The Hare nome, also called the Hermopolite nome (Egyptian: Wenet) was one of the 42 nomoi (administrative divisions) in ancient Egypt; more precisely, it was the 15th nome of Upper Egypt. [2]
The Hare nome's main city was Khemenu (later Hermopolis Magna, and the modern el-Ashmunein) in Middle Egypt. The local main deity was Thoth, though the inscriptions on the White Chapel of Senusret I links this nome with the cult of Bes and Unut. [3]
The Hare nome was already recognized during the 4th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom as shown by the triad statue of pharaoh Menkaure, Hathor, and an anthropomorphized-deified depiction of the nome. [1] It is known that during the 6th Dynasty its nomarchs were buried in the necropolis of El-Sheikh Sa'id. [4]
The nome kept its importance during the First Intermediate Period and the subsequent Middle Kingdom; its governors were also responsible of the alabaster quarrying at Hatnub in the Eastern Desert, they owned exclusive offices such as "director of the double throne" and great one of the five", and also were high priests of Thot. [2] Since the First Intermediate Period they moved slightly northward their official necropolis to Deir el-Bersha, where their remarkable though poorly preserved rock-cut tombs were excavated. During the Middle Kingdom the Hare nome was ruled by a rather branched dynasty of nomarchs usually named Ahanakht, Djehutynakht or Neheri. The last known among them, Djehutihotep, was also the owner of the most elaborate and preserved tomb of the Deir el-Bersha necropolis; he ruled until the early reign of Senusret III who is known to have put into action serious steps to minimize the power held by all nomarchs. [2] [5]
During the Second Intermediate Period the Hare nome assimilated the neighboring Oryx nome (16th of Upper Egypt). [6]
This is a list of the known nomarchs, dating to the Old Kingdom. They were buried at El-Sheikh Sa'id. [7]
The following is a genealogy of the nomarchs of the Hare nome during the late 11th and 12th Dynasty (the limit between the two dynasties passes approximately along the third generation). The nomarchs are underlined. [8] They were buried at Dayr al-Barsha.
| Djehutynakht | Kay | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ahanakht I | Djehutynakht III | Kema♀ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ahanakht II | Djehutynakht IV | Djehutynakht♀ | Neheri I | Djehutyhotep♀ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kay | Djehutynakht V | Djehutynakht♀ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sathedjhotep♀ | Neheri II | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hathorhotep♀ | Djehutynakht VI | Amenemhat | Neheri | Kay | Satkheperka♀ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hathorhotep♀ | Djehutyhotep | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (many children, but no nomarchs) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thebes, known to the ancient Egyptians as Waset, was an ancient Egyptian city located along the Nile about 800 kilometers (500 mi) south of the Mediterranean. Its ruins lie within the modern Egyptian city of Luxor. Thebes was the main city of the fourth Upper Egyptian nome and was the capital of Egypt for long periods during the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom eras. It was close to Nubia and the Eastern Desert, with its valuable mineral resources and trade routes. It was a cult center and the most venerated city during many periods of ancient Egyptian history. The site of Thebes includes areas on both the eastern bank of the Nile, where the temples of Karnak and Luxor stand and where the city was situated; and the western bank, where a necropolis of large private and royal cemeteries and funerary complexes can be found. In 1979, the ruins of ancient Thebes were classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
The First Intermediate Period, described as a 'dark period' in ancient Egyptian history, spanned approximately 125 years, c. 2181–2055 BC, after the end of the Old Kingdom. It comprises the Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and part of the Eleventh Dynasties. The concept of a "First Intermediate Period" was coined in 1926 by Egyptologists Georg Steindorff and Henri Frankfort.
The Middle Kingdom of Egypt is the period in the history of ancient Egypt following a period of political division known as the First Intermediate Period. The Middle Kingdom lasted from approximately 2040 to 1782 BC, stretching from the reunification of Egypt under the reign of Mentuhotep II in the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Twelfth Dynasty. The kings of the Eleventh Dynasty ruled from Thebes and the kings of the Twelfth Dynasty ruled from el-Lisht.
A nomarch was a provincial governor in ancient Egypt; the country was divided into 42 provinces, called nomes. A nomarch was the government official responsible for a nome.
A nome was a territorial division in ancient Egypt.
Mentuhotep II, also known under his prenomen Nebhepetre, was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the sixth ruler of the Eleventh Dynasty. He is credited with reuniting Egypt, thus ending the turbulent First Intermediate Period and becoming the first pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom. He reigned for 51 years, according to the Turin King List. Mentuhotep II succeeded his father Intef III on the throne and was in turn succeeded by his son Mentuhotep III.
Intef III was the third pharaoh of the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt during the late First Intermediate Period in the 21st century BC, at a time when Egypt was divided in two kingdoms. The son of his predecessor Intef II and father of his successor Mentuhotep II, Intef III reigned for 8 years over Upper Egypt and extended his domain North against the 10th Dynasty state, perhaps as far north as the 17th nome. He undertook some building activity on Elephantine. Intef III is buried in a large saff tomb at El-Tarif known as Saff el-Barqa.
Beni Hasan is an ancient Egyptian cemetery. It is located approximately 20 kilometers (12 mi) to the south of modern-day Minya in the region known as Middle Egypt, the area between Asyut and Memphis.
Ankhtifi was a nomarch of Hierakonpolis and a supporter of the pharaoh in Herakleopolis Magna, which was locked in a conflict with the Theban based 11th Dynasty kingdom for control of Egypt. Hence, Ankhtifi was possibly a rival to the Theban rulers Mentuhotep I and Intef I. He lived during the First Intermediate Period, after the Egyptian Old Kingdom state had collapsed, and at a time when economic hardship, political instability, and foreign invasion challenged the fabric of Egyptian society.
Deir El Bersha is a Coptic village in Middle Egypt, in the Minya Governorate. It is located on the east bank of the Nile to the south of Antinoöpolis and almost opposite the city of Mallawi. During the pharaonic period, there was a vast cemetery, which is most well known for its decorated Middle Kingdom tombs on the north flank of Wadi Nakhla.
El Sheikh Sa'id is a small village in the Minya Governorate in Upper Egypt. Situated on the east bank of the Nile, it is named after a local Muslim saint buried in the area.
The necropolis of Meir is an archaeological site in Middle Egypt in the Asyut Governorate located on the west bank of the Nile. Here are the graves of the nomarchs, mayors and priests of Cusae from the ancient Egyptian Old and Middle Kingdom.
Wahkare Khety was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 9th or 10th Dynasty during the First Intermediate Period.
Meryhathor or Meryt-Hathor, was a pharaoh of the 10th Dynasty of Egypt, during the First Intermediate Period.
Djehutihotep was an ancient Egyptian nomarch of the fifteenth nomos of Upper Egypt during the twelfth dynasty, c. 1900 BC.
Khnumhotep II was an ancient Egyptian Great Chief of the Oryx nome during the reign of pharaohs Amenemhat II and Senusret II of the 12th Dynasty, Middle Kingdom. He is well known for his tomb at Beni Hasan and its decorations.
The Oryx nome was one of the 42 nomoi in ancient Egypt. The oryx nome was the 16th nome of Upper Egypt, and was named after the Scimitar oryx. It was located, approximately, in the territories surrounding the modern city of Minya in Middle Egypt.
Djehutynakht, tentatively identified with Djehutynakht IV or Djehutynakht V, was an ancient Egyptian "Overlord of the Hare nome" during the very end of the 11th Dynasty or the early 12th Dynasty. He is well known for his painted outer coffin now exhibited in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston along with his other grave goods.
Sarenput I was an ancient Egyptian official during the reign of pharaoh Senusret I of the 12th Dynasty.
