Ancient Egypt’s Osirian (Ausarian) Revolution is the first big Revolution in world History and marked a significant evolution of Kemetic Spirituality in the history of the Nile Valley Civilization of the Ancient Egyptians of Kemet.
This first big Revolution in world history occurred in the Nile Valley towards the end of Egypt’s First Golden Pyramid Age also referred to as the Old Kingdom.
Origins and Causes Of The World’s First Big Revolution
The origins and causes of the world’s first big Revolution were rooted in the fact that from the days of Pre-Dynastic Egypt and into the Old Kingdom (1st– 6th Dynasties), only Kings in Egypt were regarded as Divine with the afterlife being the exclusive right of Kings to which Commoners were not entitled.
In this regard, The Pyramids Texts were clear when they stated that the Pharaoh:
“You enter the gates of heaven – That people are not allowed”.
However, the seeds of the Osirian Revolution that would lead to the world’s first big revolt were sown in the year 4241 BC when the Sirius star rose at the same time as the Sun symbolised by the Egyptian Neter Deity, RA.
This observation led to a more accurate Solar Calendar which now included the previously absent Quarter of a day in the Solar year which allowed the Ancient Egyptians to time the flooding of the Nile River more accurately than they did when they relied on a Lunar Calendar.
As a result, the Cult and Priests of RA were highly elevated and the figure of Osiris who was one of the original Deities of the RA Cult also began to spread in popularity.
Egypt’s Political & Economic Challenges & The Osirian Revolution
The turning point that would lead to the rise of Osiris (Ausar) and the world’s first big Revolution would be the large Commoner revolt that occurred because of the deterioration in Administrative standards causing widespread inequality and poverty amongst the Egyptian population.
According to Chiekh Anta Diop in Civilization Or Barbarism, the main reason for this situation was Ancient Egypt’s Economy which was organised along a classical Ancient World system of Economic Organisation which Karl Marx called The Asiatic Mode Of Production (AMP).
This model would lead to the outbreak of the world’s first big Revolution in Ancient Egypt because the Kings owned all the land with most people being dependant on the State for their Provisions, Defence and Survival in exchange for their Labour.
Diop contends that this is why Ancient Egypt was able to produce such a large surplus and have the labour to conduct massive building projects such as the Pyramids because although Egypt was not a Slave State, the Asiatic Mode Of Production ensured that there was a massive pool of labour available at very little cost.
Eventually this system would reach its limits as internal strife amongst the Priest Cults was coupled with complaints of corruption, deprivation and tyranny from the Commoners.
As a result, the people of Ancient Egypt initiated the Osirian Revolt which heightened to become the world’s first big Revolt from the 4th to the 6th Dynasties of the Old Kingdom.
During the period of the Osirian Revolution, Osiris (Ausar) evolved as a symbolic Messianic figure who sympathised with the suffering of Commoners in the spirit of resisting the tyranny of the Kings and the Nobles of Ancient Egypt.
The outcome of the world’s first big revolt was that Ausar was elevated to the Divine Council of Gods in Theological Texts like the Ennead in order to accommodate his new Status as custodian of the authentic Spirit of the Pre-Dynastic people that created Ancient Egypt’s First Dynasty.
As a result of the world’s first big revolution in Ancient Egypt, Commoners through Ausar (Osiris) could now also partake in the afterlife like the Kings, and Coffin Texts such as The Egyptian Book Of The Dead were published then placed in the coffins of Commoners to assist them in their journey to the afterlife, thereby replacing the Old Kingdom Pyramid Texts which guided only the Pharaohs to the afterlife.
Conclusion
In the aftermath of the world’s first big revolt initiated by the Nile Valley Civilization Ancient Egyptians of Kemet, the privilege of Funerary Afterlife Texts initially reserved for the Pharaohs at Tombs like Saqqara were extended through the Ausarian Religion to include Commoners who could now navigate the Afterlife using Coffin Texts such as the Egyptian Book of the Dead.
The Ausarian (Osirian) Revolution therefore represents the world’s first big revolution against any Central authority in the fight for what can best be described as ‘Spiritual Democracy’ because of the importance of Spirituality to the Social Paradigm of the Ancient Egyptians thus demonstrating the important contributions of Pre-Colonial Africa to World Civilization.
PDF Download: Osirian Revolution
