The nomes of Ancient Egypt
A 'nome' (from , “district”) was a subnational administrative division of
ancient Egypt. Today's use of the Greek ''nome'' rather than the
Egyptian term ''sepat'' came about during the
Ptolemaic period. In addition, the Greeks, fascinated with Egypt, left many historical records of the country easily accessible to Western historians.
Ancient Egypt
The division of
ancient Egypt into nomes can be traced back to the
Predynastic Period (before
3100 BC). These nomes originally existed as autonomous city-states, but later began to unify. According to ancient tradition the final unification was completed by a certain
Menes [1].
Not only did the division into nomes remain in place for more than three millennia, the areas of the individual nomes and their ordering remained remarkably stable. Some, like
Xois in the Delta or
Khent in Upper Egypt, are first mentioned on the
Palermo stone which was inscribed in the
Fifth dynasty; a few, like the nome of
Bubastis, appear no earlier than the
New Kingdom. Under the system that prevailed for most of pharaonic Egypt's history, the country was divided into 42 nomes.
Lower Egypt, from the Old Kingdom capital
Memphis to the
Mediterranean Sea, comprised 20 nomes. The first was based around Memphis,
Saqqara, and
Giza, in the area occupied by modern-day
Cairo. The nomes are numbered in a more or less orderly fashion south to north through the
Nile delta, first covering the territory on the west before continuing with the higher numbers to the east. Thus,
Alexandria was in the Third Nome, Bubastis in the Eighteenth.
Upper Egypt was divided into 22 nomes. The first of these was centered around
Elephantine close to Egypt's border with
Nubia at the First Cataract – the area of modern-day
Aswan. From there the numbering progresses downriver in an orderly fashion along the narrow fertile strip of land that was the Nile valley. Waset (ancient
Thebes or contemporary
Luxor) was in the Fourth Nome,
Amarna in the Fourteenth, and
Meidum in the Twenty-First.
Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt
Some nomes were added or renamed during the Graeco-Roman occupation of Egypt. For example, the
Ptolemies renamed the
Crocodilopolitan nome to Arsinoe.
Hadrian created a new nome, Antinoopolites, for which
Antinoopolis was the capital.
The nomarch
At the head of each nome stood a
nomarch. The position of the nomarch was at times hereditary, while at others they were appointed by the
pharaoh. Generally, when the national government was stronger, nomarchs were the king's appointed governors. When the central government was weaker, however – such as during foreign invasions or civil wars – individual nomes would assert themselves and establish hereditary lines of succession. Conflicts between these different hereditary nomarchies were common during, for example, the
First Intermediate Period – a time that saw a breakdown in central authority lasting from the sixth and eleventh dynasties, until one of the local rulers was once again able to assert control over the entire country as pharaoh.
Survival of the nomes
The nomes survived through the
Ptolemaic period, into
Roman times. Under Roman rule, individual nomes minted their own coinage, the so-called "nome coins," which still reflect individual local associations and traditions. The nomes of Egypt retained their primary importance as administrative units until the fundamental rearrangement of the bureaucracy during the reigns of
Diocletian and
Constantine.
From 307/8 CE, their place was taken by smaller units called ''pagi'' which eventually brought into prominence a powerful local official called a ''pagarch'' through whom all patronage flowed. His essential role was as an organizer of tax-collection, but later the pagarch assumed some military functions as well. The pagarchs were often wealthy landowners who reigned over the ''pagi'' from which they originated.
List of nomes
The nomes are listed in separate tables for
Upper and
Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt
| Number | Egyptian Name | Capital | Modern Capital | Translation |
|---|
| 1 | Aneb-Hetch | Ineb Hedj / Men-nefer / Menfe (Memphis) | Mit Rahina | White Walls |
| 2 | Khensu | Khem (Letopolis) | Ausim | Cow's thigh |
| 3 | Ament | Imu (Apis) | Kom el-Hisn | West |
| 4 | Sapi-Res | Ptkheka | Tanta | Southern shield |
| 5 | Sap-Meh | Zau (Sais) | Sa el-Hagar | Northern shield |
| 6 | Khaset | Khasu (Xois) | Sakha | Mountain bull |
| 7 | A-ment | (Hermopolis Parva, Metelis) | Damanhur | West harpoon |
| 8 | A-bt | Tjeku / Per-Atum (Heroonpolis, Pithom) | Tell al-Maskhuta | East harpoon |
| 9 | Ati | Djed (Busiris) | Abu Sir Bara | Andjeti |
| 10 | Ka-khem | Hut-hery-ib (Athribis) | Tell Atrib | Black bull |
| 11 | Ka-heseb | Taremu (Leontopolis) | Tell al-Urydam | Heseb bull |
| 12 | Theb-ka | Tjebnutjer (Sebennytos) | Samanud | Calf and Cow |
| 13 | Heq-At | Iunu (Heliopolis) | Materiya (suburb of Cairo) | Prospering Sceptre |
| 14 | Khent-abt | Tjaru (Sile, Tanis) | Tell Abu Sefa | Eastmost |
| 15 | Tehut | Ba'h / Weprehwy (Hermopolis Parva) | Baqliya | Ibis |
| 16 | Kha | Djedet (Mendes) | Tell al-Rubˁ | Fish |
| 17 | Semabehdet | Semabehdet (Diospolis Parva) | Tell Balamun | The throne |
| 18 | Am-Khent | Per-Bastet (Bubastis) | Tell Bastah (near Zagazig) | Prince of the South |
| 19 | Am-Pehu | Dja'net (Leontopolis Tanis) | Nebesha ''or'' San el-Hagar | Prince of the North |
| 20 | Sopdu | Per-Sopdu | Saft al-Henna | Plumed Falcon |
Upper Egypt
References
Alan K. Bowman (1990). ''Egypt After the Pharaohs''. Oxford University Press.
1. Herodotus, ''Euterpe'', 2.4.1 and 2.99.1ff.
External links
★
Details of the nomes
★
Archaeological survey of the nomes
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