Luxor
area was inhabited at least six thousand years ago , although it did not reach its peak until the New Empire (1550-1069 BC) . After the collapse of the centralized power system at the end of the Old Empire ,
Egypt
was fragmented into a series of local centers of power .
During the chaos of the first period intermediate (2181-2055 BC) ,
Thebes
, a small town in the south whose name was Uaset , was strengthened enough to attain fluency in the capital of north Heracleopolis , thanks to the effective control of
Mentuhotep II
(2055 -- 2004 BC) during the XI dynasty . After reuniting the country and relocating the capital to Thebes , this pharaoh undertook a series of construction works among which are a local temple dedicated to the Theban god , Amon at Karnak , and his own funerary temple at Deir el-Bahri .
Although pharaohs of dynasty XII relocated the capital to the North , Thebes remained the capital of the South (Upper Egypt) and never lost its importance of being a ceremonial capital besides
Memphis
which was the main administrative center . After the second intermediate period (1650-1550 BC) , Thebes regained its unifying power .
Its family of rulers expelled the
Hyksos
northward , settling the foundation for expansion of Egypt and for the New Empire (1550-1069 BC) .
The glory of this great city of many thousands of inhabitants lasted five hundred years , during which the major part of its great monuments was built .
After the Reign of Ramses III , Egypt declined and with it also the importance of Luxor . The decline of the power of the pharaohs was evident in the gradual erosion of the city . Primitive Christian monasteries and churches were erected on many of the Pharaonic ruins of sanctuaries . Visitors can still see the crosses engraved on the walls of the temples and signs left by monks and priests to try to erase the Pharaonic reliefs . Then , the
Arabs
came to Egypt , and they called the old Thebas , Luxor , or the city of palaces , as they thought the grand Pharaonic temples were indeed the Pharaohs' palaces .
Like the major part of Upper Egypt , Luxor was declining until the arrival of Napoleon in 1798 and the publication of the book Description de I'Egypte written by experts , awakened the interest in Egypt . In Europe , the exhibition of mummies , jewels and other fabulous funerary
objects from the Theban tombs attracted more adventurers and tourists . In 1869 , when Thomas Cook led the first group of tourists to Egypt , Luxor was one of the first destinations . Mass touristic visits were coming to Luxor and the city regained its place on the world map .
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