Tea at Trianon: The Lost City of Thinis

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, August 23, 2021

The Lost City of Thinis

From Ancient Origins:

The written sources indicate that Thinis was still a city of great wealth, even long after it ceased to be the capital of Egypt. During the reign of Thutmose III, the 6 ^th pharaoh of the 18 ^th Dynasty, the yearly tax imposed on Thinis is recorded to have included six debens of gold, half a deben of silver, as well as produce such as grain, cattle, and honey. The wealth of Thinis is evident when compared to nearby Abydos, which was taxed more lightly. For instance, Abydos was required to pay three debens of gold each year, which is half of that paid by Thinis. As another example, whilst Abydos was taxed three sacks of grain per year, 62 sacks were required of Thinis. It may be added that the city was not only prosperous, but was also a regional powerhouse. It is recorded, for example, that the ruler of the Thinite province, a man named Antef, controlled the entire oasis region of the Western Desert, the produce of which would have increased the wealth of Thinis. (Read more.)