Ö÷²¥´óÐã

Ancient and Archaeology  permalink

Where in the world was the land of Khem?

• Message 1. 

  Posted by Erik Lindsay (U231970) on Sunday, 6th January 2008

  I heard it referred to several times while I was sitting in on ancient history courses as an undergraduate. History was not my major interest in college - but I enjoyed listening to the lectures on occasion. However, not being an official student, I hesitated to approach the profs and query them on that question. I've pondered that over the years and never been in a position to ask about it when it came to mind, but now is a good time and place, so -- herewith the inquiry.
  
  I got the feeling that it was highly civilized political entity and a major power in the ancient world, but like the land of Punt and Nod, it's not an easy place to pin down geographically.
  
  Anyone know?

  Link to this forum: Where in the world was the land of Khem?

  Report message1

• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by ASTRA3 (U10777076) on Sunday, 6th January 2008

  Hi Erik,
  according to the book I've read (I can't remember the name of the book right now),the land of the Khem is Egypt.

  Link to this forum: Where in the world was the land of Khem?

  Report message2

• Message 3

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by Erik Lindsay (U231970) on Sunday, 6th January 2008

  Really? Egypt? When was it called Khem and by whom, do you know?

  Link to this forum: Where in the world was the land of Khem?

  Report message3

• Message 4

  , in reply to message 3.

  Posted by PaulRyckier (U1753522) on Sunday, 6th January 2008

  Erik,
  
  did some research, but my computer is extremely slow due to some neutralizing of Spyware with a new anti-virus robot. Have to type slowly otherwise some letters are lost.
  
  Khem is a goddess of fertility (agriculture if I recall it well) The land of Khem is then by extrapolation: Egypt.
  
  Warm regards and a belated Happy New Year,
  
  Paul.

  Link to this forum: Where in the world was the land of Khem?

  Report message4

• Message 5

  , in reply to message 3.

  Posted by ASTRA3 (U10777076) on Sunday, 6th January 2008

  I'll go to the library and find the book and then I'll let you know what I found.

  Link to this forum: Where in the world was the land of Khem?

  Report message5

• Message 6

  , in reply to message 3.

  Posted by ASTRA3 (U10777076) on Monday, 7th January 2008

  Ok,I've been to the library and after about an hour,I found the book.It's "The land of Oziris" by Stephen S. Mehler.
  He says (actually he got that information from Abd'El Hakim Awyan,the keeper of the verbal tradition,who lives near the village near the Giza) that even the ancient Egyptians when speaking of their land,used the expression KMT,which they wrote in many ways: Kemit,Kemet,Khemet,Khem,Al Khem and Khemit.
  The translation is "The black land".

  Link to this forum: Where in the world was the land of Khem?

  Report message6

• Message 7

  , in reply to message 6.

  Posted by Hossam-Aboulfotouh (U2914961) on Monday, 7th January 2008

  In anciant Egyptian hieroglyphic system of writing the Owl is the letter P and not the letter M as some have wrongly thought. Thus wen you read the name of Egypt in Hieroglyphs its Gept and not Kemt, taking into consideration that G and K, Kh, and J are equal, according to the rule of the seven letters, and based on the tongue of the speaker.

  Link to this forum: Where in the world was the land of Khem?

  Report message7

• Message 8

  , in reply to message 3.

  Posted by villamarce (U9034231) on Thursday, 24th January 2008

  Khem is Egypt as described by the Ancient Egyptians..It was their name for their country. Egypt is a corruption of the Greek name Aigyptos.
  Khem translates to black,,land of the blacks or black land...Generally speaking European writers interpret it as referring to the soil..whilst African scholars tend to translate it as referring to its people!

  Link to this forum: Where in the world was the land of Khem?

  Report message8

• Message 9

  , in reply to message 8.

  Posted by Hossam-Aboulfotouh (U2914961) on Thursday, 24th January 2008

  Your Excellency; may I take some of your time, I know that you are not a hasty reader, and this is why I would like to ask you a favor; can you please read the chapter of Herodotus on Egypt, and in a separate paper, write a list of the name of the places that he mentioned, they are many, and one of them is my home city that still exist till this day with the same, but this is not the aim here. On top of that list, please put Egypto, because this is the name of the country. And your next step is, if you still have time, please check if the names of the cities, provinces, counties that he mentioned are there in the codex of the ancient Greek dictionary. If you did find them, now we can say you are absolutely right, Herodotus did not like any of the Egyptian names, and he named all of them. This will be a great discovery, indeed. It meant, Herodotus wished to add Egypt to the Greek empire, and thought that Khem and the rest of the names will be difficult to be pronounced by the Greeks, thus he changed all of them, even the name of the country. And Alexander came afterwards, and made a decree, for prohibiting any body from saying any of the old names of the cities even in historic books, but he did make a mistake, when he asked Maneton to write the precise names of the Egyptian kings, he was anti-places’ names but not anti-kings’ names This will be very good movie.

  Link to this forum: Where in the world was the land of Khem?

  Report message9

• Message 10

  , in reply to message 9.

  Posted by RainbowFfolly (U3345048) on Thursday, 24th January 2008

  Hi Hossam,
  Herodotus wished to add Egypt to the Greek empire 
  Could you back this up with some evidence? Also, it's important to remember that there was no such thing as a unified Greece at the time, just a collection of city states speaking pretty much a common language and having cultures that often overlapped, but having enough differences that led them to regularly go to war with each other.
  
  Cheers,
  
  
  RF
  

  Link to this forum: Where in the world was the land of Khem?

  Report message10

• Message 11

  , in reply to message 10.

  Posted by villamarce (U9034231) on Friday, 25th January 2008

  Whilst we are talking Herodotus..and I appreciate that this might be better on the "what race were the Egypatians?" debate, he describes the Egyptians of his time as dark skined and woolly haired and considered them the same as Ethiopians!

  Link to this forum: Where in the world was the land of Khem?

  Report message11

• Message 12

  , in reply to message 11.

  Posted by Hossam-Aboulfotouh (U2914961) on Friday, 25th January 2008

  RF, you are a hasty reader; what I have said meant, if he did find them, then we may conclude that. He will never find them; read Herodotus. And I did not say Greece.

  Link to this forum: Where in the world was the land of Khem?

  Report message12

• Message 13

  , in reply to message 12.

  Posted by RainbowFfolly (U3345048) on Friday, 25th January 2008

  Hi Hossam,
  what I have said meant, if he did find them, then we may conclude that. He will never find them; 
  I admit I don't have a bloody clue what you're going on about here. You appear to be saying something along the lines that he (who - Herodotus?) will never find them so we can conclude that your argument is incorrect.
  
  read Herodotus 
  I've read Herodotus and really enjoyed his Histories. He's great fun, and some of it is so fantastic it's laugh-out-loud hilarious - kind of like Pliny the Elder and his Natural Histories with its tales of creatures like the Monocoli.
  
  And I did not say Greece. 
  Your previous statement that I questioned seems to prove otherwise:
  Herodotus wished to add Egypt to the Greek empire 
  Cheers,
  
  
  RF

  Link to this forum: Where in the world was the land of Khem?

  Report message13

• Message 14

  , in reply to message 13.

  Posted by Hossam-Aboulfotouh (U2914961) on Friday, 25th January 2008

  RF, once again, "if you did find them", meant "if the poster of the message 8, to whom I am directing my talk, did find them.
  
  The economic and governance meaning of the term "Empire" you can find it in the technical dictionaries, concerning these subjects if you did not find it in general dictionaries, i.e., when we can call such system of governance in the ancient days as an "Empire"; Oh, you have many readings this night.

  Link to this forum: Where in the world was the land of Khem?

  Report message14

Back to top