The first king of Egypt, Menes, whose date is set at 3400 years before
Christ, is said to have founded the city of Memphis, near the site of
the modern Cairo, which became the capital of Egypt; Thebes, in Upper
(or Southern) Egypt, afterwards taking this position.
The building of the Great Pyramid at Gizeh, near Cairo, is ascribed to a
king named Cheops (_kē´ops_) by Herodotus, otherwise called Khufu
(_kōō´fōō_), according to the hieroglyphic royal name found inside the
structure. He is believed to have reigned about the twenty-eighth
century before Christ. Cheops was the second and most celebrated monarch
in the fourth of the dynasties which ruled at Memphis. The third king in
this list, Khafra (_khaf´rä_) also founded a pyramid, as did the fourth,
Menkaura (_men-kȧ-rä´_) or Nycerinus, a sovereign beloved and praised in
poetry for his goodness. His mummified remains are in the British
Museum. In the sixth dynasty was a female sovereign noted for her
beauty, named Nitocris, who built a pyramid and reigned at Memphis. The
monarchy then was for some time divided, the chief power being held by
the kings ruling at Thebes, in Upper Egypt, who developed great power,
and constructed many notable works.