An Oasis City / / Paola Davoli, Raffaella Cribiore, Nicola Aravecchia, Roger S. Bagnall, Olaf E. Kaper, Susanna McFadden.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter New York University Press Complete eBook-Package 2016
• VerfasserIn: Bagnall, Roger S.,; Aravecchia, Nicola,; Cribiore, Raffaella,; Kaper, Olaf E.,; McFadden, Susanna,
• MitwirkendeR: Aravecchia, Nicola,; Bagnall, Roger S.,; Cribiore, Raffaella,; Davoli, Paola,; Kaper, Olaf E. Kaper,; Kaper, Olaf E.,; McFadden, Susanna,
• Place / Publishing House: New York, NY : : New York University Press, , [2016]; ©2016
• Year of Publication: 2016
• Language: English
• Series: ISAW Monographs ; 6
• Physical Description: 1 online resource :; 16 black and white illustrations, 128 Illustrations, color

Scattered through the vast expanse of stone and sand that makes up Egypt’s Western Desert are several oases. These islands of green in the midst of the Sahara owe their existence to springs and wells drawing on ancient aquifers. In antiquity, as today, they supported agricultural communities, going back to Neolithic times but expanding greatly in the millennium from the Saite pharaohs to the Roman emperors. New technologies of irrigation and transportation made the oases integral parts of an imperial economy. Amheida, ancient Trimithis, was one of those oasis communities. Located in the western part of the Dakhla Oasis, it was an important regional center, reaching a peak in the Roman period before being abandoned. Over the past decade, excavations at this well-preserved site have revealed its urban layout and brought to light houses, streets, a bath, a school, and a church. The only standing brick pyramid of the Roman period in Egypt has been restored. Wall-paintings, temple reliefs, pottery, and texts all contribute to give a lively sense of its political, religious, economic, and cultural life. This book presents these aspects of the city’s existence and its close ties to the Nile valley, by way of long desert roads, in an accessible and richly illustrated fashion.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- FIGURES -- CONTRIBUTORS -- CHRONOLOGICAL CHART -- PREFACE -- INTRODUCTION -- 1. AMHEIDA IN ITS SURROUNDINGS -- 1.1. THE NATURAL LANDSCAPE AND ITS EVOLUTION -- 1.2. THE SACRED LANDSCAPE -- 1.3. THE ECONOMIC LANDSCAPE -- 2. AMEHIDA BEFORE THE ROMANS -- 2.1. EARLY REMAINS ON THE TEMPLE HILL -- 2.2. TEXTUAL AND DECORATIVE EVIDENCE FOR THE NEW KINGDOM AND THE THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD -- 2.3. THE TEMPLES OF THE LATE PERIOD -- 2.4. A SACRED NECROPOLIS -- 3. THE URBAN LANDSCAPE DURING THE ROMAN PERIOD -- 3.1. THE CITY PLAN OF ROMAN AND LATE ROMAN TRIMITHIS -- 3.2. THE BATHS OF TRIMITHIS -- 3.3. TWO HOUSES -- 4. EGYPTIAN RELIGION AT TRIMITHIS DURING THE ROMAN PERIOD -- 4.1. THE TEMPLE -- 4.2. FUNERARY LIFE: THE PYRAMIDS -- 4.3. ONOMASTICS -- 5. CHRISTIANITY AT TRIMITHIS AND IN THE DAKHLA OASIS -- 5.1. THE CHURCH OF TRIMITHIS -- 5.2. OTHER EVIDENCE OF CHRISTIANITY AT AMHEIDA -- 5.3. OTHER CHURCHES IN DAKHLA: KELLIS,'AIN EL-GEDI-DA, DEIR ABU MATTA, DEIR EL-MOLOUK,'AIN ES-SABIL -- 6. ECONOMY AND SOCIETY IN THE ROMAN OASIS -- 6.1. THE OASIS ECONOMY -- 6.2. A RURAL SETTLEMENT IN THE OASIS SYSTEM -- 6.3. GOVERNMENT AND MILITARY -- 6.4. OASIS SOCIETY -- 7. TRIMITHIS IN THE CULTURE OF THE EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE -- 7.1. LITERARY CULTURE AND EDUCATION IN THE DAKHLA OASIS -- 7.2. AHMEIDA'S WALL PAINTINGS -- 7.3. THE EVIDENCE OF GREEK NAMES -- ABBREVIATIONS -- BIBLIOGRAPHY -- INDEX