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| Kingdom of Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 𐦲𐦨𐦤 | |
|---|---|
| 664 BCE–332 BCE | |
 Egypt (yellow) and nearby countries in 600 BCE | |
| Capital | Zau |
| Official languages | Middle Egyptian |
| Common languages | Demotic |
| Dominant mode of production | Slavery |
| Government | Monarchy |
The late Kingdom of Egypt was an ancient state in northeast Africa ruled by the 26th through 31st dynasties of Egypt. It was the first period of Egyptian history that relied on iron instead of bronze tools.[1]
Third Intermediate Period[edit | edit source]
Berber rule (22nd and 23 Dynasties)[edit | edit source]
After the collapse the New Kingdom in the 11th century BCE, Egypt split into a northeastern kingdom with its capital in Djanet and a southern kingdom based in Waset. Around 950 BCE, the Libyan chief Shashenq invaded northern Egypt and declared himself the first pharaoh of the 22nd Dynasty. He allied with northern Egyptian nobles, but Lower Egypt split into separate kingdoms under his successors in the ninth and eighth centuries BCE.[1]
Nubian rule (25th Dynasty)[edit | edit source]
The Nubian king Pii conquered much of Upper Egypt, including Waset, in the late 8th century BCE. Taefnekhet, the ruler of Zau, allied with the Libyans against the Nubians. The Nubians defeated him at three battles and captured Men-nefer with the support of the clergy of Waset. The next Nubian king of Egypt was Shabaka, who captured and executed King Bakenrenef of Lower Egypt.[1]
Assyrian rule[edit | edit source]
In 671 BCE, King Aššuraḫaiddina of Assyria invaded Egypt and defeated the Nubian pharaoh Taheruq to capture Men-nefer. Aššurbāniapli, the next Assyrian king, fought the Nubians again and drove them south in 667 BCE. The Assyrians imprisoned Nekau I, the ruler of Men-nefer and Zau who had negotiated with Taheruq, but Aššurbāniapli pardoned him and returned him to his office. When Taheruq died in 664 BCE, his successor Tenutamen invaded Lower Egypt. The native Egyptians saw him as a liberator for fighting against the Assyrians. However, a second Assyrian army invaded soon after and sacked Waset for its support for the Nubians.[1]
26th Dynasty[edit | edit source]
Pesmetjek I, son of Nekau, freed Lower Egypt from the Assyrians and conquered Waset from the Nubians with the help of mercenaries from Ionia and Caria. He reunified all of Egypt and founded the 26th Dynasty with its capital at Zau in 655 BCE. Nekau II went to war with Judah and killed King Yōʾšīyyāhū in battle at Megiddo in 608 BCE. For three years, Egypt ruled Palestine and Syria and collected tribute in gold and silver from Judah.[1]
After the Babylonians conquered the Levant in 605 BCE, Pharaoh Wahibra allied with Judah against Babylon. Wahbira's navy defeated the Phoenician city of Sur and then went to war with Sidun. The Babylonians repelled an Egyptian attack on the walled city of Yerushalayim. Wahibra attacked the Greek city of Kyrene in Libya but lost, leading the army to mutiny and install Iahmes II as pharaoh. Pesmetjek III ruled for less than a year before the Persian king Kambūjiyah II invaded Egypt.[1]
Persian rule (27th Dynasty)[edit | edit source]
The Phoenicians, Palestinian bedouins, and the Egyptian vassal of Cyprus allied with the Persian invaders. Phanes, the commander of Pesmetjek's mercenaries, betrayed him and told the Persians about the Egyptians' military plans. The Persians defeated Egypt at the Battle of Peramen, where both sides suffered heavy losses. The rest of the Egyptian army fled to Men-nefer, and the Berbers and Greek settlers paid tribute to Kambūjiyah, who officially became pharaoh in 525 BCE.[1]
Kambūjiyah then began fortifying Upper Egypt in order to prepare to invade Ethiopia, but the invasion failed when his soldiers ran out of food. The Egyptians rebelled at the same time. In 524 BCE, Kambūjiyah returned to Men-nefer and executed Pesmetjek. Egypt rebelled again at the start of Dārayavahuš I's reign.[1]
Egypt rebelled at the end of Dārayavahuš's reign in 486 BCE. His successor Xšayāršā I put down the rebellion in 484 BCE and looted many of the Egyptian temples.[1]
In 460 BCE, Irethorereru II rebelled against the Persian emperor Artaxšaçāh I. He won the battle of Papremis and took control of the Egyptian delta, but Men-nefer remained under Persian control. Athens sent a fleet to help the rebels capture the Egyptian capital of Men-nefer. Bagabuxša, the satrap of Syria, sent a land army and a Phoenician fleet against the rebels. The Persians recaptured Men-nefer and executed Irethorereru in 454 BCE.[1]
Egypt rebelled again between 411 and 408 BCE. In 404 BCE, the Egyptians allied with Sparta to support Kūruš in his rebellion against his brother Ršā (also known as Artaxšaçāh II).[1]
30th Dynasty[edit | edit source]
Djedhor became pharaoh of Egypt around 362 BCE and sought to capture Palestine and Syria from the Persians. In 343 BCE, Vahuka II (Artaxšaçāh III) led a Persian fleet up the Nile and recaptured Egypt after its Greek mercenaries defected to support Persia.[1]
Culture[edit | edit source]
Around 700 BCE, the Demotic writing system evolved from a cursive form of Egyptian hieroglyphs.[1]