Geography of Thebes


Luxor has often been called the world's greatest open-air museum, as indeed it is and much more. The number and preservation of the monuments in the Luxor area are numerous. Actually, what most people think of as Luxor is really three different areas, consisting of the City of Luxor on the East side of the Nile, the town of Karnak just north of Luxor and Thebes, which the ancient Egyptians called Waset, which is on the west side of the Nile across from Luxor . Thebes, ancient city and, for many centuries,capital of ancient Egypt, on both sides of the Nile River, about 725 km (about 450 mi.) south of present-day Cairo. It is partly occupied today by the modern towns of al karnak and Luxor The ancient name for the city the Greeks called Thebai was Waset, the Scepter Nome, and it was the main city of the fourth Upper Egyptian Nome. It was close to Nubia and the eastern desert, with their valuable mineral resources and trade routes. The site of Thebes includes areas on both the eastern bank of the Nile, where the temples of Karnak and Luxor stand, and the western bank, where are the large private and royal cemeteries and funerary complexes.

Thebz, city of ancient Egypt. The city developed at a very early date from a number of small villages, particularly one around modern Luxor (then called Epet The city rapidly became prominent as the royal residence and as a seat of the worship of the god Amon. At Thebes, also, was the necropolis in the Valley of the Tombs where the kings and nobles were entombed in great splendor in crypts cut into the cliffs on the Nile's West Bank. The city's greatest period was that of the empire, when it served as a reservoir for the immense wealth that poured in from the conquered countries. As the empire began to decay and the locus of power to shift to the Nile delta, Thebes went into decline. For a time in the 11th cent. BC, it was a separate political entity under sacerdotal rule. Thebes was sacked by the Assyrians in 661 BC, an event referred to in the Bible (Nah. 3.8-10), where the city is called No Amon [Amon city]. The Romans sacked it in 29 BC, and by 20 BC a Greek visitor to the site reported only a few scattered villages. The temples and tombs that have survived, including the tombs of Tutankhamen and of Ramses II's sons, are among the most splendid in the world, and the site has been the scene of much important archaeological work. Back

Name's origin
The Greeks, who knew it also, as Diospolis ("heavenly city"), named it Thebes; it is the city identified in the Hebrew Bible as No ("city") or No-Amon ("city of Amon"). Back

Monuments of Thebes
Scattered over the site are the remanings of numerous temples, tombs, and other ancient monuments No buildings survive in Thebes older than the portions of the Karnak temple complex, which may date from the Middle Kingdom, but the lower part of a statue of King Niuserre of the 5th Dynasty has been found in Karnak. Another statue which was dedicated by King Senwosret of the 12 dynasty may have been usurped and re-used by him, since the statue bears a cartouche of Niuserre on its belt. Since seven rulers of the 4th to 6th Dynasties appear on the Karnak king list, perhaps at the least there was a temple in the Theban area, which dated to the Old Kingdom.

Other Theban ruins are the Ramesseum, a temple built during the reign of Ramses II (1290-1224 BC); Medinet Habu, the temple of Ramses III (reigned 1194-1163 BC); and the temple of the female pharaoh Hatshepsut (reigned 1473-1458 BC).

The main parts of the town and principal temples were on the east bank. Across the river on the West Bank were the necropolis with tombs and mortuary temples, but also the west part of the town. Deir el-Bahri is there, the mortuary temples of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep and Hatshepsut, and the temple of Amun by Tutmosis III, the temple of Ramesses II, and other mortuary temples of Seti I at Qurna and Amenhotep III with the Memnon Colossi. Amenhotep III had his palace at el-Malqata there, and in the Ramessid period, Thebes centered north of there, at Medinet Habu.

Most of the temples on the west side of the Nile were royal mortuary temples to maintain the cult of the deceased kings buried in their tombs cut in the cliffs further west. The most important of these temples were at Deir el-Bahri, the Ramesseum and Medinet Habu. The mortuary temple of Seti I stand at Qurna, while only the Memnon Colossi and other fragmentary statuary now mark the site of the enormous temple of Amenhotep III. The temples dedicated to the deities Hathor, Thoth and Isis, all dating from the Graeco-Roman period, were also built in the area. Back

History
The city became important during the 11th dynasty (21st century BCE) when the local governor gained control over the entire Egypt, and Thebes stayed on as capital until the 14th century BCE, when Akhenaten became Pharaoh.

This absence of importance lasted only 2 decades, after which it was restored as capital. With the attack of the Assyrians in 661, Thebes was sacked. In Ptolemaic times, it remained important, but it was destroyed by the Romans around 30 BCE, and lost its importance forever.

Thebes began to figure in the recorded history of Egypt during the Old Kingdom (2575-2134 BC). Tombs dating from the 6th Dynasty (2323-2152 BC) of Egyptian kings have been discovered in the original necropolis, which is on the West Side of the Nile. As the biblical name of Thebes indicates, the local deity of the city was Amon, originally the Egyptian god of the reproductive forces and, later as Amon-Ra, and the "father of the gods." The ruined Temple of Amon, which ranks among the best-preserved and most magnificent structures of Egyptian antiquity, is at Al Karnak.

Under the kings of the 9th and 10th dynasties (2134-2040 BC), Thebes emerged as the administrative center of a powerful line of nomarchs (governors)

The Theban nomarchs successfully challenged the Herakleopolitan pharaohs, winning complete control of Egypt about 2040 BC. With this event and the establishment of the Theban dynasty of kings, Thebes became the capital of Egypt. The city retained this status until the reign of Akhenaton (1353-1335 BC). Many of the great temples, the avenue of sphinxes, several beautiful tombs and numerous other lasting monuments were erected in and around Thebes during the period. Thebes was reestablished as the seat of the Egyptian government shortly after the death of Akhenaton. Subsequently, in particular during the 19th and 20th dynasties (1307-1070 BC), the Egyptian pharaohs made additional contributions to the architectural splendor of the city. The Assyrians sacked Thebes in the 7th century BC. Although it was later partly restored, the city declined steadily after the defeat of the Persians in 332 BC (the Persians had conquered Egypt, for the second time, in 343 BC). The Romans destroyed Thebes late in the 1st century BC.

According to the current historical record, Thebes did not come into its political strength until the First Intermediate Period. A large number of private inscriptions from this period indicate that the rulers, or provincial governors, or Koptos, Moalla, and Thebes are prominent at this time. One governor named Ankhtifi relates that though he was able to take over the areas of Edfu and others, forces from Thebes and Koptos subsequently defeated him

The Theban rulers were apparently of the family Inyotef, who before long began to write their names in cartouches. The second of this name even called himself the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, though his power didn't extend much further than the general Theban region.

Finally, one ruler named Mentuhotep, meaning Montu is satisfied, took the prenomen of Nebhepetre, and it is he who is credited with once again reuniting all Egypt under one ruler, and beginning the 11th Dynasty, what Egyptologists call the Middle Kingdom. Nebhepetre ruled for 51 years, and built the temple at Deir el-Bahr that most likely served as the inspiration for the later and larger temple built next to it by Hatshepsut in the 18th Dynasty.

Once again Thebes declined politically, as Amenemhat I of the 12th Dynasty decided to move his capital north again to a new site called Itjtawy or Lisht. Although the capital was moved, Thebes took on a new role as the religious center of the nation, as its god Amun was promoted to principal state deity. The oldest remains of a temple dedicated to Amun date to the reign of Senwosret I in the 12th Dynasty. The core of this Middle Kingdom building lay in the heart of the current temple, behind the sanctuary. Its walls were constructed of limestone, which were later removed for use elsewhere. So now there is an empty space between the sanctuary and the Festival hall of Tutmosis III. However, the small so-called "White Chapel" shrine built by Senwosret I has been rebuilt and stands in the Open Air Museum at Karnak.

The peak for Thebes came during the 18th Dynasty. Its temples were the most important and wealthiest in the lands, and the tombs on the West Bank were among the most luxurious Egypt ever saw. The center of the city during New Kingdom and later times stretched between the two major temples of Karnak and Luxor, along the avenue of sphinxes that connected them. The area is now almost entirely covered by the modern city of Luxor.

During the Third Intermediate Period, the High Priest of Amun formed a counterbalance to the 21st and 22nd Dynasty kings who ruled from the Delta. Theban political influence receded only in the Late Period.

A capital of ancient Egypt, Thebes rose in importance as the home of several royal families from the 11th dynasty (established c.2133 BC). Kings of the 12th dynasty lived near Memphis but honored the Theban god Amon, and under the 17th and 18th dynasties Thebes became the capital of the Egyptian Empire. Kings of the 19th and 20th dynasties lived in the north but lavished attention on Thebes. As the empire began to decline (c.1200 BC), Thebes was controlled by militaristic high priests; in 661 the city was sacked by the Assyrians.

Thebes continued to be an important center during Ptolemaic times (304-30 BC), but it declined thereafter and now consists of the villages of Luxor and Karnak. Some Theban monuments are very well preserved. On the east bank of the Nile the principal ancient town site is covered by modern settlements, but two great temple complexes remain. Amon's temple at Karnak is the larger, covering more than 54 ha (133 acres) and representing almost 2,000 years of building activity (from 2000 BC). The other temple, at LUXOR, was begun in 1417 BC. On the West Bank are tombs of 11th- and 17th- to 20th-dynasty royalty. The New Kingdom burial grounds are in the remote valley where TUTANKHAMEN's tomb was found. Several large royal funerary temples survive at the edge of the river, and the desert foothills are filled with tombs of nobles who lived during the New Kingdom and later. Many of the temples are decorated with paintings that are masterpieces of Egyptian art. Several west-bank towns were important, particularly the palace-city of Amenhotep III at Malkata and the town of Medinet Habu

For two thousand years Egyptian civilisation had been pre-eminent, indeed, Egypt had enjoyed a prestige throughout the know world second to none. By the time of Rameses III, however, the world was going through great upheavals. That long period of stability in the Middle East brought about by Thutmose III and continued by Rameses II's treaties with the Hittites was about to come to an end. This was the time of the Trojan Wars and the fall of Mycenae. A time when age-old empires were weakened by complacent rulers and failed harvests.

It is recorded in the longest know papyrus, the Great Harris Papyrus, that many people throughout the region were made homeless. 'The foreign countries plotted on their Islands and the people were scattered by battle all at one time and no land could stand before their arms.' This great movement of people was well armed and desperate. Known as the Sea Peoples, they obliterated the Hittite Empire and for a while threatened Egypt with extinction also.

But Egypt was not about to give up and sink into oblivion, not yet anyway. There was still one more moment of glory for these most ancient of ancients.

Principle city of Upper Egypt and capital of the fourth Egyptian "Nome" (36 nomes in all, each district had its own capital and governor). Modern Luxor on the East bank of the Nile contains archaeological remains of the city and temples of Thebes, whilst the West bank is the site of the mortuary temples and tombs of the kings and high officials from the Middle Kingdom to the end of the Pharaonic period. Back

City of Thebes
The Ancient Egyptians knew the town as "Waset", it was in fact the Greeks who called it Thebes, naming it after their own city of the same name in Boeotia.

The rulers of the 12th Dynasty (1985-1795 BC) established Thebes as the capital of Upper Egypt, and from then onwards Amun, the local god of Thebes became increasingly prominent.

In the 11th Dynasty, royal burials were already being made on the West Bank, at el-Tarif and Deir el-Bahri, where Mentuhotep II built his funerary complex. By the time of the New Kingdom, the West Bank of Thebes was developing into a great necropolis that would eventually rival the Memphis necropolis of Saqqara in importance. The New Kingdom was the most important period in the history of Thebes, and it was during this time that successive rulers began to enlarge and elaborate the temple complex of Karnak, dedicated to the divine triad of Amun, Mut and Khons. In the reign of Amenhotep III, the Luxor temple was founded, just a short distance south of Karnak.

On the West bank, the Valley of the Kings became the burial place of the New Kingdom rulers from at least as early as the reign of Thutmose I (1504-1492 BC). A number of Royal palaces were also built on the West bank, ranging from small buildings attached to mortuary temples, to the sprawling complex of buildings at Malkata (from the reign of Amenhotep III).

During the Ramesside period, when the royal palace and the central administration were transferred to the Delta, Thebes retained a great deal of its religious and political significance and the bodies of the rulers were still bought to the Valley of the Kings for burial. It was only during the Late Period that the importance of the city finally seems to have dwindled in favour of Memphis, Tanis, Sais and Bubastis.This was a general view of Thebes.