Ta-Seti

Ta-Seti (uppermost) at the "White Chapel" in Karnak
Map of all nomoi in Upper Egypt

Ta-Seti (Ancient Egyptian: tꜣ-sty, likely meaning "Land of the Bow") was the first nome (administrative division) of Upper Egypt.[1] Situated at the southern border with Nubia, Ta-Seti played a crucial role in trade, military operations, and cultural exchange between Egypt and Nubia. The term "Ta-Seti" could also broadly refer to the Nubian region itself, highlighting close association between the two.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

N16
T9A
R12
N24
Ta-Seti
in hieroglyphs

History

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Each nome was governed by a nomarch (provincial governor), who reported directly to the pharaoh. The size of Ta-Seti was approximately 5.5 hectares (2 cha-ta) in area and 112 kilometers (10.5 iteru) in length, likely referring to its extent along the Nile.[8] The main city (Niwt) was Abu (Elephantine, modern Aswan), and other significant cities included Philae (P'aaleq), Syene (Sunet, modern Aswan), and Kom Ombo (Pa-Sebek). Each major city had a Het net (temple) dedicated to the chief deity and a Heqa het (nomarch's residence), reflecting the administrative and religious importance of these centers.[9]

Dieties

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The primary deity of Ta-Seti was Horus, with other major deities including Anuket, Arensnuphis, Hathor, Isis, Khnum, Mandulis, Satet, and Sobek. These deities reflect a blend of Egyptian and Nubian religious traditions, indicative of the region's cultural synthesis. For instance, Anuket and Satet were particularly important due to their association with the Nile and its life-giving properties.[10] Today, the area is part of the Aswan Governorate.

Amenemhat I's Mother

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The Prophecy of Neferti, a literary text from the Middle Kingdom, mentions that Amenemhat I's mother, founder of the Twelfth Dynasty, was from Ta-Seti (Elephantine). Some scholars interpret this to suggest a possible Nubian origin,[11] based on Elephantine's location and cultural interactions.[12][13]

Early Nubian Kingship and the Qustul Discovery

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In the 1960s, excavations at Qustul, a site in Lower Nubia (now northern Sudan), uncovered royal tombs and artifacts predating Egypt’s First Dynasty. Among these discoveries was the Qustul incense burner, which features an image of a Nubian king wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt, suggesting that the royal symbolism of Egyptian pharaohs originated in Ta-Seti rather than in Egypt itself.[14][failed verification]

Some scholars suggest that Ta-Seti was part of an early Nubian civilization that predated Ancient Egypt, with claims of a unified monarchy existing as early as 3800 BC.[15][16] Archaeologist Bruce Williams (1986) argued that Nubian polities, including Ta-Seti, developed centralized leadership before Egypt and that early Egyptian rulers may have adopted Nubian traditions rather than the other way around. This challenges traditional narratives that separate Egypt from its Nubian origins.[17][18]

Nomarchs of Ta-Seti

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The genealogy below lists nomarchs from the 12th Dynasty. The nomarchs are underlined. The exact relationships between these nomarchs are not fully known, and the genealogy is based on interpretations of inscriptions and historical records.[19]

Sarenput IKhemaSatethotep♀
Sarenput IIShemai
Sat-tjeni♀
Heqaib IIIAmenyseneb

References

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  1. ^ Otto, Eberhard; Helck, Wolfgang; Westendorf, Wolfhart (1977). Lexikon der Ägyptologie. Wiesbaden: O. Harrassowitz. ISBN 978-3-447-01876-0.
  2. ^ Edwards, David N., ed. (2004). The Nubian past: an archaeology of the Sudan. London New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-36988-6.
  3. ^ Kemp, Barry J. (2018). Ancient Egypt: anatomy of a civilization (3[rd edition] ed.). Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-82725-6.
  4. ^ Trigger, Bruce G.; Welsby, Derek A. (2000). "The Kingdom of Kush: The Napatan and Meroitic Empires". The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 33 (1): 212. doi:10.2307/220314. ISSN 0361-7882.
  5. ^ HAWASS, ZAHI (2024-09-03). Mountains of the Pharaohs. The American University in Cairo Press. ISBN 978-1-64903-400-7.
  6. ^ Asante, Molefi Kete (2020-04-30), "Afrocentricity", Routledge Handbook of Pan-Africanism, Routledge, pp. 147–158, ISBN 978-0-429-02019-3, retrieved 2025-02-07
  7. ^ "The Nile Valley of Egypt", Ancient Complex Societies, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2017. |: Routledge, pp. 98–129, 2017-01-06, ISBN 978-1-315-30563-9, retrieved 2025-02-07{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  8. ^ Otto, Eberhard; Helck, Wolfgang; Westendorf, Wolfhart (1977). Lexikon der Ägyptologie. Wiesbaden: O. Harrassowitz. ISBN 978-3-447-01876-0.
  9. ^ Kemp, Barry J. Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization. Routledge, 2006.
  10. ^ Wilkinson, Richard H. The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson, 2003.
  11. ^ Wilson, John A. "Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature. Vol. I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975). Pp. 245 + xxi. $3.95, paper". Review of Middle East Studies. 10 (3): 74–75. doi:10.1017/s0026318400004818. ISSN 2151-3481.
  12. ^ Ross, Jennifer C.; Steadman, Sharon R. (2017). Ancient complex societies. London ; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN 978-1-61132-195-1.
  13. ^ Parkinson, R. B. The Tale of Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems. Oxford University Press, 1999.
  14. ^ "The Qustul Incense Burner | Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures". isac.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2025-02-07.
  15. ^ "The Nile Valley of Egypt", Ancient Complex Societies, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2017. |: Routledge, pp. 98–129, 2017-01-06, ISBN 978-1-315-30563-9, retrieved 2025-02-07{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  16. ^ Mosjsov, Bojana (1994). "Ancient Nubia: Egypt's Rival in Africa". African Arts. 27 (4): 78. doi:10.2307/3337323. ISSN 0001-9933.
  17. ^ "The Nile Valley of Egypt", Ancient Complex Societies, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2017. |: Routledge, pp. 98–129, 2017-01-06, ISBN 978-1-315-30563-9, retrieved 2025-02-07{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  18. ^ Shinnie (2013-10-28). Ancient Nubia. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-203-03870-3.
  19. ^ Kendall, Timothy, "Egypt and Nubia", The Egyptian World, Routledge, ISBN 978-0-203-82093-3, retrieved 2025-02-07
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