marshy and quite diff erent in appearance from the Nile Valley.
Th ere are also many lakes and patches of low, salty ground.
Th ese landscape diff erences may be the reason that the ancient
Egyptians distinguished between the Two Lands. Th e area of
the delta creates a fertile triangle that is shaped like the Greek
letter delta. In ancient times there were fi ve major branches of
the Nile that fl owed into the Mediterranean Sea: the Dami-
etta, the Rosetta, the Canopic, the Sebennytic, and the Pelu-
siac. Now there are only two: the Damietta in the east and the
Rosetta in the west. It is possible that a rise in the ground level
of the eastern delta caused the other branches to dry up. De-
spite the fact that the delta contained many waterways, there
was not much available land more fertile than that in the Nile
Valley. Much of the area was marshy and too wet to farm, but it
did contain wildlife and fi sh. Many of the archaeological sites
located in the delta cannot be fully explored owing to the high
water table. It is thought that the delta played a fundamental
role in the earliest periods, especially in the religious sphere.
Unfortunately, the material evidence does not fully reveal the
area’s importance. Th e delta was an important region because
of its agricultural potency as well as its proximity to the Medi-
terranean Sea and to the Near East.
ANCIENT PROVINCES
Th e ancient Egyptians divided Egypt into nomes, or prov-
inces. Upper Egypt had 22 nomes, and Lower Egypt had 20,
equaling 42. Th e nomes in Lower Egypt developed much later
than those of Upper Egypt. Th e area occupied by the Faiyûm
and the western oases were not organized according to this
scheme. One way that the size of the individual nomes can
be reconstructed is through a list of their lengths along the
Nile recorded in the kiosk of King Sesostris I (r. ca. 1971–1926
b.c.e.) at Karnak. Each nome had a capital city and a nomarch
who ruled the nome. Some capitals changed over time, and
others are still uncertain. Each nome had its own symbol, and
standards were used in Upper Egypt to make such identifi -
cations. Over time new titles emerged, and certain localities
became known by such designations as the “ibis nome.”
An auxiliary region, called the Faiyûm, was located to the
west of the Nile Valley and south of Memphis. Th is area mea-
sured about 4,633 square miles and created a fertile depression
in the Libyan Desert. Th e Faiyûm was consistently inhabited,
and archaeological remains date back to around 8000 b.c.e.
Some of the remains date to as recently as the Christian Period
(641 c.e.). During the Paleolithic Period this depression con-
sisted of a salt lake, which eventually changed into Lake Mo-
eris (modern-day Birket Qārūn). Lake Moeris is linked to the
Nile by the Bahr Yusef Canal, which diverges westward north
of Asyūt. In Pharaonic times the water level was lowered, and
it was used to irrigate the surrounding land for agriculture. It is
thought that an area of 174 square miles was gained during the
reclamation projects of the Middle Kingdom. Th is area was in-
creased in Ptolemaic times (ca. 304–30 b.c.e.) to approximately
463 square miles and was used for agriculture. At this time the
Faiyûm was one of the most prosperous areas in Egypt.
OASES
Th e oases in the western desert running from north to
south are as follows: Siwa, Baharīya, Farafra, Dakhla, and
Khārga. Th ey were settled by the Egyptians, but in ancient
times this area was known as Libya. Siwa Oasis is located
about 348 miles west of Cairo and was fi rst settled in the
Twenty-Sixth Dynasty (ca. 664–525 b.c.e.). Th is site is fa-
mous for the oracle that was visited by Alexander the Great.
Th e Baharīya Oasis was another fertile depression, located
about 124 miles west of the Nile. Th is site was founded earli-
er than Siwa and contains remains from the New Kingdom.
Farafra Oasis is the smallest of the major Egyptian oases.
It is located about 186 miles west of modern Asyūt. So far
no Pharaonic archaeological remains have been discovered
there; however, the site is mentioned in Old Kingdom sourc-
es, and by the time of the New Kingdom it was known as a
Libyan settlement. Th e Dakhla Oasis is located even farther
south, about 186 miles west of Luxor. Th is site is of inter-
est because it has Old Kingdom settlement remains, which
testify to the expansive control the Egyptians held in the
Libyan Desert at this time. Khārga Oasis is the largest of
the major Egyptian oases. It is located only 108 miles west
of Luxor. Th e Pharaonic remains are scarce, but what is left
dates to the Ptolemaic period. Th ese oases were held only
in times of strong government. Th ey were valuable because
they produced grapes and dates, acted as caravan posts for
long journeys, and functioned as outposts for dealing with
the Libyans. Additionally, this area is where thieves fl ed to
escape the law and where exiles were banished. Some schol-
ars have called it the Egyptian Siberia.ALEXANDRIA, THE SINAI, AND THE NEAR EAST
Th e city of Alexandria, located at the western end of the Med-
iterranean coast of Egypt, was an important city in the Ptol-
emaic Period. It was founded by Alexander the Great and was
established on a less important ancient Egyptian town called
Rakote. Alexandria was a prosperous, cosmopolitan city that
replaced Memphis as the capital of Egypt. Th e coastal region
west of Alexandria is where the majority of the Libyan popu-
lation resided. Th is area was also home to a series of forts built
by Ramses II (r. ca. 1290–1224 b.c.e.) as far as 210 miles west
of Alexandria. Th e Ptolemies pushed all the way to Cyrenaica
(about another 400 miles west).
Th e Sinai, a peninsula lying between the Mediterranean
Sea and the Red Sea, was also important for the Egyptians.
Th e Wadi Maghara and Serabit el Khadim are two of the
main Egyptian sites in the Sinai. It was by way of three main
routes through the eastern desert that the Egyptians traveled
to the Red Sea and ultimately to the Sinai. Th ese routes also
gave access to various quarries located in the eastern desert.
Th e Egyptians would have had to cooperate with the local no-
madic populations in these regions. As far as is known, the
Egyptians navigated the Red Sea in order to trade with the
Sinai and Punt, whose exact location remains unknown.242 climate and geography: Egypt