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(Ἀμασις; Ámasis). Greek form of the name of two Egyptian kings. [German version] [1] Generally Amosis or Ahmose Generally Amosis or Ahmose, c. 1540/30-1515/05 BC, founder of the 18th dynasty and of the New Kingdom. He completes the expulsion of the  Hyksos, conquers their capital city, Auaris, as well as southern Palestine and Lower Nubia [1. 45-47; 3]. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) [German version] [2] Egyptian king Egyptian Jḥ-msw, 5th ruler of the 26th dynasty (570-526 BC), overthrows his predecessor  Apries, when the latter sends him out to quell a mutin…

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[German version] Part of a granite tablet discovered in 1799 by French soldiers near the settlement of Rosetta (el-Rashid) on the Egyptian Mediterranean coast (now in the British Museum in London), bearing text in three languages. The inscription is a decree regarding the cult of the ruling monarch in the Egyptian temples, passed by a priestly synod in Memphis on 27 March, 196 BC, on the occasion of the coronation of Ptolemaeus [I 8] V Epiphanes and meant to be displayed in all of the country's te…

[German version] (Λευκὴ ἀκτή; Leukḕ aktḗ). ‘White cape’ on the Libyan coast of Egypt, near the small Catabathmus, modern Ras al-Abja (on the Ras al-Kanais, c. 60 km east of Marsa Matruh), mentioned in e.g. Str. 10,489; 17,799; Ptol. 4,5,3. According to POxy. XI,1380,45, Isis was venerated at Leuke Akte as Aphrodite, Muchis and Eseremphis. There was also an oracle sanctuary of Apollo ( Horus). Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) Bibliography H. Kees, s.v. L.A., RE 12, 2261.

[German version] I. Mesopotamia Mesopotamia did not develop a generic term for …

[German version] (Καλάσιρις; Kalásiris).The priest C. is one of the main figures in  Heliodorus' [8] novel Aithiopiká. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) Bibliography H. Kees, s.v. Kalasir…

[German version] Large oasis c. 80 km south-west of Cairo with a lake in the north. Name from Egyptian p-jm (‘the sea’, older names ts̄, ‘lake land’ and š-rsj, ‘southern lake’, Greek ἡ λίμνη ( hē límnē) or Κροκοδιλοπολίτης νομός ( Krokodilopolítēs nomós), from 256/5 onwards Ἀρσινοίτης νομός/ Arsionoḯtēs nomós). The capital city Šdjt ( Arsinoe [III 2]) is mentioned early but it was not until the 12th Dynasty that F. was developed through dam construction, especially under Amenemhet III ( c. 1853-1808) who was still considered a local hero in Roman times. The chief god was always the crocodile god Sobek ( …

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Education / Culture (Θμοῦις/ Thmoûis; Egyptian T-mw(t), 'new-land'), the modern ( Tall) Timay, town neighbouring Mendes in the northeast of the Nile delta; first mentioned in Jos. BI 4,659, but significantly older (cf. archaeological finds [1]; Hdt. 2,166). In the Roman period T. replaced Mendes as district capital; Amm. Marc. 22,16 cites T. among the most significant cities of Egypt. By 250 AD (until the 10th/11th cent.) T. was a bishopric. In the later…

[German version] Town west of Alexandria [1], situated on the southern bank of Lake Mareotis in a famous wine-growing area (Str. 17,799); Egyptian mrt, modern Kaum al-Idrís, regarded in the Egyptian temple lists as in the 3rd district of lower Egypt, in Roman times however itself the capital of the Mareotis. M. is first attested in Hdt. 2,18, where it is stated that the inhabitants felt that they were Libyans. From the beginning of the 26th dynasty to the Persian period, the border garrison against Libya was situated in M. From here came the revolt of the Libyan prince Inarus against Artaxerxes I (463-454 BC; Thuc. 1,1104ff.; Diod. Sic. 11,71ff.). According to Diod. Sic. 1,68, the decisive battle between Apries and Amasis took place at M., but this is doubtful ( Momemphis). In the early Christian period the region was considered especially dangerous because of constant attacks from robbers and bedouins. In th…

[German version] (Πάπρεμις; Pápremis). Capital city of a nome in the western Nile delta, according to Hdt. (2,59; 63) with the cult  of Ares (= Horus?) at whose festival ritual mass battles took place. Hermotybians (Hdt. 2,165) settled in the nome of P., and the hippopotamus was worshipped there (Hdt. 2,71). In 460(?) BC, the Libyan prince Inarus defeated the Persians at P. Neither the etymology of P. nor its exact location have been conclusively established…

[German version] (Τεμένθης/ Teménthēs). Egyptian king, according to Polyaenus, Strat. 7,3 (cf. FGrH 665 F 200) defeated near Memphis by Psammetichos [1] I with the aid of Carian mercenaries. T. is probably a Graecized form of Tanutamani, Egyptian Tnwt-Ymn, throne name B-k-R, the last king of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty (664-656 BC, not in Manetho [1]) and successor of Taracus (Taharqa). In 664 BC, T. reconquered Egypt as far as the Nile Delta, with Necho [1] I being killed. Shortly afterwards T. was driven out by troops of Assurbanipa…

[German version] According to Diod. Sic. 1,60, Ethiopian king who freed Egypt from the rule of one Amasis and founded Rhinocoloura (El-Arish) as a penal colony. Neither his historicity nor his chronological position are certain. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Ber…

[German version] (Egyptian Zm-twy-ty.f-nḫtt). Head of the Egyptian city of Heracleopolis Magna c. 660-630 BC, naval commander and supervisor of Upper Egypt, related to the royal house, an important ally of Psammetichus [1] I when the latter extended his power to Middle and Upper Egypt. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) Bibliography G. Vittmann, Der demotische Papyrus Rylands 9, 1998, 708-713.

[German version] (Νεκρόπολις/ Nekrópolis). In Str. 17,1,10; 14 the name of the extended cemetery district with gardens, tombs and embalming places to the west of the city wall of Alexandria [1], attested from the 3rd cent. BC until the Arab conquest.…

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[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Education / Culture (Σεβεννῦτος/ Sebennŷtos). Town in the central Nile Delta, on the Damiette arm of the Nile, Egyptian Ṯb-nṯr, Assyrian Ṣabnūti, modern Samannūd. As a city (its name was also used to denote the 12th district of Lower Egypt) S. is not recorded before the 8th century BC - …

[German version] (Old Egytpian Jwnyt, later ( T)- Snj). Place in Upper Egypt, c. 60 km south of Luxor on the western bank of the Nile. Named in Greek λάτων (πόλις) after the latus fish, much venerated in cult practice. Today's city E. stands on the old settlement, therefore only the temple (9 m beneath today's level) is accessible. The first reference to E. comes from the 1st intermediate period; E. did not become significant, however, until the New Kingdom as the departure point for a caravan route to Nubia. The principal deity was the ram Chnum ( Chnubis), whose temple is E.'s most significant monument. It was begun under the later Ptolemies (VI/VIII); the hypostyle room, the only part accessible today, dates from the 1st cent. AD and was decorated under the emperors Claudius to Decius (middle of the 1st-middle of the 3rd cent. AD; names of most of the Caesars can still be found). It contains the most recent body of hieroglyphic inscriptions, remarkable for an especially elaborate writing system. In the Christian era E. was a bishopric. It is the birthplace of  Pachomius, …

[German version] Egyptian king of the Eighteenth Dynasty, c. 1333-1323 BC, Egyptian Twt-nḫ-Jmn ('Living Image of Amun'), throne name Nb-ḫprw-R, who ascended the throne while still a child. T. was the son of a king (presumably Amenophis [4] IV = Amenhotep IV); T. married a daughter of Amenophis IV and Nefertiti). The restoration …

[German version] (σχοῖνος/ schoînos, 'rush, reed'), Egyptian measure of length, which according to Hdt. 2,6 corresponds to 60 stadia (Stadion [1]), but according to Str. 17,1,24 and 4, it varied (depending on geographic location) between 30 and 120 stadia. The Egyptian equivalent jtrw represents the distance over which a towing team was able to tow a boat. With local variations, the average is assumed to be 10.5 km. The name schoinos is based on an etymological misinterpretation: through sound change, the Egyptian jtrw assimilated with the word for (i.a.) 'reed' ( jrw). Jansen-Winke…