Qasr Ibrim
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| Location | Egypt |
| Coordinates | 22°39′1″N 31°59′30″E / 22.65028°N 31.99167°ECoordinates: 22°39′1″N 31°59′30″E / 22.65028°N 31.99167°E |
 Qasr Ibrim Archaeological Site
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Qasr Ibrim (Arabic: قصر ابريم) is an archaeological site in Lower Nubia, located in the modern country of Egypt. The name is derived from the nearby village of Ibrim, on the east bank of the Nile. The site has a long history of occupation, ranging from as early as the eighth century BC to 1813 AD, and was an economic, political, and religious center. Originally it was a major city perched on a cliff above the Nile, but the flooding of Lake Nasser after the construction of the Aswan High Dam transformed it into an island and flooded its outskirts. Qasr Ibrim is the only major archaeological site in Lower Nubia to have survived the Nile floods. Both prior to and after the Nile floods, it has remained a major site for archaeological investigations.
Human habitation at the site dates from the Late Period of ancient Egypt, but it reached its greatest prominence in the Middle Ages, when the area was the home of the Eparch of Nobatia. Qasr Ibrim is the source of the largest collection of Old Nubian documents ever found, including the records of the Eparch. The site was occupied until 1811. Today the island is closed to all but archaeologists.
Egypt's influence in Nubia began around 2,000 BC, when they invaded and claimed sovereignty over the area. Many Egyptian artifacts and evidence of Egyptian architecture have been found at Qasr Ibrim. The earliest inscription at the site is a stela, a stone or wooden slab, from the reign of Amenhotep I. The stela was found in a now-ruined Christian Byzantine cathedral at Qasr Ibrim where it had been reused in one of the church's crypts. The stela is now located in the British Museum.
The site was partly built "under the prefecture of Gaius Petronius during Augustus' reign." Qasr Ibrim played a key role in Rome's defense of the Aswan region, and was likely held until 100 AD. The fortress, constructed by Roman military engineers, was the strongest in the Nile Valley at this time.
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