Lycopolis and Lykopolis redirect here; for the ancient city bearing those names located in the delta of the Nile, see Lycopolis (Delta).

Asyut أسيوط
Asyut Location in Egypt
Coordinates: 27°11′N 31°10′E / 27.183°N 31.167°E / 27.183; 31.167
Country	Egypt
Governorate	Asyut
Time zone	EST (UTC+2)

Asyut (Egyptian Arabic: أسيوط ʾAsyūṭ, IPA: [ʔɑsˈjuːtˤ]) is the capital of the modern Asyut Governorate in Egypt; the ancient city of the same name is situated nearby. The modern city is located at 27°11′00″N 31°10′00″E / 27.1833333°N 31.1666667°E / 27.1833333; 31.1666667, while the ancient city is at 27°10′00″N 31°08′00″E / 27.1666667°N 31.1333333°E / 27.1666667; 31.1333333.

Etymology[link]

Asyut in hieroglyphs

The name of the city is derived from early Egyptian Zawty (Z3JW.TJ) (late Egyptian, Səyáwt) adopted into the Coptic as Syowt ⲥⲓⲟⲟⲩⲧ. In Graeco-Roman Egypt, it was called Lycopolis or Lykopolis (Greek: Λυκόπολις, "ἡ Λύκων πόλις"),^[1] Lycon,^[2] or Lyco.^[3]

Ancient Asyut[link]

Ancient Asyut was the capital of the Thirteenth Nome of Upper Egypt (Lycopolites Nome) around 3100 BC. It was located on the western bank of the Nile. The two most prominent gods of the Ancient Egyptian Asyut were Anubis and Wepwawet, both funerary deities.

During the First Intermediate Period, the rulers of "Zawty" (Khety I, Itefibi, and Khety II) were supporters of the Herakleopolitan kings, of whose domain the Nome formed the southern limits. The conflict between this Nome and the southern Nomes under the rule of the Eleventh dynasty ended with the victory of Thebes and the decline of Asyut's importance.

The shield of a king named Recamai, who reigned in Upper Egypt (probably during the "shepherd dynasty" in the "Lower Country"), has been discovered in Asyut.^[4] Lycopolis has no remarkable ruins, but in the excavated chambers of the adjacent rocks mummies of wolves have been found, confirming the origin of its name, as well as a tradition preserved by Diodorus Siculus,^[5] to the effect that an Ethiopian army, invading Egypt, was repelled beyond the city of Elephantine by packs of wolves. Osiris was worshipped under the symbol of a wolf at Lycopolis. According to a myth, he had come "from the shades" as a wolf to aid Isis and Horus in their combat with Typhon.^[6] Other Ancient Egyptian monuments discovered in Asyut include; the Asyut necropolis (west of the modern city), tombs which date to dynasties Nine, Ten and Twelve, and the Ramessid tombs of Siese and Amenhotep.

In Graeco-Roman times, there was a distinct dialect of Coptic spoken in Asyut, known as "Lycopolitan", after the Greek name for the city. Lesser-used names for this dialect are "Sub-Akhmimic" and "Assiutic".

Modern Asyut[link]

Today, the city of Asyut has almost 400,000 inhabitants.^[7] It is the Egyptian city with the highest Coptic Christian concentration. It is also home to the University of Asyut, one of the largest universities in Egypt, to the Assiut Barrage, and to the Lillian Trasher Orphanage.

The Virgin Mary is reported to have appeared in Asyut on 17 August 2000. This apparition is recognized as an official Marian apparition by the Coptic Orthodox Church and remember ed in the Deir el-Muharraq, Monastery of the Virgin Mary.^{[citation needed]}

Asyut is the terminus of the Ras Shukheir-Asyut oil pipeline, the terminus of the Cairo-Asyut gas pipeline and the beginning of the proposed Asyut-Qena gas pipeline, the last two being part of the Nile Valley Gas Company Pipeline Project.^[8]

Climate[link]

The city of Asyut is sandwiched between two mountain ranges of about 600m height. There is also a lowering in elevation in mid Egypt, from the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. This gives the city and nearby towns and villages the typical properties of a continental climate, meaning that the city has harsh and chilly cold winter weather, and very hot but non-humid summers. During summer the temperature can exceed 42C. Yet, in winter Asyut gets sub-zero temperatures during the night and frost can easily form, while hail or snow are rare because of the low average of the city's precipitation and general lack of humidity.

People from Asyut[link]

• Coluthus (5th century) Greek poet
• Gamal Abdel Nasser - The second Egyptian president.
• Shenouda III, the previous Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
• Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed - Egyptian nationalist.
• Meletius of Lycopolis, founder of the Meletians^[9]
• al-Suyuti a Sunni scholar who died in the year 1505

Twinnings[link]

• Iaşi, Romania

References[link]

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–57). "^{article name needed}". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray. 

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company. 

Bibliography[link]

• Loprieno, Antonio: Ancient Egyptian: A Linguistic Introduction, Oxford U Press 1996. ISBN 0-521-44849-2
• Baines & Malek Cultural Atlas of Ancient Egypt, 2000. ISBN 0-8160-4036-2
• Kahl, Jochem: "Ancient Asyut: The first Synthesis after Three Hundred Years of Research", The Asyut Project vol. I. Wiesbaden 2008. ISBN 978-3-447-05666-3

External links[link]

Media related to Asyut at Wikimedia Commons Coordinates: 27°11′N 31°10′E / 27.183°N 31.167°E / 27.183; 31.167

v t e Egypt's largest cities by population Cairo Alexandria Giza Shubra El-Kheima Port Said Suez El-Mahalla El-Kubra Luxor Asyut Mansoura Tanta Faiyum Zagazig Ismaïlia Kafr el-Dawwar Aswan Qena Damanhour Minya Sohag Beni Suef Shibin El Kom Banha Edfu Talkha Kafr el-Sheikh Mallawi Dikirnis Bilbeis Arish