Thinis

Thinis (Greek: Θίνις ''Thinis'', Θίς ''This'' ; Egyptian: Tjenu; cop, Ⲧⲓⲛ; ar, ثينيس) was the capital city of the first dynasties of ancient Egypt. Thinis remains undiscovered but is well attested by ancient writers, including the classical historian Manetho, who cites it as the centre of the Thinite Confederacy, a tribal confederation whose leader, Menes (or Narmer), united Egypt and was its first pharaoh. Thinis began a steep decline in importance from Dynasty III, when the capital was relocated to Memphis, which was thought to be the first true and stable capital after the unification of old Egypt by Menes. Thinis's location on the border of the competing Heracleopolitan and Theban dynasties of the First Intermediate Period and its proximity to certain oases of possible military importance ensured Thinis some continued significance in the Old and New Kingdoms. This was a brief respite and Thinis eventually lost its position as a regional administrative centre by the Roman period.

Due to its ancient heritage, Thinis remained a significant religious centre, housing the tomb and mummy of the regional deity. In ancient Egyptian religious cosmology, as seen (for example) in the ''Book of the Dead'', Thinis played a role as a mythical place in heaven.Massey 1907: 637

Although the precise location of Thinis is unknown, mainstream Egyptological consensus places it in the vicinity of ancient Abydos and modern Girga.Gardiner 1964: 430 n.1Ryholt 1997: 163 n. 594Strudwick 2005: 509

Name and location

The name ''Thinis'' (Θίνις) is derived from Manetho's use of the adjective ''Thinite'' to describe the pharaoh Menes.Verbrugghe and Wickersham 2001: 131 Although the corresponding ''Thinis'' does not appear in Greek, it is demanded by the Egyptian original and is the more popular name among Egyptologists. Also suggested is ''This'' (Θίς).Tacoma 2006: 54 n. 63

In correcting a passage of Hellanicus (b. 490 BCE), Jörgen Zoega amended
Τίνδων ὄνομα to Θὶν δὲ ᾧ ὄνομα. Maspero (1903) found that this revealed the name ''Thinis'' and also, from the same passage, a key geographic indicator: επιποταμίη ( en, on the river). Maspero used this additional detail to support the theory, which included among its followers Jean-François Champollion and Nestor L'Hôte, locating Thinis at modern-day Girga or a neighbouring town, possibly El-Birba. Other proposals for Thinis' location have lost favour at the expense of the Girga-Birba theory: Auguste Mariette, founder director of the Egyptian Museum, suggested Kom el-Sultan; A. Schmidt, El-Kherbeh; and Heinrich Karl Brugsch, Johannes Dümichen and others supported El-Tineh, near Berdis.Maspero 1903: 331 n.1 Mainstream Egyptological consensus continues to locate Thinis at or near to either Girga, or El-BirbaBagnall 1996: 334 (where an inscribed statue fragment mentioning Thinis is said to have been found).Wilkinson 2000: 354

History

Pre-dynastic and Early Dynastic periods

Although the archaeological site of Thinis has never been located,Anderson 1999: 105 evidence of population concentration in the Abydos-Thinis region dates from the fourth millennium BCE. Thinis is also cited as the earliest royal burial-site in Egypt.Clark 2004: 115

At an early point, the city of Abydos ceded its political rank to Thinis, and although Abydos would continue to enjoy supreme religious importance,Maspero 1903: 333 its history and functions cannot be understood without reference to Thinis. The role of Thinis as centre of the Thinite Confederacy (or Dynasty 0) and into the Early Dynastic Period (specifically Dynasty I and Dynasty II) is taken from Manetho,Wilkinson 2000: 67 and, according to Wilkinson (2000), seems to be confirmed by Dynasty I and late Dynasty II royal tombs at Abydos, the principal regional necropolis.

Old Kingdom to Second Intermediate Period

Such importance seems to have been short-lived: certainly, the national political role of Thinis ended at the beginning of Dynasty III (c. 2686 BCE), when Memphis became the chief religious and political centre.Najovits 2003: 171 Nonetheless, Thinis retained its regional significance: during Dynasty V it was the probable seat of the "Overseer of Upper Egypt", an administrative official with responsibility for the Nile Valley south of the Delta, and throughout antiquity it was the eponymous capital of '' nome'' VIII of Upper Egypt and seat of its nomarch.

During the wars of the First Intermediate Period (c. 2181 – c. 2055 BCE), Ankhtifi, nomarch of Hierakonpolis, demanded recognition of his suzerainty from the "overseer of Upper Egypt" at Thinis,Hamblin 2006: 373 and although the city walls, cited in Ankhtifi's autobiography, seem to have left Ankhtifi capable of only a show of force, he appears to have purchased Thinis' neutrality with grain.Brovarski 1999: 44

Following Ankhtifi's death, Thinis was the northernmost ''nome'' to fall under the sway of Intef II, pharaoh of the Theban Dynasty XI (c. 2118 – c. 2069 BCE).Hamblin 2006: 375 Progress north by the Theban armies was halted by Kheti III, pharaoh of the Heracleopolitan Dynasty IX, in a battle at Thinis itself that is recorded in the ''Teaching for King Merykara'', and, throughout Intef II's later years, his war against the Heracleopolitans and their allies, the nomarchs of Assyut, was waged in the land between Thinis and Assyut.

As Thebes began to gain the upper hand, Mentuhotep II (c. 2061 – c. 2010 BCE), during his campaign of reunification, brought Thinis, which had been in revolt, possibly at Heracleopolitan instigation and certainly with the support of an army under the command of the nomarch of Assyut, firmly under his control.Hamblin 2006: 385

During the Second Intermediate Period (c. eighteenth century BCE), Thinis may have experienced resurgent autonomy: Ryholt (1997) proposes that the Abydos dynasty of kings might better be called the "Thinite Dynasty" and that, in any event, their royal seat was likely at Thinis, already a ''nome'' capital.

New Kingdom and Late Period

The city's steady decline appears to have halted briefly during Dynasty XVIII (c. 1550 – c. 1292 BCE), when Thinis enjoyed renewed prominence, based on its geographical connection to various oases of possible military importance. Certainly, the office of mayor of Thinis was occupied by several notable New Kingdom figures: Satepihu, who participated in the construction of an obelisk for Hatshepsut and was himself subject of an exemplary block statue; the herald Intef, an indispensable member of the royal household and the travelling-companion of Thutmose III; and Min, tutor to the prince Amenhotep III.Bryan 2006: 100

Nonetheless, Thinis had declined to a settlement of little significance by the historic period. The misleading reference on a seventh-century BCE Assyrian stele to "Nespamedu, king of Thinis" is nothing more than a reflection of Assyrian "ignorance of the subtlety of the Egyptian political hierarchy".

Certainly, by the Roman period, Thinis had been supplanted as capital of its ''nome'' by Ptolemais, perhaps even as early as that city's foundation by Ptolemy I.

Religion

As each ''nome'' was home to the tomb and mummy of its dead ''nome''-god, so at Thinis was the temple and last resting-place of Anhur, whose epithets included "bull of Thinis", worshipped after his deathMaspero 1903: 163 as Khenti-Amentiu, and who, as ''nome''-god, was placed at the head of the local ennead.

The high priest of the temple of Anhur at Thinis was called the first prophet, or chief of seers, a title that Maspero (1903) suggests is a reflection of Thinis' decline in status as a city.

One such chief of seers, Anhurmose, who died in the reign of Merneptah (c. 1213 – c. 1203 BCE), broke with the tradition of his New Kingdom predecessors, who were buried at Abydos, and was laid to rest at Thinis itself.Frood 2007: 107

The lion-goddess Mehit was also worshipped at Thinis, and the restoration of her temple there during Merneptah's reign was probably overseen by Anhurmose.

There is evidence that succession to the office of chief of seers of Anhur at Thinis was familial: in the Herakleopolitan period, one Hagi succeeded his elder brother, also called Hagi, and their father to the post; and, in the New Kingdom, Wenennefer was succeeded in the priestly office by his son, Hori.Frood 2007: 189

In ancient Egyptian religious cosmology, Thinis played a role as a mythical place in heaven. In particular, as set out in the ''Book of the Dead'', its eschatological significance can be seen in certain rituals: when the god Osiris triumphs, "joy goeth its round in Thinis", a reference to the celestial Thinis, rather than the earthly city.

See also

* List of ancient Egyptian towns and cities

Notes

References

Bibliography

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{{Second Dynasty of Ancient Egypt

Populated places established in the 4th millennium BC
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Cities in ancient Egypt
Egyptology
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