Cynopolis was the Greek name for the ancient Egyptian town of Saka (or Hardai?); () in the seventeenth
nome of
Upper Egypt, was home to the cult of
Anubis, a canine-shaped
deity. According to
Claudius Ptolemy, the town was situated on an island in the river. The modern settlement of
El Kays now stands on the site. The nome of Cynopolis extended to both banks of the
Nile. A burial ground for dogs was discovered on the opposite bank of the Nile, near Hamatha. The neighbouring cities were rivals according to
Plutarch, who wrote (
De Iside, 72) that when a Cynopolis resident ate an Oxyrhynchos fish, the people of
Oxyrhynchos started attacking dogs in revenge, which resulted in a minor civil war. Cynopolis was destroyed by the viceroy of Nubia
Pinehesy during the reign of
Ramses XI: the survivors were enslaved. The diocese, which became obscure under Islam, was nominally restored in 1933 as a Latin Catholic
titular bishopric. It was named Cynopolis in Aegypto. The see has been vacant for several decades, having had the following incumbents, both of the lowest (episcopal) rank: • Giacomo Eich,
Oblates of St. Francis de Sales (O.S.F.S.) (1942.04.21 – 1947.02.04) • Joseph Gerald Holland,
Society of African Missions (S.M.A.) (1953.05.07 – 1970.12.07) == Cynopolis inferior ==