Thinis or This was the capital city of the first dynasties of ancient Egypt. The actual site of Thinis has not yet been discovered. Ancient writers, such as Manetho, said it was the centre of the Thinite Confederacy. Their leader Menes, united Egypt and was its first pharaoh. In the Third Dynasty the capital was moved to Memphis. This meant that Thinis was no longer important. It still played a role in administration becauset was close to border of the competing Heracleopolitan and Theban dynasties of the First Intermediate Period. It was also near oases of military importance, during the Old and New Kingdoms. Thinis lost its position as a regional administrative centre by the Roman period.