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SIWA

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Originally appearing in Volume V25, Page 163 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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SIWA , an See also:

oasis in the Libyan See also:Desert, politically See also:part of See also:Egypt. It is also known as the oasis of See also:Ammon or See also:Jupiter Ammon; its See also:ancient See also:Egyptian name was Sekhet-am, " See also:Palm-See also:land." The oasis lies about 350 M. W.S.W. of See also:Cairo, its See also:chief See also:town, also called Siwa, being situated in 29° 12' N., 25° 30' E. The oasis is some 6 m. See also:long by 4 to 5 wide. Ten See also:miles See also:north-See also:east is the small oasis of Zetun, and westward of Siwa extends for some 50 M. a See also:chain of little oases. The See also:population of Siwa proper (1907 See also:census) was 3884. The)inhabitants are of Libyan (See also:Berber) stock and have a See also:language of their own, but also speak Arabic. The oasis is extremely fertile and contains many thousands of date palms. The town of Siwa is built on two rocks and resembles a fortress. The houses are frequently built on See also:arches spanning the streets, which are narrow and irregular. The oasis is famous as containing the See also:oracle See also:temple of Ammon, which was already famous in the See also:time of See also:Herodotus, and was consulted by See also:Alexander the See also:Great. The remains of the temple are in the walled See also:village of Aghormi, 2 m.

E. of the town of Siwa. It is a small See also:

building, with See also:inscriptions dating from the 4th See also:century B.C. The oracle See also:fell into disrepute during the See also:Roman occupation of Egypt, and was reported dumb by See also:Pausanias, c. A.D. 16o. Siwa was afterwards used as a See also:place of banishment for criminals and See also:political offenders. After the See also:Mahommedan See also:conquest of Egypt Siwa became See also:independent and so remained until conquered by Mehemet See also:Ali in 182o. It is now governed by its own sheikhs under the supervision of an Egyptian mamur responsible to the mudir of Behera. Siwa contains many See also:relics of antiquity besides the ruins of the temple of Ammon. Near that temple are the scanty remains of another temple of the same century, Umm Beda, with reliefs depicting the See also:prince of the oasis making offerings to Ammon, " See also:lord of oracles." At See also:Jebel Muta, 1 m. N.E. of Siwa, are tombs of Ptolemaic and Roman date; 10 m. E. of Aghormi is a well-preserved See also:chapel, with Roman See also:graves; at Kasr See also:Rumi is a Doric temple of the Roman See also:period.

The oasis lies See also:

close to the Tripolitan frontier and is largely dominated by the See also:sect of the See also:Senussi (q.v.), whose headquarters were formerly at Jarabub, 8o m. to the north-See also:west. The Senussi successfully prevented various explorers penetrating westward beyond Siwa. The first See also:European to reach Siwa since Roman time was W. G. See also:Browne, who visited the oasis in 1792. He was followed in 1798 by F. See also:Hornemann. Both these travellers started from Cairo; in 1820 See also:General H. Minutoli gained the oasis from the Gulf of Solum. In 1869 See also:Gerhard See also:Rohlfs reached Siwa via See also:Tripoli, and subsequently the ruins were examined by See also:Professor G. Steindorff. After the occupation of Egypt by the See also:British steps were taken to enforce the authority of the See also:government in Siwa, where See also:order proved difficult to maintain.

There were serious disturbances in 1909, and as a result in 1910 a See also:

telegraph See also:line was built across the desert from See also:Alexandria to the oasis. See G. Steindorff, Durch See also:die Libysche Wiiste zur Amonsoase (See also:Bielefeld and See also:Leipzig, 19o4); A. See also:Silva See also:White, From See also:Sphinx to Oracle (See also:London n.d., 1898) ; See also:Murray's Handbook for Egypt (11th ed., London, 19o7); T. B. Hohler, See also:Report on the Oasis of See also:Siva (Cairo 1900); also the See also:works of the earlier travellers named. (F. R.

End of Article: SIWA

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