The Thebaid or Thebais (, ''Thēbaïs'') was a

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

, comprising the 13 southernmost nomes of

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ', shortened to , , locally: ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the Nile River valley south of the delta and the 30th parallel North. It thus consists of the entire Nile River valley from Cairo south to Lake N ...

, from Abydos to

Aswan Aswan (, also ; ) is a city in Southern Egypt, and is the capital of the Aswan Governorate. Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dam on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract. The modern city ha ...

Pharaonic history

The Thebaid acquired its name from its proximity to the ancient Egyptian capital of Thebes (

Luxor Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt. Luxor had a population of 263,109 in 2020, with an area of approximately and is the capital of the Luxor Governorate. It is among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited c ...

). During the Ancient Egyptian dynasties this region was dominated by Thebes and its priesthood at the temple of Amun at

Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (), comprises a vast mix of temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Construction at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I (reigned 1971–1926 BC) in the ...

. In

Ptolemaic Egypt Ptolemaic is the adjective formed from the name Ptolemy, and may refer to: Pertaining to the Ptolemaic dynasty * Ptolemaic dynasty, the Macedonian Greek dynasty that ruled Egypt founded in 305 BC by Ptolemy I Soter *Ptolemaic Kingdom Pertaining ...

, the Thebaid formed a single administrative district under the ''

Epistrategos ''Epistrategos'' (; ) was a senior military and administrative office in Ptolemaic Egypt, which was retained during the subsequent Roman period as well. Each ''epistrategos'' were responsible for an epistrategy (). Under Ptolemaic rule, a Greek ...

'' of Thebes, who was also responsible for overseeing navigation in the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

and the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. The capital of Ptolemaic Thebaid was

Ptolemais Hermiou Ptolemais Hermiou, or Ptolemais in the Thebaid, was a city and metropolitan archbishopric in Greco-Roman Egypt and remains a Catholic titular see. Today, the city of El Mansha ()-Bsoi () in the Sohag Governorate is located where the ancient cit ...

, a Hellenistic colony on the Nile which served as the center of royal political and economic control in

Roman province(s)

During the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

created the province of ''Thebais'', guarded by the legions I ''Maximiana Thebanorum'' and II ''Flavia Constantia''. This was later divided into Upper (, , ''Anō Thēbaïs''), comprising the southern half with its capital at Thebes, and Lower or Nearer (, , ''Thēbaïs Engistē''), comprising the northern half with capital at Ptolemais. Around the 5th century, since it was a

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

, the Thebaid became a place of retreat of a number of Christian

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...

s, and was the birthplace of

Pachomius Pachomius (; ''Pakhomios''; ; c. 292 – 9 May 348 AD), also known as Saint Pachomius the Great, is generally recognized as the founder of Christian cenobitic monasticism. Copts, Coptic churches celebrate his feast day on 9 May, and Eastern Or ...

. In

Christian art Christian art is sacred art which uses subjects, themes, and imagery from Christianity. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, including early Christian art and architecture and Christian media. Images of Jesus and narrative ...

, the Thebaid was represented as a place with numerous monks.

Episcopal sees

Ancient episcopal sees of Thebais Prima (Thebaid I) listed in the ''

Annuario Pontificio The ''Annuario Pontificio'' ( Italian for ''Pontifical Yearbook'') is the annual directory of the Holy See of the Catholic Church. It lists the popes in chronological order and all officials of the Holy See's departments. It also provides nam ...

'' as Catholic

titular see 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 archbi ...

s:''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), "Sedi titolari", pp. 819-1013 * Antaeopolis ( Tjebu) * Antinoöpolis, the Metropolitan Archbishopric * Apollonopolis Parva (Côm-Esfaht, now Qus) *

Cusae Cusae (; ) was a city in Upper Egypt. Its Ancient Egyptian name was ''qjs'' (variant ''qsy''), conventionally rendered Qis or Kis, with many further transliterations such as Qosia. Today, the town is known as El Quseyya, and is located on the w ...

* Hermopolis Magna = Maior * Hypselis (Chutb = Shutb) * Oasis Magna ( Kharga Oasis) * Panopolis (

Akhmim Akhmim (, ; Akhmimic , ; Sahidic/Bohairic ) is a city in the Sohag Governorate of Upper Egypt. Referred to by the ancient Greeks as Khemmis or Chemmis () and Panopolis (), it is located on the east bank of the Nile, to the northeast of Sohag. ...

) Ancient episcopal sees of Thebais Secunda (Thebaid II) listed in the ''

'' as Catholic

Cultural references

Anatole France (; born ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters.''Thaïs'', opens on a monastic and ascetic community along the Nile, in Thebaid.

References

Sources and external links

*
GCatholic - (Current, Titular and) Defunct sees in Egypt
Roman provinces in Africa Roman Egypt Byzantine Egypt Geography of ancient Egypt Late Roman provinces 293 establishments 290s establishments in the Roman Empire 3rd-century establishments in Egypt 290s 640s disestablishments in the Byzantine Empire 641 disestablishments 7th-century disestablishments in Egypt 640s disestablishments {{Egypt-geo-stub