Facts about Aswan Governerate in Egypt

About Aswan Governerate in Egypt

Aswan was known as ‘Sonu’ in ancient Egyptian times, meaning market, as it was a trading centre for caravans coming to and from Nubia. In the Ptolemaic era, it was called ‘Sin’ and the Nubians called it ‘Yaba Swan’. It was also known as the Land of Gold because it served as a great treasure or tomb for the kings of Nubia who lived there for thousands of years. Before the migration, Aswan's borders extended from Asna in the east to the border of Sudan in the south, and its inhabitants were Nubians, but after the Islamic conquest of Nubia, some Arab tribes settled there.

Aswan's significance dates back to the Old Kingdom, when it served as the nation's southern boundary.  It was also the centre of the gathering of armies in the Middle Ages as they tried to extend their rule southwards. It also played a crucial role in the fight against the Hyksos.

The island of Philae, home of the goddess Isis, also attracted the attention of the Ptolemies, who completed its great temple. The Romans also built temples in the Pharaonic style to get closer to the Egyptians. One example is a small temple on Philae Island built by Emperor Trajan.

When Christianity became the official religion of the country in the 5th century AD, most of the Pharaohs' temples were converted into churches, and Philae Island was the centre of one of the bishoprics, which led to the spread of Christianity south towards Nubia in Egypt and Sudan. Since the spread and emergence of Islam, many writings in Kufic script have been found dating back to the first century AH.

Aswan also flourished in the Islamic era in the 10th century AD and was a route to Ayyazab on the Red Sea coast, from where ships sailed to the Hejaz, Yemen, and India. It was also an important cultural centre in the sixth and seventh centuries AH, and it had three schools, the oldest of which were the Aswan School, the Seifiya School, and the Star School in Aswan. Muhammad Ali established the first military school in Egypt in 1837.

Ancient times
Eratosthenes refuted the flat earth theory and made the first calculation of the circumference of the globe, taking Siena as the centre and Alexandria as the peripheral point to calculate the length of the arc between the two points and the angle of incidence of sunlight on each of the two cities, including the circumference of the earth. Eratosthenes relied on the sun's perpendicularity to the Tropic of Cancer (passing roughly through Aswan) on 21 June.

Christianity came to Egypt in many ways, as the first apostle who came to Egypt was Bartholomew the Apostle before the year 60 AD, and Bartholomew came to Sono ‘Aswan’ in 60 AD with Matthew the Apostle, and Matthew set off from Sono to Abyssinia, and Bartholomew set off from there to Armenia, and in 60 AD came to Alexandria, Marmarq the Apostle, and established the Markan chair and was killed there in 68 AD at the hands of the Pharaohs and the Greeks. The saints who were born in Aswan are Anba Hadra, the tourist.

First: The original inhabitants are the Nubians, divided into two tribes (Kanouz and Fajikat). The number of Nubians in Aswan is approximately 30 per cent, and the Nubian dialect is the reason for their name.

Secondly: Arabs, who came with the Islamic conquest of Egypt and took up residence in Aswan, the number of Arabs is 50%, and they are divided into more than ten tribes, the most famous of which are (Jaafra - Bashariya - Ababdeh - Ansar - Al-Alaqilat - Bani Hilal), and because they speak the Arabic language, their name came Arab, unlike the Nubians and not because they are nomads, in some countries they call the Bedouins Arabs.

Third: The rest of the population are displaced Egyptians who live in Aswan to earn a livelihood on a temporary and permanent basis.