Hypselis or Hypsela ( grc, Ύψηλή; cop, ϣⲱⲧⲡ), known to the ancient Egyptians as Shashotep, is an ancient Egyptian city and

Roman 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 letter ...

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

, which was located near the modern town of Shutb (or ash-Shatb, Chutb) in the

Asyut Governorate AsyutAlso spelled ''Assiout'' or ''Assiut'' ( ar, أسيوط ' , from ' ) is the capital of the modern Asyut Governorate in Egypt. It was built close to the ancient city of the same name, which is situated nearby. The modern city is located at , ...

History

Antiquity

''Shashotep'' is first mentioned in texts dating back to the

First Intermediate Period The First Intermediate Period, described as a 'dark period' in ancient Egyptian history, spanned approximately 125 years, c. 2181–2055 BC, after the end of the Old Kingdom. It comprises the Seventh (although this is mostly considered spurious ...

. During the subsequent Middle Kingdom it was the main town of the 11th Upper Egyptian nome. The main deity of ancient Shashotep was

Khnum Khnum or also romanised Khnemu (; egy, 𓎸𓅱𓀭 ẖnmw, grc-koi, Χνοῦβις) was one of the earliest-known Egyptian deities, originally the god of the source of the Nile. Since the annual flooding of the Nile brought with it silt an ...

, who was sometimes called "Lord of Shashotep". The cemeteries near the modern place

Rifeh Rifeh or Deir Rifeh (also known as Rifa) is a village in Egypt. The name refers today most often to a series of ancient Egyptian cemeteries nearby. These are the burial grounds of the ancient town Shashotep. The cemeteries date from the end of the ...

, once belonged to the town. Later, the city became known by the Greeks as ''Hypselis''.

Titular see

During Roman time, and before fading into the desert, the city became one of the suffragan sees of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Antinoë, capital of the province of

Thebais Prima The Thebaid or Thebais ( grc-gre, Θηβαΐς, ''Thēbaïs'') was a region in ancient Egypt, comprising the 13 southernmost nomes of Upper Egypt, from Abydos to Aswan. Pharaonic history The Thebaid acquired its name from its proximity to ...

. The diocese was nominally restored in 1933 as Latin

Titular bishopric 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 ...

by the names of ''Hypselis'' / ''Ipseli''. It is vacant since 1997, following the death of its last bishop, Jesús Serrano Pastor.GCatholic
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References

Catholic titular sees in Africa Cities in ancient Egypt Former populated places in Egypt Suppressed Roman Catholic dioceses {{AncientEgypt-stub

History

Antiquity

Titular see

See also

References