It is the world s oldest book in the history of mankind, made of gold and dated to 600 bc. Amber tells us that the bible is the oldest book in the world. This 15th century gutenberg bible is pretty old but not nearly old enough to hold the record as the oldest book in the world. Written thousands of years ago, the judeochristian bible is a best sellerif not the best seller. The oldest history of the world discovered by occult science in detroit, michigan. It is the most elaborate manuscript of its kind to survive from the early middle ages. The oldest wellknown book a narrative story is probably the epic of gilgamesh, first composed circa 21502000 bce, but revised, retold, and abridged in later centuries. Of all the ancient writings, most scholars agree that the old testament of the bible is the oldest of religious books. But if by book you mean complete story or topic, then its somewhat unclear. However, the texts contained within are a collection of orations, prayers, and magical words which date back to well before the 1200s.
Ethiopian bible is oldest and most complete on earth. Do you mean in original writing, or something copied over and over again, but presumably about the same in style and form. The university of bologna, italy, was founded in 1088 and is the oldest one in europe. This obscure book was put together by jarett kobek. Having opened its doors in 1732, this store located at rua garrett in chiado has several rooms and a few spots so the visitors can sit and read. What is considered the oldest book ever written in the. However, he was born sometime around 10, and the oldest extant manuscript discovered is from the late th or early 14th century. If the printing defined what a book was, then the oldest book would be the gutenberg bible, printed about 1450. Generally, the book of genesis is divided into two sections, chapters 111 and 1250. The purpose of the book was to expose witchcraft, since still people were being accused of witchcraft and put on the stake at the time in the europe. Regula sancti benedicti the rule of st benedict, 8th century. The oldest book in the world the instruction of ptahhotep.
The greatest fully authenticated age to which any human has ever lived is 122 years 164 days by jeanne louise calment france. The vajracchedika prajnaparamita sutra has been translated from sanskrit into english variously as the diamond sutra, the diamond cutter sutra, the vajra sutra and the vajra cutter sutra. In spite of continuous opposition through the centuries to destroy it under different civilizations by religious extremists and secular governments, the bible has emerged triumphantly. Such is the case with old tjikko, a norway spruce tree picea abies thats been growing in sweden for an estimated 9,550 years. I had originally added it to the list but at some point, it was autochanged to swanns way. The oldest book in the world frontline book publishing. Spiritual treasures from the age of the pyramids and the oldest book in the world. The oldest existing, and continually operating educational institution in the world is the university of karueein, founded in 859 ad in fez, morocco.
The book contains six gold pages held together with golden rings. The world s oldest recorded joke has been traced back to 1900 bc and suggests that toilet humour was as popular with the ancients as it is today. Founded in 1745, the moravian book shop in bethlehem, pennsylvania is the oldest continuously operating bookstore in america the bertrand. Completed in 800 ad, the book of kells is the world s most famous and oldest book. There are many books that are considered to be the oldest books in the world and are still wellpreserved. Two of their oldest known literary works are the kesh temple hymn and the instructions of shuruppak, both of which exist in written versions dating to around 2500 b. The instruction of ptahhotep, the oldest book in the world but with that in mind, there is one piece of ancient egyptian literature that many people consider to be one of the oldest. The instruction of ptahhotep and the instruction of kegemni. But some trees grow as clones of a parent tree through a very old root system. Want to know which ancient religious books have been spared by the centuries, and where you can hope to see them. I cant be certain, but id guess that the autochange occurred as a multistep process. The book is an exquisite copy of the first four gospels in latin. The religion is believed to have influenced many of other world religions, including christianity.
The rarity consists of 6 pages made of 24carat gold and fastened together. Codex sinaiticus, commonly called the sinai bible, is one of the worlds most important and treasured books as it is the only early manuscript of the christian bible. Koran or alquran holy book of islam was written in 650 ad. For a long time it was proclaimed to be the oldest book in the world. The oldest history of the world, free pdf global grey. This article by eric baxter of represents the best answer to the question that i have ever seen. Egyptian is considered one of the oldest languages in the world, as it is already about 4,700 years old. The oldest actual book, with pages and a binding, is generally thought to be the gutenberg bible. The diamond sutra was printed by method of woodblock printing, a strenuous method in which the text to be printed would be carved into a woodblocks surface, essentially to be used to stamp the words onto the writing surface medium. The precision with which one can date the creation of this book is. The oldest extant printed book is a work of the diamond sutra and dates back to 868 ad, during the tang dynasty.
Leiden, universiteitsbibliotheek, vlq ms 9 italy, 550600. This is the oldest book in the world the epic of gilgamesh youtube. Considering the oldest magic book in the world, two titles stand out the discoverie of witchcraft and the powers of numbers. The oldest book in the world paperback january 18, 2012 by hilliard iii asa g. A small book was found in an old tomb covered with frescoes. Please feel free to add your thoughts to this discussion via the contact page. The epic of gilgamesh is the oldest known piece of literature in the world. The world s oldest book in the history of mankind written in etruscan, the language that is now lost, can be seen in bulgarias national museum of history in sofia. The oldest history of the world is a work so obscure that to call it forgotten would be an abuse of terms. The ars notoria is the oldest portion of the lesser of the keys grimoire, dating back to the th century. Do you mean in original writing, or something copied over and over again.
A famous cookbook from the middle ages, le viandier is believed to be written by guillaume tirel. Oldest known books ever found like us on facebook subscribe for more. The prayers are in several languages, including hebrew, greek, and latin. The record above for the world s oldest tree is for a single individual, or nonclonal, tree. Zoroastrian texts depict one of the world s oldest monotheistic religions practiced in iran around 600bc650ce. Egyptologists have discovered the oldest copy of what is being called the world s first illustrated book, a 4,000yearold edition of the book of two ways, an ancient egyptian guide to the. This is known as one of the strangest books of all time and a new edition has just been released. For example, the story of creating the world in seven days is. A page from the garima gospels the worlds oldest christian book found in a remote monastery in ethiopia the incredible relic has been kept ever since in the garima monastery near adwa in the north of the country, which is in the tigray region at 7,000 feet. The oldest book in the bible is, unsurprisingly, found in the old testament. Most christians would likely predict that genesis was the oldest book in the bible given that it details the creation of the world. We present to the reader in the following work at its beginning, a series of every archaic egyptian writings, in translation, of much importance to a knowledge of early religious and philosophic thought, also of good manners and ethics.
Before the spread of writing, oral literature did not always survive well, though some texts and. Frontispiece of the diamond sutra, printed in china, 11 may 868. The book of job is estimated to have been written in the time of the patriarchs, between 1900 and 1700 b. The 9 most eerie books and grimoires of all time oddee. The book is displayed now in bulgarias national history museum in sofia and it is one of the oldest books in the world that still exists. Published on mar 4, 2019 the epic of gilgamesh is the oldest known piece of literature in the world. The book of genesis is the first book of the bible and the first of the five books of the pentateuch, which were all written by moses. Most christians would likely predict that genesis was the oldest book in the bible given that it details the creation of. Written in etruscan characters it further depicts a horse, horseman, a siren, a lyre, and soldiers. Autobiographical writings found on walls of egyptian tombs were said to be created around 2600 bc to 2000 bc. The bertrand chiado was recognized in 2011 by the guinness book as the oldest bookstore in the world still in operation. The codex seraphinianus is different than the other books on this list because its author, luigi serafini, is known and it was written in the 1970s the codex seraphinianus is similar to the voynich in its largely unintelligible, syntaxless text and fascination with fauna and floral specimen. Oldest higherlearning institution, oldest university. The gutenberg bible, also known as the 42line bible, is listed by the guinness book of world records as the worlds oldest mechanically printed.
Narrowing down exactly what the oldest preserved books in the world are is something that is a little tricky, even for scholars. Certain literary texts are difficult to date, such as the egyptian book of the dead, which was recorded in the. Editor, larry williams editor, nia damali editor 4. Books written in ancient times are of great value to our culture as they hold the information. Written in 2100 bce it predates homers iliad by 1500 years.
Thus the oldest book in the world must surely be the gutenberg bible oldest printed book in the west, from c. It is believed that moses wrote the majority of the pentateuch during israels exile, which lasted from around 1446 1406 bce. The gutenberg bible, also known as the 42line bible, is listed by the guinness book of world records as the worlds oldest mechanically printed book the first. Here are some of the oldest surviving books in the world. Chinese cultures were printing pages of booklike structures using carved wood plates and simple presses hundreds of years before gutenberg. As the very first book in the bible, genesis establishes a point of reference for the rest of the events in the bible. The best documentary ever the oldest book ever found. The first section details the creation of the world and mankind, the fall of mankind, the flood. The discoverie of witchcraft 1 is a skeptical book written by an englishman in the name reginald scot in 1584.