List of historical capitals of Egypt

Short description: None

The current capital of Egypt is Cairo. Over the course of its history, Egypt has had many capitals. Its earliest capital was Tjenu, better known as Thinis, which may have been the capital of the hypothetical Thinite Confederacy prior to Egypt's unification. During the First, Second and Third Intermediate Periods, Egypt had multiple capitals held by rival dynasties. Thinis was Egypt's first capital following its unification in c. 3100 BCE. The current Egyptian capital city is Cairo, and this has been the case since 972. This makes Cairo Egypt's longest-running capital city, having retained this status for over 1,050 years.[1][2] Alexandria was the second longest-lasting capital of Egypt, being used for the entirety of the Greco-Roman period, which lasted for 973 years. Memphis was the capital of Egypt for over 700 years and was the seat of the power for the whole of the Old Kingdom period. Thebes was used as the capital for approximately 485 years, mostly during the Middle and New Kingdoms.[3]

Thinis

Memphis

Heracleopolis Magna

Thebes

Itjtawy

Avaris

Amarna

Pi-Ramesses

Tanis

Bubastis

Leontopolis

Sais

Mendes

Samannud

Alexandria

Fustat

Cairo

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Locations of the historical capitals (Al-Askar and Al-Qata'i are located within the administrative borders of modern Cairo,[4] which can be confirmed especially by Google Maps by typing the Arabic name of Al-Qata'i; Fustat, with a tiny text on this map, is located south of Cairo)

## List of Egyptian capitals

Common Name  | Name variations  | Founder  | Time Period  | Ruling Dynasties  | Ref.

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Naqada  | Ancient Egyptian: Nbyt
Ancient Greek: Παμπανις Pampanis
Coptic: ⲛⲉⲕⲁⲧⲏⲣⲓⲟⲛ Nekatērion
Egyptian Arabic: نقادة‎ Naqāda |  | c. 3200–3150 BCE  | Naqada III
Thinis  | Ancient Egyptian: Tjenu
Ancient Greek: Θίνις Thinis, Θίς This
Coptic: Ⲧⲓⲛ
Egyptian Arabic: طين  |  | c. 3150–2686 BCE  | First Dynasty
Second Dynasty  | [5]
Memphis  | Ancient Egyptian (First Intermediate Period): Djed-Sut
Ancient Egyptian (Middle Kingdom): Ankh-Tawy
Ancient Egyptian (New Kingdom): mn-nfr, Men-nefer
Ancient Greek: Μέμφις, Memphis
Coptic: ⲙⲉⲙϥⲓ, Memfi
Egyptian Arabic: مَنْف Manf | Menes (Traditional)  | c. 2686–2160 BCE
c. 720–664 BCE
525–404 BCE
343–332 BCE  | Third Dynasty
Fourth Dynasty
Fifth Dynasty
Sixth Dynasty
Seventh Dynasty
Eighth Dynasty
Twenty-fifth Dynasty (Kush Empire)
Twenty-seventh Dynasty (Achaemenid Empire)
Thirty-first Dynasty (Achaemenid Empire)  | [6]
Heracleopolis Magna  | Ancient Egyptian: nn nswt, Henen-Nesut
Ancient Greek: Μεγάλη Ἡρακλέους πόλις, Megálē Herakléous pólis
Coptic: Ϩⲛⲏⲥ, Hnes
Egyptian Arabic: اهناس, Ahnas |  | c. 2160–2040 BCE  | Ninth Dynasty
Tenth Dynasty  | [7]
Thebes | Ancient Egyptian: wꜣs.t, Waset
Ancient Greek: Θῆβαι, Thēbai
Egyptian Arabic: طيبة, Tyba |  | c. 2130–1991 BCE
c. 1650–1346 BCE
c. 1332–1279 BCE
664–656 BCE  | Eleventh Dynasty
Sixteenth Dynasty
Seventeenth Dynasty
Eighteenth Dynasty
Nineteenth Dynasty
Twenty-fifth Dynasty (Kush Empire)[8] |
Itjtawy  | Ancient Egyptian: Itjtawy or Amenemhat-itjtawy | Amenemhat I  | c. 1991–1650 BCE  | Twelfth Dynasty
Thirteenth Dynasty
Avaris  | Ancient Egyptian: ḥw.t wꜥr.t, hut-waret
Ancient Greek: Αὔαρις, Auaris
Egyptian Arabic: اڤاريس, Avaris | Amenemhat I[9] | c. 1725–1550 BCE  | Fourteenth Dynasty
Fifteenth Dynasty (Hyksos)  |
Amarna | Ancient Egyptian: Akhetaten
Egyptian Arabic: العمارنة, al-ʿAmārna | Akhenaten | c. 1346–1332 BCE  | Eighteenth Dynasty (Amarna Period)  | [10]
Pi-Ramesses | Ancient Egyptian: pr-rꜥ-ms-sw, Pi-Ramesses | Ramesses II  | c. 1279–1077 BCE  | Nineteenth Dynasty
Twentieth Dynasty  |
Tanis  | Ancient Egyptian: ḏꜥn.t
Ancient Greek: Τάνις, Tanis
Coptic: ϫⲁⲛⲓ
Egyptian Arabic: صان الحجر, Ṣān al-Ḥaǧar |  | c. 1077–943 BCE  | Twenty-first Dynasty  | [11]
Bubastis  | Ancient Egyptian: Pr-Bȝst.t, Per-Bast
Ancient Greek: Βούβαστις, Boubastis
Coptic: Ⲡⲟⲩⲃⲁⲥϯ, Poubasti
Egyptian Arabic: Tell-Basta |  | c. 943–720 BCE  | Twenty-second Dynasty  |
Leontopolis  | Ancient Egyptian: Taremu
Ancient Greek: Λεόντων πόλις, Leontopolis
Egyptian Arabic: Tell el-Muqdam |  | c. 837–720 BCE  | Twenty-third Dynasty  |
Sais  | Ancient Egyptian: Sꜣw
Ancient Greek: Σάϊς
Coptic: Ⲥⲁⲓ
Egyptian Arabic: صا الحجر, Sa el-Hagar |  | c. 732–720 BCE
664–525 BCE
404–398 BCE  | Twenty-fourth Dynasty
Twenty-sixth Dynasty
Twenty-eighth Dynasty  | [12]
Mendes  | Ancient Egyptian: Djedet
Ancient Greek: Μένδης
Egyptian Arabic: تل الربع, Tell el-Ruba |  | 398–380 BCE  | Twenty-ninth Dynasty  |
Samannud  | Ancient Egyptian: ṯb-(n)-nṯr
Ancient Greek: Σεβέννυτος, Sebennytos
Coptic: ϫⲉⲙⲛⲟⲩϯ
Egyptian Arabic: سمنود, Samannūd |  | 380–343 BCE  | Thirtieth Dynasty  | [13]
Alexandria | Ancient Greek: Ἀλεξάνδρεια, Alexandreia
Egyptian Arabic: الإسكندرية, Aleksandaria | Alexander III of Macedon  | 332 BCE–641 CE  | Macedonian Egypt
Ptolemaic Egypt
Roman Egypt
Palmyrene Empire
Byzantine Empire
Sasanian Empire  |
Fustat  | Egyptian Arabic: الفُسطاط, al-Fusṭāṭ | Amr ibn al-As  | 641–750
905–972  | Rashidun Caliphate
Umayyad Caliphate
Abbasid Caliphate
Ikhshidid Dynasty
Fatimid Caliphate |
Al-Askar  | Egyptian Arabic: العسكر, al-‘Askar | al-Saffah  | 750–868  | Abbasid Caliphate |
Al-Qata'i  | Egyptian Arabic: القَطائِع, al-Qaṭāʾi | Ahmad ibn Tulun  | 868–905  | Tulunid Dynasty  |
Cairo | Egyptian Arabic: القاهرة, al-Qāhirah
Coptic: Ϯⲕⲉϣⲣⲱⲙⲓ, Tikešrōmi | al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah  | 972–present  | Fatimid Caliphate
Ayyubid Egypt
Mamluk Egypt
Egypt Eyalet
Khedivate of Egypt (from 1882)
Sultanate of Egypt
Kingdom of Egypt
Republic of Egypt
United Arab Republic
Arab Republic of Egypt |

## See also

* List of cities and towns in Egypt
* The New Capital
* Chronology of ancient Egypt

## References

1. ↑ Kotb, Muhammed (2023-10-04). "Between Past and Present: Exploring the Histories of Egypt’s Most Iconic Capital Cities | Egyptian Streets" (in en-US). https://egyptianstreets.com/2023/10/04/between-past-and-present-exploring-the-histories-of-egypts-most-iconic-capital-cities/.
2. ↑ "Historical timeline". https://egyptianmuseumcairo.eg/historical-timeline/.
3. ↑ "explore-ancient-egyptian-capitals-on-your-egypt-tour" (in es). https://www.vagustravelco.com/sp/blog/explore-ancient-egyptian-capitals-on-your-egypt-tour.
4. ↑ Map of ancient Egypt
5. ↑ Wilkinson, Toby A.H. (2000). Early Dynastic Egypt. Abingdon: Routledge. pp. 67. ISBN 0-415-26011-6.
6. ↑ Shaw, Ian (2003). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press, p.279
7. ↑ An Introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt, 2008. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. 2008.
8. ↑ Török, László (1998). The Kingdom of Kush: Handbook of the Napatan-Meroitic Civilization. Leiden: BRILL. pp. 185. ISBN 90-04-10448-8.
9. ↑ Aaron A. Burke, "Amorites in the Eastern Nile Delta: The Identity of Asiatics at Avaris during the Early Middle Kingdom", 2019, p. 69-71
10. ↑ "The Official Website of the Amarna Project". http://www.amarnaproject.com/.
11. ↑ Snape, Steven (2014). The Complete Cities of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. p. 335. ISBN 978-0-500-77240-9.
12. ↑ Ian Shaw & Paul Nicholson, The Dictionary of Ancient Egypt, British Museum Press, 1995. p.250
13. ↑ Gray, Leon (2010). The New Cultural Atlas of Egypt. Marshall Cavendish. p. 143. ISBN 9780761478775.

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