Inbu-hedj, Men-nefer, Khut-ka-Ptah, Mehat-ta-ui, Ankh-ta-ui (Egyptian translit. jnbw-HD, mn-nfr, Hwt-kA-ptH, mexAt-tA-wj, anx-tA-wj), Memphis (ancient Greek Μέμφις, lat. Memphis), Menfe, Membe and others (Coptic) is an ancient Egyptian city located at the turn of Upper and Lower Egypt, on the western bank of the Nile. Existed from the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. e. and until the second half of the 1st millennium AD. e. Localization on the territory of modern Egypt – the area near the city of El Badrashein and the village of Mit Rahina, south of the city of Cairo in the Cairo governorate (it could have been located somewhat north of these territories).

From the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. e. Мемфис стал центром нижнеегипетского I-го септа Инебу-хедж или Инбу-хедж (в греко-римский период назывался Мемфисский ном), и, вероятно, общеегипетской столицей на протяжении периодов Раннего и Старого царств (XXIX—XXII вв. до н. e.). After the Amarna period, for a short time Memphis was again the official capital of Ancient Egypt (one of two). Due to its exceptional geographical position, it was an important stronghold of various pharaohs, and was also the first city of Ancient Egypt, which had the character of a large cosmopolitan center, where many foreigners lived: Syrians, Phoenicians, Greeks and Jews. The city is known for its surrounding burial and temple complexes – pyramids, necropolises and temples (in Abusir, Giza, Saqqara, Dahshur). In Memphis there was a significant center of worship of the god Ptah and the cult of the bull Hepa (Apis) associated with him flourished.

Name
Initially, the ancient city was called Inbu-hej – “White Walls”. There is an assumption that the ancient Greek word “Aygyuptos” – Egypt, is formed from another of the names of Memphis – Hut-ka-Ptah. This name meant “Temple of ka Ptah” (translit. Egyptian Hwt-kA-ptH). Among the ancient Egyptians, Khut-ka-Ptah was first the name of the Memphis sanctuary of the creator god Ptah, which passed to the name of the city, and eventually became the name of the surrounding area (septa), and later, from the name of this area, the ancient Greeks extended their version of the name to the entire Ancient Egypt. The city was also known as Ankh-Taui – “Life of two lands” and Mehat-ta-ui – “Uniting two lands”, which emphasized its strategic position on the border between Upper and Lower Egypt. The ancient Greek name Memphis (Μέμφις) is possibly a Hellenized form from the name of the pyramid of Pharaoh Pepi I (VI dynasty) – Men-nefer, “Strong beautiful (Pepi I pyramid)”. For the first time, the name Mennefer among the ancient Egyptians is found in an inscription made during the reign of Pharaoh Ahmose I (XVIII dynasty), but it was probably used much earlier. The Romans adopted the Greek name of the city, in Latin the city was also called Memphis (Memphis). In the period of the early Middle Ages, the Copts had their own name of the city, consonant with the ancient one – Menfe, Membe, etc.
foreign names. The ancient inhabitants of Mesopotamia called the city Me-im-pi (Akkadian. The name of Memphis in Akkadian.gif). In the Bible (Old Testament and Tanakh) Memphis is mentioned as the city of Moth (Heb. מֹף, in Hos. 9:6), and as the city of Nof (Heb. נֹף, in Is. 19:13, Jer. 2:16, 44:1, 46:14, 46:19, Ezekiel 30:13, 30:16). The name of the city among modern researchers, according to the Greek-Arabic nomenclature of toponyms adopted in Egyptology, is Memphis.

History
According to ancient authors, the city was erected by King Menes (Min), who ordered the construction of a dam, change the direction of the riverbed that flowed near the city, and build a city on the site of the old bend filled in. In Greek mythology, Memphis was named after Queen Memphis, wife of Epaphos (son of Zeus and Io), who supposedly founded the city.
For several millennia, Memphis has been a cultural, administrative and commercial center that has attracted merchants and pilgrims from all over Africa and Asia. Only with the advent of Alexandria Memphis fell into decay. Gradually the city was destroyed. In the first centuries of Christianity, Memphis was the center of the diocese of the same name (currently a titular diocese of the Roman Catholic Church).
Until our time, the city has reached completely covered with silt. Almost no buildings remain. Now Memphis is an open-air museum. Excavations are still ongoing, but they are complicated by the high level of groundwater and the fact that the ruins of the former capital lie under private estates planted with palm groves.

Modernity
In 1979, the necropolises of Memphis – Saqqara, Abusir, Dahshur and Giza, were included by UNESCO in the list of World Heritage Sites.
April 20, 2015 Russian archaeologists have discovered the legendary “white walls”