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(Τάνις; Tánis). [German version] [1] City in the northeast of the Nile Delta This item can be found on the following maps: Egypt City in the northeast of the Nile Delta, Egyptian Ḏn.t, Biblical Zoan, modern (Tell) San el-Hagar, the largest ruin mound in Egypt (177 ha, 30 m high). T. was founded as a residence in place of the abandoned Pi-Ramesses ( c. 20 km to the south) at the beginning of the 21st Dynasty ( c. 1070 BC). Sculptures and other stone from Pi-Ramesses (some of which had already been re-used there) were used for the construction of T. This older building…

[German version] (Σαβάκων/ Sabákōn). First king of the 25th (Nubian) dynasty, Egyptian Šbk­, brother and successor of Pi(anch)i (Pije). In the traditional chronology, his minimally 15-year reign is estimated at c. 716/5 to 702/1 BC. However, since a recently published Assyrian inscription indicates that his successor Sebichus was already king in 706 [1], S. must have ascended the throne in 720 at the latest. In the 2nd year of his reign, S. conquered Egypt and according to Manetho [1] had his adversary Bokchoris burnt ali…

[German version] (Νιτρίαι/ Nitríai). Settlement on the western edge of the Nile delta around 15km to the south of Damanhūr, modern Gabal Barng. The area around N. produced natron. Since Ptolemaic times it is documented in Greek sources (e.g. Str. 17,803; Steph. Byz. s.v. Ν.; Pall. Laus. 7,1 and others). In the 2nd cent. BC it had a Jewish synagogue. Around AD 315, the Coptic abbot Apa Amoun founded a Christian hermitic community in this region, which flourished in the 4th-5th cents. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) Bibliography 1 A. Bernand, Le delta égyptien d'après les textes grecs…

[German version] (λύκων πόλις; lýkōn pólis, ‘wolfs' town’). City on the western bank of the Nile c. 400 km upstream from Cairo, modern Asyūṭ, Egyptian swtj (‘guard’), Assyrian siāutu, capital city of the 13th district of upper Egypt. Because of its position at a narrow stretch of the river, it formed the border of upper Egypt proper and was therefore (and as the point of departure of a caravan road to the western oases) of particular strategic importance. In the 1st Intermediate Period ( c. 2190-1990 BC) it was the main bulwark against the expansion of the Theban rulers northw…

Name of four Pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty, Egyptian Ḏḥwtj-msjw ('Thot is born'). Their chronology is uncertain, as the lengths of the reigns of T. I and II are unknown and T. III's ascent of the throne has been astronomically dated to 1504, 1490 or (most credibly) 1479 BC. [German version] [1] T. I Throne name -ḫpr-k-R, third king of the 18th Dynasty, c. 1496-1482 (only three regnal years are safely attested). T. undertook campaigns to Nubia and Syria as far as the Euphrates, during which the first conflicts with Mittani occured.  He was the first Phar…

(Ταποσῖρις; Taposîris). [German version] [1] Town in the Nile Delta Town in the Nile Delta (modern Abusir), about 50 km to the west of Alexandria [1] between Lake Mareotis and the sea; first recorded in the Ptolemaic period and named after a temple of Osiris (enclosure walls are extant). In the Christian period, a church was incorporated into the temple. Another large church building was discovered outside the area of the town. In addition, there are remains of a lighthouse and of (interior) port installations. T. ( megálē) was probably a transit and customs station for trade a…

[German version] [1] Egyptian city in the eastern Nile delta This item can be found on the following maps: Egypt City in the eastern Nile delta, east of the Damiette arm of the Nile, Egyptian T-rmw, modern Tell Moqdam; one of the largest hills of ruins in the delta. L. is documented from the Middle Kingdom, but the majority of finds and mentions come from the period after the New Kingdom. L. was of great significance in the 3rd intermediate period (1080-714 BC), when it was the residence of a local king. In the Ptolemaic era, L.…

[German version] (Νίτητις/ Nítētis). According to Hdt. 3,1-3 daughter of the Egyptian king Apries; Amasis [2] pretended she was his daughter and gave her in marriage to Cambyses [2]; in response to this deception Cambyses attacked Egypt. In the Egyptian version she was the wife of Cyrus [1] I and Cambyses' mother. Although the name is Egyptian ( Njtt-jj.tj), the princess is not documented in Egyptian sources. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin)

Greek form of the name of two Egyptian kings. [German version] [1] N. I. Local ruler in the western Nile Delta ( Nkw). Local ruler in the western Nile Delta c. 672-664 BC, father of Psammetichus I, the founder of the 26th Dynasty. N. was the only one of the Delta princes to be pardoned by Assurbanipal despite his participation in an anti-Assyrian conspiracy and was reinstalled as ruler in Saïs. According to Hdt. 2,152,3, N. was killed during the Nubians' advance north (probably in 664 under Tanutamun). Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) [German version] [2] N. II. Egyptian king of the 26. …

[German version] (Πανῶν πόλις; Panôn pólis). City in Upper Egypt, on the eastern bank of the Nile, c. 200 km north of Luxor, Egyptian Jpw or Ḫnt-Mnw, from this Greek Χέμμις ( Chémmis; Hdt. 2,91) and the modern name Aḫmīm. The name Πανῶν πόλις or Πανὸς πόλις ( Panòs pólis; 'city of Pan') is based on the identification of the main deity of P., the ithyphallically depicted god of fertility Min, with Greek Pan. Isis and (Min-)Horus were also worshipped in P. and the latter was presumably identified by Hdt. 2,91 with Perseus. The competitions in h…

[German version] [1] Town in Upper Egypt The Greek town called κυνῶν πόλις ( kynôn pólis); ‘town of dogs’; Str. 17,812) was at times the capital city of the 17th nomos of Upper Egypt (κυνοπολίτης; Kynopolítēs) and according to Ptol. 4,5,29 was situated on an island. C. (Egyptian Ḥr-dj) is often mentioned in texts of the New Kingdom and was the cult town of the dog-headed god  Anubis. Under Ramses XI it was destroyed in a civil war. Its exact location is unknown, presumably it was near Sheikh Fadl where a dog cemetery was also found. Plut. De …

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Egypt | India, trade with (Φιλαί/ Philaí, Egyptian P-Jrk, probably a Nubian name). Small island at the southern end of the first Nile cataract, with a famous temple of Isis and a number of smaller sanctuaries. Blocks incorporated in the buildings, which show the names of kings, prove that there was a sanctuary under Taharka (690-664) at the latest, and a temple of Isis from the time of Amasis [2] at the latest. The earliest still visible buildings date…

[German version] (Egyptian mr-wr) is the name of the holy bull of Heliopolis [1], which was worshipped in an animal selected for certain features (black coat, hair against the grain, particularly large testicles). The bull Onouphis (Ὄνουφις; Egyptian Wnn-nfr, a designation of Osiris) described in Ael. NA 12,11 may therefore have been a form of M. Theologically M. was considered the soul ( ba) of the Sun God and its herald (corresponding entirely to the relationship of the apis bull to Ptah). The cow goddess Hesat was regarded as its mother. The name M. is f…

[German version] (Ψάμμουθις; Psámmouthis). Ruler of the 29th dynasty, Egyptian P-š(rj-n) Mwt, rival claimant to the throne of Acoris [2] (presumably 393-392 or 391-390 BC), attested particularly in Thebes. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) Bibliography J. D. Ray, Ps. and Hakoris, in: JEA 72, 1986, 149-156.

[German version] (Θεαδέλφεια; Theadélpheia). Village in the Fayyum to the south of Lake Karun near modern (Baṭn) Ihrīt, founded under Ptolemaeus [3] II c. mid-3rd century BC and known from numerous papyrus finds. The chief deity was a crocodile god worshipped under the name Pnepheros. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) Bibliography 1 A. Calderini, Dizionario, vol. 2, 1977, 240-248; suppl. 1, 1988, 135 f.; suppl. 2, 1996, 66 2 E. Bernand, Recueil des inscriptions grecques du Fayoum, vol. 2, 1981, 1-86.

[German version] (Παθῦρις; Pathŷris). City in Upper Egypt c. 30 km south of Luxor near modern Ǧabalain. The name derived from an old sanctuary to Hathor, Egyptian Pr-Ḥwt-Ḥr ('house of Hathor'), from this also derived the Greek designation Aphroditopolis (Str. 17,1,47). In the pre-Ptolemaic period, P. belonged to the 4th nome of Upper Egypt. Under the Ptolemies, it was the main town in the new nome of Pathyrites. There are numerous Greek and Demotic papyrus finds from a military settlement dating to the 2nd cent. BC. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) Bibliography A. Calderini, s.v. P., Di…

[German version] Name of the first Nile cataract on the border between Egypt and Nubia near  Elephantine, first attested in Hdt. 2,17. The name alludes to the noisy roaring of the water (Cic. Rep. 6,19). Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) Bibliography H. Kees, s.v. Katadupa, RE 10, 2458.

[German version] (Φάκουσ(σ)α/ Phákous(s)a and similar). Town in the north-east of the Nile delta, modern Fāqūs. Its ancient Egyptian name is unknown. P. is not attested until the Ptolemaic period. Str. 17,1,26 describes it - probably incorrectly - as the departure point of a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea (Ptolemaïs [4]). According to Ptol. Geog. 4,5,24, P. was the metropolis of the nome of Arabia. In the Christian period, P. was a diocesan town. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) Bibliography St. Timm, Das christlich-koptische Ägypten in arabischer Zeit, vol. 2, 1984, 923-926.

[German version] Name of the (mostly stone) jugs in which the Egyptians interred entrails, often stored in their own boxes. They came under the protection of four gods (‘Sons of Horus’) and four goddesses ( Isis,  Nephthys,  Neith,  Selcis) and often are inscribed with sayings that correlate the parts of the corpse with the corresponding divinities. From the 1st interim period (2190-1990 BC) the lid of the Canope was mostly shaped like the head of a human, from the 19th dynasty also as heads of th…

[German version] (Μώμεμφις; Mṓmemphis). Town in the north-western Nile delta, according to Str. 17,803 a regional capital in Roman times; centre of a cult of Aphrodite (ibid.; Diod. Sic. 1,97), i.e. the Egyptian Hathor (later also of Isis: POxy XI, 1380, 14f.). According to Herodotus (2,163; 169), the decisive battle between Amasis [2] and Apries took place at M. (and this is supported by Egyptian sources), while Diod. Sic. (1,68) places this at Marea (representing M. as the site of the victory of …