EGYPT. 



567 



Apries. 

 B. C. 594. 



History. Josiah ; the king of Egypt commanded him to appear 

 -V" -/ before him at the Riblah, cast him into chains, and sent 

 him into Egypt. His brother Eliakim had his name 

 changed into Jehoiakim, and was left tributary king of 

 Jerusalem. But the Assyrians having been added to the 

 Babylonian empire, Nebuchadnezzar retook Carchemish, 

 and, seizing upon Nechus's other conquests, pursued him 

 and his army to the city of Pelusium. 



Besides his enterprising by sea and land, Nechus at- 

 tended to the improvement of his kingdom ; and, among 

 other undertakings, he attempted to join the Red Sea 

 and the Nile, by means of a broad and deep canal. The 

 enterprise failed ; and owing, we may presume, to inexpe- 

 rience, much money was uselessly expended, and 12,000 

 men were lost. After having reigned for sixteen years, 

 this active prince terminated his career about 600 years 

 before the birth of Christ ; and was succeeded by Psam- 

 mis, who only reigned six years, and left nothing of 

 consequence for the historian to record. 



Apries, the son of the former king, now got posses- 

 sion of his father's throne ; but though active, he was 

 unwise and unfortunate. The king of Judah, bearing 

 ill the tributary condition of his country, manifested 

 signs of disobedience, and Judea was invaded by the 

 armies of Babylon. To oppose those mighty forces, 

 Zedekiah king of Judah entered into treaty with the 

 king of Egypt ; but Jerusalem was overthrown, and the 

 king, as well as the other inhabitants, treated with- 

 out mercy ; while one of their former kings, and many 

 of their countrymen, were prisoners at Babylon. 



The Jews were warned to put no trust in a confede- 

 racy with Egypt ; and any alliance with the kings there- 

 of was evidently precarious ; because the country had 

 been long torn by intestine divisions, and during that 

 period, every successive monarch had found more dif- 

 ficulty thar enough to maintain his own power and pre- 

 rogatives. The prince now upon the throne does not 

 appear to have possessed the favour of his subjects; and 

 therefore it was rather the unsettled condition, than the 

 deceitful intentions of those Egyptian kings, which made 

 them unworthy of alliance or trust. This observation is 

 clearly illustrated by the fate of Apries. 



When the Lybians were invailcd by the people f 

 Cyrene, h ting nf Egypt lent his assistance in support 



of the former ; but he and his allies being overcome, his 

 discontented subjects at home broke out into rebellion. 

 To quell those disturbances, and reduce the people to 

 obedience, he sent Amasis on an embassy into Egypt ; 

 but the ambassador proved faithless, and being proclaim- 

 ed king by the tumultuous multitude, he assumed the 

 royal authority. Patarbemis being sent to bring the 

 people of Egypt back to their duty, found it impossible 

 to accomplish his mission; but upon his return to Apries, 

 he was dealt with as a traitor; and these severities in- 

 creased the hatred of the Egyptians. Apries collected a 

 ronsidorable body of adherents, mingled with foreign 

 troops, and fought a battle with the army of Amasis; 

 but being overthrown, he was kept a while in confine- 

 ment, and finally put to death. During these intestine 

 rommotions, the king of Babylon made inroads into 

 Egypt ; but plunder being his chief object, he retired 

 from the country without further molestation. 



Amasis, who had been called unexpectedly, and with- 

 out any pretensions, to the throne, began his reign by 

 'ittempting to improve the moral condition of the coun- 

 try. He appears to have lived freely, as well as some- 



times riotously, while he filled an inferior station ; and he History, 

 was sometimes devoted to excess, even after he had S "Y"* > *' 

 ascended the throne ; but he was nevertheless aware how 

 important it is for good order, that the habits of society 

 should be sober. To attain this end, he required every 

 inhabitant of Egypt once a year to inform the govern- 

 ment, by what means he obtained his living. But while 

 he was endeavouring to establish order at home, prepa- 

 rations were making abroad to invade Egypt, and over- 

 throw its government. The Persian king was making 

 vast movements, in order to enter that country and get 

 possession of its dominions. 



We cannot ascertain the reasons of this projected in- 

 vasion in the court of Persia ; for while no well authen- 

 ticated records remain, we cannot speak with certainty 

 from traditionary tales. It might be ambition, and it 

 might be revenge, or a mixture of passions and motives, 

 which incidents and unknown events might bring into 

 action. The story runs, that instead of permitting his 

 daughter to be numbered amongst the women of the 

 king of Persia, he had sent Nitetis, the daughter of 

 Apries, the former king. This affront and double deal- 

 ing being discovered at the Persian court, Cambyses 

 made war upon Egypt. Several circumstances occurred 

 to render the invasion of Cambyses successful; and of 

 these occurrences Amasis himself appears to have had a 

 share. Phanes, a Grecian general of considerable note, 

 who was engaged in the service of the Egyptian king, 

 fled to the court of Persia, and assisted Cambyses to con- 

 duct his operations against the interest and power of his 

 former master. Polycratcs, the successful sovereign of 

 Samos, was formerly the ally of Amasis; but the king of 

 Egypt seems imprudently to have forfeited his favour, 

 and he also joined with the Persian king. While these 

 preparations and adverse circumstances were going on, 

 the king of Egypt died, and escaped from the disasters 

 which fell immediately upon his devoted country. In 

 the year 525 before the birth of Christ, Psammenitus, the Psamraeni- 

 son of Amasis, succeeded to the kingdom ; and he was tus, B. C. 

 scarcely invested with the powers of royalty, when Cam- *** 

 byses approached the frontiers of Egypt. The new king 

 prepared for defence, and the king of Persia laid siege to Cambyses. 

 reluslum. Taking advantage of the Egyptian supersti- 

 tion, the invaders placed in the front of their army a 

 variety of dogs, cats, and other animals, which were 

 held sacred by the besieged ; and the Egyptians not 

 daring to injure the sacred animals, the Persians entered 

 Pelusium without resistance. 



Scarcely had Cambyses taken possession of the city, 

 when the army of Psammenitus drew nigh ; and the 

 Greeks, who were in the service of the Egyptian king, to 

 revenge the defection of Phanes, their countryman and 

 former general, brought forth his children into the camp, 

 and put them to denth before the eyes of their father. 

 Then, in conformity to the Grecian manner, they tasted 

 of the blood mixed with wine, in token of execration. 



It was thus also that Catiline prepared his adherents 

 for the bloody deeds, which he intended them to do. 

 Enraged at this scene of horror, the Persians put the 

 Egyptian soldiers to flight, and chased them with great 

 slaughter to the very gates of Memphis. Having sent a 

 vessel up the Nile toward Memphis, with a demand to 

 surrender the city, the messenger and the crew were 

 assaulted and torn to pieces. Memphis was soon after 

 taken ; the adjoining countries to the west of Egypt 

 readily submitted to the conqueror ; ai>d now Cambyses, 



