Samannud ( ) is a city (''markaz'') located in

Gharbia Governorate Gharbia ( ', , "the western governorate") is one of the governorates of Egypt. It is located in the north of the country, south of Kafr El Sheikh Governorate, and north of Monufia Governorate. Its capital is Tanta, which is 90 km north of ...

, Egypt. Known in

classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

as Sebennytos (), Samannud is a historic city that has been inhabited since the

Ancient Egypt 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 E ...

ian period. As of 2019, the population of the ''markaz'' of Samannud was estimated to be 410,388, with 83,417 people living in urban areas and 326,971 in rural areas.

Etymology

The place known in , was historically called Sebennytos or Sebennytus. * , and , * Late and , * and or *

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

: ṯb-(n)-nṯr) The name Samannud ultimately derives from the

Ancient Egyptian 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 E ...

name ṯb-(n)-nṯr, meaning "city of the sacred calf". The name was probably pronounced * in Old Egyptian and * or * in Late Egyptian.

Ancient history

Samannud (Sebennytos) was an ancient city 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 ...

, located on the now-silted up Sebennytic branch of the Nile in the Delta. Sebennytos was the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

of Lower Egypt's twelfth

nome Nome may refer to: Country subdivision * Nome (Egypt), an administrative division within ancient Egypt * Nome (Greece), the administrative division immediately below the ''peripheries of Greece'' (, pl. ) Places United States * Nome, Alaska ...

—the Sebennyte nome (district). Sebennytos was also the seat of the

Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt The Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXX, alternatively 30th Dynasty or Dynasty 30) is usually classified as the fifth Dynasty of the Late Period of ancient Egypt. It was founded after the overthrow of Nepherites II in 380 BC by Nectan ...

(380–343 BCE). Sebennytos is perhaps best known as the hometown of

Manetho Manetho (; ''Manéthōn'', ''gen''.: Μανέθωνος, ''fl''. 290–260 BCE) was an Egyptian priest of the Ptolemaic Kingdom who lived in the early third century BCE, at the very beginning of the Hellenistic period. Little is certain about his ...

, a

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

and

chronicler A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, ...

from the Ptolemaic era, c. 3rd century BC. Sebennytos was also the hometown of Nectanebo II; he was its last ruler.Bill Manley, The Seventy Great Mysteries of Ancient Egypt"

Thames & Hudson Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...

Ltd, 2003. p.101 A

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

dedicated to the local god

Anhur In Ancient Egyptian mythology, Onuris (also known as Onouris, Anhur, Anhuret, Han-Her, Inhert) was a god of war who was worshipped in the Egyptian area of Abydos, and particularly in Thinis. Myths told that he had brought his wife, Mehit, who wa ...

, or Anhur- Shu, and his lioness goddess mate Mehit, once existed at this location but is now reduced to ruins. A fragment from the location where kings would have made offerings to Anhur and his wife, is on display at the

Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum is a public art museum located in the Mount Vernon, Baltimore, Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded and opened in 1934, it holds collections from the mid-19th century that were amassed substantially ...

Modern history

Samannud violently resisted the

Muslim conquest of Egypt The Arab conquest of Egypt, led by the army of Amr ibn al-As, took place between 639 and 642 AD and was overseen by the Rashidun Caliphate. It ended the seven-century-long Roman Egypt, Roman period in Egypt that had begun in 30 BC and, more broa ...

in 639, and remained rebellious for some time thereafter; the city revolted four times in the first half of the eighth century. Three Coptic Patriarchs came from Samannud: John III, Cosmas II, and John V. The 12th-century Coptic

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

Yuhanna al-Samannudi also came from Samannud, and served as its bishop. Samannud's bishopric remained active through the late thirteenth century, indicating the presence of a large Christian population at the time. In 1843,

John Gardner Wilkinson Sir John Gardner Wilkinson (5 October 1797 – 29 October 1875) was an English traveller, writer and pioneer egyptologist of the 19th century. He is often referred to as "the Father of British egyptology". Childhood and education Wilkinso ...

described it as a place of some size, with the usual

bazaars A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets that have doors ...

of the large towns of Egypt, and famous for its pottery, which was sent to Cairo. The 1885 Census of Egypt recorded Samannud as a city in its own district in

; at that time, the population of the city was 11,550 (5,686 men and 5,864 women).

Notable people

* Pope John III of Alexandria (7th century) * Pope Cosmas II of Alexandria (9th century) *

Pope Shenouda I of Alexandria Pope Shenouda I of Alexandria was the 55th Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark (859–880). He is commemorated in the Coptic '' Synaxarion'' on the 1st day of Baramudah. Prior to his election, he had been ''oikonomos' ...

(9th century) * Ahmed Abu Ismail (1915–2013), Minister of Finance * Mohamed Nagui (1947–2014), writer * Ahmed Mansour (born 1962), journalist

In religious traditions

In a Coptic tradition, Sebennytos was part of the route of the

Holy Family The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on,Ainsworth, 122 but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de La ...

during the

flight into Egypt The flight into Egypt is a story recounted in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 2:13–Matthew 2:23, 23) and in New Testament apocrypha. Soon after the Biblical Magi, visit by the Magi, an angel appeared to Saint Joseph, Joseph in a dream telling ...

narrated in the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah (Christ (title), Christ), Jesus, resurrection of Jesus, his res ...

( 2:13– 23).

Gallery

File:SamannudMuseum.jpg, Archeological findings from Sebennytos File:SamannudSalama.jpg, Sidi Salama minaret File:SamannudChurchHlVirgin.jpg, Church of the Holy Virgin and Apanoub File:SamannudMitwalli.jpg, Mitwally minaret File:SamannudGhoneim.jpg, Ghoneim Palace File:SamannudHammamOutside.jpg, Ibrahim Sirag el-Din Hammam File:SamannudAdawi.jpg, Qubba Darihiya

References

{{coord, 30, 58, N, 31, 15, E, display=title Populated places established in the 4th century BC Archaeological sites in Egypt Roman sites in Egypt Former populated places in Egypt Nile Delta Cities in ancient Egypt Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt Populated places in Gharbia Governorate Former capitals of Egypt