Psamtek-I began his reign as governor of Egypt for the Assyrians. But with their commitments elsewhere the Assyrians had insufficient military strength to maintain control of distant Egypt. When Assyrian control weakened, Psamtek raised an army of foreign mercenaries and used them to gain control of the Delta. Later he gained control of Thebes.
Expeditions were made into northern Nubia to discourage the ambitions of the Kushite kings. In the northeast, Psamtek formed an alliance with Assyria to combat the growing power of Babylon. This enabled Egypt to win control of the Palestinian coast. There were also actions on the Libyan frontier to combat the threat posed by fugitive Delta princes.
Garrisons were installed on the western and eastern frontiers and in Elephantine. Together with the traditional mercenaries from Nubia and Libya, the garrisons also included Greeks, Carians, Phoenicians, Syrians and Jews. A Jewish military colony was installed at Elephantine during this period.
Psamtek encouraged Greek and Phoenician traders. Around 625 BC the Greek trading centre Naucratis was established on the Canopic branch of the Nile, not far from Sais and only 45 miles (72 km) from the open sea.
With the decline of Assyrian power Egypt from the 620s he briefly established itself as the new dominant power in Palestine. In 609 BC Necho II (r.610-595 BC) led his army into Palestine. He killed Josiah of Judah (c.39; r.c.641-c.610 BC) who had tried to block his path to Megiddo. After intervening in Israel, Necho returned to Judah where he deposed Josiah’s son Jehoahaz (r.c.609 BC) and replaced him with his brother Jehoiakim (c.38; r.c.609-c.598 BC). Necho then ruled in Syria until in 605 BC he was defeated at Carchemish by Nebuchadnezzar II (r.605-562 BC) and driven back to Sinai.
Necho II established a navy, operating in both the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. He is also credited with beginning the canal from the Nile to the Red Sea to complete a sea-link between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
Psamtek II (r.595-589 BC) led a foray into Nubia and inflicted a heavy defeat upon the kingdom of Kush. This caused the Nubian kings to move their capital from Napata to the relative safety of Meroe, near the sixth cataract.
Apries (r.589-570 BC) supported the Levantine kings against Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem for two years, during which time he managed to capture Sidon but was unable to capture Tyre because it was being supplied from the sea by Apries. In 570 BC Apries sent a force to support a Libyan group against the Greeks at Cyrene. The campaign seems to have suffered heavy losses. This led to a revolt among the survivors of the army during the course of which the general Ahmose II (r.570-526 BC) seized the throne.
In the fourth year of his reign Ahmose defeated a Chaldaean invasion. Eventually, however, the growing might of Persia forced other states to come together. Lydia and Egypt’s old enemy Babylonia were both conquered but Ahmose died before Egypt’s turn came. Psamtek III (r.526-525 BC) was defeated and captured at the Battle of Pelusium in 525 BC.
Leave a Reply