Faiyum Oasis: Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Latest revision as of 20:59, 27 October 2024

Site of Faiyum Oasis (directly southwest of Cairo, listed as Al-Fayyum) on a map of Egypt

The Faiyum Oasis (Arabic: واحة الفيوم Waḥet El Fayyum) is a depression or basin in the desert immediately west of the Nile river, 62 miles south of Cairo, Egypt. The extent of the basin area is estimated at between 1,270 km² (490 mi²) and 1,700 km² (656 mi²). The basin floor comprises fields watered by a channel of the Nile, the Bahr Yussef, as it drains into a desert hollow to the west of the Nile Valley. The Bahr Yussef veers west through a narrow neck of land north of Ihnasya, between the archaeological sites of El Lahun and Gurob near Hawara; it then branches out, providing agricultural land in the Faiyum basin, draining into the large saltwater Lake Moeris (Birket Qarun).^[1] In prehistory it was a freshwater lake, but is today a saltwater lake.^[1] It is a source for tilapia and other fish for the local area.

Differing from typical oases, whose fertility depends on water obtained from springs, the cultivated land in the Faiyum is formed of Nile mud brought by the Bahr Yussef canal, 24 km (15 miles) in length.^[2] Between the beginning of Bahr Yussef at El Lahun to its end at the city of Faiyum, several canals branch off to irrigate the Faiyum Governorate. The drainage water flows into Lake Moeris.

History

Survey of the Moeris Basin from the late 19th century

When the Mediterranean Sea was a hot, dry hollow near the end of the Messinian Salinity Crisis in the late Miocene, Faiyum was a dry hollow, and the Nile flowed past it at the bottom of a canyon (which was 8,000 feet (2,400 m) deep or more where Cairo is today).^[3]^[4] After the Mediterranean reflooded at the end of the Miocene, the Nile canyon became an arm of the sea reaching inland further than Aswan. Over geological time that sea arm gradually filled with silt and became the Nile Valley.^{[citation needed]}

Eventually, the Nile valley bed silted up high enough to let the Nile periodically overflow into the Faiyum Hollow, forming a lake. The lake is first recorded from about 3000 BC, around the time of Menes (Narmer). However, for the most part, it would only be filled with high flood waters. Neolithic settlements bordered the lake, and the town of Crocodilopolis (now Faiyum) grew up on the south where the higher ground created a ridge.^{[citation needed]}

In 2300 BC, the waterway from the Nile River to the natural lake was widened and deepened to make a canal now known as the Bahr Yussef. This canal fed into the lake. This was meant to serve three purposes: control the flooding of the Nile, regulate the water level of the Nile during dry seasons, and serve the surrounding area with irrigation. There is evidence the pharaohs of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt used the natural lake of Faiyum as a reservoir to store surpluses of water for use during the dry periods. The immense waterworks undertaken by the ancient Egyptian pharaohs of the twelfth dynasty to transform the lake into a vast water reservoir gave the impression that the lake was an artificial excavation, as classic geographers and travellers reported.^[5] The lake was eventually abandoned due to the nearest branch of the Nile dwindling in size from 230 BC.

Faiyum was known to the ancient Egyptians as the twenty-first nome of Upper Egypt, Atef-Pehu ("Northern Sycamore"). Its capital was Sh-d-y-t (usually written "Shedyt"),^[6] called by the Greeks Crocodilopolis, and refounded by Ptolemy II Philadelphus as Arsinoe.^{[citation needed]}

This region has the earliest evidence for farming in Egypt, and was a center of royal pyramid and tomb-building in the Twelfth Dynasty during the Middle Kingdom, and again during the rule of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. Faiyum became one of the breadbaskets of the Roman world. For the first three centuries AD, the people of Faiyum and elsewhere in Roman Egypt not only embalmed their dead but also placed a portrait of the deceased over the face of the mummy wrappings, shroud or case. The Egyptians continued their practice of burying their dead, despite the Roman preference for cremation. Preserved by the dry desert environment, these Fayum mummy portraits make up the richest body of portraiture to have survived from antiquity. They provide a window into a society of peoples of mixed origins—Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Syrians, Libyans and others—that flourished 2000 years ago in the Faiyum. The Faiyum portraits were painted on wood in a pigmented wax technique called encaustic painting.^[7]

In the late 1st millennium, the arable area shrank. Settlements around the edge of the basin were abandoned. These sites include some of the best-preserved from the late Roman Empire, notably Karanis, and from the Byzantine and early Arab Periods, though recent redevelopment has greatly reduced the archaeological features. In addition to the mummy portraits, the villages of the Faiyum have also proven to be a source of papyrus fragments containing literature and documents in Latin, Greek, and Egyptian scripts.

"Colonial-type" village names (villages named after towns elsewhere in Egypt and places outside Egypt) show that much land was brought into cultivation in the Faiyum in the Greek and Roman periods.^[8]

According to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, in 1910 over 1,000 km² (400 mile²) of the Faiyum Oasis was cultivated, the chief crops being cereals and cotton. The completion of the Aswan Low Dam ensured a supply of water, which enabled 20,000 acres (80 km²) of land, previously unirrigated and untaxed, to be brought under cultivation in the years 1903–1905. Three crops were obtained in twenty months. The province was noted for its figs, grapes, and olives. Rose trees were numerous, and most of the attar of roses (rose oil) of Egypt was manufactured in the province. Faiyum also raised its own variety of sheep.^[2]

Archaeology

In the vicinity of the lake are many ruins of ancient villages and cities. Mounds north of the city of Faiyum mark the site of Crocodilopolis/Arsinoe. Archaeological remains across the region extend from the prehistoric period to modern times, e.g. the Monastery of the Archangel Gabriel at Naqlun.

The cult of Sobek

In antiquity, the Fajyum was a center of the cult of the crocodile god Sobek. In many settlements, temples were dedicated to local manifestations of the god and associated divinities.^[9] The priests of Sobek were key players in social and economic life; for example by organizing religious festivals or by purchasing goods from local producers. The development of temples dedicated to the Sobek cult can be studied particularly well in Bakchias, Narmouthis, Soknopaiou Nesos, Tebtunis, and Theadelphia, since many written sources (papyri, ostraka, inscriptions) on the daily life of the priests are available there.^[10]

Egyptian temples have been operating at the edges of the Fayyum at least until the early third century and in some cases in the fourth century. The institutionalized Sobek cults existed alongside early Christian communities, which settled in the region from the third century onwards and built their first churches in the Fayyum settlements by the fourth century.^[11]

Birket Qarun lake

Birket Qarun (Arabic for Lake of Qarun), is located in the Faiyum Oasis and has an abundant population of fish, notably bulti, of which considerable quantities are sent to Cairo.^[2] In ancient times this lake was much larger, and the ancient Greeks and Romans called it Lake Moeris.

Cities and towns

The largest city is Faiyum, which is also the capital of the Faiyum Governorate. Other towns include Sinnuris and Tamiya to the north of Faiyum, and Sanhur and Ibsheway on the road to the lake.

In popular culture

The oasis is the setting for about a quarter of Paolo Coelho's The Alchemist, one of the top 20 best-selling books in the world. It also appears as one of the main regions in the Assassin's Creed: Origins game.

Notes

^ ^a ^b "Lake Moeris". www.brown.edu. Retrieved 2018-08-14.
^ ^a ^b ^c One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Fayum". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 219.
^ Warren, John (2006). Evaporites: Sediments, Resources and Hydrocarbons. Berlin: Springer. p. 352. ISBN 3-540-26011-0.
^ El Mahmoudi, A.; Gabr, A. (2008). "Geophysical surveys to investigate the relation between the Quaternary Nile channels and the Messinian Nile canyon at East Nile Delta, Egypt". Arabian Journal of Geosciences. 2 (1): 53–67. doi:10.1007/s12517-008-0018-9. ISSN 1866-7511. S2CID 128432827.
^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Egypt". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
^ Hieroglyphic writing did not have vowels, so spellings vary as to use of vowels for names in Egyptian culture. Hieroglyphic pronunciation was indicated by determinatives which showed what sort of meaning the word had.
^ "History of Encaustic Art". Archived from the original on 2012-12-23.
^ "Fayum Project". www.trismegistos.org. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
^ Kockelmann, Holger (2017). Der Herr der Seen, Sümpfe und Flußläufe. Untersuchungen zum Gott Sobek und den ägyptischen Krokodilgötter-Kulten von den Anfängen bis zur Römerzeit. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. pp. 19–63, 375–421. ISBN 978-3-447-10810-2.
^ Sippel, Benjamin (2020). Gottesdiener und Kamelzüchter: Das Alltags – und Sozialleben der Sobek-Priester im kaiserzeitlichen Fayum (in German). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN 978-3-447-11485-1.
^ Choat, Malcolm (2012). Riggs, Christina (ed.). Christianity. Oxford, New York: Oxford Univ. Press. pp. 474–489. ISBN 978-0-19-957145-1. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

References

The Hydraulics of Open Channel Flow: An Introduction

29°27′13″N 30°34′51″E / 29.45361°N 30.58083°E / 29.45361; 30.58083

[:0-1] "Lake Moeris". www.brown.edu. Retrieved 2018-08-14.

[EB1911-2] One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Fayum". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 219.

[Warren2006-3] Warren, John (2006). Evaporites: Sediments, Resources and Hydrocarbons. Berlin: Springer. p. 352. ISBN 3-540-26011-0.

[Mahmoudi2008-4] El Mahmoudi, A.; Gabr, A. (2008). "Geophysical surveys to investigate the relation between the Quaternary Nile channels and the Messinian Nile canyon at East Nile Delta, Egypt". Arabian Journal of Geosciences. 2 (1): 53–67. doi:10.1007/s12517-008-0018-9. ISSN 1866-7511. S2CID 128432827.

[5] "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Egypt". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2023-04-30.

[6] Hieroglyphic writing did not have vowels, so spellings vary as to use of vowels for names in Egyptian culture. Hieroglyphic pronunciation was indicated by determinatives which showed what sort of meaning the word had.

[7] "History of Encaustic Art". Archived from the original on 2012-12-23.

[8] "Fayum Project". www.trismegistos.org. Retrieved 2023-04-30.

[9] Kockelmann, Holger (2017). Der Herr der Seen, Sümpfe und Flußläufe. Untersuchungen zum Gott Sobek und den ägyptischen Krokodilgötter-Kulten von den Anfängen bis zur Römerzeit. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. pp. 19–63, 375–421. ISBN 978-3-447-10810-2.

[10] Sippel, Benjamin (2020). Gottesdiener und Kamelzüchter: Das Alltags – und Sozialleben der Sobek-Priester im kaiserzeitlichen Fayum (in German). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN 978-3-447-11485-1.

[11] Choat, Malcolm (2012). Riggs, Christina (ed.). Christianity. Oxford, New York: Oxford Univ. Press. pp. 474–489. ISBN 978-0-19-957145-1. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Desert basin west of the Nile south of Cairo, Egypt}}
-{{morerefs|date=February 2019}}
-[[File:Egypt-region-map-cities-2.gif|thumb|right|200px|Site of Faiyum Oasis (directly southwest of Cairo, listed as Al-Fayyum) on a map of Egypt]]
+[[File:Egypt-region-map-cities-2.gif|thumb|right|upright=1.2|Site of Faiyum Oasis (directly southwest of Cairo, listed as Al-Fayyum) on a map of Egypt]]
-[[File:Fayyum txu-oclc-6949452-nh36-9.jpg|thumb|right|200px|map sheet showing Faiyum Oasis]]
+[[File:Fayyum txu-oclc-6949452-nh36-9.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.3|Map showing Faiyum Oasis]]
-The '''Faiyum Oasis''' ({{lang-ar|واحة الفيوم}} ''Waḥet El Fayyum'')  is a [[depression (geology)|depression]] or basin in the desert immediately to the west of the [[Nile]] south of [[Cairo]] in Egypt. The extent of the basin area is estimated at between 1,270&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (490&nbsp;mi<sup>2</sup>) and 1700&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (656&nbsp;mi<sup>2</sup>). The basin floor comprises fields watered by a channel of the Nile, the [[Bahr Yussef]], as it drains into a desert hollow
+The '''Faiyum Oasis''' ({{langx|ar|واحة الفيوم}} ''Waḥet El Fayyum'') is a [[depression (geology)|depression]] or basin in the desert immediately west of the [[Nile]] river, 62 miles south of [[Cairo]], Egypt. The extent of the basin area is estimated at between 1,270&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (490&nbsp;mi<sup>2</sup>) and 1,700&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (656&nbsp;mi<sup>2</sup>). The basin floor comprises fields watered by a channel of the Nile, the [[Bahr Yussef]], as it drains into a desert hollow to the west of the [[Nile Valley]]. The Bahr Yussef veers west through a narrow neck of land north of [[Ihnasya]], between the archaeological sites of [[El Lahun]] and [[Gurob]] near [[Hawara]]; it then branches out, providing agricultural land in the Faiyum basin, draining into the large saltwater [[Lake Moeris]] (Birket Qarun).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/afterpharaohs2010/13390.html|title=Lake Moeris|website=www.brown.edu|access-date=2018-08-14}}</ref> In prehistory it was a freshwater lake, but is today a saltwater lake.<ref name=":0" /> It is a source for [[tilapia]] and other fish for the local area.
-to the west of the [[Nile Valley]]. The Bahr Yussef veers west through a narrow neck of land north of [[Ihnasya]], between the archaeological sites of [[El Lahun]] and [[Gurob]] near [[Hawara]]; it then branches out, providing rich agricultural land in the Faiyum basin, draining into the large saltwater [[Lake Moeris]] (Birket Qarun).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/afterpharaohs2010/13390.html|title=Lake Moeris|website=www.brown.edu|access-date=2018-08-14}}</ref> The lake was freshwater in prehistory but is today a saltwater lake.<ref name=":0" /> It is a source for [[tilapia]] and other fish for the local area.
-Differing from typical [[oases]], whose fertility depends on water obtained from springs, the cultivated land in the Faiyum is formed of Nile mud brought down by the Bahr Yussef, 24&nbsp;km (15 miles) in length.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Fayum|volume=10|page=219}}</ref> Between the beginning of Bahr Yussef at [[El Lahun]] to its end at the city of [[Faiyum]], several canals branch off to irrigate the Faiyum Governorate. The drainage water flows into [[Lake Moeris]].
+Differing from typical [[oases]], whose fertility depends on water obtained from springs, the cultivated land in the Faiyum is formed of Nile mud brought by the [[Bahr Yussef]] canal, 24&nbsp;km (15 miles) in length.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Fayum|volume=10|page=219}}</ref> Between the beginning of Bahr Yussef at [[El Lahun]] to its end at the city of [[Faiyum]], several canals branch off to irrigate the Faiyum Governorate. The drainage water flows into [[Lake Moeris]].
 == History ==
-[[File:Moeris.gif|thumb|right|180px|Survey of the Moeris Basin from the late 1th century]]
+[[File:Moeris.gif|thumb|upright=1.3|Survey of the Moeris Basin from the late 19th century]]
-When the [[Mediterranean Sea]] was a hot dry hollow near the end of the [[Messinian Salinity Crisis]] in the late [[Miocene]], Faiyum was a dry hollow, and the [[Nile]] flowed past it at the bottom of a [[canyon]] (which was {{convert|8000|ft|m}} deep or more where [[Cairo]] is today).{{cn|date=February 2026}} After the [[cocane]] reflooded at the end of the [[Miocene]], the [[Nile]] canyon became an arm of the sea reaching inland further than [[Aswan]]. Over geological time that sea arm gradually filled with silt and became the [[Nile valley]].{{cn|date=February 2019}}
+When the [[Mediterranean Sea]] was a hot, dry hollow near the end of the [[Messinian Salinity Crisis]] in the late [[Miocene]], Faiyum was a dry hollow, and the [[Nile]] flowed past it at the bottom of a [[canyon]] (which was {{convert|8000|ft|m}} deep or more where [[Cairo]] is today).<ref name="Warren2006">{{cite book|last=Warren|first=John|title=Evaporites: Sediments, Resources and Hydrocarbons|url=https://archive.org/details/evaporitessedime0000warr|url-access=registration|year=2006|publisher=Springer|location=Berlin|isbn=3-540-26011-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/evaporitessedime0000warr/page/352 352]}}</ref><ref name="Mahmoudi2008">{{cite journal|last1=El Mahmoudi|first1= A.|last2= Gabr|first2= A.|title= Geophysical surveys to investigate the relation between the Quaternary Nile channels and the Messinian Nile canyon at East Nile Delta, Egypt|journal= Arabian Journal of Geosciences|volume= 2|issue= 1|year= 2008|pages= 53–67|issn= 1866-7511|doi= 10.1007/s12517-008-0018-9|s2cid= 128432827}}</ref> After the [[Mediterranean]] reflooded at the end of the [[Miocene]], the Nile canyon became an arm of the sea reaching inland further than [[Aswan]]. Over geological time that sea arm gradually filled with silt and became the Nile Valley.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
-Eventually the [[Nile valley]] bed silted up high enough to let the [[Nile]] periodically overflow into the Faiyum Hollow and make a lake in it. The lake is first recorded from about 3000 BC, around the time of [[Menes]] (Narmer). However, for the most part it would only be filled with high flood waters. The lake was bordered by [[neolithic]] settlements, and the town of [[Faiyum|Crocodilopolis]] grew up on the south where the higher ground created a ridge.{{cn|date=February 2019}}
+Eventually, the Nile valley bed silted up high enough to let the Nile periodically overflow into the Faiyum Hollow, forming a lake. The lake is first recorded from about [[3000 BC]], around the time of [[Menes]] (Narmer). However, for the most part, it would only be filled with high flood waters. [[Neolithic]] settlements bordered the lake, and the town of Crocodilopolis (now [[Faiyum]]) grew up on the south where the higher ground created a ridge.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
-In 2300 BC, the waterway from the [[Nile]] to the natural lake was widened and deepened to make a canal which is now known as the [[Bahr Yussef]]. This canal fed into the lake. This was meant to serve three purposes: control the flooding of the [[Nile]], regulate the water level of the [[Nile]] during dry seasons, and serve the surrounding area with irrigation. There is evidence of [[ancient Egypt]]ian [[pharaoh]]s of the [[Twelfth dynasty of Egypt|twelfth dynasty]] using the natural lake of Faiyum as a reservoir to store surpluses of water for use during the dry periods. The immense waterworks undertaken by the [[ancient Egypt]]ian [[pharaoh]]s of the [[Twelfth dynasty of Egypt|twelfth dynasty]] to transform the lake into a huge water reservoir gave the impression that the lake itself was an artificial excavation, as reported by classic geographers and travellers.<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05329b.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Egypt<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The lake was eventually abandoned due to the nearest branch of the Nile dwindling in size from 230 BC.
+In 2300 BC, the waterway from the Nile River to the natural lake was widened and deepened to make a canal now known as the [[Bahr Yussef]]. This canal fed into the lake. This was meant to serve three purposes: control the flooding of the Nile, regulate the water level of the Nile during dry seasons, and serve the surrounding area with irrigation. There is evidence the [[pharaoh]]s of the [[Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt]] used the natural lake of Faiyum as a reservoir to store surpluses of water for use during the dry periods. The immense waterworks undertaken by the ancient Egyptian pharaohs of the twelfth dynasty to transform the lake into a vast water reservoir gave the impression that the lake was an artificial excavation, as classic geographers and travellers reported.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Egypt |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05329b.htm |access-date=2023-04-30 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref> The lake was eventually abandoned due to the nearest branch of the Nile dwindling in size from 230 BC.
+Faiyum was known to the [[ancient Egyptians]] as the twenty-first [[Nome (Egypt)|nome]] of [[Upper Egypt]], '''Atef-Pehu''' ("Northern Sycamore"). Its capital was Sh-d-y-t (usually written "Shedyt"),<ref>[[Hieroglyph]]ic writing did not have [[vowel]]s, so spellings vary as to use of vowels for names in Egyptian culture. Hieroglyphic pronunciation was indicated by [[determinative]]s which showed what sort of meaning the word had.</ref> called by the Greeks ''Crocodilopolis'', and refounded by [[Ptolemy II Philadelphus]] as Arsinoe.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
-[[File:Faiyum Oasis by Zorbey Tunçer.jpg|thumb|left|275px|A scenic view of Faiyum Oasis in 2008]]
-Faiyum was known to the [[ancient Egyptians]] as the twenty-first [[Nome (Egypt)|nome]] of [[Upper Egypt]], '''Atef-Pehu''' ("Northern Sycamore"). In [[ancient Egypt]]ian times, its capital was Sh-d-y-t (usually written "Shedyt"),<ref>[[Hieroglyph]]ic writing did not have [[vowel]]s, so spellings vary as to use of vowels for names in Egyptian culture. Hieroglyphic pronunciation was indicated by [[determinative]]s which showed what sort of meaning the word had.</ref> called by the Greeks Crocodilopolis, and refounded by [[Ptolemy II]] as [[Faiyum|Arsinoe]].{{cn|date=February 2019}}
-This region has the earliest evidence for farming in [[Egypt]], and was a center of royal pyramid and tomb-building in the [[Twelfth dynasty of Egypt|Twelfth dynasty]] of the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]], and again during the rule of the [[Ptolemaic dynasty]]. Faiyum became one of the breadbaskets of the [[Roman Empire|Roman world]].
+[[File:Faiyum Oasis by Zorbey Tunçer.jpg|thumb|left|Faiyum Oasis (2008)|upright=1.3]]This region has the earliest evidence for farming in Egypt, and was a center of royal pyramid and tomb-building in the Twelfth Dynasty during the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]], and again during the rule of the [[Ptolemaic Kingdom]]. Faiyum became one of the breadbaskets of the [[Roman Empire|Roman world]].
+For the first three centuries AD, the people of Faiyum and elsewhere in [[Roman Egypt]] not only embalmed their dead but also placed a portrait of the deceased over the face of the mummy wrappings, shroud or case. The Egyptians continued their practice of burying their dead, despite the Roman preference for [[cremation]]. Preserved by the dry desert environment, these [[Fayum mummy portraits]] make up the richest body of portraiture to have survived from antiquity. They provide a window into a society of peoples of mixed origins—Egyptians, [[Greeks]], Romans, [[Syrians]], [[Libyans]] and others—that flourished 2000 years ago in the Faiyum. The Faiyum portraits were painted on wood in a pigmented [[wax]] technique called [[encaustic painting]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.encaustic.ca/html/history.html |title=History of Encaustic Art |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121223091730/http://www.encaustic.ca/html/history.html |archivedate=2012-12-23 }}</ref>[[file:Jean-Léon Gérôme, View of Medinet El-Fayoum, c. 1868-1870, NGA 162261.jpg|thumb|[[Jean-Léon Gérôme]], ''View of Medinet El-Fayoum'', c. 1868–1870|357x357px]]In the late [[1st millennium]], the arable area shrank. Settlements around the edge of the basin were abandoned. These sites include some of the best-preserved from the late [[Roman Empire]], notably [[Karanis]], and from the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] and early [[Arab]] Periods, though recent redevelopment has greatly reduced the archaeological features. In addition to the mummy portraits, the villages of the Faiyum have also proven to be a source of [[papyrus]] fragments containing literature and documents in [[Latin]], Greek, and Egyptian scripts.
+"Colonial-type" village names (villages named after towns elsewhere in Egypt and places outside Egypt) show that much land was brought into cultivation in the Faiyum in the Greek and Roman periods.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fayum Project |url=https://www.trismegistos.org/fayum/ |access-date=2023-04-30 |website=www.trismegistos.org}}</ref>
-For the first three centuries AD, the people of Faiyum and elsewhere in [[Roman Egypt]] not only embalmed their dead but also placed a portrait of the deceased over the face of the mummy wrappings, shroud or case. The Egyptians continued their practice of burying their dead, despite the Roman preference for [[cremation]]. Preserved by the dry desert environment, these [[Faiyum mummy portraits|Faiyum portraits]] make up the richest body of portraiture to have survived from antiquity. They provide us with a window into a remarkable society of peoples of mixed origins—Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Syrians, Libyans and others—that flourished 2,000 years ago in Faiyum. The [[Faiyum mummy portraits|Faiyum portraits]] were painted on wood in a pigmented [[wax]] technique called [[encaustic painting|encaustic]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.encaustic.ca/html/history.html |title=History of Encaustic Art |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121223091730/http://www.encaustic.ca/html/history.html |archivedate=2012-12-23 }}</ref>
+According to the [[Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition|''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition]], in 1910 over 1,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (400 mile<sup>2</sup>) of the Faiyum Oasis was cultivated, the chief crops being [[cereal]]s and [[cotton]]. The completion of the [[Aswan Low Dam]] ensured a supply of water, which enabled 20,000 acres (80 km<sup>2</sup>) of land, previously unirrigated and untaxed, to be brought under cultivation in the years 1903–1905. Three crops were obtained in twenty months. The province was noted for its [[ficus|fig]]s, [[grape]]s, and [[olive]]s. [[Rose]] trees were numerous, and most of the [[rose oil|attar of roses]] (rose oil) of Egypt was manufactured in the province. Faiyum also raised its own variety of [[sheep]].<ref name="EB1911"/>
-In the late 1st millennium AD, the arable area shrank, and settlements around the edge of the basin were abandoned. These sites include some of the best-preserved from the late [[Roman Empire]], notably [[Karanis]], and from the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] and early [[Arab]] Periods, though recent redevelopment has greatly reduced the archaeological features.
-[[file:Jean-Léon Gérôme, View of Medinet El-Fayoum, c. 1868-1870, NGA 162261.jpg|thumb|[[Jean-Léon Gérôme]], ''View of Medinet El-Fayoum'', c. 1868-1870]]
+==Archaeology==
-"Colonial-type" village names (villages named after towns elsewhere in Egypt and places outside Egypt) show that much land was brought into cultivation in the Faiyum in the Greek and Roman periods.<ref>For late-period Ancient Egyptian names of the Faiyum oasis and places within it, see http://fayum.arts.kuleuven.be/general/name.html {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.is/20070815000305/http://fayum.arts.kuleuven.be/general/name.html |date=2007-08-15 }}</ref>
+In the vicinity of the lake are many ruins of ancient villages and cities. Mounds north of the city of [[Faiyum]] mark the site of Crocodilopolis/Arsinoe. Archaeological remains across the region extend from the prehistoric period to modern times, e.g. the [[Monastery of the Archangel Gabriel at Naqlun]].
+== The cult of Sobek ==
-According to the [[Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition|''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition]], in 1910 over 1,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (400 mile<sup>2</sup>) of the Faiyum Oasis was cultivated, the chief crops being [[cereal]]s and [[cotton]]. The completion of the [[Aswan Low Dam]] ensured a fuller supply of water, which enabled 20,000 acres (80&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of land, previously unirrigated and untaxed, to be brought under cultivation in the three years 1903-1905. Three crops were obtained in twenty months. The province was noted for its [[ficus|fig]]s and [[grape]]s of exceptional quality. [[Olive]]s were also cultivated. [[Rose]] trees were very numerous, and most of the [[Rose oil|attar of roses]] of Egypt was manufactured in the province. Faiyum also possessed an excellent breed of [[sheep]].<ref name="EB1911"/>
+In antiquity, the Fajyum was a center of the cult of the crocodile god [[Sobek]]. In many settlements, temples were dedicated to local manifestations of the god and associated divinities.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kockelmann|first=Holger|title=Der Herr der Seen, Sümpfe und Flußläufe. Untersuchungen zum Gott Sobek und den ägyptischen Krokodilgötter-Kulten von den Anfängen bis zur Römerzeit|publisher=Harrassowitz|year=2017|isbn=978-3-447-10810-2|location=Wiesbaden|pages=19–63; 375–421}}</ref> The priests of Sobek were key players in social and economic life; for example by organizing religious festivals or by purchasing goods from local producers. The development of temples dedicated to the Sobek cult can be studied particularly well in Bakchias, [[Medinet Madi|Narmouthis]], [[Soknopaiou Nesos]], [[Tebtunis]], and Theadelphia, since many written sources ([[Papyrus|papyri]], [[Ostracon|ostraka]], [[Epigraphy|inscriptions]]) on the daily life of the priests are available there.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sippel |first=Benjamin |title=Gottesdiener und Kamelzüchter: Das Alltags – und Sozialleben der Sobek-Priester im kaiserzeitlichen Fayum. |publisher=Harrassowitz |year=2020 |isbn=978-3-447-11485-1 |location=Wiesbaden |language=German}}</ref>
+Egyptian temples have been operating at the edges of the Fayyum at least until the early third century and in some cases in the fourth century. The institutionalized Sobek cults existed alongside early Christian communities, which settled in the region from the third century onwards and built their first churches in the Fayyum settlements by the fourth century.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Choat|first=Malcolm|title=Christianity|work=The Oxford Handbook of Roman Egypt|publisher=Oxford Univ. Press|year=2012|isbn=978-0-19-957145-1|editor-last=Riggs|editor-first=Christina|location=Oxford, New York|pages=474–489}}</ref>
-==Archaeology==
-There are, especially in the neighborhood of the lake, many ruins of ancient villages and cities. Mounds north of the city of [[Faiyum]] mark the site of Crocodilopolis/Arsinoe. There are extensive archaeological remains across the region which extend from the prehistoric period through to modern times, e.g. the [[Monastery of the Archangel Gabriel at Naqlun]].
+[[File:Fayum.JPG|thumb|upright=1.3]]
 ==Birket Qarun lake==
 {{main|Lake Moeris}}
+Birket Qarun ([[Arabic language|Arabic]] for ''Lake of [[Korah|Qarun]]''), is located in the Faiyum Oasis and has an abundant population of [[fish]], notably [[Nile tilapia|bulti]], of which considerable quantities are sent to Cairo.<ref name="EB1911"/> In ancient times this lake was much larger, and the ancient Greeks and Romans called it [[Lake Moeris]].
-[[File:Fayum.JPG|thumb|left]]
-Birket Qarun ([[Arabic language|Arabic]] for ''Lake of [[Korah|Qarun]]''), is located in the Faiyum Oasis and has an abundant population of [[fish]], notably [[Nile tilapia|bulti]], of which considerable quantities are sent to Cairo.<ref name="EB1911"/> In ancient times this lake was much larger, and the [[ancient Greek]]s and [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] called it [[Lake Moeris]].{{clear}}
 ==Cities and towns==
-The largest city is [[Faiyum]], which is also the capital of the [[Faiyum Governorate]]. Other towns include Sinnuris and [[Tamiya, Egypt|Tamiya]] to the north of [[Faiyum]], and Sanhur and Ibsheway on the road to the lake.
+The largest city is [[Faiyum]], which is also the capital of the Faiyum Governorate. Other towns include Sinnuris and [[Tamiya, Egypt|Tamiya]] to the north of [[Faiyum]], and Sanhur and Ibsheway on the road to the lake.
+==In popular culture==
+The oasis is the setting for about a quarter of [[Paolo Coelho]]'s ''[[The Alchemist (novel)|The Alchemist]]'', one of the top 20 [[List of best-selling books|best-selling books]] in the world.
+It also appears as one of the main regions in the Assassin's Creed: Origins game.
 ==See also==
-*[[Bahr Yussef]]
+*[[Bahr Yussef]] canal
 *[[Faiyum]]
 *[[Faiyum Governorate]]
@@ Line 48: / Line 51: @@
 *[[Lake Moeris]]
 *[[Monastery of the Archangel Gabriel at Naqlun]]
+*[[Pedestals of Biahmu]]
 *[[Phiomia]] (an extinct relative of the elephant, named after Faiyum)
 *[[Roman Egypt]]
-*[[The Alchemist (novel)]], in which it is a primary setting
 ==Notes==
@@ Line 61: / Line 64: @@
 {{Egypt oasis areas}}
+{{Authority control}}
 [[Category:Faiyum Governorate]]

Authority control databases
National	Germany
Geographic	Pleiades