Memphis is the first capital of the unified
Egypt
. It was Narmer , the founder of the One Dynasty , who initiated its establishment . It was known by three names: ’Inb-hd (the White Wall) , Mn-nfr (Stable and Beautiful) , and Mt-Rhn (the Rams' way) . It remained the capital of Egypt from the
First Dynasty
throughout the Eighth Dynasty . The creation mythology of the Triad of
Ptah
,
Sekhmet
and
Nefertem
(known as the Triad of Memphis) took Memphis as its center .
Within the limits of Memphis , stretches the Necropolis of Memphis , the biggest and most famous necropolis in Egypt that includes monuments of all kings of Egypt . In his lifetime ,
Alexander the Great
visited the site; and after his death , he had his mummy lying here for almost a year till the completion of his tomb in Alexandria . Most of the Ptolemies had the name of its god , Ptah , as part of their names . The
Greeks
called it 'Memphis' and one of the modem cities in the world nowadays has this name as well . The priests assembled in
Memphis in 196 BC to record thanks to King
Ptolemy V
who gave them his blessings and gifts and was generous to their temples . This event was recorded in Hieroglyphic , Demotic , and Greek on the 'Rosetta Stone' , that was discovered by the French campaign in 1799 in Rosetta .
The small village of Mit-Rahina (Memphis) was much affected by many agricultural and building projects by the modern man . Still , it has some remains of old constructions scattered around it . Memphis had always been the most coveted place in the region if not of Egypt that many invaders desired to seize it: Both Piankhy (Piye) , one of the Kushite kings of Nubia , and the Assyrians had aspiring ambitions to overtake the site . And later , Cambyses totally destroyed the city and killed the priests of Ptah and the Apis-bull . And it was not long before a decree of the Roman Emperor Theodosius ordered the temples be damaged and the gods' statues be destroyed leaving it totally in ruins . Additionally , the site was used as a quarry .
One its land , Memphis comprises a huge number of temples that were dedicated to god Ptah and the Triad , especially that one famously known as 'Hutkaptah' , from which the name Egyptos is driven .
Only the remains of the
Temple of Ptah
are still there; it once had inside it the statue now erected in' Ramses Square . This temple was built during the reign of
Ramses II
, and it was added to by King
Merenptah
and others . There was another temple that was set up during the reign of these two kings , and it includes a chapel that was constructed during the reign of King Seti I . The city includes a number of palaces , one of which belongs to King Merenptah , and the other to King Wahibre (Apries) , of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty .
At the site , there is an open museum is which the colossal statue of pink granite , which lies down , and a number of standing statues bearing the name of Ramses II were found . However , recent studies show that they belong to King Senusert I , of the Twelfth Dynasty . The site includes also the second biggest Sphinx , after that of the
Giza
plateau , made of alabaster and dates back to the New Kingdom . Also found at the spot was a stela of King Apries .
Among the monuments discovered here is a
mummification temple that was reserved to the mummification of the Apis-bull , before its burial in the
Serapeum
of Saqqara . Dating back to the Twenty-sixth Dynasty , this temple still includes some offering tables as well as canopic jars . To the south of the mummification temple , were discovered a tomb for Shashonk of the Twenty-second Dynasty and a necropolis of the Middle Kingdom . Among the remains of the site are the remains of a temple built in the Ninth Dynasty .
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