Akhmim “Panopolis” in the Graeco-Roman Period: A Historical, Archaeological Study and Local Touristic Development

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, University of Sadat City

Abstract

Akhmim or Greek Panopolis is situated about 450 Kilometers south of Cairo on the east bank of the Nile. It is a city in the Souhag governorate.  Aahmim or ancient Chemmis is located 40 miles northeast of the city of Souhag.  Ahkmim has a long history dating back to the Pre-dynastic Period.   It continued in the ancient Egyptian, Graeco-Roman, Coptic and Arabic Periods.  It was the capital of the Ninth Nome of Upper Egypt. King Ay of the Eighteenth Dynasty and the Greek poet Nonnus were born in Akhmim. The Greek geographer Strabo mentioned that there was a linen weaving industry in Akhmim. The most important historical sites in this city are the Necropolis of El-Hawawish,, El-Salamuni cemetery, the grotto of Pan, and a temple dedicated to Min and Amun-Ra. 

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