Armant

Armant
Banks of the Nile at Armant
Armant Location in Egypt
Coordinates: 25°37′N 32°32′E / 25.617°N 32.533°E / 25.617; 32.533
Country	Egypt
Governorate	Luxor Governorate
Time zone	EST (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	+3 (UTC)

Armant (ancient Egyptian Iuny; Coptic: ⲉⲣⲙⲉⲛⲧ Erment; known in Greek as Hermonthis), is a town located about 12 miles south of Thebes, in Egypt. It was an important Middle Kingdom town, which was enlarged during the Eighteenth Dynasty. It is located today in the Luxor Governorate, on the west bank of the Nile. The modern name of the city derives from Iunu-Montu.

Montu was an Egyptian god whose name means "nomad". Montu was associated with raging bulls, strength and war. He was also said to manifest himself in a white bull with a black face, which was referred to as the Bakha. Egypt's greatest general-kings called themselves Mighty Bulls, the sons of Montu. In the famous narrative of the Battle of Kadesh, Ramesses II was said to have seen the enemy and "raged at them like Montu, Lord of Thebes".

A temple dedicated to Montu existed at Hermonthis as early as the Eleventh dynasty, which perhaps originated at Hermonthis. Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II is the earliest builder known with certainty. Important additions were made during the Twelfth dynasty and during the New Kingdom. Destroyed during the Late Period, a new temple was started in the reign of Nectanebo II and was continued by the Ptolemies. Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XV Caesarion added a birth house with a sacred lake. The building remained visible until the Nineteenth Century, when it was recycled to build a sugar factory. Only the remains of the pylon of Thutmose III are visible today.