Hypselis or Hypsela (; ), known to the

ancient Egyptians Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower ...

as Shashotep, is an ancient Egyptian city and

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

, which was located near the modern town of Shutb (or ash-Shatb, Chutb) in the

Asyut Governorate Asyūṭ () is one of the 27 governorates of Egypt. It stretches across a section of the Nile River. The capital of the governorate is the city of Asyut. Etymology The name of Asyut is derived from early Egyptian ''Zawty'' (''Z3JW.TJ''), late E ...

History

Antiquity

''Shashotep'' is first mentioned in texts dating back to the

First Intermediate Period The First Intermediate Period, described as a 'dark period' in ancient Egyptian history, spanned approximately 125 years, c. 2181–2055 BC, after the end of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom. It comprises the seventh Dynasty, Seventh (altho ...

. During the subsequent Middle Kingdom it was the main town of the 11th Upper Egyptian nome. The main deity of ancient Shashotep was

Khnum Khnum, also romanised Khnemu (; , ), was one of the earliest-known Egyptian deities in Upper Egypt, originally associated with the Nile cataract. He held the responsibility of regulating the annual inundation of the river, emanating from the ca ...

, who was sometimes called "Lord of Shashotep". The cemeteries near the modern place Rifeh, once belonged to the town. Later, the city became known by the Greeks as ''Hypselis''.

Titular see

During Roman time, and before fading into the desert, the city became one of the suffragan sees of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Antinoë, capital of the province of Thebais Prima. The diocese was nominally restored in 1933 as Latin

Titular bishopric 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 archbish ...

by the names of ''Hypselis'' / ''Ipseli''. It is vacant since 1997, following the death of its last bishop, Jesús Serrano Pastor.GCatholic
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References

Catholic titular sees in Africa Cities in ancient Egypt Former populated places in Egypt Suppressed Roman Catholic dioceses {{AncientEgypt-stub

History

Antiquity

Titular see

See also

References