Qaṣr Ibrīm - Qaṣr Ibrīm

Originally on the east bank, today in the middle of the Lake Nasser is located Qasr Ibrim in Egypt (also Kasr Ibrim, Arabic:قصر إبريم‎, Qaṣr Ibrīm, orقاعة إبريم‎, Qalʿat Ibrīm, „Ibrīm's fortress“), The Meroitic Pedeme or the Roman Primis (Great, Premnis). The settlement was once located on a hill that rose 70 meters above the Nile. Today it is the only archaeological site that was not buried by the floods of Lake Nasser.

background

The place has been settled since the New Kingdom in Pharaonic times. In addition to Egyptians, there are traces of the Nubian empires of Kush, Napata and Meroë (late Egyptian period), Roman soldiers, the Nubian X group (around 400 AD), Christians and Muslims.

At the time of Queen Hatshepsut, for example, a rock chapel was built here, from which a granite obelisk also comes. Other fragments come from the reigns of Amenhotep I, Thutmose I, Thutmose III, Amenhotep II and Ramses II. Six shrines on the west side of the island also came from the New Kingdom Viceroys of Kush, were created and in which, in addition to the reigning kings, Horus of Miam, Satet or Hathor were worshiped. king Taharqa (25th Dynasty) had the temple complexes of the New Kingdom rebuilt. The fortifications were laid out and expanded in the late and Roman times.

Along with Napata and Meroë, Qasr Ibrim is the most important place from which inscriptions by Nubian kings have come down to us. This includes, for example, a stele of the queen Amanischacheto (at the turn of the century). The city was 23 BC. At the time of the Roman prefect Gaius Petronius at the time of the emperor Augustus conquered by the Romans, but had to be given up again three years later.^[1] As a result, the city was inhabited again by Nubians.

The city has been inhabited by Christianized Nubians since the end of the 6th century. Initially, the Temple of Taharqa was converted into a church, and in the 7th century the Cathedral of Mary was built. Qasr Ibrim became a bishopric.

For now Saladins (1137 / 1138–1193) the island was conquered by its Muslim forces. They converted the cathedral into a mosque. They later withdrew and Christians continued to live here. In 1528, in Ottoman times, the city was conquered by Bosnian mercenaries. In the middle of the 19th century, the Egyptian viceroy left Ibrahim Pasha destroy the city to which Mamluk princes had fled. The city has been uninhabited since then.

Since 1959 excavations of the Egypt Exploration Society have been carried out here. These excavations were part of the UNESCO rescue operation following the construction of the dam Aswan. The finds included numerous papyri and textiles. Since the 1990s, Dr. Mark Horton and Dr. Pamela Rose headed.

Earlier descriptions of the village and the St. Mary's Cathedral are from Abū el-Makārim in the tradition of Abū Ṣāliḥ the Armenian from the beginning of the 13th century^[2] and Ugo Monneret de Villard (1881–1954)^[3] in front.

getting there

Visiting Qaṣr Ibrīm is only possible with a cruise on the Lake Nasser possible. The island can be reached by driving from New Amada to Abu Simbel.

mobility

The island is not allowed to be entered by tourists, but the cruise ships pass close by, so that a good impression of the place can be achieved.

Tourist Attractions

To the former fortress Qaṣr Ibrīm included ancient Egyptian temples and six shrines, a Byzantine cathedral, a settlement and cemeteries with some burial niches.

The most striking building is the five-aisled St. Mary's Cathedralwhich measures 32 × 19 meters. The vestibule with the entrances to the naves was reached via the three entrances on the west side. At the east end they were the hot spots, the altar rooms. The church had two crypts for holding burials. Numerous stone blocks from earlier buildings were reused for the cathedral.

The top is still in situ present, some lower chapels were cut out of the rock and are in the Nubia Museum by Aswan rebuilt.

accommodation

Accommodation can be found on his cruise ship.

trips

The visit of Qaṣr Ibrīm can be combined with the other monuments on Lake Nasser connect.

literature

• Generally
  • Horton, Mark: Qasr Ibrim. In:Bard, Kathryn A. (Ed.): Encyclopedia of the Archeology of Ancient Egypt. London, New York: Routledge, 1999, ISBN 978-0-415-18589-9 , Pp. 649-652.

• Early descriptions
  • Weigall, Arthur E [dward] P [earse]: A report on the antiquities of Lower Nubia: The first cataract of the Sudan frontier and their condition in 1906-7. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Pr., 1907, P. 119 f.

• Egypt Exploration Society excavations
  • Mills, Anthony J.: The cemeteries of Qaṣr Ibrîm: A report of the excavations conducted by W.B. Emery in 1961. London: Egypt Exploration Soc., 1982, Excavation Memoir / Egypt Exploration Society; 51, ISBN 978-0856980787 .
  • Caminos, Ricardo Augusto: The shrines and rock inscriptions of Ibrîm. London: Egypt Exploration Soc., 1968, Memoir / Archaeological Survey of Egypt; 32, ISBN 978-0901212122 .
  • Rose, Pamela J.: The Meroitic temple complex at Qasr Ibrim. London: Egypt Exploration Soc., 2007, Excavation memoir / Egypt Exploration Society; 84, ISBN 978-0856981845 .
  • Aldsworth, Fred: Qasr Ibrim: the cathedral church. London: Egypt Exploration Soc., 2010, Excavation memoir / Egypt Exploration Society; 97, ISBN 978-0856981906 .

• Document finds
  • Plumley, John Martin; Browne, Gerald M.: Old Nubian texts from Qaṣr Ibrīm. London: Egypt Exploration Soc., 1988, Texts from excavations; 9, 10, 12.
  • Hinds, Martin; Ménage, Victor L.: Qaṣr Ibrīm in the Ottoman period: Turkish and further Arabic documents. London: Egypt Exploration Society, 1991, Texts from excavations; 11, ISBN 978-0856981104 .
  • Ray, John David: Demotic papyri and ostraca from Qasr Ibrîm. London: Egypt Exploration Society, 2005, Texts from excavations; 13, ISBN 978-0856981586 .
  • Łajtar, Adam: Qasr Ibrim: the Greek and Coptic inscriptions. Warsaw: Warsaw Univ., Faculty of Law and Administration, Chair of Roman and Antique Law, 2010, The journal of juristic papyrology / supplement; 13, ISBN 978-8392591924 .

Individual evidence

Web links

• Qasr Ibrim study season, Egypt Exploration Society.
• El-Aref, Nevine: Sending out to SOS (Archived version of September 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive archive.org), Al-Ahram Weekly article dated August 30, 2007.