Hībis - Hībis

Hībis Temple, looking northwest
Hībis · ‏هيبس‎
Ἱβις · Hibeos
GovernorateNew valley
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location
Location map of the New Valley in Egypt
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Hībis

Hibis (ancient Egyptian: Pray, "Pflugstadt", Latin: Hibeos, Greek: Ἱβις, Ἱβιτῶν πόλις, Ἥβις, Coptic: Ϩ ⲎⲂ, Arabic:هيبس‎, Hībis) is an archaeological site in the north of the egyptian Sink el-Chārga in the Western desert. Here is the late one Temple of Amun-Re at Hibis. This temple is one of the most important and best preserved temples in Egypt and is the most important temple complex in the Western desert.

background

Location and importance

The metropolis and today's archaeological site Hibis (ancient Egyptian Ḥbt, "Plow town") is located about 1.5 km north of the modern city of al-Kharga in the depression of the same name and south of the Roman-Christian cemetery Gabbānat el-Bagawāt on the southern foothills of the Gebel eṭ-Ṭeir. The exact dimensions of the former metropolis are still unknown today, as there have been no extensive excavations so far. The city, about one square kilometer in size, probably reached the hill in the east en-Nāḍūra with the Chons Temple, in the west to the southern foothills of the Gebel Tārif and in the south to the area of ​​today's city el-Chārga.[1]

The Hibis temple was located in the center of the city to the west of a large ancient lake that belonged to the area of ​​ancient Hibis. North of the temple is the archaeological site ʿAin el-Charāb, also called ʿAin et-Turba, with its settlement remains and rock tombs.

The city possessed important geostrategic importance and developed into a trading center. The ancient caravan route ran along it Darb el-Arbaʿīn of Asyut to Darfur in the Sudan past. The runway led to the north Darb ʿAin Amūr to ed-Dachla which has been used since the ancient Egyptian Old Kingdom.[2]

In Arab times the place was also called el-Miamun.

history

The Place Hibis has only been occupied since the late period. There is hardly any archaeological evidence for the Old and Middle Kingdom for the al-Kharga depression.[3] Administratively, the valley belonged to the 8th Upper Egyptian Gau, at least in the ancient Egyptian New Kingdom.[4]

It is believed that the Hibis temple was established as early as the 26th dynasty, the so-called String Age. It is conceivable that the temple was built on the site of a previous building, as fragments of this kind were found during the excavations.[5] The temple was only decorated in Persian times Darius the Elder Size[6] and his successor Darius II Further additions and decorations were under Hakoris, Nectanebo I., Nectanebo II and attached by Ptolemaic kings.

In Roman times, Hibis was that Seat of a Roman strategist (Gauvorstehers), who had edicts - that was public announcements in Roman law - posted at the gates of the Hibis Temple. The earliest edict, that of Gnaeus Vergilius Capito, was published in AD 49 by the strategist Posidonios. The most recent and most important edict comes from the prefect Tiberius Iulius Alexander and was installed in AD 68 by the strategist Julius Demetrius. It handles economic and fiscal matters.[7]

The temple was used until the advent of Christianity at the end of the 4th century. In the 3rd century, Hermeias, son of Hermophilus of Hermupolis, had a new stone paving laid.[8]

Research history

The beginning of the 19th century is considered to be the great time of discoveries in the Western desert. The Frenchman Frédéric Cailliaud (1787–1869) discovered the Hībis Temple in 1818.[9] Follow him in 1819 Archibald Edmonstone (1795–1871),[10] as well as the British in 1825 and 1832 John Gardner Wilkinson (1797–1875)[11] or. George Alexander Hoskins (1802–1863)[12]. The German Heinrich Brugsch (1827-1894) submitted the first scientific description of the Hībis Temple in 1878.[13] During the expedition of the Africa explorer Gerhard Rohlfs (1831–1896) first photographs of this temple were made in 1874.[14][15] Not only did you find the visitors' inscriptions from the predecessors, you also added your own.

A more extensive investigation of the Hibis Temple was only carried out by the American Egyptologists Herbert E. Winlock and Norman de Garis Davies in the years 1909–1913 and 1926–1939, which carried out their excavations as part of the Egyptian Expedition for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in new York carried out and documented. In the 1980s, the inscriptions of the Hibis Temple were again analyzed and published by the Canadian Egyptologist Eugene Cruz-Uribe.

getting there

The temple of Hibis is located in the north of the city el-Chārga west of the trunk road Asyūṭ. It can be easily reached by car or on foot.

mobility

The temple is explored on foot. The floor is covered with stone slabs.

Tourist Attractions

The Temple of Amun-Re is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The admission price is LE 80 and LE 40 for students (as of 11/2019). There is also a combined ticket for all archaeological sites in el-Chārga for LE 120 or LE 60, which is valid for one day (as of 11/2018).

View of the portico
First hall of columns in the Temple of Hibis
The relief on the left side of the rear passage shows Darius the Great offering an image of the goddess Maat and other offerings to Amun-Re
First hall of columns in the Temple of Hibis. The relief shows the falcon-headed Seth, accompanied by a lion, as he kills the demon-like snake

The 19 × 44 meter long Sandstone Temple of Hibis, dedicated to Amun, was probably built in the 26th Dynasty (String Age) and under the Persian great kings Darius I. (the great) and his successor Darius II decorated (28th dynasty). Under King Hakoris (29th dynasty) the temple was supplemented by a pillared hall and under Nectanebo I and II (30th dynasty) by a pillared vestibule and the stone surrounding wall. From the surrounding wall (28 × 62 meters) only the gate passage is preserved today.

The decoration made under the Persian great kings corresponds to the ancient Egyptian tradition, one sees the king in connection with the unification of the two countries (Upper and Lower Egypt), Darius is formed by Khnum, the young Darius is nursed by the goddess Mut, Darius stands at the Isched -Tree on which the god Thoth writes Darius' name, Darius is introduced into the temple, etc. King Darius always wears the insignia and costume of a pharaoh, but his crown is provided with long ribbons that fall on his back.

You enter the temple from the east via one Sphinx avenue - it comes from the Ptolemaic period - at the eastern end of which the quays were once located. in the Gate passage one recognizes the representations of Darius, who on the one hand offers a portrait of Maat to Amun-Re and Mut, and on the other hand Lattich to Amun-Re.

Then you enter the Porticowho have favourited the portico. On the barrier walls you can see the representation of Nectanebo II at various rituals before gods.

The following one first pillared hall only has decorations on its back wall: Darius can be seen performing various sacrifices before gods, including Amun-Re, Mut and Chons. On the right back wall is the famous depiction of the falcon-headed, winged one Seth to recognize who the Snake Apophis, the arch enemy of the god Re, kills with a lance.

The second pillared hall shows King Darius again making sacrifices. This hall is famous because of the three Hymns to the creator god Amunlocated on the left wall and on both halves of the back wall.

Finally follows the Offering room with the subsequent Sanctuary (Holy of Holies), storage rooms and the stairs to the roof in the southwest corner. The sanctuary contains a list of around 700 representations of gods and the creator god Re in various manifestations, procreating the next generation of gods himself - perhaps the wish to worship the whole world of gods is hidden here.

You can reach it via the roof stairs Roof templethat the Osiris is consecrated. They form a parallel to the later built temple of Dendera.

kitchen

There are restaurants in town el-Chārga and in the entrance area to the cemetery of el-Bagawāt.

accommodation

Accommodation is usually in the city el-Chārga elected.

trips

A visit to the Hībis Temple can be combined with a visit to the temples of en-nadura and the El-Bagawāt cemetery connect.

literature

  • Temple description
    • Myśliwiec, Karol: Lord of both countries: Egypt in the 1st millennium BC Chr. Mainz on the Rhine: from Zabern, 1998, Cultural history of the ancient world; 69, ISBN 978-3-8053-1966-9 , Pp. 182-189.
    • A comprehensive scientific presentation can be found in: Winlock, Herbert Eustis; Davies, Norman de Garis: The Temple of Hibis in el Khargeh Oasis. new York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Egyptian Expedition, 1938 (in English).
    • Cruz-Uribe, Eugene: Hibis Temple Project; 1: Translations, commentary, discussions and sign list. San Antonio, Tex.: Van Siclen, 1988, ISBN 978-0-933175-14-3 .
  • Hymns to the creator god Amun-Re
    • Assmann, Jan: Egyptian hymns and prayers. Friborg, Switzerland: University publishing house, 1999, Orbis biblicus et orientalis, ISBN 978-3-525-53649-0 . Hymns 128-130.
    • Klotz, David: Adoration of the Ram: five hymns to Amun-Re from Hibis Temple. New Haven, Conn.: Yale Egyptological Seminar, 2006, Yale Egyptological Studies; 6th, ISBN 978-0-9740025-2-1 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑Winlock, The Temple of Hibis, op. cit., vol. 1, plate XXIX.
  2. ↑Ikram, Salima; Rossi, Corinna: An Early Dynastic serekh from the Kharga Oasis. In:The journal of Egyptian archeology, Vol.90 (2004), Pp. 211-215.
  3. ↑See the aforementioned Serech, archaeological site of ʿAin ʿAskar.
  4. ↑Blumenthal, Elke et al. (Ed.): Section 4: Documents of the 18th Dynasty; Translation for issues 5 - 16. Berlin: Akademie-Verl., 1984, P. 356 (certificate 280 A, 963), p. 365 (certificate 283.h).
  5. ↑The assumption is based, among other things, on fragments of a sacrificial bowl with the name of King Apries, see Winlock, The Temple of Hibis, op. cit., vol. 1, pp. 39, 41, panel XXVI.A, B.
  6. ↑Darius the Elder Size also left the sanctuary in the temple of Qaṣr el-Ghuweiṭa decorate.
  7. ↑Bernand, André: La prose sur pierre: dans l'Égypte hellénistique et romaine. Paris: Ed. du Center National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1992, ISBN 978-2-222-04695-0 . No. 53–57, number 57 contains the edict of Tiberius Iulius Alexander.
  8. ↑Winlock, The Temple of Hibis, op. cit., vol. 1, p. 37, plate XXX.
  9. ↑Cailliaud, Frédéric: Voyage à l’oasis de Thèbes et dans les déserts situés à l’orient et à l’occident de la Thébaïde: fait pendant les années 1815, 1816, 1817 et 1818; vol. 1. Paris: Impr. Royale, 1821, Pp. 88-95, pls. X-xxiii.
  10. ↑Edmonstone, Archibald: A journey to two of the oases of Upper Egypt. London: Murray, 1822, Pp. 60-74.
  11. ↑Wilkinson, John Gardner: Modern Egypt and Thebes: being a description of Egypt; including the information required for travelers in that country; Vol.2. London: Murray, 1843, Pp. 366-371.
  12. ↑Hoskins, George Alexander: Visit to the great Oasis of the Libyan desert. London: Longman, 1837.
  13. ↑Brugsch, Heinrich: Journey to the great oasis of El Khargeh in the Libyan desert: description of its monuments. Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1878.
  14. ↑Rohlfs, Gerhard: Three months in the Libyan desert. Cassel: Fisherman, 1875, Pp. 309–311, photograph 15 opposite p. 309. Reprint Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut, 1996, ISBN 978-3-927688-10-0 .
  15. ↑Museum Schloss Schönebeck (Ed.): Photographs from the Libyan desert: an expedition by the Africa explorer Gerhard Rohlfs in 1873/74, photographed by Philipp Remelé. Bremen: Ed. Temmen, 2002, ISBN 978-3-86108-791-5 , Pp. 71-77.
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