Zawyat Razin (; ), formerly Shubra al-Laun () and Ibshāda (; ) known in Antiquity as Nikiû, Nikiou or Nikious (, , , ), is a city in the

Monufia Governorate Monufia ( ' ) is one of the governorates of Egypt. Monufia’s name was derived from the hieroglyphic word “Nafr”, which means “The Good Land”. It is located in the northern part of the country in the Nile Delta, to the south of Gharbia ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. The region hosted Fort Nikiou which was built by Emperor

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

. The city witnessed the Battle of Nikiou between the

Rashidun Caliphate The Rashidun Caliphate () is a title given for the reigns of first caliphs (lit. "successors") — Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali collectively — believed to Political aspects of Islam, represent the perfect Islam and governance who led the ...

and

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

in May of 646. According to an old Christian tradition, the

Holy Family The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on,Ainsworth, 122 but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de La ...

stayed here for a week during their

Flight into Egypt The flight into Egypt is a story recounted in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 2:13–Matthew 2:23, 23) and in New Testament apocrypha. Soon after the Biblical Magi, visit by the Magi, an angel appeared to Saint Joseph, Joseph in a dream telling ...

. The first church was built here in the

3rd century The 3rd century was the period from AD 201 (represented by the Roman numerals CCI) to AD 300 (CCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. In this century, the Roman Empire saw a crisis, starting with the assassination of the Roman Emperor ...

Etymology

D.Meeks proposed an Egyptian origin for Nikiou, based a Shoshenqid donation stele in the Western Delta mentioning a Libyan settlement of Pr-Niȝk. This might have been transcribed into Greek as Νικίου. However, a more likely origin is Hellenic, with the toponym Νικίου πολίς likely being formed from the anthroponym Nikias. Nikias could have been the name of the lieutenant of

Chabrias Chabrias (; bef. 420–357 BC) was an Athens, Athenian general active in the first half of the 4th century BC. During his career he was involved in several battles, both on land and sea. The orator Demosthenes described him as one of the most ...

, who also gave his name to the "village of Nikias" on the road between

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

and Catabathmos, as mentioned by

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

History

The alternative name of the city could be Prosopis (), although some believe than in spite of the common practice of naming Greek provinces after their metropolis (e.g., Boubastis for the Boubastite nome), the city of Prosopis appears to have never actually existed. It is only mentioned in very late sources that reflect distorted traditions. There is a reference to a city (polis) named Prosôpis in the epitomes of

Herodian Herodian or Herodianus () of Syria, sometimes referred to as "Herodian of Antioch" (c. 170 – c. 240), was a minor Roman civil servant who wrote a colourful history in Greek titled ''History of the Empire from the Death of Marcus'' (τῆς με ...

's "De Prosodia Catholica," which can also be found in the "Ethnikon" by

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephen of Byzantium (; , ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD) was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethnica'' (). Only meagre fragments of the dictionary survive, but the epit ...

, both of which were likely derived from a common source. This is likely a result of confusion stemming from earlier literary traditions.

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

Thucydides Thucydides ( ; ; BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts Peloponnesian War, the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been d ...

, and

Diodorus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental universal history '' Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which survive intact, b ...

mention an "island of Prosôpitis," corresponding to the territory between the Canopic branch and the lower part of the Sebennytic branch of the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

, before the creation of the Prosôpitis nome, but they do not mention a city called Prosôpis. Instead, all sources agree that Nikiou served as the metropolis of the nome. Very little information has come down to us about the public activity in the city. However, the few indications found in papyrus records suggest that it possessed institutions characteristic of Ptolemaic, then Imperial and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

Egypt, likely in line with its role as the metropolis of the Prosôpite nome. For example, a land lease contract from the 4th century AD specifically mentions that the metropolis had counselors (βουλευταὶ τῆς Νικιωτῶν πό �εως. Additionally, an older stele from Kūm Abū Billū reveals through its epitaph that "Sarapiôn, son of Sarapiôn, former gymnasiarch of two gymnasia in Nikiou." This indicates that the city had two gymnasia and civil structures from the Imperial era. The stele of Sarapiôn is particularly interesting as it further supports the hypothesis of Nikiou's location at Zāwiyat Razīn, given its stylistic connection to the nearby necropolis of Térénouthis, which is only a few kilometers away.

Notable people

* Menas of Egypt, an Egyptian saint and martyr * John of Nikiû, an Egyptian Coptic bishop * Aristomachus, a Byzantine official * Pope John II (III) of Alexandria

References

Populated places in Monufia Governorate {{egypt-geo-stub