Ⲡⲟⲩⲃⲁⲥϯ تل بسطة | |
 View of Bubastis | |
  Tell-Basta Shown within Egypt | |
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| Location | Tell-Basta,Sharqia Governorate,Egypt |
| Region | Lower Egypt |
| Coordinates | 30°34′22″N31°30′36″E / 30.57278°N 31.51000°E /30.57278; 31.51000 |
| Type | Settlement |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | In ruins |
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| Bubastis inhieroglyphs | ||||
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Bubastis (Bohairic Coptic:ⲠⲟⲩⲃⲁⲥϯPoubasti;Greek:ΒούβαστιςBoubastis[1] orΒούβαστοςBoubastos[2]), also known inArabic asTell-Basta or inEgyptian asPer-Bast, was anancient Egyptian city. Bubastis is often identified with thebiblicalPi-Beseth (Hebrew:פי-בסתpy-bst,Ezekiel 30:17).[3] It was the capital of its ownnome, located along theRiver Nile in theDelta region ofLower Egypt, and notable as acenter of worship for the feline goddessBastet, and therefore the principal depository in Egypt ofmummies of cats.
Itsruins are located in the suburbs of the modern city ofZagazig.
The name of Bubastis inEgyptian isPr-Bȝst.t, conventionally pronouncedPer-Bast but its Earlier Egyptian pronunciation can be reconstructed as /ˈpaɾu-buˈʀistit/. It is a compound of Egyptianpr (“house") and the name of the goddessBastet; thus the phrase means "House of Bast".[4] In later forms of Egyptian, sound shifts had altered the pronunciation. In Bohairic Coptic, the name is renderedⲠⲟⲩⲃⲁⲥϯ,Ⲡⲟⲩⲁⲥϯ orⲂⲟⲩⲁⲥϯ.
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Bubastis served as the capital of thenome ofAm-Khent, the 18th nome ofLower Egypt. Bubastis was situated southwest ofTanis, upon the eastern side of thePelusiac branch of the Nile. Thenome and city of Bubastis were allotted to the Calasirian division of the Egyptian war-caste.
In a later account by the Greek historianManetho, it's stated that a "chasm opened near Bubastis and many perished" during the reign ofHotepsekhemwy in theSecond Dynasty.[6]
In the Middle Kingdom, Tell Basta was the site of a large mudbrick palace (16,000 sqm) dated to the Twelfth Dynasty.[7] It has been thought to be a residence ofAmenemhat III. A limestone lintel shows the king during hisHeb Sed Festival.
Following the Twelfth Dynasty, the Middle Kingdom faded out. At Bubastis, a red granite architrave belonged toSekhemre Khutawy Khabaw.[8] In another monument found at Tanis, he is mentioned along withHor.
It became a royal residence afterShoshenq I, the first ruler and founder of the22nd Dynasty, becamepharaoh in 943 BC. Bubastis was its height during this dynasty and the23rd. It declined after the conquest byCambyses II in 525 BC, which heralded the end of the Saite26th Dynasty and the start of theAchaemenid Empire.
The Twenty Second Dynasty of Egyptian monarchs consisted of nine, or, according toEusebius[9] of three Bubastite kings, and during their reigns the city was one of the most considerable places in the Delta. Immediately to the south of Bubastis were the allotments of land with whichPsamtik I rewarded the services of hisIonian andCarian mercenaries;[10] and on the northern side of the city commenced theCanal of the Pharaohs, which PharaohNecho II began (but never finished) to go between the Nile and theRed Sea.[11]
After Bubastis was taken by the Persians, its walls were dismantled.[12] From this period it gradually declined, although it appears in ecclesiastical annals among theepiscopal sees of the provinceAugustamnica Secunda. Bubastite coins of the age ofHadrian exist.The following is the description whichHerodotus gives of Bubastis, as it appeared shortly after the period of the Persian invasion, 525 BC, and Hamilton remarks that the plan of the ruins remarkably warrants the accuracy of this historical eye-witness:
Temples there are more spacious and costlier than that of Bubastis, but none so pleasant to behold. It is after the following fashion. Except at the entrance, it is surrounded by water: for two canals branch off from the river, and run as far as the entrance to the temple: yet neither canal mingles with the other, but one runs on this side, and the other on that. Each canal is a hundred feet wide, and its banks are lined with trees. The propylaea are sixty feet in height, and are adorned with sculptures (probably intaglios in relief) nine feet high, and of excellent workmanship. The Temple being in the middle of the city is looked down upon from all sides as you walk around; and this comes from the city having been raised, whereas the temple itself has not been moved, but remains in its original place. Quite round the temple there goes a wall, adorned with sculptures. Within the inclosure is a grove of fair tall trees, planted around a large building in which is the effigy (of Bast). The form of that temple is square, each side being a stadium in length. In a line with the entrance is a road built of stone about three stadia long, leading eastwards through the public market. The road is about 400 feet (120 m) broad, and is flanked by exceeding tall trees. It leads to the temple of Hermes.[13]
Bubastis was a center of worship for the feline goddessBastet, sometimes calledBubastis after the city, who theGreeks identified withArtemis. Thecat was the sacred and peculiar animal of Bast, who is represented with the head of a cat or alioness and frequently accompanies the deityPtah in monumental inscriptions. The tombs at Bubastis were accordingly the principal depository in Egypt of themummies of the cat.[15][16]
The most distinguished features of the city and nome of Bubastis were its oracle of Bast, the splendid temple of that goddess and the annual procession in honor of her. The oracle gained in popularity and importance after the influx of Greek settlers into the Delta, since the identification of Bast with Artemis attracted to her shrine both native Egyptians and foreigners.
The festival of Bubastis was considered the most joyous and gorgeous of all in the Egyptian calendar as described byHerodotus:
Barges and river craft of every description, filled with men and women, floated leisurely down the Nile. The men played on pipes of lotus. the women on cymbals and tambourines, and such as had no instruments accompanied the music with clapping of hands and dances, and other joyous gestures. Thus did they while on the river: but when they came to a town on its banks, the barges were made fast, and the pilgrims disembarked, and the women sang, playfully mocked the women of that town and threw their clothes over their head. When they reached Bubastis, then held they a wondrously solemn feast: and more wine of the grape was drank in those days than in all the rest of the year. Such was the manner of this festival: and, it is said, that as many as seven hundred thousand pilgrims have been known to celebrate the Feast of Bast at the same time.[17]
%2c_Egypt._From_the_Amelia_Edwards_Collection._The_Petrie_Museum_of_Egyptian_Archaeology%2c_London.jpg)
Extant documents mention the names of three Christian bishops of Bubastis of the 4th and 5th centuries:
The tomb of the lateNew KingdomvizierIuty was discovered in December 1964 in the "Cemetery of the Nobles" of Bubastis by the Egyptian archaeologist Shafik Farid.
Since 2008, the German-Egyptian "Tell Basta Project" has been conducting excavations at Bubastis. Previously, in March 2004, a well preserved copy of theDecree of Canopus was discovered in the city.[21]
Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857)."Bubastis".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray. Retrieved2012-01-28. This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Bubastis".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.
| Preceded by | Capital of Egypt 945 - 715 BC | Succeeded by |
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