Herakleopolis Magna

Heracleopolis Magna

Herakleopolis Magna, a site south of Meidum at the entrance to the Faiyum, now Ihnasiyah el-Medineh, originally called Nen-nesut, Nenen-nesut, or Ninsu by the Egyptians, Herakleopolis was the capital of the twentieth nome of Upper Egypt and the cult center for Harsaphes (Her-shef). 

Herakleopolis dominion has been named that figure in telling to the Greek idol hero "Herakles" who Greeks paired with the main region idol "Hershef" or "Hersphes" which represents the head of a drive. Most of the region is located on the island between the Nile and Bahr Youssef, and bounded on the north by  Arsinoite dominion, and Oxyrhynchites from the south and  it  match  Herakleopolis  region  with  current  Beni  Suef province, and even beyond. This region has a great grandness since  prehistoric  times;  through  private  historic  ages  when  it became  the  capital  Herakleopolis  Magna  "Ehnasya"  is  the political capital of the country in the "Ehnasya age" during the epoch of the two families ninth and tenth, and continued until the Graeco-Romans time.

Ruined columns at
Herakleopolis Magna

The  place  was  occupied  as  early  as  the  1st Dynasty (2920–2770 B.C.E.) but rose to prominence in the First  Intermediate  Period  (2134–2040  B.C.E.).  The  name Herakleopolis Magna was added upon the site by the swayer of the Ptolemaic Period (304–30 B.C.E.). In the First Intermediate  Period,  Herakleopolis  was  the  home  of  the Khety (Aktoy)  clan.  During  the  Khety  period  of  rule (2134–2040  B.C.E.),  a  canal  linked  Herakleopolis  Magna to  Memphis.  Montuhotep  II  rounded  the  site  in  2040 B.C.E. when he started his campaign to reunify Egypt.

Harsaphes's temple,  a  ram-headed  deity,  was restored  at  Herakleopolis  Magna  by  Ramses II (1290–1224 B.C.E.). A granite triad of Ramses II, Ptah, and Harsaphes was also erected in Herakleopolis Magna. An  Old  Kingdom  (2575–2134  B.C.E.)  enshrine  and  a necropolis, Gebel El-Sidmant, are on the site.