Ніл өзеніндегі Elephantine аралының тарихы мен қазбалары

Island in the Nile

Elephantine (,/ɛ//l//ɪ//f//æ//n/'/t//aɪ//n//iː//, // /'/t//iː// / ELifanTYnee, TEE ; ; ; Ἐλεφαντίνη Elephantíne; , ) is an island on the Nile, forming part of the city of Aswan in Upper Egypt. The archaeological digs on the island became a World Heritage Site in 1979, along with other examples of Upper Egyptian architecture, as part of the "Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae" (despite Elephantine being neither Nubian, nor between Abu Simbel and Philae). The island has been studied through excavation sites. Aramaic papyri and ostraca have been collected to study what life was life on Elephantine during the time of Ancient Egypt. There have been studies about the Elephantine Triad and the Jewish presence that formulated on the island. The standard reference collection of the Aramaic documents of the Elephantine Papyri and Ostraca is the Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt.

Elephantine, or what Ancient Egyptians called Yebu or Abu is located at the uppermost part of the Nile river that is a part of Aswan. With a length of one mile and width of one third of that, Elephantine had the first nome of the northern part of Egypt. The layout of this and other nearby islands in Aswan can be seen from west bank hillsides along the Nile. The island is located just downstream of the First Cataract, at the southern border of Upper Egypt with Lower Nubia. This region above is referred to as Upper Egypt because it is further up the Nile.

Known to the ancient Egyptians as ꜣbw "Elephant" (Middle Egyptian: → Medio Late Egyptian: → Coptic: (Ⲉ)ⲓⲏⲃ , preserved in its Hebrew name, יֵב Yēv), the island of Elephantine stood at the border between Egypt and Nubia. Trade routes would stop on Elephantine to deliver ivory, a precious good in Ancient Egypt. Historical texts from the Middle Kingdom of Egypt mention the mother of Amenemhat I, founder of the Twelfth Dynasty, being from the Elephantine Egyptian nome Ta Seti. Many scholars have argued that Amenemhat I's mother was of Nubian origin.

Between 1893 and 1910, Aramaic papyri had been found and collected on Elephantine, consisting of Jewish achieves. There has been a large presence of German excavation with a vast amount of discoveries or papyri and ostraca. The documents have led to discoveries about Jewish presence and significance in Elephantine. French teams also set out to Elephantine where they discovered several hundred ostraca but very few have been published thus far. Ongoing excavations by the German Archaeological Institute at the town have uncovered many findings, on display in the Aswan Museum located on the island, including a mummified ram of Khnum. Artifacts dating back to prehistoric Egypt have been found on Elephantine. A rare calendar, known as the Elephantine Calendar of Things, which dates to the reign of Thutmose III during the Eighteenth Dynasty, was found in fragments on the island. In ancient times the island was also an important stone quarry, providing granite for monuments and buildings all over Egypt.

Prior to 1822, there were temples to Thutmose III and Amenhotep III on the island. In 1822, they were destroyed during the campaign of Muhammad Ali, who had taken power in Egypt, to conquer Sudan. Both temples were relatively intact prior to the deliberate demolition. The main two temples of the island were for the Goddess Satet and the God Khnum.

The Elephantine Triad is between Khnum, Satis, and Anuket, it is debated if Anuket is the daughter of the two or the sister of Satis. Elephantine was the dwelling place of Khnum, the ram headed god of the cataracts, who guarded and controlled the waters of the Nile from caves beneath the island. These papyri document the presence of a community of Judean mercenaries and their families on Elephantine, starting in the seventh century BCE. The mercenaries guarded the frontier between Egypt and Nubia to the south. Following the 587 BCE destruction of Jerusalem, some Judean refugees traveled south and, in what may be called an “exodus in reverse,” settled on Elephantine. They maintained their own temple (the House of Yahweh), in which sacrifices were offered, evincing polytheistic beliefs, which functioned alongside that of Khnum. It is not clear when or why the Jewish community settled in Elephantine. The earliest recount of the Jewish temple is from 525 BC. In 410 BC, the Jewish temple, the House of Yahweh, was burned down by a Persian military commander due to bribery from Khnum priests.

The Aswan Museum is located at the southern end of the island. Ongoing excavations by the German Archaeological Institute at the island's ancient town site have uncovered many findings that are now on display in the museum, including a mummified ram of Khnum. A sizable population of Nubians live in three villages in the island's middle section. A large luxury hotel is at the island's northern end. The Aswan Botanical Garden is adjacent to the west on el Nabatat Island.