Empire of Thebes or Ages in Chaos Revisited (Ages in Alignment)

Ancient history as we know it is full of voids, puzzles and conflicting theories. Empire of Thebes is the starting point of "Ages in Alignment," an originally researched reconstruction, from the advent of literate civilization to the conquest of Alexander. Inspired by Velikovsky's 1952 series "Ages in Chaos," "Ages in Alignment" seeks to complete the work which he commenced, identifying the problems Velikovsky could not solve, and bringing forward a great body of evidence not even mentioned by Velikovsky which supports his identification of Hatshepsut with the Queen of Sheba. Velikovsky was rejected by the academic establishment because of a number of contradictions in the chronology he outlined. Yet Sweeney shows that despite some gaps and incompletions, his books were brilliant works of scholarship with much to recommend them. For decades now various scholars have attempted to solve the enigma. Yet the answer was stunningly simple, and in front of us all the time. Empire of Thebes provides the solution and finally allows the possibility of a complete and satisfactory reconstruction of ancient history. This work calls for a much more radical shortening of ancient chronology and asserts that Velikovsky ran into a dead end because he placed too much reliance on the Bible as a chronological measuring rod. Finally, the end of the 18th Dynasty was the focus of one of Velikovsky's most fascinating books but he left the story of the demise of Akhnaton's line unfinished. This period is examined in detail in Empire of Thebes, and the author shows which foreign power it was who came to the assistance of Tutankhamun's brother Smenkhare after the latter had been expelled from Egypt. Other periods are covered in three other volumes, namely The Genesis of Israel and Egypt, The Pyramid Age and Ramessides, Medes and Persians. All of these books reach fairly dramatic conclusions, but - although it's not first in line, chronologically - the Empire of Thebes is where the story begins. * Emmet Sweeney holds a Masters Degree in Early Modern History from the University of Ulster and is currently a lecturer at West University, Timisoara, Romania.