ARISTOTLE, KING DAVID, KING ZHOU AND PHARAOH THUTMOSIS III HAVE SEEN COMET ENCKE

Authors

  • Göran Henriksson Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Sweden

Keywords:

Periodic Comet Encke, Aristotle, King David, King Zhou, Pharaoh Tutmosis III

Abstract

Aristotle saw a great winter comet with a tail reaching up to Orion. It was Comet Encke on 31 December in
372 BC. When it became visible in the morning, after 9 January 371 BC, Ephoros saw its nucleus split up in
two parts. The sword of the Angel of the Lord seen above Jerusalem, as punishment for the sins by King David,
was Comet Encke in 964 BC. The sword was redrawn at Ornan‟s threshing floor on 8 June 964 BC. David
bought this place and built an altar that later became the Altar of Salomon‟s Temple in Jerusalem. A second
century BC text contains a unique record of a bright comet observed at the end of the Shang Dynasty:
‟When King Wu [of Zhou] attacked King Zhou [of Shang], a comet appeared and tendered its handle to Yin‟.
This was Comet Encke on 22 June 1060 BC and 17 days later, on 9 July in 1060 BC, Encke seems to have been
depicted on a rock carving in Sweden. A stele at the temple of Amon at Gebel Barkal in Nubia, mentions first
the important victories at Megiddo, in year 33, and Mittani, in year 23 of the reign of Pharaoh Thutmosis III.
However, the text also mentions an important celestial phenomenon during his 47th year of reign. The description
fits very well with the bright appearance of Comet Encke at the end of January in 1460 BC. This
supports the High Chronology for Egypt with 1506 BC as the first year of reign of Thutmosis III, the sixth
Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty in Egypt.

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Published

2023-07-28

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Section

Articles