The ancient Egyptian city of Memphis, though not in existence today, was situated on almost the same site as the present-day city of Cairo; that is, on the Nile River, about 180 kilometres from its mouth. It was the administrative centre of the first king to unite Upper and Lower Egypt (about 3000 BC), and was capital of Egypt for much of the period before Abraham. It continued to be an important city up till the time of its conquest by Alexander the Great in 332 BC (Isa 19:13; Jer 44:1; 46:14,19; Ezek 30:13; Hosea 9:6). (For map and other details see EGYPT.)