offspring of Jews that never
left beloved Land of Israel, but forced to become Muslims & Arabs.
Ezekiel 37:15-28 (One Nation Under One King)
21 and say to them, This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israeli
tes out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around
and bring them back into their own land. 22 I will make them one nation in the l
and, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and the
y will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.
26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant
. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary
among them forever. 27 My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God,
and they will be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I the Lord make
Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.
Last names:
Makhamara (Mahamara, Chirumhanzu, Midlands, Zimbabwe & Makamaru, Orissa, India),
Amari, Abu Aram (like the ancient language spoken by Israelites), Matur, Makhar
ik, Aziz, Ta amra, Huza yel, Hashwi, Sha abin, Sawarka or Suwarka (Suwarkor, Jha
rkhand, India, Suwarkhodri, Madhya Pradesh, India, Suwarkota, Madhya Pradesh, In
dia, Sawarkhede, Maharastra, India & Sawarkhand, Maharastra, India ), Bdool (Bad
oo, Nagaur, Rajasthan, India), Khatsira (Khatira, Aurangabad, Bihar , India & Kh
atira, Kamrup, Assam, India), K kel, Abulafia ( Abraham ben Samuel Abulafia was
the founder of the school of "Prophetic Kabbalah", was born in Zaragoza, Spain,
in 1240.), Binyamina, Almog (Israeli Kibbutz), Dawood (Daud, David in Arabic), S
sakhyun(Means Zion. There s one Ssakhyun in South Korea. It s also a word in Ur
du) , Zakoot (Dhofar, Oman), Tsadok (Like the ancestor of the Saducees. Sadok is
a Ukrainian dance), Solomon, Fin Nun (originally Bin Nun like Joshua), Michael,
Khazan, Moshe Sharet (Similar like Shared, a B.O.M. personage), Bader, Rezek, S
beitani (litterally People of the Shabbath), Aliyan (similar to aliyah), Shrayn
, Tawil, Diba (Deba, Basque Country, Spain), Shwaiki (Swaik Lake, Chakwal Distri
ct, Punyab, Pakistan), Askharat (Same beginning to the city of Ashkelon & to Ash
kenazi. Ascarat, Basque Country, France), Ya ish, Muslimani, Mituaya or Metukhia
(Metuka is sweet in Hebrew. Metohia, Kosovo s largest region. Metohia, Kyustend
il, Bulgaria.), Shakshir, Akar, Tamimi, Buwarda, Kasem, Sharaba (Sharabha, a cre
ature in Hindu mythology that is part lion and part bird), Tahar, Muselmani (ant
es Mafarge), Atiyah (means "wearing" in Hebrew), Aia, Tavor, Shber, Shati, R al-
Yoon, Ralyun, Jaru, Jaroo, Kharzallah, Harzallah, Duweik, Mukhtasebin, Natche, K
hawaja (Hawaja), Dahan (tribe of Dan), Dana (tribe of Dan), Tirabin or Tarabin,
Rashaidda, Ibri, Toma (Thomas?), Haib, quitar Tachta de pueblos y poner Roosh en
pueblos y aadir Tavor y Daburiya. Apellidos y tribus: Ra oof (Ra uf), Adhami, Ka
nafish, Zaharan (Zarah, son of Judah), Kaysi, Hamsyeh, Khamsyeh, Julani, Tamimim
i, Shitrit, Shatrit, Milkhem, Lakham, Najajara, Mustafa, Aramin (formerly Armon,
similar to Aramean or Armenian), Jaradat, Shlalda, Kawazba (originally Koziba,
related to the Jewish hero Bar Kokhba, formerly Bar-Koziba), Amslam, jabarin. Ta
rabin, Ziadna, Azazama, Lakhza yel, Kamalat, Nassasra, Balal, Ta yahwi (Yahwe),
Ta yaha, Swarka, Akhmad, Zid, Tanira, Mekhaimar, Basala, Shafi, Kharzallah, Za a
rba, Shber, Akar, Jrai, Ayish, Cohen, Kharamsha, Awazat, Majali, Ghrab, Massakha
, Eliyahu (A typial Jewish name), Abidiya, Baki, Shamari, Sliman, Ka abin, Hashu
l, Nasaar, Atallah, Shiri, Khabiba, Sufan, Suwara, Samara (like the Russian city
of Samara & similar to Samaria), Danf, Sa id, Makhzan, Nakhas, Mu ayed, Jafari,
Rumeyekh, Ramikh, Taha, Salamah, Salama, Ba ker, Khamad, Ibrahim, Rabbi, Ahmad,
Zahara, Boolad, Otman, Ansirat, Abed, Masalma, Daharia, Gharz, Khamarma, Sha ab
in.
The relations between Arabs and Israelites prior to the rise of Islam
THE PRE-BIBLICAL PERIOD
The relations between Arabia and Israel may be grouped into three periods. There
is a prehistoric period for which we have no historical statements, but have to
depend on inference obtained by methods which we believe to be scientific. Ther
e is a period for which Jewish historians furnish some materials, beginning with
the Old Testament records, and ending with the able chronicler of the end of th
e Jewish state, Josephus. And there is a period for which we have to rely mainly
on Moslem historians, who record how at one time Judaism held sway in South Ara
bia, and how when Islam commenced, it had to deal with Israelitish communities s
ettled in the cradle of the new system, the Hijaz.
The Arabs and Israel illustrate respectively two different aspects of human tena
city. Of relationship between race and soil Arabia perhaps furnishes a unique ex
ample of persistence. The peninsula has undergone in historic times many changes
; dynasties have succeeded and effaced each other; its old religions have yielde
d at times to Christianity and some other form of monotheism, and were all in th
e seventh century with rare exceptions, surviving to this day, merged in Islam.
But we hear of no immigrations into Arabia, whereby successive settlers have ous
ted or submerged each other, as has been the case in most of the countries of wh
ich we have chronicles, such as India or Persia, Greece, Italy, or England. Inva
ders have rarely succeeded in penetrating the deserts which guard the country, a
nd such success as they have had has been ephemeral. The peninsula has sent out
conquering hordes, perhaps more than once on the scale which followed the rise o
f Islam; its own population, the inhabitants of its oases, have never been swamp
ed or forced back by conquering immigrants. Ethnologically speaking its populati
on has remained the same through the ages (Nevertheless different waves of Israe
lites have gone to Arabia, especially the "Happy Arabia" or Yemen. First as refu
gees from the Assyrian & Babylonian invasions & then, before & always as trading
immigrants)
On the other hand, Israel offers a rare example of persistence of ideas amid loc
al instability. It is part of the merit of the newer study of the Old Testament
that it has brought out the causal connexion between the local instability and t
he fixity of the ideas. Judaism is in the highest degree monotheistic; but monot
heism became dominant in Israel near the time of the first exile; for the scatte
red communities it became a bond such as they had not required before their sepa
ration. Judaism depends on a Bible, a written code or canon; it would seem that
the importance of such a possession first came to be recognized during the Exile
, and perhaps received full recognition only after the termination of the revive
d Jewish state.
It was not apparently Mohammed s design to expel the Jews from the Arabian penin
sula, and indeed there are documents ascribed to him having the appearance of ge
nuineness, wherein he expressly stipulates that so long as they perform their en
gagements there must be no interference with them. His second successor ruled th
at within the peninsula no religion save Islam should be tolerated, and there ha
s never been a renewal of the old Jewish settlements, though there must have bee
n some drifting of Jewish wanderers towards South Arabia, where some are to be f
ound. In the Islamic states, which shortly after the Prophet s death founded cap
itals at a distance from Arabia, Jewish communities often prospered, and even fu
rnished their Moslem masters with statesmen of distinction, especially in Egypt,
Spain, and Mesopotamia. Islam, however, is not identical with Arabia, though it
took its rise there; whence our subject does not include these later developmen
ts but terminates with the ruin of the Arabian settlements.
The peninsula has only on one occasion formed a political unity; the genius of M
ohammed was able to effect this, but disintegration started anew with his death.
 When he arose, it was divided into independent areas and spheres of influence.
As we trace history backwards from that time we find that an analogous condition
predominates. At some period, however, one powerful state or another exercises
hegemony over a large portion of the peninsula, but the physical features are no
t in favour of political unity. For all that there is a curious homogeneity amon
g the inhabitants.
The Arabic orthography in several of some cases stands to the Hebrew in the rela
tion of the Greek or Latin to the English. The working of sound-laws has altered
the Hebrew pronunciation, but the older writing is retained. A difficulty which
together with religious and national prejudices long obscured the inference to
be drawn from this fact was the following. The earliest documents which we posse
ss in classical Arabic are many centuries later than the latest portions of the
Hebrew Bible; whence, when Arabic is classified as a mediaeval language, this ph
rase is not inaccurate, if only the literature be considered. The mediaeval Jewi
sh writers whose attention was struck by the similarity of Arabic to their sacre
d tongue, and who made many valuable observations in consequence, had in their m
inds the assumption that Hebrew must be the older and indeed the original langua
ge of mankind; and in attempting to explain the language of the Old Testament fr
om that of the Caliphate which had become their mother tongue, the Jewish interp
reters had to encounter the prejudice of their devout brethren. But even when th
ere is no such prejudice, it seems a doubtful proceeding to claim for a mediaeva
l language an antiquity superior to one which was spoken and written at any rate
some centuries before the Christian era.
We have an occasional reference to the deity Gad, whose existence crops up in co
nnexion with the eponymus of the tribe Gad in Gen. xxx. 11, and perhaps in the n
ame ( Ezr . 12). Te formul use  te former pssge ' y fvour of G' s sm
r to tt werewt te votve tlets usully termte. , wo  Geess s  pt
rrc, ppers   scrpto s  go.
We te true sese of te mes of gos  goesses s scovere, t s usu
lly fou to me sometg lke mster or mstress. Wy Bl, wc smply me
s 'mster', soul ve ee tue, weres Ao, wc sgfes te sme, so
ul ve ee rete, s r to expl; f te former ws ssocte wt 
le cult, o less certly ws te ltter. Amog erly Crst precers w
e f  Apollos, mog te fters of te curc tere s  Doysus,   g
ret Crst eresrc ws clle fter te Greek go of wr. It s  curous
tougt tt te ptro st of roylst Frce ws  st clle fter te 
ssolute go of we.
Te questo weter te mmgrts rougt wt tem te ve me YAHO, wc
 ultmtely gve ter escets ter mportce  te worl s terestg
; t seems to e settle y tose mes Jos  Jos wt wc we ve ee
elg. Of tese te verl elemet ecme utterly osolete  te Herew lg
uge, ut c e etfe certly wt  fmlr Arc wor o te evec
e of te Ly scrptos. Tt te ve me Yo coul e compoue y
Plest Jews wt  osolete Arc ver s utkle; te compou must
ve ee me  pre-Plest tmes. A ts les to  cocluso wc s
oul ve ee rece o oter grous, vz. tt te me Yo s tself o o
rgl coexo wt te ver 'to e';  ee (s s ee see) te group
wc correspos wt  s ot tt sese  Arc.
Te Herew mes quote must go ck  ter etrety to Ar tmes. But t
s mples te worsp of  ety YAHO or YAH  Ar. A,  to, ts f
ct seprtes te ve me from te Herew ver meg 'to e', wc ws f
terwrs employe to elct ts teologcl sgfcto.
Te ol Ars offere scrfces,  t woul seem y preferece o te seve
t y; tese were to e sou, ut mgt e of eter sex; tey offere ulls,
 ut lso cese, for wc tey  ltrs, s lkewse for frgrt ers; o
e of te teccltes of te Isrelts ltr of scrfce seems to ve ee
stsfctorly llustrte from  Me text. Ter scrfces were t tmes,
perps, ccompe y strge strumets,  some sort of purty legslt
o ws coecte wt tem. Iee tere re severl cofessol tlets  ex
stece wc cte  system of purty legslto correspog  some tec
cltes of ot lguge  prctce very curously wt tt of te Petteu
c. Te Ars  cetres of plgrmge  ult sres;  te sres  r
gts to vrous ues, wc must ve goe to te prests or were cocee to v
rous fmles. Ttes  frst-fruts were offere, sometmes s  ue, somet
mes s  tk-offerg for some specl servce.
We Momme gve te Nort Ars Arm  Ismel for ter fouers 
cestors tere were o rceologcl ojectos so fr s we kow, ecuse t
e people  o storclly tteste ccout to set gst te ew system.
Te process werey te settlemets of te mmgrts were effecte s llustrt
e  te rrtves of Juges  Smuel,  te sme recurs  te leges of
te Ars. If suc eterprses re to e execute wt success, tere must e s
ome orgzto  scple. Some m, ot ufrequetly  m wt  grev
ce, orgzes   wc  lttle success soo swells. Tey o ot mgrte p
zr; scoutg prtes re set to scert ow te l les; 'te scout', s
ys  Arc prover, 'tells o les to s employers', for e s mself to t
ke prt  te expeto.
Gret mportce ttces to te rgumet of Wckler tt te story of Ar
s lere from te scrptos exts  seres of orgze sttes gog 
ck to mmemorl tquty. Te lfe of te om, s e oserves, s ot ter
or to, ut coevl wt tt of te cultvtor. Te professos of ot  te r
eltos of te two re lrgely eterme y wter.
Te tre wc tese sttes pursue  wc forme te source of ter welt
requre routes wc were gure y fortresses or forts. Te welt wc te
y ccumulte le to te cqusto of comforts, to te evoluto of tstes, 
 to te exercse of geuty  grtfyg tem; epgrpy oes ot ofte llu
strte tese mtters, ut suc vessels s te two  te Brts Museum wt fou
r comprtmets for fferet sorts of perfume cte  g str of luxury
.
Te mgrtos of te Ar tres sce te rse of Islm re, s s ee see,
prtlly recore,  eve form te suject of tretses;  te ls wte
r te gret wve of Ar coquest crre tem te tres for  tme reme 
stct, toug truers were ot esly kept out. For te log pero wc rec
eves flses of lgt from te scrptos  few suc mgrtos c e trce
. Te steps werey Se ws trsforme to Etopc re ow trcele tro
ug  seres of scrptos scovere o Ayss sol.
THE BIBLICAL PERIOD
I two cses t s otcele tt te trtos of Geess ssg seorty to
oter rces of te fmly. Ismel, t mts, ws te oler so of Arm,
oly s moter ws gole, wece  youger so, Isc, ws te er. Esu, 
etfe wt Eom, ws te eler so of Isc; oly e ws outwtte y s r
oter, wo secure s rgts.
Te Meese Jews re s to ve tre to wke te ol ssesos etwee t
e tres wc Momme  succeee  utg y rectg some of tese comm
emortve oes, elogg to qute recet tmes. Te ger ws perceve y te
Moslems  te Jews expeet for strrg up ol pssos ws reere or
tve.
I te Ol Testmet we c trce t y rte ftly te process werey te Ar
s cme to e kow to te Isreltes,  ow ultmtely ter me cme to e
ssocte wt te coutry lyg to te sout-est of Pleste, utl  te
tme of Josepus Ar mes  stte wt Petr for cptl sometmes stretc
g ortwrs s fr s Dmscus,  exteg eftely to te sout. I te
ccout of te sources of kg Solomo's welt (1 Kgs x. 15) we ve te e
gmtc sttemet tt  to to s 666 tlets from oter sources e  t
e me of te Trm  te trffc of te mercts  ll te kgs of te 'E
re  te strps of te coutry. Te Crocler (2 Cro. x. 13]) s some 
ffculty wt te sytx of te pssge  susttutes for te 'Ere te wor
'Ar, meg Ar. Hs e s tt te kgs of tt rego rougt Solomo
gol  slver;  te utor of Ps. lxx. 10 s perps terpretg te wo
rs   somewt fferet wy we e speks of te kgs of Se rgg es
kr,  wor use y Ezekel (xxv. 15)  some coexo wt commerce  e
e tt of Ar tres, toug ere too te exct sese s to e guesse. It m
kes gst te terpretto of te Crocler, toug t y o mes rgs l
gt, tt Jerem kows of te 'Ere s stct from te 'Ar or Ar; te
y fgure se y se  te lst of te sttes wose oom t s s usess to
proclm (xxv. 20  24). 2 Mccees mkes Ars  Noms syoymous (x.
10). It s qute cler tt te Propet follows o geogrpcl orer  s ls
t of sttes, so tt we c ler otg out ter locto from ts pssge
. 'Ere (v. 20) s followe y 'Us; ext come te ctes of Plst; te Eom
, etc., te Tyre, etc.; te De, Tm,  Buz,  'tose wo ve te cor
ers of ter r croppe'; te te kgs of 'Ar  'Ere.
We  coutry s spoke of s te West, we cot e sure wt s met uless
we kow te pot of vew of tose wo orglly tus esgte t. Books re
wrtte  Egypt  tese ys, were te coutres volve re y o mes to
te est of Egypt. Hece te 'kgs of te Eveg'  te lguge of te sto
ry of Solomo ee ot ecessrly me to te west of Pleste.
Wt ppers from tese pssges s tt f te Books of Kgs emoy  cotempo
rry crocle, te kgs of te 'Ere serve t ts tme s  vgue esgto
 for Ar potettes; weres 'Ar   sese somewt smlr to tt wer
e lter Jews employe te term cme to Isrelts ke out te sme tme 
s t s frst fou  cueform scrptos;  tt we te Crocles were
compose te two were etfe, toug tey were t frst stct.
Te sttes of te teror of Ar ve rrely  muc to o wt te outse
worl; worl-coquerors ve ee t tmes me expetos to ter coutr
y, sometmes ttee wt epemerl success ut s ofte resultg  complete
flure. Te tme t wc te Isrelts stte tte suffcet mportce
to ve cocers wt oters t ts mmete egours ws tt ref pero
we te tres were ute uer te swy of  sgle morc;  tme kow s
yet oly from Isrelts recors. To ts pero te Ble ssgs te vst o
f te Quee of S to Kg Solomo. We er of Ar quees, f ot t ts t
me, stll out 250 yers lter, we Srgo receve trute from te Quee S
ms  It'mr te Se. A te recetly scovere relm of Ly s s
ow y te fs of Jusse  Svgc to ve   quee mog ts rulers.
Te Blcl quee s evetly  perso of mportce, s te gfts wc se 
rgs re of uque vlue,  suc s pot to Sout Ar.
Te Quee of S, ccorg to te Frst Book of Kgs, comes to Jeruslem to t
est te kg's wsom rter t o  plomtc msso. Her me s ot stte
.
Of te four est kow Sout Ar kgoms, S, M, Hrmut,  Qt
, te frst tree ve ee recogze  te Ol Testmet. I te Crocles
(2 Cro. xxv. 7) te M, or s te Greeks clle tem Mes, fgure mog
 te eemes gst wom Kg Uzz fougt wt success;   te ys of He
zek, ccorg to te sme utorty (1 Cro. v. 41) tey were efete y
te Smeotes wo seze ter settlemets  Sout Pleste. Glser  s f
ollowers tk of tese Mes s relcs of  gret Ar empre wc tey
suppose to ve precee te egemoy of S; wle t s ee suggeste tt
tey mgt e coloes, comprle to tose of te Jews t  lter tme  Ar
. Te scrptos of l-'Ul mke t cler tt te Me kgom, wose cp
tl ws Kr, t oe tme extee fr to Nort Ar.
I Crocles we f te oly efte terferece of te Sout Ars  Is
relts ffrs. It sserts (2 Cro. xx. 16) tt te kgom of Ju ws 
ttcke  te ys of Jeorm y te Ars wo well y te se of Kus,  t
t ter r ws most effectve; for tey klle ll te kg's sos except t
e yougest, Az, wo succeee to te troe. Jeorm ws terey puse f
or vg put to et ll s roters,  somewt rstc expeet for te pr
eveto of wrs of successo, for wc te Ottoms fterwrs ecme reowe
. Te Ars wo well y te se of Kus re evetly tose of Sout Ar,
were te cost pproces tt of Ayss, wece t te B l-Me t s
seprte y  cel oly fftee mles ro, wc, f we my eleve  Et
opc crocle, ws oce spe y  c to prevet te pproc of ostle
vessels. We soul mge tt  r from Sout Ar woul ve ee couct
e from te se, s t s cler tt ccorg to te Crocler te Ars  
ot sty, ut wet off wt ter pluer. Tey re couple wt te Plstes,
proly to cte tt ts to wc occupe te cost me o resst
ce to te vers, ut rter co-operte wt tem  ter ttck o te Jew
s kgom.
Te meto of Sfr (Ge. x. 30), outless to e etfe wt Ply's Spp
rs, te Tfr of some Greek wrters  te Dfr of te Ars  te moer
 mps, s well s tt of Hrmut, sows tt someow oe of te geelogsts
 some sort of cqutce wt te wole pesul. Ply oserves wt jus
tce tt eve  Ar mes cge wt gret rpty.
Te well-kow ccout of te commerce of Tyre wc occupes te twety-sevet
cpter of Ezekel, suggests te moe werey te Isreltes cme to er of t
ese out-of-te-wy persos  plces. Goos were mporte tece y te Tyrs
from wose mrket tey were strute over te rest of Syr. Te Propet, 
ee, oly metos te goos wc Isrel  Ju rougt to te Tyr mrke
t (v. 17). It s turl tt te goos ote  excge soul ve some c
cout of ter org ttce to tem, just s  our tme te retl eler le
rs te mes of vrous plces s te source of te rtcles were e els,
toug e my ve o ccurte oto of ter geogrpy. 'Ar'  ts lst 
s represete s elg  lve stock; ts s stll te stock--tre of te
Beous,  t s oteworty tt ts me oes ot fgure  te tles of G
eess. Te proucts wc Ezekel eclres to ve ee mporte y Tyre from S
, De, Uzl (= S'  Yeme),  oter Ar locltes re suc s r
e kow to ve ee procurle t tose plces.
If te ecclesstcl stor Plostorgus e rgt  s sserto tt te
Ses crcumcse o te egt y,  f tt ws  cet prctce wt
 tem ot tese re ypotesests woul ccout for te seco ervto of
S from Arm  Qetur; sce Ismel ws ccoute for y te tme  A
rm's lfe were te orce ws revele, S woul ve to come lter;
e coul ot e Sr's escet, wece Arm must ve   lter wfe.
As s ee see  te tme of Neem, te Jews eg to regr te Ars, .
e. ter egours o te sout-est, s ter turl eemes,  we te st
ory of Jue s reopee fter log slece  te strrg tmes of te Mcc
e rsg, tere s  Ar kgom, wc plys  mportt prt  te fort
ues of te turulet stte of Sout Pleste. Of ts kgom we possess umer
ous cos  scrptos; tey re, owever,   Armc lect, mxe wt
Arc wors  expressos,  te mes of te kgs re Arc.
THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CENTURIES
Oe Smeo of Tm s metoe s  utorty; e ws  cotemporry of R. Ak
,  lve  Ye. Tm s metoe s  Jews cetre y te poet Sm
mm, wo lve uer te frst tree Clps.
It s prole tt te Ars wt wom te Jews  te erly Crst ceture
s cme  cotct were tose wo  come uer Rom  Prtfterwrs Pers
rule;  some of tese seem to ve come to te sets were Jews lerg w
s perpetute. Tere s  cse were cert 'Ars' ppel to Rs t oe
of tese uverstes for  ecso   mtter coecte wt rel property.
I to to tose Arc wors wc te Jews trto preserves, ut wc
 lke ts Greek re ot qute esy to etfy, t my e oserve tt tese w
orks, clug te Ms, cot ot  few Arsms, te source of wc t
woul e terestg to trce. So fr s tese wors re pre-Islmc t s lkel
y tt tey were lere troug ssocto wt memers of te Nte stte
, wose reltos wt te Jews we ve see.
O te wole, owever, t s surprsg ow rrely te rc lguge of te Ms
  ts copous teccltes of grculture  commerce c e stsfcto
rly llustrte from Arc.
For Jews settlemets  Ar our utortes re te Crst  Moslem w
rters. From ot tese sources we ler tt Jews elemets were to e fou 
 te ort  te sout of te Pesul. For te pero wc tese sttemet
s cover Sout Ar epgrpy s very copous. If we ve o cotuous cro
cles, we ve t lest some te frgmets.
Ts ws te frst settlemet; fterwrs we te Roms expelle te Jews from
Syr, two oter tres, te Nr  Qurz, ece to jo ter retre
 Nort Ar. Tey reme  usture possesso tll te urstg of t
e m of Mr, wc le to  emgrto from Sout Ar  ll rectos.
Te pg tres Aus  Kzrj ece to settle  Ytr,  t te comme
cemet of Islm we f tree Jews tres settle tere wt te two Ar tr
es wo ve ee me.
It s just otcele for te suggesto tt te two tres wc wt  tr
meet us  te ogrpy of te Propet were ot te orgl settlers, ut lte
r colosts wo  rrve wt storc tmes.
Te me Ytr s fou  two Me scrptos, from wc ts muc s c
ler, tt t ws ot  Jews ut  pg settlemet t some tme B.C., toug
of course for ll we kow tere my ve ee Jews tere. Te Moslem trto k
ew of Jews wo te Me  te Propet's tme;  t preserve te 
mes of tree tres reset tere, ec of wom  tur curre te Propet's
ostlty. Dfferet suggestos of ter org rougt tem to coexo wt
 Moses  te Roms. Tese were rmoze y te supposto of two mmgrt
os.
Te memers of te Jews commutes tus settle seem lso to ve  Arc
mes; tose wom te Propet's ogrpy metos, weter s oppoets or e
rets, orrly er suc esgtos. Referece s occsolly me to te
r lect s fferg  some wys from tt use y ter egours. From te
Qur' we seem to ler tt tey possesse copes of te Lw,  Rs wom
tey were spose to overrte,  oserve te St wt cert foo-tus
. Oly eter te tres or te vul memers oserve tt respect for t
e Ol Testmet wc te rce usully splys  mg clre fter te pr
opets  sts wose explots t recors. We te ogrper trouces  w
ole umer of Meese Jews rgug wt te Propet out te trsferece of t
e recto of pryer from Jeruslem to Mecc, or  te ffr of te Bu N
r, wose fte mrke te seco stge  evelopmet of ostlty etwee Ju
sm  Islm, ter ppelltos re eter etcl wt tose  use mog t
e Ars, or, f tey re uusul, ve otg Isrelts out tem.
Tt Jusm ws ot oly kow  Ar, ut t oe tme el swy tere s 
Stte relgo, seems to e gree y Crst  Moslem wrters. Professor H
rtm eve kows te resos wc le te Hmyr kgs to opt Jusm. Te
espotsm t wc tese kgs me coul ot spese wt te support of  st
rog prty  te coutry. Te ol relgo  ts prestoo were ostle. Te
erets of Crstty were utrustworty. Hece te kgs ture to te Jew
s, wo mgt ele tem to moopolze te fce. Tey eve wet so fr s to
emrce Jusm,  orer terey to secure te felty of tese fcl mg
tes.
Te presece of Jews t te Hmyr cptl s ee tteste y te ecclesst
cl stor Plostorgus (out A.D. 425), wo sserts, s s ee see, t
t te Ses,  s tme clle Hmyr, prctse te Armc rte o te
egt y, ut scrfce to te su, moo,  locl etes. A umer of Jews
were mxe up wt tem, wo offere opposto to te msso of oe Teoplu
s wo ws set y te Emperor Costtus (349-361) to covert tem  succeee
  foug tree curces, of wc oe ws t Dfr  oter  Ae. Ac
corg to ts te Hmyr were t ts tme pgs, toug tere were Jews se
ttlers mog tem.
Hmyr (were tey Isreltes mes fter Kumr s oter groups of Isreltes w
ere? Oter spellgs for Kumr woul e Humr or Kumr. HMyR s te sme co
sotcl roots.I teory te Hmyrtes were Ar coverts, plus some Isrelt
es & Jews lrey lvg tere. Perps te gret mout of Isreltes & Jues
me ter kg opt Jusm & lso opt te me for wc Isreltes were 
lso kow), wose me e trsltertes fr more correctly t te oter Greek
wrters s Hmmreo,  orglly ee Jews, vg ee coverte y te Q
uee of S; tey  fterwrs ecome pg g, ut were coverte to Cr
stty  te tme of Astsus (491-518).
For te sttemet tt tere ws  seres of Jews kgs we must te go to Mos
lem wrters. Tey tell us tt  cert kg, Au Kr of Hmyr, esge te
estructo of ot Mecc  Ytr, ut ws eterre y Jews octors, wo
ssure m tt tese plces were este to ply  gret prt  te creer
of te Ar Propet; Te kg, tey sy, ws coverte to Jusm y te effo
rts of tese Rs. Au Kr s to e etfe wt  kg Au Kr As',
wose so, Srl Y'fur, recors   scrpto pulse y Glser ow 
 te yer A.D. 450 e repre te mou of Mr. He ws certly  mootes
t; ut te me wc e uses for te Dety, 'l smy w-r-, Bl of e
ve  ert, seems to cte  mootesm wc  evelope out of pg
sm rter t out of Jusm, sce te pplcto of te me Bl to te Dv
e Beg r couter to Jews setmet. Te Crst scrpto wc comes
lter s for ts utor  Ar, clerly  vrety of te me Arm.
Accorg to most ccouts tere ws oly oe Jews kg, Du Nuws, wose me
fgures  te Greek, Syrc,  Etopc sources   vrety of sguses. A
r utors sy tt o coverso e took te me Josep, weres te Etopc
sources cll m Pes (ts ws  me of oe Levte).
Te story of ts kg s of gret mportce for tt of Ar, s s cou
ct s suppose to ve le to  Ayss vso, followe y  pero of A
yss omto volvg te estlsmet of Crstty  te sout s
te Stte relgo,  leg to  rsg wc rele o Pers support 
so trouce Pers suzerty. Te scrpto o te mou of Mr cofrms
te oft-tol tle to ts extet, tt fter  utr pero Crstty e
cme omt  Sout Ar uer oe Ar, leutet of te kg of Axum.
We Momme set s goverors to ts prt of Ar, wc fell to s g
rsp wtout resstce, t ppers tt tere were ot Jews  Crst co
mmutes estlse tere, ut tt te ulk of te people were stll pg. T
e mes of te qls or cefts re certly Ar; eter Jusm or C
rstty ppers to ve left y trce o te omeclture.
Te coverso of ts kg s to e put togeter wt oter eveces of Ar
 movemets  fvour of mootesm, suc s te ogrpers of Momme report
 suc s cert scrptos revel. Sce Momme mself cme er eg
 covert to Jusm, t mgt well e tt we oce te e ws curret tt
pgsm ws o loger up to te, ts kg tougt te Jews te est forme
o relgous mtters,  ccepte ter tecg. Tt suc  persoge mgt p
ersecute oter sects, especlly we tere ws  poltcl motve for og so,
s ot eyo te ous of prolty. But wtout  ccout of te ffr f
rom Jews or Juze Ars we my well e msle cocerg te rgts  wrog
s tereof.
Iqury to te ffrs of tese Ytrte Jews leves o te wole  vgue m
presso o te m. Te mere oto of Jews tres, comprle to te Ar t
res, s sometg surprsg  t; we  Islmc tmes we meet wt Isrel
tes  Moslem ctes, were te trl orgzto of te Ars ws to some ex
tet mte, s  Bsr, tere s o e of te Jews eg smlrly v
e to tres; f we er of tres t ll, tey re tose wose mes re fm
lr from te Ol Testmet. Te formul 'sos of' Bu mples cestors.
Jusm cot ee e remove from te octres of Momme mself, sce t
e Qur' cossts lrgely of mterl tke from eter te Ol Testmet or t
e Jews Orl Trto.
Te rceologsts profess to kow of  Jews kg of Tm wo rule sortly 
efore te rse of Islm. He  te Herew me Smuel, proouce Smu'l, 
tt of s fter or grfter s gve s 'Ay, evetly etcl wt
te 'Ay repetely fou  te Ol Testmet.
Te Crst poet 'A . Z, wo s te 587, qute properly kows out t
e fte of te 'people of Nu' or No.
A poet of Me  te Propet's tme, Qs . l-Ktm, s tt te Jews 
  temple (mr) wt  ome recg eve g, were re frgrt oou
rs. He cofrms te sttemet of te rceologsts tt te Jews tres Nr
 Qurz were clle te k or 'two prests'.
Smu'l sserts tt e s gue  vst rmy  te rkess of te gt, s
t me for te omos of  kg,  tt e  elt ftfully.
Te poet osts of s preprtos for wr  speks of te mltry prowess o
f te k,  support of Qs,  tre wc sts t ome wle wter s e
g wrme for tem  clls our fgtg sport. Te two ks re suppose to
e two of te Jews tres of Ytr. Tese verses, wc  y cse cot
oscure llusos, re perps more lkely to e geue.
Te so or grso of Smu'l s s to ve emrce Islm; s cestor's v
erses my ve ee tresure  te fmly.
Accorg to te poems Smu'l eterts s guests wt te fles of cmels,
wc s  Jew e woul ot ve ee ettle to o.
If, terefore, we re justfe  regrg Smu'l s  storcl persoge
,   supposg some ss of trut to uerle te story of s felty, t
woul seem lkely tt s grfter 'Ay ws eter  Arze Jew or 
Juze Ar, wo  cqure welt  ult mself  fort, muc s te Yt
rte Jews pper to ve oe. Evetly te lege evsge Smu'l  
s fmly s Ars of te type epcte  te erly poetry, wose terests ly
 we, wome,  versfcto,  wo cqure fme y lvs osptlty 
 reckless courge. Ts s y o mes te type of Isrelte epcte  te Q
ur', wose qultes more erly resemle tose of  trg commuty, people
wo  welcome te Propet  te ope tt e woul trouce orer  que
tess.
Te Jews kgom  Sout Ar left lttle mpresso o te Nort Ar m
,  ts fte  Sout Ar tself ws comprle to tt of  stll lter
Jews stte, wose exstece woul ot e crele  we ot cotemporry ut
orty for ot ts rse  fll. It s storclly recore tt te Kzr 
to ws coverte to Jusm  te tme of Hru l-Rs.
Te org of Islm from Jusm s fr more t  ypotess; for eve f we r
egr Crstty s  colescece of Jusm  Hellesm,  suppose te f
rst to ve fluece te eggs of Islm, te Hellec elemets wc perc
olte were so few s to e eglgle. If we regr Islm s se o te S
sm of Hrr, tt, too, ppers to ve ee  Armc system,  so ot
fr remove from Jusm;  eve te mootesm of Sout Ar, of wc we 
s yet kow so lttle, cot well ve ee ucoecte wt te relgo of te
Isreltes.
Te Hmyr room  te Brts Museum, were  gooly collecto of tese moum
ets s exte, elogg to te tree kgoms of S, M,  Hrmut,
trsports us to  Ar people ot y llterte oms, ut y commut
es gret  te rts of pece o less t of wr.
A House Dve
Te ggest revelto from te recet coflct  Gz ws ot te extet of t
e Hms tuels to Isrel, or te wllgess of Hms to scrfce ter ow
people, ut te eep rft rug troug te Ar worl toy wc coul port
e mjor cges  te rego.
Isrels new allies
Until recently, the Arab world presented itself as a united bloc, particularly w
hen condemning Israel for Palestinian suffering and even for Arab misery in gene
ral.
However, this large bloc is disintegrating with surprising speed. Regional power
s like Turkey, Qatar and Sudan continue to bash Israel, but Saudi Arabia, the Un
ited Arab Emirates and especially Egypt have shown a new cooperative spirit with
Israel.
A recent study by Khaled Abu Toameh for the Gatestone Institute noted many Arabi
c press reports voiced support for Israels military operation against Hamas. Egyp
tian Foreign Minister Sami Shukri squarely blamed Hamas for the mounting Palesti
nian casualties after it rejected Cairos original truce terms. A leading Egyptian
commentator concurred that Hamas was responsible for Palestinian losses.
Others described Hamas rocket attacks on Israel as idiotic while criticising Hamas
leaders in Doha for living in luxury as their people suffered. Another commenta
tor, Azza Sami, wrote in Al-Ahram: Thank you Netanyahu and may God give us more p
eople like you to destroy Hamas.
It is true that the historic rift between Sunni and Shia Islam has often led to c
onflict. But their common hatred of Israel unified the Arabs. Yet today, Israeli
officials are surprised by the realignment with Jerusalem of Arab rulers oppose
d to radical Islamists whether Sunni or Shiite.
Who would have ever thought that Saudi Arabia and Egypt would be our allies in ou
r struggle with Hamas, a senior Israeli official recently told me.
Arab Spring revisited
This realignment can be seen on other fronts. Syria and Iraq are being torn apar
t by rival rebel groups fighting the regimes and one another. The most notorious
is ISIS, which is slaughtering countless Christians as well as fellow Muslims w
ho do not share their repressive ideology.

New countries ou
t of Syria?
In many ways, the major reshuffle underway in the Middle East was triggered by t
he Arab Spring ignited in Tunisia in late 2010. Yet this hopeful Spring quickly tu
rned into an Arab Winter when Egypt voted into power the radical Muslim Brotherhoo
d. Then two years later, an estimated 15 million people (some claim 30 million)
took to the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities to demand the end of Brot
herhood rule. It is considered the largest political protest in human history.
This prompted not only a turn towards more moderate government in Egypt but it a
lso had a ripple effect across the Arab world. Just a few weeks ago, a prominent
Saudi commentator wrote that these Egyptian protestors rejecting radical Islam
spoke not only for Egypt but they represent the entire Arab world.
The rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the atrocities by ISIS in Syria
and Iraq have triggered something which 9/11 and other acts of Islamic terrorism
abroad could never achieve an Arab backlash against radical Islam.
After the mass terror attacks in Manhattan, Madrid and London, most Arabs were s
ilent regarding these violent acts against the decadent West. But the sceptre of t
he Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS and al-Qaida has more and more Muslims today realisi
ng that Islamic extremists cannot offer any hope to the Arab world.
The Financial Times recently observed the Arab world is starting to shake off it
s long state of denial, and religious scholars and ordinary people now ask: What is
wrong with us?
It is a fact that the Arab bloc is one of the most underdeveloped regions in our
world today. Four consecutive UN development reports on the Arab states found t
hey have the highest rates of illiteracy and greatest lack of basic rights and f
reedoms worldwide. For decades, the incredible Arab oil wealth did not go into e
ducation, science, research or development, but instead produced a society of co
nsumerism reliant on Western imports.
The Arab millennials
In addition, todays youth have become a significant force in Arab affairs. In his
book The New Arabs, journalist Juan Cole describes how the millennial generation
is changing the Middle East. These youths have greater access to information tha
n their parents. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are used to recruit new jihadis
ts for ISIS, but they also give Arab Millennials a window into the free world as
never before. They helped ignite the Arab Spring four years ago, and later unse
ated the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo.
Their voice can even be heard in a recent manifesto released by Gazan youths, sa
ying: We have enough of the bearded men on our streets who want to force us what
to think and how to dress.
The last giant falling
Meanwhile, for the first time in Islams 1300 years of dominance in the Middle Eas
t we see large numbers of people turning to Christ. While ISIS is spreading terr
or, Arab pastors report unprecedented growth despite the fierce persecution. A d
ecade before the Arab Spring, Operation World already reported historic church gro
wth in almost all Muslim states, a trend that has only increased.
I remember well in the 1980s global leaders like Loren Cunningham and David Paws
on came to Germany and prophesied the fall of Communism and reuniting of Germany
. Some German pastors ridiculed them, as it was the height of the Cold War. But
in 1989 everything changed; Communism fell and Germany soon reunified.
I also remember another message from those meetings: The last giant which will fa
ll after Communism is the giant of Islam. I personally believe we are seeing toda
y the slow collapse of the stronghold of Islam, which for centuries kept people
from freely choosing their religion. It may not mean the end of Islam altogether
, but the release of multitudes from a demonic bondage that held them far too lo
ng. Communism did not disappear after 1989 but what was removed was its evil, to
talitarian control over people.
A region which for generations seemed impenetrable is becoming a house divided.
Jesus declared: Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, an
d every city or house divided against itself will not stand. (Matthew 12:25)
Communism enslaved Eastern Europe for 70 years, while Islam has gripped the Midd
le East for over 13 centuries. Therefore, change in this region might take longe
r and be more violent.
Yet the signs of Islams decline should not surprise us. For decades, Christians h
ave prayed for revival in the 10/40 window. We need to remind ourselves that we
serve a prayer-answering God.
Therefore, let us continue to pray for Israel while also recognising God loves t
he Arabs and beckons us to pray for them, too. He wants Arabs to be saved!
The origins of the Arab nations go back to Ishmael, son of Abraham and half-brot
her of Isaac. While God clearly sealed His covenant with the descendants of Isaa
c, Abraham also pleaded: Oh that Ishmael might live before you! (Genesis 17:17) An
d God answered:
I will establish My covenant with him [Isaac] for an everlasting covenant, and wi
th his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I ha
ve blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. H
e shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. (Genesis 17:1920
)
The time of blessing for Ishmael seems closer than ever.
Years ago, Rabbi Benny Elon strongly challenged me: Jrgen, please tell the churche
s to send more missionaries into the Islamic world.
I asked him why, as rabbis normally are not very fond of missionaries. He replie
d: If the Arabs believe what you believe, then we will have peace in the Middle E
ast.
May this day come soon!
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Numbers 24:17 I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will com
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RELIGION
The Holocausts Forgotten Victims: The 5 Million Non-Jewish People Killed By The N
azis
01/27/2015 11:37 am ET | Updated Feb 15, 2015
3.8k

Louise Ridley HuffPost UK

Six million Jewish people were murdered during the genocide in Europe in the yea
rs leading up to 1945, and the Jews are rightly remembered as the group that Ado
lf Hitlers Nazi party most savagely persecuted during the Holocaust.
But the Nazis targeted many other groups: for their race, beliefs or what they d
id.
Historians estimate the total number of deaths to be 11 million, with the victim
s encompassing gay people, priests, gypsies, people with mental or physical disa
bilities, communists, trade unionists, Jehovahs Witnesses, anarchists, Poles and
other Slavic peoples, and resistance fighters.
GAY PEOPLE

Pierre Seel was the only French survivor to speak out about being transported fo
r being gay

Homosexual men, and to a lesser extent women, were compelled to renounce their s
exuality under the Nazi regime. An estimated 100,000 were arrested and some sent
to prisons, while between 5,000 and 15,000 were sent to concentration camps, wh
ere some were forced to wear pink triangles on their uniform to denote being gay
. As many as 60% of those send to the camps perished, according to German LGBT s
cholar Rdiger Lautmann.
Pierre Seel, from the Alsace region of France, was just 16 when he was arrested
after a cruel twist of fate. His watch was stolen - in an area notorious for gay
cruising and he reported the theft to police. Without his knowledge, this led t
o his name being added to a list of known homosexuals.
The Germans came to Alsace In 1940, he said in the 2000 documentary, Paragraph 175
by Telling Pictures. And the Germans found the police files. They saw our names
on these lists, lists of homosexuals. They were probably watching us. How we liv
e, where we go, what we do. And one day I had to go to the Gestapo with 12 frien
ds.
Police sodomized Pierre with a piece of wood and sent him a regular jail, before
he was transported to the Schirmeck-Vorbruck camp near Strasborg - called a prot
ective custody camp.
I wasnt even 18, he says in the Paragraph 175 film. Arrested, tortured, beaten, with
no defense, without a trial. Nothing. I was all alone. I dont even mention being
sodomized, being raped.
In another traumatizing experience, he was forced to watch his teenage lover Jo,
who was also in the camp, being executed by being torn apart by Alsatian dogs.
It happened in front of me and 300 prisoners. 300, he said. The death of Jo, my fri
end. He was condemned to die, eaten by dogs. German dogs. German shepherds. And
that, I can never forget.
Gay prisoners in the camp were abused and tormented by guards, and also by other
prisoners. There was a hierarchy, from strongest to weakest, Pierre explained. The
re was no doubt that the weakest in the camps were the homosexuals, all the way
on the bottom.
Pierre was heralded as being the only French person to speak out about being dep
orted due to being gay, but the horror of those years memory still made him furi
ous and tearful years later.
Why did I not speak for 40 years? I am 90 per cent disabled from the war. My ass
still bleeds, even today. The Nazis stuck 25 centimeters of wood up my ass. Do y
ou think I can talk about that? That it is good for me? I am ashamed for humanit
y. Ashamed.

Pierre told his story in his book: I, Pierre Seel, Deported Homosexual

Pierre survived the camp: he was released without explanation in 1941 and forced
to join the German army. He deserted from the army, and finally returned to his
home city of Mulhouse, where he felt forced to censor his memories for fear of fu
rther persecution. He lied to even close family about the reason for his deporta
tion, after his godfather disowned him after learning he was gay.
I became aware that, in spite of my expectations, in spite of all I had imagined,
of the long-awaited joy of returning, the true liberation was for other people,
he wrote in his memoir, Moi, Pierre Seel, Dport Homosexuel [I, Pierre Seel, Deported
Homosexual].
Pierre married a woman and had three children. He never told his wife of 28 year
s that he was gay. After her death, he lived with his partner Eric Feliu for the
last 12 years of his life, finally feeling able to live as himself. He died in
2005, aged 82.
ROMANI GYPSIES

Romani gypsies at a campsite in Slovenia in 1943 (silent film)

Romani gypsies were the second-largest group of people killed on racial grounds
in the Holocaust. They were considered outsiders and racially impure by the Nazis
and up to 1.5 million died in what is also known as the Porajmos (mass killing in
Romani.) Like Jews, Roma people were murdered, sent to camps and gassed or used
for forced labour. But only in the 1970s did the West German Federal Parliament
classify their persecution as being racially motivated, and scholars largely ign
ored their deaths until the 1980s.
Ceija Stojka, a Romani gypsy living in Austria, was just nine when the Germans a
nnexed the country and began arresting gypsies.
Her gypsy traveling family worked as horse-traders, but had already been forced
to abandon their lifestyle when Germany annexed Austria. Our wagon was parked for
the winter the Germans ordered us to stay put. My parents had to convert our wag
on into a wooden house, and we had to learn how to cook with an oven instead of
on an open fire, she said in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum archives
.
[Later], gypsies were forced to register as members of another race. Our campground
was fenced off and placed under police guard.

Ceija Stojka was 10 years old when she was sent to the first of three concentrat
ion camps

Her father was sent to the Dachau concentration camp for being work-shy. His ashes
were returned to her mother months later. Ceija, her mother and her siblings we
re loaded onto a train bound for Auschwitz, where a horrific experience awaited
them.
The dead were stacked up in the corners and against the doors, she said in an inte
rview for the film Forget Us Not.
For endless days, we stood. No food, no water. All the babies and pregnant women
were dying. The door opened and the wall of dead and pregnant women fell out. Pe
ople were trying to catch the rain drops in their mouth and were shot by the SS
for not falling into line.
Ceijas mother had sewed pieces of bread into her clothes to help them survive. Sh
e hid her children under her skirts to ensure they were sent to work barracks ra
ther than the gas chambers. Ceija worked in a quarry, after her mother convinced
guards she was 16 and strong enough, not ten.
Her skin was marked with the number Z6399. They took my name from me and instead
tattooed a number on my arm. I am not going to be ashamed of that, she said years
later.

Ceijas arm was marked with her number for the rest of her life

Ceijas younger brother died of Typhus at Auschwitz. Ceija, her mother and one sis
ter were then sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp in Germany, where sadistic
female guards abused them. Ceija remembered one, called Binz, in particular:
She had a large dog she would have attack and kill. No warning. One day we were h
anging sheets frozen in the cold and an old woman tripped. Binz stomped her head
as she lay on the ground until her brains came out.
Binz planned to torture Ceijas mother by submerging her in icy water, after disco
vering she had lied about Ceijas age. Learning this, Ceija and her mother fled to
a truck headed another German camp, Bergin Belsen becoming separated from Ceijas
remaining siblings in the chaos.
That is when the real misery began, said Ceija of her first night at Bergin Belsen
. The 11-year old slept in a pile of recently-killed corpses. I asked their forgi
veness and buried myself in the bodies to try and stay warm.
She and her mother survived by eating paper and pieces of leather, until one day,
while she was closing the eyes and of the dead out of respect, Ceija heard a lou
d bang. The wall nearby me blew down, she said. There were tanks. A young man stood
there in an unfamiliar uniform. He came to me and said: I am your liberator.
The allied forces had arrived and she and her mother were freed. She was just 12
. Ceijas mother then pushed her 700 miles in a wheelbarrow to Austrias third large
st city, Linz, which was a meeting place for Roma people. Miraculously, her surv
iving four siblings found their way to the city, and the family was reunited.
Ceija was homeless for nine years, selling carpets because her family occupation
of horse-trading was still banned. She later wrote and painted about her experi
ence, becoming a well-known artist and an activist for awareness of Roma killed
in the Holocaust.

Ceijas painting of her mother holding her called Mama Holding Ceija

I reached for the pen because I had to open myself, to scream, she explained at an
exhibition in Viennas Jewish Museum in 2004. Her paintings included harrowing im
ages of the death camps, and a joyful painting showing her mother and surviving
siblings in a celebratory dance, to mark the joy of the liberation. Ceija died i
n 2013, aged 79.
TWINS

Twin Rita Prigmore and mother Theresia Seible describe Nazi research on twins

Josef Mengele, the Nazi doctor at Auschwitz, was fascinated by identical twins a
nd tortured them for horrific experiments, under the precept of furthering his r
esearch into genetics.
His procedures included unnecessary amputations, injecting chemicals into eyes t
o try to change eye color, and intentionally infecting one twin with disease the
n transfusing blood into the other to see if the second twin survived. A patholo
gist who worked with him has recalled Mengele personally killing 14 twins in one
night, with chloroform injections to their hearts.
Eva Mozes Kor and her twin sister Miriam were born in Romania into a family of J
ewish farmers. Her family was pushed into a cattle van bound for Auschwitz in 19
44, when the twins were 10.
When they arrived at the camps train platform, her father and her older sister di
sappeared in the crowd. When German officers learned the girls were twins, they
dragged Eva and Miriam away from their mother. They would never see the rest of
their family again.
We were both crying, and mothers hands were spread in despair, Eva said in an inter
view with Vice. We never got to say goodbye. I had the best mother on the face of
this Earth.
My parents and my older sister died within 30 minutes after arrival at Auschwitz.
I never saw them again. They just disappeared. There is no record of them, she t
old AFP.
The girls had their heads shaven and their arms tattooed. They became lab subjec
ts six days a week. The pair were undressed, large amounts of their blood was ta
ken, and their body parts were rigorously examined. They would spend three hours
on my ear lobe, Eva told Vice. They treated me like I was nothing, like I was a pi
ece of meat.

Eva and Miriam are the twins at the front on the right

After doctors injected Eva with bacteria through five large needles in her right
arm, she became seriously ill. She remembers Mengele smiling over her, remarkin
g that she only had two weeks left to live.
If one twin died in experiments, Eva knew that his habit was to murder the other
so he could cross-examine their bodies. I was thinking, if I die, then Miriam wi
ll be murdered as well, she said of her determination to pull through.
Eva and Miriam were among just 200 sets of twins who survived Auschwitz, out of
almost 1,500 pairs used for experiments. They can be seen at the front of a line
of twins freed in an iconic photo from the liberation of the camp.

Eva speaks about her experience and has revisited Auschwitz

They founded the group CANDLES (Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiment
s Survivors), to unite twins who suffered Mengeles brutality. Miriam died of canc
er in 1993. Eva still speaks about her experience, and says she has forgiven the
Nazis. I realized that the guinea pig had the power to forgive the god of Auschwit
z, she said. No one could give me the power, or take it away from me. I refused to
be a victim, and now I am free.
Eva has returned to Auschwitz, and always dances on the platform where she saw h
er family for the last time. Thats where they took away the joy of my life and my
family, she says. This way, I reclaim it.
PEOPLE WITH MENTAL ILLNESSES

Robert Wagemann describes fleeing from a euthanasia clinic where the Nazis killed
physically and mentally disabled people

Those with mental and physical illnesses were regarded by the Nazis as unworthy o
f life, leading to a clandestine program of mass murder, under the cover of mercy
killings.
Institutions were turned into mass killing centers, with SS officers wearing lab
coats to keep up the appearance of a medical program. Families were told their
relatives had died from illness and given faked death certificates, when in real
ity up to 300,000 people in German and Austria were systematically murdered, usu
ally in gas chambers disguised as showers. Their organs were used for experiment
s.
The T4 euthanasia program pre-dated what is usually referred to as the Holocaust b
y two years, but continued informally during it, and disabled people were later
sent to concentration camps with other groups.

Helene was an aspiring law student and legal secretary

Helene Lebel, nicknamed Helly, was a young legal secretary and law student in Vi
enna. She was raised Catholic, born to a Catholic mother and a Jewish father who
died fighting in World War I. Helene started showing signs of schizophrenia age
d 19, and had a breakdown after losing her dog, Lydi. She was diagnosed with sch
izophrenia and was sent to the Steinhof Psychiatric Hospital in Vienna.
Germany annexed Austria two years later. Helenes condition had improved at the ho
spital and her parents believed she was well enough to come home. But she was no
t allowed to return. Her parents were first told she would be released, and then
that she had been transferred to another hospital.
In fact, Helene was transported to a former prison in Brandenburg, Germany. She
was undressed, physically examined and then led into a shower room where she was m
urdered with deadly gas. Despite this, the aspiring law student was officially l
isted as dying in her room of acute schizophrenic excitement.
Helene was just one of 9,772 people gassed in 1940 at the Brandenburg euthanasia c
enter, which was one of six in Germany and Austria.
X
Paul Eggert, who was categorized as feeble-minded, Helga Gross who attended a scho
ol for the deaf, and schizophrenic Dorothea Buck talk about being forcibly steri
lized

PRIESTS
Many members of the Christian clergy were either threatened with deportation and
kept in custody, or sent to camps. The Catholic Church was particularly suppres
sed in Poland, where nearly a fifth of all priests - around 3,000 - were killed
between 1939 and 1945, most in concentration camps.

Polish priest Maximilian Kolbe in 1939, two years before he was sent to Auschwit
z

Maximilian Kolbe was born 1894 and grew up in the Polish town of Pabianice. His
father was German and his mother Polish. Maximilians life was shaped by a vision
he believed he experienced of the Virgin Mary as a child. He became a Catholic F
ranciscan priest in his 20s, and founded monasteries in Poland, Japan and India,
traveling the world to spread his beliefs.
When the German army invaded Poland, Maximilian organized a hospital at his Poli
sh monastery. It hid up to 3,000 Polish refuges, many of them Jews, during a dan
gerous period, and continued to run a religious publishing house and radio stati
on.
As news about the mass murders of the Holocaust spread, he wrote a message of ho
pe in his newspaper at the time: No one in the world can change Truth. What we ca
n do and and should do is to seek truth and to serve it when we have found it.
The real conflict is the inner conflict. Beyond armies of occupation and the heca
tombs of extermination camps, there are two irreconcilable enemies in the depth
of every soul: good and evil, sin and love. And what use are the victories on th
e battlefield if we are ourselves are defeated in our innermost personal selves?
A month later, Maximilians monastery was shut down and he was arrested and transf
erred to Auschwitz. He was subjected to savage beatings in the camp, but continu
ed to act as a priest, offering guidance and comfort to prisoners of all faiths.
Some priests in the camp were assigned to a cruel guard nicknamed Bloody Krott, wh
o forced them to cut and carry huge tree trunks. Krott is said to have developed
a hatred of Maximilian and gave him heavier loads than the others. Priests who
were imprisoned with him report that when they offered to help, he refused and s
aid Mary gives me strength. All will be well.
He wrote to his mother form the camp: Do not worry about me or my health, for the
good Lord is everywhere and holds every one of us in his great love.
One day in 1941, three prisoners vanished from Auschwitz. The enraged guards dec
ided to starve 10 men to death in an underground cell to deter further escapees.
One of the chosen men, Franciszek Gajowniczek, cried out when he was selected, p
leading that he had a wife and children, so Maximilian stepped forward and volun
teered to take his place. In the cell with the doomed men, he continued to pray
and minister.

Kolbe, who was made a Christian saint in 1982, is pictured on a church window

Bruno Borgowiec, an assistant in the underground bunkers, is reported by Catholi

c writer Mary Craig to have said that: In the cell of the poor wretches there wer
e daily loud prayers, the rosary and singing, in which prisoners from neighborin
g cells also joined... I had the impression I was in a church. Friar Kolbe was l
eading and the prisoners responded in unison. They were often so deep in prayer
that they did not even hear that inspecting SS men had descended to the Bunker.
As the men died one by one, Maximilian was the last left alive, and remained kne
eling or standing according to eye-witnesses. Two weeks passed, and the guards d
ecided to execute him by lethal injection.
Borgowiec reported that Maximilian held up his arm for the injection, willingly.
Kolbe, with a prayer on his lips, himself gave his arm to the executioner. Unabl
e to watch this, I left under the pretext of work to be done.
Maximilian was later made a saint, and his statue is carved over the door of Lon
dons Westminster Abbey. His canonization created some controversy; the pamphlets
published by his monastery in Poland were said to have contained anti-Semitic ar
ticles, but reports of his benevolence towards Jews and fellow prisoners have re
mained unquestioned.
Also on HuffPost:
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Nobody Stealing Your Jobs, You Spend Too Much On Wars, Chinese Billionaire Tells U
S
By Editorial_Staff- Jan 26, 2017

Jack Ma.
AFRICANGLOBE Chinese billionaire and Alibaba founder Jack Ma believes that impro
per distribution of funds and hyper inflated US military spending, not globaliza
tion or other countries stealing US jobs, is behind the economic decline in Americ
a.
The Chinese business magnate earlier in January met with US President-elect Dona
ld Trump, who has bemoaned the loss of American industry and jobs due to the out
sourcing of labor to countries like Mexico and China. Ma, however, has a differe
nt view of what is behind the US economic decline.
Over the past thirty years, the Americans had thirteen wars spending 40.2 trillio
n dollars, said Ma, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos. What if they sp
ent a part of that money on building up the infrastructure, helping the white-co
llar and the blue-collar workers? No matter how strategically good it is, youre s
upposed to spend money on your own people.
And the other money which Im curious about is that when I was young, all I heard a
bout America was Ford and Boeing and those big manufacturing companies. The last
10-20 years, all I heard about is Silicon Valley and Wall Street, he continued.
And what happened? The year 2008: the financial crisis wiped out 19.2 trillion do
llars in the USA alone and destroyed 34 million jobs globally. So what if the sp
ent on Wall Street and the Middle East was spent onthe Mid-West of the United Sta
tes, developing the industry there? That could change a lot.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute , the United S
tates spent $596 billion, or 3.3 percent of its GDP, on military expenditure in
2015, which is higher than any other country in the world. In Mas opinion, this i
s partly responsible for the loss of jobs in Americas Rust Belt.
So its not that other countries steal jobs from you guys, it is your strategy! You
do not distribute the money in a proper way, he summarized.
Ma also expressed the view that overall globalization was a positive thing as it
had brought many benefits to both China and the world. However, it should be im
proved by making more room for small businesses rather than the current system r
un by the World Trade Organization (WTO), which was developed to protect corpora
te interests.
The WTO was great but it was mainly designed for developed countries and big comp
anies. Theres no opportunity for small business. We want to build up an EWTP an E
lectronic World Trade Platform to support young people, small business.
And the other thing is that the WTO is a very interesting organization. When you
put 200 government officials in one room, ask them to agree on something its impo
ssible! I can never imagine that they agree on something together. Business shou
ld be designed by business people, so we believe the EWTP should have businessme
n sitting down together, agree on something, negotiate on something, then get en
dorsement from the government.
Ma founded Alibaba, one of the worlds largest online retailers and e-commerce pla
tforms, back in 1999. According to Forbes, Ma has a net worth of approximately 2
7.7 billion dollars, making him the second-richest man in China.
Why Israel has the most technologically advanced military onEarth
By Yaakov Katz
January 29, 2017 | 12:37pm
Modal Trigger
Israel is one of the world's top weapons exporters with $6.5 billion in annual a
rms sales.
IDF
In 1950, just two years after the state of Israel was founded, the countrys first
commercial delegation set off for South America.
Israel desperately needed trading partners. Unlike its Arab adversaries, Israel
did not have natural resources to fund its economy. There was no oil or minerals
. Nothing.
The delegation held a couple of meetings but was mostly met with laughs. The Isr
aelis were trying to sell oranges, kerosene stove tops and fake teeth. For count
ries like Argentina, which grew its own oranges and was connected to the electri
cal grid, the products were pretty useless.
Its hard to imagine this is what Israeli exports looked like a mere 67 years ago.
Today, Israel is a high-tech superpower and one of the worlds top weapons export
ers with approximately $6.5 billion in annual arms sales.
Since 1985, for example, Israel is the worlds largest exporter of drones, respons
ible for about 60 percent of the global market, trailed by the US, whose market
share is under 25 percent. Its customers are everywhere Russia, South Korea, Aus
tralia, France, Germany and Brazil.
In 2010, for example, ve NATO countries were ying Israeli drones in Afghanistan. H
ow did this happen? How did Israel, a country not yet even 70 years old, become
a superpower with one of the most technologically advanced militaries in the wor
ld that is changing the way modern wars are fought?
The answer, I believe, is a combination of a number of national characteristics
unique to Israel.
First, despite Israels small size, about 4.5 percent of its GDP is spent on resea
rch and development, almost twice the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development average. Of that amount, about 30 percent goes to products of a mili
tary nature. By comparison, only 2 percent of German R&D and 17 percent of the U
S R&D is for the military.
Another major contribution is the culture of innovation and creativity in Israel
. Israelis are more willing to take risks than other nations. They get this from
their compulsory military service during which they are tasked, at a young age,
to carry out missions often with deadly consequences.
While Israeli 19-year-olds embark on operations behind enemy lines, their Wester
n counterparts can be found in the safety of their college dormitories.
Lastly, Israel has been in a perpetual state of conflict since its inception, fi
ghting a war almost every decade. This reality, of having your back up against t
he wall, sharpens the mind. It forces Israelis to be creative and come up with i
nnovative ways and weapons to survive.
This is the Israel story
Robotic border patrols
The Guardium is a part of a new category of robotic weapons known as Unmanned Gr
ound Vehicles or UGVs. Israel is the first country in the world using these robo
ts to replace soldiers on missions like border patrols.
Already, Guardium UGVs are deployed along Israels border with Syria in the north
and the Gaza Strip in the south.
The Guardium is based on a Tomcar dune-buggy-like vehicle and equipped with a ra
nge of sensors, cameras and weapons. It can be driven by a soldier sitting in a
command center miles away or receive a pre-designated route for its patrol, maki
ng it completely autonomous.
An IDF unmanned ground vehicle, called a Guardium, patrols the border with the G
aza Strip.
IDF
The increasing use of robots by the Israel Defense Forces is part of a larger st
rategy to minimize risk to soldiers when possible. In addition, soldiers require
breaks, food and water. All a Guardium needs is a full tank of gas. Other UGVs
in use by the IDF include the Segev, which is based on a Ford F-350 pickup truck
.
Facing terrorists who use tunnels to infiltrate into Israel from places like the
Gaza Strip, Israel is also relying on UGVs like robotic snakes to slither their
way into underground passageways and enemy headquarters. The robots will then m
ap out the structures, giving soldiers an accurate picture of a battle area befo
re the place is stormed.
The same is happening at sea. Israeli defense contractor Rafael has developed an
unmanned patrol ship called Protector which is being used by Israel to protect
its strategic ports and patrol the countrys long Mediterranean coastline.
The Arrow anti-missile program
In 2000, the Israeli air force received its rst operational Arrow missile battery
, making Israel the rst country in the world with an operational system that coul
d shoot down incoming enemy missiles.
The idea to create the Arrow was born in the mid-1980s after President Ronald Re
agan floated his Star Wars plan and asked Americas allies to partner in developin
g systems that could protect the country from Soviet nuclear missiles.
The Arrow was a revolutionary idea. Due to Israels small size and lack of territo
ry, all ballistic missiles deployed in the region Syria, Iraq and Iran can reach
anywhere within the country and pose a strategic and possibly even existential
threat. Israel, the developers argued, needed a system that could shoot down ene
my missiles over neighboring countries and provide overall protection for the ti
ny Jewish state.
Arrow missile battery
IDF
The program had its ups and downs but got a huge boost in funding after the Firs
t Gulf War in 1991, when Saddam Hussein red 39 Scuds into Israel, paralyzing the
country and forcing millions of Israelis into bomb shelters with their gas masks
.
The Arrow was just the beginning. Today, Israel has the Arrow, which is partiall
y funded by the United States, to intercept long-range ballistic missiles, Davids
Sling to intercept medium-range rockets and cruise missiles as well as the comb
at-proven Iron Dome, which has intercepted hundreds of Katyusha rockets fired fr
om the Gaza Strip in recent years.
Israel is the only country in the world that has used missile defense systems in
times of war. These systems do more than just save lives. They also give the co
untrys leadership diplomatic maneuverability, the opportunity to think and strategi
ze before retaliating against rocket attacks.
While other countries have also invested in missile defense, none has created a
multi-tier architecture like Israel.
Mini spy satellites
In 1988, Israel launched its first spy satellite into space, gaining membership
in the exclusive club of just eight nations with independent satellite-launching
capabilities.
From the beginning, there were those who doubted Israel was capable of developin
g, building and launching its own satellite, but in the nearly 30 years since th
at day, it has grown into a satellite superpower, now operating eight different
spy satellites in space.
This is a critical capability considering the threats Israel faces from countrie
s like Iran, which it still suspects is planning one day to build a nuclear weap
on.
Israel has shied away from building big satellites and instead designs what are
known as mini satellites, which weigh about 300 kilograms (661 pounds) in comparis
on to Americas 25-ton satellites.
Israels spy satellites are split into two categories.
A model of Israel s Tecsar satellite, which uses radar instead of a camera to creat
e high-quality images
IAI
Most of Israels satellites come with advanced high-resolution cameras like the Of
ek-9, launched in 2010, which can discern objects as small as 50 centimeters (20
inches) from hundreds of miles away.
Israels other category of satellites are known as the TecSar. These satellites us
e a synthetic aperture sensor, basically a radar system that can create high-res
olution images at almost the same quality as a regular camera.
The advantage this technology provides Israel is tremendous. A camera cannot see
through clouds or fog, but radars can work in all weather conditions and can ev
en see through camou age nets. What this means is that Israel has the ability to t
rack its enemies and gather intelligence on them at all times of the day and thr
ough rain, fog or clouds.
Israels success in developing state-of-the-art satellites has caught the worlds at
tention. In 2005, the French entered a strategic partnership with an Israeli com
pany to develop a satellite, and in 2012, Italy ordered a reconnaissance satelli
te, paying $182 million. Singapore and India have also reportedly purchased Isra
eli satellites over the years.
Drones
It is referred to in Israel as the drone that can reach Iran. The Heron TP is Isra
els largest unmanned aerial vehicle with an 85-foot wingspan, the same as a Boein
g 737 airliner. It can stay airborne for 24 hours and carry a 1-ton payload.
While Israel doesnt openly admit it, the Heron TP is believed to also be capable
of launching air-to-surface missiles.
Israel was the first country in the world to operate drones in combat operations
. Its first use of drones was in 1969, when the Israel Defense Forces flew toy a
irplanes with cameras glued to their bellies along the Suez Canal to spy on Egyp
t. In 1982, it flew its first combat drone, called Scout, in Lebanon, where they
played a key role in locating and neutralizing Syrian anti-aircraft missile sys
tems.
A Heron TP drone takes off in Israel.
IAI
That operation caught the worlds attention, and in 1986, Israel supplied the US N
avy with its first drone, known as the Pioneer. A few years later, one Pioneer m
ade history when it ew over a group of Iraqi soldiers during the First Gulf War.
The soldiers saw the aircraft, took off their white undershirts and waved them i
n the air. It was the first time in history that a military unit had surrendered
to a robot.
Israels drones have revolutionized the modern battlefield. They cost a fraction o
f a manned fighter jet some as little as a few million dollars and participate t
oday in every single operation conducted by the IDF.
Drones give soldiers the ability to make calculated decisions before invading te
rritory or storming enemy compounds.
Before Israel bombs a building in the Gaza Strip, for example, it always has a d
rone in the air to ensure that civilians are not inside. They also reportedly fl
y almost daily over Lebanon, tracking fighters for Hezbollah, which is believed
to have about 130,000 missiles capable of striking Israel.
The top-secret tank
To this day, the Merkava tank is one of Israels most top-secret projects. It is s
aid to be one of the most lethal and protected tanks in the world, and its const
ruction started out of pure necessity the United Kingdom and other countries ref
used to sell Israel tanks. So in the 1970s, it started to build its own.
The newest model known as the Merkava Mk-4 is the most impressive. It can reach
speeds of 40 mph and comes with a new modular armor kit, meaning that the tank c
an be tted with the armor it needs based on the speci c mission it is heading into.
A Merkava tank during a drill with IDF soldiers in northern Israel
IDF
An area, for example, known to be full of anti-tank missile squads requires heav
y armor, while an operation without the threat of anti-tank missiles means less.
This also allows tank crews to replace damaged pieces of armor on the battle eld
without having to bring the full tank back to a repair shop inside Israel.
In 2012, the Merkava underwent its biggest change yet when a new system called T
rophy was installed on the tank. Trophy is an active-protection system, basicall
y a personal missile defense system for an individual tank.
Trophy uses a miniature radar to detect incoming anti-tank missiles and then res
a cloud of countermeasures basically metal pellets to intercept them. The radar
also interfaces with the tanks battle management system. This means that once a m
issile launch is detected, the coordinates of the enemy squad that red the missil
e are immediately obtained, allowing the tank to retaliate quickly and accuratel
y.
Yaakov Katz is the co-author of The Weapon Wizards: How Israel Became a High-Tech
Military Superpower and editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post.
THE TRUMPET FAN FARE The Sound and Fury Signifying Nothing
Well it is done. The man who, though just one day in office, is already the wors
president in U.S. history has been inaugurated. And really, the majority of the
country knows it; the crowds have fairly fled the inaugural festivities and swea
ring-in. The Day of Infamy was November 9th, when most of us awoke to the imposs
ible nightmare of a Trumpian electoral victory. Make no mistake, the USA is not d
emocracy because in a democracy the majority vote determines the electoral victo
r. The founding fathers, in their political wisdom, inserted a buffer between the pot
ential unruly majority of citizens and government and called it the electoral co
llege. And it was the electoral college that put Trump in office, not the majorit
y of voters: Hilary Clinton amassed 2.8 million more votes than Trump. The trues
t characterization of the USA is that it is a republic, defined by the 18th centu
ry French philosopher Montesquieu as follows:
In his work, "The Spirit of the Laws", Montesquieu classified both democracies,
where all the people have a share in rule, and aristocracies, where only some of
the people rule, as republican forms of government
Thus in a republic, a minority of voters can legally elect their rulers. This def
ines the current American system to the life. Twice in the last 16 years, the win
ner of the popular vote a Democrat in both instances lost the presidential electio
n to the loser of the popular vote who, nonetheless, won the electoral college. A
mericas vaunted democracy is a fiction; it effectively does not exist. And never h
as. So we are left with a man totally and absolutely unsuited to the office who n
ow inhabits the Oval Office. This will not end well. It never does.
Charles S. Finch III, M.D.
---------
----------Pope Francis on Trump: 'People voted for Hitler and then he destroyed
his people'
The pontiff said charismatic leaders such as Trump abuse our judgement in crises
.

Donald Trump vs Pope Francis: Who said what? IBTimes UK

As President Donald Trump was being sworn into office, Pope Francis warned about
the rise of populist leaders such as Adolf Hitler. The pontiff made the comment
s to Spanish newspaper El Pais, warning that Trump-like leaders abuse our judgem
ent in times of crisis.
"When I started to hear about populism in Europe I didn't know what to make of i
t, I got lost, until I realised that it had different meanings," said the Pope.
"Crises provoke fear, alarm.
"In my opinion, the most obvious example of European populism is Germany in 1933
. After [Paul von] Hindenburg, after the crisis of 1930, Germany is broken, it n
eeds to get up, to find its identity, a leader, someone capable of restoring its
character, and there is a young man named Adolf Hitler who says: 'I can, I can'
.
"And all Germans vote for Hitler. Hitler didn't steal the power, his people vote
d for him, and then he destroyed his people. "That is the risk. In times of cris
is, we lack judgment."
The Pope added it was natural for people to want to regain their identity when i
t is challenged calling for closed borders as a result but said it was as import
ant as ever to maintain open dialogue with one's neighbours.
Earlier last year, the Pope questioned Trump's Christianity due to his stance on
borders and immigration.
Despite the strongly worded warning, the Pope insisted the world must "wait and
see" before judging Trump and see how he performs in his role.
He said: "I don't like to get ahead of myself nor judge people prematurely.
"We will see how he [Trump] acts, what he does, and then I will have an opinion.
But being afraid or rejoicing beforehand because of something that might happen
is, in my view, quite unwise.
"It would be like prophets predicting calamities or windfalls that will not be e
ither."
The Pope also warned that he felt people were more "anesthetised" than ever, des
cribing people's apathy to reality as "the most dangerous illness".
------------
-
Sab't is born out NN the star exploded and blew outward its gaseous mass, which
cooled to become our galaxy and solar systemour sunbirthed the planets in our solar
system. the is first hot mass cooling in extremely cold space producing.moisture.o
ur oceans.
The sun are trying to penetrate the deep dense fog and the fiery mass at the cent
er of the earth causes volcano to erupt.
sabtember
september 7
Set
Su't
NN nun, none
Dark energy and dark matter
Nu't
su't
South

Egyptians in America
Egyptians in America
 Ancient Artifacts, found in Burrows Cave Illinois
Ancient Egyptian, Discoveries in America
Ancient Egyptians, Grand Canyon
Sitemap

Ancient Artifacts, found in Burrows Cave Illinois

Every new discovery has its dangers. In theversion of our story. In 1982,Russell B
urrows re-discovered a cave along a branch of the Little Wabash River near his h
ome town of Olney, Illinois. However he only looted the Tomb Cave in Illinois.Some
ofhis publishedinformation for identificationshis Artifacts has been proved to be
correct. Butany identifications by other Peoplefor his Artifactsmay alsobe incorrect
.
Russell Burrows entering the Cave that he discovered.

This Artifact was removed from Burrows Cave in Illinois by Russell Burrows.
This is the best preservedartifact for the exactface structue of Joseph who had be
en named King Zoroaster by King
King Zoroaster ofShemau (now Egypt)wrote he found another place for Egyptians to live b
use Egypt had become over populatedby the timehe was 36 years old. This date would
be around 1744 BC.
Three broke peices of this same face structureand Crown stylewere found in the Ruins
at Aravis (nowEgypt), where he ruledShemau for 48 years.
The Mormons have records for him including some of his writings. Information for
his 12 Trips to a foreign Landwas in a Gold Book thatwas part of the Dead Sea Scro
lls discovery werenew records for him.
The Artifact was identified as a Artifact for King Zaphnath of Egypt who was Jos
eph in the Bible.
Moses was raised by Pharaoh named, Tuthmosis III who was of Syrian descent that s
poke the middle dialect of theLenlanguage of Syria and that was the language that Mose
s that spoke also.
Moses wrote in the Lenlanguage that he spoke.(The Pharaoh named Joseph, to Zaphenat-Pa
aneah,)
The direction of the Boat on King Zoroaster Crown is coming to the HioRiver of Ophir
in Atlantis.
The first name for North America wasAtlantis. Ophir, was part of Atlantis.
Aztl'anbecame all of North America is now the United States of America and Canada
.
King Zoroaster ruled Egypt from the Temple of Amon at Aravis, Shemau andrecorded 12 t
rips to Ophir that became his second Land of Egypt.
SomeHistorians and someArchaeologist are aware of this information. Butsome Historian
and Archaeologist are unaware of this information.
The Son of the Right Hand symbol is on the bottom right side of the Artifact.
Then the Box above the symbol is theSemitic symbol isis the Semitic Symbol forthe A
rk of the Covenents.
This is a strong indication that King Zaphnath or (Joseph) who Ruled Egyptfor 48
years Ruled Egyptaccordingto the Ten Comandments in the Bible.
The Son of the Right Hand symbol on the right bottom corner of the Artifactis a S
emitic symbol. This Semitic symbol has been found on other Artifacts in the Midd
le East Countries.
This symbol meant the first son of a Mother instead of the Father. When a Father
had two Wives hemayhadhave two sons of the right hand.
The Three Diamonds are Egyptian symbols for the greatest wealth. There are three
Diamonds on his Artifact.This is a strong indication that he was the King at thre
e locations. We think the third location was the Grand Canyon.
Then on the top is (m) the (m) is for mywhich was asymbol for hisEgypt. And then th
e umbrella shape means the Umbrella Empire of both Lands of Egypt that wasestabli
shed by King Zaphnath from Egypt.
 King Zaphnath wrote that he foundanother place for Egyptians to Farm and Mine when
he was 36 years old. This researched date would be 17,44 BC.
This Artifact was also Identified by another Research Group as being a Artifact
for Julius Caesar.

This Gold Artifact recovered from Burrows Cave in Illinois has been identified as
a Tripod that was used to measure the degrees of the Stars with. These degrees
and measurements are on the top of the Artifact.
There are numerous other simular World Wide Artifacts for Tripods that have been
used for this same purpose
This is not the only Tripod Artifact that has been discovered here in the United S
tates. Some Tripod Artifacts have been found in Canada also.
These Tripods were first used for Ancient Sun Dial Calendars. Later these Tripods
were used to make Ancient Maps.
These Ancient Maps evenincluded measurements and had the North, South, East, and We
st locations and the Star Degrees on the Maps.
Beside each sidethe center Post of the Tripod are Six ( IIIIII's ) which are the 1
2 recorded trips toOphir or the "second Land of Egypt"that he found using a Star T
ripod thatwas well recorded by King Zaphnath of Egypt.
Then above the lines is a (Y) that has a large Stone Jar in it. This was the Egyp
tian Hierogliphic symbol for Grain Seed to be saved for the next year.
Then above Y and jar is a Sheep. Sheep were needed hereto make Wool Clothes.
And on the right side of the Center Post of the Tripod at the bottom is a Cow, th
en a Mountian Goat and a Bighorn Sheep at the top.
Then above the Animals are ( + + ) which meansmany Animals.
It is well known by Archaelogist that these Animals came to North America from wher
e they originated which is the Middle East Countries.
Because there are no prehistoric bones for these Animalshave ever been
found in North America by any Archaeologist that date to be over 4,000 years old
.

This Gold Coin was recovered from the Egyptian Tunnel City in Southern Illinois. T
he ( ^ ) or Pyramid was the Hieroglyphic Symbol for Egypt.
The ( ^II ) Symbol which means the Second Empire or both locationsof Egypt.
On theother side of the Coin is the Hieroglyphic symbol of KingZaphnath holding the
Staff of the Lord.
The Archaeological meaning of all of this Information is that King Zaphnath was t
he Ruler of Egypt in the twoseperate locations of Egypt..
The directions of the Boat Symbols are important also. The direction of this Boat
Symbol is for going back to Egypt.

This Artifact that was removed from Burrows Cave in Illinois isfor King ^ VID 4r (CIu
)which was easy for the Archaeologist to identifie.
The ( CIu ) indicates that King ^VID 4 only Ruled Aztlan of Ophir which was the sec
ond Land of Egyptfor some one else in their absence, because the (^II) symbol for
the both Lands of Egypt is not on his Artifact. There is not a boat anywhere on
his Artifact either.
At the bottom left bottom of the Artifact is the Semitic Son of the Right Hand sy
mbol. The Semitic son of the Right Handsymbolmeant the Birthrights and Wealth of a
Motherto herfirst born Son had passed to him.
Then the Rectangle Box to the right was the symbol for the Ark of the Covanents
which means that he Ruledaccording to the Ten Comandments.
This information was wrote in the original first Armenian Semitic Language of Arm
en that wasalmost identicalto the present English Language.
King VID 4's face structure is simular to King Zaphnath's face structure.

 This Artifact that was found in Burrows Cave by the Smithsonian Archaeologist wa
s identified as a Artifact for Imhotep IV.
The Semitic Family of Imhotepwas first recorded in 2650 BC. in Shemau before Shema
u was renamed to Egypt. ( A L ) was their Family symbol for a (King of the Land.)
The Pyramid onthe front of his Crown is the Symbol of the Imhotep Family that had P
yramids on the front of their Crowns in Egypt also.
On the right bottom is a small (x) and the small Semitic (Son of the Right Hand )
symbol isturned sideways on his Artifact.
On the Top of his Artifact is the (^II) symbol that means that he Ruled both loca
tions of Egypt.
The the ( 4 + A L ) means that he was Imhotep the fourthImhotep King of both Lands
of Egypt.

This Stone Artifact for aImhotep was recovered from Burrows Cave in Illinois.
Imhotep was a wealthy high ranking Egyptian, but he was not a King.
The (^II) is not on his Artifact.
A Pyramid on his Head Wear isSimular to the Pyramid Head Wearof the Imhotep Family
that built18 Pyramids in Egypt.
His face strucure is also simular to Artifacts for the Imhotep Family in Egypt a
lso.

This Gold Artifact that was recovered from Burrows Cave was identified as a Artif
act for King Soloman who Ruled Judia from970 BCto 931BC.
There is a lot of recorded information about King Solomon. However very little o
f this recordedinformation is in the Bible. There is no doubt about the identifca
tion of this Artifact.
Burrows Cave is the lost Tomb of King Solomon that was not ever found until the d
iscovery of Burrows Cave.
He was the highest Ranked King in all locations of the his Empire which at that t
ime, that included Judia, Egypt, and Ophirwhich is well recorded information.
All of the symbols on this Gold Artifact are the well recorded symbols for King
Solomon.
The (^II) symbol for a Kingwho Ruledboth locations of Egypt is on the left bottom
of his Gold Artifact.
The (M) which meant (m+y ) is on the bottom of his Artifact also.
The three lines (III)'s near the bottom of the Artifact mean three trips that King
Soloman made to Aztlan of the Empire of Ophir.
King Solomon kept this location unknown from his Enemiesto Mine Gold, Silver and
Dimonds.
1 Kings 9:26 And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, whichis beside
Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom.
There were several Artifacts for King Solomon found in Ohio, Michigan, and New M
exico.
But this Gold Artifact from Burrows Cave is the only known Artifact for the exac
t Face structure of King Solomon that has been found anywhere.
Burrows Cave in Illinois is the lost Tomb of King Solomon.

This Artifact that was removed from Burrows Cave in Illinois was identified as a H
igh Preist named Arkca III.
All Temple Preist tied their Hair in this Hair style to be be identifed as Preis
t. Later Christian Preist trimed and tied their in this same way to be identifie
d as Christian Preist.
The writing on his Artifact is in the Berber writing style of Mauretania which w
as North Africa instead of being wrote in the Hebrew or the earlyLatin Language.
The Berber Language was little changed from the first original Armenian Semitic
Language in Atlantis and the Alphbetical leters were little changed also.
ArKcA III was wrote with the first letter being a Capital letter and the last le
tter being a Capitial letter also.
King Solomon had Temple Preists at all the locations where his Queens Ruled for
Him.
It is well recorded that notany of theTemple Preist for King Solomonwere of Hebrew dec
nt.

This Artifact that was recovered from Burrows Cave was identified as being a Artifa
ct for handsome King Archilles who was known as Achilles the Viper to the Trojan
s.
The writing on the Artifact begins on the right as BaS. ( BaS ) was the Greek Wo
rd for a King.
Then to the left is the word AhKeLS. ( AhKeLS ) transalates to Achilles in the E
nglish Language.
Then to the left the word VPEO transalates to Viper in the English Language.
In 1194 BC King Achilles and his Generals, Menesthius, Eudorus, Peisander, Phoen
ix and Alcimedon, went to Troy in 50 Boats to expand his Empire.
King Achilles was wounded in the Heel of his Foot with a Poison Arrow.
The wound would not healand King Achilles was carried to the Isle of Lemnos where
he died.
Alexander Ptolemy III, the Great, recorded finding the Tomb of his Hero and Ance
stor King Achilles at the Isle of Lemnos.
He loaded his Cript ontohis Ship to be relocated to Egypt. But he came here first a
nd died. Burrows Cavewas the finalTomb of King Achilles.

This Artifact that was recovered from Burrows Cave was identified as a Artifact for
Ptolemy Solter I.
On the left Picture which is the front of the Artifact is the ( ^II ) which means
he Ruled both locations of Egypt.
On the back side of the Artifact which is the Picture on the right,was wrote; iur
e lupiter, iugi, et Pateriu, effigiueti, Polte Gipti.
Transalated to English: Sworn by Jupiter to the Summit of his forefathers, the l
iving image of Ptolemy of Egypt. Ptolemy Solter I was Alexander's 1/2 Brother.
All ll of Alexander's Rulers at different locations were not Ptolemies.
Ptolemy Solter I recorded that Alexander Ptolmey III sent him back to Egypt to t
o Rule Egypt for him.
Then he left the second Land of Egypt and went to Alexandra Egypt.
He expected some rebellion when announced that he was the Satrap of the Egyptian
Empire of Alexander.
But Perdiccas had Spies in Alexandria Egypt and knew that Alexander had been abse
nt from Alexandria Egypt since 321 BC.
And Perdiccas wastrying toinvade Egyptfrom the upper Nile Region from Babylon.
But when Ptolemy Solter I and his Army came near to Perdiccas and his Army, Perdi
ccas was murdered in his tent by two of his subordinates.
Ptolemy Solter I immediately crossed the Nile, and gave supplies to his Army.
Ptolemy Solter I was consistent in his policy of first securing a power base, whi
le never succumbing to the temptation of risking all to succeed his 1/2 brother
Alexander Ptolemy III in Egypt.
In 318 BC Ptolemy Solter I anounced that he was the new Satrap of Egypt.
Ptolmey Solter IIinthe 2nd Land of Egypt brought theMummieof Alexander's Body to Ale
dria Egypt and built a Shrine for his Gold Cript to be placed in.

This Artifact from Burroes Cave is for Mark Antony,who was a politician and general.
As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and lo
yal friend Julius Ceasar.
Florus a Roman wrote wrote that both Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII commited sucide
 in 30 BCat Alexandria Egypt which has been proved to have been totally incorrect
and impossable.
Cleopatra VIIin October 41 BC went to Tarsus from Rome. ThereMark Antony and Cleopa
tra VII formed an alliance. They then went to Rome and Mark Antony became theTriu
mvir for Julius Ceasar and fell in love with Cleopatra VII.
On 25 December 40 BC, Cleopatra gave birth to Twins fathered by Mark
Antony, who were named Alexander Helios III and Cleopatra Selene II that were bo
rn in Rome.
After Ceasar's assassination, in 44 BC, MarkAntony and Cleopatra VII left Rome and
went to a unkown location for their safety. Thereafter the Romans did not ever
learn where they were at.
In September 36 BC Cleopatra had Son that was named Ptolemy Philadelphus fathere
d by Mark Antony. He was born here in the 2nd Land of Egypt.
Burrows Cave in Illinois is the lost Tomb of Mark Antony.

This Gold Coin was inthe burialCript isfor Prince Alexander Helios that was in Burro
ws Cave. The (^II) the symbol for a King of both Lands of Egypt is on the top of
the Coin.
The researched Heli or Greek(Helios) sun symbol meant, "Light of the World".
On right side of the Gold Coin is the Heli or the Greek(Helios) symbol of the Sun.
The Sun was the symbol for the entire Heli or Greek(Helios) Family.
The name was Heli in the Aramiac Language of Judia, but the same familyname was He
lios in the Ptolmic Greek Language of the GreekPtolmies.

This Artifact that was recovered from Burrows Cave was identified as Prince Alexan
der Helios at age 22 from the writing on the Artifact.Born inRome in 40 BCand died
hereinthe second Land of Egypt in 39 AD.
The Sun symbol for Heli or Helios are on all Artifacts formost members of the of
the King Alexander Heli IIFamily of Judia.
His Grandfather was Alexander Helios III of Judia who was also recorded as Heli i
n the Bible.He only went to School at Alexandria Egypt.
There werenumours Artifacts for him inBurrowsCave which was also his Tomb.
His parents made him the co-ruler of Armenia, Media, Parthia of the Ptolmey Empire.
On aTablet was wrote, the handsome white Helios, called the rightous one by the Peop
le.
King Alexander Heli II of Judia ruled Judia fromNazareth.
Heli in the Bible was the recorded Great Grandfather of Prince Alexander Helios.
Prince Alexander Helios added60 Ships to the joint Navy of his Mother who also bu
ilt more Ships for a total180 Navy Ships including theShipsof King Juba Heli II.

This Artifact from Burrows Cave was identified as Lux Helior (Helios). She was th
esecond Wife of Prince Alexander Helios.
Luxan Ptolmey or Luke in the Bible was herBrother.
The reading on the Artifact is ( Lux Nupta Helion ). The translationis Light marr
ied to Helios. Her recordedmaidian name Lux Ptolmey.
The researched meaning of the Helios (Sun) symbol meant,
"Light of the World".
She was born at Cyrene Mauretaniain 38 BC and died here in the 2nd of Egypt in 44 A
D.
She had meet Prince Alexander Heli or (Helios) at the Philocrates Temple in Alexa
ndria Egypt which was a Boarding School.

This Artifact from Burrows Cave was identified as a Artifact for Luxan Ptolmey.
On the right side of the Artifact are the four ( YYYY )'s. This word was "yhwh".
Luxan Ptolmey became Luke a Apostle for Christ.

 This Artifact from Burrows Cave was identified as Cleopa Selene Heli or ( Cleopat
ra Selene I )of the Alexander Ptolemy Heli Family. The Sun symbol for the King Ale
xander Heli II family of Judia is on the left top of her Artifact.
She was the recorded Mother of, Queen Cleopatra Ptolmey Philopater VII.
Her Brother was also Joseph in the Bible.
The ( ^II ) symbol is at the bottom right of her Artifact that means that
she was came here and may have evenbeen a co-ruler at some time.
She also was decended from King Zaphnath Pa'aneah from Aravis Egypt.
And then long and short lines are the numbers of herrepeated Ancesters that had rep
eated over and overagain from Grandparents to Grandchildren to her from her Ances
tershere at the second Land of Egypt.
King Solomon was one of her recorded Ancestors that had Ruled his Empire from her
e.
On the bottom of her Artifact is a circle with(-) in the circle that meant One.
On the left side of her Artifact is (S) and (A) with a line drawn thru the (A) and
on the top is the Sun symbol for the Heli or the (Alexander PtolmeyHeli Family)
Luke 3: 23 And Jesus himself was about thirty years of age, being (as was suppos
ed) the son of Joseph, who was the son of Heli.
King Juba HeliII also recorded bringing Cleopa SeleneHeli to a Land that was unknown
to the Romans and Jews.

This Artifact that was removed from Burrows Cave by Russell Burrows has been ide
ntified as a Artifact for Crice Heli from Nazareth.
Luke 3: 23 And Jesus himself was about thirty years of age, being (as was suppose
d) the son of Joseph, who was the son of Heli

This Artifact that was recovered from Burrows Cave was identified as King Ptolemaeus
I whowas born here in the 2nd Land of Egypt in 26 BC.Hebecamedthe King of Mauretaniaf
om (1 BCto 40 AD).
He had Co-Ruled with his Father King Juba HeliII until he wanted to retire.
He was a son of Cleopatra Selene II and King Juba HeliII and also wrote Books. He r
ecorded that he became a Christian and wrote that his Grandmother Cleopatra VII
and her entire Family became Christians.
On the right side of his Artifact is a Ship. It is unsual that the Helios sun sym
bol is not on his Artifact.Like his Father King Juba HeliII he loved the Sea and l
iked to travel.
King Ptolemaeus I fell foul of Rome, because of the economic power that Mauritan
ia had become, but he prevented a War.
He got some Egyptian Ptolmey Flagsby the Authority of hisUncle Alexander Helios II
I andplaced more of his Navy Ships that had Egyptian Flags at his SeaPorts of Nort
h Africa.
He also traded more with the Viking Mertz Erinthe King ofNorwaywho also fell foul o
f Rome. He and Mertz Erin became Allies.
He traded Grain Gold andAnimal SkinSails to King Mertz Erinfor Iron and Musical Ins
truments that had the first Metal Strings. King Mertz Erinput the Sails on his Sh
ips and invaded Normany. The Romans did not dare to do anything about this.

This Pyramid Mound is in Ohio. Several Artifacts for King Solomon and Christ have
been found in Ohio. Even though this is Egyptian style Pyramid,
Archaeologist have named the Pyramida Indian Mound.

Ancient Egyptians, Burrows Cave Illinois

Historiansand Archeaologist have identifiedthis Gold Artifact from Burrows Cave.
 Each Egyptian Ruler had a seprate Hieroglyph symbol. This is the Hieroglyph that
King Zaphnath chose for himself.
Shu was the Egyptian name for a Crocodilein Egyptat that time.
Shu the (Crocodile) was thesymbol that King Zphnath chose. Thiswas the firstknown C
rocodile Hieroglyph symbol for any King in Egypt.
This same Hieroglph was found at theAravis Egypt Ruinsfor King Zaphnath.
King Zaphnath is holding the Staff of the Lord.
Then on the bottom right is ( - ) which meant number one.
Next above the (-) is one X this Gold Artifact. X is the Symbol for First or Fat
her.
Then above the (X) is the Diamond which meant greatest of wealth.
Then above the (X) is the ( ^II ) Symbol which is for the 2nd land of Egypt.
Then above is the elongated ( W ) symbol. The W symbol meant a large body of Wat
er or the Ocean.
Then above the (W) seems to be a Land mass with a River in the center of it.
King Zaphnath was known to be a wise King in Egypt and knew that Shu the Crocodi
le symbol was a more powerfull symbol than the the Bird symbols of the Pharaoh's
of Egypt were.
And he knew that he would be worshiped as a very powerfull God by the Egyptians t
hat were not of Semitic decent.
This very same Symbol was found in the Ruins ofthe Temple of Amon atAravis Egyptwhi
ch was the location thatKing Zaphnathwas the King of Egypt for 48 tears.
King Zaphnath was also a writer. His Grandson Asrael wasthe next Kingof Egypt. Asra
el was a writer also. Like King Zaphnath, Asrael was known by another Egyptian i
n their own Language. Asrael was King Maaibre Shushi.
Maaibre Shushi meant, " Son of Shu" in their Egyptian Language.
His Grandson, Salitis Maaibrewas the next Crocodile King of Egyptwas a writer too.

This Artifact from Burrows Cave is another Stone Tripod. This is one Stone that on
the Picture on the right is a Tripod with a (+) on the top of the Tripod which
wasthe exact location mark for the the CahokiaPyramid City in Cahokia Mounds State
Park near Collinsville in Southern Illinois..
Then the left Picture is the back of the Stone that that hassome Star degrees and
Math for figuring the Star degrees.

This Gold Artifact from the Egyptian Tunnel City in Illinois. Most of the Artifac
ts from Burrows Cave are still privately owned. A Musem for some of the Burrows
is now being in Florida.
The only Egyptian Artifacts on display in the Smithsonian Institute are Egyptian
Artifacts from Egypt, and a few small Artifacts from the Grand Canyon.
The Archaeologial meaning of the tall Image with a Crocodile shaped Head on the
Left side of the Artifact, is the surpreme King of the Empire Symbol and the res
t of the Artifact describes his Empire.
In the middle of the Artifact is the (^II) Symbol with a Circle around the Symbol
.
The ( ^II ) was a symbol that he Ruled both Egyptby the Nile River and the second
Land ofEgypt here at theHio River also.
Shu the Crocodile God was the most feared Animal in Egypt and became the Egyptian
Hieroglyph for most powerfull Semitic Kings and Rulers of Egypt.
All of the Pharaoh's of Egyptian decent in Egypt had Bird Higroglyphic symbols in
stead ofthe Crocodile symbols of the recordedSemitic Canaanite Kings of Egypt.

This Artifact that was recovered from Burrows Cave is one of the Stone Maps for theH
River that is now named the Mississippi River. The Archaelogist consider this a
important Artifact.
The Hio River was the name of this Riverthat was recorded in Ancient
Atlantis Books.
On the right side of the Map is ( FxI ). (FxI) was the first Egyptian Cave in Te
nnessee.
(F) also meant Family in the Armenian Semitic Language of Armenthat King Zaphnath
spoke and wrote.
He could also speak the Egyptian Language, but he only wrote in the Semitic Armen
ian Language of Shem.
Then the (ITIT) is where some AncientCopper Mines were located in Ohio.
Then on the left side of the Map is (ITII ) wherethe Diamond Mines in Arkansas are
located.
Then on the top left the (X) is the Location of the Egyptian Tunnel City in Illi
nois.
The (o's) are where the Egyptian Dirt Pyramids were located here at the time of t
his Artifact from Burrows Cave.There were more later Artifacts that had more of th
e later Egyptian Pyramids near the River.

Burrows Cave was a burial Tomb that had 12 Criptsin the Cave. There were also Five S
tatues in the Cave. But more burial Cripts were found when the blocked Tunnels we
re opened.

There are now many Ancient Egyptian Artifacts from the Skillet Fork Cavern Complex
that stillarenot on Public Display at the Smithtonian Institute in Washington DC
even though they were found by Smithsonian Archaeologist.
These Gold Artifacts were in one of the Cripts for One of the Kings from the Egy
ptian TunnelTomb in Southern Illinois.
His Name and Family Genaeology is on the Gold Coffin Artifacts. The (^II)Symbol fo
rthe 2nd Land if Egypt is the Top Artifact on the Right side.
The Egyptian Gold Coin forhis Empire is on the Center Right.
Two Diamonds and the Semitic Symbol for a Son of the Right Hand is the Bottom Ri
ght Artifact of this Picture.

This Artifact recovered from Borrows Cave in Illinois was identified as being inf
ormation for King Soloman.
At bottom right is 7-K which meant the 7th Empire location for King Solomon which
he did record at other places in Ophir.
The tilted Pyramidon the Artifact is the LegalRing Seal Stamp that King Solomon used
.
Then a Arrow points to the large Star of David. The large Star of David was King
Solomon's symbol for Judia.
This Star symbol has been found on Artifactsin otherplaces where King Solomon Ruled
Ophir from .
And to the left of the Arrow under the Star of David is the (O) with a (I ) in th
e center of the O was King Solomon's symbol for the King of Ophir when he was th
e King of Ophir.
Then under the O is the F that is turned backwards with three lines instead of tw
o lines. This was the Word (He) in one Language and (Window) in another Language
.
This was the Semitic symbol namefor King Solomon.

This Gold Artifact thatwas removed from Burrows Cave was identified as being for Q
ueen Naamah who was King Solomon's first wife.
Queen Naamah is wearing a Dress and is standing at the Door of the Temple
holding the Staff of the Lord in one Hand.
All of Queen Naamah and King Solomon's writings were wrote in the firstoriginal A
rmenian Semitic Language named the Armen Language. The Armenian Language can be
easy as ( Armen+ian).
The first writings in the Language that have been preserved in the Atlantis Books
are now over 4,120,147 years old which were the Solar Sun Dial Calendar dates.
These first dates for the Armen Language were found in the Dead Sea Scrollsinforma
tion in 1946 in Quram Caves in Palestine.
The Armenian Language is the oldest written Language of the World.
King Solomon was educated at the Temple of Amon at Saqqara Egypt.
Saqqara Egypt wasalso Ophir at that timeandwas where theKing gave Solomon his daught
er Naamah after Solomon prepared a meal that pleased the Cannanite King of Egypt
.
On the left bottom of the Artifact is the ( F ) that meant Family in the Armenia
n Language,
Then above the (F) is a ( Q ) which was the first letter of the word ( Q-N ) whi
ch was pronounced as ( Queen )
Then above the (Q) is the Ring Seal that Queen Naamah used for her Legal Documen
ts.
Then above Her Ring Seal is N which was the last letter for (Q-N) whichcompleted
the word that meantQueen.
Then above this is a Box without a top and a line from the bottom of the Box. Th
is was the Semitic symbol for first born daughter.
This symbol is upside down when compared to the male Symbol for a first born Son
that does not have line in the open part of the Box.
Then above that symbol is a Arrow pointing to a ( M ) which was the symbol for m
e. (M+e)
The F for family on the Artifact is a strong Archaeological indication that King
Solomon, Queen Naamah and their Children all came to the 2nd Land of
Egyptwhich was Ophir during the time of King Solomon.
However onlytheir first born son Rehoboam and a daughter was recorded in Judia by t
he Jewish Scribes.
Burrows Cave in Illinois is the lost Tomb of Queen Nammah.

This Artifact that was removed from Burrows Cave in Illinois was identified as as
a Hittite General because he was wearing a Hittite style Helmet that Hittite Gen
erals wore.
On the left side of the Artifact a ( T ) which probally meant Top. Then above the
T is the tilted Pyramid Legal Ring Seal symbol that King Solomom used.
The at the top left is a Diamond which meant wealth.
After the Hittite and Assryian Peace Treaty was signed in Egypt in 1259 BC, any K
ing was permited to hire Hittite Generals and their Army East of the Jordan Rive
r.
Both King David and King Soloman had Hittite Generals and Armies.

This Artifact that was recovered from Burrows Cave in Illinois was easy to identif
ie.
BaS ALeKhS u PLeO, was wrote the Artifact.
This is a Artifact for Alexander Ptolmey III. He was the Son of King Philadelphus
Ptolmey II and his 2nd WifeCleopatra. KingPhiladelphus Ptolmeywas King Philip in th
e Bible.
In 331 BC, Alexander Ptolemy III only spentnine months in Egypt, and during that
time he conquered the Country, had himself namedKing Alexander of Egyptand started
the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. He then left Egypt.
He knew about Atlantis from his Atlantis Books. He wrote that he wanted to see wh
ere his earliest known Ancester Shem had lived which was at the Oasis of Eden in
Atlantis.
The Oasis of Eden is in Arizona. And Atlantis is now North America which did not
sink into the Ocean as the Romans wrote.
He had the information for King Zaphnath andknew King Zaphnath of Egyptwas one of
his Ancesters also.
One of Alexander's favorite Books was named( The Iliad ) which was wrote about Ki
ng AchillesaAncestor of his Mother Cleopatra.
He was known to use this Book often during his Campains for information
about the Battles won byKing Achillies.
When Philodelpus II married Cleopatra in 355 BC, his first wifeOlympias was outra
ged and tookher Daughter Thessalonikito Epirus and she did not return until afterKi
ng Philip was killed in a War with the Greeks.
The evidence that was found here in Burrows Cave in Illinois speaks for itself.

Difficult as it may be for us to accept, Alexander did not die in Babylon as was w
riten.
This Cave in Illinois is undoubtedly the lost Tomb of Alexander the Great and fo
rmany of his lineal descendants.
Alexander Ptolemy III, was at the Oasis of Eden in Arizona when he developed a F
ever that lasted for 12 days before he died. Some of his last words were recorde
d.
"I am dying from the treatment of too many physicians".
"I would rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent than in the e
xtent of my powers and dominion".
"In faith and hope the world will disagree, But all mankind's concern is charity"
.
"Remember upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all".
"There is nothing impossible to him who will try".
"A tomb now suffices he for whom the whole world was not sufficient".
These last words that Alexander Ptolemy III spoke here atthe (second Land of Egyp
t)was recorded in writing by Ptolemy Solter II, who was with Alexander when he die
d here.

There were severalArtifacts for Ships from Burrows Cave in Illinois. Cleopatra VII
, Juba Heli II, andPrince Alexander Helios, had around 180 Ships Home Based here
at one time.
These Ships were smaller than the Roman Ships. These Ships were slender built Shi
ps and were faster than the larger Roman Ships also. And the Sails were made out
of Animal Skins so that not any wind would pass thru the Sails.

This Gold Artifact that was recovered from Burrows Cave in Illinois was identified
as being a Artifact for ( Queen Cleopatra Ptolmey Philopater VII )
Burrows Cave in Illinois is the lost Tomb of Queen Cleopatra Ptolmey Philopater VII.S
he did not commitsucide at Alexandria Egypt.
The Romans knew very little about her because she was very secretive for her own s
afety.
Almost everything that the Romans recorded about her was incorrect.
She was born 69 BC and died 32 AD as recorded by all members of her Family.
Cleopatra VIIwas the Childof Cleopa Selene Heliof Judia and KingPtolmey XII Auletes of
Egypt.
Cleopa Selene Heliwas the daughter of Heli in the Bible. His Ptolmey Greek name wa
s Alexander Helios II who was the King of Judia until he was killed in Judia by
the Romans in 36 BC.
Cleopa SeleneHeli had been sent to Alexandria Egypt to be educated and meet Ptolmey XI
Auletes in Egypt.
 This Gold Artifact and her Jewlery was in her burialCript here in Burrows Cave. Bu
rrows Cave is the location of her lost Tomb.
Cleopatra Ptolmey VII originally ruled jointly with her father as a teenage girl wit
h the rest of her siblings, Ptolemy XII Auletes, and later with her Sisters, Ars
inoe IV and her Brothers Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV and first co-ruled with th
em at Edfu Egypt.
She was married as per Egyptian Ptolemy custom to her Brothers at birth, who wer
e Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV
But these were were only Legal mariages to consolidate power and wealth and ther
e were no Children.
The entire time that shewas in Egypt she wasayoung Girl at Edfu Egypt.
In 58 BC, Ptolemy XII Auletes and Cleopatra VII and Arsinoe IV fled to Rome in sear
ch of political and military aid against Cleopatra VI Tryphaena, who had become f
ar too powerful.
After Tryphaena's death in 57 BC, she at age 20 became theco- ruler of Egypt from
Rome due to her father's absence in Egypt, and with him and CleopatraVII in Rome
,she had no worry about being overthrown or overpowered and executed.
She did not ever return to Egypt. Then her Brothers Ptolemy XIII and Ptolmey IVrul
ed Egypt for her in Alrxandria Egypt until 15 BC.
When Julius Ceasar was killed in 44 BC, both Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony leftRom
efor their safety. After this date the Romans did noteverlearn where they were.
But only a very few Historians have learned this recordedinformation because almos
t everything that the Romans wrote about her was incorrect.
Burrows Cave was the lost Tomb of Queen Cleopatra Ptolmey Philopater VII.
MoreArtifacts and information for herwere found in her burial Cript.

There are a number of incorrect stories about Cleopatra that were wrote by the Rom
ans that did not ever know about the 2nd Land of Egyptand knew very little about
her. There are only three correctly identified Artifacts for her.
And there are numerous Bust in Musems that are forher Daughter Cleopatra Selene IIt
hat are incorrectly identified Artifacts that are being displayed as Cleopatra V
II which is no less than shamefull to heralso.
150 years after Mark Antony's Armyand her Armey defected to Octavain at Alexandria
Egypt. Florus a Roman wrote a booknamed Epitome de T. Livio Bellorum omnium annor
um DCC Libri duo, which was primiarly a Fictional Book and he became wealthy bec
ause of his Book.
The Book was wrote in a bombastic boasting style about the greatness of the first
Roman Rulers.
He wrote that Cleopatra commited sucide on August 12, 30 BC by letting a Asp Snak
e bite her on her Breasts at Alexandria Egypt. But that was totally incorrect an
d impossable.
Because QueenCleopatra VII was not even in Egypt in 30 BC, she was in Rome.
And her daughter Cleopatra Selene II, her Grandson Ptolemaeus I, and King Juba Heli
II,recorded in their Books that Cleopatra died a natural death in16 AD instead of32
BCat the age of 85 here in the 2nd Land of Egypt instead of 32 BC as Florus wrot
e in his Book.
But modern Encylopedias are still Publishing the incorrect information that Flor
us wrote for Queen Cleopatra VII as being her correct History.
It is a Historical disgrace the amount of incorrect History that has been publish
ed for Queen Cleopatra Ptolmey Philopater VII.

This Artifact from Burrows Cave was identified as a Artifact for

Ptolemy Philopator Philometor Caesar XV ( June 23, 47 BC - July 23, AD )
who was the Son of Julius Ceasar and Cleopatra VII.
The Romans knew very little about him because in 44 BC he left Rome with Mark Ant
ony and Cleopatra VII at age three and the Romans did not even know what he look
ed like when he grew into a Man..
And thereafterRomans did not ever learn where he was at. Almost everything that the
Roman writers wrote about him has been proved to have been incorect.
Ptolmey Ceaser was born in 47 BC in Rome, His Father was Julius Ceasar, He was nic
knamed Caesarion which means "little Caesar."
150 years after Mark Antony's smaller Armydefected to Octavain in Alexandria Egypt
, Florus wrote a Book.
Floruswho was primarily aRoman Fictional Writer wrote, on August 23, 30 BC,Ptolmey
sarwas killed on the orders of Octavian Augustus in Egypt.
This information is totally incorrect. Ptolmey Ceasar was not inEgypt in 30 BC.He wa
s inIndia in 26 BC. Because his Father Julius Ceasarwas assassinated, he used the
name of Philopator Philometor and stopped using his last name Ceasar.
And his lost Tomb isBurrows Cave in Illinois.

Cleoptra Selene II was born on Dec. 25, 40 BC. She was bornhere in the second land
of Egypt. Her Father was Mark Antony.Her Twin Brother was PrinceAlexander Helios.
She marriedPrince Juba HeliII whobecame the King of Mauretania and recorded that she
loved to travel with him.
Many Copies of her Bust have been made but they are all on display in Musems as C
leoptra PtolmeyVII instead of Cleoptra Selene II which is a disgrace to both of t
hem.

Several of the Prince Alexander Helios IIIand Cleopatra Selene II Coins were found
in Burrows Cave in both of their burial Cripts.
On 25 December 40 BC, Cleopatra gave birth to Twins fathered by Mark
Antony, who were named Alexander Helios III and Cleopatra Selene II that were bo
rn here in the 2nd Land of Egypt.
They had Minted Silver Coins together as Co-Rulers of Egypt and the other Lands of t
Ptolmey Empire.

KingJuba HeliII, has been indentified. The Artifact is from Burrows Cave.
On the right top of the Artifact is the Heli Sun symbol of the Alexander Ptolemy
Heli Family.
There is a lot of recorded history For King Juba II. 52 BC to 23 AD.
He married Cleopatra Selene II who was the TwinSister of PrinceAlexander Helios.
He was thePrince of Mauretania when the married Cleopatra Selene II. He meet her a
t the Boarding School in Alexandria Egypt. He was very educated and wrote 52 Boo
ks.
Cleopatra Selene II was the daughter of Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony.
Mauretania was most of North Africa at that time.
Juba was a name that had passed from Grandfather to Grandson for numerous Generat
ions.
KingJuba HeliII recorded numerous trips transporting Grain and Metals from here to Eg
ypt, Rome, Greece, India, Judia, and the Land of Erin, now Norway and Great Brit
ian).
His Boat was being loaded with Olive Oil, Wine, and Wool at Port Jappa in Judia
shortly afterChrist was crusified.
He recorded that he hid Philip, Luke, and Cleopa Selene Heli on his Boat and bro
ught them here for safety.
Philip was his Brother in Law. Luke was the Brother of his Sister in Law Lucy He
lios.
And Cleopa Selene Heli was the Grandmother of his Wife Cleopatra Selene II.
Not either the Jews or Romans knew where the 2nd Land of Egypt was located or th
at it evenexsited.

This Artifact from Burrows Cave was identified as a Artifact for Ptolmey Philade
lphus Heli. The Heli or (Helios) Sun symbol is on the top right of his Artifact.
 In September 36 BC Cleopatra had Son that was named Ptolemy Philadelphusfathered
by Mark Antony. He was born here in the 2nd Land of Egypt. He was sent to a board
ing School in Alexandria Egypt.
He meetCrice Heli or(Christ)at the Philocrates Temple which was the name of the Reli
gious School in Alexandria Egypt.
They both spoke thesame Language and learned that they were2nd Cousins.
He becamethe Egyptian Ptolmey Ambassador in Judia and thenPhilip a Disciple of Chri
st instead of becoming a Co- Ruler of the Ptolmey Empire.
He was also a writer. He wrote a book named "Philocrates" when he was the Egyptia
n Ambassador in Judia. He aslo wrote a Book named the "Trial of Crice Heli"

If you look at Cahokia, Cairo, IL., EtowahPyramids in Ga, Just to name a few they
are verysimular.
Monks Temple Pyramid is located in the Cahokia Mounds City in Cahokia Mounds Stat
e Park near Collinsville in Southern Illinois.
It is over 108 feet high and has a 16 Acre Base. Not any Pyramids in Egypt have a
base this large.
It was built withhard packed Clay BrickBlocks but most of the Clay
BrickBlocks have turned back into Dirt.
Constuction begain on the inner City around 10,000 BC and continued in seprate sta
ges until the City reached a population of around 15.000 in around 400 BC.
Then constuction begain for the outer Area until the total population reached aro
und 40,000 by 1500 AD and then the construction stopped.
At the top of Monks Temple Pyramidis evedence ofa large Wooden Building 105-feet l
ong, and 48 feet wide that was the Temple and Home of the Citys rulers," The Grea
t Kings."
There is a undergound Room 23 feet deep under the surfice of the Pyramid located
200 feet South of the North Rim of the Pyrmid.
The Pyramid City was over 6 square Miles in size and had 120 more Smaller Pyramid
s.
On top of part of theother smallerPyramids were Schools and Temples where School Tab
lets Religious Artifacts have been found. The Children were well educated.
Ancient Egyptians, Burrows Cave Illinois

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Feature Articles

The Burrows cave: African gold in Illinois

The story of the Burrows Cave is more about human behaviour than archaeology. It
is the story of an alleged cave containing the tomb of an African king who reac
hed North America in the 1st century AD and the subsequent controversy that the
artefacts created.
Philip Coppens

Every discovery has its dangers. In version one of our story, Russell Burrows ac
cidentally discovered a cave along a branch of the Little Wabash River near his
home town of Olney, Illinois, USA, in 1982. Hunting for discarded archaeological
relics, he found a shallow cave leading into a subterranean corridor, the likes
of which you'd not expect to find in rural Illinois. The passageway was lined w
ith oil lamps, the ceiling black from smoke. The 500-foot-long tunnel had severa
l chambers along itbut what it contained, Burrows was unwilling to divulge. In ve
rsion two, in 1982 Burrows created a hoax: claiming to have discovered a tomb, h
e then tried to sell faked stone artefacts of his own making, which he'd copied
from various books. The so-called Burrows Cave is famous for its large numbers o
f inscribed stones, often containing profiles of people who look African, Egypti
an and European as well as Native American. On first sight they look crude: the
work of an amateur or someone meeting an imminent deadline. Furthermore, prelimi
nary analyses of the writing on the stones revealed a mix, if not a mismatch, of
various styles, words and languages that archaeologists and linguists quickly l
abelled as "obviously fake" ("obvious" being a preferred word that scientists us
e to underline what they can easily, obviously, see is fake, though amateurs are
fooled by it, obviously). As early as 1983, Burrows did place a very small coll
ection of the artefacts on sale in a local antique shopbut if he created the enti
re collection, it is clear he created so many that he could never have got rid o
f them all. Moreover, it was not until 1997 that he or anyone else would "cash i
n" on the stones themselves. If Burrows wanted to get rich from creating fake ar
tefacts, his hoax was obviously ill executed. But the cave is more than just a c
ollection of inscribed stones. Burrows allegedly found and removed many gold art
efacts. These look genuine and contain the same mismatch of writing. You can onl
y wonder why a fraud, if Burrows were indeed one, would use goldwhich, to begin w
ith, is costly to obtain. It is true that there are conflicting stories about th
is gold. Burrows at one point stated that some of the gold had been melted down
and then sold. The Swiss author Luc Brgin claimed that Burrows removed huge quant
ities of gold, had it melted down and then sold it, depositing a grand total of
US$15 million into Swiss bank accounts. If true, this indicates that Burrows did
indeed get his hands on tremendous amounts of gold and decided to sell for the
gold's monetary valuenot the archaeological value. But others have stated that Brg
in was merely told this "information" by a fellow researcher and possesses no ev
idence for his assertion. Some sceptics claim that the "gold" never existed, tha
t it has never been seen. That's not true, because early researchers did see it.
I have been shown colour photographs of apparently gold artefacts by Burrows hi
mself; I still have some of these photos in my possession, and they are availabl
e for viewing on my website. Other critics argue that the "gold" was just metal,
finished off with gold paint to make it look real. If they are correct, then Bu
rrows merely created these artefacts to fool archaeologists, amateur scientists
and the media and he could never allow any direct contact with or testing of the
artefacts. It would also mean that he could never have regarded the "gold" arte
facts as part of a quick money-making scheme. In short, this conclusion is incom
patible with the other sceptics' argument, which is that Burrows tried to make m
oney from a hoax.
The Golden Sarcophagus and Human Remains
If the story is genuine, Burrows discovered a human skeleton a malein the first c
rypt. The second chamber had a funeral bier with the remains of a woman and two
children. A golden spearhead lay in the woman's ribs, where the heart would have
been. The skulls of the children showed signs of perforation. The scene suggest
ed that the woman and children had been murdered at the time when the male, her
husband, died. In total, there were 12 crypts. The central chamber, containing t
he golden sarcophagus, was closed by a stone that had to be rolled away. The roo
m, including the ceiling, was decorated and white marble was seen throughout. Th
e golden sarcophagus inside the stone tomb resembled the ancient Egyptian form o
f burial: it displayed the same style of wearing the hair as well as the crossed
arms on the body, and the hands were holding the ankh symbol. It is said that B
urrows was able to prise open the sarcophagus and note that it seemed to contain
 human remains as well as a death mask, also thought to be of Egyptian origin. A
lthough the sarcophagus was of tremendous valueto be compared with the golden sar
cophagus of Tutankhamunit could not be removed from the cave by just Burrows with
the help of his brother-in-law. Furthermore, Burrows was unsure as to whether h
e might face prosecution if he disturbed the human remains he'd found in the cav
e or if he tried to sell any of its contents. The sceptics seldom address this p
art of the story, as they claim that there never was a cave at all, and hence no
sarcophagus, and hence no human skeleton inside.
Reactions to the Discovery
Map of the Burrows Cave
Let us assume that the cave exists, and see how far we can follow Burrows into i
t. His situation was extremely complex: he was totally unprepared for such a fin
d (who wouldn't be?), and his volatile character did not help in a situation whe
re patience is a virtue. On 27 July 1984, the local Olney Daily Mail ran a small
article identifying Burrows as the discoverer of a local cave, but provided lit
tle more except for this hope: "...the university [with which he was in contact]
will probably begin the dig next year. At that time, more information can be gi
ven." Though Burrows sought help from the scientific world, he received mixed re
actions from it. Soon afterwards, one "amateur archaeologist" after another pres
sed his doorbell. Each one almost immediately asked to see the cave. It's like a
person in a plaster cast getting constantly asked whether someone can see or si
gn his/her plaster; at some point the answer will be "no", because it feels as i
f no one is interested in you but only in your plaster. For Burrows, it felt lik
e all they wanted was to see the cave; they had no basic respect or regard for h
is own wishes, often not even bothering to ask about them. People such as these
came away disappointed, hurt because Burrows did not want to play their game, an
d they often voiced scathing opinions. Some even considered Burrows's presence i
ncidental. One attempt to commercialise the cave occurred in 1994 when Harry Hub
bard and Paul Kelly claimed the ancient alphabets on the stones to be a combinat
ion of Latin and Etruscan. The inscriptions revealed, they claimed, that the tom
b of Alexander the Great was buried in Illinois. What made Hubbard and Kelly sta
nd out from competing theorists was their Jack Russelltype attacks on anyone who
disagreed with them. They have also been described as appearing "to spend the ma
jority of their time seeking investors and peddling home-made videotapes". They
did not need Burrows; they were going to locate the tomb themselves. They are ty
pical examples in a long line of people who have tried to use the cave for their
own financial benefit, for fame or to confirm their pet theoryand most often all
three mixed into one lethal cocktail. In the "pet theory" category was Joseph P
. Mahan, author of the 1983 book The Secret, who suggested in a 1991 lecture tha
t the cave was connected with "sun-related semi-divine mortals [who] were the de
scendants of extraterrestrial immortal progenitors who had come to Earth in fire
ships, had resided for a while [and] had upgraded the humanoids they found here
by modifying the genes of these children of Earth, thus producing a hybrid prog
eny" . Such a nonsensical conclusion is not based on anything at all that Burrow
s ever said about the case, but it is clear that it rubbed off badly on Burrows'
s image and the cave. Another example of how the cave became a hostage in other
people's battles is the story of Richard Flavin, who used the cave to persecute
Frank Joseph. For more than 15 years, Joseph had nothing to do with the story un
til, in his position as a writer for The Ancient American magazine, he became in
terested and eventually wrote a book about it (The Lost Treasure of King Juba; B
ear & Co., 2003). But Flavin instead focused on Joseph's past as a neo-Nazi (dat
ing back to the early 1970s) and uses this as ammunition to "prove" that anyone
suggesting the cave could be real is hence a neo-Nazi. Flavin met Burrows on a f
ew occasions, but his interpretation of events is spurious at best and his accou
nt reads more like that of a Christian missionary in the lands of the "primitive
s" or a communist witch-hunter of the 1950s than a scientific approach to the su
bject (see http://www.flavinscorner.com/falling.htm). In the final analysis, the
 story of the Burrows Cave is typical for a finding of this nature. Just look at
other similar discoveries and replace the names; the general storyline would ha
rdly alter. The same basic stand-off is here, with the scientific experts quick
to condemn the artefacts they were shown as "obvious forgeries". By default, the
artefacts could not be genuine, for we all "know" that Columbus was the first t
o reach America. When it came to the amateurs, Burrows was unprepared for and un
aware of the amount of in-fighting and controversy that exists in most amateur o
rganisations though communities such as those interested in UFOs, the mystery of
Rennes-le-Chteau and crop circles have so far easily outperformed anything that t
he "diffusionists" (those researching anomalous evidence in the New World, sugge
stive of transoceanic contacts) have been capable of. Burrows had thrown out a g
iant bone and the dogs were fighting over it. In the process, he was eatenand so
was his story.
Ground-Penetrating Radar Tests
Unfortunately, Russell Burrows's personal disillusionment led him to dynamite th
e entrance to the cave. He reportedly did this in 1989, three years before his c
o-written book The Mystery Cave of Many Faces was published (with Fred Rydholm;
Marquette, 1992). It's an extremely level-headed account of his discovery of the
cave and the artefacts insideand something that he considered to be his final wo
rd on the topic. But though Burrows often claimed to have lost interest in his d
iscovery (largely due to the difficult people he had to deal with), he still ret
urned to it, like to an old flame. The fact that he could not let go, even thoug
h there was nothing in it for him any more, should perhaps be seen as the best e
vidence that Burrows had indeed made a legitimate discovery. For if this discove
ry had started as a money-making scheme in 1982, by 1992 he had long abandoned s
uch hope. But the story did not die. In 1993, diffusionist thinkers now had a ne
w magazine to turn to, The Ancient American, which over the course of the subseq
uent decade continued to follow the story of the cave. In 1999, the magazine's f
ounder/publisher Wayne May decided that if no one else could bring about a chang
e in the situation, he would do so himself. Having reported on the subject for t
he previous six years, spoken to the man and heard him out, May got Burrows to s
ign a contract and to disclose and show him the location of the cavedespite his i
nitial belief that Burrows had lied about the location and had actually laid a f
alse trail. I have to say that, from my personal dealings with Burrows in 1992 a
nd 1993, I found him to be a man of honour. If he promised something, he would d
o it (cue for the critics to laugh at what they will see is my "obvious" gullibi
lity). And that, it seems, is what May felt as well. So, despite his initial rel
uctance to believe, May finally knew the location and persevered with his invest
igations. His groundpenetrating radar indicated that "a cave" was indeed there.
The problem was how to get in, considering that Burrows's explosion a decade ear
lier had destroyed the entrance. Unfortunately, it soon became evident that the
explosion had not only blocked the entrance but had also damaged the interior of
the tunnel. During May's various attempts to gain access, each time he stumbled
upon huge quantities of water. This seemed to indicate that the explosion had d
iverted the flow of an underground river and as a result had caused water to gus
h into the underground complex. It therefore looked like salvaging anything from
the underground complex would be terribly complexand largely outside May's capab
ilities.
Sceptics versus Truth-seekers
In a nutshell, this is a nearly 25-year-long story that has left hardly anyone w
ho has looked into it untouched or without an opinion. It is all too easy to lab
el Burrows a hoaxer. People who have known and worked with him have called him m
any things, but not a fabricator of evidence or a liar. He has an explosive natu
re on occasions and has sometimes not been the best judge of character. But Burr
ows's character flaws are largely incidental in this narrative. Only his sceptic
s focus too heavily on them, whereas they should be focusing instead on whether
or not he could actually have fabricated any, let alone such huge numbers of, in
scribed stones. If we were placed in the same situation, the end result would be
the same, for it is in the nature of such discoveries and how we react to them
that they tend to produce the same kind of outcomes. The sceptics would call it
an "obvious hoax" and the proponents would call it "clear evidence", finally pro
ving their respective arguments, whatever they may be. So, the fate of the cave
was sealed, doomed, from the moment that Burrows slid down into it. Where does t
his leave us? For sceptics to cry foul, they need to come up with better than "o
bvious" statements. There is no evidence that Burrows faked the stones. The scep
tics argue that Burrows was known to work with wood and create wooden artefacts
in his spare time. Indeed. This they see as "evidence" that he faked the stones.
More importantly, there is evidence that a cave system exists where Burrows cla
ims it exists. If it is all a hoax, the sceptics will need to provide evidence i
nstead of repeatedly using the word "obvious". Still, even if the cave system is
there, it may perhaps be lost to us forever. Any operation that could be mounte
d to provide a conclusive answer would cost an extraordinary amount of money and
such resources are "obviously" not in the hands of the diffusionists. So it seem
s that, once again, the establishment has won the fight and that may be the only
obvious thing about this entire story.
From Old World to New?
Juba II
What sense can we make of all this? Could a golden sarcophagus, allegedly found
in an Illinois cave, be evidence of pre-Columbian transoceanic travel between th
e "Old World" and the Americas, as so many people have claimed? While Burrows de
scribed what the cave looked like and what it contained, fortunately most of the
artefacts removed from the cave were photographed early on, in part due to the
efforts of James Schertz and Fred Rydholm. Various researchers have looked at th
is collection, and archaeologists have been quick to point out the mismatches. B
ut most cultures are a mismatch of cultures! London and New York are prime examp
les of how various cultures create a new one. Things were no different in ancien
t times, Alexandria probably being the best example. An important clue is that s
ome of the stone slabs displayed a signature that was known in the Old World. It
belonged to one Alexander Helios, son of the infamous Cleopatra and Marc Antony
and twin brother of Cleopatra Selene, the future co-ruler of Mauritania (in Afr
ica's western Sahara). This is the angle that Hubbard and Kelly built upon. Amon
gst Burrows's earliest team of amateur researchers were Jack Ward and Warren Coo
k, the latter who died in 1989. Cook's analysis of the artefacts made him conclu
de that creating them would have taken thousands of hours. But more importantly,
Cook continued Ward's analysis of their possible origin and argued that they we
re most likely the remains of a LibyanIberian expedition. He identified Mauritani
a's King Ptolemaeus I (1 BC 40 AD), son of Cleopatra Selene and King Juba II (52
-50 BC 23 AD), as the man responsible for this transoceanic voyage. Could this h
ave been possible? The rulers of Mauritania had fallen foul of the Roman emperor
s, if only because of the economic power that Mauritania had become, turning the
scales on who was in control of whom. When the Roman Empire decided to redress
that balance, the Mauritanian king Juba II and his family had to flee. It's poss
ible that he used the knowledge of the seas that his ancestors, the Phoenicians,
had gathered: he knew the location of the Azores, whose goods he was able to se
ll at the highest prices in Rome and elsewhere. So, if the Burrows Cave artefact
s are genuine and the interpretation correct, it's possible that the Phoenician-
informed Mauritanian royal family sailed further west, beyond the Azores, to the
Americas.
Mausoleum of Juba and Cleopatra Selene in Tipaza
If they ended up in Central America, perhaps they entered the Mississippi River
and travelled north until reaching Illinoiswhere they settled, far removed from t
he squabbles of the Old World. The cave artefacts are not the only evidence of t
he presence of an enigmatic people in the first century AD. According to one Nat
ive American legend, the region contains the tomb of a king who was not native t
o America. The tribe once knew the location, but this information is now lost. C
ould this location be the same as the Burrows Cave? Furthermore, it is known tha
t Juba II ordered a golden sarcophagus to be prepared for the mausoleum that had
been built for him in Tipaza (in modern-day Algeria). This was one of the prize
d possessions that the Romans had tried to get their hands on, but they never di
d find the sarcophagus or the Mauritanian king. Official history is silent on th
e fate of both. Yet it is clear that King Juba II must have died and that he and
his sarcophagus must have ended up somewhere, perhaps in Illinois. That seems "
obvious" logic to meand logic may be all that we can work with for the foreseeabl
e future.
A first article on the Burrows Cave appeared in Forntier Magazine 3.5 (1997); an
update occurred in 2004. The above third version, adapted, appeared in Nexus Ne
w Times 13.5 (August-September 2006). The article also ran as the cover story in
Ancient American Magazine Volume 11, Issues 71 (December 2006), as "Ancient Afr
ican Gold in Illinois?", as well as in "Unearthing Ancient America".

Atlantis Rising Magazine Library - Ancient Mysteries, The Unexplained, and Futu
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MAY/JUNE 2015 - #111
NEW LIGHT ON THE BURROWS CAVE CONTROVERSY
COULD THE DEBUNKERS HAVE GOTTEN AHEAD OF THEMSELVES?
spread_image
In 1982, Russell E. Burrows was trolling alone among the sparsely inhabited hill
s and fields in southern Illinois, twenty miles from the Ohio River. The amateur
treasure hunter, originally from West Virginia, would later claim to have been
searching for Civil War-era buckles, pioneer horseshoes, or old coins, with his
metal detector, when he supposedly fell into a large, overgrown hole. The subter
ranean interior, he would say, connected to a corridor and series of man-made ch
ambers filled with a vast and bewildering array of black river stones (known as
argillite), white marble, and sandstone engraved predominantly with the portrait
s of men attired in the garb of ancient Rome, Judea, Carthage, and West Africa.
Other stones were covered with Christian themes and a mix of inscriptions in hie
roglyphic Egyptian, Hebrew, Numidian (ancient North African), Ogham (Keltic), an
d North Semitic (a form of Phoenician). Similar imagery appeared on a cache of g
old coins and bars.
Over the next seven years, Burrows removed large numbers of these items, selling
them mostly to amateur antiquarians, but was accused by many of engaging in a t
ransparent fraud. While mainstream scholarsconvinced that no one from the ancient
(old) world arrived in America before Columbusdismissed the collection out of ha
nd as a bunch self-evident fakes, debate concerning their prehistoric authentici
ty still rages among many amateur archaeologists, who are, themselves, deeply di
vided about the real provenance of the cave artifacts. This uncertainty was chiefl
y instigated by Burrows himself, who steadfastly refused to reveal the site of h
is cave for independent verification, a reluctance that quite naturally cast ser
ious doubt on the veracity of his claims.
After seven years of independent research, Wayne May, publisher of Ancient Ameri
can magazine (Colfax, WI), decided to initiate professional excavations near Ric
hmond Countys Embrarras River, which, he concluded, was the most likely site of B
urrows Cave. But after making some promising finds, however, May was forced to d
iscontinue his project for want of financial support, a result of the 2008 reces
sion. About the same time, Bear and Company (Rochester, VT) published my book, T
he Lost Treasure of King Juba, which described the disparate objects allegedly r
emoved from the unidentified site as possible evidence for Roman Era colonizers.
These were, I argued, refugees from Emperor Caligulas invasion of Mauretania, a
quasi-independent kingdom in North Africa comprising territories equivalent to m
odern Morocco and western Algeria.
Juba II (52 BCAD 23) was a Mauretanian monarch who amassed great wealth coveted b
y the bankrupt Caesar. Caligulas imperial legions, on entering the mausoleum cont
aining the Kings treasures, found it empty. Perhaps, I speculated, these riches h
ad been spirited across the ocean to North America. At that timeAD the first cent
urythe Mauretanians were skilled mariners, while our continent was one, vast batt
lefield of intertribal warfare, save only for part of what is now southern Illin
ois, where Burrows Cave was said to be found.
Since my books publication twelve years ago, new light from various sources has b
een shed on its still unresolved subject matter. Among the new investigators is
Scott Wolter, a university-trained forensic geologist, who subjected several of
the alleged artifacts to careful study at his award-winning laboratory in St. Pa
ul, Minnesota. He is also the host of a History Channel series, Ancient America
Unearthed. While scrutinizing several engraved blocks of white marble from the c
ave, Wolter discovered that their reverse sides were faintly, but discernibly, c
arved with Anglo-Saxon names, brief inscriptions in mid-nineteenth century Engli
sh, along with dates and places of birth and death, together with Christian cros
ses. They were tombstones from the early to mid-1800s. He and other investigator
s concluded that someone had stolen badly weathered headstones from an old, sout
hern Illinois cemetery to carve Roman-like imagery on their backsides. Case clos
ed, or maybe not.
On further reflection, the apparent exposure of fraud seemed less clear. Skeptic
s pointed out that nineteenth-century stonecutters might just as well have stumb
led upon some of the anciently engraved slabs in a farmers field and exploited th
e otherwise costly marble for use as grave markers. Such a possibility seemed mo
re plausible to long-term followers of the cave controversy, who recalled that a
s far back as in the early 1990s, critics of the caves self-styled discoverer had
noted the resemblance of his carved tablets to tombstones. The point is, if, in
fact, these particular stones, engraved with the profiles of helmeted warriors
and ancient script, had been recycled as headstones 170 or more years ago, as su
ggested by the dates on their surfaces, then they could not have been faked in m
odern times. Unfortunately, there was no way to know for sure, one way or the ot
her.
These nineteenth-century associations seemed to be corroborated by local but unr
elated farmers, whose continuous family roots in the area went back to the days
of its first modern settlers. When word of Burrows Cave began to spread througho
ut the region during the late 1980s, a few senior residents recalled how they an
d their forebears occasionally unearthed similarly illustrated stones while plow
ing wheat fields. Sometimes, the peculiar objects were kept as curiosities or tr
aded with neighbors but, more often, discarded. These multigenerational inhabita
nts remember how their grandparents believed that the peculiar artifacts had bee
n used by practitioners of a black-magic cult said to have conducted secret ritu
als in Richmond County caves during the 1880s and 90s.
While efforts to verify the prior existence of such a group came to nothing, sat
anic ceremonies and sacrificial activities reportedly occur to this day in rural
southern Illinois and, indeed, at least a few Burrows Cave-like stones have sur
faced beyond the Embrarras Rivermost notably, the so-called Bird-Man Tablet, found
east of the city of St. Louis, just across the Mississippi River in Collinsville
, Illinois, at Cahokia, where a large ceremonial center that flourished during t
he tenth and eleventh centuries AD. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal found at the
base of the lobe or stump associated with the tablet found inside Monks Mounda co
lossal step pyramidyielded an approximate date of AD 1310. Discovered in 1971more
than ten years before Russell Burrows first entered his cavethe image on the fron
t of the sandstone depicts a human dressed in eagle or falcon regalia. As such,
the Bird Man stone92 mm long, 62mm wide, and 17mm thickphysically and stylisticall
y resembles Burrows Cave objects.
Excluding the lithic Bird Man and a half dozen or more, similar-sized sandstone
tablets found near Cahokia and around Madison Countys Horseshoe Lake, nine miles
north of Monks Mound, precisely how many illustrated stones have been associated
with Burrows Cave? Estimates ranged from a few dozen to tens of thousands. To c
alculate a realistic figure, Scott Wolter, Wayne May, and I tallied up all our i
nformation concerning Burrows customers, compiling the total number of their veri
fied purchases. Unable to track down every, individual object, we could not arri
ve at a precise determination but did account for around three thousand known ar
tifacts, six thousand less than cited in my book. This number is, nevertheless,
still far too great for any single hoaxsteror even a group of forgersto mass-produ
ce. This conclusion is especially credible given the stones sometimes lengthy, co
mplex texts in at least five, different, written languages and the often-high ar
tistic quality of the portraits themselves.
It was, in fact, their frequently visual excellence that particularly attracted
the recent attention of Jill Baker. The award-winning painter, illustrator and t
eacher at the University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, closely studied Burrow
s Cave imagery, which she easily recognized as the diverse work of not a few, bu
t many different artists. It was clear, then, that most of the numerous depictio
ns were not simply knocked out by untrained craftsmen, but could only have been
carefully carved in the hard argillite by skilled hands.
Bakers research went beyond artistic considerations to the making of a startling
deduction: Burrows Cave never existed. Her diligent, personal investigations led
back to an old, agricultural estate in southern Illinois. It was here that she
learned how Lowery farmstead family members, as long ago as the late nineteenth
century, were perplexed by a large, undetermined number of shallow pits pock-mar
king their land. Inside the irregularly spaced depressions were found caches of
mostly black stones inscribed with strange writing and emblazoned with the faces
of strange men wearing unfamiliar headgear. Generations of Lowerys regarded the
se Indian stones with superstitious dread and had little personally to do with the
m. Rumors, nonetheless, spread locally of these mysterious objects, which were e
ventually featured in a treasure-hunting magazine of the 1920s, according to Ken
t Christon, antiquarian and lecturer at an alternative archaeology conference he
ld in Washington, Indianathirty-four miles, incidentally, from the suspected loca
tion of Burrows Cavelast November. It was from a pertinent issue of this old peri
odical, Christon stated, that Russell Burrows, himself an avid treasure hunter,
learned about the Lowery farm pits, from which he extracted and purchased the ar
tifacts.
The farm in question and its many pitsall of them empty nowstill exists. The story
of its pits may provide an alternative explanation to the cave, which Mr. Burrows
declined to disclose since he began selling its artifacts in the early 1980s. O
r, as other investigators, such as Wayne May, argue, the Lowery site might be an
additional source for such objects, which have, as described above, been discov
ered in other parts of southern Illinois. Before being shut down for lack of fun
ding, Mays forty-foot-tall tractor-rig was positioned by crewmembers above the su
spected site and did, in fact, sink a drill bit into an almost perfectly square,
stone chamber. Unfortunately, whatever it may once have contained had been flus
hed out years before by the rushing waters of the nearby Embrarras River. The di
sappointed researchers concluded that a gunpowder explosion set off too close to
the site in late 1989 had ruptured an adjacent aquifer, flooding the chamber to
its ceiling. That this artificial, subterranean room had been identified as a p
ossible location for Burrows Cave served to encourage May and his crew.
Since Wayne Mays drill found its mark, there have been other suggestions of less
dramatic, but no less revealing, character. May has since obtained an unlikely s
ubgroup of the Burrows Cave collection, comprised of small, polished, dark stone
, human figures, occasionally nude, but mostly dressed in what appear to be humb
le clothes. Carved with contiguous imagery on either side, the objects seem to h
ave served, not ritual purposes, but also, as toys; specifically, dolls, each av
eraging about four to five inches in length. There are between fifty to seventy
of them, sometimes comically portrayed as grumpy-looking laundresses or washer-w
omen, hefting bags of clothes over their shoulders, or engaged in similarly ardu
ous, everyday chores. Three, larger specimens are yellowish-brown sandstone carv
ed in the round.
The charming simplicity of these little models suggests authenticity to some. Th
ey also comprise the only known physical references to children throughout the w
hole assemblage of Burrows Cave materials. After all, the few, university-traine
d scientists brave enough to risk the ire of their colleagues by speaking out pu
blicly on behalf of the ancient provenance of these and related artifacts were c
onvinced that the body of the sites material evidence belonged to Roman Era refug
ees from North Africa, which must have included their children.
James P. Scherz, professor of civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin
, in Madison, and a leading archaeoastronomer; Wake Forest Universitys professor
of history in North Carolina; Dr. Warren Cook, professor of history and anthropo
logy at Vermonts Castleton State College; and Dr. Joseph Mahan, professor of hist
ory at the University of Georgia, in Columbushave all stated that a neo-Mauretani
an colony established itself nearly two thousand years ago in down-state Illinoi
s. Its southern-most frontier was set up against the violent incursions of nativ
e American tribal peoplesperhaps, at least partially, the ancestors of todays Shaw
nee Indiansin the form of stone battlements atop strategic bluffs forming a stagg
ered line from the Mississippi River in the west across the state to the Ohio Ri
ver in the east.
When The Lost Treasure of King Juba was written twelve years ago, nine such wall
s were recognized. Since then, Mark Motsinger won the Outstanding Illinois Teach
er Award from the Illinois State Historical Society for his discovery of an addi
tional six prehistoric breastworks. Over the last twenty centuries, the devastat
ion of severe earthquake activity in this tectonically active zonegeological lair
of the notorious New Madrid Faulthas undoubtedly shaken many of the formerly twe
lve-foot-high parapets to their foundations, now hidden under thick vegetation t
hat never relinquishes its cover, even in the mild winters of southern Illinois.
Only Motsingers methodical research preparation, followed by no less meticulous s
couring of the regions suitable clifftops, enabled him to make his additional dis
coveries. Commenting on his success, Robert Jackson, a retired forester with the
states Department of Natural Resources, has himself collected evidence for forty
-one ancient, dry-stone bulwarks running from the Missouri to Indiana borders. I
f Motsingers continuing investigations eventually verify these many ancient walls
, they could testify to a virtual pre-Columbian Maginot Line in southern Illinoi
s.
While these ongoing revelations offer intriguing, even credible possibilities fo
r the areas colonization by Roman Era refugees, the location or very existence of
Burrows Cave itself is still unknown.
Related
Wallis Budge Gets the Last Word
Wallis Budge Gets the Last Word
In "Alternative Science"
The Writing on the Wall?
The Writing on the Wall?
In "Alternative History"
The Skull in the Pyramid
The Skull in the Pyramid
In "Ancient Mysteries"
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Sacred Texts Atlantis Index Previous Next
CHAPTER VIII.
LEGENDS OF THE AGE OF DARKNESS.
ALL the cosmogonies begin with an Age of Darkness; a damp, cold, rainy, dismal t
ime.
Hesiod tells us, speaking of the beginning of things
"In truth, then, foremost sprung Chaos. . . . But from Chaos were born Erebus an
d black Night; and from Night again sprang forth ther and Day, whom she bare afte
r having conceived by union with Erebus."
Aristophanes, in his "Aves," says:[1]
"Chaos and Night and black Erebus and wide Tartarus first existed."[2]
Orpheus says:
"From the beginning the gloomy night enveloped and obscured all things that were
under the ether" (the clouds). "The earth was invisible on account of the darkn
ess, but the light broke through the ether" (the clouds), "and illuminated the e
arth."
By this power were produced the sun, moon, and stars.[3]
It is from Sanchoniathon that we derive most of the little we know of that ancie
nt and mysterious people, the Phnicians. He lived before the Trojan war; and of h
is writings but fragments survive--quotations in the writings of others.
[1. "The Theogony."
2. Faber s "Origin of Pagan Idolatry," vol. i, p. 255.
3. Cory s "Fragments," p. 298.]
{p. 209}
He tells us that--
"The beginning of all things was a condensed, windy air, or a breeze of thick ai
r, and a chaos turbid and black as Erebus.
"Out of this chaos was generated Mt, which some call Ilus," (mud,) "but others th
e putrefaction of a watery mixture. And from this sprang all the seed of the cre
ation, and the generation of the universe. . . . And, when the air began to send
forth light, winds were produced and clouds, and very great defluxions and torr
ents of the heavenly waters."
Was this "thick air" the air thick with comet-dust, which afterward became the m
ud? Is this the meaning of the "turbid chaos"?
We turn to the Babylonian legends. Berosus wrote from records preserved in the t
emple of Belus at Babylon. He says:
"There was a time in which there existed nothing but darkness and an abyss of wa
ters, wherein resided most hideous beings, which were produced of a twofold prin
ciple."
Were these "hideous beings" the comets?
From the "Laws of Menu," of the Hindoos, we learn that the universe existed at f
irst in darkness.
We copy the following text from the Vedas:
"The Supreme Being alone existed; afterward there was universal darkness; next t
he watery ocean was produced by the diffusion of virtue."
We turn to the legends of the Chinese, and we find the same story:
Their annals begin with "Pwan-ku, or the Reign of Chaos."[1]
[1. "The Ancient Dynasties of Berosus and China," Rev. T. P. Crawford, D. D., p.
4.]
{p. 210}
And we are told by the Chinese historians that--
"P an-ku came forth in the midst of the great chaotic void, and we know not his
origin; that he knew the rationale of heaven and earth, and comprehended the cha
nges of the Darkness and the Light."[1]
He "existed before the shining of the Light."[2] He was "the Prince of Chaos."
"After the chaos cleared away, heaven appeared first in order, then earth, then
after they existed, and the atmosphere had changed its character, man came forth
."[3]
That is to say, P an-ku lived through the Age of Darkness, during a chaotic peri
od, and while the atmosphere was pestilential with the gases of the comet. Where
did he live? The Chinese annals tell us:
"In the age after the chaos, when heaven and earth had just separated."
That is, when the great mass of cloud had just lifted from the earth:
"Records had not yet been established or inscriptions invented. At first even th
e rulers dwelt in caves and desert places, eating raw flesh and drinking blood.
At this fortunate juncture Pan-ku-sze came forth, and from that time heaven and
earth began to be heaven and earth, men and things to be men and things, and so
the chaotic state passed away."[1]
This is the rejuvenation of the world told of in so many legends.
And these annals tell us further of the "Ten Stems," being the stages of the ear
th s primeval history.
"At Wu--the Sixth Stem--the Darkness and the Light unite with injurious effects-
-all things become solid," (frozen?), "and the Darkness destroys the growth of a
ll things.
[1. Compendium of Wong-shi-Shing 1526-1590," Crawford, p. 3.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid., p. 2.
4. Ibid., p. 3.]
{p. 211}
"At Kung--the Seventh Stem--the Darkness nips all things."
But the Darkness is passing away:
"At Jin--the Ninth Stem--the Light begins to nourish all things in the recesses
below.
"Lastly, at Tsze, all things begin to germinate."[1]
The same story is told in the "Twelve Branches."
"1. K wun-tun stands for the period of chaos, the cold midnight darkness. It is
said that with it all things began to germinate in the hidden recesses of the un
der-world."
In the 2d--Ch i-fun-yoh--"light and heat become active, and all things begin to
rise in obedience to its nature." In the 3d--Sheh-ti-kuh--the stars and sun prob
ably appear, as from this point the calendar begins. In the 5th--Chi-shii--all t
hings in a torpid state begin to come forth. In the 8th--Hen-hia--all things harm
onize, and the present order of things is established; that is to say, the effec
ts of the catastrophe have largely passed away.[2]
The kings who governed before the Drift were called the Rulers of heaven and ear
th; those who came after were the Rulers of man.
"Cheu Ching-huen says: The Rulers of man succeeded to the Rulers of heaven and
the Rulers of earth in the government; that then the atmosphere gradually cleare
d away, and all things sprang up together; that the order of time was gradually
settled, and the usages of society gradually became correct and respectful."[3]
And then we read that "the day and night had not yet been divided," but, after a
time, "day and night were distinguished from each other."[4]
Here we have the history of some event which changed
[1. "Compendium of Wong-shi-Shing 1526-1590," Crawford, pp. 4, 5.
2. Ibid., p. 8.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid., p. 7.]
{p. 212}
the dynasties of the world: the heavenly kingdom was succeeded by a merely human
one; there were chaos, cold, and darkness, and death to vegetation; then the li
ght increases, and vegetation begins once more to germinate; the atmosphere is t
hick; the heavens rest on the earth; day and night can not be distinguished from
one another, and mankind dwell in caves, and live on raw meat and blood.
Surely all this accords wonderfully with our theory.
And here we have the same story in another form:
"The philosopher of Oraibi tells us that when the people ascended by means of th
e magical tree, which constituted the ladder from the lower world to this, they
found the firmament, the ceiling of this world, low down upon the earth--the flo
or of this world."
That is to say, when the people climbed up, from the cave in which they were bid
den, to the surface of the earth, the dense clouds rested on the face of the ear
th.
"Machito, one of their gods, raised the firmament on his shoulders to where it i
s now seen. Still the world was dark, as there was no sun, no moon, and no stars
. So the people murmured because of the darkness and the cold. Machito said, Br
ing me seven maidens ; and they brought him seven maidens; and he said, Bring m
e seven baskets of cotton-bolls ; and they brought him seven baskets of cotton-b
olls; and he taught the seven maidens to weave a magical fabric from the cotton,
and when they had finished it he held it aloft, and the breeze carried it away
toward the firmament, and in the twinkling of an eye it was transformed into a b
eautiful and full-orbed moon; and the same breeze caught the remnants of floccul
ent cotton, which the maidens had scattered during their work, and carried them
aloft, and they were transformed into bright stars. But still it was cold; and t
he people murmured again, and Machito said, Bring me seven buffalo-robes ; and
they brought him seven buffalo-robes, and from the densely matted hair of the ro
bes he wove another wonderful fabric, which the storm carried
{p. 213}
away into the sky, and it was transformed into the full-orbed sun. Then Machito
appointed times and seasons, and ways for the heavenly bodies; and the gods of t
he firmament have obeyed the injunctions of Machito from the day of their creati
on to the present." *
Among the Thlinkeets of British Columbia there is a legend that the Great Crow o
r Raven, Yehl, was the creator of most things:
"Very dark, damp, and chaotic was the world in the beginning; nothing with breat
h or body moved there except Yehl; in the likeness of a raven he brooded over th
e mist; his black winds beat down the vast confusion; the waters went back befor
e him and the dry land appeared. The Thlinkeets were placed on the earth--though
how or when does not exactly appear--while the world was still in darkness, and
without sun, moon, or stars."[2]
The legend proceeds at considerable length to tell the doings of Yehl. His uncle
tried to slay him, and, when he failed, "he imprecated with a potent curse a de
luge upon all the earth. . . . The flood came, the waters rose and rose; but Yeh
l clothed himself in his bird-skin, and soared up to the heavens, where he stuck
his beak into a cloud, and remained until the waters were assuaged."[3]
This tradition reminds us of the legend of the Thessalian Cerambos, "who escaped
the flood by rising into the air on wings, given him by the nymphs."
I turn now to the traditions of the Miztecs, who dwelt on the outskirts of the M
exican Empire; this legend was taken by Fray Gregoria Garcia[4] from a book foun
d in a convent in Cuilapa, a little Indian town, about a league and a half south
of Oajaca; the book had been compiled by the vicar of the convent, "just as the
y
[1. "Popular Science Monthly," October, 1879, p. 800.
2. Bancroft s "Native Races," vol. iii, p. 98.
3. Ibid., p. 99.
4. "Origen de los Ind.," pp. 327-329.]
{p. 214}
themselves were accustomed to depict and to interpret it in their primitive scro
lls":
"In the year and in the day of obscurity and darkness," (the days of the dense c
louds?), "yea, even before the days or the years were," (before the visible revo
lution of the sun marked the days, and the universal darkness and cold prevented
the changes of the seasons?), "when the world was in great darkness and chaos,
when the earth was covered with water, and there was nothing but mud and slime o
n all the face of the earth--behold a god became visible, and his name was the D
eer, and his surname was the Lion-snake. There appeared also a very beautiful go
ddess called the Deer, and surnamed the Tiger-snake. These two gods were the ori
gin and beginning of all the gods."
This lion-snake was probably one of the comets; the tiger-snake was doubtless a
second comet, called after the tiger, on account of its variegated, mottled appe
arance. It will be observed they appeared before the light had returned,
These gods built a temple on a high place, and laid out a garden, and waited pat
iently, offering sacrifices to the higher gods, wounding themselves with flint k
nives, and "praying that it might seem good to them to shape the firmament, and
lighten the darkness of the world, and to establish the foundation of the earth;
or, rather, to gather the waters together so that the earth might appear--as th
ey had no place to rest in save only one little garden."
Here we have the snakes and the people confounded together. The earth was afterw
ard made fit for the use of mankind, and at a later date there came--
"A great deluge, wherein perished many of the sons and daughters that had been b
orn to the gods; and it is said that, when the deluge was passed, the human race
{p. 215}
was restored, as at the first, and the Miztec kingdom populated, and the heavens
and the earth established."[1]
Father Duran, in his MS. "History Antique of New Spain," written in A. D. 1585,
gives the Cholula legend, which commences:
"In the beginning, before the light of the sun had been created, this land was i
n obscurity and darkness and void of any created thing."
In the Toltec legends we read of a time when--
"There was a tremendous hurricane that carried away trees, mounds, houses, and t
he largest edifices, notwithstanding which many men and women escaped, principal
ly in caves, and places where the great hurricane could not reach them. A few da
ys having passed, they set out to see what had become of the earth, when they fo
und it all populated with monkeys. All this time they were in darkness, without
seeing the light of the sun, nor the moon, that the wind had brought them."[2]
In the Aztec creation-myths, according to the accounts furnished by Mendieta, an
d derived from Fray Andres de Olmos, one of the earliest of the Christian missio
naries among the Mexicans, we have the following legend of the "Return of the Su
n":
"Now, there had been no sun in existence for many years; so the gods being assem
bled in a place called Teotihuacan, six leagues from Mexico, and gathered at the
time around a great fire, told their devotees that he of them who should first
cast himself into that, fire should have the honor of being transformed into a s
un. So, one of them, called Nanahuatzin . . . flung himself into the fire. Then
the gods" (the chiefs?) "began to peer through the gloom in all directions for t
he expected light, and to make bets as to what part of heaven. he should
[1. Bancroft s "Native Races," vol. iii, pp. 71-73.
2. "North Americans of Antiquity," p. 239.]
{p. 216}
first appear in. Some said Here, and some said There ; but when the sun rose
they were all proved wrong, for not one of them had fixed upon the east."
In the long-continued darkness they had lost all knowledge of the cardinal point
s. The ancient landmarks, too, were changed.
The "Popul Vuh," the national book of the Quiches, tells us of four ages of the
world. The man of the first age was made of clay; he was "strengthless, inept, w
atery; he could not move his head, his face looked but one way; his sight was re
stricted, he could not look behind him," that is, he had no knowledge of the pas
t; "he had been endowed with language, but he had no intelligence, so he was con
sumed in the water."[1]
Then followed a higher race of men; they filled the world with their progeny; th
ey had intelligence, but no moral sense"; "they forgot the Heart of Heaven." The
y were destroyed by fire and pitch from heaven, accompanied by tremendous earthq
uakes, from which only a few escaped.
Then followed a period when all was dark, save the white light "of the morning-s
tar--sole light as yet of the primeval world"--probably a volcano.
"Once more are the gods in council, in the darkness, in the night of a desolated
universe."
Then the people prayed to God for light, evidently for the return of the sun:
" Hail! O Creator they cried, O Former! Thou that hearest and understandest us!
abandon us not! forsake us not! O God, thou that art in heaven and on earth; O
Heart of Heaven I O Heart of Earth! give us descendants, and a posterity as long
as the light endure. " . . .
In other words, let not the human race cease to be.
[1. Bancroft s "Native Races," vol. iii, p. 46.]
{p. 217}
"It was thus they spake, living tranquilly, invoking the return of the light; wa
iting the rising of the sun; watching the star of the morning, precursor of the
sun. But no sun came, and the four men and their descendants grew uneasy. We ha
ve no person to watch over us, they said; nothing to guard our symbols! Then
they adopted gods of their own, and waited. They kindled fires, for the climate
was colder; then there fell great rains and hail-storms, and put out their fires
. Several times they made fires, and several times the rains and storms extingui
shed them. Many other trials also they underwent in Tulan, famines and such thin
gs, and a general dampness and cold--for the earth was moist, there being yet no
sun."
All this accords with what I have shown we might expect as accompanying the clos
e of the so-called Glacial Age. Dense clouds covered the sky, shutting out the l
ight of the sun; perpetual rains and storms fell; the world was cold and damp, m
uddy and miserable; the people were wanderers, despairing and hungry. They seem
to have come from an eastern land. We are told:
"Tulan was a much colder climate than the happy eastern land they had left."
Many generations seem to have grown up and perished under the sunless skies, "wa
iting for the return of the light"; for the "Popul Vuh" tells us that "here also
the language of all the families was confused, so that no one of the first four
men could any longer understand the speech of the others."
That is to say, separation and isolation into rude tribes had made their tongues
unintelligible to one another.
This shows that many, many years--it may be centuries--must have elapsed before
that vast volume of moisture, carried up by evaporation, was able to fall
{p. 218}
back, in snow and rain to the land and sea, and allow the sun to shine through "
the blanket of the dark." Starvation encountered the scattered fragments of mank
ind.
And in these same Quiche legends of Central America we are told:
"The persons of the godhead were enveloped in the darkness which enshrouded a de
solated world."[1]
They counseled together, and created four men of white and yellow maize (the whi
te and yellow races?). It was still dark; for they had no light but the light of
the morning-star. They came to Tulan.
And the Abb Brasseur de Bourbourg gives further details of the Quiche legends:
Now, behold our ancients and our fathers were made lords, and had their dawn. Be
hold we will relate also the rising of the sun, the moon, and the stars! Great w
as their joy when they saw the morning-star, which came out first, with its resp
lendent face before the sun. At last the sun itself began to come forth; the ani
mals, small and great, were in joy; they rose from the water-courses and ravines
, and stood on the mountain-tops, with their heads toward where the sun was comi
ng. An innumerable crowd of people were there, and the dawn cast light on all th
ese people at once. At last the face of the ground was dried by the sun: like a
man the sun showed himself, and his presence warmed and dried the surface of the
ground. Before the sun appeared, muddy and wet was the surface of the ground, a
nd it was before the sun appeared, and then only the sun rose like a man. But hi
s heat had no strength, and he did but show when he rose; he only remained like"
(an image in) "a mirror and it is not, indeed, the same sun that appears now, t
hey say, in the stories."[2]
[1. "North Americans of Antiquity," p. 214.
2. Tylor s "Early History of Mankind," p. 308.]
{p. 219}
How wonderfully does all this accord with what we have shown would follow from t
he earth s contact with a comet!
The earth is wet and covered with mud, the clay; the sun is long absent; at last
he returns; he dries the mud, but his face is still covered with the remnants o
f the great cloud-belt; "his heat has no strength"; he shows himself only in gli
mpses; he shines through the fogs like an image in a mirror; he is not like the
great blazing orb we see now.
But the sun, when it did appear in all its glory, must have been a terrible yet
welcome sight to those who had not looked upon him for many years. We read in th
e legends of the Thlinkeets of British Columbia, after narrating that the world
was once "dark, damp, and chaotic," full of water, with no sun, moon, or stars,
how these luminaries were restored. The great hero-god of the race, Yehl, got ho
ld of three mysterious boxes, and, wrenching the lids off, let out the sun, moon
, and stars.
"When he set up the blazing light" (of the sun) "in heaven, the people that saw
it were at first afraid. Many hid themselves in the mountains, and in the forest
s, and even in the water, and were changed into the various kinds of animals tha
t frequent these places."[1]
Says James Geikie:
"Nor can we form any proper conception of how long a time was needed to bring ab
out that other change of climate, under the influence of which, slowly and imper
ceptibly, this immense sheet of frost melted away from the lowlands and retired
to the mountain recesses. We must allow that long ages elapsed before the warmth
became such as to induce plants and animals to clothe and people the land. How
vast a time, also, must have passed away ere the warmth reached its climax!"[2]
[1. Bancroft s "Native Races," vol. iii, p. 100.
2. "The Great Ice Age," p. 184.]
{p. 220}
And all this time the rain fell. There could be no return of the sun until all t
he mass of moisture sucked up by the comet s heat had been condensed into water,
and falling on the earth had found its way back to the ocean; and this process
had to be repeated many times. It was the age of the great primeval rain.

THE PRIMEVAL STORM.

In the Andes, Humboldt tells us of a somewhat similar state of facts:
"A thick mist during a particular season obscures the firmament for many months.
Not a planet, not the most brilliant stars of the southern hemisphere--Canopus,
the
{p. 221}
Southern Cross, nor the feet of Centaur--are visible. It is frequently almost im
possible to discover the position of the moon. If by chance the outlines of the
sun s disk be visible during the day, it appears devoid of rays."
Says Croll:
"We have seen that the accumulation of snow and ice on the ground, resulting fro
m the long and cold winters, tended to cool the air and produce fogs, which cut
off the sun s rays."[1]
The same writer says:
"Snow and ice lower the temperature by chilling the air and condensing the rays
into thick fogs. The great strength of the sun s rays during summer, due to his
nearness at that season, would, in the first place, tend to produce an increased
amount of evaporation. But the presence of snow-clad mountains and an icy sea w
ould chill the atmosphere and condense the vapors into thick fogs. The thick fog
s and cloudy sky would effectually prevent the sun s rays from reaching the eart
h, and the snow, in consequence, would remain unmelted during the entire summer.
In fact, we have this very condition of things exemplified in some of the islan
ds of the Southern Ocean at the present day. Sandwich Land, which is in the same
parallel of latitude as the north of Scotland, is covered with ice and snow the
entire summer; and in the Island of South Georgia, which is in the same paralle
l as the center of England, the perpetual snow descends to the very sea-beach. T
he following is Captain Cook s description of this dismal place: We thought it
very extraordinary, he says, that an island between the latitudes of 54 and 55 s
hould, in the very height of summer, be almost wholly covered with frozen snow,
in some places many fathoms deep. . . . The head of the bay was terminated by ic
e-cliffs of considerable height, pieces of which were continually breaking off,
which made a noise like cannon. Nor were the interior parts of the country less
horrible. The savage rocks raised their lofty summits
[1. "Climate and Time," p. 75.]
{p. 222}
till lost in the clouds, and valleys were covered with seemingly perpetual snow.
Not a tree nor a shrub of any size was to be seen. "
I return to the legends.
The Gallinomeros of Central California also recollect the day of darkness and th
e return of the sun:
"In the beginning they say there was no light, but a thick darkness covered all
the earth. Man stumbled blindly against man and against the animals, the birds c
lashed together in the air, and confusion reigned everywhere. The Hawk happening
by chance to fly into the face of the Coyote, there followed mutual apologies,
and afterward a long discussion on the emergency of the situation. Determined to
make some effort toward abating the public evil, the two set about a remedy. Th
e Coyote gathered a great heap, of tules" (rushes) "rolled them into a ball, and
gave it to the Hawk, together with some pieces of flint. Gathering all together
as well as he could, the Hawk flew straight up into the sky, where he struck fi
re with the flints, lit his ball of reeds, and left it there whirling along all
in a fierce red glow as it continues to the present; for it is the sun. In the s
ame way the moon was made, but as the tules of which it was constructed were rat
her damp, its light has always been somewhat uncertain and feeble."[2]
The Algonquins believed in a world, an earth, "anterior to this of ours, but one
without light or human inhabitants. A lake burst its bounds and submerged it wh
olly."
This reminds us of the Welsh legend, and the bursting of the lake Llion (see pag
e 135, ante).
The ancient world was united in believing in great cycles of time terminating in
terrible catastrophes:
[1. Captain Cook s "Second Voyage," vol. ii, pp. 232-235;
2. "Climate and Time," Croll, pp. 60, 61.
3. Powers s Pomo MS., Bancroft s "Native Races," vol. iii, p. 86.]
{p. 223}
Hence arose the belief in Epochs of Nature, elaborated by ancient philosophers i
nto the Cycles of the Stoics, the great Days of Brahm, long periods of time roun
ding off by sweeping destructions, the Cataclysms and Ekpyrauses of the universe
. Some thought in these all things perished, others that a few survived. . . . F
or instance, Epietetus favors the opinion that at the solstices of the great yea
r not only all human beings, but even the gods, are annihilated; and speculates
whether at such times Jove feels lonely.[1] Macrobius, so far from agreeing with
him, explains the great antiquity of Egyptian civilization by the hypothesis th
at that country is so happily situated between the pole and the equator, as to e
scape both the deluge and conflagration of the great cycle."[2]
In the Babylonian Genesis tablets we have the same references to the man or peop
le who, after the great disaster, divided the heavens into constellations, and r
egulated, that is, discovered and revealed, their movements. In the Fifth Tablet
of the Creation Legend[3] we read:
"1. It was delightful all that was fixed by the great gods.
2. Stars, their appearance (in figures) of animals he arranged.
3. To fix the year through the observation of their constellations,
4. Twelve months or signs of stars in three rows he arranged,
5. From the day when the year commences unto the close.
6. He marked the positions of the wandering stars to shine in their courses,
7. That they may not do injury, and may not trouble any one."
That is to say, the civilized race that followed the great cataclysm, with whom
the history of the event was
[1. Discourses," book iii, chapter xiii.
2. Brinton s Myths of the New World," p. 215.
3. Proctor s Pleasant Ways," p. 393.]
{p. 224}
yet fresh, and who were impressed with all its horrors, and who knew well the te
nure of danger and terror on which they held all the blessings of the world, tur
ned their attention to the study of the heavenly bodies, and sought to understan
d the source of the calamity which had so recently overwhelmed the world. Hence
they "marked," as far as they were able, "the positions of the comets, " "that
they might not" again "do injury, and not trouble any one." The word here given
is Nibir, which Mr. Smith says does not mean planets, and, in the above account,
Nibir is contradistinguished from the stars; they have already been arranged in
constellations; hence it can only mean comets.
And the tablet proceeds, with distinct references to the Age of Darkness:
"8. The positions of the gods Bel and Hea he fixed with him,
9. And he opened the great gates in the darkness shrouded.
10. The fastenings were strong on the left and right.
11. In its mass, (i. e., the lower chaos,) he made a boiling.
12. The god Uru (the moon) he caused to rise out, the night he overshadowed,
13. To fix it also for the light of the night until the shining of the day.
14. That the month might not be broken, and in its amount be regular,
15. At the beginning of the month, at the rising of the night,
16. His (the sun s) horns are breaking through to shine on the heavens.
17. On the seventh day to a circle he begins to swell,
18. And stretches toward the dawn further,
19. When the god Shamas, (the in the horizon of heaven, in the east,
20 . . . . formed beautifully and . . .
21 . . . . to the orbit Shamas was perfected."
{p. 225}
Here the tablet becomes illegible. The meaning, however, seems plain:
Although to left and right, to east and west, the darkness was fastened firm, wa
s dense, yet "the great gods opened the great gates in the darkness," and let th
e light through. First, the moon appeared, through a "boiling," or breaking up o
f the clouds, so that now men were able to once more count time by the movements
of the moon. On the seventh day, Shamas, the sun, appeared; first, his horns, h
is beams, broke through the darkness imperfectly; then he swells to a circle, an
d comes nearer and nearer to perfect dawn; at last he appeared on the horizon, i
n the east, formed beautifully, and his orbit was perfected; i. e., his orbit co
uld be traced continuously through the clearing heavens.
But how did the human race fare in this miserable time?
In his magnificent poem "Darkness," Byron has imagined such a blind and darkling
world as these legends depict; and he has imagined, too, the hunger, and the de
solation, and the degradation of the time.
We are not to despise the imagination. There never was yet a great thought that
had not wings to it; there never was yet a great mind that did not survey things
from above the mountain-tops.
If Bacon built the causeway over which modern science has advanced, it was becau
se, mounting on the pinions of his magnificent imagination, he saw that poor str
uggling mankind needed such a pathway; his heart embraced humanity even as his b
rain embraced the universe.
The river which is a boundary to the rabbit, is but a landmark to the eagle. Let
not the gnawers of the world, the rodentia, despise the winged creatures of the
upper air.
{p. 226}
Byron saw what the effects of the absence of the sunlight would necessarily be u
pon the world, and that which he prefigured the legends of mankind tell us actua
lly came to pass, in the dark days that followed the Drift.
He says:
"Morn came, and went--and came, and brought no day,
And men forgot their passions in the dread
Of this their desolation, and all hearts
Were chilled into a selfish prayer for light. . . .
A fearful hope was all the world contained;
Forests were set on fire--but hour by hour
They fell and faded,--and the crackling trunks
Extinguished with a crash,--and all was black.
The brows of men by the despairing light
Wore an unearthly aspect, as by fits
The flashes fell upon them; some lay down
And bid their eyes and wept; and some did rest
Their chins upon their clinchd hands and smiled;
And others hurried to and fro, and fed
Their funeral piles with fuel, and looked up
With mad disquietude on the dull sky,
The pall of a past world; and then again
With curses cast them down upon the dust,
And gnashed their teeth and howled. . . .
And War, which for a moment was no more,
Did glut himself again--a meal was bought
With blood, and each sat sullenly apart,
Gorging himself in gloom, . . . and the pang
Of famine fed upon all entrails;--men
Died, and their bones were tombless as their flesh
The meager by the meager were devoured,
Even dogs assailed their masters."
How graphic, how dramatic, how realistic is this picture! And how true!
For the legends show us that when, at last, the stones and clay had ceased to fa
ll, and the fire had exhausted itself, and the remnant of mankind were able to d
ig their way out, to what an awful wreck of nature did they return.
{p . 227}
Instead of the fair face of the world, as they had known it, bright with sunligh
t, green with the magnificent foliage of the forest, or the gentle verdure of th
e plain, they go forth upon a wasted, an unknown land, covered with oceans of mu
d and stones; the very face of the country changed--lakes, rivers, hills, all sw
ept away and lost. They wander, breathing a foul and sickening atmosphere, under
the shadow of an awful darkness, a darkness which knows no morning, no stars, n
o moon; a darkness palpable and visible, lighted only by electrical discharges f
rom the abyss of clouds, with such roars of thunder as we, in this day of harmon
ious nature, can form no conception of. It is, indeed, "chaos and ancient night.
" All the forces of nature are there, but disorderly, destructive, battling agai
nst each other, and multiplied a thousand-fold in power; the winds are cyclones,
magnetism is gigantic, electricity is appalling.
The world is more desolate than the caves from which they have escaped. The fore
sts are gone; the fruit-trees are swept away; the beasts of the chase have peris
hed; the domestic animals, gentle ministers to man, have disappeared; the cultiv
ated fields are buried deep in drifts of mud and gravel; the people stagger in t
he darkness against each other; they fall into the chasms of the earth; within t
hem are the two great oppressors of humanity, hunger and terror; hunger that kno
ws not where to turn; fear that shrinks before the whirling blasts, the rolling
thunder, the shocks of blinding lightning; that knows not what moment the heaven
s may again open and rain fire and stones and dust upon them.
God has withdrawn his face; his children are deserted; all the, kindly adjustmen
ts of generous Nature are gone. God has left man in the midst of a material worl
d without law; he is a wreck, a fragment, a lost particle,
{p. 228}
in the midst of an illimitable and endless warfare of giants.
Some lie down to die, hopeless, cursing their helpless gods; some die by their o
wn bands; some gather around the fires of volcanoes for warmth and light--stars
that attract them from afar off; some feast on such decaying remnants of the gre
at animals as they may find projecting above the dbris, running to them, as we sh
all see, with outcries, and fighting over the fragments.
The references to the worship of "the morning star," which occur in the legend,
seem to relate to some great volcano in the East, which alone gave light when al
l the world was lost in darkness. As Byron says, in his great poem, "Darkness":
And they did live by watch-fires--and the thrones,
The palaces of crownd kings--the huts,
The habitations of all things which dwell,
Were burnt for beacons; cities were consumed,
And men were gathered round their blazing homes
To look once more into each other s face;
Happy were they who dwelt within the eye
Of the volcanoes and their mountain-torch."
In this pitiable state were once the ancestors of all mankind.
If you doubt it, reader, peruse again the foregoing legends, and then turn to th
e following Central American prayer, the prayer of the Aztecs, already referred
to on page 186, ante, addressed to the god Tezcatlipoca, himself represented as
a flying or winged serpent, perchance the comet:
"Is it possible that this lash and chastisement are not given for our correction
and amendment, but only for our total destruction and overthrow; that the sun w
ill never more shine upon us, but that we must remain in perpetual darkness? . .
. It is a sore thing to tell how we are all in
{p. 229}
darkness. . . . O Lord, . . . make an end of this smoke and fog. Quench also the
burning and destroying fire of thine anger; let serenity come and clearness," (
light); "let the small birds of thy people begin to sing and approach the sun."
There is still another Aztec prayer, addressed to the same deity, equally able,
sublime, and pathetic, which it seems to me may have been uttered when the peopl
e had left their biding-place, when the conflagration had passed, but while dark
ness still covered the earth, before vegetation had returned, and while crops of
grain as yet were not. There are a few words in it that do not answer to this i
nterpretation, where it refers to those "people who have something"; but there m
ay have been comparative differences of condition even in the universal poverty;
or these words may have been an interpolation of later days. The prayer is as f
ollows:
"O our Lord, protector most strong and compassionate, invisible and impalpable,
thou art the giver of life; lord of all, and lord of battles. I present myself h
ere before thee to say some few words concerning the need of the poor people of
none estate or intelligence. When they lie down at night they have nothing, nor
when they rise up in the morning; the darkness and the light pass alike in great
poverty. Know, O Lord, that thy subjects and servants suffer a sore poverty tha
t can not be told of more than that it is a sore poverty and desolateness. The m
en have no garments, nor the women, to cover themselves with, but only certain r
ags rent in every part, that allow the air and the cold to pass everywhere.
"With great toil and weariness they scrape together enough for each day, going b
y mountain and wilderness seeking their food; so faint and enfeebled are they th
at their bowels cleave to their ribs, and all their body reechoes with hollownes
s, and they walk as people affrighted, the face and body in likeness of death. I
f they be merchants, they now sell only cakes of salt and broken
{p. 230}
pepper; the people that have something despise their wares, so that they go out
to sell from door to door, and from house to house; and when they sell nothing t
hey sit down sadly by some fence or wall, or in some corner, licking their lips
and gnawing the nails of their hands for the hunger that is in them; they look o
n the one side and on the other at the mouths of those that pass by, hoping pera
dventure that one may speak some word to them.
"O compassionate God, the bed on which they lie down is not a thing to rest upon
, but to endure torment in; they draw a rag over them at night, and so sleep; th
ere they throw down their bodies, and the bodies of children that thou hast give
n them. For the misery that they grow up in, for the filth of their food, for th
e lack of covering, their faces are yellow, and all their bodies of the color of
earth. They tremble with cold, and for leaness they stagger in walking. They go
weeping and sighing, and full of sadness, and all misfortunes are joined to the
m; though they stay by afire, they find little heat."[1]
The prayer continues in the same strain, supplicating God to give the people "so
me days of prosperity and tranquillity, so that they may sleep and know repose";
it concludes:
"If thou answerest my petition it will be only of thy liberality and magnificenc
e, for no one is worthy to receive thy bounty for any merit of his, but only thr
ough thy grace. Search below the dung-hills and in the mountains for thy servant
s, friends, and acquaintance, and raise them to riches and dignities." . . .
"Where am I? Lo, I speak with thee, O King; well do I know that I stand in an em
inent place, and that I talk with one of great majesty, before whose presence fl
ows a river through a chasm, a gulf sheer down of awful depth; this, also, is a
slippery place, whence many precipitate themselves, for there shall not be found
one without error before thy majesty. I myself, a man of little understanding a
nd lacking speech, dare to address
[1. Bancroft s "Native Races," vol. iii, p. 204.]
{p. 231}
my words to thee; I put myself in peril of falling into the gorge and cavern of
this river. I, Lord, have come to take with my hands, blindness to mine eyes, ro
ttenness and shriveling to my members, poverty and affliction to my body; for my
meanness and rudeness this it is that I merit to receive. Live and rule for eve
r in all quietness and tranquillity, O thou that art our lord, our shelter, our
protector, most compassionate, most pitiful, invisible, impalpable."
It is true that much of all this would apply to any great period of famine, but
it appears that these events occurred when there was great cold in the country,
when the people gathered around fires and could not get warm, a remarkable state
 of things in a country possessing as tropical a climate as Mexico. Moreover, th
ese people were wanderers, "going by mountain and wilderness," seeking food, a w
hole nation of poverty-stricken, homeless, wandering paupers. And when we recur
to the part where the priest tells the Lord to seek his friends and servants in
the mountains, "below the dung-hills," and raise them to riches, it is difficult
to understand it otherwise than as an allusion to those who had been buried und
er the falling slime, clay, and stones. Even poor men do not dwell under dung-hi
lls, nor are they usually buried under them, and it is very possible that in tra
nsmission from generation to generation the original meaning was lost sight of.
I should understand it to mean, "Go, O Lord, and search and bring back to life a
nd comfort and wealth the millions thou hast slaughtered on the mountains, cover
ing them with hills of slime and refuse."
And when we turn to the traditions of the kindred and more ancient race, the Tol
tecs,[1] we find that, after the fall of the fire from heaven, the people, emerg
ing from the seven caves, wandered one hundred and four years, "suffering from n
akedness, hunger, and cold, over many lands, across expanses of sea, and through
untold hardships," precisely as narrated in the foregoing pathetic prayer.
It tells of the migration of a race, over the desolated world, during the Age of
Darkness. And we will find something, hereafter, very much like it, in the Book
of Job.

Next: Chapter IX. The Triumph Of The Sun

Spring is here! Birds are laying eggs and joyfully singing in the morning. Wildf
lowers are popping up and fruit trees are blossoming as bees and butterflies swi
rl in the breeze. People are falling in love, planting seeds in their gardens, c
leaning their homes and decorating them with flowers. Fertility, new beginnings,
hope, and beauty are being called in.
Spring is a time of earth renewal and whether we are conscious of it or not, we
may notice that in our ancient bones we too are feeling called to awaken and ren
ew ourselves.
Perhaps you have felt called to do a large spring cleaning of your home. Maybe y
ou are finding yourself reaching for more greens, juices and living foods to bri
ng vitality and energy into your awakening body. Out with the old, in with the n
ew the mantra of spring is echoing in many aspects of our lives.
Many of us are also preparing for the spring holidays of Easter and Passover. Or
ganizing egg hunts in gardens, dying eggs, decorating our homes with fresh flowe
rs, preparing to celebrate these holidays with our families and friends.
If we pause to reflect upon the symbolism of the foods, rituals and festivities
of the spring, we can gain a valuable perspective into the energy, mystery and m
agic available to us at these times. With this awareness, we can drop into our o
wn hearts and find the medicine we each need, creating new and personal rituals
with ancient tools and deep meaning.
While I am not a practicing Christian, Easter has always been one of my favorite
holidays, and I am flooded with joyful memories of Polish and American Easter c
ustoms of my childhood. As with most of todays popular holidays, each of these ha
ve clear roots in paganism and time-honored earth worshipping practices. What I
have shared below is based on my personal experience working with plant shamanis
m, earth based spirituality and my upbringing in Poland and the US as a Roman Ca
tholic.
The Pagan Roots of Easter
Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, but before Christianity the Spring
Equinox represented the return of the sun God from the underworld the rebirth of
light, life and creation. The two vernal equinoxes (the only two times a year w
hen there is a perfect balance between light and dark, day and night) were auspi
cious and potent occasions, celebrated by people whose lives depended on the fer
tility of the earth. Civilizations worldwide created rituals and celebrations to
tip the balance into a fertile spring, a time of renewal, regeneration and resu
rrection.
Today, we celebrate Easter on the Sunday following the first full moon after the
Spring Equinox the date of this celebration alone is deeply rooted in the earth
-based traditions that follow the cycles of nature.
Sacred symbolism
The symbols associated with Easter the egg and the bunny or hare, are also ancie
nt pre-Christian symbols of fertility, birth, creation and the Goddess.
The rabbit is connected to fertility and spring is a time of creation, sex and b
irth. Our ancestors lived so close to the earth that their lives depended on ani
mals procreating, bees fertilizing their fruit trees, essentially relying on all
of nature to have sex!
The egg is a powerful and ancient symbol as well, and thus when used in rituals
such as egg painting, it becomes a tool for magic and transformation. Symbolizin
g the universe, we can imagine the shell as the crust of the earth, the magma as
the egg white, and the yolk the core. The egg represents life, and has a long h
istory of ritualistic and shamanic use around the world. Adding the symbols of c
olor to the eggs specifies the power given to them the Druids were said to dye e
ggs red, like menstrual blood, and bury them in the newly plowed fields in late
winter to draw life force energy into the land and encourage fertility and abund
ance. Following the traditional origins of painting eggs, we discover a sacred a
nd magical ritual of transformation and manifestation.
Pysanky Painted Egg Talismans
While today many people dye eggs in rainbow colors, the tradition of egg paintin
g was once more elaborate and the process was in fact a prayer and magical rite
involving writing sacred symbols and prayers onto the egg.
Still practiced in my home country of Poland and in Eastern Europe, the ancient
art of Pysanky (meaning to write in Ukrainian) dates back to 1300 BC. The symbols th
at are traditionally inscribed are rooted in the Trypillian culture, a matriarch
al society that worshiped mother earth and flourished six thousand years ago in
Eastern Europe.
The budding tree, the bird, the sun, the stars these are the types of symbols we
find on the pysanky. One of the most notable ancient symbols found on all tradi
tional designs is the unending line, which denotes the cyclical nature of life.
Other examples include the circle, cross, dots, matriarchal symbols, wheat, fir
tree, horse, stag, horns and bears paws.
The process of writing on the eggs involves pouring heated beeswax through a penci
l like copper cylinder. Where the wax covers the egg, the color is preserved. Th
e egg is dipped numerous times into various colors, and new designs are added ea
ch time a color is applied. The result is an egg covered in black beeswax. At th
e end, you bring the egg close to the flame of the candle, gently wiping the mel
ting wax away, and revealing a beautiful, intricate multi colored pattern.
Photo by Marysia M.
By evening candlelight, people would inscribe their wishes, dreams and hopes as
symbols onto the egg. It was often a solitary ritual that lasted many hours. As
someone who makes pysanky myself, I can attest to the meditative trance one fall
s into while staring at the flame, the melting wax, and drawing designs on a del
icate egg held cupped in my warm hand.
The tools used are no strangers to cunning folk. The egg, representing creation
and the universe; the flame of the fire representing transformation and alchemy,
the beeswax, a product of the sacred bee, made of the pollen of flowers which h
ave been grown by the sun. When we paint the eggs, our prayers take form in a sa
cred ritual. It is truly an alchemical process. The symbolism is layered each py
sanka has a trinity of symbols: the symbol of the egg and tools, the symbols of
the colors chosen, and the symbols of the designs.
The result is a sacred egg, said to have curative and talismanic powers. Once in
corporated into the Christian tradition, the pysanky were said to symbolize the
rebirth of man. My intuition says that they always have held this power and more
. Drawing upon the sacred elements and powers of nature, we as humans have the p
ower to create ourselves, our universe and call in the energies most appropriate
for our current rebirth.
Egg Painting Ritual
Choose an evening when you are alone with your prayers and intentions for the sp
ring. Feel the new you that you are calling into being, and choose symbols that
represent the energies that will assist your transformation.
Use a white wax crayon, a pencil or purchase the tools for pysanky online. Draw
the symbols most sacred to you.
Choose a color that strengthens your intention. Traditionally, these are the sym
bols of the colors used:
Green new life, new growth, hope
Red passion, energy, transformation
White purity, innocence, birth
Yellow happiness, community, youth
Orange strength, endurance, sexuality
Black darkness, the void.
Blue the heavens, air, peace and vision
When your egg is complete, hold it in your hands close to your mouth and whisper
your prayers into it.
Rub your body with it, envisioning it pulling old energy out of your body like a
magnet.
Go into nature and bury it in the ground, asking the Earth to receive this egg,
your prayers, and to nourish your dreams into fruition.
Know that it is done.
And so it is. Blessed be!
Marysia Miernowska
A multilingual and multicultural devotee of Pachamama, Marysia has traveled exte
nsively studying earth wisdom and ancient healing practices from different cultu
res around the world. She is the director of the California branch of The Gaia S
chool of Healing and Earth Education and teaches workshops onherbal medicine, pla
nt shamanism and earth magic.You can follow Marysia on instagram @thegaiaschoolofh
ealingca and on facebook by liking The Gaia School of Healing and Earth Educatio
n California Branch. For more information on the Fall 2015 apprenticeships pleas
e visitwww.thegreenwoman.com
========
Joseph Conrad
Heart of Darkness

The Shaman in Heart of Darkness

by Michael Harkins
In the first few pages of Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness we are given an overt
ure of the rest of the work. The character Marlow describes how England was onc
e one of the dark places of the earth.(Conrad 5) He continues by imagining how
the Romans first came up the Thames and how these were men enough to face the da
rkness, cheered on by thought of promotion, but how many would succumb to the my
sterious life of the wilderness that stirs in the forest, in the jungle, in the
hearts of wild men. (Conrad 6) What he has done is provide us with a map of the
terrain we are about to follow--from the delta of civilization to the headwater
s of humankind.
Conrad warns us of the fascination of the abomination and the regrets, the longi
ng to escape, the powerless disgust, the surrender, the hate(Conrad 6) that woul
d ensue when we encounter the truly wild other out there. The map to mans inter
ior that Conrad draws takes us to a shamanistic dawn where herds of men followed
the visions of an alpha male until he dropped. We know this because shamanism
arose at a time when humans emulated wolf packs and lion prides or lone hunters-
-the bear and the solitary cats.
Mircea Eliade, in A History of Religious Ideas (Vol. 1), states the shaman is ab
le to penetrate even into the source of animal life, the bony element. The so-c
alled X-ray drawings, ...showing the skeleton...of the animal, have also been re
ferred to shamanism. (Eliade 18) This too is taken up in the opening pages of C
onrad as a template for the thorough accounting later in the text. The men awai
ting the tide toying with bones, in the form of dominoes(Conrad 3), a prelude to
the bones Kurtz seems to find all over the dark interior, are using the tools o
f the shaman. Eliade also points out that the shaman/hunter was probably empl
oyed by early agricultural societies as hunter/guardian. (Eliade 35) Kurtz is s
uch a shaman as we have described. He does our killing for us.
What Conrad proposes in his synopsis, contained in the first few pages of Heart
of Darkness, and posits in the body of the work, is that the individual society
chooses to send to the brink of civilization must be extra-ordinary, an individu
al capable of staring into the dark chaos of nature and making sense of that dar
kness. The individual, and shamans were the first individuals, must also choose
to enter the darkness, as Kurtz and Marlow chose, and, upon entering the darkne
ss, if no sense can be made of it the individual must impose one.

Heart of Darkness
by Leszek Berezowski
At the threshold of the twentieth century, when exploitation of colonies was sti
ll widely spread and the problem of abuse of natural resources and native inhabi
tants was largely ignored, Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness invites us to reflec
t on and ask ourselves when does progress and expansion become rape.
Joseph Conrad presents us with this, unfortunately, ageless book. It sheds a bri
ght light onto the inherit darkness of our human inclinations, stripped of prete
nse, in the middle of the jungle where those savage tendencies are provided with
a fertile ground.
The combination of greed, climate and the demoralizing effect of frontier life b
rought out the worst in people. They were raping the land, practically stealing
the ivory from the natives, whom they were treating like slaves, or even worse t
han slaves, for slaves in America were an expensive commodity and therefore it w
as in the best interest of slave-owners to keep them well fed and healthy; these
poor chaps, however, were allowed to starve to death once they fell ill.
And this was the place where some of the helpers had withdrawn to die. They were
dying slowly - it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not criminal
s, they were nothing earthly now, nothing but black shadows of disease and starv
ation, lying confusedly in the greenish gloom. Brought from all the recesses of
the cast in all the legality of time contracts, lost in uncongenial surroundings
, fed on unfamiliar food, they sickened, became inefficient, and were then allow
ed to crawl away and rest. These moribund shapes were free as air - and nearly a
s thin. (Conrad 14)
The natives were cannibals, but in contrast, had higher moral standards than som
e of the raiders, who were plundering their country and even though they were pa
id "royally", for their services, with useless wire with which they were expecte
d to procure food, they did not stoop so low as to threaten the lives of the pil
grims, even when they were bordering on starvation.
They had given them every week three pieces of brass wire, about nine inches lon
g; and the theory was they were to buy their provisions with that currency in ri
ver-side villages. You can see how that worked. There were either no villages, o
r the people were hostile, or the director, who like the rest of us fed out of t
ins, with an occasional old he-goat thrown in, didnt want to stop the steamer fo
r some more or less recondite reasons. So, unless they swallowed the wire itself
, or made loops of it to snare the fishes with, I dont see what good their extra
vagant salary could be to them. ... - ... Why in the name of all the gnawing dev
ils of hunger they didnt go for us - they were thirty to five - and have a good
tuck in for once, amazes me now when I think of it. (Conrad 37)
Technology and progress, in contrast with simple existence of the indigenous inh
abitants of the land, afforded the colonists a God-like powers over the natives.
Hidden behind a veil of lofty ideas like expansion and progress, colonists were
committing unspeakable atrocities, not unlike the treatment of Native Americans
in our own country.
But there is hope. At the time when racism wasnt even a pejorative term and beli
ttling attitude toward the "savages" was just an ordinary fact of life, you can
see the change taking place in Marlows attitude toward the natives; he misses hi
s helmsman, a man, whom he called "improved specimen" (Conrad 33), who was watch
ing the steam boiler of the boat and who was killed by Kurtz followers spear. Ma
rlow surprises himself thinking of this man as his equal.
Many of us, today, would benefit from just such a change of outlook. It seems as
though time is standing still and even today, we are ridden with hate and preju
dice toward each other based on foolish ideas and ideals.

How Language Evokes a Dream Like Image of the Jungle

by Daisey Gonzalez
Conrad effectively evokes a dream like image of the jungle by using language. He
uses strong words to describe the natives appearances, characteristics and pres
umed behavior.
Very common in his descriptions are the use of very strong and erotic words like
"wild " and "intense". For example the description of a boat load of natives pa
ddling down stream is distinctly primitive. He says "they shouted, and sang thei
r bodies streamed with perspiration; they had grotesque masksbut they had bone,
muscle, a wild vitality and intense energy of movement"(78). In contrast a compa
rison, to the authors description of a white, affluent, suggestively desirable r
ace, made them appear artificial, sloppy and lethargic. Clearly seen in the foll
owing phrase, "flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil of a rapacious and pitiless f
olly"(81).
Another obvious implication of a primitive and savage culture using language, wh
ich gives the reader the illusion of wilderness, is the author's use of the word
cannibals. By using the word cannibal the author implies a savage and unciviliz
ed race, since both the word and the act are abrasive. Especially in context wit
h the period this text was written in, 1910. Back then, the idea of natives in t
he jungle was a proven fact not a rumor or fantasy.
Already afraid of this reality the use of the word made the image of the native
more frightening and convoluted. Whereas today, cannibals are hardly threatening
at all since the likelihood of their existence is purely fiction. Ironically, C
onrad is able to combine the use of this word with a very tender and humorous de
scription of his crew, "Fine fellows - cannibals-in their place. They were men o
ne could work withAnd, after all, they did not eat each other before my face: th
ey brought along a provision of hippo-meat"(104).
A last description of a native is of Marlows companion the "savage who was firem
an"(106). He too was described to imbue the image of a savage as society had pre
supposed a native would look like. Marlow describes his native physical traits,
beginning with a description of his teeth. He said " -and he had filed teeth, to
o, the poor devil, and the wool of his pate shaved into queer patterns, and thre
e ornamental scars on each of his cheeks. He ought to have been clapping his han
ds and stamping his feet"(106).
Clapping hands, dancing and singing seem to be the predominate characteristics o
f this culture and as such labeled scandalous behavior for that time. In contras
t a lot can be assumed about the methods of recreation and disposition of the wh
ite man. However today, since we all clap our hands, sing and dance it could har
dly be believed that the savage natives were very different from us at all.

A Web of Cunning
by Juliet Paez
Marlows wilderness is not vibrant nor majestic, nor is it boisterous in its vita
lity, illuminating and nurturing its lush bounty within its sensuous bosom. It
is not a wondrous place, intoxicating with radiant color and a symphony of sound
s those who journey into its interior. It is not quiescent nor serene, willing
to reveal its secrets, easily subdued or tamed. His wilderness is a primeval, m
ysterious enigma that swallows light and sound, rationality and language, impris
oning them deep within its immense folds. It is fascinatingly savage, menacing
in its power to mesmerize and lure, and finally to seduce the bearers of a spark
from the sacred fire (67).
Many had set out to conquer it, dreaming of creating splendrous empires; others
had embarked on a quest to extract riches, fame, and glory from deep within its
heart; yet others had been beckoned by the irresistible call of the unknown. Lu
cky were those that could glide past [it], veiled...by a slightly disdainful ign
orance (68), shielding themselves with the mantle of civilization, secure in the
ir invincibility. Marlow was luckier than most, for the wilderness called to hi
s very heart [with] its mystery, its greatness, the amazing reality of [its] con
cealed life (95); yet he was able to realize in time that it was but an illusion
, a deceitful flow from the heart of an impenetrable darkness (124), and to step
back from the edge of the abyss.
He was good man in search of purpose and adventure, believing he would find his
aspirations by sailing the waters of a mighty river. Upon arriving at his desti
nation he was disheartened by the actions of his brethren, by their conquest of
the earth, which to him mostly meant taking it away from those who [had] a diffe
rent complexion...than [themselves] (70). Contemptuous of their beliefs and bru
tal behavior, their greed and deceitfulness, he went in search of a man consider
ed the emissary of pity...science and progress (94); believing that in him he wo
uld finally find someone to guide him through the silence of the land (95).
However, the deeper he penetrated into the somber stillness of the wilderness, h
e could not escape the realization of his vulnerability. In that landscape he c
ould either be swept off without leaving a whisper or a shadow behind(114) or in
finitely worse, the powers of darkness [could] claim him for their own (126). T
he intelligent, resourceful, Kuntz, the beacon of light in the darkness, the gui
de he had hoped for, was not to be found. He had proven to be too weak to the l
ure of the whispering shadows; neither his vision nor his magnificent eloquence(
138) had saved him. Instead Marlow found an animated image of death (140), buri
ed in a vast grave of unspeakable secrets (144).
The bewitching darkness had driven Kuntz mad. It had lulled him into a fantasy,
believing himself an omnipotent power, supreme ruler of his world, totally blin
ded to the fact that it was but a spell; that in reality the wilderness had draw
[n] him to its pitiless breast by the awakening of forgotten and brutal instinct
s (149), and there he would remain its prisoner. Horrified by what he saw and h
eard, Marlow tried to break the spell (149), but it was to late, it had been to
late long before they ever met. Kuntzs soul would be release only in death. Ma
rlow had to save himself; leaving behind the people he had met, to dream their i
nsignificant dreams(156) he escaped, back to the land of his birth and its river
, to that great and saving illusion that shone with an unearthly glow in the dar
kness (162).
Works Cited
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York: Signet Classic, 1997.

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3. Great Zimbabwe Stone Houses, Masvingo, Zimbabwe
Dating back almost a millennium, the three-compound stone construction covering
18,000 acres was built using a sophisticated form of stone masonry not found in
the surrounding region at the time. The complex was home to 18,000 people and is
believed to have taken 300 years to construct. Operating as a proto-city, Great
Zimbabwe contains evidence of a monarchy, religion, commerce and mining.
Mystery surrounds its decline, with some experts speculating that the rapid depl
etion of nearby gold mines may have been the ultimate cause. Great Zimbabwe is r
ecognised as a Unesco World Heritage Site.
1. Bakoni, South Africa
The Bakoni Ruins of Machadodorp, Mpumalanga, is one of the worlds greatest unsolv
ed archaeological puzzles. Dating back more than 200,000 years, this lost city of
Africa is a large collection of complex stone terraces with evidence of settleme
nts, fields and roads, as well as signs of advanced technological and agricultur
al innovation that existed long before the arrival of Europeans in the region.
Case in point is the sites most prominent feature: Adams Calendar, a 30m stone cir
cle with positioned monolith rocks within it. The monoliths are aligned to match
the movement of the Orions Belt star formation, and are presumed to be an early
indicator of charted time.
Viewed from the air, the ruins create a vast design of mazes and passages intric
ately connected over hundreds of kilometres. Needless to say, archaeologists are
bewildered by the site. One of its few provable theories is that the age of the
ruins indicates that the ancient Bakoni people who built the complex settlement
may have been around much earlier than first believed.
The site, its age and designs, are however popular with so-called pseudo-archaeo
logy theories, including the idea that it might have been constructed by an anci
ent alien civilisation.
Whatever the theories, the Bakoni Ruins supplement the more provable theories su
rrounding the Cradle of Humankind in the North West province that the southern r
egion of Africa was inhabited by early humans much earlier in prehistory than fi
rst thought.
AFRICANGLOBE From Great Zimbabwe to Nubian pyramids along the Nile River, Africa
, as the Cradle of Humankind, holds many of the worlds greatest archaeological tr
easures. Here are five of the most significant.
The number of unearthed archaeological sites across Africa has given the world i
nsights into the history of the continent and the world.
From pyramids in the north, to cryptic stone cities and ancient civilisations fu
rther south, these sites offer many mysteries as they do answers. Lying untouche
d and hidden for thousands of years, they can sometimes provide us with some und
erstanding of who we are, as Africans, today.
The Stone Circles of Senegal and Gambia
Spread across thousands of miles in Senegal and Gambia, these four large stone c
onstructions also referred to as the Senegambian stone circles date back to 300
BC. Judging by the discovery of graves and evidence of communities, the construc
tion of the site shows evidence of a prosperous and organised society based on t
he amount of labour required to build such structures.
They consist of over 30,000 laterite stones, 17,000 monuments and 2,000 home sit
es.
Experts believe that much like obelisks, the stones were arranged purposefully f
or either religious or communal reasons. Finding, transporting and shaping the l
aterite, it is understood, would have required some kind of understanding of geo
logy and intricate tool work.
At the largest of the sites, at Sine Ngayene, Senegal, evidence of iron smelting
and quarries was unearthed. Layered evidence in the ground indicates a timeline
of more than 700 years when communities lived, worked and worshipped in the are
a.
Five Globally Important Archaeological Sites In Africa
By Editorial_Staff -Feb 20, 2017
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4. Mero, Sudan
An ancient city of palaces, iron production and pyramids along the east bank of
the Nile, Mero dates back to 800 BC. Embracing sophisticated Nubian culture and p
ossessing fertile land and abundant iron deposits, the city became a prominent t
rading post, renowned as far as Rome, Greece and Persia.
It is mentioned in the book of Genesis (by the name Aethiopia) as a prominent ye
t vulnerable centre of commerce. The city traded with the Roman Empire and, it h
as been suggested by archaeologists, even with early Indian and Chinese explorer
s. Residents even farmed elephants to be exported for foreign armies.
Its vulnerability and prominence made it a regular target for marauding armies o
ver seven centuries. Eventually losing its Kemetic influence and culture, Mero de
veloped its own language, religions and customs that were all lost to history wh
en the city was finally destroyed in AD 330. It lay untouched and undiscovered u
ntil 1821, when archaeologists excavated the first of its 200 distinctive Nubian
pyramids. The written language of Mero remains one of the worlds greatest undecip
hered languages.
Heart of Darkness
by Dianna Guadagnino
Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad is a story that connects the audience to the
narrators senses. We come to understand the environment, the setting, the othe
r charters, and Kurtz strictly from the narrators point-of-view, as he experienc
es things.
We are locked out of Conrads (the narrator in this case) world, allowed to feel
only what he lets us, see the savages as he does, through his eyes, feel with hi
s body. We are not able to see how the world views him. Is he seen as superior
, a drone, a sailor? His dreamlike consciousness navigates us, the readers, dow
n the river as if we are a part of the flow of things, ripples in the water, pat
ches of the darkness.
Conrad uses language to paint images in our minds. He poignantly uses metaphors
like, In exterior he resembled a butcher in a poor neighborhood (57) to animate
those images, allow them to breath a bit.
His choice of words and word combinations, his poetic tone, and suave style and
 smooth transitions craft a sensual experience. He is on the surface talking ab
out the exploration of man in Africa with all of its physical and moral dilemma,
and yet the underbelly is the interior of man, an endeavor to touch the reader
at his core. Each station should be like a beacon on the road towards better th
ings, a center for trade of course, but also for humanizing, improving, instruct
ing. (104) When Conrad says that the germs of empires floated into mans head ,
ebbing down the river into the mystery of an unknown earth, his metaphors appeal
emotionally to something serious, a commentary on the heart of man. (67)
Our senses are serenely assaulted with tastes and surfaces, sounds and images.
The tremor of far-off drums, the silence driven away by the stamping of our feet
, and the heads on the stakes are sensual. When you read: she rang under my fe
et like an empty Huntley & Palmer biscuit-tin kicked along the gutter, I can se
e it and hear it and almost feel the vibrations of the tin. (99)
The darkness, reader as part of the darkness: The darkness of man, is meant to
be universal. All men can relate to the drums, theres a great passage where Con
rad explicitly says so, Ugly. Yes, it was ugly enough; but if you were man enou
gh you would admit to yourself that there was in you just the faintest trace of
a response to the terrible frankness of that noise, a dim suspicion of there bei
ng a meaning in it which you - you so remote from the night of first ages - coul
d comprehend. (109) There are implicit phrases as well, woven neatly around the
events. I assure you that never before, did this land, this river, this jungle,
the very arch of this blazing sky, appear to me so hopeless, and so dark. (135)
The narrator himself wonders about his own darkness. The darkness is related in
the book to health, success, savages, and humanity.
Memory verses sense of memory: His story couldnt be real memories, but percepti
ons of the memories, mutated with time, flourished by the total experience. We
know that Conrad himself had similar experiences to the narrator of his story.
The writers memory has been fictionalized.
The rape of the land, the consequences to the sole, the temptation of solitude,
were a dark challenge, constructing moral dilemmas. Kurtz discovered, He was
empty inside. His dying words, the horror, the horror displays what he was insi
de at the end.
There was a homologous hegemony. For as much as the natives were influenced by
the white mens guns and mechanical wonders, the whites didnt have a chance of no
t being influenced. (White) men that come out here should have no entrails. (90
) They were savages, even the pisher assistant to Kurtz, who couldnt discern ta
king the human heads off the stakes in the ground. He thought he wasnt corrupt
like the others, he perceived himself as being in control. But the jungle and s
avages changed the white men. They became wild and uncivilized. For all of the
ir manicuring and white collared shirts, their symbolic clinging to systems that
didnt apply, they acted as beasts. His starched collars and got-up shirt fronts
were achievements of character. (85)
Just kill this guy if we need to...there are no laws here. There were laws. Th
ere were natural laws. The geographically transplanted white men were so far re
moved from imposed structured laws, that they were ill equipped to survive in na
ture, to respond to the innate laws of nature. Civilized man no longer saw hims
elf as part of nature. He was not just separate but superior and impious. The
y irresponsibly answered to no one. They were corrupt and they imprisoned the n
atives, stole from them, plundered the earths ivory, murdered anyone they wanted
to, and so forth. Historically, Europeans couldnt have had any hope of avoidin
g becoming human slave traders having had no preconceived respect for any aspect
of nature.
Conrads description sums it up,
They wandered here and there with their upsurd long staves in their hands, like
alot of faithless pilgrims bewitched inside a rotten fence. The word ivory ra
ng in the air, was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were praying to
it. A taint of imbecile rapacity blew through it all, like a whiff from some
corpse. By Jove! Ive never seen anything so unreal in my life. And outside
the silent wilderness surrounding this clear speck on the earth struck me as so
mething great and invincible, like evil or truth, waiting patiently for the pas
sing away of this fantastic invasion.
Works Sited: Bibliography
Heart of Darkness Conrad, Joseph
Heart of Darkness
by Nadine Murray
The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who
have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a
pretty thing when you look into it too much. (Conrad 65) So stated Marlow as th
ough this was his justification for ravaging the Congo in his search for ivory.
Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness shows the disparity between the European ideal
of civilization and the reality of it as is evidenced by the domination, tortur
e, exploitation and dehumanization of the African population. Heart of Darkness
is indicative of the evil and greed in humanity as personified by Kurtz and Mar
low.
These emissaries of light are shown to be crude, sordid and violent. They had n
o regard for the destruction of Africas natural environment, wantonly destroying
hills in a feeble attempt to establish a railway, No change appeared on the fac
e of the rock....the cliff was not in the way or anything; but this objectless b
lasting was all the work going on. (Conrad 76) This statement reveals the real
motive for venturing into the Congo which was not to bring a better, more civili
zed lifestyle to the poor, underprivileged Africans; but to satisfy their lust f
or power. It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale,
and men going at it blind - as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness.
(Conrad 65)
Just as Victor Frankenstein in the novel Frankenstein created a monster that was
a manifestation of his inner turmoil and demons, so too Kurtz and Marlows journ
ey into Africa is an unveiling of their inner darkness which we are all afraid t
o face. Like Grenouille, in Perfume and Victor Frankenstein, Kurtz sought power
, adoration and godlike status both among his European counterparts and the nati
ve Africans. Just as Grenouille bottled and collected special fragrances so too
Kurtz collected human heads displaying them around his hut as trophies. Kurtzs
journey into Africa, as well as his inner journey, can be likened to Grenouille
s hibernation in the cave for seven years or Victors search for his monster acro
ss the icy slopes. During this period each individual underwent a transformatio
n and a realization of the horrors they have created.
Kurtzs final words The horror! The horror! are comparable to Victor fleeing the
scene when faced with the manifestation of his handiwork. It is as though neith
er of them can face the reality of what they are responsible for - Victor for pl
aying with science and creating a monster which killed those he loved, and Kurtz
for destroying others lives, for participating in unspeakable rites, and for th
e unspeakable secrets of his method. At the end of their journey lies not ivory
, the secret of regeneration of the most exquisite fragrance, but instead their
true inner self - the heart of darkness.

HEART OF DARKNESS
by Mary Kursar
Power has been defined as the psychological relations over another to get them t
o do what you want them to do. We are exposed to forms of power from the time o
f birth. Our parents exercise power over us to behave in a way they deem approp
riate, and in school teachers use their power to help us learn. When we enter t
he work world the power of our boss motivates us to perform and desire to move u
p the corporate ladder so that we too can intimidate someone with power one day.
In Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness Kurtz had a power over the jungle and its
people which was inexplicable.
Kurtz is one of many men sent into the jungle to rape the land and its people of
its natural resources. Many men have journeyed into the jungle also refereed a
s the heart of darkness never to return. Kurtz goes into the jungle and becomes
obsessed with the people and the land. Though Kurtz has an obsession with ivo
ry this is not the sole reason for him to overstay his welcome in the jungle.
Power this is what kept Kurtz in the jungle for such a long period of time. Det
ermined not to become another causality he becomes allies with the natives throu
gh fear. Kurtz is a brilliant man who did not have to adapt to his environment
but had it adapt to him. On top of a hill his hut is surrounded by the heads of
men who have betrayed in him some sort, this serves as a reminder to anyone who
contemplates going against his wish.

When Marlow finally reaches Kurtz he is in declining health. This same jungle w
hich he loved, embraced and consumed with every ounce of his flesh had also take
n its toll on him. Marlow finally meets the man whose name has haunted him on h
is river journey. Could this frail human be the ever so powerful Kurtz? The ma
n who has journeyed into uncharted territories and has come back with scores of
ivory and the respect of the native tribe. Yes, this was the very man and thoug
h he is weak and on his way to death his power still exudes from him.
This is where the definition of power comes in to play the psychological relatio
n see even though his body was decomposing his mind was still sharp. Kurtzs voi
ce still boomed when he spoke, he still demanded the respect he thought he deser
ved. Since Kurtz had terrorized the natives into fearing and respecting him eve
n on his last legs he was still powerful. The psychological game he played wit
h the natives was brilliant, he had them attack boats that carried people who ha
d come to help him. There was nothing the natives would not do for him.
Kurtz does not want to return to civilization but he does not use his power to h
ave Marlow and his crew killed either. Kurtz leaves on the steamboat leaving b
ehind the people who have cared and worshipped him to survive on their own. He
loves the feeling of the natives watching from the shores mourning his departure
. He asks Marlow not the blow the whistle to frighten the natives so that he ca
n bask in his last hour of power.
What made Kurtz so powerful? Why was he able to manipulate the natives into his
puppets? Kurtz was able to do this because he preyed on the insecurities of a
what was believed a less intelligent people. Rather than be the white man who
was an enemy he portrayed himself as a friend. This ability to play psychologic
al games on others was a gift for Kurtz and what helped bring him into power. T
his same ability is what politicians posses today and inflict upon us in order f
or us to vote them into power. Guess we are no more intelligent than the native
s.
"Heart of Darkness"
Hope DeVenuto
Civility, civilization and civilize, are they and could they be mans defense aga
inst the power and mystery of nature and the primal nature of himself? When man
lives away from refinement and education and is living in the natural habitat of
 sea, jungle, and forest, there can be seen a tragedy of a warrior, in the destr
uction of nature and himself.
In "The Heart of Darkness", Joseph Conrad must go on a quest to discover the fir
e and passion in his male being and ignite the flame in his heart that is the fu
el for his will to survive in the earth. The immediate relationship to the Thame
s River and his merging consciousness with that element, reflect back to him a m
emory of myth and history of all the archetypes of man and warriors who also as
he, was engaged and moving in this famous passage. The sea has parted and has op
ened all past memory to the strong images that have crystallized before him of h
is first journey where man and sea began.
The sea is a mans world where he goes through trials and initiations that test h
is manhood, and why? Is there an obsession in our past history and today with ma
nliness and manpower?
If aliens were to study our cultures, they definitely would notice something ver
y strange. It is our social obsession with manhood that is considered a test to
be passed, which creates unnecessary arenas of war, and work that links man with
the social stresses of protecting, providing and procreating.
In "The Heart of Darkness" there is the fear of a man not being man enough. The
tragedies of a hero and the hazards of heroism are that the more he fights the e
nemy, the more he begins to be like the enemy; the more he kills beasts, the mor
e he becomes like a beast.
Has the ego then becomes the dictator instead of the servant and vehicle to eval
uate the moment to realize itself. This brings up another question; Are womens n
atures civilizing balance? Or could it be said that men civilized women by takin
g care of the killing. Just as a genius walks a fine line with destructiveness,
so heroism walks a thin line with both the destruction of others and self-destru
ction which can only be balanced by the heros heart and consciousness.

HEART OF DARKNESS
by Brigitte Aponte
The story is about a man named Marlow, who is hired by The Company, which is a s
hipping company located in England. Although Marlow had sailed before, he had n
ever sailed to Africa. The people who operated The Company (those located in En
gland) are so far removed from reality, that they have no concept of the devasta
tion caused in order to ship vast loads of ivory. The Company is a perfect exam
ple of how these profit driven industries obtain their wealth through the blata
nt disregard of the environment and their fellow man.
One can only imagine the death and destruction that was inflicted in order to sh
ip mass quantities of ivory. The Companys disrespect for the Africans and their
environment was the typical attitude had by many nineteenth century profiteers.
Their rationale was that no matter what degree of damage was inflicted, they f
elt it would never affect them.
Their disdainful attittude towards the Africans is expressed in the following wo
rds:
The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking
it away from those who have a different complexion or
slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing
when you look into it too much. (Conrad 9)
In order to be able to conquer a people, one must dehumanize them and believe th
ey are insignificant/inferior. This mode of thinking is used to justify any atr
ocities committed by the conquerors.
In Root of Racism, the superior attitude is described as
All groups, by their nature, imply to the members that they
are somehow special in particular ways and in many ways
better, than their fellow travelers on this earth. (Ross)
This superior attitude has been evidently pervasive throughout mankinds history;
some strong examples of these are the war in Bosnia, the slaughter of the Tutus
in Rwanda and the white settlers near annihilation of the Native Americans.
Conrads character Marlow describes the natives as having a wild vitality and the
ir faces like grotesque masks. These remarks demonstrate his fear and reinforce
s the distinction between himself and the natives.
Racial or ethnic hatred is a direct consequence of our Fear
Response. Hatred is really taking the fear response one step
further. We justify that fear by invoking certain attributes to
others by assuming that they may be inferior, evil or harmful.
Your group will reinforce these feelings since all members of
the group will respond to the same fear. This becomes
institutionalized and the accepted norm for group thought.
(Ross)
The Company had no qualms regarding the mistreatment of the natives, as describe
d by the following account:
They were dying slowly it was very clear. They were not
enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly
now nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation
Brought from all recesses of the coast in all legality of time
contracts, lost in uncongenial surroundings, fed on unfamiliar
food, they sickened, become inefficient, and were allowed to
crawl away and rest. (Conrad 26)
In the Heart of Darkness, the Africans are perceived to be dispensable, not near
ly as valuable as the ivory they are relied upon to collect for the white man.
It is unfortunate that the propensity for this way of thinking is still very evi
dent today.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York: Bantam Books, 1981.
Ross, Mark. The Roots of Darkness. 1997. <http://members.aol.com/mark13/html>
(9 February 1998)
Ross, Mark. The Roots of Racism. 1997.
<http://members.aol.com/mark13/Fear Response4.html> (9 February 1998)
HEART OF DARKNESS
by Brigitte Aponte
The flowing river is soiled
Intermingling with black oil
Human blood running into the earth
Summons the smell of destruction and death
Their land, the heart of darkness, devoid of light.
Who will come to deliver them from their plight?
The white man, he is the cause of all this
The white man, he can save them from the abyss

Is It Really Just A Word?

Laurie P. Cody

The Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad was written in 1898 and 1899 and publish
ed in 1902. So, although it wasnt surprising that the word used to describe a b
lack person was nigger, it was insulting just the same. Throughout the short st
ory I had to remind myself of the time period it was written.
Joseph Conrad is nothing short of a genius. His writing technique is eloquent,
and surreal and yet after having completed The Heart of Darkness, I couldnt help
feeling a little insulted by the oft used word nigger. My feelings lead me to
do a little research on this word nigger. I checked three dictionaries: (1) th
e Oxford Concise Dictionary, (2) the Websters Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, a
nd (3) The American Heritage Dictionary. They all had in common one definition,
a member of any dark-skinned race. In addition, they all said it was offensive
. Websters went one further and said a member of a socially disadvantaged class
of persons. Now this last definition was closer to what my parents had told me
the meaning of the word nigger was, an ignorant person. I tend to like my pare
nts definition much better than all the rest combined!
The word nigger is actually derived from the Latin word niger which means black.
Okay, so were getting closer to understanding now. So why all the controversy
surrounding this word? I even have to wonder if The Heart of Darkness was writ
ten by a black author would I have been equally or less offended? This word nig
ger was recently the cause of a controversy between two very prominent directors
, Spike Lee (black) and Quentin Tarantino (white), in regards to Tarantinos new
movie Jackie Brown. Lee felt Tarantino used the word nigger too many times in h
is movie and considered it a racist act. Im not sure, but I believe Lee too has
overused the word in his movies and yet he publicly cries foul when Tarantino d
oes the same thing. What makes blacks so offended by whites using the word nigg
er when they use if themselves?
The main reason touted is because some blacks use it (and I mean use it often) a
s a term of endearment. Then there are some blacks (usually the upper crust) wh
o use the word as an insult, as in Webster, as a description of a low class blac
k person. If one was to use my definition an ignorant person, wherein this way
it possesses no race, creed or color, there would be no black/white controversy
because ignorance has no color boundaries. This is a weirdly less offensive way
of describing someone. I couldnt begin to imagine a director complaining that
someone used a word meaning ignorant too often. If one follows the history of n
igger, as a derivative of niger (black) it was a descriptive representation of m
y races dark-skin, not as an insult. The insult in those days was the way we we
re forced to come to America and the treatment thereafter. It is true that even
today in some states, especially the Southern states, the n word still holds th
e derogatory meaning, but within time that could be changed.
Is there a happy medium with the word nigger, depends on the arena a person is s
tanding in when it is said. Why is it comical when comedians such as Eddie Murp
hy, Richard Pryor and the later Red Foxx used the word throughout their profane-
based comedy acts? I know some white people who were extremely offended by Mart
in Lawrences stand-up comedy routine; and yet most blacks find him hysterical.
Again, double standards. If anything, some black people find the aforementioned
comedians offensive, not because of the use of the word nigger, but because of
the amount of profanity used in the comedians monologue.
In my opinion, if my race is going to get upset over the use of the word nigger,
we should all just stop using the word. We certainly cannot expect other races
to stop using the word, while we use the word, whether with love or hatred, eve
ry chance we get. The word is derogatory and is no more acceptable between my b
rothers and sisters than from someone of another race. This double standard is
not only harmful, but unfair. No matter the history of the word, we now have, i
n my opinion, too many words to describe a black person. We have black, African
American, Afro-American (what does that mean?), person of color, and lets not f
orget my all time personal favorite, colored. In the end, the only word we all
need to remember and practice is respect.
The Heart of Darkness, which follows closely the actual events of Conrads Congo
journey, tells of the narrators fascination by a mysterious personage who, by hi
s eloquence and hypnotic personality, dominates the primitive savages. Full of
contempt for the greedy traders who exploit the natives, he cannot deny the powe
r of this figure of evil who calls forth from him something approaching reluctan
t loyalty.
Number Of African Immigrants In The US Growing Steadily
By Editorial_Staff -Feb 16, 2017
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AFRICANGLOBE African immigrants make up a small share of the nations immigrant po
pulation, but their overall numbers are growing roughly doubling every decade si
nce 1970, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau
data.
There were 2.1 million African immigrants living in the United States in 2015, u
p from 881,000 in 2000 and a substantial increase from 1970 when the U.S. was ho
me to only 80,000 foreign-born Africans. They accounted for 4.8% of the U.S. imm
igrant population in 2015, up from 0.8% in 1970.
The growth is evident among recently arrived immigrants. When compared with othe
r major groups who arrived in the U.S. in the past five years, Africans had the
fastest growth rate from 2000 to 2013, increasing by 41% during that period. (Af
ricans are also a fast-growing segment of the Black immigrant population in the
U.S., increasing by 137% from 2000 to 2013.
The transatlantic slave trade beginning in the 16th century brought millions of
enslaved Africans to the U.S., but significant voluntary migration from Africa i
s a relatively new trend.
One factor behind this recent wave can be traced to the Refugee Act of 1980, whi
ch made it easier for those fleeing conflict-ridden areas, like Somalia and Ethi
opia, to resettle in the U.S. Back then, less than 1% of all refugee arrivals we
re from Africa, compared with 37% in fiscal 2016, according to figures from the
U.S. State Departments Refugee Processing Center. Statistics from the Yearbook of
Immigration Statistics confirm this point. Among the top 10 countries by refuge
e arrival in 2015, four were in Africa: Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Cong
o, Sudan and Eritrea. (The data in this analysis predates executive action on im
migration in early 2017.)Number Of African Immigrants In The US Growing Steadily
African immigrants from the equatorial region are also more likely than immigran
ts overall to enter the U.S. through the diversity visa program an act passed in
1990 to encourage immigration from underrepresented nations. This legislation w
as initially intended to boost the number of Europeans migrating to the U.S., bu
t many Africans have also benefited from the initiative.
Foreign-born Africans come from all over the continent, but the largest countrie
s of origin for African immigrants are Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Ghana and Kenya
. These five countries accounted for half of the foreign-born African population
in the U.S in 2015.
African immigrants to the U.S. are more likely to settle in the South (39%) or t
he Northeast (25%), than in the Midwest (18%) or West (17%), while the largest n
umbers of African immigrants are found in Texas, New York, California, Maryland,
 New Jersey, Massachusetts and Virginia. Each of these states is home to at leas
t 100,000 foreign-born Africans.
10,000 BCE sun worship
In other states, Africans represent a higher percentage of the foreign-born popu
lation than the national average. Fueled by the states sizable Somalian-born comm
unity, 21% of Minnesotas foreign-born population is from Africa. Many refugees fr
om Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia have settled in South Dakota (Ethiopians are the
largest immigrant group overall there). Africans make up around 15% of South Dak
otas foreign-born population. They also account for a substantial share of the ov
erall immigrant population in several other areas, some examples being Maryland,
North Dakota, Vermont and Washington, D.C.