The low epoch
The low epoch
| This period of the history of the Egyptian civilization includes the
reigns from the XXI dynasty to the XXXVI dynasty. Between the XI and VIII
century BC, Egypt knew a period of decadence both economical and politic, and,
if it still had an important role in the Mediterranean, it lost hegemony on the
countries next to it. Nubia, in fact, taking advantage from the situation of
crisis, rebelled and became independent, and Libya and Siria were completely out
of the Egyptian influence. The sovereigns of the first four dynasties, that
elected Tanis the capital of the reign, in the north of the country, had to
compete continually with the priests in Tebe, that were powerful in Upper Egypt
. It seems that the sovereigns of the XXI dynasty had Libyan origins and that
the Libyans were with no doubt the first sovereigns of the XXII dynasty, among
them the most important was Sheshong, that was able to invade Palestine and
ravage Gerusalemme (930 BC). From the VIII century BC Lower Egypt was governed
by the “cusciti” camita people that lived soth of Egypt. Nevertheless the
progressive weakening of the state exposed Egypt to the threats by the assiri,
that in 671 BC, guided by ther king Asarhaddon, occupied Menfi. In 667 BC
Assurbanipal, Asarhaddon’s son, reduced Egypt to an assiro protectorate. Anyway
even the assiro empire began to have a period of crisis, from which Psammetico
I, prince in Sais, the assiro king’s subject, took advantage. Psammetico I,
founder of the XXVI dynasty, in 663 BC, established the union of the reign,
using also help from the cari and ioni mercenaries, maybe sent by Gige, king in
Lydia. The pharaoh moved the capital of the reign of Sais on the delta, he made
expeditions to Nubia and against the assiri; he also supported the Egyptian
cultural rebirth, opening also frequent contacts with the Greek civilization.
His son Neco was his successor, and he began again the Asiatic expansion
defeating Giosia, king in Giuda, in 609 BC, in the battle in Megiddo; he was
instead defeated by Nabucodonosor II in 605 BC in the battle in Karkemish. His
successor Psammetico II, Apries and Amasis made no military expeditions, but
increased the relations with the Greek world: in fact, Greek merecenaries
accompanied Psammetico II in Nubia, this is proved by their names engraved on a
leg of one of the colossal statues of Ramesse II in Abu Simbel. Even the
commercial relations with Greece were important, and they drove some Greek
people to live in Egypt, above all in Naucrati, an important commercial emporium
on the delta. Amasis also made an alliance with Policrate, tyrant in Samo,
against Persia, both their enemy. Anyway his successor Psammetico III was
defeated in 525 BC by the Persian king Cambise II and Egypt became a Persian
satrapia, governed by a satrapo that lived in Menfi. The Persians considered themselves the pharaohs’ successors and made the XXVII dynasty that governed from 525 to 404 BC (before the Persian domination). There were some Egyptian revolts against the Persian invaders: the most important was the one guided, at half of the V century BC, by Inaro, a Libyan helped by the fleet in Athens. Egypt, taking advantage of the crisis in the Persian empire, was able to conquer a temporary independence under Artasers’s II reign, and in 404 BC with Amirteo (404-399 BC), that was the only sovereign in the XXVIII dynasty. The reign was independent until 341 BC, whent the Persian king Artaserse III Ochos, defeated the pharaoh Nectanbo II. The second Persian domination was brief: in fact Alexander Magno ended it in 332 BC. |
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