List of historical capitals of Egypt Facts for Kids

The current capital of Egypt is Cairo. A capital city is like the main office of a country. It's where the government usually meets and important decisions are made. Over thousands of years, Egypt has had many different capital cities. This happened because different rulers or groups took control, and they often chose a new city to be their center of power.

Egypt's very first capital city was Thinis, around 3100 BCE. This was when Egypt became one united country. Today, Cairo is the capital, and it has been since the year 972. This makes Cairo the longest-running capital city in Egypt's history, holding this important role for over 1,050 years! Many different rulers and governments have called Cairo their capital.

Other important past capitals include Alexandria, which was the capital for almost 1,000 years during the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Memphis was another major capital for over 700 years, especially during Egypt's Old Kingdom period. Thebes also served as a capital for nearly 500 years, mainly during the Middle and New Kingdoms. Each of these cities played a big part in Egypt's long and amazing history.

Egypt's Capital Cities Through Time

Egypt's history is divided into different periods, and during each period, a city was chosen as the capital. Sometimes, when there were different groups fighting for control, Egypt even had more than one capital city at the same time! The table below shows the many cities that have been the capital of Egypt over thousands of years.

Name	Time Period	Ruling Dynasties
Tjenu (Thinis)	c. 3150–2686 BCE	First Dynasty Second Dynasty
Men-nefer (Memphis)	c. 2686–2160 BCE c. 720–664 BCE 525–404 BCE 343–332 BCE	Third Dynasty Fourth Dynasty Fifth Dynasty Sixth Dynasty Seventh Dynasty Eighth Dynasty Twenty-fifth Dynasty (Kush Empire) Twenty-seventh Dynasty (Achaemenid Empire) Thirty-first Dynasty (Achaemenid Empire)
Henen-Nesut (Heracleopolis Magna)	c. 2160–2040 BCE	Ninth Dynasty Tenth Dynasty
Waset (Thebes)	c. 2130–1991 BCE c. 1650–1346 BCE c. 1332–1279 BCE 664–656 BCE	Eleventh Dynasty Sixteenth Dynasty Seventeenth Dynasty Eighteenth Dynasty Nineteenth Dynasty Twenty-fifth Dynasty (Kush Empire)
Itjtawy	c. 1991–1650 BCE	Twelfth Dynasty Thirteenth Dynasty
Avaris	c. 1725–1550 BCE	Fourteenth Dynasty Fifteenth Dynasty (Hyksos)
Akhetaten (Amarna)	c. 1346–1332 BCE	Eighteenth Dynasty (Amarna Period)
Pi-Ramesses	c. 1279–1077 BCE	Nineteenth Dynasty Twentieth Dynasty
Tanis	c. 1077–943 BCE	Twenty-first Dynasty
Per-Bast (Bubastis)	c. 943–720 BCE	Twenty-second Dynasty
Leontopolis	c. 837–720 BCE	Twenty-third Dynasty
Sais	c. 732–720 BCE 664–525 BCE 404–398 BCE	Twenty-fourth Dynasty Twenty-sixth Dynasty Twenty-eighth Dynasty
Djedet (Mendes)	398–380 BCE	Twenty-ninth Dynasty
Sebennytos (Samannud)	380–343 BCE	Thirtieth Dynasty
Alexandria	332 BCE–641 CE	Macedonian Egypt Ptolemaic dynasty Roman Empire Palmyrene Empire Byzantine Empire Sasanian Empire
Fustat	641–750 905–972	Rashidun Caliphate Umayyad Caliphate Abbasid Caliphate Ikhshidid Dynasty Fatimid Caliphate
Al-Askar	750–868	Abbasid Caliphate
Al-Qata'i	868–905	Tulunid Dynasty
Cairo	972–present	Fatimid Caliphate Ayyubid Dynasty Mamluk Sultanate Ottoman Empire Muhammad Ali Dynasty British protectorate of Egypt Republic of Egypt

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List of historical capitals of Egypt Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.

List of historical capitals of Egypt facts for kids

Egypt's Capital Cities Through Time