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Newton's Revised History of Ancient Kingdoms - A Complete Chronology

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Like reading sheaves of notes compiled as he worked, Newton's Revised History demonstrates three things: his access to and comprehension of other histories; the thorough way in which he set about discovering, proving, and problem solving; and the scientific genius by which the chonologer keeps all in his head.

Drawing from such sources as Plato, Herodotus, and Josephus, Newton submits all histories and archaeology and even legends to the timeline of the world as found in the Bible. He spends much effort explaining which legendary figures are pseudonyms for the same great kings. A king was called one name at home, another in each conquered country, a few titles of royalty and accomplishment, and then a few by which he was worshiped at his death. Though in the text Newton is not consistent in referring always to a single name for a person to which he compares other names, there is an extensive Alias Appendix and Exhaustive Index to help follow the associations. Upholding the authority and accuracy of the Scripture, Newton criticizes the priests and ancient historians of each country for inflating the age of their civilization, usually done by inserting names of kings in lists with no mention of any accomplishments, or by making the reigns of kings unbelievably long: into the hundreds of years. However, Newton also refutes those Jewish historians who doubt all histories not recorded in the Old Testament, reducing and confusing the kings of Persia from the intertestamental times, though in truth the Bible does not mention them because they no longer dealt with the Jews.

For each point Newton made, and especially on those arguments where the consensus of history or usually-reliable chronologers is against him, he goes into overwhelming detail to establish his position. As I read, I would wonder why we were touring a small isle in the Mediterranean, debating the heritage of a prince - and suddenly, aha! Newton would say, "therefore," and prove that the four generations of history we had endured proved that someone was the same age as someone else, and that his great grandson therefore could not have been as ancient as some believe. Many events are connected by degrees of association to the Trojan War, to the reign of King Solomon, or to Nebuchadnezzar's destruction of Jerusalem. From thence an ancient history spiders off into tales of a king whose fifty daughters married his brother's fifty sons, then at their father's command all murdered their husbands so as to defend against their uncle's betrayal; to the way Philistia was overrun by exiles from Egypt, making the Philistines more powerful and land-desperate when they fought the Judges, Saul, and David. Apparently all the ancients ran around conquering each other, erecting pillars, kidnapping princesses, and stealing them back. A great king of one country would be worshiped by his colonies in other countries until no one remembered he was a king and everyone thought he'd always been a god.

Newton was rather fascinated with the study of astronomy, astrology, and geometry as he supposed it spread from Egypt to Babylon and thence to the rest of the world. He believed only one ethnicity originated human sacrifice, only one astrology, only one worship of the dead, and only one the building of temples. These idolatrous innovations were, he taught, spread to other peoples only through a chain of interactions with the first peoples who practiced them. He also makes the case that the original constellations were representations of those in the Argonaut Expedition or their fellows.

Being both a chronology and a sort of history, this book has amazing scope, covering about 2000 years of the Mediterranean World, describing kings and conquests, marriage and treachery. Chapters include Early Greek History, The Empire of Egypt, The Assyrian Empire, Empires of the Babylonians and the Medes, and The Persian Empire. Agreeing with Ussher on most dates, but venturing further into secular history seeking a general order and average sense of time, Newton lays out a sense of grand background. His book is written for those already acquainted with the peoples and countries he described, and so I found myself floundering in the long sections of the book about Egypt, Greece, and Assyria but more comfortable in the reaches of Babylon and Persia. One of the best illustrated sections of the book is the chapter on King Solomon's temple, whose measurements Newton draws from a combination of Kings and Ezekiel (about which interpretation I remain skeptical). A companion book with a good timeline and charts would be recommended. You might use Ussher's Annals of the World. I myself did not know that modern man was aware of such details of history as Newton records, though I believe the study of history has been mightily neglected in the past two centuries. This well-formatted, easy-to-use reference does well to excite curiosity and may be helpful in reviving consideration of those motives and affections that change the world.

To God be all glory,
Lisa of Longbourn

This was such an interesting book! It is packed full of information about ancient history, yet it is in a very easy to read format that makes reading through it a breeze. Newton's premise is that many ancient nations exaggerated their history and he takes pains to develop a sound chronology using scientific methods he spent his life perfecting.
This is a great read for history buffs and also for homeschoolers.

When you hear the name Sir Isaac Newton, the subject that immediately comes to mind is history, right? Yeah, me neither. Who knew that Newton wrote an amazing book about Ancient History? I sure didn't.

I had the chance to review Newton's Revised History of Ancient Kingdoms, and it was an opportunity I definitely wanted to take. Master Books republished this book, with some changes to make it more readable for today's audiences. And it is fascinating.

A tough book to read though. At least the beginning sections are. Newton certainly assumes that people have a fairly comprehensive knowledge of ancient history already, which makes some sections a lot tougher for me to get through.

Once I got through the introductory material, though, and got into Newton's actual text, it was hard to put down. Well, okay, the incredibly technical section on using astronomy to calculate dates for the Argonaut Expedition... my eyes glazed over and I skipped it. Way too much for my brain to comprehend.

As an indication of how scholarly this work is, over 1/3 of the book is the bibliography and appendices.

Early Greek History is the first actual chapter, and it is clear that Newton is applying the scientific method to his analysis of ancient history. He looks for internal consistency in ancient documents, for instance, and his basic conclusion is that pretty much everyone inflated their nation's time scale. The logic he uses to establish that is intriguing and compelling. After settling some major dates, over about 18 pages, the rest of the chapter is more of a chronology. One I actually enjoyed reading.

This is certainly a book I plan to keep, and will use as a reference for me as my children study ancient history. One has already asked to have a high school level Ancient History credit... and I will make this volume a part of his required reading for that.


Disclaimer: I received this book for free from New Leaf Publishing Group. No other compensation was received. The fact that I received a complimentary product does not guarantee a favorable review.

Okay, when I say "Sir Isaac Newton", I am sure you don't think of a historian. I usually think about Newton as a brilliant scientist and mathematician...not someone who wrote a history book! However, I recently read a reprint of his book, entitled Newton's Revised History of Ancient Kingdoms (edited by Larry and Marion Pierce). It's not really something I'd usually jump into reading, but I like to learn a little bit about everything I can, and this seemed like a good opportunity to brush up on ancient history. The first thing that caught my attention is the fact that that Newton admitted he only researched this as a way of taking a break from his more strenuous studies! If you read this book, you will understand just how shocking that is. There was obviously a lot of time, research and thought put into this book, and I am amazed that Isaac Newton considered it a fruit of his "idle hours".
The book is just packed with information, and it is written in a way to keep your attention. Newton starts the book by refuting what other ancient historians had written or said. He uses their own writings to show the errors found in their books, in a very methodical, logical way. Then, the book turns to chronology, from early European history to Alexander the Great. I found this part very interesting, and I liked that the book includes important Biblical events as well. For example, Newton gives the dates for events such as the crowning of King Saul, King Solomon's marriage to the Egyptian king's daughter, etc.
The following 6 chapters cover Greek history, the Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian and Median empires, and a description of Solomon's Temple. Chapter 5, which covers the Temple, is my favorite part of the book. In addition to a clear, detailed description of the temple, there are also diagrams to aid in understanding how the temple was set up. This chapter really makes the Biblical description of the building of the temple come to life!
This is definitely a book I would recommend to anyone looking for a good chronology that supports a Biblical timeline. Very interesting and extremely well written!

Very informative and and is in line with the Bible and Ussher. Truly Newton was given great wisdom by God to discover so much in physics and math; and have time to do Bible study.

The humble genius, Newton said, "I do not know what I may appear to the world; but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me." (from Brewster's Memoirs of Newton, Vol. 2, Chap. 27)

Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727); considered by many to be not only the greatest scientist who ever lived, but the greatest scientist who ever will live;
"His discoveries span all aspects of the physical world with special emphasis on experimental and theoretical physics and chemistry and on applied mathematics. He invented virtually the entire science of mechanics and most of the science of optics. During this work, he invented such mathematics as he needed or as interested him including the discipline known as calculus....
"He personally constructed the models and machinery with which he carried out extensive experiments in chemistry and physics. For example, when he invented the reflecting telescope, he first built a brick oven. In that brick oven he carried out metallurgical experiments to formulate the composition of the mirror. He then made the mirror with which he constructed the telescope.
"Of unequalled mental ability until his death... Newton's [mental] powers are legendary....later in his life a problem in mathematical physics posed by the great mathematician, Bernoulli, was forwarded to Newton from the Royal Society....[this problem] had baffled the famous 18th century mathematicians of Europe for over six months. Receiving the problem in the afternoon, Newton solved it before going to bed. [Incidentally, when the solution was sent anonymously to its inventor, Bernoulli, he immediately recognized Newton's genius in the method of its solution.]" ( from p. vii, Introduction by Dr. Arthur B. Robinson in a special 1991 reprint of Sir Isaac Newton's book Observations Upon The Prophecies of Daniel and The Apocalypse of St. John (from an original copy once owned by Thomas Jefferson) firts published in 1733, by J. Darby and T. Brown, six years after Newton's death.)

Sir Isaac Newton was one of the greatest scientists, and greatest geniuses the world will ever know. By his own admission, part of Newton's scientific work was comprised of studying the Bible, Biblical texts and history. Not only did he read the Bible daily throughout his life, but he wrote copious notes in reference to his study--over one million words of notes.
Isaac Newton believed that the Bible is literally true in every respect. Throughout his life, he continually tested Biblical truth against the physical truths of experimental and theoretical sciences. He never observed a contradiction. In fact, he viewed his own scientific work as a method by which to reinforce belief in Biblical truth.
He was a formidable Bible scholar, was fluent in the ancient languages, and had extensive knowledge of ancient history. He believed that each person should read the Bible and, through that reading, establish for himself an understanding of the universal truths it contains.
"No sciences are better attested than the religion of the Bible." --Sir Isaac Newton he also said, "There are more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history." Sir Isaac Newton

This book by Newton makes far more sense than the inflated secular histories where legend and exaggeration abound, intermixed with history. Certainly a book worthy of consideration by anyone truly interested in discovering the facts of history. Another book to consider is Uncovering the Mysteries of Your Hidden Inheritance, Balaicius, which also delves into ancient history and prehistory and shows how history has been tampered with and what the resolution of the historical dilemma is.