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Information about Land Of Punt

See also Puntland.


The Land of Punt, also called "Pwenet"[1] by the ancient Egyptians, at times synonymous with Ta netjer, the 'land of the god' [2], was a fabled site in eastern Africa and "was the source of many exotic products, such as gold, aromatic resins, African blackwood, ebony, ivory, slaves and wild animals" including monkeys and baboons.[3] All information about Punt has been found from ancient Egyptian records of trade missions to this region.

Egyptian expeditions to Punt

The earliest recorded Egyptian expedition to Punt was organized by Pharaoh Sahure of the Fifth Dynasty (25th century BC). [4] Subsequently, in the reign of Mentuhotep III (around 1950 BC), an officer named Hannu organized one or more voyages to Punt, but it is uncertain whether he took part personally in these expeditions. [5]

Enlarge picture
Queen Ati of Punt depicted in Hatshepsut's funerary temple in Egypt
The most famous ancient Egyption expedition to Punt was conducted during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut in the 15th century BC to obtain myrrh. A report of that voyage survives on a relief in Hatshepsut's funerary temple at Deir el-Bahri. Nehsi, mentioned in the inscriptions, is thought by some to have been the leader of the expedition. According to the relief, Punt was ruled at that time by King Parahu and Queen Ati [6]. Several of Hatshepsut's successors, including Thutmoses III, also organized expeditions to Punt.

Geographic location of Punt

Ancient Egyptian texts are consistent in connecting the location of Punt with the Red Sea, but scholars have not agreed upon its precise location. Modern academic consensus places Punt in the area of northern Ethiopia, Eritrea, or the southeastern Beja lands of Sudan.[7]

The most likely location of Punt according to Kenneth Kitchen is the region of northern Ethiopia/Eritrea and east-north-east Sudan. [8]The presence of teff in 4th dynasty pyramid bricks of the Dashur Pyramid supports this theory, as teff only grows in the Eritrean Highlands and Ethiopian highlands. Modern attempts to classify the flora and fauna from Punt also suggests that Punt may have been located in this region.[9] Myrrh trees from Hatshepsut's trading expedition to Punt are shown being loaded onto Egyptian ships in the second terrace of her funerary temple at Deir El Bahari.[10] Evidence that these trees were "replanted in the temple of Deir El-Bahri" is suggested "from the surviving traces of tree-pits" found here.[11]

Some argue that Punt was as far away as Puntland, a region of Somalia that adopted this name in the 20th century (and became the independent republic of Somaliland in the 1990's). Frankincense and myrrh, which were imported by the Egyptians from Punt, are still found in abundance in this region. In his translation of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, G.W.B. Huntingford went so far as to claim that the name "Punt" lay behind the name of "Opone," a coastal marketplace located south of Cape Guardafui, and identified both Punt and Opone with Hafun.

It was once thought that the frankincense and other goods the ancient Egyptians obtained in Punt suggested that it was located on the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, or even Bahrain or India. The presence of African animals in the Deir El Bahari reliefs, as well as the presence of incense-producing trees in Africa have discounted these theories.

"Ta netjer"

The ancient Egyptians also called Punt, Ta netjer, meaning "God's Land". This designation did not mean that Punt was considered a "Holy Land" by the Egyptians, rather it was used to refer to regions of the Sun God, i.e. regions located in the direction of the sunrise. [12] These eastern regions were blessed with precious products, like incense, used in temples. The term was used not only in reference to Punt, located southest of Egypt, but also in reference to regions of Asia east and northeast of Egypt, such as Lebanon, which was the source of wood for temples.[13]

Notes

1. ^ Ian Shaw & Paul Nicholson, The Dictionary of Ancient Egypt, British Museum Press, London. 1995, p.231.
2. ^ , vol. 1.
3. ^ Shaw & Nicholson, op. cit., p.231.
4. ^ , vol. 1.
5. ^ , vol. 1.
6. ^ , vol. 1.
7. ^ Edward J. Keall, Possible connections in antiquity between the Red Sea coast of Yemen and the Horn of Africa in Trade and Travel in the Red Sea Region. Proceedings of Red Sea Project I Held in the British Museum by the Society for Arabian Studies Monogrpahs No. 2. Oxford: England, Archaeopress, October 2002, p.53.
8. ^
9. ^ Shaw & Nicholson, op. cit., p.231
10. ^ Shaw & Nicholson, op. cit., p.232
11. ^ Shaw & Nicholson, op. cit., p.232
12. ^ , vol. II.
13. ^ , vol. II.

References

  • id="CITEREFBradbury, Louise1988">Bradbury, Louise (1988), "Reflections on Travelling to 'God's Land' and Punt in the Middle Kingdom", Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 25: 127-156.
    • id="CITEREFBreasted1906-1907">Breasted, John Henry (1906-1907), Ancient Records of Egypt: Historical Documents from the Earliest Times to the Persian Conquest, collected, edited, and translated, with Commentary, vol. 1-5, University of Chicago Press.
      • Fattovich, Rodolfo. 1991. "The Problem of Punt in the Light of the Recent Field Work in the Eastern Sudan". In Akten des vierten internationalen Ägyptologen Kongresses, München 1985, edited by Sylvia Schoske. Vol. 4 of 4 vols. Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag. 257–272
      • ———. 1993. "Punt: The Archaeological Perspective". In Sesto congresso internazionale de egittologia: Atti, edited by Gian Maria Zaccone, and Tomaso Ricardi di Netro. Vol. 2 of 2 vols. Torino: Italgas. 399–405
      • Herzog, Rolf. 1968. Punt. Abhandlungen des Deutsches Archäologischen Instituts Kairo, Ägyptische Reihe 6. Glückstadt: Verlag J. J. Augustin
      • id="CITEREFKitchen, K. A.1971">Kitchen, K. A. (1971), "Punt and How to Get There", Orientalia 40: 184-207
        • id="CITEREFKitchen1993">Kitchen, Kenneth A. (1993), "The Land of Punt", in Shaw, Thurstan; Paul Sinclair & Bassey Andah et al., The Archaeology of Africa: Foods, Metals, Towns, vol. 20, London and New York: Routledge, pp. 587-608.
          • id="CITEREFMeeks2003">Meeks, Dimitri (2003), "Locating Punt", in O'Connor, David B. & Stephen G. J. Quirke, Mysterious Lands, Encounters with ancient Egypt, vol. 5, London: Institute of Archaeology, University College London,University College London Press, pp. 53-80, ISBN 1-84472-004-7.
            • id="CITEREFPaice1992">Paice, Patricia, "The Punt Relief, the Pithom Stela, and the Periplus of the Erythean Sea", in Harrak, Amir, Contacts Between Cultures: Selected Papers from the 33rd International Congress of Asian and North African Studies, Toronto, August 15-25, 1990, vol. 1, Lewiston, Queenston, and Lampeter: The Edwin Mellon Press, pp. 227-235.
              • id="CITEREFSweeney2006">Sweeney, Emmet (2006), Empire of Thebes, ISBN 978-0-87586-479-2.

                Older literature

                See also

                External links

                News reports on Wadi Gawasis excavations

                Anthem
                Puntland Somali National Anthem


                Capital Garowe
                Largest city Bosaso (Commercial Capital)
                Official languages Somali and Arabic
                Government
                 -  President Mohamud Muse Hersi
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                Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30,221,532 km² (11,668,545 sq mi) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area, and 20.4% of the total land area.
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                Dynasties of Pharaohs
                in Ancient Egypt
                Predynastic Egypt
                Protodynastic Period
                Early Dynastic Period
                1st 2nd
                Old Kingdom
                3rd 4th 5th 6th
                First Intermediate Period
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                11th (Thebes only)

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                Sahure was the second king of ancient Egypt's 5th Dynasty. He was a son of queen Khentkaus I, who, in her tomb at Giza, is said to have been the "mother of two kings". His father probably was Userkaf.
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                Dynasties of Pharaohs
                in Ancient Egypt
                Predynastic Egypt
                Protodynastic Period
                Early Dynastic Period
                1st 2nd
                Old Kingdom
                3rd 4th 5th 6th
                First Intermediate Period
                7th 8th 9th 10th
                11th (Thebes only)

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                Sankhkare Mentuhotep III of the Eleventh dynasty was Pharaoh of Egypt during the Middle Kingdom. He continued the building program of his father Mentuhotep II, erecting temples to among others, Amun and Montu, local gods who had grown in prominence during the First
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                20th century
                ←← ↔ →→


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                Hannu, alt. Hennu, Henu, Henenu etc., was an Egyptian official serving under Mentuhotep III. He bore the titles of Bearer of the Royal Seal, Steward, Sole Companion, Chief of the Six Courts of Justice.
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                Wesretkau [0]
                Mighty of Kas

                Nebty
                name

                <hiero>G16</hiero>
                <hiero>M13-X1-M4-M4-M4</hiero> Wadjrenput[0]
                Flourishing of years

                Golden
                Horus

                <hiero>G8</hiero>
                ..... Click the link for more information.
                The fifteenth century BC was the time period from 1500 BC to 1401 BC .

                Events

                • 1504 BC–1492 BC — Egypt conquers Nubia and the Levant.
                • 1500 BC–1400 BC — The Rigveda was composed around this time.

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                C. myrrha

                Binomial name
                Commiphora myrrha
                Arn., 1964

                Synonyms
                Commiphora momol

                Myrrh is a red-brown resinous material, the dried sap of the tree Commiphora myrrha
                ..... Click the link for more information.
                A relief is a sculptured artwork where a modeled form projects out from a flat background.

                Reliefs are a common type of artwork found throughout the world, particularly to decorate monumental buildings, such as temples.
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                the largest temple in the world (early 12th century)]]

                For other uses, see Temple (disambiguation).
                A temple (from the Latin word templum
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                Deir el-Bahri (Arabic دير البحري dayr al-baḥrī, literally meaning, "The Northern Monastery") is a complex of mortuary temples and tombs located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite the city of Luxor, Egypt.
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                Nehsi was an official at the court of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Hatshepsut. He appears to have been of Nubian descent–nehsi (nHs.j) meaning He of Nubia–and held a number of important official positions, such as Wearer of the Royal Seal and chief treasurer.
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                Kanakht Khaemwaset
                Mighty Bull, Arising in Thebes

                Nebty
                name

                <hiero>G16</hiero>
                <hiero>-V29-sw-t-i-i-ra:Z1-mi-m-Q3*X1:N1-</hiero> Wahnesytmireempet
                Enduring in kingship like Re in heaven

                Golden
                Horus
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                 Egyptian                }}} 
                Writing system: hieroglyphs, cursive hieroglyphs, hieratic, demotic and Coptic (later, occasionally Arabic script in government translations)
                Language codes
                ISO 639-1: none
                ISO 639-2: egy
                ISO 639-3: egy
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                Red Sea is an inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb sound and the Gulf of Aden. In the north are the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba) and the Gulf of Suez (leading to the Suez Canal).
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                Ethiopia (IPA: /i.θi.oʊ.pi.ə/) ( ʾĪtyōṗṗyā), officially the
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                Anthem
                Ertra, Ertra, Ertra


                Capital
                (and largest city) Asmara

                Official languages none at national level
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                The Beja people are an ethnic group dwelling parts of North-Eastern and Eastern Africa including the area of the Horn of Africa.

                Geography

                The Beja are found mostly in Sudan, but also in parts of Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Egypt.
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                Motto
                "Al-Nasr Lana"   (Arabic)
                "Victory is Ours"
                Anthem
                نحن جند للہ جند الوطن   (Arabic)

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                E. tef

                Binomial name
                Eragrostis tef
                (Zucc.) Trotter

                Teff or tef (Eragrostis tef, Amharic ጤፍ ṭēff, Tigrinya ጣፍ ṭāff
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                State Party  Egypt
                Type Cultural
                Criteria i, iii, vi
                Reference 86
                Region Arab States

                Inscription History
                Inscription 1979  (3rd Session)
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                Eritrean Highlands are an extension of the Ethiopian Highlands to the south. The region has seen tremendous deforestation since the Italian Colonial period which began in the late 19th century. The Highlands are at particular risk of deforestation and associated soil erosion.
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                Ethiopian Highlands are a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia, Eritrea (which is sometimes referred to as the Eritrean Highlands), and northern Somalia (Somaliland) in northeastern Africa.
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                C. myrrha

                Binomial name
                Commiphora myrrha
                Arn., 1964

                Synonyms
                Commiphora momol

                Myrrh is a red-brown resinous material, the dried sap of the tree Commiphora myrrha
                ..... Click the link for more information.
                Wesretkau [0]
                Mighty of Kas

                Nebty
                name

                <hiero>G16</hiero>
                <hiero>M13-X1-M4-M4-M4</hiero> Wadjrenput[0]
                Flourishing of years

                Golden
                Horus

                <hiero>G8</hiero>
                ..... Click the link for more information.
                Anthem
                Puntland Somali National Anthem


                Capital Garowe
                Largest city Bosaso (Commercial Capital)
                Official languages Somali and Arabic
                Government
                 -  President Mohamud Muse Hersi
                ..... Click the link for more information.


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