kingdom · Egypt, North Africa and Sudan

Kingdom of Hermopolis

750 BCE – 728 BCE (approx.) · capital Hermopolis

A short-lived Middle Egyptian kingdom whose king Nimlot defied, then surrendered to, the Kushite conqueror Piye.

Origins

As the Twenty-second Dynasty of Egypt fragmented in the 8th century BCE, Hermopolis, the cult centre of the god Thoth, became the seat of an independent local king. Its ruler Nimlot (Namart), probably of Libyan descent, held the region of Middle Egypt around the city by about 750 BCE.

Rule and society

Almost all that is known comes from the Victory Stela of Piye. Nimlot first acknowledged Kushite overlordship, then joined the coalition of Tefnakht of Sais, which brought on a Kushite siege. After a long siege his queen pleaded with Piye's women, and Nimlot surrendered his treasures and horses; Piye, a lover of horses, was angered to find them starving.

Decline and legacy

Nimlot was allowed to keep his throne as a vassal of the Kushite Empire after about 728 BCE, but the kingdom vanishes from the record soon after.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kingdom of Hermopolis. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-hermopolis
MLA
“Kingdom of Hermopolis.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-hermopolis. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Kingdom of Hermopolis.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-hermopolis.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kingdom of Hermopolis’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-hermopolis (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻