Upper Egypt

Note: This is a list over the ancient Egyptian administrative provinces, which in Greek were called 'Nome', and in the ancient tongue 'Sepat'.

City names in bold signifies sepat capital. Of course this is not a complete list of the cities and towns of ancient Egypt, there are many yet which could be added.

The column stating "Deity on the White Chapel" merits a comment. The White Chapel is a bark shrine, built by Senwosret I and which is reknown for its exquisite reliefs. It stands renovated in the Open Air Museum at Karnak. Along its bottom runs a frieze depicting all the Sepat deities and ensigns from that time period (1971 - 1926 b.c.). Many of these deties are not found anywhere else than here. However, a great many of the entries are missing from the Lower Egypt part of the register.

Exact borders of the sepats is an issue for discussion, sources differ and borders as well as capitals shifted throughout time, often because the course of the water of the Nile changed. However, probably already in the beginning of the Dynastic times, there were sepats whose boundaries are mostly the same as in later times. These were probably fewer in number and attached to religious centra such as Abydos, Elephantine, Edfu, Naqada.

For most of Egyptian history, at least the dynastic period, there were 22 sepats, or provinces, in Upper Egypt, but Lower Egypt was not divided into 20 sepats until the Late Period. Their purpose was to support administration of the country.

Each one of these sepats had their own ensign, which was carried on a standard in processions and the like. On temples in ancient Egypt these sepats were shown in relief running along the bottom of walls, as androgynous deities, with the ensign on top of their heads. They were depicted carrying offerings of various kind into the temple, showing the gifts their areas could produce for the benefit of the temple and the gods therein. The sepats of Upper Egypt was normally shown on the southern temple walls while the Lower Egypt sepats were depicted on the northern walls.

With this as a background, it might be interesting to note that when you check different sources for sepat deities, both textual and temple inscriptions, you will encounter varying info, where it is not outright missing for some reason. This should not come as a surprize, as even in a society as steeped in tradition as ancient Egypt, still changes were bound to happen over its long history. However, the sepat deities were often superceded by other, more widely reknown deities (sometimes they were identical). Sometimes, as in the case of Amun at Waset, a sepat or local deity rose to nationwide prominence.

Sepat Title & Ensign	Ancient Egyptian	Greek name Modern name	Deities, archaeological remains etc.	Deity on the White Chapel.
1: Ta-Sety	P'aaleq	Philae Philae	Temples & chapels to Isis, Hathor, Arensnuphis, Mandulis, Imhotep, Osiris (Bigeh)	Horus
	Abu	Elephantine Elephantine	Temples to Khnum, Satet, Anuket. Chapel to governor Hekayib, Nilometer.
	Swenet	Syene Assuan	Ptolemaic temple to Isis Granite quarries. Rock-cut tombs from OK to NK. , unfinished obelisk.
	Pa-Sebek	Ombos Kom Ombo	Joint temple of Sobek and Horus the Elder, chapel of Hathor.
2: Throne of Horus	Djeba	Apollinopolis- Magna Edfu	Temple to Horus of Behedet, chapels to various other deities. Town site of most periods, tombs from Old to New Kingdom.	Horus of Behdet
3: Shrine	Nekhen	Hierakonpolis Kom el-Ahmar	Deity:Horus of Nekhen, Khnum, Neith Temple & town remains from all periods. Pre-dynastic settlements and cemeteries.	Nekhbet, Horus of Nekhen, Wenu
	Nekheb	Eileithyiaspolis el-Kab	Temple of Nekhbet, temples of Hathor, Khnum, Menhyt, Seshemet. Rock-cut 18-dyn. tombs.
	Iunyt/Ta-Senet	Latopolis Esna	Greco-Roman temple of Khnum. Cemeteries from MK onwards.
4: Sceptre	Per-Hathor/Inerty	Aphroditopolis/Pathyris Gebelein	Deities: Montu, Amun, Mut, Khonsu, Buchis, Sobek of Sumenu.Temple of Hathor tombs of 1st Intermediate.	Montu
	Djerty	Tuphium Tod	Temple of Montu from 4th Dyn. onwards.
	Iuny	Hermonthis Armant	Temple of Montu, 11th Dyn. and later. Bull cemetery.
	Waset	Thebes/Diospolis-Magna Karnak, Luxor, West Bank	Temple complex to Amun, Mut, Montu, Khonsu & various other deities. Royal Mortuary temples, Ramesseum, Memnon colossi, rock-cut royal and private tombs, temple of Hatshepsut.
5: Two Falcons	Nubt/Nebyet	Ombos Tukh	Deities: Min of Gebtu, Set of Nebyet. Predynastic and early dynastic cemeteries, mastaba tombs, pyramid of Tukh.	Min of Gebtu
	Gesy	Apollinopolis-Parva Qus	Remains of Ptolemaic temple of Haroeris (Horus the Elder) and Heket. Early cemeteries.
	Gebtu	Koptos Qift	Remains of temple of Min from MK, small Greco-roman temple to Isis and Min at el-Qal'a. Predyn. cemeteries (Naqada), Greek & Roman remains.
6:Crocodile	Iunet	Tentyris Dendera	Temple of Hathor, small temple of probably Horus of Edfu, necropolis & animal burials.	Hathor of Iunet, Iq
7: Sistrum	Hut-Sekhem	Diospolis-Parwa Hiw	Deity: Bat. Cemeteries of all periods, animal necropolis, Greco-Roman temples.	Bat
8: Great Land	Abedjou	Abydos el-Araba, el Madfuna	Deities: Khent-Amentiu, , Onuris, Wesir. Seti I´s temple with chapels to Ptah, Ra-Horakhte, Amun-Re, Wesir, Aset, Heru, Nefertem-Sokar. The King-list of Abedjou. The Osireion. Temple of Ramesses II. Cenotaphs. Pre- & Early Dynastic tombs & remains of settlement.	Khentamentiu
	Tjeny	Thinis Girga(?)	Mythical location of ancient capital
9: Min	Khent-Min	Khemmis Panopolis Akhmim	Rock chapel of Min, remians of Greco-Roman temples of Min & Repyt. Rock-cut tombs ov various periods.	Min
	Hut-Repyt	Athribis Waninna	Rock-cut tombs MK period. Ptolemaic temples & tombs.
10: Cobra	Tjebu/Djew-qa	Antaeopolis Qaw el-Kebir	Deites: Set of Tjebu, Mihos, Nemtywy. 12th Dyn. tombs.	Bau ( Seru?)
11: Set	Shashotep	Apotheke Shubt	Deity: Set. Smallest sepat, west bank around Deir Rifa.	Horus, Seth
12: Viper Mount	Per-Nemty	Hierakon el-Atawla	Deity: Nemty (hawkgod). Tombs of 6th Dyn. nomarchs.	Matyt
13: Upper Sycamore and Viper	Zawty	Lykopolis Asyut	Deity: Wepwawet, Anubis. Tombs of 1st Intermediate and MK.	Wepwawet
14: Lower Sycamore and Viper	Qis	Cusae el-Qusiya	Deity: Hathor	name lost , maybe Hathor
15: Hare	Khmun	Hermopolis-Magna el-Ashmunein	Deities: Djehuti of Hermopolis, the Ogdoad, Aten.	Aha (early name for Bes), Wenut
	Akhet-Aten	el-Amarna	Deity: The Aten. Remains of Akhet-Aten, royal tomb, rock-cut tombs.
16: Oryx	Hebenu	Jom-al-Ahmar(?)	Deities: Pakhet, Khnum. Remains of a 3rd Dyn. pyramid.	Horus of Hebenu
17: Jackal	Hardai(?)	-	Deity: Anubis. Temple known only from ancient text references, not located.	Yinepu (Anubis) of Henu
18:	Teudjoi	Ankyrononpolis el-Hiba	Deity: Nemty (former Anti),(hawkgod). Temple to Amun	Nemty
	Hutnesut	Sharuna	Temple of Horus-Dunanwy?. Ptolemaic blocks
19: Two Sceptres	Per-Medjed	Oxyrhynchus el-Bahnasa	Deities: Set, cult of the Mormyrus fish. Greco-Roman town, source of thousands of Greek Papyrii.	Igay
20: Upper Laurels (Southern Sycamore)	Henen-nesut	Herakleopolis-Magna Ihnasya el-Medina	Temple of Heryshef, 12th Dyn & later. Tomb of Ramesses II at Kom-el-Aqarib Tombs from 1st intermediate to Greco-Roman period at Sidmant el-Gebel.
21: Lower Laurels (Northern Sycamore)	Shedyet, She-resy Mer-wer	Greek Crocodilopolis, Arsinoe, modern Medinet al Fayum	Horus, Neper. Renenutet. Cult centre of Sobek. Nilometer	Khnum
	Shenakhen/Semenuhor?	Greek Akanthon, modern Kafr Ammar	Text signs of cult of Khnum at Shenakhen, Osiris at Semenuhor. 3 Dyn. pyramids.
22: The Knife	Itj-Tawy, Tepihu	Aphroditopolis Atfih	Deity: Hathor, Sobek of the Southern Lake. The White Chapel has indications that The Faiyum (anc. 'Ta-She, She-resy') belonged to this sepat. Temples & settlements from mostly Greco-Roman times.	Neith, Sobek of the Southern Lake

Lower Egypt

Lower Egypt is tricky as there are sources with differing opinions on some ancient Egyptian place names and some cities are placed in different sepats too. Mainly, LE sepats were established in the Late Period, though finds of course go back to earlier periods.

Sepat Title	Ancient Egyptian	Greek Modern	Deities, archaeological remains etc.	Deity on the White Chapel
1: White Wall	Ineb-hedj/Men-Nefer	Memphis Mit Rahina	Deities: Ptah, Sokar, Apis Temple of Ptah, Temple to Hathor, several smaller temples, embalming house of Apis bull. Tombs of 22nd Dyn. High Priests of Memphis, palace of Merneptah.	Horus before Inebhedj' (?)
2: Foreleg	Khem	Letopolis Ausim	Deities: Horus of Letopolis,Kherty (netherworld deity). Monuments from Late Period.	Khentykhem ('foremost of Khem')
3: West	Imu	Kom el-Hisn	Deities: Hathor MK temple of Sekhmet-Hathor Cemeteries from MK and NK.	Hepy of Hut-Ihyt
	Raqote	Alexandria el-Iskandariya	Deities: Isis, Sarapis Ptolemaic and Roman remains.
4: Southern Shield	Area of modern Tanta	Tanta	Deities: Neith, Sobek. Few archaeological explorations done.	Neit and Sobek
5: Northern Shield	Zau	Sais Sa el-Hagar	Deity: Neith Remains of the temple of Neith.	Sau ('of Sais')
6: Mountain Bull	Khasu	Xois Sakha	Deity: Re. Temple of Re not excavated.	unreadable
	Per-Wadjet/Edjo	Buto Tell el-Farain Some sources place Buto in th 5th Sepat.	Deity: Wadjet. Remains of two towns and one temple enclosure. Mythical 'Pe and Dep', the "Twin cities" correspondent with Nekhen and Nekheb in Upper Egypt.e
7: Western Harpoon	Area of modern Damanhur	Hermopolis Parva Damanhur	Ha Few archaeological excavations done.	'harpoon with cord' inscribed across provinces 7 and 8
8: Eastern Harpoon	Tjeku/Per Atum(?)	Pithom? Tell el-Maskhuta	Deity: Atum of Tell el-Maskhuta. Foundations and block of temple of Atum. Fragment of a sistrum invoking Atum and Horus Sematawy.	'harpoon with cord' inscribed across provinces 7 and 8
9: Andjety	Djedu	Busiris Abu Sir Bana	Deity:Osiris of Djedu Foundations of temple of Horus KhentKhety Animal necropolis.	Osiris of Djedu
10: Black Ox	Hut-Hery-ib	Athribis Tell Atrib	Deity: Horus Foundations of temple of Isis and Osiris Temple of Amasis, Greco-Roman town, temple and necropolis.	no entry
11: Ox-count	Taremu/Nay-ta-hut	Leontopolis Tell -el-Muqdam	Deities: Shu, Tefnut, Mihos of Leontopolis. Remains of the temple of Mihos. Tomb of Queen Kamama.	no entry
12: Calf and Cow	Tjebnetjer	Sebenntyos Sammanud	Deity: Inhert(Gr. Onuris) Late Period foundation block of Inhert-Shu.	no entry
	Hebyt	Behbet el-Hagar	Deity: Isis Site of one of the most important shrines to Isis, a pendant in Lower Egypt to Philae in Upper Egypt. Remians of the temple of Isis, Ptolemaic Period.
13: Prospering Sceptre	Iunu	Heliopolis el-Matariya (Cairo outskirts)	Deities: Atum, Iusaas & Mnevis of Heliopolis. Temple of Re with precint and structures from all periods, obelisk of Senwosret, tombs of High Priests from 5th Dyn. and other tombs.	Isis, Bast (of) Su These deities and the place-name Su belong to the part of province 13 later made into a separate province 18
14: Foremost of the East	Tjaru	Sile Tell Abu Seifa	Deity: Set. Blocks from temple of Horus of Mesen.	Horus? (of?) [He]benu' (or '(of) Benu')
	Pi-Ramesse	Quantir	Deity: Set Remains of temple of Set, of Ptah, of Amun, of mud-brick palace, military barracks, stables & workshops.
	Avaris	Tell el-Daba	Deity: Set. Probable site of the Hyksos capital Avaris. Palace remains with Minoan wallpaintings for the Hyksos period. Remains of settlements from 1st to 2nd Intermediate and later the Ramesside period.
15: Ibis	Weprehwy(?)/Ba´kh	Hermopolis-Parva el-Baqlia	Deity: Djehuty of northern Hermopolis. Outlines of themple of Djehuty, not excavated. Late Period shrine of Djehuty and other blocks.	no entry
16: Fish	Djedet/Per-baneb-djedet	Mendes Tell el Rub'a	Deities: Banebdjedet, Hatmehyt Foundations of temple of Bandebdjedet, Late Period red 8 m high granite naos, mastaba tombs from OK.	'...(of) Djedet'
17: Behdet	Sma-Behdet	Diospolis Inferior Balamun(?)	Deities:Horus of Behdet. Vast temple complex with at least three temples, Amun(?) and fort, Late Period.	no entry
18: Prince of the South	Per-Bast	Bubastis Tell Basta.	Deities: Bast, Mihos. Temple of Bast and other deities. Smaller temples of 6th, 12th,18th, 22nd Dyn & Greco-Roman Period. Cat cemeteries.	Bast (see Sepat 13)
19: Prince of the North	Imet	Tell Nabasha	Deity: Wadjet of Nabasha. Temple enclosure of Wadjet, one temple of Ramessid Period, a smaller one by Amasis. Greco-Roman town, Late Period cemetery.	no entry
	Djanet	Tanis San el-Hagar	Temple enclosure of Amun and others. Precinct of Mut. Royal tombs of 21st and 22nd Dynasties.	no entry
20: Plumed Falcon of Sopedu	Per-Sopdu	Saft el-Hinna	Deity: Sopdu (falcon deity). Remains of the enclosure walls of the temple of Sopdu and Late Period naos.