Rhinocorura

Rhinocorura ( grc-gre, Ῥινοκόρουρα, ''Rhinokóroura'', or , ''Rhinokoúroura'') or Rhinocolura (, ''Rhinokóloura'') was the name of a region and associated town (or towns) and rivers lying between Ancient Egypt and the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...

. The name may refer explicitly to: *Rhinocorura, a desert location on the border between Ancient Egypt and the

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 "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

(''Geographia'' XVI, 2, 31-32) and

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

(''Historic Library'' Vol 1, Chap. 60). This appears to be the original usage of the name, which means " cut-off noses" in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

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

relates that it was founded by the

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

n king Actisanes as a place of exile for those found guilty of robbery whom he punished by cutting off their noses.

's version of the story claims that it was settled by Ethiopians who had attempted to invade Egypt and were subsequently punished by having their noses cut off. It may be identical with the Egyptian border fortress

Tjaru Tjaru ( egy, ṯꜣrw) was an ancient Egyptian fortress on the ''Way of Horus'' or ''Horus military road'', the major road leading out of Egypt into Canaan. It was known in Greek as Selē ( grc, Σελη), in Latin as Sile or Sele, and in Coptic ...

, to which officials, who had committed crimes, were banished after having their noses cut off. *Rhinocorura, the "

Brook of Egypt The Brook of Egypt is the name used in some English translations of the Bible for the Hebrew ''Naḥal Mizraim'' ("River of Egypt"), used for the river defining the westernmost border of the Land of Israel. A number of scholars in the past have ...

". Identified as the Pelusian branch of the Nile - in ancient times the easternmost branch of the Nile, which subsequently ran dry. It was located roughly where the present

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

lies. This usage of the term is found in the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...

translation of

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

27:12. Presumably the locality mentioned by Strabo and Diodorus lay in its vicinity and gave its name to the river. *Rhinocolura, the name of one or two (depending on interpretation), coastal towns mentioned by

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

and

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...

. Pliny writes ambiguously: "and the two towns of Rhinocolura, inland Raphia, Gaza and inland Anthedon". (Pliny, ''Historia Naturalis'', V,14.) Josephus mentions a coastal Rhinocolura near Gaza, Anthedon and Raphia. (Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'', Book 13, 15:4; Book 24, 11:5). He also mentions Rhinocolura in connection with Pelusium (''Antiquities of the Jews'', Book 14, 14:2; ''The Jewish War'', Book 1, 14). The coastal Rhinocolura (or one of them if there were two) is commonly identified with

El-Arish ʻArish or el-ʻArīsh ( ar, العريش ' , ''Hrinokorura'') is the capital and largest city (with 164,830 inhabitants ) of the North Sinai Governorate of Egypt, as well as the largest city on the entire Sinai Peninsula, lying on the Mediter ...

. It is uncertain if this is identical to the ''Rhinocorura'' of Strabo and Diodorus. Archaeologists have found no evidence of occupation prior to the Hellenistic period at El-Arish. *Rhinocolura or Rhinocorura, the Wadi El-Arish. The drying up and disappearance of the Pelusian arm of the Nile led Biblical commentators to identify the Rhinocurara of the Septuagint (the "

") with the Wadi El-Arish which provides water to El-Arish identified with the coastal Rhinocolura of Pliny and Josephus.{{citation needed, date=March 2017 *Rhinocolura or Rhinocorura ( la, Rhinocoruritanus), a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

and

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 ...

Pelusium Pelusium ( Ancient Egyptian: ; cop, /, romanized: , or , romanized: ; grc, Πηλουσιον, Pēlousion; la, Pēlūsium; Arabic: ; Egyptian Arabic: ) was an important city in the eastern extremes of Egypt's Nile Delta, 30 km to ...

representing the

Sinai Sinai commonly refers to: * Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God Sinai may also refer to: * Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...

. Geography of ancient Egypt Hebrew Bible rivers