Qift قفط | |
|---|---|
  Qift Location in Egypt | |
| Coordinates:25°59′44″N32°48′57″E / 25.99556°N 32.81583°E /25.99556; 32.81583 | |
| Country |  Egypt |
| Governorate | Qena Governorate |
| Area | |
• Total | 43.5 sq mi (112.6 km2) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
• Total | 157,383 |
| • Density | 3,620/sq mi (1,398/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Qift (Egyptian Arabic:قفط[ʔeftˤ]; Coptic:ⲔⲉϥⲧKeft orKebto;EgyptianGebtu; Ancient Greek:ΚόπτοςCoptos /Koptos;RomanJustinianopolis) is a city in theQena Governorate ofEgypt about 43 km (27 mi) north ofLuxor, situated a little south of latitude 26° north, on the east bank of theNile. In ancient times its proximity to theRed Sea made it an important trading emporium betweenIndia,Punt,Arabia Felix and the North.[2] It was important for nearby gold and quartzite mines in theEastern Desert, and as a starting point for expeditions toPunt (in modernSomalia) by way of the path through theWadi Hammamat to theRed Sea port at Tjau (modernEl Qoseir).
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Inancient Egypt,Qift, known then asGebtu, was an important center for administration, religion, and commerce, being the chief city of the fifthUpper Egyptiannomeof Harawî (Two Hawks). From Qift andQus, trading expeditions heading for theRed Sea and many mining expeditions into theEastern Desert left theNile Valley. Gebtu was at the starting-point of the two greatcaravan routes leading to the coast of the Red Sea, the one toward the port Tââou (Myoshormos orMyos Hormos), the other more southerly, toward the port of Shashirît (Berenice).Under the native pharaohs, the whole trade of southern Egypt with the Red Sea passed over these two roads; under thePtolemies as well as in Roman and Byzantine times, merchants followed the same roads for purposes of barter at the coasts of Zanzibar and in Southern Arabia, India, and the Far East.
Gebtu was the most important religious center in the area. Its principal male deity wasMin, a sky-god whose symbol was a thunderbolt.[7] He became a male fertility deity,[8] and also was regarded as the male deity of the desert region to the east.
His cult rose to prominence in theMiddle Kingdom. At that time, he became associated with Horus as the deity, Min-Horus. Later, he was fused with Amen in the deity Min-Amen-ka-Mut-ef, as "Min-Amen-bull of his mother" (Hathor-Isis).Isis (Hathor-Isis) and her infant,Horus, were the deities connected with Gebtu, namedCoptos during the Greco-Roman period, probably from the reinterpretation of the Two Hawks of theNome, Harawî, standard asMin andHorus.Gebtu, once politically important, especially under theEleventh Dynasty, was overshadowed byThebes.
The town was of importance inHellenistic times, when it was the terminus of a caravan route toBerenice on the Red Sea. It was built up byAugustus, fell to theBlemmyes in the 3rd cent. AD, and was almost destroyed by Diocletian in AD 292.[9]
It recuperated its prominence under theAntonines; it was the base camp ofLegio IIICyrenaica, or at least one of its subunits. It rebelled, but soon was captured in 292 byDiocletian after a long siege and the original city got heavily damaged. It was then reconstructed as aRoman City with many fortifications andRoman camps. In the 6th century, Qift was renamedJustinianopolis, like several other cities, after theByzantine emperorJustinian I. The present-day village of Qift is on the site.
The epic poetChristodorus was from the city.
Under the caliphs and the sultans in the Islamic era Qift was a chief city ofUpper Egypt and aShi'itewaqf of theAshrafAlids. In the 12th/13th century the geographerYaqut al-Hamawi wrote of Qift'scommerce withIndia and its surrounding orchards. Several generations ofqadi high-officials of theAyubids derived their familynisba (surname), 'Al-Qifti', from the territory. The celebrated biographeral-Qifti, was born here in 1172, where he received an early education.[2]In 1176, the Copts revolted against the rule ofAl-Adil I, the brother ofSaladin. He forcefully put down the revolt by hanging 3000 Copts from trees around the city. In the 13th century, numerous monasteries continued in operation around the city. However, when theOttomans who ruled overEgypt leveled much of the medieval town in the 16th century, its former significance was never regained, and, by the early 20th century, its population stood at just 8934.[2][10]
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Remains of three temple groups surrounded by an enclosure wall were located during the excavations of W. M. Flinders Petrie in 1893–1894, and later, by Raymond Weill andAdolphe Joseph Reinach in 1910–1911. Qift was the focus of an American archaeological project from 1987 to 1992 and an Australian one between 2000 and 2003.
The undecorated northern temple ofMin andIsis[12] dates to the Ptolemaic period.[13] Earlier structures on the site date back to the Middle Kingdom, with significant work during the New Kingdom reign of Tuthmosis III. The temple was rebuilt during the Ptolemaic Period.[13][14] The later work has been attributed to an official named Sennuu-shepsi on behalf ofPtolemy II Philadelphus (ruling from 281 BC to 246 BC).This northern temple has some later additions byPtolemy IV Philopator ruling from 221–205 BC.[15] He was the son of Ptolemy III and Berenice II of Egypt and was the fourth pharaoh of the Ptolemaic Egypt, when the decline of the Ptolemaic kingdom began. More additions were added by Julio-Claudian emperors of Rome,Caligula, andNero.[12][13]The second pylon still carries the dedication text of Nero, and the cartouche of Caligula appears on the north end of this structure.[14]In the court of the temple a headdress of a statue ofArsinoe II, the wife of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, was found. A chapel from theSaite period stands in the court. The remains of this chapel ofOsiris, erected byAmasis II of the26th Dynasty, also were found near the northern temple.[13] It was built by Ahmose-si-Neith.[14][15] Scenes on the facade of the temple show the deified kingPtolemy I Soter leaving a palace, while other items such as a triad and a stela date to the time ofRamesses II.[14]
This temple stands on the site of earlierAncient Egyptian temple structures.[12] Foundation deposits point to a temple ofThutmose III of the18th Dynasty.[14] Another temple belonged toAmenemhat I and his son,Senusret I, both of the12th Dynasty. Senusret I is shown receiving life from Bubastis and Nekhbet.[14] Within this temple a decree from the17th Dynasty rulerNubkheperre Intef was found by the East doorway. The decree describes how Nubkheperre Intef deposed a man named Teti.[12][14]
The middle temple dates back to the time ofThutmose III of the18th Dynasty. The temple was later rebuilt byPtolemy II Philadelphus and restored by theRoman emperorClaudius.[14]At the site of the later middle temple built during the Ptolemaic kingdom, blocks of an earlier structure bySenusret I and a gate ofThutmose III, with additions probably made byOsorkon II of the22nd Dynasty, were found. This later middle temple was built during the Ptolemaic kingdom byPtolemy II Philadelphus, with minor additions by members of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty of Rome,Caligula,Claudius, andTrajan.[14]The foundations contained objects from theOld Kingdom and theFirst Intermediate Period. Stelae were found depictingPepi I and his mother QueenIput before the godMin, two decrees and fragments of others byPepi II. A First Intermediate Period decree regarding offerings to a statue of Pepi II was found. The stele mentions the overseer of the prophets named Idi. Three decrees ofNeferkauhor, two of which were addressed to aVizier and are now in the Cairo Museum.[14]
The southern temple was likely dedicated toGebAt the site of the southern temple, are the gates ofNectanebo II of the30th Dynasty,[14][15] who was the last native king of Egypt. He was placed on the throne by a Spartan king and lost a conflict with the Persians, who then overtook Egypt.Other structures found at the site include a set ofstelae, now known as theCoptos Decrees. These stelae date to theSixth andSeventh dynasties, with copies of royal decrees from the pharaohs concerning the temple and its personnel. The name by which the stelae are known reflects the much later Greek name for the city, Coptos or Koptos however.A chapel ofPtolemaic dynasty pharaohCleopatra VII and her son,Ptolemy XV Caesarion, has been found at the site as well.[14][15] These rulers of Ancient Egypt for six hundred years were not native, but of Macedonian Greek origin (the Macedonians had begun the merging of Greek and Near Eastern culture known as the Hellenistic Culture underAlexander the Great). Without many changes, however, they adopted the culture and religious practices of the country they occupied. Cleopatra even learned the ancient Egyptian language, which never had been used by these rulers. The Greeks sought to find parallels to their own religious beliefs and would describe the Egyptian deities as related to their own.Built even later, after the conquest by the Romans in 30 AD, gates associated with the Roman emperorsCaligula andClaudius are documented at the site.[14] The Romans also continued the religious traditions of Ancient Egypt, adopting some completely, and drawing parallels (similar to the Greek rulers) for others.
Northeast of Qift, at the modern village ofEl-Qala, theRoman emperorClaudius also built a small temple and dedicated it toMin,Isis, andHorus.[13][14] TheHorus name of the Roman emperorTiberius (emperor 14–37 A.D.) is shown on two columns in the sanctuary. In the same sanctuary Claudius is shown before Isis. In the south chapel the emperor offers to Hathor, while on the exterior he is shown offering to the united emblems ofUpper and Lower Egypt.[14]
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The Christian city was still important enough to become a bishopric,suffragan ofPtolemais in the LateRoman provinceThebais Secunda. Five bishops are known (Le Quien, II, 607): Theodorus, a partisan of Meletius; Phoebammon in 431; Sabinus in 451; Vincent, author of the "Canonical Solutions", preserved in an Arabic translation and highly esteemed by theCopts; Moyses, who wrote the panegyric of Vincent.
It faded under Islamic rule, no later than the Ottoman ruin of the city.
The diocese was nominally restored as a Latin Catholictitular bishopric, initially under the nameCoptos, which was changed in 1925 toCoptus.It is vacant since decades, having had the following incumbents, both of the lowest (episcopal) rank:
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Coptos".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
25°59′44″N32°48′57″E / 25.99556°N 32.81583°E /25.99556; 32.81583
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