Thirty-First Dynasty

The Second Persian Dynasty

343 to 332 BC

Artaxerxes III’s reclaiming of Egypt was not a peaceful one.  Widespread looting and pillaging filled his coffers and paid his cronies, and nothing was off limits.  Temples were looted and ruined, religion was suppressed, and many sacred books and relics were either stolen or destroyed.  Artaxerxes III eventually reaped his own bitter harvest—in 338 BC he and all of his heirs but one were poisoned by his vizier, Bagoas.

Artaxerxes III was succeeded by his only surviving heir, Artaxerxes IV (Arses), who was put on the throne by Bagoas, the true master pulling the strings.  Artaxerxes IV served as a front for Bagoas for a couple of years until, driven by pride, the prompting of Bagoas’ many enemies in the court, or both, he decided to do away with the vizier.  Bagoas proved too cunning and poisoned the young king just as he had his father.

Next Bagoas maneuvered to have a cousin of Artaxerxes IV put on the throne, Darius III.  A fierce warrior and no stranger to court intrigue himself, Darius III refused to be a tool of the manipulative vizier. When Bagoas tried his poison trick again, Darius instead forced the vizier to drink his own brew. 

But for all his character and accomplishments, Darius III was no politician.  Nor was the warrior much of a general.  When Alexander of Macedonia (also called Alexander the Great, and for good reasons) moved to invade Asia Minor, Darius III decided to remain in Persepolis and rely on his vassals to repel the threat.  By the time he realized his mistake it is too late, and after a series of battles Alexander defeated Darius III, sacked Persepolis, and out an end to the Persian Empire.

The Egyptians welcome Alexander, crowning him at the Temple of Ptah at Memphis and heralding in the Macedonian Dynasty.

Thirtieth Dynasty

The Last Egyptian Dynasty

380 to 343 BC

The Spartans and Athenian mercenaries continue to play a major role in Egypt’s defense against the Persians in the new dynasty after Nekhtnebef I wrests control of Egypt from the Mendean Kings of the Twenty-Ninth Dynasty.  Djedher ruled simultaneously with his father for a short period, but after Nekhtnebef I’s death, Djedher was unable to hold the throne for more than a couple of years, despite successful military campaigns against the Persians. 

Djedher was brought down by forces from within, which was made easier by his (and his father’s) fairly oppressive and tax-heavy regime.  In 360 BC Djedher was overthrown by Nekhtnebef II, with the assistance of the Spartan king Agesilaus II.  Ironically, Djedher was forced to seek asylum in the court of Persia.

In 343 BC Artaxerxes III of the Persian Empire overthrows Nekhtnebef II, driving him south to Memphis, and eventually into exile in Nubia.  Thus ended the Thirtieth Dynasty, and with it Egyptian rule of ancient Egypt.  Native born kings would not return to Egypt until the Islamic age.  Artaxerxes III would become the first king of the Thirty-First Dynasty, also called the Second Persian Dynasty.

Twenty-Ninth Dynasty

The Mendean Kings

399 to 380 BC

Nepherites I becomes the first Pharaoh of the Twenty-Ninth Dynasty after overthrowing Amyrtaeus II.  Nepherites I maintains Egypt’s independence from the Persians by forming an alliance with the Spartans. On his death, Nepherites I’s heir, Muthis, is usurped by Psammuthes, and their respective factions wear each other down to the point that a third party is able to secure the throne for himself. 

Hakor supplants Psammuthes and seizes the throne based on a most likely spurious claim that he is Nepherites I’s grandson.  During Hakor’s rule Persia and Sparta enter a period of peace, but Hakor continues to hold off the Persians with the assistance of Cyprus and Athenian mercenaries.  Hakor’s heir, Nepherites II, only rules for four months before he is overthrown by Nekhtnebef I (Nectanebo I), ending the Twenty-Ninth Dynasty.

Twenty-Eighth Dynasty

The Short Reign of the Liberator

404 to 399 BC

The only ruler of the Twenty-Eighth Dynasty, Amyrtaeus II was a Saite nobleman, believed to be related to the pharaohs of the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty, who began a revolt under the reign of the Persian King Darius II.  As Persia became embroiled with wars on other fronts, Amyrtaeus II took advantage of their weakened position to seize control of all of Egypt, returning Upper and Lower Egypt to Egyptian rule again.

Amyrtaeus II’s reign was short lived, however, as Nepherites I, a contender from the eastern Nile delta city of Mendes (Djedet to the Egyptians), raised his own army and defeated Amyrtaeus II.  Nepherites declared himself Pharaoh and, having executed the liberator Amyrtaeus at Memphis, end the Twenty-Eighth Dynasty before it could even take root.

Twenty-Seventh Dynasty

The First Persian Dynasty

525 to 404 BC

After defeating Psamtik III at Memphis and seizing control of the kingdom, Cambyses II becomes the first Persian king and founder of Egypt’s Twenty-Seventh Dynasty, also called the First Persian Period (or Dynasty).  Egypt is largely ruled by local vassals during this period who pay tribute to the Persian throne, although there are a number of native holdouts who continue to claim the title of King of Egypt.

Cambyses supported some Egyptian religions and traditions while oppressing others.  He ruled from Egypt for a few years but had to return to Persia to put down a civil war.  Darius I was more even handed in his treatment of Egyptian traditions, but ruled indirectly by vassals who were subject to constant uprisings by the Egyptians.  Xerxes I managed to reign in some of the revolts that were commonplace toward the end of Darius I, but his reign ended when he was murdered by his heir, also called Darius, who was then killed by his brother, Artaxerxes I, who assumed the throne.  Some accounts have Xerxes I being murdered by his uncle, who then convinced Artaxerxes I that his brother Darius was responsible.

Artaxerxes I faced a major revolt in Egypt led by Amyrtaeus (Amenirdis I), a Saite noble thought to be related to the kings of the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty, and Inaros, also a nobleman of the Libyan line and a grandson of Psamtik III.  Their rebellion failed, but Artaxerxes I was killed in one of the battles.  Both Xerxes II and Sogdianus only ruled for a matter of weeks before being executed as a result of infighting. 

Under Darius II Amyrtaeus II (Amenirdis II), the grandson of the Amyrtaeus who helped Inaros lead a revolt against Artaxerxes I, begins a series of uprisings.  On the death of Darius II Amyteaus II declares himself the King of Egypt.  Artaxerxes II, the new King of Persia, has too many problems at home to resist him, thus ending the Twenty-Seventh Dynasty.

Twenty-Sixth Dynasty

The Saite Dynasty

664 to 525 BC

The Assyrians, who still held sway in the northern region, installed Necho I to serve as their vassal in the delta city of Sais.  When Tantamani, last ruler of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty, threatened to take Sais, the Assyrians counter-attacked and drove him out of Lower and Middle Egypt and into exile in Nubia.  Sais had a strong tradition of local nobility, having been the seat of power during the Fourteenth Dynasty and home to the Great Chiefs of the West during the Twenty-Fourth, and it is from this line of Great Chiefs, particularly Bakenrenef, that this dynasty hails.

Necho I is included in this list for reference purposes, but the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty doesn’t really begin until his son, Psamtik I, comes to power.  Psamtik I begins his reign as governor of Egypt on behalf of the Assyrian Empire, but as the Assyrian Empire’s power wanes during its long war of attrition with the Babylonians, Psamtik I is left pretty much to rule Egypt independently.  Around 656 BC Psamtik I sails his navy up the Nile to Thebes, which peacefully capitulates.  With the Upper and Lower Kingdoms again under the rule of a single pharaoh, Egypt begins its final period under a native Egyptian family.

The dynasty is largely defined in terms of its conflict with the Babylonian Empire, the new force to be reckoned with.  This external threat, combined with mutinous mercenaries and the threat of civil war, would prove to be too much for the Saite Dynasty, which ends with the invasion of the Persian King Cambyses II and the flight of Psamtik III to Memphis

Twenty-Fifth Dynasty

The Kushite Dynasty

747 to 656 BC

The Kushite Dynasty, also called the Nubian Dynasty, was made up of a line of kings from the land of Kush, located in the Sudanese state of Napata.  Kashta is included in this list because he was the king of Nubia, and although he did exert control over Thebes, he never ruled a united Egypt.  His son, Piye, did unite Nubia and Egypt, and his military conquests drove back Egypt’s enemies and put an end to the Libyan Dynasties. 

Shabaka moved the capitol of Egypt back to Memphis, and was the first Kushite pharaoh to rule an entirely united Egypt from one of the traditional Egyptian capitols.  Shabaka managed to keep the Assyrians at bay through a policy of appeasement, but this begins to change under Shebitku, who begins to openly oppose the Assyrian presence in the north, ultimately driving them out.  Under the rule of Taharqa the Assyrians reassert themselves, going so far as to lay siege to Thebes, driving the pharaoh into exile. 

Tantamani managed to recapture Thebes and drive the Assyrians back for a while, but in the end the Assyrians re-conquered Egypt and put an end to the Kushite Dynasty.