The Pentacle - Timeline

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Timeline | Other information | Bartimaeus' various names

Timeline

3011 B.C.

First summoned in the ancient Sumerian city of Ur. During this time, he irrigated the Fertile Crescent and did planting for the people, none of which he enjoyed. He recounts that before, he had thought his energies could stand anything, but he was worn out by the end of these tasks. This would have been about five hundred years before Ur's golden age. Descriptions of summonings between his first and his summoning by Gilgamesh are vague; it may be that Bartimaeus has trouble remembering them.

Circa 2650 B.C.

Bartimaeus was summoned by the legendary king of Uruk, Gilgamesh, who by all accounts was cruel to his people. Gilgamesh had Bartimaeus distract the demon Humbaba by making wailing wind sounds so that Gilgamesh could sneak up behind and kill him. They cut down the cedar trees in Humbaba's territory, and Bartimaeus was ordered to construct the famous walls of Uruk using these. When Gilgamesh died, he was to be buried under the Euphrates River, and Bartimaeus claims that he was the one who was forced to divert its path to allow for the tomb.

2580-2560 B.C.

Worked on the pyramid of Khufu at Giza for twenty years; probably summoned by Khufu's vizier/architect, Hemon. During the fifteenth year of its construction, part of the pyramid collapsed on top of Bartimaeus. He knew that Faquarl had done it, although he was unable to prove it. As revenge, Bartimaeus waited until much later, when Faquarl was transporting Nubian gold to the pharaoh. Bartimaeus created a sandstorm and scattered the treasure all over the desert. Faquarl spent two whole years finding all the pieces at his angry master's orders.

Circa 2000 B.C.

Bartimaeus encountered the Arcadian king Lycaon's werewolf corps, the first such group in history.

1550 B.C.

The Walls of Jericho, one of Bartimaeus's "first jobs" on the earth, fell, much to Bartimaeus's embarrassment. He doesn't talk about this job much.

Circa 1500 B.C.

Built the walls at the Egyptian site of Karnak, which was a big tourist site of the ancient world. Around the same time, Bartimaeus was in Egypt when Atlantis (described as a Mycenaean outpost on the island of Santorini) sank. Bartimaeus reports that the Atlantean magicians tried to summon a powerful entity without a pentacle and sunk their shining city to the bottom of the ocean. They could feel tremors in Egypt, and Bartimaeus went out with the pharaoh's ships in the aftermath to discover that Atlantis was no more.

1478 B.C.

Bartimaeus was summoned with what he calls the most formidable army of spirits ever seen at the orders of Tuthmosis III. (He was probably talking about the Battle of Megiddo, where Tuthmosis fought the Canaanites, who had revolted against him.) He claimed that he was the most notable of the djinn in this army.

1475 B.C.

Built "Cleopatra's Needle" at Heliopolis on the instructions of Tuthmosis III.

Circa 1352 B.C.

Was summoned by the priests of the pharaoh Akhenaten. He was employed during this time to bring Nefertiti an ankle bracelet which forced her husband to obey her. He was apparently very familiar with them, and even perhaps a bit fond of the couple.

1336 B.C.

Assassinated Akhenaten. Nefertiti "never forgave" Bartimaeus, for which Bartimaeus was perhaps slightly regretful, but he blamed it all on the high priests of Ra who gave him the orders.

1274 B.C.

Bartimaeus fought under Rameses II at the Battle of Qadesh between the Egyptians and Hittites. Rameses decided to attack the Hittite empire. He believed the enemy army to be miles away, but when two spies were caught and beaten, he found out at the last minute that his enemy was close and he was unprepared. The Hittites called up on utukku to do their fighting, and although the battle officially ended in a draw, the Egyptians suffered more losses than the Hittites, and the city of Qadesh remained in Hittite hands. Rameses II was one of Bartimaeus's least favorite masters in all history. He describes him as a despicable and annoying man with an overlarge ego. Rameses II had many grand building projects, and it's likely that Bartimaeus was forced to work on several, perhaps including Abu Simbel and the Ramesseum.

Circa 1250 B.C.

Was in Egypt during the fall of Troy, which apparently irritates him, as he wants to prove that Faquarl didn't really come up with the Trojan horse idea, as Faquarl claims.

Circa 1175 B.C.

Bartimaeus claims to have hunted the Sea Peoples in the company of kings, probably Rameses III at this time.

Circa 950 B.C.

Was one of the spirits employed by King Solomon. He considered Solomon to be prissy and unbearable, but admits that he got a lot of days off, as Solomon could control 20,000 spirits using his magic ring. Bartimaeus frequently bragged about having conversations with Solomon, implying to others that he was a confidant of his, but later confesses to Kitty Jones that it was "just a brief chat." Elsewhere it is hinted that this chat included mention of Faquarl. At some point, one of Solomon's rivals instructed Bartimaeus to steal the ring and throw it into the sea, which he did after tricking one of Solomon's wives into giving it to him by demanding it in Solomon's form while she was holding it. He claims that only fast talking saved his life. This incident has been historically recorded, where Bartimaeus was referred to by the name Sakhr, so we can believe this. Solomon was already familiar with him, as he had been "indispensable" in building a temple of Jerusalem. According to the historical texts, Sakhr ruled for forty days in the king's absence while Solomon wandered in poverty trying to find the ring. Then a fisherman returned the ring to Solomon, and Solomon punished Bartimaeus by forcing him to build a mosque.

Circa 880 B.C.

Bartimaeus had some experience in Nimrud, at this time the capital of Assyria, where he witnessed djinn in the form of sphinxes asking travelers riddles. They were picky about the way the answer was given, and often devoured the answerer.

Circa 700 B.C.

Bartimaeus was sent by Babylonians to poison Sennacherib of Nineveh. He was stopped by Faquarl, who was working in the kitchen. Bartimaeus escaped after "the mother of all food fights" by hitting him with a large hambone, and his relationship with Faquarl generally went downhill after this. At some point around this time, he also fought under Egyptians at battle of Al-Arish, where the Assyrians raised utukku. Bartimaeus was made unpopular among the utukku for killing so many that day. The battle was so great that the sand was clogged red with blood for two square miles.

612 B.C.

Fought at the Battle of Nineveh between the Assyrians and Medes, probably on the Assyrian side. He encountered the spirit Nouda for the first time here and witnessed him devour a thousand Medes. Nouda, however, probably was never aware of Bartimaeus's existence until A.D. 2004.

Circa 600 B.C.

Helped build the Hanging Gardens of Babylon for Nebuchadnezzar II. The gardens were later destroyed by a misused talisman.

Circa 400 B.C.

Bartimaeus was one of the workers who built the Parthenon. The magician Phidias called the marid Atlas to supervise the construction. When the foundation was found to be faulty, Phidias was enraged that Atlas had botched the job, and sentenced him to spend the rest of eternity holding the building on his shoulders.

331 B.C.

Bartimaeus was present at the battle of Persepolis between the armies of Alexander the Great and the Persian ruler Darius. Darius's magicians summoned Nouda, who left the city in ruins and destroyed Darius's army.

285 B.C.

Bartimaeus was summoned to work on the Pharos Lighthouse near Alexandria. He claims it was later destroyed by a misused talisman.

Circa 250 B.C.

Knew the Greek mathematician Archimedes; apparently gave him advice.

238 B.C.

Saw the fall of the Persian Empire at the hands of Parthia and Rome.

146 B.C.

Witnessed the fall of Carthage, working for the Roman general Scipio Aemilianus Africanus. This was where he first met the afrit Naeryan.

127 B.C.

Summoned by twelve-year-old Ptolemaeus (Ptolemy) of Alexandria, who wishes to ask him questions about the Other Place. Ptolemy was described as the nephew of the king, probably Ptolemy VIII Psychon, and cousin to Ptolemy IX Lathyros. Over the next two years, Bartimaeus and Ptolemy develop an intense friendship, owing mostly to Ptolemy being highly unusual and refusing to punish the spirits he raised, and trusting them instead of ordering them to protect him. Ptolemy allowed him unprecedented freedoms, and once even gave him an entire week to explore the world on his own, traveling as far as the Fezzan Oasis of Libya, the Hejaz Deserts of Saudi Arabia, and Axum of Ethiopia. Apparently as a mark of respect, Ptolemy never referred to Bartimaeus by his true name, the name that gave him his power over the djinni. He addressed him as Rekhyt, which means lapwing in the Egyptian language, and was a symbol of slavery. Bartimaeus confesses later that he'd have "thrown himself in a pit of fire" for Ptolemy.

125 B.C.

At Ptolmey's request, Bartimaeus fought in the Egyptian army on his behalf. He fought in the Barbary Coast, then against the Bedouins in Thebes, and when they were attacked on the return march he trapped Jabor by collapsing a cave on him before going on to fight the hill people of the lower Nile in the Battle of the Cataracts. Ptolemy's writings on the Other Place are almost complete at this point, but he wished to go to the Other Place himself. He created Ptolemy's Gate, a method of reversing the summons process, and asked Bartimaeus to be his guide there. But Ptolemy's body deteriorated severely on his return to his own world, and he was assassinated by his cousin, who considered him a rival to the throne, soon after. Before he died, Ptolemy dismissed Bartimaeus to save the djinni's life. Bartimaeus wore Ptolemy's guise from then on, admitting that he loved him and was pleased to remember him in this way. Of Ptolemy's writings on the Other Place, only fragments remained. Part of it had never been written, more was dropped in the street during Ptolemy's assassination, and more was lost in the earthquake and fire that later occurred at Alexandria's library. The remnants, called the Apocrypha, are considered to be a idealistic work of fiction by most magicians. Ptolemy had hoped for a future where spirits and humans would work as equals, and it was apparently painful for Bartimaeus knowing that his master's work had all been in vain.

Circa 50 B.C.

Bartimaeus was probably somehow involved with the Circus Maximus, where he met a Vestal Virgin named Julia who liked to bet on the horse races.

72-80 A.D.

Bartimaeus worked on building the Colosseum, and later witnessed some events held there, perhaps even served as a gladiator. Naeryan was apparently one of the afrits called upon to fight in the shows.

410 A.D.

Was fighting on the Roman side during the Sack of Rome. Recounts that the Germanic tribes destroyed the pentacles to prevent spirits from being called, and that the Roman magicians were having trouble keeping control over the people, who were developing resistance. It was probably during this battle that Bartimaeus hid in a catacomb to avoid being killed. He was discovered by Faquarl and the foliots Frisp and Pollux. The foliots later told the story to some imps they knew, and Bartimaeus killed them all over the course of a day in a variety of ways to avoid the story getting out. He could not kill Faquarl, however, and it is implied that Faquarl frequently joked about the incident, though Bartimaeus steadfastly maintained that he was protecting it from the Romans' enemies, who may have used it as a hideout.

Circa 500-600 A.D.

Bartimaeus spent the majority of this century in a sesame oil jar floating in the Red Sea. He never revealed how he got there, but we can imagine he irritated one of his masters and was subsequently imprisoned. Eventually, an old fisherman accidentally saved him by finding the bottle and opening it. He was so startled by Bartimaeus that he died of a heart attack.

627 A.D.

Bartimaeus fought at the second Battle of Nineveh against the Persians under the Byzantine emperor Heraclius. Heraclius won this battle.

Circa 800 A.D.

Was probably in Baghdad when Asmoral the Resolute refused to destroy the djinni Ianna. Asmoral and his master were killed when part of the suburb was blown away from the magical reactions of his resisting a direct order.

1173 A.D.

Bartimaeus worked on the Leaning Tower of Pisa. He tried to give advice to the architects, but was ignored. He blames this for the tower's leaning position.

Circa 1200 A.D.

Bartimaeus was mostly in North America during this time, probably serving the Iroquois or Algonquians, with some experience in the plains as well. He apparently liked the shamans of North America because they operated differently from the magicians, and he preferred the open land to cities.

1227 A.D.

Bartimaeus and Faquarl killed Genghis Khan by putting poisoned grapes in his tent. Probably encountered Chinese magicians around this time, which is why he at one point recalls that he'd heard of Chinese magicians trying to ride clouds using magic.

1357 A.D.

Was one of nine djinn to work on the Stone Bridge in Prague (later renamed the Charles Bridge). They built it in one night, and drew straws to decide which one would be entombed in it. The djinni Humphrey was entombed in its foundations, but Bartimaeus and the others gave him a pack of cards to entertain himself with.

1399 A.D.

Present at the Sack of Delhi in India. He again encountered Nouda here, when Nouda was summoned by Timur. Nouda killed most of the natives of the city. It may have been here that Bartimaeus became familiar with the legendary rocs that lived on the Indian Ocean.

1495 A.D.

Caught at least a glimpse of Leonardo Da Vinci painting on a wall, probably The Last Supper at Santa Maria delle Grazie at Milan, Italy.

Circa 1500 A.D.

Bartimaeus reports that at this time he was in the general vicinity of Sheba, and that it was the last time he had been there.

1521 A.D.

Was probably present at the fall of Tenochtitlan. He seemed familiar with Nouda's history there, especially this time period, and suggested that he had enough experience with the Aztecs that he had been taught the ball game tlachtli.

Circa 1540 A.D.

Knew the unfortunate magician Johann Faust, who died after apparently letting his birth name slip to a demon. Although Bartimaeus seemed familiar with his fate, he has never implied that he was the one to discover Faust's birth name.

Circa 1550 A.D.

Knew Hiawatha around this time.

1566 A.D.

Was summoned by Tycho Brahe, who had lost his nose in a duel. Bartimaeus was instructed to fashion him a new one made of gold, and he did such a good job that he and Tycho became friends. He said that Tycho was the least offensive of his masters, perhaps because instead of sending him on missions, he mainly summoned him to have an occasional conversation. Tycho and Bartimaeus later made a bet: If Bartimaeus could jump the Vltava River on a given day, he was free to do as he wished with Tycho. On the day that Tycho summoned him to perform the task, the banks were swollen from flooding and Bartimaeus landed in the water. He said that Tycho "laughed so hard that his nose came off."

Circa 1583 A.D.

Bartimaeus supervised the building of the walls of Prague. Foliots working under him were constantly crumbling to dust at the sound of church bells, and on festival days, Bartimaeus used imps with dustpans to clean up the mess they made. He was very proud of the walls, and often makes it sound as if he built them single-handedly, though he later admits that he didn't really do much of the work and left it to his subordinates while he relaxed elsewhere.

Circa 1600 A.D.

Present when Judah Loew ben Bezalel raised the first golem in Prague to protect the Jews against attack. It was constructed from the clay of the Vltava River and later used by other Czech magicians as a weapon.

1622 A.D.

Bartimaeus was at Heidelberg with Faquarl, where Bartimaeus struck Faquarl with a Convulsion in the back. Thought Bartimaeus mentions that it happened in "'thirty-two" with no specification of what century, he may have been a little confused about the decade and this is the most likely date that there would have been a battle there. Bartimaeus probably served Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, who died in 1632, which could have created the confusion.

1629 A.D.

Watched the fall of Great Zimbabwe, where it's hinted he had already spent quite some time. At this site, he and Faquarl had a discussion about how spirits last longer than humans. Bartimaeus says that the citadel of the city was destroyed by a talisman, and that the jackals fed on the people in the aftermath of the civilizations' fall.

1868 A.D.

Was the servant of an advisor to the Holy Roman Emperor in Prague. William Gladstone was leading a British army against the nearly defenseless Czechs (the army was on strike); the walls of Prague were penetrated. Bartimaeus and Queezle were ordered to help the Emperor escape the city. When cornered by one of Gladstone's afrits (possibly Honorius), their master was killed and they barely escaped. Prague fell to Britain.

Circa 1916 A.D.

Fought for a Czech master in World War I. Bartimaeus was instructed to steal plans from the British army, and snuck into the camp by driving an ambulance. He was such a terrible driver that he was constantly knocking people over on the way and had to put them in the ambulance. When he arrived at the camp, he let the British take the wounded to the hospital, then stole the plans and left. It is not suggested that he had any further involvement with this particular war.

1999 A.D.

The Amulet of Samarkand

2001 A.D.

The Golem's Eye

2001-2004 A.D.

Served John Mandrake in the Case of the Afrit, the Envelope, and the Ambassador's Wife; the Affair of the Curiously Heavy Trunk, and the Episode of the Anarchist and the Oyster, all in which Mandrake nearly died. Mandrake winces if the last incident is brought up, while Bartimaeus confesses that it was "messy."

2004 A.D.

Ptolemy's Gate

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Other information

• He once built a glass castle for a Persian magician, who was fried as soon as the sun came up.
• Bartimaeus was very familiar with the assassin sect that came for Ptolemy and from which Verroq came. He may have once worked for them, as he describes the headquarters briefly.
• Bartimaeus had some experience in both Athens and Sparta, and once referred to Faquarl as the "Scourge of the Aegean."
• At some point working in the Kalahari, Bartimaeus defeated Tchue, a powerful afrit.
• While with the Aztecs, Bartimaeus claims to have defeated Tlaloc of Tollan.
• Hoepo the Thunder Snake supposedly ate his own tail trying to get away from Bartimaeus.
• Bartimaeus once annoyed a master so much that he was imprisoned in a jar of strawberry jam. Later that day he was released by accident when the magician's apprentice opened the jar at a meal.
• Bartimaeus served the magicians Hauser and Zarbustibal, who are entirely fictitious in the real world.

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Names

Bartimaeus has used all of these names:

• Bartimaeus

  His true name. Bartimae originally Aramaic name that means "son of Timae." It was Latinized to become Bartimaeus. It is also the name of a blind man healed by Jesus in the Bible.

• Necho of Jerusalem

  Necho is the Greek name of two Egyptian pharaohs. The original form is "Nekau." No translation can be found.

• Nectanebo

  Nectanebo is the name of two Egyptian pharaohs, the second of whom was the last native Egyptian to rule as pharaoh. The name means "strong is his Lord" in ancient Egyptian.

• N'gorso the Mighty

  No translation can be found, but it may be the name he used in Zimbabwe.

• Rekhyt of Alexandria

  Mainly used during Bartimaeus's time with Ptolemy, and possibly only by Ptolemy. Rekhyt means "lapwing" in ancient Egyptian and was a well-known symbol of slavery.

• Sakhr al-Jinni of Al-Arish-Sakhr

  Means "solid rock" in Arabic, and Al-Arish was an Egyptian city. This may be Bartimaeus's best-known name.

• Serpent of the Silver Plumes

  Used in the Yucatan and Aztec areas.

• Wakonda of the Algonquin

  Wakonda is a Kanza word which means "Great Spirit."

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