29. The Fall of the Thirtieth Dynasty
Egypt under the Late Thirtieth Dynasty
The King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Sehetepkara, the Son of Ra, Bakenanhur, Beloved-of-Amun – may he live forever! – It was during the eighteenth regnal year under his majesty that the King inspected all the districts of Lower Egypt. The bastions set up by his predecessors where in disrepair, the Shasu could freely enter the country, which greatly distressed His Majesty. The Beloved-of-Amun thus ordered the restoration of the fortresses of the North, built by Kheperkara and Senedjemibra to repel the Asiatics and to crush the Shasu. [1]
- Record of the eighth year of the reign of Bakenanhur
Had Bakenanhur died in 310, after legitimizing his rule and restoring the prosperity of Egypt, his reign would have been remembered as a fortuitous one. Saving the country from disaster and despair he would have restored the monarchy, crushed rebellious dynasts and honoured the gods. Sadly for his subsequent reputation, his rule of Egypt was not over.
At least in theory Bakenanhur was the most powerful monarch Egypt had seen since the Twenty-Second Dynasty [2], or perhaps even the kings of the New Kingdom. Having crushed and cajoled the various dynasts of the Delta he was more of an absolute monarch than any of his predecessors of his dynasty had been. Despite this being his greatest victory relatively little attention is given to it on his monuments and in his inscriptions. Most likely because Egyptians liked to gloss over periods of disunity, Bakenanhur did not want to reminisce over the brutal civil war. Although he spends a lot of time legitimizing his rule, he never mentions his internal enemies beyond vague descriptions, only stating that he restored ma’at and drove out isfet. All was once again as it should be, the Two Lands were in order and a dutiful Son of Ra sat upon the Throne of Horus.
Sadly for him and his dynasty things would not stay that way. If Bakenanhur during the later years of his reign had shown the same initiative and drive he had during his ascent perhaps Egypt’s history would have been quite different. But already from his ascent the storm clouds must have been visible, and in hindsight Bakenanhur did little to prepare Egypt for what was to come, and in many ways he even acted to its detriment. The pharaoh appeared to be content in his victory, and despite some minor reforms he was also quite happy with the way the country was run. Many of the profitable Delta estates were doled out to his friends and acquaintances (who made sure they would be exempt from taxation) and to the temple estates (who did pay taxes, although not much). Nepotism is something that every autocrat is used to, but Bakenanhur did it excessively, squandering resources that could have been used to strengthen the defences of Egypt.
On the other hand it is perhaps only in hindsight that the danger is apparent. Egypt and the Argead Empire had after all enjoyed a good relationship. They had fought together against the Achaemenids and the dynasties had intermarried, and despite the crisis over Phoenicia it must have seemed as if the relation between the two powers had been restored. But if Bakenanhur thought the Argead court regarded him as an equal then he was mistaken. By positioning themselves as heirs to the Achaemenids, true Great Kings of Asia, they also partially adopted their worldview, in which Egypt was but a wayward satrapy. This was no problem when Philip and Alexander had been king, for they still fundamentally regarded themselves as Macedonian kings. Problems would only arise when a ruler of both Argead and Achaemenid descent ascended to the throne in Babylon.
Bakenanhur’s reign is marked by, despite his newfound royal absolutism, a kind of benign neglect. Management of the country is largely left up to the heri-tep of the various sepat of Egypt [3]. Some of them were hereditary, like many of the Libyan-descended Delta aristocracy, others were appointed by the pharaoh. The recent civil war had allowed Bakenanhur to appoint many of his own men, many of whom managed to negotiate tax exemptions from the king. Also of great importance were the various temple estates who managed vast tracts of land. The period of peace after the civil war, and a series of good inundations, made sure that the Egyptian economy under Bakenanhur did well. It was, despite what came after, a prosperous period for Egypt.
As all monarchs of the Nile aspire to, Bakenanhur ordered many construction projects throughout the land. The king spend a lot of time at the palace at Hebyt, which was expanded throughout his reign. At the end of Bakenanhur’s life the palace was three times larger than it had been before. Additional appartements, shrines, reception halls and storage rooms had been built, many of them expensively decorated, as befits a King of Upper and Lower Egypt. An envoy send by Alexander reportedly marvelled at the sights of the palace, which according to him was more beautiful and luxurious than the Palace of Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. Other construction projects of the king were concentrated on the city of Sau, his ancestral home in the Western Delta. It had been the dynastic capital of the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty, but since then it had received relatively little pharaonic attention. Bakenanhur ordered a large-scale renovation and expansion of the Temple of Neith and drastically expanded the city’s harbour on the Nile, stimulating commerce in the region. The city profited from the royal investments, and due to the proximity of Naukratis and its Greek community it became a centre of trade with the Aegean during the late fourth century BCE.
Despite his military background Bakenanhur was not a very warlike ruler. The many campaigns in Nubia finally appeared to have worked, and throughout his reign Nubia was not as restless as it has been under his predecessors. The sole military campaign he personally took part in was in 305, which was aimed at several Bedouin tribes who harassed the trade routes through the Sinai. Commanding a cavalry detachment, the pharaoh and his son Psamtik cornered and crushed one of the tribes, or at least he commemorated this on the walls of his new and expanded temple of Neith at Sau. Still it would not be surprising, trade with Arabia increased throughout this period, caravans laden with spices and incense had to travel through Egyptian territory before reaching the Mediterranean. This was aided by, during the late fourth century BCE, the consolidation of the Nabatean state, which facilitated and monopolised trade. Goods and coin were not the only thing that flowed between Egypt and the Nabateans, already Egyptian cultural influence shows up in Nabataea. At Per-Sopdu in the eastern delta inscriptions at shrines from this era show that several Nabateans made offerings at them, and not long after Egyptian influenced architecture show up at the Nabatean capital of Rekem [4]. It was the beginning of what would turn out to be a longstanding relationship.
It was only late in his reign, after 300, perhaps at instigation of his more military-minded son Psamtik, that Bakenanhur turned his attention to the defences of his country. The increasing consolidation of the Argead Empire posed a credible threat to Egypt, one which required deterrence. The construction of several bastions in the eastern delta, the expansion of the fortress at Gaza and the construction of a naval base at Tamiat [5], all started during the last years of Bakenanhur’s reign. The last years of his somewhat subpar reign were spent mostly at the palace of Hebyt, according to some sources indulging in expensive imported Greek wines. It was in February 297 that, after a short illness, Bakenanhur passed away after having ruled Egypt for 21 years. Interred at the Temple of Anhur-Shu at Tjebnetjer in a tomb of his own, his reign had stabilised Egypt and left it prosperous but vulnerable. His neglect of the threat that the Argead Empire could pose was one of the largest mistakes of his rule, but it would be overshadowed by a decision he made shortly before his death. Long it had been assumed that it would be his youngest son, Nakhthorheb, son of Mutnefret and grandson of Nakhtnebef II, that would succeed Bakenanhur on the throne. But just before his death Bakenanhur named his elder son Psamtik his co-ruler and heir. Psamtik had spent most of his life with the army and was possibly favoured by them, but he had no relationship to the rest of the Thirtieth Dynasty, being born to an earlier wife of Bakenanhur. Nakhthorheb was send to Nubia to serve as it’s new overseer, replacing the long-serving Usermontu. Nakhthorheb had the reputation of a somewhat spoiled prince, more at home at the royal harem than in the chancelleries or on the battlefield. He was however experienced in the various intrigues of the court, and many of the high-ranking officials and noblemen preferred him over his stern and militaristic elder brother. The priesthood too had preferred the more orthodox choice of Nakhthorheb as new pharaoh.
Bakenanhur however had made his choice, and Psamtik V ascended the Throne of Horus after his death. For two years things went smoothly, the younger brother had seemingly acceded to his new role as governor of Nubia. From the expanded fortress at Saï he governed Nubia and oversaw the shipments of gold that were send to Egypt. Psamtik started his reign by levying a one-time tax on the temple estates, meant for the construction of the defences of the eastern delta. While it was probably necessary, it was not wise to start his reign with such an unpopular measure. This combined with a disappointing inundation and thus rising food prices meant that discontent among the population was growing throughout the years 297 and 296. It was in January 295 that Nakhthorheb, seeing an opportunity to seize the throne that should have been his, made his move. He left Nubia with a small retinue and visited the temple of Ipetsut at Waset, where he made ostentatious offerings to Amun-Ra, outdoing the rather meagre offerings that his brother had send. A small shrine was constructed, on the walls of which Nakhthorheb’s name was inscribed inside the royal cartouche. The message was clear: Nakhthorheb claimed to be the rightful ruler of Egypt.
Nakhthorheb had hired Nubian mercenaries and had stripped the garrisons of the south of most of their troops and then went north. Wahibre, one of his generals, defeated an army loyal to Psamtik near Abdju (Abydos) and then sailed on to Sauty (Asyut), an important town and fortress which marked a contraction in the Nile Valley, a natural breaking point between Upper Egypt and Middle and Lower Egypt. Sauty fell quickly and Wahibre ordered additional fortifications, which enabled him to withstand several attempts at reconquest by Psamtik’s loyalists. The height of summer caused a temporary lull in the fighting, but the after the inundation in Late August fighting restarted. Riverine battles and sieges occurred in late 295, and neither of the brothers seemed to want to give in. Psamtik himself finally sailed south in November 295, after having dealt with unrest in the Delta, he faced off against him brother at Khmun. Psamtik’s more experienced troops carried the day, they broke the siege of Khmun and inflicted heavy casualties on Nakhthorheb’s army, who retreated all the way back to Waset after this defeat. Psamtik was probably preparing to sail to the city of Amun-Ra when the news from Phoenicia arrived in December 295, and he was forced to abort his southern campaign and return north.
Philip’s first year and the Egyptian War
Like Cambyses two centuries prior Philip III saw himself confronted with a world already largely his, and like during Cambyses’ reign there was still one great empire left through the conquest of which he could prove himself.
- Excerpt from
The lives of the Great Kings of Asia by Hermocles of Brentesion
Philip III arrived at Babylon in August 295. There the assembled army proclaimed him king in the Macedonian fashion, and not long afterwards many of the satraps visited Babylon to offer their loyalty. Philip’s succession had thus gone rather uneventful, no claimant arose nor did any of the core territories of the empire revolt. Alexander had left an effective bureaucracy and capable satraps in charge, which eased the transition of power. As befits a Great King of Asia he gave gifts to both the Macedonian and Persian nobility and he made lavish donations to the temples of Babylon. Not long afterwards he went west, to Macedonia, bringing his father’s body to his mausoleum at Aigai. Large-scale funeral games took place, as did religious ceremonies, and Alexander was laid to rest at his tomb. Already Philip himself had ordered a tomb of his own to be constructed nearby, although the workers would have quite some time to complete it.
The various city-states of the Hellenic League remained loyal, doubtlessly with the fate of Athens at the back of their mind. The only trouble spot for the moment was Sicily, where a certain Xenodikos had seized power in the city of Akragas and had started an uprising which spread across the island. In order to deal with this Philip send Demetrios, his brother in law, west with a fleet and a small army. Xenodikos’ aim was both to expel the Macedonians and to make Akragas the island’s most prominent city, which meant that he had little support in cities such as Syracuse and Messana. He ended up being little more than a bandit, even using a small fleet for piracy. This drew the ire of Carthage, and during his campaign on Sicily Demetrios’ army was supplied with Carthaginian grain, eager as they were to both show good intentions to the new Great King and to get rid of Xenodikos. After a short campaign in late 295 and early 294 Demetrios had successfully defeated Xenodikos and had captured Akragas, which paid dearly for it’s betrayal. Those who did not die during the siege where carried away in chains to the slave markets. Argead supremacy on Sicily was secure.
Philip returned to the east in November 295, landing at the city of Nikatoris-on-the-Orontes, the largest city of Syria and already home to 50000 predominantly Greek and Macedonian inhabitants. There, or perhaps even earlier, he must have heard of the ongoing civil war in Egypt. Enlarging his domains were a sure way of enhancing his image as king, and once again Egyptian strife seemed to grant this opportunity, as it had done 20 years before. He ordered the Phoenicians and the Cilicians to gather their fleets, and he send an ultimatum to Psamtik: relinquish the territories in the Levant and receive my aid, or risk war. Already armies were gathered, the Macedonians settled in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates picked up their sarrisas and marched of to war. Various eastern contingents were called up, the heavy cavalry from Bactria, Saka horsemen skilled with the bow, Indian elephants and fierce hillmen from northern Iran. All would now answer the call of the Great King of Asia, yet his army was not as large as it could have been. Philip knew that a small elite force, well trained and mobile, could bring down larger foes, as he had learned on the Bactrian frontier, where Macedonians were often harassed by small groups of nomadic horsemen who outmanoeuvred the Macedonians.
Perhaps Philip also expected Psamtik to give in, and indeed it seems strange that he didn’t, but instead of giving up his Philistian and Judean protectorates Psamtik marched his army across the Sinai and encamped at Gaza, calling up his various vassals in the region. The reason for Psamtik’s actions seem to have been the concern over his own legitimacy, many already saw him as an illegitimate monarch and even more would do so if he would kowtow to the Great King of Asia. He made clear to Philip that he would defend his vassals, and thus it came to war between the Argead Empire and Egypt. The Egyptian army consisted of it’s professional forces, the senenu, various mercenary contingents, like the Nubians, Greeks and Nabateans, and the forces send by the vassal rulers of the region. All in all the army was around 50000 strong, slightly outnumbering the army Philip had assembled near Damascus. In March 294 Philip launched his invasion, near the river Jordan he defeated an army under command of Saneith, Psamtik’s uncle, who was send forward to guard against the Macedonian advance. After the battle Philip struck west, reaching the coast near Jaffa, blocking Psamtik, who had advanced northwards from Gaza.
Argead cavalry at the River Jordan
Philip took a considerable risk, he granted his army little time for rest and supplies were running low, but he could not allow the Egyptians to threaten the Phoenician cities. Psamtik was wary of giving battle, but considering his own position he had little choice, and defeating the Great King of Asia would greatly enhance his stature in the eyes of the Egyptian population. More good news arrived early April, when the Egyptian fleet had managed to defeat the Argead Phoenician-Cilician fleet near Askhelon. They were greatly aided by the fact that the Argead fleet was ravaged by a storm, but it was a victory nonetheless, and temporarily the threat of an amphibious assault on his rear or on Egypt itself was gone. Psamtik thus chose to advance, the two armies met near Ashdod. What followed were several days of skirmishing, the Saka horsemen harassing the Egyptian flanks and rear while Nubians and Libyans dashed forward from the Egyptian lines to pepper their opponents with missiles. Great clouds of dust were thrown up by the whirling cavalry of both sides, but after several days, quite suddenly, Philip disengaged and marched east. Psamtik, probably thinking that his enemy was desperate, gave chase. Constantly harassed by Philip’s light cavalry and with dwindling supplies he caught up with Philip near Gezer. Many of Psamtik’s men were discontent, the mercenaries had not been paid for some time and the constant harassment during the march to Gezer had took its toll, and thus the pharaoh knew that a decisive battle was important. Reinforcements had reached Philip in the meantime, bolstering his ranks, and it was at the plains of Gezer that he decided to give battle.
The fighting started early in the morning of May 7th 294 BCE. Psamtik had his army advance, the Egyptians themselves in the centre with the Greek mercenaries on the flanks. The Egyptians were, like the Macedonians, equipped with long pikes, showing that foreign rulers too could see the phalanx as a war-winning force. All sources mention that the Egyptian phalanx performed well, keeping pressure on the Macedonian centre while the Greeks assaulted their flanks. The Argead left flank was on somewhat uneven terrain, not ideal for a phalanx, and there the Greeks, who still fought as traditional hoplites, started to push the Macedonians back. On the Macedonian right however were located the elite regiments of the Argyraspidai, who at first held back but when the Egyptians were fully engaged they started their advance, quickly putting the Greek and Nubian mercenaries facing them to rout. The Egyptian cavalry had been kept in reserve by Psamtik, but now he ordered them foreward, hoping that they could break the Argyraspidai. His Nabatean troops, some of whom who fought from camelback, were ordered the guard the flanks. Psamtik himself led the charge of the cavalry, and at first it seemed as if the Argyraspidai were falling back and that victory would be in his grasp. Sadly for him and Egypt, and it was not to be. A countercharge by the hetairoi struck the flanks of the Egyptian cavalry, and the pharaoh himself died in the ensuing melee. Egyptian morale collapsed, the infantry started falling back, which was exploited by the Bactrian cavalry that Philip had kept in reserve. The Egyptian line collapsed completely and their positions were overrun. Of the 50000 that had left Gaza only 10000 returned, harassed al the way to the fortress by Philip’s cavalry. Psamtik, who for a brief moment might have thought of victory and of carrying the banners of Amun-Ra all the way to the Euphrates, had died an ignominious death. His body was never recovered, instead of a splendid tomb and a golden sarcophagus he was dumped in an anonymous grave, a sad end for a once glorious dynasty.
And yet there was still one man who kept the dynastic hope alive, who was viewed as a more worthy heir than Psamtik had been. Upon hearing of his brother’s demise Nakhthorheb immediately marched forth from Waset again, reaching Memphis early in June 294. He had send envoys to Philip, whom he offered the lands of the Levant and even a yearly tribute. To Nakhthorheb it was a small price to pay in order to gain what he considered his birth right. Yet Philip refused, having swept aside the Egyptian army he now would not be satisfied with just Judea and Philistia, Egypt itself would be his. Gaza quickly surrendered, as did most other towns. The Egyptian fleet had retreated back to Tamiat and a new Argead one had been send, now mostly from Ionia and Greece itself. Philip quickly resumed his march, supplied by sea he stormed across the Sinai, the local Shasu quickly offered their subjugation. When Nakhthorheb reached Memphis Philip was already at the gates of Pelusium. There simply wasn’t the time for organizing an effective defence, and Pelusium, which had protected Egypt for so long, on which many pharaohs had spent so much to make it an invincible stronghold, fell without a fight. It’s commander gave up when Philip and the Argead army showed up, his garrison was depleted and many had died at Gezer. There was little that Nakthhorheb, who only had some Nubian mercenaries, could do.
The Argead army crossing the Sinai
From Pelusium the Argead army followed the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, spreading terror in their wake. Egypt was a rich country, and plunder too could be a measure of a campaign’s success. The city of Per-Bast (Bubastis) resisted, and was brutally sacked in response. A counterattack under command of Wahibre, meant to push the Argeads away from Memphis, occurred not long after. This too ended up in disaster, Wahibre’s meagre force of levies and mercenaries stood no chance against the professional Argead forces. Near Iunu, or Heliopolis to the Hellenes, it was swept of the field. The Great Temple of Ra at Iunu was mercilessly sacked after the battle, a horrendous sacrilege to the Egyptians. Nakhthorheb was caught off guard by the speed of the Argead advance, and while holed up in Memphis he decided to retreat to Waset again, hoping to continue resisting the Macedonians from Upper Egypt. He gathered up all the riches he and his army could carry and prepared to leave the city in the middle of the night, but at a certain moment it’s citizens noticed and riots started, blaming their new king for abandoning them. In the chaos of those riots Nakhthorheb was hit on the head by a brick, supposedly thrown by an old woman, and he fell of his horse and died. Nakhthorheb III was the last ruler belonging to the Thirtieth Dynasty, which now came to an end, 86 years after it was established by Nakhtnebef I.
And the new ruling dynasty was already on the doorstep of Memphis. The Egyptians had suffered enough, so judged Philip III. The cost of resistance was now clear to them, and with the country in chaos he was the only one capable of putting it to order. The city of Memphis chose not to resist, and in July 294, only a year after his father’s death, Philip III entered the city not as it’s conqueror but as it’s new pharaoh. Philippos III, Great King of Asia, King of Kings, Hegemon of the Hellenic League, was now also the new Lord of the Two Lands.
Footnotes
- The Shasu are the Bedouin nomads of the eastern desert, Kheperkara is Nakhtnebef I and Sennedjemibra is Nakhthorheb.
- The Twenty-Second Dynasty was a dynasty of Libyan descent who ruled a reunified Egypt from Bubastis. It’s first couple rulers were successful, and even campaigned in Canaan, but under later rulers the country fragmented, with various rulers all over Egypt claiming kingship.
- A sepat is one of the administrative districts in which Egypt was divided, known in Greek as nomes. Heri-tep means ‘Great chief’, their position was known as nomarch to the Greeks.
- The city of Petra in Jordan.
- The city of Damietta.
