Cynopolis ( gr, Κυνόπολις for "city of the dog") was the
Hellenistic
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
toponym for two cities in
ancient Egypt. Both Cynopolis superior and Cynopolis inferior were
bishoprics in Christian times.
Cynopolis superior
Cynopolis was the Greek name for the ancient Egyptian town of Saka (or Hardai?); ( cop, Ⲕⲁⲓⲥ or Ⲕⲟⲉⲓⲥ) in the seventeenth
nome of
Upper Egypt,
was home to the cult of
Anubis, a canine-shaped
deity
A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...
. According to
Claudius Ptolemy, the town was situated on an island in the river. The modern settlement of
El Kays
Cynopolis ( gr, Κυνόπολις for "city of the dog") was the Ptolemaic dynasty, Hellenistic Toponymy, toponym for two cities in ancient Egypt. Both Cynopolis superior and Cynopolis inferior were bishoprics in Christian times.
Cynopolis supe ...
now stands on the site. The nome of Cynopolis extended to both banks of the
Nile.
A burial ground for dogs was discovered on the opposite bank of the Nile, near Hamatha. The neighbouring cities were rivals according to
Plutarch, who wrote (''De Iside'', 72) that when a Cynopolis resident ate an Oxyrhynchos fish, the people of
Oxyrhynchos
Oxyrhynchus (; grc-gre, Ὀξύρρυγχος, Oxýrrhynchos, sharp-nosed; ancient Egyptian ''Pr-Medjed''; cop, or , ''Pemdje''; ar, البهنسا, ''Al-Bahnasa'') is a city in Middle Egypt located about 160 km south-southwest of Cairo ...
started attacking dogs in revenge, which resulted in a minor civil war.
Cynopolis was destroyed by the viceroy of Nubia
Pinehesy during the reign of
Ramses XI
Menmaatre Ramesses XI (also written Ramses and Rameses) reigned from 1107 BC to 1078 BC or 1077 BC and was the tenth and final pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt and as such, was the last king of the New Kingdom period. He ruled Egypt for ...
: the survivors were enslaved.
The diocese, which became obscure under Islam, was nominally restored in 1933 as a Latin Catholic
titular bishopric. It was named Cynopolis in Aegypto. The see has been vacant for several decades, having had the following incumbents, both of the lowest (episcopal) rank:
* Giacomo Eich,
Oblates of St. Francis de Sales
The Oblates of St. Francis de Sales (Latin: ''Oblati Sancti Francisci Salesii'', O.S.F.S.) are a congregation of Roman Catholic priests and brothers who follow the teachings of St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal. The community was foun ...
(O.S.F.S.) (1942.04.21 – 1947.02.04)
* Joseph Gerald Holland,
Society of African Missions (S.M.A.) (1953.05.07 – 1970.12.07)
Cynopolis inferior
There was a second Cynopolis, referred to as ''Cynopolis Inferior'' or ''Cynum'', which was located in the
Busirite nome in
Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt ( ar, مصر السفلى '; ) is the northernmost region of Egypt, which consists of the fertile Nile Delta between Upper Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, from El Aiyat, south of modern-day Cairo, and Dahshur. Historically, ...
(the Nile delta), now modern Meniet ebn Kasib.
It was a
suffragan
A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations.
In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...
bishopric of
Oxyrhynchus
Oxyrhynchus (; grc-gre, Ὀξύρρυγχος, Oxýrrhynchos, sharp-nosed; ancient Egyptian ''Pr-Medjed''; cop, or , ''Pemdje''; ar, البهنسا, ''Al-Bahnasa'') is a city in Middle Egypt located about 160 km south-southwest of Cairo ...
, the Metropolitan Archbishopric and provincial capital of the Late
Roman province of
Arcadia Aegypti.
The diocese was nominally restored in 1922 as a Latin Catholic
titular bishopric under the name Cynopolis. In 1933 the name of the see was changed to Cynopolis in Arcadia. The see has been vacant for several decades. The incumbents from 1922 to 1968 were:
* Robert Dobson (1922.08.22 – 1942.01.06)
* Angel Maria Ocampo Berrio,
Jesuits (S.J.) (1942.06.23 – 1947.07.19) as
Coadjutor Bishop
A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...
of
Socorro y San Gil (Colombia) (1942.06.23 – 1947.07.19), succeeding as bishop (1947.07.19 – 1950.12.06), later Bishop of
Tunja (Colombia) (1950.12.06 – 1964.06.20), promoted first Metropolitan Archbishop of Tunja (1964.06.20 – 1970.02.20), on emeritate
Titular Archbishop of
Castulo (1970.02.20 – 1973.03.10)
* Joseph Zhang Run-bo (張潤波) (1947.11.20 – 1949.08.10)
* Jean-Marcel Rodié (1956.02.15 – 1968.04.10)
References
Bibliography
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* The text was written in the 1830s.
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External links
GigaCatholic - Cynopolis in Aegypto
{{coord, 28.4833, N, 30.7833, E, source:wikidata, display=title
Archaeological sites in Egypt
Former populated places in Egypt