Phones
Phonen was a king of the Blemmyes known from a letter found in 1976 in Qasr Ibrim , Lower Nubia . The ruler dates to around 450 AD. The letter, which is on a papyrus, may have originally come from a royal archive.
The letter, written in bad Greek , comes from Phonen and his son, the phylarch (tribal leader) Breytek and is addressed to Aburni , King of Nobatia . It is the answer to a lost letter. The letter affirms hostility to the Nobatia rulers Silko and Aburni and lists various conflicts. Phonen continues to call negotiations between the two states to regain lost territories of the Blemmyes. According to the text, Silko had broken the contract by killing Blemmyer after receiving cattle. It remains unclear whether Phonen was able to regain its lost territories.
Phonen is perhaps identical to a phylarch known from an inscription from Kalabsha . There he appears as Phonoin.
See also
literature
- TC Skeat: A Letter from the King of the Blemmyes to the King of the Noubades . In: The Journal of Egyptian Archeology, 63 (1977), pp. 159-170
- Derek A. Welsby : The Medieval Kingdoms of Nubia . London 2002, ISBN 0-7141-1947-4 , pp. 16-17
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Phones |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | King of the Blemmyes in Nubia (around 450) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | before 450 |
| DATE OF DEATH | after 450 |