History of Achaemenid Egypt
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{{History of Egypt}}
The '''history of [[Achaemenid]] Egypt''' is divided into three era: the first period of [[Persian Empire|Persian]] occupation when Egypt became a [[satrap]]y, followed by an interval of independence, and the second and final period of occupation.
The last [[pharaoh]] of the [[Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt|Twenty-Sixth dynasty]], [[Psammetichus III]], was defeated by [[Cambyses II of Persia]] in the battle of [[Pelusium]] in the eastern [[Nile]] delta in [[525 BC]], [[Egypt]] was then joined with [[Cyprus]] and [[Phoenicia]] in the sixth [[satrap]]y of the [[Achaemenid Dynasty|Achaemenid Empire]]. Thus began the first period of Persian rule over Egypt (also known as the [[twenty-seventh dynasty of Egypt]]), which ended around [[402 BC]].
After an interval of independence, during which three indigenous dynasties reigned (the [[Twenty-eighth dynasty of Egypt|28th]], [[Twenty-ninth dynasty of Egypt|29th]], and [[Thirtieth dynasty of Egypt|30th dynasty]]), [[Artaxerxes III of Persia|Artaxerxes III]] ([[358 BC|358]]–[[338 BC]]) reconquered the Nile valley for a brief period ([[343 BC|343]]–[[332 BC]]), which is called the [[thirty-first dynasty of Egypt]].
==The first Egyptian satrapy==
[[Image:Achaemenid Empire.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Achaemenid empire at its greatest extent]]
[[Cambyses]] led three unsuccessful military campaigns in [[Africa]]: against [[Carthage]], the oases of the [[Libyan]] desert, and [[Nubia]]. He remained in Egypt until [[522 BC]] and died on the way back to [[Persia]]. The Greek and Jewish sources, especially [[Herodotus]] and [[Diodorus Siculus]], present us a bleak portrait of Cambyses rule, describing the king as mad, ungodly, and cruel. It is impossible unfortunately to compare these texts with Egyptian sources, as all unofficial documents appear doing their best to ignore Cambyses' existence. Herodotus may have drawn on an indigenous tradition that reflected the [[Egyptians]]' resentment, especially of the clergy, of Cambyses' decree (known from a [[Demotic Egyptian|Demotic]] text on the back of [[papyrus]] no. 215 in the Bibliotheàque Nationale, Paris) curtailing royal grants made to Egyptian temples under [[Amasis]].
In order to regain the support of the powerful priestly class, [[Darius I of Persia|Darius I]] ([[522 BC|522]]–[[486 BC]]) revoked Cambyses' decree. [[Diodorus]] reported that Darius was the sixth and last lawmaker for Egypt; according to Demotic papyrus no. 215, in the third year of his reign he ordered his satrap in Egypt, Aryandes, to bring together wise men among the soldiers, priests, and scribes, in order to codify the legal system that had been in use until the year 44 of [[Amasis]] (c. [[526 BC]]). The laws were to be transcribed on papyrus in both Demotic and [[Aramaic]], so that the satraps and their officials, mainly Persians and [[Babylonia]]ns, would have a legal guide in both the official language of the empire and the language of local administration. To facilitate commerce, Darius built a navigable waterway from the Nile to the Red Sea (from Bubastis [modern Zaqâzîq] through the Wâdî Tûmelât and the lakes Bohayrat al-Temsâh and Bohayrat al-Morra); it was marked along the way by four great bilingual stelae, the so-called "canal stelae," inscribed in both hieroglyphics and cuneiform scripts.
In 1972 archaeological excavations at Susa brought to light a stone statue of Darius I, standing and wearing a sumptuous Persian garment; it is inscribed in cuneiform (in [[Old Persian]], [[Elamite]], and [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]]) and in [[Egyptian hieroglyphs|hieroglyphics]]. This can be interpreted as a recognition of the role of Egypt in the Empire.
Shortly before [[486 BC]], the year of Darius' death, there was a revolt of the type that had occurred under Aryandes, that was definitively subdued by [[Xerxes I of Persia|Xerxes I]] ([[486 BC|486]]–[[464 BC]]) only in [[484 BC]]. The province was subjected to harsh punishment for the revolt, and especially its satrap [[Achaemenes (satrap)|Achaemenes]] administered the country without regard for the opinion of his subjects.
A still more serious and extensive revolt took place in about [[460 BC]] under [[Artaxerxes I of Persia|Artaxerxes I]]. It was led by the Libyan [[Inarus]], son of Psammetichus ([[Thucydides]] 1.104), who asked for help from [[Athens]]; a fleet of 200 ships sailed up the Nile as far as the ancient citadel of [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]], two thirds of which was occupied by the insurgents. Achaemenes was killed in the course of the battle of Papremis in the western Delta.
==The second Egyptian satrapy==
It is not known who served as satrap after Artaxerxes III, but under [[Darius III of Persia|Darius III]] ([[336 BC|336]]–[[330 BC]]) there was Sabaces, who fought and died at [[battle of Issus|Issus]] and was succeeded by Mazaces. Egyptians also fought at Issus, for example, the nobleman Somtutefnekhet of Heracleopolis, who described on the "Naples stele" how he escaped during the battle against the Greeks and how Arsaphes, the god of his city, protected him and allowed him to return home.
In [[332 BC]] Mazaces handed over the country to [[Alexander the Great]] without a fight. The Achaemenid empire had ended, and for a while Egypt was a satrapy in Alexander's empire. Later the [[Ptolemaic dynasty|Ptolemies]] and the [[Roman Empire|Romans]] successively ruled the Nile valley.
==Main Classical Sources on the Achaemenid rule over Egypt==
* [[Herodotus]] (''[[The Histories of Herodotus|Histories]]'')
* Fragments of [[Ctesias]] (''[[Persica]]'')
* [[Thucydides]] (''[[History of the Peloponnesian War]]''}
* [[Diodorus Siculus]] (''Bibliotheca historica'')
* Fragments of [[Manetho]] (''Aegyptiaca'')
* [[Flavius Josephus]] (''[[Antiquities of the Jews]]'')
{{Achaemenid Provinces|Egypt}}
[[Category:Dynasties of ancient Egypt|Achaemenids]]
[[br:XXXIañ tierniezh Henegipt]]
[[es:Dinastía XXXI de Egipto]]
[[fr:XXXIe dynastie égyptienne]]
[[it:XXXI dinastia egizia]]
[[nl:31e Dynastie van Egypte]]
[[fi:Egyptin historia Persian vallan alla]]
[[sv:Egyptens trettioförsta dynasti]]
[[ru:Персидский период (Древний Египет)]]