Nomes

*Hesep*. The great divisions of the kingdom of ancient Egypt, and dating back to the IVth Dynasty, where some are mentioned by name with their chief towns. There were in all forty-two nomes, twenty-two in Upper Egypt, and twenty in Lower; each was placed under the protection of one particular divinity; and each had two capitals, one civil, the other religious, the former being the seat of government. The office of governor was hereditary, pa ing from the father to the eldest grandson on the mother’s side (Brugsch). There were four divisions of the nome: (a) **Nut**, the chief town. (b) The cultivated land. (c) The marsh land, which, under certain conditions, could be cultivated. (d) The canals, sluices, . The following is a list with the names of the modern towns or villages that most nearly mark their sites: **Nomes of Upper Egypt:** 1. Ta-Kens (Aswan) 2. Tes-Hor (Edfu) 3. Ten (Esneh) 4. Uast (Karnak) 5. Herui (Kuft) 6. Aati (Dendera) 7. Sekhom (Hou) 8. Abt (Girgeh) 9. Amsu (Akhmim) 10. Uazet (Itfu) 11. Set (Shodh) 12. Tu-f (Kau el Kebir) 13. Atef-khent (Asyut) 14. Atef-peh (Kusiya) 15. Un (Eshmunen) 16. Meh-mahet (Minieh) 17. Anup (El-Kes) 18. Sep (El-Hibeh) 19. Uab (Behneseh) 20. Am-Khent (Ahnasieh) 21. Am-peh (Ashment) 22. Maten (Atfih) **Nomes of Lower Egypt:** 1. Aneb-hez (Bed ras he in) 2. Aa (Usim) 3. Ament (Kom el Hisn) 4. Sepi-res (Sa el Hagar) 5. Sepi-meht (Sakha) 6. Ka-set (Tel el Maskhuta) 7. Nefer-ament (Abusir) 8. Nefer-abt (Benha el-Asal) 9. Azi (Horbeit) 10. Ka-kam (Samanhud) 11. Ka-hebes (Ain esh-Shama) 12. Teb-neter (San) 13. Hek-at (El-Bakaliyeh) 14. Khent-abt (El-Amdid) 15. Tehuti (Ebshan) 16. Khar (Tell Basta) 17. Sam-hut (Nebesheh) 18. Am-khent (Saft el-Henneh) The number of nomes was not always the same. The governor of a nome was called by the Greeks a nomarch. On the temple walls the nomes are represented as figures of the Nile god bringing various offerings. Such lists may be seen at Philae, Karnak, Dendera, Edfu, Abydos, .