Memphis

Memphis, city, ancient Egypt

Memphis (mĕm`fĭs), ancient city of Egypt, capital of the Old Kingdom (c.3100–c.2258 B.C.), at the apex of the Nile delta and 12 mi (18 km) from Cairo. It was reputedly founded by Menes, the first king of united Egypt. Its god was Ptah. The temple of Ptah, the palace of Apries, and two huge statues of Ramses II are among the most important monuments found at the site. The necropolis of Sakkara, near Memphis, was a favorite burial place for pharaohs of the Old Kingdom. A line of pyramids begins near the necropolis, extending for 20 mi (32 km) to Giza. Memphis remained important during the long dominance by Thebes and became the seat of the Persian satraps (525 B.C.). Second only to Alexandria under the Ptolemies and under Rome, it finally declined with the founding of nearby Fustat by the Arabs, and its ruins were largely removed for building in the new city and, later, in Cairo.

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Memphis, city, United States

Memphis (mĕm`fĭs), city (1990 pop. 610,337), seat of Shelby co., SW Tenn., on the Fourth, or Lower, Chickasaw Bluff above the Mississippi, at the mouth of the Wolf River; inc. 1826. A river port with excellent anchorages on the Wolf, Memphis is the largest city in the state, a port of entry, a rail and air distribution center, and a leading hardwood lumber, cotton, and livestock market. Its wide variety of manufactures includes textiles, consumer goods, paints, and automotive parts. A number of corporations have national headquarters in the city. Trans-Mississippi bridges connect Memphis with Arkansas.

De Soto is said to have crossed the Mississippi near the site of Memphis. The area was strategically important during the time of the British, French, and Spanish rivalries in the 18th cent. A U.S. fort was erected in 1797. The city was established (1819) by Andrew Jackson, Marcus Winchester, and John Overton. In the Civil War it fell, on June 6, 1862, to a Union force led by the elder Charles Henry Davis. Severe yellow-fever epidemics occurred in the 1870s, and thousands died. So many people fled the city that its charter had to be surrendered (1879); it was not restored until 1891. E. H. "Boss" Crump ruled Memphis from 1909 until his political hold was broken after 1948.

The city is the seat of the Univ. of Memphis, the Univ. of Tennessee Medical Units, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Rhodes College, Christian Brothers Univ., Le Moyne–Owen College, the Memphis Academy of Arts, Southern College of Optometry, and a technical institute. It has a natural history museum, a planetarium, an art gallery, a metalwork museum, a notable park system, botanical gardens, a zoo, an aquarium, a coliseum, a speedway, and Autozone Park, where minor league baseball games attract many to a resurgent downtown area. The National Basketball Association's Grizzlies play in FedExForum. The Mid-South Fairgrounds and the Cook Convention Center, which has sponsored major traveling art exhibits, are there. An annual week-long cotton carnival is held, and postseason college football games are played there each year.

A number of antebellum homes in the city have been restored. Memphis is associated with the development of early rock-and-roll and the blues, and Graceland, the former home of Elvis Presley, is one of the nation's largest tourist attractions. Beale St., another popular site, was made famous by W. C. Handy, the blues composer, and has been extensively restored. The National Civil Rights Museum is in the former Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. The Great American Pyramid, a 32-story glass-encased civic center, arena, and museum complex dominates the riverfront area. Nearby on a sandbar is Mud Island, a 52-acre amusement park.

Bibliography

See P. R. Coppock, Memphis Memoirs (1980); R. Biles, Memphis in the Great Depression (1986).

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Memphis

Capital of ancient Egypt during the Old Kingdom (c. 2575–c. 2130 BC), located on the western bank of the Nile River, south of modern Cairo. Founded c. 2925 BC by Menes, it was by the 3rd dynasty a flourishing community. Despite the rivalry of Heracleopolis and Thebes, it remained important, particularly in the worship of Ptah. Beginning in the 8th century BC, it fell successively to Nubia, Assyria, Persia, and Macedonia under Alexander the Great. Its importance as a religious centre was undermined by the rise of Christianity and then of Islam. It was abandoned after the Muslim conquest of Egypt in AD 640. Its ruins include the great temple of Ptah, royal palaces, and an extensive necropolis. Nearby are the pyramids of Saqqara and those at Giza.

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Memphis

City (pop., 2000: 650,100), southwestern Tennessee, U.S. Situated above the Mississippi River where the borders of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee meet, it was founded in 1819 on the site of a Chickasaw Indian village and a U.S. fort. It was incorporated as a city in 1826. A Confederate military centre at the start of the American Civil War, it was captured by Union forces in 1862. In the 1870s yellow fever killed more than 5,000 residents, and the city was forced into bankruptcy. Rechartered in 1893, it was the state's largest city by 1900. Sites of interest include Beale Street, made famous by W.C. Handy as the birthplace of the blues; and Graceland, the mansion of Elvis Presley. It is the seat of several educational institutions, including the University of Memphis.

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Memphis

The code name for Windows 98.

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Memphis

1. a port in SW Tennessee, on the Mississippi River: the largest city in the state; a major cotton and timber market; Memphis State University (1909). Pop.: 645 978 (2003 est.)

2. a ruined city in N Egypt, the ancient centre of Lower Egypt, on the Nile: administrative and artistic centre, sacred to the worship of Ptah