We kick off our new, 50-part series with a building that changed the course of human history. Erected in Memphis, one of the world’s first purpose-built cities, the step-pyramid of Zoser is the oldest large-scale stone monument still standing
No building underlines Memphis’s significance in the annals of urban life as much as the step-pyramid of Zoser. Photograph: Chronicle/Alamy
The talk in Egypt these days is of a brand-new capital. The government wants to build a new seat of power to the east of Cairo, entirely from scratch. A city that, if finished, would in terms of population be the world’s biggest-ever purpose-built capital. “A place,” Egypt’s housing minister said this week, “that would unite all the sections of Egyptian society.”
It is a bold claim – but not a new one. The story of early urban life in Egypt is a story of capitals shifting from one new city to the next. Throughout ancient Egyptian history, rulers changed capitals to enforce a sense of national renewal or unity – a trend that began with the first purpose-built capital of a united Egypt, some 5,000 years ago.
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