Late Period
Psamtik II (Neferibre)
26th Dynasty (Saite) · 664-525 BCE
Open full-size illustration →Source: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Background
Psamtik II's Nubian campaign broke Kushite power in Egypt for good, and he followed the victory with a deliberate campaign of erasing the previous Kushite dynasty's names and images from monuments across the country. Supporting detail: UCL Digital Egypt.
Dates from: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Full profile
A preemptive strike in Nubia
Psamtik II launched a rapid preemptive military campaign into Nubia early in his reign to crush rising hostile forces. His army penetrated deep into the territory, sacking the city of Napata and forcing the Kushites to permanently move their capital further south to Meroë. His expedition is famously documented by Greek, Carian, and Phoenician mercenaries who carved graffiti into the rock face of Ramesses II's temple at Abu Simbel.
Erasing the Kushite kings
In the aftermath of the Nubian campaign, Psamtik II launched a systematic program of damnatio memoriae against the 25th Dynasty pharaohs who had ruled Egypt before the Saite kings. At major temples including Karnak and Luxor, workmen hacked the cartouches, royal titles, and insignia of Kushite kings such as Taharqa out of statues and relief carvings, and at least one of Taharqa's own monuments at Karnak, a kiosk before the temple's second pylon, was re-inscribed with Psamtik II's name in place of his. The campaign functioned as state-sponsored propaganda, symbolically erasing Nubian rule from Egypt's monumental record to bolster the legitimacy of the new Saite line.
Sources for this profile
- Shaw, I. (Ed.). (2000). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press.
- Dodson, A., & Hilton, D. (2004). The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson.
- Leprohon, R. J. (2013). The Great Name: Ancient Egyptian Royal Titulary. Society of Biblical Literature.
- UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology. Chronology. UCLA.
- University College London. Digital Egypt for Universities.
The complete, APA-formatted reference list is on the Academic Sources & Bibliography page.