DESCRIPTIONS OF EGYPT. 1 1 9 
diterranean ; the Thebaid the narrow valley of 
Upper Egypt ; while the intermediate region was 
denominated Heptanomis, the province of the 
seven cantons, or, according to Dionysius Perie- 
getes, Heptapolis, the province of the seven cities. 
At a later period, when Egypt formed a Roman 
province, the district of Arcadia corresponded 
nearly to the ancient Heptanomis ; and about the 
conclusion of the fourth century, the eastern di- 
vision of Lower Egypt, between Arabia and the 
Phatmetic branch of the Nile, as high as Helio- 
polis, was erected into a new province, under the 
name of Augustamnica. In modern times, the 
Arabic division of Sahid corresponds to the an- 
cient Thebiad, Vostani to the Heptanomis, and 
Bahri, or the maritime province, to the Delta. 
The latter province is denominated Rif by Abul- 
feda, Errif by Leo^ and Rifa by the early voyagers 
of Europe, who frequented the Red Sea ; which 
terms have the same signification as Bahri. Bahri 
is again divided into three districts, Bahire, the 
Bechria of Leo, which extends from the Nile of 
Rosetta to the west of Tolometa, the Cyrenian 
Ptolemais, a part of which is sometimes denomi- 
nated Muggrebin, the western country ; Sharkie, 
or Sharkin, the eastern district, which comprehends 
the ancient Augustamnica, and the barren region 
on the Red Sea, termed Saracene by Leo ; and 
Garbie, which lies between the Nile of Rosetta 
