Coptus
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Arabic قفط Coptus |
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| Coordinates | 26 ° 0 ′ N , 32 ° 49 ′ E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | Egypt | ||
| Qina | |||
| ISO 3166-2 | EG-KN | ||
Koptos / Kebto / Gebtu / Gebtiu / Keft ( ancient Egyptian Gbtjw , today Arabic قفط Qift , DMG Qifṭ ) was an Egyptian city in the 5th Upper Egyptian Gau on the east bank of the Nile .
City history
It was only later that Koptos became a metropolis and religious center. A particularly short overland connection from the Nile to the Red Sea ended at this city, which is why it had long been an important trading center for the ancient Egyptians. Back then, a caravan could cover the distance in five days. According to Egyptian sources, one of the three largest gold mines in the country is said to have been located in nearby Wadi Foahir .
This city experienced a particular heyday under the Romans , as it was the starting point for the caravans in the direction of the port cities ( Myos Hormos and Berenike ) of the Red Sea, which in turn lived from the Indian trade . The Nikanor archive , which belonged to a family of traders from the Roman Empire, was also found in Koptos . Inscriptions have also been found showing the presence of Palmyric businessmen.
Koptos was destroyed after a rebellion against Diocletian in the 3rd century AD, but was rebuilt shortly afterwards. The city became an important bishopric in Christian times. Phoibammon , in 431, is the city's first known bishop. Another important bishop was Pisentius von Koptos , who was an important theologian and left numerous writings and was venerated as a saint after his death. The remains of an approx. 70 m long church, which was partly built from Spolia and perhaps represent the remains of the Episcopal Church, date from this time. Under Emperor Justinian , the city was renamed Justinianopolis , and was still of some importance in Islamic times.
Cultic meaning
The deity Min as a local god was held in high regard in Koptos. The close connection between Horus and Min made it possible for Isis , as Min's wife, to have a cultic veneration.
Temple of El-Qala
Archaeological finds in the temple of El-Qala confirm the high worship of crocodiles. Two falcons , which were later continued as a raven cult, were regarded as the standard of the Gaus . The remains of three Min colossi are dated to the early dynastic period. The temple complex as a whole has been documented since the Old Kingdom . From the First Intermediate Period come some royal decrees that were probably once placed in the temple area. In the main temple, blocks point to a monumental gate of Sesostris I. Blocks of a chapel by Nub-cheper-Re Anjotef from the Second Intermediate Period were found . The Koptos decree issued by him comes from this time . There are also the remains of a temple gate of Thutmose III.
The temple was completely rebuilt under Ptolemy II and was at that time a double temple with two main gates, which was dedicated to Min, Isis and Hor-pa-chered . The building was once around 50 × 100 m in size and stood on a platform. Two flights of stairs led up to the actual temple. Right behind them there was likely a pronaos , the pillars of which were still seen in 1893 but have since disappeared. The columns were once about 10 m high and had Hathor capitals . On the other hand, there was no trace of the holy of holies. Two more double gates were excavated in front of the temple, one Roman and one built by Ptolemy II.
See also
literature
- Flinders Petrie : Coptus. London 1896 ( online ).
- Wolfgang Helck , Eberhard Otto: Small Lexicon of Egyptology . Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1999.
- Sharon Herbert: Quft / Qift (Coptos). In: Kathryn A. Bard (Ed.): Encyclopedia of the Archeology of Ancient Egypt. Routledge, London 1999, ISBN 0-415-18589-0 , pp. 656-57.
- Hans Bonnet: Real Lexicon of Egyptian Religious History . Berlin / New York 2000.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Karl PINGGERA : PISENTIUS of Koptos. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 20, Bautz, Nordhausen 2002, ISBN 3-88309-091-3 , Sp. 1185-1189.
- ^ Peter Grossmann: Qift. In: The Coptic Encyclopedia 7 ( Aziz S. Atiya , editor-in-chief) New York 1991, pp. 2038-2040
- ^ Dieter Arnold : Temples of the Last Pharaohs. New York, Oxford 1999, ISBN 0-19-512633-5 , pp. 160-61.