HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Bashmur ( , ; ar, الباشمور, ) was a region in the
Nile Delta The Nile Delta ( ar, دلتا النيل, or simply , is the delta formed in Lower 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 Po ...
in
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
. In the early
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, it was inhabited by Christian
Copts Copts ( cop, ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ; ar, الْقِبْط ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt and Sudan since antiquity. Most ethnic Copts are C ...
and was the scene of a series of revolts against Arab rule in the 8th and 9th centuries.


Name

The name of the region most likely comes from Demotic ''pꜣ-šʿ-mr'' which literally means "the sand bank" where "sand" refers to
Lake Burullus Lake Burullus ( ar, بحيرة البرلس, Buḥayrat al-Burullus; grc-gre, λίμνη Σεβεννυτική, limnē Sebennytikē) is a brackish water lake in the Nile Delta in Egypt, the name coming from Burullus town ( cop, Ϯⲡⲁⲣⲁⲗ ...
which has this name in both Coptic (ϣⲱ ''Sho:'') and Arabic (الرمل ''ar-Raml''). The Coptic name in attested in its Bashmuric (or Dialect G) variant – ⲡⲥⲁⲙⲏⲣ (rendering Egyptian sounds like š with exclusively Greek letters (e.g. "ⲥ" instead of "ϣ") is a feature of the dialect). The Bohairic Coptic form of the name is ⲡⲓϣⲁⲙⲏⲣ.


Location

The boundaries of Bashmur have not been constant throughout the centuries. Perhaps from the mid-eighth to the mid-ninth century, Bashmur encompassed the entire marsh region northeast of
Fuwwah Fuwwah ( ar, فوه; ) is a city in the Kafr El Sheikh Governorate, Egypt. Name The name of the town is attested in and , although it's also claimed that the name is derived from the Arabic word for saffron, ''fuwwa''. History Medieval Fuwwah ...
(, ''Melej'') extending as far to the east as just north of
Dekernes Dekernes ( arz, دكرنس ; , , "land of Osiris") is a town in the center of the Dakahlia Governorate of Egypt. It is situated about 20 km east of Mansoura, the capital of Dakahlia. Etymology Education The town is home to one of the o ...
. Later it may have been limited to the eastern part of this area. In the 10th century,
Ibn Hawqal Muḥammad Abū’l-Qāsim Ibn Ḥawqal (), also known as Abū al-Qāsim b. ʻAlī Ibn Ḥawqal al-Naṣībī, born in Nisibis, Upper Mesopotamia; was a 10th-century Arab Muslim writer, geographer, and chronicler who travelled during the ye ...
equated the lake of Nastaruh (
Lake Burullus Lake Burullus ( ar, بحيرة البرلس, Buḥayrat al-Burullus; grc-gre, λίμνη Σεβεννυτική, limnē Sebennytikē) is a brackish water lake in the Nile Delta in Egypt, the name coming from Burullus town ( cop, Ϯⲡⲁⲣⲁⲗ ...
) with the lake of Bashmur. In the 14th century,
Abu al-Fida Ismāʿīl b. ʿAlī b. Maḥmūd b. Muḥammad b. ʿUmar b. Shāhanshāh b. Ayyūb b. Shādī b. Marwān ( ar, إسماعيل بن علي بن محمود بن محمد بن عمر بن شاهنشاه بن أيوب بن شادي بن مروان ...
located Bashmur in the northeast of the Delta between
Damietta Damietta ( arz, دمياط ' ; cop, ⲧⲁⲙⲓⲁϯ, Tamiati) is a port city and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt, a former bishopric and present multiple Catholic titular see. It is located at the Damietta branch, an easter ...
and
Ashmun El Rumman Ashmun al-Rumman ( ar, اشمون الرمان ', cop, ϣⲙⲟⲩⲛ ⲉⲣⲙⲁⲛ ') is a village in the markaz of Dekernes in Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt. Known in classical antiquity as Zmoumis ( grc, Ζμουμις) and in the Islamic ...
. The name Bashmur survives in this region as the name of a Nile canal that breaks off about 4.5 miles (7 km) east of
Mansoura, Egypt Mansoura (' , rural: ) is a city in Egypt, with a population of 960,423. It is the capital of the Dakahlia Governorate. Etymology ''Mansoura'' in Arabic means "victorious". The city is named after the El Mansoura Battle against Louis IX of ...
by El Salamun and runs through the area between the
Damietta Damietta ( arz, دمياط ' ; cop, ⲧⲁⲙⲓⲁϯ, Tamiati) is a port city and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt, a former bishopric and present multiple Catholic titular see. It is located at the Damietta branch, an easter ...
arm of the Nile and Dekernes before emptying into the El Sirw canal some 3.5 miles (5.5 km) south of
Dakahlia Dakahlia Governorate ( ar, محافظة الدقهلية ', ) is an Egyptian governorate lying northeast of Cairo. Its area is approximately 3,500 km2. Although the capital of the governorate is Mansoura, it got its name from the ancient to ...
.


Society and economy

Bashmur was a region of marshland with sand banks and dense cover of reeds. Nowhere else in Egypt was more propitious for armed rebellion. Access to inhabited places was provided through narrow sandy banks and the reeds provided cover for soldiers. Moreover, Arabs did not settle in the Bashmur, leaving the population religiously unmixed. The economy of the region also favoured the Bashmurians, who relied on limited agriculture, fishing and hunting birds for food. Less dependent on irrigation works than the
fellahin A fellah ( ar, فَلَّاح ; feminine ; plural ''fellaheen'' or ''fellahin'', , ) is a peasant, usually a farmer or agricultural laborer in the Middle East and North Africa. The word derives from the Arabic word for "ploughman" or "tiller". ...
, they were capable of resisting long sieges. The Bashmurians also sold
papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...
and possibly raised cattle.


See also

*
Persecution of Copts The persecution of Copts and the discrimination against Copts, Coptic Orthodox Christians are historic and widespread issues in Egypt. They are also prominent examples of the poor status of Christianity in the Middle East, Christians in the Midd ...


Notes


Bibliography

* * * * Maspero, J., and G. Wiet (1914-1919). ''Matériaux pour servir à la géographie de l'Egypte''. Cairo. * * Timm, S. (1984) ''Das christlich-koptische Ägypten in arabischer Zeit, Vol. 1, pp. 354-56''. Wiesbaden. {{coord missing, Egypt Regions of Africa Historical regions Persecution of Copts Geography of Egypt Regions of Egypt