Lower Egypt ( ar, مصر السفلى '; ) is the northernmost
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...
of
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 Medit ...
, which consists of the fertile
Nile Delta between
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 E ...
and the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...
, from El Aiyat, south of modern-day
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
, and
Dahshur
DahshurAlso transliterated ''Dahshour'' (in English often called ''Dashur'' ar, دهشور ' , ''Dahchur'') is a royal necropolis located in the desert on the west bank of the Nile approximately south of Cairo. It is known chiefly for several p ...
. Historically, the Nile River split into seven branches of the delta in Lower Egypt.
Lower Egypt was divided into
nomes and began to advance as a civilization after 3600 BC.
Today, it contains two major channels that flow through the delta of the Nile River –
Mahmoudiyah Canal
Mahmoudia Canal ( ''Agathos Daimon'' or ''Megas potamos'') is a sub-canal from the Nile River which starts at the Nile-port of Mahmoudia and goes through Alexandria to the Mediterranean Sea. It was built to supply Alexandria with food and fres ...
(ancient Agathos Daimon) and Muways Canal (, "waterway of Moses").
Name
In
Ancient Egyptian, Lower Egypt was as ''mḥw'' and means ''"north"''. Later on, during
Antiquity and the
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 ...
,
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
and
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
called it ''Κάτω Αἴγυπτος'' or ''Aegyptus Inferior'' both meaning "Lower Egypt", but
Copts carried on using the old name related to the north – ''Tsakhet'' () or ''Psanemhit'' () meaning the "Northern part". It was further divided into number of regions or
nomes () – ''Niphaiat'' (, ) in the west, ''Tiarabia'' () in the east, ''Nimeshshoti'' () in the north-east and ''
Bashmur
Bashmur ( , ; ar, الباشمور, ) was a region in the Nile Delta in Egypt. In the early Middle Ages, it was inhabited by Christian Copts and was the scene of a series of revolts against Arab rule in the 8th and 9th centuries.
Name
The nam ...
'' (Bashmuric ) in the north.
Champollion adds another region in the middle of the Delta which he calls ''Petmour'' () based on mentioned by
Stephanus of Byzantium, but it's unclear if it's a separate region or just a Greek rendering of the name Bashmur.
After the
Muslim conquest
The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He esta ...
, the middle part of the Delta was called al-Rif () which means "countryside, rural area" and which is derived from
Ancient Egyptian
r:Z1-pr*Z1:niwt
''r-pr'', "temple", because the rural areas were administered by them. The eastern part roughly comprising the ancient Tiarabia was called al-Hawf () meaning "edge, fringe".
Geography
In ancient times,
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
, in ''
Natural History'' (Book 5, chapter 11), said that upon reaching the delta the Nile split into seven branches (from east to west): the
Pelusiac
The Nile Delta ( ar, دلتا النيل, or simply , ) is the River delta, 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
Tanitic, the
Mendes
Mendes ( grc-gre, Μένδης, '' gen''.: ), the Greek name of the ancient Egyptian city of Djedet, also known in ancient Egypt as Per-Banebdjedet ("The Domain of the Ram Lord of Djedet") and Anpet, is known today as Tell El-Ruba ( ar, تل ا ...
ian, the
Phatnitic, the
Sebennytic
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 ...
, the
Bolbitine, and the
Canopic. Today, there are two principal channels that the
Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...
takes through the
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...
delta: one in the west at
Rashid and one in the east at
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 ...
.
The delta region is well watered, crisscrossed by
channels
Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to:
Geography
* Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water.
Australia
* Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
and
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...
s.
Owing primarily to its proximity to the Mediterranean Sea, the climate in Lower Egypt is milder than that 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 E ...
, the southern portion of the country. Temperatures are less extreme and rainfall is more abundant in Lower Egypt.
History
It was divided into twenty districts called
nomes, the first of which was at
el-Lisht
Lisht or el-Lisht ( ar, اللشت, translit=Al-Lišt) is an Egyptian village located south of Cairo. It is the site of Middle Kingdom royal and elite burials, including two pyramids built by Amenemhat I and Senusret I. The two main pyramids were ...
. Because Lower Egypt was mostly undeveloped
scrubland, filled with all types of plant life such as grasses and
herbs, the organization of the ''nomes'' underwent several changes.
The capital of Lower Egypt was
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
. Its patron goddess was the goddess
Wadjet
Wadjet (; egy, wꜢḏyt "Green One"), known to the Greek world as Uto (; grc-koi, Οὐτώ) or Buto (; ) among other renderings including Wedjat, Uadjet, and Udjo, was originally the ancient local goddess of the city of Dep. It became part ...
, depicted as a cobra. Lower Egypt was represented by the Red Crown ''
Deshret
Deshret ( egy, dšrt "Red One") was the formal name for the Red Crown of Lower Egypt and for the desert Red Land on either side of Kemet (Black Land), the fertile Nile river basin. When combined with the Hedjet (White Crown) of Upper Egypt, it fo ...
'', and its symbols were the papyrus and the bee. After unification, the patron deities of both Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt were represented together as the ''
Two Ladies
In Ancient Egyptian texts, the "Two Ladies" ( egy, nbtj, sometimes anglicized ''Nebty'') was a religious epithet for the goddesses Wadjet and Nekhbet, two deities who were patrons of the ancient Egyptians and worshiped by all after the unificati ...
'', Wadjet and
Nekhbet
Nekhbet (; also spelt Nekhebit) is an early predynastic local goddess in Egyptian mythology, who was the patron of the city of Nekheb (her name meaning ''of Nekheb''). Ultimately, she became the patron of Upper Egypt and one of the two patron d ...
(depicted as a vulture), to protect all of the ancient Egyptians.
By approximately 3600 BC, Neolithic Egyptian societies along the
Nile River had based their culture on the raising of crops and the domestication of animals. Shortly after 3600 BC, Egyptian society began to grow and advance rapidly toward refined civilization.
[Carl Roebuck, ''The World of Ancient Times'' (Charles Scribner's Sons: New York, 1966) p. 52-53.] A new and distinctive pottery, which was related to the
pottery in the Southern Levant, appeared during this time. Extensive use of copper became common during this time.
The
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...
n process of
sun-dried bricks, and architectural building principles—including the use of the arch and recessed walls for decorative effect—became popular during this time.
Concurrent with these cultural advances, a process of unification of the societies and towns of the upper Nile River, or
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 E ...
, occurred. At the same time, the societies of the
Nile Delta, or Lower Egypt also underwent a unification process.
Warfare between Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt occurred often.
During his reign in Upper Egypt, King
Narmer defeated his enemies in the Delta and merged the kingdoms of Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt under his single rule.
[Carl Roebuck, ''The World of Ancient Times'' (Charles Scribner's Sons Publishers: New York, 1966), p. 53.]
List of kings of the Predynastic Period of Lower Egypt
The
Palermo stone, a royal annal written in the mid Fifth Dynasty (c. 2490 BC – c. 2350 BC) records a number of kings reigning over Lower Egypt before
Narmer. These are completely unattested outside these inscriptions:
In contrast, the following kings are attested through archeological finds from Sinai and Lower Egypt:
Double Falcon
Double Falcon (also possibly Dju and Nebwy) was a ruler of Lower Egypt from Naqada III. He may have reigned during the 32nd century BC. The length of his reign is unknown.
Attestation
In 1910, Egyptologist M. J. Clédat discovered the first ...
,
Crocodile.
List of nomes
See also
*
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 E ...
*
Middle Egypt
Middle Egypt () is the section of land between Lower Egypt (the Nile Delta) and Upper Egypt, stretching upstream from Asyut in the south to Memphis in the north. At the time, Ancient Egypt was divided into Lower and Upper Egypt, though Middle ...
*
Upper and Lower Egypt
In Egyptian history, the Upper and Lower Egypt period (also known as The Two Lands) was the final stage of prehistoric Egypt and directly preceded the unification of the realm. The conception of Egypt as the Two Lands was an example of the dual ...
*
Nomes of Egypt
*
Geography of Egypt
The geography of Egypt relates to two regions: North Africa and Southwest Asia.
Egypt has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea, the River Nile, and the Red Sea. Egypt borders Libya to the west, the Gaza Strip to the northeast, Israel to the eas ...
*
Ancient Egypt
References
External links
{{Regions of Africa
States and territories established in the 4th millennium BC
States and territories disestablished in the 4th millennium BC
*
Nile Delta
.Lower Middle
Historical regions
it:Geografia dell'antico Egitto#Basso Egitto