Nekhen

Coordinates: 25°5′50″N 32°46′46″E / 25.09722°N 32.77944°E / 25.09722; 32.77944

Nekhen /ˈnɛkən/ or Hierakonpolis (/ˌhaɪərəˈkɒnpəlᵻs/; Ancient Greek: Ἱεράκων πόλις hierakōn polis, "city of hawks",Arabic: الكوم الأحمر‎, Al-Kom Al-Aħmar, "red mound") was the religious and political capital of Upper Egypt at the end of the Predynastic period (c. 3200 – 3100 BC), and probably also during the Early Dynastic Period (c. 3100 – 2686 BC). Some authors suggest occupation dates that should begin thousands of years earlier.

Horus cult center

Nekhen was the center of the cult of a hawk deity Horus of Nekhen, which raised in this city one of the most ancient temples in Egypt, and it retained its importance as the cult center of this divine patron of the kings long after it had otherwise declined.

The original settlement on the Nekhen site dates from the culture known as Naqada I of 4400 BC or the late Badarian culture that may date from 5000 BC. At its height from about 3400 BC, Nekhen had at least 5,000 and possibly as many as 10,000 inhabitants.

Nekhen (nome)

Nekhen was the name of the third Upper Egyptian nome (province). Nekhen is also the Egyptian name of Hierakonpolis, one of the main towns in the province. In Greek and Roman times, the province was called Latopolites, for Esna was in this period the main town and its Greek name was Latopolis or Letopolis. The main towns in the province were Nekhen, Elkab and Esna. The province is already mentioned in inscriptions of the Old Kingdom.

References