WI: Egypt defeats Artaxerxes III in 343 BCE and survives to the time of Alexander

In 334 BCE, Alexander began his invasion of the Achaemenid Empire. Nine years earlier, the Egyptian pharaoh Necatanebo II was decisively defeated by Artaxerxes III and Egypt was reconquered.

So my question is this: What if Egypt is still independent when Alexander invades the Achaemenid Empire. Is he still successful as OTL? What effects would this have?
 

jocay

Banned
Necatanebo II views Alexander as a potential ally and cooperates with Alexander by providing auxiliaries to the Macedonian army. I wouldn't know if he had children but if he had a daughter, he'd likely marry her off to Alexander to seal the deal. If he has no son or none that lives to adult age, there's likely a similar arrangement and relationship that Alexander had with Ada of Caria. Once he passes, Alexander inherits Egypt. If he does have a son or two, Egypt remains independent but aligned to Alexander's empire until its collapse and division by the Diadochi.

What would be more interesting are the cultural implications of an independent native Egypt in the alt-Hellenistic era. You had the precedent of Greek and foreign mercenaries playing an important role in the Egyptian military for several centuries and a small enclave in Naucratis. Non-Egyptian fashion had become popularized due to the legacy of Persian rule and diplomatic relations with foreigners. Coinage under the Persians was increasingly influenced by the Athenians. But almost certainly no syncretism and no sidelining of the native population as under the Ptolemies but there's a risk of some ambitious Greek mercenary seizing power or turning the Pharaoh into a puppet.
 
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Necatanebo II views Alexander as a potential ally and cooperates with Alexander by providing auxiliaries to the Macedonian army. I wouldn't know if he had children but if he had a daughter, he'd likely marry her off to Alexander to seal the deal. If he has no son or none that lives to adult age, there's likely a similar arrangement and relationship that Alexander had with Ada of Caria. Once he passes, Alexander inherits Egypt. If he does have a son or two, Egypt remains independent but aligned to Alexander's empire until its collapse and division by the Diadochi.

What would be more interesting are the cultural implications of an independent native Egypt in the alt-Hellenistic era. You had the precedent of Greek and foreign mercenaries playing an important role in the Egyptian military for several centuries and a small enclave in Naucratis. Non-Egyptian fashion had become popularized due to the legacy of Persian rule and diplomatic relations with foreigners. Coinage under the Persians was increasingly influenced by the Athenians. But almost certainly no syncretism and no sidelining of the native population as under the Ptolemies but there's a risk of some ambitious Greek mercenary seizing power or turning the Pharaoh into a puppet.

Ada was a former satrap of Caria who got restored when Alexander conviniently marched through the area. Furthermore, Caria had been a Persian satrapy for some time and still was when Alexander came.

Egypt, by contrast, is in revolt against and is de facto independent from Persia. And Egypt is far more powerful than Caria and Necatanebo would more likely name an Egyptian than a foreigner as heir. Besides, what if Alexander dies before Necatanebo II. So it's very unlikely that Alexander would get to "inherit" Egypt.
 
If the Thirtieth Dynasty if survived and didn’t get conquered by Alexander the Great, maybe Ancient Egyptian culture could survive, until possibly the Romans come.

Though, without the Ptolemaic Kingdom, there is no Cleopatra, so the Romans would possibly have to go to war with the Thirtieth Dynasty, A Roman-Egyptian war to be precise.
 
Will Rome even rise in this TL. The effects of an independent Egypt will have many butterflies on the development of Diadochi kingdoms in Asia and Macedon, which in turn will have butterflies for Rome. And that’s not the only area of potential butterflies. What if Rome or Carthage turn to Egypt for help in the ATL Punic Wars. A native Egypt might be powerful enough and not in stagnation like Ptolemaic Egypt was in its later years.

A minor nitpick: I don’t think the 30th dynasty would be around by the time the Romans would go to war with an ATL native dynasty. Egyptian dynasties tended to not last more than a few centuries at best and a few decades at worst.
 
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