Leontopolis is the

Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...

name of a city that may correspond to either the modern area of Tell el Yehudiye or Tell el-Yahudiya ("the Jewish tell"). It was an ancient city of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

in the 13th nome of

Lower Egypt Lower Egypt ( ') 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, the Nile River split into sev ...

(the Heliopolite Nome) on the Pelusiac branch of the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

. This site is known for its distinctive pottery known as Tell el-Yahudiyeh Ware. The site was part of the

Land of Onias Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land surfac ...

, after Onias IV, who built a new Jewish temple at Leontopolis to rival the Maccabean hierarchy in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, and was home to a Jewish population.

Discovery

Linant identified the site in 1825, but Niebuhr had identified it earlier, in the late 18th century.

Earthwork enclosures

The site includes some massive rectangular earthwork enclosures of the late Middle Kingdom or Second Intermediate Period. They measure around 515m by 490m, and their purpose is probably defensive. These earthen walls were sloping and plastered on the outer face, and almost vertical on the inner face. Egyptian parallels for such a structure are lacking. This enclosure is often interpreted as a fortification built by the Hyksos; it is generally known as the "Hyksos Camp". There are also cemeteries from the Middle Kingdom and later.

Ramesses II Ramesses II (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses) (; , , ; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Pharaoh, Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of th ...

's temple and palace have also been excavated. Also, there was a palace of

Ramesses III Usermaatre Meryamun Ramesses III was the second Pharaoh of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt, Twentieth Dynasty in Ancient Egypt. Some scholars date his reign from 26 March 1186 to 15 April 1155 BC, and he is considered the last pharaoh of the New K ...

with some fine decorations.

Jewish temple

In the reign of Ptolemy VI Philometor (180–145 BC) a temple modelled after the

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Accord ...

was founded by an exiled High Priest of Israel often identified as Onias IV, (Josephus states that both Onias IV and Onias III built the temple at different points in his writing, and overall records a confused genealogy for the priests). The temple was founded on the site of a pagan temple dedicated to Bubastis-of-the-fields. The Hebrew colony, which was attracted by the establishment of their national worship at Leontopolis, and which was increased by the refugees from the oppressions of the Seleucid kings in

Judea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...

, flourished there for more than three centuries afterwards. In the aftermath of the First Jewish–Roman War, around 73 or 74 CE, Vespasian destroyed the Leontopilite temple, fearing another revolt. Josephus records in '' The Jewish War'' that the temple was a tower, made of large stones, 60 cubits high, surrounded by a wall of burnt brick with stone gates. He states that the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

was similar to Jerusalem's, but it had a single lamp of gold that hung from golden chain instead of a Temple menorah. In ''

Antiquities of the Jews ''Antiquities of the Jews'' (; , ''Ioudaikē archaiologia'') is a 20-volume historiographical work, written in Greek, by the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus in the 13th year of the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian, which was 94 CE. It cont ...

'', he states that the temple overall resembled the Jerusalem temple, which potentially indicates that the temple underwent renovations, initially resembling the Jerusalem temple more strongly and over time becoming a tower-like structure. It has been suggested that the temple allowed women to serve as priests due to a funerary inscription reading "Marin the priestess". Those who support this idea, or the idea that Marin had an official function in the temple that was distinct from the male priests, state that there is precedent in the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

for women performing cultic functions and that Egyptian and Greek women in Egypt took up an active priestess role, and that there was enough time for Jews associated with the Leontopolis Temple to have assimilated certain local practices by the time Marin lived. They think she could have played music, poured libations, or prepared sacrifices. It is also possible this inscription meant she was the daughter or wife of a male priest, as no other community allowed women to serve in such roles. Not enough evidence exists to make a definitive conclusion regarding any of these options. While Tell el-Yahudiya was part of the Land of Onias (the term being used on one of the epitaphs found there), it is not universally accepted as being Leontopolis, and therefore, the site of Oniad Temple. One problem is that Roman sources tell us that Leontopolis was 180 stadia (about 33 kilometers) away from Memphis, which is not the distance between Memphis and Tell el-Yahudiya (186 stadia, about ). Further, identification relies upon the fact that the site's name indicates Jewish presence and the presence of images of Bubastis (Bast) being found at the site, neither of which would be unique in the area. The area atop the mound is not sufficient to host a temple or a city as Josephus recorded. Several other common pieces of evidence are also of dubious quality.

Gallery

File:Tell el-Yehudiyeh Ware.JPG, Tell el-Yehudiyeh ware juglets. Rockefeller Museum File:Egypte louvre 120 asiatique.jpg, Head of an Asiatic prisoner, earthenware, fragment, Tell el-Yahoudiyeh (1184–1153 BCE), one of Ramesses III prisoner tiles File:Egypte louvre 121 ennemi.jpg, Faience decoration of an enemy. From the palace of Ramses III at Tell el-Yahudiya,

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

, one of Ramesses III prisoner tiles

Citations

References

* Manfred Bietak: Tell el-Yahudiya, in: Kathryn A. Bard (ed.): ''Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt'', London/New York 1999, 791–792. * John S. Holladay Jr.: Yahudiyya, Tell el-, in: D. B. Redford (ed.): ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt III'', Oxford 2001, 527–529. * Edouard Naville:
The mound of the Jew and the city of Onias
', London 1890. * Richard Talbert, Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World, (), p. 74. * : Tell el-Jahudija, in: ''Lexikon der Ägyptologie'' VI, 331–335.

External links

Archaeologic survey

Tell el-Yahudiya
at egyptsites.wordpress.com {{Authority control Archaeological sites in Egypt Hyksos cities in ancient Egypt Former populated places in Egypt Tells (archaeology)