The Karnak Temple Complex is a vast group of temples, chapels and pylons near Luxor in Egypt, built on the east bank of the Nile at ancient Thebes. It was mainly dedicated to the god Amun-Ra and developed over some two thousand years, as successive pharaohs added to it. The earliest surviving structures date to the Middle Kingdom, and later rulers such as Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Seti I and Ramesses II built great halls, obelisks and gateways. The Great Hypostyle Hall, with its forest of enormous columns, is among its best-known features. Karnak was the main religious centre of Egypt during the New Kingdom and is among the largest religious sites ever built.
Before and after
- 21st century BCEThe last mammoths die out on Wrangel Island
- from c. 2,000 BCE to 1,500 BCEPhilippine Jade Artifacts
- from c. 1,991 BCE to 1,802 BCETwelfth Dynasty of Egypt
- from 20th century BCE to 6th century BCEBabylonia
- c. 1,900 BCEConstruction of Karnak Temple Complex
- c. 1,900 BCEEruption of Black Peak
- c. 1,890 BCEEruption of Hudson, Cerro
- c. 1,860 BCEEruption of St. Helens
- c. 1,810 BCEBirth of Hammurabi
More in Civilizations & archaeology
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- from 375 CE to 568 CEMigration Period
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 19th century BCE.