Upper Egypt

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Upper Egypt

ⲙⲁⲣⲏⲥ (Coptic)
ta shemaw[1] (Egyptian)
Άνω Αίγυπτος (Greek)
صعيد مصر (Arabic)
الصعيد (Egyptian Arabic)
Aegyptus superior (Latin)
Unknown–c. 3150 BC
Map of Upper Egypt showing important sites that were occupied during Naqada III (clickable map)
CapitalThinis
Common languagesAncient Egyptian
Religion
Ancient Egyptian religion
GovernmentMonarchy
Pharaoh 
• Unknown
Unknown (first)
• c. 3150 BC
Narmer (last)
History 
• Established
Unknown
• Disestablished
c. 3150 BC
Succeeded by
Early Dynastic Period (Egypt)
Today part of Egypt

Upper Egypt (Arabic: صعيد مصرṢaʿīd Miṣr, shortened to الصعيد Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [es.sˤe.ˈʕiːd], locally: [es.sˤɑ.ˈʕiːd], Coptic: ⲙⲁⲣⲏⲥ) is the strip of land on both sides of the Nile that extends between Nubia and downriver (northwards) to Lower Egypt. It is the southernmost portion of Egypt.

Geography[edit]

Upper Egypt is between the Cataracts of the Nile above modern-day Aswan, downriver (northwards) to the area of El-Ayait,[2] which places modern-day Cairo in Lower Egypt. The northern (downriver) part of Upper Egypt, between Sohag and El-Ayait, is also known as Middle Egypt.

In Arabic, inhabitants of Upper Egypt are known as Sa'idis and they generally speak Sai'idi Egyptian Arabic.

In ancient Egypt, Upper Egypt was known as tꜣ šmꜣw,[3] literally "the Land of Reeds" or "the Sedgeland"[4] It was divided into twenty-two districts called nomes.[5] The first nome was roughly where modern-day Aswan is and the twenty-second was at modern Atfih just to the south of Cairo.

History[edit]

Hedjet, the White Crown of Upper Egypt

Predynastic Egypt[edit]

The main city of prehistoric Upper Egypt was Nekhen,[6] whose patron deity was the vulture goddess Nekhbet.[7]

By about 3600 BC, Neolithic Egyptian societies along the Nile had based their culture on the raising of crops and the domestication of animals.[8] Shortly after 3600 BC, Egyptian society began to grow and increase in complexity.[9] A new and distinctive pottery, which was related to the Levantine ceramics, appeared during this time. Extensive use of copper became common during this time.[9] The Mesopotamian process of sun-drying adobe and architectural principles—including the use of the arch and recessed walls for decorative effect—became popular during this time.[9]

Concurrent with these cultural advances, a process of unification of the societies and towns of the upper Nile River, or Upper Egypt, occurred. At the same time the societies of the Nile Delta, or Lower Egypt also underwent a unification process.[9] Warfare between Upper and Lower Egypt occurred often.[9] During his reign in Upper Egypt, King Narmer defeated his enemies on the Delta and merged both the Kingdom of Upper and Lower Egypt under his single rule.[10]

Dynastic Egypt[edit]

For most of pharaonic Egypt's history, Thebes was the administrative center of Upper Egypt. After its devastation by the Assyrians, its importance declined. Under the Ptolemies, Ptolemais Hermiou took over the role of Upper Egypt's capital city.[11] Upper Egypt was represented by the tall White Crown Hedjet, and its symbols were the flowering lotus and the sedge.

Medieval Egypt[edit]

In the 11th century, large numbers of pastoralists, known as Hilalians, fled Upper Egypt and moved westward into Libya and as far as Tunis.[12] It is believed that degraded grazing conditions in Upper Egypt, associated with the beginning of the Medieval Warm Period, were the root cause of the migration.[13]

20th-century Egypt[edit]

In the 20th-century Egypt, the title Prince of the Sa'id (meaning Prince of Upper Egypt) was used by the heir apparent to the Egyptian throne.[Note 1]

Although the Kingdom of Egypt was abolished after the Egyptian revolution of 1952, the title continues to be used by Muhammad Ali, Prince of the Sa'id.

Upper Egypt and Coptic language[edit]

Upper Egypt is known to contain a few remaining villages, where the historical Coptic language, the latest phase of the Egyptian language, has been revived and reconstructed as a spoken language.[15][16]

List of rulers of prehistoric Upper Egypt[edit]

The following list may not be complete (there are many more of uncertain existence):

Name Image Comments Dates
Elephant End of 4th millennium BC
Bull 4th millennium BC
Scorpion I Oldest tomb at Umm el-Qa'ab had scorpion insignia c. 3200 BC?
Iry-Hor
Iry Hor name.jpg
Possibly the immediate predecessor of Ka. c. 3150 BC?
Ka[17][18]
Ka vessel.JPG
May be read Sekhen rather than Ka. Possibly the immediate predecessor of Narmer. c. 3100 BC
Scorpion II
Kingscorpion.jpg
Potentially read Serqet; possibly the same person as Narmer. c. 3150 BC
Narmer
NarmerPalette-CloseUpOfNarmer-ROM.png
The king who combined Upper and Lower Egypt.[19] c. 3150 BC

List of nomes[edit]

Map of Ancient Egypt with its historical nomes. "Upper Egypt" is in the lower portion of the map.
Number Ancient Name Capital Modern Capital Translation
1 Ta-khentit Abu / Yebu (Elephantine) Aswan The Frontier/Land of the Bow
2 Wetjes-Hor Djeba (Apollonopolis Magna) Edfu Throne of Horus
3 Nekhen Nekhen (Hierakon polis) al-Kab Shrine
4 Waset Niwt-rst / Waset (Thebes) Karnak Sceptre
5 Harawî Gebtu (Coptos) Qift Two Falcons
6 Aa-ta Iunet / Tantere (Tentyra) Dendera Crocodile
7 Seshesh Seshesh (Diospolis Parva) Hu Sistrum
8 Abdju Abdju (Abydos) al-Birba Great Land
9 Min Apu / Khen-min (Panopolis) Akhmim Min
10 Wadjet Djew-qa / Tjebu (Aphroditopolis) Edfu Cobra
11 Set Shashotep (Hypselis) Shutb Set animal
12 Tu-ph Hut-Sekhem-Senusret (Antaeopolis) Qaw al-Kebir Viper Mountain
13 Atef-Khent Zawty (Lycopolis) Asyut Upper Sycamore and Viper
14 Atef-Pehu Qesy (Cusae) al-Qusiya Lower Sycamore and Viper
15 Wenet Khemenu (Hermopolis) Hermopolis Hare[20]
16 Ma-hedj Herwer? Hur? Oryx[20]
17 Anpu Saka (Cynopolis) al-Kais Anubis
18 Sep Teudjoi / Hutnesut (Alabastronopolis) el-Hiba Set
19 Uab Per-Medjed (Oxyrhynchus) el-Bahnasa Two Sceptres
20 Atef-Khent Henen-nesut (Heracleopolis Magna) Ihnasiyyah al-Madinah Southern Sycamore
21 Atef-Pehu Shenakhen / Semenuhor (Crocodilopolis, Arsinoë) Faiyum Northern Sycamore
22 Maten Tepihu (Aphroditopolis) Atfih Knife

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • Edel, Elmar (1961) Zu den Inschriften auf den Jahreszeitenreliefs der "Weltkammer" aus dem Sonnenheiligtum des Niuserre Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen, OCLC 309958651, in German.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ The title was first used by Prince Farouk, the son and heir of King Fouad I. Prince Farouk was officially named Prince of the Sa'id on 12 December 1933.[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Ermann & Grapow, op.cit. Wb 5, 227.4-14
  2. ^ See list of nomes. Maten (Knife land) is the furthest north nome of Upper Egypt on the right bank, while Atef-Pehu (Northern Sycamore land) is the northernmost on the left bank. Brugsch, Heinrich Karl (2015). A History of Egypt under the Pharaohs. 1. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. p. 487., originally published in 1876 in German.
  3. ^ Ermann & Grapow 1982, Wb 5, 227.4-14.
  4. ^ Ermann & Grapow (1982), Wb 4, 477.9-11
  5. ^ The Encyclopedia Americana Grolier Incorporated, 1988, p.34
  6. ^ Bard & Shubert (1999), p. 371
  7. ^ David (1975), p. 149
  8. ^ Roebuck (1966), p. 51
  9. ^ a b c d e Roebuck (1966), pp. 52–53
  10. ^ Roebuck (1966), p. 53
  11. ^ Chauveau (2000), p. 68
  12. ^ Ballais (2000), p. 133
  13. ^ Ballais (2000), p. 134
  14. ^ Brice (1981), p. 299
  15. ^ https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/16207/Coptic-Ancient-language-still-spoken-today
  16. ^ https://smass.co.uk/coptic-language
  17. ^ Rice 1999, p. 86.
  18. ^ Wilkinson 1999, p. 57f.
  19. ^ Shaw 2000, p. 196.
  20. ^ a b Grajetzki (2006), pp. 109–111

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]

Media related to Upper Egypt at Wikimedia Commons