Where was Thebes? Thebes was the most important city area of Upper Egypt during Ancient Egyptian times.

Thebes as it looked in the middle of the 19th century.

Thebes was the name the Ancient Greeks gave to the city near modern day Luxor. It was in Upper Egypt, and one of the capitals of the Egyptian empire in New Kingdom times.

Thebes was founded in 3200 BC. The Ancient Egyptians knew it as the capital of the region that they called Waset. Waset became the capital of Egypt during part of the 11th Dynasty (Middle Kingdom) and most of the 18th Dynasty (New Kingdom). Queen Hatshepsut even built a fleet to improve trade between Thebes and the Nile delta and the Mediterranean Sea.

Thebes was home to about 40,000 people in New Kingdom times, second only to Memphis (modern Cairo) which had 60,000 people. But then Memphis declined and by the 14th century BC Thebes was possibly the largest city in the world, and home to about 80,000. By 1000 BC Memphis again grew to be larger than Thebes.

Later in the New Kingdom the seat of government moved to the Delta.

In 664 BC, the Assyrian army destroyed Thebes during their invasion of Upper Egypt.

Video: The temples at Thebes.

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Thebes