Kemet is the ancient's name for their land. It means "the black land" in contrast to "the red land" of the desert, or deshret. Kemet was divided into two kingdoms, known as Upper and Lower Kemet. The size of Kemet changed quite a bit over its history, but began with the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt (also known as the Delta). The pharaohs were known as the rulers of the Two Kingdoms. While the labelling of "upper" and "lower" might seem counterintuitive, with Upper Kemet in the south and Lower Kemet in the north on modern maps, the terminology derives from the flow of the Nile from the highlands of East Africa (upstream) to the Mediterranean Sea (downstream).
Lower Kemet is to the north and is that part where the Nile Delta drains into the Mediterranean Sea. Upper Kemet is to the south from the Libyan Desert down to just past Abu Simbel.
Upper Kemet was known as Ta Shemau
) which means "the land of reed." It was divided into twenty-two districts called nomes. Nomes were subnational divisions in Ancient Egypt. The first nome was roughly where modern Aswan (أسوان) is (then known as Swenet
, meaning "trade") and the twenty-second was at modern Atfih (أطفيح) (then known as Tpyhwt
, meaning "the first of the cows", referring to Hethert
), just to the south of Cairo.
It is full of steep cliffs and desert land. Historically, Upper Egypt's land was more isolated from activities to the north. There were a number of differences between Upper and Lower Egyptians in the ancient world. They spoke different dialects, and had different customs, needs and interests.
The patron goddess of the Upper Kemet was Nekhbet
(thereby, Upper Kemet could be represented by a vulture) and its capital Nekhen (
probably meaning "castle" or "fort") (Hierakonpolis).
It was known as Ta-Mehu
) which means "land of papyrus." This part of the country was also divided into nomes; however, as the place was mostly undeveloped scrubland (which is land is undeveloped for human life because it is filled with all types of plant life such as grasses and herbs), the organization of the nomes underwent several changes. Ultimately there were twenty nomes and the first of these was at Memphis.
The landscape is dominated by the Nile delta at Alexandria. The deltal region is well watered, crisscrossed by channels and canals. The climate is milder than the climate in Upper Kemet. Temperatures are less extreme and there is more rainfall in this area. The dialect of the people of Lower Kemet and their customs historically varied from those from Upper Kemet. Even in modern times, Lower Kemet is much more industrialized, and influenced by trade and commerce with the rest of the world. They traded with countries such as Cyprus, Crete, Greece, Syro-Palestine, Punt, and Nubia.
The patron goddess of the Lower Kemet was Wadjet (thereby, Lower Kemet could be represented by a cobra) and its capital city Buto.