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| The Rosseta Stone, British Museum |
Any traveler who has ever lucky enough to visit the walls of ancient Egyptian temples, asks the question: "What do the drawings on the walls of stone and is it possible to read these letters?" After all, these, at first sight, awkward pictures, and open the door to the origins of the history of ancient civilization and its secrets. Does today humanity knowledge that will unravel the mysteries of dark corridors of Egyptian sanctuaries?
Managed to find the key to unlocking the mysteries of Egyptian writing, and with it the history of the greatest ancient civilizations, only in 1977. That's when scientists discovered a fragment of the stele, rosetta stone. He is now in the British Museum.
The inscription on the stone inscription contains a decree on behalf of King Ptolemy V, issued in 196 BC in the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis State. The decree applied to the three dialects: the upper part contains text in the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion demotic script, and the very lowest - in Greek. The fact that the same text in three languages, has opened up the key to the modern understanding of Egyptian writing - hieroglyphics.
Rosetta Stone was originally part of the column in the ancient Egyptian temple and a Christian or medieval period after the destruction was used as a building material in the construction of Fort Julien near the town of Rashid (Rosetta) in the Nile Delta.
It was first discovered in this place French soldier Pierre-François Bouchard during an expedition to Egypt in 1799.
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| The Rosseta Stone |
Rosetta Stone has caused in the community of scientists keen interest because it was the first archaeological find, which allowed hitherto untranslated decipher ancient language. Lithographic copies of the stones were at odds on European museums and among scientists.
At this time, the British troops defeated the French in Egypt in 1801, and Fort walked into the possession of the UK under the capitulation of Alexandria. In 1802, the Rosetta Stone was taken to the British Museum and on display.
The first results of the study of inscriptions on stone left over from the stele in Egypt, were appeared in 1803. But a detailed study of them has taken almost 20 years. In 1822, a researcher from Paris, Jean-Francois Champollion was able to decipher ancient inscriptions and reliably establish the fact that all three texts in different languages are identical. Researchers were then known only values of the ancient Greek language.
In 2003 alone, the first time Egypt has demanded the return of the fragment to their historic homeland.
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| A copy of the Rosetta stone in the area of writing at home Champollion |
Rosetta Stone currently has a height of 114.4 cm at the highest point. It weighs about 760 kg. It also includes three inscriptions identical text: Egyptian hieroglyphs, Egyptian demotic script and writing in ancient Greek. At one time, the letters on the stone, which is located at the British Museum, highlighted in white for ease of reading.
Stele was erected after the coronation of King Ptolemy V. It has suffered a decree establishing the new cult of the divine ruler by a congress of priests. This event took place in the ancient city, the capital of Egypt, Memphis.
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| Rosetta Stone of Egypt |
Why the inscription on the Rosetta Stone plotted in three different languages?
In 332 BC Egypt was conquered by Alexander the Great. After the death of the commander, the state became the ruler Ptolemy. His descendants of Greek origin, became kings of Egypt for the next 300 years. This period marked the fusion of Greek and Egyptian cultures. Greek became the official language of the ancient Egyptian kingdom. Hieroglyphics were used only high priests of Egypt. Democratic speech, in which the middle part of the text is written on the Rosetta Stone is used in everyday speech of the ancient Egyptians.
Egyptian translation of the decree of the king, applied to the Rosetta Stone:
"In the reign of the young (the king) and the heir to the kingdom of his father, the ruler of the glorious crowns; approved the order in Egypt, the pious against the gods; winner over enemies, and improve people's lives, the high priests, soothsayers, priests, who came from churches in the country to Memphis King of the celebration, taking the crown vechnozhivogo Ptolemy, beloved of Ptah, the god Epiphanes of the Eucharist, which he received from his father, [all these priests], meeting in Memphis church on this very day, have decided: since vechnozhivoy King Ptolemy, beloved of Ptah, the god Epiphanes Eucharist is born King Ptolemy and Queen Arsinoe, gods Philopator, has had many temples and blessings to those who are in them, and to all who stay under his royal authority, and since he is a god descended from the god and goddess (like Horus, son of Isis and Osiris, to avenge his father Osiris, and being generous to the gods, he donated to the temples revenues in the form of money and food and suffered heavy costs in order to lead Egypt to the quiet state and to erect temples, and to the extent it Fire forces showed philanthropic aspirations and obtained from a
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| Egyptian hieroglyphs |
Egypt income and tax it some completely abolished, while others made it easier to make the people and all the others in his reign were in prosperity, and debts to the royal treasury, which lay on the Egyptians and on the population of other parts of his kingdom, and that was very great, he forgave , but that the prison population and the people against whom have long been initiated lawsuits, he freed all of them of all charges, and so he ordered, in addition to the temples revenues and donations that are offered to them each year in the form of food and money, and likewise gifts relying gods with vineyards, orchards and other lands that belonged to the gods in the reign of his father, remained on the old basis, and so he ordered the relatively priests, that they did not pay for his dedication more than as much as you had to pay up to the first year of the reign of his father, and he freed the people from the Sacred College of the annual voyage to Alexandria, and then he ordered them not to produce a collection of the fleet and the number of linen fabrics, hand over the temples to the royal treasury, he retained by two-thirds, and in the same way as before were left to himself, he put in proper order, wanting something that is usually committed to the gods, was properly arranged, however, he paid homage to all for justice, twice as great Hermes; He ordered that the native warriors and other persons returning to
home, who were hostile (to the authorities) during the Troubles, on his return remained in the possession of their property, and since he has taken care of that were sent cavalry and foot forces and ships against the enemy on their way to a campaign by Egypt sea and by land, and carried with great costs money and food to the temples and the entire population of the country were in safety: and appearing in Likopolis, located in the prefecture of Busiris, who was captured and fortified to withstand a siege, and there has been delivered and a large number of weapons and other equipment, as in the city gathered rebellious spirit of the wicked, which caused a lot of harm to the population and the temples of Egypt, the king surrounded the city, and raised him as a surprise around the mound and digging ditches, and in view of the fact that the rise of the Nile in the eighth was very high, and, as usual, the river threatened to flood the valley, the king kept the water in many places closed the mouth of the channel, having spent a considerable amount of this money, putting riders and foot for them [unclear: new dams or rebels] of it in a short time taken by force
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| Demotic language of Ancient Egypt |
City and defeated everyone in the wicked it [rise against the god-king], just as the first of Hermes and Horus, the sons of Isis and Osiris, subdued the rebels against them in the same locality; as to commanders of the rebels under his father, ruined the country and created injustice done to the temples, he stood by in Memphis and in revenge for his father and for his crown, punished them as they deserved, when the time came to perform ceremonies that accompany the adoption of the crown, and since then, he has canceled accumulated up to the eighth the debt of the temples before the royal treasury in the form of very large amounts of food and money, precisely the same way it did in respect of payment for not presented to the royal treasury and linen fabrics for verification of those tissues that have been handed over to the same time period, he freed temples of the obligation to take atrabu [grain] with Arouri holy land, and likewise pot [wine] with Arouri vineyard, and since he made many gifts and Apis Mnevis and other sacred animals of Egypt, much more than the old kings
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| Egyptian hierogliphs |
taking care of everything related to animals, he gave generously and in a dignified manner necessary for their burial, as well as means to them in a special dedication of the temple, along with the sacrifice, setting off celebrations and everything else that is necessary in such cases, and because the privilege Egyptian temples and he has kept intact and safe in accordance with the laws of decorated Apieyon magnificent buildings, bringing to it a large amount of gold, silver and precious stones, and erected temples, shrines and altars, the same need to restore [temples] he corrected, with to everything that concerns the deity, diligence benefactor god, finding out about the most respected temples, he restored them, as befits his reign, during which the gods gave him health, victory, power, and all the other benefits, as well as the possession of a strong crown him and his descendants forever-forever - in a good hour! [Because of this] the priests of all the temples of the country decided: How can multiply more honors rendered at the moment vechnozhivomu King Ptolemy, beloved of Ptah, the god Epiphanes Eucharist, as does the honors rendered to his parents, Philopater gods and ancestors and gods, gods Euergetes Adelphi gods Sotero. Put in the most prominent place in every temple in honor of the image vechnozhivogo king Ptolemy Epiphanes god of the Eucharist, which will bear the name of Ptolemy, the patron of Egypt,
and that should take the place of the chief god in the temple, holding a weapon of victory, according to the accepted customs in Egypt . Priests should three times a day to send a religious service before these images and putting them on the garments, and to do all other ceremonies, which rely in this country at the solemn celebration of all the other gods: [more lists other honors college of priests who decided to pay tribute to the king]. The decree written on the stele of hard stone sacred writings on the indigenous and the Hellenic language and put in every church of the first, second and third class vechnozhivogo before the image of the king. "
