UPPER EGYPT

Upper Egypt: translation

Ancient Egyptian Shemau. The area of Egypt comprising the Nile Valley from Memphis north to Elephantine during ancient times. The area seems to have evolved into a separate kingdom with its capital at Hierakonpolis during the late Predynastic Period and was united with Lower Egypt by Narmer, probably by conquest. It was one of the two lands ruled by the Egyptian monarch. In the royal titulary, the symbol of Upper Egypt was a bee, and its crown was the tall white crown. The term is sometimes used by modern Egyptologists with a more restrictive meaning, covering the area from Asyut south, the northern part being termed Middle Egypt.