Ta-Seti

Each nome was governed by a nomarch (provincial governor), who reported directly to the pharaoh. The size of Ta-Seti was approximately 5.5 hectares (2 cha-ta) in area and 112 kilometers (10.5 iteru) in length, likely referring to its extent along the Nile.{{Cite book |last1=Otto |first1=Eberhard |title=Lexikon der Ägyptologie |last2=Helck |first2=Wolfgang |last3=Westendorf |first3=Wolfhart |date=1977 |publisher=O. Harrassowitz |isbn=978-3-447-01876-0 |location=Wiesbaden}} The main city (Niwt) was Abu (Elephantine, modern Aswan), and other significant cities included Philae (P'aaleq), Syene (Sunet, modern Aswan), and Kom Ombo (Pa-Sebek). Each major city had a Het net (temple) dedicated to the chief deity and a Heqa het (nomarch's residence), reflecting the administrative and religious importance of these centers.Kemp, Barry J. Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization. Routledge, 2006.

The primary deity of Ta-Seti was Horus, with other major deities including Anuket, Arensnuphis, Hathor, Isis, Khnum, Mandulis, Satet, and Sobek. These deities reflect a blend of Egyptian and Nubian religious traditions, indicative of the region's cultural synthesis. For instance, Anuket and Satet were particularly important due to their association with the Nile and its life-giving properties.Wilkinson, Richard H. The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson, 2003. Today, the area is part of the Aswan Governorate.

The Prophecy of Neferti, a literary text from the Middle Kingdom, mentions that Amenemhat I's mother, founder of the Twelfth Dynasty, was from Ta-Seti (Elephantine). Some scholars interpret this to suggest a possible Nubian origin,{{Cite journal |last=Wilson |first=John A. |title=Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature. Vol. I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975). Pp. 245 + xxi. $3.95, paper. |url=https://doi.org/10.1017/s0026318400004818 |journal=Review of Middle East Studies |date=1976 |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=74–75 |doi=10.1017/s0026318400004818 |issn=2151-3481|url-access=subscription }} based on Elephantine's location and cultural interactions.{{Cite book |last1=Ross |first1=Jennifer C. |title=Ancient complex societies |last2=Steadman |first2=Sharon R. |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group |isbn=978-1-61132-195-1 |location=London ; New York}}Parkinson, R. B. The Tale of Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems. Oxford University Press, 1999.

In the 1960s, excavations at Qustul, a site in Lower Nubia (now northern Sudan), uncovered royal tombs and artifacts predating Egypt’s First Dynasty. Among these discoveries was the Qustul incense burner, which features an image of a Nubian king wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt, suggesting that the royal symbolism of Egyptian pharaohs originated in Ta-Seti rather than in Egypt itself.{{Cite web |title=The Qustul Incense Burner {{!}} Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures |url=https://isac.uchicago.edu/museum-exhibits/nubia/qustul-incense-burner?utm_source=chatgpt.com |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=isac.uchicago.edu}}{{Failed verification|date=February 2025}}

Some scholars suggest that Ta-Seti was part of an early Nubian civilization that predated Ancient Egypt, with claims of a unified monarchy existing as early as 3800 BC.{{Citation |title=The Nile Valley of Egypt |date=2017-01-06 |work=Ancient Complex Societies |pages=98–129 |url=https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315305639-12 |access-date=2025-02-07 |place=Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2017. {{!}} |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9781315305639-12 |isbn=978-1-315-30563-9|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite journal |last=Mosjsov |first=Bojana |date=1994 |title=Ancient Nubia: Egypt's Rival in Africa |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/3337323 |journal=African Arts |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=78 |doi=10.2307/3337323 |jstor=3337323 |issn=0001-9933|url-access=subscription }} Archaeologist Bruce Williams (1986) argued that Nubian polities, including Ta-Seti, developed centralized leadership before Egypt and that early Egyptian rulers may have adopted Nubian traditions rather than the other way around. This challenges traditional narratives that separate Egypt from its Nubian origins.{{Citation |title=The Nile Valley of Egypt |date=2017-01-06 |work=Ancient Complex Societies |pages=98–129 |url=https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315305639-12 |access-date=2025-02-07 |place=Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2017. {{!}} |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9781315305639-12 |isbn=978-1-315-30563-9|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite book |last=Shinnie |url=https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203038703 |title=Ancient Nubia |date=2013-10-28 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9780203038703 |isbn=978-0-203-03870-3}}

The genealogy below lists nomarchs from the 12th Dynasty. The nomarchs are underlined. The exact relationships between these nomarchs are not fully known, and the genealogy is based on interpretations of inscriptions and historical records.{{Citation |last=Kendall |first=Timothy |title=Egypt and Nubia |work=The Egyptian World |date=2011 |url=https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203820933.ch28 |access-date=2025-02-07 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9780203820933.ch28 |isbn=978-0-203-82093-3|url-access=subscription }}

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{{chart| | | | |S1| |KM|v|SH| | | | | | |S1=Sarenput I|KM=Khema|SH=Satethotep♀}}

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{{chart| | | | | | | | |S2| |SM| | | | |S2=Sarenput II|SM=Shemai}}

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{{chart| | | | | | | | |ST| | | | | |ST=Sat-tjeni♀}}

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{{chart| | | | | | |H3| |AS| | | | | | | |H3=Heqaib III|AS=Amenyseneb}}

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{{reflist}}

• [http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/geo/index.html About the nomoi of Egypt]
• [http://www.aldokkan.com/geography/geography.htm Detailed map of the nomois]
• [http://www.lexiline.com/images/nomesofegypt.png Hieroglyphs of the nomoi]

Category:Nomes of ancient Egypt