NOVEL NEXT Treasure hunt begins in England
Chapter 945 Traveling Around Africa
Chapter 945 Traveling Around Africa
"You mean, a great warrior and a navigator are buried here?" After hearing Liang En's brief introduction, the Earth King asked curiously.
Although he had studied abroad in the western world for a long time and obtained a degree, he still didn't know much about these unpopular things, so he could only ask Liang En, a professional.
But then again, there are not many people who know such unpopular knowledge as the ancient Phoenicians, whether they are on campus in the West or on the wilderness of Africa.
"Yes, according to the epitaph, he killed an elephant with a spear. Although he took his own life as the price, this approach can be called a brave man." Liang En pointed to the inscription on the stone tablet. The text said.
"This is indeed a warrior." After hearing Liang En's words, the earth king and the chiefs around him all nodded solemnly and praised, for them, it was already the limit to single out the lion , the elephant dare not even think about it.
"By the way, why did you say that he was a navigator?" The earth king asked Liang En after paying tribute to the ancient warrior. "Since you said he is famous, he should have left his own record in history."
"Of course, the expedition team he was in did leave his name in history." Liang En said with a smile. "They were the first expedition in history to circumnavigate Africa."
According to current legends and records, Pharaoh Necho II in the 26th dynasty of ancient Egypt ordered a voyage to the coast of Africa in order to open up overseas.
This pharaoh has continued to implement the policy of his father, Psamtik I, to develop trade since he succeeded to the throne.With his support, Phoenician sailors completed the first voyage around Africa.
The background of this voyage was that the pharaoh had completed the Nile-Red Sea canal in Egypt under the auspices of the pharaoh, but later abandoned it due to fear of possible changes in water levels and enemy invasion.
There is no subsequent history of why Necho II decided to send a fleet of ships on a voyage to Africa, but the only certainty is that he sent the fleet almost immediately after he abandoned the canal project.
Some people think that this is very likely to be related to the situation at that time. When the threat from the East became stronger and stronger, they had to take all possible measures to face this threat.
In those days, Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon in eastern Egypt, was waging a war that every Egyptian knew would soon spread to their own homeland.
Unfortunately, however, the overall situation became increasingly hopeless for the Egyptians, and in 609 BC, the year Necho II came to the throne, he sent troops to fight against the Kingdom of Judah and killed them at the Battle of Megiddo. King Josiah of Judea.
But it was not the beginning of a series of great victories, but just the afterglow before sunset. In 605 BC, Necho II sent troops to Mesopotamia in an attempt to support the dying Assyrian Empire.
He was defeated by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon at the Battle of Kachemes and was forced to give up his territories in Syria and Palestine.Assyria finally perished.
In 601 BC, Necho II repelled the invading Nebuchadnezzar II on the Egyptian border, but he only contained the enemy's attack, and the entire country was still in danger.
More importantly, after losing the Near East, one of Egypt's two key areas, Egypt lost its barrier to the greatest threat from the East and an important source of wealth and troops, which also represented the beginning of the country's decline.
It does look a bit bad, but if compared with other countries, it is not necessarily that bad. For example, the famous Jewish kingdom was completely destroyed in this round of attack.
In 597 and 586 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar II of the Neo-Babylonian Kingdom captured Jerusalem twice and destroyed the Kingdom of Judah.
He ordered all the nobles, priests, merchants, and craftsmen among the Jews to be taken as captives, and they were escorted to Babylon in groups. Only some extremely poor people stayed in Jerusalem to repair vineyards and cultivate fields.
These Jews remained in Babylon for decades until the rise of the Persian Empire.Cyrus the Great released them back to Jerusalem. This is the "Babylonian prisoner" in Jewish history.
In such a dangerous period, Nico II still insisted on long-distance voyages. Such a labor-intensive operation is already a very difficult task for this country.
For Necho II, who lived in a desperate time, with his country embattled on all sides, everything he did was to save the country and save his subjects from the threat of the Babylonians.
That's why he joined forces with Tire, which was also invaded by Babylon, to launch an adventure, hoping to find more resources and more markets to make up for a series of problems caused by the loss of the eastern territories.
There are very few records of their voyages after that.The only material that can be used as a reference is some descriptions made by a Greek writer Herodotus, but the scholar lived almost 100 years before this voyage.
However, through these precious records, everyone can also see some important details of that voyage, such as the route of this fleet and what it has experienced. .
According to records, the Phoenician fleet spent its first year in a country they knew well.They sailed along the Red Sea and passed through Punt, a country that often traded with Egypt, where they spent their first year.
Afterwards, when they were fully stocked again, Punt was left far behind the fleet. At this time, the fleet began to enter a world they didn't know.
Here, they may see what a whale looks like for the first time in their lives.They crossed the equator and landed in the African jungle one after another to establish their homes and sow crops.
What is certain is that it was here that the crew discovered that the direction of the sun's activity in the sky was opposite to what they knew before.
Interestingly, the recorder Herodotus did not believe this.He wrote in the article: "These returned crew members said some inexplicable things that I don't believe at all."
"While others may have listened to the rumour, it seems improbable that the sun should have appeared to the north of these men while they were sailing on the western route from the southern tip of Libya."
And this was already the most enlightened idea at that time, because other writers did not believe in the existence of this voyage at all, so naturally there was no record of it.
It is a bit ironic that these suspected things have become an important evidence that the Phoenicians once traveled around Africa, because the sun is indeed in the northern sky in a large number of areas in southern Africa today.
The Phoenicians were the first people other than the local aborigines to witness this fact and testify that they had indeed made this voyage along the coastline around the periphery of a huge continent.
Liang En has now discovered that this cemetery is the cemetery of a captain of such an expedition. It can be said that it witnessed the first human travel around Africa, and it can be regarded as a very valuable historical witness.
(End of this chapter)
"You mean, a great warrior and a navigator are buried here?" After hearing Liang En's brief introduction, the Earth King asked curiously.
Although he had studied abroad in the western world for a long time and obtained a degree, he still didn't know much about these unpopular things, so he could only ask Liang En, a professional.
But then again, there are not many people who know such unpopular knowledge as the ancient Phoenicians, whether they are on campus in the West or on the wilderness of Africa.
"Yes, according to the epitaph, he killed an elephant with a spear. Although he took his own life as the price, this approach can be called a brave man." Liang En pointed to the inscription on the stone tablet. The text said.
"This is indeed a warrior." After hearing Liang En's words, the earth king and the chiefs around him all nodded solemnly and praised, for them, it was already the limit to single out the lion , the elephant dare not even think about it.
"By the way, why did you say that he was a navigator?" The earth king asked Liang En after paying tribute to the ancient warrior. "Since you said he is famous, he should have left his own record in history."
"Of course, the expedition team he was in did leave his name in history." Liang En said with a smile. "They were the first expedition in history to circumnavigate Africa."
According to current legends and records, Pharaoh Necho II in the 26th dynasty of ancient Egypt ordered a voyage to the coast of Africa in order to open up overseas.
This pharaoh has continued to implement the policy of his father, Psamtik I, to develop trade since he succeeded to the throne.With his support, Phoenician sailors completed the first voyage around Africa.
The background of this voyage was that the pharaoh had completed the Nile-Red Sea canal in Egypt under the auspices of the pharaoh, but later abandoned it due to fear of possible changes in water levels and enemy invasion.
There is no subsequent history of why Necho II decided to send a fleet of ships on a voyage to Africa, but the only certainty is that he sent the fleet almost immediately after he abandoned the canal project.
Some people think that this is very likely to be related to the situation at that time. When the threat from the East became stronger and stronger, they had to take all possible measures to face this threat.
In those days, Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon in eastern Egypt, was waging a war that every Egyptian knew would soon spread to their own homeland.
Unfortunately, however, the overall situation became increasingly hopeless for the Egyptians, and in 609 BC, the year Necho II came to the throne, he sent troops to fight against the Kingdom of Judah and killed them at the Battle of Megiddo. King Josiah of Judea.
But it was not the beginning of a series of great victories, but just the afterglow before sunset. In 605 BC, Necho II sent troops to Mesopotamia in an attempt to support the dying Assyrian Empire.
He was defeated by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon at the Battle of Kachemes and was forced to give up his territories in Syria and Palestine.Assyria finally perished.
In 601 BC, Necho II repelled the invading Nebuchadnezzar II on the Egyptian border, but he only contained the enemy's attack, and the entire country was still in danger.
More importantly, after losing the Near East, one of Egypt's two key areas, Egypt lost its barrier to the greatest threat from the East and an important source of wealth and troops, which also represented the beginning of the country's decline.
It does look a bit bad, but if compared with other countries, it is not necessarily that bad. For example, the famous Jewish kingdom was completely destroyed in this round of attack.
In 597 and 586 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar II of the Neo-Babylonian Kingdom captured Jerusalem twice and destroyed the Kingdom of Judah.
He ordered all the nobles, priests, merchants, and craftsmen among the Jews to be taken as captives, and they were escorted to Babylon in groups. Only some extremely poor people stayed in Jerusalem to repair vineyards and cultivate fields.
These Jews remained in Babylon for decades until the rise of the Persian Empire.Cyrus the Great released them back to Jerusalem. This is the "Babylonian prisoner" in Jewish history.
In such a dangerous period, Nico II still insisted on long-distance voyages. Such a labor-intensive operation is already a very difficult task for this country.
For Necho II, who lived in a desperate time, with his country embattled on all sides, everything he did was to save the country and save his subjects from the threat of the Babylonians.
That's why he joined forces with Tire, which was also invaded by Babylon, to launch an adventure, hoping to find more resources and more markets to make up for a series of problems caused by the loss of the eastern territories.
There are very few records of their voyages after that.The only material that can be used as a reference is some descriptions made by a Greek writer Herodotus, but the scholar lived almost 100 years before this voyage.
However, through these precious records, everyone can also see some important details of that voyage, such as the route of this fleet and what it has experienced. .
According to records, the Phoenician fleet spent its first year in a country they knew well.They sailed along the Red Sea and passed through Punt, a country that often traded with Egypt, where they spent their first year.
Afterwards, when they were fully stocked again, Punt was left far behind the fleet. At this time, the fleet began to enter a world they didn't know.
Here, they may see what a whale looks like for the first time in their lives.They crossed the equator and landed in the African jungle one after another to establish their homes and sow crops.
What is certain is that it was here that the crew discovered that the direction of the sun's activity in the sky was opposite to what they knew before.
Interestingly, the recorder Herodotus did not believe this.He wrote in the article: "These returned crew members said some inexplicable things that I don't believe at all."
"While others may have listened to the rumour, it seems improbable that the sun should have appeared to the north of these men while they were sailing on the western route from the southern tip of Libya."
And this was already the most enlightened idea at that time, because other writers did not believe in the existence of this voyage at all, so naturally there was no record of it.
It is a bit ironic that these suspected things have become an important evidence that the Phoenicians once traveled around Africa, because the sun is indeed in the northern sky in a large number of areas in southern Africa today.
The Phoenicians were the first people other than the local aborigines to witness this fact and testify that they had indeed made this voyage along the coastline around the periphery of a huge continent.
Liang En has now discovered that this cemetery is the cemetery of a captain of such an expedition. It can be said that it witnessed the first human travel around Africa, and it can be regarded as a very valuable historical witness.
(End of this chapter)
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