Having subdued Memphis, Piankhi had gained control of the entire country. He then went around the land, worshiping Amon and other deities at various sites. Everywhere he went as he made his way through Egypt, people were impressed by the glory of his court, particularly his crown (Nubia was a land rich in gold), as well as his mercy for the conquered.
Clearly he was on fire for his god without being a fanatic. In fact there is only one incident which suggests religious intolerance: when he had conquered Egypt and all its princes came to pay their respects to him, he refused to meet with some of them because they ate fish. Apparently his version of the Egyptian religion, like that of the Israelites, viewed certain foods as spiritually unclean.
Piankhi took an unusual approach, for an ancient ruler, from the beginning to the end of his conquests. At the end, instead of remaining to revel in the glories of Egypt, he returned to Napata and never ventured north again. He devoted his last years to building a new temple to Amon in Napata.
Despite his declaration at the beginning of the invasion, however, he did not “cause [Tefnakhte] to desist from fighting for all eternity.” Though the Libyan prince pledged, according to the Napata stela, that “I will not disobey the King's command,” in fact he later set his son on the Egyptian throne. It fell to Piankhi's brother Shabaka (SHAH-buh-kuh;
Ruled 716-695 b. c.) to reassert Kushite authority in Egypt, which he did in 712 b. c.
Shabaka's invasion officially established the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty of Egypt, which ruled that nation until 667 b. c. During that time, the Nubian pharaohs continued Piankhi's tradition of sincere devotion to Amon. Amunirdis I (ah-moo-NEER-dis), Piankhi's and Shabaka's sister, held an important position as “god's wife of Amon” in the temple at Thebes.
World History
