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A 57-Year Chronological Correction to Ancient Near Eastern History: Predictive Verification of the Unified Chronology via Ptolemy's Anchor Eclipses

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Abstract

This paper presents a comprehensive, multi-layered analysis demonstrating a fundamental ~57-year correction to the conventional chronology of the Ancient Near East. The analysis proceeds in three parts.

Part I establishes a new chronological anchor of 530 BC for the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem. This anchor emerges from a reverse-engineered algorithmic analysis of the biblical priestly course rotation system, whose validity is demonstrated by its unique capacity to simultaneously align five independent, multi-century prophetic and calendrical systems.

Part II uses this anchor to generate a specific, falsifiable prediction: that three lunar eclipses recorded by Claudius Ptolemy and conventionally dated to 721-720 BC must have occurred in 667-666 BC. This prediction is verified against astronomical data, revealing alignments that resolve known calendrical and textual impossibilities inherent in the conventional dates.

Part III examines the methodological implications, demonstrates that Ptolemy's data was sound but applied to a flawed chronological framework, and presents a cumulative probability analysis showing the joint probability of all observed alignments occurring by chance is approximately 1 in 200,000 (P < 5 × 10⁻⁶). The paper concludes that the conventional chronology contains demonstrable errors at its foundation and that the Unified Chronology provides an empirically superior, astronomically-verified alternative.

Canonical Publication

Official DOI (Cite this version): https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17794937

This is a courtesy copy. The canonical version is permanently archived at Zenodo.

How to Cite

Tretter, Paul. (2025). A 57-Year Chronological Correction to Ancient Near Eastern History: Predictive Verification of the Unified Chronology via Ptolemy's Anchor Eclipses. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17794937
License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License . You are free to share and adapt this work with proper attribution.