Heliopolis (ancient Egypt)

Heliopolis

Jwnw or Iunu
Al-Masalla obelisk, the largest surviving monument from Heliopolis, pictured in 2001.
Shown within Egypt
Location	Egypt
Region	Cairo Governorate
Coordinates	30°07′46″N 31°18′27″E / 30.129333°N 31.307528°E / 30.129333; 31.307528

Heliopolis (Jwnw, Iunu; Ancient Egyptian: 𓉺𓏌𓊖, romanized: jwnw, lit. 'the Pillars'; Coptic: ⲱⲛ; Greek: Ἡλιούπολις, romanized: Hēlioúpοlis, lit. 'City of the Sun') was a major city of ancient Egypt. It was the capital of the 13th or Heliopolite Nome of Lower Egypt and a major religious centre. It is now located in Ayn Shams, a northeastern district of Cairo.

Heliopolis was one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt, occupied since prehistoric Egypt.^[1] It greatly expanded under the Old and Middle Kingdoms but is today mostly destroyed, its temples and other buildings having been scavenged for the construction of medieval Cairo. Most information about the ancient city comes from surviving records.

The major surviving remnant of Heliopolis is the obelisk of the Temple of Ra-Atum erected by Senusret I of Dynasty XII. It still stands in its original position, now within Al-Masalla in El Matareya, Cairo.^[2] The 21 m (69 ft) high red granite obelisk weighs 120 tons (240,000 lbs) and is believed to be the oldest surviving obelisk in the world.^[3] Under Augustus, the Romans took the Obelisk of Montecitorio from Heliopolis to Rome, where it remains. The two smaller obelisks called Cleopatra's Needles, in London and New York, also came from the city.