Qus (city)
| Qus | |||
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| Coordinates | 25 ° 55 ' N , 32 ° 46' E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | Egypt | ||
| Qina | |||
| ISO 3166-2 | EG-KN | ||
| Residents | 60,763 (2006) | ||
Qus ( ancient Egyptian Gesa or Gesy ; Arabic قوص, DMG Qūṣ ) is a city in Egypt . In Greco-Roman times it was called Apollonopolis Parva , Apollinopolis Parva or Apollonos minoris , and in short just Apollinopolis.
Geography and meaning
The city is located ten kilometers south of Koptos on the east side of the Nile in the Qina Governorate and has around 60,000 inhabitants, the upper district of the same name has around 300,000 inhabitants. In the Middle Ages, Qus was the most important city in Egypt after Cairo . It was the starting point for caravans to Al-Quseir on the Red Sea.
history
Old Egypt
| Qus (city) in hieroglyphics | |||||||
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Gesa Gs3 Gesa, Qus |
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The place is 5 km southeast of Naqada on the opposite side of the Nile and was probably the predynastic city belonging to the Naqada cemetery . As a starting point for expeditions into the eastern desert via Wadi Hammamat , where mines and access to the Red Sea were located, it could have gained importance early on.
A number of grave monuments from the 6th to the 10th dynasty are assigned to the cemetery on the west side of the Nile. The modest status of a priest head depicted on these monuments suggests that the local temple played only a minor role at the time. Qus belonged to the 5th Upper Egyptian Gau , whose capital was Koptos during the Old Kingdom . Some of the chief priests of the Old Kingdom and the First Intermediate Period are also known by name. So z. B. reports that there was a famine under Djefi . Other priests who are known by name are Cheteti , Hetepi , Dagi and Weser.
Some pharaonic monuments are also known from the city of Qus. Among the interessantesten include a Naos of red granite of the vizier Scheme I from the 8th dynasty , sandstone blocks with cartridges of Aton and Nefertiti , the city found near a sheikh tomb west, and a gray granite stele that Ramses III. shows with prisoners and is dated to his 16th year in reign. Qus is also listed in the tax list from the Theban tomb of Rechmire (18th Dynasty) and was therefore an important administrative center.
During the Old Kingdom, the falcon deity Nenun was worshiped, who was later equated with Haroeris . Haroeris, nicknamed "Horus the Elder, Lord of Qus" or "Lord of Upper Egypt" ( Nebschemau ) was the main deity of Qus during the New Kingdom and afterwards. Alan Gardiner takes the point of view that it was this deity who, together with Seth of Ombos, formed the coat of arms of the Ptolemaic two-hawk district . As a result, Qus would no longer have belonged to the same administrative district as Koptos. What is known is that during the Ptolemaic period, Qus belonged to a different district than Koptos, with an emblem read as Bnbn or Brbr .
Greco-Roman time
As Apollinopolis Parva, the city enjoyed a period of prosperity during the Ptolemaic rule, as evidenced by the remains of a temple from that period, which was dedicated to Haroeris and the goddess Heket . In 1898 Ahmed Kamal laid the lower section of two pylons from the time of Ptolemy XI. free. Ptolemy XI. is shown on the walls hunting for hippos , making offerings to Haroeris, slaying enemies and slaughtering a gazelle on the altar .
Some of the pillars built into mosques date from Roman times. Under Diocletian the city was renamed Diocletianopolis for a certain time . There are a few remains of Christian buildings. Later in Coptic times the city of Kos was called Berbir , from which the modern name is derived.
Arab time
In 641 the Arabs invaded Egypt and also conquered Qus. Shortly afterwards, the great mosque is said to have been built here, which still dominates the cityscape today. During the Fatimid period, the great mosque was expanded several times.
According to the historian Abu'l-Fida (1273-1331), Qus became the Upper Egyptian center of eastern trade in the Middle Ages and rose to become the second largest of all Egyptian cities after Fustat . The armies that guarded the south of Egypt in particular were stationed here. Due to the connection to the Red Sea, the city was a place where many pilgrims came to Mecca . The city also had a famous college ( madrasa )
From the late fourteenth century, the city began to decline in importance. Girga now became the most important city in Upper Egypt. Trade routes shifted. Many pilgrimages now went through Cairo.
literature
- Henry G. Fischer : Qus. In: Wolfgang Helck (Hrsg.): Lexikon der Ägyptologie (LÄ). Volume V, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1984, ISBN 3-447-02489-5 , Sp. 71-73.
- Demetra Makris: Qus. In: Kathryn A. Bard (Ed.): Encyclopedia of the Archeology of Ancient Egypt. Routledge, London 1999, ISBN 0-415-18589-0 , pp. 657-58.
- Jean-Claude Garcin: Qus, un center musulman de la Haute-Egypte Medievale (= Textes arabes et études islamiques. Volume 6). Institut français d'archéologie orientale du Caire, Cairo 2005, ISBN 2-7247-0400-2 .
Web links
Remarks
- ↑ a b Demetra Makris: Qus. In: Kathryn A. Bard (Ed.): Encyclopedia of the Archeology of Ancient Egypt. Routledge, London 1999, ISBN 0-415-18589-0 , p. 657.
- ↑ Itinerarium Antonini .
- ^ Rainer Hannig: Large Concise Dictionary Egyptian-German: (2800 - 950 BC) . von Zabern, Mainz 2006, ISBN 3-8053-1771-9 , p. 1200.
- ↑ Demetra Makris: Qus. In: Kathryn A. Bard (Ed.): Encyclopedia of the Archeology of Ancient Egypt. Routledge, London 1999, ISBN 0-415-18589-0 , pp. 657-658.
- ^ A b c Henry G. Fischer : Qus. In: Wolfgang Helck (Hrsg.): Lexikon der Ägyptologie (LÄ). Volume V, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1984, ISBN 3-447-02489-5 , Sp. 72.
- ^ Henry George Fischer: Inscriptions from the Coptite Nome, Dynastie VI-XI , Rome 1964, pp. 67-68
- ↑ a b c d e Demetra Makris: Qus. In: Kathryn A. Bard (Ed.): Encyclopedia of the Archeology of Ancient Egypt. Routledge, London 1999, ISBN 0-415-18589-0 , p. 658.