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the late period
The Late Period can be broken into four clearly defined phases:
The Saite Dynasty (664-525 BC)
The credit for reunification of the country lies with Psamtek I (664-610 BC). His father had previously ruled at Sais under the protection of the Assyrians, but had been murdered by the Nubian king Tanutamani. With Assyrian support, Psamtek I succeeded his father as king, and initially controlled half the Delta region, with his main power bases at Sais, Memphis and Athribis. The severely stretched Assyrians simply did not have the military strength to indefinitely maintain their position in Egypt, and it did not take Psamtek I long to exploit this situation. By 660 BC, he had control of the entire Delta region, and through diplomatic means and military force had mastered the control of the rest of the country by 656 BC.
The First Persian Period (525-404 BC) In 525 BC, the Persians invaded Egypt, capturing and defeating Psamtek III at the Battle of Pelusium. Cambyses (525-522 BC), the Persian ruler, assumed the position of Egyptian kingship, and assigned and promoted native Egyptians for positions working within his government. Most importantly of all, Cambyses demonstrated a deep respect for the Egyptian religion - during his short reign he even buried an Apis Bull complete with all the ancient rituals. Egyptian records for this period depict Cambyses as a ruler who was anxious to avoid offending Egyptian susceptibilities, and who presented himself as an Egyptian pharaoh in all aspects. In complete contrast, comments and writings by Classical authors indicate the situation as being extremely unfavourable. Whatever the true circumstances, a short lived revolution broke out after the death of Cambyses in 522 BC, however his successor Darius I was able to regain control of the country in 519-518 BC. The Persian Occupation in Egypt does not appear to have been a particularly oppressive time for the Egyptians, possibly because the occupiers had the good sense to realise that the Egyptian system for running the country was the best that had been devised. Several minor revolts during this period all came to nothing until in 404 BC, a young Amyrtaios established the last period of independent native rule of the Ancient Egyptian pharaonic civilisation.
A Period of Independence (404-343 BC) Much evidence for this period actually derives from Greek sources, reflecting the interests and opinions of classical observers. A picture emerges of a period dominated by two recurrent issues: that of the instability at home and the ever present existence of aggressive Persian power abroad. Most of the rulers of the 29th Dynasty appear to have been deposed or worse, and Nectanebo I, founder of the 30th Dynasty almost certainly gained power as a result of a military coup. Pressing concerns nearer home for the Persians meant that the recovery of Egypt was simply not feasible at this time.
The Second Persian Occupation (343-332 BC) It was during the reign of the Persian Emperor Artaxerxes II (405-359 BC), that the first major attempt to recover the country was made. Re-establishment of Persian control was finally made no later than 341 BC, but this time was rather unfortunately accompanied by the plundering of temples and the demolition of the defences of major cities. The intention of the Persians was to return to the arrangements of their previous administration, but in fact the outcome was a regime of viciousness and incompetence that soon resulted in armed rebellions. It comes as no surprise therefore, that when Alexander the Great invaded Egypt late in the year 332 BC, he had no difficulty in quickly terminating the despised rule of Persia. ±IMPORTANT NOTE: The precise dates of the Egyptian Dynasties and of individual reigns are still the subject of much scholarly debate. Students and other individuals who use this website should therefore be aware that the dates shown for the dynasties and individual reigns throughout this site may sometimes differ to the dates that are used in other publications.
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Any attempt to recreate a powerful and united Egyptian state at this current time was dependent on the removal of the rival opposing powers, namely the priesthood dynasties of Thebes and the Libyan dynasties. Diffusion of power and separate rule generated economic weakness, and allowed Egypt's Asiatic enemies and Nubian kings to pose a constant threat to the country.