Editing Elephantine

{{Short description|Island in the Nile in Egypt}}
{{Infobox islands
| name                               = Elephantine
| native_name                        = جزيرة فيلة<br />(Ⲉ)ⲓⲏⲃ<br />𓍋𓃀𓅱𓃰
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| native_name_lang                   = arz
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| image_name                         = Aswan, Elephantine, west bank, Egypt, Oct 2004.jpg
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| image_caption                      = West bank of Elephantine Island on the [[Nile]]
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| pushpin_map                        = Egypt
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| label                              = Elephantine
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| pushpin_map_caption                = Location in the [[Nile]] at [[Aswan, Upper Egypt]]
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{{Hiero|''3bw''<br />𓍋𓃀𓅱𓃰<br />"Elephantine"<ref>"3bw" in Faulkner, ''Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian'' cf. http://projetrosette.info/popup.php?Id=1012&idObjet=423</ref>|<hiero>U23-D58-G43-E26</hiero>|align=right|source=}}[[File:Elephantine by Zureks.jpg|thumb|View south (upstream) of Elephantine Island and Nile, from a hotel tower]]

'''Elephantine''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|ɛ|l|ɪ|f|æ|n|ˈ|t|aɪ|n|iː|,_|-|ˈ|t|iː|-}} {{respell|EL|if|an|TY|nee|,_-|TEE|-}};<ref>''Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary'', 3rd ed. (Merriam-Webster, 1997; {{ISBN|0877795460}}), p. 351.</ref> {{Langx|egy|𓍋𓃀𓅱𓃰|[[wikt:ꜣbw#Etymology 2|ꜣbw]]}}; {{langx|arz|جزيرة الفنتين}}; {{langx|el|Ἐλεφαντίνη}} ''Elephantíne''; {{Langx|cop|(Ⲉ)ⲓⲏⲃ}} {{Transliteration|cop|(e)iēb}}, {{IPA|cop|jæb|Late Coptic}}) is an [[island]] on the [[Nile]], forming part of the city of [[Aswan]] in [[Upper Egypt]]. The [[archaeological site|archaeological dig]]s on the island became a [[World Heritage Site]] in 1979, along with other examples of Upper Egyptian architecture, as part of the "Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae" (despite Elephantine being neither [[Nubia]]n, nor between [[Abu Simbel]] and [[Philae temple complex|Philae]]).<ref>{{cite web |url = https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/88 |title = Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae |website = UNESCO World Heritage Centre |publisher = United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization |access-date = 7 September 2021}}</ref>

The island has been studied through excavation sites. Aramaic [[Papyrus|papyri]] and [[Ostracon|ostraca]] have been collected to study what life was like on Elephantine during the time of [[ancient Egypt]]. There have been studies about the Elephantine Triad and the [[Jews|Jewish]] presence that formulated on the island.<ref name="Bunson-1995">{{Citation |last=Bunson |first=Margaret |title=K |date=1995 |work=A Dictionary of Ancient Egypt |pages=130–141 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195099898.003.0011 |access-date=2024-03-01 |publisher=Oxford University Press, New York |doi=10.1093/oso/9780195099898.003.0011 |isbn=978-0-19-509989-8|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The standard reference collection of the Aramaic documents of the [[Elephantine papyri and ostraca|Elephantine Papyri and Ostraca]] is the ''[[Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt]]''.<ref name="Cook 2022">{{Cite book |last=Cook |first=Edward |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kdCIEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA6 |title=Biblical Aramaic and Related Dialects: An Introduction |date=2022 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-78788-8 |language=en}}</ref>

==Geography==
Elephantine, or what [[ancient Egypt]]ians called Yebu or Abu is located at the uppermost part of the Nile river that is a part of [[Aswan]].<ref name="Smith-1908">{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=John Merlin Powis |date=1908 |title=The Jewish Temple at Elephantine |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3141839 |journal=The Biblical World |volume=31 |issue=6 |pages=448–459 |doi=10.1086/474061 |jstor=3141839 |issn=0190-3578|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Elephantine had the first [[Nome (Egypt)|nome]] of the northern part of Egypt.<ref name="Bunson-1995" /> Elephantine is 1,600 metres from north to south and 450 metres across at its widest point.<ref name="Müller-2016">{{Cite journal |last=Müller |first=Matthias |date=2016 |title=Among the Priests of Elephantine Island Elephantine Island Seen from Egyptian Sources |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24887875 |journal=Die Welt des Orients |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=213–243 |doi=10.13109/wdor.2016.46.2.213 |jstor=24887875 |issn=0043-2547|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The layout of this and other nearby islands in Aswan can be seen from west bank hillsides along the Nile. The island is located just downstream of the [[Cataracts of the Nile|First Cataract]], at the southern border of [[Upper Egypt]] with [[Lower Nubia]]. This region above is called Upper Egypt because it is further up the Nile.<ref name="Bunson-1995" />

The island may have received its name after its shape, which in aerial views is similar to that of an [[elephant tusk]], or from the rounded rocks along the banks resembling elephants.<ref name="Rosenberg-2004">{{Cite journal |last=Rosenberg |first=Stephen G. |date=2004 |title=The Jewish Temple at Elephantine |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4149987 |journal=Near Eastern Archaeology |volume=67 |issue=1 |pages=4–13 |doi=10.2307/4149987 |jstor=4149987 |issn=1094-2076|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Ancient Egypt==
Known to the ancient Egyptians as [[Wikt:ꜣbw|ꜣbw]] "Elephant" ([[Middle Egyptian]]: {{IPA|/ˈʀuːbaw/}} → Medio-Late Egyptian: {{IPA|/ˈjuːbəʔ/}} → Coptic: (Ⲉ)ⲓⲏⲃ {{IPA|/ˈjeβ/}}, preserved in its [[Hebrew]] name, {{lang|he|יֵב}} ''Yēḇ''), the island of Elephantine stood at the border between Egypt and [[Nubia]]. Trade routes would stop on Elephantine to deliver ivory, a precious good in ancient Egypt.<ref name="Bunson-1995" /> It was an excellent defensive site for a fort, making it a natural cargo transfer point for river trade. During the [[Second Intermediate Period]] (1650–1550 BC), the fort marked the southern border of Egypt.<ref>Ian Shaw, Ed, ''Oxford History of Ancient Egypt'', New York, 2000, p. 206</ref> The island was also a vital [[stone quarries of ancient Egypt|stone quarry]], providing [[granite]] for monuments and buildings all over Egypt.

Historical texts from the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt]] mention the mother of [[Amenemhat I]], founder of the [[Twelfth dynasty of Egypt|Twelfth Dynasty]], being from<ref>"Then a king will come from the South, Ameny, the justified, by name, son of a woman of Ta-seti, child of Upper Egypt"{{cite journal |title=The Beginning of the Twelfth Dynasty |journal=Kingship, Power, and Legitimacy in Ancient Egypt: From the Old Kingdom to the Middle Kingdom |date=2020 |pages=138–160 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/kingship-power-and-legitimacy-in-ancient-egypt/beginning-of-the-twelfth-dynasty/5935C3DF9B4552CCE8AD67124B1E0BA0 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/9781108914529.006 |isbn=9781108914529 |s2cid=242213167 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> the Elephantine Egyptian nome Ta-Seti.<ref>"Ammenemes himself was not a Theban but the son of a woman from Elephantine called Nofret and a priest called Sesostris (‘The man of the Great Goddess’).",{{Cite book |title= A History of Ancient Egypt |last= Grimal|first= Nicolas|publisher= Wiley-Blackwell |year= 1994 |page=159}}</ref><ref>"Senusret, a commoner as the father of Amenemhet, his mother, Nefert, came from the area Elephantine."{{Cite book |title= Chronicle of the Pharaohs: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt |last= A. Clayton |first= Peter |publisher= Thames & Hudson |year= 2006 |page=78}}</ref><ref>"Amenemhet I was a commoner, the son of one Senwosret and a woman named NEFRET, listed as prominent members of a family from ELEPHANTINE Island."{{Cite book |title= Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt (Facts on File Library of World History) |last= Bunson |first= Margaret |publisher= Facts on File |year= 2002 |page=25}}</ref> Many scholars have argued that Amenemhat I's mother was of Nubian origin.<ref>"The XIIth Dynasty (1991–1786 B.C.E.) originated from the Aswan region. As expected, strong Nubian features and dark coloring are seen in their sculpture and relief work. This dynasty ranks as among the greatest, whose fame far outlived its actual tenure on the throne. Especially interesting, it was a member of this dynasty – that decreed that no Nehsy (riverine Nubian of the principality of Kush), except such as came for trade or diplomatic reasons, should pass by the Egyptian fortress at the southern end of the Second Nile Cataract. Why would this royal family of Nubian ancestry ban other Nubians from coming into Egyptian territory? Because the Egyptian rulers of Nubian ancestry had become Egyptians culturally; as pharaohs, they exhibited typical Egyptian attitudes and adopted typical Egyptian policies."{{cite journal |last1=F. J. Yurco |title='Were the ancient Egyptians black or white?' |journal=Biblical Archaeology Review |volume=(Vol 15, no. 5, 1989) |pages=24–29, 58}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=General History of Africa |volume = II – Ancient civilizations of Africa (ed. G Moktar) |publisher=UNESCO |page=152}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Crawford |first1=Keith W. |title=Critique of the 'Black Pharaohs' Theme: Racist Perspectives of Egyptian and Kushite/Nubian Interactions in Popular Media |journal=African Archaeological Review |date=1 December 2021 |volume=38 |issue=4 |pages=695–712 |doi=10.1007/s10437-021-09453-7 |s2cid=238718279 |language=en |issn=1572-9842|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Lobban |first1=Richard A. Jr |title=Historical Dictionary of Ancient Nubia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pRUYEAAAQBAJ&dq=amenemhat+textual+evidence+nubian+mother&pg=PA28 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |language=en |date=2021|isbn=9781538133392 }}</ref><ref name="Morris">{{cite book |last1=Morris |first1=Ellen |title=Ancient Egyptian Imperialism |date=2018 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4051-3677-8 |page=72 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jyRgDwAAQBAJ&dq=Amenemhat+I+%22nubian+origin%22&pg=PA72 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Van de Mieroop |first1=Marc |title=A history of ancient Egypt |date=2021 |location=Chichester, West Sussex |isbn=978-1119620877 |page=99 |edition=2nd}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Fletcher |first1=Joann |title=The story of Egypt : the civilization that shaped the world |date=2017 |location=New York |isbn=978-1681774565 |pages=Chapter 12 |edition=1st Pegasus books paperback}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Stuart Tyson |title=Ethnicity: Constructions of Self and Other in Ancient Egypt |journal=Journal of Egyptian History |date=8 October 2018 |volume=11 |issue=1–2 |pages=113–146 |doi=10.1163/18741665-12340045 |s2cid=203315839 |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/jeh/11/1-2/article-p113_6.xml |issn=1874-1665}}</ref>

===Archaeological sites===
Between 1893 and 1910, Aramaic papyri, consisting of Jewish achievements, were found and collected on Elephantine. There has been a large presence of German excavations, with a vast number of discoveries of papyri and ostraca.<ref name="Porten-1999">{{Cite web |last=Porten |first=Bezalel |date=December 31, 1999 |title=Elephantine |url=http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/elephantine |access-date=2024-02-21 |website=Jewish Women's Archive |language=en}}</ref> The documents have led to discoveries about Jewish presence and significance in Elephantine.<ref name="Rosenberg-2004" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Margolis |first=Max L. |title=The Elephantine Documents |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/1451065. |journal=The Jewish Quarterly Review |date=1912 |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=419–443 |doi=10.2307/1451065 |jstor=1451065 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> French teams also set out to Elephantine where they discovered several hundred ostraca, but very few have been published thus far.<ref name="Porten-1999" /><ref name="Müller-2016" /> The major findings from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century are found in these museums: Berlin, Brooklyn, Cairo, London, Munich, and Paris.<ref name="Porten-1996">{{Cite book |title=The Elephantine papyri in English: three millennia of cross-cultural continuity and change |date=1996 |publisher=New York: E.J. Brill |isbn=978-90-04-10197-5 |editor-last=Porten |editor-first=Bezalel |series=Idocumenta et monumenta Orientis antiqui (DMOA) |location=Leiden}}</ref>

Ongoing excavations by the [[German Archaeological Institute]] at the town have uncovered many findings on display in the Aswan Museum located on the island, including a [[mummy|mummified]] ram of [[Khnum]]. [[Artifact (archaeology)|Artifacts]] dating back to [[prehistoric Egypt]] have been found on Elephantine. A rare [[calendar]], known as the ''Elephantine Calendar of Things'', which dates to the reign of [[Thutmose III]] during the [[Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt|Eighteenth Dynasty]], was found in fragments on the island.

====Temples====
Before 1822, there were temples to [[Thutmose III]] and [[Amenhotep III]]<ref>de Morgan 1894. J. De Morgan. "Catalogue des monuments et inscriptions de l'Égypte antique". ''De la frontière de Nubie à Kom Ombos''. Vienne</ref> on the island. In 1822, they were destroyed during the campaign of [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt|Muhammad Ali]], who had taken power in Egypt, to [[History of Egypt under the Muhammad Ali dynasty#Invasion of Libya and Sudan|conquer Sudan]].

[[File:KhnoumTempleElephantine.jpg|right|thumb|Small Kalabsha temple reconstruction, south of the island]]

The main two temples of the island were for [[Satis (goddess)|Satet]] and Khnum.<ref name="Müller-2016" /> The first temple was the [[temple of Satet]], founded around 3000 BC and enlarged and renovated over the next 3,000 years. There are records of an [[Egyptian temple]] to Khnum on the island as early as the [[Third Dynasty of Egypt|Third Dynasty]]. This temple was completely rebuilt in the Late Period, during the [[Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt]], just before the foreign rule that followed in the Graeco-Roman Period. The Greeks formed the [[Ptolemaic dynasty]] during their 300-year rule over Egypt (305–30 BC) and maintained the ancient religious customs and traditions while often associating the Egyptian deities with their own.

[[File:Île d'Éléphantine in the 1809 Description de l'Égypte.jpg|thumb|left|Elephantine, as published in the 1809 [[Description de l'Égypte]]]]

Most of the present-day southern tip of the island is taken up by the ruins of the temple of Khnum. These, the oldest ruins still standing on the island, are composed of a granite [[step pyramid]] from the Third Dynasty and a small temple built for the local [[Sixth Dynasty of Egypt|Sixth Dynasty]] [[nomarch]], [[Heqaib]]. In the Middle Kingdom, many officials, such as the local governors [[Sarenput I]] or [[Heqaib III]], dedicated statues and shrines to the temple.

[[File:Khnum temple at Elephantine island, New kingdom.png|thumb|Model of Khnum temple at Elephantine island, New Kingdom]]
[[File:Aswan, Aswan Governorate, Egypt - panoramio (11).jpg|right|thumb|The [[Aswan Museum]], and a [[nilometer]] (lower left)]]

====Nilometers====
A [[nilometer]] was a structure for measuring the Nile River's clarity and the water level during the annual flood season. Elephantine has two nilometers.<ref name="Bunson-1995" /> The more famous is a corridor nilometer associated with the temple of Satis, with a stone staircase that descends the corridor.<ref name="Bunson-1995" /> It is one of the oldest nilometers in Egypt, last reconstructed in [[Roman Egypt|Roman]] times and still in use as late as the 19th century AD. Ninety steps that lead down to the river are marked with [[Arabic numerals|Arabic]], [[Roman numerals|Roman]], and [[Egyptian hieroglyphs|hieroglyphic]] numerals. At the water's edge are inscriptions carved deeply into the rock during the [[Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt|Seventeenth Dynasty]].

The other nilometer is a rectangular basin located at the island's southern tip, near the temple of Khnum and opposite the Old Cataract Hotel. It is probably the older of the two. The Greek historian [[Strabo]] mentions one of the nilometers, though it is not certain which.

Many sources claim that the fabled "Well of Eratosthenes", famous in connection with [[Eratosthenes]]' presumed calculation of the [[Earth's circumference]], was located on the island. Strabo mentions a well used to observe that Aswan lies on the [[Tropic of Cancer]], but the reference is to a well at Aswan, not at Elephantine. Neither nilometer at Elephantine is suitable for the purpose, while the well at Aswan is apparently lost.<ref>{{cite book|last=Meyboom|first=P. G. P. |title=The Nile Mosaic of Palestrina: Early Evidence of Egyptian Religion in Italy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jyTFEJ56iTUC|year=1995|publisher=Brill|isbn=90-04-10137-3|page=52}}</ref>

===Elephantine triad===
[[File:Elephantine Triad on barge.svg|thumb|drawing of the Elephantine triad on a boat]]
The Elephantine triad is between Khnum, Satis, and [[Anuket]]; it is debated whether Anuket is the daughter of the two or the sister of Satis.<ref name="Bunson-1995" /><ref name="Parikh-2023">{{Cite web |last=Parikh |first=Amee |date=2023-05-24 |title=Anuket: The Ancient Egyptian Goddess of the Nile {{!}} History Cooperative |url=https://historycooperative.org/anuket/ |access-date=2024-02-22 |language=en-US}}</ref> Elephantine was the dwelling place of Khnum, the ram-headed god of the cataracts, who guarded and controlled the waters of the Nile from caves beneath the island.<ref name="Bunson-1995" />

Satis was worshipped from very early times as a [[war goddess]] and protector of this strategic region of Egypt. When seen as a [[fertility goddess]], she personified the bountiful annual flooding of the Nile. The cult of Satis originated in Aswan. Later, when the triad was formed, Khnum became identified as her consort and, thereby, was thought of as the father of Anuket. His role in myths later changed; another deity was ascribed duties with the river. At that time, his role as a potter enabled him to be assigned a duty to create human bodies. Anuket was the goddess of the first cataract, and it is called the personification of the Nile.<ref name="Bunson-1995" /> A cult was formed on the island for Anuket.<ref name="Parikh-2023" />

==Jewish presence==
The [[Elephantine papyri and ostraca]] are caches of legal documents and letters written in [[Imperial Aramaic]] dating to sometime in the 5th century BC.<ref name="Botta2">{{cite book |last=Botta |first=Alejandro |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UQKll2gTg4kC&pg=PA16 |title=The Aramaic and Egyptian Legal Traditions at Elephantine: An Egyptological Approach |publisher=T&T Clark |year=2009 |isbn=978-0567045331 |pages=15–116}}</ref><ref name="Grabbe2">{{cite book |last=Grabbe |first=Lester L. |author-link=Lester L. Grabbe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qQNlslA72SkC&pg=PA193 |title=A History of the Jews and Judaism in the Second Temple Period (vol. 2) |publisher=Bloomsbury T&T Clark |year=2011 |isbn=978-0567541192 |page=103}}</ref> These papyri document the presence of a community of [[Kingdom of Judah|Judean]] mercenaries and their families on Elephantine, starting in the 7th century BCE. The mercenaries guarded the frontier between Egypt and Nubia.<ref name="Schama2">{{cite episode |title=In the Beginning |series=The Story of the Jews |last1=Schama |first1=Simon |network=PBS |date=September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Toorn |first=Karel Van Der |title=Becoming a Diaspora Jew: Behind the Story of Elephantine |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2019 |isbn=978-0-300-24949-1 |pages=1–88}}</ref> Following the [[Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC)|587 BCE destruction of Jerusalem]], some Judean refugees traveled south and, in what may be called an “[[The Exodus|exodus]] in reverse,” settled on Elephantine. They maintained their own temple (the [[House of Yahweh (biblical term)|House of Yahweh]]) in which [[Land of Onias#Legitimacy of its sacrificial cult|sacrifices were offered]], evincing [[Canaanite religion|polytheistic beliefs]], which functioned alongside that of Khnum.<ref>[[A. van Hoonacker]], ''Une Communauté Judéo-Araméenne à Éléphantine, en Egypte, aux vi et v siècles avant J.-C,'' London 1915 cited, [[Arnold J. Toynbee|Arnold Toynbee]], ''[[A Study of History]],'' vol. 5, (1939) 1964 p 125 n. 1</ref> It is not clear when or why the Jewish community settled in Elephantine.<ref name="Smith-1908" /> The temple may have been built in reaction to [[Manasseh of Judah|Manasseh]]'s reinstitution of pagan worship or simply to serve the needs of the Jewish community.<ref name="Botta2" />

===Conflict between Jews and Egyptians===
Findings show that there was often culture interchange between the different communities.<ref name="Smith-1908" /> Conflict began after an Egyptian precious stone turned up in the hands of Jews.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Toorn |first=Karel van der |date=2021-12-16 |title=Previously, at Elephantine |url=https://lockwoodonlinejournals.com/index.php/jaos/article/view/1053 |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=138 |issue=2 |doi=10.7817/jameroriesoci.138.2.0255 |issn=2169-2289}}</ref>

The earliest account of the Jewish temple is from 525 BC.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gordon |first=Cyrus H. |date=1955 |title=The Origin of the Jews in Elephantine |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/542551 |journal=Journal of Near Eastern Studies |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=56–58 |doi=10.1086/371243 |jstor=542551 |issn=0022-2968|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In 410 BC, the Jewish temple, the House of Yahweh, was burned down by a Persian military commander after he was bribed by Khnum priests.<ref name="Bunson-1995" /><ref name="Porten-1996" /><ref name="Rosenberg-2004" /> While no explicit reason has been given for the destruction of the temple, it is suspected that the priests did this because of the Jewish rituals of sacrificing of sheep, especially during [[Passover]].<ref name="Rosenberg-2004" /> Papyri records that have been collected from this time show Jewish letters asking [[Bagoas]] for help rebuilding the temple.<ref name="Rosenberg-2004" />

The standard reference collection of the Aramaic documents of the Elephantine papyri and ostraca is the [[Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt]].<ref name="Cook 2022"/>

==Other features==
The [[Aswan Museum]] is located at the southern end of the island. Ongoing excavations by the [[German Archaeological Institute]] at the island's ancient town site have uncovered many findings that are now on display in the museum, including a [[mummy|mummified]] ram of Khnum. A sizable population of [[Nubians]] live in three villages in the island's middle section. A large luxury hotel is at the island's northern end.

The Aswan Botanical Garden is adjacent to the west on [[el Nabatat Island]].

==Primary scholarly documents==
* [[:de:Arthur Ungnad|Arthur Ungnad]], [[iarchive:aramischepapyr00ungnuoft/page/26/mode/2up|Aramäische Papyrus aus Elephantine]]
* [[Eduard Sachau]], 1908, [[iarchive:dreiaramaischepa00sach 0|Drei aramäische papyrusurkunden aus Elephantine]]
* [[Eduard Sachau]], 1911, [[iarchive:aramaischepapyru01sach|Aramäische Papyrus und Ostraka aus einer jüdischen Militär-Kolonie zu Elephantine]]
<gallery>
Naos votivo di Kasa 1 0147115g.tif|Votive [[Cella|naos]] with sledge and pronaos supported by [[hathor]]ic columns, dedicated by the artisan Kasa to the Elephantine Triad. [[Museo Egizio|Museo Egizio, Turin]].
</gallery>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Nubian village Elephantine Island.JPG|[[Nubia]]n houses on central Elephantine Island
View 071, Verdant Euphantine Island, opposite Assuan, Egypt, 1908.jpg|Verdant Elephantine Island, opposite Assuan, Egypt", 1908. Lantern slide. [[Brooklyn Museum]]
Brooklyn Museum - Island of Elephantine (Egypt) - Edwin Howland Blashfield - overall.jpg|Island of Elephantine, by [[Edwin Blashfield|Edwin Howland Blashfield]]. [[Brooklyn Museum]]
Ruins on Elephantine Island, Aswan, Egypt.jpg|Ruins on Elephantine Island in 2000
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Commons category|Elephantine}}
*[[Sehel Island]]
*[[Waluburg]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite encyclopedia | title = Elephantine  | last = Bresciani | first = Edda | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/elephantine | encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. VIII, Fasc. 4 | pages = 360–362 | year = 1998 }}
{{History of Nubia footer|state=collapsed}}{{Kushite religion footer}}{{Ancient Egypt topics}}
{{Islands of Egypt}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Elephantine| ]]
[[Category:Aswan]]
[[Category:Islands of the Nile]]
[[Category:River islands of Egypt]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Egypt]]
[[Category:Historic Jewish communities in North Africa]]
[[Category:Khnum]]