Egyptian Obelisk: A mysterious pillar of history
Benu woke up after a long time. For some unknown reason, he woke up. Just as a small child wakes up and looks around for a few moments with great curiosity, Benu is slowly watching everything. But, no one is anywhere! Nothing anywhere!
Just darkness and darkness all around. As far as the eye can see, only pitch black darkness. In this pitch darkness, Benu seemed to be scared. At the last moment he began to shout in a restless and monstrous voice. At Benu's shout, even the darkness became frightened. Millions of stars began to shine through the chest of darkness. A globe-like planetary planet began to emerge from the darkness.
But there is no sign of Benu stopping screaming. Seeing all this, he seemed to get more angry. She started screaming louder. With this shout, the stars and planets became restless. They began to run around restlessly. The stars shone when they saw it. Among them is the round sun. The bright light of the sun came and gently touched the body of a small planet called Earth. Busy!
A new possibility began. The song of life began. Surrounding the wonderful living earth, the astonished sun and planets began to revolve like loyal slaves. Benu was overwhelmed by this magical scene. He was overwhelmed with joy when he saw the huge wings. His screaming stopped. However, it is only for a few days!
The above legend is not a fictional story. This legend about the creation of the universe has been prevalent among the ancient Egyptians for centuries. In order to ensure that the story of the beginning of the world, which began with the call of a huge bird called 'Benu', is never lost, they have written the whole legend on the chests of several pillars with the help of various symbolic alphabets and images. Wonderful pillars were placed at various important places and at the gates of the temple. To historians these pillars are known as ‘obelisks’.
What is an obelisk?
‘Obelisk’ in Greek means ‘spit’. Spit is a special cooking spoon used in ancient Greece, with one side quite narrow. To the Egyptians, the obelisks were known as Tekhenu, which means "one that pierces the sky." These two meanings give a clear idea of the shape of the obelisks. The obelisk is a kind of pillar, the top of which is quite narrow. Although the obelisks, which are about 20 to 100 feet high, are scattered all over the world, the Egyptian obelisks have attracted the attention of historians in terms of their historical significance.
An interesting fact is that every obelisk in Egypt is made entirely of stone. There is no new pair of stones between the long obelisks. Various wonderful facts have been carved with red granite stone quite skillfully. But historians are not surprised at all. To the Egyptians who could build wonderful architecture called pyramids, obelisks were nothing more than a child's play.
Although historians have been able to discover its construction style through various studies, they are still in a dilemma. After making the obelisks, they have been skillfully placed vertically in front of the gates of various temples. But they could not figure out how these tall heavy obelisks were placed.
Brief history
Looking at the obelisks, the first question that arises in the mind of any tourist is, "What is the reason for making this pillar?" The Egyptians knew a variety of alternatives to making long obelisks. But they chose Obelisk from among them. Because the obelisk was not just a collection of stories like Grandma's. The use of obelisks by the Egyptians is manifold. They used obelisks in various festivals and offerings. Obelisks were made as a symbol of the nobility of different kings. Long obelisks have also been seen at the gates of various ancient temples. The idea is that the Egyptians believed in the various supernatural powers of the obelisk. He believed that the obelisk would protect them from various dangers. Obelisks were built in the temples in honor of the Egyptian sun god 'Ra'.
To find out exactly when the first obelisk was made, we need to go to the oldest obelisk. The obelisks built by King Senusreta are identified as the oldest surviving obelisks on earth. The obelisk, located at Heliopolis in ancient Egypt, was built sometime between 1961 BC and 1926 BC. The Egyptian priests believed that the sun god himself relied on this obelisk.
The construction of the obelisk began long ago, but the pharaohs gave it its fullness. The height of the obelisks before the pharaohs was not high. Pharaoh Ramesses II ordered the construction of an obelisk about 72 feet high. The pharaohs after Ramesses began to build higher obelisks. But in the record of building the highest obelisk, one queen has left the Pharaoh kings behind. His name is Pharaoh Hatshepsut.
The obelisk of Queen Hatshepsut was about 138 feet high. But sadly, that obelisk could not stand on its own two feet. After completing about 75 percent of the work, the obelisk cracked. Despite her reluctance, Queen Obelisk was forced to stop construction. The obelisk was destroyed before it was installed. Historians refer to Queen Hatshepsut's obelisk as the "Unfinished Obelisk". According to various manuscripts, the obelisk was to be erected in the city of Karnak.
Obelisk construction
By analyzing the various instruments used in the construction of the obelisk, scientists have expressed different opinions about its construction technique. According to them, the construction techniques of the ancient Egyptian slaves adapted to the sophisticated architecture of the present era. This is because granite is a very hard material used in the construction of obelisks. It was extremely difficult to cut granite with the help of machinery at that time. But the Egyptian slaves could make large holes in the granite in several places and cut the granite of a certain mold with the help of water in a special way.
However, scientists are still unsure exactly how they would place the obelisks in an upright position. However, the doctrine of historian Margaret Bunson is considered the most acceptable. He proposed a theory of establishing obelisks in a scientific way with the help of ropes. A hole quite large is filled by sand during the lifting of the obelisk. The base of the obelisk is then slowly inserted into the hole so that it becomes straight.
Unknown information has emerged from various manuscripts and hieroglyphs about the obelisk. But much of the information on how most of the manuscripts are obscured and lost remains unknown.
In Obelisk's body, the pharaohs preached various religious sayings, as well as various ideologies and legends about the creation of the earth, with the help of hieroglyphic alphabets and images. Here is a legend that was found in the walls of the most important obelisk in Egypt:
"Before the creation of the earth, the god Atam was sitting on an altar called 'Benben'. Then the whole universe was created by the call of the bird called Benu, known as the 'Phoenix' in Egyptian mythology. The benu bird stops its cries through the transmission of life in the universe.But the bird will scream again.In the near future the earth will be destroyed by his cry.
But the benu bird will not be able to shout at its own whim. He will be instructed by the Sun God. Through it all the gods will die. With the death of the gods, man will fall into the lap of death. "
The obelisks are standing on the chest of Egypt with hundreds of such legends. In addition to legends, various symbols are engraved in it. According to historians, the top of the obelisk gradually narrowed to form a pyramid. Through this the pharaohs used their greatest creation pyramid as a symbol of lineage. It is good to know that the construction of the pyramids began in Egypt during the establishment of the obelisk.
How many unknown histories are hidden in this hieroglyphics! source: Dreams Time
During the hieroglyphic decipherment, the researchers enlisted the help of several obelisks. They were able to unravel the mystery by comparing some hieroglyphic alphabets with the spelling of Queen Cleopatra's name.
Egyptian obelisk in the country
There are hundreds of obelisks scattered in different countries of the world. The United States was not left out. The longest obelisk in the capital, Washington, D.C., is now known as the tallest obelisk in the world. But the builders of this obelisk were not Egyptians. Other kings besides the Egyptians built obelisks. Similarly, the Egyptians did not limit the construction of obelisks to the interior of Egypt. Out of the six obelisks located in Egypt, Egyptian-made obelisks have been found in Istanbul, France, Italy, Vatican City, the United Kingdom and various important places in Poland.
Most of these obelisks were built during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II. The medium-sized obelisks look almost identical. The obelisks of Rome have become important to historians for a number of reasons. The most famous of the obelisks outside Rome is located in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The name of this Egyptian obelisk living in London is also quite funny. It is named ‘Cleopatra’s Needle’ in memory of Queen Cleopatra of Egypt, whose Bengali word stands for Cleopatra’s Needle!
Now, naturally, the question may arise in the minds of the readers, "What is the purpose of building an Egyptian obelisk abroad?"
The answer to this question is also quite interesting. In ancient times, the Egyptians were indebted to various states for various reasons. Pharaoh kings did not like to repay that debt in exchange for money. They have chosen Obelisk as a means of debt repayment. So the Egyptians have built obelisks in different countries to pay off their debts. Evidence of the construction of obelisks in honor of powerful emperors has also been found in various manuscripts.
When you hear the name of ancient Egypt, you can see huge pyramids, which are located in the heart of the desert with thousands of mysteries. But to define Egyptian civilization in the maze of a few pyramids is utter nonsense! Beyond the pyramids, the Egyptians' various feats, architecture, and construction techniques have outpaced the modern science of the present age. Obelisks are the signature of that fame and still survive in many countries of the world including Egypt. Researchers are not sitting idly by thinking that all the mysteries related to obelisk have been solved. They are constantly working to discover something new. Maybe one day something new will match. Maybe in the magic of that innovation, new history will be written in our knowledge and science.