ALEXANDER[III]THE GREATleft Egypt to march into Asia.
The architect arrived on the scene in 231 B.C.E., but the
city was not completed until the reign of PTOLEMY II
PHILADELPHUS(285–246 B.C.E.). Deinokrates came from
Rhodes and was one of four advisers used by Alexander.
He proposed laying the city on an east-to-west plane,
using a main avenue and a grid. He also assisted in con-
necting Alexandria to the PHAROSIsland with a causeway
called the Heptastadium.
Deir el-Bahri (Djeseru-Djeseru) A site on the west-
ern shore of THEBES, called Djeseru-Djeseru (“the Holy
ofHolies”) by the Egyptians, the present name of the
site is from the Arabic, meaning “Monastery of the
North” to denote an early community of Coptic Chris-
tian monks who established a religious house there. Deir
el-Bahri is located on the western shore opposite the city
of Thebes.
MONTUHOTEP II(r. 2061–2010 B.C.E.) of the Eleventh
Dynasty built his mortuary complex at Deir el-Bahri. He
was a member of the famed Inyotef clan of Thebes and
returned home for his burial. His temple was pyramidal
in design, with terraces, walled courts, ramps, porticos,
and colonnaded walkways. The roof of the tomb was sup-
ported by 140 separate columns. Montuhotep’s royal
female companions were buried at the rear of the com-
plex in elaborate tombs. The entire structure was carved
out of a cliff, and a vast burial chamber was fashioned
under a pyramid, called BAB EL-HOSANin modern times.
Montuhotep II was also buried on the site.
Queen-Pharaoh HATSHEPSUT(r. 1473–1458 B.C.E.) of
the Eighteenth Dynasty built a complex north of Mon-
tuhotep II’s tomb, called “the Gardens of My Father
Amun.” Her temple structure was built with similar ter-
races and was hewn out of the cliffs also. SENENMUTand
other architects of that time were influenced by the splen-
dor of Montuhotep II’s designs and incorporated the same
architectural plans. A walled courtyard led to a ramp and
a series of raised terraces. A portico on the first level had
22 pillars and a series of reliefs depicting an expedition to
PUNT. A chapel dedicated to HATHORand a shrine in
honor of the god ANUBISwere graced with HYPOSTYLE
HALLS. Another columned portico completed that section,
while a ramp led to another court enclosed with columns
and then to another portico. The sanctuary on the high-
est level of the complex contained a solar chapel and a
shrine to the royal cult. Gardens of flowers and myrrh
trees flourished at the shrine, and terraces resembled
anoasis against the red cliffs. Osiride statues of Hatshep-
sut, fountains, lion statues, and reliefs added a splendor
to the site.
Deir el-Bahri also contained the famed cache of
mummies found in a shaft in 1881 and another cache at a
location named BAB EL-GUSUS(“the Door of the Priests”).
Considerable excavation and restoration has resulted in
the maintenance of the site in modern times.
See also MUMMY CACHES.Suggested Readings:Maspero, Gaston C., Emile Brugsch,
Nicholas Reeves, and G. Raggett, trans. Royal Tombs of
Deir el-Bahri.New York: Routledge, 1993; Winlock, H. E.
Excavations of Deir El-Bahri, 1911–1931.London: Kegan
Paul International Limited, 2000.Deir el-Balah Aremarkable Egyptian site located on
the Gaza Strip in modern Israel, an outpost of the Egyp-
tian empire of the New Kingdom (1550–1070 B.C.E.), the
site had several levels of occupation evident, starting with
one dating to the mid 14th centuryB.C.E., and displaying
’AMARNAdecorative motifs. The next level also has Egyp-
tian influences, as does level four. The Philistine occupa-96 Deir el-BahriHatshepsut’s mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri
shore of the Nile at Thebes.(Courtesy Steve Beikirch.)
The temple complex at Deir el-Bahri. (Courtesy Steve
Beikirch.)