UNESCO Ancient Civilizations of Africa (Editor G. Mokhtar)

Pharaonic Egypt
Persian period 45
In the reign of Psammetik III, Egypt had to endure conquest by the
Persians under Cambyses and with this occupation the history of the
country as an independent power was in effect ended. The twenty-seventh
dynasty was headed by Persian kings. The twenty-eighth was a local dynasty
known as the Amyrtaios, who organized a revolt during the troubled reign
of Darius II. By means of alliances with Athens and Sparta the kings of
the twenty-ninth and thirtieth dynasties contrived to maintain the independence
thus gained for about sixty years.
The second Persian domination of Egypt began under Artaxerxes III in
— 341. This was soon brought to an end by Alexander the Great, who
invaded Egypt in —332 after defeating Persia at the battle of Issus.
45. The basic work on this period remains G. Posener, 1936.
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