Late Period of ancient Egypt

Late Period of ancient Egypt
c. 664 BC – c. 332 BC
The Egyptian Kingdom within the Neo-Assyrian Empire in 671 BC.
Capital	Sais, Mendes, Sebennytos
Common languages	Ancient Egyptian
Religion	Ancient Egyptian religion
Government	Monarchy
Pharaoh
History
• Established	c. 664 BC
• Disestablished	c. 332 BC
Preceded by Succeeded by Third Intermediate Period of Egypt Ptolemaic Egypt Argead Dynasty
Today part of	Egypt

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History of Egypt
Prehistoric Egypt pre–3150 BC
Ancient Egypt Early Dynastic Period 3150–2686 BC Old Kingdom 2686–2181 BC 1st Intermediate Period 2181–2055 BC Middle Kingdom 2055–1650 BC 2nd Intermediate Period 1650–1550 BC New Kingdom 1550–1069 BC 3rd Intermediate Period 1069–744 BC Kushite Egypt 744–656 BC Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt 664–525 BC
Classical antiquity Achaemenid Egypt 525–404 BC Twenty-eighth Dynasty of Egypt 404–398 BC Twenty-ninth Dynasty of Egypt 398–380 BC Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt 380–343 BC Achaemenid Egypt 343–332 BC Macedonian and Ptolemaic Egypt 332–30 BC Roman and Byzantine Egypt 30 BC–641 AD Sasanian Egypt 619–629
Middle Ages Rashidun Egypt 641–661 Umayyad Egypt 661–750 Abbasid Egypt 750–935 Tulunid Egypt 868–905 Ikhshidid Egypt 935–969 Fatimid Egypt 969–1171 Ayyubid Egypt 1171–1250 Mamluk Egypt 1250–1517
Early modern Ottoman Egypt 1517–1867 French occupation 1798–1801 Egypt under Muhammad Ali 1805–1882 Khedivate of Egypt 1867–1914
Modern Egypt British occupation 1882–1922 Sultanate of Egypt 1914–1922 Kingdom of Egypt 1922–1953 Republic 1953–present
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The Late Period of ancient Egypt refers to the last flowering of native Egyptian rulers after the Third Intermediate Period from the 26th Saite Dynasty into Achaemenid Persian conquests and ended with the conquest by Alexander the Great and establishment of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. It ran from 664 BC until 332 BC. With the Macedonian Greek conquest in the latter half of the 4th century BC, the age of Hellenistic Egypt began.

Libyans and Persians alternated rule with native Egyptians, but traditional conventions continued in the arts.^[1]

History[edit]

26th Dynasty[edit]

The Twenty-Sixth Dynasty, also known as the Saite Dynasty after Sais, reigned from 672–525 BC, and consisted of six pharaohs. Canal construction from the Nile to the Red Sea began.

One major contribution from the Late Period of ancient Egypt was the Brooklyn Papyrus. This was a medical papyrus with a collection of medical and magical remedies for victims of snakebites based on snake type or symptoms.^[2]

Artwork during this time was representative of animal cults and animal mummies. This image shows the god Pataikos wearing a scarab beetle on his head, supporting two human-headed birds on his shoulders, holding a snake in each hand, and standing atop crocodiles.^[1]

According to Jeremiah, during this time many Jews came to Egypt, fleeing after the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonians (586 BC). Jeremiah and other Jewish refugees arrived in Lower Egypt, notably in Migdol, Tahpanhes and Memphis. Some refugees also settled at Elephantine and other settlements in Upper Egypt.^[3][4] Jeremiah mentions pharaoh Apries as Hophra,^[5] whose reign came to a violent end in 570 BC. Historians have disputed the accuracy of these events.

27th Dynasty[edit]

The First Achaemenid Period (525–404 BC) saw Egypt conquered by an expansive Achaemenid Empire under Cambyses. A total of eight pharaohs from this dynasty ruled over Egypt.

The initial period of Achaemenid Persian occupation when Egypt (Old Persian: 𐎸𐎭𐎼𐎠𐎹 Mudrāya) became a satrapy, known today as the Twenty-seventh Dynasty of Egypt.

28th–30th Dynasties[edit]

The Twenty-Eighth Dynasty consisted of a single king, Amyrtaeus, prince of Sais, who rebelled against the Persians. He left no monuments with his name. This dynasty reigned for six years, from 404 BC–398 BC.

The Twenty-Ninth Dynasty ruled from Mendes, for the period from 398–380 BC.

The Thirtieth Dynasty took their art style from the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty. A series of three pharaohs ruled from 380 BC until their final defeat in 343 BC led to the re-occupation by the Persians. The final ruler of this dynasty, and the final native ruler of Egypt until nearly 2,300 years later, was Nectanebo II.

31st Dynasty[edit]

This section needs expansion with: more info about the 31st dynasty. You can help by adding to it. (February 2017)

There was a Second Achaemenid Period of the Thirty-First Dynasty (343–332 BC), and consisted of four pharaohs: Artaxerxes III (343–338 BC), Artaxerxes IV (338–336 BC), Khababash (338–335 BC), and Darius III (336–332 BC).

References[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

Primary sources

• Herodotus (Histories)
• Fragments of Ctesias (Persica)
• Thucydides (History of the Peloponnesian War)
• Diodorus Siculus (Bibliotheca historica)
• Fragments of Manetho (Aegyptiaca)
• Flavius Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews)