THE TEMPLES, SITES AND MONUMENTS OF ANCIENT EGYPT

Memphis was the Predynastic capital of the 1st nome of Lower Egypt. After Narmer (Menes) of Upper Egypt united the Two Kingdoms, he made Memphis the first capital of the unified Egypt. Memphis remained capital through the Early Dynastic Period, the Old Kingdom and intermittently thereafter until around 1300 BC.

Memphis was probably the largest city in the world from its foundation as capital around 3100 BC until the 1st Intermediate Period (2150 BC). Its population was over 30,000.

Its Ancient Egyptian name was Ineb Hedj ("White Walls").

The name "Memphis" is the Greek deformation of the Egyptian name Men-nefer, a 6th Dynasty pyramid of Pepy I (Meryre). In the Bible Memphis is called Noph or Moph.

The ruins are 12 miles south of Cairo on the West Bank of the Nile. The modern city of Mit-Rahineh lies nearby.

Memphis reached a peak of prestige under the 6th Dynasty as a center of the cult of Ptah the creator-god. It declined briefly after the 18th Dynasty with the rise of Thebes. It revived again under the Persian Dynasties before falling into firm second place following the foundation of Alexandria.

Under the Roman Empire, Alexandria remained the most important city. Memphis remained the second city of Egypt until the establishment of Al Fustat in 641 AD.

Memphis was then largely abandoned and became a source of stone for the surrounding settlements. It was still an imposing set of ruins in the 12th century but soon became little more than an expanse of low ruins and scattered stone.

The remains of the temple of Ptah (right) and of Apis have been uncovered at the site as well as a few statues, including two 16-foot-tall alabaster statues of Ramesses II.

Nearby Memphis is the Saqqara necropolis, with the Step Pyramid built by the vizier Imhotep for Pharaoh Djoser - the oldest stone building in the world.

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