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capitals, and was dedicated to the Emperor by the people of Phile and of that part of Nubia which was under the rule of the Romans.

7. The Temple of Isis The buildings of this edifice consist of:-. A pylon, decorated with reliefs of Nectanebus II., Ptolemy VII., Ptolemy IX., and Ptolemy XII. Neos Dionysos; 2. A court containing the Mammisi and a colonnade, and decorated with reliefs of Ptolemy IX., Ptolemy XIII., and of the Emperors Augustus and Tiberius; 3. A second pylon, ornamented with reliefs by Ptolemy IX. and Ptolemy XIII. (at the foot of the right tower a portion of granite bed-rock projects, and the inscription upon it records the dedication of certain lands to the temple by Ptolemy VII.); 4. A temple which consists of the usual court, hypostyle hall, and shrine. In the various parts of this temple are the names of Ptolemy II., Ptolemy III., Ptolemy IX., and the Emperor Antoninus. Of special interest is the Osiris Chamber, wherein are reliefs referring to ceremonies which were connected with the death and resurrection of Osiris. The texts on the outside of this group of buildings mention the names of the Emperors Tiberius and Augustus.

8. The Temple of Heru-netch-tef-f, which consisted of a court, having four columns on the eastern face, and a large chamber in which stood the shrine, with a narrow passage running round it. It was built on a part of the old surrounding wall of the Temple of Isis, and the greater number of its stones were removed by the Copts, who built a church with them.

9. The Nilometer. The doorway leading to the Nilometer is in the old surrounding wall of the temple, and the hinge and the jamb can still be seen. Three scales are cut in the walls, two on the north wall, and one on the south; the oldest is probably the vertical line chiselled on

the face of the north wall, showing whole cubits only, which are marked by horizontal lines. The average length of the cubit in each portion of the scale except the second is about 520 metre. In the second scale on the north wall the cubit is divided into 7 palms, and each palm into 4 digits; two of the cubits are marked by Demotic numerals. The third scale, which is on the south wall, is in a perfect state of preservation; the mean length of the 17 cubits marked is 535 metre. Over the 16th cubit is cut the sign

fänkh, i.e., “life.”

This sign probably indicates that

when the waters of the inundation rose to the height marked by it, there would be abundance and prosperity in the land. The river level of the tops of scales Nos. 1, 2, and 3 are 99'654, 99.890, and 99.990 metres respectively, and the river level of the present time is 99'200 metres; therefore Captain H. G. Lyons, R.E., who made these measurements, concludes that there is very little difference between the flood level of to-day and that of about 2000 years ago.

10. The "Kiosk," or "Pharaoh's Bed," which is one of the most graceful objects on the island, and that by which Phila is often best remembered; the building appears to be unfinished. Its date is, perhaps, indicated by the reliefs in which the Emperor Trajan is depicted making offerings to Isis and Horus, and standing in the presence of Isis and Osiris.

THE NILE BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND CATARACTS.

PHILE TO WÂDÎ HALFA.

The country which is entered on leaving Philæ is generally known by the name of Nubia; the latter name has been derived by some from nub, the Egyptian word for gold, because in ancient days much gold was brought into Egypt from that land. In the hieroglyphics Nubia, or "Ethiopia," is generally called

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Kesh (the Cush of the Bible) and Ta-kenset; from the latter name the Arabic El-Kenûs is derived. It is known that, as far back as the VIth dynasty, the Egyptians sent to this country for certain kinds of wood, and that all the chief tribes that lived round about Korosko hastened to help the Egyptian officers Unȧ and Her-khuf in the missions which they undertook for King Pepi I. It seems pretty certain too, if we may trust their words, that the whole country was made to acknowledge the sovereignty of the Egyptian king.

From the VIIth to the XIth dynasty nothing is known of the relations which existed between the two countries, but in the time of Usertsen I., the second king of the XIIth dynasty, an expedition was undertaken by the Egyptians for the purpose of fixing the boundaries of the two countries, and we know from a stele set up at Wâdî Ḥalfa by this king, that his rule extended so far south as this place. Two reigns later the inhabitants of Nubia or Ethiopia had become so troublesome, that Usertsen III. found it necessary to build fortresses at Semna and Kumma, south of the Second Cataract, and to make stringent laws forbidding the passage of any negro ship without permission.

The Hyksos kings appear not to have troubled greatly about Nubia. When the XVIIIth dynasty had obtained full power in Egypt, some of its greatest kings, such as Thothmes III. and Amenḥetep III., marched into Nubia and built temples there; under the rulers of the XIXth dynasty, the country became to all intents and purposes a part of Egypt. Subsequently (about B.C. 720) the Nubians appear to have acquired considerable power, and as Egypt became involved in conflicts with more Northern countries. this power increased until Nubia was able to declare itself independent. For several hundreds of years the Nubians had had the benefit of Egyptian civilization, and all that it could teach them, and they were soon able to organize war expeditions into Egypt with success.

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After leaving Phila, the first place of interest passed is Dâbûd, on the west bank of the river, 5993 miles from Cairo. At this place, called Ta-bet in the inscriptions, are the ruins of a temple founded by Åtchakhar-Åmen,* a king of Ethiopia, who reigned about the middle of the third century B.C. The names of Ptolemy VII. Philometor and Ptolemy IX. Euergetes II. are found engraved upon parts of the building. Dâbûd probably stands on the site of the ancient Parembole, a port or castle on the borders of Egypt and Ethiopia, and attached alternately to each kingdom. During the reign of Diocletian it was ceded to the Nube by the Romans, and it was frequently attacked by the Blemmyes from the east bank of the river. At Kartassi, on the west bank of the river, 615 miles from Cairo, are the ruins of a temple and large quarries; seven miles further

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south, on the west bank of the river, is Wâdî Tâfah, the ancient Taphis, where there are also some ruins; they are, however, of little interest. Contra-Taphis lay on the east bank.

Kalâbsha, on the west bank of the river, 629 miles from Cairo, stands on the site of the classical Talmis, called in hieroglyphics Thermeset, and

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Ka-hefennu; it was for a long time the

capital of the country of the Blemmyes. It stands immediately on the Tropic of Cancer. The god of this town was called Merul or Melul, the Mandulis or Malulis of the Greeks. At Kalâbsha there are the ruins of two temples of considerable interest. The larger of these, which is one of the largest temples in Nubia, appears to have been built upon the site of an ancient Egyptian temple founded by Thothmes III., B.C. 1600, and Amenophis II., B.C. 1566, for on the pronaos this latter monarch is representing offering to the god Amsu and the Ethiopian god Merul or Melul. It seems

to have been restored in Ptolemaic times, and to have been considerably added to by several of the Roman emperors-Augustus, Caligula, Trajan, etc. From the appearance of the ruins it would seem that the building was wrecked either immediately before or soon after it was completed; some of the chambers were plastered over and used for chapels by the early Christians. A large number of Greek and Latin inscriptions have been found engraved on the walls of this temple, and from one of them we learn that the Blemmyes were defeated by Silko, king of the Nube and Ethiopians, in the latter half of the sixth century of our era.

At Bêt al-Walî, i.e., the "house of the Saint," a short distance from the larger temple, is the interesting rock

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