ABSTRACT
Aswan traditionally represents Egypt’s southern frontier. Here Egypt ends and Africa begins. For many centuries, though not always, this has been a political frontier, dividing two nations – hence its great military importance during some periods of history. Actually, we are not dealing with one static frontier but with various contested frontiers: a zone where political, linguistic and religious identities are negotiated and articulated. Part of this ongoing process is reflected in inscriptions. The author discusses three groups of inscriptions, mostly in Greek or in Sahidic Coptic, which cover a thousand years of Christianity in the broader Aswan region.
First published in: G. Gabra, and H.N. Takla (eds.), Christianity and monasticism in Aswan and Nubia. Cairo/New York: American University in Cairo Press 2013, 63–77.
