years of building produced a city that had no
rivals in ancient architectural majesty. By 1500
BC, Waset was a series of gigantic sanctuaries
devoted to the gods Amen, Mut, and Khonsu.
There were several important aspects to Waset’s
splendor. In the first place, it was the seat of the
largest temple complex in the ancient world. The
famous temple dedicated to Amen projected
the intellectual, political, and spiritual power of
Waset and underscored the extent of Amen’s cul-
tural supremacy in its rise to glory.
Waset was the heartbeat of the Kemetic nation
and its massive temple complex the center of the
political and religious life of Egypt. All economic
and political roads led to the palace of the king or
to the domain of the priests at Waset. When a high
official of the country wanted to bring a case
to the court, it was to Waset that he came with
his entourage. When the nation celebrated its
national festivals, the bedecked officials sailed
their boats to Waset and walked its sphinx-lined
streets to honor the gods. No historical site in
Egypt is as impressive in its magnitude and mag-
nificence as Karnak in Waset. No humans ever
built a temple complex, dedicated to religion, any
more massive and stupendous than this architec-
tural achievement. Karnak is actually three main
temples, numerous smaller enclosed temples, and
several outer temples located on about 300 acres
(100 hectares). Of course, Karnak is really the
site’s modern name. Its ancient name was Ipet-
isut, meaning “The Most Select (or Sacred) of
Places.” In time, many writers and visitors also
referred to Waset by this name.
In addition to the tremendous religious site
called Karnak, the city of Waset is the closest city
to the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the
Queens, where hundreds of nobles are buried.
With the combined achievements in the burial
valleys and the religious sites, the city of Waset
is within 50 miles of nearly half of the world’s
ancient monuments, an achievement that staggers
the imagination about this one city.
The political power of Waset also surpassed
that of any other city during its time because the
priests who officiated at the Karnak Temple dic-
tated the direction of the nation for hundreds
of years. Even when Akhenaten created chaos and
heresy by adopting the deity Aton over Amen, he
could not dim the glory that shined from Waset.
The corridors and boulevards of political and reli-
gious power were so strong at Waset that when
Tutankhamen returned Akhenaten’s family to
Waset, it was as if the city had not missed a beat.
Its slight decline in influence was nothing more
than a nuisance to the Wasetian rulers of the
world. The city endured, and its fame spread
throughout the world. Along its streets walked
Amenhotep III, Hatshepsut, Thutmoses III, Seti I,
Ramses II, Tarharka, Shabaka, and Piankhy,
among the mightiest kings and queens to ever
rule. Its last restoration was under the kings of the
25th dynasty, who vowed to bring it to its former
glory during the reign of the New Kingdom per-aas.
They made it once again a great city, the seat of
Egyptian government, not to be ignored in the
world of politics. Nevertheless, in time, with sev-
eral invasions and sackings, the city was laid to
waste, and the former glory of the city was never
to return. However, because the name Waset has
endured, engraved in stone, it will forever be
remembered as one of Africa’s mightiest urban
areas and one of the most sacred sites on Earth.Molefi Kete AsanteSeealsoTemples, Uses and TypesFurther Readings
Erman, A. (1971).Life in Ancient Egypt. New York:
Dover.
Romant, B. (1981).Life in Egypt in Ancient Times.
Geneva: Minerva.WATER
Water is perhaps the single most important liquid
in the world. Composed of two parts of hydrogen
and one part of oxygen (H 2 O), it is not possible for
any form of life to survive without it. Water covers
about three quarters of the Earth’s surface and
makes up roughly the same portion of the human
body by mass. This liquid dominated the physical,
social, and spiritual environment of ancient Africa.
It still does in most of Africa today, as well as in
African communities outside of the continent. In
the African world, from as early as ancient KemetWater 705