An important center in Upper Egypt, located about 120 miles (200 km.) north of the First Cataract. Toward the end of the XXth Dynasty, conditions deteriorated to such a point that the High Priest of Amun, seated at Thebes (in Upper Egypt), became effectively independent, and established a line of Theocrats. Not reckoned as a Dynasty per se, these priests nevertheless governed southern Egypt for roughly 135 years.