Luxor

Background

Luxor was the ancient city of Thebes, the capital of Upper Egypt during the New Kingdom, and the city of Amun, later to become the god Amun-Ra. The city was regarded in ancient Egyptian texts as wAs.t (approximate pronunciation: 'Waset'), which meant 'city of the sceptre', and later in Demotic Egyptian as ta jpt (conventionally pronounced as 'tA ipt' and meaning 'the shrine/temple', referring to the jpt-swt, the temple now known by its Arabic name Karnak).

The ancient Greeks adapted it as Thebai and the Romans as Thebae. Thebes was also known as 'the city of the 100 gates', sometimes called 'southern Heliopolis' to distinguish it from Heliopolis. The importance of Luxor started as early as the 11th Dynasty. The Pharaohs of the New Kingdom saw the city accumulate great wealth.

Thebes played a major role in expelling the Hyksos, and from the 18th to the 20th Dynasty, it was the political, religious and military capital of Ancient Egypt. The city attracted peoples such as the Babylonians, Mitanni, Hittites, Canaanites, Phoenicians, and Minoans. Its political and military importance faded during the Late Period. Thebes remained the religious capital until the Greek period.

The main god was Amun, worshipped with Mut and Khonsu. Later, the city was attacked by Assyrian emperor Ashurbanipal. Alexander the Great arrived at the temple of Amun. Thebes remained a site of spirituality up to the Christian era.

Following the Muslim conquest, part of the Luxor Temple was converted to a mosque, now known as the Abu Haggag Mosque. The 18th century saw an increase of Europeans visiting Luxor. By the 20th century, Luxor had become a major tourist destination.

Did You Know?

• The name Luxor originates from Arabic al-quṣūr, possibly equivalent to the Greek and Coptic toponym meaning 'the castles'.
• The Sahidic Coptic name Pape comes from Demotic Ỉp.t meaning 'shrine', descended from older Egyptian.
• The Egyptian name of the city is Waset, also known as Nut.
• In April 2018, the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced the discovery of the shrine of god Osiris: Ptah Neb, dating back to the 25th dynasty in the Temple of Karnak.
• In November 2018, a 13th-century tomb was discovered on the West Bank belonging to Thaw-Irkhet-If, overseer of the mummification shrine at the temple of Mut, along with 1,000 ushabti.