The Last King of Afghanistan
The last king of Afghanistan, Mohammad Zahir Shah, was out hunting in the rugged mountains of the Hindu Kush when their party came upon a large site of crumbling ancient ruins. They had stumbled across one of the settlements established by Alexander the Great circa 330 BC as he surged east near the end of his amazing reign of conquest.
The abandoned city of Ai-Khanoum once hosted a 6000-seat amphitheater, an agora, a gymnasium, and temples, but now merely ruins. The remnants of Alexander’s passage have crumbled.
Their exploration of the site revealed a cemetery marker containing several inscriptions in Greek listing maxims of the Oracle of Delphi. Perhaps the most famous of these warnings has been translated as “Know thyself”.
Perhaps one of the best interpretations comes from American author, Maya Johnson who suggested:
“If we do not know where we come from, we will not know where we are going.”
Her words resonate most strongly for genealogists who spend countless hours trying to figure out “where we come from”. Who were our ancestors? Where did they live? What did they accomplish in their lifetime? What world events did they endure?
Join the journey of discovery that genealogy provides to help you and your family understand “where we come from”. Join your local genealogical society to learn more and to learn how to research your family’s past. The journey of discovery of others will amaze you and encourage you to take your own travel into your family past.
Ron Gilmore
Email: rvg3@me.com
Website: https://rgenealogy.ca