Hu () is the modern name of an
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 ...
ian town on the Nile, which in more ancient times was the capital of the 7th
Nome of
Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south.
In ancient ...
.
The nome was referred to as ''Sesheshet'' (Sistrum). The main city was referred to as Hu(t)-sekhem, which became abbreviated as Hu. This led to the Arabic name Hiw.
In Ptolemaic times the city was called Diospolis Parva (Little Zeus-City) in comparison with
Thebes, Egypt, known as Diospolis Magna (Great Zeus-City). It also was called Diospolis Superior (Upper Zeus-City), in comparison with
Diospolis Inferior (Lower Zeus-City) in the Nile Delta.
Ancient history
Hu was the centre of the cult surrounding
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...
, a
goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...
in
Egyptian mythology
Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world around them. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part of ancient Egyptia ...
. The
sistrum
A sistrum (plural: sistra or Latin sistra; from the Greek ''seistron'' of the same meaning; literally "that which is being shaken", from ''seiein'', "to shake") is a musical instrument of the percussion family, chiefly associated with ancient ...
, a sacred instrument associated with her, often shaped to resemble her, and for which the 7th nome was named, remained sacred throughout the history of
Ancient Egypt and is seen in its art and hieroglyphs.
The goddess Bat remained the main deity worshiped there until at least the time of the
twelfth dynasty as she is mentioned on a shrine belonging to
Senusret I
Senusret I (Middle Egyptian: z-n-wsrt; /suʀ nij ˈwas.ɾiʔ/) also anglicized as Sesostris I and Senwosret I, was the second pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from 1971 BC to 1926 BC (1920 BC to 1875 BC), and was one of the most ...
. By the time of the
New Kingdom
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
during the
eighteenth dynasty, the characteristics of Bat were subsumed into those of a similar goddess,
Hathor
Hathor ( egy, ḥwt-ḥr, lit=House of Horus, grc, Ἁθώρ , cop, ϩⲁⲑⲱⲣ, Meroitic: ) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky ...
, who then became the main deity worshiped at Hu.
[The Horizon: Studies in Egyptology in Honour of M.A. Nur El-Din edited by Basem El-Sharkaway, retrieved fro]
google books
/ref> Previously they may have been the same deity.
Modern history
In 1326, Ibn Battuta
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berbers, Berber Maghrebi people, Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, ...
passed through Hu, where he visited a sharif named Abu Muhammad Abdallah al-Hasani
Abu or ABU may refer to:
Places
* Abu (volcano), a volcano on the island of Honshū in Japan
* Abu, Yamaguchi, a town in Japan
* Ahmadu Bello University, a university located in Zaria, Nigeria
* Atlantic Baptist University, a Christian university ...
. When he learned of Ibn Battuta's intention to go on the hajj
The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...
to Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
by way of Aydhab, the sharif predicted that he would not succeed and would only reach Mecca by way of the road through Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
; he told Ibn Battuta to return to Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
instead. Ibn Battuta went on to Aydhab anyway, but upon arriving, he found that local Beja tribespeople, in revolt against the Mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
governor, had driven out the town's garrison and sunk ships in the harbor, preventing anyone from setting sail to Hejaz
The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...
. Ibn Battuta was left with no choice but to return to Cairo.1885 Census of Egypt
Events
January–March
* January 3–January 4, 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing dynasty, Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietn ...
recorded Hu as a nahiyah
A nāḥiyah ( ar, , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level division w ...
under the district of Dishna in Qena Governorate
Qena Governorate is one of the governorates of Egypt. Located in the southern part of the country, it covers a stretch of the Nile valley. Its capital is the city of Qena.
Overview
The rate of poverty is more than 60% in this governorate but rec ...
; at that time, the population of the town was 3,958 (2,011 men and 1,947 women).
See also
* List of ancient Egyptian towns and cities
References
{{Authority control
Archaeological sites in Egypt
Geography of Egypt