Ptolemais Hermiou
Ptolemais Hermiou is a historical city located in Upper Egypt, about 328 miles south of Cairo, founded by Ptolemy I Soter for Greek and Macedonian military veterans on the site of an older Egyptian village known as Psio. It served as the metropolis of the Thinite district and became a prominent center for Hellenism during the Greco-Roman period. Notably, the city was described by the ancient geographer Strabo as being comparable in size to Memphis and boasted its own autonomous Greek constitution and institutions, which is supported by various papyri and inscriptions. Ptolemais was home to significant temples, including those dedicated to Isis and the Ptolemies, and is often associated with the birthplace of the famous astronomer and geographer Ptolemy in the second century AD.
The city experienced notable historical events, including a revolt during the reign of Emperor Probus, where its inhabitants allied with local tribes in an attack on Coptos, though this rebellion was ultimately suppressed. As the Roman Empire evolved, Ptolemais Hermiou was incorporated into different administrative divisions, first belonging to Thebaid and later to Upper Thebaid. Interestingly, Ptolemais Hermiou has maintained a pagan character longer than its neighboring regions. It is important to differentiate it from other cities named Ptolemais in Egypt, such as Ptolemais Euergetis and Ptolemais Hormos, which are located in different regions.
Ptolemais Hermiou
(El-Manshah)
A city in Upper Egypt on the Nile, 328 miles south of Cairo. Founded for Greek and Macedonian military veterans on the site of an Egyptian village Psio (of which the name has survived in Coptic and Arabic) by Ptolemy I Soter (323–283/2 BC)—his sole foundation in Egypt—Ptolemais was the metropolis of the Thinite district (nome) and the center of Hellenism in Upper Egypt throughout the Greco-Roman period. Strabo described it as a city equal in size to great Memphis, possessing its own autonomous Greek constitution and institutions, and this account is confirmed by papyri and inscriptions. Ptolemais possessed temples of Isis and of the Ptolemies, and is often believed to have been the birthplace of the astronomer, mathematician and geographer Ptolemy (second century AD).
During the reign of Probus (276–82) its inhabitants revolted, in alliance with the southern tribe of the Blemmyes, and attacked Coptos (Kuft), but the rebellion was suppressed. In the later empire, when Egypt was divided into several provinces, Ptolemais was attached first to the Thebaid (Thebais), and then—when that too was subdivided—to the Upper Thebaid. It retained its pagan character longer than the surrounding territory. (Ptolemais Hermiou is to be distinguished from other Egyptian cities of the same name, for example Ptolemais Euergetis [Arsinoe] beside Lake Moeris [Fayum], Ptolemais Hormos [`Harbor’] on the edge of the Fayum; Ptolemais Theron or Epitheros [`Of the Hunts,’ Aquiq, Trinkitat] is on the Red Sea in what is now the Sudan).