A nome ([1] from grc|νομός, nomós, "district") was a territorial division in ancient Egypt.[2]
Each nome was ruled by a nomarch (egy|[[:wikt:ḥrj-tp|ḥrj tp]] [[:wikt:ꜥꜣ|ꜥꜣ]], "Great Chief").[3] The number of nomes changed through the various periods of the history of ancient Egypt.[4]
The term nome comes from Ancient Greek νομός, nomós, meaning "district"; the Ancient Egyptian term was sepat or spAt.[5] Today's use of the Ancient Greek rather than the Ancient Egyptian term came about during the Ptolemaic period, when the use of Greek was widespread in Egypt.[6] The availability of Greek records on Egypt influenced the adoption of Greek terms by later historians.
The division of ancient Egypt into nomes can be traced back to prehistoric Egypt (before 3100 BC). These nomes originally existed as autonomous city-states, but later began to unify. According to ancient tradition, the ruler Menes completed the final unification.[7]
Not only did the division into nomes remain in place for more than three millennia, the areas of the individual nomes and their ordering remained remarkably stable. Some, like Xois in the Nile Delta or Khent in Upper Egypt, were first mentioned on the Palermo Stone, which was inscribed in the Fifth Dynasty. The names of a few, like the nome of Bubastis, appeared no earlier than the New Kingdom. Under the system that prevailed for most of pharaonic Egypt's history, the country was divided into 42 nomes.
Lower Egypt (Egyptian: "Ā-meḥty"), from the Old Kingdom capital Memphis to the Mediterranean Sea, comprised 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, first covering the territory on the west before continuing with the higher numbers to the east. Thus, Alexandria was in the Third Nome; Bubastis was in the Eighteenth.
Upper Egypt was divided into 22 nomes. The first of these was centered on 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.
See also: Ptolemaic Kingdom. Some nomes were added or renamed during the Graeco-Roman occupation of Egypt.[8] For example, the Ptolemies renamed the Crocodilopolitan nome to Arsinoe. Hadrian created a new nome, Antinoopolites, for which Antinoöpolis was the capital.
See also: Egypt (Roman province). The nomes survived into Roman times. Under Roman rule, individual nomes minted their own coinage, the so-called "nome coins", which still reflect individual local associations and traditions. The nomes of Egypt retained their primary importance as administrative units until the fundamental rearrangement of the bureaucracy during the reigns of Diocletian and Constantine the Great.
From AD 307/8, their place was taken by smaller units called pagi. Eventually powerful local officials arose who were called pagarchs, through whom all patronage flowed. The pagarch's essential role was as an organizer of tax-collection. Later the pagarch assumed some military functions as well. The pagarchs were often wealthy landowners who reigned over the pagi from which they originated.
For most of the history, each nome was headed by a nomarch. The position of the nomarch was at times hereditary, while at others they were appointed by the pharaoh. Generally, when the national government was stronger, nomarchs were the king's appointed governors. When the central government was weaker, however—such as during foreign invasions or civil wars—individual nomes would assert themselves and establish hereditary lines of succession. Conflicts among these different hereditary nomarchies were common, most notably during the First Intermediate Period, a time that saw a breakdown in central authority lasting from the 7th–11th Dynasties which ended when one of the local rulers became strong enough to again assert control over the entire country as pharaoh.
The nomes are listed in separate tables for "Isti" - "the two Egypts" (Upper and Lower Egypt).
Note:
| Number | Nome Standard (Symbol on top of head of man or woman) | Ancient EgyptianNome Name | Ancient Greek and Coptic Nome Name | Capital | Modern name of capital site | God | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Unicode | Transliteration | Translation | Greek | Coptic | |||||
| 1 | jnb-ḥḏ Inebu-hedj | White Walls | ΜεμφίτηςMemphites | ⲙⲛⲫⲉ/ ⲉⲕⲉⲡϯⲁ | jnb-ḥḏ Ineb-Ḥedj (mn-nfr Mennefer) (Memphis) | Mit Rahina | Ptah | |||
| 2 | ḫpš Khepesh | Cow's thigh | ΛητοπολίτηςLetopolites | ⲃⲟⲩϣⲏⲙ | ḫm Khem [Sekhem/ Iry] (Letopolis) | Ausim | Horus | |||
| 3 | jmnttImentet/Amentet | West | ΓυναικοπολίτηςGynaikopolites | I-am/ Imu (Apis) | Kom El Hisn | Hathor | ||||
| 4 | nt-rsj/nt-rswNit Resy/Nit Resu | Southern Neith | ΠροσωπίτηςProsopites | ⲡϣⲁϯ | Niciu | Zawyet el-Razin | ||||
| 4 (21) | nt-rsj/rswNit Resy/Resu | Southern Neith | ΦθεμφουθPhthemphouth | Ptkheka | Tanta | Sobek, Isis, Amun | ||||
| 5 | / | nt-mḥttNit Meḥtet | Northern Neith | ΣαίτηςSaites | ⲥⲁⲓ | zꜣw Sau/ Zau (Sais) | Sa El Hagar | Neith | ||
| 6 | Mountain bull | ΞοίτηςXoites | ⲥϧⲱⲟⲩ | ḫꜣsww Khasu (Xois) | Sakha | Amun-Ra | ||||
| 7 | ḥww-(gs)-jmnty Huu-(ges)-Imenti | West harpoon | ΜενελαίτηςMenelaites | (Hermopolis Parva, Metelis) | Damanhur | Hu | ||||
| 8 | ḥww-(gs)-jꜣbty Huu-(ges)-Iabty | East harpoon | ἩροοπολίτηςHeroopolites | Thek/ Tjeku / Iset-Tem pr-jtmw Per-Atum/ Ān (Heroonpolis, Pithom) | Tell al-Maskhuta | Atum | ||||
| 9 | ꜥnḏtyAndjety | ΒουσιρίτηςBousirites | ⲡⲁⲛⲁⲩ | ḏdw Djedu (Busiris) | Abu Sir Bara | Osiris | ||||
| 10 | km-wr/kꜣ-km Kem-Wer/Ka-kem | Black bull | ἈθριβίτηςAthribites | ⲁⲑⲣⲏⲃⲓ | Hut-hery-ib (Athribis) | Banha (Tell Atrib) | Horus | |||
| 11 | (kꜣ)-ḥsb(Ka)-Heseb | Heseb bull | ΛεοντοπολίτηςLeontopolites | ⲛⲁⲑⲱ | Taremu/ Ikhenu (Leontopolis) | Tell el-Muqdam | Isis | |||
| 12 | ṯb-kꜣ/ṯb-nṯrTjeb-Ka/Tjeb-Netjer | Calf and Cow | ΣεβεννύτηςSebennytes | ϫⲉⲙⲛⲟⲩϯ | ṯb-nṯr (Tjeb netjer) (Sebennytos) | Samanud | Anhur | |||
| 13 | ḥqꜣ-ꜥḏHeka-Adj | Prospering Sceptre | ἩλιοπολίτηςHeliopolites | ⲱⲛ | jwnw (Iunu)/ In-meḥ/ Iset-Tem/ Igert, Igertet, Iqert, Iugertet (Heliopolis) | Materiya (suburb of Cairo) | Ra | |||
| 14 | ḫnty-jꜣbtyKhenti-Iabti | Foremost of the East | ΣεθρωίτηςSethroites | Tjaru/ Dj‘anet (Sile, Tanis) | Tell Abu Sefa | Horus | ||||
| 15 | ḏḥwtyDjeḥuti | Thoth | ΜενδήσιοςMendesios | ⲛⲓⲙⲉϣϣⲱⲧ | Ba'h / Weprehwy (Hermopolis Parva) | Baqliya | Thoth | |||
| 16 | ḥꜣt-mḥyt Hatmehyt | Fish/ Foremost of the Fish | ΜενδήσιοςMendesios | ⲛⲓⲙⲉϣϣⲱⲧ | Djedet/ Ā'atjaba (Mendes) | Tell El Rubˁ | Banebdjedet and Hatmehyt | |||
| 17 | / | bḥdt/smꜣ-bḥdtBehdet/Sema-Behdet | Throne/ Uniting the throne? | Διοπολίτης ΚάτωDiospolites Kato | ⲡⲟⲩⲛⲉⲙⲟⲩ | Sema-behdet (Diospolis Inferior) | Tel El Balamun | Amun-Ra | ||
| 18 | jmty-ḫntyImty Khenti | Southern Prince | ΒουβαστίτηςBoubastites | ⲡⲟⲩⲃⲁⲥϯ | Per-Bastet (Bubastis) | Tell Bastah (near Zagazig) | Bastet | |||
| 19 | jmty-pḥwImty Pehu | Northern Prince | ΤανίτηςTanites | ϫⲁⲛⲏ | Dja'net (Leontopolis Tanis) | Tell Nebesha or San El Hagar | Wadjet | |||
| 20 | spdwSopdu | ἈραβίαArabia | ϯⲁⲣⲁⲃⲓⲁ | Per-Sopdu | Sopdet | |||||
| Number | Nome Standard (Symbol on top of head of man or woman) | Ancient EgyptianNome Name | Capital | Modern Capital | God | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Unicode | Transliteration | Translation | |||||
| 1 | tꜣ-styTa-Seti | Land of the bow | Abu / Yeb [Yb] (Elephantine) | Sunnu/ Irp-Ḥesp (Aswan) | Khnum | |||
| 2 | wṯs-ḥrwWetjes-Hor | Throne of Horus | Djeba (Apollonopolis Magna) | Behdet/Wetjes-Hor (Edfu) | Horus-Behdety | |||
| 3 | nḫnNekhen | Shrine | Nekhen (Hierakonpolis) | Elkab | Nekhebet | |||
| 4 | wꜣstWaset | Waset (Thebes) | Luxor | Sceptre | Amun-Ra | |||
| 5 | bjkwy/nṯrwy/ḥrwyBikuy/Netjerui/Herui | Two falcons/Two gods/Two Horuses | Gebtu/ Iter-Shemā (Coptos) | Qift | Min | |||
| 6 | jqr/msḥIqer/Meseh | The crocodile | Iunet (Tantere/ Tentyra/ Dendera) | Hathor | ||||
| 7 | bꜣt/sššBat/Seshesh | Bat/Sistrum | Seshesh/ Pa-Khen-Iment/ Uas-Meḥ (Diospolis Parva) | Hathor | ||||
| 8 | tꜣ-wrTa-wer | Great land | Thinis | Anhur | ||||
| 9 | mnwMin | Ip/ Ipi/ Ipu/ Apu/ [later: Khen-Min, perhaps another name for "Khemenu"]/ Ārty-Ḥeru (Panopolis) | Akhmim | Min | ||||
| 10 | / | wꜣḏytWadjet | Wadjet | Djew-qa / Tjebu (Antaeopolis) | Qaw El Kebir | Hathor | ||
| 11 | / | šꜣSha | Set-animal | Shashotep (Hypselis) | Shutb | Khnum | ||
| 12 | ḏw-ftDju-fet | Viper mountain | Pr nmty (Hieracon) | al Atawla | Horus | |||
| 13 | ꜣtf ḫntt/nḏft-ḫnttAtef Khentet/ Nedjefet Khentet | Southern ꜣtf/nḏft-Tree | Zawty (z3wj-tj, Lycopolis) | Apuat | ||||
| 14 | ꜣtf-pḥt/nḏft-pḥtAtef Peht/Nedjfet Peht | Northern ꜣtf/nḏft-Tree | Qesy (Cusae) | El Qusiya | Hathor | |||
| 15 | wntWenet | Hare | Khemenu (Hermopolis Magna) | El Ashmounein | Thoth | |||
| 16 | mꜣ-ḥḏMa-Ḥedj | Oryx | Herwer? | Hur? | Horus | |||
| 17 | jnpw(t)Anpu/Anput | Anubis/Anput | Saka (Cynopolis) | El Qais | Anubis | |||
| 18 | / | nmtyNemty | Nemty | Teudjoi / Hutnesut (Alabastronopolis) | El Hiba | Anubis | ||
| 19 | wꜣbwyWabwi/Wabui | Two scepters? | Per-Medjed/ Per-Mādjet/ Uabu-t (Oxyrhynchus) | El Bahnasa | Set | |||
| 20 | nꜥrt-ḫnttNart Khentet | Southern nꜥrt-tree | Henen-nesut (Herakleopolis Magna) | Ihnasiya | Heryshaf | |||
| 21 | nꜥrt-pḥtNart Peht | Northern nꜥrt-tree | Shenakhen / Semenuhor/ Ium'ā (Crocodilopolis, Arsinoe) | Faiyum | Khnemu | |||
| 22 | / | mdnjtMednit/Medenit | Knife | Tepihu (Aphroditopolis) | Atfih | Hathor | ||