What is "nekhen"

Nekhen or Hierakonpolis (; hierakōn polis, "city of hawks", , Al-Kom Al-Aħmar, "red mound") was the religious and political capital of Upper Egypt at the end of the Predynastic period ( 3200–3100 BC), and probably also during the Early Dynastic Period ( 3100–2686 BC). Some authors suggest occupation dates that should begin thousands of years earlier.

Nekhen was the name of the third Upper Egyptian nome (province). Nekhen is also the Egyptian name of Hierakonpolis, one of the main towns in the province. In Greek and Roman times, the province was called Latopolites, for Esna was in this period the main town and its Greek name was Latopolis or Letopolis. The main towns in the province were Nekhen, Elkab and Esna. The province is already mentioned in inscriptions of the Old Kingdom.