Cambyses had a reputation as a cruel tyrant. Fortunately, he only ruled Egypt for three years. He was followed by Darius I, a kinder, gentler Persian. Darius supported Egyptian animal cults and added to temples. He also improved the canal between the Nile and the Red Sea.
Still, the Egyptians were extremely unhappy about being part of somebody else’s empire. Xerxes, another tyrant, put down several Egyptian rebellions. After 120 years, the Egyptians threw off Persian rule, regaining their independence for 67 years.
The Twenty-eighth Dynasty had only one, obscure, king, Amyrtaeos, who ruled for 10 years. Chaos in the Twenty-ninth Dynasty left a power vacuum. A usurper, Hakor, seized the throne. Ruling for 12 to 19 years, Hakor completed many building and refurbishing projects. Aided by Greek mercenaries, he turned back a series of Persian attacks.
The Thirtieth Dynasty beat back an attack by combined Persian and Greek forces. Nakhtnebef I (Nectanebo I) enjoyed a stable, 19-year reign, restoring temples all over Egypt. The 19-year reign of Nakhthoreb (Nectanebo II) saw a return to stability, the old gods, and traditional values. But Nakhthoreb was the last native Egyptian to rule Egypt for 2,300 years, until General Mohammed Naguib in 1952.
In 343 B. C.E., Persian ruler Ataxerxes reconquered Egypt. He drafted Egyptian sculptors and artisans to decorate palaces at the Persian capital, Persepolis. Again, the Egyptians chafed under foreign rule, and longed for rescue.
In 332 B. C.E., Mazaeus, governor (the office was known as satrap) under the Persian Darius III, opened the gates of Egypt to Alexander the Great, saving the country and his own life. Egypt welcomed Alexander as its savior-despite the fact that Alexander was Macedonian.
Egypt’s Greek merchant community had long conducted wide-ranging, prosperous trade from their base at Naukratis in the Delta. Greek mercenaries, rising through the ranks, had modernized the Egyptian army and introduced new strategies and tactics. By the time of Alexander’s arrival, old Egyptian traditions were already giving way to Greek culture.
Alexander, son of Philip of Macedon, was a brilliant military leader who set out to conquer the world. He swiftly conquered the entire Persian Empire. He was an enlightened ruler, often leaving conquered lands better off than they had been before his arrival. He used common social and economic concerns to unite diverse cultures and religions. At the same time, he established new cities to spread Greek culture.
Alexander, at 24, was already master of an empire when he reached Egypt. His first stop was the Oracle of Amun, who proclaimed him Amun’s son and Egypt’s rightful king, founding the Thirty-second Dynasty. Alexander was crowned pharaoh at Memphis with traditional religious splendor. He paid tribute to Egyptian gods and goddesses, repairing and restoring many temples, including Luxor. Alexander spent six months in Egypt setting up his new government. He appointed a viceroy and six governors. He converted Egyptian finance, tax, and bureaucratic systems to follow Greek models. He founded the new city of Alexandria, located on the coast at the Nile’s west mouth-the ideal spot for it to become the commercial hub for the entire eastern Mediterranean. This Greek city became Egypt’s new capital and a center of Greek learning and culture.
Alexander left troops stationed at Memphis and at Pelusium on the eastern frontier, put his own officers in charge of the Nile fleet, and left to conquer the rest of the world. But he became ill and died in 323 b. c.e. Alexander’s empire was divided among his top generals. Ptolemy, one of the most trusted of his generals, got Egypt. For a time, Alexander’s halfbrother and then his son were the rulers of Egypt in name, although Ptolemy was actually in charge. Then, in 305 B. C.E., he was crowned Ptolemy I-the beginning of the Thirty-second (Ptolemaic) Dynasty.
Ptolemy’s first move was to “kidnap” Alexander’s body as it passed
Through Egypt on its way to Greece
Mapmaking and Cartography
For half a century (247 B. C.E.-195 b. c.e.), the Greek scientist and geographer Eratosthenes was keeper of the great Library at Alexandria, home to thousands of ancient Egyptian documents recorded on papyrus scrolls. He took advantage of the opportunity to examine centuries of Egyptian land use records, carefully recorded by generations of scribes.
Very early in their history, the Egyptians had developed sophisticated techniques for accurately measuring large tracts of land. This was necessary to reestablish property boundaries after the annual inundation. These techniques, evolved and improved upon over time, eventually formed the basis for the maps Eratosthenes used to calculate the length of a degree of latitude, one of the cornerstones of modern cartography (mapmaking).
For burial. Alexander, whom the Egyptians considered a god, was buried at Alexandria. This gave Ptolemy tremendous religious and political clout. To further strengthen his position, Ptolemy married the daughter of Nectanebo II, the last native Egyptian king.
Under the Ptolemies, Egypt looked outward to Greece, not inward into the Nile Valley. The new upper class was Greek. The rulers paid lip service to Egyptian religion and traditions-they appeared in paintings and statues with Egyptian royal dress and symbols-but to the outside world they were Greek rulers, appearing on coins in Greek dress and trappings.
The Ptolemies were patrons of the arts. They expanded and supported the Library at Alexandria, attracting scholars from all over the world. Temples they built at Den-dera, Edfu, Philae, Esna, and Kom Ombo still draw tourists today. They built many new cities and towns. The Pharos of Alexandria, an immense lighthouse that was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was completed by Ptolemy II.
Under the Ptolemies, Egypt was prosperous and stable, exporting huge quantities of papyrus and grain all over the Mediterranean. But as a family, the dysfunctional Ptolemies were united mainly by shared names and bad behavior. The Ptolemies were fond of high living and gross excess; Ptolemy X was so fat that he could not walk unaided.
The Ptolemaic court was a complex, ongoing soap opera of scheming courtiers, corrupt officials, double-crossing advisors, and backstab-bing siblings. It was peppered with intrigue, conspiracies, rivalries, and murders. It is difficult to sort out the players. All the kings were named Ptolemy, and most of the royal women were named Cleopatra, Berenice, or Arsinoe. At least two Ptolemies married their sisters named Arsinoe. Other Ptolemies also married their sisters, claiming reverence for Osiris and his sister-wife, Isis. But their motives were usually political, not religious.
By the time of Ptolemy VII, Rome was the Mediterranean’s dominant power. Like bickering children, feuding Ptolemies ran to Rome for help. Ptolemy XII paid a large bribe (with Egyptian government funds) to Roman emperor Julius Caesar to be backed as king. Rulers around the region took advantage of Egypt’s internal disorder to seize her possessions and naval bases. Egypt became a rich pawn in Roman power strug-gles-vital because Egyptian grain fed the Roman mobs.
The last Ptolemy, Cleopatra VII, became queen at age 17. A talented, ambitious woman, she is said to be the only one of the Ptolemies who could understand and speak Egyptian. Her older brother, whom she was scheduled to marry, tried to kill her instead (this was typical Ptolemaic behavior). She fled to Rome-and returned with an army. Julius Caesar favored her claim, and her. Cleopatra became Caesar’s mistress and they had a son. She then married her younger brother, who became king.
After the death of Julius Caesar, Cleopatra took up with Mark Antony, a former Roman consul who was engaged in a power struggle with Caesar’s heir, Octavian (the future emperor Augustus Caesar). The Battle of Actium, off the coast of Greece in September, 31 b. c.e., left Octavian victorious. In August, 30 B. C.E., Octavian entered Egypt, claiming it for Rome. Rather than surrender, Cleopatra committed suicide. Dynastic Egypt died with her.
World History
