There is a black granite slab engraved with ancient texts. Historians have been unable to decipher ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics for hundreds of years. There are three different types of writing on this stone.
One of Alexander the Great's generals was responsible for the legacy of the stone. Ptolemy I Soter was a Macedonian general who founded the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. Cleopatra was the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic line and she died in 30 B.C.
The stone is not associated with Ptolemy I Soter, but with his descendant Ptolemy V Epiphanes, who played an important role in the Ptolemaic dynasty.
What do we do to decipher ancient languages?
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According to the British Museum in London, the fort at the town of Rashd was built by the French during Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1797. According to Oxford University Press, the French name for Rashid is "rosy".
There is a broken part of a larger slab. The stone has the same message carved into it in three different writing styles: ancient Greek, Egyptian hieroglyphs and Egyptian demotic script.
The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago's head of research archives and a research associate told Live Science that Egyptian demotic script was used for modern languages. The phase of the Egyptian language associated with Egypt's Middle Kingdom period, which ended in 1650 B.C., is referred to as the Middle Egyptian. Middle Egyptian was often used for very formal inscriptions, as Egyptian sholders considered it a classical version of their language.
Ancient Greek became widely used in ancient Egypt during the Ptolemaic dynasty, and there were modern scholars who still understood it. The stone helped researchers decipher the Egyptian hieroglyphs and demotic script, which are two different script for one language. After the Romans took over Egypt in 30 B.C., the last known Egyptian hieroglyphic writing appeared in the fourth century A.D.
The council of priests in the Egyptian city of Memphis probably wrote the message on the stone. The stone was carved in the ninth year of the reign of Ptolemy V Epiphanes, who was crowned at 13 years old. His reign as ruler of Egypt was celebrated.
The council of priests in the Egyptian city of Memphis probably wrote the message on the stone. The stone was carved in the ninth year of the reign of Ptolemy V Epiphanes, who was crowned at 13 years old. His reign as ruler of Egypt was celebrated.
The decree on stones was similar to previous ones. After the battle of Raphia in 217 B.C., Ptolemy IV Philopator promulgated a trilingual decree. The decree followed a well-established precedent.
The context in which the decree was written sheds light on why it was written differently. The political situation in Egypt was complicated when the priests arrived in Memphis.
The Egyptian empire was left to be run by regents after Ptolemy IV Philopator died in 204 B.C. It was an unfortunate time for the royal administration.
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The Seleucus I Nicator founded the Empire of western Asia after Ptolemy IV Philopator died. The revolt of native groups began late in the reign of Ptolemy IV Philopator.
The assembly of the priests at Memphis for Ptolemy V Epiphanes' coronation was likely rich with many layers of meaning, given the complex politics that he faced.
"Memphis was the traditional capital of the pharaonic empire and thus a coronation there held symbolic value for the king and his court." The gathering for the coronation at Memphis likely served as an important connection with the past, an intentional symbol of the consolidated rule of Ptolemy V Epiphanes over Egypt, as well as an acquiescence to the Egyptian priests' desire to meet in their sacred city of Memphis rather than in
Gifts to temples, tax cuts and the quelling of a portion of Egypt's internal revolts are some of the accomplishments of Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The priests promised a number of actions to support Ptolemy V Epiphanes, such as building new statues, adding better decorations to his shrines, and holding festivals for his birthday and day of accession to the throne.
The decree helped him flex his influential and propagandistic muscle by showing him as the legitimate king who fights for the Egyptians and the Egyptian priesthood.
The decree established benefits for the powerful Egyptian priests in exchange for their support of the young king. The benefactions show the power negotiations that took place between the ruling house and other invested parties who had a significant influence on the public's perception of the king.
It was originally published on Live Science
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