Editing Memphis, Egypt (section)

===[[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]]===
The [[Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt|Eighteenth Dynasty]] thus opened with the victory over the invaders by the Thebans. Some Eighteenth Dynasty kings, particularly [[Amenhotep II]] (r. 1427–1401/1397 BC) and [[Thutmose IV]] (r. 1401/1397–1391/1388 BC) gave considerable royal focus to Memphis, but for the most part, power remained in the south.<ref>Cabrol, ''Amenhotep III le magnifique'', Part II, Ch. 1, pp. 210–214.</ref> With the long period of peace that followed, prosperity again took hold of the city, which benefited from her strategic position. Strengthening trade ties with other empires made the nearby port of [[Peru-nefer]] (literally, "Good Travels" or "''Bon Voyage''") the gateway to the kingdom for neighbouring regions, including [[Byblos]] and the [[Levant]].

In the New Kingdom, Memphis became a centre for the education of royal princes and the sons of the nobility. Amenhotep II, born and raised in Memphis, was made the ''setem''—the high priest over Lower Egypt—during the reign of his father. His son, Thutmose IV received his famed and recorded [[Dream Stele|dream]] whilst residing as a young prince in Memphis. During his exploration of the site, [[Karl Richard Lepsius]] identified a series of blocks and broken colonnades in the name of Thutmose IV to the east of the Temple of Ptah. They had to belong to a royal building, most likely a ceremonial palace.

The founding of the temple of [[Astarte]] (Mespotamian or Assyrian goddess of fertility and war; Babylonian = Ishtar), which Herodotus syncretically understands is dedicated to the Greek goddess [[Aphrodite]], also may be dated to the Eighteenth Dynasty, specifically the reign of [[Amenhotep III]] (r. 1388/86–1351/1349 BC). The greatest work of this king in Memphis, however, was a temple called "Nebmaatra united with Ptah", which is cited by many sources from the period of his reign, including artefacts listing the works of [[Amenhotep (Huy)|Huy]], the High Steward of Memphis.<ref>Petrie, ''Memphis and Maydum III'', p. 39.</ref> The location of this temple has not been precisely determined, but a number of its brown quartzite blocks were found to have been reused by Ramesses II (r. 1279–1213 BC) for the construction of the small temple of Ptah. This leads some Egyptologists to suggest that the latter temple had been built over the site of the first.<ref>Cabrol, ''Amenhotep III le magnifique'', Part II, Ch. 1.</ref>

According to inscriptions found in Memphis, [[Akhenaten]] (r. 1353/51–1336/34 BC; formerly Amenhotep IV) founded a temple of [[Aten]] in the city.<ref>Mariette, ''Monuments divers collected in Egypt and in Nubia'', p. 7 & 10, and plates 27 (fig. E) & 35 (fig. E1, E2, E3).</ref> The burial chamber of one of the priests of this cult has been uncovered at Saqqara.<ref>Löhr, ''Aḫanjāti in Memphis'', pp. 139–187.</ref> His successor [[Tutankhamun]] (r. 1332–1323 BC; formerly Tutankhaten) relocated the royal court from Akhenaten's capital [[Amarna|Akhetaten]] ("Horizon of the Aten") to Memphis before the end of the second year of his reign. Whilst in Memphis, Tutankhamun initiated a period of restoration of the temples and traditions following the era of [[Atenism]], which became regarded as [[heresy]].

The tombs of important officials from his reign, such as [[Horemheb]] and [[Maya (Egyptian)|Maya]], are situated in Saqqara, although Horemheb was buried in the [[Valley of the Kings]] after reigning as king himself (r. 1319–1292 BC). He had been commander of the army under Tutankhamun and [[Ay (pharaoh)|Ay]]. Maya was overseer of the treasury during the reigns of Tutankhamun, Ay, and Horemheb. Ay had been Tutankhamun's chief minister, and succeeded him as king (r. 1323–1319 BC). To consolidate his power he married Tutankhamun's widow [[Ankhesenamun]], the third of the six daughters of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Her fate is unknown. Similarly, Horemheb consolidated power when he married Nefertiti's sister Mutnodjemet.

There is evidence that, under [[Ramesses II]], the city developed new importance in the political sphere through its proximity to the new capital [[Pi-Ramesses]]. The king devoted many monuments in Memphis and adorned them with colossal symbols of glory. [[Merneptah]] (r. 1213–1203 BC), his successor, constructed a palace and developed the southeast wall of the temple of Ptah. For the early part of the [[Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt|19th Dynasty]], Memphis received the privileges of royal attention, and it is this dynasty that is most evident among the ruins of the city today.

[[File:Grand pretre Ptah Sheshonq.jpg|thumb|150px|Relief representing the [[High Priest of Ptah]], Shoshenq]]

With the [[Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt|Twenty-first]] and [[Twenty-second Dynasty of Egypt|Twenty-second Dynasties]], there is a continuation of the religious development initiated by Ramesses. Memphis does not seem to have suffered a decline during the [[Third Intermediate Period of Egypt|Third Intermediate Period]], which saw great changes in the geopolitics of the country. Instead it is likely that the kings worked to develop the Memphite cult in their new capital of [[Tanis, Egypt|Tanis]], to the northeast. In light of some remains found at the site, it is known that a temple of Ptah was based there. [[Siamun]] is cited as having built a temple dedicated to [[Amun]], the remains of which were found by Flinders Petrie in the early twentieth century, in the south of the temple of Ptah complex.<ref>Petrie, ''Memphis I'', Ch. VI, § 38, p. 12; plates 30 & 31.</ref>

According to inscriptions describing his architectural work, [[Sheshonk I]] (r. 943–922 BC), founder of the Twenty-second Dynasty, constructed a forecourt and pylon of the temple of Ptah, a monument that he named the "Castle of Millions of Years of Sheshonk, Beloved of Amun". The funerary cult surrounding this monument, well known in the New Kingdom, was still functioning several generations after its establishment at the temple, leading some scholars to suggest that it may have contained the royal burial chamber of the king.<ref>Sagrillo, ''Mummy of Shoshenq I Re-discovered?'', pp. 95–103.</ref> Sheshonk also ordered the building of a new shrine for the god [[Apis (Egyptian mythology)|Apis]], especially devoted to funeral ceremonies in which the bull was led to his death before being ritually [[mummification|mummified]].<ref>Petrie, ''Memphis I'', § 38, p. 13.</ref><ref>Maystre, ''The High Priests of Ptah of Memphis'', Ch. XVI, § 166, p. 357.</ref>

A necropolis for the high priests of Memphis dating precisely from the Twenty-second Dynasty has been found west of the forum. It included a chapel dedicated to Ptah by a prince [[Shoshenq D|Shoshenq]], son of [[Osorkon II]] (r. 872–837 BC), whose tomb was found in Saqqara in 1939 by [[Pierre Montet]]. The chapel is currently visible in the gardens of the [[Egyptian Museum]] in Cairo, behind a trio of colossi of Ramesses II, which are also from Memphis.