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Oranges...My knowledge of the Arabic dialect is limited, but I have studied, and can fluently speak ancient aramaic, and and the word orange is pronounced: "portoqual" switching the Greek "k" sound for more of a gutteral "q" sound, which is common in middle eastern languages. As for the evolution of the Greek alphabet, I think It's WAY better then its archaic aramaic predecesor. It's simpler, and more complete, but not as pretty to look at :)
Ick
Thanks! :bow:Quote:
Originally Posted by ick_of_pick
In greek alphabet, the way it was written in the ancient times, the letters had very few curves and consisted mainly of straight lines and corners. I suppose this was so because they used to carve the words on wood or stone (at least in earlier times, before pergamene and papyrus became common as writing surfaces) and carving lines is always easier than carving curves.
The modern greek alphabet has, however, plenty of curves! ~;)
Unfortunately, i haven't seen much of the aramaic alphabet and i can't compare it with the greek one, in aesthetical terms at least.
The phoenician letters are a cross between greek and arabic, not quite curved, not quite straight. If I had time now I would post a picture of the alphabet...
Ick
Honestly i think it is false to say that Hannibal (or cleopatra for that matter) was black, or white.
I think it makes the most sense to say that he (or she) probably was MIXED. Of course the both of them look white on the coins, especially cleo, being that she had a greek father, and a mother who was part Greek, part Iranian and part Egyptian.
Ancient Egyptians may not be as dark as Nubians, Ethiopians or Nigerians, but I think it is a fallacy to state that they have no black african in them at all. The Egyptians themselves, and the Greeks as well, seem to support the idea that egypt was originally settled by people from farther south. The early egyptian dynasties were probably a lot darker than the later ones, which would have ended up being mixed with all kinds of people. That is not to say that they were as dark as Nubians.
They were probably very very white looking but still not white, and not "middle eastern" or "meditteranean" but basically what could be called "mulatto" (a word that I am not a big fan of). It was not easy for black africans to cross the sahara into north africa, but it did happen sometimes, and those people would have conceivably mixed with the populations of north africa.
And the winner of this year's Thread Necrophilia award is... (looks in the envelope) ... AlexanderSextus!
:grin3:YAY! lol.
Wow...did they already have an internetz back in 2004?
They did. There are some posts from you. Oh, it was so interesting to read through them, young, unspoiled and inexperienced Louis...Quote:
Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
What the...?Quote:
Originally Posted by Sarmatian
That pompous piss can't possibly be me, can it? Please tell me it isn't so. ~:mecry:
The whole problem with this debate is framing it in the American concept of "race" in the first place
Curiosity kill my little brain! What happened with that film after all, who was the protagonist? Or people were talking about Hannibal The Conqueror (2011)? A film supposedly protagonized and directed by the same Vin Diesel? :inquisitive:
Exactly. If you asked me whether Hannibal was black or white i'd say "that depends on what you think is black and what you think is white." If one drop of black blood makes you black, then Hannibal is probably black. (probably way more than one drop), If you are going solely by his actual skin color, Hannibal is not black.Quote:
Originally Posted by Strike For The South
The thing a lot of people forget is that arbitrary categories like "black" and "white" did not exist at all back then.
Yes. American concept of race, not alcohol, is the root of all problems... I just wish we had someone to explain it properly to us. You know, eloquently, but in simple terms, like only a Frenchman could
Sorry for the thread necro, but as a student of biological anthropology, I find discussions on ancient people's biological relationships to be fascinating even if they're ethnopolitically sensitive.
The skeletal analyses I have read about pre-Islamic Northwest Africans have found that they were a pretty heterogeneous population, with some showing tropical African affinities, others tending more towards Europeans (remember that Iberia is just a short strait away), and still others being somewhere inbetween (i.e. "mulatto"). However, since the Carthaginians were Phoenician settlers from the Levant, they probably would have looked more Southwest Asian than African.
As for the ancient Egyptians, I could write a lengthy article citing a mountain of archaeological and anthropological evidence showing that at least the population who founded Egyptian civilization originated further south and were a dark-skinned people related to tropical Northeast Africans (e.g. Sudanese, Ethiopians, Eritreans, and Somalis), but over time gained Southwest Asian and European affinities, particularly late in Egyptian history. In fact, I will probably do so in a couple of days when I have more time on my hands.
Sounds interesting.I am looking forward to your article.