''Augustamnica'' (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

) or ''Augoustamnike'' (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

) was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

created during the 5th century and was part of the

Diocese of Oriens The Diocese of the East ( la, Dioecesis Orientis; el, ) was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, incorporating the provinces of the western Middle East, between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia. During late Antiquity, it was one of the majo ...

first and then of the Diocese of Egypt, until the

Muslim conquest of Egypt The Muslim conquest of Egypt, led by the army of 'Amr ibn al-'As, took place between 639 and 646 AD and was overseen by the Rashidun Caliphate. It ended the seven-century-long period of Roman reign over Egypt that began in 30 BC. Byzantine ru ...

in the 640s. Some ancient episcopal sees of the province are included in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

's list of

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

Augustamnica

The province was instituted in tetrarchic times under the name of ''Aegyptus Herculia'' (for Diocletian's colleague

Maximian Maximian ( la, Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus; c. 250 – c. July 310), nicknamed ''Herculius'', was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was '' Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his ...

), with ancient

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

as capital (315-325), but later re-merged in Aegyptus. In 341 the province was reconstituted, but the name was changed into ''Augustamnica'' to remove pagan connotations. It consisted of the Eastern part of the

Nile delta The Nile Delta ( ar, دلتا النيل, or simply , is the delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to ...

and the ancient ''

Heptanomia Middle Egypt () is the section of land between Lower Egypt (the Nile Delta) and Upper Egypt, stretching upstream from Asyut in the south to Memphis, Egypt, Memphis in the north. At the time, Ancient Egypt was divided into Lower and Upper Egypt, ...

'', and belonged to the

.Keenan, p. 613. Dioecesis Aegypti 400 AD

Augustamnica was the only Egyptian province under a

corrector A corrector (English plural ''correctors'', Latin plural ''correctores'') is a person or object practicing correction, usually by removing or rectifying errors. The word is originally a Roman title, ''corrector'', derived from the Latin verb '' ...

, a lower ranking governor. Around 381 the provinces of Egypt become a diocese in their own, and so Augustamnica become part of the Diocese of Egypt. Between 386 and the end of the 4th century the new province of

Arcadia Aegypti Arcadia or Arcadia Aegypti was a Late Roman province in northern Egypt. It was named for one of the reigning ''Augusti'' of the Roman Empire, Arcadius () of the Theodosian dynasty when it was created in the late 4th century. Its capital was Oxy ...

, named after Emperor

Arcadius Arcadius ( grc-gre, Ἀρκάδιος ; 377 – 1 May 408) was Roman emperor from 383 to 408. He was the eldest son of the ''Augustus'' Theodosius I () and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and the brother of Honorius (). Arcadius ruled the ...

, was created with territory from Augustamnica, the ''Heptanomia''; Augustamnica's capital was moved to

Pelusium Pelusium ( Ancient Egyptian: ; cop, /, romanized: , or , romanized: ; grc, Πηλουσιον, Pēlousion; la, Pēlūsium; Arabic: ; Egyptian Arabic: ) was an important city in the eastern extremes of Egypt's Nile Delta, 30 km to ...

. From the military point of view, the province was under the ''Comes limitis Aegypti''. According to the ''

Notitia dignitatum The ''Notitia Dignitatum'' (Latin for "The List of Offices") is a document of the late Roman Empire that details the administrative organization of the Western and the Eastern Roman Empire. It is unique as one of very few surviving documents o ...

'', the province hosted several military units: *''Ala secunda Ulpia Afrorum'' at Thaubasteos *''Ala secunda Aegyptiorum'' at Tacasiria, *''Cohors prima sagittariorum'' at Naithu *''Cohors prima Augusta Pannoniorum'' at Tohu, *''Cohors prima Epireorum'' at Castra Iudaeorum *''Cohors quarta Iuthungorum'' at Affroditus * ''Cohors secunda Ituraeorum'' at Aiy *''Cohors secunda Thracum'' at Muson *''Cohors quarta Numidarum'' at Narmunthi

Augustamnica I and II

Before 539, Augustamnica was divided into two provinces: ''Augustamnica Prima'' (First - North) and ''Augustamnica Secunda'' (Second - South). Augustamnica Prima had

as ''metropolis'' (administrative centre) and was under a ''

'', who governed the following cities:

, Setroithes (or Sethroitis), Tanis,

Thmuis Thmuis (; Greek: ; ar, Tell El-Timai) was a city in Lower Egypt, located on the canal east of the Nile, between its Tanitic and Mendesian branches. Its ruins are near the modern city of Timayy al-Imdid. History During the Ptolemaic period, ...

, Rhinocorura,

Ostracine Ostracine ( grc-gre, Οστρακινη, ''Ostrakinē'') was an ancient city in the Roman province of Augustamnica Prima. It also served as a Latin Catholic bishopric, a suffragan of Pelusium, the metropolitan see of the province. History Plin ...

(or Ostracina), Pentaschoinon,

Casium Casius or Casium ( grc-gre, Κασιον, ''Kasion'') was a residential episcopal see in the Roman province of Augustamnica Prima in Lower Egypt, and is now a titular see of the Catholic Church.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Va ...

, Aphnaion,

Hephaestus Hephaestus (; eight spellings; grc-gre, Ἥφαιστος, Hḗphaistos) is the Greek god of blacksmiths, metalworking, carpenters, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metallurgy, fire (compare, however, with Hestia), and volcanoes.Walter B ...

, Panephysis, the Tents outside Gerra, the Tents inside Gerra,

Thennesus Thennesus was a town in the Roman province of Augustamnica Prima. It was on the Tanitic branch of the Nile. It is today called Tell-Tenis, Tell-Tannis or Qôm-Tannis, at the extremity of an island in Lake Menzaleh, near the Suez Canal. There are ...

, Panephusis.Georgius Cyprius, 685-700; Hierocles, Synecdemos 726:3-727:6. Leontopolis was the capital of Augustamnica Secunda.

Episcopal sees

Ancient episcopal sees of Augustamnica I listed in the ''

Annuario Pontificio The ''Annuario Pontificio'' ( Italian for ''Pontifical Yearbook'') is the annual directory of the Holy See of the Catholic Church. It lists the popes in chronological order and all officials of the Holy See's departments. It also provides name ...

'' as

s:''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), "Sedi titolari", pp. 819-1013 Ancient episcopal sees of Augustamnica II listed in the ''

'' as

Notes

References

* {{Late Roman Provinces, state=collapsed Byzantine Egypt Late Roman provinces Roman Egypt