Sumenu or Smenu (

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 ...

: ''S(w)mnw'') was an ancient Egyptian town located in

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 ...

. It housed the most prominent early- Middle Kingdom sanctuary of the crocodile-god

Sobek Sobek (also called Sebek or Sobki, cop, Ⲥⲟⲩⲕ, Souk) was an ancient Egyptian deity with a complex and elastic history and nature. He is associated with the Nile crocodile or the West African crocodile and is represented either in its f ...

.Betrò, p. 91

Identification

Uncertainties about the exact location of the city – tentatively identified with

Gebelein Gebelein (Egyptian Arabic: , Two Mountains; Egyptian: Inerty or Per-Hathor; Ancient Greek: or ; Latin: ''Pathyris'' or ''Aphroditopolis'') was a town in Egypt. It is located on the Nile, about 40 km south of Thebes, in the New Valley Gov ...

or with Rizeiqat, the latter location being suggested by

Gaston Maspero Sir Gaston Camille Charles Maspero (23 June 1846 – 30 June 1916) was a French Egyptologist known for popularizing the term "Sea Peoples" in an 1881 paper. Maspero's son, Henri Maspero, became a notable sinologist and scholar of East Asia. ...

– seem to have been resolved thanks to archaeological excavations started in the late 1960s, which finally allowed to identify Sumenu with the modern town of Al-Mahamid Qibly, located between

Armant Armant ( ar, أرْمَنْت; egy, jwn.w-n-mnṯ.w or ''jwn.w-šmꜥ.w''; Bohairic: ; Sahidic: ), also known as Hermonthis ( grc, Ἕρμωνθις), is a town located about south of Thebes. It was an important Middle Kingdom town, which was ...

and Gebelein. It is almost certain that Sumenu has to be identified with Imiotru ( egy, ʼIwmìtrw) and thus also with the Crocodilopolis ( grc, Κροκοδείλων πόλις) which was distinct from the one in the

Faiyum Faiyum ( ar, الفيوم ' , borrowed from cop, ̀Ⲫⲓⲟⲙ or Ⲫⲓⲱⲙ ' from egy, pꜣ ym "the Sea, Lake") is a city in Middle Egypt. Located southwest of Cairo, in the Faiyum Oasis, it is the capital of the modern Faiyum ...

and, according to

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 ...

's ''

Geographica The ''Geographica'' (Ancient Greek: Γεωγραφικά ''Geōgraphiká''), or ''Geography'', is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Ancient Greek, Greek and attributed to Strabo, an educated citizen ...

'', was located between Hermonthis (Armant) and Aphroditopolis (Gebelein). It appears most likely that Sumenu was the

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

where the temple stood, while Imiotru/Crocodilopolis referred to the whole city; in later times, the "Sumenu" denomination became obsolete.

History

Earliest attestations of Sumenu dates back to the

11th Dynasty The Eleventh Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty XI) is a well-attested group of rulers. Its earlier members before Pharaoh Mentuhotep II are grouped with the four preceding dynasties to form the First Intermediate Period, whereas the late ...

, and consist in references of a temple of "Sobek, lord of Sumenu", indirectly attesting that such temple was already existing at the time.

Jean Yoyotte Jean Yoyotte (4 August 1927 – 1 July 2009) was a French Egyptologist, Professor of Egyptology at the Collège de France and director of research at the École pratique des hautes études (EPHE). Biography Born in 1927 at Lyon, he attended the ...

suggested that the flourishing of the cult of Sobek during the Middle Kingdom was due to the Theban origin of the

12th Dynasty The Twelfth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty XII) is considered to be the apex of the Middle Kingdom by Egyptologists. It often is combined with the Eleventh, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth dynasties under the group title, Middle Kingdom. Some s ...

pharaohs rather than their interest in the Faiyum region where Sobek was later associated. In fact, objects referring to Sobek of Sumenu became quite common during the early Middle Kingdom, and was only with

Amenemhat III :''See Amenemhat, for other individuals with this name.'' Amenemhat III ( Ancient Egyptian: ''Ỉmn-m-hꜣt'' meaning 'Amun is at the forefront'), also known as Amenemhet III, was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the sixth king of the Twelfth Dy ...

that the cult of Sobek at Sumenu lost its appeal in favor of “Sobek of Shedet”, the Greek ''Krokodeilópolis'', located northward in the Faiyum. The temple survived into the

New Kingdom New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, when several pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty ordered works here, then gradually phased out in later times. Soon after 88 BCE, the temple was demolished and its materials reused in the nearby city of

el-Tod El-Tod ( ar, طود , from , , , ) was the site of an ancient Egyptian town and a temple to the Egyptian god Montu. It is located southwest of Luxor, Egypt, near the settlement of Hermonthis. A modern village now surrounds the site. History ...

.Betrò, p. 93

References

{{Reflist, 2

Bibliography

*Betrò, Marilina: ''Sobek a Sumenu'' in Pernigotti, Sergio & Zecchi, Marco (eds): ''Il coccodrillo ed il cobra. Aspetti dell'universo religioso egiziano nel Fayyum e altrove. Atti del colloquio, Bologna – 20/21 Aprile 2005''. Imola, La Mandragora, pp. 91-102 (in Italian). Cities in ancient Egypt Archaeological sites in Egypt Former populated places in Egypt