ESNA, a town of Upper Egypt on the west bank of the Nile, m. S.S.E. of Cairo by rail, the railway station being on the opposite side of the river. Pop. 16,000, mostly Copts. Esna, one of the healthiest towns in Egypt, is noted for its manufactures of pottery and its large grain and live stock markets. There is con siderable traffic with the oasis of Kharga, which lies almost due west of the town. Nearly in the centre of the town is the Ptole maic and Roman temple of the ram-headed Khnum, almost buried in rubbish and houses. The interior of the pronaos contains the latest known hieroglyphic inscription, dating from the reign of Decius (A.D. 249-251). In the neighbourhood are remains of Coptic buildings, including a subterranean church in the desert half a mile beyond the limits of cultivation. The name Esna is from the Coptic Sne. By the Greeks the place was called La topolis, from the worship here of the latus fish. In the persecu tions under Diocletian A.D. 303, the Christians of Esna, a numerous body, suffered severely.