Thinis
Encyclopedia
Thinis or This was the capital city
of the first dynasties
of ancient Egypt
. Thinis is, as yet, undiscovered
but well attested to by ancient writers, including the classical historian Manetho
, who cites it as the centre of the Thinite Confederacy, a tribal confederation whose leader, Menes
(or Narmer
), united Egypt
and was its first pharaoh
. Thinis began a steep decline in importance from Dynasty III, when the capital was relocated to Memphis
. Its location on the border of the competing Heracleopolitan
and Theban
dynasties of the First Intermediate Period, and its proximity to certain oases
of possible military importance, ensured Thinis some continued signifance in the Old and New Kingdoms. This was a brief respite and Thinis eventually lost its position as a regional administrative centre by the Roman period.
Due to its ancient heritage, Thinis remained a siginificant religious centre, housing the tomb and mummy
of the regional deity. In ancient Egyptian religious cosmology
, as seen (for example) in the Book of the Dead
, Thinis played a role as a mythical place in heaven
.
Although the precise location of Thinis is unknown, mainstream Egyptological
consensus places it in the vicinity of ancient Abydos
and modern Girga
.
's use of the adjective Thinite to describe the pharaoh Menes. Although the corresponding Thinis does not appear in Greek
, it is demanded by the Egyptian
original and is the more popular name among Egyptologists. This is also suggested.
In correcting a passage of Hellanicus (b. 490 BCE), Jörgen Zoega
amended
Τίνδων όνομα to Θιν δε οι όνομα. Maspero
(1903) found that this revealed the name Thinis and also, from the same passage, a key geographic indicator: επιποταμίη (on the river). Maspero used this additional detail to support the theory, which included among its followers Jean-François Champollion
and Nestor L'Hôte
, locating Thinis at modern-day Girga or a neighbouring town, possibly El-Birba. Other proposals for Thinis' location have lost favour at the expense of the Girga-Birba theory: Auguste Mariette
, founder director of the Egyptian Museum
, suggested Kom el-Sultan
; A. Schmidt, El-Kherbeh; and Heinrich Karl Brugsch
, Johannes Dümichen
and others supported El-Tineh, near Berdis. Mainstream Egyptological consensus continues to locate Thinis at or near to either Girga, or El-Birba (where an inscribed statue fragment mentioning Thinis is said to have been found).
-Thinis region dates from the fourth millennium BCE. Thinis is also cited as the earliest royal burial-site in Egypt.
At an early point, the city of Abydos resigned its political rank to Thinis, and although Abydos would continue to enjoy supreme religious importance, its history and functions cannot be understood without reference to Thinis. The role of Thinis as centre of the Thinite Confederacy (or Dynasty 0) and into the Early Dynastic Period
(specifically Dynasty I
and Dynasty II
) is taken from Manetho, and, according to Wilkinson (2000), seems to be confirmed by Dynasty I and late Dynasty II royal tombs at Abydos, the principal regional necropolis
.
Such importance seems to have been short-lived: certainly, the national political role of Thinis ended at the beginning of Dynasty III
(c. 2686 BCE), when Memphis
became the chief religious and political centre. Nonetheless, Thinis retained its regional significance: during Dynasty V
, it was the probable seat of the "overseer of Upper Egypt
", an administrative official with responsibility for the Nile Valley south of the Delta
, and throughout antiquity
it was the eponymous capital of nome
VIII of Upper Egypt and seat of its nomarch
.
During the wars of the First Intermediate Period (c. 2181 – c. 2055 BCE), Ankhtifi
, nomarch of Hierakonpolis, demanded recognition of his suzerainty from the "overseer of Upper Egypt" at Thinis, and although the city walls, cited in Ankhtifi's autobiography, seem to have left Ankhtifi capable of only a show of force
, he appears to have purchased Thinis' neutrality with grain
.
Following Ankhtifi's death, Thinis was the northernmost nome to fall under the sway of Intef II
, pharaoh of the Theban
Dynasty XI
(c. 2118 – c. 2069 BCE). Progress north by the Theban armies was halted by Kheti III, pharaoh of the Heracleopolitan
Dynasty IX
, in a battle at Thinis itself that is recorded in the Teaching for King Merykara, and, throughout Intef II's later years, his war against the Heracleopolitans and their allies, the nomarchs of Assyut, was waged in the land between Thinis and Assyut.
As Thebes began to take the upper hand, Mentuhotep II
(c. 2061 – c. 2010 BCE), on his campaign of reunification, brought Thinis, which had been in revolt, possibly at Heracleopolitan instigation and certainly with the support of an army under the command of the nomarch of Assyut, firmly under his control.
During the Second Intermediate Period (c. eighteenth century BCE), Thinis may have experienced resurgent autonomy: Ryholt
(1997) proposes that the Abydos dynasty of kings might better be called the "Thinite Dynasty" and that, in any event, their royal seat was likely at Thinis, already a nome capital.
(c. 1550 – c. 1292 BCE), when Thinis enjoyed renewed prominence, based on its geographical connection to various oases
of possible military importance. Certainly, the office of mayor of Thinis was occupied by several notable New Kingdom
figures: Satepihu, who participated in the construction of an obelisk
for Hatshepsut
and was himself subject of an exemplary block statue
; the herald
Intef, an indispensable member of the royal household and the travelling-companion of Thutmose III
; and Min, tutor to the prince Amenhotep III
.
Nonetheless, Thinis had declined to a settlement of little significance by the historic period. The misleading reference on a seventh-century BCE Assyria
n stele to "Nespamedu, king of Thinis" is nothing more than a reflection of Assyrian "ignorance of the subtlety of the Egyptian political hierarchy".
Certainly, by the Roman period, Thinis had been supplanted as capital of its nome by Ptolemais
, perhaps even as early as that city's foundation by Ptolemy I
.
As each nome was home to the tomb and mummy
of its dead nome-god, so at Thinis was the temple and last resting-place of Anhur
, whose epithets included "bull of Thinis", worshipped after his death as Khenti-Amentiu
, and who, as nome-god, was placed at the head of the local ennead
.
The high priest of the temple of Anhur at Thinis was called the first prophet, or chief of seers, a title that Maspero (1903) suggests is a reflection of Thinis' decline in status as a city.
One such chief of seers, Anhurmose, who died in the reign of Merneptah
(c. 1213 – c. 1203 BCE), broke with the tradition of his New Kingdom predecessors, who were buried at Abydos, and was laid to rest at Thinis itself.
The lion-goddess Mehit was also worshipped at Thinis, and the restoration of her temple there during Merneptah's reign was probably overseen by Anhurmose.
There is evidence that succession
to the office of chief of seers of Anhur at Thinis was familial: in the Herakleopolitan period
, one Hagi succeeded his elder brother, also called Hagi, and their father to the post; and, in the New Kingdom, Wenennefer
was succeeded in the priestly office by his son, Hori.
In ancient Egyptian religious cosmology
, Thinis played a role as a mythical place in heaven
. In particular, as set out in the Book of the Dead
, its eschatological
significance can be seen in certain rituals: when the god Osiris
triumphs, "joy goeth its round in Thinis", a reference to the celestial Thinis, rather than the earthly city.
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
of the first dynasties
Early Dynastic Period of Egypt
The Archaic or Early Dynastic Period of Egypt immediately follows the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt c. 3100 BC. It is generally taken to include the First and Second Dynasties, lasting from the Protodynastic Period of Egypt until about 2686 BC, or the beginning of the Old Kingdom...
of ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
. Thinis is, as yet, undiscovered
Lost city
A "Lost City" is a term that is generally considered to refer to a well-populated area which fell into terminal decline, became extensively or completely uninhabited, and whose location has been forgotten. Some lost cities whose locations have been rediscovered have been studied extensively by...
but well attested to by ancient writers, including the classical historian Manetho
Manetho
Manetho was an Egyptian historian and priest from Sebennytos who lived during the Ptolemaic era, approximately during the 3rd century BC. Manetho wrote the Aegyptiaca...
, who cites it as the centre of the Thinite Confederacy, a tribal confederation whose leader, Menes
Menes
Menes was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the early dynastic period, credited by classical tradition with having united Upper and Lower Egypt, and as the founder of the first dynasty ....
(or Narmer
Narmer
Narmer was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Early Dynastic Period . He is thought to be the successor to the Protodynastic pharaohs Scorpion and/or Ka, and he is considered by some to be the unifier of Egypt and founder of the First Dynasty, and therefore the first pharaoh of unified Egypt.The...
), united Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and was its first pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
. Thinis began a steep decline in importance from Dynasty III, when the capital was relocated to Memphis
Memphis, Egypt
Memphis was the ancient capital of Aneb-Hetch, the first nome of Lower Egypt. Its ruins are located near the town of Helwan, south of Cairo.According to legend related by Manetho, the city was founded by the pharaoh Menes around 3000 BC. Capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom, it remained an...
. Its location on the border of the competing Heracleopolitan
Herakleopolis Magna
Heracleopolis or Herakleopolis Magna is the Greek name of the capital of the Twentieth nome of ancient Egypt. It was called Henen-nesut, Nen-nesu, or Hwt-nen-nesu in ancient Egyptian, meaning 'house of the royal child.' Later, it was called Hnas in Coptic, and Ahnas in medieval Arabic writings...
and Theban
Thebes, Egypt
Thebes is the Greek name for a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean, on the east bank of the river Nile within the modern city of Luxor. The Theban Necropolis is situated nearby on the west bank of the Nile.-History:...
dynasties of the First Intermediate Period, and its proximity to certain oases
Oasis
In geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source...
of possible military importance, ensured Thinis some continued signifance in the Old and New Kingdoms. This was a brief respite and Thinis eventually lost its position as a regional administrative centre by the Roman period.
Due to its ancient heritage, Thinis remained a siginificant religious centre, housing the tomb and mummy
Mummy
A mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...
of the regional deity. In ancient Egyptian religious cosmology
Religious cosmology
A Religious cosmology is a way of explaining the origin, the history and the evolution of the universe based on the religious mythology of a specific tradition...
, as seen (for example) in the Book of the Dead
Book of the Dead
The Book of the Dead is the modern name of an ancient Egyptian funerary text, used from the beginning of the New Kingdom to around 50 BC. The original Egyptian name for the text, transliterated rw nw prt m hrw is translated as "Book of Coming Forth by Day". Another translation would be "Book of...
, Thinis played a role as a mythical place in heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
.
Although the precise location of Thinis is unknown, mainstream Egyptological
Egyptology
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...
consensus places it in the vicinity of ancient Abydos
Abydos, Egypt
Abydos is one of the most ancient cities of Upper Egypt, and also of the eight Upper Nome, of which it was the capital city. It is located about 11 kilometres west of the Nile at latitude 26° 10' N, near the modern Egyptian towns of el-'Araba el Madfuna and al-Balyana...
and modern Girga
Girga
Girga is a city in the Sohag Governorate of Upper Egypt. It is located on the west bank of the Nile River.Girga was the capital of the Girga Governorate until 1960, when the capital was moved to Sohag and the name of the governorate changed accordingly....
.
Name and location
The name Thinis is derived from ManethoManetho
Manetho was an Egyptian historian and priest from Sebennytos who lived during the Ptolemaic era, approximately during the 3rd century BC. Manetho wrote the Aegyptiaca...
's use of the adjective Thinite to describe the pharaoh Menes. Although the corresponding Thinis does not appear in Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
, it is demanded by the Egyptian
Egyptian language
Egyptian is the oldest known indigenous language of Egypt and a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. Written records of the Egyptian language have been dated from about 3400 BC, making it one of the oldest recorded languages known. Egyptian was spoken until the late 17th century AD in the...
original and is the more popular name among Egyptologists. This is also suggested.
In correcting a passage of Hellanicus (b. 490 BCE), Jörgen Zoega
Jörgen Zoega
Jørgen Zoëga was a Danish archaeologist and numismatist; born at Daler near Tønder, near the west coast of northern Schleswig.-Biography:...
amended
Τίνδων όνομα to Θιν δε οι όνομα. Maspero
Gaston Maspero
Gaston Camille Charles Maspero was a French Egyptologist.-Life:Gaston Maspero was born in Paris to parents of Lombard origin. While at school he showed a special taste for history, and by the age of fourteen he was already interested in hieroglyphic writing...
(1903) found that this revealed the name Thinis and also, from the same passage, a key geographic indicator: επιποταμίη (on the river). Maspero used this additional detail to support the theory, which included among its followers Jean-François Champollion
Jean-François Champollion
Jean-François Champollion was a French classical scholar, philologist and orientalist, decipherer of the Egyptian hieroglyphs....
and Nestor L'Hôte
Nestor L'Hôte
Nestor Hippolyte Antoine l’Hôte was a French Egyptologist, artist and explorer. He published hundreds of sketches and drawings of Egypt and its monuments.-Publications:...
, locating Thinis at modern-day Girga or a neighbouring town, possibly El-Birba. Other proposals for Thinis' location have lost favour at the expense of the Girga-Birba theory: Auguste Mariette
Auguste Mariette
François Auguste Ferdinand Mariette was a French scholar, archaeologist and Egyptologist, the designer of the rebuilt Egyptian Museum under Maximilian of Austria orders when the later had gained control of the artifacts collected to that point.-Early career:Born at Boulogne-sur-Mer, Mariette...
, founder director of the Egyptian Museum
Egyptian Museum
The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum, in Cairo, Egypt, is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities. It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display, the remainder in storerooms....
, suggested Kom el-Sultan
Kom el-Sultan
The area now known as Kom el-Sultan is located near Abydos, in Egypt. It is a big mudbrick structure, the purpose of which is not clear and thought to have been at the original settlement area, dated to the Early Dynastic Period. The structure includes the early temple of Osiris, which was probably...
; A. Schmidt, El-Kherbeh; and Heinrich Karl Brugsch
Heinrich Karl Brugsch
Heinrich Karl Brugsch was a German Egyptologist, born in Berlin. He was associated with Auguste Mariette in his excavations at Memphis...
, Johannes Dümichen
Johannes Dumichen
Johannes Dümichen was a German Egyptologist.Dümichen was born near Glogau. He studied philology and theology in Berlin and Breslau. Subsequently he became a pupil of Karl Lepsius and Heinrich Brugsch, and devoted himself to the study of Egyptian inscriptions...
and others supported El-Tineh, near Berdis. Mainstream Egyptological consensus continues to locate Thinis at or near to either Girga, or El-Birba (where an inscribed statue fragment mentioning Thinis is said to have been found).
History
Pre-dynastic and Early Dynastic periods
Although the archaeological site of Thinis has never been located, evidence of population concentration in the AbydosAbydos, Egypt
Abydos is one of the most ancient cities of Upper Egypt, and also of the eight Upper Nome, of which it was the capital city. It is located about 11 kilometres west of the Nile at latitude 26° 10' N, near the modern Egyptian towns of el-'Araba el Madfuna and al-Balyana...
-Thinis region dates from the fourth millennium BCE. Thinis is also cited as the earliest royal burial-site in Egypt.
At an early point, the city of Abydos resigned its political rank to Thinis, and although Abydos would continue to enjoy supreme religious importance, its history and functions cannot be understood without reference to Thinis. The role of Thinis as centre of the Thinite Confederacy (or Dynasty 0) and into the Early Dynastic Period
Early Dynastic Period of Egypt
The Archaic or Early Dynastic Period of Egypt immediately follows the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt c. 3100 BC. It is generally taken to include the First and Second Dynasties, lasting from the Protodynastic Period of Egypt until about 2686 BC, or the beginning of the Old Kingdom...
(specifically Dynasty I
First dynasty of Egypt
The first dynasty of Ancient Egypt is often combined with the Dynasty II under the group title, Early Dynastic Period of Egypt...
and Dynasty II
Second dynasty of Egypt
The second dynasty of ancient Egypt is often combined with Dynasty I under the group title Early Dynastic Period. It dates approximately from 2890 to 2686 BC. The capital at that time was Thinis.-Rulers:...
) is taken from Manetho, and, according to Wilkinson (2000), seems to be confirmed by Dynasty I and late Dynasty II royal tombs at Abydos, the principal regional necropolis
Necropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
.
Old Kingdom
Third dynasty of Egypt
For the Sumerian Renaissance, see Third Dynasty of Ur.The Third Dynasty of ancient Egypt is the first dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Other dynasties of the Old Kingdom include the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth...
(c. 2686 BCE), when Memphis
Memphis, Egypt
Memphis was the ancient capital of Aneb-Hetch, the first nome of Lower Egypt. Its ruins are located near the town of Helwan, south of Cairo.According to legend related by Manetho, the city was founded by the pharaoh Menes around 3000 BC. Capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom, it remained an...
became the chief religious and political centre. Nonetheless, Thinis retained its regional significance: during Dynasty V
Fifth dynasty of Egypt
The fifth dynasty of ancient Egypt is often combined with Dynasties III, IV and VI under the group title the Old Kingdom. Dynasty V dates approximately from 2494 to 2345 BC.-Rulers:...
, it was the probable seat of the "overseer of Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt 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 . The northern section of Upper Egypt, between El-Ayait and Sohag is sometimes known as Middle Egypt...
", an administrative official with responsibility for the Nile Valley south of the Delta
Nile Delta
The Nile Delta is the delta formed in Northern Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the east, it covers some 240 km of Mediterranean coastline—and is a rich...
, and throughout antiquity
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
it was the eponymous capital of nome
Nome (Egypt)
A nome 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. Fascinated with Egypt, Greeks created many historical records about the country...
VIII of Upper Egypt and seat of its nomarch
Nomarch
Nomarchs were the semi-feudal rulers of Ancient Egyptian provinces. Serving as provincial governors, they each held authority over one of the 42 nomes into which the country was divided. Both nome and nomarch are terms derived from the Greek nomos, meaning a province or district...
.
During the wars of the First Intermediate Period (c. 2181 – c. 2055 BCE), Ankhtifi
Ankhtifi
Ankhtifi was the nomarch of Hierakonpolis and a supporter of the Herakleopolitan based 10th dynasty which was locked in conflict with the Theban based 11th Dynasty kingdom for control of Egypt. Hence, Ankhtifi was a rival to the Theban rulers Mentuhotep I and Intef I...
, nomarch of Hierakonpolis, demanded recognition of his suzerainty from the "overseer of Upper Egypt" at Thinis, and although the city walls, cited in Ankhtifi's autobiography, seem to have left Ankhtifi capable of only a show of force
Show of force
Show of force is a military term for an operation intended to warn or intimidate an opponent and to showcase one's own capability or will to act if provoked...
, he appears to have purchased Thinis' neutrality with grain
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
.
Following Ankhtifi's death, Thinis was the northernmost nome to fall under the sway of Intef II
Intef II
Intef II was a Pharaoh of the Eleventh dynasty during the First Intermediate Period. His capital was located at Thebes. At this time, Egypt was split between several local dynasties. After the death of the nomarch Ankhtifi, Intef II was able to unite all the southern nomes down to the First Cataract...
, pharaoh of the Theban
Thebes, Egypt
Thebes is the Greek name for a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean, on the east bank of the river Nile within the modern city of Luxor. The Theban Necropolis is situated nearby on the west bank of the Nile.-History:...
Dynasty XI
Eleventh dynasty of Egypt
The eleventh dynasty of ancient Egypt was one group of rulers, whose earlier members are grouped with the four preceding dynasties to form the First Intermediate Period, while the later members are considered part of the Middle Kingdom...
(c. 2118 – c. 2069 BCE). Progress north by the Theban armies was halted by Kheti III, pharaoh of the Heracleopolitan
Herakleopolis Magna
Heracleopolis or Herakleopolis Magna is the Greek name of the capital of the Twentieth nome of ancient Egypt. It was called Henen-nesut, Nen-nesu, or Hwt-nen-nesu in ancient Egyptian, meaning 'house of the royal child.' Later, it was called Hnas in Coptic, and Ahnas in medieval Arabic writings...
Dynasty IX
Ninth dynasty of Egypt
The ninth dynasty of ancient Egypt is often combined with Dynasties VII, VIII, X and XI under the group title First Intermediate Period...
, in a battle at Thinis itself that is recorded in the Teaching for King Merykara, and, throughout Intef II's later years, his war against the Heracleopolitans and their allies, the nomarchs of Assyut, was waged in the land between Thinis and Assyut.
As Thebes began to take the upper hand, Mentuhotep II
Mentuhotep II
Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II was a Pharaoh of the 11th dynasty, the son of Intef III of Egypt and a minor queen called Iah. His own wife was the 'king's mother' Tem. Other wives were Neferu and several secondary wives, one or more who it has been suggested were possibly Nubian, buried in his...
(c. 2061 – c. 2010 BCE), on his campaign of reunification, brought Thinis, which had been in revolt, possibly at Heracleopolitan instigation and certainly with the support of an army under the command of the nomarch of Assyut, firmly under his control.
During the Second Intermediate Period (c. eighteenth century BCE), Thinis may have experienced resurgent autonomy: Ryholt
Kim Ryholt
Kim S B Ryholt is a Danish Egyptologist, who works at the Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Near Eastern Studies at the University of Copenhagen....
(1997) proposes that the Abydos dynasty of kings might better be called the "Thinite Dynasty" and that, in any event, their royal seat was likely at Thinis, already a nome capital.
New Kingdom and Late Period
The city's steady decline appears to have halted briefly during Dynasty XVIIIEighteenth dynasty of Egypt
The eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt is perhaps the best known of all the dynasties of ancient Egypt...
(c. 1550 – c. 1292 BCE), when Thinis enjoyed renewed prominence, based on its geographical connection to various oases
Oasis
In geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source...
of possible military importance. Certainly, the office of mayor of Thinis was occupied by several notable New Kingdom
New Kingdom
The New Kingdom of Egypt, also referred to as the Egyptian Empire is the period in ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt....
figures: Satepihu, who participated in the construction of an obelisk
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
for Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut also Hatchepsut; meaning Foremost of Noble Ladies;1508–1458 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of Ancient Egypt...
and was himself subject of an exemplary block statue
Block statue (Egyptian)
The block statue is a type of memorial statue that first emerged in the Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. The block statue grew in popularity in the New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period, and by the Late Period, this type of statue was the most common. These statues were used in temples...
; the herald
Herald
A herald, or, more correctly, a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is often applied erroneously to all officers of arms....
Intef, an indispensable member of the royal household and the travelling-companion of Thutmose III
Thutmose III
Thutmose III was the sixth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. During the first twenty-two years of Thutmose's reign he was co-regent with his stepmother, Hatshepsut, who was named the pharaoh...
; and Min, tutor to the prince Amenhotep III
Amenhotep III
Amenhotep III also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty. According to different authors, he ruled Egypt from June 1386 to 1349 BC or June 1388 BC to December 1351 BC/1350 BC after his father Thutmose IV died...
.
Nonetheless, Thinis had declined to a settlement of little significance by the historic period. The misleading reference on a seventh-century BCE Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
n stele to "Nespamedu, king of Thinis" is nothing more than a reflection of Assyrian "ignorance of the subtlety of the Egyptian political hierarchy".
Certainly, by the Roman period, Thinis had been supplanted as capital of its nome by Ptolemais
Ptolemais Hermiou
Ptolemais Hermiou was a city in Greco-Roman Egypt, established on the west bank of the Nile by Ptolemy I Soter to be the capital of Upper Egypt. Today, the city of Al Manshah in the Sohag Governorate is located where the ancient city used to be....
, perhaps even as early as that city's foundation by Ptolemy I
Ptolemy I Soter
Ptolemy I Soter I , also known as Ptolemy Lagides, c. 367 BC – c. 283 BC, was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great, who became ruler of Egypt and founder of both the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Ptolemaic Dynasty...
.
Religion
Mummy
A mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...
of its dead nome-god, so at Thinis was the temple and last resting-place of Anhur
Anhur
In early Egyptian mythology, Anhur was originally a god of war who was worshipped in the Egyptian area of Abydos, and particularly in Thinis...
, whose epithets included "bull of Thinis", worshipped after his death as Khenti-Amentiu
Khenti-Amentiu
Khenti-Amentiu, also Khentiamentiu, Khenti-Amenti, Kenti-Amentiu and many other spellings, is a divine name or title from Ancient Egyptian mythology...
, and who, as nome-god, was placed at the head of the local ennead
Ennead
The Ennead was a group ofnine deities in Egyptian mythology. The Ennead were worshipped at Heliopolis and consisted of the god Atum, his children Shu and Tefnut, their children Geb and Nut and their children Osiris, Isis, Horus, Set and Nephthys.-Terminology:Egyptian mythology established multiple...
.
The high priest of the temple of Anhur at Thinis was called the first prophet, or chief of seers, a title that Maspero (1903) suggests is a reflection of Thinis' decline in status as a city.
One such chief of seers, Anhurmose, who died in the reign of Merneptah
Merneptah
Merneptah was the fourth ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. He ruled Egypt for almost ten years between late July or early August 1213 and May 2, 1203 BC, according to contemporary historical records...
(c. 1213 – c. 1203 BCE), broke with the tradition of his New Kingdom predecessors, who were buried at Abydos, and was laid to rest at Thinis itself.
The lion-goddess Mehit was also worshipped at Thinis, and the restoration of her temple there during Merneptah's reign was probably overseen by Anhurmose.
There is evidence that succession
Order of succession
An order of succession is a formula or algorithm that determines who inherits an office upon the death, resignation, or removal of its current occupant.-Monarchies and nobility:...
to the office of chief of seers of Anhur at Thinis was familial: in the Herakleopolitan period
Eleventh dynasty of Egypt
The eleventh dynasty of ancient Egypt was one group of rulers, whose earlier members are grouped with the four preceding dynasties to form the First Intermediate Period, while the later members are considered part of the Middle Kingdom...
, one Hagi succeeded his elder brother, also called Hagi, and their father to the post; and, in the New Kingdom, Wenennefer
Parennefer called Wennefer
Parennefer also called Wennefer was a High Priest of Amun during the reigns of Tutankhamen and Horemheb . He was previously thought to date to the time of Ramesses II, but he is now dated to the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty...
was succeeded in the priestly office by his son, Hori.
In ancient Egyptian religious cosmology
Religious cosmology
A Religious cosmology is a way of explaining the origin, the history and the evolution of the universe based on the religious mythology of a specific tradition...
, Thinis played a role as a mythical place in heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
. In particular, as set out in the Book of the Dead
Book of the Dead
The Book of the Dead is the modern name of an ancient Egyptian funerary text, used from the beginning of the New Kingdom to around 50 BC. The original Egyptian name for the text, transliterated rw nw prt m hrw is translated as "Book of Coming Forth by Day". Another translation would be "Book of...
, its eschatological
Eschatology
Eschatology is a part of theology, philosophy, and futurology concerned with what are believed to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world or the World to Come...
significance can be seen in certain rituals: when the god Osiris
Osiris
Osiris is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and...
triumphs, "joy goeth its round in Thinis", a reference to the celestial Thinis, rather than the earthly city.