EGYPT LANDMARKS

4:28 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

ASKUT. Modern name for the site of a fortress in the Second Cataract
region of Nubia. Egyptian Djer Setiu. It appears to have been constructed
during the Middle Kingdom as part of a series of fortresses
from Buhen to Semna by Senusret III to control the native Nubians.
The fortress was abandoned during the Second Intermediate Period
but reused during the New Kingdom. Askut was excavated in
1962–1964 by an expedition from the University of California at Los
Angeles before the site was flooded by Lake Nasser, the lake created
by the Aswan High Dam. See also ANIBA; BUHEN; KUMMA;
MIRGISSA; SEMNA; SHALFAK; URONARTI.

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4:25 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

ASHAYET (fl. 2020 BC). A minor wife of Mentuhotep II of Dynasty
11. She was commemorated in a chapel and buried in a pit tomb at
his funerary complex at Deir el-Bahri. The chapel was discovered

during Henri Edouard Naville’s excavations at the site, but
Ashayet’s tomb was found largely intact by an American expedition
from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in excavations from
1920–1921. Her sarcophagus and mummy are now in the Cairo
Egyptian Museum. See also HENHENET; KAWIT; KEMSIT;
MYT; NEFRU; SADEH; TEM.

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4:21 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

ARMANT. Modern name for the Egyptian Iuny, Greek Hermonthis,
capital of the fourth nome of Upper Egypt until superseded by
Thebes. It was located on the west bank of the Nile opposite Tod.
The principal deity of the site was the god Montu, whose temple is
now destroyed. Archaeological remains date from the Predynastic
Period to the Roman Period, when it again became the nome capital.
The burials of the sacred ram Buchis have also been located. Armant
was excavated on behalf of the Egypt Exploration Society in
1927–1932, and the texts in the temple have been recorded by the
French Institute since 2002

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4:14 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

APEREL (fl. 1370 BC). Northern vizier of Amenhotep III. His intact
tomb was excavated at Saqqara beginning in 1976, culminating in
the opening of the burial chamber in 1987. His existence was hitherto
unknown. Aperel’s name is Semitic, but his burial was thoroughly
Egyptian, so it cannot be necessarily assumed that he was of foreign
origin as Semitic names were sometimes used by Egyptians. See also
AMENEMHAT I; AY; HEMIUNU; IMHOTEP; INTEFYOKER;
KAGEMNI; MERERUKA; NEFERMAAT; PASER; PTAHHOTEP;
PTAHSHEPSES; RAMESSES I; REKHMIRE.

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4:10 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

ANTINOOPOLIS. Greek name of the city in Middle Egypt founded
by Hadrian in 130 AD in honor of his favorite, Antinous, who had
drowned in the Nile. Now modern Sheikh Ibada, it is located on the
east bank of the Nile opposite Hermopolis. The inhabitants were
drawn from the major Greek cities in Egypt. The site was originally
an Egyptian city with a temple erected by Ramesses II and has remains
dating from the Predynastic Period. Antinoopolis was excavated
by the French archaeologist Albert Gayet from 1895–1914, by
a British expedition from 1913–1914, and more recently by an Italian
expedition.

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4:07 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

ANTHONY (c. 251–356 AD). Egyptian saint and hermit. He was the
son of Christians from the village of Qiman, and upon their death, he
gave away his worldly possessions and lived the life of an ascetic
hermit near the village and later in the eastern desert. Anthony inspired
other hermits to live near him for a time, forming the first ascetic
community, although he himself moved to the desert to be on
his own. Several of his letters survive, and his life, written by
Athanasius, spread the idea of ascetic life in the Christian world. Pachomius,
another ascetic, was to change the solitary existence of the
hermit into that of a monastic community. See also ABRAHAM;
COPTIC CHURCH; SHENOUTE.

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4:05 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

ANKHESENAMUN (fl. 1345–1327 BC). Formerly Ankhesenpaaten.
Third daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti and wife of Tutankhamun.
She joined her husband in the abandonment of her father’s
religious practices and capital at Amarna and changed her
name to remove the reference to Aten. Upon the death of her husband,
Ankhesenamun wrote to the Hittite king seeking a Hittite
prince as a new husband, but the choice, Zannanza, died mysteriously
on the way to Egypt. Her subsequent fate is unknown, although
it has been conjectured that she married the next king, Ay, as her
name appears joined with his on two rings. See also AMARNA PERIOD;
ANKHESENPAATEN-TASHERIT; BAKETATEN; MEKETATEN;
MERITAMUN; MERITATEN-TASHERIT; NEFERNEFRUATEN;
NEFERNEFRURE; SETEPENRE.

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4:00 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

AMYRTAEUS(reigned 404–399 BC). Greek name for the Egyptian
ruler of Dynasty 28, Amenirdis of Sais, who led a rebellion against
the Persian occupation and succeeded in expelling them from the
country. He apparently invaded Phoenicia to prevent a Persian counterattack.
No inscriptions of his are known, but Amyrtaeos is mentioned
in a demotic papyrus. Amyrtaeos was later overthrown by Nefaarud
I, founder of Dynasty 29.

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3:55 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

AMUN. Chief god of the New Kingdom and later. Originally a minor
god at Thebes, he rose to prominence in Dynasty 12, which came
from the south, and was promoted to the head of the pantheon under
the Theban Dynasty 18 through a fusion with the sun god Re, becoming
Amen-Re, king of the gods. Amun is usually represented as
a human figure with two plumed feathers but can also have the head
of a hawk. He is viewed as one of the creator gods. His main temple
was at Karnak in Thebes, where he formed part of the Theban triad
with his wife, the goddess Mut, and his son, the moon god Khonsu.
He was later worshipped as one of the main gods in Nubia at Gebel
Barkal and other temples. His sacred animals were the ram and the
goose. See also RELIGION.

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3:49 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

AMENMESSE (reigned c. 1202–1199 BC). Throne name Menmire.
Of unknown parentage, he contended with Sety II for the throne
upon the death of Merenptah. Amenmesse was defeated and his
memory largely obliterated. He had prepared tomb KV10 in the Valley
of the Kings for his burial. See also DYNASTY 19.

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3:47 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

AMENIRDIS. The name of two princesses of Dynasty 25 who were
adopted as God’s wife of Amun. Amenirdis I was the daughter of
Kashta and Pebtama, and her adoption by Shepenwepet I was an indication
of the control of Thebes exercised by the ruler of Nubia.
Amenirdis II, daughter of Taharqo, was adopted by Shepenwepet II
as her heir, but it is not certain if she succeeded, as Dynasty 25 was
ousted from Thebes by Psamtik I of Dynasty 26, who sent his
daughter, Nitocris, to become God’s wife

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3:44 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

AMENEMOPE (reigned c. 993–984 BC). Throne name Usermaatre
setepenamun. Epithet meryamun. Fourth ruler of Dynasty 21 and
successor of Pasebakhaenniut I. Little is known of his reign. His
burial was discovered at Tanis by French excavator Pierre Montet.

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3:42 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

AMENEMNISU (reigned c. 1043–1039 BC). Throne name Neferkare.
Second ruler of Dynasty 21 of unknown origin. He was cited in
Manetho by his throne name, which was generally considered to be
an error until an inscription with his titulary was discovered in the
tomb of Pasebakhaenniut I at Tanis. His reign appears to have been
brief. See also AMENEMOPE; NESBANEBDJED.

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3:39 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

AMENEMHAT III (reigned c. 1855–1808 BC). Throne name Nimaatre.
Son of Senusret III of Dynasty 12. His principal monuments are
located in the Fayum area, which seems to have been extensively developed
during his reign. He built two pyramids, one at Dahshur,
where he appears to have been buried, and another at Hawara, where
his mortuary temple was later known to the Greeks as the Labyrinth.
See also AMENEMHAT IV; NEFRUPTAH; SOBEKNEFRU.

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3:37 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

AMENEMHAT II (reigned c. 1922–1878 BC). Throne name
Nubkaure. Son of Senusret I of Dynasty 12 and Nefru. He continued
Egyptian expansion in Nubia and sent expeditions to the Red Sea
and Punt. An inscription gives details of campaigns in the Sinai
Peninsula and possibly further north. Amenemhat II maintained contacts
with Byblos. He was buried in a pyramid complex at Dahshur.
See also KHENEMET-NEFER-HEDJET; SENUSRET II.

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3:35 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

AMENEMHAT I (reigned c. 1985–1955 BC). Throne name Sehetepibre.
Son of Senusret and Nefret. He is first attested as vizier
of Mentuhotep IV of Dynasty 11 and must be identical to the
founder of Dynasty 12, although it is not clear if he came to the
throne peacefully or as a result of a coup d’état. Amenemhat I
proved a strong and effective ruler, establishing a new capital at
Itjtawy, now Lisht in the Fayum. He began the campaign of conquest
of Nubia and also built a series of fortifications along Egypt’s
Sinai border known as the Walls of the Ruler. He apparently installed
his son Senusret I as coregent, although this has been
doubted by some Egyptologists. Amenemhat I was assassinated after
30 years of rule in an apparent palace conspiracy that was later
crushed by his son. He was buried in a pyramid complex at Lisht.
A wisdom text in his name, The Instruction of Amenemhat I, was
composed after his death, presumably during his son’s reign. See
also INTEFYOKER; KHETY; SINUHE.

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3:34 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

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3:31 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

AMARNA. The modern Arabic name el-Amarna or Tell el-Amarna denotes
the site of the capital city Akhetaten founded by Akhenaten in
Middle Egypt in his year 5 (1348 BC). Akhenaten claimed to have
chosen a virgin site to become the new capital, away from the religious
intolerance of Thebes and where he was free to pursue the worship
of Aten. The site consists of the remains of royal palaces, villas,
temples, private dwellings, and a workmen’s village, and the boundaries
were marked by a series of stelae. The sculptor Thutmose’s
workshop yielded the famous bust of Nefertiti, now in the Berlin
Egyptian Museum. Tombs for officials were cut in the nearby cliffs,
and a royal tomb was built for the king. The scenes on the walls are
not fully preserved, but one depicts the death of the Princess Meketaten,
although the circumstances of her passing are unclear.
The city was abandoned by Tutankhamun and used as building
material by later rulers, notably Ramesses II. The site was first excavated
by Flinders Petrie in 1891–1892 and then a German expedition
in 1907 and 1911–1914. The tombs were copied by an expedition
of the Egypt Exploration Fund in 1901–1907. In 1921–1936,
further excavations were carried out by the British organization, renamed
the Egypt Exploration Society, and work was resumed under
its auspices in 1977.

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3:29 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

ALEXANDRIA. City on the Mediterranean coast of the western Delta
founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC on the site of the Egyptian
village of Rakedet, Greek Rakotis. It became the capital of Ptolemaic
and Roman Egypt and included many fine buildings, notably
the famed Library of Alexandria and the Pharos, or Lighthouse, of
Alexandria, regarded as one of the seven wonders of the ancient
world. Alexander’s body was preserved in a special mausoleum in the
city. The city was also decorated with Egyptian monuments removed
from earlier sites, notably Heliopolis. The large cosmopolitan population
included Egyptians, Greeks, and Jews.
The city later suffered damage from earthquakes and invasion and
declined following the move of the capital to Cairo after the Arab
conquest in 642 AD. Many parts of the city appear to have sunk beneath
the harbor. Little of the ancient metropolis remains today, apart
from the area adjacent to the so-called Pompey’s Pillar. Excavations
by successive directors of the Graeco-Roman Museum have uncovered
many local burial catacombs with reliefs in a mixed Egyptian-
Roman style. Since 1960, a Polish expedition has worked at the site
of Kom el-Dikka uncovering a theater and baths. AFrench rescue expedition
excavated part of the main cemetery at Gabbari from
1997–2000, prior to the construction of a new expressway. Recent
surveys by teams of French divers have begun to reveal the parts of
the city now underwater and recovered Egyptian sculptures and reliefs.
Blocks in the sea near the fort of Qait Bey have been identified
as belonging to the original lighthouse.

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2:13 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

AKHMIM. Modern name for the Egyptian Khent-Min, Greek Khemmis
or Panopolis in the ninth Upper Egyptian nome. Little remains
of the ancient city under the modern town. Akhmim is the home city
of Ay. In 1981, colossal statues of Ramesses II and his daughter and
Queen Meritamun were discovered there. Unsupervised excavations
at the end of the 19th century led to the discovery of many textiles
and textile fragments from the Coptic Period. The nearby tombs
of the Old Kingdom at el-Hawawish were copied and published by
an Australian expedition from Macquarie University in 1979–1992.
See also ATHRIBIS; MIN.

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2:09 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

AITAKAMA(fl. 1350–1320 BC). Ruler of Kadesh. Son of Shutatarra,
ruler of Kadesh. Loyal of Egypt, his father was defeated and deposed
by the Hittite king Suppiluliuma I, and Aitakama was installed in
Kadesh as a Hittite vassal. He joined Aziru of Amurru in attacks on
Egyptian territory, yet he wrote an Amarna letter declaring his loyalty
to Egypt. Upon the death of his Hittite overlord, he broke this allegiance
but was assassinated by a son who returned to the Hittite
fold.

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2:06 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

AHMOSE II (reigned 570–526 BC). The Greek form of his name is
Amasis. Throne name Khnumibre. A military commander of Wahibre
(Apries), whom he overthrew following a brief civil war. He
sought to ally Egypt with the Greeks to face the continuing threat of
Persia, including a marriage alliance with Laodike, a Greek lady
from Cyrene. Ahmose II ruled effectively for 45 years and died conveniently
just before the Persian invasion of 525 BC, as a result of
which his son, Psamtik III, was deposed and later executed

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2:04 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

AHMOSE (fl. 1560–1500 BC). Military officer. Son of Baba, a soldier
of King Seqenenre Tao, and his wife Ebana, from whose name her

son is generally known as Ahmose, son of Ebana. He was the owner
of a tomb at Elkab, which contains a major autobiographical inscription
describing his exploits in the wars against the Hyksos. Ahmose
was present at the siege of Avaris and later took part in campaigns
in Palestine, Syria, and Nubia under Ahmose I, Amenhotep
I, and Thutmose I. See also WARFARE.

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1:57 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

AHHOTEP (fl. 1570–1540 BC). Sister and queen of probably Seqenenre

Tao of Dynasty 17 and thus daughter of Senakhtenre and

Tetisheri. She was the mother of Ahmose I, who founded Dynasty

18, and his sister-wife Ahmose-Nefertari. Ahhotep apparently acted

as regent of her son on his accession and exercised great influence

during his reign. A second queen, Ahhotep, is known from a burial at

Thebes and is probably to be identified as a queen of Kamose or Seqenenre

Tao. The gilded coffin from this burial and jewelry are now

in the Cairo Egyptian Museum.

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1:51 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

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1:48 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

ADAIMA. Modern name for a site on the west bank of the Nile south
of Esna in Upper Egypt. It contains the remains of a settlement and
cemeteries from the Naqada I Period of the Predynastic Period to
the Early Dynastic Period. Adaima was first excavated on behalf of
the Brooklyn Museum from 1906–1908. The site was examined by a
team from the French Institute in 1973 and since 1989 by a French
expedition. See also GERZEH; KAFR HASSAN DAOUD; MINSHAT
ABU OMAR; TELL EL-FARKHA; TELL IBRAHIM AWAD.

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1:07 PM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

ABUSIR. Modern name for the area between Giza and Saqqara that served as the burial place for the kings and ourtiers of Dynasty 5 and also the location of temples dedicated to the sun god Re. Four pyramids with their temples have been found here. The area was examined by a German expedition under Friedrich von Bissing and then

under Ludwig Borchardt in 1898–1913, followed by a Swiss expedition in 1954–1957, and it has been excavated by a Czech expedition since the 1960s. See also NEFERIRKARE; NIUSERRE; RANEFEREF;

SAHURE.

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6:43 AM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

ABYDOS. Greek name for the sacred city of Abdju in Upper Egypt
and burial place of Osiris, god of the dead, located south of modern
Sohag. The kings of Dynasty 0, Dynasty 1, and Dynasty 2 were
buried there at the site now known as Umm el-Qaab. The local god,
Kentiamentiu, became identified with Osiris, who was believed to be
buried there. In the Middle Kingdom, with the growth in worship of
Osiris, the site became a place of pilgrimage and a desirable location
for burial. In the New Kingdom, temples were erected by Sety I and
Ramesses II, as well as a cenotaph for Osiris, the Osireion.
The area was excavated by French archaeologists Auguste Mariette
in the 1850s and Émile Amélineau in 1894–1998. The Egypt Exploration
Fund worked here under Flinders Petrie and later other
archaeologists in 1899–1904, 1909–1914, and 1925–1930, and also
sponsored the copying of the temple of Sety I since 1928. Another
British archaeologist, John Garstang, was active in 1907. Excavations
have been carried out by an American expedition from Yale
University and the University of Pennsylvania since 1967, German
archaeologists in the archaic cemetery since 1977, and an American
team from the University of Michigan in the Old Kingdom cemetery
since 1995. See also AHA; ANEDJIB; DEN; DJER; DJET;
NARMER; QAA; SEMERKHET.

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6:33 AM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

ABU ROASH. Modern name for the site of the funerary complex of
Djedefre of Dynasty 4, which includes the remains of his pyramid
and associated temples, as well as a major cemetery of the Early Dynastic
Period and a pyramid of Dynasty 3. The site has been excavated
by French expeditions since 1901, notably under Fernand Bisson
de la Roque in 1922–1924 and Pierre Montet in 1937; a Dutch
expedition in 1957–1959; and a joint French–Swiss team since 1995.

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6:27 AM | Posted by Mostafa Gad

ABDI-ASHIRTA (fl. 1350 BC). Ruler of Amurru. He was a vassal of the Egyptians in Syria. His career is known from the Amarna letters. Abdi-Ashirta embarked on a battle of conquest against his neighbors with the help of the Habiru. Abdi-Ashirta argued that his acts were in Egypt’s best interest and protested his loyalty to the pharaoh. He was later arrested by the Egyptian authorities and possibly executed. His son, Aziru, succeeded him

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