# Lower Egypt

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Prehistoric Egypt Paleolithic300,000–17,000 BC Mesolithic17,000–9000 BC Predynastic Period6000–3000 BC :
Ancient Egypt Early Dynastic Period3150–2686 BC Old Kingdom2686–2181 BC 1st Intermediate Period2181–2055 BC Middle Kingdom2055–1650 BC 2nd Intermediate Period1650–1550 BC New Kingdom1550–1069 BC 3rd Intermediate Period1069–664 BC Late Period664–332 BC :
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Periods and dynasties of ancient Egypt :
All years are BC :
Predynastic Protodynastic 0 c. 3300–3150 :
Early Dynastic First Dynasty I c. 3150–2890 Second Dynasty II 2890–2686 :
Old Kingdom Third Dynasty III 2686–2613 Fourth Dynasty IV 2613–2498 Fifth Dynasty V 2498–2345 Sixth Dynasty VI 2345–2181 :
First Intermediate Seventh Dynasty VII spurious Eighth Dynasty VIII 2181–2160 Ninth Dynasty IX 2160–2130 Tenth Dynasty X 2130–2040 Early Eleventh Dynasty XI 2134–2061 :
Middle Kingdom Late Eleventh Dynasty XI 2061–1991 Twelfth Dynasty XII 1991–1803 Thirteenth Dynasty XIII 1803–1649 :
Second Intermediate Fourteenth Dynasty XIV 1705–1690 Fifteenth Dynasty (Hyksos) XV 1674–1535 Sixteenth Dynasty XVI 1660–1600 Abydos Dynasty 1650–1600 Seventeenth Dynasty XVII 1580–1549 :
New Kingdom Eighteenth Dynasty XVIII 1549–1292 Nineteenth Dynasty XIX 1292–1189 Twentieth Dynasty XX 1189–1077 :
Third Intermediate Twenty-first Dynasty XXI 1069–945 Twenty-second Dynasty XXII 945–720 Twenty-third Dynasty XXIII 837–728 Twenty-fourth Dynasty XXIV 732–720 Twenty-fifth Dynasty (Nubian) XXV 732–653 :
Late Period Twenty-sixth Dynasty XXVI 672–525 Twenty-seventh Dynasty (1st Persian Period) XXVII 525–404 Twenty-eighth Dynasty XXVIII 404–398 Twenty-ninth Dynasty XXIX 398–380 Thirtieth Dynasty XXX 380–343 Thirty-first Dynasty (2nd Persian Period) XXXI 343–332 :
Hellenistic Egypt Thirty-second Dynasty XXXII 332–305 Thirty-third Dynasty XXXIII 305–30 :
Roman Egypt Thirty-fourth Dynasty (Roman Pharaohs) XXXIV 30 BC – 313 AD :
Byzantine Egypt Thirty-fifth Dynasty (speculated) XXXV 379 AD – 641 AD :
See also: List of pharaohs by period and dynasty Periodization of ancient Egypt :
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Lower Egypt (Arabic: مصر السفلى Miṣr as-Suflā; Coptic: ⲧⲥⲁϧⲏⲧ, romanized: Tsakhet) is the northernmost region of Egypt, which consists of the fertile Nile Delta between Upper Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, from El Aiyat, south of modern-day Cairo, and Dahshur. Historically, the Nile River split into seven branches of the delta in Lower Egypt. Lower Egypt was divided into nomes and began to advance as a civilization after 3600 BC. Today, it contains two major channels that flow through the delta of the Nile River – Mahmoudiyah Canal (ancient Agathos Daimon) and Muways Canal (Arabic: بحر موَيس, "waterway of Moses").

## Name

In Ancient Egyptian, Lower Egypt was known as mḥw which means "north". Later on, during Antiquity and the Middle Ages, Greeks and Romans called it Κάτω Αἴγυπτος or Aegyptus Inferior both meaning "Lower Egypt", but Copts carried on using the old name related to the north – Tsakhet (Coptic: ⲧⲥⲁϧⲏⲧ) or Psanemhit (Coptic: ⲡⲥⲁⲛⲉⲙϩⲓⲧ) meaning the "Northern part". It was further divided into a number of regions or nomes (Coptic: ⲡⲧⲟϣ, romanized: ptosh) – Niphaiat (Coptic: ⲛⲓⲫⲁⲓⲁⲧ, lit. 'Libyan (nome)', Ancient Greek: Μαρεωτης) in the west, Tiarabia (Coptic: ϯⲁⲣⲁⲃⲓⲁ, lit. 'Arabia') in the east, Nimeshshoti (Coptic: ⲛⲓⲙⲉϣϣⲟϯ, lit. 'fields') in the north-east and Bashmur (Bashmuric Coptic: ⲡⲥⲁⲙⲏⲣ, lit. 'sand shore') in the north. Champollion adds another region in the middle of the Delta which he calls Petmour (Coptic: ⲡⲉⲧⲙⲟⲩⲣ, lit. 'the one which bounds, girds') based on Ancient Greek: Πτιμυρις mentioned by Stephanus of Byzantium, but it is unclear if this is a separate region or just a Greek rendering of the name Bashmur.
After the Muslim conquest, the middle part of the Delta was called al-Rif (Arabic: الريف) which means "countryside, rural area" and which is derived from Ancient Egyptian
r-pr, "temple", because the rural areas were administered by them. The eastern part roughly comprising the ancient Tiarabia was called al-Hawf (Arabic: الهوف) meaning "edge, fringe".

## Geography

Today, there are two principal channels that the Nile takes through the river delta: one in the west at Rashid and one in the east at Damietta.
The delta region is well watered, crisscrossed by channels and canals.
Owing primarily to its proximity to the Mediterranean Sea, the climate in Lower Egypt is milder than that of Upper Egypt, the southern portion of the country. Temperatures are less extreme and rainfall is more abundant in Lower Egypt.

## History

It was divided into twenty districts called nomes, the first of which was at el-Lisht. Because Lower Egypt was mostly undeveloped scrubland, filled with all types of plant life such as grasses and herbs, the organization of the nomes underwent several changes.
The capital of Lower Egypt was Memphis. Its patron goddess was the goddess Wadjet, depicted as a cobra. Lower Egypt was represented by the Red Crown Deshret, and its symbols were the papyrus and the bee. After unification, the patron deities of both Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt were represented together as the Two Ladies, Wadjet and Nekhbet (depicted as a vulture), to protect all of the ancient Egyptians.
By approximately 3600 BC, Neolithic Egyptian societies along the Nile River had based their culture on the raising of crops and the domestication of animals. Shortly after 3600 BC, Egyptian society began to grow and advance rapidly toward refined civilization. A new and distinctive pottery, which was related to the pottery in the Southern Levant, appeared during this time. Extensive use of copper became common during this time. The Mesopotamian process of sun-dried bricks, and architectural building principles—including the use of the arch and recessed walls for decorative effect—became popular during this time.
Concurrent with these cultural advances, a process of unification of the societies and towns of the upper Nile River, or Upper Egypt, occurred. At the same time, the societies of the Nile Delta, or Lower Egypt also underwent a unification process. Warfare between Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt occurred often. During his reign in Upper Egypt, King Narmer defeated his enemies in the Delta and merged the kingdoms of Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt under his single rule.

## List of kings of the Predynastic Period of Lower Egypt

The Palermo stone, a royal annal written in the mid Fifth Dynasty (c. 2490 BC – c. 2350 BC) records a number of kings reigning over Lower Egypt before Narmer. These are completely unattested outside these inscriptions:
* Name
* Hsekiu
* Khayu
* Tiu
* Thesh
* Neheb
* Wazner
* Mekh
* (destroyed)
In contrast, the following kings are attested through archeological finds from Sinai and Lower Egypt: Double Falcon, Crocodile.

## List of nomes

| Number | Egyptian Name | Capital | Modern name of capital site | English Translation | God |
| 1 | Inebu-hedj | Ineb Hedj / Men-nefer / Menfe (Memphis) | Mit Rahina | White Walls | Ptah |
| 2 | Khensu | Khem (Letopolis) | Ausim | Cow's thigh | Horus |
| 3 | Imnt | Imu (Apis) | Kom el-Hisn | West | Hathor |
| 4 | Zapi-Res | Ptkheka | Tanta | Southern shield | Sobek, Isis, Amun |
| 5 | Zapi-Meh | Zau (Sais) | Sa el-Hagar | Northern shield | Neith |
| 6 | Khaset | Khasu (Xois) | Sakha | Mountain bull | Amun-Ra |
| 7 | A-ment | (Hermopolis Parva, Metelis) | Damanhur | West harpoon | Hu |
| 8 | A-bt | Tjeku / Per-Atum (Heroonpolis, Pithom) | Tell el-Maskhuta | East harpoon | Atum |
| 9 | Ati | Djed (Busiris) | Abu Sir Bara | Andjeti | Osiris |
| 10 | Ka-khem | Hut-hery-ib (Athribis) | Banha (Tell Atrib) | Black bull | Horus |
| 11 | Ka-heseb | Taremu (Leontopolis) | Tell el-Urydam | Heseb bull | Isis |
| 12 | Theb-ka | Tjebnutjer (Sebennytos) | Samanud | Calf and Cow | Onuris |
| 13 | Heq-At | Iunu (Heliopolis) | Materiya (suburb of Cairo) | Prospering Sceptre | Ra |
| 14 | Khent-abt | Tjaru (Sile, Tanis) | Tell Abu Sefa | Eastmost | Horus |
| 15 | Tehut | Ba'h / Weprehwy (Hermopolis Parva) | Baqliya | Ibis | Thoth |
| 16 | Kha | Djedet (Mendes) | Tell el-Rubˁ | Fish | Banebdjedet, or Hatmehyt |
| 17 | Semabehdet | Semabehdet (Diospolis Inferior) | Tell el-Balamun | The throne | Amun-Ra |
| 18 | Am-Khent | Per-Bastet (Bubastis) | Tell Bastah (near Zagazig) | Prince of the South | Bastet |
| 19 | Am-Pehu | Dja'net (Leontopolis Tanis) | Tell Nebesha or San el-Hagar | Prince of the North | Uatchet |
| 20 | Sopdu | Per-Sopdu | Saft el-Hinna | Plumed Falcon | Sopdet |