E G Y P T. 



ttirtvy* in Ins turn, did mere than fill up (lie measure of i claim- 

 ""V^ tioii upon the king of Egypt nnd his <levotcd subjects. 

 Placed in particular situation in the subuibs of Mem- 

 phis, Pswnmeniuis was forred to behold the misery, the 

 degradation, OIK! even the death of some of his family, 

 and many of his nobles. The grief was too great to per- 

 mit the feelings of the king to be otherwise expressed 

 than by oppressive silence, till lust of all, an intimate 

 companion, old and infirm, was presented before him, 

 begging his bread ; and then the atHicted monarch burst 

 into tears. 



\Ve are told that Cambyses himself was moved with 

 compassion ; but making every allowance fur UK rude- 

 ness and severity of the time.*:, the conduct of Cambyses 

 was marked with cruelty. He injudiciously scourged 

 the priests of Apis, and increased the madness and hatred 

 .of the people, by slaying that god himself. Indeed the 

 whole government of Persia in Egypt was unfortunate 

 and severe. The conquerors were not only disliked as 

 foreigners ; but they were hated as sacrilegious persons, 

 and detested as cruel and unjust. Though Psammeni- 

 tiis was preserved at this time ; yet he survived but 

 Jittle while the loss of his kingdom ; for either he at- 

 tempted to recover the throne, and excited an alarm, or 

 Cambyses was determined to free himself of a rival; and 

 in a very short time he was put to death. 



The ancient race of kings had now ceased in Egypt. 

 For several successive generations, the claims to the 

 throne had been wavering, the country unsettled, and 

 the kingdom feeble ; but Egypt was now a province of 

 Persia, and was destined to bear a foreign yoke. This 



ccies of government, at all times unpleasant, was ren- 

 dered grievous, by the cruelty and madness of Camhyses. 

 He trampled upon the laws of their country, and vio- 

 lated all their prejudices and prepossessions. He insult- 

 ed the dead bodies of their ancestors, which are dear to 

 every nation, but peculiarly sacred to the Egyptians. In 

 order to afflict that people the more, he violated the re- 

 gains of their patriotic king Amasis; and by every enor- 

 mity insulted their feelings. 



In his madness for conquest, he dispatched an army 

 .of 50,000 men from Thebes in Upper Egypt, iu bci^c 

 upon the temple of Jupiter Ammon in the deserts of Afri- 

 ca; but after suffering every hardship, and losing nearly 

 the one half of his army, he wre.ikcd the vengeance 

 which should have been directed towards his own folly, 

 upon the afflicted and despairing Egyptians. He reach- 

 ed Memphis at the time of a high festival, and, with that 

 jealous violence which belongs to tyranny, he was trans- 

 . ported with rage, and would not be convinced, that the 

 public rejoicings were not occasioned by his disappoint- 

 ment and defeat. Under this persuasion, he scourged 

 the priests, put the magistrates to death, and, with his 

 own hand, slew the god Apis, whose festival the Egyp- 

 tians were observing. But a period was soon put to his 

 cruelty and his life ; for having returned to Persia to 

 |ucll an insurrection in his own kingdom, he appears to 

 have been assassinated ; or, as the incident is generally 

 related, he was mortally wounded by his own sword, 

 from w hich the scabbard had droj>|>cd, as he was eagerly 

 .mounting his horse. Thus died Cambyses, an object of 

 liatred to his subjects, and a di tested tyrant to the 

 Egyptians. 



Arruuia. Aryaudes, to whom the government of Egypt was 

 Mud when CaiuUfcts returned into Persia, cndca. 



vourcd to compose the agitated feelings of the Egyptians, M T- 

 and render himself in 



exertions were not unsuccessful. He was inil.i 

 ment as a patriot governor ; by consulting the sage 

 priests, he complied with the institutions of the con 

 and honoured the religious worship of their lathcis. I - 

 vourcd with the support of the Egyptian |>eople, In 

 sumed the ensigns of royalty; and appears to lm\ . 

 come formidable to the Persian power. \Vhen 1' 

 was meditating revenge upon Greece, for the defeat which 

 he had sustained at the battle of Marathon, he found it 

 necessary to direct his army towards l-.rvpt, to over- 

 throw the influence and kingly authority which Ary:r 

 had acquired. In the mean while, Darius died ; and his 

 son Xerxes undertook the enterprise, which his father 

 had intended to perform ; and having overthrown Ary- 

 andes, his brother Achiinenes was constituted governor 

 of Egypt 



No sooner was this arrangement made, than 300,000 

 men were dispatched to Greece to place that country un- 

 der the power of Persia ; and the whole of this mighty 

 army was to derive its provisions from E^ypt. Achi- 

 mcncs furnished 200 vessels of war properly manned ; 

 and a considerable body of Egyptian troops joined the 

 Persian army. But the brave Greeks, though compara- 

 tively few in number, opposed and overthrew the mighty 

 invaders. Upon this defeat, Xerxes returned to Persia, 

 and having given himself up wholly to dissipation, the 

 affairs of his government ran into confusion, and he fell 

 a sacrifice to a powerful conspiracy. Artaxerxes, one of 

 his sons, ascended the throne; but under his reign the 

 Egyptians were equally oppressed, and many of them 

 fled into different countries for safety and protection. 

 Inarus was at lh.it time king of Lybia; and a multitude 

 of Egyptians invited him to their aid. They also soli- 

 cited and obtained help from the Athenians ; but after 

 various results and partial successes, they were compelled 

 to yield to superior power, and sunk again under the 

 Persian government. 



For some time after this, the affairs of Egypt remain Amyrteu. 

 unnoticed ; but at length we find that Amyrteus, who 

 had found protection among die fens of the Delta, h:.d 

 Income formidable to the Persian king. During this 

 period, Artaxci XL.-. iiicJ, n&or a. roign of forty-eight years, 

 and his son Xerxes succeeded to the throne : but his 

 reign continued only a few weeks, when he was assassi- 

 nated by his brother Sodgianus ; and the assassin him- 

 self was soon put to death by his brother Ochus, who 

 assumed the name of Darius, and is distinguished in 

 history by the appellation of Nothus, which is descrip- 

 tive of his illegitimate birth. During these commotions 

 in Persia, Amyrteus, in connection with the Athenians, 

 marched against Persia ; but at last died, or was slain in 

 battle, when he had reigned about six years. The reign 

 of his successor, Pausiris, was short but tranquil ; and 

 the patriots of Egypt acquired considerable strength. 

 Artaxerxes, who was now king of Persia, saw the in- 

 creasing power of Egypt, and was determined to sup- 

 press it. Achoris, who had acquired the government of 

 Egypt, made formidable preparations to oppose the in- 

 vasion, but he died in the midst of his exertions, and 

 was succeeded by Psammuthis, whose reign was unim- 

 portant. The same may be said of Nephreritus, who 

 held the government but a few months ; and then Ncc- 

 tanebus obtained the sovereign power. 



Ncctanebus made active preparations to repel the Per* ecUadus. 

 2 



