III. Geographical Divisions. — Under the Pharaohs Egypt was divided into Upper and Lower, "the two regions" TA-TI ? called respectively "the Southern Region" TA-RES, and "the Northern Region" TAME- HIT. There were different crowns for the two regions, that of Upper Egypt being white, and that of Lower Egypt red, the two together composing the ^^skeyit. The sovereign had a special title as ruler of each re- gion : of Upper Egypt he was SUTEN, "king," and of Lower Egypt SHEBT, "bee," the two combined forming theVommon title SUTEN-SIIEBT. The in- itial sign of the former name is a bent reed, which il- lustrates what seems to have been a proverbial expres- sion in Palestine as to the danger of trusting to the Pharaohs and Egypt (1 Kings xviii, 21 ; Isa. xxxvi* G ; Ezek. xxix, (!) : the latter name may throw light upon the comparison of the king of Egypt to a fly, and the king of Assyria to a liee (Isa. vii, IS). It must be remarked that Upper Egypt is always mentioned be- fore Lower Egypt, and that the crown of the former in the pshent rises above that of the latter. In sub- sequent times the same division continued. Manetho speaks of it (ap. Josephus, c. Apion. i, 14), and under the Ptolemies it still prevailed. In the time of the Greeks and Romans, Upper Egypt was divided into the Ileptanomis and the ThebaJs, making altogether three provinces, but the division of tiie ^vilole country into two was even then the most usual. The Thebais
extended from the first cataract at Phila; to HeiTnopo. lis, tlie Heptanomis from Hermopolis to the jioint where the Delta begins to form itself. About A.D. 400 Egypt was divided into four provinces, Augustamnica Prima and Secunda, and yEgyptus Prima and Secuuda. The Heptanomis was called Arcadia, from the emperor Ar- cadius, and Upper Egypt was divided into Upper and Lower Thebais.
From a remote period Egj-pt was subdivided into names (HESPU, sing. HESP), each one of which had its special objects of worship. The monuments show that this division was as old as the earlier part of the twelfth dynasty, which began cir. B.C. 1900. They are said to have been first 36 in number {Diod. Sic. i, 54 ; Strabo, xvii, 1). Ptolemy enumerates 44, and Pliny 46 ; afterwards they were further increased. There is no distinct reference to them in the Bible. In the Sept. version, indeed, nrb-^TO (Isa. xix, 2) is rendered by I'o/ioc;, but we have no warrant for trans- lating it otherwise than "kingdom." It is probable that at that time there were two, if not three kingdoms in the country. Two provinces or districts of Egypt are mentioned in the Bible, Pathros (q. v.) and Caph- tor (q. V.) ; the former appears to have been part of Upper Egypt ; the latter was evident!}^ so, and must be represented by the Coptite nome, although no doubt of greater extent. The division into nomes was more or less maintained till the invasion of the Saracens. Egj^pt is now composed of 24 departments, which, ac- cording to the French system of geographical arrange- ment, are subdivided into arrondissements and cantons (Bowring's Repiorf).
IV. Sin-fdce, Climate, etc. — The general appearance of the country cannot have greatly changed since the da3-s of Moses. The Delta was alwaj's a vast level plain, although of old more perfectly watered than now by the branches of the Nile and numerous canals, while the narrow valley of LTpper Egypt must have sufi\ired still less alteration. Anciently, however, the rushes must have been abundant ; whereas now thej' have almost disappeared, except in the lakes. The whole country is remai-kable for its extreme fertility, which especially strikes the beholder when the rich green of the fields is contrasted with the utterly-bare yellow mountains or the sand-strewn rocky desert on either side. Thus the plain of Jordan, before the cit- ies were destroyed, was, we read, "well watered ever}'- where" . . . ." [even] like a garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt" (Gen. xiii, 10). The aspect of Egypt is remarkably uniform. The Delta is a richly- cultivated plain, varied only by the mounds of ancient cities and occasional groves of palms. Other trees are seldom met with. The valley in L^pper Egypt is also richl}' cultivated. It is, however, very narrow, and shut in by low hills, rarely higher than 300 feet, which have the appearance of cliffs from the river, and are not often steep. They, in fact, form the border of the desert on either side, and tlie valley seems to have been, as it were, cut out of a table-land of rock. The valley is rarely more than twelve miles across. The briglit green of the fields, the reddish-brown or dull green color of the great river, the tints of the bare yellow rocks, and the deep blue of the sky, always i'orm a pleasant view, and often one of great beauty. The soil consists of the mud of the river, resting upon desert sands ; hence this country owes its existence, fertility, and beauty to the Nile, whose annual over- flow is indispensable for the purposes of agriculture. The country around Sj'ene and the cataracts is highly picturesque ; the other parts of Egypt, and especially the Delta, are exceedingly uniform and monotonous. The prospect, however, is extremely different, accord- ing to the season of the year. From the middle of the spring season, when the harvest is over, one sees noth- ing l)ut a gray and dusty soil, so full of cracks and chasms that he can hardly pass alonj. At the time