29TH DYNASTY (399 - 380 BC)



Nepherites I 399-393

Nepherites I was the first ruler of the Twenty-ninth Dynasty. Nepherites I sent a gift to the Spartans after an allegiance had been entered into with Sparta against Persia. This gift was lost to the Persians after the ships from Egypt approached Rhodes. The Egyptians did not know that the Rhodians had defected to the Persians.


Psammuthis 393

No information available.


Hakoris - Hakor - Achoris - Hagor - 393-380 BC

There is some discrepancy as to whether Hakoris was the second of the third king of the Twenty-ninth Dynasty. Psammuthis is the king in which the confusion is associated with because he is shown to have ruled during the same year as Hakoris (393 BC). Hakoris reigned for thirteen years and built many monuments which are found in all parts of Egypt. During his reign there was peace between Persia and Sparta. Persia was free to move against Egypt and there was a three-year war between the two. Egypt was relatively strong during this time and became allies with Cyprus. Egypt was delivered from Persia. The tomb of Hakoris has not been found.


Nepherites II 380 -

Nepherites II was the fourth and final ruler of the Twenty-ninth Dynasty. He reigned for only four months before he was overthrown by the founder of the Thirtieth Dynasty. He assumed the throne after the death of Hakoris, who was Nepherites' father. The name Nepherites has an etymological meaning of "His great ones are prosperous".



30TH DYNASTY (380-343 BC)



The 30th Dynasty contains the last of the Egyptian-born Pharaohs.

Nectanebo I - Nectanebus - Nakhthorhebe - 380-362 B.C.

Nectanebo I was the first ruler of the Thirtieth Dynasty and was a general from Sebennytus. He is thought to have been related to the family of Nepherites I. He imposed heavy taxes on the people of Egypt in order to conquer Syria from Persia. In the spring of 373 BC, the Persian army moved in to attack Egypt. They got as far as the Mendesian mouth of the Nile. Two of the commanders of the Persian forces could not agree on their strategy. As the time passed, the Nile rose and flooded the Delta area. The Persians abandoned their efforts and left. The Egyptians had successfully turned back the Persians, with a little help from the Nile, and peace was established. Nectanebo restored and built many monuments throughout Egypt.380-362


Teos - Tachos - Djeho - 365-360

Teos was the second ruler of the Thirtieth Dynasty and was the son of his predecessor, Nectanebo I. After his father had died, Teos took over the throne and planned an attack on the Persians. He had the help of mercenaries from Greece, but his own generals disagreed with his leadership and the entire event was a fiasco. He was deserted by both the Greeks and the Egyptians. He fled to Persia by way of Arabia and Artaxerxes II, the ruler of Persia, gave him refuge. He lived in Persia until his death.


Nectanebo II - Nectanebus - Nekhthorhebe - 360-343 BC

Nectanebo II was the third and final ruler of the Thirtieth Dynasty. He became king after Teos' campaign into Persia which was a disaster. Teos had fled to Persia and Nectanebo returned to Egypt as Pharaoh. Nectanebo ruled for eighteen years and built many monuments in Egypt.

Much of Nectanebo's reign was peaceful and there was a final flowering of the local Egyptian arts. Statues were erected at Abydos and Bubastis, a granite temple was built at Horbeit in the Delta and bas-reliefs were carved at Karnak with a purity of style comparable to that of the Saite renaissance.

After the disaster with the Persians, Nectanebo II risked no further expeditions against the Syrians or the Palestinians. However, the Persians did attempt to subdue Egypt and this time succeeded. Cyprus and Phoenicia were also fighting against the Persians and were assisted with some troops from Nectanebo II.

Artaxerxes III (Persian) destroyed these troops and moved against Egypt. This time the Nile flooding had already passed and the Persian attack was made much more wisely that the last attack (Nectanebo I). The attack was made at three different points at the same time. Nectanebo II retreated to Memphis where he thought he would make a stand against the Persians. But, as city after city fell, he gathered up as much of his possessions as he could and fled to Ethiopia.

Artaxerxes razed fortifications, desecrated temples and plundered the treasury. He appointed Pherendares as satrap of Egypt and returned to Babylon laden with treasures.



SECOND PERSIAN PERIOD (343-332 B.C.)

31ST DYNASTY (380-343 BC)



The 31st Dynasty in also known as the Second Persian Period and was added after Manetho created his list of kings..

Ochus (Artaxerxes III) 343-338

Ochus was the first ruler of the Thirty-first Dynasty. He was the king of Persia for twenty years when the Persians defeated the Egyptians and Ochus became ruler over Egypt. He was the son of Artaxerxes II. He ruled over Egypt for six years. He was murdered in 338 BC by his own commander Bagoas in the summer of 338 BC.


Arses - 360-343 BC

Arses was the second ruler of the Thirty-first Dynasty and was the youngest son of Ochus. After Ochus was murdered, Arses succeeded him and ruled until he was murdered in 336 BC by his commander Bagoas.


Darius III Codomannus 335-332

Darius III - king of ancient Persia. A cousin of Artaxerxes III, he was raised to the throne by the eunuch Bagoas, who had murdered both Artaxerxes and his son, Arses; Darius in turn murdered Bagoas. His rule was not stable, however. When Alexander the Great invaded Persia, Darius was defeated in the battle of Issus (333 BC) and again in the battle of Gaugamela near Arbela (331 BC). For the first time Persia was confronted by a united Greece, and Darius' greatest error was in underestimating Alexander's strength. Darius used the wrong tactics in battle and was forced to flee to Ecbatana and then eastward to Bactria. It was there that the satrap of Bactria, Bessus, had Darius murdered on Alexander's approach and took command himself in the unsuccessful opposition to the Macedonian conqueror. These events brought the Persian Empire to an end and marked the beginning of the Hellenistic period in the E Mediterranean. Darius III is probably the Darius the Persian mentioned in the Bible (Neh. 12.22).



GRECO-ROMAN PERIOD (332 B.C. - 395 A.D.)

Macedonian Kings - Alexandria



Alexander the Great 332-323

The Egyptians, oppressed under the Persian rule, welcomed Alexander the Great with open arms when he entered the country in 332 B.C. While there he visited the Oracle of Amon, at Siwa, where he was declared "the son of Amon." Exactly how this happened is unclear. One story is that either upon entering or exiting the temple he was greeted by the priest as "my son." Alexander's army and followers were not in a strategic position to see the priest and thought the words came from the god himself. However it happened, from that point on Alexander was instated as a son of god, like the pharaohs of old. Alexander initiated the building of Alexandria, but never lived to see the city. He left Egypt in 331 B.C. and left Cleomenes of Naukratis in charge of the territory. This position was later claimed by Ptolemy. When Alexander died, Ptolemy's generals divided the kingdom.


Philip Arrhidaeus 323-316

Alexander IV 316-304

PERSIA

PTOLEMAIC DYNASTY
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