Late Period
Psamtik III
26th Dynasty (Saite) · 664-525 BCE
Open full-size illustration →Source: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Background
Psamtik III's brief reign ended at the decisive Battle of Pelusium, a defeat later writers attributed to a famous, and now disputed, Persian psychological trick involving cats, and his own life ended shortly afterward in Persian captivity. Research: UCL Digital Egypt; World History Encyclopedia.
Reign dates: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Full profile
The final native pharaoh
Psamtik III inherited the throne as a young and untested ruler just as the massive Persian Empire under Cambyses II prepared to invade Egypt. Facing insurmountable odds and the largest military force of the ancient world at the time, his brief reign ended abruptly with the Persian conquest, marking the collapse of the 26th Dynasty and the end of native dynastic rule in ancient Egypt.
Defeat at Pelusium and a disputed legend
The decisive battle was fought at Pelusium on the eastern edge of the Nile Delta. A much later tradition, recorded by the writer Polyaenus, claims Cambyses had his soldiers paint cats on their shields, or even carry live cats into battle, knowing Egyptian religious reverence for the animal would make Psamtik's soldiers reluctant to fight for fear of harming a sacred creature. Modern historians treat the story skeptically, since it appears in no source as early as Herodotus and the Persian victory is more plausibly explained by superior organization and Egypt's weakened political position. After the defeat, Psamtik retreated to Memphis, surrendered following a short siege, and was initially treated leniently by Cambyses before being executed after apparently plotting a revolt.
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.