Zagazig ( ar, الزقازيق ' , rural: ) is a city in Lower Egypt. Situated in the eastern part of the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

delta, it is the capital of the governorate of Sharqia. It is located on the Muweis Canal and is a hub of the corn and cotton trade. There is a museum of antiquities, the Sharkeya National Museum (sometimes called the Amed Orabi Museum, at Herriat Raznah) that contains many important archaeological exhibits (currently closed for restoration).

Zagazig University Zagazig University ( ar, جامعة الزقازيق) is a public university located in the city of Zagazig, Egypt. Notable alumni *Hany Mohammed Diab – actress *Ayman Al-Hendy – academic, scientist *Muntaser Ibrahim – geneticist See also ...

, one of the largest universities in Egypt, is also located in the city, with colleges in different fields of science and arts. The Archaeological Museum of the University of Zagazig exhibits significant finds from the nearby sites,

Bubastis Bubastis ( Bohairic Coptic: ''Poubasti''; Greek: ''Boubastis'' or ''Boubastos''), also known in Arabic as Tell-Basta or in Egyptian as Per-Bast, was an ancient Egyptian city. Bubastis is often identified with the biblical ''Pi-Beseth'' ( h ...

(Tell Basta) and Kufur Nigm. Also there is a branch for Al-Azhar University, the largest

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...

university in the world. Zagazig is the birthplace of famous

Copt Copts ( cop, ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ; ar, الْقِبْط ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt and Sudan since antiquity. Most ethnic Copts are Co ...

ic Egyptian journalist, philosopher and social critic,

Salama Moussa Salama Moussa (or Musa; 1887 – 4 August 1958) ( ar, سلامه موسى , ) was an Egyptian journalist, writer and political theorist. Salama Moussa was an avowed secularist, he introduced the writings of Darwin, Nietzsche, and Freud to ...

, and famous Egyptian songwriter Morsi Gameel Aziz. The most notable streets in Zagazig are Farouk Street, Government Street, Abu Hamad and El Kawmia Street.

History

The city was founded in the 19th century on the site of a village called ''Nazlat az-Zaqāzīq'' which was named after the Zaqzuq family. The family's name itself comes from a dialectal word ''zaqzuq'' or ''ziqziq'' which means "a small creature" (e.g. a fish or a mouse) and comes from a

Coptic Coptic may refer to: Afro-Asia * Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya * Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century * Coptic alphabet ...

word ϫⲉⲕϫⲓⲕ "ant or other insect". The ruins of the ancient Egyptian city of

are located southeast of town. Bubastis was the ancient capital of the 18th nome, and is home to the feast celebrating the cat goddess

Bastet Bastet or Bast ( egy, bꜣstjt, cop, Ⲟⲩⲃⲁⲥⲧⲉ, Oubaste , Phoenician: 𐤀𐤁𐤎𐤕, romanized: ’bst, or 𐤁𐤎𐤕, romanized: bst) was a goddess of ancient Egyptian religion, worshipped as early as the Second Dynasty (2 ...

. Bubastis is the

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 ...

version of the

Egyptian language The Egyptian language or Ancient Egyptian ( ) is a dead language, dead Afroasiatic languages, Afro-Asiatic language that was spoken in ancient Egypt. It is known today from a large Text corpus, corpus of surviving texts which were made acces ...

name '' Pr-Bastet'' "House empleof Bastet". Bubastis became the capital of Egypt in the 22nd and 23rd Dynasties. There are remains of the temples built by

Osorkon II Usermaatre Setepenamun Osorkon II was the fifth king of the Twenty-second Dynasty of Ancient Egypt and the son of King Takelot I and Queen Kapes. He ruled Egypt from approximately 872 BC to 837 BC from Tanis, the capital of that dynasty. After ...

and

Nectanebo II Nectanebo II ( Egyptian: ; grc-gre, Νεκτανεβώς ) was the last native ruler of Ancient Egypt, as well as the third and last pharaoh from the Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt. He reigned from 358 to 340 BC. Under Nectanebo II, Egypt prosper ...

. Catacombs where the sacred cats were buried are located behind the remains of an

Old Kingdom In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning c. 2700–2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth ...

chapel from the period of

Pepi I Meryre Pepi I Meryre (also Pepy I) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, third king of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt, who ruled for over 40 years at the turn of the 24th and 23rd centuries BC, toward the end of the Old Kingdom period. He was the son of ...

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as

hot desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one ...

(BWh), as the rest of Egypt.

Notable people

Abaza family The Abaza family ( ar, الأسرة الأباظية) is an Egyptian family of maternal Circassians, Circassian origin. They have had an influence in the late 18th century to modern times. They are believed to have a net worth of over US$800 mi ...

, the largest family in Sharqia and Egypt's largest Circassian community. * Abdelhalim Hafez, Egyptian singer and actor *

Ahmed Orabi Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...

, colonel who led the revolt against the British in 1882 *

Carmen Suleiman Carmen Essam Soliman ( ar, كارمن عصام سليمان ; born on 7 October 1994), better known by her stage name Carmen Suleiman ( ar, كارمن سليمان ), is an Egyptian singer. Soliman won the first season of Arab Idol song conte ...

, singer *

Mohamed Morsi Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa al-AyyatThe spellings of his first and last names vary. survey of 14 news organizations plus Wikipedia in July 2012 Salama Moussa Salama Moussa (or Musa; 1887 – 4 August 1958) ( ar, سلامه موسى , ) was an Egyptian journalist, writer and political theorist. Salama Moussa was an avowed secularist, he introduced the writings of Darwin, Nietzsche, and Freud to ...

ic Egyptian journalist, philosopher and social critic * Ahmed Zaki, actor *

John Traicos Athanasios John Traicos (born 17 May 1947) is a former cricketer who represented South Africa and Zimbabwe at international level. He was primarily an off spin bowler, and is one of a small number of cricketers to have played at the highest lev ...

, International cricketer of

origin *

Rushdy Abaza Rushdy Saiid El Bughdady Abaza ( arz, رشدي سعيد البوغدادي أباظة) (3 August 1926 – 27 July 1980) was an Egyptian film and television actor. He was considered one of the most charming actors in the Egyptian film industry. He ...

, actor *

Fekry Pasha Abaza Fekry Pasha Abaza (1895 – 9 February 1979) was an Egyptian journalist and democratic political activist. Early life and education Abaza was born in 1895 in the village of Kafr Abu Shehata in the East, Egypt. He was a member of the Abaza Fa ...

, journalist and political activist

References

External links

LookLex: Egypt: Zagazig
* {{Authority control Governorate capitals in Egypt Populated places in Sharqia Governorate Nile Delta