Thebaid

Provincia Thebais Θηβαΐς
Province of the Byzantine Empire, Diocese of Egypt
c. 293–641
Capital		Ptolemais
Historical era		Late Antiquity
•	Division by emperor Diocletian	c. 293
•	Persian occupation	612–628
•	Conquest by Arabs	641
Today part of		Egypt

The Thebaid or Thebais (Greek: Θηβαΐς, Thēbaïs) was a region of ancient Egypt, which comprised the thirteen southernmost nomes of Upper Egypt, from Abydos to Aswan.

The Thebaid acquired its name from its proximity to the ancient Egyptian capital of Thebes (Luxor). During the Ancient Egyptian dynasties this region was dominated by Thebes and its priesthood at the temple of Amun at Karnak.

In Ptolemaic Egypt, the Thebaid formed a single administrative district under the Epistrategos of Thebes, who was also responsible for overseeing navigation in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. The capital of Ptolemaic Thebaid was Ptolemais Hermiou, a Hellenistic colony on the Nile which served as the center of royal political and economic control in Upper Egypt.

During the Roman Empire, Diocletian created the province of Thebais, guarded by the legions I Maximiana Thebanorum and II Flavia Constantia. This was later divided into Upper (Latin: Thebais Superior, Greek: Ἄνω Θηβαΐς, Anō Thēbaïs), comprising the southern half with its capital at Thebes, and Lower or Nearer (Latin: Thebais Inferior, Greek: Θηβαΐς Ἐγγίστη, Thēbaïs Engistē), comprising the northern half with capital at Ptolemais.

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