Original Historical Documents
Home Addtopics Submenu
Smenkhare & Tutankhamun
Yuya Idenitifed
Ramses II and Necharomes
 The Most Recent on Sargon
The Most Recent on Esarhaddon
Ancient Spain
Nebuchadnezzar left side, Ramses II right side, Dog River, Lebanon
Nahr-el-Kalb or Lycus, near Beirut, Lebanon: Today 17 stela can be seen at Nahr-el-Kalb.
  • 3 of these by Ramses II, 1 by Nebuchadnezzar;
  • 5 by Assyrian kings one of which was by Esarhaddon;
  • 1 by the 3rd Gallic Legion of Emperor Caracalla (211-217 AD) having to do with road work he accomplished there;
  • 2 inscriptions are in Greek one of which still can be read commemorating road or engineering work left by Proclus, Byzantine governor of Phoenicia in 382 AD under Theodose the Great (379-395 AD);
  • 1 stele left by Napoleon III during an expedition in Lebanon 1860-1861;
  • 1 inscription left by the Mameluke Sultan Barqouq (1382-1399);
  • 1 inscription left by French troops under General Gouraud taking Damascus in 1920;
  • 2 inscriptions (1919 and 1930) mark one event, a) British Desert Corps took Damascus, Homs and Aleppo in October 1918, b) same event but mentiones the names Australian, New Zealand, Indian, and French contingents, as well as the Arab troops of King Hussein, Shereef of Mecca;
  • 1 inscription of the British and French occupation of Beirut and Tripoli in October 1918;
    Of greatest interest is a stele of the Assyrian King Esarhaddon (700-688 BC; left) and of Ramses II. What could be reasons to find these steles together and which one was there first?

    Conventional view.
     In conventional view the stele of Ramses II would have been there already for some 630 years before Esarhaddon had his placed next to him. But why would the Assyrian king who fought against the Egypt of the Ethiopian Dynastic kings do that? It makes no sense for this king who conquered 25th Dynasty Egypt to place his stele next to Ramses II.
    The Revised view.
    In the revised view the stele of Esarhaddon was there about 70 years before that of Ramses II/Necho II. Ramses apparently regarded Esarhaddon as the king who helped his grandfather Ramses I to the throne thus ushering in the 19th/26th Dynasty, as we explain under `Seti the Great'. When Ramses II had his stele made the Assyrian empire had already expired. Last of all we should point out that is wasn't Necho who made this stele, it was Ramses II.

    We ask the reader to decide which view makes chronologically more sense.
    		•
    Bible Topics Main Menu Submenu