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ESNA, or ESNEH

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Originally appearing in Volume V09, Page 771 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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ESNA, or ESNEH , a See also:town of Upper See also:Egypt on the W. See also:bank of the See also:Nile, 454 M. S.S.E. of See also:Cairo by See also:rail, the railway station being on the opposite See also:side of the See also:river. Pop. (1897) 16,000, mostly See also:Copts. Esna, one of the healthiest towns in Egypt, is noted for its manufactures of pottery and its large See also:grain and live stock markets. It formerly had a large See also:trade with the See also:Sudan. A See also:caravan road to the See also:south goes through the See also:oasis of Kurkur. The trade, almost stopped by the Mandist See also:Wars, is now largely diverted by railway and steamboat routes. There is, however, considerable See also:traffic with the oasis of See also:Kharga, which lies almost due See also:west of the town. Nearly in the centre of the town is the Ptolemaic and See also:Roman See also:temple of the See also:ram-headed See also:Khnum, almost buried in rubbish and houses. The interior of the pronaos is accessible to tourists, and contains the latest known hieroglyphic inscription, dating from the reign of See also:Decius (A.D. 249–251).

With Khnum are associated the goddesses Sati and See also:

Neith. In the neighbourhood are remains of Coptic buildings, including a subterranean See also:church (discovered 1895) in the See also:desert See also:half a mile beyond the limits of cultivation. The name Esna is from the Coptic Sne. By the Greeks the See also:place was called Latopolis, from the See also:worship here of the latus See also:fish. In the persecutions under See also:Diocletian A.D. 303, the Christians of Esna, a numerous See also:body, suffered severely. In later times the town frequently served as a place of See also:refuge for See also:political exiles. The so-called Esna barrage across the Nile (built 1906–1908) is 30 M. higher up stream at See also:Edfu.

End of Article: ESNA, or ESNEH

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