The phenomenon of the semi-mythical country Punt, from which the ancient Egyptians came to their gods

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Historians and archaeologists still have a lot of work in relation to Ancient Egypt - the Great Sphinx alone keeps so many secrets that it will be enough for more than one high-profile discovery. But there is an even more mysterious ancient phenomenon, the first mention of which, by the way, dates back to the time of the construction of this stone guardian of the desert. It is about the country of Punt, from which the Egyptians, according to their beliefs, came to their gods.

Ancient trade expeditions: what was brought from the country of Punt

Unlike Atlantis or Agharti, this “mythical” country existed in reality - and historians have no doubts about this. Once the country of Punt was a very real region somewhere in the eastern part of Africa, trading expeditions were equipped there, from there they brought everything that the inhabitants of the desert and arid Egyptian lands could only dream of. From the eastern oases, they brought rare ebony, ivory, gold, leopard skins, live goods - slaves, tame monkeys. The aromatic resins and incense that came from Punta were especially appreciated: incense and myrrh were in great demand among the priests and rulers of Egypt.

Chronicles, including those engraved on the stone walls of Egyptian temples and palaces, told modern researchers what riches were brought from the country of Punt. It was even found that one of the rare purchases of merchants in those parts was a secretary bird, it was brought to Egypt during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut, on whose temple images of this exotic feathered creature were found. For the first time, the country of Punt was mentioned in the XXVI century BC, during the reign of Pharaoh Cheops from the IV dynasty: it was about gold, which was brought to Egypt from distant lands. It is possible to trace the expeditions that the pharaohs equipped to Punt from the next, XXV century BC, one of the first took place during the reign of Pharaoh Sahura. The description of the trip was preserved on the Palermo stone of black basalt. At that time, Egyptian ships brought in a huge amount of expensive goods, including "80 thousand measures of myrrh."

In the following centuries, the voyages of merchant ships did not stop, moreover, for a more convenient route to the country of Punt, a special channel was dug, which connected the Nile and the Red Sea - this happened under Pharaoh Senusret III. Prior to this, they traveled in several ways, using primarily wadis - dried up river beds, which, after heavy rainfalls, were filled with water. And under Pharaoh Senusret I (XII Dynasty), the ships made in the city of Coptos on the eastern bank of the Nile were brought from the coast of the Red Sea by land, by dragging. the preparation of each of them was attended by several thousand (and sometimes tens of thousands) people. But it was worth it.

Attempts to locate the country of Punt

Where did the Egyptian traders go in search of the fabulous treasures of Punta? Surprisingly, despite the rather frequent equipment of expeditions to these lands, now it is not so easy to determine their ultimate geographic goal. The territories that claim to be called the Country of Punt extend over much of East Africa. There is even a hypothesis that we can talk about the southern part of the mainland - there is a version that in their wanderings Egyptian sailors even reached the Cape of Good Hope.

A more common view is that ascribing the location of the ancient country of Punt to territories near the Horn of Africa - where modern Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea and Sudan are located. It is possible that Ta-Nejer - the Land of the Gods, as the ancient Egyptians called it, was located on the Arabian Peninsula, or generally on both shores of the Red Sea. Less popular options for the location of the country of Punt have become the territories of Ethiopia, Kenya and Zimbabwe - but they remain among the probable. Conclusions, very approximate, scientists draw on the basis of information about the travel time of the ships of the Egyptians, as well as about the plants and animals that fell to the ground. pharaohs from Punta. Already in the XXI century, mummies of baboons, monkeys, to which divine traits were attributed, were discovered. The largest ancient expedition to Punt, which took place under Hatshepsut, also gave a lot of information. Then five large ships set off, and among the goods brought were myrrh trees planted near the temple of the queen.

From the images that have preserved the reliefs of the Deir el-Bahri temple, one can glean some information about the inhabitants of the country of Punt: they were black, wore long pointed beards, cut their hair short, and built their dwellings on stilts, lowering a reed staircase to the entrance. History has retained the name of only one leader of Punta - his name was Parehu, and it is he who is depicted on the bas-reliefs meeting Egyptian merchants. At the same time, not a single document was brought from the country of Punt, or they were not preserved; despite the fact that the civilization of this rich country was, presumably, at a high level of development, no other traces of it have survived to this day.

The emergence of myths and legends

The last of the known expeditions to the country of Punt took place under Pharaoh Ramses III, it was in the XII century. BC. A papyrus dating back to that time narrated how "boats and ships were filled with the good of the Country of God, from the amazing things of this country: the beautiful myrrh of Punta, incense in tens of thousands, without counting." Then the travels stopped - this was primarily due to the onset of the Third Transitional Period and the internal crisis caused by it. Gradually, stories about the country of Punt turned into legends - this land, in the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, remained the homeland of the gods, and also of the entire Egyptian people. However, scientists are in no hurry to reject the point of view that the Egyptians could have come to the banks of the Nile from ancient Punt.

By the time of the onset of the Late Period (VII century BC), the legends of Punta had long lost any connection with the real history of trade relations between the two civilizations. Finding out anything definite about the country of Punt, lost in the African oases, remains an extremely difficult task. Archaeological expeditions could shed light on the mystery - alas, this is currently impossible: the situation on the Horn of Africa, primarily in Somalia, excludes the research activities of scientists.

What was the country of Punt, what kind of people inhabited it, how they lived - all this remains a great historical mystery. As well as why the Egyptians, rather belligerent towards the neighboring tribes and striving for their colonization, maintained exclusively peaceful, trade relations with Punta. No information about attempts to seize the fertile land has reached us - apparently, these attempts never took place. The trace of Punta is now preserved in the name of the autonomous region of Somalia - the unrecognized state of Puntland. Here's why in the pirate state of Somalia, many people know Russian.