WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.840 --> 00:00:08.160 Chapter nine of History of Egypt. This is a LibriVox recording. 2 00:00:09.160 --> 00:00:13.519 All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more 3 00:00:13.560 --> 00:00:20.960 information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording 4 00:00:21.039 --> 00:00:29.559 by Rick VENA History of Egypt by F. C. H. Wendel, 5 00:00:31.640 --> 00:00:40.439 Chapter nine, The Egyptian Renaissance Dynasty twenty six six forty 6 00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:49.320 five through five twenty five BC, Section one Semtec the 7 00:00:49.399 --> 00:00:56.159 first six forty five through six ten BC. We have 8 00:00:56.320 --> 00:01:00.240 seen in the preceding chapter how the House of Sayeis 9 00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:06.879 gradually rose in importance. The first Ahti, as the Egyptians 10 00:01:06.959 --> 00:01:11.719 called the petty sovereigns of the preceding epic of this 11 00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:17.159 line that succeeded in gaining supreme power, even though for 12 00:01:17.239 --> 00:01:23.760 a short time only was Tephnat, the contemporary of Usarkin, 13 00:01:23.879 --> 00:01:29.359 the third king of Bubastus and the great opponent of Pianchi. 14 00:01:31.280 --> 00:01:36.239 How his attempt at unifying Egypt failed, we have already seen. 15 00:01:37.400 --> 00:01:42.040 A descendant of his was the bechan Renf, who ruled 16 00:01:42.079 --> 00:01:47.079 at least in lower Egypt for six years seven thirty 17 00:01:47.079 --> 00:01:52.239 four through seven twenty eight b C. The next prince 18 00:01:52.280 --> 00:01:58.719 we know is Nekau, the favorite of Asarhadum and Assur 19 00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:08.719 Banipal as predecessors of this Nekao. Manetho mentions Stephanites ruled 20 00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:15.840 seven years and Nechepsos ruled six years. The Egyptian names 21 00:02:15.879 --> 00:02:22.639 of which princes are unknown. This Nekau seems to have 22 00:02:22.759 --> 00:02:28.240 come to his death about the time tanuwat Amon invaded 23 00:02:28.360 --> 00:02:35.120 Egypt six sixty four b C. Nekaou was succeeded by 24 00:02:35.120 --> 00:02:41.039 his son Semtek, the Samatikos of the Greeks, who was 25 00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:48.479 given the name of Nabu ushesib Ani at Aserbanopal's request. 26 00:02:49.879 --> 00:02:54.240 Semtec seems to have been a faithful ally of Assyria 27 00:02:54.439 --> 00:02:58.360 for quite some while, but he merely waited a chance 28 00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:04.360 to gain his ends. He entered into friendly relations with 29 00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:11.039 taniwat Amon, marrying one of his relatives, the Ethiopian princess 30 00:03:11.879 --> 00:03:19.840 shep and Apet, a daughter of Queen Amonardas. As Amonardas 31 00:03:20.039 --> 00:03:24.680 had been queen of Egypt. Semtek thus acquired a claim 32 00:03:24.960 --> 00:03:30.199 to the throne at length. The right moment came about 33 00:03:30.280 --> 00:03:36.120 six forty five BC. Aided by mercenaries sent him by 34 00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:41.879 King Gaigies of Lydia, he succeeded in making himself independent 35 00:03:42.199 --> 00:03:46.639 from Assyria. It is evident that he succeeded in this 36 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:51.120 only after a struggle, but we have no record of 37 00:03:51.159 --> 00:03:58.319 his combats with Assyria. His next enemies were in Egypt itself, 38 00:03:59.199 --> 00:04:03.120 though he was under doubtedly the rightful sovereign of the country, 39 00:04:03.840 --> 00:04:08.039 Yet the many petty rulers that divided the country among 40 00:04:08.080 --> 00:04:15.080 themselves did not submit without a struggle. Semtec, however, succeeded 41 00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:20.600 in gaining the ascendancy and uniting Egypt under his scepter. 42 00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:28.000 Semtec made Seyus his capital. This made na It, the 43 00:04:28.040 --> 00:04:33.720 Great Goddess of Sayus, the official head of the national pantheon, 44 00:04:34.399 --> 00:04:38.600 and deposed a mon Ra who had held this position 45 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:46.720 with some interruptions for about fifteen hundred years. Memphis, the 46 00:04:46.759 --> 00:04:52.560 oldest capital of Egypt and part of Semtec's original principality, 47 00:04:53.199 --> 00:04:57.879 was also highly favored, and many of the government offices 48 00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:05.199 were located there. Thebes was falling into decay. The Assyrian 49 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:08.839 wars had dealt the city a blow from which it 50 00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:15.319 never recovered. True. Semtec and some of his successors built 51 00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:19.759 here and repaired the Great Temple of Amon, but the 52 00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:25.240 city never again rose into prominence of the city of Sais. 53 00:05:25.879 --> 00:05:31.240 There remains today scarce a trace. The climate and soil 54 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:36.439 of the Delta are not favorable to the preservation of ruins, 55 00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:40.240 and after the city had once fallen into decay, all 56 00:05:40.360 --> 00:05:46.959 traces of it rapidly disappeared. Mindful of the great debt 57 00:05:47.160 --> 00:05:53.680 he owed the Greek mercenaries Semtec little by little, increased them. 58 00:05:54.160 --> 00:05:59.199 By this action, he incensed the native mercenaries, who had 59 00:05:59.279 --> 00:06:06.560 hitherto ruled supreme in Egypt. According to Herodotus, two hundred 60 00:06:06.759 --> 00:06:11.199 and forty thousand men of the warriors who stood on 61 00:06:11.319 --> 00:06:15.439 the left of the king emigrated to Ethiopia in this 62 00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:20.160 reign because they had not been relieved in their garrisons 63 00:06:20.199 --> 00:06:26.120 for three years. This story is assuredly untrue, but it 64 00:06:26.199 --> 00:06:31.319 reflects the fact that the native troops were highly dissatisfied 65 00:06:31.959 --> 00:06:37.720 and were no particular friends of Semtecs. The stories that 66 00:06:37.800 --> 00:06:42.680 the Greek authors tell us of his scientific experiments to 67 00:06:42.839 --> 00:06:47.639 ascertain which people was the oldest of the world, and 68 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:51.160 those that they relate of his efforts to find the 69 00:06:51.279 --> 00:06:56.720 source of the Nile are all alike untrue and legendary. 70 00:06:57.879 --> 00:07:00.879 The remark of Strabo that he was one of the 71 00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:06.079 greatest conquerors of the world is also false. The king 72 00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:10.759 was too much occupied with internal affairs to go in 73 00:07:10.839 --> 00:07:15.480 search of foreign conquest. The real fact of the matter 74 00:07:15.720 --> 00:07:21.680 is that Semtec was confined to Egypt proper. On the 75 00:07:21.720 --> 00:07:27.680 western frontier, he fortified Marea as a defense against Libya. 76 00:07:28.480 --> 00:07:33.160 On the Asiatic frontier, he erected the strong fortress of 77 00:07:33.279 --> 00:07:39.240 Daphne near Pelusium, and on the Ethiopic frontier, the town 78 00:07:39.319 --> 00:07:47.560 of Siuin Assawan Sayene was strongly fortified. The fact that 79 00:07:47.600 --> 00:07:51.040 the three frontiers were thus put in a state of 80 00:07:51.079 --> 00:07:57.120 defense proves that the king did not make any conquests. 81 00:07:57.160 --> 00:08:02.360 Herodotus relates that he conquered Asdod after a siege of 82 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:06.639 twenty nine years, but there is no reason to believe this. 83 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:12.279 The policy of this king and of all his successors, 84 00:08:12.439 --> 00:08:16.000 was to gain the friendship of the Greeks. He gave 85 00:08:16.160 --> 00:08:19.480 lands along the banks of the Pelusian branch of the 86 00:08:19.560 --> 00:08:26.480 Nile near Bubastis to the Ionians and Carians, and in 87 00:08:26.680 --> 00:08:30.920 order that they might come into communication with his subjects, 88 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:34.679 he gave them Egyptian boys, whom they should teach Greek, 89 00:08:35.240 --> 00:08:40.399 and who were to serve as interpreters. The Milesians soon 90 00:08:40.519 --> 00:08:45.240 after entered the Balbitic arm of the Nile and settled 91 00:08:45.279 --> 00:08:51.240 a fortified camp, which was called the Malesian Camp. Tyrian 92 00:08:51.399 --> 00:08:56.600 merchants settled, possibly about the same time, in Memphis and 93 00:08:56.720 --> 00:09:00.480 gave their name to the Tyrian quarter of the US city. 94 00:09:01.799 --> 00:09:06.080 The king died about six ten b C. Having been 95 00:09:06.159 --> 00:09:10.679 prints of Sayis and Memphis from six sixty four b 96 00:09:10.799 --> 00:09:18.440 C and King from six forty five b C. On 97 00:09:18.600 --> 00:09:27.840 section two Necao Greek Neko and Necau six ten through 98 00:09:27.960 --> 00:09:34.720 five ninety four b C. Necaou successfully continued the policy 99 00:09:34.799 --> 00:09:39.840 of his father. Herodotus relates that he began the construction 100 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:43.279 of a canal which was to connect the Nile with 101 00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:46.919 the Red Sea, and that after one hundred and twenty 102 00:09:47.039 --> 00:09:53.679 thousand laborers had perished, Nikau suddenly stopped the work, having 103 00:09:53.720 --> 00:09:56.960 been warned by an oracle that he was working for 104 00:09:57.039 --> 00:10:03.039 the barbarians. This story is very improbable. A canal connecting 105 00:10:03.080 --> 00:10:07.559 the Nile with the Red Sea existed already in the 106 00:10:07.639 --> 00:10:12.240 times of Seti the first and Rameses the Second, about 107 00:10:12.320 --> 00:10:17.360 seven hundred years before this time. This canal was mentioned 108 00:10:17.840 --> 00:10:22.799 in the Assyrian inscriptions of the eighth century BC, and 109 00:10:22.919 --> 00:10:27.200 it is scarcely possible that it could have disappeared entirely 110 00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:32.679 in less than a century. Nikau possibly cleared it of 111 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:37.559 sand and widened it. The story of the enormous number 112 00:10:37.600 --> 00:10:41.720 of laborers who perished during the progress of the work 113 00:10:42.360 --> 00:10:48.000 and that of the oracle are both utterly false. Herodotus 114 00:10:48.039 --> 00:10:53.440 relates a story of a great maritime enterprise undertaken at 115 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:59.399 this time, which seems quite credible. He states that Nikau 116 00:11:00.120 --> 00:11:05.600 sent out Phoenician ships from the Red Sea to circumnavigate Africa, 117 00:11:06.360 --> 00:11:09.240 and that in the third year of their journey they 118 00:11:09.279 --> 00:11:15.000 returned to the Mediterranean through the Straits of Gibraltar. The 119 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:21.600 very fact that Herodotus questions, namely that in circumnavigating Libya, 120 00:11:22.159 --> 00:11:26.639 that is, Africa, they had the sun on their right hand, 121 00:11:27.440 --> 00:11:32.399 proves that they really did accomplish their task. The same 122 00:11:32.559 --> 00:11:38.559 historian relates that Nicaou kept fleets of triremes in the 123 00:11:38.600 --> 00:11:45.000 Mediterranean and the Red Sea. Nikau felt himself strong enough 124 00:11:45.519 --> 00:11:51.519 to attempt the restoration of Egyptian supremacy in Asia. Great 125 00:11:51.639 --> 00:11:57.879 changes had meanwhile taken place on this continent. Assur Banipal 126 00:11:58.519 --> 00:12:02.720 died the king of a great empire, but his successors 127 00:12:03.080 --> 00:12:07.000 were not able to hold their own. About six hundred 128 00:12:07.039 --> 00:12:14.159 eight b C, Nabu Pallissar, whom Asorbanopal had appointed Viceroy 129 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:19.440 of Babylon, threw off the Assyrian yoke and founded an 130 00:12:19.480 --> 00:12:25.840 independent Babylonian kingdom. Intent on crushing out the Assyrian kingdom, 131 00:12:26.440 --> 00:12:31.639 he allied himself with King Kayaksaraes of Medea, and together 132 00:12:31.799 --> 00:12:37.919 they attacked and completely annihilated the Assyrian kingdom. The Medes 133 00:12:38.519 --> 00:12:42.080 kept all the land east and north of the Tigris. 134 00:12:42.440 --> 00:12:49.320 The Babylonians Mesopotamia and Syria. Nikaou thought the time had 135 00:12:49.360 --> 00:12:54.840 now come to intervene in Asia. Accordingly, in the spring 136 00:12:54.960 --> 00:12:58.639 of the year six hundred eight b C, he invaded 137 00:12:58.759 --> 00:13:04.320 the continent. He encountered no resistance until he reached Megido. 138 00:13:05.360 --> 00:13:09.879 Here at the very spot where almost a thousand years before, 139 00:13:10.480 --> 00:13:17.240 Tutmosis the Third had defeated the Syrian coalition, King Josiah 140 00:13:17.399 --> 00:13:21.720 of Judah had drawn up his army ready to dispute 141 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:28.120 Necao's advance. The pharaoh, not wishing to lose time in 142 00:13:28.200 --> 00:13:34.399 subduing the petty sovereigns of Syria and Palestine, haughtily ordered 143 00:13:34.799 --> 00:13:40.720 the Jewish king to give way. Josiah refused and was 144 00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:44.360 arranging his army for the coming battle when he was 145 00:13:44.440 --> 00:13:48.919 fatally wounded by an arrow. The king was brought back 146 00:13:49.039 --> 00:13:53.600 to Jerusalem, where he died and was buried. Amid the 147 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:57.320 wailings of his people, over whom he had ruled for 148 00:13:57.519 --> 00:14:05.039 thirty nine years, Nikaou continued his march to Riblah near Hamath, 149 00:14:05.720 --> 00:14:11.720 where he went into camp. Meanwhile, the Jews had elected Ioakis, 150 00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:17.840 the son of Josiah, king, but Nikaou was dissatisfied with 151 00:14:17.960 --> 00:14:22.039 their choice and deposed him, giving the kingdom to his 152 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:27.840 older brother Joakim and levying a heavy contribution on the land. 153 00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:33.879 Excepting Judaea, Gaza was the only state that offered any 154 00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:38.840 resistance to the Egyptians. Up to the year six hundred 155 00:14:38.919 --> 00:14:43.000 four b c. Ni Kaou seems to have had his 156 00:14:43.120 --> 00:14:48.440 own way in Asia, but in that year Nabopalassar was 157 00:14:48.519 --> 00:14:52.840 ready to meet him. He himself was old and sick, 158 00:14:53.399 --> 00:14:59.879 so he sent his son Nabekinezar Babylonian Nabu Kuduri uz 159 00:15:00.039 --> 00:15:05.440 Zure against the Egyptians at Karchemish on the banks of 160 00:15:05.480 --> 00:15:11.200 the Euphrates. The two armies met and Nikaou was utterly routed. 161 00:15:12.159 --> 00:15:16.399 His army must have been completely annihilated, for he left 162 00:15:16.440 --> 00:15:20.519 Syria to the victor without daring to oppose him again. 163 00:15:21.879 --> 00:15:27.080 Nebiconesar probably had the intention of invading Egypt, but the 164 00:15:27.159 --> 00:15:30.799 death of his father compelled him to return to Babylon. 165 00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:37.159 Nikaou did not dare to interfere in Asia again. Time 166 00:15:37.200 --> 00:15:41.399 and again the Jews begged him for assistance in their 167 00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:48.639 repeated revolts against the Babylonians. At last, Jerusalem fell about 168 00:15:48.679 --> 00:15:53.440 five ninety six b C, and Nebukonesar was free to 169 00:15:53.559 --> 00:15:57.600 invade Egypt, but it seems that he was called to 170 00:15:57.679 --> 00:16:02.039 other parts of his kingdom and the threatened invasion did 171 00:16:02.039 --> 00:16:08.000 not come until much later. Nikaou died in five ninety 172 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:12.919 four b C and was buried like his father in 173 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:21.720 Sais Section three Semtec the second five ninety four through 174 00:16:21.799 --> 00:16:27.639 five eighty nine BC. The only historical event of this 175 00:16:27.879 --> 00:16:33.240 short reign was an invasion of Ethiopia. Both Herodotus and 176 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:38.759 Aristaeus mention it, and an Egyptian inscription confirms their report. 177 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:44.879 Late in this reign, General ness Hor was sent against 178 00:16:44.919 --> 00:16:48.799 the Ethiopians, and the war was finally brought to a 179 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:53.720 close early in the following reign. It may be that 180 00:16:53.759 --> 00:16:58.600 the trouble with Ethiopia had begun already in Nikoo's time, 181 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:05.680 and this coount for his otherwise incomprehensible policy with regard 182 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:11.960 to the Jewish rebellions. The graffiti left on the colossi 183 00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:17.279 of Abu Simbel by the Phoenetian and Greek mercenaries that 184 00:17:17.480 --> 00:17:23.160 marched with the Egyptian army on this campaign still further 185 00:17:23.319 --> 00:17:29.400 confirm the report of Semtec's war in this quarter. Despite 186 00:17:29.480 --> 00:17:34.519 his short reign of only six years, this pharaoh was 187 00:17:34.599 --> 00:17:40.359 an active builder, restoring and repairing temples in all parts 188 00:17:40.400 --> 00:17:48.160 of Egypt from the Delta to Nubia. Section four o 189 00:17:48.920 --> 00:17:56.799 Habre Greek Aprias five eighty nine through five sixty four BC. 190 00:17:58.799 --> 00:18:04.440 Early in this reign, Neshor brought to a successful conclusion 191 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:09.160 the Ethiopian War begun in the reign of Semtek. The 192 00:18:09.279 --> 00:18:15.839 second Ouhabre, thought manners in Asia favored an intervention on 193 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:22.039 his part. In Judea. Important changes had taken place in 194 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:28.559 the times of his predecessors. Joakim, the king whom Nekau 195 00:18:28.680 --> 00:18:32.960 had appointed, was deposed in five ninety seven b C 196 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:39.200 after a reign of eleven years. In Yoakim, his son 197 00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:45.960 put in his place by Nebekinezer. Soon after, he also 198 00:18:46.359 --> 00:18:52.799 was deposed and Zedekiah put in his place. Zedekiah five 199 00:18:52.920 --> 00:18:57.200 ninety six through five eighty six b C. Was not 200 00:18:57.319 --> 00:19:02.279 the man the Babylonian king had thought him. He determined, 201 00:19:02.839 --> 00:19:07.200 despite the warnings of the prophets, to win the independence 202 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:12.359 of his kingdom. O Habre now came to his aid 203 00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:18.519 and began a war with Tire. Saidon was taken and 204 00:19:18.599 --> 00:19:24.599 a Cypriote fleet that opposed him was utterly defeated. Although 205 00:19:25.119 --> 00:19:30.440 thus far successful, the pharaoh withdrew soon after on the 206 00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:36.319 approach of the Babylonians. Meanwhile, Zedekiah had begun the war, 207 00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:42.960 but Jerusalem was soon invested and after a spirited resistance, 208 00:19:43.480 --> 00:19:49.440 was taken July five eighty seven b C. While o 209 00:19:49.759 --> 00:19:57.279 Habre did nothing to assist his sorely beset ally, Zedekiah 210 00:19:57.359 --> 00:20:03.119 was deposed and blinded, and Meidalia was set on the throne. 211 00:20:03.400 --> 00:20:07.519 He was assassinated by a descendant of the family of Ishmael, 212 00:20:08.279 --> 00:20:12.839 who was soon after compelled to fly the country. He 213 00:20:12.920 --> 00:20:16.480 and his friends went to Egypt, where ou A Habre 214 00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:23.119 received them kindly. Soon after Oua Habre began a war 215 00:20:23.400 --> 00:20:28.880 which promised better results. A war had broken out between 216 00:20:28.880 --> 00:20:32.440 the Greek city of Syrene, which lay on the northern 217 00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:37.880 coast of Africa west of Egypt, and the Libyans. The 218 00:20:37.920 --> 00:20:42.960 Libyan king Adecram placed himself under the protectorate of Egypt, 219 00:20:43.680 --> 00:20:48.039 and an Egyptian army was immediately sent out to aid him. 220 00:20:48.440 --> 00:20:52.359 At a town of Irsa on the well of Theestus, 221 00:20:52.400 --> 00:20:56.960 a battle ensued in which the Egyptian army was annihilated. 222 00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:02.799 This account, taken from her Rodotus, is probably correct, but 223 00:21:02.920 --> 00:21:07.680 the rest of his account is certainly false. He relates 224 00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:12.359 that the Egyptians were furious over the defeat and declared 225 00:21:12.559 --> 00:21:16.720 that Apries had sent out the native troops in order 226 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:20.920 to have them annihilated, so that his rule over the 227 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:25.799 rest of the Egyptians might be the more secure. This 228 00:21:26.039 --> 00:21:31.599 is entirely unnatural. In Egypt, the pharaoh was an absolute ruler. 229 00:21:32.319 --> 00:21:35.160 He was considered as the son of the god Ra 230 00:21:35.960 --> 00:21:39.880 and the incarnation of the god Horace, and it would 231 00:21:39.880 --> 00:21:43.160 not have been at all necessary for him to destroy 232 00:21:43.359 --> 00:21:49.000 the national troops in order to strengthen his rule. The troops, 233 00:21:49.240 --> 00:21:54.119 according to Herodotus, also murmured, and the king sent an 234 00:21:54.119 --> 00:22:00.960 officer named Amesis Egyptian ACMs to quiet them. While he 235 00:22:01.079 --> 00:22:05.680 was addressing them, a soldier stepping behind him, placed a 236 00:22:05.759 --> 00:22:10.720 helmet on his head and proclaimed him king. The rest 237 00:22:10.759 --> 00:22:15.920 of the army shouted their assent, and Ameesis, gladly accepting 238 00:22:15.920 --> 00:22:20.880 the election, placed himself at their head and marched against 239 00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:26.160 the pharaoh. A messenger sent by Aprias was sent back 240 00:22:26.599 --> 00:22:32.039 with a sarcastic reply. Aprias, now prepared for battle and 241 00:22:32.119 --> 00:22:36.759 collecting his Greek mercenaries to the number of thirty thousand, 242 00:22:37.400 --> 00:22:43.039 marched against his rival at Mommphis on the Canopic branch 243 00:22:43.119 --> 00:22:48.279 of the Nile. The armies met and Aprias was, after 244 00:22:48.359 --> 00:22:54.279 a well contested battle, defeated, captured and brought to Memphis, 245 00:22:54.759 --> 00:22:57.559 where he was kept in prison for a while, but 246 00:22:57.720 --> 00:23:02.079 was finally delivered up to the anger populace and strangled. 247 00:23:03.400 --> 00:23:07.440 This story is utterly false from beginning to end, as 248 00:23:07.480 --> 00:23:12.319 are also the many anecdotes the Greek writers tell of Amesis. 249 00:23:13.759 --> 00:23:18.880 We know, however, that oua Habre, about six years before 250 00:23:18.920 --> 00:23:25.000 his death, appointed Akmes, the second co regent. Akmes was 251 00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:30.359 wedded to Anshnss Nepher ab Rah, a daughter of Semtek 252 00:23:30.480 --> 00:23:35.000 the second, and to nay it A Kurt, a sister 253 00:23:35.519 --> 00:23:41.680 of Oua Habre. These facts completely refute the Greek legends. 254 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:47.200 Why Akmes was appointed co regent we cannot say. Possibly 255 00:23:47.400 --> 00:23:50.799 the king had no male issue and wished to keep 256 00:23:50.839 --> 00:23:54.559 the succession in the family. In the time of their 257 00:23:54.680 --> 00:24:01.519 joint reign fell Nebekinezer's invasion. This campaign was undertaken, according 258 00:24:01.759 --> 00:24:06.440 to the Babylonian inscriptions, in the thirty seventh year of 259 00:24:06.559 --> 00:24:11.519 Nebekinezer's reign, that is, in five sixty seven b C. 260 00:24:12.960 --> 00:24:17.920 The Babylonians found little or no resistance and easily succeeded 261 00:24:18.359 --> 00:24:23.480 in overrunning and plundering the whole land as far as Assuan, 262 00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:29.079 and then retired, either voluntarily or after having been defeated 263 00:24:29.559 --> 00:24:34.640 by ness hor Be. That as it may, the Babylonians 264 00:24:34.680 --> 00:24:41.319 never again entered Egypt. Ouahbre died in five sixty four 265 00:24:41.440 --> 00:24:46.000 b C, after having ruled twenty five years in all, 266 00:24:46.920 --> 00:24:51.759 nineteen alone and six in conjunction with his brother in 267 00:24:51.880 --> 00:25:01.799 law and successor Section five Akmes the second Amesis five 268 00:25:01.920 --> 00:25:08.160 sixty four through five twenty six b C. This pharaoh 269 00:25:08.440 --> 00:25:12.519 came into still closer connection with the Greeks than any 270 00:25:12.640 --> 00:25:17.400 of his predecessors. The many anecdotes the Greek authors tell 271 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:23.640 of his private life and family relations are all untrustworthy, 272 00:25:24.359 --> 00:25:29.720 as are also the reports that Pythagoras, Solon, and Thalus 273 00:25:30.200 --> 00:25:35.519 visited Egypt in his reign. Solon is even said to 274 00:25:35.599 --> 00:25:40.000 have copied from Amess's laws, one of the laws he 275 00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:45.400 promulgated at Athens in five ninety four b C. A 276 00:25:45.519 --> 00:25:51.119 statement that is of course absurd. Further, this king is 277 00:25:51.119 --> 00:25:56.799 said to have entered into friendly relations with Cleobulus, Bias 278 00:25:56.839 --> 00:26:01.559 and Piticus, and to have foreseen the down fall of Polycrates. 279 00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:08.359 All of these stories, which are by the by chronologically impossible, 280 00:26:09.079 --> 00:26:13.240 have a direct tendency, namely, to prove that all of 281 00:26:13.240 --> 00:26:19.440 the knowledge and philosophy of Greece was derived from Egypt. Amess, 282 00:26:19.599 --> 00:26:23.799 being the king best known to the Greeks, they placed 283 00:26:23.960 --> 00:26:29.119 the Egyptian voyages of their sages in his reign. We 284 00:26:29.200 --> 00:26:35.400 have already alluded to these traditions in the introduction. More 285 00:26:35.440 --> 00:26:38.839 credible are the accounts the Greek writers give us of 286 00:26:38.920 --> 00:26:44.720 his wars. He fought against the Arabians, that is, the Asiatics, 287 00:26:45.400 --> 00:26:48.240 and in order to increase the valor of his troops, 288 00:26:48.799 --> 00:26:52.920 He had the statues of the chief divinities set up 289 00:26:53.079 --> 00:26:57.319 behind their ranks, so that the troops believed the gods 290 00:26:57.359 --> 00:27:02.799 themselves were observing them. He next sent out a fleet 291 00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:08.920 against Cyprus that succeeded in subduing the Cypriote cities, which 292 00:27:08.960 --> 00:27:15.599 remained Egyptian dependencies for some time thereafter. This expedition was 293 00:27:15.680 --> 00:27:20.160 most probably undertaken as part of Egypt's work in the 294 00:27:20.200 --> 00:27:24.640 Great Coalition, which had been formed for the purpose of checking, 295 00:27:24.960 --> 00:27:30.680 if possible, the rise of the new Persian monarchy. This 296 00:27:30.839 --> 00:27:37.799 coalition was joined by Egypt, Lydia, Babylon, and Sparta. The 297 00:27:37.880 --> 00:27:42.039 object was to attack Persia from three sides at once, 298 00:27:42.839 --> 00:27:47.519 and had the allies acted in concert and not wasted 299 00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:53.599 valuable time over their preparations, they might have crushed Cyrus. 300 00:27:54.119 --> 00:27:58.759 As it was, Croasis moved before the others were ready. 301 00:27:59.319 --> 00:28:01.960 In all the health he could get from his allies 302 00:28:02.559 --> 00:28:07.400 consisted in a detachment of troops sent him by Achmas. 303 00:28:09.160 --> 00:28:14.079 In the spring of five forty six BC. He entered Cappadocia, 304 00:28:14.799 --> 00:28:19.720 devastated the country and captured the strong fortress of Teria. 305 00:28:21.319 --> 00:28:26.200 Now was the time for Akms and Nabu Naid, king 306 00:28:26.400 --> 00:28:30.519 of Babylon, to act, but it was impossible for them 307 00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:36.799 to concentrate their forces and to cooperate properly. Cyrus first 308 00:28:36.880 --> 00:28:42.960 moved against Croasis and soon had conquered Lydia, taken its capital, 309 00:28:43.480 --> 00:28:48.160 and made the king a prisoner fall of five forty 310 00:28:48.200 --> 00:28:54.599 six b C. A Persian fleet sent against Cyprus easily 311 00:28:54.640 --> 00:29:01.279 succeeded in dislodging the Egyptian garrisons. Am Now, instead of 312 00:29:01.359 --> 00:29:05.799 coming to the aid of his ally, Nabu Naid remained 313 00:29:05.839 --> 00:29:11.240 inactive while the Persians conquered Babylon and took possession of 314 00:29:11.400 --> 00:29:17.799 Palestine and Syria as far as the Egyptian frontier. The 315 00:29:17.880 --> 00:29:23.680 pharaoh evidently hoped to pacify Cyrus by this inactivity, but 316 00:29:23.759 --> 00:29:27.240 he had gone just one step too far and had 317 00:29:27.279 --> 00:29:32.880 incurred the determined enmity of the Persians that the invasion 318 00:29:32.960 --> 00:29:36.480 of Egypt did not follow immediately on. The occupation of 319 00:29:36.599 --> 00:29:41.799 Palestine was owing to complications that had arisen on the 320 00:29:41.880 --> 00:29:48.039 Eastern frontier. In the wars fought here, Cyrus lost his life, 321 00:29:48.440 --> 00:29:53.759 but his successor, Cambises, soon punished Egypt for its share, 322 00:29:54.119 --> 00:29:59.200 and the coalition against Persia, Akmes thought it to his 323 00:29:59.279 --> 00:30:06.000 advantage to interfere in Syrinae. Here King Archisilaus had been 324 00:30:06.039 --> 00:30:11.359 assassinated by Learchus, who had ascended the throne and supported 325 00:30:11.519 --> 00:30:18.599 by Egyptian mercenaries, had instituted a most tyrannical rule. His 326 00:30:18.799 --> 00:30:23.559 misrule did not last long. He was assassinated at the 327 00:30:23.559 --> 00:30:29.759 instigation of Polyarchus and his sister Eeriso, who placed Baddis, 328 00:30:30.200 --> 00:30:35.880 the son of Archisilaus, on the throne. The Egyptian mercenaries 329 00:30:36.440 --> 00:30:40.400 now called on Acmas for aid, and he determined to 330 00:30:40.440 --> 00:30:46.279 take advantage of these conditions to subdue the city. Before 331 00:30:46.319 --> 00:30:50.920 he started on the expedition, however, his mother died and 332 00:30:51.039 --> 00:30:57.599 he was detained in Egypt by the preparations for her interment. Polyarchus, 333 00:30:57.960 --> 00:31:03.160 accompanied by his mother Cretola and his sister Erkso, now 334 00:31:03.279 --> 00:31:10.039 went to Egypt to propitiate the pharaoh. Acmes received them kindly, and, 335 00:31:10.119 --> 00:31:15.079 praising the energy they had shown, dismissed them. Loaded with presents. 336 00:31:16.279 --> 00:31:20.799 He now abandoned the expedition against Syennae, as he was 337 00:31:20.880 --> 00:31:26.400 evidently satisfied with the recognition of his sovereignty. The two 338 00:31:26.480 --> 00:31:31.519 nations hereafter remained at peace until the downfall of Egypt. 339 00:31:33.200 --> 00:31:38.759 Acmees was confined entirely to Egypt. His expedition against Cyprus, 340 00:31:39.359 --> 00:31:43.759 though at first successful, had proved in the end a failure. 341 00:31:44.880 --> 00:31:51.079 In Asia, he dared not interfere Ethiopia retained its independence, 342 00:31:51.759 --> 00:31:57.359 and his sovereignty over Synae was purely nominal, while the 343 00:31:57.440 --> 00:32:02.759 kingdom thus did not extend its boundary under Akmus. Still, 344 00:32:03.319 --> 00:32:09.160 his reign was an epoch of great prosperity. Agriculture and 345 00:32:09.319 --> 00:32:13.680 commerce flourished, and it is stated that there were at 346 00:32:13.680 --> 00:32:19.960 this time twenty thousand inhabited places in Egypt. The Greeks were, 347 00:32:20.039 --> 00:32:24.720 of course greatly favored, and costly presents were made to 348 00:32:24.759 --> 00:32:29.799 their temples, among them being a contribution of a thousand 349 00:32:29.880 --> 00:32:34.440 pounds of alum, one of the most important raw products 350 00:32:34.480 --> 00:32:38.799 of Egypt, to the fund the Amphic Taions were collecting 351 00:32:38.880 --> 00:32:45.240 for rebuilding the Delphic Temple. Greek immigration was greatly encouraged. 352 00:32:46.119 --> 00:32:50.880 The Ionians and Carians, whom Semtec the first had settled 353 00:32:51.279 --> 00:32:54.920 on the Pealusic branch of the Nile, were removed to 354 00:32:55.039 --> 00:32:59.839 Memphis to serve as a body guard to the Pharaoh 355 00:33:00.079 --> 00:33:04.240 in place of the harbor. Thus lost to the Greeks. 356 00:33:04.279 --> 00:33:08.480 The king gave them the city of Nolcratus and its 357 00:33:08.519 --> 00:33:13.079 surroundings in the neighborhood of the present city of Alexandria. 358 00:33:14.559 --> 00:33:19.000 This new city stood outside of the pale of Egyptian 359 00:33:19.160 --> 00:33:24.160 jurisdiction and was allowed to make its own laws. The 360 00:33:24.279 --> 00:33:28.440 result was that the inhabitants clung to their own Greek 361 00:33:28.640 --> 00:33:33.599 customs and institutions with the greatest tenacity, and went their 362 00:33:33.680 --> 00:33:39.920 way entirely uninfluenced by their Egyptian neighbors. The city being 363 00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:45.839 originally intended for Ionians from Taos, its government was modeled 364 00:33:46.200 --> 00:33:50.640 after that of the latter city. This town became the 365 00:33:50.720 --> 00:33:55.799 center of Greek activity in Egypt. In it was erected 366 00:33:56.119 --> 00:34:01.079 the great sanctuary of the Greeks in Egypt. This was 367 00:34:01.119 --> 00:34:05.920 the Helenion, which was built by several Greek cities conjointly. 368 00:34:07.759 --> 00:34:19.159 These cities were Chios, Taos, Fosai, Clasomenae, Nidos, Halicarnassis, Phacelis, 369 00:34:19.840 --> 00:34:25.119 and Mytelenae. The reason why so many cities helped to 370 00:34:25.199 --> 00:34:29.920 build the Helenion was that all of the cities that 371 00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:34.199 took part in this work had the privilege of sending 372 00:34:34.239 --> 00:34:39.679 to Nelcratus a supervisor of trade, or as we would 373 00:34:39.679 --> 00:34:43.079 put it, appointing a member of the board of trade. 374 00:34:44.599 --> 00:34:49.880 Temples to zeus Hera and Apollo were also built by 375 00:34:49.920 --> 00:34:54.280 other cities, who thus gained the same privilege as the 376 00:34:54.320 --> 00:35:00.719 builders of the Helenion. Nelcratus rose very rapidly, owing to 377 00:35:00.840 --> 00:35:05.039 certain laws that gave her a complete monopoly of the 378 00:35:05.119 --> 00:35:10.480 trade with Greece. The Greeks soon had colonies in all 379 00:35:10.639 --> 00:35:14.760 parts of Egypt, even in the southern portions of the country. 380 00:35:16.039 --> 00:35:20.800 The Milesians had a trading post at Abydos, and Samian 381 00:35:20.920 --> 00:35:27.079 merchants even settled in the Great Oasis. Being engaged in 382 00:35:27.159 --> 00:35:32.360 no great wars, this pharaoh was enabled to devote considerable 383 00:35:32.400 --> 00:35:37.119 attention to the temples of the land. In all parts 384 00:35:37.119 --> 00:35:40.760 of Egypt, from the Delta to the island of Baigay, 385 00:35:41.400 --> 00:35:46.199 we find traces of his work. He died five twenty 386 00:35:46.199 --> 00:35:50.199 six b C, after having been co regent of his 387 00:35:50.320 --> 00:35:54.920 brother in law for six years and sole ruler for 388 00:35:55.039 --> 00:36:01.920 thirty eight years. Section six. Semtech the Third and the 389 00:36:01.960 --> 00:36:07.360 Persian conquest of Egypt five twenty six to five twenty 390 00:36:07.440 --> 00:36:13.159 five b C. When Semtec the Third ascended the throne 391 00:36:13.199 --> 00:36:17.800 of his fathers. The catastrophe that had so long threatened 392 00:36:17.800 --> 00:36:22.719 the land at length overwhelmed it. The account of this 393 00:36:22.840 --> 00:36:29.320 catastrophe has been preserved to us by Herodotus. The stories that, 394 00:36:29.800 --> 00:36:36.039 according to Greek traditions, impelled Cambises to invade Egypt are 395 00:36:36.159 --> 00:36:41.800 all untrustworthy, as they seek to bring Cambyses into relationship 396 00:36:42.159 --> 00:36:45.440 with the Egyptian kings and to find the cause of 397 00:36:45.480 --> 00:36:51.000 the war in this relationship, while making Cambyses appear at 398 00:36:51.039 --> 00:36:57.039 the same time as the legitimate pharaoh. The war far 399 00:36:57.199 --> 00:37:01.280 from having any such cause, as degree historians would have 400 00:37:01.440 --> 00:37:07.719 us believe, had in all probability been determined on already 401 00:37:08.119 --> 00:37:12.639