Kura (administrative division)

Kura or Koura (Arabic: كورة) was a term used by Muslims to describe the political administrative units of Egypt, equivalent to the nomes of pre-Islamic times. These administrative units are smaller than the modern governorates of Egypt.[1]

In Egypt

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The Arabized word kura is of Greek origin (Greek: χώρα; Latin: chora), meaning "territory" or "province". The kura is not exactly the same as the ancient pagarchy, because the kura refers to an administrative unit in general, while the pagarchy is a religious administrative unit. The Arabs also kept the names of these units, citing their Coptic origin, which was taken from the Pharaonic origin (not the Roman or Greek), after they distorted some of them and translated others in accordance with the Arabic language.[2]

Ibn Duqmaq mentioned in his book Al-Intisar li-Wasita Aqd al-Amsar that the 33 kuras of Lower Egypt included the kuras of al-Hawf al-Sharqi, which are:[3]

  1. Ain Shams
  2. Atreep
  3. Temay
  4. Bana
  5. Basta
  6. Torabia
  7. Farbit
  8. Sa
  9. Al-Farma
  10. Al-Arish

And the kuras of Batn al-Rif, which are:[3]

  1. Busir
  2. Samannud
  3. Noosa
  4. Al-Awsiya
  5. Al-Nujoom
  6. Dakahla
  7. Tinnis
  8. Damietta

And the kuras of al-Jazira min asfal al-ard, which are:

  1. Damsis
  2. Menouf
  3. Sakha
  4. Baqira
  5. Al-Bashroud

And the kuras of al-Hawf al-Gharbi, which are:[3]

  1. Sa el-Hagar
  2. Shabas
  3. Al-Batanon
  4. Al-Khis wa al-Ashrak
  5. Kharbata
  6. Qartasa
  7. Moseel
  8. Ikhna
  9. Rashid
  10. Al-Buhayrah (includes Alexandria, Mariout, Lubia and Marakia)

As for the kuras of Upper Egypt, they are 22, which are:[4]

  1. Awsim
  2. Memphis
  3. Al-Sharqia (which is the land of Al-Atfihiyah)
  4. Faiyum
  5. Abusir
  6. Dalas
  7. Ahnas
  8. Al-Qays
  9. El-Bahnasa
  10. Bwait
  11. Taha wa Heiz Shenouda
  12. Ala al-Ashmunayn
  13. Asfal al-Ashmunayn wa Ansna
  14. Manfalut
  15. Syut
  16. Qahquwa
  17. Al-Dir wa Abshaya
  18. Akhmim
  19. Howa wa Faw wa Qena wa Dendera
  20. Qift wa Luxor
  21. Esna wa Armant
  22. Aswan

The kura remained the chief administrative unit of Egypt well into the Middle Ages. It was not until the 1070s that the vizier Badr al-Jamali, the de facto ruler of the Fatimid Caliphate, abolished them and replaced them with 23 provinces (14 in Lower Egypt and 9 in Upper Egypt), which in broad outlines survive to the present day, as the Egyptian governorates.[5]

In al-Andalus

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Kuras of the Emirate of Córdoba

The term was also used for the provincial districts of the Emirate of Córdoba, in al-Andalus.

References

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  1. ^ Muhammad Ramzi: القاموس الجغرافي للبلاد المصرية من عهد قدماء المصريين حتى سنة 1945, first section, البلاد المندرسة, Egyptian General Book Authority, 1994, p. 28
  2. ^ Professor Dr. Amin Muhammad Abdullah, التطور التاريخي لأقسام مصر الإدارية حتى وقتنا الراهن. p. 50, From the research of the symposium of administrative departments in Egypt - Wednesday, March 25, 1998 - Supreme Council of Culture, Egypt.
  3. ^ a b c Ibn Duqmaq, الانتصار لوساطة عقد الأمصار, The Grand Printing Press in Boulaq, 1310 AH/1893 AD, section two, pp. 42-43.
  4. ^ Ibn Duqmaq, الانتصار لوساطة عقد الأمصار, The Grand Printing Press in Boulaq, 1310 AH/1893 AD, section one, p. 128
  5. ^ Halm, Heinz (2014). "Fāṭimids". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Brill Online. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_27045. ISSN 1873-9830.