Book I: The American Egypt · Chapter 7
Was the Nile land called “Egypt” in ancient times? By the Greeks, yes. By its own people, never.
Its own name: Kemet
In their own hieroglyphs, the land is Kemet, “the black land,” after the dark Nile soil. They also called it Ta-Meri, “the beloved land,” and Tawy, “the Two Lands.” “Egypt” appears nowhere in their own writing. (Record)
Where “Egypt” comes from
- The great temple of the god Ptah at Memphis was called Hut-ka-Ptah, “house of the spirit of Ptah.”
- Around 1350 BC, the Amarna letters write it as “Hikuptah.”
- Around 1300 BC, clay tablets at Knossos record a Greek name meaning “the Egyptian.”
- Around 700 BC, Homer calls the river and the land “Aigyptos.”
- Latin made it Aegyptus, and English made it “Egypt.”
All on record. The other outside name, Misr (today’s Arabic name), comes from the Hebrew Mitzrayim.
The American Memphis
When Jackson’s partners named the American Memphis in 1819, they borrowed the very city whose temple gave “Egypt” its name. (Pattern)
The lens: “Egypt,” like “America,” is a name given from outside. The people’s own name, Kemet, the black land, is the true one. (Pattern)
Still open: does “black land,” or a Kemet-like name, appear among the peoples or places of the Americas?
Sources: Names of Egypt · Etymonline: Egypt