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Memphis was founded circa 3,100 BC by Menes, the king that united Upper and Lower Egypt. It became and remained a formidable city, even after Egypt’s capital was moved to Thebes. When Herodotus, the great Greek historian, visited Memphis in the 5th century BC, at a time when it was ruled by the Persians, he found many Greeks, Jews, Phoenicians, and Libyans among the population.
Little is left of Memphis for the modern tourist to grasps its greatness. Except for a few scattered ruins, most of the city is underneath cultivated land, silt from years of the Nile overflowing its banks, and modern towns built over it. But it must have be a vast city, judging from the size of the necropolis, which is about 20 mile along the bank of the Nile River.
The demise of Memphis is unclear. Some suggest it began when the Greeks arrived and moved the capital to Alexandria (332/31 BC). The final demise probably occurred with the Muslim invasion in 641 AD. They established a new capital in Fustat, which is now a part of Cairo, sometimes called Old Cairo, or Coptic Cairo.
There is an interesting biblical prophecy about Memphis proclaimed by Jeremiah:
“Make your baggage ready for exile, O daughter dwelling in Egypt, For Memphis will become a desolation; It will even be burned down and bereft of inhabitants. Egypt is a pretty heifer, but a horsefly is coming from the north — it is coming!” Jeremiah 46:19-20 (NIV)
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