Ra'qedyet

An historical poem

“Ra'qedyet, or Râ-Kedet, was the original name of the city of Alexandria on the northern coast of Kemet, before it was renamed by Alexander the Great. Ra'qedyet is believed to have existed about 700 to 1000 years before Alexander even came to that site. The logic now is not that Alexander built his city on the same site as Ra'qedyet, but that he used an already flourishing city and simply expanded upon it!” " From Ancient Worlds, an online website: http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Places/Property/1034345”

Tell me more…

I want to know…

What came before…

Before Alexander’s hell-bent stamp

Upon cultures already ancient 

when his own still cowered in caves

Tell me about it…Tell me more…

Tell me… tell me… tell me, please

Of ancient Ra’qedyet

Like ill-fated Takht-e-jamshid

where Alexander rested his feet…

Yes… he rested his feet…

His feet upon Xerxes’ table.

Fair Parsa’s palace burned to ruin…

it’s native name lost in time…

It’s city recalled forevermore…

by Greek arrogance… Persepolis!

Of all Carians, given up in fear…

Given over by their Queen Ada.

Anatolia laid wide… laid bare

Before Alexander’s gluttonous march…

His stamp left hither and yon… 

A people entire… forgotten… gone

Ground ‘neath his inexorable march

His lustful ego used to erase Caria

Histories trampled, societies wasted…

reaching farther, ever further…

veneered by every raped culture,

burying history 'neath his avarice

from Anatolia to the Punjab

where King Purushottama lost…

lost even his name to Alexander…

left a client king named Porus.

Grinding on… grinding down 

like so many others…

Anatolia, Achaemenid, Babylonia, 

Egypt, Punjab, and more

From Alinda to Babylon, Parsa, to Jhelum 

and more and more and ever more.

Never too much… never enough…

Till death at last embraced his lust.

He built his city hailed through th’years…

Crushing… o’erlaying atop Ra’qedyet…

Ra’qedyet from ancient Pharo’s lines…

Lost in Alexandria… stamped out.

All that remains… a sad and silent jumble

Ruins ‘neath ruins ‘neath a briny sea…

At th’Nile’s mouth, it’s fate ’twas sealed

So he might stamp his name ‘cross the world

A mighty nation prospered…

before made a warning for the future…

Now sad and silent jumbled ruins.

In the ruins of ancient Alexandria

lay ruins yet much older still

‘Neath th’magnificent capital of Ptolemy,

Alexandria app Aegyptum… Alexandria Beside Egypt.

It’s birth razing Ra’qedyet’s life…

That long before haven of sailors.

Tell me of the histories lost…

Tell me the stories of “the Great”

How his exploits are to be lauded,

ever to be praised and applauded…

Of the lessons we should learn…

the warfare that should burn.

Tell me of the histories lost…

lost in th’onslaught of Alexander… 

Lost when he put them to the death.

Tell me more…

I want to know…

What came before…

Before Alexander’s hell-bent stamp

Upon cultures already ancient 

when his own still cowered in caves

Tell me about it…Tell me more…

Tell me… tell me… tell me, please

Of ancient Ra’qedyet

Tell me the glories of Alexander

of his “Great” folly of death and debt.

by D. Denise Dianaty

Author's Note

A little something on Alexander the "Great."

Reviews

[R Smith]

A little something!! its an epic something, I was not sure about the theme at first but this lesson has taught me something I did not know and now I have to read about these countries that were there before Alexander, not that i even know about him, thank you for feeding my craving for the truth in history, history is the truth of the historian, it depends from where he comes, its good you have written this to enlighten us who do not know the full story thank you :)

[MomzillaNC]

Thank you. I'm honored you found meaning in my perspective.

Actually, my perspective changed many years ago, when my husband talked about Takht-e-Jamshid. He told how, in Iran, Alexander is considered a villain and a barbarian. Then, recently, I saw a History Channel program about archeological finds beneath the ruins of Alexandria under the waters of the harbor. They were saying how those much older ruins were of the city that was already there when Alexander had his city built. The stuff they found led them to the conclusion that Ra'qedyet (or Rhacotis) was much more developed that scholars had believed for two millennia. I wanted to know more about it, so I tried researching it. There's nothing in my local library and precious little to be found on the Net. But, it the search for Ra'qedyet, I stumbled upon all these other names and places that were buried under Alexander's relentless march to conquer the known world.

[TL Boehm]

I may be a descendant of Alexander the Great. I love studying genealogy because I learn so much more than the text book history lessons I had in school. SO many of the "Greats" in our western history were nothing more than savages - Hell bent stamp - I liked that.

[MomzillaNC]

Thank you. And, it's true: many of the "Greats" were nothing more than savages: that's the very nature of conquest.

I too trace my lineage back to Alexander, specifically to his grandfather - though not to him specifically that we know of. My family history is traced back in a direct line of descendency to three generations before William the Conquerer. After that, it starts to be a little sketchy and completely peters out at Alexander's grandfather. They came from Greece through France to Scotland around 210 BCE.

[TL Boehm]

Fascinating stuff!

[MomzillaNC]

Thank you.

[Chris]

Good tone and rhythm. Good command of the content and questing. Historical awareness has always drew me... I loved the tales and following the weave. As an aside - the victor lives and writes the History the loser endures... as always.

[MomzillaNC]

Thanks you very much.

[BClancy]

That was a splendid poem! I really enjoyed the whole theme of greed crushing civilizations and I enjoyed the little piece of information about Ra'qedyet a the beginning. In total I got a lot out of this poem and found it to be a very deep, meaningful treat. Thanks for sharing :)

[MomzillaNC]

Thank you very much.

[Pushkar Prabhat]

Wow! This is epic! Wonderful.
Informative narrative.
Masterpiece!
I loved it!
:)

[MomzillaNC]

Thank you.

[Jordan]

Stanza 7, I liked, however you used the word "ruins" so many times! This is my opinion,(feel free to ignore me if I am imposing) but I think the word would hold more power if it was less abundant.

Overall, wonderful piece. I now feel the need to read up on Ra'qedyet :)

[MomzillaNC]

Thank you. But, Alexander left much ruin in his wake and built all his cities atop those ruins. And, sadly, I don't think you'll find more on Ra'qedyet; that's rather the point of the poem: Alexander's conquests obliterated many cultures and cities, including Ra'quedyet (which archeologists are only now taking an interest in uncovering the ruins of). My main issue with this one, what I'm still trying to work out is making the body of the poem stick to the meter.

[Sindu]

Incredible! so much history.. you worked a lot on this epic piece, huh, Momzi!
It's too good for me to say any much more!

[MomzillaNC]

Thank you very much. Yes, I researched it for some weeks before writing it.

[Travis "Phoenix" Caldwe..]

I myself LOVE history and this poem brings a want to research. I never really researched Alexander the Great, but this poem has me curious about him.

[MomzillaNC]

Thank you. And, research is a wonderful way to expand our knowledge and inspirations as poets and writers.

[Shadows Ember]

I like how you broke this up into little sections, it didn't make the piece feel as long as it actually was. Your word choice is interesting, but I liked it. Great job on letting your voice shine in this piece it was amazingly shared. I love how you repeated the first stanza again at the end, it brought everything together again and did an awesome job of concluding the piece. The title caught my eye in an instant. Really the only thing I would have changed might be going back and reading it out loud to yourself, the flow stumbles a bit in a few places

[MomzillaNC]

Thank you. And, yeah, I know the flow kind of breaks when read aloud. That's why it's "still simmering." I haven't found a better way to express the themes AND fit the meter -- yet.

[David Lewis Paget]

Working and working and working I should imagine. This is no lightweight feat. I should know, as one who has also researched historical themes, and the time it takes to resolve each tiny fact. This is quite an achievement, Momzilla, and you should be proud.

[MomzillaNC]

Thank you so much. Coming from you, I consider this high praise indeed.

[Malister Mikey]

I never really heard any story or even watched the movie of Alexander the great, I just remember hearing about him through words of mouth. That being said I did really like this piece it has a wonderful flow and you did an excellent job on the presentation from beginning to end.

[MomzillaNC]

Thank you. And, Alexander the Great is hailed as the greatest general, battle strategist, and leader of all time. Everywhere you look, his name is stamped across the globe, both Old World and New. His campaigns and strategies are required reading for military scholars and commanders around the world. His entire life is lauded as one long triumph, it seems. But, if you look at him from the perspective of those who stood on the other side of his countless battlefields, you cannot but help see a different person.

[Malister Mikey]

That makes sense, i never really took an interest in Alexander except his name I always liked that name lol. I knew who he is though only slightly so thanks on the brief history lesson I love learning new things.

[MomzillaNC]

Me too. I'm always looking for more to know. It believe, as writers, we have to keep reading. Writers write. Great writers read more.

[Malister Mikey]

I tend to read more of other peoples work then I write, since first grade I was reading at a 12th grade level and would prefer the company of a book over that of people.

[MomzillaNC]

I've always been an avid reader too -- a true bibliophile!

[Malister Mikey]

Me too nothing is better then when things get tough to be lost in a world of fantasy, or when needing certain knowledge obtaining it through the pages.

[MomzillaNC]

Absolutely.