Akhmim ϣⲙⲓⲛ | |
|---|---|
 Residential area in the city | |
  Akhmim Location within Egypt | |
| Coordinates:26°34′N31°45′E / 26.567°N 31.750°E /26.567; 31.750 | |
| Country |  Egypt |
| Governorate | Sohag |
| Area | |
• Total | 14.7 km2 (5.7 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 85 m (279 ft) |
| Population (2023)[2] | |
• Total | 157,938 |
| • Density | 10,700/km2 (27,800/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Akhmim (Arabic:أخميم,pronounced[ʔæxˈmiːm]; AkhmimicCoptic:ⳉⲙⲓⲙ,Coptic pronunciation:[xmiːm]; Sahidic/BohairicCoptic:ϣⲙⲓⲛCoptic pronunciation:[ʃmiːn]) is a city in theSohag Governorate ofUpper Egypt. Referred to by the ancient Greeks asKhemmis orChemmis (Ancient Greek:Χέμμις)[3] andPanopolis (Ancient Greek:Πανὸς πόλις[4] and Πανόπολις[5]), it is located on the east bank of theNile, 6 kilometres (4 mi) to the northeast ofSohag.
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| jp or jpw[1][6] inhieroglyphs | |||||
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| Era:New Kingdom (1550–1069 BC) | |||||
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| ḫn(t) mnw[3] inhieroglyphs | |||||
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| Era:New Kingdom (1550–1069 BC) | |||||
Akhmim was known inAncient Egypt asIpu,Apu (according toBrugsch the name is related to the nearby village of Kafr Abou)[7] orKhent-min. It was the capital of the ninth (Chemmite)nome ofUpper Egypt.
The city is a suggested hometown forYuya, the official ofTuthmosis IV andAmenhotep III.
The ithyphallicMin (whom the Greeks identified withPan) was worshipped here as "the strongHorus."Herodotus mentions the temple dedicated toPerseus and asserts that Chemmis was remarkable for being the hero’s birthplace, wherein celebrations and games were held in his honour after the manner of the Greeks; at which prizes were given. As a matter of fact, some representations are known ofNubians and people ofPunt (southern coastalSudan and theEritrean coast) climbing up poles before the god Min.
Min was especially a god of the desert routes on the east ofEgypt, and the trading tribes are likely to have gathered to his festivals for business and pleasure atCoptos (which was really nearNeapolis) even more than at Akhmim. Herodotus perhaps confusedCoptos with Chemmis.Strabo mentions linen-weaving and stone-cutting as ancient industries of Panopolis, and it is not altogether a coincidence that the cemetery of Akhmim is one of the chief sources of the beautiful textiles ofRoman andChristian age, that are brought fromEgypt.[8]
In theChristianCoptic era, Akhmim was written in SahidicCoptic:ϣⲙⲓⲛ/ⲭⲙⲓⲛ/ⲭⲙⲓⲙShmin/Kmin/Kmim but was probably pronounced locally something likeKhmin orKhmim.Monasteries abounded in this region from a very early date.
Pachomius the Great founded amonastery known asTkahshmin in the area.[9]Shenouda the Archimandrite (348–466) was amonk atAthribis near Akhmim. Some years earlierNestorius, the exiled ex-patriarch ofConstantinople, had died at an old age in the neighborhood of Akhmim.Nonnus, the Greekpoet, was born at Panopolis at the end of the 4th century.[8] The bishopric of Panopolis, asuffragan ofAntinoë inThebais Prima, is included in theCatholic Church's list oftitular sees.[10] Among the bishops of Panopolis,Le Quien mentions[11] Arius, friend ofSaint Pachomius who had built three convents in the city, Sabinus, and Menas. Excavations at Akhmim have disclosed numerousChristian manuscripts, among them fragments of theBook of Henoch, of the Gospel, and of theApocalypse of Peter, theActs of the Council of Ephesus, as well as numerous otherChristian inscriptions.
In the 13th century AD, a very imposing temple still stood in Akhmim.[8] Today, little of its past glory remains. Nothing is left of the town, the temples were almost completely dismantled, and their material reused in the laterMiddle Ages. The extensive cemeteries of ancient Akhmim are yet to be fully explored. The destroyed corner of a Greco-Roman period temple with colossal statues ofRamesses II andMeritamen was discovered in 1981.
Of Akhmim, in 1818Jacques Collin de Plancy wrote in his book, theDictionnaire Infernal, that the city "formerly had the reputation of being the abode of the greatest magicians. Paul Lucas speaks, in his second voyage, of the marvelous serpent of Akhmin, which Muslims honor as an angel, and which Christians believe to be the demon Asmodeus."[12]
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate ashot desert (BWh).
| Climate data for Akhmim | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 22.1 (71.8) | 24 (75) | 27.9 (82.2) | 33 (91) | 36.1 (97.0) | 37.9 (100.2) | 37.2 (99.0) | 37.4 (99.3) | 34.2 (93.6) | 31.9 (89.4) | 28.4 (83.1) | 23.4 (74.1) | 31.1 (88.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 13.6 (56.5) | 15.1 (59.2) | 18.5 (65.3) | 23.4 (74.1) | 27 (81) | 29.2 (84.6) | 28.9 (84.0) | 29.3 (84.7) | 27.2 (81.0) | 24.9 (76.8) | 20.3 (68.5) | 15.2 (59.4) | 22.7 (72.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 5.2 (41.4) | 6.2 (43.2) | 9.2 (48.6) | 13.8 (56.8) | 18 (64) | 20.5 (68.9) | 20.7 (69.3) | 21.3 (70.3) | 20.2 (68.4) | 17.9 (64.2) | 12.3 (54.1) | 7.1 (44.8) | 14.4 (57.8) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Source:Climate-Data.org[13] | |||||||||||||
Akhmim is the largest town on the east side of theNile inSohag Governorate. In 1907, the population of the city was 23,795, of whom about one third wereCopts. Akhmim has severalmosques and twoCoptic churches. TheMonastery of the Martyrs is located about 6 km northeast of the city. Akhmim maintains a weekly market, and manufacturescotton goods, notably the blue shirts and check shawls withsilk fringes worn by the poorer classes ofEgypt. Outside the walls are the scanty ruins of two ancient temples. On the west bank of theNile opposite of Akhmim, there is railway communication withCairo andAswan.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Griffith, Francis Llewellyn (1911). "Akhmim". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 456.26°34′N31°45′E / 26.567°N 31.750°E /26.567; 31.750
| Regions |  | |
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| Important sites | ||
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Italics indicate defunct monasteries. | |||||
 | Upper Egypt |
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| Middle Egypt | Monastery of Saint Parsoma | ||||
| Lower Egypt | |||||
| Eastern Desert | |||||
| Nitrian Desert | |||||
| Sinai | |||||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
