ANCIENT EGYPT

The Nile River was very important to ancient Egyptian civilization as it was the primary source why they had fertile land to farm and how they transported and received goods. It is no surprise that the great cities of ancient Egypt where located on the banks of the Nile River. Ancient Egyptian cities were divided into the lower and upper regions. Interestingly the lower region included the Mediterranean and the Nile Delta which were located in northern Egypt. The upper region was located father down south. The ancient Egyptian cities were normally built with the same footprint, they had a wall around the city with two entrances and the main road running down the middle of the cities with other smaller roads connecting to it. They also had mudbrick houses and buildings but if a flood ruined or destroyed the building then typically a new building was built over top of it. The cities were mostly named after gods from Ancient Egypt religion.

 

Some of the most important cities in ancient Egypt were the capital cities. Since Ancient Egypt existed over a 3000-year span, the capital cities changed over periods of time as the civilization grew.  Memphis, Thebes, and Alexandria were all capital cities at one point during the existence of Ancient Egypt. Memphis was the first capital city from 2950 BC to 2180 BC and it is thought that during its peak it was the largest city in the world. Memphis, like other important cities, was situated on the Nile, in particular where the Nile valley met the Nile delta. This was a great area for trade, taxation, and security. Memphis also had many temples and was the center of religion during its time as the capital. Thebes became the next capital city from 2135 BC to 1279 BC during the New and Middle Kingdom dynasties of Ancient Egypt. It was a very religious and political city that had important temples such as the Temple of Karnak and the Temple of Luxor. The areas around Thebes were well populated, these people were known to successfully grow many different crops for trade.

 

From 332 BC to 641 AD, the city of Alexandria became the capital city when Alexander the Great conquered Egypt. This era was during the Ptolemy Dynasty and marked the end of Ancient Egypt civilization as the Greeks began to rule. The city was located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. For almost 1000 years, Alexandria remained the capital city. Older capital cities that once thrived like Memphis faded away into ruins. Alexandria was known to be an intellectual city of the world where people shared ideas and continued to evolve. It also had the world’s largest library. There were other important cities in Ancient Egypt that weren’t capital cities. What they all had in common was that they were important trading cities or centers of influence for religion. The cities all helped Ancient Egypt to become an important and wealthy region during its time.