Editing Thebes, Egypt (section)

===Geography===
Thebes was located along the banks of the [[Nile River]] in the middle part of [[Upper Egypt]] about 800&nbsp;km south of the [[Nile Delta|Delta]]. It was built largely on the [[alluvial plains]] of the Nile Valley, which follows a great bend of the Nile. As a natural consequence, the city was laid in a northeast–southwest axis parallel to the contemporary river channel. Thebes had an area of {{convert|93|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, which included parts of the Theban Hills in the west that culminates at the sacred {{convert|420|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us|adj=on}} [[al-Qurn]]. In the east lies the mountainous [[Eastern Desert]] with its [[wadi]]s draining into the valley. Significant among these wadis is [[Wadi Hammamat]] near Thebes. It was used as an overland trade route going to the [[Red Sea]] coast. Wadi Hammamat was the primary trade route linking Egypt to the Red Sea since Pre-Dynastic times.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Boundless |title=Ancient Egyptian Trade |url=https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-fmcc-worldhistory/chapter/ancient-egyptian-trade/ |website=Boundless World History. |access-date=14 November 2022}}</ref>  Uruk civilization was [[Egypt–Mesopotamia relations|transmitted]] to Egypt along this corridor. It is the likely that [[Thinis]], the capital of the First Dynasty, was located in the same region as Thebes for this reason. Both cities were at a crossroad region in Upper Egypt between the Nile in the north to south direction and Saharan caravan routes connecting to Red Sea maritime routes via Wadi Hammamat in the East West direction. The [[Wadi el-Hol]] is also located near Thebes; this valley connected Thebes to an oasis on the Western Desert. It is notable for the first [[Proto-Sinaitic script|Proto-Sinatic alphabet]] inscription, which appeared shortly after Thebes became the capital of Egypt.

Nearby towns in the fourth Upper Egyptian [[Nome (Egypt)|nome]] were [[Gebelein|Per-Hathor]], [[Medamud|Madu]], [[El-Tod|Djerty]], [[Hermonthis|Iuny]], [[Sumenu|Sumenu and Imiotru]].<ref name="Wilkinson, T. 2013">Wilkinson, T. (2013). "The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt".</ref>{{page needed|date=October 2021}}