The Historians' History of the World 01

In the year 664-663 Tirhaqa died; he was succeeded by his stepson Tanut-Amen, who was already advanced in years. A dream which promised him the double crown, induced him, so he states in an inscription, to lead his army from Napata against Egypt in the very beginning of his reign. At Thebes he encountered no resistance; before Memphis the enemy’s troops were beaten and the town taken. In one of these engagements Neku, the most powerful of the Assyrian vassals, probably met his death: Herodotus relates that he was slain by the Ethiopian king, and according to Manetho he died 663 B.C. On the other hand, the attempt to conquer the towns of the Delta was unsuccessful: but some of the vassals, including Pakruru of Pisept, presented themselves at the court at Memphis. Tanut-Amen’s inscription tells only of the long theological discourses which the king held before them, and how, after having been well entertained, each returned to his own town. Silence is preserved as to the sequel; from Asshurbanapal’s annals we learn that the feeble prince, who was completely under the dominion of theological fancies, evacuated the country before the Assyrian army, without striking a blow, and returned to his own land. This terminated the Ethiopian rule for all time (about 662 B.C.): Thebes fell again into the hands of the Assyrians and rich booty was carried to Nineveh. The memory of the retreat of the Ethiopians was preserved down to a late period; the priests told Herodotus that Shabak, the representative of the Ethiopian rule, had voluntarily evacuated Egypt after a reign of fifty years, in consequence of a dream. It is true that they omitted to mention that as a result of this the country fell into the hands of the Assyrians.

The following table will assist the reader in straightening out the dynasties of this much confused period.

TABLE OF CONTEMPORANEOUS DYNASTIES

Dates

XXIInd Dynasty

XXIIIrd Dynasty

XXIVth Dynasty

XXVth Dynasty

B.C.

Bubastites

(From monuments at Memphis)

Tanites

(From Manetho)

Saïtes

Ethiopians

800

1. Shashanq III (52 years)

(Perhaps S— of Busiris, of Piankhi Stele)

Petasebast

775

2. Pamai (at least 2 years)

(Perhaps P— of Busiris, of Piankhi Stele)

Uasarken III

(King of Bubastis according to Piankhi Stele)

Tefnekht

(Prince of Saïs according to Piankhi Stele)

Piankhi I

3. Shashanq IV (at least 37 years)

(About 771-735).

Psamus

(According to Theban monuments)

Kashta

(Husband of Shepenapet, daughter of King Uasarken [III?])

750

Predecessor of Bocchoris (Bakenranf)

4. Bocchoris

(of Manetho, or Bakenranf, from the Memphis monuments) ruled, according to Africanus, 6 years, 734-726; according to Eusebius, 44 years, 772-729 [?])

Zet

(Total duration of this dynasty according to Africanus, 89 years. 823-735

B.C.

)

5. Shabak

(728-717 [Manetho]; brother of Ameniritis, wife of Piankhi II)

725

6. Shabatakh

(716-705 [Manetho])

700

XXVIth Dynasty.

7. Tirhaqa

(704-664; only to 685 [Manetho])

Saïtes

(Figures according to Manetho)

675

Stephinates, 684-687

Nechepsos, 677-672

Neku I, 671-664

Tanut-Amen

(664-663; reigned 12 years [Manetho])

8. Psamthek I, 663-610

(Psamthek I became king of all Egypt about 655)

The numbers 1, 2, etc., show the direct succession of the recognised legitimate Pharaohs.d

CHAPTER VIII. THE CLOSING SCENES

[Dynasties XXVI-XXXI: 655-332 B.C.]

And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down. They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord God. And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted.—Ezekiel XXX. 4, 6, 7.