The ancient name for the city the Greeks called Thebai was Waset, the Scepter nome, and it was the main city of the fourth Upper Egyptian nome. It was close to Nubia and the eastern desert, with their valuable mineral resources and trade routes.

Waset was little more than a provincial town in the Old Kingdom. Though two brick-built mastaba tombs dating from the 3rd or 4th dynasty have been found in the Theban area, and a small group of tombs have been found dating from the 5th and 6th Dynasties in the area of the necropolis known as el-Khokha, it is not clear if there was an actual Old Kingdom settlement here.

The royal residence and tombs, as well as most of the tombs of the court and government nobles at this time, were primarily built at Saqqara near Memphis, closer to the Delta.

No buildings survive in Thebes older than the portions of the Karnak temple complex, which may date from the Middle Kingdom, but the lower part of a statue of King Niuserre of the 5th Dynasty has been found in Karnak.

Another statue which was dedicated by King Senwosret of the 12 dynasty may have been usurped and re-used by him, since the statue bears a cartouche of Niuserre on its belt. Since seven rulers of the 4th to 6th Dynasties appear on the Karnak king list, perhaps at the least there was a temple in the Theban area which dated to the Old Kingdom.

According to the current historical record, Thebes did not come into its political strength until the First Intermediate Period. A large number of private inscriptions from this period indicate that the rulers, or provincial governors, or Koptos, Moalla, and Thebes are prominent at this time.

One governor named Ankhtifi relates that though he was able to take over the areas of Edfu and others, he was subsequently defeated by forces from Thebes and Koptos. 

The Theban rulers were apparently of the family Inyotef, who before long began to write their names in cartouches. The second of this name even called himself the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, though his power didn’t extend much further than the general Theban region.

 Finally, one ruler named Mentuhotep, meaning Montu is satisfied, took the prenomen of Nebhepetre, and it is he who is credited with once again reuniting all Egypt under one ruler, and beginning the 11th Dynasty, what Egyptologists call the Middle Kingdom. Nebhepetre ruled for 51 years, and built the temple at Deir el-Bahri that most likely served as the inspiration for the later and larger temple built next to it by Hatshepsut in the 18th Dynasty.

Once again Thebes declined politically, as Amenemhat I of the 12th Dynasty decided to move his capital north again to a new site called Itjtawy or Lisht. Although the capital was moved, Thebes took on a new role as the religious center of the nation, as its god Amun was promoted to principal state deity. The oldest remains of a temple dedicated to Amun date to the reign of Senwosret I in the 12th Dynasty.

The core of this Middle Kingdom building lay in the heart of the current temple, behind the sanctuary. Its walls were constructed of limestone which were later removed for use elsewhere. So now there is an empty space between the sanctuary and the Festival hall of Tutmosis III. However, the small so-called "White Chapel" shrine built by Senwosret I has been rebuilt and stands in the Open Air Museum at Karnak.

The peak for Thebes came during the 18th Dynasty. Its temples were the most important and wealthiest in the land, and the tombs on the west bank were among the most luxurious Egypt ever saw.

The center of the city during New Kingdom and later times stretched between the two major temples of Karnak and Luxor, along the avenue of sphinxes that connected them. The area is now almost entirely covered by the modern city of Luxor.

During the Third Intermediate Period, the High Priest of Amun formed a counterbalance to the 21st and 22nd Dynasty kings who ruled from the Delta. Theban political influence receded only in the Late Period.

The main part of the town and principal temples were on the east bank. Across the river on the west bank was the necropolis with tombs and mortuary temples, but also the west part of the town.

Deir el-Bahri is there, the mortuary temples of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep and Hatshepsut, and the temple of Amun by Tutmosis III, the Ramesseum of Ramesses II, and other mortuary temples of Seti I at Qurna and Amenhotep III with the Memnon Colossi.

Amenhotep III had his palace at el-Malqata there, and in the Ramessid period, Thebes centered north of there, at Medinet Habu.

Sais, known as Zau in ancient Egyptian and today as Sa el-Hagar, is located in Egypt's Delta. It was the county's capital during the 26th Dynasty late in Egypt's history and was at various other times an important center.

The city is known from the very beginning of Egyptian history from wooden labels associated with King Aha. It was probably always the capital of the 4th Lower Egyptian nome, which, until the 12th Dynasty, also incorporated what was to become the 4th nome.

However, the city really came into a prominent position towards the end of the 8th century BC when Tefnakhte and Bocchoris (24th Dynasty)  rivaled the Nubian kings of the 25th Dynasty. It was also a major center for the worship of the Goddess Neith.

Regrettably, the history of Egypt is skewed, particularly to the average reader, to the desert areas where the Pyramids are located and to the southern regions around Luxor and Aswan.  The reason for this is that in the Delta, monuments are most often in a much worse state of repair due to water damage. 

We may never know the splendors that might have been because the ancient building projects are often either completely gone, or only fragmentary bits and pieces remain. 

This is the case with Sais.  While it was an important center, not much remains and much of what we know comes from documentary evidenced found elsewhere as opposed to archaeological discoveries at Sais itself.

In fact, It is Herodotus who mostly tells us of its temples, royal palaces and tombs.  There have actually been few archaeological excavations around the city, and those that have been carried out have for the most part been small and unsuccessful.

Even as late as the middle of the 19th century, there were some remaining mud brick walls, but by the end of that century, only a trace could be found of a huge rectangular enclosure. The rapid demise in this case was probably due to farmers who use the mud brick for fertilizer. Stone blocks were reused in the Middle Ages, and today, only isolated stone blocks remain.

However, in 1997, the Egyptian Exploration Society did mount a fairly substantial survey to Sais, and they appear to continue some work in the area.  They were able to trace the last vestiges of the enclosure wall. They have turned up some interesting data, including core samples that seem to contain pottery shards from the predynastic period.

And while their evidence suggests that after the Saite kings, the city shrank back to its most glorious period, indications are that the Temple of Neith may have rivaled in size and splendor that of the Temple of Karnak. The society maintains that, contrary to appearances, there is probably considerable excavation work that needs to be carried out in the area.

What is more evident from Sais is a substantial number of artifacts, including statues, stelae and sarcophagi scattered about in various museums throughout the world.  Most of these date from the 26th Dynasty, but none so far have turned up that are earlier than the 3rd Intermediate Period. 

We know, for example, that that Amasis (Ahmose II) was an extremely active builder within the city, erecting a pylon for the Temple of Neith, setting up colossal statues and even creating a human-headed sphinx processional way.

The enclosure of Neith where her main cult center was located seems to have been a focus of building projects and the Kings of the 26th Dynasty were interred in chapel tombs in the courtyard of her temple.  However, there were also provisions for other Egyptian gods including Osiris, Horus, Sobek, Atum, Amun, Bastet, Isis, Nekhbet, Wadjet and Hathor. 

There were specifically building projects surrounding the God, Osiris, including a burial place and a sacred lake where rituals of the Festival of the Resurrection of Osiris were celebrated.  This site was impressive, with obelisks and other adornments that are now mostly ruined.