(which is the ancient Egyptian written with Greek characters) had rendered Champollion perfectly familiar with this fact. He therefore put down the fifth character in Ptolemy's name, a boat-stand for m, and the seventh, a crotchet or yoke, for s. Both were soon verified from other names, and the hieroglyphic transcription of the name PTOLEMÆUS was read Ptolmes. The penultimate letter in Cleopatra is R, which does not occur in Ptolemy. The last character but one in the ring is not found in the hieroglyphic transcription of Ptolemy. It is a human mouth, ◇ which we put down from hence, r. One step only was now required to complete the analysis of both rings: but here again was a difficulty. The second letter in Ptolemy and the seventh in Cleopatra are both T, but the corresponding characters are altogether different. In Ptolemy it is represented by a small stone shaped like the segment of a sphere, and used for polishing, ; but in Cleopatra's ring a human hand has the power of t. This comparison suggested that the same sound had many representatives in hieroglyphics— the system of homophons, as its discoverer well named it. The key to the reading of these mysterious writings was now evidently recovered. There is no occasion to proceed further with its history. Its results will be far more likely to interest the reader. For Ptolemy and Cleopatra see p. xii. PERSIAN KINGDOM IN EGYPT. THE KINGDOM OF THE NATIVE PHARAOHS. The 26th Dynasty, about 600 B. C. The royal names at this period are all written in two rings. The second ring contains the name, and The 25th Dynasty about 700 B. C. These kings came from Ethiopia. They are called Ethiops in the Bible. Sabacho. Tirhakah. shvk. tiharka. The 22nd Dynasty, about 800 B. C. Shishak. Σεσωγχις. LXX. Sesonchis. shshnk. This was the Pharaoh who invaded Judah in the days of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. The picture of his triumph afterwards, yet remains on the north external wall of the palace of Karnak in eastern Thebes. The 20th Dynasty, about the time of the Exodus. Queen Thouoris. thavrus. The daughter of the king that knew not Joseph, the patroness of Moses. The 19th Dynasty, about the time of Moses. Ramses II. the final expeller of the Shepherds from the Delta: the king that knew not Joseph. ra-mss. From this time the royal names, are often written in one ring only. The 15th Dynasty, Canaanite Shepherds Aphophis the patron of Joseph. aphaph. (so called.) His capital was Heliopolis, at the head of the Delta. The 3rd and 4th Dynasty, the builders of the Suphis the builder of the great pyramid. shufu. Pyramids. Soris the first king of the ramid of Abusir. Sephuris of the 3rd Dynasty, sanfru. The earli- Menes, the protomonarch of Egypt. mnei. (Hieroglyphic genealogies.) A His name as king of Egypt occurs in that of a prince of the court of Suphis, whose tomb is at Ghizeh. Josephus says that Menes reigned many years before the times of Abraham. The subjoined alphabet is strictly artificial. It gives the characters employed in the foregoing table of kings, arranged under their proper sounds, and no other. aeiou 444&S hbu or hh bh dt PASTIT names is the ground plot of a cattle-pen made of "hurdles," The first king of Egypt, the founder of Memphis, was named Menes. mn-ei, which means "hurdle-maker." He first enclosed his name thus as an indication of its meaning. All the kings of Egypt after him were, or professed to be, his descendants, and they also assumed it in token of this consanguinity. So strong was the feeling under the native Pharaohs that every king of Egypt must of necessity be of the race of Menes, that the priests pretended that Cambyses was the natural son of Amasis II, whom he conquered, and Alexander the Great, of Nectanebo, the last native king of Egypt. We have found the meaning of these characters by taking the names to pieces. In order to show how the system was invented, we must put it together again. |