The Phoenician Code

by Karim El Koussa

  They both nodded.

  “As we all know, Jewish history is very much related to ancient Iraq,” Mikhail said. “It is written in the Old Testament that Abraham had come from the city of Ur. Whether we believe this story to be a true historical account of the first Hebrew Patriarch or not—and we definitely don’t—we can’t deny the important ties that exist between the two, hence the Iraqi-Jewish heritage is a very delicate issue.”

  “Correct!” added Dr. Hanna. “We have to carefully consider the fact that since the US invasion, in 2003, many of the Iraqi-Jewish archives have been transported to Washington for preservation, on the claim that they had been damaged during the war. However, these scrolls and tablets are still held by the National Archives and Records Administration in the United States. Others faced an uncertain future for some time, they were sent directly to Israel—after they had been refurbished—not to Iraq,” he explained.

  “Like what?” Paul asked in confusion.

  “A collection of antique Torahs,” he replied at once. “The Iraqi Government and I, as head of the Baghdad National Museum, have demanded from US officials, time and again, to return the Jewish-Iraqi documents that were taken prior to and after the invasion. We believe that an antique Torah scroll was also smuggled into Israel in the early fifties. Yet, nothing happened,” he said in a sharp tone, and then lit a cigarette.

  “You know how it is,” interfered Mikhail. “Jewish groups in America and Israel, AIPAC for example, start questioning and raising all manner of concerns about the safety of the documents, were they to be returned to Iraq. ‘We fear that Jewish history might be lost forever,’ they say. However, we strongly believe they are trying by any-and-all means to hide a truth that would expose them…” he said.

  “And what is this truth that they’re trying to hide?” Paul questioned, his eyebrows lifted. For a minute, he began to think of Dr. George Hanna, not only as head of the Iraqi museums, with a Master’s degree in classical antiquities from Berlin University, but also, as an erudite member, a brother in the Society of Keepers. He looked at him with renewed respect.

  “You know the truth already, Paul, but a trip down the crypt—inside the Ziggurat—will enlighten you further,” Dr. Hanna said. “As for now, let’s have lunch.”

  Time had passed so quickly for Paul that he hadn’t believed his watch when he saw it marking just after two in the afternoon. With a gentle smile, he accompanied them to the table in the dining room.

  .40.

  The Great Ziggurat of Ur

  Thursday, November 18, 04:25 PM

  The city of Ur has been reputed as the main sanctuary of worship to the Sumerian god ‘Nanna’, known as ‘Sin’ to the Babylonians. The most remarkable construction in the area—one of the best preserved in all of Iraq and perhaps one of the very few, famous historical monuments of the ancient world—is the huge and imposing citadel, dedicated to this deity, known as the Great Ziggurat of Ur. Standing around 21 meters above the desert, most of the walls that form the Ziggurat hold cuneiform writing, identified by historians as a Sumerian form of scripture, stamped into mud-bricks. The inscriptions are often difficult to read, but not as hard as Paul had initially thought, under the trained eyes of Dr. Hanna.

  Walking inside the Ziggurat, Paul noticed that everywhere he stepped there were colorfully painted pottery pieces, probably covering the entire historical site. The renowned Royal tombs were situated in a corner of the wall, surrounding the city, to the southeastern side of the Great Ziggurat. It was there, where Dr. Hanna, Mikhail, and Paul stood in observation.

  “The tombs are empty,” Dr. Hanna said suddenly. “A small number of them are accessible, but most of them have been closed.” He looked around him for a couple of minutes. No one was there. “I know the way in,” he added in a low voice. “It is there, down the tomb crypt, where I made a few of my loyal staff hide some of the most valuable items, a couple of weeks before the war started. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of ancient books, cuneiform tablets, and scrolls that had not been examined, translated, or catalogued—I had them all stored in here,” he proudly stated with a wide grin.

  “How?” Paul asked in confusion.

  “Follow me!” Dr. Hanna replied in haste. Although his word sounded cordial, his stern eyes, fixed on Paul, gave the impression that he was giving an order to be executed at once.

  Dr. George Hanna led the way in a slow walk. They followed his pace. They crawled down a dim hidden stairway towards the underground chamber, where the graves were located. A great metal door stood ahead of them, with a huge key that Dr. Hanna had in his pocket, he unlocked it, took one small step inside, stretched his hand to the right of the interior wall, and turned on the switch.

  There were more than a dozen huge wooden crates assembled in the chamber, with a label attached to each one of them. Paul looked in wonder at the boxes in front of him. What could they contain that would enlighten me even more? he asked himself. Mikhail didn’t react to the scene of the crates, amassed in front of him. He just kept silent, seemingly knowing what there was inside each one of them, or at least speculating.

  “I had them all stored in here,” Dr. Hanna repeated with the pride of an antiquities’ collector. “Not only that, but I also had some of them examined, translated, and catalogued,” he turned to them with a wide grin.

  Paul exhaled noisily, and waited with great anticipation for the revelation that would rise from these boxes.

  “Help me open this one,” Dr. Hanna demanded.

  Mikhail and Paul helped him crack open the one he pointed at, having a golden label of ‘Aebirou-al-naher’ fixed to it. He peered inside first; they followed his eyes, and, collectively, breathed a sigh of astonishment and relief. “Babylon is situated between two rivers, the Euphrates and the Tigris,” Dr. Hanna began, “Here is the story I want to share with you.”

  “The Aebirou-al-naher—better known as the Hebrew priests and families, who crossed the river at the time of Cyrus II—were Chaldean-Babylonians. They lived, prospered, and multiplied in what is now called Iraq,” he said, reiterating this piece of information that he had previously cited. “Ur—of Sumerian origin and later Akkadian, which means ‘city’ in these two languages—was an important city-state in ancient Sumer, chiefly, the capital of the ancient civilization of Sumer. Today, it is still considered one of the most impressive ancient sites in Iraq.”

  The narration continued in slow frames, as Dr. Hanna’s memory recollected the ancient tale…

  Supported by the Persian King Cyrus, the Babylonian Brotherhood brought—along with their religious and intellectual systems—not the authentic Tradition, of course, but their own distorted version of it: the Chaldeo-Hebraic Kabala, into the land of Canaan. They have altered it to match their new culture, becoming the esoteric and symbolic interpretation of the Old Testament, with the Zohar as the classical form.

  The natives of the Land of Canaan-Phoenicia called these newcomers: the Aebirou-al-naher or those who crossed the river, Ebraniyine, later known—under the leadership of Ezra—as the Hebrews. In their venture to settle down, the Hebrews encountered great difficulties and local resistance, against their many attempts to build the Temple, and control the Land, as mentioned in the Old Testament in both Ezra 4 and Nehemiah 2.

  “In Ezra 4,” Dr. Hanna explained, reading from one of the parchments, “‘Now when the adversaries (the people of the land) of Judas and Benjamin (the Ebraniyine), heard that the children of captivity built the Temple unto the Lord God of Israel; then they came to Zerubbabbel and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, ‘Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him….’ But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the chiefs… said unto them, ‘ye have nothing to do with us to build a house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us.’”

  “Wait!” Paul snapped out. “I didn’t quite get that. Why would the people o
f the land want to share with the Ebraniyine, the building of a Temple to the God of Israel?” he asked with significant curiosity.

  “Well, a misinterpretation of language occurred here,” replied Dr. Hanna. “The word ‘Israel’ meant, to the Ebraniyine, Striving against El, which translates into Striving against God. Whereas to the Phoenicians, ‘Israel’ meant Ashirat-El or Israt-El, which signifies the Religious Family of El. Therefore, a Temple to the God of Israel—for the Phoenicians meant: a Temple to ‘El’, constructed by his loving family of Priests. However, a Temple to the God of Israel—for the Hebrews insinuated: a Temple to the Babylonian God, ‘Iao’, ‘Yahve’, built by the people who strove against El… and his Land.” He paused for a thought, before he added, “Within that context, we could refer to the tale in the Old Testament about Jacob, who strove against the God ‘Al’, defeated him, changed his name into ‘Israel’, and became the Hebrew founder of the state of Israel. In fact, they could have stated, more truthfully, that they intended to build a Temple to the God of Israyhwh, for they were Isra-Iao or Ashiratyahweh—the children and family of Yahweh.”

  “Indeed, they could have done so,” Mikhail approved in support. “Striving against the God ‘El’ was their biggest concern, as written in the Old Testament and Scrolls,” he pointed out edgily. “It was, indeed, the main issue. The People of the Land—the Phoenicians who believed themselves to be ‘Israel’, the Religious Family of El—rejected the project of the Ebraniyine, people of Judah, as soon as they realized that these foreigners were, in fact, striving against their God, El.”

  “Aha!” Paul burst out all of a sudden. Mikhail and Dr. Hanna quickly turned their heads in his direction. “That explains why the Hebrews rejected the son of ‘El’, Immanuel, Jesus Christ, later on!”

  Dr. Hanna smiled briefly, and replied assertively, “That’s absolutely right. And so, in Ezra 6, we read, ‘And the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through… and they built, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, Darius, (and Artaxerxes, king of Persia). And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar (March), which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king,’” he ended the quote from the parchment in his hand, which closely resembled what came in the Old Testament, and explained that Darius II—King of Persia from 424 to 404 BC—was the son of Artaxerxes I, who reigned between 465 and 424 BC.

  “Accordingly, they would then have erected the Temple in the year 418 BC,” Paul rationalized, “That would be six years after 424 BC, and not around the years 520-515 BC, under Darius I, as mentioned in the Old Testament itself!”

  “Correct!” Mikhail said matter-of-factly.

  “So, if I understood you correctly…” Paul stated; his eyebrows lifted, “the Hebrews ultimately managed to settle in the Land of Canaan with the support of the Persians,” he concluded.

  “That’s true, and it is absolutely evident in the Old Testament’s narration. Today, Historical and Archaeological studies undeniably sustain this statement. Moreover, Jewish history began with both Ezra and Nehemiah,” Mikhail clarified, and added, “Consequently, the history of many surrounding Nations was blemished. And…” he paused to stare at Paul with a witty smirk, “Guess what?”

  “Say it!” Paul urged him in a loud voice, which made Dr. Hanna grin at his eagerness.

  “In contradiction with what the Old Testament says; Ezra and Nehemiah were not Jewish, but rather, Persian scribes, and members of the Babylonian Brotherhood.” He stared at Paul, emphasizing the point. “The real name of Ezra was Esdras. They, in fact, started falsifying history, ever since the Persian Empire took control of the vast territories—especially Phoenicia and Egypt. To confiscate the documents of these nations, and alter Historical Truth, held no difficulty for them, for they did not change the original, instead, they smartly and efficiently created new legends of Babylonian-Hebraic myths, which they deceitfully dated back to thousands of years BC. These writings became known, all over the world, as the legendary Old Testament.”

  Paul should have been shocked at this point, but he did not feel that way. In fact, he saw it coming, through the many historical facts he’d heard up to now. He took this final statement with tranquility, although its magnitude was large enough for him not to disregard its consequences. He stretched out his feet, after finding a seat on one of the wooden crates, then crossed them at the ankles, and addressed Dr. Hanna at his side, “And thus?” Paul invited him to proceed, ready for more truth, at any cost.

  “And thus,” he abided at once, “Judaism surged from Babylon to serve, in fact, the purposes of the ruling Persians! Judaism is Persian propaganda! The secret societies that followed that same Order were: the Chaldean and Hebrew Kabalists, some dualist Gnostics, the Priory of Zion, the Templars, the Scottish Freemasons, some Alchemists, the Illuminati, the Jehovah witnesses, and a few others, like the Elders of Zion or Zionists.” He stopped and gazed at a small window on the right side of the underground chamber’s ceiling.

  Paul followed the direction of his gaze. The Sun shone still, it somehow strengthened the confidence and friendship among them. The Order to which he now belonged was as ancient as Enoch-Hermes, and as authentic as Kadmus. Many things, which had previously puzzled him in his life, had just disclosed their mystery… starting inside the Fortress in Gebel, and now, here, inside the Iraqi crypt in the city of Ur. What next? Where next? he wondered within the confines of his mind. And yet, many facts remained out of his reach. However, time is on my side, he speculated with optimism. Perseverance and patience would be his faithful allies in this journey of knowledge.

  His eyes met those of Mikhail, who nodded slowly in confirmation to what Dr. Hanna had just conveyed, and said, “Those secret societies have adhered to the same Babylonian-Hebraic doctrine to this day. Their supreme God was, and has remained, the Chaldean God Iao. However, before that era, Iao or Yaho was a Phoenician minor god, probably a lunar god. Yaho appeared in the desert of Egypt, as a minor god as well. To the Babylonian Brotherhood, on the other hand, Iao was the Mystery God of creation—the breath of life. They identified Iao or Yaho as a combination of an upright male and an egg-shaped female—the dual principles of Nature.” He paused for a moment, his mind in thought, “Thus, Ye(a)va, Jehovah, and Yahweh are, in fact, other pronunciations of the same name ‘Iao’. Yahweh became the androgynous Supreme Divinity of the Hebrews. He/She was Ievo-hevah, Adam-Eve, or Yod-Heva—the Demiurge—whom they considered their national power of salvation.”

  “Aha… well, after all, there is a huge theological difference between the Great White Fraternity and the Babylonian Brotherhood,” Paul rationalized. “The first belief system is Monotheistic, the second is dualistic.”

  “True,” he replied, “Yod is Adam—the Kabbalistic Phallus—and Heva is Eve—the Kabbalistic grail; the Mary Magdalene of the Templars. Both Yod and Heva formed the name Jehovah, the earthly—not divine—Tetragram. However, before the dawn of Phoenician-Egyptian Monotheism, most ancient Religions, well before the Hebrews, had embraced some form of Polytheism, Henotheism, and Dualism. Dualism is naught but a form of anthropomorphism of the gods of creation, a confusion of the Divine Unity… of God,” he explained.

  Dr. Hanna paused for an instant of inward reflection, but before he could add more to this historical and theological account of the ancient world, a sound broke into his thoughts, and put him on alert. He immediately covered the box they had opened, walked slowly towards the door, opened it slightly, and attentively searched for the source of the sound. All he could hear at first was the harsh sound of Iraqi soldiers, or that’s who he had assumed they were, for, moments later, his eyes detected someone else: six men in black, scurrying in through the tunnels, under the Great Ziggurat of Ur.

  At sight of that, he closed the door gently, carefully locked it from the inside, and turned back. His eyes met the worried expressions on Mikhail’s and Paul’s faces. “There is nothing to worry
about,” he said with confidence. “I have it all arranged.”

  “Who was there?” Paul rushed to ask in an anxious tone.

  “The Pharisees...” replied the former head of Iraqi museums.

  “The Pharisees!” wondered Paul.

  “Yes,” Mikhail confirmed in a stern voice. “This is another name for the Babylonian Brotherhood. We have to leave at once.”

  What the three men in the chamber didn’t know was that the six men in the tunnels had noticed movement in that chamber, using infrared and heat-detection machineguns. They were ready to shoot at anything that moved. The squad moved closer to the great metal door, and stood in front of it. One of them tried to open it, but failed, the door was locked, and naturally, they opted for the other choice: blow it up!

  Inside, Paul’s adrenaline skyrocketed, as he remembered his escapade in Montreux, but it was a different case down here. Locked inside the chamber, he presumed there was no way out, other than the door ahead of him. He marveled at the exceptional tranquility embracing both Mikhail and Dr. Hanna, in spite of the perilous circumstances.

  By the time the leader of the squad ordered to detonate the door, Dr. Hanna had already cracked open an aperture in the floor, into which they escaped from the terror creeping close to them. Paul heaved a sigh of relief at this small spark of hope. I will survive! the beautiful thought flashed through his mind. As they sunk into the hole, one after the other, a tactical explosion broke down the great door, followed by a throng of gunfire…

  Seizing the chamber, the men in black noticed the opening in the floor; Dr. Hanna hadn’t had time to close it behind them, as the blasts of fire had begun. Without delay, they poured into that hole, as the pursuit continued in the midst of darkness, down in the crypt, through yet another layer of tunnels.