Upper Egypt (Arabic: صعيد مصر‎ Sa'id Misr) is the strip of land, on both sides of the Nile valley, that extends from the cataract boundaries of modern-day Aswan north to the area between El-Ayait and Zawyet Dahshur (which is south of modern-day Cairo). The northern section of Upper Egypt, between El-Ayait and Sohag is sometimes known as Middle Egypt. The designation Upper Egypt is most frequently used as a division for Ancient Egypt. Modern inhabitants of Upper Egypt are known as Sa'idis; they generally speak Sa'idi Arabic.

Upper Egypt was known as Ta Shemau ^[1] which means "the land of reeds."^[2] It was divided into twenty-two districts called nomes.^[3] The first nome was roughly where modern Aswan is and the twenty-second was at modern Atfih (Aphroditopolis), just to the south of Cairo.

[edit] History

The main city of predynastic Upper Egypt was Nekhen (Greek Hierakonpolis),^[4] whose patron deity was the vulture goddess Nekhbet.^[5] 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 the city of Ptolemais^[6] took over the role of capital of Upper Egypt.^[7] Upper Egypt was represented by the tall White Crown Hedjet, and its symbol was the flowering lotus.

In the 11th Century large numbers of pastoralists, known as Hilalians, fled Upper Egypt and moved westward into Libya and as far as Tunis.^[8] 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.^[9]

In 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. Although the Egyptian monarchy was abolished in 1953, the title continues to be used by Muhammad Ali, Prince of Said and Hereditary Chief, Sheikh Beja Khawr al`allaqi, Prince of Sa'id.

[edit] References

1. ^ Ermann & Grapow, op.cit. Wb 5, 227.4-14
2. ^ Ermann & Grapow, op.cit. Wb 4, 477.9-11
3. ^ The Encyclopedia Americana Grolier Incorporated, 1988, p.34
4. ^ Bard, op. cit., p.371
5. ^ David, op.cit., p.149
6. ^ Ptolemais on the Nile is not to be confused with Ptolemais in Phoenicia or Ptolemais Theron in the Sudan.
7. ^ Chauveau, op.cit., p.68
8. ^ Ballais, Jean-Louis (2000) "Chapter 7: Conquests and land degradation in the eastern Maghreb" p. 133 In Barker, Graeme and Gilbertson, David (2000) The Archaeology of Drylands: Living at the Margin Routledge, London, Volume 1, Part III - Sahara and Sahel, pp. 125-136, ISBN 978-0-415-23001-8
9. ^ Ballais, Jean-Louis (2000) "Chapter 7: Conquests and land degradation in the eastern Maghreb" p. 134 In Barker, Graeme and Gilbertson, David (2000) The Archaeology of Drylands: Living at the Margin Routledge, London, Volume 1, Part III - Sahara and Sahel, pp. 125-136, ISBN 978-0-415-23001-8

[edit] Bibliography

• Bard, Katheryn A. and Shubert, Steven Blake (1999) Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt Routledge, London, ISBN 0-415-18589-0
• Chauveau, Michel (2000) Egypt in the Age of Cleopatra: History and Society Under the Ptolemies Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, ISBN 0-8014-3597-8
• David, Ann Rosalie (1975) The Egyptian Kingdoms Elsevier Phaidon, London, OCLC 2122106
• Edel, Elmar (1961) Zu den Inschriften auf den Jahreszeitenreliefs der "Weltkammer" aus dem Sonnenheiligtum des Niuserre Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen, OCLC 309958651, in German
• Ermann, Johann Peter Adolf and Grapow, Hermann (1982) Wörterbuch der Ägyptischen Sprache Akademie, Berlin, ISBN 3-05-002263-9, in German

v • d • e Ancient Egypt topics Architecture · Art · Burial customs · Chronology · Cuisine · Dynasties · Geography · History · Literature · Mathematics · Medicine · Religion · Pharaohs · People · Language · Sites · Technology · Writing Egyptology · Egyptologists · Egyptian Museum · Ancient Egypt portal