Merneptah (Baenre)
1213 BCE–1203 BCE · New-Kingdom · Thebes
Merneptah (throne-name Baenre) was the thirteenth son and elderly successor of Ramesses II in Dynasty 19, reigning around 1213-1203 BCE (Shaw's conventional dates). His reign is dominated by the successful repulse of a major invasion by Libyans allied with the so-called Sea Peoples. He is best known today for his Victory Stele (the 'Israel Stele'), dated around 1208 BCE, which carries the earliest mention of 'Israel' yet found outside the Bible. The inscription names Israel as a people in the land of Canaan, using a grammatical marker for a people rather than a settled territory; it says nothing about an Exodus, and should be stated precisely as the earliest extra-biblical reference to Israel as a people, no more. This single line makes the stele one of the most significant documents for the early history of Israel.
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Thebes
What they did here
Site of his mortuary temple, where the Israel Stele was found.
In Thebes at the same time
In the same place & time
Sages whose lives overlapped with Merneptah (Baenre)’s in the same cities, drawn from their recorded journeys.
In the same tradition
The world in their lifetime
Thinkers and teachers of other traditions whose lives overlapped with Merneptah (Baenre)’s — a glimpse of the wider world they lived in. Drawn purely from recorded birth and death years.
Jewish world
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