Landmark Africa
Thebes
Thebes was a great city in ancient Egypt, beside the Nile River. It has giant stone temples with huge columns. Kings were buried in a valley nearby.
Thebes was one of the greatest cities of ancient Egypt and, for long periods, its capital. It lay on both banks of the Nile, where the town of Luxor is today. On the east bank stand the giant temples of Karnak and Luxor; on the west bank are royal tombs, including the Valley of the Kings.
Thebes (ancient Wase) often served as Egypt's royal capital from the 11th dynasty and reached its height under the New Kingdom, peaking in the reign of Amenhotep III (14th century BCE). Its temples at Karnak and Luxor and its west-bank necropolis form a World Heritage Site since 1979.
Photo: I, Rémih, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Thebes
Thebes is in Egypt, a country in Africa.
Long ago, it was a big, rich city by the Nile River. People built giant temples there with huge stone columns. Today, a town called Luxor stands in the same place.
Thebes stood on both sides of the Nile River in southern Egypt. Today the town of Luxor covers part of it. The living city was on the east bank, with its palaces, homes and enormous temples. The west bank was the "city of the dead," with royal tombs and great temples linked to them.
For long periods, Thebes was the capital of Egypt. UNESCO calls it a striking example of Egyptian civilization at its height. It became a World Heritage Site in 1979.
Britannica describes Thebes as one of the famed cities of antiquity and the capital of the ancient Egyptian empire at its heyday, lying on both sides of the Nile at about 26 degrees N; modern Luxor occupies part of the site, 675 km (419 miles) south of Cairo (UNESCO gives about 700 km). The ancient city covered some 93 square km. The main city lay on the east bank; the west bank held the necropolis, with royal tombs and mortuary temples and the houses of the priests, soldiers, craftsmen and laborers who served the rulers.
UNESCO's serial property, Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis (1979), covers 7,390 ha in three parts: the temples of Karnak and Luxor on the east bank and a large west-bank archaeological area with seven named temples or complexes. UNESCO calls Thebes a striking testimony to Egyptian civilization at its height, when it was capital of an empire reaching from the Euphrates to northern Sudan.
- Where
- Both banks of the Nile, at today's Luxor, Egypt
- Ancient name
- Wase
- Area
- about 93 square kilometers
- World Heritage Site
- Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis (1979)
Capital of an empire
Thebes was a city for a very long time.
Many kings made it their capital. They filled it with palaces and temples. Later, the city became small and quiet, and visitors came to see the old ruins.
The oldest monuments at Thebes are more than 4,000 years old. Rulers from Thebes united Egypt, and the city often became the royal capital. Its greatest days came in the New Kingdom, when kings rebuilt it and made it their capital. In the 1400s BCE, brightly painted palaces with gardens rose on both banks of the river.
Thebes was richest of all under King Amenhotep III, in the 1300s BCE. Later it slowly declined. In 663 BCE an Assyrian army attacked it, and it never fully recovered. About 2,000 years ago it was a small village, visited by tourists who came to see its temples.
Britannica dates the earliest surviving monuments at Thebes proper to the 11th dynasty (2081 to 1939 BCE), when local governors united Egypt; from then the city often served as the royal capital. Its lords drove out the Hyksos about 1530 to 1520 BCE, and the 18th-dynasty pharaohs rebuilt Thebes as their capital. Prosperity peaked under Amenhotep III (reigned 1390 to 1353 BCE). The court left briefly under Akhenaten, and Thebes recovered under Tutankhamun; Ramses II still lived there for part of every year.
Under the later Ramessids it declined: around 1111 BCE, under Ramses IX, investigations into the robbing of royal tombs uncovered corruption. Homer knew of "hundred-gated Thebes." The Assyrians of Ashurbanipal sacked it in 663 BCE, and by Strabo's time (c. 63 BCE to c. 23 CE) it had shrunk to a village visited by tourists. UNESCO estimates the town of about 1500 to 1000 BCE at perhaps 50,000 people.
Temples on the east, tombs on the west
On one side of the river, people built huge temples.
On the other side, they dug tombs deep into the rocky hills for their kings and queens. Artists painted the walls inside.
The people of Thebes used the river to divide their city. On the east bank, where the sun rises, they built the living city and its great temple complexes of Karnak and Luxor. Kings kept adding to these temples for centuries, so they grew bigger and bigger.
On the west bank, they built the city of the dead. Tombs for kings were cut into the rock of the Valley of the Kings, and queens were buried in the Valley of the Queens. Kings also built huge temples on the west bank, called mortuary temples, connected with their burials. Archaeologists have found thousands of tombs there.
UNESCO notes that the east bank held the living city and fourteen temples, chief among them Karnak and Luxor, two of the largest religious structures ever constructed, enlarged many times. Britannica adds that New Kingdom pharaohs competed in building great temples on the east bank and even larger mortuary temples on the west.
The Theban Necropolis on the west bank covers about 10 square km, where archaeologists have found thousands of tombs, scores of temples and many houses, villages, shrines, monasteries and workshops. The tombs of the Valley of the Kings date from about 1500 to 1000 BCE. UNESCO also points to the villages of artisans and artists, whose texts and paintings record the whole history of Egyptian civilization from the Middle Kingdom to the beginning of the Christian era.
Columns, colossal halls and royal valleys
At Karnak there is a giant hall full of 134 stone columns. The tallest are 20 meters high!
At Luxor Temple, rows of tall columns still stand. In the Valley of the Kings, the tomb of young King Tutankhamun was found.
The biggest marvel is the Hypostyle Hall at Karnak, a hall whose roof was held up by 134 columns. The tallest are 20.4 meters high and 3.4 meters thick. It was begun by King Seti I and finished by his son Ramses II.
At Luxor Temple, King Amenhotep III built long rows of giant columns, like the ones in the photo. Across the river, the Valley of the Kings holds the tombs of many kings, including Tutankhamun. Queen Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el-Bahari rises in terraces against the cliffs.
UNESCO singles out Karnak's Hypostyle Hall, begun by Seti I and completed by Ramses II: 102 m wide and 53 m deep, covering 5,000 square meters, its roof carried by 134 columns, those of the central nave 20.4 m high and 3.4 m in diameter. It calls Amenhotep III's temple at Luxor, of the 14th century BCE, one of the most refined masterpieces of Egyptian architecture.
On the west bank, the Valley of the Kings (about 1500 to 1000 BCE) holds the tomb of Tutankhamun; in the Valley of the Queens lies Nefertari, wife of Ramses II. At Deir el-Bahari, Queen Hatshepsut's funerary temple rises in superimposed terraces with immense porticoes against the mountain, its wall paintings tracing an expedition to the land of Punt. The photo shows the colonnade of Amenhotep III at Luxor Temple.
- Hypostyle Hall, Karnak
- 102 m wide, 53 m deep, 134 columns
- Tallest Karnak columns
- 20.4 m high, 3.4 m across
- Luxor Temple
- Temple of Amenhotep III, 14th century BCE
- Valley of the Kings tombs
- about 1500 to 1000 BCE
Thebes today
Today, the town of Luxor is built where Thebes once stood.
Visitors from all over the world come to see the temples and tombs. Archaeologists still study its tombs and temples.
Today, the town of Luxor covers part of ancient Thebes. Visitors walk through the temples on the east bank and cross the Nile to see the tombs on the west bank.
Archaeology here has made famous discoveries. In 1881 and 1898, hidden groups of royal mummies were found. Priests had moved them there long ago, after robbers broke into royal tombs. Work continues, because the west bank alone holds thousands of tombs.
Modern Luxor occupies part of the ancient site. UNESCO's three-part property spans 7,390 ha with a buffer zone of 444 ha. Britannica recounts how, after the tomb robberies of the late New Kingdom, royal mummies were moved from place to place and finally hidden in a tomb shaft at Deir el-Bahari and in the tomb of Amenhotep II; the finding of these two caches in 1881 and 1898 was, in Britannica's words, one of the great events of modern archaeological discovery.
The necropolis, with its thousands of tombs, temples, villages and workshops, remains an active field for archaeology and conservation, and UNESCO describes its inscriptions and figurative scenes as valuable both as art and as historical documents.
Amazing facts
-
The tallest columns at Karnak are 20 meters high.
The central columns of Karnak's Hypostyle Hall are 20.4 meters high and 3.4 meters thick.
The central-nave columns of Karnak's Hypostyle Hall measure 20.4 m high and 3.4 m in diameter; the hall has 134 columns.
-
An old poem called it the city with a hundred gates.
Thebes was so famous that the Greek poet Homer wrote about "hundred-gated Thebes."
Homer speaks of the wealth of "hundred-gated Thebes," a sign of its fame among the early Greeks.
-
About 2,000 years ago, tourists were already visiting Thebes.
In the time of the Greek writer Strabo, about 2,000 years ago, Thebes was a village visited by tourists who came to see its temples.
By Strabo's time (c. 63 BCE to c. 23 CE), the city had dwindled to a village visited by tourists.
-
Hidden groups of royal mummies were found here.
In 1881 and 1898, archaeologists found two hiding places where royal mummies had been moved long ago to keep them safe.
The royal mummy caches at Deir el-Bahari (found 1881) and in the tomb of Amenhotep II (1898) rank, in Britannica's words, among the great events of modern archaeology.
Words to know
- capital
- the city where a country's rulers live and govern; also the wide top of a column
- necropolis
- a large ancient burial ground; the name means "city of the dead"
- column
- a tall, upright post that holds up part of a building
- obelisk
- a tall, thin, four-sided stone pillar with a pointed top
- tomb
- a room or building where a person is buried
- archaeologist
- a scientist who learns about the past by digging up and studying old things
Discovery challenge
-
Which river flows through Thebes?
On both banks of which river did Thebes stand?
Which river divided Thebes into a living city and a necropolis?
- The Nile
- The Amazon
- The Thames
Show the answer
The Nile
The Nile River, in Egypt.
Thebes stood on both banks of the Nile: the city on the east, the tombs on the west.
The Nile: living city on the east bank, necropolis on the west.
-
Where were the kings buried?
In which valley on the west bank were many kings buried?
Which west-bank valley holds royal tombs of about 1500 to 1000 BCE, including Tutankhamun's?
- The Valley of the Kings
- Death Valley
- The Rift Valley
Show the answer
The Valley of the Kings
In the Valley of the Kings!
Many kings, including Tutankhamun, were buried in the Valley of the Kings.
The Valley of the Kings; queens such as Nefertari lie in the Valley of the Queens.
-
How many columns hold up Karnak's great hall?
How many columns held up the roof of Karnak's Hypostyle Hall?
How many columns carried the roof of the Hypostyle Hall begun by Seti I?
- 12
- 134
- 1,000
Show the answer
134
134 columns! It is like a stone forest.
134 columns, the tallest 20.4 meters high.
134, the central-nave columns 20.4 m high and 3.4 m in diameter.
-
What town is built where Thebes once was?
Which modern town covers part of ancient Thebes?
Which modern town, 675 km south of Cairo, occupies part of the ancient site?
- Luxor
- Alexandria
- Giza
Show the answer
Luxor
Luxor, by the Nile.
The town of Luxor covers part of ancient Thebes.
Luxor (Al-Uqsur).
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Abu Simbel
Abu Simbel is two temples cut into the rock by King Ramesses II of Egypt, around 1264 BCE. Four seated statues of the king, each 21 meters tall, guard the Great Temple. In the 1960s, a new dam was about to flood them, so workers cut them into more than a thousand blocks and rebuilt them higher up.
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Egyptian pyramids
Egypt's pyramids were giant stone tombs for kings. They did not start out pointed: the first, King Djoser's Step Pyramid, was a stack of six giant steps. King Snefru's builders tried again and again, making the Bent Pyramid and then the Red Pyramid, the first planned true pyramid. Soon after came the great pyramids of Giza.
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The Great Sphinx
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Giza pyramid complex
The Giza pyramid complex is a group of ancient tombs on a rocky plateau beside the Nile River in Egypt. Three kings from one family, Khufu, his son Khafre and his grandson Menkaure, built huge pyramids there about 4,500 years ago. Around them are temples, small pyramids for queens, rows of tombs for nobles, the Great Sphinx and even the town where the builders lived.
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Great Pyramid of Giza
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City
Cairo
Cairo, the capital of Egypt, has stood on the banks of the Nile for more than 1,000 years, where the river spreads out into its delta. Founded in 969, it has a medieval old city full of historic mosques and markets, the Egyptian Museum and, at its edge, the Pyramids of Giza. It is one of the largest cities in Africa.
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Country
Egypt
Egypt is in the northeastern corner of Africa, and its Sinai Peninsula reaches into Asia. Almost all of it is desert, so most of its more than 100 million people live along the green banks of the Nile River, where one of the world's earliest civilizations grew.
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Landmark
Memphis
Memphis was the capital of Egypt in the time of the first great pyramids, more than 4,000 years ago. It stood on the west side of the Nile, about 24 kilometers south of modern Cairo. Kings, priests, craftworkers and traders lived there, and its rulers were buried in pyramids and tombs along the desert edge, from Giza to Dahshur.
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Natural wonder
Nile
The Nile flows north through northeastern Africa to the Mediterranean Sea, and its basin is shared by 11 countries. Its length is usually given as about 6,650 kilometers. Two great branches, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, meet at Khartoum in Sudan, and the green strip of farmland along its banks made it the lifeline of ancient Egypt.
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Abu Simbel
Abu Simbel is two temples cut into the rock by King Ramesses II of Egypt, around 1264 BCE. Four seated statues of the king, each 21 meters tall, guard the Great Temple. In the 1960s, a new dam was about to flood them, so workers cut them into more than a thousand blocks and rebuilt them higher up.
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Watch
Landmark
Aswan High Dam
The Aswan High Dam crosses the Nile River in southern Egypt. Finished in 1970, it is 111 meters high and 3,830 meters long. It controls the Nile's yearly flood, stores water for farms, makes electricity and created a huge reservoir, Lake Nasser. Ancient temples had to be moved to save them from the rising water.
-
Watch
Landmark
Egyptian pyramids
Egypt's pyramids were giant stone tombs for kings. They did not start out pointed: the first, King Djoser's Step Pyramid, was a stack of six giant steps. King Snefru's builders tried again and again, making the Bent Pyramid and then the Red Pyramid, the first planned true pyramid. Soon after came the great pyramids of Giza.
-
Watch
Landmark
Giza pyramid complex
The Giza pyramid complex is a group of ancient tombs on a rocky plateau beside the Nile River in Egypt. Three kings from one family, Khufu, his son Khafre and his grandson Menkaure, built huge pyramids there about 4,500 years ago. Around them are temples, small pyramids for queens, rows of tombs for nobles, the Great Sphinx and even the town where the builders lived.
-
Watch
Landmark
Great Pyramid of Giza
The Great Pyramid of Giza was built more than 4,500 years ago as the tomb of King Khufu of Egypt. About 2.3 million stone blocks were cut, moved and stacked to make it. Egypt's antiquities ministry calls it the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing.
For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Thebes (modern Luxor) on the Nile and explain that it was a capital of ancient Egypt.
- Describe how the east bank held the living city and temples and the west bank the tombs.
- Name Karnak, Luxor Temple and the Valley of the Kings and describe one feature of each.
- Discuss how archaeologists learn about a city that is thousands of years old.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why do you think the people of Thebes put their homes and temples on one side of the river and their tombs on the other?
- Kings kept adding to the temples for centuries. What does that tell us about how long the temples were used?
- Tourists were already visiting Thebes 2,000 years ago. Why do people like to visit very old places?
Try at home or in class
- Stack paper cups or cardboard tubes to build a hall of columns, lay strips of card across the tops as beams, and see how many columns you need.
- Draw a map with a river down the middle: put a city and temples on one side and a valley of tombs on the other.
Key vocabulary: capital, necropolis, column, obelisk, tomb, archaeologist
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- UNESCO World Heritage List , UNESCO World Heritage Centre (Linked as a reference; site facts come from Wikidata)
- Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis , UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- Thebes (ancient Egypt) , Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated October 27, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Picture credits
- Photo: I, Rémih, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source · license
- Photo: © Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source · license
- Photo: Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source · license
- Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source · license
- Photo: Marc Ryckaert (MJJR), CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source · license