Legend: The Genesis of Civilisation

by David Rohl

A sequel to A Test of Time, this text continues the author's pursuit for historical truth, and reveals what really happened in seven famous myths and legends, showing us that the passage of time has not wiped away all the evidence of the reality behind the legends.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ancient History, Religion, Historical, Archaeology

454 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This turned out to be a very well-written book where fascinating theories have been backed by hard archeological evidence. It contains lots of photographs as well as lots of charts etc. Despite looking like a text book, it reads like a riveting thriller.
Let's hope that in the next few volumes the author would be able to shock & awe us with more theories, backed by grim evidence.
My only grudge? The book deserved a much bigger dimension— which didn’t happen. Perhaps it would happen later.
In the meanwhile, recommended.

[Scott Rezer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Legend: the Genesis of Civilisation is an interesting and well-put-together argument for the origin of civilization with the main idea that the inhabitants of ancient Sumer (Biblical: Shinar) transplanted their culture into Upper Egypt at the end of the “prehistoric” era (Late Uruk/Protoliterate) of Mesopotamian history to found their dynastic period through a group élites who found their way their via the Red Sea. In my opinion, and I am by no means an archeologist or scholar, but the work suffers too much from a view that strictly refuses to acknowledge Biblical Scriptures as little more than a distorted version of historical events stretching back to Adam and the Garden of Eden. Unfortunately, had the author perhaps started with Scripture as the original story, the long history he seeks to discover might have come across as more believable as it works as a better framework, despite most scholars low opinion of Scripture as a basis of fact. I often found myself thinking if he would simply look his theories through the eyes of Scripture and such stories as the Tower of Babel and its subsequent judgment, he would see an even fuller explanation as to the hows and whys of his ideas. A worldwide—or at least regional—dispersion of people from the southern Sumer answers all his questions. Alas, he is an academic and a secular Egyptologist, so his worldview bias blinds his vision. For me, the second half of the book is better argued, and based in fact, rather than speculation.

Now, that is not to say that many of his arguments are not sound, especially in regards to Egypt’s predynastic period and the possible settlement by merchants, explorers, or outright conquerers via the Red Sea and Wadi Hammamut. Some will shun the work as a revival of the old superior race or dynastic race theory, but stripped of such old notions and held up against facts, it is quite obvious that pre-dynastic Egypt must have received influence, if not outright intrusion, from Mesopotamian sources, notably, Uruk in the Late/Jemdt Nasr period. Some aspects of the clear influence (architecture, reed boats, burials, etc.) needs direct contact between the two cultures and not third party transmissions. And the much-argued ship drawings in the western desert wadis between the Nile and Red Sea, and the sudden, almost intrusive changes resulting in the Gerzean/Naqada culture of Upper Egypt, command attention. Even his theories of the origin of Egypt’s religion are intriguing and deserve further study.

I was particularly intrigued by the idea that Enmerkar, the second king of Uruk (Biblical: Erech) might be the famed, yet missing from history, Nimrod the mighty hunter, and that the Tower of Babel might stem from a misunderstanding by scholars of interpreting Babylon for Eridu. The period in which the Biblical story of Babel seems to occur (and it solidly fits within the Early/Late Uruk), is better suited to a southern Sumerian locale. His arguments to identify the mysterious city/land of Aratta from the Sumerian tale of Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta also seems spot on, despite attempts to equate it with the locale of the lost Garden of Eden. Both Enmerkar and Aratta have the feel of the Babel era. Rohl is not the first nor last to argue his opinions. And, as is increasingly clear, our interpretations of Genesis, perhaps tainted by late 19th/early 20th century scholarly work, needs revision as the sands of ancient Mesopotamia yield new clues through more modern discoveries.

Overall, the book reads like a detective novel and the authors does a superb job of luring the reader along on his odyssey of discovery, even if I don’t agree with half of his conclusions. At the very least, it gave me food for thought, and many new ideas, which is the reason I picked it up to begin with.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A difficult book to read for a novice in archaeology and early history. The book was about an important topic and gave credibility to those who believe the Genesis story of the Bible. Tremendous detail and information from an expert in the field. This is the second book on the topic by David Rohl.

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating book focusing on ancient Sumeria and early dynastic Egypt. I thoroughly enjoyed travelling, in this book, through Iran and the Eastern Desert in Egypt, and learning about the histories of the two regions. Rohl puts together a pretty compelling argument linking dynastic Egypt with Mesopotamia. While much of the argument is speculation, Rohl demonstrates sufficient evidence to make that speculation probably more than plausible.

[Ted Roberts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even though David Rohl is known to disagree with his fellow archaeology scientists, by giving 'some' credit to the Bible as to being a historical source book (even though, according to him, it's still filled with a lot of fantasy), I do disagree with his conclusions about man's origins. However, and this may sound strange,but the only reason that I even keep this book in my library is because of a single statement that the author made within. Basically, he quotes an ancient source that gives full credit to the Flood of Noah. What's good about this is that it's quoted by a man who doesn't claim to be a Christian, and would leave Christian Bias out of the picture; that is, for the skeptics! The quote is in Mr. Rohl's Introduction, and he is quoting an Assyrian king from Nineveh, named Ashurbanipal. The king says: "I have read the artistic script of Sumer and the dark obscure Akkadian, which is hard to master (and I now) take pleasure in the reading of the stone inscriptions from before the flood." ... Several conclusions can be gained by this statement: 1) If this quote is accurate by Mr. Rohl, then this proves that men of ancient times believed that there was a flood [and that would make sense, since they lived closer to the time than we do!]; 2) If these pre-flood inscriptions were the real thing, then we have proof that pre-flood documents were written on stone tablets, instead of on animal skins; 3) If this proves that there was a flood, then the stone tablets most likely would have been on Noah's Ark to get to us on this side of the flood; 4) If these tablets were indeed on the Ark with Noah, then they would have been writings from his own family - that is, what would have been most important to him and to his family, and not things concerning the outside world that had turned wicked in God's sight; 5) Again, if these tablets were on Noah's Ark, and tablets of importance, it would point a finger to either things that were written by Noah and his family, and/or, more importantly, things that were written by his ancestors - which would, in turn, give us record of the oldest writings in the world (dating before Gilgamesh, even!), and could, most likely, to have been the first few chapters of Genesis; and 5) If these were the first few chapter of Genesis (which would have taken up more room on stone tablets than in modern Bibles), then this proves that man could not only write before the flood, but could give credit to the theory that either Adam or his son Seth wrote the oldest known books in the world (the first several chapters in Genesis) - especially since the 'inner' evidence of Genesis (Toledoth evidence, that is) points a finger (very strongly) that Genesis had several authors, and that Moses was merely the 'editor' of the famous book ....

[Robert Risher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't tell you whether or not David Rohl is correct in his "new chronology" of ancient history, but I can confirm that his effort is utterly fascinating. He goes to great historical efforts to prove the links among Jewish, Egyptian, and Sumerian cultures, as well as their origination in one people, who once lived in a true Garden of Eden. Rohl's presentation of the evolution of language from one culture to the next, may have been his most impactful and hard-to-argue effort in this volume, but he offers theories on an incredible amount of cultural history spanning thousands of years. His particular biases do tend to color some of his theories, particular later in the book, but I never found it to be boring, and it was always inspired. I look forward to delving deeper into his other works.

[Rob Markley · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely stunning achievement of historical analysis! Rohl applies his incredible knowledge of archaeology - and he is a most genuine expert (with real facts and understanding quite opposed to many of the hacks that proliferate in the mainstream), to extrapolate the true beginnings of civilisation. How he has done this is truly brilliant! The book is called 'Legend~' because he takes the legends of the earliest first times from their source material - namely Sumerian and Egyptian, but also uses the best source that has come down through history to us - being the bible; to look at what might underlay this "legendary" material and then to fit that to the archaeological material.

Don't be confused - there is no mysticism or 'faith based' position being taken here - Rohl is purely an academic historian and seemingly agnostic at best - yet the first part of Genesis actually provides practical clues to understanding the archaeological record. Adam and Eve in Eden may not be two solitary first humans, but they are an historical record of a real place, they and descendants solve an historical dilemma as to the real origin of the Sumerian people; and the names of their descendants reconcile and fit into the Sumerian legends. Nimrod, Enoch and Cush etc are historical figures - why wouldn't they be if Gilgimesh is why wouldn't they be!

Then the story develops to explain how migration from Sumeria comes to Egypt to found the first dynasty, explaining another historical mystery - as to how that civilisation came to explode into being in Egypt without any preceding evidence of development. Yet again the Genesis material provides vital clues in piecing this together. What emerges in the end is solidly based foundation for extending into Mesopotamia Rohl's recalibration of the chronology of the ancient world. In short the establishment dating is too long by some centuries. Now in Rohl's work we have for the first time a firm understanding of what happened across the ancient world that all hangs together consistently!

What can be said about this? Firstly those who want to take a purely literalistic view of the bible are not going to be happy... but really, why?!? We don't have any problem with Jesus telling parables so why should we Christians be troubled if the earliest origin stories have symbolic and literary elements? We know that God Himself truly works in our own lives through practical means and interactions with other humans - it is still God - so why shouldn't the bible (and earliest mythologies) also focus theologically leaving out the anthropological elements!? What Rohl's work does accomplish from a faith point of view (as many have come to welcome) is to prove what a remarkably informative and accurate source we have in the bible - that in itself is miraculous and has to be evidence of a divine hand in things!

Rohl however, presents everything in such a way that any secular God hater, should have no reason to reject his history - it is purely academic, evidence based reasoning - after all the Noah flood is also present in Sumerian/Babylonian literature et al. Needless to say academia doesn't work that way. Rohl has all the credentials and all the material such that a revolution should be happening in our understanding of the ancient world, but of course all this is simply ignored. Academia has never been able to apply the scientific evidence based method to its established theories, but even less so in these days of special interest group-think, woke agendas and vested interests. Nevertheless in time things will move on and later generations will look back at the tragic treatment of Rohl the greatest ancient historian of the 20th century.

The book itself is well written and accessible. Nevertheless the topic is so vast there is a awful lot to comprehend in here. It has great layout with excellent and highly relevant diagrams and pictures. Perhaps the only thing I was left wanting is in respect to the flood: 'Noah's ark' came to rest in Arrata not modern Mt Ararat, but it is not clear where Noah set off from? This is a matter of geology and geography more than analysis of the written material which is Rohl's expertise and I guess it is up to others from these fields to reconcile the evidence and trace the origins of this catastrophe which struck the very first Ubaid civilisation.

In conclusion this is what history is all about. Rohl's ground breaking work is based on trusting the sources then reconciling and interpreting them. The story of humanity is in plain sight only no one could see it. It is so important this material should be taught at every school!

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have any interest in archaeology and the ancient world this is a must read. This book is packed with so much detail that the reader will understand its value after reading the prologue alone. Rhol has done extensive research and is one of the few who understands ancient civilizations. LEGEND is ground-breaking in its insight and impactful in its conclusions rethinking the accepted timeline of history. This book will serve as a great addition to your library. I know it has mine. I highly recommend it.

[Mihajlo Curcic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rohl is trying to treat the Hebrew Holy Scriptures as a reliable historical source (to a decent extent, he does allegorize most of the supernatural parts). He also finds interesting connections with other ancient traditions that confirm the Old Testament record. No way for me of knowing how much he actually guesses correctly in his chronology, but it is interesting to see that the historical record can very well fit with the Biblical narrative.

[Peter Man · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're interested in learning about how advanced human civilizations came about, you must read this book. David Rohl's Legend is a great read, full of esoteric information and unique theories to keep your brain running at full throttle.

[Joseph Noun · Rating 5 out of 5]

David rohl is an exiting archeologist and very fun to read. In it he explains using flinders Petrie method the Mesopotamian origins of Egyptian civilizations

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting,interesting and informative book that I am enjoying very slowly because I don't want it to end - and can only take in small doses, since amount of informations is so huge that I need some time to think about it. Call it "Biblical archeology" if you want. While scientists and academics usually dismiss Old Testament as a myth, David Rohl goes for kill and travels the world wondering "what if?" - he is not just some pseudo-amateur,mind you, guy has degree in Egyptology,Ancient History and has few other feathers on his cap, including being Director of the Institute for the Study of Interdisciplinary Sciences, official support of University of London and University College - his books are best sellers and he is the man behind TV documentary "Pharaohs and Kings: A Biblical Quest" - what is unusual about Rohl is that he is really passionate about his research and allows possibility that perhaps behind the myth there IS a historical truth.

"Legend" puts the question: what if Old Testament actually keeps a memory of beginning of our civilization? He points that "Genesis" is in its original Hebrew form actually called different ("In the beginning") and that is typical for much older Mesopotamian practice of naming the text by the first words of the narrative - in other words, we might have actually look at far older documents that were eventually with time transferred to tribes of Moses. All through the book Rohl plays with the idea that true cradle of humanity lies in todays Middle East from where civilization have sprung to not-so-distant places around. The first bomb he throws at as is location of Garden of Eden: described in Bible as placed between four rivers (we know two,Tigris and Euphrat) he identifies the other two that in the meantime had changed names and places it in what is Iran today - it used to be rich valley and is deserted place today, destroyed by industrialization.

Just think about it - whatever places Old Testament describes must have been simply a "world" of people who lived in that area way back than. When Adam and his descendants were exiled from Eden, fierce angels with swords kept the entrance of Eden protected - Rohl explains that tribes who lived in the surrounding mountains had local shamans dressed up in feathers (angels/feathers/wings?) and they would fight against any intruders who might travel to their territory. He describes great migration that eventually resulted in big cities of Sumer, archeological evidence that people moved from Zagros mountains to Mesopotamia and as they came "down from the mountain" (Eden) they built huge cities like Ur,Eridu and Uruk - catastrophic flood described in Bible moved the centre of civilization from one place to another and as people stopped worshipping old Gods, Jahwe came to be known (but in earlier times he was called Enki). The story of God cursing the builders of Babel tower might simply hide something that really happen on a different level - what was a single religion in the times before the flood, became multi-God separation that brought tribes to wars later.

Rohl explains how Noah's sons created three different lines of tribes (Japeth,Ham and Shem) that would eventually cover such diverse territories as Greece,Egypt and Assyria. He than goes in a detail about the place I never heard before - island of Bahrai in Persian Gulf where sea water mingles with river (and one can drink fresh water in the middle of the sea!) and where there are literary thousands of unexplained ancient graves spread around the desert. No one clearly knows who built them, why there are there (its a small island and never had such a huge population) and most of them were never even used. But pottery finds have engraved images of Mesopotamian God! And there are clear indications that this might have been sacred place for Sumerians who lived thousands of miles away, naming it "Dilbun" by some far older tradition that remembers legendary place in the mountains where ancestors first came from.

Right now I am kind of half-way of the book and the story has moved to ancient Egypt where Rohl connects roots of their civilization with much older Mesopotamia - there are clear indications that some old intruders had come from far away with a ships (there are countless mysterious paintings of ships pulled trough the desert!) and brought their tradition, letters and Gods with them. Egyptians called them "people from the land of God" but in fact they might be legendary Phoenicians who introduced new technologies to the Nile valley including achitecture (high towers) and letters, not to mention Gods like Horus who was known in Mesopotamia as flood hero Atrahasis.

Its a book I am enjoying very slowly because I don't want to finish it. I approached it with curiosity because usually I don't take seriously everything that is printed but Rohl has such intelligent and passionate way with his subject and he is obviously so well informed that I am completely under his spell Excellent book!

[Bert Bruins · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a wide-ranging, curious and iconoclastic archeologist David Rohls seems to be the closest we've got to an Indiana Jones (and disliked by many colleagues for it no doubt). Whilst he doesn't exactly blow up real-life artifacts, David in this book blows up long-held beliefs, and covers ancient Sumeria, Iran, Arabia and Egypt. He starts with the surmise that the Bible book of Genesis is not just religious fantasy, nor divine truth, but honestly handed down ancient accounts with a grain of truth in them. He comes up with new hypotheses re. the original location of Eden, historical references in Sumerian scriptures of ancient Biblical characters such as Adam and Eve, Noah, Nimrod the Hunter and many more, and suggests rather scandalously that Moses and his Isrealites, after escaping from Egypt, had to be re-educated in the old Sumerian beliefs, making several translation mistakes in the process. If that is not enough, he then builds a case for ancient Sumerians having invaded Upper Egypt and introduced writing there (which did bloom rather suddenly seemingly out of nowhere).

This is all much too generalist for modern academic archeologists and historians, but it makes for great reading.

[Bruce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting analysis of early Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations. It is most likely controversial among scholars of ancient history, I imagine.

[James Prothero]

Very nice piece of work where Rohl shows how much the Old Testament owes to Summerian history. Nice to know that there's a good case for the Bible as reflecting actual historical events

[Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

bit of a mish mash but excellent

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant deduction used by the author in determining where Eden was located. A great piece of detective work that makes perfect sense.

[Martin Willoughby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting research that shows how Biblical characters are shwon in the archealogical record. Oh, and he's discovered where the Garden of Eden was.

[Andrea Spicca · Rating 2 out of 5]

inizialmente si presenta come un interessante ipotesi, che pian piano però si trasforma in un testo troppo interpretativo e pseudoscientifico.