What do you think?
Rate this book
Ages in Chaos #3
Ramses II and His Time
Radically reconstructs ancient history to reveal that Nebuchadnezzar's enemy, known as Necho, is in fact Ramses II and that the so-called Hittites are the Chaldeans
270 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1978
13 people are currently reading
174 people want to read
About the author
Immanuel Velikovsky
83 books126 followersImmanuel Velikovsky was a Russian-born American independent scholar, best known as the author of a number of controversial books reinterpreting the events of ancient history, in particular the US bestseller Worlds in Collision, published in 1950. Earlier, he played a role in the founding of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel, and was a respected psychiatrist and psychoanalyst.
His books use comparative mythology and ancient literary sources (including the Bible) to argue that Earth has suffered catastrophic close-contacts with other planets (principally Venus and Mars) in ancient times. In positioning Velikovsky among catastrophists including Hans Bellamy, Ignatius Donnelly, and Johann Gottlieb Radlof[2], the British astronomers Victor Clube and Bill Napier noted ". . . Velikovsky is not so much the first of the new catastrophists . . . ; he is the last in a line of traditional catastrophists going back to mediaeval times and probably earlier." Velikovsky argued that electromagnetic effects play an important role in celestial mechanics. He also proposed a revised chronology for ancient Egypt, Greece, Israel and other cultures of the ancient Near East. The revised chronology aimed at explaining the so-called "dark age" of the eastern Mediterranean (ca. 1100 – 750 BCE) and reconciling biblical history with mainstream archeology and Egyptian chronology.
In general, Velikovsky's theories have been vigorously rejected or ignored by the academic community. Nonetheless, his books often sold well and gained an enthusiastic support in lay circles, often fuelled by claims of unfair treatment for Velikovsky by orthodox academia. The controversy surrounding his work and its reception is often referred to as "the Velikovsky affair".
His books use comparative mythology and ancient literary sources (including the Bible) to argue that Earth has suffered catastrophic close-contacts with other planets (principally Venus and Mars) in ancient times. In positioning Velikovsky among catastrophists including Hans Bellamy, Ignatius Donnelly, and Johann Gottlieb Radlof[2], the British astronomers Victor Clube and Bill Napier noted ". . . Velikovsky is not so much the first of the new catastrophists . . . ; he is the last in a line of traditional catastrophists going back to mediaeval times and probably earlier." Velikovsky argued that electromagnetic effects play an important role in celestial mechanics. He also proposed a revised chronology for ancient Egypt, Greece, Israel and other cultures of the ancient Near East. The revised chronology aimed at explaining the so-called "dark age" of the eastern Mediterranean (ca. 1100 – 750 BCE) and reconciling biblical history with mainstream archeology and Egyptian chronology.
In general, Velikovsky's theories have been vigorously rejected or ignored by the academic community. Nonetheless, his books often sold well and gained an enthusiastic support in lay circles, often fuelled by claims of unfair treatment for Velikovsky by orthodox academia. The controversy surrounding his work and its reception is often referred to as "the Velikovsky affair".
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 1, 2023
In conventional chronology, somewhere around 1200 BC Ramses II carried on a 19-year war with the King of Hatti or Kheta. Small nations of the Middle East were crushed between them. Records from the nation of Hatti (or Kheta) couldn't be found, so in the mid-1800s a scholar proposed the theory of the Hittites, an empire which had been so thoroughly forgotten that Herodotus and other historians of ancient times didn't even mention it. Gradually the theory was adopted, and seemed to be vindicated when a chance landslide exposed a palace archive of Hattusilis. He carried on a 19-year war with Egypt. Unfortunately the archaeological stratifications were so scrambled that Hittite layers regularly lay above the layers of the 8th and 9th centuries. Excavators stated in despair that stratification was useless in studying the Hittites: "a mere statement about the depth at which a find is made is worthless."
In the records of Greece and Israel, Pharaoh Necos or Necho carried on a 19-year with the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. Small nations of the Middle East were crushed between them. Excavations in Egypt regarding this exciting time came up with exactly one mention of Necho: a record of him arranging the burial of a sacred bull. Where are the accounts of war that pharaohs regularly used to glorify their rule? Where are evidences that Necho even ruled?
The wars of Ramses II and Nebuchadnezzar are identical in events and time sequences, including the involvements of their neighbors. Goodreads friends who have been following my reading of Velikovsky will not be surprised that Ramses II and Nebuchadnezzar were 600 years apart.
If Egyptian timelines hadn't been pulled off course by Manetho's pamphlet hyping the ancient lineages of Egypt, and by the theory of Egyptian star dating, Egypt wouldn't be six or seven hundred years out of line with the other countries that have independent anchors establishing their places in history. A radiocarbon dating test of a piece of wood from a Hittite dig found that the wood was 700 years more recent than it should be. The Hittite Empire was invented because the Babylonian Empire didn't fit the Egyptian timeline.
The tomb of a Middle Eastern king was built in the architecture of Ramses II's time, and had ornaments with the cartouche of Ramses II. It also had 7th century vases in it. The excavators were forced to conclude that 7th century tomb robbers had brought their own contemporary vases in and left them.
The Phrygian city of Gordion was destroyed around 687 BC by transient conquerors called the Cimmerians. As is expected, the deposit of centuries has layered over it, but the only cultural artifacts in that layer are Hittite. The excavators were forced to conclude that an army of laborers carried dirt from an ancient Hittite city to spread over Gordion.
In addition to the fascination of Velikovsky's working through these puzzles, I also got some good belly laughs from his ironic asides. I'm reading through the Middle East in a set sequence, and now that I'm done with THE ASSYRIAN which was roadblocking me, I have returned to Velikovsky with a sense of freedom.
Read 3 times
In the records of Greece and Israel, Pharaoh Necos or Necho carried on a 19-year with the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. Small nations of the Middle East were crushed between them. Excavations in Egypt regarding this exciting time came up with exactly one mention of Necho: a record of him arranging the burial of a sacred bull. Where are the accounts of war that pharaohs regularly used to glorify their rule? Where are evidences that Necho even ruled?
The wars of Ramses II and Nebuchadnezzar are identical in events and time sequences, including the involvements of their neighbors. Goodreads friends who have been following my reading of Velikovsky will not be surprised that Ramses II and Nebuchadnezzar were 600 years apart.
If Egyptian timelines hadn't been pulled off course by Manetho's pamphlet hyping the ancient lineages of Egypt, and by the theory of Egyptian star dating, Egypt wouldn't be six or seven hundred years out of line with the other countries that have independent anchors establishing their places in history. A radiocarbon dating test of a piece of wood from a Hittite dig found that the wood was 700 years more recent than it should be. The Hittite Empire was invented because the Babylonian Empire didn't fit the Egyptian timeline.
The tomb of a Middle Eastern king was built in the architecture of Ramses II's time, and had ornaments with the cartouche of Ramses II. It also had 7th century vases in it. The excavators were forced to conclude that 7th century tomb robbers had brought their own contemporary vases in and left them.
The Phrygian city of Gordion was destroyed around 687 BC by transient conquerors called the Cimmerians. As is expected, the deposit of centuries has layered over it, but the only cultural artifacts in that layer are Hittite. The excavators were forced to conclude that an army of laborers carried dirt from an ancient Hittite city to spread over Gordion.
In addition to the fascination of Velikovsky's working through these puzzles, I also got some good belly laughs from his ironic asides. I'm reading through the Middle East in a set sequence, and now that I'm done with THE ASSYRIAN which was roadblocking me, I have returned to Velikovsky with a sense of freedom.
Read 3 times
June 13, 2021
This is one of the more representative examples of a conspiracy theory treatise on history, as Immanuel Velikovsky, a talented author but by no means a serious historian, compares Ramses II with a pharaoh from the Late Period, Necho II, and claims they are the same individual. The notion is interesting but quite preposterous.
Serious students of ancient Egyptian history should avoid this book, and it only gets two stars because it was creatively written, otherwise the book is pure rubbish in terms of its historical claims.
Serious students of ancient Egyptian history should avoid this book, and it only gets two stars because it was creatively written, otherwise the book is pure rubbish in terms of its historical claims.
October 29, 2021
BRILLIANT!!!
February 17, 2022
Some very interesting tidbits. But it was kind of a chore to read. Repetitive.
January 13, 2024
Love Velikovsky. Great alternative histories acurate to historical evidence.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews