Psamtik According to Herodotus:

        Very few details are known of the 54 year reign of Wahibre Psamtik I.   That fact alone should cause the historians to wonder.  He must have been a great military leader to have succeeded in repelling the powerful occupation forces of Ashurbanipal in 664 B.C. and only a few years later in driving from Thebes the enigmatic Tanuatamon, whose army numbered in the "millions and hundreds of thousands".   If Psamtik's dates are correct, and he reigned from 664-610 B.C., then he must have been at minimum eighty years old in the years 616-610 B.C. when, according to the Babylonian Chronicle, the Egyptian army, now allied with Assyria, was assisting its former enemy against the rising power of Nabopolassar's neo-Babylonian empire.  We can only imagine what military exploits filled the historical interlude between these two extremes.

        Unfortunately Psamtik's modesty rivalled his assumed military prowess.   He left to posterity not a single inscription boasting of his military achievments.   When we examine below the few existing monuments and historical anecdotes related to his reign we will find recorded the activites of a skilled diplomat rather than the conquests of an ambitious king.

        All that is known of the rise of Psamtik comes from Herodotus (II.1.147-155).   We are informed from the Histories that Psamtik's father Nikos was killed by the Ethiopian king Sabacos, that Psamtik subsequently sought refuge in Syria from whence he was later summoned by the inhabitants of Sais,  resumed his kingship and perpetuated the Saite family dynasty.   At the time of his return Egypt was governed by twelve kings [2] of whom only the name of Psamtik is preserved.   Psamtik's authority was subsequently challenged by his rival chieftains and he was driven from Sais into the marshes of the western Delta.   From this temporary exile, and with the help of Ionian and Carian soldiers who by chance arrived on the Egyptian coast, Psamtik returned to defeat his deposers and claim for himself sole rule of the country.

        From this lengthy tale, considerably embellished with folkloric anecdotes, the traditional history is able to salvage only the barest of detail in defense of its hypothetical reconstruction.  The slaying of Nikos by Sabacos, decades in advance of Psamtik's sole riegn,  Psamtik's subsequent refuge in Syria. and his secondary installation in Sais with subsequent banishment, are totally inconsistent with the historical situation which prevailed in the interval between Ashurbanipals invasions of 667 B.C. and 664 B.C. and are rejected outright by contemporary historians.  The lack of any mention of the occupying Assyrian army is equally problematic.   In but a single point can the reputation of Herodotus be partially rehabilitated.  He claims that Psamtik came to power with the assistance of Ionian Greeks and Carians, and it is argued that this reflects a  memory of the troops sent by Gyges, the Lydian king,  to assist Psamtik in his successful coup.    But we have already expressed our disdain for that highly questionable interpretation of the Assyrian annals.    And we wonder why Herodotus refers specifically to Ionian and Carian, rather than Lydian troops.

        In the revised history it is immediately apparent that Herodotus has access to reliable historical records.  Nikos, the father of Psamtik, could well have died many years before Psamtik's sole reign.  In fact, that must be the case in the revised chronology.   It is admitted by scholars that several  petty dynasts ruled in several regions of the Egyptian delta in the initial years of Taharka.    Nekos could conceivably be included among them as king of Sais.  If so then it is probable that he died at the time of Nebuchadrezzar's invasion.   Some confirmation of this fact is forthcoming later in this chapter, where we argue that Psamtik, at least once in his life, dated his reign from 563 B.C., rather than 543 B.C., arguably an allusion to the date of his father's death.

        While Herodotus is undoubtedly in error in blaming Sabacos (Shabaka?) for Necos' death, he is not far wrong chronologically.  Shabaka died around 585 B.C., only two decades before the invasion.  It is possible that Taharka had something to do the death of Psamtik's father [3], in which case the reference is even more comprehensible.  It must be remembered that Sabacos is the only 25th dynasty pharaoh of whom Herodotus has any knowledge.   If informed that Necos was killed by an Ethiopian king, we can understand why he might have supplied the name of Sabacos.

        Psamtik's flight to Syria is equally plausible.  He would be but one of thousands seeking sanctuary in neighboring countries from the Egyptian holocaust.[4]

        There is no contradiction either in Psamtik's return from his Syrian exile or in his later flight from the Delta kings.   The twenty year rule of Babylon over Egypt (564-543 B.C.) must have witnessed considerable variation in administrative structure.   Psamtik's return to Sais as a local administrator would pose no problem for Babylon so long as tribute was collected and routinely paid.  Withholding those taxes might well have necessitated subsequent flight and temporary exile.

        If Psamtik's elevation to power with the help of Ionian and Carian troops can be claimed as partial vindication of the traditional history it can, a fortiori, substantially strengthen the case for the revised history.   We have already observed that Cyrus, following his victory over Croesus in 546 B.C., left his general Harpagus to complete the subjugation of the Ionians of western Anatolia (Her I.153).   Herodotus describes in great detail the ensuing fall of the individual Ionian and Aeolian city states (Her I.154-170)  Then, moving south and east, Harpagus proceeded to invade Caria.

Harpagus, after subduing Ionia, made an expedition against the Carians, Caunians, and Lycians, taking with him Ionians and Aeolians.  Now among these the Carians were a people who had come to the mainland from the islands ..(italics mine)  (Her I.171)

Harpagus then made havoc of lower Asia; in the upper country Cyrus himself subdued every nation, leaving none untouched.  Of the greater part of these I will say nothing, but will speak only of those which gave Cyrus most trouble and are worthiest to be described.  When Cyrus had brought all the mainland under his sway, he attacked the Assyrians.  (Her I.177-178)

        At minimum we are encouraged by the correspondence between Herodotus and the revised chronology.

Recovery and Restoration

         With the arrival of Cyrus in Egypt, and the installation of Psamtik as a puppet king/governor, there began a prolonged period of restoration in Egypt.    In the monuments left by those engaged in this recovery effort we find clear testimony to the widespread destruction wrought by Nebuchadrezzar and to the prolonged Babylonian occupation of the country which followed.  The intent of the balance of this chapter is to document these eyewitness accounts.  But there is a problem.

          In the traditional history the reign of Psamtik I  began immediately following the Assyrian invasions of Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal.   It follows therefore that monuments dated to the early years of Psamtik I should be expected to contain references to pervasive destruction and the occupation of Egypt by a foreign army.   Unless we can somehow distinguish the Assyrian and Babylonian invasions we will not be able to use the invasion references to further our argument positively,  though at minimum the critic must admit that devastation, destruction, and occupation did in fact precede the arrival of Psamtik.

        We begin therefore with a summary of the relevant years in the two histories (Table 1 below).  The reader not well versed in the history of this period is advised to have constant access to this table throughout the discussions which follow.

                                                                               Table 1

                                                    End Of 25th Dynasty: Traditional History

        671 B.C.   Esarhaddon invaded Egypt and established twenty "kings" as local administrators, including Mantimanhe (Mentuemhet?)  in Thebes.
        667 B.C.  Ashurbanipal invaded Egypt (1st invasion) to put down an insurrection fomented by Tarqu (Taharka?).  There is no indication in the Assyrian annals that Thebes was invaded at this time, much lest that the temples of the Nile valley were looted or destroyed.  (Based entirely on one secondary source - the inscriptions of Mentuemhet -  the claim is made by some scholars that the Assyrians did in fact decimate and plunder the south of Egypt, including Thebes, at this time   If so, then  Mentuemhet immediately set about restoring Upper Egypt.)
        666 B.C.  Several of the local kings/adminstrators planned yet another coup, sending representatives south to Taharka to seek his assistance.  It appears that Taharka at this time resided in Thebes.  The planned rebellion was discovered and the Assyrian reprisal was severe, but limited to the Delta.   Niku, Sharuludarri, and Pakruru were taken to Thebes.  Taharka is not mentioned again in the Assyrian annals.
        665 B.C.  Niku was returned to Sais with increased authority and prestige.  Reasons are not given.
        664 B.C. Early in the year Urdamanie (Tanuatamon?) led an army  from the south (Thebes?) to invade the Delta.  Ashurbanipal responded (2nd invasion) and drove the intruder from the Delta, following him south to Thebes.  Thebes (recently restored by Mentuemhet?)  was (once again?) sacked and looted and Tanuatamon escaped into Nubia, only to return  when the Assyrians lost control of Egypt later in the year.  There is no record in the Assyrian annals of any destruction to cultic centers in central Egypt between Memphis and Thebes.  Some scholars date these events to 663 B.C., rather than 664 B.C.
        664/3 B.C. Late in the 664 B.C. or early the next year, according to the scholars,  Psamtik son of Niku wrested control of the Delta from the lightly defended Assyrian garrison and began his lengthy reign of 54 years.
        664/3-656/5 B.C.  Urdamanie (Tanuatamon?) continued to hold power in Thebes until shortly before Psamtik's 9th year, the time of the well documented enthronement of Psamtik's daughter Nitocris as protege of the god's wife in Thebes.  During this time Psamtik is considered to be consolidating his authority in Lower Egypt.
        656 B.C.  Psamtik assumed control of Upper Egypt in his 9th year.   It is not known what became of Tanuatamon.

                                                          End of 25th Dynasty: Revised History

        564 B.C.  Nebuchadrezzar invaded Lower Egypt late in Taharka's 6th year.   Resulting death and deportation decimated the population.  Temples were destroyed.   Priests were murdered or exiled.   Taharka was driven south into Thebes.
        563 B.C.  Cultic centers in Egypt from Memphis to Thebes were looted and plundered as Nebuchadrezzar moved south.  The priesthood was all but annihilated.  Thebes was attacked and destroyed.  Taharka escaped into Nubia.   Babylonian garrisons were established at Old Cairo (Egyptian Babylon) in Lower Egypt and in Syene/Elephantine in Upper Egypt.  There may well have been additional troops stationed in Marea and Migdol in the western and eastern Delta respectively.
        563-543 B.C.  Egypt remained desolate with a sparce population, heavily taxed by the Babylonian authorities.  Temple worship all but ceased, though a few priests survived the invasion.  Limited acitivity is registered in the Serapeum.   Details are lacking concerning the nature of the administrative structure of the occupation force, but from Herodotus and the Dream Stela of Tanuatamon there might well have been twelve "kings" (or mayors) functioning much as did the twenty "kings" in the days of Ashurbanipal.   Many surviving Egyptians may have been conscripted into the Babylonian army garrisoned in Egypt.  Some of these forces were sent to assist Croesus in Lydia in 546 B.C.   They did not return.
        543 B.C.  Death and defection of Egyptian mercenaries in Anatolia had seriously weakened the Babylonian garrisons in Egypt.  Additionally some troops may have been recalled to defend Babylon,  leaving the local administrators/mayors with little military support.  Taharka died early in this, his 27th year.  Tanuatamon invaded Egypt and received a hero's welcome.   The first phase of the exile had ended.   A Persian army was sent by Cyrus to Egypt, augmented by a combined Ionian/Carian naval force.   Tanuatamon retreated to the south, probably exiting Egypt entirely.   Egypt became, throughout its length,  a Persian province.   Psamtik was set up by Cyrus as governor.   From the outset Psamtik was a king, inheriting pharaonic titles from his father.  He dated his rule from 543 B.C..  A fort was built at Daphne and manned with Greek mercenaries.   Old Cairo, Marea, and  Elephantine were garrisoned.
        543-525 B.C.  Restoration work was underway.   Temples were rebuilt and temple worship reinstituted.   Petesi, Mentuemhet, and Petosiris were active in Teuzoi, Thebes, and Hermopolis Magna respectively, and their monuments provide vivid  testimony to the extent of the destruction wrought by Nebuchadrezzar.