Where is there ?
It is in the city of Isna , south of Luxor .
The only temple remaining in its condition . It is one of the ancient four “ may be more four “ temples of Isna . It is considered one of the most important tourist destinations due to its unique nature .
The temple contains 24 huge columns that are distinguished by the different shapes of each column’s crown from the other , a feature that distinguishes it from all the temples of Egypt .
The discovery of the Temple
Its cleaning of the rudim dates back to the year 1843 AD , that is , at the end of the era of Muhammad Ali Pasha . This date precedes the visit of the French scientist ( Champollion ) to him in the year 1828 AD , who stated that he saw inscriptions bearing the name of King Thutmose in this temple.
It is believed that the current temple was erected on the ruins of an ancient temple tha dates back to the era of the Eighteenth Dynasty , where inscriptions bearing the name of King Thutmose were found in 1468 - 1436 BC , mentioning the city of Esna with its name during his reign .
The researcher Ahmed Sayed had prepared an archaeological research that had not been published in which it was mentioned that the Temple of Isna dates back to the Middle Kingdom , the Twelfth Dynasty 1991 - 1778 BC , and this temple was demolished and rebuilt in the early era of the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty which most of it lies beneath modern houses in Isna .
As for the current temple’s construction , it was during the reign of the Ptolemaic King Ptolemy , who was known as Philometor , meaning the lover of his mother .
In the Roman era , a hall of masters dating to the era of the Roman Emperor ( Claudius ) was added to it in 40 AD .
The hall was decorated in the era of Vesian , Trajan and Hadriat, and its last inscriptions date back to the reign of Emperor Decius around the year 249 - 250 AD on the western wall of the temple , meaning that this temple’s construction and decoration has been taken about 400 years at separate intervals between 181 BC - year 250 m .
The temple of Khnum in Isna is located on the West Bank of The Nile , about 100 meters from the Nile, vertically perpendicular on one axis .
The temple’s floor is about 9 m deep from the modern ground level of the city of Isna , descending with a modern ladder prepared by the Ministry of Antiquities .
This temple was devoted to the worship of the god Khnum with with both of his wife's Manahit-Nebot .
The god Khnum was represented by the head of a ram and the body of a human being and knowing as the Fakhranian god or the creator of humanity from clay and in the name of Khnum Ra , the master of Isna .
As for Manahit , she was represented by the head of a female lion with a female body topped by a sun disc , resembling the God Sekhmet in strength .
Nebot , the second wife of Khnum , which her name means “ the lady of the countryside” was represented in a human figure in the form of a lady topped by a sun disk , resembling “ Isis “ in her appearance .
The temple of Khnum in Isna consists of a rectangular hall with a facade of an architectural style for the architecture of ancient Egyptian temples in the Greek and Roman periods .
The ceiling consist from 24 cylinders with a height of 13 m and is decorated with bas-reliefs with varied vegetal capitals and distinct bright colors .
This hall is considered one of the most beautiful columns halls in Egypt , in general , in terms of the similarity of proportions and the method of carving their columns’ crowns , being in a good state of preservation .
The facade of the temple is distinguished by curtain walls in order to cover the temple , preserving the secrets of the rituals that were performed inside .
The inner and outer walls of the temple of Khnum in Isna are divided into four registers . Each register has an integrated view of itself .
The temple scenes in general represent the Ptolemaic Kings in the western wall , and the Roman emperors in Pharaonic bodies as they present gifts , offerings and sacred flowers to the temple deities ( Khnum - Manahit - Nebot ) , and gods others such as ( Min - Subak - Sokar - Isis ) .
The internal scenes of the temple are mostly related to religion and belief in that period which consist of religious writings and texts on the creation of the world , of the god Khnum , astronomical scenes , scenes of the foundation of the temple , and magical scenes representing the hunting and killing of evil spirits and defeating enemies .
In the facade of the Temple of Khnum in Isna , there is an architectural style that was common in late times known as the connected columns or half - walls .
The southern part of the facade is adorned with scenes representing the emperor ( Titus ) leaving his palace carrying four divine symbols of the god “ Khnum - Thoth - Horus “ . Anubis , the god of mummification , followed by a scene representing the process of purification of the emperor by the gods Horus - Thoth with the purification vessels HST and signs of life in front of the god Khnum , then the scene of the north and south deities leading the emperor inside the temple , and the northern side represents scenes of the emperor’ coronation .
As for the interior scenes , the temple includes many scenes , but the most important of them is on the western facade ( the entrance to the ancient temple ) , where at the top there is a main view representing the god Khnum with the head of a ram and the body of a human being in divine attire inside the sun disc , the master of Isna , which means that the god Khnum is protected before The God Ra .
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