Sakha, also known by the ancient name of Xois ( ar, سخا, grc-koi, Ξόις, cop, ⲥϦⲱⲟⲩ

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 ...

xvii. p, 802; Ptolemy iv. 5. § 50; ,

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium ( la, Stephanus Byzantinus; grc-gre, Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethni ...

''s. v.'') is a town in Kafr El Sheikh Governorate of Egypt. Located near the center of the

Nile Delta 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 Po ...

, it is a city of great antiquity, identified with the ancient Egyptian city of Ḫꜣsww(t) (Khasut or Khaset).

History

Description de l'univers (1683) (14783850642)

Xois sat upon an island formed by 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 ...

and

Phatnitic 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 Po ...

branches of the Nile. It belonged to the Sebennytic Nome, and later was the capital of its own nome, the Xoite nome. The

Fourteenth Dynasty of Egypt The Fourteenth Dynasty of Egypt was a series of rulers reigning during the Second Intermediate Period over the Nile Delta region of Egypt. It lasted between 75 (ca. 1725–1650 BC) and 155 years (ca. 1805–1650 BC), depending on the sc ...

consisted, according to

Manetho Manetho (; grc-koi, Μανέθων ''Manéthōn'', ''gen''.: Μανέθωνος) is believed to have been an Egyptian priest from Sebennytos ( cop, Ϫⲉⲙⲛⲟⲩϯ, translit=Čemnouti) who lived in the Ptolemaic Kingdom in the early third ...

, of 76 Xoite kings. This dynasty immediately preceded that of the Hyksos during the Second Intermediate Period. It seems possible, therefore, that Xois, from its strong position among the marshes of the Nile Delta formed by the intersecting branches of the river, could have held out during the occupation of the Delta by the Hyksos, or at least compromised with the invaders by paying them tribute. This hypothesis, however, is not shared by most Egyptologists today, who believe that the Fourteenth Dynasty was based in

Avaris Avaris (; Egyptian: ḥw.t wꜥr.t, sometimes ''hut-waret''; grc, Αὔαρις, Auaris; el, Άβαρις, Ávaris; ar, حوّارة, Hawwara) was the Hyksos capital of Egypt located at the modern site of Tell el-Dab'a in the northeastern r ...

in the eastern Delta. By some geographers, Xois is supposed to be the Papremis of Herodotus (ii. 59, iii. 12).

Jean-François Champollion Jean-François Champollion (), also known as Champollion ''le jeune'' ('the Younger'; 23 December 17904 March 1832), was a French philologist and orientalist, known primarily as the decipherer of Egyptian hieroglyphs and a founding figure in th ...

(''l'Egypte sous les Pharaons'', vol. ii. p. 214) identified Xois's remains at modern-day Sakha (Sakkra), which is the Arabic version of the Coptic Sḫeow and

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

''sḫw'' (Niebuhr, ''Travels'', vol. i. p. 75). The road from Tamiathis to Memphis passed through Xois. Through the Roman and Byzantine era, Xois was the center of a Christian diocese. It remains a vacant titular bishopric.Xios
at catholic-hierarchy.org. The diocese remained active through at least the year 700. In the 900s, Ibn Hawqal described Sakha as a large city. At the time of Yaqut al-Hamawi in the 1200s, Sakha was the capital of the province of Gharbia. By the time of Ibn Duqmaq, it was no longer the provincial capital, but it remained a large city that lent its name to a major sub-district of the province. The

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 Sakha as a nahiyah under the district of

Kafr El Sheikh Kafr El Sheikh ( arz, كفر الشيخ ) is an Egyptian city and the capital of Kafr El Sheikh Governorate, Egypt, about 134 km north of Cairo, in the Nile Delta of lower Egypt. As of November 2006, the town had a population of around 500,0 ...

in Gharbia Governorate; at that time, the population of the town was 950 (480 men and 470 women).

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

tradition holds that Sakha was one of the places that the family of Jesus visited during their

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

. In 1984, a stone said to bear the footprint of Jesus was found; the stone was authorized by Coptic Pope

Shenouda III Shenouda ( arz, شنودة ) is an Egyptian male name, which is commonly used among Egyptian Christians (the Copts). The name comes from cop, Ϣⲉⲛⲟⲩϯ (') and is a composite of the Egyptian words: ' ( "son"), ' ( "of") and ' ( "God") ...

and several miracles have been attributed to it.

References

* {{coord, 31.089, N, 30.951, E, display=title, source:frwiki Cities in ancient Egypt Ruins in Egypt Former populated places in Egypt Nile Delta

History

See also

References