A Brief Exploration into the Ancient Egypt Capital Cities of Memphis, Thebes, and Amarna

There was no single ancient Egypt capital city. Ancient Egyptian history had dozens of capital cities. However, there are only three notable capital cities in ancient Egypt – Memphis, Thebes, and Amarna.

Upper and Lower Egypt

Egypt was never one country. It was divided into Upper and Lower Egypt. Both these regions had their own ancient Egypt capital city. The notable capital city of Upper Egypt was Abydos.

For more than 2000 years, there was a power shift that was constantly happening in ancient Egypt. More than eleven capital cities became the center of power during this time. There is no recorded evidence as to why this took place. However, considering that two thousand years is a very long time, this was plausible by even modern standards.

Revolution happened in the Egyptian land, when in 3118 BC; Meni united Upper and Lower Egypt. The power shift between many an ancient Egypt capital city slowed down. Eventually, Memphis was designated as the capital city of the consolidated geographical entity.

Ancient Egypt Capital City Memphis

Memphis grew to be a cosmopolitan city. People from different countries visited the place. You could say that it was a “happening” place at that time. When the Persians came to Memphis to establish their invasion, they found Greeks, Jews, and Libyans in Memphis. This indicated that Memphis was also undergoing a cultural revolution. For the first time in history, it could be indicated that an ancient city was a truly global city.

Memphis grew in popularity even after the Persians came. The Persians did well to not attack the cultural fabric of Memphis. People thronged to the place, and by 700 BC, the ancient Egypt capital city was the most populated city in the world as per historians.

Historians wish that there was a lot left of Memphis. Quite disappointingly, only little remains of Memphis today.

Capital City Thebes

Thebes was a city in Upper Egypt. It became the capital city of ancient Egypt in 2040 BC. After the Theban kings successfully fought the war, they founded the middle kingdom. Thebes is an important city considering the number of architectural pursuits that happened from here. The famous Karnak and Luxor temples are here.

Capital City Amarna

Amarna is a relatively unknown ancient Egyptian capital city but has its significance in history. It was not located in a centrally accessible place in ancient Egypt and was soon disregarded as a capital city.

Looking back into ancient Egyptian history is quite a wondrous experience. Learning about different histories of ancient Egypt capital city is exciting.