11 - History of Egypt by Frederick C. H. Wendel

gradually rose in importance. The first Ahti, as the Egyptians called the petty sovereigns of the preceding epic of this line that succeeded in gaining supreme power, even though for a short time only was Tephnat, the contemporary of Usarkin, the third king of Bubastus and the great opponent of Pianchi. How his attempt at unifying Egypt failed, we have already seen.

A descendant of his was the bechan Renf, who ruled at least in lower Egypt for six years seven thirty four through seven twenty eight b C. The next prince we know is Nekau, the favorite of Asarhadum and Assur Banipal as predecessors of this Nekao. Manetho mentions Stephanites ruled seven years and Nechepsos ruled six years. The Egyptian names

of which princes are unknown. This Nekau seems to have come to his death about the time tanuwat Amon invaded Egypt six sixty four b C. Nekaou was succeeded by his son Semtek, the Samatikos of the Greeks, who was given the name of Nabu ushesib Ani at Aserbanopal's request. Semtec seems to have been a faithful ally of Assyria for quite some while, but he merely waited a chance

to gain his ends. He entered into friendly relations with taniwat Amon, marrying one of his relatives, the Ethiopian princess shep and Apet, a daughter of Queen Amonardas. As Amonardas had been queen of Egypt. Semtek thus acquired a claim to the throne at length. The right moment came about six forty five BC. Aided by mercenaries sent him by King Gaigies of Lydia, he succeeded in making himself independent

from Assyria. It is evident that he succeeded in this only after a struggle, but we have no record of his combats with Assyria. His next enemies were in Egypt itself, though he was under doubtedly the rightful sovereign of the country, Yet the many petty rulers that divided the country among themselves did not submit without a struggle. Semtec, however, succeeded in gaining the ascendancy and uniting Egypt under his scepter.

Semtec made Seyus his capital. This made na It, the Great Goddess of Sayus, the official head of the national pantheon, and deposed a mon Ra who had held this position with some interruptions for about fifteen hundred years. Memphis, the oldest capital of Egypt and part of Semtec's original principality, was also highly favored, and many of the government offices were located there. Thebes was falling into decay. The Assyrian wars had dealt the city a blow from which it

never recovered. True. Semtec and some of his successors built here and repaired the Great Temple of Amon, but the city never again rose into prominence of the city of Sais. There remains today scarce a trace. The climate and soil of the Delta are not favorable to the preservation of ruins, and after the city had once fallen into decay, all traces of it rapidly disappeared. Mindful of the great debt he owed the Greek mercenaries Semtec little by little, increased them.

By this action, he incensed the native mercenaries, who had hitherto ruled supreme in Egypt. According to Herodotus, two hundred and forty thousand men of the warriors who stood on the left of the king emigrated to Ethiopia in this reign because they had not been relieved in their garrisons for three years. This story is assuredly untrue, but it reflects the fact that the native troops were highly dissatisfied

and were no particular friends of Semtecs. The stories that the Greek authors tell us of his scientific experiments to ascertain which people was the oldest of the world, and those that they relate of his efforts to find the source of the Nile are all alike untrue and legendary. The remark of Strabo that he was one of the greatest conquerors of the world is also false. The king was too much occupied with internal affairs to go in search of foreign conquest. The real fact of the matter

is that Semtec was confined to Egypt proper. On the western frontier, he fortified Marea as a defense against Libya. On the Asiatic frontier, he erected the strong fortress of Daphne near Pelusium, and on the Ethiopic frontier, the town of Siuin Assawan Sayene was strongly fortified. The fact that the three frontiers were thus put in a state of defense proves that the king did not make any conquests.

Herodotus relates that he conquered Asdod after a siege of twenty nine years, but there is no reason to believe this. The policy of this king and of all his successors, was to gain the friendship of the Greeks. He gave lands along the banks of the Pelusian branch of the Nile near Bubastis to the Ionians and Carians, and in order that they might come into communication with his subjects, he gave them Egyptian boys, whom they should teach Greek,

and who were to serve as interpreters. The Milesians soon after entered the Balbitic arm of the Nile and settled a fortified camp, which was called the Malesian Camp. Tyrian merchants settled, possibly about the same time, in Memphis and gave their name to the Tyrian quarter of the US city.

The king died about six ten b C. Having been prints of Sayis and Memphis from six sixty four b C and King from six forty five b C. On section two Necao Greek Neko and Necau six ten through five ninety four b C. Necaou successfully continued the policy

of his father. Herodotus relates that he began the construction of a canal which was to connect the Nile with the Red Sea, and that after one hundred and twenty thousand laborers had perished, Nikau suddenly stopped the work, having been warned by an oracle that he was working for the barbarians. This story is very improbable. A canal connecting the Nile with the Red Sea existed already in the times of Seti the first and Rameses the Second, about

seven hundred years before this time. This canal was mentioned in the Assyrian inscriptions of the eighth century BC, and it is scarcely possible that it could have disappeared entirely in less than a century. Nikau possibly cleared it of sand and widened it. The story of the enormous number of laborers who perished during the progress of the work and that of the oracle are both utterly false. Herodotus relates a story of a great maritime enterprise undertaken at

this time, which seems quite credible. He states that Nikau sent out Phoenician ships from the Red Sea to circumnavigate Africa, and that in the third year of their journey they returned to the Mediterranean through the Straits of Gibraltar. The very fact that Herodotus questions, namely that in circumnavigating Libya, that is, Africa, they had the sun on their right hand, proves that they really did accomplish their task. The same historian relates that Nicaou kept fleets of triremes in the

Mediterranean and the Red Sea. Nikau felt himself strong enough to attempt the restoration of Egyptian supremacy in Asia. Great changes had meanwhile taken place on this continent. Assur Banipal died the king of a great empire, but his successors were not able to hold their own. About six hundred eight b C, Nabu Pallissar, whom Asorbanopal had appointed Viceroy of Babylon, threw off the Assyrian yoke and founded an

independent Babylonian kingdom. Intent on crushing out the Assyrian kingdom, he allied himself with King Kayaksaraes of Medea, and together they attacked and completely annihilated the Assyrian kingdom. The Medes kept all the land east and north of the Tigris. The Babylonians Mesopotamia and Syria. Nikaou thought the time had now come to intervene in Asia. Accordingly, in the spring of the year six hundred eight b C, he invaded the continent. He encountered no resistance until he reached Megido.

Here at the very spot where almost a thousand years before, Tutmosis the Third had defeated the Syrian coalition, King Josiah of Judah had drawn up his army ready to dispute Necao's advance. The pharaoh, not wishing to lose time in subduing the petty sovereigns of Syria and Palestine, haughtily ordered the Jewish king to give way. Josiah refused and was arranging his army for the coming battle when he was fatally wounded by an arrow. The king was brought back

to Jerusalem, where he died and was buried. Amid the wailings of his people, over whom he had ruled for thirty nine years, Nikaou continued his march to Riblah near Hamath, where he went into camp. Meanwhile, the Jews had elected Ioakis, the son of Josiah, king, but Nikaou was dissatisfied with their choice and deposed him, giving the kingdom to his older brother Joakim and levying a heavy contribution on the land. Excepting Judaea, Gaza was the only state that offered any

resistance to the Egyptians. Up to the year six hundred four b c. Ni Kaou seems to have had his own way in Asia, but in that year Nabopalassar was ready to meet him. He himself was old and sick, so he sent his son Nabekinezar Babylonian Nabu Kuduri uz Zure against the Egyptians at Karchemish on the banks of the Euphrates. The two armies met and Nikaou was utterly routed. His army must have been completely annihilated, for he left Syria to the victor without daring to oppose him again.

Nebiconesar probably had the intention of invading Egypt, but the death of his father compelled him to return to Babylon. Nikaou did not dare to interfere in Asia again. Time and again the Jews begged him for assistance in their repeated revolts against the Babylonians. At last, Jerusalem fell about five ninety six b C, and Nebukonesar was free to invade Egypt, but it seems that he was called to other parts of his kingdom and the threatened invasion did

not come until much later. Nikaou died in five ninety four b C and was buried like his father in Sais Section three Semtec the second five ninety four through five eighty nine BC. The only historical event of this short reign was an invasion of Ethiopia. Both Herodotus and Aristaeus mention it, and an Egyptian inscription confirms their report. Late in this reign, General ness Hor was sent against the Ethiopians, and the war was finally brought to a

close early in the following reign. It may be that the trouble with Ethiopia had begun already in Nikoo's time, and this coount for his otherwise incomprehensible policy with regard to the Jewish rebellions. The graffiti left on the colossi of Abu Simbel by the Phoenetian and Greek mercenaries that marched with the Egyptian army on this campaign still further

confirm the report of Semtec's war in this quarter. Despite his short reign of only six years, this pharaoh was an active builder, restoring and repairing temples in all parts of Egypt from the Delta to Nubia. Section four o Habre Greek Aprias five eighty nine through five sixty four BC. Early in this reign, Neshor brought to a successful conclusion the Ethiopian War begun in the reign of Semtek. The second Ouhabre, thought manners in Asia favored an intervention on

his part. In Judea. Important changes had taken place in the times of his predecessors. Joakim, the king whom Nekau had appointed, was deposed in five ninety seven b C after a reign of eleven years. In Yoakim, his son put in his place by Nebekinezer. Soon after, he also was deposed and Zedekiah put in his place. Zedekiah five ninety six through five eighty six b C. Was not the man the Babylonian king had thought him. He determined, despite the warnings of the prophets, to win the independence

of his kingdom. O Habre now came to his aid and began a war with Tire. Saidon was taken and a Cypriote fleet that opposed him was utterly defeated. Although thus far successful, the pharaoh withdrew soon after on the

approach of the Babylonians. Meanwhile, Zedekiah had begun the war, but Jerusalem was soon invested and after a spirited resistance, was taken July five eighty seven b C. While o Habre did nothing to assist his sorely beset ally, Zedekiah was deposed and blinded, and Meidalia was set on the throne. He was assassinated by a descendant of the family of Ishmael, who was soon after compelled to fly the country. He and his friends went to Egypt, where ou A Habre

received them kindly. Soon after Oua Habre began a war which promised better results. A war had broken out between the Greek city of Syrene, which lay on the northern coast of Africa west of Egypt, and the Libyans. The Libyan king Adecram placed himself under the protectorate of Egypt, and an Egyptian army was immediately sent out to aid him. At a town of Irsa on the well of Theestus, a battle ensued in which the Egyptian army was annihilated.

This account, taken from her Rodotus, is probably correct, but the rest of his account is certainly false. He relates that the Egyptians were furious over the defeat and declared that Apries had sent out the native troops in order to have them annihilated, so that his rule over the rest of the Egyptians might be the more secure. This is entirely unnatural. In Egypt, the pharaoh was an absolute ruler.

He was considered as the son of the god Ra and the incarnation of the god Horace, and it would not have been at all necessary for him to destroy the national troops in order to strengthen his rule. The troops, according to Herodotus, also murmured, and the king sent an officer named Amesis Egyptian ACMs to quiet them. While he was addressing them, a soldier stepping behind him, placed a

helmet on his head and proclaimed him king. The rest of the army shouted their assent, and Ameesis, gladly accepting the election, placed himself at their head and marched against the pharaoh. A messenger sent by Aprias was sent back with a sarcastic reply. Aprias, now prepared for battle and collecting his Greek mercenaries to the number of thirty thousand, marched against his rival at Mommphis on the Canopic branch

of the Nile. The armies met and Aprias was, after a well contested battle, defeated, captured and brought to Memphis, where he was kept in prison for a while, but was finally delivered up to the anger populace and strangled. This story is utterly false from beginning to end, as are also the many anecdotes the Greek writers tell of Amesis. We know, however, that oua Habre, about six years before

his death, appointed Akmes, the second co regent. Akmes was wedded to Anshnss Nepher ab Rah, a daughter of Semtek the second, and to nay it A Kurt, a sister of Oua Habre. These facts completely refute the Greek legends. Why Akmes was appointed co regent we cannot say. Possibly the king had no male issue and wished to keep the succession in the family. In the time of their

joint reign fell Nebekinezer's invasion. This campaign was undertaken, according to the Babylonian inscriptions, in the thirty seventh year of Nebekinezer's reign, that is, in five sixty seven b C. The Babylonians found little or no resistance and easily succeeded in overrunning and plundering the whole land as far as Assuan, and then retired, either voluntarily or after having been defeated by ness hor Be. That as it may, the Babylonians

never again entered Egypt. Ouahbre died in five sixty four b C, after having ruled twenty five years in all, nineteen alone and six in conjunction with his brother in law and successor Section five Akmes the second Amesis five sixty four through five twenty six b C. This pharaoh came into still closer connection with the Greeks than any

of his predecessors. The many anecdotes the Greek authors tell of his private life and family relations are all untrustworthy, as are also the reports that Pythagoras, Solon, and Thalus visited Egypt in his reign. Solon is even said to have copied from Amess's laws, one of the laws he promulgated at Athens in five ninety four b C. A

statement that is of course absurd. Further, this king is said to have entered into friendly relations with Cleobulus, Bias and Piticus, and to have foreseen the down fall of Polycrates. All of these stories, which are by the by chronologically impossible, have a direct tendency, namely, to prove that all of the knowledge and philosophy of Greece was derived from Egypt. Amess, being the king best known to the Greeks, they placed the Egyptian voyages of their sages in his reign. We

have already alluded to these traditions in the introduction. More credible are the accounts the Greek writers give us of his wars. He fought against the Arabians, that is, the Asiatics, and in order to increase the valor of his troops, He had the statues of the chief divinities set up behind their ranks, so that the troops believed the gods themselves were observing them. He next sent out a fleet against Cyprus that succeeded in subduing the Cypriote cities, which

remained Egyptian dependencies for some time thereafter. This expedition was most probably undertaken as part of Egypt's work in the Great Coalition, which had been formed for the purpose of checking, if possible, the rise of the new Persian monarchy. This coalition was joined by Egypt, Lydia, Babylon, and Sparta. The object was to attack Persia from three sides at once, and had the allies acted in concert and not wasted valuable time over their preparations, they might have crushed Cyrus.

As it was, Croasis moved before the others were ready. In all the health he could get from his allies consisted in a detachment of troops sent him by Achmas. In the spring of five forty six BC. He entered Cappadocia, devastated the country and captured the strong fortress of Teria. Now was the time for Akms and Nabu Naid, king of Babylon, to act, but it was impossible for them

to concentrate their forces and to cooperate properly. Cyrus first moved against Croasis and soon had conquered Lydia, taken its capital, and made the king a prisoner fall of five forty six b C. A Persian fleet sent against Cyprus easily succeeded in dislodging the Egyptian garrisons. Am Now, instead of coming to the aid of his ally, Nabu Naid remained inactive while the Persians conquered Babylon and took possession of

Palestine and Syria as far as the Egyptian frontier. The pharaoh evidently hoped to pacify Cyrus by this inactivity, but he had gone just one step too far and had incurred the determined enmity of the Persians that the invasion of Egypt did not follow immediately on. The occupation of Palestine was owing to complications that had arisen on the

Eastern frontier. In the wars fought here, Cyrus lost his life, but his successor, Cambises, soon punished Egypt for its share, and the coalition against Persia, Akmes thought it to his advantage to interfere in Syrinae. Here King Archisilaus had been assassinated by Learchus, who had ascended the throne and supported by Egyptian mercenaries, had instituted a most tyrannical rule. His

misrule did not last long. He was assassinated at the instigation of Polyarchus and his sister Eeriso, who placed Baddis, the son of Archisilaus, on the throne. The Egyptian mercenaries now called on Acmas for aid, and he determined to take advantage of these conditions to subdue the city. Before he started on the expedition, however, his mother died and he was detained in Egypt by the preparations for her interment. Polyarchus, accompanied by his mother Cretola and his sister Erkso, now

went to Egypt to propitiate the pharaoh. Acmes received them kindly, and, praising the energy they had shown, dismissed them. Loaded with presents. He now abandoned the expedition against Syennae, as he was evidently satisfied with the recognition of his sovereignty. The two nations hereafter remained at peace until the downfall of Egypt. Acmees was confined entirely to Egypt. His expedition against Cyprus, though at first successful, had proved in the end a failure.

In Asia, he dared not interfere Ethiopia retained its independence, and his sovereignty over Synae was purely nominal, while the kingdom thus did not extend its boundary under Akmus. Still, his reign was an epoch of great prosperity. Agriculture and commerce flourished, and it is stated that there were at

this time twenty thousand inhabited places in Egypt. The Greeks were, of course greatly favored, and costly presents were made to their temples, among them being a contribution of a thousand pounds of alum, one of the most important raw products of Egypt, to the fund the Amphic Taions were collecting for rebuilding the Delphic Temple. Greek immigration was greatly encouraged.

The Ionians and Carians, whom Semtec the first had settled on the Pealusic branch of the Nile, were removed to Memphis to serve as a body guard to the Pharaoh in place of the harbor. Thus lost to the Greeks. The king gave them the city of Nolcratus and its surroundings in the neighborhood of the present city of Alexandria. This new city stood outside of the pale of Egyptian

jurisdiction and was allowed to make its own laws. The result was that the inhabitants clung to their own Greek customs and institutions with the greatest tenacity, and went their way entirely uninfluenced by their Egyptian neighbors. The city being originally intended for Ionians from Taos, its government was modeled after that of the latter city. This town became the center of Greek activity in Egypt. In it was erected

the great sanctuary of the Greeks in Egypt. This was the Helenion, which was built by several Greek cities conjointly. These cities were Chios, Taos, Fosai, Clasomenae, Nidos, Halicarnassis, Phacelis, and Mytelenae. The reason why so many cities helped to build the Helenion was that all of the cities that took part in this work had the privilege of sending to Nelcratus a supervisor of trade, or as we would put it, appointing a member of the board of trade.

Temples to zeus Hera and Apollo were also built by other cities, who thus gained the same privilege as the builders of the Helenion. Nelcratus rose very rapidly, owing to certain laws that gave her a complete monopoly of the trade with Greece. The Greeks soon had colonies in all parts of Egypt, even in the southern portions of the country. The Milesians had a trading post at Abydos, and Samian

merchants even settled in the Great Oasis. Being engaged in no great wars, this pharaoh was enabled to devote considerable attention to the temples of the land. In all parts of Egypt, from the Delta to the island of Baigay, we find traces of his work. He died five twenty six b C, after having been co regent of his brother in law for six years and sole ruler for

thirty eight years. Section six. Semtech the Third and the Persian conquest of Egypt five twenty six to five twenty five b C. When Semtec the Third ascended the throne of his fathers. The catastrophe that had so long threatened the land at length overwhelmed it. The account of this

catastrophe has been preserved to us by Herodotus. The stories that, according to Greek traditions, impelled Cambises to invade Egypt are all untrustworthy, as they seek to bring Cambyses into relationship with the Egyptian kings and to find the cause of the war in this relationship, while making Cambyses appear at

the same time as the legitimate pharaoh. The war far from having any such cause, as degree historians would have us believe, had in all probability been determined on already by Cyrus, who was prevented from carrying out this part of his plan by other matters. Cambyses was free to attack Egypt, and he had ample cause for war in the fact that Egypt had been the ally of his father's worst enemies, King Croasis of Lydia and King Nabu

Naid of Babylon. Accordingly, Cambyses began making active preparations for the war, and everything indicated that he was going to have a hard time of it. The eastern frontier of Egypt was protected by the Syrian desert that skirted it to cross, which was a task of no small difficulty. Recognizing this fact, Akmas it concentrated his forces at Pelusium, hoping to gain an easy victory over the Persian army, which no doubt would suffer terribly in the desert and

reach the Egyptian border sadly used up. Cambisses did not under rate the difficulty of the undertaking and made the most extensive preparations. A great fleet was fitted out to attack Pelusium by sea, while the army attacked it by land. Just as he was about to start, he received unexpected and timely aid in the Egyptian army. There was a Holacarnashian officer named Thanes, a bright and able leader who had had some difficulty with Akhmas. In consequence of this,

he had fled to the Persian monarch. On the way, he was overtaken by the king's favorite eunuch, but managed to escape. Shortly after this event, Akmes had died and Semptek the third had succeeded him. Fanes not only betrayed to the Persians all the secrets of the state, but he also showed them the means of crossing the desert without great loss. To accomplish this, envoys were sent to all the Bedouin sheikhs of the desert, and treaties were

concluded with them. They agreed to furnish the army with camels and water, and thus the Persian army was enabled to cross the desert and to reach Pelusium with but little loss. The battle that ensued was waged with great fury, but finally, after both sides had lost heavily, the Persians were victorious and the Egyptians fled from the field. Pelusium surrendered soon after. A ship was now sent to Memphis, whither the pharaoh had fled to demand the city's surrender.

When it entered the harbor of Memphis, the garrison boarded it, killed the crew, and destroyed the vessel. This breach of international usage met with a severe but well merited punishment. Memphis was besieged and taken ten days after the capture.

The punishment came two thousand sons of the most respected citizens, among them the son of King Semtek, were executed to atone for the death of the two hundred men that had composed the crew of the ill fated vessel, the daughter of the fair Pharoh, and the noblest virgins were sold into slavery, and the fortunes of the richest citizens and of the king's friends were confiscated, leaving their former

owners beggars. The fate of Semtec was comparatively light. Cambises even intending to make him governor of Egypt, but he became involved in a conspiracy against Cambises and was compelled to take poison. Thus ended the last of the Semtecs. As a result of the capture of Memphis, the Libyans

submitted voluntarily and paid tribute. Syennae and Barsaia also sent tribute, but this the Persian monarch divided among his soldiers, as he hoped to gain far more by capturing these rich towns than he could ever get from them as voluntary tribute. End of Chapter nine