David Rohl 249686 218525647 2008-06-11T01:01:16Z Tuckerresearch 357084 /* External links */ I think the main group is sufficient as an EXTERNAL LINK (but still not a source) '''David M. Rohl''' (born [[12 September]] [[1950]]) is a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Egyptology|Egyptologist]] and [[historian]] who has put forth several controversial theories concerning the chronology of [[Ancient Egypt]] and [[History of ancient Israel and Judah|Israel]]. He was born in [[Manchester]] and currently lives in the Marina Alta, [[Spain]]. == Biography == Rohl traces his fascination with ancient Egypt to a visit of that country at the age of nine, which featured a journey on the [[Nile]] on King [[Farouk of Egypt|Farouk]]'s paddle-steamer. He first worked as a [[rock and roll|rock]] musician, forming a band in 1968, which eventually became [[Mandalaband]], which released two albums, ''Mandalaband'' and ''The Eye of Wendor'', in the early 1970s. About 1974, Rohl started work as a [[sound engineer]], which career he pursued until he returned to his interest in ancient Egypt. Rohl has been the editor of the ''Journal of the Ancient Chronology Forum'' since 1986. In 1988 he was accepted by [[University College, London]] and awarded the prestigious W.F. Masom History Research Scholarship by the [[University of London]] as well as being awarded his degree in Ancient History and Egyptology. Rohl started work towards his doctorate in 1990, but it is unclear if he has been granted this advanced degree. He is a past President of the Sussex Egyptology Society (SES) and edits the ''[[Eastern Desert Survey Report]]''. He excavated at [[Kadesh]] in [[Syria]] for the London Institute of Archaeology during the 1990s, and is currently Co-Field Director of the Eastern Desert Survey in Egypt. Rohl has also been associated with the [[Institute for the Study of Interdisciplinary Sciences]] (ISIS). The publication of his book, ''A Test of Time'' led to his role in a three-part television documentary, "Pharaohs and Kings: A Biblical Quest", which appeared late summer 1995 on [[Channel 4]] in the UK, and spring 1996 on The Learning Channel/Discovery in the USA. == Theories == === Egypt === His published works ''A Test of Time'' and ''Legend'' set forth Rohl's theories for dating Egyptian kings of the [[nineteenth dynasty of Egypt|19th]] through [[twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt|25th Dynasties]], which would require a major revision of the [[Conventional Egyptian chronology|conventional]] [[chronology]] of ancient Egypt, and less radical revisions of the chronologies of Israel and Mesopotamia. Rohl asserts that these would allow scholars to identify many of the main characters in the [[Old Testament]] with people whose names appear in archeological finds. One of Rohl's methods includes the use of [[archaeo-astronomy]], which he uses to fix the date of a solar [[eclipse]] which happened during the reign of [[Amenhotep IV]] and was observed in the city of [[Ugarit]]. He used a computer to calculate the exact time; the only possible time where such eclipse could be visible in Ugarit during the whole second millennium BC was 9 May 1012 BCE. According to conventional chronology, Ugarit was already destroyed in the 12th century BC and Amenothep IV ([[Akhenaton]]) reigned in 1353-1334 BC. Rohl's redating is based on criticism of three of the four arguments which he considers are the foundations of the conventional Egyptian chronology: * He claims that the identification of "[[Shishaq]] ['Shishak'], King of Egypt" ([[Books of Kings|1 Kings]] 14:25f; [[Books of Chronicles|2 Chronicles]] 12:2-9) with [[Shoshenq I]], first proposed by [[Jean-François Champollion]], is based on incorrect conclusions. Rohl argues instead that Shishaq should be identified with [[Ramesses II]], which would move the date of Ramesses' reign forward some 300 years. * He claims that the record in the [[Ebers papyrus]] of the [[Sothic cycle|rising of Sirius]] in the ninth [[regnal year]] of [[Amenhotep I]], which supposedly fixes the year to either [[1542 BC]] or [[1517 BC]], is misread, and instead should be understood as evidence for a reform in the Egyptian Calendar. * Papyrus Leiden I.350, which dates to the 52nd year of Ramesses II, records lunar observations that place that year of Ramesses' reign in one of 1278, 1253, 1228 or 1203 BC. Having questioned the value of the Ebers Papyrus, Rohl argues that since these lunar observations are accurate every twenty-five years, they could also indicate dates 300 years later. Rohl bases his revised chronology (the [[New Chronology (Glasgow)|New Chronology]]) on his interpretation of numerous archeological finds and genealogical records of several individuals. For example: * Rohl notes a gap in the stelae associated with the [[Apis (Egyptian mythology)|Apis]] vaults at [[Saqqara]] for the [[Twenty-first dynasty of Egypt|21st]] and [[Twenty-second dynasty of Egypt|22nd dynasties of Egypt]], which combined with the placement of coffins at the Royal Cache (TT 320) of coffins, shows these two dynasties were contemporary. He also offers an interpretation of the relationship of the tombs of [[Osorkon I]] and [[Psusennes I]] at [[Tanis, Egypt|Tanis]] that supports his theory. * Rohl offers inscriptions that list three non-royal genealogies which, when one equates one generation to an average of 20 years, proves Ramesses II flourished at the later time Rohl advocates. Rejecting the [[Revised Chronology]] of [[Immanuel Velikovsky]] and the [[Glasgow Chronology]] presented at the [[Society for Interdisciplinary Studies]]' 1978 'Ages in Chaos' conference, the New Chronology lowers the Egyptian dates (established within the traditional chronology) by up to 350 years at points prior to the universally accepted fixed date of [[664 BC]] for the sacking of [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]] by [[Ashurbanipal]]. While Rohl's theories have been rejected by many Egyptologists, Rohl's most vocal critic has been Professor [[Kenneth Kitchen]], formerly of [[Liverpool University]]. One of Kitchen's major objections to Rohls' arguments concerns his alleged omission of evidence that conflicts with Rohl's theories. Kitchen has pointed out that the genealogies Rohl references to date Ramesses II omit one or more names known from other inscriptions.<ref>As reported in [http://www.bga.nl/en/discussion/echroroh.html J.G. van der Land, "Pharaohs and the Bible: David Rohl's chronology untenable"] (accessed 27 January 2007</ref> Similarly, Egyptologists have pointed out that no other known king of Egypt fits the identification as well as Shoshenq I.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Redating the floruit of Ramesses II three centuries later would not only reposition the date of the [[Battle of Qadesh]] and complicate the chronology of [[Hittites|Hittite]] history, it would require a less severe revision of the chronology of [[Assyria]]n history prior to 664 BC. Rohl's theory should not be confused with the theory advocated by Russian mathematician [[Anatoly Fomenko]], which is also known as [[New Chronology (Fomenko)|New Chronology]]. Although it involves a 1000-year shift, his theory covers much more than the chronology of ancient Egypt. ==Identifications== Rohl identifies: *[[Amenemhat III]] with the Pharaoh of Joseph, and [[Joseph (Hebrew Bible)|Joseph]] with the [[Vizier]] of Amenemhat III. * The "new king who did not know Joseph" in Exodus 1:8 is identified by Rohl with either [[Sobekhotep III]] or [[Neferhotep I]]. *[[Neferhotep I]] with the adoptive grandfather of [[Moses]]. *[[Sobekhotep IV|Khanefere Sebekhotep IV]], brother and successor of Neferhotep, with [[Khenephres]], the Pharaoh from whom Moses fled to [[Midian]]. *The [[Pharaoh of the Exodus]] with [[Tutimaios]], known also as [[Dudimose]]. *[[Ibni]], [[Middle Bronze Age]] ruler of [[Hazor]], with [[Jabin]], king of Hazor in Joshua 11:10. *[[Sheshi]], a [[Hyksos]] ruler, with [[Sheshai]], a ruler of [[Hebron]] descended from [[Anak]] (Joshua 15:13-15). *[[Akish]] or [[Achish]], king of Gath, is identified with [[Šuwardata]], King of [[Gath]] in the Amarna letters. ''Akish'' is believed to be a shortened form of the [[Hurrian]] name ''Akishimige'', "the Sun God has given." Shuwardata is an [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] name meaning "the Sun God has given." *[[Aziru]] of the Amarna Letters is identified with [[Hadadezer bar Rehob|Hadadezer]], Syrian king in II Samuel. *[[Labayu]], a ruler in the [[Amarna Letters]], with [[King Saul]]. *[[King David]] with Dadua in Amarna Letter EA256. *Mutbalu, writer of the letter, is identified with Ishbaal (aka [[Ishbosheth]]). The two names have exactly the same meaning: "Man of Baal." *Benemina, also mentioned in EA256, is identified by Rohl with Baanah, Israelite chieftain in II Samuel 4, who would later betray and assassinate Ishbosheth. *Yishuya, also mentioned in EA256, is identified with [[Jesse]] (''Ishai'' in Hebrew), father of David. *Ayab, the subject of EA 256, is held to be the same as the Biblical [[Yoav]] (English "[[Joab]]"). *[[Horemheb]] is identified with the Pharaoh who destroyed [[Gezer]] and later gave it to [[Solomon]], together with one of his daughters as a wife. When Horemhab took Gezer he was not yet the ruler, but was acting under [[Tutankhamun]]. However, he became Pharaoh not long after, and Tutankhamun died too young to have left any marriageable daughters. *[[Ramses II]] ([[hypocoristicon]] = Shysha) with [[Shishak]] in the Bible. ==Rohl's revised chronology of Pharaohs== Dates proposed by Rohl for various Egyptian monarchs: *[[Wegaf]] : 1632-1630 BCE *[[Dudimose]] : 1450-1446 BCE. The [[Exodus]] took place in 1447 BCE in Rohl's chronology. *[[Ahmose I]] : 1194-1170 BCE. The end of the [[Hyksos]] rule at [[Avaris|Awaris]] took place in 1183 BCE, according to Rohl. *[[Amenhotep I]] : 1170-1150 BCE [[Image:Edin section by Cush.jpg|150px|right|thumb|Gan Eden after Rohl]] ===Garden of Eden=== In addition to his theories on Egypt, Rohl has put forth other theories related to the Old Testament. In his published work, ''Legend: The Genesis of Civilisation'', he posits a location for the [[Garden of Eden]] in [[Iranian Azarbaijan]], south-east of [[Tabriz]]. In the same work, he assumes a local flood theory for the [[Noah's Ark|Genesis Flood]], positing that the biblical reference to the covering of "all the high mountains" is merely a description of the flooding of cities in the plains of [[Mesopotamia]] on the basis that the Hebrew word 'har' does not just mean 'mountain' but also 'hill' and 'city mound'. == Writings == *[http://www.oldtestamentstudies.net/ncresource/ List of Books in Print] ===Published Books=== *''A Test of Time: The Bible - from Myth to History'', 1995; U.S. edition: ''Pharaohs and Kings: A Biblical Quest'', 1996. ISBN 0609801309 *''Legend: The Genesis of Civilisation'', 1998. *''The Lost Testament: The Story of the Children of Yahweh'', 2002; Paperback edition: ''From Eden to Exile: The Epic History of the People of the Bible'', 2003. *''The Lords of Avaris: Uncovering the Legendary Origins of Western Civilisation'' (2007) ==Videos== *''Pharaohs and Kings: A Biblical Quest'', 1995. *''In Search of Eden'', 2002. *''The Bible: Myth or Reality'', 2005. ==Footnotes == {{reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.knowledge.co.uk/xxx/cat/rohl/ A Test of Time Home Page] *[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NewChronology/ Official David Rohl discussion forum] *[http://www.egyptology.com/kmt/winter95_96/book.html Review of ''A Test of Time''] (originally published in ''KMT'') *[http://www.newchronology.org/ ISIS - Journal of the Ancient Chronology Forum] *[http://www.knowledge.co.uk/sis/ancient.htm The Revision of Ancient History - A Perspective] *[http://www.catastrophism.com/intro/search.cgi?zoom_query=rohl&zoom_and=1&zoom_cat=-1 Rohl at Catastrophism.com] *[http://www.bibleorigins.net/RohlsChronologyDeconstructed.html "Some Anomalies in David Rohl's Chronological Re-dating of Archaeological Time Periods and His Attempted Synchronizations with Biblical Scenarios"] *[http://members.aol.com/Ian%20Wade/Waste/Index.html A website harshly critical of Rohl] {{DEFAULTSORT:Rohl, David}} [[Category:British historians]] [[Category:English Egyptologists]] [[Category:Alumni of University College London]] [[Category:Alumni of the Institute of Archaeology]] [[Category:Audio engineers]] [[de:David Rohl]] [[fr:David Rohl]] [[pl:David Rohl]] [[ru:Рол, Дэвид]] [[sv:David Rohl]]