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Herakleopolis
Ancient Egyptian: Henen-nesw
Other spelling: Herakleopolis Magna
Town of Ancient Egypt, capital of the 20th nome, today at at the town Ihnasiya al-Madina, not far from Fayoum Oasis and Beni Suef.
Herakleopolis served as capital for the 9th and 10th Dynasty in the First Intermediate Period. After the unification of Egypt, which in effect was a conquest of Heraklopolis, the city would loose its importance. Still, the local god of Herakleopolis, Heryshef, was revered well into the New Kingdom. King Ramses 2 ordered the construction of a hypostyle hall to her temple. A second flourishing period would be the Late Dynastic Period.
The name, Heraklopolis Magna, came during Ptolemaic times. The site of Herakleopolis has since long been undergoing excavations.
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By: Tore Kjeilen
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