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When ancient Egyptian civilization rose from the Nile River valley, Thebes was not one of the important centers. In fact, Thebes did not become an important city until about 2160 BC, more than 1,000 years after the creation of the Egyptian state. Like many small urban centers in ancient Egypt, Thebes lingered in obscurity until a combination of chance events and the importance of one particular Egyptian god made the city prominent.
Thebes first rose to prominence in Egypt as a center of political resistance during the First Intermediate Period and then again more than 1,000 years later in the Second Intermediate Period. After Egyptian kings from Thebes successfully won military campaigns against their enemies from the north, they made their home city the political and religious capital of Egypt for quite some time. Thebes also became prominent because it was the cult center of the god Amun, who became the national god of Egypt for most of the New Kingdom (c. 1550-1075 BC). After the New Kingdom collapsed, Thebes retained some of its importance during the Late Period due to its close proximity to Nubia, but it was a shadow of its former glory.
==Early Thebes and the Middle Kingdom==
[[File: DeirelBahri.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left|Hatshepsut’s (ruled 1473-1458 BC) Mortuary Temple at Deir el-Bahari, Just West of Thebes]]
It is not known for sure when Thebes was founded, but by the Old Kingdom (c. 2686-2181 BC) it was just a minor provincial town. The ancient Egyptians knew Thebes in their own language as <i>Waset</i>, which was symbolized by the <i>Was</i> scepter, or they simply called it <i>Niut</i>, “the City.” The name “Thebes” is actually what the Greeks and then the Romans called it in the first millennium. <ref> Shaw, Ian , and Paul Nicholson. <i>The Dictionary of Ancient Egypt.</i> (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1995), pgs. 287-7</ref> The modern city of Luxor is situated on top of much of the ancient city, although the vast Karnak Temple is on the northern edge of the city, and the Luxor Temple is in the middle of Luxor. Just to the west of Luxor, across the Nile River, are many more ancient temples and the Valley of the Kings, which the ancient Egyptians considered part of Waset.
Thebes continued to be of little importance in the big picture of Egyptian history until the Old Kingdom collapsed and the country entered what is known as the First Intermediate Period (c. 2160-2055 BC), where the central government in Memphis lost most of its power to regional rulers. The northern city of Heracleopolis became the base for two dynasties, the Ninth and Tenth, which existed for most of the First Intermediate Period. But as a new power base formed in the north, so too did a new dynasty, the Eleventh (c. 2125-2055 BC), come to life in the southern city of Thebes. <ref> Grajetzki, Wolfram. <i>The Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt.</i> (London: Duckworth, 2009), p. 8</ref> The third century BC Hellenized Egyptian priest and historian, Manetho, mentioned the Eleventh Dynasty, although he partially conflated it with the Twelfth Dynasty.
“The mighty king in Thebes, Kamose, given life, forever, was the beneficent king. It was [Re] himself [who made him] king and who assigned him strength in truth.
His majesty spoke in his palace to the council of nobles who were in his retinue: ‘Let me understand what this strength of mine is for! (One) prince is in Avaris, another is in Nubia, and (here) I sit associated with an Asiatic and a Nubian! Each man has his slice of this Egypt, dividing up the land with me. I cannot pass by him as far as Memphis, the waters of Egypt, (but), behold, he has Hermopolis. No man can settle down, being despoiled by the imposts of the Asiatics. I will grapple with him, that I may cut open his belly! My wish is to save Egypt and to smite the Asiatics!’” <ref> Pritchard, James B, ed. <i>Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament.</i> Third Edition. (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1992), pgs. 23-3</ref>
Once the Hyksos were vanquished from Egypt, Ahmose I (ruled c. 1550-1525 BC) became the king, ushering in the Eighteenth Dynasty and the New Kingdom. Ahmose also made Thebes his political capital, which was followed by his direct predecessors, primarily Hatshepsut (reigned c. 1473-1458 BC), Thutmose III (1479-1425 BC), and Amenhotep III (c. 1390-1352), who all made Thebes at least their part-time home and added significant additions to the Karnak Temple. <ref> Shaw and Nicholson, p. 148</ref>
In addition to construction at the Karnak Temple, the kings of the early New Kingdom also began the tradition of being interred in the Valley of the Kings, which is located about three miles west of Thebes. <ref> Shaw and Nicholson, pgs. 299-300</ref> By the time Akhenaten (ruled c. 1352-1336 BC) came to power, Thebes had eclipsed Memphis as the greatest city in Egypt, but the new king had other ideas about where and how to rule. When Akhenaten moved the royal court to the newly built city of Aketataen/Amarna, Thebes was relegated to the second status for a few years.
==Thebes in the Late New Kingdom==
[[File: HypostyleHall.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left| The Karnak Temple in Thebes]]
[[File: Ramesseum.jpg|300px|thumbnail|right| The Ramesseum on the West Bank of Thebes]]
Akhenaten’s attempts to change Egypt’s religion and culture were short -lived, because once his successor Tutankhamun (reigned c. 1336-1327 BC) came to the throne he returned the kingdom to its orthodox religion, which meant that Thebes would once again become prominent. A text discovered in the Hypostyle Hall of the Karnak Temple describes how Tutankhamun restored the Amun priests in Thebes to their prior position and endowed their temples with generous gifts.
“He gave more than what had existed before, surpassing what had been done since the time of the ancestors: he installed lay priests and higher clergy from among the children of the officials of their cities, each one being the “son-of-a-man” whose name was known; he multiplied their [offering tables], silver, copper , and bronze, there being no limit to [anything]; he filled their workrooms with male and female slaves from the tribute of His Person’s capturing. All [the possessions] pf the temples and cities [were increased] twice, thrice, fourfold, consisting of silver, gold, lapis lazuli, turquoise, every precious stone, as well as royal linen, white linen, fine linen, moringa oil, gum, fat, [ . . .], incense, aromatics, and myrrh, without a limit to any good thing.” <ref> Murnane, William J. trans and ed. <i>Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt.</i> (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1995), pgs. 213-14</ref>
The Nineteenth and Twentieth dynasties, known collectively by modern scholars as the “Ramesside Period,” brought much of Egypt’s political focus back to Memphis, but Thebes continued to play an important religious role. Ramesses II (ruled c. 1279-1213) built and added to several impressive monuments throughout the Thebes region during his long rule. The Nineteenth Dynasty king added the Hypostyle Hall at Karnak Temple and had his mortuary temple, today is known as the Ramesseum, built on the west bank of the Nile River. <ref> Shaw and Nicholson, p. 148; pgs. 242-4</ref> The warrior pharaoh is also known for his additions to what is known today as the Luxor Temple in central Thebes.
Construction of the Luxor Temple began during the rule of Amenhotep III, but it was largely completed by Ramesses II. Ramesses II constructed a pylon and a courtyard on the north end, with six colossal statues built to stand guard. The Luxor Temple served as the national shrine for the cult of the divine king, making it and Thebes a major attraction in the New Kingdom. <ref> Haeny, Gerhard. “New Kingdom ‘Mortuary Temples’ and ‘Mansions of Millions of Years.’” In <i> Temples of Ancient Egypt.</i> Edited by Byron E. Shaffer. (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1997), pgs. 147-57</ref>
==Amun and Thebes==
As Thebes rose to prominence in the New Kingdom, so too did the god Amun. Although Amun was one of the earliest Egyptian gods, as he was associated with Thebes he did not become prominent until the Eighteenth Dynasty. A new professional priesthood developed at Thebes during this time, and as Thebes grew in importance so too did Amun, and vice versa. <ref> Redford, Donald B. <i>Akhenaten: The Heretic King.</i> (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1987), p. 159</ref> When Akhenaten moved the capital from Thebes to Amarna, he also divested much of the funding for the Amun cult, but by the time of the Nineteenth Dynasty Amun’s cult was endowed with even more funding and estates, making him a universal and national god. <ref> Kuhrt, Amélie. <i>The Ancient Near East: c. 3000-330 BC.</i> (London: Routledge, 2010), p. 206</ref> As long as Amun remained the primary Egyptian god, Thebes was assured to have a place of primacy.
==Conclusion==
