the shenand symbolizing the course of the sun. In time,
the form was elongated and used as a frame for the
names of the pharaohs. The double knot used in the
symbol is an amulet of power. A stela depicting the royal
name of DJET(Wadj; r. c. 2300 B.C.E.) was discovered at
ABYDOS.
cat An animal associated in ancient Egyptian cultic rit-
uals with the goddess BASTETand in some eras considered
a manifestation of the god RÉas well, in funerary legends
the cat took up residence in the PERSEA TREEin HELIOPO-
LIS. The word for cat in Egyptian is miu,the feminine
being mut(translated by some as “kitty”). There is some
evidence of the domestication of cats in predynastic times
(before 3,000 B.C.E.) and cats were used in hunting,
much as DOGSare used today. Cats, however, were not
represented in tomb paintings until the Middle Kingdom
(2040–1640 B.C.E.) and were very popular in the New
Kingdom (1550–1070 B.C.E.). They were depicted as sit-
ting under the chair or on the lap of the deceased. Cats
were also featured in dream books, and the SATIRICAL
PAPYRUSuses them for ironic effects. MORTUARY RITUALS
warned against cat-shaped demons in the TUAT, or the
Underworld.
cataracts The white-water falls or rapids of the NILE
River, six in number, these dangerous regions of the Nile
extended from ASWANto just above modern Khartoum in
the Sudan. The first cataract, south of Aswan, served as
the natural barrier along the original southern border of
Egypt. The rulers of the various dynasties began explor-
ing the territories to the south, and the region between
the first and second cataract was always important as a
trading area. The Egyptian settlements and fortresses in
the cataract regions during the Fourth and Fifth Dynas-
ties (2575–2465; 2465–2323 B.C.E.) indicate that the
Egyptians had started a process of incorporation. The
unsettled period following the Sixth Dynasty (c. 2150
B.C.E.) caused the Egyptians of the area to withdraw from
the region to some extent, but in the Eleventh Dynasty
(2040–1991 B.C.E.) control was established once again.
The Eighteenth Dynasty pharaohs (1550–1070 B.C.E.)
pushed as far south as KURGUS. During the periods in
which the territories below the first cataract were held by
the Egyptians, the administration of the territory was
conducted at ELEPHANTINEIsland at ASWANor at another
southern post by a special VICEROY.
See also CANAL OF SEHEL.
cenotaphs The mortuary complexes or simple tombs
built to provide a probable religiously motivated burial
site that remained empty, the cenotaphs contained no
bodies but were ceremonial in nature. Much debate is in
progress concerning cenotaph sites and purposes. In the
Early Dynastic Period (2920–2575 B.C.E.), the rulers nor-
mally erected cenotaphs in ABYDOS, the cultic center of
the god OSIRIS.C-Group A people of NUBIA (modern Sudan), who
lived in a region called WAWAT by the Egyptians (c.
2100–1500 B.C.E.),they are noted as early as the Sixth
Dynasty (2323–2150 B.C.E.). By the reign of SENWOSRET I
(1971–1926 B.C.E.), the C-Group people were considered
a threat to Egypt. Senwosret I constructed FORTRESSESat
the second cataract to control them. Troops were sta-
tioned there to monitor the movement of the C-Group on
the Nile, and the forts served as centers for trade and
gold-mining activities in the deserts of the area.Chabrias(fl. fourth century B.C.E.) Military commander
from Athens, Greece
Chabrias was employed by HAKORIS(r. 393–380 B.C.E.) of
the Twenty-ninth Dynasty to lead Greek mercenaries con-
tracted by Egypt. Chabrias and his Greek units defeated
the Persians attacking the Nile Valley. Hakoris also had an
elite unit of Greek veterans serving as his personal body-
guards. Chabrias fulfilled his contract with Hakoris with
skill and courage.Chaldeans They were apeople living in the alluvial
plains at the head of the modern Persian Gulf. A king-
dom was formed there as early as 2000 B.C.E. Hebrew
records credit Nimrod as the founder of the Chaldean
Dynasty that lasted from 2000 to 1543 B.C.E. The
Chaldeans founded Babylon, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh,
as well as Ur. Trade and art were important to the
Chaldeans, with land and sea routes employed. The so-
called Ships of Ur were prominent in the ancient world
and dealt with Egyptian merchants.chancellor Acourt administrative position in ancient
Egypt that evolved over the centuries into the role of
VIZIER. The first recorded chancellor, serving Lower Egypt
in the reign of DEN(c. 2820 B.C.E.), was HEMAKA. The first
recorded chancellor for Upper Egypt appears in the reign
of PERIBSEN(c. 2600 B.C.E.). The chancellors were respon-
sible for the annual census, supervising irrigation pro-
jects, land registration, taxation, and the distribution of
goods among the temple and court workers.chariots Vehicles employed in military and proces-
sional events in ancient Egypt, becoming a dreaded war
symbol of the feared cavalry units, the chariot was not an
Egyptian invention but was introduced into the Nile
Valley by the HYKSOS, or Asiatics, during the Second
Intermediate Period (1640–1532 B.C.E.). Egyptian inno-
vations, however, made the Asiatic chariot lighter, faster,
and easier to maneuver. Egyptian chariots were fashioned
out of wood, with the frames built well forward of thechariots 81