Faiyum, the region of Egypt once named Ta-she, the Land of the Lakes, and used in some eras as an agricultural center, the Faiyum was also called Pa-yuum and Pa-yom and was settled in Paleolithic times when hunters and gatherers came down from the arid plateaus of the area, drawn by the abundant game and grasses.
A natural low extending along the western side of the Nile River, the Faiyum had different Predynastic cultures, including Faiyum A and B. These cultures date to c. 4500 B.C.E. The Bahr Yusef, an Arabic name significant "Joseph's River" (not a biblical reference but one honoring an Islamic hero), left the Nile at Assiut, becoming a alternative stream. The Bahr Yusef was allowed by natural forces to figure the Faiyum but was not left with a natural route of exit, thus inundating the area and transforming it into lush fields, gardens, and marshes. The site of Crocodilopolis was the capital for the district, also called Shedet, and attended as a cult center for the god Sobek. Located on Lake Qarun, called Me-Wer by the Egyptians, Crocodilopolis was as well a haven for aquatic life-forms. Crocodiles were long, and in some eras tourists were allowed to feed them.
The rulers of the Twelfth Dynasty (1991–1783 B.C.E.) began reconstruction of this area. Seeing the need for increased agricultural output, these pharaohs started a series of hydraulic systems to reclaim acres of land. Amenemhet I (1991–1962 B.C.E.) expanded and deepened the channels, getting water to various parts of the Faiyum and establishing a true reservoir. During the annual inundations of the Nile, regulators installed at el-Lahun controlled the Faiyum water levels. Every January the sluices at el-Lahun were closed to enable repairs to be made on bridges and walkways. Amenemhet III (1844–1797 B.C.E.) erected dikes and keeping walls, with sluices down and canals that regulated the flow of water. In the process he provided Egypt with vast tracts of arable lands, all of which strengthened the economic base of the nation. The Faiyum, modified with such regulators, thus attended as an pinch reservoir in periods of great floods.
One of the most beautiful regions in the Nile Valley, the Faiyum was reclaimed again and again as an agricultural site. In the Ptolemaic Time (304–30 B.C.E.) the rulers developed the region and made it a leading agricultural and population center. Olive production was encouraged as the Greek Ptolemaics deemed the Faiyum olive the tastiest of all. At various times the territory great over 4,000 square mils. Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–246 B.C.E.) renamed the nome containing the Faiyum Arsinoe, after his relation, Arsinoe.
Monuments in El-Faiyum:
Crocodilopolis
el-Lahun
el-Lisht
Hawara
Herakleopolis Magna
Meidum
Sidment el-Gebel
Seila
Tarkhan
A natural low extending along the western side of the Nile River, the Faiyum had different Predynastic cultures, including Faiyum A and B. These cultures date to c. 4500 B.C.E. The Bahr Yusef, an Arabic name significant "Joseph's River" (not a biblical reference but one honoring an Islamic hero), left the Nile at Assiut, becoming a alternative stream. The Bahr Yusef was allowed by natural forces to figure the Faiyum but was not left with a natural route of exit, thus inundating the area and transforming it into lush fields, gardens, and marshes. The site of Crocodilopolis was the capital for the district, also called Shedet, and attended as a cult center for the god Sobek. Located on Lake Qarun, called Me-Wer by the Egyptians, Crocodilopolis was as well a haven for aquatic life-forms. Crocodiles were long, and in some eras tourists were allowed to feed them.
The rulers of the Twelfth Dynasty (1991–1783 B.C.E.) began reconstruction of this area. Seeing the need for increased agricultural output, these pharaohs started a series of hydraulic systems to reclaim acres of land. Amenemhet I (1991–1962 B.C.E.) expanded and deepened the channels, getting water to various parts of the Faiyum and establishing a true reservoir. During the annual inundations of the Nile, regulators installed at el-Lahun controlled the Faiyum water levels. Every January the sluices at el-Lahun were closed to enable repairs to be made on bridges and walkways. Amenemhet III (1844–1797 B.C.E.) erected dikes and keeping walls, with sluices down and canals that regulated the flow of water. In the process he provided Egypt with vast tracts of arable lands, all of which strengthened the economic base of the nation. The Faiyum, modified with such regulators, thus attended as an pinch reservoir in periods of great floods.
One of the most beautiful regions in the Nile Valley, the Faiyum was reclaimed again and again as an agricultural site. In the Ptolemaic Time (304–30 B.C.E.) the rulers developed the region and made it a leading agricultural and population center. Olive production was encouraged as the Greek Ptolemaics deemed the Faiyum olive the tastiest of all. At various times the territory great over 4,000 square mils. Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–246 B.C.E.) renamed the nome containing the Faiyum Arsinoe, after his relation, Arsinoe.
Monuments in El-Faiyum:
Crocodilopolis
el-Lahun
el-Lisht
Hawara
Herakleopolis Magna
Meidum
Sidment el-Gebel
Seila
Tarkhan