Early Late Period of Ancient Egypt (712– 525 B.C.): Nubians, Assyrians, Saite Kings and Greeks | Middle East And North Africa

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LATE PERIOD OF ANCIENT EGYPT (712–332 B.C.)

26th dynasty mummy of upper class male

The Late Period (712 to 332 B.C.) includes the 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th and 30th Dynasties, with one period of Nubia rule and one period of Persian rule (a second period of Persian rule occurred later). The 25th dynasty was Nubian. This marked the beginning of the Late Period. The 27th and 31st dynasties were Persian. After the 27th dynasty the Persians were expelled but returned once again. After experiencing a brief period of autonomy after the Persians were expelled the first time, Egypt was conquered again by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C.

After 1085 B.C. Egypt was divided and ruled by priests. Egyptian culture went into a period of decline. Treasuries shrunk as a result of expensive monument building and military campaigns. There were food riots and strikes. In 525 B.C., Egypt was conquered the Persians The New Kingdom was followed by the Third Intermediate Period (1075 to 715 B.C.), the Late Period (715 to 332B.C.) and the Greco-Roman Period (332 B.C. to A.D. 395).

The Late Period includes the last periods during which ancient Egypt functioned as an independent political entity. During these years, Egyptian culture was under pressure from major civilizations of the eastern Mediterranean and the Near East. The socioeconomic system, however, had a vigor, efficiency, and flexibility that ensured the success of the nation during these years of triumph and disaster. [Source: Helen Chapin Metz, ed. Egypt: A Country Study, Library of Congress, 1990]

Throughout the Late Period, Egypt made a largely successful effort to maintain an effectively centralized state, which, except for the two periods of Persian occupation (Twenty-seventh and Thirty-first dynasties), was based on earlier indigenous models. Late Period Egypt, however, displayed certain destabilizing features, such as the emergence of regionally based power centers. These contributed to the revolts against the Persian occupation but also to the recurrent internal crises of the Twenty-eighth, Twenty-ninth, and Thirtieth dynasties.*

The Twenty-sixth Dynasty was founded by Psammethichus I, who made Egypt a powerful and united kingdom. This dynasty, which ruled from 664 to 525 B.C., represented the last great age of pharaonic civilization. The dynasty ended when a Persian invasion force under Cambyses, the son of Cyrus the Great, dethroned the last pharaoh.*

Cambyses established himself as pharaoh and appears to have made some attempts to identify his regime with the Egyptian religious hierarchy. Egypt became a Persian province serving chiefly as a source of revenue for the far-flung Persian (Achaemenid) Empire. From Cambyses to Darius II in the years 525 to 404 B.C., the Persian emperors are counted as the Twentyseventh Dynasty.*

Periodic Egyptian revolts, usually aided by Greek military forces, were unsuccessful until 404 B.C., when Egypt regained an uneasy independence under the short-lived, native Twenty-eighth, Twenty-ninth, and Thirtieth dynasties. Independence was lost again in 343 B.C., and Persian rule was oppressively reinstated and continued until 335 B.C., in what is sometimes called the Thirty-first Dynasty or second Persian occupation of Egypt.*

Websites on Ancient Egypt: UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, escholarship.org ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Egypt sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Discovering Egypt discoveringegypt.com; BBC History: Egyptians bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians ; Ancient History Encyclopedia on Egypt ancient.eu/egypt; Digital Egypt for Universities. Scholarly treatment with broad coverage and cross references (internal and external). Artifacts used extensively to illustrate topics. ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt ; British Museum: Ancient Egypt ancientegypt.co.uk; Egypt’s Golden Empire pbs.org/empires/egypt; Metropolitan Museum of Art www.metmuseum.org ; Oriental Institute Ancient Egypt (Egypt and Sudan) Projects ; Egyptian Antiquities at the Louvre in Paris louvre.fr/en/departments/egyptian-antiquities; KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt kmtjournal.com; Egypt Exploration Society ees.ac.uk ; Amarna Project amarnaproject.com; Abzu: Guide to Resources for the Study of the Ancient Near East etana.org; Egyptology Resources fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk

Art and Culture During the Late Period

James Allen and Marsha Hill of the Metropolitan Museum of Art wrote: “During the Late Period, the reemergence of a centralized royal tradition that interacted with the relatively decentralized network inherited from the Third Intermediate Period created a rich artistic atmosphere. Particularly among royal artworks, it is possible to speak of marked affinities for models from certain anterior periods: Kushite kings admired Old Kingdom models, Saite kings those of the Old and New Kingdoms, and later kings of Dynasty 30 looked back beyond the Persian interlud to the kings of late Dynasty 26. Viewed from the perspective of metal statuary produced in temples or of nonroyal artworks, however, stylistic patterns suggest a complex interplay of influences less hierarchically determined by the temporal power of the king than in previous periods, with the result that the choices of patrons and artists are more recognizable. [Source: James Allen and Marsha Hill, Department of Egyptian Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2004, metmuseum.org\^/]

“A taste for realistic modeling of features of nonroyal persons emerges, while attention to the naturalistic modeling of flesh and bone in human and animal sculpture reaches new heights. While precious metal and bronze statuary and equipment had long associations with temple cult and ritual, by the first millennium B.C. changes in beliefs and practices had come about. A broad range of individuals made temple offerings, including relatively valuable bronze statuettes and equipment. While the king made offerings in his role as mediator between the gods and mankind, for private donors the goal was attainment of eternal life, for which the personal favor of or physical proximity to a deity was now believed to be as or even more efficacious than tombs and mortuary cult provisions. Osiris and the flourishing cults of animal avatars of certain gods were particular beneficiaries of these new offering practices. \^/

“Following the period of Persian rule, the kings of Dynasties 28 through 30 brought a new focus to their role as maintainers of a long tradition. Prodigious temple building and major production of statuary enacted an impressive reformulation and promulgation of the concept of divine kingship and formalized many other aspects of Egypt's ancient artistic and religious traditions in the face of threatening outside powers.” \^/

See Separate Article On PERSIAN RULE OF ANCIENT EGYPT, LAST DYNASTIES AND THE FALL OF ANCIENT EGYPT

List of Rulers from the Late Period (ca. 712–332 B.C.)

Dynasty 25 (Nubian), ca. 712–664 B.C.
Shebitqo: ca. 698–690 B.C.
Taharqo (Loses control of Lower Egypt)32: ca.690–664 B.C.
Tanutamani (Loses control of Upper Egypt): ca. 664–653 B.C.
[Source: Department of Egyptian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2002]

from the Nubian musuem

Dynasty 26 (Saite), 688–252 B.C.
Nikauba: 688–672 B.C.
Necho I: 672–664 B.C.
Psamtik I: 664–610 B.C.
Necho II: 610–595 B.C.
Psamtik II: 595–589 B.C.
Apries: 589–570 B.C.
Amasis: 570–526 B.C.
Psamtik III: 526–525 B.C.

Dynasty 27: First Persian Period
525–404 B.C.
Cambyses: 525–522 B.C.
Darius I: 521–486 B.C.
Xerxes I: 486–466 B.C.
Artaxerxes I: 465–424 B.C.
Darius II: 424–404 B.C.

Dynasty 28, 522–399 B.C.
Pedubaste III: 522–520 B.C.
Psamtik IV: ca. 470 B.C.
Inaros: ca. 460 B.C.
Amyrtaios I: ca. 460 B.C.
Thannyros: ca. 445 B.C.
Pausiris: ca. 445 B.C.
Psamtik V: ca. 445 B.C.
Psamtik VI: ca. 400 B.C.
Amyrtaios II: 404–399 B.C.

Dynasty 29, 399–380 B.C.
Nepherites I: 399–393 B.C.
Psammuthis: 393–393 B.C.
Achoris: 393–380 B.C.
Nepherites II: 380–380 B.C.
Dynasty 30, 380–343 B.C.
Nectanebo I: 380–362 B.C.
Teos: 365–360 B.C.
Nectanebo II: 360–343 B.C.:

Contacts between Pre-Classical Greece and Egypt

Stefan Pfeiffer of Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg wrote: “Already in the second Greek epic, the Odyssey, the geographical name Αἴγυπτος is attested. The best Greek source for Egyptian-Greek relations in Pre- Classical and Classical times is Herodotus’s second book of “Histories”, written in the second half of the fifth century. The value of this source is debated in modern historiography, but Herodotus has often been proved right by archaeological evidence or written Egyptian sources that verify his accounts. Herodotus’s reports on historical events and the cultural interrelations between Egypt and Greece can be augmented by the accounts of Diodorus and Strabo, two Greek authors of the first century B.C.. [Source: Stefan Pfeiffer, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 2013 escholarship.org ]

Greek coins found in Egypt

“It is certain that Greek mercenaries, craftsmen, and traders traveled to Egypt since the middle of the seventh century B.C. At Naukratis, Kom Firin, Sais, Athribis, Bubastis, Mendes, Tell el-Maskhuta, Daphnai, and Magdolos in the Delta, and Heliopolis, Saqqara, Thebes, and Edfu in the Nile Valley, Greek presence is attested by archaeological evidence. With the aid of Greek mercenaries, Psammetichus I (664 – 610 B.C.) succeeded in uniting Egypt under his sole rule by defeating various Libyan chieftains. He might in fact have made a dedication of his dress to the sanctuary of Didymae near Miletus, which is reported by Herodotus. Afterwards he stationed Greek soldiers in the neighborhood of the city of Bubastis and at the Bolbitic mouth of the Nile. An Egyptian statue, dedicated by a certain Pedon, who perhaps took part in Psammetichus’s campaigns, was found near Priene. The inscription on the statue relates that Pedon was given a golden bracelet and a city by Psammetichus because of his braveness. It is quite probable that, like Pedon, most of the Greeks in Egypt came from the Ionian coast of Asia Minor, because the Demotic word for “Greeks” is “Wynn “(i.e., Ionians); in hieroglyphic Egyptian they were called “Haunebut”. This is supported by several goods found in Ionia that bear witness to the close trade contacts between Greeks and Egyptians. It also indicates that Greeks who had stayed in Egypt brought home Egyptian objects like the statue of Pedon, or scarabs and figurines of Egyptian deities.

“In the time of the Egyptian expansion under Necho (610 – 595 B.C.), Greek soldiers in the army of the pharaoh reached, as archaeological finds prove, Carchemish at the Euphrates. The presence of Greek mercenaries in the army of Psammetichus II is attested by some graffiti at Abu Simbel, inscribed during a Nubian campaign of the pharaoh. The Greeks who made a career in Egypt seem to have adapted Egyptian customs to a high degree as is evidenced by their funerals (if they can be traced at all), which were of Egyptian style. Like members of the Egyptian elite, some Greeks were buried near the Old Kingdom pyramids at Saqqara, accompanied by shabtis.

“Amasis (570 – 526 B.C.) reorganized Greek presence in Egypt. According to Herodotus, he settled Greeks in the vicinity of Memphis, where they were known as the Hellenomemphites, and at Naukratis, where their presence had already been attested since the seventh century B.C. In later Greek tradition the city was a Milesian colony, but in fact it was a port-of-trade for many Greek cities—a Greek “emporion “rather than a “polis, “according to Greek constitutional understanding. The cities that participated in the “emporion “were, in addition to Miletus, Samos and Aegina, which had also founded their own local sanctuaries. Chios, Klazomenai, Teos, and Phocaea from the Ionian coast, Rhodes, Halicarnassus, Knidos, and Phaselis from Dorian Asia Minor, and the city of Mytilene from Lesbos in contrast had their religious focus at a temple precinct called Hellenion. It is assumed that this unique Greek “emporion “in Egypt formed a kind of buffer between two different economical systems: the redistributive system of Egypt and the free-trade system of the Greeks. The new underwater discoveries at Thonis-Heracleion on the coast prove that the main entrance to Egypt for Greek traders was the Canopic branch of the Nile, the same branch that passes the Saite nome and the “emporion “Naukratis situated within it.

To sum up, it can be concluded that Greeks of the Pre-Classical Period had gained substantial knowledge about Egypt, as intensive trading contacts seem very likely. Furthermore, Egyptian influence can be noticed in Greek art in the adaptation by Greek sculptors and builders of Egyptian statuary forms—sometimes they even used the Egyptian royal cubit. Some scholars suggest that the Greek peripteral temple actually had its roots in Egypt. In contrast to the widespread presence of Egyptian material culture in Greece, Egyptians do not seem to have adopted Greek cultural elements: Greek mercenaries, craftsmen, and traders were welcome and needed, but the impact of Greek culture in Egypt cannot be traced.”

Relations between Pre-Classical Greece and Egypt

Stefan Pfeiffer of Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg wrote: “Since 526 B.C. Egypt was a satrapy of the Persian empire. Due to this fact, Egyptian soldiers surely participated in the Persian wars against Greece (490 and 480 B.C.). According to Herodotus, the Egyptian soldiers were the bravest in the sea-battle at Salamis. It is possible that Egyptian merchants were active in Greece since Classical times, as a cult to Isis is known to have existed in Athens dating back to the mid-fourth century. During the fifth and fourth centuries there were Egyptian rebellions against Persian rule. Athens sent help to support the revolts of Inaros and Amyrtaios in the middle of the fifth century B.C.; so did Sparta in the fourth century B.C. Furthermore, there seem to have been intensive economic contacts between Greece and Egypt in Classical times. Greek “polis”-states were interested in grain and papyri, while Egypt needed mercenaries for warfare and profited from imported timber and silver. [Source: Stefan Pfeiffer, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 2013 escholarship.org ]

Egyptian items found in Greece

“The position of Naukratis as a major port-of- trade in Egypt was probably taken over by Thonis- Heracleion in Persian times. We learn this from the so-called Naukratis Stela found at Naukratis. A second copy of the stela was found during the underwater excavations on the coast of Abuqir. Both stelae were erected in the first year of Nectanebo I (380 – 363 B.C.) and offer almost identical texts. Only the last two columns differ. The Naukratis Stela reads: “Let these things be recorded on this stela, placed in Naukratis on the bank of the Anu.” The one from Abuqir reports: “Let these things be recorded on this stela, placed at the mouth of the sea of the Greeks in the city that is named Thonis from Sais.” Both stelae state that all ships coming to Egypt had to levy duty to the goddess Neith of Sais and that the taxes had to be paid directly at Henu (= Heracleion). Thus, in the economic relations between Greece and Egypt, Heracleion played a key role, which it did not lose until Alexander founded Alexandria. In Naukratis, duty had now to be paid only on goods that Greek craftsmen produced there. Therefore it seems clear that Naukratis was an important center of Greek production in Egypt. However, no longer having the port-of-trade status, Naukratis appears to have achieved the political status of a “polis “during the last period of Egyptian independence.

“In contrast to these intensive contacts, the archaeological documentation of Greek-Egyptian relations in Classical times, with the exception of findings at Naukratis and Heracleion, is relatively meager. It might only be supposed that Bubastis played some role because eventually a Doric temple was erected there in the fifth or fourth century B.C. The best example of Greek cultural influence might be the tomb of Petosiris at Tuna el-Gebel; Lefebvre 1923 – 1924; Cherpion et al. 2007), which may be dated to the time immediately before Alexander the Great conquered Egypt: the decoration of the “pronaos “shows scenes that are stylistically not typically Egyptian but a mixture of Greek, Egyptian, and Persian traditions. From Herodotus we hear furthermore of certain cultural contacts and even of a feast in Chemmis, which he presents as a combination of Greek and Egyptian rituals. Some scholars accept Herodotus’s description at face value, and as such it would indeed make a fascinating cross-cultural event, but the story should probably be treated with caution.

“In addition to the extensive knowledge of Egypt the Greeks had acquired through their intensive trading contacts and provision of soldiers for the Egyptian army, Greek intellectual elites had great interest in Egyptian culture and admired its antiquity and wisdom. The development of orphism, for example, was influenced by Egyptian thoughts on the afterlife. For Herodotus, Egypt was “mundus inversus”, a “world upside down,” yet at the same time had the most pious inhabitants.”

Twenty-Fifth Dynasty (780 – 656 B.C.): Kushite (Nubian) Period

The 25th Dynasty was led by Nubians and Ethiopians. This dynasty's ventures into Palestine brought about an Assyrian intervention, resulting in the rejection of the Ethiopians and the reestablishment by the Assyrians of Egyptian rulers at Sais (Sa al Hajar), about eighty kilometers southeast of Alexandria (Al Iskandariyah) on the Rosetta branch of the Nile. [Source: Helen Chapin Metz, ed. Egypt: A Country Study, Library of Congress, 1990]

During the 25th Dynasty, native princes of Kush (Nubia-modern Sudan) conquered a weak Egypt and established themselves leaders of the region. They restored ancient customs, had old texts recopied, built new temples in Thebes and revived pyramid burials. Much of the art and sculpture produced during this time was an imitation the Old and Middle Kingdom styles, some of it so well executed that even experts can’t tell the difference. The 25th Dynasty Nubian kings were: Alara B.C.; Kashta B.C.; Piy 747-716 B.C.; Shabako 716-702 B.C.; Shabatka 702-690 B.C.; Taharka 690-664 B.C.; Tantarnani 644-656 B.C.; [Source: Mark Millmore, discoveringegypt.com discoveringegypt.com]

Dr Aidan Dodson of the University of Bristol wrote: “ For much of Egyptian history, Nubia had been regarded merely as a source of manpower and minerals for the Egyptian state. Then, around 730 B.C., tables were turned, and the Nubian King Piye invaded and conquered Egypt. The king and his successors were, however, steeped in Egyptian culture, and viewed themselves as the renewers of ancient glories, rather than as foreign incomers. As such, they revived the ancient custom of pyramid building, which had been dropped by the pharaohs some eight centuries before-shown above are the ruins of the pyramid of Taharqa (690-664 B.C.). Despite this history, Taharqa's successor was soon driven out of Egypt by an Assyrian invasion, never to return. [Source: Dr Aidan Dodson, Egyptologist, University of Bristol, BBC, February 17, 2011 |::|]

James Allen and Marsha Hill of the Metropolitan Museum of Art wrote: “From ca. 728 to 656 B.C., the Nubian kings of Dynasty 25 dominated Egypt. Like the Libyans before them, they governed as Egyptian pharaohs. Their control was strongest in the south. In the north, Tefnakht's successor, Bakenrenef, ruled for four years (ca. 717–713 B.C.) at Sais until Piankhy's successor, Shabaqo (ca. 712–698 B.C.), overthrew him and established Nubian control over the entire country. The accession of Shabaqo can be considered the end of the Third Intermediate Period and the beginning of the Late Period in Egypt. [Source: James Allen and Marsha Hill, Department of Egyptian Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2004, metmuseum.org \^/]

“Nubian rule, which viewed itself as restoring the true traditions of Egypt, benefited Egypt economically and was accompanied by a revival in temple building and the arts that continued throughout the Late Period. At the same time, however, the country faced a growing threat from the Assyrian empire to its east. After forty years of relative security, Nubian control—and Egypt's peace—were broken by an Assyrian invasion in ca. 671 B.C. The current pharaoh, Taharqo (ca. 690–664 B.C.), retreated south and the Assyrians established a number of local vassals to rule in their stead in the Delta. One of them, Necho I of Sais (ca. 672–664 B.C.), is recognized as the founder of the separate Dynasty 26. For the next eight years, Egypt was the battleground between Nubia and Assyria. A brutal Assyrian invasion in 663 B.C. finally ended Nubian control of the country. The last pharaoh of Dynasty 25, Tanutamani (664–653 B.C.), retreated to Napata. There, in relative isolation, he and his descendants continued to rule Nubia, eventually becoming the Meroitic civilization, which flourished in Nubia until the fourth century A.D.” \^/

Ancient Egyptians Confront the Ancient Mesopotamians

Daniel Weiss wrote in Archaeology Magazine: The rulers of Egypt's 26th Dynasty contended with the prospect of foreign invasion from the start. The initial threat came from the Assyrians to the northeast, but the dynasty’s founder, Psamtik I, made a strategic alliance with them. While playing the part of the loyal vassal, the pharaoh expanded from his power center in the Nile Delta to control all of Egypt, fortifying his armed forces with Greek mercenaries. [Source: Daniel Weiss, Archaeology Magazine, May/June 2023; Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed., Columbia University Press]

Assyrian rule was short-live. By 650 B.C., under Psamtik, Egypt was once more independent. Greek traders became important, and their city of Naucratis, founded by Amasis II, thrived. Attempts to reestablish Egyptian power in Asia were turned back (605 B.C.) by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar.

After the fall of Assyria in 612 B.C., the major foreign threat to Egypt came from the Babylonians, local rivals to the Assyrians, whom the Egyptians helped keep at bay by sending reinforcements. In 589 Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem, whose king, Zedekiah, had rebelled at the instigation of the pharaoh Apries (Hophra). The latter invaded Syria in an attempt to relieve Jerusalem, but again Egyptian support proved ineffectual, and in 587 Jerusalem fell. Most of the city's population was deported to Babylon; some, however, took refuge in Egypt, including the prophet Jeremiah.

From the south, the Nubians, who had ruled Egypt as the 25th Dynasty, attempted to reclaim control, but were rebuffed. During the rule of the pharaoh Amasis, the Babylonians continued to pose a problem, though a manageable one. Although Babylonia had invaded Egypt in 568 B.C. during a brief civil war, both countries formed a mutual alliance in 547 B.C. against the rising threat of a third power, the Persian empire—but to no avail.

Egypt fell easy prey (525 B.C.) to the armies of Cambyses of Persia. By 530 B.C., the Persian Achaemenid Empire controlled territory from the Aegean Sea to the Hindu Kush mountains. Amasis hired more Greek mercenaries and built up his naval forces, but when he died in 526 B.C. and was succeeded by his untried son, Psamtik III, the Persian king Cambyses struck quickly and added Egypt to the empire’s holdings. The Persians conquered Babylonia in 539 B.C. and Egypt in 525 B.C.,

Despite occasional troubles, the Persians maintained their hegemony until 405 B.C. New dynasties were then established, but they did not regain the old splendor. The Persians again became dominant in 341 B.C. Egypt, rich and ill-defended, fell to Alexander the Great without resistance in 332 B.C.

Assyrians in Ancient Egypt

26th dynasty art

The Assyrian kings Sennacherib and Asarhaddon both attacked Egypt. Ashurbanipal invaded in 671 B.C., forcing the Nubian Kushite King Taharqo (biblical Tharaca, Tirhaka 2 Kgs 19:9) to retreat to Napata, where he later died. Taharqo's successor, Tanutamun, re-entered Egypt but was immediately defeated by another Assyrian onslaught, during which Ashurbanipal, with the help of Egyptian vassals, subdued all of Egypt once again. The Assyrians governed the country by appointing Egyptians as vassal rulers. One of these vassals, Psamtek (Psammetichus) I (664–610) of Sais in the Delta, broke free of Assyrian control and established himself as sole ruler of the country, founding Dynasty 26 (664–525). [Source: New Catholic Encyclopedia, The Gale Group Inc., 2003]

According to the Encyclopaedia Judaica: “By the end of the eighth century B.C. the Egyptianized Nubian rulers of Cush had displaced the Libyans in control of Egypt, while the Assyrians under Tiglath-Pileser III made their presence felt in Syria and Palestine. During the last revolt of Israel against Assyria (724–721 B.C.) Hosea wrote to So, the king of Egypt, for support against the Assyrians. This otherwise unknown king has been plausibly identified recently as Tefnakht, the ruler of Sais (So), a vassal of the Nubians. However, Egyptian support was to no avail; Tefnakht was repulsed and Samaria fell. Nevertheless Egypt still appeared to be powerful, and in the following decades Hezekiah, king of Judah, again relied on Egypt. Although the biblical account names Tirhakah (Taharka), king of Cush (Nubia; II Kings 19:35) as Jerusalem's ally, there are chronological problems involved, since the decisive battle of this campaign, that of Elteke, took place in 701, and Taharka's rule began only in 689. [Source:Encyclopaedia Judaica, Thomson Gale, 2007]

“Sennacherib's successors subjugated Egypt, expelled the Cushites, and installed puppets who managed to regain Egyptian independence under the twenty-sixth Dynasty. After the fall of the Assyrian capital of Nineveh in 612 B.C. to the Neo-Babylonians and Medes, the king of Egypt, Neco ii, "went up against the Babylonians," but found his way barred by Josiah, king of Judah, whom he defeated and killed at Megiddo in 609. Four years later, the Babylonians decisively defeated him at the battle of Carchemish. The subsequent Babylonian invasion of Egypt, preceded by the siege and sack of Ashkelon, was, however, beaten back, although Palestine remained under Babylonian control. [Source: Encyclopaedia Judaica, Thomson Gale, 2007]

Twenty-Sixth Dynasty 664–525 B.C.: the Saite Period

Psamtek I reunited Egypt under Egyptian control and freed it from the Assyrians, thus inaugurating the 26th Dynasty and the Saite period. He reformed Egypt’s government and removed the last vestiges of the Kushite rule. Psamtek, Necho )Neko) II and Amose II carried out numerous building programs, including an ambitious scheme by Necho II (Necho II) to link the Red Sea and the Nile by digging a canal through the Wadi Tumilat.

“Dr Aidan Dodson of the University of Bristol wrote: “After their invasion, the Assyrians soon withdrew from Egypt, leaving power in the hands of Psametik I (664-610 B.C.), ruler of the city of Sais in north-western Egypt. His dynasty followed that of the Nubians in its promotion of the past as a model for the present, much of its artwork being inspired by, or copied from, ancient models. Unfortunately, although the Assyrians were no longer a threat, the Persians took over Egypt in the reign of Psametik III... This take-over spelt the beginning of the end for Egypt as an independent nation.” [Source: Dr Aidan Dodson, Egyptologist, University of Bristol, BBC, February 17, 2011]

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, escholarship.org ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Egypt sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Tour Egypt, Minnesota State University, Mankato, ethanholman.com; Mark Millmore, discoveringegypt.com discoveringegypt.com; Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Discover magazine, Times of London, Natural History magazine, Archaeology magazine, The New Yorker, BBC, Encyclopædia Britannica, Time, Newsweek, Wikipedia, Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, “World Religions”edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Facts on File Publications, New York); “History of Warfare” by John Keegan (Vintage Books); “History of Art” by H.W. Janson Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.), Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.

Last updated July 2024