embalming, the jars varied in style over the centuries but
were useful throughout Egypt’s history, considered a vital
part of the elaborate mortuary processes. The name given
tothe vessels is Greek, not Egyptian, because the shape
resembled the tributes made to the Greek hero Canopus
in early periods. The vessels were made out of wood, pot-
tery, faience, cartonnage, or stone.
In the Middle Kingdom (2040–1640 B.C.E.), the
canopic jars were squat in design, with plain lids and
seals. By the time of the New Kingdom (1550–1070
B.C.E.), the stoppers had been designed to represent the
specific patrons of the dead, the sons of HORUSinvolved
in the protection of a specific human organ. The jar con-
taining the liver was under the protection of the god
IMSETY, and the stopper was carved into the shape of a
human head with a beard.
The jar protecting the lungs used HAPI (2) as a
patron, and the stopper on this vessel was shaped to rep-
resent the head of a baboon. The canopic jar containing
the embalmed stomach was protected by DUAMUTEF, and
his form was the JACKAL. The intestines, protected by
QEBEHSENNUF, had a stopper in the form of a hawk’s head.
The canopic jars were enclosed within elaborately
designed cabinets and kept separate from the mummified
corpse. Various protective deities were used to guard the
cabinet. In CANOPUS,OSIRISwas worshiped as well in the
form of a canopic jar. The use of jars declined in the
Twenty-first Dynasty (1070–945 B.C.E.), as the mummifi-
cation process was reformed and employed a method of
returning the viscera to the body.
See also MORTUARY RITUALS.
Canopus A site on the western coast of the Nile Delta,
near Abu Qir, on the Canopic branch of the river, now
silted over, the city was called Pe Gewat in early times
and was a cult center for the god OSIRIS. A temple was
maintained there, and Canopus was the center of Egypt’s
ointment industry. In time, the Greeks of the Ptolemaic
Period (304–30 B.C.E.) initiated shrines of the god SERAPIS
at Canopus. The name Canopus is derived from Osirian
cultic rites and Greek mythology. In his shrines, OSIRIS
was worshiped under the form of a human-headed vessel,
the CANOPIC JAR, named by the Greeks after their hero.
Canopus Decree Also called the “Table of Tanis,” a
trilingual text dating to March 7, 238 B.C.E., the decree
honored PTOLEMY III EUERGETES(r. 246–221 B.C.E.) and
his consort BERENICE(3). Two copies of the decree were
found in TANISin 1886, inscribed in Greek and in the
Egyptian language forms called demotic and hiero-
glyphic. The Canopus Decree aided modern scholars in
deciphering the ancient language.
Carchemish, Battle of The military confrontation
between NEBUCHADNEZZERof Babylon and NECHO II(r.
610–595 B.C.E.) of Egypt’s Twenty-sixth Dynasty. Car-
chemish, once located on the Euphrates River, near mod-
ern Jarblus, Syria, had been part of Egypt’s empire carved
out by the New Kingdom Period rulers (1550–1070
B.C.E.). Nebuchadnezzer assaulted the Egyptians as the
military commander of his father, Nabopolassar, king of
Babylon. He defeated Necho II’s forces and made Car-
chemish and the surrounding areas part of Babylon’s
holdings.Carmel, Mount In northwestern modern Israel, at
Haifa, called “Antelope Nose” by the Egyptians. Mount
Carmel divides the Plain of Esdraelon and Galilee from
the Plain of Sharon. The mountain covers 95 square miles
and rises about 1,791 feet at its highest peak. The Egyp-
tians revered Mount Carmel as a holy site, and TUTHMOSIS
III(r. 1479–1425 B.C.E.) led an army across the moun-
tain’s heights single file, to fall upon the ruler of Kadesh
and his allies at Ar-Megiddo, a fortress in the pass. The
Canaanites faced a formidable force of Egyptian archers
and the dreaded cavalry units and fled into Ar-Megiddo,
where they were surrounded by a siege wall and starved
into submission by Tuthmosis III. Ar-Megiddo is modern
Armageddon.
See also TUTHMOSIS III’S MILITARY CAMPAIGNS.carnelian A semiprecious stone mined in NUBIA(mod-
ern Sudan) and highly prized by the artisans of every age
in Egypt, carnelian was used in amulets, jewelry, and
insignias, and the Egyptians conducted military cam-
paigns to maintain access to the stone. Carnelian was also
a part of the extensive trade carried across Nubia.
See also EGYPTIAN NATURAL RESOURCES.cartonnage This was a unique form of funerary wrap-
pings composed of a combination of plaster, linen,
papyrus, and other pliable materials used for the manu-
facture of SARCOPHAGIand mummy masks, starting in the
First Intermediate Period (2134–2040 B.C.E.). Linen
sheets were glued together with gums or resins and cov-
ered with plaster in order to shape the masks to the con-
tours of the head and shoulders of the mummies. The
masks were then gilded and painted to provide a realistic
portrait of the deceased. By the end of the Middle King-
dom (1640 B.C.E.), however, the cartonnage was extended
to cover the entire mummified form.
See also COFFINS.cartouche The modern French word designating the
original Egyptian symbol called the shenu or shennu,
“that which encircles,” a cartouche is an ellipse found in
reliefs, paintings, sculpture, and papyri encircling
certain royal names of the ancient pharaohs, starting in
the Fourth Dynasty (2575–2465 B.C.E.). The form
evolved from the hieroglyph for ETERNITY, a circle called80 Canopus