After burying his father’s remains at Pasargadae, Cambyses II (r.530-522 BC) embarked on the conquest of the remaining power in the Near East – Egypt – for which Cyrus had already made preparations. Ahmose II (r.570-526 BC) had hoped that an alliance with the Greeks would enable Egypt to withstand the Persian attack but the commander of the Greek troops, Phanes of Halicarnassus, Polycrates of Samos (r.c.538-c.522 BC), who possessed a large fleet, and the Cypriot towns now chose to join the Persians.
With Arab help Cambyses crossed the Sinai desert and in the spring of 525 BC a battle was fought near Pelusium, a city on Egypt’s northeastern frontier. Psamtek III (r.526-525 BC), was unable to put up little effective resistance. Once Pelusium was taken, the troops and the Persian navy were able to penetrate the Nile Valley and lay siege to Memphis. When the capital fell, Egypt capitulated and the Libyans and the Greek cities of Cyrenaica, Cyrene and Barca, sent gifts to Cambyses as a token of submission
After the defeat of Egypt, campaigns were planned against Carthage, Nubia and Siwa oasis. The attempt to mount an expedition against Carthage was aborted when the Phoenicians refused to fight their own people. Despite Herodotus’ report that the expedition into Nubia was a failure, it seems that the Persians gained control at Kharga oasis and at the fortress of Dorginarti. The attempt to conquer the Siwa Oasis apparently failed due to the great loss of life during the march through the desert.
In 522 BC Cambyses received news that in Persia the throne had been seized by a man (a Zoroastrian priest named Gaumata) posing as Cambyses’ brother Bardiya (=Smerdis; r.522 BC). Cambyses hastened back but died shortly afterwards in disputed circumstances.
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