Origination of the Alphabet

(July 4, 2022) Akkadian became the world’s first empire language for use in temple, trade and government when the world’s first empire was established in Mesopotamia by Sargon of Akkad (2334-2279 BCE). The Akkadians adopted the writing idea from the Sumerian temple estates of southern Mesopotamia and used it to organize their economy and rule. The distant spatial control made possible by writing allowed empires to exist for the first time in history. Writing, trade, and empire go hand in hand.

This first writing scheme was syllabic with each syllable represented by a cuneiform sign. The wedge patterns of cuneiform was a natural way write on clay which was abundant in Mesopotamia. The writing was syllabic (dab, da, ad) because that is the most accurate way to represent sound patterns of a language. Yet this made for a complex writing system only usable by well-educated specialists (scribes). 

By 2000 BCE Akkadian cuneiform writing had spread to distant Anatolia where Akkadian speaking traders from the early Assyrian Empire had established distant trading outposts to ensure their own bronze supply. This is evidenced by their thousands of cuneiform trade tablets found in Anatolia dating to between 2000 and 1800 BCE (Bryce 1998).

This demand for bronze was soon felt along the Anatolian coast and its nearby Islands. By 1900 BCE these regions had copied Assyrian trading methods including cuneiform writing.  

References

The earliest translated example of this new Mediterranean writing is from Crete and is the Minoan Phaistos Disk. It dates to 1800 BCE. Stamps were used to impress the signs upon the unfired clay disk before it was fired. The disk is a philosophical/religious debate about the cause of a drought (Olmsted June 2020). As in Sumeria and Egypt, temples were the main economic centers of the Minoans and they quickly adopted writing for religious purposes.

Some of the signs on the Phaistos Disk are the direct ancestor of the signs used in our alphabet and that allowed for its translation. The transition to phonetic writing allowed the immediate use of letters because they are simply wildcard phonemes in which their following vowel sound can by anything. The Phaistos Disk is a mix of letters and phonemes as shown in the chart below. 

(November 25, 2022, Updated December 8, 2024)  Minoan text table 2 now at the Heraklion Museum

Translation in Akkadian (Minoan Text 9)

1. Pā MaLī Ṭu 20 Qu Da
2. 5 ḪaQa Qa Rȗ 7
3. QuTu E Ḫu ḪiTu Ṭu DaLa 11
4. EḪu Ḫu 1 ŠāḪu Ya 1 Wa Ku
5. Tu 1 Ku Bu Ya 1 ETû 6

In English

1. For the Opening counter-balancing-powers of Thu 20. For the life-threads of the Manifester (Yahu)
2. 5. For mixing the threader eagle-vultures 7.
3. For ending the ineffectiveness of Hu hitting Thu's water-transporters 11. 
4. For shouting-out at Hu 1. For not catching the wind 1. For curses involving
5. astrology-magic 1. For involvements not nourishing 1. For the boundary 6.

(May 30, 2023)  The next stage of the alphabet was the elimination of sign stamps and the beginning use of scratching to form signs and letters. This next stage is represented by Minoan Linear A texts and the texts at Wadi el-Hol which appeared after 1700 BCE which had their signs scratched onto clay tablets which were then dried in the sun. This "writing" was also likely soon applied to wood but those have not survived in the archaeological record.

Translation into Akkadian

1. Gi Pu Qi Ya | (Minoan Text 1.3.1)

English

1. For emotional-energy to not affect thread-empowered openings |  ____

This tag describes some as yet unnamed items for use in rituals to inhibit the ability of the motion powers (energy, Gi) from affecting the life powers. Specifically, from inhibiting the flow of the fertility fluids in the threads (channels) which trigger the manifestation of life on earth.

References

(Jan 15, 2023) This is the first translation of the two graffiti texts found at the exit of Wadi el-Ḥôl ("Wadi of Terror") in the Qena bend area of Egypt. These texts were found by John and Deborah Darnell during their 1993-94  excavation season (Darnell, and all 2005). Their location was the first night’s camping spot on a caravan route out of Luxor, the longtime Egyptian capital in the center of the country. At the time Luxor was re-establishing its power and would soon become the capital of a newly reunited Egypt in 1550 BCE. Its 18th dynasty rulers (1550-1295 BCE) would soon reunite Egypt by throwing out the Akkadian speaking rulers from the Levant known as the Hyksos (c. 1640-1550 BC). Based upon later Minoan buildings found in the Hyksos capital of Avaris, the Luxor Egyptians seem to formed an alliance with the Minoans who taught their writing to the Akkadian speakers of the Levant (the Israelites).

References

(May 30, 2023) This text defends magic as a necessary component of the divine realm. The shapes of these letters are intermediate between the signs of the Phaistos Disk and Linear A indicating the author is not Minoan but someone else, probably an Akkadian speaking Phoenician because Phoenicians were always for magic.

Akkadian Translation (Sinai Text 1.2)

1. A  Su  MūBû  Na
2. ḪaMû  Inu  Ku  Nu  Mu
3. Na  Lu  Bu  Gu

English

1. Those Su powers are mobilizing the Revealer (Kate/Hekate)
2. Mobility from the Moon-Eye (Su) is getting involved with Revealer's fertility-fluids 
3. The Revealer is lacking energized nourishments 

(May 30, 2023) The large Egyptian Ankh life sign (head, outstretched arms, body) indicates the text is about life powers. In this case the text is stating that the fertility fluids which flow through the life network are not being pushed enough, that is, they are not being energized. Blame is being placed on magic.

The shapes of these letters are intermediate between the signs of the Phaistos Disk and Linear A indicating the author is not Minoan but someone else, probably an Akkadian speaking Israelite because Israelites were always against magic.

Akkadian Translation (Sinai Text 1.1)

1. Mu WA Tu Gu 
2. Ḫu Pu Qu
3. Tu Ya 
4. WA Ri Lu

English

1. Fertility-fluids are energized by fate-curses of magic
2. Hu (Sun god representing the life network) is opening the threads
3. Don't make magic 
4. Fate-curses cause a lack of eagle-vulture-powers

Comment

(November 21, 2022)

Text in Akkadian Linear A

1. [                     ] Gi
2. Qu  AKu [ 2 ]P Ḫi          -  (P has no vertical handle, Ḫi is more image based than normal for this time and likely is the missing Phaistos Disk version)
3. ŠiGi  ṢMa  Qu  Ki  Q‘ u  Nu    -  (notice the small vertical line on the Ṣ which is a merger of Linear A styles)

Text Translated into English

1. ……. emotional-energy
2. Life-threads, emotion-owls [2 unreadable words ] Hu-powers
3. Conflict is dehydrating the threads which involves envy of the Revealer (Yahu)

Comment

1. The only word remaining in this line indicates the text is talking about magical emotional energy. Feelings are what was transmitted to the divine realm.
2. Hu is the connective masculine life power who was represented by the sun. At a deeper level he represented the life network which transmitted life powers (fertility fluids) to the earth from the divine realm. Emotion owls are the mechanism in which emotion magic affects this life network (life-threads). This line is missing its verb so we do not know what sort of interaction is happening.
3. The root cause of some drought are the feelings of envy in the population which is driving conflict. The target of this envy or anger is Yahu to when triggered by the fertility fluids reveals and manifests the invisible life-forms. A common epithet for Yahu is "Revealer." The "power of Yahu" is "Yahweh."

References

(August 6) Only one sign in this text is phonetic like that found in Minoan Linear A. This text blames human emotion magic for causing chaos in the network. It absolves from blame the astrological motion powers. This anti-magic-crafter theme indicates it was written by the Israelite culture.

Text In Akkadian

Right Column (Sinai Text 3.1)

1. ETû  DâṢu  NaMû
2. ṢaMȗ  Ḫu  Bā’u  LeTû

Middle Column (Sinai Text 3.2)

3. INu  EŠû  NâṢu
4. A  Gȗ  U  Tu Gu is Linear A

Left Column (Sinai Text 3.3)

5. E  ITtu ŠâMu
6. A  Tu  Lu  Dȗ  LâŠu  Nu

In English

Right Column - agreement on the problem

1. The boundary is disrespecting the fertility-fluid-Revealer (Yahu)
2. Dehydration splits-off Hu's nest (life-network)

Middle Column - magic motion powers are the cause

3. The moon-eye (Su) is confusing the repulsions
4. That energizing is being done by magic

Left Column - life powers are the cause

5. Nothing is obligated by the omens
6. These magic-powers are lacking life-manifestation influences of the Revealer

The right column is blaming the life power's middle layer of the Ancient Pagan Paradigm (boundary) for a drought. The network is not allowing fertility fluids to flow through it. These fertility fluids are needed to trigger the life form manifestations by the Revealer (god Yahu). The drying-out (dehydration) of fertility fluids  causes the network (nest) represented by the sun god Hu to split-off from the Revealer.

The middle column blames the magic crafters for making the flow of the fertility fluids chaotic. These fluids are pushed through the channels by repulsion.

The last column absolves the motion powers from the astrological night sky. The drought is not due to fate but due to magic crafters.

(May 31, 2022) This text indicates the Aegean islanders were using writing for some time because the letter styles were getting more cursive for fast writing in  ink.

Translation in Akkadian (Levant Text 4.1 )

1. ṢaMu  Gâ’u  Bu |
2. A  Pu  ABu |
3. ṢaDu ...

In English

1. Dehydration is breaking-out the nourishments (for the divine-powers) |
2. Those are being opened by the life priests (fathers) |
3. Feeding …

This bowl was found during a 1977 rescue dig by Rudolf Cohen at a small 2 hectare (80 meters in diameter) settlement at the head of Nahal Besor (Wadi Gaza) as shown in the image at the top of this page. This location suggests that it was originally a military outpost and trading center between the Philistines and the Israelites.

This bowl dates to the Iron Age 1A period (Lehmann and all, 2010) which ranges from 1190 - 1140 BCE. This was the period of the 50 year great drought which ended the Bronze Age. While the archaeological remains at the beginning of this period are qualitatively poor like this bowl by the end of this period  prosperity had returned such that the Philistines were able to import overseas trade goods and create more colorful pottery (the bichrome ware).

This small settlement had a central building which was a fortress-like mud-brick building  having outer walls of 1.5 to 2 meters and standing two stories tall. (Lehmann and all, 2010). The floors were cobble and earth. Yet sometime after the Sea People took over the area an earthquake occurred causing the walls to fall inward. This debris preserved the artifacts then in the building. Besides various types of bowls a flint scythe was found with a shiny gloss on the blade indicating it had been used in nearby agriculture production. This shows that agriculture was returning and explains the focus of the text. After the earthquake a poor squatter’s settlement was built on top of the ruins.