Capital of the 4th Upper Egyptian nome, close to modern-day Luxor. For a large part of pharaonic Egyptian history, Thebes was the most important religious and political centre. During the 1st Intermediate Period and particularly the Middle Kingdom, the importance of the city increased rapidly. The kings of the 9th and 10th Dynasties ruled from Herakleopolis over Lower Egypt, and simultaneously some of the kings of the 11th Dynasty ruled from Thebes over Upper Egypt. After the reunification of the Two Lands, Thebes became the residence of the whole of Egypt. In the 12th Dynasty, Lisht became the residence and new capital, but Thebes remained the religious capital as the sacred city of the god Amun. From the 11th Dynasty on, the kings were buried on the west bank at Thebes, in places such as Deir el-Bahari. The oldest extant remains of the temple of Karnak also date to the Middle Kingdom. The reunification of the Two Lands after the 2nd Intermediate Period, culminating in the banishment of the Hyksos, once again began in Thebes. The period immediately after, the New Kingdom, was a very important one in the history of the city. Although Memphis was once again the residence and administrative centre, the position of Thebes as the main cult centre of the dynastic god Amun became even stronger. The temple of Karnak was extensively added to, and the temple of Luxor was built in the reign of Amenhotep III. The Valley of the Kings began to be used as a royal burial place, and several mortuary temples associated with the tombs were built (see Deir el-Bahari, Ramesseum and Medinet Habu), as well as many tombs for high officials, although Memphis was the residence. During the Ramesside period the residence moved even further to the north, to the Delta, but Thebes remained the religious centre. Towards the end of the New Kingdom and during the 3rd Intermediate Period, the kings ruled from the Delta and power in Upper Egypt passed into the hands of the high priests based in Thebes, resulting in the creation of the God's State of Amun. Thebes only lost much of it's influence in the Late Period. The ancient Egyptians called the city 'Waset', symbolised by the 'was'-sceptre. The name Thebes was given to the city by the Greeks, who named it after the town of Thebes in Boeotia.