Qasr el-Saghah A site in the western area of the
FAIYUM, located at the base of a limestone cliff, Twelfth
(1991–1783 B.C.E.) and Thirteenth (1783–1640 B.C.E.)
Dynasty tombs were discovered there. A workman’s town
was active in QASR WA’-L-SAIYAD, which also had a military
garrison. The remains of this town include a terrace and
stairway. “PAN-GRAVES” were also uncovered there.
Qasr Qarun This is a site on the western extremity of
Lake QARUN, also recorded as Dionysius Qasr Qarun and
serving as a staging place for caravans to BAHARIA OASISin
the LIBYAN DESERT. A temple to the god SOBEK, dated to
the Ptolemaic Period (304–30 B.C.E.), dominates the
region. The temple has corridors, chambers, tunnels, and
spiral staircases. Oracular secret niches are part of the
design. There was once a roof chapel on the structure as
well.
Qasr wa’-l-Saiyad It is a site on the Nile, south of ABY-
DOS, where First Intermediate Period (2134–2040 B.C.E.)
tombs have been found. These are rock-cut chambers for
the local NOMARCHSof the territory. Vast and elaborately
decorated with reliefs, the tombs belonged to the
nomarchs Idu Seneni, Tjauti, and others.
Qatna This was a city-state east of the Orontes River
and KADESH. When the great MITANNIempire fell victim to
HITTITE expansion during the Eighteenth Dynasty
(1550–1307 B.C.E.), Akizzi, the king of Qatna, sought an
alliance with Egypt.
Qau This was the Egyptian name for the ancient road
leading to the porphyry QUARRIES in the northeastern
desert area in the SINAI.
See also EGYPTIAN NATURAL RESOURCES.
Qaw el-Kebir A site on the Nile south of ASSIUT, called
Tjebu or Djenga by the Egyptians and Antaiopolis by the
Greeks, Qaw el-Kebir is a Twelfth Dynasty (1991–1783
B.C.E.) necropolis that was refurbished by later dynasties.
PTOLEMY IV PHILOPATOR(221–205 B.C.E.) constructed a
temple on the site, and PTOLEMY VI PHILOMETOR(180–
164, 163–145 B.C.E.) restored the structure.
Qebehsennuf He was a divine being, the son of HORUS,
associated with mortuary rituals. The Four Sons of Horus
served as guardians of the organs of the deceased,
removed from the body during embalming processes and
placed in CANOPIC JARS. Qebehsennuf guarded the
intestines of the deceased. The canopic jars holding such
organs were designed with hawk heads.
See also PILLARS OF SHU.
Qebhet A goddess considered the personification of
“cool water,” therefore a patroness and symbol of the
eternal paradises awaiting the dead beyond the grave, she
was a daughter of ANUBIS, although originally a serpent
deity. In some eras, Qebhet was associated with regional
NILEand SOLAR CULTS. Her popularity was confined to a
few nomes or provinces.Qebhui He was an Egyptian deity, the lord of the north
wind. The god was usually depicted as a four-headed ram
with four wings or a man with four ram heads.Qedeshet A Syrian goddess introduced into Egypt dur-
ing the Eighteenth Dynasty (1550–1307 B.C.E.), Qedeshet
became part of the Min-Reshef triad in Upper Egypt. She
was depicted as a naked woman holding snakes and flow-
ers and standing on a lion.Qift See KOPTOS.Quarrel of Apophis and Sekenenré (Ta’o II) It is a
text that dates to the Ramessid Period (1307–1070 B.C.E.)
and deals with the opening events of the Theban assaults
on the HYKSOSholdings in the Delta. The document,
incomplete in its surviving form, demonstrates the Egyp-
tian bias toward the Hyksos and does not clearly explain
the reasons for the war that ensued.
Sekenenré TA’OII(r. c. ?–1555 B.C.E.), the ruler of
THEBES and Upper Egypt, received a message from
APOPHIS(r. c. 1585–1553 B.C.E.), the Hyksos, or Asiatic,
ruler at AVARIS in the Delta. The messenger related
Apophis’s complaint that the snoring hippopotami in the
sacred pool at Thebes were keeping the Hyksos ruler
awake at night. Considering the fact that Apophis’s royal
residence was about 400 miles to the northeast, the The-
bans, upon hearing the complaint, were “stupefied.” It
was obvious to Ta’o II and his courtiers that Apophis was
either out of his mind or acting in a belligerent fashion.
The text ends abruptly, so the actual discussion and
response are not provided.
Ta’o II began a campaign to oust the Hyksos, who
ruled Lower Egypt as far south as CUSAE. He was brutally
slain, however, and his son, KAMOSE, replaced him as the
ruler of Thebes. Kamose actually carried on the military
confrontations against the Hyksos and was approaching
Avaris when he too died. Apophis was already deceased.
’AHMOSE(r. 1550–1525 B.C.E.), Kamose’s brother, would
be the one to actually oust the Asiatics from Egypt and
start the New Kingdom (1550–1070 B.C.E.).quarries They were the geological conformations of
ancient Egypt, especially in its southern regions, and
characterized by limestone cliffs. Limestone, favored byquarries 325