The Birthplace of Amenhotep III

Tür:

Kitap Bölümü

Yayın yılı:

2012

Yayıncı:

Cambridge University Press

The Faiyum oasis, the once-idyllic birthplace of Amenhotep III, lies southwest of ancient Memphis in the Libyan desert (Map 1). At 40 miles wide, it is Egypt's second broadest stretch of arable land after the Nile Delta. On its northern edge, 150 feet below sea level, is its largest feature – the shrunken, brackish inland sea called Lake Qarun (Horn). In the past, connecting streams and canals made Qarun a catch basin for the Nile's annual floodwaters when they were especially high. Herodotus wrote that the lake (called “Moeris” in his day) was actually man-made, which, considering what we shall see of Amenhotep III's projects, is not entirely impossible, and that water flowed into it from the Nile six months of the year but reversed itself the other six months.

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