Where is she, the country of Ophir, the elder sister of Eldorado and the grandmother of the Klondike? There are too many answers … And, unfortunately, no one really knows anything.
In three years time …
For those who have forgotten, let me remind you: the Bible mentions Ophir as the source of the enormous wealth of King Solomon, who lived in the 10th century BC. e., as a sort of secret safe, from where the great ruler took funds for the construction of the temple and other numerous expenses, and the expenses are considerable. After all, among other things, "he had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines." And this, as Comrade Sukhov would say, a group of comrades from the fraternal East had to be fed regularly.
It is also known from the Bible that the descendants of Shem, or simply the Semites, inhabited Ophir. But the location of the country, even an approximate one, is not indicated. It is only said that “King Solomon also made a ship in Ezion-Geber, which was under Elaph, on the shores of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom … the sea, with the subjects of Solomon; And they went to Ophir, and took from there four hundred and twenty talents of gold, and brought it to King Solomon. And the Hiram ship, which brought gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir a great multitude of mahogany and precious stones."
Translated into modern language, this means that on the coast of the Red Sea, not far from Eilat (Israel), Solomon had his own shipyard, where he built an ocean liner. The command for him was completed in Lebanon, where his ally King Hiram ruled. And the passengers were Israelis, who apparently themselves did not drive ships. So they hired Phoenicians who knew the sea.
Further, it follows from the biblical text that deliveries from Ophir became regular, "in three years time", and included, in addition to gold, stones and valuable wood (2 times), ivory and monkeys and peacocks."
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Golden country
The ruins of Ezion-Gever on the territory of present-day Jordan were discovered in 1937 by the American archaeologist Nelson Gluck. So the place of registration of the biblical vessel, as opposed to the port of its destination, is known exactly. But where were the Phoenician sailors heading after leaving the Israeli harbor? This is a problem with many unknowns. The mines of King Solomon were searched for and found everywhere: over the centuries, all large gold-bearing mines from India to Peru were declared Ophir in turn.
According to one of the most popular versions, the Phoenicians, having passed the Red Sea, headed for the southeast, skirted the Indian subcontinent and moored somewhere off the eastern shores of India. By the way, the word "ophir" in Arabic means "wealth" - that is how the Egyptians called India. The same opinion was held by Josephus, which is confirmed by his retelling of the events already described above: “Solomon received a corresponding gift from the Tyrian king Hiram, who sent him pilots and sailors experienced and capable in naval affairs. He ordered these people, together with his own authorized representatives, to sail to the country that in ancient times was called Sofir, and now is called the Gold country (it is in India), and bring him gold from there. The envoys actually collected about four hundred talents (gold) there and returned with them to the king."
Indian version
India was actually a great resource-based power. One and a half thousand years before our era, they knew the secrets of casting gold. But the famous German historian Richard Hennig considers the Indian version rather dubious, since the local rulers "would hardly have allowed any foreign sailors to develop deposits and easily export the richest treasures from the country." The power scenario is also unrealistic - this would require a whole flotilla, and not one or two ships.
Many researchers in the question of Ophir adhere to the African hypothesis. Indeed, it is likely that the ships heading for the Golden Country, having entered the vast Indian Ocean, did not turn east, towards India, but continued their journey south along the African coast. They crossed the equator, of course, unaware of it, and approximately in the place where the Mozambican port of Sofala (20 ° south latitude) is now located, they moored to the shore. It is here that the indigenous tribes could arrange an international fair, where gold and precious stones mined in the interior of the continent - presumably in the territory of modern Zimbabwe - were exchanged for something of interest to the local consumer. And gold in Zimbabwe has been mined for a long time, there were the largest deposits of this precious metal in Africa.
In the 16th century AD, rumors about gold mines in Zimbabwe reached the Portuguese traders, and half a century later the missionary João dos Santos went in search of gold inland. He was sure that he was looking for the Ophir mines mentioned in the Bible of King Solomon. And although the Portuguese expedition was not successful, it was loudly announced that "the biblical land of Ophir has been discovered."
Ethiopian legend
Later, in the 17th century; the Dutch set about unsuccessfully searching for the mines. It was only in 1867 that the German geologist Karl Mauch came across the ruins of Great Zimbabwe - an ancient complex of stone structures, the purpose of which has not yet been clarified in his report, Mauch called the ruins the former palace of the Queen of Sheba. According to Ethiopian legend, the queen was a native of Ophir and only at the age of fifteen moved to the Sabaean kingdom, where she became the ruler. And the name of the Queen of Sheba, as the Bible testifies, is closely connected with the biography of King Solomon: “And she came to Jerusalem with very great wealth: the camels were laden with incense and a great deal of gold and precious stones; and she came to Solomon and talked with him about everything that was in her heart."
In 1889, not far from the ruins, large statues of birds were discovered that bore a certain similarity to the images on Phoenician coins. This gave reason to believe that the ruins found represent, if not the palace of the Queen of Sheba, then at least the Phoenician colony, in which gold was mined in ancient times. However, in 1929 the British researcher Gertrude Keyton-Thomson proved that the city of Zimbabwe is not as ancient as it was thought. It was built from the 2nd to the 13th century, and in the 16th century it was abandoned and, therefore, the country of Ophir could not be in any way.
African trace
And yet, the "African footprint" should not be neglected. Too many signs - though mostly indirect ones - are pushing us in this direction. For example, part of the northeastern coast of Africa - Eritrea with the adjoining Dahlak archipelago - was previously called the country of Afer, and its inhabitants were called scams or Afars. And the words "Africa" and "Ophir" themselves are very consonant.
And one more indirect argument: long before Solomon, the ancient Egyptians, with their no less ancient shovels, rowed gold from somewhere. Where from? Apparently, all of the same Ophir, who was somewhere within reach. After all, there was an economic reason for the pharaoh Ramses II, who ruled in the first half of the 13th century BC, to lay a canal from the main branch of the Nile to the Red Sea.
In general, there are many guesses. However, with all the abundance of hypotheses, one thing can be said with complete certainty: Ophir exists on Mars. This is the name of one of the local canyons in the Valley of Mariner. Perhaps it is from there that in the historically foreseeable future a string of spaceships, loaded to the brim with gold, will reach us. Wait and see?
I. Sheinberg. Magazine "Secrets of the XX century" No. 5 2009