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[[File: Ancient_Egypt_map.png|300px|thumbnail|left| Map of the Major Cities in Ancient Egypt]]__NOTOC__
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.
[[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.
When Montuhotep II (ruled c. 2055-2004 BC) won the struggle against Heracleopolis he reunified Upper and Lower Egypt, establishing the Middle Kingdom (c 2055-1650 BC) in the process. Although the Middle Kingdom is often overlooked, as it came after the great pyramid builders of the Old Kingdom and the empire builders of the New Kingdom, it was nonetheless an impressive era in terms of art, architecture, and literature. Montuhotep II made Thebes the capital of his dynasty and immediately began building in and around the city by constructing some of the first structures in the immense Karnak Temple and building a large temple across the Nile near the modern village of Deir el-Bahari. <ref> Grajetzki, p. 23</ref> Although the later Middle Kingdom kings moved the capital north to Lisht, Montuhotep II helped make Thebes a bustling city that would not lose its importance even in tough times.
[[File: ValleyoftheKings.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left| The Valley of the Kings]]
Around 1650 BC central authority collapsed again in Egypt, ushering in the Second Intermediate Period (c. 1650-1550 BC). Once more, rival power centers developed in the north and south, but in the Second Intermediate Period the northern power center was based in the Delta city of Avaris, which was ruled by a foreign people from the Levant known as the <i>Hyksos</i>. Thebes retained its cultural and political importance throughout the Second Intermediate Period, with at least one native political dynasty – the Seventeenth Dynasty – making the city their capital. The native rulers in Thebes were actually relegated to a politically insignificant position whereby they only controlled the area around the city: the Nubians to their south at that time were at a powerful point in their history, while the Hyksos controlled the entire Delta and much of Lower Egypt. <ref> Morkot, Robert. <i> The Black Pharaohs: Egypt’s Nubian Rulers.</i> (London: The Rubicon Press, 2000), pgs. 65-68</ref> But the native Egyptians of Thebes were not willing to let their land be controlled by foreigners, so Seqenenra Tao (reigned c. 1560 BC) led the charge against the Hyksos and when he fell in battle his son and successor, Kamose (ruled c. 1555-1550 BC), finished the mission. A stela from the era commemorates Kamose’s victory.
“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.
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 second status for a few years.
[[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]]
Most of the Ramesside kings left some mark at Thebes, and even those who left few visible signs of their reigns were buried in the Valley of the Kings. The most impressive builder in the city after Ramesses II, though, was Ramesses III (reigned 1184-1153 BC). Although Ramesses III took the same name as his illustrious forebearer, he was of no direct relation; but he did emulate Ramesses II’s propensity to build in and around Thebes. Ramesses III’s most impressive monumental gift to the Thebes region was the construction of the massive temple known today as Medinet Habu, which was the last great temple of the New Kingdom. Medinet Habu served as the cult complex of Ramesses III, but there was also a chapel on the grounds that honored Ramesses II. Perhaps as a sign of the decreasing stability of the Egyptian state at the time, Medinet Habu doubled as a fortress. <ref> Haeny, pgs. 107-9</ref>
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.
Thebes continued to be an important city during the Third Intermediate Period (1069-664 BC), as the Amun priesthood remained powerful. After the Nubians conquered Egypt in 728 BC it retained some importance, but when the Saite kings took over and moved the capital to Sais, Thebes quickly became a backwater. Thebes’ glory years may have been a distant memory in the first millennium BC, but from the beginning of the Middle Kingdom through much of the New Kingdom Thebes was an important political center and arguably the most important religious city in Egypt.
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