Thinis or
This (
Egyptian:
Tjenu) was the
capital city of the
first dynasties of
ancient Egypt. Thinis is, as yet,
undiscovered but well attested to by ancient writers, including the classical historian
Manetho, who cites it as the centre of the
Thinite Confederacy, a tribal confederation whose leader,
Menes (or
Narmer), united
Egypt and was its first
pharaoh. Thinis began a steep decline in importance from
Dynasty III, when the capital was relocated to
Memphis. Its location on the border of the competing
Heracleopolitan and
Theban dynasties of the
First Intermediate Period, and its proximity to certain
oases of possible military importance, ensured Thinis some continued significance in the
Old and
New Kingdoms. This was a brief respite and Thinis eventually lost its position as a regional administrative centre by the
Roman period.