Difference between revisions of "The Annals of the World"

Revision as of 19:13, April 18, 2007

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-[[The Annals of the World]] is the massive compendium of ancient history by [[James Ussher]]. The original manuscript, in [[Latin]], was published in [[1658]], after his death. In [[2003]] [[Larry Pierce]] translated the original manuscript into [[English]] and published his translation in hardcover. The ''Annals'' has also been bundled into a downloadable archive<ref>[http://www.winsite.com/bin/Info?21000000038229 ''The Annals of the World''] at WinSite. Requires an archive processor that can handle .zip files.</ref>
+[[Icewedge]] has blanked this page for no reason.
-The ''Annals'' begins at a calculated date for [[creation]] and continues through the destruction of the [[Temple of Jerusalem]] in [[70 AD]]. Dates derived from it were included in the margins of many [[King James Version]] [[Bible]]s throughout the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.<ref>For an example, see ''The Holy Bible'', in the Authorized King James Version, from William Collins and World Publishers (no date given).</ref>
-== Publication data ==
-:by [[James Ussher]]
-:[[Larry Pierce]], editor
-:960 page hardcover
-:ISBN 0890513600
-=== How to Cite This Resource ===
-In Conservapedia, copy the block-quoted text exactly as it appears:
-* MLA style:<blockquote><nowiki><ref name=Ussher>[[James Ussher]], ''[[The Annals of the World]]'', [[Larry Pierce]], ed., Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2003 (ISBN 0890513600), pghh. </ref></nowiki></blockquote>
-In print, copy and format as follows:
-* MLA style:<blockquote>James Ussher, ''The Annals of the World'', Larry Pierce, ed., Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2003, pghh.</blockquote>
-Note that numbered paragraphs, not pages, are the best parts to cite from the ''Annals''.
-== Review ==
-[[Image:James_Ussher.jpg|thumb|150px|[[James Ussher]]]]
-By [[User:TerryH|TerryH]] 13:00, 15 March 2007 (EDT)
-[[James Ussher]] (4 January 1581–21 March 1656) must surely rank with [[Herodotus]], [[Thucydides]], [[Plutarch]], [[Suetonius]], [[Tacitus]], [[Dio Cassius]], and [[Pliny the Elder]] and [[Pliny the Younger|Younger]] as an historian. ''[[The Annals of the World]],'' his magnum opus, is the result of a lifetime of travel, study, and research.
-Ussher attempted to join the Bible to all other works of recorded history, and to present a unified treatment of the natural and political history of the world from Creation to [[70 AD]], the date of the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem by the future [[Rome|Roman]] Emperor [[Titus]]. To do this, he relied heavily on ancient historical sources, and even traveled to the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] region to examine as many primary sources as he could. No one since (perhaps) [[Flavius Josephus]] had attempted to join Biblical and extra-Biblical history as Ussher did.
-===The Chronology===
-Most people remember Ussher for the [[chronology]] that bears his name--and with good reason, because Ussher determined to settle the chronology of the Bible before he attempted to unite other chronologies with it. He first had to decide which text of the Old Testament he would use--the [[Septuagint]], the [[Samaritan Pentateuch]], or the [[Masoretic Text]]. He chose the Masoretic after determining that it was as reliable as any ancient text could be, and was as close to an original as he could obtain.
-After deciding on the text, he further relied on a number of internal clues in various parts of the Old Testament, including:
-*The detailed genealogy from [[Adam]] to [[Noah]]<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Genesis|chap=5|verses=1-32|version=KJV}}</ref>
-*The equally detailed reckoning of the [[Great Flood]]<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Genesis|chap=7|verses=1-24|version=KJV}}</ref>, and of the birth of [[Arphaxad]] two years later<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Genesis|chap=11|verses=10-11|version=KJV}}</ref>
-*The genealogy from [[Arphaxad]] through [[Abraham]]<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Genesis|chap=11|verses=12-32|version=KJV}}</ref>
-*The detailed biographies of [[Abraham]], [[Isaac]], and [[Jacob]]
-*The biography of [[Joseph]], including his sale into slavery in [[Egypt]] and his tenure as [[Joseph#The Viceroy|viceroy]] of that country.
-*The explicit statement of the number of years of the "sojourn in Egypt" of the [[Israelites]]
-*The equally explicit statement of the number of years between the [[Exodus]] and the groundbreaking on the [[Temple of Jerusalem|Temple]]
-*The richly detailed lists of the kings of the [[United Kingdom of Israel|United Kingdom]] and the Divided Kingdoms of Israel, Northern ([[Northern Kingdom|Israel]]) and Southern ([[Southern Kingdom|Judah]])
-*The reckoning of the years of the [[Exile of Israel|Exile]] and the eventual [[Restoration of Israel]]
-*The prophecy of [[Daniel]] involving "seventy sevens" of years.
-Further to this, he assumed:
-*That the 430-year "sojourn"<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Exodus|chap=12|verses=40-41|version=KJV}}</ref> began with Abraham's departure from [[Haran (country)|Haran]] into [[Canaan]]. He relied on a verse in [[Galatians]]<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Galatians|chap=3|verses=17|version=KJV}}</ref> for this determination.
-*That God was essentially finished with national Israel, according to the doctrine of [[Covenant Theology]]
-*That all the prophecies mentioned in [[Revelation]] are already fulfilled, a doctrine called [[Preterism]] today
-Finally, he did not rely on any archaeological theories concerning the date of the Fall of Jerusalem. Instead, he back-calculated the age of the earth from the date of the death of [[Nebuchadnezzar II]].
-===Extra-Biblical or "Profane" Sources===
-Ussher relied on extra-Biblical historical sources when they treated subjects that the Bible did not treat. The Bible was always his standard source, and every other source would have to yield to the Bible in his treatment.
-The most important extra-Biblical sources he had were [[Astronomy|astronomical]] records. [[Astronomical dating]] is widely used for uniting the chronologies of two different civilizations. Of course, astronomical dates are only as reliable as are the records of the observations of astronomical events. Ussher understood this and thus relied heavily on historical mentions of total eclipses of the [[Sun|sun]] and [[Moon|moon]], sightings of the [[planets]], and so on. He also used astronomical dating to calculate that the birth of Christ was four years ''earlier'' than the traditional [[Julian]] reckoning--probably relying on the notes of the German astronomer [[Johannes Kepler]].
-Ussher used a number of other sources, including histories by [[Flavius Josephus|Josephus]] and other ancient historians. Yet the most remarkable treatment by Ussher of any given source must be his treatment of [[Manetho]], the [[Greece|Greek]] priest who made the first attempt at a [[Egyptian chronology|chronology]] of ancient Egypt. Manetho assumed that the many "Dynasties" of [[Pharaoh|Pharaohs]] ran consecutively. This implied that the First Dynasty of Egypt began earlier than the Great Flood--which Ussher knew to be impossible. Ussher solved the problem in a unique way: he truncated Manetho's chronology and simply discarded all Dynasties earlier than the Middle Kingdom as myths. But, relying on the records of Manetho that he kept, he assumed that ''two'' Pharaohs named [[Ramesses]] reigned for sixty-six years each, and that the first of these was the Pharaoh of the Exodus. It would be left to modern-day Christian Egyptologists to correct these errors.
-Ussher also used Greek mythological sources, and actually assumed that many of the personages of classical mythology were real kings and queens--a debatable proposition at best. He used a number of other sources, chiefly for Assyrian history--and, sadly, a fire in [[Dublin]], [[Ireland]] destroyed many of these sources. But many other sources survive, and those that do, concord with the ''Annals'' to a remarkable degree.
-===Reliability===
-The ''Annals'' are, of necessity, a secondary source. Such a source is only as reliable as are its primaries. Given that, Ussher is in remarkable agreement--usually exactly or within one or two years--with most modern historians in their treatment of Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greco-Macedonian, and Roman history. Indeed, Ussher places the destruction of the Temple by [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] of Babylon at 588 BC, very close to the 586 BC date that most modern archaeologists have assigned to this event.
-He calculates the date of [[Creation]] as [[October 23]], [[4004 BC]]. This date derives from two key assumptions: that [[Abraham]] was born when his father [[Terah]] was 130 years of age rather than seventy, and that the Sojourn in Egypt began with the Abrahamic Covenant and not with the entry of [[Jacob]] into Egypt. Neither assumption is incontrovertible. The sharpest controversy, however, developed with [[Edwin R. Thiele]]'s dissertation on the chronology of the Divided Kingdoms. This [[Biblical chronology dispute]] goes to the heart of any assessment of reliability, for it turns on whether one accepts Scripture as primary, or will allow secular evidence--sometimes of questionable reliability itself--to trump Scripture.
-His arbitrary rejection of half of Manetho's king lists results from his repetition of Manetho's original error--assuming that the kings of Egypt, as listed, all ruled consecutively. Furthermore, he probably never realized that the ancient kings of Egypt routinely re-wrote the histories of their predecessors in a manner in which [[George Orwell]] would later predict that future governments would behave. The correction of the historical record of Egypt would be left to modern archaeologists.
-That aside, his reckoning of the kings of the Divided Kingdom is as reliable as any other reckoning that anyone else has attempted. His calculations of the dates of the [[Crucifixion]] and [[Resurrection]] of [[Jesus Christ]] show the same exacting attention to detail that inform the rest of the Annals. Most importantly, Ussher laid a remarkably solid foundation for historical research, one that has held up remarkably well for nearly four centuries. If, therefore, the ''Annals'' suffers from reliability problems, then they result almost entirely with problems with the secular or "profane" sources that Ussher had available to him, and less often from a questionable interpretation of Scripture.
-===Completeness===
-Ussher stopped his account at 70 AD, in the belief that the history of the [[Judaism|Jews]] ended in that year. But his treatment of the history of Western civilization up to that year is breathtakingly comprehensive. His assumptions concerning various early kings mentioned in classical myths are probably not accurate. But his treatment of classical history beyond, say, [[1300 BC]] is as rich as is the treatment of modern history in any conventional textbook.
-Moreover, many of his assumptions concerning ancient events have proved accurate, even though for centuries the ''Annals'' were the only Western extra-Biblical source attesting to them. These included:
-*The [[Trojan War]], which Ussher places during the era of the [[Judges]]. Until the archaeologist [[Heinrich Schliemann]] discovered the site, no one accepted the existence of a city called [[Troy]].<ref>[http://www.royalty.nu/legends/Troy.html The Trojan War: History, Myth, and Honor]</ref> Schliemann would later discover positive evidence of the [[Mycenean]] civilization.<ref>[http://www.uark.edu/campus-resources/achilles/age/myceneans.html Myceneans] at the University of Arkansas</ref>
-*The existence of the [[Assyrian|Assyrians]] and their wars with the Kingdom of Israel In regard to this, many archaeologists assumed that the Assyrians never existed--before the eventual discovery of the site of [[Nineveh]], capital of this empire, mentioned by [[Jonah]].<ref>Russell, John Malcolm. ''The Final Sack of Nineveh''. [[New Haven]], [[Connecticut]]: [[Yale University]] Press, 1998. ISBN 0300074182</ref>
-=== Supplemental Resources ===
-The current edition of the ''Annals'' also includes eight valuable Appendices that lay a thorough foundation for Ussher's methods and calculations. These Appendices include a very thorough description of the Roman Republican and early Julian [[calendar]] (including full particulars on the placement of the Calends, Nones, and Ides in every month of each one), a discussion of Ussher's calculated time-line for the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, two different essays regarding the chronology of the Assyrian Empire, a set of ancient maps, a discussion of the Hebrew calendar and why its epoch begins so much later than Creation seems to, and finally, a discussion of why [[archaeology]] in general is less reliable than the Bible (because it has such a poor track record of sustaining any given conclusion from one decade to the next). Anyone attempting to settle any question of Ussher's chronological calculations must study these Appendices to see exactly how Ussher worked, and how he stayed as close to Scripture as has any man before or since.
-===Conclusion===
-''[[The Annals of the World]]'' is one of the most comprehensive textbooks of ancient history available, and one whose dates have held up at least as well as have those of other historians. It would make a valuable addition to any school or home-schooler's library, for its comprehensive treatment of ancient history alone. And even if Ussher's reckoning of the Exodus and other key dates in Judeo-Christian history are misplaced, this work is invaluable in showing how Ussher assigned those dates to begin with, and what assumptions he made.
-== External Reviews ==
-*[http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v26/i1/archbishop.asp Archbishop's Achievement] by [[Jonathan Sarfati]]. Creation 26(1):24–27, December 2003
-*[http://www.pocketpcreviews.net/content/view/55/67/ Review of the ''Annals''] at PocketPCReviews.net
-== References ==
-<references/>
-== See Also ==
-* [[Biblical genealogy]]
-* [[Biblical chronology]]
-[[Category:Book]]
+== References ==
-[[Category:History]]
+<references/>
-[[Category:Chronology]]
-[[Category:Bible chronology]]

Difference between revisions of "The Annals of the World"

Revision as of 19:13, April 18, 2007

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