Persian, Greek and Roman syncretism in the Kharga Oasis

The Temple of Hibis is the largest and best preserved temple in the Kharga Oasis and is one of the finest temples anywhere in Egypt from the Persian period.

There are many aspects of the temple’s plan, construction and decorations that are unusual. A sphinx-lined approach leads through a series of gateways beginning with one built by the Romans in 69 CE. There is also a chapel of the deified king and side rooms with stairs that lead to the roof. The roof contains areas dedicated to Osiris, with some scenes depicting the burial of the god, a feature that was not uncommon in the Graeco-Roman temples.

Isis in human form and bird mourns her husband Osiris and brings his body back to life.
Line drawing of reliefs in the Temple of Hibis.

On the north interior wall of the sanctuary are the figures of the god Khonsu (falcon headed with moon crown) and Amun-Re-Min. They make up part of a scene depicting the king making offerings to the triads.

The temple has also recently been the object of a five-year epigraphic survey carried out by an American team led by Eugene Cruze-Uribe.

In The God of Silence and Secrecy we discussed the Greek Temple of Horus at Edfu, begun by Ptolemy III in 237 BCE and completed by his son, Ptolemy IV Philopator. The Hypostyle Hall was added by Ptolemy VII (145-116 BCE) and the pylon was erected by Ptolemy IX (88-81 BCE). The final touches to the temple were added under Ptolemy XII in 57 BCE.

Here, we now look at the (earlier) Persian work in the Kharga Oasis and how this was followed by the Greeks, Romans and Christians. First, how the Persians were in Egypt.

The Achaemenid (Persian) Empire (ca. 550–330 BCE) was the largest empire in ancient history. The empire was forged by Cyrus the Great, and spanned three continents: Asia, Africa and Europe.

Right: Darius I was the third king of kings of the Achaemenid Empire. Darius held the empire at its peak, then including Egypt, and parts of Greece.

The Start of Persian interest in Egypt

After Cyrus had conquered Babylon and he became the Great King of Persia, he began to look for sources of wealth. His gaze turned toward the west and allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple certainly appeared to him as a good political decision in that he would have them on his side since they perceived him as their deliverer. “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth has the Lord God of heaven given me; and he has charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.” [2.Chronicles 36:23] But Jerusalem was just a bridge toward the treasury of Egypt. But it was not Cyrus himself who would take on Egypt whose astounding cultural and material achievements were known in all of the Orient. These long range plans were carried out by his son and successor, Cambyses (-530-522), who in -525 led his Persian army toward the land which just at this time had lost the long reigning Amasis and the short lived Seti II. The Persians had their plans ready, they lost no time to consolidate their power by taking over the already established fortresses facing Libya and the Nubian regions. This was largely accomplished by Darius I (-522-485) known in Egypt as `Setutre’ or `Mesutira’. In thus making Darius known in Egypt the priest Wedjahorresnet was instrumental. His cartouche was found in the Temple of Hibis, in the fortress of Qasr el-Ghuieta and on a rare alabaster storage jar found at Susa. His lengthy inscription at `el Khargeh’ was published in 1877. By about -486 his attention was diverted from Egypt toward Greece and influential native rulers could stage a revolt against the supressive financial burden placed on their country through the cruelty of their first satrap Achaemenes, son of Xerxes.
- The 21st and 20th/30th Dynasties of Egypt – Part 2

It was during the Achaemenid period that Zoroastrianism reached South-Western Iran, where it came to be accepted by the rulers and through them became a defining element of Persian culture.

Under the patronage of the Achaemenid kings and by the fifth century BCE as the de-facto religion of the state, Zoroastrianism would reach all corners of the empire.

The empire was invaded by Alexander III of Macedon and became the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Seleucid Empire, in addition to other minor territories which gained independence after its collapse. Its territories became part of a larger Hellenistic civilization.

The Temple of Hibis by Hanne Siegmeier
The temple is dedicated to the Theban triad, consisting of the gods, Amun, Mut and Khonsu.

Kharga, known to the ancient Egyptians as the ‘Southern Oasis’ is the largest of the oases of the Libyan Desert. Historical references to expeditions into Kharga Oasis go back as far as the Old Kingdom, though little evidence remains today of life here in pharaonic times.

The town associated with the temple was in ancient times the garrisoned capital of the Oasis, known as the fortress of Qasr el-Ghuieta. Archaeological study has left much of this Oasis untouched, at least until recently, and as a result, there have been many unanswered questions as to its history.

A Kushite temple in a Western Oasis?
The initial construction of the temple of Qasr el-Ghueita in Kharga Oasis has often been attributed to the period as early as the 25th “Kushite” Dynasty by a number of scholars ever since Naumann made a tentative comment on it in 1930s. In his article, Naumann suggested, without presenting any concrete evidence, that the temple building may have started during the 25th Dynasty because the size of chiselled-out cartouches in the relief in the sanctuary and the general formation of the completed temple are similar to those in other Kushite monuments. My personal visit to the Qasr el-Ghueita temple itself in June 2002 was originally intended to look for some evidence for the temple’s possible Kushite origin. Although the trip failed to produce any conclusive result for its initial purpose, it has, perhaps, provided an insight into the true origin of the temple construction.
– Hironao Oniahi, University of Cambridge, Late Period, Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt (Abstracts from CRE IV, 2003)

Dr Robert Morkot (Lecturer in Archaeology at Exeter) believes that the temple within the fortress at Qasr el-Ghuieta dates to the reign of Darius I and not to an earlier period. He has compared it to the same dating often given for the temple at Hibis. (R. Morkot, The Darb el-Arbain, the Kharga Oasis and its forts, and other desert routes in D. Bailey, ed., Archaeological Research in Roman Egypt, Ann Arbor, 1996 [JRA Supplemental Series 19], pp. 82-94, esp. p. 84)

Cruz-Uribe has studied the spatial relationships amongst the different temples in Kharga Oasis.

…the Persian presence at Ghuieta temple must be seen in the same light as that at Hibis temple: the Persians under Darius I (the Great) made a number of administrative moves in Kharga Oasis following on the initial conquests of Cambyses (for a discussion of Cambyses see now my article “The Invasion of Egypt by Cambyses,” Transeuphraténe, in press). The Persians adopted and adapted the earlier Saite rulers’ administrative centers, such as Hibis, Ghuieta and Manawir, where fortresses with accompanying temple areas sat on the major north-south trade route. The Persians’ interest in controlling trade had them utilize existing administrative mechanisms and centers, rather than building all new ones.
– The Persian presence at Qasr el-Ghuieta by Eugene Cruz-Uribe, Northern Arizona University

Below the figures of the gods on the north wall, Eugene Cruz-Uribe discovered the cartouche of the Persian king Darius.
Son of Re, Lord of Appearances, the Great, Darius, given life.

Ghueita Temple

The Theban Desert Road Survey has been studying Ghueita Temple and its environs. Some points from the Yale Egyptological Institute Architectural Survey of Ghueita Temple:

• One may reasonably propose that what is now the transverse hall in front of the three rear chambers was the forecourt of Ghueita Temple from the time of its construction during the reign of Darius I until the additions of Ptolemy III.

• The inscriptions in the door thicknesses of the central sanctuary and the portal connecting the hypostyle hall and the transverse hall indicate that Ptolemy III ordered the construction of the hypostyle hall and the forecourt.

• The architecture of Ghueita Temple is similar in a number of ways to that of the Roman Period temple of Nadura.

• The temple of Nadura also appears to have a similar construction history to that of Ghueita. While the preserved forecourt at Nadura was decorated during the reign of Antoninus Pius, architectural traces indicate that the original sanctuary and rear chambers were constructed at an earlier date.

In its present form Ghueita Temple dates essentially to the reigns of Darius I and Ptolemy III, with additional texts and scenes added by Ptolemy IV Philopator and Ptolemy IX Soter II.
– Ghueita Temple: Central Rear Chamber 1 by John Coleman Darnell

Darnell: A freestanding shrine with a portal bearing a winged sun disk on its lintel originally stood on the site of the present central chamber, and still stands, forming most of that central chamber. Darius I—or an earlier ruler—built his version of Ghueita Temple around this original structure, although he deviated the axis of his temple from that of the earlier shrine.

We see, therefore, a clear syncretic movement in the Kharga Oasis between Egyptian and Persian beliefs, carried forward by the Greeks into Roman times.

Ptolemaic Dedication from the El Khargeh Oasis Temple of Hibis II no. 7. Date: ca. 285-47 BCE
Sandstone lintel block with dedication of the peribolos wall and gates on behalf of Ptolemy II and Berenike.

When the Romans came to Egypt they increased the prosperity of the oasis by creating new wells, cultivating many crops and building a series of ‘fortress settlements’ for protection of the caravan routes.

These Roman ‘fortresses’ are especially numerous in the Kharga Oasis, where the Darb el-Arba’in (the ‘Forty-Day Road’) which ran north to south between Asyut and the Sudan, was the most important trade route. This was later to become part of the infamous slave-trade route between North Africa and the tropical south.

Right: Qasr Al Ghueita, Roman Temple fort

Slave route

Kharga used to be the last but one stop on The Forty Days Road, the infamous slave-trade route between North Africa and the tropical south.

The Darb el-Arbain trade route, passing through Kharga in the south and Asyut in the north, was a long caravan route running north-south between Middle Egypt and the Sudan. It was used from as early as the Old Kingdom of Egypt for the transport and trade of gold, ivory, spices, wheat, animals and plants. (Jobbins, Jenny. The 40 days’ nightmare in Al-Ahram, 13-19 November 2003, Issue No. 664. Published in Cairo, Egypt.)

Described by Herodotus as a road “traversed … in forty days,” the Darb el-Arbain became by his time an important land route facilitating trade between Nubia and Egypt. (Smith, Dr. Stuart Tyson. Nubia: History, University of California Santa Barbara, Department of Anthropology.)

For this reason, it is sometimes referred to as the Forty Days Road. (Richardson, Dan; (1991). Egypt: the Rough Guide. Harrap Colombus Ltd, Kent. Page ii.)

Even in the late 1800s there are records of slaves being taken into Egypt by way of numerous camel caravan routes. The most treacherous of these was the Darb el-Arbein, the ‘Forty Days Road,’ so named because of the length of time it took to travel from Dar Fur province in western Sudan to Southern Egypt; although a good rider, with a strong camel and little in the way of provisions, could make the journey in as little as eighteen days. The caravans comprised as many as 5,000 camels and in 1782 one was recorded as having 24,000 camels. Because of the size of such caravans travel times were often up to three months, as the caravan had to be divided into several groups so as not to deplete water wells and pasture along the route.

Slaves that were taken on this route sometimes went in the blistering heat of summer, as winters in the desert are cold and losses to bronchitis meant monetary losses to traders. A slave who walked from Dar Fur to Egypt in the 1830s recalled, ‘We had not food enough to eat, and sometimes we had not drink at all, and our thirst was terrible; when we stopped, almost dying for want of water, they killed a camel, and gave us blood to drink. But the camels themselves could not get on, and then they were killed, and we had their flesh for meat and their blood for water.’
– The Forty Days Road: From Shadows in the Sand by Lorraine Chittock

The chain of at least twenty mudbrick forts vary in size and function, some are large settlements or garrison towns, while others are small desert outposts, but most of them lie close to the road crossing the oasis, following the ancient track.

The larger fortresses may have been built on existing settlements, but during Roman times their populations grew rapidly.

The Romans went to great lengths to secure water in the oasis, although little is known about how or when the original bore-holes were made – some are over 120m deep and continue to be used today. They also built long underground aqueducts up to 50m deep in the water-bearing sandstone, which must have involved a huge amount of labour.

Many of the Roman fortified settlements are situated strategically on hilltops and several, such as Qasr Dush, Qasr el-Ghueita, Nadura, and Qasr el-Zayyan incorporated temples and large communities of people.

The old Christian necropolis at Al-Bagawat in the Kharga Oasis

The practice of using Kharga Oasis as a colony for exiles continued throughout Roman times and into the Christian era. Many early Christian bishops were banished here and the oasis soon became a refuge for Christian hermits who often lived in isolated tombs or caves in the desert. The Christian population of Kharga grew quickly – many fortresses date from the early Byzantine era – and it was one of the most enduring Christian areas of Egypt, continuing into the 14th century. (Introduction to Kharga Oasis)

An ancient Christian cemetery at Al-Bagawat also functioned at Kharga Oasis from the 3rd to the 7th century. It is one of the earliest and best preserved Christian cemeteries in the ancient world.

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