Oldest recorded age in ancient history?

[Conan]

Hi guys,

Just wondering what was the oldest recorded age known in EB's time frame?

There is a mention of 96 + 104 in a year of history in game.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Hi guys,

Just wondering what was the oldest recorded age known in EB's time frame?

There is a mention of 96 + 104 in a year of history in game.

Recorded?

Well - Terrentia, Cicero's wife is supposed to have lived to 102-3 - I had to check that, I thought it was 106.

We do have to wonder about the credibility of some of these reports.

[Brave Brave Sir Robin]

I think a monk in ancient Egypt, Anthony, was recorded to be 105 when he died but again, the credibility of these sources are suspect.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

I think a monk in ancient Egypt, Anthony, was recorded to be 105 when he died but again, the credibility of these sources are suspect.

Which is not to say it isn't true - with a good diet and good genes there's no reason someone in the Ancient world shouldn't live so long. In the more temperate parts of Europe you just need to avoid accidents and and plagues and you'll likely live as long as someone today.

My Grandfather live to 99 and 11 months, had he not fallen over and broken his hip he likely would have lived a few more years.

[Conradus]

Some say that Pepi II grew to be a 100 years old, reigning 94 of them making him the longest reigning monarch in history. Though it's debated.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepi_II

[Moros]

Well in Mesopotamian king lists here apparantly were kings reigning for hundreds or thousands of years. This time of course it is not credible at all. Unless you believe in the Alien theories.

[Ibrahim]

Well in Mesopotamian king lists here apparantly were kings reigning for hundreds or thousands of years. This time of course it is not credible at all. Unless you believe in the Alien theories.

that's pretty easy to explain: the Sumerians (and in imitation, most Semitic cultures) would venerate people of great renown, and ascribe to them really long lives as a sign of respect, and an indication of their wisdom. It's survived in the bible, a few Arabian poems, and even the Qur'an.

@ Conradus: well, he definitely wasn't "The Bull".

as to life expectancies? one thing people need to remember is that a life expectancy is a mean measurement: so back then, the mean age of death was ~30 years. Beyond that, it is not statistically indicative of how long a person could live. This is especially as ancient societies had massive childhood death tolls: half of all those born were dead by age 5, maybe 10. remove those out of the equation, and life expectancy at birth may well be ~60 years, about the life expectancy in the US around 1930. this is more than enough to have a few centenarians here and there.

put another way, it is entirely possible that Cicero's wife lived to be 102, or St. Anthony to have been 105 (assuming his age wasn't exaggerated to emphasize wisdom). Augustus lived to be 76, and Seleucus I Nikator was older still--in his 80's IIRC.

point is, while we should be careful with the sources available, we shouldn't immediately dismiss the possibility of centenarians, or even assume it's suspect. figured I'd put my , in case anyone gets confused.


One other thing, since it was asked: the oldest person from Antiquity (specifically late Antiquity), I'm aware of lived to be 106: Some Arab from the late Rashidun/early Umayyad period.