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Brief History of the Sun Sisters Temple Cities

  • Memphis

    • The first major city to be established in Egypt was Memphis. Memphis was situated on the west coast of the Nile and located about 25 km from modern day Cairo.

    It is said that Memphis is supposed to be as old as united Egypt from the time it was founded by Menes. King Menes was also the first Egyptian to unite Upper and Lower Egypt. It was also under his 60 year rule that Egyptian armies attacked Nubians and expanded the empire.

    Memphis is counted for being the first imperial city in the world. In the Old Kingdom Memphis was the capital of Egypt. The city's popularity died down a bit as Pharaohs expanded the land, but it was renewed again in the 25th dynasty. There are quite a few monuments from this time period that reflect the richness of this city.

    When the Persians occupied Egypt from circa 525-404 BCE (before common era), Memphis remained the capital. The city remained the jewel of the nile until the 7th century when the Arab conquest swung in and built Cairo. Old Memphis is Sehkmet's temple city.

  • Bubastis

    • Kemet or Per-Bast, sometimes Tell Basta (greek: Bubastis [common name]), on the other hand, was created by the famous pyramid architect Cheops. This city was dedicated to the worship of the domestic cat Goddess Bast.

    Bubastis was an important city from about the 4th century BCE to the end of the Roman period (2613 BCE through 395 CE). It was also the capital of the 18th Lower Egyptian nome during the late period.

    Egyptologists have learned that before the city flourished, kings were making strong ties with the city near the 2nd century BCE. The route that connected Memphis, Sinai, and Asia ran through the heart of Bubastis.

    In the 22nd dynasty, Bubastis apparently reached its peak. That was under the rule of Osorkon I (Sekhemkheperre-setepenre). Some Egyptologists speculate that Bubastis remained the capital of ancient Egypt during the 22nd and 23rd centuries while others argue the capital city was Tanis.

    Bubastis is still not at rest. Although the city had its first excavation in 1887-1889 by Edouard Naville, stories abound in modern day Zagazig (about 2 km from Bubastis) that many families are still getting rich from finding treasure under the ruins of Bubastis. 1