Term
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Definition
- meaning "next to" or "towards" Egypt
- used in conjunction with Alexandria
- geographical isolation from the rest of Egypt
- location on the Mediterranean places it in a larger geopolitical region, pulls the city in different directions
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Term
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Definition
- local customs of land and labor division
- village level
- before Arab conquest
- role in the iqta system
- no ruling from Islamic law, old customs used
- varied from place to place, subject to change
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Term
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Definition
- 'the people of the book'
- followers of scripture-based religions that predate the Qur'an
- Jews and Christians
- later other religious groups included, eg Zoroastrians
- Muslims recognize the holy books possessed by the Jews and Christians as legitimate
- some portions of these scriptures were superceded by the Qur'an, Christians and Jews corrupted others
- who agreed to the superiority of Islam and pay taxes granted protected 'dhimmi' status and allowed to practice their beliefs
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Term
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Definition
- canal running from Egyptian Babylon to the Red Sea port of Clysma (modern-day Suez)
- 2nd century CE by Roman emperor Trajan
- may have already been pharaonic canal
- facilitated transport from inner Egypt to Red Sea
- heavily utilized trade route
- The fortress of Babylon built by Diocletian two centuries later had towers that stood on either side of the canal
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Term
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Definition
- Arab military commander responsible for the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 640
- Under the caliph Abu Bakr
- invaded and conquored Palestine
- defeated a large number of Byzantine forces at Heliopolis
- founder of Fustat
- built the first mosque in Africa
- governor of Egypt
- he treated the natives fairly and did not force them to convert to Islam
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Term
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Definition
- form of taxation in Roman Egypt (since Diocletian) on agricultural products
- supplyed troops (people of military titles had very little land possession in Egypt).
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Term
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Definition
- school of thought in early Christianity
- emerged in the 4th c.
- led by Arius
- taught that Christ is not of the same nature as God, because Christ was begotten (created, with a beginning), and was therefore not eternal
- opponent was Athanasius, the renowned Melkite bishop of Alexandria
- deemed heretical at the Council of Niceae in 325 AD
- conflict continued through the 4th c.
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Term
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Definition
- Bishop of Alexandria in 328 BCE
- secretary to Alexander at the First Council of Nicaea(325BCE)
- opposed Arius and his Arian doctrine
- a Monophysite
- deposed and restored to his bishopric at least five times
- publishedtreatises
- saint
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Term
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Definition
- mosque founded by the Fatimid caliphate 970 CE
- madrassa, or religious school, added in 972 CE
- center of Shi'i theology and jurisprudence
- then, study of Sunni schools of law and Qur'anic sciences
- lost prominence under Ayyubids al-Azhar
- Mamluks added to architecture
- connection with Ulema (based out of mosque)
- Students would live and receive daily rations of food, described in Zayni Barakat
- Learning in small groups led by shaykhs
- emphasized mentorship, rote memorization, and Socratic dialogue
- Students would go on to assume leadership roles in mosques, become Muslim jurists, or take positions in politics.
- modern university
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Term
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Definition
- "Between the two palaces"
- central section of the main north-south street in Cairo.
- between the two palaces of the city
- ceremonial ground
- parades, processions, festivals
- Ayyubids and Bahri Mamluks had building projects
- current marketplace.
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Term
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Definition
- 'the waterway of Joseph'
- canal which runs from the Nile to the Faiyyum
- natural waterway
- enlarged to create Lake Moeris
- water flow year round
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Term
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Definition
- a desert people who annoyed Egyptian governments
- constant threat to the Romans
- 4th and 5th c. in control of a stretch of Nubia from Qasr Ibrim in the south Aswan
- end of the fifth century expelled from the Nile Valley by the Nobadian king, Silko
- continued raiding Nubia and Southern Egypt
- Coptic scrolls mention raids
- expedition against them under 'Abdullah Ibn Jiham, 831 CE f
- inflicted great destruction
- eventually defeated completely
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Term
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Definition
- Members of the upper class who are eligible for local offices
- seats in the senate or council, the "boule"
- engaged in business activities, such as landowning, financial speculation, and trade
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Term
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Definition
- a type of clover used as a fodder crop
- fast-growing and convenient for planting in between main harvests
- Mamluk rule, produced in the Fayyum as feed for cavalry horses
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Term
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Definition
- believed name of the Ben Yiju's slave (slave of MS H.6) in Amitav Ghosh's, In an Antique Land
- Ghosh draws parallels between himself and the slave (Indian foreigners in Muslim Egypt)
- Ghosh digs through the roots of Tulu culture and history
- alerts us to the author's preconceived notions
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Term
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Definition
- Fatimid vizier who
- seized power from the Caliph in Cairo
- put Egypt under military rule,
- introduced iqta
- restorded order to Fatimid rule
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Term
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Definition
- rulers of the second half of the Mamluk period
- 1382-1517
- ethnically different than the first Mamluks
- Circassian origin
- term derives from the Arabic word for "tower", reference to the center of the Circassian Mamluks in the Citadel of Cairo
- two main dynastic households Burquq and that of Qaytbey. Inheritance
- through clientage, confusion
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Term
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Definition
- first era of the Mamluk sultanate i
- 1250 to 1382 A.D.
- Kipchak Turkic
- organized by al-Zahir Baybers
- derives from the Arabic word for river
- secured borders against the Crusaders and the Mongols
- large-scale building campaigns and the proliferation of madrassas, or religious schools, in Cairo
- economic prosperity
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Term
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Definition
- head of the Islamic state
- able to appoint governors, generals
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Term
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Definition
- an association based on a particular craft or cult
- drinking and athletic clubs to trade and craft
- examples of the social hierarchies that existed within Egypt
- had certain rights and duties eg required to keep the city's canals dredged
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Term
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Definition
- important Christian congregation assembled by Anatolius in 451, at the request of Pope Leo I.
- purpose to determine the true nature of Christ,
- decided that Christ was one being with two natures
- major schism in the church
- Chalcedonians view Copts as "monophysites," and heretics
- major conflict between Melkites and Copts
- Copts suffered at the hands of the Melkites, who had the backing of the Byzantine Empire
- last ecumenical council.
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Term
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Definition
- Patriarch of Alexandria in 412-444
- persecution of pagans and Jews within Alexandria
- a conflict with Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, over the nature of Christ.
- Nestorius = Christ had two natures, and was condemned as a heretic
- Nestorius into exile
- debates regarding the nature of Christ.
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Term
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Definition
- an oasis in southwestern Egypt,
- outside the more common areas of population (cities, the Fayyum, the Nile Valley).
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Term
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Definition
- Roman emperor
- persecution of Christians.
- his reign begins "The Age of Martyrs" in 284 AD
- Diocletion instituted more taxes, price limits on some goods and services, and military construction
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Term
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Definition
- Muslim soldiers who fought during the initial expansion of the Islamic empire were placed on a register called the Diwan, which gave annual pensions from the treasury
- instead of redistributing conquered lands
- large strain of the government economically.
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Term
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Definition
- (Jews and Christians) granted status and guaranteed safety for their life, body, and property, as well as freedom of movement and religious practice,
- on condition that they acknowledged the domination of Islam.
- payment of various taxes
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Term
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Definition
- scholar of Islamic law
- responsible for interpreting the laws of Islam found in the Qur'an and other sacred scripture and documents
- prominent place in cities that prided themselves on learning and religion
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Term
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Definition
- prominent Egyptologist during 20th century.
- excavated Great Pyramids of Giza
- known for use of the scientific method
- Produced watercolors in Islamic architecture
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Term
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Definition
- hostel for travelers in Egypt
- safe shelter for merchants and visitors
- facilitated trade and movement of goods throughout Egypt.
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Term
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Definition
- ancient Greek facility for competing in public games.
- athletes would compete naked
- in Egypt during the period of Hellenization around the 3rd century BCE.
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Term
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Definition
- .5 km causeway that linked the mainland of Alexandria to the island of Pharos.
- "two distinct harbors, which were more easily protected from the force of the strong coastal current: the Eastern or Great Harbor and the Western Harbor" (Haas, 1997).
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Term
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Definition
- final Roman emperor
- Weakened by a drawn-out war with the Sassanian empire
- unable to put up any real resistance to the invading Muslim armies
- favorable place in the Islamic literary imagination;
- portrayed as a wise, just, ruler.
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Term
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Definition
- Caliph of the Fatimid dynasty
- 996-1021
- persecutions against and forced conversions of all non-Islamic Egyptians, even the 'people of the book' (ahl al-Khitab),
- policies against the Sunni Egyptians.
- by the end of his rule, he had relaxed his previous restrictions against Christians and Jews,
- important in the emergence of the Druze sect of Islam during the later part of his rule
- disappeared into the desert, probably assassinated.
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Term
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Definition
- spiritual leader in Islamic services
- leader of mosques
- Sunni ones are scholars
- Shi’a ones are leaders of the community and are expected to live lives without sin
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Term
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Definition
- land granted to army officials in lieu of a regular wage in the Islamic Caliphate
- established in the 9th century when state treasury unable to pay officials
- land owned by non-Muslims
- land still remained the property of the owner
- Muslim officer to collect a payment from the production of the land as his salary
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Term
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Definition
- The poll tax levied on all able-bodied adult male 'dhimmis' of sufficient means
- paying for protection
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Term
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Definition
- founder of Cario
- rose from slavery to becoming a military general of Fatimid empire
- conquered Morraco to Egypt
- estabilished the new capital of al-Qahira for the Fatimid empire
- 10th century CE.
- construction of the al-Azhar mosque
- attempted to annex Syria and Palestine unsuccessful
- negotiated a treaty with the Christian Nubians on Egypt's Southern border
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Term
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Definition
- agriculturally-centered town located in the northern Fayyum.
- settled by Romans in the first century
- land fertile
- Archaeological evidence: grain mill stones (as well as two story granaries!), olive presses, and amphorae (storage vessels for oil/wine).
- large wood economy
- two temples
- large amounts of papyri have been preserved
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Term
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Definition
- Coptic Monastery located in the northwest Delta.
- founded by St. Amun
- cenobitic monks interact w/ religious community instead of live alone
- 1500 "monastic structures,"
- elaborate communal spaces, including large assembly spaces for visitors and pilgrims
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Term
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Definition
- ruined buildings common in Old Cairo that could be used as storage space, as placeholders, or, in some cases, for habitation
- mentioned in the Geniza documents in rental agreements or deeds of sale as included in the same property as a house
- many owners each holding a fraction of the whole house/land/ruin lot.
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Term
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Definition
- land given to soldiers of the conquering Arab army
- divided into companies based on tribal affiliation,
- divided the city (of Fustat) into ethnic quarters/neighborhood
- boundaries soon blurred
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Term
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Definition
- archeological site in Alexandria
- first dug at by the British School in Athens in the early 19th century but the dig yielded no significant finds
- reopened by the Polish in the 1960's
- inculdes Roman baths and a theatre in addition to Roman domestic quarters.
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Term
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Definition
- two forms of Muslim taxation
- the first a land tax that was originally paid only by non-Muslims
- the second a religious tithe paid by Muslims
- the first term comes to describe any tax paid to the Muslim authorities.
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Term
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Definition
- Jewish movement
- founded Anan Ben David 9th century CE.
- recognizes the Tanakh alone as the supreme legal authority.
- differs greatly from Rabbinic Judaism, which considers the Oral law to be authoritative interpretations of the Torah.
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Term
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Definition
- lake just south of Alexandria
- massive supplier of papyri
- connects to the Canopic branch of the Nile
- provide fish and irrigate the land for Alexandria and surrounding Egyptian towns.
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Term
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Definition
- Lake in the north west of the Faiyyum that was fed from the Nile by the Bahr Yussef
- enlarged both the Bahr Yussef and Lake Moeris to regulate the water supply and irrigate the surrounding area
- Faiyyum became one of the most fertile parts of Egypt.
- Lake Moeris was partially drained by means of a dam, reclaiming large amounts of rich alluvial soil.
- encouraged extensive new settlement in the area.
- nameis derived from the Egyptian name meaning 'Great Canal'.
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Term
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Definition
- astronomer and scholar in the Ottoman court
- noted for his archaeological work in Alexandria (especially historical cartography)
- study of its urban planning.
- worked in the mid 19th century
- represented an Eastern interest for scholarship in Egypt.
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Term
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Definition
- name for modern-day Egypt in Arabic
- literally meant 'civilization', 'metropolis', or 'pavilion'
- used to describe garrison towns such as Fustat.
- technically refers to all of Egypt today, many colloquially refer it to Cairo
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Term
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Definition
- practicing Muslims who were not of Arab descent.
- less privileged status
- sometimes not considered members of the Umma, or Islamic nation
- Began fractures in Muslim community that led to Abbasid revolution
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Term
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Definition
- starting in the Ayyubid period (1169–1250CE),
- person who owned the lease for agricultural land
- muqa'á¹'a'Ê¿'ah system: land leased for a limited time for a contracted sum of money
- power was strictly limited by extensive state controls and a deliberate distribution of land so as to avoid monopoly by anyone.
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Term
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Definition
- title of the official in charge of inspecting the markets as well as maintaining the morality of the general populace in medieval Islamic cities.
- Inspector General of Weights and Measures, though his reach extended far beyond simply regulating the economic activity of the markets
- Appointed by the sultan or caliph
- charged with overseeing the cleanliness of public spaces as well as the conduct of people within them, a responsibility that often extended beyond the market to schools and the medical sector.
- way for the government to exert control over daily economic activity as well as ensure that all taxes were properly collected.
- charged with ensuring that goods in the market met Islamic standards of cleanliness of food, drink, and body which helped to prevent the spread of disease in a cramped city like Cairo.
- far range of responsibilities = extremely powerful figure, one who had the right to exact punishment for crimes (butchers who were repeatedly caught selling bad meat could be exectued by the muhtasib), one who could affect the price of any type of product in the market on a daily basis, and one who had the abliity to police the public (and sometimes suspected private) morality of the citizens.
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Term
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Definition
- library located in Upper Egypt, discovered in 1945.
- belonged to a nearby Pachomian monastery, though it is not known whether the texts were produced there or imported from elsewhere.
- collection consists of a group of Gnostic Christian texts, written sometime during the fourth century, which were contained in an earthenware jar.
- most notable text is the Gospel of Thomas, which was considered heretical; the texts were hidden underground to prevent their destruction.
- Although the works are written in Coptic, it is suspected that some are actually translations from Greek codices written as early as the first century.
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Term
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Definition
- People who believed in Nestorianism, a Christian doctrine written by Nestorius, the Patriarch of Constantinople (428-431).
- emphasizes the difference between the human and the divine aspects of Jesus, saying in essence that Christ’s humanity and his divinity are separate entities.
- most significant opponent was the prominent church leader Cyril of Alexandria.
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Term
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Definition
- This "city" was founded in Egypt in 24 BC, by Octativan after his final victory over Antony and the surrender of Alexandria.
- Augustus hoped to found a city that would steal some of the political and commercial supremacy of Alexandria, it was only ever a suburb.
- established a garrison camp in the hope to maintain order in that region.
- location important as it was close to the pastureland east of Alexandria, an area known for spawning rebellion against the Roman authorities.
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Term
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Definition
- means prince or leader in hebrew.
- territorial head of the Jewish community.
- position did not appear until the Fatimid era but was a strong political authority who held an elite position in the state.
- Maimonides is famous example
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Term
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Definition
- ninth Mumluk Sultan of Egypt.
- reigned three seperate times: 1293-1294, 1299-1309, and 1309-1341.
- 1318: built the al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qala’un Mosque as the royal mosque of the Citadel.
- noted for being able to prevent a Mongol invasion and for cracking down on corruption of the Emirs.
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Term
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Definition
- refers to both the Island connected to Alexandria by the Heptastadion (constructed in the Ptolemaic period) and the Lighthouse of Alexandria that is found on the island.
- island itself had the advantage of being situated between both of Alexandria's harbors; subject to the changing waves of dominant forces in Alexandria.
- during the Christianization of Alexandria the Church of the Archangel Raphael was constructed here
- Lighthouse, called one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world and "a beacon to sailors", guided the seafarers through the reefs safely into the harbor.
- changing role likened to Alexandria's transformation from the Ptolemaic period to the period of Islamic dominance: once an invitation to sailors to trade in Alexandria's cosmopolitan city, later Arab geographers describe the Pharos as a watchtower on the lookout for enemy forces.
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Term
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Definition
- Babylon (also known as Old Cairo), the Roman fortress turned Coptic settlement around which the Arab city of al-Fustat was built.
- Most of the fortress was left intact; northern wall removed for use as building material and to better integrate the structure into the city.
- Arabs chose this location for their capital city in part because of the prime location of the fort;
- all trade and transport was forced to pass through the fortress in order to travel to other parts of Egypt, which was both economically and militarily advantgeous.
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Term
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Definition
- Egyptian port on the Red Sea, excavated by the University of Michigan
- yielded many examples of Islamic-era textiles, including a number of block-print cotton fabrics from India.
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Term
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Definition
- judiciary of the regional or central court who rules in accordance with Islamic religious law.
- deal with all legal matters of the Muslim population, both religious and secular, including criminal and court cases.
- appointed by the ruler of the country.
- eventually grew to include the ulema after that system broke down during the Abassid dynasty.
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Term
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Definition
- area around the Mosque of Amr and the Qasr al-Sham which was inhabited by the ahl al-raya = group of approximately 400-500 people including the tribe of the Quraysh (basically the tribe of the Prophet Muhammad) and the ansar (the ‘companions’ of the Prophet).
- repeated enlargements of the Mosque of Amr in 673 and 698CE indicate by this time that the district had developed into a genuine urban core of between 25 to 30 hectares.
- bounded to the south by the Qasr al-Sham, to the west by the Nile, and to the north by the al-Hamra.
- the focus of religion (Mosque of Amr), the center of government; it had the largest markets which were centered around the port, and also the grandest houses.
- influx of relatively wealthy people of diverse origins led to the break-down of the tribal khitta system in this quarter.
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Term
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Definition
- 251-356is
- leader of the "Desert Fathers." (Coptic monasticism)
- one of the first (if not the first) to practice monasticism in the desert, completely cut off from civilization.
- lived a difficult and secluded life, which distinguishes him from other monks and which attracted a number of followers (ascetics).
- lived in caves, called cells, near his, forming a sort of colony.
- In 305 AD, he emerged from his seclusion, after over twenty years of isolation.
- accumulated a large number of monks who followed his religious advice, but did not actively seek out followers.
- monks were by no means completely cut off from society in an intellectual sense - they produced religious texts, though he himself left no writings.
- life's work recorded by Athanasius in 360 AD.
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Term
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Definition
- 292-348
- often regarded as the founder of cenobitic monasticism, which is a form of communal monasticism.
- cenobites lived together in organized buildings.
- did not necessarily establish his own groups of monks, but brought existing groups together into one location.
- his monks were known for their intellectual prowess, responsible for both producing and accumulating large numbers of religious texts.
- Nag Hammadi Library, which was discovered in 1945: housed rival gospels, most notably the Gospel of Thomas; unclear as to whether or not these texts were produced by the monks themselves or imported from elsewhere.
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Term
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Definition
- pre-Islamic Persian empire that included all of modern day Iran, Syria, Iraq, Armenia, and Afghanistan
- dominant geo-political and military power from the 3rd to the 7th century AD
- major rival to late Roman and Byzantine rule in the Eastern mediterranean.
- Saw themselves as the direct successors to both the Parthian and Achaemenid empires
- enormous cultural, artistic, and religious impact before its violent dissolution at the hands of the Islamic invaders in 651.
- later Arab rulers often referenced and reappropriated art, architecture, and religious iconography.
- ex: Abbasids used the cultivation of astrology and Zoroastrianism (official religion of empire) in order to legitimate their rule.
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Term
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Definition
- people who mine sebbakh (rich soil) to use as fertilizer
- create a problem for archaeologists when they remove valuable artifacts along with the minerals.
- example: site adjacent to the ancient city of Karanis. Before the University of Michigan excavations started in the 1920s, they would gain permission from the government to mine the soil, and as a result, much information about Karanis was probably lost.
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Term
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Definition
- “noble”, “highborn” or “highbred”.
- denotes honor, high position, nobility, and distinction.
- a man who claims descent from the Prophet Muhammad.
- a person of importance, and high social standing, or a free man as opposed to a slave.
- wore turbans, usually of green and white, to denote their status. They were to be revered and respected
- not held to the same religious stipulations that applied to other people as their sins will be forgiven by God.
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Term
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Definition
- Saladin, a Sultan of Egypt and the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, ruling over it at its geographical and military height.
- extraordinary charisma and religous piety
- recaptured Jerusalem from the crusaders in 1187--since occupied a premier place in both the Western and Muslim imagination.
- eagle that appears on Egypt's coat of arms is allegedly based on his personal symbol.
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Term
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Definition
- Arabic word used to refer to the commercial district of a city, i.e. the bazaar.
- refers to the permanent markets established in urban areas
- can also refer to traveling or seasonal markets.
- Organization important:similar merchants grouped together in a hierarchical order determined by rulings over what types of trades are "cleaner" than others.
- "cleanest" trades are positioned closest to the mosque
- The largest in Cairo is Khan el Khalili, established by a Mamluk amir in the late 1300s (Burji Mamluk era); remains central to the life of Cairo, bordering al-Azhar university and mosque.
- government monitored and controlled via bureaucracy of markets inspectors, tax collectors, and extensive network of government agents whose purpose was to collect information on the actions of citizens.
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Term
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Definition
- region of southern Egypt that has often served an important political and administrative role.
- Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt : crucial because of its proximity to the Red Sea.
- later home to a high concentration of Christian monks and hermits
- birthplace of Pachomius.
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Term
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Definition
- prominent figure in the construction of early Christian churches in Alexandria.
- served as the Patriarch (Archbishop) of Alexandria from 385-412 CE.
- consecrated at least nine different churches in Alexandria, helping encourage and further the intense "Christianization" of the city.
- little tolerance for non-Christian religions and worship spaces, and he allowed for (or turned a not-so-blind-eye to...) the destruction of the Serapeum, in 391 CE.
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Term
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Definition
- Arabic term for "nation"
- the whole Muslim world, or the community of believers.
- meant to transcend national, racial, and class divisions to unite all Muslims.
- dates to the time of the Prophet Muhammad and stresses the importance of the organization of society along ethical (and Islamic) lines.
- Converts are part of the ummah, and sometimes even dhimmi are considered part of the ummah.
- Membership dependent on the threefold consensus of all its members: mind (all perceive the world similarly), heart (all share the same core values), and arms (all act accordingly to actualize the values they share).
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Term
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Definition
- plural form of ‘alim’ literally meaning the “man of knowledge”.
- comes from the Qur’an therefore always had a strong bias towards religious knowledge focused around gnosis and exoteric religious law as interpreted from the Qu’ran, fiqh, and Hadith.
- = those who could teach courses in Qu’ranic exegesis, or where experts in Islamic jurisprudences, acting in part as judges.
- definition relates only to the Sunni sect of Islam
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Term
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Definition
- principle boulevard running through the length of Alexandria
- ran the length of the city from Necropolis to the Gate of the Moon.
- unified Alexandria’s urban design
- served as a location for many ceremonies and civic rituals, such as processions and military parades.
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Term
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Definition
- Charitable institutions in Cairo
- provided a myriad of services from food to replacement of material items.
- usually started as gifts of property from wealthy patrons, which would otherwise have been unused.
- tax exempt, allow wealthy elite to usurp the ability of the government to give to subjects and therefore gain subjects respect which is a large source of the caliphate's power.
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Term
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Definition
- Abbasid period (750-1258 CE): sovereign’s chief minister or deputy.
- acted for the caliph in civil and military matters when the burden of work became too great,
- as time progressed the role took on a more independent and remote aspect.
- Abbasid: hereditary and conferred upon the Barmakid family.
- Mamluk Egypt: role was more ambiguous, acting as a reward for close royal confidants/capping role in the government system.
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Term
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Definition
- Mamluk sultan in the mid-13th century.
- numerous accounts of Baybars odd physical appearance that lent him an almost mythical quality;
- Mamluk commander, first truly proving his abilities as an instrumental part of the defeat of the French during the 7th Crusade (~1249).
- In 1259 pushed Mongols from Egyptian border.
- credited with first organizing the Mamluks into a system of governance
- considered the first sultan of the Bahri Mamluks
- organized Egyptian bureaucracy hierarchically, creating three different types of emir: allowed for the possibility of limited social mobility
- improved the infrastructure of Cairo and focused on foreign relations, especially with Syria and the Mongols.
- credited with spreading of Islam (including to Mongols).
- used military strength to achieve legitimacy for the new government; campaigned against foreign enemies for the duration of his sultanate.
- reincorporated the Abbassid caliphate into Egyptian government, if only symbolically, giving Mamluk Egypt greater religious authority in the world of Islam.
- elevated to heroic status in Egypt and Syria, as well as in his native Kazakhstan.
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Term
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Definition
- ampulla or flask
- 6th-7th century CE from the site of Abu Mina.
- Abu Mina was a major religious pilgrim destinationfor prayer and healing: included a monastery, tomb of St. Menas
- flasks were produced and sold to pilgrims, who would fill them with holy water and oils, conveniently available at the site of St. Menas' tomb, and then bring the liquids back home with them.
- Coptic writing on it, which would have appealed to the Coptic Christians.
- suggested that the center image (probably St. Menas himself, holding two animals by their tails) is an allusion to the Mesopotamian "master of the animals" motif, an example of how outside cultures influenced Egyptian art.
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- Fayyum portraiture.
- Ptolemaic period: Fayyum was a place for resettled Macedonians, thus it was an area of cultural mixtures (the population there was mostly mixed Egyptian-Greek).
- Egyptian mummification process was combined with Greek (and Egyptian) tomb decorations.
- many Fayyum portraits were on wood panels, others were on cartonage = combining a Greco-Roman painting style with an Egyptian material.
- hairstyle, jewelry, and clothing depicted in the paintings were Roman, names written in Greek and Egyptian.
- many people site Fayyum portraits as an example of the Romanization of Egyptian burial practices
- presence of Greek and Egyptian elements indicates a syncretism of practices.
- People with Fayyum portraits were likely a small elite.
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- Shaduf
- irrigation system involving a counterweight to bring water up from a well or the river and into a channel
- human labor is required to pull the system down to the water level.
- one of three irrigation systems used in Egypt ( saqiya and Archimedes screw), neither of which required human labor to operate.
- shaduf still very common because it was comparatively easy and inexpenive to manufacture and operate.
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- Nilometer
- official measure of the height of the Nile, an important function as the river's flood height directly affected Egypt's agricultural output.
- The dependence of the population on a successful flood season elevated the status of the Nilometer to that of a sacred object; many small Nilometers installed in temples.
- Christian mob removed one from a converted temple complex because it represented a connection with the Egyptian gods.
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- temple of Isis on the Nile island, Philae,
- serves as an example for the Christianization of space.
- Finneran: "all over the country the newly enfranchised and dynamic Christian communities attacked the temles of the Pharaohs and built churches inside them."
- "new ownership" is proclaimed not only by the carving of crosses on the walls of the structure, but also the Christian altar set up inside.
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- mosaic
- dates from the 1st century BCE (late Hellenistic)
- an example of Roman fascination with Egypt (exoticism).
- Contrasting with the dry, sandy imagery of pharoanic pyramids and deserts, the Roman artist presents Egypt with fertile, lush imagery.
- ordered soldiers, boats, and architecture juxtaposed with the wild animals and Nubians.
- boats are an important means of travel in Egypt as the Nile was often a much more effective means of transportation than attempting to drag wheels through the sandy land.
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- Fortress of Babylon
- Built during Diocletian's campaign to establish a military presence in Egypt
- functioned as a symbol of imperial power
- Increased threats from the East (Sassanians and Parthians) required the Romans to reinforce their territories, and the fortress's presence accomplished this without the need to recruit a vast number of new troops.
- located at the center of major land and sea trade routes (in Old Cairo),
- one of its main functions was to protect the head of the Trajanic Canal.
- More recently, sewage and flooding problems in Cairo have forced authorities to dig around the site of the fortress, and archaeologists have provided oversight to reduce damage to the building.
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- Diocletian's victory column
- 26-meter tall monument located at the Serapeum in Alexandria.
- Following the Roman invasion of Egypt, Alexandria proved to be a difficult city to conquer. Realizing that Alexandria was crucial to Roman trade and that sacking and pillaging would not be a prudent method of attack, Diocletian sieged the city.
- finally succeeded in taking the city in 298 CE after half-year of waiting; constructed the column as a remembrance of his victory.
- Pompey may have had a pillar somewhere, but this one wasn't his.
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- One of three Ancient Egyptian obelisks called Cleopatra’s needles
- currently reside in London, Paris, and New York.
- intricately inscribed with hieroglyphs.
- originally built around 1450 BCE on the orders of Thutmose III, but the inscriptions were added 200 years later by Ramses II to celebrate his military victories.
- Later on the obelisks were moved to Alexandria and positioned outside the Caesarium—a temple built by Cleopatra.
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- catacombs of Kom el-Shuqafa
- date to the early Roman period (c.a. 2nd century CE).
- Thought to have originally been a large private tomb for one wealthy individual and relatives (probably Roman or Greek)
- later converted into a public necropolis, housing the bodies of several different social groups.
- wall art is most architecturally significant: scenes that incorporate both Greco-Roman design and traditional Pharonic Egyptian symbols of the afterlife/funerary customs. I
- while representations of both cultures are present, (=sign of each's prevalence in cosmopolitan Alexandria) they are usually separated in the art of the catacombs, presented more as parallel images than as one blended image.
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| Reconstruction of Ayyubid Wall |
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- Bab Zuweila: one of the main gates in the walls of Cairo.
- built when the walls were expanded in the 10th century under the Fatimid Caliphs.
- excellent example of Islamic architecture, including twin minarets, geometric dart patterns, and a rondelle motif, among others.
- indicative of the pressure and politics that the Fatimid dynasty was facing at that time-- great enough to prompt the construction of expanded walls, but still required the show of opulence and power of the Fatimid rulers.
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- The Coptic Museum, Cairo.
- state museum, holds Egypt's collections of Coptic antiquities.
- inaugurated in 1910, but built in a deliberately archaizing style to fit in with its location (Old Cairo/fortress of Babylon)
- It is situated to many of the oldest and most famous Coptic churches in Egypt, including the Hanging Church.
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- pitcher created from single piece of rock crystal, dates from the Fatimid Period.
- floral and animal motifs are fairly typical of the period.
- The highly-skilled craftsmanship required to create = elite good, possibly a part of Fatimid Court in Cairo.
- after the demise Fatimid court, its prized possessions were sold to pay back substantial debts; many pitchers, like the one shown here, ended up in European Churches as vessels for saints' remains.
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- Jar filters = part of water jugs to help filter silt and other sediment from drinking water
- small size of the holes=clogging, jar useless. jars cheap, so would replace after clogged. For this reason many samples of jars and filters have been found in archaeological sites around Egypt.
- variety of styles, including geometric patterns, animal motifs, and script.
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- late Fatimid dinar.
- importance of Arab territories in European trade during the Fatimid period-->dinar became a standard-issue coin throughout the Mediterranean.
- The Arabic script in concentric circles around a central dot
- entire layout=some religious significance (text could be a reference to Ismaili theology, dot could represent the Fatimid Imam, who was at the center of political and religious life.
- pattern also seen in Islamic urban planning (i.e. Baghdad)
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