Upper Egypt

Upper Egypt (Arabic :صعيد مصر Sa'id Misr) is the strip of land, on both sides of the Nile valley, that extends from the cataract boundaries of modern-day Aswan north to the area between El-Ayait and Zawyet Dahshur (which is south of modern-day Cairo). The northern section of Upper Egypt, between El-Ayait and Sohag is sometimes known as Middle Egypt. The designation Upper Egypt is most frequently used as a division for Ancient Egypt. Modern inhabitants of Upper Egypt are known as Sa'idis; they generally speak Sa'idi Arabic.

Upper Egypt was known as Ta Shemau which means "the land of reeds." It was divided into twenty-two districts called nomes. The first nome was roughly where modern Aswan is and the twenty-second was at modern Atfih (Aphroditopolis), just to the south of Cairo.

History

The main city of predynastic Upper Egypt was Nekhen (Greek Hierakonpolis), whose patron deity was the vulture goddess Nekhbet. For most of pharaonic Egypt's history Thebes was the administrative center of Upper Egypt. After its devastation by the Assyrians its importance declined. Under the Ptolemies the city of Ptolemais took over the role of capital of Upper Egypt. Upper Egypt was represented by the tall White Crown Hedjet, and its symbol was the flowering lotus.

In the 11th Century large numbers of pastoralists, known as Hilalians, fled Upper Egypt and moved westward into Libya and as far as Tunis. It is believed that degraded grazing conditions in Upper Egypt associated with the beginning of the Medieval Warm Period, were the root cause of the migration.

In 20th Century Egypt, the title Prince of the Sa'id (meaning Prince of Upper Egypt) was used by the heir apparent to the Egyptian throne. Although the Egyptian monarchy was abolished in 1953, the title continues to be used by Muhammad Ali, Prince of Said and Hereditary Chief, Sheikh Beja Khawr al`allaqi, Prince of Sa'id.

Translation

The phrase "Upper Egypt" occurs as such in the following languages: English, Simple English.

Translation(s) in other languages: Arabic: صعيد مصر, Breton: Gorre Egipt, Bulgarian: Горен Египет, Catalan: Alt Egipte, Czech: Horní Egypt, German: Oberägypten, Greek: Άνω Αίγυπτος, Spanish: Alto Egipto, French: Haute-Égypte, Galician: Alto Exipto, Hebrew: מצרים העליונה, Indonesian: Mesir Hulu, Icelandic: Efra Egyptaland, Italian: Alto Egitto, Lithuanian: Aukštutinis Egiptas, Dutch: Opper-Egypte, Polish: Górny Egipt, Portuguese: Alto Egipto, Russian: Верхний Египет, Serbian: Горњи Египат, Swedish: Övre Egypten, Thai: ลำดับราชวงศ์และฟาโรห์แห่งอียิปต์.