The City of Memphis was one of the historical capitals of ancient Egypt through a lot of its dynasties. The city was also an important religious center through the majority of ancient Egyptian history and even in the Persian and Ptolemaic periods of Egypt. In more than one point in history, Memphis was probably the largest settlement in the whole world.

The city’s history has been a reflection of the Egyptian history, in the times of existence; passing through the same major circumstances of the rest of the country. It is generally believed that the city was founded by Menese, the first king of the newly created country of Egypt that was established by unifying upper and lower Egypt. From the time of its creation and through the Old Kingdom, Memphis was the capital of Egypt and its most powerful city. The city reached a peak in the sixth dynasty. By the beginning of the Middle Kingdom, the capital was moved to the south, to the city of Thebes. From this point, the cities of Memphis and Thebes were the rival centers of ancient Egypt. In the beginning, Memphis continued to be a bigger artistic and trade centre than Thebes, however, as time passed Thebes became bigger and more important. Memphis continued through the Middle and New Kingdoms to be a strong religious centre due to its large number of great temples, including the city’s most important temple of Ptah, and the important nearby necropolis of Sakkara. In its late years, Memphis received special attention from the Persian invaders who preserved and strengthened the city’s structures, built a garrison in the city and made it their administrative capital from which they ruled Egypt. The city was a center of various rebellions to the Persians, but the Persian occupation was only briefly ended, before the Persians returned and suppressed the rebels. After the Greeks arrived in Egypt and defeated the Persians, Alexander the Great was crowned as King in Memphis in the Temple of Ptah. On Alexander’s death, his successor in Egypt, Ptolemy, took his body to the temple of Ptah, claiming that Alexander wished to be buried in Egypt, and had his body embalmed by the priest. Later, Ptolemy II moved Alexander’s sarcophagus to Alexandria.

The City of Memphis was a city of lots of temples and palaces. The most important construction of the city was the Great Temple of Ptah, which was one of the foremost places of worship in Egypt. There was also a number of temples dedicated to Rameses II. These temples were dedicated to a God, like Hathor or Ptah, and to the deified Rameses II. Rameses II built a lot of structures in Memphis which also included large statues of him. One of his statues survives today, which is 10 m long and is very impressive with regards to its anatomical details that it shows, although its lower half is destroyed. The remains of this once great city are exhibited in the open air museum of Memphis, where ruins of some of the great temple’s pillars can be seen. The city today remains as one of the most rich excavation sites that continue to produce important discoveries and secrets that reveal more about all of ancient Egypt.