Afertile depression south of Memphis where a large lake was located during the Pharaonic Period. The area was developed during the course of Dynasty 12, whose capital at Lisht was close to the Fayum. Several of the rulers were buried either in the Fayum at Hawara or nearby atLahun. The principal god of the region was the crocodile god Sobek.
The area was further extensively settled during the Ptolemaic Period due to major drainage works carried out to release new land for retired Greek soldiers of the royal army. The area was quite prosperous at the time, as well as during the Roman Period, and the remains of many settlements exist from which many objects, notably literary and nonliterary papyriand mummy portraits, have been recovered.
See also Bacchias; Deir el-Naqlun; Gurob; Harageh; Hawara; Karanis; Kom Khelwa; Kom Talit; Lahun; Lisht; Medinet Madi; Soknopaiou Nesos; Tebtunis.
Historical Dictionary Of Ancient Egypt by Morris L. Bierbrier
Ancient Egypt. A Reference Guide. EdwART. 2011.