The Ancients of the Ancients

Both Egyptian and Mesopotamian traditions, as well as some Roman authors, provide specific timelines for ancient events or civilizations.

Egyptian Sources

Manetho’s Chronology (3rd century BCE)

The Egyptian priest Manetho compiled a detailed king list that divided Egyptian history into dynasties. His timeline extended back more than 30,000 years, including:

It was a period of divine rulers who reigned for thousands of years before the first mortal kings.

A claim that the reign of gods and demigods lasted for 13,900 years before the historical dynasties began.

Greek and Roman writers, including Eusebius and Josephus, later referenced Manetho’s chronology.

Herodotus’ Egyptian Account

Egyptian priests told Herodotus (Histories, Book II) that their civilization’s records stretched back 11,340 years and included accounts of the reigns of gods and humans. This predates the Greek understanding of history and aligns with Plato’s emphasis on the antiquity of Egyptian records.

Mesopotamian Sources

The Sumerian King List

This ancient text lists the reigns of kings before and after a great flood. The pre-flood kings are said to have ruled for impossibly long spans, totaling over 241,000 years. Specific examples include:

Alulim, the first king, ruled for 28,800 years.

The timeline reflects a mytho-historical framework, with earlier eras assigned vast spans of time to emphasize their divine or semi-divine nature.

Babylonian Records

Berossus, a Babylonian priest writing in Greek (3rd century BCE), described a lineage of kings and a sequence of events spanning 432,000 years before the flood. This number was tied to astronomical cycles and mythology, suggesting a deep antiquity.

Roman Sources

Varro’s Chronology

The Roman scholar Varro (1st century BCE) proposed a timeline of human history based on:

The Age of the Gods (lasting thousands of years).

The Age of Heroes (closer to the Trojan War).

The Historical Age (beginning with the founding of Rome in 753 BCE).

Though not as precise as Plato, this framework reflects a structured approach to prehistory.

Ovid’s Metamorphoses

While more poetic than historical, Ovid describes a sequence of ages (Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Iron) that stretch deep into the past. He provides no exact years but implies vast spans of time between epochs.

Hebrew and Biblical Sources

Biblical Genealogies

The genealogies in the Bible (e.g., Genesis 5 and 11) trace human history back to Adam, assigning specific lifespans to early patriarchs. According to traditional interpretations, the time from Adam to Noah spans around 1,656 years, and from Noah to Abraham another 292 years.

Some Jewish traditions interpret the creation of the world as occurring around 4,000 BCE, based on calculations like those of the Jewish historian Josephus.

Indian Sources

Hindu Yuga Cycles

The Hindu cosmological framework divides time into four Yugas (epochs):

• Satya Yuga (1,728,000 years)
• Treta Yuga (1,296,000 years)
• Dvapara Yuga (864,000 years)
• Kali Yuga (432,000 years)

The cycles repeat over vast spans of time, and current traditions place the beginning of Kali Yuga at 3102 BCE.

Chinese Sources

The Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties

Chinese historical texts like the Records of the Grand Historian (Sima Qian) trace history back to the Xia dynasty (~2070 BCE), with legendary rulers (e.g., Fu Xi and Nuwa) preceding it.

Earlier eras are often given mythical lengths, extending history back tens of thousands of years.

Other Examples

Mayan Long Count Calendar

The Mayans used a calendar system that counted days from a starting point in 3114 BCE. This represents a specific and detailed timeline for their history and cosmology.

Zoroastrian Tradition

Zoroastrian texts like the Bundahishn outline a history of creation and destruction lasting 12,000 years, divided into periods governed by Ahura Mazda (good) and Angra Mainyu (evil).