Assyrian Occupation 656-639 BC
For the first time in their long history the Egyptians found themselves conquered by a foreign power. The Assyrians on the whole preferred to exert their control over Egypt through local rulers, who in effect swapped the overlordship of the king of Kush for the (more distant) overlordship of the king of Assyria.
This suited many of them very well. Above all, it suited the princes of Saise, in the Delta. Necko of Sais built up his power under Assyrian sponsorship, and was given the governorship of Memphis by them. His son Psamteck I (664-610 BC) inherited Necko’s positions and then took full advantage of troubles elsewhere in the Assyrian empire to expand his power throughout the entire country. By 639 BC Psamteck ruled an independent, united Egypt.
National Revival 639-525 BC
Psamteck founded the 26th dynasty (639-525 BC). The kings of this dynasty associated themselves with the glory days of pharaonic Egypt by erecting monuments in the style of the Old Kingdom.
This policy masked great changes that had taken place in the country. Sizeable communities of foreigners now lived within its borders. Libyans, Greeks, Phoenicians and Jews had brought their distinctive cultures as well as their particular technological skills with them – it was with Greek assistance that Neko II (610-595 BC) set about building a canal linking the Nile to the Red Sea, and it was Phoenician seamen that he sent on a famous expedition to explore the west coast of Africa. Naukratis, a Greek colony, was now the chief port of Egypt. Foreign mercenaries lived in scattered settlements throughout the country. Temples now owned much of the cultivated land, correspondingly weakening the economic base for royal power.
The kings of the 26th dynasty resumed the traditional Egyptian policy of seeking to secure a predominant influence in Palestine and Syria. Their chief opponent was now the resurgent power of Babylon, who had take over from Assyria as the leading empire in the Middle East.
Two Babylonian invasions of Egypt (601 and 569 BC) were beaten back. Psamtek II (595-589 BC) secured the allegiance of the Philistine cities, and Apries (589-570 BC) supported Judaea in her abortive revolt against Babylon (589 BC) before occupying the Levantine cities of Tyre and Sidon (574-750 BC). His successor, Amasis (570-526 BC) occupied Cyprus in 560 BC. In the south, Psamtek II had invaded Nubia, and penetrated as far as Napata, but had not occupied the country.
Persian Conquest 525 BC
The occupation of Cyprus proved to be the high watermark of Egyptian success under the 26th dynasty. In 545 BC a new power in the Middle East, Persia, took that island from the Egyptians. The Persians went on to conquer the Babylonian empire, and in 526 BC invaded Egypt.
At the battle of Pelusium the Egyptian army was defeated, and Egypt incorporated into the huge Persian empire. This event marked the effective end of the history of ancient Egypt as the home of an autonomous civilization. Henceforth her history was as a member of a wider world, her fate largely determined by foreign players.
Article © TimeMaps 2007.
Last updated: 13th August 2007
