Nome (Egypt)

A Nome (from , “district”) was an administrative part of ancient Egypt. Nome is a Greek name, used late in Egypt's history; the Egyptian name was "sepat".

The division of ancient Egypt into nomes happened before 3100 BC.  These nomes began as autonomous city-states, but later began to join together. According to ancient tradition, the ruler Menes finally joined all the nomes into a single kingdom.Herodotus, Euterpe, 2.4.1 and 2.99.1ff.

The nomes remain in place for more than 3,000 years.

Lower Egypt, from the Old Kingdom capital Memphis to the Mediterranean Sea, had 20 nomes. The first was based around Memphis, Saqqara, and Giza, in the area occupied by modern-day Cairo.  The nomes were numbered in a more or less orderly fashion south to north through the Nile delta. The numbering started in the west, and continued with the higher numbers in the east. Alexandria was in the Third Nome; Bubastis was in the Eighteenth.

Upper Egypt was divided into 22 nomes.  The first of these was centered around Elephantine close to Egypt's border with Nubia at the First Cataract – the area of modern-day Aswan.  From there the numbering progressed downriver in an orderly fashion along the narrow fertile strip of land that was the Nile valley.  Waset (ancient Thebes or contemporary Luxor) was in the Fourth Nome, Amarna in the Fourteenth, and Meidum in the Twenty-First.

 List of nomes 
The nomes are listed in separate tables for Upper and Lower Egypt

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

Upper Egypt
 Number  Egyptian Name  Capital  Modern Capital  Translation 1  Ta-Khentit  Abu / Yebu (Elephantine) Aswan The frontier or Land of the bow  2  Thes-Hor  Djeba (Apollonopolis Magna)  Edfu  Throne of Horus  3  Ten  Nekhen (Hierakonpolis)  al-Kab  Shrine  4  Waset  Niwt-rst / Waset (Thebes) Luxor Sceptre  5  Herui  Gebtu (Coptos)  Qift  The two falcons  6  Aa-ta  Lunet / Tantere (Tentyra)  Dendera  The crocodile  7  Seshesh  Seshesh (Diospolis Parva)  Hu  Sistrum  8  Abdju  Abdju (Abydos)  al-Birba  Great land  9  Min  Apu / Khen-min (Panopolis)  Akhmim  Min 10  Wadkhet  Djew-qa (Aphroditopolis)  Ifteh  Cobra 11  Set  Shashotep (Hypselis)  Shutb  The creature associated with Set 12  Tu-ph  Hut-Sekhem-Senusret (Antaeopolis)  Qaw al-Kebir  Viper mountain 13  Atef-Khent  Zawty (z3wj-tj, Lycopolis)  Asyut  Upper Sycamore and Viper 14  Atef-Pehu  Qesy (Cusae)  al-Qusiya  Lower Sycamore and Viper 15  Un  Khemenu (Hermopolis Magna)  al-Ashmunayn  Hare 16  Meh-Mahetch  Hebenu   Kom el Ahmar  Oryx 17  Anpu  Saka (Cynopolis)  al-Kais  Anubis 18  Sep  Teudjoi / Hutnesut (Alabastronopolis)  el-Hiba  Set 19  Uab  Per-Medjed (Oxyrhynchus)  el-Bahnasa  Two Sceptres 20  Atef-Khent   Henen-nesut (Herakleopolis Magna)  Ihnasiyyah al-Madinah  Southern Sycamore 21  Atef-Pehu  Shenakhen / Semenuhor (Crocodilopolis, Arsinoe)  Madinat al-Fayyum   Northern Sycamore 22  Maten   Tepihu (Aphroditopolis)  Atfih  Knife

References
Alan K. Bowman (1990).  Egypt After the Pharaohs.  Oxford University Press.

Other websites
Details of the nomes
Archaeological survey of the nomes 

Category:Ancient Egypt