9 Guinness Records that Show the Middle East Is the Cradle of the World

Egypt is famous for having invented the first alphabet and the pyramids, but did you know they hold the Guinness record for the first labor strike? From the obvious to the staggering, BarakaBits has made a list of the inventions, milestones and social conquests that made a mark in history –and laid foundations for generations to come.

1. First peace treaty. Drawn up in 1271BC, the earliest known surviving peace treaty was signed by the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II and Hattusilis III, King of the Hittites. In the treaty, both parties not only agreed to end years of warring between Egypt and Hatti (in present-day Turkey), but also to a mutual alliance in the event of foreign or domestic aggression.

2. First recorded strike. Held in ancient Egypt on 14 November 1152 BC, the first strike in history occurred when the artisans of the Royal Necropolis at Deir el-Medina organised an uprising, under the rule of Pharaoh Ramses III. The strike was recorded in detail on a papyrus.

3. First evidence of organised running. Ancient Egyptians also pioneered at racing. The earliest evidence of organised running was at Memphis, Egypt in 3800 BC.

4. First aerial bombardment by aeroplane. It´s not  all ancient history in the Middle East. The first time that bombs were dropped from an aeroplane in an air raid occurred on 1 November 1911 during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911-12. Prior to this, bombs were likely to have been dropped from balloons.

5. First fully documented war and first use of written propaganda. During the Battle of Kadesh, fought in Syria in 1275 BC, Egyptians under pharaoh Ramses II fought against the Hittites. Although the Egyptians lost the battle, their depictions claimed a different turnout. Known as the “Poem”, an epic inscription and numerous reliefs in the temple known as the “Ramessium” claimed their victory in the battle, marking the first known instance of written propaganda.

6. Oldest mine. The oldest mine in the world is the chert (silica) mine at Nazlet Sabaha, Garb, Egypt. It is estimated to have first been in use around 100,000 years ago.

7. First alphabet. The earliest known example of an alphabet, conceived as a writing system in which a small number of symbols are used to represent single sounds rather than concepts, dates back to around 1900 BC and was found carved into limestone in Wadi el Hol near Luxor in Egypt.

8. Oldest mummy. Mummification dates from 2600BC or the 4th dynasty of the Egyptian pharaohs. The oldest complete mummy is of Wati, a court musician of c. 2400BC from the tomb of Nefer in Saqqâra, Egypt, found in 1944.

9. Oldest pyramid. The Djoser Step Pyramid at Saqqara, in Egypt was constructed by Imhotep in 2630 BC to a height of 62 meters. For many years, this was considered to be the world’s earliest pyramid, but recently, however, archaeologists discovered that similar structures were being built at around the same time in the Supe Valley, on the west coast of Peru. According to Guinness Records, the early settlement is widely believed to be the first city in the Americas, although the difficulties in dating ancient monuments has made it impossible to say for certain whether its pyramids pre-date the one at Saqqara.

For more information: Visit the Guinness World Records website.