Locating
Ophir - The Search for El Dorado
K.T.Rajasingham
Search for "Ophir,"
the gold rush source (or 'El dorado') of the Biblical times
continues. This is an endeavor to locate Ophir conclusively.
Locating 'Ophir', a place renowned as a source of much gold of
the finest quality, during the Biblical days, continues. The
search for gold began during the early days of the First
millennium BC, but is still not concluded. Even today, this
yellowish lustrous metal known chemically as AU metal continues
to retain its attraction as unit of exchange and value. Countries
in their monetary system adopted gold standard to specify certain
weight of gold to equal the value of its' currency unit.
Earlier, the ancient city of Ur, a prominent Sumerian city in
Mesopotamia, dominated the trade in gold and remained an
important marketing center in the region. Ur received its large
supply of gold, from an unknown location below South India, a
landmass, considered the holy-land, according to the beliefs of
the Sumerians
After the fall of Ur, during the early Biblical days, Lebanon
emerged as a leading gold market in the region. Lebanon received
its supply of gold from a region only known as 'Ophir'. Did Ur
too receive its gold supply from Ophir? Where is the place Ophir
located?
Locating Ophir, well known for its abundance of gold, during the
early Biblical days, remains a matter for speculation and
continues to draw the attention of scholars, biblical scientists
and even laymen alike. This "El Dorado'- the fabled city in
South America, supposedly rich in treasures, attracts
considerable interest. Unfortunately, Ophir, to date, remains
elusive and mysterious to all.
According to the Bible, the world witnessed great efforts taken
to obtain gold, during the reign of King Solomon that continued
into the reign of his successors and others, in the ancient
Middle East. During the reign of Jehoshaphat, one hundred years
after the demise of King Solomon, attempts were made frantically
to reach Ophir for gold, but the efforts failed to succeed.
Numerous lengthy negotiations took place between Jehoshaphat and
Ahaziah, the King of Israel, to prepare journey to Ophir.
Even though, those negotiations failed, his ships too were
wrecked at Eziongebar, the seaport, at the head of the Gulf of
Aqaba. "King Jehoshaphat built great freighters to sail to
Ophir for gold; but they never arrived, for they were wrecked at
Eziongebar'-
1 King 22 (48). Those events testified that, the region called
Ophir; lied far away from Israel and the hazardous voyages,
involved intense preparations. In addition, the voyage demanded
special expertise, technical and professional knowledge and
training in navigation.
Biblical scientists, and historians, attempted to locate the
place exactly, except for their fanciful speculations; they
failed to arrive at any conclusion, regarding the exact location
of Ophir. According to the Biblical information, Eziongebar, the
seaport in the Red-Sea, served as the point of departure for
ships that undertook sedulous voyages in search of Ophir and
gold. However, up to date, Ophir almost eluded its location to
historians and scientists.
The present voyage of discovery is undertaken, to put to rest
conclusively, the controversy regarding the location of Ophir.
Jews and
Israel
For many people, the humankind's history, before the coming of
Christianity, was the history of Jews. The Jews are the
descendants of Abraham, who was born in Ur, one of the oldest
Sumerian cities in the old kingdom of Mesopotamia. He left Ur to
Haran and finally migrated to Canaan, in the shores of the Dead
Sea. The descendants of Abraham, spoke one of the Semitic
languages, called 'Hebrew,' and grouped round the cult of
'Yahweh'. The Hebrew means 'wanderers'. The Bible began to
distinguish Abraham's people from their days in Canaan. The
history of the Jews and other people is available in the 'Old
Testament,' the sacred writings of the Jewish people. Those
documents provide interesting and valuable information, about the
gradual development of human civilization.
Jews are a new kind of people, belonging to ancient tribe of
'Judah'. The first one to
use the name 'Jew' was Jeremiah, the writer of the book of Kings.
Jews were people without a King, a City and a Temple. Persians
invaded them in 587 BC, destroyed their first Temple built by
King Solomon, Nebuchadnezzar took the Jews into captivity in
Babylonia. This was considered the beginning if the Diaspora
(Dispersion) of the Jews and finally they lost everything in 70
AD. Jews continued to maintain their religious, and ethnic
identity and their exclusivity. They managed to hold together,
for more than 2000 years and consolidated out of heterogeneous
elements only by the power of the written words of the Old
Testament (The Bible).
King Solomon
(970 BC- 931 BC)
In the first Book of Kings, which begins with the reign of King
Solomon, (970 BC - 931 BC) (date is to be confirmed), who was the
first King of Israel, where reference of Ophir too emerged. He
succeeded his father David (1003 BC - 970 BC). He was
outstandingly incredible, both for his strength and weakness.
Although, no archeological evidences are available that King
David existed, he still lives in the Bible, as one of the
greatest figures and a model king. He placed himself under the
protection of Hiram, Phoenician King of Sidon. This Phoenician
alliance, sustained him, considered an essential element in the
greatness of King Solomon.
Solomon decided to recast the religion of his people. He
continued the alliance with Hiram, who used Solomon's kingdom as
a highroad to reach and build shipping-lanes through the Red Sea,
on the coast of the Hebrew hill country. Normally, Phoenician
trading lanes went to Red Sea, through Egypt, but during that
period, the country was in a state of disorder. Therefore, Hiram
established a close relationship with both, King David and later
with his son King Solomon.
King Solomon informed Hiram that his father King David was unable
to build a Temple to Jehovah, due to numerous wars that were
going on during his time. He conveyed his intention to build a
Temple to Lord Jehovah, as instructed by God to his father King
David. He appealed to Hiram to assist him with his project.
Solomon requested him to send his men to Lebanon, to cut cedar
timber for him. Accordingly, he agreed to supply both Cedar and
Cypress logs, from Lebanon's mountains, to the Mediterranean Sea
and float them along the coast, wherever Solomon needed them.
Solomon laid the foundation for the Temple in May 966 B.C.,
during the fourth year of his reign, and completed his building
in November 959 B.C., in the eleventh year of his reign.
Solomon's Temple was designed more to Canaanite standard than
Jewish. He also built his own palace that took thirteen year to
complete.
King Solomon leaves behind a great literary reputation, centering
on "Wisdom." Ascribed to him are the biblical Proverbs,
Ecclesiastics, the Song of Solomon and Psalms 72 and 127. When
King Solomon died, the combined kingdom of Israel and Judah began
to disintegrate. His son Rehoboam succeeded him (931 BC - 913
BC).
The Bible-1
King
Following excerpts are recorded in the Bible, regarding Ophir,
the building of the Temple and the Palace: "So, Hiram
produced to Solomon cedar and cypress timber as he desired."
1King: 5 (10)
"(And when king Hiram's ships brought gold to Solomon's from
Ophir, they also brought along a great supply of 2algum trees and
gems.1King: 10 (11)
Solomon used the algum wood to make pillars for the Temple and
palace, and for harps and harpsichords for his choirs. Never
before or since has there been such a supply of beautiful
woods.)" 1King: 10(12)
"King Solomon had a shipyard in Eizorngeber, near Eloth, on
the Red Sea, in the land of Edom, where he build a fleet of
ship." 1 King: 9 (26)
"King Hiram supplied experienced sailors to accompany
Solomon's crew. They use to sail back and forth from Ophir,
bringing gold to King Solomon, the total value of which was
several million dollars each trip." 1King: 9 (27,28)
"King Solomon's merchant fleet was in partnership with king
Hiram, and once in every three year, a great load of gold, ivory,
apes and peacock arrive at the Israel port."
Ophir
The gold, algum trees, gems, ivory, apes, spices, sandalwood and
peacocks, came to Israel from Ophir. The name of the place, spelt
in the English translation, as Ophir, but this word must have
been the product of the translation in the earlier years from
Hebrew into Greek and later into Latin and English. This
essentially contributed to the basic confusion in locating the
place. The word Ophir is derived from the Greek word
"Ophis," meaning a serpent and the word for serpent in
Hebrew is also supposed to be the same. However, the Hebrew word
for serpent is "Nachash" or "Saraph" (the
Tamil word is Sarpam) and has no phonetic similarity to Ophir. It
was the Hebrews and not the Greeks, who called the place Ophir
and to resort to the Greek term "Ophis" for elucidation
would be an error.
Many Biblical scientists seemed confused over the location and no
one confirmed the location with authority. Some suggested the
place to be in the South-eastern Arabia, the Ethiopian coast of
the Red Sea, a place known to the Egyptians as Punt. This
suggested that, Ophir and Punt were located in the same region
and third suggestion was that, Ophir was in Mashonaland, the
ruins of Zimbabwe, between the Zabezi and Limpo rivers. All those
suggestions, fell wayside, when a single voyage to Ophir and back
took nearly three years to accomplish.
Therefore, the location of the place ought to lie very far,
several thousand nautical miles away from the port Eziongerber.
Any ship that set-off from the Eziongerber, passed through the
Arabian-sea and sailed into the Indian Ocean. Therefore, the
location ought to be in the midst of the Indian Ocean.
There were further suggestions that, Ophir located in India, in
the regions between the tributaries of the river Indus and China.
In addition, few identified the old seaport of Supara or Sopara,
located 40 miles north of Bombay (Mumbai). The British
archeologist Earnest Mackay, first to discover India's earliest
civilization, believed that, the inhabitants of the cities in the
Indus valley sailed to Sumer and other countries in the
Mediterranean regions, using sea route. Thanks to the
archeological discoveries, in the eastern section of Lothal, the
world's oldest seaport of Bombay (Mumbai), a canal of seven
meters in wide was constructed, to connect this shipyard, with
the river, flowing into the Arabian sea. It is a noteworthy fact
that, Lothal, a city founded 4,000 years ago, far south to the
Indus valley, just as old as Mohenjo-Daro. A few Indian
historians made vain attempts to connect Ophir with Supra and
Lothal.
The first excavations of the proto-Indian cities in Mohenjo-Daro
revealed, pictures of ships with masts and this proved that,
large ships were available in those early days for long and
protracted sea journeys by way of Arabian Sea. While, Ur seemed
to be the key entrée port into Mesopotamia, between 2350 BC and
1700 BC, archeologists found thousands of cylindrical seals in
Mesopotamia, which belonged to the period between 2300 BC and
2000BC. Many of those cylindrical seals, bore inscriptions in
Dravidian language- the earliest form of Tamil written letters,
which confirms that, sea trade to Ur existed from a Tamil area,
located below the Indian sub-continent. According to available
reports, Ur imported various commodities like gold, silver,
copper, lapis, lazuli, carnelian, beads, exotic woods and inlay
from a location far away from the old city of Mohenjo-Daro.
Dravidian
language-Tamil
The determination of the sea trade routes with the West, during
historical times, has been greatly facilitated by references in
the remarkable 'Periplus of the Erythraen Sea,' of the First
century AD. When going through Periplus, one may note that,
several places, cities and ports are recorded in the Dravidian
language - Tamil.
"A number of South Dravidian words almost all of them
geographic and dynasties names, occur in such Greco-Roman sources
as, Periplaus maris Erythrael (circumnavigation of the Erythraen
sea) of 89 AD, and in the writing of Ptolemaeus of Naukratis of
the 2nd century AD; it is probable that, Western language term
for Rice. (Compare Italian riso, Latin oryza, Greek oryza) and
ginger (compare Italian Zen zero, German ingwer, Greek
zingiberis) are cultural loans from Old Tamil, in which they are
arici and inciver, respectively." (The New Encyclopedia
Britannica, Volume 4, 15th Edition, page 699). Early
Mesopotamians, used Tamil words to name places, during ancient
days such as, 'Ur' means settlement, town or community and words
with Ur in the root, such as, 'Uruk', 'Nimrud', etc.
Further more, in the Hebrew version "ivory, apes, ahalim and
peacocks arrived at the Israeli port. 1 King: 10 (22). In the old
Hebrew version, it is referred as: Ivory- shen; apes- kapi;
ahalim- aghil, peacocks- tuki. These four are Tamil words.
When reflecting on the need to adapt the Tamil words in Hebrew
version of the Bible, then it becomes necessary to turn the focus
on the word 'Ophir.' The Tamil word 'Ovar' means, painters,
artists, sculptors, engineering technicians, artisans, and
skilled workers in the construction trade. The country of the
Ovar was also called "Oviyar Nadu," the ancient land of
Oviyar. Artisans or skilled craftsmen were called Ovar, which was
also the adapted name of the seaport in the Northwestern coast of
Ilanka (Lanka), by the foreign sailors.
Now, it is appropriate to venture and suggest that the word Ovar
was corrupted by foreign sailors due to the proclivity of their
tongues and came to be called Ophir as the country of the Oviyar.
In this Oviyar land was mainly populated with the tribe of the
Nagas, who lived in and around Mantai (Mathottam, the greatest
emporium), a port city in the North-Western part of Lanka, as
will be seen in Cirupanarrupadai, one of the ten idylls of the
old Tamil Academy (Sangam) period.
Oviyar were a tribe of Nagas, inhabiting the sea coast of Lanka.
Aghil (incense) and sandalwood being washed against the bodies of
damsels, shows that the place was a port and that those articles,
had dropped out of the ships. - Cirupan, 11: 161.221: -
The Nagas were of Tibeto-Burman origin and by about 4000 BC,
driven by some political disturbances from Central Asia into
India, through the North- east frontier. Nagas were a prominent
non- Aryan race in India and their names are still preserved in
various parts of India.
Ptolemy in his "Geography," written in the middle of
the 2nd century named Mantai as Modouttou, and was the entrée
port for sea trade in the Indian Ocean. In addition, in the
pre-historic days, it was a famous international emporium. The
phonetic similarity between Ophir and Oviyar is certainly
striking and Ophir must have been borrowed in the same manner, as
the Hebrew words for ivory, apes, aghil and peacocks-ibha, kapi,
ahalim and tukeyium, respectively, which are identical with their
Tamil words- ipam, kapi, aghil, and tokai. The Hebrew mariners,
no doubt, borrowed the words from the Tamil inhabitants of the
port area.
Srilanka, from the pre-historic period and from the days of
Iramayanam (Ramayana), is known as 'Ilanka', meaning the
'resplendent' land but it also received several other names by
different nationalities. The Arabs called Ilanka as Serendib',
the Portuguese 'Ceilao', the Sinhalese 'Sinhala Dwipa, the Tamils
with the original name of 'Illam,' 'Elam,' 'Eelam,' of
'Eelanadu,' and Thaïs added the honorific Tewa, calling the land
Island of 'Tewa Lanka' (divine Ilanka) and the Greeks as
'Taprobane.' Ptolemy thought that 'Simondou' was the old name of
Ilanka, but according to Periplus, Ilanka was then not known as
'Palaisimoundon.' (Paliya Seela Mandalam- Old virtuous region)
'Telmun,' or Dilmun,' was the name given by the Sumerian of Ur.
In 1972, the country's name was changed officially from Ceylon to
Srilanka.
The ancient Hindu epic 'Iramayanam', "represent Ceylon
(Ilanka) as a huge continent, a tradition not unsupported by
science.
The description in Iramayanam about Irama (Rama) crossing the
peninsula and conquering Ilanka is a clear representation of
Aryans- mean outsiders, penetration into the Indian peninsula,
down south. According to the Sri Lankan Buddhist chronologies,
such as, The Dipavamsa, Mahavamsa, Rajavaliya etc., Ilanka had
been the abode of Asuras- demons and Yakkhas- the devils. (Ausras
means in Tamil, A+Sura- Sura means those alcoholic who drink
toddy. Asura means the teetotaler). Buddhist chronicles refer, as
Asuras and Yakkhas, the aboriginal people of the ancient country,
the descendants of the devout Hindu and the descendant of
Iravanan (Ravana), the Tamil King of Ilanka. Earlier, the Aryan
poet, a mystical waif, as well a robber turned ascetic, Valmiki,
who wrote Iramayanam in Sanskrit, described the indomitable
aborigines of Ilanka, the Tamils, Rakshasas- monsters, demons and
cannibals, - with contempt, which has marked all the civilized
conquerors in all ages. Rakshasas, according to popular Indian
belief, are malignant beings, demons of many shapes, terrible and
cruel, which disturb the sacrifices and the religious rites of
the Brahmans. It appears indubitable that the poet of Iramayanam,
vociferous with his vitriol and applied the hated name of
Rakshasas, to an abhorred and hostile people and that the
denomination found in Dipawamsa, Mahavamsa and Rajavaliya are
expression of hatred and horror, rather than a very historical
name for a sect of people. Pali and Sinhalese writers of the
ancient Buddhists chronicles, used derogatory terms, whenever
referring to the original descendants of the country- the Tamils.
Earlier days, the Aryan ascetics, not necessarily Brahmans,
served as pioneers and spies against non-Aryans- the Dravidian,
whose forest they occupied without permission, and helped in a
great deal towards the Aryans Southward thrust.
However, it is clear that ancient writers from Pali, Sanskiritic
and Sinhala languages, used vituperative epithets such as,
Asuras, Rakshas and Yakshas.
(Yaksha's means Devil, who can transmigrate and transform
themselves to any shapes or size,) to denote the Dravidian - the
Tamils, who were the enemies of the Aryans and for a long time
resisted the progress of the pale-skinned race, into the Indian
sub-continent. They were contemptuously called Asuras
(teetotalers) Rakshas (Protectors of the Dravidian race and
faith, or Iyakkhas - the archers) and Yakkhas (devils in the
Sinhala language) because of their physical strength, courage and
valor, and super natural powers ascribed to them by the early
Aryans. Dravidians established a powerful kingdom in Ilanka and
asserted their authority even over the Dekkan plateau and other
parts of South India.
Southward
movement
However, according to the historical evidences, judging from the
southward movement of the Aryans, generally dated around 1100 BC
to 900 BC, one has to conclude that, the original Iramayanam must
have been composed, at least fifty or hundred years later.
Therefore, it is historically correct to assume that, the Irama-
Iravanan war occurred in the ancient Ilanka, around the period of
Aryans' southward movement.
Iramayanam depicts the details of the Aryans southward movement.
However, Iramayanam relates the story of the abduction of Sita-
the spouse of Irama, by the South Ilanka king Iravanan. When
Iravanan was the ruler of the Southern Ilanka, the Naga tribe who
were 'Ovar' or artisans of the highest order ruled the
Northwestern portion of Ilanka. The artisans tribe originated
from their chief, Viswakarma, the divine architect. The five
classes of artisans, namely - Manu-Black-Smiths, Maya-
carpenters, Tuvashta Kannar- brass- founders, Silpa Sirpi-
masons, Stone-cutters, sculptors, architects, image makers and
painters, Visvanna - gold-smiths, said to be born out of the five
faces of Viswakarma.
Though, their country known as Mathottam, and the capital called
Mantai- the port city, the whole country was popularly known as
"Ovar" or "Oviyar Nadu" - means the land of
the divine craftsmen. Ravana's spouse Mandotari was the daughter
of Mayan the king of this country. Several thousands' years ago,
a temple for Lord Shiva, was constructed in this region,
Tirukethiswaram (Tashis) by one great Lord Shiva devotee. The
lord of the temple, was called, 'Obanna.'
Artisans of Oviyar Nadu also possessed the skill even to build
aircraft. King Iravanan used an aircraft (dirigible) called
'Puspakavimanam,' to abduct Sita, and that too was built by the
craftsmen of Ovar. At the entrée port at Ovar, a busiest one on
the region, ships from various countries, used to call for gold,
silver, copper, exotic woods, pearls, spices, and other luxurious
items grown, manufactured and mined in and around Ovar.
Similarly, King Solomon's ship called at the seaport of Ovar, for
exotic cargoes required for the building of the Jews' temple and
his palace.
The availability of Gold and silver in Ilanka is another
important aspect that needs confirmation in our effort to locate
Ophir.
The Phoenician, 'History of Sanchoniathon,' is the earliest
record available regarding the kingdom in North Ilanka.
Sanchoniathon lived before the Trojan War. According to him,
"Four kings governed the Island (Ilanka), all subordinate to
paramount sovereign, to whom they pay tributes, cassia, ivory,
gems, and pearls, for the king, has gold in abundance."
Further more, Ptolemy in his great work of 'Geography of the
World,' complied in 150 AD, writes as follow, in Bk. Vii, Chap.
IV -
"Sect.1, Opposite Cape Cory, which is in India, is the
projecting point of the Island Taprobane, which was called
formerly Simoundou and now Salike. The inhabitants are now called
Salai. Their heads are quite encircled with luxuriant locks, like
those of women. The country produces rice, honey, ginger, beryl,
and hyacinth and has mines of every sort of gold, silver and
other metals. It breeds at the same time elephants and
tigers." Hope that, the above two descriptions, clarifies
the availability of gold and silver in Lanka (Ilanka), during
those days. Ptolemy went a step further to testify that, gold and
silver were mined in Ilanka.
Even Pliny The Elder, in his "Natural History" while
referring about Taprobane writes, "Megasthenes says that
Taprobane is divided by a river and that the natives are called
Aborigines (Palegoni-born long ago) and produce more gold and
larger pearls than the Indians." (Megasthenes was an envoy
of Seleucus Nicator, founder of the Syrian monarchy. Megasthenes
wrote his work on India (Indika, - as a result of his experience
while being ambassador to the king of Prasii.)
Voyage for
gold
Available historical information reveals that, only once, King
Solomon and King Hiram's sailors jointly sailed successfully to
Ophir. This voyage for gold must have happened during or just
after lifetime of Iravanan. According to the historical
information, the great part of Ilanka submerged under the sea,
after Iravanan's debacles, in the war with Irama. Rajavaliya
describes the aftermath of the war as follows: "Be it known
that, by his (Iravanan's) wickedness, his fortress, 25 palaces
and 400,000 streets were overwhelmed by sea." This deluge
took place in the Southern and Northwestern part of Ilanka.
Subsequently, during the Second century BC, again according to
Rajavaliya, when Kelanitissa was the King of South Ilanka,
100,000 seaport towns, 970 fishers' villages, 470 villages of
pearl-fishers, making altogether eleven-twelfth of Ilanka
submerged by the sea. According to Eratosthenes, the dimension of
the Island was 804 miles in length and 575 miles in breadth, in
the 2nd century BC. Therefore, the Ilanka today is one-twelfth of
the Ilanka of ancient days, minus the gold prospecting region of
Ophir. The actual measurements of the present island of Sri Lanka
are 271X137 miles.
After Solomon and Hiram's demise, no other successful expedition
to Ophir took place. Unfortunately, King Hiram and his own
talented sailors were the only group of mariners, who were able
to locate Ophir in North-west of Ilanka. When they were no more,
and even when the Ophir mentioned in the Bible submerged under
the sea, firstly after the Iravanan's debacle and later during
the reign of Kelanitissa, people continued to speculate about and
try to locate the place, that was no more.
Subsequently, the sea trade along the coast of Ilanka and in the
Indian Ocean, few centuries before the Buddhists and Christian
eras, remained in the hands of the Arabs, who jealously guarded
against the encroachment by other nations, by their sedulous
dissemination of fabulous and blood curdling stories, of the
dangers of navigation.
The monopoly of the Arabs in the Indian Ocean shattered in the
latter part of fifteen century AD. European colonialists set
their sails to conquer the countries in Asia, after Vasco da Gama
discovered India in 1498.The Baobab trees that form a special
feature in the landscape of the Gulf of Mannar and the present
Mathottam areas, testify to the Arab's ancient settlements during
those periods.
In conclusion, it is appropriate to finalize that, the exact
location of Ophir was in the North-west of Sri Lanka, the place
called Mathottam and it had disappeared from the map of the
world, due to seawater flooding twice and now, a submerged city,
lying below the Indian Ocean.
Therefore, now the world, based on the above final location of
Ophir, could put to rest conclusively any further search, but,
could consider to initiate geological surveys for prospecting
Gold and other precious metals in and around and off the coast of
North-west region of Srilanka.
Courtesy of Weekend Express - 06 -07 February 1999.
(This is a recently revised version)
E-Mail: ktraja@loxinfo.co.th
T.phone: 0066-25176253 or 0066-1879070, Telefax: 66-2-517 6253
K.T.Rajasingham, House No: 8/6, Muban Amoronpan Nakorn, Sukapibal Road 2, Suan Siam, Bangok 10230, Thailand.