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£92 
logue of three hundred and thirty monarchs, extending 
from Menes to Moeris, and that nothing worthy notice 
was recorded of any of them, except an Ethiopian wo¬ 
man named Nitocris: but Diodorus affirms, that the fa¬ 
mily.of Menes fucceffively filled the throne for the fpace 
of fourteen hundred years. As, therefore, we find fo vaft 
a chafm in the accounts of both hiftorians, we fhail ven¬ 
ture to fill it up, in part, with fome tranfacfions which 
evidently belong to that remote period. During the reign 
of Timaus king of Egypt, the government was fubvert- 
ed, and the country fubdued, by a multitude of perfons 
from the eaft, who poured forth-like a torrent, and be¬ 
haved in the moll inhuman manner, extirpating the 
princes, burning the cities, demolifning the temples, and 
carrying'the women and children into captivity. After 
fatiating their cruelty by thefe atrocities, they elected a 
king from among themfelves, who chofe Memphis ior 
the place of his refidence; and, by placing garrifons in 
various parts, contrived to keep'the upper and lower re¬ 
gions in fubjedtion. He alfo fortified the eaftern parts, 
to fecure him from an invafion of the Affyrians, who 
were at that time a powerful people. He rebuilt a city, 
in the Saitic norne, which was feated on the eaftern bank 
of the river Bubaftis, and, having furrounded it with a 
flrong wall, he placed a garrifon of twenty-four thouland 
foldiers therein. On the deceafe of Salatis, the throne 
was fucceffively occupied by Beon, Aphaenas, Apophis, 
Tanias, and Allis, who, like their predecelfor, endeavour¬ 
ed to deftroy the whole nation of the Egyptians. Thefe 
invaders were called HyeJ'os, or Shepherd kings, and are laid 
by Manetho to have held all Lower Egypt in {'objection 
for the fpace of two hundred and fifty-nine years, at the 
expiration of which they were obliged, by Amolis king 
of Upper Egypt, to abandon their ul'urped poifedions. 
According to the account of Diodorus, Buliris in pro- 
cefs of time obtained the diadejn, and was fucceeded by 
eight princes of his line ; the 1 aft of whom, called Buli¬ 
ris the Second, founded the city of Thebes, and made it 
the capital of his kingdom, Ofymandyas occupies the 
next place; but it is equally uncertain whom lie fuc¬ 
ceeded, or at what time he obtained tke regrl dignity. 
He is laid to have chaftifed the Bactrians for a revolt, 
y/ith an army of four hundred thoufand foot and twenty 
thoufand cavalry: and his monument far exceeded the 
molt fplendid of thofe which graced the royal city. It 
confided of fpacious courts, Ihrines, porticoes, temples, 
a library, and other buildings. The firft court was 200 
fc?et in extent and forty-five feet high. Next to this was a 
fquure portico 400 feet long on each lide, and fupported 
by figures of animals of an extraordinary fize : the ceiling 
was defigned to reprefent-the fplendid canopy of heaven, 
being painted of an azure blue, and fprinkled with a pro- 
fulion of liars. Beyond this portico was the fecond court, 
iimilar in extent and conftruction to the firft, but enriched 
with a variety of exquilite fculptures, three of which were 
defigned to reprefent the royal founder, with his mother 
and daughter; and a fourth was eredled in honour of his 
mother only, whofe head was decorated with three crowns, 
in token of her illuftrious birth, marriage, and progeny. 
This court led, to a lecond portico, the walls of which 
were covered with numerous fculptures and paintings, 
reprefenting the king fighting at the head of his army, 
accompanied by a lion ; the captives deprived of their 
hands as a punilhment for their cowardice; the royal 
lacrifices and tr.iumph ; and two gigantic ftatues, each 
twenty-feven cubits high. From lienee three pallages 
led into-a great hall lupported by columns, and deco¬ 
rated with Teveral representations of parties engaged in 
law, and the difcullion of caufes before the alfembly of 
judges. Next was a gallery in which were apartments 
ftored with the mod delicious refrefhments. Here w^is a 
flat tie of the king, molt curioufly wrought and painted, 
in the aft of prefenting to the gods the annual produce 
of the Egyptian mines, amounting to 3,200,000 minae, or 
■y.6.oco/o.oo of pounds fterling. Not far from hence was 
a magnificent library with this appropriate infeription 5 
“ The office for the difeafes of the mind and beyond 
the library was a fumpti;ous edifice containing twenty 
couches, and the ftatues of Jupiter, Juno, and the king. 
This was furrounded by feven pavilions ornamented with 
pictures of the facred animals ; and from lienee was the 
afcent to the manfoleum of Ofymandyas, which difeover- 
ed an extraordinary magnificence, being encompafled with 
a circle of gold, one cubit broad, and 363 cubits in cir¬ 
cumference ; and this ring being divided by the days of 
the year, lliewed the riling, letting, and afpe£ts, of the 
liars, according to the Egyptian aftrology. 
Uchoreus, the daft delcendant of .Ofymandyas' who 
reigned in Egypt, is laid to have enlarged the city of 
Memphis; to have lecured it from invafion by mounds 
and trenches; and to have adorned it with feveral public 
buildings. He mandated the royal feat from Thebe-s to 
that city, and has been therefore regarded by feveral au¬ 
thors as its original founder. 
Having followed Diodorus thus far in his account, we 
fliall next relate what Herodotus has left upon record 
concerning Nitocris. This woman fucceeded her bro¬ 
ther, (an Ethiopian, who was murdered by the Egyp¬ 
tians, though they afterwards conferred the crown upon 
her,) and meditating revenge for his untimely fate, put 
many of her fubjedts to death privately, and afterwards 
contrived a fubterraneous building, whither the deluded 
the chief objedts of her vengeance to a feaft, and, in the 
midft of their mirth, overwhelmed them with deftruc- 
tion, by turning the river upon them through a fccret 
pa huge. She then eluded the rage of the populace by 
taking refuge in a place well fortified. Her perfon is laid 
to have been extremely beautiful, but her difpolition re¬ 
vengeful and cruel. Some authors fuppofe her to have 
eredted the third great pyramid. After twelve genera¬ 
tions, we find the throne of Egypt filled by Moeris, who 
dug the celebrated lake which bears his name, built a 
fumptuous portico on the north fide cf Vulcan’s temple 
at Memphis, and eredled fome other ftrudtures. 
Sefoftris, the celebrated king of Egypt, being defigne d 
by his father for a great warrior, was in his early youih 
attended by all the male Egyptians of his own age, who, 
together-with the pj'ince, were inured to a hard and la¬ 
borious life, that they might be able to fulfill the toils 
of war without repining. When he was-more advanced 
111 years, he was fent, with his companions, againft the 
Arabians, who had never been conquered. In this ex¬ 
pedition he acquired a conliderable fhure of military know¬ 
ledge ; furmounted all the dangers ana perils of a howl¬ 
ing defert; patiently endured the hardlhips attached to 
a dry and fteril country ; and finally compelled the ene¬ 
my to bow to his reliftlefs arms. He was next fent by 
his father to try his fortune weftward, and he fubdued 
the greateft part of the African continent with the fame 
facility that attended Ins enterprizes in Arabia. About 
this time his father died, leaving him the undifpiitediiic- 
ceffion of the government. Sefoftris immediately formed 
the defign of conquering the world ; but, previous to his 
quitting the kingdom, he provided for his domeltic fecu- 
rity by a' generous and obliging behaviour towards his 
fubjetts at large, and by magnificent donations and re- 
miflions of punifhments among his foldiers. He alfo di¬ 
vided the kingdom into thirty-lix noraes or provinces, 
and bellowed them on perfons of the molt approved fide¬ 
lity. Having taken thefe precautions, he levied forces 
equal to his great defigns, and headed them with officers 
of known courage, who were chiefly felccted from the 
companions of his youth ; this army confifted of fix hun¬ 
dred thoufand foot, twenty-four thoufand horfe, and 
twenty-feven thoufand armed chariots. Confcious, how¬ 
ever, that this amazing force was not adequate to his 
vaft intentions, lie broke through the ancient fuperfti- 
tion of the Egyptians, and fitted out a fleet of 400 fail, 
which was commiflioned to vtmquifli tlie ifles and cities 
lying on the coafts of the Red Sea; while the king him- 
lelf- 
