Thmuis (;

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 ...

: ; ar, Tell El-Timai) was a city in

Lower Egypt Lower Egypt ( ar, مصر السفلى '; ) is the northernmost region of Egypt, which consists of the fertile Nile Delta between Upper Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, from El Aiyat, south of modern-day Cairo, and Dahshur. Historically, ...

, located on the canal east of the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest riv ...

, between its Tanitic and Mendesian branches. Its ruins are near the modern city of

Timayy al-Imdid Timay al-Imdid ( ar, تمي الإمديد ', cop, ⲑⲙⲟⲩⲓ ⲡϭⲓⲙⲉⲛⲧⲏϯ ' ''pčhimentēti''), the ancient Thmuis and Mendes, is a city and markaz in Dakahlia Governorate of Egypt. The estimated population of the markaz in 201 ...

History

During the Ptolemaic period, Thmuis succeeded

Djedet Mendes ( grc-gre, Μένδης, ''gen''.: ), the Greek name of the ancient Egyptian city of Djedet, also known in ancient Egypt as Per-Banebdjedet ("The Domain of the Ram Lord of Djedet") and Anpet, is known today as Tell El-Ruba ( ar, تل ا ...

as the capital of

's 16th nome of Kha (

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria (Italy). He is known fo ...

(II, 166)). The two cities are only several hundred meters apart.

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

also states that the city was the capital of the

Mendesian nome Mendes ( grc-gre, Μένδης, '' gen''.: ), the Greek name of the ancient Egyptian city of Djedet, also known in ancient Egypt as Per-Banebdjedet ("The Domain of the Ram Lord of Djedet") and Anpet, is known today as Tell El-Ruba ( ar, تل ا ...

. From the Ptolemaic-Roman period are preserved the foundations of a temple. Thmuis was an

episcopal see An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...

in the

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 of Augustamnica Prima, suffragan of

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 ...

. Today it is part of the Coptic Holy Metropolitanate of

Beheira Beheira Governorate ( ar, محافظة البحيرة ', , "the governorate of the Lake") is a coastal governorate in Egypt. Located in the northern part of the country in the Nile Delta, its capital is Damanhur. Overview Beheira Governorate en ...

(Thmuis & Hermopolis Parva), Mariout (Mariotis), Marsa Matruh ( Antiphrae & Paractorium),

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

(Livis) and

Pentapolis A pentapolis (from Greek ''penta-'', 'five' and ''polis'', 'city') is a geographic and/or institutional grouping of five cities. Cities in the ancient world probably formed such groups for political, commercial and military reasons, as happene ...

(

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή ��παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...

). In the fourth century it was still an important

city, having its own administration and being exempt from the jurisdiction of the

Prefect of Alexandria ''Praefectus'', often with a further qualification, was the formal title of many, fairly low to high-ranking, military or civil officials in the Roman Empire, whose authority was not embodied in their person (as it was with elected Magistrates) but ...

. It was in existence at the time of the Muslim invasion of Egypt in 642 AD, and was later called Al-Mourad or "Al-Mouradeh"; it must have disappeared after the Ottoman conquest of Egypt. Its ruins are at Tell El-Timai, about five miles north-west of Sinbellawein, a station on the railway from Zagazig to Mansourah in the central Delta.

Bishopric

Le Quien Michel Le Quien (8 October 1661, Boulogne-sur-Mer – 12 March 1733, Paris) was a French historian and theologian. He studied at Plessis College, Paris, and at twenty entered the Dominican convent in Faubourg Saint-Germain, where he made his p ...

(''Oriens christianus'', II, 537) names nine bishops of Thmuis, the last three being

Monophysites Monophysitism ( or ) or monophysism () is a Christological term derived from the Greek (, "alone, solitary") and (, a word that has many meanings but in this context means "nature"). It is defined as "a doctrine that in the person of the incar ...

of the Middle Ages. The others are: * Ammonius, Bishop of Thmuis, deposed by Heraclas of Alexandria (d. 247) Photius, P.G., CIV, 1229. *

Phileas of Thmuis Saints Phileas and Philoromus (died ) were two Egyptian martyrs under the Emperor Diocletian. Phileas was Bishop of Thmuis and Philoromus was a senior imperial officer. Monks of Ramsgate account The monks of St Augustine's Abbey, Ramsgate wrote ...

, d. 306 (in the

Martyrology A martyrology is a catalogue or list of martyrs and other saints and beati arranged in the calendar order of their anniversaries or feasts. Local martyrologies record exclusively the custom of a particular Church. Local lists were enriched by n ...

, 4 February), martyr and saint * Saint Donatus, his successor,

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

* Liberius (not Caius), at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 * Saint Serapion of Thmuis, died shortly before 360, the author of various works, in part preserved, a friend of

St. Athanasius Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲡⲓⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲓⲕⲟⲥ or Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲁ̅; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...

* Ptolemæus at the Council of Seleucia (359) *Aristobulus, at the

First Council of Ephesus The Council of Ephesus was a council of Christian bishops convened in Ephesus (near present-day Selçuk in Turkey) in AD 431 by the Roman Emperors, Roman Emperor Theodosius II. This third ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus deci ...

(431).

References

Sources

* *Baines & Malek "Cultural Atlas of Ancient Egypt", 2000. *M.I. Bakr & H. Brandl, "Various Sites in the Eastern Nile Delta: Thmuis", in: M.I. Bakr and H. Brandl, with F. Kalloniatis (eds.), Egyptian Antiquities from the Eastern Nile Delta. Museums in the Nile Delta, vol. 2. Cairo/Berlin 2014, pp. 79, 294-301. . {{Authority control Ptolemaic colonies Roman sites in Egypt Catholic titular sees in Africa Former populated places in Egypt Nile Delta Tells (archaeology)

History

Bishopric

See also

References

Sources