Oxyrhynchus

{{Short description|City in Ptolemaic/Roman Egypt}} {{About|the Egyptian city|the genus of legumes|Oxyrhynchus (plant)|the fish|Freshwater elephantfish}} {{Infobox settlement |name = Oxyrhynchus |native_name = {{Unbulleted list|{{Native name|ar|البهنسا}}|{{Native name|cop|ⲡⲉⲙϫⲉ}}|{{Native name|grc|Ὀξύρρυγχος}}}} |other_name = Al-Bahnasa |alternate_name = |image_skyline= File:منطقة شهداء البهنسا.jpg |alt = |caption = Al-Bahnasa Martyr district, a cemetery of 5,000 prominent early Muslims during Early Muslim conquests |pushpin_map = Egypt |pushpin_relief = 1 |map_alt = |pushpin_mapsize = 300px |coordinates = {{coord|28.531|30.647|type:city_region:EG|display=inline,title}} | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{flag|Egypt}} | subdivision_type1 = Governorate | subdivision_type2 = | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name1 = Minya | timezone = EET | utc_offset = +2 | timezone_DST = EEST | utc_offset_DST = +3 |type = |part_of = |length = |width = |area = |height = |builder = |material = |built = |abandoned = |epochs = |cultures = |dependency_of = |occupants = |event = |excavations = |archaeologists = |condition = |ownership = |management = |public_access = |website = |notes = |settlement_type = City }}

'''Oxyrhynchus''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|ɒ|k|s|ɪ|ˈ|r|ɪ|ŋ|k|ə|s}} {{Respell|OK|sih|RINK|əs}}; {{langx|grc|Ὀξύῤῥυγχος|Oxýrrhynkhos|sharp-nosed}}, {{IPA|grc-x-koine|okˈsyr̥r̥yŋkʰos|lang|link=yes}}; {{Langx|egy|pr mꜥḏ}}; {{langx|cop|{{Script/Coptic|ⲡⲉⲙϫⲉ}} or {{Script/Coptic|ⲡⲙ̅ϫⲏ}}|''Pemdje''}}),<ref name = Budge987/><ref name = Gauthier83/> also known by its modern name '''Al-Bahnasa''' ({{langx|ar|البهنسا|el-Bahnasa}}), is a city in Middle Egypt located about 160&nbsp;km south-southwest of Cairo in Minya Governorate. It is also an important archaeological site. Since the late 19th century, the area around Oxyrhynchus has been excavated almost continually, yielding an enormous collection of papyrus texts dating from the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Roman Egypt. They also include a few vellum manuscripts, and more recent Arabic manuscripts on paper (for example, the medieval P. Oxy. VI 1006<ref>{{cite web|url= http://163.1.169.40/cgi-bin/library?e=d-000-00---0POxy--00-0-0--0prompt-10---4------0-1l--1-en-50---20-about---00031-001-1-0utf-00&a=d&c=POxy&cl=CL2.1&d=HASH673b681e54e504ce92ae08|title=Oxyrhynchus Online Image Database|publisher=Oxyrhynchus Online Project Metadata|access-date=27 March 2017}} Document Location: The Egyptian Museum, Cairo, Egypt. Material: Paper. Image: Unavailable.</ref>).

==History== left|thumb|The medjed or oxyrhynchus worshipped as a deity

===Ancient Egyptian era=== {{hiero|pr mꜥḏ<ref name = Budge987>{{Cite book| author = E. A. Wallis Budge|date = 1920 | title = An Egyptian hieroglyphic dictionary: with an index of English words, king list and geological list with indexes, list of hieroglyphic characters, coptic and semitic alphabets, etc. Vol II=| url= https://archive.org/details/egyptianhierogly02budguoft/page/987| publisher = John Murray}} p. 987</ref>|<hiero>pr:Z1-G20-D-N31:niwt</hiero>|align=right|era=egypt}} {{hiero|pr mḏꜣ<ref name = Gauthier83>{{cite book |last1=Gauthier |first1=Henri |title=Dictionnaire des Noms Géographiques Contenus dans les Textes Hiéroglyphiques Vol .2 |date=1925 |page=83 |url=https://archive.org/details/Gauthier1925_2/page/n43}}</ref>|<hiero>pr:Z1-m-U29-A-niwt</hiero>|align=right|era=egypt}} Oxyrhynchus lies west of the main course of the Nile on the Bahr Yussef, a branch that terminates in Lake Moeris and the Faiyum oasis. In ancient Egyptian times, there was a city on the site called '''Per-Medjed''',<ref name="where">{{cite web|url=http://www.papyrology.ox.ac.uk/POxy/oxyrhynchus/whereis.html|title=Where is Oxyrhynchus?|publisher=Oxyrhynchus Online|access-date=1 June 2007}}</ref> named after the medjed, a species of elephantfish of the Nile worshipped there as the fish that ate the penis of Osiris. It was the capital of the 19th Upper Egyptian Nome.

===Ptolemaic era=== 200px|thumb|left|Location of Oxyrhynchus in Egypt. After the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, the city was reestablished as a Hellenistic town called '''Oxyrrhynchoupolis''' ({{langx|grc-x-koine|Ὀξυρρύγχου Πόλις|town of the sharp-snouted fish}}). In the Hellenistic period, Oxyrhynchus was a prosperous regional capital, the third-largest city in Egypt. After Egypt was Christianized, it became famous for its many churches and monasteries.<ref name="where" /> Saints Sirenos, Philoxenos and Ioustos were venerated and had shrines dedicated to them in the city.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Results {{!}} The Cult of Saints |url=http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/results.php?full_text=Oxyrhynchos |access-date=2024-01-05 |website=csla.history.ox.ac.uk}}</ref>

===Roman era=== Oxyrhynchus remained a prominent, though gradually declining, town in the Roman and Byzantine periods.<ref name=":0" />

During the Jewish diaspora uprisings of 115–117 CE, fighting spread to the nome of Oxyrhynchus.<ref name="Zeev-2006">{{Citation |last=Zeev |first=Miriam Pucci Ben |title=The uprisings in the Jewish Diaspora, 116–117 |date=2006-06-22 |work=The Cambridge History of Judaism |pages=95–98 |editor-last=Katz |editor-first=Steven T. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/CBO9781139055130A007/type/book_part |access-date=2024-09-08 |edition=1 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/chol9780521772488.005 |isbn=978-1-139-05513-0|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The Roman suppression led to the near-total expulsion and destruction of Jewish communities in Egypt. Papyrological evidence indicates that a local festival commemorating the Jewish defeat was still celebrated in Oxyrhynchus some eighty years later.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Kerkeslager |first1=Allen |title=The Diaspora from 66 to c. 235 ce |date=2006 |work=The Cambridge History of Judaism: Volume 4: The Late Roman-Rabbinic Period |volume=4 |pages=53–92 |editor-last=Katz |editor-first=Steven T. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/cambridge-history-of-judaism/diaspora-from-66-to-c-235-ce/5AECAD54BE6CA31C7968EED92D6CA36A |access-date=2024-09-16 |series=The Cambridge History of Judaism |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/chol9780521772488.004 |isbn=978-0-521-77248-8 |last2=Setzer |first2=Claudia |last3=Trebilco |first3=Paul |last4=Goodblatt |first4=David|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Jewish life in the area did not re-emerge until the third century, with a papyrus dated to 291 CE recording an active synagogue in Oxyrhynchus and identifying one of its officials as originating from Palestine.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=Kerkeslager |first1=Allen |title=The Late Roman-Rabbinic Period |last2=Setzer |first2=Claudia |last3=Trebilco |first3=Paul |last4=Goodblatt |first4=David |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-521-77248-8 |editor-last=T. Katz |edition=Steven |series=The Cambridge History of Judaism |volume=4 |page=67 |chapter=The Diaspora From 66 to c. 235 CE |doi=10.1017/CHOL9780521772488.004}}</ref>

From 619 to 629, during the brief period of Sasanian Egypt, three Greek papyri from Oxyrhynchus include references to large sums of gold that were to be sent to the emperor.<ref name=":0">{{iranica|egypt-iv|EGYPT iv. Relations in the Sasanian period}}</ref>

===Arab era=== {{further|topic=Muslim conquest of Bahnasa|'Amr ibn al-'Aas|Dhiraar ibn al-Azwar|Military conquests of Umar's era|Zubayr ibn al-Awwam}} 280px|thumb|Map showing the path of the Islamic armies and their conquest of Egypt and Nubia during the reign of the second Caliph Omar Ibn Al-Khattab. During the era of Rashidun Caliphate, the town of Oxyrhinchus was invaded and conquered by Rashidun army under the leadership of Khalid ibn al-Walid.<ref name="historyBeja" /><ref name="Ministry interest" /><ref name="El-Wattan; Khalid ibn Walid encampment" /><ref name="foreign Student community of Egypt" /><ref name="Gihan Shahine Ahram" /> At first, the Rashidun sent emissary of Al-Mughira to negotiate with the garrison commander of the city named Batlus, however, as the negotiation ended badly, the Rashidun forces then sent their troops to attack Bahnasa.{{sfn|Abdel Aziz Munir |2012}} The Rashidun governor of Egypt, Amr ibn al-As, dispatched Khalid as the commander of this expedition, who take the route through Fustat.<ref name="EgypExploration">{{cite book |publisher=Egypt Exploration Fund |title=The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology |url=https://www.google.co.id/books/edition/The_Journal_of_Egyptian_Archaeology/07fNAAAAMAAJ?hl=en |volume=11 |year=1925|page=267}}</ref>

Various early Islamic chroniclers, such as Al-Waqidi in his ''F̣utūh al-Bahnasā'', and Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Mu"izz in ''The Conquest of Bahnasa'', reported that the Muslim armies under Khalid ibn al-Walid entered Bahnasa in 639,<ref name="Epilogue. The Demise of Christian Oxyrhynchus">{{cite book |last1=Blumell |first1=Lincoln H. |title=Epilogue. The Demise of Christian Oxyrhynchus |date=2012 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-18098-7 |pages=295–300 |url=https://brill.com/view/book/9789004180987/B9789004180987_008.xml |access-date=15 November 2021}}</ref> which defended by 50,000 Byzantine and Sudanese christian auxiliaries of Beja,{{#tag:ref|The compilation records about the conquest of Sudan and southern egypt were compilled in ''Futuhat Bahnasa'' and records of al-Maqrizi{{sfn|Norris|1986|p=81}}{{sfn|Hendrickx|2012|p=109-110}}|group="Notes"}}<ref name="Futuh al Bahnasa al-Ghara; Waqidi">{{cite book |last1=Waqidi |first1=Muhammad ibn Umar|author-link1=Al-Waqidi |title=F̣utūh al-Bahnasā al-Gharāʻ |date=1934 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f40cAAAAMAAJ&q=%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%20%D8%A8%D9%86%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%88%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%AF%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%87%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%A7 |access-date=15 November 2021}}</ref><ref name="Hadha qitab Futuh Bahnasa">{{cite book |title="Haḏā Kitāb" Qiṣṣat al-Bahnasā wa-mā fihā min al-ʿaǧā'ib wa-l-ġarā'ib |date=1873 |publisher=Maṭbaʿat al-Wahabīya |edition=digitized Austrian National Library |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PoL5aoC3sz0C |access-date=15 November 2021}}</ref> which reinforced by 1,300 elephant-riding mounted archers,<ref name="historyBeja">{{cite book |author=A. Paul |title=A History of the Beja Tribes of the Sudan |url=https://www.google.co.id/books/edition/A_History_of_the_Beja_Tribes_of_the_Suda/hI_wYwpGahEC?hl=en |isbn= 9781107646865|year=2012|page=67 |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref>{{sfn|Norris|1986|p=81}}{{sfn|Hendrickx|2012|p=109-110}} and anti cavalry unit named ''al-Quwwad'' which armed with iron sticks.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2012|p=109-110}} These units was led by a Patrician named Batlus. Meanwhile, al-Maqqari even stated 50,000 christian army of Byzantine Sudanese christian alliance in the "Battle of Darishkur".{{sfn|Norris|1986|p=81}}{{sfn|Hendrickx|2012|p=109-110}} Before the battle, the Rashidun army camped in a place which called ''Dashur''.{{sfn|Norris|1986|p=76-78}} 21st century Byzantine historian Benjamin Hendrickx reported that the African christians has mustered around 20,000 Sudanese ''Symmachoi'' corps a successor of Foederati auxiliary troops in Roman empire that existed around 400-650 AD.<ref name="Lucas McMahon; Simmachos">{{cite thesis |last1=McMahon |first1=Lucas |title=The Foederati, the Phoideratoi, and the Symmachoi of the Late Antique East (ca. A.D. 400-650) |journal=Theses 2011 |date=2014 |url=http://hdl.handle.net/10393/31772 |access-date=24 January 2022 |publisher=Morisset Hall 65 University |location=Ottawa |doi=10.20381/ruor-6303 |hdl=10393/31772 |type=Thesis |language=en}}</ref> the record of al-Maqrizi stated in this conflict, Dhiraar ibn al-Azwar, Miqdad ibn Aswad, Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, and Uqba ibn Amir each commanding muslims cavalry facing the Elephant corps led by Byzantine exarchate commander named Batlus.{{sfn|Norris|1986|p=81}} The Rashidun cavalry armed with spears ignited in flames that tip soaked in Santonin plants and Sulphur which were used drive the elephants flee in terror, as those elephants scared with the presence of the flaming tip of spear.{{sfn|Norris|1986|p=76-78}} while the elephant riders were toppled from the elephant's back and crushed underfoot on the ground.{{sfn|Norris|1986|p=76-78}} Meanwhile, the ''al-Quwwad'' warriors who used iron staffs were routed by the Rashidun cavalry soldiers who seized chain weapons from their fellow ''al-Quwwad'' units.{{sfn|Norris|1986|p=76-78}}

Later, after they managed to defeat the Byzantine field army, the Rashidun forces besieged the city. There are two version about the siege, the first version narrated the siege was led by Khalid ibn al-Walid, who also brought an ex Sassanid Marzban and his 2,000 Persian convert soldiers in this campaign. The Persian Marzban suggested to Khalid to form a suicide squad who will carry a wooden box filled with mixture of sulphur and oil and placing it at the gates, ignited it and blasting the gates(or melting the iron gate, according to the original translation), allowing the Muslim army to enter the city.<ref name="Waqidi Futh Sham version 2">{{cite web |last1=Waqidi |first1=Muhammad ibn Umar |title=Futuh Sham, complete second version |url=https://al-maktaba.org/book/12045/599 |website=modern comprehensive library |access-date=15 November 2021}}</ref><ref name="Waqidi Futuh al Sham complete revised version">{{cite book |last1=Waqidi |first1=Muhammad ibn Umar |title=فتوح الشام (نسخة منقحة) |date=2008 |page=48 |edition=Revised |url=http://www.al-eman.com/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D8%AA%D8%A8/%D9%81%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%AD%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%85%20%28%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%AE%D8%A9%20%D9%85%D9%86%D9%82%D8%AD%D8%A9%29/i833&n49&p1 |access-date=15 November 2021 |ref=Al-Masudi, Abu Jaafar Al-Tabarani, Al-Waqidi, Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Hisham, the companions of the biographies and the people of interpretation such as Saeed bin Jubayr, Saeed Ibn Al-Musayyab and Ibn Abbas}}</ref> The second version were the Muslim army led by Qays ibn Harith without much details of how the Muslims managed to subdue the city. However, this source mention that Qays ibn Harith name were used temporarily to rename Oxyrhynchus for while to honor his deeds in this campaign, before being renamed to be al-Bahnasa.<ref name='Al-Shinnawy; "Al-Qays" city of Martyrs'>{{cite news |last1=Al Shinnawy |first1=Mohammed |title=مدينة الشهداء خارج حساب محافظ المنيا |trans-title=The city of martyrs is outside the account of the governor of Minya |url=https://www.sada-elarab.com/141143 |access-date=15 November 2021 |agency=Shada al-'Arab |publisher=Shada al-'Arab |date=2019}}</ref>

From that point on, the town's name was changed to Al-Bahnasa. The town subsequently contained a cemetery of 5,000 companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who had participated in the conquest of Oxyrhynchus.<ref name="Ministry interest" /><ref name="El-Wattan; Khalid ibn Walid encampment" /><ref name="foreign Student community of Egypt" /><ref name="Gihan Shahine Ahram" /> After the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 641, the canal system on which the town depended fell into disrepair, and Oxyrhynchus was abandoned.<!--Parsons says it was still important in 942--> Today the town of '''el Bahnasa''' occupies part of the ancient site. The Arabs called the city as "Al-Baqi' of Egypt",<ref name="Gihan Shahine Ahram">{{cite web |last1=Shahine |first1=Gihan |title=For love of the Prophet's companions |url=https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/410118.aspx |website=Ahram online |access-date=15 November 2021}}</ref> as the city was known for having 5,000 Sahaba buried in it.<ref name="foreign Student community of Egypt">{{cite web|last1=Harits |first1=Deffa Cahyana |title=Bahnasa; Objek Wisata yang Menyimpan Jejak Sejarah Islam |date=2019 |publisher=KMA mesir |url=http://www.kmamesir.org/2019/08/bahnasa-objek-wisata-yang-menyimpan.html |access-date=15 November 2021}}</ref> The large number of fallen Muslim soldiers buried in this city was due to major battles against the Roman army and their fortifications in this area.<ref name="Ministry interest">{{cite web |title=The city of Bahnasa .. Why is the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities interested in restoring it? |url=https://egyptfwd.org/Article/6/1032/The-city-of-Bahnasa-Why-is-the-Ministry-of-Tourism |date=2020 |website=Egypt Forward |access-date=15 November 2021}}</ref>

Before it was renamed as "al-Bahnasa", Oxyrynchus were renamed as "Al-Qays town", by Maqrizi or "town of martyrs" in honor to one of the Muslim commander that participated in the conquest of Oxyrynchus.<ref name='Al-Shinnawy; "Al-Qays" city of Martyrs'>{{cite news |last1=Al Shinnawy |first1=Mohammed |title=مدينة الشهداء خارج حساب محافظ المنيا |trans-title=The city of martyrs is outside the account of the governor of Minya |url=https://www.sada-elarab.com/141143 |access-date=15 November 2021 |agency=Shada al-'Arab |publisher=Shada al-'Arab |date=2019}}</ref> Ali Pasha Mubarak mentioned it in the compromise plans that it was a city that had great fame and its flat was about 1000 acres and the golden curtains were working and the length of the curtains was 30 cubits and its territory included 120 villages other than the plantations and the hamlets. The northern is Kandous, the western is the mountain, the tribal is Touma, and the eastern is the sea. Each gate had three towers, and there were forty ribats, palaces, and many mosques, and at its western end there is a famous place known as the Dome of Seven Maidens.<ref name="5000 Martyrs bahnasa">{{cite news |last1=Abdul Ghafur |first1=Hassan |title="البهنسا" البقيع الثانى بالمنيا.. هنا يرقد أبطال غزوة بدر.. دفن بأرضها نحو 5000 صحابى.. وبها مقام سيدى على التكرورى.. السياحة ترصد ميزانية لأعمال ترميم وصيانة آثارها وأبرزها قباب الصحابة وسط مدافن البسطاء (صور) |date=2020 |publisher=al-Yaum al-Sab'a |url=https://www.youm7.com/story/2020/8/9/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%87%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%89-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D9%87%D9%86%D8%A7-%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%82%D8%AF-%D8%A3%D8%A8%D8%B7%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%BA%D8%B2%D9%88%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%AF%D9%81%D9%86/4917728 |access-date=29 December 2021}}</ref>

Among the most notable tombs were allegedly belong to the Muslim martyrs were the tombs of the children of Aqil bin Ali bin Abi Talib (brother of Ali, fourth Rashidun Caliph), Ziyad bin Abi Sufyan bin Abdul Muttalib (son of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb), Aban ibn Uthman bin Affan, Muhammad ibn Abi Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Bakr al-Siddiq (grandson of Abu Bakar), and Hassan al-Salih ibn Zayn al-Abidin bin al-Hussein (great-grandson of Ali).<ref name="Egypt Today tombs of companions">{{cite web |last1=Karima |first1=Hanya |title=Egypt's head of Islamic, Coptic, Jewish antiquities sector follows up on progress of project of restoring archeological village of Al-Bahnasa in Minya |url=https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/96730/Egypt%E2%80%99s-head-of-Islamic-Coptic-Jewish-antiquities-sector-follows-up |access-date=15 November 2021 |website=Egypt Today }}</ref>

Ibn Taghribirdi, a Mamluk era historian, also writing the history of Bahnasa conquest in his book, ''Al Duhur fi madaa al 'Ayaam wa al shuhur''<ref name="Provinces of Pharaonic Egypt">{{cite book |last1=Ali |first1=Mohammed |title=أقاليم مصر الفرعونية |date=2015 |publisher=ktab INC. |page=215 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lgWUDwAAQBAJ |access-date=15 November 2021}}</ref>

The Muslims army settled in the town for three years as their base after the conquest, while launching occasional raids on the black and the coasts. Al-Qa`qa` bin Amr, Hashem, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari and Uqba ibn Nafi Al-Fihri, the future conqueror of Maghreb, and went with two thousand of Persians convert who now fight under the caliphate, and raided the border of Barqa.<ref name="Hadha qitab Futuh Bahnasa" /><ref name="Futuh al Bahnasa al-Ghara; Waqidi" />

===Modern era=== Today, there are many structures in Al-Bahnasa erected in honor of various Muslim conquerors who are regarded as heroes by the locals. For example, the mosque of Hasan al-Salah was built in honor of a man (the great-grandson of Ali) who participated in the conquest of Al-Bahnasa.<ref name="al madain" /> It is the only mosque in Egypt that has two mihrabs.<ref name="al madain">{{cite news |last1=Abu Al-Saud |first1=Mahmoud |title="البهنسا".. طقوس فرضتها شمس "البقيع الثاني" ورمال ارتوت بدماء الصحابة |url=https://www.elmydannews.com/142822 |access-date=15 November 2021 |agency=al Madain |publisher=al Madain |date=2020}}</ref> Other examples include the tomb of Sidi Fath al-Bab, the mosque of Sidi Ali al-Jamam,<ref name="al madain" /> and a large cemetery in which many people that participated in the Arab conquest of Egypt are buried.<ref name="al madain" /> There are also many domes in Bahnasa which are attributed to soldiers such as Muhammad bin Uqbah bin Amer Al-Juhani and Ubadah bin Al-Samit.<ref name="al madain" />

There was also a particular mosque called Dome of Seven Maidens, which allegedly was built to honor seven Oxyrhynchus Coptic girls who defected and helped the Muslim armies under 'Amr ibn al-As and now venerated for their effort in the conquest of the city.<ref name="al madain" /> As the town of al-Bahnasa now contained thousands of historical structures in memoir of the conquests, including the 5,000 graves of companions of the prophet and Tabi'un martyrs of the battle of Bahnasa, the town are regarded by locals as "al-Baqi' of Egypt",<ref name="foreign Student community of Egypt" /><ref name="al madain" /> which became the point of interest for many foreign tourists particularly from the Muslim majority country.<ref name="foreign Student community of Egypt" />

==Archaeological excavation== {{main|Oxyrhynchus Papyri}} In 1882, Egypt, while still nominally part of the Ottoman Empire, came under effective British rule, and British archaeologists began the systematic exploration of the country. Because Oxyrhynchus was not considered an Ancient Egyptian site of any importance, it was neglected until 1896, when two young excavators, Bernard Pyne Grenfell and Arthur Surridge Hunt, both fellows of The Queen's College, Oxford, began to excavate it. "My first impressions on examining the site were not very favourable," wrote Grenfell. "The rubbish mounds were nothing but rubbish mounds."<ref>Quoted in A.M. Luijendijk, "Sacred Scriptures as Trash: Biblical Papyri from Oxyrhynchus" ''Vigiliae Christianae'', 2010.</ref> However, they very soon realized what they had found. The unique combination of climate and circumstance had left at Oxyrhynchus an unequalled archive of the ancient world. "The flow of papyri soon became a torrent," Grenfell recalled. "Merely turning up the soil with one's boot would frequently disclose a layer."<ref>{{cite book |last1= Grenfell |first1=Bernard |author-link=Bernard Pyne Grenfell |editor-last=Griffith |editor-first=F.L. |publisher=Egypt Exploration Fund. |date=1898 |title=Archaeological Report: 1896-1897 |pages=1–12, (7) |chapter=Oxyrhynchus and Its Papyri |access-date=October 1, 2016 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k406AQAAMAAJ&q=%22Merely+turning+up+the+soil+with+one%27s+boot+would+frequently+disclose+a+layer%22}}</ref>

There is an on-line table of contents briefly listing the type of contents of each papyrus or fragment.<ref>[http://www.csad.ox.ac.uk/POxy/papyri/tocframe.htm Search by table of contents] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090602124711/http://www.csad.ox.ac.uk/POxy/papyri/tocframe.htm |date=2009-06-02 }}; {{cite web|url=http://163.1.169.40/cgi-bin/library?site=localhost&a=p&p=about&c=POxy&ct=0&l=en&w=utf-8|title=Oxyrhynchus Online Image Database|publisher=Imaging Papyri Project|access-date=25 May 2007}} A listing of what each fragment contains.</ref> [[File:Oxyrhynchus papyrus with Euclid's Elements.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Another Oxyrhynchus papyrus, dated 75–125 AD. It describes one of the oldest diagrams of Euclid's Elements.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.math.ubc.ca/~cass/Euclid/papyrus/papyrus.html|title=One of the oldest extant diagrams from Euclid|author=Bill Casselman|author-link=Bill Casselman (mathematician)|publisher=Department of Mathematics, University of British Columbia|access-date=30 May 2007}}</ref>]]

Since the 1930s, work on the papyri has continued. For many years it was under the supervision of Professor Peter Parsons of Oxford. Eighty large volumes of the ''Oxyrhynchus Papyri'' have been published.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ees.ac.uk/publications/fulllist.htm |title=Publications: Full List |publisher=Egypt Exploration Society |access-date=30 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080128122817/http://www.ees.ac.uk/publications/fulllist.htm |archive-date=28 January 2008 }}</ref><ref name="Full List of EES Publications 2016">{{cite web|url=http://www.ees.ac.uk/userfiles/file/EES%20Publications%20List_Jul%202016.pdf|website=The Egypt Exploration Society|title=Publications|access-date=2 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802125110/http://www.ees.ac.uk/userfiles/file/EES%20Publications%20List_Jul%202016.pdf|archive-date=2 August 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Since the days of Grenfell and Hunt, the focus of attention at Oxyrhynchus has shifted. Modern archaeologists are interested in learning about the social, economic, and political life of the ancient world. This shift in emphasis had made Oxyrhynchus, if anything, even more important, for the very ordinariness of most of its preserved documents makes them most valuable for modern scholars of social history. Many works on Egyptian and Roman social and economic history and on the history of Christianity rely heavily on documents from Oxyrhynchus.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

A joint project with Brigham Young University using multi-spectral imaging technology has been extremely successful in recovering previously illegible writing. With this technology, many pictures are taken of an illegible papyrus using different filters, each finely tuned to capture only certain wavelengths of light. Thus, researchers can find the optimum spectral portion for distinguishing ink from paper in order to display otherwise completely illegible papyri. The amount of text potentially to be deciphered by this technique is huge. A selection of the images obtained during the project and more information on the latest discoveries has been provided on the project's website.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.papyrology.ox.ac.uk/POxy/multi/index.html|title=Multispectral imaging|publisher=Oxyrhynchos online|access-date=1 June 2007}}</ref>

On June 21, 2005, the ''Times Literary Supplement'' published the text and translation of a newly reconstructed poem by Sappho,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tls.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25345-1886660,00.html |title=A New Sappho Poem |author=Martin West |publisher=Times Online |date=24 June 2005 |access-date=1 June 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070628085129/http://www.tls.timesonline.co.uk/article/0%2C%2C25345-1886660%2C00.html |archive-date=28 June 2007 }}</ref> together with discussion by Martin L. West.<ref>[http://tls.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25337-1886659,00.html Discussion by Martin West] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060929201235/http://tls.timesonline.co.uk/article/0%2C%2C25337-1886659%2C00.html |date=September 29, 2006 }}</ref> Part of this poem was first published in 1922 from an Oxyrhynchus papyrus, no. 1787 (fragment 1).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://163.1.169.40/cgi-bin/library?e%3Dd-000-00---0POxy--00-0-0--0prompt-10---4------0-1l--1-en-50---20-about---00031-001-1-0utfZz-8-00%26a%3Dd%26c%3DPOxy%26cl%3DCL5.1.5%26d%3DHASHaeefcbe08cb915ff564bba |title=P.Oxy.XV 1787 |access-date=2006-03-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070325015136/http://163.1.169.40/cgi-bin/library?e=d-000-00---0POxy--00-0-0--0prompt-10---4------0-1l--1-en-50---20-about---00031-001-1-0utfZz-8-00&a=d&c=POxy&cl=CL5.1.5&d=HASHaeefcbe08cb915ff564bba |archive-date=2007-03-25 }}see the third pair of images on this page</ref> Most of the rest of the poem has now been found on a papyrus kept at Cologne University.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uni-koeln.de/phil-fak/ifa/NRWakademie/papyrologie/Verstreutepub/21351+21376_ZPE154.html |title=P.Köln Inv. Nr. 21351_2 |access-date=2006-03-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317210426/http://www.uni-koeln.de/phil-fak/ifa/NRWakademie/papyrologie/Verstreutepub/21351%2B21376_ZPE154.html |archive-date=2007-03-17 }}Image of papyrus fragment</ref>

In May 2020, an Egyptian-Catalan archaeological mission headed by Esther Pons and Maite Mascort revealed a unique cemetery consisting of one room built with glazed limestone dating back to the 26th Dynasty (so-called the El-Sawi era). Archaeologists also uncovered bronze coins, clay seals, Roman tombstones and small crosses.<ref>{{Cite web|title=StackPath|url=https://dailynewsegypt.com/2020/05/18/unique-late-ancient-egyptian-cemetery-discovered-in-minya-governorate/|access-date=2020-09-09|website=dailynewsegypt.com|date=18 May 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-05-28|title=Unique cemetery dating back to el-Sawi era discovered in Egypt amid coronavirus crisis|url=https://zeenews.india.com/world/unique-cemetery-dating-back-to-el-sawi-era-discovered-in-egypt-amid-coronavirus-crisis-2286500.html|access-date=2020-09-09|website=Zee News|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Mahmoud|first=Rasha|date=2020-05-26|title=Egypt makes major archaeological discovery amid coronavirus crisis|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/05/egypt-archaeological-discover-cemetery-coronavirus.html|access-date=2020-09-09|website=Al-Monitor|language=en}}</ref>

In February 2023, 16 individual tombs and 6 funerary complex from the Persian, Roman and Coptic periods and 2 deposited frogs were discovered by the Egyptian-Spanish archaeological mission. Majority of the bodies preserved with decorated shrouds were revealed alongside the pottery vessels and lamps.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-02-26 |title=Group Of Persian, Roman and Coptic Tombs Discovered In Egypt |url=https://greekreporter.com/2023/02/26/group-persian-roman-coptic-tombs-discovered-egypt/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=In Photos: 22 Persian, Roman and Coptic tombs discovered in Upper Egypt's Minya - Greco-Roman - Antiquities |url=https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/489649.aspx |access-date=2023-03-03 |website=Ahram Online}}</ref>

In April 2026, an archaeological mission led by the University of Barcelona and the Institute of the Ancient Near East uncovered a significant Roman-era tomb complex that provides evidence of complex, syncretic funerary traditions. The excavation revealed a range of mortuary practices, including mummification with linen wraps and gold leaf, as well as the deposition of cremated remains within limestone chambers alongside animal offerings, such as a feline head. The recovery of ritual objects, specifically three golden and one copper tongue, suggests a practice intended to allow the deceased to communicate in the afterlife, while the discovery of a papyrus fragment containing a passage from Homer’s ''Iliad'' and various bronze and terracotta figurines such as Cupid and Harpocrates underscores the fusion of Greek literary culture and Greco-Roman religious iconography with local Egyptian burial customs.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-04-18 |title=Egypt unveils rare Roman-era tomb in Minya, illuminating ancient burial rituals - Dailynewsegypt |url=https://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2026/04/18/egypt-unveils-rare-roman-era-tomb-in-minya-illuminating-ancient-burial-rituals/ |access-date=2026-04-19 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-04-18 |title=Roman tomb unveiled in Egypt’s Minya with golden-tongued mummies and statues |url=https://www.egyptindependent.com/roman-tomb-unveiled-in-egypts-minya-with-golden-tongued-mummies-and-statues/ |access-date=2026-04-19 |website=Egypt Independent |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Archaeological structures of Muslim conquest === The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities expressed their interest in a project to restore the tombs of the Al-Bahnasa, an ancient city, in which many papyri dating back to the Greco-Roman era were found, as well as a number of tombs for the companions of Muhammad.<ref name="Ministry interest" /> In 2021, Egypt's head of Islamic, Coptic, Jewish antiquities sector followed up on the progress of the restoration.<ref name="Egypt Today tombs of companions" />

In March 2020, archeological researchers from the Antiquities Inspection of Al-Bahnasa District located archaeological evidence of the encampment of Khalid ibn al-Walid and 10,000 soldiers under him, including 70 veterans of the Battle of Badr.<ref name="El-Wattan; Khalid ibn Walid encampment">{{cite news |last1=Omar |first1=Samir |last2=Muslim |first2=Mahmoud |title=باحث أثري يكشف سر إقامة 10 آلاف صحابي ومعركة خالد بن الوليد في البهنسا |trans-title= An archaeological researcher reveals the secret of the residence of 10 thousand companions and the battle of Khalid ibn al-Walid in Bahnasa |url=https://www.elwatannews.com/news/details/4654607 |access-date=15 November 2021 |work=Mahmoud Muslim |agency=El-Wattan |publisher=El-Wattan News |date=2020}}</ref> The excavators said the Muslim armies' encampments were located in the current location of the village of Beni Hilal, Minya District, west of Bahnasa.<ref name="El-Wattan; Khalid ibn Walid encampment" />

==See also== *Hellanicus of Lesbos *Heracles Papyrus *Oxyrhynchus Gospels *Oxyrhynchus hymn *Villa of the Papyri * ''The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus''

==Appendix== ===Notes=== {{Reflist|group="Notes"}} ===References=== {{Reflist|2}}

==Bibliography== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070929134046/http://worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/154802863%26referer%3Dbrief_results The Oxyrhynchus Logia and the Apocryphal Gospels]. (2007). Gardners Books.{{ISBN|978-1-4304-5596-7}} * {{cite book |last1=Abdel Aziz Munir |first1=Amr |editor1-last=Abdel Aziz Munir |editor1-first=Amr |title=قصة البهنسا: حكاية غزوة |trans-title=The Story of Bahnasa.. A Story of a Battle |date=2012 |publisher=Egyptian General Authority for Cultural Palaces; Department of History at the Faculty of Arts |isbn=978-977-718-017-7 |url=http://booklikes.com/book/book,9415496 |access-date=27 January 2022 |language=ar |format=paperback}} * {{cite book |last1=H. Blumell |first1=Lincoln |title=Lettered Christians |type= Biblical Studies |chapter=Epilogue. The Demise of Christian Oxyrhynchus |date=2012 |publisher=Brill |isbn=9789004180987 |pages=295–300 |doi=10.1163/9789004180987_008 |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004180987_008 |access-date=17 January 2022 |language=en | quote=Futuh al-Bahnasa al Gharra, 'the conquest of Bahnasa, the blessed', by Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Mu'izz}} * {{cite journal|last1=Hendrickx |first1=Benjamin |title=THE BORDER TROOPS OF THE ROMAN-BYZANTINE SOUTHERN EGYPTIAN LIMES: PROBLEMS AND REMARKS ON THE ROLE OF THE AFRICAN AND 'BLACK' AFRICAN MILITARY UNITS |volume=94|journal=Ekklesiastikos Pharos|date=2012 |hdl=10520/EJC128657 |url=https://journals.co.za/doi/10.10520/EJC128657 |access-date=13 November 2021}} Benjamin Hendrickx in Deutsch wikipedia * {{cite book |author1=Muḥammad ibn ʻUmar Wāqidī |author1-link=Al-Waqidi |title=F̣utūh al-Bahnasā al-Gharāʻ |date=1934 |publisher=the University of Michigan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f40cAAAAMAAJ |access-date=11 February 2022 |language=ar}} * {{cite journal |last1=Norris |first1=H. T. |title=THE FUTŪḤ AL-BAHNASĀ: And its relation to pseudo-"Maġāzī" and "Futūḥ" literature, Arabic "Siyar" and Western Chanson de Geste in the Middle Ages |journal=Quaderni di Studi Arabi |date=1986 |volume=4 |pages=76–78 |jstor=25802579 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25802579 |access-date=8 November 2021}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Oxyrhynchus}} * [https://www.oxirrinc.com/en Official website of the Archaeological Mission in Oxyrhynchus] *[http://www.papyrology.ox.ac.uk/POxy/ Oxyrhynchus Online] *[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/papyrus/ PBS NOVA scienceNOW feature on papyrus imaging (streaming video)] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20051025001322/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/625/he1.htm Report on the recent Egyptian-Spanish archaeological mission to the site] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20031121200301/http://www.classics.ox.ac.uk/research/projects/oxy.asp Oxford University Classics Department Oxyrhynchus Project] *[http://gnosis.org/naghamm/thomas_poxy.htm Oxyrhynchus and the Gospel of Thomas] *[http://www.papyrology.ox.ac.uk/POxy/news/independent.html Article on new discoveries in the papyri] from ''The Independent on Sunday'', April 17, 2005 *[https://web.archive.org/web/20120125125146/http://www.lib.umich.edu/MPC/Geographica/Oxyrhynchus_Frameset.html University of Michigan Collection] *[https://www.oxirrinc.com/en/ Joint Egyptian/Spanish archaeological mission in Oxyrhynchus] * {{cite book |last1=H. Blumell |first1=Lincoln |title=Lettered Christians |type= Biblical Studies |chapter=Epilogue. The Demise of Christian Oxyrhynchus |date=2012 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-18098-7 |pages=295–300 |doi=10.1163/9789004180987_008 |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004180987_008 |access-date=17 January 2022 |language=en | quote=Futuh al-Bahnasa al Gharra, 'the conquest of Bahnasa, the blessed', by Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Mu'izz}}

=== Oxyrhynchus papyri volumes === *[https://archive.org/details/oxyrhynchuspapyr01grenuoft The Oxyrhynchus papyri vol. I, edited with translations and notes by Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt] at the Internet Archive *[https://archive.org/details/oxyrhynchuspappt02grenuoft The Oxyrhynchus papyri vol. II, edited with translations and notes by Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt] at the Internet Archive *[https://archive.org/details/oxyrhynchuspapyr0000bern_d6p0/page/n6/mode/1up The Oxyrhynchus papyri vol. III, edited with translations and notes by Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt] at the Internet Archive. *[https://archive.org/details/oxyrhynchuspapyr04gren The Oxyrhynchus papyri vol. IV, edited with translations and notes by Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt] at the Internet Archive *[https://archive.org/details/pt5oxyrhynchuspa00grenuoft The Oxyrhynchus papyri vol. V, edited with translations and notes by Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt] at the Internet Archive *[https://archive.org/details/oxyrhynchuspappt06grenuoft The Oxyrhynchus papyri vol. VI, edited with translations and notes by Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt] at the Internet Archive *[https://archive.org/details/pt7oxyrhynchuspa00grenuoft The Oxyrhynchus papyri vol. VII, edited with translations and notes by Arthur S. Hunt] at the Internet Archive *[https://archive.org/details/oxyrhynchuspapyr08grenuoft The Oxyrhynchus papyri vol. VIII, edited with translations and notes by Arthur S. Hunt] at the Internet Archive *[https://archive.org/details/oxyrhynchuspapyr0009unse The Oxyrhynchus papyri vol. IX, edited with translations and notes by Arthur S. Hunt] at the Internet Archive *[https://web.archive.org/web/20090227111306/http://dlxs2.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=cdl;idno=cdl242 The Oxyrhynchus papyri vol. X, edited with translations and notes by Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt] Cornell University Library Historical Monographs Collection. Reprinted by [https://www.amazon.com/dp/1429739711/ Cornell University Library Digital Collections] *[https://archive.org/details/oxyrhynchusppt1000grenuoft The Oxyrhynchus papyri vol. X, edited with translations and notes by Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt] at the Internet Archive *[https://archive.org/details/oxyrhynchuspapyr11gren The Oxyrhynchus papyri vol. XI, edited with translations and notes by Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt] at the Internet Archive *[https://archive.org/details/oxyrhynchuspapt12grenuoft The Oxyrhynchus papyri vol. XII, edited with translations and notes by Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt] at the Internet Archive *[https://archive.org/details/oxyrhynchusppt1300grenuoft The Oxyrhynchus papyri vol. XIII, edited with translations and notes by Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt] at the Internet Archive *[https://archive.org/details/pt14oxyrhynchusp00grenuoft The Oxyrhynchus papyri vol. XIV, edited with translations and notes by Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt] at the Internet Archive *[https://archive.org/details/oxyrhynchuspapyr15gren The Oxyrhynchus papyri vol. XV, edited with translations and notes by Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt] at the Internet Archive *[https://archive.org/details/oxyrhynchuspapyr0000bern_r4i0 The Oxyrhynchus papyri vol. XVI, edited with translations and notes by Bernard P. Grenfell, Arthur S. Hunt and Idris Bell] at the Internet Archive *[https://archive.org/details/oxyrhynchuspapyr0000arth The Oxyrhynchus papyri vol. XVI, edited with translations and notes by Arthur S. Hunt] at the Internet Archive

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Category:Populated places in Minya Governorate Category:Oxyrhynchus papyri Category:Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Egypt Category:Roman sites in Egypt Category:Papyrology Category:Archaeological sites in Egypt Category:Former populated places in Egypt Category:Cities in Egypt