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  Myos Hormos Shown within Egypt | |
| Location | Al-Qusayr,Red Sea Governorate,Egypt |
|---|---|
| Region | Upper Egypt |
| Coordinates | 26°9′24″N34°14′30″E / 26.15667°N 34.24167°E /26.15667; 34.24167 |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Builder | Ptolemaic dynasty |
| Founded | 3rd century BC |
| Abandoned | After the 4th century AD |
| Periods | Ptolemaic Kingdom toRoman Empire |
Myos Hormos (Ancient Greek:Μυὸς Ὅρμος), later alsoAphrodites Hormos (Ἀφροδίτης ὅρμος),[1] was a significant ancient port in Egypt, situated on theRed Sea, and was active during thePtolemaic andRoman periods.[2]
The settlement is believed to have been founded during the Ptolemaic period, possibly underPtolemy II Philadelphus (283–246 BC),[1] Excavations carried out recently by David Peacock andLucy Blue of theUniversity of Southampton, identified it with the present-day site of Quseir al-Quadim (old Quseir), eight kilometres north of the modern town ofEl Qoseir in Egypt.[citation needed] Excavations at the site revealed that the port thrived most during the 1st century AD, but declined by the 3rd century AD.[2]
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| ṯꜣꜥw[3][4] inhieroglyphs | ||||||
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| Era:Middle Kingdom (2055–1650 BC) | ||||||
The Myos Hormos may mean the "Harbour of the Mouse", but most probably meant the "Harbour of theMussel" (μύειν, to close, e.g. the shell), since on the neighbouring coast the pearl mussel was collected in large quantities.[1][5]
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| dwꜣw[6] inhieroglyphs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Era:Ptolemaic dynasty (305–30 BC) | ||
The port was later renamedAphrodites Hormos (Ancient Greek:Ἀφροδίτης ὅρμος), though the original name remained more widely used.[1] It seems to have obtained the name ofAphrodite (technically meaningfoam of the sea), from the abundance ofsea-sponge found in its bay.[1]
Ptolemy II Philadelphus selected it for the principal harbour of the trade with India, in preference toArsinoe, since Arsinoe was at the head of theRed Sea and there was a tedious and difficult navigation down theHeroopolite Gulf. Vessels from Myos Hormos traded with Africa, Arabia, and India.[1]
After the Ptolemies, it was withBerenice (further south on theRed Sea coast) one of the two main ports inRoman Egypt for trade withIndia,Africa and probablyChina.[citation needed]
Some of its main destinations were theIndus delta,Muziris and theKathiawar peninsula inIndia. The coastal trade from Myos Hormos and Berenice along the coast of theIndian Ocean is described in the anonymous 1st century AD handbookPeriplus of the Erythraean Sea.
first comes Egypt's port of Myos Hormos, and beyond it, after a sail of 1800 stades to the right,Berenice. The ports of both are bays on the Red Sea on the edge of Egypt.[7]
It was one of the maintrading centers on theRed Sea.[8]
According toStrabo (II.5.12), by the time of Augustus, up to 120 ships were setting sail every year from Myos Hormos to India:
At any rate, whenGallus was prefect of Egypt, I accompanied him and ascended theNile as far asSyene and the frontiers ofEthiopia, and I learned that as many as one hundred and twenty vessels were sailing from Myos Hormos to India, whereas formerly, under thePtolemies, only a very few ventured to undertake the voyage and to carry on traffic in Indian merchandise.
— Strabo II.5.12.[1]
The port of Myos Hormos was connected to the Nile valley andMemphis by a Roman road, built in the 1st century.
Myos Hormos was a diverse, multi-ethnic community, as evidenced by the various languages spoken and the presence of foreign residents.[2] The analysis of inscriptions, including twoTamil inscriptions dated to the first century AD, indicates commercial connections withSouth India, particularly the region ofArikamedu.[2] In addition to Tamil, other languages such as Greek, Latin,South Arabian,Nabataic, andPalmyrene have been attested.[2] There is textual evidence of a small military presence in the town; a garrison of 50-100 soldiers was stationed there from the first century CE into the early second century, though no direct archaeological evidence of a military structure has been found.[2]
The decline and eventual abandonment of Myos Hormos remains a subject of scholarly debate.[2] Many scholars attribute its demise to theCrisis of the Third Century, which affected the Roman Empire politically, economically, and militarily.[2]
A 2020 study suggests that the port's decline began earlier, in the 2nd century AD.[2] Archaeological evidence shows that by the mid-2nd century, the harbor and settlement had already fallen into disuse.[2] The site's abandonment may have been driven by the rise of northern ports likeClysma, which became more accessible and efficient with the opening ofTrajan's Canal around 112 AD.[2] These developments made the northern ports more favorable for Roman traders.[2]
Only in the 17th century the port started to regain some importance, mainly because of holy travel fromCairo toMecca. Myos Hormos is now the city of old Qusair.[9]
