''The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended'' is a work of
historical chronology written by Sir
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, Theology, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosophy, natural philosopher"), widely ...
, first published posthumously in 1728. Since then it has been republished. The work, some 87,000 words, represents one of Newton's forays into the topic of
chronology
Chronology (from Latin ''chronologia'', from Ancient Greek , ''chrónos'', "time"; and , ''-logia'') is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time. Consider, for example, the use of a timeline or sequence of even ...
, detailing the rise and history of various ancient kingdoms throughout antiquity.
The treatise is composed of eight primary sections. First is an introductory letter to
Caroline of Ansbach
, father = John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach
, mother = Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Ansbach, Principality of Ansbach, Holy Roman Empire
, death_date =
, death_place = St James's Pa ...
, the
Queen of England
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwi ...
, by
John Conduitt MP, the husband of Newton's niece, followed by a short advertisement. After this is found a section entitled "''A Short Chronicle''" which serves as a brief historical list of events listed in chronological order, beginning with the earliest listed date of 1125 BC and the most recent listed at 331 BC. The majority of the treatise, however, is in the form of six chapters that explore the history of specific civilizations. These chapters are titled:
*Chap. I. Of the Chronology of the First Ages of the Greeks.
*Chap. II. Of the
Empire of Egypt.
*Chap. III. Of the
Assyrian Empire
Assyrian may refer to:
* Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia.
* Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire.
** Early Assyrian Period
** Old Assyrian Period
** Middle Assyrian Empire
** Neo-Assyrian Empire
* Assyr ...
.
*Chap. IV. Of the two Contemporary Empires of the
Babylonians
Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. 1 ...
and
Medes
The Medes ( Old Persian: ; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were an ancient Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media between western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, ...
.
*Chap. V. A Description of the
Temple of Solomon
Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (, , ), was the Temple in Jerusalem between the 10th century BC and . According to the Hebrew Bible, it was commissioned by Solomon in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited by the ...
.
*Chap. VI. Of the
Empire of the Persians.
According to John Conduitt's introductory letter, ''The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended'' was Isaac Newton's last personally revised work before his death but had actually been written much earlier. Some of its subject material and contents have led many people to categorize this work as one of
Isaac Newton's occult studies.
Summary
The work treats figures from
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities o ...
, such as the
centaur
A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse.
Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as bein ...
Chiron
In Greek mythology, Chiron ( ; also Cheiron or Kheiron; ) was held to be the superlative centaur amongst his brethren since he was called the "wisest and justest of all the centaurs".
Biography
Chiron was notable throughout Greek mythology ...
and the
Argonauts
The Argonauts (; Ancient Greek: ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, ''Argo ...
, as historical fact.
References
External links
*
The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms' a
The Newton Project*
' at
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks."
It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...
Fair manuscript copy of ''Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended''a
The Newton ProjectDraft chapters of ''The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended''a
The Newton Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended
1728 books
18th-century history books
Books by Isaac Newton
Alternative chronologies
Books published posthumously
History books about the ancient era
Caroline of Ansbach