Ancient Egypt’s Osirian (Ausarian) Revolution which resulted in the rise of the Ausarian Religion is the first Revolution in world History.
The Osirian Revolution occurred towards the end of Egypt’s First Golden Pyramid Age also referred to as the Old Kingdom.
Origins and Causes Of The Osirian (Ausarian) Revolution
The origins and causes of the world’s first 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 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.
Political & Economic Challenges During Egypt’s Old Kingdom & The Osirian Revolution
The turning point that would lead to the rise of Osiris (Ausar) and the Osirian Revolution would be the widespread 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 state of affairs was Ancient Egypt’s Economy which was organised along a classical Ancient World system of Economic Organization which Karl Marx called The Asiatic Mode Of Production (AMP).
This model would lead to the outbreak of the world’s first Revolution in Ancient Egypt’s Osirian (Ausarian) Revolution 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 tirrany from the Commoners.
As a result, the people of Ancient Egypt initiated the Osirian Revolt which heightened to become the world’s first Revolution 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 this Osirian Rebellion is that the Ausarian Religion was elevated and the Divine Council of Gods was changed from 5 to 9 Deities in Theological Texts like the Ennead and Metu Neter Oracle in order to accomodate the new status of Ausar (Osiris) as custodian of the authentic Spirit of the Pre-Dynastic people that created Ancient Egypt’s First Dynasty.
As a result, 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 Ausarian Revolution, the priviledge of Funerary Afterlife Texts intially reserved for the Pharaohs at Tombs like Saqqara were extended through the Ausarian Religion to the ordinary people who also gained the right to the Afterlife when the Pharaohnic Tomb Funerary Texts were converted to Coffin Texts such as the Egyptian Book of the Dead and placed in coffins of ordinary Egyptian Citizens who could now also access the Afterlife like the Pharaohs.
The Ausarian (Osirian) Revolution therefore represents the first Mass Movement Rebellion in world History 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.
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