Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 7.djvu/725

701 DIVISIONS.] EGYPT 701 1844, the extent of cultivated laud has increased. This has been chiefly due to works of irrigation in Lower Egypt, the increased cultivation of cotton, and the greater facility of transport. The increase cannot, however, be very large. Divisions. The ancient like the modern Egyptians followed the natural division of the country into two tracts, the valley of Upper Egypt and the plain of Lower Egypt. The names in hieroglyphics are to-res, the &quot; south land&quot; (compared, with the article prefixed, p-to-res, to Pathros by M. de Rouge), and to-mehit, the &quot; north land.&quot; The two were divided by the southern boundaries of the highest iiomes of Lower Egypt, the Memphite and Heliopolite, and thus the political boundary was somewhat south of the position where the valley extends into the plain. The most southern nome of Upper Egypt was called that of Nubia, and began at Silsilis. The Greek and Roman division excludes the Memphite Nome from Lower Egypt. It is not known at what date Egypt was first divided into the provinces called Nouies. They are noticed in in scriptions of Dynasty IV. (Brugsch, Geogr. Insckr., i. 93), and their symbol occurs in the name of Hesp-ti, &quot;the two nomes,&quot; fifth king of Dynasty I, Manetho s Usa- phaidos. 1 The hieroglyphic name is hesp. In late in scriptions the term (p-)tesh occurs, which is also the demotic form, and the origin of the Coptic (Id. i. 94, 95). The number of nomes is somewhat different in the various ancient Egyptian lists, all of which, except fragments, are of the Grieco-Roman age. Probably the number varied at different times. Dr Brugsch conjectures the true number to be forty-two, considering the forty-two judges of the dead (Ritual, ch. 125) as called from the chief towns of the kingdom to a great tribunal (Geogr. Inschr., i. 99), which he thinks represents the earthly court described by Diodorus Siculus (i. 75.) (Geogr. Inschr., i. 124.) There was a double system of names for the nomes, the sacred, usual in hieroglyphics, and the vulgar, taken from the capitals, and preserved in Greek in transcriptions or translations. In consequence of this double system the identification of the hieroglyphic names with those of the Greeks and Romans is not always certain. This is the case in Lower Egypt, where the form of the country makes it hard to determine the exact geographical relation in tended by any order. On account of this difficulty, and because the hieroglyphic names are of inferior importance in the geography of Egypt, they are not here given. (See Brugsch, Geogr. Inschr., i. 93, seqq.) By the Greeks and Romans Egypt was divided into the Delta or lower country, and the Thebais or upper country. The third division, the so-called Middle Egypt, first occurs in Ptolemy as the Seven Nomes, ETTTCC i/o/xot, or Hepta- Sacy s Abd-Allatif. It was made in the year of the Flight 777 (A.D. 1375-6), [recording the census of 715, A.D. 1315-6], and may be rather underrated than the reverse. The estimate of M. Mengin (Histoire de VEgypte, ii. 342-344) shows that in 1821 the extent of the cultivated land was much less ; but since that period considerable tracts of waste land had been rendered fertile (Englishwoman in Egypt, i. 85, note ). In the Description de I figypte there is an excellent memoir on the super ficies of that country by Col. Jacotin, who computes the space which the Nile does or can water or ferbilize, including its bed, north of the first cataract, at 9582 39 square geographical miles, of which but 5626 59 were in a state of cultivation or fit for cultivation. The space actually under cultivation was found by M. Esteve to be 5469 86 square miles, but it is stated that 2735 07 more may have been anciently cultivable, of which much might be reclaimed. Description de Vfigypte, xviii. ii. 101, seqq. The close agreement of Mr Lane s estimate with Col. Jacotin s shows that the bases of both were accurate, and the difference from M. Mengin s may be explained by the disasters which preceded the establishment of Mehemet Ali as pasha. 1 M. de Rouge has already noticed the possibly commemorative character of two other not much later royal names, ^.akau a.nd Bi-n-nuter (Six Prem. Dyn.,23, 244), and this may therefore perhaps have been of the same kind. lites. nomis, ETrravo/u s. This new division, and the transfer of the Memphite Nome from Lower Egypt to the Heptanomis. are the chief innovations, for the fanciful divisions of Lower Egypt in Ptolemy are no doubt theoretical. The following list of the nornes is taken from Parthey s Vocabularium Coptico-Latinum, compared with the same author s Erdkunde des alien Aegyptens, Berl. Akad., 1858. The authorities are Herodotus, Agatharchides, Strabo, Pliny, Ptolemy, the coins of the nomes struck under Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius, the last indicated by the abbreviation Nu., and other sources. The letters L., H., and T. indicate Lower Egypt, the Heptanomis, and the Thebais, as the divisions to which nomes thus designated are known to belong. L. Alexandrise, AAelavSpeW x&amp;lt;*&amp;gt;P as vop.6s, Ptol. Nu. L. Andropolites, AvSpoiroXirys, Ptol., formerly Gynaecopoli H. Antffiopolites, AvTawiroXirris, Plin. Ptol. Nu. H. Antinoites, Avnvo irr]s, Ptol. L. Anysius, Avixrios, Her. H. Aphroditopolites Hept., AippoSiTOTroAtTTjs rcav Eirra M Strab. Ptol. Nu. T. Aphroditopolites Theb., A&amp;lt;&amp;gt;po5iT07roAii&quot;&amp;gt;]s rrjs QrjPa iSos, Ptol. L. Aphthites, Atpdirris, Her. T. Apollopolites, Plin., ATroAAcc^oTroAiTrjs, Nu. L. Arabicus, Plin., Apapias vopos, Ptol. Nu. Arsinoitse duo, Apffivo iTai Svo, Strab. Plin. Ptol. Nu. L. Arsinoites ^Eg. inf., Plin., the same as Heroopolites, Plin. H. Arsinoites Hept., Apcnvoir-ns, Strab. Nu., the same as Croco- dilopolites, Plin. L. Athribites, AflpjjS^Tijs, Her. Strab. Ptol. Nu. ; Atharrabites, Plin. L. Bubastites, Bou/Saon-iTTjs, Her. Strab. Plin. Ptol. Nu. L. Busirites, Eovcnpirris, Her. Strab. Plin. Ptol. Nu. L. Cabasites, KaBaa-ir-ris, Plin. Ptol. Nu. T. Chemmites, Xe/j./j.iTt]s, Her., later Panopolites, Plin. Ptol. Nu. T. Coptites, KoTi-TiTTjs, Plin. Ptol. Nu. H. Crocodilopolites, Plin., the same as Arsinoites Hept., Strab. Nu. H. Cynopolites, KwoiroXi-rris, Strab. Plin. Ptol. Nu. T. Diospolites Magnus, AIOTTOAI TTJS Meyas, Nu. T. Diospolites, Plin., AioiroAiT^s, Ptol. Nu. L. Gynsecopolites, rVj/cuKUTroAn-Tjs, Strab. Plin. Nu. later Andro polites ? Hammoniacus, Plin. , tlie same as Oasites ? L. Heliopolites, HAioTroArrrjs, Strab. Plin. Ptol. Nu. Heptacometis (?), ETTTO./*, Nu. H. Heracleopolites, Plin., HpaKAeoiroAiTTjs, Agatharch. Ptol. Nu., Hpa/cAecoTijs, Hpa/cAecon/cos, Strab. T. Hermonthites, &quot;Epfj.wv6iTT)s, Plin. Ptol. Nu. II. Hermopolites, Ep/xoTroAn-jjs, Pliu. Ptol. Nu., Ep,uov7roAtT7;j-j Agatharch. L. Heroopolites, Plin., the same as Arsinoites JEg. inf. T. Hypselites, &quot;rtir)i,r)s, PtoL Nu. T. Latopolites, AaroiroAiT^s, Plin. Nu. L. Leontopolites, Aeoj TOTroAirrjs, Strab. Plin. Ptol. Nu. L. Letopolites, ATJTOTTOAITIJV, Strab. Ptol. Nu. L. Libyse, AijSvrjs VO/J.QS, Ptol. T. Lycopolites, AUKOTTOAI TT;?, Agatliarcli. Plin. Ptol. Nu. L. Mareotis, Plin., Mapewrov yoyo s, Ptol. Nu. Marmaricie, Map/xapiKrjs va^os, Ptol. H. Memphites, Me^ir?;?, Pliu. Ptol. Nu. L. Mendesius, Nev5ri&amp;lt;nos, Her. Strab. Plin. Ptol. Nu. L. Menclaites, Mei/eAcu TTjs, Strab. Plin. Ptol. Nu. L. Metelites, Merr/Air^s, Plin. Ptol. Nu. L. Momemphites, Mco/ue/i^iTTjy, Strab. L. Myecphorites, Mt/eK^opt rrjs, Her. L. Natho, Na0, Her., the same as Neut, Ptol. Nu.? L. Naucratites, Plin. Nu. L. Neut, Neour, Ptol. Nu., the same as Natlio, Her.? Nitriotes, NtrpioJTTjs, Strab. OasitfE duo, Oacr iTai Svo, Plin. Ptol. See Hammoniacus, Plin. T. Ombites, Plin., Oppirris, Nu. L. Onuphites, OOI/^H TTJS, Her. Plin. Ptol. Nu. H. Oxyrynchites, Ovpvyxirr)s, Agatharch. Strab. Plin. Ptol. Nu. T. Panopolites, nacoTroAiTTjs, Pliu. Ptol. Nu., the same as Chem mites, Her. L. Papremites, na7rpT//.u r7/r, Her. T. Pathyrites, nadvpirrts TTJS 0rj^a t5oy. Papyr. Auast., the same as Phaturites, Plin. ? L. Pelusiacus ? Nu. Pemptites, ne^TrriTrjs, Steph. Byz., the same as Plithemphu ? T. Perithebse, TleptOTiPeu, the same as Thebarum nouiu.-;, or its eastern part ( Peyron, Pap. Taurin. i. 51). L. Phagroriopolites, 4&amp;gt;a7pa&amp;gt;pio7roAi Ti7s, Strab.