The Precinct of Montu, located near

Luxor Luxor ( ar, الأقصر, al-ʾuqṣur, lit=the palaces) is a modern city in Upper (southern) Egypt which includes the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of ''Thebes''. Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open-a ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, is one of the four main

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

enclosures that make up the immense

Karnak Temple Complex The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (, which was originally derived from ar, خورنق ''Khurnaq'' "fortified village"), comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Constru ...

. It is dedicated to the Egyptian god

Montu Montu was a falcon-god of war in ancient Egyptian religion, an embodiment of the conquering vitality of the pharaoh.Hart, George, ''A Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses'', Routledge, 1986, . p. 126. He was particularly worshipped in Upper ...

. The area covers about 20,000 m². Most monuments are poorly preserved.

Features

History of Egypt, Chaldea, Syria, Babylonia and Assyria (1903) (14767611841)

The main features of the Precinct of Montu are the Temple of Montu, Temple of Harpre, Temple of

Ma'at Maat or Maʽat ( Egyptian: mꜣꜥt /ˈmuʀʕat/, Coptic: ⲙⲉⲓ) refers to the ancient Egyptian concepts of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice. Ma'at was also the goddess who personified these concepts, and regul ...

, a

sacred lake Sacred waters are sacred natural sites characterized by tangible topographical land formations such as rivers, lakes, springs, reservoirs, and oceans, as opposed to holy water which is water elevated with the sacramental blessing of a cleric. T ...

and the Gateway of

Ptolemy III Euergetes , predecessor = Ptolemy II , successor = Ptolemy IV , nebty = ''ḳn nḏtj-nṯrw jnb-mnḫ-n-tꜢmrj'Qen nedjtinetjeru inebmenekhentamery''The brave one who has protected the gods, a potent wall for The Beloved Land , nebty_hiero ...

Ptolemy IV Philopator egy, Iwaennetjerwymenkhwy Setepptah Userkare Sekhemankhamun Clayton (2006) p. 208. , predecessor = Ptolemy III , successor = Ptolemy V , horus = ''ḥnw-ḳni sḫꜤi.n-sw-it.f'Khunuqeni sekhaensuitef'' The strong youth whose f ...

, which is the most visible structure on the site and can be easily seen from inside the

Precinct of Amon-Re The Precinct of Amun-Re, located near Luxor, Egypt, is one of the four main temple enclosures that make up the immense Karnak Temple Complex. The precinct is by far the largest of these and the only one that is open to the general public. The te ...

. This gateway is also called ''Bab el’Adb''. This large monumental door was reached via a dromos leading from a quay that led to a channel which connected the field to that of Montu of

Medamud Medamud (, from ) was a settlement in ancient Egypt. Its present-day territory is located about 8 km east-north from Luxor. The Temple of Montu was located here. It was excavated by Fernand Bisson de la Roque in 1925, who identified sev ...

further north of the city. Through this gate, is reached a large court which was decorated by a colonnade dating from the

25th Dynasty The Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXV, alternatively 25th Dynasty or Dynasty 25), also known as the Nubian Dynasty, the Kushite Empire, the Black Pharaohs, or the Napatans, after their capital Napata, was the last dynasty of th ...

period. In the south, a series of doors opened onto a series of vaults of Divine Adoratrices, which were next to the northern part of the precinct of

Amun-Re Amun (; also ''Amon'', ''Ammon'', ''Amen''; egy, jmn, reconstructed as (Old Egyptian and early Middle Egyptian) → (later Middle Egyptian) → (Late Egyptian), cop, Ⲁⲙⲟⲩⲛ, Amoun) romanized: ʾmn) was a major ancient Egyptian ...

. The enclosure was built of mud-brick and restored by Nectanebo in the 30th Dynasty

Temple of Montu

This temple consisted of the traditional parts of an Egyptian temple with a pylon, court and rooms filled with columns. The ruins of the temple date to the reign of

Amenhotep III Amenhotep III ( egy, jmn-ḥtp(.w), ''Amānəḥūtpū'' , "Amun is Satisfied"; Hellenized as Amenophis III), also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent or Amenhotep the Great, was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. According to different ...

who rebuilt the sanctuary dating from the Middle Kingdom era and dedicated it to Montu-Re.

Ramesses II Ramesses II ( egy, wikt:rꜥ-ms-sw, rꜥ-ms-sw ''Rīʿa-məsī-sū'', , meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is oft ...

increased the size of the temple by adding a forecourt and erecting two obelisks there. A large court with gantry gave on hypostyle open on the court, characteristic of the buildings of the reign of

Amenhotep I Amenhotep I () ( egy, jmn-ḥtp(w) /jaˌmanuwˈħatpaw/ "Amun is satisfied"; Amarna cuneiform ''a-ma-an-ha-at-pe'' or ''-at-pa''), Amenôthes I, or Amenophis I, (,) from Ancient Greek Ἀμένωφις ,Dodson & Hilton (2004) p.126 additionally ...

. The sanctuary is made up as follows: a room with four columns serving various vaults of the worship and giving on the room of the boat which preceded the naos by the god. Nearby in

was another Temple of Montu.

Temple of Ma'at

The Temple of Maât is famous for its court which judged the plunderers of royal tombs under

Ramesses IX Neferkare Setepenre Ramesses IX (also written Ramses) (originally named Amon-her-khepshef Khaemwaset) (ruled 1129–1111 BC) was the eighth pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt. He was the third longest serving king of this Dynasty after Ra ...

at the end of the

20th Dynasty The Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XX, alternatively 20th Dynasty or Dynasty 20) is the third and last dynasty of the Ancient Egyptian New Kingdom period, lasting from 1189 BC to 1077 BC. The 19th and 20th Dynasties furthermore toget ...

Temple of Harpre

The Temple of Harpre was for the most part built under

Hakor Hakor or Hagar, also known by the hellenized forms Achoris or Hakoris, was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 29th Dynasty. His reign marks the apex of this feeble and short-lived dynasty, having ruled for 13 years – more than half of its enti ...

of the 29th Dynasty.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Precinct Of Montu Buildings and structures completed in the 13th century BC Buildings and structures completed in the 3rd century Karnak temple complex