Rama, Ancient City of Seven Hills, in the Mediterranean World, near Jerusalem

To those who might consider it ludicrous to suggest that Roma was actually known as Rama in Etruscan times, I posit the following fact. There still exists a city today even older than Rome that is probably named after Rama. It is called Ramallah, located in the central West Bank of Palestine, corresponding exactly with Ramah on the ancient maps (2000-1000 B.C.) in The Historical Atlas of Judaism (see pages 25, 37, & 53 of this book by Dr. Ian Barnes). Rama-Allah is a concatenation of two separate terms: the Aramaic/Hebrew word Ramah and the Arabic word Allah, which can be translated as "Rama (is) God". In Sanskrit, Allah (allA) means mother and Arabians may have venerated this divine name (even before the advent of Islam), as it represented the creator or mother of this universe. As a noun, Ramah connotes a high place (e.g. plateau) on a mountain or hill in Aramaic or Hebrew lexicon. As an adjective, Ramah means lofty, exalted, or tall, according to multiple sources including:
http://eteacherhebrew.com/Hebrew-Names/rama

Modern map displaying walking distance from Ramallah to Bethlehem
via Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh

Ramah (Ramallah), Jerusalem, Beth-shemesh (Beit Shemesh), Bethlehem
Kingdom of Saul, circa 1000 B.C. 
Historical Atlas of Judaism, map on page 53 

The Christian Holy Bible acknowledges the same truth.
Matthew 2:18
"A voice was heard in Ramah, with lamentation, weeping and great mourning. Rachel weeps for her children; she cannot be comforted, because they are no more."


Albert Barnes' Notes on this verse:
"Rama was a small town in the tribe of Benjamin. Rachel was the mother of Benjamin, and was buried near to Bethlehem (modern-day Ramat Rachel), according to Genesis 35:16-19. Rama was about 6 miles northwest of Jerusalem, near Bethel, and was some 10 or 12 miles from Bethlehem. The name Rama signifies an eminence, and was given to the town because it was situated on a hill." (http://www.studylight.org/commentary/matthew/2-18.html)

More revealing is Adam Clarke's commentary about Rachel, where he nonchalantly admits her potential Vedic lineage: "This mourning may refer to cases far from uncommon in the East, where all the children have been massacred. The lamentations of a Hindoo mother for her child are loud and piercing; and it is almost impossible to conceive of a scene more truly heart-rending than that of a whole town of such mothers wailing over their massacred children."

This indicates that Rama may have been a Hindu city (although unlikely) before Jewish, Christian, and Muslim conquests. Adam Clarke, a British theologian and Biblical scholar of the 18th century who must have been biased against pagan or foreign religions, nonetheless could not gloss over this possible truth. Most likely, he was referring to the fact that Rama is a term common to both Indian and Semitic cultures, with a positive connotation in each region.

An American missionary commented after visiting Rama in 1824: 
'It is about two hours distant from Jerusalem to the northwest, on an eminence commanding a view of a wide extent of beautiful diversified country... Some of the Psalms seem to have been composed in some place which commanded a view of the Mediterranean; and this is the only place, I believe, in the vicinity of Jerusalem that affords such a view.' Rome and Jerusalem each share the famous distinction of a city built on seven hills, and both offer views of the Mediterranean Sea. The name Rama is associated with great heights, because the hero of the Ramayana overcame impossible obstacles to defeat his enemy Ravana. It is his lofty and exalted status as a God that inspired this universal word.

Ramallah sits on the crest or peak of the Judaean Mountains (also known as Judaean Hills) at an altitude of 2,861 feet (872 metres), according to Encyclopedia Britannica. This mountain range (Harei Yehuda in Hebrew) surrounds residents of many biblical cities including Ramallah, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Hebron. Judah (transliterated as Yehudah), who is the fourth son of Israel's patriarch Jacob, could be distantly related to king Yadu, ancestor of Krishna. The Yadava clan and Tribe of Judah would thus make an unexpected but not impossible pairing, as Vedic civilization's glory inspired many European and Near Eastern cultures - Iran (Zoroastrianism), Greece, and Etruria, to name a few. Not surprisingly the online etymology dictionary states without further explanation that Yehudah comes from the stem of y-d-h, meaning "praised." The phrase "Harei Yehuda" is akin to "Hare Krishna" in its reverential address to the Almighty and his potency. Great mountains ("Of immovable things I am the Himalayas," Bhagavad Gita 10.25) represent God's power or towering capacity over that of earthly species. How else could Lord Krishna have lifted Govardhan hill with one finger!

The next quote from Barnes' notes implies that Rama must have evolved from a small town into another powerful city in Canaan:
"Rama was once a strongly fortified city, but there is no city here at present. A half-ruined Muslim mosque, which was originally a Christian church, stands over the tomb of the prophet; besides which, a few miserable dwellings are the only buildings that remain on this once-celebrated spot."

Since the Etruscans traded heavily with Phoenicians and Greeks, who in turn traded with the Near East, ancient Italians must have known about this famous city located in Judea. They were also quite familiar with the story of the Ramayana as we will demonstrate in later posts. It is well-known that Rome was founded around the Orientalizing period in Etruria, when Eastern beliefs and motifs were flourishing in Greek and Etruscan art. Persia, Arabia, and the Near East were the conduits between Indian civilization and Europe (for example, see Arabic-Hindu numerals). Thus it is quite possible that Rome (Roma in Italian) was initially named Rama, an ancient city of seven hills. Even in India today, Thiruvanantapuram (City of Lord Ananta or Vishnu) is claimed to be built on seven hills. Since Rama is an incarnation of Vishnu, this concept of naming a great city with many hills or mountains after an important deity is nothing new to Hinduism.

Ponmudi Hill Station outside the city of Thiruvanantapuram, at elevation of 1100 metres 

The origins of the so-called Arabic word "Ramadan", which in Sanskrit would either mean "Giving Oneself to Rama" (Rama-Dhana) or "Meditating on Rama" (Rama-Dhyana), are hazy to say the least. One dubious source (Wiktionary) tells us it derives from Arabic Irtamada ("to be consumed by grief and sorrow") and others (e.g. Wikipedia) give us Ramida or Ar-Ramad ("scorching heat or dryness") as its correct etymology. How do these definitions have anything to do with the purpose of Ramadan? 

Oxford Dictionaries adds:
"The lunar reckoning of the Muslim calendar brings the fast eleven days earlier each year, eventually causing Ramadan to occur in any season; originally it was supposed to be in one of the hot months." 

Therefore this association of Ramadan as a month with "scorching heat" should not be taken at face value. It may be that in Arabia they typically fasted in warm or hot weather and stayed inside the home. But this is not a satisfactory explanation for the appellation given to the fast (or the fasting month) itself. In my opinion Rama was an important "pagan" deity throughout the Middle East.

The above evidence does not prove anything definitively by itself, but certainly provides a strong clue that justifies the adoption of a tentative hypothesis - that Roma, Italy was indeed called Rama in ancient times - and provides the motivation for exploring all the research works for empirical evidence supporting this hypothesis. What we find after exhaustive study would clearly prove that this deserves to be called a scientific theory and even an accepted fact. This blog is meant for the purpose of sharing some of the unmistakeable traces of Vedic religion in Etruscan and Roman polytheism, thus leading to our main conclusion: Roma, the Eternal City is Rama, the Universal Deity.

Below is another preview of such traces:

The picture above is taken from Nigel Spivey's book Etruscan Art. The author is unable to identify it as the classic episode of the Golden Deer where Rama and Lakshman are distracted (top) while Ravana abducts Sita (bottom) after approaching her in the guise of a brahmana (note the typical long beard and hair). These two scenes are depicted on opposite sides of the same water jar (hydria). I will discuss this piece of evidence in greater depth in a later post.

"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer