What really happened to the Great Sphinx's nose?
The Great Sphinx of Giza has lost almost all of its nose. The popular answer blames Napoleon's cannon, but drawings, a medieval Arabic chronicle and a close study of the face tell a different story.
10 established, 1 disputed, 1 debunked, 1 unresolved. We do not pick an answer; the evidence places each claim. How we decide
37 citations from 11 independent sources - 26 echo the same voices and count once. Graded A1-D1.
Added 29 Sept 2026
What the four states mean
- Establishedsupported, uncontested
- Disputedcredible sources disagree
- Debunkedrefuted by the evidence
- Unresolvedno settled answer
Established 10supported, uncontested
Frederick Lewis Norden sketched the Sphinx in 1737, and his drawings, published in 1755, show it with no nose.▰▰▰▱▱ likely3 points
Supports- Frederick Lewis Norden, an artist and marine architect, also sketched the Sphinx in 1737. His detailed drawings, published in 1755, were more realistic and showed the Sphinx with no nose.Larry Orcutt, Catchpenny Mysteries: The Sphinx's Nose summary
- Sketches of the Sphinx by the Dane Frederic Louis Norden were created in 1737 and published in 1755, well before the era of Napoleon. However, these drawings illustrate the Sphinx without a nose and clearly contradicts the legend.Smithsonian Journeys blog, Photo: What happened to the Sphinx's nose? (2009, archived) summary
- About three hundred paces to the eaft of the fecond pyramid, you fee the head of the great and famous Sphinx, which I have taken care to delineateFrederick Lewis Norden, Travels in Egypt and Nubia, vol. 1 (London, 1757), p. 121 primary
In English renderings of al-Maqrizi, the defacement was meant to remedy religious errors, at a time when people were still making offerings at the Sphinx.▰▰▰▱▱ likely3 points
Supports- The reason for the vandalism, according to al-Maqrizi, was to "remedy some religious errors:" at that time some Egyptians were still burning milk-thistle (shuka`a) and safflower (badhaward) at the foot of the Sphinx while murmuring a verse 63 times in hope that their wishes would be fulfilled.Larry Orcutt, Catchpenny Mysteries: The Sphinx's Nose summary
- Al-Maqrizi even has an explanation for the Sphinx’s lack of nose, claiming an individual became enraged at commoners leaving offerings for it, so he cut off its nose.The Ancient Near East Today (ASOR), Myth and Marvel: Medieval Muslim Writings on Ancient Egypt analysis
- In 1402, an Arab historian reported that a Sufi zealot had disfigured it “to remedy some religious errors.”Smithsonian Magazine, Uncovering Secrets of the Sphinx summary
Mark Lehner's study of the face concludes that the nose was intentionally broken off, most likely with long chisels or wedges: one pounded into the bridge and another under the north nostril, after which the nose was pried off toward the south.▰▰▰▱▱ likely2 points
Supports- It is clear that the nose was intentionally broken off, most likely by long chisels or wedges. One chisel was pounded down into the bridge and another deep in and under the north nostril, and the nose was pried off toward the south, apparently all in one quick operation.Mark Lehner, Archaeology of an Image: The Great Sphinx of Giza (Yale PhD dissertation, 1991), pp. 194-195 authoritative
- Upon examination, the Sphinx’s face shows that rods or chisels were hammered into the nose area which were then used to pry it off.History Hit, Who Broke the Giant Sphinx's Nose? summary
Al-Maqrizi's Khitat says that in his own time a man known as Shaykh Muhammad Sa'im al-Dahr, a Sufi of the khanqah of Sa'id al-Su'ada, went to the pyramids in about the year 780 and disfigured the face of Abu al-Hawl, the Sphinx.▰▰▰▱▱ likely3 points
Supports- وفي زمننا، كان شخص يعرف بالشيخ محمد صائم الدهر من جملة صوفية الخانقاه الصلاحية سعيد السعداء، قام في نحو من سنة ثمانين وسبعمائة لتغيير أشياء من المنكرات، وسار إلى الأهرام وشوّه وجه أبي الهول وشعثه، فهو على ذلك إلى اليومal-Maqrizi, al-Mawa'iz wa al-I'tibar bi-Dhikr al-Khitat wa al-Athar, vol. 1, section on the idol called Abu al-Hawl (Shamela edition, p. 228, archived) primary
- In vol. 2, page 157 of the Wien edition, al-Maqrizi states that the face, specifically the nose and ears, were demolished in 1378 by a Sufi from the khanqah of Sa`id al-Su`ada named Sa'im al-dahr.Larry Orcutt, Catchpenny Mysteries: The Sphinx's Nose summary
- "From the time of this disfigurement also," al-Maqrizi wrote, "the sand has invaded the cultivated land of Giza, and the people attribute this to the disfigurement of Abul-Hol [i.e., the Sphinx]."Larry Orcutt, Catchpenny Mysteries: The Sphinx's Nose summary
Al-Maqrizi reports that people around Giza blamed the sand's spread over their land on the disfigurement of the Sphinx's face.▰▰▰▱▱ likely2 points
Supports- ومن حينئذ غلب الرمل على أراض كثيرة من الجيزة، وأهل تلك النواحي يرون أن سبب غلبة الرمل على الأراضي فساد وجه أبي الهولal-Maqrizi, al-Mawa'iz wa al-I'tibar bi-Dhikr al-Khitat wa al-Athar, vol. 1, section on the idol called Abu al-Hawl (Shamela edition, p. 228, archived) primary
- The same historian also said that local people believed that the increased sand covering the Giza Plateau was celestial revenge for the act of defacement.History Hit, Who Broke the Giant Sphinx's Nose? summary
Al-Maqrizi also records an older belief, cited to al-Quda'i, that the Sphinx was a talisman against the sand.▰▰▰▱▱ likely2 points
Supports- قال القضاعي: صنم الهرمين وهو بلهويه، صنم كبير من حجارة فيما بين الهرمين لا يظهر منه سوى رأسه فقط تسميه العامة بأبي الهول ويقال: بلهيب، ويقال: إنه طلسم للرمل، لئلا يغلب على إبليز الجيزة.al-Maqrizi, al-Mawa'iz wa al-I'tibar bi-Dhikr al-Khitat wa al-Athar, vol. 1, section on the idol called Abu al-Hawl (Shamela edition, p. 227, archived) primary
- According to popular lore, it was perhaps a talisman of the Nile or responsible for repelling desert sands.The Ancient Near East Today (ASOR), Myth and Marvel: Medieval Muslim Writings on Ancient Egypt analysis
A Brooklyn Museum exhibition curated by Edward Bleiberg treats broken noses and other purposely shattered body parts on Egyptian statues as patterns of damage inflicted for political, religious and criminal reasons.▰▰▰▱▱ likely4 points
Supports- Why are the noses broken on Egyptian statues? Why were other body parts, including eyes, arms, and feet of statues purposely shattered in antiquity?Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester, Striking Power: Iconoclasm in Ancient Egypt (exhibition organized by the Brooklyn Museum, curated by Edward Bleiberg) analysis
- Striking Power: Iconoclasm in Ancient Egypt examines the patterns of damage inflicted on works of art for political, religious, and criminal reasonsMemorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester, Striking Power: Iconoclasm in Ancient Egypt (exhibition organized by the Brooklyn Museum, curated by Edward Bleiberg) analysis
- This exhibition is organized by the Brooklyn Museum in collaboration with the Pulitzer Arts Foundation and is curated by Edward Bleiberg, Curator Emeritus, Brooklyn Museum.Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester, Striking Power: Iconoclasm in Ancient Egypt (exhibition organized by the Brooklyn Museum, curated by Edward Bleiberg) analysis
- “The consistency of the patterns where damage is found in sculpture suggests that it’s purposeful,” Bleiberg said, citing myriad political, religious, personal and criminal motivations for acts of vandalism.CNN (from Artsy), Why do so many Egyptian statues have broken noses? (quoting Brooklyn Museum curator Edward Bleiberg) summary
The Sphinx's nose is missing almost entirely; the original was about 2.20 m high from its base to the top of the bridge and about 1.20 m wide at the bottom.▰▰▱▱▱ likely1 source
Supports- The nose of the Sphinx is missing almost entirely. The complete original nose was about 2.20 m in height from its base to the top of the bridge, and about 1.20 m in width at the bottom.Mark Lehner, Archaeology of an Image: The Great Sphinx of Giza (Yale PhD dissertation, 1991), pp. 194-195 authoritative
The nose was already damaged in the 10th century. The geographer al-Muqaddasi, one of the first Muslim authors to write about the Sphinx, blamed the mutilation on people who took the Sphinx for the devil and wanted to silence it.▰▰▱▱▱ likely2 points
Supports- Allerdings war schon im 10. Jh. die Nase beschädigt.Ulrich Haarmann, Die Sphinx: Synkretistische Volksreligiosität im spätmittelalterlichen islamischen Ägypten, Saeculum (1978), pp. 367-384 (University of Freiburg repository) analysis
- Der Geograph al-Muqaddasi, einer der ersten, wenn nicht der erste muslimische Autor, der von der Sphinx erzählt, lastete diese Verstümmelung Leuten an, die in der Sphinx den Teufel wähnten und den Vermaledeiten auf diese Weise zum Schweigen bringen wolltenUlrich Haarmann, Die Sphinx: Synkretistische Volksreligiosität im spätmittelalterlichen islamischen Ägypten, Saeculum (1978), pp. 367-384 (University of Freiburg repository) analysis
The Sphinx section of al-Maqrizi's Khitat includes praise for the proportion of the Sphinx's face, naming the nose, eye and ear as proportioned features.▰▰▱▱▱ likely2 points
Supports- وفي وجهه حمرة ودهان يلمع عليه رونق الطراوة، وهو حسن الصورة مقبولها عليه مسحة بهاء وجمال كأنه يضحك تبسما. وسئل بعض الفضلاء، عن عجيب ما رأى فقال: تناسب وجه أبي الهول، فإنّ أعضاءal-Maqrizi, al-Mawa'iz wa al-I'tibar bi-Dhikr al-Khitat wa al-Athar, vol. 1, section on the idol called Abu al-Hawl (Shamela edition, p. 227, archived) primary
- وجهه كالأنف والعين والأذن متناسبة كما تصنع الطبيعة الصور متناسبةal-Maqrizi, al-Mawa'iz wa al-I'tibar bi-Dhikr al-Khitat wa al-Athar, vol. 1, section on the idol called Abu al-Hawl (Shamela edition, p. 228, archived) primary
Disputed 1credible sources disagree
Whether Muhammad Sa'im al-Dahr was the one who removed the Sphinx's nose is contested.▰▰▰▰▱ likely2 against5 points
Supports- Jetzt richtete er seinen ikonoklastischen Zorn gegen die Sphinx, die als bildliche Darstellung eines Lebewesens den religiösen Vorschriften des Islams Hohn sprach, also verboten, munkar, war, und beschädigte ihre Nase und ihre Ohren bzw. was davon noch übriggeblieben warUlrich Haarmann, Die Sphinx: Synkretistische Volksreligiosität im spätmittelalterlichen islamischen Ägypten, Saeculum (1978), pp. 367-384 (University of Freiburg repository) analysis
- A now disproven myth pointed blame at Napoleon Bonaparte’s armies, while some theorists credit Muhammad Sa’im al-Dahr with the removal of the sphinx’s nose.History Hit, Who Broke the Giant Sphinx's Nose? summary
- Outraged by this blatant show of devotion, Sa’im al-Dahr destroyed the nose and was later executed for vandalism. Whether this is absolute fact is still debatable.Smithsonian Journeys blog, Photo: What happened to the Sphinx's nose? (2009, archived) summary
Against- Allerdings war schon im 10. Jh. die Nase beschädigt.Ulrich Haarmann, Die Sphinx: Synkretistische Volksreligiosität im spätmittelalterlichen islamischen Ägypten, Saeculum (1978), pp. 367-384 (University of Freiburg repository) analysis
- Archaeologist Mark Lehner performed an archaeological study on the Sphinx and concluded that its nose was intentionally broken with instruments sometime between the 3rd and 10th centuries AD.History Hit, Who Broke the Giant Sphinx's Nose? summary
Debunked 1refuted by the evidence
A popular story holds that cannonballs fired by Napoleon Bonaparte's army in 1798 broke off the Sphinx's nose.Refuted by
you conceive a fort of indignation at thofe, who have had the brutality to disfigure ftrangely its nofe.
refuted3 against5 pointsThe claim rested on- The most popular myth regarding the Sphinx’s nose is that it was broken by cannonballs fired by Napoleon Bonaparte’s army, who were in Giza during one of the military battles of the French campaign in Egypt in 1798.History Hit, Who Broke the Giant Sphinx's Nose? summary
- Many of us have heard the tale that a cannonball fired by Napoleon’s soldiers hit the nose and caused it to break off.Smithsonian Journeys blog, Photo: What happened to the Sphinx's nose? (2009, archived) summary
Refuted by- you conceive a fort of indignation at thofe, who have had the brutality to disfigure ftrangely its nofe.Frederick Lewis Norden, Travels in Egypt and Nubia, vol. 1 (London, 1757), p. 127 primary
- We can conclude that the nose was gone by 1737 at the latest; thus its removal can not be blamed on Napoleon's troops, who visited more than 50 years later.Larry Orcutt, Catchpenny Mysteries: The Sphinx's Nose summary
- However, a mid-18th century drawing of the Sphinx by Danish Naval Captain and explorer Frederic Louis Norden depicts the statue without a nose. Since this predates Napoleon’s army, it disproves the folk tale.History Hit, Who Broke the Giant Sphinx's Nose? summary
Unresolved 1no settled answer
Who removed the nose, when and why remains unclear; writers who discussed the damage blamed different culprits, including people who took the Sphinx for the devil and the prophet Moses.▰▰▰▱▱ likely3 points
Supports- It is unclear when it disappeared, who removed it and why.History Hit, Who Broke the Giant Sphinx's Nose? summary
- Der Geograph al-Muqaddasi, einer der ersten, wenn nicht der erste muslimische Autor, der von der Sphinx erzählt, lastete diese Verstümmelung Leuten an, die in der Sphinx den Teufel wähnten und den Vermaledeiten auf diese Weise zum Schweigen bringen wolltenUlrich Haarmann, Die Sphinx: Synkretistische Volksreligiosität im spätmittelalterlichen islamischen Ägypten, Saeculum (1978), pp. 367-384 (University of Freiburg repository) analysis
- Evliyä Celebi klagt vierhundert Jahre später den Propheten Moses an, er habe das Gesicht der Sphinx beschädigt.Ulrich Haarmann, Die Sphinx: Synkretistische Volksreligiosität im spätmittelalterlichen islamischen Ägypten, Saeculum (1978), pp. 367-384 (University of Freiburg repository) analysis
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