Leipzig World Chronicle

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The so-called Leipzig World Chronicle is the remains of the oldest known world chronicle in the form of papyrus fragments .

It is written in Greek and consists of a total of five parts (Papyri Lips. 590, 1228, 1229, 1231, 1232), which date to the first half of the second century AD, were once part of a single papyrus roll and themselves Today all are in the papyrus and ostraca collection of the Leipzig University Library .

These fragments were bought by the collection in 1913, but were not published until 2010.

A. Weiß advocated the thesis that the chronicle was written by a Christian. World chronicles are otherwise known only from Christian authors, such as the well-known (only fragmentarily preserved) work of Sextus Iulius Africanus in the early 3rd century. However, another Christian chronicler by the name of Judas was apparently already writing before this , so that the beginning of the Christian chronicling can be assumed before Africanus. This thesis has been sharply criticized by R. Burgess. Burgess suggests using the generic term chronograph instead of chronicle .

content

The following events are preserved on the fragments:

  • Column I: The founding mythology of Boeotian Thebes (P.Lips. Inv. 1229).
but robbed Europe from Phenicia,] (daughter) of Agenor and Anchr [o] e (?). ... and (they) lived in ... [n] a further 40 [+ x] years. [...] green [de] te (NN) Thebes [...]
  • Column II: Heavily destroyed, but Hesiod and the Ionians are mentioned, next to it a date to the year 772 BC appears. (P. Lips. Inv. 1232 + P. Lips. Inv. 1231, Col. I)
  • Column III: Babylonian kings and the Pythian games are mentioned, followed by a list of Egyptian kings (P. Lips. Inv. 1231, Col. II + P. Lips. Inv. 590, Col. I + P. Lips. Inv. 1228, col. II)
Smende [s ...],
[...] mompsames: 51 years [...]
[..., x years], Amenophris: [x] years [...]
Ous [e] rthos: 11 years,
Psossam [m] eos: [x years],
S [...] ites: 1 year, Ouse [r] tho [s]: [x years (?)],
Another S [...] tes [: x years ...].
[...] os: 35 [x years. ..]
his son: 75 (?) years,
Ous [er] th [os]: 24 years.
Se [s] yngcheis: 14 years.
So [k] ophtheis: 3 years. Amendesis: 11 years.
Sesongchis: 41 <years>.
Ousorthos: 40 [+ x] years.
  • Column IV: Continuation of the Egyptian king list (P.Lips. Inv. 590, Col. II)
Medes 48 years,
Psonsame [s] [x +] 1 years,
Amoses 14 years,
Amenhotep 9 years,
Ouertho [...] 20 (years?)
Ou [e] rtho [s ...] [x] years,
Sesyngch [eis x Yah] re,
Syphois [x year] e,
Zmendas [x years] re,
Ouserthos [x years] re,
Psonsame [s] [x Jah] re

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ A. Weiß: The Leipzig World Chronicle - the oldest Christian world chronicle? In: Archives for Papyrus Research. Vol. 56, No. 1, 2010, pp. 26-37.
  2. ^ RW Burgess: Another Look at the Newly-Discovered 'Leipzig World Chronicle'. In: Archives for Papyrus Research. Vol. 58, No. 1, 2012, pp. 16-25, here p. 16: “As the reader will immediately see from that translation, there is no obvious indication that the text is either Christian or a chronicle. Indeed, it quite simply can be neither Christian nor a chronicle. "Here p. 16:" As far as I can see, the only reason to assert that this typically Hellenistic work is Christian is the fact that later Christians wrote chronicles, a mildly bizarre ante quod , propter quod sort of argumentation. ”.
  3. ^ RW Burgess: Another Look at the Newly-Discovered 'Leipzig World Chronicle'. In: Archives for Papyrus Research. Vol. 58, No. 1, 2012, pp. 16-25, here p. 19.
  4. ^ Translation after: D. Colomo, L. Popko, M. Rücker, R. Scholl: The oldest world chronicle, Europe, the flood and the lamb. In: Archives for Papyrus Research. Vol. 56, No. 1, 2010, pp. 1-25.