Heptanomis
Encyclopedia
Heptanomis the modern Mlesr-Wostani<> of the Arabian geographers, or Middle Egypt
, may be described generally as the district which separates the Thebaïd
from the Delta
.
Inasmuch, however, as the appellation of the Seven Nomes is political rather than territorial, it is not easy to define the actual boundaries of this region.
The northern portion belonged to the kingdom of Lower Egypt
, of which it contained the capital, Memphis
; the southern appertained to the elder kingdom of Thebes
, so long at least as there continued to be two monarchies in the Nile valley. It is not possible to determine at what period, if indeed at any, the Heptanomis was regarded as an integral third of Egypt. About the number of its nomes there can be no question; but which, at any given era, were the seven principal nomes, it is less easy to decide. They probably varied with the vicissitudes of local prosperity, war, commerce, or migration, from time to time, causing a superior nome to decline, and, on the contrary, raising an inferior nome to eminence. According to Ptolemy
and Agatharchides
(De Rubr. Mar. ap. Photius Biblioth. p. 1339. R.), both of whom wrote long after the original divisions had been modified, the Seven Nomes were the following: (1) Memphites; (2) Heracleopolites; (3) Crocodilopolites, renamed Arsinoites; (4) Aphroditopolites; (5) Oxyrhynchites; (6) Cynopolites; and (7) Hermopolites. The Greater and Lesser Oases were always reckoned portions of the Heptanomis, and hence it must apparently have sent nine, and not seven, nomarchs to the general assembly in the Labyrinth
. The capitals of the Nomes, whose names are sufficiently indicated by the respective appellations of the divisions themselves, e.g. Hermopolis
of the Nomos Hermopolites, etc., were also the chief towns of the Middle Land. This district comprised the three greatest works of Egyptian art and enterprise, e. g., the Pyramids
, the Labyrinth, and the artificial district formed by the canal Bahr-Jusuf (Canal of Joseph), the Nomos Arsinoites or the Fayyum (Fyoum).
The Heptanomis extended from latitude
27°4′ North to 30° north
; its boundary to south was the castle of Hermopolis , to the north the apex of the Delta and the town of Cercasorum, on the west the irregular line of the Libyan Desert
, and on the east, the hills which confine the Nile, or the sinuous outline, the recesses and projections of the Arabian mountains. Thus, near Hermopolis at the southern extremity of this region, the eastern hills approach very near the river, while those on the western or left bank recede to a considerable distance from it. Again, in latitude 29° north
, the Libyan hills retire from the vicinity of the Nile, bend toward northwest, and sharply return to it by a curve to east, embracing the province of Arsinoë (formerly Crocodilopolis
, now the city of Al Fayyum
). Between the hills on which the Pyramids stand and the corresponding elevation of Gebel-el-Mokattam on the eastern bank of the river, the Heptanomis expands, until near Cercasorum it acquires almost the breadth of the subjacent Delta.
The Heptanomis is remarkable for its quarries of stone and its rock-grottoes. Besides the Alabastrites, we find to the north of Antinoë the grottoes of Benihassan, the Speos Artemidos of the Greeks. Nine miles lower down are the grottoes of Koumn-el-Ahmar, and in the Arabian desert, on the east, quarries of the beautiful veined and white alabaster, which the Egyptians employed in their sarcophagi, and in the more delicate portions of their architecture. From the quarries of Tourah and Massarah, in the hills of Gebel-el-Mokattam, east of Memphis, they obtained the limestone used in casing the pyramids. The roads from these quarries may still be traced across the intervening plain.
Under the Ptolemies the Heptanomis was governed by an , and by an officer of corresponding designation, procurator
, under the Roman Caesars. We find the procurator described in inscriptions (Orelli, Inscr. Lat. n. 516) as procurator Augusti epistrategiae Septem Nomorum. Under the later Caesars in the 3rd century, the five northern Nomes, Memphites, Heracleopolites, Arsinoites, Aphroditopolites, and Oxyrhyncites, together with the Nomos Leptopolites, constituted the province of Arcadia Ægypti
, which subsequently became a metropolitan episcopal see
. The natural productions of the Heptanomis resemble those of Upper Egypt generally, and present a more tropical fauna and flora than those of the Delta. Its population also was less modified by Greek or Nubia
n admixture than that of either Lower or Upper Egypt; although, after the 4th century, the Heptanomis was overrun by Arabian marauders, who considerably affected the native racial mix.
The capitals of the Heptanomis were collectively called the Heptapolis
.
Middle Egypt
Middle Egypt is the section of land between Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt, stretching upstream from Asyut in the south to Memphis in the north. At the time, Ancient Egypt was divided into Lower and Upper Egypt, though Middle Egypt was technically a subdivision of Upper Egypt. It was not until the...
, may be described generally as the district which separates the Thebaïd
Thebaid
The Thebaid or Thebais is the region of ancient Egypt containing the thirteen southernmost nomes of Upper Egypt, from Abydos to Aswan. It acquired its name from its proximity to the ancient Egyptian capital of Thebes....
from the Delta
Nile Delta
The Nile Delta is the delta formed in Northern Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the east, it covers some 240 km of Mediterranean coastline—and is a rich...
.
Inasmuch, however, as the appellation of the Seven Nomes is political rather than territorial, it is not easy to define the actual boundaries of this region.
The northern portion belonged to the kingdom of Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt is the northern-most section of Egypt. It refers to the fertile Nile Delta region, which stretches from the area between El-Aiyat and Zawyet Dahshur, south of modern-day Cairo, and the Mediterranean Sea....
, of which it contained the capital, Memphis
Memphis, Egypt
Memphis was the ancient capital of Aneb-Hetch, the first nome of Lower Egypt. Its ruins are located near the town of Helwan, south of Cairo.According to legend related by Manetho, the city was founded by the pharaoh Menes around 3000 BC. Capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom, it remained an...
; the southern appertained to the elder kingdom of Thebes
Thebes, Egypt
Thebes is the Greek name for a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean, on the east bank of the river Nile within the modern city of Luxor. The Theban Necropolis is situated nearby on the west bank of the Nile.-History:...
, so long at least as there continued to be two monarchies in the Nile valley. It is not possible to determine at what period, if indeed at any, the Heptanomis was regarded as an integral third of Egypt. About the number of its nomes there can be no question; but which, at any given era, were the seven principal nomes, it is less easy to decide. They probably varied with the vicissitudes of local prosperity, war, commerce, or migration, from time to time, causing a superior nome to decline, and, on the contrary, raising an inferior nome to eminence. According to Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
and Agatharchides
Agatharchides
Agatharchides of Cnidus was a Greek historian and geographer .-Life:He is believed to have been born at Cnidus, hence his appellation. As Stanley M...
(De Rubr. Mar. ap. Photius Biblioth. p. 1339. R.), both of whom wrote long after the original divisions had been modified, the Seven Nomes were the following: (1) Memphites; (2) Heracleopolites; (3) Crocodilopolites, renamed Arsinoites; (4) Aphroditopolites; (5) Oxyrhynchites; (6) Cynopolites; and (7) Hermopolites. The Greater and Lesser Oases were always reckoned portions of the Heptanomis, and hence it must apparently have sent nine, and not seven, nomarchs to the general assembly in the Labyrinth
Labyrinth
In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos...
. The capitals of the Nomes, whose names are sufficiently indicated by the respective appellations of the divisions themselves, e.g. Hermopolis
Hermopolis
Hermopolis Magna or simply Hermopolis or Hermopolis Megale or Hermupolis is the site of ancient Khmun, and is located near the modern Egyptian town of El Ashmunein in Al Minya governorate.-Etymology:Khmun, the Ancient Egyptian name of the city, means "eight-town", after the Ogdoad, a group of...
of the Nomos Hermopolites, etc., were also the chief towns of the Middle Land. This district comprised the three greatest works of Egyptian art and enterprise, e. g., the Pyramids
The Pyramids
The Pyramids may refer to*Egyptian Pyramids*The Pyramids , a surf rock group from Long Beach, California*The Pyramids , buildings in Indianapolis*The Pyramids, a rock formation at Victory Beach, New Zealand...
, the Labyrinth, and the artificial district formed by the canal Bahr-Jusuf (Canal of Joseph), the Nomos Arsinoites or the Fayyum (Fyoum).
The Heptanomis extended from latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
27°4′ North to 30° north
30th parallel north
The 30th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 30 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It stands one-third of the way between the equator and the North Pole and crosses Africa, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America and the Atlantic Ocean....
; its boundary to south was the castle of Hermopolis , to the north the apex of the Delta and the town of Cercasorum, on the west the irregular line of the Libyan Desert
Libyan Desert
The Libyan Desert covers an area of approximately 1,100,000 km2, it extends approximately 1100 km from east to west, and 1,000 km from north to south, in about the shape of a rectangle...
, and on the east, the hills which confine the Nile, or the sinuous outline, the recesses and projections of the Arabian mountains. Thus, near Hermopolis at the southern extremity of this region, the eastern hills approach very near the river, while those on the western or left bank recede to a considerable distance from it. Again, in latitude 29° north
29th parallel north
The 29th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 29 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America and the Atlantic Ocean....
, the Libyan hills retire from the vicinity of the Nile, bend toward northwest, and sharply return to it by a curve to east, embracing the province of Arsinoë (formerly Crocodilopolis
Crocodilopolis
Crocodilopolis or Krokodilopolis or Ptolemais Euergetis or Arsinoe or Krialon was an ancient city in the Heptanomis, Egypt, the capital of Arsinoites nome, on the western bank of the Nile, between the river and the Lake Moeris, southwest of Memphis, in lat. 29° N...
, now the city of Al Fayyum
Al Fayyum
Faiyum is a city in Middle Egypt. Located 130 km southwest of Cairo, it is the capital of the modern Faiyum Governorate. The town occupies part of the ancient site of Crocodilopolis...
). Between the hills on which the Pyramids stand and the corresponding elevation of Gebel-el-Mokattam on the eastern bank of the river, the Heptanomis expands, until near Cercasorum it acquires almost the breadth of the subjacent Delta.
The Heptanomis is remarkable for its quarries of stone and its rock-grottoes. Besides the Alabastrites, we find to the north of Antinoë the grottoes of Benihassan, the Speos Artemidos of the Greeks. Nine miles lower down are the grottoes of Koumn-el-Ahmar, and in the Arabian desert, on the east, quarries of the beautiful veined and white alabaster, which the Egyptians employed in their sarcophagi, and in the more delicate portions of their architecture. From the quarries of Tourah and Massarah, in the hills of Gebel-el-Mokattam, east of Memphis, they obtained the limestone used in casing the pyramids. The roads from these quarries may still be traced across the intervening plain.
Under the Ptolemies the Heptanomis was governed by an , and by an officer of corresponding designation, procurator
Procurator (Roman)
A procurator was the title of various officials of the Roman Empire, posts mostly filled by equites . A procurator Augusti was the governor of the smaller imperial provinces...
, under the Roman Caesars. We find the procurator described in inscriptions (Orelli, Inscr. Lat. n. 516) as procurator Augusti epistrategiae Septem Nomorum. Under the later Caesars in the 3rd century, the five northern Nomes, Memphites, Heracleopolites, Arsinoites, Aphroditopolites, and Oxyrhyncites, together with the Nomos Leptopolites, constituted the province of Arcadia Ægypti
Arcadia Ægypti
Arcadia or Arcadia Ægypti was an ancient region in Roman-controlled Egypt. The territory was mostly carved from the former region, Heptanomis, and included the nomes of Memphites, Heracleopolites, Arsinoites, Aphroditopolites, Oxyrhyncites, which together form the northern portion of the...
, which subsequently became a metropolitan episcopal see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
. The natural productions of the Heptanomis resemble those of Upper Egypt generally, and present a more tropical fauna and flora than those of the Delta. Its population also was less modified by Greek or Nubia
Nubia
Nubia is a region along the Nile river, which is located in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.There were a number of small Nubian kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages, the last of which collapsed in 1504, when Nubia became divided between Egypt and the Sennar sultanate resulting in the Arabization...
n admixture than that of either Lower or Upper Egypt; although, after the 4th century, the Heptanomis was overrun by Arabian marauders, who considerably affected the native racial mix.
The capitals of the Heptanomis were collectively called the Heptapolis
Heptapolis
Heptapolis was the name of the capitals of the Heptanomis in ancient Egypt, and included the cities of Memphis, Heracleopolis, Crocodilopolis , Aphroditopolis, Oxyrhynchos, Cynopolis, and Hermopolis.-Sources:...
.