With the Islamic conquest, the Arabs retained the name "Syout," which appears in works such as Al-Masalik by Ibn Khordadbeh and Al-Mukhtar by Al-Qudā‘ī. Later, the name was modified to "Asyut," which is found in Kitāb al-Buldān by Al-Ya‘qūbī, who described it as “one of the principal cities of Upper Egypt, where crimson carpets resembling Armenian ones are produced,”[8] and in Nuzhat al-Mushtāq as well as Mu‘jam al-Buldān by Yāqūt al-Hamawī, who wrote: “A city in western Egypt on the Nile, it is a large and noble city,” and cited Al-Hasan ibn Ibrahim al-Miṣrī: “It produces Armenian and triangular Debequi fabrics and all kinds of sugar, found in every Islamic and pre-Islamic town; its quince orchards surpass every other place in quantity, and opium is also produced there.”[9]Ibn ‘Abd al-Haqq mentioned it as Asyut, while noting its district (kūra) under the name Syout,[10] and it is also referred to as Asyut in Subh al-A‘shā and in Qawānīn Ibn Mammātī.[11]‘Alī Pasha Mubārak recorded both names, Syout and Asyut, noting that according to the French, the city in their time was mostly built of mudbrick with some fired brick, had solid mosques, grand baths, and six olive oil presses. Its market contained numerous shops, and along the Nile-side gardens there were sycamores and palm trees. Most of its trade at that time consisted of linen garments, natron, pottery vessels, and opium.[12] Similarly, Muḥammad Amīn al-Khānjī mentioned some of the city’s commercial buildings.[13]
Ancient Asyut was the capital of the ThirteenthNome ofUpper Egypt around 3100 BC. It was located on the western bank of theNile. The two most prominentgods ofancient Egyptian Asyut wereAnubis andWepwawet, both funerary deities.
During theFirst Intermediate Period, the rulers of "Zawty" (Khety I,Tefibi, andKhety II) were supporters of theHerakleopolitan kings, of whose domain the Nome formed the southern limits. The conflict between this Nome and the southern Nomes under the rule of theEleventh Dynasty ended with the victory ofThebes and the decline of Asyut's importance.
Statue of the chief royal scribeYuny of Asyut and his wife Renenutet, 1290–1270 BCE early Dynasty 19.
In the 19th Dynasty, a statue of the chief royal scribe Yuny of Asyut is known. Other ancient Egyptian monuments discovered in Asyut include; the Asyutnecropolis (west of the modern city), tombs which date to dynastiesNine,Ten andTwelve, and theRamessid tombs ofSiese andAmenhotep.
Lycopolis (Lycopolites Nome) has no remarkable ruins, but in the excavated chambers of the adjacent rocksmummies ofwolves have been found, confirming the origin of its name, as well as a tradition preserved byDiodorus Siculus,[14] to the effect that anEthiopian army, invading Egypt, was repelled beyond the city ofElephantine by packs of wolves.Osiris was worshipped under the symbol of a wolf at Lycopolis. According to a myth, he had come "from the shades" as a wolf to aidIsis andHorus in their combat withTyphon.[15]
InGraeco-Roman times, there was a distinct dialect ofCoptic spoken in Asyut, known as "Lycopolitan", after the Greek name for the city. Lesser-used names for this dialect are "Sub-Akhmimic" and "Assiutic".
In the Christian era, Asyut became the site of various monasteries and churches. On Gebel Asyut, for example, the ruins of two monasteries are partially preserved.[17] A largeByzantine Treasure was discovered near the city in the early twentieth century and is now dispersed amongst a number of museums in the West. Thehoard is composed of some of the most elaborate jewellery to survive from lateantiquity.
Asyut was at the end of the40 Day Road that connected the city toDarfur through the Selima andKharga Oases. The history of the road, known by local herders asDarb al-Arba'in, goes back over 700 years. It was used as a pathway for great caravans of up to 12,000 camels at its peak in the 14th century.[18]
The city is one of the only cities in the world that still makessilver appliqué-work shawls and is home to a large textile industry. The city also produces fine pottery, inlaid woodwork, and rugs.[21]
Asyut is the terminus of the Ras Shukheir-Asyutoil pipeline, the terminus of theCairo-Asyutgas pipeline and the beginning of the proposed Asyut-Qena gas pipeline, the last two being part of the Nile Valley Gas Company Pipeline Project.[22] Aysut is next to the Aysut Dam across the Nile river in the neighboring port ofAl-Hamra. The dam was built in 1902 and a hydroelectric plant was added in the 1980s.[21]
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate ashot desert (BWh). It is the driest city ofEgypt.[23]Luxor,Minya,Qena and Asyut have the widest difference of temperatures between days and nights of any city in Egypt, with almost 16 °C (29 °F) difference. The city of Asyut is sandwiched between two mountain ranges of about 600m height. There is also a lowering in elevation in midEgypt, from theMediterranean and theRed Sea. This gives the city and nearby towns and villages the similar properties of acontinental climate, meaning that the city has harsh and chillycoldwinter weather, and very hot but non-humidsummers. During summer the temperature can exceed 42 °C (108 °F). Yet, in winter Asyut gets below 0 °C (32 °F) temperatures during the night andfrost can easily form, whilehail orsnow are rare because of the low average of the city'sprecipitation and general lowhumidity.
The highest record temperature was 51 °C (124 °F), recorded on July 23, 1994, while the lowest record temperature was −2 °C (28 °F), recorded on January 16, 2008.[24]
Mother of Champions monument in War and Peace Square
TheAlexan Pasha Palace was constructed in 1910 as a riverside residence of a local aristocratic family. It remained in possession of the family until 1995 when it was sold to the state. There are plans to restore the mansion and turn it into a museum.[27]
Asyut is linked toGiza and northern cities by the road of Asyut western desert, eastern desert road and rural road, which also connects it to the railways.[28] Also therailway station is linked toAlexandria in the north andAswan in the south. In 1974,Assiut Airport was opened, renewed and expanded with a new terminal in 2011.[29]
^Eichner, Ina (2020).Der Survey der spätantiken und mittelalterlichen christlichen Denkmäler in der Nekropole von Assiut/Lykopolis (Mittelägypten) [The survey of the late antique and medieval Christian monuments in the necropolis of Assiut/Lykopolis (Middle Egypt)]. The Asyut Project, vol. 14. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz,ISBN978-3-447-11457-8.
Baines & MalekCultural Atlas of Ancient Egypt, 2000.ISBN0-8160-4036-2
Kahl, Jochem: "Ancient Asyut: The first Synthesis after Three Hundred Years of Research",The Asyut Project vol. I. Wiesbaden 2008.ISBN978-3-447-05666-3
