Lud
From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science
Lud (Hebrew: לוּד) was a son of Shem, the son of Noah. Lud should not be confused with Ludim descended from Mizraim. The descendants of Lud are said by some to have spread to areas of the far-east beyond Elam (possibly to be identified with the Lullubi). His brothers were Aram, Arpachshad, Asshur, and Elam.
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The Descendants of Lud
Josephus informs us that Lud gave rise to the Lydians while the account of Herodotus shows us that they were a white people. They lived in Asia Minor with their land bounded by Phrygia, Mysia and Caria but they have nothing to do, however, with the dark Ludim who descend from Mizraim who cannot be connected with the White Lydians. The Lydians were known as the Luddu in Akkadian and as a result, writes historian Simon, "hardly anyone else but the Asiatic Lydians can be meant by 'Lud'...". While the Egyptian monuments label them as the Luden, the Assyrians called them Ludbu and an ancient town in the area was known as Ludbi. Certainly a Ludbu is attested to on the upper reaches of the Tigris, in the cuneiform.
They joined with the Etruscans who were a certain priestly class from Chaldea with their subjects. Scholars still argue as to whether the Etruscans originated in Asia Minor or south-east Europe, the former theory having gained the predominance. What happened was that the Etruscans, fleeing Chaldea after its fall, migrated to Lydia, where we find the Ludbu. Referring to the Luden, Baker's Bible Atlas notes that they migrated to Asia Minor after being displaced by the Assyrians. Together with the Etruscans they migrated into southern Europe to a district in northern Italy northwest of the Tiber River. Lempriere’s A Classical Dictionary asserts the following:
“Etruria, … The ruling class were immigrants from Lydia, and the Tarquins at Rome were probably an Etruscan family … its influence on Roman rites and ceremonials was very great. From Etruria came the curule chair, the fasces, augurs and haruspices, triumphs, trumpets, and the purple toga [these people were] famous for their superstitions and enchantments.”
Indeed, for they brought with them various Egyptian and Babylonian elements including religion, divining art, farming and so on. Tuscany in Italy is named after the Etruscans or Etrurians as the name is sometimes spelt. One area occupied by them in Italy was known as Alba. The Etruscans identified with the Tyrsenians or Tyrrhenians of history. Hertz writes that the Etruscans were known as Tusci, Tyrrheni and Tursha to the Egyptians and that "in all probability there existed two distinct racial types within the Etruscans". Dr von Fange agrees with this assessment stating that one group was mongoloid or Finnic by race. They may have been conquered subjects of the Etruscans. By way of an aside, it is interesting to note that Professor Sadovsky of California State University-Fullerton has written of the many interesting similarities between the Finnic peoples and American Indians. In or near Etruscan lands anciently, a city known as Atia was once extant. We also find that a nation called the Rhaeti once lived in Etruria. It may be no coincidence the Maoris claim to come from an island in the Pacific with the exact same name.
The Etruscans split up with the Ludbu migrating to south-east Europe, giving their name to the River Ludias. They settled in what we call Albania today, which was named after the land of Alba in Italy where they had originally settled. Langer's famous Encyclopedia of World History maintains that the Etruscans came from Lydia and that the Lydians contributed a marked amount to ancient Italian civilization. Professor Coon in his Living Races of Man mentions that the Etruscan language of ancient northern Italy was from the Indo-Hittite Illyrian tongue which is today represented by the Albanian language. He feels that perhaps they came into Italy via Albania. In any event, he feels certain that they originated in Asia Minor.
Albania
We know that the Albanian language, a modern close relative of the Etruscan, is a branch of the great Indo-European family of languages. Also, in terms of physical anthropology, the Albanians descend from the Illyrian peoples of the Dinaric branch.
They are noted for their large round head, flattened at the back. Historians note that the Albanians descend from the Albanoi tribe of the Illyrians. Today they are divided between the Ghegs in the north and Tosks in the south, separated roughly by the Shkumbian River. These two Albanian tribes comprise 95% of the population, but the remainders are Greeks, Romanians and Bulgarians. Under the former oppressive and terrible Communist regime, ethnic groups “as [sometimes] customary in Socialist countries, are allowed to keep their language and national customs”. A tribe once extant in the region of Albania was the Shoshi, which may have been an Elamite element from the area of Susa in Iran.
The Ghegs and Tosks have certain differences which are apparent: they do not only differ in dress, musical and other cultural customs, but also in human biology. The Tosks have a less Dinaric head form and are generally shorter. In addition, the Tosks also have the same cephalic index as their Epirotes tribe in Greece, just across the border. The tribes of the Tosks are the Myzeqe, Camevia and Laberia. Laberia may be a derivation of Lub or Lud. Dr. Pilkey suggests that the Ghegs descend from the Canaanite Girgashites. The tribes of the Ghegs are the Dukagjin and Maleia. The Tosks look down upon the Ghegs as uncivilized; conversely, the Ghegs regard the Tosks as effeminate and mercenary. One tribe of the Ghegs are the Kosovars who live in the former Serbian province of Kosovo. The Ghegs of Gegs are
“more animated, verbose, and at times rowdier … [they] speak loudly and forcefully, and to outsiders they may even appear angry – gesticulating wildly and even throwing things down on the table when talking … Gegs and Tosks speak somewhat different dialects.”
Anciently, the descendants of the Girgashites were known as the Karkisa or Qaraqisha to the Hittites and Kirkash to the Egyptians when they resided in Asia Minor.
Another branch of Lud is located in the Caucasus region, and known today as the Georgians with the areas of Tskaro and Tskhinvali. The province was known as Gurjistan to the Persians, indicating that it either had or still has some remnants of the descendants of Girgashi dwelling therein. They are also an Alpine/Dinaric people and have the greatest degree of blondism for peoples of that region, other than the Ossetes. It should also be noted that an ancient territory in that area was known as Lubdu or Lubdi. In addition, a kingdom known as the Kingdom of Albania once existed in that region and the area was also known as Iberia. Today Albania's official name is Shqipëri, but it is probably not a derivative of Iperia or Iberia. Rather, Shqipëri means ‘Land of the Eagles’.
The Albanians are also known as the Arben, Arber or Arbëreshë tribes, “Arbëria a being a word akin to Berber or Barber”. Among the Berbers of North Africa today are the Kabyles or Cabyles. Contrary to the dolicocephalicy and mesocephalicy of the Berbers, the Kabyles are brachycephalic, have a white skin and there are many blondes among them. No one really knows for sure where they came from, but historians and anthropologists do acknowledge that there have been migrations from south-east Europe to North Africa and visa versa. Two prophecies in Ezekiel and Jeremiah refer to a branch of the Lydians (Hebrew “Lud”) dwelling in North Africa. Another in Nahum refers to the Lubim in North Africa. Whether the latter refers to Lehabim or the Ludbu one cannot state either way with certainty.
Ammianus Marcellinus mentions a city of Cabyle in Thrace and the tribe of the Chalybes as dwelling in northern Asia Minor, near or in Armenia. While Pliny refers to the tribe of the Cabyleti as dwelling on the banks of the Maritza in Thrace, south-east Europe and the Albani, Chalybes and Armeno-chalybe tribes as dwelling in or near Georgia. In addition we had the town of Chalybon in Syria, the Chalybs River and the Calybes tribe in Spain. Perhaps this tribe descended from Lud too.
Related References
- In Search of ... the Origin of Nations by C.M. White. History Research Projects 2003.
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