maandag 12 mei 2014









SOMEthing to THINK ABOUT

on Irony

1

Edgar Wallace Budge, later Sir, was one of the many “Indiana Joneses” of the 19th century. He worked in Egypt on behalf of the British Museum. His goal was to collect as many Egyptian artifacts as possible. He did not do any digging of fieldwork, but visited the antiques markets and came in contact with families of grave-robbers. Because he payed good money, merchants offered him special finds. In one year he smuggled 1400 priceless objects out of Egypt, destination London.

Because he made a name and a fortune as a antiques collector, he stood under special surveillance of the police and the authorities. He was interrogated, arrested several times and threatened with torture, if he bought antiques on the black market.

Exactly in this period grave-diggers from Luxor approached him with an unique find. It was a complete copy of the the Egyptian “Book of the Dead”. An enormous papyrus manuscript, full of spells and beautiful drawings; specially made for Ani, scibe to the pharao and it was over 3000 years old.

2

This was the chance of a lifetime and a crown on his career. Budge could not resist the temptation and he travelled to Luxor. He was willing to pay any price asked for this sacred book and so he did.

But when the manuscript was handed to him, he was arrested by the local police and the Book of Ani, was confiscated. The following morning it would be transported to Cairo. Wallace Budge was desperate.

Was there any possibility to lay his hands on the scroll.

The hotel our adventurer stayed in was situated next to the police-station, where the “Book of the Dead” was kept.

Risking a long prison-sentence Budge broke into the police-station, stole the papyrus-document and huried to Cairo. He had left the country, before the Egyptian authorities could react. That is why the book, specially made for the scribe Ani, to help him on his path in the afterlife, is property of the British Museum. Sir Edgar Wallace Budge never returned to Egypt and spend the rest of his active career in studying “The Book of the Dead” and writing about 170 books about Egyptian history; some of them still in print.

3

Budge, and many others with him, always legitimized his robbery, with the argument, that the locals did not take good care of their cultural heritage. That is why, the British Museum took over that heritage to preserve it for the future.

Wallace Budge also used this argument for kidnapping this unique artifact. Strangely enough, when back at the British Museum, he cut the 3000-year old manuscript into pieces and glued them on tablets of wood. In this way, the papyrus was easier to study and to translate.

One of the few copies of the Egyptian “Book of the Dead” and an beautiful example of Egyptian spirituality, was destroyed for good.










What happened in 1345

Events

January–December 1345


MONUMENT “SLAG BIJ WARNS”





Mongol Khanates – Golden Horde


In 1345, the Golden Horde made a second attempt to lay siege on the Genoese city of Kaffa. (An earlier attempt had failed because Kaffa was able to get provisions across the Black Sea.) The 1345 siege would fail in the following year as the Mongols were struck with the Black Plague and forced to retreat. This siege is therefore noted as one of the key events that brought the Black Plague to Europe.
The Kingdom of Hungary saw the threat of the growing power of the Golden Horde and as such, in 1345 it began a campaign against the Tatars and the Horde, in the area what would become a few years later Moldavia. Andrew Lackfi, the Voivode of Transylvania and his Szekely warriors were victorious in their campaign, decapitating the local Tatar leader, the brother-in-law of the Khan, Atlamïş and making the Tatars flee toward the coastal area.[5]

CHINA






Zhu Yuanzhang joined forces rebellious to the Yuan Dynasty in 1345. This later led to his becoming the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Yuan Dynasty

By 1345, the Yuan Dynasty in China was steadily declining. Chinese peasants, upset with the lack of effective policies by the government when they were facing droughts, floods, and famines, were becoming rebellious. The Yellow River flooded in Jinan in 1345. The river had flooded previously in 1335 and in 1344.[7] There was also conflict between the rulers of the dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang was about 16 years old in 1345. His parents and brothers had died of plague or famine (or both) in 1344,[8] and he joined a Buddhist monastery. In 1345 he left the monastery and joined a band of rebels.[9][10] He would lead a series of rebellions until he overthrew the Yuan Dynasty and became the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty in 1368.








Japan and India



In India, Muhammad bin Tughluq was reigning as Sultan of Delhi in 1345. This year saw a revolt of Muslim military commanders in the Daulatabad area. In Bengal, on the eastern border of the Sultanate, a general named llyas captured East Bengal, and under him Bengal was again united. He established his capital at Gaur. In southern India, Harihara I had founded the Vijayanagara Empire in 1336. After the death of Hoysala Veera Ballala III during a battle against the Sultan of Madurai in 1343, the Hoysala Empire had merged with the growing Vijayanagara Empire. In these first two decades after the founding of the empire, Harihara I gained control over most of the area south of the Tungabhadra river and earned the title of Purvapaschima Samudradhishavara ("master of the eastern and western oceans"). The Jaffna Kingdom, which encompassed the southern tip of India and parts of Sri Lanka, was constantly in conflict with both Vijayanagara and the smaller Kotte Kingdom of southern Sri Lanka during this time.
From 1336 to 1392, two courts claimed the throne of Japan. This was known as the Nanboku-chō, or the Northern and Southern Courts period. In the Northern Court, Emperor Go-Murakami claimed the throne. In the Southern Court, Emperor Kōmyō claimed the throne.




EMPEROR GO-MURAKAMI
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