Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 1.djvu/587

 i I APPENDIX m. 488 of thom were distinguishwl in the art« of jwuce or «rnr, and during their rule Egyjit continuiHi Htfudily to dtH-line in jKJwt-r luid inlluenco. Within a period uf about ono hundrt>d and fifty years all the Astatic provinces of the empire fell off ono by one, and wore never afterwards recovered. At tliis time also the high priests of Ammon at Thebes gruduully usuqted the supreme authority, and ultimntfly st'ized the crow n itHelf, although their usurpation was not acknowledged throughout the whole of Kgypt. XXI. Dynasiy : Tanitk. M. 1110, B. 1100. HiBOX, a high priest of Ammon, was the rej>utod founder of this djniasty, under which the capital was agaiu shifted northwards to San. During this period the coimtry was for the first time invaded by the Assyrians under their king, Naromath (Nimrod). 13. 1100. XXII. Dynasty: Bubastite. M. 980, B. 966. SiiESUONK or Shashakk (Sesonchis) I. This is the Shishak of the Bible, son of Nimrod, who overthrew Boboam, king of Judah, captured and plundered Jerusalem, and ruled Egypt, removing the centre of authority to Bubastis in the Delta. His wars against the Jews are commemorated in an inscrip- tion on the walls of the great hall at Kamak, where a list is given of the towns and districts conquered or ravaged by him. B. 966. Most of the princes of this dynasty bear Assyrian names, such as Kimrod, Osorkou (Sargon), and Tukeloth (Tiglath). They do not ai>pear to have been independent sovereigns, but ratlier governors or satraps, appointed by the Assyrian monarchs, or {)os&ibly adventurers from the East. It is expressly stated that the father of the first t?heshonk was a captain of armed bands, who came fi"om S^'ria to seek his fortune in Egypt. After the overthrow of the priest kings, the jjreponderance of Thebea ceased for ever. Henceforth all the dynasties belong to Lower Eg}pt, ■where they fix their residence. They do not, however, form true dynasties of native princes, but rather a gf)vemment of Mameluks, like those who afterwards ruletl EpA'jtt during medi«?val and later times. The Bubastite dynasty rapidly lost all authority, and after it had ceased to reign, Egypt was for a time divided amongst u nmnber of petty military princes practically independent of the chief monarch. During this period the descendants of tlie Theban high priests withdrew to Ethiopia, where they established a {>owerful state and laid claim to the sovereignty of all Egypt. PiAXKm, one of these princes, even overran the oountr}*, and reduced it for a short time as far as the Mediterranean. XXIII. Dynasty. Ta>ite, M. 810, B. 766.