Siwa Oasis is located in the western desert of Egypt 300 km (185 miles) southwest of the Mediterranean city of Marsa Matrouh. The word comes from Arabic Wahat Siwa Siwa, which means "protector of the Egyptian sun god Amun-Ra. Siwa is best known as the site of a Greek temple dedicated to the sun oracle Egyptian god Amun. The temple is still visible on the hill Aghurmi, which is 4 kilometers from the town of Siwa.
Flint show that Siwa was already inhabited in the Paleolithic and Neolithic, but the first historical records date from the Middle and New Kingdoms of ancient Egypt (2050-1800 BC and 1570-1090 BC). Nonethless, it is unlikely that the pharaohs and their governors never exercised any real control over Siwa, since there is no sign of buildings from this period.
But Siwa was, in its way, a center of Egyptian culture, a temple built in honor of the ram-headed sun god Amun-Ra, housed a divine oracle whose fame, about 700 BC was widespread in the eastern Mediterranean. Persian king Cambyses, son of Cyrus the Great and conqueror of Egypt, held a grudge against the oracle, probably because he had predicted that his conquests in Africa would soon falter - as elsewhere. In 524 BC Cambyses dispatched from Luxor an army of 50,000 men to destroy the oracle at Siwa - a scattering of forces he could ill afford on its way to capture Ethiopia. The whole army has disappeared without a trace, buried in sand seas between Siwa Oasis and the center-Egyptian, and no sign of it has been found so far.
The most famous visitor to Siwa was undoubtedly Alexander the Great. It has been acclaimed pharaoh of Egypt after defeating the Persian Darius at the Battle of Issus in 333 BC. In 331 he left his newly founded city of Alexandria, reached Mersa Matruh, Siwa and marched along the desert road which is still used today.
Although we do not know for certain, the goal of Alexander in making the journey may have been a piece of image-making policies. Each of the 28th dynasty pharaohs of Egypt had visited Siwa to be recognized in the temple there is the son of Amon-Ra, the supreme god and each thereafter, was depicted as wearing horns of a ram Amon on his head. Alexander wanted the same declaration of divine power to legitimize his conquest of Egypt and get on the same footing as the pharaohs.
With the advent of the Roman era, oracles went out of fashion, and therefore the Egyptian gods, the Greeks were more or less integrated into their own mythology.Reading omens and entrails of animals were more Roman style. When the traveler and historian Strabo visited Egypt in 23 BC, it was found that the oracle of Amon had lost almost all its importance, although undoubtedly the god was still revered locally until the advent of Islam.
The next thousand years in the history of Siwa has been difficult. Economic and social turmoil following the dissolution of Roman power politics. Bedouin tribes have attacked the scattered settlements of the oasis and disrupted what little trade had the Siwan.Around the year 1200 the population was reduced to 40 able-bodied men, perhaps 200 in all. Then, the entire population moved from the ground below, near the temple of the oracle of a nearby hill that could be fortified.
The first European to visit since Roman times was the English traveler William George Browne, who came in 1792 to see the ancient temple of the oracle. By the 19th century other European visitors, was never accepted by the population, describes the entire hill like a beehive most buildings. In 1820, Siwa fell under the domination outside for the first time when it was conquered by the troops of Muhammad Ali, Ottoman pasha of Egypt. With central rule, the defense needs of the city have been reduced and for the first time since 1200 he has been allowed to build houses outside the fortifications of the city - although most people were reluctant to do . A rainstorm in 1926 destroyed many houses, however, and does other dangerous, forcing people to leave. The ancient city is now almost in ruins, although its nature honeycomb is still clearly visible.
Recently, a team of Greek archaeologists working near the oasis of Siwa in the Western Desert of Egypt have discovered three tablets indicating that the body of Alexander could have been taken there for burial after his death in a military campaign. More research on this is underway.
Other sites of local historical interest include the remains of the temple oracle Mawta the Gebel al (Mountain of the Dead), a Roman necropolis with dozens of tombs carved into the rock, and "bath Cleopatra, "an ancient natural spring.
Flint show that Siwa was already inhabited in the Paleolithic and Neolithic, but the first historical records date from the Middle and New Kingdoms of ancient Egypt (2050-1800 BC and 1570-1090 BC). Nonethless, it is unlikely that the pharaohs and their governors never exercised any real control over Siwa, since there is no sign of buildings from this period.
But Siwa was, in its way, a center of Egyptian culture, a temple built in honor of the ram-headed sun god Amun-Ra, housed a divine oracle whose fame, about 700 BC was widespread in the eastern Mediterranean. Persian king Cambyses, son of Cyrus the Great and conqueror of Egypt, held a grudge against the oracle, probably because he had predicted that his conquests in Africa would soon falter - as elsewhere. In 524 BC Cambyses dispatched from Luxor an army of 50,000 men to destroy the oracle at Siwa - a scattering of forces he could ill afford on its way to capture Ethiopia. The whole army has disappeared without a trace, buried in sand seas between Siwa Oasis and the center-Egyptian, and no sign of it has been found so far.
The most famous visitor to Siwa was undoubtedly Alexander the Great. It has been acclaimed pharaoh of Egypt after defeating the Persian Darius at the Battle of Issus in 333 BC. In 331 he left his newly founded city of Alexandria, reached Mersa Matruh, Siwa and marched along the desert road which is still used today.
Although we do not know for certain, the goal of Alexander in making the journey may have been a piece of image-making policies. Each of the 28th dynasty pharaohs of Egypt had visited Siwa to be recognized in the temple there is the son of Amon-Ra, the supreme god and each thereafter, was depicted as wearing horns of a ram Amon on his head. Alexander wanted the same declaration of divine power to legitimize his conquest of Egypt and get on the same footing as the pharaohs.
With the advent of the Roman era, oracles went out of fashion, and therefore the Egyptian gods, the Greeks were more or less integrated into their own mythology.Reading omens and entrails of animals were more Roman style. When the traveler and historian Strabo visited Egypt in 23 BC, it was found that the oracle of Amon had lost almost all its importance, although undoubtedly the god was still revered locally until the advent of Islam.
The next thousand years in the history of Siwa has been difficult. Economic and social turmoil following the dissolution of Roman power politics. Bedouin tribes have attacked the scattered settlements of the oasis and disrupted what little trade had the Siwan.Around the year 1200 the population was reduced to 40 able-bodied men, perhaps 200 in all. Then, the entire population moved from the ground below, near the temple of the oracle of a nearby hill that could be fortified.
The first European to visit since Roman times was the English traveler William George Browne, who came in 1792 to see the ancient temple of the oracle. By the 19th century other European visitors, was never accepted by the population, describes the entire hill like a beehive most buildings. In 1820, Siwa fell under the domination outside for the first time when it was conquered by the troops of Muhammad Ali, Ottoman pasha of Egypt. With central rule, the defense needs of the city have been reduced and for the first time since 1200 he has been allowed to build houses outside the fortifications of the city - although most people were reluctant to do . A rainstorm in 1926 destroyed many houses, however, and does other dangerous, forcing people to leave. The ancient city is now almost in ruins, although its nature honeycomb is still clearly visible.
Recently, a team of Greek archaeologists working near the oasis of Siwa in the Western Desert of Egypt have discovered three tablets indicating that the body of Alexander could have been taken there for burial after his death in a military campaign. More research on this is underway.
Other sites of local historical interest include the remains of the temple oracle Mawta the Gebel al (Mountain of the Dead), a Roman necropolis with dozens of tombs carved into the rock, and "bath Cleopatra, "an ancient natural spring.
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