(CE:2269b)
TIRSA, a town in Egypt located in the vicinity of al-Minya. On 9 Kiyahk the SYNAXARION commemorates Saint PAMIN, who is said to have hailed from "Minyat al-Khasib, from the area of al- Ashmunayn, near Tirsa." Inasmuch as Tirsa is given as a reference point for Minyat al-Khasib, it is reasonable to assume that in Pamin's day, or at least at the time the Synaxarion was composed, Tirsa was the more significant of the two towns. Minyat al-Khasib is the modern al-Minya, but there is no dwelling named Tirsa in the surrounding area and there are no other attestations of the town in ancient, medieval, or modern literature.
RANDALL STEWART
