Samannud

Samannud سمنود Sebennytos
City
Nile bank in Samannud Nile bank in Samannud
Coordinates:
Country	Egypt
Governorate	Gharbia
Area
• Total	57 sq mi (147 km2)
Population  (2019 (estimated))
• Total	410,388
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)

<hiero>nTr-T-b-niwt</hiero> or <hiero>nTr-E9-t:niwt</hiero>
ṯb-nṯr in hieroglyphs
Era: Late Period (664–332 BC)

Samannud (Arabic: سمنود Samannūd) is a city (markaz) located in Gharbia Governorate, Egypt. Known in classical antiquity as Sebennytos (Ancient Greek: Σεβέννυτος), Samannud is a historic city that has been inhabited since the Ancient Egyptian period. As of 2019, the population of the markaz of Samannud was estimated to be 410,388, with 83,417 people living in urban areas and 326,971 in rural areas.

Etymology

The place known in Egyptian Arabic: سمنود [sæmænˈnuːd], was historically called Sebennytos or Sebennytus.

• Coptic: ϫⲉⲙⲛⲟⲩϯ, and ϫⲉⲃⲉⲛⲟⲩⲧⲉ, Coptic pronunciation: [ʃæmˈnudi, ʃæβæˈnudæ]
• Late Coptic: ⲥⲉⲃⲉⲛⲛⲏⲧⲟⲩ and ⲥⲉⲃⲉⲛⲛⲉⲧⲟⲩ, [sæβænˈnidu, sæβænˈnædu]
• Ancient Greek: Σεβέννυτος and Σεβέννυς or ἡ Σεβεννυτικὴ πόλις
• Egyptian: ṯb-(n)-nṯr)

The name Samannud ultimately derives from the Ancient Egyptian name ṯb-(n)-nṯr, meaning "city of the sacred calf". The name was probably pronounced */ˌcabˈnaːcar/ in Old Egyptian and */ˌcəbˈnuːtə/ or */ˌcəbənˈnuːtə/ in Late Egyptian.

Ancient history

Samannud (Sebennytos) was an ancient city of Lower Egypt, located on the now-silted up Sebennytic branch of the Nile in the Delta. Sebennytos was the capital of Lower Egypt's twelfth nome—the Sebennyte nome (district). Sebennytos was also the seat of the Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt (380–343 BCE).

Sebennytos is perhaps best known as the hometown of Manetho, a historian and chronicler from the Ptolemaic era, c. 3rd century BC. Sebennytos was also the hometown of Nectanebo II; he was its last ruler.

A temple dedicated to the local god Anhur, or Anhur-Shu, and his lioness goddess mate Mehit, once existed at this location but is now reduced to ruins. A fragment from the location where kings would have made offerings to Anhur and his wife, is on display at the Walters Art Museum.

Modern history

Samannud violently resisted the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 639, and remained rebellious for some time thereafter; the city revolted four times in the first half of the eighth century. Three Coptic Patriarchs came from Samannud: John III, Cosmas II, and John V. The 12th-century Coptic philologist Yuhanna al-Samannudi also came from Samannud, and served as its bishop.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1996	249,672	—
2006	298,166	+19.4%
2019	410,388	+37.6%
Source: Citypopulation.de

Samannud's bishopric remained active through the late thirteenth century, indicating the presence of a large Christian population at the time.

In 1843, John Gardner Wilkinson described it as a place of some size, with the usual bazaars of the large towns of Egypt, and famous for its pottery, which was sent to Cairo.

The 1885 Census of Egypt recorded Samannud as a city in its own district in Gharbia Governorate; at that time, the population of the city was 11,550 (5,686 men and 5,864 women).

Notable people

• Pope John III of Alexandria (7th century)
• Pope Cosmas II of Alexandria (9th century)
• Pope Shenouda I of Alexandria (9th century)
• Ahmed Abu Ismail (1915–2013), Minister of Finance
• Mohamed Nagui (1947–2014), writer
• Ahmed Mansour (born 1962), journalist

In religious traditions

In a Coptic tradition, Sebennytos was part of the route of the Holy Family during the flight into Egypt narrated in the Gospel of Matthew (2:13–23).

Gallery

• Archeological findings from Sebennytos
  Archeological findings from Sebennytos
• Sidi Salama minaret
  Sidi Salama minaret
• Church of the Holy Virgin and Apanoub
  Church of the Holy Virgin and Apanoub
• Mitwally minaret
  Mitwally minaret
• Ghoneim Palace
  Ghoneim Palace
• Ibrahim Sirag el-Din Hammam
  Ibrahim Sirag el-Din Hammam
• Qubba Darihiya
  Qubba Darihiya

See also

• List of cities and towns in Egypt