Dodekaschoinos

Dodekaschoinos in hieroglyphics
Old empire	Ir 12 her iabet imenet Jr 12 hr j3bt jmnt twelve iteru (miles) on the east and west banks (of the Nile)
Late period	Sechet ir 12 12 Sḫ.t jr 12 + 12 field of twice 12 Iteru (on both sides of the Nile)
Greek	δυώδεκα σχοῖνοι δώδεκα σχοῖνοι Dodekaschoinos

Dodekaschoinos ( ancient Greek δυώδεκα σχοῖνοι = Zwölfschoinenland ) or twelve miles of land , in Latin Dodecaschoenus , was the border between Egypt and Nubia . The land stretched south from Syene twelve Schoinen , also called Egyptian miles or Iteru , along the Nile .

It overlaps with the Triakontaschoinos ( ancient Greek Τριακοντάσχοινος = Thirty Schoinenland ) or Thirty Mile Country , in Latin Triacontaschoenus , a geographical and administrative term of the Ptolemies for the area between the first and second cataracts of the Nile .

expansion

Herodotus reports that from Syene, due to rapids, the ships had to be pulled upriver with ropes from both sides of the Nile. After four days they had covered 12 schoinen and reached a lake and the island of Tachompso . Also in deeds of donation from the Ptolemaic period a twelve-Schoinen-long field is mentioned that reached from Syene to Tachompso. Pomponius Mela reports that the island of Tachampso was north of Meroe and above the first cataract in a lake. Kurt Sethe concluded from this information that Tachompso was directly above the first cataract and that the twelve-mile land only included the shore from Syene to Philae . Others sought the place near ad-Dakka , but today it is believed that it was at the entrance to Wadi Allaqi.

The tradition of Claudius Ptolemy was interpreted in such a way that the southern border of the Dodekaschoinos was Hiera Sykaminos , 120 km away from Syene .

history

The oldest tradition reports that Pharaoh Djoser gave the Dodekaschoinos to the god Khnum of Elephantine out of gratitude. This was immortalized on the famine stele that was found on the cataract island of Sehelnarti . Since this stele comes from the Ptolemaic period, this donation is regarded as a forgery by the Khnum priesthood, who wanted to get their donation part of the dodekaschoinos. Another inscription from the New Kingdom , probably from the reign of Ramses III. that was found on Elephantine seems to refer to this donation, but is only preserved in fragments. Here we are talking about the donation of a field to a god, the father of gods and goddesses . This god is very likely to be Khnum.

From the Ptolemaic period onwards, the dodecaschoinos were donated to the goddess Isis of Philae , as testified by inscriptions from the island of Philae . While Tachompso was originally the southern border of the district, in Roman times the border was moved further south to Hiera Sykaminos.

Under Roman rule, Emperor Augustus reorganized the Dodekaschoinos, but retained the Ptolemaic donation of his income to the Temple of Isis in Philae. In 298 AD the Romans gave up the Dodecashoinos .

After the fall of Meroe and the rise of Nobatia in the 5th century, the terms triakontaschoinos and dodekaschoinos are no longer used.

Web links

• Dodecaschoenus in William Smith: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) on perseus.tufts.edu

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Herodotus: Histories . Book 2, 29
2. ↑ Pomponius Mela: Cosmographia ive De situ orbis , 1, 9, 2
3. ↑ Kurt Sethe: Dodekaschoinos, the twelve-mile land on the border of Egypt and Nubia by Kurt Sethe (1901) in investigations on the history and antiquity of Egypt, vol. 2, pp. 59-90 ( online )
4. ↑ Tachompso, Aethiopia (Aethiopia) at trismegistos.org [1]
5. ^ Claudius Ptolemy, Geographike. Book 4, Chapter 5 ( online )
6. ↑ Kurt Sethe: Dodekaschoinos, the twelve-mile land on the border of Egypt and Nubia by Kurt Sethe (1901) in investigations on the history and antiquity of Egypt, vol. 2, pp. 59-90 ( online )
7. ↑ Raoul McLaughlin; The Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean. The Ancient World Economy & the Kingdoms of Africa, Arabia & India; 2014; ISBN 978-1-78346-381-7 ; p.67.
8. ↑ László Török; Between Two Worlds: The Frontier Region Between Ancient Nubia and Egypt, 3700 BC-AD 500; 2009; ISBN 978-90-04-17197-8 ; p.516.